Happy Home- Chapter 2

A few months have passed by and I was allowed to go on missions again. Our house seemed normal, though we still had a bunch of spare rooms (We planned for a future together when buying our house so that we wouldn't have to continue moving every few years). Kakashi, Gaara and I trained constantly. Although Kashi now had a team of his own to worry about, kids the same age as Gaara. Apparently they already met during the last chunin exam. One day we were training in a clearing in the forest and I got summoned to the Fifth Hokage's office. She wanted me to go sit in at the Hyuga's Main branch house since they had a lot of their men out on missions. I was to sit in on a sparring lesson between the successor and another child of the side branch. I was waiting outside the meeting place when the door slid open.
Hiashi: "You must be Miss Naito. Welcome."
Izumi: "Good Day, Hiashi Sir. How is Miss Hinata's training coming along?"
H: "We shall see soon enough. Young Neji is our clan's genius. He's far advanced in the gentle fist technique for his age."

As I entered the room, I noticed Hinata and a boy about the same age (that i assume is Neji) getting into stance. They spar for a while with Hinata proving that she is no match for Neji. Hiashi grows very impatient and starts making commentary about her being the successor. I could see Neji wince a little by the topic. And then he spoke up with his own commentary. Suddenly, Neji dropped to the floor in agony and I notice Hiashi focusing on Neji with a sign at his chest. I couldn't bear to see what was happening, I spoke up.
I: "Sir Hiashi! Stop! What are you doing? He is just a child spewing some playful banter like anybody does in a battle!"
H: "Those who speak ill about the main branch shall be punished. He knows better and must be reminded of his place."
I: *Running over to Neji who has collapsed on the floor, foaming at the mouth* "That is ridiculous! All due respect, Sir Hiashi, he is still a child. Is he not allowed to be human? This treatment is way too harsh!"
H: "I don't recall this being your concern. After today you will likely not have any other reason to step foot on Hyuga property. You had best mind yourself, what would the Hokage think if she had heard that her assigned ninja was doing poorly on their mission due to emotional compromise?"
That was it. That last line. I could not hold myself back any longer. My kashinekoi activated instantly. With Neji's head in my lap, I placed my left hand on his forehead over the mark and I looked up at Hiashi with a vengeance. My right hand pointed directly at his heart, shaped like a sideways "L" for my jutsu.
I: "This is the caged bird curse mark. I am sure of it. That makes this easy for me. You are very familiar with using this jutsu, but are you familiar with the bound tiger curse mark? No? Well, let me tell you. I am extracting a sample of your chakra from Neji's forehead. I will then infuse your chakra with mine and shoot it into the tissue of your heart. Every time you use the jutsu that activates the curse mark, you will inflict that same pain on your own heart tissue. And since you are the one to place the mark on every side branch member, using the activation jutsu on them will also activate the bound tiger. And don't think about trying to dodge my jutsu, besides the fact that it's so quick that it is physically impossible, it will hone in on the largest amount of your chakra automatically and follow it until it hits it's target. And since this jutsu is casted by my kashinekoi, only another kashinekoi can remove it."
H: "This is absurd. That child owes me his life! I have been caring for him for years since my brother passed away! If not for me, he would have nothing! The least he can do is follow the clan's rules and respect the main branch!"
I: "If this is the suffering he has to endure for a home, I will take care of him myself! I have more than enough space in my house for him."
H: "No, he is to remain within my quarters and spar with Lady Hinata when he is not on missions. That is his purpose."
I: "His purpose? His purpose should be to perfect his jutsu and become a well-respected and advanced ninja! Not be the head of the Hyuga clan's lap dog!"

I was so frustrated that I didn't even realize that Neji had opened his eyes and was staring at me the entire time. I don't know how much he had heard, or why he was staring at me so intently. Then I realized a drop on his cheek and realized that I had gotten myself so worked up that tear began to well up in my eyes. Then Neji spoke up.
N: "Lord Hiashi, If I may request. Would it be alright if we arranged for me to come assist Lady Hinata on specific days? That way I could still go with her. I am not sure why, but I would like permission to go with this woman."
H: "Neji! You have never even met this woman before and you suddenly want to abandon your clan for a place to stay?"
N: "That's not it at all. I believe she can teach me more than this clan has to offer. I will still assist Lady Hinata as my duty to the main branch. You clearly find me a nuisance anyway, think of this as an opportunity to get me out of your hair."
H: "Very well. If that is the case, you will immediately take your leave and I will contact you about which days you are to help Lady Hinata."
I: "Okay, but first-*Jutsu release* I have to make sure he stays safe when he comes here on said days. Let that mark remind you of the pain your family has caused to your own members throughout generations."

After that, Neji and I went to his room to gather his belongings and proceeded to the Hokage's office and then to my house. I explained the situation to the Hokage and she gave her permission. On the way back to my house, Neji broke the silence.
N: "So, why did you do that for me? You don't even know me. That was incredibly foolish of you to challenge the Hyuga's Lord like that."
I: "Oh, I didn't challenge him. To challenge someone means that you think they have a chance -even if it's a small one- to defeat you. I knew he couldn't escape my jutsu. If anything, I let him off of the hook by merely leaving him with a mark as he did to you. As for your question, because I don't stand for people treating children that way. There are people in the world who would like nothing more than to snuggle and love their own children but can not because their child was somehow taken away from them. Children are precious."
N: "I see. Are you one of them?"
I: "I have an adopted son that I just got reunited with. He's from the Sand village. I took him in when he was very small, but then he got sent back to the village when I got kidnapped on a mission and never returned. My beloved was too busy to give him the care he needed. I finally escaped and came home a few months ago."

N: "That doesn't sound great. But were you telling the truth about having room for me? I'm going to be annoyed if i suddenly have to room with someone I've never met before after putting up that fuss to Lord Hiashi."
I: "Haha, yes. I was telling the truth. Our home has six bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a sitting room, and a crawl space. When Kakashi and I searched for another place after Gaara came to stay with us we had also taken into consideration that we may some day have children of our own."
N: "You mean you want six children!? Isn't that a bit much?"
I: "Haha, you misunderstand. Just because there are six rooms doesn't mean that children have to fill all of them. I planned on making one room into a study den. Another into a rec room. And then having at least one guest room for when friends stay over. Any more questions before we arrive and get you settled in?"
N: "The part I am curious about is your kekkei genkai. What did you call it? And how does it work? I have never seen eyes like yours before so I am intrigued."
I: "My kashinekoi. It can do many things. It's similar to your byakugan, actually, it does everything your byakugan and the sharingan can, and more. The only difference is it can not cast genjutsu. It also heightens all of my other senses and ensures the accuracy of anything I do. I am the only known person with this visual prowess. Not much is known about it, not even everyone in my clan possessed it. I don't know how or why it awakened in me to be honest. I don't even know if it can do anything else. I am just as surprised as others when new things happen. Anyways, If you would like help training, I can help you. Apart from my kekkei genkai, I am still an advanced ninja. Rivaled only by my beloved Kakashi, you should meet him soon. He should be home."
N: "Kakashi!? Kakashi Hatake? He is your husband? My sensei is Might Guy, supposedly Kakashi's 'eternal rival,' or says Guy."
I: *uncontrollable laughter* "Yes, I'm sorry, Kakashi Hatake. He's not my husband, we've just been together since we were old enough to even realize what dating is. I can't believe that nut Guy is a sensei! Is he still crazy?"
N: "He is definitely unique. However, he is a great sensei. Unfortunately he can not help me very much with my byakugan though since he does not possess anything but taijutsu."
I: "Don't worry, we will take care of it. I promise. I will do whatever I can to help you. Including getting that mark off of your head, if you want."
N: "You are capable of that?"
I: "Of course. Here we are. Home, sweet home. You can go ahead in and pick any of the rooms that you want down the hallway. The rooms off of the living room are Mine and Kakashi's and Gaara's, but there are four more to choose from. And don't worry about the contents of the room, I can move everything easily with a teleportation jutsu. Pick whichever one you like, I mean it. Looks like Kakashi is showering in the master bathroom. I wonder where Gaara went. He's usually home by now. Anyways, come back out when you've decided and if it's a room that's already furnished then come out when you have settled yourself in. I'll just be making dinner."

N: "Thank you. I will have a look now so that I can just put my stuff directly into my room."

A little while later, Kakashi came out of the room and I told him about Neji. Let's just say that while he wasn't exactly unhappy about my spontaneous will to adopt another child into our family, he was not very thrilled either. He is worried about being able to sustain ourselves with another mouth to feed on our current income with me still not being allowed to do a lot of missions and the ones I do are usually C rank or below because the Hokage is still weary of sending me on anything that may get me kidnapped again (with it being only a few months since my return, she's worried that I may still be targeted). But, anyways, when I told him that Neji was Guy's genin, he heaved a big sigh and pretty much dropped the subject. And while we were having such an intense, quiet discussion, it occurred to me that Gaara was still not home.
I: "Kakashi, where's Gaara? Was he called for by the Sand? It's not like him to be out this close to dinnertime."
K: "He wanted to stay in the forest at the park. He didn't say anything else."
I: "Well he's not exactly a social butterfly, but I suppose he is capable of taking care of himself, should anything happen. Oh, hey, Neji. Did you find a room that you like?"
N: "Yes. I ended up choosing the first one on the left. The one with the desk in it."
I: "That's a great choice. If the desk bothers you we can move it. We would probably have to move it to the crawl space because my 'office' already has a desk in it."
N: "Actually, I don't mind the desk. If it's alright, may I keep it in there? I just like to have someplace to study different things. I don't like to study on my bed, it makes me feel lazy."
I: "Oh, I don't mind at all. Would you mind helping to set the table? Usually Gaara handles that task, but for some reason he is out late tonight. After dinner, we can take care of that mark on your head if you want."
K: "You learned how to undo curse marks? Since when did you learn that?"
I: "Oh, Kashi. While you are out completing missions day in and day out, what do you think I do in the meantime? I study and learn, of course. None of my time is wasted. I want to make sure nothing happens like it did six years ago. I have learned to do all sorts of things in the past three months."
K: "Sheesh. How am I going to keep up? You may be able to actually beat me in a match if I am not careful." *To Neji* "As of this day, every match between the two of us has ended in a stalemate. We can't get the better or worst of each other even while trying. Maybe one day you'll get to witness a match between us."
I: "Haha! I am starting to get used to using my kashitokoi. It still comes and goes as it pleases though. It's kind of annoying. Maybe we will have to spar one day soon since the only excitement I am allowed to have right now is within the village gates. Dinner is finally done and on the table!"
K: "Looks great as always. Thank's Iz. Oh, if it isn't Gaara. It's not like you to skip out on dinner prep."