"My lord, Lords A and Orochimaru have been seen to their suites as well as their security details." Neji said kneeling before his uncle.

"What of the other lords?" Hiashi asked.

"Lord Yagura should be here by days end tomorrow, and Lord Rasa by mid day." Neji replied. He had been recalled, but had placed scouts all throughout the hold.

"My lord." Neji whispered, "It has also come to my attention that the Uchiha, and an entire contingency of Otogakure soldiers have been spotted camped not half a mile from town. The Uchiha scion has been spotted all over the city."

"Thank you my nephew. You honor your fathers memory." Hiashi said looking at the young man foundly.

"Thank you uncle." Neji bowed his head.

"You remind me of your father very much. Very strong, had a brilliant mind like yourself, and like you he was very serious." Hiashi responded fondly. "You should try and relax from time to time."

"Is that advice from my uncle or an order from my shogun?" Neji asked.

"Both." Hiashi replied bluntly, but unable to hold a small chuckle back afterwards. "You are dismissed my nephew. Double check the security, make sure it's tight, and then go get some rest. After tomorrow I doubt we will get very much for a while."

"Us?" Neji asked.

"We will be in the great hall until we can come to an agreement on an alliance." Hiashi explained. "You, Hinata, Bokushi, and myself will all be locked in with the other lords until we can set aside our differences."

"Hai. I will not fail you uncle." Neji said firmly.

"Of that I am sure my boy." Hiashi responded motioning with his hand that he was free to go.

After making his rounds around the compound and double checking on princess Hinata, Neji found himself sitting at a bar drinking sake with his close friend, Shikamaru Narra.

He was the heir to the Narra clan, one of two founding clans of Konoha that had survived this long, and the two had fought together many times. Both high ranking members in the Konoha army. If Shikamaru had been born a Hyuga, Neji had no doubt he could be the next Shogun.

He had a mind for warfare, able to out think and out maneuver any opponent. Neji had seen it play out time and time again.

His only flaw was his inherent laziness.

"Why must everything be so troublesome these days?" Shikamaru pondered aloud. "I'm just tired of the bureaucracy."

"Here's to a long and healthy life for both of us." Neji toasted.

"I'll drink to that." Said a playful voice behind him.

Neji turned around to find the young man Kiba from the inn flanked by the blonde samurai.

Neji noted Naruto had foregone his ceremonial armor and wore a black yukata, and Kiba was wearing a dark blue one.

They took the two seats next to Neji and tried to relax.

Naruto wasn't a fan of going anywhere without armor. He felt exposed and vulnerable.

"You two look like you're settling in nicely." Neji replied, "How is Konoha been treating you?"

"Can't complain." Naruto responded. "Steady work, good food, Konoha has always been good to me."

"How about you Kiba?" Neji turning all of his attention to the brown haired, young man.

Kiba couldn't help but get lost in those lavender eyes. It took Naruto elbowing him in the ribs to knock him out of his trance.

"It's been good. I haven't been here since I was a kid, It's a lot different but I have a good job as a laborer at the port." Kiba blurted out.

"How long has it been since the last time you were here?" Neji asked.

"Fifteen years ago." Kiba said quietly. "I was born here. The Inuzuka clan used to breed Konoha war dogs." He explained.

"I thought I recognized your last name." Neji exclaimed.

"I'm the last one." Kiba shrugged.

"They died heros." Naruto said putting his hand on Kibas shoulder. "We should all be so lucky."

"You're Naruto Uzumaki." Shikamaru deadpanned.

"I forgot to introduce you guys, sorry." Neji blanched.

"Shikamaru, this is Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki. I met them at the inn between here and Suna." Neji explained, "Naruto, Kiba, this is Shikamaru Narra, he's one of my best friends."

"Konnichiwa." Naruto said extending his hand to grip Shikamarus hand.

Shikamaru could only be impressed by the mans iron grip. The blondes intensity could knock a tree down.

Kiba waved but his eyes stayed glued to the Hyugas. It had been a few minutes and he hadn't realized he had been staring.

"It's not polite to stare you know?" Naruto whispered so only he could hear him.

Kiba responded by stomping on Narutos foot causing the much larger man to yelp drawing the attention of several other patrons including a pair of onyx eyes on the other side of the room.

As the night went on the four men begun to relax around each other and started to exchange war stories.

"So we had gotten reports that Kumogakure soldiers had been giving a village near the border a hard time, beatings, raiding their supplies, taking their livestock. It was a real shit show. So Lord Hiashi orders Shikamaru and I to take an entire regiment of soldiers and deal with the problem." Shikamaru started.

"We get there and half the village is burnt to the ground and the other half looks like a warzone." Neji added.

"Kumo soldiers are all over the place, maybe sixteen or seventeen guys." Shikamaru shrugged.

"They never expected two hundred soldiers to rain down on them in the act of raiding a village under Konohas protection." Neji snorted.

"They put up a half decent fight. Turns out we were fight what was left of the Kinkaku Force." Shikamaru exploded in laughter.

"I dont get it." Kiba responded. "What's the Kinkaku Force?" The young man half slurred.

"They were the 2nd Shogun of Kumogakures elite guard." Naruto responded. "Jiraiya fought Kinkaku and his brother once long before I was born. He said they were excellent swordmen."

"Very good Naruto." Shikamaru slurred. "After Lord A ousted the previous shogun of Kumo, Kinkaku attempted to start a rebellion." He explained.

"And A hired Jirayia to take care of them and he did. He killed both brothers and brought their heads back to A as proof." Naruto said. "The rest of them left Kumo, and they already told you the rest of the story." The blonde chuckled.

"How about that job we took out in Kirigakure?" Kiba asked in a desperate attempt to one up Nejis story.

"For Tazuna the bridge bulider?" Naruto asked.

"You know it." Kiba said slyly.

"Why does that sound so familiar?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well Yagura hired us to protect a bridge builder and do whatever we had to do to make sure the bridge was built. A local crime lord didn't like the idea to much and hired Zabuza Momochi to kill Tazuna." Naruto explained.

"Holy shit." Neji whistled. "The seven swordsmen of the mist are no joke."

"You're goddamn right their not." Naruto snorted. "I have the scars to prove it."

"Naruto and Zabuza crossed swords and fought for the whole day!" Kiba exclaimed.

"That's actually really impressive." Neji mumbled half drunk, and half in awe.

"Zabuza just needed some sense beat into him." Naruto snickered. "After a whole day of the two of us going at it full speed the crime lord that hired him showed up with a posse of thugs and told them to kill everyone, even Zabuza. So the two of us teamed up and when we were done Zabuza cleaved the poor bastard in two and I havent seen him since, and Id prefer to keep it that way."

"I don't think we can beat that one.." Neji deadpanned.

Kiba stuck his tongue out at the Hyuga and winked.

"It is getting late. I should get back to the compound." Neji said half heartedly. He honestly didn't want to go back. He quite enjoyed spending time with the young Inuzuka, even if Naruto had been glaring at him like an overprotective father throughout the night.

Shikamaru couldn't help but chuckle at their antics. He could already see Neji falling for the young man. It was written across his face plain as day.

But for the life of him he couldn't figure Naruto out. He prided himself in his ability to read people, but he wasn't sure if the blonde was honestly that hard to read, or if he should just blame it on the sake.

"Be safe." Kiba said firmly.

"Same goes for you." Neji teased.

"It was nice meeting you Uzumaki-san." Shikamaru said with his head resting on the counter of the bar.

"You as well Narra-san." Naruto nodded.

As the four men went their separate ways, Naruto and Kiba back to the apartment they shared, and Shikamaru and Neji back to their families compounds, Neji could feel that someone was following him.

"You know Hyuga. I did see that Inuzuka brat first." A voice spat at him from somewhere in the darkness surrounding him.

"Uchiha." Neji hissed. "Show yourself coward."

"All in good time Hyuga." Sasuke taunted. "By the way, that was a lucky shot the back at the tavern. You made me look like a fool in front of my men. You will live to regret that."

"You dont need my help doing that." Neji goaded hoping to draw the other man out from wherever he was hiding.

"I will kill you Neji." Sasuke said calmly. Not a hint of the rage bubbling just under the surface. "But before I do that, I'm going to destroy everything you love. You will watch everyone you have ever loved fall at the end of my blade "

"Good luck with that Sasuke. We both know you can't beat me in a sword fight." Neji responded.

"That's the thing I hate most about you Hyugas." Sasuke whispers as his voice faded off into the darkness. "Every one of you is as arrogant as a bull."

He waited for several minutes before continuing his walk to the compound. Having sobered up during the brief altercation with the Uchiha.

It was very late, so coming through the gate of the compound to his Hinata tending to the garden was quite the surprise.

"What are you doing up this late lady Hinata?" Neji asked trying and failing to not startle the timid girl.

With a yelp she looked up to find her old cousin.

"Hello Neji-niisan." She nodded. "Is everything all right? You look like you've seen a ghost?" She asked.

"Hai." Neji responded. "That's because I have my lady." he kneeled down next to Hinata. "The Uchiha is back in Konoha, and if the reports coming in are to be believed the signs all point to something very bad happening my lady. I do not like this. Not one bit." He said quietly yet firmly.

"Your concerns have been noted with father. I know he trusts your judgement cousin. We are well protected inside the compound and inside the city. No army in the land could mount an offensive to hit the compound head on. As much as I don't like Lord Orochimaru we only have to deal with him until we cement the alliance." Hinata replied.

"You are starting to sound like a true leader my lady." Neji said bowing his head.

"Thank you cousin." She said happily. "Come, we should try and get some rest. We will regret it tomorrow if we don't."

Neji stood up and reached out his hand and helped Hinata up. He walked with her in comfortable silence to her room.

"Good night my lady." Neji bowed.

"Good night Neji-niisan." Hinata yawned as she retreated into her room.