I WISH THAT I OWNED NARUTO (BUT I DON'T)
Neji left his father's room and asked his assistant to start the funeral arrangements. Then he went to his room, showered, and left to find his friend Shikamaru. Though few people knew it, he was good friends with the lazy genius. Neji respected his intelligence, and often used him for a sounding board to discuss options when facing hard decisions for the clan.
He knew that if anyone could give him some advice about where to start looking for Hinata, it would Shikamaru. Not only did he need to find her, but there was the whole issue of her abandoning Kohona. Technically, she was a missing nin. When he found her, he would need a strategy for ensuring that she would not be arrested.
As he entered the Nara compound, he heard the familiar sound of Temari nagging his friend. He found it more than a little ironic that Shikamaru had married a woman that acted just like his mother. After all the times he had complained about how whipped his father was, and how he would marry a quiet and gentle woman, it was hilarious that he ended up with Temari. She was loud, a smart ass, and constantly had to get the last word in. She and Neji got along for Shikamaru's sake, but they did not like each other. He had been hoping that she would be gone, since he didn't feel up to engaging in one of their normal verbal insult matches. Well, it can't be helped he thought to himself as he knocked on the door. There was a thump and then someone cursed. A minute later the door was opened.
"What do you want?" Temari asked brusquely. She didn't look happy to see him. Of course, she never did.
"I need to speak to Shikamaru for a few minutes, is he home?" he asked. He knew that the man was home, since he had just heard him arguing with his wife, but they always played this game.
"No." Temari said with a sly look on her face. She started to shut the door in his face, but Shikamaru stopped her with his shadow possession technique. An annoyed expression crossed her face as she was forced to open the door for Neji to enter.
"Shika- you know I HATE it when you do that shadow thingy!" she growled at him.
"I have to do something when you start being troublesome, woman." he smirked at her as he released the jutsu. She bared her teeth at him, and them smirked back at him.
"Fine, you can make it up to me later." she purred to him as she left the room with a sassy sway to her hips. She paused in the doorway and winked at him over her shoulder. Shikamaru mumbled under his breath, and she laughed as she went back towards their bedroom.
"So what do you need, Neji?" he asked once she was out of sight. Neji filled him in on everything that he had learned the night before, and all the changes he had made to the clan because of it. Shikamaru was quiet for several minutes after Neji finished talking.
"So I guess you want me to give you some ideas about how to find her and how to keep her from being arrested for going missing, eh?" he asked tiredly. Neji just nodded at him. Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes. He settled back on the couch and put his hands into his 'thinking' pose. While he was doing this, Neji saw Temari hovering in the doorway.
"How much of that did you just hear?" he asked angrily.
"All of it. Shika- you don't have to do this." she said.
"Temari, Neji is my friend. I know you two don't like each other, but-" She cut him off.
"You don't understand. I already know where she is at. Now you just need to find a way to keep her out of jail." she told him with a smirk on her face. She laughed at the look of astonishment on their faces, which turned to a scowl when Neji grabbed her arms.
"You've known she was alive this whole time!" he shouted at her. He started to shake her, but was stopped by Shikamaru's jutsu.
"Neji, you have every right to be upset, but that's my wife you are abusing." he said coldly. He held the Hyuuga in place for another few seconds, then released the jutsu once he was sure he had gotten his point across. Neji stepped away from Temari and bowed to her.
"I am sorry Temari, but I need you to tell me what happened to Hinata." he said apologetically. He was slightly ashamed of himself for losing control like that. He returned to the chair he had been sitting in before he attacked her.
"I really don't like you. You are an arrogant jerk, and I don't see why Hinata likes you so much. Maybe she just gets off on abuse." she said cuttingly. Neji's cheeks flushed as he forced himself not give her a smart-ass answer in return. He knew that she was his best lead for finding Hinata, and she was vindictive enough to withhold the information he needed because of his actions. She waited to see if he was going to reply back, and when he didn't she gave him a smug little smile. I really hate this woman, he thought to himself.
"Well, considering the circumstances, I guess I will help you out. Wait a minute, I need to go get something you should see." She left the room and headed towards the bedroom again. Neji looked at Shikamaru accusingly.
"Hey, don't look at me like that. I didn't know alright. As a matter of fact, I think that I need to have a conversation with my wife and find out what else she is hiding from me." He said with anger in his voice just as she re-entered the room with a photo album. She winced and looked away from Shikamaru. That wasn't a conversation that she was looking forward to. She knew that he and Hinata had been good friends, yet she had deliberately concealed the truth from him.
"Please don't look at me like that, Shika. It wasn't my secret to tell, and she had her reasons. You'll understand once you see the pictures." She told him quietly, as she handed the photo album to Neji.
He opened it and was amazed to see a picture of a very pregnant Hinata sitting on a bench holding a bunch of flowers to her nose. He turned the page and there was Hinata, sweaty and tired, but obviously proud as she showed off the babies in her arms. The next page showed her chasing two young boys as they laughed in delight. After that was a picture of the boys by themselves, smiling at the camera. Neji sat there starring at the picture, his eyes tracing the features of their faces. He saw that one boy looked almost identical to him, while the other favored Hinata. Slowly, he reached out and touched the smiling faces, a tiny smile growing on his lips. He flipped through the rest of the album, discovering scenes from their lives. He was upset to see that Gaara was also featured prominently in many of the pictures. Finally, he looked up from the album and pinned Temari with an urgent glare.
"Why did she keep my sons from me? She should have come home!" he growled at her.
"Look, we found her six months pregnant, working in a little hospital on the outskirts of Suna. The boys and I forced her to come live with us, which she only agreed to once we promised to never reveal her existence to anyone from the Leaf. She told me that she was afraid that if she returned, either you would be killed and/or one of the twins would be taken from her and sealed. She decided it would be better to just stay 'dead' to protect everyone." she told him.
Neji looked back down at the pictures, his eyes lingering on the last one which showed the boys' fifth birthday party. He was silent for several minutes considering what Temari revealed to him. Yes, he could understand her reasons, but the knowledge that she had hidden not only herself but his sons from him was a bitter thing for him to accept. Had she moved on with Gaara? They appeared to be very close in the picture, almost like a family. He felt a sickening wave of jealousy rise up inside him. That was his women, and those where his boys! Gaara or no Gaara, they would coming home with him! He kept his head down as he focused on suppressing his feelings. When he felt a bit more in control, he looked up at Temari.
"What is Gaara's relationship to Hinata and the boys?" he asked bluntly. She smiled at him as she tried to decide whether or not to answer him honestly. She was very tempted to let him think that Hinata had fallen in love with Gaara in revenge for his actions towards her. She stalled until she could see that he was clenching his teeth in the effort not to yell at her. Serves the bastard right, she laughed to herself.
"They are just good friends. Gaara helps her out with the boys, since they are rambunctious and need a firm hand. To be perfectly honest, I think that he would jump at the chance to be with her, but she has never considered him in that light." She was pleased to see that her statement had both angered him and reassured him at the same time. She could admit to herself that she was every bit as contrary as Shikamaru said she was. She took pride in her ability to be 'troublesome'.
Neji handed the photo album to Shikamaru, and waited as his friend flipped through the pictures. After several minutes went by, the lazy man shifted into his thinking pose. Both Temari and Neji waited impatiently, but Shikamaru refused to be rushed. Almost a half an hour went by before he straightened and looked up at them.
"Okay, here is what we should do. First,-"
I love Temari- she is just such a fun character. I love her bad ass attitude. LOL