Lesse…before I go into the actual Japanese information that I had planned for this episode, let me explain something that will cover this entire chapter…the Japanese Bath House. Warning the next few paragraphs contain slight spoiler content.
During the Feudal Era everything was done by rules, regulations and tradition. Nobles were expected to act a certain way at all times in public. In general it was a horrible pain in the rear because they ALL had to make sure they kept a specific mask on that everyone expected due to station and place. However, there was a reprieve to this constant mask…the bath house. What happened in the bath house stayed in the bath house. You could say and do all kinds of things in the bath house merely because it was a place to "let off steam" so to speak.
Now, one might say that Neji in the bath house should still be cold to Naruto. I disagree. There is a 3 year separation between part 1 and part 2 of Naruto. When Naruto returns Neji is at least semi-friendly to Naruto. This would elevate Naruto from "some idiot" status to "acquaintance…but still and idiot" status with Neji. Then we go through the rest of the Naruto series. I would think by the end of the actual series Naruto would go from "aqaintance" to "decent shinobi" in Neji's eyes.
Now we take another year between the series to the start of this story. That's an entire extra year of working and at least talking to each other on occasion, maybe even working with each other at times. So at this point in public Neji reacts to Naruto as a "dependable shinobi with entertaining moves. An excellent distraction that won't be killed" though this would be the first time Naruto would actually know that Neji considers Naruto a friend.
Hey…it makes sense to me! Will it seem OOC? Yeah probably, but everything need to be taken in perspective. Remember that situations like this will only get worse! After all, I'm covering parts of the Hyuuga family that were never covered in the manga to my knowledge.
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Anywho. Now it's time for one of my favorite subjects! Mythology! I'll give just the basic amount of info here, if anyone wants me to explain more on a monster, let me know and I'll be glad to explain a monster in greater detail later.
Bakemono: Simply translated, these are the Japanese version of goblins. Not too bright, but pretty strong, the bakemono attack like dogs. Not really something to mess with on a bad day.
Kappa: A group of small malevolent turtle-things. Kappa are known to be excellent martial artists. Still, the Kappa are an unpredictable group of creatures. Sometimes they are polite and at other times they will attack without warning. Traveleers are warned to beware of the kappa.
Oni: While often translated as demons, Oni are actually ferocious spirits that tend to use strength or magical ability to terrorize the people of the land. This being said, they don't have a common look. Oni come in widely differing shapes and sizes, but as said before, your average Oni just sees humans as edible playthings.
Spirit Folk: Unlike Oni, the spirit folk are relaxed and often happy to help humans. They come in all the diversity of humans and many come close to the human ideal of beauty.
Tengu: There are conflicting legends about the Tengu. Still, the most prevalent say that the Tengu are the forfathers of the martial arts. They are scholars and teachers helping those humans that they deem worthy of their attention.
Kitsune: These fox spirits are playful and mischevious. They enjoy games and matching wits with others. Typically a kitsune will have an entire prank thought out several moves in advance just in case. These spirits have an insatiable curiousity that leads them into trouble combined with the fact that many are overly bold.
Tanooki: A malicious shapechanging spirit whose natural form is not unlike that of a raccoon or a red panda. The Tanooki enjoys pranks, but the pranks do not end good naturedly. Legend tells of Tanooki coming accoss a woodcutters house and killing the family. Tanooki then shapechanges into the wife and cooks dinner. Then as the woodcutter is dying of poison in the food Tanooki changes to its natural shape and gleefully tells the woodcutter of the entire prank.
Orochi: A giant multi-headed snake, the Orochi is known for being dangerous and unpredictable. Typically this creature lives deep under the water until disturbed or hungry and then attacks.
Next time….more of the spirits. There's TONS of them.
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The Hyuuga Way
Chapter 9
Bathhouse
Aaaaah! The morning bath was truly one of Neji's most favorite things. It gave him time to relax and contemplate the day in a way much different than meditation. He dearly loved the Hyuuga family bath house. It was just right for him to appreciate the architecture and that wasn't even the best part! The side with the fish statue that gave a small waterfall was perfect for his shoulders. They got really sore, not that he'd complain about it anywhere but the bath house.
However, he'd have to enjoy that in a little bit. Right now, he had a bit of work to do. Ah well, it could be much worse right?
Neji gestures to a couple of seats by one wall, "Ok Naruto-kun. I'll run you through what you need to do for the baths. I heard you were scrubbed last time, so this will be slightly different. Take a seat and grab a bucket."
Naruto slowly complies, wary of the suddenly friendly Neji. Some things just didn't make sense no matter how he tried to look at it.
Neji picks up one of the buckets and fills it full of warm water before dumping the contents of the bucket over his head, "Anyway, I hope you got a good night sleep. I didn't really want to talk about this with you last night otherwise you might not have gotten any sleep at all."
That sickening feeling was starting to invade Naruto's stomach once more. Still, he could push it away, especially after he dumped the water over him and found it slightly on the cold side.
Neji smirks as he looks over to Naruto, "Do I at least have your attention now?"
The now quite cold Naruto nods his head, "What the heck was that for?"
Neji shrugs as he dumps another bucket of water over himself, "For the fun of it actually. You should have seen you face. Priceless."
Naruto fills his own bucket again, this time with warmer water, "I'll get you for that…"
Once more, Neji smiles, "Good. It's been far too long since the village has seen one of your pranks. I was starting to think the village was getting boring."
"Huh?" Naruto asks as he dumps his bucket over him.
Neji grabs a small piece of cloth to cover this propriety and heads for the bath, "Come on Naruto-kun. You didn't honestly think that we didn't get a laugh out it. Our family was laughing about your painting the Hokage statues for a week. It really was pretty funny. I kind of miss it actually."
Naruto shakes his head. Weren't they supposed to be talking about the whole wedding thing? Quickly he picks up his own towel, if one could really call it a towel and not a scrap of cloth.
Slowly, Neji sinks into the hot water. He really did enjoy the relaxing nature of the hot water. All was good as long as he didn't fall asleep in the water. After all, it was really hot! The one time he'd made that mistake, he'd looked like a cooked lobster the rest of the day. "So, are you going to say anything or am I going t just hear myself talk?"
Finally, Naruto gets into the large tub. It was hat, but not unbearably so. Still, he doubted he could sit in the water for over 10 minutes, "Um…I thought we were going to talk about the whole wedding thing. When I mentioned it to Hinata-chan she fainted."
Neji sighs, "Business already? I was hoping to relax a bit first. I really don't get much of a chance to just talk with anyone my age."
Naruto tilts his head, "Really? What about Lee-kun?"
Neji quickly shakes his head, "There's no way I'm getting anywhere near an onsen with Lee-kun. I really don't want to have to deal with any of his Springtime of Youth competitions that he might come up with there…" Neji shudders, just at the thought.
After a moment Naruto shudders, "Ok, I suppose you're right there…" He looks around, trying to find the soap.
"You won't find any soap or pumice over here. You don't scrub while in the onsen. Think about it. You've got about 50 people who use this hot spring each day. Do you really want to sit in a spring filled with everyone's dirt?" Neji explains with a slight smile. He knew that would probably get Naruto.
Naruto makes a small face, "I get your point…"
Naji shakes his head, "Don't worry about it. You didn't know and I can't hold that against you…well I could, but I won't."
Naruto scratches his head. Ok, he could tell that Neji wasn't joking about being honest, but it still wierded him out a bit. It was like…Sasuke not being a stuck up jerk. It wasn't supposed to happen right?
Neji moves over to the fountain to let the water run over his back, "You know, it's nice to not have to worry about being the prodigy of the Hyuuga family once in a while. That's why I wanted to talk to you here. All the expectations and everything, they just don't matter in the bath house"
Naruto frowns. That wasn't the Neji attitude he knew either, "What do you mean? You're a jonin, you get all kinds of cool missions, and everyone says you're the most powerful Hyuuga ever. You've got everything!"
Naji makes a face, "Yeah and I hate it, except the jonin part. I worked hard for that. Everything else is just expected of me. I do it because it needs to be done, but to be honest I hate a lot of it. It's really stifling at times." He looks at the door and then back at Naruto, "Remember, not a word of this leaves the bath house."
Naruto nods. He'd not had a talk with Neji like this since the chunin exams. It was like Neji considered him a friend and why not? They really weren't that different. If nothing was supposed to leave the bath house anyway, why not relax? Naruto nods, "Gotcha, not a word. I still want to know who is getting married."
Neji gives a shrug, "I can tell you that. I'm getting married first. At least, hopefully I'll be getting married in the next few months. It all depends. Still, I guess that doesn't answer why Hinata-chan fainted does it?" A smirk starts to cover Neji's face. Toying with people was a fun hobby, especially when he could use it his advantage.
Naruto shakes his head, growing slightly frustrated, "Not at all."
Neji stands and heads back to the stools, "Well, the fact is my own marriage hinges on Hinata-chan having her engagement approved. That leads me to a few other questions first. What do you think of Hinata-chan?"
Naruto frowns more deeply as he follows Neji. What an odd question. Still, what did he think of Hinata?
"It doesn't take that long Naruto-kun. You either like her or you don't." Neji comments impatiently.
Naruto shakes his head, "It's not that simple! I mean, I like her. Who wouldn't? Still…" A sense of vulnerability courses through Naruto. Some things he'd much rather not talk about. It would show far too much.
Naji waves off the explanation and reaches for the bucket, "I get it. Don't worry. The other question I have is…do you love her?"
Naruto falls off the stool he'd just sat upon, "What kind of question is that?"
After emptying the contents of the bucket over him, Neji turns to Naruto and says evenly, "A very important one. Now answer the question."
Sulking, Naruto picks himself and upends a bucket before scrubbing. After a few long minutes Naruto finally says, "I don't know, but if it's the love everyone else talks about…then no, I don't love her."
A broad grin crosses Neji's face, "Excellent. Then everything is fine."
Naruto whips his head to look at Neji, "Huh? What do you mean everything is fine?"
Naji shrugs, "Look. Everyone else goes on and on about love and how great it is. It's all a lie. Love is the single most dangerous thing for a ninja. It clouds your judgment. It keeps you from your duties. In the end you betray everything you know for something fleeting." He motions Naruto over, "Hey, can you get my back for a sec? I think Lee-kun hit a little hard in our last sparring practice."
Naruto nods as he moves to help out Neji, "Ok. I still don't get your point though."
A hand covers Neji's face, "Moron…Let me put it this way. If you had to make a choice between being Hokage or never seeing your friends again which would you do?"
Naruto frowns, thinking over the question, "Well, I really couldn't be a good Hokage if I didn't make sure my friends were doing well. Still, Hinata-chan wouldn't be happy if I gave up on being the Hokage either. I guess I'd just have to find a way to do both!"
Neji chuckles, "That's what I thought you'd say." With a smirk he continues, "So, what makes you think about Hinata-chan over other girls?"
"Well, she's been a really big help with learning all the etiquette stuff. I'd never have been able to do that on my own. Sakura-chan and Ino-chan would have given up a long time ago on teaching me." Naruto explains.
Neji hides his grin. He'd finally been able to make Naruto relax. Now it was time to get some good information, "True, but that doesn't explain why you hang out with her now when you used to hang all over Sakura-chan."
Naruto sits back on the stool and goes back to scrubbing with pumice, "Sakura-chan is a good friend. I still like to embarrass her from time to time. Hinata-chan is just fun to be around. Not to mention her chakra reserves…"
Neji raises a brow as he looks over to Naruto, "Chakra reserves?"
Blushing, Naruto mentally curses himself. That would slip out wouldn't it? Ah well, he could still blame Ero-sennin. He moves his hands as if holding two melons to his chest, "You know…chakra reserves. They're…um…kinda hard to miss in Hinata-chan. I don't think she's noticed how tight her jacket is getting…"
Neji sits on his stool. At motion Naruto had made, he'd gotten quiet. As Naruto explained, Naji had crossed his arms and bowed his head. Now, all that could be seen was Neji's body trembling. For a moment, Naruto was sure that Neji would attack right there.
Finally Neji makes an undignified snerk sound.
Naruto blinks. That was an odd sound to hear out of Neji. There was a squeek too. What the…
Unable to contain it, Neji finally lets loose in gales of laughter, "Chakra reserves! That's a good one." Although still mostly controlled, Neji couldn't help but let his entire body show his mirth, "I'm definitely going to have to use that one later. Chakra reserves…"
Blushing, Naruto shakes his head, "It's not funny! Hinata-chan would think I'm some sort of pervert or something!"
Naji stops and looks at Naruto. He really had no clue did he? It was too much; Neji succumbs to the laughter once more. Just this once more, then he'd tell him.
Naruto crosses his arms, "You're a jerk you know that?"
Naji calms down once more, getting up to head into the bath again, "Yeah I know. Anyway, I really don't think Hinata-chan would mind you being a bit of a pervert. It's actually kind of expected. We're guys. Just don't start being like Jiraiya-sennin and it will all work out."
Naruto shakes his head, not quite sure he'd heard Neji properly.
Neji grins and continues, "Besides, it's only right that a guy think that way about his future wife."
Naruto stops, processing the information. Wait a second. Hinata would mind him being a pervert because she would be his wife. That meant he was going to marry Hinata? "WHAT?" Naruto yells, not bothering to be polite about it. Why hadn't he been told earlier? Who was the one who made the decision? So many questions ran through his mind.
Neji turns and reaches out for Naruto to pull the blond into the tub, "You calm down and listen to me right now or I swear we'll have to clean your blood off these walls. You can rant and complain all you want when Tsunade-sama tells you, but right now I want you to shut up, listen and think. You got me?"
Naruto blinks and then nods, ready to go back to sulking immediately.
Neji smiles and drops Naruto into the water, "Good." Neji moves back to his relaxing spot to speak, "I realize it's not something that you probably want. You've got all these thoughts about how it's not fair running through your head."
Naruto nods, leaning against the side of the bath.
"The simple fact is that out of anyone in the village you're the only one she wants to marry and the only one I'd feel safe letting her marry." Neji continues.
This was in interesting bit of information. Not enough to get him out off sulking, but definitely enough to catch his attention.
Neji sighs, "I've been Hinata-chan's bodyguard for almost 13 years now. I know the people in the village and I know Hinata-chan. Even after I told her about the Kyuubi she insisted that you and the Kyuubi were two different beings. When she wants to, Hinata-chan definitely has a way with words. Anyway, the fact is that "I" suggested you two be engaged and Hyuuga-sama agreed with my reasons. Now, you can either use that intelligence you have that you usually use for pranks and actually think about this information or you can prove to everyone that you're an idiot and think we're all out to get you." Neji's voice goes dark for a moment, "But I warn you if you prove that you're an idiot I don't have any tolerance for idiots. There won't be enough left of you or the Kyuubi to bring in front of Emma-O you got me?"
Gulping, Naruto gives a nod. Neji had this all planned? What the heck? It did kind of make sense though. Still, there was one question that was in him, "Why?"
Neji smirks, "Look Naruto-kun. You're a decent guy. You'll treat Hinata-chan well, have her best interests in mind, won't let anyone walk over her when she becomes the head of the family and like I said…she really likes you. She and the Hyuuga family will be stronger for it. The real question is; are you going to do this the loud way or the Hyuuga way?"
Naruto tilts his head, "What do you mean?"
Neji continues to smirk, "Well, you can complain and generally be annoying ending up with everyone being upset or you can do it the Hyuuga way, which would actually entail you being loud, obnoxious and generally annoying as well, but behind closed doors Hinata-chan would still know you care."
Naruto tilts his head back. It seemed to be an interesting idea. If he really thought about, how many other girls would actually want to marry him? Not to mention he could help out Hinata and Neji and most of the village by doing this. In exchange, they'd be helping him out too. Still, he hated to be forced into things, but Neji was allowing for that too.
After a long bit of thinking, Naruto looks up at Neji and smiles, "I'll do it the…"
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Garbed once more, Neji and Naruto both head into the main house for breakfast. The conversation now turned to jutsu vs. the Gently Fist. As they reach the meal room, Neji bows to Hiashi, "I hope you do not mind Hyuuga-sama. Uzumaki-san and I had much to talk about this morning."
Hiashi shakes his head, "It is acceptable. I have informed the Hokage that Uzumaki-san will meet with her this afternoon."
Naruto gives a small bow and joins the table.
Hinata stays quiet for a bit and then finally comments, "Neji-niisan, what were you and Uzumaki-san speaking about."
A very small smirk crosses Neji's lips, "Not much, although he did say that he admires your chakra reserves."
Naruto coughs on the piece of food he had just stuck in his mouth, his face gone fully red in the process.
Hinata reaches over to pat Naruto on the back to help him get over the coughing fit, seeing how nobody else at the table would help.
Yes, Hyuuga Neji was going to have a lot of fun now.
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Hmm…after 6 re-writes I'm still not quite sure about this chapter. It's missing something in my opinion but I reallyy couldn't tell you what. Of course, part of it could be that I'm attempting to show a side of Neji that is never actually covered in the Manga. I went through every resource I had to try and get a decent personality to the relaxed Neji. Maybe it's just my authors' paranoia. Still, I probably won't do this again any time soon. Two more plotlines and then we'll be to the actual dinner.
To be honest this section and the dinner are two parts that I've been wanting to do for a while. I just think what I typed doesn't do justice to what's in my head. Still it was an interesting chapter to write and I hope it's enjoyable.
Still, I'm sure quite a few people will be unhappy with my portrayal of Neji in this chapter. Actually, I like the relaxed, sarcastic, outgoing Neji. It's Naruto I didn't like in this chapter. I'm blaming too many things happening at once to the poor guy…that and the dark force monkies! And the man-eating octopus that live in the south seas! Curse those evil octopi…
Anyway, if you want to see what happens when I write a fight scene, go and look at the first chapter of Utsurou: Bring on the Storm. Otherwise, I'll see you all next week! Have fun!
Edric Loto
