Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any properties in this work that I did not make myself.
Before the redemption
Chapter nine: Are you proud of me?
Neji Hyuga was at a training ground in Konohagakure one afternoon, practicing the movements for one of the Hyuga clan's techniques. He didn't move with quick thrusts, but rather he flowed in and out of the movements gracefully, as if he were flowing water; Neji's moving looked more akin to a traditional (not to mention beautiful) dance rather than practicing the movements for a technique.
Standing over near some throwing weapons targets were Neji's teammates on Team Gai, Rock Lee and Tenten. They had stopped midway through their own training in order to, for lack of a better way to put this, watch the show. Given that even Rock Lee, of all people, stopped midway through training just to watch someone else practice spoke volumes of the quality of Neji's own training, not to mention how much respect the Taijitsu master had for the Hyuga prodigy.
"Wow, Neji-kun," Rock Lee remarked, "Your form is flawless! You really are the genius that others say you are!"
Stopping in his movements, Neji turned to face his teammates. "It's nothing all that special, really," Neji remarked in a somewhat modest tone, "It's just the same old thing I've been doing for years now."
"That still doesn't make what you do any less amazing, Neji," Tenten said as she got up off from leaning against one of the throwing weapons targets and walked over to her jonin teammate. Stopping about a foot in front of Neji, Tenten continued, "I don't think I'd ever be able to dance as well as you."
"Again, years of practice," Neji replied, "And it's not dancing."
"Well you make it look like dancing, it's so amazing," Tenten said, "Seriously, though. I bet that I'd never be as good at actual dancing as you."
"Umm, thanks," Neji remarked, his eyes looking from Tenten's face to the ground at his left as a somewhat embarrassed blush appeared across his face.
"I bet your entire clan has nothing but praise for you, Neji-kun!" Rock Lee stated, "Any clan would be proud to have a genius like you!"
"I just do my duty to the main branch, same as any other member of the cadet branch," Neji said in as casual a manner as he could manage, which was something of a Herculean task given how much he was still blushing in embarrassment.
Hands on her hips, Tenten said, "Well Neji, you're loads better than that idiot Ko who is in your clan. Seriously, what the hell was your uncle thinking, putting Ko in charge of looking after a girl as kindhearted and downright adorable as Hinata?"
"I had actually asked Lord Hiashi that very question myself," Neji explained, "I asked him sometime shortly after the Konoha Crush ended, but right before that little challenge between Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei took place. (1) According to Lord Hiashi, he had actually wanted to assign this one maid our clan has, Natsu, to look after Lady Hinata. However, there was an incident around the time Lady Hanabi turned two, and as a result Lord Hiashi had to assign Natsu to look after Lady Hanabi instead, for reasons that Lord Hiashi didn't seem comfortable to want to discuss. So, I left the subject be."
"That still doesn't quite explain why a member of your clan who makes Sakura's uncle look smart by comparison got put in charge of looking after Hinata," Tenten remarked. (2)
"Lord Hiashi said that Ko was literally the only person available for the job," Neji continued, "Due to the lack of any other option, Lord Hiashi said he had to give the job to Ko."
"Didn't your uncle give Ko's job of looking after Hinata to you, Neji-kun?" Rock Lee asked.
"That was only a temporary arraignment, Rock Lee," Neji pointed out, "While Ko was on probation. Lord Hiashi had recently put Ko back on the job."
"I think that you should have been given the job permanently," Tenten remarked, "I mean, you're loads more competent that Ko. Besides, look at how far you've come from prior to our first go at the chunnin exams! Your attitude made a complete turnaround!"
Sighing in a resigned tone, Neji said, "Yes, yes, I know full well how I used to act. I cannot believe that I used to be so bitter, not to mention how much damage I did to Lady Hinata. I'm honestly both surprised and thankful I didn't make a lung collapse." (3)
"Not to mention lucky, Neji-niisan," a fairly young female voice called out, getting Neji and his teammates to turn around. As such, they saw Neji's cousins Hinata and Hanabi come walking up. It was Hanabi who had called out. "If you did do any serious damage to Onee-sama, you'd be on my brown list for life," Hanabi remarked. (4)
"Now Hanabi, Neji-niisan was in a very dark place at the time," Hinata said in a mildly scolding tone to her younger sister.
"With all due respect, Lady Hanabi is completely in the right for feeling that way," Neji said to his cousin, "Lady Hinata, what I did to you during our match in the chunnin exams is downright unforgivable. Which is why I'm surprised that you aren't holding it against me."
Shaking her head gently, Hinata replied, "You just needed someone to help get you out of that darkness, Neji-niisan."
"Like that blonde guy who kicked your butt," Hanabi said to her older cousin, drawing some good-natured chuckling from Rock Lee and some giggling from Tenten.
Sighing in a defeated tone, Neji said, "Yes, yes, like Naruto."
"Speaking of Naruto-kun," Rock Lee began, "A number of fathers tried asking him to marry their daughters, but all of those requests have stopped. Does this mean that Naruto-kun has finally picked some lucky girl to be his betrothed?"
"Well Shikamaru did scrap that list he was using to keep track of all of the marriage offers that Naruto was receiving," Neji replied in a knowing manner, "So I assume that Naruto did accept one of the offers, or at the very least is dating a girl." (5)
"Ah, I bet that whoever that girl is, she must be the luckiest girl in Konoha since she is with Naruto-kun," Rock Lee remarked.
Giggling cutely, Hinata said, "Well, I bet that whoever that girl is, she'd thank you for the complement. I also bet that the girl's father must be working himself up due to the fact that his daughter is going to get married soon."
"Well as the father of the bride, that is to be expected," Tenten remarked, "Fathers are notoriously overprotective of their daughters, after all." Regarding the two Hyuga girls with a questioning look, Tenten continued, "The two of you have heard of how Mr. Yamanaka treats Sai, right?"
"Just what exactly does Ino's father have against artistic guys?" Hinata asked rhetorically.
Shaking her head, Tenten said, "No one knows, Hinata. All I know is that Mr. Yamanaka is behaving just like any normal dad; a goofy yet well-meaning overprotective buffoon."
"Tenten has a point about dads being protective of their daughters," Rock Lee said, "In fact, dads are equally proud of their sons, if what I heard is correct."
Nodding in the affirmative, Tenten said, "Yeah, fathers are proud of their sons." Turning to face Neji, Tenten said, "In fact, Neji, I bet that your father would be proud of you if he was around to see you."
A small but sad smile on his face, Neji replied, "Yeah." Looking up into the sky, Neji continued, "I bet that he would."
Later in the afternoon, close to evening, Neji was walking through one of the streets in Konoha. The Hyuga prodigy was thinking about his late father, Hizashi Hyuga. Looking at his right hand, Neji opened and closed it slowly in an absentminded manner. A sad look on his face, Neji thought, "Would…would father be proud of me?"
"Well, well, well," a rough woman's voice called out, getting Neji's attention. Looking up, Neji saw that Pirate Inuzuka was just a few feet ahead. Neji did not know who Pirate was exactly; in fact, all that he knew about Pirate was that she was a member of the Inuzuka clan, and that's just because she had the traditional red fang facial markings on her face. "What's a member of the Hyuga clan's cadet branch doing," Pirate began in a mildly taunting tone, "Walking around Konoha with a somber look on his face? Don't tell me that someone in your faction of the Hyuga got their brain scrambled by that birdy curse mark on their head."
"I'll have you know I was just thinking about my late father," Neji replied with a scowl while speaking in an annoyed tone, "He gave his life back when I was four to save his loved ones." The scowl somewhat melting back into the somber expression Neji was wearing prior to running into the Inuzuka kunoichi, the Hyuga prodigy continued, "To save me."
"Mmm, is this related to those bastard Kumo bastards who tried giving the Hyuga a big middle finger a while back?" Pirate asked, a mildly confused look on her face.
"It is," Neji replied, "My father, who looked identical to Lord Hiashi, gave is life to serve as a decoy when Kumo demanded Lord Hiashi's body."
"Oh yeah, now I remember," Pirate remarked, "I think those bastard Kumo bastards were only playing nice with Konoha back then just so they can get into our village and try to take someone from your clan in order to get ahold of the Byakugan." Hands on her hips, Pirate said, "If it makes you feel any better, the Inuzuka clan is more steamed at those bastard Kumo bastards than we are at you guys." (6)
"Gee, thanks," Neji replied in a bemused tone, "Although I should warn you that my clan is still rather 'steamed' at the Inuzuka clan for the stunt that Kiba tried pulling during the Chunnin Tournament." Giving Pirate a mildly questioning look, Neji asked, "You belong to the Inuzuka clan, don't you? I don't suppose you know who Kiba is, do you?"
Right as Neji finished his first question, a look of realization mixed with consideration and planning crossed Pirate's face, but the look wasn't there long enough for the Hyuga prodigy to notice. "…All I know is that Kiba's ma Tsume is the leader of our little pack," Pirate replied, "Although if you ask me, I think that Kuromaru is the real brains of the operation." (7)
"I can't argue with that," Neji replied with an indifferent shrug.
"So back to the subject of yer pa," Pirate said, "You say that he gave his live to save those that he loved, did you not?"
"Yes," Neji replied with a small but growing hint of pride in his tone, "My father willingly gave his life so that-"
"They actually have you believing that load?" Pirate interrupted with a laugh, cutting the Hyuga prodigy off, "Oh, that is rich!"
Giving the Inuzuka kunoichi a questioning look, Neji asked, "What are you talking about?"
"It's clear that whoever sold you that load about yer pa 'willingly giving his life' was pulling the wool over your eyes," Pirate scoffed, "From what I've come to understand about your clan, the main branch can pretty much do whatever it wants to the cadet branch, whenever it wants. Those main branch stiffs must have forced yer pa into giving his life against his will."
"How dare you," Neji growled angrily, "I know for a fact that my father gave his life willingly. I was even given a hand-written letter he wrote explaining to me what he did and why he did it!"
Arching an eyebrow, Pirate remarked, "How do you know it was yer pa who wrote it?"
Neji was caught by surprise by the question that the Inuzuka kunoichi asked. "What do you mean?" asked the Hyuga prodigy.
"Do you have anything else hand-written by yer pa to compare the letter to?" Pirate asked, "How else would you know yer pa wrote that letter, and that the letter wasn't written by some random main branch member, only for someone to hand you that letter while claiming that yer pa wrote it?" Cracking her neck a bit, Pirate added, "Sounds pretty fishy to me, if ya want my opinion."
"And my opinion," Neji snapped in a defensive tone, "Is that you have no idea what you're talking about! Why would my father not want to give his life willingly?!"
"You," Pirate replied, drawing a surprised expression out of Neji while making him take pause. Straightening herself a bit, Pirate continued, "Why would yer pa want to buy the barn when he's got you to look after? No parent wants to die while they got a small child to look after."
"I was at the top of the list of people my father gave his live to save," Neji said angrily, "I'm still here because of him! Besides which, Konoha had no other choice if war with Kumo was to be avoided!"
"Is that what they told you?" Pirate asked, hands on her hips, "That there weren't any other options? I have heard that members of your faction of the Hyuga tend to act a bit cold towards the main branch stiffs, so tell me. Did yer pa have any negative feelings at all towards the main branch stiffs?"
"That's not…untrue," Neji admitted.
Smirking somewhat, Pirate said, "I knew it. The main branch stiffs used the Kumo chaos as a chance to off some troublesome cadet branch member that was being too uppity for their tastes. Then to smooth feathers out, they feed you some load about how yer pa 'willingly gave his life'." Scoffing, Pirate added, "And here the good folks of Konoha think that the Inuzuka clan are a bunch of savages."
Turning around, Pirate said, "I can see that you see some sense, but if I were you, I'd do a little digging for myself. See what the main branch stiffs are really hiding. Later."
As Pirate walked off, Neji just stood there, looking down at the ground. As much as the Hyuga prodigy hated to admit it, the Inuzuka woman had a point. Did his father willingly give his life to protect his loved ones, or did the main branch simply used an opportunity to get rid of a member of the cadet branch that they saw as a (potential) troublemaker?
It was then that Neji realized that the Inuzuka woman had another valid point. This was going to require some digging.
The following morning, Neji was in a storage room on the top floor of the Hyuga clan estate. The Hyuga prodigy remember being told that a box containing all of his late father's remaining earthly possessions was kept in this storage room. With this in mind, Neji figured that there might be something that his father wrote by hand in that box. Within two minutes of searching, Neji found the box he was looking for; it was sitting on top of a box that had 'Omiyo's things' written on the side.
Neji picked up the box and sat it on the floor of the storage room, then knelt down to open it. As Neji opened the box, he heard Hanabi call out, "Oh, fancy seeing you here, Neji-niisan." The Hyuga prodigy looked up to see the youngest of his two younger cousins walk into the storage room. A brown-haired boy who wore glasses had accompanied her, but Neji paid him no mind.
Sighing in a slightly exasperated tone (he did not really appreciate the interruption), Neji asked, "Is there anything I can help you with, Lady Hanabi?" The tone that Neji used was business-like and somewhat cool, like the tone he used to use prior to having some sense knocked into him by Naruto during the chunnin exams. But Hanabi, seemingly set on a goal, failed to pick up on the shift in her older cousin's tone.
"Oh, I told Udon that there was one of those beaded-math thingies in the box containing my mom's things," Hanabi explained, "You know, the beaded-math thingies that nerds used as a calculator in the old days before actual calculators existed."
"…You mean an abacus?" Neji asked, his new found (or rather newly regained) cool attitude momentarily replaced with one of complete bafflement and confusion.
"Yeah, that," Hanabi replied with a nod in the affirmative as she pointed to Neji in a commending manner.
"I wanna see if it's any cooler than the one I have at my place," Udon remarked.
Sighing, Neji jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "The box containing your mother's things should be behind me," Neji remarked as his newly regained cool attitude returned, albeit mixed with a bit of exasperation. As Hanabi and her guest went about their task, Neji resumed his. Looking into the open box containing his late father's possessions, Neji shifted around, looking for anything that may have been hand-written or at least has enough handwriting on it or in it to use for comparison purposes.
Soon enough, Neji found what appeared to be a small, personal journal. (8) Picking it up out of the box, Neji saw that it was a fancy, leather-bound journal that a man would normally keep. "Wow, it's one of those big, fancy numbers," Hanabi's voice could be heard speaking up from behind Neji.
"It looks pretty much like the one I own," Udon's voice remarked as Neji examined the personal journal he found. There was a sort of lock on the journal, not unlike what one would normally find on a young girl's diary. Neji tried and failed to find a key inside of the box that could be used to unlock the journal, but Neji figured that he could just pop the lock open by jabbing it with a screwdriver and ponding the end of the handle with a hammer. After returning everything else was he had taken out into the box, Neji took the journal and placed it in his ninja weapons pouch, closed the box back up, got up and left the storage room.
Later, in Neji's room in the Hyuga estate, Neji took the journal back out. Using a kunai instead of a screwdriver, Neji jabbed the point against the lock, popping the lock open. Setting the kunai aside, Neji opened the journal and read the first page his eyes fell upon. To the Hyuga prodigy's surprise, the entry that he read was talking about him;
Neji is coming along in his training quite well. Better than I could have hoped or anticipated. I once again curse that he had been born into the cadet branch, rather than in the main branch where talent such as his would not only be appreciated, but allowed to flourish.
Having kept the letter that his late father (supposedly) wrote to him, Neji took it out in order to compare handwriting. He saw, to his shock, that the handwriting in the letter was vastly different compared to that of his late father's journal. "This…this can't be," Neji thought as he closed his father's journal. Setting aside both the journal and the letter, the latter of the two apparently having been forged after all, Neji realized, to his shock, that the Inuzuka woman from earlier had actually been right.
"From what I've come to understand about your clan, the main branch can pretty much do whatever it wants to the cadet branch, whenever it wants. Those main branch stiffs must have forced yer pa into giving his life against his will."
Neji closed his eyes as bitter tears rolled down the sides of his face. He felt that he wasn't the genius that others say he is; otherwise, he wouldn't have been tricked as easily as he had been. As Neji sat on his bed, he heard a knocking at his bedroom door. "Oi, Neji," Ko's voice came from the other side of the door, "Lord Hiashi needs you to go find and pick up Lady Hinata." Opening his eyes, Neji's face became a certain, familiar scowl.
"…I'll get right on it," Neji called back in a cool tone.
At a cinnamon roll specialty shop located somewhere in Konoha, Hinata was getting something to eat with Sakura Haruno. The two girls were surprisingly close friends, with Sakura even feeling (and saying) that Hinata was her best friend. …But then again, Hinata had never said an unkind word to Sakura, nor did Hinata ever break off her friendship with Sakura in order to compete with her for the affections of a boy. Helping that last part is the fact that Sakura and Hinata both crushed on two completely different guys.
…Which is part of the reason why Hinata wanted to get a little bit of a lunch with Sakura; the Hyuga chunnin told the pink-haired chunnin that she wanted to get something off of her chest, and that she, her best friend, was the only person she felt that she could talk to while counting on her to keep what she said a secret.
"Congratulations, Hinata!" Sakura exclaimed as loudly as she dared, "I can't believe that your father would actually ask him, much less him accepting! This is the best thing ever!"
Squirming around a bit in her seat in an embarrassed manner as she blushed in a likewise manner, Hinata replied, "Th-thank you, Sakura. I'm honestly surprised that he'd actually accept my father's request. I'm still having trouble believing that he did accept my father's request." Looking down at the top of the booth's table, at the place where her large cinnamon roll sat, the Hyuga chunnin added, "That he…accepted…me."
"I see you've still got a bit of your old insecurity to shake off, Hinata," Sakura remarked with a knowing smile. Laying her right hand on Hinata's left shoulder in a comforting gesture, Sakura continued, "But hey, the guy you've been in love with since forever is going to be yours forever. That should be a confidence booster."
A small but sincere smile appearing on her face, Hinata looked up at her best friend. "…Thank you, Sakura," Hinata replied. As Sakura took her hand off of Hinata's shoulder, the front door of the cinnamon roll specialty shop opened, and Neji walked in. Seeing her older cousin walk in, Hinata waived him over.
"There you are," Neji remarked as he came up to where his younger cousin sat. Both girls had completely failed to pick up on the sudden coolness of Neji's tone. "Your father is looking for you, Lady Hinata," Neji said, "And had sent me to find you. It's best not to keep him waiting."
"Oh, okay," Hinata replied as she got up. Picking up the rest of her cinnamon roll, Hinata said to Sakura, "I have to get going, Sakura. Thanks again for talking to me."
"Take care, Hinata," Sakura said, "I'll catch you later." After the two girls said their good-byes to each other, Hinata took her leave with Neji.
As the two Hyuga clan members walked back to the Hyuga clan estate, Neji said, "Hey, Lady Hinata."
"Hmm?" the Hyuga chunnin replied, "What is it, Neji-niisan?"
"I was…just thinking," Neji remarked, "About the recent Chunnin Tournament."
"Yes, the Chunnin Tournament," Hinata said with a small smile, "It's really great that Naruto-kun won the tournament, and that he's now a jonin." Looking up from the ground to turn and face Neji, Hinata added, "Same as you, Neji-niisan."
"Mmm hmm," Neji replied in a neutral tone, "Naruto certainly put on quite a show. But then again, everyone else who competed did a good job at capturing the attention of those who watched the matches." Pausing for a few seconds, Neji added, "Kiba, in particular."
A mildly unsure look on her face, Hinata said, "Well, it's wouldn't be untrue to say that Kiba-kun got everyone's attention with the way he fought in his matches." Holding her right hand over her throat gently, Hinata continued in an unsure tone, "Kiba-kun certainly gave his all in the matches he fought in."
"It's a shame that such effort and skill hasn't been recognized," Neji remarked coolly, "Wouldn't you agree, Lady Hinata?"
"W-well, Neji-n-niisan," Hinata said nervously as she started to notice the cool tone that her cousin was using, "With all d-due respect, Kiba-k-kun was rather b-brutal in his matches." Looking a little sad, Hinata added, "Kiba-k-kun did almost k-kill me."
"You speak as if you're a stranger to the concept of nearly being killed in a combat tournament," Neji remarked casually in his cool tone. Giving his cousin a mild scowling glare, the Hyuga prodigy added, "Or have you forgotten?"
"Y-yes," Hinata stammered nervously, "You and I f-fought each other b-back during the ch-chunnin exams." Gulping nervously, Hinata said, "Y-you aren't still b-beating yourself up over w-what you did, are y-you, Neji-n-niisan?"
"No," Neji replied coolly, "I do not 'beat myself up', as you put it, over what I did to you back then." Straightening himself somewhat, Neji continued, "Although in regards to your match against Kiba during the Chunnin Tournament, I do feel upset."
Smiling in a somewhat relaxed manner, Hinata said, "Oh, I see. You're upset that Kiba-kun-"
"Didn't finish my job for me," Neji interrupted, cutting his younger cousin off while setting a degree of fear into her heart. Turning to face his cousin, Neji continued, "I'm even more upset that I actually played a part in keeping Kiba from doing so. I should probably send him an apology letter."
"W-what are y-you saying, Neji-n-niisan?" Hinata stammered nervously, her fear and worry steadily growing more and more by the second as she slowly took a step back.
Regarding his younger cousin with a glaring sneer, Neji said, "How does it feel to have been born into privilege? To have others serving and waiting on you? To have the freedom to lie to those same people for years on end?" As his Byakugan activated, Neji scoffed, "Feh. I bet that you think that it's a very good thing, Lady Hinata."
Before Hinata could ask Neji what was wrong, the Hyuga prodigy made a quick thrust at her with his left hand. Hinata was able to dodge the strike, and ran into an alleyway on her left, with Neji in pursuit. Hinata found an open doorway along the side of a building in the alleyway, and discovered, upon running through the doorway for safety, that she was in an unoccupied factory warehouse, seemingly abandoned.
"What has gotten into Neji-niisan?" Hinata thought worriedly as she breathed hard to catch her breath, trying and failing to calm her nerves. The Hyuga chunnin knew full well that she would not be able to hide from her cousin; being a Hyuga same as Hinata, Neji had the Byakugan, which allowed him to, among other things, see through obstacles. (9)
Panic making her mind race, Hinata quickly looked around in the factory room she was in. looking up into the air, Hinata saw a suspended metal walkway, connected to a second-floor office room. Jumping up onto the metal walkway, Hinata quickly ran to the office room. Sighing in relief that the door was unlocked, Hinata opened the door, ran inside, closed the door behind her, and started shoving various furniture in front of the door in a make-shift barricade.
After having shoved the large desk that was in the office in front of the office door, followed by shoving the two-seater sofa that was also in the room right up against the desk, Hinata sat on the floor in the upper right corner of the office room (if you're just walking into the office). As she sat on the floor, Hinata breathed quickly in panic; her heart nearly leapt into her throat when she heard Neji's voice angrily call out, "I know you're in this factory somewhere!"
Shivering in fright, Hinata quickly reached into her weapons pouch to pull something out; it was a three-pronged kunai that had some writing on the handle. Gripping the handle of the three-pronged kunai, Hinata focused her chakra into her hands as she thought, "Please work, please work, please work, please wo-"
"NEJI!" the familiar voice of Sakura Haruno screamed angrily from outside, getting Hinata's attention. Hinata listened carefully as she continued to focus her chakra to her hands.
"What are you doing here?" Neji's voice could be heard scoffing.
"I was trying to catch up to you and Hinata since Hinata forgot her bag back at the cinnamon roll place and I was trying to return it to her," Sakura's voice could be heard explaining in an angry tone, "As I ran to catch up to you guys, someone told me that he saw one member of the Hyuga clan chase another into an alleyway, then pointed me in the right direction when I had asked. I saw you running around this abandoned factory from an open doorway in the alleyway, so I came in after you." After a second of silence, Sakura's voice continued, "Where's Hinata?"
"That is none of your business," Neji's voice scoffed.
"LIKE HELL IT ISN'T!" Sakura's voice exclaimed, and not two seconds later, the sound of something large, heavy and solid being destroyed could be heard. After a few more seconds, Sakura could be heard going, "URK!"
"Relax," Neji's voice could be heard sneering in an indifferent tone, "I just jabbed your stomach. Although you'll still be out of commission for roughly twenty-four hours." A few seconds later, Neji's voice said, "Now then, where is…Ah, in that office room." A few more seconds later, Hinata jolted when she heard someone trying to open the door, only to fail because of the makeshift barricade she had set up in her panic. "If you think a bunch of furniture can save you," Neji's voice shouted from the other side of the door, "Then you're nowhere near as smart as anyone has ever given you cred-"
Neji was cut off when the sound of all of the metal walkway being torn up and out of foundations sounded from the other side of the door; the tearing of the metal walkway was followed by the roaring of a large and angry beast. Peeking through the window of the office room that allowed one to look into the factory room, Hinata saw a gigantic nine-tailed fox in the factory. Being at least as big as massive summoning familiars such as Gamabunta, the nine-tailed fox was seemingly made of chakra that glowed brightly in a yellow-orange color, save for intricate black markings all over its body.
Opening the window that she was looking out of, Hinata peeked out to get a better look at what was going on. Looking down to the floor of the factory, Hinata saw that her berserk cousin was lying face-up on the factory floor, pinned to the floor by the front right paw of the massive fox. Taking a closer look at the massive fox itself, Hinata saw that Naruto Uzumaki, her fiancé, was floating roughly in the middle of the fox's head; the blonde jonin had a clearly unconscious Sakura slung over his right shoulder.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, NEJI?!" Naruto exclaimed as he glared angrily down at the factory floor, "WHY WOULD YOU ATTACK SAKURA LIKE THIS?!"
"S-she got in the way of clan business," Neji coughed out as loudly as he could as he struggled under the pressing weight of the chakra fox's right front paw, "I just knocked her out is all."
"Clan business?" Naruto repeated in a confused tone. Realizing almost instantly what Neji was talking about, Naruto pressed on, applying more pressure to the paw that kept Neji pinned; although it was just a little bit more pressure, size differences between Neji and the chakra fox made the very slight change seem like a very vast change. "Where is Hinata?" Naruto demanded angrily in a worried tone that had more than just a hint of panic.
"I said it's c-clan business," Neji coughed out once again as he continued to struggle under the weight, "Why should I-"
"ANSWER NARUTO'S QUESTION, HUMAN!" a male voice that was vastly different from Naruto's voice bellowed angrily at Neji, cutting off the pinned Hyuga prodigy; from where she hid, Hinata realized that it was the chakra fox itself that had shouted. Hinata then realized that the chakra fox was actually a physical form that Kurama, the nine-tailed demon fox which was sealed within Naruto, can assume thanks to working hand-in-hand with his host. "ANSWER HIS QUESTION!" Kurama bellowed, "WHERE IS THE GIRL?!"
"Naruto!" Hinata called out as she peeked through the open window of the office room. Kurama's head turned in the direction Hinata's voice came from, and as such Naruto saw Hinata in the open window of the office room, waiving at him. With his free hand, Naruto reached into a weapons pouch and pulled out a three-pronged kunai with writing on the handle, then gave Hinata a knowing smirk.
"Why didn't you just use your phone to call me?" (10) Naruto asked, a vast amount of relief on his face and in his tone as he put the three-pronged kunai away back into his weapons pouch.
"It's in my bag, which I left at the cinnamon roll place where Sakura and I were eating at a few minutes ago," Hinata called out, "I think I heard Sakura say something about trying to return my bag to me."
"You want I should crush this human?" Kurama offered the Hyuga chunnin.
"I'd…rather you didn't," Hinata replied to the tailed beast, "Neji-niisan just needs someone to help him out of the darkness that he's fallen back into."
"Can I at least kill his female teammate?" Kurama asked.
"W…what?" Hinata replied in a dumbfounded tone.
"Kurama, we are not going to kill Tenten, no matter how many times you ask," Naruto said from within the chakra fox's head.
"Oh, come on!" Kurama exclaimed.
About thirty minutes later, everyone was sorted out; Sakura was at her family's home, resting in bed, and Hinata was in a den room in the Hyuga clan estate, watching a fantasy movie about an alliance of elves, dwarves and humans fighting an evil army. (11) Naruto, who was alarmed about the danger that Hinata was in earlier, was sitting right next to Hinata on a loveseat in the den, keeping her company.
As for Neji, he was sitting on the side of his bed in his room, with a stern-faced Hiashi standing before him. "…Normally," Hiashi began in a neutral tone, "If someone from our clan's cadet branch tried to harm someone from our clan's main branch, I would have punished that cadet branch member by activating the seal on their forehead." His expression becoming somewhat grim, the Hyuga lord continued, "Even if it's you that has to be punished."
When Neji just turned his head to face his left, unwilling to look his uncle in the face, Hiashi continued, "However, I am electing not to trigger the curse mark on your forehead, partly because of what I heard Naruto did to restrain you, but mostly because Hinata had specifically asked me not to do so."
"Wow, and here I thought that what I heard about the main branch being generous was a lie," Neji remarked in a mildly sarcastic tone.
Sighing in a resigned tone, Hiashi looked at his nephew with a defeated expression; it is not every day that the expression of the leader of the Hyuga clan could be described as 'looking defeated'. "Why, Neji?" Hiashi asked in a tone that resonated mildly with regret, "Why would you do something like this?"
"Why would YOU lie to me all these years?!" Neji snapped back, getting up to his feet.
"Lie to you?" the Hyuga lord repeated in a confused tone, "What are you talking about?"
In response to his uncle's questioning, Neji turned to face his nightstand and pulled it open, removing the journal that he had found in the box of his father's belongings earlier. "I found this journal in the box that contains my father's belongings," Neji explained with a bitter scowl on his face, "I managed to undo the lock so I could open it and compare the writing inside to that on the 'letter' I was given."
Looking at the journal that his nephew held, Hiashi remarked with a confused expression, "How did my old journal get into the box containing my late brother's belongings?"
"Your journal?!" Neji snapped, "What do you mean your journal?!"
Gently taking the journal from his nephew, Hiashi opened the front cover, turned the journal around, and showed Neji the inside of the journal's front cover; the name 'Hiashi Hyuga' was written in the upper left corner of the inside of the front cover. Seeing this, the Hyuga prodigy was momentarily dumbfounded. "Why were you even looking through that box in the first place, Neji?" Hiashi asked, his curiosity slowly beginning to outweigh all other emotions the Hyuga lord was feeling at the moment.
"I had reason to believe that the letter I was given was forged," Neji spat bitterly as he got over his dumbfounded feeling, "That it was a part of some elaborate scheme by the main branch to placate me." Glaring at his uncle, Neji continued, "I'm ashamed to admit that the scheme had worked. At least until that woman had helpfully pointed out the flaws in the main branch's scheme to placate me, that is."
"Woman?" Hiashi repeated in a confused tone, "What woman?"
"An Inuzuka clan kunoichi," Neji explained, "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Hiashi remarked as he face-palmed, "You do know how most Inuzuka clan women have been acting towards the Hyuga clan as of late, don't you? How their influence on Tsume's son led him to try to kill Hinata?"
"What of it?" Neji asked casually, his arms crossed.
"You actually listened to that woman?" Hiashi asked, "You actually listened to a woman who clearly had a vendetta against the Hyuga clan? What else did she say?" Realizing that his uncle may actually have a valid point, Neji went on to describe the conversation he had with the Inuzuka kunoichi from earlier. By the time that he finished describing the conversation he had, Neji realized that the Inuzuka kunoichi had actually manipulated him.
"What did this Inuzuka kunoichi look like?" Hiashi asked.
"I remember that she was roughly as tall as Kiba's mother," Neji described, "But her hair was much longer. I'd say about fifty percent longer. I think that her hair was also a different shade of brown, probably lighter, but I don't quite remember. Although I do remember the red fang markings on her face looked a little wider than what's standard for the Inuzuka clan."
"That will do for now, Neji," Hiashi replied with a sigh, "I'm going to look into this whole mess, and get to the bottom of everything. In the meanwhile, I want you to stay here and think about what you've done. Being manipulated by a woman that has a vendetta against the Hyuga clan is no excuse for you to try and kill my first-born daughter."
After the Hyuga lord left him alone in the room, Neji sat back down on his bed, his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. Neji couldn't believe what he had done, or rather had tried to do. He also couldn't believe what he had said to his cousin while he had temporarily slipped back into his old hostile personality. Shaking his head, Neji knew what he had to do, once his uncle came back and allowed him to leave the room.
Later that evening, Neji had been retrieved from his room by Hiashi, who admitted mild surprise that Neji actually followed the instructions of staying in the room right down to the letter. When Hiashi led him out into a main room, Neji saw that Harold Fisher and Inoichi Yamanaka were both standing there. "Hiashi, I request your permission to kick your nephew in his coin purse," Harold said.
"What?" Hiashi remarked with a confused look on his face, "Harold, no."
"He jabbed my niece in the stomach with his Hyuga magic," Harold pointed out, "My right foot desires to score a critical hit!"
Sighing, Hiashi said, "I brought you and Inoichi here so that the two of you can tell Neji things from your point of view."
"What are you talking about?" Neji asked as he turned to face his uncle.
"Neji," Inoichi began, "This may surprise you to learn, but Harold and I were both present for the meeting to discuss the demands that the Land of Lightning were making back when your uncle killed the Kumo head jonin when he and a bunch of Kumo ninja visited Konoha to discuss a possible peace treaty." Sighing, Inoichi said, "You better get comfortable, Neji, because this one is quite the doozey…"
(FLASHBACK)
"This…this cannot be happening," Inoichi said in a shocked tone as he and Harold stood among members of the main and cadet branches of the Hyuga clan, along with Hiruzen Sarutobi and some other members of Konoha government. Standing roughly in the middle of the meeting were Hiashi and Hizashi, the latter having some white cloth wrapped over his forehead.
"Inoichi is right, Hizashi," Hiashi said to his younger twin brother, "You don't have to do this. You shouldn't have to do this."
"I have made up my mind, Hiashi," Hizashi replied in a tone of acceptance, "If doing so will protect those who I love, then I will gladly serve as your body double."
"But Hizashi," Hiashi began, "What about your son? What about Neji?"
A small smile on his face, Hizashi said, "Well then, Hiashi, I guess that you had better keep an eye on him for me."
"This…no, this shouldn't have to be done," Hiashi remarked as he stepped forward, "I cannot rightfully send my own brother to his-" Hiashi was cut off when Hizashi rushed forward and struck him in his gut. "H…Hizashi…" Hiashi said in a mildly somber tone as he fell over onto the floor.
As the older twin struggled to get up, Hizashi said, "If I let you have your way, then not only will I lose my brother, but I will also lose all of my loved ones, not to mention the village that I love. Hiashi, please. This is for the best." Turning to his side, Hizashi continued saying to his older twin brother, "Do me a favor, Hiashi, and make sure that you tell Neji why I've done this. Don't forget to make sure that you also hand him that letter I wrote, alright?"
"You're more of a man than the rest of our group combined, Hizashi," Harold remarked in a mildly somber tone as he gave Hizashi double thumbs-up, "Top kek, man. Top kek."
"Harold's got a point, dude," Inoichi remarked, "At least have one more Pape Konoha's with Harold, Tsume, Kuromaru and me before you do this."
"As much as I would love to knock back one final cold one with you guys," Hizashi replied, "Time is of the essence in this matter. But if you bros could do me a solid and help Hiashi keep tabs on Neji for me, that would be wicked."
With tears in their eyes, Harold and Inoichi both saluted Hizashi. "You can count on us, my good man," Harold replied.
"You're leaving your son in good hands, Hizashi," Inoichi said as he agreed with the point that Harold had made, "And if I am wrong, then may your son and Tsume's son both attempt to kill your niece at some point." (12)
"I hope that doesn't happen," Hiashi muttered weakly as he just managed to get to his feet. …Only to be knocked back over onto the floor by Hizashi one second later.
"Stay down for this, Hiashi," Hizashi remarked, "It'll save so much trouble in the long run." As he laid on the floor, Hiashi watched as Hizashi was led away by some Hyuga clan elders, Hiruzen, Harold and Inoichi. "You know, bros," Hizashi said to Harold and Inoichi in a causal conversational tone as they all walked, "If Neji does try to kill Lady Hinata at some point, I hope he goes for her lungs. You know, to be original."
(FLASHBACK OVER)
"Your father, like Inoichi, Tsume, Kuromaru and myself, was a fellow bro," Harold said to the Hyuga prodigy, "But the sacrifice that he made for those that he loved proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was a true bro, a true man." Inhaling and exhaling, the pink-haired jonin said to Neji, "He was a man that anyone would be proud to have as a father."
"And a man that any other man would be proud to have as a brother," Hiashi remarked with a somber nod. Turning to face Neji, Hiashi said, "Harold and Inoichi do not lie, Neji. Your father did in fact willingly choose to give his life to save everyone that he held dear to his heart. And you, Neji, were at the top of that list." Sighing, Hiashi remarked, "The fact that Kumo has been acting up more and more as of late is just further besmirching the sacrifice your father made."
"Not…" Neji began slowly, "…As much as I have, Lord Hiashi." Shaking his head, Neji remarked in a regretful tone as tears started welling up in the corners of his eyes, "I seriously cannot believe that I relapsed back to how I used to be. I also cannot believe that I said what I did to Lady Hinata, not to mention that I tried to slay her once again."
"Yeah, about that one, Neji," Harold said, "Inoichi, your uncle, two of your uncle's men and I had just come back from the Inuzuka clan compound to ask Tsume about women in her clan that match the description you gave your uncle. We got no less than six possible candidates who all have a beef with the Hyuga, one of which being Tsume's own younger twin sister Pirate. We may need you to pick out a suspect from a line-up."
"If I could be allowed to apologize to Lady Hinata and Sakura first," Neji replied, "Or at the very least try to apologize to them, that is. I'm not sure if Sakura will be willing to hear me out."
"I'll have little Cherry Bug hear you out, Neji," Harold assured the Hyuga prodigy, "And even explain a few things to her. But you may also want to add that blonde boy Sakura is friends with to your list of people you have to apologize to. For reasons that escape both Inoichi and I, that blonde boy seemed awfully upset with what you tried to do to your cousin."
Smiling somewhat in a knowing manner, Neji replied, "Sorry, Mr. Fisher, but I'm afraid that you and Mr. Yamanaka will have to wait a bit for an explanation on that one. But yeah, I'll apologize to Naruto as well." The older adults led Neji out of the room, so that he could begin the process of making apologies to those who he had wronged. As Neji walked with the adults, the Hyuga prodigy silently swore to himself that he would never allow anyone, Inuzuka or otherwise, get to him ever again.
END, BEFORE THE REDEMPTION CHAPTER NINE
Author's notes:
(1) This is around the time that Neji started to develop an honest and obedient respect for the main branch.
(2) Ko has done things that even Harold isn't dumb enough to do.
(3) In this timeline, Neji struck Hinata's lungs instead. This will be explained in a future 'Harold' chapter.
(4) Due to a mix of me wanting to avoid full out cursing and me not being able to imagine Hanabi using vulgar language, she's saying 'brown list' instead. One should be able to tell what she actually means.
(5) Like Hiashi, Neji is being quiet about Hinata's engagement to Naruto at Hinata's request.
(6) Pirate is being honest here; the Inuzuka clan really does feel this way. This is also the only nice thing that Pirate will willingly say about the Hyuga.
(7) This is…not untrue.
(8) About the general size and thickness of the average manga graphic novel.
(9) In Hanabi's early childhood, she would often ask Hinata to play hide-and-seek with her, with a rule that barred both sisters from using their respective Byakugan.
(10) Personal cell phones exist by this point, albeit in primitive forms.
(11) Think LOTR.
(12) Harold and his friends REALLY need to stop saying 'And if I am wrong, then may (insert random event here)'.
There's the ninth chapter done and over with, with the added bonus of giving Neji a lot of focus. Anywho, the next chapter is going to be the last chapter of 'Before the redemption'.
