She came to escort him, a breach of etiquette given their respective positions.
"Hinata-sama," chided Neji as his cousin fell in to walk beside him, "if you want the elders to see you as a viable leader of this clan you must begin to act like one. The head of the Hyuuga family does not come to meet Branch members; she waits and they come to her."
Hinata looked down and colored slightly. From the way her hands balled up Neji could tell she was fighting the urge to fidget. "I, um, was in the area anyway."
Through his chakra-enhanced hearing Neji detected the quickening of her pulse. "You're lying," he diagnosed coolly.
"Y-yes …"
"You're not very good at it yet. You'll have to get better."
Her gaze lifted from the ground and her brow furrowed. "I don't think so," she answered firmly. "I don't think there will be any need."
Whether it was naivety or determination talking, Neji couldn't tell; his cousin confused him as always. Sometimes she was fierce, savvy, ruthless, while other times she acted like a timid child. Her personality was an odd mixture of contradictory ingredients, some of which would have to be suppressed if they were going to succeed.
Before he could voice these thoughts she turned to him and spoke again. "B-but you're right, nii-san, that I didn't come here by accident. I, um, wanted to talk to you before we start." It had been ten days since the transplant, and today they had arranged to train together at the Main House.
"About what?" It pleased Neji to note the restoration of his cousin's face. Evidently Hiashi had been unable to tolerate the sight of his daughter with an eye patch, and so Hinata now sported a false eye that looked identical to the original.
"Well, um, I heard that Tenten-san is being released today. When we made these plans I didn't realize they would interfere with the reunion of your team. If you want to cancel, I understand."
He shook his head. "That's not necessary. Tenten knows how important this is." He had plans to meet her later, but considered that information private.
"Oh, I see …"
"Is that really the only reason you came to meet me?"
She bit her lip. "N-no. I also wanted to warn you, nii-san, that there m-may be some people observing us today."
He came to an abrupt halt. "What do you mean?"
She also stopped. "Father scheduled a meeting with several of the elders right before our training session. I … do not think it is a coincidence."
"Of course it's not." So they would be on display, the effects of the surgery under evaluation. The pressure was no problem for him, but for Hinata … "Do you want to reschedule?"
Her chin tilted upward. "No. I will have to face them eventually, won't I? They have watched me my whole life, and they can hardly think less of me than they already do."
Her words were brave and undeniably true, so Neji chose to ignore the fact that she was trembling as she said them. He nodded once and resumed his progress down the street.
She followed, shooting him a sideways glance. "B-by the way, nii-san, did you get a new eye patch?"
"Yes," he said shortly.
"Oh. Well … I sort of liked the old one better."
The 'old one' had been a gift from Gai. It had also been bright green. "I lost it," Neji lied, then, to change the subject, asked, "Have you done any more practicing with your Byakugan?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"M-my range is at least as good as it was before, and I think that with time it will become even greater. But I am … having trouble seeing very small objects. With just one eye, it seems that my resolution is poor."
"And your depth perception?"
"It is better than it was. I don't have problems picking up objects anymore, but I am worried that in combat I may still misjudge distances."
"That is possible. If so, the best solution is to practice until accurately gauging distances becomes second nature."
"What about you, nii-san?"
He was silent a moment, looking ahead into central Konoha, whose beauty he had only recently come to appreciate. They were almost at the Main House. Finally in a quiet voice he said, "For the first time in months I am myself again. Thank you, Hinata-sama."
She blushed furiously just as they came in sight of the mansion, and he cursed himself for embarrassing her when she most needed to appear cool and confident. Hoping to get a preview of who might by lying in wait for them, he made a quick series of hand signs and murmured, "Byakugan!"
The novelty had worn off a bit since the surgery, but Neji still felt a small thrill at the activation of his jutsu, the ease with which he could look beneath the surface of the world. The Main House was just as he remembered, large and square with a gnarled cherry tree in the central courtyard, though now the tree's trunk showed signs of a small, recently closed hole. In a large room Hiashi sat at a low table drinking tea with several older men. Neji recognized them; the one on his uncle's right was Hisao, and across from him sat Hideaki. They were men of the Main House, long since retired from action. Diagonal from Hiashi, stiff and uneasy, was Jun; alone among those assembled he wore a forehead-protector over his brow to cover his curse mark. Though of the same generation as the others he had the lowest rank, a fact he was plainly aware of.
"Do you see them? Are they there?"
"Yes. Three of them – two Main House and one Branch House. And …" Neji trailed off, shifting his focus to the northwest corner of the building.
"Yes?"
His mouth tightened. "Hanabi-sama is present as well."
"That's unusual. Normally she'd be out training with her team."
Neji deactivated his Byakugan but continued to stare at the house pensively. "It's no accident she's here. She's been following me." Since that first sighting in the woods his youngest cousin had continued to appear unexpectedly, always in the background, always wearing the same burning expression. He'd tried to approach her a few times, to sound her out, but each time she'd retreated without giving him the chance.
Hinata frowned. "Following you? Well … this is her house too. She has every right to be here." She took her hands out of her pockets and squared her shoulders. "All we can do now, nii-san, is our best. Shall we go in?"
"Of course." He reached out and opened the sliding door for her, standing aside so that she might precede him. Within the mansion it was cool and shadowy, lit only by sunlight filtered through paper screens. Hinata had already removed her shoes and stepped up onto the grass-mat floor by the time Neji entered, and as he hastened to do the same he heard more doors opening and footsteps padding toward them down the hall.
Hinata beckoned and he followed her down the main corridor in the direction of the courtyard. They had not covered a third of the distance before a party of four men stepped into their path out of an adjoining passageway – Hiashi at the fore, closely flanked by Hisao and Hideaki, and Jun at the rear. Neji froze and bowed deeply to them, and was repaid with brief nods of acknowledgment. Hinata also bowed, though more shallowly, and had her gesture returned by the elders. Hiashi naturally remained upright.
Hinata folded her hands neatly in front of her and kept her eyes downcast. "Father, I have brought Neji-nii san here to train, as I told you I would."
"Yes, I see that." Neji felt his uncle's attention shift to him. "And how are you feeling, Neji? Are you completely recovered now?"
Neji met Lord Hyuuga's eyes just long enough to take in his inscrutable expression, then looked away. "Yes, thank you Lord Hyuuga. The medics have cleared me to train again."
"And how is the eye working?" demanded one of the Main House elders, Hisao. "Can you use the Byakugan?"
"Yes, I was able to use it on the first day after the transplant, and in time I think I will find it even better than my own."
Hideaki snorted. "I find that difficult to believe, considering its original owner couldn't equal your skill."
Unable to voice open disagreement, the best Neji could do was a noncommittal "We'll see … " But the dig at Hinata had not escaped Hiashi's notice – a faint line appeared across his forehead and his lips thinned.
Hinata colored slightly and said, "If you will excuse us, Father, we should, um, begin training now."
"By all means. Try not to slow your cousin down too much." With that Hiashi moved sideways to allow them to pass, and his three companions followed suit. Drawing even with Jun Neji heard the older man take in a sharp breath, and glanced over to meet a glare that burned with corrosive hatred. It lasted only an instant, just long enough to convey the Branch elder's feelings – Jun was obviously no ally.
Neji pondered what he knew of the man as they continued to the courtyard. Since they were from the same house he was more familiar with him than with either Hisao or Hideaki. The death of Neji's father had left Jun as the most distinguished of all Branch members, and it was through him that Hiashi communicated with the rest of the Branch family. As the clan head's spokesman Jun had considerable authority, and it was possible he saw Neji's association with Hinata as a threat, an attempt to attain greater influence and eventually usurp him.
It was all so messy and tangled, so different from the simplicity of the battlefield. And could someone like Hinata really survive in this nest of vipers?
As if she could hear his doubts Hinata said softly, "Don't waste your time worrying about them, nii-san. In the end it's my father we have to convince, and I have tradition on my side. It is always the oldest child who inherits, so if I can demonstrate that I'm strong enough to lead, the elders will be inclined to accept me."
"But you will need their support once you become the clan head, especially if you wish to make changes."
"Y-yes. But I think we should worry about that later. For now … for now we must train."
It was true; the support of the elders was moot until Hinata became the official heir, and anyway they had finally reached the courtyard. Their shoes, removed at the front door, were awaiting them on the walkway, whisked there by silent and all but invisible servants.
Neji and Hinata stepped into their sandals and down onto the ground, and in that instant one of the broad panels forming the mansion's interior walls slid aside to reveal the seated forms of Hiashi and the three elders. Apparently their trip through the halls had actually been nothing more than a move to a different room, one that adjoined the courtyard and afforded a better view.
"Pay no attention to us, Neji," called Hiashi. "Just conduct your training as usual."
"Right," he answered, thinking that it was no wonder Hinata hadn't reached her full potential in this environment.
"It's fine," she assured him, moving off a few meters. She seemed steadfastly determined to concentrate on the task at hand, regardless of their audience.
Well, if she could ignore them, so could he. "Activate your Byakugan," he told her, before making the hand signs to do so himself. Then he was looking not at her face but at her chakra network, at the shining blue web that ran throughout her body from head to foot and fingertip to fingertip, interrupted by an assortment of tiny nodes. His mouth curved into a small smile.
"Nii-san? What is it? What is … amusing to you?"
"Amusing? Nothing, Hinata-sama. But I can see your tenketsu."
She gasped, and at least one of the men watching them did too. "My tenketsu? B-but, nii-san, that should be impossible – my eyes are not that sensitive!"
He raised his voice so that everyone could hear. "Whoever told you that was wrong. I know, because using your eye I am able to see the same amount of detail as with my own. For the first few days after the surgery the tenketsu were invisible, but then they suddenly appeared to me again. I think now that my initial inability to see them was due only to the fact that I was out of practice, nothing more."
"Th-then you're saying … you're saying …"
"That your eyes have the ability to see tenketsu, and all that remains is for you to learn to use it."
There was a moment of silence during which Neji's statement reverberated in the air. Through the Byakugan Neji could observe his uncle without turning his head, and he saw that the three elders appeared thunderstruck, and Lord Hyuuga's eyebrows had migrated upward.
"Hinata-sama," he called when he thought it had stretched on long enough, "attack me."
She was still gaping in shock, but at his words she closed her mouth and settled into the Gentle Fist stance. Her face darkened into an expression of fierceness he remembered well. "Right – here I come!" she cried, and charged.
He let her get close, though he could easily have prevented her approach with the kaiten or the hakke kusho. That, however, wouldn't have done either of them any good. With her hands flat she tried very hard to hit him, and he intercepted each blow. It was much like the sparring they had done together as genin, except that now they were both considerably faster. Neji was impressed at his cousin's speed; there were times when he couldn't react quickly enough to parry her attacks cleanly and had to settle for pushing her away or lunging to the side. But then he saw an opening, an instant when her center was unprotected, and took advantage of it to slam his hand into her sternum and send her stumbling backward.
She was panting but unhurt; he had modulated his attack to be blunt and harmless, a hard shove only. To his surprise he found that he was also panting. "Your concerns about depth perception in hand-to-hand combat were unfounded," he said, catching his breath. "To me it seems you're judging distances perfectly."
"Thank you, nii-san. That means a lot, coming from you." Then she came at him again, her long black hair streaming out behind her like a banner.
Again and again he knocked her back, though it cost him a blow to the arm and another to the chest. There was a time when she wouldn't have been able to touch him at all, and he didn't think the change was a result of him getting worse. Her stamina was also incredible – her willingness to attack did not fade even after an hour's hard sparring.
Finally Neji held up his hands and said "That's enough!" He was breathing heavily and his heart was pounding, while Hinata's face was shiny with sweat.
Her brows knit. "We do not have to stop on my account, nii-san. I can continue a while longer." Off to the side, still watching with the others, Hisao shook his head in disbelief.
"Yes, I can see that. But I think that's enough basic taijutsu for now; it's clear having one eye has not impaired either of us in that respect. What I'm curious about is your shugohakke technique." It was Hinata's special jutsu, after all, and would make for a potent demonstration.
She dropped her fighting stance. "S-so you think I should try it, then?"
"Yes."
"Okay …" She closed her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her. A few seconds later her stance changed, as did the flow of chakra in her body. Chakra moved to her arms and especially her hands, building up like water behind a dam. Then Hinata's eyes flew open and she began to move, keeping her feet planted as she thrust her open palms forward, to the rear, overhead, and to the sides, in a complicated pattern resembling a dance. Whenever one of her arms extended fully in the chosen direction a blade of chakra emitted from her palm, short but sharp enough to pierce an imaginary target. The jutsu called for sixty-four strikes and she completed them in less than a minute, her arms moving so fast they were merely a blur.
And then it was over and Hinata was still, her arms outstretched and her whole being radiating intensity. "It seems," she breathed at last, "that I can still do it."
"But what good is it," called a high voice from the walkway, "if you can't win in an actual fight?"
Hanabi stood ramrod-straight in front of the same doorway Neji and Hinata had passed through, arms folded and eyes narrowed to slits. Her long dark hair hung loose about her face, framing it in shining curtains that set off her pale skin.
"Hanabi!" exclaimed Hinata, lowering her hands. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough to see you're recovered, nee-san. But it seems to me that our cousin is unwilling to really push you, perhaps out of gratitude. If you want to test your skill, why not fight me instead?"
Judging by the malice on her face that was not a good idea. "Hanabi-sama—" Neji began, but by then the girl had already jumped down from the walkway and moved to stand opposite Hinata.
She didn't even look at him when she said curtly, "Step back, nii-san. This is between us now."
He wanted to shove at her, get her away from Hinata while her intentions were so obviously harmful, but didn't dare to take such an action. His gaze found Hinata's and he silently tried to communicate both his helplessness and his sense of foreboding.
She gave him a tiny nod, the barest inclination of her head. "It's all right, nii-san. In fact it's very generous of Hanabi to help me practice. Please stand aside."
Having no other choice, he withdrew to sit on the walkway. From here he could hit Hanabi with a hakke kusho if necessary. She activated her Byakugan and took her stance, while Hinata waited apprehensively.
Even to a cursory examination Hanabi's power was obvious – her chakra network shone with the sort of intensity and refinement normally present only in jounin. At fourteen she was still a chuunin, although by general consensus that would not be the case for long. Neji had never fought her, never even sparred with her, but he'd heard that she was proficient in all of the Main House's signature jutsu – the Gentle Fist, the kaiten, the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
"Defend yourself!" said Hanabi, launching herself at her older sister. What followed was a repeat of the previous hour's sparring, except that now Hinata was much lower on chakra and stamina. There was no denying Hanabi's speed, nor the fact that, unlike Neji, she was not bothering to blunt her attacks. One solid hit would do Hinata serious injury.
But, incredibly, Hinata seemed to be keeping up with her younger sister. A few times she even came close to scoring a hit of her own. In terms of skill with the Gentle Fist, Hanabi and Hinata appeared to be evenly matched.
"She's holding her own," observed a gravelly voice, and with a start Neji realized that Hisao had exited the sitting room and moved along the walkway to stand beside him. The old mad had his own Byakugan engaged and was regarding the combatants with an air of detached interest.
"Which one do you mean, sir?"
He raised an eyebrow, streaked with white like his hair. "Hinata-sama, of course. Hanabi-sama has always been strong, so there's no surprise there."
"Hn," said Neji, not sure what else to say. What did this cold old man want from him? They were distant relatives, of course, though neither one of them could have explained exactly how. Hisao would be descended from a female child of a past clan head, for that was how Hyuuga were sorted into Main and Branch families – daughters of the head of the family and their children remained in the Main House regardless of birth order, while all sons but the first were cursed and banished to the Branch House. But the point where Hisao's lineage diverged from Neji's could be generations in the past, and no member of the clan bothered to keep track of the family's tangled genealogy. The only distinction that mattered was right out in the open for everyone to see, on the Branch members' foreheads.
"That younger one, she's like her father, as dark and sharp as obsidian. It is not surprising he found her easier to train. But the older one takes after her mother. Did you ever meet the Lady Hyuuga?"
"Once or twice. I don't remember it very clearly." Hiashi's wife, the Lady Hyuuga, had died shortly after Hanabi's birth, while Neji was still a small child.
"I suppose you wouldn't. She was unusual for a Hyuuga." Hisao sighed, his eyes still fixed on the sparring sisters. "Strength is necessary, of course. But when the Lady Hyuuga died I felt this clan lost something equally important."
Seeing an opportunity, Neji said carefully, "It may not be entirely gone, you know."
Hisao looked down at him. "Perhaps not," he agreed.
In the next second Neji's attention was jerked away from the elder and back into the courtyard, where Hanabi had just given a shriek and flown backward several meters. It seemed that Hinata had used the shugohakke again.
"That jutsu," murmured Hisao, "is also unusual for a Hyuuga …"
Now Hanabi was climbing to her feet, shaking and clutching at her right shoulder. The chakra network there was in chaos, having been disrupted by one of Hinata's blades. Such a wound would be excruciating, and ought to deprive the recipient of the use of her limb.
But somehow, grimacing, Hanabi was forcing herself to lift both hands and simultaneously build up chakra in her forearms. Her injury prevented this from happening as quickly and efficiently as it should have, so that for a moment Neji wasn't sure what she was up to. Then suddenly he understood – it was the hakke kusho.
"Hinata-sama!" he called urgently. "She's –"
"Hakke kusho!" Hanabi shouted, releasing an enormous blast of chakra from both palms. They were still at close range; Hinata had no opportunity to dodge. She took the full force of the blast and was lifted off her feet, hurtling backwards until she struck the edge of the walkway and slumped to the ground.
It was over, Hanabi had clearly won, yet she didn't seem cognizant of that fact. Her stance changed, became hunched over with one arm extended downward and the other held up behind her head. Neji would have known that position anywhere.
"Eight trigrams," hissed Hanabi, "sixty-four palms!"
Hinata was hurt and depleted of chakra, still recovering from major surgery, and if her flow of chakra was cut off now it could be fatal. Neji was on his feet, lunging forward, before he had consciously decided to act.
"Hakke kusho!" This blast, more powerful than Hanabi's by an order of magnitude, came from across the courtyard, and was expertly calibrated to shoot between the sisters and push them apart. Hanabi was in the midst of her jutsu, unprepared to stop, and hence was thrown off balance and had to stagger backward a few paces before regaining her footing. By that time Neji had arrived to crouch over the prone form of Hinata, interposing his body between the combatants.
Hiashi lowered his hand. The only sign that he had done anything was the way the veins around his eyes bulged slightly. "Hanabi," he said sternly, "that is enough."
Chest heaving, Hanabi seemed inclined to argue, but quailed under her father's merciless gaze. Even she, his favorite, knew better than to defy him.
"How is she, Neji?" asked Hiashi.
Neji reached down and helped Hinata to sit up, slowly. He could see blood rushing to her back where she had slammed against the walkway, and the utter disarray of her chakra network. Thankfully Hiashi had stopped Hanabi before she could cut off the flow completely. "I think … she is all right, Lord Hyuuga."
Hinata coughed and drew in a shuddering breath. "Y-yes, Father … I will be fine … if Neji-nii san will help me stand …"
Neji took her arm and gently pulled her upward, supporting her to the walkway. "It is impressive that you are still able to move after that," he told her. "And with so much of your chakra already used up."
She smiled wanly. "Thank you, nii-san."
"It would be impressive if I'd been able to finish," said Hanabi acidly. "There's nothing special about being saved by someone else."
Neji turned his head to meet her gaze over his shoulder. She was giving off waves of loathing, both hands balled into fists. "Having been hit with the jutsu yourself, Hanabi-sama, you should know how painful it is, even if incomplete."
She took a step forward. "Why don't you show me?"
"You want to fight me?"
"Yes. Everyone always says you're a great genius, and I want to see for myself. I hope that what you used against Hinata-nee san wasn't the full extent of your power."
He wanted to fight her, he really did. She reminded him of himself before that first chuunin exam, arrogant and angry, and a thorough beating was the fastest way to crush such an attitude. But she was six years younger than him and a member of the Main House, and he was leery of engaging her in this setting. "There is no reason for us to fight," he said reluctantly. "I've already sparred today and have plans to train more later, and you don't seem to need the practice."
"You're afraid," she mocked him. "You don't want to fight me in front of my father. Don't worry, he won't interfere."
"It would be interesting," Hideaki opined, while Jun made noises of agreement.
Hiashi was looking hard at his youngest daughter. "Neji," he said, "if you want to accept her challenge, feel free to do so. It will make a good lesson for her."
Hinata seized his arm. "Nii-san, there is no need for this. You don't have to take this risk."
He gently shook her off. "The risk is minimal, Hinata-sama. It will be over quickly." Then he spun around to face Hanabi, and said, "Let's begin."
She nodded once and began channeling chakra to her arms, evidently planning another hakke kusho. He smiled wryly. "Your hakke kusho is still immature, Hanabi-sama, and in any case it won't work on me." Then he activated the hakke chousen, numerous lines of chakra extending outward from his body in all directions. Now in addition to his sight he could feel his surroundings, the whole breadth of the courtyard and the tense form of his opponent.
Hanabi's white pupils darted from side to side, taking in the blue lines all around her. In shock she had ceased her preparations for the kusho. "This is … this is …"
"The hakke chousen, the jutsu your sister invented. I haven't forgotten it just because I regained my vision. But it's more than a sensory tool – it is also a weapon."
He increased the intensity of two of the rays, out of hundreds. Their blue color darkened slightly, but the lines' sheer numbers prevented Hanabi from noticing. The lines shifted, changing focus, tightening in around her. If she had jumped or ducked at that moment she would have been saved, but she didn't, and thus when the two rays whose intensity was now sufficient for cutting moved in on either side of her face she was trapped. They swept in just below her jaw line to cut cleanly through her long hair, the severed locks falling softly to the ground. Her eyes followed them down, then moved back up to one of the rays now poised millimeters from her neck.
"Don't move," said Neji. "You've just seen what these rays can do; if you brush either of them you'll be cut." Behind him he heard the elders muttering to each other; he didn't bother listening for the words, but thought their tone sounded impressed.
Hanabi's gaze was fixed on him, her rage obvious. Her chakra was fluctuating wildly, as if in compensation for her enforced immobility.
"If this were a real battle, you would be dead now," Neji pointed out. "By shifting the ray on your right I could cut your carotid artery, and you would bleed out in minutes. You are beaten. Surrender."
She swallowed and her nostrils flared as she tried frantically to think of some solution. But there was nothing, no way to escape the trap.
"Surrender," Neji said again.
"Fine," she spat. "You win."
Neji deactivated the chousen, letting all the rays wink out of existence at once. He was pleased with the control the Byakugan gave him over his newest jutsu; if he'd had it during his last mission Tenten would never have been injured.
"He's still too much for you, Hanabi-sama," observed Hisao dryly. "Maybe next time."
"Right," she said, shaking with anger. "Next time." In one fluid movement she spun and leaped onto the walkway, then vanished back through the open doorway.
Neji waited a moment before deactivating his Byakugan. He was spent; the hard sparring with Hinata, coupled with the continuous use of the Byakugan and the activation of the chousen, had worn him out. "I think that's enough for now, Hinata-sama," he said.
She nodded tiredly. "Yes, I agree. Will you come again tomorrow?"
He glanced at her. "Are you sure that's a good idea? You took a beating; perhaps you should rest."
She shook her head vehemently. "No, I have already rested enough. And … I'll never learn to see tenketsu by neglecting my training." She smiled then, in spite of the pain and her defeat. "I won't allow you to forget that you said I could see them, nii-san. I will work hard to make it true."
"Then I'm certain you'll succeed." He meant it; he was more sure than he had any right to be. "I will come again tomorrow, at this same time."
Her smile widened and she thanked him, and Neji bowed to his uncle and the elders and took his leave. He would have liked to speak to Hinata in private about Hanabi and the others, but she needed medical attention and was in no shape to accompany him to the door. So, carrying his shoes, he made his way back to the entrance alone, though he went slower than he might have and focused chakra in his ears, to eavesdrop. Once outside on the street, he found that he could still pick up conversations within the house.
From the courtyard there was the sound of a party of servants carrying Hinata away, to another room where Hiashi likely had a medic on call. But the elders remained where they were, talking together in low voices.
"—far inferior to her sister, despite their difference in age," said Hideaki's voice. "Do we really want to entrust our future to a chuunin who can be beaten by a child?"
"Hinata-sama is constantly improving, and she possesses no arrogance," replied Hisao. "Can you say the same for Hanabi-sama? She is rash and aggressive, and as we saw today, apt to run headlong into disaster."
"There's also Neji to consider," said Hiashi. "He's made his preference clear, and it would be advantageous to the clan head to have the support of the Hyuuga's greatest fighter."
"If you'll excuse me, Lord Hyuuga," said Jun in a soft, oily voice, "Neji's preference hardly matters. He is of my house and bound to serve whomever you choose. I believe he is trying to curry favor with the Main House to gain influence, and that he chose Hinata-sama because he knew she would be easier to manipulate."
Cloth rustled; Jun's words had caused some of the others to shift in their seats. "Are you suggesting," asked Hiashi dangerously, "that my daughter is so easily deceived?"
"Of course not, Hyuuga-sama. But Neji is unquestionably a genius. Who can say what trick he might have played on her?"
"I am satisfied that is not the case," said Hiashi with finality. "He has ample reason to be genuinely loyal to Hinata, not least the eye she gave him. And then there's that jutsu, the hakke chousen. She invented it especially for him, out of her own arsenal. It would be enough to win anyone over."
"Yes, that jutsu …" said Hisao slowly. "What else can it do? Can he hit tenketsu with it?"
"I don't know," said Hiashi. "Probably not yet. But given the rate at which he advances, it may be only a matter of time before he combines the chousen with our tenketsu attacks. Do you all realize what that would mean? Our jutsu has always been limited to short range, but this would extend it significantly. The ability to cut off an enemy's chakra from a distance, before he even sees you, is something this village has never seen before."
"And if he attains it," said Hisao, "then at least part of the credit will go to Hinata-sama. She'll have been responsible for handing this village an important new weapon and enhancing the status of the clan."
"If," Hideaki echoed. "It hasn't happened yet."
"We'll see," said Hiashi thoughtfully, "we'll see."
***
Thwack! The sound echoed through the late afternoon, sharp and decidedly unnatural. Neji smiled; it seemed Tenten had arrived ahead of him and was using the time for target practice.
Coming through the trees he finally caught sight of her, standing with her back to him in a clearing. Sunlight glinted off an assortment of weapons scattered over the ground and lodged in the trees, and as he watched she lifted up two kunai, one in each hand, and let the left one fly. In the next instant her right hand twitched, launching the second kunai through the air to intercept the first. With a metallic clang the weapons met and deflected, altering their courses to strike a pair of targets pinned to two separate trees.
As soon as she saw that she'd made contact Tenten ran forward a few steps and leaped up, using chakra to enhance the jump so that she soared high into the air. On her way back down she did a series of flips and twists, an acrobatic exercise that was not merely for show. At key points in this routine she released shuriken, sending them whirring in every direction like bits of molten metal.
Neji continued watching, admiring her gracefulness, until he realized that a shuriken he'd thought was launched at a sapling five meters away was actually headed directly for him. Just in time he threw himself onto the ground, hearing the deadly little star pass over his head and slash off into the underbrush.
"Damn," said Tenten dryly. "Now I've lost one."
He clambered to his feet, brushing dirt and leaves from his robes. "Would you have preferred it if I'd stopped it with my face?"
She shrugged. "You could've caught it, you know. I've seen you do that before."
"I wasn't prepared. I didn't realize you'd noticed me."
"Well, you may be aware that I'm a ninja. They might be nothing compared to yours, but my senses are still pretty good. And it's creepy to be watched in the woods like that."
"Hn." Now that he thought about it, sneaking up on a fellow ninja was probably not a clever idea – lately he seemed to be doing a lot of stupid things in Tenten's presence.
"How'd it go?" she asked him, turning away to begin collecting her numerous scattered weapons.
He moved into the clearing to help her. "It went well, I think. I was able to get a sense of where some of the elders stand, and I believe at least one of them is on our side. I also learned of something I might do to win the others over."
She yanked a kunai out of an oak and dropped it into her pack. "Something you might do?"
"A jutsu they covet, that they think I can perfect."
"And can you?"
He looked down at a shuriken before handing it off to her and bending down to retrieve another. "I think so. In theory it shouldn't be too hard, just a matter of combining two techniques I already know – the chousen and the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms."
"If you can do that, will it help Hinata?"
"Definitely."
Tenten clapped her hands together loudly. "Then let's start!"
He straightened up and looked at her, smiling happily, clad in full battle gear. "Start?"
"Working on that technique, of course! It'll be just like before the chuunin exams – you'll need someone to practice on, and I volunteer."
Since the early days in the hospital her color had improved, and to a stranger she might look totally fit. But Neji could see the very faint circles under her eyes, and the way her lips were a shade lighter than normal. "Tenten," he said clearly, "I am never going to use the chousen on you again."
"Don't be stupid, Neji. What happened was an accident and you've already apologized" – actually he'd prostrated himself on the floor in front of her – "and I know how important this is to you. That makes it important to me too."
"No," he said flatly. "Never again."
"Who else would you work with? Lee?"
His silence spoke volumes.
"Lee? You're actually going to spend hours on end with him, voluntarily? Because you know Gai's bound to be there too."
He winced. "Sometimes … sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. And that reminds me – did Lee and Gai come to meet you when you were released this morning, or did you escape from them?"
"Changing the subject. This isn't over, you know." Then she sighed. "I almost got away from Lee and Gai – Lady Tsunade 'accidentally' gave them the wrong release time. But since Sakura pulled the same trick for you, they were ready for it and showed up at the hospital two hours early."
"So then, did they take you on some kind of tour?"
She rolled her eyes. "Oh yes. Did you know that Gai's apartment is one of the most youthful sites in the village? Or that he keeps all his worn-out forehead-protectors in a display case, with a haiku dedicated to each?"
Somehow that was not remotely surprising. "But Sakura told me that you'd be in no condition to run with those two right after your release. How did you manage?"
For some reason she looked a bit embarrassed, and hesitated a moment before answering. "Well, in the end I didn't have to run much. When she saw them arrive early, Lady Tsunade explained the situation to Gai in, uh, forceful terms. So he decided that I would only run halfway, and that for the rest of the way … Lee would carry me."
An image came to Neji's mind, of Tenten perched precariously on Lee's shoulders, trying desperately to hang on while the whole village watched. He couldn't stop himself from smirking.
"It is not funny," she protested. "You of all people should know how embarrassing it is!" This was a low blow; Lee had once grabbed Neji and insisted on carrying him piggyback all the way to the village. Neji still considered it one of his worst memories. "Although," she continued, "it turned out to be a good thing, because it made the tour end early."
"Why?"
"Well, Lee kept going on about what excellent training it is to carry a teammate, and how he'd thought it might be less effective with a girl, but he was wrong. He said it was a good thing I weigh almost as much as you."
Neji tried and failed to suppress another smirk. Lee was not exactly stupid, but that was a truly ill-advised comment. "And that ended your tour early?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice normal.
"No," Tenten replied scathingly. "What ended the tour was when Lee fell on my kunai. Twice."
Neji had a feeling he'd better let the subject drop, unless he also wanted to "fall" on a kunai. But it was good to see Tenten back to her old fierceness; her brush with death and the sudden news of Neji's surgery had unbalanced her for a few days, left her more emotional than usual. He found her much better company when there was less of a chance she would cry and more of a chance she would stab him.
"What is it?" she asked, surprised at his abruptly solemn expression.
He looked away. "I am glad to see you acting like yourself again. I suppose until now I didn't really believe you'd recovered."
She stepped closer, kicking aside fallen branches. "I'm fine Neji, just fine. There was no permanent harm done, and you've even got your sight back. Everything's going to work out."
He looked up into her warm brown eyes, and then she reached out and put her arms around him. As fresh genin they'd been the same height, but now she was shorter than him, so that her head rested against his shoulder. Once again he felt something hard and pointy jutting into his side – he'd have to talk to her about where she kept her kunai.
"Sweet," said someone derisively. Neji released Tenten and swiftly located the source of the sound – a slim figure standing in the shadow of a nearby tree.
Tenten had already armed herself and was preparing to throw, when Neji put out a hand to stop her. "Don't," he said. "That's my cousin."
Tenten's eyes widened. "You mean, the younger one? Hanabi?"
He nodded, then called out, "So you've decided to talk this time, Hanabi-sama. Is that because you know now that you can't beat me?"
The girl scowled and moved closer, into the sunlight of the clearing. Her hair was uneven and she was rather bruised; evidently she had not bothered to clean up before setting out to trail him.
"What happened to you?" asked Tenten with concern.
Hanabi shot her an angry glare. "That's none of your business. I came here to talk to Neji-nii san. Go away."
"Tenten is not going anywhere," said Neji coolly. "If you want to talk to me, you'll have to accept that. What is it that you want?"
Hanabi was silent as she weighed her desire to speak to Neji against her aversion to Tenten's presence. "Why?" she asked finally. "Why do you prefer Hinata to me?"
Neji raised an eyebrow; that was not what he'd been expecting. "I barely know you, Hanabi-sama, so it would be wrong to say I prefer your sister to you. I simply think Hinata-sama would make a fine clan head."
"And I wouldn't?"
He paused, wondering how direct he should be. "If your father died and you were made the clan head tomorrow," he said slowly, "what would you do?"
"Give him a funeral, of course."
"And after that?"
"I would maintain the clan's influence and uphold its traditions." The words had the ring of something memorized, like a slogan.
"All its traditions?"
Her eyebrows knit together. "You're asking about the curse mark, if I'd use it."
"Yes."
Her jaw clenched and she said, "I would. It protects our kekkei genkai, our clan's greatest treasure."
He nodded. "Then you have your answer, Hanabi-sama. Your sister would never curse anyone, and she doesn't think a clan's jutsu is its most important possession."
She waved a hand dismissively. "That's sentimental nonsense. Only strength matters. Hinata would make this clan weak and soft, and you would help her do it because of your" – she looked swiftly at Tenten – "personal feelings. That's treason."
"You are very young," Neji answered simply. "Young people of our clan often think that way – I certainly used to. But, you know, Hinata-sama never did."
It was the wrong thing to say; being patronized and then unfavorably compared to her sister seemed to drive Hanabi into a rage. All the blood drained from her face and the veins on her forehead and around her eyes stood out. A few more seconds, and her Byakugan would activate on its own.
"I'm too young, am I?" she hissed. "My thinking is childish? At least I don't abandon my comrades because of a setback!"
Neji was nonplussed. "What do you mean?"
"You gave up! You were going to resign because you made a mistake! And you were even ready to abandon her!" Hanabi pointed a shaking finger at Tenten.
"Neji," asked Tenten in confusion, "what does she mean?"
"She doesn't know? You never told her?" Seeing an opportunity to strike, Hanabi's mouth twisted into an unpleasant smile as she addressed the other kunoichi. "Well I know, I was following Hinata the night she offered him the eye, because I could tell she was up to something. And I heard them talking, and he said he wouldn't see you, that your relationship was pathetic and he didn't want to be a part of it. You'd better be grateful to Hinata, because without her he would have thrown you away."
Tenten threw the kunai she was holding a split second after Hanabi turned to run. Through her Byakugan Hanabi saw the approaching projectile and ducked just in time. In the next instant she was gone, out of range.
Tenten stood staring at the place where Hanabi had been, her heart pounding. "Was that true?' she asked Neji tightly. "Was what she said true?"
He wanted to lie but couldn't, not to her, not about something so important. "In the essentials, yes," he replied. "It was never about throwing you away, Tenten. I just couldn't stand to be with someone so far above me."
She didn't look at him; her hands balled into fists and she shook her head slowly from side to side. "I can't believe it," she said hoarsely. "After all that's happened, Neji, you still can't bring yourself to depend on me."
And he had nothing to say to that, no words to call her back as she strode off into the forest, away from him.
A/N: Apologies for the length. As any of my fellow writers knows, conversations with more than two or three participants get very long, very fast.
