It was a summer's day but the forest was cool and shady, shot through with bars of yellow-gold light and cacophonous with birdsong. Team Gai was on its way back from a mission and within a kilometer of home. Through his Byakugan Neji could see Konoha's buildings and the people inside them, and by channeling chakra to his ears he could pick up the low rumble of sound rising off the village.

"We'll be there in less than an hour," he told Tenten, who was walking sedately beside him. They could have gotten there faster, of course, but the mission had left them worn out and in no mood to rush.

Or at least Neji and Tenten felt that way. Gai and Lee had agreed to the slower pace only after coming up with a youthful alternative. A green blur shot through the underbrush up ahead and slammed hard into a tall tree, striking it with such force that it broke in half and toppled to the forest floor. "I have found you, Gai-sensei!" cried Lee in triumph.

Gai extricated himself from the fallen tree's branches, looking a little shell-shocked. At last he stood and gave Lee a thumbs-up, accompanied by his shiny white smile. "So you have, Lee! And your method of dislodging me from my perch was spectacular! A lesser shinobi might've just called out for me to come down, but of course that wasn't good enough for you!"

"Thank you sensei! And now, is it not time for Neji-kun and Tenten-san to have a turn?"

"That's true. You're always thinking of your teammates. Neji, Tenten – you can finally join in our game of hide-and-seek. Tenten, you'll hide, and Neji will find you."

Neji exchanged a look with Tenten and saw that she too had absolutely no intention of participating.

"Did it ever occur to you, sensei," she began deliberately, "that Neji might have a certain advantage in this game?"

Gai's smile drooped a little. "What do you mean?"

Neji shook his head. Gai just had to be joking this time.

"You know," she urged, "something that might make it easier for him to find other people?"

Gai's smile was completely gone now. "I'm sorry, Tenten, but I still don't know exactly what you're trying to tell me. Could you be referring to his hair? I don't see how that would help him. Or maybe you mean his weapons, but you have more of those, so that's an advantage to you— "

"His eye!" Tenten shouted in exasperation. "His Byakugan! How am I supposed to hide from someone who can see through trees, or hear a heartbeat at a hundred meters, for that matter?"

"Oh, that," said Gai with a shrug. "I wouldn't consider that an unfair advantage. It just makes the game more of a challenge, more youthful."

"How about this, sensei," suggested Neji over Tenten's sputtering disbelief. "I'll hide, and Tenten can find me."

Gai frowned in thought and rubbed his chin.

"Sensei, that does seem reasonable," Lee put in.

"I suppose it works," Gai agreed.

Tenten was looking at Neji incredulously. "You actually want to play this game?"

"Yes. It's not as if there's anything else to do. So Lee will count to fifty, and I'll hide, and when he's done counting you'll come find me."

She was scanning his face as if in search of a clue written there. "Uh, fine, whatever."

"You wish me to count, Neji-kun? Shall I begin now?"

"Yes, thank you Lee."

Lee snapped out a salute and began to count in a carrying voice. "One, two, three …"

But as his count progressed Lee appeared more and more confused, a sentiment that was mirrored on the faces of Gai and Tenten. Neji hadn't gone into the woods to hide, and didn't show any outward sign that he even noticed the countdown. He just kept walking, gazing calmly around at the scenery.

"Forty!" shouted Lee, trying to provoke Neji into action by counting louder. "Forty-one! Forty-two! Forty-three! Forty-four! Forty-five! Forty-six! Forty-seven! Forty-eight! Forty-nine!" Lee took a deep breath, and Tenten grimaced and covered her ears. "FIFTY!"

Neji pretended to examine a fluffy cloud visible through a gap in the canopy overhead. "Oh no," he remarked idly, "Tenten's going to come find me now."

She was laughing so hard she could barely talk. She reached over and lightly swatted him on the shoulder. "Found you!"

"I guess I lose, then," said Neji gravely. "Whose turn is it now, Gai-sensei?"

Gai and Lee wore identical open-mouthed expressions. "I am sorry Neji-kun, but that was not very youthful!" said Lee indignantly.

"No it wasn't!" Gai agreed.

"Maybe I just didn't understand the rules, sensei. Perhaps you and Lee could demonstrate one more time?"

Gai was scowling deeply. "I'm not sure why, Neji, but I have sneaking suspicion you're not being completely honest. But I'm your teacher, and if you ask for another demonstration I'll provide it. Lee! This time you'll hide, and I'll find you!"

"Yes sir!" Lee gave another salute and took off, vanishing quickly from sight.

Gai pointed a beefy finger at Neji. "Watch him carefully! Observe the skillful way he hides himself from me!"

"Yes," said Neji. He engaged his Byakugan and pointedly turned his head to the left, westward. "I see what you mean …"

Gai's expression turned crafty. "You, er, do, do you? Well then … I guess it's been about fifty seconds. Keep watching." Without further comment he plunged away into the woods, headed west.

"I'll admit it's a childish game," said Tenten, still a bit breathless. "But you shouldn't spoil it for Lee."

"I didn't. I looked in the exact opposite direction from the one Lee took. This way Gai won't find him before we reach the village."

Her ensuing laughter echoed off the surrounding trees. "You know," she said finally, "I think I'll actually miss having Gai-sensei around. It was sort of like the old days." Neji was still technically a chuunin, so on missions classified S or A, like this one, Tsunade had taken to sending their teacher along as a token jounin. But after today Neji's quota would be filled and he would finally regain his former rank, making Gai's presence superfluous.

"Hn," said Neji. Truthfully he was going to miss Gai too, but he wasn't about to admit it. Not even to Tenten, who knew him better than anyone else.

She shot a quick look after Gai. Detecting no sign of him, she reached over and clasped Neji's hand. By agreement they tried to avoid overt displays of affection on missions, not least because Gai had a tendency to sigh and rhapsodize about "youthful passion," but as they were temporarily alone Neji supposed it was all right. He squeezed her hand gently.

"You were amazing on the mission," she told him. "They'll start sending you out alone soon."

"Perhaps." He didn't feel too excited at the prospect, even though the combination of old and new techniques had made him stronger than ever. On this mission he'd disabled several enemies by pressing their chakra points from a distance, leaving them no chance to fight back or injure any member of the team. But he'd also found himself relying on Tenten's explosives to handle massed opponents, and on Lee and Gai to take enough pressure off him to make the kaiten unnecessary. His old self would have considered such dependence a necessary and hopefully temporary evil, but now, with his single eye, Neji saw clearly that it was not always weakness, and not always unpleasant, to need another person. Though he certainly could handle a solo mission, he didn't much want to.

To serve the Leaf as part of a united Team Gai, and to shape his clan as Hinata's right hand, was what he wanted now. And Tenten too, of course. He glanced over at her and found her watching him, smiling. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Lee! I will find you!" bellowed Gai from somewhere nearby. Then he came sprinting east across their field of vision, arms spread wide, making no effort to avoid bushes or saplings. From the red hue of his skin it was obvious he'd opened at least some of the inner gates. Flocks of birds rose up from the disturbed foliage, squawking irately.

"Didn't you say Lee went that way?" asked Tenten. "If he finds him soon, he'll try to make us play again."

Neji scanned the treetops ahead. "No, it's all right, Lee's headed back this way, and in that jumpsuit he blends right in. Gai-sensei will never spot him."

"Let's hope you're right."

He did turn out to be right; Lee had evidently learned something about stealth, because he managed to avoid their teacher until the dense forest turned into weeds and grass at the foot of Konoha's high wall. Gai emerged from the woods along with Neji and Tenten, a couple of meters away from the village's open front gates.

"He's wily," said Gai grimly, shading his eyes and peering back through the trees. "He must be a genius, a natural master of deception and disguise."

"Or he just heard you yelling," Tenten said.

Before Gai could respond to that something slammed into him from behind, springing up from the tall grasses in a whirl of energy to catch him squarely between the shoulder blades and send him sprawling.

"Gai-sensei! I have won! Not only did I evade you in the forest, but I also beat you back to the village! Admit your defeat!" Lee was grinning from ear to ear, shoulders thrown back and hands on his hips.

Gai rolled over and looked up at Lee from beneath heavy black eyebrows. "I admit it, Lee, and I couldn't be more proud. Every teacher dreams of this day, when his student will surpass—"

"Excuse me," said an icy voice from just inside the gate.

Neji turned around with some relief; he was glad of an excuse to skip the rest of what was shaping up to be a rather long speech culminating in a hug. That feeling quickly evaporated, though, when he saw that the person standing a few paces away and watching him intently was Hisao, elder member of the Main House.

Tenten gasped and swiftly drew a handful of shuriken, while Lee just blinked in surprise and Gai fell silent and picked himself up off the ground.

"What do you want?" Tenten asked aggressively, her body tense and poised for an attack. She'd been spoiling for a fight with the Main House ever since Neji came to her after being cursed -- it had been all he and Hinata could do to keep her from plastering Hiashi's mansion with paper bombs.

Hisao didn't deign to answer her question. He might have been the most open-minded of his clan's rulers, but to outsiders he still presented the cold and unflappable demeanor of a true Hyuuga. "Neji," he said calmly, "I heard you'd be returning today and came to meet you. It's been a while."

That was true – Neji hadn't set foot in the Main House since delivering his ultimatum to Hiashi. He and Hinata continued to train together, but she'd apologetically informed him they'd have to do it somewhere else, as he was no longer welcome in his uncle's home.

Neji put out a hand to quiet Tenten and asked, "What do you want of me?"

Hisao sighed and bowed his head, suddenly looking rather old and tired. Even his manner of dress was different – instead of standard Hyuuga robes he now wore formal black. "There's been a death, Neji. Someone very important to the clan."

Immediately Hinata's face came to mind, and his heart hammered painfully in his chest. "Who—?"

"Lord Hyuuga."

Everything seemed to freeze; for an instant the birds stopped singing and the wind ceased to blow. Then the world restarted and Neji gathered enough wits to ask, "How is that possible? He was so strong!"

"He was a shinobi. You know what that means. It was an S-rank reconnaissance mission that turned out to be an ambush. He killed twelve of the enemy before they finally managed to bring him down, and then he blew himself up rather than allow the Byakugan to be captured."

Blew himself up … of course, Hiashi would not have had a curse mark to seal away his kekkei genkai after death. But he should never have been in that position in the first place.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Neji objected. "He was head of the family – why would he go on an S-rank mission to begin with?"

"Because the Hokage requested a jounin-level Hyuuga for an extremely dangerous assignment and there weren't that many to choose from. It was determined that only two men would be capable of it: Lord Hyuuga and you. We all encouraged him to send you, but in the end he decided to take your place."

His head spun and he actually took a few steps back, until he felt Tenten's reassuring touch on his arm. "Why? Why would he—"

"He said he didn't want to deprive the clan of your talent." Hisao's tone sharpened. "But I'm surprised at you, Neji, dwelling on such a personal matter when you still haven't asked the most important question of all."

"Then … has it been already been decided who will succeed Lord Hyuuga?"

"Indeed it has. Lord Hyuuga recorded his wishes before he left, as a precaution. He chose Hinata."

***

He couldn't seem to move fast enough, even though he'd already left Hisao far behind in his sprint for the Main House.

"Go!" the old man had said to him. "If you're truly loyal then you must go to her now, because no time will be more dangerous than this, when her position is still insecure!"

Neji hadn't needed to be told twice.

And then the Main House was in sight, and through its stately walls he could see dozens of people crowded inside. The center of activity was a large rectangular room in the northwest corner, and seated on a cushion within was Hinata.

He hesitated briefly at the door, remembering his uncle's ban. But Hiashi was dead and this was Hinata's house now. He slid the door open and stepped inside.

The interior hummed with hushed voices and shifted with dark shadows, as black-clad pale-skinned Hyuuga mingled and spoke softly to each other. He said nothing to any of them; they might be family, but at the moment they were irrelevant.

Or maybe not. He noted as he pressed forward that nearly half were wearing forehead-protectors or wrappings across their brows, a sure sign they were Branch members. But on occasions like this it was customary for the Main and Branch households to gather separately; he vaguely remembered that, at the death of the Lady Hyuuga more than a decade ago, the Branch household had sat its own mourning and sent small parties to Hiashi's mansion to pay their respects. So it was significant to see everyone mixed together like this.

Already things were changing.

He reached the room were Hinata waited and stepped over the threshold. Most people here were seated, attentively oriented toward the far wall and their new leader. Hideaki was on Hinata's immediate left, leaning in to speak to her. He, like everyone else, went quiet when he caught sight of the new arrival. All talk died down and more than a dozen pairs of white eyes swung his way.

That was the last thing Neji saw before dropping to his knees and pressing his forehead to the floor. "Lady Hyuuga," he said, voice thick with emotion.

"Please, nii-san, sit up." He obeyed, pushing himself upward to find her smiling wanly at him. She seemed tired –there were bluish circles under her eyes and her left eye, the real one, was slightly bloodshot. It occurred to him then that she had just lost her father and may not yet have had the time or privacy to cry.

"I'm glad to see you returned safely from your mission. Am I right that this was the last one you had to complete before being restored to jounin?"

She wasn't stuttering or hesitating; she must have been making a tremendous effort to avoid those habits of uncertainty. "Yes. I haven't seen the Hokage yet, but I believe that when I do she will reinstate me." He'd been so pleased with that prospect only an hour ago, but now it was insignificant.

"Then, congratulations. We are all proud."

He acknowledged her praise with a bow. "I was … stunned to hear about Lord Hyuuga."

Her bottom lip quivered a bit. No one else seemed to notice. "I once heard him say that the best kind of death was in battle. He went very bravely."

"Yes."

She closed her eyes briefly, reopened them. "Neji-nii san, I have been sitting for a very long time, and I want to speak to you privately. Come take a walk with me around the courtyard."

"Of course." He rose and she did the same, while Hideaki and several others surreptitiously shot him pointed looks.

Once they were outside in the empty courtyard he said quietly, "I'm sorry to say this, but you need to be careful. Speaking with me alone makes it seem as if you favor me."

"I do favor you."

"If you make it too obvious, it will arouse jealousy."

"I know. But I've listened to the others for hours already, and there's something urgent I have to tell you."

"Something urgent?" He looked at her in alarm – her shoulders were sagging and her fists were clenched. Then it hit him, the piece of this scene that was missing. "Lady Hyuuga, where is Hanabi-sama?"

Hinata's face was stricken. "She's gone. As soon as Father's wishes were made known she left, and hasn't been seen since. And Jun-san has also disappeared."

Jun and Hanabi, missing and in all probability together. That did not bode well. "I see. What are you planning to do?"

"I want you to find them for me. I would go myself, but for the moment I have too much to attend to here. I want you to find out where they've gone and report back."

He raised his eyebrows. "There's no need for that. I can simply deal with them myself and bring them back here by force, if necessary."

She shook her head. "No! I only want you to find them, so that I can go speak with them myself."

"You mean to negotiate, convince them to return?"

"Yes."

"That may not be possible. It could be that they are completely unwilling to accept your leadership."

She looked down, her sadness palpable. "If that's the case, then I will … let them go. I won't bind them to me against their will -- there are no more caged birds in this family. But either way I have to know, and Hanabi didn't say anything before she left."

Her desire to be reunited with her sister, together with her willingness to give the girl her freedom, touched him deeply. "I will find them," he promised.

"Thank you, nii-san. I have been … so worried for Hanabi." Hinata paused and gazed pensively into the cherry tree, which had long since dropped its blooms. "She's like Father, you know – she never shows any emotion except anger. But I think she must be in pain. Her whole life she was told it was her role to be the heir, to be strong enough to lead the family. It was even rumored that she was conceived as a replacement for me, because of my weakness. So she believed succeeding our father was the whole reason for her existence. And then around the time of our first chuunin exam, for no reason she could understand, Father began to have doubts. It must have seemed like she was losing his love. And now he's left the clan to me, and I think she must be very confused, and feel like she doesn't know who she is anymore."

He thought back to himself at that age, to a time when his own understanding of the world and his place in it had been shattered. "If you are right, then Hanabi-sama is on the edge between darkness and light. By talking to her you may be able to influence her choice, but it will be dangerous. She may try to harm you as I did."

She turned to him and he saw her left eye was shining brightly with unshed tears. "I have to try. She's as much a victim in all this as you or me. If I can't reach my own sister, what chance do I have to fix things for everyone else?"

To that he had no good answer. But he decided that if and when she went to meet Hanabi, she was not going to do it alone. He would go along to protect her.

"I will find her for you," he vowed again. "Things may yet work out for the best."

"I hope so." She reached up to wipe at her left eye, then glanced over her shoulder at the mansion, where myriad responsibilities called to her. She began moving toward the doorway. "I believe Hanabi loves me in her own way. Just like my father did."

Suddenly, like the thrust of a blade, Neji felt the pain of some sharp-edged emotion that froze him in place. After a moment he identified it as grief, with a shading of guilt. "Lord Hyuuga took my place on that mission," he confessed to her retreating back, unsure if she already knew it or not. "It should have been me."

She'd been on the verge of reentering the house, but halted briefly. "I do not blame you at all, nii-san. Father did what he thought was best for the clan. Now I will, too." Then she took a deep breath and went inside.

Neji stayed behind a few minutes, remembering his uncle. Hiashi had both saved him and acted as his torturer, branded him with a mark of submission and helped him regain his independence. In life he'd adhered to hierarchy and tradition, but through his successor he'd enabled equality and change. In the end he was too complex for real understanding, and the paradoxes of his life were now being played out between his two daughters. They were also raging through Neji's mind, where grief at his uncle's death warred with relief that his rule was over, and the image of a father-figure contrasted with that of a captor.

Given time, and the successful reinvention of the Hyuuga, it was possible he would come to remember his uncle with love.

***

Tenten drew the edge of the blade along the whetstone, eliciting the satisfying metallic scrape that always struck her as subtly musical. She didn't even have to test the tanto; she could tell by the sound it made that it needed a few more passes.

Maintenance of her many weapons was a good way to pass the time and keep her hands busy. Unfortunately it was also fairly mindless, leaving nothing to distract from the worry gnawing at her mind. Neji was alone in that nest of white-eyed snakes, in the domain of people who had seen him tortured and thought it was right. She couldn't go with him, not yet, so all that was left was for her to wait and worry.

And hone her tanto, of course.

Footsteps crunched across the sandy ground, and Tenten looked up to see an all-too-familiar face.

"Hanabi," she said, gripping her weapon tightly and noting the girl's customary wrathful expression. Her hair was short now, cut stylishly to obscure the damage Neji had done to it with the chousen.

"You think it's over, don't you?" the girl spat. "Just sitting here waiting for my cousin to come tell you about all the changes Hinata's made."

"Pretty much. Don't you have somewhere else to be? Your father did just die, after all." It might have been a cruel thing to say, but Hanabi hardly seemed overcome with grief.

Her thin brows knit. "What would you know about it? You don't even have a family."

In one fluid motion Tenten rose, and Hanabi stepped hastily back and settled into the Gentle Fist stance. Tenten smiled grimly.

"You know, this is perfect. I've been waiting for a chance like this for weeks. Neji may have taken it easy on you out of respect for your father, but I won't." She hefted the tanto, decided it was sharp enough after all, and drew her arm back to throw.

That's when she became aware of a presence at her back— someone had taken advantage of her preoccupation to approach from behind. She whirled and stabbed downward, feeling her blade plunge deep into wet flesh and strike bone. She had time enough to see a dour lined face, long graying hair, and a pair of anguished white eyes beneath a Leaf forehead-protector, before a sharp pain flared in her neck and she blacked out.

A/N: Many thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, especially those who've been kind enough to leave comments on several different chapters. This is the beginning of the home stretch; I predict only a few more chapters before the end. And for mafalda: Sorry I couldn't comply with your request for fluff, but I just didn't see any way to work it in here. Hopefully the inclusion of green youthfulness was an acceptable substitute ...