Disclaimer: Naruto and all Naruto related stuff is (c) Masashi Kishimoto. All OCs and original storyline/plot/imagination (c) of ME!!!!!

A/N: I dare anyone to be surprise I'm updating at 4am again ;P

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!!


-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
IGNORING THE OBVIOUS
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Tenten stared at the white marble bust engraved into the large circular fountain, as she stood in the court yard overlooking the high fortress walls that surrounded the palace. The deep-set eyes of the former Dragon Lord bore into her soul. There was something familiar about the face looking up at her from the side of the fountain. He looked like someone she had known; or at least, that's how the kunoichi felt. Perhaps, she wondered, he reminded her of Himakai. But as she continued looking at the bust, Tenten failed to see the resemblance between the two.

"Hn." Tenten furrowed her brow, wondering why that was. "Himakai must take after her mother…" Tenten reasoned; shrugging her shoulders dismissively.

It didn't really matter anyway; there were many other more important questions for her to try and figure out. Questions like, why Himakai had agreed to marry Lord Juushin.

For the last three days since their arrival at the People's Palace, Tenten had been searching the palace for weapons, escape routes, and anything else that might help them. Along the way, she had pieced together a story about what had happened sixteen years earlier. She had discovered that a bloody coup, led by Lord Juushin, had destroyed the former Dragon Lord's forces, and eliminated everyone that stood in his way. And now the very man that had killed her parents wanted to marry Himakai. And she had accepted.

It made no sense…

Even taking into account that their lives were quite possibly in grave danger (a fact which Tenten had become aware of after noticing the number of swordsmen visibly guarding the Palace grounds), and the fact that Lord Juushin might very well kill Himakai if she didn't accept to marry him, it still didn't make sense that the blue-eyed kunoichi would actually agree to marry the man that had murdered her family. No, that wasn't entirely true. Actually it did make prefect sense… if what she wanted was to stall until their rescue arrived. What didn't make sense was the fact that the wedding was in three drays, and Himakai had agreed to that.

Given that it had taken them a little over a day and a half to arrive at the palace, through dense forests and convoluted paths, Tenten found it difficult to imagine the guys would be able to make it through the forest to a place they'd never seen before, in less than a week… and at most, they would have only had about a day or two on their journey so far, which meant there was no way they would arrive in time to rescue them before the wedding. So why then, had Himakai agreed to such terms?

"What is she thinking?" Tenten whispered; frustrated by the current situation.

"Who?" A pure, yet strongly masculine, voice called out from behind the kunoichi.

"Haah." She gasped, as she turned to face the owner of said voice. "Ahh…um…" The kunoichi nervously stepped back; closer into the fountain.

"Do you mean your 'sister'?" Lord Juushin calmly approached her from across the courtyard.

"Um…" She wasn't sure why, but for some reason the man terrified her. It wasn't like he was particularly scary looking; in fact, he was quite attractive. It also wasn't due to the fact that she knew what he'd done; after all, she had faced off against a number of murderous men before. But for some reason… there was just something about him that made her skin crawl and every nerve in her body scream for her to run.

"You seem troubled." The green haired man smoothly stated, as he stopped directly in front of the kunoichi.

"I…" She nervously stammered; her hand unconsciously jumping up to her head, making sure her hair was pulled down, just as Himakai had instructed her. "I was just thinking that… this is all happening so fast." She replied; thinking it was best to remain honest, while not entirely disclosing the actual meaning behind her words.

"Hn." The Lord nodded understandingly. "I suppose it would seem so to one unfamiliar with the world of royal-politics." He paused; furrowing his brow as he squinted to stare at the kunoichi. "However," He began again, after shaking his head as if to dismiss some thought. "Though your 'sister' was raised in your family's lifestyle," He repeated a piece of the story Himakai had fed him the first time they sat to eat a meal together. "She is still a princess, and was thus exposed to the world of nobility, in which this sort of thing is common place. She understands it, and knows this is her fate." He paused again to scrutinizingly stare at the kunoichi. "I am certain, however, that having her 'sister' supporting her would be of great comfort to the princess." He added with a none-too sincere smile.

"I…" Tenten nervously chewed on her lower lip; briefly wondering why he kept staring at her. "Yes." She nodded. "I suppose you are right."

.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.

That wasn't right.

Himakai stared down quizzically at the tape the old woman standing in front of her was currently using to measure her bust size. It wasn't right at all, and neither was the size the old woman had taken of her waist earlier, which was at least three inches more than Himakai last remembered it being.

Over the last few weeks, the blue-eyed kunoichi had noticed that her body felt heavier, and she'd been feeling fatigued, but because there were so many other things to concern herself with, Himakai hadn't really paid much attention to it. Now, looking down at measuring tape, as the old woman made notes on her clipboard, Himakai couldn't help but notice the difference in her body. She did feel heavier; and fuller too. She was normally never one for worrying about dieting and that sort of nonsense, what with possessing the metabolism of a kunoichi, but apparently, Himakai realize, she must have gone too easy during the last few weeks, because she couldn't recall ever before having gained that much weight in so short a time…

"Princess?" The old woman called out.

"Yes?" The kunoichi shook herself of her thoughts.

"What kind of embroidery would you like on the dress?" The old woman asked, as she pointed toward the roll of white fabric sitting on the table next to them.

"Embroidery?" Himakai repeated questioningly.

As she stared at the white folds of fabric, Himakai couldn't help but think about how odd it felt to be deciding on a pattern for a wedding dress she would wear to marry a man who wasn't the one she had expected; or wanted… "Haah." She sighed. As much as she hated the decision she had made, it couldn't be helped. As a child she had been brought up to believe that above all else, the Sisterhood of the Moon always came first. She was a daughter of the Sisterhood, and as such, it was her duty to do everything possible to protect the Dragon Lord's clan. Everything! As much as it pained her to know what she would be giving up, Himakai couldn't go against her blood. But more importantly, she wanted something better than stifling rules and isolating tradition (regardless of how noble they maybe), for her little sister.

In the years she and Tenten had spent in Konoha, it had always been a constant struggle for Himakai to find balance between being the good sister, and the dutiful servant. She had never quite figured out what was the right thing to do; whether to teach Tenten the truth about her noble roots, or to let her live a normal life amongst the common anonymous masses. She had decided, ultimately, that the only thing that really matter was that Tenten was happy. And though recent weeks had not seemed of the most pleasant nature, Himakai knew Tenten was happy in her life. She had friends who cared for her, and a boy she loved, who (as of yet) had only the need to build up the courage to tell her he felt the same. It was a good life, and if it meant Himakai had to give up her own happiness to let her sister keep it, the blue-eyed kunoichi was prepared to make that sacrifice…

It was, after all, her duty. But more importantly, she wanted this for her sister.

"Haah." Himakai sighed again as she looked at the simple white fabric. "No." She shook her head. "There is no need for embroidery." She sullenly replied to the old woman.

"Very well." The woman nodded. "I will begin working on it right away then."

"Hai." Himakai slowly nodded; waving the woman away. She needed rest. Needed to sleep to keep herself from breaking down into tears at the thought of everything she would be giving up. "Haaa." She exhaled tearfully; both hands cupping her head as she walked over toward the bed. "I should be grateful." She whispered to herself as she got on the bed. "I've known what no other Sister ever has…"

.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.

"What are you saying?" The fuming Ijinu asked the rest of the team, as he paced angrily back and forth through the small storage room where the six shinobi had been sleeping for the last few days as the Rebels assembled their plan and began preparing for the attack on the People's Palace in four days time.

"We told you already!" Kiba yelled at his big brother. "We don't know what happened!"

"Grrr." He growled doubtfully. "So you expect me to believe," He threateningly glared at the 3 younger shinobi. "that four trained shinobi slept in this room all night, and nobody noticed anything?!?!"

"Pretty much." Shikamaru nodded uninterestedly, from the other side of the room.

"YOSH!" The bowl-haired boy, sitting cross-legged at the center of the room, pumped his fist in the air enthusiastically. "My eternal rival has indeed become most proficient in his abilities at stealth!" He cheered.

"WHAT?!" Ijinu turned his wrathful attention toward the younger boy.

"He's not wrong." Shikamaru opined from the other side. "Hyuga's are especially adept at stealth." He informed the older man. "And Neji's probably the best of his clan."

"Yup." Kiba nodded in agreement with the lazy-nin.

"That may be so," Ijinu spoke through clenched teeth. "But that doesn't excuse the lack of alertness in this room!"

"Well, it's not like we expected him to take off." Kiba countered. "He's normally not that impulsive."

"It is true." Lee vigorously nodded. "Neji-san always follows the shinobi guidelines!"

"That is correct!" A booming voice from behind Ijinu called everyone's attention toward the door. "However!" Gai loudly bellowed. "My genius pupil has always been hot-headed when it comes to the flower of our team!" He added.

"Agh." Ijinu groaned; he was pretty sure he could guess what came next.

"The Captain and I," Gai began, as he and Captain Hakumi entered the room. "Have discovered why my foolish pupil has disappeared."

"Yes," Captain Hakumi nodded; entering the room with a crumpled up piece of paper.

"What's that?" Kiba inquired about the paper.

"It is a letter that arrived late last night." The Captain informed them.

"What's it say?" Ijinu demanded; though he was fairly certain he could guess exactly what was in the note.

"It announces that the girl whose been mistaken for the daughter of the former Dragon Lord, is to be married to Lord Juushin in three days." He announced; staring directly at the older Inuzuka as he said it.

"WHAT?!" Lee jumped to his feet excitedly. "Tenten-san has been mistaken for a princess?!?!"

"That's not what he said." Shikamaru dully replied.

"Yeah!" Kiba, who had also seemed shocked by the news, yelled at the older boy. "Besides, it's obviously Himakai-san who's the princess!" He opined.

"It doesn't say either of the girls name!" Ijinu interrupted the group of younger men before they strayed too far off topic.

"That's true." Captain Hakumi nodded. "And perhaps that is why when the Hyuga boy retrieved the massage off of my hawk, he assumed it was the younger girl."

"That makes sense." Gai nodded; a serious look on his face as he considered it. "To him, Tenten-san would be the most likely choice."

"That's true." Shikamaru agreed; curiously watching the Captain and Ijinu as the two men eyed one another. "But we seem to be ignoring the most important part of the letter." He informed the group.

"Yeah? What's that?" Kiba questioningly eyed the lazy genius.

"This wedding is supposed to take place in three days." Shikamaru replied; knowing that at least two of them had already understood what this meant. "But the rebel attack isn't scheduled until the Dragon Moon Festival… the day after the wedding…"

"HAAH!" Lee and Gai loudly gasped. "That means…" Lee tearfully began. "Our most precious flower will be married by then!" He gasped.

"Not necessarily." Shikamaru replied; more so because he was fairly certain that Neji would arrive in time to stop said wedding, even if the rest of them didn't arrive in time; but also because he was fairly certain Tenten wasn't the one who would be getting married… "The letter doesn't specify who's marrying this Lord Juushin, or does it?" He questioned as he continued to observe the two men in the room who seemed to know more than the rest of them.

"Actually," Captain Hakumi began, as he continued watching the elder Inuzuka brother. "It does."

"It does?" Ijinu stared intently at the bandana-wearing man.

"It does." Captain Hakumi repeated.

"Well?" Kiba, along with the rest of them, impatiently waited. "Who is it?" He asked.

"'The girl whose been mistaken for the daughter of the former Dragon Lord.'" Shikamaru repeated the carefully written words Captain Hakumi had previously read to them; certain he had deciphered their true meaning. "Meaning the real princess won't be the one to be getting married in three days…" He concluded.

"Hime…" Ijinu shockingly gasped under his breath; confirming the lazy-nin's suspicions.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
TBC
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

A/N: I was going to add in a 4th scene with Neji, but I'll save that for the next chapter ;)

Oh, also one more thing... I have some fanart on my deviantart page with Ijinu and Captain Hakumi, plus a Hakumi/Himakai childhood fanart, and of course a ton more Nejiten stuff... ;)