Chapter 24:

~Tsuki's POV

"Tsuki?" Tenten voiced. "You and Neji…are engaged?"

I looked at her, then at me sister helplessly.

"I swear I didn't tell him," she said, looking as surprised as I was. "Jiraiya-sensei must've found out somehow and let it slip."

"That old fool," I muttered, one hand covering my face.

"Tsuki."

I looked at Tenten, but she was looking down in the arena. I turned to see what she saw, and Neji was looking up at me. I couldn't read the expression on his face. His eyes were flashing with so many different emotions, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

He turned back to Naruto with a hard glare. "I don't know how you found out about that, but it has no relation to this battle."

"So you're saying it wasn't chosen for her. She had a choice in it?" Naruto persisted.

I narrowed my eyes at the blonde boy, getting angry. I can't believe he would publicly announce such a thing, especially when it had nothing to do with him.

Neji narrowed his at him as well. "Of course she had a choice. But it wouldn't have mattered in the end. It's a destiny neither of us can fight."

"What do you mean it wouldn't have mattered?"

"Our engagement is the final wish of our fathers'. Even if one of us went against those wishes, there would be that one person who would enforce them."

I followed Neji's gaze to Hiashi. He was right. Given Hiashi's record and how long I've known him, he probably would've enforced our marriage even if I had said no.

"Yeah, well you can think that all you want." Naruto outstretched his fist. "People always tell me I just don't know when to give up." He formed his favorite hand sign again. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

This time, dozens of shadow clones appeared around him. Neji was basically up against a small army.

And Naruto didn't give Neji time to take in the situation. Not that he probably needed it. One at a time, each Naruto charged and fought hand-to-hand with Neji. Some even went in 3's. But Neji wasn't tiring out anytime soon, and Naruto, along with his shadow clones, was panting.

"This is ridiculous," Naruto said. "We're not even getting close to this guy."

Neji was surrounded on all sides, but he wasn't phased. "You think I can be fooled by a trick like that?"

Neji speed through the crowd of shadow clones, heading towards one Naruto he assumed to be the real one. He jabbed that Naruto in the shoulder, hitting a chakra point.

"You're the one keeping out of range for fear of me striking your chakra points. Like this. The more the others attack, the more you stand out for holding back."

Some of the clones disappeared.

Neji opened his eyes and smirked at the Naruto he hit. "You're the real one, aren't you?"

The other Narutos began disappearing, and the one who was hit was crouching down, holding his shoulder.

Neji stepped back. "I told you it was pointless."

Naruto chuckled. "Oh yeah?" He look up, blood dripping on the side of his mouth. "And I told you it was a mistake to count me out."

Neji faltered, and the Naruto he hit disappeared in a puff of smoke. "But how?"

He turned around as two Narutos jumped at him.

"All right!" Kiba shouted. "Way to go, Naruto!"

"No way!" Tenten gasped.

"This is why you don't underestimate Naruto," Taiyou grinned.

"You thought I was too much of a chicken to attack you myself?" Naruto asked, aiming for a punch. "Well think again!"

The blow hit, but not quite either. It was being blocked by a small shield of chakra. Neji smirked as a dome of chakra swirled around him. He spun, and the two Narutos were thrown back.

I looked at Tenten in astonishment. "Is that what you've been helping him train with?"

Tenten smiled. "Yeah. Pretty cool, right?"

My sister glanced at me. "Okay, you've obviously been spending way too much time with the Hyuga Clan. What was that?"

"Rotation. Now I see why he exhausted himself that day. That technique takes up a lot of chakra."

"Yeah, but it doesn't phase him anymore," Tenten noted. "Just watch."

Neji turned and looked at Naruto hatefully. He was standing in a small crater, and Naruto was a few feet away on his back.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked.

"Did you really think you'd won?" Neji replied.

Naruto stood up. "We'll see about that." With his hand sign formed, only six shadow clones appeared this time. They surrounded Neji immediately.

"I'm so lost," Taiyou said.

"Neji can see almost 360 degrees with his Byakugan," Tenten explained. "It's pointless. He can detect any attack almost as soon as it's launched. That's when his real defense comes into play. The 8 Trigrams Palm Rotation."

Naruto growled as he and his clones rushed Neji.

"Hyahh!" Neji spun, his chakra blowing back the seven look-alikes. The clones disappeared.

"The moment he senses an attack," I continued, "Neji discharges an intense, focused burst of chakra from the chakra points in his body. Then, by rotating his body quickly, he builds up enough energy to not only block, but to repel his attacker.""Normally, chakra emitted from chakra points is difficult to control," Tenten said. "Even Jounin can usually only utilize chakra from a single body part at a time, like the hands or feet. But Neji's mastery of the Gentle Fist-type jutsu is so great that he can emit chakra from several places, warding off simultaneous attacks from multiple directions."

"So basically it's an ultimate defense," Taiyou said.

"Even more impenetrable than Gaara's shell of sand," I added. "Nothing can get through it."

"That's what Kankuro said about Gaara's shell," Taiyou argued. "And Lee got through it anyway."

"No offense, Taiyou, but Naruto's not Lee," I sighed. "Besides, it was hard enough for Lee to even break the shell. There's no way Naruto can break a shield of chakra."

Naruto sat up and rubbed his cheek.

"This is the end for you," Neji voiced. "You're in range, and you can't escape my 8 Trigrams."

"He's mastered that too?" I asked in disbelief. "All in one month?"

"Mastered what?" Taiyou asked.

"Naruto might not get up after this, Taiyou," I told her. "Sorry."

A Tao appeared under Neji's feet, him standing in the center. Then it faded.

Neji held his arms out in front of him. "Gentle Fist Art." He spread his arms and legs away from each other, his left side facing Naruto. "8 Trigrams, 64-palm."

Neji smirked and rushed Naruto, who was looking scared almost.

"8 Trigrams, 2 palm!" Neji hit two of Naruto's chakra points. "4 palm! 8 palm! 16 palm!"Neji's blows and movements were so precise, so graceful, it was as if he was in the middle of a frightening dance. "32 palm! 64 palm!"

Naruto landed on his back several yards away from Neji. Neji relaxed his body and stood proudly.

"What just happened?" Taiyou asked frantically.

"Neji just hit all 64 chakra points in Naruto's body," Tenten said.

"I think Neji just surpassed the Main Branch of the Hyuga Clan," I said, staring in awe.

~Taiyou's POV

I looked at Tsuki as she said this. I swear, she couldn't have looked more proud, more amazed than she did right now.

Sure, I was upset that Naruto got hit with so many blows at once and it could be the end of the line for him in the exam, but seeing the look on my sister's face as she gaze down at Neji, her husband-to-be, was worth it.

~Tsuki's POV

Genma-sensei stepped forward to check Naruto out. "Looks like it's over."

Naruto turned onto his stomach and cringed.

"I have now stuck all 64 of your chakra points," Neji told him. "You're lucky to still be breathing."

Naruto struggled to get up. "Come on…"

"Well, it must be frustrating. To realize how utterly hopeless it all was. This little dream of yours. You thought you could succeed through hard work alone. That's only an illusion."

Naruto was shaking as he tried to get up.

"Come on, Naruto," Taiyou mumbled.

I'll be damned if Naruto got…I'm not finishing that statement, because Naruto was suddenly on his feet, panting.

"Impossible!" Neji huffed. "How could he…?"

Naruto's voice was low and hoarse as he laughed. "I told you. I just don't know when to give up."

"It can't be!" Neji muttered again. "Stop this madness. You'll only get more of the same. I have nothing against you personally."

Naruto's voice was back. "Ha! That's touching. You're gonna make me cry. Anyway, I got plenty against you."

"I don't know what you mean."

"You don't? And here I thought you were Mr. Know-It-All. You don't remember what you did to Hinata, huh? The way you worked on her with your mind games. Tearing her down when she worked so hard to get here."

"Never mind that. It doesn't concern you."

"You mocked Hinata, calling her a failure. All that stuff about the great Hyuga Clan. Main household, branch families. What a bunch of crap! It doesn't give you the right to decide who's a failure. And then there's what you did to Taiyou and Tsuki. What you said about their clan."

I looked at my sister.

She scratched her cheek with one finger. "Okay, that I might have mentioned."

"What you said about their clan being weak, after all the two of them have been through," Naruto continued. "And to Tsuki's face, at that! What kind of person are you, saying something like that to one you're going to marry? That's what I've got against you!"

"Very well," Neji said. "As you're so interested, I'll tell you about it! The incident between Tsuki and I was a mistake, I'll admit. Spur of the moment anger, if you will."

My eyes widened in surprise.

"As for the Hyuga Clan…The Hyuga Clan's heritage of hatred!" Neji's voice darkened with anger. "For generations, the Main Household of our clan has practiced a secret ninjutsu, known as the Curse Mark Jutsu."

"Curse Mark Jutsu?" Naruto repeated.

"The curse mark is the symbol of a bird locked in its cage. It is the mark of those bound to a destiny they cannot escape."

Neji reached up and untied his headband. He held it in his hand, and the mark on his forehead was for all to see.

"Is that…? That's…the curse mark?"

"I was four years old when the leaders of our clan branded this symbol on my forehead with their Curse Mark Jutsu. On that same day, a great celebration took place within the Hidden Leaf Village. After many years of war, a peace agreement had been reached with the Land of Lightning, and they had sent the head Cloud Ninja to sign the treaty and join in the celebration. Everyone was there to welcome our old enemies. Every Genin and Jounin in the Leaf Village. Only one clan was absent. The Hyuga Clan, because this was the day that the heir to the Main Household was to turn three. It was Lady Hinata's third birthday."

Neji turned and looked up at Hiashi. "Her father, Lord Hiashi Hyuga, is sitting up there. He and my father, Hizashi, are twin brothers. And yet, he entered the world first, and he is head of the family. The first born. While my father, his brother, is banished to a lesser branch of the family.

"It was then, that the heir to the Main Household turned three, that the curse mark was put on me and I was made a bird in a cage. By my own uncle."

"You and this clan of yours, what's the point of it all?" Naruto asked. "Why have a main family and a branch family? And this weird curse mark. What's it mean, anyway?"

"I can assure you for one thing," Neji growled. "It's not simply for decoration. You see, this is more than a mark that we wear. It is the instrument that they use to keep us in our place. We live with the fear that they will use this curse mark to turn our brains into jelly at any time that they wish. Fear, that is what we live with. And we live with it everyday. Only in death are we free of it. This is how the power of the Byakugan is kept sealed away.

"Only the Hyuga possess this unique form of kekkai genkai. And of course, there are many who would steal it from us. That is why we exist. It is the purpose of the branch family to maintain that secret. And to serve the keepers of the secret, the Main Household, obediently, without question, for eternity. That is our destiny. Or was…

"Until that dreadful night…They went too far. When they murdered my father.

"One night, someone entered the Main Household and abducted Lady Hinata. Lord Hiashi quickly caught and killed the man. And who was this intruder, stealing through the shadows in the dead of night, wearing a mask over his face? It was none other than the head Cloud Ninja of the Land of the Lightning, the man who had just signed an alliance with us. It was obvious to everyone that he was after the secret of the Byakugan. But the Land of Lightning professed shock at this willful murder of their ninja. They claimed that the Hidden Leaf Village was in violation of their treaty, and they demanded recompense. Things got worse and worse, until it looked like war would break out anew. They Leaf Village wanted above all things to avoid a war, so at last they made a deal."

"A deal?" Naruto echoed.

"A life for a life. The Land of Lightning demanded the death of the person who had slain their ninja. If there was to be peace, Lord Hiashi must die. The Leaf Village accepted their terms.

"And so to avert a war, a man was killed. But not Hiashi." Neji looked down. He was clutching his headband so hard I thought it would cut through his skin. He was shaking, struggling to maintain composure. "My father, his twin brother, was killed in his place. In order to protect the Main Household! Only in death was my father finally free of this evil curse mark." Neji looked down at his headband. "They were so much alike. Twin brothers. But their destinies were determined long ago, when one was born a few seconds after the other."

I looked at Hiashi, fighting against the urge of tears. I knew what happened to Neji's father, but I never knew it in this much detail.

Neji looked up at Naruto. "And this match is the same. Your destiny was decided the moment I was chosen as your opponent."

"Oh, man," Taiyou said. "That's not right. So not cool. How much of that did you know about, Tsuki?"

"Not enough," I said softly.

Thank you all for being patient with me! I apologize for 8-kicked-sideways!(Infinity, for those who don't follow.)

Also! I have good news! I have literally just created a group on facebook for you all! I love you guys so much, I want to get updates about future chapters and other stories out before the next posting update! :) Thank you Koyuki-Rune for suggesting it! So go on facebook and request to join the group! There you can all chat about your favorite things about Even Fairies Have Dreams, ask me questions that I may(or may not) answer ;), and tell me what you think needs to be done about the story(ies)! Yes, story(ies). Who says Even Fairies Have Dreams is my only story? Not me, obviously, if you've paid any attention to my profile. Hahah! Anyway, it would mean so much to me if you join the facebook group. It's pretty bland, but the name is bound to change when my mind is fresh and not up writing Chapter 25 at 3:40 in the freaking morning. xD It's called "Halo-Lucinda-Ivy " for right now. Please join! I'll be forever grateful!(As if I'm not already!) Oh, and let your friends in on it too! xP There are many chapters and stories to come, my friends. And yes, I'm working on Chapter 25 as we speak! More excitement soon!