Ren Note: Please review if you like the story or have criticisms. I'm writing and posting these as quick as I can. Thank you for your time.
Ren laid in Itachi's bed with her forearm pressed against her eyes and his sheet over her bare body; it was hard to breathe even now. Itachi was laying beside her with his arms around her waist and his nose buried in her messy hair. "Do you regret it," he murmured sleepily as he kissed the top of her head.
Ren's heart was as satisfied as her body; she pulled her arm down and leaned away to look at him with a shy smile on her face. "N-not at all. Do you," she asked him weakly. Fear had set in as she worried about whether or not he had used her.
"No," he told her before pressing his lips against her bare shoulder. "You are mine now." A small smirk appeared on his lips; it was almost predatory.
Ren tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled his lips to hers. "And you're mine," she told him before kissing him again.
As Ren sat in Hizashi's office she had wished that memory wouldn't have resurfaced right then and there. She felt foolish enough for wanting to text Itachi from the time she woke up until the time she went to bed; remembering the things he did to her in front of her cousin and uncle would not bode well for her.
"There are just a few more papers I have to fill out, then we can go get something to eat," Hizashi told her without looking up from his desk; his pen didn't stop for even a second.
Ren nodded and told him, "Take your time." She hadn't been back in Hi No Kuni for even an hour yet. She was in her dress skirt and a white blouse with her hair in a bun like he had requested of her; the plane ride had been uncomfortable and awkward in these clothes. Tokuma had picked her up from the airport and escorted her all the way to the fourth from the top floor.
Hizashi's office had not changed at all since the last time she was in it; the only difference was her mother wasn't the one outside taking phone calls. Neji had been in and out of the office with different papers throughout her wait; it took everything in her not to smile about him already having an internship there.
Her agenda was already packed full of plans. Tonight she would go to dinner with Neji and Hizashi, the next day she and Neji would visit Hinata and Hanabi, and the day after that she would drag Neji to the mall to meet up with Lee, Choji, and Shino. She wasn't sure when she would go to see Shikamaru but it was something she had to do. He couldn't ignore her if she was standing in his bedroom.
"Ren-chan," Hizashi called to her, "Will you go find Neji and tell him I'll be ready in about ten minutes?"
Ren got to her feet and bowed lowly to her uncle. "Of course, Hizashi-ojisama," she told him with a small smile. She was glad to be getting up and moving; if she remained seated a moment more she might have fallen asleep right there in his office. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Tell my secretary, Ima, she is free to leave for the evening. She is to finish up her work quickly and answer no further calls. Perhaps if she hears it from you she will not protest."
"A-are you having trouble with her?" Ren hadn't meant to voice the question out loud but there it was.
"She is money hungry and a flirt," Hizashi told her in distaste. "Your mother is irreplaceable. The seven secretaries I've been through are all disappointing."
Ren forced a smile and nodded. "I know the feeling. She was one of a kind."
"You're graduating next year," he asked. She nodded. "Perhaps you could start interning here afterward. It would be nice to see a familiar face around here."
Ren thought of protesting -she would have before- but silenced the urge. "I will definitely consider it. Tokuma and Neji have made me decide that this is where I belong. I plan to work hard on my studies so that I do not disappoint."
"I'm relieved to hear that. I'm proud of you," Hizashi told her with a gentle smile.
Ren felt pride bubble into her heart and she stood a little taller. For so long she had wanted to hear a male tell her they were proud of her. Growing up she had longed for her father to show up and encourage her; her father was in her life now and still didn't utter a single word of praise. It felt so silly that now she had finally received that from her favorite uncle; he was one of the people she fought at every turn about her goals in life. "Arigato, Hizashi-ojisama," she told him with a nod, "I'll go find Neji now."
When Ren stepped out of his office she felt lighter than she had in a very long time. Determination sunk into her very being and she walked up to the secretary's desk outside Hizashi's office; it faced the elevators so that it was the first thing you saw when getting off on this floor. "Hizashi-sama says that you are free to go home as soon as your work is finished for the day; he wants it completed post-haste. He has also requested that you take no further calls this evening. Thank you for your hard work," Ren told her flatly with a fake smile; she was sure she looked like Sai at that moment.
The woman's eyes widened for a split second before she leaned back in her chair. "In all due respect, Ren-chan, I will not leave until Hizashi-sama has told me that himself." Her smile was smug and she crossed her arms over her chest, effectively pressing her breasts upward; they had already been threatening to spill from her blouse.
Ren had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from growling at the woman who was sitting like a whore in her mother's seat. This had been a position Naoma had worked hard to enter. That chair was a sacred place for only the most trustworthy. Ren instantly knew Hizashi had been right not to like her. "I apologize for the inconvenience of taking orders from me," Ren began sharply, "However if you will look behind you, you will see that Hizashi-sama has already closed his blinds and that is an indication that if you bother him right now, he will not be pleased. He has requested that you clock out for the evening so that he can leave shortly as well. You are no longer needed for the evening."
"You're definitely their daughter," the woman grumbled as she picked up her suit jacket and purse. "A word of advice, kid," she told her as she pressed the elevator call button. Quickly she turned back to face Ren. "Just because you're Hideki and Naoma's daughter… Just because you're going to be Hizashi's daughter-in-law, doesn't make you invincible to all the little bugs beneath you. Your mother would've been wise to have remembered that; no one below this floor was sad to see her go. At least one of your parents was smart. When you return to Nagisa, tell your father Hyuga Ima says hello."
The woman disappeared when the elevator doors closed and it took everything in Ren not to rush to them and force them open. Her brows were furrowed and her heart was racing. Without a thought, she sent a text to Itachi asking him to look into her mother's death, if he had time. Ren's blood was like ice flowing through her veins and it was harder to breathe now.
She had known that most of the 'lesser branch' shunned her mother but to hear that they were happy she was gone hurt Ren's heart; her mother was the kindest person she had ever known and hearing her being bashed by people who didn't even know her was infuriating. There had been many times when Naoma had saved people from being fired or offered to be a reference for those who were. Ren's mother was a saint; if any of them had anything to do with her death she would-
"Ren? Are you alright," Neji asked as he came out of one of the nearby offices. She could hear him but couldn't see him through the tears forming in her eyes. His hands were on her shoulders and she could feel him shaking her. "Ren," he called to her as everything went black for a few seconds.
Ren's eyes opened slowly as she stared up into Neji's face. He had her leaning against him and had been slapping her face gently. "N-Neji?"
"You fainted. What just happened," he asked with concern visible on his face. His brows were scrunched down and he was staring into her eyes as closely as he could without their noses touching.
"I felt lightheaded because I was angry. Next thing I knew my eyes were closed and I could hear your heart racing."
"It is not racing," he deadpanned.
"It's right by my ear, I think I would know."
"That's not even important right now. Why were you angry?"
"Your dad's secretary said some pretty awful things," she murmured as she closed her eyes again; a soft sigh escaped her lips. She couldn't bear to look at Neji right now.
"Like what," he asked skeptically as he helped her into one of the leather chairs near the elevator.
"Like the lesser branch is glad mom's dead. That just because we're supposedly getting married in the future I should remember my place. I get the feeling she had something to do with my mom's death," she responded sharply. Her eyes were now fixated on his while she searched for something; perhaps she hoped his eyes would tell her she was overreacting.
"Ren, you know it was an accident. She's just jealous of you. Ima is the type who would say anything to make others feel awful so that she can feel superior for a moment. She knows that if you were qualified her job would be yours," Neji stated with absolute certainty.
"I was just doing what Hizashi-ojisan asked," Ren growled out, "I'm not trying to take her stupid job."
"No, it will be handed to you; at least that's how she sees it," he told her with a sigh. He lowered himself to sit on the carpet in front of her.
"But it won't," Ren protested weakly. Her eyes turned to the large window overlooking the street and her brows furrowed; she would have to work harder than any of them could begin to imagine. Their ignorance made her so angry that she actually wanted to punch someone, preferably Ima.
Neji placed his hand on her thigh and rested his head on top of it. "We both know that. That's not our end goal anyway."
"When you're CEO, maybe it'd be best to fire some of the people that don't have the company's best interest at heart. Replace them with people outside the clan who would actually want to do their jobs," she suggested as she brushed her fingers through his hair; how had this turned into her comforting him? His hair was smooth and silky; Itachi's was more coarse and thick. Unintentionally she had begun comparing the two of them; perhaps it was because Ima had brought up their false betrothal and her heart already belonged to someone else.
"Ima only wants in my dad's pants so she doesn't have to work," he murmured.
"Exactly. It's good to be determined to earn rank but not to use people to do it." Ren couldn't see Neji's face, only the back of his head. A small frown formed on her lips when she realized he was hiding from her on purpose. Why the world believed that Neji would marry Ren, she never knew. It wasn't even something their parents had humored; Naoma and Hizashi had both always shut down the idea.
"We aren't getting married, either," Neji told her flatly. "I mean unless we fell in love or something crazy like that. Don't think that I'm expecting you to give up all aspects of your life for me."
Ren's heart clenched; there were some underlying feelings behind his words but she couldn't decide what they were. She was slowly getting to know Neji but she couldn't read his mind. With her lip clamped between her teeth, she nodded her head. A slow, soft sigh escaped her lips and she leaned back in the chair. "I think I'm suffering from jetlag," she muttered.
"That honestly doesn't surprise me. It's not like you to get overly emotional and faint," he told her as he moved to the chair beside her. Unless there was someone watching them on a security camera, no one would ever know they had been so friendly together for a moment.
"I'm always emotional," she told him with a faint laugh, "I'm just usually more in control of it. I don't think that part has anything to do with jetlag. I think it's all the time I spend with my sister and little brother. They've ruined me. I'll never be the cold doll Hiashi-ojisama wishes us all to be."
"You're one step closer than the rest of us to the happier people you think I'll be able to make," Neji told her with a smirk. "It's much easier to read your moods now."
"That's so mean," Ren groaned, "I still can't read you!"
"And that's how I like it. There are things about me you need not know right now," he told her with a soft sigh.
The conversation was halted because Hizashi stepped out of his office. "There you two are." He offered a small smile. "And I see you got rid of my secretary. Well done."
"That woman is awful," Neji grunted out as he stood and offered his hand to Ren; when she was on her feet he released her.
"I don't think there's a thing she could do that would surprise me," Hizashi hummed as he pressed the elevator call button.
"How about speaking ill of Hyuga Naoma to her daughter," Neji asked as the three of them waited for the elevator.
Hizashi's eyes were widened for only a split second before his face returned to its normal passive exterior. "We can discuss that in the car. Perhaps takeout would be better than a restaurant?"
"I would appreciate that," Ren murmured as she stepped into the elevator first. "I'm pretty worn out."
"Very well," Hizashi told her with a nod. He pressed the button for the ground floor. None of them were standing too close to the others. "We'll have to order from that place you like so well that sells shoutao."
"You remembered," Ren asked breathlessly.
"Your mother and I talked of our children frequently; your favorite sweets were one of many things she told me about."
Ren's heart was torn between depression and happiness; on one hand, Hizashi knew about her life and cared to show it but on the other, she was wrapped up with the idea that her own father didn't spend time with her at all. If things went south with Itachi and she did end up marrying Neji, there were worse men that she could have as a father-in-law. It took everything in her not to be overly excited when she thanked him for his kindness.