-xv-
It took several days before Lee's facial recognition search concluded its findings. He watched the news junket as he drank his coffee—a press release had just been given that Neji Hyuga would assume leadership of Hyuga Development.
Lee studied the picture of Neji that the news flashed onscreen—it seemed to be a dated photo; when Lee had met him, Neji's face had more wrinkles than the fresh-looking man on the television. Or maybe that was the stress, Lee thought graciously.
As the news shifted to covering other topics, Lee turned back to his computer, steeling himself for the long process of facial identification.
The photo he'd used of Tian he had taken from the company's video recordings; Neji had given him unrestricted access. The snapshots of her were not particularly good—nothing like a headshot. The lighting was poor, casting part of her face in shadow as she entered from the elevators. Then her hand obscured the rest of her face as she had pushed away her hair from out of her face as she approached Neji's office.
The only passable shot Lee had been able to lift from the video feed had been when he'd called out to her as she'd left—she had turned to him, frowning slightly, right underneath a light fixture.
Though she does look considerably paler in this one than in real life, Lee mused, beginning to click through the first few returns of candidates.
The algorithm had not had much to work with, Lee knew. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen Tian's face somewhere before. Taking another sip of coffee, Lee dived into his work, barely able to contain his excitement.
-x-
Neji's first meeting as CEO was with Hiashi's lawyer, the man who had delivered the news of the will.
Neji had refused to move from his office to the executive suite—though he considered it in passing, purely for the view. Moegi, having received the news of Neji's new position only after his arrival that morning, had spent all day trying to get ahead of the learning curve.
On his way to the conference room, his phone buzzed with an incoming call. Neji glanced down—it was Detective Lee, again. Neji had yet to listen to his numerous voicemails from the past couple of days; things had been too chaotic. Neji dismissed the call, resolving to call the officer back after his meeting with the lawyer.
When he arrived, Hiashi's lawyer was already seated at the table. He nodded to Neji as he entered, waiting until he sat down across from him to speak. "I trust you are adjusting well?"
Neji resisted the urge to laugh. He shrugged instead, offering a polite smile. "As good as can be expected."
The lawyer nodded in acceptance and turned to his briefcase, withdrawing a sealed package. Pushing it across the table to Neji, he said, "Hiashi gave this to me a few months ago. I've kept it in a safe deposit box. I do not know its contents—Hiashi sealed them before he gave them to me."
Neji examined the packet, half-listening as the lawyer continued, "Whatever financial debts or credits Hiashi had at his time of death, you will now be responsible for handling. I would advise you to settle all debts, if any, before those listed in the will receive their inheritance."
Neji broke the tape seal, sighing tiredly as he glanced through the pages. The first few sheaves of paper seemed only to contain detailed information about property that Hiashi had willed to some of his nephews and nieces. Neji cast this aside, delving deeper into the pile.
What he saw on page ten made him white with shock. He looked up at the lawyer, his eyes widening. The lawyer stared back flatly.
Neji glanced back at the paper and read the entire page, flipping irritably to the next, and then the next, and the one after that. When he finished, he again focused on the lawyer, trying not to gape. "You're—" Neji cleared his throat and began again, "You're sure my uncle never mentioned the contents of any of these documents to you?"
"Being that I have not read them, I couldn't say for sure."
"Did. . . He never mentioned anything to you about—"
The lawyer held up his hand and interrupted, "Mr. Hyuga, I must advise you not to discuss with me anything within the contents of those documents. While I was a close friend and advisor to your uncle, you and I do not have the same relationship. My job was to simply deliver these documents to the successor to Hiashi Hyuga, not discuss them." He got to his feet, closing his briefcase. "I give you my best wishes, Mr. Hyuga."
Neji said nothing, staring down at the hole his uncle had dug.
-x-
Come over.
Tenten needed little incentive to obey. She was at his apartment within the next thirty minutes, anxiously biting her lip as he opened the door. Neji reached for her, and she fell into his arms, all shades of deception falling at her feet as she kissed him.
They didn't speak for the next hour or so. Finally, lying under the sheets, her fingers in his hair, Tenten asked, "How did today go?"
Neji shook his head apathetically.
"Bad?" Tenten prompted, moving to lift his jaw, searching for his gaze.
Neji opened his eyes, but they were unseeing, trained on the ceiling. "Nothing worth talking about," he muttered, shifting onto his stomach to press his face into her neck.
Tenten exhaled, sliding an arm around him. She waited for a few moments before asking, "Do you want to talk about anything?"
"No," Neji whispered.
Tenten tightened her grip around him, wishing she knew what was going through his head. She let the silence fill in around them, threading her fingers through his hair.
Faintly, she said, "Did I ever tell you that when I was sixteen, I tried to teach myself how to ride a motorcycle?"
Neji shifted in her arms, saying against her throat, "Back to the dangerous stunts? Why did you do that?"
Tenten chuckled softly. "Why does anyone do anything at sixteen? I wanted to be cool."
Neji sighed, his palm sliding up to cup her breast. "When I was sixteen the most daring thing I did was get wasted at a party once and sneak back into my house."
Tenten hummed, smiling. "I must say I'm surprised. I didn't know you had a rebellious streak." She felt his lips stretch, forming a smirk.
"I wouldn't go so far as to say that. I felt guilty for days afterward and eventually told my parents."
Tenten snorted, shaking her head in bewilderment. "Oh, Neji," she exhaled, relieved at the tension fading from the room.
After a brief pause, Neji said, "You have lived a far more interesting life than me."
Tenten frowned, letting her hands rest on his back. "I wouldn't say all of it has been interesting. There were times when it was particularly shitty."
"Like when?"
Tenten's mouth tightened, thinking of Sasuke. She tried to shake what he had done from her mind, but the memory was fresh. That has no place here, Tenten thought firmly. This is mine and Neji's space.
But he should know. You should tell him, said another part of herself, deep within her heart.
Tenten considered, twisting a lock of Neji's hair around her finger. Her resolve shaky, Tenten said, "One time, a guy that I knew . . . he waited for me, where I lived at the time. He, you know, tried to force me. . . But I tasered him."
A beat of silence stretched between them. "You never told me that," Neji said finally, looking up at her through the darkness.
Tenten carefully avoided his gaze, glancing towards the window to allow one weighty tear roll down her cheek, unseen. "It happened a long time ago," she said.
-x-
"Now that Neji Hyuga has been made CEO, our plan should go more smoothly than it has in the last few months. We should accelerate our plan."
Konan's mouth tightened, but she said nothing. She'd heard little from Tenten over the last week. Ever since the funeral, she'd neglected to call or text Konan back, apart from the single phone call where she told her the news of Neji's assumption as head of the company.
"What news, Konan? From Tenten?"
Konan shook her head and answered, "She has nothing out of the ordinary to report. Neji Hyuga is adjusting to his role as CEO, as one can imagine."
Her colleagues nod at this, though she can tell from a glance around the room that they are slightly disappointed.
"As for Sasuke?"
Konan's frown deepened. "Sasuke has proven difficult to get ahold of, but he has his instructions."
There is an exasperated sigh from the head of the table. "Is he going to go rogue again?" the voice muttered flatly, unimpressed.
"That's hard to say," Konan said. "His reports have been sporadic since the break-in . . . but I have video footage that placed him at Tenten's apartment a day or so before Hiashi Hyuga died."
"What was he doing there?"
Konan remained silent, withholding the scene she'd lifted from the video feeds installed in Tenten's apartment.
"Why don't we get rid of him? He clearly only wants to be of use to us when it goes in his favor," said another with impatience.
"Sasuke is good at what he does," the head of the organization maintained. "Like all of the people we use, he needs to be molded to fit into our purposes." He turned to Konan. "What do you think? Has Sasuke outlived his usefulness to us?"
"Uchiha's never outlive their usefulness," said a quiet voice.
Despite herself, Konan smiled.
-x-
Neji's eyes grew unfocused as he stared at the financial reports in front of him. The longer he looked at the numbers, the more distressed he grew.
Neji sighed heavily and leaned back into his chair, closing his eyes tiredly. His office phone beeped and Neji reached out, picking it up. Moegi's voice said, "Your cousin Hinata is on the line. Should I put her through?"
"No," Neji said, a twinge of guilt in his gut. "Tell her I'm in a meeting."
"Yes, sir," Moegi replied.
Neji hung up and cracked open his eyes, wincing from the burning sensation. He'd been barely sleeping, barely doing anything, really, other than review Hiashi's business decisions from the last decade.
Neji exhaled again and got to his feet, wandering over to his office window. He rested his forehead against the cool glass, feeling momentary relief. His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Hoping it was Tian, Neji reached for it.
It wasn't Tian, but Hinata who had messaged him. I know you're avoiding me. You can't be in that many meetings in the course of four hours, even if you are CEO.
Neji frowned, wondering for the thousandth time if his cousin was upset over her father's decision to make him executor and CEO over her. He had yet to ask her—Hinata was right; he'd been avoiding her ever since his meeting with Hiashi's lawyer.
Neji swiped away Hinata's message, not bothering with a reply, determining that he couldn't explain himself without divulging her father's secret. And if Neji had any say in it—which he most certainly did—Hinata would never have to hear of it.
Neji wiped a hand down his face, thoroughly exhausted. He checked his watch—seven-forty-five pm. He glanced over his shoulder at his desk. The pile of things to sift through, to sign, to commit to memory immediately overwhelmed him.
Neji's hand strayed to his phone again, wanting to call Tian. Stop, Neji thought. You know exactly what will happen if you hear her voice.
With another heavy sigh, Neji sat back down at his desk and pulled another sheaf of documents over, resigning himself to a few more hours of work before heading home.
-x-
I've been generous, Ten. Time to prove which king you're going to sacrifice yourself for.
Tenten stared down at the message, hatred filling her chest. The message was from an unknown number, but there was only one person who it could be from.
In a combative mood, she furiously typed back, You're putting everything Akatsuki wants at risk. Do you really think they haven't noticed your sick obsession?
Sasuke did not deem this with a reply. Tenten glared at his words, her stomach sinking.