A/N: Shorter chapter, but no less important than the others.
Hiashi's fist slammed onto the table, demanding silence.
"This farce has gone on long enough," he declared, staring into the eyes of his council. "I, for one, am exhausted of the mighty Hyuuga clan playing second-fiddle to a bunch of high and mighty fire-breathers who like to pretend that our bloodlimit has also been blessed from the gods. This attitude of the Hyuugas being of lesser power needs to end! We've been their puppets for long enough."
The council began murmuring in agreement again, their voices growing more and more angry.
Once it quieted again, Hanabi spoke up, sly and even. "We could always seek out… alternative help."
Hiashi turned to his daughter with a frown. "Elaborate."
"There's always, y'know," she shrugged, aloof, "Mimei."
At the group's name, the council gasped sharply and began muttering amongst themselves. Neji's own frown deepened as he cast his cousin a sideways glance.
She nodded at him in reassurance before continuing. "After what happened to Hinata, do you really still choose to believe that the Uchiha clan has our best interests at heart? How they callously just dropped the news on our heads without even giving us her possessions back in lieu of a body? How the only thing they've done to reimburse us was offer us a one-time consolation payment that was hardly half the price of the dowry?"
"We wouldn't have lost her in the first place had it not been for the rebels," a councilman piped up irritably.
"We wouldn't have had issues with Mimei in the first place had the Uchiha Clan not stirred their anger," she countered. "All because they attacked first. As you should recall, Mimei has been largely peaceful in their protesting efforts. The only times they attack us is when we attack first. And need I remind you of how many Hyuuga clansmen were killed in the attack against them last month…?"
"You do weave a compelling argument, Hanabi, but I'm still concerned," Hiashi replied. "How do we know they won't use us in their efforts to overthrow the royal family? As Councilman Daiki said, we lost Hinata in their ambush a few weeks ago."
"We already have a man on the inside," she said, softening her look towards her father. "Lee and Shikamaru have been conducting a certain investigation from the inside, as I've told you before, and we've received word within the past day or so that they're near the capital. He told us all about Mimei's goals, and I'm confident that allying ourselves with their cause will greatly benefit us in the long run."
For a moment more, he held out, studying her with a scrutinizing eye. Then he gave a heavy sigh, a hint of a smile quirking at his lips. "... Alright, you've made a good case. I trust your judgement, Hanabi."
"But Hiashi-sama, if we were known to have allied ourselves with a public nuisance, it would be social suicide!" Another council member protested. "The clan would be disgraced! Our pre-existing allies would never trust us again!"
"If they knew what they were up against, they would agree with our decision," Hiashi stated firmly. "I'm certain that other clans are just as exhausted at bending the knee to the royals just as much as we are."
"And speaking of disgraces, what of marriages to civilians that hail from outside of any promising clans?" Another asked, eyes shifting to Neji's for a moment with a gleam in them. "Surely a halfling child would surely bring down our fine name as a member of the ancient Big Three. What if the child is useless in skill? What if they can't even harness the untamed power of our Moon Eye?"
A sinking feeling began growing in the pit of his stomach, though he was mostly filled with disgust. He'd known even before marrying Tenten that his marriage and possible children would be an eternal topic of endless scrutiny, but to bring it up again while she was pregnant?
To his relief, his uncle scoffed. "When I gave my nephew permission to marry that girl, I as well as you had been deeply impressed at her vast knowledge and mastery of weaponry and Fūinjutsu. She has proved herself a good asset to the clan and I will not tolerate any further attempts to alienate her and her offspring from the middle branch."
He didn't give his nephew a single glance, but the firmness and surety in his words sent a warm feeling through his chest nonetheless, and he looked away to conceal a relieved expression.
Hanabi herself let out a quiet sigh of relief, and chimed in, "I too believe that her child will grow up to be a fine shinobi. With the influence of both the clan and a master of both Fūinjutsu and weaponry, we'll definitely at least have a leg up on the Uchiha clan."
The council murmured a reluctant agreement, and the councilman who had brought it up looked away, clearly humbled with a sour look.
"On the note of the rebels, I believe we should at least look into joining their cause." Hiashi finished, looking over to his daughter. "You claim that Nara Shikamaru has already joined and is near?"
"Yes, not even a day's walk from the gates," she confirmed.
"Perfect. I'll leave it up to you and Neji to organize a meeting between us and them." He nodded once, firmly, and rose from the table. "Meeting dismissed."
For a moment, the cousins exchanged glances, Hanabi's face alight with excitement and Neji's in quiet elation.
A/N: Please tell me what you thought!