Hello! Thank you all for reading this! I am very grateful and I appreciate your time!
Thank you, nazarin ramzan, for your second comment, the fact that you are thrilled to find out what happens next gives me the best reason to continue updating!
I hope you will enjoy the fifth chapter and, from the bottom of my heart, thank you again!
Clarification:
"sample text" (Dialogue)
"sample text" (Thoughts)
«sample text» (Quote inside dialogue)
Neji woke up in a particularly bad mood the next day. Not that he had had a bad dream, quite the contrary. His dream involved a pale, white-eyed, dark-haired beauty lying next to him, while he slowly undressed her, kissing every inch of her porcelain-like skin, inhaling her scent, caressing her… And then his alarm clock rang, breaking the magic.
Cursing under his breath, the Hyuuga genius got dressed in a hurry, only to come face to face with Hanabi, who was waiting for him in front of his room. Her wide grin was a bearer of bad news.
"Good morning, nii-san", she slyly greeted, in a particularly sweet tone.
"Hanabi-sama…"
"Allow me to accompany you to the breakfast table", she continued, still not dropping the sickly sweet voice.
Neji simply nodded and began walking alongside her, knowing full well that, one way or another, he would regret it, but also aware of the fact that he couldn't avoid it.
"Soooo… Anything… Interesting?" Hanabi smirked.
"After our encounter last night, I went straight to bed, Hanabi-sama", Neji replied, trying to maintain his stoic face.
"Oh, I know that. I meant during your sleep", the young Hyuuga pressed, cunningly.
Neji froze and stared at her.
"I… I don't know what you mean, Hanabi-sama."
"Oh, but I think you do… Here I was, in front of your room, like the good cousin that I am, coming to wake you up and accompany you to have breakfast, when I hear moaning… Naturally, I was worried, thinking that my beloved cousin is in danger, so I bravely entered your room, kunai in hand, Byakuugan activated, so I could confront the enemy and save your royal ass. How was I supposed to know that you were just hugging your pillow and moaning in your sleep? «Hinata-sama! Hinata-sama! Oh, yes! Just like that, Hinata-sama!», that's what you were saying", Hanabi finished, her sweet voice dropping to an uncontrollable laughter.
Before her cousin could react, she was already running towards the gate.
"Sorry, nii-san, we'll have to postpone this fight! Besides, your chakra is still concentrated in only one part of the body; perhaps some meditation would help. That, or, you know, a cold shower."
"That brat will kill me one day", Neji murmured, feeling his face burning.
He did not hate his younger cousin. Sure, she could be annoying, nosey and childish at times, but she always meant well and she was fiercely devoted to her sister.
"N-Nii-san? W-What was that commotion?"
It was then when Neji realized that Hanabi had set him up, leading him up to Hinata's room. The subject of his passionate dream was staring at him through a small opening in the shoji. From what little he could see of her, it was obvious that she had been asleep, but he did not know how much of his conversation with Hanabi she had heard.
"Hinata-sama… It was nothing, just Hanabi-sama leaving to meet her team. I apologize if we disturbed your sleep."
"A-Ano, no… I-I have been waking up very early for the past months and I think that today I overslept a little, so you two acting as an alarm clock was actually welcomed… A-Are you having breakfast?"
Hinata refused to admit that, ever since the War, she had been having constant nightmares of Neji dying in her arms, that she hadn't been able to save him. That was the reason that prompted her daily training routine, she had to get stronger, she had to get better, she could never endanger Neji's life again.
"I was about to look for Hiashi-sama, so I could ask for his permission to take a couple of days off, until we sort everything out. I believe he is having breakfast right now, do wish to join us?"
"Y-Yes… C-Can you wait for just a minute, please? I need to get dressed and brush my hair."
They found Hiashi finishing his meal.
"Be calm, Hyuuga! Be calm! Keep your cool! You would not want your uncle reading your expression, would you?"
"Hiashi-sama", Neji bowed.
"Otousan…"
The man lifted his gaze questioningly.
"Forgive me for daring, but… Given Hinata-sama's progress, I suggest she deserves some time to rest. She has been training hard and I fear that she might overexert herself if she continues." Neji's voice was calm, as he tried his best to hold his uncle's scrutinizing gaze. He felt that the man could read right through him.
"Preposterous, Hyuuga! Nobody can read minds!"
"I see… I would not normally agree to this, but since you are the one training her, I shall take into account your opinion and I shall allow it. However, you shall still be responsible for watching over her during this time", Hiashi sternly sentenced. "Now, if that was everything, I have important business to attend to."
The head of the clan gracefully walked away into his office, closing the shoji. When he was finally alone, his face completely morphed. It was an expression that nobody had ever seen the serious Hyuuga head wearing and it was fit to say that his smile and teary eyes would have made even Might Guy jealous.
"It is finally happening, Hyuuga! They might call Neji a genius, but you are the real genius here, setting them up with their training sessions and giving him the task to protect her! Now all they need is just a bit more time together… You can already start the wedding preparations, Hyuuga, they will have enough time to realize and confess their feelings and… After that…"
"A grandchild!" Hiashi whispered, with stars in his eyes and a smile stretched across his face, dreamingly drooling over the idea of him holding a tiny Hyuuga.
Until then, one of the throw pillows would do. Hiashi waltzed, cradling it like a baby in his arms while humming a lullaby – an image that, if seen by anybody, would have undoubtedly been the cause of great concern for the man's mental stability.
"Hinata-sama, we should not waste any time and go to talk to Kimiko, in order to find out where the parchment is."
"A-Ano, Neji nii-san, I-I think we should first go and buy some things for Kimiko… I-I mean, Sai is a good ninja, but I don't know if his abilities include child-caring…"
Something inside Neji snapped and he entered protective-mode immediately. The simple thought that his child might be lacking something gave him a sense of urgency.
"Let's not waste any more time, then!" He grabbed Hinata by the arm and pulled her towards the gate, not realizing that his poor cousin was hyperventilating and that he was the reason for it.
The sun was already high up on the sky when Kimiko finally woke up. She groggily made her way to the kitchen, feeling her stomach growling. To her disappointment, there was no delicious scent of pancakes, nor the sight of cocoa-milk anywhere. A thin layer of dust covering the counters was the proof that the room had gone by unused for quite some time.
"Sai-kun? Are you here?" She asked, dragging herself into the living room.
"Good morning, Snoring-chan!" Sai's face appeared from behind his easel.
"I'm hungry! What's for breakfast?"
"Military Rations Pills, of course. You can find them in that box over there", Sai pointed towards the coffee table.
"You have to be kidding me, you cannot possibly enjoy these!" The girl frowned in disgust after tasting one.
"Well, they give me the nourishment that I need. Besides, they are better than Sakura-san's mud balls."
Kimiko sighed, remembering Hinata's delicious meals and took another bite of the pill, hoping that her parents would soon come to see her.
"This! And this! And this! And this! And this!"
Neji was frantically throwing items in the shopping cart.
"A-Ano, Neji nii-san… I-I don't think that Kimiko-chan will be needing all of these…"
"Nonsense, Hinata-sama! We cannot risk our precious… Daughter", he said, lowering his voice, "lacking anything."
"B-But, nii-san… S-She is too old for diapers and formula and too young for dental adhesive and prune juice…"
"Oh… Oh… I see…"
"Hyuuga, you moron! You have no idea what a child needs! How do you expect to be a good father? Look at Hinata! Look at how she carefully picks up everything that is really necessary! That's a person who knows what she's doing, unlike your baboon self!"
"I'm sorry, Hinata-sama", he sighed, defeated. "I guess I will be a failure of a parent…"
"Not to worry", she chirped happily. "We will be learning… T-Together." She finished, stammering a little, while the shadow of a blush appeared on her pale cheeks. "I-If you want to, I can pick up the things, while you handle the cart…"
It was quite pleasant, Neji thought, seeing Hinata a bit more relaxed, while picking up and examining the fruits and vegetables, choosing the fish and pondering between noodles and rice.
"She will make a fine wife, Hyuuga, a fine wife and mother indeed!"
"She will", he whispered, looking at her smile while thanking the vendors.