A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story thus far. I know I haven't been able to reply to all of your comments, but I have read every single one and they mean so much to me. More updates are to come!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


Proposal

Birds are the pets of choice for the Hyuga family. Many of the Hyuga children receive birds as gifts, and the main courtyard of the compound, as well as the many private inner courts, house a variety of different types of birds.

Neji has never been fond of the birds. The ceaseless rustling of their wings against the bars of their cages makes him uneasy. He finds it cruel to trap a creature in a small cage when it is normally allowed to roam the expanse of the skies.

Neji feels discomfort creep along his spine at the ceaseless morning chatter of the birds as he walks with a quick and even pace through the halls of the compound. He stops at the bedroom of his younger cousin, Lady Hanabi. He has been tasked with waking her for her school lessons and he breathes deeply to mentally prepare for the headache he is sure will come from their encounter.

After knocking several times, he enters the room to find Hanabi still wrapped in her blankets, feigning sleep. "Hanabi, all the other children are waiting for you to arrive. Get up." It is a lie, but Neji has never been good with children. Usually Lady Hinata is the one to wake her sister, but Hinata is away for a ceremonial tea meeting, and Neji has been assigned the unfortunate job of babysitting his cousin. He crosses his arms over his chest and orders his cousin again to get dressed, but Hanabi glares over her shoulder and retreats further into her cocoon of blankets.

Neji sighs. His eyes sweep across her room. Beautiful silk kimonos have been carelessly strewn across piles of books and toys. In the corner, a yellow canary chirps at him from behind its ornate, white cage. His thoughts immediately turn to Tenten and her soiled yellow kimono. Tenten has been on his mind all morning. She had looked more beautiful than he thought were possible in the dragon kimono he had given her, but he decides it is not enough.

He watches the canary flit restlessly about its cage, and he wonders how Tenten will adjust to her life as a noble. She will feel like the birds, trapped, and something about that thought displeases him. She will not be expected to help her father in his smithy; Hiashi has already made arrangements to help her father hire assistants. She will be expected to be a wife, quiet and obedient, and Neji knows those are two things Tenten is not.

He glares impatiently at his cousin. "I have important matters to attend to, Hanabi," he warns. When she still resists, he is at her bedside in three strides, and in one fluid motion he takes the covers from her. Hanabi eyes him angrily, but she knows she has lost. Reluctantly, she climbs out of bed and shoos Neji from the room.

The only place in the Hyuga compound with no birds is the private library. It is Neji's sanctuary and he heads there after waking his cousin. Usually he comes to the library to study, but today he has a new goal in mind. He had gone to his uncle earlier this morning to ask for the keys to the vaults beneath the library. The vaults contain valuable information on the Hyuga family, but Neji is not interested in family secrets. It takes him only ten minutes to find the documents he is looking for: blueprints.

He settles at one of the few desks in the vault (taking documents to the main floor is forbidden), and carefully studies the blueprints. After half an hour, he places the prints back in their file and ascends the stairs to the main library. He is surprised to find Hiashi waiting for him.

"Did you find what you needed?" Hiashi asks, and Neji is struck by how oddly amused his uncle looks.

"Yes," he replies, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "And I have a proposal."


A/N: Thank you for reading and please review!

~M.I.