Hey everyone! I am SOOO sorry it took me so long to update. Like, I'm really, really, really sorry. But I'm happy to announce that I am done with the worst college semester of my life and I am now on summer break and will hopefully be updating much more than I had before. Also, a huge shoutout to my reviewers who told me to take my time on my updates. That really lowers my anxiety a ton, thanks, guys!"
W-what?" Tenten muttered with a stutter.
I am very sorry, Tenten," Hiashi replied to her, bowing his head slightly to show his sympathy.
Naruto slammed his fist into the wall behind him as he yelled.
"Absolutely not. I'm not going to let my nephew go through the same horrors that Neji had to go through. I'm the Hokage now, there's gotta be something I can do to stop this."
"I am afraid there is nothing you can do, Naruto," Hiashi replied. "As you already know, the Hyuga Clan gives generous donations to the Leaf Village, asking that you protect our laws in return."
"But you're the clan leader," Tenten said, her body shaking slightly as she spoke. "You can do something to stop this, can't you?"
Hiashi closed his eyes and shook his head. "I have already pushed my luck enough with you being Kugi's Genin squad leader. There isn't anything else I can do. This is a clan tradition."
"Wait, hold on," Naruto said, holding a hand to his head in confusion. "The curse mark is designed to protect members of the Hyuga Clan's Main Family, am I right?"
"Yes," Hiashi replied, nodding.
"So why is Himawari the reason Kugi is getting the curse mark? Hinata isn't in the Main Family anymore, so neither would Himawari. I thought curse marks are given out when the youngest heir turned three. Hinata was pushed to the Branch Family before she was even a Genin so Himawari shouldn't have any factor in this."
Hinata's eyes narrowed in thought. "But I'm not in the Branch Family anymore, am I Father?"
"That is correct," Hiashi said to his daughter.
"What?" Naruto asked in a confused tone. "I have no clue what's going on."
Hinata took a deep breath before she explained. "It is true that when Hinabi and I were young, the council decided that Hanabi would be the heir, automatically annexing me to the Branch Family. But that's not the case anymore. Since Hanabi has not yet had any children and I have, that makes me the Hyuga Clan heir once again. Right, Father?"
Hiashi nodded his head once again. "You are. And since the child of the Main Family member has awoken her Byakugan and is of three years of age, every Hyuga in the Branch Family who has not received the curse mark will receive one."
Once the situation was thoroughly explained, Tenten and Hinata were silent and stared at the ground. Contrary to them, Naruto walked over to his desk and dramatically slammed his fists down on it.
"Argh, I promised Neji that I would become Hokage and change the Hyuga Clan for the better. Now, look at me. My own daughter is the reason that another Hyuga child is going to suffer and I can't do anything as the Hokage."
Naruto clenched his fists even harder. Hinata walked over to her husband and placed a hand on his shoulder, attempting to calm him down.
"Everything will turn out fine, Naruto. I know it will."
Hinata looked up at her father.
"How long until this is supposed to take place?"
"Well, I believe Kugi has a mission coming up soon?" Hiashi asked, turning his head to look at Tenten.
"Yeah," she said, her voice cracking slightly. "It's my team's first C rank. It's an escort mission outside the village."
Hiashi nodded. "The Council has decided to do the Curse Mark Jutsu on him once Kugi has returned from his mission."
"How long do you think the mission will take?" Naruto asked Tenten, picking his head up from his desk.
"I'm not sure. We're going to the Hidden Salt Village, halfway between the Leaf and the Waterfall, so about three to four days, there and back."
"Well, then that gives me three days to figure some way out of this situation."
Hiashi's face was emotionless as he spoke to his son-in-law.
"I do not believe that you will find a way out of this. This has been a Hyuga tradition for centuries. Regardless, I do wish you luck."
Hiashi finished with a small bow before he exited Naruto's office and returned downstairs. Naruto followed suit by standing up. He placed his hand on top of where Hinata's was placed on his shoulder. He gave her a sad smile and the two walked over to the door. Before leaving, Naruto turned around to look at Tenten. She was staring blankly at the floor with no clear expression on her face. In a confident voice, Naruto spoke to her.
"I will not let anything like that happen to Kugi, you hear? I promise you that, Tenten."
Tenten looked up and replied with her thanks, though still not showing any emotion. After Naruto and Hinata left, Tenten sat on the couch in the room and held her face with her hands.
"Neji, what do I do?" she silently mumbled to herself.
After a few minutes of silence, Tenten took a deep breath and returned downstairs from Naruto's office. The moment she got on the ground level, Boruto came running up to her in excitement.
"Miss Tenten! Teach me how to throw shuriken like Kugi. Pretty please?"
Tenten lifted an eyebrow in confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
Instead of replying, Boruto grabbed Tenten's hand and lead her to the backyard of the Uzumaki house. Standing in the middle of the yard was Kugi with a determined look on his face. Almost instantaneously, he threw nine shurikens at a target hanging on the fence. There was a moment of interruption as Kugi hesitated before throwing his last shuriken.
"Come on kiddo, you can do it," Tenten whispered to herself.
Kugi threw the shuriken from his hand and it hit the dead center of the target. As Boruto ran up to congratulate his cousin, it was obvious that Kugi was shocked by his own feat. Tenten smiled and was going to walk over to Kugi, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her from proceeding. She turned around to see Hiashi standing behind her.
"He truly is his mother's son," he said with a smile as he looked at his grandson.
Kugi turned around, hearing his grandfather's voice, but not hearing what was said.
"Did you see that Grandpa? I hit all ten!"
"I did see. I am very proud of you Kugi. Your training with Tenten is really paying off."
Kugi gave a bright smile and continued to practice aiming with Boruto. Tenten gave a small laugh as she watched her son.
"I don't think I've ever seen him this excited. He always has a blank expression on his face, just like Neji did," Tenten said.
"That is true," Hiashi replied. "The only other time I have seen him this happy is when he found out that his new Sensei was his father's teammate."
Hearing Hiashi's words made Tenten smile in pride. So far Tenten has been the only one who is able to break Kugi out of his shell.
After a few more minutes of Hiashi and Tenten watching Kugi and Boruto in the backyard, Hiashi cleared his throat and called out to Kugi.
"Kugi, we must be leaving. I still have things that need to be attended to at the compound."
Kugi turned around and frowned at his grandfather.
"But Grandpa, I want to stay and teach Boruto some more."
"I am sorry, but we cannot stay any longer."
"Please Grandpa?" Kugi pleaded. "I can stay here and go home with Tenten Sensei. I can stay the night at her house and we can go to the training grounds together tomorrow morning."
Hiashi paused for a moment, contemplating Kugi's request. He glanced over to Tenten, silently asking for her opinion.
Tenten shrugged. "I don't have a problem with it, as long as it's okay with you."
Hiashi sighed before looking at Kugi.
"I will allow you to stay the night with your Sensei, but you must be back home right after training is over."
"Yes!" Kugi cheered. He looked over to Boruto and smiled eagerly.
"Let's go inside so I can show you what I can do with the Byakugan."
"Cool!" Boruto exclaimed before chasing Kugi back into Naruto and Hinata's house. Before he made it inside, Hiashi called out to Kugi once more.
"Please be polite and don't impede on Tenten."
Kugi gave no reply as he ran into the house. Hiashi sighed in response.
"I admire his eagerness, but it was so much simpler trying to raise Neji."
Tenten chuckled. Soon after, a grim look appeared on her face.
"Are you sure it's okay for Kugi to stay with me? Won't the Council get angry?"
"What the Council doesn't know won't hurt them," Hiashi said with a slight smirk. "Besides, it is important for a student to bond with his teacher, regardless of any biological relation. I spent the night at my Sensei's house many times when I was a Genin. I see no problem with him staying with you."
"Thank you, Hiashi," Tenten said, giving the man a small bow.
"You are very welcome," he said, bowing in return. "I shall now bid ado to my daughter before I depart. It was nice seeing you again, Tenten. Please do not get too shaken up about the curse mark. It's just something that has to be done."
"I understand," Tenten said quietly.
Hiahsi nodded to her as he turned and made his way into the house to search for his daughter. Tenten sighed and followed him in soon after and made her way to the kitchen. She ungracefully placed herself on a stool beside the countertop. She groaned and placed her head down on top of her arms. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned her head so she could see who was touching her. When she turned, she saw Metal Lee looking up at her with a sad face.
"What is making you upset, Miss Tenten?"
Ignoring Metal's question, Tenten quickly got up from her seat and crouched down to give the boy a bone-crushing hug.
"Metal! I'm so happy to see you! How are you doing?"
The young boy held up his thumb and gave Tenten a bright smile, a spitting image of his father when he was Metal's age.
"I am doing wonderful, Miss Tenten. My Papa says that my youthful power is getting stronger every day."
Tenten laughed lightly at the boy. "I have to say that I agree with him."
Metal struck a 'good guy' pose, strikingly similar to that of his father's. After giving Tenten a big smile, Metal turned to look at his father who was standing behind him.
"May I go play with Boruto, Papa?"
"Of course, you may, my son."
Metal flashed his father a smile before he took off in a search for the Uzumaki boy. Once Metal was gone, Lee placed a hand on Tenten's shoulder.
"What is it that is causing your frown, my dear flower?" Lee asked.
Tenten sighed heavily, staring at the ground as she spoke.
"Himawari awakened her Byakugan and that means the Kugi has to get the curse mark."
Lee gasped slightly. "That is terrible, Tenten."
"I know," she said, her frustration becoming more evident. "But there's nothing I can do about it. There's no way around the stupid Hyuga family law."
Lee gave Tenten a shrug. "I do not believe it will be as bad as you believe it will, Tenten. Neji lived his life with a curse mark without a problem."
"That's not true," Tenten said while shaking her head. "Neji was absolutely miserable. He thought the whole world was against him and wanted nothing more than to kill his own cousin. I don't want Kugi to have to live like that. I want him to be happy and as strong as he can possibly be."
Lee took a moment to stare at Tenten sympathetically, choosing the right words that would ease Tenten's worries. Before he had the chance to speak any of those words, Boruto came running down the stairs, yelling loudly.
"Come back here so I can kick your butt, Kugi!"
The commotion gained Tenten and Lee's attention. The two turned towards Boruto as he was swiftly scanning his surroundings, looking for Kugi. Tenten then felt a tap on her back. She curiously turned around and noticed Kugi standing behind her.
"Can we please leave now, Sensei?" Kugi asked the Jonin.
Before Tenten had a chance to answer, Boruto spotted Kugi and started running towards him.
"Get over here, Kugi!"
Kugi rolled his eyes as Boruto came running towards him. Before Boruto could land any hits on Kugi, Boruto was being pulled into the air. He turned his head around to see his father holding him up by his shirt, an angry look on his face.
"Boruto," Naruto sighed. "What did I tell you about running and fighting in the house?"
"But Dad! Kugi kept making fun of me. He said that I'm never going to make it into the academy."
"Kugi!" Tenten said as she gave her student a disapproving look.
"What? It's true," Kugi said, giving a shrug. "He can't even do a simple shadow clone."
"Oh yeah! Watch me!"
Boruto struggled to get out of his father's grasp. Naruto let go and once Boruto was standing back on the ground he brought his hands up to make a hand sign.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Right next to Boruto appeared a crude, pale copy of himself. The clone was lifeless and was slumped against the floor. Boruto gasped at the clone while Kugi chuckled.
"See, I told you he couldn't do it."
Tenten turned to Kugi and scowled down at him.
"I really think you owe your cousin an apology."
"But why?" Kugi said with a frown.
"Because you're older than him and you need to be a good example for him."
Kugi simply stared at Tenten, intent on not apologizing.
"And if you don't, I'll let your grandfather know what happened here."
Tenten smirked as Kugi's face went pale and his eyes went wide. He looked over to Boruto and spoke.
"I'm sorry for teasing you, Boruto."
Boruto stood still, staring at the floor until his father nudged him in the back with his elbow. Boruto stumbled forward a bit and looked back at this father. Naruto was staring down at his son, waiting for a reply. Boruto sighed and turned towards Kugi.
"Apology accepted."
The two adults smiled at their children. Tenten's thoughts were cut off when Kugi turned to look at her. Her eyes widened slightly as she gave him her attention.
"Can we leave now?"
"I guess we can," Tenten said with a smile. She walked over to Naruto and gave him a hug before leaving.
"Congratulation Naruto. Everyone is so proud of you and all that you have accomplished."
"Thank you, Tenten."
Tenten looked over to Kugi as he bowed politely in front of Naruto. Naruto's only response was a chuckle as he ruffled Kugi's hair. Tenten muttered her last goodbyes to as many people as she could before she left the Uzumaki house along with Kugi.
The next chapter will hopefully come really soon, maybe even the same day. I have it all typed out on my phone notes so I just need to get it onto FF. Thanks, everyone for reading!