Title: To Where It Takes Me
Author: Kenhime
Genre: Drama and Romance, with some Action on the side
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. The decision of who gets to be with who should better be left in the hands of the creator Kishimoto-sensei. I just write the possible pairings.
Author's Note: I wrote one page more than the last two chapters! Yay! ^_^ Who knows about the next chapter though… The first part of the chapter deals with the training part. I wasn't too keen on making it very realistic, so please be really nice on it. *bows on the floor* It's kind of pitiful, but it's really difficult to come up with something *I'm really nothing compared to the stuff SOC Puppet has in 'Bloodlines', which by the way got updated, so people read it! It kicks butt!*
Anyway, here's the third chapter! Be prepared for the action, cuteness, a little cameo from Tenten *which comes along with a vague spoiler on chapter 180*, good ole fluff, and angst.
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Chapter Three: A Stolen Key
I arrived at the Hyuga training ground before the sunrise, to find Lord Hiashi already standing there. He leaned on his walking stick, his hard gaze never off me as I neared. I stared back at him, not to be intimidated.
I gave a bow. "Lord Hiashi."
He turned his back to me, his head held up high. "If it wasn't for the fact that the curse seal is only controlled by Hinata, I would have destroyed your mind by now, Neji."
I looked away, snorting. "I know, Lord Hiashi. But she brought this onto herself."
"That is why you are the Protector!" But still I did not give in to his roar. I did not flinch nor cower.
"Miss Hinata wanted to fight. She didn't take my help until the end," I shot back defiantly. "As second to her, I had to respect her wishes, Lord Hiashi."
"Hinata wouldn't be able to sustain herself in these fights, you know that as well as I," he turned to me, eyes steely. "If she dies and her body is taken away, the clan will lose its blood limit. That's when the purpose of the branch house comes in, Neji. Your life must cover hers."
I was quiet. "Is that all she is, Lord Hiashi?"
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, is that all she is to you—a burden that must be protected by me? You fear that the clan will lose the Byukugen because of her." I closed my eyes, smirking. "You hit two birds with one stone. By betrothing me to Miss Hinata, you would have a male heir and a loyal protector. In the end, we are two pawns in your little game, Lord Hiashi. There is no importance of Miss Hinata being your firstborn daughter, and I your dead brother's son."
"You dare berate me, Neji?" His fury was clearly shown by the shaking grip of his staff and the telltale veins around his face. "You…you really believe that?"
I dared. "Our pride had always been before everything, Lord Hiashi, wasn't it?"
His head bowed; his voice shook. "Hinata may not be heir, and the Hyuga may have no need of her, but there is importance in her being my daughter. There are many times I had wished I had not cared, Neji, believe me, many times I had regretted. Did I want to be the leader of the Hyuga when I knew my brother was as strong as I, when I knew he was destined to die instead of me? Did I hate my daughter because the role of heir was cruelly cast upon her, my timid, quiet daughter?" He lifted his head, disconcerting me with the indescribable emotion in his eyes. Was it…pain?
"I can hardly believe what these years, these traditions, had done to you, Neji. Maybe things could have been different if Hizashi was still here, but I cannot change the past, no matter what I want. So I stand here, to teach you." His eyes closed. When they reopened, they were aloof and merciless once more, this time with a tiny hint of determination. "I will make you stronger, enough so last night may never happen again."
I looked down in respect. "I understand, Lord Hiashi."
Nevertheless, it was impossible for Lord Hiashi to stop his daughter from pushing herself hard. He was unaware that behind her trepidation hid a wise and obstinate nature that refused to back down. But, as I said before, it would be all right, since she wouldn't be able to hide it any longer. They would soon see.
"You have learned the Hakkeshou* well." He dug his walking stick into the ground enough so that it would stay up. "Now you must master it." Hands loosely holding the walking stick, and eyes closed, he heaved a sigh. Suddenly, I felt fear standing where I was, like an intruder in an alien territory. It was like he had trapped me all around and I couldn't move.
This was his Field of Hakke*.
It took most of my willpower to send chakra to my feet and leap away from his field. My eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. The radius of his field was much larger than mine, and much to my disbelief, stronger. This…this was the vast difference between the Hyuga leader and his soon-to-be successor.
He opened his eyes, cleared of whatever emotion he had carried earlier. "Now, I want you to attack me with all your power, formalities set aside."
"What happens if I end up killing you?"
A shadow of a smile flitted across his expressionless features. "You won't be able to."
I unlatched the weapon pouch from my belt and threw it to the side, smirking. "It would be an insult to attack someone who is weaponless." I closed my eyes, feeling the principles of the Hyuga taijutsu descend upon me, guiding my hands into a starting position. As the attacking opponent, I would have to interrupt his field. My eyes snapped open, at the same time activating the Byukugen.
"I'm coming, old man."
I sprinted at him and began with the most advanced forms of the Gentle Fist style, aiming for his inner coils system. He dodged each of my hits with a lazy grace, but I was not to be put off by it. His chakra flow was enormous, but he did not increase its speed even when he was forced to move swiftly to evade my hands. He knew my movements well, and controlled his energy to accurately fit the position, nothing more, nothing less. I knew it wouldn't do any good to keep going at this stalemate, wasting my energy like this.
But it wasn't over yet.
I increased the speed of my attacks, catching him slightly off guard at the sudden transition. Instead of sidestepping me, he had no choice but to block, which was to my advantage. I succeeded in pressing his arm points accurately. When I felt sure he couldn't attack me, I caught his wrist with one hand and the other immobilized him by stopping the chakra flow from going into his legs.
He looked at me unblinkingly. "That is not all."
Suddenly, his trapped hand jerked to the side, where his fingers landed on two of my opening points on my shoulder blades. My white eyes grew wide as I felt my arm become completely numb without chakra and slip its grasp from his arm, while the other fell to my side uselessly. Swiftly, he pressed those same holes and instead of cutting off the chakra, rapidly increased the amount enough to shove me backward and away from him. I grimaced as I felt my shoulder blades burn with pain, but the opening points were not permanently damaged. Was that intentional?
"You were wondering why I still had chakra when you touched my points," he said. "Use the Sixty-four Hands to find out, boy."
I pushed myself up. "If you say so," I muttered as I bent forward in a low stance. "Gentle Fist style, Sixty-four Hands of Hakke." I pivoted my foot to meet him and with blurring hands, landed on two of his points, then four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, and finally, sixty-four. I was able to push him back a few feet, but he still stood, unperturbed. I straightened, alarmed at his power and even doubtful of my own. …I couldn't believe how he was able to ward off one of the Hyuga's most powerful techniques.
"Tell me what you see, Neji."
"Throughout all this time I had attacked, you had never taken your left hand off that stick, nor did that stick ever moved," I answered slowly. He nodded approvingly. "Every attempt I made at trapping your chakra flow failed…because…" The words were caught in my throat.
"I pushed your fingers away from my opening points with my chakra," he finished.
I scowled. "How?"
He smiled. "To know your opponent, you must know yourself. Now think, Neji, why was I able to parry your attack?"
It took me a long while before I replied, numbly, "…Because you were able to increase or stop the flow of chakra at each specific opening point."
"Correct. To master Hakkeshou, you must know how to defeat it. To be able to control every one of three-hundred-sixty-one opening points* is the skill you must master before the techniques are passed down." I saw his staff vault in the air at me and swiftly caught it with one arm. He slipped his arms into the folds of his yukata. "This is an ancient practice passed down to every successor. Inside this staff holds two glass balls. Retrieve them without destroying the staff and return it to me. We will meet again when you have succeeded."
I bowed again. "Yes, Lord Hiashi."
As he passed me, he said, "You may visit Hinata. She has recovered. This time, don't fail your lifelong duty, Neji."
Glaring, I replied, "I won't."
Later, I had to admit that training had gone well for its first day, despite my sullenness to find my technique less than perfect and my power far less than his. Especially despite my anger over his reminding of my 'duty,' this unwanted responsibility that was forced upon me. Letting out a derisive snort, I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked up at sky. It was past sunrise now, but it was not quite warm yet.
"Miss Hanabi," I called out nonchalantly, "Why are you here so early?"
The little girl padded out behind the tree to me, a scowl on her face. I raised an eyebrow at that, amused to see an eight-year-old glare at me that way.
"I should ask the same question to you," she shot back cleverly.
"I was called here, that's why," I replied coolly, "though that doesn't explain why you're here, Miss Hanabi. You should be in bed."
"I cannot sleep knowing of your presence here, and wondering why my father was dealing with you, especially giving you that stick."
The little brat. "It doesn't matter if you can sleep or not, you should be in bed."
"Tell me, why did you bring my sister with a sprained ankle and torn clothes?"
"It's none of your concern, Miss Hanabi."
"It is my concern," she snapped, "when it's my sister involved. I can't believe she's to be married to a bastard like you."
Bastard was I? Fine, little girl, if you want to have it that way.
"For a girl who ignores her older sister, that's something I can't believe either."
Her face turned a deep angry crimson, instead of the characteristic veins that surfaced around the eyes. She didn't master the Byukugen yet… Ah, what a pity.
W-wait, was she crying? I cursed myself.
"Don't say that!" she yelled as she tried to wipe away the large tears that streamed down her face. "I…never…ever wanted to ignore her. They never let me see her. I always had to sneak to her room at night. She's important to me…" She was sobbing so hard that she curled into a tight ball at my feet. I felt, again, a small tinge of guilt. Why was it always me that made the Hyuga heiresses cry?
"Don't you know?" she cried. "That it was so hard to train everyday until you felt your bones—that you were about to break? Mother couldn't help me…but it was Sister who comforted me, cared for my injuries… Without her, I wouldn't be able to survive this far…"
Then I remembered what Miss Hinata had said before. "There was no doctor in the clan, so I had to learn how to take care of myself. Since then, it has become a hobby of mine to make medicine. It helps, too, with my little sister's cuts and bruises. "
The Hyuga clan was not keen to like children, nor even care for them. They were seen as nuisances, good-for-nothings until they reached the age of twelve, the time when they become a genin. As for me, I hardly remembered much of my training during those early years, except that it was vigorous. A man had to endure if he wanted to be strong. I supposed that was why the girls were more affected by it than boys.
I wasn't surprised that Miss Hinata would care for her sister so much. She knew firsthand her father's strenuous instruction and the hardships of being heiress. Naturally, she sought to give Miss Hanabi the things she never had to ease the suffering, in hopes that her younger sister would do better than she had ever done.
I bent down to the small girl and awkwardly touched the top of her head. She looked up at me with bloodshot eyes. "I know," I said, as gently as I could. As if astonished, she continued to stare at me until I felt uncomfortable. I cleared my throat. "You should get back before your father sees you like this. He already knows you were hiding there." She nodded wordlessly and stood up, sniffing.
And then, to my exasperation, she continued to glare at me. "You have something to say, Miss Hanabi?"
"If you bring back my sister like that ever again, I'll—I'll—!"
"Yes, yes, I know," I said resignedly. "Just go back to bed." I walked past her, hands in pockets, hoping to escape a confrontation with her mother. I had never found the main family this strange—this capricious. One moment they ignored Miss Hinata like a complete stranger, and then the next, they loved her enough to take it out on me. What was this family, anyway?
"And you have to let me see your kids too!" she yelled out behind me.
I was relieved to know that she couldn't see the reaction on my face.
Despite Lord Hiashi's permission to visit his daughter, I never went, spending the past couple days instead on training and work. Most of the missions that were assigned to us as genin were jobs to reconstruct the damaged areas of our village left by the Sound and Sand attack. It was degrading to spend time on things that didn't befit our occupation as ninjas, but as I did not pass the Chuunin Exam, I could not complain. On some occasions, we had no missions assigned and Gai would then drag Tenten and me to the hospital to visit Lee.
I pitied Lee, though not as much as to underestimate his strength. He tried extremely hard—too hard—in everything, and because of his ninja way, it costed him not only his arm and leg, but the ability to even be a ninja. He would be undergoing surgery in a few weeks by the Fifth Hokage herself, but noticing the strange behavior between Gai and Lee, I had a suspicion that there was something else about the operation I was not told about.
"Neji? Are you okay?" I glanced at Tenten behind my teacup. The both of us sat at the Ichiraku ramen stand, eating a late lunch after the day's mission.
"What?" I asked. She poked her food with her chopsticks thoughtfully.
"…Do you think," she began hesitantly, "That our team will be the same after Lee's surgery?"
I shrugged as I drank more tea.
"He told us that no matter what happens, it would be all right." She bit her lip. "But why did he say that?"
Finished with my tea, I pushed my chair back and stood up while throwing coins onto the counter for the bill. "I'm leaving."
"Wait!" she exclaimed. "Aren't you worried about Lee!?"
Pushing the overhanging cloth aside with a hand, I calmly said over my shoulder, "I'm not worried."
"But Neji—!"
"He'll be all right, Tenten, because he hasn't reached his goal yet."
She was silent momentarily, but I knew she was smiling a little,. "Yes, you're right."
I had other things on my mind than to worry about my stubborn, hot-headed teammate. Since the day with Lord Hiashi, I had studied the staff carefully, but came to no conclusion as to getting the glass spheres inside the wood. It was an enigmatic piece of oak, one I had only seen held in my uncle's hand. From afar, it was an ordinary walking stick, but upon close inspection, there were intricately engraved red and yellow lines that rooted from two circular blue marks, marking the place of the two balls. Using the Byukugen, I tried to look through the wood, but saw nothing within it. Cautiously, I channeled a small amount of chakra into it, but it remained stagnant. What kind of spell or seal did he place on the stick?
I reached my home, intending to spend the rest of the day and night on solving the puzzle, when I saw Hinata sitting on my doorstep, poking her fingers yet again.
"Miss Hinata?"
She looked up and quickly stood up, stammering, "H-hello, Brother Neji." Her eyes averted to the floor nervously. "Th-there was no one home, so I—I waited for you here."
"Mother hasn't come back from her mission, so I'm by myself for the time being." I walked past her to open the door. "Why are you here?"
"I…I…" She made a sudden awkward bow to me. "I want to thank you for—for carrying me home!" she said in a rush.
I was quiet, and found myself observing her intently. She turned beet red as she felt the weight of my stare, and looked down at her jerking fingers. My eyes also fell upon her anxious hands, remembering how they held mine. Impulsively, I grabbed them. She breathed in sharply. Flattening her hands, I eased the tension and twitching on her soft fingers.
"Then…" I heard myself say. "Let your hands be strong, because you hold everything in them."
Slowly, she lifted her head to meet my eyes with her widened ones. Then a peaceful expression settled on her features as she looked down at our hands.
"And right now, you are holding my hands."
Caught off guard by her this time, I felt some heat protruding from my cheeks and was about to pull away when she stopped me. Her fingers trailed on the fresh cuts and old scabs on my palms, her brow furrowed in concern.
"When did you get these?"
"I'm fine," I said hastily as I attempted to take back my hands, but she held on firmly.
"No…I've got something to help this." She pulled me into the kitchen and sat me down. From her sweater pocket, she withdrew a small container and took off the cap. She applied the oily substance onto my palms and gently rubbed it over the small wounds, the medicine cooling to my skin.
"You train hard, but you don't look after yourself," she softly chided. "There, it should prevent you from getting scars."
"…Thank you." Only she had noticed the cuts on my hand.
She smiled timidly and looked away. "It's nothing. I—I also came here to give you this medicine anyway." I followed her gaze out the open window, where my mother's garden laid beneath. Sunlight filtered in and reflected off the white kitchen tiles.
"Let's go out."
"What?" I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Let's go out," she repeated, slightly embarrassed this time, "for—for a walk. I—I kind of liked the walk last week, even with what happened later. Be-besides…" Her tone grew sad. "We have to, don't we?"
I smiled grimly. "We have no choice, you mean?" She said nothing. "Then let's go."
We took the main street again. It was unusually crowded at the time, vendors lining down the street, shouting out produces, while hordes of people ambled by us. There were gaudy decorations of red, yellow, and orange hanging on the roofs, the symbol of our village brightly shown everywhere.
She saw me looking at the streamers above us. "The festival's tonight. Did you forget?"
It was a yearly festival to celebrate the founding of Leaf Village, in conjunction to the inauguration of the Fifth Hokage. No wonder there were so many people and preparations. I hadn't noticed until now. Miss Hinata seemed to look forward to the event, her head turning side to side as she saw customers buying clothes, masks, and small trinkets.
When she stopped to admire the things on display and I stood waiting, something caught my eye. With interest, I walked to the vendor stand across the street.
"Good afternoon, lad! Do you fancy anything here that you'd wanna buy for the girl you like?" the seller gestured at the jewelry on his table. But I was only looking at the object hanging on his curtain.
"Yes, I want to buy that one there," I pointed.
"Oh, pretty lil' thing it is!
I'll give it to you for—" I threw him a bag of coins I had kept, which
he caught deftly. "Thank you, young
sir! Want me to package it for you?"
When I came back, carefully hiding the small box in my pocket, Miss Hinata was already gone. Alarmed, I asked the vendor if he had seen where the girl with white eyes went.
"I'm not too sure," the old man scratched his head, "but I think she went that way. A woman was pulling her along… Wait! Aren't you going to buy something?"
The crowds hindered my movement and with a frustrated growl, I took the easier alternative by leaping to the rooftops. My Byukugen did its work searching for the familiar chakra down the street, but it wasn't there. The way the old man pointed was the same direction as my house. I slammed the door open, panting and hoping to find her there. Instead, it was my mother.
"Neji! Finally you're back. I saw little Miss Hinata on the way home and—" Relieved, I regained my breath and slumped down on the chair. It was my mother who took her, after all.
"Where is she?"
The knife chopped in rhythm as she sliced the vegetables. "In your room."
"What?" I jumped out of my seat and ran up the stairs, my heart racing. She would be naturally curious about my room, but I didn't want her in there. She—she would…!
There was a soft "Oh!" as I came in, and the object she held dropped to the floor in a dull thump. The staff rolled toward my feet. I picked it up slowly and met her trembling gaze, confirming everything.
She had found out.
"I…" Her eyes grew blank as she leaned on my desk, clutching her head. "I was so stupid…How…how could I had not realized it?" Helplessly, I watched her start to break. Her tone was softer than usual, as if she felt it to be a dream…or a nightmare. "Of—of course, it would be obvious…it's…j-just that I didn't want to believe it, that's all… That staff—it was Father's, isn't it?"
Dumbly, I nodded.
She smiled, but there was nothing behind it. "…The family's heirloom given to the successor. I was supposed to inherit it, but…I suppose I was too weak…too unfit to have it."
You weren't weak, I tried to say, but the words were caught in my throat. My hands gripped the wood tighter.
"So he engaged me to brother Neji… Then, he could have the son he had always wanted…the true heir… That was why you accepted the engagement, wasn't it? In exchange for the marriage, you could learn the succession techniques." She bowed her head as tears rolled down her face. "Use me to get what they wanted, like a doll, a useless doll waiting to be bought.
"My dreams are nothing, insignificant to yours and his. What was the point of me getting stronger? I—I thought I could take the treasure—that I still have hope. But he never saw me…all this time he never did." Her voice broke. "My goals, the—the dreams I had, they were stolen from me… First the person I loved and now the one thing I wanted to prove myself the most. I lost it…I lost that key. Do you know where it is? Do you, Neji?"
I said nothing.
"Tell me! Because…because I don't know now…" She pushed herself past me and stumbled down the stairs.
She needed to run, run out before she broke into pieces. I knew that, yet I didn't bother coming after her to hold her together. I had nothing to say, because what she said was all true. Maybe there was regret in me, a wish that the reasons for our engagement were different.
"Neji?" my mother leaned on the doorway behind me, frowning. "Miss Hinata…just ran out..."
"Why," I asked quietly, "was she here?"
"I found her on the street…"
My mother's rambling words were distant to my ears, barely comprehensible to me as flashes came back vividly in my mind.
"I think these forests are like the heart: deep and mysterious, yet beautiful when you see it change from green to gold."
"She didn't see you, so I took her with me…"
"But there is a key, isn't there? To every lock, there is a key."
"And thought it would be nice to have her come over…"
"It will always be there, Brother Neji. You will find it, perhaps not now, but you will. I'm sure of it, because I am looking for it too."
"…for early dinner before the festival tonight."
"Yes, someday…you and I…will find it."
"Told her to take a look around the house if she wanted…"
"Let your hands be strong, because you hold everything in them."
"Neji, what happened?"
"And right now, you are holding my hands."
I placed the staff on the desk and stared it for some time. My mother waited patiently for my answer. Finally, I turned to her, my eyes vacant, my words honest.
"I'm a fool, but I don't know why I am, Mother."
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*Hakkeshou – Hand of the Eight Divinations, Chinese Openhanded Martial Arts Style (also known as Tai Chi)
*Field of Hakke – The meditative ground or in this case, the radius in which the user attacks and defends. Kind of like a mental fortress. The field is depicted as three circles, the middle the yin-yang symbol, the second and third with eight religious kanji characters. Seen in Chapter 101 of the manga
*If the 64 Hands of Hakke is to seal up all chakra points, why did Kakashi say there are 361 opening points? I will never know…
There was supposed to be more in this chapter, but I decided to split it to the other chapter. Leaves you hanging? I truly hope so! ^^
I was a bit disappointed with the number of reviews I got last chapter, so please, people, if you're reading this, REVIEW and tell me what you think *except don't tell me that this pairing is disgusting*! Yes, I'm grappling for reviews, because I feel lots of people are losing interest (or maybe because I was on that two-week-long trip)! So I ask—no, beg! XP