Chapter Two
A/N: My apologies for the shortness of this chapter, but I couldn't help it. I had to introduce Kiba, because he hardly got any play in the last story and I really like him. Don't worry though, as soon as I get inspiration, Neji will return in more detail.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, period.
Inuzuka Kiba raised his hand to knock on the door of the Hyuuga home. He and Neji were by no means the best of friends, but the year and a half they'd spent on the same team had helped them to arrive at a mutual understanding, which was why he'd agreed to check on the older man's family while he was away.
He knocked sharply on the door and it was answered seconds later by TenTen, infant daughter in her arms. She had just changed out of her Chuunin uniform and was wearing blue jeans and one of Neji's T-shirts. "Ah, Kiba-kun, it's nice to see you."
"Hi." He scratched his messy hair. "Sorry to drop in on you like this, but can I come in?"
She nodded and stepped aside to let him in. "I'm sorry about the mess, but Neji packed in a hurry and I haven't had a chance to clean yet."
He entered the apartment, Akamaru on his heels. "It's okay TenTen, our place is a lot worse than this."
She sat down on the couch, cradling Haruka carefully. "Did Neji ask you to come?"
He sat next to her. "Yes. He wanted to make sure you and Haruka were safe."
"It's thoughtful of him, but I can take care of myself."
He folded his hands behind his head. "That's what I told him, but he insisted."
She sighed. "Have you eaten dinner yet?"
He shook his head.
"Good, I have too much food here for one anyway, just let me put Haruka to bed and I'll be right back."
~~~
The familiar surroundings flew by Neji, as he left Konoha further and further behind. He wasn't worried about the mission at all. The ANBU members that he was working with were fairly talented ninjas, but he was more than enough to take on the Shiratori brothers. The others had been sent with him because there had been reports of the two former ninjas of Konoha banding together with other outcasts and criminals. As a group they had continued to commit heinous crimes and had yet to be disciplined, or even caught.
He wasn't bothered by the possibly danger that his life was in, what bothered him was that those damned Shiratoris may have circled around and headed to Konoha right after he left. If they were any good, it would be no big deal to infiltrate their former village, and go looking for TenTen. It was obvious that they held a grudge.
He knew he could count on Kiba and Hinata to watch out for his wife and daughter, and that even though she would oppose it, she understood his concerns.
His team leader turned to look at him. "Oi, Neji, are you okay?"
Now two more of his teammates were looking at him strangely.
"Ahh." He cleared his mind of the image of TenTen staring absently up at him as he left her behind in the classroom. "I'm fine."
"This is the first time you've left your family, isn't it?" The ANBU speaking was also on Neji's Chuunin team and had even attended his wedding. "After the baby was born, I mean?"
"It doesn't matter. Right now, this mission is the only important thing. My wife and daughter will be waiting for me when I get back."
"That's the spirit."
Neji inwardly winced at his leader's words. It almost sounded like something Gai-sensei would say, minus his usual flamboyance. He wondered for a moment how he and Lee were doing, but then he pushed it out of hi head, focusing only on the mission at hand.
~~~
Kiba stretched the sheet up to TenTen's neck. She'd fallen asleep on his shoulder in the middle of their conversation, and he'd gotten her comfortable. She deserved it anyway, after all she'd been through. Five minutes later the soft knock he'd been expecting came.
He opened the front door. "Hinata, I'm glad you made it."
"Kiba-kun, how is she doing?"
"She and the baby are asleep, but she's doing okay for now, are you still going to come by in the morning to check on her?"
She nodded. "Neji-niisan asked me to."
"Well then, we should get going." He exited the apartment and closed the door quietly behind him. "So you just got back from training?"
"Yes."
"How was it?"
"Father says that I should be able to master Heavenly Spin soon."
He smiled and stuck his hands in his pockets. Hinata was a good person. After the horrible incident with Neji five years ago she had managed to reconcile with both her father and her cousin. It had been hard, because at first, Neji had wanted nothing to do with his family, but she had kept at, and made friends with TenTen. After that, Neji couldn't prevent the inevitable.
Their relationship had been rocky at first, as they'd never really been friends, but after he'd been assigned to the ANBU squad they'd gotten closer. Around that time she made up with her father and he'd begun to teach her again.
She was finally dating Uzumaki Naruto, and even though it hurt, he was really happy for her. After all she'd been through in her seventeen years it was good to see her smile again, even if it wasn't for him. In fact, she'd agreed to stop by her cousin's place to pick him up on the way to meet the others at Ichiraku. He'd already eaten, so he wasn't going to stick around, but he still wasn't comfortable with the idea of her walking around alone late at night.
"Kiba-kun, do you think Neji-niisan will be alright? I'm sure TenTen is worrying a lot about him."
He sighed and gazed up at the stars. "Neji is a strong ninja, and his teammates are powerful too. I'm sure he's gonna come back fine."
"You're probably right."
"We should hurry up. Naruto'll probably worry if you're late." Kiba rolled his eyes inwardly at his statement. Even though Naruto had grown up in the time, if a bowl of ramen was placed in front of him, all his problems went out the window.
"Aren't you going to stay?"
Ichiraku's lights shone in the distance. "No, sorry, but TenTen already fed me." He rubbed his stomach in satisfaction. "Neji should go out of town more often."
"Kiba-kun." Hinata shook her head in disapproval.
"I'm kidding, besides, she talked me to death. Right now I'm just ready to walk home and turn in for the night."
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." Hinata stopped in front of him, waved and then entered, walking up to her waiting boyfriend. When he saw her, he rested his chopsticks on the table and embraced her, then went back to eating.
Kiba waved in return and sighed. Well, he had another day with TenTen and Haruka to look forward to. Why had he volunteered for this to begin with?