Chapter 7

Neji quickly walked down the hall of the huge Hyuuga mansion and she almost had to run to keep up with him.

Suddenly Neji stopped dead in his tracks causing her to almost run into him. Confused she looked up to see what had made him stop, looking straight up into her father's eyes. And they sure didn't look happy.

Instinctively she lowered her head and backed away a few steps.

Neji respectfully bowed his head to the head of the Hyuuga Main House, but his body was tensed and his mind was working fast.

"And just where you off to in such a hurry?" Hiashi asked authoritative.

"We are leaving Hiashi-sama" Neji answered, his head still bowed down respectfully.

Hiashi laughed coldly.

"No one will 'leave' this family without my consent. Being in the Branch House, you of all people should know that!" he said stern.

"Besides, what made you think she would go with you?" Hiashi said.

Much to his surprise Hinata's voice suddenly cried out.

"I will leave with him father!" she said positively, stunning both her father and Neji.

A small smile played on Neji's lips.

…She really can speak for herself when it counts… he thought.

But Hiashi knew his daughter well enough to know her weak points, and didn't shy away to use that knowledge neither.

"If you leave with him, Neji will always be a Branch House member. But… if you don't I will acknowledge him as my son, and thereby relief him from the Branch House. Don't you feel he belongs there?" Hiashi asked her subtle, knowing very well that his words would weigh heavy on her conscience.

And he was right. Her will began to crumble and from the corner of his eye Neji could see her fidgeting again.

"Yamette yo! Stop it!" Neji said dangerously calm to Hiashi.

Hiashi looked at him "Why? Is she even too weak to answer such a simple question?" he said mockingly.

Neji's head snapped up.

"Don't you dare call her weak! You're the one that's making her weak! She has a strength in her that could easily outclass yours, but you won't even give her a chance!" Neji said heated.

At hearing Neji's words she looked up at him with watery eyes. He really did love her, and most important, he didn't think she was weak!

"How dare you speak to me like that! Do you have any idea who you are talking to!" Hiashi said coldly.

"Now you better take those words back and apologise or I will kill you right here, right now! And if you'll ever talk to me like that again I will kill you both!" Hiashi added.

But Neji wasn't impressed and had no intension of going back on his word, for he had meant each and every word of it.

"I won't take back what I said. It is the truth. And if you ever hurt her again, in any way, I will kill you." Neji stated calm. But his voice had a firm edge to it, only aggravating Hiashi even more.

"You will pay for your impudence dearly. I will not have a Branch House member speak up to me like that, let alone threaten me!" Hiashi said angry, lowering himself into the Hyuuga fighting stance.

Neji smirked and lowered himself in the same stance.

No, he really didn't mind fighting his uncle, even knew that it was bound to happen sooner or later. He had never expected it to be a fight over Hinata though.

She had never been more scared in her life than at that very moment. They were probably evenly strong but with the Hyuuga fighting style, there was no room for flaws.

She realised the impasse her father had Neji forged into; because even if Neji was strong enough to beat her father, he would surely be executed for murdering the head of the Hyuuga Main House.

"No!...Please don't!..." she choked.

But they didn't react to her desperate plead. They were both concentrating on each other, contemplating the other for an opening.


Suddenly a very strong wind circled through the room, forcing all of them to embrace themselves. Leafs whirled around in the wind before the slowly felt down as the wind dropped as quickly as it had arrived.

Much to their surprise Tsunade had appeared right between Hiashi and Neji.

"Hokage-sama!" they all chorused surprised and they bowed respectfully.

Tsunade, who had never liked formality's, waved it all away. She only nodded to Hiashi and Neji, but gave Hinata a sincere smile.

"Does someone mind telling me what's going on here? It sure didn't look like friendly chatting between relatives." she said looking straight at Hiashi.

"Nothing Hokage-sama. Just some family business that needed taking care of." Hiashi said calm.

But Tsunade wasn't one to be brushed aside by mere words, no matter how powerful the speaker was.

"Ah, but you see, as Hokage of Konoha it is my duty to know everything about it's villagers. Including the Hyuuga Clan. So enlighten me." she said smoothly, knowing perfectly well Hiashi couldn't deny her.

She had never liked Hiashi much, and that feeling had only grown stronger when she had seen the way he treated Hinata. Therefore she liked to rub it in that even the all mighty Hyuuga Clan would eventually have to submit to her will.

Hiashi was obviously displeased by her interference but knew he had to obey her direct order.

"He harassed my daughter…" Hiashi started. "I even offered him to acknowledge him as my son if he would stay away from her, but he refused and threatened to leave the family and take my daughter with him." Hiashi said toneless.

"I will not allow a Branch House member to run off with my daughter!" he added stern.

Tsunade had been surprised by Hiashi's explanation, especially the part where he said he'd offered Neji to become his heir. She knew Neji well enough to know that that was the only thing the boy had yearned for. So why had he turned down the offer?

"hmmm I see. A serious accusation indeed. I can see why you are so worried for your daughters safety." she said, knowing very well that Hiashi couldn't care less about his daughters safety, and also knew that Hiashi knew she knew.

"So Neji-kun…care to explain why you wanted to leave the Clan with Hinata-chan?" Tsunade asked Neji.

Her question took Neji by surprise. It was very inappropriate to ask a Branch House member for his or her side of the story, when the Head of the Hyuuga Clan had already told the story, and therefore he hesitated for a second.

He looked at Hiashi as if asking for permission. Even though he hated the Hyuuga Main House with all his might, the respectfulness towards the Main House had been ingrained into his every being, still keeping him caged by invisible bars. Besides who would ever believe his side over that of the Hyuuga head?

"Answer my question Neji-kun! I know your smart, so it can't be that hard." Tsunade insisted impatiently.

Neji took a deep breath and looked straight ahead, his face and voice blank and cold as usual.

"As a Hyuuga Branch House member it is my duty and faith to keep the Hyuuga heiress safe at all costs." he said toneless.

Tsunade cringed inwardly at hearing Neji's cold emotionless words. She had always hated the way the rich and powerful clans, like the Hyuuga Clan, still upheld the class differences, especially when she saw what it did to people like Neji and Hinata. Both victims of a tradition that bound them only to uphold family honour.

She had also understood the hidden message in Neji's words; Hinata would no longer be safe in her own house, now that she claimed to like a Branch House member. What had surprised her though that Neji truly seemed to care.

"Is that your only reason?" Tsunade asked incredulous, knowing the answer very well, but loved to get a rise out of the usual stoic boy.

"For I can assure you she can take care of herself very well!" she said strongly.

It struck Hiashi and Neji how much credit the Hokage herself gave Hinata.

Just as she expected Neji started to shuffle a little and his gaze dropped to the floor, and she could swear she saw a faint blush starting to for on him pale features.

"No Hokage-sama…That is not the only reason." he started. "I….want to be with her, and if that's not possible within the family, then we'll leave." Neji confessed unwillingly.

Tsunade smiled inwardly. …Well well, who would have thought that boy even had feelings!..

Tsunade turned to look at her apprentice and smiled warmly at her.

"Hinata-chan?" she encouraged her.

She froze when everyone's attention focused on her, and she sincerely wished the ground would just swallow her up whole. But no such luck.

"y..yes Hokage-sama?" she stuttered.

Tsunade frowned. "Hinata-chan, I told you already that I don't want my apprentice to call her sensei so formally. So please don't start again now." Tsunade said calm but friendly.

Both Hiashi and Neji were stunned by her words; Hinata Tsunade's apprentice!

Only the very best were allowed to become medic-nins, and even they weren't trained thought by the Hokage herself!

Hinata just blushed even more. She hadn't told anyone about her training with Tsunade, only her team-mates knew.

"What do you want Hinata-chan?" Tsunade asked her friendly.

"Do you like Neji-kun or not?" she asked.

Hinata looked at her father and then at Neji.

"Yes Tsunade-sama…I like him. Very much…" she said louder and more confident than she had ever heard the girl before.

"Would you like to leave with him?" Tsunade asked. "It could lead to being disinherit from your family." she warned.

"I..I don't care…I just want to be with him." Hinata answered honestly.

"Hinata!" her father warned her.

She seemed to shrink at his threatening voice and glare, and Tsunade could see how her young apprentice was shivering with fear.

She could also feel a strong chakra flaring and when she looked up she realised it was Neji's.

"Hiashi!" Tsunade said just as threateningly and glared at him.

"I can understand how a caring father wouldn't like to see his daughter involved with a cold, stoic boy such as Neji-kun here looks most of the time, but I sincerely believe that she will be in the safest place she could ever be in, since he sure is one of the best shinobi I've got. I'm sure you'll agree with me that if Hinata doesn't mind his character traits, Neji-kun would be a more than suitable partner for her." Tsunade said calm.

When Hiashi bowed she turned her attention back to Hinata and smiled reassuringly.

"Thank you Hinata-chan." She said. "And don't worry…" she added softly, so only Hinata could hear it.

She was about to turn around again to talk to Hiashi when she seemed to remember something and turned back to Hinata.

"Oh, Hinata-chan, your team-mates are just outside, and at the point of breaking trough my binding-jutsu. Why don't you go see them to let them know you're alright, before they come in here and start tearing the place apart in search for you, ne?" Tsunade said, smiling when she recalled how worried they had been for her wellbeing.

She hesitated for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. She didn't want to leave, afraid that her father and Neji would still fight. But she knew Tsunade wouldn't let that happen, so after bowing respectfully she left and went outside.


AN : Thank you all sooo much, you really have no idea how much these reviews mean to me. They really brighten up my life, and I could sure use that!

A.B.C.Otaku: Thank you so much for your very nice reviews and the lesson Japanese. I even asked my teacher but she didn't knew either!

Lala: Thanks for the review and lovely emails!

Princess Lady Subaru: lol, yes he turned it down! But we still have to wait and see, wether their 'escape' will work out or not... :smiles wickedly: oh and I'm sorry to say, that there will be no more pairings in ths story. But I just started working on a kakasaku story just this week.

Marl Welsh: Thank you for the nice compliments! And I'm glad you like my story!

kaitenkenburokuren: lol, your review really made me smile, because it was the exact same thing I was thinking when I wrote it. But like you said, I didn't think Hiashi would be that stupid.

naruto'sbabygirl : Well first we'll just have to see wether they manage to get out, and then who knows... ;-D (sorry I just like to tease, and I don't want to spoil anything just yet :p )