Persepolis130
Notes: Is there a Hell in Japanese religion? If not, I'm pretending there is. Also, if incest bothers you, avoid this fic from now on. Seriously. And finally, thanks to teamgaifan for the great feedback- you totally figured it out! Sorry about Tenten, but it is for a reason. The leetenten wasn't mine though... reading something like that might burn my eyes... are you thinking of shinotenten? 'Cause that's fuuuuuuun D.
CHAPTER 4
"Better," the woman proclaimed, rolling Neji unceremoniously off of her.
Neji frowned blearily, watching her nicely curved hips sway as she padded quietly to her robe. "...are you going to do this every time... jump right up after...? ...it's disconcerting..." he grumbled.
"And are you going to fall asleep every time?" She asked over her shoulder as she secured the tie at her waist. "It's hardly fitting."
"What do you mean? I did it four times..." Forcing his overly-relaxed body into a sitting position by sheer willpower, Neji swung his legs over the side of the mattress, coming down onto the ground with a thump. "And maybe you could explain why I shouldn't. You still haven't given me any answers."
"Ah, that," she replied with an air of dismissal as she flipped through a stack of papers on her desk. "When I said you were a whore... well, you may have misunderstood my meaning."
"Why am I not surprised?" Neji muttered as he pulled on his pants, frowning at how cold the fabric felt against his flushed skin. He was also kind of messy, and he wished he'd thought to clean himself off first. But his pants were dirty from training anyway, so he supposed it didn't matter so much.
Jotting something down, the woman made a small noise, but her back was turned, so its meaning evaded him. Sighing and smoothing her hair down over one shoulder, she set down the pen and turned to him, eyes intent, almost as if she were working up her courage.
Crossing her arms, the woman suddenly declared, "It's fate,"
Neji blinked, wrinkled shirt dangling from his fingers. "What?"
"That's what your father said. 'It's fate.' " She smiled, tucking a stray lock of dark, glossy hair behind her ear.
Neji regarded her, startled. "Did you train my father, too?"
"Only briefly," she laughed, quickly becoming serious again, "but I hope you understand as he did. Safety isn't only the physical things, you know."
Neji shook his head, baffled by her words. And, truthfully, a little grossed out.
"Protection of one's clan is more than their physical well-being. It has to do with reputation, esteem of others. Can you imagine what would happen if the Hyuuga were to fall into disreputable regard?" she asked, leaning back against the desk.
"That's impossible," he told her as he slid his shirt over sweaty shoulders. "There's no family more admired than the Hyuuga."
"It only takes one thoughtless act to ruin a reputation, you know. A single deed can cause scandal enough to plunge an entire family into disgrace. Especially if it involves the heir. You know, she's at the age where things can get dangerous for a young woman. Imagine if she were to be inappropriately involved with a boy. Caught kissing him. Or worse."
"Hinata! You can't be serious! She's the most innocent girl I've ever met!" He pictured his cousin's blushing face, down-turned before a grinning Naruto. "She'd pass out before his lips touched hers! Hell would freeze over first!"
"I don't know anything about Hell," the woman told him, "But I do know something of what girls her age dream of, having once been one myself. Given the right circumstances, I guarantee you she could manage it. And imagine if she got pregnant."
Neji felt blindly for the bed behind him, plunking himself down. Of course the woman was right that it would be terribly shocking. Values in Konoha were still very traditional when it came to sex. It was alright for a man, but upper-class young women were to be chaste and innocent. For a noble lady to be sexually involved premaritally would cause a huge scandal. Even something as simple as being seen alone with a boy was enough to start rumors.
Neji certainly couldn't imagine Hinata doing anything like that, especially since Naruto, the only boy she'd ever looked at, was away training. But then what did HE know? Up until yesterday, he hadn't pictured himself having sex either, and look where fate had led him...
A gentle hand on his shoulder, Neji looked up into dark, warm eyes. "And that is why you're here."
He tried to connect Hinata and Naruto with his current situation but drew a blank. Though with her standing like that, robe dipping open, he imagined he could hardly help it.
Her smile was kind as she told him, "You will tend to her needs, Neji."
"Tend to her... needs...?"
"There's no shame in being seen unescorted in public with your cousin. Even if you two were to be caught in an embrace, people would think little of it. You will satisfy her curiosity and keep her urges in check. I'll teach you the appropriate jutsu to prevent pregnancy as well as what to do should the unthinkable happen."
Neji swallowed, throat dry.
"Neji, she'll be safe with you. As will the reputation of your family."
"But that's..." Neji searched for the right word but could only come up with, "SICK!"
Face suddenly cold, the woman turned away from him, stalking to a nearby bookshelf. "Well, don't get angry with me, I'm not the one who came up with it. That's the way it's always been. Be glad she's sweet and harmless and not a raging, hormonal nympho."
Neji grimaced. The thought of sex with his cousin was nothing less than appalling. He'd never be able to do something like that, no matter what reason the woman gave him. It was so unthinkable it was almost making him physically ill.
That and he'd just discovered he hated the word 'nympho.'
"Now then, here's your work for tonight." Not missing a beat, she handed the dazed Neji a red leather-bound volume. "Study as many as you think you can manage, and be prepared to demonstrate at the end of the night."
Thoughtlessly opening the cover, Neji couldn't help but cringe. Even with his ninja training, he wouldn't have thought human bodies could bend that way. Or that they'd want to. And why the hell was the woman upside down in this one? Did his "trainer" think Hinata would want him to do this to her?
Neji blanched at the thought of touching his cousin like that, the illustrations somehow making the notion more real. It was a crime against nature that it had even been suggested, and he was ashamed at how thinking about it made him feel strangely warm inside.
Imagining how Hinata's soft, pale skin would feel against him, hesitant fingers brushing across his chest, he was ashamed to feel his breath catch in his chest. It was disgusting. But he couldn't help wondering about how her mouth would taste. About her lips parting, yielding to his kiss. About the breathy little sounds she'd make as he-
"Oh, and Neji," he jumped as the woman interrupted, her hand covering the sinfully enticing illustration. Leaning down to rub her knuckles gently across his chin, breath warm across his neck, she said softly, "I realize have no natural talent in the matter, but you could at least TRY to give me an orgasm. It's all becoming quite tedious if you must know the truth."
Cheeks flaming as she patted his head as one might a small child, Neji hid behind his book, trying desperately not to think of orgasms and Hinata's legs around his waist.
He cursed fate yet again when he failed.