9 – Naginata

Fairy tales are a crock. The whole 'happily ever after' thing does not happen in the real world. What happens is a long story of ups and downs, fights and apologies, regrets and dreams come true. And it's never happily ever after until you're dead. But that doesn't mean you give up. The good times are worth fighting everything else for.

It wasn't an easy courtship at first. Being friends, even dating casually, was one thing but a relationship entailed things that neither of us had thought about. We were ninja and neither of us was willing to give up their job. Still, he worried about me and wanted me to take easier missions. Worse then that, he yelled when I said I was just as worried about him. We'd end up taking out half of a training hall before finally deciding neither of us was going to budge on the subject.

In the end, we both remained ANBU and just learned to trust each other to be smart enough to stay alive. It's not easy being alone in your home waiting for the guy you're in love with to come home. But when he finally makes it back, the reunion is worth it. Very worth it.

Which also brings me to another lesson learned. When a medic-nin says to avoid strenuous activity to allow injuries to heal, attempting to 'go at it slow' is not a proper solution. There's nothing like having the Hokage of the village lecture you in the middle of a waiting room about being patient.

So I learned to be patient… again. I figured that if Neji was going to take all those years to ask me out, I'd probably be at least forty when we got married.

Three months into the relationship he proposed. I could go into the details of the scene, how he had managed to wrangle vacation time from the ANBU captains and buy out all the rooms of a hot springs inn… but I don't remember the details. I just remember never having been happier. And a few other things that are things you don't discuss in public.

Explaining things to his family was harder then it would have been with anyone else's. After all, who was I but a kunoichi from a blacksmithing family? Sure, I was a weapon's master and an ANBU lieutenant and that was impressive. But compared to the scores of potential mates, I was at the bottom of the barrel.

Neji didn't ask me to bring my mother into it. He knew, like I did, that having a noblewoman in the family would probably end all argument. But… I felt like it was betraying my father, saying he wasn't good enough, and more, that I wasn't good enough.

Eventually, it was decided that Hiashi himself would determine whether the match was appropriate. Nervous does not begin to describe how I felt when we went to meet him. This was the man who had tormented Hinata for years until she became strong enough to be heir. He was the head of a family notorious for treating the Branch badly, forcing a curse seal on them so they would remain under control.

"Is this who you chose, Neji?"

That was all he said. And when Neji said yes, it was done. At the time, I didn't understand what passed between those two to make it go so easily. From what I heard, Hiashi was notorious for forcing people to be examined for months before being deemed worth. It wasn't until later Neji explained.

"Once, my uncle had to make a decision. But before he could, my father made the choice for him. I think, then… that this was my uncle's way of repaying him, by letting me make my own, but… for a better outcome."

Hyuuga are mysterious folk but I knew that before I got involved. So even after this strange exchange, it didn't surprise me that Hiashi asked us to wait a week before telling people what he had decided. I thought he'd have to maneuver things among Main house to make this union all right with them.

Three days later, he died. A day after his funeral, Hinata was made head of Main and a day after that, she abolished the division between Branch and Main. In telling us to wait, in knowing his end was near, Hiashi had granted freedom from the curse seal to any children we might have.

The wedding was insane. It was held on the Hyuuga estate, of course, and most of the Village had showed up. Gai-sensei cried, of course, about the beauty of the ceremony. Lee got into the sake but was quickly sedated by Sakura before things got out of hand. Naruto and Kiba attempt to get into a drinking contest but Hinata put a stop to that rather quickly. In fact, Hinata was the perfect hostess, all stuttering and nervousness gone. Well, until she caught the bouquet.

Three months after the honeymoon, I started getting sick. I went to the doctor while Neji was on a mission because I was pretty sure what they would tell me. And after a few tests, I had to put in my papers to ANBU to ask for a year of leave.

I always thought that someday I'd get to beat Neji in a fight. After all those years of training, you'd think I would have knocked him out at least once. Mind you, if I had known that all it would take is two little words, I would have done it earlier.

Poor Neji. Facing hordes of enemy nin is not an issue to him but the prospect of fatherhood seemed to make him pass out in an instant. I had to get Hinata to administer some first aid and the second she realized what happened, the entire population of Konoha knew.

It didn't matter that they did. A month later, it was pretty obvious I was carrying not one, but two little Hyuugas in my belly. My friends were amazed by my ability to take down an entire pizza in one sitting and not get sick. Chouji challenged me once but the poor boy couldn't keep up with the three of us.

The rest of Hyuuga itself was polite enough. They always offered to help, brought food and anything else I needed. But there was still a barrier. Despite having both the blessing of Hiashi and Hinata, I was still an outsider.

"But the kids will be accepted right?" I asked Neji one night, as he lay in the bed with his head on my belly, a custom he enjoyed on a nightly basis.

"They will. And you as well. Just give them time."

Time was all I had these days. Without a job, I had to find things to keep myself busy or else go stir crazy. I read books, wrote letters to my mother, anything I could think of to keep myself entertained.

And again it was my mother who showed me the way. She told me stories of when she was pregnant, sent books she had enjoyed, anything she could think of. When I was seven months into the pregnancy, she sent another large package.

Inside, once again, were a letter and a weapon. She knew I wasn't allowed to train like I usually did but the naginata was something I could learn to use within a few months. It was a long staff with a sharp blade at the top, originally used by infantry to cut the legs off of horses ridden by invading soldiers. Lately, though, it had become the noble woman's weapon of choice.

I realized why almost immediately. Even carrying the twins, the naginata and I moved with fluid motions. Bo training helped in learning it, but it was the blade at the top that made it a truly different weapon, a very deadly one at that.

I had Neji install a few hooks above the door so I could hang it there. I told him that that's what they did in my mother's part of the world. He responded by saying I shouldn't worry about things like that. After all, we were behind the gates of Konoha. What could possibly get to us here?

He went away on a mission soon after that. A week long one that stretched into something more like a month. Having a friend in the Hokage's office was definitely a benefit. Sakura promised to update me on what was happening so at least I knew that he was safe.

Konoha was not. Sound had finally grown into a strong enough nation to threaten it. And before we knew what happened, its army was at the gates, numbers greater then we had suspected. There were spies in Konoha that let them know when most of our ANBU were out on missions and who also let them in the back door.

Despite a quick response, a good number of them made it inside. ANBU hunted them in the streets while the civilians were forced to evacuate. Considering my state, I fell into the latter category. I wasn't exactly happy about that but I wasn't stupid either. I grabbed the few things I needed and was about to leave when the flood of Sound Nin hit the compound.

Sound made two mistakes that day. One was assuming that because Hinata was only a year into being head of the family, that she would be an easy target. I don't know exactly what happened but I saw the effects later. Apparently, she had not only learned Kaiten but had improved it enough to take out an entire building with it. You don't want to know what happened to the nin who got caught in it.

The second mistake was assuming that being pregnant made me a good hostage. I didn't have to see below the mask to know that the Sound nin that were charging towards my front door were uninformed men. Any woman would have known that a fellow woman would stop at nothing to protect her children. And anyone with proper intelligence would know I was a kunoichi.

The naginata hit the first one before they even realized what happened. It sliced him in two without a pause and turned on the second in the blink of an eye. The last one called for back up just as I got to him. Reinforcements meant there was no way I would be able to get out of here in time.

I warned the remaining Hyuuga about what was about to happen and we prepared to make a stand. The Hyuuga… they're a beautiful breed of fighters. Their movements are so delicate and yet deliver such a deadly blow that the bodies of Sound nin began to pile up in minutes. I did my best with the naginata but the months of pregnancy had sapped my strength and it got harder to fight, quicker then it used to.

I never fell. I kept fighting until the ANBU finally arrived. I even kept going until the remaining Leaf nin returned home, having been called back the moment the trap had been sprung.

I honestly feel sorry for any Sound nin that got in the way of Neji as he made his way home. Poor Lee looked slightly green as they made their way through the door. I got crushed beneath their hugs and it felt like I popped under the pressure.

And I had… but for a different reason.

Lee passed out because the thought of me giving birth was too much for him. Neji turned paler then I thought was possible. I'm just lucky that Hinata chose that moment to walk in and take command again.

The hospital was out of the question. The causalities were already flooding the rooms and fighting was still going on across the village. And since Hinata had had some medic-nin training, she knew what to do.

The labor itself didn't last long. I was a month early and obviously my body had panicked into thinking it had to get the children out now. Lee brought water in once or twice but then he made the mistake of getting close enough for me to grab. Neji eventually wrenched him free of my grip but come on, you don't ask a woman in labor if she is enjoying the beauty of giving birth.

Neji managed to maintain enough composure to last through the labor but the second the first boy came out he just stopped speaking and stared at the squalling bundle that Hinata passed to one of the Hyuuga near by.

I had to yank his hair to remind him we weren't done yet.

And so, during the massive invasion of Konoha by Sound, during the battle between the Elder Sannin that ended in the deaths of all three and the fight between the Younger Sannin that finally brought one of them home, our children were born. They were the first to be Branch and be free of the curse seal. First to be born into a world where the threat of Orochimaru and Sound would no longer exist.

But even with all the changes that were going on around us, I think the greatest change was what happened to Neji and I as we held out children for the first time. All those years of searching, of striving to reach some goal I didn't really understand, I finally realized why my parents had done what they did. I knew why my father had sacrificed so much because I knew I would do the same for my children. To be ninja, to work so hard to be the best you could be, even to give your life for it… it was to provide a safe world to the next generation. I got it, I finally got it.

And Neji… when the elder twin reached up and grabbed his hair, he laughed. And for the first time, I knew he had found true peace.