Hi everyone. I decided to forego two shorter updates this week for one good juicy chunk of story. This one took a bit more editing than the last few; as I've written more my dialogue has improved (IMNSHO). As I review this older stuff, I have to go in and tweak things to improve the flow, and this bit has a lot more conversation than the last few. In older posts, I've mentioned I'm new. Still am. If you have any questions, comments, or could take the time to toss me a review it is much appreciated. Thank you for reading my story up to this point. It's worth missing out on my usual binge sessions of K-Dramas and anime knowing someone is enjoying this. Til next time, ponchoninax3. By the way: See if you can catch the Mean Girls quote. :B
Seiichiro had walked home hundreds of miles, in full armor, with a broken arm, three cracked ribs, and a sprained ankle after the last ninja war. He had lived through two of the longest and most severe winters in Getsugakure history, when a fifth of their village succumbed to the elements. It took all of the discipline he had developed over the course of his harsh 35 years to keep himself from blowing a gasket in front of Hiashi. Beki had disappeared from the dining hall, making Seiichiro look like a fool when he tried to present her. She finally was led back by the heiress of the clan herself. Beki was in a borrowed yukata, her mother's priceless kimono nowhere to be seen. Seiichiro's mind immediately began running through all the possibilities of hows and whys, and none of them were good. Unless there were orphans about to march in that she saved from drowning, Beki was in trouble.
"She saw me coming toward the dining hall and was heading over to greet me when her geta snapped," Hinata explained. "She fell into the reflecting pool so we had to rush her to the garment house to save that priceless family heirloom."
Hinata bowed and Beki followed suit.
"We apologize for our tardiness," Hinata and Beki said in unison.
They've rehearsed this, Seiichiro grimaced to himself.
"Accidents happen," Hiashi shrugged graciously.
Seiichiro took Hiashi's lead and heaved a sigh.
"Yes they do. Let's have dinner, girls."
…
Seiichiro walked away from the compound feeling bittersweet. After the kimono debacle, Beki had used her best manners. Even he had been impressed. It was as if the initial embarrassment had set her straight and she was the ultra perfect daughter for the rest of the night. She had reserved her speech for when it was appropriate, and when she spoke it was witty and almost insightful. Seiichiro had liked Hiashi from the get go and dinner confirmed his belief that Beki would be in a household that aligned itself with traditional beliefs. She would not be running wild under that man's watch. Hinata was also a breath of fresh air. She had all the demure qualities he hoped would rub off on Beki, but also a maternal kindness and understanding towards his wayward daughter. Beki would be in good hands, he was sure of it. He just was not so sure how well he would handle having his daughter out of his sight for that long.
For King and country, Seiichiro thought bitterly.
…
Hinata and Beki sat on the foot of the bed in Beki's new room. They had both changed into their pajamas and were settling in before they went to sleep.
"Thanks for saving my bacon out there," Beki gave her a grateful smile..
Hinata chuckled. "To save your bacon you would have had to have done something wrong. It's not your fault your geta broke."
"That's true, but thanks anyway," Beki looked around. "So is this whole house yours?"
"One of the perks of being an heiress, I suppose," Hinata smiled sadly.
"I don't know, to me it would be too lonely," Beki shuffled a little.
"It's supposed to be full of children and visitors," Hinata sighed.
"Well, you're one person toward that goal," Beki smiled.
"You must be exhausted, Beki," Hinata rose. "I'll let you get some rest. I guess I'll see you in the morning?"
"Yeah, have a good night, Hinata," Beki watched her leave.
"Goodnight, Beki," Hinata said as she closed the door.
Beki sat alone in her room staring out the window. The moon was half full and casting a soft glow on the grounds outside. The gardens were as beautiful by moonlight as they had been during the day. It surprised Beki that even at this hour there was still some bustle within the compound. It's like living in a tiny town within the village, Beki thought. The knowledge that she wasn't the only person still awake comforted her and helped her not to feel so isolated. Hinata was much nicer than she had expected. She had been kind and helpful even though Beki had made a total ass of herself. Beki also couldn't help but notice how damn pretty she was. Usually, heiresses were born of political arrangements, and so the two parties weren't always the most attractive. Somehow, though, Hinata had come from genes that boasted both flawless hair and a killer frame. In a weird way, Beki liked Hiashi, too. Hiashi had the same gruff formality her father did, from his disapproving look all the way to their matching frowns. Beki expected to adjust well.
Beki curled into the fresh soft sheets and breathed deeply. They smelled like sunshine and lavender and were some blend of angel's hair and satin. Exhaustion hit Beki like a sock full of nickels laying in that ridiculously comfortable bed and it was hard to keep her eyes open. In spite of her history of handling much more strenuous journeys, Beki was all tuckered out. She figured it was the emotional trauma of almost destroying her mother's kimono and humiliating herself in front of her new guardians. As she drifted off, Beki hugged her pillow and smiled. She couldn't wait for tomorrow so she could go exploring in the Hidden Leaf.
Hinata hovered in the hallway a moment. She had wanted to stay up and keep talking to Beki, but the poor girl looked as haggard as a corpse. She had to admit it was nice to have someone else in the house, even if it was a stranger. Naruto's absence had initially been a gnawing emptiness that followed her around wherever she went, however it had finally subsided into a dull ache. Hinata missed him terribly, but she was optimistic about her new roommate. Beki had an unassuming quality about her, a sincerity that reminded her of some of her favorite people. Naruto was like that, and so was Neji. The thing that made her most excited to have Beki around was that unlike the other girls in town, Beki seemed to have some of the same experiences with sacrificing for family and duty. The other girls always went out of their way to be nice to her, but deep down she knew that they could never fully understand her. How can a wild hare understand the trials of lap rabbit who has never been able to run free? That being said, Hinata knew better than to be careless. It would take some time, but Beki was someone she would grow to confide in.
Hinata walked down the hallway to her room and hoped that maybe she hadn't put the two of them too far apart. She had picked Beki's room hoping for privacy, but now she worried the other girl might think that she was purposely putting distance between them.
No, Hinata, she thought to herself. Don't over think this. You gave her arguably the best room in the house. She'll see the other rooms. She'll know what you were thinking.
Hinata stopped and smiled to herself. Beki would understand what she had been thinking. She didn't have to worry so much. With that thought in mind, Hinata climbed into bed, hugged the picture of Naruto she kept at her bedside, and curled up to go to sleep.
…
Either Beki isn't an early riser or she is very tired, Hinata thought as the clock struck ten. Most members of the Hyuga household were up around six or seven. Her father usually rose around four thirty. Hinata had slept in to an unheard of seven thirty and had been puttering around the kitchen for the last two and a half hours, afraid to do anything lest she might disturb her guest. She had wanted to have breakfast with her new roommate, but had gotten too hungry and eaten a bowl of rice porridge about an hour ago. She finally started to hear some movement upstairs and went into the fridge to get out the ingredients for pancakes.
Beki came thudding downstairs looking like something that had died and risen during the night. She had at least enough wherewithal to brush her hair before she came down, but she still looked absolutely haggard. Her skin was more pallid than Hinata had thought. Veins showed blue beneath Beki's ashen flesh, and her eyes had a glazed over quality that made Hinata wonder if she was sleep walking.
"So I should make a pot of coffee?" Hinata gave her a look of concern.
"Yes please," Beki yawned and took a seat at the kitchen table. "Oh, you're making breakfast? You don't have to."
"Oh, I just thought that you wouldn't know your way around yet," Hinata smiled, worry still etched on her face from the frightening appearance of her ward. "Are you alright with pancakes?"
"I love pancakes!" Beki smiled. "So does everyone in the compound get up early?"
"Yes, I suppose other people would think its early. We usually get up around six or seven," Hinata explained.
"So I can't stay up all hours of the night?" Beki gave her a mischievous look.
"As long as you aren't playing loud music or anything I don't think anyone will mind," Hinata said.
"Okay. Good to know," Beki yawned. "I'm kind of a night owl."
"Aren't all Getsu nin, though?" Hinata asked.
Beki cocked her head.
"Why would you think that?"
Oh no, Hinata thought. I went and said something offensive. She should never so foolishly have made such an assumption.
"I just thought, you know, with the whole moon thing..."
"Not my dad. He's mister rise with the dawn," Beki grumbled. "In Getsu or out of it, he's shaking me awake just shy of daybreak."
"My father is that way as well," Hinata flipped the flawless silver dollar pancakes.
"So," Beki started to braid her hair self consciously. "What should we do today?"
"I was thinking I could take you on a tour of the village," Hinata started to stack the pancakes on a simple white porcelain plate that probably cost more than all of Beki's clothes put together. "So you could get your bearings."
"That sounds good to me," Beki said as Hinata handed her a steaming stack of hotcakes. "These look awesome!"
"Thanks," Hinata smiled. "They're Naruto's- oh, nevermind."
"Who's Naruto?" Beki had inevitably taken the bait.
Hinata felt herself flush. She had wanted to avoid having this awkward conversation so soon. It always brought up uncomfortable questions about how young they had become engaged, which led to questions of why they had become engaged. The silence was stretching palpably and Hinata knew she had to say something.
"Uzumaki Naruto is my fiance," Hinata pinched her arm behind her back to help steel her nerves. "He's away on a long term training mission."
"Oh," Beki shrugged and then looked up from her plate. "Wait, you aren't having any?"
"I already ate," Hinata smiled. Of course! Beki had been taught diplomat's manners. She understood it was impolite to pry. Hinata put a cup of coffee down in front of each of them. "Do you take cream or sugar?"
"Just a little cream," Beki held out her cup.
A knock at the kitchen door interrupted their conversation.
"Come in," Hinata called over her shoulder.
Neji walked through the door and immediately began to speak.
"Good morning, Lady Hinata and-"
He paused for a moment, stunned to silence by the sheer awfulness of Beki's morning appearance.
"After I have my coffee I look about 60% more human," Beki offered a generous grin.
"Are you naturally that…" Neji's voice trailed off, lost for words.
"Pale? Yeah. Seven generations of deep woods and mountain dwellers." Beki took a sip of her coffee. "Tsukimori Beki."
"Hyuga Neji," He replied, remembering his manners.
"We're cousins," Hinata explained. "His father and my father were twins."
"Twins are cool," Beki said. "I wish I'd been a twin. Would have made it much easier to manage everything."
"Do you have any siblings, Beki?" Hinata inquired.
"No, it's just me and my dad," Beki sipped her coffee again. "I have a friend in Getsu that I practically shared a cradle with. That's close to a sister, I suppose."
"I have a little sister, Hanabi," Hinata finally sipped her own cup. "We'll probably run into her later."
"Cool," Beki swirled the dregs of her mug. "So, girly sleepovers are on the table?"
Hinata sighed.
"Hanabi would love that."
"Join us," Beki waved Neji over, gesturing to an empty seat at the table.
Neji sat down cautiously, as though he were afraid Beki would turn into the undead at any moment.
"So what are your plans for the day?"
"I was going to show Beki around the village," Hinata clarified.
"Would you like some company?" Neji offered.
Hinata felt unsure and cast Beki a questioning glance. It was hard to tell how she would feel. After all, the girl had been basically dropped off into a compound full of one big family. Hinata imagined she would feel isolated and out of place. Instead of looking uncomfortable, however, Beki smiled good naturedly, the color finally coming back to her skin.
"Sure, the more the merrier."
…
Twenty minutes later they were leaving the compound and headed for main street.
"Beki, I just realized: You're not really wearing a kunai bag," Hinata commented, perplexed.
"Oh, yeah, its just printed on my leggings." Beki smiled. "I'm off duty but it's weird not seeing the bag strap while I'm out, you know?"
Neji glanced at Hinata from behind Beki's back with a look of disbelief.
"So you're wearing clothes that look like you're wearing gear but you aren't," Neji phrased his question as a statement.
"Exactly!" Beki grinned obliviously.
"That makes perfect sense," Neji said, his sarcasm so seamless it was downright undetectable.
Hinata laughed nervously and they kept moving along. Good natured she may be, but Beki left a lot to be desired in terms of her kunoichi habits.
"So that big building over there is the Hokage's Mansion. Back beyond it is the mountain with all the great hokage's faces carved into it," Neji explained.
"Oh, there's the flower shop I went to yesterday," Beki gestured to the store across the street.
"The Yamanaka clan owns that shop," Hinata added. "One of my old classmates, Ino, usually runs it."
"Was she the blonde one without any pupils?" Beki asked.
"Yes…" Hinata replied uncomfortably.
"Okay, does she have an ocular jutsu like your clan?" Beki asked. "I know that's why you guys don't have pupils, but does everybody here without pupils have an ocular jutsu?"
The Hyugas stood there in silence looking at her in horror. Hinata noticed that Neji's draw had actually dropped a half an inch, and the usually composed shinobi was staring at Beki in open mouthed dismay. He caught Hinata's gaze, realized his loss of composure, and snapped his mouth closed.
"Beki, you can't just ask why people don't have pupils," Neji whispered in exasperation.
"Sorry, ocular jutsu aren't a thing where I'm from," Beki shuffled uncomfortably. "The kekke genkai are usually a lot less apparent. You can't tell so easily what people have by looking at them."
"You know where we should go?" Neji cut her off, his voice full of forced enthusiasm. "We should go to the school."
Hinata heard what he really meant and cringed, mostly because she agreed: we need professional help for this level of stupid.
As they walked, they very gently probed Beki's brain to see just how backwater she was.
"So, you lived in Getsugakure?" Neji probed. Hinata noticed that he kept Beki at a distance. She wondered if he was afraid her ignorance was contagious.
"I went to academy there, so sort of," Beki scratched her head. "The village I was born and raised in is about sixty miles further inland. Its up in a mountain pass in the woods."
"Oh, how many families live in your village?" Hinata smiled.
"Well, there's like, six clans," Beki kicked at the road. "Wait, no, five. Five clans. There were six, but I'm the last Asou. I'm a girl, though, so the family dies with me."
"Does your village have a specialty in terms of production or jutsu?" Neji asked.
"Well, we're Getsu, so everythings kinda...moon and water based…" Beki replied. "We have like, a 500 year old shrine. That's kind of the village's only noteworthy attraction."
"Oh, what's it a shrine to?" Hinata asked.
"It's so old no one really knows what it was originally built to honor," Beki explained. "A lot of the paintings are kind of water logged and the statues are decayed. If you believe the traditions passed down through the Miko it's a gate to keep hell at bay, or something."
"And if you don't believe the Miko?" Neji asked.
"Well, one way or another about 300 years ago it was rededicated to these three shrine maidens who were murdered protecting a wounded spirit who took refuge there." Beki continued. "It had the power to grant wishes, and some bandits heard about it attacked the shrine. The head priestess and two of her attendants held them off long enough for everyone else to escape-"
They had reached the school. It was right around lunch time. Neji turned and looked at the girls.
"Sorry Beki, this is really interesting but I have to try to catch the teacher before class starts again," Neji started to walk inside. "I'll go in for a moment and see if I can borrow a book for you Beki,"
"That's really nice of him," Beki turned to Hinata. "Your cousin is really nice, Hinata."
"He sure is," Hinata smiled back, knowing if Beki understood his intentions she wouldn't be so pleased. Is she really this dense? No. She can't be this dense, Hinata thought. There's no way a kunoichi could live this long with zero street smarts.
Ten minutes later Neji emerged from the school with a book in hand.
"This textbook is the standard one they use to teach trainees at the academy. It covers a lot of the sorts of questions it sounds like you have about our village."
What he left out was that it was for very young recruits, the equivalent of shinobi kindergarten and first grade. It didn't cover any jutsu, other than the section that nebulously explained what a jutsu was and how they worked in basic, kid friendly terms.
"This is great, Neji, thanks," Beki beamed and cracked it open, looking at the full color pictures as excitedly as the kindergarteners. Neji had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.
"Iruka sensei said if there was ever something you were really confused about, you could sit in in one of his classes on the subject." Neji said.
"Everyone in this village is so nice. I don't think I've been to a village where everyone is this nice!" Beki smiled, poring through the textbook. "I would have never expected this kind of courtesy from Leaf nin."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Neji asked, affronted.
"Well, I mean, per capita your village has the most notorious nin in the Bingo book," Beki started to count off on her fingers. "Uchiha Itachi, Orochimaru, the Copycat Ninja-"
"Half of those are ronin," Neji interrupted, his courtesy slipping.
"Do you know what other villages do with notorious ronin?" Beki's eyes flashed. "They have highly trained hit squads that take them out before they're a problem. Have you ever heard of a notorious Getsu ronin?"
"No, maybe that's because statistically they participate in too few missions to become notorious, or…" Neji's voice trailed off. Hinata was gently shaking her head at him, indicating it wasn't worth the argument.
"First hand accounts of foreign nin passing through Konoha or in the field indicate that before he left Konoha for good, Orochimaru had been suspected of conducting all kinds of gross experiments, and that the 3rd Hokage had several opportunities to stop him," Beki clearly saved her brain for debates like this. Two minutes ago, Neji had wondered how the girl figured out how to put her pants on straight, but now she spoke with the eloquence and confidence of a seasoned pro.
"When I was three, there was this field op, I'll leave out his name. It's unimportant," Beki closed the book and tucked it under her arm. She watched her feet as she spoke, the memory uncomfortable to recount. "He had started acting funny, saying off stuff, like the job was finally getting to him. He mutilated an enemy nin's body in the field. My dad got called in on a special meeting. He went to talk to the guy. Found him with the dismembered body of one of his squadmates. My dad took him down with one swing of his kanabo, right then and there."
Beki looked Neji dead in the eye.
"That's why little villages don't have all these escaped psychopaths. We see them turn and we take them down before they get loose and ruin families."
Hinata stepped forward and put a hand gently on Neji's arm.
"Weren't you supposed to meet Lee for training today?"
Neji looked at her, his brows knit with confusion. His eyes widened when he realized she was giving him the opportunity for a graceful exit.
"Oh, of course," He said half under his breath. "How could I have forgotten. If you'll excuse me ladies,"
Neji bowed politely and took his leave. Hinata turned to Beki with a look of concern that almost broke into a fit of laughter. Beki's stern face had morphed into a comical expression of childish rage. Her cheeks were puffed up as she glared after Neji.
"Forget what I said, he isn't nice."
Hinata shifted uncomfortably.
"Well, he's just very loyal to the village, and some of what you said might be hard to swallow."
"I guess that was kind of insensitive of me, but do you guys even know what the other villages think about you guys?" Beki flipped through the book.
"You mean about the ronin?" Hinata knew it was true Konoha had produced many legendary nin, good and bad.
"In the last shinobi war, you guys participated in the extermination of an entire enemy village." Beki closed the book, unable to find what she was looking for. "To the little villages, the big five are kind of just a bunch of blustering bullies."
Hinata had started to walk. Her hope was that getting Beki moving would blow off some steam. She would have to talk to Neji later and see if there was a way to reconcile him with Beki. Hinata would hate for discord to be sewn on Beki's first day in Konoha.
They walked through town, Hinata pointing out all of the relevant points of interest. The aviary, the market, weapons shops, and so on. They stopped to eat at one of the local diners and ran into Sakura.
"Hey, Hinata," Sakura greeted them. "And this is?"
"Tsukimori Beki," Hinata said. "Her father is the ambassador for Getsugakure. I'm her guard and escort throughout the duration of the talks between our villages."
"Nice to meet you-" Beki bowed politely
"Haruno Sakura," She smiled. "Welcome to our village."
Once their food had arrived, Beki tucked into it.
"Long day?" Sakura chuckled.
"This is a lot larger of a village than I'm used to running around in," Beki sighed. "I swear we haven't even seen half the town."
"We saw most of the important parts," Hinata explained. "As other things come up you'll at least have some landmarks to direct yourself with."
"That's true," Beki said. "Hey, you guys don't mind if I run by the Hokage's Mansion to see my dad? I'll meet back up with you at the compound."
"I should really go with you-" Hinata started.
Beki had already put down the money for her food and was halfway out the door.
"Don't worry I'll be fine," She waved behind her as she left.
Hinata watched her uncomfortably. She was torn between her duty and Beki's wishes, however all she could think about was losing her charge. Hinata gave Beki a five minute start, paid for her own food, and followed after her.
…
Beki flew through the streets gleefully as she made her way to the Hokage's Mansion. She was so proud of herself for remembering her way around. She had so much to tell her father!
Although Hinata had pointed it out, Beki hadn't visited the Hokage's Mansion yet. There were guards everywhere, but none of them seemed to mind her until she approached the steps.
"Uh, hi, excuse me, I'm wondering if Tsukimori Seiichiro is in a meeting with the Hokage?" Beki asked the tall gloomy looking one at the foot of the steps.
"Who's asking?" The guard said, eyeing her over.
"Tsukimori Beki, his daughter," Beki fished out her family's crest from under her shirt. It was an intricately carved crescent moon and maple leaves on a block of silver mounted on a leather tag. The guard eyeballed it for a moment before speaking:
"Yeah, they've been at it for the last six hours. They're not agreeing about something,"
"Do you think he'll be out soon?" She asked.
He shook his head. "No ma'am."
"If you're still on duty when he leaves, please let him know I came by," Beki bowed and took her leave, disappointment dragging at her feet.
The exhaustion was catching up with her again. Beki trudged along under the setting sun as she made her way back to the Hyuga compound. What a day it had been. She had gotten a good feel for the village and probably ruined a potential friendship along the way. For all her training under her father, Beki's temper always kicked in at the worst moments. Neji and Hinata were clearly close, but Beki had to go and get up on her soap box and make an enemy out of him. Beki wished she could have a jutsu that let her rewind the last ten minutes so she could undo the damage she had caused. Then again, knowing herself, she would probably just use that jutsu to refine her argument rather than avoid it.
When she arrived at the gates, Beki bowed and greeted the gatekeeper and made her way back to Hinata's house. Hinata wasn't home yet, so Beki found her way to the study and curled up on the loveseat to read her History of Konohagakure. 25 pages in, around the time Hashirama finally founded the village, Beki was out cold. Hinata came in to find her asleep with the book on her face. Hinata saved her spot with a bookmark with puppies on it, then threw a blanket over her. Hinata turned out the light and left Beki to sleep. Hinata had cried herself to sleep enough times on that couch to know it was comfortable enough for her guest.