A/N: Finally chapter 10 is up! I hope you will all enjoy it very much!
Happy holidays to everyone!
I apologize for any grammar errors /spelling mistakes there may or might be. I try my best to avoid as many as possible.
Main pairing: Nejiten
Side pairing(s): Naruhina and possible others
Warning(s): Possible OOCness, medieval era, mild mature hints, sword fighting
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!
A Sense of Duty
Chapter 10: A Sense of Anxiety
Hiashi walked with heavy steps through the manor, deep in thought. It had been a little over two days since the queen had spoken to him in person and he was still debating with himself of what he should do.
To obey or not to obey.
"Would it really be wise? If I obey her request, there is a chance that something bad might happen, but at the same time how can I, a mere noble, not obey the queen's request? It is the queen we are talking about, the queen of the kingdom I live in! But, I still believe it too early! They are not ready yet!" Hiashi debating with himself, not knowing what to do at the current moment.
The queen had giving him a week to decide.
Whether his nephew, Neji, and Tenten should attend the royal gathering where the princess of the Konoha Kingdom will meet her future husband, the prince of Suna Kingdom…
FLASHBACK
Hiashi's brown horse cantered steadily towards the large gates that surrounded the castle, the home that belonged to the royal family of the Konoha Kingdom. He stopped this horse just before he reached the entrance to the castle and got off his horse.
One of the royal horse handlers took care of his horse while one the royal guards told Hiashi to follow him, which Hiashi of course did.
"The queen will be pleased to know that you have decided to show up, Lord Hyuuga" The guard told Hiashi. Hiashi assumed he must have been informed of his presumed arrived to know why he was here. Otherwise the guard would not have let him through before asking those closer to the queen.
"Which means that the queen wishes to speak to me as quickly as possible, I wonder why?" Hiashi wondered to himself.
The guard stopped in front the first of the great entrances to the castle itself.
"Sir Nara is waiting for you inside, Lord Hyuuga" The guard informed Hiashi before he turned around and walked off.
Hiashi opened the door and a small smile appeared on his face as he found himself face to face with a very familiar face.
"Oh it is so good to see you, my old friend" The man, who had been waiting for him, said as he gave Hiashi a hug. Hiashi hugged his friend back and replied:
"It is good to see you too, Shikaku, how is Yoshino doing?" Shikaku grinned at Hiashi before he said:
"She is doing great, still as bossy as ever, but that it what I fell in love with anyway"
Hiashi chuckled just a little, trying not to forget why he was here in the first place.
The queen needed him.
"Enough talk, my friend, I was called up here by the queen, do you by any chance know why?" Hiashi asked his old friend. Shikaku shook his head.
"I am afraid she made that choice without my consultant, but she is the queen after all, I am just here to advice her the best way I possible can" Shikaku explained to Hiashi.
"I see" Hiashi rubbed his chin, thinking deeply. Shikaku smiled at his old friend and said:
"I better not keep you hanging for too long, the queen is, after all, waiting for you to arrive, so why let her wait any longer, let me bring you to her" Shikaku began walking with Hiashi following closely behind.
After a good 10 minutes Shikaku stopped in front of a gold covered door.
"Well this is where I leave you, I hope to see you some other time, old friend, take care and say hello to your family from me" Shikaku said before he walked off in the opposite direction.
"You too, Shikaku, you too" Hiashi smiled warmly before he took a deep breath and pushed the golden door open with solid and firm expression on his face.
"Ahhh about time, sir Hyuuga" The sarcastic voice was not to be mistaken.
"The queen" Hiashi thought as he looked forward and saw the golden haired queen, dressed in a dress with the colors of red, white and golden on, sitting on her golden throne at the very end of the large room.
"Your majesty" Hiashi bowed down, showing his respect to the queen.
"No need to formalities, sir Hyuuga, I have called upon you to request something of you" The queen informed the noble Hyuuga, who looked at the queen with surprised expression on his face.
"Request something of me? What exactly do you request of me?" Hiashi asked the queen.
"Your presence" The queen shortly spoke.
"My presence?" Hiashi blinked confusedly, "But, I am present now, your majesty"
"Not now, but for the royal gathering between the Suna Kingdom and my kingdom, which will take place a month from today" The queen clarified herself.
"A royal gathering? Does this means that-" Hiashi stopped speaking when the queen signaled him to stop and the queen once again spoke:
"Yes, our two kingdoms are discussing making an alliance, but on one condition," The queen lifted a finger, "I must marry my granddaughter off the younger son of the Suna Kingdom's king, otherwise the bonds between their kingdom and mine will be broken" The queen finished.
"And let me guess, you fear someone might want to prevent this alliance with the Suna Kingdom and try to sabotage the gathering, am I right your majesty?" Hiashi guessed with calm, yet serious tone. The queen nodded her head and said:
"That is correct, sir Hyuuga, therefore I must be assured that everything at that gathering goes perfect without any form of trouble or problem, otherwise it could weaken the whole kingdom and in worse case ruin us completely"
"So, you need me and…" Hiashi started.
"Your best swordsmen" The queen finished.
"Everyone?" Hiashi lifted an eyebrow. Everyone of his best swordsmen included his nephew!
"Yes, everyone including that nephew of yours, rumors tell me that he is a quite talented young man with a great future standing ahead of him" The queen pointed out more precisely.
The Hiashi coughed a little before he said:
"I am sorry, but I have to disappoint you, your majestic, my nephew cannot be at the gathering"
"And why, if I may ask, not?" The queen raised an eyebrow at Hiashi.
"He is currently busy trying to teach a girl, he has just meet, some proper manners while she teaches him how to take things with ease" Hiashi tried to explain the situation he had placed his nephew in, as proper as he possible could by not mentioning the attitude of Neji's friend.
"Well if the girl need to be taught some manners, then would a royal gathering not be the perfect place to teach her? Bring her along, it would be odd to see a young man such as your nephew arrive without a woman by his side" The queen told Hiashi, who had mixed feeling about bringing Tenten to a gathering this important.
"In a way, the queen is right! It would be the perfect place to teach the young, angry lady some manners, but then again how do I make sure she does not attack anyone like she almost attacked me? I need to think and I need to speak to Neji after I have thought this through!" Hiashi thought to himself, thinking extremely hard, trying to come up with a solution to his troubles and problems.
"Your majesty?" Hiashi looked at the queen.
"Yes, sir Hyuuga?" The queen replied calmly.
"I need to think this through before I make my final decision, is that okay with you? Or should I answer you right away?" Hiashi asked the queen, who said:
"I will give a week to decide"
"Thank you, your majesty" Hiashi bowed down before he left the throne room.
END OF FLASHBACK
Hiashi's eyes narrowed as he thought to himself deeply.
What should he do? What would be wisest to do?
"I know!" Hiashi's eyes widened as an idea suddenly popped into his mind.
A test!
To see if the two future lovers could survive a whole evening without making a scene and by doing that, ruining his reputation!
"I will give them four days to show me that they BOTH have learning at least a little of each other, just so I do not make a promise to the queen that I cannot keep" Hiashi thought to himself with determination. He, afterwards, smiled proudly to himself as he remembered the scene he had walked into after his meeting with the queen.
FLASHBACK
Hiashi took a step into the manor. A maid took his coat while another maid handled him a cop of hot coffee. He dismissed the maids and took a sip of the black coffee in his hand.
Once he had finished his coffee he placed it on a table and called a maid to get it while he, himself, decided to go see what his nephew were up to. If he still was awake that is.
Hiashi walked down the narrowed hallway until he reached his nephew's chamber and pushed the door open while he began:
"Neji, there is something I have to talk to you ab-" Hiashi stopped mid-sentence as he saw the sight before him.
Right before him was his nephew, Neji, lying soundly asleep on his bed with Tenten curled up against him.
Hiashi blinked at the display before him.
His nephew was in his sleeping trousers, but without his sleeping shirt, which Tenten apparently was wearing alongside a pair of short shorts. Aside from that, they had their arms wrapped around each other and their legs were linked together while their long hair was tangled together. Tenten pressed closely against his nephew's bare back, breathing softly against Neji's bare shoulder while Neji's hand holding Tenten's close into his chest.
Hiashi's lips curled upwards in a small smile and his eyes softened.
"Those two seem to get along just fine, much better than I had expected" Hiashi thought to himself before he turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him to give the young once a little privacy.
The very next morning, the peace had ended with a bang.
"BASTARD!" Hiashi heard the sound of Tenten yelling from the opposite side of the manor. That girl was pretty loud, Hiashi admitted to himself.
A few moments afterwards his nephew walked into the dining room where Hiashi was sitting with a red handprint on his left cheek and a very displeased look on his face.
"Morning, Neji, had a good sleep?" Hiashi asked his nephew, who snorted.
"Why did you not tell the staff to take her to her room once she had fallen asleep, that crazy witch hit me!" Neji angrily hissed at his uncle, while pointing at his red cheek.
"But you two looked so peaceful together, not to mention quite adorable" Hiashi explained to his nephew.
"There is absolute nothing adorable with her, she is a pain and I cannot bear with her anymore! Uncle!" Neji, with slightly red cheeks, yelled loudly.
"You cannot denial the truth, this girl may be a pain to you, but at the same time you are fascinated by her and you feel attached to her in a way" Hiashi told his nephew with slightly smug expression on his face.
"I do not!" Neji denied.
Hiashi merely chuckled at his nephew's childishness.
"Someday he will stop denying it and instead embrace it, someday, just you wait, my dear nephew" Hiashi thought to himself before he told a maid to prepare breakfast and bring Neji's friend down to join his nephew and him.
His nephew could denial all he wanted to, but he cannot run from the truth forever.
No, he cannot. He likes this woman, more than he will ever like any other woman.
"You simply cannot run from love forever, it will eventually find you"Hiashi chuckled to himself smugly.
END OF FLASHBACK
Hiashi chuckled quietly to himself.
"Perhaps there is still hope for them after all" Hiashi thought to himself before he made his way towards the trainings field where his nephew and Tenten currently where training.
*Clink* *Clank* Clink* *Clank*
The sounds of swords clinking together grew louder as the distance between the trainings field and Hiashi grew shorter.
The field was in eyesight and as Hiashi opened his mouth to speak he stopped himself.
Eyes open wide in wonder.
On the trainings field Tenten and Neji were not just fighting each other with long swords, no they were dancing.
A dance with swords.
Hiashi watched as Tenten launched forward with her sword and as Neji blocked her attack with his own sword, holding her in place. Unable to launch another attack until he lets her.
Neji used he left leg to quickly turn around, releasing Tenten and then attack her once he had turned. Tenten jumped backwards, avoiding his attack just moments before he could hit her while landing elegantly a few inches away from him on her feet.
Tightening her grip on the hilt of her sword, before she with ran towards him at full speed.
Neji blocked. And Tenten shifted angle and attacked again, but Neji was faster and launched his own attack at her, much to Tenten's surprise.
Tenten gasped and jumped backwards, but not before Neji's blade managed to hit her arm with its sharp tip, leaving a small, but stinging cut.
Small drops of blood dripped down on the green grass, the cut had been small, but it still managed to draw blood.
Tenten winced at the stinging and lost her grip on the sword she was holding.
Neji was ready to attack her again, but after seeing Tenten lost her grip on her sword he suddenly grew worried. Tossing his own sword aside he ran over to Tenten, who was holding into her hurting arm.
"Tenten!" Neji called out as he ran over to her. Tenten collapsed on the grass while Neji kneeled down to her,
"Here, let me have a look at it" Neji said as he took Tenten's injured arm in his hands to take a closer look at her injury.
"No, no, I am alright, it is just mere scratch" Tenten told Neji, pulling her arm away from him as she denied the pain she was truly feeling to keep her precious pride intact.
"Tenten," Neji spoke harshly, "Let me see it, a mere scratch will not bleed like that nor cause you so much pain" Neji looked at her seriously, holding his hand forward for her to place her arm on.
Tenten looked at Neji skeptically before she with a deep sigh pulled her arm forward. Neji smiled a little before lifted Tenten's injured arm up for him to have a closer look at it.
Neji moved a finger over the cut on Tenten's arm, causing her to wince in pain.
"Ow, Neji! You said you wanted to look at it, not touch it! It hurts!" Tenten hissed at him, while trying to ignore the stinging cut on her arm.
"Sorry, I need to clean it, please bear with the stinging as I do so" Neji explained as he took the napkin he kept in his pocket and dipped spitted on in since they was not near any form of water.
With the napkin he started cleaning the cut until the blood and dirt had vanished. He afterwards ripped a piece of fabric of the end of his white blouse and used it as bandage to wrap around Tenten's injury.
"Done, this should keep dirt and other things from getting into the cut while it heals, but we better go back to my room so I can clean it properly" Neji told Tenten as he released her arm. Tenten looked down at her, now bandaged, arm and while looking downwards she said:
"Thank you"
"Huh?" Neji looked at her surprisingly. Tenten blushed a deep red colored and puffed her cheeks up as she turned her head around while saying:
"I am not repeating myself!"
Neji smiled softly and chuckled at her.
"Stop laughing! Just because I lost to you again, does not mean you get to laugh at me, yo-you arrogant bastard hero!" Hiashi heard Tenten yell at his nephew.
The scene he had seen before made him stop worrying and he felt all warm inside.
"Yes, there was still hope and much more than I previously had imagined" Hiashi thought as he walked off without speaking to neither of the two as he original had planned to.
"It could wait for later, no time to be hasty when hope is on the right side" Hiashi told himself while his mouth curved upwards in a smirk.
In another part of the huge Hyuuga manor, inside one the large bedrooms. An indigo haired young woman dressed in a pure white dress was sitting in front of a mirror while a blond haired woman dressed less formal was standing behind the indigo haired woman combing her long indigo colored hair.
"Milady has been awful quite, is there a reason why?" The blond woman asked with soft spoken voice. The indigo-haired looked at the blond through the mirror and answered:
"No, at least I do not believe so"
"Then, please tell me, why are you so very quiet, it is so unlike you at least when you are with me without anyone around" The blond woman spoke as she continued to comb the young lady's hair.
The indigo-haired woman looked down with a faint blush on her cheekbones and said with low voice:
"It is nothing"
"Lady Hinata, the blush on your cheekbones tell me otherwise, please tell me what is bothering you, I am here for you and no one else" The blond woman told Hinata with an honest, yet serious voice.
Hinata kept quiet for a moment before she with a low and unsure sounding voice asked:
"Ehmm Ino, have you ever been in love?"
The question caught Ino by surprise and the blond lost her grip on the comb, making the comb fall to floor. Hinata was startled by the sudden sound and turned quickly around to face Ino.
"Ino, are you okay? You are not hurt, are you?" Hinata asked Ino with a worried voice, feeling somehow guilty for surprising her with her sudden question.
Ino looked at her master and gave her an assuring smile.
"Please do not worry, Lady Hinata, nothing happened. I was just… shocked by your sudden question and my answer to that question would have to be no, I have never, myself, been in love" Ino answered Hinata's question. Hinata cocked her head to the side and asked:
"You have not?"
"No, I have not" Ino nodded her head.
"But why not?" Hinata asked while she rubbed her pale chin with a wondering look on her face. Ino looked at Hinata unsurely before she replied:
"It have just… never happened, I guess you can say, I have never meet a man, who made by heart flip or a man, who made me act like you"
"Like me? Why like me? It is really that obvious that I am love?" Hinata blinked confusedly, feeling a bit stupid.
"Well not to everyone, but when people are in love, and I mean really in love, they tend to act in a certain way" Ino explained to Hinata.
"What kind of certain way?" Hinata asked out of curiosity. Ino gave Hinata a small smile before she began explaining:
"Well… you, for example, act a lot shyer towards the one you love while other people tend to act as if they do not like the person they are in love with. Yours is the classic reaction, the 'I accept I am in love', while the other reaction is known as denial and it mostly happens because the person, who is in love, is unsure about whether the person, they love, feels the same way about them or not. So, in order to protect themselves from having their hearts broken they act if they do not even like the person they truly love, sometimes they even denial their own feelings because they do not accept being in love"
"That sounds a lot like my cousin and Tenten, the denying being in love part" Hinata thought out loud.
"It does, I guess" Ino agreed.
"But in also reminds me of you, Ino" Hinata pointed out, much to Ino's great surprise.
"Of m-me?" Ino stuttered.
"Yes, you! The way to you act around sir Kiba, always pushing him away and calling him a pervert when he tries to compliments you" Hinata grinned at Ino, who looked less amused.
"Sir Kiba? That loud, perverted, lousy, loser of a swordsman? Hah, as if I would ever fall for that pathetic dog! I would much rather eat dirt than fell in love with that fool" Ino loudly claimed with a faint blush on her cheeks.
"Why I am even blushing?" Ino asked herself while trying to make the blush go away.
"But Ino, if what you just told me is true than you must be in love with him or at least have a thing for him! There is no need to hide anything away from me, I promise I will not tell a soul" Hinata promised, hoping Ino would give in. Ino opened her mouth and began speaking:
"Lady Hinata, for the last time, I am not in lo-"
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
Ino stopped speaking as someone began knocking on the door.
"Who is it?" Hinata asked, a bit disappointed to have the moment between Ino and her ruined. How she wanted Ino to admit fancying sir Kiba, just a little tiny bit.
"It is me, Shikamaru Nara" The person, who had knocked on the door, answered.
"Shikamaru, your cousin's friend, what is he doing here?" Ino asked Hinata, who shrugged:
"How should I know?"
"Ehm hello, anybody still in there?" Shikamaru asked from outside.
"Oh yes! Just come in!" Hinata replied.
Shikamaru pushed the door open.
"So, what brings you here? Are you looking for my cousin? Because if you are than I believe he is in his chambers" Hinata informed Shikamaru politely.
"Well yes, I am here for Neji, but I did not come here looking for him" Shikamaru told Hinata, who blinked at him confusedly and asked:
"You are not? Then what brings you here?"
"I made a small deal with your father" Shikamaru informed Hinata, who looked at him unsurely.
"A deal?" Hinata gave him an unsure and confused look.
"Yes, a deal, which you are a part of" Shikamaru said before he began telling Hinata about his short meeting with her father this very same morning.
FLASHBACK
Shikamaru looked at his father's friend with a bored, yet annoyed look.
"So, basically you are asking me to do the same thing Neji's ask me to do, help him with Tenten?" Shikamaru asked Neji's uncle, who took a sip of his tea before he said:
"Yes, although things between them do seem to go a lot smoother now, I believe it would not do any harm to have someone step in to ensure that the goals that has been set are achieved as fast as possible"
Shikamaru blinked.
"Fine, I will help them the best way I can" Shikamaru gave in, although his previous experiences told him not to.
Shikamaru's mind
"Stupid hero, stupid advisor son, stupid maids and stupid old man!" Tenten shouted out loud while throwing everything she could get her hands on after Neji and Shikamaru, who were trying their best to avoid getting hit by the things Tenten were throwing at them.
"Why did you not tell me that it pisses her off to be asked if she wanted any helped?" Shikamaru asked Neji.
"Because it only pisses her off when you do it because she is a woman!" Neji clarified loudly.
Bad idea.
"Quit calling me by my gender!" Tenten yelled angrily at the-
*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*
Hiashi began coughing to regain Shikamaru's attention.
Shikamaru looked at Hiashi oddly.
"Ummm sorry for spacing out, sir" Shikamaru said unsurely. Hiashi cleared his throat and said:
"What I was about to say to you was that I think it would be a good idea to bring my daughter, Hinata, along with you" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at Hiashi's suggestion and asked:
"And why is that a good idea? She and Tenten are so not alike-" Shikamaru's sentence was stopped by Hiashi, who with a smug smile pointed out:
"That is why! My dear daughter can learn a thing or two from Tenten while Hinata can help Neji teaching Tenten the proper manners of a lady without offending Tenten"
"Okay, she can learn how to attack people without warning and how to start a bar fight, I see the idea, but I am really not quite understanding your point with this plan of yours, sir" Shikamaru explained to Hiashi, who merely chuckled and replied:
"That is because you are not seeing the whole picture, but no worries because all you have to do is take Hinata along with you to Neji's chamber and help Neji teach Tenten the proper manners of a lady while Hinata observe everything from a safe distance, Hinata will only be there to come with advices" Hiashi explained to Shikamaru, who nodded his head.
"Okay, I will give it a try, but why not tell Neji about it? Things would be a lot easier to do if he knew" Shikamaru told Hiashi.
"I know, but I want to be sure that they are just not pretending that things go well" Hiashi explained.
"Pretend? Why Neji would pretend? Neji values his pride as an honorable swordsman quite a lot, and you know it yourself" Shikamaru raised a skeptical eyebrow at Hiashi. Hiashi leaned forward, looking straight into Shikamaru's eyes with death serious expression and said:
"That may be correct, but I also know that my nephew would do anything in order to be able to work alongside the Knights of Konoha, even lie to his own family, if he has to. His dream is his pride, and that is why he must not know of my little test, understood?"
Shikamaru looked at Hiashi with a suspicious look on his face while he said:
"I really do not like keeping things away from Neji that I feel he should know about, but I guess I can see the point that you have. Truth be told, Neji's biggest dream is to become a Knight of Konoha, so yeah he would do anything if it brings him one step closer on becoming one of them"
"So you will help then?" Hiashi asked with a pleased look on his face. Shikamaru looked up at him with a serious expression and answered Hiashi:
"Yes, I will help you"
END OF FLASHBACK
"Oh?" Hinata blinked.
"I am so sorry, Lady Hinata, but your father is mad, not as in angry, but as in crazy! He wants you to learn from someone so bad mannered as Tenten! That is pure madness!" Ino exclaimed loudly.
"Awww Ino, Tenten is not that bad" Hinata tried to lighten Ino's mood. Ino looked at Hinata with an unimpressed look and said:
"Milady, that woman almost murdered your father and according to rumors, she even started a bar fight and stabbed some guy in the hand for no reason!"
"Well for her defense at the bar she was drunk, so she probably did not mean to stab that guy" Hinata tried to defend Tenten.
"Being drunk is no excuses, it just proves my theory in how bad an idea your father has in letting you learn from her! Not to mention that it does not excuses her for trying to murder your dear father, seeing as she was not drunk back then!" Ino loudly exclaimed.
"But she did not mean to, Ino, she was just angry and-" Shikamaru cut in:
"And crazy, but otherwise completely sane, I think it is a bad idea too, but it was your father's orders and not mine, so there is no second option. It was already been decided, Hinata is going to learn from Tenten end of discussion" Shikamaru looked at Ino, waiting for her to give in.
Ino sighed and said:
"Fine, I do not like it, but I see that there is no other choice, but to accept the cruel facts"
"Great, now Hinata, we better go find your cousin" Shikamaru explained to Hinata, who nodded her head and agreed:
"Yes, we better. The faster we can get to him, the quicker we can help him" The two turned to leave, but was stopped by Ino, who said:
"Wait a minute, Lady Hinata is going nowhere without me" Shikamaru rolled his eyes and said:
"Fine, come along, but try not to interrupt" Ino walked up to them with smug look on her face.
"No need to worry, I will only interrupt if I find it necessary to" Ino told Shikamaru with smug smile.
"In other words, whenever Tenten does something inappropriate" Shikamaru sighed out.
"Exactly!" Ino nodded her head, "Now, let us go to sir Neji's chambers and teach his pet some proper manners" Ino began walking with Hinata following along with her while Shikamaru stood behind looked at Ino oddly with a raised eyebrow as he thought to himself:
"Thank goodness, Tenten is not here" He then began following along the two females.
Once they had reached Neji's chamber Hinata moved to push the door open, but something stopped her.
Something was happening inside Neji's chamber.
Something rather strange.
"Stand still, will you, Tenten?" They all heard Neji said from inside his chamber.
"Bu-but it stings!" They heard Tenten moan in pain.
"It would not hurt as much if you kept still and relaxed a bit" They heard Neji tell Tenten, who moaned out of pain as he spoke.
A blush started spreading across Hinata's cheek while Ino looked somewhat disturbed and Shikamaru was looking at the door to Neji's chamber with an odd expression.
"That sounds a bit… wrong… to me" Shikamaru thought to himself, unable to think properly with the wrong images of Neji and Tenten running through his mind.
"Those… filthy perverts! Ruining Lady Hinata's innocent mind with their hormones and breaking the unwritten rules of being of noble blood! When I get my hands on those two, just they wait!" Ino thoughts to herself outrageously.
"W-what are they doing in there? It sounds like cousin Neji is hurting Tenten in some sorts of way" Hinata wondered to herself cluelessly.
"Ouch, your bastard! Be gentle with me by God's will!" They heard Tenten curse at Neji, followed by her moaning in pain.
"Oh please, Tenten, do not pretend to be all fragile with me, what kind of fragile person will starts fights with people twice her size" They heard Neji tell Tenten in an almost mocking way.
"Tsk bastard" They heard Tenten his at Neji.
"Just relax and the pain will go away, I am being as gentle as possible, but I have never done this kind of thing, so please be patient with me" They all heard Neji explain to Tenten with a calm voice.
Hinata's face was by now red as a tomato while both Ino and Shikamaru's cheekbones had turned a pinkish color.
"This is so troublesome, can they wait till later if they want to do stuff like that, I really did not except it to happen so soon!" Shikamaru said out loud.
"Do what kind of stuff, sir Shikamaru?" Hinata asked Shikamaru with a clueless expression on her pale, yet red face.
Both Ino and Shikamaru panicked.
How do you answer a question like this without ruining the innocence of Hinata?
"Well they are-Mmmm!" Ino prevented Shikamaru from speaking by covering his mouth with her hand.
"They are just playing around, dear Lady Hinata" Ino tried to explain with an awkward smile on her face. Hinata then asked:
"What are they playing?" Before either Shikamaru or Ino could answer Hinata said:
"Oh wait, I know! I will just go ask them" Hinata took the handle of the door and pushes it open while both Ino and Shikamaru yelled out loud:
"NOOO!"
"Cousin Neji, what are you and Tenten playing?" Hinata asked innocently with a smile.
"Lady Hinata's innocence is ruined and it all my fault!" Ino thought to herself miserable.
"How will I explain myself to Lord Hiashi now? I do not believe this was his intention when he told me he wanted Hinata to learn from Tenten" Shikamaru asked himself.
"Ehm can we help you guys with something?" Neji asked the three intruders.
"Huh?" they all found themselves blinking confusedly.
Right before them where Neji and Tenten sitting casually WITH their clothes on while Neji was holding a piece of white cloth against Tenten's bare arm.
"Ehm well we thought…" Shikamaru began awkwardly.
"That you guys where ehm…" Ino continued awkwardly.
"Playing something together" Hinata finished with a less awkward look on her face.
"We were!" Tenten replied with a grin.
"You were?" They all blinked at Tenten.
"Yep, we were playing with swords out on the trainings field!" Tenten answered.
"Tenten, it is called sparring, not playing" Neji corrected Tenten with an unimpressed expression.
"Playing, sparring, who cares? It is the same thing anyway" Tenten brushed Neji's comment off. Neji sighed out:
"In your mind, I guess so"
"Quit acting like a know-it-all and continue worshipping my arm" Tenten commanded Neji, who rolled his eyes.
"I am not worshipping your arm, I am cleaning it so I can bandage it again" Neji explained to Tenten, who merely said:
"Right, right, carry on then"
"So," Neji began while looking at his cousin, his friends and his cousin's handmaiden, "What brings you all here?"
"We- well… I mean I am here to help you teach Tenten the proper manners of a-," Shikamaru paused, "Ehhh her gender"
"I see, but why am my cousin and her handmaiden here, then?" Neji then asked. Shikamaru cleared his throat and answered:
"Well you uncle thought it would be a good idea to have Hinata watch, so she could learn a thing or two from Tenten and Ino went along because…"
"I do not think it is wise to have Hinata watch someone as ill-mannered as your friend without someone there to help Hinata not learn the wrong things" Ino finished her explanation harshly.
"I am not ill-mannered!" Tenten yelled at Ino, who shrugged and said:
"Then mannerless"
"Hmph arrogant servant" Tenten muttered under her breath.
"Tenten, please show some respect, showing respect are proper mannerism as well" Neji told Tenten, who merely pouted her lips and mumbled:
"Fine, if she does too"
"Women" Neji sighed to himself.
Away from the Hyuuga manor, inside the royal castle of Konoha. In the giant throne room the golden-haired queen sat, deep in thought, while she ran her fingers through her long blond hair.
Before her stood ten men with their heads bowed down. All of them where wearing black clothes with their faces hidden partly by a mask. All of them had the seal of Konoha imbedded on their caps. All of them were armed with a long sword.
All of them are the Knights of Konoha, the queen's knights and the protectors of the Konoha Kingdom.
Warriors of justice and peace.
"Your majestic, is there a reason for why you have called upon us" A silver haired knight asked the queen.
The queen released the locks of hair she was holding before she answered him:
"I have this feeling that something bad might happen doing the royal gathering with the Suna kingdom, I fear something or perhaps someone will try to ruin it in order to damage our relationship with the sunas"
"Someone? Who?" A brown haired knight asked the queen.
"I cannot say, I just feel… uneasy" The queen admitted to her knights.
"You have nothing to be worried about, my queen! We, the Knights of Konoha, will assure that everything at this important royal gathering with the Suna kingdom will proceeds as planned! We will stop anything AND anyone, who tries to stand in your way and that, is a promise" A knight with short black hair promised the worried queen.
The queen nodded her head slowly before she turned her head towards one of the knights.
One with semi-long black hair and dark piercing eyes.
"You have not spoken a word, my knight, which is so unlike you at matters like these, is there a reason for that?" The queen asked one of her knight.
The quiet knight looked up at his queen before she spoke:
"My apologies, my queen, I have just been thinking quite a lot lately"
"About what, my knight?" The queen asked out of curiosity.
"About the young swordsman and the lovely female friend of his I ran into a few days ago" The knight told the queen, who then asked:
"And why, if I may know, are you thinking of them?"
"Because the young swordsman reminded me of me while the woman he was with reminded me of a girl I used to know back when I was young" The black-haired knight explained.
"An old love, perhaps?" The queen wondered out loud. The knight shook his head and said:
"Oh no, more like a sister or something in that direction"
"Ahhh I see, so when you saw them it reminded you of your childhood, am I right?" The queen questioned.
"Yes, it did, but it will not prevent me from doing my duty as a Knight of Konoha properly, I can assure you of that, my queen, I will not let myself be blinded by these old emotions" The knight promised.
The queen's eyes softened and a small smile found its way to her lips.
"I know," The queen then turned her away, "That was all for now, you all may leave" The queen dismissed her knights with a way of her hand.
"Of course!" The knights said before they all stood up and left the throne room.
The queen then found herself looking at the, now closed, door while she thoughts to herself.
"I just hope we do not let the true enemy pass our defenses, I have a feeling the true threat is closer than we all have assumed"
Miles away from The Konoha kingdom near the borders to the Suna kingdom a giant fortress-like manor stood. Surrounded by trees, well hidden away from most intruders and uninvited guest. With walls made of bricks and wood.
Inside the manor, in big room with high ceilings and lots of unused space, a man with dark hair was sitting on huge chair. A chair that almost looked like it belonged to a king.
The dark-haired man was looking down at a man, who stood before him with his head bowed down, with an intense stare.
"So, that blond-haired harlot of a queen is inviting the king of Suna to a royal gathering, where they will discuss the possibility of strengthen their alliances?" The dark-haired Lord asked the man before him while he cocked his head to the side, letting the dark locks of hair cover his dark eyes partly.
"Yes, my Lord, that is correct, but there is more" The man explained to his Lord, who in return lifted an eyebrow at what the man had just explained to him.
"More? Please do tell me then" The Lord ordered the man to speak.
"Of course, my Lord, as your advisor it is my job to inform you of things like these" The advisor nodded his head, "The reason why the queen is arranging a royal gathering between her kingdom and the Suna Kingdom is because she is going to marry off the only heir to the throne of the Konoha Kingdom and she wants her heir to meet her husband-to-be before they become engaged" The advisor finished.
A wide, wicked looking smile appeared on the Lord's face as he said:
"I see, well I guess I will just have to ruin the gathering and by doing so ruin the wedding plans hehe"
"The queen must be pretty desperate to go as far as to marry off her only heir, just shows that her era has ended and with it the power of the former oh so great Kingdom of Konoha. How the mighty has fallen haha" The Lord thought to himself with a look of pure evil pleasure on his face.
"My Lord?" The advisor hopelessly tried to get his master's attention.
"What is it? I am trying to enjoy the moment, knowing the mighty Konoha Kingdom will soon parish while I will rise my own kingdom, out with the old and in with new" The Lord told his advisor, who clapped his hands together and said with joy in his voice:
"Oh yes, my Lord, yes!"
"You can go now, I need to be alone without anyone bothering me" The Lord dismissed his advisor coldly.
"Oh right, I will leave you and your… evil planning alone, my Lord" The advisor said as he left the room.
"Heh," The Lord smirked widely once the advisor had left, "Revenge will be so bitterly sweet, especially knowing that the dear queen will be letting her greatest enemy pass her defenses without even knowing it hehe" The dark-haired Lord told himself while he caressed an arrow with his pale fingers.
"Let blood be spilt all over the gold covered floors of her dear majestic's castle with just one shot of an arrow, let me have my so well-deserved revenge!" A flash of red flashes in the dark eyes of the Lord as he throws the arrow towards the carpet on the wall, hitting it.
The symbol of the Konoha Kingdom…
The cause of his sorrow and pain!
To be continued…
A/N: Well that was chapter 10! I enjoy writing Hiashi way too much! xD
Bad guy is in the house! Who could he be? The queen is worried while Neji and Tenten are getting closer to each other - Creating misunderstanding for everyone else*wink wink*
I hope you all enjoyed it, leave a review and tell me what you think! :)
P.S. I am hoping that the next chapter will be up a lot faster than the previous ones since I have a pretty long holiday (although I also have an exam, but it is only one so it shouldn't eat up all of my time :P) before school start again!