A/N: First of, I what to say that I am extremely sorry for the long wait! I actually had wanted it to be up a lot sooner, but I simply did not have to time and I really hate myself for making you all wait for so long!
One again sorry, I hope you all will enjoy this chapter very much! It will be the last chapter before the royal gathering begins!
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, possible Kibaino and others
Warning(s): Possible OOCness, medieval era, mild mature hints
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!
A Sense of Duty
Chapter 13: A Sense of Admitting
Brown eyes watched with patience as the long-haired man walked up to her. Bowing down to show her his respect before he looked up, his lavender eyes meeting her brown ones, a serious look shined in his eyes while her own was calm as stone.
A moment of silence followed as the blond-haired woman dismissed the knights that stood by her side with a single wave with her hand. Once they had left the throne room she spoke:
"So, what is your answer, Hiashi? Will they join or not? I have looked forward for your answer"
For a short moment Hiashi was almost hesitating answering the golden-haired queen, but then he recalled why he had made the decision he had in the first place.
Because he believed in them and in what he had seen…
FLASHBACK
The day where he had make his decision and inform the queen of that decision was closing in. Hiashi had been absent from not only his nephew and Tenten, but from everyone in the Hyuuga manor entirely. He had been using his alone time to reflect over the decisions he had made since Tenten started to live with them and all the way back to when his brother, Neji's father, had passed away.
Looking his mistakes and failures over in order to ensure that he did not repeat them once again in the future.
Hiashi found himself looking at an old painting of himself and his late brother. As he did that he found himself thinking:
"Hizashi, what would you have done in this situation?"
Finding himself chuckling, he said to himself in a sarcastic way:
"I must be mad, turning to my dead brother for answers? I am out of my mind, but I cannot help myself, but to wonder 'what would Hizashi answer in this matter'? Trust those two or not? Are they ready or are they not? Hizashi, please tell me, you know your son better than I do! By the Lord's name I have not been the father figure Neji deserved, I left him in his own sorrow and now, look at him! I took away his childhood! He never got to experiences the joys of being a child after you died, instead he become an adult far too early and now…" Hiashi stopped himself, suddenly feeling a smile crawl into his face as he continued by saying softly:
"And now he has found someone, who can bring back all those lost years back to him and make him happy like he has never been before after he lost you"
Hiashi smiled to himself while looked at his brother's calm face on the painting.
"Your son has grown up to become a great man, my dear brother" With that Hiashi stood up and walked out of his private chamber.
His own doubt was gone and as he made his way to his nephew chambers he thought of how much his nephew had changed since Tenten arrived and that was why she was here. The real reason behind why he had come up with his little deal with them.
Hiashi had already seen the change in Neji when he had walked in to him with Tenten. While he did fail Neji back when his father had passed away, Hiashi had vowed not to fail him this time.
Neji deserves to live his life the fullest because of happiness and love, not because it is his duty.
Once Hiashi had reached Neji's room, he stopped just inches before his palm could reach and push the door open.
He heard voices speaking inside Neji's chambers.
Neji's and Tenten's voices.
"Tenten, will you please take this in a bit more serious way, I am actually trying to teach you something rather useful" Hiashi head his nephew speak. In his ears Neji sounded rather annoyed, which was not very much out of the ordinary especially when around Tenten.
"That young lady really does know how to push his buttons" Hiashi chuckled to himself.
"You call this useful? This is completely useless, just an utter waste of my precious time! How can this be considered to be useful in anyway?" Hiashi heard Tenten ask with a hissy voice.
"Well because it will rather useful to know this when you are at a formal gathering, unless you just want to stand and look pretty because I am sure that can be arrange" Hiashi could hear the hint of teasing in Neji's voice.
"Do not call me pretty" Hiashi heard Tenten hiss at Neji.
"Do you prefer to be called ugly then?" Hiashi found himself chuckling as he heard Neji's replied to Tenten.
"He is truly starting to gain a sense of humor" Hiashi mentioned to himself with a smile.
"Just shut up" Hiashi could hear Tenten speak with a low tone.
Hiashi decided that it was time to ruin the moment for the two and pushed the door to Neji's chamber open.
"You two are being awfully noisy, is there a reason for that?" Hiashi asked as he walked in and almost found himself smiling at the sight before him.
What Neji was trying to teach Tenten made him feel like smile.
Because Neji was trying to teach Tenten how to dance, like a true lady should dance.
With elegance and grace.
Neji had a hand on Tenten's waist and one on her shoulder while Tenten had her arms around Neji's neck.
A faint blush appeared on both of their cheekbones.
"U-uncle?" Neji looked really taken aback by his uncle suddenly walking in, especially since he had been absent for quite a few days.
Tenten pouted her lips, unwrapped her arms and pushed herself away from Neji.
"Have you never heard about knocking, old man?" Tenten questioned Hiashi, who merely chuckled.
"It seems like you have learned a bit about manners, young lady" Hiashi said, finding her reaction to his comment to be rather amusing as Tenten stuck her tongue out at him.
"She has, she is just really bad at using them herself" Neji told Hiashi.
"Just because I know some of them does not mean have to use them all the time" Tenten explained Neji with a smug expression on her pretty face.
"Just grow up, Tenten" Neji muttered to Tenten, who merely grinned and said:
"What if I do not want to?" Neji sighed and turned to Hiashi as he said:
"As you can see, uncle, Tenten is a complete pain to work with"
"You are the pain, not me" Tenten commented. Neji glared at Tenten while Tenten merely smirked at him smugly, feeling rather proud of herself at the current moment.
"I think you two have made quite a lot of process, in fact I believe you two are ready for a much bigger and more important challenge" Hiashi told them, ignoring the whole 'being a pain' part of Neji and Tenten discussion.
Both Neji and Tenten looked at him with curious expressions.
A bigger challenge, he says?
"What do you mean by a bigger, more important challenge, uncle?" Neji asked confusedly.
"Yeah, we do not need any more of your stupid challenges" Tenten informed Hiashi, which Neji nodded his head to since he agreed with her.
Hiashi merely smiled and said:
"Well you two have no other choice, but to agree because this is orders that comes straight from the queen herself"
"The queen?" Both Neji and Tenten blinked.
"Yes, the queen," Hiashi nodded his head, "Within a month she will be hosting a royal gathering with the Suna kingdom and she has asked me to bring in my best swordsmen, including you Neji. And seeing as I have giving you two a bit of a challenge, the queen informed me to bring Tenten along as well as Neji's escort" Hiashi explained calmly to the two.
Blink. Blink.
Neji broke the silence by asking:
"So, in other words, we have to go as partners, as a pair?"
"Yes, you two have to dance, which you both seem to have practice well, and hold hands like a lovely young couple in love would do" Hiashi told Neji as if it was no big deal.
"There will be no holding hands or dancing, I will not follow orders from someone I do not serve!" Tenten loudly declared with her arms crossed over her chest in protest.
"Tenten, it is the queen! You cannot say no to her!" Neji said as he was looking at Tenten as she had gone mad.
With her arms still crossed Tenten turned to the side and made an 'hmph' sound with her head held high and her eyes closed.
"I will not be ordered around by anyone. Queen or no queen, I simply will not" Tenten mumbled under her breath.
"Tenten, quit behaving like this" Neji tried to make Tenten quit her way of acting, but it did not seem to have any effect on her at all.
"Did I mention that the queen has a beautiful collection of rare weapons and if you are lucky you might get to see them, maybe even touch one of them" Hiashi decided to try and win Tenten over by telling her a little white lie. Truth be told, the queen DID have a weapon collection of rare weapons, but she did not like to show it to others, let alone touch them, but what Tenten does not know will not hurt her.
"Did you say weapon collection?" Tenten looked at Hiashi with stars in her eyes.
"I did, now keep up the good work and have a lovely evening" With that said Hiashi left Neji's chamber, feeling awful satisfied with himself, although he still had this odd feeling in his stomach that something might go wrong at the royal gathering.
END OF FLASHBACK
Hiashi took a breath and breathed out slowly before he finally answered the waiting queen:
"I will bring them along, although I do not see them as fully ready now, I do believe that they will be ready for the royal gathering, your majesty"
The queen stared emotionlessly at Hiashi for a moment before a small smile appeared on her cold facade.
"It pleases me to know how much faith you have in your nephew, your brother must be very proud of you and him for that matter" The queen spoke with a much softer voice and her face also appeared less cold than it had done previously.
Hiashi looked at his queen, smiling a soft small smile as he said with a low-spoken voice:
"I believe so too, your majesty" Hiashi softly replied to the queen before he said:
"I believe it is best if I leave you now, your majesty, it was a pleasure speaking to you" Hiashi when stood up, bowed his head to show his respect to the queen before he turned around and left the throne room while he thought to himself:
"Hizashi, my dear brother, I hope you can forgive me for the mistakes I have made in the past and instead feel proud of the son you brought into this world, he is truly a son you should be proud of"
*Tap* *Click*
*Twitch*
*Tap Tap*
*Twitch*
*Click* *Yawn*
*More twitching*
*Click Click*
"Will you quit the tapping and clicking noises? It starting to annoy me quite a lot" Neji hissed at Tenten while he slammed his hands into the table.
Tenten, who was holding the fork near her cup, stopped what she was doing and stared blankly at Neji before she said:
"No, because I am bored and hungry" Tenten was then about to return to what she was doing, but before she could tap the fork against the cup again Neji stood up and almost forcefully took the fork out of Tenten's hands before he sat down once again.
"Give it back" Tenten yelled at Neji, who simply said:
"No"
Tenten puffed her cheeks up as she pouted her lips in both anger and annoyance. How dare he steal her fork! If she wanted to tap the fork against the cup then she could do that, who was he to tell her what you could and could not do?
"The nerve of that-" Tenten's angry thoughts were cut off by Neji, who reminded her:
"Remember Tenten, you promised to try and trust me, please trust me when I say that I am doing this for your own good and I promise to give you back the fork if you behave with manners instead of using violence. Remember that, my uncle can be here anytime and he needs to see that you can behave like a proper lad-person"
Tenten looked at Neji with narrowed eyes before she finally gave in and sighed out:
"Fine, I will try to act less violent, but give me back my fork! I did it in order to eat properly!" Tenten held her hand forward, wanting her fork to be returned to her now, not later, but now.
"No, no, no, Tenten, you cannot demand things, you have to ask for them nicely" Neji explained to her.
Tenten looked away while biting the side of her lip a little before she forced herself to say:
"Will you be so kind and please return the fork to me, Neji"
Neji smiled in triumph before he gave Tenten back her fork.
"Of course, you could just have asked me in the first place" Neji said, which caused Tenten growl at Neji.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
"Bravo, I am truly impressed, what a nice display ofmannerisms, although it is lacking something" A very familiar voice spoke from the entrance of the dining room.
"Uncle?" "Old man?" They both thought to themselves.
Both Neji and Tenten turned towards the entrance of the dining room, where the voice came from, and saw Hiashi standing with creepy 'I-am-proud-of-you-two'-smile of his on his face.
There was no denying that things will most likely become rather awkward once dinner was over, knowing Hiashi.
"That was about time you will turn up, old man, I am hungry and you are very late!" Tenten commented with an annoyed look on her face. She was not hiding her displeasure of Hiashi being late, she was clearly annoyed by him and she had clearly decided to say it in a as un-lady-like way as possible.
"Tenten, behave!" Neji hissed to Tenten under his breath.
Tenten merely stuck her tongue out at him, decided to act upon her childish side just because she felt like it.
"And because Neji needs to stop trying to impress a man, who he does not need to impressed" Tenten thought to herself, knowing that old man, Hiashi, was very proud of Neji. Neji had just not taken notice in it yet, which annoyed Tenten.
"Ahem" Hiashi faked a cough to get the twos attention.
Silence followed as Neji and Tenten looked at Hiashi quietly, waiting for him to say something.
"Now that I have you twos attention I believe it wise of me to tell inform the two of you that I have been greatly surprised by how much you two have grown since you two crossed each other's path and for once in a very long time I feel like I have done the right thing" Hiashi admitted with a calm, yet very sincere voice.
"The right thing? What do you mean, uncle? When have you ever done something that is wrong?" Neji asked, feeling somewhat confused by Hiashi's confession.
Hiashi chuckled softly before he replied:
"Well… first of all, I failed you"
*Click*
The sound of Tenten's fork landing on the empty plate echoed in the almost soundless dining room. Tenten was both in shock and greatly surprised by what Hiashi had just said.
"Old man admitting having failed? That is quite a surprise" Tenten blinked unable to find her own voice, too many questions running through her head. Confusement. Shock. Surprise. Wonder?
Neji, on the hand, was frozen still, staring blanking at his uncle, blinking with confusement shining in his pale, lavender, pupilless eyes. Suddenly Neji felt like a child again. A little child, a little lost child…
… who had just lost his father.
"Father…"
Flashback
Neji's tearful, lavender eyes stared up into the sad looking eyes of his uncle. Not believing the words he had just spoken.
"I am so sorry, Neji" Neji heard his uncle mumble while turning his face away from the crying child, he could simply not go on watching that heartbreaking look on his nephew's face. It was unbearable to look at!
Little Neji continued on sobbing his little broken heart out, feeling so very much alone in this big, very scary world. There was no father to protect him, no father to tell him goodnight at night, no father to kiss the hurt away, no father to teach him out to use a sword, no father to praise him. He was just…
…Alone.
His uncle's silence did not help at all, it only brought even more feelings of being all alone in this huge world to Neji. His little, innocent child mind could not take it.
For a moment Neji could not hear anything, but his own cries and he could only feel the tears fallen from his eyes, but suddenly someone wrapped their arms around him, hugging him in a comforting manner.
Realizing, that it was his own cousin, Hinata, envy followed by anger consumed him and he pushed her away, rejecting her comfort while he hissed with a raised fist:
"Do not touch me!"
Sending her a look of pure hate and anger, which caused her to run away leaving him behind in his own sorrow.
Despite the sudden urge to run after her and apologize, Neji denial regretting having taking his anger out on his cousin.
She was lucky! Unlike him, her father was still well and alive!
Neji's clenched hands loosed up and heating tears started falling again.
"Father, I miss you! Please come back!"
End of Flashback
"Neji!" Neji was startled by Hiashi, who loudly called out his name. After blinking a few times he looked at his uncle, who was chuckling under his breath much to Neji's embarrassment.
"Yes, uncle" Neji replied as he looked his uncle in the eye.
"Are you okay? You seemed a bit… lost, what is on your mind, Neji?" Hiashi asked Neji out of both care and concern for his nephew.
"Just… I just remembered my father, I guess…" Neji admitted with low spoken voice, looking downwards while he spoke.
Hiashi looked at his nephew with sad looking eyes before he closed his eyes and smiled softly. Tenten found herself sympathizing with the feeling that Neji must be feeling.
The feeling of losing someone you care for.
"Your father, my brother, Hizashi… hmmm I do not blame you, then it comes to raising and taking care of you I failed him, I failed to see the pain and sorrow you went through after he left you, us, everyone he held dear. I am so sorry, I hope you can forgive me" Hiashi spoke with a sincere and honest voice. Hiashi's eyes shined with honesty and sadness, a sight that was rare for anyone to experience. Hiashi was showing his true emotions.
"Uncle?" Neji was almost too stunned to speak.
"Please, Neji, do not speak to me as if we are just strangers to one another anymore. Call me Hiashi, not Lord Hiashi, not uncle. Just Hiashi because that is my name, just like yours is Neji and we are family after all" Hiashi told Neji.
Neji looked at his uncle in silence and suddenly to both Hiashi and Tenten's surprise tears began falling from Neji's eyes.
Neji was actually crying.
"Unc-Hiashi, please do not blame yourself, I was the one who locked myself away, I was the one who decided to blame Lady Hinata for my sorrow. I was my own fault that I became the person I became. You, you are the reason why things are starting to change, I am starting to change, for the better! I never blamed nor hated you! All I wanted was not o be a burden to you, to make you and father proud of me! I wanted to be useful, not a burden!" Neji chose to let everything out, caring for neither his pride nor the presence of Tenten, just the need to relief it all. Admit everything, confess it all without leaving anything out.
Out of nowhere Hiashi pulled his nephew into a comforting embrace. That empty space had been filled.
Tenten was watching in shock.
"I never in a million years had I expected HIM to hold so much sorrow inside himself, I always thought I was the one hiding my sorrow away from the world, but no… I am not. We are more alike than I thought. What happened in the garden was not just my imagination, it was real! But why now? Why am I feeling like this? These emotions? What do they mean?" Tenten thought to herself deeply while she clenched her hand together over her heart.
Tenten stood up and began making her leave deciding to leave the two alone, but before she even had made it very far she was stopped by Neji, who called out her name:
"Tenten" Tenten froze still.
"Where are you going, we have not eaten yet" Neji questioned Tenten. Tenten turned away, looking at Neji with an awkward grin while she said:
"I know, but you two seen to be having a bit of a moment, so I thought it was best if I left you two along to you know… have a nice talk with each other like uncle and nephew, but I guess I am wrong?"
"Sit down on your little behind, young lady. It is very impolite to leave during dinner!" Hiashi informed Tenten with a pointy finger.
Tenten took her seat while she muttered under breath:
"How dare he call me 'young lady' and my bottom is just fine, thank you very much, old stupid man"
"Language, Tenten! Neji, have you not taught her how to speak properly to her superiors yet? She cannot meet the queen speaking like that! It would ruin our good name if the queen was to experience such behavior in her own house!" Hiashi told Neji, who replied with unsure voice:
"Well Tenten is quite difficult in this matter"
"And why is she that, Neji?" Hiashi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Because I am my own person, no one can tell me what to do or order me away! No one is my superior, but me!" Tenten loudly exclaimed.
Hiashi looked at Tenten for a moment before he patted Neji on the shoulder and said:
"Well good luck with teaching her that, Neji"
"But Hias-" Neji was cut off by Hiashi, who clapped his hands together and said:
"Dinner, please"
A maid walked in and bowed as she said:
"Yes, Lord Hiashi, I will tell the cook to prepare the food" The maid left shortly afterwards.
"You are acting awfully childish, Hiashi" Neji commented.
"Hush, Neji, not in front of the guests" Hiashi hushed Neji, who raised an eyebrow and said:
"It is just Tenten"
"You two do know that I can hear both of you from here, right?" Tenten asked the two, feeling annoyed by their way for speaking about her as if she was not in the same room as them.
"Then pretend you heard nothing and everything will be just fine" Hiashi suggested to Tenten.
"Hiashi" Neji growled at his uncle, for some reason he actually preferred the way his uncle used to act around him and Tenten. Neji sincerely hoped his uncle would be back t normal by tomorrow.
"Men" Tenten thought to herself bitterly.
Two weeks has passed since Hiashi's rather awkward confession, and things between Neji and Tenten was pretty much…
Normal.
"I REFUSE! I WILL NOT WEAR SUCH DISCRIMMINATED CLOTHING EVER! OBJECTION!"
The lovely sound of Tenten's very loud, angry-sounding vocals could be heard from across the entire manor.
Well that was that agreement, out of the window and everything was back to normal… mostly.
Outside the room Tenten was inside in, Neji was seating on a chair reading peacefully as if he had not heard the loud yelling of his… lovely friend.
"She needs to give her vocals a break, unless she wished to loss her voice temporary… not that I would mind it, a day without her speaking, how can I say no to that?" Neji thought to himself with a smug look on his face as he imagined a day with a speechless Tenten.
"What a sight it would be" Neji thought to himself with an evil glint in his eyes and a smirk on his lips.
Suddenly one of the maids ran out of the room Tenten was in and begged to Neji:
"Sir Hyuuga, please could you help us? We have tried everything, but she will not corporate with us"
"Eventually she will give in" Neji told the maid, not really feeling like dealing with Tenten at the moment.
"But, but she is throwing things at us, it quite scary, she is quite scary" The maid informed Neji, who turned to the maid.
"Throwing thing? What kind of things?" Neji asked, looking up with curiosity.
"Everything she can get her hands on, please help us, sir Hyuuga!" The maid pleaded.
"Step aside I will see what I can do" Neji stood up from his chair and walked towards the room Tenten was inside in.
"Oh thank you, sir Hyuuga, thank you so much!" The maid repeated in joy.
Neji took the door by the handle and opened it while he said:
"Tenten, will you stop acting like a five-year old and-"
*Slam*
Right as Neji had opened the door Tenten had thrown one of her boots towards one of the maids, who had managed to dodge it only for it to hit Neji.
Right in the face.
"Oops, sorry!" Tenten said as Neji fell backwards, landing on the hard floor with his back first.
"Sir Hyuuga!" "Is he okay?" "What do we do? What do we do?" "Why did I have to dodge it?" "It is all, my fault!"
The maids literally panicked much to the annoyance of Tenten. All the whining was getting on her nerves.
*Twitch*
"Why did I have to ask sir Hyuuga to help us?" "Lord Hyuuga is going kill us all!"
"SHUT IT ALL OF YOU!" Tenten shouted out loud.
The maids froze and stare at her in both shock and amazement.
"Thank you" Tenten smiled at them before she walked up to the unconscious Neji and began lifting him up on her shoulder.
"You can all leave now. I will take care of Neji here. I promise not to tell old ma- I mean Lord Hiashi about it and do not worry about Neji, I am sure he will forgive you all. Now, leave" Tenten dismissed the maids.
"Are you sure?" "But the fitting?" "We cannot lie to the Lord" The maids questioned endlessly.
"I am sure! That stupid fitting can wait and it will not be lying if you tell him nothing at all, just pretend that nothing happened in the first place. I will take care off everything from here" Tenten explained to the maids, who looked at her in wonder.
"Ahhh" The maids nodded their heads as they sighed out in relief.
"Well then thank you, Miss Tenten" One of the maids said, bowing down politely before she and the other maids began making their leave.
Tenten waved at them before she looked at Neji and said:
"By God's purple lips you are one heavy fellow, Neji"
*Drip* *Drop* *Drip*
The sound of small drops of water dripping down into a bigger body of water echoed silently in the room.
"Ahhh this is really nice" A soft female voice sighed out, feeling at peace while she enjoyed the feeling of the water surrounding her body.
Running a hand through her indigo colored hair before she finally decided to lift her body up from the bathtub and step out of it. After having reached out for a towel to cover and dry her wet body, she called out:
"Ino, please bring me my clothes!"
A few moments afterwards the blond-haired handmaiden entered the bathroom with a purple gown in her arms.
"Here you go, Lady Hinata" The blond woman said as she gave the indigo-haired woman her clothes.
Hinata smiled and thanked Ino:
"Thank you" Hinata then dropped the towel and began pulling on the clothing Ino had given to her.
"Did you enjoy your bath, I hope the temperature of the water suited you" Ino said to Hinata, who halfway dressed smiled at Ino and replied:
"It was very nice. I really needed it, just to calm down my nerves after… well the whole Naruto incident ehehe" Hinata found herself blushing a pinkish red at the memories while Ino closed her gown from behind her back.
Ino smiled softly at the young heiress and told her to take a seat on the small stool before her:
"Take a seat, Lady Hinata, while I brush your hair" Hinata did as she was told and took a seat down while Ino began brushing her hair until it was soft and silky.
"I really envy your hair, Lady Hinata, it is so beautiful, so silky and soft" Ino admitted as she took a lock of Hinata's hair and ran a finger through it.
"Ino, how many times do I have to tell you that you do not have to call me 'Lady Hinata'? Hinata is just fine, we are friends, remember?" Hinata looked at Ino as she spoke, smiling softly at her friend.
Ino seemed to freeze up a bit as she tried to explain herself:
"Well… you are… the heiress of this wealthy family while I am… merely someone who works here, a commoner. You are my superior therefore I must show you my respect" Hinata looked at Ino skeptically before she said:
"Well I do not see you as a commoner and neither does my father. Your family has been working for us for so long that you are now almost family to us. Father even gave you and your parents your own chambers in the manor. So, please do not see yourself as beneath me because you are not! I admire you so much! You have always been there for me, protecting me and helping me whenever I needed you! Please stop looking at me as your master or someone superior to you, just look at me as your friend because we are friends!" Hinata gave Ino a pleading look. Her words came sincerely from her heart.
Ino stared at Hinata in both shock and surprise.
"I guess it is true, we are friends, we have always been, but I have never taken notice it… for once I have been blind to the truth" Ino thought to herself before she suddenly wrapped her arms around Hinata. Embracing her as she whispered:
"How could I be so stupid and blind, denying the truth when it was so clear? We have been friends all alone"
Hinata smiled warmly at Ino, returning her hug before she pulled away.
"Now, does that mean you will stop denying that you like it when sir Kiba flirts with you?" Hinata asked innocently in a teaseful way. Ino pushed herself further away from the young lady, blushing a furious red.
"I do not like it! I find it annoying as hell!" Ino exclaimed loudly with a red face.
"Ino, just admit like it, I promise not to tell a soul about it! I pinky swear!" Hinata tried to convince Ino, giving her a pleading look as she spoke.
"Sometimes you and your sister are more alike than most people would think" Ino muttered under her breath, which caused Hinata to giggle a little.
"I wonder what Neji and Tenten are up to?" Hinata wondered out loud.
"Probably up to no good unless Tenten has learned to behave properly" Ino replied Hinata, who giggled at the thought.
"Ino, you are being so mean, Tenten is really nice" Hinata pointed out.
"That might be true, but until she learns to act less like a wild animal and more like an adult woman, I will not change my opinion about her end of discussion" Ino explained to Hinata before she resumed brushing Hinata's silky, indigo-colored hair.
Pale, lavender eyes opened up, starring with a blurry vision up at the ceiling above.
"W-what happened? Why does my head hurt?" Neji mumbled confusedly while he rubbed his eyes.
Out of nowhere someone placed a wet cloth on top of his forehead, sending down a cold chill through Neji's body.
"I see you have finally woken up, you lazy bastard" The unknown someone said to him.
"Woken up? Did I fall asleep? Bastard?" Neji thought to himself in pure confusement, feeling quite lost about what had happened, although the unknown someone taking care of him could not be any other, but…
"Tenten?"
"That is correct, who else could it be? The maids? Because they were all panicking quite violently when you landed on the floor, quite a funny sight I might say" Tenten informed Neji in a quite casual way.
"Landed on the floor? Panicking maids? Funny?" Neji lifted himself upright, not caring that the wet cloth slipped off his forward in the process, "What exactly happened, Tenten?"
"You were accidently hit in the head by one of my boots and fell unconscious for about an hour or so" Tenten explained to Neji, who stared agape at her and asked in disbelieve:
"You throw a boot at me?" Tenten was quite quick to react, saying loudly:
"I did not! At least… well… the boot was not meant to have hit you in the first place… just… one of those stupid maids"
"Tenten, really? Throwing boots at the maids? What have they done to you aside from being kind to you?" Neji asked Tenten.
"Well… they should not have tried to force me into doing that stupid fitting! I will wear whatever I feel like wearing at that stupid royal gathering that I have to take part in!" Tenten loudly claimed, avoiding answering the question Neji had asked her.
"Tenten, I am sorry that I have to be the one to tell you, but you have no choice, you will wear the dress whether you like it or not end of discussion" Neji told Tenten, who pouted her lips at him as she said:
"Well then you are going to have to force me into it because I will not wear it willingly"
"Oh, trust me I will, if I must. My uncle is expecting a lot of me and I will not let your little ego stand in my way, Tenten, I can assure you of that" Neji gave Tenten a daring look as he spoke, leaning his face close to Tenten's. Noses almost touching while Tenten could feel Neji's breath on her lips.
"I will like to see you try, Neji" Tenten said right back at Neji, smirking smugly at him.
"Trust me, if it is necessary then I will" Neji assured Tenten once again. The two stared intensely at one another, neither of them looking away from each other, foreheads touching.
"You two are really into each other" A somewhat cocky, yet young sounding voice made Neji and Tenten move away from each other, blushing faintly. Both Neji and Tenten looked to the side to see who the intruder could be.
"Hanabi, why are you here?" Neji asked, demanding his younger cousin to state why she was here in the first place.
"Father wants to see you two, he told me it is very important" Hanabi answered.
"Okay," Neji replied calmly before he turned to Tenten, "We better go then" Standing up Neji walked passed Hanabi, who was leaning against the door, and out of the room. Tenten followed him closely.
"Why does Hiashi wish to speak to us? It is something about what we talked two weeks ago or is it something else? The royal gathering, perhaps?" Neji asked himself, not knowing that Tenten was thinking something along the lines as well.
Inside Hiashi's private chamber, Hiashi was stamping his feet repeatedly into the wooded floor while he waited for his nephew, Neji, and Tenten to arrive. Seeing as there was about a week until the royal gathering took place, Hiashi felt like it was about time he told Neji and Tenten about their job there.
Why the queen had wanted Hiashi to bring his best swordsmen along with himself in the first place. The queen needed them, needed him. And he shall protect the queen and this kingdom he holds so dear with all his might.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
Someone knocked on the door, bringing Hiashi out of his own deep thoughts.
"Yes, who is it?" Hiashi asked with calm voice well knowing who was knocking.
"Ehm, Lord Hyuuga, your nephew, sir Neji, and his well… partner, miss Tenten, have arrived" One of the Hyuuga manor's many maids spoke from outside the room.
"Send them in" Hiashi answered with his back turned against the door.
"As you wish, Lord Hyuuga" The maid replied politely.
A moment after the door opened up and light from outside Hiashi's chamber started to spread inside it. Hiashi looked down at his own shadow and then took a look at both his nephew's and Tenten's shadows.
"Hanabi told us that you wanted to speak to us" Neji said to his uncle, waiting for his uncle to say something.
"Yes, there is something that I think you two should know. The reason behind why exactly the queen wants me to bring my best swordsmen to the royal gathering in the first place" Hiashi explained. Both Neji and Tenten looked at him with interest.
"Okay, and that is, Hiashi?" Neji pressed on, curious about what reason the queen had when she gave his uncle these orders.
"Well first of, the queen fears that something or someone might try to interfere with the royal gathering, someone who desires to ruin the Konoha Kingdom by ruining our relationship with the Suna Kingdom. Secondly and more importantly, the queen wishes to test you, Neji" Hiashi told Neji, who seemed quite shocked.
"Test me? Please explain that to me more precisely, Hiashi!" Neji, unable to figure out how to react, demanded his uncle to try explaining himself more precisely than before.
"The queen is thinking of maybe giving you the chance to become one of the Knights of Konoha! She believes that by letting you take part in the royal gathering under disguised as a mere guest, she can test your analytic skills and maybe increase your chances of passing the test that your father never got the chance to try and pass, she believe that you are ready even if I do not think you are," Hiashi turned around and looked Neji in the eyes, "Neji, the queen believes in you, she trusts your talent and wishes to see them in action, in a real serious matter"
Neji stood completely dumbstruck, believing himself to be asleep having the best dream ever. A friendly pat on his shoulder woke him up.
"Well that was indeed good news, am I right Neji?" Tenten asked with a somewhat teaseful sounding voice. Neji blushed a little, but shook it off quickly.
"It would have been if it was not because I am forced to have you with me as my partner" Neji explained to Tenten, who stuck out her tongue.
"You should be thankful to have me with you, as an archer I have very fast instinct and my analytic skills are pretty strong compared to most people, including yourself" Tenten proudly said.
"Sure, if you say so" Neji mumbled, rolling his eyes at her.
"Just you wait and see, I will show you" Tenten puffed up her cheeks before she made her way towards door to leave, although she did not make it very far before Hiashi stopped her by saying:
"By the way, Tenten, are you done with the fitting I told the maids to help you with?"
Neji chuckled to himself while Tenten paled.
"Ehm… well not really ehehe" Tenten admitted awkwardly.
"Oh, and why not? You need to have a dress picked out for you at least five days before the gathering otherwise the other preparations will not be finished in time" Hiashi informed Tenten, who was like:
"Other preparations? What other preparations?"
A pause followed.
"Neji, go find Hinata" Hiashi ordered while he took a hold on Tenten wrist, keeping her from leaving the room.
"Okay, Hiashi, I do that" Neji said before he left the room leaving behind a very distressed Tenten and a smug looking uncle.
"No, no, do not leave me along with this old man! Neji! Come back here! I will not be treated like this! I know my rights! Let me go! Release me! I do not want to have a fitting, let along wear a fancy looking dress!" Tenten shrieked out loudly.
"Now, now Tenten, there is no reason to be angry, I will not hurt you, just take a set down and have a nice cup of tea with me while we wait for Neji to come back with Hinata" Hiashi suggested while patted a chair next to a table where a teapot was standing.
Tenten gave Hiashi a look before she pulled her wrist free from his grip and took a seat down.
"Now, that is how a lady should act" Hiashi teased as he too took a seat down and began pouring tea into both his and Tenten's cups.
"Do not call me a lady, I am not a lady" Tenten muttered under her breath as she took a sip of the hot tea.
"Ouch hot!" Tenten cursed out.
"Well hot tea is normally hot, my dear" Hiashi pointed out.
"I am no one's dear!" Tenten complained much to Hiashi's amusement.
Hiashi merely chuckled while he thought to himself with a smile:
"But you are Neji's, right?"
At Konoha castle, the home of the queen, a man dressed entirely in black stood outside on the balcony, watching the horizon as the sun disappeared from the sky.
The man was deep in thought while he stared with dark eyes at the orange-reddish sun as it slowly began vanishing from his sight. Such beautiful sight it truly is, a sunset.
"What is on your mind, my friend?" Someone behind the dark eyed man asked.
The dark eyed man turned around to look at the person, who had spoken to him.
"Oh? It is you, Hatake" The dark man spoke while he looked at the silver-haired man with his dark eyes.
"Yes, it is. Now, are you going to answer my question or it is none of my business, you have been awfully quite for the past weeks and the queen is starting to get worried," The silver-haired man looked him in the eyes, "And so am I"
The dark man sighed out deeply and said:
"I guess, I have no choice, but to tell you seeing as you will most likely not leave me along until I tell you"
Hatake chuckled while he agreed:
"You know me too well, but yeah, you have to tell me, how much you have to tell me? Well that depends solely on you"
The dark man smiled to himself before he gave in and decided to tell his comrade what was on his mind:
"I have this odd feeling that there is something, someone, who I should look out for, watch out for, I do not really know it myself… just… this feeling in my gut that I am missing something! I have been feeling uneasy for quite some time now, like… I should be aware of something, but I do not know what!" The man, who moments ago was calm and in control of himself released a hiss out of pure frustration. Clenching his hands together, digging his nails into his palms almost drawing blood.
Hatake placed a comforting hand on the frustrated man's shoulder and spoke with a calm, understanding voice:
"You are not the only one who feels uneasy. I do too, so does the queen and the rest of the knights. We all feel it, but we do not know whether it is a friend or an enemy. You should not punish yourself for not knowing, who we should fear. We shall all, the Royal Knights, protect this kingdom and our queen against anyone who threatens our home, our queen, our duty"
"You are right, I should not let this get to me… thank you, I think I will go to bed now" The dark man told the silver-haired as he sighed out in relief and turned around, leaving the silver-haired man behind standing on the, now, empty royal balcony.
"There is something you are hiding, my friend, but I trust you enough to look past it and let you carry on with this secret of yours, as long as it does not cause any harm to either the queen or this kingdom, I will trust you because you are my comrade" The silver-haired man thought as he watched the back of his comrade vanish from his sight.
To be continued…
A/N: End of chapter 13, in the next chapter the royal gathering will begin and a lot more secret will be revealed.
This chapter plays as a bridges between the previous chapters and the next chapters as some topics are closed down to give room for new to open; Hiashi admitting having failed, Neji forgiving as well as Hinata telling Ino that they are friends. It was all about admitting facts that have been clear to everyone, but the characters involved.
I hope you all enjoyed it, leave a review and tell me what you think! ^^
P.S. I am hoping that I will be able to update sooner, but if I do not update when the 5th April has passed then I will not update until somewhere in Easter holiday because I will be on a school trip to New York.