His duties were not a burden to him, he had a feeling that he had been doing similar things before so he adjusted quickly to the new situation. With time the children of Lord Kinto started treating him a bit more welcome, although it was visible that they still had some reservations towards him. The only thing he found very hard to adjust to were the children. He felt that his contacts with children as such in his past were very limited and that he did not spend much time with people of this age. Every dinner he was bombarded with thousands of questions which made him feel very uneasy.
"Why do you have long hair?" asked Ayumi.
"Because I like it this way." He replied.
"But men don't have long hair!" she concluded.
"In my family they do." He replied calmly.
"Why do you have white eyes, they are really strange!" asked Hideo.
"All people in my clan have such eyes." He replied.
"In your clan? What is a clan?" demanded Shinobu.
"A clan is like a big family." Replied his mother Lady Kyoto.
"Where is your family? Why aren't they here with you?" asked Fujiko.
"I don't know. Please excuse me." He replied and walked away from the table.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Where is my family? And why aren't they here with me?" he kept wondering. "Where is my home?" he asked himself looking at a map in the library. Soon he heard Lady Kyoto come in. He did not need to turn back to see it was her, he simply knew it.
"I want to apologize for my daughter, she dose not understand much yet." She said.
"It's nothing, she just asked a question every one asks himself about me. The only difference is that she did it out load." He replied kindly.
"Thank you for your understanding."
"She is just a child, and even tough her words can hurt, she did not mean it." He replied.
She just walked away thinking that he was an amazing person as her father said before.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every time he went to sleep he could see the scene of the battle he dreamt the first night. Every time he saw more details, and he felt more. His feelings were complicated, he hater her and he loved her. He was surprised by her, and he was attracted by her. He was terrified with the way he had treated her. He must have been around 13 years old when it happened, and now looking back at that situations he could see how bitter and angry he was. Each morning he woke up with the feeling that he was not a good person at all. That he did not deserve to live, and that he did not deserve to survive. He nearly killed her, and that feeling kept killing him inside.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One day when he was working at his desk he heard a loud argument in the garden.
"I told you no pets!" said Lord Hashobi to his eldest son.
Neji looked out of the window to see Akira holding a little black cat in his arms. He saw the look the boy had in his eyes, the look of fierceness and will to protect something precious to him.
"Yes I remember father, but this cat has no home, and I want to take care of it." The boy explained his opinion.
"I said no! If you start taking in pets then before we know it we will have a zoo here, you are just like your grandfather!" he yelled at his son.
"And is being alike to grandfather bad?" asked back his son.
His father looked at him in amazement, his kindest child stood up for himself and demanded something. Moreover he found the one argument he could no beat, deep inside Lord Hishobi knew that he was right, being alike to Ryu Kinto was not a bad thing. He had to admit defeat.
"Ok I will agree, but only on one condition, you will personally take care of this pet. It will sleep in your room, you will keep it clean, feed it, and you will make sure it causes no problems."
"I will father." the boy promised.
"And be aware this is the first and last time I make an exception to my rules. This cat is your responsibility, and if you will not take good care of it you will be punished for it. Do you understand?" He demanded an answer.
"Yes father, I understand." The boy looked at his father with a smile. A smile full of confidence and faith in himself.
Soon he ran away to join the other children and show them their new friend.
Lady Kyoto came into the garden and started talking with her brother.
"Why did you give in? You know that if we step back once that they will not let us live!"
"Maybe not, but if he fails to take care of the cat then he will learn that taking in pets is a demanding responsibility. I think this exception is worth being tested, and maybe they all will learn something from it." He explained his decision to his sister.
"What did he say to make you change your mind so easily?" she inquired.
"He told me that he is just like our father, and I must admit being like him is not that bad, and that doesn't make him a bad person. Our children look up to our father and this time Akira chose to take as example his grandfather. I can't make him respect my father and at the same time not permit him to act as father does."
"I see, and maybe you are right after all. That Neji guy is not that bad."
"We'll see in time, but he seems to be ok." He reluctantly admitted it. He had many contacts with him because of doing business in town which was his task, and it was hard not to notice that Neji was diligent and really did a good job. The same meant that he had less work, and that his father had less work, and both those things were good.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later that day Neji noticed Akira had been walking around the garden without the cat. Soon the boy sat under one of the trees and looked hopelessly up. Taking a closer look Neji noticed the cat sitting on of the branches not willing to come or too scared to come down by himself.
He decided to go and help the child because he knew that if Akira went to his family with this problem then they would accuse him of not being able to take care of the cat.
The boy was surprised to see Neji come to talk with him. He did not want to admit he failed with the cat, and that he had a problem. Neji just looked up the tree, and said "You know your cat looks a bit scared up there, I think it's time for you to feed it as well." He said walking up to the tree, at first he had no idea what to do to help the child but then his instincts told him what his mind could not remember. He simply walked up the tree and reached the branch the cat was sitting on, the cat wasn't too happy and tried to scratch him, but Neji held it away from himself and managed to stay away from the claws.
He noticed the way the boy looked at him when he came down and gave the cat back.
"What wrong Akira?" he asked.
"How did you do that?" the boy demanded he still could not believe his eyes.
"You mean walk up the tree? That was just a easy trick, you never seen something like that before?" Neji asked in amazement.
"No, it was like magic!" the boy exclaimed.
"So this is one more thing I can do and others can't, I must be more careful next time" he thought.
"You know what, I think you should go to the pet store with your cat, get a nice collar and leash for it, then it won't run away from you again. Remember to buy some cat food as well. You should also go to the vet and get the cat examined. Your father won't be happy if you forget to take care of her."
"Of her?" the boy asked.
"Yes, of her, this cat if a girl." Neji explained.
"Thank you very much!" said the boy smiling. He ran quickly to do as he was advised. He was happy that he wasn't caught by his father, and at the same time he realized there was someone at home on who he could count on.