I really have been slacking. My apologies. I really like working on this fic, so I do intend to keep working on it :D

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The following months were uneventful; the days came and went without much incident. Maero and I seemed to spend more time together which was great, but I noticed that things were getting awkward regarding his family. He wouldn't talk to me about it; if I brought it up he would tell me not to worry about it, but how couldn't? I knew that us being together was putting a strain on his relationship with his family, Miss Hinata's words still lingered in my mind.

Konohamaru returned from his mission one week early. He came to my apartment around ten that same night. I had barely opened the door when he ploughed right in. He looked angry, confused, and sad all at the same time. Konohamaru paced around my living room without saying a word. A few times I saw him stop and open his mouth as if he was about to say something but then he would close it again and resume pacing. Unsure of what to do I excused myself to make some tea.

When I came back to the living room with the tea, Konohamaru was standing by the window clutching the sill and looking outside. I set one cup down on the coffee table and sat down to drink the other.

"You need to end your relationship with Maero." Konohamaru said, not turning.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

Of course I heard him.

"That man, no matter how much he may love you, will only end up hurting you." Konohamaru's voice sounded broken.

"And you are sure of this how?" I asked sceptically.

Konohamaru turned to look at me; there was a hurt in his eyes that I couldn't understand. "That time," he started, "she, Hanabi… she was pregnant."

He suddenly broke down in tears. I sat on the sofa and stared at him in shock. I collected my senses, walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. Konohamaru let his tears flow freely. It was the first time I had ever seen him cry.

I wanted to know more, but I didn't have the heart to ask. As he cried, I tried to piece the information together. As far as we knew, Hanabi never gave birth. And if she did, she definitely never showed signs of pregnancy. She had broken with up Konohamaru suddenly and without warning. That must have been the reason why; she was pregnant with his child.

"Do you know why Hanabi's sister was reappointed heir?" Konohamaru asked me when he had finally calmed down.

"Hmm?" I had assumed it was punishment, but I had never really given it much thought. But now that he was bringing it up, Miss Hinata's sudden marriage came shortly after Konohamaru and Hanabi's break up.

"The Hyuuga, refused Hanabi to have our child and forced her get rid of it. The procedure was carried out by the family, but something went wrong," Konohamaru paused. "Now she can never have children. A barren heir, that must of added insult to injury," he scoffed. "If only they had just allowed her to keep the baby, serves them right."

Things were starting to make sense, albeit a little dramatic.

"I can't believe she didn't tell me," he whispered.

"Perhaps she didn't want to hurt you?" I reasoned.

"It's all the same, however; had she actually told me I would have understood."

"Would you?" Konohamaru was not the most forgiving or understanding person I knew and I wanted to say as much but I knew now was not the time. Had Hanabi actually told him the truth back then, I have no doubt in my mind Konohamaru would have gone Itachi on the Hyuuga family.

"… At least I would have forgiven her," Konohamaru mummbled. "I loved her."

He went back to looking out the window. The silence that followed was thick.

"I love her still." Konohamaru's voice was barely a whisper.

Had Konohamaru and Hanabi not gone on that mission, I wonder how much longer he would have held his grudge against her for breaking his heart. It was obvious now that his feelings about the situation had changed.

"The sooner you break up with Maero the better, Moegi." His voice was serious again.

I wanted to protest, but I didn't know what to say. The typical 'but I love him' was too cliché and naïve, and I knew Konohamaru would just shoot it down. After all, he loved Hanabi and that didn't spare him from the pain. If only Konohamaru could be happy with her again, then perhaps there would be hope for Maero and me.

"Why don't you run away? Together I mean. You and Hanabi?"

Konohamaru turned to look at me as if I had just lost my senses. "Have you lost your senses?" Haha! I knew it, I was right! That was what his look meant. "I can't run away with her, just like you can't with Maero!"

"Why not?" I replied. I honestly didn't see why it couldn't work.

"Moegi, are you blind or just naturally stupid?"

His question hurt, but I kept my mouth shut to allow him to continue. "They are both marked."

Ok, now he lost me. My confusion must have been apparent because he continued to explain.

"Maero is not from the main family, and Hanabi, well she was marked when her sister married."

Oh! Marked! That mark! I mentally chided myself for not remembering of such an important point. I knew Maero had the family seal, but I never had reason to question its purpose and he never talked about it. I thought back to the academy days when we studied Konoha family history. I vaguely recalled something about Hyuuga traditions and the branch family seal used to control and protect the family's secrets.

"On top of that, the family is currently arranging a marriage for Hanabi to some lame-ass clan outside of Konoha," Konohamaru said with contempt. "That's what the mission was about."

"An arranged marriage outside of the clan?"

I went to get the other cup of tea for Konohamaru and handed it to him.

"Ya, the Hyuuga have the upper hand. The other party thinks they can obtain leverage against the Hyuuga through Hanabi and whatever child she gives birth to, but the joke's on them. The Hyuuga are playing dumb." He took a sip of the lukewarm beverage.

"What does Hanabi have to say about this?"

"A lot, but does it matter? No." He answered his own question, but not mine. I didn't want to push it.

"Who assigned you to the mission?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Originally I though the Hokage did, but oddly enough it is was Neji."

Then he took another sip of his tea.

"Neji?" I was just as surprised. "Why does he have such influence and why would he care?"

"Well he is married to the heir and although he is only a branch member he will at some point in the future have more power then even some main house members. He definitely has a vested interest in all this."

It became clear to me that Konohamaru knew much more about the Hyuuga family then I ever imagined him to.

"The Hyuuga members are nothing but pawns which the clan head plays with for his own satisfaction. You and Maero may be ok now, but ultimately he has no say in his future and neither do you, so you might as well get out before you get in too deep."

He emptied the contents of his cup and moved to the kitchen to place it in the sink.

"Thanks for the tea, and for lending your ear."

Konohamaru went to put on his shoes. I followed him, he was half way out the door when he turned to look at me, concern etched in his face. "I'm not sure if I should tell you or not, but Maero was engaged to another Hyuuga."

"What? Engaged? To who? When? Is he still?"

My head was trying to wrap around this new information.

"Does it matter? What can you do about it? But no, he isn't engaged anymore. Apparently he has some 'friends' on the inside that saw some merit in keeping him unmarried. But Moegi, we don't know if he'll be able to escape his fate should it happen again. Please keep that in mind, don't become another pawn for the Hyuuga to play with." And with that he left.

I closed the door behind him. A part of me couldn't believe that that was my friend Konohamaru who just left. He seemed so much older than his years, so mature. I locked the door and crossed to the kitchen to put away my own used cup before heading to bed.

Sleep didn't come easily that night, and the following morning proved to be an interesting one.

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I woke up the following morning to someone knocking on my door. The sun hadn't risen yet and I wondered who the hell would be at my door at this time. I got out of bed, pulled on some pants and threw a sweater over my t-shirt. I made my way to the door, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes. They knocked again, this time harder and more impatiently.

"I'm coming!"

I opened the door to find Maero in his uniform. I moved aside to let him in.

"Maero? What are you doing? Are you going on a mission?"

He looked worried. He took my hands into his, they were cool.

"I couldn't go without seeing you," his lips formed a small smile.

"So it is a mission."

Maero nodded in confirmation.

"A retrieval mission," he added, releasing one of my hands to tuck a stray hair behind my ear.

"Moegi, things are a little unstable amongst my family. I don't know what is going to happen, but I want to ask you to hang on, trust me, don't let anyone get to you, don't listen to the rumours, don't believe everything that is said," he paused. "And trust Hinata."

"What's going on?"

"The less you know the better," he said kissing my head. "Trust me."

A sudden fear stuck me. I didn't know where it came from or why it was so strong but it was mind numbing. I didn't want to end up like Konohamaru and Hanabi. I wrapped my arms around Maero, pulling him closer. He returned my hug and rested his head on mine.

"Listen to Hinata, she has great hopes, I think she can change the Hyuuga. When she does…" he didn't finish his sentence. "Listen to Hinata, trust her. She may ask something of you, please trust her."

Konohamaru's words from the night before echoed in my mind. '…don't become another pawn for the Hyuuga to play with…'

"Moegi," Maero's voice became very soft. "I love you."

That was the first time he said those words to me. This week had seen a lot of firsts.

He let me go, turning to leave. On impulse I grabbed his hand; Maero looked back at me, his eyes taking me in. In one swift movement I was back in his arms, his lips against mine.

"Be safe," was all he said when he broke the kiss.

Just as suddenly as he was kissing me, he was gone. Damn ninjas.

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