Chapter 7:
Disclaimer: Unless Kishi-sensei decides to give it to me for as a congratulatory present for surviving my exams, I won't own it.
"Welcome home, Neji-nii-san."
The dripping shinobi saw his younger cousin standing beside the doorway. Apparently she had been waiting for his return. She shyly presented him the thick white towel that had been previously bundled in her arms and he accepted it gratefully.
"Arigato, Hinata-sama."
He was halfway through drying his long hair when he heard her say something.
"A-Ano..."
He paused and looked up, waiting patiently for her to continue. Hinata fumbled with her words for a minute or two before she finally blurted out what she needed to say.
"C-Chichiue wants to see you. He's w-waiting for you in his study."
Neji gave her a brief nod of thanks and handed her the towel before making his way towards the aforementioned place. He expertly navigated his way through the maze of corridors and gardens that made up the Hyuuga estate, stopping in front of the sole shoji screen that was illuminated out of all the others behind him.
"Hiashi-sama," he said, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't wake the rest of the light sleeping household.
When he heard his uncle's customary "Aa", Neji slid the door open and entered the room. His uncle did not look up when Neji came in, nor did he pause in his writing as he spoke.
"I heard from Hokage-sama about your excellent performance on your recent missions," Hiashi said. His left hand motioned to a finely decorated envelope that seemed out of place amongst the rest of the plain, formal looking documents on his desk.
Neji strode forward to take the envelope and read the name inscribed on the front.
"Hiashi-sama-"
"Neji," Hiashi silenced his nephew, placing his pen on the table as he began to address the latter's obvious concern. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you what this means, but you must tread carefully. Many of the elders are still bound to tradition. The only way they will accept you is if you can prove yourself worthy and this would be the best way for you to begin. Do you understand?"
Neji nodded. "Is that all, Hiashi-sama?"
"Yes. Go get some rest."
Neji was nearly out the door when his uncle's following words made him stop in his tracks.
"How is your teammate doing? The last I heard of her was before winter."
Neji was taken aback by the sudden question. His uncle never inquired about anyone's personal issues, let alone his.
"She is well," came the dutiful reply before he bid his uncle 'good night' and left.
Hiashi watched his nephew's silhouette fade into the darkness before returning to his perusal of the detailed reports of his nephew's latest exploits as well as his mission records from the last few years.
Hizashi, I'm sure you would be proud...
If all went according to plan, he would be able to successfully instate Neji as the next clan leader. Hinata had refused the position that was her birthright and Hanabi had similarly declined, not because she didn't want it, but because her cousin was most suitable for the role.
He, the Hokage, and even his ten-year-old daughter could see it, but the clan's elders were blinded by their mindless devotion to tradition. Traditions that had lead to the loss of his brother, traditions that had caused his nephew as well as many others so much pain.
Traditions that were long overdue for change.
Neji will make them see, Hiashi thought, glancing down at a certain order slip for a custom-made katana that had accidentally made its way from of his nephew's drawer to his desk. He was no stranger to the boy's stubborn refusal to admit his feelings and even more indirect methods of making them known. After all, he had seen the exact same behaviour in another person at least once in his lifetime.
The ghost of a faint, enigmatic smile drifted across the Hyuuga patriarch's face.
Like father like son...
In spite of the mountain of work piled up behind her and the presence of her assistant, which meant that she couldn't drink anything apart from tea and water, Tsunade was in a good mood.
From their usual position behind her, a slightly exasperated Shizune and a bewildered Ton-ton watched the Godaime as she studied a tiny book intently. Needless to say, the book's contents had absolutely nothing to do with her actual work.
A knock on the door interrupted her mental calculations and one of the people she had been waiting for all morning came in.
"You wanted to see me, Tsunade-sama?"
Tsunade hurriedly snatched the book off her desk and stuffed it unceremoniously into a drawer before straightening up quickly. Tenten blinked and Shizune gave her a sheepish smile.
"Happy belated birthday, Tenten-san."
"Arigato, Shizune-san."
"Ahem," Tsunade coughed, immediately drawing the other two's attention to herself. Then she selected a scroll and smilingly held it out.
Tenten hesitantly took the proffered scroll and unraveled it. The information contained within was nothing out of the ordinary, but the more she read it, the more she felt that something was amiss. The Hokage never handed out missions personally unless they were important and a B-rank mission of guarding your average merchant was far from it. She opened her mouth to voice these thoughts when there was the sound of two sets of approaching footsteps and a sharp rap on the door.
"Come in," Tsunade called out. The other two whom she wanted to see entered her office and she waved off their greetings before beginning her briefing.
"Tenten, this is technically your first solo mission, but I've decided that since Hyuuga and Fuuma will be attending the event as guests, they will be your un-official back-up. If they are agreeable to the idea."
The Hokage's eyes narrowed slightly and her gaze shifted to the two shinobi as though daring them to disagree.
"I don't mind," Kazuya shrugged while Neji 'hn'-ed his response.
Tsunade's smile widened.
"Good. The three of you are to leave for Bird Country tomorrow morning," Tsunade concluded, proceeding to usher the three somewhat nonplussed ninja out of her office.
Ton-ton gave a tiny 'buhi' of distress at the wildly determined look in his mistress' eyes as she strode back to her desk, whipped out her little book and sat down.
Since there wasn't exactly anything else better to do, the Hokage had decided to indulge in a little wager with Hiashi-dono about the result of a certain relationship. Oddly enough, it had been the Hyuuga clan leader who had suggested it when he came to request his nephew's records the day before.
Tsunade knew the Hyuuga was more than aware of just how big of a stubborn prick his nephew was, but as it seemed, the man had great faith that his nephew at least wasn't asexual.
"Shizune!"
"H-Hai," Shizune replied uncertainly, almost fearful of what was coming next. Tsunade-sama had originally planned to conveniently forget to include the young Hyuuga prodigy in this mission briefing. It was only after her pleas for her shishou not to do something so dishonest and the latter's realization that it wouldn't affect the result of her bet anyway that she decided to call him in after all.
Shizune suspected that her Hokage's decision mostly had to do with said realization.
"Send a message to Hiashi-dono saying that I'm doubling the stakes," the Godaime announced.
"Hai!" Shizune ran out of the room to do exactly as her shishou ordered, knowing better from her years of experience than to try convincing Tsunade when she was this fired up. Especially when it came to gambling.
The door slammed shut and the Hokage's rouged lips arranged themselves into a grin.
Unless Neji and Kazuya decided to fall for each other, that hundred thousand ryou was hers for the taking.
"Tsunade-sama was acting pretty strangely," Tenten mused out loud as the three of them made their way past the guards and out of Hokage Tower.
The men on either side of her made no comment.
She placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully, remembering what she had wanted to ask before the Hokage practically chased them out of her office.
"What did Tsunade-sama mean by 'attending the same event'?" The sudden question caused her companions to look at her, Neji only briefly but Kazuya held her gaze.
"The daughter of a family friend is getting married," the latter explained placidly.
"Oh." The brunette kunoichi tilted her head slightly to look at the quiet pale-eyed boy on her right. "What about you, Neji?"
"The groom's family has been doing business with the Hyuuga clan for generations," he answered briefly, keeping his distinctly blank gaze directed straight ahead.
"If it's something this important, then shouldn't your parents and Hiashi-sama be going?" Tenten asked.
"It's my job as the clan heir," Kazuya replied smoothly.
Tenten's brow furrowed slightly in confusion as the information registered. "But Hinata-chan is Hiashi-sama's daughter. So..."
"Oi Hyuuga." Despite Neji's annoyance at his slightly condescending tone, he turned to face the blonde shinobi.
"Why are you going? You're not-"
"I will be attending on my clan leader's behalf," Neji stated, the light sheen of irritation in his voice as controlled as ever. The Fuuma clan's heir made a soft sound of derision, his lips curling into a smirk as he coolly returned the Hyuuga's steely glare. The female between them missed the silent exchange altogether.
"I have to inform Hiashi-sama of the change in plans," Neji told Tenten, his voice returning to its usual muted monotone.
"Okay. See you tomorrow," she said cheerfully.
"Aa." One hand seal and a puff of smoke later, he was gone.
Tenten consulted the mission scroll and sighed.
"This mission's probably going to take a while so I'd better get home and start packing-"
"Wait."
Tenten stopped and looked up curiously. Her brown gaze met his dark grey one. An unreadable look flickered through his eyes for half a moment before they quickly regained their resolve.
"I have a favour to ask you..."
It came as quite a surprise to Tenten when she saw her teammates already waiting for her when she arrived at the village gates. It wasn't that she was late; in fact she had left her apartment early.
In other words, Neji and Kazuya had both decided to be extremely early.
Despite the short time she'd known him, Tenten knew that punctuality was practically Neji's middle name, especially from the way he got all annoyed when anyone else was late. Well, as annoyed as Hyuuga Neji could get. However, although he was never late, Kazuya on the other hand was never this early.
"We're leaving."
"Mm." Although she had acknowledged Neji's words, Tenten still lingered behind for a moment. The only part of her that followed them was her troubled brown gaze, watching her best friend's back as he went on ahead of her.
She didn't even realize when both her companions stopped and turned around.
"Is everything alright?" Kazuya's lilting tenor completely cut through her thoughts like a knife through butter, successfully rousing her from her inner musings. Two pairs of contrasting eyes stared at her, one concerned, the other emotionless.
That's what I should be asking you! The words in her mind were just barely on the tip of her tongue, but she thought better of it when the odd quality to his voice finally made it past the worry that had momentarily morphed into irritation.
"Sorry." Tenten forced an expression that matched the impassive ones on Neji and Kazuya's faces before breaking off into a run to catch up with both of them.
Stop worrying so much. Kazuya is smart enough to deal with his own problems, her subconscious stating for her what they both knew.
But there was still that small silver of doubt.
He wouldn't have asked you unless it was important...
Unless it was something he couldn't do on his own.
Of course, she didn't doubt the sincerity behind the strange request he had made the day before. What was really worrying her was the way he had asked. His normally cheerful, light voice had been uncharacteristically hollow and somber, the way he sounded when a mission went awry.
Her paced slowed to a walk when she finally caught up with them. The blonde beside her grinned boyishly at her; the smile she returned was half-hearted.
The only thing she could do to help him was what he'd asked, and hope that it would be enough.
Having visited the Hyuuga complex quite a few times, Tenten was no stranger to absurdly large houses. However, apart from the odd tree, stone decoration or water fountain every now and then, the large courtyards were mostly empty since they were used for training. In fact, the entire estate was the embodiment of everything the clan valued - simplicity, practicality, tradition and excellence in the ninja arts.
On the other hand, the sheer amount of grandeur in this estate was bordering on the ridiculous, almost to the point that it could rival that of any daimyo's.
While she was marveling inwardly at the beautiful grounds as well as the obvious affluence of her client, Neji and Kazuya didn't show any notice of their surroundings as they silently followed the servant who had come to greet them when they arrived.
They're probably used to it, her mind supplied helpfully.
The group stopped in front of a sliding door that looked completely identical to the others they had been walking past. The maid opened the door, politely inviting them to go inside.
"Please wait inside, Nakajima-sama will be with you shortly," she said softly, waiting for her master's guests to settle themselves on the cushions surrounding the low table before bowing and closing the door.
Since neither Neji nor Kazuya seemed very interested in conversing at the moment, Tenten took her time to observe the decor. Unlike the elaborate gardens, this room possessed an elegance in its simplicity; the only ornaments being an ikebana flower arrangement on a small shelf and the scroll painting hanging on the wall above it.
Tenten decided that she liked this much better.
A man in his late thirties or early forties entered the room then. There was nothing particularly special about his appearance. Brown hair, brown eyes, average height, unadorned yet impeccable robes- the standard appearance of any civilian.
It was only when he took his seat opposite Neji did she notice that his hair was flecked with grey, the harsh noon sunlight filtering in through the translucent screen doing nothing to conceal the lines of fatigue on his face.
"I apologize for the poor welcome. We hadn't been expecting you, Hyuuga-san, Fuuma-san," the man said, nodding in turn to the respective shinobi when he mentioned their names. "I am Nakajima Takahiro, the proprietor of this estate"
Once they were finished exchanging similar greetings and introductions, Neji got straight down to business and asked Nakajima to explain the situation.
His reply was immediate.
"You see, everything before you now isn't really mine." Nakajima waved his hand, gesturing vaguely at the entire room. "It belongs, or rather belonged, to my friend who died a few weeks ago and entrusted the care of his affairs to me."
A mild look of concern crept across his features. "However, when the doctors examined his body, they found that he had died of unnatural causes."
"Poison," the sole Jounin in the room said bluntly. It wasn't a question, but a stark statement. Nakajima nodded grimly.
"I don't understand," Tenten said, her murmur of confusion causing everyone to shift their attention to her. "If your friend was the one who was murdered, why do you need us to guard you?"
She regretted her question the minute it left her mouth, fully expecting Nakajima-san to be offended. On the contrary, the man she had thought to be her client gave a brief laugh of amusement.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken, Tenten-san," he answered lightly. "I'm not the one who requires your protection."
"Then-"
The young man standing in the doorway could not have made a timelier entrance. Regardless of the elaborate clothing, the erudite countenance behind his spectacles was unmistakable. Tenten's jaw dropped and even Neji's eyes widened imperceptibly.
"Soichiro-san?"
Author's Note:
I'm finally back (grins). This sort of filler-ish chapter to begin the new arc so I thought I'd try to inject some humor into it. Not sure if I was all that successful though. The only things I've written for the last couple of weeks are mathematical calculations and utter crap about the Merchant of Venice so my sense of humor as well as creative writing skills have been MIA for a long long time. It took even longer for me to regain my creative spirit so the lateness of this chapter is mostly my exam's and my fault. The only person you can really thank is my beta-reader, Midnight Memories, for beta-ing this so quickly- aka within hours of me sending it to her. :)
My exam results were okay, I guess. I failed the stuff I expected to fail (Chinese)and passed the stuff I expected to pass (Everything else) so I'm pretty much contented. The only thing I was quite annoyed with was that all the marks I lost in the Geog paper were from the MCQ questions. Because I stupidly shaded the wrong bubble. Meh.
Don't really have much to say at the moment so here's a quote from my chinese teacher. No, I wasn't actually paying attention to the lesson, and yes, I only understood it when my friend (who's chinese is better than mine, not that it takes a lot to be better than me)translated it into english for me.
Quote of the Day:
Life is like a vaccumn cleaner.
It sucks.