Disclaimer: All hail the great Kishimoto-sensei for creating the series. Now I shall go fan-girl over Neji.
The rain had been little more than a light drizzle when she'd first entered into the room. Now, she could heard the pounding of a storm outside, its tempo washing over the entire estate.
For the last few minutes she had been sitting on her cushion; legs tucked carefully into the traditional seiza style and lightly embroidered ivory silk spread out over the tatami floor around her.
She didn't mind the wait; in fact she was thankful for it. It gave her time to compose herself, but she could only conceal the heart ache, not lessen it.
Rin glanced down sadly at her reflection on the polished surface of the table in front of her.
From the day she was born she had been carefully groomed to become the perfect lady. To present herself like a pretty porcelain doll as and when she was to be displayed. To become some rich man's consort and throw strategic parties in support of her husband's climb on the ladder of success and status. To provide him an heir who could continue his family name.
It wasn't her place to do anything else and she could only accept that simple fact even if she didn't want to.
The door slid open and an ornately dressed, middle-aged man strode deliberately into the room. His air of cold authority always made her uneasy and unsure of herself, not that she was usually a confident person to begin with.
A beautiful, seemingly much younger woman trailed behind him. Looking at her was like a glimpse of how her daughter would look when she was older. Everything about her was so sweet and kind that she more than made up for the love her husband could never give their child.
Rin rose to her feet with practiced grace and bowed respectfully.
"Otou-sama. Okaa-sama."
Her mother smiled softly while her father didn't acknowledge her greeting. She waited for her parents to sit down before slowly lowering herself back into her seat.
"Have you been doing well?" he enquired gruffly.
Rin took some time to study the face of a man who should have been familiar to her, but wasn't. Her father had always been so busy running his businesses that she had never spent much time with him. The deep lines of stress around his eyes made him seem older and wiser than his forty-something years.
She couldn't help but feel even more intimidated, if that was possible.
"Everyone here has been very kind to me; Soichiro-sama and Hiroshi-san especially. I am very grateful for all their help," she struggled to keep her voice even.
"Fujimura-san is a good man." Thin lips flattened into a grim line. "I trust that this engagement will not fall through again." There was a slight yet unmistakeable emphasis on the last word as the business tycoon's smouldering onyx eyes bore into his daughter's exotic turquoise.
He did not see the pain and resignation that drifted across her features for the briefest of moments before she bowed her head in silent apology, her voice a barely audible whisper.
"Hai, Otou-sama."
"I received word that Kazuya Fuuma will be attending the wedding."
Rin winced slightly at her father's thinly veiled irritation when he mentioned the young shinobi heir's name.
"He arrived three days ago," she replied.
"I will meet with him after I see Fujimura-san," he stated, his tone deceptively calm but the hint of condescension was apparent even to Rin.
Her father may have begrudged Kazuya's choice but she didn't. She couldn't blame him for wanting to be with the one he loved.
If only she had been given the chance to make the same choice.
The other wishfully impossible and oh so selfish alternative being that the one he loved had been her.
Her mother didn't miss the way her only child shifted uncomfortably. She placed a hand lightly on her husbands arm, waiting for his curt nod of permission before standing up.
"Rin-chan, I'm going to oversee the preparations for the ceremony. Would you like to come?" she asked kindly.
"Go with your mother," her father ordered before she could say anything.
With a soft 'hai', Rin obediently followed her mother as she made her way of the room.
The way her little girl relaxed visibly once they were outside failed to escape her watchful gaze. Once they had rounded the hallway onto another corridor, she heard her daughter speak.
Okaa-sama, I don't feel very well."
"Oh dear," she murmured with genuine worry. "Would you like me to send for someone to take you back to your room?"
Rin shook her head.
"Very well then. Try to get some rest. I'll come check on you later." Her voice was gentle and soothing.
"Hai. Arigato, Okaa-sama."
The Sakurai matriarch's sad smile only grew more melancholy as she watched her daughter go.
While most had long since forgone the idea, the more traditional families still insisted on arranging potentially advantageous marriages for their children amongst those of similar or higher status.
Especially those with no male heirs.
She herself may have married a man she didn't love for the sake of her family's wishes, but it was a thankless fate no mother would ever wish on her daughter.
However, her position meant that she could never oppose her husband on anything. She could only hope that her Rin would be able to find a some semblance of happiness.
It was the most either of them could hope for.
Neji was awoken by faint tapping sound that was slightly different from the familiar drumming of rain on the roof. He had drifted off some time around dawn, one hand propped on the small bedside table while the other loosely held his teammate's.
He glanced briefly at the bed beside him and wasn't sure whether or not to be surprised when he realized that Tenten was still fast asleep. A little more colour had returned to her cheeks and she didn't notice when he removed his hand before quietly making his way towards the door and opening it.
"Sakurai-san," the Hyuuga greeted as he stepped out of the room, sliding the shoji screen shut.
"Can I see Tenten-san?" she asked, the odd note in her voice did not escape his notice.
"She's still asleep." he replied curtly.
Turquoise eyes seemed to grow even more troubled; then their expression shifted to one that Neji could only describe as resigned before she slowly lowered her gaze.
"Hyuuga-san, can I ask you something?" the young heiress' request was so soft it was nearly a whisper.
Although he wasn't exactly sure what was going on, Neji simply maintained a sympathetic silence as he waited for her to continue.
"H-Have you ever been in love?" Her voice was nearly drowned out by the rain, but he had heard her question quite clearly.
"No," came the immediate and obvious response.
"Oh." The sadness in that single syllable and the melancholy look on her face caused his brow to crease slightly with something he really didn't want to think about.
Uncharacteristic as it may have sounded, he couldn't simply allow her to leave without providing her some form of assistance, but at this point he was truly at a loss for words.
The silence was filled in by the pitter patter of water droplets on the wooden flooring of the hallway as Neji considered her question once more. This time, it conjured an unexpected wisp of memory; one of glinting kunai, twin buns, dancing smoke dragons and smiling brown eyes that felt like a lifetime ago.
Watching her with pale eyes that were fractionally warmer than normal, Neji spoke. "Being indecisive will end up hurting yourself and others. If you're honest with yourself about how you feel, then you won't regret your decision."
Neji was quite taken aback when the girl before him looked up. The smile on her lips was small and tremulous, but the look in her eyes left him no doubt that he had said the right thing.
"Arigato, Hyuuga-san!" she exclaimed brightly, turning around and quickly heading in the direction of the main estate.
A few seconds later, she stopped abruptly and came back, bowing hastily to the mildly nonplussed Hyuuga before running off again.
With the barest hint of an amused smile, Neji pulled open the traditional wooden door and went back into the room.
When she opened her eyes, Tenten was greeted by the gentle lull of raindrops and voices coming from somewhere outside her room. At first there were no words, just faint feminine murmurings.
Then someone else began to speak and this time, the rich baritone was easily recognizable. His voice seemed to be tinged with a hint of hesitation, becoming surer as it resumed its normal tone.
It wasn't until he finished that what he was trying to say registered in her still slightly drowsy mind and she found herself extremely amused by her poor teammate's current predicament.
Fortunately for him, whoever he was attempting to give advice to had understood, exclaiming her thanks before hurrying away.
Not long after, the door slid open and Tenten simply couldn't resist teasing her overly serious superior.
"I never knew you could be that romantic."
She had to bite her lip to keep herself from giggling out loud at the incomprehension that flickered across the stoic male's face. It wasn't long before the unreadable line returned to his lips and he regained his usual carefully blanked expression.
"Sakurai-san was looking for you." he said flatly as he closed the door, not seeing that unmistakeable glint of mischief in her chocolate irises.
"I know."
The Hyuuga's attention was immediately fixed back upon her.
"You could have said something." Narrowed colourless eyes gave her a look that was more of a glare than anything else, but Tenten was far from intimidated.
"I didn't want to interrupt your speech. Besides, you seemed to be doing a pretty good job on your own," she teased lightly.
"Hn." The way he bit the word off imparted that that particular discussion was over. He strode purposefully across the room and settled himself on a stool beside her bed that definitely hadn't been there before.
"How are you feeling?" Neji asked smoothly.
"Not too bad." Apart from the light throbbing in her shoulder, she was otherwise quite well physically. "Is everyone else alright?"
"They're fine," he assured her.
Tenten sighed quietly in relief. She could only recall bits and pieces of everything that had happened last night, but as long as everyone was safe...
"You saved me again, didn't you?" It was just a guess on her part since she vaguely remembered seeing him before she had blacked out, and she wasn't all that surprised when he nodded once in reply.
"You seem to be doing that a lot lately," she mused with a small smile that quickly became sheepish when her stomach gave an audible growl.
Neji acted as if he hadn't seen the mild blush colouring her cheeks.
"I'll send for some food." He stood up and headed towards the door.
"Neji," she called out and the shinobi in question turned to face her.
"Thank you."
Tenten had assumed that he wouldn't say anything because she didn't think there really was anything more to say. After staring down at her silently for a long moment, the impassive Hyuuga answered her thanks in a way that was so Neji that she should have expected it.
"Aa," he said almost gently and Tenten watched the door close slowly behind him with a smile.
Author's Note:
Rather short I know, but it's something a little more light-hearted after all the emo-ness of the last chapter, lol. Okay, the first bit about Rin wasn't really all that light-hearted, but the rest of it is. Kind of.
It feels great to write actual fluff again after all the not-so-fluffable scenes and some implied fluff every now and then in the last couple of chapters. There will be more coming up in the next chapter so keep your toothbrushes handy in case you get a toothache from all the sugary goodnesss :P
This chapter was beta read by my beyond awesome sensei, Midnight Memories. Congrats to her on her excellent results :D
The next chapter will be the second last one of this arc. I'm about sixty percent done with it, but my exams are coming up and will only be ending in about three weeks, 2nd March to be exact so I won't be able to finish it and send it off for beta-ing until then T_T
I'm really really sorry that you guys will have to wait. I'll try my best to finish it asap after everything is over. Sighs.
Wish me luck.