Disclaimer:I do not own Naruto or any of its respective characters. This fanfiction is for entertainment purposes only. (Mostly my amusement.) However, if I DID own Naruto, it would be called "Neji and Hinata: Byakugan Babies Galore!" That has a nice ring to it...
Author's Note:So, its been a while huh? Well, I could sit here and make excuses all day long, but that won't make anybody happy, so I'll let the work speak for itself. Yes, I thought this would be the last chapter, but that was what, a year ago when I said that? Well, suffice it to say, I've had a few more plot ideas pop up between then and now. So, basically you'll get a couple more chapters than I originally planned. Please enjoy, and thank you so much for reading!
PS. I love reviews!
Possession - Chapter Twenty
The Hyuuga stood, staring at one another as they lined themselves along the the garden's edge. Hyuuga-sama's prisoners were led through the wide aisle toward the training field, where their punishment would ensue. There was a brooding sense of unease within the Clan. Rumors had surfaced concerning Hinata-sama's long-standing refusal to use the Caged Bird Seal. Many of the Main House believed such refusal to be a weakness and a hinderance to the Clan, while as one might expect, the Branch House held a severely different point of veiw.
Those watching cast their pale condemnation upon the dejected old man, his severed fingers wrapped tightly in gauze. The grimace stretching his features now was all too uncommon on his normally placid face. After him came all the others, captured as per the Lady's orders.
"Hyuuga-sama will arrive after her conference with the Hokage," the question floating unspoken in the morning air was finally answered by one recognized as the Lady's attendant. "We realize that this is an inconvenience to our honorable relatives," she offered a slight bow to a group of Main House men. "However, as our Leader is an active Konoha shinobi, she must follow the proper protocols."
"What does that have to do with this situation? We have our own affairs to attend to," one man balked. "She's wasted enough time already, hiding in the Leader's suite!" He threw his arms in the air. "Are we just expected to wait here until she returns?"
"Hai," the girl answered.
"This is outrageous!" He bellowed, as his peers concurred.
"It is the will of the Lady," she smiled as pleasingly as any Hyuuga lady would. "And it will be unquestionably obeyed."
Hyuuga Neji followed passively behind his Leader at the correct two paces, while the Lady's Branch gaurds flanked them in two rows on either side. They were unarmed, and he did not understand why Hinata-sama had insisted that they come along. It was only a meeting with the Hokage.
He frowned. That wasn't quite right, was it? This was not going to be just another meeting. He would either be acknowledged as the Hyuuga Branch leader... or Tsunade would have him arrested, tried and convicted before the day was through. Much of the outcome depended on Hinata-sama. What would she do? What would she say? He was counting on her support, however...
Flashback
The Hyuuga prodigy slowed his pace as he came upon the room that was the Leader's suite. Hinata-sama was inside. It was her room now. He could hear no sound behind the heavy wooden door, and the Branch servant standing in front of it looked pale as death.
"Woman," he acknowledged the waif.
"Hai, Hyuuga-san?" She answered, head down.
"Is the Lady inside?" He was worried. Her father had just been murdered, and the Hyuuga had insisted that she sleep in the room that was his only hours ago. Could she deal with that, or was she sobbing now, or doubled over the toilet? "Is she alright?" He asked before his mind could retract the words.
The woman, looking uncomfortable, only nodded.
"Step aside," he ordered.
"Impossible," she shook her head, grimacing.
"I am your Branch leader," he once again invoked the title he hadn't wanted to begin with. "Step aside."
"Impossible," the woman repeated, wringing her hands together to conceal their terrible shaking. Perhaps if he intimidated her a little more...
Neji leaned in close to her face, glaring with sharpened fury against her blunt obstinance. She flinched, turning her head and gritting her teeth. He could feel the fear rising in her as she swayed back a bit. She pressed her palms onto the door to stop herself, then her eyes flew open.
The Branch servant snached her hands away from the wood. "You may not disturb Lady Hyuuga!" Then, she took a breath and stood her ground. "The room down the hall is yours by right! Now be gone!" She pointed toward a door than had been locked for many, many years.
Hiashi-sama and his own mother had been the last to step over that threshold since his father's death, and Neji imagined the room to be a dust-laden mess, neglected by Hiashi-sama's order. He felt a swell of contempt toward the Clan then. In the midst of this turmoil, only the Hyuuga could demand they sleep with the ghosts of their dead fathers.
"Audacious woman!" He leered down at her with all the frustration of the last three days. Giving a forceful snort in her direction, he hissed: "Step aside."
At last, she shifted her body away from the door, but not for fear of him. She still wore the same obstinate frown and indignant creasing of her brow. Her eyes darted back toward the doorknob, and a smirk formed on her thin lips.
"Don't say I didn't warn you, Hyuuga-san," she shrugged.
"Hn," Neji dismissed the woman's comment, grasping the knob...
End Flashback
"You're lagging behind, Hyuuga-san," the chief guard elbowed Neji in the shoulder. "Hyuuga-sama has important business. We can not afford to be late."
"I know that," Neji sneered, picking up his pace. He knew better than anybody how important this meeting was. Life or death... Imprisonment or freedom... Soon, he came upon Hinata's side. "Excuse me, Hyuuga-sama," he whispered.
"Speak, Branch House."
He cringed at the barb she'd thrown him, but continuted with his question. "Is it nessesary to have these men following us?"
"Yes," she answered. Then, her pristine gaze fell upon him, harsh, yet withholding their most cruel judgement. "And when the time comes, you'll know why."
"So, let me get this straight, Hatake..." Tsunade hunched over her desk, hands drawn together into that familiar, contemplative pose. "You think Hyuuga Hinata is in need of special training?" Her eyebrow quirked while she stared the Copy-Ninja down. "In light of everything she's been through, you want me to authorize that?" Her eyes narrowed viciously at the elite shinobi. "Why?" She demanded. "And why you?" The frown on her face was matched equally by those of Kurenai and Shizune, who stood at his sides.
"Well, Hokage-sama," Kakashi began. "To be frank, this is the only way to save her from ruin."
Shizune and Kurenai were visibly uncomfortable, and the Hokage could only grit her teeth as she considered Hyuuga Hinata for the training suggested. "Go on..." She said.
"She'll be a poor kunoichi if she doesn't take control. Sex is an integral part of her profession, and she'll be worth nothing to Konoha if she isn't guided toward the correct attitude." Then, he cleared his throat. "She also needs a way to channel her anger... and someone who can take the abuse, so to speak."
"Kakashi!" Kurenai shrieked beside him. "You've gone too far!"
"Have I?" He met Tsunade's stare, then pointedly glanced at the medical chart laying face down, under her folded hands.
Tsunade's face pulled taut as her palms covered the chart. Did he know? How could he? She watched him closely, as he was forced to wallow in her fellow kunoichi's ire. Perhaps it was pure suspicion. Given the circumstances it would be prudent to consider all possibilities. But to think that he'd simply made an assumption... She sighed. How long had it been since she'd first read the results? Those strange, unlikely results...
"What does that have to do with you, Hatake?" Tsunade directed her bitterness toward the masked shinobi.
"Simple," he answered. "Of all the jounin rank shinobi eligible for this assignment, I'm the only suitable choice." He paused, giving Tsunade a chance to voice her considerable opinion, yet she remained silent. "I am literally the only man she trusts. And as you well know, trust is the only prerequisite bond."
"Don't you think you're asking a bit much?" Tsunade questioned. Really, had he thought about this at all?
"If the Clan gets their hooks in her..." Kakashi warned.
"She's their Leader! She can't be any more hooked if she tried!" Kurenai shrieked.
"You know what I mean," he answered back. "They will demand her resignation." Kakashi faced the Hokage. "Then, they'll demand an heir."
"And you're just going to save her from all of that how?" Demanded Shizune.
The Copy-Ninja shrugged.
"You're going to burn in hell, Kakashi..." the Hokage's assisstant seethed.
"Oh, Shizune," his eye creased in amusement. "You're making me blush."
"Lecher!" Kurenai shrieked again, while Shizune looked on the verge of homicide. "You're as bad as Jiraiya-sama!"
"He learned it from Jiraiya-sama!" Roared the Hokage's assistant.
"Knock it off, you three!" Tsunade interjected. "Usually, this type of training would be assigned a chuunin aged seventeen years, though that hasn't always been the case."
"I'm glad you mentioned that, Hokage-sama, because I have another suggestion," Kakashi added.
"You're just full of ideas today, aren't you," Shizune hissed.
"This is a good one, as I'm sure you'll agree," he said, smiling through his mask. "Hyuuga Hinata should be promoted. I saw her. Her skill level is beyond that of a genin."
"That may be," Tsunade spat, "but there are certain ways these things are done. I can't just promote her outside of the Chuunin Exam."
"Then, we have a problem," he said, gravely. "Because I doubt the dissidents in the Hyuuga Clan will let slide that their Leader is a mere genin for long."
The Godaime pondered that a moment. There were surely those in the Hyuuga Clan who had aided in the coup, but hadn't yet been caught. They would do all they could to obstruct Hinata, using every weapon at their disposal. Unfortunately for Hinata, her rank would indeed draw unnecessary criticism.
"Well, Shizune?" Tsunade addressed her assistant. "What's your assesment of Hyuuga Hinata's skill?"
"Oh, well, I..." The dark haired jounin hesitated. "I was in the cellar conducting the autopsy throughout most of it, so I never saw what Hinata is supposedly capable of."
"Alright, then. Give me an assesment of her leadership style," Tsunade pressed further.
Shizune frowned. "Tsunade-sama..."
The sanin could tell her assistant thought highly of the young Hyuuga, but didn't want to further complicate the girl's life with words of praise, at a time when those words would only bring more responsibility. However...
"Answer my question."
The younger medical ninja relented, hunching her shoulders slightly. "From what I saw... which wasn't much mind you," she insisted, glaring at Kakashi. "But, from what I saw... she was very effective." The medical-ninja began to rub her arm, as though easing some invisible pain. "She seemed to captivate the Hyuuga, and instill in them the will to fight."
Tsunade couldn't help but notice the triumphant smirk pressing against the Copy-Ninja's mask. Shizune also noticed, but was able to supress her rage, even if her expression told it differently.
''And she was more than a little remeniscient of past Leaders in her approach to Hyuuga Law," she quickly added through bared teeth.
"So, you're saying she's on the conservative side?" Tsunade asked, and Shizune nodded. Good. "Not surprising," the sanin snickered. "She is Hiashi's daughter."
There was silence then, as they remembered the deceased Hyuuga Leader. Hiashi had always been a thorn in her side. Yes. A thorn in her side, but absolutley loyal to Konoha.
"And you, Kurenai?" The Godaime adressed Hinata's own jounin sensei, the woman Hiashi himself had entrusted his daughter to so long ago. "You know her better than all of us." As expected, the swell of pride Tsunade saw in the genjutsu specialist's scarlet eyes was the most telling.
"She's young, but she's ready," Kurenai confirmed. "In many cases she tried to hide her progress from me, but I've been watching her carefully; over the last two months especially. Few people realize the extent of her progress, but I for one have taught her some very advanced techniques. And its also likely she's learned a few tricks on her own."
The Godaime leaned back in her chair. "We have a little while still before Hinata gets here." She closed her eyes. "Shizune, are the village elders still in the waiting room?"
"Um... hai, Tsunade-sama."
The buxom kunoichi let out a most irritated sigh, brown eyes sliding open. "I wasn't going to see them until all the loose ends had been tied, but now it seems I need their approval."
"Excuse me, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, "but you never addressed my original request."
"Hadn't I?" She answered in the same cryptic language he was so fond of. "Well, if you need it spelled out for you..." She sat back up in the chair, reached into a side drawer to retrieve a small, unmarked black folder, and a slip of paper. She took her time writing the note, enjoying how visibly tense she was making the Copy-Ninja, when Shizune made a move to speak.
"I agree with Kakashi," the older woman dismissed the protest before it was even verbalized. "Stop thinking like a woman, and more like a kunoichi," she scolded, eyes never leaving the paper. When she'd completed the note, she slipped it inside the unmarked black folder. "Deliver this to Anko when your business here is done. She'll get you started with everything you're going to need for this assignment."
Kakashi took the folder, sliding it into his pocket. "Hai, Hokage-sama," he answered.
"You know," Tsunade began. "You're the only ninja I've ever known to volunteer for special kunoichi training." She chuckled, while he squirmed a bit more noticably. "Now..." She straightened her spine and smoothed her hair. "Kakashi, Kurenai... stand back there," she waved behind her desk, and her subordinates obeyed. "You'll both be assisting me in this promotion bid." Neither ninja seemed very happy about it, but they were crazy if they thought she was going to face the elders alone. "Alright, Shizune. Send in that hag, and the old geezer."
Carefuly, he watched the brief exchange between Hyuuga-sama and his Branch leader. Neji was tense, apprehensive, and even seemed a little scared. The cheif was at a loss as to what would cause such a state in the Hyuuga prodigy, so he continued to watch, and learn the subtleties of their fluctuating relationship.
"The Branch leader must learn to relax," Hinata said, gaining the attention of all present. They were entering into the village proper now, and the citizens went about their business, scarcely noticing the train of Hyuuga passing through the middle of the street.
"Hn," was the reply given by the Branch leader. His stride, the cheif noticed, was a bit more assured as well.
Could that have been an apology for calling him Branch House earlier? He supressed a chuckle. Probably.
"All of us together must plan for the future that awaits the Hyuuga Clan." The Lady paused then, taking a moment to wring her hands together in contemplation. "There will be turmoil for years to come after this, I suspect." She stopped and turned as Neji and the gaurds approached her. "Neji..." Her hand reached toward him. The Branch leader halted in front of her outstrectched hand, unsure of how he should proceed. Finally, reluctantly, he covered hers with his own, and the Lady smiled.
"My Lady," he whispered. "I-I don't deserve this kindness..."
"Please," she answered with a scarlet blush. "Please, call me Hinata-sama. It has been too long since I've heard sincerety in your voice. It would be a shame to have it wasted on titles which mean little to our friendship."
The Branch leader surpressed the liquid gratitude threatening to pour from his eyes, and they walked side by side from that point forward. As the chief continued to watch them, he thought back to that very morning, when Lady Hyuuga had pulled her gaurds together for the first formal meeting in what was now her office...
Flashback
Hyuuga Hinata sat behind the large desk, looking tired and plain, even in the brightly patterned kimono. Her face was bare, unpainted and worn from a night of little rest. Her Branch gaurds bowed before her as she shuffled through the papers covering her workspace. When she spoke, there were no allusions, no flowery words or half-truths.
"You will accompany myself and your Branch leader to Hokage-sama's office in very short while. Pay no regard to what you hear there, no matter how disgusted you may feel. Discard your miniscule emotions, and think only of your higher duty." She bore into the milk-white eyes of each man, as she delivered her orders. "Protect the Branch leader at all costs. All costs," she repeated. "If that means you must leave the safety of the village, protect the Branch leader. If that means you must fight Hokage-sama's ANBU... protect the Branch leader. Hyuuga Neji must live, or I shall surely die."
The Lady then went back to her work, sifting through the loose pages and stacks of books and folders, her dismissal evident in the stern and heavy silence.
End Flashback
The chief did not know what Neji had done to incur the Godaime's wrath. However, he had his orders, and they came from Hyuuga-sama. His men had said their goodbyes to their families that morning, and as they marched forward they were mindful that Hyuuga Hinata's life, as well as Hyuuga Neji's hung in the balance.
Hyuuga Hanabi stood between the dojo doors, watching as the restlessness grew among her subjects. "Hataro," she whispered, and the youth was immediately at her side. "Neechan hasn't been gone that long, and it's already getting nasty out there." Hataro peered around her to look for himself, and what he saw was nothing short of catastrophy bordering on open revolt.
"Hanabi-hime," he said. "You will have to control this situation."
The Hyuuga princess looked at him, awestruck. "You're not serious..."
"I'm always serious Hanabi-hime," he answered. Which was true. Hataro never said anything he didn't mean.
"But how am I supposed to do that?" She shut the dojo doors, nearly snapping Hataro's head off in the process.
"A great many of the men out there were in support of you becoming Leader." Hanabi turned on him, eyes blazing in fury. "Don't get pissed at me, Hanabi-hime! I support you always, insomuch as you desire my support. But we already have a Leader," he waved his hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Then what exactly do you mean by that?" She demanded.
"What the Clan needs right now is someone of proper authority to tell them what to do. The Lady's attendants have tried their best but... well... you're really good at bossing people around, Hanabi-hime."
"But I can't. I just... I haven't gotten permission..."
"Don't get insecure now, hime." Hataro thrust the doors back open. "Until an heir has been born, you are still next in line." She swallowed as the eyes of the Hyuuga fell upon her. "I am with you, now and always. Be strong, and they will be with you as well."
"It isn't right," her voice dropped low. "They should be with neechan, not me."
The young ninja turned to her, bowing low and dramatically for all to see. "Then, you must not let your authority be mistaken for a lack of support for your sister." When he rose, he had a stern look of resolve, and Hanabi couldn't help but feel that resolve seeping into her bones. "Show them their place, and put them in it."
Hinata, Neji and her Branch gaurds sat quietly in the waiting area outside Tsunade's office. The Hyuuga prodigy became aware of the shift in Hinata-sama's mood immediately. She'd been so forgiving on the walk here, but now she'd reverted back to the cold, hard Leader. She sat there, staring blankly forward at the Godaime's office door. She didn't blink, didn't speak, didn't move. The Branch gaurds were calm, almost meditative, while he himself was on the verge of panic. He swore he could feel the eyes of the ANBU through their animal masks, waiting with feral intent. Perhaps it was his imagination. Perhaps Tsunade had already informed them of his crime.
"Branch leader," Hinata called.
"Hai, Hyuuga-sama?" Titles were of course in use again.
"When we are finished here, please remind me to visit Hyuuga Hisoshou in the hospital. I hear he is still unconscious, but I have not yet gone to thank him for his efforts in saving Hanabi-chan. Also, we must remember to have Hanabi-chan moved into a room more befitting her station."
"Hai. As you wish, Hyuuga-sama." She must be truly upset, to try to push away thoughts of the immediate problem, in favor of more mundane issues. He sighed. How he wished he could also push away thoughts of his demise.
Flashback
Jerking away from the door knob, Neji bit down on his tongue to keep from crying out in horror. Hinata-sama had created that? It was genjutsu... Then, his attention was drawn to his hands as they began to shake. He squeezed them into fists, then looked down at the woman, whose face was shrouded in grim knowledge. Had Hinata-sama made her choice then?
"Please, Hyuuga-san, do as the Lady bids you. Settle into your room. Take comfort in her presence through closed doors, as the rest of the Hyuuga must."
Neji did not answer or nod, but continued down the hall. At the door to the room that had been his father's, he hesitated. No one had stepped foot in there since Hizashi had been laid to rest. But he could not stand out in the hall forever, so he turned the knob, finding it had already been unlocked for him, and stepped inside.
The room was sparsely furnished. There was a futon much like his own, a dresser, a desk with a rolling chair, and a small table with two stools pushed under it. He also noticed a clock, and a bulletin board nailed to the wall above the futon. On it he found polariods of himself as a child, as well as his mother, uncle and the previous Lady Hyuuga, and Hinata and Hanabi. There were others he recognized and others he didn't. These were Hizashi's important people; those who's faces he saw each night before sleeping.
Neji closed the door behind him, walking toward the dresser. Upon it were some of his father's ninja tools. Kunai, and shuriken lined neatly in rows. A coil of wire and a stack of unprinted paper bombs. But what he noticed more than anything else, was that there was not a single spec of dust anywhere. If the room had not been entered into in the many years following his father's sacrifice, then that could not be possible.
Anger flooded him. They had lied to him. Hiashi-sama, his mother... everyone!
Neji was about to storm back into the hall, about to sweep up every unsuspecting Hyuuga in his rage... then he heard an unmistakable sound. Hinata-sama's sniffling and muffled sobs. Instantly he was at the shoji screen dividing her suite from his. Unlike the previous suite of rooms they shared, there was no lock or door to separate them. Which meant of course, that he could not knock to alert her of his presence. He would have to speak or enter, and doubted his Lady cared for either option.
"Hinata-sama?" No answer. "Hinata-sama? Please, may I come in?"
"Go away!" He heard her shout through the screen. The light was on in her room, and he could see her sillouhette rising and falling in grief, upon a mound which could only be her father's massive bed.
He couldn't leave her like this... he just couldn't. If she wanted to punish him for disobeying her, then so be it. But it would have to wait until she were in a more stable frame of mind. For now, his duty called...
End Flashback
"Tsunade-sama will see you now," the Hokage's assistant was now standing in front of the opened office doors. Hinata rose from her seat, and her Branch gaurds followed suit. Neji was the last to stand, the last to make a move forward, and the last to enter with Shizune hot on his heels.
The Hokage sat at her desk, while Kurenai, Kakashi and Maito Gai stood watch in various places around the office. Shizune took her own place beside Tsunade.
"First, let me welcome the new Leader of the Hyuuga Clan. Hyuuga Hinata, I am very pleased to see you looking well." Tsunade laced her fingers together. "Now, lets cut to the chase. The prisoner will be taken into custody-"
"I have brought you no prisoner," the Lady snapped. "I have brought only my Branch leader to give his full report of events from the last three and a half days."
Tsunade chuckled. "Though I admire your tenacity, this charade has gone on long enough, and there is little he could say to change my mind."
"Little, yes. But there must be something." She paused. "The truth perhaps." Hinata glared at Neji. The prodigy did not know what to say, so he simply followed his Lady's advice and told the truth.
"Approximately three and a half days ago, I was saw Hinata-sama becoming... intimate... with another person." He swallowed a hard lump. "I-I lost my mind... and I forgot my place..." He added.
"Be more specific," Tsunade warned.
"I-I... It was the first time I..." He felt Hinata grap his shaking hand, and was comforted for the briefest moment. "You all know what I've done, so why must I repeat it now?"
"For all ears to hear," Kakashi answered, gesturing his head toward the Hyuuga Branch guards. "Will they accept you as Branch leader once they've learned of your crime? I wonder..."
Would they? It was a very good question. Would they indeed...
Neji saw a deep crease form on the brow of his jounin sensei, and gasped at the ire rising in the room. He tried to look away, to find any space not occupied by hatred for him, but was only caught in the gaze of the other jounin surrounding them. Hinata squeezed his hand, and he was brought back again by her strength. If she could stand here, before the Hokage and all the others, then surely he could too.
He felt the eyes of the guards boring into his back, but he dared not turn toward them. Not now, when he could feel Hinata's tension. Normally, he would think her nerves had gotten the better of her, but all he felt in her now was a change in stance. He could also feel the gaurds inching closer, the six of them also tense, like coiled springs.
Tell the truth. The whole truth. Now or never.
"Within the course of the last three and a half days... I raped Hinata-sama... twice..."
End Chaper Twenty
(Cliff hanger much?)