A raven haired boy with fiery red eyes laughed as two girls chased him throughout the large house. He ran down the hallway and out into the backyard. In the time it took to blink he was half way up a nearby tree, then before someone would have enough time to blink he was four trees away from the first one. He smirked as he glanced back at the house, unsuspecting of the shadow that seemed to expand then elevate itself off the side of the tree, taking on the shape of a girl who was roughly head and shoulder below him in height. Then the features began to emerge, revealing waist length raven black hair, pale complexion and dark brown, almost black eyes. She had a button nose, and a heart shaped face, but her eyes seemed almost as cold as ice, and void as the emptiness of a shadow.
She pushed him off the tree branch with one move, he laughed boisterously as he gained his footing, gathering energy under his feet to stand in mid air. He smirked at her while commenting, "silent as a shadow, Suzume."
"That's the point, Tetsuya," she retorted, maintaining eye contact with him while a shadow wrapped itself around one of his ankles and yanked on him. He lost his footing and began his descent down towards the ground. He was quick to open a single palm to the rapidly approaching ground, "Bakudo 37, Tsuriboshi!"
A net of blue fabric appeared in a star shape which easily caught him. But they weren't done yet, as soon as he was back on his feet within the kido spell, he was acutely aware of someone behind him. The second he turned around to face them, they were no longer there. 'Suzume? Or is it her?'
He felt a familiar sensation and realized what was coming next. He ducked low avoiding the first strike, then grabbing the wrist of a girl who appeared to be eight years old with chocolate brown hair and featureless white eyes, he smirked as he greeted her, "There you are, Hikari."
'Darn it! No matter how much we train, he can still sense me the second I activate my Byakugan,' she growled internally.
As if he knew what she was thinking his gaze softened. A smug, teasing smile appeared on his lips as he advised her, "Don't feel bad. I had a few years of training with your Dad before you even gained your Byakugan—little cousin."
Hikari scowled as she extended her open palm to him and called out, "Shakkaho!"
Before the blast could leave her palm he was standing behind her. She spun, bringing her leg up and around, he deflected with the side of his hand against her ankle. He could tell she was frustrated with herself likely wondering how was he able to evade her when her father was able to evade opponents who out ranked him.
He smirked as he advised her, "you're strong in practice, but you lack the practical experience."
At this the girl's brow furrowed and the white featureless eyes regained their amber hue as the Byakugan deactivated and she inquired, "What do you mean?"
"I mean you're good for an apprentice, but you're not ready to be a seated officer yet. Don't worry though, you're a Kyoraku and Hyuga. You'll be a ranked officer faster than most others. Not everyone has a ranked position straight out of the academy and there's no shame in that. It means you get more time to practice and hone your strengths," he explained.
"Besides you think Grandpa would want his baby granddaughter running off to the front lines right away? Even if you did graduate with a ranked position, you'd still have a ways to go before he'd let you go on off world missions without us," Suzume added.
Tetsuya nodded as he tousled Hikari's long brown hair, and remarked with a big grin, "I'll always look out for my little cousins, you know. It's part of being the oldest."
Hikari growled at being reminded of her age, and thus her status within their family, from behind her came a light hearted chuckle. Turning around she saw him, a man with the same dark brown hair colour as she, which was worn in a loose ponytail, tied low near his lower back. His eyes were closed at first but slowly opened them revealing white featureless circles that held tenderness as he gazed at her. He then added, "Tetsuya does have a point, Hikari. Being the youngest just means you have an older sister and cousin looking out for you. Although biologically he is your cousin, much like my cousins and myself at your ages, you've been raised like siblings. I worry less when I'm on a mission if he's assigned with you, because I know he will do anything within his ability to spot any dangers that you may miss."
He sat down on a nearby boulder and added, "But as you get older and gain experience that concern will lessen. It'll fade a bit, but it'll always be present. That's how things are when you care for someone younger than you. Haven't you spotted that in yourself with Taiyo?"
Hikari blinked a little the tension seemed to leave her body as she conceded, "you're right, Father. When he started crawling I worried about every little thing that could've harmed him."
"I wasn't so worried. I was a bit with you, but I also knew we'd taught Suzume what was safe for you to be around and what wasn't and if she wasn't sure, to ask us. Tetsuya, being the oldest, knew a bit more about keeping you safe than Suz, but that doesn't mean she was any less devoted," he revealed as he gently patted the top of Hikari's head.
She looked up at the man before beaming at him with a radiant smile that he knew she had inherited from her mother. "So what did Sui-Feng want to talk with you about Uncle Neji?"
There was a slight hint of disappointment to his voice as the boy who appeared to be about thirteen asked, "or is it something you can't tell us about?"
Tetsuya's question drew the former Shinobi's attention away from his eldest biological child. He regarded his nephew by marriage and adopted daughter before announcing, "there's talk of a Lieutenant position becoming available. Captain Sui-Feng wanted to inform me that I've been nominated for the position."
Tetsuya blinked before concluding, "Huh? Wait—is that because Omaeda was hurt in that last defector mission?"
Neji gave a small nod and confessed, "I've never been too fond of that man. He thinks too highly of himself."
"And he's a real snob," Suzume admitted. At this Neji's smile fell and he extended a hand to his eldest daughter. She wordlessly came to him, grasping his hand which he used to pull her into a bear hug. She didn't have to say more, there was no need. Omaeda came from a lesser noble family that was fairly well off earning a good income from their jewelery business, while himself and Suzume were what Omaeda would refer to at times as being 'Rukon trash'.
Yes, he was a former human from a living world. No, he wasn't born into this world as the nobility were. His children would never been Shinketsu, but his wife was Shinketsu, and a powerful one at that. A descendent from the first Captain Commander and raised by her adoptive Father who was the current Captain Commander, she was a far cry from helpless. His nephew, was his wife's biological nephew from her late twin sister, and his father was absent from his life. Neji had known if he was going to be with Chiaki he'd have to be willing to raise a child from the very beginning and love that child like his own. As far as he was concerned their family had come full circle. First Chiaki adopted her nephew as her son, then he adopted Suzume as his daughter. They'd blended their family together and Hikari was the first biological child either of them had, and now they'd completed their family by adding their son, Taiyo. Chiaki was the Grand Kido Chief of the Gotei 13, and he was poised to rise to the rank of second squad Lieutenant.
He couldn't have imagined any of this happening after his life in Konoha, but he was happier than he had ever been while alive. Although, he'd be lying if he tried to claim that he didn't think about Hinata, Hanabi, Naruto, Lee, and Tenten from time to time. He often wondered if they had children of their own. Perhaps one day, he'd have a chance to go back and see them if only for a few minutes.
AN: Shinketsu is roughly translated to "true blood", which means you're not a former human whose soul has travelled into soul society but were in fact born in soul society as a soul. As an example, Yoruichi Shihouin would be a Shinketsu, as would Byakuya Kuchiki.
