Christmas Chaos
Chapter 7 : The Engagement
December 21st - 1:48 PM
"I can't believe they missed the train," Hizashi grumbled, in the plush cushioned armchair of their study, wishing he at least had the company of his girlfriend to get him through the ordeal of Hanabi's engagement party.
"You know who she makes me think of?" Hiashi asked his brother, thoughtfully sipping his tea to calm his nerves before the tempest, and thoroughly ignoring his complaint even though his own boyfriend was with Shizune when they both missed their transportation.
"Who?" Hizashi's eyebrows knitted together.
"Neji and Tenten," His brother looked up from his cup to stare his brother expectantly.
"Oh," His expression grew sly. "Ma and Pa." He smiled. "It's uncanny how their bickering resembles theirs." He grinned.
"Right?" Hiashi mimicked his brother's grin. "Makes me feel nostalgic for younger days."
Hizashi nodded in agreement, having felt that gripping nostalgia himself since he met the two of them sitting in the living room, pretending they dislike pretending to date.
"Always hiding out before a family assembly, aren't you boys?" A voice erupted from the abruptly opened door of the study.
Both men sprung to their feet. "What are you doing here?" They asked in unison, too shocked from the sudden appearance of the old woman to appreciate how their usual synchronicity kicked-in.
It was Hiashi who realized it first. "It's worse than we thought it was."
Hizashi's expression grew as solemn as his brother's.
The older woman approached them, her cane clicking on the pavement. "I think it is time for me to intervene."
December 21st - 2:00 PM
"It feels like prom, doesn't it?" Naruto smiled at Neji.
Neji smirked. "Yeah, it kind of does."
Hyuga guests were already piling up in the manor in a deluge of silky kimonos of all shades of pastel for women and grey for men, as was always customary for the Hyugas. Naruto, who apparently was just as lost with Hyugas customs as Tenten, got to borrow Neji's pale grey Kimono.
After Neji and Tenten came back home, and after Tenten had been thoroughly checked by Naruto and he assessed there was indeed to risk of fractures, she disappeared in Hinata's room when he hadn't seen her since.
Neji could very well imagine the maids had strapped them down to a chair while they worked on their hair and make-up. His uncle had assured him his father found Tenten a kimono.
As guests were filling up the great ballroom down the hall, past the living room and above the kitchens, Neji was eagerly waiting for his dates to descend.
It didn't help that his family kept giving him assessing wary looks and he received veiled comments such as "Still living the celibate life, aren't you, Neji?", "Not settling down?", "My, things sure where different when I was younger. The future Lord of Hyuga, still wifeless and childless at thirty years old."
And those were just the ones he could remember because they came from his favourite aunts.
Respectively, aunt Yui, Yua and Yuri, who, through all the very boring functions of the Hyugas had been a raucous over the years, known for never keeping their mouths shut if they felt something needed to be said. The three old ladies really shared nothing in common if a resemblance in name and in age; they all came from different branches of the family, lived in different cities, continents really, and had different beliefs may they be political or on how the Hyuga Household should be run.
Aunts Yui, Yua and Yuri were the oldest matriarchs of the clan, along with his uncles Hiroto and Haruto, these five represented the elders of the house and their combined voice could even overthrow Hiashi's.
It was no secret these three crows had favourited Neji above all their other nieces and nephews, and even their own children and grandchildren.
"He's so handsome." They would say.
"He's a prodigy in all things." They would admire.
"He's the true embodiment of Hyugas' excellency." They would gush.
And thank God for whatever reason they loved him so, because without their support Hiashi would have never rallied the twenty more voices he had needed to pass the change of age that'd allowed Neji more time to find a wife and sire an heir.
Only now, if Neji were to believe Hiashi's sources and what his uncle had shared with him, even the affection of his favourite aunts was starting to pale in comparison to the arguments Aunt Mei was providing the rest of the family. Mostly that Hiroto and Haruto did not hold in their hearts in as high regards as the female elders did. They always found the boy too soft, like they did all the boys in the family.
"A good war, that's what they need to toughen up." They'd grunt together, reminiscing their old exploits on the battlefield.
And in all fairness, the contempt was very reciprocal on Neji's side, because if his weeks in clerkship told him one thing when he had interned at the veterans clinic, was that war only left bruised those it touched, physically and mentally.
But now, Neji was left standing at the bottom of the stairs of his own manor, almost as fidgety as the blond man next to him, waiting for the arrival of the woman on which his whole salvation rested. And so far, they had not been very successful in their ruse, so Neji could help the rising anxiety in him.
"Wow," Naruto breathed next to him when both his cousin and Tenten started walking down the stairs.
Wow, indeed, Neji would think seeing the heathen he had brought home sliding down the main stairs with effortless grace, in a sway of jade slik, her hair straightened and braided back in the traditional Hyuga style all Hyuga woman who came of age wore at their traditional functions. He could recognize the heirlooms Hinata and Hanabi must have passed to their friend, which made Neji wonder how quickly Hanabi came to accept Tenten.
"You look beautiful," He let out immediately, when she arrived in front of him.
Her eyes widened at his words and chestnut hues warmly looking back at him clouded his vision.
"Thanks," She whispered and Neji had a hard time swallowing.
She looked so demure in this pastel kimono with the Hyuga hairstyle, even though it left him breathless, he couldn't help but already miss her twin-buns and her unknown-fluids stained scrubs in which she'd gloat fiercely after throwing him a string of well-thought insults.
Neji's eyes caught the design of Fire Land's landscapes painted in varying shades of jade and sage.
"That's," He frowned his eyebrows, and Tenten felt suddenly small and wanted nothing more than to run away and take the luxurious clothing item away from her body.
"That's my mother's engagement kimono." He realized looking closer at the pattern he had memorized a thousand times looking at the engagement picture of his parents that was framed on his bedside table, in his Konoha flat.
Tenten bit her lip. "It's your father who brought it to Hinata's room," She replied hastily, fidgeting with her fingers. "Hanabi's old kimonos were too short and I didn't really had what it took to fit Hinata's…" She laughed nervously bring her hands on her chest. "But I can take it off," She added quickly to his dazed stared. "I-"
"No!" He hurried to cut her and when he realized he startled her, he coughed to regain his usual cold-headed calm. "I mean, it looks good on you and I don't mind."
In fact, he felt, oddly, extremely satisfied by seeing her in his mother's old kimono.
"And we don't have time anymore, everyone's here already." He raised his arm and she wrapped her hand around his bicep. "Let's go," He muttered, leading them to the ballroom.
Tenten gulped, when the tall door opened on the couple and the immense room suddenly fell silent and every pearl orbs of the planet turned towards her.
Don't fuck this up, Tenten. She steeled herself, sharing one last glance with Neji and stepped in, her head held high.
December 21st - 3:01 PM
One hour in, Tenten had pretty much everyone there was to meet, still clinging to Neji's arm like a lifeline, she only hoped her clammy hands would not leave a sweat stain on his perfectly tailored ashen kimono. Really, he had no right to look this good in anthracite silk.
As soon as she had entered, whispers had began, making her more self-conscious than she ever was in her life.
"They did her hair the traditional Hyuga way, what does it mean?"
"She's wearing his mother's engagement kimono, look it even has the clan crest on it. This must be serious."
"Those that mean they're engaged?"
"She doesn't have any ring."
"Anyone knew Neji-sama was dating someone?"
Hanabi's engagement party was without a doubt the most intimidating event Tenten had assisted to, and that is saying a lot considering Temari had dragged her in that debutante ball her father had forced upon the sandy blond teenager, and Kankuro, her boyfriend at the time who was her escort was stoned beyond measure and almost tripped them on the red-carpeted stairs in front of all Suna's influential people.
Tenten shuddered at the memory of white silk gloves slipping down her elbows and a gown bigger than her ambitions at the time in which she had to bow down, front on the floor, like a graceful swan.
"You ok?" Neji gave her a worried look for the second time that day and she didn't know what to make of the fireworks in her belly whenever he did, because today she had learned as much as she enjoyed seeing Neji angry, seeing him angry for her was a whole new set of sensations.
She gave him a quick nod, smiling to ease his worry and felt an odd satisfaction at seeing the simple power her curved lips held at erasing the crease between his eyebrows.
"I think your cousins are mad at me," She murmured, tilting her head upwards to whisper in his ear, before looking back at the whispering group of young women that had been sneaking disdain-filled glares in her direction.
Neji followed her glance and frowned when seeing the group of women hush their frenetic whispers and pretend to nothing when his cold assessing gaze fell on them.
Tenten's face split into a wry grin.
"Oh no," She cooed. "Don't tell me I'm in the middle of some incest war of young Hyuga maidens vying for you heart and hand in marriage." Her smile grew more mischievous. "Should I tell them your heart is already set on Hinata-chan?"
He would have bit off that silly smile off hers if they had been alone, but alas, and since they entered, they had been cautiously eyed by the whole family assembled. When Tenten heard their extended family would gather, she had expected maybe thirty or forty of them. But no, obviously the Hyugas had to do everything grand. This was no family reunion, it was more a clan assembly, a convention really.
"They're not my cousins," He merely answered, sipping his wine to calm his irritation at both the woman holding his arm and the other ones whose hidden agenda was hard to ignore. "They're more like daughters and nieces of my great-grandparent's thrice removed cousins."
Tenten groaned softly so only he could hear her. "I think that sentence just gave me a brain fracture."
Neji smirked. "But you're not totally wrong, Tenten." His tone was suddenly so serious, she shivered. "Many of them are still hoping I fail to find someone so the elders assign them as my wife."
"They can do that?" She averted her large eyes back to his.
"Well," He pressed his lips. "I'd sooner abdicate my claim to the title than do that."
"Yet they seem to still be under the impression they have a chance if…" Tenten suddenly stopped in her deduction and he gave her an assessing look, as if trying to decide if she had really understood his underlying strategy behind the willful silence of his true intentions. "You let them believe that it could still happen." She finally breathed out in understanding. "Otherwise alliances would shift."
He smirked. He'll admit it, he was impressed. For the countryside girl she claimed to be, she had more political gusto in her than what it seemed.
"She's witty," came the dry voice of Aunt Yui.
"And pretty." Chirped Aunt Yua.
"A bit too feisty." Aunt Yuri looked warily at the young woman in front of her who she had heard giving the go around to half the family with honeyed words on the whereabouts of her relationship with Neji.
Neji coughed, he should have prepped Tenten for those three crones.
"Tenten, this is-" He started, but she cut him to it.
"Aunt Yui, Aunt Yua and Aunt Yuri." She smiled at them, her caramel eyes gleaming with a strange playfulness. "I have heard so much about you." She said excitedly. "What a pleasure to finally meet you."
Aunt Yua clapped her hands and giggled, until Aunt Yuri gave her a light tap on her calf with her cane, as if telling her to not be so easily charmed.
"Have you?" Aunt Yuri asked, perplexed.
Tenten smiled inwardly, the maids she had questioned had been right. If Aunt Yui was tall, rational and analytic and Aunt Yua was small, cheerful and ditzy; Aunt Yuri was round, calculating and skeptical. This last one led the other two and from what she had quickly studied on Hyugas dynamic, those three were the key to upholding her end of the bargain with Neji.
Tenten nodded, smiling innocently. "Your Neji's favourite aunts." She added her other hand to the one already grabbing his arm, and scooted a bit closer to rest her head on his shoulder.
Now, if he was surprised by the natural way in which she indulged in this affectionate act, Neji did not let it show. He stayed as cold and impassive as he always had. As if holding each other was the only thing they had done in the past months, and not go at each other's throats like two enraged bulldogs.
"He told me so much of what you did for him." She giggled behind her hand and this earned her a slightly surprised glance from him. "Is it true you were the one to give him his first bath, Aunt Yuri?"
"I sure did," The old woman swiftly answered. "Washed all the cream off his wrinkled little body before I gave him back to his dear departed mama." She suddenly seemed so tired, as if the decades she had lived were all coming back and crushing her. "Such a sweet woman. What a shame what happened." She shook her head, giving a merciful look to Neji. "We all miss her very much."
The other two nodded.
Tenten could feel Neji's uneasiness as if they were sonor waves only she could hear.
"Did he misbehave as a child?" Tenten asked eagerly, as a way to divert the subject but also sincerely curious.
"If he misbehaved?" Aunt Yuri smirked. "Child, this requires us to sit down because my old bones are too frail to support me long enough to answer this question."
One hour later, Tenten would have never imagined she would be laughing, tears in her eyes, with three eighty-something years old that were feared through the most uptight family she had ever met and she had been a close friend of the Sand family in Suna for years.
"Neji, I can't believe it," She laughed at his expense. "Cutting all the roses of Aunt Yuri's garden to give it to her as a bouquet?" She wiped a tear away and turned towards said aunt. "And you haven't found a way to disown him then?"
"Oh, child," She said in between two raspy laughs. "I seriously had the thought at the time. But," Her smile grew fond when looking at her grand-nephew. "Who could stay mad at him? And who would be better suited to be the new leader Hyugas need?"
"No one," Aunt Yui shook her head in certainty. "Neji stands out in every possible way." She patted his hand affectionately and he smiled back.
"He's the only one who makes a point of calling us and making sure we're okay and not in need of anything." Aunt Yua added, her voice wrought in emotions which caused Aunt Yuri to roll her eyes. "And he always sends us flowers for our birthday."
"He is strong enough to protect you, too, Tenten." Aunt Yui continued and Tenten nodded, biting off her amusement at how much his aunts seemed to put him on a pedestal and how flustered this made Neji. "He excels in every form of martial arts that has been taught to him since a young age."
"Yet, he stays so sweet and caring," Aunt Yua brought her hands over her heart.
Tenten smiled, still very conscious of the analytical glaze of Aunt Yuri on her.
Aunt Yua was the easiest one to charm.
"Doesn't he look dashing in his kimono?" She had giggled.
And Tenten had answered in the same cheerful tone : "No wonder why his favourite color is grey, it suits him so well!"
"Do you cook, Tenten-chan?" She had asked her.
"I'm not the best cook, but I'm trying to learn to make soba noodles since they are his favourite," She took his hand and smiled at Aunt Yua. "If you have any advice..."
Said aunt had clapped her hands and gasped in delight and Tenten knew she had her eating in the palm of her hands.
Aunt Yui was a bit more tricky but she reminded her of her own aunt Suki so she had an advantage here.
"Do you work, Tenten-san?" She asked her suspiciously. When Tenten told her yes, she nodded, content. "Good, children's education often depends on their mother's." She seemed pleased.
All there was left to do for Tenten was to talk about Aunt Yui's groundbreaking work on hepatic enzymes when she was still a young researcher abroad and the second aunt was now in her pocket.
Yet, no matter what angle she had approached, Aunt Yuri remained cold and her good graces unattainable. If anything, the more Tenten tried, the less Aunt Yuri seemed to like her. She probably sensed a lack of authenticity on Tenten's part which was hard for the young woman to remedy, since their whole interaction was based on Neji's and her ruse. Deep down, Aunt Yuri must have sensed it.
Tenten was brought back from her musing when Neji coughed, feeling suddenly awkward by the high praises of his aunts. "You honour me too much," He smiled gently.
"Deservingly so!" Aunt Yuri exclaimed, slamming the table, startling both Neji and Tenten. "Which is why," She turned a displeased look on Tenten, analyzing her thoroughly. "Neji needs a wife that can still keep him on his toes. Complacency is the starting journey of all downfalls. Maybe, my son," She turned back to glare slightly at the young man. "This is why you forgot the urgency of your responsibilities."
Tenten felt sudden pity for Neji. The burden he had to carry all the time within this family must not only be so crushing, but also lonesome.
She took his hand in hers, eyes blazing with certainty. "There's nothing complacent about Neji." She confronted the old woman, her tone firm, all traces of her charming voice gone, replaced by an unrelenting confidence. She could feel him instantly stiffen by her side and just hoped he'd trust her enough for the rest. "I know very few that take their responsibilities as seriously as Neji does. He'd sooner die than fail those he loves. And if all the tales of you raising him are true," It was Tenten's turn to look warily at the elder. "Then you should know this better than anyone else."
Aunt Yuri's cold stare went back to her, her mouth set in a displeased pout, while her eyes scanned her, looking for answers Tenten didn't know she was giving. The old aunt suddenly stood up, followed by the other two women.
Tenten held the older woman's hard scrutinizing gaze, not flinching even though her insides were a turmoil of doubt and fears.
Did I go too far this time?
Neji was about to open his mouth to apologize on Tenten's behalf but stopped when Aunt Yuri suddenly smiled, a dry smile at that, but still a smile. She seemed at the same time annoyed, yet finally satisfied with her inquiry.
"Well, I don't know for you two ladies," She adjusted her cane under her weight. "But I have got everything I need."
The other two nodded and just before departing, She tapped Tenten's waist and hips twice with her cane.
"Good hip structure. An interesting waist-to-hip ratio." She assessed. "She'll bear strong heirs." She gave a curt nod before smirking one last time at her grand-nephew and joining the other old women in their walk towards their next victims who'd have to bear witness to their critical tongues.
"Did you aunt just call me… slim thick?" Tenten was too flabbergasted to detach her gaze from the departing woman.
Neji frowned, not sure of what had just happened. "I think," He threw a quick glance to his conniving uncle and father who had poorly hid their spying stares while they had been talking with his aunts. "I think you have just received a sceal of elder approval."
"I did?" She raised her eyebrows.
Neji did not answer, instead he saw Hanabi coming back with Konohamaru and she signaled him to come, so Tenten and he made their way to the couple.
"You can go, it's your turn." Hanabi said nonchalantly. "What did those three old sorceresses want with you?" She frowned.
Neji's eyes held a seriousness to them that made Tenten wonder what she had just missed. "I think Tenten and I might have been just a bit too convincing for our own good."
Hanabi snorted, "Well that'd be a freaking Christmas miracle."
That's when Neji noticed it. That look on his little devil of a cousin.
"Hanabi, what did you do?" He demanded sternly, ready to reprimand her.
"Me?" She blinked innocently. "Nothing."
Neji rolled his eyes then noticed the absence of Hinata and Naruto in the room. Come to think of it, it's been since he sat down with Aunt Yuri that he hadn't seen them.
"For fuck's sake, Hanabi." He hissed. "You have to stop locking people in closets."
Hanabi huffed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Neji shook his head. "You're just as bad as uncle when you want to be."
Hanabi grinned. "You can either take your hour, or waste it on asking questions I won't answer." Her smile grew malicious. "Your choice, dear brother."
"Whatever," He muttered, and smiled seeing the three old ladies coming for Hanabi.
He took Tenten's hands and mouthed 'your turn' to Hanabi whose eyes widened in realization she would soon be trapped by her three most overbearing aunts.
She turned to glare at her cousin who was already leading Tenten through the side door.
December 21st - 4:00 PM
Hinata should have known. She really should have noticed the smirk of her sister when she asked her to bring her the old camera tripod they stored in that tiny closet near her room on the second floor.
She should have known better than to drag Naruto in this mess her sister made. As soon as they approached the door and Hinata went in to search for the item, she heard her sister push him in and the frightful sound of the lock sealed her destiny.
"'Nabi," Konohamaru groaned in exasperation. "When will you stop locking people in tight spaces?"
"Worked for Moegi and Udon, didn't it?" She snapped back.
"We were fourteen and playing seven minutes in heaven." Her fiancé argued back.
"Well, great deal of good it did them anyway," Hanabi started walking away, not minding the screams and tapping of her older sister she had just trapped. "Look at them, married before we even did and a kid on the way."
"You're one hell of a dangerous woman, 'Nabi." Hinata could hear their voices getting fainter.
"That turns you on, doesn't it?"
Hinata couldn't make out the rest of the conversation, she only heard their laughs dying down the hall.
She groaned out in frustration, now all there was left to do was wait on some maid to pass by and with everything happening downstairs, they might as well be waiting until nightfall.
"Ugh," Hinata groaned, pounding the door one last time, until she resigned herself. "I swear if I get my hands around her neck, I snap it like-"
"Hinata-chan!" Naruto chuckled nervously. "I'm sure we'll be out soon."
Her pearl eyes glared daggers at him. "Oh, you think."
She immediately brought her hand over her mouth. She did not often let her emotions get the best of her, but there was just something about meddling little sisters that could make a saint sin.
"I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun!" She put her hands on his shoulders.
She relaxed when she heard him laugh.
"I think you're pretty when you're angry." He finally stopped laughing, his foolish grin plastered on his adorable face with his blond hair strands falling over his forehead, giving him this boyish look she couldn't resist.
And maybe it was that the closet was so tiny her breasts were almost pressing on him. Or maybe it was the adrenaline still coursing through her from the irritation she held for her sister. Or maybe it was the culmination of years of unrequited feelings ready to explode.
But Hinata Hyuga felt suddenly emboldened.
"Do you mean it?" She said fiercely, looking straight at him, even the pink hues clouding her cheeks gave her a ferocious glow. "Everything you said about me since yesterday?"
Like it always happened when Naruto's eyes drowned in lavender ones, he was at a loss of words so he just nodded eagerly until words started spilling out of his mouth like an uncontrollable curse.
"O-of course." Suddenly his hands felt awkward. He didn't know what to do with them or where to put them. Or he actually knew, on the top of her hips, but he had to actively send signals to his upper members to stay still which then made it like everywhere he put them was the wrong place in this narrow-
"Say it," She ordered him, and in the smoldering desire of her eyes Naruto felt he had no other choice then to comply.
"I think you're the most beautiful woman I ever met." He breathed out transfixed by her awaiting eyes. "That I'll probably ever meet. And you're so fierce, yet so soft. You balance everything out. Grace and strength. You're a fighter for those you love and it never fails to leave me in aw and…"
Damn his verbal diarrhea.
"And-"
"Then, kiss me." She whispered, centimeters apart from him. "Kiss me, Naruto Uzumaki, like you mean everything you just said."
She took a shaky brain in. She had locked her uncertain self in the back of her mind, laying down all her cards. She had decided she was done waiting for things to happen to her, she was going to make them happen.
It didn't take more for Naruto to take Hinata's chin in his hands, and bring her in for what he had hoped would only be a chaste kiss. But the moment his lips brushed and petal-like soft lips, he had abandoned all good intentions at the door of his morality. Finally getting rid of any blockage he had, letting himself completely at the mercy of this gravity he had resisted for so long that pulled him towards her as if she was the sun herself and he could only hope to orbit around her.
How many minutes had they been entangled this way, her head leaned back, held by his hands, as he greedily drank her in, so focused in all the fire that seemed to consume he barely felt her hands sneak up his chest until she wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.
They had totally lost themselves in each other until light burst in the little closet and a meek maid gasped at them.
"I'm-I'm so-sorry Hinata-sama," The maid bowed. "I heard a noise and I was scared one of the cats had trapped itself here while sleeping."
Hinata nodded, very much aware of her disheveled state. Nodding, half-listening to what the woman was saying, half-focusing on the burning sensation on her lips.
"Thank you, I'll come down in a minute." The heiress smiled and closed back the door on a startled maid.
December 21st - 4:11 PM
"What was that about?" Tenten asked, trying to keep up with Neji's fast pace whose hand was gripping hers and forcing her to follow along.
"What was what?" He continued, without looking back at her.
"The thing Hanabi said about spending your hour."
He suddenly stopped, and turned towards her.
"We have this thing we've been doing since we're kids," He started explaining. "Whenever there's one of those functions, we realized as long as there were two of us there, the guests would not notice the other one missing. First hour, we're all there. Then, we take turns, an hour each, and we'd interchange until the end."
"Damn," Tenten raised her eyebrows. "Those parties must really bore you."
Neji's lips remained pressed in a thin line.
"So, where are we?" She looked around the dark stoned hallway.
"Servants' corridor," He simply said, walking her to the end of it where a small door opened on a narrow staircase. "Careful, the stairs are uneven." He tightened his hold on her hand, climbing the stairs first.
Now, walking in her kimono was already difficult, but climbing stairs in such an entightened space while being mindful to not trip on the slippery fabric was a whole other set of challenges. She was suddenly filled with empathy for all the maids and butlers who had to scurry down those stairs holding a tray filled with fragile tableware. And it was not lost on her how she felt she was suddenly part of some kind of historical drama. Anytime now, he'll turn around and tell her it was not safe here anymore because the gates have been breached and she'd have to hide while he fought off some invading enemies.
Fine, she had a way too vivid imagination for her own good.
"We're almost there," He turned around to see if she was alright.
They stumbled through a tiny door, in which Tenten had to bend a little to pass through and immediately sighed in relief when her feet touched the cream and gold plush carpet she was used to walk on since her arrival. She was also immediately reassured by the tall ceiling under which she could instantly breathe better.
She looked over and saw dozens of portraits in oil painting staring back at her. Contrary to the other parts of the manor where large windows let light enter and illuminate the place, this hallway was more obscure, the walls more austere. The aura was also more stuffy, it smelled of secrets and affairs.
"This is probably the best hiding place in all the manor," He supplied as if reading her thoughts. "No one comes here so we can take a break from what's happening down there."
She nodded slowly, her eyes travelling from one painting to another, until they set on a young man, barely in his adulthood with long hair framing his face, a small smile playing on his lips and what seemed to be a sort of traditional white robe.
"That's my ancestor," Neji whispered behind her and she turned around, blinking at him. She hadn't realized she had walked to the painting nor that he had approached so close to her, his torso slightly touching her back. "I was named after him." He raised his arm to point at the little nameplate.
Tenten felt suddenly conscious of how his raised arm seemed to entrap her closer to him. Her head darted back and forth between the painting and Neji.
"You look so much like him," She turned around one last time to take in his features and looked at the other paintings around. "Then again, you all look the same, no offense."
He chuckled and the sound felt like dark chocolate for Tenten's ears, rich, thick and mellow.
"Yeah, I suppose we do." He eyed the painting more carefully. "He died a hero on the battlefield."
"Really?" Tenten turned her body completely to assess Neji's impenetrable face.
Neji nodded. "Took three spears to protect the king and ensure we won the battle."
Tenten whistled. "Damn. They really pinned this war on him, didn't they?" She felt the need to comment, biting her lip to keep her laughter in. "You see what I did there?" She laughed meekly. "Oh, come on," She nudged him with her elbow.
"That was so bad. Even for you, Maito." He smirked and swiftly turned away, walking to the other side of the hallway, leaving her bewildered behind at his sudden movement.
"Wait!" She called after him and hurried to shuffle behind him, only for him to turn and plant a hand on her mouth, pushing her against the wall behind a marble column.
That's when she heard them, the whispers coming from the adjacent room, and then she saw her, through the tiny crack between the column and the wall, a scrawny middle aged woman with jet black hair and a displeased expression that - and Tenten would have bet on it- seemed constantly tattooed on her face.
Now, with the events of last night, Tenten found it very difficult to focus on anything else than the fact his whole body was molding against hers and if she were as bold as Ino, she'd probably have asked for a round two right here and there.
Only once Neji was sure the group of whispering women and men were gone, that he let go of her.
"Sorry," He mumbled.
Tenten readjusted her obi and the few lost strands of hair.
"No, worries." She dusted off the front of her borrowed kimono. "Was that your Aunt Mei, talking with people from your family?" She wondered aloud.
"Yes," Neji answered, his jawline tensed as can be.
"Oh. My. God." Tenten looked back on the woman who was long gone by now.
"What?" Neji asked, alarmed.
"She looks like the asian version of Izma from Emperor's New Groove!" Her eyes went wide when Neji had no reaction. "Please," She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please, tell me you saw Emperor's New Groove as a kid."
"I did not," He answered in a clipped tone but couldn't help the amusement at seeing her dramatically throw her hands up in the air, the large kimono sleeves adding to her exaggeration.
"Anyway," She waved it off. "I thought you said no one came here." Her eyebrow drew together in confusion.
He nodded. His eyes were still fixed on where the group had just recently walked.
"Yes, that's what's weird. Only people who don't want to be found come here." He threw her a look over his shoulder. "Come."
Since when did Neji Hyuga, the biggest asshole she had ever known, could just order her around like this and she'd follow?
Since they had sex?
Since he almost saved her life? Twice?
Since he looked so damn good in everything outside scrubs, especially in nothing else but her?
Tenten couldn't put her finger on it, exactly, but if she had to guess, she'd say somewhere along this two-days journey a bond of trust started to weave itself between her and Neji. And she wanted to hate it, she truly did, but she kept having this lightness, like fluffled happiness in her stomach whenever she thought about it.
"You know," She started once they entered another room and Neji turned on the lights. "When you told me you needed me to pretend to date you for Christmas because of your uncle and your cousin's engagement, you failed to mention I'd be stuck in the intricate political war of one of Konoha's most influential families."
Neji turned to look at her, smirking. "And how should I have told you that?"
"Well," She approached closer to him, a smile on her lips. "You could have started with 'you think I'm an asshole? Wait to meet the rest of my extended family, who by the way are trying to steal my title -yes, cause those still exist- because I don't have kids yet'."
Neji's smirk etched wider. "That's a very convincing pitch, Maito." He took a step forward, until he towered her just the way she hated it. "I'm sure it would have worked wonders on a stubborn mule like you."
She snorted. "Very funny, Hyuga." She replied sarcastically, pushing him away and letting her eyes roam around the room. "Wait," She was stunned. "Is this…?"
"A hall of fame." He answered her question left pending, walking closer to it with her. "Every accomplishment from our family, we hung here."
Tenten's eyes widened over the wall full of trophies, medals, pictures with important influential figures. "Wait," She read the name plates quickly. "Almost a third of these are yours."
Neji scratched the back of his head. "I was very competitive when I was younger." He didn't like bragging much. "Did you ever compete in anything?" He tried to change the subject.
Tenten shrugged. "Yes, I was mostly average in everything." She smiled at him, proud. "My secret talent is being moderately good in all things."
He gave her a skeptical look that she decided to ignore.
"Who are they?" She pointed to an old picture from the sixties.
"My grandparents," His tone was soft. "They were both commended for a part they played in a strategic battle that helped the country win the war. My grandfather led the battalion and my grandmother was a nurse who helped his squad."
"They met during the war?" She asked, scooting closer to look at the picture he took in his hands.
"No, my grandmother was born in Haeopo," He explained, his eyes fondly looking over the smiling eyes of his departed grandfather. "She was the daughter of the local baker. They had met on a few occasions in the Manor because her mother came to teach geography and history to my grandfather's siblings. They met again during the war and the rest, well, was history."
"That's so sweet." Tenten looked up and was surprised to see his opal had a watery sheen to them. "You must really miss them. Were you close to them?"
Neji nodded. "My grandfather was out of this world. Marched to the beat of his own drums." He smiled and put the picture back on the case. "He always found a way to make each of us feel special. He'd make alone time for each of us. He'd go ice skating with Hinata, he taught Hanabi how to draw and he used to take me fishing down the river."
Tenten put a comforting hand on his arm.
"It was hard losing him," He turned towards her. "He was always so strong, I thought he'd live on for decades more."
"What happened?" She asked him softly.
"Small cell carcinoma." He simply said and she winced. "Six months after the diagnosis we discovered a brain metastasis. The last few months I don't know what got him first, the dementia or the lung cancer. It's hard you know," He looked at her and she wished she could soak up all the pain that was overflowing out of him. "To see one of the people you admire most not even being able to feed themselves. At the end, the only one he still remembered was grandma. We were all around his bed when it happened, he looked around as if he didn't understand what was happening, until he saw her. His eyes instantly softened, his worry faded away, he lied back down, not taking his eyes off of her. It was as if he knew everything would be alright now just because she was there. He smiled, his heart stopped racing, then it stopped altogether and he was gone. Just like that."
He swallowed against the hard ball in his throat. "He was a whole universe. Seventy years of stories, of love, of friendships and betrayal, and kids and hope. A whole universe that collapsed in a single last breath that vanished."
"Oh, Neji." She whispered.
Tenten eyes searched for his own and when she basked in all the hurt they held, she felt instantly drawn to wrap her arms around his waist. She was just as surprised as he was when he held her closer to him, until the only breaths she could take were laced with the white musk, teakwood and pine scents of his cologne. And she would have never admitted it, but the place between his arms had become her favourite in a too short lapse of time.
After what seemed like a moment, he let her go and his face was still as emotionless than ever. Contrary to her flushed cheeks and disheveled hair.
The room was filled with palpable electricity when he went for a stray hair and tucked it behind her ear. Her heart caught in her throat. It seemed like an eternity until she spoke again to break the silence so they'd snap out of their daze and take a step back.
"What about your mother?" She asked bluntly.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
What was wrong with her? Someone just opened up about the loss of a loved one and the only way she found to change the subject was to talk about another of his loss?
Sure, she was clumsy. But this was on another level.
Neji's hand was still mid-air where he had let it linger near her neck. He dropped it and his blank stare looked at nothing in particular.
"She died in the 2010 avalanche, here in Haepo." He said. "She was with my aunt, Hinata's mother. It was near the end of February and they were skiing and the catastrophe took them. Them and the forty other people who were also there."
"I'm so sorry for your losses," She muttered. "I shouldn't have asked. It's just that Aunt Yuri talked about it and…"
"Don't worry," He smiled at her.
She smiled back.
"And even for your grandmother, I'm sure she was an incredible woman. I can't believe how hard it must have been to lose her." She placed her hand on his arm again as a sign of support.
Neji frowned and was about to retort something but someone who just entered the room they were in interrupted him :
"I am still very much alive, thank you for your concern."
Tenten quickly turned around to see an old woman, almost as old as Aunt Yuri, who also approached, her cane clicking on the ground. It was her eyes that caught the young woman's attention first. They were brown, just like hers, and after days of being almost only surrounded by different shades of grey, it was almost shocking for Tenten.
"Grandma," Neji's eyes widened in shock.
Now Tenten didn't know why it was such a surprise for Neji to see his grandparent at a family function. After all, why wouldn't she be there for her own granddaughter's engagement? Although, the young doctor could sense that something was afoot since she came back from the Devil's Drop, something that may be out of her comprehension just yet.