Prologue to Telling Hiashiko [Nejiko, Tentsuke]
[ooc: takes place before this log. In other words, before all the dramaz with Asuka.]
One thing Tentsuke insisted on after every spar (regardless of if he could move afterwards) was that the weapons were cleaned. In this case of the broadsword Nejiko had been using, it entailed being wiped with a oiled, rough cloth to remove any dirt and debris that would have settled on the blade and in the minor nicks and dents accumulated when the swords clashed. Tentsuke still insisted on using dulled edges, despite Nejiko's protests, scowls, and glares. Honestly. Be on the receiving end of a few minorly deep bruises and he got all distressed and wanting to fuss. She didn't appreciate the fussing (not that he cared - he did it anyway), though sometimes she wondered if she ought to let him fuss not so she could feel better, but so he could.
She wondered if she would ever understand him. Then she wondered if she wanted to.
Or she would be wondering both tangents if it weren't for the fact that the looming doom of having to tell Hiashiko-sama they were... Did she say 'dating' or 'going out'? Both had their different connotations but since they essentially boiled down to the same thing and she had been picking over choosing the best possible vocabulary and phrasing utilize to better ensure a positive reaction and outcome for some time now. She blinked once at nothing. Actually, it had been over two weeks since the restaurant. And she wasn't consciously trying to delay, and yet she was, and the more she delayed the more reluctant she grew to tell her aunt but if she didn't and Hiashiko-sama suspected they were sneaking around (which they technically were though it was entirely her own fault) then that wouldn't help her case (or Tentsuke's) but at the same time she really despised the fact that it mattered so bloody much.
She sighed quietly. All of this was a headache.
...No, not all of it. It was the whole clan aspect of this that was giving her the headache. The portions directly involving Tentsuke she would say she if not enjoyed, then definitely liked.
Thinking of... She glanced over at him and watched him silently.
For his part, Tentsuke was thinking of nothing other then returning the blade of the sword back to its pristine state. The sharpening stone moved across the metal gently, barely making any sound as he worked. It was only when he found no more nicks in edge that he started to get the distinct feeling he was being watched.
"Hm?" he asked, not looking up.
Nejiko didn't respond immediately, though her gaze didn't relent.
"You recall what I said before, about how the clan views dating and courtship?" she asked. For this subject, wading in was much preferable than just plunging.
He nodded a bit as he pulled out a polish cloth and some oil. "I do," he replied simply.
...She wished she felt as blasé as he appeared to be. Especially since anxious knots tightened in her stomach.
"You know Hiashiko-sama will want to have a conversation with you. More than likely one-on-one." And if he didn't, he certainly knew now. But that was part of the point of bringing this up, correct? To prepare him for what would be an ordeal?
Why couldn't her life be something even close to approaching simple, instead of so complicated?
"Well..." he started, working out a spot on the leather of the hilt. "That should be fun," he replied, though his tone indicated that it would be anything but.
"She would need to determine your suitability as a mere candidate for a husband. As well as take into consideration what advantages a match between us would bring to the clan." Though her voice didn't change, her expression was definitely borderline sour. Everything had to be about what sort of advantage would be given the clan. She wished she knew if this was standard for branch-outclan courtships, or if she was just lucky that way. Problem was, before she didn't honestly care.
Tentsuke nodded sagely. "Hmm... I see," he replied, massage a bit of oil into the hilt to give the leather back its sheen. "So I shouldn't tell her right off the bat I'm just in it for the money?"
He couldn't hold back the hint of a smile at her initial outburst before she caught on to the joke. "I got it, Nej. I'm not that dense," he continued, finishing with the hilt. "I know what to say."
The hint of a smile she sported faded. "I know you aren't. It is just... she has that final say." Looking back to her sword, she recommenced the job of cleaning. Unbelievable that she found she was unable to clearly articulate the thoughts in her mind. Like how important it was to her that Hiashiko-sama actually give the pair of them the chance. An irrational doubt to be sure, but the seed had been there for some time now, enough to germinate into worry.
He let out a little sigh. "You really think I'm going to screw it up that badly with her?" he asked.
She stopped the motion of her arm as she lifted her head to stare into the middle distance in front of her, and not at him. That talk she and Hiashiko-sama had had about the cancelled wedding was by unspoken agreement just something between them. But it was actually because of that conversation and the implied as well as the spoken that Nejiko was unsettled.
"I am...," she began slowly, "concerned that she would refuse... for her own reasons." Hadn't that along with the children issue been one of the largest deciding factors?
He shrugged his shoulders a bit. "Then it doesn't really make any difference what I do," he stated. "So there's no reason to worry." Infallible logic was, after all, one of his strong suits.
"..."
She scowled at nothing as she lapsed into silence, her eyes shifting to the sword in her hands. After a while, she resumed cleaning. A few minutes after that, a low, frustrated sound escaped her. While he understood quite a lot, obviously there were gaps in his knowledge and she was at a loss to readily explain what she knew intrinsically. The difference between clan and outclan.
Sensing the sudden shift in mood, he rested the long sword on the ground and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Just calm down there a second," he asked, trying to bring a calmer tone back to the conversation. One that didn't involve growling or scowling or anything else that made him want to hug the sword closer rather then put it away.
She kept her energy and her attention focused on cleaning the sword. (It probably wouldn't need polishing when she was done.) "For me, there is reason to worry. It isn't your blood they want bred back into the main family." That was something never outright stated, but more implied. The pinched look around the eyes of the Elders when she was first told of the betrothal. The stressing of Hiashiko-sama after of should Nejiko get with child, suggesting that she might have been better off not repoducing.
"The worst part is that I cannot be sure you would be judged because of who you are, but rather for who I am. And that unfairness is..." She trailed off, then shook her head and continued. "Difficult to fully express."
He could didn't really have a way to refute that. Hyuuga clan politics were beyond him and he was rather happy with that fact. All he had were the truths he used to govern his own life. "It's a chance then," he replied. "Everything usually is. But better to try then just wonder what might have happened."
Nejiko closed her eyes, and her brow visible below the hitae-ate. Easy for him to say, and she positively hated leaving things up to chance. In a battle, the situation was entirely different.
He sighed in defeat. "Come on, what's the worse that's going to happen?" he asked. "She's going to what... strike me dead with a look?"
....
Not funny, Tentsuke. "The worst that could happen would be for her to say 'no'," she answered quietly. She opened her eyes. "I do not want that." She threw an assessing look at him. "...And I do not believe you are taking this as lightl as you portray yourself as."
He got a bit frustrated at that. Because for him, it was such an obvious thing. He looked over at her and made sure she didn't think he wasn't be serious. "All I ever needed was to know you wanted this," he stated, motioning between them, "to work. That done, anything else is just a matter of sorting things out. It'll work out," he finished, not a trace of doubt in his voice.
Part of her wondered if she wasn't over-thinking this. But that niggling doubt and worry refused to be displaced, try as she might. True, the worst Hiashiko-sama could do was say 'no'. Yet even then, she couldn't forbid Nejiko from seeing him at all as they were still teammates, and they still trained together. That wasn't likely to ever stop.
Eventually, she simply reached over to take his hand.
He gave it a little squeeze with a smile. " There see? Nothing to worry abut."
She held on. "I wish I could share your confidence in this."
He beamed proudly. "You know me, I've got enough confidence to share." He saw her smile a little and nodded firmly in the belief that all was nearly fixed.
"Eh, you've got a bit of oil on your nose," he said, bopping her on the nose and make the imaginary spot a real one.
Nejiko sniffed and wrinkled her nose, letting go of his hand to wipe at the smudge. All she succeeded in doing was smearing it. She scowled, and yet... she felt some of her tension ease. Not a whole lot, but some.
He really couldn't help it. At first it was easy to keep a straight face but after a few seconds of watching her smear it around even more, he started snickering and couldn't stop.
She gave him a patented look before leaneng towards him so she could wipe her hand clean on his shirt. No one snickered at her without the consequences. Satisfied her hand was free of oil, she smirked at him before going back to cleaning her sword.
"Hey!" he protested, pulling away slightly. He looked down at his shirt somewhat unhappily. "I just washed this last week," he muttered.
Admitting defeat, he smirked slightly so she knew it was as much as joke to him as it was to her. He pulled the sword from its resting place on the ground. The hilt was done to satsification so he moved onto the blade itself, working the oil across the length of it.
Her smirk remained in plaice as she finished cleaning. Holding it by the handle, she inspected it critically (she knew Tentsuke's standards) before resting it across her lap. She attempted to wipe her hands on the cloth, gave up, and settled for watching him polish his sword.
There was a dark smudge and he worked the cloth into it until the metal turn to the perfect shine he was used to. He heard her lay the weapon down but didn't stop working. He could be a bit obsessive sometimes, he knew that. But it didn't stop him from working even after he realized she was watching him in silence. "Yes?" he asked.
One dark eyebrow lifted. "Can I not simply watch?"
He didn't see a reason why not. So he went back to work, carefully wiping away the excess oil. He picked up the sheath and examined it, looking for any dust trapped inside before turning back to examine the sword.
After about ten minutes of watching him squint his eyes to make sure every single last speck of dirt and bit of dust no longer marred his weapon, Nejiko asked, "What does your family do?"
He only half heard the question, most of his concentration on a bit of leaf that had gotten itself wedged in the folds of hilt's leather. So he gave her the automatic response he gave everyone. "Ah, makes weapons mostly. For Konoha."
...She knew that already.
"I meant as far as one of you deciding to date."
"Oh." He put the sword down, realizing he was not paying attention. "Ah..." he started, pondering on things. "Well, the girls get it worse. When they bring the boy round we tend to meet him fully armed, just to make a point, you know."
She let out a quiet hnf; her version of a laugh. "You should have seen Isamu and Osamu when the Suna delegation came to the compound." She paused, remembering. "Never thought they would be protective for me."
He smiled. "It's pretty universal I guess. Our girls can usually handle themselves but... puts a bit of fear in the boyfriends at least."
"Hm." She considered this. "And if, say, you were to bring me to meet your family?" Tentsuke's stories were generally interesting, but stories didn't always live up to real life.
He thought about it for a while before answering. "Ah... the girls would mostly hate you because you aren't good enough." Which was true. Tentsuke was one of the few that left his home to become a shinobi. That alone put him high regard among the rest of the family. But his laid back and fun loving attitude had made him a favorite among his female cousins.
"And the guys would hate me," he added witha large smile, "'cause I got so damn lucky."
"...You understand if I have a moment of deja vu back to the academy." The other girls (with one exception) in their class had resented the attention paid to the Hyuuga, both that of the males in the class, and the teachers because she was just so good in everything. 'Irritating' would be phrasing it mildly.
He smirked. "Yeah, pretty much," he agreed, having been a spectator for all that. "It calms down after a while. Just..." He trailed off with a somewhat worried expression. "Well, don't get offended if some of my cousins try to kill you or anything."
She gave him a bland look which then turned considering. "Your family are smiths and weapons-experts, correct?"
"Pretty much," he answer. "Though... I think I have one aunt who's a cook." He paused as he tried to remember her. "No wait... she's a sushi chef so I guess the knives count."
"And are any of them are as good as you?" she inquired.
"Mom could give you a run for your money in her day," he answered. Hell, she could out fight him even today. "The rest... one on one you'd win," he continued truthfully. "They're more used to group fighting."
".......Really." She lifted a hand to her chin, her expression thoughtful. A group of people skilled like Tentsuke, and they used to fighting as a group?
That sounded like fun, actually. She wouldn't mind sparring with them, in that sort of situation.
He glared at her. "Don't get that look. I know that look." He crossed his arms over his chest. "My family doesn't live in a friendly neighborhood." So to speak, he added mentally. "They don't play around."
Nejiko's face was almost pure innocence. "I wouldn't ask them to." The happy gleam in her silver eyes, however...
He sighed in defeat and picked up the sword, going back to polishing it.
"What?"
He smiled a bit. "You just love learning things the hard way sometimes."
She appreciated the concern, but the smirk still remained. Having Gaia-sensei for a mentor didn't help her propensity for wanting to test herself against those stronger than her. "So then do you believe me incapable of handling your cousins in a spar?" For learning how to cope in a group situation like the one he inferred would be nothing short of useful. Painful, perhaps, but useful.
"Depends on how many are on you at once," he answered quickly. One or two... maybe. But if three of them decided to go after you at once, the outcome was pretty clear.
"How many people are in your family?" He was always mentioning this cousin or that uncle, and while names were repeated there was always a new one each time he actually spoke of his family.
He let out a deep breath. "Ah, how immediate?" he asked. "I mean, mom is one of seven."
Her eyebrows rose. "Seven?" Hyuuga had generally had only or two children, sometimes three. Very rarely did they have more.
He nodded. "Yeah. Dad had just two sisters though," he added.
"Hn. Interesting," she decided. She noted the annoyance still lurking in his eyes and signed mentally.
"If we go see them, I won't challenge them to a spar or a fight." There. Now she eliminated some loopholes. The one of all bets being off if they challenged her, however, remained.
He smiled. "That's good." After all, even if he couldn't say anything, he knew he was mom would be able to keep them in line. Mostly... okay, maybe a few disobedient...
He sighed in defeat.
...
"Hm?" Now what?
He went back to polishing his sword.
"Tentsuke...," she said. "What was that sigh for?"
"Nothing," he muttered. "Just accepting my defeat is all."
"Your defeat?" she echoed.
"In getting you not to fight," he replied.
Now she did sigh aloud. "I won't go challenging them. I promise."
"And mom'll lay down the same rule," he replied. "Except just imagine me, with about twice as many weapons, locked up without anyone but family to fight and well..." He trailed off with a wave of the hand.
Again her eyebrow lifted. "They would defy your mother? Seeing as you make her out to be the family matriarch."
"No, no she's just something like a lieutenant," he replied. "So yeah, they would, if they were bored enough. My grandmother though..."
"What about her?" Nejiko's paternal grandmother died in the Kyuubi attack. Her maternal grandmother some years before that.
He laughed. "Let's just say you never argue with an eighty-year old woman who can swing a battle axe without problem."
The urge to grin was strong, but Hyuuga control asserted itself as usual. "...I think I would like your grandmother."
"She's the one in charge so if you can impress her, you're as good as family," he smiled.
"Ah." Some random dust particle went up her nose, and she rubbed at it absently with the back of her hand. "Do you believe she would like me?" It couldn't hurt to ask...
He paused. He didn't want to lie but he didn't want to hurt her feelings either. "She's 80 years old and carries around a battle axe. She doesn't like much of anything at her age," he replied truthfully.
"I see," she said expressionlessly.
"Would you have recommendations?" Behavior-wise. Though she didn't say it aloud, he would understand what she was asking.
"Hmm..." He tapped his chin thoughfully. "Think of a very ornery and unhappy bear. Treat her the same you would it."
In other words, treat with cautious respect and do not approach unless clearly invited. Nejiko understood immediately. "Essentially, my aunt in a bad mood," she said with a touch of dryness. "Why would your grandmother be unhappy?"
"Ah..." he started and then trailed off. "Hm..." He felt silent again and went into deep thought. Years of being chased, hit over the head with wooden spoons... there were lots of incidents involving her anger. But the reason why... that was harder to quantify.
"Or do you just find it easier to not ask why and simply respect her temper and her skill?" Nejiko suggested when he looked lost in his thoughts.
"Something like that," he agreeed. "It's not that she's mean or cruel, it's just she's old enough to not care what people think of her. And if you do something stupid, she has no reason not to be real blunt about it." Very very blunt about it. Usually with a mix of harsh words and violence.
She nodded. She supposed some of the Elders fell into that category, if Hyuuga were the kind to be really blunt.
"It's not that one day she woke up and was suddenly different," he continued, realizing he was making her sound like ah horrible person. "It's more that time just wore away her desire to be nice about things."
"I can understand that." Nejiko had been rather jaded by the time she had made genin. Her then-thin layer of civility was more habit than anything else. Odd how she could understand the people of Tentsuke's family without having met them.
"So, she's just crotchy 'cause she can be and everyone expect nothing less," he shrugged. "Part of daily life, so to speak. Don't cross the Bear," he recited crisply. "Motto of the family."
She smiled faintly. "Understood."
He carefully slid the sword back into the sheath, assured of the fact that it was in pristine condition. "Don't even worry about her. Mom's her favorite and even so, it's not like she'd forbid anything."
Nejiko nodded, then did likewise with her sword before handing it back to him. "How much longer on broadsword would you say I have to go before we can progress to dagger?" she asked.
Tentsuke took the swords and wrapped them in a cloth. He pulled out a scroll and unfurled it on the ground. "Ah... depends. For you, another couple of weeks might be enough to get enough of a feel for it." A few hands sign and the scroll glowed a bit. He pushed the swords into the paper, rolling it up after he was done.
"Good," she declared before getting to her feet. Her stomach chose to growl just as she was running a hand over her hair to flatten any strays, and she scowled. She ate early this morning and it was only just noon.
He smiled a bit as he finished putting his stuff together. "Right then, lunch it is."
For her part, she just pulled her long-sleeved shirt on over the sleeveless one. Wearing the haori extensively would have caused questions, and she still wanted to keep the tattoo from peeping out in public. "Since it's a nice day, mind if we ate outside?"
"Sure, we can just pick something up from a stand," he replied, slinging his pack across his back and letting it settle it there. He waited for her before proceeding, following the well worn path back towards the outskirts of town.
It was hot but he didn't think the weather had anything to do with the heavy silence between them. "You're not still worrying are you?" he asked, looking over at her.
"No, merely thinking."
He took in a deep breath. "Because you know... if it would help, I could always go with you," he offered, not really sure he understood what he was getting himself into.
She blinked in consideration of this. It may help, actually. If nothing else, she wouldn't be facing Hiashiko-sama alone. "It might...," she agreed slowly, "though I have not yet been able to properly consider how to actually tell her. Nevermind the best phrasing of the statement itself." What wouldn't she give to just be able to say, flat out, I'm dating Tentsuke.
Make everyone's life so much easier.
"We'll practice a bit then," he replied. "And I'll let you do the talking when you can. Otherwise, there's always those formal language courses they forced us through at the academy to fall back on." And he had passed those... eventually.
"'Practice'?" she echoed blankly.
"Yeah, like it was a mission," he continued. "You know, plan the most successful path and then work through all the contigencies."
She had to smile inside. He would phrase it in such a way. Outwardly, she looked a bit more relaxed. "The only downside being the sheer amount of unknowns, but we've usually been able to compensate well enough so far, together." And really, when it boiled down to her reasoning, it was because she wanted to date him. If she didn't, it never would have happened.
...Still didn't mean she wanted to tell Hiashiko-sama anyhow, which was not aiding in composing a suitable argument for allowing the courtship.
"Exactly," he smiled in triumph. "So, this'll be be cake. If only I could convince Hokage-sama to add this to my A-rank mission count," he joked.
"You want to be paid for speaking to Hiashiko-sama?" Nejiko returned.
"No," he replied. "I want it so next ti me they tell me a mission is too dangerous, I can point to that and say it can't be worse then volunteering to walk into the dragon's den and asking her to chomp on your bones," he finished with a serious tone.
His statement was just so absurd yet with an ounce of truth, it startled a brief, actual laugh from her before she quickly cut it off. Still, the amusement remained in her eyes, warming them as she threw him a look. "She is not going to chomp your bones, Tentsuke."
"Ah, that's good. I tend to need them," he replied without missing a beat.
She shook her head, smiling a little. "I would wonder, if you didn't."
"Well, not having them wouldn't let me do things like this," he replied, moving quickly to grab her by the waist and swing her around once before dropping her back on the ground. He snickered a bit as he took a few steps forward to avoid immediate retaliation.
She let out a quick, quiet yelp before he deposited her back on her feet. And since he moved quickly beyond her reach, she settled on glowering. "You enjoy doing that, don't you," she said with not nearly as much annoyance as she might've before.
"Training," he said firmly. "You know, so you don't get dizzy during a Kaiten." And he almost made it through with a straight face.
That earned him a chuckle and another shake of her head. "You're odd, Tentsuke," she informed him. "In case you didn't know."
But she wouldn't have him any other way, given the choice.
He looked over at her with a quirked eyebrow. "Considering my teammates? I think I'm pretty normal."
"Please," she began with the most delicate of derisive snorts, "you match with Leigh and I perfectly."
"True," he replied. "But then that makes you just as odd as us, doesn't it?"
"I've always been a bit of an anomoly. I suppose it was--" one corner of her mouth quirked up "--Fate, then, I was assigned to be matched with you two." And between the three of them, they completed each other.
That was rewarded by a grin. "Hyuuga Nejiko, that may be the first time that saying 'Fate' wasn't followed by twenty minutes of complaining about it," he said. "We should mark this moment with a statue on this spot or something."
"If you want me to complain," she countered, "I could. Just to keep the record straight."
"That's one record I'm real glad is broken," he replied. "Now if we can just work on the sparring win record between us..." He trailed off with a laugh. "You know, if I'm not careful, I'll start sounding like sensei with Kakami-sensei."
Nejiko affected to look pained. "That is just what I need, the both of you challenging me to senseless spars." Not that they were really senseless; they helped immensely. But it was the principle of the matter.
"I wonder if Leigh and I worked together..." He trailed off, plotting a bit. Usually it was just one or the other training with Nejiko but the two together attacking at once... His mind started plotting until he realized he was looking a bit suspicious.
"Oh hey look," he started, pointing to the stand that was as much a distraction as it was a destination. "Food ahoy. Last one there is buying!" He barely finished the last sentence before he took off running.
"T--" Too late, he was already running. He was faster in that he had longer legs, but Nejiko, she had other advantages. Fuuton, for instance. Not about to lose a challenge, her hands fwipped through a few seals before she directed a harmless wind at his legs. Well, harmless in that there wasn't chakra embedded in it. But it was still strong enough to completely knock the feet out from under him if it hit - which it should.
As soon as the jutsu was on its way, she was running after him to catch up.
Amazingly enough, Tentsuke wasn't too surprised to find himself falling. Just annoyed at the fact that he hadn't seen in coming until his arm hit the ground and he was rolling. He came to a stop with a hand on his pouch, pulling out a handful of small pellets. He threw them across the ground, watched them roll alongside her and then covered his eyes before they went off.
Nejiko had just enough time to see the pellets and recognize them for what they were to she threw up her arms and protect her eyes before the goddamned flashbangs went off. She hated those things. Loud and bright even through her closed eyelids, and disorienting. Coughing a little on the smoke (she had sucked in some involuntarily) she exuded a light haze of chakra and spun to clear the air, managing to do so without gouging the ground.
Tentsuke had caught up to her by the time she stopped, so she planted a foot to push off of, sprinting to keep ahead.
It was back down to a straight race of speed at that point, too short of a distance for any more tricks. And from the look of pure terror on the vendor's face, that was probably a good thing. Tentsuke knew he had lost the minute that he hadn't put more distance between them after the flashbangs, but he tried hard none the less, forced to slide in the dirt a few meters past where the finishing line would be.
"Dammit," he said, wiping the dust off his shirt. "I almost had you."
Nejiko, for her part, had to skid to a halt lest she slam into the vendor's stall itself. She gave him a smirk as he dusted off his shirt. "Maybe some day, Tentsuke, but not today," she returned. "But you are getting quicker." Another smug look before she ordered her food.
"You can thank Leigh for that," he replied, leaning on the side of the stand. "Running after her when she takes her weights off is either going to kill you or make you faster." He ordered as well.
The vendor watched them both, writing down the order with quick crisp penmanship and then disappeared into the back of the stand to make the food, but not before muttering that he should have listened to his mother and not opened a store in a ninja village.
One thing Tentsuke insisted on after every spar (regardless of if he could move afterwards) was that the weapons were cleaned. In this case of the broadsword Nejiko had been using, it entailed being wiped with a oiled, rough cloth to remove any dirt and debris that would have settled on the blade and in the minor nicks and dents accumulated when the swords clashed. Tentsuke still insisted on using dulled edges, despite Nejiko's protests, scowls, and glares. Honestly. Be on the receiving end of a few minorly deep bruises and he got all distressed and wanting to fuss. She didn't appreciate the fussing (not that he cared - he did it anyway), though sometimes she wondered if she ought to let him fuss not so she could feel better, but so he could.
She wondered if she would ever understand him. Then she wondered if she wanted to.
Or she would be wondering both tangents if it weren't for the fact that the looming doom of having to tell Hiashiko-sama they were... Did she say 'dating' or 'going out'? Both had their different connotations but since they essentially boiled down to the same thing and she had been picking over choosing the best possible vocabulary and phrasing utilize to better ensure a positive reaction and outcome for some time now. She blinked once at nothing. Actually, it had been over two weeks since the restaurant. And she wasn't consciously trying to delay, and yet she was, and the more she delayed the more reluctant she grew to tell her aunt but if she didn't and Hiashiko-sama suspected they were sneaking around (which they technically were though it was entirely her own fault) then that wouldn't help her case (or Tentsuke's) but at the same time she really despised the fact that it mattered so bloody much.
She sighed quietly. All of this was a headache.
...No, not all of it. It was the whole clan aspect of this that was giving her the headache. The portions directly involving Tentsuke she would say she if not enjoyed, then definitely liked.
Thinking of... She glanced over at him and watched him silently.
For his part, Tentsuke was thinking of nothing other then returning the blade of the sword back to its pristine state. The sharpening stone moved across the metal gently, barely making any sound as he worked. It was only when he found no more nicks in edge that he started to get the distinct feeling he was being watched.
"Hm?" he asked, not looking up.
Nejiko didn't respond immediately, though her gaze didn't relent.
"You recall what I said before, about how the clan views dating and courtship?" she asked. For this subject, wading in was much preferable than just plunging.
He nodded a bit as he pulled out a polish cloth and some oil. "I do," he replied simply.
...She wished she felt as blasé as he appeared to be. Especially since anxious knots tightened in her stomach.
"You know Hiashiko-sama will want to have a conversation with you. More than likely one-on-one." And if he didn't, he certainly knew now. But that was part of the point of bringing this up, correct? To prepare him for what would be an ordeal?
Why couldn't her life be something even close to approaching simple, instead of so complicated?
"Well..." he started, working out a spot on the leather of the hilt. "That should be fun," he replied, though his tone indicated that it would be anything but.
"She would need to determine your suitability as a mere candidate for a husband. As well as take into consideration what advantages a match between us would bring to the clan." Though her voice didn't change, her expression was definitely borderline sour. Everything had to be about what sort of advantage would be given the clan. She wished she knew if this was standard for branch-outclan courtships, or if she was just lucky that way. Problem was, before she didn't honestly care.
Tentsuke nodded sagely. "Hmm... I see," he replied, massage a bit of oil into the hilt to give the leather back its sheen. "So I shouldn't tell her right off the bat I'm just in it for the money?"
He couldn't hold back the hint of a smile at her initial outburst before she caught on to the joke. "I got it, Nej. I'm not that dense," he continued, finishing with the hilt. "I know what to say."
The hint of a smile she sported faded. "I know you aren't. It is just... she has that final say." Looking back to her sword, she recommenced the job of cleaning. Unbelievable that she found she was unable to clearly articulate the thoughts in her mind. Like how important it was to her that Hiashiko-sama actually give the pair of them the chance. An irrational doubt to be sure, but the seed had been there for some time now, enough to germinate into worry.
He let out a little sigh. "You really think I'm going to screw it up that badly with her?" he asked.
She stopped the motion of her arm as she lifted her head to stare into the middle distance in front of her, and not at him. That talk she and Hiashiko-sama had had about the cancelled wedding was by unspoken agreement just something between them. But it was actually because of that conversation and the implied as well as the spoken that Nejiko was unsettled.
"I am...," she began slowly, "concerned that she would refuse... for her own reasons." Hadn't that along with the children issue been one of the largest deciding factors?
He shrugged his shoulders a bit. "Then it doesn't really make any difference what I do," he stated. "So there's no reason to worry." Infallible logic was, after all, one of his strong suits.
"..."
She scowled at nothing as she lapsed into silence, her eyes shifting to the sword in her hands. After a while, she resumed cleaning. A few minutes after that, a low, frustrated sound escaped her. While he understood quite a lot, obviously there were gaps in his knowledge and she was at a loss to readily explain what she knew intrinsically. The difference between clan and outclan.
Sensing the sudden shift in mood, he rested the long sword on the ground and held up his hands in mock surrender. "Just calm down there a second," he asked, trying to bring a calmer tone back to the conversation. One that didn't involve growling or scowling or anything else that made him want to hug the sword closer rather then put it away.
She kept her energy and her attention focused on cleaning the sword. (It probably wouldn't need polishing when she was done.) "For me, there is reason to worry. It isn't your blood they want bred back into the main family." That was something never outright stated, but more implied. The pinched look around the eyes of the Elders when she was first told of the betrothal. The stressing of Hiashiko-sama after of should Nejiko get with child, suggesting that she might have been better off not repoducing.
"The worst part is that I cannot be sure you would be judged because of who you are, but rather for who I am. And that unfairness is..." She trailed off, then shook her head and continued. "Difficult to fully express."
He could didn't really have a way to refute that. Hyuuga clan politics were beyond him and he was rather happy with that fact. All he had were the truths he used to govern his own life. "It's a chance then," he replied. "Everything usually is. But better to try then just wonder what might have happened."
Nejiko closed her eyes, and her brow visible below the hitae-ate. Easy for him to say, and she positively hated leaving things up to chance. In a battle, the situation was entirely different.
He sighed in defeat. "Come on, what's the worse that's going to happen?" he asked. "She's going to what... strike me dead with a look?"
....
Not funny, Tentsuke. "The worst that could happen would be for her to say 'no'," she answered quietly. She opened her eyes. "I do not want that." She threw an assessing look at him. "...And I do not believe you are taking this as lightl as you portray yourself as."
He got a bit frustrated at that. Because for him, it was such an obvious thing. He looked over at her and made sure she didn't think he wasn't be serious. "All I ever needed was to know you wanted this," he stated, motioning between them, "to work. That done, anything else is just a matter of sorting things out. It'll work out," he finished, not a trace of doubt in his voice.
Part of her wondered if she wasn't over-thinking this. But that niggling doubt and worry refused to be displaced, try as she might. True, the worst Hiashiko-sama could do was say 'no'. Yet even then, she couldn't forbid Nejiko from seeing him at all as they were still teammates, and they still trained together. That wasn't likely to ever stop.
Eventually, she simply reached over to take his hand.
He gave it a little squeeze with a smile. " There see? Nothing to worry abut."
She held on. "I wish I could share your confidence in this."
He beamed proudly. "You know me, I've got enough confidence to share." He saw her smile a little and nodded firmly in the belief that all was nearly fixed.
"Eh, you've got a bit of oil on your nose," he said, bopping her on the nose and make the imaginary spot a real one.
Nejiko sniffed and wrinkled her nose, letting go of his hand to wipe at the smudge. All she succeeded in doing was smearing it. She scowled, and yet... she felt some of her tension ease. Not a whole lot, but some.
He really couldn't help it. At first it was easy to keep a straight face but after a few seconds of watching her smear it around even more, he started snickering and couldn't stop.
She gave him a patented look before leaneng towards him so she could wipe her hand clean on his shirt. No one snickered at her without the consequences. Satisfied her hand was free of oil, she smirked at him before going back to cleaning her sword.
"Hey!" he protested, pulling away slightly. He looked down at his shirt somewhat unhappily. "I just washed this last week," he muttered.
Admitting defeat, he smirked slightly so she knew it was as much as joke to him as it was to her. He pulled the sword from its resting place on the ground. The hilt was done to satsification so he moved onto the blade itself, working the oil across the length of it.
Her smirk remained in plaice as she finished cleaning. Holding it by the handle, she inspected it critically (she knew Tentsuke's standards) before resting it across her lap. She attempted to wipe her hands on the cloth, gave up, and settled for watching him polish his sword.
There was a dark smudge and he worked the cloth into it until the metal turn to the perfect shine he was used to. He heard her lay the weapon down but didn't stop working. He could be a bit obsessive sometimes, he knew that. But it didn't stop him from working even after he realized she was watching him in silence. "Yes?" he asked.
One dark eyebrow lifted. "Can I not simply watch?"
He didn't see a reason why not. So he went back to work, carefully wiping away the excess oil. He picked up the sheath and examined it, looking for any dust trapped inside before turning back to examine the sword.
After about ten minutes of watching him squint his eyes to make sure every single last speck of dirt and bit of dust no longer marred his weapon, Nejiko asked, "What does your family do?"
He only half heard the question, most of his concentration on a bit of leaf that had gotten itself wedged in the folds of hilt's leather. So he gave her the automatic response he gave everyone. "Ah, makes weapons mostly. For Konoha."
...She knew that already.
"I meant as far as one of you deciding to date."
"Oh." He put the sword down, realizing he was not paying attention. "Ah..." he started, pondering on things. "Well, the girls get it worse. When they bring the boy round we tend to meet him fully armed, just to make a point, you know."
She let out a quiet hnf; her version of a laugh. "You should have seen Isamu and Osamu when the Suna delegation came to the compound." She paused, remembering. "Never thought they would be protective for me."
He smiled. "It's pretty universal I guess. Our girls can usually handle themselves but... puts a bit of fear in the boyfriends at least."
"Hm." She considered this. "And if, say, you were to bring me to meet your family?" Tentsuke's stories were generally interesting, but stories didn't always live up to real life.
He thought about it for a while before answering. "Ah... the girls would mostly hate you because you aren't good enough." Which was true. Tentsuke was one of the few that left his home to become a shinobi. That alone put him high regard among the rest of the family. But his laid back and fun loving attitude had made him a favorite among his female cousins.
"And the guys would hate me," he added witha large smile, "'cause I got so damn lucky."
"...You understand if I have a moment of deja vu back to the academy." The other girls (with one exception) in their class had resented the attention paid to the Hyuuga, both that of the males in the class, and the teachers because she was just so good in everything. 'Irritating' would be phrasing it mildly.
He smirked. "Yeah, pretty much," he agreed, having been a spectator for all that. "It calms down after a while. Just..." He trailed off with a somewhat worried expression. "Well, don't get offended if some of my cousins try to kill you or anything."
She gave him a bland look which then turned considering. "Your family are smiths and weapons-experts, correct?"
"Pretty much," he answer. "Though... I think I have one aunt who's a cook." He paused as he tried to remember her. "No wait... she's a sushi chef so I guess the knives count."
"And are any of them are as good as you?" she inquired.
"Mom could give you a run for your money in her day," he answered. Hell, she could out fight him even today. "The rest... one on one you'd win," he continued truthfully. "They're more used to group fighting."
".......Really." She lifted a hand to her chin, her expression thoughtful. A group of people skilled like Tentsuke, and they used to fighting as a group?
That sounded like fun, actually. She wouldn't mind sparring with them, in that sort of situation.
He glared at her. "Don't get that look. I know that look." He crossed his arms over his chest. "My family doesn't live in a friendly neighborhood." So to speak, he added mentally. "They don't play around."
Nejiko's face was almost pure innocence. "I wouldn't ask them to." The happy gleam in her silver eyes, however...
He sighed in defeat and picked up the sword, going back to polishing it.
"What?"
He smiled a bit. "You just love learning things the hard way sometimes."
She appreciated the concern, but the smirk still remained. Having Gaia-sensei for a mentor didn't help her propensity for wanting to test herself against those stronger than her. "So then do you believe me incapable of handling your cousins in a spar?" For learning how to cope in a group situation like the one he inferred would be nothing short of useful. Painful, perhaps, but useful.
"Depends on how many are on you at once," he answered quickly. One or two... maybe. But if three of them decided to go after you at once, the outcome was pretty clear.
"How many people are in your family?" He was always mentioning this cousin or that uncle, and while names were repeated there was always a new one each time he actually spoke of his family.
He let out a deep breath. "Ah, how immediate?" he asked. "I mean, mom is one of seven."
Her eyebrows rose. "Seven?" Hyuuga had generally had only or two children, sometimes three. Very rarely did they have more.
He nodded. "Yeah. Dad had just two sisters though," he added.
"Hn. Interesting," she decided. She noted the annoyance still lurking in his eyes and signed mentally.
"If we go see them, I won't challenge them to a spar or a fight." There. Now she eliminated some loopholes. The one of all bets being off if they challenged her, however, remained.
He smiled. "That's good." After all, even if he couldn't say anything, he knew he was mom would be able to keep them in line. Mostly... okay, maybe a few disobedient...
He sighed in defeat.
...
"Hm?" Now what?
He went back to polishing his sword.
"Tentsuke...," she said. "What was that sigh for?"
"Nothing," he muttered. "Just accepting my defeat is all."
"Your defeat?" she echoed.
"In getting you not to fight," he replied.
Now she did sigh aloud. "I won't go challenging them. I promise."
"And mom'll lay down the same rule," he replied. "Except just imagine me, with about twice as many weapons, locked up without anyone but family to fight and well..." He trailed off with a wave of the hand.
Again her eyebrow lifted. "They would defy your mother? Seeing as you make her out to be the family matriarch."
"No, no she's just something like a lieutenant," he replied. "So yeah, they would, if they were bored enough. My grandmother though..."
"What about her?" Nejiko's paternal grandmother died in the Kyuubi attack. Her maternal grandmother some years before that.
He laughed. "Let's just say you never argue with an eighty-year old woman who can swing a battle axe without problem."
The urge to grin was strong, but Hyuuga control asserted itself as usual. "...I think I would like your grandmother."
"She's the one in charge so if you can impress her, you're as good as family," he smiled.
"Ah." Some random dust particle went up her nose, and she rubbed at it absently with the back of her hand. "Do you believe she would like me?" It couldn't hurt to ask...
He paused. He didn't want to lie but he didn't want to hurt her feelings either. "She's 80 years old and carries around a battle axe. She doesn't like much of anything at her age," he replied truthfully.
"I see," she said expressionlessly.
"Would you have recommendations?" Behavior-wise. Though she didn't say it aloud, he would understand what she was asking.
"Hmm..." He tapped his chin thoughfully. "Think of a very ornery and unhappy bear. Treat her the same you would it."
In other words, treat with cautious respect and do not approach unless clearly invited. Nejiko understood immediately. "Essentially, my aunt in a bad mood," she said with a touch of dryness. "Why would your grandmother be unhappy?"
"Ah..." he started and then trailed off. "Hm..." He felt silent again and went into deep thought. Years of being chased, hit over the head with wooden spoons... there were lots of incidents involving her anger. But the reason why... that was harder to quantify.
"Or do you just find it easier to not ask why and simply respect her temper and her skill?" Nejiko suggested when he looked lost in his thoughts.
"Something like that," he agreeed. "It's not that she's mean or cruel, it's just she's old enough to not care what people think of her. And if you do something stupid, she has no reason not to be real blunt about it." Very very blunt about it. Usually with a mix of harsh words and violence.
She nodded. She supposed some of the Elders fell into that category, if Hyuuga were the kind to be really blunt.
"It's not that one day she woke up and was suddenly different," he continued, realizing he was making her sound like ah horrible person. "It's more that time just wore away her desire to be nice about things."
"I can understand that." Nejiko had been rather jaded by the time she had made genin. Her then-thin layer of civility was more habit than anything else. Odd how she could understand the people of Tentsuke's family without having met them.
"So, she's just crotchy 'cause she can be and everyone expect nothing less," he shrugged. "Part of daily life, so to speak. Don't cross the Bear," he recited crisply. "Motto of the family."
She smiled faintly. "Understood."
He carefully slid the sword back into the sheath, assured of the fact that it was in pristine condition. "Don't even worry about her. Mom's her favorite and even so, it's not like she'd forbid anything."
Nejiko nodded, then did likewise with her sword before handing it back to him. "How much longer on broadsword would you say I have to go before we can progress to dagger?" she asked.
Tentsuke took the swords and wrapped them in a cloth. He pulled out a scroll and unfurled it on the ground. "Ah... depends. For you, another couple of weeks might be enough to get enough of a feel for it." A few hands sign and the scroll glowed a bit. He pushed the swords into the paper, rolling it up after he was done.
"Good," she declared before getting to her feet. Her stomach chose to growl just as she was running a hand over her hair to flatten any strays, and she scowled. She ate early this morning and it was only just noon.
He smiled a bit as he finished putting his stuff together. "Right then, lunch it is."
For her part, she just pulled her long-sleeved shirt on over the sleeveless one. Wearing the haori extensively would have caused questions, and she still wanted to keep the tattoo from peeping out in public. "Since it's a nice day, mind if we ate outside?"
"Sure, we can just pick something up from a stand," he replied, slinging his pack across his back and letting it settle it there. He waited for her before proceeding, following the well worn path back towards the outskirts of town.
It was hot but he didn't think the weather had anything to do with the heavy silence between them. "You're not still worrying are you?" he asked, looking over at her.
"No, merely thinking."
He took in a deep breath. "Because you know... if it would help, I could always go with you," he offered, not really sure he understood what he was getting himself into.
She blinked in consideration of this. It may help, actually. If nothing else, she wouldn't be facing Hiashiko-sama alone. "It might...," she agreed slowly, "though I have not yet been able to properly consider how to actually tell her. Nevermind the best phrasing of the statement itself." What wouldn't she give to just be able to say, flat out, I'm dating Tentsuke.
Make everyone's life so much easier.
"We'll practice a bit then," he replied. "And I'll let you do the talking when you can. Otherwise, there's always those formal language courses they forced us through at the academy to fall back on." And he had passed those... eventually.
"'Practice'?" she echoed blankly.
"Yeah, like it was a mission," he continued. "You know, plan the most successful path and then work through all the contigencies."
She had to smile inside. He would phrase it in such a way. Outwardly, she looked a bit more relaxed. "The only downside being the sheer amount of unknowns, but we've usually been able to compensate well enough so far, together." And really, when it boiled down to her reasoning, it was because she wanted to date him. If she didn't, it never would have happened.
...Still didn't mean she wanted to tell Hiashiko-sama anyhow, which was not aiding in composing a suitable argument for allowing the courtship.
"Exactly," he smiled in triumph. "So, this'll be be cake. If only I could convince Hokage-sama to add this to my A-rank mission count," he joked.
"You want to be paid for speaking to Hiashiko-sama?" Nejiko returned.
"No," he replied. "I want it so next ti me they tell me a mission is too dangerous, I can point to that and say it can't be worse then volunteering to walk into the dragon's den and asking her to chomp on your bones," he finished with a serious tone.
His statement was just so absurd yet with an ounce of truth, it startled a brief, actual laugh from her before she quickly cut it off. Still, the amusement remained in her eyes, warming them as she threw him a look. "She is not going to chomp your bones, Tentsuke."
"Ah, that's good. I tend to need them," he replied without missing a beat.
She shook her head, smiling a little. "I would wonder, if you didn't."
"Well, not having them wouldn't let me do things like this," he replied, moving quickly to grab her by the waist and swing her around once before dropping her back on the ground. He snickered a bit as he took a few steps forward to avoid immediate retaliation.
She let out a quick, quiet yelp before he deposited her back on her feet. And since he moved quickly beyond her reach, she settled on glowering. "You enjoy doing that, don't you," she said with not nearly as much annoyance as she might've before.
"Training," he said firmly. "You know, so you don't get dizzy during a Kaiten." And he almost made it through with a straight face.
That earned him a chuckle and another shake of her head. "You're odd, Tentsuke," she informed him. "In case you didn't know."
But she wouldn't have him any other way, given the choice.
He looked over at her with a quirked eyebrow. "Considering my teammates? I think I'm pretty normal."
"Please," she began with the most delicate of derisive snorts, "you match with Leigh and I perfectly."
"True," he replied. "But then that makes you just as odd as us, doesn't it?"
"I've always been a bit of an anomoly. I suppose it was--" one corner of her mouth quirked up "--Fate, then, I was assigned to be matched with you two." And between the three of them, they completed each other.
That was rewarded by a grin. "Hyuuga Nejiko, that may be the first time that saying 'Fate' wasn't followed by twenty minutes of complaining about it," he said. "We should mark this moment with a statue on this spot or something."
"If you want me to complain," she countered, "I could. Just to keep the record straight."
"That's one record I'm real glad is broken," he replied. "Now if we can just work on the sparring win record between us..." He trailed off with a laugh. "You know, if I'm not careful, I'll start sounding like sensei with Kakami-sensei."
Nejiko affected to look pained. "That is just what I need, the both of you challenging me to senseless spars." Not that they were really senseless; they helped immensely. But it was the principle of the matter.
"I wonder if Leigh and I worked together..." He trailed off, plotting a bit. Usually it was just one or the other training with Nejiko but the two together attacking at once... His mind started plotting until he realized he was looking a bit suspicious.
"Oh hey look," he started, pointing to the stand that was as much a distraction as it was a destination. "Food ahoy. Last one there is buying!" He barely finished the last sentence before he took off running.
"T--" Too late, he was already running. He was faster in that he had longer legs, but Nejiko, she had other advantages. Fuuton, for instance. Not about to lose a challenge, her hands fwipped through a few seals before she directed a harmless wind at his legs. Well, harmless in that there wasn't chakra embedded in it. But it was still strong enough to completely knock the feet out from under him if it hit - which it should.
As soon as the jutsu was on its way, she was running after him to catch up.
Amazingly enough, Tentsuke wasn't too surprised to find himself falling. Just annoyed at the fact that he hadn't seen in coming until his arm hit the ground and he was rolling. He came to a stop with a hand on his pouch, pulling out a handful of small pellets. He threw them across the ground, watched them roll alongside her and then covered his eyes before they went off.
Nejiko had just enough time to see the pellets and recognize them for what they were to she threw up her arms and protect her eyes before the goddamned flashbangs went off. She hated those things. Loud and bright even through her closed eyelids, and disorienting. Coughing a little on the smoke (she had sucked in some involuntarily) she exuded a light haze of chakra and spun to clear the air, managing to do so without gouging the ground.
Tentsuke had caught up to her by the time she stopped, so she planted a foot to push off of, sprinting to keep ahead.
It was back down to a straight race of speed at that point, too short of a distance for any more tricks. And from the look of pure terror on the vendor's face, that was probably a good thing. Tentsuke knew he had lost the minute that he hadn't put more distance between them after the flashbangs, but he tried hard none the less, forced to slide in the dirt a few meters past where the finishing line would be.
"Dammit," he said, wiping the dust off his shirt. "I almost had you."
Nejiko, for her part, had to skid to a halt lest she slam into the vendor's stall itself. She gave him a smirk as he dusted off his shirt. "Maybe some day, Tentsuke, but not today," she returned. "But you are getting quicker." Another smug look before she ordered her food.
"You can thank Leigh for that," he replied, leaning on the side of the stand. "Running after her when she takes her weights off is either going to kill you or make you faster." He ordered as well.
The vendor watched them both, writing down the order with quick crisp penmanship and then disappeared into the back of the stand to make the food, but not before muttering that he should have listened to his mother and not opened a store in a ninja village.