Fanfiction: Continuations, 029 fanfic100
Title: Continuations
for the fanfic100 comm
Prompt: 029, "Birth"
Genre: General/ Drama
Rating: PG-13 is good.
Warning: None, just hints
Characters: NejiSasu, Neji & Hiashi
029. Birth
Continuations
- this story contains implied yaoi, and if you are uncomfortable with this, please do us both a favor and stay away. The world needs more NejiSasu.
“Did you call for me, Hiashi-sama.”
If Hiashi could have been given the choice of one who had control over all the events in the universe, he would have done all he could to avoid this particular encounter. As it were, all he happened to be was the head and representative of Konoha’s most powerful family, and the choices that were his to make were always cruel and bitter, even to his own taste.
“I did indeed. Enter, and seat yourself.”
He watched the young man walk quietly into the room, taking a place several paces away from where he sat, as was proper for a Branch member: ten paces away from where his daughters usually sat, and five closer from where servants took their seats in his presence.
He did not need to turn around and face his nephew, being the clan head. And he did not want to either, finding it easier to avert his face from the boy even in gesture only.
He did not respond right away, but it was not because he wanted to gauge the young man who was seated in front of him (like what he used to do when Neji was younger, and more hot-blooded). Hiashi did not say anything because what he was supposed to say-what he needed to say, as the representative of the Hyuuga clan, was something he could not quite bring himself to utter.
Instead, he concentrated on the inkstone in front of him, grinding it to a steady, counterclockwise turn (his natural chakra flow was counterclockwise) that bled the black ink onto the inkstone pestle. The words would come, but he had to empty himself of what he wanted to say, and be the mouthpiece for the clan.
You have spoken to him before about equally severe matters, and you, Hyuuga Hiashi, must carry out your family’s query, he told himself severely.
Neji kept his erect posture, and Hiashi did not sense any impatience on his nephew’s part. Impatience that would have been characteristic of him, several years ago.
“You have no missions for today?”
He was stalling, because his chest felt too tight. He never spoke about touchy matters when he felt affected by them. Hyuuga Hiashi was rarely affected, but what he had to say today-an inquiry expressed by the Elders themselves with regard to the succession of the Hyuuga clan-brought to the table too many delicate concerns.
“I do not believe so, uncle. I have just assisted Team Genma in a skirmish earlier today, and Team Gai will not have anything until the third of the month. If there is anything that the family needs me to do, I am able to comply. ” Neji’s tone had an inkling of a question.
Hiashi unraveled the fresh scroll, and the clean smell of rice paper rose to the air. Today, Takayasu Kuniyo came to mind. An author he rarely liked to quote, and whose works were few and obscure, but whose words seemed flow like ink into the blankness of his mind.
How fitting, he thought to himself, but betrayed no emotion on his face. Carefully, he rolled the head of a brush in the black pool of ink, envisioning the first line of the tanka. He hovered the brush above the surface of the paper for a short moment, before he pressed down to write the first character.
- Upon the water. -
“You have been sparring?” he asked, noting the slight bruises that had begun to colour his nephew’s wrist, and along his nephew’s chest. Hand-to-hand sparring, most likely, he thought. Whoever he had sparred with today was good enough to actually land a solid punch or two. “With whom?”
“I have,” Neji replied. “With Uchiha Sasuke.”
Ah, there it was. Hiashi thanked his luck that the subject of the morning’s interview presented itself almost innocently up to the block. And because it did, boldly, it seemed, and deliberately, he would waste no time in getting to the most important point.
He flicked his wrist to add a hook to his last stroke. “Taijutsu,” he said, allowing a bit of approval in his tone. Who would have thought that the weakened Uchiha could have recovered this quickly? Of course he did not doubt the ability of an Uchiha, but still, this was rather commendable.
“He is quite intent with being eligible for mission work, uncle,” Neji replied, slowly pulling his sleeve over his bruised wrist. Hiashi noticed, but did not say anything. “Although I doubt his relations with everyone else will allow for a favorable mission atmosphere-”
Everyone else. The exclusivity in the words caught Hiashi’s attention and the brush paused in mid-stroke before he lifted it from the paper.
“And…how is your relationship with the Uchiha, Hyuuga Neji?”
The emphasis on the clan names was not lost on the young man. The very fact that it was given articulation was enough. A certain guardedness sprung up in his countenance, and the pale eyes looked more defensive after the question was asked. The brush wavered a little, but Hiashi stilled it, stilled himself, apologized in his mind for always being the harbinger of bitter news.
In truth, nobody needed to ask. The two young men fit each other like the two broken pieces of a magatama that was the crest of the Hyuuga clan. It did not need to be explained, and it could not be explained, especially to those who refused to understand. Many tried to ignore it, because in fairness the boys acted in a thoroughly upstanding manner that gave little or no suggestion of their true bond.
The relationship itself was nothing remarkable; in a village of fighters living their own harsh philosophies, affection was a thing that was transient and hungered for, and nobody took it for granted. It was common for sparring partners to have a deeper sort of intimacy, after all. It was common for teammates or teachers and students, to develop something greater than friendship or camaraderie. Many who did not want to procreate took lovers of the same sex.
But therein, lies the problem, Hiashi thought, and the brush tip pressed too hard on the paper, slightly blotching the eighth stroke of his character.
“With all due respect, Hiashi-sama,” Neji began testily, but still respectfully, “I do not yet understand the point of this meeting. And if I may-“
He saw his brother in that stare. Hizashi had a sureness, a no-nonsense air about him that very few found it in them to question at all. He had seen how his twin brother moved in to defend his son whenever the aloof Elders would impose something on the Branch family; Neji was doing the very same in response to his inquiry about Uchiha Sasuke.
Uchiha Sasuke who, until lately, was the subject of the village’s quiet ire, who had run away once to the village’s most despised enemy. Who, until lately, answered only to one other person in the village willingly and not out of an obligation to rank, who, until the latest decision of the elders, was proving to be a hindrance to the very succession of the clan…
The brush slipped once, twice, splotched against a drying stem in the last character, before it stilled completely. Things were not calm and quiet in the mind of Hyuuga Hiashi, but as he poured the discord in his thoughts onto paper, he felt it leave him gradually, felt its tendrils slip away with every stroke.
- Time just does not exist as something realized -
He closed his eyes, begged his brother silently for forgiveness.
I hope this will be the last time I will offend you and your line, my brother.
“I must ask you, Hyuuga Neji,” Hiashi cut in tersely, the cold, cool logic of the Hyuuga embracing his mind and the turmoil in his heart. “I must ask you to do what you believe is necessary in distancing yourself from the Uchiha.” He raised his head to meet the astonished anger in Neji’s face. “If you need a special request for the Godaime’s consideration, I will see to it done.”
There was complete and utter silence. Neji was motionless where he sat, disbelief clearly etched on his face.
Then through slightly grit teeth, Neji rejoined, “With all due respect Hiashi-sama. I believe I am quite capable of handling Sasuke if and when a relapse of the curse seal should occur. He is well and sentient enough to be left to his own devices, and I have been taking missions outside of this one-” Neji met his uncle’s gaze evenly. “I spar with him but even if he is adept with his taijutsu, I do not believe I will have a problem containing him should he decide to revolt in any way.”
It took all of Hiashi’s self-control and iron discipline to will himself not to laugh. No, no, the boy did not understand. Neji was affronted, because he believed that Hiashi was telling him he was no longer able to act as Sasuke’s guardian. Oh Hiashi had no doubts in that area; he himself sparred with his nephew sometimes, and he could tell that the boy was a talent and a force to be reckoned with, and it made him proud; proud as if he were the boy’s father, as if he had been Hizashi himself.
Ah, it is irony indeed, Hiashi thought amusedly, and a smirk escaped his serious mien. That this life should piece us with such strange relation.
Neji caught the smirk and his face darkened.
“It is not what you believe it to be, Hyuuga Neji.” Hiashi laid the brush down quietly, and met his nephew’s glare levelly for the first time in the conversation. “To doubt your skill in ‘handling’ the Uchiha would be illogical. The Godaime herself, after all, assigned you to this mission.”
“If I may so presume,” Neji began, his voice icy and dangerously low, “then for what reason must I take this course of action?”
If Hyuuga Hiashi were to be anything but the head of his clan, he would have gladly left the boys alone to their mutual solace. He knew the boys had been through so much; and it was ironic that they chose each other-one barely able to heal even himself-to mend themselves with. But here he was, indeed, and he had no choice.
“The Elders have decided, as a gesture of apology to the line of Hyuuga Hizashi, and with due consideration to the achievements that you have garnered for yourself and for the clan, to elect your heir to the Main House and to have him or her succeed Hanabi as the head of Hyuuga.” He held Neji’s stunned gaze. “He will be as a brother--or a sister, indeed--to your cousins, and will be accorded the respect benefiting a representative of Hyuuga.”
Neji was of age already of course; Hiashi himself was married to his third cousin when he was only a year older. The young man had no idea how free the choice presented to him was. In his time, Hiashi could not marry anybody else save for Nyuriko, as was determined by the council. The strength of the White Eyes was also reliant on the blood that carried it.
The offense that Neji took from the initial assertion of his uncle gave way to a complete, but not wholly unpleasant shock. Hiashi knew what the boy was thinking: honor to his father’s line would be restored if he had a son or daughter raised to the Main House. It was too late for him, and Neji would always have to live with this frustration, but for his child…
Without him realizing it, Neji was given a decision that most Branch House members were not in a position to make. He was called to make a decision that somehow had to do with the succession of his own clan. He was given the decision of contributing to the clan, and this was recognition of his genius enough.
Without him realizing it, Neji was given a choice that his father never had the chance to make save in his last few moments of life.
“Understand, Hyuuga Neji, that this is an opportunity, not an order, and it does not come often to Branch House members,” Hiashi continued, breaking the shocked silence. He rose, and passed Neji, who was sitting stiffly where he was. “You must think about this thoroughly, though it would be wise to keep this matter discreet. I shall be expecting an answer.”
Hizashi my brother, if we meet in the next life, you have no reason to forgive me.
Neji was utterly confounded, his thoughts, no doubt, racing and colliding in a maddened state. He had much to think about. He would carry the idea even when he would walk out of the family compound, and when he would rejoin his silent and unlikely companion. He would be faced with a million decisions and indecisions that a minute would reverse.
Alone in the room, with only a completed tanka for a companion, Neji felt the world around him slow to a confuzzled halt. Outside, Uchiha Sasuke had wandered into the Main Courtyard, slightly annoyed at the disappearance of his companion, an irony that he did not want to admit.
Notes:
[1] The tanka I alluded to is by Takayasu Kuniyo, and it goes like this:
Upon the water
Time just does not exist
as something realized-
of the children, two of them,
we are father and mother!
[2] magatama - I believe, that yin yang thing that the Hyuuga use as a crest, and in their Hakke. Representative of the opposing energies that “make a whole.”
[3] 5/100 for fanfic100, under the prompt “Birth,” because it is the one thing they both, obviously, cannot have. Comments and constructive criticisms are always, always welcome. :)
Link to my little Damn Table (tm) XD: here
for the fanfic100 comm
Prompt: 029, "Birth"
Genre: General/ Drama
Rating: PG-13 is good.
Warning: None, just hints
Characters: NejiSasu, Neji & Hiashi
029. Birth
Continuations
- this story contains implied yaoi, and if you are uncomfortable with this, please do us both a favor and stay away. The world needs more NejiSasu.
“Did you call for me, Hiashi-sama.”
If Hiashi could have been given the choice of one who had control over all the events in the universe, he would have done all he could to avoid this particular encounter. As it were, all he happened to be was the head and representative of Konoha’s most powerful family, and the choices that were his to make were always cruel and bitter, even to his own taste.
“I did indeed. Enter, and seat yourself.”
He watched the young man walk quietly into the room, taking a place several paces away from where he sat, as was proper for a Branch member: ten paces away from where his daughters usually sat, and five closer from where servants took their seats in his presence.
He did not need to turn around and face his nephew, being the clan head. And he did not want to either, finding it easier to avert his face from the boy even in gesture only.
He did not respond right away, but it was not because he wanted to gauge the young man who was seated in front of him (like what he used to do when Neji was younger, and more hot-blooded). Hiashi did not say anything because what he was supposed to say-what he needed to say, as the representative of the Hyuuga clan, was something he could not quite bring himself to utter.
Instead, he concentrated on the inkstone in front of him, grinding it to a steady, counterclockwise turn (his natural chakra flow was counterclockwise) that bled the black ink onto the inkstone pestle. The words would come, but he had to empty himself of what he wanted to say, and be the mouthpiece for the clan.
You have spoken to him before about equally severe matters, and you, Hyuuga Hiashi, must carry out your family’s query, he told himself severely.
Neji kept his erect posture, and Hiashi did not sense any impatience on his nephew’s part. Impatience that would have been characteristic of him, several years ago.
“You have no missions for today?”
He was stalling, because his chest felt too tight. He never spoke about touchy matters when he felt affected by them. Hyuuga Hiashi was rarely affected, but what he had to say today-an inquiry expressed by the Elders themselves with regard to the succession of the Hyuuga clan-brought to the table too many delicate concerns.
“I do not believe so, uncle. I have just assisted Team Genma in a skirmish earlier today, and Team Gai will not have anything until the third of the month. If there is anything that the family needs me to do, I am able to comply. ” Neji’s tone had an inkling of a question.
Hiashi unraveled the fresh scroll, and the clean smell of rice paper rose to the air. Today, Takayasu Kuniyo came to mind. An author he rarely liked to quote, and whose works were few and obscure, but whose words seemed flow like ink into the blankness of his mind.
How fitting, he thought to himself, but betrayed no emotion on his face. Carefully, he rolled the head of a brush in the black pool of ink, envisioning the first line of the tanka. He hovered the brush above the surface of the paper for a short moment, before he pressed down to write the first character.
- Upon the water. -
“You have been sparring?” he asked, noting the slight bruises that had begun to colour his nephew’s wrist, and along his nephew’s chest. Hand-to-hand sparring, most likely, he thought. Whoever he had sparred with today was good enough to actually land a solid punch or two. “With whom?”
“I have,” Neji replied. “With Uchiha Sasuke.”
Ah, there it was. Hiashi thanked his luck that the subject of the morning’s interview presented itself almost innocently up to the block. And because it did, boldly, it seemed, and deliberately, he would waste no time in getting to the most important point.
He flicked his wrist to add a hook to his last stroke. “Taijutsu,” he said, allowing a bit of approval in his tone. Who would have thought that the weakened Uchiha could have recovered this quickly? Of course he did not doubt the ability of an Uchiha, but still, this was rather commendable.
“He is quite intent with being eligible for mission work, uncle,” Neji replied, slowly pulling his sleeve over his bruised wrist. Hiashi noticed, but did not say anything. “Although I doubt his relations with everyone else will allow for a favorable mission atmosphere-”
Everyone else. The exclusivity in the words caught Hiashi’s attention and the brush paused in mid-stroke before he lifted it from the paper.
“And…how is your relationship with the Uchiha, Hyuuga Neji?”
The emphasis on the clan names was not lost on the young man. The very fact that it was given articulation was enough. A certain guardedness sprung up in his countenance, and the pale eyes looked more defensive after the question was asked. The brush wavered a little, but Hiashi stilled it, stilled himself, apologized in his mind for always being the harbinger of bitter news.
In truth, nobody needed to ask. The two young men fit each other like the two broken pieces of a magatama that was the crest of the Hyuuga clan. It did not need to be explained, and it could not be explained, especially to those who refused to understand. Many tried to ignore it, because in fairness the boys acted in a thoroughly upstanding manner that gave little or no suggestion of their true bond.
The relationship itself was nothing remarkable; in a village of fighters living their own harsh philosophies, affection was a thing that was transient and hungered for, and nobody took it for granted. It was common for sparring partners to have a deeper sort of intimacy, after all. It was common for teammates or teachers and students, to develop something greater than friendship or camaraderie. Many who did not want to procreate took lovers of the same sex.
But therein, lies the problem, Hiashi thought, and the brush tip pressed too hard on the paper, slightly blotching the eighth stroke of his character.
“With all due respect, Hiashi-sama,” Neji began testily, but still respectfully, “I do not yet understand the point of this meeting. And if I may-“
He saw his brother in that stare. Hizashi had a sureness, a no-nonsense air about him that very few found it in them to question at all. He had seen how his twin brother moved in to defend his son whenever the aloof Elders would impose something on the Branch family; Neji was doing the very same in response to his inquiry about Uchiha Sasuke.
Uchiha Sasuke who, until lately, was the subject of the village’s quiet ire, who had run away once to the village’s most despised enemy. Who, until lately, answered only to one other person in the village willingly and not out of an obligation to rank, who, until the latest decision of the elders, was proving to be a hindrance to the very succession of the clan…
The brush slipped once, twice, splotched against a drying stem in the last character, before it stilled completely. Things were not calm and quiet in the mind of Hyuuga Hiashi, but as he poured the discord in his thoughts onto paper, he felt it leave him gradually, felt its tendrils slip away with every stroke.
- Time just does not exist as something realized -
He closed his eyes, begged his brother silently for forgiveness.
I hope this will be the last time I will offend you and your line, my brother.
“I must ask you, Hyuuga Neji,” Hiashi cut in tersely, the cold, cool logic of the Hyuuga embracing his mind and the turmoil in his heart. “I must ask you to do what you believe is necessary in distancing yourself from the Uchiha.” He raised his head to meet the astonished anger in Neji’s face. “If you need a special request for the Godaime’s consideration, I will see to it done.”
There was complete and utter silence. Neji was motionless where he sat, disbelief clearly etched on his face.
Then through slightly grit teeth, Neji rejoined, “With all due respect Hiashi-sama. I believe I am quite capable of handling Sasuke if and when a relapse of the curse seal should occur. He is well and sentient enough to be left to his own devices, and I have been taking missions outside of this one-” Neji met his uncle’s gaze evenly. “I spar with him but even if he is adept with his taijutsu, I do not believe I will have a problem containing him should he decide to revolt in any way.”
It took all of Hiashi’s self-control and iron discipline to will himself not to laugh. No, no, the boy did not understand. Neji was affronted, because he believed that Hiashi was telling him he was no longer able to act as Sasuke’s guardian. Oh Hiashi had no doubts in that area; he himself sparred with his nephew sometimes, and he could tell that the boy was a talent and a force to be reckoned with, and it made him proud; proud as if he were the boy’s father, as if he had been Hizashi himself.
Ah, it is irony indeed, Hiashi thought amusedly, and a smirk escaped his serious mien. That this life should piece us with such strange relation.
Neji caught the smirk and his face darkened.
“It is not what you believe it to be, Hyuuga Neji.” Hiashi laid the brush down quietly, and met his nephew’s glare levelly for the first time in the conversation. “To doubt your skill in ‘handling’ the Uchiha would be illogical. The Godaime herself, after all, assigned you to this mission.”
“If I may so presume,” Neji began, his voice icy and dangerously low, “then for what reason must I take this course of action?”
If Hyuuga Hiashi were to be anything but the head of his clan, he would have gladly left the boys alone to their mutual solace. He knew the boys had been through so much; and it was ironic that they chose each other-one barely able to heal even himself-to mend themselves with. But here he was, indeed, and he had no choice.
“The Elders have decided, as a gesture of apology to the line of Hyuuga Hizashi, and with due consideration to the achievements that you have garnered for yourself and for the clan, to elect your heir to the Main House and to have him or her succeed Hanabi as the head of Hyuuga.” He held Neji’s stunned gaze. “He will be as a brother--or a sister, indeed--to your cousins, and will be accorded the respect benefiting a representative of Hyuuga.”
Neji was of age already of course; Hiashi himself was married to his third cousin when he was only a year older. The young man had no idea how free the choice presented to him was. In his time, Hiashi could not marry anybody else save for Nyuriko, as was determined by the council. The strength of the White Eyes was also reliant on the blood that carried it.
The offense that Neji took from the initial assertion of his uncle gave way to a complete, but not wholly unpleasant shock. Hiashi knew what the boy was thinking: honor to his father’s line would be restored if he had a son or daughter raised to the Main House. It was too late for him, and Neji would always have to live with this frustration, but for his child…
Without him realizing it, Neji was given a decision that most Branch House members were not in a position to make. He was called to make a decision that somehow had to do with the succession of his own clan. He was given the decision of contributing to the clan, and this was recognition of his genius enough.
Without him realizing it, Neji was given a choice that his father never had the chance to make save in his last few moments of life.
“Understand, Hyuuga Neji, that this is an opportunity, not an order, and it does not come often to Branch House members,” Hiashi continued, breaking the shocked silence. He rose, and passed Neji, who was sitting stiffly where he was. “You must think about this thoroughly, though it would be wise to keep this matter discreet. I shall be expecting an answer.”
Hizashi my brother, if we meet in the next life, you have no reason to forgive me.
Neji was utterly confounded, his thoughts, no doubt, racing and colliding in a maddened state. He had much to think about. He would carry the idea even when he would walk out of the family compound, and when he would rejoin his silent and unlikely companion. He would be faced with a million decisions and indecisions that a minute would reverse.
Alone in the room, with only a completed tanka for a companion, Neji felt the world around him slow to a confuzzled halt. Outside, Uchiha Sasuke had wandered into the Main Courtyard, slightly annoyed at the disappearance of his companion, an irony that he did not want to admit.
Notes:
[1] The tanka I alluded to is by Takayasu Kuniyo, and it goes like this:
Upon the water
Time just does not exist
as something realized-
of the children, two of them,
we are father and mother!
[2] magatama - I believe, that yin yang thing that the Hyuuga use as a crest, and in their Hakke. Representative of the opposing energies that “make a whole.”
[3] 5/100 for fanfic100, under the prompt “Birth,” because it is the one thing they both, obviously, cannot have. Comments and constructive criticisms are always, always welcome. :)
Link to my little Damn Table (tm) XD: here