Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Rosemary For Remembrance ❯ Ivy ( Chapter 2 )

Title: Rosemary For Remembrance

Author: Sintari

Summary: Hyuga is a house with many rooms. A Neji & Hinata-centric fic. Expect madness, love, sex, and murder.

Rating: PG-13 for this chapter; eventually up to NC-17

Genre: Het. Drama/Angst. Yaoi will be mentioned. Shino/Hinata. Various pairings t.b.a.

Spoilers: Up to Manga 238

Archive: Scimitar Smile, FF.net

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

 

A/N: Though various pairings will appear in this story, don't get too attached tomostof them.

 

 

Chapter 2 - Ivy

 

A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.

 

William Shakespeare

 

Part of the agreement between the Main House and the Branch House - the part where Neji personally watched over Hinata - had been all but forgotten after Hyuga Hizashi's sacrifice. A politician at heart, his uncle Hiashi reminded Neji of his duty after the Chuunin exam. Nobody saw fit to remark on the thinly veiled attempt to bring Neji back into the family fold after his unprecedented display of skill when he fought with Uzumaki Naruto. He had been a wild card for far too long.

 

At first, as Neji healed from his fight with Kidomaru, his duties consisted of standing behind Hinata at ceremonies. Soon, Hiashi began calling him into his office for chats. That was when Neji realized that he was being groomed to be Hinata's councilor; much like his father had been for Hiashi. Every time he sat in the large office, he couldn't help but remember how that had turned out for his father. He understood that Hizashi had won in the end, escaped the fate of the caged bird and died for his family and friends. But he was still dead, and Neji had missed him every day. It was not the idea of making that sacrifice that bothered him now. The last year, and specifically his fight with Naruto and their subsequent mission to rescue Uchiha Sasuke, had opened his eyes to a number of things. Konoha, his friends, perhaps even the Byakugan were worth dying for, it was true, but sometimes it bothered him that very few people would miss him if he were called upon to make a sacrifice like his father's. Though he would never admit it.

 

Neji had always tried his best at everything he did, and knowing that he worked not only for himself but for others only made him push himself that much harder.

 

And so he asked for extra time to think when Hiashi took him aside one evening to ask his opinion on a matter concerning Hinata. Should they void the formal betrothal agreement between her and the remaining Uchiha? It was true that he had betrayed the village. But if by some chance he were dragged kicking and screaming back, the marriage could afford a unique opportunity.

 

“When he opens his eyes to see beyond the romantic idea of revenge,” Hiashi had told him seriously, “he will realize that he has few allies. The boy will be honor bound to hold to the betrothal agreement and the Sharingan will come back home to roost.”

 

Neji's mouth had gone dry. “You sound like you have already made your decision, Hiashi-sama.”

 

“It's important to think of both sides of any argument, Neji. On the other hand, the Uchiha boy is a traitor. And there is the very real possibility that he may be killed in the fighting or never return. Konoha, and the Hyuga, will gain immeasurable leverage if the heir is marriageable again. Such a circumstance could be especially useful in a time of war.”

 

Neji had nodded to show that he understood. That was the day that he first realized that a diplomat like Hiashi wove more webs than someone like Kidomaru could have ever imagined.

 

“What about the Byakugan? Isn't it Hinata's duty to the Clan to produce an heir with our special ability?”

 

Neji had been puzzled by Hiashi's brief smile. “Her blood is strong, even if she is not. I wouldn't worry too much about it. We are lucky that my late wife managed to produce two blessed children. If it comes down to it, one of Hanabi's children can succeed Hinata. And there's plenty of time yet to think of a match for Hanabi.” Neji had thought Hiashi's glance at him just then was a tad too appraising.

 

He had excused himself with a plea to think on the question overnight. It shamed him a bit that it took him more than an hour to realize that this problem did not only involve documents and power games. It involved people.

 

Maybe there was more Hyuga in him than he cared to admit.

 

So when he saw Hinata in her garden, he decided to ask her opinion on the matter.

 

“Hinata-sama.” Though they had spoken quite civilly to one another since their fight in their first Chuunin exam, they had never been alone together. And he had never initiated the contact. Busy doing something with a spade, she had turned to him with a start and he realized that he had surprised her. The heir to the Hyuga Clan should have heard him approaching, no matter how safe she felt in her own garden within the walls of her own home. He hadn't even muffled his footsteps. Neji made a note to speak with Hiashi about it, and then immediately thought better of it. The Head had already written her off as a chess piece - a Queen maybe, but a piece nonetheless. Telling him would only get her in trouble and likely would not solve the problem.

 

She had placed her spade in the basket beside her and stood up to greet him. He stood there stiffly as she wiped her hands on a pair of filthy old pants with worn out knees and then ran a hand over her bare forehead.

 

“You have dirt-” He tapped his own covered forehead. “Here.”

 

Blushing - he realized that he had seen her with pink cheeks more often than without - she brushed her forehead again. “Did I get it?”

 

He shook his head and she tried again. Looking around, he wondered suddenly where everyone was. Generally the courtyard was filled with servants and various family members. A large crop of Hyuga children had entered the Academy this year and could generally be found in the training yard after school. But that corner of the courtyard was empty, too. It was as if the entire Compound was giving them their privacy.

 

When she looked up at him again, a smudge of dirt still staining her perfect forehead, he almost changed his mind about asking her.

 

“You got it,” he lied. And for the entire brief time they talked his fingers would itch to brush that last smudge of dirt off her face.

 

“What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?” He saw her eyes dart around the empty courtyard, an easy enough reaction to read. He made her nervous.

 

Neji cleared his throat and began again. “Hinata-sama. As you probably know your father has began training me as a member of his council.”

 

She nodded and he could see that she was listening carefully.

 

“And well, he asked for my opinion today.” She was still watching him expectantly. “On a matter regarding you.”

 

“Oh. Well.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I'm sure that, between the both of you, you will make a good decision about whatever it is.”

 

Neji was baffled. “Don't you even want to know what it was about? It was about you. Your future. Your whole life.”

 

“Does it m-matter?” He sensed that she was trying to sound nonchalant. The stammer ruined the façade.

 

She wasn't looking at him now. A moment passed in silence.

 

“It's your life,” he said finally.

 

“Yes it is. And I'm s-sorry. It's just that- Well, I'm not really the one to come to if you need help making decisions about my life.” She looked at the ground. “I thought that you of all people would understand that.”

 

He did. He had been such a fool, really.

 

“Well, I'm asking you now. Should he come back to Konoha, do you want to marry Uchiha Sasuke?”

 

Hinata looked up at him sharply. “No! He's a traitor to Konoha. He nearly got you and Chouji-san killed. And he upset Naruto-kun so much. Surely Otousan isn't still thinking of honoring the betrothal if he comes back?”

 

He did not tell her how similar her reaction had been to his own.

 

“All I know is that he asked my opinion,” Neji said truthfully. “I didn't know what to say. So I thought I would ask you. Like I said, it's your life.”

 

The tentative smile they shared between them then was one of those moments of pure understanding.

 

“Well, I'll tell him I think it's a bad idea then. Not that he'll listen if he decides otherwise.”

 

“Of course not,” Hinata agreed. “But still-” she trailed off.

 

Neji merely nodded and turned to walk away.

 

“Neji.” Her voice was quiet. He turned back around to see her still standing in the same spot. “Thank you.” And then she smiled at him, just a little.

 

He nodded again, and wordlessly reached up to rub the last remaining bit of dirt off of her forehead.

 

()()()()()

 

Hinata made a point to revive her mother's neglected garden, and by the time she graduated from the Academy, the plot had once again bloomed to its original size. She had also made use of her mother's shed again, with its ovens, drying racks and mixing vats. She did have to put up with the occasional snide comment that spending so much time herb gardening was not a very fitting pastime for a kunoichi until it turned out that her ointments could sooth most any ailment, from cuts to blisters to itching. And it also turned out that she was either too embarrassed or too discreet to gossip when a shame-faced Branch House cousin visited her to find a remedy for an affliction he had caught among the whores in the gambling town to the north. After that, her ointments were in high demand throughout the village, especially when her father wouldn't allow her to accept payment for something as common as brewing herbal remedies.

 

Sometimes, while Hinata worked, Hanabi liked to sit on the fence that separated the herb garden from the rest of the courtyard and watch. Hinata had never understood her sister's inclination to seek her out and spend time with her. They had never gotten along and any long conversations they had always left Hinata feeling uneasy. It was as if Hanabi knew something she did not.

 

“I heard that this was our mother's garden,” Hanabi announced one afternoon. Hinata was, as usual, on her knees in the dirt with a basket at her side, pulling the endless weeds that seemed to plague her most potent medicinal herbs. Hanabi was walking back and forth on top of the narrow fence, most likely having been instructed to practice her chakra control. Hinata looked up in time to see her sister leap and turn a perfect cartwheel on top of the enclosure.

 

“Very good,” she told her sister absently, and it would have been impressive indeed if she hadn't seen the very same trick a thousand times before. “And yes, it was our mother's garden.”

 

Hanabi perched on the fence now, kicking her feet against it noisily. At ten, she looked the part of a Hyuga - high cheek-boned and willowy. Ever since Hinata could remember strangers and acquaintances alike had remarked on what a beautiful child she was. Hinata, on the other hand, resembled their mother. She was shorter, and much to her embarrassment when her teammates began to notice, more rounded.

 

“I also hear that she killed herself because Otousan did not love her,” Hanabi continued conversationally. Her legs stopped in mid-kick when Hinata glanced up at her sharply.

 

“Then you heard wrong,” she snapped, an innocent weed bearing the brunt of her anger. “And the next time you hear that story, you tell them that she fell and hit her head by the river looking for the very plants that they need so much to heal their cuts and burns!”

 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hanabi drop to the ground beside her.

 

“Take it easy. I'm sorry. I just wanted to know if it was true. Nobody ever tells me anything.” Her tone didn't sound very sorry at all.

 

“I heard one more thing,” Hanabi began pacing the garden path, inspecting the plants. “That you are a lot like her.”

 

Hinata pinked slightly at that. “I suppose that's true,” she said tentatively. “We were both good with plants.”

 

Hanabi gave her one of her sharp toothed smiles. “Then I'm not sure I would have cared to have known her.”

 

The words registered at the same time she saw Hanabi bend down to pluck the flower off of a plant with shriveled red berries.

 

“Don't touch it!” Hinata warned.

 

She could hear her mother's voice clearly.

 

“Steeped for ten minutes a small infusion of this will kill a wild dog. A larger infusion will kill something larger than a dog. Do you understand, Hinata?”

 

“The leaves will give you a rash,” she lied.

 

And she hadn't stammered at all.

 

()()()()()

 

“How long do you think this will last?” Ichiro huddled closer to the wall, elbowing Maki aside. The wind had shifted, driving the cold rain directly into the shallow awning over Konoha's main gate. It was never enviable to draw gate duty, and, to their dismay, the two perpetual Genin had found themselves standing guard outside the big walls more and more often lately.

 

“I'd bet it doesn't last more than thirty minutes,” Maki replied.

”How much do you want to bet?” Ichiro countered, falling into their old routine.

 

“How about lunch?”

 

“Deal.”

 

Ichiro stomped his feet to warm them. “You know, you still owe me lunch for last week. I won the bet that your wife would find out that you lost your paycheck to me again.”

 

Maki glared at him.

 

“What?” Ichiro grinned into the rain.

 

“Hey wait,” Maki began accusingly. “You never paid up on our bet that we wouldn't get gate duty this week.”

 

Their conversation was momentarily interrupted when three shinobi wearing rain gear passed through the gate with a quick chorus of hellos.

 

“Have a safe trip,” Ichiro called to their retreating backs. One, whom the two Genin recognized as the Hyuga heir, turned around and waved to them before she and her teammates jumped into the trees.

 

“She's not a bad looking girl,” Maki commented.

 

Ichiro sighed. “There's no such thing as a bad looking girl to you.”

 

Maki was not deterred. “How old is she now, do you think?”

 

Ichiro elbowed his partner. “For one, she's just fifteen. Two, like a Hyuga would give your sorry ass a second look. Three, if Megumi heard you talking like that, she would castrate you.”

 

Maki nodded, though he still seemed to be considering.

 

“That was her team with her wasn't it?” he asked after a few minutes. “The Aburame boy and one of the Inuzukas?”

 

Ichiro nodded.

 

“Think one of them has popped her cherry?” Maki asked conversationally.

 

Ichiro turned to look at him, perplexed. Seeing his partner's expression caused a matching wicked grin to spread over his face. They spoke simultaneously.

 

“How much you want to bet?”

 

()()()()()

 

It promised to be a sodden night. The three Chuunin would have postponed the mission, but they had been instructed that the hasty delivery of their parcel - a porcelain mask - was imperative. Hinata had only seen the object once before it was carefully wrapped and stowed in Shino's pack and privately, she would be glad to get rid of it. What at first appeared to be an unremarkable grayish sculpture, upon closer inspection turned out to be some sort of death mask. And the model had died horribly. All they were told was that the mask was recently discovered in the remains of an old laboratory and that it needed to be delivered to an elderly Sand Village nin who specialized in death jutsus.

 

They could not find much to talk about as they traveled through the trees, though whether this was because of the driving rain or Shino's mood, Hinata was not sure. Though the average person found all of Shino's emotions equally opaque, Hinata, and to a lesser extent, Kiba, had become adept enough in the last three years to figure out that he was brooding about something. Her attempts throughout the day to comfort him were met with either a stony, “Nothing's wrong” or a dismissive shake of his head.

 

Kiba finally revealed the problem that evening when the three of them were searching for dry brush for a campfire.

 

“He went out on a date with that Ueda Keiko girl.” Kiba ignored the scorching look Shino shot his way and continued. “Shino thought they had a great time, but at the end she said that they just wouldn't work because the kikai freak her out.”

 

From the heat of the look Kiba was now receiving from Shino, Hinata imagined that smoke would start rising from beneath his hood any second. Kiba must have caught it too because he suggested hastily, “I'll set a perimeter.”

 

As soon as he disappeared in to the trees, Shino grumbled, “Sometimes I really hate that guy.”

 

Hinata offered him what was meant to be a reassuring smile. “He means well, Shino. He just wants you happy. We both do.”

 

Shino just nodded and began building the fire. Hinata waited a few long moments for him to say more, but when he did not she sighed and began pitching the tents. Kiba came back long enough to tell them that he would take first watch.

 

After the three tents were set up - Kiba and Shino refused to share - Hinata added some of her herbs to the powdered stew they had brought along as rations. The rain had finally stopped for good, so after dinner, they sat beside the fire in companionable silence. Still worried, Hinata placed a reassuring hand on her teammate's knee.

 

“You know,” Shino said quietly. “Keiko and I really did have a great time. I was so sure she was enjoying herself. What am I stupid or something for even trying?”

 

Hinata squeezed his knee. “You're not stupid! I know you like her, but Shino, if anyone is stupid, she is!” The words tumbled out in a rush. “If she can't see that you're special with or without your kikai, then she doesn't deserve you.”

 

She could tell he was smirking behind the high collar. “You're sweet, Hinata, but that won't reassure me when I'm still a virgin at thirty.”

 

Hinata felt herself blush scarlet. This was new territory for the two of them. Shino didn't seem to notice.

 

One hand massaged his temples. “I've never even kissed a girl, Hinata.”

 

“Neither have I. I mean, kissed a boy! So it's okay.”

 

Shino glanced at her. “But you will. You don't have the same impediments that I do.”

 

She smiled sadly into the orange flames of their campfire.

 

“But what if the boy I want to kiss never wanted to kiss me back?”

 

“Naruto is an idiot. He only ever wanted what he couldn't have. Maybe he'll be different when he gets back, you don't know.” Out of the corner of her eye Hinata saw him shrug. “He never saw what a good thing he could have had.”

 

She glanced over at him and smiled, and he smiled back. Even after three years, the sight of him without his dark glasses was still rare enough to make her look twice. His eyes were hazel, a perfect cross between green and brown.

 

Their gazes held a long second.

 

“Can I-?” Shino began.

 

“We could-” Hinata said.

 

Then at the same time: “Okay.”

 

Hinata would later realize that it was an awkward kiss, as far as kisses go. They didn't melt into it or forget the world around them. She was pretty sure that they were both still aware of the night sounds in the forest, of the fire, and the fact that it had started sprinkling gently soon after their lips touched. They had been sitting beside one another, and somehow she had ended up on her knees so that they could find a better position for their mouths to meet. Shino's tongue was tentative in her mouth at first, and his stiff collar kept bumping her chin until he finally unbuttoned it. And they didn't use their hands until Hinata nearly toppled and grabbed both of his shoulders for balance. He ran one hand through her hair then, and had ended up pulling it. But she would never tell him that.

 

When they pulled back, Shino said quietly, “Naruto doesn't know what he's missing.”

 

“Neither does Ueda Keiko.” Hinata smiled.

 

And if they both exaggerated just a little bit, it was okay, because those are things that friends do.

 

()()()()()

 

Neji was a shinobi, trained in stealth and all the arts of a spy. Yet there was still something distasteful to him about his current mission for Hiashi. His task was to roam Konoha and gather information. Though it seemed innocuous enough, and Hiashi assured him that the Hyuga had always had informants throughout the village, Neji could not help but feel like he was being forced to serve two masters.

 

He had decided to loiter awhile by the gate, to observe the comings and goings in the village. So far the only thing he had discovered was that one of the gate guards had lost his winter boots to another on in an inane bet over the activities of two squirrels.

 

He was slightly interested when he heard the two Genin at the gate greet some newcomers, only to realize that it was just Hinata, Shino and Kiba in from their mission to the Sand Village. He considered greeting them, but decided to remain in his hiding place on the wall. Conversation between himself and his cousin could still be somewhat awkward, especially around her two protective teammates. Still, he watched as they walked to the fork in the road where Hinata would turn and cross the river toward their home. He watched Kiba wave goodbye, leaving Hinata and Shino talking in the street. He didn't need Byakugan activated to tell that they were both nervous, even from this distance. Hinata was toeing the ground and Shino kept glancing around as if they were about to rob a bank.

 

Neji's brows furrowed slightly when he saw his cousin stand on tiptoe and give the Aburame a quick peck on the cheek.

 

Other travelers had come through the gate in the meantime, but later Neji would have been hard pressed to identify them.

 

His attention was finally drawn back to the gate guards when he heard his family name.

 

“So what do you think about the little Hyuga?” the one who had smoked too many cigarettes was saying.

 

There was a pause and Neji thought he heard the scrap of a canteen opening and closing. “I don't know. She was standing awfully close to that Aburame boy.”

 

“Yeah, Maki, but we have to find a way to prove they did the nasty.”

 

Careful not to make a sound, Neji rose from his hiding spot.

 

“Hmm. I wonder if the boy can be bought.” This was the other old Genin, the one with the Mist Country accent. From his position on the wall above them, Neji could now see that he had a stringy blonde ponytail.

 

“Now if we paid the boy to tell us if he popped her cherry, what would be the use of us betting money on it, you idiot?” This one, forehead protector surrounding an egg-bald head, elbowed his friend in the ribs for good measure.

 

“This was a stupid bet,” the first one complained. “How in the hell are we ever going to find this out?”

 

Neji quietly activated the Byakugan. This was an unusual angle from which to evaluate and enemy, but he was able to observe that Mist Country had broken his collarbone recently. The one with the cigarette voice appeared in fine health, though his muscle was beginning to run to fat. Neither was in his prime.

 

“Why don't you go knock on those big gates and ask her, Maki?”

 

“Or you could ask me.” Both men started when Neji appeared in front of them.

 

It was almost comical to watch them take in his white eyes. Almost.

 

“Hyuga-sama!” Mist Country began. Though he wouldn't have guessed it from their conversation, Cigarettes was smarter. Neji watched him eye the distance between himself and the closed gate.

 

For once, the flowing Hyuga style did not come easily to him. Today, instead of gentle fists, he wanted to punch. Instead of precision strikes, he wanted blunt force. For the first time he realized that cartilage crushed by a fist makes a satisfying crack and that blood beneath fingernails lingers for days.

 

TBC