[Closed, Backdated]

[heavenly_earth]

Who: Neji and Hizashi
When: March 22nd
Where: Jounin Station
Notes: Father and son catch up after some unnecessary sneaking around.


Admittedly, he wasn’t doing much more than refreshing his memory with what he’d learned recently. His sealing and first aid training came with modest books of their own, but most of it was practical application and the books were just a general guide and contained more theory than anything. So when he found a bird pecking at his window, Neji gladly set the books down to let it in.

But it didn’t seem interested in coming in, more preoccupied with his fingers while they attempted to retrieve the scroll case. He relented, and upon realizing he had nothing for it, ruffled its feathers and puffed up. He chuckled shortly, and finally worked the message open.

It was from his father, proposing to visit in an hour or two. The Jounin glanced back to his books and over to his newly acquired table set between the living room and kitchenette. There was plenty of time to clean up, given what little there was to do. Neji stroked the side of the bird’s feathers with a crook of his finger, then moved to find a sheet of paper.

Father,

I’m relieved to hear your mission went well. I have an assignment beginning tomorrow at the Spring Festival in Wave Country, but I’m free for the evening. I’d be glad to have you over if you aren’t too worn from your own and you’re sure you can spare the time.

I appreciate your consideration for me, and I’ll have some tea prepared for us after dinner, then.

Sincerely,
Neji

Neji tucked the note into the scroll case. “There’s a feeder I put up outside the lounge,” he informed it, never knowing how much the courier birds really understood, but always willing to try. “Just don’t delay my message too long.”

It blinked at him, then turned and took off into the night.

Comments

[heavenly_earth]

Neji shrugged, not certain of that, though he did wonder how much she might have heard, given they'd hardly met.

"It's a more casual arrangement," he admitted. "She has a village to manage, after all. But whenever she's in Konoha.. I have received some instructions through bird, however. As it is, water ninjutsu isn't my primary focus at the moment.."

Switching off the burner to let the soup sit, he moved to assist in drawing out the proper utensils he had few of, but would just be enough for the two of them. Perhaps he should've gotten a larger table, but it wasn't as if he'd have company over often.

"My help?" he queried, straightening. "I don't believe I've really helped you with much of anything, Father." At least nothing that mattered, as he had no control over his father's schedule or the ability to ease any of the burdens he knew he shouldered.

This- making dinner together thing had always been beneficial for them both. If it had been a bit of a chore growing up, he grew to appreciate it more as he began to understand the reason his father wasn't home all the time. And that time was all the more precious when he'd become an active shinobi in his own right.

"But I appreciate the offer, of course. I'm sure I'll need some intensive practice, and I'm also interested to see your alternative fighting style firsthand sometime."

[withmyownwill]

Neji could set the table, at this point; Hizashi easily had everything in hand by now. The cook time for everything was fairly short, after all; it wouldn't be long before the two of them could eat. Time together always had been at a premium for them, especially once Neji started going to Academy, and even moreso once he'd started active service as a Genin. At least, in stolen transitional moments like this, they could enjoy having nothing more pressing to do than enjoy each other's company.

"Understandable..... Kushina-san is a busy woman, but I'm sure she'll do as well by you as she can. What do you intend to make your first priority, then?"

A few quick pokes, and he shut off the burner for the rice, to let the lingering heat do the rest of the work while it sat. Even if Neji had never had any control over the things that chained Hizashi down..... well, he didn't think Neji would ever truly know all the help he's been over the years, the kind of blessing he'd been to him. Some days..... some days, when he was cold and tired and defeated, when he felt the chains cutting into him most acutely and the heel of his betters pressing against his throat, when he most wanted to give up and stop fighting, and surrender to the inevitable erosion of who he was..... Neji was there.

He may not have been there physically--Hizashi had always been careful to try not to show Neji his ugly side--, but he was there in spirit. He was a purpose. He was the reason Hizashi would always get back up and throw himself into the battlefield again, whether that was literal or political. Neji was his saving grace. But how could he ever, ever put something like that into words?

"I don't know about that..... You helped me create that very alternate style, for example. It was an interesting exercise, pitting it against the Jyuuken. Perhaps we should see how yours fares against it, as well--I'm looking forward to seeing your technique develop and refine itself."

[heavenly_earth]

"Taijutsu of course, if I can pull Gai-sensei away from Lee and Tenten long enough." That would be a bit of a trial, training in secret away from his beloved teammates. But they'd ask questions and inevitably get curious, and Tenten wouldn't take a dismissive answer lying down like Lee might.

"But I do need some defensive Earth jutsu to make up for kaiten. It'll be difficult, crafting another strong defense, but I have a few considerations in mind.."

They were mostly idle ramblings as he set out dishes and utensils, but Hizashi's words made him blink back to attention as he attempted to remember a time he'd done as much. His father's alternate style...? But that's when it hit him. He'd seen those weapons before in his younger years, as Hizashi instructed him in Jyuuken's more advanced forms. He'd thought little of it then, focused only on mastering his style that he didn't so much as wonder why his father wasn't coming at him with Jyuuken. He'd always thought it was just to get him used to the idea that not everyone he faced would fight like them.

"Well, it's still not as much as I'd like to be able to do for you, but if I've aided you at all over the years, I'm relieved."

Sometimes he suspected that his father needed him to act as a sort of anchor, but other times, Hizashi looked as strong and unrelenting as he ever did through his childhood eyes. But the lines in his father's face were growing more prominent with age, and he glimpsed world-weariness in them enough times that he'd already resolved to be a pillar of support wherever he could.

"It'll be some time until then, but I'm interested as well, father." And the table was set, so he moved to help gather the food and set it out as well.

[withmyownwill]

"I'm sure you'll be able to arrange something; Gai-san will undoubtedly want to do all he can to help one of his own." Hizashi believed that readily enough. After all, what man wouldn't want to help their own son flourish and thrive? And he was a father to Neji, surely, just as much as Hizashi was himself. Gai had guided and taught and cared for Neji for several years, now--and the way the man conducted himself, there could be no doubt that he loved his students as he would his own flesh and blood.

The thought was comforting, in its own way--he couldn't be with Neji all the time, affter all. Having another set of eyes watching out for him--or maybe even three more, as the case may be--was something he appreciated. It was the benefit of having a team, a second family, to counterbalance the loss of attention that one on one apprenticeship such as he'd had offered.

"You've aided me more than I can say, Neji. You've no need to worry on that count." Hizashi smiled back at him, quiet but warm as he turned the stove off; even if neither off them needed to look at each other while they talked, he wanted to, regardless. As Neji was the center of his world, so too should he be the center of his attention, at least for the moment, as he reassured him.

(You are useful. You are capable. You are wanted. You are enough. You matter. You are loved.)

He let the sentiment hang in the air for a moment of silence, as he dished out the food into serving bowls and helped Neji to bring them to the table. His weapons went back into his pouch, with as little fanfare as they emerged. He does his best to remain strong and true, as steadfast a protector and provider as he ever had, but..... well, time marched ever on, eroding even the best of men. Age and worldly experience had a way of leaving their marks, no matter how much anyone wished otherwise. He could only do his best--so that was what he'd do, for Neji's sake. For Hiashi's sake. For the village's sake.

But he was moving to lighten the mood soon after, ready to ease Neji's mind. "I've no doubt it will shape up quickly, once you have an idea in mind and have practiced some to see how it handles on the field--you always have been gifted as mastering such training. What thoughts have you given to your Earth defenses?"

[heavenly_earth]

"You're right, father," he said, nodding as he set the miso soup on the table. "I'm sure it'll work out."

And when he glanced up, he caught pale eyes that mirrored his own. For a clan whose eyes observed everything even without the Byakugan, eye contact was usually maintained only when a message was being conveyed- with or without words. It was the same look he'd received countless times before, but meant all the more now, and Neji smiled, then set back to work.

He'd never doubted his father's love for him, felt it as a tangible warmth through his chest that reminded him he wasn't alone. Even if they were both bound in the same ways inside their clan, he'd always have his father's support, and that made it bearable. He was sure it worked the other way around, too.

In a clan that drew lines between family members, he stood together with his father. Here was the person that had first believed in him, and always would, where Hizashi's love and pride was everything he really needed to stand strong.

Neji moved to the kitchen, pried a bottle of sake out of the back of the fridge with a smirk. He was still underage, but he found that once he hit Jounin, other shinobi were more inclined to shrug it off. Whether or not his father would approve was another story, but either way, he'd made sure Hizashi would be able to have a relaxing drink with his meal.

"I recall a technique an enemy shinobi used before," he elaborated while he poured a glass. "It was a protective dome that while effective, rendered them oblivious to their surroundings. My team used that to our advantage, given I could see through it. So paired with the Byakugan, there is no similar downfall. As well, it could be used to contain enemies."

[withmyownwill]

Hizashi simply nodded his agreement, serenely certain; Neji was more than capable of ensuring everything worked out one way or another. How could he not, skilled as he was, surrounded as he was by good, talented people who wanted to see him succeed? Whatever the Hyuuga clan might do striving to keep Neji down..... he would rise above. He would spread his wings and soar higher than those shortsighted fools could ever dream, even with their Byakugans. In a clan where boundaries were everywhere, both within and without, and between even those who should have loved each other most dearly, the two of them stood side by side.

Neji would know what it meant to fly. No matter what, Hizashi intended to make sure of it.

Setting the last bowl down on the table, Hizashi paused to watch Neji retrieve a bottle--sake, was it? At his age? Heh..... starting on that spirit of rebellion already, hmmm? It was a more amusing thought than anything else, especially given it was something so utterly trivial. Neji was intelligent, mature, and disciplined--he knew very well how to handle himself with discretion, and as long as he made sure to know his limits and pace himself? He certainly deserved the right to enjoy a little alcohol when he had a mind to. After all, if Neji could die, why couldn't he drink?

He hardly batted an eye to see Neji pouring the glass, instead nodding thoughtfully at the description. "Interesting..... in your hands, that technique truly would be made whole. Of course, such defenses would effectively anchor you in place." It was a definite change, that much was for sure--drastically different from the free-flowing Jyuuken, unhindered in dancing across the battlefield to both strike and defend at any place and any moment. Would Neji compensate for that somehow, then? Or would he commit to a more powerful and entrenched style, in lieu of being a more agile combatant?

[heavenly_earth]

With no objection forthcoming or an otherwise displeased signal, Neji poured a second, then recapped the bottle and brought them over to the table.

"Yes.. It would allow me to prepare for an enemy's assault to a degree, but my own movement would be limited. However.. Earth ninjutsu seems to possess a unique flexibility, and if I can tunnel through the earth beneath in some fashion, I may be able to surprise any enemies intent on it."

At least in theory, provided no skilled sensors were present and he could utilize such a technique effectively while inside that protective dome.

Glancing over the table a final time, Neji didn't find anything in particular missing, and finally settled into a chair.

"In any case, I'll need to do more research before I decide on such combinations, but it's an idea for now."