[10/10] Closed

[not_thedragon]

Who: Sasuke & the Hyuuga on a return engagement
When: Evening of 10/10, time snatched in between everyone's schedules
Where: Hyuuga Neji's sweet bachelor pad aayyyyy
What: If wishes were fishes beggars would eat and also Neji and Hinata would no longer be engaged. Alas, Konoha's impoverished remain hungry.

Frankly, the past few months were beginning to blur into an indistinguishable sequence of bad and worse. The jounin exam had easily been the least eventful item of all, something Sasuke wanted to attribute to his own skills but suspected had more to do with the fact that they were at least structured in some deliberate way. Interrogation training was ...

Removing all sense of time from a would-be informant was a tactic that apparently needed firsthand practice, which was as much as Sasuke's brain wanted to dwell on his current regimen of training.

He knocked on Hyuuga Neji's door well past sundown, trying to look more like someone who could contribute usefully to the attempt to releasing his teammate and her cousin from an unwanted engagement and less like someone who was ready to lie down in the hallway and go to sleep pillowed on one of the three fledgling goshawks curiously trailing him. Maybe Hinata's bears would be with her and could tire the birds out so they would go to sleep when they got home.

Comments

[heavenly_earth]

For an apartment he'd officially lived in for over half a year, it was still strange to have guests. At first it was just a place to study ANBU material without the eyes of his clan, then to crash when he was just too tired, but now he led what passed for a relatively 'normal' life as a Jounin shinobi and had more or less moved out of his clan's compound without so much as a polite suggestion to move back. Perhaps it was the paranoia talking, but it was almost like the clan was relieved to be rid of him.

Excepting Hinata and his own father of course. And other than visiting with them, Neji only ever found himself fielding impromptu visits from Gai or Izumo and more recently the Uchiha that looked dead on his feet at his doorstep. He knew the look by now, had stared at it in the mirror after his Jounin then ANBU promotions, and felt a twinge of sympathy for him. Neji regarded Sasuke and his fledglings with an appraising look then stepped aside to let them in.

"Hinata-sama is preparing tea, feel free to relax."

He wasn't sure what to expect out of tonight's discussion, wondered why Sasuke was so interested in helping sometimes, but beyond his desired freedom and Hinata's happiness, he had a more personal stake in this now. Or maybe he didn't and he was just imagining things. Either way, it wouldn't matter in two months if they didn't figure something out.

[not_thedragon]

The hawks were more excited than Sasuke to be in a different environment, hopping in with a few flutters and low chirrups. Sasuke followed at a slower pace, pausing to remove his shoes and deliver an absent-minded thanks for allowing me into your home. That Hinata was already here was a good sign, at least for efficiency.

"Does she need help with the tea?" He asked, rounding the corner to the kitchen and resisting the urge to yawn. The question was loud enough for both Hyuuga to hear and address as needed.

[gentledheart]

Fortunate for Neji and Sasuke, Hinata was just stepping out of the small kitchen a tray with a complete tea setting in her hands. Her smile understandably tight at the circumstances for their gathering.

"Ah I'm alright Sasuke." she murmurs moving to the table to set the tray down. Unfortunately, her bears weren't with her, so the goshawks would be on their own to find entertainment. If they were meeting elsewhere, they would have been but Neji's apartment wasn't exactly big enough to accommodate them plus one polar bear let alone two.

[heavenly_earth]

Neji hummed a response and closed the door, turning to glance at Hinata and unsurprised to find her apprehensive. They both were. His eyes tracked the movements of the small birds, briefly surveying the room for their relative safety in hopping around his apartment.

He swept a hand to invite them to sit and followed suit himself. To business, then. "The final meeting is next month, leaving us only a few weeks to solidify our arguments.. So far we've agreed that our close blood relation is our strongest point, yet Hyuuga has inbred and arranged such marriages for generations. We'll need to anticipate their own arguments and have effective counters in place that trace back to our original point so as not to get off track."

[not_thedragon]

It seemed like the chicks would need to amuse themselves, Sasuke realized with an internal sigh, and tried to communicate Behave with a stern look. Mostly it earned him skeptical chirrups in response, so he corralled them to a rug to avoid leaving talon-marks on the flooring and turned his attention to his teammate.

It only took a look to determine that Hinata wasn't in good spirits. The situation outlined by Neji made it tempting to suggest once again that one or both of them simply elope, but Sasuke could understand the importance of needing to keep a name intact.

"There are examples in the medical records of the results of too-close inbreeding," some from his own clan, embarrassingly enough, and some appalling when Sasuke had looked into the records. "You'd need formal permission from the families to pull some of the Hyuuga records specifically. Do you have any allies within your clan?"

[gentledheart]

Carefully she lowered the tray to the table. Her hands going to work pouring tea with a quick efficiency as she passes out cups of steaming tea. The steadiness of them belying the fact that Hinata was starting to get a little nervous the closer to the date of the final meeting drew. Not that she can hide how she's feeling from two people who know her quite as well as they both do.

Hinata scoops up one of the chicks then, petting their fluffy feathers once she's settled. Head tilting slightly as she scrolls through her mental listing of clan members. There were so very many and the relationship between Main and Branch Houses haven't been particularly solid over the years. She glances to her cousin. "You might have more luck in terms of allies than I will, Neji-nii."

It wasn't a secret she wasn't the most beloved member of the Main family.

[heavenly_earth]

Neji accepted his with a murmur of thanks, cradling the tea between his hands and nursing it with a sigh. It always helped to steady his nerves and clear his mind. Allies..

He caught Hinata's with a forced smile. It seemed neither of them were well-loved. "Unfortunately, even the Branch is largely wary of close association with me. I'm too close to the Head Family, and the outcome of this engagement has left my position within the clan rather tentative. By the same token, traditionalists within the Head Family believe that even marriage shouldn't change anything in regards to my station."

They don't even want him really, just his firstborn, but that would be a bit crude to say outright.

Neji inhaled the sweet scent of jasmine over again. "But we're not completely alone. My father will support us, and as Hiashi-sama's.... aid, he should have access to some records. There could be harsh penalties if we ask too much of him, however."