Wow so even I didn't expect to be updating this story this soon. But ah well. You all blew me away with the reviews last chapter, keep up the fantastic work! Thank you so so much for all of them. I've fallen horribly behind on review replies but I swear I'm getting there.

Um yeah so enjoy the next chapter! I promise the chapter after this one (which will be soon) is gonna have more NejiTen moments in it.

There might also be some NaruHina.

Hiashi folded his hands and looked at the infuriated young man standing in front of him.

Every inch of him spoke of his desire to put Hiashi in a huge amount of pain. As his instructor Hiashi had no doubt that if he was given the chance Neji wouldn't hesitate to beat him as hard as he could. Fortunately Neji seemed to desire the truth far more than he did to put Hiashi in a world of physical pain.

Hiashi had given Neji as much time as he could. He had only allowed the Hyuuga's to go and try to talk to them, never to enter. The two who had tried to bring his daughters back had not been allowed to leave the Manor. Hiashi knew they all needed time, that his betrayal had shaken the very foundation of their worlds. Hanabi and Hinata were probably just as shaken as Neji. But though the two girls had suffered their suffering was nothing like that of their elder brother. Neji's bare forehead was stark, no headband or bandages or Curse seal to mark him. There were enough pictures in the Hyuuga archives that Hiashi knew that instead of his brother's spitting image now he was his spitting image. Same sharp features, same long hair that was now unbound by anything. Even though he had removed the black fabric around his waist he was still dressed in the traditional Hyuuga cloths, not that it was possible really to escape either being a Hyuuga or the traditions that bound them to one another.

Blood and history and the family had far too much of both. It really was true that their eyes were the only unblemished thing about the Hyuugas.

"What are you confused about?" Hiashi asked.

"I want to know how this happened," Neji said, his voice harsh, "I had begun to believe you weren't the man I thought you were," he continued, pearlescent eyes burning, "I was wrong."

"I had never intended to claim you as my son," he said, "the decision for Hizashi to be your father was made by the Elders and I supported it."

"Then why the hell did you tell me the truth?"

"I wouldn't have," Hiashi replied, "When you were going to die the Elders reversed the decision to allow us to remove the Curse Seal. Unfortunately unless your true parentage was revealed, removing the Seal was not an option," he continued, "it was the only way to save your life and to allow you to be named the next Head of the Clan."

"So that is what I am," Neji said, "a replacement for the daughters who you don't think can do a good job. Tell me, Hanabi was Hinata's replacement, was she mine? If your wife survived would you have had another kid or would you just have found someone else's wife to fuck?!"

"Calm yourself," Hiashi snapped, his voice cold, "I did not train you to be so rash--or so disobedient. Heir or no you are my pupil and I will not have you bring disrespect on this family or yourself."

Neji clamped his jaw shut, hating how he automatically wanted to follow the order. Hiashi walked over to where he stood, as cool and unruffled as they day the two had met so long ago. He had long since mastered keeping his calm, as the Head he had done far more heinous things than talk to his would-be son. To his credit when he stepped forward Neji did not step away, he continued to stand there with his fists balled glaring at him. He knew that Neji wanted nothing more than to put him in a world of pain and though he would have liked to say he didn't deserve it, he knew that he deserved much worse. Instead he came to a stop when he was able to see the slightly pink skin where Neji had clearly been rubbing at the bare skin where the mark no longer rested.

"Good, you both are still alive," one of the Elders said as the old men walked in before either of the younger ones had said anything in way of permission of such a thing, "we have much to discuss."

Neji had a feeling he was not going to be able to stand for much. he had been at a handful of meetings with other Branch members and the things the Elders said--he had to get up and leave once or twice back when he wanted to kill Hinata himself. He left more when he discovered he cared for his cousin. Now that he knew she was his sister, he had a feeling his stomach was not going to be able to take much of the garbage that spewed from their lips. Hiashi seemed completely unruffled by the fact that they had been interrupted. Well the man had branded him and condemned his own brother more times that Neji imagined he knew of. Despite his control he felt his fists tighten. Hiash's eyes darted to the blatant display of emotion.

"Your living situation is completely unacceptable," one spoke up, "the heir to the Clan cannot be living in some apartment where any assassin could come and pick him off," he made a show of his disgust, "and you smell like coconuts."

"My living situation is more than adequate," he said, "assassins pose no threat and if they did there are four of us who are more than competent fighters."

"You will move back into the Hyuuga Compound within the month," the man cut him off as if he had not said anything. Neji's eyes widened but the rest seemed to think that this was how things were done, "Hinata and Hanabi will as well."

"Will they be marked?" he questioned.

"Of course," one of the Elders said.

"They are of the Main House," he said.

"They will not be the Head of the Clan. They are going to be marked."

"They are too old!" Neji protested looking at the Elders, "the Sealing alone will kill them."

The Elders said nothing and Neji found himself dangerously close to being ill. They were willing to throw away Hinata and Hanabi for their tradition. The two of them were excellent Ninja as it was, neither prodigies but both unusually strong. Hanabi could already hold her own against him when he went easy on her and she barely came up to his shoulder. Hinata could actually put up a fight but her strength was of a different kind, the kind that he had only seen in two other people, that determination that one had to stand back and be in awe of. Everything and anything, everyone and anyone who told them 'no' they shoved back with everything they had in themselves. He had sen it in Naruto.

And in Tenten.

Tenten had more determination than anyone else. Even Lee. Lee was determined and hopeful but Tenten, Tenten was not just determined for herself, she was determined for him as well. How many endless hours had she spent on the training field with him back when the only word he knew how to say was 'hn'? He had never even thanked her, just walked away and expected her to be there the next morning waiting to be beaten once again. She had no hope of beating him, no bloodline, nothing but she was always there with her puff ball hair and an excessively large lunch because she knew he would forget to pack his own but be too prideful to accept anything she made for him. So she claimed it was for her first and then make a show of having too much and telling him what a shame it would be to waist it.

Even before he smelled like coconuts or knew what her soft lips felt like against his he had been something in awe of her. She was more human than anyone he had ever met before in his entire life and at the same time unreachable to someone like him. She was always so nice and happy he had always thought she sheltered him in some way. She probably tried to be extra nice to him and the thought made him think he could keep her at an arms length. Until he tried to kill Hinata. Oh she was still at the training field but when he had gone off to fight she had tapped him on the shoulder before giving Neji his first ever black eye and calling him a string of obscenities that he only knew half the meanings of. When he woke up and learned she had witness his shameful actions in the fight and the revelation of his Seal he had tired to forbid her to come to his room. He had even tried to transfer or at the very least delay their meeting. But Tenten, ever resourceful in a world that gave her so little to work with, climbed through the window and shook him awake, screaming that he was the stupidest man she'd ever met in her entire life before crushing him against her chest and telling him if he ever did anything so stupid again she was going to kill him herself.

Of course she never made good on that threat, despite the fact that there wasn't a person in Konoha who would contradict the statement that Neji had done many stupid things since.

But this was not stupid, this was unforgivable.

The Elders were actually willing to sacrifice them for something that caused nothing but suffering. Even if he hadn't truly cared about the sisters, even if he hadn't known that they were his sisters, the thought of them being sacrificed made his stomach role. He knew the pain, the shame of carrying such a mark. If, by some miracle they survived, he doubted their friends would treat them differently but still, they would always know the burden of what that green sign felt like. That unbearable weight that seemed to settle on ones shoulders, heavier than anything they would ever feel in their entire lives. He was just learning to live without the oppressive feeling and though there were many enemies he wished pain too, knowing what it felt like to be free of the burden made him sure that he would never wish it on another person.

"I will not allow it," he said, barely recognizing the low, angry tone that came from his lips.

"That is not your choice to make," one of the Elders said.

"It is," he said, "heir or no I am a Shinobi of Konohan, have protected Lords and villages, I am more than capable of protecting my sisters from a group of old men who refuse to leave the sanctuary of the Manor."

Hiashi turned his head to look at Neji, struggling to keep his features smooth. Neji did not look surprised at the fact he had just referred to them as his younger sisters. Hiashi had seen the three of them acting more and more like siblings than cousin but now that they knew---were Hanabi and Hinata taking the news this well? The moment he had informed Hinata of her true relationship to Neji, she had looked at him with the serenity he had practically beaten into her before calmly excusing herself. She had calmly packed up a few of his things before she left the Manor, Hanabi's hand clenched tightly in hers. He knew his youngest daughter was fiercely independent but she looked very young as the two of them left the Manor hand in hand to make sure their brother had a toothbrush. Hiashi had a feeling that Neji's lack of homicidal behavior towards his cousins was probably very much Tenten's doing. He knew the girl probably had a hand in Neji being there today.

Though he knew the news would be horrible from anyone, he hoped the Elders would let him be the one to tell Neji. Though he was focused on his sisters at the moment, there was another matter concerning Tenten that Neji had not been informed of. Once again, the Elders had just assumed it would not be an issue and just as foolishly Hiashi had listened to their so-called wisdom because that was what was expected of the Head of the Clan.

"The Sealing has not taken place because of the matter of succession," Hiashi spoke up finally, knowing that if he did not they would tiptoe around the subject for hours, "now that you have been named the Heir, the Sealing will be withheld until such time as you are in a position to succeed me and produce and heir of your own."

"Which brings us to the matter of your wife."

Color faintly stained Neji's cheeks.

"We have learned your relationship with your team mate has progressed past friendship," they looked at him, "this is unacceptable," Neji's eyes narrowed, "this is not a matter of our feelings towards the girl, negative as they may be, it is a matter of genetics."

"What are you talking about?" Neji demanded

"She was picked for you for many reasons, her skill being one of them but we had considered naming her your bride," Neji's eyes widened, "but she does not possesses the genetics necessary to ensure the Byakugan would be passed to your offspring."

"You said the same thing of my mother," he said.

"No," the Elder cut in, "we said your mother did not have the genetics to bear the next Head of the Clan, we expected your Byakugan to be significantly less. Any offspring you produce with that girl, there would be no chance they would have the Byakugan."

Neji stared. He might have toyed with the idea of marrying Tenten in the hazy far off future. When the thoughts came up he told himself that it was simply because there was no other woman like Tenten and he couldn't imagine that anyone else would put up with him--or he with them--for the amount of time married couples spent in each other's companies. He already spent a lot of time wit Tenten. He imagined that if she was Tenten Hyuuga instead of just Tenten not a lot would change. He'd still call her 'Ten' and she'd still laugh and smile and be far too bright to be dimmed by his world.

Children on the other hand, they were not something he had wanted to even think about. Female Shinobi were not known for surviving childbirth and any children he would sire would known the pain of having the Seal but they would not have what he had. There would be no Gai who didn't care about parentage or special abilities. He would make anyone's prodigy ass jump rope as many times as Lee's non prodigy one. There would be no crazy Rock Lee whose first comment about Neji's Seal was that it was green and green was a most youthful color and they had to go find some green for Tenten to wear or she would feel left out. And there would be no Tenten---

No Tenten.

Neji would not live in a world without her. After seeing what an arranged marriage did Neji did not want one of those either. He might not have been able to stand most women--despite the fact they seemed happy to be with him--but he would not want them to be stuck in a marriage like his father. The solution had been simple. Then he learned he was the heir to the Hyuuga Clan. That was bad enough in itself but now he would have to loose Tenten. No, he was not going to loose her, especially not to the ideals of his crazy family.

"This meeting is over."

Hiashi's eyes widened as he watched Neji turn and walk out. The Elders all traded looks of blatant disapproval. Hiashi watched him leave with a surprising amount of dignity. Neji had always been a natural leader and it had been many years since anyone had shown the Elders such disrespect. Underneath the act of defiance, they could see that they had been right. He did not give them a chance to shout for him or to call him back, he was gone before they could find the strength to demand answers, leaving them quite useless in his wake. In the act of defiance, they could see that they had been right. Neji would become a great leader for the Clan, but it was clear he was not willing to indulge the Elders like Hiashi had been.

"You need to control your son," one of them said to him, "and your daughters," he continued.

Hiashi looked at the door through which Neji had left. There was only one person that he needed to speak to.

That person was Tenten.