Ok here it is… the sequel that has been long awaited by some… enjoy everyone!!!!!!
Two quick notes...
"Text"- talking
text- generally thoughts... unless stated.
A New List
The streets of Konoha were quiet, for everybody in the village was looking through the windows of a jelwery store. The people who were pressed against the delicate glass feared that they would be pushed through it and into the store. What was so interesting? The Hyuuga prodigy and Hyuuga heiress were in the store. Ring shopping. Rumors would be flying all over Konoha by evening.
Neji let out a long, quiet sigh. He and Hinata had been in the store for at least an hour and a half. The had to have seen all the rings in the store, and the store was huge. His thoughts were interrupted when Hinata tapped his shoulder and said.
"Neji-nii-san… what do you think of that one?" Hinata murmured. She was pointing to a ring that had a thick gold band. 12 tiny diamonds surrounded two big ones.
Neji sighed. This is why I send Hinata-sama to buy jewelry for me. I can never seem to find something that would be… good enough… for her. But this… this I have… no… want to do. She deserves that I went out and bought our engagement ring.
"Well Neji-nii-san, what do you think?" Hinata asked when Neji hadn't replied to her. Glancing at her, Neji shook his head.
"Ten Ten wouldn't want something like that. She'd want something… simple… but beautiful." Neji said quietly, a softness appearing in his eyes.
"Fair point Neji-nii-san. But we should make our decision soon. I think that the workers are becoming nervous." Hinata murmured. Neji looked at his cousin's smiling face before looking at the jewelers. They indeed looked nervous; the famous white eyes of the Hyuuga clan probably scared them. Timidly, a female jeweler approached them.
"Hy-Hyuuga-samas… are you not finding what you're looking for?" she asked. When Neji shook his head, she continued with, "Would you like to design your own ring? We can do that."
"Thank you… Kagayakashii-san(1)." Neji said, looking at her nametag. "I'd like to do that."
Neji and Hinata followed Kagayakashii to a circular table. Papers were neatly stacked on it and an assortment of pens and pencils were in a cup. Pictures of bands and diamond samples were beside the cup, and spinny chairs surrounded the table. As soon as Hinata, Neji, and Kagayakashii had taken seats, Neji began talking.
"I want simple rings. Not a thick band but silver and thin for both the engagment and wedding rings." Neji said, stressing the and. Kagayakashii looked up at him and said, "You're buying wedding rings also? You seem confident she'll say 'yes'." A small smirk graced her face.
"Well… we have been going out for two years, and have known each other since we were 13," Neji said glaring and smirking at Kagayakashii, who had turned a bright red and was now scribbling furiously on a sheet of paper.
Hinata sighed and shook her head at her older cousin's antics. It was hard not to laugh at him, for he was trying way too hard to make everything perfect for her. Hinata still remembered when Neji and Ten Ten had started dating. Neji had come back to the Hyuuga compound almost smiling. The Elders were shocked. Even her father had stared at the prodigy, white eyes wide. Afterward, Hiashi pulled his nephew aside and told him that if he ever wrongfully hurt Ten Ten he would kill him.
"Hinata-sama, what do you think? Do you think she'll like it?" Neji asked pulling Hinata out of her thoughts. The sketched ring had a thin band that was going to be silver. There were three diamonds on it; two of them were small and on opposite sides of a big one. It was simple, and just the kind of thing Ten Ten would want.
"Neji-nii-san… it's… she'll love it!" Hinata said. "What do the wedding rings look like?" she asked eagerly.
Kagayakashii turned the page in the sketchbook. On it were two rings. One had an inscription on the inside, the Chinese characters for her name- Tian Tian.
"Neji-nii-san……" Hinata whispered. She looked up at Neji, and him smirking slightly.
"When's the earliest you can have the rings done?" Neji asked. After a moment of thinking, Kagayakashii answered, "Normally 2 ½ weeks, but we can get these done in a week and a half, 2 at the latest. If you want, you can pay for them when you pick them up as well.
Seeing Neji's frown, Hinata said "The Main House will take of the cost Neji-nii-san."
"They only take care of costs if the Elders approve, and I know the Elders don't." Neji muttered darkly. Kagayakashii had left the two Hyuugas to help someone else. The crowd around the jewelry store had dissipated, as the two walked out into the sunlight.
"Neji-nii-san…" Hinata began tentatively. "I approve, and Father also approves. The Main House will cover the cost." Hinata said firmly. Knowing there was no arguing with his younger cousin, Neji sighed inwardly. Even though he was worried, Ten Ten was on a mission for the next two weeks. She wouldn't know he had bought the rings… so at least she'd be surprised.
When the two reached the Hyuuga estate, they saw complete and total chaos. The Elders were frantic and Hiashi looked bored. One of the Elders named Ryutsukino (2) approached Neji when he saw him. His pale eyes narrowed as he stormed over to him.
"How dare you" he whispered, venom in his words. "Buying rings when we don't approve. That… that bitch will be the end of the Hyuugas! She has no family… no surname!" Ryutsukino yelled.
Neji's eyes narrowed. Before he could say anything, Hiashi was standing beside him.
"Hiashi-sama! Tell Neji that he can't marry her! It'll be the downfall of the Hyuuga Clan if he does!" Ryutsukino yelled.
"How can she be the downfall of the Hyuuga Clan if she's a friend of mine?" Hinata murmured quietly, not stuttering. She had been so quiet that Neji had forgotten that she was standing next to him. He had been more outraged at the fact that Ryutsukino had called Ten Ten a bitch.
Ryutsukino stared at Hinata in shock. "Hiashi-sama… set your daughter and nephew straight… please… if you want the Clan to survive." Hiashi looked at him, white eyes narrowed slightly.
"Ryutsukino-san, you say everything will be the downfall of the Hyuuga Clan. For all we know, the rain could kill us. I'll let my daughter determine if Neji should be allowed to marry this woman." Hiashi said, looking at Hinata.
Hinata took a deep breath and began. "Neji-nii-san deserves happiness. Have you ever seen him and Ten Ten together? He smiles, laughs… something that never happens here. Why should we deny someone happiness?" Hinata said.
She's learned something from Hiashi-sama. Neji though, proud of his cousin. Hiashi looked at Hinata, proud of the way she handled the situation.
Ryutsukino looked shocked. Hinata turned to look at her father. "Father… do you approve of my decision? And will the Main House cover the expenses?"
Hiashi looked at Hinata and gave her a rare smile. "Of course we approve of your decision."
Ten Ten came back from her mission a week and a half earlier than Neji thought. While Neji was happy to see her and relieved that she was uninjured, he now had a small problem. He still had to go pick up her ring… and when he did, rumors would be flying all over Konoha. Fortunately, he had a cousin that was willing to go out with Ten Ten while he went to get the rings.
The next day, Neji asked Ten Ten to spar with him in the field they had used when they were Genin. She immediately agreed, for she loved sparring with him. When they were younger, Neji could easily beat Ten Ten, but now it took longer. 4 hours later, Ten Ten admitted defeat, and went around collecting the many weapons she had launched at Neji, waiting for him to help her. But his help never came. She turned to look for him, and found him sitting under a tree… watching her. She walked over to him, kunai and senbon in her hands.
"Neji… what's wrong?" she asked, her eyes slightly worried. Her worry increased when he didn't answer her for a few minutes.
"Nothing's wrong" he said slowly, as if he was carefully choosing his words.
"Sure… like I believe that." Ten Ten said… a little harsher than she meant to. "Seriously… Neji, did I do something to offend you?" she asked quietly.
"No. Never." Neji murmured, putting a arm around her and hugging her gently.
"Then, what did you do while I was gone? Did you spar with Lee?" she asked, her mood slightly better.
"For a little. I ended up sparing with Hinata-sama more though… Hiashi-sama's orders."
"But I thought you didn't mind that order. You had said it gave you some time to talk to Hinata… right?" Ten Ten asked, slightly confused.
"It's not that. Afterwords… Ryutsukino… confronted me. He's an Elder" Neji said calmly, seeing the confusion in Ten Ten's eyes. After a few minutes of silence, Ten Ten asked, "Confronted you about what?"
"Us. Our dating. Ryutsukino says that you'll be the downfall of the Hyuuga Clan. Thank God Hinata-sama set him straight… I think… but that's not the point." Neji said angrily… trying to stay calm and keep his emotions under control.
Ten Ten sat, slightly shocked. "Wait… how could I be the downfall of the Hyuuga Clan? There are 500-some Hyuugas… and one me. Come on I'm not Wonder Wom-" Ten Ten was abruptly cut off by Neji.
"But he got me thinking. What if-"
"Oh… so now you're following his advice?" Ten Ten said, tears in her eyes. "Just say it then. I know you found that list I had… when I got home I found it in the magazine… not folded…but anyways."
"Woah… where'd you get that idea. Ten Ten" he said, pulling out the tiny ring box from one of the pockets. "Ten Ten, I wasn't breaking up with you. I was going to ask you to marry me… but if you really want to break up with me…" Neji said, smirking slightly.
Ten Ten let out a muffled sob. "Yes… yes I'll marry you" she whispered, when Neji held the ring out to her. He slipped it on her finger and she hugged him tightly. Neji put an arm around her, and they sat there, Ten Ten looking at the ring, snuggled against his chest, and occasionally giving him a kiss on the cheek.
The news that the Hyuuga prodigy had finally asked his old teammate to marry him spread like wildfire across Konoha. Most were happy, except the fan-girls of the Hyuuga and fan-boys of the Weapons Mistress.
Ten Ten sighed, looking at the scrap of notebook paper in front of her. It was her old list… the one that Neji saw the day he asked her out.
One day… I'll have to thank Sakura, Ino and Hinata for making me write that list. Ten Ten thought, moving to put it on her nightstand.
"What are you doing?" Neji asked, slipping a arm around her. He saw the old, tattered paper and asked, "The list? You added to it?"
Underneath her old and faded writing was a stared statement. It read We're getting married.
"Yeah... to both of your questions. I was just thinking about how I'd have to thank Sakura, Ino and Hinata for making me write it one day…" Ten Ten said, slipping out of Neji's grasp and putting it on the nightstand. She walked out of her room. "Come on… you wanted to spar, right?"
Neji followed her out of her room and house. He slipped his hand over hers, feeling the engagment ring he had given her a few days ago. You're not the only one who needs to thank them, he thought, looking at the sky.
Fin
Kagayakashii Glorious
Ryutsukino- Dragon of (or on) the moon
So... what do you think? If enough people review and request... I'll post another chapter with a little peak at my next story. You have a choice. Either A Tad of Ramen with a Speck of Love or Movie Night.
Pairing (A Tad of Ramen with a Speck of Love)- SasuXSaku
Pairings (Movie Night)- NejiXTen, NaruXSaku, InoXSasu, HinaXShino, and ShikaXTem. there will be other characters but they won't be paired with anyone.
You know you wanna review...