Helloz people! Me is back! Now, this story is a re-do of my old crappy story "Difference" if y'all remember. HOWEVER, this one will be better! XD. Thanks to dreaming sapphire , this story is being posted TODAY and not 2 months away from today. lol. Anyway, let's carrrry along!

Summary: Everyone's afraid of him. No one dares to question the new king of Japan. While in search of a wife, his eyes lie upon a poor peasant; but winning her heart is more difficult than ruling a country. Money isn't the way towards the heart. [NejTen]

Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto.

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Chapter 1: Introduction towards the Heart

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Drops of rain trickled down the cloudy gusty sky, as the black coffin was placed inside the hole that was dug on the wet ground. It was quiet throughout the funeral as dirt was soon covering King Hizashi's coffin. Monarchies from all around the planet came to the king's funeral. They brought roses to him, along with their prayers.

King Hizashi had died of an unknown illness, and once his death was known to the country of Japan, every citizen and resident there were in utter shock. Hizashi Hyuuga had been king for twenty-five years, and during his ruling period, everyone cherished him. The man gave his people his respect and helped the country's economy in the best ways he could. Because of him, many citizens of Japan had never starved to death, nor did they worry about having a shelter.

Not only was he an icon in his own country, other countries had enjoyed seeing him too. He mostly traveled to China, which was ruled by his twin brother, Hiashi Hyuuga.

The Hyuuga Clan was a very mysterious and powerful clan. Most of the Hyuuga members ruled many countries throughout the globe. Heirs were needed every generation so the clan wouldn't die out. Many people were afraid of them, however. The clan was a master of taijutsu and other martial arts. The Hyuuga men practiced their martial arts each day and even made it into a tradition for a king to teach his son once he is four years of age. Not only did their martial art scared many people, but so did their eccentric eyes. Contrasting most humans in the world, the Hyuuga family's eyes were much different from a regular's person. They had no pupils, which caused various people to think that they were blind, and their eyes were pure white.

Once the former king of Japan was buried, the people circling his grave took out their roses and got ready to place it on the ground. Most of the people that were there were from the Hyuuga family, such as Hiashi Hyuuga and his two daughters, Hinata and Hanabi. Hiashi kept a stoic expression on his face, just like his youngest daughter Hanabi. Hinata, the most gentle and caring person from the family dried her tears every second.

Once the preacher finished his long speech, the people, one by one, placed the roses on the grave and then stood on their regular spot. Hyuuga Neji, son of Hizashi Hyuuga, was the first one to go up…

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The cows mooed and the dogs ran after the chickens as a tired peasant sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead. It was a long day and Tenten's back ached from feeding all of the animals in her father's farm. She had sold some of the cattle and pigs to wealthy residents, but the money was still low. Her father's illness was just growing worse and worse everyday and the medicine that the doctor assigned to him was not doing any affect.

Throughout the middle of the night, her father had woken up with a terrible cough and blood was drooling down the side of his mouth. Tenten stayed up most of the night cleaning the floor and giving him water. His legs were also very weak, and when he tried to walk, his bones would shake and he would lose his balance right away. Rock Lee, Tenten's neighbor and best friend, made a cane out of wood for him.

Every time Tenten woke up, she always checked on her father first thing in the morning, making sure that he was still alive. Her mother ceased when she was ten years old, and two years after that, her father began to get terribly sick. Tenten never had time for herself. She had to take care of the animals, make sure her father was all right, and sell some things in order to get some money. Nevertheless, Lee has been helping her much. While she bought some food for dinner, he always stayed with her father and kept him company.

Her neighbors were also concerned about her health. Tenten only got four to five hours of sleep and she had no time to hang out with her friends. Tenten was only seventeen and unlike her friends, she couldn't go out to bars and enjoy her time. People were afraid that she was going to get sick just like her father if she didn't get enough sleep and ate more throughout the day.

"Still working, Tenten?" Lee asked, leaning against the fence that separated their houses.

"Almost done!" she replied with a smile on her face, "Though my back and head aches a lot. I haven't sat down in hours."

"Ah, then sit down and let me finish your work for you! You need to rest your fragile body and let a man do the harsh work!"

Tenten giggled and dropped the rake. Taking a deep breath and quickly releasing it, she sat down by the steps of her house and glanced at her friend.

"Thanks for the help, Lee."

"No problem, my dear friend! By the way, did you hear about King Hizashi's death?"

Right away, Tenten's head snapped up and her eyebrows furrowed. "No, I haven't. How did he die?"

"He died of some unknown illness. He died two days ago, and because of the reactions of the people if they found out, the Hyuuga family kept this a secret until today. His funeral is today."

"Obviously, he was a great ruler. Who's going to be the new king?"

"His son, Hyuuga Neji. Even though he's not married yet, the Hyuuga family chose him. Rumors going around that by tomorrow, he's going to be searching for a wife."

"Who would want to marry him?" Tenten murmured, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "More than half of the people in Japan are afraid of him! I don't know where he got his cocky attitude from, but I hate it."

"Hopefully he will be a good leader like his father. He reminds me of that leader in Korea that tortured the people and divorced every woman he was with."

"He was an asshole. Thanked God he ain't ruler anymore. I felt bad for those Koreans."

"So did I. Well, even though Hyuuga Neji is heartless, he has many women drooling over his looks. He's one of the most handsome men here in Japan; though I heard that he's more into his martial arts than actually looking for a wife."

Tenten rolled her eyes. "That's not a surprise. But wouldn't his "wife" have to be eighteen years of age or older in order for her to marry that guy?"

"I don't know; rules change a lot. Why do you ask? Are you afraid that he's going to make you his wife?" he teased.

Tenten opened her eyes and glared at him. "Pfft, like that's ever going to happen, and I don't want it to happen. Besides, I'm busy taking care of my father and watching over his farm. Why would he want to marry a peasant?" she told with a smile.

Lee chuckled and stood up straight. "Well, you don't know what can happen, Tenten."

"Don't jinx me, Lee." She said, sticking her tongue out to him teasingly.

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Next Day…

The first Hyuuga meeting, ever since Hizashi died, had been over hours ago, and the large carriage rode through the dirty roads of Japan. Eyes closed, Neji meditated as the carriage took him home.

His uncle and grandfather had told me to begin searching for a wife first thing today since they wanted an heir by two years. The nineteen-year-old wasn't surprised by this, for he knew that sooner or later he'll have to get married. Because his father was alive back then, searching for a woman wasn't that important to him; but now he's king of Japan, a queen is needed as well.

Hyuuga Neji was not a "ladies man", so he was going to assign his assistants to make an arranged marriage with a princess. He didn't care about love, he cared about getting his heir and ruling the country. In his opinion, love only made him weaker and it was a useless feeling.

"How long until I get home?" he inquired coldly.

The driver flinched at the coldness of the newest king. "Y-You should arrive in about two hours, my king." The man replied.

Without saying another word, the king closed his eyes and continued his meditation.

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"Lee, you baka! Hurry up, I need to get back home and check on my dad!"

"Do not worry, my friend, we'll be home in a few minutes! Besides, Naruto is with your father. He'll take good care of him."

Placing her hands on her hips, the peasant rolled her eyes and shook her head. "We're talking about Naruto, Lee, not some responsible person."

"Alright, let's go home." Lee said, picking up the two buckets of water.

Tenten walked ahead of him, wanting to get home as soon as possible. She doesn't trust her friend, Naruto Uzumaki, much. There had been many accidents in the past that involved him. Everyone that knew Naruto knew that they were dealing with a goofball. He was loud, for everyday at five o'clock he would say 'good morning' to the animals, and caused many people to wake up earlier than planed. He was brainless. He barely understood what some people said and loved to act like a little boy. He was annoying. The neighbor would never be quiet because of him. He loved to sneak up on people at the wrong time and scare them to death. However, Naruto Uzumaki was also a great friend to many. He helped anyone in the best way he could. Tenten recalled that just two months ago, she had no food to eat, since she had given it to her father, but Naruto was nice enough to bring her some homemade Ramen.

"Tenten watch out!"

Shaking her head and coming back to her senses, Tenten turned her head and looked at her friend, who for some reason was standing yards away from her.

"Lee, what are-"

Tenten's heart almost popped out of her chest as she felt something large crash towards her, sending her flying back. Lee dropped the buckets of water and ran over to her.

"Tenten, are you alright?"

The brown-haired woman opened her chocolate colored eyes and looked up at him. "I'm fine." She said, grabbing his hand and getting up.

The two then turned around and saw three carriages, all of them colored red and golden-yellow. The driver from one of them was calming the two horses down. However, soon enough, the door opened and a tall pale man stepped out from the carriage and walked over to the driver, not looking too happy.

"What happened?" the man inquired.

"Forgive me, King Hyuuga, but that witch over there was in the way and my horses had no time to halt! It's all her fault!" the man pointed at the shocked Tenten.

Lee and Tenten, after glaring at the driver, glanced at the king with a horror look on their faces. Never in their life did they ever expect to see the king of Japan standing in front of them. However, they're more shocked that it's Hyuuga Neji glaring at them and not the nice former king of the country. The new king was probably 6'2" with long dark brown hair, white colored eyes, and (what seemed to be), a well-developed body.

No wonder so many women love him for his looks…

Lee flinched as he saw the not-so-happy king walk over to them.

"Uhh, Tenten,"

"Yeah, Lee?"

"The king's walking over to us. Do we run before we get arrested?"

Tenten snapped out of her thoughts and noticed that Lee was standing right behind her with his hands on her shoulders and his legs quivering like a coward.

The king halted right in front of her and his white Hyuuga eyes pierced right through her nervous brown ones.

"What's your name?" he questioned grimly, sending shivers running down her spine.

Tenten cleared her throat before responding. "T-Tenten…. T-Tenten Ama Kudari, sir…"

The king's eyes went from Lee to her again. "Come to my palace tonight at ten, I will be waiting for you. Do not fail me." He told her coldly.

Confused about why he wanted her to go to his palace, Tenten just nodded and saw him walk back inside the carriage. Nosily, Lee whispered into her ear.

"Are you really going to the palace?"

"Of course not; you think I want to be with a guy like that? Hopefully he can forget about me and do what kings do…"

"You hope so? He's a king; kings barely forget anything. In addition, Hyuuga Neji is a genius, the smartest member of the Hyuuga family! He definitely won't forget."

"I hate you, Lee…"

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