oh, the cruelest fate

The crisp morning air bit at Tsunade's skin mercilessly. Why did she have to encounter such an urgent matter at this hour? Why couldn't she curl up in bed to sleep off her aches? Shielding her eyes against the inconveniently rising sun, she searched for said urgent matter among the sea of alarmingly similar faces. Honestly, she needed to have a meeting with the clan's leader about their arranged marriages, not just the matter at hand.

Speaking of said clan leader, she spotted him lounging on the deck of what Tsunade assumed was his own home, a cup of warm tea cradled in his hands to combat the cold. Training in the yard before him was the unmistakable prodigy of their people, hands weaving through the air and past the obstruction of his own hair at an imagined target.

"Hiashi!" the Fifth called out before she approached, a habit to ensure distracted shinobi knew she was there. It was dangerous to catch a person who was trained to kill unaware. Though, she supposed that was unnecessary on Hyuuga property..."I need to have a word with you."

A sigh left the noble Hyuuga's lips, but he was otherwise undistracted, focused on his nephew's movements. Training must have been a higher priority to the Hyuuga clan than speaking with their hokage. Tsunade made her disapproval known with a glare as she seated herself beside the clan leader.

"You made a mistake in the paperwork you submitted. It needs to be corrected."

"There was no mistake." Why it seemed as if Hiashi were correcting her, Tsunade could not comprehend.

"You wrote the wrong name in the--"

"There was no mistake," Hiashi insisted in a tone that left no room for argument.

Annoyed, Tsunade leaned into his view. "There better have been!"

A calm deep voice lifted the tension between the two, even though its proximity to them caught the Fifth off guard. "Tsunade-sama."

So as to not betray her unease at being snuck up on, Tsunade turned to address Neji slowly. She should have assumed his nephew would protect Hiashi from a hostile outsider, hokage or not. "Neji..."

"Join me for a walk?" he offered casually as he pat the sweat from his neck. Then, he addressed his uncle. "I will speak with her alone, Hiashi-sama."

"Neji," Hiashi started, but he was shut down before he could offer a warning or reason.

"I did not ask," Neji declared in such a razor sharp bite that had Tsunade's brows shooting up towards her hairline.

Surprisingly, Hiashi's reaction to it was much more subdued, as if he were just chastised. "Very well..."

The prodigy beckoned the hokage with a nod of his head and a soft smile, and she couldn't help but follow. She was intrigued after all. To her knowledge, the dynamic between the two should have been only barely familial, leaning more towards what would be expected of a main house Hyuuga and a branch house Hyuuga, like a master only recently learning to treat his servant like a person. Neji had just shown it to be flipped on its head.

Walking at her side, Neji simply told her, "I want you to remember that," and that only caused her more intrigue.

The two walked in a seemingly comfortable silence, though, under her cool exterior, Tsunade was brimming with anticipation. She wasn't expecting what eventually came out of Neji's mouth, though.

"Have you heard about Hyuuga Taiyou?"

Taiyou. She wished she did not know that name. Most who did felt the same way. Taiyou, the former Hyuuga clan leader, was known in the village as someone who was not to be messed with. During her first days as the Leaf's kage, she had received warnings from the council along those lines. Do not cross Hyuuga Taiyou. She didn't question them. After all, when she remembered any mention of him during the last war...two words came to mind--war crimes. The old man was vicious, unforgiving, and could command obedience with his glacial eyes. Even a woman of her power felt the fine hairs of her arms standing on end at the thought of encountering him. "I have...Was this his idea?"

A glance at her expression seemed to confirm it for Neji. His furrowed brow showed his agreement with her silent opinion. He was no fan either. "No, but he approves."

That confirmed something far more horrific than Taiyou's reputation for Tsunade. There had been no mistake. Somehow, she wasn't surprised to hear Taiyou approved of it, though.

Neji continued to speak as if his confession had gone unheard. "In our clan, he is regarded as a living legend. Strong. Proud...At least that is how the main house views him. Outside of the main house, he is seen as the epitome of why we fear the main house. Cruel. Cold...I was taught to address him as "Taiyou-sama" from the moment I could speak. Anything else would be swiftly corrected."

Neji didn't elaborate, so Tsunade was left with her imagination. Thoughts about what that monster was capable of doing to a toddler were too much for her to stomach that early in the morning, though.

"He never allowed me to call him my grandfather, so I never saw him as my grandfather..."

Any words she could have used to comfort him were cut off by a seemingly lighter subject, one that left her confused.

"You know, Hinata is nothing like her mother."

Despite her confusion, she allowed Neji to talk. People coped in their own ways. Maybe Neji's way of coping was to bury the subject under one he preferred.

"Everyone assumes she must be like her mother, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. You see, my aunt was a proud woman, strong, and no one stood uncorrected when they disrespected her. She wasn't stoic like the men of the main house, though. She had many interests and was eager to talk about them. Hanabi is a lot like her," he chuckled, obviously fond of his aunt, as well as Hanabi.

"At least neither of them are like their father," Tsunade pressed.

"You're wrong."

Curiously, Tsunade looked at Neji, but the young Hyuuga didn't spare her a glance. Instead, he seemed to be distracted by two birds soaring overhead. Ironic, Tsunade thought, how the boy with the caged bird curse seal watched birds that had never known a cage. Or was he yearning for his own freedom?

"Hinata is strong in her own rite, but I learned how to deconstruct her before I was ten years old. I could tear her apart piece-by-piece with such ease that it made her caretaker nervous around me...I heard him telling Hanabi's caretaker that he thought I could see into a person's mind..." Neji chuckled.

The way he described it, the words he used, it unnerved Tsunade.

"I'm not that frightening," he reassured her.

She wasn't too sure about that, though. After all, she had seen Hiashi's reaction to him.

"There was no need to read her mind. She wore her weaknesses openly. She showed me where to strike. I was never proud of taking advantage of that..."

His open remorse offered at least some comfort. "People who take advantage of others' weaknesses are scum..."

"Not always..."

Another twist. It kept her interested, but she noted it kept her from redirecting the conversation back to her urgent matter. Was that his plan? To keep her distracted until they were at the entrance of the compound where he could bid her farewell without an explanation?

"Have you met my mother?"

"No..." Another tangent? Tsunade opened her mouth, but Neji had more to say.

"Hyuuga Miu. Mention that name on these grounds and you will hear the hearts of our men flutter."

Tsunade almost smiled at how Neji spoked about his mother. At least he admired one parental figure.

"She wears the plumage of the main house. You would never guess that she hides the mark of a branch house Hyuuga beneath her fringe..." Neji shook his head. "She was bred to be the beauty of the main house, and she was until she married my father...She took the seal willingly, though. You would know why if you'd ever met my father."

There was a noticeable change in Neji's tone while speaking about his father. Tsunade realized that was what true admiration sounded like from Neji. By comparison, his tone while speaking about his mother had sounded oddly detached, as if he were talking about a stranger.

"He was the pride of our clan. Even the main house praised him. Taiyou even told Hiashi he branded the wrong son once."

Tsunade stopped in her tracks, brow furrowed. Taiyou had told his own child that he should have branded him over his brother?

Neji's laughter broke her out of her thoughts. "The only reason Taiyou kept my father at arm's length was because he was already branded. Otherwise, he would have favored him. I know because my father was strong, he was proud--"

It didn't take a Yamanaka to read his mind. "He was like Taiyou..."

Neji's smile was unsettling. "He was his father's son. The only thing that separated them was my father was humbled. He had his power stripped from him before he could feel the power of his privilege."

That only made her wonder about his father's potential to be as cruel as Neji's grandfather.

"My mother loved that about him, how he walked with his head held high...while also being grounded..."

And they were right back to his mother. Why? "Neji...This isn't why I'm here..."

"It is...Just listen..." There was a silent plea in his voice that couldn't be ignored. "My mother loved my father, which is why she hated me..."

The whiplash was starting to get to her. Tsunade gawked at the teenager, but he didn't seem to notice, too focused on the path in front of them. How had he just said that without a hint of bitterness?

"She loved him so much that she couldn't bear the thought of him loving anyone else, not even her own child, his own son. I still love her, though...I will always love her...You might not understand that, but that's because you don't care how her upbringing influenced her. She was raised to be the center of the world she was in. My existence stripped that away from her. It literally changed her entire world for the worse..."

Miu was spoiled, so she was just a tragic woman who deserved forgiveness for hating her own son? Tsunade couldn't even pretend to understand that reasoning. "She should have recentered her world around you."

There was a long pause before Neji continued, as if Tsunade had never said a word. "When my father died, she was shattered. She found no comfort in having a piece of him through me because I would never show her the love she lost when he died...so...she abandoned me...She left my upbringing to Hiashi..."

At least she hadn't taken her pain out on him. From the sound of it, she had set him free of her hatred and just allowed him to exist apart from her. The rejection must have hurt, but Tsunade had seen parents do much worse to their children.

"A year ago, I visited her, and she shooed me out of the house. I'm used to it...I stayed nearby to see who she didn't want to see me, though, just to make sure they were treating her right."

It was heartbreaking to hear how much he still cared for her when she clearly just wanted to get rid of him.

"A member of the main house. It always is. I stood there wondering what he had to offer her that was so much better than the love of her only child..."

Tsunade wanted to judge, but, having known love, she wondered if it was love she was after. Apparently not.

"Gifts...He gave her a hair pin made of gold and pearls...and fresh flowers from the shop..."

Miu sounded incredibly materialistic. Sure, Tsunade could relate to some degree, but on top of everything else, Neji's mother sounded irredeemable.

"What I found interesting, though, was the worship."

Worship? Her gaze sought out the prodigy's, but he never lifted his.

"I watched past the trees and into her window as he literally kissed her feet, then rubbed them as she plucked the petals from a flower, reciting his name...and the name of her other lover."

Suddenly, Miu was a very interesting woman to Tsunade. That level of scandal was worthy of a drama!

"I watched his heart shatter when the last petal was the name of her other lover. Then, I watched the pieces of his heart mend when she picked up another flower to repeat the process. It took two more flowers to land on him, and my mother giggled through it. I watched as she listed every embarrassing trait he had until all he could do was stare at her feet cradled in his lap. Then, I watched him literally cry in relief when she asked herself why she was falling for him." Finally, Neji met her gaze. "She wasn't," he stated matter-of-factly.

Tsunade had to wonder just how beautiful this woman was if she could pull such a thing off. It was difficult to tell through her son. Though, she supposed there was a bit of an androgynous quality to him if she looked past the typical masculine way he carried himself.

"I watched him smear her lipstick with the sloppiest kiss I'd ever witnessed and use her breasts as a pillow while she lamented her inability to sleep with him. She claimed she was far too loyal to her dead husband. She could never betray him...not until she was ready to marry another." His mouth twisted into a bitter smile.

He could obviously recognize the manipulation, which was frankly sad. It was a parent's duty to act as a model for their children, but Miu had never seen herself as a parent, had she?

"I asked myself how a man could fall for such brazen manipulation, how any man wouldn't struggle against a woman sinking her talons that deeply under his skin...It was disgusting..." Neji shook his head, and the action seemed to free him of his bitterness. "That night, I was sitting in front of my mirror while combing the knots out of my hair--Hyuuga hair doesn't get tangled, but, somehow, training with Lee causes the impossible..."

Seeing another tangent coming on, the hokage almost interjected.

"That's when I understood."

Oh?

"In the mirror, I saw someone I hadn't seen before...Normally, I see my father's face staring back at me, but...I admit I was pouting about my mother's rejection--and the state of my hair...and I saw my mother's lips...Then, I saw her eyes...I saw her slender neck..."

Gods.

"I saw my mother staring back at me."

Painted lips parted, Tsunade fought to find the words to break that train of thought. You are not your mother.

"I have always known I was my father's son, but it was hard to ignore that I was also my mother's son."

"Neji..."

"Hinata would have been envious," he laughed, something a little more twisted than before. "Hinata is nothing like her mother. No...Hinata is her father's daughter."

Again, Tsunade found herself frozen in place. Hyuuga Hiashi? Like that timid young girl? Had she heard him right?

"I've known for years. The second I saw that crack in his facade, I knew I could tear him apart piece-by-piece. But why would I? What would that accomplish? Taiyou would kill me, and I don't say that lightly."

Tsunade had no doubt about that.

"One day, I would be training normally, and the next, I would be gone, passed away in my sleep from an aneurism. Probably from the resentment I was carrying, so the branch house should let that go."

All she could do was just stare, a fine brow perked at Neji. His expression was almost neutral, edging on amused, and that made her uncomfortable.

Somehow, Neji was not at all bothered by his own words, casually resuming their little walk. "That's why Taiyou insisted Hiashi marry his late wife, though, to ensure the next clan leader was strong enough to handle it. If you knew how much Taiyou holds his hand through his duties, you would not see Hiashi as the heartless monster the rest of the village sees him as. He's so self-conscious that he just does what his father tells him to do."

Shaking her head, Tsunade snapped herself out of the shock of the revelation. "What does that have to do with--?"

"I know how to deconstruct him," he snapped, in the same way that had humbled a clan leader. "Piece...by...piece...But why would I?" he asked again. "Sitting in front of that mirror, I saw my mother's face, and, for a moment, I wore the expression I saw her wearing as that man kissed her feet. She knew she could have whatever she wanted from him...and I think she was justified in taking it."

A sick feeling settled in the pit of Tsunade's stomach.

"He has so much power over her. Why not use what little power she has over him?"

A chill ran down her spine. "Neji..."

"I could deconstruct him, and I could exploit the pieces of him. People like that crave acceptance, understanding, they need to be coddled. I saw my opening. A member of the main house dared to raise his voice to him. He stood strong, of course, the same way he always performs, but I knew that he would run to his father after. I followed. He knew I was there, so he couldn't run to the source of his strength. That was when I struck his weak spot. I leaned into his side and told him he did well, despite the quiver in his voice. I told him that man had no right to speak to him like that, no matter how well it had worked to unravel him. And I did so in the gentlest voice I could muster," he said almost mockingly in that same voice. "He was already too weak to even instinctively shield himself from my attack. He just leaned back against me and asked me why the man had felt so emboldened. Had he shown weakness? I told him he had, but that man was also too entitled to know when to show respect, I told him that while I rubbed his shoulder...When he laid his head on my shoulder, I knew I had him."

Even with a mother who'd hated him and a grandfather who had rejected him, Tsunade would have never predicted Neji's outcome. A clan killer, maybe, But that? "Your uncle..."

Amusement oozed past his lips. "Think about it. I may be part of the branch house, but I am Hiashi's nephew. Who do I have to fear? There are only two people who would realistically activate my seal, Hiashi and Taiyou, but I haven't gotten to Taiyou yet..."

Yet. "Are you planning to do the same with him?"

Again, he let out that twisted little laugh. "No. I don't know the techniques to exploit Taiyou's weaknesses. I can only target him through his son."

It was sick. All of it. Sick! "You can't...You can't do this, Neji!"

"And why not?" he challenged. "They have all of the power! Why can't I use my power over them to get what I deserve?"

Gods, she knew he had every reason to be broken, but to that extent? "Because you're sacrificing yourself in the process..."

"No...I'm finally putting myself first. I'm finally getting everything I deserve. Did you know both of my parents were born into the main house? I am part of the pure Hyuuga bloodline. There is no difference between me and my cousins. And I am my father's son, which means I am the strong, proud Hyuuga that Taiyou admitted should be leading the clan. Well, I am leading the clan, with my influence over Hiashi."

Speechless, Tsunade resisted the urge to sit down, to ground herself, because none of it felt real.

"For now, it's just the little things that Taiyou would approve of, but, eventually, I will push Hiashi towards reform. Once I know I have my talons deeper in him than Taiyou..."

He was beyond reason, Tsunade could see that, but maybe she could save him through a technicality. "Did you...consummate your marriage to Hiashi?"

Neji saw through it immediately. The smirk that pulled at his lips told her as much. "Thoroughly. If you don't believe me, have your anbu watch us tonight, or any night really."

Damnit. She couldn't allow their marriage! Not because Neji was taking advantage of his uncle, but because he was ruining his own life. There had to be something she could do. Her mind was offering her nothing, though. She could offer up suspicions, but the Hyuuga clan was known to be willing to fight the hokage to maintain their traditions. Part of the reason they looked like clones of one another was because they were all related to their spouses, distantly in the branch house, but the main house got uncomfortably close sometimes. It didn't matter that Neji was genetically Hiashi's son, he was still legally his nephew, so they weren't breaking any laws. They were just following the tradition of the main house to marry withing their family. It was frustrating, so painfully frustrating.

Not that Neji cared about her suffering, as he was busy watching the sky, his eyes following the path of his favorite distraction, a common brown-feathered bird. "Even with this seal, I can have my own freedom. My father chose suicide...I chose to use the weaknesses in the main house."

"It is a good thing you are not like your father then..."

That earned Tsunade a sharp glare, the full attention he hadn't really offered her until that moment. "What did you say?"

Tsunade did not buckle. "You are your mother's son, Neji..." Maybe that would make him rethink what he was doing.

"I should get back to my training. You will find the exit in that direction," he informed her with a nod of his head. "You should rest, Tsunade-sama. I hope you have a better day than you seem to be having this morning."

An insult veiled by diplomacy. Tsunade had to admit he was a natural clan leader. Too bad no one would take him seriously after learning he had married his own uncle. With a sigh, she offered him one last olive branch. "If you decide you don't want to take this path anymore, you know where to find me. I will ensure you are protected from the consequences of breaking a powerful man's heart..."

But Neji did not accept her offering. "The exit is in that direction."

"But it is over. Pull it out...pull out the sword and give me a death I always longed for"

[ Give them hair treatments!

[

"Why are you up so early every morning? We have free days isn't the whole point to relax and enjoy it?" Not really waiting for an answer he pulls the other back into the bed. "Got you now my birdie, this morning you won't escape my cuddling nature!

He had only one ability, but that was all he needed.

The stranger confirmed he could not stand on water, walk up walls, throw a single shuriken, or even strike with any harmful force. As he sat at the edge of the roof, his heel propped on the bamboo drain, he shook his head with an ironic amusement. "I never had any talent, not for any of it. 'Gave up before I got my first pubic hair." The crass language suited the gangling goon, his emaciated appearance, patchy facial hair, and angry red sores illustrating a lifetime of heavy drug use. Neji hadn't activated his byakugan, but he suspected there weren't many teeth behind the thin lips the man kept in front of them.

His claims didn't make much sense, though, not when he was perched on the roof like a nin. At least they hadn't made sense until a young Hyuuga revealed himself around the corner of the angled roof. Neji recognized him as Hyuuga Hide, unmistakable from his patched eye and otherwise gentle features that made him androgynous, though he was missing one key feature--

"His seal," Neji breathed, his voice caught in his throat. In his peripheral vision, Hiashi turned his head to look at him briefly before he turned his attention back to the stranger.

"Leave this compound. Non Hyuuga are not welcome here without invitation." Hiashi's approach was firm, but not yet hostile. After all, the odd person had yet to do anything aside from introduce himself, albeit without a name. As for the missing seal, while it wasn't permitted, he knew it was possible for the branch house to conceal it with makeup. Neji had done so during his team's shenanigans around the village.

A cackle rang out over the quiet compound. "My friend here invited me after I helped him." A wave of his hand indicated Hide, whose demeanor had changed to protective. "Like I told you, Hiashi," he continued, without even a basic honorific one would use for an acquaintance, "I got only one ability, and it's all I need."

"Silence!" Hiashi cut him off, annoyed by the disrespect from someone he was starting to suspect was mentally unwell. "Leave this place. Hide, come down here at once."

"No." Hide's normally warm tone was resolute.

It had the younger clan prodigy in awe. That was conclusive proof to him that the seal was indeed gone. It wasn't concealed or hidden behind an illusion, it had somehow been removed completely. He said nothing, just stood there with his jaw hanging open.

That one word had shaken Hiashi, though he did not show it. He would always strive to stand tall in the face of fear. It wasn't his disobedience that had shaken him, though. It was the proof that he was somehow free from his cage, and he was hostile. It was the exact situation his father had warned him about. Removing the curse now posed a threat to the main house. Gritting his teeth through the pit forming in his throat, he ground out, "Come down here and away from that outsider."

"You're not listening, Hiashi," said outsider warned. "All I need is this one ability to get what I want, and what I want is a place like this." His heel lifted to tap against a shingle.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed dangerously, slits of silver like the shining edge of a blade. "You're not getting what you want. I don't know what you did to Hide, but he can't challenge me."

"He can't? Hmmm...I bet he can, though." A nod in Neji's direction turned all eyes to him.

Eyes cast down at his own palms, he remained still in stunned silence. He had felt it, the bars lifting, threads of chakra unweaving from around his brain and pulling away to a point directly in the center of his forehead. He had felt a decade of oppressive weight lift from his brow as if merely exhaled from his being. Lips quivering, he lifted shaking hands to his headband. Sloppily, he grasped both it and his bandages, ripping them away with one pull.

Despite himself, Hiashi fell back a step at the sight of his nephew's bare forehead. Their relationship had improved in the last few years, but his unmarked skin was reminiscent of an untethered dog. He had learned to pet the dog in the last few years, with the comfort of knowing it was safely bound, but, now, that dog was standing there without a rope, and Hiashi was reminded that beneath the soft fur were sharp teeth inside of a powerful jaw. "Neji..."

Said nephew looked up at his uncle in shock. He was free, he was actually free! But Hiashi didn't look shocked. He didn't look happy for him...or even confused. He looked alarmed. In that moment, Neji remembered. He remembered his father's screams, which twisted into his own childhood agony. He remembered his father's last words to him scrawled into a rushed letter, the implication under the words, a suicide. He remembered the hopelessness that had resulted in his own submissiveness. Widened eyes narrowed slowly.

"I've got no strings to hold me down," the stranger sang through his laughter. "To make me fret or make me frown~."

"Neji..." Hiashi tried again, but, instinctively, he fell into a fighting stance.

"What, Hiashi? Are you afraid I've forgotten my place?" The words came with a familiar bite to them. He was free, and that meant he could be who he had always been, untethered and dangerous. Leaping off of his right foot, he brought the fury of the branch house down on his main house uncle once and for all.

Rating: PG-13

Pairing(s): ShisuNeji (I know it's crack, but it's one of my otp's...)

Warning(s): None

Summary: Neji is pulled over by what he believes is a literal angel.

It was past midnight, the road was as barren as an arcade after the invention of the Nintendo, and Neji wanted nothing more than to peel his uncomfortably tight pants off and rest his head on his silk pillowcase. Admittedly, to achieve his goals, he was a little heavy-footed on the gas pedal. It wasn't like he was being reckless with anyone's life but his own anyway, and death sounded wonderful to a tired mind. The big sleep.

The local law wasn't too enthusiastic about him taking a nap for the rest of eternity, though. One blare of a siren preceded the flash of red and blue lights, startling Neji just enough to transfer his focus from the gas pedal to the brake pedal. A steady pressure and a turn signal eventually brought him to a stop on the shoulder of the road, and he tensely awaited the impending scolding and ticket. Hiashi was going to kill him! Worse, he was going to take away his keys! The Hyuuga groaned.

A knock on his window stole his attention away from his thoughts. Shaking, he pressed the button to roll the window down. Unpleasantly, he was blinded by a flashlight. "Turn off the engine please," the voice behind the light instructed.

Sarcastically, Neji thought, 'Yes, God,' to himself as he obeyed.

"Turn on the interior lights please," came the second instruction.

Neji turned on the two lights under his rearview mirror and the one overhead. That was when the blinding light finally flicked off and was replaced by what Neji suspected was an angel. Under a fluffy layer of raven curls was the cutest face he had ever seen.