A Growing Affection

Chapter 86: War Preparations

"Good morning, grandson," Hyouta said brightly, as Neji entered his  office. The clan elder stood respectfully, putting the Jonin further on  guard. His grandfather showed the young man to a chair before returning  to his own seat.

"How are you this morning?" Hyouta asked, missing  or ignoring Neji's stiff, uncomfortable posture. Hizashi's son mentally  ran through a list of reasons for his grandfather's good mood.

'He  is trying to trick me in some way,' Neji thought of the most likely  scenario first, 'Or perhaps Lady Tsunade was killed, and Lord Hyouta has  been named the new Hokage...'

"Well enough," the teen answered  aloud, relaxing and nearly smiling as he considered, 'Maybe he has lost  his mind, or has become addicted to some sort of hallucinogen.'

"Good,  glad to hear it," the elder said with slightly less energy, recognizing  he might be overplaying his role. He studied his oldest grandchild, a  small amount of sadness tinting his cold assessment of the Jonin. Very  few members of the clan reached the highest shinobi rank; most stopped  at Tokubetsu Jonin, specializing in either scouting or Gentle Fist  combat. But Neji, like his father before him, had become a full Jonin,  psychologically thumbing their noses at the clan leader and elders.

Even  without his Byakugan, Hyouta could tell the younger man was on edge.  Though this generally pleased the elder, he knew from experience if he  could not get his grandson to unwind, it would be much harder to close  the deal.

"We have never exactly been close, have we, Neji?"  Hyouta offered regretfully, "And it's mostly my fault. I secretly  resented your father, first for making my life as clan leader more  difficult simply by being born, and then for becoming a Jonin and  leading a life away from the clan. And I may have let those feelings  carry over to you..."

'Is he dying?' Neji's shoulders slumped slightly as his grandfather's words and tone lead him to another possibility.

"...and  I have not treated you fairly," the elder continued, not privy to his  grandson's thoughts, but not oblivious to the shift in the young man's  mood.

"What are you saying, grandfather?" the branded Jonin asked carefully. Hyouta smiled ever so slightly.

"I  am saying that you are quite probably the strongest member of the Hyuga  clan," the elder admitted, "And that it is a shame you are trapped as a  Branch Family member. But there may be a way to change that."

Neji's  eyebrows shot up slightly, but other than that he managed to reign in  his surprise and hope. He studied his grandfather's face for signs of  duplicity, but Hyouta Hyuga was either honest, or too skilled of a  dissembler for the young ninja to detect.

"How?" Neji asked nervously. Hyouta looked down at the question, then met his grandson's face with a resolved look.

"Can I trust you not to repeat what I am about to tell you?" the elder countered sternly, and the marked youth nodded.

"I  am concerned about the future of the clan," Hyouta told Neji quietly,  "I do not believe either of Hiashi's daughters are fit to lead. Hanabi  has been spoiled. And even though Hiashi has focused on training her,  her skills are not where I would expect them to be. She certainly would  not be able to work out how to perform the Eight Trigrams Sixty-four  Palms on her own."

Hyouta's veiled praise baited the hook further, and Neji nodded in spite of himself.

"And  Hinata..." Hyouta paused, carefully considering his next words. He knew  that the cousins had grown close, and that too obvious of an attack  would hurt his cause.

"Hinata's skills have surpassed my  expectations," the elder admitted, exaggerating only slightly, "But she  is still not at your level, and likely never will be. And more  importantly, I worry that she may not be emotionally strong enough to  control our clan."