tampered | Log: Ongoing

Log: Ongoing

When; Dec. 3, late afternoon
Rating; PG
Characters; Hyuuga Hinata

so_very_greedy
Summary; Greed tries to help out Hinata by buying her something to eat and giving her a little advice on guys.
Log; She was a bit nervous as she walked up to the temple. It had only taken a day or so for her chakra to finish replenishing herself, so she'd been able to heal away all trace of her recent illness and the injuries that she'd dealt herself. Looking up at the large red gate, she started searching around for the person she was supposed to meet.

"G..Greed-san?"

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Two deep violet eyes peeked over the top of the gate at her.

"Hey, what's up? Glad you could come!"

Greed jumped straight down, landing in front of her and bowing.

"Welcome to the temple. Would you like the grand tour?"

She jumped, having not sensed his approach, white eyes wide in her face.

"G..G..Greed-san...you startled me."

She smiled and bowed before nodding.

"H..hai. That..would be nice. I've never been here before, but since I'll be cooking for Glinda's party, I suppose I should at least know where things are beforehand."

"Okay then," he said, rising to his feet again, "Let's go."

He gently led her along the pathway to the temple.

"You've just seen our wonderful entranceway, obviously. If you look toward the main temple body, you'll see the large tree towering beside it. It grows bigger than the rest, but we still don't know why."

Along the way, they passed a sand garden, several natural duck ponds, and a few aged buddhist statues. Within a few minutes, they arrived at the final stairway to the front doors.

"Right up here, please."

She nodded, taking in everything that he showed her. The temple was nice, it reminded her of parts of the Hyuuga estate that she'd enjoyed spending time in, the parts where she could get away from her rank and her station and just be at peace.

"It's beautiful, Greed-san. It reminds me a little bit of my home, back in Konoha."

"How are those villages anyway?" he asked, off-hand. He had always wondered what kind of upbringing it took to churn out warriors at such a young age.

He opened one side of the large double-doors and ushered her in. The main hall stretched out before them. Numerous bits of artwork, weaponry, and old documents lined the walls.

"I don't understand half the stuff here, quite frankly, but it looks pretty enough. Just keep headin' this way."

They passed several bathrooms, guest rooms, bathing areas, and the large main kitchen, then reached a simple sliding paper door.

"Should be throught here. You bring a bathing suit or anything?"

"What do you mean, 'how are they'? It's...a village. Doesn't your world have them?"

She nodded as he explained. Her home was a lot like that. Lots of things that she didn't understand, ornamental weapons and suits of armour and scrolls and parchments and the like.

"Hai, I brought one."

"We have more big cities where I'm from, and even with those small enough to be villages, our villages won't be like yours. Different world, different technology, different culture, things like that."

He pointed to a sideroom.

"You can change in their and grab a towel. Make sure you shower off beforehand, so we keep the springs as free of bacteria as possible."

Greed slid open the door to the springs, allowing steam to billow in over him.

"I'll be waitin' out here when you're done. Then we can relax and talk."

He stepped out into the steamy air to wait for her.

She nodded and stepped into the room, sliding the door closed behind her. After checking to make sure that it was indeed closed and locked, she showered and then changed into a simple navy-blue onepiece that had light blue and white stripes running down the sides. Wrapping a fluffy white towel around herself, she stepped out of the door and closed it behind her.

"O..Ok..."

"Aw, you're adorable!" Greed laughed, beckoning her to the water.

He was already standing in a shallow area of the small pool, clad in an EXTREMELY gaudy pair of swim trunks. He was holding a large serving tray full of hot sake, bottled water, and several cut-up sandwich halves. He waded over and placed it on the side of the pool nearest to her.

"That's so cute," he said, sitting and trying not to be quite so noticeable in his ogling.

"So, what do you need to know, Hinata? Ask me anything."

She blinked for a moment. His suit was so bright it almost hurt her eyes. Blushing slightly, not used to being watched, she shed the towel and sat down in the shallow water. Reaching over, she picked up one of the sandwich halves and bit into the center of it, chewing thoughtfully. She swallowed and shook her head, cheeks slightly red.

"I...I don't know....I..I've never asked anyone about...this sort of advice before..."

He cocked an eyebrow at her reaction and settled in next to her, popping a whole sandwich in his mouth and grabbing a sake bottle.

"C'mon, nobody here but us. Just tell ol' Greed about your problems. We'll hash 'em out one at a time."

"I....I guess so..."

She wasn't so much nervous about Greed as she was nervous about sharing her problems with him. She was a rather reserved girl, and so it felt strange to be sharing personal dilemmas with someone she barely knew. But then...maybe that in itself was something. Maybe someone who was further removed from the situation would be able to give her advice where someone closer would be tainted by what they already knew of her and Neji. She nodded, and took another bite of her sandwich before continuing.

"...he hates me..."

"Okay..."

He switched positions, sitting in low in the water in front of her. In this position he didn't tower over her quite so much.

"How do ya' know? Has he SAID that, or do you just think it? Lots of guys say somethin' they don't mean in a moment of over-excitement."

She mumbled something and took another bite of her sandwich before swallowing and looking at him.

"Why wouldn't he hate me? It's because of me that his life is so hard."

"And how do YOU make HIS life hard? Look, a real man doesn't blame his problems on someone else. If he's half as great a guy as you think, then he ain't blamin' you. It's something else on his mind."

He took another deep draught of his sake.

"I don't see anyway you could burden someone, Hinata."

She shook her head.

"It's...it's not that simple."

Looking around, she picked up a napkin and balanced it on her knee, scowling slightly at the water as it soaked into the paper. Reaching into the pocket of her coat where it sat on the edge of the spring, she pulled out a marker. Slowely, so as not to tear the wet paper, she drew a symbol that looked like an X with curving lines on either side of it. She handed it to him.

"That's the juuin. The reason why everything is so complicated"

He looked at the symbol in much the same way a monkey looked at pre-algebra.

"Aaaaand this means what? I'm not familiar with it."

"It's a seal. My family, the Hyuuga, is split into two branches. The Soke, the head family. And the Bunke, the branch family. When they're just a child, every member of the Bunke has that seal placed on their foreheads. But...it's not just a decoration. It gives absolute control over them to the Soke. When we Soke are old enough, we're taught the seals to control it. We...we can simply make a simple seal with our fingers and destroy the brain cells of the Bunke. We can even kill with it. When they die, it seals up the Byakugan, so it's an insurance mechanism as well. But....it's monstrous."

"So what? You're a good person, so what does he have to worry about? It's not like you'd ever use it on him. Hell, you could even work on a way to undo the mark, right? Isn't that a good thing?"

"And trust me, there's things much more monstrous than that. Besides, he may not blame you for it. It's not like YOU put the seal on his head. Do ninjas always hold everyone in a family accountable for the actions of a few? That's kinda' fucked up."

She shook her head.

"It isn't just that. Neji-kun and I are cousins. But my father was born first, by a few minutes. So he became a member of the Soke, and my uncle became a member of the Bunke. It would have been fine, but I'm so weak compared to my family. I'm unfit to be the heir to the clan. But...Neji-kun is so strong and talented. A prodigy. He should be the one to lead the clan. Yet, because of an accident of birth, his wings are tied. He's forced into a position where his life is supposed to mean nothing beyond protecting the heir of the clan. ME. I...I can't imagine how he feels, watching someone like me who's so weak, holding such power over him. When he was 4, they put the seal on him, but it wasn't until his father died that he changed. Hizashi-jiisan died as my father's double. And...even though it was his own idea, he still died so that the Soke could live. Neji-kun...resents me for that. But...even more then that, he resents me for BEING me. For being weak and afraid and yet still having so much power over him. But...you're right. I'd never use it on him..."

"That's just it, though! If you're the leader, YOU make the rules. YOU wield the authority. Why not just make it so that the families are more equal? Shouldn't the leader have that kind of power? Have you even talked with him on this recently?"

He sipped a bit more sake and sighed, cracking his neck.

"Look, Hinata. You say all this stuff about how he hates your, but ya' haven't shown me any proof. You only give reasons why you THINK he should hate you. Besides, nobody is forced to be anything if they have any real will of their own."

He raised up his left hand, showing her the seal on top of it.

"Do ya' see this seal?"

She nodded, studying the mark on his hand.

"Is it like the juuin?"

"Eh, not quite, but the meaning is similar."

He traced it with the fingers on his other hand, setting the sake bottle to the side.

"This is the mark all homuculi bear. This is a reminder of what we are. Homunculi are supposed to be the perfect servants. The only way we come into existence is through forbidden human alchemy. We are supposed to be ever-bound to the one who creates us. On top of that, we never tire, which is the meaning. Most life follows the linear cycle of birth, life, death. We live beyond that cycle. Like the snake forever eating it's own tail, we can't die through any natural means. Perfect, immortal slaves. We're meant to be monsters, Hinata."

He switched to sitting next to her again.

"And because our bodies never change, the Ouroboros will always be there. But I questioned it, ya' see? I knew I'd never have anything of my own if I kept doing Father's bidding, doing his dirty work, carrying out his will. He told us that was our Fate. Our purpose. But I decided that it wasn't for me and I fuckin' LEFT. Nobody's fate is in stone, Hinata. People can change it by their own will. People here are doin' it every day."

She nodded, studying the red mark embossed into the back of his hand.

"So...it is a lot like the juuin."

She drew her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees.

"Neji-kun doesn't believe that fate can be changed. And I guess, for him, there's reason in that belief. I...I wish I could show him that's not true. I tried once, when we were younger. He...that was before he knew the truth about his father's death. I faced him, in the Chuunin exams. He...he almost killed me. I think...I think he really just wanted a way to escape his fate."

"Can't you use examples of others changin' their fate?"

He lowered his head to make sure she was looking him in the eyes.

"Maybe he should talk to people in similar situations? A lot of people here seemed obsessed with the fate they left behind."

She shook her head.

"It...doesn't work. Even though he's seen that some people can change their fate, his has been so tightly bound for so long that I don't think he can see past it."

Picking up another half of sandwich, she nodded thoughtfully.

"I hadn't thought of that..."

"See? Hell, I could try talkin' some sense into him."

She frowned. Somehow, that didn't seem like it would be that good of an idea... Trying to take his mind off of the issue of Neji, she changed the subject.

"You...you said that you could show me...how to not be shy... H..How would you do that?"

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Log: Ongoing

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