LEGACY

Dua puluh satu

Chapter 21

Tsunade came into Neji's room to do a medical check up when she found him snuggling with Fumiko in his arms. Shizune cooed on how cute they were. Both of the prodigies were in a deep slumber, before Tsunade yelled at them.

"Neji! Fumiko! That's not how you should behave in the hospital!"

Neji groaned as he opened his eyes. Fumiko was already staring at him before she sat up and looked at Tsunade blankly. An irk mark popped on Tsunade's head. "Well?"

"Do you need something from me, Senju?"

"Is that how you talk to your Hokage?!"

"Naruto keeps calling you baa-chan. Your point?"

Tsunade sighed, letting Shizune examined Neji before pulling Fumiko out of the room. "I'd like to talk about your eyes. No, your right eye to be exact."

"Don't worry, I still have around 3 years before I lose my right sight completely."

"Why are you taking this lightly, you damn Uchiha?"

Fumiko sighed. "This is the curse of an Uchiha. If you unlock the Mangekyo sharingan, you'd ended up blind by the amount of time you use your Mangekyo. Well, unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless I get an eye transplant." Fumiko activated her sharingan. "You see how mismatch my eyes are? I've got my left eye transplanted already. But I can't get the right eye."

"Why not?"

"Because you can only get transplant if the donor is also possessing the Mangekyo sharingan."

"Is there nothing we can do about it?" Tsunade frowned.

"No." Fumiko shook her head. "The only ones who possess Mangekyo are Itachi and Hatake."

"Kakashi?" Tsunade asked, surprised.

Fumiko nodded. "You can ask him away if you want to. I still have things to do."

Fumiko went back to Neji's room before saying good bye to the older ninja. She then body flickered to the base. Fu was already waiting for her return in her office. Fumiko tossed several scrolls consisting on her findings of the Akatsuki.

"Are you going to report this to the hokage?" Fu asked as he read the content.

"No." Fumiko shook her head. "At least not yet. I still don't trust her."

"Then, what are we going to do with this information?"

"Drill it on the others. I don't want any more casualties. How's Hirotaka?"

"He's managing."

Fumiko nodded as a knock was heard. "Come in."

Sai came in and held out a letter. "Uchiha Sasuke has reached Orochimaru's hideout safely. This is a letter from Orochimaru for you, asking for alliance."

"Alliance?" Fumiko snorted. She took the letter and read the content before burning it down. "There's no way I'd form an alliance with a traitor."

By the time Fumiko finished her work, she came back home only to find that the light was on. "Oh, okaerinasai, Fumiko-sama."

"Neji-kun?" Neji slid the door open so Fumiko could come in.

"Please take a bath while waiting for the food to cook." Neji said while retreating to the kitchen. "I'm not allowing you to eat unless you've cleaned up."

"Why are you here?"

Still focusing on cooking, Neji answered without looking at her. "I decided to stay here. Fugaku-sama has already approved me leaving here and said it'd be better if we tie the knot sooner. Though it's all still up to you, Fumiko-sama. I can stay in the guestroom for the time being."

Fumiko did not answer him, but she kept watching for Neji cooking. He looked skilled enough with his task, and did not feel bothered at all being gawked by her. After a few moments, Fumiko sighed.

"Just stay in my room. We'll think of changing the bed into a bigger one tomorrow. For now you can drag the futon into my room."

"Alright."

After a while, Fumiko came back to the kitchen. Neji was still stirring the pot. She came behind him and decided to give him a reward by hugging the boy from behind. Of course, Neji froze immediately.

"Ne Neji," Even though Fumiko's face was remained stoic, her tone was no longer empty, Neji noticed. "thank you."

A smile grazed his face as he relaxed his muscles. Neji used his hand that did not occupy on the pot and put it gently on the top of Fumiko's that circling his waist, and he leaned back to her. Neji was slightly taller than Fumiko, making her easier to put her head in the crook of his neck.

After dinner was done, the pair went to the room and laid down. it was silence for a few hours, but both teenagers could not sleep.

"Fumiko-sama," Neji whispered.

"Hn?"

"What are you going to do about Sasuke and Itachi-san?"

Fumiko too was thinking about it. She knew her big brother was stubborn, he was also sick. Ever since he was young, he already had this sickness and only Fumiko and Shisui who knew about it. It was incurable. His last wish was to be killed by Sasuke's hand so the younger male could possess Mangekyo on his own.

"I don't know, Neji-kun."

"No matter what your choice is, I'll be here for you."

"Hn." Fumiko hummed in approval.