Neji Hyuuga let out a soft sigh, actively unfurrowing his brows as he turned to meet the client's gaze. The noblewoman was young, with the beauty one might expect from a conscientious civilian, with smooth, blemish free pale skin, slender limbs and hands, and long hair. He couldn't see the appeal, particularly given the nasal affectation she used when complaining—which she did often, for everything—but Lee had flushed bright red during their introduction. She was currently pouting, her artificially long lashes fluttering at him in the firelight.

"Hyuuga-kun, were you listening?"

"No."

Hatake laughed, though whether it was at his response or at their client's expression he wasn't sure. She was sitting beside the older girl on a spread blanket, her fingers plucking idly at koto strings and filling the night with gentle music. She had spent much of the day in the carriage with their client, engaging in empty conversation with a vapid smile on her face.

Well, in her eyes.

She still wore her mask, just like her father, and Neji would be hard pressed to describe her face from the handful of times he'd seen it over the years. Beyond a wide smile and dimples, nothing else really stuck out in his mind. If anything, picturing her without the mask felt rude, almost vulgar.

"Don't mind him, Watanabe-san. Neji-san takes his missions very seriously."

"Hmph."

One of the hand maidens paused in their work and glowered. "You address our oujou-sama too casually, shinobi-san."

Neji scoffed. While civilians were generally out of the loop when it came to shinobi politics, those who lived in the village at least knew a clan name when they heard one. These fools from the capital were nigh unbearable in their arrogance.

"Hanako-san is also an oujou-sama!" Lee cried, thumping his chest with too much enthusiasm from the other side of camp. "She is the next head of the Hatake clan!"

As annoying as his teammate could be—and often was—Neji did enjoy the look of frightened shame which overcame the outspoken servant's face.

"Mah, Lee-kun," Hatake admonished, her tone and expression striking in their resemblance to her father. There was a smile in her voice, though, and Neji knew she would have laughed had they been alone. "It's alright, they didn't know."

"Eh?" The Watanabe princess turned wide eyes on the kunoichi. "Why would an heir be sent out on a mission like this?"

Neji clicked his tongue and turned away from the civilians, ignoring Hatake's patient explanation of shinobi life. There was a reason clan shinobi didn't really mingle with their civilian born counterparts. Their worlds were simply too different.

He sighed again. This mission was already so tedious.

Activating his Byakugan, Neji scanned the shadows surrounding their camp, gaze passing over the chakra signatures of small animals in the brush. Nothing out of the ordinary. Not that there would be. Perhaps, it would have been better if Hatake had kept her mission to herself. Knowing that there was someone in their group to guard against, but not knowing who...

It was vexing. A lingering thought in the back of his mind that he could not dismiss. Every maid and servant garnered his suspicion, and he'd used his Byakugan to analyze each of their chakra systems to no avail.

Lee, it seemed, had no trouble putting her revelation out of mind, behaving just as he always had with painful exuberance. Guy-sensei, as well. It was a bit unsettling, actually, watching them while knowing they were keeping a secret. It seemed they were better at stealth than he'd given them credit for.

Of course, they were shinobi.

A gentle tug on his sleeve had him turning, and he turned to take in Hatake's chakra system. It was much stronger than it had once been, but still not as strong as many of their peers'. He knew she was not a fighter, by nature or by practice, and her chakra reflected this. After her sudden graduation from the academy some five years prior, his somewhat-friend had buried herself in fuinjutsu, the art of seals. It made sense, given her kekkei genkai, and it allowed her to indulge her naïve pacifism. It also meant she spent a great deal of time in the library, poring over scrolls, rather than on a training field.

As a result, she was slender and pale in a way most shinobi were not. She did follow a training regimen designed by Guy-sensei, however, so there was no doubt that she was strong. Just not visibly so. Her conservative manner of dress contributed to this. Her pants were standard black shinobi issue, her legs wrapped in white bandages from the knee down and shoved into high topped, closed toe boots. Her mask was actually part of her shirt, the black fabric flowing seamlessly from the bridge of her nose downward, covering every inch of skin save her upper face and hands. As if this wasn't enough, she also wore a pale green haori over top. It had quickly become her signature accessory, and Neji could vaguely recall her wearing something similar during her academy days.

All of this, save her shoes, she had made herself.

He could still remember her early days of weaving and clothing design. Oh, the messes she'd made.

He deactivated his Byakugan. "Hatake. What is it?"

She pressed a bowl into his hands with a smile, their fingers brushing softly. "I don't suppose I can convince you to join us?"

There was a twinkle in her dark eyes, and Neji gave in to the urge to smile. Just a little. "I will be taking first watch."

She nodded amicably. "Uncle Guy told me, but I though I should ask, anyway."

He bowed his head slightly. "Thank you."

Though their conversation was done, she didn't leave. Instead, she heaved a great, shoulder raisin sigh and turned her gaze up to the almost full moon.

"I hear your team is considering taking the Chunin Exams, this year." Her voice was soft but clear. "Will Tenten recover in time?"

Neji hummed noncommittally. "I am sure she will. This mission will take a couple of weeks, at least. By the time we return to the village, she should be ready."

Hatake nodded, moonlight reflecting in her black eyes. "I think I will take them, this time, too."

He felt his brows raise in surprise. "Really? I thought you might wait another year."

She shrugged and lowered her gaze with another sigh. "I considered it. I still don't think I'm entirely ready, and I don't have a team, yet, but I might give it a go."

"Your father will no doubt be glad to hear that."

She shot him a heatless glare and huffed. "Hush, you."

The Watanabe girl's nasal voice split the comfortable atmosphere, demanding Hatake's presence for some trivial thing or another.

The kunoichi rolled her eyes. "Duty calls, my friend."

He sent her off with a hum, watching her go with a carefully neutral expression. The noblewoman was looking at him again, and he would not give her the satisfaction of a reaction. Despite the distance between them, he could clearly hear her interrogation of Hatake, the words "cute" and "boyfriend" coming across perfectly.

What nonsense.

A clan heir and a branch member? Impossible. The Hatake and the Hyuuga were hardly allies, and his clan guarded its dojutsu far too jealously to allow even the most innocent of interclan romances. Even Neji's fragile friendship with the young Hatake was scrutinized closely at every turn, and things would only get worse as they got older. Only once Hatake was safely married would Neji be free to call her his friend, and that would not be for several years, yet.

Neji turned his back on the camp, leaping into the trees and alighting onto a sturdy branch. The bowl in his hands had cooled, but his hands were warm.

Nonsense.