The Alliance

Author's Note: I've gotten several requests for a male Hinata x female Sasuke story over the past few months and decided to grant them. In this story, Hinata was born male and his name is Hideki. Sasuke was born female and her name is Suki. Oh and the Uchiha Massacre didn't happen. If any of that bothers you, you might want to turn back now. For those of you still here, I hope you enjoy this story and reviews are always appreciated.

Special Thanks to the Guest Reviewer who gave me the idea for male Hinata's name.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or make any profit off of my fanfics.

Chapter 1

Something had changed. Something important, but Hideki couldn't figure out what it was for the life of him.

It was in the way that everyone in the Clan would suddenly go silent whenever he passed by them. The way that the air was thick with some unspoken tension and it was driving him insane.

"Neji, what has happened?" Hideki finally musters the courage to voice the question that had been on his mind for the past few days.

The fact his cousin turns and casts him a sympathetic glance almost makes him wish that he hadn't. "Our elders have been consulting with the Uchiha's leaders for a few days now and I believe they've come to a decision." The other Hyuga man frowns as though he wasn't entirely sure whatever decision they had come to was a good idea. "I was actually on my way to find you. Lord Hiashi wishes to speak with you."

Hideki's heart pounds furiously in his chest at not only those words, but the way his beloved cousin had phrased them. Neji had said Lord Hiashi. Not your father.

"I see." Hideki nods attempting to slip into the role of a dutiful Hyuga Clan Heir. "Where can I find him?"

"He's in his study." Neji pauses before patting Hideki on the shoulder. "I do want you to know whatever happens, you can always come and speak with me. I know how it feels to have your destiny decided by others. It's not a pleasant feeling."

Alarm bells were now sounding in Hideki's head. Neji was not the sort who engaged in physical displays often and he was also a Branch Member. His destiny had been decided the moment his father was born just a few moments after her own. It would forever brand him a Branch Member.

It was only sheer dumb luck that Hideki hadn't been put into Neji's position. His own children would be Main House Members one day, but not everyone within their family was so fortunate.

"Thank you, Neji." Hideki forces himself to smile as he heads towards Hiashi Hyuga's study.

"You're welcome and I truly do mean it." Neji's call is heard through the disturbingly empty halls.

It was almost as if everyone else knew something that Hideki didn't. The young heir would have been worried about being a branded a Branch Member at this point, were it not for the fact his father seemed to be pleased by his recent progress.

"I need to stop acting like a frightened Genin." Hideki sighs when he reaches the outside door to Hiashi's study. "Whatever it is can't be that bad." At least that's what he hopes while he knocks on that door.

The impulse to run was powerful, but Hideki beats it down. Whatever his father wished to discuss, it was obvious the Hyuga patriarch would find a way to tell him. Running would accomplish nothing, but disgracing his family's name.

"Hideki, come in." He hears his father's voice call out. "The door is open. I've been expecting you. We have much to discuss."

Hideki gulps and walks into his father's study. It took all his resolve to do so, but now that he was inside…the young man knew there was no going back.

"Yes, Father." He bows in a manner befitting a Hyuga. "I believe we do. Neji told me that you wished to speak with me and I would be lying, if I said I didn't have concerns about the way everyone is treating me. It's as if I've become a ghost."

Damn it. He was babbling. Hideki Hyuga had two flaws when it came to speaking while nervous. He'd either stutter or babble.

Fortunately, he'd mostly outgrown the former. It was now the latter that was plaguing him.

Hiashi chuckles at that observation, but it was forced and they both knew it. "You're not a ghost, but something else of importance is happening." Hiashi gestures towards a nearby chair. "You may wish to sit down. I wanted to tell you this in private. This sort of thing is stressful enough without springing it on you in front of an audience."

Hideki takes a seat. Things were serious when his father told him to sit. Hiashi Hyuga was not a man that cowered easily (or ever).

"What is it?" He tilts his head.

Hiashi sighs as looks at Hideki. "You are the heir to one of the most powerful Clans in the Leaf Village." Hiashi places his hand on Hideki's. "With that comes certain privileges and responsibilities. One of which is protecting the stability of our Clan and the village as whole. Unfortunately, over the years some unease has gripped the village since The Overthrow. There are those who are concerned that the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans are too isolated from one another and such a division could result in history repeating itself."

Hideki frowns at that. He had studied history as much as the next Hyuga and thus, he was more than capable of reading between the lines.

"They're worried that it will become a bloody rivalry like it was with the Senjus and Uchihas." The young man shakes his head at that. "I wouldn't worry about that. We've largely ignored one another since The Overthrow, but there's never been any real animosity between our Clans."

Hideki likened it to lions and tigers really. They were both big cats, but they mostly avoided each other. Their ranges seldom overlapped anyway.

"That's true, but as it stands our Clan and the Uchihas are the most influential in the Leaf and thus the distance is seen as a potential sign of instability, but we've come up with a way to fix that."

Solutions were good. "So that's what you wished to speak to me about?" Perhaps this was all over nothing. It was possible that his Clan was just nervous about direct interaction with the Uchihas and there was really nothing to worry about.

"You are my eldest child and thus the heir to our Clan." Hiashi smiles at Hideki. "The Uchiha Clan is like ours in the way that the Clan Heads have produced two potential heirs."

Hideki raises an eyebrow at that. "Yes, Itachi and Suki." Everyone had heard of both of them. It was difficult not to.

Itachi was the next in line to lead the Uchiha Clan and had graduated the Academy at seven. He was a prodigy by anyone's definition and his little sister, Suki, had followed in his footsteps to the extent she was allowed to by graduating at the top of the Academy.

She probably would have skipped a few years at the Academy, if the Leaf hadn't changed their policies after The Overthrow. Now, every child had to be at least twelve years of age to graduate from the Academy.

"Indeed. Obviously, you and Itachi are both men so a match could never work as far as heirs being sired by the both of you is concerned." Hiashi shakes his head in amusement. "That works out for the best though. Suki is the younger child, so she could marry into our Clan complicating the line of succession for the Uchihas. It's also a happy happenstance that such a marriage wouldn't change your own status as the Heir to our Clan."

THUD!

Whatever Hideki had been expecting, that wasn't it. "You want me to marry Suki Uchiha?!" His father was out of his mind. There was no way that she would agree to this match!

Meanwhile Suki strides into her family's home. She had just gotten back from a mission and was ready to enjoy her Clan's hot springs when she notices something was wrong. Severely wrong.

"Father?" She tilts her head. "You're back from the Police Force early."

Far too early. The earliest the man could ever manage to get off when he worked was five and it was only just after Noon.

Her mother smiles at her. "Yes, he is." She pulls out a chair for Suki. "You may wish to sit down for this. Your father is home early because this is an important matter."

It clearly was because even Itachi was home. Suki knew that he was supposed to be gone on his most recent mission for another week.

"I am." He shakes his head and sighs. "You needn't look so frightened. He's a good boy. A bit more skittish than I would have anticipated, but a good boy."

Her father wasn't making any sense, but Suki quickly sits down. "Who are you talking about and what does that have to do with me?" She wasn't like Itachi. Suki had never been as patient as her elder brother.

The way Fugaku was behaving was so foreign that it was starting to unnerve her. Suki had never known him to seem so sheepish about anything and yet, here he was. The man was practically fidgetting.

"He means Hideki Hyuga and I'm afraid that it has to do with The Overthrow." Mikoto pushes a bowel of tomatoes towards her daughter.

For the first time in her life, Suki frowns at an offering of tomatoes. She was clearly being offered comfort food, but for reasons she didn't understand.

"I don't know what Hideki has to do with The Overthrow." They had both been children when it happened. "We were still in the Academy when the Clans struck back against Danzo's schemes."

Hideki had nothing to do with it and neither had she. So she had no idea what her mother was talking about.

"Yes, you were, but you're also an Uchiha." Fugaku looks at his daughter with somewhat apologetic eyes. "Ever since the Clans united to take over the Leaf and I became the Hokage, it's largely been accepted that our Clan and the Hyugas have ended up taking the lionshare of the leadership roles."

Suki's brows furrow at that. "Yes, but that's because the other Clans were happy to continue on in much the same manner they had before we took over. They only joined with us because they knew what might happen, if they didn't." Some had even gone so far as to say as much in black and white terms to them over the years.

"That's true." Itachi nods at her. "We've offered everyone a chance to take whatever role they want based on merit and most of them were just fine with their lot before Danzo wanted me to wage a genocide against our Clan." That was right. Their Clan wasn't nearly as power hungry as that fossil had been. "They knew that if they didn't, there was nothing to stop Danzo from setting his sets on another Clan that grew too powerful for his liking in the future, but that isn't the issue."

Suki tilts her head as she considers the possibilities. If the other Clans or general population weren't protesting how they ran things, then she couldn't see what the problem was. Clearly there had to be one though. Why else would Itachi and her father have come back from work so early?

Fugaku was Hokage now, but it was still as a rare day he came home early. He usually worked at the Police Station until at least five, if not till sunset.

"What's the issue then?" Suki sighs, tired of all this beating around the bush.

Her father shakes his head. "The Uchihas and Hyugas are the two most influential Clans in this village now in terms of politics, but our interaction has been rather limited." The way his brows were furrowing was troubling to say the least. "There are whispers that apathy might turn into something more malicious eventually and we want to head those whispers off."

Suddenly, it all clicks into place. There was only one surefire way to put those sorts of rumors to rest.

"You want to establish stronger ties between the Clans." She bites her lower lip. "That's why you mentioned Hideki because he's their heir."

On paper, it all seemed to make sense. Itachi would one day step into Fugaku's shoes and the two Clans would be united by marriage. She was the youngest and thus could easily marry into the Hyuga Clan without any issues as far as succession went.

"Yes." Mikoto sighs as she holds Suki's hands. "I can see that you've figured it out. We'd like to arrange a match between you and Hideki. This way the alliance between our Clans will be stronger than ever, but we wouldn't force you into it. If you two truly don't get on, we'll find another way…"

Her family loved her too much force her into a marriage that would make her utterly miserable, but Suki could see the reality of the situation. This was their best chance to quell the rumors and to make sure that the Leaf continued to prospect. It was her chance to protect the Clan.

"If he's willing, I'll marry him." She bites her lower lip so hard that Suki could swear she tasted her own blood. "I just hope that you aren't expecting grandchildren from such a match."

Fugaku raises an eyebrow at that. "Why do you say such a thing?" Her words must have seemed alien to them, but to Suki they were only logical. "Do you find him that unpleasant of a prospective partner?"

Did she? In all honesty, Suki didn't really have anything against Hideki. It was just that he was so shy.

"No. He's never treated me unkindly and I don't harbor any ill will towards him." Granted, they had barely spoken to each other at all, but from what Suki knew of him there was no reason to truly dread such a match. "It's just that he's so shy. He'd probably faint on our wedding night."

Her family's reactions were mixed to say the least. Mikoto Uchiha was trying her best to stifle a giggle while Itachi was trying to hide a snort. Fugaku was less than pleased with her response though to say the least.

"Suki, don't embarrass him." He shakes his head. "As you've said, he's done nothing to warrant it."

Her mother had lost the battle against her giggles. "That's true and besides, they do say that it's the quiet ones that one has to watch out for."

Well, they did say that. Though Suki was never really sure who 'they' where or why 'they' supposedly knew so much.

"I guess we'll see." Suki shrugs as she picks at her tomatoes. "It probably doesn't matter anyway. I can't see Hideki agreeing to the match." He'd always struck her as shy and if he ever got over his shyness, the man would likely be a hopeless romantic.

Suki just couldn't see him agreeing to a marriage for the sake of an alliance…