[A/N] My loves, back I am!
And so is Forsaken Heirs.
After many months, and after having started with my new fic The Glam Show, I have realized that I did not like the old version of Forsaken Heirs. I felt I had half-assed it completely and mostly wrote it just for shits and giggles.
I planned on dropping it and concentrating on my other projects.
However, something called me back to FH and I didn't know how to get it out of my head. So I decided to … rewrite it. With a new, fresh perspective, new ideas and finally, a plot.
And this is all due to my dearest SabakunoAnjel. Not only did she help me set TGS's plot, not only did she inspire me with her great stories and ideas, not only did she agree on a collaboration (you will hear about it in time), but she took time out of her super busy schedule to give me ideas for FH, to help me organize my thoughts and to set the plot. In other words, she did all the work.
Dear, thanks. Honestly, since I know you, I have regained literary hope.
Enjoy the new Forsaken Heirs!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
…
Forsaken Heirs
Chapter 1
The Lady by the Pond
By
Voyna
"She is outside again."
"How very troublesome."
"And I believe she must not be dressed conveniently."
"Why, no, indeed. It is to entice the men, surely. The HISS guards patrol the compound and see her that way."
Servants were a nuisance. Whenever they opened their mouths, it was to badmouth their masters. And the men that insured their security on a daily basis.
No one would begrudge them their jabs at Hiashi-sama's strange elder daughter. However, the Hyūga Internal Security Squad (HISS for short) should have been spared.
Nonetheless, even with servants that took their liberties, the Hyūga Clan received many compliments from visitors, friends (as in subordinates) and rivals pertaining its organization.
Whenever the Nara officials came to visit the compound, they stooped down quite low and flattered the Hyūga Elders and leader on the beauty of the architecture, the harmony in which the inhabitants lived and the absolute discipline that reigned between the servants.
Of course, it was mostly inconsequential flattery from a vassal clan that worried for its own prosperity. The seizure of the economy, and hence the political power, by the Hyūga Clan, at the end of the Great Jinchūriki War, had made the compound one of the most visited touristic destination of Konoha.
Even the Gōdaime walked her generous breasts throughout the Hyūga compound at least once a week. However, such details concerning the inner-workings and political goals of the Clan were of no interest to the young servants.
Here they were, seated on the wooden veranda of the leader's lodgings, their cracked hands frenetically washing the himes' clothes in big metal basins. It was one of those cold autumn mornings announcing the arrival of winter.
It smelled of snow and the sun that was seeping through the branches of the great willow was taunting and biting. It was already time for the winter clothes to be taken out, however as per tradition, the inhabitants of the Hyūga compound dressed according to the calendar, not according to the temperature.
Besides Hinata-hime. Hinata-hime dressed as she pleased and it was overlooked by all. When overlooked it could be. They servants always kept a wary eye on her, especially when she was so close to the pond.
People that drowned in less than a meter of water were not unheard of. It would not be such a great loss, everyone in the Hyūga Clan would tell you as much.
However, it would surely be very difficult to explain to the village. Hinata-hime was someone, or better to say, she had been someone.
And now she had become this.
Seated by the rocks bordering the old koi pond (that hadn't been the dwelling of any fish since the death of Hiashi-sama's mother), her pale legs crossed (and revealed by the obscene way her yukata opened around them) and a shamisen resting on her thigh, Hinata was playing an accompaniment for yōkyoku that would be sure to rouse Hiashi from his sleep.
He had never appreciated Nō music. The very idea a Hyūga daughter would associate with actors and geishas was truly shameful. However, Hinata had a special status. He would not lash out at her. It was after all his fault she had become that way.
The music stopped for an instant. A servant raised her head. The lady by the pond softly let the fingers of her right hand slip into the icy water.
The servant clicked her tongue. There was something vulgar at seeing Hinata-hime do so. Geishas had that habit of playing with their fingers frozen.
A woman that could play the shamisen to perfection with stiff fingers would know how to play it with her hands at their best. The ways of a courtesan. However, Hinata-hime had not been like that before her sealing.
She had been a hero; a soft-spoken, timid and reluctant hero. She had brought great honor to the Clan and it had been believed that, since the decision for her to be discarded from heirloom (the heirloom being their clan and lives) had been overthrown, she would be announced as heir.
However nothing had happened as imagined. The moment the rumors had reached their peak, she had been sealed. She had demanded to be sealed. That was something completely unheard of.
One could imagine all the trouble that would arise from sealing a hero of Konoha, if the village was ever to discover it.
Yet, the leader had given in and the Elders had followed suite. Hinata-hime had been more or less inactive as kunoichi since the end of the war, two years ago. It had been deemed feasible to keep her sealing between the walls of the compound. At least for a certain period of time.
But no one had expected …
Someone pushed aside the shōji and rushed out behind the servant girls. All dropped their chores and lifted the sleeves of their dark yukata to veil their faces. Hyūga Kō had run out of the house. And it was the done thing to shun Hyūga Kō.
Of course, none of the servant girls would admit that they had tried to attract his attention back when he was the HISS general. He had had a very desirable position before he'd thrown it away. Kō had been deemed very close to the leading Sōke. It was even said that he was respected by the leading branch.
Generals of the Sōke addressed him directly, without the intermediary of their secretaries, and Hiashi-sama spent an hour a day in his company, going through the provenance of food and verifying the results of different tests made to insure it wasn't poisoned.
Any girl that married him would ensure herself a comfy apartment between the servant quarters and the suites of the secretaries. She would not be obliged to work anymore, lose all her beauty and charms in guaranteeing that Hinata and Hanabi-hime would always conserve theirs.
The wife of a Hyūga Kō could have easily paraded through the servant quarters and reprimanded the idle. However, he had never seemed interested in any propositions, would they be subtle or blunt.
And more than one dejected girl had spread rumors of him harboring same sex tendencies since he was never said to visit the Hyūga pleasure quarters and kept himself obviously celibate.
Not that anyone would admit that there was such a thing as Bunke girls kept in closed houses for the pleasure of unwed Hyūga shinobi. It would have been a shame, were it known.
And all the bitter girls that had been so eager to smear his reputation had been proven wrong with Hinata-hime's sealing.
Gosh, the image of her limp, seared body thrown over his shoulder as he battled his own HISS men and went against veteran Sōke shinobi! It had been a horrid show to behold.
And his succeeding to escape had brought such undeniable dishonour to the Clan. Hanabi-hime, the lawful heir, had been to blame as well.
It could be imagined that a Bunke, as important as he may have been, could not take down a battalion of Sōke shinobi when the seal was used on him.
Hanabi-hime had given him the right to depart with the body of her elder sister and to head towards the streets of Konoha. Truly disgraceful. Hiashi-sama had not opposed and the Elders had been left to pick up the pieces. Shameful, shameful.
He had been Hinata-hime's caregiver since her youngest age and considered as the most loyal (he would beg to disagree and so would Hiashi-sama) Bunke. He had brought great honor to the serving branch.
The only thing that could have induced him to act against his place and name must have been Hinata-hime herself. She must have charmed him, corrupted him.
And indeed, the whole clan could imagine that such perfect beauty as hers, with that dark long hair, those pulp crimson lips and the curves of her body, could lead a Buddha astray.
Rumors had it that Hinata-hime had been seen in quite a compromising position during the war with another Bunke. The late prodigy Hyūga Neji.
In fact, if those rumors were the truth, and the actions of Kō seemed to give them faith, Hinata-hime would be one of the most promiscuous women the Clan had ever born.
She must have held it from her grandmother and mother, who had also had a sweet spot for Bunke men, so the legend went.
The way Hinata-hime was seated by the pond, provocative and alluring in her beauty, did not do much to prove the servant girls wrong.
She had played a timid maiden without self-confidence while it had brought her the attention of all. She got tired of it, is all. Who were they to judge, when they used the same subterfuges?
Shifting their sleeves, the servants observed Kō as he marched, his head high, his back straight as an arrow and his step fluid and direct, towards the lady by the pond.
Hinata-hime could keep him for all they cared.
He had never been a handsome man. His hair was kept short, a reminder of his subordinate position in the main house. Hyūga preferred their hair long; it was moral (as if morality had anything to do with hair length).
His face was standard. It held no special appeal to make him handsome, an appeal such as for example the androgyny of Hyūga Neji's features. An oval shape of head, slightly trenchant bones of the face, thin lips, big pale eyes. Tall, thin in a way muscular men were.
He was the knight without a name. Every other Hyūga male.
None of the girls of the Clan would have gotten herself sealed for him, had they been Hinata-hime. His only attraction had been a position and he had lost it. In fact, it would have been better for him if Hiashi-sama had listened to the order of the Elders and sentenced him to death.
But no, Hiashi-sama had preferred to produce legal evidence of him having never been signed off his duty as Hinata-hime's kagemushi and hence not being held accountable for his disobedience since his role was to protect Hinata-hime from any danger whether it be internal or external to the Clan.
Of course, no one was off the hook when it came to going against the Elders. And there was no evidence strong enough to hinder the Elders from displaying their authority against the Bunke.
Hyūga Kō had therefore been demoted from his position as general of the HISS and even as shinobi of the internal security squad. At the express demand of the Elders.
He had ended up as Hiashi-sama's personal servant. Tasting the food Hiashi-sama was to eat. Mixing the ink Hiashi-sama used for his shōga. Cleaning Hiashi-sama's gō set.
It was a very intimate position, and one of great confidence. It had been Hiashi-sama's response to the Elders' actions against Kō. However, it was not enough to calm the rumors that travelled the compound or to promote him back to his position.
A personal servant was after all nothing but a servant.
The servant girls almost completely uncovered their faces. They wanted to make sure they would see every bit of the scene in front of them (since looking at chakra patterns told you just so much when it came to drama scenes) so that they could rush back to the servant quarters and recount it all, with many additions, of course.
Kō, a haori swung over his shoulder, kneeled in front of Hinata-hime who had stopped playing her instrument. Her lips twitched ever so slightly as he whispered something no one could make out to her. She let him pry away her fingers from the instrument and lay it carefully on the ground.
Pulling her arm towards him, he removed the haori from his shoulder and placed it around her own. Cue to her starting to shiver. Hinata-hime's usually crimson and inviting lips had taken a blue hue and her hair had been tousled by the cold, morning breeze.
Standing up, he pulled her with him, pressing her intimately to his side. That would be enough to feed the gossips for a few days, he knew. But he couldn't care less about decorum. In fact, decorum had become his last worry since his coming back from the hospital.
How easily she sunk against him. Since the age of twelve, it had been a real battle to get her to let him tap the top of her head, let alone let him touch her. However, the war had changed a great many things. So had her sealing. And the last events had only added to the chagrin she bore as a cross.
Leading her slowly towards the main house, he permitted himself to take in her perfume as her head bumped rhythmically against his shoulder. Incense and lavender. She had gone to the memorial temple to pray for her mother's peace again. And Neji's.
How much sorrow there was in that minute body. And he had come to add some more. Oh, how he regretted. Had he known … Had he only known! He would have left her to die. He wouldn't have saved her. No, he would have made himself seppuku and left for his head to be cut off by the first charitable soul that passed by.
But he had not respected her wishes; he had taken her, with his last strength, to the Konoha Hospital to be treated. And thus, he had destroyed both their lives.
He didn't notice how his hand had clamped onto her arm, cutting off the blood circulation. And even the soft moan that escaped Hinata did not snap him out of his dark thoughts. For the Uchiha would come this evening, and every other evening, to finalize things.
No one could know how much Hyūga Kō, a thirty-two-year old sacrificed prodigy, had loved Hyūga Hinata, the nineteen-year old forsaken heir of the Hyūga Clan.
From the moment she would exchange the third sip of green tea with him, Kō would not only be banned from loving her because of his social position and his ideals, he would be banned because of his presence.
He had sent to hell his social positon. He had sacrificed his ideals, and those of the revolution. For a Sōke, for the forsaken heir of the Hyūga clan. He had fallen in the same trap as Neji. But he would not be able to send Uchiha Sasuke to hell.
Kō led Hinata through the corridors of the main house, turning here and there until they reached her room. She had been moved from the apartments adjoining Hiashi's to those of the head secretary, who had not appreciated being downgraded to those of his right hand.
Pushing the shōji aside, he entered the alcove without feeling like he was penetrating into her intimacy. There was no such thing as shame left between the two of them.
Helping Hinata take place on a tatami, he kneeled in front of her and grabbed her face between his hands.
Lifting it up, he got a good look at her tear-filled eyes. Since the sealing, she had been very susceptible to nervous tremors and her mood, that by nature was melancholy, had deteriorated drastically.
As he held onto the soft pale skin, he felt her head shake ever so slightly. Her nerves had sustained extensive damage during the sealing. He knew by heart the name of the medication that she used.
He could not bring himself to say out loud the name of the disease she was starting to develop. At age nineteen. How many decades would she have to live through with that tremor that would get worse and worse?
"I c-cannot d-do it …"
He knew. As the whispered words reached his ear, he already knew that it would kill her.
And yet, he hoped. He hoped that, even if it would tear his heart into pieces, even if it would make him a living ruin of a man (which he already was in so many aspects), she would be able to find something akin to peace, if not happiness, with that other one.
Neji had destroyed her. He had taken what she had offered in despair, he had marked her. It was all part of the plan. Of their plan. Worm your way into the heir's heart and take over the Clan. However, no one had expected for him to actually be in love with her.
Who would have thought that Hyūga Neji would sacrifice his life to save that of the Sōke hime? And yet, he had done it. To them, Neji had been more precious than Hinata. Had Hinata died, he would have simply had to seduce Hanabi.
But to Neji, it had not been only a revolutionary plan; it had been a secret desire. The image of the prodigy's lips on Hinata's, of his feral and sensual way of marking her and then, of the blood that gushed through that same mouth that has kissed hers tortured, plagued, haunted Kō.
He could just imagine how they destroyed Hinata.
Before he could step away, the shōji to Hinata's apartments was pushed aside. Snapping his head around, he refrained from letting his chakra flare about. Hanabi was seated on the other side and staring at them with uneasiness.
As Hinata's face slid out of Kō's hands, she did her best to fight against the tears that threatened to fall. Why did he push her to go? Why did they all push her to go? Had she not done everything they had wanted?
She had made Hanabi the heir. The only thing she had gotten from it was disdain from her father, hatred from the Elders, rancour from Hanabi and censure from the Clan. Why had Kō saved her when he had known that salvation was everything but what she wanted?
She had wanted to follow him in death.
Neji. And even in this moment, as Kō shifted sideways to reveal Hanabi seated on the other side of the shōji, Hinata thought of Neji.
Would they have been together at the end of the war? Or had it been nothing but the pent up frustration of the battle that had brought him to her?
Would they have battled the Clan's prejudices? Or would he have resumed his position as subordinate? Had he loved her? Or had it been yet another expression of his contempt?
No. If there was one thing Hyūga Hinata, the forsaken heir of the Hyūga Clan, knew, it was that Neji had loved her. In his own, strange and dangerous way.
She turned her head to take one last long look at Kō. He had not seen Hanabi coming, had he? He believed she hadn't noticed it, hadn't noticed the fact that he would startle when someone unexpected appeared.
He had sacrificed his eyes for her. She had demanded to know his prognostic as soon as she had opened her eyes from a three-day coma, after the swelling of her brain had subsided.
And they had not told her. The mednin had all kept quiet and offered her nothing but the comfort of their noncommittal smiles.
And now, he, who had been the only person she had ever truly known, who had changed the sheets of her futon in secret so that her father would not know she still wetted them at age four, who had held her five-year old body against his chest as she screamed for her dead mother, was asking for her to give up on him.
To give both of them up. Himself and Neji.
Kō straightened, the worry visible on his face replaced by an expressionless mask. Turning on his heels, he briskly walked towards Hanabi who had stood up and entered her sister's apartments.
Hyūga Kō had always displayed dominance when in the presence of Hanabi. His eyes hardened as they bore into hers, his spine rigidified and his mouth took a downward curve. To him, the younger daughter had always been a hindrance, a pest and plague.
He associated Hanabi, Hiashi's beloved younger daughter (as if that men could feel anything akin to love), with Hōtaru's death.
He had only seen a shard of Hōtaru's corpse. Or better to say, of her corpse-in-becoming.
The Hyūga mednins had exited through flapping doors, Hanabi wrapped up and screaming in their arms. Curtly, they had passed the newborn to Hiashi and whispered something to his ear.
She was dead, he had said. And yet, when the mednins had entered through the flapping doors again, Kō, with Hinata drooling on his shoulder fast asleep, had seen the blood-covered sheet that had been placed over Hōtaru's body.
Her hand hung from the operation table and in that split of a second before the flapping doors closed on her body forever, Kō had seen it twitch.
He had been eighteen-years old, fourteen years had passed since then, and yet he remembered that twitching hand as clearly as if it had been yesterday.
They had broken Hōtaru's hips to give way to Hanabi, leaving her to die soaked in her own blood. She had been nothing but twenty-five years old. And he had loved her. With the same passion he loved Hinata. With the same intensity he hated Hanabi.
As his shoulder brushed against her, Hanabi could not hinder a shiver from travelling down her spine. She disliked being in his company. She had disliked him as HISS general. She disliked him even more as her father's personal servant.
Wherever she went, he was. And whenever they crossed paths, the aggression he sent her way was almost palpable in the air. She could practically taste it on her tongue. It had the taste of blood.
Had he been asked, Hanabi would have been sealed.
Her instinctive reaction to so much hostility coming her way would was to use the seal. However she had always found her grandfather's propensity to use it at every occasion ridiculous and not fit for a leader. It was hysteric to say the least.
And he departed from her sibling's apartments without budging a muscle in her direction.
As she felt the shōji behind her being slid into place, Hanabi almost let a sigh escape her. She refrained. Carefully approaching her sister's seated form, she didn't know truly what to say. She wouldn't even have been able to explain what it was that she was doing there.
But when her pale eyes locked with Hanabi's, the younger sister's shoulders slumped. More in defeat than in ease. How much Hinata resembled their mother. She had only one picture of her and a name to remember her by.
A picture of a beautiful, soft woman smiling shyly at the camera while a three-year old child played with her long, dark locks. Hinata and their mother. There were no pictures of Hanabi with their mother. In fact, there were no pictures of Hanabi at all.
Hinata had had a team and they had given her pictures. Her sensei had offered her an album to place them in. No one had ever loved Hanabi enough to want to remember her in such a way.
But Hanabi had loved. She had loved this sister. When she had been small, she had seen the Messiah in this older sibling. Hinata could walk on water, Hinata was the Lord descended from Heaven to bring the Good News.
She was a god in Hanabi's pantheon of great deities, right alongside their grandfather and father.
But it had not lasted long. They had beaten it into her that Hinata was a failure to be despised.
Hinata is a failure, you are the heir.
Hinata is a failure, you are the heir.
Hinata is a failure, you are the heir.
And she had hated Hinata for it. Hanabi had hated Hinata for not having stood up for herself. For not having screamed that she was no failure, that she could be just as much an heir as anybody.
So what if Hanabi was stronger than Hinata?! The Generals of the Sōke had always found it amusing to remind Hanabi how her uncle Hizashi had been in fact much stronger than her father. And the Elders had shamed Hanabi for being weaker than Neji, a Bunke.
And yet, no one had ever discarded her father or herself. But Hinata had always been the scapegoat of the family.
Hanabi could not hold a grudge against that father that she idolised. However against soft and shy Hinata that would simply smile at every ugly word sent her way and welcome each blow with a caress, she had felt more than resentment. Hanabi had hated her.
And now, now that this older sibling had bowed her head to their father and the Elders, had begged to be sealed for Hanabi's benefit, the younger sibling was only left with regrets.
She had reproached for years the fact that Hinata could not hold her own against the Clan. However, when the decision of Hinata's sealing had fallen over the compound, had she gone to the Elders to annul the decision?
No. Because she had been scared of the consequences. Hanabi had been scared to be sealed and left to die. Because deep inside of her, she knew her father would do nothing to save her.
She had gone to Hinata the day of the decision. With rage, with rancour and bitterness. She had scored her older sibling's skin with her teeth, had scratched the pale flesh of her cheeks, kicked her frail limbs. And every blow coming her way, Hinata had welcomed with a kiss or caress.
And here she was now, a soft tremor shaking her head, looking up at Hanabi with those sad, tender and deep eyes. Her pulp lips took a soft curve. She was happy to see her younger sister. She had always been happy to see Hanabi when she could.
"Would onē-san care for some company?"
How harsh Hanabi's voice sounded to her own ear! And yet, the elegant movement of her sister's head spoke of forgiveness. With Hinata, Hanabi could have been free had they not been separated for much of their life.
Now, only the pompousness of etiquette remained between the two of them. Seating herself in front of Hinata, Hanabi was at loss of words. The way her eyes scanned her sister's apartments told Hinata everything.
"Imōto-san, d-do forgive my attire. And the lack of r-refreshments. W-Would you want me to go fetch some t-tea?"
Hanabi clicked her tongue. Was it this way that Hinata would wait on her husband every evening?! Subserviently ask Uchiha Sasuke whether he wanted tea. And then slide against his body for the night. When in fact she loved Kō.
What man would have sacrificed his position, his sanity and his life for a woman if between the two of them, there had been no love. That was the only reason Hanabi, one that had never been allowed to dream of it, had forgiven Hinata's choice.
Kō's battered body, as he held onto Hinata's corpse and waited for the seal to finally do him in, was tattooed onto Hanabi's retina. It had been love. The way she had heard about it spoken by the servant girls.
But love did not win in real life, as it did in fairy tales. She had hoped that her intervention would … But no.
"Will you take him?"
Hanabi did not know how to speak normally, without that imperiousness in her voice. She didn't want to attack Hinata. She just wanted to understand.
Hinata did not lose her smile, but her inquisitive eyes shone and her shuddering neck moved forward so she could take a better look at Hanabi through her long, dark lashes.
"The Uchiha", Hanabi snapped with humor.
Her sibling's smile widened ever so slightly.
"If I h-happen to please h-him."
If I happen to please him. Not: If he happens to please me. Never that.
Hanabi's stare was so intense that Hinata was surprised she didn't make hole in the middle of Hinata's forehead with the intensity. The Byakugan had no integrated laser-beam unfortunately.
It was the common fate of all Hyūga women, some just met up with their destiny younger than others. Hanabi would, hopefully, never know what it meant to be obliged to bow your head and fake delight when an unknown man was brought to your bed.
Hinata had never wanted that to happen to Hanabi. As it had happened to their mother, Hōtaru. As it would happen to herself.
However, Kō was right. He always was.
Hinata would have it better than most Hyūga women. Uchiha Sasuke, if he so happened to want her, was a man free of clan. She would not be stuck desperately trying to ally clan duties and pleasing him.
He was also an absent man. He rarely spent extensive periods of time in the village. He was mostly on mission. When he would be there, she would only have to feed him and open her thighs. Easy, no?
And yet, Hinata had resented Kō's cold rationality and his brashness. He of all people should have not used those words, said those things.
She had hoped that the two of them would have … peace? Together? As they had had when she was nothing but a small girl.
One cannot go back to the past. And as much as she did not want to admit it, she would be her own mistress. An absent man could not discipline a faraway wife. Her father was also right. She would have her own children, to raise as she saw fit.
The fact that Hinata was not an incubator but a kunoichi was a detail. But, with the tremor that shook her hands, she was no kunoichi anymore, anyways. They were all so eager to get rid of her.
And the Elders were ever so eager to meddle into the Uchiha Clan's affairs.
No one cared for her in the Hyūga compound. She had always been an unwanted addition. Neji though had been good to her. His disdain and rancour had given way to brotherly feelings … and love.
And Kō. She should not forget Kō. She wanted to believe that his eagerness to see her off and given to the Uchiha was truly out of concern for her wellbeing.
How she missed Neji. Every breath taken without him had the intensity of fire burning through her. She had hoped to join him … But you never get what you hope for.
A hand clamped onto her wrist. Hinata snapped out of her thoughts to find Hanabi's face so close to hers. Her sister's hand on her arm cut off the blood circulation and bruised her flesh. However, Hinata could not feel the pain because of surprise.
Hanabi, who had never been one for expansive feelings, was staring right into Hinata's eyes with something akin to … fear. The courageous younger daughter, valiant in battle and brash in times of peace, was staring at her older sister and begging for support.
"Don't go …"
Hanabi usually screamed, and so this choked whisper hit Hinata like a mass. Hinata had never had a sister. Hanabi had always been running off somewhere with their father.
As a young child, she had been lovely. Spoiled, loud and prone to tantrums, but affectionate and joyful. Especially towards Hinata.
But as soon as Hinata had hit age ten, things had changed. Hanabi had transformed into a sullen five-year old that shot resenting glares at her older sibling. They had parted ways ever so coldly.
Hinata had tried nonetheless to be a sister to her. To bring her back little somethings from her missions. Things that Hanabi would throw to the wall in rage. To send her encouraging words. Words that Hanabi would mock.
And for the first time of their lives, Hanabi was begging for something that Hinata could not give her.
And Hinata realized. It must have been so hard for Hanabi. All alone against the Clan.
Hinata had been out of it half of her life, running after Kiba and Shino or disappearing with Neji to train.
But Hanabi had always been stuck here. Alone.
"Imōto-san, would you m-mind g-going to my vanity and f-fetching the hairbrush in the third drawer from the t-top."
Hanabi's mouth distorted. Her rage at her own exhibit of emotions washed over her features and she blanched.
Jumping to her feet, she walked towards the vanity at the other side of the alcove, all but tore the drawer in question out, grabbed the hairbrush in question, rushed back and threw it into Hinata's lap.
Yes, mock. Mock, while you still can, Hinata. Staring at the fine motive on Hinata's forehead, all the resentment towards her older sibling came back.
"P-please seat yourself in f-front of me."
The younger sibling's eyes widened a fraction. But she did obey, out of curiosity mostly. As she prepared to fall back onto her knees, Hinata shook her head.
"W-with your back to me."
Hanabi did as told. For once. Hinata scooted closer and then Hanabi felt it. An electrical shock traveled from head to the curve of her spine as Hinata's hand buried inside of her hair.
It was the first time Hinata had touched her in nine years.
It started, the loving, careful caress of the hairbrush through Hanabi's long, dry and broken hair.
Hinata never pulled. She always grabbed the knot of hair at its base and with her fingers, broke through it without Hanabi feeling as much as a sting.
"Hanabi-chan, you w-will always have your s-sister."
The younger sibling's breath hitched.
"L-Let me go and I w-will be able to serve you better than if I am in the Clan. The Elders w-would not let us associate."
She was right.
Hinata's tone lightened.
"Unless y-you plan on banning your f-faithful s-servant from the compound … Hanabi-sama …"
She did not cry. Hanabi was not one to cry. However, she permitted for restrained, manly sobs to shake her shoulders as her eyes remained dry and fixed on the entrance shōji.
She had a sister. She would never be alone again.
x.x.x.
It had been two weeks ago.
The Gōdaime, her whiskey colored eyes glazed by alcohol, had stared at him for five minutes, a cup of sake suspended at two centimetres of her lips.
"Come again?!"
"Tch."
He had not repeated himself. Uchiha Sasuke had always disliked this type of boisterous, loud and obnoxious people that got struck dumb at the first rational demand or thought they heard.
And funny, he was mostly surrounded by that type of people. The dōbe, Sakura, the Gōdaime. Even Kakashi had his moments of stupidity. As his ex-student and now subordinate, Sasuke could confirm that those moments increased with age.
Just imagining what Naruto would be like at Kakashi-buchō's age almost made him shiver.
He needed to cut this to the chase. Sasuke simply threw a pack of papers onto Tsunade's table, almost flipping the bottle of sake over.
She shot it a glance and the title seemed to strike a nerve. He had found it going through the Uchiha compound after having been forced to take a sick leave. His whole left side still hurt.
His stomach lurched as he remembered their little ANBU mission in Kumo. They had barely made it alive.
Sakura had had to perform an emergency operation on him to retrieve explosive needles that had lodged themselves from his neck down to his calves. A thank you for having tried to save the dōbe's ass. For the hundredth time of the mission.
Sasuke believed he could still feel Sakura's fingers rummaging through his muscles.
And just to make things better, they had been ambushed by those vulture oinin. The same gang as always. With a delusional Sasuke developing an infection on half of his body and an exhausted Sakura, a wounded Naruto had stood no chance against those two. He wondered how much they've gotten for that scroll.
A failed mission that had landed Sasuke on sick leave for three godforsaken weeks. He had had some time to spare and go Freud on his own ass. And obviously, clean up part of an old building back in the compound.
It had been damn close. Had that attack happened only two seconds earlier, he would have not been able to turn to the side and it is in his head or left pectoral that a needle would have lodged itself. And the Uchiha gene would have disappeared with him.
Until you turn a certain age, you believe you are immortal and invincible. And then it hits you. Hard. Sasuke felt ancient at age nineteen.
He had done it all. Ran off with a terrorist, killed some terrorists and defeated the ultimate terrorist.
On the side, he'd kind of killed his brother, had sulfurous sex with all types of kunoichi (before killing many of them), tried to pulverize his best friend unsuccessfully a few times. That last thing he still dreamed of quite often.
The point is, he always proclaimed how he wanted to revive his clan, bring back all the glory of the Uchiha to Konoha. And more than one female was ready for it. But he never realized how he had jeopardized that project half of his short life.
Had Sasuke died, the Uchiha clan would have died with him. He didn't know whether this type of realization was called adulthood or the biological clock, but damn him, he needed to reproduce. His semen was screaming the magic words through his balls.
Reproduce. Produce offspring. Spread your seed. NOW.
Another reason why it had to be now? Simple, he was not planning on cutting down on his load of missions and hiding under a glass dome. He would die young, at the prime of his youth, doing something completely rash (funny he wasn't already dead).
Or he would end up Hōkage (maybe not after having tried to impose himself as dictator, but hey, he had been young, barely seventeen). Whatever, it almost came back to the same.
Thing was, he didn't know, with how the other countries were rebelling against Konoha (something about imperialism, military protectorates and other things he didn't understand anything about), how long he would last.
Sure, he could leave some of his sperm to be frozen aside for posterity. But he did want to have at least a minimal role in the future organization of the clan. Obviously the old model was a little rusty and needed some updating.
But, even if Sasuke knew nothing about biology, he did realize that maybe there would be some issues around the Uchiha gene. Was it dominant or recessive?
Had Sasuke been a deep-thinker, he would've realized that there must have been a reason that Uchiha only married each other.
But well, he hadn't made a link and had needed to go back home to go through the old volumes and articles found in the Uchiha Scientific Archives. Going back had had him amazed at how organized his clan had been. A village inside of a village. No wonder they had gone evil.
It was in those archives that he had made very disagreeable discoveries. The Uchiha gene was recessive, obviously. He could hear all his fangirls scream in disappointment. He could not just grab the first passerby, drag her into an alley and use her as an incubator for nine months.
But there was something worse than him remaining the last Uchiha forever …
"Are you completely delusional?! You are a criminal! You ran off with Orochimaru, you almost served the world to Madara on a silver plate and then you tried to kick-start a half-assed dictatorship."
The Hōkage was spluttering saliva all over the documents. It took him all his self-control not to roll his eyes at her.
"You think that just because you are an Uchiha, they will let you walk into their compound and pick a customized incubator?!"
Yes. Yes, he did think that.
"You don't know anything about Hyūga traditions. There was never a Hyūga, in the history of Konoha, that married outside of the clan. Never. Do you hear me?! There were two girls that tried to elope in the last hundred years. You know what happened to them?! They were dragged back and executed."
Well, there was always the other option …
"And don't even think about kidnapping one. The whole ANBU will come after your ass. Hell, I'll come after you personally. I don't need a fifth Great Shinobi War on my hands. The Hyūga could blow half the world up if they felt like it. The Sandaime barely contained them when Hyūga Hinata was kidnapped twelve years ago. They wanted to march into Kumo and burn it down to the ground."
Back to what was worse than remaining the last Uchiha in the world.
He did find one article that refuted the idea that the Uchiha gene was completely recessive. Rats that had been genetically modified to express the Uchiha gene had been bred with genetically modified rats expressing the Hyūga gene.
The results had been surprising. It seemed that the Uchiha dōjutsu gene was preferentially expressed over only one other dōjutsu gene, the Hyūga gene. Those were preliminary results. The research had not been continued because … well, there was no one left to continue it.
Where the Uchiha had gotten Hyūga DNA, whether it could apply to humans too, all those things, Sasuke didn't care about. What he did care about were the results. The Sharingan was dominant over the Byakugan.
Hence, breeding with a Hyūga would make for Sharingan-wielding offspring. It would make Uchiha children. In other words, Sasuke needed a Hyūga female while he still had his genitalia attached to his body.
"I almost died three weeks ago. And with me, the last Sharingan."
Opening her arms wide, the cup of sake, forgotten at that point, slipping from her fingers and going to crash against the wall, Tsunade screamed:
"I fucking know that, but I cannot force the Hyūga to do anything. Konoha was built on fucking Hyūga territory."
That was a wrong statement. Konoha was built on indigene Inuzuka territory, but that was a detail. Inuzuka weren't the problem at hand.
"Tch."
Tsunade took in a deep breath. Sasuke had almost died. True.
The Sharingan had almost been wiped off the surface of the earth. True.
Everyone wanted a new Uchiha Clan since the Sharingan was the most powerful dōjutsu ever. True.
And everything it would take to potentially rebuilt the Uchiha clan, and make it work with Konoha instead of against it this time, would be one Hyūga female. True.
The problem was easy to solve at first. Not so easy when you took in account who the leader of the Hyūga Clan was. Hyūga Hiashi. The worst cock-sucking asshole there ever was to lead a Konoha clan.
Uchiha Fugaku had been conniving and backstabbing. He had also been hated by the whole village.
Hyūga Hiashi was conniving, backstabbing and considered by the whole village as the Messiah descended from Heaven to save Konoha's crumbling economy.
They Hyūga Clan was the one making the economy crumble, for God's sake!
But no, no one realized that, because the moment all the import prices went sky-high and the export prices plunged (mostly because of Hyūga speculations), Hiashi came out with a solution to cushion the fall.
And everyone loved him. Of course, besides the Aburame and Inuzuka that counted for peanuts, all the other clans had signed deals and made alliances with the Hyūga. Would there be any way to make Hyūga Hiashi come along?!
Just find a way to make him believe it would be profitable for the Clan to give the Uchiha a woman. Any woman as long as she was fertile. Tsunade could see where this was going and she didn't like it. One bit.
Leafing through the research though, it seemed they had no other choice but to try, at least. Or render incest legal to keep the Uchiha gene in the Uchiha Clan. Which would not happen.
There were limits to what Konoha was willing to do for Uchiha babies.
She didn't even know how the Uchiha had gotten any Hyūga DNA to make that research! Konoha wouldn't be allowed to continue it.
Unless it wanted for the Hyūga to burn it down to the ground. You never knew what those assholes were plotting.
"I can't help you. No one can. The only thing I can do is present you to them and get you in."
And that was all he wanted. He knew a little about the Hyūga. Very little. He had seen and met Hiashi. In fact, Hyūga Hiashi had been the man demanding his execution at the end of the war.
Sasuke could imagine that having an Uchiha walking around the village with his head attached to his body was not a welcome thought to the Hyūga that had finally taken over Konoha as they had always ambitioned.
There was no reason for them to help revive the Uchiha Clan. In fact, there were more reasons for them to want to hinder it. But Sasuke wanted to give it a shot. He was sure they could come to an agreement.
An agreement that would profit the Hyūga and reduce the Uchiha to ruble. However, he had to be frank with himself; there was no Uchiha Clan at the moment. And the only chance for there ever being one rested with the Hyūga.
Sasuke was learning the basics of economy. You give a lot to get a little.
x.x.x.
That meeting with Tsunade had been two weeks ago, and Sasuke had to give her props.
When the woman said she would do something, she truly invested all her energy into it. And he knew that there were some hidden motives in the interest she took to his affairs.
A Hyūga sleeping in his bed would be a good solution when it came to Konoha's obsession of keeping an eye on him.
In fact, he already had Hyūga ANBU posted by the windows of his apartment every evening. As if he hadn't noticed. You didn't need the Byakugan to know who was staring at you through the wall of your bedroom.
Well, he hoped they liked the show when he brought back some company.
Tsunade had succeeded in two weeks to get the Hyūga Elders to permit for Uchiha Sasuke to be presented to the clan, since no one entered the compound without being presented by a regular previously.
She was also able to expose the Uchiha's plan to Hyūga Hiashi (by omitting the results of that little research paper, obviously). His answer had been a hell no.
And then, barely a few hours after he had shot her the trademark dismissive Hyūga glare, a courier had appeared with a missive from the Hyūga leading counsel, signed by the Elders, the generals, the leader and the heir.
The Clan would do its best to accommodate Uchiha-san and find him a suitable partner and more than everything, was eager to welcome him to the compound on a fixed date, at a fixed hour. The Hyūga were obviously setting the terms.
Tsunade hadn't liked the tone of the letter. The shark had sensed blood and was in for the kill.
However the Uchiha had almost acted in the same fashion. The first rejection had not fazed him one bit and the fast change of mind had not surprised him. As if it went according to his own plan.
And here they were, staring at each other and feeling strangely out of place. At least Tsunade felt so. You didn't go to the Hyūga Clan dressed in pants and sweaty shirts. When the Hyūga condescended to receive you, they expected for you to be dressed traditionally.
She had even clicked her tongue at seeing Sasuke arrive in a sleeveless kimono adorned with the Uchiha fan.
The sleeveless was too casual, even if made of black silk, and the Uchiha fan was a clan symbol that the Hyūga would not appreciate walking around their perfectly sterilized compound.
At least, he had had the decency to cover his ANBU tattoo with a bandage. Not that the Hyūga didn't already know everything about him and his lifestyle. Konoha had had no other choice but to place Hyūga ANBU on Uchiha guarding duty (they called it Psycho Babysitting between themselves).
And Hyūga shinobi served the Hyūga Clan before the country. Always. You had no choice to have Hyūga shinobi in the ANBU, but you did your best to keep them away from administrative and diplomatic duties. Just imagining what a Hyūga could accomplish by being three feet away from the Kazekage got Tsunade to shiver.
They walked side by side without exchanging as much as a word. Uchiha Sasuke did not need for someone to give him etiquette classes at age nineteen. Tsunade was just going as an addition. As soon as she was done with her part of the job, she would find a reason to get the hell out of the Hyūga compound.
The village will learn sooner rather than later what it was that had been said between the Hyūga and the Uchiha. She would be nothing but a fifth wheel and honestly didn't need for Hyūga servants to stare at her with their eerie eyes.
As they approached the sturdy iron gates of the Hyūga compound, Tsunade straightened her back. Armed HISS soldiers waited for them. The Hyūga had the best intern security squad of all the clans.
And it had only gotten better under the lead of the last general. Too bad he had been demoted. As the Konoha Elders had said, he had been a man with whom the village could do business. Stupid Elders.
She could imagine the Hyūga had chosen him exactly because he gave the impression of being cooperative to the outmost while at the same time sweeping all the important details of what was happening behind the walls of the compound under the rug.
"Gōdaime-dōno, Uchiha-sama. The Hyūga Clan welcomes you."
As one of the young soldiers spoke those words and bowed respectfully, the gates were being thrown open and the visitors got a good view of what awaited for them inside.
In two perfectly straight rows, young servant girls holding lanterns were alternated with stern HISS soldiers.
At the first step the Hōkage and the Uchiha took towards them, all of the servant and soldiers shouted the standard words of welcome.
"Gōdaime-dōno, Uchiha-sama. The Hyūga Clan welcomes you."
And in one swish, all the bodies had bowed and only permitted themselves to straighten back up when the visitors had passed by them.
On the porch of a great, black building, stood what seemed to be a servant dressed in a humble gray yukata and holding writing material to his chest. He was flanked by a tall, long-haired, middle-aged man that gave off a vibe Sasuke knew too well. He had the impression of standing in front of his own father.
Hyūga Hiashi. Cold, blank eyes did not leave Sasuke's as he approached towards the building that must have been the Hyūga Hall. Those were the eyes of a man that could kill were he ever to be displeased.
The servant, unlike all the other Hyūga Sasuke had had the opportunity to meet, wore his hair short and naturally exhibited the sign of submission that had been carved onto his forehead. As the man bowed, Sasuke felt the aggression in that lean, muscular body.
Sure, coming into the compound, he had sensed the fact that he wasn't exactly welcome. However, no one had sent their chakra flaring about as that servant. What had crawled up his ass?
Sasuke hadn't come after his wife for sure. Not that he remembered at least. Or after him for that matter, he wasn't exactly Sasuke's type.
"Gōdaime-dōno, Uchiha-sama. The Hyūga Clan welcomes you."
Sasuke's brow flared. There was something he did not like about that servant.
However, he was not left to ponder upon why it was that such a perfect killing machine that quivered out of nervousness like a pure blood horse was a mere servant.
As Hyūga Hiashi spoke, Sasuke dragged his eyes back to the leader of the clan.
"Tsunade-san, please permit me to express my joy at seeing you in such good health. Would you and your companion wish to come in?"
No. They just took a stroll through a whole peanut gallery of Byakugan-wielders for shits and giggles. Sasuke hated all the loss of time that pompous traditions implied.
"We do not wish to impose, Hiashi-san."
They would be at it the whole evening.
"But I insist."
For fuck's sake.
"Then, please, take care of us."
And with those words, Tsunade walked up the small wooden stairs that led onto the porch, Sasuke following close behind. The servant had not straightened up before Sasuke had passed by him. But as soon as he had, the Uchiha had needed all his restraint not to activate the Sharingan and go after him.
The servant was sending too many deadly intentions his way. This was not a simple Hyūga hating everything that had to do with the Uchiha Clan. This was a man that had some personal grudge against Uchiha Sasuke.
And Sasuke had no godforsaken idea what he had ever done to the guy. It was the first time he saw him. Or not. He had no idea and couldn't care less. He'd just appreciate if the servant backed the hell off.
Some more servants and soldiers waited for them inside of the building and Hyūga Hiashi lead them through a true labyrinth of hallways. Left, then right, left again, straight, turn around yourself and run after your tail.
As they reached extensive shōji doors, the panels were pulled aside to reveal a spacious room where more people expected them. Seemed like the whole compound had come to stare at the Uchiha as if he were the freakiest freak of this goddamn freak show.
Servant girls motioned for Tsunade and Sasuke to take place in front of all the important Hyūga that stared down at them. All with their foreheads clear and pale while the servants hid theirs under bandages.
The leader walked towards his advisors and generals and seated himself in front of them, by a very young girl, facing the visitors. If Sasuke guessed well, the three elderly individuals right behind Hiashi were the Elders (no shit?). And the men in the back, dressed in hakama and seated like warriors must have been the military advisors, the generals.
The girl must have been the heir. He couldn't imagine they would offer him a girl as young as this one. Then again, she was developing well. But her forehead was unmarred and he didn't expect for them to hand over one of their precious Sōke.
The Uchiha Clan had been much more modern and Sasuke had to admit he would keep it that way. Because honestly, Sasuke had never seen a greater loss of time in his life. And he was friends with Uzumaki Naruto.
The heiress was staring at him intently. A fangirl? Well, if she had ever been one, she'd be the type to enjoy sadomasochism. She sent him the same deadly intents as the servant that had taken a seat on the far left side.
Did he ever break her heart or something? Like threw the little chocolates she made for him in the garbage can. Didn't know, didn't care. But the two of them, the servant and her, made this awkward situation just more uncomfortable.
Before he had the time to shift on his seat as to be placed conveniently to dodge any attack, he felt a hand grabbing the back of his head and almost slamming him nose first into the tatami he was sitting on.
"Honorable Hyūga Elders, Generals, Hiashi-san and Hanabi-san, permit me to present you Uchiha Sasuke, Konoha jōnin, son of Uchiha Fugaku."
Hiashi opened his mouth to reply. However, he did not have the time to utter the general greetings since the Uchiha had something to add.
In a clear and trenchant way, Sasuke let his voice ring through the room.
"Heir of the Uchiha Clan."
The response was immediate. He felt the spasm that travelled through Tsunade's hand, he sensed the aggressive servant shift, the heiress stop breathing and the generals get nervous.
The Elders though, they were the dangerous ones since they, and Hiashi, did not seem to be startled the least by his arrogance.
They had expected for him to show his inflexible side eventually. Which meant they already had a plan concerning him. He had supposed as much before setting his foot into the Hyūga compound.
"The Hyūga Clan welcomes Uchiha Sasuke-san, Konoha jōnin, son of Uchiha Fugaku and heir of the Uchiha Clan."
There was something to be admired about Hyūga Hiashi's self-possession. Sasuke remembered his father coming back from Clan counsels and swearing at Hyūga Hiashi with all the bile in his body. He had hated him.
And Sasuke could imagine, as he straightened and met the Hyūga's stare, that the feelings had been more than mutual. But it didn't show in any way.
Ensued some unimportant pleasantries. Questions asked to the Hōkage, questions asked to Sasuke.
The heiress did not speak. And honestly, Sasuke did not find her an air of elegance or intelligence. Her eyes were dull. She was the type to not see further than her nose.
Sasuke had indeed heard of lately that the Hyūga had had heir issues. However, he had not paid special attention to it. Looking at that girl though, he could see where the problems lied.
All the eyes that surrounded him, would they be those of the servant, of the Elders, the generals or Hiashi's, were shining with superior understanding. Those were people that were accustomed to think deeply and to assess situations fast.
But the dull eyes of the heiress said the opposite about her own character. She was not soulless but had the same look as many ANBU and jōnin Sasuke had met. She could follow orders to perfection; she was most probably a good warrior.
However, that was what she was, a Konoha kunoichi. That was her only dimension. He wouldn't personally trust her with clan affairs or diplomacy.
The look Hiashi shot Tsunade was a cue for her to disappear. It was amazing how he had trained her to obey him. She knew quite well that he held a sword of Damocles above her head and that the real ruler of the village at the moment was Hyūga Hiashi.
And you know what? She didn't care. She had been forming a transitional government since the end of the war and the switch of power was nearing. Bowing graciously, a smirk playing on her lips, the Gōdaime bid her goodbye in simple terms.
"Honorable Hyūga Elders, generals, Hiashi-san, Hanabi-san, permit me to leave Uchiha-san in your care. I must depart, obligations await."
And with those words, and of course more pleasantries exchanged by all the parties, Tsunade dumped the Uchiha and saved her sanity. And funny how the whole atmosphere changed at once.
"Uchiha-san, we know what you came for. We are willing to accommodate you. In the upcoming days and weeks, we can decide on the mutual agreement concerning our cooperation."
Cooperation. Yes, nothing was free with the Hyūga Clan. And Sasuke mustered all his self-control to suppress a smirk. Look at the Hyūga getting straight to the point after at least an hour of bullshitting.
"I would like indeed to determine the terms of our cooperation. However, knowing how organized the Hyūga Clan is, I can imagine you already drafted a proposition."
His words were biting and sardonic, he cared little about the offended glare the generals at the back shot him. The Elders and Hiashi remained expressionless. He strangely felt like a mouse surrounded by cats.
No, Uchiha Sasuke was not a mouse. If anything, he was a rat.
"Where is the rush, young man? Such agreements are drafted on long periods of time to please all the parties concerned."
The Elder that spoke held a strong resemblance to Hiashi and the heiress. And the smile he shot Sasuke would have scared any man. The Elder's fine, sharp teeth glistened in the light and he saw the assembly freeze out of displeasure.
So, he was the brain, wasn't he? Small old man with one vicious sparkle in his pale eyes.
"Why do we not tackle the most important point tonight and leave the details for another time?"
The most important point? How Sasuke was going to lick their ass from now on?
As the Uchiha's brows furrowed ever so slightly, the Elder's smile widened.
"The woman, Uchiha-san. You did not believe we would force a woman upon you, did you? Now, now. We selected, Uchiha-san. We selected carefully based on accessible information and tried to make the most suitable match among our daughters. But, if the woman does not please you, there would be no interest in forcing the two of you into matrimony. We only desire happiness for our Hyūga daughters."
Sasuke was starting to worry what it was that they would offer him. In his head, this was supposed to be an exchange. Hand over a fertile female for, most probably, fidelity to Hyūga interests.
There had been no question of Sasuke actually having to determine whether he wanted the female or not. Of course he didn't! What type of question was that?! He had no other choice but to resort to the Hyūga Clan because of genetic reasons. Sooner or later, he would have come to knock at their door.
"Hn."
That was as explicit as he could get on that question.
"Well then, let us present the lady that would be, to our humble opinion, the most suitable to bear the Uchiha name and serve your interests the best."
Funny, Sasuke did not trust the Hyūga when it came to his marital felicity. In fact, he could bet that the woman they would offer him would be as far from his ideal as was say … Yamanaka Ino.
But he did deign to direct his attention to the shōji panels behind the generals. The room had many exits. They had chosen it most probably in case he decided to after all kill them all so they could have more than one escape.
The shōji slid apart and seated on the other side was a woman. Her hands were on her knees and her eyes cast to the ground.
As she stood up, Sasuke noticed that she was taller than what he would have expected. Easily his own height. If there was one thing Uchiha Sasuke disliked, it was dominance. He could not bear the idea of someone towering over him.
Had he been asked at that moment if he would keep her, he would have said no. However, since it was not yet the time to express his opinion, he kept his mouth shut, a spasm of dislike shaking his jaw.
However, as she took her first step towards him, he had to commend her for her strides. Her steps were not ridiculously short in order to make the bottom of her kimono flutter and they were not grotesquely long as to make her appear uncoordinated.
She walked straight into the room, slowly, with her eyes directed behind him. She did not condescend to shoot him a glance.
Her apparition earned her whispers of admiration from the military advisors. Trust a soldier not to know how to contain himself in front of an attractive woman. Because she was attractive, Sasuke could not take that away from her.
All Hyūga women were attractive. They were women. Some clans produced women, others girls.
The Nara, Yamanaka and Aburame girls were all mostly lean and unappealing. They were livelier than the Hyūga for sure, and much more amusing, however they had nothing purely carnal to commend them.
However, the Inuzuka, Akimichi and Hyūga delivered true women to the village. Of which the Hyūga were the most beautiful. And the specimen Sasuke was left to admire was not less beautiful than the women he rubbed shoulders with in the ANBU.
They all had those curves that would make the ANBU shinobi turn their heads as they passed by. Always together, always in a group of Hyūga. Heavy, formed breasts, narrow waist and rounded hips.
When Hyūga ANBU kunoichi lazily swayed their hips out of the training facilities, all the men stepped aside to let them pass and have a good view of their backside that never disappointed.
Sasuke did so too, he had no shame in admitting it. There was no man that would refuse a Hyūga woman if she offered herself. The fact was, none of them would ever do so. They were cold and uninterested, arrogant and silent.
Cock-blocking prick-teases as Naruto had so politely put it one time.
And the one that marched towards him, her eyes looking right passed him as if he didn't exist was no different. Dressed in a dark blue kimono of great quality that underlined all her attributes, she was a beautiful spectre of a woman.
Because, unlike that heiress that gasped at her appearance, unlike the servant whose jaw had jumped as the shōji doors had been slid aside, unlike the generals that whispered their admiration, she had no reaction.
And unlike the Hyūga ANBU kunoichi that moaned at least of pain when he went against them during trainings, this one looked like she would take away even that small pleasure.
She seated herself beside Hiashi, her hands resuming their position on her knees. Closer as she was, Sasuke could continue observing her, looking for a flaw he was sure not to find.
Her heavy dark hair had been pulled into a loose bun at the nape of her neck and no ornaments had been pushed into it. She was not made up. The Hyūga were confident that her natural beauty was enough to commend her. And Sasuke could not disagree.
She did not need artifices. Her skin was white as snow, perfect and unblemished. Her lips crimson and pulp, demanding a man's kiss. Her eyes though, her eyes disgusted him. She kept them lowered on the tatami, but through her long, black eyelashes, and even through her eyelids, he knew she watched him.
He felt it. He felt her unwavering gaze on him, even if she seemed to be shyly staring at the ground.
Slowly, deliberately lowering her hands onto the tatami, she bent over, her marred forehead softly pressing onto her phalanges.
"Uchiha-s-san, my name is Hyūga Hinata, p-please take care of me."
"Tch."
Her voice was barely audible and held no confidence. It was shaken by a tremor. Like her whole body, he realized as she straightened. They were almost invisible, but tremors travelled through her neck, shoulders and arms.
He would not take her. He had no taste for the broken ones. As expected of the Hyūga, they had tried to get rid of one of their failed ones. The joy they would feel at seeing deformed Uchiha children walking through the streets of Konoha.
However, before he had the time to state his decision, the servant with the deadly intent rushed towards Hiashi with a low table and placed it in front of the leader, softly approaching his face to Hinata's.
Besides Hanabi, no one noticed the intimate movement. Not even Sasuke who intently observed the scene.
Once the table had been installed in front of Hiashi, documents were handed to him by the same servant. And then, Mister Deadly-Intent headed towards Sasuke and bowed to him.
"Sasuke-sama, please approach Hiashi-sama."
Sasuke had a great knowledge of snakes. And that had been the hiss of one. But he obeyed. He would aggravate the Clan with his refusal; he liked the idea of appearing compliant before doing so.
As Sasuke seated himself, Hiashi handed him the stack of documents while the heiress let all the disgust the Uchiha inspired her show on her attractive, yet vulgar, features.
It was one thing Sasuke reproached all kunoichi. Their vulgarity. All of them, even the beautiful Hyūga, lacked of femininity, softness and grace.
All of them … besides … the one seated on Hiashi's left.
Even closer as he was now, he remarked how her eyes under her lashes were not aggressive, nor taunting; they were truly lowered in respect and fright, not servitude or perversion. At the base of her throat, he noticed a vein palpitating frenetically.
But her facial features remained the same, rigid and unchanging. That Hinata, as she called herself, was like a porcelain doll. Just a doll with add-ons to make her seem more real. Like a palpitating throat for example.
Sasuke's eyes brushed over her forehead that held the Bunke seal to turn towards the papers he had been handed. With boredom etched on his features, he turned the first page and froze.
'Hyūga Hinata, daughter of Hyūga Hiashi.'
Everything was written on the first page. Her age, her height, her weight, her fertility status. The date she was sealed.
What decorations, and there was a good number, she had received as war hero. The date she had retired from her jōnin duty.
Cerebral stroke. Upper-body tremors.
He did not understand anything of what was written and did not wish to turn the page and immerse himself in all the military and medical documents that were attached.
This situation was almost amusing.
"The older daughter sealed and the younger daughter heiress. That is quite … original. And very unexpected from the Hyūga Clan that values tradition above everything. Would there be an anecdote behind those events?"
Sasuke seldom opened his mouth to speak. When he did, he went straight to the point. However, he had come into the Hyūga compound as the underdog that was willing to sell his pride and soul for a living incubator. He could at least permit himself a few sarcasms.
Hiashi's brow flared. The servant on the side straightened. The generals huffed.
However, the Elders remained expressionless. And strangely, so did that Hinata. Nothing, not even a blink out of beat to inform Sasuke she had heard his words. The heiress though was fuming.
"She decided so."
As Sasuke had thought, the heiress was a brash, vulgar and most probably stupid girl. But the way she had said those three words had held so much warmth that had Sasuke been one to be touched by feelings, he would have felt respect towards that heiress that protected her older sister.
However, Sasuke was not one to care for such things and hence only let a cynical smirk cross his lips. But the woman on Hiashi's left did not budge an inch.
And it aggravated him.
"So many decorations. But then, it was the norm to generously distribute them at the end of the war."
Again, no response from the Elders. Or from Hinata. Would he have to spit into her face for her to finally look up at him?
The rage at her indifference got him to turn a page. And then another, and another. He scanned the documents with little attention, only remembering details.
She was frail and destroyed. The scans he looked at, he did not understand. But words such as minor brain stroke, upper-body low amplitude tremors, he did understand quite well to know that this was not the woman for a shinobi.
And yet, the more he tried to beat it into his head, the more his rage towards her grew. Why would she not look straight at him, why such indifference?!
There was one thing Uchiha Sasuke was sure about; this Hyūga Hinata had never been one of his fangirls.
That one Elder's voice cut through the haze of Sasuke's thoughts, distorted and compelling.
"Does she please you, Uchiha-san?"
And at that moment, she raised her eyes and turned her head towards him.
He believed he saw her lower lip quiver, but he would not bet his life on it. Her features remained as cold and unchanging as they had been from the first moment she had stepped into the room.
Why ask, when they already knew the answer?
…
yukata : cotton kimono
shamisen : Japanese guitar
yōkyoku : type of song in Nō theater
Nō : masked theater play
geisha: Japanese high-class hostess
shōji : rice-paper door
kagemushi : bodygyard
shōga : calligraphy painting
gō : Japanese game, more or less similar to checkers
haori : coat, vest
seppuku : act of committing suicide by plunging sword into stomach
tatami : rice-filled mat
onē : older sister
imōto : younger sister
dōbe : idiot
buchō : general, captain
