I meant to work on my new GaaHina fic. Then my muse, the bipolar bitch that she is, threatened me at knife point until I wrote it.
By the way-CREATIVE LICENCE NO JUTSU. I don't care if it wouldn't really work. It's fan fiction, good golly gosh, and I say it does!
This takes place two years after the manga-except Danzo didn't die, Madara mysteriously disappeared, Sasuke killed Kabuchimaru (Itachi never tells him the truth), and then returned to Konoha.
BLANKET DISCLAIMER NO JUTSU.
Chapter One: Dance With the Devil
"Say goodbye
As we dance with the devil tonight
Don't you dare look him in the eye
As we dance with the devil tonight."
~Dance with the Devil, Breaking Benjamin
"I won't do it, nii-san." The Hyuuga girl says softly. "I'm sorry."
Neji's eyes soften and he reaches across the table to take her hands. He cringes when she hides them underneath the folds of her lily white kimono. "Hinata-sama…I don't believe you have a choice. The contract is binding-you don't think I've searched for a loophole? Your father is an intelligent man, and the Yushimoro clan is known for-"
"There is always a choice, nii-san. One just must be willing to make it."
It's strange enough that she's interrupted him, but even stranger yet is the mysterious look she has in her eyes. It is a look of careful calculation and it scares him.
"I need to see to a few…errands now, nii-san. Please enjoy the rest of your day." She stands up with all the grace of the kunochi she shouldn't be and the lady she's been reared as and disappears behind the door.
Neji's tea shakes in his hands and he places it down on the table, closing his eyes.
"Hinata-sama…you do not deserve this."
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She doesn't have a choice and so she goes to engage the devil in a dance only he knows the steps to.
"So, hime, have you thought about my offer?" The devil's voice is slimy and Hinata nearly gags when he mockingly uses her nickname.
But she swallows down her disgust and bows her head. "Hai."
"And?"
She takes a deep breath. There is no turning back after this. "…I accept your offer. I would like the surgery done as soon as possible."
The devils's resulting oily smile makes her shiver. "Excellent. Tadao here will prepare you for surgery at once. And…what do you plan to do with the…leftovers?"
Hinata stiffens and carefully folds her hands in front of her. "I will return them to their rightful owners. It will ensure my…freedom."
The devil shrugs. "Your choice. As I said earlier, I do not require any payment-I simply wish to run a few tests following the operation."
Hinata nods jerkily and then a masked man in black takes her by the hand and leads her down a dimly lit hallway. When they enter a room, clearly set up for operation, he hands her a hospital robe and signals her to change.
Hidden behind a screen, Hinata slips off her silky yukata and folds it up, fingering the cloth before she sets it down and pulls on the itchy hospital gown in its stead. She takes another deep breath to steady herself. She can't believe she's going to do this.
"If kaa-san could see me now…"
But there is no time for thoughts like that. She takes a third breath and steps out.
"I'm ready."
Tadao helps her into the hospital bed and he is then replaced by several masked medics. One of them holds up a needle and Hinata takes in a breath when something sharp pricks her arm.
And then she sees darkness.
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Naruto is furious when Neji tells him he isn't allowed to see Hinata, but his next words send shivers down his spine.
"Hinata-sama never returned from her errands yesterday," He says grimly. The terse look on Neji's face tells Naruto that he thinks there is something wrong. "Hiashi-sama believes she is taking a personal day before her wedding." The last word is spoken through gritted teeth and it's like a punch to his stomach.
"So he's really making her do this." Naruto whispers.
It's not fair. Their relationship has barely taken off, only just out of its fledging stage. He's just finding how much he likes eating ramen together, how much he loves watching her train, how awesome her cooking is, how right she feels curled up against his side. He's just discovered that he loves her and now she's being taken away from him.
And that is not acceptable.
"So do something about it, kit. If you truly love your mate, you will prevent this!"
Damn that Kyuubi. He's become more and more of an irritating pain in the ass since he started dating Hinata. Naruto thinks it's because the Kyuubi think he's going to get laid, which is really aggravating. "You think I'm not trying everything? Shut up!"
"Yes. And don't think I haven't tried to make him see reason," Neji seems extremely resentful toward his uncle and Naruto shares his sentiments. "But Hiashi-sama is being…difficult."
"Why can't we do something!" It comes out an angry hiss and Naruto clenches his hands into tight fists.
"The Elders are masters at the art of marriage contracts. The only possible way Hinata could get out of the marriage is if she was disowned for some reason. She has the longest Byakugan range in centuries-the Elders won't risk putting a seal on her, so that option, if even considered, would never work. I can't think of anything she could do they can't fix by marrying her off either way."
Neji has apparently thought this through and it just makes the whole situation worse.
Naruto collapses on the porch steps of the Hyuuga mansion, letting his head fall into his hands.
"I love her, Neji. I'll marry her instead." He thinks aloud. "What if we eloped? What if-"
"They would simply annul it as she was already engaged, Naruto." Neji tentatively places a hand on Naruto's shoulder and Naruto knocks it off. He doesn't need comfort, he needs Hinata.
"I hate this." Tears of fury begin dripping down the blonde's face. This isn't just unfair-it's cruel and he wants to hurt somebody for it.
"I know."
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"You can open your eyes, Hinata-san."
She's a little afraid of what's about to happen, but Hinata cautiously allows her eyelids to rise up and she lets out a sigh of relief.
She can see, and everything seems brighter than it did before. It was if she was wearing sunglasses, and now she sees the light.
"So?" The devil asks, leaning forward anxiously.
"I can see." Hinata says, her lips curving upwards into a smile. She nearly cries with happiness-even if the other results are disappointing, she doesn't have to worry. She can still be a shinobi, still be a medic. She doesn't need to see tenkutsu to know where they are anymore.
"Anything else?" He asks eagerly. He licks his lips and it seriously creeps Hinata out.
"No."
The devil sits back in his seat, clearly disappointed. "Well, the point was you wouldn't have to have it on all the time. Perhaps you will have to activate it. If something happens…"
"I will alert you if it does." She manages a polite, demure smile for the devil, who nods in approval.
"Either way, I will expect you for testing at the end of the week and on the last day of the week for the rest of the month. As for your bandages, I would recommend you wear them for the remainder of the week, at least at night. I would highly advise against taking missions for the rest of the month as well, though do not stop training. If there is a chance you will activate it…" He trails off and there is a hopeful shine in his visible eye that is highly disturbing.
"Hai. I will see you on Friday." She reties the bandages around her head, carefully winding them over her eyes. It's dark again, but she's trained herself to function well enough without her sight. Someone moves on her left and she can tell he's handing her something-her yukata, which she takes gratefully. She can't wait to get out of the damned hospital gown-it's too revealing and she can practically feel the leers of the guards standing nearby. She stands up and quickly makes her way over to the screen. It takes her a mere second to change and when she comes back out, shoes on as well, she heads straight for the door.
"Goodbye, Hinata-san." The devil sounds amused at her hurry to leave, so Hinata slows down a bit and glances over her shoulder.
"Goodbye….Danzo-san."
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"Hello, Otou-sama." His daughter's voice is soft when she steps inside his office and bows down to him.
"Hinata." He doesn't look up from his work. Looking at her had been painful since he announced her arranged marriage-every time he meets her eyes, his heart pangs and he wonders if he's doing the right thing. But he can't afford doubt so instead he just won't look her in the eye.
"Like a coward."
"Where have you been?" He knows she's been missing for nearly two days, and he figures she's just angry at him. Anger, that he can deal with.
"I had an…appointment."
He doesn't remember her having to visit the doctor, and his heart skips a beat. What if her heart is acting up again? There was a brief scare a year ago where the medics thought she could possibly die, but Hinata once again surprised them by waking out of her coma and informing them it had just been aggravated on a recent mission-she had been stabbed close to the heart and it had upset the old injury.
It's another reason he wants her safe and married-she won't aggravate her heart any longer and he won't have to worry about her dying.
"Then is there anything else?"
She's silent and he's forced to look up. Her head is bowed and she is clutching something in her arms.
"I once told you I would never marry someone I did not love."
He remembers and more so the fierce look in her eyes when she had raised her voice at him.
"So much like her mother."
"I remember. However, one must make sacrifices for the good of the clan, and-"
"I have sacrificed enough."
Her tone is harsh and her words clear. Something makes Hiashi begin to shake.
"Something is terribly wrong."
"This clan has never wanted me. You have never wanted me. And I will not allow myself to be used as a pawn for the good of a clan that has done nothing but hurt me!" Her voice climbs in volume and finally, her head jerks up. "I am not weak anymore, and you will not hurt me again!"
Her hair falls back from her face and he doesn't see what he expects; silver eyes flashing angrily.
Instead his own silver glare meets stark white linen bandages. His pen falls from his hand.
"Hinata, what have you done?" He asks in a whisper-gasp.
She hesitates before speaking, casting her head to the side. "When I realized I had to find a way to get out of the Hyuuga clan, I began…researching. Someone found out and made me an offer I could not refuse." She places something down on his desk, but he keeps his eyes trained on where her's should be as she unwraps the bandages.
"You don't own me, anymore, because I no longer posses what's makes a Hyuuga a Hyuuga."
The bandages drop to the floor.
She lifts her head.
Onyx eyes meet ivory.
Sharingan meets Byakugan.
Hiashi's eyes snap to the objects she placed on his desk. One is a scroll that lies partially open-the words at the top read 'Emancipat-' and he fills in the rest for himself. But there's no way he would approve of an emancipation, not unless-
He slowly turns his head toward the other object. It's a jar, the kind medic-nin use to preserve tissue samples. But inside is not a tissue sample. Inside-
Inside float a pair of Byakugan eyes. The lavender tint to them confirms it-these belong to Hinata.
"Y-you-"
"I warned you." She says quietly. "But you didn't listen. This was the choice you left me."
"I will not marry someone I do not love!" His daughter cries, her eyes filling with tears of frustration.
"You will do as I say, Hinata!" Hiashi snaps. She needs to understand that love does not play a part in this and that she must make sacrifices for the good of the clan. "Masaru-san is a good man. You will not shame him and this clan!"
"I will not! I would rather gorge out my own eyes than marry him." She hisses and her ferocity both surprises and angers him.
"You would never," He says coldly. "And this conversation is over."
He doesn't take his eyes off of the floating orbs while he unrolls the scroll. They flicker to the writing briefly, just long enough to see the signatures of the Hokage and Hinata herself, as well as several other well known shinobi listed as references. The only spot left is the one for his own signature and he shakily signs his name before pushing it away and returning his gaze to the jar.
Hinata bends down and retrieves the bandages, which hang limply in her hand as she retrieves the scroll from his desk. He only notices when her movements create a slight breeze as she hurries away from his desk, and he hears the rustle of fabric as she slides it into the folds of her kimono.
"I moved my things out yesterday," He can barely process her words and he doesn't react. "So I will not be returning to the compound. But if I hear Neji or Hanabi have been punished for my actions….there will be consequences and you will not like them."
He believes her and gives a nod of understanding. His eyes do not leave the jar.
Then there is the sound of footsteps heading for the door. They stop suddenly and this time he does look up.
Though her eyes are masked by the cloth (He suspects her new eyes must have to heal from her surgery. When he finds out who performed it, there will be bloodshed.) he can see the pity on her face.
"I never wanted it to be like this," She bites her lip and he sees some of her former shyness returns. He hasn't seen that since the engagement. "But you left me no choice."
"Goodbye, Hiashi-sama."
Hiashi doesn't respond and instead his eyes fall once more to the jar on his desk. A few moments later and the sounds of her footsteps fade away.
"What have I done?"
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Um...so not really sure what to do with this. If anyone wants me to continue, I will. Otherwise it's just a plot bunny.
Please review!
~dreameratheart