He was the prince of the land who held a dark secret. She was a peasant pushed into a marriage with him. Will this barely budding romance last through the prince's dark secret? Naru/Hina
A/N: Yeah, didn't really feel like going with the Naruto world exactly this time. X3 But it's not my usual SasuNaru/NaruSasu, nah, this is Naru/Hina! "All who love stories, gather round."
Disclaimer: Just so I don't have to do this in every other chapter of this story, I has no ownership of Naruto. XD /waves a giant white surrender flag with confetti flying through the air/ So no sue me!
WRN: Though the main pair off is straight there will still be my infamous yaoi stuffs. X3 Don't like, don't read! XD
Chapter One:
"The Bride to be Meets the Prince of Secrets"
The door to the mansion like building in the direct center of the kingdom Konohagakure had been much more wide and expansive then it had been from a distance where she had always seen it. She had never been at the threshold of the prince's palace, let alone pushed into a marriage with the prince. She was seventeen, how could she let herself be pushed into a marriage with the prince of Konoha, let alone someone she didn't know? Her heart hammered against her ribs, trying to desperately send blood and oxygen to all parts of her stiff body. The breeze that lifted dust around her ankles brushed her long purple hair over her shoulders and the middle of her back. The locks outlining her cheeks brushed up under her pupil-less eyes a soft purple color easily mistaken for white. This marriage, she realized, was what it came down to. Her father had disowned her, and her surrogate mother Kurenai had helped her try regaining her self confidence, and being pushed into this marriage seemed to be a way of getting her father to take her back, to become a part of her original family again. She had to do this.
'I have to do this…' Taking a deep breath she raised a barely noticeably shaking hand to knock on the door, only to squeal and jump back when it seemed to open on its own accord. That couldn't be possible! A door opening on its own?
"Oh, you must be here to see Naruto." Holding her hand to her chest to hopefully stifle to heavy sound of her heart, Hinata let a breath of relief rush from her lungs when a male with white hair that seemed to defy gravity spoke to her. The left side of his face down over his mouth and chin was covered by a dark cloth, only his right eye was exposed. She hadn't seen this man before, who was he?
With a nod of her head she quickly bowed as to not be mistaken for being disrespectful. "Y-yes, my name is Hyuuga, Hinata."
"Indeed you are. I believe your father Hiashi Hyuuga has set up the arrangement with Naruto along with a Kurenai Yuhi?"
A rosy red blush painted Hinata's creamy complexion and she nodded with her head still down. Indeed this had been planned out between her father and Kurenai as a way for her to get back to being apart of her original family so her father no longer disowned her. "Well, that's good to know. Looks like all the initial details have already been hammered out then. Come on in. I'm Naruto's advisor Hatake, Kakashi."
Glancing up to see him taking a few steps back to allow her room to come in, she took a few hesitant steps into the large building. The great door shutting behind her surprised her; the shackling of the locks scared her. Was this truly a good idea? To marry a prince she never met, didn't know anything about? He could be a cruel dictator who would have her head lopped off if she didn't bear him a son! Or sat at a dinner table the wrong way! Or worse, could have her killed on the spot if she wasn't…intimate enough. The poor Hyuuga's face paled at the thought, following behind Kakashi-sensei through the building. Creeping doubts had her begin to have second thoughts on the entire idea as her host showed her the rooms she would most likely be visiting the most. Her legs begged her to let them run away, back in the direction of the front door and past that, but her body felt like a rubber noodle, incapable of doing anything else but be pulled along the decorated hallways and the many flights of stairs.
Trailing her eyes from one room to another she found herself stopping just short of running into Kakashi's backside when he stopped to speak to her again. "I'm afraid Naruto's in the middle of doing something with the remaining survivor of the Uchiha clan," he explained to her as he looked over his shoulder to make eye contact with her. "He'll be out shortly, but until then, please, make yourself comfortable. We have the best strawberry daifuku in the kingdom." Pulling a set of wooden double doors decorated with gold trim, he showed her the rather expansive dinning room, though with only one small round table. It made the room look that much larger in comparison.
"Sorry, for the lack of decoration," Kakashi apologized. "Nothing around here seems to last long with Naruto around so we don't use a lot of furniture."
Hinata's teeth clenched and she swallowed a hard gulp that didn't want to go down until she forced it, feeling it plummet to her stomach. Nothing lasted long! Her body trembled with renewed fear that she would be sentenced to her death the first day there. She was just a peasant who lived in the Konoha kingdom, not a princess who could demand to be sent back home to her own kingdom. She lived under the prince Naruto, who could very well find her and do away with her effortlessly should she leave anyway. "N-no, th-that's fine," she stammered quietly.
"Hinata-chan, are you feeling alright? You look rather pale. Here, sit down." She followed Kakashi's lead to one of the few dinette chairs that adorned the small dinning table. Holding her hands over her face, she had the ting of hope that this was a dream. That there was another way of getting her father's acceptance back instead of marrying a man that would probably demand her head on a silver platter! But peeking through the slivers of her fingers, that small ting of hope poofed like a substitution jutsu turning back into a frog that had no hope of becoming a prince. By the way Kakashi spoke of him meeting with the last survivor of the Uchiha clan, she only had an hour, possibly two at the most before her ending would draw near to a close.
Looking up she blinked a bit surprised as Kakashi held out a daifuku to her. He had said they made the best strawberry daifuku in the kingdom. With a grateful thanks she accepted the sweet treat and took a gracious bite. The sweetness dancing along her tongue had her smiling widely as she took another and another until the treat was gone. "That was, r-really good," she murmured. "You really do have the best strawberry daifuku in the kingdom."
The shape of a smile took place against the cloth covering most of Kakashi's face, and she was sure it was full of deserved pride from her compliment. "Well I did have plenty of practice," he told her. "Though I believe Naruto is done with his meeting, if the raucous coming from upstairs is any indication."
Hinata stopped short of herself and her smile began to fade with the realization that she was till to meet the prince! Her heart constricted in fear and her fingers clasped against each other. "Well Hinata-chan, are you ready?"
Her teeth began to chatter a bit and she pushed herself up from the chair. There was no turning back now…it was too late. "Y-Yes…I-I'm ready…" With a nod from Kakashi she was gestured to follow behind. In doing so her mind raced with fear, questions, thoughts of how he would have her killed if she wasn't to his liking. It had almost brought her to the point where she forgot to breathe going up the stairs and was forced to balance herself against the wall.
"That's right Sasuke, leave!" a voice yelled.
"Naruto, you're such an idiot!"
Hinata stopped behind Kakashi down the hall, glancing over his shoulder when she heard the arguing voices that became louder the closer they got. What had she gotten herself into?
A/N: And thus the beginning! X3 Hope everyone enjoys it, don't forget to review!