Dawn in all cultures is heralded for being the moment in which one's life begins. Where sadness ends and happiness reigns. Certainly, many a fantasy novel ended with the poetic beauty of a sun rising, swallowing up the darkness and filling the main character with hope.
It´s raining today, though...
These are the cynic thoughts of Hyuuga Hinata as she enters the parlour wearing a kimono a touch too provocative for her demure tastes.
"Why there she is. My beautiful daughter, Hinata." The words sound real, even though the indigo haired girl feels nothing as the words are spoken to her. She´s played this game so many times, it doesn´t even feel unnatural when she smiles.
"Good evening father, and our guests," She bows demurely and looks up at the men in the entryway. One, with dark eyes and black hair, tied back into a ponytail, decides to grace her with a smile. It takes great effort not to grimace. Clearly, he isn´t used to stretching his mouth that way. The smile is quickly replaced with a "poker" face of sorts, and Hinata´s shoulders relax. Finally. They were going to get down to business. The silence is overcome by a smooth voice she´s come to know intimately over the course of ten years.
"Hiashi-sama would like for you to dine with him in his private quarters before settling into your guest rooms." The words are phrased like a request and the tone is polite, but by now, without having to look at him, Hinata is sure Neji´s china eyes are sharp as steel. The man steps forward and makes room for another behind him. Hinata takes the moment to study both the apparent guest and his company.
It is clear both men are related, she thinks, studying their hair and striking coal eyes. One could never be sure, it being a ninja village after all, but Hinata´s eyes are Hyuuga, and they could sniff out a Genjutsu from a mile away. Both are dressed formally, in what´s clearly a take on western fashion, with a touch of snow village in the stitching. It was often said that the great great grand lady of the Uchiha household was a beautiful maiden from the snow, with eyes the color of blood and hair a striking purple. When Hinata found this out she´d cut her hair very short, to avoid attracting the eyes of any elder Uchiha who might look at her indigo hair and wonder if there was any conection that might be revived through means of a marriage. She´d shuddered at the thought then, and with enough persuasion from her cousin her father had agreed to this aesthetic protection of sorts, but changed his mind after her 12th birthday. The reasons why came clearly to her now, in the form of a broad chest and uncomfortably placed hands, wedged deep into silken pockets.
Uchiha Sasuke. A breathtaking sight for sure, Hinata limits herself to a quick glance, knowing just how perceptive the young man was of any woman´s stare lingering for too long. It isn´t by sheer luck that he´s managed to avoid whordes of women on valentine´s day and Christmas, after all. He has high cheekbones and an aristocratic nose, that on any other face would be considered too sharp, but the way it turns up slightly is almost... cute. shapely brows, slightly arched, give him a constant pondering look, and even when hes too distracted to care, he looks deep in thought. Funny that, she muses, women not knowing the distinction between indifference and contemplation.
Hinata knows she doesn´t care for this man, in spite of his beauty and intelligence, though she is forced to acknowledge his skills as a shinobi. He catches her before she´s finished and smirks triumphantly, his shoulders edging back.
He´s preening, she thinks despondently. She raises her chin ever so slightly and blinks slowly, almost seductively. His smirk widens ever so slightly. Fool. Arrogance will only get you killed in the Shinobi world. She ignores the rapid beating of her heart, unused to this sort of game, and recalls a voice filled with innocent admiration exclaim,
"Sasuke said he likes girls with long hair, so I´m growing it out, Hina!" Sakura must have been only five by then. Hinata resists the urge to touch her hair, held up in an elegant bun, and instead, like a lady is supposed to do, she smiles and says,
"gentlemen, my father´s quarters are just this way." She turns and steps as quickly as she can, and her feet barely make a swish as she steps towards the rice paper door, decorated with elegant birds, beginning their flight to freedom. A rather liberal take on family policy, she thinks, as the door is opened by a small servant girl.
She is clearly unused to being seen and her opalescent eyes open as far as they will go, staring into the heiresses eyes. Hinata knows she makes for an intimidating sight, her sweet and innocent face hidden beneath layers of emotional walls, but she lets her eyes go gentle and a smile slip through to let her know everything is all right. The exchange doesn´t hold the men back and they pass into the "black" hallway, named for the unique stones that cover the floor. Ever the minimalist house, the corridor has few windows that overlook a traditional japanese garden and the only decorations are simple portraits of the great leaders the Hyuuga household has had in its time, all of fearless men, depicted in the battlefield or leading into one.
They served both as a reminder of what many had fought for to gain what Hyuuga now had, and as an understated warning to any enemy that might dare to venture so close to the main house. Hinata glances back at her cousin, bringing up the rear. A minimal shake of his head indicates that the men behind her are neither amazed nor frightened of these spartan decorations. These truly are the Uchiha heirs, then. hands folded neatly within her kimono, Hinata lets a fraction of the chakra she was gathering in her hands fade away. The test isn´t over just yet.
the next door is decorated with barely visible butterflies, as they reach into the heavens and dissapear. Butterflies used to be her mother´s favorite insect in all the world, and before this household was cold and unwelcoming, it was a warm place. These doors are the only living proof of that now. This time, Hinata opens the door herself, and welcomes the men into the next two rooms, one of which leads to the elder council´s headquarters, the other to her father´s private sitting room, for family and important guest. This room is decorated with two long couches, and a small white rug. Upon the rug is placed a table, with a gourd shaped vase, filled with different layers of black and white sand, creating a "wave effect" of sorts. The vase glows with a bright red "fire" symbol etched into it. A gift from the cousin of a diplomat related to a Kazekage from many generations ago. The main attraction of this room though, are the waterfalls that adorn the wall opposite the vase, that create a dance of lights, filling the room with ambience and relaxed anyone observing it.
If you sat there long enough, watching the lights, the sand was rumored to accumulate, stealing away the grains from your own "hourglass of time", killing you in the process. In the past 2 generations the sand has had to be fashioned into elegant glass bottles twice now.
"Gentlemen please sit here, my father will be but a moment." It is her turn to smile again and bow as respectfully as she needs to before making her way to the exit once more.
She has no inclination to say it aloud, but she catches the younger uchiha´s eyes once more, wishing him anything but luck. If she is right, tonight the matter of her marriage will be settled, and she has no incilnation to bend over and let either uchiha get his hands on her. For now, she has had to play along, and find a moment to strike. There was no way she was becoming Uchiha Hinata. The name sounded foul, and she narrows her eyes in digust as she finally looks away.
"ahem."
Please just say good night, please just say good night, Kami please don´t make me stay-
"Hinata-sama, I was ordered to wait with you here."
don´t leave my side, it isn´t safe with these men in the house.
"Oh, I see."
You know I can´t stand these charades.
She licks her lips and turns back slowly, her shoulders stiff from the rage she´s holding back.
" Father doesn´t usually need me here for these manners."
Lilac eyes stare into anothers, lined with resignment. Frustration.
Don´t make this any harder for me.
" It seems he requires your presence tonight."
" I don´t suppose our guests would enjoy some tea, then?"
If I´m going to suffer, so are you.
"Tea would be lovely, thank you." Once again it is the eldest Uchiha that speaks. She holds back an apology, for ignoring him during her talk with her cousin. She hadn´t excluded her father´s guests per say, but the tone in which he speaks, clipped and to the point, leaves no room for interpretation. He is already sitting down, haven chosen to make himself comfortable during the wait. His brother is distinctly against the idea, choosing to lean against a far wall, where Hinata herself knows provides a clear view of all the room´s entries and exits. If his stance wasn´t so relaxed, it would be openly offensive to the household. Hinata allows herself to smile at her cousin, relieving some of the leftover tension in the room, before he calls over a servant girl in an unnoticed corner, telling her to fetch some tea and sweets. Hinata sits down on the couch opposite her guest and places her hands over her knees, covered in layers and layers of kimono.
In the back of her mind, she prays for her quick release from the torture that is waiting. Waiting to have fate decided for her, waiting to be told that the eternally sulking stranger in the corner of her eye, or the equally mysterious man across from her, will be her husband. The thought is almost enough to make her sick. Hinata stiffens as she feels dark eyes roving over her hair, her eyes.. the way her legs don´t part and her hands sit just so over her body. the creamy expanse of skin that covers her face, neck and hands, and the elegant patterns woven into the cloth that is another layer of clothing over her breasts. they move on to the subtle flare of her hips and finally, rest on her small, pink mouth. These are not the eyes that seek sex, but rather try to measure her appeal as a woman on a sort of scale.
It isn´t violating, the way she is studied, compared to the leers she´s often recieved while completing missions. Worse still, these are eyes that strip women of human value. They are the eyes of the slave trade and the eyes that decide what to do with the women of the village they have just pillaged. The eyes are timeless, and they belong to all the men of the world, and in thinking that, she almost wishes men had nothing to do with the child bearing process. Nothing at all.
Hinata glances at her bodyguard, her protector, and in that glance she says to him all of the things she dares feel. Revulsion. Fear. Fear that only comes from being a woman trapped in a room with dangerous men. A tightening of his lips tells Hinata he doesn´t like it any more than she does, and he knows what they´re doing. He has to. One day he himself might do it to another aristocrat´s eligible daughter. His eyes are soft, remorseful, and she tries not to imagine her brother in the Uchiha´s place. But she is a young, inexperienced little thing, and the fact that Neji impedes her escape, forces her to look away in despondency and focus on the oldest Uchiha, Itachi, once more.
She tries not to let her startle show. He´s been staring at her eyes this entire time, it seems. This time when he smiles at her, no, smirks; the action comes smoothly. Hinata feels her now famous blush coming on. She stops at just a slight pinkening of the cheeks though, telling herself this is nothing special. She´s heard the stories older women traded in the forest training grounds, away from prying eyes and ears.
"He´s got this wonderful voice, rich and smooth, like coffee-" a high pitched voice attempts to whisper.
"I know! but Kami, when he lets go... -oh, oh, mm you feel so good," Another says, mimmicking his tone.
" And those arms, I would have him hold me forever if I could!" Giggles. Secret smiles. The world of sex is still an alien thing to her, but as her eyes roam over the expanse of his chest and arms, covered in proper clothing, she begina to feel that maybe, if she married this eldest Uchiha, he would be gentler with her. Maybe it was the fact that he spoke more fluidly, or he wasn´t as arrogant as his brother, but this man.. This man was someone powerful.
Hinata glances downwards as soon as the tea arrives. Funny, how seeing the leaves swirl within, reminds her of the ancient form of tea leaf reading, at a moment like this. Hinata is too much of a lady to admit that it is more ironic, than anything else.
The minutes pass by slowly, and when the tea is finished, she glances into it, trying to decipher an image from it.
But all Hinata can see, is death.