It began over seven decades ago on a summer evening. Youthful insects sung sonatas in the darkness of night, hiding underneath the brush and shadows. The wind was crisp and cool. The moon was bright and loomed over the Hyuuga household as if it were watching kindly upon it.
Yet the feeling was far than kind as Hinata Hyuuga, the heiress of her clan, sat with her legs folded underneath her. Her eyes were cold and tired from the overflowing tears that had come many nights before, and they stared blankly to the tiny patterns on the elegant silk mattress before her.
A little phoenix danced around the pattern, flying alongside and tails entertwining with that of a majestic dragon. "How different they are" she thought to herself, "Isn't it ironic that they choose to be together despite those differences?" Her dark lashes lowered. It was truly ironic. Did she truly choose to be in this position?
Did she choose to be, at this time and night, in her own wedding chambers? Her mind swirled with the question, and every time she grew tired of the question her eyes would well with tears. But this time, she had an answer. Perhaps it was the room that made her think better, perhaps it was the nauseating smell of incense; Burnt and laid by the doorway where the only fresh air would come in.
One scent was for prosperity, the other health, and the last for good fortune. Several red-twined trinkets hung from the ceiling, all aged and renewed with each great Hyuuga marriage.
But despite all the good wishes of the family, Hinata knew that there was nothing in the room that wished for love between herself and her new husband. Everyone simply assumed that was why the bed was there, a red silken matress that was created especially for them. She sat there quietly, and heard the door softly slide open, allowing a gust of cold air to flow into the small room.
She felt his presence, but refused to move from her place. Her head was bowed down.
He saw his wife there. His newlywed wife. His first wife. Her hair had been pulled and loosely pinned with a long golden stick, decorated with the fineries their family could afford. Her neck was bare and her kimono was loosened at the shoulders. He stared and breathed deeply at the sight. The soft delicate curves of her exposed shoulders seemed as if she were summoning him to her, but he refused to move as she did. Instead his throat dried. And he quietly stood behind her after the door was gently closed.
Her voice then softly spoke, a near whisper of a voice. "We are alone now..."
"I cannot do this." she heard him say.
"You must..." she responded.
"You were forced into this marriage...I can't take you against your will..."
A brief silence.
"Did I have a choice?"
Slowly her hands pulled on her own sleeves. Her kimono gently dropped down, exposing her body in the cold of the night. She could almost shiver from both the chill and from pure fear, but she was grown now and did not do such things anymore. Her voice was still small and seemingly alone. "Please, nii-san...this is the only thing I will ever ask you to do."
"Hinata-sama...I...can't take anymore than I already have from you..."
"You are not going to take anything from me. I am giving it to you."