Clan politics

That day Hinata decided it was time to get to know her fiancée better. Non-massacre AU.

A/N: I love clichés! But I know you love them too so here we go! This is supposed to be a cheerful and sweet story, not anything serious.

I originally started this as some kind of sequel to 'Dance with me' but it somehow turned out completely different. Well, the genre is the same at least. Brainless romance.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, characters or anything. This is just a hobby

Chapter 1 - Shogi

It was Hinata's third year at the Shinobi Academy, and she was currently 10 years old. Despite her status as a Main house Hyūga, she was only an average student at the Academy. It wasn't that she was a bad shinobi – she just was very shy and thus didn't stand out very much.

She wasn't very noticed at her class and her only friends were Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji, who she usually sat in the class and had lunch with. Shikamaru and Choji, of course, were friends with Yamanaka Ino because of their families but she usually hung out with her own girlfriends rather than them.

Hinata was, indeed, quite shy and thus, she had admired her bold and outgoing classmate Uzumaki Naruto for years, wishing she herself could be as brave as him.

Today, however, she felt something more for the first time when she watched him having one of his daily arguments against Iruka-sensei. Her cheeks heated and her heart pounded. What was this feeling?

"Troublesome. Hinata-chan, if you like Naruto, just say it to him. He is too thick to notice it himself", Shikamaru said, clearly reading her thoughts.

"Eep! I-I don't like N-Naruto-kun... That way.." she tried to explain but didn't believe it even herself. She was totally smitten. Just a little thought of him brought a bunch of butterflies to her stomach.

Iruka and Naruto had stopped their shouting and the lecture went on somewhat normally. Hinata, however, couldn't focus since she worried what she should do about her unwanted crush on Naruto. She had a fiancée, after all, even if she had only seen him once or twice.

The betrothal contract between Hyūga and Uchiha was signed when Hinata had been four; it was said to not only stabilize the relations between clans but also neutralize the threat of either clan alienating Konoha and doing something harmful to the village. The elders in Konoha seemed to think teamwork was the solution to everything.

The contract stated that there would be an official engagement party when Hinata turned 16, where she and her fiancée, Uchiha Itachi, would be officially introduced. The contract wasn't a secret but only very few knew about it to ensure both Hinata and Itachi somehow normal childhood without any pressure caused by other children.

They had met a couple of times; when the contract was signed, at the festival arranged to celebrate the anniversary of the construction of the Uchiha compound and events like that. But they had never really talked and she didn't even know who he actually was.

A horrible thought crossed her mind. What if she somehow had fallen totally in love with Naruto before the engagement party instead of Itachi? It would be totally her fault if their marriage and village security failed. She needed to do something before it was too late.

So, after the lessons at the Academy and her extra lessons as a kunoichi had ended that day, instead of going home like she normally did, she sprinted to the Uchiha compound. Most of the people there looked her a little weirdly, she was Main house Hyūga after all and Hyūga rarely visited here, but she kept patiently greeting everyone politely on her way to clan head's house where she knew her fiancée lived.

When she reached the door she knocked and the door opened. It was Sasuke from her class who opened it. He stared at her incredulously but there was a little boredom in his expression too. He had a lot of fangirls in the Academy, so maybe it wasn't that unusual to have unexpected visitors?

He looked a little irritated but questioning.

"Yes?" he said.

Hinata woke from her thoughts.

"O-oh. I am here to see Itachi-san", she said as normally as she could.

He openly stared at her. Maybe he didn't know about the betrothal contract? Hinata had to admit it would be a little weird for her to see Itachi in any other situation.

She heard a voice of a woman. It probably belonged to Sasuke and Itachi's mother.

"Sasu-chan? Who is at the door?"

She watched when his cheeks reddened seeing Hinata noticed the nickname.

"Hyūga Hinata", he said clearly and truthfully.

Hinata didn't have time to startle that Sasuke had actually remembered her name when his mother appeared behind him.

"Oh, Hinata-chan! You have grown up so much! Please come in, I'll make some tea!"

"Thank you, Uchiha-san, but I need to talk to Itachi-san. Is he home?"

"Please call me Mikoto! Ita-chan is in his room, it is upstairs, first door on the left."

"Thank you, Mikoto-san!" she squeaked while sprinting up to the stairs.

"Be nice!" Mikoto shouted a little slyly. Sasuke stared some more wondering was there something he didn't know and tried to guess how to spy his brother and Hyūga's conversation without Itachi noticing. He figured nothing.

Hinata stood in front of his fiancée's door. Was this really a good idea? She steeled herself. She needed to do this for her fiancée and herself and their future marriage. She knocked his door and after a while, the door slid open revealing her 15-year-old fiancée. She really tried to smile but failed miserably.

She watched him. His expression was neutral, even a little bored. He had been 6 years at ANBU, so it wasn't surprising. The only part in his face containing emotion was his eyes, but she wasn't sure if anyone but a Hyūga could see that. They had got used to stoic faces and eyes, after all.

Just like Sasuke earlier, he started with a question.

"Yes?"

"Itachi-san, I have something to discuss with you. I am not sure if you remember me, but.."

"Hyūga Hinata, my fiancée", he told her.

"Hai. Well, may I come in? This is kind of private and I don't wish anyone" -clearly meaning Sasuke- "listening."

He seemed puzzled what was so important a 10-year-old girl needed to talk to him right now, but decided to give her a chance. And he liked to annoy Sasuke by doing things closed doors.

"Very well", he said.

He stepped out of the doorway, let her in and closed the door. Then he walked to his desk and sat down. Hinata walked in too but had stayed standing in front of his desk. Then she bowed to him and blurted everything out at once.

"I am very sorry to bother you, Itachi-san, but today at the Academy when we were talking about traps, I realized I was blushing and then Shikamaru-kun said that it was because I like Naruto-kun, who is a boy from our class and it is wrong because I have a fiancée but I don't know what to do since I don't know you very well but I thought it would be fair to tell you at least."

She was completely embarrassed after she managed to stop talking. She had started blabbering and the whole issue was so awkward anyway. But it had to be done. She fought back tears.

Itachi's mouth had opened. There were not many times his life he had been shocked or even surprised but this was certainly one of them. He had to admit that his respect to the blue-haired Hyūga had raised a lot. To admit her fiancée that she liked someone else and then trying to fix the situation? While being only 10 years old? There just wasn't such innocent honesty in the shinobi world.

It was so cute and ridiculously mature at the same time that he started laughing. When had he laughed last time? He didn't remember. It sure felt good.

"Itachi-san? What is so funny?" she asked a little hurt because she thought he laughed at her.

"I am sorry, Hinata-san. I didn't mean to laugh at you. In fact, I am very flattered you wish to fix things with me even if you like someone else", he explained with a small smile.

"I don't really know what to say. How about we start by getting to know each other a little better? Can you play shogi?" he asked.

Hinata shook her head a little awkwardly.

That didn't seem to be a problem and Itachi started to explain the rules to her when Sasuke and Mikoto barged to the room.

"We heard Itachi laughing, what did you do to him?" asked they together.

Hinata blushed, not wanting to repeat. Itachi seemed to agree.

"Nothing you need to know. Are you done so we can continue our game?" he asked with barely hidden annoyance in his voice.

Mikoto didn't look content with his answer but let them alone.

She continued to appear to the compound about once a week to play shogi with him. They talked a little at the same time which allowed her to learn that he worked in ANBU but was also a good strategist. On his free time, he helped Sasuke train and hung out with his cousin and best friend Shisui.

He, on the other hand, learned why Hinata liked Naruto so much. Unlike most girls her age, she had the talent to see the person instead of good looks, which both pleased and terrified Itachi. He sure had a very fine fiancée but to get her attention would not be easy. It would be even harder if she hadn't self-imposed come to see him.

She had also told she liked flowers, tea, and cooking. She had once cooked them after their weekly shogi match when Mikoto had been on a mission (Itachi was horrible at kitchen) and it had been absolutely delicious. That was the day Itachi decided he didn't mind her visiting every day if she so wished.

Now after a few months, when Hinata had just turned 11, she was at the Academy normally. She was eating her lunch with Shikamaru and Choji, Shikamaru was playing with something that looked like a shogi piece.

"Hey, Shika-kun, is that a shogi piece?" she asked after noticing it.

Shikamaru turned to watch her but Choji decided to answer for him: "Yeah, Shika plays it home all the time. How did you recognize it? I didn't even saw him playing with it."

"Well, I have played it weekly about three months now, it wasn't that hard", she answered shrugging.

Shikamaru seemed a little surprised that Hinata of all people had played shogi, but was happy to have someone to discuss it. So he told her he had played it all his life and was quite good at it.

"Hey, Shikamaru-kun? I know someone who is much better than I am in shogi who probably would appreciate a challenge, would you like to meet him?"

"It is troublesome but I do need more challenging opponents.."

"Great! Let's see after classes at the gate and I'll take you to meet him!"

So she, Shikamaru and Sasuke walked to the Uchiha compound. Both Sasuke and Shikamaru seemed a little surprised about each other's presence (Sasuke and Hinata often walked together to the compound) but said nothing. When they came to the house, Itachi was already waiting for her downstairs.

"Oh? You brought a friend, Sasuke? It was about a time already", he commented nonchalantly.

"Tch. Hinata did, not me", was his usual answer.

"Itachi-san, this is Nara Shikamaru. He is very good at shogi so I thought you would like a more challenging game so you don't get tired of me", Hinata introduced with a little wink.

"Oh, but Hinata-chan, I would never get tired of you.."

Both Sasuke and Shikamaru stared. They were flirting. It was innocent and small but it was there. That man barely interacted with anyone and now he suddenly he was flirting with the Hyūga princess. Not to talk about shyness of said princess.

Hinata blushed but only slightly, a mark that she had got used to such conversations with Itachi.

"Itachi-san..."

Then, like nothing happened, Itachi took the board and turned to Shikamaru.

"Well, shall we play?"

And they started their game.

Shikamaru was skilled, he had to give him that. Only Itachi's playing and strategy experience allowed him to win the game. Itachi, however, knew that in a couple of years he would have absolutely no chances playing against him. Shikamaru would be an extremely beneficial person to know in the future.

Hinata was playing with Sasuke while Itachi and Shikamaru ended their game. She had first watched Itachi and Shikamaru play but grew bored and challenged Sasuke to a game. Sasuke had been reluctant and overconfident, but the game had ended to Hinata's victory because of all her hours playing with Itachi, even if her natural ability to strategy wasn't as good as Sasuke's.

"Nara-san, would you like to play some other time too? This game was most beneficial for my strategy training", asked Itachi clearly impressed with his skills.

Shikamaru accepted. He had not known that the Uchiha heir liked playing shogi but he needed more challenging opponents to play with so of course he accepted.

Hinata and Sasuke were still playing their rematch (Sasuke was a pretty sore loser and had demanded they play again) when Itachi and Sasuke's cousin Shisui appeared.

"Yo, Itachi, Sasuke! Who are these others?" he nodded while greeting his cousins.

Itachi introduced them.

"These are Hyūga Hinata and Nara Shikamaru. They are in the class as Sasuke at the Academy. Hinata here is also my fiancée and she brought Nara-san here since he was looking for new shogi opponents."

When he said the fiancée thing, Shisui, Shikamaru and Sasuke suddenly choked on what they were drinking or eating.

"You have a fiancée?!" Sasuke and Shisui screamed together. "Why have you never before said anything?!"

Shikamaru just muttered something like: "Troublesome."

Hinata blushed.

Itachi looked as neutral as ever like there was nothing new or scandalous.

"You never asked."

It didn't take long to her father to notice her periodic absence from the Hyūga compound. So, one day she had come back home for dinner, he chose to talk to her privately.

"Hinata, you have been noticed spending abnormal time outside the compound. What are you doing and where?" her father asked going straight to the point. Of course, she had attended all the compulsory Hyūga training sessions and her grades were fine in the Academy, so she had done nothing wrong, but it was still unusual for a shy girl like her to be so much away.

"Ano... I have been at the Uchiha compound.." she stated carefully.

Hiashi couldn't say he wasn't surprised. Yes, there sure was the betrothal contract between the clans but there hadn't been a formal introduction of Hinata and Itachi yet so it was unlikely she would do anything... inappropriate... with him. Was it? His gaze was questioning.

"What are you doing there?"

"Well... We have usually played shogi with my friends Shikamaru-kun, Itachi-san, Sasuke-san and their cousin Shisui-san plays with us sometimes too."

Shogi? Her daughter goes to the Uchiha compound periodically to play shogi? If her daughter wouldn't have so honest nature, he probably thought she was lying.

"Shogi? This is surprising. Well, how about you invite them to play here sometime? I would like to meet those who you spend so much your free time with."

Hinata shrugged. There was nothing suspicious about their gatherings after all.

"Hai, we are playing tomorrow, is it okay?"

Hiashi nodded and returned to his duties.

Her friends were a little surprised when she told her father wanted to invite them to the Hyūga compound but they accepted his invitation.

So there they were, at the one of the traditional tea rooms. Of her guests only Itachi had visited the Hyūga compound before so others were a little amazed how traditional and beautiful the compound was. Hinata's clan had always appreciated aesthetics on their free time.

Now they were sitting on the comfortable floor; Itachi was playing against Shikamaru, Shisui against Sasuke and Hinata was preparing tea for them since there were an odd number of players. She was a little nervous since her father had not still made an appearance and she almost spilled all the tea to the floor when she heard a familiar voice from the door.

"Hinata-sama."

It was Neji. He came to the room and glanced all the people there, face never changing its graceful and proper expression. Hinata smiled at him slightly.

"Neji-niisan."

"You probably don't have time to a spar, Hinata-sama?"

Sasuke looked like he wanted to ask why was the new Hyūga addressing Hinata with such honorific, but Shisui gestured him he would explain it at home. Hinata answered.

"No, we are playing shogi. Everyone, this is my cousin Neji, he is at the Academy a class higher than us. Niisan, here are Nara Shikamaru and Uchiha Sasuke, my classmates and then Uchiha Itachi, my... my..."

She was unused to call him her fiancée. Their relationship was only friendly so it was even a little weird.

"Fiancée", helped Hyūga Hiashi who had just arrived.

"And then their cousin Uchiha Shisui..." she ended quietly but all the attention was on her father. Everyone stood up to greet him and introduce as they should. Neji seemed a little startled that his uncle was so ok that there was three Uchiha at the house, but said nothing.

"So these are your friends Hinata. Well, I shall leave you to continue then", he announced and left. Neji was about to follow when Hinata had an idea.

"Niisan, would you like to play too?"

He watched her incredulously a long time but decided to stay.

After the evening at the Hyūga's they decided that even if Shikamaru thought it was a drag, it would be polite to introduce themselves at the Nara compound too. There were the best shogi boards too.

Shikamaru's father had thought the whole thing was troublesome but watched with his friend Sarutobi Asuma curiously when Itachi and Shikamaru played and conversed with Shisui about Shinobi politics at the same time. Shikamaru's mother, on the other hand, had been... interesting.

Hinata, Sasuke, and Neji had been assigned to the kitchen duty and none of them dared to say anything against it since Nara Yoshino was a very scary woman. They suddenly understood why Shikamaru and his dad thought that everything was so troublesome.

They never returned to the Nara compound after that.