Author's notes: Well, hello everyone! I'm back with a one-shot fanfic and a few warnings on it. First: it is about different couples "twisted" if you want to put it like that, so this might not be what you dig. Two: it is absolutely indispensable to be related to the characters of the main story to understand the style of writing. Three: I do this with every Neji/Hina, but I'll clear it again, in this story Neji is still alive and thriving, thriving! So I hope you like it enough to leave me a review, and if you don't like it, even better, LET ME KNOW! PLEASE REVIEW!
DISCLAIMER: The characters and places here portrayed all belong to Mr. Masashi Kishimoto. I do not have possession of them nor is my intention to get any kind of profit with them, the creation of this literary work has only and exclusively recreational purposes. Thank you
Portraits of Perfection
If you don't want anyone to find out, don't do it – Chinese proverb
In the light of the sun, we wear a nice sleek version of ourselves because we all believe what light show to us, all the colors and shapes and hues.
But it is in the shadows where we reveal the other side of ourselves…the sincerest and purest if not the one we would present us with.
In the light of the sun, we can see portraits of perfection… like the ones placed in the photo shelf at the house of the new chairman of the village. Him, his beautiful wife, and his two kids, both with the same cerulean eyes and fox whisker-like marks he had. Such a nice family.
It would be too uncomfortable to accept that the Hokage loved a man instead of his own wife. A man as grim as a storm that visited the village sporadically but spent most of his at the office of the chairman rather than in his own house with his family. He always made sure that nobody was watching before entering the obscure room using the window instead of the door and meet again those eyes so blue and bright they enlighten the entire room, at least to him, and he would love the man that rescued him from hell once more, in the most absolute secret. Not that he gave a damn about what people said. It was all for his lover that he was cautious. He didn't want him to lose all he had because of their love.
And it was not like he was cheating on his wife because he was many things apart from grim, but liar was not one of them, at least not to his friends; years ago, he had confessed to the pink haired woman his feelings for their mutual mate and, maybe in a cynical way, he asked her for help to restore his agonizing clan and, maybe because of her old feelings towards him, she agreed, she would give him heirs. He made it clear as well that she wouldn't be the only one. Talented women in every ninja village, like his friend Karin, would help him with the task as well. He had no problem with the process to impregnate a female partner, but the three of them knew that his love belonged only to his savior and best friend.
In return she only asked for a marriage ceremony, the smallest one would allow the child to live with dignity. And maybe it would shut at least a bit the rumor of her affair with her sensei. A rumor that, unlike most of them, was right and had not stopped being true after the wedding. As soon as her daughter was out of the house or busy, she ran to the arms of a man way too older to be tolerated. They would talk for hours, or make love or stay next to each other just like any other couple; he always arrived discreetly to her bed to cuddle so she could sleep better. But some nights she couldn't sleep wondering how long could that intricate lie cover them…all of them.
The nights that the grim man stayed in the village, the lovely and ever so perfect wife of the Hokage was notified by one of his husband's clones that he would not come home from work before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Those were hard nights for her son, who she admitted being sort of a brat, and would always throw preadolescent tantrums nagging about his father. If his uncle was in town, she would ask him to come home and calm him down; he was the kind of man a boy longs to become and straights up in his presence. His uncle was a great man, he was the current leader of the ANBU, strong and intelligent and sensitive in his own stoic way. So sensitive indeed, that he understood the anger of his nephew better than his mother without any explanation as he had understood some years ago the need of his blonde friend to start a family and that the best choice was the woman he loved, a beautiful woman from a powerful clan that would understand and support his particular situation. She wasn't ending what they had! She desperately explained to him although he understood everything, even her need to explain. It was for the best, really, her father would never allow him to be with her and the future Hokage needed a squeaky-clean image if he ever wanted to accomplish his goals. So they continued their relationship in agreement with her husband, protected from the clan by his political status, and protecting his image in exchange. He stayed by her side as much as he could while she had and raised children from another man without him loving her any less. And now she loved two more persons; but there was a place in her heart that only he would fill with his lips and embrace, where she was truly happy.
Most of the times we rather stay frozen in these portraits of perfection than face our fears.
And maybe if we did face our fears, we'd find out that the ghosts in our minds are much scarier than the actual truth…
Shinobis were too arrogant of their own world and thought they knew things common people ignored, when in fact all Konoha was well aware that Uchiha Sasuke loved the Hokage and this one loved him back and they were grateful that a man as dangerous as him had someone to keep him in a relatively brighter perspective.
And yes, they all commented about Hatake Kakashi having a relationship with his much younger pupil now named Uchiha Sakura, but they never judged them, he was a very lonely man long before he was a proper man and he deserved to be in the company of his choice.
They all knew about the incestuous liaison between Hinata Uzumaki and her cousin Neji Hyuuga, but given the special circumstances in their clan and also the ones of their Hokage, it was most likely the best for all of them.
They owed their lives and their world to them and especially owed Uzumaki Naruto a great amount of happiness denied before by their cruelty.
And they longed to tell them all that they were no longer so fast to criticize or to point out with intolerance, that they were grateful for putting their lives on the line for them.
But then the villagers realized something: maybe it was because of the load of keeping hidden their attachments that those persevere and made them truly happier than the villagers faked in the outside
And they realized the content these complicated heroes had about them living in ignorance of all of these details, after all, they were their most intimate secrets and decided to freeze in that image of unawareness for them, they would protect them from exposure.
Because most of the times we rather see these frozen portraits of perfection in the light of sun than face our sincerest purest fears.