Chapter 2: A Cousin's Betrayal

Disclaimer: Are these really necessary? Do people really think that the creator of Naruto is spending his time writing drabbles based on his original work on a fan fiction website? Alas, here I am with yet another blatantly obvious statement assuring anyone reading that I own nothing. As my husband pointed out to me last chapter, some characters (ahem, Neji) may be OOC. I am okay with this. If you are not, there are hundreds of thousands of other fics out there, and while I greatly appreciate your support whether you agree or not, if this is really a major issue for you then you have options. Maybe write one of your own? I need more GaaHina in my life.

.oOo.

"What did you say!?" an irate Neji was yelling.

"Neji-nii-san, please, there is no need to shout. What if father hears?"

"I don't give a damn!" he fumed in a much softer voice. "How could he do this to you? To the family? You are the heir!"

"You know he didn't mark Hanabi for a reason, nii-san."

Hinata's gentle answer did nothing to calm her cousin. "But to reduce you to a branch member! Hinata, you know what that means, don't you?"

"Hai. You know I do not agree with the curse mark Neji-nii-san, but I feel that this is something I have to do. It is my choice." Hinata stressed the word that she knew would have the biggest effect on him.

Neji bowed his head, "I hate seeing anyone else take on this cursed seal. Especially you, Hinata-chan."

Hinata's eyes watered at the affection from the stoic ninja, "It will be okay, nii-san. I promise. Besides, there is no guarantee that Tsunade-sama will choose me. You may be upset for nothing."

"That is true. But I warn you, if it is you that is chosen for Suna I will not hold my tongue."

"Neji-san! Don't say such things!" Hinata gasped, "whether to father or the Hokage, you cannot risk your position for me!"

"It is my job to protect you."

Hinata opened her mouth to speak but Neji cut her off, "and if my words have no effect, then I will accompany you to Suna. I can still do my duty in a different country."

"Hai, nii-san. It would be hard enough to leave everyone behind but I fear your absence would be the hardest. I need to leave for the Hokage tower, we can talk more when you return from guard duty tonight."

Neji nodded as Hinata walked away. One thing was certain, he would spend his shift at the wall coming up with one hell of a speech for Hiashi if Hinata was indeed chosen this afternoon.

.oOo.

Hinata met her father outside of the Hokage's office along with Akimichi Choza and his niece Chiho as well as Aburame Shibi and a girl Hinata hadn't seen before. At precisely two o'clock, the group was ushered into the Hokage's office.

Tsunade watched as the six people shuffled into her office. She was in a bad mood after reading the letter from Sunagakure's pushy council. To make matters worse, she discovered that she was on her last bottle of rare sake and it would take weeks to track more down. She spared the group a passing glance but as the last person entered, she froze.

The occupants facing the Hokage each gave small bows and waited for her to speak.

"This whole thing is bullshit."

Chiho sucked in a breath, Shibi blinked behind his dark glasses, Choza held back a chuckle, the two Hyugas remained still, faces schooled into business-like masks.

Hiashi finally spoke, "that may be, but it is also a chance to strengthen our relationship with an ally while one of these girls brings her family honor."

"Whatever. I want each of you men to sell me on why your clan should be the one to send someone to honor their family in under three minutes" Tsunade said, her chosen emphasis dripping with sarcasm. "Go."

She listened with half an ear as each of the heads did their best to explain why their chosen girl would make the best match for Suna's Kazekage. Choza pointed out his niece's wide birthing hips (Hinata did her best to avoid wincing as she listened to him speak about the girl's fertility) and spoke of the experience she had gained over her 27 years.

That girl is almost 10 years older than the Kazekage, Hinata thought. Ew.

Next Shibi droned on about his clan's choice, Sumika, and her analytical abilities. How she would be able to learn everything she needed to know about Suna's teams in just a few short days thanks to her bugs and that she was much closer in age to the Kage than the Akimichi, which earned him a harsh look from the clan leader.

Sure, she's closer to his age but she can't be more than 14. Hinata couldn't help but worry. Still, that bodes well since children are such a big part of this agreement. She'll have plenty of time with them.

Hinata was brought out of her musing by her father's stern voice.

"My eldest daughter has seen battle and is a well-rounded kunoichi. She has studied etiquette since she was a young girl, knows when to hold her tongue, and has a capable mind when it comes to the task of sorting missions."

Hinata felt a faint blush bloom on her cheeks before realizing that her father was probably overselling what he thought about her.

"She remains pure and, as family history can attest, we have had no issues with infertility. Her bloodlimit will be a great asset to Suna and her other assets should please her future husband."

Hinata's blush went from faint to tomato red in a matter of seconds.

"Obviously it would be prudent to point out that she will take the sealing mark so the secrets of the Byakugan will remain with Konoha."

Tsunade was silent for a moment before asking to speak one on one with each of the girls. Hinata waited anxiously, momentarily wringing her hands together before a cold glare from her father made her stop. Her mind was whirling trying to decide her chances of being chosen. She knew her shortcomings and she was certain Tsunade did as well. She was shy, she still stuttered when under extreme scrutiny, she hid her body under baggy clothes. Granted, she had branched out a bit more, trading her puffy jacket for a slimmer one but she certainly didn't parade anything important around for men to leer at like some women she saw.

Before she knew it Chiho and Sumika had both been called in to speak with the Hokage and her father was shoving her forward for her turn with a quietly muttered, "do not fail."

Hinata bowed to the Hokage.

"Stand up girl, there is no need to stand on such ceremony. Now, this office is sealed to prevent those pesky men from eavesdropping on our conversation and I expect you to be completely honest. I will know if you are lying. Now, I have one question and then I will make my decision. Is this your choice?"

Hinata blinked. "H-hokage-sama, I am not here by force."

"Coercion? Threat? Intimidation, persuasion, request?"

"No." Fearing more explanation necessary, Hinata continued. "My father presented me with the scroll last night. I was the first to speak after reading, I told him that I wanted to accept. This is my choice." The Hokage still didn't look convinced so she tried again. "I love my life here in the Leaf and I wish to do everything I can to ensure it's safety and prosperity. I also wish to help our allies in the sand." She bowed her head, "no matter what, I will still be made into a member of the branch family. Hanabi has always been marked as the future head, whether others saw her as such or not. I have known my fate since her third birthday."

Hinata raised her head, a bit of steel in her eyes, "it is my choice to leave the village and honor it elsewhere as wife to the Kazekage. Th-there is n-nothing holding me here anymore."

"So you and Naruto?"

"Are no longer in a relationship. I am free to give my heart to Sabaku no Gaara in whatever manner required from me. I will take on the duties they have outlined and more if needed, I will bear children and teach them to value everything precious. I will make our village proud."

"You are certain?" Tsunade prodded yet again, already past her one question limit.

"Yes."

"As much as I hate those stuffy council bastards, I will honor their request. For the sake of their young Kage, I have decided to look out for him as best as I can from here. The Akimichi is too far outside his age and the bug user is rather young to be forced into such an arrangement. Are you prepared to be the one I choose?"

"Yes."

Tsunade sighed, "I figured. Now let the others in so I can get this over with, I still need to pay a visit to a specialty shop this afternoon."

.oOo.

Hinata sat on her bed, waiting Neji to finish his guard shift. She worried her lip nervously, a habit she had started upon her father losing his temper at her finger tapping promising to cut them off if she did not learn to control it. She still fidgeted and thankfully her father had not made good on his threat, but chewing the inside of her lip was far less obvious.

She had been sitting on her bed upon her return from the meeting with the Hokage. Unsure if she made the right decision, she was even more unsure of how to break the news to her cousin without him flying off the handle and doing something they all would regret later.

She jumped at the soft knock on her door.

"Come in."

Neji walked in, took one look at her face and turned around again, a look of rage on his face.

"Nii-san, wait!" Hinata cried. "Please, I need you right now, I need to talk to you before you do something rash."

"A Hyuga is not rash." Came the clipped response but Hinata loosed a breath she didn't know she was holding as Neji closed the door and sat next to her on the bed.

"Neji…" she trailed off, still unsure of what to say. Glancing at him, she could tell he wasn't going to present her with an opening. "Neji, I'm sorry."

"Why should you be sorry?"

"Because I am the one who begged the Hokage to choose me."

Silence greeted her words.

"Nii-san?" she asked quietly, trying to see his face that was turned away from her own.

"How could you do this?" Neji's voice was quiet but radiated his anger. "How could you betray me?"

"I didn't betray you, nii-san! It is my duty! I could either choose to help our village or I could be a coward and push the problem off on another girl. One of which I know has no interest in marriage and the other is hardly more than a child!"

"Damn it Hinata, that's still no reason to write yourself off. We've come so far, we're finally close like we should be and you want to throw that all away?! You weak-willed, pathetic girl! I hate what you have done!"

"I'm not throwing it away! What happened to accompanying me to Suna? To doing your duty in a different country?"

Neji could hear the tears in her voice and he knew that he was being hard on her but he wasn't ready to let her give up on having love and the life she deserved in Konoha. This time when he stood and moved towards the door, Hinata didn't call him back. She held her tears in check until the door closed, fighting for several heartbeats to stop the tide. They flowed slowly at first, making little tracks down her cheeks accompanied by little chocking noises but soon it turned into sobbing and Hinata threw herself onto her bed, face buried in her pillow, trying to muffle the sound of her sorrow.

.oOo.

Neji left Hinata's room furious. Furious at her for volunteering, furious at the Hokage for agreeing to the idea, but most of all furious at Hiashi for offering up his daughter as his own personal sacrifice. He paced the hallway outside her room for a moment before the sound of her sobbing hit him like a punch to the gut. She was hurt and it was his job to protect her. He spun, long hair flowing behind him as he stalked toward his uncle's office.

Neji threw open the door, knowing that his uncle would be working on clan matters as the head.

The head always has to come first, he thought bitterly.

Hiashi's head shot up at the unexpected interruption to meet the fiery gaze of his nephew.

"What is the meaning of this?" Hiashi asked in annoyance.

"How dare you?" Neji's voice shook with anger. "How could you cast her aside, your own heir!"

"How dare you" Hiashi's cold voice was laced with his own anger as he rose to face his nephew.

"You think you can just sell her off to get her out of your hair?! She is your daughter! Your first born and the heir to our clan!" Neji's voice rose in intensity until he was screaming at his uncle.

"You want to scream?" the dangerously low voice of Hiashi asked.

Neji's eyes widened and before he could move, found himself on the floor screaming in agony as his cursed seal burned. As suddenly as it came, the pain left, leaving a panting Neji on the ground.

"You will not enter my study in such a manner again. You will NOT raise your voice to me in such a manner again. I am the head of this house, you do not get to question my judgements. Hinata is unfit to become head, by marrying her off, I am free to appoint my strongest daughter."

"I will go with her to Suna," came the weak voice of the young man, still on the ground.

"You will not." Hiashi noticed the flare of anger in Neji's pale eyes, "you are sworn to protect the heir and that is now Hanabi. You will honor your duty and do it well. Any further insolence will result in your reunion with your father. Are we clear?"

Neji squeezed his eyes shut and decided to try a new tactic. "I hated her for so long, now we have a relationship that is being ripped away from me." Neji looked up, all trace of fight gone from his earlier pain. "Please, don't ask me to give that up. I have years of bitterness and mistreatment to atone for. Uncle, please do not let her be torn from my life."

Hiashi was silent for a moment. "I had no intention of forbidding you from seeing her again. It is my will that you travel to Suna every few months to check on her wellbeing and report back. You will be her escort when she visits Konohagakure and if ample notice is received of her intent to visit and you are not otherwise occupied, you may travel to Suna to escort her on her journey."

The younger Hyuga bowed his head, "thank you uncle, it is more than I deserve after my behavior." Neji met his uncle's eyes and his heart froze at the look.

"You will still be punished, nephew. You will not accompany Hinata on her initial journey and you will not attend the wedding. You will wait to visit until I deem the time right and until then, you will have no contact with her."

Neji sucked in a breath as he felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. Everything he said to her that night came rushing back, the thought of her crying alone thinking he hated her for her choice. Weak. Pathetic. Hate. The words rushed through his head and by the look on Hisashi's face, he knew that this would be the worst punishment he could bestow.

"Are we understood, nephew?"

"Hai, oji-san." Nothing good would come from arguing.

"You will leave the compound for tonight and present yourself to the Hokage in the morning. Request a mission and make it one that will take time. Now go."

Slowly, Neji got to his feet and made his way to the door. He closed it gently behind him, not wanting to anger his uncle further by slamming it yet again and left for Tsunade's office, wishing desperately that he could mend things with Hinata and stop the tight feeling from taking over his chest. He had betrayed her. He had failed her.

.oOo.

Again, I'm just fixing the issue with the disappearing breaks between sections; hopefully I have it figured out and chapter three will go up without any issues. If you guys see something you don't like in the formatting, feel free to let me know in the comments. Chapter three is loaded and ready to be posted Friday or upon the 10th review, whichever comes first. Happy reading and thank you to those precious readers who follow the story/leave a review!