Thank you so much for your reviews! You guys are awesome!! Well, here's the next chapter of the story. Enjoy!

Almost forgot! The disclaimer… if you think that I, in some shape or form own Naruto or any of its characters you need to get yourself to a doctor right away. Those could be signs of a serious condition.

Day Zero: The Meeting

"No," came the deadpan response from across the desk.

"And why not?" asked the Uchiha patriarch, his left eye twitching.

"I have things to do."

"I don't care if you have an appointment with the president," started Fugaku slowly, his voice dripping cold anger. "Sasuke Uchiha, you're going to that omiai. You're not going to make me look like a fool in front of the Hyugas! Especially not now that we are about to close a multimillion dollar deal with their company."

Sasuke had to do a double take. He could have sworn he saw dollar signs appear on his father's eyes as he spoke the last sentence. "I said I can't."

"You're 23 years old already! Itachi got married when he was 19…"

That's where Sasuke tuned out his father and took to staring blankly at the bookcase lining the wall opposite from him. He knew this speech by heart. He had been hearing it since he turned 18. His father would start off by telling Sasuke how important it was for him to get married and have children who would carry on the Uchiha name. He would then proceed to remind Sasuke that Itachi had gotten married when he was 19 and that now he had 3 children. Finally, he would scold Sasuke for not contributing any heirs to the Uchihas as of yet.

"Father, don't force him to go," said Itachi looking up from the reports he had been reading. Barely concealing a wicked grin which immediately turned into a look of mock concern he added, "he hasn't been quite himself since that time his fangirls stuffed him into that closet to play 5 minutes in heaven. He was really traumatized by that experience."

Itachi knew his little brother better than anyone and as such he knew that the best way to manipulate Sasuke was through his pride. Itachi's lips curled into a smile at the sight of Sasuke's usual scowl deepening and his fists clenching at his sides. His taunt was working most wonderfully. Oh, how he loved to tease little Sasuke. He gave his father a wait-and-see look before adding the final touch, "father, please be understanding. Do not worry, I will work harder and have more children to compensate for Sasuke's lack of heirs."

Although Sasuke's face remained as impassive as ever inside of him burned a raging desire to strangle his dear brother. "What time?" he finally said through gritted teeth.

Fugaku's face lightened up and his mouth stretched into a wide grin. "At 5:00 pm, don't be late, my son."

Sasuke was on his way out the door when he heard Itachi call after him, "Don't worry, she's pretty and she isn't in any of your fan clubs."

"Go to hell," replied Sasuke as he walked back to his own office.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Hinata was staring incredulously at the paper sitting on top of her desk. A bright-red C+ stared back at her from the cover page of her report. She could not believe that she could have gotten such a low grade. She had to reread the name printed on the cover page and the top right corner of all the other pages twice to finally believe that it was indeed her report. Really, she shouldn't have been that shocked. Hinata had written that report only a couple of days after her breakup with Naruto. It was rather astounding that she had been able to finish the assignment at all when the poor girl could barely see the computer screen through her tears.

Once the fact that this would be the first C she had ever gotten in her life sunk in, the surprise was replaced by apprehension. Hinata could already see the expression of utter shock and pain on her father's face. She could almost hear the sound of his heart breaking. With a shudder Hinata remembered the time that she had gotten a B+ because she hadn't seen the 2 questions on the back of the test. That night her father had cried himself to sleep, asking the portrait of his deceased wife where he had gone wrong with Hinata.

As she bit her lower lip trying to stop herself from crying in front of all her classmates a thought dawned on her. If she married the man her father wanted her to meet later that afternoon he would probably be too excited to care about her grades anymore. She sighed and shook her head. The tiny spark of hope in her heart extinguished just as quickly as it had appeared. The idea of marrying a man she didn't know was even scarier than living up to her family's expectations. It all had seemed so easy last night…getting married and be free of that cursed school, but more importantly to be free of the burden of being the perfect heiress that everyone wanted her to be. Now that Hinata had had time to think it over she wasn't sure marriage was such a good idea.

She sighed once more as she turned to look out the window. She really didn't want to see the smirks on her classmates' faces. The teacher had thought it would be a great idea to read out loud everyone's grade. Even if Hinata's grade was far better than that of many of the people who were making fun of her they still found it highly amusing that her younger sister had gotten an A+.

The older Hyuga sister was absently looking at the ivy covered walls that flanked the school's courtyard. Had she not been so worried and depressed she would have probably appreciated the beauty of the landscape in front of her. Autumn was nearing its end and with it the leaves on the trees had been painted all different shades of red and gold. A few fluffy clouds dotted the otherwise clear sky and a magnificent sun shone down on the many students who strolled down the sloping path between the school's two main buildings.

Hinata was about to turn her attention back to the teacher and his lecture when she caught sight of a blonde grinning and waving in her direction. Her heart gave a jolt. She lifted her hand to wave back but stopped in mid-action when she saw a pinkhead running straight into Naruto's arms. That is when Hinata remembered that she was on the third floor of the building. There was no way that Naruto had seen her and even if he could have, why would he be waving at her? There was nothing left between them. Well, at least not in Naruto's part. As for her, she still couldn't get him out of her head.

She balled her hand into a fist and gritted her teeth. "No more," she whispered choking back a sob. "We'll see what you think when you see me prancing around with my fiancé, dear Naruto."

Hinata had so many things going on in her head that the rest of the school day went by in a haze. It didn't register in her mind that she was home until she tripped over the coffee table in the living room of the Hyuga mansion. As she let her eyes wander over the cream colored walls, the leather couches, the pictures of her family, and the expensive paintings hanging on the walls, she felt warm and protected. Everything was so familiar and welcoming.

The young heiress had spent her entire life in this house. It was true that she had many painful memories of her life here but it was also the place where she had spent her happiest moments. She started shaking at the thought of having to leave this place, her home, to go live with a complete stranger. Hinata was getting cold feet again. Marrying someone just to make Naruto jealous or escape her family's expectations didn't seem like a very good idea anymore.

"I'll work harder," she whispered desperately to herself as her eyes welled up with unshed tears. "I'll become what they want me to be. I don't have to leave. I don't have to go."

Oh how wonderful would that be, but it was impossible. Hinata had been trying her best all these years and had gotten nowhere. The Hyugas still saw her as a failure. Why would it be any different now?

Hinata stiffened at the sound of voices filtering through the open windows. How could she have forgotten that today was the family council meeting? She did not feel like dealing with her family right now. She was about to make a run for her room when the stern figure of an older woman made her stop dead on her tracks.

"Come greet the guests."

"Y-yes, grandmother," Hinata said with a bow that went completely unnoticed as the woman was already on her way to the hall where the Hyugas held their family meetings.

Over a dozen pairs of pale eyes gazed briefly at Hinata once she set foot in the hall. She bowed deeply and stuttered a "good afternoon" that was barely audible over the murmur of hushed conversations going on around the room. A few of the proud Hyugas nodded in acknowledgement while the rest merely ignored her. Hinata stood wringing her hands nervously near the door not daring to speak to anyone in the room when she spotted her cousin Neji. He was standing a few steps away from her, listening without any trace of interest to the praises for his latest accomplishments as a world-renowned architect.

Neji excused himself from his two older aunts and made a beeline straight for Hinata, whose eyes brightened at the sight of a kind face among the sea of scowls and indifference in front of her.

"Congratulations, I read that article they wrote about you."

"Not you too," said Neji in annoyance. "I'm tired of hearing about that article from everyone in this place."

"You are supposed to say thanks, Mr. Architect of the Year and most talented youth in the field," quoted Hinata playfully from the article Neji was so sick of hearing about.

Hinata was one of the very few people who could tease Neji and live. He was not only famous for his genius but also for his bad temper. Having grown up together the two shared a very strong relationship. Neji had practically become Hinata's older brother.

Neji rolled his eyes and gave her a small smile in return. "You should go. The meeting is about to start."

"I can't. Grandmother told me to come," replied Hinata with a frown, all traces of her warm smile gone.

Neji grimaced. "Whatever she says, don't listen to her."

Hinata nodded weakly. She saw her grandmother walking towards them and her knees started shaking. Hinata was terrified of her. All the woman ever did was humiliate and insult her.

"I heard that the commoner got engaged."

The cold words hit Hinata like a brick on the face as a couple of tears tugged at the corners of her eyes.

"Was it worth it, Hinata?" asked the Hyuga matron nonchalantly. The Cheshire cat smile pulling at her lips was the only thing that betrayed her otherwise perfectly composed expression making it obvious that she was enjoying the sorrow reflected on Hinata's face.

Even if her grandmother hadn't spelled it out, Hinata knew perfectly well what she meant. Hinata had defied her grandmother to defend her relationship with Naruto. Since Naruto was an orphan who had gotten into law school thanks to a scholarship, he was absolutely worthless by her grandmother's standards. Hinata always took her grandmother's verbal abuse silently but during that family dinner when she started insulting Naruto, Hinata had snapped and told her to shut up. That had earned Hinata a slap in front of the entire family plus the grounding of her life. Back then just seeing Naruto's smiling face and being in his arms had made her punishment seem like nothing. If her grandmother had asked her the same thing back then, Hinata would have answered yes without hesitation, but now, after all the pain she had been through she wasn't sure of what to answer.

"What are you still doing here, Hinata? You have to get ready for your omiai or you'll be late," said Hiashi, who had just drifted over to Hinata's side.

The moment the word "omiai" left Hiashi's lips all heads turned and all eyes fixed on Hinata. "Yes, she is meeting Sasuke Uchiha," Hiashi added to answer the unspoken question that was evident on everyone's faces.

Hinata was staring open-mouthed at the strange scene in front of her. It was a scene so rare that it bordered on the eerie. The Hyuga elders were all smiling approvingly at her and her father was beaming with pride with an arm firmly wrapped around her shoulders. Her grandmother for once had been left speechless. That was it. That was the last push Hinata needed to finally make up her mind and go through with this omiai. She knew that she would be getting married (if everything went well with the omiai of course) for all the wrong reasons, but she didn't care anymore. She was just too tired of fighting and she was finally getting the one thing that she had been struggling for all of her life, her family's approval. Feeding Naruto some of his own medicine would be an added bonus.

The Hyuga heiress excused herself and went to her room to get ready. She put on a pale blue kimono made of the finest silk and embroidered with silver flowers. Her hair was pulled back into a low bun leaving loose a few curled strands to frame her face. Hinata decided to limit her makeup to smoky eyeliner, light blue eye shadow and a sheer pink lip gloss. She took a last look in the mirror before leaving the house. She had to admit that she didn't look that bad but she was sure that if her best friend Ino had been here she would have known exactly how to make Hinata look less plain. Although, when it came to omiais often your last name was more important than your physical appearance, reasoned Hinata to try to calm down her anxiety a bit. Hinata really wanted to impress this Sasuke person so that he would marry her. She did not want to disappoint her father anymore.

When Hinata walked out of the house she was so wrapped up rehearsing in her head what she had to do once she got to the omiai that she didn't see her father peeping at her from the window of his study.

"Oh please, darling, give our Hinata some of your charm and help her bag that rich husband," pleaded Hiashi kneeling in front of his late wife's picture. "Just imagine our daughter married to an Uchiha! Oh please, darling, don't let her mess up."

OoOoOoOoOo

"Right this way, Ms. Hyuga," said the waiter politely as he guided Hinata towards the back of the restaurant.

The waiter stopped before the threshold of an alcove that overlooked the restaurant's lavish gardens. Normally lilies, roses, and tulips would adorn the gardens but with the holidays drawing near, red and white poinsettias stood proudly in their place. Hinata tore her gaze from the bay window and took a look around the alcove. An exquisite china set sat on the round table atop a white tablecloth trimmed in gold while the polished silverware reflected the light of the chandelier overhead.

Then Hinata's gaze froze on the man sitting at the table. He had silver hair and was wearing a dark gray turtleneck underneath a black business suit. The turtleneck sweater hid part of his features but he seemed to be in his mid-thirties. Hinata was a little surprised. She had figured that Sasuke would be younger but he seemed like a nice person and he was rather handsome.

Hinata took a deep breath before stepping into the alcove and with a newfound confidence inspired by the warmth reflected in the man's eyes bowed and introduced herself.

"Hinata Hyuga. It is a pleasure to meet you, Uchiha-sama," said Hinata flashing the man in front of her one of her most charming smiles.

The man in question stood up and returned the bow. "The pleasure is all mine, Hinata-chan, but it seems that there is a bit of a misunderstanding. My name is Hatake Kakashi."

"Huh?" Hinata's eyes widened in dismay. She was mortified thinking that the waiter had guided her to the wrong table and that she had just bothered this gentleman. However, the man didn't seem annoyed at all.

"Sasuke is standing right behind you," he said with a big smile.

Hinata turned to see a black-haired man standing a couple feet away from her. Dark eyes stared impassively at her. She was so startled by this man's presence that she forgot her own name for a split second.

"Um… H-Hinata Hyuga, n-nice to meet you," she stammered and bowed clumsily, her cheeks burning. She scolded herself mentally for making such a great first impression on her prospective husband.

After they sat down and the waiter took their orders an awkward silence befell the trio. Sasuke was staring off into space completely ignoring the girl he was supposed to be getting to know better. Hinata was busy biting her lower lip and staring at her hands resting on her lap. Kakashi sighed inwardly. He sure had his "job" cut out for him. Fugaku Uchiha had given him the all-important task of making sure that Sasuke came back from the omiai engaged to the Hyuga heiress.

Kakashi decided that it was time to break the ice if he was to even come close to accomplishing his appointed task. "So, Hinata-chan, you go to law school, correct?"

Hinata looked up to see Kakashi's kind expression and some of her anxiety ebbed away. "Y-yes, I am studying business law."

After several attempts of subtly trying to include Sasuke in the conversation he had going with Hinata, Kakashi finally gave up and decided to take the direct approach.

"Would you like to tell us something about yourself, Sasuke?" asked Kakashi in a playful tone, which earned him one of Sasuke's death glares.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I'm 23 years old," started Sasuke evenly as if he was reading off a rather boring speech. "I have an MBA in finance, accounting, and economics. I work as the chief financial officer of Uchiha Enterprises."

Hinata was surprised at this bit of information. Sasuke was barely a year older than her and he already had a master's degree in business with three different specializations, while she was still struggling with her first year of law school. Not only that but he was already working as an executive officer in a multinational corporation. She couldn't help but to compare him to Hanabi and think how, just like in everything else, her younger sister would be a better match for Sasuke seeing how she was a genius just like him.

The meal was almost over when Sasuke spoke in more than monosyllables for the second time that evening. "I don't think that marriage would be a good idea..."

"Because you two don't know each other that well yet," interjected Kakashi in a panicky tone.

A mental image of his limited edition, gold embossed, and autographed copy of Icha Icha Paradise volume 1 crackling in the fireplace in Fugaku's office made Kakashi shudder. He had to complete his mission or he would never again see his precious books that were being held hostage by Fugaku.

"Sasuke thinks that it would be best if you two took a little time to know each other better before making a decision," continued Kakashi smoothly as if this had been the plan all along. "Do 10 days sound like a reasonable time?"

Hinata nodded slowly and Kakashi then turned with a pleading expression to Sasuke. Kakashi could see the wheels turning inside the young Uchiha's head. Sasuke was analyzing the situation. If he said yes that would get his father off his back and shut Itachi up for 10 days. That was a plus, but the only reason why he was even considering dating this girl was well, the girl herself. Sasuke was rather intrigued by her. It was obvious that she wasn't head over heels for him and yet when he had said that he wouldn't marry her, the sadness on her face was evident; even if she hadn't seemed surprised at all with his rejection. He figured that it could be an amusing experience and if he got bored or annoyed by the girl he could always dump her before the 10 days were over.

"Fine," replied Sasuke and Kakashi let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully this would help him recover his beloved Icha Icha Paradise books.

And so the omiai concluded. They agreed that Sasuke would pick Hinata up from school after classes the next day and then they would go somewhere. Hinata groaned and sank herself further into the back seat of the car. How was she supposed to make that block of ice want to marry her? She was extremely shy, insecure, and she wasn't sure her brain would be able to keep up with his. After all, he was a genius like Hanabi. If she had a nicer body maybe that would at least keep him interested. She sighed. She should have listened to Ino and asked for a boob job for her eighteenth birthday.

Hinata was shaken from her thoughts by the driver opening the door for her and helping her out of the car. She thanked him with a smile and then looked up at her house. She saw her father looking expectantly at her from the foyer's window. He looked like a little kid about to open his presents on Christmas morning. Hinata didn't want to disappoint him yet again. Her mind was made up. She didn't know how but she was going to become Sasuke Uchiha's wife.

Author's Note: I wonder how Sasuke and Hinata's first date will go mwhahahaha! Thanks for reading and don't forget to drop off a lil review on your way out!