Thank you for your warm and encouraging reviews.
I have many ideas for this story but Hinata being weak is not one of them. It will contain madahina and sasuhina so please stop here if this bothers you.
I will try to upload weekly but this quick update is to show my appreciation.
Disclaimer – Naruto does not belong to me.
Madara surveyed the Palace grounds before him as he watched from his royal study. Only two years in power and his new world was functioning like a well-oiled machine. Of course it helped that everyone was terrified of his wrath and power. His two Rinnegans were quite a terrifying sight to behold, and none dared to test his patience or demands if they wanted to live. Hence, when Madara took over this Palace from the richest noble family in the Waterfall country, they had willingly obliged without a fight. Their guards and archaic weapons were no match for the man and would've ended in the obliteration of their family, if not their village if they refused. Madara had 'kindly' rewarded them by allowing their daughters to become his first consorts.
The two sisters, Yoshe (for lovely) and Michiko (for beautiful) did indeed do their names justice but their constant demands and incessant bickering became old very quickly. Luckily, Madara had many beautiful consorts to divide his time. His favourite, Lady Kimiko was graceful, intelligent and most importantly, wicked in bed. She also gave him his first son and heir, a fact Yoshe and Michiko constantly bitched about in private but never voiced in public.
They had each given him a daughter with raven hair and green eyes, but their princesses still did not compare with Kimiko's pride and joy. It was only her luck that Madara still favoured her, they'd tell themselves. And even better luck that both sisters sired girls. If Yoshe had given him a son whilst Michiko had given him a daughter (or vice versa), then hell would've been paid. There was no love lost between them but right now, they had a common enemy.
Madara knew of his women's bickering and scheming. It was human nature to be jealous and competitive; it wasn't as if he loved any of them anyway. He gave Lady Kimiko small concessions but at the end of the day, they were all replaceable. Especially when none of them had produced suitable heirs.
His children now numbered in the twenties but not one of them had displayed any signs of chakra development. He had mistakenly assumed that his massive reserve of chakra would make up for his consorts non-existent ones but he was yet to see any positive results. Even Orochimaru's pills and experimentations had yet to yield results. And he would be damned if Sasuke or Obito produced more powerful heirs than he did. As grateful as he was for their assistance during the war, Madara was still a prideful man and he wanted his sons to continue his line. Besides, Obito was unstable and Sasuke was indifferent. They weren't reproducing anytime soon.
A knock on the door brought Madara out of his musings.
"Your Majesty, the ladies have now been moved to the Great Hall".
"Excellent".
X-X
For three days, Hinata and the girls were fed, bathed and groomed. Karui had crudely commented that they were being porked up before getting shipped off. As much as that thought troubled her, she knew Karui was right. Her time with the girls was nearly up. Before she could whisper a prayer for all their safeties, Namiko had entered the room with a slew of servant girls following behind her. Hinata felt her heart pounding, it seemed today was the day.
After what felt like hours of preparation, Hinata found herself dressed in a lovely white Kimono with a ribbon of the same hue tying the ends of her hair together. Her feet were adorned with a pair of fine silk slippers and as she swept her long bangs away from her eyes, she noticed that some of her friends were dressed in blue - the same colour as their wrist bands. Looking around, she realised that only herself, Yumi, Riku and a few others were forced to wear white.
"You know what this means" Karui whispered to her.
"Your price will be quite high indeed"
"Wha…no, Karui-chan. You're beautiful and and.." Hinata blushed. She knew what Karui was implying.
"It's fine Hinata. At least my first time was with someone I fancied. I hope yours is a looker and not some old, balding, fat…" Karui stopped when she saw Hinata's face change colour.
"It's okay Karui…just, just stay alive. Please" Hinata wanted to tell her to be safe, but none of them were.
"Quiet!" Namiko bellowed. "In a few minutes you will be presented before the Emperor" At this revelation, Hinata felt her throat tighten.
"I expect you to be silent, behave and acquiesce to his demands. Any resistance will be met with severe consequences. Now line up and follow me."
It can't be. Hinata internally screamed.
No. She couldn't.
No. She wouldn't.
Not with the man that destroyed all her dreams.
Naruto...She wanted to cry. I can't.
Karui pulled Hinata along when she sensed her torment.
"Stay alive Hinata" she whispered. "You promised"
Hinata nodded weakly as Karui held her hand. The tension was palpable as soon as the doors to their quarters were opened. When they stepped through that barrier, the girls were amazed to find themselves in a huge courtyard surrounded by many traditional buildings of various sizes. In different times, Hinata may have appreciated their architecture and majesty but at the moment, all she felt was dazed.
"Could you go through with it?" someone murmured quietly.
"Do we have a choice?"came a reply.
"I just want to see my family again" was Riku's soft mutterings. She stated out loud what was on everyone's mind.
The rest of the journey was completed in silence as each girl prepared themselves mentally for this turn of events. Seeing their impending destination approach, Hinata squared her shoulders as she ascended the steps of the imposing building before her.
Madara, Sasuke. We meet again.
X-X
Sorry, just a quick edit. There were simply too many mistakes.
This chapter was pretty bleh and I've taken a lot of liberties with the characters, locations etc...but oh well, I just can't think straight at the moment.
Next chapter should be better, I hope.