Nars: Can't even lie, I was so busy playing Dream Daddy that I forgot to update... Oops.
Chapter Summary: Hanabi's fate in the Hyūga clan lies with the choice that Hinata has to make. The one thing they didn't count on was the outside intervention of a certain Sakura Haruno.
Prompt: Fake Relationship
Word Count: 2613
Disclaimer: Naruto/Naruto Shippuden belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. All characters mentioned belong solely to the aforementioned.
It starts with her sister.
"Hey." says Hanabi in greeting, approaching Hinata as she buys fresh chicken for dinner. "Been a while, huh, Nee-chan?"
"I saw you yesterday, Hanabi." says Hinata lightly, tapping her sister's forehead teasingly. "Why are you not in the compound?"
Hanabi pouts. "It's boring!" She pokes experimentally at a pile of crabs inside a bin. They snap their pincers aimlessly but otherwise do nothing else. "Wish I moved out with you."
"You wouldn't." She replies, placing a few select vegetables into her basket. "It's a lot of shared work."
"I'm used to that." shrugs the young Hyūga. "Anyways, I actually came to tell you something, Nee-chan."
Hinata's brows knit. "Ah?"
"...I'm getting branded with the cursed seal in two days."
She tries not to let her shock show, but a cold current ripples down her spine, chilling her to the bone. It had been so long since she heard anything about that damn seal and now Hanabi was finally being branded by it. This meant two things. She was going to the branch family and Hinata was now officially the prospective heiress. "I'll be there. What time...?"
"Sunset."
"I'll be there." She repeats, placing a hand to her sister's shoulder. "You know how I f-feel about the seal, Hanabi. Neji–"
Hanabi nods despondently, "Neji deserved more than it. I know."
Her late cousin would've taken care of Hanabi and made certain she were in safe hands. But if she goes there now, there are no allies for her. She'd always fit her father's strict standards, treated the branch family less than thoughtfully. She doesn't belong there.
Hinata doesn't want that mark so much as nearing her sister. She clenches a fist. "I must talk to our f-father."
...
Then comes Kō who intercepts her as she returns home to the apartment she shares with Sakura. The mere thought of her sister being vulnerable in the branch house terrifies her. She wants so much more for her little sister. This isn't it.
"Hinata-sama." says Kō politely as she nears the road that leads to the loft. He still wears his flak jacket despite there not being many missions available. "How have you been?"
She manages a smile. "I'm fine, Kō-san. And you?"
"Ah, the same." He falls into step with her. "Will you be at Hanabi-sama's ceremony?"
Hinata nods. It shouldn't have surprised her that he'd bring it up. It must be all that the clan can talk about. She wonders if Kō would tell her father if she voices her concerns with it. Wisely, she doesn't make her opinions known. "You'll watch out for her, right, Kō-san?"
"Of course, Hinata-sama." He says, meeting her eyes. "Although, please keep in mind that Hiashi-sama only has your best interests at heart. Please do not be upset with him for it."
It was nice of Kō to worry about the way she'd view her father after this. But whatever conflict would come out of it wasn't his concern. She bids goodbye to him and makes her way home. She unlocks the door and places her shoes on the rack. "Sakura-chan, I'm back!" The lack of reply strikes her as strange, since Sakura's shoes are also on the rack and her hitai-ate is set on the table. She must be here somewhere.
Hinata deposits the food she'd picked up from the market on top of the kitchen counter. She shucks off her jacket and ties her hair back in preparation to cook.
She can't help it when she cuts into the chicken with a tad more force than what is necessary. It's the anger she feels for her clan that causes it. The Hyūga are not perfect, that much she knows better than anyone, but after Neji's death, somehow... she just thought that it would be different. Hanabi had been in training to be the heiress since she was born, it wasn't fair to suddenly place the seal on her and then—
"Hinata-chan, what're you doing?"
She jolts, spinning around to find Sakura standing there with a towel slung around her neck. "S-Sakura-chan..."
Sakura smiles as she passes the towel through her wet hair, "Need any help?"
"No, it's alright." says Hinata, "Oh, um, by the way... I probably won't be here tomorrow or the day after. Hyūga things."
She laughs, "I hear ya. It's alright, I was planning on helping around the Hokage tower tomorrow." The weekends were her only times for leisure, just as it was Hinata's and yet neither of them seemed to use it for leisure. "Let me help you cook."
"Can you boil the rice?"
"You got it."
They buzz around the kitchen together, making themselves a dinner fit for queens. They've been living here for over a month now and have yet to have a disagreement. Their routine has always worked for them, somehow. Hinata glances over at Sakura as she works on the rice, brows furrowed in concentration.
It's a cute look on her. Hinata frowns as soon as the thought crosses her mind. She isn't sure why she's been referring to her friend as cute these days more than ever. She also doesn't know why it bothers her to think as much.
"Something on your mind?" asks Sakura after a moment or two of silence. She scoops rice into two bowls and smiles encouragingly. "I'm all ears if you want to talk."
"It's nothing." says Hinata although it is anything but. She can't tell just anyone about Hyūga clan drama, no matter how much she trusts Sakura. She shouldn't waste her time either. Hinata pours the curry on top of the rice, spooning two large helpings of chicken on the top. "Let's eat."
Sakura nods, though she doesn't appear that convinced. They bring the bowls to the dining table and dig in together.
...
"Father." says Hinata sternly the next day as she and her father sit on the porch and watch the garden aimlessly. It had become a favourite pastime of his lately to come out here instead of sit inside his residence. "We must talk." She fears that if he fixes her with his trademark side-eye that she may lose all nerve. So she understandably doesn't look at him and instead watches the clouds as they amble by. Hinata takes a sip of her tea in anticipation. "I–"
"–Don't wish for Hanabi to be branded, am I correct?" He interjects calmly.
"I–yes..." She admits. A part of her has begun to see that this may be a ploy, just something part of Hiashi Hyūga's master plan to ensnare her in clan politics.
He chuckles, but there is no humour in it. "Did you truly believe that I wouldn't predict as much? You've made your distaste of our seal very clear after Neji died."
"...I do not w-want Hanabi to be subject to it." She explains cautiously, "She deserves to–"
"More Hyūga than not have lived with this seal for as long as they are able to remember." He points out. "Hanabi will adjust."
"She should not have to be cast away after so long of being of the main house!" protests Hinata, briefly hoping that she didn't overstep her place and annoy her father even more.
"I know that you would gladly take the seal if it meant your sister would not have to, which is why I present to you an ultimatum."
Hinata clamps up and nods sombrely, waiting for this proposition.
"Haruhito Hyūga has expressed his interest in marrying you, Daughter. It is a most beneficial marriage, considering that he is one of Hokage-sama's most trusted ANBU officer." says Hiashi.
She swallows the growing lump in her throat harshly, feeling panic and anger well to her eyes in the form of tears. Now it makes sense. Marry someone of his choosing in exchange for Hanabi's freedom. One person's liberty for another's. Is that how it would work from now on? "I see." She murmurs.
"You have until sunset tomorrow to craft me a reply, Hinata." Hiashi says, standing up and retreating down the corridor. "Do not disappoint me."
She sits there for a few more moments, fear and wrath completely overwhelming her. She clenches her fists and looks up to the skies as a grey bird passes by. "Neji-nii... Are we ever truly free?" She asks to no one in particular. Unsurprisingly, there is no reply. Just the biting wind against her cheek.
...
Sakura heard Hinata come in all the way from her room. She'd never heard her shut the door quite so loud before... A part of her wonders if it's even her at all, as she tears down the hallway, ready to take down a stranger.
Perhaps she is right to have suspected a stranger, because the Hyūga standing before her is anyone but Hinata. She looks visibly frazzled, upset and a variety of other emotions that Sakura has never seen on her. "Are you... okay?" She asks.
Hinata shakes her head, for once, finally opening up to her roommate and friend. "My father arranged a marriage for m-me."
Sakura is taken aback. "Are you serious?"
She nods despondently, hanging her coat up and sitting down on the couch with a huff. "I have to a-answer him by tomorrow."
"What the hell?" Sakura follows suit, sitting beside Hinata with fire blazing in her eyes. "That's not fair. Who's this person anyways?" She hopes it isn't someone she knows, because she isn't sure she'll be able to keep from hurting (or sternly talking to) them.
Hinata cringes. "To keep the bloodline s-strong and pure, we have t–"
"Marry another Hyūga?"
She nods grimly. "And he's ANBU."
Sakura is tempted to make a joke about how their line of work usually involves dying on the job, but somehow that would probably make this worse. She says nothing and rubs Hinata's shoulder consolingly, "...What are you going to do?"
Hinata offers a shrug and then looks away. "Give him an answer."
...
"Ino, it's not fair." gripes Sakura the next day as she helps Ino cut thorns from flowers. "He just trapped her."
Her blonde friend snorts, "There's not much you can actually do, ya know. It's all Hyūga shit."
Sakura sighs, placing a handful of hydrangeas into a vase, "It's not right." Usually, she'd never bring up another friend's personal problems but she trusted Ino not to tell anyone. Hinata deserved the privacy. But if they went through with this marriage... the rest of the village would know soon too. "Hinata-chan has much more to do than just get married."
"I'm sure Hiashi knows that." says Ino, "And he wants her to succeed without outside intervention. That's how clans work, Billboard."
Sakura still wanted to do something. She was (unofficially) Hinata's family. "Does he even know what Hinata-chan's capable of?"
"Her own father?" gasps Ino sarcastically, "Surely not." She drizzles water on the roots of a potted ficus. "I'm surprised your pigheadedness hasn't caused you to march down to Hiashi and yell at him already."
She snorts, "Like I'd yell at him." Maybe not shout, but... prove her points. This gave her an idea, a risky one, but still worth the shot. "Ino, I'm leaving!"
"Do not go to the Hyūga compound!"
"Sorry, it's too late." She shoots a semi-apologetic look over her shoulder and then hustles down the streets in search of the Hyūga residence.
...
Hiashi had spent the morning tending to the final preparations of Hanabi's ceremony. The girl in question had not let on that she was afraid, but he could see it in the way she held herself with faux-confidence and lashed out at others that she was anxious. Hinata, on the other hand, stayed pointedly away from him, twiddling her thumbs (he'd not seen her fidget this much for quite a while) and avoiding him at every cost.
He meets eyes with a Hyūga elder who inclines their head respectfully and stumbles off. Had it not been for their nettling about tradition, perhaps Hanabi could've gotten off scot-free. But the clan had a very particular way of doing things. Just as Hizashi had been branded for being the younger son, Hanabi would be sealed as the youngest daughter.
He activates his Byakugan in search of Kō and instead is met by the unmistakable chakra signature of Tsunade's apprentice. This ought to be interesting. He flexes his fingers and slips away from his daughters, striding down the corridor to meet his unexpected guest at the door. The Hyūga guards posted at the door look at him worriedly as he plasters on a bemused expression and lets the door slide open.
"To what do I owe the honour of your visit, Haruno-san?"
Sakura Haruno, Tsunade's volatile apprentice, with all of her brute strength if not more. She comes from civilian parents, lacks a noble bloodline, and yet is one of the most respected kunoichi in all of Konohagakure. She cannot intimidate him but she intrigues him. No doubt, she was here because of Hinata.
He wonders why she bothers with his daughter at all, living with her, interacting with her, when she is so much more renowned. Friendships can transcend even skill, though.
"I think you already know why I'm here." She says and her eyes proclaim determination. Her insolence is incomparable, but he can see the way she is holding herself back. That, he thinks, is the work of his daughter. She has as much of Hinata in herself as Hinata does of her. How curious.
"Let us talk in my office, then."
...
When her father suddenly disappears from the room where the ceremony is to take place, Hinata knows that something must be wrong. She resists the urge to hug her sister who has begun to mope as the afternoon sun begins to peak. Soon, all of the Hyūga clan members will be gathered, ready to condemn Hanabi to a life in the branch house and to pledge allegiance to Hinata as heiress.
Before sunset, she must have her answer for her father.
Hinata had not gotten much sleep as she mulled over her fate. Hanabi would hold it against her forever if she declined to marry this ANBU officer her father had put forward. At the same time, so would the rest of the clan. They wanted to see her stand beside someone of high standing. While she could do so on her own without their intervention, it would not be now.
"Nee-chan, what's wrong?" asks Hanabi suddenly, peering at her with a rather perplexed expression on her face.
She shakes off her question and smiles, "N-Nothing, Hanabi. Don't worry." Her answer was clear. Better now than never. She stands, brushing off dust from her yukata and makes her way to her father's office.
She passes Kō in the hallway leading to the study and he gives her a wide-eyed stare. "Hinata-sama!"
"Is my father in his office?" She asks him quietly, finding his panic a bit unusual.
"Yes, Hinata-sama, but he is..." He frowns, "Occupied, I suppose."
Who was in there? She glances down at her feet, wondering to herself if it was Haruhito Hyūga here to snatch her up. She activates her Byakugan and eavesdrop into the room. Her father is there, the splitting image of tranquility and in front of him sits–"Sakura-chan..."
Suddenly, all semblance of manners fly out of the window as she pushes the door open and strides in, just in time to hear Sakura blurt–"Hinata-chan can't get married to the man you want because we're together!"
All the air leaves her body in one fell swoop and then she hits the ground and everything goes black.
Nars: Next one coming atchu is Betrayal, so we got some angst. I'm posting it along this one in a few minutes (or hours) to get caught up cause I'm a shit. Review pls :^)