Secret Treasures of the Uchiha
by TimeLoopedPowerGamer
Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine.
Summary: An AU story from the moment Sasuke decides not to get up again in his first encounter with Itachi, after the Chūnin Exam finals and invasion. Instead of spending a couple of months in a coma while Naruto is off finding Tsunade, he explores the abandoned Uchiha compound, finds a hidden storehouse, and gets dragged kicking and screaming by Hiashi Hyūga into clan politics and an arranged marriage.
Warnings on content: Rated M for face-stabbing levels of violence and also some mature content, mostly consisting of frustrated teens not getting any. So, really more like immature content. Also, foul language, and lots of it.
Chapter Seven
Hiashi Hyūga had been wrapping up the details of this new horror in Sasuke's life for the last ten minutes. Sasuke frankly hadn't been paying attention. The Hyūga clan head had been clear about the situation – Sasuke had no choice in this matter. It was already arranged and not in his power to change.
All genin were apparently "adults" for most legal purposes as of their graduation but Clan Law didn't allow a 12 year old to take a leadership position. Until Sasuke was 21, Hiashi Hyūga effectively ran the Uchiha clan as a regent, with oversight by the clan council. Hiashi was therefore in charge of all Uchiha clan issues, including such items as arranged marriages to the clan heir.
"...and finally," Hiashi Hyūga continued, "Hinata will be moving into your clan holdings immediately. She will be living there, starting tonight, along with her maid staff. Other Hyūga family retainers will be joining the Uchiha house staff later, but that should be enough for tonight."
"Wait, Hyūga-sama," Sasuke said in a panic, "I thought you said we weren't actually going to be married until we were 16?"
"That is correct, Uchiha-san. However, it is traditional for the betrothed to live with the clan she is marrying into. Also, certain...tensions in the Hyūga clan would be eased if Hinata were more remote. In addition, it is easier to guard the almost empty Uchiha compound than it is to guard Hinata and yourself separately. You two also need to learn how to live together. This has already been arranged and most of Hinata's personal belongings have been moved to appropriate housing in the Uchiha mansion."
Noticing some of Sasuke's anxiousness, Hiashi attempted to reassure him. "I understand your concern. This must seem sudden to you. My...late wife joined me through an arranged marriage. It was what was best for the clan, of course, but we soon found ourselves deeply in love. She was a very special person and her loss is still felt by the entire clan."
Still expressionless as a stone, Hiashi Hyūga's voice was now surprisingly soft and warm, something Sasuke hadn't expected. "She brought into this world my two precious daughters, who I care for deeply. I would not be doing this if I thought it would hurt Hinata, at least in the long-term. I'm sure she will not be happy in the short term, but I think this will suit her better than being forced to run the Hyūga clan and risking political assassination by her own relatives."
Having Hiashi share like this was starting to make Sasuke uncomfortable. He got the impression that Hiashi didn't often talk about his...feelings or whatever, and Sasuke wasn't much better. He didn't know exactly how to react.
"Uh, thank you for your concern, Hyūga-sama," Sasuke mumbled, trying to get out of this conversation as fast as possible.
Hiashi stared through Sasuke for about a minute, then nodded. "You will begin classes with tutors in clan management starting next week," he said, cold and distant again. Several more agonizing minutes of talking sideways and indirectly about stuff Sasuke didn't care about represented the winding down of this horrible meeting, truly a powerful torture technique executed by a master. Konoha Torture and Interrogation had missed out by not hiring this man. Hiashi eventually relented, and made a final firm statement to him.
"Details of all this will be sent to you later along with a list of current holdings and other Uchiha clan documents. That will be all," he said, dismissing Sasuke suddenly. The young man stumbled out of the Hyūga compound in a daze.
"I'm not hiding," Sasuke thought to himself as he spewed yet another huge blast of fire over the lake. "I'm just...doing off-site training. Right." He didn't have a plan, so he was just running his chakra strength exercises until exhaustion.
Standing at the end of the pier over the small lake at the edge of the Uchiha clan compound (he didn't remember if the lake had a name or not, didn't care) he stubbornly refused to even start to think about what was awaiting him at his house. Unfortunately for Sasuke, he was running out of both chakra and daylight, so he'd have to return sooner or later.
After the explosive note dropped by Hiashi Hyūga earlier that day, Sasuke had been in a terrible mood. Sasuke assumed that Hinata had been told shortly after he'd left, but he hadn't tried to see her yet. Didn't plan on seeing her anytime soon. The longer he could put off having to deal with her the better, he concluded.
Hinata's world was shattered. Less than an hour ago, her father had told her she was being moved out of her house, where she had lived all her life, and into the Uchiha compound, where she would be kept until the last Uchiha turned 16 and she married him. The details of her betrothal were burned into her mind, as was the meeting where her father finally told her she wasn't wanted anymore.
Years of disappointing her father and her clan should have prepared her for how this would feel, but she had been totally blindsided. Everything in her mind had shut down after that. She didn't even remember leaving the Hyūga compound.
Now she was sitting in a slightly dusty room as family maids cleaned and unpacked her clothing. She didn't know why this had happened to her – disinherited and shipped off to be married to someone, all in one day. She hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to her sister or her cousin.
Remembering her father's face was hardest of all. It had been made of stone when he told her. Like he didn't even care. Even though it had to have been his decision in the first place, even though she knew he didn't like to show his emotions, she had expected him to at least give her a comforting word, maybe act like he cared what he was doing to her and her dreams.
Hinata suddenly realized she didn't know if she was still going to be allowed to be a kunoichi anymore. Kurenai-sensei might know, she'd have to ask her. Maybe she'd at least be allowed to continue as a kunoichi until she was to be married.
That is, if she was ever even allowed to leave this house again. She'd read books about noblewomen sold off like her, for political reasons or as reparations or even as a hostage after a war, kept in guarded seclusion for the rest of their lives. She might never see her friends again.
It might depend on her future husband, she thought. Uchiha-san was so mean sometimes, she didn't know what he'd do to her. Sometimes, it seemed like he wanted her to train hard and get stronger, sometimes he just exposed how weak she already knew she was. It made her feel sick, a cold ball in her stomach forming as she started to think about her situation. Would she have to beg him to let her continue training and working as a ninja? Would he demand that she...do...things for him in return?
But something inside her rebelled at that thought and her hands clenched into fists – no, that wasn't right. No matter what she wouldn't beg. And if that jerk tried anything, she'd gut him with her bare hands, no matter what happened to her as a result.
Shocked at her own thoughts, she suddenly blinked. That was...odd. She was a little surprised at herself, but after pounding his face multiple times over the last few days, somehow those thoughts didn't seem so...rude? She shook her head, something was very, very wrong with her right now. She just couldn't seem to string two logical thoughts together.
Dinner was a silent affair and Uchiha-san was still nowhere to be seen. She ate (what little she could choke down) alone in an empty, echoing dining room, servants quietly delivering dishes to her lone place at a large, long table.
The next day, she was surprised when Kurenai-sensei showed up at her new bedroom, sometime late morning. Hinata had been sitting by the window since initially trying and giving up on getting to sleep last night. She'd been awake the whole time and her mind was now totally blank. She sat slumped in the chair still, immobile and listless, staring out at the unfamiliar grounds of the mansion. Her sensei walked in unannounced, wearing in her usual white and red battle dress, covered in weapon and equipment pouches, two backpacks slung over her shoulders.
"Hello, Hinata," Kurenai-sensei said softly, so entirely normally. Maybe sensei didn't know what had happened?
"We've got a C-ranked mission assignment, outer border of Fire Country, two week excursion including travel time. Gear up now, we leave in 30 minutes. Meet you outside." Kurenai-sensei then gently dropped on of the backpacks just inside the room, turned, and left, not waiting for a response.
In a daze, Hinata stood up and started dressing in her own mission gear, finding her clothes and armor already laid out for her. The backpack was full of her equipment already, including some of her special healing salve, so she just shrugged and put it on. Still running on autopilot, she followed her sensei over the rooftops to one of Konoha's huge gates where her teammates were waiting for them.
"Hey sensei, Hinata!" Kiba yelled, a little too loud as usual. He was shadowboxing along with Akamaru, which didn't make much sense for a dog but somehow worked for them.
"Sensei, Hyūga-san," Shino mumbled, eyes invisible behind his glasses. Both of the boys were already geared up and had their own backpacks. Kurenai-sensei simply nodded to them and then they were off. Hinata was confused. Everything seemed so normal, everyone was acting so normal. She didn't understand how they could still be this way.
Hours later, they'd passed the outer layer of Konoha city border guard stations and were well into the wild forest. While not as dangerous as the famous Forest of Death training area from the chūnin exam, they still needed to stay on their feet and aware. They'd trained their entire careers for forest survival, though, so it was mostly all automatic.
Just before sundown, Kurenai-sensei called a halt and led them patiently through the camp routine for deep forest situations. Traps were set and camouflaged hammocks set up. After announcing the guard rotation, she sent everyone else to bed, taking the first shift alone. Hinata was so dead tired, she drifted off without any trouble. She usually did on missions.
The next day, Hinata was still very tired, even more so because she had been given the last guard shift and sensei had woken up early to run her through close scouting skills and how to remain hidden while guarding her sleeping teammates. The forest was anything but quiet at night and Kurenai-sensei had asked her to identify every little sound she heard, making her activate her Byakugan when she didn't hear something sensei had or couldn't identify it herself.
By the time they reached the Fire Country border, somewhere near Rivers Country – containing, if Hinata remembered her geography lessons, the ninja village Hidden Waterfall – the entire team was exhausted, having run a high-speed and distance devouring schedule for the last few days. After they set up a bivouac a couple of hours travel from the border, what she said would be the first in a series of medium-term camps for use during their mission, Kurenai-sensei had them rest for an entire day.
The land here was beautiful. Wetter and more lush than where Konoha was located – hidden in the tall, dry, old-growth trees in the center of the Land of Fire – everywhere here was riddled with small rivers, strange bushes with fat leaves, and odd tress with thin hanging branches. Hinata took several cutting for later analysis, finding several plants she didn't know.
The trees were also lower and more spread out, some with strange root systems that looped out of the ground. There were cleared areas where civilians had made large, well irrigated farms surrounded by more dense woodland. The edges of the forest had been turned into tree fields, with lots of fruit trees and what appeared to be nut trees, though they weren't in season right now.
Their mission was apparently to insure their maps of the border and civilian towns and settlements were accurate and all roads and waterways were correctly marked. Several days were spent from early morning until sunset just running through the trees and looking at the lovely sights.
Early into the second week, they were on a routine patrol, analyzing civilian traffic patterns on major roads leading into Fire, when Hinata suddenly gasped. Kurenai-sensei was at her side in an instant, whispering a question into her ear.
"O-over there, sensei!" Hinata said, pointing deeper into the forest. "It's one h-huge chakra signature followed by six more smaller ones, ninjas, 200 meters out, coming in at h-high speed!"
"Sh-, scatter and hide, now!" Kurenai-sensei barked, keeping her voice low. Everyone dashed into the trees and bushes to one side, out of the logical line of travel, camouflaging themselves with leaves and branches, hiding in bushes, or (in Kurenai-sensei's case) simply stepping back and appearing to merge into a tree.
A small woman with what Hinata would swear were dragonfly wings coming out of her back zoomed impossibly fast into the copse of trees where the team was hidden. She grabbed high up on a trunk with one hand, using chakra to anchor and spin around behind it, her wing-like protrusions suddenly disappearing as she stabbed two strange looking knives into the tree, one higher than the other. She then stood on one, her feet balancing impossibly without chakra on top of it, while she used the other to hold on to for balance at waist-height. Her chakra signature then almost vanished, shrinking to less than a civilian usually had. Only Hinata's eyes allowed her to still detect the woman's chakra, which was now roiling in strange colors deep inside her body.
An odd, orange colored chakra was mixing back into her normal blue chakra, something impossible based on Hinata's knowledge of human chakra systems, but at the same time strangely familiar. Hinata wanted to ask Kurenai-sensei about this but couldn't break cover and risk this strange and powerful kunoichi noticing them. She watched tensely, eyes scraping away the solid objects between them. Trees became gray shadows and then were gone, bushes disappearing, even clothing (a side effect of the ability usually ignored by the stoic Hyūga) and flesh was transparent to her eyes.
A little over a minute later, six shinobi wearing Waterfall headbands ran at high speed into the area, skidding to a halt on the lead ninja's silent hand command. One of them walked around, sniffing the air, which Hinata noticed involved some kind of chakra enhancement, sort of like when Kiba did it. Lucky that Kiba had them all on his clan's secret scent-blocking salve, otherwise they'd have been discovered immediately. As it was, it wasn't perfect. They'd find the strange woman or Hinata's team eventually.
She saw the small woman curse, then collect some chakra in her lungs, throat, and mouth. From between her lips came a sparkling, chakra-filled dust which settled on the six Waterfall ninjas. They swayed a little, then the one smelling the air said, "Nope, no trace. I don't think she came this way. Maybe she threw us off with another earth clone. We need to double back and pick up the trail again."
The one who had been leading, apparently in charge of the squad, cursed loudly then motioned them all to turn around and follow him back the way they'd come. "Damn demon bitch already wandered into Fire territory. Could cause an international incident or something. Get moving everyone! We're going back to the Low Country trails and looking closer this time!" They all disappeared into the distance but the woman remained behind, back propped against the tree.
Hinata realized now that they had come from the direction of the Land of Rivers border, so this woman was likely fleeing from Waterfall. A nukenin, fleeing her former village? Hinata knew, both from the Academy and private clan lessons on Hidden Village politics, that all defectors were to be treated the same – capture or evade – no matter which village found them, and were to be killed on sight by their home village's hunter teams.
But if this person wasn't officially a nukenin, did they have to do anything? Could they even do anything against someone as powerful as this woman? No matter how strange the orange chakra had seemed to act, there was still a lot of it. And her natural chakra stores also seemed immense. Again, something was sitting at the edge of Hinata's thoughts, half-remembered, and she wasn't sure what it was. It bothered her.
The Waterfall defector let out a surprisingly loud sigh and pulled her weapons out of the tree, moving to walk down it using chakra again. Then she suddenly pulsed her entire chakra system, a huge blast of painfully bright power rolling over the area, causing Hinata to gasp in pain and turn off her Byakugan immediately.
"Hello? Who's out there, huh?" the woman said, drawling like a bored schoolboy as she strolled down the tree and around to where Hinata had been hiding. Now seeing her with normal vision, Hinata inspected the short woman as she approached. Her hair was cut short in front and just above shoulders sides and back, held in place with hair clips. It hung straight down and was an odd light blue-green color. Her eyes were a bright orange (again reminding Hinata of something), the same orange color as her odd "extra" chakra. She was wearing a strange white short-top, almost a sports bra, over some armored fishnet, showing off her bare, well-toned midsection.
There was a set of two short red sashes stretched over her shoulders and behind her strapping a strange, tubular container onto her back. She also had on a short skirt over some fishnet shorts and wore white ninja slippers and foot wraps. She had her Waterfall headband on her right arm, tied over the long, white, detached full sleeves that ran down to both wrists from her upper arms. A quick check with Hinata's Byakugan showed that was indeed where she was hiding her weapons. There were also some strange seals on her arms and a huge one, pulsing with power, over her left breast – through long habit Hinata avoided staring at them. She also didn't stare at the seals. No time for a detailed analysis of either. The foreign kunoichi was almost to her now.
Hinata froze, unable to move without giving away her position. Just before she was going to bolt anyway, Kurenai-sensei stepped out from a tree behind the strange kunoichi.
"You are in Fire territory, Waterfall ninja. State your business," Kurenai-sensei demanded. "Unless you have a signed Fire Country mission assignment, we can not let you remain here. If you do not have the proper paperwork, current relations with Waterfall mean we will allow you to return to Rivers without contention if you leave now. Please do not start any trouble."
"Woah woah!" said the strange kunoichi, holding her empty hands out in front of her. "I'm not going to hurt anyone! I just, look – something really bad just happened in Waterfall. This guy shows up, some former Waterfall nukenin who was supposed to be dead according to my, err, guardians or something, and another dude with a huge scythe and they started just tearing up the place." The young woman was almost bouncing on her feet at this point, gesturing wildly to indicate the amount of stuff being torn up.
"I think they're after me, and there is no way Waterfall can protect me from guys that powerful, yeah? But you guys?" she was pointing at Kurenai-sensei's headband now and looking hopeful. "You're from Leaf, right? You guys are one of the big five, I'm sure you can protect me!"
"Uh," Kurenai-sensei started, confused by this turn of events. "I don't know who you are and, ahh, I'm not really able to authorize-"
"Ah!" the young woman said, raising one hand in a V-sign, face split with an open grin. "My name is Fū! Glad to meet you!"
Kurenai-sensei was really confused now and seemed about to try and tell Fū to get lost when Hinata suddenly came out of hiding, circling the Waterfall kunoichi at a distance and walking slowly up to her sensei. She had her Byakugan fully activated and was staring directly at Fū. Tensing up slightly but not letting her eyes leave Fū, Kurenai-sensei wanted until Hinata reached her.
Gesturing Hinata over, Kurenai-sensei leaned over to hear what she had to say. The young girl's eyebrows scrunched were together, confused and worried. Covering her mouth with one hand and also not taking her eyes off of Fū, Hinata whispered barely audibly into her ear. "S-sensei, she has some strange orange chakra inside her. I don't know why, but I t-think I've seen something like that before, I just c-can't remember where. B-be careful, she's also really powerful. I-I think, m-maybe, uh, she is more powerful t-than you, sensei. M-maybe more than even my father or, mm, before he...the..." Hianta took a deep breath.
"S-sensei, I-I t-think she's got more chakra t-than the venerable Hokage-sama had."
