An Indecent Proposal

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 7

Nera wasn't really sure when it happened, but next morning she was awoken to sunlight streaming through the windows and falling into the baby blue sheets of her bed.

"Wait." She blinks at that last part. "I don't have blue sheets." She had white ones.

Where was she? Immediately, the Hyuga woman looks around. Her senses were on full alert as she prepared to face any danger that might be nearby. As the minutes ticked by though, it became apparent that she wasn't in any danger.

She wasn't in her bedroom, but Nera was safe. The traces of chakra in the room and the scent told her all she needed to know. Nera was in Sasuke's room.

"Sandalwood and pine trees." She might not know Sasuke that well, but she recognized his scent and his chakra signature.

Sasuke smelled like sandalwood and pine trees. The pine trees was easily explained. He lived in the Leaf Village. It was a rare Leaf Ninja who didn't carry at least a trace of an earthy hint to their scent. As for the sandalwood though, Nera could only assume that was because of whatever soap or shampoo he used.

For some reason, she couldn't help but giggle at that thought. "Well at least his mane isn't nearly as long as Madara." Still, it was obvious that Sasuke must use well something for his unruly raven locks.

She couldn't imagine that he was using whatever Gai Sensei and Lee used. His hair was too well cared for that. She loved her teammates dearly, but when it came to their fashion choices or beauty regimes, well…there was much they could improve upon.

"So you're telling me that you don't want me to grow my hair out?" Nera hears an amused chuckling from the doorway and blinks when she sees Sasuke was standing there with a tray in his arms. "You don't want to be married to someone who looks like a lion or porcupine like my ancestor did?"

She feels her face heat up in embarrassment. Sasuke must have overheard her muttering about Madara and he also must have made breakfast. That knock almost stops her in her tracks. Sasuke had made her breakfast in bed?!

All the words that had been on the tip of her tongue, suddenly disappeared. Only for a moment though. "I quite like your hair just the way it is and did you really prepare breakfast for both of us?" She was a Hyuga woman, after all. They were taught how to conduct themselves in even the most unusual of situations.

Sasuke Uchiha cooking her breakfast in bed and talking about his hair, well that definitely qualified. Nera had thought that she had seen everything between being a Branch Member of the Hyuga Clan, being on Lee's team, and the war, but clearly she had not.

Despite everything, the raven haired ninja had completely shocked her by doing a completely mundane activity. He had cooked for her as if they were already lovers. If the thought of him washing his hair was comical, the idea of Sasuke Uchiha in the kitchen was just utterly bizarre.

"Mhm." He raises an eyebrow as he sets the tray down on the bed. "Why do you look so shocked?"

Well mostly because imagining Sasuke in the kitchen was like picturing a black panther trying to prepare an omelet or something of that nature. It just wasn't something you saw everyday. Everything about Sasuke seemed so intense.

The idea of him doing something as domestic as cooking was well shocking. "I'm still getting used to the idea of you doing normal things, I suppose." She shouldn't have said that. Nera really needed to learn to watch her mouth. "My apologies. That came out wrong."

"It's fine." Sasuke shrugs as he watches her nibble at her toast. "I brought it on myself. I've heard all sorts of rumors." Did that bother him, she wonders to herself. "Most of them were of course related to sex or combat."

Well now that he brought that up, knowing Sasuke that probably wasn't an either or situation. He was just so naturally competitive and aggressor in most things. She couldn't imagine that didn't carry over into other aspects of his life.

Should she address that? Nera had just agreed to be his wife. Wasn't it her right to know about such things or would that send him a signal that she wasn't prepared to send?

Would Sasuke take that as an invitation? "It's not fine." He wanted to restore his Clan and she had accepted his proposal. "They shouldn't speak about things that they don't understand." It might only be natural for him to assume she was making some sort of sensual advance towards him.

"If they never spoke about things they didn't understand, they'd never speak at all." Sasuke smirks.

Nera couldn't help, but laugh at that. "I suppose that's true." Well that was something at least.

Sasuke had made it out of his traumatic childhood, the Sound, and the war with a sense of humor attacked. It was a rather sarcastic and biting sense of humor, but it was still there.

"Suppose is being way too generous." Sasuke shakes his head as he adjusts the orchid in her hair and takes a gulp of his morning tea.

Wait. Morning! It was morning! She had spent the night and she hadn't told her family where she was going! They were probably worried sick about her! What had she just done?!


At the Hyuga Estate, Hiashi frowns. That was odd. Nera hadn't joined them for breakfast. Perhaps she had taken ill.

Feeling more than a little worried about his niece he goes to her room. What he found disturbed him even more. An empty bed.

She hadn't slept in her bedroom at all. Immediately, he leaves her room and begins looking for Hinata. The two of them were close. His daughter would know where Nera had gone.

It takes him a few moments to find her. "Hinata?" After all, the Estate was vast and there was no telling where she might be at any given moment.

"Umpf!" And well sometimes, even Hyugas ran into each other.

Like now for instance. He had just bumped into his younger daughter. Hanabi. Maybe, she would know where Nera was. That or at least where Hinata was.

He smiles at her. "Have you seen your sister or Nera today? It was always best to just cut straight the heart of any matter.

"Hinata is out at the Clan Training Grounds and I haven't seen Nera today." Hanabi frowns at that thought.

Obviously, she had just realized what an unusual occurrence that truly was. Nera had always been so responsible about reporting her whereabouts. A trait that Hiashi Hyuga had always appreciated. After all, theirs was a family full of ninjas.

One never knew when something horrible might happen on a mission. That was why it was important to keep track of as many Clan Members as possible. With that in mind, he quickly departs for the Clan Training Grounds to find Hinata.


"Nera, are you alright?" Sasuke blinks as he takes in the suddenly panicked expression of his fiancée.

Fiancée. That was going to take some getting used to. The word felt foreign even in his head and yet, that purple orchid in her hair reminded him that she had indeed accepted his proposal last night. They were to be wed.

She shakes her head as she springs out of the bed. "I can't believe I fell asleep here!" What was that supposed to mean?! "I didn't tell my Clan that I was going to be gone the entire night." Oh. So that was it. "They're going to be really worried about me."

His future wife apparently thought that he was clueless. "I already sent a scroll to Hinata." Sasuke watches the frantic woman run about in a desperate bid to find her sandals. "Once you fell asleep, I didn't have the heart to wake you. So I figured it was best to alert your family that you weren't coming home."

It takes a moment or two for that to sink and for Nera to calm down, but she eventually did. Which was good. Sasuke wasn't entirely sure how to deal with a panicky almost wife.

"Oh." Though he really wished that Nera wouldn't be so shocked by his consideration. "That was very thoughtful of you." More like common sense, but Sasuke would take the compliment.

The Uchiha in question nods. "Well we are going to be married." They were supposed to watch out for one another. "Husbands and wives are expected to look after one another." He watches her with amusement as she shoves her sandals on her deceptively dainty looking feet.

He'd never really thought of feet as cute before, but there was something cute about them. Elegant might have been the more proper word though.

"Speaking of that, did we sleep in the same bed?" Sasuke probably should have seen that question coming from a mile away really. "Or did you take another room? I hope you didn't sleep on the couch on my account."

Somewhere between a smile and a smirk. "I slept in a guestroom." Sasuke was sure that was the look adorning his face at the moment. "When we sleep in the same bed, I assure you that you will remember doing so."

He couldn't resist teasing her. It was probably wrong, but Nera had accepted his proposal. She was going to be his wife. It was best to begin the likely long process of getting her used to him. Getting her used to being comfortable with such things.

"Has anyone ever told you that your modesty is really one of your most becoming traits?" Nera shakes her head in amusement.

Sasuke was definitely smirking at that. "All the time." He closes the distance between them and kisses her.

The woman was asking for it really. Teasing him like that and looking endearingly flustered about well everything.


On the other side of the Leaf, Gai frowns. That was strange. Nera had missed training again. That or at the very least, she was late.

"What's wrong, Gai Sensei?" Lee looks at him with concern.

Well he wasn't entirely sure what was wrong. Obviously, something must be though. Perhaps, Nera had come down with a cold? She really should take better care of herself if that was indeed the case.

He smiles at Lee. "Nera has already missed one training session and is well on her way to missing another." He'd never known her to be this lax with her training! "Did she say anything to either of you about feeling ill?"

If she was sick, they should go and visit her. Perhaps, they'd get her some flowers and a gift basket! That would show her the Power of Youth and surely cause her to recover faster from whatever bug she may have caught!

"No really." This time, it was Tenten to interjected.

Hmm. That was strange. So Nera hadn't mentioned being sick, but she was missing training sessions! Well one way or another, he was going to get to the bottom of this!

He glances at Lee and his other female student. "Well has she been acting unusually in any other way?" Perhaps, there was some clue as to her strange behavior as of late.

"Well other than missing training sessions, there was a flower in her hair!" a flower. "Gai Sensei, do you think that Nera got a boyfriend?"

Oh so that was it! Ah yes, the Power of Youth was a beautiful thing, but even more so was the Power of Love. That would explain her sudden absences. It seemed that she wasn't just sick after all. Nera was lovesick!

It was possible. "That might be the case." He grins at the thought.

Ah. The thought of his students finding their true loves was a most magical one! Hmm. Who could the lucky man be though?

"Has she mentioned anyone special lately?" Gai tilts his head at the thought.

He was almost certainly a ninja. Gai couldn't imagine that Nera would fall for a civilian, knowing that it would likely get her disowned from her Clan. And assuming that wasn't the case, a civilian would never feel comfortable living at the Hyuga Estate!

This was especially true because Nera was a Branch Member. That thought left a bitter taste in his mouth! The Hyuga Caste System was to say the very least, not youthful!

Tenten and Lee both shake their heads. "No, Gai Sensei." Well, that was probably because she was just feeling shy about the matter.

Gai wouldn't have thought Nera was shy before, but Hinata was. Hinata was shy and the two of them were cousins. Maybe, it was a Hyuga Trait to be bashful around your most precious person. It was certainly an interesting thought to ponder.

"Strange." Well there was only one thing that they could do about this situation! "Well let's go pay her a visit!"

Tenten blinks at that. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Of course, it was a good idea! "The Hyugas don't usually like people going to their Estate!"

Well maybe, that was one of their problems! That was a Clan badly in need of some Youth! Maybe, if they got some more of it, they would do away with the Main and Branch House System all together! Things would be much better for Nera and all the Branch Members then!

"Well I think they'll make an exception!" He grins. "Onward my students! For we are going to check on our teammate and to help her train for the Arena of Love!"

He hears Tenten mutter something under her breath, but that wouldn't stop him! They had to Power of Youth on their side and they were going to help Nera! And with that declaration planted firmly in his mind, Gai takes off with his team towards the Hyuga Estate!


Nera gasps as Sasuke kisses her. It wasn't a demanding kiss. If anything, it was clear that Sasuke was feeling more playful than anything.

That wasn't a word that she would have associated with him until very recently, but the man she had just agreed to marry was full of surprises. Though she decides to dwell on that later. For now, she was more than content to focus on the feeling of his lips against hers.

She doubted either of them had much experience in this matter, but there was really something to be said for instinct. If full intimacy was anything like kissing, she wouldn't terribly mind helping him with restoring his Clan.

"What size are you?" He smiles after breaking the kiss, a few minutes later.

The taste of his kiss was still clouding her mind. It took her a few seconds to realize what he was asking her. "I beg your pardon?!" Was he actually asking her measurements?!

Sasuke Uchiha really was a pervert! She should smack him! Nera had agreed to marry him, but that didn't necessarily mean that he could take such liberties yet!

"Why do you look like you want to slap me?" Sasuke looks at her in confusion. "I'm only asking to make sure I get the right ring size." Oh.

Her face burns once more. The one time that her fiancé had asked an innocent question, she had assumed the worst. Sasuke really was such a bad influence on her.

Nera had rarely suffered from such deviant thoughts before Sasuke waltzed into her life. He waltzed right in and to Hell with everything else. He'd completely turned up the very orderly fate that she had in mind and his kisses were turning her into some kind of pervert!

"S-Size seven." Honestly, this really was all her fault.

He nods at her. "Do you have a preference for what type of gem or do you want it to be a surprise?" Right. The engagement ring.

Sasuke Uchiha was asking her about what kind of engagement ring she would favor. Nera couldn't help, but feel a little lightheaded. It was hard to believe that this was all actually real, but it was.

She was getting married to him. Nera Hyuga was going to marry the last Uchiha. A man who until only two years ago, had been a Missing Nin. A Missing Nin that Danzo had ordered killed on sight and now, things couldn't be more different.

"Surprise me." Nera smiles at him. "I'm sure that whatever you choose will be more than suitable and it really doesn't matter what the ring looks like to me." It mattered what it symbolized.

That ring was going to symbolize her freedom. Soon, she would no longer be a Branch Member. Nera would be free to come and go as she pleased and likely before long, she would be holding a newborn in her arms.

He kisses her forehead. "Well I suppose I should have expected that." Why? "You've always been a practical woman as far as I can tell."

"I used to be." She shakes her head in amusement. "Until you found me in the Forest of Death and I agreed to marry a man that I barely know." That was just not very practical.

Neither was dwelling on what their child would look like at the moment. For now, they had to plan their wedding and she had to figure out how to break the news to the rest of her Clan. Most of them would see this as the ultimate betrayal.

While Nera highly doubted they would be foolish enough to attack, that didn't mean there wasn't going to be bad blood between the Clans for years to come. Sasuke was a one man army onto himself, but that didn't mean all their Clan Members were going to be and not even Sasuke Uchiha was immortal.

"That's true." He kisses her cheek. "I can tell your mind is going a mile a minute. What's troubling you?"

The future. Had she taken her freedom only to doom their new Clan to a cold war with the Hyuga Clan for the foreseeable future?

"I need to find a way to inform them of this engagement tactfully." She shakes her head and sighs. "I don't want to see the Uchihas and Hyugas hold a grudge against each other for longer than we're alive."

Sasuke pauses and nods. "That's a fair point." He stuffs a piece of sausage in her mouth. "I'll speak to Hiashi about it." The Uchiha rolls his eyes at the thought. "We'll just pretend that I asked him for his Blessing before I asked you for your hand in marriage."

She quickly chews and swallows the offered food. "Yes, that might be best." Hiashi was the sort of man that would take anything less as an insult.


Hiashi smiles as he makes his way to the Clan Training Grounds. Hinata had certainly become quite dedicated to her training as of late. As much has her affections towards Naruto had originally baffled him, he was certainly a good influence on her and he was now the hero of the Ninja World. Honestly, what more could he ask for when it came to his daughter's happiness?

Well maybe, for his grandchildren not to be blonde. That would stick out rather horribly amongst his Clan. Still, he wouldn't terribly mind, if they were. It would just make the children's lives easier, if they weren't.

"Hinata!" He waits until she wasn't in the middle of a difficult form to call out for her.

Hiashi Hyuga knew how intricate many of their forms were. The Gentle Fist was not an easy style to master, but it was well worth it in the end. That and the Byakugan were the pride of the Hyuga Clan.

It was what bound them all together. The Main and the Branch Houses. Pride in their Clan. Pride in their abilities, their heritage, and in each other.

"Oh good morning, Father." She smiles at him.

He nods at her in acknowledgement. "Good morning, Hinata." Now back to his present task. "I trust you slept well? Have you seen Nera by the way?"

Hinata bites her lower lip. Hmm. She had definitely seen her cousin then. Something must have happened. Something that was causing her to worry.

"I slept very well, Father." Good. "And Nera is still out training. She wanted to work on her endurance alone." Hinata smiles at him.

If that was it, why was his daughter so anxious? The bluenette didn't bite her lower lip like that without reason. There was more to this story than he was being told and Hiashi Hyuga was going to find out what and quickly.

He was Hyuga Clan's Patriarch. That meant that he had to know what was going on in his house. That was the only way that he would ever be able to properly protect them all!

"I see and the reason for your obvious distress?" Because to him, it was rather obvious.

Most people probably wouldn't have, but Hiashi Hyuga was not most people. He was an elite ninja form the Hyuga Clan and he was also Hinata's father. He knew the little quirks to her various mannerisms like the back of his hand and he Hiash knew damn well when the girl was keeping something from him!

Hinata actually gulps. The woman had to be the poorest liar that he had ever met. Something obviously was very much amiss. Hiashi was just at a loss as to what it was.

It didn't take the bluenette too long to compose herself though. "I'm just worried about her." She smiles at him. "Nera trains very hard. She needs to be more forgiving towards herself."

Well that was certainly true. Hiashi didn't believe that Hinata was lying to him at the moment, but he still wasn't entirely convinced that was all there was to this mystery.

"And did she say where she was conducting this solitary training?" Perhaps, he should find her and express Hinata's concerns to the girl.

Hinata pauses as she considers this. "She didn't tell me where she was going to be conducting her training." Uh huh.

Hiashi was about to press her further when he sees something disturbing out of the corner of his eyes. Green spandex and bushy brows that were far too large to be considered normal!

"Good morning, Friend Hiashi!" Oh Dear Gods and Goddesses, it was Nera's team! "Have you seen Friend Nera today?" Lee flashes him a bright grin that almost left Hiashi blind in from its intensity.

He was about to tell the boy off for trespassing when Gai spoke. "Sorry about not giving you more notice." Well that was enough to cool his temper for the moment. "We're just looking for Nera."

That was strange. Why hadn't Nera briefed her team about her desire to engage in some solo training? That wasn't like her to be so inconsiderate.

"Well I just spoke with Hinata and she told me that Nera was off doing some solo training." He raises an eyebrow at them. "Didn't she tell you that?"

Tenten shakes her head. "No. She didn't." Hmm. Perhaps, Hinata had not lied to him, but at the very least Nera was being careless or at worse, she was deceiving her cousin and her team about her whereabouts!

"I see." He pauses. "Well I'm afraid that we can't help you." Hiashi nods at them apologetically. "If we see her, we'll inform Nera that you were looking for her."

Gai grins at him. "Alright." Honestly, what kind of toothpaste were these men using?! Their teeth were so white! "Have a very Youthful Day!" And with that, he leads his team off and Hiashi Hyuga to his thoughts.

Nera was acting very suspiciously lately. She might be under the weather or just being careless, but he sensed it was something more. He was now even more determined to find out what exactly was going on with his previously very responsible niece! Because she was not acting very responsibly at the moment and it was starting to worry him!