Among the nobility, communication was an art form. There was no room for outbursts of anger or passion. Even in private, it was difficult to put away the face worn carefully in public. Conveying emotion and desire subtly was a skill practiced as diligently as ninjutsu, and it took all of Hiashi's talent to keep his anger from spilling out from within the gentle brushstrokes.
Hyuuga Ryuudachi had lost his wife and children to the kyuubi. It wasn't enough that he could never truly leave that tragedy behind, with the bijuu sealed rather then actually destroyed. No, someone had fanned the flames of his anger, drawing fresh hatred and pain from old scars and setting him against Naruto.
Others had interfered in the courtship overtly, withholding messages and subtly garbling important pronouncements. In the beginning, Hiashi had tolerated such acts simply because it suited him to see Naruto faced with the appropriate challenges.
Hiashi could even accept the inevitable loss of face that would accompany accepting Naruto as his son, if the boy was worthy. He was perfectly willing to balance popularity against the gain of a worthy successor to continue the Hyuuga line. If Naruto actually became hokage and ordered the change he had promised Neji, well, that was an issue for another time.
But what he could not accept was the pettiness and stupidity so blatantly displayed by some within his clan. It reflected badly upon the Hyuuga as a whole. Hiashi honestly could not fathom the reasoning behind it. but he could foresee the results easily enough. So he sat, appearing calm to outside world, forcing his displeasure through the brush in his hand. The message would be sent to the various elders of the clan, whether they had involved themselves in this fiasco or not. If they wished to obstruct the boy's petition, so be it. But they would do so properly.
When the world returned to focus, Naruto was in a hospital room. Everything that he could see was bandaged, and his entire body ached. The memory of the fight was a painful blur, but he knew that he had won. He was one step closer to Hinata, but all that he could think about was his opponent had said to him, and what it meant.
"Naruto? Ah, you're awake."
Sakura stepped inside with Tsunade at her side. The two said their greetings and congratulations, but Naruto wasn't really listening, only nodding and mumbling his replies. Sakura tried to get his attention, but he wouldn't reply, his thoughts elsewhere.
"Sakura…Would you give us a moment?"
"Um…alright." Sakura picked up her things and left quietly, looking over her shoulder at the quiet pair as the door swung shut behind her.
"Tsunade…"
She blinked. She couldn't remember the last time he'd called her that.
"The Kyuubi…hurt a lot of people, didn't it?"
Tsunade sighed, taking a look at his chart as she settled on the edge of his bed.
"Yes."
"But they can't move past that, can they? When the Kyuubi isn't dead."
"No. It really would be better for everyone if I haul you outside, tear your head off, and scatter your entrails over the Konoha rooftops."
Naruto looked up in surprise. Tsunade sighed and dropped the deadpan tone from her voice.
"That's what you were thinking, isn't it? They want the Kyuubi dead, and that means killing you. You want to find some way to help them, and no matter what you think of, it all comes back to you. You think that you're the one at fault."
Naruto nodded.
"I-"
"WELL DON'T BE SO DAMNED STUPID!"
Naruto nearly leapt out of bed in surprise. Tsunade pushed him back into the mattress, holding him down with bone-crushing force as she glared at him. She sighed again as she released him and stood back up, pulling her hair away from her eyes.
"You haven't done anything wrong. Don't ever think that they have the right to hate you, Naruto."
"I just…I can't help but think that-"
"Don't. Sacrificing yourself won't accomplish anything. The choice to hate you is one they made for themselves. As long as they hold onto that, they'll never get over the pain of the past. There's a limit to kindness. You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved."
Naruto was quietly, and Tsunade rested a hand on his shoulder as she sat down next to him.
"All you need to do is just to be who you are now…what you do for Konoha helps to separate the idea of 'Naruto' and 'Kyuubi.' The Kyuubi is a danger, you are not. There are already people who now see one without seeing the other, because of your actions."
Tsunade stood and absentmindedly checked Naruto's chart, hrm-ing as she read the list of injuries and treatments administered.
"By the way, I've been informed that you'll be given time to recover before the testing continues. Of course, the time is limited and you'll be expected to be up and ready to continue in three days time."
"I'll be ready."
"Then I'll leave you to rest."
"Tsunade?"
She paused with her hand on the door.
"Thanks."
"No problem. You're an idiot, you need a little help sometimes."
"Eh!?"
"Welcome home, Hinata."
"Father."
"Naruto was not badly injured, and will recover shortly."
Hinata's face lit up, and Hiashi inwardly scowled at the breach of protocol, but he could see the question is his daughter's eyes from the moment she stepped in the room, and dancing around the subject until it was proper to answer would only have distracted them both.
"You will be able to speak to him during the next meeting – but I expect you to keep composed."
"O-of course."
Hiashi had only interjected like that because he could sense the childish energy welling up inside her, and having a Hyuuga dancing or singing within the compound would hardly be appropriate. This matter really was starting to wear on him…
"I will be glad to see this matter settled, Hinata. Please do not do anything to compound our problems further."
"I won't. Not when I'm so close…It feels like I've been chasing him forever."
"And of all the men you may have chosen…even knowing what he was."
It took Hiashi a moment to realize he had spoken his thoughts aloud. It took another to notice the cloud that crept over Hinata's joyful expression.
"I…I don't…actually…know."
Hiashi destroyed another fine teacup in his moment of surprise.
"I-I know that there's some reason everyone…hates him…"
"But…when the elders came to speak with me, you suggested you knew…"
"Well I…I had come to understand that many people knew the secret, and that they were forbidden to speak of it, so I…just…suggested. I think…I think Naruto tried to tell me once, when I was at his home, but you arrived just as he began speaking, and…"
Hiashi was speechless. Everything he'd thought that day was wrong. Hinata hadn't trapped them-she'd fooled them. Completely, utterly, using what she'd observed and wielding what she had – nothing! – In a way that had made the elders and himself to fill in and account for the unknowns all by themselves. Hinata hadn't fooled them. She'd made them fool themselves.
Hinata stared, apprehensive, as Hiashi's eyes grew distant. For a moment, it looked as if the corners of his mouth had curled upwards, by the tiniest degree.
Hiashi didn't care what she might see, being lost in the moment. By the gods, he had have never been so proud of his daughter in all his life.
