"No."

The word came crashing down onto her; all it did was amplify her despair. She nearly broke down, and it was sheer will and fear that kept her composure. Her body stiffened, she felt cold sweat drip slowly down her temples. She bit her lower lip, and her eyebrows knitted upwards.

Having left the hot springs about an hour after the Kazekage, the girl went home. She didn't know what else to do, where else to go.

"B-but..." Her stutter had returned, after a few years of relatively stable speech. Throughout the one-sided conversation she hadn't had the guts to look him in the eye, for all she thought she would have seen were harsh disappointment, a hardened heart.

"No," he repeated. This time force was evident in his voice, and she knew it was the end of the discussion for him.

At her vexed silence, he sighed. "The papers have already been signed," he reminded, judging by his tone it was as if he held some kind of grudge against her. "You should know how much shame and dishonor it would bring to our clan should you call it off."

She nodded meekly, her resolve absolutely crushed. "I know," she whispered, her own voice weak and cracking... Oh how she hated her usual small voice, how she abhorred that additional semblance of weakness. And she did know - she knew well, too well, for she was commonly the harbinger of said shame. To think - she thought she would be able to redeem herself by agreeing to this... Apparently not.

"Then this conversation is over," her father closed his white windows to his soul in outward irritation. It wasn't as though he was incapable of love, merely if she was deserving of his love. And more often than not she wasn't.

He stood up from his sitting position, walking toward the door. Hiashi had bigger, more important things to do; he didn't have the time to play the affectionate daddy to his daughter. "If you need somebody to whine to," he told the girl as he was halfway out the door. He didn't look at her. "Go to Hanabi or that girl who's always with Neji. I don't have the patience nor the availability to sympathies with you." Having said that, the head of the clan departed.

Hinata exhaled deeply. She felt the potential tears threaten her eyes, the sensation that befell her nose as she wiped away her damp hues. Stay strong, she told herself. Stay strong.

With newfound purpose and determination, Hinata waited till her father's mighty, commanding footsteps faded away, after which she decided to retire early; the next day would be a long one. She was going to ensure she executed everything on her agenda.

At the Hokage's Office...

Tsunade cringed at the redhead, who had barged into her sacred temple of smuggled booze and ultimately halted one of her attempts to drink the holy sake. Knowing full well Shizune would soon follow after the man - screaming politely about how he couldn't enter uninvited and unannounced - the gambler hastily stowed her godly cup and bottle in a drawer. "What can I do for you?" she asked courteously, though the heated question was said with vehemence.

"I'd like to talk, Tsunade-sama," Gaara answered coolly, deciding to ignore her hurriedly kept sake. "It's regarding my marriage."

Before Tsunade could reply, a predictably annoyed Shizune skidded to a halt at her office door. "You can't show up like this, Kazekage-sama!" she scolded, her face knotting up into a frown. "Please understand that even though you're the Kazekage there are rules and protocols to follow!"

Gaara simply snorted. "Of course I understand. The same thing applies back in my homeland. I'm here because it's urgent."

"Let him speak," Tsunade sighed, unwilling to hear the argument that would ensue between her ally and her assistant.

"In private," Gaara interjected, and Shizune nodded slowly before closing the door behind her.

"You can continue," he said after the door clicked shut. He gestured to the compartment that held the illegal alcohol.

Tsunade smiled, gratified. She told the man to sit down, and tentatively took her cup and bottle out, as if he would jump to the door and shout for Shizune the moment the instruments used for the act of drinking appeared. He gave her a suspicious look as the cup and bottle was set onto her desk. The Hokage looked over her shoulder, the window behind her, making sure Izumo and Kotetsu were still outside.

Slowly she poured the liquid into the cup, her eyes twinkling. Gaara coughed, and Tsunade looked left and right before downing the contents.

"Thank you," she grinned as she relaxed in her chair, her eyes closed. She was undoubtedly extremely satisfied, having had her fix. "Now," she smiled at the Kazekage, who nodded brusquely, acknowledging the need to keep it secret. "What are you here for?"

"Advice," Gaara answered, his pale eyes unwavering. "I can't find Shikamaru, plus Neji and Hanabi seem unhelpful. Temari's gone out, Baki's somewhere, and I tried with Kankuro. So I thought I'd ask you."

"About the marriage?" Tsunade poured herself another cup.

"No," Gaara replied. He placed his palms on his laps. "About girls."

The blond woman nearly spat out her liquor, her eyes bulging. She choked and gasped for air as she swallowed her precious liquid. "My God," she coughed, hitting her chest. "You came here to ask me about girls?"

"Yes," the redhead frowned at her reaction. "Is it funny?"

"No, no, God no," Tsunade hurriedly assured. She inhaled and stretched horizontally. Then she poured herself a third cup. "You could've asked Naruto and his friends," she suggested. "Sai would have been more than able to help you."

"I don't really know Sai," Gaara rebutted. "And he isn't a girl."

The Hokage thought of Naruto's oiroke no jutsu, and she snorted with laughter. "Ah well," she chuckled, "No he isn't." She smacked her lips after she drunk her third cupful of sake. "So what do you want to know?"

"Well," the Kazekage murmured. He hesitated. "I'm inexperienced in things like these," he started, and Tsunade nodded, giving him a cheeky wink. "So first I'd like to know what I should and shouldn't do."

"Do you like her?" the question came almost instantly, her abruptness came as a shock to him... Somewhat.

"Yes," Gaara mumbled, his response barely audible. He still wasn't really sure, if he loved her or not, but it didn't really matter, did it? He was consulting the Hokage because he just wanted to make the marriage work.

"Then tell her!" the Hokage yelled. She was showing a few signs of intoxication... But he couldn't tell. "And I know you're anti-social, so don't ever shut up. If she asks you a question, answer with your voice! If she says something that makes you feel something else, express your feelings with your voice! Whatever you wish to say to her, say it! Hinata isn't a mind reader, no matter how good her use of the Byakugan is. If you don't tell her she'll never know what you're thinking."

He nodded, understanding her logic. Now he felt stupid - He shouldn't have done what he had done! The kage spoke with clarity juxtaposed to the almost slurred speech that plagued Tsunade's words. "And what else should I do to allow her to feel alright and relatively comfortable around me?

The Hokage laughed heartily, but shut up after realizing Shizune could have heard her. She tipped her fourth cup, and pulled out another cup from underneath her desk. "Physical touch," she said matter-of-factly, wagging her right forefinger in the air. Gaara felt a small shiver and her flushed cheeks. "Is the most reasonable thing to do," she continued, half smiling. "Hug her, 'accidentally' touch her hands, her wrists, her legs..." she burst out into shy chortles at the last suggestion.

"I... I see," he answered slowly, taking mental notes. "Hokage-sama, I think you should stop with the –"

"Nonsense!" Tsunade giggled like a schoolgirl, dismissing his own advice with a wave of her hand. She filled her fifth cup of sinful sake as her ally watched in perpetual horror. "I do this all the time." She grinned, and gave him a weak thumbs-up sign.

Gaara swallowed the lump that had gathered in his throat. "And what of the consummation..." the word nearly induced a stutter. He shut his eyes in embarrassment, but the Hokage was quite drunk, and she couldn't sense the awkwardness that started to plague the air.

Tsunade started snickering again, much to his vexed chagrin. He stared as she poured sake into the extra cup she had taken out, as she downed her sixth cupful and served herself a seventh. He backed away slightly as she swayed toward him, both cups in hand. The blond woman collapsed onto the couch opposite the one he was sitting on, but made sure none of her prized liquor escaped the confines of the cup.

She snorted to herself, and offered the extra cup to the apprehensive redhead. "As for sex" - now that word made him squirm - "I'd advise the both of you do to it intoxicated," she pushed the cup into his hands, and winked mischievously, a strange sly twinkle in her eye.

Meanwhile, over in Ten-Ten's room...

"I can't do this," Neji cried out in frustration, one of the rare moments where he allowed himself to express his emotions. He'd always felt strangely at peace when he was with her, a sensation accompanied by one of freedom; he felt as free as a bird. And now all he was thinking about was his exasperation.

"Calm down, Neji, geez," the girl said irritably. She had originally brought the man over because he said he hadn't had any colour pencils or pastels in his room, and he had too much pride to ask Hanabi. Now he was acting like a child, making her feel like inviting him over was a huge mistake that would soon cost a few million brain cells.

Ten-Ten threw her pencil to her desk that the Hyuuga was using. Imagine that, she even let him use her desk, while she did her work on the soft mattress of her bed - which wasn't a very stable surface. "Look what you did," she scolded as he turned around. She picked her paper up and shoved it in his face. "Now it's ruined!"

The coloured drawing that occupied the page was done with meticulous care, even Neji knew that once he saw it. The lines outlining the uchikake had smaller lines inside it, and some lines were in different colours. Subtle dragons and cranes adorned the would-be fabric, coloured in layers consisting of a plethora of colours; exquisite colour combinations Neji could not recognize. She even added a back to the uchikake.

And then there was a sharp, jagged ugly pencil mark down the edge of the right sleeve. Unconsciously, Neji winced.

He looked up tentatively, for she was a woman and all women seemed to have omnipotence when angry. Slowly, he passed the paper back to her. "It's beautiful," he complimented, and he meant it, he really did.

Still, Ten-Ten snatched the offering. "Not anymore," she scowled, evidently incensed. "Do you know how long it took me to colour in the cranes and dragons?"

The white-eyed male glanced at the hanging clock. "About an hour," he calculated. Wow, was it an hour already? Then he looked at his peeved teammate, apologetic. "I'm..." he hesitated, unsure of his sacrifice of his pride. Ten-Ten raised an eyebrow, concealing her extreme anticipation at what he would say next.

"Sorry," the word came out through grit teeth, and his face contorted into one adopted by a child who had to force every ounce of his strength in order to say that blasted word. He had his fists clenched, as though that action would absorb some of his impatience. Neji was a Hyuuga, and he viewed weakness as unspeakable. He viewed saying sorry as a weakness, and hence almost never apologized.

Except for, well, maybe Ten-Ten.

She grinned slyly, all her previous enraged thoughts and murderous fantasies forgotten. "I didn't hear you," she announced. Her smile stretched so wide she could feel her facial muscles stretching. The understatement came out as more of a taunt, leading her male counterpart to flinch and look away.

He gnashed his teeth together; she heard it and her smile grew wider. "I'm sorry," he spat out, perfectly enunciating each syllable with absolute intonation. Neji detested the situation he had gotten himself into, he felt like Ten-Ten had become omnipotent. He felt powerless. Worthless.

It was times like these that he abhorred his friend. And yet... Many more times when he utterly enjoyed her company. The latter was to be expected after all, since...

She shrugged, then grabbed an eraser and started doing away with the ugly line. Neji watched as the mark disappeared with every rub, eventually disappearing altogether. He thought of his kind cousin.

"Ten-Ten," he sighed, his own anger vanishing. The girl looked up, and smiled again, only this time it was warm and inviting. She knew what he was going to do.

Her smile reached his own face, and Neji felt the sides of his mouth twitch. He moved toward her in one swift motion, swooping onto her bed and holding her in his strong arms. She let out a small, startled gasp. Then she frowned slightly, breaking off eye contact from him.

"We shouldn't do this," Ten-Ten muttered, all of a sudden she was angry with herself for allowing him to hold her. "Not again."

Neji stayed silent for a while, and the kunoichi thought he was going to let go. "You're right," he finally said, "We shouldn't."

"No," Ten-Ten agreed. "We shouldn't."

"I'm tired of following rules," he grunted, then Neji pressed his mouth against hers. The pair twisted their bodies to accommodate each other, Ten-Ten kissed the man hungrily, desperately. Her passion, her despondence consuming her so she didn't notice the slow stream of tears.

Neji fed her voracious appetite with equal eagerness, then he felt the wetness of her cheeks. He broke away abruptly, and she clung onto his white top. "Ten-Ten," he frowned, worry plain on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Shut up," she answered, and forced herself on him. "Just shut up."

And so he did. Neji knew her parents were out, thus resistance had been vanquished from his mind. Right then all he could think of was the aching sensation between his legs...

He pushed her gently down onto her back, heard her precious paper crinkle as she hit the bed sheet. Shit, he thought briefly as he filled her mouth with his tongue. She's going to kill me for that later.

His concern for his life after the deed was done was cut short by the girl below him. Ten-Ten's hands roamed free over his back, and one palm undid the lone button on the front of his shirt. The fabric split, revealing Neji's virility at its best - his muscular torso, the firm six-pack that adorned his abdomen. Then she forgot all about his strong back, and her kisses replaced her hands, working their way down from his jaw, to his neck, to his chest...

Neji heaved a pleasurable sigh as Ten-Ten sucked a little at his neck. He shuddered as she moved on to his stomach. Then he participated more actively when he unbuttoned her shirt, when they cooperated and he threw her other useless articles of clothing onto the parquet floor.

He snuck his hand into her pants, and he felt her stiffen as he pushed a finger inside of her, pulling it out then thrusting it back in. The girl gasped sharply, her pants were rhythmic and sensual. She continued her mission to explore his body with her lips while he focused on the treasure. The man kept his mouth busy by tasting the sweet skin of his lover, her collarbone to her shoulder blades, to her chest.

His mind wasn't functioning - it almost never did whenever he and Ten-Ten had sex - as he added another finger. And then another.

Her breathing became irregular and sweat mixed with her tears. Ten-Ten, hot and wet, clasped her lean fingers around Neji's erect manhood, and it was his turn to pause. She could barely force out her plea, a raspy, dry, seductive "I want it".

Neji nodded hastily, followed by the graceful movement of setting her at a 45 degree angle before entering her without warning; she always liked the suddenness. Ten-Ten squealed and sighed with ecstasy - or was it despair? She didn't know - as both of them adjusted into their positions. And then he remembered.

"Shit!" he cursed sotto voce, but loud enough for the girl who had her eyes closed to frown somewhat. "The condom..."

"Forget it, I don't care anymore," she insisted, sitting up straight, making Neji lie down. Ten-Ten started moving her hips atempo, she heard a stifled moan. She could feel the warm stickiness of her tear-stained cheeks, the swollen feeling in her eyes. But she didn't care, she just didn't care anymore.

Her lover stared at her, suddenly thinking of the first time they had engaged in sexual behaviour. It was a few months ago, when both of them were drunk from a sake party hosted (illegally) by Tsunade. He was reminded of her willingness to pounce on him, so much so that he had to tackle her and cut off some of her chakra at one point; even though Neji was drunk he could still think straight... Well, at least until she took her clothes off. Let's just say his self-control just went downhill from there.

But the Hyuuga was too distracted by the tightening walls around his phallus that contracted even more with each hip thrust to think any deeper. He felt was the extreme ecstasy wrought on by the girl on top of him, the girl who danced a dance that was the epitome, the embodiment of sex and pleasure. He shuddered in said feeling.

And yet... All he heard were her moans and soft exclamations of his name. All he saw were the few drops of tears that dripped from her jaw as she panted and gasped. All he felt was the impending sense of looming danger and doom.