Chapter Eleven: Hinata's tale: On my own.

Author's Note:

Hey everyone,

Yep... We're still in Hinata's flashback and were still doing the Regular type = 'present day' flashback. Italics = Hinata thinking about the past.

I know... This is one long flashback. But trust me guys, it will all make sense in the end, and hopefully it will all be worth it.

-Cas

There was never any time. That's what the problem was. After Hinata had confessed her love to Naruto, she was expecting something to happen, she was expecting something to change. But nothing did.

First Sasuke reappeared. Apparently he had joined the Akatsuki and tried to capture the eight tails Jinchuriki. The eight tails was missing, and some of the ninja from the Hidden Cloud village came looking for information on Sasuke and clues on where to find their master.

Hinata and Kiba bumped into them as they were gathering records on Sasuke. "Hey! Get your stupid mutt away from me!" yelled a dark skinned kunoichi, as Akamaru stopped to investigate them.

"Akamaru, here!" called Kiba. Akamaru trotted away from the woman. "It's all right, he's friendly," Kiba said to her.

"Gah!" said the kunoichi. "He's muddy and he smells. Keep him away from me! I hate dogs." The kunoichi glared at Kiba. "What are you thinking letting a beast like that run around loose? Why isn't he on a leash? He could have bitten me!"

"What? Akamaru?" said Kiba surprised." He wouldn't hurt a fly! Calm down lady! You're just new around here and he was trying to figure out who you were, that's all!" Akamaru barked his agreement.

"Hmpf," sneered the kunoichi. "Well next time make sure he's more careful. If I thought I was in danger I would have put him down like that!" She tried to snap her fingers but couldn't because of the large pile of documents she was holding.

A dark skinned shinobi was with her, also holding a pile of papers. "Come on Karui," he said. "We didn't come here so you could beat up everyone you come across."

Kiba laughed. "You think you could take down Akamaru? Lady, he's a fully trained ninja hound. You'd have the fight of your life on your hands!" Akamaru looked at Kiba and barked again.

Karui narrowed her eyes at Kiba. "I thought you said he wouldn't hurt a fly," she sneered. "Seriously, next time keep that monster on a leash." She shook her head and walked off. "Is this stupid village populated by barbarians? What are they, raised by wolves?"

Kiba stared after her. Hinata looked at him. "Kiba-kun?"

"I really can't stand people who don't like dogs," he snarled. "I can't stand them."

After the attack, the village was in chaos. Tsunade was in a coma, so one of the Council took over as acting Hokage, a man named Danzo. His first pronouncement was to declare Sasuke a missing-nin and declare that he was to be disposed of. Upon hearing the news Naruto up and rushed off to the land of Iron where the leaders of the five great ninja villages were meeting to discuss what to do about the Akatsuki. Naruto wanted to plead with them on Sasuke's behalf. He was still trying to save his friend.

The Konoha eleven met to talk about Sasuke. Ino couldn't stop crying about him. Hinata felt terrible. What must Naruto be going through? She knew as well as anyone how much getting Sasuke back meant to him. Sakura seemed to have a plan though. She gathered up Sai, Kiba and Lee, and headed out after Naruto.

The Hokage and all the official channels were very tight lipped about what happened. She only heard about what happened through rumor. Sasuke apparently attacked the Five Kage summit. He was strong enough to take on all five Kage, their retainers, the samurai from the Land of Iron, and survive. Whatever he had done, it frightened the leaders enough that for the first time ever they decided to work together. They created an Allied shinobi force to fight together against the Akatsuki.

Afterwards, Sasuke battled the acting Hokage Danzo Shimura, and killed him. At that moment Sakura, who was trying to hunt down Saskue, clashed with him, and needed to be rescued by Kakashi-sensei and Naruto. Naruto and Sasuke fought once again, but Sasuke got away.

When they returned to the village Naruto called all of the Konoha eleven together. They were amazed to hear that Naruto had let Sasuke get away. Naruto explained to them that Sasuke was his problem and he would handle him all on his own. He asked everyone to trust him, and that he would explain everything to them at a later date.

After the meeting Hinata tried to approach him. This was her first real opportunity to be near him that she had had since the Leaf village's destruction. She wanted to talk to Naruto, to try to gauge how he was feeling. Naruto saw her approaching and caught her eye. He gave her a quick little nod, turned his eyes away guiltily and hurried off.

Hinata didn't follow. She stood there watching, wondering what she had done wrong. Why was he ignoring her? Was it... something she said? In all the stories she'd ever read, once the heroine confessed her love to the hero there was always a happy ending… Was it her?

Was this his way of rejecting her?

Something whined and nudged her leg. She looked down and saw Akamaru looking up at her expectantly. Kiba was staring at her with an odd look on his face. "Kiba-kun?" she asked expectantly.

"Hey Hinata," he said quietly. "How are… um… how are you doing?" He looked up at Naruto and then back to her.

Hinata nodded shyly, a little embarrassed that someone had noticed her staring. "I'm fine. I'm just a little... concerned about Naruto-kun that is all. He seems so… distracted."

Kiba nodded and dug his toe in the dirt. "Yeah, about that… um… That was pretty brave how you jumped out there to try to save him during the Akatsuki attack on the village." Kiba squinted at her. "I know that I've been teasing you about liking him for a while now, but you... Really like him, don't you?"

Hinata looked away and started to play with her fingers. "Um… I think he's a very admirable person," she managed to squeak out.

Kiba sighed. "Yeah I know, you've only told me about a hundred times." He looked up and stared at the sky. "So, um, have you ever said anything like that to him? Like, to his face? I mean he is pretty dense you know."

Hinata blushed. "Well, actually…"

"I mean," Kiba interrupted. "If you, you know... can't tell him, I could say something to him for you."

Hinata blushed brighter. "Actually Kiba-kun, you don't have to do that. I already told him," she murmured.

Kiba looked at her, a half smile on his face. "Yeah? Good for you Hinata! When did you do it?"

Hinata tucked her head down. "When I was trying to rescue him," she whispered embarrassed.

Kiba nodded. "That time he went all Kyubi? Because he was trying to protect you?"

Hinata shrugged and looked away. "He doesn't like to see his friends get hurt."

Kiba nudged the dirt again. "I can understand that. I don't like to see my friends get hurt either." Akamaru whimpered. He trotted over to Kiba and gave him a nudge.

Hinata looked at him. "What is it?"

Kiba sighed. "Look... I really don't like to gossip, and I really don't want to be the one to tell you this... but I... think you should know..." Kiba glanced quickly at Hinata. "Sakura told Naruto that she loves him."

Hinata stiffened. "I mean," said Kiba quickly. "This was all when we were out looking for Naruto in the Land of Iron. She was trying to convince him that he should give up on getting Sasuke back." There was a long pause as Hinata tried to steady herself. Kiba cleared his throat and continued. "So anyway, she told him, but then Naruto got all upset and said she was lying to herself… But, I thought that maybe you should know."

Hinata stared at nothing and nodded. "He has always had a crush on Sakura," she said quietly.

Akamaru lay down next to her feet and looked up at her. "Well, I mean it was probably all some kind of ploy, you know?" said Kiba. "Naruto's been looking for Sasuke all these years just because Sakura asked him to find him for her… And well... it looks like Sakura just tried her best to kill Sasuke…So…"

Hinata turned away. "Naruto's life must be very turbulent right now, wouldn't you agree Kiba?"

Kiba chuckled. "I would say it's always been pretty messed up."

Hinata nodded to herself. "I would say what he needs more than anything right now is friends he can depend on… Wouldn't you?" She smiled quickly at Kiba. "If what Naruto needs right now is a friend, then I will have to be the best friend I can possibly be for him," said Hinata determinedly. She gazed off down the path that Naruto had left on. "Have you ever been in love Kiba?" she asked.

"What me?" laughed Kiba. "Never." He looked away quickly. "I mean I've liked certain girls before, and... maybe even had a crush on one or two of them, but love? Nope. Not me... Why do you ask?"

Hinata smiled softly. "Being in love means wanting to give another person what they need. It means wanting to help them, even if it hurts inside."

Kiba gazed off after Naruto. "Wow," he said. "I'm glad I've given it up then."

Hinata looked at Kiba, surprised. "What? Kiba-kun, you mean that you never want to be with anyone? Have children?"

Kiba shrugged. "Honestly I haven't really given it much thought. Mostly I'm just scared that If I did get married, my wife would end up being too much like my mom." He shuddered. "No thank you."

The preparations for the Allied Shinobi Force kept everyone insanely busy. It was three days before Hinata realized Naruto was gone... again.

The Akatsuki were after the tailed beasts. There were only two that they had not captured. Of course, they would send Naruto to a secure location. Of course, the Allied Force would try to deny this objective to the enemy.

Of course, she missed him.

Despite her rational mind knowing that this was all for Naruto's benefit, despite her decision to give him what she thought he needed right now and just focus on being his friend, she missed him. No… missed was too weak a word for it. She longed for him.

The others noticed and tried their best to help. They invited her out, asked her to help them with her tasks. A few even had missions that crossed paths with Naruto in his travels. She felt better to hear that he was okay. She would smile at the news that someone had seen him, or at some message that his party had sent, saying that they were okay. During the day, while at her tasks, she was cheerful and able. At night, lying awake in her bed, she ached, from both sore muscles and the hole in her heart.

Preparations for war are endless. Supplies must be ordered, shipped, received, inventoried, moved, re-inventoried, and finally divided and delivered, hopefully to whomever ordered them in the first place. Troops need to be trained, fed, bivouacked, supplied, kept active, kept fit, kept alert and kept ready. For the shinobi of her generation, who were used to small platoon level tactics for so long, operating in company or battalion sized maneuvers was, as Shikamaru put it, "a major drag." Hinata lost count of the number of times the whole exercise had to be scrapped and restarted from deployment because someone had screwed everything up.

They began to meet and train with shinobi from other villages. This was almost impossible at first. There had been countless skirmishes and betrayals between the ninja villages over the years. Many of these resentments began to develop into fighting in the ranks. Some shinobi were willing to see past the old hatreds and accept their new allies. There were invitations to visit other camps, friendships were formed, and partnerships were made.

All the while, the logistics had to be maintained. Order, receive, inventory, deliver, and repeat. Hinata had discovered that she had a talent with the supply lines. She could spot errors and mistakes. She could keep a running tally in her head of who needed what, and when. She became a requested transfer between the various divisions to assist with their own depot inventories and deliveries.

It seemed like they would never be ready enough. There was always a little more to replenish, a little more training to do, one last contingency plan to make, one more exercise to run through.

Then one afternoon, all the extra planning and preparation were stopped. What ever they had, well it just had to be good enough. Akatsuki was on the move.

The main Akatsuki force began to leave their hideout. A small Akatsuki strike team launched an assault on a small island off the coast of the Land of Lightning. That island was Naruto's secure location. Their mission was to capture him. Naruto escaped. Some of his escorts did not.

She was very nervous as she marched off with the second division. She marched along with Neji and the red haired kunoichi from the Hidden Cloud village that she and Kiba had bumped into months ago. Contrary to her first impression, Karui was not always combative, she was even a little supportive of Hinata, trying to reassure her that there was nothing to be nervous about.

The scuttlebutt was that the first skirmishes had taken place. Apparently, the Akatsuki were using the impure resurrection jutsu, and bringing back the dead to fight on their side.

Hinata was quite nervous, if there was one thing she wanted to avoid it was fighting the dead. The second division was being deployed against a large number of Akatsuki traveling underground towards the battlefield. The other members of her division laughed and joked about the imminent battle with the Akatsuki forces. Of course the Akatsuki were strong, but as strong at the combined allied shinobi forces? Not possible.

War is hell.

The violence is terrible. The grief and sorrow are unbearable. The things that one sees and has to do over and over again to ensure that you live for another measly few seconds, tear away chunks of your soul. All of this is horrible, but it is not this that makes it hell.

The best warriors are not the strongest, or the fastest, or even the bravest, although you need all of those qualities in war. The best warriors are the ones who can turn off their emotions to the horrors, often times horrors that they commit with their own hands, and just get the job done.

If you don't get the job done, the plan fails. If you don't get the job done, the objective is not taken. If you don't get the job done your friends die. If you don't get the job done... you die.

So you fight, and maim, and kill, and destroy, and you even take pride in getting the job done. You are a warrior. You retreat into your armor and let the horrors wash over you. You convince yourself that none of this will ever bother you. You are tough and strong, just getting the job done. And you forget that what your eyes see, and what your hands do, your mind remembers.

And then one day the war is over and you rejoice that you are still alive, and you mourn your dead, and you return back to your old life. You take off your armor and relax, confident that you have gotten the job done.

But the Job hasn't finished with you yet.

Little by little the horrors that you could ignore in the heat of the moment sneak back into your head. Anything can trigger them. A noise, a voice, a smell, can bring you right back into the midst of war, only this time you don't have your armor... Why would you need it? You are back home, safe. The horrors don't care, they sneak in when you aren't ready. They make you scream, make you jump. They prod you awake in the middle of the night, showing you gleefully all that you have seen... All that you have wrought.

And that is what makes war hell. Because for some, even though you are safe at home... You never get to leave.

They battled wave after wave of white Zetsu clones, an Akatsuki member who was plant-like and could grow clones of himself off other people's chakra. The battle was fiercer than anything she had dealt with before. She and Neji often found themselves hard pressed fighting shoulder to shoulder and even back to back. They saved each other many times over that day. Just as it seemed like the second division had a handle on the assault, the white Zetsu clones displayed a new trick. They could disguise themselves as friends and allies. They began to infiltrate, assassinating commanders and wreaking havoc behind the allied forces lines.

They heard rumors during breaks in the fighting. The dead had begun to show up. The other divisions were being assaulted by legendary shinobi of old, full of blood lust for the living. They had swept into the ranks of the allied forces leaving a trail of corpses in their wake.

The battle lasted all day. The night gave them little rest. Harassing attacks came at all hours. The screams of the wounded drifted through the night. Hinata had to replace Neji on his watch for he had over used his chakra and collapsed from exhaustion. Shino in turn, told her to take it easy. His beetles would alert them to a surprise attack he said. Hinata smiled at him.

"Thank you Shino," she said. "But I want to do the best job that I can. We are fighting this war to protect Naruto! Failure is not an option!" It was a long dark night, but her thoughts of Naruto kept her warm.

The battle resumed with the first glimmer of the sun. As the dawn dissolved the morning mists, a huge flock of crows circled the battlefield looking to feast on the fallen. The second division was exhausted, many were wounded, but still they kept on fighting. They had to fall back in spaces. Hinata found herself battling amongst the tents.

Something had changed on the battlefield. There were huge amounts of chakra being released. She could sense it, but given the chaos all around her she didn't have the time to make heads or tails of it. She was very hard pressed by a large group of the Zetsu clones disguised as Allied shinobi from the Hidden Cloud village. The clones were surrounding her and her squad. Neji and Kiba were doing their best to keep them all safe, but Hinata was surrounded by three Zetsu clones bearing in on her with swords. She flinched and raised her arms.

There was a bright yellow flash. The blow never landed. A familiar voice said. "Sorry for taking so long."

Hinata looked up. Yellow flames rippled over his body. But she recognized him. "Naruto-kun?" she whispered. With a single push he sent the three Zetsu clones flying.

"Are you alright Hinata?" He asked glancing behind at her.

The other shinobi were suspicious. Kiba said Naruto smelled different, Neji said his chakra looked different, They wanted proof he wasn't a Zetsu clone.

"He's the real Naruto!" Hinata cried out. "Just look at his eyes, you can tell. Besides that he came to our rescue!" She stood up and took a step closer to him. Her heart started to beat faster. "I'm sorry that everyone is so suspicious of you Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled and looked around at her platoon. "Now that I'm here we can go on the offensive! I'll start on one side and we can weed out all the imposters! Everyone follow me!"

Hinata looked down at her feet. "The one person I want to protect no matter what… and he always ends up saving me instead," she thought. She felt her confidence begin to crumble. "I guess I am just worthless as a shinobi."

"Don't worry about it Hinata," said Naruto quietly, as if he could read her mind. "I have my bad days as well…You've already had to save me at least twice."

Hinata started, and looked up at him. "I wasn't worrying about that."

Naruto smiled at her. She felt her heart soar. "I can see it in your eyes." He said smiling. "Don't give up on yourself… I know you. You are strong." He smiled at her once more. "Let's go everyone!" He shouted, and ran.

Hinata ran after him. In her head she whispered a silent thanks.

The battle went more smoothly with Naruto there. Whatever this jutsu he was using, it was insanely powerful. His senses were increased way beyond ordinary. He could point out a disguised Zetsu clone just by being near it.

A loud rumble came from the east. "What is that?" whispered Neji. A bright white light blanketed the area and gave Hinata a dark shadow in contrast. She turned. There was a second sun in the sky. It was smaller but much brighter, and headed straight towards the first division. A wave of sand reached up and caught the falling meteor. A second meteor slammed into it from behind. As far away as they were, the earth jumped, and a huge shockwave threatened to knock them over.

"What's happening?" shouted Kiba.

"It doesn't matter!" yelled Neji back. "Just focus on what is in front of you!"

There was a lull in the battle. Hinata looked around for Naruto, but he was gone. "Did anyone see where Naruto went?" she called out desperately.

Shino shook his head. "That wasn't Naruto. That was one of his shadow clones. I would guess it used up all its chakra. I saw it disappear a while ago." Hinata let out a small breath, relieved. It didn't last long, the next wave of Zetsu clones burst from the ground right in front of them.

She knew she shouldn't have, but she used her byakugan to steal glimpses of the distant battles. A huge octopus appeared and slammed into a faraway forest. One by one, huge waves of chakra pulsed across the battlefield. One by one, huge monsters appeared. Six tailed beasts towered against the sky. The octopus began to do battle with them

The destruction was terrible. The earth shook, mountains were flattened, trees toppled over just from the force of the blows they exchanged. Fire and magma left scorching trails in the sky. Hinata tried to focus on the battle in front of her, but her eyes caught sight of a tiny orange mote, which was promptly swallowed by a giant monkey. She missed what happened next. She was fighting off two of the Zetsu clones.

An unearthly howl echoed across the battlefield. Even the white Zetsu clones seemed to flinch and stop and stare. For a second the whole combat zone went quiet. Hinata recognized that scream.

The Kyubi towered on the horizon. It bared it's fangs at the other tailed beasts and snarled fury. She recognized the shape. She heard Shino mutter "Oh no."

"No!" said Hinata, "Look this time it's different." The last time she saw the Nine-tails it had been a boiling mass of bubbling red chakra. This one was flickering yellow flames, it had similar markings that Naruto's shadow clone had. "I think," said Hinata, "that this time Naruto is in control."

Together the Nine Tails and the Eight Tails began to brawl with the other tailed beasts. At one point the five tailed beasts fired some hugely destructive jutsu at the Nine Tails, who launched one of its own right back. She threw herself to the ground as the shock wave passed overhead. The sound alone was so deafening she had to cover her battle raged so violently that as far away as she was, she began to fear for her own safety.

And then abruptly it stopped. A heavy silence covered the fighting. One by one the tailed beasts vanished. All Hinata's platoon could do was stare in the direction where the battle had taken place. "What the hell just happened?" wondered Kiba aloud. The clouds above them, which had been growing darker began to let a light rain fall.

The announcement from Inoichi cut through their skulls. "News from Headquarters!" he said sharply. "The battle goes well at the reinforcement point. Meaning Naruto Uzumaki has battled the enemy to a standstill. Naruto and Killer-Bee whom we are here to protect have joined the battle on the front lines. They fight alongside Kakashi and Gai. We ask you all to be like them! Join forces and together we will vanquish the enemy! Fight with all your heart and our victory is assured!"

Hinata exchanged glances with her comrades, Neji, Kiba and Shino. As one they started running. Splashing through the puddles the rain washing down her face, that feeling returned. That same feeling she had when she faced Pain. Hinata felt light, she felt strong. "Naruto-kun," she thought. I've always been chasing after you. But once this war ends, I'm going to stop once and for all. Next time I'll be next to you, walking with you, holding your hand. Wait for me!"

Together they charged headlong into the chaos.

Hinata started as the door slid open again. Mikio stepped out and bowed once more to her father inside. He turned and stopped when he noticed Hinata standing right there. "Hinata-sama," he said quietly and nodded his head towards her.

Junko shuffled out as well. She teetered on the top step for a moment, but then clutched her son's arm. She gave Hinata a sweet little grin, but her eyes were cold. "I just had a very nice discussion with your father, Hinata." She leaned forward and her eyes glittered. "I hope I get to meet you again sometime."

Hinata watched the pair of them shuffle off. Ko leaned out from the doorway. "Hinata-sama," he said quietly. "Your father would like to see you now."

Hiashi was seated at his desk, staring at his paperwork. He would constantly start to move his brush towards the paper, and then hesitate as if unsure what to write. "Father," Hinata said quietly, announcing herself.

Hiashi looked up at her, and for a brief moment Hinata thought she saw an unfamiliar emotion flash across his face. He glanced down at his desk and composed himself. "I believe we were speaking earlier of how when one is the head of the Hyuga clan, one must make sacrifices in order to keep the clan on the path to prosperity." He cleared his throat. "Now that you are in line to be the head of the Hyuga clan, it has come to my attention that a suitable match must be made for your future."

Hinata frowned. "I already have found a suitable match for myself. I do not want another."

Hiashi sighed. He heard the steel in her voice. "Hinata," he said in a conciliatory tone. "Uzumaki-san is an... adequate young man, but really where does he come from? Where is the history to his name? He is brave, dashing and a hero. It is fine to have a girl's crush on him. But you are a grown woman now. You are going to lead the Clan after I retire. You shouldn't just throw your marriage away on someone like him when you could use it to cement an alliance. You could do so much more good for the clan by bringing its members closer together, making it a stronger unit."

Hinata looked away from her father. "Do you know why Hanabi decided to give up on the clan and join the ANBU? She objected to being used as a bargaining chip." She looked back at him. "I wonder what sort of deals you made in exchange for me?"

Hiashi closed his eyes. "Both of you are making this out to be much more sinister than it really is. Your mother and I were an arranged marriage. Eventually we learned to love each other. Don't make an arranged marriage out to be this… this... horrible thing."

"Then answer me this Father: What did Junko-sama promise you in exchange for my marriage to her son? Money? Influence? Maybe it was stability?" Hinata stared at her father's face carefully. "Stability… I bet that was it. It seems to be more her style. Why promise someone something extra when you can just threaten to take it away?"

Hiashi's face twitched. "You have no idea of the amount of face I lost when Hanabi decided to leave. Rather than do her duty, my own daughter decided to flee. You have no idea how much strain her cowardice put the clan under."

"I wonder how much strain the cowardice of her father put on her?" asked Hinata sharply. "You would let an old woman bully you rather than stick up for your daughter's happiness and well being?"

Hiashi frowned. "I was looking out for her well being. I made a perfectly reasonable..."

"I'm not talking about Hanabi, I'm talking about me!" snapped Hinata. "I have no interest in an arranged marriage! I am quite happy with Naruto!"

Hiashi grew very still. "You are my daughter and you will listen to what I say." He said in a flat monotone. "The few times I have met the Jinchuriki he has been uncouth and undignified. He is rather dim-witted. He does have strength yes, but he is little more than an untalented brute. I am fully aware that this... unhealthy obsession of yours with the Uzumaki boy has been going on for quite a while. Before this current crisis, I was perfectly happy to let you waste your time with him in the hopes that you would get it all out of your system. I cannot afford to allow this any longer." Hiashi stared at her coldly. "I forbid you from seeing him anymore."

Hinata stared back. "No."

"No?"

"No Father, you cannot forbid me from seeing him. That is my decision."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow. "And to think that I actually believed that you were honorable enough to wield the position of the head of the Hyuga clan.

"And to think that I believed that my father respected me enough that he would offer me the position on my own merits," snapped Hinata back.

"You speak to me of respect?" boomed Hiashi. Hinata flinched at his shout. "Look at me when I speak to you, you selfish child! I want you to take a good look at what I have sacrificed, at what I have lost just to maintain the balance in this family. First Hanabi, and now you would throw away a hundred years of the clan's prosperity over something as trivial as a matched pairing?" He waved his hand at the door to the meeting hall. "The pair of you are as bad as that group of greedy fools out there! Only putting your own interests first and leaving me to clean up your messes!" He gave Hinata a long cold stare. Hinata shivered. "There was a girl I loved once... I had to give her up for the sake of the clan. Your mother, the light of my life, was murdered, and I had to stand by and do nothing, for the sake of the clan! My brother gave his life for mine, as I watched and screamed inside, and yet I had to remain stoic for the sake of the clan! I have watched good friends fall into ruin, I have heard them beg and plead with me as their children were moved into the branch family and I had to stand aside and do nothing! All for the greater good of the clan!"

He stopped and folded his hands on the desk. He looked down and stared at them. "Father..." Hinata started.

He ignored her. "You say that you want to bring some good to this clan? You say you want to help the struggling like Sayuri and protect the Branch family, like your cousin? You want to make this clan a better place?" He looked up at her. "Right now you are at a fork in the road. You need to make a decision. If you stay and marry Mikio, with enough time you could steer this clan any way you desire. Junko's family has a lot of money and power. Combined with ours you could be the most benevolent leader this clan has ever seen. You would be forever known as Hinata the kind. But," he said coldly, "let us suppose that this Naruto is more important to you than the safety and well being of your own family. Let us say that you turn your back on us? What happens then?" He slammed his palms down on the desk, scattering his brushes and papers. "Destruction. Chaos. Anarchy. I am left without a heir. There will be countless challenges for my position. The other head families will begin to jockey for position. It will start small, broken contracts, embezzlement, rumors, delays in shipping. Then it will escalate to character assassinations, threats, maybe even a few 'mysterious' fires destroying businesses." He stared up at her with open hostility on his face. "In the past such challenges have even escalated to include poisonings, and the kidnapping and murder of family members. A few times even lead to the open hostilities between Head families." He leaned forward. "And who do you think suffers? Will it be the rich and powerful, like Junko and Honan? No... It is the poor, the Branch families and those like Sayuri's who are just on the cusp. Those who many view as being one step away from outsiders, like Sayuri and her sons, are often targeted in the retaliations. They are prominent enough that everyone in the clan will take note of the 'tragedy' to befall them, but they themselves are not powerful enough to retaliate. They make perfect sacrificial lambs."

Hiashi stared off into the corner of the room. "I swore to your uncle to care for Neji as if he were my own, but if the situation progresses to the point where he and Tenten are targeted...' Hiashi shrugged his arms. "What will I be able to do? I won't be the head of the Hyuga clan anymore. I will just be one more old man presiding over a family that has fallen into ruin."

Hinata stared at him. "What are you trying to say Father?" she said, a little concerned.

Hiashi smiled sadly. "The people out there," he said pointing. "Are a pack of finely tuned predators. They realize that I am past my prime. They have seen me aging. Right now they are circling me. They know I still have some strength, so no one wants to be the first one to attack, but if I display too much weakness, all of them will pounce."

He looked away. "I don't have the influence I used to. If you abandon me like your sister..." He shrugged. "That may be the only sign they need."

Hinata stared at him. The anger inside her had deflated. Quietly a clock started to chime the hour. "Father, I..."

"Oh, look at the time," said Hiashi with false brightness." You were supposed to meet with the Uzumaki boy when we finished weren't you?" He waved his hand. "Don't let me detain you."

"Father," said Hinata pleadingly. "Please don't doubt my loyalty to you or this family. It's just that I..."

"Ko!" called Hiashi. Ko materialized behind her. "My daughter has an important appointment to keep. Please... help her to be punctual."

Ko gave a short bow. "At once Hiashi-sama," he said quietly. He gently grabbed Hinata's elbow to escort her out of the office.

"Oh, Hinata?" called Hiashi. Hinata stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "I just want to make this clear. I will be announcing both your appointment as my heir and your engagement to Mikio at the start of the meeting tomorrow." Hiashi's eyes never wavered from the papers on his desk. "If you wish to have a stake in the future of this clan, I expect you to be in attendance." His brush slowly slid on the paper. "If you decide you have other matters to attend to... Well..." The brush slid to a stop. "That will be your personal decision." He glanced up at Ko. "Ko? If you would be so kind?" Ko nodded and ushered her out.