What Happens Next?
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I noticed that the crack pairing of Anko x Naruto wasn't that popular. I wanted to go for something that had the O_O factor. They are not going to be a major part in the rest of this story and at most might have a couple sentences or paragraphs more dedicated to them. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
Clan Revenge Scene: Everyone gets a turn. I didn't feel that it was graphic enough to require a warning. I apologize, if anyone is particularly sensitive to scenes like that and disagrees.
Chapter 25
"Oh Master Sasuke, I am so sorry! I should have protected you better. I can't believe some coward shot you in the back at your own wedding! Humans can be so despicable sometimes! Not that all humans are bad or all snakes are perfect. I remember Manda, now that was an evil snake…" The giant serpent says as he peeks his head through the window to "visit" Sasuke, a few hours later.
Sasuke shakes his head in amusement. He knew that Aoda was seriously worried about him, but it was just so funny. It was funny to see a snake fussing like a mother hen.
"It's alright. Aoda, it really wasn't your fault. We'll find out who did this and make them pay. It's going to be okay. Don't worry about it. Oh and if you could try not to flood my hospital room with your waterworks, that'd be good." Sasuke replies, noting that the reptile was bawling his eyes out and the floor was starting to get rather drenched.
"I should have scented the attacker or something. Oh and of course, Master Sasuke. I'll try to pull myself together. How is your Mate taking this?" He asks gently.
Sasuke sighs. Hinata was taking the attack about as well to be expected. Thankfully, she was more composed than his Summon, but still. Sasuke hated to see his wife so upset.
"She'll manage. Hinata is a lot tougher than people give her credit for. I imagine she's terrifying the medical staff now. She's in training to become a medic and knows most of them personally. Probably trying to get me more morphine or something." Sasuke snickers.
"That's good. I'm glad that she's staying strong." Aoda replies and Sasuke nods.
"Sasuke, your kitten has turned into quite the lioness. I think the other medics are terrified out of their minds, right about now." Itachi muses as he walks in to visit his brother.
Sasuke smirks. He called that one. He smiles when he saw that Itachi had brought him some tomatoes. Uchihas might be a bit eccentric, but they did pull together when one of their own was injured.
"Yeah. I kinda figured that was going to happen. She's no Izumi, but she can be feisty when she wants to be." Sasuke says and reaches for his beloved tomatoes.
Itachi hands them to his brother. He didn't want the man to reopen his injury. He sits on the edge of the bed and looks at him.
Sasuke was still frighteningly pale. Fortunately, he was completely lucid and appeared to be in good spirits. So he looked to be on track for a full recovery. (Though likely a slower one than he would have preferred.)
"You chose well and you should apologize to Shisui. You protested too much. He was right when he thought you liked her." Itachi teases him.
"Thanks and nah. Shisui will do something embarrassing enough later, that forgiving him will count as the apology." Sasuke says with a shrug.
Itachi chuckles. Well knowing Shisui that was probably a practical decision on his brother's part. He glances at Sasuke up and down once more, deciding that he was safe for now.
"You just focus on getting better. Aoda, make sure my foolish little brother doesn't try to sneak off before he's fully recovered." Itachi instructs the snake.
"Yes, Master Itachi." Aoda says.
Sasuke shakes his head. Great, now Aoda was going to play babysitter. He gives his brother a dirty look for that one. He wasn't some naughty child that would try to sneak out.
"And don't give me that look Sasuke. It really is for your own good and you know it." Itachi tells him and flicks Sauske's forehead.
"Owe! You always do that." Sasuke grumbles and Itachi smiles.
"Just get some rest, Sasuke. The Clans will take care of this would be assassin. You can rest easy. They are going to wish they were never born, by the time we are done with them." Itachi promises.
Aoda perks up at this. He wondered if he would be able to have a go at the attacker? He hoped so. No one messed with his Master and lived to tell about it! Hmpf!
"And I suppose, if you want we can let your Summon play with him for a bit." Itachi offers.
"As long as I'm the one that gets to kill the son of a bitch, I don't mind if others get a crack at him." Sasuke replies and his brother nods in understanding.
Itachi still had difficulty fathoming that someone would be stupid enough to attack on a wedding day. A wedding day where there were over a thousand ninjas in attendance. This person was extremely foolish or bold. He didn't know which and decided he didn't care. They'd be dead soon enough anyway.
Meanwhile Hiashi goes to speak with Ibiki. By now, he figured the other man would have finished the interrogation. Ibiki tended to be an efficient sort after all.
"Welcome back. The good news is we found the would be killer. The bad news is that it was Tenji. I am sorry to inform you of this. It must be difficult to process that a family member would attack your Clan." The middle aged man explains.
"I was afraid that would be the case. Tell me, is he still conscious?" Hiashi asks anxiously.
Ibiki shakes his head. The interrogation had been intense. Tenji had passed out a few moments before the Hyuga Patriarch's arrival. This was not an uncommon occurrence in his line of work.
"No. He lost consciousness shortly before your arrival. How would you like to proceed?" He inquires.
"Notify the Lady Hokage. I will go and speak with Fugaku. It's likely Tsunade will want to speak with the Clans before a sentence is decided upon. Tenji is a Hyuga. He's under my authority, but I am under hers." The Hyuga man replies.
Ibiki nods. He quickly heads off to inform the busty blonde about the situation. Hiashi sighs and flits off to find Fugaku. He could only pray that his "friend" would keep his composure. He doubted it though.
Hiashi was man enough to admit, that if positions were reversed…he knew he wouldn't have. The lavender eyed man couldn't imagine what he would have done, if it had been his daughter. He could sympathize with Fugaku, but they needed to come up with a plan to deal with Tenji. A rational plan was what was called for in this instance, not blind rage.
"Hiashi." Fugaku greets him.
"Fugaku, I must apologize. I can't believe what has happened. It shames me that someone from my Clan would act in such a dishonorable fashion. Rest assured, I have already told Ibiki to notify the Lady Hokage and justice will be served. We found the culprit." He says in a rush.
Fugaku blinks. They had found the potential assassin? He gestures for Hiashi to continue. He needed a name. He was going to rip the man (or woman) apart limb from limb. No one attacked his family in such a way without suffering the consequences!
"It was Tenji. Tenji didn't approve of the match. I believe in his demented mind, he thought that he was protecting our Clan. I am truly sorry." The Hyuga Patriarch says.
"You have nothing to apologize for. You are not the one that tried to kill my son. Tenji is the one who should be apologizing before. His pleas for mercy will not be granted. I can assure you of that much." Fugaku practically snarls.
Hiashi places his hand on the other man's shoulder. He knew that it was critical that he keep Fugaku at least somewhat calm. They had to see what Tsunade's reaction was first.
"I understand your anger. Believe me, were I in your position…I would feel the same. But we must keep our heads. It won't do Sasuke any good, to rush in without a plan. Tenji is safely restrained in the Interrogation Unit. He won't be getting out. We have time." He assures him.
Fugaku sighs. He knew that Hiashi was right. He knew that logically of course. But the Uchiha Patriarch wasn't feeling very logical at the moment. His paternal instincts were screaming for blood and lots of it.
"Does Sasuke know? Does Hinata?" He asks softly.
"Not yet. I wanted to speak with the Hokage and yourself first. I didn't think it was wise to tell Mikoto yet. I know mothers. They can be even more vicious than fathers sometimes and your wife is quite lethal with that frying pan." Hiashi mutters and shudders slightly.
The Uchiha man couldn't suppress a smirk at that observation. That was certainly true. He had been on the receiving end of that frying pan enough times to know that his wife was very good at improvising when it came to weapons.
"That was probably a wise decision on your part. I guess we should go and speak with the Lady Hokage now." He states and heads off with the other man.
A few minutes later, an ANBU guard knocks on Tsunade's door. She tells him to come in. The guard does so rather cautiously.
"My Lady, Fugaku Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuga are here. They wish to see you. Both of them claim that it is quite an urgent matter." He explains.
"Send them in and give us some privacy. I imagine this is about the attack on the wedding." She mutters and the ANBU heads off, letting them inside.
Both men bow at her formerly. She smiles. They might be overgrown kids underneath it all, but these were two rather well mannered Clan Heads.
"I assume this is about the attack? I am so sorry about Sasuke. It was a travesty what happened." She offers.
"Thank you, Lady Hokage. We have found the man responsible. His name is Tenji Hyuga. He is currently being held in the Interrogation Unit. We would like your permission to punish him as we see fit. If granted, he of course would be executed." Fugaku says.
Tsunade frowns. It was good that they had found the potential killer. She knew why they were requesting her permission. The busty blonde couldn't imagine that Tenji's death would be an easy one. She surmised that their method of execution would be nothing short of torture.
The female Hokage didn't condone torture. But she knew that if she didn't give the Clans their pound of flesh, things would get ugly and quickly. She sighs and nods.
"Very well. You may deal with him in whatever manner you see fit. There is however one condition." She tells them.
"What condition is that, My Lady?" Hiashi asks anxiously.
Tsunade sighs. She couldn't believe she was agreeing to this. Still sometimes she supposed, you had to rip the bandaid off quickly.
"Whatever you do to him, you do either in the Uchiha District or the Hyuga Estate. I do not want the citizens of the Leaf to witness his death. I'm no fool. I realize that it will be gruesome. I do not want other villages to realize that I sanctioned what amounts to torture, even if he does deserve it. Is that understood?" She demands.
"Understood." They both say in unison and flit off.
Tsunade grumbles. She pours herself a bottle of sake. Sometimes she couldn't believe the positions she often found herself in. The busty blonde truly wondered if Naruto would ever have the stomach to do what needed to be done to protect this village from internal threats.
Naruto had a strong moral compass. He was powerful and loyal to the village, but would he have approved of torture? Even if it was to get revenge for his best friend, she had her doubts he would have. It didn't matter now. She'd given permission and that would be that.
"We should probably allow him time to recover. I imagine that your son will want to extract his pound of flesh as well." Hiashi says and Fugaku nods in agreement.
Two weeks later, Kenji smiles and he heard his wife suppress a giggle. The two of them had gone to Sasuke's hospital room because he was supposed to be cleared for release today. It looked like Hinata and Sasuke were celebrating early.
"Should we say something?" Aiya asks.
"Give them a few minutes. They are only kissing and caressing. If it looks like the clothing is coming off, for the sake of everyone, we'll step in." He says and his wife nods in agreement.
"Of course. Ah I remember when we were that age." She says with a smile.
"Indeed. Couldn't keep our hands off each other. Well actually, that hasn't changed." Kenji replies with a smirk.
Hinata breaks the kiss with Sasuke. She could swear that she heard someone talking. She looks around and blushes when she saw Sasuke's grandparents standing in the doorway.
"Hinata, you don't need to blush that much. We are married. I'm sure they know we kiss." Sasuke notes in amusement and that only causes his wife to blush deeper.
"Sorry to interrupt. But your father sent us to pick you up. A big announcement is being made today." Kenji informs them diplomatically, not wanting to embarrass his granddaughter-in-law further.
Hinata scrambles off her husband. Sasuke shakes his head and slowly stands up. His injury was still tender and he didn't want to move too quickly yet.
"Well we shouldn't keep them waiting." Sasuke says, takes Hinata's hand, and follows his grandparents.
Hinata's eyes widen when she sees that the Clan Heads were standing in the center with Tenji wearing a long chain around his neck, a gag, and handcuffs. It didn't take her long to realize that Tenji had done more than verbalize his objections. Clearly the chain was designed to keep him from running away, while allowing some movement.
"They found the man who attacked you." She whispers.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. It did appear that way. He still waits for his father and Hiashi to speak.
"Everyone, we had Ibiki interrogate Tenji. It seems that he was the one who attacked that night. I believe the bylaws of each of our Clans are rather clear on how to address a matter such as this. The punishment for attempting to kill another Clan member is death. Sasuke, Hinata since his offense was against you, you may choose how he will die." Hiashi explains.
Sasuke looks at Hinata. He pauses, uncertain. His kitten would probably never agree with the way he'd prefer to do it. Hmm.
"I think that it's only fair if everyone other than myself, Sasuke, and our immediate family members leaves. This is a sight that likely isn't going to be fit for children. Oh and Sasuke's Summons can stay." Hinata adds as an afterthought.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. It sounded like she was going to play rough? Then again, it was Hinata. She might not want children to witness even a quick death. It was hard to tell what was going on in her mind at the moment.
"Son, do you have any objections to that?" Fugaku inquires and Sasuke shakes his head, showing that he didn't have any objections.
"Very well. Everyone else who isn't an immediate family member or Summon, please leave." Mikoto calls out and the rest of the Clan members soon scatter.
"Can you go invisible again?" Hanabi whispers to Kita as they were heading off.
"Yeah. Why?" He asks.
Hanabi frowns. She knew that she was an immediate family member, but there was no way that father or Hinata would let her stay for the execution. Still she wanted to get a good kick in.
"Can you make another person invisible?" She asks.
"For about a minute." Kita replies.
Hanabi smiles. She has him do it and sneaks up behind Tenji. The young girl quickly locks up his chakra points, wanting him to die as painfully as possible for what he did to her sister and her brother-in-law. She quickly flits back to Kita before anyone could figure out what happened.
"He deserved that and more. I hope Sasuke feeds him to Aoda." Kita says and walks off with Hanabi.
"Wouldn't want Aoda to get food poisoning. Tenji is probably rotten to the core. Who would attack someone on their wedding day?" She asks and soon they disappear.
Tenji cries out in pain, but the gag muffled it. Someone had locked up his chakra, but he couldn't see who had done it. He supposed it didn't matter, he was going to die anyway. He was gong to die because he had done his best to protect his family! It was maddening.
Sasuke circles Tenji slowly. There were a lot of possibilities, but he didn't really know what would horrify Hinata too much. He looks at his wife uncertainly.
"Master Sasuke, Lady Hinata? Do you mind if I have a turn?" Aoda asks.
"Hinata?" Sasuke inquires.
Hinata just nods her head. She was sure whatever Aoda had in mind was likely nothing compared to whatever plot her husband had already plotted weeks ago to extra his revenge against Tenji. Aoda smiles and smacks Tenji with his mighty tail, sending the other man flying several feet back into a building.
"That looked painful." Itachi muses.
"Do you think it killed him?" Izumi asks her husband and Itachi shakes his head, he doubted it.
Aoda wasn't done yet though. He kept smacking Tenji around like he was a pin pong ball. Garuda watches from above, excitedly.
"Well I guess it's only fair. Go ahead Garuda." Hinata mumbles and the bird of prey swoops down, picking Tenji up in its mighty talons, and dropped him from fifty feet up in the air. Tenji cries out in anguish as his body smashes against the ground.
Tenji was dazed and battered. Still somehow he had survived Aoda's whacking and Garuda's dropping. He landed at Mikoto's feet.
"Sasuke, Hinata, do you mind if I have a turn?" She asks in a voice that was far too sweet.
Sasuke and Hinata look at each other. Neither knew what the Uchiha Matriarch was going to do. But they nodded their head in consent.
Itachi was far from the only Uchiha who knew how to use Tsukuyomi. No one was sure what Mikoto was making that man see or experience, but it must have been gruesome. His screams of agony could be heard, despite the gag.
"Fugaku, remind me again not to anger your wife." Hiashi muses.
"Itachi inherited his prowess at Genjutsu from her. I myself am more of a Taijutsu user." He replies and Hiashi nods.
Itachi walks over and forces the traumatized man to his feet. He pulls out a kunai and stabs him in the back with it. The elder Uchiha brother twists it.
"Attacking someone from behind has always struck me as rather cowardly." He mutters in disgust and smirks when he heard Tenji's yelp of pain, as he removes the kunai.
Kenji takes out his cane and smashes against Tenji's kneecap, shattering it. Not to be outdone, Aiya lashes at his face with her whip, cutting it deeply and causing blood to flow freely. The grandparents were apparently satisfied with this pound of flesh because they look at the two Clan Patriarchs. Both were smiling rather smugly as the would be assassin groans in pain.
"I think that it's only fair that you lose the hands that you used to try to kill my son." Fugaku says and takes out his sword, slicing off Tenji's hands.
"I'd take both of your eyes, but I want you to see your death coming. You never should have questioned my judgment or tried to steal my daughter's happiness from her." Hiashi adds and blinds Tenji in one eye with a kunai, eliciting still more screams from the other Hyuga.
Hinata winces. The gag muffled the screams, but they were still blood chilling. She knew that he deserved it. But it was still painful to watch.
"Kitten, you don't have to watch this. He's going to die either way." Sasuke assures her and caresses her cheek.
"I know, but let's end this. We don't want to become as bad as he is." She mumbles and Sasuke nods in agreement.
Hinata walks over. She decides to do the cruelest thing that she could think of. He had tried to kill Sasuke. He did have to pay, but she had never believed in physical torture. She hadn't even believed in mental torture until now.
She places the Branch Member seal on him. That was the ultimate insult she could bestow upon him. He would die as a Branch Member. She knew how much he prided himself on being from the Main House.
"Go stand over by the side of that building. I doubt things will get much better where you are going. I wish it didn't end this way. I wish that you hadn't felt what you did was necessary, but it's too late now. Some things are unforgivable." She whispers.
Tenji restraints did allow him limited movement, so he was able to stand by the building. Sasuke forms a bow and arrow made of chakra. He thought this was fitting. Tenji would have killed him with an arrow, so he was going to use the same weapon to kill him.
"You deserved far worse than this. You're lucky Hinata is a more merciful person than I am." He mutters as he releases the arrow and it flies straight into his heart.
Tenji was killed instantly. They all watch as his body sinks lifelessly to the ground. It was finally over.
"Well that was fun." Izumi says and Itachi shakes his head at his wife's strange sense of humor.
Sasuke heads back to Hinata and wraps his arms around her. He holds his wife closely. The bluenette wasn't like him. She wasn't a revengeful person by nature. She'd probably feel guilty about Tenji's death, but he certainly didn't. As far as he was concerned, he had died far too quickly.
"You going to be alright?" He asks softly.
"I think so. At least it's over now. He can't hurt us anymore. How are you feeling? Does your injury still hurt?" She whispers back.
"It's a little tender, but I'm fine. Come on. Let's go pack. That bastard did delay our Honeymoon for far too long. I know you have been wanting to see those dolphins." Sasuke says and kisses her cheek.
Hinata smiles. Yes, that would be nice. Finally, they could begin their life as a married couple together, without worry that Sasuke might die from his injuries or that the assassin would return.
"I'd like that. I guess we should go pack and we might still be able to head off before nightfall." She replies with a smile.
"Or I could summon the loser here and have him do all the packing for us, with his clones." Sasuke says with a smirk.
"I never would have thought you would be so lazy." She says with a giggle.
"I'm not being lazy. I'm just conserving my energy for important things." He says and Hinata blushes at the implication.