Seductive Sound
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Do feel free to weigh in on whether or not you think Hinata should be pregnant yet or not. Either way, there will be kids later on. Majority will rule.
Important Chapter Notations: I decided to flush out the scene of Hinata saying good by to her family that was lightly touched on in Chapter 24. So the first part of this chapter will be a flashback from her perspective. This chapter will also introduce more about Clan Laws. Some of it may be canon, but most of it will be based off of my own 'Head Canon.' Meaning this is stuff that I feel plausibly could have been going on in the Clans behind the scenes. Happy reading.
Chapter 25
Hinata was now following Sasuke back to the Uchiha District. The young woman had just bid farewell to her family and the memory of doing so, well it was still playing freshly in her mind.
Hinata watched fretfully as Kakashi lead the Uchiha Brothers, Taka, Kisame, and Danzo towards the Uchiha District. She would go with them, but first she had to try to explain things to her father.
"I know." Hiashi's voice startled her from her thoughts.
He knew? What did he know? The familiar feeling of dread grew inside Hinata's stomach with an astonishing speed. It was like Sasuke's Chidori in its intensity and swiftness.
She bit her lower lip at that thought and turned her attention back towards her father. "What do you know?" The direct approach would be best in this case, Hinata decided.
She had been standing next to Neji, Hanabi, and her father. Their reactions to everything existed on quite the impressive spectrum of human emotion. It had been almost dizzying, really.
"Hanabi, go with the guards." Hiashi glanced at her.
Her sister's eyes were filled with joy at. Hanabi was so happy to see Hinata and the bluenette knew that the feisty Hyuga girl would not follow their father's orders easily. "But father!" A clash of wills ensued.
The men's reaction was less charitable though. Neji was stared at Hinata with a mixture of relief and worry. Her father was obviously irritated at her sister's disobedience and likely worried sick about Hinata.
The way that Hanabi edged towards her spoke volumes. "You're going back to the Estate." Her sister had missed her horribly and was happy that Hinata had returned. She was also probably worried that Hinata would run off again, but the Hyuga Patriarch was obviously in no mood to tolerate his youngest daughter's 'defiance.'
"That is an order from your Clan Head." There would be no discussion on the matter further, even Neji was winced at the not so subtle reprimand.
Hanabi sighed and hugged Hinata tightly. "I'll see you soon." She smiled up at her. "Then you can tell me everything and I mean everything! What kind of kisser is Sasuke?"
Oh boy. That was the wrong thing to say. "HANABI! You forget yourself too much!" The young ninja was no longer being reprimanded, Hinata realized. Hanabi had just sentenced herself to being formally disciplined later.
What would the punishment be? Hopefully, something minor. Maybe, Hanabi would be confined to the Estate for awhile or not allowed to have sweets? Her sister did have quite the sweet tooth.
"Please forgive me, Father." Hanabi bowed as the elder Hyuga sighed.
"Neji, take Hanabi back to the Estate and travel with the guards." He shook his head as though thoroughly exasperated. "I do not wish for Hanabi to pick up on her elder sister's bad habit of disappearing."
Neji noded and quickly escorted Hanabi towards the guards. That meant that Hinata was now 'alone' with Hiashi. Well there were still thousands of people around them, but no one was paying them much mind. They were all still too stunned about the outcome of the trial.
"I did not wish to discuss this in front of them." Hiashi's fixed his attention fully on Hinata. "I know that you're his lover." Hinata's sense of dread suddenly blossomed into a full-blown internal panic. "I saw you in his arms and you looked as though you were perfectly content to be there."
That's because she was. Hinata had no idea how she could possibly explain such a thing to her father. He would likely assume she was lying to him or that Hinata had taken leave of her senses. (The latter possibility may not be entirely untrue though).
"I wish that I could have spoken with you before you stumbled in on such a thing." The Hyuga woman took a deep breath and tried to gather all her resolve. "That wasn't how I wanted you to find out. Sasuke's courting methods do leave a lot to be desired at times, but he loves me and I love him."
The very phrase courting methods was outrageous. Unfortunately, Hinata didn't know any other way to describe how Sasuke had 'wooed' her without making it sound far worse than it was.
Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "I saw the way that he held you." Hinata blushed at that thought. "A man doesn't hold a woman in such a way, unless he does genuinely care for her on some level and I believe that is the case with him." He shook his head. "His mind isn't stable though and I'm sure you're aware of this. Getting involved with him is dangerous, no matter how sincere his love for you is."
How many times, had Hinata thought something similar? She'd lost count. Love was a dangerous game though. That would never change. It was only the degree of risk that did.
"Father, we're ninjas." Every mission they went on could be their last. "Ours is not an occupation for the faint of heart and I'm willing to take those risks and if I may speak frankly, I don't think the village wants to find out what would happen…if we were kept apart." She hadn't liked fighting dirty, but it was necessary. "As you said, his mind is not entirely stable." Hinata didn't like fighting in such an unfair fashion, but for Sasuke she would.
For Sasuke, she would point out the obvious. That if someone tried to keep Hinata from him, he'd probably go into a rage. A rage that the village might or might not survive.
"I shall speak with him, after Danzo is executed." That wouldn't end well. "If he wishes to be with you, he can at least do it in the proper fashion."
The proper fashion? Hinata wasn't really sure what her father meant by that. What else could she do, but nod though? At least, Hiashi Hyuga was reluctantly approving of her relationship with Sasuke.
She bowed to him gratefully. "Thank you, Father. I regret that I have not made things easy for you." That was putting it mildly and they both knew it. "I think in time that you'll come to see what I see. Do I have your permission to go the Uchiha District?" If she didn't go, Sasuke would likely seek her out anyway.
"You have my permission." The sound of his voice was so curt that it made Hinata flinch.
She forced herself to smile though. "Thank you, Father." And with that, she took off as the Hyuga Patriarch departs back to the Hyuga Estate.
Progress, Hinata had certainly made progress with her father. Hiashi was at least willing to speak with Sasuke and that was certainly more than the bluenette could have ever hoped for, but would it be enough she wonders to herself as she follows Kakashi and the Uchiha Brothers?
Itachi could feel it as they made their way back into the District. Kakashi wasn't nearly as good at concealing his feelings as the man thought himself to be. That or perhaps, the elder Uchiha Brother could just read him better than most. Whatever the case, he knew one thing. Kakashi did not approve of what they were about to do.
"Thank you, for escorting us." Sasuke must have sensed it as well. "We'll take him into our house and commence the execution." His foolish little brother was eager to end Danzo's life. "Hinata, you should go with Jugo." Though is concern for his lover always took precedence, Itachi muses.
The woman hesitates for a moment. "Alright." She sighs as she kisses Sasuke's cheek. "Come and find me, when you're ready." Mercifully, she didn't argue though as she slips off with the rest of Taka and Kisame.
Danzo certainly did deserve to die. On that point, Itachi couldn't rightfully disagree with Sasuke. He would be lying though, if he said that Sasuke's bloodlust didn't disturb him. Thank goodness for the Hyuga Princess or else, well he didn't really want to contemplate what might have happened to Sasuke.
"Sasuke, Itachi, you both have the right to punish him however you see fit." Itachi could feel a 'but' coming. "Both because Lady Tsunade said as much and by Clan Law, but be careful not to become even more barbaric than he was." There it was.
Kakashi didn't condone torture. Itachi rarely did. He wasn't nearly as sadistic as Kisame, but he wasn't going to deny Sasuke his piece of mind either. If spilling Danzo's blood was what was required for his brother to move on with his life, then so be it.
Besides, Sasuke wasn't the only Uchiha who had an issue with Danzo. Itachi had something that he also needed to do. He had to take back something that Danzo had stolen and well, Itachi didn't believe in lying to himself. He was going to enjoy hearing the sounds of Danzo's screams as he did so.
"You're a good man, Kakashi." Danzo certainly wasn't doing himself any favors by refusing to remain silent though. "I'm afraid that your words will fall on deaf ears when it comes to these demons though."
Kakashi sighs as he looks at Danzo. "It was not for your sake that I asked them to show restraint." His eyes soon turn towards Itachi. "It was for theirs. There has been enough pain and blood."
"That's unexpectedly sentimental of you, Kakashi." Sasuke's words chill Itachi to the core. "As you said there has been much suffering already and a large part of it is because of him, what's a little more?"
He was responsible for that really. Itachi was the one who had put Sasuke on the Path of Darkness. He hadn't thought that his foolish little brother would have such a hard time getting back onto the right path, but maybe his future wife could help him.
In Itachi's opinion, Hinata was truly the only person who could soothe Sasuke anymore. Maybe, he could help her. After this was settled. Perhaps, he and Sasuke could more fully reconcile.
Kakashi shakes his head as though he was thoroughly disappointed by Sasuke's response. "Very well then." He quickly hides it though. "Perhaps after Danzo's death we can get on with the business of finding your princess a proper ring and organizing your Bachelor Party."
Well, let no one way that the CopyCat Ninja was entirely predictable. The man could be rather eccentric when he wanted to be. He did have a point though. The idea of Sasuke having a Bachelor Party was rather amusing…
"YOU'RE DISCUSSING WEDDING PLANS WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO PUT ME TO DEATH?!" Danzo's outrage was fearsome, but it mattered not.
He'd be dead soon. The man would never be able to harm his family or anyone else again and the world would be a better place for it. The world would be a better place, when he was gone.
Sasuke rolls his eyes at Kakashi. "I don't need a Bachelor Party." His foolish little brother was quite devoted, if nothing else. "None of those women could compete with Hinata, but you're right about the ring." That was a fair point. A ring would be needed.
The other Uchiha wasn't done though as he turns his attention to Danzo. "I suppose you're right." Sasuke's smirk was now full of sadism and it was all too easy to picture the other ninja as being drenched in Danzo's blood at the moment. "First, we'll kill you and then we'll go shopping for a ring."
Lovely. His foolish little brother was now flirting with insanity…
Kisame watches as Jugo leads Hinata into one of the spare houses in the District. The place still gave him the creeps truthfully. It would have been a ghost town, had it not been for them.
"So I guess they're going to kill the bastard and then everyone gets to live happily ever after?" He chuckles at his own joke.
Hinata bites her lower lip and nods at him. "Yes, that's the plan, anyway." The poor little princess was definitely nervous.
It wasn't hard to tell why. From what little Kisame had gathered so far, Itachi's little brother was one lovesick puppy. The way he doted on the princess was so sweet, it almost gave him cavities.
"Well I don't mind that they're gonna kill the fossil." This was going to be interesting. "I'm more worried what they're going to try to do with us afterwards." Suigetsu was being practical.
Karin gives him a dirty look. "I doubt they're really going to do anything." Well Kisame should hope not. Otherwise he was going to kick some ass.
Of course, he'd have to get out of these chakra cuffs to do that. These cuffs were so damn annoying.
Speaking of annoying, how long would it be before the lovesick puppy transformed into a wolf? If these people were crazy enough to try to keep that brat away from his girlfriend, there was going to be blood in the streets and Kisame wanted in on that action.
He had more than a few bones to pick with this village. He knew what they had done to Itachi. It wasn't right. Not even by his own admittedly flexible standards.
"Are you alright?" Jugo's exotic eyes were now trained on Kisame. "You look rather angry."
Yes, he was angry. "That's because I'm chakra cuffed and I'm tired of watching these Leaf Villagers ride around on their high horses." They weren't any better than him and they were especially not better than Itachi.
At best, most of these people were completely unaware of what was going on in their village. Like Sasuke, they had been sold a bad bill goods. At worst, they were like Danzo. It was the latter group that he was itching to tear into with Samehada.
"Don't make me regret this." Kakashi smiles at them as he undoes their blindfolds and chakra cuffs. "I also do recommend a Soundproofing Jutsu."
Sasuke smiles as he can see again. "That's not a bad idea." He blinks rapidly in an effort to force his eyes to adjust to the light. "I don't want to scare Hinata with the sounds of this viper hissing."
Kakashi merely nods at that, before making a rapid departure. Hmm. Had he truly scared his old Sensei so much? Interesting.
"Well, I believe that it's time." Itachi gestures for Sasuke to follow him inside with Danzo.
So that's exactly what he did. "I want him to die in their bedroom." That's where he had found his parents laying in a pool of their own blood. "In one very special spot in particular." Blood that he had never managed to fully get out of the floor after their deaths.
It would be fitting to watch Danzo breathe his last there. Sasuke wanted him to know what it was like to feel completely helpless. Just as his parents had undoubtedly felt that night.
"You're a fool, if you think the location matters to me." He glares at them hatefully. "I should have had Itachi put an end to you years ago."
SMACK! Before Sasuke could respond to that, Itachi's hand had already moved. He had just punched Danzo with bone crushing force. Sasuke knew that because he hears a crunch of bone that followed after the smack.
His brother then proceeds to throw Danzo over his shoulder and carry him up the stairs. "I'm the only one allowed to call my foolish little brother, foolish." Naturally, Sasuke follows behind him as quickly as possible. "And considering you are the one who is about to die, I would say you're a far bigger fool than he is. Wouldn't you agree?" THUD!
A loud thud was heard as Itachi drops Danzo onto the floor. Onto the exact same spot where their parents had been murdered by their own son. On Danzo's order.
"Go to Hell!" Sasuke smirks at Danzo's order.
This time, no one would be following his orders. "We'll have to watch out for the Reverse Tetragram Sealing Jutsu." Itachi looks at Sasuke. "It'll suck up everything around his corpse into a sphere upon his death." He opens the window. "So we'll just throw him out of the window once he's nearly dead."
That did sound like a good idea. "Very well." This brought back memories.
Memories of his childhood. Back when he would work with Itachi to catch cats and handle wild boars. Memories of Itachi showing him how to wield kunais and things of that nature. Before everything had changed. Before Danzo had ordered the Massacre.
"I believe that we shall start with the Tsukuyomi and go from there?" Yes, that would be best.
Sasuke nods his head at Itachi and Danzo's eyes widen in terror as his brother activates his most fearsome Genjutsu. "Tsukyomi!" And suddenly, they were transported into another world.
Warning Torture Scene
A world entirely of Itachi's making and one that Sasuke was more familiar with than he really wanted to be. The black and red nature of the world heralded its purpose beautifully. This was a place of death and pain. This was the world that Itachi could create with his eyes.
"Let go of me!" Danzo tries to free himself, but it was no use.
Itachi was the master of this domain. There was nothing that the bastard could do to escape. That thought makes Sasuke smile.
The other Uchiha looks at Sasuke. "You may do what you like with him and I shall assist you in whatever manner you wish. As you'll recall, I control time here." That was right. "Only seconds will pass in the outside world, but to us and him, it will feel as though days have passed."
Perfect. That was what made this such an effective technique to torture information out of people or to drive them to madness. Now, where to begin.
"I think it would be appropriate for him to get a cut for every member of our Clan that died because of him." That would be five hundred cuts.
Itachi nods and hands Sasuke a kunai. "If you aim for vital spots, he's going to die in this world, but be alive in the real one." Yes, Sasuke was fully aware of that.
"That's why I'm not aiming for vital spots." Sasuke was going to make Danzo suffer.
With that thought in mind, he slashes. Itachi even helped him from time to time. His blade sliced into Danzo's skin again and again. Everywhere from his forehead to his toes. Sasuke and Itachi were rather creative with where they would make blood flow from Danzo's wounds.
"Sadistic demons!" Danzo was proud though.
Too proud really. Sasuke wanted to hear more than grunts and hisses of pain. He wanted to hear him scream. He wanted Danzo to scream as Sasuke watched him bleed.
"Perhaps, it is time to increase the intensity of his punishment." Itachi smirks as he unleashes their Clan's trademark technique. The Fireball Jutsu.
The fire roars forth from his mouth and soon slams into Danzo. "AHHHH!" Sasuke smirks as he hears the man being 'burned alive.' It wasn't enough though.
"Father taught us that one." It was fitting that it should cause Danzo such agony, really.
Sasuke wasn't done though. He stabs at Danzo with his sword while conducting the Chidori through it. Danzo's old kunai that Itachi had replicated was useless at this point. It was too soaked in blood and dull to be of much use after being used to such an extent. His sword was an entirely different matter.
Itachi approaches him. "That treacherous tongue of yours is rather annoying." Sasuke watches in horror and a little awe as Itachi produces a small black fireball in his hand.
The Amaterasu. "This should keep you from screaming so much." He shakes his head. "It's most undignified for a ninja of your station, really." With that being said, he shoves the fireball into his mouth.
The shrieks that follow were almost unbearable. Danzo was being burned alive, from the inside. With flames hotter than the one's in Hell. Which was fitting because Sasuke was sure that was likely where Danzo was going.
'Days' of torture passed. By the end of it, the streets were red with blood. Danzo could no longer talk in Itachi's world, but he was still mostly in one piece. Though his skin and face were charred and sliced up beyond most recognition.
The man was no longer coherent. He had lost that ability sometime between night one and morning two of Itachi's Genjutsu.
"I'd say that does it quite nicely." Itachi smiles slyly as he releases his Genjutsu.
Once they were back in the real world, Sasuke notices that Danzo was a sobbing mess. "I believe you have something that belonged to a friend of mine and I should very much like it back now." Itachi produces a kunai and then proceeds to slice out one of Danzo's eyes.
A red one. The Sharingan. The grave robber had been rather thorough, it seemed. Not that it mattered. Danzo's screams were filling the room and the District. They may have forgotten to use the Soundproofing Jutsu.
Sasuke grabs Danzo and places him on the edge of the window. "You've called us demons, but where you're going I'm sure that you'll see some real ones." Even now, sobbing and nearly incoherent, Danzo struggles against Sasuke's hold.
He had just lost an eye and was bleeding badly, but he refused to yield. "Now, go to Hell." Sasuke wouldn't either though as he plunges a Chidori infused fist through the man's chest and tears out his heart.
As soon as he had the bloody organ in his hand, Sasuke releases Danzo and shoves him onto the ground of the Uchiha District. Almost immediately, his technique began working to protect the secrets of his body. It was done.
End of Torture Scene
"I do hope that tearing his heart out made you feel better." Itachi smiles at Sasuke with Shisui's recovered eye still in his hand.
It made him feel better, yes. The only thing that Sasuke regretted was the fact no one had done so earlier. Still as he watches Danzo's technique hide his corpse, he couldn't help but feel an enormous surge of satisfaction. He was dead.
"It did." Sasuke nods at his brother and smiles.
Itachi sighs as he embraces Sasuke. "I know that I have been cruel to you and I have lied to you, but I only wanted to protect you." Sasuke knew that as well. That didn't make the truth any easier to deal with though. "It seems I failed at that job, but now things can get better."
Sasuke nods in agreement. He hoped that they would get better. Itachi had been given an impossible choice to make. In the end, he had likely done the right thing. No matter how much that hurt Sasuke to say.
"Well Kakashi was right." Sasuke dares himself to glance back at his brother. "I still do need to find a ring for Hinata and that does seem like something you'd be better at than me." He knew almost nothing about such things.
Itachi smiles and nods. "Yes, I'd like that." He pauses as he sets the eye into a special jar to preserve it. "Speaking of weddings and things of that nature, please tell me that Hinata isn't already expecting."
That makes Sasuke freeze up. "We don't know yet." His face was also heating up. "We may have gotten a bit carried away before using the Jutsu." Torturing Danzo was a lot more enjoyable than admitting to that oversight.
"Well if she's already pregnant, then the Jutsu does little good now." Itachi sighs as he pokes Sasuke in the forehead. "You really are foolish sometimes, but I am glad that you found someone to give your heart to." He smiles slyly. "And to practice throwing your kunai with." To which Sasuke sputters because he couldn't believe it.
Itachi Uchiha had told a dirty joke…