Hi there! Wow the time really flew, didn't it? I hope you weren't waiting too long for another chapter to come out. On the topic of new things, I have some news for you. I will not be bringing out the sequel for A Happy Ending yet, but instead, I have been writing another fic called Following the Sun and it will be released very shortly since I have quite a lot written on it. I will allow you to know that it is not a SasuHina, but it is a SasuNaruSasu fic. I hope that you will like it as much as I enjoy writing it. The fic will not be very long, I think. Just about five or so chapters from what I'm seeing. I should have the first chapter up very soon, although I had planned to make it into a oneshot- it would have been very long- but I chopped it up.

Anyway, let's get on with the chapter on hand and get it rolling, even though I have a tiny block at the moment.

Excuse any errors and R&R!!!


Chapter 36: No Third Option

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Hinata looked on as Neji and Kiba talked to the students. Akamaru was standing next to them, adding a booming bark when needed. The children were really excited to see two more ninja and were quite alert, asking lots of questions. By the time lunch came around, Neji and Kiba both looked at her in relief when she told the ten year olds they could leave for lunch.

"That girl sure asks a lot of questions!" said Kiba with a laugh. "Does she do that a lot?"

"All the time," said Hinata. "I suppose I've gotten used to it by now."

Akamaru gave a loud whimper when Kiba was about to say something else and he patted his belly. "I know, Akamaru. I'm hungry too." He turned back to Hinata and Neji, who had been silent since the children had left. "I'll see you after lunch before Akamaru bites one of my legs off, ja!"

Hinata laughed as Kiba jumped on Akamaru's back and they were through the door.

"Hinata."

The girl turned to her cousin, knowing that he had wanted to talk more about what they had discussed the day before. "Hai?"

"Did you figure out what you'll do?" asked Neji.

Hinata took awhile packing up her books, still thinking about the question. Had she really figured it out?

"I'm sure," said Hinata. "I no longer want anything to do with the Hyuuga."

"You want to abandon our clan for another?" asked Neji, almost angrily. "I'm not particularly fond of the Hyuuga either, but we were born to make a difference, Hinata. For you to do this for another clan that can be considered extinct-"

"It won't be that way forever," Hinata cut in.

Neji looked at her disbelievingly.

"Are you serious?" he asked her. "What are you and the Uchiha going to do? Breed like rabbits? Aren't you too young for that?"

"Hai," said Hinata, feeling irritated. "I know we're too young right now, but it will not always be that way."

Neji sighed. "Hinata, you need to think properly. The council is trying to kill two birds with one stone here."

"What do you mean?" asked Hinata.

"They never wanted you, they never wanted me," started Neji. "The best thing that has happened is you leaving the clan because now they can be rid of you for good and not have to worry about the Uchiha."

"I don't understand what you're saying," said Hinata.

"Hinata," said Neji. "The Uchiha blood traits are much more dominant than the Hyuuga traits. Even if you come back, they know your future children will have more of the Sharingan than the Byakugan and then before you know it, eventually, there won't be a Hyuuga clan to anyone anymore because the leader will be an Uchiha."

"Yes, there will," said Hinata. "It's just that there will be a combination of two powerful clans."

"In which the Uchiha will be more dominant," said Neji. "That's what the council is afraid of."

"And they're not afraid of you being leader?"

"Yes, they are," said Neji. "More so than if the Uchiha takes over. They know what I'm capable of and they know I'll rid them of a lot of the power they have. I'll make sure no one has to go through dealing with the seal, make sure the children are all treated the same, everything I can."

"So why do you want me to be leader?" asked Hinata. If he wanted to do so much she was not stopping him, she wanted him to do it as well.

"Because Hiashi-sama will step down next two years if you come back to the clan, but if you don't, he'll make sure I wait until he's on his last breath."

"How do you know that won't be tomorrow?" Hinata quickly asked. "Next week?"

"That is true," Neji agreed.

Hinata walked out the classroom, Neji following her to the bench. She offered him some of her lunch and ate in silence. When they were done, they continued their conversation.

"I don't know if the Uchiha figured it out," said Neji. "Demo… There's another reason why you must not give up your rights."

Hinata swallowed the last of her tea and looked at Neji with narrowed eyes as she remembered what she and Sasuke had been arguing about the night before. "Why is that?" she asked him.

"If I'm leader, my seal will be removed," said Neji. "Trust me, there's nothing more a Branch House member would like to hear than that their seal will be removed." He looked at her directly. "It comes with a price; however, and that price is that the seal will be placed on you instead 'for safety of the clan's secrets.'"

Hinata remained motionless and didn't speak for quite some time, Neji let her think in peace, waiting to hear how she would react.

"Sasuke did tell me that was a possibility," whispered Hinata. "I don't understand this. They never sealed Hanabi."

"Because they were all secretly hoping you would do what you plan to do now," said Neji. "They had not seen the kidnapping coming and now they deeply regret not sealing her because whoever has her now has access to the Hyuuga's secrets."

Well she knew that, she was the person who had Hanabi kidnapped. Somehow this felt as though, that deed was creeping back on her.

"There's two options for us," said Neji.

"Only two?" asked Hinata.

"There are no third options where this is concerned," said Neji. "It's the best I can do."

Hinata allowed him to continue.

"I haven't let the council know," Neji told her. "But it's either you return to the clan and take up the role as clan leader, then hand it down to me two years later if you really and truly don't want it, or I become leader, you receive the seal and I remove it after a year which is when my inspection will be over and they deem me suitable as leader. Unfortunately, knowing the council, they may never do that and you may end up living with the seal a lot longer than a year."

The bell sounded and Hinata stood up. "Are you going to be joining us for the afternoon?" asked Hinata, avoiding answering to the options Neji had given her.

"Hai," said Neji. "But I'll have to leave early since I have a meeting. He took a deep breath. "Say you'll think about it."

"I will," said Hinata. "Let's go."

It was late evening by the time Sasuke got back home from his mission. He was very glad it was a success and that they had returned at least three days earlier than predicted.

When he finally found his keys that he always seemed to be losing, he opened the door to find Hinata, working on some papers.

"Tadaima," said Sasuke, unbuckling his flak vest.

"Okaeri," replied Hinata, not looking up.

"That's it?" asked Sasuke as he walked over to her. "No 'I missed you so much, Sasuke-kuuun?'"

Hinata laughed and looked up. "I did miss you," she said. "How was your mission? Weren't you supposed to be out at least two more days?"

"Hai," said Sasuke. "It went well and we finished early."

"That's good," said Hinata. She pointed towards the kitchen. "I didn't expect you to return so soon so you have to fix something up for yourself since I want to have these reports done by bedtime."

Sasuke nodded and went to the kitchen to put something on to eat and while it was cooking, he had a bath. When he sat down to the table, Hinata came to sit with him, bringing her reports.

"Are those for what you did today?" Sasuke asked her, pointing his chopsticks in the direction of the papers. "How was today?"

"Hai!" said Hinata. "Today was a lot like yesterday actually with Kiba and Neji."

"How so?"

"Kiba is almost like Naruto," said Hinata with a smile. "He and Akamaru were lots of fun and the children had a great time with him but Neji only sparred with a few of the students before he had to leave for a meeting."

"He's really busy these days," said Sasuke, when he was finished chewing. He fed Hinata some of his broccoli. "He's hardly ever on missions now from what I've heard."

"He's preparing to be clan leader," said Hinata. "He's got to be at the compound a lot."

"How come it wasn't that way for you?" Sasuke asked her.

"I don't know," Hinata said. "But Neji has a lot to catch up on."

"Is he still trying to get you to go back?" asked Sasuke.

Hinata bowed her head. "And he also told me the options I have."

Sasuke looked at her, willing the girl to continue. Knowing her clan and the council, they probably came up with something ridiculous.

"It's either I return, become leader in two years and then hand down the title to Neji in another two years or I receive the seal now, Neji becomes leader, and have it removed after a year if the council finds him worthy of being leader."

"That doesn't make sense," said Sasuke. "Knowing your father, if Neji is going to be leader, he's going to die as leader of the clan."

"I know that," said Hinata. "So does Neji. But it sounds like even though those are the only options, Hiashi might step down soon-"

"So you can get the seal," Sasuke finished. "He's such a bastard."

Hinata set out her papers and continued to work on them while Sasuke finished eating. Then he washed up the pots and dishes before leaning over Hinata.

"Are you soon finished?" he asked her.

"I think so," Hinata said. "Why?"

"I'm bored."

Hinata laughed at him and took up some papers, handing them to him. "You can help me then," she said.

Sasuke looked at the papers in his hands, raising his brows at the scratchy handwriting. He sat down across from her.

"What am I supposed to do with these?" asked Sasuke.

"All you have to do is check for any spelling errors and make sure they know what they saw," said Hinata. "They are reports from yesterday and you know what happened. Plus, you're familiar with Naruto's techniques and fighting styles so you know what to look for. We're just making sure they were all paying attention."

Sasuke set to work, turning his nose up at the overly large or impossibly tiny letters. It wasn't that bad though, he realized. They weren't that many errors for ten year olds and most of them made good reports but he was very sorry Hinata had given him Naoko's paper. She had three papers stapled together with the tiniest hand writing compared to the page other students had, not leaving anything out. She was a little too attentive for his liking seeing as he had to read it all.

---

By the time they were finished, it was very late.

Sasuke turned to Hinata, who was now setting up her notes for the next day and waited until she was finished to speak.

"I'm still bored," he told her.

"Aren't you tired from your mission today?" Hinata asked him.

"Not really," Sasuke said. "Seeing as it finished early."

Sasuke watched Hinata think and then she snapped her fingers. "I know what we can do!" she said excitedly.

Grabbing his hand, Hinata pulled him from the chair and led him outside and transported them to the roof.

"Here we are!" she said with a smile.

Sasuke looked at her blankly. "We're on the roof," he pointed out.

"I know that. We are going to stargaze a little and watch the moon," said Hinata. She sat down, pulling Sasuke with her to sit on the cool rooftop.

At first Sasuke thought Hinata was joking, but she really did want to look at the stars and since he had nothing better to do, he watched as well. It was actually quite peaceful, he found, just staring up at the night sky with Hinata. They huddled up closely and counted as many stars as they could, then watched the thin clouds pass over the moon as they tried to make out different shapes.

Hinata looked at him after a long bout of comfortable silence.

"Sasuke…"

He looked back at her, wondering what she wanted to say as she turned her face away. He took her chin so she could continue to look at him. "What is it?" he asked her.

"I'm really sorry about what's been happening to me lately," she said.

Sasuke shook his head and hugged her tightly. "It's ok," he said. "I hate it, but I don't want to lose you."

He himself didn't understand it. Here he was with a girlfriend that was dreaming about his brother while she slept next to him every night but he was willing to stay with her. He was coming to terms with the fact that they really needed each other and as much as he despised what was going on with her, he couldn't let her go; even if he would have to fight Itachi for her someday.

Hinata looked up at him. "I don't know what to do," she said.

"About what?" asked Sasuke even though he could guess what she meant.

"I really wanted nothing more to do with the clan," said Hinata. "But now… it seems like there's no choice but for me to go back. I don't want the seal, Sasuke."

Sasuke hugged her tighter. "I know," he whispered. "I don't want you to have it either."

"What am I going to do?" Hinata muttered. "I don't want the seal and I don't want to go back."

"There's no third option, Hina," said Sasuke and he sighed. "At least Neji told you up front so whichever you choose, I'll be here for you."

"Arigatou, Sasuke."

Hinata wrapped her hands around his waist and they stayed that way until he felt she was sleeping and he carried her to bed.

As he tucked her in, he watched her peaceful face and hoped her sleep would remain undisturbed for the rest of the night.

So many things were being thrown at Hinata right now and Sasuke felt helpless to all of them. He could not stop the dreams and he could not make the decision about her clan for her either. He would just have to sit it out and hope she would choose the better of the two choices Neji gave her.

Sasuke pulled the covers up over himself as well, welcoming the warmth as he pulled Hinata closer and felt himself drift off.

Itachi's face showed nothing but a promise of pain.

This was the final straw.

He had warned Deidara time and time again about it and it had to stop or else he was going to lose his sanity.

The first time it had happened, Itachi was on his side in the middle of a peaceful and dreamless slumber when he was brought into consciousness by something wet on his face and he felt incredibly warm; a weight around his side. He knew for a fact he did not drool and hoped to Kami Deidara didn't either, but it was when the wetness circled his cheek, Itachi finally opened his eyes to see one of Deidara's hands licking his face from the corner of his eye.

"Deidara," he said calmly, his voice laced with sleep. "Remove your hands and body off me."

He got a soft snore in reply as the blond cuddled even further to him, this time dragging his foot over his own.

Itachi's eyes widened quite comically before he shoved the other man clear off the bed.

He didn't even bother to look over to see if the man had broken something but he wasn't so lucky.

"What did you do that for?!" yelled Deidara. "I was in the middle of a very good dream."

Itachi let a slight grimace flit across his face, not wanting to know and then he wiped his face of saliva. Lying on his back, Itachi ignored Deidara until he attempted to pounce on him, earning him a bodily toss across the room to make him land on his feet on the wall.

"I was talking to you, yeah!" said Deidara.

"I was ignoring you," replied Itachi. "Be quiet, I want to sleep."

"I was sleeping too before you kicked me off the bed!"

"I told you not to touch me," said Itachi. "You're lucky you still have hands and feet."

Deidara walked down the wall to the floor and came up to 'his' side of the bed.

"But I was trying not to," he whined. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Itachi sighed and rolled to back Deidara to allow the man another chance but little did he know he would be getting very little sleep that night.

He couldn't take it anymore now. Deidara tossed, turned, hugged, fought, and licked everything that was in arm's reach of him when he slept. Of course, Itachi could play that game too and was more than satisfied at the bruises Deidara sported on mornings.

"Deidara," Itachi called into the dark room.

Deidara, who was currently sprawled half over him, woke up. Itachi supposed he had been sleeping lightly after the first couple of warnings he'd gotten before being locked out of his room. The blond straightened out immediately and rolled over to his side of the bed.

"Gomen!" he said quickly, pulling his hand away that was chewing at Itachi's hair.

"This has to end," said Itachi. He pointed to the door. "Leave."

"What?!" yelled Deidara, right into Itachi's ear. "No one else is here! I can't sleep all alone out there! You can't be so selfish, yeah? What about-"

Itachi snapped.

"Then keep to your fucking side of the bed!"

Silence reigned for quite some time after Itachi's outburst. To be honest, Itachi wasn't the type to shout at others, he just quietly and calmly got what he wanted with as little effort as possible, but quiet and calm had gone two days ago.

He looked over to Deidara from his supine position to see he was staring at him in unblinking shock before the blond gained the ability to speak again.

"You know that was scary right?" asked Deidara. "You weren't even looking at me and it scared the hell out of me, hnn"

"Whatever," said Itachi. "If you don't want to see that side of me again, keep your hands off me."

"It's not my fault!" said Deidara. "You are really warm and my hands like your hair."

Itachi stared at the dark ceiling watching as the dark dots expanded before his eyes. He'd had to cut off a good two itches of his hair because of Deidara's hands' eating habits when he slept to get it even again.

Not saying anything to the other, Itachi turned to back him. Deidara just continued to talk until Itachi glared at him and soon the room was filled with silence and the sound of slow breathing. When Itachi felt he could finally get some rest so he could train properly the next day, he started to drift off.

It was all short lived when a hand crept around his waist.

Itachi growled, turning on the spot and performed some hand signs. In a split second, Deidara was bound and gagged, glaring at him while he tried to yell through the thick cloth. Itachi then called up more chakra strings to make so Deidara would have a hard time trying to escape and pushed him off the bed.

Crawling over the bed to look down, he smirked at the blond.

"I warned you," said Itachi. "When you learn to behave maybe I'll let you have the privilege of sleeping on the bed again."

Deidara screamed with all his might through the gag and Itachi made out a few words and curses.

"It doesn't matter if you're on the floor," he told the man on the floor. "You're in the same room as me so be grateful and shut up before I shut you up myself."

Deidara kept silent as he tried to untie himself and Itachi rolled back over to lie down. The blond was really making him lose himself. He couldn't remember talking so much or shouting as he did before being near Deidara. He sighed as he blocked out the grunts below him, wondering how much longer he would have to put up with him.

Taking out the mirror from under his pillow, Itachi then lulled himself to sleep.

Annnnnd that's a wrap readers! I'm really sorry about this chapter being a little late, but I went out and couldn't get to the pc in time. I made the chapter a little bit longer than the usual 2500 (3750+) so I hope that makes up for it. I must say I struggled a little in this chapter for some reason. Maybe because I was going through a tiny block or something. I hope you liked it though.

If you have not read Hinata the Vamp or A Happy Ending (Now a completed fic), please do. Also, be sure to look out for my new fic Following the Sun that will be out very soon.

Until next update…

Ja ne!

Please review, I love it when you do!