Hinata sat on the counter of the bathroom, the door shut, her gaze locked to the wall before her. Her legs shook as she sat there in suspension; her breathing was erratic, and the anxiety twisted her stomach into knots as she eyed the clock that ticked along with little concern for the girl who glared at it from below.
One minute has passed, one minute of peace gone.
Fingers tapped and rolled to a rhythm that Hinata made up on the spot. There wasn't anything to distract her, aside from the hopeful thoughts she forced her mind to play for her as if she were a patron for a movie that didn't exist outside of her own imagination. In her thoughts she pictured a little white house with a purple door, a tree covered in lilac petals, and children playing about in a garden as she gazed upon them with her husband while they lived a childhood she had never known.
With each faint click of the second hand of the clock, the tightness in her chest bound her further like an ill-fitting bodice. Her breathing was slight, and her knees were of little more use than pudding, but when the second hand lapped through another minute Hinata inhaled deeply and hesitantly reached for the little white tool that rested next to her.
She delicately held the instrument about a foot away from her face, as if studying a book for her former classes. Hinata stared down at the little smiling face that looked back up to her. Her heart skipped a beat, and no matter how hard she labored to breathe the air would not come. It was as if her body agreed with her mind for a change, and both deemed death a better fate than walking out of this door to face her new reality.
Hinata shook her head, silently kicking herself for immediately resorting to such an extreme measure. She didn't need to break away from history, but she certainly needed to properly tend to her condition. Hinata tucked the little white stick into the pocket of her skirt, then quietly crept out of the bathroom that the shop owner had kindly permitted her to use. On her way out, she took care to bow and to purchase a little good luck cat as a sign that she was grateful.
The snow fell delicately throughout the streets of the Leaf Village. As Hinata and the countless other citizens crunched down the snowy pathways, the world seemed far more quiet than it used to. Summer and Spring had come to pass, and Autumn blew the leaves from the trees and wilted the flowers away, but Winter graced the land with a somber beauty that she couldn't put a name to.
It was almost heaven. Almost. If she could have his arm around her shoulder as she walked, and laughed with her as she told him a funny story while she peppered him with kisses in their embrace. If only he would look her way, and then he would see how much she cared for him.
But he never looked her way. Not once did her eyes meet with his, and she never had his full attention. When he came into her life on no particular day, it was all she could do to not flee upon eye contact. Yet he stayed, and so did she. After a few years of traveling in solitude, a man could look upon a lioness and kiss her all the same as a maid. Hinata was used to solitude - practically raised by it - so it was the perfect start for his reintegration back into society.
Minutes bled into hours, and talking faded into the moans of a maiden head being taken in the cold Winter's night. In the morning when she woke, he stayed for a short time before he told her of his plans to travel back to his clan's old residence. The weeks that followed were a blur, until she realized that she was late for her bleed.
The walk back home may as well have been accompanied by a dirge and tears, for a part of her was not going to walk through the gates of her home ever again. It was nearly high-noon, though the overcast sky wouldn't have told you such. That meant her sister, her father, and her beloved cousin were likely out among the common people. Hinata exhaled deeply; she was thankful that she had a bit of time to herself without the worry of a well-meaning family member prodding for the story behind her pained face.
As the young woman delicately slid the paneled door to her room open, her eyes darted to the clock. It may be only a few hours until I must see someone again, Hinata thought to herself. With her right index and middle finger hovering with a hummingbird paced tremor over her flat stomach, she knew she that this could be ended right here, with all the pain and heartache never to come to pass. There would be no bloody birthing beds, no shame to face. . . .
I shouldn't be such a coward. I don't want to marry Sasuke-Kun out of wedlock, and besides, it's Sakura who loves Sasuke-Kun. Not I. I shouldn't intrude. . . . The words turned over in her head as the poised attack melted into a gentle caress of the imaginary swell of her belly.
Maybe just give it a night. . . or two. . . .
Hinata gently tucked herself into her bed, soft and warm with goose down and fresh linens. She felt tired, even though she had only spent half the day. Her body betrayed her, and her eyes soon fluttered in and out of consciousness as the muted grey afternoon vanished from her eyes.
Yes, definitely two. . . .
It had been a week.
Hinata was the heiress to her clan, and a princess in her own right. Duty after duty, visits stacked upon lessons, and hours of preparations to take over her father's place as head of the Hyuga clan. That was, until she found a suitable husband to run the clan for her.
A tray of food was placed before her. Her fingers rushed to cover her nose from the mere sight of it: red bean paste. It was the primary culprit behind the bulk of her morning sickness that became afternoon sickness, and then lingered with her long into the night.
The handmaid this morning persisted, and clinked the tray down again to catch Hinata's attention. With a soured face, Hinata forced herself to slowly consume yet another breakfast that would ruin her entire day.
After the last bit was begrudgingly choked down, Hinata quietly made her way to the meeting hall of her clan. She had been informed of a briefing that required her attendance; while not rare, it was unsettling that she had been explicitly told that her presence was mandatory. With fifty-odd pairs of Byakugan peering at her, she assumed that someone had discovered her shameful secret. She kicked herself internally for not taking care of the problem when she had the chance to never be found out, but it was far too late for that now if she was to be reprimanded.
As she slid open the doors to the meeting hall, all she could think of was what gender the little one might have been.
A room filled with light lavender Byakugan focused its attention entirely on her when she entered. Hinata trembled, but kept herself collected enough to greet her father with a formal bow. Her eyes remained focused on her feet, not daring to gaze upward to meet the disapproving glare of Hiashi Hyuga.
"Look up, Hinata. Look me directly in the eyes, I have wonderful news for you."
Hinata's eyes fluttered up to meet her father's. His smile was soft, kind, not at all one that he would have given her in the past. Her gaze shifted momentarily to the man in white that stood off to the side of her father. His white robes matched his white coifs, and his eyes almost resembled a Byakugan, aside from the eerie blue color.
The white-haired man stepped forward, and took Hinata's trembling hands in his. His bemused smile only softened once he saw her face was the color of a candied apple, to which Hiashi cleared his throat in order to interrupt the two before either could speak.
"Daughter, this is Toneri. Ostutsuki Toneri. He is your betrothal, and you will marry him in half a year once Summer arrives."
Her lips struggled to form a word, let alone to make a noise. "I-I..." she stuttered, barely able to even breathe properly. This wasn't right, this wasn't right at all! She was meant to be with Naruto, but the orange blossoms and sunshine quickly dissapated from her mind's eye and the moonlit skies blew about lilac petals that shone in a silvery-blue light.
She knew then and there, as her father handed her over to a stranger who smiled like a tiger who caught his prey, that amends must be made - and soon. Maybe the one she loved did not look her way, but perhaps her child's father may hear her plea; it was the least he could do.
Hinata briefly wondered if he was as strong as Naruto was, and if he could possibly save her. After all, he owed her a favor from when she saved him - he told her as much himself.