I apologize that this update took so damn long to get out to my Honeys but I've been so busy with my Uni work that I can barely breathe. I'll be writing an exam in 5 days time where I still have to study but I desperately wanted to get this out to you before then.
I do hope the chapter is enjoyable. Unfortunately there's no lemony goodness, it's still too early. But it's heavy with plot and worldbuilding. So I hope my Honeys can enjoy it.
I won't say much more as I've run out of things to say but thank you so much for the continued support of this fic. I'll try and update again, sooner, this time. :)
Any questions you wish to ask, I'll be happy to answer.
星座三: Hyūga Deluge
The tea that morning was steeped with chamomile flowers and green-tea sweetness, an unusual proffering from his eldest daughter for the day when Hyūga Hiashi was known to prefer something with a bit more bite and caffeine to start off with.
Yet, when the ⍺lpha father saw the distinct three-flower bouquet and a nostalgic Uchiha scent rising from the decorative bow's surface on the tatami beside Hinata's currently occupied zabuton, he realized it would be impossible to complete the upcoming meeting without some form of chemical assistance — preferably five bottles of sake instead of tea.
His private office was caught in a surprising deluge of emotion, not a single word spoken in the last ten minutes when Hinata bowed herself into his work space and set a fragrant kyūsu between them. She then settled herself in front of his desk without showing any indication of leaving without addressing the elephant in the room.
And going by the tranquil confidence spiralling in the depth of her gaze, straightening her back and the tender way she handled the flowers beside her, Hyūga Hiashi was well aware he wasn't going to like where this was going — especially since the smallest dusting of pink coloured his daughter's previously pale cheeks and delicate fingertips clenched and unclenched in the vibrant side knot of a dark blue obi settled beneath her bust instead of the usual black medical pouch.
The Hyūga Lord had always been known for his unholy sharp gaze even without activating his kekkei genkai, arctic white eyes well aware of the tiniest shift of emotion in his daughter's usually serene demeanour as she parted her lips once, twice, thrice in the last ten minutes to speak before ultimately silencing herself in a simmer of frustration and embarrassment.
"Hinata," The forty-eight-year-old eventually interrupted, the stern tap of his fingertips ringing against the wood of his desk in warning as he struggled to soften the irritable fire-pine scorch consuming his usual ⍺lpha-earth placidity. He didn't have time to spend several hours being unproductive with the annual Clan review just around the corner, even if he didn't mind the distraction his daughter currently provided.
It wasn't the first time he was hurt by Hinata's terrified regard of him however, even when he knew it was so justly deserved for his bitter failings and cruelty during her childhood. There was nothing the Hyūga Head hated more in his life than himself for losing touch with his humanity, pride and honour whilst casting his little owlet aside for the quiet softness she inherited instead of seeing it for the early signs of an Ωmegan heritage rather than that of a defective ⍺lpha.
The fact that she struggled to speak her mind to him even today made his stomach turn at his own mistakes, even if—.
"Daughter," The Hyūga Head hummed in thought. "If you cannot speak your mind then I will do so for you." Carefully schooling his features to show not a single reflection of emotion threatening to bare his teeth in a savage display of displeasure, the forty-eight-year-old shivered instead at the flash of embarrassed terror he glimpsed widening his eldest's expressive ametrine irises.
There was a streak of red instantly flooding her cheeks, innocent Byakugan eyes shifting away from him to stare at the beautiful bouquet before her in search of strength and determination he knew did not come easily as the expressive down of her tertiary wings tremored against partially hidden temples.
Hiashi would have found her reaction somewhat amusing if it didn't feel like he was losing that tiny little owlet that used to cling to his kimono and hide behind his large wingspan and thigh whenever she was afraid of her surroundings and own shadow. Watching her blossom into the terrifyingly beautiful Ωmega she had become over the years had been both heartrendingly lonely, pridefully joyful and worryingly fretful for the ⍺lpha. If only he could—.
"Do you wish to accept?" His question was blunt and to the point, leaving no room for misinterpretation as he waited for that flash of startling Ωmega iron and steel straightening his daughter spine as determined irises collided boldly with his.
"Hai." She said with no hesitation, internal coaxing or fear.
Breathing a dignified sigh that was not at all mired in the frustrated grind of his teeth or bitter acceptance, the Hyūga Patriarch offered his daughter a single nod of understanding before he rose to his feet and beckoned her to follow. He was crossing the sealed doorway of his office without looking back, paying close attention not to lengthen his steps in anger too much as he headed in the direction of the Hyūga Treasury situated at the centre of the Clan estate.
He would not lose control of his emotions here, damn it!
Hinata's footsteps, in return, were carefully measured and kunoichi silent behind him. Her fingertips fidgeting with the butterfly bow woven against her side in startling navy blue and white brocade, the scarlet red obidome fashioned in an image of a flowering iris — standing out amongst the lavender of her formfitting tunic as she struggled to smooth the crumpled hem beneath with unsteady palms.
Her father's long umber locks were swaying with the occasional fluff of his primary flight feathers, his secondary wings shifting every now and then to keep their considerable length from sweeping across the floor. Hinata's, however, was the complete opposite. She may have inherited the typical wing span of a mainhouse Hyūga ⍺lpha but her unique colouring and serene Ωmega nature made her wings that much more expressive and difficult to control.
Ashen-white tertiary down were fluttering and falling to brush her cheek, formerly pristine feathers dragging shyly on the wooden engawa behind her as they entered the least visited part of the estate.
Her father had finally come to a halt before the towering iron doors carefully sealing their family treasures behind numerous crystal locks and family chakra. His hands were quick to withdraw from their usual place inside his sleeves, flitting through a seventy hand-seal binding lock before parting the massive doorway with a flare of arctic white chakra.
It had been many years since Hinata found herself crossing this part of their home, she mused. The sealed and reinforced part of their treasury had been the only part of the original mainhouse that survived Pein's destruction several years before. Yet, even then, it had been years since the former Hime was permitted to pass through the large archived walls, sectioned hordes of their family treasure, ancient scrolls, Clan dairies, weapons, valuable kimono collections and a prized courting-relic stores.
It was the courting collection her father led her to now, the Hyūga Head's eldest gazing with wide-eyed wonder at the unfolding lacquered wood shelves spanning from floor-to-ceiling with decorative headdresses, hundreds of enamelled jewellery boxes, ink and brush collections, prized swords hailing from every continent imaginable and a dual section of large tomobako boxes tied and sealed with braided rope.
The silk twists seemed to gleam in shafts of sunlight as Hiashi parted the slats of a single window situated against the far wall, a breath of fire chakra slipping passed his forefinger and thumb to light a series of standing lanterns sectioned carefully on the floor around them.
The flood of light instantly brought the world into sharper focus, a flurry of dust stirring in their wake as Hinata struggled to understand their presence here. Each tomobako — from the hundreds she could see — were inscribed with the mon of various clans. There were several boxes dedicated to the Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi Clans. A stack situated solely with the Aburame spider web insignia and Inuzuka fang. Another contained the prized Senju vajra mon, aSabaku desert lily as well as the blood mist of the Hōzuki and icicle Yūki Clan.
Her father's gaze never faltered from its pursual however, searching far and wide until Byakugan white eyes came to rest on the darkest corner of the room and a lone box stained near ebony black among its pine-wood brethren.
"Never been opened." The Hyūga mused, fingertips swiping the dust from its lid before gathering the treasure against his chest. He turned to leave not long after, the space plunged into blinding darkness once more as he swept passed the opposite wall completely stacked with hundreds of Hyūga inscribed tomobako looking far more used than their opposite counterparts.
"O-Otou-san—?" The rare grey owl whispered confusedly, somewhat surprised by the Hyūga Head's gentle movements as he briefly groomed the drooping feathers of her left tertiary wing upwards.
"Come, daughter. We have much to discuss." He imparted, lacquered navy-stratos surface now resting against his chest with no hiding the haunting red and white Uchiwa fan boldly branded on the lid and sides. There was no denying the box came from the Founding Uchiha Clan itself, especially considering the deep red binds woven through its four silk ropes rather than the telling white and lavender the others possessed.
Hyūga father and daughter were quick to make their way back to the Head's office, the elder of the two scops owls quiet and contemplative as he ordered his daughter to take a seat and place their newly retrieved treasure on the table before her. Hinata herself, confused and somewhat apprehensive in the face of her father's once more stern expression, curled her wings a little closer to her body in search of comfort.
It didn't help that Hiashi stepped from the room to call for a fresh pot of tea as she furrowed her brows, the thigh-length spill of her hair pooling in an evocative indigo galaxy on the floor behind her as she cautiously but determinedly brought Sasuke's three-flower bouquet to rest on her lap.
When the ⍺lpha finally returned and placed himself beside her instead of in front like the many intimidating times he did before, the eighteen-year-old could not help but note her father's wings flaring in a stark display of both pride and fatigue as he set about pouring himself a stronger concoction of ginger and ginseng.
He was careful to gentle his apprehension into something a bit quieter and more open, viciously biting back the instinctive rumble of displeasure she could scent threatening to rise from his chest as well as the muddle of regret and sorrow he unconsciously leaked for what he would potentially be losing that day — her.
"Before I impart this box to you, I want you to tell me why you want to accept and continue with this courtship. You are not obligated to simply because the Uchiha is from a noble line or ⍺lpha, nor because he is the first to—."
"I know," Hinata interrupted, lavender orbs drooping half-mast in understanding before she steeled her resolve to look her father fully in the eye. Elegant fingertips were instinctively dipping to seek out petal-soft kisses from the large, tri-coloured, irises the Tercel placed on her pillow sometime after she woke that morning and before she returned from morning training with her sister.
How he managed to sneak inside a compound with over two hundred Byakugan and a constantly active twenty-four-hour, thirty-guard, rotation was mind-bending. Yet, it was also a secret pleasure that he would go to such lengths just to vie for her attention.
The Last Uchiha also gifted her with a scent-embedded ribbon and three of her favourite flowers, the carefully arranged petals and stalks a compliment she could imagine the sparrowhawk determinedly but cautiously selected all on his own.
The Hyūga didn't even mind the black velvet bow that was wholly lopsided and creased, its presence sending a delicious curl of pleasure dancing in the pit of her belly that the ⍺lpha found her worthy enough to tie the bow himself despite his glaring, one-armed, disability. It was—.
Most courting rituals these days, Hinata mused, were ignored in favour of expediency. The current couples in Konoha like Naruto and Sakura and Ino and Sai followed the easier civilian traditions rather than spending time and effort to honour their specie or clan interactions. They were not and could not be as complex, intricate and psychologically dependent on a shinobi's wellbeing as the instinctual genetics bred into six-winged Avians.
As the only ⍺lpha of similar descent to her besides her family, Hinata knew Sasuke was the only one with the ability to truly understand the intricacies of providing an owl a home and nest where she could flourish. And she, in return, though meeker and shier than his prideful sparrowhawk lineage — was the only Ωmega able to truly understand his possessive need to provide, protect and claim—.
More than that however, there was something yearning in Hinata's soul to accept him as he was…to bring peace to the anguished regret and sorrow she glimpsed in the Tercel's eyes a few days ago. It was not unusual for her to abandon reason and thought in leu of emotions so quickly, yet Hinata couldn't deny desperately wanting to enfold the hawk in her wings and bow against his soul like the day he pinned her to that tree and his chakra pushed and pulled at her psyche like the moon did the tides.
Managing to word her reasons in such a fashion that it made sense to her father, minus the far too intimate encounter they had on the edge of Uchiha Clan lands, took longer than the Ωmega would have liked. When she finally finished, kyūsu now empty of every drop of her father's favourite brew and her own still untouched, the forty-eight-year-old absentmindedly crossed his arms inside his sleeves before nodding in the direction of the Uchiha tomobako.
"Very well," Hiashi claimed. "I'll allow it."
"I expect the key on my desk before you leave the grounds today, the Uchiha can come negotiate the terms for its return once the two of you have settled a little deeper in your courtship." The Hyūga mused, brushing braided red and white silk with a flick of his gaze before he stood to settle on the other side of his low mahogany desk.
"I trust you have your return gift prepared?" When Hinata nodded softly, her father tipped his head in the direction of the untouched yunomi by her side before imploring her to finish its contents. She could already see the tension flowing through her father's umber wings, a spike of chakra just a tad too rough and sharp on his fingertips to unseal a private Clan scroll without nicking the paper itself.
It was a clear dismissal, she knew. But when he quietly promised to speak to the Elder Council on her behalf and that she should hurry to her room before her great aunt Haru tracked her down with the Uchiha tomobako still in her possession — Hinata knew her sire was merely reaching out to protect her happiness in his own way.
"Thank you, Otou-san." The Hime said quietly, still having ample time to examine the contents of the box before she was expected to report to the Hokage office in a few hours.
Unable to conceal the shy smile that kissed the corner of her lips as she carefully arranged her flowers on top of the large box and bowed to her father in gratitude once last time, Hinata slipped from his office filled with giddy excitement and a happy pincushion flower-joy condensing her scent.
She'd definitely be pressing her beautiful courting gift later…but the overwhelmingly heady curl of the ⍺lpha's wet-lightning and fire scent, she flushed, was something she wanted to lick from the fibres from its ribbon just to taste how compatible the Uchiha was.
. . .
The heavy promise of a mid-afternoon storm had become a humid curse skittering across pridefully straightened shoulders, the nineteen-year-old Uchiha sparrowhawk wondering absentmindedly if experiencing the curse of Hi-no-Kuni's fire-scorch rainfall season once more was worth the agony after having managed to avoid it for several years now.
The feral strands of his hair were already nestling into curl after curl, its thick layers an irritable niggle brushing the back of his neck whenever he moved as bicoloured tertiary feathers fell out of the careful alignment the ⍺lpha groomed them into earlier that morning. It almost seemed like the effort he expended to preen was utterly pointless, a heaving growl struggling to draw back the oppressive flare of chakra from spilling into his wildfire-lightning scent.
It did not help that Sasuke had been drawn away from the few courting scrolls he managed to salvage from the Clan archives hidden deep beneath the Naka Shrine after his adventure in the Hyūga district. It may have been considered perfectly normal for a courting request to be answered within three days of its initiation in the Uchiha Clan, but Sasuke had never been known for his patience.
His instincts were a heady mess of insecurity and unexpressed anxiety, a confusing mix of pride and anger that he submitted to his instincts so easily as large primary wings ached for the kiss and freedom of the sky—.
The fact that he was currently stuck in a booth of his least favourite restaurant with an overly excitable teammate and sly Hokage — peaking at him every now and then from the pages of that disgusting book the man insisted on reading in public — did not appease the Uchiha's internal instability or nerves in the slightest.
He would give anything to be anywhere but here.
Sasuke refused to even contemplate placing a single noodle on his chopsticks, the fingertips of his right hand clenched, rather stiffly, around the half-drained sakazuki cup he managed to frighten the old man into serving him despite it merely being afternoon and most sleezy alcoholics were still tucked away in their holes for the day.
Though the fragrant taste did little to take the edge off his emotions, it did calm his senses enough to somewhat tolerate the Dobe's constant rambling about his wedding for the last forty-five minutes.
Gracefully shifting his wings and torso away from the excitable jerk of an overly large red-gold foxtail swishing a little too close to him for the fifth time in ten minutes, the third ⍺lpha of the terrifying dining group narrowed a belligerent glare at his teammate before he truly lost his mind.
"Watch where you wave that thing, Dobe. You're moulting in my sake." His irritable hiss was enough to light a fire of indignation in his friend as always, the Kitsune rounding on him with fiery blue eyes and flicking ears that lowered comically against the razor cut of his spiky blonde hair.
"What's with you, you feathered bastard?! You've been nothing but a jerk since we got here! If you don't show some gratitude, I'll ask Sakura-chan to include you in the preparations for the wedding—."
"You wouldn't dare." The sparrowhawk hissed, shivering in dread at the mere prospect of facing Naruto's intended after the years of turmoiled hatred and frustration she inspired in him since he was a child. In fact, he remembered nearly running her through with his kunai several times at the Academy because she got an inch too close to touching his wings.
Civilian eta had a difficult time understanding the taboo of touching a Blessed's appendages even after being made aware that only mates were allowed to do so. They seemed to take advantage of their own ignorance, however…completely dismissing that it was as close to violating a person's soul as one could get without actually doing the deed.
It was an ingrained offense, often punishable by law, in even the most feral of clans. Even Sasuke could recall his parents constantly warning him to never allow anyone close to his wings and neck before he possessed enough self-awareness to understand reason. The fact that a civilian girl had been so determined to violate the sacredness of that law because of a mere schoolyard crush, several times, was what drove his disrespect, weariness and hatred of her even now.
Though the sparrowhawk may acknowledge she had been just a very dumb child that didn't know what she was doing, going so far as prompting even their lazy sensei to formally reprimand her for her actions; he did begrudgingly accept the growth of her strength and determination over the years to stand by him and Naruto's side as an equal—.
Drowning the icy kiss of alcohol with a bitter grimace, Sasuke dug black taloned fingertips into the wood of the bar in a desperate attempt to bite back the reverberating ⍺lpha growl springing to life in the back of his throat.
"I said I'd come to wedding on the day, Naruto. I'm not helping with anything else." He made that decision a long time ago, absolutely drawing the line at willingly helping their nuptials along as he shakily poured himself another sakazuki cup from the half-empty tokkuri he had been nursing since the start of this late afternoon farse.
"Why you, Teme! You're supposed to—."
"Mah, mah!" The Rokudaime Hokage piped up next to them, empty bowl of ramen having replaced the near full one over the few seconds it took their usual disagreement to start as he flipped the page of his book without displaying a single ounce of concern. "Settle down, boys. You're upsetting the rest of the customers."
The stifling clash of their unresolved ⍺lpha dominance had been overwhelming enough, Sasuke noted, to clear the entire restaurant without his notice. He was somewhat surprised people were that terrified of him even with Naruto and Kakashi seated right next to him. It was—.
"Don't tease Sasuke so much, Naruto." Kakashi warned, a single closed-eye smile pinning the silently fuming blonde in place as he placed his glaring orange book aside before allowing a large silver Ōkami tail and large wolf ears to puff in irritation. "Our little Tengu-chan has enough on his plate without you adding to it. After all, as far as I can scent, he'll be off planning his own wedding soon..."
"What—?" Naruto gaped, attention zooming in on his best friend with wide-eyed disbelief as the towering Uchiha jerked himself from his seat and ignored the visible pink flush dusting his cheeks. He couldn't help the flash of embarrassment from flooding his system, the tips of his ears dyed a brilliant carmine in the stormy afternoon light as wildly-flapping tertiary wings shifted forward to partially conceal his features.
"Fuck you, Kakashi." The Uchiha hissed, an almighty frown furrowing black brows as a strange otherworldly defiance lifted black bangs from the left side of his face. The heady flare of his Rinnegan was flooding the entire district with an icy chakra-hiss, traditional tengu geta barely making a single sound as he simply took half a step and vanished from their sight.
"Shit!" Dragging an irritable palm through the raven mess of his bangs to appease the uncharacteristic tremble of his lips, Sasuke was deeply surprised to find himself executing a two-mile, one-leap, shunshin without even activating a single one-handed seal. It was an endeavour he had not been able to do since the Fourth Great Shinobi War, deeply embarrassed features tipping upwards to gaze numbly at the thickening storm clouds swirling menacingly above.
There was no doubt Kakashi and Naruto would be hunting him down in search of answers soon, even if he refused to speak to them for the remainder of the month. It would be better if he simply returned home, he grimaced. He could continue his search into Uchiha courting rituals without further interruption, especially considering he automatically deposited himself on the dusty road leading home without meaning to.
Frowning softly in confusion when he thought he caught a glimpse of deep indigo blue and wisteria purple flitting away from the Uchiha district in his periphery, Sasuke was somewhat disappointed to find nothing but rustling leaves and the howl wind answering his one-eyed curiosity when he turned in the direction of the disturbance.
If this was how it was going to be after coming out of every single rut in the foreseeable future, the Last Uchiha would find himself bitterly disappointed that he remained so uncharacteristically affected by his emotions. The nineteen-year-old could not believe he was delirious and hopeful enough to dream his Hyūga Hime would trespass on his territory without him being there to catch her—.
It was only when he unlatched the front door and stepped into the genkan that reality slapped him in the face.
The sparrowhawk's heart instantly clenched against his sternum, the deliberately supressed bubble of his instincts trembling with the sound of a delirious trill as hypersensitive senses instantly narrowed in on the soft flowery sweetness that drifted in the air around him. It had condensed itself into a joyful pincushion Ωmega giddiness, the lime-lust of her heat-blossom scent enough to snap large primary wings in a prideful arch behind his back as he shut the door with considerably more force than when it was opened.
"Hn," The sparrowhawk smirked, wondering absentmindedly why he was so worried she'd take a full three days to provide him with an answer. The grey scops owl had actually broken into his home without setting off a single wire trap or explosive seal he constantly laid in and around Uchiha lands to keep annoying Dobes and bold interlopers from interrupting his privacy.
He was in no particular hurry to follow the fragrant trail his Hime left behind for him however, the Last Uchiha slowly treading the same path she used to move through his house as he savoured every shimmering wisp of her before it had a chance to fade.
Kami, she smelled good, he moaned. Smells like mine—.
Her presence was the strongest leading up to his bedroom, uncertain black-nailed fingertips closing the fusuma with a snap behind him as the obsessive need to capture every single detail she left behind spun the Sharingan to life in his right eye. It did not matter that an excruciating phantom pain had been wracking his lost left arm for most of the day, nor that his anger and instability had taken an exhausting amount of effort to curb—.
She laid her answer to his courting request in exactly the same place he laid hers earlier that morning, the large and neatly folded Byzantium and black merino blanket — resting on the pillow of his carefully made bed — a tactile magnet he could not help but want to run his palm against as it scattered little filaments of her aroma and newness across the four corners of his room.
He could tell that it was newly but lovingly bought, as it should be according to Clan tradition. Yet, she had also scented it for him in askance that he build a nest. Not only that, but there was quite a large rectangular box resting atop the blanket's surface. Next to it, of roughly the same length but smaller width, was a dark blue velvet counterpart absolutely drenched in her essence.
It was that one he instinctively reached for first, snapping it open with some difficulty with his one hand as he shivered at the wave of heady Ωmega perfume it released. She had worn this, he realized, numerous times according to his senses.
Shaky fingertips were extracting the enamelled kanzashi resting on a bed of white velvet, mismatched wisteria-red orbs meticulously tracing the angular leaves of a large Black Hellebore Bloom and Tama ball as he watched shining gold filaments dance lightly in imitation of delicate stamen stems and pinprick pollen dust.
It was breathtakingly beautiful, just like her.
Sasuke had no doubt the hairpiece was a relic passed down in the Hyūga family line for centuries. It's high-class craftmanship and haunting Clan scent a welcoming deluge to her Ωmega softness as he dismissed the ostentatiousness of its materials and focused on the meaning of the flower instead.
Like Sasuke, Hinata did not try to ply him with half-hearted rose promises or empty love declarations — she vowed to provide peace, tranquillity and serenity in his life instead. There was no question that her devotion and loyalty peaked through in the small giving she just offered him, a sentiment the Uchiha desperately wanted to return as he shamefully turned his head to the side to conceal the flood of emotion filming a burning wetness across his eyes.
"Okay," He whispered, trembling fingertips setting the beautiful kanzashi aside as he lifted a forefinger and thumb to hover before his lips.
"Okay." A brief but controlled explosion of chakra instantly summoning the figure of a clone behind him as an answering 'Hn' became the only acknowledgement Sasuke needed to make himself understand his own request.
The sensation of calloused fingertips sifting through his messy hair and nudging his tertiary wings momentarily out of the way with his help, was a strange accompaniment to the steady thrum of his heart. The shoulder length mass was slowly being separated to create a half-up style with heavy bangs still falling forward to partially concealing his Rinnegan from sight but keeping it from being completely hidden.
Gazing at the world a little more clearly, though through the gaps of a partial raven curtain, Sasuke reached for the larger of the two boxes as swift but precise movements twisted the tail of his hair and pinned it in place with the kanzashi behind him. It was a style Sasuke usually wore when he travelling, only the blue wrap used to control his tertiary wings was completely absent. Now, however—.
The surprise that jolted through his system when he managed to open the second gift was enough to dismiss his clone mere seconds after a hand dropped from his hair.
The Tercel rose on shaky legs as he turned to stare at the rumbling skies outside. A vivid fork of lightning split the grey amalgamation of clouds outside, heavy ⍺lpha senses reaching out in desperate tendrils to locate the Ωmega playing with his emotions so easily as he dropped the box and leaped from his window into the sky without a second thought.
He had to see…if what was in that box was what he thought it was and his memory of pursuing his Clan scrolls were right, he had to see. He had to know that she—.
Sasuke couldn't discipline his emotions enough to sit by and contemplate his next response. No…not after what she just revealed. Sasuke didn't think he'd ever be gifted something so precious in his entire life, never mind the fact that he would never deserve it. His overwhelming darkness and hate already made him unworthy of a mate to consider on such a level.
Yet, Hinata…
Hinata had—.
. . .
Humming softly to herself as white okobo geta transversed the open training field she decided to cut through in a bid to take the long way home, Hinata used elegant fingertips to deploy the large navy blue kasa her sister shoved in her hands before she left on her self-appointed mission that afternoon. The fact that it matched the silk of her obi or that it was a blatant harkening to Uchiha's Clan colours made her wonder if the conversation she had with her father hadn't been as private as she thought it was.
Not that it really mattered in the end, Hinata frowned. Hanabi would be made aware of her decision to pursue a courtship with the Last Tercel soon enough. She was happily wearing his scent, after all, just as much as she donned his Clan's betrothal symbol to physically mark herself as an Ωmega he was willingly to consider.
Now, if only she could gain the courage to actually display it.
The Ωmega may have been bold enough to infiltrate the Uchiha Compound to return her answer, she mused. But she couldn't understand why she was unable to face this terrifying obstacle as well. It was not as if her Clan was going to allow her to attend a single courting meeting with the ⍺lpha without it, regardless if he was once considered a traitor to the Five Nations or Hero of the War.
In fact, her father hadn't even let her leave the compound that day without turning the key over to him.
Stalling momentarily to regain her footing when the soft pitter-patter of raindrops bounced off the bamboo and silk of her umbrella, the eighteen-year-old scops owl was quick to draw her wings close to her body in an attempt to keep them from getting wet. She had not spent so long working on the plumes just to lose their shimmering softness in the hands of the weather. Now, if only she could—.
Startling abruptly at the sound of a haunting screech resounding in the sky like a clap of thunder, quietly thoughtful eyes widened in surprise when a heavy pinprick of anticipation skittered along the back of her neck. The towering two-meter black frame that landed gracefully in front of her was the sole focus of her attention, the world narrowing in on the impressive spread of four wings as carefully groomed under-feathers gleamed with natural stipes of tawny and gold.
Delicate droplets of rain had settled like diamonds along regal plumes, the Tercel quick to shake the offending water from his large appendages as those haunting dichromatic eyes gazed at the Ωmega before him in flurry of emotion that was difficult to decipher.
Disbelief, uncertainty, fear…even desperate hope flickered across his features that Hinata could read; their presence shifting so quickly she barely had enough time to grasp a hold of their meaning before his mouth settled in a thin line and he took a hesitant step in her direction. It was only then that she noticed he was without shoes or his usual cloak, his thigh-length tunic shifting slightly over long shinobi pants as he moved restlessly at the tug of wind dancing across his empty left sleeve.
The Uchiha Tercel was hiding his expression in the high collar of his Clan shirt, only the wildness of his eyes standing out amongst his newly instilled rigidity as he reached a cautious hand in Hinata's direction before letting it drop limply by his side. She could tell he was afraid she was a figment of his imagination, the pure wonder he stared at her with sending a haunting ache skittering across the kunoichi's heart as she decided to close the five-feet distance between them to two instead.
"Sasuke-san?"
"C-can I see? I—." She knew what he was asking, his otherworldly attractiveness striking her once more as she nodded shyly. Her heart was racing the instant she caught sight of the gleaming black Hellebore flower pin in his hair, never having expecting him to actually wear it as a flutter of happiness collided lily-iolite orbs with dichromatic red and purple.
She was stepping closer once more, rising the large umbrella to shield them both as her free hand shyly lifted to the high mandarin collar of her lavender shirt. The silky uniform fabric she donned was usually high enough to conceal her mating and scent glands from sight, the raspy sound of its zip parting the fabric just enough to stop bellow the hollow of her throat.
"I-is t-this okay?" The Hime asked concerned, pupilless orbs blown wide in surprise when Uchiha Sasuke made a low sound as if the air had been forced from his lungs as a heavy flash of possessiveness seared her very soul in place. The wide leather courting collar was like a magnet for his gaze, mismatched pupils obsessively tracing the beautifully crafted but simple design of passion blue dye and vibrant red stiches.
In the centre of her throat, where a buckle with his velvet ribbon had been tied — instead of the beautiful uchiwa fan sculpted from mother-of-pearl and red garnet she gifted him in the collar's box — was enough to raise the sparrowhawk's fingertips in an attempt to trace the edge of supple leather. He knew the final claiming of her would be when gave her the bejewelled symbol of his Clan to wear on prominent display.
The fact that she even knew it was a tradition specific to the Uchiha, absolutely floored him. He had only ever seen his mother wear a collar like that, a gratified shudder racing down the bow of his spine as he noted the Hyūga Hime's vibrant flush at his close proximity and the quietly submissive bow of her head as he finally closed the small distance between them to place them near chest-to-chest.
"Y-you'll have to negotiate with O-otou-san for the return of the k-key." She stuttered, a fact the sparrowhawk already sussed out when he noticed the missing slot in the velvet box in addition to the beautiful jewelled-buckle she offered him. He nodded his understanding with a noncommittal 'Hn', too emotionally and physically charged to speak his mind as he carefully coaxed a bamboo handle from his little Ωmega's grasp.
She was tiny against his towering frame, even the several inches her okobo geta provided did little to lift her head further than his chest. Sasuke didn't mind it however, subtly drinking in the tranquil sense of peace her chakra and scent inspired in his soul as he quietly observed her every mannerism and smile in the protective ring of their shared umbrella.
It was the first time he was in such close proximity with an Ωmega by choice, previous encounters on the battlefield and obsessive stalkers did not count. Why he didn't part his lips to speak, however, he didn't know. It was—.
"Tea." He grunted, absolutely appalled he couldn't even form a single sentence in his dazed state as curious ametrine irises gazed up at him through haunting white lashes and downy feathers. It was strange that she knew what he was asking, however — an annoying red converging on the tips of his ears as she offered him a delightfully shy smile as she nodded her assent.
"Will Amaya-obasan's s-shop be okay?" Hinata was generous enough not to draw attention to the disability he presented on his left side, merely folding her left arm with his right still holding the kasa as they fell in step towards the centre of the village. Sasuke was only briefly distracted by her gentle tug pulling him the direction of his home when the road converged a few minutes later.
"Hinata?"
"A-ano, you forgot your shoes Sasuke-san. We can go fetch them. Y-your cloak too. It's g-getting cold." Refusing to show the embarrassed flush decorating his cheeks at her genuine concern, Sasuke schooled his features into a well-known mask of apathy as they made a quick detour to his home and she even hooted softly in pleasure when he settled a spare cloak over her shoulders after noticing the quiet shivers wracking her frame.
The abrupt drop in temperature that came once the rain hit was both a curse and a blessing for the both of them, neither of them seeming to mind the occasional brush of their flight-feathers as the Uchiha Tercel ground ⍺lpha sharp canine along his bottom lip at the sensation of riling-peace it undulated against his soul.
They were bound to touch with such large wingspans hidden in the shade of a single umbrella, he knew. But Sasuke couldn't help by relish in the sensation of mine it echoed in the depths of his awareness.
He wouldn't be giving up the genuine serenity she already managed to carve out for him, nor the tentative happiness he could feel pushing lightly against the heavy darkness and anger constantly weighing down his mind. It was strange how someone could gain influence over his emotions so quickly, he thought. Yet, strangely, the vulnerability Sasuke felt was different from the terror he expected to consume his mind.
He had already made his mind up on what he wanted to do, yet he was in need of his own courage to pull it off. It was not going to be easy or pleasant all the time, but he had already decided he didn't want to give this up, whatever it was, for the world.
Thank you so much for all they lovely reviews, my Honeys. They mean the world to me! If I could ask for a tiny contribution for this chapter, it would make me eternally grateful. I really hope you enjoyed.
Chocolate Carnival