Hey Everyone!
Again, a huge shout out and thanks to all those who messaged and reviewed! I really appreciate all the feedback and comments and I hope that you all will stay with me through this journey :)
Sorry, this update was soooooo late – I apologize deeply for the delay!
Lots of love
wicked ashes
"So what are we going to do now? We can't fight them."
Hiro regarded the female in front of him, and then took a large swig of his sake.
"If we had stuck to the original plan, like I suggested, we wouldn't be in this… current predicament. All we needed was one damn kid to secure the deal and you couldn't even manage that." Retorted the shrill female.
Hiro visibly twitched. "Just leave it to me. I'll fix it Sayuri."
"Oh really," She remarked, full of sarcasm. "The last time you tried 'fixing' something, the little wrench was comatose for an entire week and now, she's run straight into the arms of that Uchiha. I can only imagine what she's doing with him now."
Hiro felt his blood beginning to boil. "She wouldn't dare!"
"Oh, but she would, dear brother, "Sayuri smirked, enjoying his distress as she sashayed towards him. "A strong man like the Uchiha? With his powerful bloodline and endless inheritance? You know, they say he's the most handsome shinobi in all of fire country."
Sayuri watched Hiro double over in anger and felt a sense of perverse glee at his torment. Hiro was always impulsive and too easily influenced.
"The Uchiha are a cursed clan with a cursed bloodline! He's nothing more than a traitor and an heir to a dead clan!"
Hiro reached for the first thing in his line of sight, the sake decanter, and threw it across the room smashing it into tiny pieces. Good. He was getting angry.
She decided to edge him on further.
She sauntered closer to him and whispered, "Perhaps…but a formidable clan none the less. One survivor is all it takes to repopulate a clan to its former glory."
The next thing she knew, Hiro had one hand painfully pulling down on her hair while the other hand griped her neck in a vice like grip. She had gone too far this time. She could see the blinding rage in his eyes and actions and she could hardly breathe.
But it was necessary.
She needed him to be angry, very angry, for her plan to work. Hiro was nothing but a pawn in her game of power and she would play his accomplice until her goal was achieved.
"H-Hiro," she choked out, "let m-me g-g-go."
Hiro removed his hands once he realized who he was choking, but it was 2 seconds too long. Sayuri nursed her neck and frowned; there would be a mark tomorrow. She had enough 'sibling time' for one day.
"Look, whether you admit it or not, you're worth nothing to the clan without her." She got up and headed for the door, "Do whatever it takes to get her back, otherwise we will lose everything."
Hinata was reading a book in the Uchiha library when the phone rang.
Sasuke hardly used the phone himself, and Naruto and Sakura clearly deemed themselves above the use of telephone and barged into Sasuke's house at their own will. So, it was perfectly reasonable that she had jumped out of her skin when it rang that afternoon, its resonance thundering on a background of silence that was the compound.
Sasuke had gone out to run some errands and she didn't know when he would be back. He had instructed her not to answer the door or the phone the day after he had rescued her. Hinata therefore decided to ignore it and went back to the passage she was reading. It was a particularly interesting piece about one of the clan's previous leaders, the legendary Madara Uchiha.
The phone rang again.
And again.
By now, Hinata's curiosity was getting the best of her. She put down the book, and slowly moved to the living room where the phone was.
Who could it possibly be?
Maybe it was Naruto or Sakura? What if they needed her help?!
Panic stricken, she reached for the phone.
Sasuke had entered through the back door carrying an armful of groceries.
He scowled. They had cost him almost twice as much as it did for Hinata and the bags were considerably lighter. Prejudiced merchant bastards. He was putting the bags on the table when he heard something ring followed by a large spike in chakra. He proceeded into the living with long strides, red eyes landing a frozen Hinata holding the telephone.
He paused in the doorway and suppressed his chakra. She hadn't noticed him and her back was towards him.
He couldn't remember the last time anyone had called him. It must be for her and someone clearly intended for him to be away while the phone call was made.
Sasuke carefully slipped into the bedroom, where the other phone was, and pressed the mute button.
"Hello hime."
Hinata felt her blood run cold.
It was him.
And he used his pet name for her.
The name he used when he was angry.
"H-h-hiro?" Hinata said timidly.
Oh gosh, when did the room start spinning?
"Hime," the voice cooed, "I've missed you."
Hinata tried to remember her counseling sessions with Sakura. Interactions with him and her family were inevitable but Sakura had given her a few tools in case such a situation had arisen. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself.
"P-please leave me a-alone Hiro. I have n-nothing to s-say to you." Her voice sounded a lot stronger than she felt. Her hands were trembling and her palms were sweaty.
"Relax, hime. I just want to talk."
"There's n-nothing to t-talk a-about. I n-n-never w-want to s-see you again –"
"Hinata hime, you're my wife... I just want us to try and work things out. Okay?"
"..."
"The way you left me abruptly hurt me deeply Hime. That was wrong of you... but I'm willing to forgive and forget it all happened if you just talk to me."
"Y-you h-hurt me hiro. In the w-worst p-p-possible w-way and –"
"You made me Hinata! You're always pushing my buttons! You know I don't want to hurt you but you make me! And now, you shame your husband and noble clan by the mere mention of divorce while you live with that disgraceful Uchiha!"
Hinata felt tears stream down her face as everything came back to her: the beatings, the emotional abuse, the violent rapes...it would never stop.
He couldn't even acknowledge her pain and the wrong that he had done to her.
"I'm s-s-sorry H-h-iro, but I c-can't do it a-anymore. I w-wish y-you all the b-best."
"Women are a dime a dozen, Hinata. I can have anyone I want and you know that. But I chose you. I still choose you. You've always had difficulty making the right choices, which is why I've had to make them for you. What will you do without me?"
"I h-have t-to g-g-go, H-hiro."
"Hn. That Uchiha, you think he's going to keep you? You're not beautiful like other women and you are weak. Who will have you now? See reason, Hinata; come home and stay by my side like a dutiful wife should."
Hinata had heard enough.
Hiro knew exactly what to say to make her feel small, stupid and unwanted.
"I c-cant H-hiro. G-g-good b-b-bye."
Sasuke was stunned, still processing the conversation he had just eavesdropped on.
This guy… had the nerve to call his home and threaten his charge? And where the hell did he get his number anyway? He knew that he should report this to Naruto and the others but there was something was stopping him: her privacy. The conversation itself was nothing they didn't already know and contained no new relevant information.
He heard Hinata running to her room and decided to check up on Hinata an hour later. He didn't want her to know that he had been listening in on her conversation.
He knocked lightly the door.
She didn't answer but he could hear muffled sounds coming from inside the room.
He tried again, louder this time.
She answered on the third knock. She looked up at him with large, red doe eyes.
Sasuke schooled his features into an expressionless mask.
"Hey, I was thinking of getting ramen tonight. You want some?"
She gave him a faint, forced smile. "Y-yes, O-okay."
"Hn. Get ready, we'll leave in 20 minutes. And wear something nice."
Hinata gaped at him. Usually, she wouldn't mind going out to Ichiraku but today, she just wanted to curl up under the covers and cry. And what did he mean by nice? People turned in up in all manner of clothing and states to Ichiraku. She complied nonetheless.
After 17 minutes, Sasuke knocked on Hinata's door. His experience with women (i.e. Sakura) was less than reassuring. Whenever Sakura said she would be ready in 30 minutes, it usually equated to over an hour. Sasuke was therefore shocked when Hinata appeared at exactly 19 minutes in a lavender kimono wearing minimal makeup, a hint of rouge on her lips and her hair styled into elegant bun.
He felt something foreign stir within him.
Hinata emerged from the room, hoping that Sasuke would approve of what she was wearing.
She hadn't worn her hair in a bun in a long time because she wanted to hide the bruises on her neck. Hinata used makeup for the same reason, but she wore considerably less today. Sasuke was waiting for her in the hall and could feel his eyes on her as she went up to him. She couldn't help but blush. He looked absolutely dashing in a midnight blue kimono accompanied by a dark red obi. He wasn't wearing his forehead protector either.
Hinata found herself wondering how one person could manage to look good in absolutely everything. It wasn't fair.
"Hn. Lets go."
The walk to the restaurant was silent. The moon was full and the night was warm.
When they got there, Sasuke led her to a private compartment of the restaurant. It was a very fashionable, aristocratic and expensive looking restaurant by the name of Midori. She had heard her father talking about it before. The compartment itself was lovely, well decorated and even led to the courtyard garden. A pretty waitress in a fitted red kimono brought them some sake, water and the menus. She lingered dangerously close to Sasuke who blatantly ignored her.
"What are you going to have?" Sasuke said, not looking up from the menu,
Hinata hadn't had the courtesy of looking at a menu in over two years. Hiro always ordered for her on the rare occasions that they went out which was usually to keep up appearances. Everything on the menu looked so delectable she didn't care which one she chose.
"Um, I'll t-think I'll have the fish," she said handing back the menu to the waitress who glared at her in a way she couldn't quite describe.
"Hn. And I'll have the grilled steak. And don't skimp on the sauce this time."
"Of course sir, will there be anything else?" she purred.
"No."
She fluttered her eyelashes at Sasuke. "Please call me if you need anything."
Dinner was lovely and Hinata felt herself relax.
Sasuke was telling her about Naruto's latest act of stupidity and she couldn't help but giggle. He looked so serious even when he was being funny.
She knew that she should tell Sasuke about the phone call but she didn't want to ruin the occasion. Hiro's words played in over in her head like a broken record, one in particular hurt the most:
"Who will have you now?"
Who will have you now, Indeed. A ruined, broken woman with no family or livelihood.
She couldn't live with Sasuke forever. A young man like him would need his privacy when he found his special someone. What would become of Hinata then? Where would she live? What would she do? Would Hiro or the Hyuuga try hurt her again?
"What you would like for dessert? I don't really like sweet things."
"Huh?!"
Sasuke sighed. "I said, what would you like for desert?"
Would the Hyuuga ever let her go? Let her be? Or was she doomed to live in constant fear for the rest of her life?
"Um, o-okay." She replied offhandedly, toying with her food.
Sasuke raised an elegant eyebrow. The hell?
Maybe she could go back to Ninja school and become a jonin or medical ninja. At least then, she would have a paycheck and could afford to live in a small apartment in town.
"Sakura usually gets the strawberry cheesecake."
She could plant herself a nice garden, with blossoming flowers and fragrant herbs like she had always dreamed, and spend her weekends reading books from the library or volunteer at the hospital...
She was lost in her own world and it irked him. Weren't girls supposed to love sugar-overloaded food?
Sasuke decided to snap her out of it.
"I'm migrating to Suna. Their weather is a lot nicer."
"Oh, that's nice… w-wait, What?!"
He smirked.
That got her. And her reaction was priceless.
"I've been asking you for the past five minutes what you would like for desert, and since you have been otherwise preoccupied, I took the liberty of ordering for you. Care to tell me what's on your mind?"
Hinata was instantly ashamed. "I'm s-so s-sorry! Um, it's n-nothing r-really."
Sasuke looked at her skeptically. Nothing? It certainly didn't look like nothing. Too bad he already knew about the phone call - but why wasn't she telling him about it? Fine. It that's how she wanted to play it, he would get it out of her another way.
"There's been something I've been meaning to ask you. What was the turning point? What made you leave?"
Hinata's eyes went as wide as saucers. She hadn't discussed this with anyone, not even Sakura. She saw Sasuke recline into his seat from the corner of her eye, clearly expecting an answer. He may have been born into a prestigious clan but certainly didn't possess the mannerisms that went along with it, she thought ruefully.
She averted her gaze."Um, I'm s-sorry Sasuke. T-that's quite p-personal."
"More personal than you living in my house for the past six months? There's no doubt as to what people are thinking about us, even if the connotations are false."
Sasuke had no objection to Hinata staying with him since it worked to his favor. He came home to wonderfully cooked meals, fresh clothes and a clean, well kept house. But more importantly, his fan girl base had been reduced by approximately one third along with their annoying gifts and unwanted correspondence that plagued him on a daily basis. Who cares if everyone thought he was screwing her. Too bad it wasn't true.
Hinata visibly reddened.
"H-he, um, t-they wanted an heir."
Sasuke was not surprised. Prestigious clans usually expected a child within the first year of marriage.
She was completely avoiding his gaze now and Hinata didn't need him to ask the question that his eyes spoke. "I-I c-couldn't do it. I-I w-wouldn't." Her voice steeled on the last word, fists clenched underneath the table.
The waitress entered in smiles, with a tiramisu cheesecake and single coffee, hoping for another chance with the handsome avenger. Sasuke stopped her dead in her tracks with a glance that plainly said: Get lost, or else. Stung, the waitress left in a hurry.
Sasuke took a sip of his coffee, black with no sugar, and then edged her on with his onyx depths.
"I-I t-took special h-herbs that I planted in my g-garden. H-he assumed they were tea-leaves. So w-when the clan declared me b-barren, and I didn't o-object." She paused to have a scoop of the cake. It was really good; a mix of sweet and bitter, just like Sasuke.
"I t-t-took such l-large d-doses that I –"
"You didn't want to give him a child." Sasuke finished for her.
"Y-y-yes. H-hiro didn't d-d-deserve to be a f-f-father."
Hn. So, she put her own life and reputation at risk to prevent the birth of a child into a self-serving family. Impressive. Noble clans prided themselves on their heirs; and a woman's worth lay in her ability to conceive quickly and produce strong offspring. The more she gave, the better. Her resolve not to give Hiro and the Hyuuga clan a child was commendable but suicidal. She was alone, trapped, helpless and too weak to take on her husband or the clan on her own, so she deprived them of the one thing that mattered to them: an heir.
Others would've caved long ago.
"Then tell me who does."
AN: I hope you liked it! Let me know what you think of Hiro, Sasuke, and Hinata. Sayuri is a new character; she'll play a bigger role later…
What do you think of her…? =)
Please message and review, because messages + reviews = LOVE hehehe