Welcome back dear readers, this is the second chapter of my AU fanfiction. I did not mention a disclaimer in the first chapter, so I am mentioning it now.

Disclaimer

All characters except the OC and her family are owned by Masashi Kishimoto, well, he owns Naruto.

This is a non-canon fanfic and readers can interpret the answers of 'why' is this character or this character's situation is shown like this in fanfic according to their creativity or presence of mind.

Well, I am continuing the fanfic, thankyou so much for reading!

-WE BOTH DON'T HAVE A CHOICE-

HANARE'S POV.

I cant believe how fast 5 months went by, and I cant believe that I could not find a single clue of that guy's where-abouts. The only positive thing which happened in context to solving my own personal problems was that I got a hint about the source which can give me a hint about that guy's whereabouts. See, i have yet just a clue of the person who can give me a clue. I am still pretty far from my goal as of now. Moreover, escaping from the castle has become much more difficult, so I am stuck in the library and castle for days. Mother has really become cautious. She doesnt want me to do anything stupid till my marriage. How is wanting to complete my identity stupid, huh?

And, I am really really rethinking about agreeing to marry the Uchiha prince, I mean, what the hell was I thinking? Yeah sure, I'd be away from my oh so nice 'family' but I got a lot of insight on how married life is from my mother. And needless to say, it isn't what I want right now. But, does it even matter, what I want? If only I wasn't the princess! I know, I can easily run off, away from all this. But I won't, because firstly, that seems like a cowardly move. And secondly, I have very well heard about how Uchihas are and can be. And as I have observed the current affairs of this world, the Uchiha's have been vengeful and ruthless. AND, they don't tolerate betrayers, to sum up, they don't like to hear a 'no'.

My point being, the Uchihas are clearly interested in power and expanding their reach in this world. There are two main ways they can do that, peace treaty and war. The best way of ensuring peace is without a doubt marriage. As the bride's country would never attack or backstab a country where their princess lives, will they? And the groom's side will protect the bride's country, as that country has basically given them their future queen, who would carry on their bloodline. I observe, no matter if the couple like each other or not, the situation of marriage does create that mindset among people of the two countries. So, if I back off from the marriage, or even disagree with it, there are high chances my country will be in grave danger. The Uchihas may resort to the second way, war.

I am so smart to deduce all this, aren't I? Oh no, I am not praising myself at this moment. Basically, I had no choice from the start. But but but, there is still one way left. What if the Uchihas themselves decline the marriage? Chances of this happening is highly impossible i know, but still…

They cannot wage war if they are the ones who declined the peace proposal. And I can start by talking to my ….to-be-husband about this. I mean, last time I met him, he seemed to be an understanding person. Well, I don't know how he is, but at least I can give it a try. Yeah, like he will peacefully agree with me practically rejecting him and will announce that he is the one who is declining. Uff, brain, shut up. And isn't that so selfish? Pushing him off the cliff so you are safe and free? I froze. I am not being selfish, am i? Is it selfish to want to marry, even if it is for my country? Is it selfish to choose myself over my country?

…..yes, it is right?

"You!" I snap back from my thoughts and look over to the ugly person who oh so kindly addressed me. It's obviously my sister [step-sister]. I look over to her, not fully facing her. I was standing in the garden and was peacefully thinking while leaning against the railing looking over at the beautiful pond until this idiot decided to disturb me. [btw, I have a brother 1 year younger to me, Denki, and this sister 4 years younger to me, Yakumi.]

"Ungrateful elder sister! At Least turn towards me while I am talking to you!"

"*sigh*, what has gotten your panties in a twist now?"

"*angry sound* I will talk about that comment later! But now that I see you seem finally free to talk to me, I am gonna say this one thing to you! For the past 5 months, I have thought, and I have decided." she announced.

I raise an eyebrow, Yakumi thinking?.

" I want to be the one marrying the handsome Uchiha prince." she claimed.

Oh my. I have to say, I am a little shocked. But if I think about it…., why not? This spoiled brat wants to marry the prince, right? Doesn't that basically mean that I will be saved from this tragedy which would have happened to me 2 days later?

"Really?" I asked her, a sudden smile, which sure did put her off judging by her stupefied expression. " Do you really wanna marry him? Oh, please feel free to do that!" I said to her and watched her expression, of mild happiness but extreme shock.

But, my hopes are shattered by the next voice, which belongs to my mother.

"Yakumi, I warned you before. You cannot marry him, I won't allow it. And Hanare, don't get so happy. How selfish can you be? How can you ignore your duties towards your country like that? And really now, do you not care an ounce about your dear sister, pushing her into the pit like that? Wanting her to suffer instead of you?..." her rant continued which i tuned out, not because i didn't care. But because every word hurts. I don't want to hear anymore. So I ran back into the castle, ignoring mothers shout.

I run into my room, and finally calm down. Tora, my cat lazily looked up at me as I slammed the door with a thud. I looked at his cute self, and picked him up and placed him on my lap as I sat near the balcony. I remember that day….

6 months ago.

"Hanare, i don't want to hear anything other than a 'yes'." father, rather stoically, demanded. Mother glared at him, as if reading my minding that I won't be saying a yes,

"But, why? Why ME!? Like, can't Yakumi marry?" I mumbled.

Mother seemed outraged by this, "are you out of your mind, I won't send my daughter among those Uchihas."

What transpired after this was not pleasant of course. Mother cares about Yakumi way too much more than me. No, no, Hanare, don't think about all this. It will only hurt. Think like this, I can handle whatever the Uchiha's throw at me, Yakumi would plaster her face on the floor and cry like a baby. And, above all, first make a decision.

But, do I have much of a choice?

Present day.

I don't know when I fell asleep, but when I woke up, it was almost evening. I got up and again went to freshen up. The sleep made her calmer. I decided I would at least try to talk about the wedding to the prince. Just to make it sure for myself that I tried everything I could do to help myself out of this situation. Just to not have any regrets about not doing anything. I knew that today the Uchihas would arrive here. Wedding is the day after tomorrow. The Uchihas as well as us have kept this marriage a secret, of course. Just think what would happen if word goes out that on this day these people are gonna be really busy with a wedding to take care of their security. And I know that nothing cliche is gonna happen. No sudden attacks and all, because we aren't ignoring our security!

My maid knocked on the door and entered when I signalled to her to come in. "The Uchihas have arrived."

There goes my fate.

I see a lot of carriages. Some 30-40 black brown haired people with expressionless or arrogant types of faces. Some rather stuck-up looking soldiers. But one smiling woman, my to-be mother-in-law. Well, speaking about the other three, her husband looked as grumpy as before. I am talking about the last time I saw the Uchiha king. The eldest prince, still with the emotionless look and deep deep eyes. And a new face for me, the youngest prince, what was his name, Sasuke? He too was wearing the same emotionless expression, but man, he was different from his brother.

I will not describe my mother's, father's and sibling's greetings to the guests and did my part of acting. All I could think about was how, how can I save both me and my kingdom?

Yeah, so what if the Uchihas have arrived. I don't think it is that joyous of a situation.

"Dear Hanare, you look even more beautiful than the last time I saw you." ah,how I loved this praise, but I would have truly accepted it if the situation was different. So yeah, I gave my to-be mother-in-law my fake slight polite smile and replied, "Uchiha-sama, you are too modest. Women who compliment other women's beauty often don't realise how much more beautiful they themselves are."

I saw the lady's eyes twinkle with amusement. I did not gauge out other Uchiha's reactions. The Uchiha king spoke up,"I am pleased with all your arrangements. Yes, we did have a comfortable journey." he must be replying to my father's earlier question.

"Do consider the castle as your only," my mother said politely with a smile," please rest for a while in the rooms, i am sure you all will love the evening dinner."

Uff, the personality changes of my mother….

To sum up, the Uchiha's are now resting in the guest rooms of our castle and I am now stuck with my family, having to listen to their talks..

"Aaaah, mother…the second Uchiha prince is…" Yakumi began, but mother cut her off mid-sentence.

"Do not get any ideas, Yakumi-chan. As for you, Hanare, be at the dinner table at time for once."

I look at her sharply. She and I, both know why and since how many years I have not been eating dinner with my family. How can she just order me to suddenly make myself familiar with the dining table facility again.

"Do not give me that look. 2 hours later, at the dining table. With all your manners and modesty." she glared at me. I nodded stiffly.

I am back in my room. I will spend the next 1 hour pacing in my room thinking. And next half an hour to get ready. For the information, I do not wear makeup. It's allergic to my skin anyways, so my mother and sister do not force me. By the way, I did not mention my brother much, did I? His name is Denki. He is a nice guy overall, just that for him, I am too much a nobody. I never existed for him.

And yeah, must have heard about the stupid tradition of girl and boy and not being alone with each other till the wedding? Because of that, I am going to make the daring move of sneaking into the Uchiha prince's room, just so that I can talk to him. I secretly hope he gets angry or something and calls off the marriage. The catch is, he might reveal what I did. But that all would be handled about when all that actually happens.

I have decided what I will do, and so, damn the consequences. Not literally though, what i mean is i am ready to take the responsibility of my actions and whatever is happening with me or will happen,

"Pshhh, heyyyyy!" I hear a knock on my balcony glass. I brighten up immediately seeing who it is. I rush to open the balcony door so she can get in and glance around just to make sure that nobody saw.

"Anko! God, I am so relieved. Where have you been these past 5 days!" I told my best friend.

"Phew," she breathes out as she sits on my bed and continues,"dealt with some mess, bah, nothing I can't handle. What about you, damn, really preparing for the wedding?"

"Uff Anko, I am trying alright, to get out of this mess. First tell me everything, crazy snake lady."

Crazy snake lady and crazy cat lady are our code words. That means serious business when used.

"Truly good news for you, worst for me. The Guy we've been looking for who would give you information about that guy, turned out to be the bastard-we-rather-not-name."

"Seriously?" I control my shock and continue," what does he have anything to do with that guy?"

"You won't believe, that guy is a former pawn of the bastard-we-rather-not-name."

"The hell, uh, Anko, I have to start getting ready for dinner, we talk as I dress up."she nods.

"I will soon get the information out, count on me. But yeah, dealing with this truth has been difficult for me considering my past, you know." I nod, well aware of Anko Mitarashi's dark past.

"But, Hana, brief me about your situation. Did you finally think something about this situation you are thrown into?"

"Yes, I am planning on sneaking into my to-be-husband's room and talking to him. Hope he understands, this is the only way left."

"Ok, what you are about to do is daring, but what you are thinking is not good. Dude, he's Uchiha Itachi, he will do anything for his kingdom and family. Sacrifice himself in this peace treaty and even sacrifice another person's happiness.`` Yes, what she said is true, but…

"What else can I do, huh?"

"Accept and find other ways now. I have even found out some ways of being in contact with you after you shift to the Uchiha kingdom."

"..."

"Dear Hana, you know how being a princess works in this world. Every damn princess ever born has been thrown into this situation. And you know what happened to the princess who dared defy this. This world is too far away from accepting the thinking that a princess can say no to a marriage proposal. The cost is too much. You know what, fuck this, you cant run away, so you have to choose the other option."

"But cant i still try, so that i don't face any regrets of doing nothing but crying about this decided fate."

"*sigh*.well, doing that won't cause that much loss. Hmmmmm, why not give it a chance…"

I smile at Anko. She will trust and understand me.

She looked at me and smirked, eyes filled with a sparkle.

"Have a fool-proof plan of talking with your stuck up fiance without being noticed by others?"

I smirk back. Yeah, this is going to be a long night.

Anko Mitarashi, my best friend for 3 years. She helped me a lot in dealing with the betrayal, the pain and my loss of my true powers. I will surely reveal about my acquaintances and the stories of how I met them later. Coming back now, I am sitting at the dining table. After 7 whole years. I remember that night, when I got fed up with my family. My way of rebelling was to ignore them as much as I could. I dislike my family, not hate them. The way they treated me was becoming unbearable. I clearly remember the huge fight we had, concluding with me telling them that I would never have dinner together with them. Today, this changes a little. But, I am here just because the Uchiha family is here too this time.

I am not a spoiled princess or a tantrum throwing child who will act as she wishes. I know every action of mine has a consequence and I am considerate of it. I will play this calm and composed.

I enter the dining room, and see the exotic dishes laid out on the table. I see my parents and the Uchiha family seated on the dining table. I felt uncomfortable knowing that everyone was staring at me. Yakumi made a noncommittal sound, I am sure she was surprised to see ME at the dining table. I gracefully walk and take my seat, next to Itachi-san, my fiance.

I smiled graciously at everyone seated, the dinner was well, awkward for me.

Mother and lady uchiha, her name is MIkoto, started conversing about us, me and Itachi-san.

Here's how the conversation went, I started paying more attention to it when the information passing out was becoming interesting.

"Itachi has always looked out for us, never compromised our safety in any way. Itachi, he never lets us down." she smiled. I could see said guy tense up a little.

"You are indeed blessed, Mikoto-sama, well, my daughter here is good in her share of duties too. I mean, she cooks well, knows the etiquette, is graceful and modest enough to be a wife. And not to forget the looks." mother smiled at me.

.fake

"Natsumi-sama, your daughter is blessed with admirable qualities, I can tell by just a glance at her."no, you can't Mikoto-sama."I am even more blessed that I will be having a daughter in law like her."

"She is the blessed one, she will learn a lot. She will keep you all happy.'' I tensed up a little too at my mothers words. I tried controlling my reaction but I did feel tense. I am sure Itachi-san noticed.

I tried to not hear the rest of the conversation and the occasional inputs both the leaders of the country gave.

I quickly walked back into my room, after saying the respectful good night things. Being polite and modest.

I closed the door of my room and locked it. Then I called out my best friend.

"You sure you really wanna do this?" was the first question she asked me. I sighed

"Don't sigh, ok tell me, what exactly are you gonna tell the poor guy.?"

I suddenly had no words. But I still said,'' that I don't want to marry him…`` I cringed as I said that.

"Seriously, what can he do about that? See, just accept it. There's no running away from this."

"Anko, how can you say that?"

"I say that because I understand. Don't think this all is easy on me, I am gonna really miss you."

"Don't say it as if you really believe nothing can be done!"

"You never had a say, Hanare." i know she's damn serious when she doesn't call me 'Hana'

She continued,"seriously this was decided when you were adopted. The ways of getting out of this mess conflict with your morals and are no good."

"Yes, I can't run away, ditch my country…"

"So it's either that or self sacrifice." she said it blunt;ly.

"I kinda….understand. But I still feel like I should not just sit and mope about this. I feel like I should do something. Anything." I whispered. She grinned.

"Oh, I have the answer to that! You should still sneak into your fiance's room." I could tell her mind was scheming up some new Anko-like suggestion.

"What?" I asked.

"Go do something to make your married life easier."

"I did not fully understand.."

"Really, Hana, you are not stupid. See, what I am saying is, have you imagined what his reaction would be when he finds out who you really are?"

I look at her sharply.

"What, Hana? You can't hide your true self like this forever."

"You know what happened when I showed my true self to someone."

Her eyes softened,"all guys are not like that."

"I dont care."

"See, you should tell him at least what he is signing up for. You cant keep having extreme trust issues with that guy,"

"Why are you saying as if you are sure we both would get along well?"

"See, you and him have similarities. I am not saying you would come to like him or love him or something, at least judging by your present situation/"

I still am. My eyes met her. I know what she is thinking.

"I don't feel disgusted at you, but you feel disgusted at yourself. I will say this once and for all. It is okay to still have all those feelings for Taro."

"Don't say that name," I hissed.

Suddenly, the bell rang. The soldiers would be returning to their posts after patrols. My way would be clear. Anko looked at me.

"Hana, try to make things work out. Don't tell anything stupid to your handsome fiance. Should I leave or wait?"

"You should go, I will be fine."

She awkwardly hugged me. Being emotional wasn't her thing. I smiled, a real one.

"Thank you, Anko.

She barked a laugh and went to her home. Her lonely abode.

I suddenly know what I should do. How should I think, I should not victimise myself. Whatever is gonna happen to me now, I need to take responsibility. Whatever is happening, I am responsible. Being pushed into such situations is not my fault. But it IS my responsibility. What I can do is to make this situation less worse.

Now, time to sneak into his room.

Done with the second chapter. I have decided a sort of a strict schedule for the updates of chapters. I will surely update once in one or two weeks. I have to manage studies and a lot of other things too. I know this chapter is a little boring, but hey, this is my first fanfic. Next fanfiction is gonna have some Itachi and Hanare scenes. By the way, Hanaru is really very mysterious. How do you think Itachi will react to having a wife like that?

Do you guys think anything can happen between them at all?

Also tell me what you guys have deduced about Hanares relationship with her family till now?