Chapter 1 : Losing.
A/N: To those who think I have abandoned my other stories. No, I haven't. Follow my other work- The Curse, Trodden path, Empaths for life and Whenever we meet. This is the order I am going to update next. Also I have other stories written that I would be uploading soon. Some might be one-shot and others might be long.
If you want me to write about some particular storyline then leave a message with your favourite pairing and I would write it for you. Consider it some kind of gift. HAHa.
Disclaimer: Naruto is mine in my dream because in reality he belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
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Hiashi could tell that recently there have been some subtle changes in Hinata. He couldn't pinpoint what exactly but something was definitely different or maybe these changes had always been there but he was oblivious to it and it was quite ironic to say the least for a Byakugan user like him who boasted that nothing could ever hide from him. He actually took pride in it. Reality though was quite the opposite as he really had no idea about his eldest.
Hinata had become a matter of constant worry for him. Well, she always was a problem child. At first because she was a weakling and Hiashi was quiet ashamed for birthing an heiress so fragile. She was his offspring, the first in line so she must be strong but she wasn't. In fact, Hanabi her younger sister started showing more potential than his eldest and that made him quite mad. He had disowned her previously due to her continuous failures so that she would learn to fend for herself. He wanted nothing to do with her. He was embarrassed for fathering a weak lineage.
Hiashi sighed still remembering his little daughter's face as he had once turned his back on her. He thought he was doing her and the clan a favour but he was wrong. Thank God, he took her in and gave her a second chance because years later he understood that Hinata wasn't weak or pathetic like he had assumed. It was quite the opposite because she was strong and he was blind not to see that. He fisted both of his hands thinking about his daughter.
Her Byakugans' reach was absurd. No one in the Hyuga clan could see that far. He came to know about this when they were fighting together in the war, her eyes were well utilised and were used as great assets at the disposal of Konoha. This revelation came as quite a surprise to him.
She was also one of Konoha's best spies as her team was the best tracking team and the Hokage himself had trusted her with some mission. Hiashi knew she was good but he didn't know until then just how good.
She also had crazy diplomatic skills that Hiashi couldn't figure out where she learnt from.
Recently, the Hyugas had a clan meeting in the land of Kumogakure and there were still some hostility between the Hyugas and the hidden cloud village because of their bitter history but the Hokage had ordered them to extend olive branch.
'It is the time of peace so just make peace alright' Kakashi had said and Hiashi although reluctantly agreed but it was hard because the clans of the Lightning nation weren't as welcoming as they were.
He decided to take Hinata with him because Hanabi was busy on a mission and good lord that it was Hinata as those vile men in the conference were really provoking him to do something he might regret. A lot of pent up remorse had come up because of his dead twin. The blame game wasn't over and Hiashi knew he wasn't ready to forgive.
Hinata though had handled the meet up so well that he was shocked given that she was always so shy and awkward not to forget her constant need of stuttering and blushing but at that moment she was so calm and collected. The childhood Hinata would have had her head down, trying not to make eye contact and hiding her face from everyone all the while biting her lips until they bled. However, this Hinata had her shoulders straight. Her head tilted upfront, her eyes soft yet unyielding and her lips tugged at their ends. She was the one driving most of the conversations and setting up plans for the future of their countries while Hiashi was wallowing in his past. He could tell everybody was taken aback because nobody would take someone like Hinata to be anything but weak. Maybe that is where everyone makes the same mistake as him.
They said, 'Never let your guards down around a kunoichi even if she looks as harmless as a doe'. He realised that the saying fits his daughter.
At last, everything was settled and he learnt something new about his daughter.
The next time he learnt something new about his eldest was when Hiashi's mother suddenly had a cardiac arrest. The Hyugas were hosting a party for Hanabi's sixteenth birthday and a chaos ensued when his mother started swaying sideways clutching her chest. He had caught her before she would fall and hit the ground. He had shouted for the others to call their family doctor. He remembered how everything moved sluggishly like in the movies and the time seemed to slow. Hinata had parted the crowd around her with Hanabi in tow before she separated Hiashi from her grandmother and started healing her. Hiashi watched Hinata's scrunched up face in concentration when the green light of her chakra hit her countenance making her features even sharper and she looked different. Yes, different is the right word.
"She is alright now father" Hiashi grasped that she was speaking to him so he nodded still dumbfounded as to when she had learnt medical ninjutsu. As much as he heard from others, it needed a very meticulous hold on chakra.
Later that night, their family physician informed him that he was lucky to have Hinata there because if there had been a delay of even some seconds, then he would not have been be able to do anything.
"Your daughter saved your mother" The doctor had said smiling but Hiashi wasn't happy.
All these incident have begged him to question himself just how much does he even know about his own blood?
Ding.
The clock struck again breaking his retrospection.
It had been past mid-night when Hiashi decided to take a rest from all the documents that was deemed necessary for his attention. He wasn't doing a great job anyway as the thoughts of Hinata had stopped him from doing any kind of work. He decided to take a rest as he stifled his yawn, feeling his old eyes drooping in slits. He had already drunk his seventh cup of tea, a must beverage that was needed to keep him awake and functioning. The cups lay scattered on the table of his office. He scanned them before he stood up on his feet, feeling his blood running to his legs again. Hiashi was a man who was always poised so instead of jerking his limbs or moving around, he started heading towards his bedroom ignoring the numbness of his legs. It was eerily silent in the corridor, not even a cricket could be heard.
He folded his hands under his sleeves feeling cold air rushing from somewhere. It was winter and he didn't carry any heavy clothing. He increased his pace trying to avoid the cold and retire for the night. The moon hung low in the sky, illuminating his way.
He was about to round the corner just passing Hinata's room when he heard a giggling sound, almost like bells. For an instance he was shocked to hear a sound let alone the sound of laughter. He looked around but only Hinata's room was nearby. He halted his steps and tried to listen again thinking he must be mistaken.
How long had it been since he had heard Hinata laughing? He didn't even know what Hinata's laughter sounded like; just another thing that he had no idea about his daughter. He wondered what this was all about.
After a minute of silence or so, he heard her again. He was surprised because it was the first time Hinata openly displayed an emotion other than stuttering and blushing. He supressed his chakra so that it would not alert her. While he masked his own presence, he realised that he couldn't feel her chakra as well as if she too was hiding herself from being discovered. Hiashi became even more curious. It had been years since he has ever gotten this interested in her. As he had said earlier Hinata is behaving quite differently.
When the continuous string of the laughter ceased, he heard her speak "You know it is time that you stop this childish behaviour"
No stutter.
No shyness.
No hesitation.
It was said with such playfulness and confidence that he never knew his eldest possessed. Though the sweetness behind the voice could only belong to Hinata and no one else.
But who was she talking too?
Hiashi's hands automatically shot towards the knob of his daughter's door but he doubled down after hearing a second voice chime in.
"So you're kicking me out"
Byakugan struggled to keep from activating. Going against his impulsive decision, Hiashi stayed calm and waited. He believed himself to be a patient man no matter what.
"N-not kicking you out"
There it was- the stuttering probably coupled with blushing on the side, at least Hiashi imagined it this way. They always came together like a pair- her stutter and her blush. Sometimes, they would even be accompanied by her fainting spells though these have become a rarity now, things of the past.
There were some shuffling then- one steps hasty and the other step very slow, almost as if they were dragging themselves and weren't willing to move.
"Hn" The other person replied.
He knew it was a man's voice judging by the deep baritone and flat pitch. What was a male doing here and how were the guards so useless so as not to detect them? Yes they were ordered not to use Byakugan in the compound because of privacy but their guards were the most competent sensory ninjas in the Hyuga clan.
Hiashi knew that Hinata herself was a sensory type and also a good tracker but to avoid the radar of the whole clan like theirs was commendable. He shook his head trying to figure out who was this boy rather than thinking about his daughter's capability?
The clan elders were right when they told him to find a suitable suitor for Hinata as she is of right age and it doesn't take much to stray. Well they were fucking correct and he was so busy with Hanabi's recent Chunin exams that he didn't pay any attention. Hyuga women were beautiful but he didn't feel that Hinata would catch someone's eye so soon because he had a long list of qualifications that he wanted in his son-in-law like he should be a strong shinobi, a dojutsu user, from a strong blood line, a famed ninja, from a reputed clan like his, able to offer strong off springs so on and yes it would have been preferable if he could be a Hyuga as well. However, no one from the clan would be such a fool to meet his daughter in her private abode.
Just who was this man?
"You do know you won't be living here for too long" Hiashi heard the man again alongside more desperate moving around.
"Just go" Hinata spoke a little louder adding "I mean it"
"Not before a kiss"
"Sasu- hhmmp"
And at that moment the whole Hyuga compound came alive as Hiashi's Byakugan flared up. Never in his entire life had he broken the rules to not peek in the Hyuga compound, not even when he was a child but maybe a father's instinct was greater than anything.
It was so dark in the room and two figures stood huddled up in Hinata's balcony in a very close proximity. He took a sigh of relief to find that they were just hugging and were not doing the inappropriate stuff that he had assumed they were doing. Still Hiashi felt angry as how dare the man try to pull something like that under his roof. Hiashi now zoomed into the man's face and took a step back.
No way.
No fucking way.
A pair of sharingans was staring right back at him. At first he couldn't believe his eyes but he never doubted his Byakugan. It was an Uchiha and of course it was Sasuke Uchiha as he was the sole survivor of the damn cursed clan.
Was kami playing some crude joke on him? Like the Uchiha spawn somehow fit all the check boxes in his 'perfect for my son-in-law' list but he didn't want an Uchiha for a son-in-law. In all probability he had expected Hinata to be a couple with the Uzumaki boy and no he wasn't that blind to not know that his daughter was infatuated with the Jinchuriki. Maybe it was the only thing he thought he knew about Hinata but now even that didn't turn out to be true about his daughter. He had been stalling Hinata's wedding under the impression that she was in love with Naruto so as to give her time to pursue a relationship with the blonde because he felt that would eventually benefit his clan as he was the best candidate to be the future Hokage. Of course, he unwillingly became ready to compromise with his list as Naruto didn't really fulfil most criteria of his potential son-in-law. However, he would gladly take the Uzumaki in place of Uchiha.
But there was other reason as to why he was delaying Hinata's marriage.
Hiashi felt he owed Hinata at least this much for being such an awful parent in the past. Now don't get him wrong as Hiashi would never apologize but he wanted to make amends. He just didn't know how. He wouldn't lie he had always favoured Hanabi more because she was like him; It was easier to deal with her than his failure of a daughter who was born an heiress but was then removed from her position for being a disgrace. The fact that Hinata took after her mother had just made it worse for him to even try and reconcile.
He thought postponing Hinata's wedding would give him ample time to think and come up with a way to somehow start over with Hinata and build a relationship but now that a man is ready to steal her away, he realised that he didn't have much time as he thought he had. All his plans would be wasted. Uchihas always came in his ways be it living or dead.
He saw the Uchiha leaning on the railings of the balcony ready to sneak away into the darkness of the night but not before poking at Hinata's forehead. What a weird way of saying goodbye. Did Hinata have bad taste in men or did she have something for the loner types? He just pinched the corner of his eyes not wanting to know. He was getting a migraine now. Yet another revelation about Hinata that greatly distressed him.
Now that the Uchiha was gone, Hiashi stood at a crossroad with his fatherly dilemma. He was not sure if he should go inside Hinata's room and confront her to give her the awkward talking or just ignore it and pretend nothing happened so that he could deal with it later. Besides, he was still shaking with anger about an entourage in his daughter's room so late into the night. Thank God that Hiashi knew how to control his rage.
He just deactivated his bloodline not really paying attention but thinking. If he does confront Hinata what will happen then? Because he knew he might have an outburst and say or do something undesirable because facts are its better to first settle down and sort his own feelings. He can hurt Hinata and drive a further wedge between , he stopped.
No he can't do that because that would mean he would lose his daughter and lose to a man he didn't want to lose in the first place.
No, not to an Uchiha but anyone.
The Uchiha would not have Hinata and he would make sure of it.
With that in mind, he retraced his steps to finally take a rest while his mind raced like a dead horse. He laid there wide awake with a comforter that gave him no warmth.
Hinata has changed and for a father that is a matter of worry.
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Hiashi thought hard about it. Like how did this come to be?
An Uchiha and a Hyuga?
He could not recall if it had ever happened in the history that is an Uchiha and a Hyuga being a couple. How did these two even become a couple? He thought these two didn't even talk. Maybe he is misunderstanding. Maybe they were just friends and what he saw last night was- .
He grimaced.
No, who was he kidding? Of course, their conversation and their body language gave them away. They are close to each other in a way that only lovers would be. He had to come up with something very soon yet he was stuck.
He could not think of a good plan because if he told Hinata that she could not date Sasuke, it might backfire because even if Hinata was easy to bend backward, it wouldn't be that easy now with the Uchiha in the picture. Now he understood the reason behind the changes in Hinata or who exactly brought about these changes in her.
On the other hand, he couldn't tell about this to the clan elders because they would rush off to get Hinata married as soon as possible and that meant his plans would be ruined regardless, the same thing with Uchiha.
Hiashi also felt it wouldn't be so easy to marry off Hinata because if he knew Uchihas well, they were one-track mind and nothing could come in their way. Sasuke Uchiha was even more stubborn. Yes, stubborn enough to start another war because men like him would not like to lose their loved ones. Sasuke was an even a more special case.
He cursed his life.
Just how much of an absentee had he been in his daughter's life to not know she was dating an Uchiha?
After Neji death, he realised something that is no matter how much he tried; he was a human and not some cold stoned leader of a hostile clan. He still remembered when he saw Neji getting impaled he had felt shock, rage, regret, helplessness and relieved. Shock because it happened so suddenly that he didn't even get the time to process the death of his nephew. Rage because someone dared to kill yet another Hyuga and he just stood there. Regret because he had promised his dead brother to keep his son safe and failed. Helplessness because he knew even if he had wanted, he couldn't have done shit. Finally relieved that it was Neji and not Hinata. Relieved that Neji saved Hinata and died in her stead. He knew it was selfish of him to think like that but it was true.
When he saw that Hinata had become a human shield for Naruto and was about to die, Hiashi had stood paralysed with fear. He didn't want to lose another part of himself. Yes, pathetic of him but he loved his daughter. He did put her through some tough love but it was for her benefit, at least that is what he thought of until he understood much later that Hinata mattered.
When he had returned to Konoha during pein's attack, he had panicked. In his panic, he had activated his eyes and couldn't find Hinata's chakra. His mind screamed at him that he lost his daughter and something must have happened to her. Later, he had come to know that she had foolishly entered into the battlefield to save Naruto and got stabbed through her heart.
Stupid. Stupid Girl.
She was foolishly brave.
This incident along with Neji's death solidified the fact that shinobi die young and Hinata or Hanabi could be next. Hinata had already cheated death twice. How long before the death comes to claim her?
Hiashi's heart had skipped beat just so thinking about it and it had only skipped thrice in his life.
The day he had lost his wife.
The day his brother died.
The day his nephew sacrificed.
So skipping beats was not a good sign.
He was sitting at the breakfast table thinking about all these, trying to read the newspaper but no news interested him. Soon the table started filling with the maids who waited to serve and the other hungry clan members. Hiashi though was waiting for his daughters to arrive. Soon both the sisters could be heard coming towards them chatting with each other- one loudly and the other in hushed tone. Of course, it wasn't very hard to guess which of the sister was loud.
Hiashi lifted his head and saw that the sisters were brightly smiling at each other while Hanabi was conversing animatedly.
When the sisters sat down, Hanabi to his right and Hinata to his left; the maids started serving them food. He started eating small bites while others ate to their heart's delight. Nobody really talked on the dinner table while eating unless it was very important. It was a rule in Hyuga household, not one to make small talks. Hiashi thought who even came up with this nonsense rule in the first place. It's stupid because eating is the only time when family comes together and connects.
Hiashi cleared his throat to see if someone paid attention to him and stopped stuffing their mouth. When they didn't, he just hit the hammer with his gentle fist.
"So how did you all sleep last night?" He asked hinting at Hinata, knowing full well that she had been awake till late night.
Others stopped eating and looked at him. Hanabi dropped her food from her mouth hanging.
Nobody spoke for a moment as if they didn't even hear a thing.
"So?" Hiashi pushed.
"Ah! We slept well Hiashi-sama" Everyone chorused still awkwardly.
Hanabi snorted. "Since when did you start asking about how we slept?"
Hiashi frowned. Really if he ever hated Hanabi for being like him, it was this exact moment. So he knew not to answer her directly because that would raise more questions.
"How did you sleep Hanabi?" He asked again through his tight lips.
As expected the question threw Hanabi off and she just answered with 'If I could sleep more and train less'. He gritted his teeth because he knew so much about Hanabi but on the other hand he didn't know anything about Hinata. His frustration was growing as more time passed at the table with Hinata sitting next to him. Others went back to eating even though they were a bit perturbed about Hiashi.
"How about you Hina?" Hiashi interrogated.
Everybody at the table stopped and looked at him again with different expressions while Hinata had her eyes wide.
Did he do something wrong by calling her Hina? He thought it was sweet but now he was having doubts.
"Ummm, I slept fine Tousan" Hinata tucked her hair behind her ear, looking at her plate which seemed much interesting to her than anything. Something was going on.
Hiashi coughed and cleared his throat.
"So when is your next mission Hinata?" He lamely tried to enquire correcting himself on Hinata's name but before Hinata could even answer, Hanabi stuck her foot.
"She hadn't been handling mission since the last year"
What? When did this happen and why hadn't he been informed of this?
"Why?" He croaked.
Hinata faced him seemingly confused.
"Eh, she had been babysitting Uchiha" Hanabi puffed her cheeks. "Didn't you know?"
NO. He shouted in his mind.
He never asked Hinata about her missions because he wanted her to become independent and also he didn't want to make her feel miserable. He knew how she anxious felt when he used to ask her about her missions in the past. He used to berate her and had once even said not to come in her team's way, that she was a burden. She might have misunderstood him if he had asked now thinking that he was doubting her capabilities so he kept his distance to let her feel free.
Hiashi felt so out of place now.
He lost his appetite.
"Hinata to my office. Now" He barked.
As he walked breathing heavily, he repeated.
I won't lose my daughter to an Uchiha.
He didn't know that he was fighting an already lost battle but if there was still something to salvage, he would try. He wouldn't go without a fight.
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This is synapses to a coming chapter in one of my other story. Guess which one. However, I changed the storyline a bit so this would be focussing on the dynamics of Hyuga clan and Sasuke.
Thank you.