Two updates in a day, I must be high with motivation. I love this chapter personally. It opens the story to different dimensions and I know you will love them too.
CHAPTER 2: LIGHT THAT SCARES.
Neji sauntered across the headquarters nodding to bows, his demeanour as calm as the calm before the storm. He let his pace decide if people should approach him or not.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Three times. Exemplary intervals between each of them. He did not wait for approval, pushed open the door and let the occupant know what he was here for.
"Hiashi sama. " Each syllable that ran free was weaved with animosity. He did not take a seat, he stood there partly for the unwavering righteousness and partly for his selfish redemption for not standing at the right time.
Hiashi had a swift response. He raised his brows not at all surprised with his nephews deportment. He was rather amused at how late he decided to come forward.
"Why would you do that to your daughter?" The gritting of his teeth presented how deeply his morals were jostled about The Hyuga Head. "Why would you sell her like livestock swine! " He trembled remembering the vacant look on her cousin's face, the betrayal, the mistrust too evident on her visage. Evocative memories of her biting down lips to prevent screaming and crying, never looking at his eyes as if too ashamed, defeatist clutch of her hands on the flawless kimono came across his eyes like a nightmare too eager.
"Neji. " Hiashi looked at him. Conglomeration of his blood vessels behind those white uncontaminated eye balls seemed to restrain rage that would not wait to be erupted. "Watch your mouth."
"For how long? " He cross questioned. For how long was he going to bit his tongue for this fable to play on. He was to his sick of bones how frequently his cousin was sacrificed for this empire. "How long am I going to be your faithful dog while Hinata is out there juggling her life! Her life Hiashi sama! It was her life. It should have been her decision. You should at least let her have a say in this! You should have at least let her confess! "
"It was her decision, Neji. " Hiashi clarified. "Confess to whom if I may know? "
"It was her decision to trust you as a father! Look at you thrashing that trust into pit! You let her marry a man she hardly knows, a man who is foreign to the whole world! " His fingers clutched thr leathered chairs that lay tranquility. He yanked them behind depicting just how furious he was. "Oh so You don't know? You don't know who she loves? You haven't ever realize who she had already given her heart to? Right how would Hiashi sama? Why would you bother that is not business now is it? " Frail bangs bordered his enraged face. The sun and shadow played with his stereotypic visage, they made his veins protrude around his eyes. It was a typical sign of demolition when a Hyuga is beyond wrathful.
"I did not let any of the trust that my daughter lay to squander. " He hissed, his baritones reaching pitches that made shivers crawl down Neji's spine. Parenting was a sore spot in Hyuga manor and if the only thing you mustn't is questioning Hyuga Hiashi's. "If you must then listen carefully son, " He crossed his fingers, kept them on the ostentatious hardwood table to glare at him with undiluted authority. "I am very well aware she was to confess to Uzumaki Naruto upon his return from tour. I wanted her not to. I proposed to her a marriage and she willingly agreed. I gave her time, enough time to ponder and rebuff if she wished to, she did not. Until the very last moment she was there by her own will. Getting married to a respectable household, having a well qualified gentleman as your husband, having a foundation to work on your skills, where is the foul play you were accusing about? "
"It was not her will! It were your straining sentiments that acted as her driving force in this sordid play! Why would you not want her to confess? You should have at least given her a chance at it! " He yelled. His head was throbbing needles in this conversation. "Foul play, hiashi sama? Uchihas were rubbles then suddenly they reestablish themselves as if nothing ever happened! They're willowing themselves to the top and you know very well how sin stained those paths are! And Sasuke of all people? Him, a gentleman? Haven't you been near him, Hiashi sama? He's the bloody devil! "
Sasuke watched with malice as his wife broke down beside him holding his hand. He saw in those eyes of his, how her glassy eyes shattered into dust that were restless to be devoted under Naruto's foot. Her shoulder dropped, she coiled into herself shivering at every wasp of wind. Her free arm that delineated how poised she was adjusted herself of the arm that was extended with his own. She was recoiling herself, Sasuke understood the role she was subconsciously taking, a damsel in distress.
"Sasuke! " Naruto's voice echoed through the hall. People turned to look at him, them. Naruto joyfully jogged to him and started stomping in the last few steps. "What kind of low life bastard are you? You fucking got married while I was away! Who gets eloped while their best friend is away? You didn't even hesitate, you rotten sleazeball! No text call or even an invitation bastard! "
"It was a private affair, Naruto. " He curtly answered creating more potholes in the already wretched roads. "You have bad timing. "
"Oh no fucking way you gonna put the blame on me bastard. How the hell this thing even came together! None of us people knew and you guys are like married! Ne, hinata chan how could you forget me! " His dramatic exclamation brought an agonising spotlight on her.
Her mind boggled with answers, she wanted to say that he had been the only constant passing thought the last few months. That he was the reason her hands trembled while holding the phone; a heated debate whether or not to text him and let him know every little thing from the very first. To beg him over call that please, please take me with you, anywhere with you would be pleasant. She recollected her days at the Hyuga manor crying herself to sleep of her exhaustion, she wanted to be saved by him. She wanted to seek comfort from him because that's what Naruto does, for everybody, he saves them from dire situations, he jumps in for anybody, that's what he would do for her as well right? Right?
What was stopping her? She could tell that it was not her decision that she was a pawn among many in the feculent game of death. More importantly that she loved him and him only, he was the person who she was going to confess as soon as he returned from his tour. She has rehearsed her confession every night, in front of the mirror, recited many times in her mind. Yet she couldn't remember a far off sense of her overly practised revelation when he had returned. Presently in front of her talking, asking her.
In that dire moment it came to her, as a passing thought that jabbed at her subconscious, a truth of sorts, she was scared. It was a fickle moment where her arms wouldn't move, her fingers felt detached. They felt cold, shrinkled because of the lack of warm blood that ceased flowing through it. Nerves seemed to resign and clot to her skin pores. She was paralyzed.
"In a jungle of dense canopies, at night where you have everything to lose the only wish you harbour is to be unsubstantiated so no rays reflect through your body. The gush of air that would seep through your scrubby clothes shall be a reminder that to live, this air is your home. In a clearing of sorts where you lay trembling, hoping that not a single strand of light illuminates on you, that for breathing you must stealthily steal it. Moments like this where you wish heartily that you must be suffering from paranoia, that your skin scraping its muscles were an over exaggerated response to your own delusions, that there are no bloody eyes watching you like a hungry sinister predator. Eyes of humans don't function at night. The best of course is to keep them shut and let your senses decided whether you will breath or the blood will gush into your lungs to make you cough blood like a maniac at your own fear of being ripped apart every muscle to muscle till your bone lays licked hollow on the forsaken grasslands. However it was also feasible to close your eyes so you don't see for yourself how many eyes driven by concupiscence had their pupils dilated and not watching your chest heave with aero and terror.
And what would you do if rays of light bombard upon you in the grave of night?"
Fingers that went numb accumulated chiefly enough circulation to wrap themselves around the free space so the vacuum could be evident of her onslaught. She wanted her manicured nails to be presented on the debilitated hands of a fine lady to dig in her palms, pierce meagre veneers and draw blood. Blood that would drip steadily, slowly, lustfully on the ground. That was the expanse she was going to pay for her body to actually convene a response to the asked question. A sharp intake of breath was taken and her nails pierced the veneers that she was fantasising about. However no pain was drawn.
"Hinata." A voice pulled her out of her own certifiable masochistic thoughts. She whipped her head to look up at the voice, there stood a barbarian with no showcase of emotions, her husband. "Are you well? " His voice reached her ears and she was growing accustomed to the minute vibrations that washed ashore from his vocal cord to the tip of her fingers.
Top of her fingers?
Dread. Dark fumes of dread condensed around her when she glanced at their still conjoined hands, her nails were pushing past his skin to greedily draw his blood.
She saw the way her hand twitched, a part of her was fraught for his hands to grasp back the assault. She wanted his fingers to crush her dainty ones, how dare she violate conduct?
Instead his thumb only lay atop her knuckles. They tapped her knuckles, skin to its reach and drew lazy disfigured circles, if she wouldn't know any better she would say quite reposefully. It reminded that there was an audience waiting for her answer, foremost her husband.
"I-I am overwhelmed. " She put forth her situation. Her fingers tried to wriggle their way out of his skin but he held tight, too tight.
"Do you need fresh air? " He bent down so she and only she could hear him.
Fresh air? She wanted to dash away like a reptilian back to the hues of darkness under unused, unseen places behind cupboards and cabinets. She wanted nothing more but to seek comfort in the closed doors of her closet. Her struggling for air behind the huge hardwood doors of her closet, any closet with no light to guide her, with only demons to seek comfort for was a tempting thought that this particular ordeal. She wanted nothing more than to bit her lower lip till they bleed or dry out from the lack of constant licking of her tongue and bury her face inside the crevice of her knees drawn agonizingly to her palpitating chest. She did not wanted a near stranger to touch her or be inflicted by her course of thoughts, she only wished for her own frail arms to wrap around themselves concealing her whole being in an impervious package.
Frantic of her response she only nodded.
"I-" Sasuke started raising his voice to clear their intentions of ditching his rotten racket that aggravated his nerves to no end. He was rudely interrupted by a lady who didn't mind getting close enough to press her bounty lips on Sasuke's cheek. She retracted back took a long notice of them together.
"How lovely! " Her exclamation lifted some of the tension that were tied like a stubborn knot of jute ropes against his back.
Hinata however wasn't sure if the remark was for her, them or solely him. Sasuke was the kind of personality who could hog all sophisticated elegance at one glance, no sane judge would dare to overlook him for second thoughts.
" Mother." Tch. He scowled. "Didn't know there were so many uchihas. " There weren't. If anything he could pick sore thumbs that tried to fit in like an 'uchiha'.
"Don't be a brat Sasuke. You're married now! She rolled her obsidian eyes but Hinata couldn't say anything but her gestures were necessarily graceful. She looked efficient even when she wanted not to. "Don't give the pretty lady troubles now! " She looked at Hinata with the humbleness of a royalty. She wanted to cower away at the display of unyielding affection. "Hinata, you look just as gorgeous as you did at your wedding! The glow never faded. " She touched her cheek and generously showered her with smiles.
Hinata had to remind herself she couldn't blanch here. Gorgeous as at her wedding? What a pitiful joke. She was most miserable that particular day.
"Mother. This was supposed to be a family dinner. " Sasuke reinforced. Her mother gave him an irritated glare before he was too accustomed to it.
"This is a family dinner. Everyone here is family Sasuke. Everyone here is trustworthy. " She corrected him all while having a somber expression on her face. This was a normal reunion chat alright nobody needed to know her son wanted to blast this place into smithereens.
"They're not blood. " He emphasised her words very cautiously.
"Family does not always need to be blood. " She swatted some delusional dirt that coated his champagne coat. "It's a night to celebrate! To our newest couples! " She made sure her voice reached every ear that was prying. There were a few cheers. Glasses clinked together in the conjoined excitement. They followed Sasuke's mother to a table decorated with navy colours of Uchiha and golden pots that bloomed hydrangeas.
Hydrangeas. Her thought grimly wondered to the flowers adhered to each other. They symbolised gratitude and grace. It hollowed her how flawless the flower stood to paint a canvas of exotics that stood for the Uchiha family. How long could she pretend to be the inheritor until someone jabbed her and she finally was looted of all these chains that looked so tempting, were crafted of gold but coerced miasmic stimulations?
Sasuke, as gentlemen-ly he could pretend to be, pulled a chair for his wife dearest who was still clutching his hands like a muslin cloth to a wound scabbed. Her nails pulled apart as Sasuke shuffled himself into a chair beside her. His hands never left hers and after they got seated, uncomfortably enough, Hinata still chose to nibble at the ends of his fingers.
The one who broke the silence wasn't surprisingly Sasuke but the bride herself. "Why is he here? " She asked and Sasuke merely looked at her with ingrained impassivity. "I thought you took liberty in planning this wedding exactly when Naruto won't be present. " Her remark left her bewildered. An anticipation of being caught bubbled in the pit of his stomach. He smirked, there was no profitable point in hiding things from his supposed better half.
He bent lower so his lips tenderly graced her long hairs against her ears. "What a catty bride. " His remark emitted fumes from his recipient. She looked at him with an incredulous look of her own.
She really wanted from seeps of her bone to slap him right at the face. Why would he exclude his own best friend from his own wedding? It stirred an emotion of too much casualty from him. Her mind wondered how disloyal this was going to be. A train of thought that plagued her mind even when she stood virtuous in front of the Shinto gods. A teeny part of her also fiddled how private this affair actually was?
"How... " She trailed. "How many people know of this? "
"Know off what?" His fingers caught one of hers in her lap. "The wedding? My execution? Or your blatant feelings for my best friend? "
Her face grimaced at the utterance of the most vile veracious remark thrown at her. "Best friend. " She scoffed. "I need answers for all of them. "
"Demanding, aren't we? " He retracted his fingers to pounce on her whole hand. It felt beyond propitious to have her hand trapped within his. "Very few. Your friends don't know yet. The invitation that would be passed would be for the day of reception that is two weeks from now. " He licked the back of his teeth at her gasp and resentful hiss that followed. "Your father wanted some foreign moguls, I wanted my family. I am suspecting it was one of your kind who let your love know you are getting married."
She shut her eyes, recoiling back into the plush chairs. It was a futile attempt to zone out voices from around but the obnoxious voice of her husband kept repeating in her like a fork against chalkboard. His hands brushed her thighs, she imagined this an effort to smoothen any possible wrinkles in the dress but seized the thought when she discerned his hands were having much coverage. She tried to yank them back but they wouldn't bulge. His previous confession ran across her mind again as an astounding statement was actualized. "The invitations aren't sent?"
"No." Her eyes widened.
Her friends were not present at the wedding.
They didn't know she was already married.
Neji's accident was not an accident.
She was isolated from all of her friends intentionally.
They were frantic for her escape but the panic was yet to be evident.
The press had the leaked news of hyuga heir getting married, it was not leaked news, he leaked it intentionally to ward them off.
Neji knew about this ordeal but he chose to abide by her father's propositions.
He could keep it under covers because all their guest were foreign invitees, they were dismissed as one of their frequent trips.
Sasuke was so irate at his mother because he did not want the news of their marriage to escalate.
He took absolute advantage of her in a vulnerable state.
"Sasuke." She pulled his hand, his shoulders were partial to her. There was a look of seriousness, a mourning visage that altered into one of wretched forlorn form of begging and looting, she intended to suck his soul and pour hers inside. "Cancel the reception. "
"You asked for my decision when the time comes whether I will abide by you or against you. 2 years back it seemed so asinine, why would I ever go against you? You are my uncle, you raised for better part of my life besides I trusted you that whatever you would do would be for the betterment of us! Us! I meant family because that's what I have been taught all my life! That's what hyugas stand for, family above anything, everything. I did not question a single of your decisions only to come home to my cousin's life shattered by the merit of me. " He pushed his fingers through his long hazel hair tugging it hard as a megalomaniac laugh escaped his lips. He grinned ear to ear, shallow yet sharp eyes pierced the colloidal environment. He licked his lips; a thought of his lovely cousin wafted through his radge mind. He clawed at the diminishing thought of her naked, abused body with marks of nails that held sprouts of communicable, pernicious fungus slowly and slowly embracing her. A thunder erupted in his body he was shaking, trembling with lust of missing as the next image he chose to project was her cold blue body in the morgue.
"That was her decision and this was yours. "Hiashi seemed unfazed by his tyrannic breakdown. The file he was surveying was closed, he read the plumb file name again and reminded himself it was indeed for the betterment of Hyugas. No deed notable enough was done without sacrifices, some crops must be uprooted for the other crops to grow. Even though they grew from the same land, same farmer, same weather nimble plants must be uprooted for predestined to grow. "Brace yourself, Neji. You shall be taking over Hinata's part of inheritance soon. "
Neji bit his own tongue and swallowed the blood that tasted melliferous, delicious even in comparison to the deeds he did. He wished he could kiss the bloody body of his cousin, hug it close as it consistently decayed as if taunting him loveliness of moulds and giddiness of quietus. He licked his lips again, tempted to lick the brown scum from the rupturance of blood cells filled to the brim with ooze of lymph that would accumulate on that deceased body. His fingers twitched at the appealing thought of cradling her little head in his laps as he caressed her and lay open bite marks on her alabaster body. He wanted to hold her close, that thought alone made him lick his lips.
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