The door closed on the smallest and most secluded room of the Konoha Recreation Center.
"There's no one else in the building," Sakura said. "I can't stay long. I have a meeting with Tsunade, before going back on shift."
"This is about Hinata, I presume." Neji stood amongst the other members of Team Gai, as the members of Team Eight and Team Ten. Hinata wasn't there. Neither were Naruto or Sasuke.
"Yes," Sakura said. "I expected you to have some idea what was going on. But, you might not have heard the latest. The rest of you won't know anything, unless Neji told you." With that, she passed along everything that she had heard from Naruto and Kakashi.
"Oh-h-h-h-h-h-h!" Lee made a fist and hugged it to his chest. "This is not fair. Sasuke may be a good comrade again some day; but, Hinata has no interest in him."
"That's right," Ino said, tugging at the plastic wrap around some flowers that she had been about to deliver before being told about an emergency meeting. "It isn't fair. Her father didn't care enough about her to keep her in his home when she was younger." She looked over at Sakura, feeling a little foolish, thinking back to the way the two of them used to fight over Sasuke. She wouldn't touch him with a ten foot naginata!
"But, now that she serves a purpose for him and the clan, he suddenly lays claim to her. That sucks. That sucks big time!" Kiba clenched his fists, looking ready to eat nails and spit tacks.
"The punishment seems excessive." Shino said, pushing his glasses further up along the bridge of his nose. "Will he really insist on his own daughter's death? How would that strengthen the clan?"
"It's all about honor," Ten Ten said. Having spent more and more time with neji, she knew more than she wanted to about Hyuuga Hiashi. "His kind of honor, not ours." Feeling an uncontrollable urge to fidget, she worked on one of her hair buns. "I can't imagine what it would be like… sent off to a nunnery somewhere… to spend the rest of her life praying near some lotus pond, sculpted bushes or bonsai."
"Hey. It's no big deal , though. Right? She has an easy way out." Kiba's words practically dripped sarcasm. Akamaru barked. "All she has to do is marry someone she doesn't love, and probably doesn't even like."
"Sasuke," Choji said. He had never gotten close to him; but, who ever had? Opening a new snack bag, he remembered what had happened to him when he took the three pills in the fight against Jiroubou. That whole mission had been about bringing Sasuke back to the Leaf. "He's very popular again… with the younger girls…"
Uchiha Sasuke's return had not been met with universal acceptance. But already, he was the object of desire to so many of the village women. Choji wondered why there was no justice in life. A handsome genius can win everyone's hearts, despite his cold and uncaring attitude, while a portly boy who worked hard for his village could be overlooked time and time again.
"There are a lot of stupid people in this village!" Ino looked over at Sakura, expecting her friend to echo those words. Instead, the pink-haired girl looked away, her face troubled. Did she still have some kind of feelings for Sasuke?
"It's worse than simply marrying someone she doesn't like," Shikamaru said. "This kind of thing took place quite often in the distant past. Women were expected to give their husband many children. The men kept them pregnant, but indulged their lust elsewhere as well. If the wives were barren, the husbands would get children through mistresses and concubines."
"If we carve off a piece of Sasuke, he won't be getting anyone pregnant!" Kiba said. "Right Akamaru?" The dog yipped excitedly.
"There are less drastic means," Shino said quietly. "If I were to send enough chakra bugs up through his urethra, they could form an impassible mass in both vasa deferentia, impossible to cure through surgery."
"Ugggh!" Ino made a face. "Do we really need to talk about that?"
"We shouldn't forget Naruto," Neji put in. "I doubt he would ever put up with something like this, whether or not my cousin were in love with him. He could be driven to do something that would ruin his reputation, or end up leaving him dead or banished."
"Ooo-oo-o-o-o-o-o!" Lee struck a pose unknowingly. "We should all stand up against injustice." The light reflected off of his teeth. "Ahh-h-h-h-h-h!" He put one hand on his hip, and the other above his eyebrows. "Naruto has fought bravely for this village. Hinata has tried very hard, too. How can the Hokage and the council members allow something like this to happen?"
"I'm afraid the Hokage's hands are tied." Shikamaru sighed, finding this situation more troublesome than anything he had been faced with in a long while. "If she doesn't honor the written and unwritten laws, the village will lose faith in her. There isn't enough time to pass any new legislation before the deadline passes."
"Yeh. The deadline. Why the hell did Kakashi every make a frigging deadline?" Kiba kicked at a folding chair, sending it flying. Akamaru barked, and then pushed up on another empy chair, causing it to collapse and fall. "That was stupid. I thought he was Naruto's friend!"
"He is," Sakura said a bit testily, coming to her mentor's defense. "If he hadn't gotten Hinata's father to agree to an extension, the issue would have been settled on the spot. Hinata would be dead, married, or being fitted for a nun's habit as we speak."
"Maybe if we all went to speak to the Hokage…" Ten Ten desperately sought for some kind of solution. "She might back us, if we want to approach Sasuke and ask him to refuse. Hinata's father has no hold over him. The vote on his return to Konoha is already over." She spun a kunai nervously in her hand, almost fumbling it.
"Shit. I was only joking before. But maybe we ought to threaten the son of a bitch," Kiba said. He grinned when Akamaru growled. "It's not like he's really one of our comrades again. At least not yet."
"He was never really anyone's comrade," Shino said. Even he was more caring and compassionate around his teammates than Sasuke had been in the past.
"Naruto wouldn't go for that," Sakura said. "Even though Sasuke's actions stand to hurt him too, he holds out hope for Sasuke returning to normal some day. There is no way that he would let anyone threaten a friend. He knows what it's like being ostracized and alone, and won't let that happen to Hinata; but, he won't let anyone do it to Sasuke either."
"That's what makes him worth standing up for," Neji said. "I will try to approach my uncle, even though I know what trouble that might bring me. There are reasons that he wants this alliance, and there are different reasons why he is very much against Naruto." He knew about Kyuubi, but some of the others did not.
"Maybe if we refused to serve with Sasuke," Choji said. "Would the Hokage prevent that from happening, by convincing Sasuke to change his stance?" He shook his head. "That probably wouldn't work."
"Hmm-m-m-m. What about taking things a step further? We could talk to all of the genin and chuunin Everyone could refuse to go on missions until either Sasuke or Hyuuga Hiashi changes his mind." Kiba scratched himself. So did Akamaru. "Maybe if Neji made some kind of pledge, his uncle would act to preserve the family honor."
"I would never do that," Neji said. "Not for myself… not for my cousin… and not for my friend." He looked very intense. "I would give my life for Hinata or Naruto; however, I would not play games with duty and obligation."
"O-oo-ooo-ahh-hhh-hhh!" Lee folded his arms against his chest. "Neither would I. Kiba, you are a good comrade, but; you shouldn't be talking treason."
"It wouldn't work anyway," Shiakamaru said with a long bored sigh. "The Fifth would never buckle under any kind of pressure, especially not something so minor. And if you made just that kind of threat and we ended up facing a war, you might find yourself hunted by the Oinin as a Nikenin, even if you never left the Leaf."
"My uncle would never give in, either." Neji said. "His honor and standing mean more to him than his life. Not only would he lose face with the shinobi and city council, but any capitulation would seem shameful in the eyes of his clan. Worse, he would appear vulnerable in the eyes of the other great families."
"Ninja… shinobi…" Shikamaru stood up to stretch his legs. "Those words mean 'one who is concealed,' or 'one that endures.' We are frequently faced by things we didn't expect, and wouldn't have chosen. That is very bothersome. But, we have to do our duty."
"But, that doesn't mean we have to give up without a fight!" Sakura looked close to tears. "I have to go now. Please, don't give up. One of you might come up with a good idea!"
"She's right," Kiba said, watching as the medical ninja left. "Duty and honor only go so far. At some point before my clan began working wit dogs, it was one of the families following the way of Bushido. My ancestors would have died before breaking their code of honor. But, all of our families follow the way of Ninpo now. Saving the village comes before honor. Why not saving our friends?"
"I would be very careful before I think about doing anything that might put the Hokage or Konoha at risk." That voice belonged to Kakashi, who walked in with Kurenai. "Just meeting like this might be viewed as a treacherous act by some people. There are dangers in putting friends before one's village."
"Yes, Kiba." Kureani gave her former student a very pointed look. "Kakashi knows that better than anyone, because of his father."
"Sensei?" Shino cocked his head. There was a story there that he didn't know.
"Hatake Sakumo," Kakashi said. "Konoha's White Fang. My father. Once, he was as revered as the Three Sannin." He sighed. "But, despite all of the good that he had done for the Leaf, he ended up taking his own life after failing a mission that cost this village dearly. He had opted to save the lives of his comrades, instead of continuing with that mission."
"We may no longer follow the way of Bushido," Kurenai said. "But, we are all expected to set an example for those below us. Once disgraced, we cannot win back respect by committing suicide, stabbing ourselves in the stomach with his own swords, waiting for our kaishaku to decapitate us. If we were caught doing something disloyal or traitorous, our memories would be stained forever."
Lee swallowed hard and rubbed his neck. Ten Ten put a hand on her belly. Kiba nodded his head and closed his eyes. No one looked too happy. What could any of them do within the bounds of the law and common decency? It was easier for ambitious and unfeeling men to find loopholes in the rules than it was for people of conscience.
"It wouldn't be much of a life being ronin, either." Kakashi put in. "Most ninjas who leave a village do it for selfish reasons. But, some do it because they are disgraced or sought by the law. To be a so-called 'wave man'… wandering aimlessly like the waves of the sea… would be a hard life. You would no longer have a stipend of any kind."
"I would suffer hardships for my friends!" Lee's eyes caught fire. "Money and possessions mean nothing compared to the glowing warmth of friendship." The flames were doused no sooner than they had been lit. "But, I would never do anything to betray my village or my teacher."
"Do the old laws really need to be followed?" Ten Ten hated to think that a rusty old unwritten rule could bring a Hokage to her knees while the attack of an enemy alliance would not.. "Why can't someone simply decide that they no longer fit the times?"
"There are old ways, and there are old laws. The former simply change over time," Shikamaru said. "Our ancestors were expected to be adept at dancing, literature, poetry, and the Tea Ceremony."
"Shit! I can just imagine Naruto reciting poetry!" Kiba smiled despite himself.
"He would probably use noodles instead of tea," Ino said, causing some of the others to laugh.
"Right. Instead of being polite, graceful, and charming as one must in Chan-yo-nu, he'd be noisy, unpredictable, and crude." Ten Ten shook her head, not wanting to picture Naruto's version of the traditional art. "Just like during Kiba's first chuunin exam."
"Why does everyone have to remind me of that?" Kiba grumped. They wouldn't find it so funny, if someone broke wind in their face when they had concentrated chakra to their nose!
"We no longer follow Shūdō either," Kakashi said. "Except for maybe Gai." Kakashi smiled under his mask, if his crinkled eyelid was any indication. "He does seem rather close to Lee."
"Kakashi!" Kurenai frowned and shook her head.
"Shūdō?" Lee scratched his head, a puzzle look on his face.
"It was the tradition of love bonds between a seasoned warrior and a novice warrior, something much along the same lines as educational Greek pederasty." Neji had read extensively on the history of his ancestors. Some of the older practices had him glad he was born into this generation. "Once, it was an honored and important practice in warrior society. It was one of the main ways in which the ethos and the skills of the warrior tradition were passed down from one generation to another. Another name for it was bidō, the beautiful way. The devotion that the two warriors would have for each other would be almost as great as devotion they had to their daimyo."
"Two… two…" Lee swallowed hard. "Two men?" Lee's eyes went wider than usual, a feat that his friends viewed as amazing as the forbidden Lotus technique.
"Yes," Kakashi said. "Don't worry, I was just joking. The fact that you and Gai look alike… dress alike… act alike… and spend so much time together… really doesn't mean anything."
"Neither does the fact that Gai probably hasn't had a date with a woman in over a year." Kurenai smiled, following Kakashi's lead. She shouldn't do that. He was setting a bad example for her.
"Kurenai!" Kakashi made a 'tsk tsk' noise with his tongue.
"They're just teasing you, Lee." Ten Ten frowned. "You know sensei better than anyone here, even me and Neji. If you see no reason to doubt, why should anyone else?"
"Oh-h-h-h-h. That's right!" Lee felt relieved.
"As I was saying, old ways change," Shikamaru said. "Our ancestors started off as mercenaries in the employ of an emperor or noble kuge. But, they gathered enough power to usurp the aristocracy and establish a warrior-dominated government. Because the powerful families like the Hyuugas had descended from royalty, their unwritten laws carried the same weight anything drawn up by the new governments. While that tradition continues, the Hokages have managed to establish laws that superceded most of the family precedents, since some of the old privileges gave unfair advantages to the older families."
"Unfortunately, some things have slipped through the cracks," Kurenai mentioned. "Trust Hiashi to be able to be aware of such a remaining law when it suits him best."
"This is just so tragic!" Ino said, feeling a strong urge to shout. "It reminds me of that Romeo and Juliet play. Or the story of Pyramus and Thisbe."
"Who?" Lee asked. Having spent so much of his young life practicing, in order to make up for his lack of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu skills, he never had much use for recent books or classic literature.
"They were two youths living in the city of Babylon, newly founded by Queen Semiramis. At the time, the city was surrounded by a wall made of baked brick and bitumen bound with iron, considered one of the wonders of the world." Ino loved to read tragic romance stories.
"Probably one of those tear-jerkers," Kiba said quietly to Shino, pretending to wipe at his eyes.
"Indubitably," Shino said.
"Shhh!" Ten Ten shushed.
"Another wall separated the houses of Pyramus and Thisbe, which were side by side." Ino's voice grew louder and more excited. She was getting into it. "The young man and the girl loved each other, and would have married, but their parents forbade. Not having a go-between, they communicated by nods and signs. Later, they discovered a slender chink in the wall, and they talked to each other until night came, printing in each side of the wall the kisses they were prevented to give each other."
Ten Ten sighed, daring Kiba to say anything. Lee looked misty-eyed until he caught everyone looking at him. Shikamaru shook his head and sighed, wanting to go home. Instead, he put his hands together and began thinking.
"Not being able to endure the separation, they decided to escape one night and to meet at a famous tomb under the shade of a mulberry tree." Ino put her hand over her heart. "Thisbe was the first to arrive with her face well veiled; but, as she was waiting for Pyramus, a lioness came for water at a nearby spring. Her jaws dripped with the blood of the cattle she had slain. Seeing the beast, Thisbe escaped to a near by cavern; but, as she hastened to elude the beast, she left her cloak on the ground behind her."
"Let me guess… the boy found the cloak… he thought the girl was dead… and then…" Kiba had not come to listen to this kind of stuff. How was his helping Hinata or Naruto?"
"SHH-H-H-H…" This time it was Kurenai who had spoken. She nodded to Ino and smiled at Ten Ten. Choji walked over and offered all of them snacks.
"The lioness quenched her thirst and by chance came upon the cloak, tearing it with her bloody jaws. A little later Pyramus arrived, and seeing the lioness and the cloak, he assumed Thisbe to be dead. In desperation, grief, and guilt, plunged he his sword into his side, drawing it straightaway from the wound. As he lay stretched, the jets of blood leaped high, turning the white fruit of the tree dark red."
"What are you doing?" Kurenai asked Kakashi, who had taken out his Icha Icha book.
"Looking for the story of Thisbe and Pyramus," the Copy Ninja lied. "I got lost in Ino's telling."
"Liar." Kurenai said.
"SHHH… SHHH… SHH-HHH-HHH…" Kiba shushed Kurenai.
"Kiba," Neji said. "The sooner you let them finish, the sooner we can return to business."
"When Thisbe came out of her hiding, fearing that her lover would miss her, she found Pyramus lying under a tree that looked different than she remembered." Ino said. "Pyramus saw her in a last effort, speaking small words to her before dying. At his death, Thisbe lamented:
'O wretched parents, mine and his, grant those whom love and death has joined to be laid together in the same tomb. O tree, who now shade with your branches the poor body of one, and soon will shade two, keep the marks of our death and always bear your fruit of a dark color as a memorial of our double death.'"
Ino sniffed, and tossed her hair. She cleared her throat. "Having said that, she took the sword and killed herself. The remains of both funeral pyres rest together in the same urn. Ever since that time, the color of the mulberry fruit is dark red when ripe."
"Well, do you really think that Naruto would throw himself on a sword if Hinata died?" Kiba shook his head. "He'd be more likely to break in the armory, find something very sharp, and then go after her father!"
"It's Hinata I'm worried most about," Kurenai said. "She's been dreaming about Naruto for years. I have no doubt that she would accept death before allowing any marriage to Sasuke to go through. If she's feeling depressed enough, she might choose death rather than spending her life in a convent."
"But, that doesn't make sense. If she lived, there would be a chance that she could break her vows and return home if her father died, or if the rules changed." Lee said.
"Shit! I could see that idiot Naruto sneaking off to see her at a nunnery," Kiba said, shaking his head. "He'd probably dress up as one of the sisters, or use that damn Sexy No Jutsu look as a disguise."
"The nearest abbey is just outside of the Hidden Village of Mist, in the Country of Water. To get there, he would need to leave the Fire Country without permission, risking being named a Missing Ninja." Neji rested his chin on his steepled hands.
"That would be just like him," Ino said, shaking her head and making a face. "He just started dating her a short while ago; but, he'd risk everything for her." She smiled reluctantly. Naruto might not be her idea of the perfect man; but, he certainly had characteristics that she wished other men had. She also wished that some guy would take an interest in her. No, not just some guy. Biting her lip, she stared over at Shikamaru.
"He'd probably end up dead, just like Leander did." Ten Ten sighed. If he couldn't sneak aboard a ship without being caught, he'd probably try to swim, or make a boat out of clones."
"Who?" Choji asked. "Was he a shinobi of the Leaf?"
"I'll look it up," Kakashi lied again, flipping through his book. Kurenai reached over, took it, and stuffed it in her weapons bag.
"There was a priestess of Aphrodite named Hero." Ten Ten said." She…"
"Shit. A girl named 'Hero.' Great." Kiba laughed. "I thought we were finished with that story stuff." He stopped when Kurenai crossed her arms and made a rather stern looking face.
"Hero lived chastely at the edge of Sestus in a high tower by the sea, all alone but for a single maid, by the wish of her parents." Ten Ten scowled. "Parents in the tragedies always start the trouble!" She shook her head angrily, thinking about how her own parents didn't get along too well with the Hyuuga clan, and how that might interefere with her feelings for Neji. "She turned away the hoards of men who made a pilgrimage just to see her beauty. One youth by the name of Leander won her heart. He did it merely by making courtly gestures, and meeting her gaze with his own. That's how love should work, without a single word."
Ino sighed at the same time Ten Ten and Kurenai did. Lee sighed as well, thinking of Sakura first, and Ten Ten second. He blushed red when Neji turned to look at him.
"OK. Skip to the end. How do Hero and Leander end up pushing up daisies, feeding the crows, and ending the story? And what does this have to do with Hinata and Naruto?" Kiba looked at his watch. Akamaru was making the face that meant he needed to find some shrubbery or a fire hydrant real soon.
"When they took each other's hands, Leander finally spoke." Ten Ten continued. "He prayed for her to take pity on his desire. He kissed her throat, and said that Aphrodite takes no pleasure in virgins. He claimed that he had been shot down by Love, and declared that she was like a goddess for him."
"Wow. Smooth operator." Kiba smiled. "I guess I can listen a little longer."
"I'm thrilled," Ten Ten said dryly. "At first, Hero protested and threatened him. Smart girl." She met Ino's gaze and nodded. "But eventually, she went speechless, trembling at his beauty. She was driven to say :
'Stranger, likely with your words you might rouse even a stone'."
"Probably roused his own stone too," Shino said. Everyone froze, hearing that from him. Even Kakashi looked stunned before closing his visible eye and smiling. Lee had to sit down.
"Can I have my book for a moment. I really need to write that one down." Kakashi took a step back and raised his hands when Kurenai made a small noise deep in her throat.
"Ahem! Anyway!" Ten Ten was still staring at Shino in disbelief. "Hero used to light a lamp at the top of her tower every night, turning her abode into a lighthouse. Leander, guided by that light, would swim more than thirteen hundred meters across the strong currents of the Hellespont. During each day, they prayed for darkness to come soon; for while all others slept they found great joy and delight in each other's company."
"So, what happened?" Ino looked over-eager again, having found another story to treasure.
"They secretly wed. Hero, fearing her parents, lived a maiden by day and a wife by night. That unstable arrangement ended when winter came. The sea changed and even the sailors drew up their ships. But, Leander's love was not hindered by the frosty weather, and he fought the fierce waves blown up by the winds Eurus, Zephyrus, Boreas, and Notus. One such night, Leander found himself at sea in the middle of such a windy war. A gust blew out the lamp in Hero's tower. Left in the dark without landmarks, Leander lost his way and perished."
"What did Hero do?" Choji asked, munching away at a furious pace.
"The next day, Leander's body reached the foot of the tower. When Hero saw him flayed by the rocks, she tore her robe from her body and cast herself down from the tower, her dead body remaining beside his."
"Maybe Naruto and Hinata should get secretly married," Shino said. "There is no law against that."
"No, there is not." Kakashi had somehow gotten his book back from Kurnai. The look on the other jounin's face promised trouble. "But, it would not change the decree that Hiashi made."
"And, while marrying Naruto might be better than marrying Sasuke, Hinata is not ready for marriage yet." Kurenai still couldn't believe the situation her friend found herself in.
"That's the problem with plays and stories," Neji said. "They can help us imagine the kinds of bad things that can happen. But, they don't offer up any kind of plan." He looked over at Ten Ten who shrugged apologetically.
"I wouldn't be so sure." That came from Shikamaru. He was still sitting with his hands held in that peculiar way, fingertips against fingertips.
"What? Do you have a plan?" Lee and Ino asked that at the exact same time. Both had a very intense look in their eyes.
"It's a long shot," Shikamaru said. "So, it might mean a lot of work for nothing. But, the trouble that our fellow shinobi face is even more bothersome. The Fifth might never act on some kind of official plea or petition. She might not risk censure just for Hinata, and maybe not even for Naruto and that necklace he wears." He rubbed his chin. "Unless the situation was very emotional, and threatened to grow in severity."
"You are speaking about putting on our own play," Kakashi said. "A big act, without ever clueing Tsunade into the truth? We find some spot to talk loudly and argue amongst ourselves, overheard by her? Then we worry about Naruto's threats to kill himself and maybe Hiashi, or about his plans to run away to see Hinata at the nunnery. Some of us talk about going after Naruto. Something like that."
"That's so reckless," Kurenai said. "If the Hokage finds out that she was tricked into taking action, I shudder to think what she might do." She didn't want to be on the bad end of one of Tsunade's tantrums. "We would need to come up with a very good act, with some hook that would prompt her hand. Even more important, we would need to find a way to be overheard without seeming too obvious."
"Yes," Shikamaru said. "We will need to practice our ideas. But first, we would need a place we wouldn't be overheard in… preferably outside of the village…"
"I know a place," Shino said.