I would have updated this sooner, but it wouldn't let me log in, so that's my excuse. Here's a message from Walking Green Cucumber:
BY THE WAY EVERYONE! IMPORTANT IMPORTANT READ HERE READ HERE READ HERE! I'm surprised ya didn't mention this... -clears throat-
Okay, the voting can stop. The conclusion has been decided (and whoever said Hell no to A and said bad things about it... too bad u suckers) Angel and I have talked... and talked... and talked... and found an agreement in our ideas.
We have decided to not do A or B, but AB! Yay! Now applaud... because it took us time and effort to come up to this conclusion. Okay, that's all I gotta say, besides this: That's no cliffhanger(referring to last chapter)!
X-X If you want cliffhanger leave it to me!
I really don't get what she means by AB, but somehow it'll work out. Enjoy the rest of the story.
Disclaimer:We do not own Naruto (are disclaimers really neccessary?)
Ding Ding
There was a slight chiming of the bell to gather everyone's attention. The people looked towards the front of the room, to the small mini stage set up before the party, and craned their necks to see the engaged couple standing on the stage together.
Neji stood in front of the two, an indifferent look forcibly pasted on his face, with a microphone in hand. Behind him stood Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, the parents of Sasuke.
He stared down at the crowd, and began to speak, "Today you have all been invited to witness the engagement between our two clans, the Hyuuga and Uchiha. From this day forward," Neji handed the two of them rings, his eyes narrowing slightly at Sasuke "Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata," He took in a hesitating breath, "... are engaged."
Hinata felt a shiver run down her spine, and edged away from the crowd, trying to hide her small blushing form behind Neji and keep away from Sasuke while doing so. There was a crowd cheering down there... cheering for her engagement to a person she hardly knew. Could she stand this?
Sasuke stood there holding a glittering golden ring, feeling Neji's ominous aura radiating around him, and listening to the crowd applauding.
"Would any of you like to say anything?"
Hinata shook her head softly, and tried to further remove herself from the gaze of the crowd.
"And you?"
Sasuke stood as silent as a statue.
"Well then," Mikoto laughed, coming to the front of the stage. She was an elegant woman with ivory pale skin and kind black eyes. "Since my son and his fiancée seem to be too shy to say anything, why don't we just enjoy the party?"
The crowd, catching her good spirits, laughed and went back to whatever they were doing before the announcement.
"I hope I'll get to know you well," Mikoto smiled, turning her attention to Hinata as they walked off the stage.
"Me too," Hinata whispered, still shocked at the night's events. "It was nice meeting you, Mikoto-san," Hinata bowed, catching sight of her cousin. "If you'll please excuse me, I have to meet with someone."
"Of course," Mikoto beamed. Then watching Hinata's retreating back, she turned to whisper sadly to her husband, "To have such a burden laid upon her shoulders, and at such a young age. I hope our Sasuke can save her."
"..."
---
Hinata hurried to catch up to her cousin, ignoring the looks the guests were giving her. Some wore looks of pity, while others stared at her in jealousy and hatred.
She finally found him, talking to a lazy looking man with hair pulled up into a ponytail, whose head slightly resembled a pineapple.
"The company stocks have been rising, with the new software we just released being quite successful, and with a bit of luck this announcement could help its growth," the man drawled.
Hinata waited patiently next to her cousin until he turned his attention on her.
"Hinata-sama, this is Nara Shikamaru, he's in charge of designing new software for the company."
"Nice to meet you," Hinata politely bowed.
"You too," the man nodded. "If you two want to talk, go ahead. I'll go find Chouji. He's in charge of marketing by the way. A bit touchy, those artists."
The man slowly sauntered away, looking for his friend by the food tables.
"Yes, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked, even though he knew what she was about to ask.
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Hinata asked in an angry whisper, forgetting her cousin's grudge against her.
"I didn't think it was that important, and I myself just learned of it recently." Yet her cousin avoided meeting her eyes.
"Y-you could have at least told me," Hinata weakly protested, realizing that whether or not she knew wouldn't have changed the outcome. Her father's word was law, even when he was dead.
"Hinata-sama, you must realize he is an Uchiha. Only the Uchihas' powers can help you now." Deep inside, Neji was angry with himself for being unable to stop the engagement. Even if he hated her, she was still his cousin, and, and he cared about what happened to her.
Neji quickly began to walk away from Hinata, and easily escaped into the crowd. It was his fault Hinata was cursed, and no matter how much he denied it, no matter how much he tried to blame her, there was always that nagging voice in the back of his head blaming him.
---
Hinata stood there staring at the retreating back of her cousin. 'Only the Uchihas' powers can help you now...'
Why? Why did it have to be them? Hinata was still so confused; everything was so frustratingly complicated...
She slipped into one of the rooms set aside for people to relax in, slumped onto a nearby chair, and hid her face in her hands.
---
Tenten was running around searching for Hinata, "Have you seen the Hyuuga Hinata anywhere?"
Everyone she had asked had replied no. Where is she? Tenten worried, She disappeared after the announcement, so maybe she ran away? No... she's too sensible, but still I'm worried...
She finally found her in one of the vacant rooms, slumped on a chair.
"Hinata-san! Were you here the whole time? What are you doing?" She nudged Hinata to get her to stand up.
Hinata looked up, her vision slightly blurry and her hands still wet. Had she been crying? She quickly looked down, hoping Tenten hadn't seen how wet her eyes were. But almost nothing escaped Tenten's sharp eyes.
She handed Hinata a handkerchief, "Here, wipe your eyes dry, don't use your hands."
Hinata gratefully took it, "Th-thank you..." It came out almost like a hoarse whisper.
Tenten just smiled, as if in understanding.
---
The clock struck eleven, and both Tenten and Hinata excused themselves from the party. Hinata noticed that Neji and the Uchihas were still there, but surely her presence wasn't required anymore. It had been an exhausting day.
The two piled into the limo, and the whole drive was silent, until they arrived at Hinata's house.
"Hinata-san?" Tenten tentatively began, as Hinata was about to step out of the limo.
"Yes?"
"We should hang out more often."
"S-sorry Tenten, but I don't know if I'll have the time," Hinata hurriedly rushed, her mind still on the curse. But seeing Tenten's crestfallen face, she quickly apologized. "I'll contact you if I have the chance."
"Alright," Tenten agreed, still not completely convinced. "Chao."
"Bye."
---
Hinata sat on the edge of her bed, dressed in a nightgown and slowly running a comb through her hair. It was a tiring day, she thought, as she stared at the glittering golden ring perched on her hand.
Her last thought before the blissful waves of sleep claimed her was, I hope the girls at school don't get too angry.
---
"INO!" Sakura screamed on the phone.
"WHAT!" Ino screamed back, furious that Sakura had to call her at one o'clock.
"Sasuke-kun... he's... he's... he's ENGAGED!"
Ino chuckled, "Heh, don't be funny Sakura..."
There was a sob on the other side, "You are joking, right?" Ino asked, a tone of panic in her voice as she realized Sakura wasn't acting.
"I'm not! And he's not just engaged to anyone... but to Hyuuga Hinata!"
"WHAT?" Ino leaped out of bed, her entire body stunned and her heart completely stopping. "I can't, I-I just can't believe it!"
"Neither can I..."
"But Sasuke-kun is mine! It's impossible!"
"My mom just came back from their engagement party, she told me everything that happened! She saw them get rings, and they announced it!"
"Your mom's just teasing you, don't listen to her!" Ino shouted and then slammed down her phone. Her body quivered, "She's lying... Sakura and her mother... she has to be lying." Ino closed her eyes and then crawled back into her bed. She tried to sleep, but Sakura's words rang inside her head and she lay awake all night.
---
The next day, Sasuke and Hinata's engagement was all over the place, on TV, in the newspapers, magazines, and was the topic of everyone's conversation at school. They were, after all, heirs to two of the most elite clans in Japan.
Sakura ran to Ino during homeroom, waving a newspaper, "Ino-pig! Ino-pig! I told you so!"
"I know. Shut up." Ino replied in a deadpanned voice; she had hardly gotten a wink of sleep last night and it was all because of Sakura.
"But what are we going to do, Ino?" Sakura asked, tears beginning to well up. "We've known Sasuke-kun for years, so why does she get him?"
"Sakura, lately I've been thinking-" Ino cut off, not quite sure how to break it to the forehead girl. "Maybe we should stop chasing after Sasuke-kun," Ino tentatively began.
"WHAT?" Sakura shrieked, forcing Ino and nearby bystanders to cover their ears.
"You. Are. Crazy. Ino-pig." Sakura finally spit out between clenched teeth. "I don't care what you say, but I'm not giving up."
With that, she stormed out of the classroom, uncaring of the stares of her fellow classmates. One of them in particular looked on with very sad eyes.
"If only you would notice me," the fox boy whispered.
---
Hinata liked it better when she stood unnoticed, because now everyone would whisper, stare, and give her glares as she walked by. When she sat in her seat by the window, she shuddered. There were people glowering at her, mad at her...
And it was all because of her sudden engagement with Sasuke. They hardly even knew each other, but one day they were suddenly paired together. Now they passed each other in the hallways without a flicker of recognition.
Marriage was a bond between two lovers, but Hinata and Sasuke did not love each other, and perhaps they never would.
Hinata sighed, at least they didn't hate each other... maybe one day they could learn to be friends. Besides, she had to obey her duty; she had done nothing for her clan in the past years, except bring death. This time at least she could be of some use to her clan, and the Uchihas did have the power to heal this curse of hers... but would it really work?
-
Meanwhile, Sakura watched Hinata with distaste and hostility.
"Why?" she asked herself over and over. Her rational side knew that it was an engagement, that nothing she said or did would have changed it, even if Sasuke had loved her. She wasn't from a strong clan like Hinata was; her family was rich, but not nearly as rich as Hinata. But it didn't make it any better, especially when she caught sight of Hinata's ring, an exact duplicate of the one on Sasuke's finger.
Sakura knew that if she tried, she could find plenty of good boyfriends; she was smart, and pretty. But none of them could match up to Sasuke.
It wasn't fair! She had sent Sasuke gifts for Christmas, his birthday, and of course Valentines Day for the past three years, ever since she had met him. She had personally baked the cookies, and took hours wrapping her gifts so that they would stand out among the hoard of other gifts he got. She had even grown out her hair for him because she heard he liked girls with long hair!
Now this Hyuuga, she just came in and took Sasuke from her without even trying! She wouldn't let this happen to her Sasuke. Not ever. Sakura stood up with a determined expression and stalked towards Hinata's desk.