Hinata's heels clicked across the polished floor as she walked a step behind the director. He looked around the ballroom, guests would be arriving soon, and everything was in place.

She had been up all night trying to get ahold of her sister, but no calls went through. None of her messages on any platform had been returned. It was lucky she was up, though, as marketing contacted her to tell her there had been an issue with one of the selected members of Sasuke's team, and she had to select a new one at the last minute. She had had an early appointment to have her hair and makeup done before the event, and then she was due to double-check preparations. She had found they were missing a table, but they quickly found a suitable replacement.

As people came in, Hinata checked the binder of names and pictures she needed to relay to the director. She had poured over it in spare moments, but she worried about having to reference it.

The director made small demands as they moved around which she started ordering the changes as she went. She was happy his demands were small. She didn't know what she would have done if he disliked it.

"What did you get Sasuke from me?" The director suddenly asked.

Hinata pressed her lips together. "A cashmere scarf and a pair of leather gloves."

His face twisted in question.

Hinata smiled. "I knew he would also be receiving a coat. It seemed like a nice complement to make a full family gift to keep him warm."

Fugaku took a moment and nodded.

The director turned course, and she followed him. A wave of dizziness hit her, and she nearly stumbled. She shook her head and blinked her eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths. She should try to eat something before the event.

Hinata bowed her head with a smile to the hundredth person that had come to greet the director. She had managed without the list, but she still had them hidden by a fake title page on a clipboard. He signaled to her, and she whispered the next couple's names to him. He put on his happy political face and welcomed them, but she could tell that the day was getting the better of him.

Hinata was glad everything was going well, but she was feeling more tired than she had expected. She hadn't had another of the dizzy spells since she ate, but she was feeling overly warm despite the cold air occasionally coming in from the open doors to the back gardens.

She was getting concerned because out of everyone who showed up, they were still missing the guest of honor, and she could see how it was starting to get on the director's nerves. She checked her phone again, but she knew she would get no updates from a driver as Sasuke had asked for a rental car, which he had already picked up.

"He'll be late. He's always fashionably late." Hinata flinched, looking over her shoulder to Itachi.

He already smelled like alcohol.

Hinata glanced over to the director. He was locked in a conversation. "To his own party?" She asked quietly.

"To his own funeral." Itachi teased.

"I hope that is not foreshadowing." Hinata frowned at her own words.

Itachi chuckled. His sarcasm was rubbing off on her.

Fugaku noticed his son and frowned.

Itachi took the opportunity to look down at her and say. "I'm going to get you away for a dance before the end of the night." Itachi tipped back his glass and walked away before she could tell him that she couldn't.

She sighed.

Sasuke folded his arms, looking into the ballroom from the hallway. He came in through the back entrance and parked himself in the garage. He glared through the swarms of people, he found his father, but he had no motivation to go over to him.

"You know this is your party. You are welcome." Sasuke closed his eyes and clenched his jaw together before looking behind him. Itachi grinned at him.

"Is mom here?" Sasuke glanced back through the door.

"I haven't seen her, but she was invited," Itachi told him to settle his hand in his pocket, swirling a flute of champagne in the other.

He groaned. "Wonderful."

Itachi smiled. "Well, come on, you can't hide here forever. Where is Naruto?"

"Food." Sasuke huffed.

"Come on. I want you to meet Hinata." Itachi nodded his head in.

"Father's assistant?" Sasuke asked ludicrously. He recognized the name from her email signature.

"She's cute and is constantly at his side. You might as well meet her." Each told him, tugging him in.

"Ugh." Sasuke groaned.

Itachi dragged him over to their father. "Look who I found."

His father turned first. He put on a scowl. "You're late."

"Did the rental car give you trouble?" The girl asked as she turned.

She was his height in heels.

"You're still looking at your phone." Sasuke nodded to her phone on her clipboard.

Hinata looked up in confusion, then she smiled, realizing as he had. "It's my job."

"I thought you said you hadn't met." His dad said, confused.

"We ran into each other in the lobby," Hinata explained.

"Literally," Sasuke added.

His father frowned sternly at her.

"I'm sorry I didn't have time to introduce myself." Hinata bowed her head slightly. "Hinata Hyuga."

Sasuke nodded his head, taking the apology.

"See, she's cute, right?" Itachi chimed in.

Hinata's face bloomed red. "You have drunk too much already." She accused him, reaching for his glass, but Itachi held it away with a grin. She frowned and glanced back at his father. He rolled his eyes. She turned and headed back to work. She would occasionally type something on her phone.

"You do reek of alcohol," Sasuke grumbled to his brother.

"You haven't seen mom in a year. I've had to have her call me all week asking what you were up to since you landed." Itachi said as he took a sip of his wine glass. "I'm looking forward to seeing her just as much as you are."

"Great." Sasuke sighed.

Hinata was happy to be off her feet. She was used to being in high fashion heels at this point but standing in the same spot for an hour after walking around in them all day was making the balls of her feet go numb. On top of that, she got another dizzy spell as they called for dinner. She couldn't be happier to just sit and sip water for a moment.

There were congratulations. The director got up and said a few words she already knew. She proofread his speech and wrote half of it. Short, to the point, welcoming his son back, congratulating him on finishing his masters, announcing his position in the company.

Hinata sat to the director's left, Sasuke to his right, Itachi to her left. The table had one empty seat. Kisame was supposed to sit next to Itachi, but he sat with work friends at another table. He wasn't working tonight. She was.

The director was given and applause and sat down next to her.

Just as dinner was being served, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see who touched her. The director's eyes came with her. She stared blankly at the woman she had only recognized from the pictures of faces.

The director's ex-wife.

"I think you are in my seat, dear." She said.

Hinata opened her mouth, but she didn't know what to say. The woman wasn't meant to sit at this table. She hadn't RSVPed, so she was assigned to a table across the room with other Uchiha family members.

"Get up, please," Mikoto said with the same tone but more impatience.

Hinata quickly obeyed, starting to stand. Itachi caught her arm, but she didn't dare look back at him. "Excuse me." She tried to pull her arm away, but he kept hold of it.

"You didn't tell us you were coming. This isn't your table, mother." Itachi eyed his mother, Hinata lowered her's. The woman's smile and stare were unnerving.

"Why wouldn't I sit with my boys? If she moves, there are two open spots." She was right, and she knew from the book of faces the man with her was her husband.

"Don't make a scene, Mikoto." The director said bluntly.

"Then she should leave," Mikoto responded.

Hinata didn't like being in the middle of this.

Hinata grabbed her glass and purse, pulled her arm out of Itachi's hand, and stood up. She felt another wave of nausea and dizziness hit her as she bowed her head and moved her to the side. She discreetly put her knuckles to her lips to try to make the feeling go away.

The director shifted his eyes down as she set herself into action to fix the situation. She moved over to Lee at the nearest table, who seemed all too happy when he tapped him on the shoulder. "I need to sit here to be close to the director. Can you move to the table over there?" She pointed.

Lee got up. Hinata asked the waiters to correct the orders for the new seating arrangement, and the family sat down with her meal only to realize her mistake. She dug in her purse, getting back up, and moved back to the director's side.

Fugaku looked up to her despite his ex-wife not pausing her sentence. Hinata leaned down to whisper about his pills.

He nodded. She put two pills discreetly on his napkin.

Fugaku made no attempt to hide them as he knocked them back.

"You're on medication, Fugaku?" Hinata heard from her left.

"Comes with age." He fired back. "You should know that."

Mikoto ignored the jab. "I didn't get your name, dear." Hinata took a moment to register that she was the one spoken to, but she was the only one Mikoto didn't know at the table.

Hinata swallowed. "Hinata Hyuga, director assistant, ma'am."

"Hyuga?" Mikoto wondered, her eyes drifting up to her ex-husband.

The silence, while the director chewed, was a lifetime.

"Hiashi's daughter," Fugaku confirmed.

"Hiashi." Mikoto hummed. "I didn't think you'd ever forgiven him."

"I haven't." He snapped.

Itachi glanced up at her and glanced back at the other table, telling her to leave while she got the chance. She bowed her head and moved back to her new spot.

Sasuke looked over to Itachi. He took another swig of his glass of wine as their mother started in on the new topic of the assistant. He considered doing the same, but he thought better of it.

"Fugaku, how long have you had this assistant?" His mother continued.

Sasuke looked to Itachi, who looked annoyed with his mother, but they both knew better nothing he said was going to stop her.

"A few months now," Fugaku answered while he ate.

"Really? You usually go through them so quickly." His mother cooed.

"She does a good job," Fugaku said flatly.

"Odd for a child of a worthless con of a businessman." His mother said sweetly.

She was trying to start a fight, wasn't she?

"Mother." Itachi snapped.

"What?" She hummed. "Hiashi Hyuga got your father in a lot of trouble. I'm surprised he would hire her for the mailroom, let alone his personal assistant."

His father set his jaw. Sasuke could see Hinata had stopped eating at her table to listen. She didn't look over at them, but her lips pressed together as she stared at her plate. His mother had that effect on people. Sasuke looked to Itachi for answers, but this looked like news to him too.

His mother clicked her tongue. "And of course, her mother never amounted to anything. All that talk about wanting to be a doctor, but of course she waited for her husband's to scrounge back up his business, she got pregnant, and poof went that dream."

"Mikoto enough." His father announced in a low, threatening tone.

The table grew cold as they all knew that she had crossed a line for him.

His mother, as usual, brushed it off and started to chatter about a trip she took.

Sasuke tried to block out his mother's new chatter. He looked over to Itachi, who looked pensive, still staring over at Hinata. There seemed to be a lot of buzz around her.

Once the meal was over, the music got louder, and people were getting up around them. However, no one wanted anywhere near their table. He glanced over at his parents. Neither did he.

Itachi clapped his hands together. "I am going to steal that dance." He got up and around the table to pull Hinata up. There was a quick back and forth with her shaking her head, but he managed to tug by her hand toward the dance floor. She frantically looked around and ordered someone called Lee to take her place as he dragged her away.

"Oh, I see why she's stuck around for so long." His mother commented.

The man in the loud suit greeted his father with a "Sir!" before sitting back in her seat.

Sasuke watched his brother take the assistant out of the dance floor. He got up to find Naruto before his mother started in on him.

Hinata glanced around Itachi as he spun her. Itachi put himself in her view of his father again, earning another half-hearted glare.

He turned her to block her sight again and again.

She huffed at him, her concerned face snapping up to glare at him.

"He'll be fine," Itachi told her.

"He doesn't like being alone with her," Hinata mumbled, looking around him the other way.

"How would you know that?" He asked.

"He's a talkative drunk," Hinata mumbled. She leaned over to the waiter. "The director is allowed no more champaign." The waiter gave her a confused nod.

"Hinata. He was married to her for years. He can sit with her." He turned her again.

Hinata gave him another half-hearted glare. "What was that about your father and mine?" Itachi asked.

She stopped trying to see around him. "Uh..."

"Is that why he was torturing you?" He pressed.

Hinata shook her head. "Our fathers were in business once it didn't end well. I guess the director thought my father sent me to sabotage him, but my father didn't even know I was working here."

"That's why he was so upset." Itachi pierced together. "So, dad was getting back at you for what your father did?"

Hinata nodded.

"Bastard," Itachi said thoughtfully. He started to pull away from her, but she held him firm.

"We have already talked about it, don't make him relive his mistakes," Hinata warned him.

Itachi relented.

A staff member approached Hinata, he whispered in her ear. Hinata nodded at him. "I have something I need to handle."

Itachi nodded and let her go, and it may have just been his drunk imagination, but she looked like she stumbled.

He shook it off. Hinata could take care of herself.