Chapter 6
"Hinata-sama, my apologies. There is a document for you, from the Council," said Ko, bowing deeply before the Heiress.
The princess of the Hyuuga clan wore today a light blue yukata, which hugged her form elegantly. She was merely a child not so long ago… Long tresses of midnight blue hair fell unbounded on her arms, the curve of hips and the ends were sweeping the pristine wooden floors of the estate.
She was just leaving her bedroom ready for a new day, when he was ordered to deliver her a sealed paper.
He watched as her face went blank. When she accepted it silently, she smiled sadly to him and caressed his cheek. Ko blushed madly.
"Thank you very much, Ko-nii-san," she whispered softly, "Would you escort me to the inner garden, please?" she added then.
"O-of course, Hinata-sama," he replied promptly.
He lowered his head again as she passed him and followed after her footsteps keeping the respectful distance.
For a few minutes they remained silent. Ko watched the elegant form of his lady as she made the next little silent steps. He could not even hear her move. Suddenly, she stopped, as if she was startled by the sound. He heard it too.
Several walls further, they heard a girl's cry, which turned into loud laughter.
"Is that…? Hanabi?"
"I think I saw Sarutobi Konohamaru and his teammates visit Lady Hanabi earlier. Seems like the visit prolonged a little bit," Ko observed loudly.
"I see," was all Hinata said and smiled to herself.
After a few moments a heavy breath left the mouth of his lady and she proceeded.
"How are things in the house, Ko-nii-san?" his lady asked softly.
He struggled to say everything he wanted. He wished for it to be heard by anybody but her.
He witnessed with his own very eyes, when four years ago Hinata Hyuuga stood next to Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki in her full glory, and fought the enemies no one could tackle. He also witnessed the great love she had for all her clan members, cousin Neji especially.
However, ever since the end of the war, even before she left, she was utterly sad.
He hated seeing her sad. He thought that maybe if she left for a while, her sadness would pass. But, when she returned after such a long time, no longer a child, but a lady of great posture, she still wore this veil of sadness. She reminded him of a widow, who experienced great loss and no one could fill the void in her soul.
He understood then that Naruto Uzumaki, the legendary hero who gave his life for all the war casualties, was indeed her one true love.
Even though she laughed loudly with her sister... Even though she treated kindly all the people gathered around her, be it a clan member or not... Even though she was the respected and loved princess of the most prestigious clan in Konoha village... She was always sad.
"As good as they can be, Hinata-sama, thank you for your concern," he replied.
"Were you able to get a wife, Ko-nii-san?" she asked. He heard her smile.
"H-hinata-sama," he blushed again, "No, I do not have a wife."
"It's a shame, Ko-nii-san. Surely, there must be a nice lady who could have caught your eye. You are almost thirty years old now, don't you think it is time for you to settle down?"
"But, Hinata-sama, who would be there to guard you then?"
"I am no longer a child, Ko-nii-san."
"And I am not blind, Hinata-sama."
At that she turned her head to look at him. She was pressing her lips not to giggle out loud.
"Remember, there is always Neji," she said calmly.
"Neji-san will not be here to protect you for eternity, Hinata-sama. You surely know he decided to date his teammate. They seem seriously involved, even though they do not see each other for a long time."
"I never thought I would live a day when I found out you are into gossips, Ko-nii-san."
"Please, do not mock me, Hinata-sama," he blushed again.
"Ah, my apologies," she laughed softly, "TenTen-chan is a wonderful and strong woman. He needs someone strong, so he doesn't have to be always strong by himself. Being strong is very tiresome."
Ko had no idea how he should reply, so he remained silent, until they had reached a closed garden space. Her space. Her seclusion. Her prison. Ko unintentionally clenched his fists.
"Hanabi-chan told me you were on duty yesterday at the gate. Tell me, why don't you like Sasuke Uchiha?" she asked in a whisper, looking him in the eyes.
"Cousin Neji doesn't trust him either. He follows him, whenever he can, Hinata-sama," he replied swiftly.
"Is that so? I was not aware," she said, visibly surprised.
"You should not contact him, my lady. He cannot be trusted. His clan is not here. From what I heard he is still dangerous. And he is unstable. You obviously cannot know what he left of the training grounds last month. He often leisures in the streets of the village, other times no one sees him for weeks. I heard during one mission from Sarutobi-sama that he sometimes reminds a ghost. I think the crimes he committed, turned into his personal nightmares, Hinata-sama."
"Really? Did something happen last month, Ko-nii-san?"
"Of course not, Hinata-sama. We have now prosperous, peaceful times. There are many travellers and traders in the village, even within our compound. I know for sure that your esteemed grandmother found an excellent silk producer and she refuses to trade with the others."
"Thank you for telling me this. I would be needing several new garments for the sake of the upcoming suitors," the spasm of anger crossed Ko's face, before he could control it, his princess ignored it, "Do you know, when this trader will be visiting us again? I would like to meet him personally. God knows, I need some occupation these days."
"I will gather some information regarding the matter, and as soon as I know, I will let you know, Hinata-sama."
"Thank you, Ko-nii-san."
"Should I deliver your breakfast here, Hinata-sama?"
"No, thank you. I am not hungry now," she replied, ending their conversation. He bowed deeply and removed himself from her sight.
Hinata then sat down in the sun, in the middle of the small garden. There was just a blanket near a single flower bed and a small sakura tree. It was a tiny space, surrounded by the wooden halls of the mansion, so the council members hidden behind the paper walls could see her every move. A true prison cell for the princess. She looked in the sky, the small square of blue was her only window for the world. She clenched the sealed scroll she received and missed the unlimited blue seen from the White Mountain, where she lived with her pack of deadly, but adorable tigers.
A sole tear rolled on her cheek as she read the contents of the scroll.
The order for medical examination arrived. They found three trustworthy medics. None of them was Sakura Haruno, but there was Tsunade Senju.
She needed to be prepared. And she needed to hurry.
X X X
Once Ko left his lady's side, he went back to the gate of the mansion, just to meet face to face with the Inuzuka and Aburame clan heirs. They were very adamant to meet their princess.
"Forgive us, Kiba-san, Shino-san, however, our Lady is confined to seclusion until further notice," he said, coming closer.
"What the fuck?" was Inuzuka's indignant reply. Ko cringed at the language. "She came back last week and she is already-?"
"What do you mean saying 'she is confined', Hyuuga-san?" asked Aburame heir, "It sounds as if there was an investigation regarding Hinata. Is there everything alright?"
"W-we…"
"Forgive my daughter," said the booming voice of Hiashi Hyuuga, who just came into view, "After such a long absence, she has a tremendous amount of work and responsibilities to catch up. I am certain she will seek you, the moment she is released from her duties. Would it be satisfactory, if we informed her of your visit?"
"Please do, Hyuuga-sama. Our apologies for the intrusion," Shino bowed to the Head of the Hyuuga clan and tugged shocked Kiba out of the compound walls.
"What- Shino, stop! For the fuck's sake! Shino, stop dragging me!"Kiba finally released himself from the deadly grip of his friend. "How could you just leave the Hyuuga district?! They are clearly holding her hostage there! We need to save her!"
"Kiba. Do you seriously believe that Hinata would let them be held as a prisoner in her own house or that her father, whom you saw yourself changed after the war, would permit such an act under his own roof?"
"No… I think not."
"But Ko-san must have wanted to say something. Something that Hyuuga-sama did not want him to say."
"What are you trying to say, Shino?"
"Let's investigate."
"Yosh. And let's start with Shikamaru."
"Shikamaru?" asked Shino, visibly confused. "Why him?"
"Because the bastard had her scent on himself when he left our company on the night of the festival."
"Kiba, when did you want to tell me?" the brunette smiled sheepishly and scratched his jaw.
"I haven't thought it would be important... "
"I am disappointed," he said flatly and disappeared from the street.
"Hey! Shino! Wait up! Shino! Damnit!" Inuzuka also disappeared, already tracking his best friends and the Nara heir, who of course held his lazy ass in his own compound.
"Phew… That was close," whispered a teenager, relaxing behind the wooden wall.
What took him a moment to realise was a very flustered teenage Hyuuga princess trapped between his arms. Once he saw her state, and the indecent proximity of their bodies, he blushed heavily and jumped away from her,
"A-ano… Hanabi-chan, gomen… They surprised me… I didn't mean to…"
"Oh, shut up, already," she whispered in her own embarrassment.
She felt her heart pounding heavily. She was afraid he could hear it. She took a deep breath and checked on her companion. Konohamaru Sarutobi pierced his eyes into the pavement, still dealing with his own emotions. Hanabi's eyes then moved to the place her sister's two teammates disappeared.
She agreed, there was something weird happening in their house. Never before was Hinata forbidden to leave. When she asked father about it, he dismissed her quickly. Then, there was this ridiculous order for Hinata to be examined and married off. She just earned back her sister, only to say goodbye to her for good? There was no way she would sit and watch them do this to her. Her white eyes came back to her friend.
"Nee, Konohamaru-kun, would you know where they went?"
"You mean these guys?" he asked, surprised Hanabi's seriousness, "Shikamaru-san should be at Uncle Asuma's place or at home. There is no Sand Princess to be showing around," he smiled sheepishly at this joke.
"Let's go, then," she said.
"What? But we agreed to go to the training grounds!"
"Think of it as the training in stealth. Don't you know that Hinata-onee-chan's team was the best tracking team in the whole Konoha, even before the war? Try to spy on them without being detected," she smiled.
"Challenge accepted, princess," he smiled back with a dangerous grin that made Hanabi warm inside, what she failed to take into control, because he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the woods.
X X X
Kiba and Shino landed softly at the closed gate to the Nara household. Kiba knocked loudly several times and listened carefully. After a few moments, Inuzuka nodded to his friend, as he heard footsteps inside the house. Indeed, after a few moments of waiting, the door was opened and the Nara clan leader showed up. He glanced at them with a brow raised, but said nothing. Before the guests could say a word of explanation, he opened the doors wider in the silent invitation.
Shikaku Nara led them silently through the halls, which unnerved Kiba to no end.
"We are sorry for intrusion, Nara-sama,"
"No need, Kiba-kun. I suspect why you are here. Come. I left my son in the garden."
Once the two of them found themselves in the garden, they stopped in the tracks. Shikamaru sat at the shogi with his head lowered before his opponent in defeat, who was one and only…
"Sasuke? What the hell are you doing here?" asked loudly Kiba, coming closer. Sasuke sat there with the impassive expression on his face. The moment he heard his friends, he lifted his face to the newcomer, flashing the ruby red Sharingans.
"What are you doing here, Kiba, Shino?"
"I asked first!" shouted Kiba, "What is going here? Oi, Shikamaru!"
"Shut up, Kiba. Sit and tell us what happened," said the Nara heir.
So they sat, with the Nara clan Head watching silently the gathering of four most prominent Konoha heirs. Nara… Inuzuka… Aburame… Uchiha… Hinata-hime's wellbeing soon will become a great political issue.
'It seems you have your own small council, Hinata-hime,' thought Shikaku.
"They imprisoned Hinata in the compound. No one can reach her," Kiba growled. "We haven't seen her since the day she returned," added Shino.
"And why did you come here?" asked Shikamaru.
"You are the last person I smelled her scent on," admitted Kiba and then he hesitated.
Wide brown eyes turned to the last Uchiha.
Kiba breathed heavily, "Give me a very good explanation, why you have such a strong scent of her on you, Sasuke."
Shikamaru and Shino checked with visible interest Sasuke's reactions. No flush, no embarrassment appeared on his face.
Only fury. The cold unnerving Chakra flared and suddenly he disappeared. Kiba shivered and then all the men swirled to the direction of the woods.
"My, my, who we have here," they heard his freezing voice. Before anyone could say anything or react, Sasuke reappeared before their friends, holding two spies and dropping them before Shikaku.
"What are you doing here, Konohamaru?" asked Shikamaru, looking at his teacher's nephew.
"A-anosa… ano… we… we just…"
"An explanation, before I report it to your Father, Hanabi-sama?" requested Shikaku in a cold voice, no one expected. The teenage princess shook visibly, terrified to look at Sasuke Uchiha's crazy scary persona behind her back, but flooded with shame eyeing the disappointed head of the Nara clan.
Clenching her shaking hands together, she bowed deeply before the man, the long hair covering her face.
"M-my sincere apologies, Nara-sama. It was never my, I mean our, intention to invade your grounds and your privacy. We just… Konohamaru-kun and I, we overheard Kiba-san and Shino-san speaking about Shikamaru-san being in contact with my sister. And-and I sincerely worry about her," five men exchanged looks in silence, Konohamaru, even if left unnoticed, could not shake the dread he felt about the seriousness of their looks.
What the fuck was happening here? "I-I know it poses absolutely no valid reason for you to find our actions justified, which is why I beg for your forgiveness. I hope our trespassing will not affect our clans' friendship, and you will not abandon my sister in need."
None of the teenagers saw Uchiha nod slowly, which magically released some of the tension, however, did not make the dreadfully cold Sharingan turn black. Hanabi almost screamed, when she heard Uchiha move behind her back. The man moved slowly to one of the wooden pillars and leaned on it, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He left the interrogation to the best.
"No one followed them," he confirmed out loud in a low voice. His blazing red eyes laid on Hinata Hyuga's little ignorant sister.
"Hanabi Hyuuga," said the cold voice of Shikaku, gaining her attention. "Do you work with the Hyuuga council against the Angel of Konoha and the village itself?"
Shino gasped loudly.
Kiba cursed loudly.
Konohamaru giggled nervously.
Shikamaru murmured "troublesome".
Hanabi hence paled visibly at the insinuation of treason.
Sasuke Uchiha found them the moment they landed on Nara lands. His sole presence made the Hyuuga council group intimidation technique put to shame. She will never
again compain on the tension during the Hyuuga council session. It was clearly a walk in the park.
"I would suggest you speak up, Hanabi-hime, before a certain Uchiha here loses his patience."
"Or maybe I could help with this situation?" a new person appeared. All the men turned to the newcomer.
"Inoichi. Perfect timing," said Shikaku, greeting his friend. The Head of Yamanaka clan reached the gathering. He paled at the atmosphere in this garden, "Would it be fine with you, if Inoichi checked for anything suspicious in her head?" asked Shikaku motioning his question to the Uchiha.
The sob barely remained in Hanabi's throat, when she found the connotation of this question. The esteemed Nara Head asked the only Uchiha if the Yamanaka Head could read her mind? What the fuck? She was the fucking heiress of the Hyuuga clan!
"Hime trusts the Yamanaka clan," was all he said as his consent.
Hanabi gasped loudly. How could he know that?! Just what did they talked about yesterday when Hinata sneaked out of the compound?
The men, Konohamaru included, gave Sasuke a weird look at the unique way of addressing the Angel of Konoha.
"Hanabi-hime, I would agree to the procedure, was I in your place." said Shikaku. "It is advice from a friendly clan. We only wish to ensure you are not the enemy."
"B-but I am not the enemy!"
"Forgive us, but we cannot know that. Hinata-hime warned us to be cautious of every step, therefore, we are to thread carefully," he was almost apologetic.
Hanabi, on the other hand, froze on the place. Those were exactly the same words, Hinata said to her. Certain of her own position in this madness, she turned her white, determined eyes to the Yamanaka clan leader. She bowed her head a little and said:
"I will allow the procedure in order to prove that I am not a threat. I am placing myself in your care, Yamanaka-sama."
"I will be as gentle as possible. Let us sit, Hanabi-hime."
Her breath had hitched and she shut her eyes closed the moment she felt the cool male hand on her head. Near her eyes… It was unnerving… and terrifying, but not as much as Sasuke Uchiha...
She almost jumped when she felt a smaller, but equally harsh, hand touch her own, clenched politely on her lap.
The men gathered shared a knowing smirk at the crimson red face of Konohamaru Sarutobi, who held hands of his princess in distress.
'What an interesting way to find where one's loyalties lay in this new world without a war, with so much place for love,' thought Shikaku, smiling to himself.