I wanted to get this chapter posted as soon as possible, so it hasn't been edited as carefully as I should like. I apologize for that, and hope you enjoy it regardless.
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Chapter 15: The End of One Story
Sasuke hadn't stayed long after the incident with Hinata. He felt frustrated and disgruntled, and staying in a room full of people who were eyeing him with curiosity or distaste was not remotely appealing. He tried to catch Hinata's eye as he was leaving. When he did, she turned scarlet at the sight of him and quickly looked away. He tried to ignore the sudden flash of pain when she avoided his gaze, and headed out the door.
Outside the compound, the night was cool. Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and started to head in the direction of the Uchiha compound. He had only walked down the street when he stopped suddenly. Someone was following him.
"I know you're there, Hyuuga, you might as well come out," he called. Neji appeared a few moments later in front of him. They watched each other for a few seconds, Neji's face unreadable, and Sasuke's slightly questioning.
"Well? What do you want?" the avenger asked.
"You showed up," was all Neji said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Way to state the obvious, genius," he muttered, and moved to push past him. Neji stopped him by stepping in front of him again.
"What?" Sasuke snapped, getting irritated.
"If you want to marry Hinata, you're going to need to get the council to first approve of you as a suitor," Neji declared calmly.
"What's your point?" Sasuke asked, gritting his teeth. He didn't like the idea of having to play suck up to the idiots who had been glaring at him all evening.
"Hanabi and I…prefer you to the other suitors that have been mentioned. We shall help you at the council meeting. It would be a good idea to meet in tomorrow to discuss strategy," Neji explained. Sasuke glared at him.
"I don't need your help," Sasuke muttered, and succeeded in pushing past him, continuing on his way home.
Neji watched as the avenger disappeared from sight and sighed.
"What an ass," said a voice from seemingly nowhere.
"That's just how he is, Hanabi," Neji said. His cousin dropped down beside him.
"Still, seriously, doesn't he realize that the only reason he's even got a chance with Hinata is all because of you?" she asked.
"No. I would prefer if my hand in this remained unknown," Neji said. Hanabi smirked.
"Yeah, I can see how you're reputation as one of the best and coldest ninja in the village would be in jeopardy if everyone found out you're a closet matchmaker," she said. Neji glared at her.
"I am not a matchmaker, I am merely doing what is necessary," he said, turning around to return to the compound. Hanabi walked with him, watching him from the corner of her eye.
"Suuuuuuuuure, Neji," she said, "you know, you should think about starting up your own business. I bet the Aburames could use your skills – it must be difficult finding a girl who doesn't hate bugs…" she trailed off.
"Shut up," Neji muttered, and Hanabi, surprisingly, did, though she didn't stop grinning at the look on her cousin's face.
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The next day, Sasuke woke early to train, as was his custom. However, as he was about to leave, a knock sounded on his door. He opened it to find Neji and Hanabi standing on his steps.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, staring at them. Neji stared back, his face impassive. Hanabi just yawned, her eyes still heavy with sleep.
"We came to prepare you," she said, "for your meeting with the council. Gawd, do you really get up this early when you don't have to?"
"I train," Sasuke said, glaring at her. She just shook her head.
"You need to get laid," she said matter-of-factly, then winced under the combined glares of both Sasuke and Neji. She sighed, but followed her cousin as he pushed his way past Sasuke and entered the apartment. Sasuke just scowled.
"I thought I told you that I don't need your help," he said.
"Yeah you do," Hanabi said, "your whole attitude makes people hate you, and the council isn't going to be any different."
"Does she really have to be here for this?" Sasuke asked. Neji smirked and shrugged his shoulders.
"Hanabi has a very unique way of putting things which is sometimes surprisingly effective," he said by way of explanation. Sasuke muttered something very unflattering which Hanabi choose to ignore. He was about to close the door when with a sudden pop, Kakashi appeared.
"Now what?" Sasuke snapped.
"Just a heads up, the council has apparently switched the general meeting to today. I believe they are starting in about fifteen minutes," the older ninja said before disappearing again. Hanabi swore and Neji looked alarmed.
"Bastards have switched it up so Sasuke would miss it," she grumbled, looking much more awake. Neji just grabbed Sasuke's arm and dragged him outside.
"What the hell is going on?" the avenger asked. Hanabi came out behind them and they all started towards the Hyuuga compound.
"The council was going to hold a general meeting later in the week to assess the potential suitors, and decide whether or not to allow them the honour of Hinata-sama's hand. However, it seems that your appearance last night at the party has made some of them nervous. They have switched the meeting to this morning, I suspect, in order to have you miss it."
"What I want to know," Hanabi said, "is how the hell the Copy Nin knew about this."
"The Hokage has as much interest in the outcome as the Hyuugas. She doesn't want to see Hinata leave," Neji explained absently. Sasuke remained quiet, feeling slightly offended and a little uneasy about the amount of people who seemed to have a vested interest in his marrying the Hyuuga heiress.
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The council was already seated as the three arrived. Hanabi quickly took her place beside her father, while Neji remained with Sasuke. They both stood at the back of the room, behind a dozen or so other candidates. While the first few were being interviewed, Neji gave Sasuke a run down of his strategy.
"Remain respectfully silent, and do not give off any attitude. Whatever they say to you, you must not react to it. They will try to provoke you and to discredit you. Do not respond. If you loose your temper, you will loose Hinata. I will speak for you."
"I don't need you to defend me, Hyuuga," Sasuke hissed.
"Yes, you do. My word carries some weight with the council, and I have given this match a great deal of thought. It is what is best for the clan, Konoha, and most importantly, for Hinata-sama. If nothing else, Uchiha, remember that you do this for Hinata-sama," Neji murmured. Sasuke scowled at the Hyuuga genius. Bringing up the heiress was a low blow, Sasuke thought. An effective low blow, as he was slowly becoming aware of how deep his feelings for the heiress went. It was a little frightening, and he wondered exactly how much he would be willing to give up for Hinata. Already he had left his pride behind – having his love life as the focus of the most prestigious clan in Konoha, as well as the Hokage, Kakashi, and god knows who else took care of that. His generally cold and uncaring exterior was severely cracked, and his reputation of being suave was shot as he seemed unable to get Hinata to look at him with anything remotely resembling the shine in her eyes when she saw Naruto.
Sasuke noticed that they were next, and he quickly tried to wipe the scowl off of his face. He remained blank, following Neji up the where the council were seated. It consisted of a large half circle, and most of the people on it were old. All of them had the same blank eyes that Hinata had, but theirs lacked the warmth, the gentleness of the heiress's. Instead, Sasuke was reminded of ice – hard and cold. Only Hanabi looked at him with something akin to friendliness. She stared at him impassively, but when she was sure no one was looking, she winked and gave him the thumbs up. Sasuke resisted the urge to scowl at her, and instead focussed on Hiashi. The head stared at him briefly before lowering his eyes to the floor. Sasuke was confused for a moment. He didn't believe that the Head of the Hyuuga would ever willingly lower his gaze to anyone, and then it dawned on him. Quickly, Sasuke dropped his gaze to the floor as a sign of respect, and didn't raise his eyes again until someone spoke.
"So, the traitorous Uchiha wishes to attach himself to our clan, does he?" came a cold, thin voice. Sasuke looked up to find that the speaker was an elderly gentleman who was glaring at him with hatred.
"Uchiha Sasuke wishes to present himself as a possible candidate for Hinata-sama's hand in marriage," Neji said calmly. The old man's hostile gaze switched to Neji, and Sasuke wasn't really surprised to see that the hatred in it didn't lessen any.
"What, you think that if you support him, it will make his chances of actually being approved increase, Neji? A lowly branch member does not have the power."
"Yuske, that's enough. Neji is no lowly Branch member; he is the genius of the Hyuuga. If he supports the Uchiha, he must have good reasons," a woman interjected softly. She reminded Sasuke a little of Hinata – her face had the same roundness, her eyes a little less cold than the rest.
"Hiroko is right. Neji must have his reasons. I don't believe he would allow anyone unworthy to present themselves as Hinata-sama's betrothed. Exactly why do you think the Uchiha is a good candidate, Neji? His past is not exactly inspiring me to think of him favourably," another member spoke. There was a general murmur of agreement, and Neji waited until it died down.
Sasuke was surprised when the genius began his defence, though he took care not to show it. It was obvious that Neji had indeed given it a lot of thought, listing reasons such as the novelty of the combined bloodlines, the added prestige the Hyuuga family would get in helping revive the Uchiha by having one of their own as the new matriarch, the benefits of having Hinata remain in the village. Yuske looked livid at this reason, and quickly raised the aspect of Sasuke's betrayal. Neji once again countered it effectively, citing the Hokage's support, and the fact that Sasuke had destroyed Orochimaru.
"His reasons for leaving were honourable – he wished to gain enough strength to defend his families' honour. There are those here, I know, who can understand that, and though they may not have gone to the extremes of the Uchiha avenger, they can certainly sympathize with his situation," Neji said calmly.
The council was silent at the end of this speech, and Sasuke looked at each of them. However, most of the faces remained blank, and he returned his gaze to the ground, hiding his frustration at being unable to read them.
"I think the Uchiha should be accepted as a potential mate for Hinata-sama," Hiashi said suddenly. Sasuke looked at the head, but Hiashi's gaze remained fixed on the far wall. However, his declaration seemed to unfreeze the rest of the council. There were many nods of agreement, though some scowled, glaring at him and Neji.
"All in favour?" Hiroko asked. A majority of the hands went up.
"Very well. Uchiha, you have the council's approval. Please wait in the next room for you audience with Hiashi-sama," she said. Sasuke bowed to the council before following Neji into the next room, feeling himself relax.
"Don't get too comfortable," Neji said suddenly. Sasuke glance at him.
"Why?" he asked, "I thought the hardest part was getting the council to agree. They've agreed. I'm to marry Hinata."
"No, they approved of you. You need to have a private audience with Hiashi-sama. If he finds you worthy, then you will have a private audience with Hinata-sama. Even if the council and Hiashi approve, she can still refuse you," Neji explained. Sasuke felt slightly sick at that. He hadn't seen Hinata since last night, and his mind immediately brought her face forward, horrified and frightened as she ran away from him.
Neji glance at him from the corner of his eyes. The Uchiha looked…glum.
"It will work out, Uchiha. You've made it this far, it is only a matter of how much farther you are willing to go to be with the woman you love."
"I don't love her," Sasuke said immediately, glaring at him. Neji just stared at him, and Sasuke had to look away from the knowing white eyes.
"Yes you do, Uchiha, and soon you will have to come to terms with that," the Hyuuga genius said quietly. Sasuke remained silent, refusing to acknowledge the statement.
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It was late afternoon by the time Sasuke entered Hiashi's office for his meeting. The Head of the Hyuuga was kneeling calmly on the tatami mat as Sasuke entered the room. Hiashi motioned for him to sit, and Sasuke kneeled across from him. They regarded each other silently for a few moments.
"So you wish to marry my daughter?" Hiashi asked. Sasuke bit back a sharp retort and merely nodded.
"Hmm," was all Hiashi said. They were silent for a few more moments. If he was any other man, Sasuke was sure that he would be very intimidated by this point. Hiashi just kept staring at him with cold, calculating eyes. Undoubtedly the other suitors who had preceded him would have found it unnerving. But Sasuke was a trained ninja of Konoha, and merely stared back.
"I have only one question for you, Uchiha. Do you love my daughter?"
Sasuke couldn't stop the look of surprise from flashing across his face, and Hiashi smirked.
"Despite appearances, I care for my children very much, and wish to see them happy. Do you think you could make Hinata happy, Sasuke?"
"I would try," Sasuke replied.
"Really? Because in order to be happy, Hinata needs to be loved, and you have yet to answer my question regarding that. Do you love my daughter?"
Sasuke stared at him, felt his heart beating loudly in his chest.
"Yes," he said softly, finally admitting the truth to himself while simultaneously acknowledging it out loud.
"Can you prove it?" Hiashi asked. Sasuke frowned.
"How?" he asked.
"Would you protect her always?"
"Yes."
"Would you die for her?"
Sasuke paused, but not for long.
"Yes," he said firmly.
"None of that matters. Anyone can say that they will protect someone; that they would die for someone. I want concrete evidence of your affection for my daughter," and he pulled out a scroll from his sleeve. Sasuke stared at Hiashi, feeling a little off balance.
"This is a contract that is to be signed in blood. In it, you agree to give up the search for your brother in exchange for my daughter's hand in marriage."
Sasuke felt the world tip slightly before righting itself as he stared in shock at the Head of the Hyuuga. No, was his first thought, I can't do that, I can't stop looking for Itachi, I have to avenge my family…. The moments stretched out while Hiashi stared at Sasuke who stared at the scroll. In all honesty, Hiashi didn't believe that the Uchiha had any lasting affection for Hinata, and knew that the ninja would answer no. It was unlikely that Sasuke would give up his goal, the one thing he had worked towards his whole life, for a girl that he thought he might be in love with.
Sasuke reached his decision. He drew himself up straight, and set his face into an impassive mask. He couldn't do it, he couldn't let go of his brother. He opened his mouth to tell Hiashi no when the door suddenly slid open.
Hinata entered, and couldn't contain the small squeak of surprise at finding Hiashi with Sasuke. Neji had asked her to bring her father some tea, but he hadn't said anything about him still being in meetings with the suitors.
"I-I'm s-sorry, father, I-I though you were f-f-finished. I-I'll com back l-l-later," she said softly, feeling her cheeks heat up as both men turned to face her.
"It's all right, Hinata. Serve the tea, and then you can go," Hiashi said quietly. Hinata did as she was asked, her cheeks still flushed. She had to concentrate very hard on not spilling the tea things, as she was distracted by Sasuke's presence. She felt bad for how she had treated him the previous evening. If (and it seemed to her to be a pretty big if) Sasuke harboured some kind of feeling for her, than her reaction must have hurt him very much. Hinata hated hurting people; it was one of her worst faults as a ninja. And Sasuke had been her friend. She never thought that she would call the Uchiha avenger a friend, but he really was. Before the near-kiss (was it a near-kiss? Maybe she was just imagining it) of last night, she had felt more comfortable around Sasuke than she had around anyone else, even her team mates. She glanced at him as she poured her father's tea, and he held her gaze. She tried to tell him silently that she was sorry, that he was her friend, and that if she had to marry someone, she would prefer it to be him. Of course she wasn't telepathic, and could only finish serving silently. She did allow her hand to brush his briefly, and this, along with her gaze, must have conveyed some of what she wanted to say, but couldn't. Sasuke's face softened ever so slightly in way that she recognized, and she smiled before leaving.
Hiashi waited until Hinata shut the door before returning to the matter at hand. The scroll was laid out between them, and he reached for it only to be stopped by the Uchiha.
"Wait," Sasuke said quietly. Hiashi stared at him in surprise. Sasuke's face was averted towards the floor, his bangs covering his eyes. His fists were clenched in his lap so tightly that the knuckles were turning white.
"Why have you placed this ultimatum before me?" he asked.
"To see how much you would be willing to sacrifice for my daughter. Words are cheap, Uchiha. All the other suitors were asked to make a similar sacrifice. None of them could do it. Also, I do not want to engage you to my daughter, only to have you run off to try and kill your brother – you may not survive such an encounter. I do not wish Hinata to be overlooked by you in favour of destroying your brother – she does not deserve to be ignored by her husband in favour of a quest fuelled by hatred and anger. All of these are reasons why I choose to present you with this ultimatum. What happens now is up to you. I understand if you feel you can't go through with it," Hiashi finished.
Sasuke was silent for a few more moments before taking out a kunai. He ran it quickly over his finger and allowed his blood to fall on the open scroll. He looked up to meet Hiashi's astonished gaze.
"When do I get to see Hinata?" he asked, his voice cold. His hands were once more fisted in his lap, and his face was tense. Undoubtedly this decision was costing the Uchiha a great deal. Hiashi wondered briefly if he should take the ultimatum back, but quickly dismissed the idea. He was a firm believer that once you made a choice, you stick it out.
"I must say I am surprised. Wait here and I will send Hinata into you," Hiashi told him, rising from the mat. The Hyuuga head walked towards the door, but paused before leaving.
"Congratulations, Sasuke, I believe you have just successfully become Hinata's betrothed," he said before leaving.
Sasuke ignored him. He was still reeling from what he had just done. He felt lost. His whole life had been spent in pursuit of revenge, and he had now just signed it all away for a white-eyed girl who didn't even love him.
Have I just made the biggest mistake of my life? Have I dishonoured my family's memory by refusing to avenge them?
He was interrupted from his musings by Hinata herself as she walked through the door. She slid it shut behind her but remained standing by it. Sasuke rose and watched her. He did love her. The knowledge of this settled itself deep inside him as he watched her standing there, worrying her lip, her eyes concerned.
"S-Sasuke," she said, and stopped. She moved away from the door and walked towards him, stopping a few feet away.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke," she said quietly, "I d-don't know why you agreed to m-marry m-me, but I am g-grateful."
Sasuke just stared at her as she struggled to find words. She looked up at him, her eyes frowning as she stared at him anxiously.
"I'm j-just worried that you m-m-might r-r-r-regret this, and I d-don't want that. I understand if you d-don't want to go through with it," she said. Sasuke stared at her.
"Why would I regret it?" he asked. Did she know about the choice Hiashi had placed before him? Was she trying to tell him that she wasn't going to accept him, and giving him a way out?
"I-It's just, you d-don't love me, and one day, you m-might find someone whom you c-could love, b-but you'd be chained to me. I don't want to be the cause of your unhappiness, Sasuke," she finished softly, staring down at the ground.
Sasuke stared at her. She was just as dense as Naruto, he decided. Of course, Naruto's idiocy was annoying, whereas Hinata's obtuseness was just cute.
"Before giving me his blessing your father had me sign a contract. If I wished to marry you, I had to stop looking for my brother," he said softly. Hinata's eyes shot up as she looked at him in surprise.
"I signed it, Hinata-sama," he said, even softer, taking a step towards her. Hinata stared at him, her eyes searching his face. A faint blush spread across her cheeks, but she didn't look away from him. Instead, she squared her shoulders and stepped closer to him.
"I accept you as my betrothed, Uchiha Sasuke," she said formally, before placing her hands on his shoulders, reaching up, and kissing him softly on the corner of his mouth. It was all she could reach. She tried to step back, her face flaming, but was prevented by Sasuke's hands coming to rest on her waist. She stared up at him, surprised and a little nervous.
Sasuke dipped his head. There were no interruptions this time, and Hinata, though nervous, didn't pull away. He kissed her softly once, and then finding it not enough, captured her mouth again. It was soft and sweet, and though he desperately wanted to taste as much of her as he could, he fought off the desire, knowing from her hesitant response that she wasn't ready.
She's accepted me, it doesn't mean she loves me, he told himself, and pulled back gently. He didn't think he'd ever seen the heiress's face so red, and couldn't help but smirk slightly at her. She just hid her face in his chest, and his smirk softened into something that almost resembled a smile.
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Sorry about the delay and any OoCness that has occurred. Personally, I don't think Sasuke would give up looking for Itachi for anybody, but I liked the idea, so I stuck it in.
Thanks for reading!
