I will be incorporating flashbacks to the character's backstories to try to build up their character and further explain their reasonings. They won't really be connected to the main story so just a heads up.

Chapter 9: Diary

"I never understood why you waste your time with them Hinata" Neji shook his head with disapproval.

"They are good to me," she said with a smile as they walked.

"You know the elders don't approve" he said almost in a whisper.

"Fuck the elders" a twelve year old Hanabi jumped out of the bushes.

"Hanabi! Don't say such atrocities!" Neji looked petrified as he looked around to see if anyone could have heard that. When he saw nobody he switched his sights to Hanabi who stuck her tongue before running away while chanting fuck the elders "Hey come back here! Hanabi stop this!" Neji tried to go after her.

"She is as good as gone," Hinata laughed. Neji sighed and gave a defeated nod. "You should be happy Neji, you are their favorite" she said without thinking.

"Hinata I..."

"I-I'm sorry… I didn't- I" she frantically began to apologize

"It's okay. I just care about you and what they say about you, it hurts me. I know you are smart, that you are capable and that you are a lady. I know you, I know how wonderful you are."

"Thank you Neji. You know the only thing that matters is what you guys think of me. When they marry me off, please remember me"

"Don't say that" Neji clenched his fist at the thought of Hinata being sent to marry some random man. A man who did not know her, who did not love her.

"You know it will happen. It is foolish to think it won't, that's why I want to enjoy myself. I want to make the most of my time here, so when I leave I will always have these memories to look back on" Hinata said smiling up to the sky. Neji looked at her, she looked beautiful and happy. It pained him to think she would leave one day. He felt his cheeks and the tips of his ears burn and his hands started to sweat. It was now or never, he lost nothing by telling her.

"Hinata." Her name came out rushed garnering him a puzzled stare. "I… I… I lo-"

"Hinaaataaaaa!" Voices shouted her name, she quickly turned around and saw Kiba, Shino, Naruto, Choji and Ino running towards her. Choji and Ino had been recent additions to her friends list, she wasn't sure if she could call them friends but they were nice to her.

"Fireflies everywhere by the river! They look beautiful come on!" Naruto said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the group. She turned around and looked at Neji, who stood there with a frown.

"Come on Neji it'll be fun" she grabbed his hand.

"Ten ten will be there" Naruto grinned

"Ooooooohhh" Ino squealed

"Tsk" Neji turned the other way.

"Please. I want to remember this night and for you to be in it" Hinata pouted. Neji sighed and finally gave in. The group cheered as they all headed to the river.

He hated many things, many many things and the military parades were surprisingly not part of that. They were a good opportunity to see the imbeciles who work for them and presented them the rare opportunity to see their troops together and assess their strengths and most important their weaknesses. Sure they could be annoying with the many celebrations that took place, all the useless people that would show up. He remembers going to the military parades with Naruto. They would go see the troops and get to hold their weapons and sometimes they even practiced with them. He looked at the many reports the generals had sent, they seemed to be making progress in gaining more land. The process has been painfully slow, and so far the Hyugas were putting up a fight. It didn't matter they would still fall, he couldn't wait until the old pompous fuckers were on their knees begging for their lives. The Hyugas had always thought themselves better than everyone else, the oldest clan in their country they thought that made them better, with their arrogant duty bullshit, it sickened him they were hypocrites, they were killers. Now they thought they could claim the throne because they were Hyugas. As Sasuke read the letters he heard a knock followed by a voice he was much too familiar with. It was for his house, it was for the war, it was for the good of the Uchiha he told himself as he walked and opened the door. He was greeted by the smiling pink haired woman.

"Hello Sasuke, I was looking for you"

"For what?"

"Well we are leaving in two days so I wanted to know what you will wear" did he hear that correctly, she wanted to talk about clothes.

"What?" he almost scoffed

"So we can coordinate, we are to marry Sasuke. It is our job to portray ourselves as a pair, united and fighting for the Uchiha" Sakura said with a confident smile, inside she was hoping he could believe her reasoning. She had spent time thinking of how she could become closer to the Uchiha when she came to the conclusion that what he seemed to care the most was about the perception people had of his house. It made sense really, that should be the priority of any man in high position.

"I haven't thought about it" he guessed it made sense, it was stupid but it made sense.

"It's okay, I figured as much that's why I came here" she smiled

She had been tolerable enough which is why he decided to give in to her suggestion and have lunch together. As they walked to the balcony, where Sakura decided they would eat he heard that annoying fucking laugh. Farther down the Hyuga walked alongside a servant, she looked happy, too fucking happy for his liking. He lost sight of her when he was pulled in a different direction by Sakura. He saw the table already laid out and realized she had planned it. He took a seat across from her, he looked at her as she blushed. Her hair looked beautiful in the sun, the color reminded him of cherry blossoms, she was stunning. He would have no problem when it came down to producing heirs, as beautiful as she was something still bothered him. Maybe it was the sense of obligation he felt when he looked at her, the perturbed view of relationships he had from his upbringing, or the dramatically different outlooks they seem to have but he felt uneasy. It irritated him because he didn't know what the feeling was or where it came from. It made him feel helpless and he wasn't fucking helpless, he was an Uchiha. Her repeated attempts to reach out to him annoyed him to no end but she was so persistent he almost felt bad for her. Even if he wanted to have a relationship with her he had no idea what that was. From his father and mother he had learned nothing, they ignored each other, they acted like strangers. From Itachi, well he still remembered the time he was eleven and walked in on him and a girl, the many times he would go to his room to ask him to play and saw girls exiting usually with a blush on their face.

As Kurenai started settling into her new room she came across the small bracelet, which she felt she hadn't seen in forever. She smiled at the golden jewelry feeling a pang on her chest. Would it even fit her anymore? Probably not.

"She must be so big now. Please Asuma take good care of her" she whispered a tear running down her eye. "Just wait a little longer, I'll be back. I promised"

The room was a huge upgrade from her former one which only had enough room for a small bed and a desk, not to mention it was so close to the kitchen it was always hot. As she began to fix the bed she placed the bracelet next to the bed. As she was fixing the bed she bumped into the stand making the bracelet fall between the stand and the wall.

"Shit" he hissed as she tried to reach it with her hands but the space was too narrow. After what felt like forever she finally managed to move the stand which was surprisingly heavy. She went to grab a bracelet but she also saw something else. She decided to grab the bracelet first before grabbing the other object. She pulled out what looked like a book. When she opened the book she saw a name printed on it in beautiful writing Izumi Uchiha, it was a diary.

"Will you be going?" Hinata asked as they walked the hallways

"Of course I'm one of the top generals. Although I am more needed on the battlefield" he answered. She could tell Kakashi was desperate to leave the castle, so was she.

"Who else will be going?"

"Shikamaru, Orochimaru, and Kabuto. Naruto was supposed to attend as a representative of the Uzumaki, however, I highly doubt he will be able to get here in time." He answered. She wondered what exactly was keeping Naruto returning. He said he would be back before her wedding, now she was leaving on a fucking celebration of the Uchiha's forces. She wondered if he was okay, he had gone alone who knew what could have happened. Itachi told her it was nothing important, a minor dispute but that did very little to help.

"Are you going back to the battlefields after?"

"Yes. Finally" he said with calmness in his eyes.

"I don't understand why you like them so much. They are full of suffering" she said looking at him.

"It keeps me grounded, it reminds me of the cost of war. These people here don't feel the loss of life, to them they are nothing but numbers. I don't want to become like them" She nodded, it made sense. He made sense. She found their conversations enjoyable, she hadn't learned as much about the Uchihas as she had hoped but at least now she knew more about their members and their positions. The hierarchy that she was previously unaware of, now she knew names and rankings. Now she had an idea of who to talk to and she had already made a list. Kakashi was a good start but he was only the beginning.

"War is a horrendous thing" She whispered.

"It is. But it is needed sometimes" he said. Her eyes furrowed and she turned to him, their eyes met and she cocked her head in confusion.

"You think this is needed?"

"More like inedible. You have two sides, both stubborn and prideful, both with huge flaws and equal claim. You know the Hyuga and Uchiha are related" he explained.

"I-I've heard stories" she said

"Well they are not stories they are true." he told her. It was odd to think the Uchiha and Hyuga were somewhat related, they were so different.

"Why fight with the Uchiha?" she whispered before she could stop herself. She felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment. Kakashi did not react any particular way to her comment.

"Why fight at all? Some choices we make without good reasoning" He said with a sigh "why do worry about that?" he asked calmly

"I don't like to see people die" she answered

"Nobody does," he said. She pursued her lips. Would he say anything about their conversation to Itachi? Was he an informant?

"So you two are friends?" A voice joined their conversation. She turned and saw his eyes glaring at them.

"Want to join our conversation?" Kakashi asked

"Getting too comfortable are we?" Sasuke ignored him and walked closer to Hinata.

"Not as comfortable as you. Next time try to get the lady's permission" Kakashi said in his usual tone. Sasuke was taken back by his comment but did not show it. He turned to Kakashi and smugly smiled.

"And if I don't? What will you do Hatake? What CAN YOU do?" he asked

"Just giving you simple advice that's all"

"I don't need your advice" Sasuke frowned

"You once did. Don't you remember me teaching you how to use the sword? When your brother was too busy you and Naruto would-"

"Say one more word and you'll find yourself on the floor" Sasuke cut Kakashi off before he could keep talking.

"Aren't I already on the floor?" Kakashi said, looking down at his feet. Hinata smiled at his comment but Sasuke only frowned deeper.

"I am certain you have more pressing matters to be doing Kakashi." Sasuke sighed

"I do in fact, right after I leave Hinata to-"

"I can do that" Sasuke offered

"I'm not sure she-" Kakashi tried to oppose

"I'll be a gentleman Kakashi. That was a one time occurrence wasn't it?" He turned to look at Hinata.

"Y-yes" she answered, not wanting to know what will happen if she said no.

"And she is comfortable enough with me aren't you?" he followed up with another question

"I-I... well I can go by myself" she mumbled

"Nonsense" he grabbed her arm and pulled her as he started to walk. She felt his fingers dig in her arm harder and harder and soon it began to hurt.

"It hurts," she whimpered. He ignored her and kept walking until they were far away from anyone. He found a corner and pushed her there.

"Did you say something?" He hissed

"No!" She instantly defended herself.

"Do you think I am-"

"No! I- he was there, he saw you do it" she said while trying to peel his hand off her arm.

"And he saw you let me" he pressed tighter. She looked up at him. She looked at his eyes full of hatred, baffled, that's what she was. Her lips parted open but nothing came out for a while.

"W-what?" She whispered. She was taken aback. She hadn't let him do anything, he simply did not not care if she consented.

"Be careful of who you call friends here, Hyuga. People aren't as nice as they let on" he aggressively let go of her arm. He was taunting her, looking down at her, Hinata's eyebrows furrowed in response and she frowned.

"You are mean" she wanted to say more. Oh the things she wanted to tell him. She didn't only want to say things but do things. She wanted to hurt him, kill him, she never had urges like this before. Hinata had never found pleasure in the thought of somebody dying or getting hurt but here she was.

"At least I'm up front" he said

"Itachi-"

"Itachi what?" He cut her off while shooting her a different kind of glare. It was more intense and more personal.

"He isn't like you," she said. She was ready for him to hurt her, maybe a slap or a shove but instead she heard him chuckle. It was unsettling and she almost preferred a slap.

"You are right. He is worse"

"No he is not"

"You know nothing Hyuga. You come into our home and think you've figured us out, you only see what we allow you to" he said before leaving. He was right, she only knew what they allowed her to know, but that wouldn't be the case for much longer. She would find out their secrets, she would break them. It was nothing personal really, it was either them or her family and she knew who she was choosing. The more she had spent time there, the more she talked to Kakashi and Itachi. She realized how they weren't bad people per say, but neither was Neji or Hanbi; they were just on opposing sides.

"So let me get this straight. You want me to give these to Kisame" the blond held up the letters "and then what?"

"You'll have to be patient. I trust he will know what decision to take"

"How do you know the spy will be there?"

"I don't, but either way it will work out. You shouldn't concern yourself with that, just do what I have paid you to do"

"Yeah, yeah. I know my job" the man said as he left. It didn't truly matter that they had figured out there were spies. It was much too late, and they had too little information. Itachi decided to continue his plan as is but he would take precautions in case anything was to happen. Kisame would help feed information to the Hyuga spies and Deidara would try to contact the spy in the castle as well as monitor their movements. He just needed Kisame to stay there a bit longer. He had been stalling Naruto for days now and he wasn't sure how much longer it could go on but he knew if it was needed Kisame would find a way. Itachi had a list of people who had begun working with the Uchihas five years prior or less and was currently going through their backgrounds, although he doubted he would find the spy like that the information could still prove to be of importance. If the spies got in contact with the insider Deidara would be able to give Itachi that information. If they waited which was highly unlikely with the information Kisame would feed them, then he would be able to deduce who the insider was after he had carried out his plan. Either way when he thought about it the insider posed no threat to him. The way he saw it, it was a caged bird inside a cage of lions. In the worst case scenario there was an attempt on his or his brother's life, but he was already making sure that wouldn't be the case. The insider wasn't there to kill them, if that was the case an attempt would have happened long ago they had bigger plans on the works. Now he needed to focus on what would happen after everything was done.

Sasuke was woken up early in the morning, he got ready and headed for the carriage waiting for him. He didn't mind carriage rides but when he saw who was waiting there he wanted to turn the other way.

"Good morning Sasuke" itachi smiled. Sasuke felt his eye twitched when he saw the Hyuga next to, she fucking smiled at him and greeted him. The fucking nerve. He mumbled a reply and sat down across from Itachi as close to the window as possible. From the corner of his eye he saw Itachi take out a book and the woman rest her head on his shoulder. He felt his blood boil. He isn't like you. Her words played over and over in his head and he mentally scoffed. No wonder she thought Itachi was a fucking saint, he was fucking babying her. No doubt he was fucking her, probably whispering in her ear and making her feel more important than she was. She was just a pawn of his, like everything else. He should have been happy, when she came to realize that her stupid fucking reality would shatter. But he wasn't. He needed her fucking reality to shatter now, he needed her to be miserable now. To realize she was fucking worthless. A part of him scolded himself for getting so worked up over such a worthless girl. Why should he fucking care. He didn't care, he just wanted her to suffer because she was useless, she had no control, and he had all of it. He hated when she would fucking smile at him or greet him as if she didn't fucking hate him, she had to fucking hate him. But she didn't fucking show it. If she didn't fuckint hate him enough to not be able to hide then he hadn't done enough.

"How are things going with Sakura?" Itachi broke the silence. He kept reading his book as he asked the question.

"They are fine, everything is going through smoothly." He answered not looking at him.

"That's great. Your wedding day is coming up, are you looking forward to it?" What the fuck was Itachi playing at.

"As much as you are looking forward to having children" Sasuke said flatly

"I wouldn't mind children. I am not getting younger with each passing year" He knew he was lying. Not because he had done anything to give it away but because he knew Itachi enough to know he did not want children.

"How do you feel about it Hyuga?"

"She is no longer a Hyuga" Itachi pointed out

"If it were up to her she would be, but if it bothers you so much I'll stop. So tell me Hinata are you looking forward to having children?" Saying her name felt wrong, it made him feel repulsed.

"Of course, that is the job of any wife" she answered with a smile. Oh how much he fucking hated her smiles. The way her cheeks would flush pink and small dimples would make themselves known. He hated her.

"Beyond your wifely duties, are you looking forward to it"

"I believe she answered," Itachi said, giving him a look but Sasuke did not care.

"Not this question"

"Yes. Yes I am" Hinata said looking straight at him. She was also lying.

"That's wonderful how soon am I expecting nephews?"

"No need to be so excited Sasuke, I'll promise you'll be the first to know"

"Hn" Sasuke wanted to jump out of the carriage so bad. Walking to their destination would be less of a bother.

"There is a position I think you would be interested in" his brother switched the topics.

"Aren't they all already taken" Sasuke said

"Father and I were actually talking, we thought we could move things around"

"That's very unlike him" his father hadn't made an effort to include Sasuke in the war as much as he had Itachi. Sasuke was used to it but it still bothered him.

"Well after a few hours of me talking" Sasuke didn't know if he should feel insulted that Itachi had to practically beg in order for him to be given a more prominent role.

"Why?" He asked

"We trust you Sasuke," Itachi answered. Sasuke scoffed

"You should come up with a better lie"

"I do at least" Itachi said

"Do you want to hold hands and sing together?" Sasuke said rolling his eyes

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea" Itachi smiled and offered a hand to Sasuke. Sasuke put his middle finger on Itachi's palm and Itachi took it. "I'll let you pick the song" he grinned

"You're a pain" Sasuke sighed

"I know that" he let go of Sasuke's finger.

Hinata watched them. Itachi seemed genuinely fond of his brother. His smile when he was with him was different from the smiles he gave her, from the smiles he gave everyone else. His eyes would soften and there seemed to be genuine joy. Putting away the fact that Sasuke was an irredeemable insufferable piece of feces, she saw how much he meant to Itachi. Sasuke although more subtle seemed to respect Itachi, he was still rude but held back with his brother. They each had their own way of showing their feelings and she saw that. At that moment she knew they were the only thing they had. Itachi had told her already but she didn't realize how alike they were. Although shown in different ways their relationships was the same one she had with her own siblings.