Chapter 14

The elders were not known for making mistakes, because they were able to hide them before they ever came to light. The biggest mistake of that particular year had been Hinata's ex-fiancé. The female elder didn't do a thorough background check, allowing shame to fall upon the family name. Rather than acknowledging that a mistake was made, and move on from it, they instead found a scapegoat, and an excuse to punish one of their own. It was announced that the female elder responsible for presenting the ex-fiancé as a viable choice, would be retiring from her position of power.

"Who's going to fill in the seat?" Hinata asked her father, as they discussed the matter over breakfast. She felt tense since she had been counting on the vote of the only female among the elders.

When Hiashi spoke the replacement's name, the name sounded familiar to Hinata, but she couldn't place the name with a face.

"Can you tell me more about him?" Hinata was vaguely curious. Having a new person take the seat meant having to start all over again in winning the favor of said elder.

She was desperate for allies on her side.

"He's a young one, about the same age as you. He was groomed his entire life to take over the position, but it happened sooner than we expected. His parents also passed away recently so make sure not to say insensitive things about the subject."

"I hope we get along well."

"Be warned, that man is a strange one. He uses unconventional methods of fighting. Although he excels at our family's teaching, he loves puppeteering."

"A puppeteer? Where did he learn that from?"

"He spent some time in Suna around the time you were fourteen. From what I was told, he took a liking to Gaara's older brother and decided to learn from him." Her father replied.

"Hmm," She had never spoken to Gaara's older brother before. But Gaara, she knew. Perhaps they might have common grounds to talk on. But still, she heeded her father's warnings. "I'll tread with caution then," Hinata said as she sipped her tea.

When news about the new, unconventionally young, "elder", was to take part in his first clan meeting, a few of Hinata's maids gathered around to ogle at the guy that melted almost every branch girl's heart.

He looked calm and serene, his gaze fixed ahead, as he walked behind the group of elders. When the elders entered the room, they stood around the round table, waiting for their clan leader to take a seat, before following.

Hinata's eyes acknowledged the new presence with a slight bow. It was then that she remembered where she had heard his name before. It had been from one of her maids, as they let out girlish giggles when walking in huddles. During their whispers of his description, they had mentioned he was the physical embodiment of grace, beauty, and mysticism.

"Let's get the introductions out of the way. Hiashi-san might've already mentioned that Toneri-san has been promoted recently." An elder spoke.

"It's nice to meet you, I look forward to working together," Hinata said. Hinata had always believed herself to be unique, with her violet, bluish hair. However, this individual won, in terms of unique hair color. He was born with silver locks of hair that appeared to be almost snow white. The Hyuga scripture had depicted some of the first ancestors to have such colored hair, still, it was pretty rare.

"Likewise, Hinata-sama." He said while returning the polite bow. "Unfortunately, since this promotion has come too suddenly, I fear I have to miss two or three meetings. I promise I'll be readily available after the holidays."

"I'm not sure we can work around those restrictions. How about we postpone all meetings until after New Year's Eve." Hinata said while doing her best to not sound too eager.

"Then let us put it to a vote," Toneri replied as he redirected his attention towards the rest of the elders.

"I agree with Hinata-sama. Meetings are most effective when we're all present."

"I second that. I'm not a fan of recaps, since it tends to water down all sorts of content."

"I understand that Hinata-sama is also still in mourning, from what I understand, you were close with your ex-fiancé. It would be a good idea to seek mental therapy. I can refer you to one."

"Thank you," Hinata said, hesitantly. "I'll follow up with you later…"

Hinata passed copies of her thesis around the table while giving her opening statement, before proceeding to guide them through the outline of her 6-month plan. Throughout her presentation, their faces remained unreadable. And despite their lack of emotions, Hinata could tell the elders were in deep thought, as they tried to hold off all their questions until the end of the meeting.

Toneri remained quiet throughout the entire meeting as Hinata answered their concerns at the end. When the conference ended, the elders felt it was best to discuss the matter at length once Hinata had dismissed herself from the room, leaving them in the conference room.

"Toneri-san, what do you think?" An elder said to him, as Toneri was also known to be a distinguished scholar.

"Hinata-sama presented fantastical theories," He began, as he skimmed through her thesis. "All for which are a cliché. I reckon we've all been through this illusion, wishing that our traditions are somehow nothing but lies," He paused, his eyes trailing to the side as if considering his next words. "After all, our epitaph wasn't written in stone for nothing."

"Well said."

"How do we prevent another mockery like this from happening?" An elder asked as he slammed down the thesis. The room remained quiet for a moment, and their eyes eventually trailed towards Toneri, as if testing him.

"I say let her have her funding," Since Toneri appeared to be deep in thought, they waited for him to finish his thought. And as if to address their concern, he added "We can always hire our researcher alongside hers, with findings that will irrefutably support our ideas."

Nodding among themselves, the elders came up with an agreement to fund additional research that opposes her ideas.

"We'll leave you in charge of our thesis. We trust that you'll represent our interest without a problem, Toneri-san."

Toneri nodded politely. Internally, he was eager to prove himself to be an asset. Anyone who did not wholeheartedly believe in the Hyuga creed was essentially considered a threat, and the elders seem to feel that way too.

Hinata let out a dreamy sigh as she sat next to Yoshino. She was enthralled, watching Shikamaru train the three little devils, from the porch. His hair was loose again, as he would loan out his hair tie to one of the troublesome teens.

"So your funding got approved," Yoshino said with a smile, she had assumed that's the reason why the Hyuga clan leader seemed so happy.

"Yes, I'm ecstatic." Hinata finally peeled her eyes away from Shikamaru to look at Yoshino. "I think I'm going to get along with the new "elder"," Hinata said, as she used air quotation when addressing Toneri. She had been told it was thanks to him the decision was passed.

"This is a win for us," Yoshino said, however, she had a feeling that this was only just the beginning. "You should stay for dinner. Victories like these call for celebrations."

"Sounds wonderful."

"Would you be drinking as well?"

She had a lot of things to get done tonight, "I think I'll pass."

Yoshino gave her an understanding look. Their attention soon shifted to Shikamaru, as he concluded training for the day. His brown eyes gave away no emotion that portrayed any particular interest, as he nodded her way in polite acknowledgment. He was way better at hiding it.

Hinata bit her lip as she tried not to break into a shy smile. She turned her gaze away, pretending to take an interest in the three troublesome genins. They all seem to falter under her gaze, light blushes spreading across their cheeks.

"Hinata-chan will be joining us for dinner," Yoshino announced as her son approached the porch, with the three genins behind him.

Upon hearing her name, the youngest one didn't seem to recover just yet, as he was stunned for some reason.

"You're the Hyuga clan leader!?" He blurted out.

"Whoa, that's even better. I guess I won the bet. Dude, pay up." The third one stretched his hand out, with a smug grin on his face.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru began, not sure he even wanted to know, but he went ahead and asked anyway. "What are you three going on about?"

"They thought she was somehow your secret girlfriend." He laughed during the mid explanation. "Leader-sama is too beautiful not to be royalty. I knew right away that she couldn't be your girlfriend." The oldest one said, as though his deduction had been flawless.

Shikamaru almost twitched upon listening to his reasoning. Although it should bother him that his love life was being discussed behind his back, what got to him was their assumptions.

Was it that hard to believe the two could be a thing?

He briefly looked at Hinata, her cheeks had a pink tint to them, she was trying her best to not let the situation get to her. Looking at her, he could see why the genins felt that way.

She was beautiful.

"Dear me, they're so brutal," Yoshino said as she giggled behind her hand. "I'll get dinner started. In the meantime make yourself at home, Hinata-chan."

When Yoshino rose from her spot, she gave Hinata a sympathetic look. She didn't address any of the teenager's speculation because she had better things to worry about, such as getting supper started.

"Why does Hyuga-sama come around so often?" The oldest one inquired as he counted the money he won from the bet. The genins all shared a curious look.

"Isn't that kind of strange?" That much was true since it was known that the Hyuga clan and the Nara clan didn't have any particularly close ties.

Their brown eyes landed on the beautiful Hyuga in question.

Yoshino paused in her tracks, giving the oldest teen the deadliest stare she could muster. She didn't fault them for being a Nara, always too smart for their good.

"Alright, I think it's time you guys head home."

The three kids took off, muttering complaints under their breath as they walked away. The fact that mere kids were beginning to ask questions hinted that Hinata could no longer keep coming here as she pleases. Yoshino sighed, as she considered they would have to use Jutsu transformations and different meeting spots from now on.

"Is everyone in your clan so ridiculously smart?" Hinata asked after Yoshino had walked away.

"Only if we try." He replied as he settled down next to her.

Hinata was not even aware that she had been smiling until he pointed it out.

"You seem happy."

"Maybe that's because I finally get to see you. It feels like I haven't seen you in months..."

He had missed her too, and it was taking everything in his power not to reach out and kiss her. A small part of his brain reasoned that there was no one there to see them. But he knew better than to act on his desires while in plain sight. It had been two weeks since he last saw her, both had been busy with their clan. He had mentioned to her in one of his letters that he spent his suspension playing catch up, taking care of tedious things he had neglected since his time had previously been consumed by his other title.

"I overheard that the funding was approved, what's the next step?" He asked as he brought one knee to his chest and leaned back.

"I spoke with Lord Kakashi-san, he said he'll look into who we should hire. I want the Village's most qualified research teams to help me on this."

"I remember reading up on your history before, and I have a question," Shikamaru said as he stared up ahead, towards the empty training grounds.

He figured this was something she'll be able to answer since she dealt with these people regularly.

"What do the elders get out of going along with your thesis?" If anyone was able to infer their intentions, it would be her.

"Now that you mention it, I've been so focused on getting what I want, I didn't stop to think about how easy it was...I guess I should've expected more pushback..."

"Small victories do matter," His hand absentmindedly reached for a shogi piece from the board located next to them. "Just be on the lookout." He added while fidgeting with the shogi piece.

Hinata's eyes narrowed. Small victory…? Winning the elder's approval was something she didn't consider a small thing.

Shikamaru figured he might've said something he shouldn't have since he could sense the shift in her mood from the way her eyebrows furrowed and her single-line responses. How is it possible for one person to be so easily pleased one moment and easily triggered, the next?

He sighed, for he knew that being the voice of reason opened up the possibility of misinterpretation. He wasn't pessimistic by any means. If he was, well, he wouldn't be here with her.

Nevertheless, he wanted to change the subject before he could anger her further. She seemed to be dodging his gaze, so he gave up and opted to stare at her from the corner of his eyes. The more he stared, the more he realized she wore purple on multiple occasions.

"What's your favorite color?"

Hinata almost smiled.

"If I reveal that to you, I may end up with too much jewelry of the same color."

"That may happen. What about favorite flower then?"

"I like too many to name, it changes depending on the season." Hinata seemed to be back again, as her mood lifted.

"Am I ever going to get a straight answer from you?" He stopped playing with the shogi piece in his hand, realizing he could ask her something more factual. "Hmm, when is your birthday?"

Her head spun to look at him as she answered with a smile.

"It's soon, on December 27th."

"Ah, that's in two weeks. Do you have any plans?" His hand reached for hers, as his body shifted to face her.

"I'm thinking of spending it with my little sister..."

"So you're traveling." That's a shame since he would've liked to spend it with her.

"Shikamaru-kun," Hinata paused as if finally remembering something.

"Hmm?"

"Nevermind..." Shaking her head, she quickly retracted her decision to ask him to come along on the trip. No one ever wants to be around a person that hurt their feelings. She knew that first hand, as she had avoided Naruto for almost a year. She wasn't sure how long ago Temari had broken up with him. And it was hard to tell if Shikamaru still had feelings for Temari, he never talked about her. And quite honestly, part of her didn't want to know. However, the truth remains that no one ever gets over someone so quickly.

She almost frowned.

Yoshino returned about an hour later, smiling, proclaiming that dinner was ready.

"Red wine or white wine?" She asked Shikamaru while her eyes trailed to her son's hand, which seemed to be joined with Hinata's. Shikamaru casually tried to cover it up by pretending he had been in the process of helping Hinata stand.

"Hinata-chan?" Shikamaru redirected the question over to her while giving her hand a light squeeze before letting go.

"But I'm not drinking," She gave in after he gave her a look. "Okay, fine, red."

Smiling at the two, Yoshino feigned ignorance about their level of closeness. She had raised Shikamaru to be a gentleman and a good host. And while her son was a good actor, Hinata, on the other hand, had given it away.

Having no real evidence yet, Yoshino decided not to voice her suspicion about the two. She kept watchful eyes on the two over dinner and lost count of the number of times Hinata would look at her son like the two shared a secret.

When Shikamaru had excused himself after dinner, to go to his studies, he bid Hinata goodbye with a slight bow. She had returned the gesture with a slow and hesitant wave.

It wasn't until Yoshino had walked Hinata to the door, that she finally had all the evidence she needed when it came to her assumption, from the way Hinata rambled and nearly stuttered.

"Yoshino...I forgot to tell Shikamaru-kun something…he's the Hokage's advisor, so there's something I want to ask him."

"You didn't have to explain all of that, dear, I get it. Anyways I'll leave you to it." Yoshino said as she faked a yawn. "I think I'm going to retire for the night. Have Shika see you off, good night." She walked off, not knowing how to handle something of this magnitude just yet, part of her felt angry at her son for even entertaining the idea. When Yoshino set out to change the future, this is not what she had in mind.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Hyuga clan finds out.

Hinata let out a sigh of relief. She forgot for a moment that she didn't have to overexplain anything to anyone. However, such is the case when she was trying to hide something…

When she stood before the door to his studies, it had been as though her visit was expected. He slid the door open before she even had a chance to knock.

Shikamaru briefly glanced down the hall to confirm there was no one else around. He quickly snaked his arms around her waist, yanking her inside and pinning her against the door. Everything that he had prepared to do that night was suddenly no longer important.

Hinata found that getting a sentence out was quite hopeless at that point, as it was impossible to imagine ever stopping him. His kisses became her favorite pastime. Her hands partly disappeared into his loose dark hair.

Her kimono wasn't overly layered that day. If Shikamaru chooses to, he could easily have it come undone. Those kinds of thoughts were quickly turned down by the gentleman side of him, who was pretty sure this is not what Hinata sought him out for. His mouth left hers, trailing down to her jaw, then to her neck. She moved, giving him access.

"About my trip to Suna…" Hinata began, "Would you like to join me?"

As soon as he paused to look at her, Hinata wished she could retract her words. It had been her original wish to keep it to herself.

"I'll see what I can do." He sounded doubtful. Shikamaru wasn't sure if Lord Kakashi would approve his leave, especially since he had already been out for two weeks. At least that's the excuse he told himself.

To avoid her probing eyes, he embraced her, his chin resting over her head as he held her close.

He closed his eyes and reflected on whether or not he was ready to see Temari. Although part of him sometimes felt like he was peer pressured to ask Temari out, by mutual friends and family, he genuinely still cared for the blonde woman. Temari had been there for him when his sensei and his father had passed away. He had opened up to her during his vulnerable moments, which had indelibly brought the two emotionally closer.

Shikamaru never meant to find himself comparing Hinata and Temari, two opposite beginnings. It had happened unexpectedly with Hinata. His eyes began to gravitate towards her beauty, stimulating his imagination, while giving him complicated emotions he never thought existed in him. He stopped wondering where all these feelings had come from and accepted that his feelings for her were there to stay.

He was brought back from his musings when he felt her tighten her arms around him. He smiled against her hair and kissed to top of her head before letting her go.

"Come, I'll walk you home."

She didn't want to leave just yet and reluctantly followed.

When they made it outside the gates of his mansion, two Anbus made their presence known, both dropping in front of Hinata, shielding her from Shikamaru.

"We'll take her home from here." One of the Anbu said, almost robotically, addressing Shikamaru.

"It's okay, Shikamaru-kun will walk me," Hinata said with a nervous smile. She didn't know how to deal with the situation since her Anbus weren't this intrusive before.

"Negative, we can't allow him to follow."

"Why?" Hinata's question was mostly towards their insubordination. Even though it was her father that had hired them without her knowledge, they had always gone along with her instructions.

So why were they acting against her wishes?

"Listen to your guards, Hinata-chan." Yoshino's chilling voice came from behind them, as she walked up to the group. "They have your best interest at heart. You're lucky to have them around to protect you from yourself."

"Huh?" Shikamaru quickly felt irritated. It was clear that this was becoming some sort of intervention.

"I don't understand, I thought you of all people would support this, Yoshino."

Yoshino didn't answer right away, as she stood next to her son.

"I don't support illogical decisions," Yoshino replied, her head briefly turned to her son before turning back to Hinata. "You have a lot to accomplish, remember? If you continue down this path you might lose all the progress that you've achieved. Please, for your sake, stay away from my son."

Hinata felt nauseated. Wasn't the future supposed to be this great thing to look forward to? It didn't feel like that if she couldn't have Shikamaru by her side. In a panic, her eyes searched his and found his expression to be comforting. He didn't seem to agree with the situation as well.

"Let's go Hinata-sama, we can't continue such conversation out in the open, where spies may be lurking."

Feeling a little more ease than she did before, Hinata wordlessly followed.

"You probably broke her trust and almost made her cry, you know," Shikamaru said, almost resentfully.

Turning to a Shikamaru, Yoshino gently tugged at his arm.

"I care about Hinata-chan just as much as you. But if her family ever finds out, I can't imagine what they will do to her. It doesn't help that you'll probably end up blaming yourself for her actions."

It's not like Shikamaru had forgotten for even a moment who Hinata was. Her presence wouldn't allow for it. However, the nightmarish reality of him possibly ruining her future did cause anxiety inside of him.

Even so, he had given her his word that he would stay by her side.

"Sorry," Shikamaru pulled his arm away, as he tucked his hands inside his pockets. "I think I disagree with you on this one." He said over his shoulder as he walked away.

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N/A: Edited. 4-21-21, typo. Thank you for the reviews, be happy, be safe! And yes I'm always leaving hints on purpose lol, and there's nothing wrong with owning GME, you're fine lol.

9-24-21 grammar