(A/N: First of all, I would like to thank one of my best friends for helping with this chapter. An extra special thanks to Dancergirl! And to all of you people who have reviewed, I thank you also! Especially those of you who have followed since the beginning! It's your support that keeps me writing…er…typing! Also, I'm really, really sorry for the late update, especially because I left you guys at a cliff hanger! I have been working on another story I'm hoping to post soon, and I completely forgot to type this, so I have been working for the past couple hours to finish it so that it would only be one day late. Again, I'm sorry!)
Chapter 12: Enter: Yakushi!
The guard glared at Hinata. She and Sasuke stood silently, with pleading faces. Hinata draped her arm through Sasuke's, staring into the face of their next mission.
Finally, the man turned his back on them, albeit warily. "Follow me. We shall have to discuss this with the Otokage." He led them around the gates of Otogakure, guardedly watching them the whole time. "I will take you to the back entrance. It's forbidden for outsiders to enter his village without his permission."
Soon, they came upon a mansion behind the wall, with a single door heavily guarded. "This is the Otokage's home." He explained needlessly. Almost hesitantly, he walked up to the door and knocked, the guards making way for him.
A maid came to answer. "Hello, how can I be of service?" She asked quietly; she was a small, timid woman with gray hair and a long skirt. She looked mildly fearful when she saw two strangers with the gate guard, almost as though she knew she would have to face the fearsome Otokage. Though, any followers would be afraid of him, not just his maids.
"I have brought two guests who request an audience with the Otokage." The guard spoke up, gesturing to the couple behind him.
The maid looked over at the two people who were brave enough to request an audience with Otokage himself. Her eyes widened and her demure voice once again spoke. "Follow me to the conference room. I will request Otokage-sama as soon as I can, and when he finds time, he will be down to meet you." Unwittingly, she set the tone of their entire stay: when he has time in his schedule for you, he will see you.
She turned and led them to a medium sized room a short ways from the foyer after they stepped into the mansion. The guard left them once the maid led them inside, having no intention of seeing the frightening Otokage that day.
The two Konoha nins entered the room that the maid led them to. It was painted a surprisingly dark green, almost like a forest. The furniture was all made of ebony wood. There was a long table, many cushions placed around it with a larger one at the head, a couple of cabinets around the back of the room, and a huge window behind the bigger seat.
"Just go on ahead and sit while you wait. I will let you know when the Otokage is on his way." The maid tossed over her shoulder as she left the room.
They had to act like a couple from then on because anyone could be watching them at any time. "Here you go, Mitsuki-koi." Sasuke gestured to a cushion near the end of the table, using the name for her that they had decided upon the night before.
"Thank you so much, Keijiro koibito." Hinata replied, also using his code name. Sasuke waited for her to sit down, then he seated himself.
He smiled at her and she smiled back. They were playing their parts to their fullest abilities. Their work made them like completely different people, as though Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke never existed or fought. And they knew it would have to stay that way for the next three months, though neither of them liked it. As they sat, they began to talk, as any normal couple would.
When the maid walked in a few minutes later to announce that the Otokage was on his way, they looked up from talking about their hopeful 'future' in Otogakure.
The Otokage stepped in a few moments later. Neither's racing thoughts showed on their faces, in their expressions, or in their eyes. It was Kabuto!
"Greetings," he calmly welcomed them, unaware of their mental panic.
"Konbanwa." Sasuke replied. He and Hinata stood, bowing.
Kabuto waved his hand, dismissing the gesture. "Sit back down." He watched as they took their seats again. "Now, Motoaki tells me that you two have eloped from Kumogakure, is this true?"
"Hai, Otokage-sama. I beg of you, let us stay here until we can gather enough money to become travelers and navigate the countries like I have always dreamed!" Sasuke beseeched the man whom he had once wanted to kill. It would reflect badly on him if he let the woman do the talking when a powerful man was in the room.
Konoha was a spoiled village compared to Oto. The women there were allowed their opinions with influence, but Otogakure kept with old village laws and traditions of suppression. Women in that village had little to no say in matters of importance between men.
"I must discuss this with the council, but until I do, you will be escorted to a room in my mansion with a guard outside the door so that you cannot leave to do anything that could endanger me or my people." He said, only adding the part about his people because he believed that if he came across as an inconsiderate person, they would leave and lose him the prestige and pride he felt as a leader.
"Arigatou gozamizu, Otokage-sama!" Sasuke expressed, sounding relieved. The important man left the room, presumably to speak with his council members about their stay in Oto.
"If you will follow me, I'll show you to your room." The maid -Motoaki- said. "But don't try anything funny, because I am a ninja, and I can kill you. Anyone in the mansion can."
"There's nothing to worry about. We would never betray someone whom we hope will permit us to stay in his village." Hinata misled her by murmuring quietly. It was the same thing Sasuke had told her when he had first returned to stay in Konoha. She wondered if he caught it, though she didn't have a chance to see his reaction as they were ushered out of the room with the maid leading the way, Sasuke following her, and Hinata bringing up the rear of their short line, as was custom in Oto.
"Aa. Right this way." The maid led them up a set of stairs, down a hallway with many twists and turns, and finally to a closed door. "This is one of the guest rooms. I think you should find everything you will need in there. There is a door connecting your room to a bathroom and there should be plenty of time for you two to unpack your things."
She stood there, waiting for them to enter. When they had, she turned and left them to their own devices.
Hinata activated her Byakugan carefully, using just the right amount of chakra, no more than necessary, so that they would not be caught.
"Is there anyone watching?"
"Iie. We are safe. There is no one anywhere near us yet. There is a guard on his way, but he will take a short while to get here. There are also no listening devices in here. No one should be able to hear a word we say until the guard gets here." Her voice was soft, but nevertheless traveled the distance between her and her 'husband'.
"Good. What are we going to do if he doesn't let us stay here?" Sasuke's voice was deep, easily carrying over the distance between them.
"Then we are going to do whatever it takes to kill him. We will stay just outside of the village, watching for a chance to kill Yakushi."
"What if we can't? Then what are you going to do?"
"Send a message to Hokage-sama so that he knows that we will be taking a bit longer in our mission. We won't leave until we have rid Otogakure of Yakushi. If need be, we will kill off all the ninja in the village one by one until he is the only one left."
She was unusually vehement about the death of this one man. Sasuke was curious, but knew better than to question her when it came to her anger. "And if he does accept?"
"Oh! Keijiro-koi, we should unpack our things." Hinata giggled lightly, giving Sasuke a pointed look after hurriedly deactivating her Byakugan.
Of course, the guard would have to arrive right now. Figures. "Okay, hanii, would you like me to help you?" He walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Iie. I'm fine, arigatou Keijiro-koi." She kissed him on the cheek before gently removing his arms from her waist to unpack her bag.
The two unpacked their packs, taking care to act as if their conversation about their mission had never existed, though Sasuke was curious as to how Hinata would have answered.
Hours after they had arrived, the guard spoke. "They have done nothing to show that they will be disloyal to our village, Otokage-sama." Though it is a little disturbing to be listening in on their private conversations… The guard almost shivered, thinking of the things he had heard them say, until he realized the Otokage had not dismissed him yet.
"Good. Then relay to them that I have decided to let them stay. Make sure you say that the council decided to let them. I would hate for them to think this a bad village, now wouldn't you?" Kabuto spoke in a misleadingly happy, albeit quiet voice.
"H-hai Otokage-sama!"
"Good." Kabuto turned to leave. "By the way, let them know that they will be staying here in my mansion and that they will no longer have a guard. It's not like they can hurt me or anything. The Konoha Snake ANBU is the only one who even makes me feel threatened." He finished his speech, talking more to himself than the guard. He cackled as he walked away, turning back to give one more order. "By the way, tell them it's dinner time, also."
The guard opened the door, after knocking and receiving permission, trying his best not to look shaken. He relayed the message, adding his own command as though to make himself feel as though he had some power. "Make sure to dress your best, definitely not in those rags." He sneered, gesturing to the clothes they were wearing. They had dressed in tatty clothing purposefully, so as to make the Oto ninjas believe that they really had eloped, and traveled the long distance from Kumogakure. They didn't pack as lightly as they would have liked so that the Oto nins would think they had planned the trip to make it even more believable.
The two nodded and turned to their separate dressers to gather their clothes for dinner. Hinata walked to the bathroom, while Sasuke stayed in the bedroom. They changed and went down for a dinner, prepared especially for the new 'loyal' villagers and the Otokage himself.
(A/N: Once again, I really apologize for the late update, but I worked all day so I could update. I would also like to thank my cousin, Orange15, for helping with SL so far, and would also like to thank another friend, AyuUchiha, who has read and beta-ed for a lot of these chapters. I appreciate you both for your help. Next chapter is going to be interesting. I'll give you a two word hint at what happens: Hinata's Diary. By the way, I have a poll posted on my profile page if you guys want to vote. After SL closes, I'm going to start typing new stories (hopefully oneshots) using the pairings you all vote for. If anyone will ever vote. The poll has been up since the last one closed and no one has voted yet…)