Chapter 3

"Care to explain what you mean…"

Red eyes. The Sharingan spun madly.

"…by that statement…"

A random passerby let out an 'eep!' and rapidly scurried backwards.

"…eh, Shisui?"

His companion laughed in a slightly mocking manner, eyes still black, but daring him to cross that ledge. A smirk was pasted on his face, and there was a decidedly catty twang to his voice as he repeated his words.

"Why, Sasuke, who would have thought that you've gone deaf! You really should seek someone medical help, you know – I hear that Haruno girl is quite excellent –" here, his lips stretched into a knowing grin as he cocked his head " – and that she wouldn't be particularly averse to helping you, either. It's a boon from heaven!"

A smash. There was now a hole in the paper wall.

Shisui's grin, if possible, grew even wider. "Now, now, Sasuke, it wouldn't do to have a little temper tantrum, would it? Daddy wouldn't appreciate his wittle baby son demolishing his house now. Behave."

He sounded like a slightly nasty uncle gleefully patronizing his nephew. Sasuke hated him.

"Spit out what you have to say. Or leave." The words were blunt, firm. There was an undertone of pain.

He really should have gone to a medic. He was fairly sure that he had at least one bruised rib. But then again, pride came before everything else, didn't it?

Shisui's mocking smile slipped somewhat as he realized his prey was serious. He sighed dramatically. "Oh, very well." His lips pursed as he cocked his head. "I suppose dear little Sasuke must be told of the fact yet again. Your big bro's getting married, kiddo. I'm surprised you didn't know about it. Maybe they just didn't think you could handle it, did they?"

And with that final parting shot, Shisui disappeared in a swirl of pale green leaves.

"… Ne, where do you think Hinata-chan is?"

"I don't know, Kiba."

Silence. It almost crushed them.

"… Ya know that she's hidin' somethin' from us, don't you?"

"I think that is patently obvious."

Another moment of silence. Then, with a tinge of irritation:

"You gonna ask her about it?"

Shino slowly turned towards his teammate, his eyes hidden behind his dark glasses.

"I believe that Hinata will tell us herself, when the time is right."

And with that, he turned back to stare at the road that led to the training grounds.

"Is it true?"

The sound of a ladle scrapping against the bottom of the utensil. Then, shuffling. Slippers muffled the sound of feet upon tiles.

"What is, Sasuke-kun?"

A sigh. He knows they're hiding it from it.

"Shisui said that Itachi's getting married. Is it true?"

Mikoto's voice is light as she replies. Too light. She's a carefree woman usually, but today is different.

Today, the lightness is forced.

"I do remember your father telling me something about it, you know. I think we were all just sitting around this table when he mentioned that Itachi might get married next year…"

A smash. He's pounding his fist against the table.

"He doesn't have anyone he loves, dammit! Are you really going to let them do this to him, kaa-san?"

The silence is awkward. Then, the sound of someone vigorously scrubbing the kitchen sink with a hard-bristled brush.

"It's not my decision, Sasuke. And besides, all of us have certain duties to fulfill. Look at your father and I, for example. We, too, only wed because of customs, but look at how happy we are…"

Her voice trailed off. Sasuke got up and opened the door.

A last parting shot.

"You're pathetic, kaa-san."

And then he left.

"What's going on with Hinata-sama?"

The voice is male. The tone is hushed, confidential. The location is secluded. The perfect place for an ambush.

Hanabi clicks her tongue, giving her brother credit for his choice. Genius indeed, she muses. But she has no answer for him.

"If I knew, do you think I'd be standing around here doing nothing? Give me some credit, niisan."

Neji's brow furrowed. To anyone who knew him, that was a lot. He was generally impassive, and firmly believed in hiding all his feelings behind a carefully constructed mask.

Because he was a genius. And geniuses weren't allowed to fail.

"There's obviously something wrong –"

"Yeah, guess what, shithead? I'd already figured that part out."

He ignored Hanabi. "I'm willing to presume that it has something to do with that meeting she attended a week ago, the one where Kaede-sama was injured."

"Do you think I'm a toddler? I had all this figured out way before you did, niisan."

The term was mocking, the way it rolled off her lips. Intentionally, of course.

Mocking, but not humiliating. He was precious to her. To them both. They couldn't afford to lose him.

He was their brother, after all.

"The problem remains that there could be a number of reasons as to why Hinata-sama is… upset. We can't really narrow them down."

"Yeah, well, there's that…"

"Hanabi-sama?"

"'Tou-san told me to stay away from sister. Apparently, if I'm seen in her company, I will be punished severely. Also, he has some sort of a surprise for me, to be unveiled next week."

"… Could Hinata-sama be upset because of that? It's not completely impossible, is it?"

"Yeah, you bet. Nee-chan's been avoiding me like hell for the past week, too."

"Me too."

Silence.

"Well, there's only thing to be done about it, ya know."

Again, a momentary silence. And then, suddenly –

"Slug!"

"Snake!"

A momentary silence. And then, a whoop of joy.

"HaHA, niisan, told you I'd win! Now you go and ask Hinata-neechan what's wrong with her."

"… I hate playing this game with you, Hanabi."

"You're just saying that 'cause I always win, aren't ya?"

"Mmph"

"I guess its true then…?"

"What is?"

"Didn't you hear? I have a friend over at the Uchiha sector who told me. Uchiha Itachi's getting married to that pasty-faced Hyuuga girl."

"Which one? Are you serious? Oh my god, that's huge."

"Yeah, tell me about it. Can't believe Itachi-sama's not available any more. He got engaged so fast! I've never even seen him with a girl, much less her."

"What's her name, anyway?"

"Oh, you know her. That shy one, who stutters? The one who looks as though she couldn't knock down a leaf? Yeah, that one."

"Hinata?"

"Is that her name? I don't know."

"Yeah. She's the heiress to the Hyuuga clan, isn't she?"

"Wow, that's pretty powerful. Reckon it's a love marriage?"

"With the Hyuuga involved? You're shitting me. It's a deal, pure and simple."

"Hmmm. Poor Itachi-sama, stuck with something like this."

"I guess. Although, now that you mention it, I feel worse for the girl."

"What for? She's getting the Uchiha Itachi as her husband."

"She'll have to deal with the fanclub, no?"

"Oh, right…"

A chuckle.

"… that'll be entertaining, now."

"You're a coward."

He was tying his shoelace. He finished tying it and then looked up calmly.

"Otouto. Welcome home."

Sasuke spat on the ground.

Itachi eyed the filth mildly before turning back to face his brother. "I trust that you had a successful mission?"

Sasuke glared at him. "Two bruised ribs and a sprained wrist. And the target almost got away."

Itachi shrugged. "You have to take it as it comes, Sasuke."

"Pah!" Sasuke's rage was palpable. He was angry. "Stop changing the subject, dammit!"

"What was the subject in the first place?"

"You… your cowardice, you fucking coward!"

Silence. Then:

"Who told you?"

Sasuke glared at his brother, then relented. "Shisui."

"And you believed him?"

"'Kaa-san verified his story."

Itachi leaned back, allowing a small sigh to escape him. He closed his eyes.

"She's your age, you know? Probably went to the Academy with you, if she went at all."

Silence. Then a suspicious rustle. "What's her name?"

"Hyuuga Hibata, I think."

"Hyuuga?!"

"Don't ask me. Father and the Hokage have come up with some odd plan. Something to do with experimentation. They're planning on mixing the bloodlines."

"An experiment? So what does that make you, a test subject?"

He opened his eyes and stared at his brother's face for a full minute before closing the lids once again.

"Bloody hell! How can you tolerate this?"

And that's when he finally cracked a smile. It wasn't happy – rather, it was sad, if anything.

"Because someone has to."

"Hinata-sama."

She looked back, surprised. "Neji-nii!" Her breath escaped in a whoosh.

Her room was a mess. Piles upon piles of clothes were strewn all across the floor. Formal, semiformal, informal, housewear, nightwear… it was all new, and all chosen under Shizune and Jiraiya's carefully eyes. She hadn't even had a say in a single article of clothing.

"May I come in, Hinata-sama?"

"Eh…" She cast an eye about her surroundings. Hastily piling all the nightwear – if it could be even called that, it was so skimpy! – into a drawer in the corner, she stood up. "C-Come in!"

Neji stepped inside, cool eyes curiously surveying the disaster zone that he had just walked into – or rather, waded into, for there was no space to walk on the floor. Bending to remove a pile of formal kimono from his way, he slowly made his way to the centre of the room.

Hinata smiled – a slightly wobbly smile – as she saw her cousin and confidant try to puzzle out what the different garments were. A genius he may be, but no one could deny that Hyuuga Neji was still completely clueless when it came to girls.

The aforementioned prodigy wrinkled his nose in distaste and sat down, letting out a sound vaguely similar to "Che!" Then, he looked up at Hinata.

She let out a whoosh of breath that she didn't know she was holding. "Nii-san."

"Hinata-sama," his voice was carefully structured. Clearly, he wasn't sure about how to proceed with whatever he had to say. He paused, confused, and for a moment, she was glad. She was sure that this was going to be an uncomfortable conversation.

"We – that is, Hanabi-sama and I – have noticed – well, not really noticed, just observed, I guess you could say –"

"Nii-san, would you l-like some w-water?"

He was thrown off. When he spoke next, his voice was uncertain. "E-eh, sure, why not?"

She poured him out a glass and watched silently as he downed it. The tension in the room could have been cut through with a knife.

Suddenly, her cousin slammed the glass down on the low table, a determined expression taking over his face. She flinched slightly at his expression, something which she was sure was Naruto-inspired. She had seen it on him before – it meant that he was going to go in for the kill, consequences be damned.

"Hinata-sama, is something wrong?"

Wrong? Yes. So much is wrong, nii-san. I don't know what I'm going to do.

"Wr-wrong? What do you mean by that, nii-san?"

Neji sighed, clearly expecting this answer. Hinata wasn't a person who would so easily give him an answer. He'd have to play a long game of duck-duck-goose trying to figure it out.

"I – and Hanabi-sama, of course – have seen that you've been somewhat discomfited since the last meeting with the elders. You know, the one in which Kaede-sama was injured."

A tinkle as she poured another glass of water out for him.

"How was she injured, incidentally?"

"I snapped her wrist."

The vague sounds of someone choking upon their drink.

"Y-you –" cough "did what?" A series of coughs.

She looked up at him calmly, but there were tears shining in her eyes and her face was flushed.

"She deserved it, nii-san. Oh, if you knew what they're making me go through!"

And with that, she burst into tears.

"Ne, Sakura, have you heard?"

"Heard what, Minami-san?"

"One of the Uchiha boys – you know, the ones from the main family – yeah, one of them is getting married to the Hyuuga heiress."

"The Hyuuga heiress? You mean… Hinata-chan?"

"Yeah, I guess that was her name. Wow, this is sure unexpected, isn't it?"

"One of the Uchiha boys, you said? Which one?"

"Dunno. Nobody knows for sure. But it sure ain't a love marriage, that we know for sure. Apparently, their dads sat down long ago and drew up some sort of a contract. Sad, isn't it?"

"That's… that's impossible. Sasuke-kun's dad wouldn't do something like this… would he?"

"Well, I dunno now, do I?" The voice was slightly peeved. "I just heard it from Kusumi, who swears that Shizune-san's in charge of 'preparing the bride' or some other bullshit."

"Shizune-san? She has something to do with this?"

"Well, now," The voice sounded slightly uncomfortable at her companion's rising temper. "I don't know if she's involved personally. But it can never hurt to ask, yeah?"

A flash. Sakura was gone.

It hasn't even been a full day since I've returned to the village.

No, really. I mean, one night is over, but I arrived at noon, and it's only morning now.

And yet, they've already managed to spring a lifetime's worth of surprises on me.

When Shisui told me about what Father had planned for Itachi, I have to admit, I didn't take him seriously at all. The guy has a reputation with fucking with heads, and he seems to exceptionally enjoy annoying me. I presumed that this was another one of his pranks. Wouldn't be the first time, to be sure.

Because which Uchiha in their right mind would willingly marry of their kid to a Hyuuga?

I don't remember any Hyuuga girl in my Academy class, but to be honest, I don't remember many people from there at all. Naruto, Sakura, Ino… that's about it. The rest were too… inconsequential.

Not that these three were special or anything. They've just managed to annoy me enough to stay ingrained in my memory forever. It's hard to forget people like that, no matter how hard you try. And believe me, I've tried.

So if there was a Hyuuga in my class, she was completely forgettable.

The irony of it all overcomes me for a moment, managing to elicit a dark chuckle. Itachi, the poster boy for 'good son', the rising star, the perfect pinnacle of perfectness, married off to a nobody. Some would say that he even deserved it.

I would be a member of that group. But I love my brother.

It angers me, the way everyone seems to have accepted it so calmly. Mother, his friends… and been the bridegroom-to-be himself. They're just resignedly waiting around until he's led to the altar with a kunai at his back and some simpering Hyuuga fangirl at his front.

It's inhuman, what they're doing to him. Not only because they're arranging his marriage – that's a pretty common, though old-fashioned, practice among the High Clans – but because he's been treated like a lab rat. They're experimenting on him.

Don't they understand? The Hokage, Father, even those damn Hyuuga. This isn't some kind of a… a test subject that they're using. This is a real, flesh-and-blood person, who has thoughts, feeling, hopes, a life.

Itachi won't say anything. He's the perfect son. He'll obey father, even if father orders him to set himself on fire and jump off a damn fucking bridge.

But I will.

This is my brother they're talking about here, and no matter how much of a dolt he may be, it's my responsibility to ensure that he doesn't go around completely ruining his life. He's too blockheaded to know it himself, so I guess I'll just have to help him see.

Itachi's too talented, too hardworking, to be thrown aside like this. I won't let them carry out their genetic experiments on him. They can have someone else if they want, but my brother isn't going to be used like this.

And since there are really only two sides in this affair, and one has already clammed up, saying something about 'duty' and 'honour' and 'responsibility', I guess I'll have to go find the other one.

Time to go find out more about this Hyuuga Hibata girl.

The front bell rang, signifying the entrance of yet another customer. Ino sighed, wiping her sweaty forehead with a pretty, dandelion-patterned handkerchief. It had been a busy day at the Yamanaka flower shop, but she was relieved. Business had been going slow for the past few weeks, and she was glad to see it finally pick up.

She called out to the new customer: "Just a minute!" She was supervising the home delivery of a bouquet of twelve absolutely gorgeous roses. She had to make sure that there was nothing out of place – the flower shop had a reputation to uphold, after all.

When she was done, she walked out into the front room to find, greatly to her surprise, a certain Uchiha waiting for her.

"Sasuke-kun!" Her greeting was perhaps overly enthusiastic, but that was justifiable. She cast a quick glance around the rest of the flower shop – empty! Yes! This was a good day. She had Sasuke all to herself.

"Yamanaka." Her beloved's voice was terse, tense. He seemed slightly irritated and nervous, and she wondered for a moment what he was doing in here. Maybe… he wasn't here to buy flowers for some other girl, was he?

"Oi, if you've come here to buy flowers for Sakura, then…!"

"What? Where did you even get that idea from…!"

"Oh. Then, what are you here for, Sasuke-kun? Come here to see me?" She batted her eyelashes.

Sasuke scowled. "Stop with the fantasies, Yamanaka. I've come here with a deal."

She blinked. "A deal?"

"Well," he relented. "More like a question, perhaps. You used to be in the same class in the Academy as the one I was in, right? Was there ever a Hyuuga in our class?"

Well, that was unexpected. She tried not to let him see how thrown off she was. "A Hyuuga…? Why do you want to know?"

He sighed irritably. "Just tell me, would you, Yamanaka?"

She smirked. It was a distant possibility, but since when was she one to give up even the most remote options?

"I'll tell you if you take me out on a date this weekend, Sasu-ke," she said in a sing-song voice, blue eyes twinkling mischeviously.

Her companion gaped at her. "What the…!" His eyes hardened. "No way in hell, Yamanaka! Just tell me already, or I'll just go ask someone else!"

"Fine then, go! Ino Yamanaka doesn't give out any information without a reward, pretty boy. So if you want me to open my perfectly glossed mouth, then you better start raising the stakes. Or else, you can just go around Konoha, grabbing every former classmate and asking them whether they remember a Hyuuga in their class. It's your choice," she unconcernedly flicked her perfect blonde ponytail. "I'm not really concerned here, am I? And I don't take kindly to being spoken rudely to, you know."

He sighed in frustration. Despite her big mouth, Ino really was his best bet. Sakura would have a thousand questions, and Naruto probably wouldn't remember either, same as him. He didn't really have much of a choice. "I'm not going out on a date with you. But you can ask me to do something else… and if I find it acceptable, then maybe I'll do it."

Her eyes brightened, and for a moment, he was sure that he had seen dollar signs appearing in them. A slightly wicked smile began to play on her face, and he felt sudden cold apprehension begin to trickle down his back.

"Well, there is one thing…"

She was an excellent businesswoman, after all.

Uzumaki Naruto yawned as he stepped out of his apartment. It was a beautiful day, and he fully intended to start it off with a late breakfast at Ichiraku's, and then a hardcore training session wearing his special green jumpsuit with Lee and Gai. It was one of his only free days, and he didn't intend to waste a single moment of it.

The sun shone down on him brightly as he made his way through Konoha's busy streets. It was market day, and it seemed as though at least one representative of every family in the village was in the market that day, haggling over the lowest vendor's prices. He felt a small smile cross his face as he took in his fellow citizens. So innocent, so helpless… they were almost all civilians. Seeing them happy and bright like this only reinforced his decision to become a strong Hokage and protect them all.

The overactive blond nin made his way towards Ichiraku's ramen shop. He remembered how, when he was younger, his mentor, Iruka-sensei used to bring him here to treat him to ramen sometimes. It really had been far too long since he had seen Iruka-sensei. Or, for that matter, since he had met up with Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, or even Sasuke-teme. Kakashi was on a mission, of course, and Sakura spent most of her time at the hospital nowadays. But Sasuke was due to return from him mission yesterday, which meant that he should be in Konoha right now…

A sudden commotion attracted his attention towards a side alley, where two men were running at top speed, pushing a cart in front of them. The cart was loaded with flowers high up, a veritable mountain of blossoms. Its momentum was too strong, and the two men were unable to control it – the cart was in danger of hurting any passerbys.

Naruto went into action, his body feeling the familiar thrill of adrenaline as he ran towards the flower cast. Springing up onto some vendor's canopy, he aimed a powerful kick at the cart, feeling satisfied as all the wheels were knocked out and the cart settled on the road with a loud 'thump!'

The two men who were obviously in charge of the cart came running up behind him, bowing profusely. "Thank you, good sir!" One of them cried with obvious relief. "We don't know what we would have done without you…!"

Naruto regally inclined his head the way he imagined a future Hokage should. "It's nothing!" His trademark grin was on full force. "Just another day in the life of the great Uzumaki Naruto!"

The two men suddenly stiffened and exchanged startled glances. The bulkier of the two ventured to ask: "Sir? Could you possibly be… Uzumaki Naruto, the chuunin…?"

He felt an explosion of joy within him, and the whole world seemed inexplicably sweet to him within that instant. Even these random civilians had heard of him. The legends surrounding him and his good deeds must be reaching far indeed. "Yeah, that's me, dattebayo! Why? You've heard of me before?"

The two men exchanged nervous glances. It was then that he noticed suddenly that they were both wearing shirts which had 'Yamanaka Flower Shop' written on top, and that even the now-disabled cart had that logo stamped on to the side.

Both the men suddenly dropped to their knees. He – and the rest of the village's population on the street – gaped at them.

"H-hey, what're you doing…?"

"Oh, Naruto-kun!" The first man burst out in a melodious tenor while the second pulled out a shamizen and proceeded to play it.

He repeated:

"Oh, Naruto-kun!

My own personal sun!

The world does not know how much I adore you

But today, oh yes, today!

Today you must know, my love

That you and I, together we equal perfection

Our future is bright! We must

Stick together at all times

For our love is everlasting!

How many times have I stared at you

When we were on a mission, and you were asleep

Peacefully – oh, you are so beautiful!

Your magnificent whiskers! Your baby-yellow hair

I think I'm in love! I cannot wait for your response!

Love me forever, Naruto-kun!

Yours forever, your beloved

These flowers are from –

Uchiha Sasuke!"

As the last strings of the shamizen died out, the townpeople stared bewildered. Then, suddenly, speech broke out like a wildfire.

"Did he just…!"

"Uchiha Sasuke? You mean like the Uchiha Sasuke?!"

"Hey, do you think they're going out or something…?"

"Was this a proposal? It sure seemed like one…"

"Wait, does this mean that Uchiha Sasuke is gay?!"

Upon hearing that last statement, half the females in the crowd fainted.

Naruto ground his teeth. This… this catastrophe… this tragedy… this was all his fault!

"Teme!"

Uchiha Sasuke cocked his head.

He was on his way to Training Ground number 72, where he was told that Hyuuga Hinata, not Hibata, often practiced along with her teammates, that Inuzuka cur and the creepy bug-boy.

He looked back over his shoulder. He could have sworn that he had just heard Naruto's voice screaming that familiar insult which he used to address Sasuke.

The younger Uchiha had just escaped from Ino's shop with the information needed in hand. The little extortionist had made him buy every single flower in her damn shop, and when she had asked him where he wanted it to be sent, he had panicked. Briefly considering his mother, he had disregarded the idea – she would smell something fishy in this incident and eventually force him to divulge it entirely, something that he didn't want to do. Sakura was out of the running, too, as she would surely misinterpret this gesture.

Kakashi would tease him forever… and Itachi was just as adept as their mother at making him divulge information. So, there was only one option left. He had sent the flowers to the dobe with a card, explaining that he, Sasuke, couldn't take care of the flowers himself, and could the dobe please dispose them off?

Ino had pouted when he had refused to send her even a single flower. He would have done it, if he hadn't known that she had the biggest mouth in town, and that the news of his asking about the Hyuuga heiress would have already spread through half of Konoha like a wildfire. If he ever gave Ino a single flower, even if it was a weed, she'd probably go around telling everybody how the two of them were engaged or something.

The evil glint in Ino's eyes made him reconsider his decision, though. He couldn't help but wonder if she had sent the flowers to the wrong person... or maybe changed the message a little or something…

Nah. She wouldn't do something like that, would she?

Would she?