Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Title: Humiliation & Humility
Rating: M for references to violence, strong coarse language, and sexual themes.
Characters: Hinata Hyuga, Sasuke Uchiha, etc.
Summary: There was always an ulterior motive to his constant abuse and her constant teasing.
Pressing her lips against the rim of the porcelain cup, the corners of her lips twitched in satisfaction as the taste of herbal flavors flooded down her throat. The small child beside her blinked in bewilderment, his finger pointed towards the pile of blocks that had just toppled over. She sighed and returned the tea to the coaster, kneeling beside him to rebuild the wooden castle. He nodded in approval as the establishment grew higher and higher, and when she finally finished, he knocked the blocks down. "That wasn't nice Atsumaru." Her voice was quiet, yet indifferent as she continued to put the pieces back together, and once again; the little boy ruined the structure. "What's wrong?" She finally asked, her cinereous flicking towards his tiny frame.
"Where is Maru, onee-chan-chan?" Atsumaru demanded.
"Kirigakure with Hokage-Sama."
"How come he didn't take me?" Knowing that the words 'to' and 'young' might cause a tantrum, she carefully avoided the situation by lying.
"Because he knew how bored you'd be." Atsumaru crossed his arms over his chest. "He loves you so much that he wouldn't dare take you to dull meeting where all they talked about was politics." She made a face to add emphasis and he relaxed, quite satisfied with the fact that Shikamaru had considered his needs. "Now would you like to help me build a castle and then we can tear it down together?" He nodded, his face failing to portray any emotion. But a hint of content could be seen in his remarkably brown eyes, and only when the corners of his lips twitched, would she release a proud encouraging chuckle. She ran her long slim fingers through his curled black hair, teasing it upward before turning her attention back towards the fifth tower they constructed. "Shall we give this one a name?"
"Why? We'll forget about it later anyways." Atsumaru mumbled, waiting for her to okay his destruction.
"Well everything with a name is remembered."
"Why would we need to remember a bunch of blocks?" For a six year old, he was remarkably cynical.
"Everything has a name Atsumaru."
"Then I'll name it Hinata. After my pretty onee-chan!" He glanced up at her as if searching for approval; her laughter brought a prideful smile to her lips. "Now can I break it?"
"You want to break me?" She gaped in an overdramatic despair.
"No!"
"Oh Atsumaru! You want me dead don't you?" Her face fell into her hands as she continued to sob.
"No! Please onee-chan please stop crying! I promise I won't kill you… just the blocks." She wiped her imaginary tears and embraced the small child.
"Okay my dear, I shall sacrifice my well being for your happiness." Atsumaru's hand collided with the castle. "Now then, would you like to go to the training grounds and work on you shuriken throwing?"