Diclaimer: I don't own anything. Nope, nothing at all.

Summary: She sighed. "You're not the devil, Naruto." He glanced at her, grinning. "He's just a very close relative."

Pairing: NaruHina.

Warning: Possible Sexual Themes.

Notes: We'll be meeting some more characters soon, but not all at once. Enjoy!

With all the guests inside the dining area, Hinata had some room to breathe. She'd greeted more people than she could count, stuttering more and more as she spoke. Oh, how she disliked strangers.

"If I may say so-," Hinata jerked her head towards the sound, "-you look tired, Miss Hyuuga."

Staring stonefaced at him, Naruto's eyes seemed very blue against his attire. Simple and elegant, they did not take away from his devilish good looks. He grinned at her expression, "I hope I have not offended you, milady."

She shook her head meekly, still silent.

He fidgeted under her gaze, "You are…engaged?"

Her eyes widened, "N-no! Not yet…I've f-found it difficult..to…to-,"

"Find prey? A husband? Willing servant being?"

She laughed, "Y-yes, if you may call it t-that."

"Forgive me for this…but I cannot understand why that would be. You are very clearly a beautiful young woman."

She blushed, clearly embarrassed. "Thank you…my Lord…b-but many people have s-said-," he scoffed, interrupting her. "That's it's your stutter? I apologize for interrupting, but you seem to lose it entirely around good company." He laughed, "No wonder you stutter with me."

Hinata frowned, "I did not mean to-," He laughed, "Oh no, you have not offended me at all, sweets. You're a very amusing girl. Now, I think we should head inside, before you lose all credibility by being in my presence."

He put his hand on her waist, and Hinata's heart raced faster than she'd ever felt it go.

It was their third course, and Hinata thought she'd die. Ignoring the pain in her chest, the food was revolting. She knew moving to a different society would change things. However, it didn't do a good deal to eat food that had eyes.

Glancing at her sister, she saw the same case. Her sister's eyebrows rose when they saw her.

A lambs head was a delicacy for a great deal of the guests, and they all ate with appreciation. She felt a great deal of gratitude towards the server when he took it away and replaced it with a small cake. She didn't care what it was made of, it was the eyes that bothered her.

"Have you tried the lamb?"

She shook her head at her possible fiancée, "No…it…has yet to be an a-acquired taste…my Lord."

"Ah…a shame. Very delicious."

She nodded, "I'll have to try it next time."

She had been placed at the center of the table, next to Lord Anou, but close to all other unmarried men.

To her left, the son of the Viscount had been watching her. He seemed her age, if a bit older. His spiky brown hair made him seem boyish, and he grinned at her when she turned her head.

"Hello! I'm Kiba." He sounded American, and with his greeting, it confirmed it.

"Hello Lord Inuzuka. Are you enjoying the evening?"

His gaze swept around the room, and he nodded. "Yes, it's a very…detailed thing, this whole…ball act?"

The Earl, who'd been quiet until then, laughed. "Absolutely so! You learn more here than in boarding schools."

Everyone else laughed, and Hinata blushed due to the sudden attention. Her mother smiled, but Hinata knew she did not appreciate such a comment made.

A man with dark glasses spoke up, "Lord Inuzuka here isn't used to actual etiquette. Naturally, he comes from America." Another round of chuckles went around the table, and Kiba blushed. "You've pointed out an excellent point, my Lord. However…atleast our food doesn't stare as we chew."

The night went on with joyful festivity, and the hours passed along quickly.

After all the other guests had left, and the one who were to stay at the mansion were in their rooms, Hinata prepared to go to bed.

The maids had made her a bath, and she longingly stared at the steam that came from it. She unclipped her chemise, and stepped in, her hair tied into a large braid behind her neck.

She lowered her head onto the heated towel at the end of the tub, and closed her eyes. She did not ask for help from Nina, as she usually did. Tonight, she just wanted to lie in the water for hours.

She thought back at tonight, and she was surprised to find she did not exactly dislike it. It was comforting that Lord Anou had yet to announce his courtship, and she hoped someone else did before him.

All other guests had left, not counting the Uchiha's. The earl and his eldest, had stayed. The Countess had not come with her husband, Uchiha Sasuke, because of her condition. She was in her first pregnancy, and her condition did not allow long traveling periods.

Hinata smiled fondly at the thought of her close friend being a mother. It was too long a battle for Sakura to finally find happiness in another person, and she hoped she would find a family as lovingly as her friends.

The only other guest to cross her mind had been in it one too many times. Naruto had always been her biggest crush, even since childhood. She remembered the heart break she was given when her mother forbade her from trying to woo him.

"He's a scoundrel."

Those words were enough to permanently cement the want of once marrying him. Hinata enjoyed fixing broken things, and Naruto seemed damaged without repair.

She did not care about how many other women had visited his bed, but she did not want to be another one of his adventures, either.

Blushing at how much experience he probably had, she tried not to think anymore.

Her blush spread across her cheeks, and the thought of him in bed with her made her feel flushed.

It sent a sharp quiver through her body, and she wanted to stop imaging, but her mind did not seem to cooaperate.

She wondered how he'd kiss her…his hands in her hair, his mouth-

"Hinata."

She jumped, her eyes resting on her mother.

"You've been in the water for over an hour. What were you thinking about that made you so flushed? You're as red as a tomato, dear."

"N-Nothing…"

"It's almost 11. Go to sleep, we don't want Lord Anou to see you with dark circles."

"Yes, mother."

She left the bath, toweling herself off slowly. The warmth of the summer air did not take away her comfort from the bath, and she felt grateful for the sudden sleepiness she felt.

Her mother left her room, and she lay in bed after dressing.

Knowing Naruto would have laughed at her for thinking such thoughts, she felt embarrassed.

For him to like a girl like her was silly. He went after experienced women, not virgins. It seemed much more logical to get a woman of knowledge, not a simple girl.

She would have laughed, for how ridiculous her thoughts were.

He probably held women in a crushing embrace, his hands exploring. Hinata wondered if they forgot about everything when he kissed them- the time it was, who she was, and where she stood. She wanted him tighter, closer, deeper. She wanted his skin to be marked by her long nails, his mouth wandering.

He would kiss her slowly, taking his time. He'd kiss everywhere, his tongue finding mysteries. She wanted him to make her cry out, to lose her inhibitions and to screa-

She woke up gasping. She had never dreamt of him in such a personal way. Her inner thighs felt moistened, and she wondered if she'd had her monthly cycle. Embarrased, she went to the bath to wash up, noticing it was already morning.

There was a fresh bath for her prepared in the washroom, and she stepped in, alarmed to see that there was no blood. She'd have to ask Sakura about it later. If anyone knew about this, it had to be Sakura.

Breakfast with the guests was a quiet one. The eldest Uchiha brother, Itachi, wasn't a very social person. Even without his illness you didn't hear more than a forced reply. The father was very similar, but Hinata's personal favorite was the Lady of the home.

Mikoto was a very petite woman. She was an attractive woman in her own way, with looks more discreet than her daughter-in-law's obvious beauty, or even Hinata's.

She had a lively personality that seemed to clash with her husband's unfriendly demeanor. It was obvious the marriage was arranged, and an unhappy match. Even still, she did not stop smiling or laughing thought breakfast.

"Oh!" Although Hinata knew that giggling with a middle-age woman wasn't frowned up necessarily, she still felt a little devious hiding with her in the library. They'd been giggling about boys, and she'd felt she'd ask her about what happened in the morning.

"You see, this is why I often wish I had a daughter, also. I love my boys…but sometimes those grouchy little faces don't make your day at all." She pursed her lips.

"Althought…I never do see Sasuke anymore. Honestly, what's a mother to do around here?"

Hinata laughed. "I'm sure he's missing you just as much." The look that Mikoto gave her made her erupt into laughter once again. "Well, you'll have grandchildren soon to spoil, atleast."

If there was one thing that brought up a woman's spirits, it had to be grandchildren. "Oh yes. I'm on an absolute edge to see my grandchild! My husband thinks it should be a boy, naturally, so we may have an heir. I however would be happy with a girl just as well!"

Hinata nodded, "Sakura thinks it'll be a girl also. 'Mother's intuition' she calls it."

Mikoto beamed, "I always knew she was a bright girl."

Hinata smiled, and looked to the door of the library when a small knock came it.

She sighed. "That would be a maid. They're the only one's who knock, anyway. Excuse me." She walked to open the large wooden door, when it opened suddenly. Her father stood on the outside. He had a grim face.

"I need to speak with you privately."

She nodded curtly and shut the door after he had walked away. Mikoto had stood up when the door had opened, and she had a concerned face. "Is something the matter?"

Hinata shook her head, "No…I have to go speak with my father. I must leave you now."

She nodded and shooed her out of the room, "Go. Don't make him angry."

The room made Hinata uncomfortable. The family's study was a place where she'd been punished countless times as a child, and she did not care to remember such memories.

Her father sat at the his dark desk, watching the estates pond from the stained glass. Hinata fidgeted under the silence, "Fath-,"

"You do not speak to a man unless he has addressed you."

Hinata did not even dare to move. It was a common mistake, and she should have known it would happen.

"Lord Anou has agreed to court you."

Hinata's reaction to the news was one of extreme calmness. Her father turned to stare at her face with obvious enjoyment in her reaction.

Her face turned white, but she made no sound.

Thanks for reading. Please review.

Until Next Time,

Darkofthenight.