How can I make sure he won't return to the village? What if I can't stand his experiments for more than a day? What if he kills—
"Gotcha." Neji's breath was at my ear; to my immense shock, he'd managed to entrap me. His victory was short-lived, however, for he immediately let me go.
"I knew you could do it." This cheerful mask of mine was already beginning to wear thin. "We should call it a day, while you're ahead. I'll let you have something to brag about for a while."
The buh-dummm travelled elatedly through the icy breeze, but, nevertheless, Neji let me take his hand. I must have grabbed it too tightly, though; he rubbed little circles into the tender skin of my palm with his much rougher thumb, as if trying to get me to relax.
As we walked back to the Compound, I forced myself not to think about this evening— which, of course, led me to think about this evening. Neji stayed quiet; he must have sensed a bit of my tension, but the fact that he didn't ask about it caused me to believe that he probably thought my concerns were directed at something like the site of our honeymoon.
All too soon, we were standing in one of the Compound's many hallways. Neji tugged at my hand, force of habit causing him to head for my room in order to drop me off. I stayed rooted to the spot, not ready to leave him just yet. His fingers skimmed my shoulder.
"If you don't mind my asking. . ." I began, nervous. "May I bathe with you?" If I couldn't pull myself together soon, I was going to end up screaming my lungs out. A quiet bath with my fiancée seemed like a good way to lower my peaking stress levels.
"Of course," Neji said. He took a moment to grab the necessities, and his fingers locked with mine once more. "This way."
The steam of his bathhouse flickered down my throat the second we stepped inside, twisting loosely around my muscles and caressing the skin of my neck and hands.
There was a shuffle coming from where Neji stood. "I won't look," he promised.
I quickly discarded my clothes and hopped into the boiling depths, shuddering at how my legs seemed to be turning into jelly. "I'm decent," I called quietly.
As Neji stripped and dunked himself into the water as well, I couldn't help but imagine inky waves clinging to his body and plastering his hair against his alabaster skin. . .
His hands were at the tops of my arms, and I could feel him coaxing me to his chest. I obliged, nuzzling my head just beneath his collarbone and scooping handfuls of hot water onto his arms. This felt wonderful. . . and he'd occasionally kiss me, his mouth finding a new spot every time. It was almost enough to make me forget about what was to come.
Almost.
Drying ourselves off, we went into Neji's room, wearing the bathrobes he'd gathered earlier. I pressed my palms to the walls, navigating my way to his bed and climbing onto it. I didn't have much time left with him, and I could already hear Hinata's do-dum coming down the hallway. . .
There was something I wanted to do before it was too late.
Neji soon joined me, though he kept his distance. "Keiden. . ."
I wouldn't let him finish: throwing myself at him, I crushed my lips to his, catching him completely by surprise. Instead of pushing me away, however, he released my mouth and pressed his own onto the hypersensitive skin at my throat. His hands, having done nothing at first, were now underneath my robe, clutching eagerly at my waist, my hips. . . I moaned just as I heard Hinata raising a hand to—
Knock knock knock.
"Keiden? Are you in there?" she said timidly from the other side of the door.
Chagrined, I let Neji go, panting shakily as he, too, tried to catch his breath.
"Just a moment," I assured her, driving every last bit of negative emotion out of myself and smiling at Neji. "I'll see you very soon." Barely managing a wink, I hopped off his bed and opened the door.
"I checked your room," Hinata explained. "But you weren't there. Are you ready?"
It was so nice of Neji's much more soft-spoken cousin to volunteer to dress me for the ceremony; I haven't had a good conversation with her in a long time. "Yes," I said, taking the hand that gently brushed my forearm.
"I'm sorry if I. . . interrupted anything," Hinata whispered when we made it to her own bedroom. The smell of lilacs danced through the air as she closed the door behind her.
"Don't you worry about a thing," I chided flippantly. "Besides, Neji probably doesn't know how to put a wedding dress on."
The young woman beside me laughed quietly, already helping me out of my robe. Her expert fingers tickled my shoulders when she slipped a very strange material over me; it smelled like silk, but there was something else in there, something unfamiliar. . .
She must have seen the confused look on my face. "I had to alter this dress, but I didn't have any silk thread. I used cashmere thread instead."
"Alter?" I said.
"Neji's mother was much taller than you are," she explained.
Oh. "Hey, Hinata?"
"Yes?" she replied.
Though the heiress wasn't as close of a friend to me as her younger sister was, we still had a very strong, albeit silent, camaraderie; not many words needed to be provided for her in order to alert her of a fishy situation— a talent very much like mine. In this case, however, I couldn't let Hinata on to what was nagging me at the moment. Keeping this in mind, I maintained my somewhat calmer façade and proceeded to steer her in the direction I wanted her to go.
"If it isn't too much to ask. . ." I began, holding my hair out of the way as she buttoned the back of my dress.
"What is it, Keiden?" she prodded kindly.
I let go of my hair, which she immediately ran her nimble fingers through, plaiting it in such a way that I soon lost track of its journey. "Can I dress you for your wedding. . . when the time comes?"
Her movements came to a stop. "'W-when'?"
I giggled, an anxious squeak. "C'mon, you don't think Naruto's gonna wait forever, do you?"
"Um. . . w-well. . ." There was a new heat around me— Hinata was definitely blushing now. "I'd. . . um. . . I'd l-love to have you dress me."
I found her hand and patted it. "Thanks, Hinata."
We stayed quiet for only a little while after that, long enough for Hinata to finish doing my hair. She gave a contented sigh, seemingly pleased with her work.
"I'll just let Father know we're ready," she told me, her do-dum already at the door. "Then he'll fetch Neji. You'll be the last person to enter the ceremonial room."
"Okay," I said, my voice small.
She pitter-pattered away, the flowery scent pressing lusciously from every corner now that I was the only one in the room.
I had ninety seconds at most: sprinting noiselessly to my own room, I threw open the door and searched for the medical pouch I'd recently started bringing to my training sessions with Konoha's current genin. The moment my fingernails scrabbled against the thick canvas of the pouch, I hastily undid the zipper and probed for the tiny, glass object that could end it all, followed by the vial of the cooked flour-and-water mixture I'd prepared before anyone had woken up this morning. Dabbing this concoction onto the glass, I promptly stuck the pill-like object at the hollow spot behind my earlobe. It fused to my skin, tingling for a few seconds before puckering securely into place.
Good. . . it won't go anywhere until I want it to. . .
Shoving my pouch away again, I raced back to Hinata's room and sat carefully on the floor, spreading my skirt around me as neatly as I could.
Do-dum, do-dum, do-dum. . .
"I'm not sure when the elders will come in, but Father told me it was all right to bring you now," Hinata said, the delicate bones of her knees meeting the ground next to me. "We'll wait just outside the door."
I nodded, twisting my fingers together. Suddenly, Hinata's hands were on top of mine.
"Keiden." She gave a comforting squeeze. "This is a happy day."
Understanding that she was just trying to help— only a fool wouldn't be able to sense the shade of tension that enveloped me— I smiled. "Yeah, it is."
"And I. . . um, I just wanted t-to thank you. . ."
I blinked. "What on earth for?"
Her grip tightened for a fraction of a second. "As much as he tried to hide it, Neji was suffering for years. I've been meaning to thank you for changing that."
It took almost everything I had not to spill the beans, right then and there. "Don't make me cry before the wedding, Hinata!" I said playfully, cementing my mask to my face until there were no more air bubbles.
She laughed, a single note. "It's time."
We stood, still holding hands, and walked carefully toward a room I'd never been to before. I could hear Neji and Hiashi on the other side of the door, while two less familiar heartbeats thrummed nearby. The elders.
I was just about to let Hinata know that we didn't need to wait any longer, but she opened the door before I could even take a breath.
"Oh. Everyone's here already." It was odd, listening to the way the door muffled her voice while her pulse rang loud and clear at the same time. "You can come in, Keiden."
"Thanks," I mouthed, knowing she'd see it. I stepped past her, and she closed the door again.
Buh-uh-dummm.
I guessed Neji was quite surprised at the sight of his mother's dress on me. This thought brought a small lump to my throat; did he miss her, even though he'd never met her?
"Hinata has outdone herself," came Hiashi's voice from a point not too far from Neji. "You look lovely."
"Thank you," I said, praying that I wasn't blushing as I made my way toward the lub-dub.
"Right there is far enough," the clan leader instructed. "Kneel down."
Huh. There must be an altar or something.
I obliged, settling as gracefully as a blind person could. It felt so much better, being next to Neji, no matter how terrified I was about what would soon happen. I was now determined to make the most of this occasion.
Neji hadn't been kidding when he'd said the ceremony would be quiet: Hiashi had spoken for the most part, reading from what I'd assumed to be an ancient scroll— judging by the authenticity of the language— and letting Neji and me know when to exchange rings. I'd actually forgotten to ask anybody about them; I'd been much too distracted. I'd also found it peculiar when Neji's heartbeat had faltered for the second time this evening; it hadn't taken me long, though, to figure out that these rings had belonged to his mother and father.
Soon enough, a quill was placed in my hand, and Neji's assuring fingers guided me to what felt, funnily enough, like parchment. Then there was a reverent chorus of "Congratulations," and I was left alone with the buh-dummm that soothed me, even during a time like this.
My husband— even my brain tripped over the word— cupped my face in his hands, his thoughts shooting ecstatic darts into my forehead.
"How I wish I could see you," I said, tears in my throat. I caressed his lips, which had been grinning for who knew how long. I could memorize you forever. . .
"But you can see me," he told me. "You're the only one who ever has."
I hugged him, hiding the agony that I could feel my features twisting into. "I love you so much." I had to tell him that out loud, at the very least. He had to know.
He responded by wrapping his own arms around me, burying me further into his chest.
Bo-dum, bo-dum bo-dum, bo-dum, bo-dum bo-dum. . .
He's here.
In Neji's room.
Not wanting to think about how he'd gotten past the guards, I kept my charade going. Just a little longer. . . I chuckled against Neji. "Where?" Even though I'd most likely never get the chance to experience it, I wanted to know what Neji had planned in terms of our honeymoon.
"We're spending five days at a private bathhouse, just outside the border of northern Konoha."
"That sounds. . . perfect." And it did. This time, however, it was just the thought that counted. Thank you so much, Neji.
We held each other and headed to Neji's room, and I thanked the heavens that Neji had let his guard down; this would make things so much easier.
I knew exactly where he was standing, and as much as I wanted to jump in front of my husband and defend him, I could only sit back and listen to something blunt hitting a skull and a man crumpling to the ground.
"I suggest we get going," Kabuto whispered, an all-too familiar pop indicating his Transformation Jutsu. He took my hand, my fingers now throbbing in his vice-like grip.
I nodded, not needing to be conscious anymore to turn my features into stone.
Hiashi was waiting to see us off at the front gate, and the icy wind mixed our scents into a wintry mush in the air.
"Keiden," he said.
I managed a tiny smile in his direction, but that was it.
"Neji," Hiashi continued.
"Uncle," Kabuto replied respectfully in a remarkable imitation of my husband's voice. My heart flinched painfully.
Run, Lord Hyuga, run. . .
"I wish the two of you a safe journey."
"Thank you, Uncle," Kabuto said, squeezing my hand, if possible, even harder. "We'll seek another form of shelter if the snow gets out of hand."
I repressed the shivers that coursed through my bones. We both knew exactly where this "other form of shelter" was going to be.
Without further ado, Kabuto wrapped an arm around my waist, his palm at my hip, and leapt into the nearest tree.
"Exciting, isn't it?" he crooned, his mouth at my throat. "I wonder if he'll come after us. . ."
I stiffened under him. "Let's get out of here," I said flatly.
Neji would eventually figure out why I'd done this, why I'd gone with Kabuto. I just wordlessly entreated to whoever happened to be listening that, once he did, he would not come looking for me. As long as I stayed alive, he and the rest of the village would be safe. And, the moment my life was threatened, I'd bring out the last hope that was nestled beneath my earlobe.
I probably wouldn't be returning to Konoha.
But neither would Kabuto.