I WISH I OWNED NARUTO, BUT ALAS, I DO NOT….sigh.
Hideki rushed into the emergency room and demanded to see Lady Tsunade. The staff wanted to argue with him, but decided that it would delay Hinata's treatment. When Tsunade arrived, she took one look at her and instructed Hideki to follow her. She went into a private room and began treating the young woman silently. After about thirty minutes went by, she had done all she could, and placed Hinata in a light coma so that she would finish healing without pain. She then turned to the waiting Hyuuga.
"Explain this." She demanded with barely restrained anger.
"Hyuuga-sama did this as punishment for my Lady being found in Kakashi Hatake's bed this morning." He told her.
"WHAT?" she shouted.
"I do not know all the specific details, but I do know that she was found by Neji-sama, and her father ordered Haruna to perform a check on her. She is still a virgin, but he punished her anyway for the indiscretion of being found in a man's bed." He said with barely concealed disgust in his voice. Hideki watched as the Hokage's eyes burned with repressed fury and she wheeled around, striking the wall. It left a sizeable hole, and this seemed to calm her down somewhat. When she turned back around, her anger was tempered by curiosity.
"I have more questions for you. Is this the first time he beat her?"
"No Lady Hokage, but it is the first time that the damage was more than Haruna and Lady Hinata could heal themselves." He quaked inwardly at the rage that appeared in her eyes.
"How frequently does this sort of punishment occur?" She asked him.
"When Lady Hanabi was alive it was only once or twice a month, but since her death the incidents are occurring every few days. It has been getting more intense with each session." He told her as dispassionately as he could.
"Why is she not treated at the hospital?" Tsunade growled.
"By standing orders of Hyuuga-sama, no Hyuuga is allowed to be treated at the hospital unless they are hurt on missions. Even then it is to occur only if the injuries are so severe that Haruna and my Lady can not treat them." Hideki revealed to her.
"So you have disobeyed a direct order from your clan leader to bring Lady Hinata in for treatment?" She asked him quietly.
"Yes." He told her, standing up a little straighter.
"What is the punishment for your indiscretion?" She asked him.
"Depending on my Lord's mercy there are three possible punishments: activation of the seal, banishment, or death." Hideki said softly. Tsunade drew her breath in, and let it out in an angry huff.
"Well, there is nothing else to be done I suppose." She looked at him considering. The Hyuuga looked at her with a thinly veiled query.
"Both you and Lady Hinata are now indefinitely under the personal protection of the Hokage. While Hyuuga-sama may have control over you in clan matters, I am allowed to supersede his judgments when the safety of a Kohona shin obi is at stake. Your new mission is the protection of Lady Hinata. You may not leave her side unless you are relieved by an ANBU member sent with my personal seal. Is that clear, Hideki Hyuuga?" She asked sternly.
"Hai, Lady Hokage. Perfectly clear. And thank you." He looked at her with gratitude. She turned to leave the room, but he stopped her with a small wave.
"With the exception of Hyuuga-sama and the council, the rest of the clan considers our Lady to be precious. It is our shame that we have allowed the treatment given to her. Our clan is run on pride and fear, but we should have stepped forward sooner. I should have stepped forward sooner. Thank you for saving her." He bowed lowly in respect. She walked back over to him and touched his head, making him look up in shock.
"If you had not brought her here tonight she would have died. Don't be so hard on yourself. I have placed her into a healing coma, but I am sure that when she wakes up, she will thank you." They shared a look of complete understanding. They both knew that Hinata was far too forgiving for her own good, even if it was one of the things that made her so loveable.
"I will be sending an ANBU to you at eight o'clock tonight to relieve you. Have the nurses bring in a cot for you to sleep in- I want him to watch over you both. I don't trust Haishi Hyuuga." She instructed him before leaving the room.
"Hai, Lady Tsunade." Hideki took his position in the chair beside Hinata's bed. A small part of the shame that burdened him was alleviated. He felt that he had finally done the right thing, and it eased his conscious. I will never fail you again, my Lady!
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.
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Kakashi threw another log onto the small campsite fire, poking it into place with a stick. He starred into the flames as his thoughts went once more to Hinata. For the first time in a very long time, he was distracted on a mission. The realization that he loved the young kuniochi had shaken him to his core. For years he had made it a point to allow only a few select people to truly matter to him. He felt a deep sense of commitment to the safety of the village and all its inhabitants, but when it came to his personal life, he avoided making connections with people. Losing his mother at such an early age, and then his father committing suicide had left a lasting impression on him. Loving someone meant leaving yourself vulnerable.
His natural arrogance at being considered a prodigy coupled with his fear of loving someone again led him to develop a shield of indifference to others. When he was put on a team with Obito and Rin, he did everything he could to avoid getting emotionally attached to them. It was only during the mission where he lost his eye that he realized too late that they had wormed their way into his heart without him knowing it. Obito taught him a valuable lesson about the difference between duty as a shin obi and duty as a human being. That day Kakashi vowed in his heart that he would never let another one of his loved ones die. He trained twice as hard and worked to master the Sharigan his friend had gifted him with. He pursued Rin and they took comfort in each other.
As the war continued and time passed, he grew to realize that death was inevitable and that no matter how hard he tried, he was not going to be able to protect all his precious people. The death of both his sensei and his lover pushed him into a deep depression. Kakashi functioned; he never shirked his duty and he threw himself into his missions, gaining his famous reputation as the Copy Ninja. Always he pushed himself to train harder, to learn more jutsu in the hopes that he prevent the deaths of anyone else.
When he finally emerged from the depression, he was even less open to making new friends. Oh, he was friendly enough with his comrades and fellow villagers, but there were shields placed around his heart. Until Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke came into his life. He hadn't wanted to accept a squad, but the Third had been adamant that because he possessed the Sharigan he was the natural choice to be Sasuke's sensei. So he was drawn back into the world of caring, and it devastated him when his second squad had broken up. Losing Sasuke, seeing Naruto and Sakura's pain while dealing with his own, pushed him back inside himself. The death of his best friend Asuma had pushed him over the emotional edge he had been teetering on since the break up of Squad Seven.
The night that Hinata had stopped him from committing suicide had marked a turning point. Her quiet compassion had allowed him to release years of pain. In those few hours that she held him and let him grieve, the emotional barriers that he had erected to protect himself cracked. Maybe it was inevitable that he would begin to connect with her. Though no words were spoken between them that night, he had allowed her to see further into him than anyone had in his adult life.
Kakashi pulled out his book and pretended to read it when he felt his teammate approach. Anko plopped down beside him and pulled her knees up. She turned to stare at him with a long sigh. Kakashi pretended not to notice her scrutiny as his eyes skimmed over the words he had committed to memory. They stayed locked into their positions, one waiting with impatience, and the other ignoring. Finally, Anko broke first.
"Okay Hatake, what has crawled up your ass? You are distracted- you have never been distracted before. What gives?" She demanded.
"I don't know what you are talking about, Anko." He said blandly, his eyes never leaving the book. He let out a long-suffering sigh when she snatched his book out of his hands and threw it into his tent. She smirked at him before her face grew serious.
"Obviously something is on your mind. Since I am the closest thing to a best friend you have since Asuma died, I am asking you as a friend- what is going on in that silver head of yours?" She starred him in the eyes with an equal measure of stubbornness and concern. Several minutes went by, and it became apparent to Kakashi that she wasn't going to give up. Hell, I might as well. Maybe she'll give me some good advice after she stops laughing at me.
"If you must know, I am in love." He told her. She blinked at him, and then became angry.
"Bullshit! You know, this is the reason why I don't try to be sensitive more oft-" she broke of her sentence when she saw that his face was perfectly straight. A look of amazement crossed her face, and then she began laughing. Kakashi grimaced at her, but wasn't too upset considering the fact that he had anticipated her reaction. It took several minutes, but she finally managed to get herself back under control.
"So-o-o, whose the lucky lady that has tamed the infamous pervert, Kakashi Hatake?" She asked as she wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes. He glared at her, then turned to look back at the fire.
"Ah, come on Kakashi! You have already told me this much. Spill!" she demanded.
"Look, if I tell you this and it gets spread over the village, I will Chidori your ass in a heartbeat. Understood?" he told her. Her face grew sober and she sat up straighter. She was not afraid of many things in this world, but an angry Copy Ninja was one of them.
"Hinata Hyuuga." He told her reluctantly. He couldn't stop the smirk that formed on his face when her mouth dropped open in astonishment.
"No way! The little mouse! But she is like your total opposite, not to mention she has a crush on that blonde idiot student of yours!" Anko spouted out incredulously. Kakashi winced at the reminder of where Hinata's affections laid.
"Thanks for the support." He told her sourly. Anko shook her head and turned to stare into the fire. Neither one said another word for a long time. He stretched and rose up to go to his tent. She reached out a hand and pulled him back down. Kakashi looked at her in surprise.
"Go for it." she told him.
"What?" he asked her, slightly confused.
"I said go for it. If you really love her, then you should go for it. One, you are not getting any younger, and two, Naruto has ignored her for so long she is probably ripe for the picking. Oh, and there is also the fact that you both deserve to be happy. Two more self-sacrificing people I have yet to meet. She damn sure deserves some happiness after putting up with being beat o-" Anko stopped rambling as she felt his aura grow cold. She gulped at the look of suppressed rage on his face.
"No- don't stop now. What were you saying about beatings?" he asked her in low growl. She blinked and then slowly leaned away from him.
"I was on a mission with her team and came upon on her while she was bathing. She had fist shaped bruises over her chest, back, and arms. I confronted her about it, and she got this really strange look on her face before telling me that she had been training with her father. It seemed to really upset her that saw her like that, so I pretended to believe her." Anko told him. She was still upset at the idea that someone would hurt a kind and gentle person like Hinata.
"Why didn't you inform the Hokage of your suspicions?" He asked her in a frigid voice.
"I was afraid of making things worse for her, not to mention the fact that I figured she would just stick to her story. No doubt her asshole of a father would back it up, and then Tsunade wouldn't be able to do anything about it." Anko told him quickly, hoping to avert his anger from her.
Kakashi jumped up, startling her. He paced back and forth and then informed her that he was going to check the perimeter. She watched as he stalked off, his long legs eating up the distance quickly. As soon as he was out of eyesight, she sagged down in relief. Well, I dodged that one, but I have an idea that Haishi Hyuuga won't be so lucky!