I DO NOT OWN NARUTO :'(
The Hyuuga compound was even more quiet than normal that night, as Kakashi and Naruto snuck into the branch house living room. Naruto performed his shadow clone jutsu, and the Hyuuga clones lined up in single file to allow him to change his clones to match them. They released back to their owners with relief, and then Naruto send his newly transformed clones out to their positions. He and Kakashi made their way further into the branch house, looking for Neji.
It had been decided in the meeting that Kakashi should personally invite the young man to be the 'unofficial' leader of the displaced Hyuuga clan. He was intelligent, cool under pressure, and possessed a commanding presence that was needed to organize his clan into what it should be, rather than what it had turned into. Hinata was fully behind the decision as well- she had always believed that Neji should be the heir anyway. The only part of the plan that she didn't agree with was the part where she was to remain in the hospital for the council meeting. Kakashi had left her pouting prettily in her bed. He grinned at the memory as he stealthily crept down the corridor. My kitten has claws when she gets all stubborn. He stopped in front of the room where he sensed Neji's chakra, and his sense of smell confirmed that the younger ninja was in there. He knocked softly on the door, and waited for Neji to let them in. The Hyuuga genius ushered them into the room and indicated that they should be seated.
"Tsunade informed you of our plans for dealing with the council and your uncle?" Kakashi asked him quietly. Neji nodded, he preferred to be silent until he was sure exactly what Kakashi wanted from him.
"We are getting the rest of the branch members out that want to come tonight. I am personally inviting you, with Hinata's full support, to become the new leader of the Hyuuga that have relocated to the Hatake clan. I offer you authority as my second-in-command as long as your actions do not harm the Hatake clan reputation, Hinata, or the village. However, you must respect my decisions as the clan leader to be binding and final. In return for your loyalty, I will offer you my full protection. What do you say?" Kakashi almost laughed as the emotionless expression on Neji's face cracked briefly, allowing a look of astonishment to shine through. Several minutes passed as Neji filtered through all the knowledge he had of the situation, plus his own feelings on the matter. He rose to his feet and then bowed to Kakashi.
"Lord Hatake, I accept your offer. I will gather the remaining members and meet you in the main living area in fifteen minutes. Naruto, follow me, you have work to do." He ordered arrogantly. Naruto grumbled under his breath about white-eyed pricks, but followed the young Hyuuga obediently out the door. Kakashi smiled as he retraced his steps back to the meeting area, and settled in to wait, his chakra suppressed, and the ever-present copy of Icha Icha Paradise in his hands.
The meeting room filled with Hyuuga members bearing their possessions on their backs. The masked jounin grew nervous as the head count continued to rise, reaching the seventy mark. At almost fifteen minutes exactly, Neji and Naruto entered the room escorting the last two members. Kakashi questioned the two younger ninja silently, and at their nods, he led the way out, taking the same route Hideki had used previously.
"Take them to the estate and then wait. Tsunade with be returning with me to perform the seal modifications. I would like you to call a meeting and update everyone on what has been decided. We need to get everyone to write out their statements and have them ready. For the plan to work, everything must be finished tonight, understood?" He asked his new second-in-command. Neji nodded, a look of concentration on his face. He was obviously already organizing what he needed to do in his head. Kakashi gave the hand signal to move out, and then quickly dissipated back to Hinata's hospital room.
She was sitting up in bed waiting anxiously for him, though he could tell that she was fighting to stay awake. Some of the tension drained out of her when she saw the relaxed smile on his face.
"It went off without a hitch. Everyone is out, and Neji agreed to my proposition. I had a hard time not laughing at the look of shock on his face. He was definitely surprised." He grinned at her as he reached out to hold her hand. She was beginning to become accustomed to the feeling, and secretly looked forward to it, even though it still made her blush. Kakashi suppressed the smile that wanted to peep through as he made her blush again, and addressed the young man still standing to attention.
"Hideki, I want you to return to the estate and assist Neji. He has much to do in a short period of time, and your ability to reassure and motivate the others should be an asset to him." He was amused by the small flush of red that appeared on the young man's face at the compliment given to him. Hideki bowed to both him and Hinata, and left the room quickly. Once Hinata was sure he was out of ear-shot, she let out a small giggle at his expense. Kakashi chuckled as well, and soon they were laughing together. When their mutual amusement faded away, they were left starring in contentment into each other's eyes.
Pakkun observed the couple, who had appeared to have forgotten his presence. He was excited to see that Kakashi was genuinely happy for once, instead of pretending like he normally did. He stored away every detail so that he could report it to his fellow pack members. Sure they teased him about getting laid, but the fact was, they had been worried about him for some time now. It was a relief to see him content and no longer stuck in an emotional state of stasis. Deciding that he wanted to give them some privacy, he cleared his throat to remind them of his presence. They jumped, though Kakashi did a better job of masking his surprise.
"Do you still need me, Kakashi?" Pakkun asked in amusement. Kakashi frowned at him, well aware of what was going through the small dog's mind. He released the summoning and turned back to Hinata. She was blushing slightly, and tracing the weave pattern of the blanket with her fingertips, as she avoided looking him in the eyes. He smiled tenderly at her, and reached out to stop her nervous movements. She reluctantly looked up into his face. They searched each other's eyes for endless seconds, and then Hinata turned away, a few tears running down her cheeks, as she heaved a deep sigh.
"What's wrong?" Kakashi inquired gently but firmly.
"This situation isn't fair." She sniffled as she kept her face turned away from him. He frowned as he contemplated the meaning behind her words. Was she really that upset to be married to him?
"I know that I am not that wonderful of a catch, but I didn't realize that I was hideous enough to drive a woman to tears." His words were meant to be humorous, but Hinata could detect the hurt in his tone of voice. She whipped her head around in surprise, horrified that he would think that she found him lacking.
"No-you don't understand! It isn't fair to you! All you did was help me out, and now you are stuck with a sick, unworthy wife, and the problems of a clan that isn't even yours! You don't deserve any of this!" She told earnestly as more tears flowed down her face. Kakashi reared back in amazement. She really thinks that she is unworthy? He grew angry at her lack of belief in herself, even as he knew that it wasn't her fault. She had literally had the idea that she was worthless beaten into her over her entire life. Sighing deeply, he pushed his anger down, and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.
"Hinata, I would be dead if it wasn't for you. Disgraced forever by my act of cowardice. How could you possibly believe that I wouldn't be willing to save your life in return!" He asked her, allowing a small trace of anger to enter his voice. He starred into her beautiful eyes as he willed her to understand what she meant to him. He didn't voice his love out loud, knowing that she would shrink away from him in disbelief, but he deliberately didn't hide it from her either. Her breath hitched on a small sob, and she found herself unable to look away from the swirl of emotions reflected in his eyes.
Slowly, he slid his hand from her chin to tenderly cup her cheek, as he lowered his lips to hers. Hinata froze in shock as she felt the firm pressure of his lips against hers. The mask muffled the effect somewhat, but she was greatly embarrassed by the tell-tale rapid beeping of the heart rate monitor. As the kiss went on, she became too wrapped up in the new sensations to remain embarrassed, especially once he reached up with his other hand and pulled the mask down. At the feel of his naked lips against hers, everything was swept out of her mind but the pure arousal that shot through her. Kakashi let out a growl as her hands tentatively reached up to stroke through his hair, and he began to deepen the kiss. Neither of them paid any attention to the opening of the door.
"Hatake-sama! Is everything oka- OH! Excuse me!" The flustered night duty nurse left the room quickly, her cheeks burning brightly. Kakashi pulled away reluctantly, and it took all of his considerable restraint to not kiss her again when she starred up at him dazedly. Her lips were swollen and red, her eyelids halfway lowered, giving her a look that was both innocent and seductive all at once. He watched as she slowly came back to an awareness of where they were, and what had just happened. She moaned in pure embarrassment, and hid her face in her hands. Kakashi was unable to control himself at this point, and laughed at his timid little wife, a deep infectious sound.
Hinata peeked up at him through her fingers, and found that he was even more handsome when he lost himself in pure amusement. She realized that she wanted to see him like this all the time. Happy, even it was at her expense at the moment. When he seemed unable to stop laughing, she felt a small amount of chagrin, and a soft scowl formed on her face. She sat up straight, and dropped her hands from her face.
"It isn't that funny." She said in an annoyed tone of voice. He looked over at her, and attempted to stop laughing, but the sight of her trying to glare at him, set him off again. He stopped in astonishment as her pillow hit him full in the face.
"What the-!" He burst out, and it was her turn to laugh at him. He stalked menacingly over to the bed, her pillow in his hand.
"Enjoyed that did you?" He asked her with a mock glare. She giggled at him behind her hand.
"Yes." She admitted with a full smile of happiness on her face. Kakashi dropped the pillow, his plan of revenge abandoned, as he absorbed the sight of a happy Hinata. Her eyes sparkled, her cheeks were flushed a slight pink, and her full lips were curved up. Her smile faltered as she saw the look on his face grow more intense. She raised her hands in front of her protectively as he leaned down towards her.
Kakashi grabbed one of her hands, holding it tightly as he captured her lips in another kiss. She gasped and he was about to slid his tongue in to explore when he was interrupted by a slap to the back of his head.
"What the hell do you think you are doing, Hatake? Trying to kill your wife! Her heart rate is going off the chart!" Tsunade yelled at him. Kakashi sucked in a deep breath, and looked at the healer in alarm.
"I didn't think that a kiss-" He paused as she glared at him.
"Yes- it's obvious that you weren't thinking, at least not with the head that is rational anyway." She muttered angrily. Hinata let out a small sound of embarrassment, as she slid down in the bed and pulled the covers up over her face. Tsunade's face softened, and gently pulled the covers down from Hinata's face.
"It is perfectly nature to have that reaction, Hinata. After all, Hatake is an extremely attractive man, and you are a beautiful woman. However, your heart is not up to the work out. The occasional kiss on the cheek, hugs, and holding hands is all your body is capable of at this point. Am I clear?" She asked sternly as she turned from Hinata to glare hard at Kakashi. He blushed almost as deeply as Hinata, and nodded his understanding. Hinata peeked at him, and almost giggled when she saw that he was blushing.
"In three months, I will be reevaluating your heart condition, and if everything is satisfactory, I will give you the go ahead to have all the sex you want." Tsunade told them with a smirk. Hinata hid under the covers again, while Kakashi glared at her. Her amusement at their expense faded as she thought of all the work ahead of them.
"Hinata, you get some rest. Kakashi, it is time to make the new clan members official. Let's go."