I could not will myself to speak. I just stared in terror. What human-being could remotely believe this was an appropriate gift?

"You do not like it?" His face suddenly flushed and his voice grew loud with anger. "I went through a lot of trouble to achieve this. Do you know how many guards I sacrificed to get-"

A sound – the sound of something shattering – stopped Toneri from speaking further. It was loud enough to make my ears ring, but my fiancé appeared unfazed. Instead, he looked out the window up at the sky where the barrier began to crack, breaking apart until it existed no longer.

He remained there, unmoving, for several moments until he decided to slowly face me. His blue eyes were void of any emotion for a fraction of a second, and then, suddenly, rage flared within them. He dropped the head of Yuji Fuma on the floor, rushing towards me with an aggravated yell.

With my Byakugan ready, I entered the Gentle Fist stance prepared to strike him when Sasuke appeared in front of me, punching Toneri so hard that he tumbled onto his back.

I glared at Sasuke. "I could have handled that."

He smirked. "I come to save you and that's your response?"

I sighed. "Where is everyone else?"

"They're destroying the puppets." Sasuke looked towards Toneri who was beginning to stand up. "Don't worry about them. This guy is our top priority."

Now on his feet, Toneri wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he said. He was smiling, but it did not reach his eyes. "I knew you were lying to me, Lady Hinata. I knew you and this dirty shinobi have been performing acts of adultery behind my back. The way you look at each other says it all." He turned to Sasuke. "I know you were watching us in the courtyard beyond the barrier. How did it make you feel when I kissed your beloved whore?"

Sasuke is not one to be provoked easily, especially by words that derive from a madman, but he let his anger get the best of him, dashing towards Toneri with blinding speed. Incredibly, Toneri smoothly avoided the strikes from Sasuke's sword, and even when Sasuke found openings, Toneri avoided those as well. Toneri never bothered to attack Sasuke. At first, I assumed he feared to because Sasuke possessed the Sharingan and Rinnegan, but the smugness in his eyes told me otherwise.

"You cannot touch me," said Toneri smugly.

This only irritated Sasuke more, though he contained that anger, attacking Toneri with swift and accurate movements. I watched intently, hoping that Sasuke would manage to take the advantage in this standstill duel. But somehow – I do not know how – Toneri found an opening, and in one swift movement, green chakra formed around his arm as he punched Sasuke in his abdomen. Sasuke lost his balance as he gasped for air, though he recovered quickly, prepared to swing at Toneri once more when Toneri's leg covered in the same green colored chakra. He kicked Sasuke with such speed that not even his Sharingan could predict it in time.

I kneeled tentatively beside Sasuke who had been sent by my feet. He clutched his abdomen where Toneri punched him and his face was tight with pain.

"His chakra isn't normal," said Sasuke. "He took chunks of my chakra with just a few hits."

Using my Byakugan to see the internal damage, I could easily tell that with two strikes alone, more than half of Sasuke's charka had been depleted. Not even a Hyuga could do that.

"This power can all be yours, Lady Hinata." Toneri extended his hand to me. "If you become my wife, I can share this with you. The Hyuga clan will evolve into gods."

"I do not want, nor need your power."

He frowned. His eyes became expressionless. "Then you can die along with the rest of this world."

When his entire body flared up in thick, green chakra, the ground beneath us shook violently, and the energy produced from his odd chakra made the room's temperature spike. Ornaments fell from the ceiling and I shielded Sasuke's body with my own. At first, I thought just the estate was trembling, but when I searched beyond that with my Byakugan, even the Leaf Village shook. Beyond the village, I realized the Land of Fire was shaking.

"What is happening? What are you doing?" I asked, feeling the panic rising within me.

"Those energy vessels are magnets that are going to make the moon collide with the earth. You and your friends destroyed an ample amount of them, but it was not enough to hinder my plan. If I cannot have you as my wife, the world will die."

"We have to stop him." Sasuke attempted to rise, only to succumb to the pain in his abdomen which caused him to fall onto my lap.

I wiped sweat forming on my forehead. "How?" I asked myself that more so than anyone else.

"He's using chakra to activate the magnets somehow. Use your Byakugan to figure it out."

So I did. I scanned the area, noticing immediately that the same energy produced by the vessels across the world over were flowing into Toneri, and through him, he focused that energy upwards to the moon. Only, I assumed that he focused it on the moon. My Byakugan would not allow me to see that far. Regardless, I knew what I needed to do.

I stood up from the floor, leaving Sasuke who still could not bring himself to stand. Moving to the center of the room, I challenged Toneri, entering my Gentle Fist stance. He took one look at me and scoffed. "What do you intend to do? Seduction will no longer trick me."

After angling my palm, I dashed for Toneri who expected me to strike him. He held up a hand, ready to catch my wrist, but I moved out of the way, spinning behind him. His eyes widened in surprise, though when I extended a palm, Toneri suddenly disappeared. With my visual jutsu, I could see traces of energy quickly moving throughout the room, and the moment it stopped, taking residence behind me, I jumped out of the way. He appeared in the spot where the energy stayed, his face resembling one of agitation.

I rested my feet on the floor, still in my stance. Sasuke, now standing and supporting himself by leaning against the wall, said to me "I hope you have a decent plan."

The earth shook violently. I needed to figure out how to get close to him and I needed to act now.

Just then, three clansmen rushed into the room, taking their place in front of me with their visual jutsu activated. Toneri scoffed at the sight of them, encouraging them to apprehend him with everything they had. They obliged, approaching him aggressively.

While they distracted Toneri, I went to Sasuke to check on his condition. Though he fought hard to recover, his face writhed in pain and he clutched his abdomen so tight that the skin on his knuckles turned white.

"I will give you some of my chakra," I said.

"Don't. I'll be alright."

After biting my lip as I deliberated, I grabbed his arm. I conjured chakra to my entire being and focused the currents into Sasuke. He did not attempt to shake me off, obediently taking what I offered. Once I finished, he narrowed his dark orbs.

"I wish you hadn't done that," he said. With some effort, he was able to stand without needing my support. He exhibited no signs of injury, though I could tell he still felt pain.

"You did not try to stop me."

"Only because I-"

The sudden act of an explosion made the estate shake violently enough create cracks in the ceiling and to throw me off balance. Sasuke reached for my hand, saving me from falling. He asked "What was that?"

Then, as if it had answered him, the indescribable noise from a propulsion gun resounded. It charged up, fired, and then another explosion set off, causing the estate to tremble again. Those weapons are quite loud, but this one sounded relatively close.

I glanced at the clansmen attacking Toneri and then back at Sasuke who was peering down at me with a knowing look. He said "Stay here. I'll stop the gun from causing further damage to your house."

My heart sank as flashes of the gun's capabilities ran through my mind. "Please. Be careful. If I am forced to look at the remains of you should that gun hit you, I will never be the same again."

"I'll be careful." He smirked, leaned down, and kissed me tenderly. "I'll be back soon."

I blinked and he was gone, leaving me with Toneri.

I turned to focus my attention on the battle between the Hyugas and Toneri only to have my heart sink in horror. A member laid dead on the floor by his feet, another laid on the floor injured, and Toneri just finished killing the other, snapping his neck effortlessly. When my ex-fiancé noticed that I was watching, he grabbed the injured member, forcing him to his knees. From his pocket, he pulled out a syringe filled with a black liquid.

Toneri gestured to the syringe. "I want you to know that what is about to happen is your fault."

"No," I screamed, rushing towards them.

Unfortunately, I was too late. Toneri stabbed the needle into the clansman's neck, injecting its murky contents into him. Seconds later, the member gasped for air as if he could not breathe. I watched in terror as his eyes bulged out of their sockets, melting into nothingness, and blood pooled from that emptiness as he keeled over, dead.

"Had you decided to marry me, this could have been prevented," said Toneri.

Unable to tear my eyes away from the sightless body, I said "You are a monster."

"Lady Hinata, you only have yourself to blame for this. All of this pain could have been easily avoided."

Toneri's hands glowed green as he gestured to the three lifeless bodies on the floor around him, causing the corpses to glow in time with his motion as he siphoned the energy from them. Their bodies slowly dissolved until there was nothing left of them.

"No, it would not have ended there. You have the world's well-being at your disposal. I am not so naïve as to believe all of your terror would cease upon a metallic band claiming your finger." I met his challenging eyes with a menacing gaze. "Even if you end me here, the world will not rest until you are dead. Your intentions have not gone unnoticed."

He scoffed. "The world's leaders cannot reach me. Earth is not my home."

I processed his words. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said: 'Earth is not my home'." He gestured towards the sky. "The moon is where I live."

It is no secret that I think Toneri is insane, but this time I let him see it as I stared at him. To this, he merely laughed. "Do not think of it as odd, Lady Hinata. The Hyuga clan once lived on the moon as well. We were once one clan – the Otsutsuki clan – until members of the main branch found a way to Earth and took residence there. So, when you think about it, you and I are distant relatives."

I shook my head. "You are lying to convince me to marry you."

"Not this time. I intended to tell you this sometime before we wed, though you never gave me a chance. Kaguya Otsutsuki had two children: Hagoromo and Hamura. Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths, ruled the earth. Have you ever wondered what became of Hamura, the brother with the Byakugan?" My expression gave me away the moment I began to believe him. "Before Hamura ruled the moon, he spent time here on earth where he met a chakraless woman with the surname of 'Hyuga.' They did not have a relationship – they simply had 'fun. But by the time Hamura left for the moon, the woman discovered that she was with child, a pupiless child."

I felt my heart stop as I put the pieces together.

"Lady Hinata, you are a direct descendant from Hamura's bloodline, which means that his charka flows through you. It gives you the power to destroy the energy vessels in one blow and immunity to the toxins it produces. You are very special, however, that is not why I want you as my wife."

"Do not claim that you want me to be your wife because you love me," I warned.

"No. I want you to be mine so that we can join our clans once more. Imagine the power our children will harness!"

The thought of that made me sick. In response, I reentered my stance. I looked beyond Toneri with my Byakugan to see the status of the energy swarming him, noticing immediately that the streams of energy running through him and up towards the moon had become thicker and plentiful. I still could not see the moon, so I still had time to stop Toneri.

With each thrust I presented to him, he brushed off as if he were swatting away a pesky fly. His hands felt warm to the touch, and when he hit me, it felt as though he set fire to my skin even though it left no mark. Despite the pain, I continued to attack him, though it did not take me long to notice my efforts were not getting me any closer to inflicting injury. With the energy pooling around him becoming thicker and the moon growing closer, I decided to approach another tactic that I felt shame for even thinking of.

I rushed towards him again, this time with less aggression. I thrust my palms at him half-heartedly, which caused Toneri to stare at me in question. He caught my wrist easily, pulling me close to his body as he peered down at me with chilling intensity. That intensity immediately dissipated, turning into confusion the moment he noticed that I was crying.

"What kind of trickery is this?" he asked, appalled.

"This is not trickery," I said, sniffling. "This is strategy."

I curled back my fingers, making sure to leave my middle and index finger erect. With as much power I could muster at this proximity, I thrust those fingers into the spot above his naval – the origin of chakra flow. By injecting my own chakra into his system, I altered his flow of chakra, causing him to lose control over it and the energy vessels. Suddenly, the heat he emitted died, allowing the cool autumn air to spill in from the open window to cool the space.

Toneri stared at me in disbelief. "You bitch."

He raised a hand to strike me, but that hand trembled violently once in the air. He looked up at his hand in horror and I backed away, unsure of what was happening. Then, he gripped his wrist, holding it in front of his body, letting out a painful scream as he did so. By this time, Sasuke had returned, taking a place beside me, and we watched Toneri lose control.

Suddenly, his body enveloped in green chakra. I shielded my eyes expecting to feel heat radiate from him, but it never did. Instead, as I looked on in terror, I realized that Toneri himself was beginning to burn alive. As he turned to ash, he released a scream so terrible that it made the hair raise on the nape of my neck. When he perished, all that remained of him was a pile of dust.

Sasuke pulled me against him as I stared at the pile in horror. "He did not deserve a death so terrible," I whispered.

"After all that he's done, I think he deserved worse. You did what you had to. He dug his own grave."

I tore my eyes away from the black ashes. "Yes. Yes, you are correct."

"You saved your family, Hinata."

"Yes, I did." Stepping away from Sasuke's hold, I peered up at him. "After all of that excitement, I have no idea what I am to do now. Once my father learns of our relationship, my title will be relinquished."

"I have an idea," he said with a smile.

Sasuke lowered down until he was on one knee.

My heart stopped. "W-What are you…?"

"Hinata." From the pocket of his pants, he produced a diamond ring, holding it out to me with earnest. "Will you marry me?"

A cough – a forced one to let me know that we had spectators – came from the doorway of the training room. Standing there were my little sister, my very unhappy father standing next to Ko who shared the same expression, all of our friends that planned this infiltration with us, Naruto, and Sakura who was covered in dirt, telling me that she helped out in our endeavors. When my eyes met hers, she smiled at me, nodding in approval. Somewhere along assisting us, she must have learned to let him go.

My eyes found Sasuke again, whose onyx orbs were staring up at me with anticipation. A happiness that I could not describe swept through me as tears ran down my cheeks. I smiled down at him and told him "Yes. Yes, I will marry you."

His lips curled into a large grin and he slipped the ring onto my finger. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he picked me up, and we kissed. Soon thereafter, a barrage of clapping ensued, and my little sister hollered out in excitement. My father and Ko were clearly not so happy with this announcement, but when I looked at Sasuke, none of that mattered. As long as I was his, and he was mine, everything felt right.

And now knowing that I would no longer need the kimono, I removed the first layer of it with Hanabi's permission, placing the glossy red silk atop of the ashes of my former fiancé – Toneri Otsutsuki…