Author's Note:

I hope you liked this chapter! Sorry for the delay in updating. I ended up editing this chapter a lot because I was worried about it getting too long. I kept removing and adding to it, but I like how it ended up looking, so it's worth it.

Anyway, enjoy! Don't forget to REVIEW! It really motivates me and lets me know how I'm doing.

Thank you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

PART ONE

Chapter Seven: Debts Owed

Hinata really didn't want to go home. She still didn't know what her father had been so upset with her about after defending the Uchiha. Since then she had been purposefully avoiding him by taking missions or staying out of the mansion as much as possible by training for hours on end, then only returning to sleep or shower.

Hyuuga Hiashi was a bright man, and nothing got by him. Which was likely why there was a note waiting for her on her bed.

My Daughter,

See me as soon as you arrive home, we have much that we must still discuss. If I do not see you by dinner, I will send Ko to find you.

Hiashi.

Hinata was tempted to rip the note up and pretend she never saw it. She was certain that her father had not actually set the note on her bed. The last time she remembered him having been in her room was when her mother was still alive and the two of them would come together to put her to bed.

No, Hiashi definitely had not entered her room. Most likely it had been a servant who had brought the note up to her room and set it squarely on her stark white bed so that she would see it even if she came in through the window.

For some reason, that made her a little sad.

Hinata pushed the feeling down. It was not of consequence. There was plenty she needed to get done, and this was simply a waste of her time.

Hinata took her time before going to see her father. She needed to change and shower. She knew if she didn't she wouldn't hear the end of it from the elders. Every move she made was watched by her family, from sun up to sun down. Everything was observed. Everything was critiqued. Her worth was constantly being evaluated so they could determine what they would do with her.

Since the elders decided that Hinata would not be the clan head, Hianta has felt a weight linger on her shoulders that pressed down on her whenever she was around them. Even though she no longer had the responsibility of heir, they still watched her every move, just waiting for her to mess up.

Her most recent faux paux came in the form of one Uchiha Sasuke. Hinata had gone against her clan's wishes and assisted in saving Sasuke from execution. In reality, the trial had been less than two weeks ago, but it felt as if months had already passed by. She'd been too busy with her new induction as an ANBU and avoiding a majority of the people in her life, she hadn't actually been punished yet for ignoring her clan's position in regards to Sasuke.

Nimble fingers quickly braided her hair so that it came down to rest on her chest. Neji would not have approved of wearing her hair in such a way, but it was getting so long and difficult to manage, that after washing it, braiding her inky dark hair was the only way to contain it. She honestly preferred keeping it in a loose pony tail, like how Neji and a majority of her clan kept it, but lately it just didn't feel the same.

Keeping her hair out of her way kept her focused.

Hinata jostled her bangs do they could air dry, and gave herself one last look in the mirror. She had hoped to find some sort of resolve there, knowing that this meeting with her father was likely in regards to the Uchiha incident and how she had been avoiding her punishment. Hinata found no added courage from looking herself in the eye, it just reminded her how much of an outsider she was in her own clan.

No matter how hard she tried or how much she loved them, she would never be accepted by them. That was too hard for her to accept.

Finding her father didn't usually prove to be a difficult task. Despite their home being rather large, he typically remained in only a handful of rooms for more than five minutes. Asking branch members usually gave her the answers she needed, they always knew anything and everything that was going on in the house. But today she just couldn't find him.

He wasn't in his study, he wasn't in the dining room, he wasn't in his room, he wasn't in the council chambers, and every branch member she ran into simply shrugged when she asked for his location.

Hiashi had been the one looking for her, and now she was stuck searching for him. The switch did not escape Hinata's notice. Hiashi had most likely done this on purpose to show her how frustrating it could be to search for someone.

Hinata sighed, half tempted to activate her Byakugan and just end the search.

"He's in the dojo."

Hinata flinched ever so slightly at her sister's harsh tone. Hiashi wasn't the only Hyuuga she had been avoiding lately.

Hanabi came up the hallway to stand behind Hinata, but so that she was still staring straight ahead at her path. "Where have you been, sister? I rarely see you at home, let alone in the village. What has gotten into you?"

Hinata forced a smile even though she knew that Hanabi could not see her face. "I've been busy on missions and with training, little sister. I'm sorry, I haven't been as present these past couple days as I could have been."

Hanabi snorted.

"You haven't been around since Neji died. If you're going to make excuses, at least be honest." Hanabi snapped, instantly regretting it from the way Hinata's shoulders tensed.

"I've had a lot going on Hanabi." Hinata sniffed, pushing aside her emotions for the moment to reason with her sister. "I have recently been promoted, and getting things going has been pretty in depth."

Hanabi shook her head, not believing what Hinata was saying, but recognizing that she wasn't going to get anything else out of her. "Fine. Father is waiting for you in the dojo. We just finished up training." Hanabi hesitated for a moment, not wanting to leave her just yet. "I miss him too, you know."

When Hinata didn't respond, Hanabi sighed.

"You're my sister and I'm here for you, but I can't be here for you if you won't let me." Hanabi gently set a hand on Hinata's shoulder, not wanting to startle her. "Let me help you."

Hinata turned a beaming smile to Hanabi. "Thank you, but I'm fine."

Hinata felt more than saw Hanabi's will deflate. She felt bad for being the cause, but she didn't want to deal with this right now, or possibly ever. The guilt she felt about Neji was far too great to share with her little sister.

Frustrated, Hanabi walked away without another word.

"Father? You asked for me?" Hinata knelt on the wooden floor just outside the dojo's sliding door. Hands balled into fists and pressing on her knees, Hinata hoped that her father wouldn't answer so she could go back to her room and sleep.

"Come in, Hinata." Hiashi called from inside to dojo.

Grimacing, Hianta stood and slid the door open. She entered with a short bow. "What is it, Father?" She wanted to get straight to the point so she didn't have to waste time worrying about what this was about.

"Ah," Hiashi waved his arm, gesturing for Hinata to join him inside the dojo. "Please sit, Hinata."

Hinata glanced around the room, noting that nobody else was present. If she was about to be disciplined elders would be present as well, so that wasn't the reason for her being here. Hinata scrunched her face slightly in confusion. She wasn't sure why else her father would be asking for her presence besides addressing her previous indiscretion.

Gathering herself to sit in front of her father, Hinata waited.

"Hinata, I asked you here, because the elders are pressuring me to make a choice for you that I do not feel comfortable making." Hiashi paused. Hinata could tell that he was thinking deeply about whatever he wanted to speak with her about. This unsettled her. Hyuuga Hiashi was a man who was always certain of everything he did. Anything that made him uncertain was definitely something to be worried about.

"Since you have refused to fight Hanabi again for the title of heiress, you will not be the clan head. This means that you have two options before you." Hiashi hesitated, causing Hinata to glance up at him. Meeting his eyes had been difficult as a child, but now, it was as easy as breathing. She no longer feared her father the way she had when she was a child.

"My daughter, you must marry or be sealed by you next birthday."

Hinata felt all the air leave her lungs.

"I have done what I can for you these past couple months as you have grieved your cousin Neji, but I cannot hold them back any longer. You saving the Uchiha has forced my hand." Hiashi's voice shook, Hinata wasn't sure if it was sadness or rage. She had no idea her father felt this deeply about protecting her. She had never…

"Father…"

Hiashi held up a hand, silencing Hinata so he could continue.

"I cannot chose this for you, you must decide." Hiashi stared into Hinata's eyes, conveying the importance of her decision. Knowing full well that the caged bird seal, when placed on an adult had the potential to kill them, and with her heart having been weakened in the Chunin exams.

It would be unlikely that she would survive.

That was a large part of why she was so hesitant to place a variation of the seal onto Uchiha Sasuke. The potential for death far outweighed the chance to live. With Sasuke, apparently, Tsunade had felt comfortable with that gamble. Or maybe she had felt confident in that particular variation of the seal. It hardly mattered now though.

Her choices were to marry or die.

Hinata felt pin pricks on her eyes.

"The elders are already preparing a list of possible suitors, within and outside the village. It will be provided to you by next week."

"Thank you, Father." Hinata rushed the words as she stood to leave. She needed to leave this dojo. She needed to get to her room. She needed to go cry, so she could accept her fate and move forward.

"Hinata," Hiashi halted her as she was passing through the dojo's door. "I want you to marry well and be happy. I did not want things to turn out this way for you."

Hinata nodded, knowing this wasn't her father's fault, but her own.

Sleep did not come to Hinata that night.

When the sun came up in the morning, she was still awake. She knew that the maids would be in her room within an hour to clean. It would be in her best interest if she wasn't there when they came in. Everyone in the Hyuuga clan would already know of the choice she would have to make, and she did not want to see their pitying glances or hear their barely hidden whispers.

If they didn't know, they would soon. The stains on her white pillow sheets from her tears would at least tip them off that something was amiss. Or maybe it wouldn't. She slept fitfully most nights anyway, so they probably think nothing of it.

Pity was the worst.

It meant people felt bad for you, but not enough to actually do anything to help you. Hinata couldn't stand it. There was a difference between pity and empathy or sympathy. Pity was too often related to gossip. In her experience, most people just wanted to witness things and say that they felt bad, but not actually do anything about it.

That was a big part of why she loved Naruto.

Why she had loved Naruto.

Hinata glanced around her room and made sure that the room was at least somewhat organized. She didn't like to leave a great deal of work for the maids. They were good about letting her handle a majority of her own cleaning, but some things she just didn't have the time to complete lately. It wasn't ideal, but the room wasn't horrible. Just not how she preferred it.

Gathering her things, and making sure to grab Sasuke's promised salve, Hinata headed down to the kitchen to make herself a quick breakfast. If she had had the time, she would have made herself some cinnamon rolls, but she didn't. So she'd settle for eggs and veggies mixed with rice.

Hinata made her food and ate quickly. The entire time, she made sure not to make a mess. The cooks let her make her own food because she was good about not making extra work for them when she did. If she wanted to keep living her life that way, then she needed to make sure she didn't make any kind of mess.

Gathering her dishes to be cleaned, Hinata realized that the Uchiha didn't have any food at home. She hesitated for a moment, but gave in to the urge to make food for him.

She'd make food for Kiba or Shino if she was going to see them right now. Making food for him seemed fitting. It was only polite. Plus, it helped eased her guilt just a little bit.

Hinata moved quickly and hoped that Sasuke liked vegetables.

Watching the sun as it reached higher into the sky, Hinata headed towards the Uchiha district. She wanted to get this over with as quickly and efficiently as possible. The sooner she could leave, the sooner she could get on with her training.

Hinata knocked curtly on Sasuke's front door.

When she had been here yesterday, she hadn't really had the time to take stock of the place. It certainly was large. Sakura had really gone overboard. She had good intentions, and wanted to help Sasuke. It definitely looked like Sakura had never entered the Uchiha district when it as thriving, or she would not have made the house look like this.

Sakura had had good intentions, but the bigger issue was that it was a giant home for a single man. A man who was alone and very much lonely. This would only emphasize the absence that he had in his life.

Hinata waited and knocked again. She was certain that she had told the Uchiha that she would stop by his house early in the morning. Perhaps he had forgotten already.

Not wanting to derail her day any more than she already had, Hinata set the salve down on the Uchiha's front porch. She'd keep the food that she had made for him, there was no telling how long it would take him to figure out that he had something waiting at his front door, and letting the food go to waste was pointless.

Hinata nodded her head while crouching down. This was for the best, she didn't actually want to see the Uchiha. She did need to look at his seals, but she could come back again later for that.

"What are you doing?"

Hinata resisted the urge to jump out of her skin.

Slowly she stood with the salve back in hand. "I brought the salve that you asked for." Hinata looked up into Sasuke's face. He looked tired, but not as bad as he had when she was sealing him. His eyes had darkness under his eyes, but they didn't look sunken in anymore and no longer were bloodshot, which was a marginal improvement.

It was odd to see him in such a mundane way. She had obviously woken him, he was still rubbing sleep from his face.

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, noticing the Hyuuga taking a long look at him.

"Is that it?"

His clothes also appeared to fit him better. Hinata doubted that he had already gained back weight. Sakura must have gotten him clothes as well.

"I brought you some food too, as a thank you." Hinata shrugged, not feeling as confident now that she was here giving him food. It felt too much like confessing when she didn't have those types of feelings for him.

He was attractive, that was obvious, she had never been one of his fangirls though. Naruto had always been the light that guided her. Maybe it was more blinding than she admitted, because she remembered finding Sasuke quite the opposite of attractive when she was younger.

"A thank you for what?" Sasuke snorted.

"Oh, um, for saving me back then." Hinata nodded, holding the bento box out to him.

"Hn." Sasuke looked at it speculatively, as if investigating it for poison.

Shrugging, Sasuke took it out of her grasp and turned away, heading back into his house. "If you wanted to thank me, you could have gotten me my sword back. This'll have to do for now."

A smile crept onto Hianta's lips. She hadn't expected that kind of reaction, but it was a welcome surprise. If he was already back to having an attitude about his situation, then he was well enough to get back to training.

The smile faltered when she noticed the large Uchiha fan emblazoned on the back of his shirt. Sakura had not gathered new clothes for him. No one would make the fan, and Sakura, although wonderful at healing, was terrible at sewing. No. Sasuke was wearing clothes from his clansmen from before they were murdered.

That…was rather morbid. Hinata wasn't sure how to feel about it, and decided not to judge. She'd learned in the past couple months that grief made people do strange things. She couldn't imagine losing her whole family. Sasuke's oddness made a lot more sense the more she learned about him.

Quietly following the Uchiha into his home, salve in hand, Hinata noticed more this time around than she had when she first entered. It was apparent that Sakura had taken the Hyuuga as an example for how the head of a clan should life. It was like a scaled down version of her home. Sasuke would likely make it his own in time.

Hinata followed Sasuke into the kitchen. She hadn't had a chance to see it the other day. It was nice and open, with white cupboards and stainless fixtures. Sakura had done a wonderful job here, but it did not seem like Sasuke at all. The only thing that seemed to remotely suit the Uchiha was the dark flooring that was throughout the home.

Suddenly, Sasuke stopped at the counter and turned around.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke sneered. Confused as to why the Hyuuga was following him. He hadn't asked her into his home, and she didn't seem to be like his teammates and think that they were friends.

Hinata raised an eyebrow at the Uchiha and raised the hand she was holding the salve in. "What I'm here for." When that didn't seem to register in the Uchiha's mind, Hinata clarified. "To give you the salve and check your seals."

Sasuke glared. "If you think you're putting that on me—"

"Oh no!" Hinata said alarmed. Setting the salve down on the counter she continued, "I only need to use my Byakugan to look at your seals. I should see them regularly as well, to check for infection, but Tsunade didn't sound concerned about that at all."

Sasuke got out some chopsticks and began eating the bento Hinata had given him. "Well get on with it then."

Somewhat irritated by that comment, Hinata focused her chakra and activated her bloodline limit. Sasuke's opinions or feelings he had toward her didn't matter. She just needed to do her job and repay the debt she owed him.

Sasuke watched as the Hyuuga closed her lavender eyes and activate her bloodline limit. He remembered thinking that the Hyuugas' eyes were disturbing as a child, but hers somehow seemed comforting in spite of the bulging veins around them. Squinting at her he decided it was the color. The stark white of the majority of the Hyuugas was what was off putting about their eyes. Her slight discoloration made her seem kinder.

"Have you been trying to activate your bloodline?"

Sasuke scoffed at Hinata, but didn't answer. He couldn't trust her and didn't know what kind of trouble he would be in for trying to activate his eyes. After hours of sitting alone he tried to activate his eyes, hoping that something would come of it.

Sasuke's non-answer was apparently enough.

"Don't do that," Hinata shook her head, stepping closer to the Uchiha. "You'll only hurt your eyes by doing that." Hianta reached out to touch Sasuke's face, causing him to flinch away.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke alarmed, swatted at Hinata's hand.

"I need to unblock the chakra around your eyes, or it will cause a build-up, which will cause an uncomfortable pressure behind your eyes—if it hasn't already." Hinata deadpanned.

Sasuke didn't remember her looking so serious the last time she had done this, but he hadn't really seen her then either. He also didn't remember her being so small, but that made sense, considering he had been able to hold her over his head when Naruto had come at him. At the time, it just hadn't been something he was paying attention to. Now, it just made her hard to take seriously. How on earth was this woman a shinobi?

Humming, Hinata gently touched his face, her cool chakra mixing with his own.

"That should take care of it and prevent any possible pain." Hinata nodded to herself, satisfied with her work.

It felt like she had dispersed whatever buildup of chakra had formed from his attempts to activate his eyes. There was still a slight pressure, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it was before.

Sasuke watched, bewildered as the woman moved comfortably around him and in his home. She wasn't afraid of him and didn't appear to be infatuated with him either, which was appealing. Perhaps the Hyuuga woman wasn't as weak as she gave the impression of being.

"This salve is the same as the one I gave you before, you can use it to help with the irritation that the seals are causing still." Hinata murmured, patting her hands on her legs and wiping them.

Sasuke looked at her for a moment, trying to decide what he wanted to do. His choices were to either sit around while ANBU watched him, or try to get Hinata to help him. He wasn't sure what he could use to motivate her. He had thought that using Naruto would help, but watching her now, he wasn't so sure.

"What are you going to do now?" Sasuke asked, noticing that Hinata was getting ready to leave.

This seemed to surprise Hinata, because she immediately stopped what she was doing and looked at Sasuke as if he had grown a second head. "I'm going to go train for a while." Hinata studied Sasuke for a moment, trying to figure out what his motives were. "Why do you as, Uchiha-san?"

"What are you going to practice?" Sasuke asked, ignoring Hinata's question.

Hinata quirked an eyebrow at Sasuke. "I was planning to work on my taijutsu, and possibly so elemental based jutsus." Hinata stared at Sasuke for a moment, noting that he looked somewhat uncomfortable. "Why do you ask?"

Sasuke's face pinched. He didn't want to be bored and sitting around thinking about his dead family or about how he had no freedom, despite no longer being in a cell. If he sat in this house much longer, he'd probably burn the whole thing down for the hell of it. It was just a fancy new cage that was made by his former teammates, it held no meaning for him.

The other problem was that he wasn't sure how to even ask something like this. He hadn't had a whole lot of pleasant interactions with people his age while under Orochimaru. It had actually been a lot of just fighting people until they died, or outright murdering people. That didn't help develop social skills. Before that he had been on Team 7, and that obviously didn't do much to develop his social skills, considering who his comrades were.

Hinata, noticing Sasuke's inner turmoil decided to take a shot in the dark.

"You're allowed to train, Uchiha-san. In fact, I'd encourage you to do so. You need to become more familiar with your new limitations so that you don't hurt yourself or others." Hinata smiled gently, trying to encourage Sasuke.

"I was under the impression that I wasn't allowed to." Sasuke muttered.

"Oh, if that's what you're worried about, there's no need to be. You have enough room to set up your own training grounds outside, if you'd like." Hinata noticed that this didn't seem to appease Sasuke. "You probably have a dojo in the house as well, if you are literally confined to the house. At least, if Sakura really did base it off my house, then there should be…"

Hinata trailed off. Uncertain of how to help the last Uchiha. He seemed bored and extremely lonely, but she didn't feel like she knew him well enough to know how to help.

"We can spar if you'd like. I'm sure the ANBU would be comfortable with allowing that much."

"I wouldn't be so sure, they won't even let me go get food." Sasuke scoffed, glancing at the bento box of food Hinata had brought him which was already empty.

Hinata, slightly taken aback, realized that that was in fact a problem presented by Sasuke's house arrest. Kakashi probably assumed that Sakura or Naruto would help, but the two are so busy that it must have slipped through the cracks. She'd have to tell the next shift of ANBU to bring food to stock Sasuke's house. Kakashi could set something up later so that it wasn't a problem in the future, but having the ANBU take care of it now was an easy fix.

"I'll make sure you have food to make dinner, Uchiha-san. Anything else?"

Sasuke hesitated for a moment. "You know, I never did have the chance to test myself against a Hyuuga. I think now would be a good chance. Plus," Sasuke moved closer to Hinata, upper lip curling, "Now that you're ANBU you could use some practice with an actual challenge."

Hinata let a smile and scoff slip out at that.

"Don't underestimate me just because you were able to grab me during battle while I was wounded." Hinata sized Sasuke up. "I don't think you realize how much of a handicap you have right now. You can't use a majority of your arsenal."

Sasuke smirked. "That'll still be enough for me to beat you, Hyuuga. Call it payback for helping seal me." The smile didn't stretch to his eyes.

Hinata bulked at that, but let it pass. Sasuke was allowed to be bitter about it.

"Fine. Let's go."

Hyuuga Hiashi had not slept well after giving his daughter the ultimatum of marriage or the caged bird seal. It didn't sit well with him. The options weren't ideal for his daughter either, he knew that, but he'd been forced into a corner. Still, Hiashi would do what he could for his daughter, and he would ensure that she would have the best future possible. Which was why he had stayed up all night writing letters to be sent out by noon.

At this point, it was up in the air about what would happen. The elders weren't pushing as hard as he was for her to marry someone. They certainly were fine with Hinata simply being sealed. That made since to them, especially since Hinata had decided to join the ANBU, and hadn't even asked permission first.

The elders had originally had the goal of marrying her off by the time she was 25 years-old, but they didn't really care what happened to Hinata. Her timeline for marriage changed anyway when Uchiha Sasuke came back to their village and was allowed to live.

Being head of a clan was difficult. Being head of the Hyuuga was impossible.

In his youth, he had made many mistakes, especially around the death of his wife. When her health started to fail her and it was uncertain the child she was pregnant with would survive, he had made many mistakes.

Creating a contract with the Uchiha to marry off his first born was one of them.

At the time, he had believed that his second child would be a male, and befriending the Uchiha in a time of uncertainty had seemed like the right choice. He had been wrong, but that didn't matter, he had already agreed to marry Hinata off to the heir of the Uchiha clan. If he could go back and change it, he would. If he could remove the document from existence, he would. Unfortunately, the Uchiha had insisted on making three separate copies of the document.

One for the Uchiha, for their archives, which was most likely gone.

One for the Hyuuga, which Hiashi had hidden in his study after the fall of the Uchiha.

And one for the village, to keep record of the dealings between different clans. Which was the main reason why he was pushing for Hinata to marry outside of the village. The records would not be checked in the leaf village if she married someone from another village. It only mattered in whatever village the man was from, not the woman. Nobody would check to see that Hinata was betrothed to the Uchiha if she married someone from another hidden village.

Hiashi loved his daughters. He wasn't always the best at showing it, but he did. It was his job to protect them, and recently, he had been failing at that more and more.

Hiashi finished writing the last letter for the kages outside his village. He would hear from them who could possibly marry Hinata, and be worthy of her too. He would do what he could for his daughter.

At the very least, he would make sure that she was married to someone else before the Uchiha figured out he already had a wife.

Author's Note:

Don't forget to REVIEW!