I'm a coward. Try as hard as she may, Hinata's actions and decisions reflect this defetest motto.
She turns the knob of her front door and steps inside, escaping the light drizzle that has just begun. Slipping off her shoes, she sighs in disappointment at her cowardice. All she had to do was continue walking, she had made it as far as the entrance to the Uchiha compound, but her father's less than pleasant words, together with the memories of the few indecent moments spent alone with Sasuke had her running home with her tail tucked between her legs. Sasuke wasn't a monster or a predator waiting to pounce on her. Nevertheless she feared him. But was it really him who she was afraid of, or her own desires?
Now Hinata was left with no choice but to procure her little sister or son's help in order to retrieve the envelope. Her sister had requested one simple favour, but that was too much for a mother with two grown children to grant.
"You're such a coward," she recites again, out in the narrow area from the foyer to the kitchen. "All you had to do was walk into the compound and ask for the stupid folder. But you couldn't bring yourself to do something as simple as that. Yet you lecture Hima about being afraid of spirits, when you're the big baby," Hinata mumbles, nearing closer to the entry of the kitchen.
One bare foot crosses the threshold, and she freezes immediately. Her hunched posture straightens in an instant, "Sasuke."
Standing next to the kitchen sink with a glass of water in one hand, Sasuke appears amused by Hinata's negative self-talk.
Hinata continues staring, frazzled by his unexpected and uninvited presence. She hadn't noticed Naruto's or the kids' sandals at the door; how else would he have entered? She glances down at his feet and notices that they are as bare as hers.
"The front door was locked, so I slipped through the back." He answers her unvoiced question and takes a sip of water, his gaze still wandering in her direction. "I wasn't home anyways," Sasuke continues.
"Excuse me?" Hinata responds dumbly, unable to follow.
"I was here waiting on you." Sasuke places the glass on the counter. "So, there was no need for you to seek me out."
Embarrassed, but regaining her bearings, she nods her head and takes two steps into the kitchen. She should do a little damage control, but what could she really say? She tries anyway, "I'm sorry you had to hear that. And for the inconvenience."
The amusement on his face washes off as soon as her apology begins. He points his index finger toward the dining table where two envelopes of the same size rest next to each other.
Several feet of tiled flooring separate the kitchen island and the sink countertop; enough room for two adults to stand without touching. Yet, Hinata maneuvers past Sasuke with the skittishness of a mouse terrified at being caught by the house cat. When she is directly beside him, she fights the urge to scamper to the dining area. Instead, she focuses on her destination and the knowledge that retrieving the envelope would bring this awkward meeting to an end.
From the yellow hue to its rumpled edges, Hinata immediately recognizes the envelope to the left as the one Hanabi handed her. The envelope to the right is of the same size, but white in colour, with Konoha's coat of arms printed on the left side, officiating it as a government document.
Hinata traces her fingers over the unfamiliar envelope. "Is this one yours?"
"Open it." Sasuke picks up a mandarin from the fruit bowl on the kitchen island. The chair scrapes against the flooring as Sasuke sits at the opposite end of the table, granting him a vantage point that allows direct observance of Hinata's actions.
Hinata doesn't sit at the table, still on edge by Sasuke's presence.
Licking the tip of her finger, a nasty habit she picked up from one of her aunts, Hinata leafs through the documents – one by one, fingers fumbling from being watched.
"Why do you have these?" Her anxiety amplifies, this time for a different reason.
Memories of their conversation from last night come to mind.
"Hmm, are you trying to become an accountant?"
"What? No."
"Well, why are you walking around with a stash of financial documents?"
Fingers laced with the ripe scent of citrus, Sasuke pushes the yellow envelope towards her.
The leaflet of papers from the tattered, yellow envelope is unofficial – not printed, just handwritten tax entries. Page by page, organized by year, dates back to the period before the war. She compares the handwritten documents to the official, both compiled in descending order of year.
"This must be a mistake," Hinata utters in disbelief as she continues reviewing the materials before her.
From the period before the war to the second year of her marriage, the official reported clan revenue numbers are an exact match to what was documented in the ledger pages that Hanabi stole from Hiroomi's bedroom.
After her second anniversary, Naruto and Hiashi came to an official agreement to abolish the distinction between main and branch members. Thereby placing the branch and main family on equal footing.
Activating the cursed seal was now punishable by death, and future generations were spared from ever being branded.
The branch family was also once taxed differently than the main; members of the main family were only taxed by the government. However, the branch family not only had to pay the government, but also the clan itself. This decree dated back generations before Hiashi, and was justified as a sort of severance for the protection that the main family offered – when the general belief was that the main was and would always be superior in intellect and strength. Neji's genius and physical aptitude illuminated the egregiousness of this way of thinking. Prescribed social standing did not determine one's gifts or lack thereof. It was simply a way to keep the branch family financially repressed and indebted to the main.
Once this distinction was officially removed, the income taxes reported by the clan should have decreased to almost half of what it was in years prior. And officially it did decrease, based on the information Sasuke collected in the white envelope, but the documents from Hiroomi's bedroom told a different story – the clan's revenue had actually increased.
"This is not possible. How could it have increased?" The revelation of the story the pages told erased the fear Hinata held moments ago due to Sasuke's presence. The fear she held now was real, almost tangible in nature. "Why would it increase?" she mused aloud.
"Fewer deaths. Children become shinobi and shinobi pay taxes," Sasuke offers, slipping a segment of the small mandarin in between his teeth.
He was right, the clan had increased in size, especially the branch family – as they finally felt safe to bring children into this world.
"There has to be an explanation for this," Hinata reasons.
Eyes pleading to Sasuke, she requests, "Please give me some time, and I'll find out. Hanabi coul-"
"It's a clear-cut example of tax evasion," Sasuke cuts her off. "The evidence is right there. This is corruption on a massive scale-"
"My family would never betray Naruto or the village," Hinata interrupts him immediately. "My father was just as adamant on abolishing the branch family travesty."
"Then Naruto will begin the investigation and come to the same conclusion." Sasuke rises from the table. Extending his hand, he waits for her to return the documents.
"Please don't tell Naruto."
Sasuke's gaze hardens and Hinata feels guilty for wanting to hide this information from her husband and Hokage. But it was just until she found out the truth. She did not want to burden Naruto with this information. She was a Hyuga and his wife, this would be a scandal if the council were to find out.
She clears her throat as she explains, "Of course, I will tell him, just please give me some time to understand my father and sister's side."
Hinata knew her sister inside and out, she was insolent and hard-headed but under that tough shell was a kind woman, one who loved all members of her clan equally. Hanabi would never stand for injustice. And her father invoked the change, so why would he do this behind Naruto's back? None of it made sense.
Hinata was certain that her family was in the dark about these alleged misgivings, she just had to find a way to prove it.
"Figure it out with Naruto." Sasuke forcibly pries the documents away from her hold. Where was the light-hearted man she spoke with on the river-side? The one who offered her comfort when her own husband and family didn't. Was there a reason why he came to her first before going to Naruto?
Without hesitation, she places her palm above his. The physical contact stills his movement, and she ignores the faint tingling sensation that travels up her forearm.
"Please, Sasuke. Put yourself in my shoes for a second. Wouldn't you want to prove your family's innocence?" Hinata's words are earnest. It was low of her to play on his sentimentality and loss, but she felt cornered and desperate.
"If they are as innocent as you proclaim, they can prove it themselves," his voice is still stern, but he doesn't retract his hand – Hinata holds hope that this means she still has a chance to convince him.
"The evidence is damning. But isn't it a bit too damning? If my family were stealing, why keep all the evidence? Why have it neatly compiled?"
Sasuke shrugs his shoulders, "They were sloppy, overconfident that no one would catch them. Happens all the time."
Hinata shakes her head, "Hanabi retrieved this from Hiroomi's room. She is with my father every step of the way, if he were involved, she would know. She wouldn't offer me any evidence. My sister knows I would never keep this from Naruto."
"Yet here you are, begging me to do just that."
Hinata shakes her head back and forth, "No it's not the same. I am just asking you for time."
Eyebrows scrunched, Sasuke breathes out a sigh and moves his palm from Hinata's. She takes this as a sign that she was unable to convince him. She is ready to go on her knees to beg.
"If it's a set-up, how does it benefit Hiroomi to go against the clan head?" Sasuke surprises her by returning to his seat.
Hinata feels the weight of the world slightly lifted off her chest. She resists the urge to embrace Sasuke for allowing her the liberty to seek the truth.
"He was thoroughly against Naruto and Father's decision. He proclaimed that this revolution would be the downfall of the Hyuga. That the loss of his nephew and his injuries during the war dulled his sense of responsibility to the clan." Hinata begins, while Sasuke listens attentively to the history of the altercation with the Hyuga elder and her immediate family.
Hope this wasn't too confusing. In summary, the Hyuga are failing to pay the tax man properly. Any ideas where the next chapter is headed?