"Your mind is in the clouds, Hinata-sama."
"Forgive me," she murmured. The clock in the corner ticked but Soleil did not return to the lecture and instead poured tea into both of their cups. "It won't happen again."
Hinata's back ached as she held her back straight; the temptation of resting her back against the chair was overpowered only by Soleil's sharp look. Pretend there is a kitten right behind you, Hinata-sama, you don't want to squish it, do you? Soleil started saying that when she was three, recently presented to the world as Hiashi's heiress.
A noblewoman does not slouch.
Hinata's hands screamed at her to release the teacup when her fingers curled around the warm surface. It wasn't scalding. She would need ointment for her hands; she went overboard while training. Hopefully she wouldn't stain the lovely porcelain with blood again.
"What has you so distracted, Hinata-sama?"
Her face tingled and Hinata forced herself to not avert her gaze in shame. "It is of no importance, just… I was thinking about the Uchiha clan and Shimura-san."
"That is old news," Soleil said unimpressed. "You may need to find a new set of ears in the Grand Council if that's the type of information you're getting."
Hinata laughed. Inuzuka Hana was hardly an information broker, much less a spy for her. "It was mere gossip, I have no need for ears in the Grand Council. I was only wondering if Shimura-san is the reason the Uchiha clan is taking precautions."
Soleil hummed with interest. "What makes you think they are doing so?"
"They are setting up a subdivision of their textile industry aimed at civilian nobility," Hinata said, shaking away the sense of guilt and betrayal. It was irrational. Itachi invited her, an outsider, to the meeting with the investors along with Sasuke, so clearly it wasn't something he wished to keep under wraps. Very soon it would become public knowledge. "I think they're aiming to have a foothold in the capital and I find it rather… tragic that they have deemed necessary to have outside support. The Uchiha clan are not traitors."
"Hiashi-sama would never form an alliance with traitors," she sniffed. "I trained him better than that. Shimura-san's stance regarding the Uchiha clan is disgraceful. It was him who pushed for them to be relocated from the heart of Konoha to the Uchiha District."
"But why?" Hinata murmured. It made sense in a vague way, but not enough to warrant the extent of discrimination the Uchiha clan faced. It was only natural for them to take steps to protect themselves. "They are the only thriving founding clan of Konoha, if anything, their influence should eclipse Shimura-san's."
"He believes they are responsible for the attack of the Kyūbi and the death of the Yondaime Hokage," Soleil said simply. "The Uchiha clan suffers because he has convinced many that his conspiracy theories are true."
Something inside Hinata twisted. "Is there evidence to back up his claim?"
"Only vague connections." Hinata silently nodded, hoping for her to continue the tale. Most people scrambled to fill in the silence when she ran out of conversation and while Soleil would never scramble, perhaps she would see merit in sharing information with her. Soleil looked pensive for what seemed like an eternity and she lowered her voice and leaned towards Hinata. "The Sharingan indeed possesses the ability to control beasts like the Kyūbi, but it is a completely different matter to accuse the Uchiha clan of such treachery without further evidence."
There were so many holes in that theory Hinata couldn't help but allow her eyes to widen. The most obvious of the holes— "the Uchiha clan does not keep as tight a track of the Sharingan as we do with the Byakugan."
Soleil hummed her approval and offered her a smirk. "Now, that is classified information and I trust you to be tactful. I was starting to believe that I would die of old age before I saw any interest in politics from you."
