hi! thought in italic , dialogue in " ", POV alterning and Naruto's still not mine.
Chapter 11
Hinata excused herself faking a catering emergency. She had been trapped in a conversation with the most pompous, pretentious man she had ever had the displeasure of conversing with.
The Daimo's son.
It was a one-way conversation.
He boasted about his position, his wealth. Laughed at his own jokes, was dazzled by his own brilliance.
He leered at her breasts and tried to look down her Kimono a few times.
He assured her not to worry, he'll be able to change her father's mind about his rejected proposal and she'll get to be his happy trophy wife.
Her opinion was apparently irrelevant.
Good thing her father was on her side for once.
Hinata reached the refreshments table, picked up a glass of champagne and drowned it in one gulp.
"Rough night?" Someone asked beside her.
"Unfortunately" The heiress turned around to face her interlocutor. His fiery red hair was a beacon in a sea of brown, his aquamarine eyes regarded her with curiosity as always.
"K-Kazekage-sama!" She fumbled to put the crystal flute down before facing him and bowing.
"Lady Hyuuga." Gaara inclined his head
"Forgive me, I didn't see you there" Hinata grimaced at the irony of a Hyuuga not aware of their surroundings.
"Are you hiding too?" He asked his hand behind his back.
"Yes..No…. Who are you hiding from Kazekage-sama?" She felt her cheek warming at being caught.
"Some of your clan elders are….pushy." He answered.
"That's an understatement." Hinata snorted before covering her mouth, her eyes widened at the unseemly sound she made. "I'm sorry"
Gaara's lips quirked up.
"How is the greenhouse coming along?" the heiress asked changing the subject.
"It's coming along nicely. Your contribution has been invaluable. My people owe you a great debt."
"It was nothing Kazekage-Sama."The kunoichi said smiling.
When visiting Suna right after the war to establish trade and work on the peace treaty with Shikamaru. Hinata had noticed the shortage of medicinal plants due to the harsh weather.
And so, as a gesture of good will, she offered her expertise and knowledge in the area. A greenhouse would solve a lot of their problems and provide the necessary ingredients for many cures.
Gaara had been very happy with the result especially since she strong armed his council into agreeing to provide the financial support.
In retrospect she had no business intervening in Suna affairs but she was present at the meeting and they made it so easy.
Gaara invited her to every meeting after that until the day she left.
"A thank you is still in order" The Kazekage reached for the table "How about I start by offering you a glass of champagne."
Hinata smiled accepting the glass.
Sasuke leaned against the wall.
The Hyuugas sure knew how to throw a party.
Guests were milling around enjoying themselves.
Suna nobles were admiring the flower arrangements with awe. Being from the desert left them with a sense of hunger for anything green or colorful.
Some were dancing.
Other we're making deals in the shadows. Networking was very much alive.
Sasuke wondered if his clan's parties would've been as grandiose as this one if they hadn't been eradicated.
He didn't think he would've enjoyed it if they were.
Sasuke was going to skip this one, even though Naruto said his presence was necessary to help better his reputation.
As if he cared about what other people thought of him.
But Hinata had given him his hand made invitation and looked at him with those big does eyes, her face smudged with ink, asking him to come.
He found himself agreeing before he could even think about it.
Damn. I'm getting soft. Was what he thought as he wiped the ink staining her face with his thumb.
Her blush made him feel loads better about his decision.
His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of his blond friend
"Are you enjoying yourself Teme?" Naruto asked his grin wide.
"Hn"
"You should be. This is a success. No conflict, no one's starting a war. Everyone is having fun.. Even Gaara looks like he's having a good time." The blond gesture to the direction of the redhead.
Lo and behold there stood the Kazekage talking with the Hyuuga heiress who was lavishing him with smiles.
His eyebrows twitched.
"I've never seen Gaara spend more than five minutes on a conversation." Naruto continued unaware of his friend's mountain annoyance.
"Huh. They kind of look cute together."
Sasuke felt his temper rise.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Naruto's eyebrows scrunched at his friend abrupt departure.
To start a war.
"To get a drink." Was what the Uchiha said.
Which was true it just so happens that the refreshment table was near their location.
As he passed by them, he heard Hinata giggle.
That really wasn't helping.
Sasuke picked a glass filled with liquor, and took a breath trying to calm himself.
He was probably overreacting.
Unfortunately, two Hyuugas unaware of his presence were chatting next him. It didn't take much to understand the topic of the conversation.
"Do you think he'll make an offer?"
" It's a good match. And Hiashi-sama can't dismiss it because he's not a civilian like the Daimo's son. I hope this time she doesn't ruin it."
Screw this!
He gulped his drink and made his way toward the Hyuuga heiress and the Kazekage.
Ino zeroed in on her prey.
The hunt began as she made her way towards the unsuspecting victim.
She clutched Hanabi's arm and dragged her away from the conversation without so much as an 'excuse me'
"What?!" The young heiress asked.
"How come you didn't tell me I wasn't that delusional?!" The blonde huffed.
"What are you talking about?" Hanabi's eyebrows furrowed.
"I'm talking about that!" Ino gestured to her friend and the redhead talking amicably near the refreshments table.
"Oh. Well Hinata did work with him for like three weeks" the Hyuuga shrugged.
"That little liar! She said they never spoke before!" The Yamanaka scowled at this very important piece of information that has been withheld from her.
"Can you blame her?" The brown-haired girl raised an eyebrow.
Ino crossed her arms and glanced at the couple. Hinata was giggling at something Gaara said and he looked like he was enjoying the view.
Sapphire eyes sparkled.
"Oh! They will make the most darling children!" she said clapping her hands.
"Not if Uchiha-san has anything to say about it" Hanabi grinned at the sight of the raven-haired shinobi heading their way "I bet you 100 ryo that he interrupts them."
"You're on! I know Sasuke-kun. He doesn't lose his cool." Ino answered.
"Hah! Pay up Hyuuga." The blonde said at the sight of the Uchiha walking past the couple and heading toward the drinks.
"Oh! wait he's going back." Hanabi's grin widened when he stopped behind her sister.
Hinata felt his presence looming behind her before he even spoke.
"No sabaku."
"Uchiha."
"Sasuke-san?"
He was glaring daggers at the Kazekage who kept a stoic face.
She could've sworn his Sharingan was active a few seconds ago.
Must've been a trick of the light.
"Hyuuga." Sasuke looked at her. His glare softened. "Come. We're dancing."
He placed a hand on her lower back and guided her gently away before she could even utter a word.
Hinata placed one hand in his, the other on his shoulder. His arm circled her waist with an ease of someone who's been born to do it.
As the first stroke of the violon's string, Sasuke moved with grace she didn't know he possessed outside of the battlefield.
He is sure full of surprises.
"I didn't know Sasuke-san likes to dance." the blue haired kunoichi followed his steps fluidly.
She after all has always excelled at it.
"I don't. But I heard you do." He replied puzzling her "Plus a couple of your elders looked way too happy about your interaction with the Kazekage."
"I should've known." Hinata failed to hide the flicker of anxiety in her eyes. "They're angling for an arranged marriage."
"Can they do that?" Sasuke spun her around then pulled her so close to him that she could feel his body heat.
"Can they force you to marry?" His hand tightened on her waist. As if he was afraid they'll snatch her away at any moment.
"They can try." Hinata's eyes burned with a fire of someone who wasn't going down without a fight.
They had tried before a couple times.
When she regained her title of heiress, they felt threatened by her radical ideas so they tried to find a match outside the village.
The elders thought they finally cornered her when she announced she was stepping down.
Hanabi was more of a traditionalist after all.
That was a hindsight on their part. They had no idea Hinata has been grooming her sister for the position since the beginning.
The Hyuuga clan was changing whether they liked it or not.
It appears that they still saw her as a potential threat to the house system. She had most of the branch house member's loyalty. They are still trying to ship her off.
Hinata sighed. She needed a new plan.
The Hyuuga snapped back to reality when Sasuke slightly dipped her.
They had been dancing silently for some time. Even the Uchiha looked lost in his own thoughts.
"They're wasting their time." The heiress forced a smile "It's not like Gaara-san would notice me anyway."
"It would be impossible not to notice you Hyuuga" Sasuke's stare was scorching.
Hinata's cheeks colored.
Out of all of the compliments she received tonight, this one left the most impact.
Probably because Sasuke Uchiha doesn't say anything he doesn't mean.
The kunoichi became more aware of how close they were to each other. They had been close before while training but this was different.
In their spars his hand around her waist meant she was going to be thrown down to the ground rather harshly.
Now his hand held her gently as if she was made of spun glass he was afraid to break.
It was quite jarring.
The music was winding down when she noticed the absence of chatter.
"I think you asking me to dance, might've put a kink in the elders plan." Hinata looked around them "Everyone is staring."
"Does that bother you?" Sasuke asked "Being linked to me that way even as a pretense?"
"No." she answered honestly.
Because it's you.
They stopped spinning once the melody ended.
"In that case. Thank you for the dance Lady Hyuuga."
He raised her hand and brushed his lips against her fingers, lingering for a moment. His eyes never wavering.
Sasuke bowed and walked away, leaving her heart a fluttering bird against her rib cage.
What just happened?
AN: I know another short one , I originally planed to have both the previous chapter and this one together but it was too long and I was afraid some details would be overlooked.
I did so enjoy writing this.
I hope you liked Sasuke being a teeny-tiny bit jealous.
Also, can we appreciate his compliment striking true.
I of course can not wait to hear/read your feedback.
Until next chapter
Lady Thunder Storm.