Chapter 24

The Hokage

Hinata's eyes opened slowly. Her room was silent. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, and tucked a few strands of purple hair back behind her ear.

She thought today would feel different. All her preparations were going to be tested, along with everything she stood for. She was of half a mind to go back to bed.

But Hinata wasn't one to oversleep, and she was determined not to run from her problems anymore. She stood up, approaching her room's only window, and opened it, feeling warm morning air upon her cheeks.

What a fine day for a duel.

O-O-O

Her plans for the day went awry from the start; but not, necessarily, for the worse. A summons arrived from the Hokage's office. Like any loyal ninja, that was not something Hinata could ignore.

The Hokage tower looked different when standing directly outside its doors. Hinata craned her neck. The broad red building was taller than it appeared from afar. She'd never been here until now. There was just no reason for her to be called to the building that served as Konoha's heart. Very few shinobi visited it regularly, and fewer still could say they visited regularly enough to be immune to the pressure you felt standing outside its doors. With a deep breath, Hinata walked inside.

"Name?" asked a Chuunin working the front desk.

"Hinata Hyuuga. I've been called here for an appointment."

"With who?"

"The Hokage."

The Chuunin lifted his head. The nondescript man looked at her closely, checked something on his desk, then said, "Top floor."

The stairs creaked on her way up. This irritated the Hyuuga portion of Hinata's brain, until she realized there was a reason for it. It's harder for even the sneakiest assassin to climb a creaky set of steps than a quiet one.

It was a reminder of just where she was walking, and an excuse for the pressure to seep back in.

When Hinata arrived at the waiting room for the Hokage's office, two ANBU members in their animal-themed masks assessed her. One opened the door; the other waved her through it. Hinata stepped inside, the door shutting behind her.

And then, it was peaceful.

The whole Hokage Tower had an oppressive feeling. It was heavily restricted, and entering without a very good reason would be the last mistake you ever made. Those working inside wanted you to know this, so that you wouldn't even entertain any stupid ideas. Yet ironically, that carefully cultivated atmosphere disappeared now that Hinata reached the building's innermost part.

The room's only window was open, allowing in a breeze that made the curtains flutter. Minato was reading some kind of paperwork behind his desk. He put a stamp on the front page, added it to a growing pile, and looked up at Hinata with a smile.

"Sit," he said.

There was a chair facing him. When Hinata sat upon it, she felt eyes on her back. Portraits of the three past Hokage's lay on the walls, their eyes boring into her.

"Hokage-sama," Hinata said, showing her respects with a bow.

"You can sit comfortably, Hinata," Minato said. "We'll be family soon, after all. Right?"
He gave an exaggerated wink.

Hinata's heart hammered. He knew she was ending the engagement. Was he angry? Disappointed? It had taken all Hinata's courage to defy her father, but the Hokage was a different matter. You did not disobey him. No matter how kind he might be, you did not rise to the top of a hidden village's hierarchy by being soft.

Hinata took a deep breath. She was getting ahead of herself. He'd said nothing yet, and his mood was obviously playful. Minato had given her no reason to fear him, so she should at least hear him out before getting lost in groundless fears.

"I was surprised to receive your summons today," Hinata admitted. "I thought you would be too busy, considering recent events."

Minato smiled wryly, but it didn't reach his eyes. It was only the fact that his irritation clearly wasn't aimed at her that kept Hinata calm. The man was livid

"Suna hasn't made any further moves," he said. "They crushed three towns in one day, and since then, nothing. It's more like they disappeared off the face of the earth than a simple retreat. I've deployed the forces that I can. If they return, we'll be prepared. But until then I'm not particularly busy. I thought we could have a chat."

He said it in a friendly way, but Hinata couldn't help flinching slightly.

"About what, Hokage-sama?"

"You choose."

When Hinata stopped, stunned, he laughed.

"I've got something to ask you, but it can wait. I see that you have something you're dying to get out. So let's hear it."

"Why did you arrange a marriage between me and Naruto?" Hinata blurted.

She almost yelled it. She didn't mean to, it had just been weighing on her for so long that it sort of burst out all at once. Hinata felt a blush spread.

"I mean, if you're willing to say, that is," she said. "It's just that Naruto didn't know, and I asked your wife, but she said she chose not to know, so…"

"You couldn't figure it out?" Minato supplied.

"That's right," Hinata said quietly.

"There are a couple of reasons. One is that Naruto is my son. He lives his dream life. I don't think he would change anything about the day-to-day of it even if Kami itself gave him a choice. There will come a time, though, when being the Hokage's son will become a burden. He needs to learn how politics work."

Hinata tried to picture Naruto sitting in on a council meeting, smiling and nodding while elders nagged him about changes to the traditional way of doing things. She couldn't picture it any more than she could picture Kushina in that setting. Yet for some reason, when she tried, she saw an image of Naruto sitting where Minato was now, smiling at her. And somehow that fit.

"You want him to be a Hokage," Hinata said.

"I think he could be," Minato said. "He has some of the most important qualities. But he lacks a lot of the others. This job is defined by hard choices. Sometimes, they have no good answer. But you still have to make them. If Naruto is ever going to follow in my footsteps, he has to learn to do things he doesn't want to."

"So I was supposed to be a bad choice?" Hinata asked.

Her tone bordered on insubordination, but the idea hurt. Thankfully, Minato shook his head.

"Naruto is the last person who would agree to an arranged marriage," Minato said. "He's explained his thoughts on the topic, I'm sure. No matter who it was in your shoes, he would've rebelled against it. All the extra time he's chosen to spend with you… I didn't see that coming. But I can't say I'm upset."

Hinata's heart fluttered at the idea that she was special. It wasn't one she was used to. Yet just as fast, a worrying thought popped into her head.

"If this was a test to show he could be a Hokage, does ending the marriage mean he failed?" she asked. Her choice to stand up for herself crushing Naruto's future prospects would leave a bitter taste on the day, no matter how the duel turned out.

"Technically, he's not ending it," Minato said. "You chose to. So I'd say he can get a pass."

"My father only agreed to my wishes if I can win my sparring match today."

"The one with Neji, right?"

Hinata jumped. She'd known that he was aware of her choice, but he even knew about the duel? Was there anything he didn't know?

"If you lose, I'll cancel it myself," Minato said. "It would only be respecting your wishes." He smirked. "I assume that doesn't make you any less motivated to win today, does it?"

"No, Hokage-sama." Hinata had already decided that she was fighting for more than herself.

"Good," Minato said. "I'd love to do more, but unfortunately, the Hokage is surprisingly limited when it comes to interfering with clan matters. Konoha was originally founded as a coalition of different families, and its laws show as much. As Hokage, I cannot involve myself directly in a private Hyuuga matter."

"It's alright," Hinata assured him. "I didn't expect any kind of help."

"It's quite the headache, not being able to interfere in clan matters," he said, "but there are some things a Hokage just can't do."

Hinata frowned. Was he repeating himself? "I understand."

Minato leaned back in his chair. He tapped the armrest. His face remained serious, lacking its usual smile.

"I suppose it's time," he said. "The question I called you here for is a little bit vague, so forgive me if it seems like I'm making fun of you. I promise you, I'm not."

Hinata nodded, wondering what it could possibly be.

"Say you have a glass filled with water," Minato said. "Is it still a glass? Or, once the vessel is full, would it just become a water container and nothing else?"

"Of course it's a glass," Hinata said.

"Why is that?"

"I'm a Hyuuga, Sir," Hinata said. "Our eyes see what's inside of everyone. A building is still the same no matter who enters or leaves. A person is a person, no matter what their chakra network looks like. Why would a glass be any different?"

It was a strange question to have to answer. It seemed like common sense that a glass wouldn't change, but she couldn't exactly tell the Hokage, 'It's still a glass because obviously it is.'

"What if it wasn't water?" Minato asked. "What if instead, it was a deadly poison. One drop could kill, and the full dose could kill a whole village. Is it still a glass then?"

"Of course it is."

"And how would you feel toward this glass?"

"Grateful," Hinata said.

"What an odd answer. You should be scared of it. After all, it can kill you. It can kill everyone."

"The poison could. The glass is holding the poison back. How else should I feel, if not grateful?"

Hinata's chest constricted. An enormous, sweltering pressure beat down on her. Without a change in expression, Minato's killing intent flooded the room, making Hinata's heart thump in her ears. Her instincts screamed at her that this was how she was going to die… But that was nothing but an illusion brought on by chakra. She believed that Minato wouldn't hurt her for speaking her mind. She hadn't lied, so she had nothing to fear.

The pressure disappeared in an instant as Minato smiled.

"Great answer," he said.

"Sir, what was that about?"

"Does it matter?" he asked. "It was a test, but you passed with top marks. By the way… Are you sure you want the engagement canceled?"

The question caught Hinata off-guard.

"I'm sure," she said, adding before Minato could speak, "When we get married, it's going to be Naruto who proposes, not a political arrangement our parents make."

Minato slowly shut his mouth. He was silent for a long time. His eyes looked far away.

"Sorry," he said eventually, shaking himself. "Someone said something similar to me a long time ago. That really took me back. You're stronger-willed than I gave you credit for."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Minato looked out the window, judging the time of day by the height of the sun. "I shouldn't keep you any longer. You've got a match to prepare for. That's the most I can do to help. The Hokage isn't permitted to interfere in clan matters, after all."

"I remember," Hinata said. "Thank you anyway, Hokage-sama."

He walked her to the door even though Hinata insisted that he didn't have to. At the threshold, Minato told her goodbye with a smirk. It wasn't until Hinata got down to the street that she realized something.

Minato said that there were two reasons that he arranged her marriage with Naruto, but he only told her one of them. Part of it was giving Naruto a taste of doing things he didn't want to do… but what was the second part?

O-O-O

Three hours before evening, when the sun was at its apex, a crowd gathered in the middle of the Hyuuga compound. They surrounded a sandy rectangle big enough for two people to move easily. The crowd was all standing, but there were a handful who had been given seats. A table had been set up, Hiashi Hyuuga sitting behind it. To his left was Hanabi, her expression unreadable. On his right sat all eight of the elders. They wore long lavender hoods that covered their faces, even though the day was bright and mild.

The crowd parted. Neji Hyuuga arrived, moving like the master that he was. His steps made no sound, and he left no footprints in the sand. He wore the flowing robes that he always did when not on a mission. Once he arrived he didn't look at the crowd, standing impassively and waiting. The crowd parted again.

More than a few voices gasped. Hinata paid them no mind. She walked onto the sand, uncaring about the way her soles sunk in.

Whispers swept the crowd that had been deathly silent. Hinata was wearing a long jacket and rough cargo pants purchased from Tenten's store. The pants were made of coarse material, with pockets and zippers in at least a dozen places.

"Daughter, what are you wearing?" Hiashi asked coldly.

Hanabi was frantically pulling her thumb across her throat in the most covert way she could, trying to tell Hinata that this stunt was really going to be the end of her. Ignoring the warning, Hinata smiled at her father.

"I needed pockets!" she said.

"Pockets?" Hiashi repeated.

"Yes, Father. Pockets. Was I supposed to wear robes like Neji's? You didn't set a dress code, so I assumed there would be no issue."

"You shouldn't need a dress code to know how to dress like a Hyuuga."

"Apparently, I did. You should know by now that there's always another way for me to disappoint you."

"Make her take those off immediately!" snapped one of the elders. "That's not allowed!"

Hinata's eyes moved smoothly over to him.

"Why not?" she asked. "Are you saying that a few pockets are enough to get the upper hand on the Gentle Fist?"

"Of course not!" said the elder. "As if such a thing could be true!"

Hinata tilted her head. "Then allow Neji to prove it."

The elder's wrinkled hands clenched into fists, but he didn't interrupt any more. Hiashi raised his hand, impassively giving the signal to get into position. Hinata approached Neji, who approached her in turn. As they dropped into their starting stances, Neji spoke under his breath.

"You've gone too far, Hinata."

"In that case, it won't be a problem if I go a little bit further, will it," she said.

Neji scowled. Their Byakugans flashed to life. A hushed sense of anticipation swept the crowd. Hiashi's hand dropped, signalling the start of the duel.

"LET'S GO HINTA!"

The scream was so many times louder than anything the Hyuuga were used to that even Neji was stunned. Hiashi shot to his feet while people in the crowd spun around, trying to see where the shout came from. It wasn't hard to spot him. His hair was practically glowing in the sunlight.

Naruto was sitting on the ledge of a nearby building's roof, kicking his legs over the gap. He was grinning, his white teeth shining as bright as his hair as he pumped his fist in the air.

As Hokage, I can't interfere in clan matters, Minato said over and over. At the time, Hinata couldn't make sense of it. Only now did she understand what he meant. Minato couldn't touch the Hyuuga. No one ever said anything about his son.

"WOOOOO!" Naruto said. "BEAT HIS ASS!"

Hinata smiled. She planned to do exactly that.

Although she wouldn't have used such crude terms herself.

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