A Certain Arrangement

Hinata Hyuuga did not like Naruto Namikaze.

There were lots of things she didn't like. Large bugs. Sushi with spicy mayo. Injustice and bullying. But above all the rest, topping her list, had to be the Hokage's son.

That wasn't the reason for her dislike. She actually quite liked Minato Namikaze, or at least respected him as much as the rest of the village. Without his leadership, there might not have been a Konoha left to live in. But his son Naruto? Hinata couldn't stand the sight of him.

He was arrogant. He was wild. He talked too loudly. He hardly left the village on missions, relying on his family and his name to make a living. He chewed with his mouth open. He was rude. His hair was so bright that it hurt to look at it in the sun. If an earth jutsu opened up the ground underneath his feet and swallowed him whole, Hinata would pity the dirt that had to touch him.

With all of this in mind, she had to ask, "Could you please repeat that, Father?"

Hiashi Hyuuga stared dispassionately at his daughter across the desk separating their seats. Although that assessment wasn't really fair. Dispassionate was simply the Hyuuga default. 

"I said that it is time you were married." 

"I understand, Father," Hinata said tightly. "However, I really meant the part after that."

From the single eyebrow he raised, Hinata realized she should probably relax. Coming from a Hyuuga, her demand just now was actually a rather extreme showing. But she had to press him. She had to hear what he said again, so that she could find some way he didn't mean what she thought he did. 

"We Hyuuga occupy an important position within this village," Hiashi said. "As one of the two great clans, our role is deeper than any other. We support our Hokage, and at the same time, we balance the power of the Uchiha. Yet fools have begun to talk. Our current Hokage is on good terms with our rivals, and his charitable actions toward them have been misinterpreted. There are those who say the Hyuuga are beginning to fall behind… And even greater fools who believe we already have."

Hinata nodded demurely.

Whether it made her a fool or not, she'd noticed the Uchiha pulling ahead of them in power. Everyone in their clan had, except for the elders with their heads buried deep in the sand. She thought it was rather impressive to be that blind with access to the Byakugan.

"I have no problem ignoring the mutterings of the rabble," Hiashi continued, "but in this case, they are not entirely incorrect. Though they gravely underestimate us, we cannot allow the Uchiha to continue gaining more power. The elders and I have traced both their growth to a single man: the Hokage. They are favored by our leader because their clan head holds close ties with his family. To catch up, we must forge close ties of our own. My daughter, this will be your role. The prosperity of our clan rests upon your shoulders."

"I understand, Father," Hinata said, really hoping that she actually didn't.

She had to be mistaken. He couldn't be telling her—

"You will marry Naruto Namikaze."

Hinata bit her lip.

Blood oozed between her teeth, but it was a small price to pay to stymie the outburst that almost erupted out of her. She'd been so close to slamming her palms down on the desk, leaning over it, and screaming 'No!' straight in her father's face. Even she wouldn't survive if she pulled something like that. Her father would probably have ruptured every tenketsu in her neck on pure reflex, leaving her flopping like a fish until the sweet release of death finally claimed her.

Wait. If she did that, she wouldn't have to follow through with this plan. Maybe it was worth it—

"Daughter."

Her Father's voice dragged Hinata out of her thoughts. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes, scared he would catch too much of her thoughts, so she stared at his desk instead. "Yes?" 

"I will be most proud of you if you succeed," said Hiashi.

Ah. The carrot to go with the stick. And didn't Hinata just hate the way it actually worked, tugging on her heart in a way she couldn't ignore. 

"I understand," she said again.

And she meant it. She really did. From the time she was born, she was nothing but a chess piece on a board. The proof was in the fact that she couldn't speak her mind even now to her own father out of fear of retaliation. It was in the fact that her family said things like "It is time you were married." and not "Do you love him?" Most of all, it was there in the seal spread across her forehead, hidden only by the thin cloth and metal of her Konohagakure headband. 

She didn't have the right to expect more from her life than this.

Somehow, acknowledging that hurt just as badly as everything else today.

"I am glad," Hiashi said neutrally. "I've taken the liberty of setting up a formal dinner. It will take place at the Namikaze compound next week, and you will be attending alone. Pay special attention to…"

As he droned on, Hinata began to tune him out, absorbing only the crucial bits of information. Her fingers were tense in her lap. Images of a certain insufferable blond flashed through her head, and a treacherous voice whispered in her ears that soon she'd be seeing more of him than any of her friends.

Hinata had a new dislike, second only to Naruto Namikaze himself: 

This day.

-

Hinata's hands were nothing but blurs. Soft clinks like windchimes filled the forested training ground. All around her kunai, shurikens, and even stranger throwing weapons collected in growing heaps. More weapons flew straight at Hinata, but her fingers prodded each off course simply by brushing their dull sides.

Veins protruding from the sides of her temple, Hinata continued twisting and striking. Weapons came from every direction, but she didn't have a single blindspot. Often, she didn't even turn her head before perfectly deflecting projectiles flying at her back.

Without warning, she sprung forward. She darted between trees, deflecting a stream of weapons that, if anything, sped up. When the volume became too high, she turned to the nearest trunk. Running straight up it as kunai thudded into the bark behind her, she finally kicked off with an elegant flip.

She deflected a few last desperate shurikens and landed deftly, raising her palms to lash out—

Her opponent held up her hands.

"You got me," Tenten said. "I'm not dumb enough to try fighting a Hyuuga up close. My ex taught me that isn't worth it."

Hinata froze. With a deep breath, she straightened and offered her friend a smile.

At one year older than Hinata herself, Tenten had turned 24 a few months before. She was a beautiful girl who kept her brown hair back in twin buns, with a slight fringe sticking over the corners of her headband. Those looks captured the interest of her original teammate, Hinata's cousin, Neji. The two enjoyed an ultimately-doomed relationship. Tenten just couldn't put up with his depressing fatalism long term, no matter how much she tried. Hinata didn't blame her. But the two girls had hit it off the moment they met, and no breakup was going to force them to cut contact. Hinata didn't hesitate in calling the older girl her best friend, a feeling she was certain was mutual.

"You could at least try, you know," she said moodily.

Tenten put her hands on her hips. "So that you could beat the crap out of me? Yeah, I think I'll skip that part, thank you very much."

"Just because you couldn't beat Neji doesn't mean you can't beat me," Hinata pointed out. "He's a prodigy. Nobody in our family except my father can handle him."

"Yes, you're just a very average chuunin-level Hyuuga," Tenten said dryly. "What am I thinking? Of course I wouldn't end up as a human pincushion trying to fight your taijutsu. Just admit it. You wanted a chance to hit something."

Hinata looked away. "As the daughter of the clan leader, I would never feel such an undignified urge."

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"And Gentle Fist is awful for getting anger out. It's too — y'know — gentle."

Tenten laughed, pulling a scroll as big as her torso off of her back. "What would your father say if he heard you talking like that?"

"Probably activate my seal and reduce me to a quivering mess on the floor," Hinata said.

Tenten went pale. "I didn't mean it like—! I was just teasing."

"I know," Hinata said. She turned away, linking her hands behind her back and admiring the trees surrounding them. "It's true, though. You really don't need to feel bad."

Tenten watched. Hinata knew it without turning around because she hadn't deactivated her Byakugan. She could feel the eyes draining her chakra supply, but something about having them active made her feel a bit better. As if she at least had control over something.

With a sigh, Tenten flapped out her scroll.

Hinata had seen the item a thousand times before. It was an oversized storage scroll, the only way for her friend to carry the copious amounts of weapons she used without dragging around five separate wagons. Yet, despite Hinata's familiarity with it, the pulse of chakra the scroll sent out now was a trick she had never seen before.

She whirled around just as the hundreds of throwing weapons scattered across the forest began to rattle and clink. One by one, the kunai and shurikens flew up into the air as if propelled gently by wind chakra. Each of them flew up, homing in on Tenten's scroll and disappearing inside. When the last one had disappeared this way, Tenten rolled the scroll closed with a flick.

She caught Hinata staring and smirked. "I upgraded," she said by way of explanation.

"How?" Hinata asked. "I thought you only knew basic seals?"

"I do," Tenten said. "But I got some help. My work makes some really lucrative connections."

Across the last few years, the weapon shop Tenten inherited from her father had boomed in business. For a ninja from a civilian family, the girl had ended up with a not-insignificant amount of money to her name and close ties with many established and up-and-coming ninja. Sometimes, Hinata was almost jealous. Not because she begrudged her friend's success, but because it was all success she achieved for herself, with her own skills and her hard work.

A hand draped over Hinata's shoulder.

"You're spacing out," Tenten said. "And you still haven't deactivated your eyes. You are having a really rough day."

With a twinge of regret, Hinata let her Byakugan fade and offered a tired smile.

"No disagreement?" Tenten frowned. "I'm going to have to get you drunk to fix this, aren't I?"

"I doubt that would suffice."

Tenten just smirked. "Fine. I guess I know where we're paying a visit tonight."

For the first time all day, something hopeful poked through the malaise Hinata had been feeling. A sharp heat began spreading through her body…

Centered at her loins.

Tenten shook her head. "Just that got you excited? Damn, you're insatiable."

Hinata blushed. "You are the one who brought it up!"

"And aren't you glad I did?" Tenten steered her forward, away from the training ground they'd commandeered. "C'mon. Let's get you to The Den."