The morning after, her hand reached for the cup of water she always left beside her bed. When air was the only thing she could find her eyes were open. In the second blink she remembered she was no longer home. Last night was unexpected. The cold emotionless man, that was her husband, seemed to have more morals than her father. She would return the favour. Maybe the chance of them forming a team wasn't lost after all.
She quietly opened the door to not disturb him in case he was sleeping. She wasn't familiar with his routine so she would do her best to stay out of his way.
When she entered the kitchen she saw him already dressed finishing his breakfast.
"Good morning."
He stared at her for a while before he nodded.
She didn't know how to behave so she stayed there waiting.
After he finished, he took his things as he would have propably done even if she wasn't there and moved to the front door.
"There is food in the kitchen if you are hungry. Try not to mess my things."
Was the only thing he said before he left.
She remained on her spot hearing the silence of the house.
If she was back at home, she would prepare for training. Hana would probably joined her around noon when she would finished her prep and they would eat something hidden behind the tree that would cast its shadow all year. Neji would be forced to search for them because of their slacking and scolded on their behaviour. The days were boring but her swing of her katana and the laugh of her sister would make up for it.
Maybe she would start with breakfast and then explore the inside of the house to be more familiar with the place that would rest her for the end of her days. She sullen on the thought and quickly discarded it.
She prepared herself a proper food. Hinata always ate much to help her built her strength. Her husband said he preferred skinny girls, so that was an added advantage.
After she cleaned the kitchen she moved to the other rooms. She realised that the place was spacious on the light of day but it seemed empty. Like noone was living here before. He was the son of the head and the future clan leader so he would be busy all day with clan matters to take care of his house. Neji was always preoccupied. She had to stop thinking of him. He was her only ally inside the Hyuga and he had betrayed her the most.
She moved in the large bedroom to pick an outfit. Her clothes were beside his as this used to be his bedroom. She should talked to him about it. It would be better if she moved to the spare room.
The door knocked as she finished her dressing.
She walked to it and opened without asking, thinking it was someone who came to visit her husband.
It was her mother in law with two girls on her side.
"Good morning Hinata-san. Can I come in?"
Hinata bowed and moved to the side, thinking how unnecessary was the question. It was her son's house, she was just a stranger that someone named her his wife.
The girls moved quickly from her side and lost inside the house.
Hinata turned her head following them with her gaze.
"They are here to clean. Don't worry. I though you were used to it and I wanted to make you feel comfortable."
"Thank you. You didn't have to."
Hinata was used to servants walking around the house. But she cleaned her own room and prepared her own meals as she had learnt in the days of her training. She sneaked inside the kitchen and stayed in the corner, watching them chatting about their lives. They were used to her presence but didn't dare talk to her after the day one addressed her casual in front of her father.
They sat on the table and Hinata offered to bring something for the woman to drink.
"I'm fine Hinata-san. Just come. Let's chat for a while."
Hinata didn't know about what to speak. The woman was nice but nevertheless a stranger. Her face was a copy of her son's but she smiled frequently and it was easy to miss the resemblance.
"How are you? Is there anything you need?"
My sword, my freedom, my peace.
"I'm fine. Thank you for your consern."
"Has Sasuke treat you nicely?"
If anyone asks you know what to answer.
"Yes very much. Thank you."
"I understand your mother left this world when you were on a tender age. If there is anything you want to talk about you can always come to me."
Would her mother agreed to this if she was alive. Would she prepare her for this life.
Mikoto looked at her not talking before she added.
"My son is a little difficult. Not easy to talk to. But he is a nice boy. Life wasn't easy on him."
Hinata nodded not knowing what else to do. It felt wrong to hear more personal details about him even though the woman had good intentions.
"Were is he?" The woman suddenly asked.
Hinata panicked. She didn't know where he went and frankly she was glad he left.
"He left in the morning."
"I can't believe it. Did he leave you alone on your first day here?"
"It's fine Mikoto-san. I believe is best for us to adjust in our routine quickly."
Mikoto shot a side glance at her.
"Don't be too easy on him." She sighed. "Okay. I will show you around."
___
Hinata tried to protest but the matriarch of the Uchiha was determine to show her new daughter as she called her, the basics. They went to the market, passed by the shops she recommended, explaining that she did most of the chores herself. Then they moved quickly by the training grounds where young boys were learning the art of the battle. A big building that Mikoto explained was the hall where strategy meetings where held. They stopped at the shrine waiting to pay their respects.
After hours of wondering around with Mikoto do most of the talking, she decided it was time to go back.
When she entered the house and closed the door behind her she was exhausted.
The house was still empty but it didn't bother her. She took a bath to relax her nerves after the constant staring of the people on the streets. At first she thought they were curious because she was a foreigner. But as they wondered on the streets she realised there were a lot of people that didn't have the distinct Uchiha characteristics. When she asked Mikoto about it she explained that there were lesser clans living under their grounds.
They are building an army. She thought but just smiled at the other woman's face.
The streets were lively, with children bypassing them as they walked. People were friendly upon meeting Mikoto and looked curious when seen her. She was a spectate. The Hyuga woman who married their future leader.
But the weather was less cold from what she was used to. And the atmosphere seemed less tense than the one at home.
Barbaric. Her father used to call them. Animals that desire battle above all. With no manners to stand as their status dictated.
They didn't seem barbaric to her. Perhaps less formal.
She wasn't hungry but decided to make something for him to show her gratitude. More over she was sitting all day, so it would be bad manners if he came back and she hadn't offered something as well.
After she finished she sat on the table waiting.
An hour passed after the sun had set and she moved to the sofa. She wasn't planning to wait for him to return from whatever business he had but she needed to discuss a few things she had on her mind.
Hinata was trained all her life to be a fighter. She trained all her life to be a leader. She fought with her sword in the day and with her mind in the night. She had learnt her clan history, the biggest clans location and fighting styles, the proper way to eat, drink, welcome the guests. What a house was needed, what supplies were crucial for the winder, how to silently slice a man's throat.
And now she waited for her husband to come home. Is this going to be her life from now on?
He came home late. The food was cold and she was keeping her eyes open with difficulty.
A slight surpise painted on his face when he saw her sitting on the couch. He bypassed her and walked to his room. Their room. She heard the water running breaking the complete silence. She waited there for him to finish and when he came back she decided it was time to talk.
"I have made you something to eat."
He searched for something in a drawer not returning to meet her.
"I'm not hungry."
He took his things and moved to the door again.
"Are you leaving again?" She wasn't planning for it to be heard as she was annoyed but he surely thought of that.
When he turned his brow was up.
"I meant.. I would like to talk to you about our situation."
"Talk."
His hand was on the door, ready to go. He may have morals but he was an unpleasant man.
"I was thinking that I should move to the guest room so you can have your space back."
"Hn."
He turned.
"And.." she stopped him before he left. "Are you really okay with this?"
When he turned a smirk was on his lips.
"With having someone I don't know in my house? With been married to you? For not letting me go when I clearly have somewhere to be?"
She remained silent so he turned again and this time she wouldn't stop him.
"I won't touch you if that's what you are afraid of. I have women that I find more attractive than you and they want to share my bed. Nor I will hurt you. I won't interact with you unless it's necessary and I suggest you do the same. I will continue living my life. Do the best you can with yours. Can we agree to that?"
He looked at her upon his shoulder.
"Yes. That's all I wanted."
___
The first month passed slowly. Every day was the same. She got up, eat, wonder around the house doing chores, make food for herself as Sasuke never stayed enough. Lately she had be reading a book from the ones he had brought her. She had left him a note before she went to bed and he brought her one the next day. When she finished she left the book and another note and he brought back several behind. Perhaps so not to bother him for a while. Sometimes she walked to the market on the afternoons to avoid the crowds and stopped on a spot she had found on her way back to observe the sunset. Nobody was waiting for her at home so she could stay there as long as she wanted.
Sasuke was training the young recruits as she had learnt and was returning after the sunset. Then he took a bath and left again. She could hear him come back sometimes when the moon had begun to fade.
It didn't bother her that he was avoiding be in the house nor the fact he was probably with other women. No. It was that he actually was living his life like before and she was stuck in this house not doing anything at all.
When she saw seeds one day on the market, Hinata thought it would be a good way to pass her time. She asked for a book on how to grow them and when it was left for her at the table, she began to work. She thought it would be more time consuming than what it actually was. When she placed the last wooden stick where the book instructed, she thought for a moment to tear it all apart again. Then an idea came to mind.
She searched the house for a kunai and when she found one she was more happy than she had been in years.
Every day she got up after hearing the door closing. She took her stick under her bed and began to carve. It would never replace her sword but it would be good for practice.
When she finished, she knew she was a terrible craftsman. It was ugly work at best but it had a shape and she could work on that.
She would use her bedroom. The guest room she had occupied was the only place he would never enter. She moved the bed to the side and the little furniture outside.
The first week she understood how rusted she was. Her breathing was unbalanced, her strength gave up too quickly.
She had learn to be outside so the dripping on walls and the scars on the closet were inevitable. But as the days passed she was regaining her former strength.
With his absence she was getting bolder. She decided to drag the bed outside to the hall. Now she had enough space to move. When the sunset came she would put everything back on their place, took a bath and walked in the sitting room to eat and read her book.
This was where she usually was when he returned.
They exchanged nods on the good days and they went back on their routine.
Today was a bad one. He closed the door with more force than usual and his steps were rough. She didn't move her eyes from her book. It was pointless. They knew nothing about each other. She couldn't ask him what was wrong and he probably didn't want her to. He exited the bathroom and she waited for him to leave like always but to her surprise he sat on the table.
"Have you eaten?" He addressed her for the first time in days.
"No."
"Good. We are going to my parents for dinner. Get dressed."
She looked back thinking if they really had to but his face was irritated and she realised he wasn't happy about it either.
She did not know how to prepare exactly as they were both the clan heads and her husband's parents. She wore a plain black kimono with a little Uchiha crest on the side, that Mikoto had bought her and left her fall loose on her back.
She joined him and he didn't say a word. That was a good sign, she hoped.
____
When his father informed that he and his wife were expected for dinner tonight he hoped in an unreasonable wish that she would be sick. That was the only way to avoid it. He knew his mother missed him but she would be throwing questions he wasn't sure he could answer. His father would watch closely so he could see how this allience was going. Everything depended on this marriage. And frankly it was a disaster. He didn't know anything about her, more than she liked books and she wasn't happy with the situation either. She was willing to let him avoid her and while he was glad she did, their situation was dire.
She wore a kimono with their crest symbol. Maybe she was smart. Maybe they could survive tonight.
____
His mother welcomed them at the door. His wife tried to bow but Mikoto hugged her. An awkward exchange.
He took a deep breath and entered. Over the years his visits on his parents house were few. After he left he avoided to be there as much as he could. The place had a suffocating energy and although his presence was erased, he still was present in every corner.
The table was served and his father had sat at the head chair. They never used that one, Sasuke noticed. When they were alone they always sat at the short table by the garden door. She sat by his father side across the seat that his mother always occupied in important dinners. Hinata took the chair beside him and sat. When Mikoto sat they all thank her for the food and began to eat.
The table contained more food than they would eat with different plates to choose. He observed as his father's eyes were on Hinata. Every bite she took, every sip she drank, every noise she made was observed by him. She didn't seem to realise it as she didn't stop eating.
"I'm glad you like it Hinata-san."
His mother was the one that spoke, seeing as she was the only one that tasted all of her plates.
"You have quite the appetite." His father comment was less kind.
His wife must have thought this was a family dinner. Too bad it wasn't. It was a monitoring of how she was behaving.
"A fighter eats what he is offered."
She said as she took a sip of her sake and eyed the man. For a moment Sasuke thought that her eyes sparkled.
"And Mikoto-san is offering too much."
"But you are no fighter. Women don't battle in our clan." His father spoke roughly.
"Maybe she is pregnant." Mikoto said happily.
They both froze for a moment but quickly regained their composure.
"Maybe she is." Sasuke spoke not looking away from his plate.
The tense atmosphere didn't leave the room despite his mother's best efforts. Hinata should just behave and play along. It was only a night. He didn't want his mother to be more sad than she already was.
They finished dinner and Hinata helped his mother served them tea after removing the remaining food of the table.
His father was about to speak. Sasuke always knew it.
"The month has come for the marriage of Akimichi and Yamanaka to happen."
Sasuke knew it already. They had intelligence on the most of the big clans. The unsettling feeling this union had caused was more on the lack of prior information. And led to his marriage with Hyuga as an answer.
"It is a good opportunity for you to represent your clan Sasuke." He moved his gaze from him to the woman beside him. "Along with your wife, you will attend the ceremony and show the world that our clans had become one."
Today was a rehearsal of how she was behaving. He saw the contempt on his father's eyes.
"I know you are the second choice. Maybe your sister would suit our clan more properly but I have only one son and that is his chance to lead one day."
Sasuke looked at his mother's eyes. She would cry tonight. She had another son not matter what happened.
"I though Sasuke had a brother."
The voice of the woman on his side stole the air of the room.
"I am sure of it. I have studied many years about the details of the clans."
"You are wrong." Fugaku's voice never changed.
"But.."
His mother got up and run to the kitchen.
"Enough." It was his voice that stopped her.
The woman froze on the yell.
"Excuse me." She looked at him with icy eyes and stand up walking in the direction his mother went.
After a while she entered again with his mother on her back. The black eyes were red.
"Mikoto-san wants to lie down so we will excuse ourselves." She bowed but it was more as mock than a serving.
She turned to the woman that had given him his life and took her hands in hers. For the first time he heard her speak in a voice so soft and kind.
"Thank you Mikoto-san. For everything."
Then his mother kissed her on the forehead and she seemed happier than before.