Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Protector	By : djserani Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1759 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and I do not make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Hinata and Hanabi were at their father’s study early the next day. They settled into the cushions in the corner, the tea already waiting for them. “Where are Neji and Kiba?”
Hinata and Hanabi looked at each other. “We thought you wanted to just talk to us. They’re outside on the side porch.”
Hiashi smiled. “Please, ask them to come in. This is about them, too.”
Hanabi jumped up and dashed out. Within a minute she was back with them. Neji sat next to Hinata and, after a glance at her father, pulled her back against him and wrapped his arms around her. Kiba sat next to Hanabi and pulled her against his side.
Hiashi looked at each of his girls. There were so many things he wanted to try to make up for, but he didn’t know if he had the time anymore. He looked at his wife’s picture and wished again that she was there with him for things like this. He sighed. “I really do miss your mother today. You two have made me so proud. You are handling all of this so well.
“Hinata, I’ve missed you being around here in the main house. I understand why you needed your space.“ He chuckled. “I was the same way when I was your age – I wanted to prove myself to my father. You’ve really proven yourself, though you never should have had to.” He shook off his morose thoughts.
“Despite the reasons for the rush, this is still a celebration. I am very happy that you both have found men that love you as much as Neji and Kiba do. With that in mind, first, I’d like to give you these.” He took a small box off of the shelf next to him and opened it. Inside were two gold hair combs. “These were your mother’s. She wore these at our wedding. It would mean a great deal if you wore them at yours.” He handed one to each of them.
Hinata stared down at the comb in her hand and willed herself not to cry. She felt Neji’s arms tighten just a little around her and she managed to swallow her tears. She looked back up at her father.
He looked then, at Neji. “I hope I’m not stepping on anything here, but I thought you might like these.” And with that he handed a small black velvet jewelry box to Neji. When he opened it, they saw a pair of intricately carved gold bands. “They were our wedding rings. I think you mother would want you to have them.”
Hinata looked up at Neji and he smiled at her. “Thank you sir, we’d be honored to wear them.”
Hiashi nodded and turned to Hanabi and Kiba. He lifted a much larger box from the floor and handed it to Hanabi. When she opened it, she gasped. “This was your mother’s wedding kimono. There’s a little something that I never thought about until just recently. There is Inuzuka blood in you. It goes back a ways. I believe it was your great-great-grandmother. That might explain why you two ended up together.” He cleared his throat. “That kimono was passed to your mother. I believe you would be the fifth generation to wear that. I thought it would be appropriate for you to wear it to marry Kiba.
Hanabi didn’t even try to hide her tears. They spilled over as she ran her hand over the beautiful satin fabric. Kiba hugged her close to him and comforted her the best he could.
Hiashi looked from Neji to Kiba. “I can give you no greater gift than my daughters. I hope that you will cherish them always.”
Both men looked solemnly at Hiashi and nodded. “I will,” they each said quietly.
The group sat in silence for a moment, reflecting on the enormity of what was to come. Hinata and Neji had had a bit more time to come to terms with it. But even Kiba and Hanabi felt…right. She smiled up at him now and kissed his cheek before wiping the tears from her face. Kiba kissed each cheek then looked back at Hiashi.
“Now, then. Here’s how I think we should handle the Leadership ceremony…”
* * *
Hiashi had decided that Saturday would be entirely for the girls. Even if the weddings would be very quiet and much sooner than he’d like, they could still find a way to spend some time with their friends. So the next two days were spent gathering as many of them as they could to plan an impromptu wedding party for that night. They still wanted to be careful that the elders didn’t hear about it, so they had to find an out of the way place for it.
Tsunade got wind of things and decided that it would be one thing she could do for them. These were her shinobi. They had given so much for their village and country, going above and beyond time and again. So, the wedding dinner would be at her place.
With those plans in place, the next two days flew by. When Hinata was at Tsunade’s office, talking with her about the party, Sakura walked in.
“Sakura-chan! Oh, how good to see you! You’ve missed so much!” She ran over and hugged her friend.
“What did I miss?!”
Tsunade snickered. “Where to begin. Let’s see, Ino and Chouji have their marriage license – they’re getting married in two weeks. Lee and Tenten are getting married next month and, oh yeah, Hinata and Neji are getting married Saturday at the same time that Kiba and Hanabi are. Oh! Almost forgot, and Hinata’s pregnant.”
Hinata doubled over in laughter at the look on Sakura’s face. She resembled a fish out of water, gasping for breath. She opened and closed her mouth several times. “Um…um… there are no words. I think I need to sit down.”
She sat on the couch next to Tsunade’s desk and put her head between her knees. “I’m in Konoha. I’m awake, right?” She paused and pinched her arm. “OUCH!! Okay, I’m awake. This isn’t a dream. Did I step into some weird movie?” All of this was spoken while her head was still between her knees. “Okay, that’s not helping.” She sat up and looked at Hinata.
Hinata was still doubled over laughing. There were tears streaming down her face, red from lack of oxygen. That’s how Neji found her when he walked in a moment later. “Hinata?!? Are you okay? What’s wrong? Talk to me!”
But Hinata was too far gone. She started hiccoughing, trying to catch her breath. Sakura decided to save Neji’s sanity. “She’s laughing, Neji. At me. I went away for a week and Konoha went completely crazy.”
Neji stared at Hinata a moment longer, reassuring himself that it was, in fact, what was going on. “Why is she laughing at you? What’s so funny?”
“Well, I’m sure it had something to do with the look on my face. I was convinced I was either asleep, in the wrong place or in some weird movie. I’m still not sure I believe it. Well, anyway, um, congrats. On both counts.” She still looked somewhat disbelieving.
“Thank you, Sakura-san. How was your honeymoon?” He asked politely.
Sakura blushed. “Um…good. Well, as to that, I think I should, um, go find Naruto. He’d probably want to know what’s going on.”
“WHAT!?!?!” They heard a loud crashing noise outside the office. All four scrambled out to see what was going on.
Kiba was lying on the ground trying to put his jaw in place, Akamaru was growling at Naruto and Naruto was glaring at Kiba. “WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON?” Tsunade roared.
Kiba and Naruto both jumped. “He took advantage of Hinata’s sister! He’s a PERV!”
Hinata fell into a fit of the giggles again and Sakura sent up a bid for patience. The request went unanswered. She stalked over to Naruto, grabbed him by the ear, and dragged him over to the rest of the group. “Hinata, if you could possibly control the giggles for a moment, would you care to clue my knuckleheaded husband in?”
It took her a full minute before she could breathe properly. “Yes…Naruto.” She had to stop and take another breath. “They’re getting married. But it’s…” she smothered a snort, “it’s okay. Our father knows about it. He’s given his blessing.” Another small spasm of giggles slipped out. “She’s his mate.” And she was gone again.
Neji stared at his future wife and shook his head. “Don’t know where this came from.” He scooped her up and walked over to a bench and sat down with her.
Naruto stared at the two of them and then at Kiba. “What’s going on here… has everyone gone crazy?” He turned to Sakura. “And what’s with those two?” He pointed his thumb at Neji and Hinata.
“Come on, goof, I’ll explain at home.” Naruto just stared again and shook his head. “Okay.”
* * *
Friday night, Hinata and Neji were lying together, trying to fall asleep. It was impossible. There was so much that had happened and so much about to happen that they couldn’t seem to calm down enough to sleep. They’d already tried tiring themselves out…twice…and even that hadn’t worked.
Hinata lay curled in Neji’s arms and tried not to think. She was worried about the next day. Not that she was afraid of being married to Neji or even that she was nervous about the wedding itself. She still had that little niggling doubt about him tying himself to her.
“I want to.” He said, as if he was reading her mind. “For the longest time, I kept telling myself that I didn’t care, that you loved someone else. I kept denying what was right in front of me – that I loved you. Perhaps it was a bit of rebellion against the feeling of being pushed into something. But more because I was… I didn’t want to hear you say you didn’t want me.” He fell silent.
Hinata sighed. “It makes you wonder…how much time. How long could we have….but I guess that’s not something we could know. Maybe neither of us was ready until now. I remember waking up in the hospital, after those first Chunnin exams. My first memories of that were of you sitting next to me. The nurses said you’d never left. You refused. They finally forced you to lay down in the bed next to mine for a bit. I think I probably started to fall in love with you, then. But of course, I wouldn’t admit it.”
Neji kissed the top of her head. “All that grief…all those years we could have saved a lot of this. But again, I think you’re right. We probably wouldn’t have been ready for it. Well, I have you now. I love you and I can’t imagine not being with you. The thought of not waking up to your beautiful face every day, the idea of not holding you in my arms as we fall asleep at night...I can’t breathe when I think about that. If that’s not reason to marry you…”
Hinata chuckled and snuggled further into his arms. Something had clicked inside her at his words. He wanted her. Truly wanted her. With that, she slipped off to sleep.
* * *
The next morning, they woke to pounding. Hinata was having trouble surfacing from the vivid dream she’d been having. She was holding two babies -- a tiny Neji and another baby, a little girl, both the same age. She shook her head to clear the sleep.
Neji was already across the room, and opened the door. A second later, he slammed it. “Neji?”
“It’s your sister.” He stalked across the room and pulled the robe on he’d brought over a few days ago, then he went back to the door. “Yes?”
Hanabi pushed her way into the room, followed by Sakura, Ino and Tenten, all carrying bags of various sizes. Neji’s eyes bugged out of his head. “WHAT’S THIS?!”
But he wasn’t getting an answer right away. Sakura grabbed his wrist and dragged it over to the closet. She yanked the garment bag with his kimono in it out and shoved him toward the door. He dug his heels in and glared menacingly.
Unfortunately for him, the effect was somewhat lost to his near-naked state of being. Tenten and Ino giggled and Sakura just crossed her arms and glared back. “You have to go. You have to get ready.”
Neji looked at the clock. It was barely seven. “Are you insane? Do you know what time it is?”
Sakura rolled her eyes. As if speaking to a two year old, she tried to explain. “It may not take you long to brush your hair and put on a robe, but it takes the women a lot longer. Now, the guys are waiting over at your place. Naruto has strict instructions and in case he wasn’t paying attention, Kiba and Shino have the same. Now. Get lost. “ And she pushed him toward the door again.
He ducked around her and went over to Hinata who had been sitting in bed the whole time, just staring at the activity. He gave her a quick kiss before beating a hasty retreat. He had no interest in experiencing Sakura’s super-human strength first-hand. Not on his wedding day.
“Okay.” Sakura turned to Hinata. “Shower first.”
Hinata blushed bright red. She was naked under the sheet. “Um…c-could someone hand me my robe?”
“Oh for Kami’s sake, Hinata, we’re all girls!” But Sakura threw her robe at her and Hinata ran into the bathroom. “Don’t take too long!” Sakura called.
When she came out a very short time later, someone – probably Ino – had made tea and her tiny house had turned into some kind of beauty salon. “Sit.” Sakura ordered. She sat in the chair indicated and someone stuck a cup of tea in her hand. She drank automatically and tried to calm her nerves.
“Th-this isn’t really necessary. We’re just getting married at the Hokage’s office.”
Sakura made a rude noise in the back of her throat. “And? Does that somehow mean you can’t look nice for Neji? Hmmmmm?”
Hinata blushed. “Of course, not. But, well, he has seen me…all of me, in case you’ve forgotten.”
Sakura waved the hairbrush menacingly at her. “That’s not the same thing as you well know. Now, stop fidgeting and let us work.”
Ino handed her a rice ball and she obediently ate, though she suspected it wouldn’t stay down. She was much too nervous. She glared at Hanabi. “Why aren’t you going through this?”
Ino answered for her. “Oh, she will. We’re just taking care of your hair first.” That made Hinata smile. And least she wouldn’t be the only one.
They brushed, then pulled and twisted. She felt a hair band go in and then pins. More twisting and more pins. She wondered if she’d ever get her hair down after it was all over.
After what seemed like hours, Sakura and Ino stepped back. Tenten clapped and Hinata blushed again. Hanabi looked beside herself, but they pulled Hinata to her feet and pushed her toward the bathroom mirror. Sakura grabbed the hand mirror and shoved it in Hinata’s hands.
She held the hand mirror to the side so she could see the back of her hair. It was beautiful. There were looped braids and it was all piled somehow to look very elegant. And there, in the center, was her mother’s comb. She started to cry.
“No no no! You can’t do that!!” Ino sounded panicked.
Hinata turned to her with a puzzled look. “Why?”
“Your makeup.”
Hinata still wasn’t getting it. “I’m not wearing any.”
“Yet. But you will be. Okay, okay. Get it out now. We’ll do Hanabi’s hair. Go sit on the bed and cry.” Sakura shooed her away and they pushed Hanabi into the same chair Hinata had just been in a moment ago.
They worked her hair into a similar style, but it was a bit tighter wound. Nothing hung on Hanabi’s hairstyle and when Hinata inquired, Hanabi blushed. “The, um, marking ceremony happens at the same time. He needs to have access to my neck.”
Hinata choked on the last of her rice ball. Tenten pounded her back until she could breathe. “Marking?!” She wiped away the tears that the choking fit had caused.
Hanabi nodded, but earned a smack from the brush for her trouble. “Yes. When the Inuzuka find their mate, they mark them. It’s just a small bite on the neck, but it changes me. I don’t understand it entirely, but it gives me paler versions of their abilities with the animals. I gain a stronger sense of smell and long teeth.”
At this she smiled wickedly and Hinata had a nasty suspicion she knew what Hanabi was thinking about biting. She forced herself away from that line of thought and back to what Hanabi was saying.
“The marking kind of claims me to any other wolf-masters, for one thing. I’ll have Kiba’s scent mixed with mine and, thus, no one would want me.” She wrinkled her nose. “I think that’s a little silly. I don’t want anyone else, but Kiba says it’s just a side benefit. The big thing, though, is that it will help pass these traits on to our children.”
Hinata tried desperately not to think about her little sister having children. She still had trouble seeing Hanabi as a woman, much less a wife and mother. She sighed. Well, if she had her way, no one in the clan would ever have to go through this kind of thing again. The rules and leadership would change and the politics and manipulations would stop.
She looked at her sister seriously for a moment. “Hanabi…I’m sorry.” Ino, Sakura and Tenten pretended they’d suddenly gone deaf.
Hanabi looked confused. “Why?”
Hinata took a deep breath. “If it weren’t for the baby, you wouldn’t have to go through this so soon. I mean, you’re only barely sixteen. I know that, according to the law you’re plenty old enough to marry. I also understand what the life expectancy of a shinobi is. That’s part of why I didn’t even hesitate when Neji asked me. But…you should have more of a choice…”
Apparently, they weren’t really deaf. “Honestly, Hinata. You cannot take the blame for this. If blame lies with anyone, it’s the elders of that damned clan. Sorry. The damned elders. It’s not the clan, as a whole, but them.” Sakura concentrated harder on Hanabi’s braid.
Hinata sighed. “You’re right. But still, I’m still sorry.”
Hanabi surprised her. “I’m not. Who knows how long Kiba and I might have danced around it? How long might it have taken us to end up finally admitting that we loved each other and he finally asked? He cares a lot about his clan, but I think he’s a bit embarrassed about the traditions. But he’d never know that they don’t bother me, if we hadn’t been nudged along.”
Hinata smiled and had to wipe her tears again.
“Okay, that’s the hair. Good grief, it’s already 9:00. Come on, we still have a lot to do and then we have to get you down there, dressed and not seen until 11. Who signed us up for this, anyway?” Sakura grumbled.
Ino laughed, “You did, billboard-brow. It was your idea.”
“Oh, yeah. Why’d you let me do it, Ino-pig?”
“Because it’s so much fun to watch you get all worked up.” Ino snorted. Tenten laughed.
“Damn. You know me too well. Okay okay, let’s get moving. Make-up next. Time to stop crying, Hinata. We couldn’t find any waterproof mascara, so you’re just going to have to stop crying. Maybe you can put the effort into your chakra and keep the tears off the makeup.” Hinata groaned.
Ino glared at Sakura. “I did too get waterproof. I was the one that bought the makeup. And I knew who we were buying for.” She bashed Sakura over the head with a comb before turning to Hinata. Another tortured forty-five minutes and her makeup was done and she was released to put some regular clothes on.
“NOTHING over the head. Nothing. I mean it. I swear, I’ll punch you to the other side of Konoha Crater.” Sakura threatened.
Hinata had no thoughts of disobeying. She pulled out a button-down shirt and basic pants and ran into the bathroom to dress. She took a moment in there to gather her thoughts and look at herself in the mirror. She had to admit even to herself that she looked pretty in the makeup and new hair style. She hoped Neji thought so, too.
Wow. I’m getting married. To Neji. Is it real? And I’m going to have his baby!! Get a grip. This isn’t a big deal.
Hell yes, it is! But it’s a good thing, so yeah, get a grip. Her inner-self poked.
Oh, you again. Thanks. I’m more than a little nervous, I don’t need your help making me more nervous.
Who, me? I’m just enjoying the show.
Bah. Hinata opened the door and saw Hanabi. Hinata’s mouth dropped open. “Wow, you look beautiful!” They hugged gingerly, not wanting to mess up their hair.
“Okay okay, let’s see…Crap! It’s almost 10:30! And we’ve got to get down to the offices. Tenten, make sure the guys are gone.” Ino started grabbing makeup and hair combs and pins and stuffed them into a bag. Sakura grabbed the garment bags with the two kimonos and picked up a couple of the other bags.
“Yup. Looks like they’ve been gone for a while. I hope they don’t get lost on the way to the Hokage’s office…” Tenten rolled her eyes and laughed. “It’s a good thing you didn’t put Lee in charge.”
Sakura laughed. “It’s why I didn’t put my husband in charge, either. I figure somehow, between the five of them, they’ll make it to the offices on time. Okay. Do we have everything? Let’s get going.” Sakura herded them all out of the house and down the hill towards the village.
* * *
It only took a few minutes to make it to the offices, but they had to be sneaky getting inside because they guys were all standing around outside. When Hinata looked like she was going to call out to Neji, she earned herself a glare from Sakura. “He. Can. Not. See. You.“ Sakura held up one fist.
Abashed, she fell silent and they slipped around the back to go in through the room adjacent to the Hokage’s main office.
Once inside, Sakura, Ino and Tenten first took out dresses from the extra bags they’d brought and changed first. Working quickly, they were able to put up their hair and do their makeup in record time. When Hinata grumbled, they reminded her that she was the one getting married, not them.
That done, they took out the wedding kimonos. It took a bit of work to get Hanabi’s obi tied properly. It was a bit big on her, but they managed. It wasn’t until she looked closer that she noticed the tiny paw prints on the trim.
Hinata’s white silk kimono fit better, but they were careful to keep the embroidered birds that flew along the edges visible. The obi also had a bird at the end of each tie, and the whole thing was trimmed in pale gold.
Sakura took their wedding sandals out of the bags and put them aside. Then she opened another bag and took out a pair of earrings. She turned to Hinata. “There’s a custom that you’re supposed to wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. You have your mother’s comb, that’s old; the kimono, that’s new. Take these. They’re borrowed and blue” And Sakura handed her the beautiful blue earrings she’d worn to her own wedding. Hinata had to fight to keep from tearing up.
“No crying!” Ino practically screeched. She took to small strips of satin out of another bag. “Here are your garters. “ And she helped Hinata and Hanabi put the garters on their legs.
“Hanabi, you have old, the garter is new. These are blue.” Sakura gave Hanabi a pair of earrings similar to the ones that Hinata was wearing. “We’ll call those the ‘borrowed’ as well.”
Tenten suddenly burst into tears. The other four girls turned to her and stared. “Tenten?!?”
Tenten started hiccupping and had to fight to catch her breath. “It’s…” sniffle “so” hiccup “beautiful!” she ended on a wail. The other four women looked at each other and peered at Tenten.
“Are you okay, Tenten?” Sakura asked.
“It’s just…” she sniffled and worked to get a hold of herself, “we’re all getting married, you know? And things are changing. And, well, I’m just happy.” She took a deep breath and dabbed at her face carefully. “I’m sorry.”
“Oh…” Ino said and hugged her. “It’s okay. We understand.” Sakura nodded in understanding and hugged her as well.
“Okay. That’s enough of that.” Sakura checked her watch. “It’s time.” Ino went over to a chair in the corner of the room, moved a bag aside and picked up two bouquets.
“This was such a rush, but we wanted to give you as much of a wedding as we could. I hope you like them.” She handed one to each Hinata and Hanabi and stood back. The bouquets were mostly daisies and baby’s breath. They were perfect for the Hyuuga siblings.
There was a soft knock at the door and Hiashi stepped in when Sakura opened it. He gaped, open-mouthed, at his daughters. “Your mother would be so proud. You are both absolutely beautiful.” His voice was rough and he tried to clear it. “The Hokage is waiting. As are your husbands.”
Tenten, Ino and Sakura each hugged the brides and went out to stand in the office with the rest of their friends. Hiashi gently hugged each of his daughters and turned to the door. “Are you ready?” He asked them.
Hanabi and Hinata looked at each other and smiled. “Yes, Otousan.” Hinata said, “we are ready.”
- 16
- 17
- 18
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Protector