日向導 - A Hyūga's Guide

Chapter Thirty Two: Sisterhood

Hinata finally mustered up the courage to leave the confines of her home during the middle of March. She held a basket under her arm, her lips pursed and her fingers dancing across the surface of the basket as she got further and further away from the safety of her home. She had promised Sasuke that she would finally step out and speak with whoever it is she regarded as her friends.

Their worries didn't go unheard. She had begun to notice the annoyed and tired look Sasuke would return with after being stopped by everyone who was concerned. She was sorry that she had caused such a scenario to develop because she did not want to see anyone.

Stepping out of the house and into the main Palace served as a physical manifestation of her stepping into her role as Princess Consort, and not the Last Survivor of the Hyūga Massacre. There are rules, expectations that she had convinced herself that she was prepared for when she agreed to marry him because they could not possibly be any different than the ones she was raised with.

After she had laid with him, entangled with her own desires that had lay dormant for years, she knew that there really was no turning back. She had lost control of the outcome of everything she did, because her plans were thwarted the day she had acknowledged her love for the Prince. She did not move as The Last, but rather as The Present. She could not be stuck in the past, striving for the completion of her only goal — because she was to live in the present and be a pillar for everyone else.

This is what her father had prepared her for, and she was not going to let him down. So, she mustered up her courage, choking down that irrational yet mind numbing fear, and took the first fifty steps away from the Uchiha-Hyūga home. There was nothing left for her to do there, Sasuke had pointed it out after she had tinkered with every single thing in her reach.

The mats were placed neatly, the library was finished, the bedroom was decorated to fit them, the garden would soon be filled once the first day of Spring arrives. He was right, and she knew that he was. There was nothing to do, nothing for her to use as an excuse anymore because she had to face the one fear she had convinced herself meant nothing.

The fear that she was really about to move in a direction she did not plan for. A trip that she did not pack the right things for despite her experience with the unpredictable.

Hinata paused and watched as the maids worked, and the guards continued their patrols. No one had seen her yet, and she was grateful. Slinking off with her head raised high enough so that they did not question the brief look of uncertainty in her eyes, she plastered a smile on her face. They bowed; five, seven, twelve — she had lost count after the next group. Eyes looked, mouths moved, ears listened, and she wished that she hadn't stepped out.

She didn't know what was wrong, why she felt this way, and why her palms began to sweat. Sasuke said that the looks would die down after their marriage, yet they seemed to have intensified, and she could not do anything but blame herself. Had she not hid away, had she gotten the awkward greetings over with quickly, she would not find it unnerving as multiple eyes followed her.

Princess Consort. Empress.

She opened the door to the room and closed it behind her with hurried hands before she sighed and closed her eyes.

"Hinata!"

Her sister's voice calmed her instantly. She did not know why she thought it was a good idea to keep her away for so long. Turning to face her, she gave her a lopsided smile, her exhaustion easily deciphered.

"Is something the matter?" Sakura approached her, her hand outstretched to take her own, only if she wanted her to.

"I'm sorry for—"