The steam and hot water of the onsen felt like heaven to Hinata's sore muscles. It was one of the few perks to traveling with the old termagant that she only stayed at the finest places. The downside, of course, being that the hateful, old woman caused Hinata to be more stress and tense than even a week of one-on-one training with Gai-sensei had managed.

At the moment, however, she was determined to push the woman's meddling from her mind and focus solely on soothing, peaceful thoughts. With a sigh, she sank so far into the water that everything below her nose was completely submerged.

Unfortunately, the tranquility of the moment was shattered by the sudden opening of the door, accompanied by Koharu's condescending, "There you are!" as though she would have barged into the private room so rudely had she been in any doubt of its occupant.

"My apologies, Koharu-san." said Hinata with as much dignity as she could muster whilst sitting naked in a pool of water, "I was unaware you would require me after dinner, as it is not your custom."

The older woman gave a slight huff but waved the comment off.

"I wished to speak with you," she said while eying the lush greenery and perfect wooden paneling around her, "And how are you affording the use of this room? I know it is beyond the stipend I gave you and heaven help you, child, if you charged it to the room."

Hinata straightened and did her best to steel her spine as the other woman eyed her critically.

"I used personal funds that I had been saving," she replied. And then for extra measure, "Though I may not be a favored child, I am still a member of the Hyuuga main branch."

Koharu sneered slightly but hummed her acceptance of this reason. Hinata silently breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't about to admit that Tsunade had been giving her "Hazard Pay", a term Hinata was quite sure should never really apply to ninjas, just for putting up with the old councilor.

The old woman settled herself onto a stone bench at the side of the pool and gazed down her nose as Hinata from her superior position before continuing with what she came to say.

"It appears you relationship with our mutual friend is progressing better than we had expected," she said, causing Hinata to bristle since she knew what they had 'expected' to find after her first night with Itachi was nothing more than her dead body. "As such, I believe it is time we discussed our next step."

Hinata felt all of her irritation turn cold and drop into the pit of her stomach. They wouldn't ask her to kill Itachi now that she was close to him, would they? Hinata had no problem dispatching an opponent in battle when she had to, but she was a far cry from an assassin. Not only that, but it had been some time since she had considered Itachi to be any kind of an enemy to her. For goodness sake, even now she had medicines secreted away in the hidden compartments of her bag so she could try and keep this man alive!

"As you know, the sharingan is a powerful bloodline that Konoha is loathe to lose," Koharu continued and Hinata went pale. Oh, but this was worse. "Therefore, we wish for you to secure for Konoha a child of Uchiha blood."

"B-but, Koharu-san," Hinata swallowed thickly, "while we have been able to hide the marriage between Itachi and myself, a pregnancy..." she trailed off, allowing the sentence to hang in the air. Her companion didn't seem at all distressed.

"There are ways. Ninja's do take long missions on occasion; and we already have the perfect place to keep you for the duration. We can simply have the child brought in and placed with an appropriate, and well watched, foster family upon your return."

Hinata's stomach soured at the thought of giving up any child she might birth; especially if the elders would be looking out for its 'well-being'. Koharu didn't seem to notice her distress and stood to leave.

"I suggest you ready your strategy before we arrive tomorrow." She proclaimed with a note of finality and swept from the room.

Hinata sank completely underwater, unsure of what to do. All she knew with any certainty, right now, was that the luxurious bath would no longer do anything to help ease her frazzled nerves.

XoXoXo

By the time the two women reached the drive leading up to the small cabin it was obvious to Hinata that Itachi was already there; although he was no where in sight, the open windows and smoking chimney gave evidence of his presence. She felt herself deflate slightly, still unsure how to broach the subject of Koharu's latest "request." She had been hoping to have some more time to think it over. The possibility of keeping the information from Itachi hadn't even occurred to her.

"Straighten up, girl." Koharu snapped quietly, "No successful seduction ever began with hunched shoulders. I'll be back in three days time. I trust that will have given you adequate time to locate your spine and remember you sense of duty!"

Without another word, Koharu spun on her heel and walked away. Hinata stared after her, first in shock, but the with growing indignation. She gave into her childish impulses just as the older woman rounded the corner at the end of the lane and stuck her tongue out at the hateful figure. A sound of amusement from the porch let her know that she now had an audience and she turned to find her husband wandering towards her.

"Itachi," She bowed respectfully.

"Hinata," he returned, inclining his head as he drew up beside her. "I take it you had a less than pleasant journey."

The large, sorrowful eyes she turned toward him gave him a moments pause. A good deal more than just unpleasant then, he concluded. Studying her face he realized that whatever had transpired between his young wife and the hag of a councilor was obviously important, and that Hinata had no idea how to tell him about it just yet. He nodded thoughtfully and took hold of her elbow, gently steering her towards the door to the cabin.

"First things first; I'll make tea as you settle in. Then we can talk." He gave her a tiny, reassuring smile and she heaved a sigh of relief.

A short time later, Hinata was gratefully cradling a cup of tea and relaxing into her chair in a way that she would never dare when at home. She was monumentally grateful for the extra time Itachi had given her to compose her thoughts. While she was still unsure of exactly what to say, it seemed that just starting to talk and letting the words flow might be the best option.

"The didn't expect me to survive our marriage this long," she began. It was a fact they were both aware of but that neither had uttered aloud prior to this point, "Now that I have, the elders seem to think it's time for me to use our relationship to further benefit the village."

Itachi remained silent, but thoughtful. There were several possibilities of actions they could want her to take that instantly sprang to mind, none of which would be made easier by his knowledge of their plans. She was defying them, he realized, though he was unsure of exactly why. Curios, he motioned for her to continue.

"They want to reintroduce the Sharingan blood line to Konoha," She explained, "But I won't. I refuse to do it."

Itachi had known for some time that Hinata wouldn't be comfortable with intimacy between them, at least no any time soon. Still though, to hear her so plainly and vehemently reject the idea caused an unexpected stab of pain, to both his pride and something much deeper that he thought it best not to dwell on. Hinata, however, was to busy studying the depths of her teacup to have caught the surprising emotion flicker across his face.

"She said they would take the baby," She continued, her voice cracking slightly as she fought the tears welling in her eyes, "Place him with another family, someone 'suitable', so they can raise him the way they want. Use him as a pawn. They can't. I won't let them take my babies from me. Ever. For any reason. They won't manipulate our children, I refuse to allow it."

When Hinata looked back up, eyes shining with determination and a deep inner fire, it was to see a visibly surprised Itachi sitting across from her. Belatedly, she realized it was likely the most forceful thing he had ever heard her say. And she had been talking about having babies with him! The realization caused her to blush to the roots of her hair.

Understanding what had likely caused the furious blush, Itachi offered Hinata a gentle smile. He was feeling both relieved and foolish that he had misinterpreted her earlier statement, but he could push those feeling away for later perusal. She had presented a genuine problem. As much as the un-trainable teenage boy part of him might love to follow the councils suggestion, he was in complete agreement with her assessment of the situation. The council could not be put in charge of their offspring; he knew their methods far to well to sanction anything of the kind.

Reaching across the table, he took on of her hands, startling her.

"They won't take any children from you, Hinata," He said firmly, "I promise."

Hinata relaxed a bit at this and they both sat quietly for a minute, lost in thought.

"Yes," Hinata nodded, frowning, "but not in so many words. She approached me about it last night. Today she simply chastised that slouching made for poor seduction."

Itachi hummed thoughtfully.

"That was foolish of her, to talk so openly about such things when I was so close." He said, catching Hinata's eye and reading her understanding there. "I will take care of this. It will not come back on you. Don't worry."

Hinata smiled brightly and nodded. While it may not do to dwell on how it had happened, she did trust Itachi, implicitly. If he said he would take care of it, he would.

XoXoXo

Almost precisely three days after her departure, Koharu arrived back at the cabin. Though she was quite sure that Itachi, at least, was aware of her presence, no one came to great her. Frowning at such rudeness, she made her way to the door and was raising her hand to knock when she felt someone materialize behind her and turned.

"An approach such as that could be considered a threat." She said to Itachi as he gazed impassively at her from where he was leaning against one of the porches support pillars.

"I sent Hinata inside to gather her things," he said, deliberately ignoring her statement, "There are things you and I need to discuss."

"And what has the little fool done now?" She practically growled, whipping her head in the direction of the house and looking surprisingly feral for someone who usually presented such an air of refinement.

"That would depend on which 'little fool' you are referring to," Itachi replied tonelessly, causing the councilor to snap her head back in his direction, "If your demeaning comment was in reference to my wife then you needn't bother. She has done nothing but what you have asked of her."

"I have no idea what you're referring to," She replied, but he could tell that the old bat was nervous.

"She's a beautiful woman, my wife. All shinobi grace with soft curves and delicate features. It would be easy for her to seduce anyone she so chose. Even the most mentally strong...even if she was slouching." He had the satisfaction of watching Koharu grow pale at this. "Unless, of course, some 'little fool' chose to discuss such things within earshot of her target."

Koharu visibly trembled.

"Is-is she..."

"Dead?" Itachi finished for her, "No. I was aware from the beginning that you would have chosen someone who was completely loyal to Konoha. I will not punish her for your errors. However," he advanced until his opponent was pressed firmly against the door of the cabin, "order her to do something of this nature again and I may bring your errors back home to roost where they belong. Do we have an understanding?"

Wide eyed, Koharu could do nothing but nod. It had been many years since she had believed her own life to be in any danger, and she had grown soft.

Hinata chose that moment to appear around the side of the building, travel pack in hand.

"I'm ready," she said, looking between the two standing on the porch and appearing utterly baffled, "Is everything ok?"

"It's fine," Koharu snapped as Itachi took a step back, "Let's go."

Itachi nodded to Hinata to let her know everything was settled and the two shared a brief goodbye before Hinata hurried to catch up with Koharu who had already begun walking away.

"I didn't succeed in my mission," Hinata said quietly once they were well out of ear shot, trying to look as miserable as she possibly could. "I don't understand what happened, he just kept shutting me down. I promise I didn't slouch."

"It's inconsequential," Koharu replied, stiffening and not turning to meet Hinata's eye, "There are other ways and another Uchiha. Best to abandon this plan for now, we wouldn't want him to become suspicious."

Walking a few paces back, where she couldn't be seen, Hinata smiled brightly.

"Of course, Koharu-san." She said, "Whatever you think is best."

AN: And I live. Thank you to all those who have been waiting so patiently. To much time has passed for me to have any kind of viable excuse for it, but I do offer a very humble apology.

On a more amusing note, the working Title for this was "Koharu Wants Babies", but it just didn't fit with the mood of the story, so it had to go.