I know what you're thinking: WTF? An update for both Another Way to Serve and The Hand of Lady Hyuga?

That's right, bitches! The holidays gave me time to write!

Enjoy! :D

xxx

The Hand of Lady Hyuga

Chapter Ten

She hadn't meant to interrupt. She hadn't meant to embarrass them or to make it difficult for their pride. She hadn't meant to have them clumsily attempt to salvage some sort of decorum or poise in her presence after such a devastating tryst—but she hadn't meant to stray from the central courtyard either. The heady profusion of scents worn by the heavily made-up ladies coupled by the coarse, uncouth greed of the fathers who begged for their sons…and the Lady Hyuga had needed a moment for herself.

After that self-actualizing and mortifying conversation with Lord Jiraiya and his obvious selling of his godson, the beautiful Lord Naruto...and the Lady Hyuga realized that she needed a moment to breathe and collect herself. She was both ashamed and shocked by how defenceless she was in the face of deep sapphire eyes, satin-golden hair and a complexion so luxurious that it suffocated her.

"Lust," she thought, "is dangerous."

No wonder men fell to the weakness. No wonder women were so unarmed.

Lust can happen unexpectedly: a glance, a smile, a wink, a scent…a well-placed drug.

Hinata kindly overlooked the unbecoming blush on the Lady Mitarashi's painted face—a mixture of both embarrassment and anger for being interrupted—as the Special Jonin straightened after being so roughly cast aside by Lord Kiba. Hinata would have been sympathetic of the woman if not for the obvious terror on the Inuzuka's face—a mixture of being caught in such an improper action…and for allowing himself to be in such a situation to begin with.

The Lady Mitarashi, suddenly remembering what decency was, hastily drew the material of her kimono over her exposed thigh and fixed the collar to, once again, sit demurely at her shoulder. The many years spent at the Ninja Academy and under the strict tutelage of her governess had the Lady Mitarashi immediately correcting her posture unconsciously. The undignified fumbling with her clothing told the Lady Hyuga just how false she was.

The Lady Hyuga had found the Lady Mitarashi wanting, not because of how the Special Jonin dressed, but because of how she acted. Only a villain would coerce an unwilling boy into bed. Only the most vilest of creatures would use unhanded methods to hasten such distasteful schemes.

Hinata had felt the genjutsu beginning to churn, and given how feeble Lord Kiba's protests had been she assumed (and rightly so) that the Lady Mitarashi regularly succumbed him into her devilish tricks. Hinata had not missed the relief mixed into horror of his gaze when she interrupted. He hadn't wanted to go with the Lady Mitarashi.

Which was why she had stepped forward.

She hadn't meant to interrupt or embarrass them. However, Lord Kiba's repeated refusal and his waning struggle to turn away had been glaringly obvious to the Lady Hyuga. He needed help, and she was not one to decline. The fact that the Lady Mitarashi had not only been dishonouring the Mitarashi Clan, but also the Inuzuka Clan, meant that the Tracking Alliance was also being dishonoured.

If Lord Kiba had been willing, then Hinata would not have stopped the rendezvous. However, he hadn't been willing. In fact, he had told the Lady Mitarashi more than once to stop. As the Inuzuka Clan was finer than the Mitarashi Clan, the Lady Mitarashi should not have overstepped herself. To do so would insult the Inuzuka. To do so would insult the Tracking Alliance. To do so would insult the Hyuga.

This meant that subtle politics had to be played and the Hyuga, of course, were very adept at being subtle.

After waving aside the Triple Threat, the Lady Hyuga had entered the smaller courtyard overlooking a pond. It was quieter here, stiller than the central Royal Courtyards, and there were even fireflies floating among the gardenias. Lotuses bobbed prettily on the pond's surface; the moon's reflection glimmering between the lily pads. Lanterns, dimly lit and casting soft shadows along the stone walkways and barristers, waved in the soft, warm breeze.

"Oh!" she had gasped quietly. "Did I interrupt something?"

And that was how they had found themselves in such an awkward impasse: the Lady Mitarshi hurriedly fixing her lewd state of dress, the Inuzuka's dog-nin hunched close to the ground in shame, and Lord Kiba quite stunned with no little fear for his reputation, his clan's reputation and even the Lady Hyuga's reputation.

Hinata gave him a look filled with compassion and a smile that spoke of her understanding, quite well, what had been happening.

He looked ready to jump into the pond and end it all.

It was such an unexpected and startling revelation on Hinata's part that she almost laughed. It was ridiculous for a boy to end his life after bedding a woman. After all, there were very few consequences (besides honour and reputation) that could hinder a boy after coupling. It was the woman, after all, who risked pregnancy.

And honour and reputation did very little to hinder one's skills in protecting those they loved and cherished.

He was being foolish and hyperbolic—wild and feral like all Inuzuka—that she found it quite endearing.

"Forgive me," Hinata roused after a moment of silence. "I did not know that this courtyard would be occupied. Lady…?"

She left the query open and knew that the Lady Mitarashi would be obliged to fill it. No clan would do the Hyuga discourtesy.

"Anko Mitarashi, my lady," the Special Jonin offered, a little tight from being caught off-guard. She attempted a small bow, but her outfit did not allow for modest displays of respect.

"Of the Mitarashi Clan?" the Lady Hyuga queried with flattering interest. "It is an honour to finally meet you. Your renown in the Snake Summons is much admired by my clan."

The Lady Mitarashi smiled, stilted and uneasy. The Lady Hyuga was not easy to read. "I thank you."

From her peripheral, Hinata caught Lord Kiba starting to hyperventilate. He was not made for subtlety—quite the opposite of the Hyuga, actually—which meant that she must end this charade (well played as it were) before it could truly begin.

"I am, in truth, glad to have crossed your paths," the Lady Hyuga said modestly. "I have been looking for Lord Kiba for quite some time."

Lord Kiba startled, his heart palpitating like mad and eyes wide with fear.

Hinata was quick to calm him. "As you know, the Hyuga are much obliged to the Inuzuka. Would you be so kind, Lady Mitarashi, to allow me to speak some words with Lord Kiba? He is an important member of the Inuzuka Clan-"

Don't fuck with the Inuzuka.

"-our Tracking Alliance has always been close-"

Don't fuck with the Aburame and the Hyuga.

"-and I have a special fondness for our friendship."

Don't fuck with me.

"I hope to become familiar with Lord Kiba as I have had very little chance to do so in the past," the Lady Hyuga concluded with a gentle smile.

Lord Kiba belongs to me.

Subtle. So subtle. But it was not beyond the Lady Mitarashi's quick intelligence and scathing wit. She could not, however, voice her true words or put her actions to a challenge, for doing so would insult the Hyuga and bring disgrace to the Mitarashi. She was outmanoeuvred and could not play this game. She did not know how powerful the Lady Hyuga was, having not witnessed it herself, but she knew that the Mitarashi's strength paled in the face of the Hyuga.

Perhaps, just perhaps, the Lady Mitarashi could lower the Lady Hyuga. But by doing so, the Hyuga would eradicate the Mitarashi.

No one wanted to fight the Hyuga.

No one.

Unable to refuse without sounding like an intruder to clan matters, or even a commoner, the Lady Mitarashi had very little choice but to oblige the Lady Hyuga. Dipping an agitated bow, the Lady Mitarashi retreated. "I understand, Lady Hyuga, the importance of friendship. Lord Kiba and I have been friends for a long time now, and I know how desperate he is to expand his circle. May we meet again, Lady Hyuga."

He's a whore.

"It would be a pleasure," Hinata returned, much more kindly and gentle.

The Lady Hyuga watched the Lady Mitarashi's deep purple silks slither past the courtyard's threshold. The stone wall that partitioned the garden into perfect squares had cast a shadow over the slick woman as she paused briefly—no doubt having spied the Triple Threat stationed at the other side of the stone wall—before moving on.

From the distance, Hinata heard a round of cheers coming from the central gardens where the soiree was just beginning to crest to a climax. Once she was sure that the Lady Mitarashi was gone, her chakra signature melding with the others at the party, Hinata turned to grace Lord Kiba with a consoling smile.

"Are-"

"Please don't tell my mother!" Lord Kiba burst suddenly.

His dog-nin whined and placed his paws over his eyes, not wanting to witness the downward shame that was sure to happen. Lord Kiba immediately paled and gaped, having realized what he had said and done. He could not believe himself to be such a dunce and a flounce!

Hinata wanted to laugh. He worried too much, and it didn't help that he was drunk. He could drink, she surmised from the scent of port and sake in his vicinity, but he'd drunk enough alcohol that evening to mar his judgement and impair his movements…just a little. The blush along his cheekbones, a mixture of embarrassment and modesty, was quite the opposite of the Lady Mitarashi's.

His was rather becoming, actually.

She caught Neji's harried sigh coming from the other side of the garden wall. No doubt that Lord Kiba's bumbling display was grating on her cousin's more "refined" tastes. Lord Kiba's roughshod appearance would have downed a few Hyuga as well. It was quite…refreshing in Hinata's mind. His imperfection made him unique and perfect in his own way.

A lantern swinging from the wall revealed a sliver of red lipstick on Lord Kiba's cheek. It was a souvenir left by the Lady Mitarashi, and no doubt Lord Kiba would be unhappy to find it there. No doubt the Inuzuka would be unhappy to find it there. It was wrong, Hinata observed of the paint on his cheek. It marred him somehow, a mark that spoke of the past he wanted to forget, to correct, to break from.

She had read his files and understood his self-hate.

But the fact that he wanted to better himself—was bettering himself—meant that he was a good boy.

Someday, she thought, he would make a good man.

Unconsciously, Hinata raised the sleeve of her hanfu and very gently, very carefully, smoothed out the red lipstick from Lord Kiba's cheek. It was a soft graze, hardly a touch, but felt more intimate than a lady respecting a lord. Her finger accidently stroked his cheek and an unexpected shiver ran down her spine. There was a certain curiosity to find his skin smooth and not at all rough like she expected—a certain appeal to feel the start of bristles growing along his jaw…

He was to be a man soon.

Startled, the Lady Hyuga withdrew her hand and stepped back. She found herself unable to meet his gaze, spying instead his dog-nin watching them curiously. She could feel the heat of her blush and the unsteady beat of her heart. When she dared to glance upwards, her bangs grazing her eyelashes, she saw her blush reflected on Lord Kiba.

This was ridiculous, she chided herself. This was what happened when she had so little exposure with boys her age. Lord Naruto had nearly decimated her. Lord Kiba now had her without her wits. She would need to cure herself of her body's illogical needs.

"Ridiculous," she muttered to herself, aware of the Triple Threat's unblinking watch. She blushed even further at the thought of Tenten's teasing.

"I-I'm sorry," Lord Kiba stammered, stepping back and curling defensively. He thought she had spoken of him!

Quickly collecting herself, Hinata shook her head kindly. "I did not mean you, Lord Kiba." She breathed in deep, faltering when she took in the heady perfume of port mixed with his natural scent of grass and earth. It was not unappealing, and again proved her lack of training in terms of the male species. "I only meant that Lady Mitarashi had overstepped herself."

She congratulated herself with her fast recovery.

A pained look crossed his expression and Lord Kiba cast his gaze out to the pond. "I…" He did not know what to say.

Knowing that this was a sensitive subject, Hinata offered, "We should return to the festivities if we wish to commence with Lady Inuzuka's arrangement."

Lord Kiba pressed his lips. She was speaking of the Tracking Alliance taking a drink together to show their solidarity and camaraderie. They knew that he must be in attendance; he was the son of the First Family.

She could read his hesitance, still ashamed of himself, and she reassured him by taking him gently by the hand and leading him from the pond. He was surprised, his breath catching, as he found himself following after the white and silver threads of her silks.

The Lady Hyuga would not say, but she felt her breath catching as well.

The sensitive groves of his larger fingers felt foreign and lovely in the delicate softness of her more smaller and feminine hand.

xxx

Shikamaru watched the Lady Hyuga return to the central courtyard with Kiba in hand. He was surprised, not at finding his hand in hers, but rather who had returned earlier from the same doorway. He had spied Lady Mitarashi hunting Kiba earlier that evening; for her pursue to be disrupted was a feat in itself. Even Ino, he knew, had trouble dealing with Anko when concerning Kiba's…nightly activities.

Shikamaru blinked and chose to cut off his thoughts before they got too visual.

It would seem that the Lady Hyuga had rescued poor Kiba. Shikamaru chuckled. Kiba hardly needed rescuing in most matters, but anyone would be daft if they didn't need rescuing from Anko.

He glanced around the revelry, catching the Lady Hyuga admiring a set of balloons and sparklers. Her obvious delight gave him pause. There was hardly anyone at court who was as artless and unmasked as her. Again, she had nothing to fear and he admired her for it. He admired that she could be herself when others would be ashamed to be so open and happy and delighted.

He admired her ability to live.

As the Lady Hyuga smiled at a balloon artist, Shikamaru noted that she had not released her hold on Kiba. He was not the only one who noticed, of course. Those who were sober enough to witness such a blatant display knew enough to keep their thoughts to themselves. Those whose tongues had been loosed from being plied with alcohol could not keep themselves from speaking undecorated words.

Shikamaru, like the Lady Hyuga, understood that if she were to let Kiba go, the Inuzuka could fly from the festivities at any given moment. Anko was still prowling in the shadows, after all.

Amused, Shikamaru glanced at his friends at either side of him. Chouji, to his right, was nursing a bag of popcorn and watching the Lady Hyuga's advance to the middle of the courtyard. To his left, Ino was frowning. She would have scowled if the Lady Hyuga was not the Lady Hyuga. Ino would not be having Kiba that night and Shikamaru was grateful. As much as he loved Ino, he sympathized with Kiba. Kiba had been too loose in his youth, and he was paying a price that Shikamaru could never imagine himself paying.

"That's a beautiful dress," Chouji admired of the Lady Hyuga's garb.

Indeed, Shikamaru agreed. He did not know much about women's clothing, but the pearlescent hanfu the Lady Hyuga was clothed in was simply breathtaking. Layers of while silk, threaded with peonies in silver spool, caught the lanterns and glances of the moon perfectly. The silver adornments of beads and bells in her hair played off of her ebony tresses well. The minimal paints on her face, embellished by her own natural blushes and admirable pale complexion, was envied by many that night. There was a certain grace and elegance in her long sleeves and the even longer trail: a divine moon spirit come to grace them.

Shikamaru wondered what it would be like to be Kiba at that moment, to be trailing after her, hand in hers, warmth in her warmth…

He sighed, "Troublesome." She was not his to have. Or rather, he was not hers to have. "Politics," he thought, disgruntled as always.

As usual, the Lady Hyuga was unaware of all the fuss she was causing. Theories and assumptions were immediately made about her relationship with the Inuzuka spare; the court was having such a game that night! In retrospect, Shikamaru reflected, the fuss hardly mattered in the Lady Hyuga's life. The theories and assumptions hardly bristled any Hyuga feather or dented any Hyuga armour. It all mattered very little in their lives, for there were more important matters to deal with than rumours.

Shikamaru smiled when he saw his sensei kissing Lady Kurenai sweetly.

Yes. Other matters. Other more important matters.

Like Lady Kurenai breeding.

Leaning against the garden wall, the current generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho team were presently shadowed over an awning. Shikamaru had called them together and, as much as Ino complained about missing the party or some dashing boy, they were now a little ways off from the crowd and noise to speak.

They took Shikamaru's call seriously.

"Ino," he said and she responded with a nod. "I want to know about Lady Kurenai."

Ino raised a brow, curious and a little confused. "What do you mean? You know as much as me."

"I mean about her pregnancy."

Neither Chouji paused in his popcorn-eating nor Ino in her confusion over the topic. Prince Asuma was their sensei, of course they knew of his approaching fatherhood. In fact, they were beside themselves with joy, only restrained for the sake of decorum and the secrecy of it.

Shikamaru sighed another "troublesome" and began again. "I want to know if there are others privy to the information."

Ino frowned, her eyes flicking as she filed through her thoughts. "Only the usual persons: the Sarutobi, the select Senju, us-"

"Our clans," Chouji supplied.

The Sarutobi and the Ino-Shika-Cho had a relationship that strengthened with each generation, a ceremony and bestowing of trinkets that bespoke of the maturing of the next Ino-Shika-Cho generation. Each Ino-Shika-Cho was bound, privately, to guard an individual Imperial Sarutobi member. It was what made the Reconnaissance Alliance so infallible; the Sarutobi could not exist without the Ino-Shika-Cho, and vice versa. There was very little the Sarutobi knew that the Ino-Shika-Cho didn't.

"Save for, perhaps, the Hyuga," Shikamaru amended. Aloud, he theorized, "The Powerhouses?"

"No doubt the Hyuga," Ino agreed, putting sounds to Shikamaru's thoughts. "The Empress and the Lady Hyuga are inseparable, much less Lady Kurenai and the Lady Hyuga."

"Uchiha," Chouji acquiesced. "That's why Kakashi is courting Lady Shizune, isn't it? To get more information on the babe?"

"Uzumaki," Ino added. "The Senju and Uzumaki have always been bound together."

"Can we assume Aburame?" Chouji put forward.

Shikmaru nodded at this. The Aburame's kikaichu were formidable spies, and fortunately they were allies. If the Aburame meant harm to the Sarutobi, the Hyuga would have to interfere. The Hyuga, Shikamaru was sure of it, would side with the Sarutobi.

No one wanted to fight the Hyuga.

No one.

"Not the Inuzuka," Ino said with a roll of her eyes. "They don't do clan politics."

"Not well," Chouji said in mercy.

The Inuzuka were too rough and loud to do anything subtle. They were lucky to have the Aburame and the Hyuga as close allies. Given their penchant for the superfluous and noise, none of the Aburame and Hyuga would inform the Inuzuka of this precarious news; it would only distract the Inuzukas from what they were good at: tracking, hunting and protecting.

It was, as Ino had vocalized, the usual persons who knew. This meant, as the Lady Hyuga had surmised, that-

"Everyone knows," Shikamaru mumbled aloud.

At this, Chouji and Ino went rigid. The sudden implication of Lady Kurenai being in danger was suddenly very real and daunting. The child in her womb, the growing Imperial child in her womb, could mean the life or death of some very important players of the realm. At any given moment, Lady Kurenai could be kidnapped or murdered, and their precious sensei's hope, dreams and love would be dashed in an instant.

For Team 9, that was unforgiveable. After all the blood, sweat and tears they've shed for each other—after the Ten Years War that nearly destroyed them and all they held precious—to be downed with one of their happy endings was just at the horizon?

Unforgiveable.

Ino's eyes went cold and steely—an ice in her blue eyes that chilled. "I'll talk to Sakura and keep an eye on Orochimaru. He's a fucking sneaky snake."

Chouji dropped his bag of popcorn in the trash and turned thoughtful. "I'll catch up with Naruto and get some information on Sasuke. Maybe Shino will let something slip?"

"I've been given the duty of guarding Asuma-sensei," Shikamaru revealed. "The Lady Hyuga will be at Lady Kurenai's side." The shock coming from Chouji and Ino was palatable, but Shikamaru continued regardless. "I will track the Lady Hyuga," an idiot's plan, of course, "and see where it takes us."

At a distance, the Lady Hyuga had finally released her hand from Kiba's and was now joining the Lady Inuzuka and the Lord Regent Aburame at the middle of the courtyard. They had delicate cups of sake in their hands and were to cement their alliance for all to see. It was a brilliant show, and there was no doubt in Shikamaru's mind that the Lady Hyuga was being genuine and true.

There was no doubt in Shikamaru's mind that the excitement in the Lady Inuzuka's eyes and the relief in the Lord Regent Aburame's expression were genuine and true. However, how genuine and true their alliance was, was yet to be known. The Reconnaissance Alliance did not know the inner workings of the Tracking Alliance, just as the Tracking Alliance did not know the inner workings of the Reconnaissance.

Shikamaru caught Sasuke staring at the Hyuga, Aburame and Inuzuka with envy and longing.

It must be nice, Shikamaru admitted, to be so sure of themselves.

No one wanted to fight the Hyuga.

No one.

Ino-Shika-Cho left the wall and divided ways. They knew their parameters and would play their roles well.

Lady Kurenai would be safe, Shikamaru surmised, under the guardianship of the Lady Hyuga.

Prince Asuma, however, would be entirely in his hands.

Shikamaru hoped he wouldn't fumble; he admired the Lady Hyuga for her surety.

xxx

the point