Sweet Dispositions

-Chapter 53- 
Revelation

Week 4

"Would you like me to send troops towards Iwagakure?" An official asked.

Akuma hummed in response. "Base 6 through 8 must be mobilized by next week."

The official nodded. "I will relay this information to Jimpachi-san, Akuma-oo-sama. Is the specimen growing well and nice?"

"Of course. The specimen has relinquished most of its will. The eyes will be needed in two weeks," Akuma continued.

Hinata learned to ignore all the discussions, praying for those who were in pain.

Hinata was in Akuma'a office, reading a magazine from three years ago. Akuma never gave her articles from recent times and highlights the DCA's terror reign. Strategically placed propaganda about all their wins. Hinata wanted to see when they lost, printed out like this.

The office was grand and regal, like her father's. It had many scrolls, documents and diplomas on the wall. It smelled like oak wood. Akuma's large desk had thousands of paper stacks. It overwhelmed her. There were letters, which confused her. Never overwhelmed, he liked to do his job.

Hinata was forced to witness it by sitting next to a carved out pillar.

"It's bizarre not to watch you through a window," Akuma said to Hinata.

"You are so creepy."

"What's creepy in love?"

"It's just your love. If I stop fighting, you will think of how you lost me. My personality. My inflections. My will. I will be a shell."

"As long as your blood is sweet, you can be poison or wine and that's alright. Defiance gives way to fear. Hate gives way to love. My hands give way to bruises and healing. You will surrender yourself to me."

"Whatever. I want to see something beautiful." Hinata gulped, loud and uncertain. "I've never asked you for anything but I want to see something beautiful."

Akuma looked at her then lowered his paper. "Something beautiful? Why not look in the mirror, you'll see a magnificent sight?"

"Be quiet. I want to see flowers. Something beautiful." Hinata demanded. "I'm surrounded by dead things. I see blood more than flesh. Even if it's impermanent, I want to see something beautiful."

"You must think that other things than the need for freedom. Is it not beautiful? It's paradise. There's order. There's all you could wish for."

If this were paradise, I would have loved you, Hinata said to herself. His office was filled with one picture of her, Uchiha artifacts. It reminded her of burnt wood, burned houses and cigars. She missed the sanctuary he or Taichirou ruined. It would be nice to know why bad things happen to her.

"I want to see Taichirou." Hinata's voice wavered. Her hold on the flimsy magazine anchored her to her seat.

"Why is that?"

"He beat up Sasuke and also ruined my life. I think it's due time that we have a chat."

Akuma didn't answer. It was plain to know that he wasn't saying yes. She's gotten used to his moods. When he wants to talk. When he wants to see violence. When he wants to... be romantic.

"Why did Taichirou burn my house?" Hinata asked.

"That was me."

Hinata lowered the magazine, gaping at him. "Why?"

"You were somewhere I was not. I needed you to come to Konoha. Besides, I needed to collect you and Kazuo." he said casually.

Hinata flinched. She wasn't a thing to collect. She was human. "Why did you steal things before burning my house down? You could have left a love note," Hinata joked darkly.

He chuckled. "You do have a perverse humour but I needed to get rid of evidence," he said with an odd smile in his voice.

Evidence of what? "Why did you steal all this stuff from my house?" Hinata hissed.

"Because they were also mine," Akuma said thoughtfully after a brief pause.

"Why would you steal it then?"

How would they belong to him, anyway?

He looked at her a moment like he was tired and she was keeping him away from sleep. All she sees him do is order people around, read and sign scrolls. He has more than enough rest.

"Things are complicated," he said loudly.

"Where is your family?" Hinata asked just as loudly.

"Sitting over there with you and Kazuo."

"It's not Kazuo. It's Benjiro. Ben-ji-ro."

"I am not arguing with you on our child's name," he said with an edge.

For a moment, the only sound was pen on paper. He watched her. "You could have added a 'u', it would have been much more fitting for an Uchiha," Akuma commented.

"If I cared what you thought about my child, I would have done the opposite." Hinata rolled her eyes. "If you wanted to name him, parent him or whatever, you should have been there to fight me on this years ago."

He broke his stylus pen. It shattered in his gloved hands. "Do not comment on my absentness," he said, every word controlled and measured.

She doesn't care about what he thinks. "Who is Taichirou Hychu?" Hinata continued pestering.

She was shameless. She had nothing to occupy her mind. She was in this limbo of being scared to death by something threatening her safety or being too overprotected, almost smothered.

All she could do was investigate why he wanted her so much. He needed her for leverage. Hyuuga Hiashi would never let Hinata be killed, much less Sasuke. She also had the children of the first byakugan-sharingan ever and she herself was pretty prominent as a person.

Some things didn't add up; like why would he own things in her house? Why doesn't he use his sharingan?

"Don't ask too many questions," he said with needles in his tone.

"Who was Taichirou? Why did he seem the seem the same as you? Are you both the same person? Did you have a clan? Did you love anything other than chaos?" Hinata scoffed.

His gloved fist clenched up.

"If I will carry your dreams as you asked, I should at least know if you had people to stop you from being whoever you were."

"Damn it, Hinata," he slammed his hand on the table. Dust exploded everywhere. Splinters and discarded chunks of wood skittered across the floor. "Don't ask too many questions."

That gave Hinata pause. She forgot how violent he could be. All she's seen were his... anarchist side with gentlemanly touches, the one who kept her safe and the one who spent all of his resources to make her fall in love with him.

"Being hated comes with the territory of protecting a clan. Your family." he regarded her with black hate.

"If you value lives, why would you kill them needlessly?" Hinata walked up to him. "Why do you get to play God?"

He grabbed her wrist. Miniature slivers of wood dotted his black gloves. Hinata winced. When he grabbed her, they dug into her skin.

"My family has been killed needlessly. When in death, all are equal. Death's embrace is soft and kind for the weak," Akuma whispered.

"When did it become a society of losers and winners? The strong and the weak? You are an Uchiha with roots in Konoha, why would you forsake your country, people and swear for their destruction?"

"I have a past in Konoha. Konoha determines which family has more power, which has more status and who gets to have the strength. Konoha is the source of all evil."

She felt her wrist could magically snap. He wasn't jesting this time, he surely wanted to make her feel pain.

"You're hurting me," Hinata said calmly.

"Good," he snarled.

"I'm weak. I have no say in where I am. I can't fight. I have nothing to live for. Hurt me more. Spill my blood. If you like it so much, why haven't you used your sharingan?"

Akuma flinched at the question.

"All your pawns are weak! They've been experimented on by you and Konoha. I know what power looks like. You don't have any without the sharingan!"

He threw her aside.

She catapulted into the wall. Instantly, her lungs felt like they would explode. She coughed with a rib bruised. Her head thunked on the cold stone wall. Her hat landed gently, the only sound in the room.

So Taichirou was nowhere to be found. And Akuma hasn't used his sharingan.

Jimpachi waltzed in with a big grin. "Ah. Master, there has been a new shipment of pawns. Some of them have been delicious. Their deaths, that is." Jimpachi chuckled darkly to himself. He wiped some purple hair behind his ear.

"Why do you need so many pawns? Slaves? Sadness?" Hinata cried.

"To start a war. What else?" Jimpachi yawned. "We right the wrongs that have befallen upon us, the persecuted people."

Hinata glared at Akuma, gasping for breath. Akuma couldn't calm his breathing as he controlled himself and his urges.

Jimpachi finally read the room, eyes darting between both Hinata's cryptic glares, the broken desk, and Akuma's heavy anger wafting through him.

"Trouble in paradise?" Jimpachi looked amused. "My lady Akuma, you need to always smoothen the waters of your relationship and do what's best for Akuma. You serve him, do you not? Handle your master wisely."

Akuma stepped forward and reached for her other flailing wrist. "Hinata- I have to take everything away from my enemies. I don't kill them, I kill their dreams... You must understand that. I govern towns and I can't afford a rebellion. Defiance has to start and end things."

Hinata flinched away. "Don't touch me."

Akuma crossed his arms after a long sigh. "I guess my strength and chakra is useless in the face of you."

"You wouldn't be able to fix me. Chakra can't mend the emotional damage. Chakra can't make me hate you less. You can't fix what life is like with death and control."

"There aren't any other means. Frankly, if there were, I would still use the mode that is most effective. I am trying to protect the land, the sky, the hidden stars that smile upon you and the wind that saves you. I am trying to save the world where you exist."

A dry wind blew through her as she shifted her weight. "I don't want to be saved. I've been through many meetings and farewells. Don't make me lose more. Don't destroy all the things humanity itself in my name." Hinata held her wrist.

"How dare you soil his name? He means and does well! All of this is for the betterment of society." Jimpachi stopped short with a look. "Master-"

Akuma held up his hand. "Let her be."

Hinata shirked back when Akuma approached her.

He raised his strong arms in surrender. "It's okay, I won't hurt you."

Hinata bulked up her fists. She doesn't believe that. He approached her again, one step this time.

"I won't hurt you. I won't hurt you," he whispered again and again.

He sounded so tender, so sincere but no words could persuade the back of her head to stop throbbing with blood.

Hinata ignored the feel of his back pressed against her chest, the solid feel of his arms around her waist, and the warmth of this position. She wished it were a meat locker.

She doesn't feel safe. Her ribs protested and the back of her head stung. She fought it but he was a boa around her. She couldn't stand the sound of his heart. Demons don't breathe. Demons don't smell like raspberries and... lavender.

"I apologize. There are things my lady should not know," Akuma said after two minutes of her shivering in his grip.

She ignored the daggers, bombs and dangerous things under his coat.

¤¤¤

They looked up to an infinite sky. Flashing stars. The musk of rain was heavy. The ground was dried, the softness of the grass unparalleled. Hinata still was hesitant, a couple months pregnant and a whole lot of scared. She didn't trust the forests yet, no matter how pretty the forest was or how the pine trees never wilted.

Hinata was so awkward around Sasuke when they first arrived at Mitsuyo's house. She annoyed him when he was in his odd moods. She annoyed him, period.

"Do you know how unsanitary it is to lay near a swamp when crocodiles exist?" Hinata said, staring at the tall greenness obscuring their views. "When it floods, the banks have a habit of allowing crocodiles to swim into the soft grass."

Sasuke looked up to the little bugs flying around, beautiful. "Ah. Don't be paranoid. Have you seen the fireflies? They're like little stars that got way too close." he said calmly.

Hinata's cheeks reddened a bit. He would usually spaz out by now but he wasn't. He was being... calm and nice.

"You have found something you liked. That's nice," Hinata said, looking away.

He was quiet for a while. The crickets played on. Time dripped like honey from bees. The air was sweet. The distant movements from small animals shocked her. The watching of towering trees, the gentle sway of the wind reminded her of Neji.

The whistles. The chirps. The warmth. This soundtrack, probably the song of her childhood. How could Kumo imitate this melancholic melody? She suddenly looked at Sasuke. He wouldn't ever get along with Neji. That made her tongue go dry.

"Sasuke-"

"You're not so bad." he looked at the sky. "At least you don't call me troubled and depressed every other day."

Hinata's heart trembled. "No one would... say that to your face? Unless... er, I mean. No one should," Hinata sat up. "Isn't that nice?"

Sasuke usually pulled bark from the trees, picking at the petals and leaves. He liked seeing Hinata get angry over nature. He sat, at peace with his one arm cradling the back of his head.

"Lay down and be quiet. Relax," he grunted.

"Ah. Okay. My brother... and I, uhm, used to watch the stars a lot."

"My brother and I shot arrows at each other. He broke my leg."

"Oh. Mine did too. My collarbone..."

Hinata looked at him then felt rocks poke at her scalp. She sat up, alarmed. Something's crawling in her shirt!

"I can't lay down on this any longer!" Hinata yelped.

Sasuke looked at her. "Ah, you're such a pain."

He walked away and she was left alone.

Shigeko sat with the meditating Hinata and interrupted Hinata's peace of mind.

Shigeko yelled, "Just because Reize is busy scratching the upholstery off of someone's bed doesn't mean that you get a free pass. You are suspicious to me, don't make unnecessary struggles-"

"Do you miss him?" Hinata asked suddenly.

"Who?"

"Orochimaru."

Saying such a name... collapses buildings and invites darkness and sorrow.

"Why would you ask a bloody question like that?" Shigeko demanded.

"Because we forgive the ones we love, no matter how angry we are. We have long been disdained about him, I assume. He ruined my lover. He ruined your son. He ruined you." Hinata sighed.

"What'd Sasuke do to you?"

"A lot. Do you miss Orochimaru?" Hinata pressed.

"Yeah." Sadness soaked Shigeko's face.

"Did you want to get married?"

"I don't but he does." Shigeko shrugged away any emotion. "Eventually, you have to forgive Akuma, for he is great and strong..."

Hinata looked at her. Instead of Sasuke filling her mind, she saw scenes from the torture chambers. Her shoes sticky with blood, her toes sticking together. The open wounds. It smelled like rotten meat.

"You'll only get hurt if you defend those lower than you." Shigeko rolled her eyes.

"Then you are a coward."

"Me? A coward?" Shigeko pulled her sword and charged at Hinata, her cold sword beside her neck. "Aren't you seeing his reign on a massive scale? People die before him. None of us are safe! Are your eyes just for decoration? If you think he'll stop, you nobly hang onto nothing." Shigeko lowered her sword. "What're you trying to get at?"

"Orochimaru did something to Akuma-oo-sama and you were kidnapped. Mitsuyo did something to both Orochimaru and Akuma and I was taken. There is nothing else to blame."

Shigeko watched her closely. "You can blame time. For it started everything... Time ended everything."

Hinata looked around. "Why does this place exist? Where is the clone? How is she?"

"You mean 002?" Shigeko snorted. "That girl is long gone. Here are anarchists without a plan, who only wish for mayhem gathered here after experiments. Your Akuma wanted a ripe copy of you and your otherworldly powers. He thought he'd be satisfied with just one. He wasn't."

"Why do you have experiments on people?"

Shigeko laughed. "As if you would get anything outta me." she offered a sly glance, getting sad. "What I am going to tell you is that my sharingan erases people's memories. I think I have someone I'm going to use it on."

Hinata recoiled.

Shigeko laughed. "Not on you. Kaiya's sharingan takes a lot out of a person however someone needs to have their slate clean after I've hurt them."

Hinata shuddered and ignored Shigeko's wild statement.

Did... Akuma really use Hiroki to stalk Hinata? No.

Some Hyuuga died in a freak accident.

Akuma killed other Hyuuga to get their eyes... It wasn't hard to grave rob the Hyuuga when one is a Hyuuga. Hyuuga seal their eyes after death. He probably killed Hyuuga, switched out their authentic byakugan with fakes before anyone collected the body.

She focused on the good things now.

Agh. Why can't she talk to Sasuke? They were friends? He was being nice, he wanted to watch the stars and be happy- why couldn't she just let it happen?! She wanted to rip out her hair.

Just after he walked away, Hinata couldn't take her thoughts anymore. She wanted to have deep conversations with him and she was being shallow!

"Arrrgh! Why am I so awkward?" she yelled out in frustration.

"You're actually not too bad. I didn't know what it meant to be a man until I found you. Isn't that pathetic?"

"I... No," Hinata's cheeks burned. "Really?"

"Awkward people drive others away. You're open, kind of empty but open. Maybe that's apart of your charm," he scratched the back of his head.

He walked away. In her older memories, he would turn around and drag her back to the greenhouse, where it was safe and closed off.

Now, her memory is a bit distorted. This time, he kept on... walking away. And away. And away, out of her arms and life into oblivion.

Shigeko cleared her throat. Hinata cracked an eye open. Her throat burned with the unshed tears...

It was... the boy.

"Mitsuki wanted to speak to you. You left an impression on him," Shiegko explained.

The boy, Mitsuki, smiled. "You're Lady Akuma. I heard you ate pawn food. The doctors say you had a stomach bug and required help." Mitsuki blinked. He presented chicken noodle soup and a tall can of bug spray. "I heard you liked soup and uh, this is what I like eating when I get sick. It has to make you feel better. And here's the bug spray."

Hinata smiled a bit. That's sweet. He got bug spray and pills for me, Hinata thought. She reached out and hugged him.

"Get your paws off of my son." Shigeko yelped.

Hinata, suddenly, felt split in two. When the twins wouldn't understand they would do cute things.

"I like being squeezed by her. She's soft and kind." Mitsuki said calmly.

Hinata released the boy. "Thank you. I feel better."

That was the truth. She felt uplifted. It's so strange.

"Yeah," Mitsuki smiled peacefully.

It was the first time she felt at ease. She kept on hugging him. She... missed her kids and having laughter that came from deep within her body. Mitsuki getting her the soup. It was genuine. It was kind. This was so kind. It made her tear up and her throat closed in.

Mitsuki cleared his throat and stepped back. "I feel uncomfortable now so please unhand me!"

Hinata abided and pulled away. The soup looked appetizing and safe. It was normal-coloured and the noodles reminded her of the kids loving it. Devouring it before coming to Konoha.

He shook the can. "This will kill all of the germs. The bugs in your stomach, too!"

Mitsuki sprayed the soup with the bug spray until a white film of foam floated on her previously edible soup.

Hinata laughed again and laughed and laughed. She couldn't breathe. He... he's so cute! The aerosol can was nearly finished and the bitter smell of the bug spray wafted around her. It made her lightheaded.

A figure looked in on them at the door. Akuma. Standing there like a deadly owl, with a different mask and the signature black kimono shirt and leather gloves.

Hinata tensed up and her laugh died out. How long has he been standing there?

Hinata and the two others looked at Akuma, in pure silence. Waiting. Hinata's heart beat so fast. Her bones cringed too.

Both Shigeko and Mitsuki scrambled to get on their knees. "Greetings Akuma. Kingdom, part, place," Shigeko said loudly.

"Greetings Akuma-oo-sama. Kingdom, part, place forever," Mitsuki said shortly afterwards.

They both bowed. The air froze and Hinata held her breath. Her lungs burned.

"No, no, carry on as you were," Akuma said to Hinata.

He was so casual. She hated it. "You promised me alone time during the day. What... What do you want?" Hinata choked out.

She's never been too confident around him. Hinata fiddled with her cuticles. She was afraid of his answer, what he would do to her.

He suddenly walked over to the can of bug spray. He crouched, looking at the untouched soup and poked at the foam. It stained his finger until he rubbed it between his index finger and thumb.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked Hinata.

"It's none of your business."

Akuma glared at her. Hinata flinched. Acute tingling consumed her bruises and cuts caused by Akuma. They warned her not to do anything to avoid all the pain. He never asserted herself in her business and actually participated in her activities. Why was he doing this today, choosing this day to ruin?

"What makes you smile?" he asked.

"Pretty things like flowers..."

"Ah, just like Winter and Remy," he said and picked up the can. "Why is this in your presence?"

Hinata's eyes purposely avoided the gaze of the little boy with pale blue hair. "I wanted it. I needed it."

"Why is it in your soup? Go on and tell me as communication between us is key."

"I tell you everything you need to know." Hinata gulped.

"Then why do you need this bottle?"

Akuma tapped his long fingers against the can. It made a funny tin sound.

Hinata's heart hiccuped. "It isn't important-"

"Do not lie to me! You smiled because of something as haphazard and strange as soup and poison!" he swatted the soup. The bowl smashed against the opposite wall, just beside her ear.

He walked near to Mitsuki.

Hinata picked up the pieces of the bowl. "Why must you ruin what I value?! Why does a smile matter so much to you?" Hinata yelled, waving around the shards. "Smiles represented the old me! Do you want the old me? Return me to my-"

His voice was clear for the first time like he wasn't ageing during the conversation. "I don't want the old Hinata back. I just want the new Hinata to be happy! And that brat restored something I've desperately wanted for months!"

Akuma kicked Mitsuki. Mitsuki's body was lifted by that one kick. Hinata raced and caught him. He fell into her arms. Hinata got him. Mitsuki was safe!

"How low you are to hit a child! What is your problem?! Why hit him?" Hinata demanded.

"What has he done to make you smile? A child that knows nothing, with the blood of that snake has made you smile?" he raised his volume.

He stepped forward and Hinata pushed the boy behind her.

"Don't hurt him. Hurt me. Hurt me." she begged.

He stepped forward and Hinata immediately flinched away. She genuinely thought she would die. He picked her up by the arm and dragged her away. Akuma didn't notice Shigeko's blade sliding back into her sheath. Hinata did.

They sat with each other at his office. Hinata glared at him and he just stared blankly. He forced her to sit in his lap. "Winter, I want to ap-"

"If you apologize... I won't ever speak to you again," Hinata whispered callously.

He closed his mouth with a snap. "Why do you care so much about that boy?"

Hinata didn't say anything else.

A while later, Reize bandaged her up. Hinata sat on the bed while Reize flushed her wounds. Hinata's feet and body were numb as she curled them under her. It was mostly silent, Hinata cried for a little too and Reize said nothing about it.

"I used to do this with the last good wife of Jimpachi," Reize commented idly.

"Jimpachi was married?"

"He lived with a son. A wife. A dog." Reize nodded sadly. "Both the dog and the son ran. The wife was bruised by his hands and also limped away. Since then, he's been cold. He astounds me and he commits to nothing else but murder and torture. How a divorce could change someone." she whistled.

"Why do these men hurt the ones they love?"

Reize's black eyes were... mysteriously wet. "My lord loves you, his heart is a big place. His people are his heart. You are his heart. I believe it."

Hinata couldn't believe it. "I know what the touch of love is and it doesn't come with a bloodied fist."

Reize stopped putting ointment on Hinata's eyebrow wound. "Hinata-"

"Why do my encounters with him end in fear and blood? I bleed, all the time. True power, when concentrated doesn't make needless destruction." Hinata sighed.

Reize sighed along with her. "Rest assured, you are the only one who gets healed by the doctors. Those who are sick bow down to Akuma-oo-sama and beg for treatment. That's why they respect him as a king. That makes his rule absolute. That's the politics of this place. This healing isn't what I am meant to do."

Hinata's eyes widened. "What are the doctors doing instead of healing?"

Reize looked down. "They do more harm than good. You would have thought with my skills that I was a doctor. No. I am an assassin who knows how to cut and heal. It's quite contradictory. You will be fine. Akuma-oo-sama loves you." Hinata winced when Reize pressed a finger to a bruise. Black and purple. "I admit, he does go overboard. We sometimes run out of this cream..."

Hinata got hurt so often, there's so much nerve damage. Her whole body was numb. Will she feel again?

Reize thought for a moment. "Normally, he would be kind to family. He did adore his child Kazuo-"

"Benjiro. Benjiro is my child. Why does he even call him Uchiha Ryouta Kazuo?"

"He would've liked to share the greatness he finds and carry on that legacy through the middle names they share; Ryouta," Reize looked at the ceiling, fiddling with her curls. "We can skip lunch and dinner. I will say you were injured and too sick to continue, my dear."

Hinata's eyes lit up.

Hinata could go back to being alone, having some quiet. In this place, having a calm mind was like having rubies and jewels in her pocket after a decade of poverty.

Why would Reize be sympathetic? Why?

Reize backed away after removing her gloves. "I will go ask the master for your alone time."

Hinata knew what would happen if she went alone. Hinata didn't want Reize to be hurt for Hinata's sake.

"I- I want to go with you." Hinata cried, skittering off of the bed.

"No! You are to stay here. Need I remind you that are a prisoner under my command, my lady?"

That felt like a slap to the face. "I-I just th- Akuma's going to hurt you."

"And? I don't mind any pain."

"I do!"

Reize's curls bounced as she walked to the door. "You can heal me and do something that you were meant to do."

Hinata ran to catch up- to stop the pain but Reize was gone. A large icicle impaled itself on the door's handle and she couldn't get out or get in.

Hinata waited near the door, for about an hour and twenty-two minutes. Pure anguish. Then pure relief when she woke up to gentle words and good dinner.

Reize had unexplained injuries but Hinata knew exactly how she got them.

Reize just smiled calmly. "You may have alone time."

Reize smiled at her and Hinata looked down.

Maybe you could do nice things with your power, Reize, Hinata thought.

"Thank... you."

"It's nothing. Nothing at all," Reize smiled.

Hinata, for the first time, didn't flinch away from the hand that stroked her hair.

¤¤¤

The sky was painted with honey. Purple sunlight's groping its way through air. Ah. It's just before daybreak. 

Reize rattled around, folding things.

Hinata twirled her short blue hair on her fingers. "Reize... how does the sun set and rise? We're underground..." Hinata asked.

Reize just smiled, skipping over her question. "Did you stay up all night to watch the moon sink, my lady?"

"I was waiting for voices to call me from the horizon and daybreak remind me of my lover."

A twilight happiness positioned between night and day. She watched the fluorescence under stars.

If she didn't speak, Reize would report to Akuma and he would personally give her a gift. A person Jimpachi killed in precise rage.

"Ah. How kind you are to my lord."

For the past weeks, life has been much the same; heavily coordinated with routines and activities that peeled off her sanity.

She wakes up, Reize helps her into a set of clothing that was fit for princesses. Bread and oranges for morning breakfast. She doesn't eat meat anymore.

She goes to a couple of meetings with Akuma. She bickers with Jimpachi. She fights with Reize on which hairstyle is fit for lunch.

Lunch happens.

Hinata joins Akuma in the torture chamber for a minimum of three hours. They have dinner before the pit and watch people get decapitated. She gets drugged. She wakes up by his side in the bed. Bruises. A new necklace. A book. Other gifts like earrings and clothes. Fall asleep beside him and start it all over again.

Oh yeah. Don't forget to clock in the stabbing sadness of missing her family.

Waves come back to waves. All my great loves will come back to me. The gods assure safety and return to those who are in love. Standby and into the peace, Hinata nodded. I'll come back to what I need. Good or bad love.

"The moon invites melancholy. Many of the others call you twilight princess, due to your sadness and disappointment of being at his side. Have you fallen out of love with Sasuke?"

Hinata winced.

Whenever she is with Akuma and all of his terrifying qualities, she's wishing she were with Sasuke. She kind of hates Sasuke. Why couldn't he just say yes? Marry her anyway? She's thought a lot about what they've done, who they are, what they want.

Sasuke wants to rebuild Konoha and a sanctuary for Uchiha with his Uchiha. He also wanted the kids to be trained in both the byakugan and sharingan. He wasn't focused on marriage.

Hinata wanted to get married, lead the kids to safety (away from dojutsu) and just live. No violence. No hurts. Just live with her kids.

Was she selfish? Was she in the wrong?

"My lord wouldn't appreciate his lady having bags under her eyes. You must have slept. Someone as delicate as you should get rest. You must take your pills. No cheating for you need your medicine."

Hinata swallowed the chakra-taking pill. Hinata doesn't sleep; the guilt eats away at her dreams. She's all surly, world-weary and can't provide any help to anyone.

Reize looked at her for another moment. "There is something... How can I put this? There's something lonesome about you. Do I hear any... regret? Do you question our progress? Hinata... I believed that we... made headway in appreciating our master..." Reize said.

The air-dropped in temperature. Hinata's exposed skin felt frigid and cold. On the window, fog condensed and there was a whirlpool of a blizzard forming.

"I adore the master. He is my sun. I watch for daybreak to wait for the sun. He illuminates me," Hinata said, once again, to lie but survival was another battle she wanted to win.

"It is a great way to remind yourself of someone so nourishing and life-giving. He is tolerant and gives us light." Reize's cheeks became red. "He gives you all the love you've never gotten before you left home."

"He isn't even the sun-" Hinata started to say but it was practically snowing. Her fingers were icicles and frost collected on the tangles of Hinata's lashes. "No, that is what it is like to be the sky," Hinata smiled.

He isn't the sky. He is misery.

"I adore him..." Hinata said softly. Vinegar and bile forced her to gag or at least keep down the vomit.

Reize's expression softened.

Hinata got sheepish. She's gotten too good at acting. Her lips curled and she looked down on purpose, to appear sincere and bashful. "I really adore him."

Reize calmed down and reached out, poking Hinata's cheek. "Oh," she said cutely, a bounce to her step. "Then- then, of course, carry on."

Reize tossed the blanket she clutched aside and it sure enough shattered. How cold... are Reize's hands? Hinata let out a loud exhalation of anxiety. Why... Why did she have to say that?

"Tell me, Reize... If we're underground, how do I get to watch the sunsets and sunrise?"

Reize smiled again, not answering her question. "Goodbye, my little goddess."

She heard slow clapping long after Reize was gone, right after she released a breath she'd been holding onto.

"Why are you here?" Hinata asked loudly.

"One of my trainee pawns told me to go to hell. And now I am here," Jimpachi casually leaned against the door frame, hands in his pocket. He conspicuously always wore white.

"You've found the secrets of taming the shrew," Jimpachi barked his laughter, "but if you don't really believe your words, how could you convince me or most of all your sky, your light and your patron- Akuma-oo-sama? Sometimes Reize has more hair than brain cells. I love her but she could be quite dense when it comes to you. You do not love Akuma. The moment you betray him is the moment you die."

Hinata blew off Jimpachi's words.

"You... are romantically involved with Reize?" Hinata asked suddenly.

"Yes. She is my wife."

Hinata's jaw dropped. Hinata cannot fathom any reason why they would be together!

"We are married. That's the way we stand but we are in an open relationship. The only person we are both in love with is Akuma, as we are completely faithful to him and can only find satisfaction and happiness within him, at his side."

How empty. "Why even get married?" Hinata asked. Her blood rushed through her blood like sand.

"Because we love Akuma," he said simply. "Akuma chose us and we spend the rest of our lives honouring that. We are linked to each other through him." he sucked in a large breath and fiddled with the chain of his watch. "Akuma chose you too. I have to honour that."

Hinata laughed at the absurdity of the marriage, this conversation and the fact they got married for the wrong reasons.

"Don't laugh at the Lord's choices, you were one of them." Jimpachi snarled.

"I'm laughing because how you remind me of myself. Getting married to women or men for the wrong reasons."

"We are not alike. I do not lie about what I am or who I love. Besides, you don't like killing people."

Hinata opened her mouth.

"Save it squirt. The only reason you are alive is that the master said you. If it were up to me, you would've been a lovely coat or pair of boots if I felt nice at that time. I cannot waste tender, beautiful skin."

"Why have you come here?" Hinata asked again.

Jimpachi laughed. "You have someone who is eager to see you. Miracles do happen."

"Mitsuki?" Hinata asked wonderingly.

"Nope," Jimpachi looked at her. "Although he is wondering why you avoid him."

"I d-don't avoid  him," Hinata sputtered.

Hinata just preferred not to... look at Mitsuki. He was corrupted by this place. And she can't get him killed by filling his mind with ideas and things that would get him killed here.

She felt guilty. Guilt for not being able to save him. Guilt for teaching him about history, about the world, Kumogakure, new shinobi techniques and what different foods taste like. He's been to places to kill civilians and their homes, not learn about their cultures and the value of life.

Mitsuki grew up like a prince and has a higher rank than his mother, Shigeko. He a merciless killer and he wasn't allowed to feel emotions. He is never afraid.

"You are the worst liar in the world. You have the appeal of cow dung and the ears of a rat. I have no idea why Akuma adores you and he loves you, someone, who will only shit on our head."

"I don't expect you to understand," Hinata said then narrowed her eyes. Even she doesn't understand. "Anything... anything at all."

"You're not even interesting to look at! You're a washboard compared to Reize."

That's the first time that anyone has ever called her the equivalent of a washboard. Are they calling her  flat? Hinata threw her shoe in his direction.

"Forget you! Leave me at once!" Hinata looked away, peeved.

He dodged the shoe. "You can't order me around. You damned bitch."

"Me? I told you to leave. Your ears are much too large but you don't listen or understand at all!" Hinata yelped.

"Hey, enough outta you. You only have one ear!" he pointed at her.

Hinata gasped. Of course her not having an equal amount of cartilage on both of her ears annoys her. She can't wear earrings. She can't hear properly.

Hinata threw her other shoe. It was a bit slow but she could still act like it was a kunai and do a lot of damage.

"Stop throwing shit! You act like a damned seven-year-old and you look like a seven-year-old with missing ears."

"Clean up your language! You're defiling my ears. You are basically a savage!"

"Call me brutish. It's more elegant. I wish to see you in such a sorry state. We still have to go visit the idiot who wanted to see you. She's a traitor and dangerous."

Hinata sighed. "Why can't Reize take me?"

His eyes shone with surprise. Hinata liked Reize to some degree. She hated Jimpachi. He constantly insults her and kills people because she gives him lip.

"Because Reize would allow you to sympathize and that is our enemy. In a sense, you're my enemy. And the enemy never makes demands, no matter how much punishment they escape."

He was right but she could annoy him enough to leave her alone. He gave her the shoe back, both of them.

"You don't have boobs or an ass but you do have a face. Not pretty or sweet, it's just a face. It's meh." he shrugged, throwing a hat.

He also handed her a hat. Hats have been her best friend ever since her ear got hacked off.

Hinata caught the hat. Her hand stung but she ignored it. "You don't know how to properly communicate," Hinata muttered under her breath.

He folded his arms and stuck out his tongue. "You're a seven-year-old. A child with a flat chest," Jimpachi snarled.

"You're a savage idiot." Hinata put on the straps to her shoes.

"Hurry up and let's go! Before I throw you out the window." he threatened.

Hinata sighed a bit. "That's called defenestration; the act of throwing someone out of a window. Defenestration. It's a beautiful word. Even here, when you hear it. It's the only pretty thing here, I think of it now."

"Whatever. Dictionary girl, whatever. I will spell your demise."

Hinata tipped her blue hat. She counted on that. It was the only certainty here.

¤¤¤

Hinata walked through the halls, ignoring the way the pawns in the area hated her. Hinata wasn't allowed to walk by herself. Ever. It was one of the things Akuma heavily reinforced about her time here.

The halls gave her a sense of claustrophobia. The odd flicker of the torch on the walls, the solid feel of stone under her feet, the staleness of her breath and distant wailing made her feel a bit sure.

I am, I am, I am, replayed in her mind. I exist, I exist, I am alive.

Jimpachi tsked. "I never noticed because of your obnoxious hats and stupid heels but you are tiny. A small whore."

Hinata ignored those watching her and ducked away. "Are they going to try and kill me?" Hinata asked quietly.

"Maybe. That's a large possibility but your death is only a small matter." Jimpachi lifted a sharp shoulder.

"Small matter? Me dying isn't a small matter."

"I think you're overestimating your worth. All those compliments from Reize and Master have gotten to your head." Jimpachi whistled.

Hinata smacked his arm. "Akuma already killed my Raikage, stole the daughter of the most powerful clan in the world, Sasuke's spouse and the comrade of Naruto and Sakura Uzumaki. He most definitely started an international matter when he killed people from Kumogakure. Konohagakure. That is like adding gasoline over a fire that he started." Hinata panted with rage.

Jimpachi watched her for a moment before shaking his head. "If you sweat over the small stuff, you'll get tired."

He didn't understand any of this. "Talking to you makes me tired."

"If you get too tired easily, you're useless. Are you useless?" he taunted with ease.

Hinata didn't bother answering, somberly dragging her body down the hall.

Jimpachi sucked in his teeth then smirked. "Survival of the fittest is a prevailing truth. Akuma wants that the strong, once gathered, should look after the weak when the revolution is over."

Why does everyone say things like that?

Jimpachi watched her for a long time, his smirk faded as if he could hear her thoughts. "Eventually, your complaints will be praises. I will patiently await that time."

The gentle sway of her dress and the clomping of her heels highlighted something; he will wait forever.

"Akuma-oo-sama has no intention of sending us to our deaths. We're doing something revolutionary and you're too blind to see he's building a new world for you and your other kids. You're still afraid of master touching you. When you have children, that won't fare well." Jimpachi continued.

"I am not afraid of you. You're just one man as I am not afraid of Akuma. He is but one man. I am afraid of the fools in the armies he collected to bring about death."

"You fell in love with Uchiha Sasuke when Akuma has not killed but one man either," Jimpachi had a bulging vein on his forehead.

"He instigated all of this madness and millions have been killed."

"Get off your high horse. You fell in love with a man just like Akuma." Jimpachi spat, sighing through his nose.

"Don't compare Sauske and Akuma-..." Hinata faltered off. She can't change the mind of someone who is so anal and rigid in his ways.

"My dear lady Hinata! There you are," Reize steadily jogged and her red hair was a flame behind her.

Hinata sighed in relief. At least Jimpachi won't be able to physically assault her now.

Hinata stepped back to be in Reize's cold shadow. This was the woman who has served her loyally, if not a bit creepy at times.

Reize looked between Hinata and Jimpachi, cutting him a mean side eye. Reize quickly grabbed his arm then flipped him.

He crashed on the ground with a groan as Reize's knee dug into his chest, covered by layers of the suit.

Reize pinned his hands away from his head and shouted at him. "What have you done to her? Taking her out of my sight? You nearly allowed her to perish in an unfortunate incident. Do you want me to fail a mission that has been personally given to me?"

Jimpachi blew hair out of his mouth. "It concerns me how attached you are to this girl."

"Girl? She is a woman. My lady is worth more than the gold, nothing you desire compares to her."

Jimpachi rolled over and straddled her waist until Reize dominated and sat on his stomach. "Apologize to my dear Hinata before I rip you to shreds." she crossed her arms.

Jimpachi stared at her for a moment, trying to move but being feeble and weak. "What about our wedding vows? Did they mean more than her?" he glared at Hinata.

His eyes held such hatred, it caught Hinata off guard.

Reize was thoughtful, her expression as hard as steel and her anger roaring. "A little less. So apologize. Now!"

In a silent battle, Jimpachi looked at Hinata then at Reize. "I apologize, lady Akuma." he barely mumbled the words.

Reize stared at Jimpachi tenderly, who was pouting by the looks of it. She flicked his nose and he softened a bit. They stared at each other for a little.

"You're pathetic when you don't listen to me." Reize smirked.

"You always know what's right. It's bliss. It's torture." he had a knife smile. A smile with an edge. The laughter that could draw blood.

Hinata under why Jimpachi hated her so much; Reize loved Hinata more than she loved him. They're married and he doesn't even have any of Reize's loyalty or adoration. He couldn't get rid of this threat towards his marriage because Hinata had the protection of his boss and his wife.

He's like a black sheep for not liking Hinata.

Jimpachi caught Hinata staring and snarled, "What?"

Reize got to her feet and stepped on his inner thigh. "Be nice to her!"

"Fine!" Jimpachi groaned and got up. "Would you help me up?"

"You have legs and arms that work perfectly fine, right?"

Reize waltzed towards Hinata and looped their elbows together.

Light from the cafeteria stretched towards her. The cafeteria was where the actual battle between life and death began. It was a battle for food.

Piles of tables were bunched together. Along with men sporting chemical burns and unusual features. All experimented on. Eyes are missing. Voices altered. Their old selves are forgotten.

There were those who seemed happy, almost belonging in the pit but then there were the others. They look scared out of their mind, shaking like leaves, eyes as wide as saucers and no meat or muscles on their bones.

There was food to eat and water to drink but that was only for the strong. It's loud. It's violent. It's bloody.

Akuma purposely eats grandiose meals and shows off his extravagant lifestyle to up the ante, to make those below them- er, Akuma, fight for their right to live. Where the pawns could be if they just snapped a neck, gouged eyes out and used their fists to kill.

But today, like a lot of other days, the whole raucous place was quiet. More than quiet.

They're all watching her. Their stares changed her physical molecular biology and composition. Her feet became apart of the ground and their anticipation was a grip on her lungs.

"Don't you dare eat anything from this cafeteria, my lady. I will physically have to restrain you for that unwanted outcome." Reize warned. She looked over and saw another woman in a maid's outfit, Yui, called to her.

Reize caressed Hinata's curls out of her face. "Don't move. I will be right back," she said then shuttled off to speak to her fellow colleague.

Hinata looked back at those who weren't eating and looked terrified. "Who are they? The new ones?" Hinata asked Jimpachi.

"All that hair dye must be getting in your brain, of course, they're newbies. They're the freshman, not yet in Akuma's wondrous game."

"Huh? You guys got a new shipment of people?"

"They're from the villages we bombed. The abandoned children, injured, those who could fight."

Hinata was about to protest.

Jimpachi shook his head. "Let me get this straight, you can have an opinion and you could say that opinion but I do not care about what you have to say. You are a minority here. No one cares about what you have to say. Half of those here are here voluntarily. They want this. The others came in just during this month. They believe the tri-elemental bombings was done by their government. They want to protect people."

Hinata glared at Jimpachi. So that's what they're calling it?

"Your Raikage coulda joined the team but he's busy being buried. Kabuto could just reanimate him and voila he's on our team." he leaned beside her ear. "Isn't that neat?"

"You touch him and you won't reach tommorow." Hinata whispered menacingly.

Jimpachi shirked back. "You're a buzzkill."

The new people looked at her.

One person stared at her then nudged his buddy's arm. Wind of excitement blew into the crowd. They whispered something.

The whispering became a beehive of noise and they all yelled, "Kingdom. Part. Place. Forever."

Half of them dropped to their knees, bowing in respect. Hinata was shellshocked, staring and awkwardly holding her stinging hand. Hinata stood tall as she looked out to the sea of people bowing.

"Why are they..." Hinata asked herself.

"They're bowing to you, lady Akuma," Jimpachi rolled his eyes. "You have been crowned queen, it's only natural that they show respect to the wealth, fame, power and strength."

Hinata shifted again.

"They've seen brawls, it smells bad, there is low-quality food, endless alcohol, and drunken fights. Violence. You are about the most lovely thing they have seen. You smell like roses, you dress like an unfurling cherry blossom and you are just as mysterious and as pleasant as a breeze over a meadow, as Akuma has said in all of his upstanding character," Jimpachi smiled a bit.

"Where are the women?" Hinata asked, looking to the sea and finding no faces and womanly attributes.

"We purposely don't have a lot of women. It's a harem. It makes men... rowdy, more aggressive with need. I like a woman with meat on her bones and a smile that's a knife. A laugh that draws blood. You're the only delicate thing they've seen in a while."

Hinata gulped.

"Lady Akuma! Bless us the strength to continue." they chanted.

She isn't his wife! She isn't lady Akuma.

"You're the wife of Akuma-oo-sama?" one small boy asked, his dirty hands clawing at Hinata's dress.

She looked back at Jimpachi. He shrugged. Yui, the maid Reize discussed something with, cried some strange words out; "We got a runner."

"I wished I never signed up! I quit! I quit all of this, tell Akuma I don't want this anymore. I don't want to be strong!" The runner, a burly man in his thirties ran naked without any shame or reservations.

Reize tried capturing him but the runner was like slime, eluding all types of traps set by the two maids. Jimpachi left her there and she was immobilized by the bizarre sight.

"What... are they signing up for?" Hinata asked.

The little boy released her clothes, lips quivering. His face and ears red and his eyes were wild. "Lady Akuma- it's... Don't make me say it!" he begged desperately.

Hinata got on her knees. "What are they?" Hinata asked firmly, shaking his thin arms. She needed to know. "Please!"

"The Blood Trials. The Blood Trials that you asked for are what we have to sign up for," the boy said.

Blood... trails? He's trembling and a cold sweat broke out on his dirty skin. Hinata didn't understand.

"Sorry, Lady Akuma but I hate you for letting my sister die in the Blood Trials! I don't want to be like you either!" he shouted solemnly before shoving himself into a wall of limbs.

She's trying to figure it all out but Jimpachi was back.

Jimpachi gave her a stern look then pulled her away into a maze of questions and halls without so much as a word.

¤¤¤

Jimpachi answered all her previous questions with "It's a surprise". The DCA's surprises have never been good. Hinata stared into a dark cell. Something in that cell breathed.

"Why aren't the lights on? You deprive them of even that?" Hinata tsked at Jimpachi.

Jimpachi returned a murderous glare. "To that creature, light doesn't make a difference."

The prisoner was blind...

"Just there, there is a creature who betrayed Akuma when she gave you Kazuo." he continued.

Creature? Benjiro? Hinata gasped. "Kaiya-" Hinata said into the darkness.

"Call me Miyana. I want to be anything other than Kaiya right now."

Why was Miyana here? How long? What was her initial punishment?

"Don't call me a creature, Jimpachi. You used to lick my feet corns to get a praise from me." Miyana said snidely.

"I am not like that anymore." Jimpachi cleared his throat, a restrained expression on his face. That comment clearly bothered him more than he let on. "Lady Akuma, I advise that you address her as a creature or lower being."

"I would but I have values," Hinata looked back at Miyana. "You deserve much worse than name-calling."

"So you're one of the monkeys with Akuma's virtues and whips?" Miyana snickered.

"I am a prisoner too-" Hinata snapped.

"Ah. Because good food, hot showers and affection from Akuma-oo-sama are so taxing. He treats you as if you're lightning in a bottle," Jimpachi rolled his eyes.

"Why are you in a cell, Miyana?" Hinata asked cautiously.

"I defied the Lord. I got denied my sharingan. That bitch Shigeko parades with it."

Oh. That's why Shigeko was blind when she attacked Hinata... Miyana lost her sharingan. That was the punishment. She sounded so empty and hurt. Hinata refused to feel it. It. The sympathy. The room got hot when she did.

Miyana was here all the while Taiyo suffered without a parent. She was never missing. Akuma had a hand in her disappearance. Of course, he did.

"So... he got to you too?" Miyana said, sadness colouring her tone.

Hinata's lungs got tight. "Yeah. I can't ever stop that pain."

"I understand... You're weaker too. You used to have a deep reserve of chakra. What happened?"

"I came here and was disarmed. Chakra... it whispers to me if an enemy is near. It heals me. It gave me a link to Sasuke, my kids, Mitsuyo. My chakra was taken by Akuma. Nevermind me... Taiyo... Mitsuyo is worried about you..."

Miyana laughed sarcastically. "Mitsuyo told me I should have just been a blowjob."

"Mitsuyo says the wrong things-"

"Is she exactly wrong? I killed Uchiha. I neglected my child. I screwed you over. I also lost my eyes."

"Taiyo misses you. He made me look for you. Mitsuyo even went out to look for you. Sasuke swore that he'd kill you the instant he found you. I said I would too. I found your book and list of kills. And the money you made by killing those could have been with Sasuke."

"I made a lot of mistakes. I have been punished enough. Enough is enough." Miyana said firmly.

"What about those Uchiha you killed for the money you didn't spend? Were they not punished? Why would you kill for Orochimaru? For Akuma?!"

"I needed the money," Miyana said calmly.

"What did you use it for? What? Tell me because I need answers! All the money was either bloodstained, ripped or partially beat up. Where did you send the cash?!"

"I sent it somewhere. To the people who needed it. A whole village of idiots like me."

"Instead of your own family?" Hinata's eye twitched. The silence was deafening. "Taiyo, that sweet, beautiful child, called me "ka-san" the other month. That's how much you messed up, Miyana." Hinata sighed.

Miyana sighed. "Hinata..."

"You can always see again and you will continue to make all these horrible decisions. Taiyo lived for nine years without a parent! Hasn't he been punished a lot too?" Hinata's voice cracked as she slammed her hands on the rusty steel bars. "I know what it's like to have a terrible father and absent mother. You- you haven't been punished at all!"

"Hinata- you don't know what it's like being in Akuma's game that he always won! You simply do not know!"

"You SPIED on me and brought me into this psychotic game. There are chemicals in me that prevents me from using jutsu! I can't get out and death is everywhere." Hinata yelled, emotion shredding through her. "Akuma stole me away from my family! My kids! Nothing is as it has been. I can't heal. I can't think for myself. I lost everything! He keeps on winning and winning. I can't escape."

Miyana shut her mouth with a snap.

"Sorry, guilt, remorse... They don't get you anything but killed here. They're conditioned to be cruel and evil... And I am forced to watch beside the nice food, after the hot showers and during the affection of Akuma!"

Jimpachi tensed up, ready for a fight. "Lady Akuma-"

"Shut up, Jimpachi. Just be quiet!"

"I'll go get Reize because the doll is crying," Jimpachi said, stalking away. "I can't take anymore vomit from this situation."

Hinata fell to her knees, her head on the cold bars. She furiously wiped away some tears. Everything was silent while people toppled, withered and begged for their lives. She felt a light pressure- a hand stroking her head through the bars.

"Can you hear it 'cause... I can't?" Hinata whispered.

Hinata flinched away from the hand but Miyana was persistent in soothing her.

"The screams. I've managed to tune it out so now I hear silence. I never want to be in a place where I can't feel sympathy for those who suffer and here I am- numb to the pain of others. Ugh. Why am I saying this? There's no talking to you..." Hinata asked tearfully, trying to pull apart the bars. "Akuma is just like a bug. A walking stick but I can't blend into my surroundings and pretend to be a tree in this odd place. Even if I cry, I can't save anyone. I want to fight but I am so weak They're just beating people with whips. Whips. Why is everyone always screaming? Why?"

The hand stilled. "The Blood Trials. They're testing out who is compatible with the sharingan and byakugan Kabuto made with the clones! Those who win all the pit fights don't have to participate. They need dojutsu to win the war they're causing. They're all gnarled and stunted with different scars from Orochimaru's experiments, family members of those who died in his trials and those who feel they've been betrayed by Konoha or the Kage."

All the breath got taken from her mouth. "How... does Akuma control others?" Hinata asked cautiously.

"Oh. His powerful genes from both Danzo and Mitsuyo. Don't forget his sharingan that he inherited from Mitsuyo. Mitsuyo is a nightmare but Akuma is a black hole where no light gets in or out. She may have birthed the worst terrorist in history; your lover Ryouta Chai Uchiha."