The weak morning sunlight from the small window streamed across the floor, the heavy wood that bisected the opening casting long shadows across the room. Gazing determinedly at her feet to avoid her father's unusually kind expression, Hinata could not keep herself from thinking of how well those flimsy bars kept her in. The spun glass princess surrounded on all sides by her safe prison, or the pretty bird kept in its cage to protect it from the unforgiving claws of the cats outside. Today she couldn't muster even a grim smile at the comparison; most of the things she feared lived here as her constant companions. While the bars did not keep her in, neither could they keep her own thoughts out.

Whatever her father had come to tell her today he had chosen to do it in private. That never boded well. She nearly glanced up, half tempted to try reading the emotions behind his pale eyes, but prevented from doing so by the churning sense of unease that curdled her stomach. Her hands were unnaturally white against the dark fabric of her clothing, nearly as white as her face when it drained of blood as her father finally spoke.

"I know it pains you to be a burden to this family."

A burden. Of course she had known they thought her as much. Every time Hiashi's eyes, normally so perceptive, passed over her without lingering, every time she heard her name whispered in tones of disappointment or didn't hear it at all as her family praised the accomplishments of their youngest daughter… each time she had known. To hear it spoken so bluntly nearly took her breath away though. She had been improving after all these years of training; the winter past she might have cried to hear the words from her father's lips, now she hardly flinched.

Instead Hinata raised her eyes to meet his own, forcing herself to hold her head high and finally make him confront the mirror image of her gaze as he spoke. "But you can serve this family as capably as even the greatest of us."

"How?" She was proud that her tongue did not stumble on the word, proud that her father did not have to tilt his head to catch her normally too-soft voice. The single word echoed like the clang of a blade in the small room; she knew the answer before he even drew the breath to speak.

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." The words were familiar to her, a mantra stolen from the pages of one of the innumerable tomes her family kept locked away from prying eyes and hands. Hiashi had beamed with pride when she first began reading them, until it became plain Hinata had never quite taken their lessons to heart.

"Diplomacy is the way of the world now." She ignored the wistfulness in his tone, willing him to finally deal her the killing blow. "And marriage is the only alliance not easily broken." There. Exactly what she had expected.

"The Aburame clan-"

Even whom.

Fixing an attentive mask on her face, Hinata allowed him to drone on. She already knew the question he would ask and how she was expected to answer. As always, she would do her duty. It wouldn't even be particularly difficult. Shino had always been kind to her, in his own reserved way. They were friends, or at least as close to that ideal as Hinata had ever been with someone outside her own family. Still, it wasn't an easy thing to lose all those silly daydreams of a love match. The slow courtship she had imagined for herself, the partner that would look beyond her family name and see someone worthwhile in her as a woman alone.

In time she could build both trust and affection with Shino, but it would never quite be the passionate love affair she would never admit to wishing for.

With an uncomfortable jolt she realized her father had fallen silent some time ago and was impatiently awaiting her answer if his gathering frown was anything to go by.

"Yes, of course." She bowed slightly, not meeting his eyes.

He hesitated, looking as though he might say something more. In the end he turned from her with only a deep nod to show he had heard her consent. Really that was all that was required of her, and even then only nominally. She could have screamed and wept, refused him again and again until her voice was hoarse and still she would find herself married off; perhaps to a complete stranger rather than a kind acquaintance. But her father was right, she had been raised to serve her family and Hinata could not find it in herself to be angry that she had finally been offered a way to do so.

The walls felt like they were closing in on her every second that she stood there in thought. She turned on her heels and ran, hardly pausing to pull her boots and cloak on before she made her escape from the compound. If anyone saw her leave, then at least none had the audacity to prevent her.

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Hinata knew better than to venture into the deep woods alone, but that had never stopped her before. The rules governing what a young lady could and could not do did not rest so heavily on her once she ventured beyond the safe walls of her village, or at least there was no one else around to remind her of them. So once again she found herself picking her way through the undergrowth, down ancient cattle paths untrod by any other human feet in years. All of it was familiar to her: the twisted bush with sour berries she had only ever sampled once when she was too young to know better, the massive oak with gouges hacked into its southern side or the little stream that was hardly more than a trickle of sweet, cool water. Enough to wet her parched throat after a day spent doing anything but what her father would have wanted.

The farther she ventured from home, the less guilt she felt for it. By the time Hinata reached her quiet stream, her eyes no longer threatened tears, she stood straighter too- shoulders no longer bowed by an impossible weight.

After a childhood spent learning painful lessons regarding the duty of the Hyuuga family and its heirs, she had finally been called upon to shoulder the burdens of her predecessors. Beginning with marriage. A gifted fighter she was not; Hinata had never pretended otherwise for all that she had thrown herself into her training with every ounce of determination she could muster. She was not so ruthless as her cousin Neji, neither as calculating as her younger sister Hanabi. Her scars and callouses were meaningless in the end, now that Hiashi had decided she was better suited to forming an advantageous alliance than directing the day to day affairs of warriors all more gifted than she.

It was already set in stone no matter her thoughts, so she tried not to dwell on the reality of it any longer. There were still a handful of hours left in the day and no need for her to account for them to anyone. There was no way of knowing how much longer she would be free to roam these woods, and a wife would have far more duties than a daughter.

Hinata sank to her knees beside the stream where she nearly always ended up, tucking her hair behind one delicate ear to cup her palm in the flow and raise it to her mouth for a sip. She paused there, white eyes taking in the forest about her searchingly. Despite her father's cutting words of that morning she was still a Hyuuga, and all too aware of the risk to her safety. No longer lost in her own thoughts, Hinata began to notice the unnatural stillness of her forest.

Normally she could hear little creatures scuttling through the underbrush; she would stand still in the clearing and watch squirrels in the trees gaze back curiously at her. Bird calls and the rustle of dry leaves as the wind plucked at them were company enough after days spent in a bustling family compound. The wind had stilled today, leaving the sun too hot on her face and the leaves silent. She tasted the water, suddenly ill at ease but determined not to show it. She hadn't seen even one living creature since she had ventured beyond the tree-line at the village's edge. Not so much as a lone dragonfly or the annoying gnats that usually flitted about her until they were swept away on a breeze.

She was perfectly alone and unarmed, caught out in the open and far from anyone that could help her. Slowly she stood, sharp eyes taking in every shadow and cranny, looking for the gaze that set her skin to prickling with the awareness of being watched, for whomever had dared to disturb her peaceful sanctuary.

The crackling sound of leaves crunching underfoot had her tensing, every muscle in her body poised for flight. Hinata spun, sinking naturally into a fighting stance despite the nagging feeling at the back of her mind that was urging her to run… and froze. Crouched before her was a fox whose fur was a sleek, unblemished amber speckled with fiery orange the color of autumn le+6+aves, his ears and paws tipped with silver-shot black. A pair of striking blue eyes were fixed unflinchingly on her; no wonder she had felt its gaze on her. Hinata could not shake the conviction that she was being weighed in some invisible balance known only to her quiet observer.

She wondered how she fared in his estimation. Whether he weighed her in the same balance as her family and likewise found her wanting.

With a determined toss of her head Hinata dismissed the thought and stripped out of her cloak to lay it at her feet. If he was so bold as to approach her like this, then the fox surely wouldn't mind her company.

"Hello." She cooed softly, pleased when his ears pricked at the sound of her voice. "You're handsome, aren't you?" Disappointment forgotten, she giggled at the way he seemed to preen at the compliment, his white chest puffing out arrogantly as he sat in the grass hardly a meter away. "But not proud, I see." She teased, a genuine smile stealing across her lips and up into her unearthly eyes. "Or shy."

The fox leapt to its feet, digging with all its might to toss clumps of grass and dirt in the air, barking with a high trill of joyful sound. He settled in the patch of damp earth he had dug for himself, twisting and rolling as though inviting her to reach out and run her fingers through his fur. Hinata barely resisted the temptation. She laid down eye to eye with him, luxuriating in the warmth of sunlight on her pale skin and the odd companion she had found, curling her fingers in the grass to keep from reaching out to him thoughtlessly.

"Are you someone's pet?" What other explanation could there be? There were legends that said fox spirits had the run of both forest and mountains, but Hinata was old enough now to know those stories were only meant to frighten and entertain children by turn. Besides that, no one could ever mistake the friendly fox before her for one of the tricksome nine-tailed demons that populated lore. He lay before her, perfectly at ease in the company of a human, appreciating it even. Despite her reservations, she tentatively stretched a hand out, wriggling her fingers playfully. She yelped with surprise when it took her invitation, leaping from the grass to pounce at her fingertips like a cat after string. It stopped at her cry, settling into the grass once more with its head atop its paws.

"You must be." Once again she reached out, watchful for any sign of teeth, and glanced her fingers across its ears watching them flick with annoyance. Emboldened, she ran a ginger hand through the fur on its head. If anything, it leaned into her touch.

Laying her head on her free arm Hinata began to mindlessly stroke his fur, tracing lazy patterns with her fingers, smiling at the strange chirps and warbles her companion made. No one in the village kept a fox as a pet, she was certain. They were considered pests at best, regarded with a certain amount of superstition by many owing to the old traditions. "Or a demon, maybe." She murmured; there was such intelligence in those eyes she would not have been shocked if he had replied.

She paused for a moment at the thought, but that was all he would allow her before his wet nose was pressing into her palm to demand attention. He was well-fed at least, lean but strong, and his coat glistened with good health. There were no marks on him though, nothing to indicate to whom he might belong. Sheepishly, blushing slightly though there was no one but they two to witness her, Hinata glanced to his tail. His single, perfectly normal tail.

It was only a legend, but legends had to come from someplace and she had heard far too many of the kind where demons spirited unsuspected maidens away to their lairs. Not that she would have to concern herself about that much longer.

"Shino." She sighed his name on a heavy breath, reminded again of what had sent her to this quiet retreat. "I shouldn't be upset." Hinata confided to her erstwhile friend, "I've met him. Mother didn't meet father until they were married."

The fox's ears wobbled to catch her words, listening with the silent lack of judgment she wouldn't have found anywhere else. He followed when she pulled her hand back, settling close enough that she could almost feel his warm breath on her face. Before she realized it the whole wretched story was pouring from her lips: her father's words that had struck at her insecurities with unerring precision, her fear of the future, the dreams she was prepared to sacrifice and the ones she had finally resolved to keep, even knowing they would come at a price.

In time she would become a worthy successor; more than merely a bride to seal a contract, she intended to be a woman with the confidence to hold her own against anyone. Years of sweat, blood, and tears would not go to waste.

Through it all the fox listened; every selfish whim, every promise Hinata half-feared she wouldn't be able to keep, all of them laid bare to an uncritical audience. By the time she had finished, her face was wet with tears she finally shed and her restless energy had petered into exhaustion. Between the silky fur under her hand, the sunlight beating gently down on her face and the soft musk of the earth around her, Hinata didn't stand a chance. She slipped into a dreamless sleep, hand falling limp to the ground.

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She was human. Naruto hadn't even considered the possibility when he had woken to find the red string tied about his finger that morning. He had thought he would find another fox spirit, the only other of his kind he had met in too many years alone. Following the red string as swiftly as his feet would carry him, he had found a celestial maiden in his forest- with his thread bound about her finger. The crimson stood in startling contrast to that pale skin, and for a long moment that was all he had seen. Some god had seen fit to bind this ethereal creature to a reviled beast.

It nearly overwhelmed him to see the proof he had a mate at all. Naruto hadn't approached her then, uncharacteristically cautious; she hardly seemed real, more an illusion that could vanish as quickly as mist in sunlight if she willed it. So instead he devoured her from the safety of the shadows cast by the trees; her dark hair tumbled freely down her back, a rich midnight blue where the sunlight touched it. His gaze swept to her face and he was arrested by the sight of her eyes, moonlit white like the precious gems he had seen adorning bracelets and necklaces those few times he could bring himself to mingle among humans.

He crept closer, impatience nearly overtaking his natural cunning, but stopped in his tracks when he noticed the redness beneath her eyes, the flushed cheeks and quiet hitching breaths of exertion. She was trying not to cry.

Startled, Naruto froze in his tracks, not twitching even when she began running again, leaping nimbly over a lifted root, dodging the smaller bushes that riddled the abandoned path. Tears were something no celestial being would ever comprehend. The girl that held his thread was human, bewitching in her beauty but nevertheless mortal. She could only have lived for a fraction of his lifetime, and couldn't possibly hope to share all the years he had left unless he bound her to him more irrevocably than even that unbreakable thread could.

As a human she couldn't know the significance of that thread, couldn't even see it with her own eyes. Humans simply didn't have any fate engraved so deeply on them, and as the ages had passed so too had their knowledge of anything beyond what they could see and touch for themselves. She wouldn't even believe a creature like him existed, let alone that she was his consort.

Yet somehow he found himself shifting into his most unassuming form- a harmless fox, sleek and handsome but thoroughly unassuming. Once again he began following the thread, traipsing after the girl ever deeper into the woods.

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By the time she stopped, the midday sun was beating down mercilessly. There was a high flush in her cheeks and sweat on her brow. She still hadn't shed the cloak. Naruto hated the damn thing, but then he already hated anything at all that hid her from his view. Was she so pale all over? Would her skin blush just like that, rising from her chest to her throat and up her elfin face as he slowly peeled her out of those clothes? She was panting softly as she knelt near the water and he couldn't help but imagine that sound in his ear, her arms wrapped about him and nails skimming his back as he moved over her and in her.

He hadn't even heard her voice yet, and that thought alone was agony. He wanted to hear her speak his name in every way imaginable: lovingly, lustfully, angrily; every mood his to keep.

Besotted. That was the word. He had it as bad as Sakura. Worse even; at least her beloved knew her name and spoke to her- most often in tones of annoyance or exasperation but Naruto would have taken even that gladly.

The woman froze, glancing about her surroundings attentively. The veins around her eyes stood out as she raked the scenery, determined and unafraid; Naruto knew then she had sensed him, and she was not going to run.

He moved out of hiding, leaves and twigs cracking beneath his paws; she spun to confront him with one of the most graceful movements he had ever seen, instinctively dropping into a flawless defensive stance. She fixed those impossible eyes on him and it was all he could do to breathe, caught in whatever spell she was weaving as surely as if she had been the fox and he the unsuspecting human. There was a spark of unholy fire in the glare that pinned him in place; she was nervous, he could smell it on the air, but she had no intention of surrendering whatever she found.

Her eyes widened, growing soft again when they found his small form instead of the assailant she had obviously suspected. She shifted her stance after a final lingering look all around him, gazing into his eyes at last. The ghost of a smile touched her lips, and Naruto fell just a little in love with her when he saw how unaccustomed her face was to the expression, eyes still so solemn it had some latent sense of protectiveness stirring in him.

She shook her head, unclasping the cloak about her shoulders and spreading it before her. At last he had his unobstructed view of her body, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from her lips long enough to care.

"Hello." Sweet like birdsong, he had heard goddesses with coarser voices. "You're handsome, aren't you?' Naruto spared a moment to preen, pleased that she found any favor in him at all. He wanted to hear her speak again more than anything, heap whatever praises she pleased on his head. He scurried closer, daring her to touch him with the hand that bore the proof they were meant to be here, pleading with her. It felt like an eternity until she finally gave in, and he was surprised to feel callouses catching on his fine fur, firm strength hidden by the appearance of frailty.

He had been wrong, there was nothing ethereal about her; Naruto smelled earth and clean sweat, green, growing things and sun-warmed skin. The creature before him was no celestial that would disappear if he so much as blinked, not a goddess that could return to her blessed realm whenever she pleased. The woman whose work-roughened hands combed so gently through his fur was very real, very human, and very much his match.

"Shino." No. The name pricked at him. It wasn't his, yet the way she was looking at him so wistfully… he was not a tame pet to answer to just any name, but for a split second he actually considered it. Then she continued, and it was all Naruto could do not to take his true form and spirit her away on the spot. She thought she was going to marry a man other than him, thought she was going to throw herself away for the sake of mere paper and ink, a contract that held no binding force in the heavens and certainly not half so powerful as the very real red thread of fate that already bound her to him.

Her tears were the final straw, every muffled sob a knife in his heart. He had thought he could be patient, at least enough not to abduct a woman from her home like a demon out of myth. Yet that was precisely the role he was being cast in.

Naruto had no intention of standing idly by while his rightful bride was sold like livestock to another man. There was no time for a proper courtship, none of the gifts tradition said he should give her over the year and a day. She thought him a pet and he didn't even know her name, but they were bound and that would be enough.

Her arm lay limp in the grass, chest rising and falling in the gentle rhythm of sleep. He watched her a moment longer, committing the scene to memory; she might well hate him for what he intended, but he would spend every day of his not inconsiderable lifetime making it up to her if she asked it of him. Naruto shifted to a more human form, one that wouldn't startle her if she woke.

Slowly he gathered her up, careful not to jostle and wake her. She was unexpectedly heavy in his arms; one day he would learn never to take anything about her at face value. She was a fitting bride for a fox.

The thread binding them snapped taut, made all the stronger by his intentions. Around them a light rain began to fall despite the blazing sunlight and sparse clouds. The woman's nose crinkled as a raindrop struck her cheek, sliding down a drying tear track and into her long hair. Naruto tucked her closer, and in a puff of smoke they were gone.

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Hyuuga Hiashi glanced up as an errant raindrop struck his head, neatly dodging a well-aimed kick from his youngest daughter. The sky had been clear only an hour ago, but clouds had gathered overhead despite the bright afternoon sun. A sun-shower. Not out of place this close to the rainy season, but a nagging feeling of discomfort settled at the base of his spine.

Sensing her father's distraction, Hanabi paused and lowered her hands. When her father didn't immediately use the opportunity to finish the round, she dared to raise her face to the rain, enjoying the uncommonly warm droplets. "The fox is getting married."

Hiashi stirred, "You're done with training for today. Go inside."

Reluctantly she obeyed, though she dragged her feet as much as she dared.

Her father followed not long after, making for Hinata's chamber with purposeful strides. Hanabi considered following after him, curious what he had to say to Hinata that could not wait for evening. She reconsidered quickly when she caught his forbidding glance. Whatever he meant to say, it was clearly private; she could pry the details out of her sister later.

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The shouji slid open with hardly a rattle, dim light filtering through from outside. What had possessed him Hiashi couldn't say, but he hadn't seen his eldest since their discussion that morning. Suddenly it was imperative that he did.

She lay asleep, curled in on herself and wrapped in the folds of her cloak. Doubtless that was forgetfulness on her part; she thought he didn't know how often she slipped out into the forest, assumed he didn't keep an eye on her comings and goings. He saw no reason to correct her. Carefully he slid the door shut once more, opting not to take the cloak from her hands. It was still early yet to be asleep, but after their discussion this morning he had expected nothing short of tears and pleading glances. If she had found another way to cope with her lot, he wouldn't take it from her.

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All credit (and thanks) for the title goes to my beta, who doesn't ship it, but tolerates me anyway. "Komorebi" indirectly translates to the way the sun shines through leaves. It's also an awesome song by MUCC.

"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." is from Sun Tzu's Art of War because I genuinely couldn't resist.

That said, I would greatly appreciate concrit. This is my first fic for this pairing, but it won't be the last and while some things change with that AU tag, I'd like everyone to feel in character. I'm also working on my "show, don't tell" so please let me know if I'm skewing too far in any one direction.

(Brief warning: there will be lemons. One of them involving kage bunshin. If that's not your cup of tea, the chapter will be clearly marked so the scene can be easily skipped.)