Honestly, there's nothing I can say to make the situation better. The truth is, it's not school that kept me away from updating or even my personal life. Those who follow me on tumblr know well that I have no life whatsoever. My absence is purely the product of writers block. I had the first part of this chapter written months ago, some time back in December, perhaps the first week. After the first scene I just didn't know where to go with it and so I kind of abandoned it. At first I was looking at it as waiting a week to see what I would think of but I never thought of anything so this kind of just sat on my computer. Honestly, I don't know when I'm going to update again but I'm hoping not to take nearly as long as I did this time. It might take me a week or even a month. I'll give myself a 5 week deadline to get the next chapter up, I'm working on it at the moment just so you all know. Thank you for clicking the link to the fic and continuing on with me. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

Water Country

Tranquil Seoul

Sun light peeked into the window, tickling Hinata's cheek and causing her to shift.

The princess rolled over, searching for the warmth of her husband in order to seep back into the blankness of her mind. Instead, she met with the cool sheets of their bed, her fingers curling in the fabric as her eyes fluttered open.

"Finally awake?" she heard of voice call from the bathroom.

The princess stretched slightly before sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Itachi smiled at her; he couldn't help but think that she was cute. His wife was probably the most adorable woman he had ever met. If he had to be a hundred percent honest, he'd have to say that his wife was the first woman he had ever had feelings for.

He might have been able to ignore it before, but now he could not. He had feelings for his wife, feelings that were more than friendly or even brotherly as they had started out to be. He wasn't sure if he loved her, but he knew he liked her in a way that he had never liked anyone else before.

"Mmm..." she said mumbled, running her fingers through her hair and bringing slight order to the tangled mess.

Itachi continued to smile, pulling on his shirt.

"What are we doing today?" she asked sleepily, crawling out of the bed.

The would-be-emperor watched in amusement as she remembered she was naked and hoped back into the bed, grabbing the sheets up to her chest and blushing profusely. He chuckled, turning his back to her.

"I'm giving a guest lecture at South Fire Academy today before lunch with our guests, you're welcome to tag along if you like," he invited her.

Hinata continued to blush, grateful for the privacy he provided her with. She nibbled her bottom lip as memories of the night before flooded her mind. Rough hands grabbing her thighs and holding her open, lips hungry and warm burning a trail from her neck and down between her breasts. His sharingan spinning as his lust boiled to fire, his skin setting fire to hers. Hinata shuttered.

"I... okay," she said softly, biting into her lip more as she scrambled from their bed.

She scurried past him and into their en suite bathroom, closing the door behind her.

The princess let out a soft sigh, her heart hammering. She never felt this way with Sasuke, she had no problem being naked with him, it was like the most natural state she could be in with him. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she always ended up naked when ever they met up.

Hinata frowned.

It had only been one day and already she missed him. Normally, they didn't see each other for days at a time, but never for a reason like this. Normally she was the one who had things to do, but now, he was being paraded around by his wife-to-be and had no time to spend indulging her. The princess sucked her teeth.

Her heart pounded in her chest as a thought crossed her mind. One day he would wed and then finally, they really wouldn't be able to be with each other as frequently as they were now. How would she handle that? How would she manage not seeing him whenever she wanted to? Hinata rubbed the back of her neck, fingers trailing over the purple bruises her husband had left behind.

How unladylike.

Vaguely, she wondered what Sasuke would think when he saw them there on her skin. Would he be mad? Would he throw a fit? Probably not. She hadn't known her lover to through fits like that. Sasuke did not get jealous. It was as if her being married to his brother didn't matter the slightest bit to him. What if this was just sex for him?

"Isn't it for me?" she whispered softly to herself.

Of course it wasn't. She loved Sasuke. She knew she loved him. There was not the slightest doubt in her mind that the brooding, youngest royal son of the Fire Country owned her heart. That beating block of emotion in the left side of her chest was all his and no one could tell her differently. She only wished she had been born second instead... Then maybe...

Hinata shook her head. If she had been born second she would have never met Sasuke. Her father would have found someone from their country, more than likely a cousin. Neji. If she had been born second, Neji would have been her husband. Hiashi would not have taken the chance and wed his daughter to anyone else, the way Hinata saw it. The princess sighed.

"Hinata," her husband's voice sounded from the other side of the door.

"Hn?"

She was starting to sound more like Sasuke.

"I'm going to breakfast now, I'll see you there?"

"Yes," she said, forcing herself not to use the other word, or grunt really.

She waited until she heard the soft padding of his footsteps leaving the room before she got ready cleaned up. The day would be long indeed.

Sasuke couldn't have been more annoyed. He had spent the entirety of the previous day listening to Yoshi yap on and on about things that didn't interest him. Everything from her childhood to charity work she participated in. The when she wasn't being an entitled bitch, the woman was boring. He would rather not have to spend the rest of his life married to her.

This morning it seemed as though he still couldn't escape her.

She sat across from him, looking as regal and pompous as someone who actually deserved to be. That was perhaps the thing that annoyed him the most about her. She honestly believed that she deserved to be treated like royalty, like her father was emperor of the Lightening Country. It seemed to Sasuke that Yoshi didn't know that her family was not on top. They were nothing but commoners who somehow managed to make a few dollars with the help of their superstar son. Nothing special in the slightest bit.

"What are you thinking about?" Yoshi asked suddenly, interrupting his thoughts.

"Tch," he sucked his teeth. "Nothing you need to know about."

Yoshi frowned, her pretty face twisting into a less than pleasant expression. "Why can't you just be civil? It's not hard you know?"

The prince rolled his eyes. He had no interest in being civil towards this woman. In all honesty he was hoping she'd realize what an ass he was and beg her father not to let her marry him. Such an event would surely be one of the happiest days of his life. The thought actually brought a slight smirk to his lips.

"Tch," Yoshi growled. "You're the worst."

"That I am," he agreed.

The would-be-princess frowned at her fiance. She got it. He didn't want her, that was fine. However, she wasn't quite ready to give up on this. She deserved this. She worked hard all her life, determined that she could improve her social class all with sheer hard work, consistency and faith. And look where it had gotten her. She was having breakfast with the Fire Country's second son – her fiance.

"You'll change."

Sasuke arched a brow at her. "Oh?"

"Mhm. I'm certain of it."

The prince sat back in his chair, suddenly amused by his betrothed's delusions. He couldn't believe her. She had a lot of nerve. "What makes you think that?"

"In time you will see that you and I are a perfect match – for now you're just being stubborn."

Her conviction was astounding, Sasuke noted. She really believed the shit that tumbled out of her mouth. The prince caught himself before he gaped at her. He had never met a woman as frustrating as this one.

Lie.

A pair of transparent eyes flashed in his mind. Hinata. He allowed his thoughts to stray to her. Black rolls of silk that tumbled down her back, curling up slightly at the ends – soft against his skin. Hands so frail and tiny, yet capable to bring men to their knees and rise goose bumps on his skin. Lips so delicate and soft, soothing the aches in his muscles with simple and light brushes, but able to lash venom on anyone who defies her. His Hinata.

"And if I take a mistress?" he asked suddenly. "How will you handle that?"

A slow grin claimed her lips. "You won't be needing one."

"Oh yeah?"

"I'm quite confident that everything you'll ever need will be waiting for you within the walls of our bedroom," she said evenly.

Such conversations over breakfast. Conversations he'd rather have with an actual princess who lived within the palace walls.

"I seriously doubt that," he responded.

He was confident that no woman would satisfy him the way Hinata did. No one would be able to tame him how she had. He didn't even like Yoshi. To be honest he hadn't like Hinata either at first. But now... Now it was a lot different. Now there were feelings there that he had yet to experience before hand – feelings that he was more than confident no one else would be able to duplicate within him.

"We shall see then."

"Hn."

The two fell silent as they were joined by one of the royal couples. Yoshi stood in the presence of Itachi and his wife, bowing her head as she had been taught to do. Itachi gave a warm smile as always and Hinata mirrored it.

"Please, sit," he offered her, pulling out his wife's chair before taking the seat beside her.

Yoshi did just that, to which Sasuke snorted. Itachi cast him a glance but the youngest prince merely shrugged.

"Did you sleep well, Koitaishihi-sama?" Yoshi asked politely.

Hinata let her eyes flicker up, looking to her rival at last. Her brows narrowed slightly, hidden beneath her bangs.

"Yes, thank you," she said in a voice so even it would have made Hiashi shed tears. "I trust you slept well also."

"Yes, Koitaishihi-sama."

Hinata smiled pleasantly, however Yoshi wasn't followed. She could tell for whatever reason the princess did not like her. It was obvious the other night as well when they had first been introduced. It was obvious to her then that she was not accepted by the princess who paid her little to no attention at all. She had been told that the Water Country's daughter was polite and sweet. She had been polite yes, and she had seen her sweet with the staff and other members of the palace, but never once had those white eyes cast her a friendly look. If she didn't know any better, she'd say the princess had been hostile towards her in a sense. The vibe she was getting from her just wasn't right.

"What were you two discussing?" Itachi pondered as the servants began bringing in their breakfast.

"I forgot how nosy you are," Sasuke said to his brother, looking down at the plate placed before him.

"Don't be rude to him, Sasuke," Yoshi told him, furrowing her brows.

Hinata swallowed hard. Sasuke. Sasuke. Since when did she start calling him that? Since when had they become to familiar with one another? The princess studied her plate.

"Don't tell me how to behave," Sasuke insisted, ignoring his fiance and cutting into the sausage link on his plate. "Yoshi."

The two began to bicker and fuss with one another, firing shots whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Hinata nibbled at her bottom lip, ruining the soft pink lip stick she had smeared there a little while ago. She couldn't ignore the pounding in her chest.

"You two get along well," she said, her voice soft yet interrupting their bickering.

Sasuke cast Hinata a look, noting how she smiled at them. What the...? He had never seen her look like that. It was a smile of pure happiness and joy, a look that at any other time wouldn't have phased him, but there was something about it that he knew wasn't right.

"Y-yeah..." Yoshi said, taken a back by the princess's smile.

She was beautiful. For a moment Yoshi found herself comparing herself to the princess. There was no way she could measure up. Daughter of an emperor, owner of one of the world's strongest kekkei genkai, skin milky white and perfect, manners unmatched and beauty without rival. Part of her was embarrassed to be looked at by such a person.

"That's good," Hinata said, picking at the grapes on her plate. "Husband and wife should get along, ne Itachi?"

Itachi smiled pleasantly, looking to his wife, noting her odd behavior. He didn't comment though, whatever it was he was sure he would be informed later, that or he would find out on his own.

"Yes, anata."

Hinata smiled at her husband as she began eating her grapes once more. Her heart however, continued to pound.

"Humph," Sasuke grunted, biting into the sausage and ignoring Yoshi still.

"You'll come to see it my way eventually Sasuke," Yoshi assured to him, to which Sasuke grunted.

Hinata swallowed another grape, her heart thundering. What if...they had already been intimate, Hinata wondered. What if he touched Yoshi the way that he had touched her? Her grip tightened on her chopsticks as the image of the two of them on black satin sheets flashed through her mind. She shot up suddenly, standing to her feet, opal eyes wide and worried.

"Hinata...?" Itachi inquired, looking up at her. "What's wrong?"

She blinked a few times, looking around and remembering where she was. "I..." she stumbled, her eyes meeting Yoshi's. "I feel sick."

Yoshi blinked a few times, looking up at the princess. Deep in her heart, she knew exactly what the princess was saying. It wasn't some illness, it was her. She was the one making the princess feel sick.

Only, Yoshi couldn't figure out why. Why did the princess hate her so much?

"Go lay down, I'll send Sakura to come see you," Itachi told her, has hand finding hers and curling around her fingers.

Hinata swallowed past the lump that had lodged itself in her throat. Her opal eyes studied her rival, staring her down which to Yoshi felt like hours of torment, until she looked away, finding Itachi's. He was obviously concerned. The princess nibbled her bottom lip before nodding her head and taking her leave.

Sasuke watched as she walked down the hall towards her bedroom. He'd much rather be going where she was than to be stuck at the table with his two least favorite people. He hardly noticed the way Yoshi's fingers trembled and her eyes forced themselves on her plate. The prince was more interested in the sway of his mistress's hips.

"I don't think I'm feeling well either..." Yoshi said quietly, placing her chopsticks down on the table.

Sasuke ignored her yet again, biting into his sausage and swallowing it down.

"You should lay down as well then," Itachi told her. "I'll send someone to look after you as well."

Yoshi looked up from her plate and at the kind prince. Itachi was so much different from Sasuke – more like a prince should be than his younger brother. Yoshi felt her heart clenching – Sasuke wasn't at all concerned with her. With a nod, she pushed herself from the table and took her leave. She couldn't stand to be there any longer.

Itachi continued to eat quietly, waiting for Yoshi to be out of ear shot before he got on to his brother. He looked to the younger male, his dark eyes so similar to his own and yet so different at the same time It was like looking into a mirror and seeing your reflection, however something there wasn't the same.

"You know brother, it wouldn't kill you to be more hospitable to your fiance," he mentioned.

Sasuke didn't budge at first, just simply continued on with his meal. "If I was, she'd think she was welcomed here."

"She is."

"She is not," Sasuke assured him. "I don't know why father is even pushing her on me."

Itachi felt a half smile tugging at his lips. It still amazed him how naive his little brother was. They had lived in the same palace and had grown up with the same parents. They had attended the same schools and mingled with the same crowds. Even with all their similarities they couldn't have been more different. They saw the world completely different and seldom ever agreed on anything. Normally this would have bothered him and he simply wouldn't associate with a person like this, but for some reason, call it sibling affection, he very much loved his baby brother despite their differences.

"You knew this time would come, Sasuke," Itachi reminded him.

The prince sucked his teeth and straightened up, dropping his chopsticks on the plate. "I know that Itachi; I just didn't think father would find me so unworthy of someone with class."

Itachi smiled faintly at his brother, he still didn't understand. "Don't look at it like that."

"How else am I to look at it? The eldest, father's favorite, gets a princess and me, the youngest and least favorable son, gets a commoner. What other way is there for me to see the situation?"

"There's obviously a reason why he would do that, think about it a little bit."

Sasuke sucked his teeth again, annoyed. Fugaku loved to fuck with him. Itachi got everything he wanted, the way Fugaku treated him was like he wasn't even a prince. Say something were to happen to Itachi, that would make him next in line for the throne; having a peasant as his wife and Empress to the Fire Country was disgusting. Sasuke was better than that. He could do better than that. If Fugaku married him to that woman, Sasuke swore he'd never let her bare his children; not only out of spite but because his children simply would not have poor blood pumping through their veins.

"I've thought about it enough Itachi, trust me," he started. "A war was ended by your union to Hinata. Your children will be highly regarded, not only because they are their heirs but also because of the novelty that their birth is the personification of peace. My children will have nothing of that sort. Instead of novelty all my children will get is poisonous low grade blood pumping under their skin. How is that fair?"

Sasuke cursed, angry at what his father was doing to him. It was times like these that he truly hated being the second son. Had he been born first, he would have had Hinata. His children would be the ones born of peace. But instead all he got was the crappy second prize – not that he would even call marrying Yoshi a prize.

Itachi sighed. Sasuke wasn't looking at the bigger picture. He could understand that he would feel silted by Fugaku, he did, but Sasuke needed to look at the situation in it's entirety. Why would Fugaku want to marry him off to a poor family? It made absolutely no sense. Obviously Fugaku was fucking with his youngest. The problem with Sasuke was that he took things too literally, he was easy to get railed up; it made messing with him tempting.

"Think before you speak Sasuke," Itachi said wisely.

"You don't understand what it's like Itachi," Sasuke accused his older brother. "You sit around and you think you know so much but the truth is your out of touch with the things that are happening around you. You're oblivious."

Itachi stared back at his younger brother, watching his eyes as they burned with anger. Itachi sat perfectly proper, looking every bit as regal as he was. It was his stare however that made his younger brother slightly uncomfortable. Cold, black eyes stared at him, looking directly into his own identical looking ones.

"What exactly am I oblivious too, brother? Tell me" Itachi said, his voice steely. "I'll give you this one chance to be honest."

Sasuke was hesitant. What was Itachi expecting him to say? It seemed obvious to him that he knew something was going on within the palace walls but Sasuke didn't have it in him to confess just yet.

"Relax," he answered. "I was speaking in general terms."

Itachi stared his brother down still before giving a curt nod. He was serious then; he would not have been angry at his brother if he had taken that moment to tell him the truth. Itachi was not one hundred percent oblivious. He knew something was going on under his nose and he would be damned if it continued any longer.

"Fine," said Itachi. "But remember you had your chance, don't fault me for anything that happens later on."

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