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Ever since her rather... supernatural visit, Hinata has been on edge.
Part of her wonders if the nekomata wants it that way. To pop back up again in a moment she least expects it. He seemed to enjoy her nervousness...after all, they aren’t known as very friendly spirits. Quite the opposite, really: making playthings of the dead, eating people , or carrying them away into the mountains…
Does she really want such a beast as a husband?
Her immediate reaction is no! Of course not! To be the bride of a yōkai seems a terrible fate. Would she have to live on the plane of spirits and kami? Surely she’d be in danger in such a realm, would she not? After all, a great many yōkai enjoy devouring humans...nekomata among them! What if this is all just an elaborate ruse for a meal?
...and yet...this seems a great amount of effort to eat one human woman. But what does he want from her…?
He said something about her ‘talents’ being useful, but...she’s not even sure what he means. She can see spirits, yes...but how could that be of any use to a spirit? He can see them just fine!
...is her sight a sign of something else lying dormant within her…?
She doesn’t want to think of such things...all Hinata has ever wanted was to be normal! Her mother, too, had seen spirits...and her husband thought her mad! If only she’d not stared at the cat spirit...if only he’d never noticed her. Then, maybe, she could have gone on pretending not to see into the plane of the gods. Find a husband, and try to live a normal life!
...and yet…
Can there ever be a normal life for someone like her? Even if she never told anyone else of her sight...it wouldn’t stop the power. She would still see, no matter how vehemently she denied it. Does she truly want to live a life that’s so much a lie?
“Hinata.”
Looking up from her contemplative perch in the rear garden, Hinata sees her father. “...yes?” Has the nekomata spoken to him?
“I thought I told you, no animals in our gardens!”
She blinks. “I...I’m sorry, what…?”
Sighing curtly, Hiashi points. “Did you let that vermin in here?”
Following his gesture, she stiffens. Bathing in a corner...is the nekomata. And while she knows Hiashi can’t see the cat’s twin tails, the sight still startles her. “I...no, otōsama. It must have wandered in on i-it’s own. I know not to break your rules.”
“Hn...I’ll have one of the staff remove it.”
Looking up, the yōkai considers them both before arching his back, hissing.
“...w-wait!” Hinata raises a pleading hand.
“Why?”
“...I...t-that is…” Her mind races for an excuse - why?! “...cats c-catch mice.”
“...and? Are you insinuating there are rodents in our home?”
“No! But...perhaps it would be, ah... wise to keep a defense against them? Just in case? Surely if a cat were to sit in our garden, no mouse would dare to enter!”
Hiashi stares at her, then glances to the cat. Still he remains tensed. “...rather curious animal, isn’t it…? I’ve never seen a cat with hair so untamed. What if it carries a disease?”
“But...it appears healthy, otōsama. I think...it just looks that way because...it has no one to care for it. To brush its fur. See? Its eyes are bright, and its weight healthy. If it were ill, s-surely it would appear so…?”
Hiashi is silent for a long while. “...very well. It may stay. But I refuse to feed it. If it gets hungry...it can catch those mice you’ve promised it.”
“Y...yes, otōsama…” Head bowing, she remains hunched until Hiashi leaves.
“Tch...what an opinionated old bastard…”
Startling, Hinata looks up to see the nekomata back in a human guise...save for his ears and twin tails.
Said ears pin, lip lifting with a hiss. “To call a cat a vermin...I ought to -”
“Please, d-don’t hurt him!” Hinata begs in a hush. “...yes, he is stern...but he is my father…”
“...trust me, a father is not always a blessing.” With that, he turns from the path Hiashi took, heading further into the Hyūga clan gardens. “...sometimes...you are better off alone.”
Expression hesitant and yet somber, Hinata watches him.
Arms folded, he then looks over his shoulder to her, ruddy eyes flickering over her face. “...it’s as I said, isn’t it?”
“W...what?”
“Your father knows, doesn’t he? And see how he treats you? You’ve eyes gifted by the spirits...and he treats you like a monster. Calls you mad, does he? Calls you a liar?”
The truths make her shrink. “...I-I…”
“...I told you, miko...you don’t belong here. In the human realm….you are an outsider.”
“...so too would I be an outsider in the world of the gods. I’m not a spirit...I’m...in between.” Head bowing, she looks to her upturned hands. “...I don’t belong a-anywhere…”
“Then carve a place for yourself with your hands. If the world will not afford you one... make one. Life is not for the meek. It is for the strong. Only those who take what they need will find it. Begging for scraps will get dirt kicked in your face.”
“...is that what happened to you?”
Sasuke jolts a hair, staring at her.
“...some say that a nekomata is a cat that has live a hundred years. Like many things granted a spirit form when a c-century has passed. A cat mistreated...hurt…” White eyes lift to stare back. “...is that...what you have become…?”
Ears pinning, he hisses at her. “What would you know? You’ve never begged a day in your life, have you? Rejected though you may be, your father keeps you. But I...I was…”
“...left behind…?”
Abruptly, he spins back around, arms still folded. “...some say we cats are harbingers of death. Bad luck. Some cut our tails when we are born to ensure they never split. If we’re kept too long, we’ll turn into monsters...so they abandon us. Leave us in the mountains where we’ll never find our way home again. So when the world turns its back on you…”
Again he turns, staring at her with one glowing, blood-red eye. “...what choice do you have but to become a monster…? It’s fight...or die.”
Staring sadly, Hinata then lowers her gaze. “...I’m sorry for the pain you’ve been given, Uchiha-san...any life is precious, and should be given love.”
...is that why he wants a bride? To steal the one thing he never had?
To take and capture love…?
“...I don’t need your pity.”
“That’s n-not what I offered.”
His eyes narrow.
“...you’re right. I don’t know that pain...but I sympathize. I wish I could take it from you. But...I can’t. No one can undo the past. They can only shape the future.”
Considering her, Sasuke strides to stand at her fore. He takes a knee, lifting her chin with a claw-clad finger. “...every life should be given love, you say…? Then give me yours.”
“...I can try.”
“...try?”
“Love isn’t something you can...demand. It’s like…” Looking around, she nods to the garden. “...like a seed. You must tend to it carefully. G-give it what it needs. Shelter it, give it light, feed it...and be patient as it grows. Then, when your work comes to fruition...you’ll have something beautiful.”
Matching her gaze, Sasuke frowns. “Love...grows…”
“...yes.”
For a moment more he considers it, then stands in a fluid motion. “Then...I will feed your love. Give it whatever it needs. Until it’s the most beautiful love under O-Amaterasu-sama’s light.”
His reaction, admittedly, takes her aback. Part of her is convinced he doesn’t yet fully understand...seeing this more as a simple task than a delicate process. But, at least he seems...determined?
With that, he alights atop the garden wall, staring out into the mountains beyond. Both tails flick in thought. “...wait here, bride of mine.” Turning back, his cheshire grin returns. “I’ll come back for you.” In a blink, a two-tailed black cat leaps down into the field below.
Hinata, still a bit dazed, considers his words in silence.
“...what a curious animal, indeed.”