#ch.1

“Not gonna help?” he pants and then flinches when one of the lizards tries to bite one of his fingers. Kix gives a slight shrug but never moves from his spot. Pendewqell sighs and shakes his head before grabbing the cage again and dragging it out of view. Kix lets out a tired breath and runs a hand through his hair. It was getting long. Nothing that could be tied up like Tup’s hair, but it could stand a few inches high above his head if he didn’t tend to it. Which he rarely did nowadays. He finds himself standing and moving over to the small porthole pointed out at the vast space. He always felt small when traveling in a starship but now he felt nothing. Just a gnawing ache that grew a little more every day.

A knock on the door pulls his attention away. Sidon Ithanos, the captain of the Shrike and the one who saved Kix from his stasis pod the Seppies left him in for 50 years, leans against his doorway. “Reveth is about to decode the Separatist memory core.”

He says nothing else and leaves. The captain is a man of few words and always has a cool demeanor about him even if the rest of the crew is losing their absolute shit. Kix felt his stomach twist into a tighter knot then its usual one. They only keep Kix around because he has a vast knowledge of the Clone Wars and Kix stays because… well, because he has nowhere else to go. The last thing he ever expected was to join up with a group of pirates. That’s something Hardcase would do. A twinge of pain shoots through Kix’s chest. He blinks a few times and clears his mind.

Reveth’s room is more of a garage. Or maybe junkyard is a better term for it? Droid parts dangle from the ceiling along with odd wires and tubes. The only walking space is a path carved through the mass amounts of junk that she claims are “Works in progress!” but Kix wondered how often she ever finished them. Reveth’s red lekku sways as she bobs her head to music while tinkering with the memory core on her workbench. She pushes her rolling chair to an old gonk droid that she’s using as another table to grab something before rolling back to the memory core. Sidon stands next to the work bench looking completely out of place. His clean crimson attire looks almost new compared to the junk surrounding him. Kix on the other hand felt like he belongs with the old, outdated machines. Except no amount of tinkering would ever fix him.

“Alright,” she pushes back from the workbench and rubs her hands together. She glances at Sidon grinning. “Ready for this?”

Kix steps a little closer. She only looked at the captain, but he was the one who needed to be able to see it. The captain nods and Reveth reaches over to press the button that would reveal the complete map of every hidden droid factory ever built. Along with secret bases, weapons warehouses, everything the Republic needed to win the war. He closes his eyes again trying to shove the emerging thoughts away. He opens his eyes to darkness and the unmistakable sound of the power failing. The room is pitch black, but Kix can hear Reveth smashing her fist onto the workbench.

“What happened to the power?” she screams into the darkness. A light appears in the captain’s hand. He silently leads Reveth and Kix out of the death trap of a room and up to the ships bridge. Quiggold huffs around the ship’s controls trying to restore power by the time they get there.

“Captain,” Quiggold’s voice is rough with a mixture of anger and panic. “We’ve lost all power. I’m not sure what happened. It’s like…”

Before Quiggold can finish his sentence, the lights are back on. Kix flinches at the sudden brightness. Quiggold lets his hands drop loosely at his side. “Well, never mind.”

“Find out what happened.” Sidon’s voice gives no hint of distress. Quiggold nods and turns back to the ship’s controls.

“Great, can we get back to the memory core then?” Reveth gestures towards the door leading out of the bridge. Kix and Sidon follow her back to her room silently. Well, except for Reveth muttering under her breath the whole way. When the doors to her room parts she stops abruptly nearly making Kix walk right into her. he catches himself and frowns at Reveth. Her eyes are glued to her workbench. Kix follows her stare to see that the memory core is gone.

“What the absolute…” Reveth begins bursting out into angry cursing. She and Sidon walk further into the room searching for the memory core as if it might have just fallen off her workbench. Kix stays in the doorway. There was something new in the air. Something fresh that lingers above the oil and grease from old machines. It stung Kix’s nose.

“Somethings not right.” Kix mutters to himself. He’s surprised when Sidon lifts his gaze to Kix as if he heard him. Suddenly, out of the corner of Kix’s eyes, he sees movement. Kix feels time slow as he turns his head in its direction. His heartbeat rings in his ears. At the end of the corridor stands a man. Most of his attire is typical for a pirate except for his helmet. Kix’s breath catches in his throat. Rex’s helmet tilts slightly before its wearer gives a low sinister laugh. He lifts his hand revealing a detonator. Before Kix can comprehend what’s happening the man presses the button.

The power goes out again but this time an explosion lurches the ship sideways. Kix crashes into the corridor wall crushing his shoulder. He gasps when he notices the illuminated neon art spray painted over the walls and ceiling of the ship. He couldn’t see it with the lights on, but the darkness brought it to life. The man at the end of the corridor throws a cannister that erupts into neon green smoke. Kix coughs in his elbow but finally manages to get himself to move. He’s running after Re—no it can’t be. Can it? His mind reels. Colorful smoke fills the corridor. He coughs so hard his ribs ache. Sidon speeds past him into the smoke. It makes Kix keep going. He can’t see a thing except the neon art sprayed onto the ship walls.

Hands grab him pushing him forward. A mask is shoved onto his face giving him much needed air. Reveth pats his shoulder and holds up her blaster. Kix nods finally reaching for his own but pauses when he feels it’s rough handle. Rex. He shakes his head. He leaves his blaster in his holster and runs after Reveth. Sounds of blaster fire echoes through the ship. Kix barely has time to duck before Squeaky is thrown through the smoke nearly taking out him and Reveth. They exchange a look but keep going. They eventually shove into the mess hall. The man appears to be an acrobat as he flips onto a table with one hand and lands on the other side before landing a shot into Pendewqell’s shoulder. When Sidon lifts his blaster, the man aims the blaster in his left hand firing on the captain. The captain turns to avoid the shot, but it hits the wall erupting into splatters of paint. The captain struggles to wipe the paint off his mask before realizing it was gluing him to his spot behind a turned over table.

“Fuck!” Reveth yells after charging the man. He holsters his blasters and is able to subdue her with three short moves. she’s forced against a tabletop before he lands a few shots that glue her in place. The man lifts his gaze to Kix. Kix feels frozen. Rex steps away from the table with his right blaster held up over his shoulder. Kix struggles to find words with his mouth growing dry. Rex eventually holsters his blasters realizing Kix is completely frozen in his spot and that he’s subdued everyone else. The man gives another low chuckle. He lifts the memory core in his hands, inspecting it playfully as if wanting them to know that he has it. He gives a General Skywalker two finger salute and leaves.

Finally, Kix feels himself regain control over his body. He runs after the man. His breath is labored and filled with panic.

“Don’t go!” he wants to scream it, but it barely comes out above a whisper. He crashes into the side of the ship when he fails to make a turn. He pants and stares at the man that is climbing into his ship that managed to latch itself to the Shrike without anyone noticing. He pulls out a paint can, giving it a few shakes, and paints a large blue 5 over the control panel.

Kix stays there even after the man disappears inside his ship. Even when he hears it detach itself and go off into hyperspace. Kix drops to his knees panting. He feels like the ship is spinning out of control. Hands push his back against the corridor wall. Reveth is yelling at him, but he can’t hear her. Rex was here. Or was he? Who was that? Kix glances to the control panel while Reveth still unleashes her anger on him. The blue 5 glows in the darkness. When the lights turn back on, it’s gone.

They’re on the bridge now. All of them are covered in some form of neon paint except for Kix. Quiggold paces on the bridge going on about the controls and the mess throughout the ship. Kix wonders if he should tell him that he’s just tracking the neon purple paint that had glued him to his spot before. Reeg rubs his head off to the side with an icepack that Kix had provided when he finally snapped out of his panicked trance. He had been knocked out when the man first boarded their ship. Which apparently was ten minutes before the lights went out the first time. Squeaky stands next to him with arms crossed. He didn’t receive any major wounds except to his pride. Pendewqell fidgets when Kix tightens the bandages over his wound. He’ll be fine but he’s complaining like he would lose the arm.

“Enough,” Sidon’s voice cuts through the arguing. Even though he’s covered in neon pink paint he’s still the most composed one there. “What’s done is done. Now we need to focus on getting the memory core back.”

“What about you?” Reveth glares at Kix. Kix pauses before meeting her eyes. “You froze up. Why didn’t you shoot him?”

Kix feels his hands begin to shake. How can he tell them that the man might have been Rex? How can he tell them that even if it wasn’t… he shakes his head slightly and turns away. Pendewqell gets up and moves closer to Reeg and Squeaky. Sidon glances at Kix.

“And how do we do that?” Pendewqell asks while still fidgeting with his bandages. “We don’t know who that guy is or even what his ship looks like!”

Sidon crosses his arms as he drifts into deep thought. Quiggold moves closer to the controls awaiting the captain’s orders. Finally, Sidon lifts his head. “Make course to Takodana.”

He says nothing else as Quiggold punches in the coordinates and jumps to lightspeed. Kix struggles to keep it together. He didn’t know what to think or what to do with his hands. Reveth scrubs at the paint on her arms before looking his way. Eventually she makes her way over and sits on a crate next to Kix’s seat on the bridge. They say nothing at first. They just sit and listen to ship fly through hyperspace. Finally, she lets out a sigh and says, “You okay?”

Kix wants to answer but his mouth wont part to speak. So instead, he nods. She looks like she wants to say something else but is uncertain of the right words. She eventually pats his shoulder but doesn’t leave his side. They stay like that the rest of the time it takes to reach Takodana. The crew spends a good thirty minutes scrubbing the neon paint off their clothes and skin. Sidon disappears into his room and doesn’t come out until it looks as if it never happened. The others weren’t as lucky. Reveth managed to get all the paint off her face, but remnants still linger on her boots and arms. Quiggold only had it on his feet, so he just pulled on a new pair of boots. The others have specks of neon paint dusted around random parts of their bodies. Kix almost wants to apologize to them. It wasn’t his fault some guy with a paint fetish snuck on board and stole the memory core. But he did freeze up. Kix already questioned if he would still be welcomed to stay after they no longer needed him to decipher old Clone War data. This wasn’t leaning in his favor.

Kix takes in the fresh air of Takodana. The lush green forests are a welcomed sight after being stuck in space for so long. They stayed on Takodana at Maz’s Palace after they first saved Kix. They had thought their captain was dead, but he had returned as if nothing had happened. Kix wondered if the captain let everything roll off his shoulders or if he just forced all emotions down. Everyone had a breaking point. Kix wondered what his was.

Maz’s Palace was as lively as ever. Music pours from every room and each space is filled with all kinds of walks of life. They order some drinks and take a seat at a round table near a big window. Squeaky orders some food for the table but Kix isn’t hungry. Every muscle in his body is tensed. He needs answers.

When Sidon returns to the table Maz is at his side. She’s a short… whatever she was. She’s known as the Pirate Queen for allowing smugglers to reside in her home. As long as they follow her rules of no politics that is. Kix squeezes his hands into tight fists as a wave of anticipation swells in his stomach. She takes a seat next to Sidon and chuckles at the crew.

“I see you lot have run into some bad luck.” She crosses her arms with a grin. Reveth shrugs her shoulders and shoves some food in her mouth. Quiggold slides a puck onto the table that lights up with the image of Re—the man. The power had gone out, but Quiggold still managed to get a good shot of him before everything shut down. Maz frowns at the image.

“Do you know who this is?” Sidon asks softly. Kix wondered if this was considered politics. Maz looks down appearing tired all of the sudden. She rubs her forehead while muttering something under her breath in a language Kix couldn’t recognize until she mutters “… that boy…” and frowning deeper.

“You know my rules.” She says holding up a hand as if to fault the conversation. Kix shifts nervously in his seat. She knows who that is. he finds himself reaching a hand across the table holding it flat against the sticky surface. She meets his pleading eyes.

“Please.” He whispers. There’s something in her eyes Kix can’t quite place. Sadness? Pain? He wasn’t sure. She mutters something else in the language Kix couldn’t understand again before nodding. They all lean in closer over the table.

“I know this boy,” she says at last. Kix lets out a shaky breath and shifts in his seat again. Maz pauses, fighting the reluctance to say more. “I knew his father and mother a long time ago. I thought he was just moving spice. Something I never approved of,” she gives a snort before continuing, “but now it appears he’s… he’s moved on to this.”

Father, mother, then it’s not Rex. Kix leans further over the table. “He wears the helmet of a clone. Why?”

Maz meets his eyes with her own still filled with something Kix couldn’t place.

     Naruto blows a raspberry and keeps looking out the window with his slouched back, open legs and annoyed face. "I don't know, you tell me."      "We're meeting your future wife, please try to at least look interested."      "Bride," Naruto corrects, "future bride, and what's it they say? If you don't love me at my worst, you don't de-?"      "Naruto!" Minato hisses, and Naruto knows he has overstepped. His father his hurt. He knows. He knew he would hurt him if he treated this meeting with such nonchalance, and he did it anyways.      "Is wanting for you to live a couple more years such a horrible wish of mine?"      Naruto bites his tongue, because he doesn't have the heart to tell his father that sometimes he wishes...      "I will behave," Naruto concedes, "I will try my best to behave," he adds, because he knows himself. But he doesn't straighten his back, doesn't close his legs and doesn't wash the grimace off his face.      "Thank you, son. Thank you."      And Naruto pouts towards the window.

⁂

His stupid formal kimono is stuffy and the coat cord dangles in front of him. He has to fight the urges to grip it and rip it off.      Their carriage leaves and a bunch of servants guide them towards the inner rooms of the house. Hiashi Hyuuga, head of the family, welcomes them alone and offers drinks to the both of them. Naruto became head of the family 5 years ago, the moment he became 18, so although he doesn't particularly enjoy drinking, he can't refuse the man's offering. They talk about unremarkable stuff, most having to do with their respective clans. Hiashi offers another drink and Naruto accepts out of politeness, it is common knowledge that a Beast Tamer should always keep their minds clear and alert. Naruto decides to give the man the benefit of the doubt, mainly because Minato has barely said a word and Naruto promised to behave. But then Hiashi offers another drink and Naruto crosses his arms.      "I am afraid I will have to refuse, Lord Hiashi, I can not afford to get lost on the drink before meeting my future bride."      Hiashi looks as bored as he had when they arrived, but he nods and calls for a servant to bring his daughters. They lock eyes afterwards and Naruto remains stoic. The man is getting on his nerves.      When the door opens again, Naruto doesn't break eye contact until Hiashi does, and by that time the two daughters are already kneeling beside their father, one to each side of him. Their faces are glued to their hands on the floor and they do not move until their father says they are able to do so.      Naruto hides his disgust by pressing his lips together. Patriarcal clans are always weird as fuck. If his mother had been alive he would have married a woman from another matriarchal clan, like the Inuzuka's or the Hatake's. Although if his mother had been alive she may have had a daughter and the Beast inside Naruto wouldn't be inside Naruto and maybe he wouldn't be looking for a bride to have an heir with. Specially not one from a patriarcal clan.      Naruto hones in on the older-looking one. She looks as bored as her father, although Naruto is sure his own face isn't much different. She is pretty, dainty and delicate. Nothing of the things he looks for in a woman. His offspring need to be able to hold in a Beast inside of them, for crying out loud, he would much rather have a mean looking woman like Kiba Inuzuka's mother. Naruto remembers his friend's disgusted face when he had joked to him about it, and his mood is immediately better. He's just taking it out on the daughter because her father is such a stuck-up shit. Naruto's mother had been dainty and delicate, and his grandma Mito is graceful and solemn. Also, he's choosing his bride in order to lengthen his own lifespan, so whatever.      Naruto turns slightly towards his right, puts his hands in front of him and presses his head to the triangle they formed, bowing towards the girl. He straightens, "Lady Hinata, I presume?" he says to the older-looking daughter, she gives the tiniest of nods. "It is my honor to be able to-"      "Lord Naruto," Hiashi interrupts, and Naruto clenches his jaw. What a man.      "Yes, Lord Hiashi?"      "I would like to present to you my daughter Hanabi."      The girl bows again and looks at Naruto directly into his eyes, "It is my honor to meet you, Lord Naruto."      Naruto is confused. He glances towards Hinata, but her eyes are glued to the tatami in front of her.      "I have been informed by your father that through this union you seek a partner that can help you maintain your chakra points clean and unburdened." Naruto nods, but he is still confused. "My daughter Hanabi is by far superior in terms of proficiency in the clan's techniques and as such, I believe, a better partner for you, my lord."      Hinata hasn't said a peep, and Naruto can feel his very own chakras getting unruly inside of him. This must be a joke.      "I do not understand," starts Naruto, "Is Hinata incapable of seeing chakra points?"      Hiashi looks flustered, as flustered as he can look without losing his stoic face. "In terms of capability-"      "Lady Hinata, are you incapable of using your clan's technique? Are you unable to see chakra points?"      Hinata's eyes widen and stare back at Naruto's. "I can, my lord."      "Are you incapable of releasing chakra points?"      "I am capable of that, my lord."      Her voice is reserved, like everything seems to suggest about her, but her eyes now have energy in them, and she can't hide the surprise behind them.      "So could you explain to me then, Lord Hiashi, why are you offering your fourteen year old daughter instead of Lady Hinata?"      "Naruto," Minato hisses from behind him. But Naruto is repulsed by this man's actions, so he awaits an answer.      "As I have stated already, Lord Naruto, in terms of capability my daughter Hanabi is superior than Lady Hinata. I am sorry if me trying to be of use to you has resulted in me overstepping your boundaries."      Minato raises, "Excuse me, Lord Hiashi, my ladies, I would like to have a private conversation with my son."      Naruto doesn't move from his position and Minato calls him, "My lord." It's the change in tone that makes Naruto move. To anyone else, Minato looks just like a servant calling for his master, but Naruto knows his father is as disgusted as he is, there is irritation in his voice.      "If you would excuse me."      They walk towards a nearby pond. Everything is carefully positioned in this garden and Naruto tries to clear his head by admiring the place. Minato stops in the middle of a small bridge, just on top of a miniature waterfall.      "What was that?" he asks, and Naruto is glad Minato chose a place that can somewhat drown their voices, because he's as shocked as his father.      "I know, right? What is he thinking offering his youngest daughter to me? I've always known patriarcal clans were weird, but fuck-"      "Naruto." Minato stops him, and his irritation is evident now.      Naruto takes a moment to understand. "What?" but he refuses to think that his father is annoyed at him and not the man inside that room.      "What are you doing going against Lord Hiashi?"      Naruto has to remember to close his mouth. He feels somewhat betrayed, but he's more shocked than anything. "What do you mean? Hinata was the one we came here to see, didn't we?"      "If Lord Hiashi says that Lady Hanabi might be a better choice, then why can't you just-"      "You expect me to impregnate a 14 year old?" Naruto gets really close to his father. Minato is plenty tall, and usually towers the people around him, but Naruto has grown even taller than him, and he looks like someone that fights for fun, so now it seems like Naruto is threatening the blonde man into submission.      "You do not have to have a child so soon," explains Minato. He reigns over his voice and attitude, nothing good will come out of having Naruto riled up.      "Right, I have how many years left now? 8? 12?" Minato closes his eyes in pain, because this is exactly the reason why they need a Hyuuga in their family, for them to give Naruto a couple more years. "So I wait till she's of age, make her pregnant and then die a few years later, leaving her alone and with a child she will not know how to care for."      "Our clan would never leave your child-"      "If I am forced to have a family, then I want to at least be there for them!"      Minato can't look Naruto in the eye. As Head of the family his expectations are far greater than Minato could ever understand, and if he wishes to be present... Minato understands. "Just control your temper, all right? We don't want Lord Hiashi withdrawing from this deal."

⁂

Hiashi and his daughters seem to have remained still since the moment they left the room. Naruto can't find a hair out of place and he can feel his annoyance growing again, but his father's words are at the back of his head.      Naruto kneels in his spot and bows. "We appreciate your opinions in the matter, Lord Hiashi, and we appreciate your worry over the matter." Hiashi looks pleased, and Naruto has to remember to breath in and out, "I would like to have a one on one meeting with Lady Hinata, if you would let me."      Hiashi's microscopic smile disappears. "As you wish, my lord."      Minato leaves with everyone. He had told Naruto not to piss off Lord Hiashi, but at the end of the day, the decision regarding his bride and future wife must be his.      Hinata remains as still as a statue. She had expected Lord Naruto to choose her sister, but now he is looking at her and Hinata doesn't know what to do.      "Lady Hinata," Naruto starts, and Hinata breathes out the tiniest yes he has ever heard. "May I ask you to look at my chakra points and release the ones you feel are the most strained, please?"      "Yes, my lord."      By the way she had been conducting herself, Naruto would have thought she would have more trouble with his request. He half expected her to fumble while doing her work and actually to suck a little bit at it. But Hinata moves closer to him, keeping herself at arms length now and raises her hand to the front of her face with only her index and middle finger up, a usual hand gesture when using one's chakra. She mumbles a word beneath her breath that Naruto doesn't catch and the veins around her white eyes -characteristic to the Hyuuga- bulge out. Naruto can't look away from her eyes and he isn't sure she catches him staring.      Hinata moves her eyes across his body and after a while she releases her technique. She doesn't look winded or tired, Naruto notices. "May I help you with your haori, Lord Naruto?"      "Sure." Naruto notices his choice of words immediately, but Hinata pays no attention to it. She stands up and helps him take off his jacket, he feels refreshed instantly.      "From what I have seen, Lord Naruto, the most restrained chakra points right now are in you upper back, chest and right thigh." Naruto nods along, because he has no way to confirm that information. "I need to put my hands in said parts of your body, may I?"      "You may, Lady Hinata."      The woman kneels behind him and presses her hands on his back. Naruto straightens even more, she whispers behind him again and starts moving her right hand in between his shoulder blades. She stops in one point and leaves only two of her fingers making contact. Naruto expects a jolt of chakra, a prick, pressure, anything, but he feels nothing and the next moment he feels his muscles relaxing. He feels better without knowing that he had felt bad before.      "What the-?"      "Lord Naruto?" Hinata moves to his side, as quick as her kimono lets her. Her hand is in his shoulder and the other hovers near his chest. He's hunched over and Hinata feels the tears coming. She did everything correctly, she may not be as good as her sister, but even she can close and release chakra points. Any child in the clan can close and release chakra points. Closing and releasing chakra points is the cornerstone of the Hyuuga clan and no one, in the history of the clan, has ever been unable to at least be able to use that technique. But this is her we're talking about, the weakest of the heiresses in history, so it is not that far-fetched for her to be the first ever to blunder such basic of the basics. "Lord Naruto?"      Naruto raises his head with a delighted sigh, "That felt great," he can barely believe something so small is able to make him feel so much better. He looks at Hinata with surprise and stops on his tracks as he sees her face. She breathes in a shaky breath, presses her lips in order to stop them from trembling and does her best to smile, "I am glad, Lord Naruto."     "I'm sorry," Naruto says immediately, "did I scare you? I'm sorry."      Hinata shakes her head no and stands to move in front of him. Her legs feel weak but she carries on. What a disgrace. "No." If she wasn't so much of a failure then she would have never even entertained the thought that she could possibly hurt him with a bad executed technique. The fact that she even doubted herself is enough to send her spiraling into despair, and the fact that she may have disgraced herself in front of the Head of the Uzumaki is eating at her. "Pl-please think n-nothing of it, my lord."      There is silence and Hinata would gladly throw herself to the ponds outside, shame herself in another way that was not her stupid stutter. She hates everything, maybe if he had chosen her sister then she wouldn't be making such a fool of herself. Maybe if her father hadn't shamed her for not being her sister, she wouldn't have such a problem with her speech when pressured. Maybe if she was better, then none of this would be even a problem.      She sits in front of Naruto and presses her hands to his chest. She may be a failure and of no consequence but she was going to do what he had asked of her at least. If he would rather have a perfect, free-of-stutter wife then he could choose her sister. Why didn't he just go with her sister and save her the shame?      Hinata releases the chakra point and Naruto makes a point of thanking her. Hinata barely hears him, ready to leave the room and for her father and sister to come back and change his mind. Her movements are practiced and she finishes soon. Thank god.      She is ready for Naruto to dismiss her with a wave of his hand, but he only kneels. "I can see that you are more than capable of releasing chakra points, Lady Hinata. Thank you. May I know why you father decided to propose your sister instead of you?"      Hinata knows this spiel by heart, "Her proficiency-"      "You seem to be capable enough."      "She's f-faster," Hinata wishes he would just let her go, "more controlled."      "May I be blunt, Lady Hinata?"      Hinata raises her eyes and breathes out a yes.      "I am in need of an heir." Hinata can feel her cheeks heating. "I have no desire to wed a child, and although you and your father seem to be of the mind that Lady Hanabi is better at using your clan's technique, if she is only faster and more controlled in doing what you have just showed me, I have no interest in that. May I know what you know about my clan?"      Hinata and her sister studied what they could find about the Uzumaki's, but like any high-positioned clan, they could only find basic information. "Only what is c-common knowledge, my lord."      "In that case, I would love for you to get to know my clan before you make your decision, my lady. I would be honored to receive you and move forward with our relationship with marriage in mind. If you would accept my invitation, It would be my pleasure to have you in my compound starting next week."     Hinata is puzzled. "My father..."     "The Uzumaki are a matriarchal clan, my lady, and in matriarchal clans the decisions are made with the people affected by them, other people are inconsequential. Of course, I will repeat what I said to you word by word to your father, Lady Hinata, I know the ways of this clan." Naruto stands up and waits for Hinata to rise before getting his haori. Hinata moves her hands to help him put his jacket on without thinking. She is still shocked at Naruto's decision.      Before they leave the room, Naruto stops in front of the shoji door and turns to her. He towers over her and in any other occasion she would feel anxious by this situation.      "It has been my pleasure meeting you, my lady, I shall talk with your father about my proposal and await your answer." Hinata looks at him and nods as an answer. "Just keep in mind, Lady Hinata," Naruto moves his hand under her chin and raises her face to him, "we are not beyond kidnapping our brides and grooms if their decisions are faced with opposition."

⁂