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Hinata curled her manicured fingers around the stone bench on which she sat. She was trying her best not to touch her face, as Hanabi had taken the time to beautify her just a few hours prior. The ceremony was to start shortly, but the heiress couldn’t be bothered.
She was busy, you see. The ginkgo tree in the Hyuga garden was a sight to behold at this time of year, with leaves of bright yellow covering its sweeping branches. The branches hung lazily over the koi pond, and yellow leaves littered its surface. It was crucial for her to be there to witness it, especially at a time like this.
It seemed that as the years went by, the happy yellow leaves fell much sooner than she’d anticipated. In the blink of an eye, winter would be here, and the sight of the barren ginkgo tree would only cause her pain.
She watched, unblinking, as yet another leaf descended onto the water. Some would look upon the sight and call it insignificant, but for Hinata, that little yellow leaf was her entire world right now.
And as insignificant as it may have been, the leaf splashed against the surface, creating a tiny whirlpool in its wake and pushing the other leaves aside. Sometimes, something as insignificant as a little yellow leaf could make waves, she thought. Or rather, she knew it all too well.
She inhaled a shaky breath at the thought and gently shut her eyes, gripping the seat more tightly than before. Today was supposed to be the most important day of her life, and yet she couldn’t pull herself away from the ginkgo tree. Couldn’t pull herself away from the storm raging in her mind.
She let her eyes open naturally and leaned back into her seat, not caring if she dirtied the back of her immaculate white kimono. She took deep breaths and stared up at the cloudless sky. She wanted to embrace her reality, but with the ginkgo tree taunting her like this, she found it incredibly hard. The sight of it filled her with hope—such undeserving, filthy hope.
Sometimes the guilt wrapped around her brain in knots, but most times, it was hard to feel anything at all.
Not too far behind from where she sat, the garden gate opened and closed with a thump against the latch. Soft footsteps drew near, and her pulse radiated into her fingertips. She didn’t have to look. She knew who it was.
First, a shadow loomed over her. Then, her vision was quickly engulfed by a shade of shaggy black hair and a warm porcelain face. “Needed a break?”
His voice, earnest yet gentle, broke her out of her suspension. She blinked a few times before leaning forward on her palms. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
He snorted, like he always did, before taking a seat next to her. He left some room in between them, which she was quite thankful for. He was dressed handsomely, sporting a dark blue kimono with the Uchiha crest emblazoned on the back. A crest she’d be wearing, starting tomorrow.
He rested his elbows on his knees and his eyes landed on the koi pond. “I get it, you know. I know you don’t want this.”
She sucked in a breath before squealing, “Sasuke-san! That’s simply not true at all! I want peace between our families, and I want to integrate the Uchiha clan back into the village!”
Sasuke scoffed and to her surprise, looked upon her with some sort of disdain. “That’s great, but that’s not what I meant and you know it.”
She was looking at him, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one of the leaves from the ginkgo tree as it fell halfway down from its branch, and heat began to build in her brain and behind her eyes because she’d practically missed it and—
He grabbed her left hand, sweaty and clenched as it was, and squeezed it tight. “Wait, stop it. I’m sorry. God, don’t cry.” His voice was panicked, there was fear in his beady black eyes.
Hinata inhaled sharply at the contact. It may have been a little painful, but it was the look on Sasuke’s face that really caught her attention. It was rather sweet, child-like—something she’d never seen in him before.
“Look—fuck, just listen to me, alright?” The red hue spreading across his normally pale face was hard to miss. “I get that you wanted something different out of life. This isn’t exactly what I wanted, either. But for us to get up there and do this, you need to cut it out and stop lying.”
He loosened his grip on her hand and just as he was about to pull away, she unclenched her hand and quickly linked their fingers together in a soft embrace. This didn’t do much for the blush on his face, it seemed. She was shocked to find that she had the strength to smile.
“It’s true. I don’t want to marry you.” The words flowed easily, and the relief on his face made it that much easier for her to continue. “And it’s true that I’m in love with someone else. But I’m not simply doing this to please my father. When I said I want to help your clan, I meant it.”
Sasuke abruptly pulled away as he coughed into the crook in his arm. “Ugh…” He coughed a few more times before uttering a quick, “Shut up, will you?”
Hinata giggled at this, tears practically forgotten. She couldn’t entirely see his face, but he looked as red as a tomato.
“You wanted honesty and that’s what you got, Sasuke-san.”
He brought his arm back down to his side and stared daggers at her. “You’re so annoying.”
Her smile only widened as she found herself flopping down into his lap, makeup and elaborate hairdo long forgotten. She closed her eyes, and for a short while, the only noise that could be heard was the wind rustling against the ginkgo tree.
“It’s this tree, isn’t it?”
She simply smiled to herself, knowing he couldn’t see it.
“...Want me to destroy it?”