A/N (Update 8/5/07): I finally decided to rewrite the whole fic after giving into the temptation of applying my newfound up-to-date knowledge of the manga as well as my newfound writing skills from successful completion of English Honors I. Although the plotline is still the same as well as the basic foundation, there are still major changes that affect the flow of the fic, the NaruHina development, and the sequence of events. Also, I have edited the chapters to the extent that they are more descriptive, better quality, and waaay longer.

This chapter is not so much as the same as the previous work, since it has a lot of changes. The beginning is relatively the same, but then it takes on the scene with Kiba and Shino from Chapter 2, although it’s only Hinata who goes to them. Then after that, it takes a turn for a whole new scene that wasn’t in the original format. And finally, it ends with an altered version of the ramen scene from the original chapter. Oh, and on a side note, Hinata isn’t on the best of terms with her family in here.

So even if you reviewed before, I would appreciate some feedback on the rewritten version! Please and thank you :D

Warning(s): Possible OOCness. Takes place 5½ years after the first part of the series. SPOILERS IF NOT UP-TO-DATE WITH MANGA. Implied minor SasuSaku.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does. The storyline of the fic is all mine, tho’. Anyone caught plagiarizing will suffer from an inbox full of reports about plagiarism.

Chapter 1: Hiashi’s Proposal

Hyuuga Hinata’s day had started off in its typical routine. Although she had woken up with anxiety bubbling in the pit of her stomach, she dismissed it as a side-effect of feeling utterly miserable after having her ass whupped once again by her younger sister Hanabi and had headed towards the daily morning meal called breakfast. She had politely served her father and the other Hyuuga elders tea and helped out in the kitchen as she always did (or was rather forced to do as the superfluous failure of the clan).

Oh yes, her day had begun quite normally.

And had it continued its normal routine, Hinata would have been training with Kiba and Shino by now.

But no, her father had summoned her to discuss something. Had she done something wrong? She didn’t think so—well, save for the fact that her demon of a sister had mercilessly beaten her to a bloody pulp in training yet again the previous day, but that was beside the point. She was getting stronger, becoming more fit to be the heiress of the Hyuuga estate (although she was constantly ridiculed as the pathetic sheltered baby of the main house, which was completely customary for her to hear). So what did Hiashi-sama want to speak to her about?

Her mauve eyes followed her father as he stared out his window in contemplation, her hands folded neatly in her lap as she sat on her knees, her heels digging into her rear and tingling with numbness as the clock on Hiashi’s wall ticked, counting the minutes it was taking for the man to utter a single sound. Hiashi always did like beating around the bush to add dramatic effect.

Well, not really, but you could tell he liked to plan his words carefully.

“Hinata…” Hiashi began, his back still turned to her as he continued to gaze out the window.

“Y-Yes, Father?” she answered, slightly startled by his sudden acknowledgement.

“You are eighteen now.”

“Er, yes…” Well, duh. How old did he think she was? Twelve? Well, he never did celebrate her birthdays, so perhaps he had actually lost track…

“As of yesterday, it has been decided that despite being a superfluous failure to the clan, you may take over the Hyuuga estate and become the next head.”

The shy Hyuuga girl was almost tempted to retort a rather sarcastic thanks for pointing out her malfunction in terms of Hyuuga standards, but since she was Hinata, she was obligated to be the good girl and keep her mouth shut. So instead, she remained silent and forced back a gulp that had made its way up her throat but thankfully didn’t choke on it from the shock instigated by what her father had just informed her.

The anxiety that had developed earlier that day only increased ten-fold as she waited for what else was to come her way and knock her off her feet—or at least surprise her again. So far, her father had just admitted that she still had some chance of proving that she could lead their prestigious clan. But she knew there had to be some catch, since he went through the trouble of pointing out what a letdown she was.

“And because of your reputation as a failure–” Hinata felt a mental stab as he pointed her out as a pathetic sap once again, “–we believe that it would be better for you to rule with a man to be the backbone that you lack.”

Her heart ceased to beat as realization dawned on her. “W-What?” was all she could muster in a trembling voice.

Hiashi finally turned to her, his trademark sexy Hyuuga hair flapping around him in a dramatic fashion as a solemn expression encrypted itself onto his face. “What I am saying is…” he began as his hair finally cascaded down his back gracefully as all Hyuuga hair did after a few seconds of floating around in the air, “…you must marry in order to become the next head of the clan.”

And that was when Hinata felt like dying. She wanted to be enclosed in a world of darkness and utter silence forever…and never wake up. But alas, fate was cruel on her and didn’t kill her instantly right there on the spot. And so she reluctantly continued to listen to her father’s cruel, harsh, frightening words, finally understanding why her cousin Neji was always babbling on and on about fate five and a half years ago.

Hiashi scrutinized the only initial reaction his elder daughter made as her pallid eyes dilated as widely as the expensive China saucers stored in the dining room before speaking again. “Hinata, you know it will be difficult for you to rule on your own as the failure of the clan.”

Oh, enough of the “failure” crap! Hinata mentally screamed in her mind.

…or, at least that was what she wanted to mentally scream. But that was in all actuality the farthest thing from her mind as the horror of her father’s words etched itself into her mentality as he continued his spiteful, frightening speech.

“I’m giving you this chance to prove yourself as a worthy heir, although you have failed at that plenty of times–” Hinata almost felt her eye twitch at the inadvertent insults her father continued to shoot 120 miles per hour at her, “–but mostly as my first daughter. And to do this, it would best for you to marry.”

Finally finding her voice, the shy girl meekly asked, “B-But…so soon? I-It’s so sudden…”

“The sooner we confirm an heir, the better,” her father automatically replied in his calm voice. “Perhaps you shan’t truly become the head of the clan at this time, but you will have secured your right as the proper heir once you find a suitable husband.”

The cobalt-haired girl knew she couldn’t refuse his deal. First off, this was her father—the strict stick-up-his-ass Hiashi who had shunned her for the past eighteen years. Secondly, she would finally be able to show angsta-cousin Neji, demon-spawn-sister Hanabi, strict-daughter-shunning-father Hiashi himself, and the rest of her dysfunctional, cruel old farts for elders that she could face this challenge head on. Sure, she would be able to find a husband…

Whoa, backtrack. HUSBAND?!

“A-A husband?” The word seemed foreign on her tongue and felt rather funny coming out in her voice. “W-Why not fiancé?”

“Technically, you would have a fiancé,” Hiashi replied coolly,” but since we have preparations ready, you won’t have one for very long and will have a husband very soon in its stead.”

Hinata felt the color completely drain from her already-pale-enough face, causing her to appear freakishly albino and malnourished. He had already planned this? Then…

“W-When…is the…ceremony?” she dared to ask, fear creeping into her being as she dreaded the upcoming answer.

“You have a month,” the Hyuuga head told her as he took a seat across from her. “One month is your limit. The wedding is to be held the seventh of June.”

Oh God…what had her father gotten her into?

----------

Neji had been on his way out to meet with his team when he noticed his cousin Hinata stumble past him from the direction of his father’s chambers. Eyeing her warily with the perception that all Hyuugas possessed with the exception of said cousin (who was known as an utter disappointment to the clan), he observed how she practically swayed dejectedly from side to side in a rather unbalanced manner.

Seeing as to how she was about to run smack-dab into a wall, out of concern (although he would never admit it), he caught up with her and grabbed her by the shoulders before she could engage in the impact. Spinning her around to face him, he gazed down at her and asked bluntly, “What the hell did Hiashi-sama say to you?”

Gently prying off his hold, Hinata began walking forward, Neji following suit. After a few moments of striding rather miserably, she finally glanced up at him forlornly and answered, “Father…says I have to m-marry.”

Her sepia-haired cousin nearly ran into a wall. But since he was Neji and was too awesome to do something so undignified, he didn’t. “Marry?”

She nodded almost tearfully. “To…become the h-head of the clan…I must…rule with a m-man…so…I must…m-marry…” She sniffled a bit, struggling to hold back oncoming tears of sheer misery.

Neji was so shocked that the only brilliant question he could come up with in his genius mind was, “…why now?”

Hinata directed her gaze to the ground as she watched each step she took. “Father s-says I have a m-month to find a h-husband…the w-wedding is to be held June 7th…because he has already made p-preparations…”

Although Neji’s face remained passive, he was rather appalled at what he was hearing. Words couldn’t even begin to describe how surprised he was that his strict uncle who had shunned the girl next to him for the last eighteen years for being a failure was actually giving her a chance to prove her worthiness as the apparent heir of the Hyuuga estate. His uncle went on to surprise him furthermore with the way he had uncharacteristically set up for Hinata to secure this position.

She had to marry in order to become head of the clan? He would have labeled it as bull had it not been coming from Hinata herself, who was too innocent to actually commit a sin such as lying.

Interest piqued, Neji was curious to know more about this rather ridiculous ordeal. “And? What else did he say?”

Even though Hinata didn’t want to recall the memory, for it was too painful and cruel for her to bear, she did anyway just to tell her cousin all about it.

-----Flashback-----

“Hinata, it’s for the clan. I do not like breaking tradition,” Hiashi said, looking her directly in the eye. “I am honestly not thrilled about naming my second daughter as the heir to the clan…although I am also honestly not thrilled to have the failure named the heir either.”

The temptation to strangle her father for indirectly offending her once again almost won our protagonist over. But since she was sweet, little Hinata, her arms were kept neatly by her sides, showing no signs of any violence whatsoever anytime soon.

“However, I’d rather go by the book and not break the traditions that the Hyuugas before me have laid down—having my firstborn child take her rightful place as the next head of the Hyuuga clan.”

She couldn’t find her voice as she reflected over his words. What he said was indeed true: she didn’t want to shame her father any further (since she had already succeeded in that the moment she first began training as a ninja) by forcing him to break tradition just because she was weak and pretty much a failure to the clan. But no, she would show him.

“Uphold the family honor, Hinata. Every Hyuuga is of honor, no matter how unaccomplished some of us might be.”

Ignoring the offensive remark, she felt herself nodding without her brain’s consent. “Y-Yes…”

“Then you accept my ordeal?”

To her horror, she found herself answering him without hesitation or reluctance. “Yes, Father.”

Hiashi nodded his approval before rising to his feet. Gazing down at her, he added, “I’m sure you’ll provide strong, healthy heirs.”

Hinata seriously wanted to die at those words.

------End Flashback-----

“I c-couldn’t refuse Father…” Hinata sighed with an air of melancholy, finding herself unable to look up to her cousin as he remained silent for a moment, their footsteps the only sound resonating in the quiet halls of the Hyuuga estate.

Neji usually wasn’t sympathetic for his cousin, for before he had felt she deserved no sympathy after all the hell he had gone through in his life up until his fight with Naruto during his first Chuunin Exam, which he blamed on that cursed fate. Hell, he had nearly killed her back then!

However, he wasn’t the same person he was when he was thirteen years of age. If he indeed had been to this day, he wouldn’t have given a damn about his cousin’s current dilemma and would have instead laughed at her misfortune that that damn fate had finally bestowed upon her rather than him for once. Actually, he wouldn’t even be speaking to her now!

But the past Neji had let go of his anger and resentment for the main branch of the Hyuuga clan after his fight with Uzumaki Naruto, eventually developing better relationships with said branch’s members. And ultimately, he matured into the man he was now—a man who could be on civil terms with family he once hated and still kick major ass without the “uber-angsta” factor.

Yes, Hyuuga Neji had certainly progressed over the years by a long-shot.

“Then stop moping and do something about it,” he commanded his distraught cousin with a tone of authority, halting abruptly in his tracks and causing her to stumble over her feet. “You know you cannot defy your father, and you’ve only been given a month to find a husband, so stop wasting time feeling sorry for yourself and start searching already.”

The cobalt-haired girl found herself looking up at him in shock. For him to be helping her, even in a rather harsh way, was a feat and certainly not an everyday thing. She could almost hear a chorus of sopranos singing “Hallelujah” in the background, but that would be overboard for her stoic cousin.

Neji didn’t blink as he continued. “You find a husband within four weeks and you don’t have to worry anymore, correct?”

She nodded numbly. “Y-Yes…”

“Then I suggest you explain your situation to your teammates and skip training for today,” he said as he headed out the front door, Hinata following close behind. Right before his departure, he added over his shoulder, “It wouldn’t do you any good, anyway.”

Well, Neji still had to retain some of his cold-hearted ass attitude to remain an awesome, sexy, kickass character for fans and fangirls.

Before Hinata could utter a word (or the first sound of one as part of her infamous stuttering problem), Neji turned his head back to the front and departed, leaving the girl to watch his retreating form as a small smile formed on her face. Neji could certainly be an ass sometimes, but he was still kind at heart. Kindness was a Hyuuga thing after all—well, it was, but she was sure that it was flung out the window the moment she failed to measure up to her clan’s standards.

She sighed as she made her way towards her team’s training place.

----------

“YOU GOTTA GET MARRIED?!” Kiba howled (no pun intended) in shock, so taken aback by Hinata’s news that he had raised his arms and brought them down with full force, inadvertently slapping Akamaru on the back, since he was sitting on it.

Said dog was also blown back by the news and had momentarily paused in eating his doggie biscuit, leaving it dangling in his mouth. And so when his master had slapped him on the back, he found himself gasping from the impact and accidentally breathing in his biscuit, causing it to lodge itself in his throat. Choking sounds resonated from his throat as he gagged from the sudden the cutoff of air, throwing Kiba off his back.

Panic erupted over Hinata’s face as she rushed over to the choking dog to help remove the wedged biscuit in his throat rather than her fallen teammate. “A-Akamaru-kun!” she whimpered as she pounded the back of his lower neck to hopefully dislodge the biscuit and save his life.

Ignoring the fact that his teammate was more concerned about his dog than himself, Kiba quickly rose to his feet and strode over to Akamaru. “You idiot!” he snapped before promptly smacking the choking dog so hard to the extent that said dog finally managed to hack up his biscuit…

…which ended up plastering on Shino’s face, who idly stood by.

“Sorry, Shino!” Kiba quickly apologized before tending back to Akamaru, while Hinata stared in horror at her introverted teammate.

Said bug-shinobi nonchalantly wiped the saliva-covered biscuit off his face, cringing in disgust as it plopped to soggy heaps on the ground. “So you’re searching for a husband?” he simply asked as he continued to clean himself off.

She reluctantly nodded. “Er, yes…I w-will need some h-help, though…so…I-I’m not training today…”

Kiba turned back to her after assuring himself that Akamaru wasn’t going to go to doggie heaven anytime soon. He flashed her one of his prominent fanged grins before saying, “Don’t worry, Hinata. Me an’ Shino here will help ya. Right?” He directed his gaze to the Aburame, Hinata following with her own pleading gaze.

Shino simply nodded to affirm his service to his teammate’s aid.

Hinata’s face instantly brightened. She could feel her misery from earlier finally dissipating, knowing that she had her teammates’ support to help her cope with this hell that her father had oh-so-kindly decided to put her through.

“Thank you, Kiba-kun,” she said to the Inuzuka before turning to the Aburame, “and Shino-kun…!”

“Hey, no prob,” the dog-nin said, shooting her a thumbs-up, almost like Gai and Lee’s infamous good-guy pose, except without the pinging pearly white teeth, which actually made it look sexy instead of ridiculous. “That’s what teammates are for, right? Shino?” He shot said boy a look.

“Hn,” Shino agreed. Kind of.

“U-Um…well, I-I’m going to look for Sakura-chan…so, um…please go on to my home without me…and w-wait there, please.” Hinata bowed to them. “I-I can’t thank you e-enough!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Kiba grinned cheekily, raising his hands in modesty to prevent the girl from further embarrassing him with her appreciation. “We’ll be waiting.”

With that, he leapt onto Akamaru’s back and departed towards the Hyuuga estate, along with Shino, Hinata watching their fading silhouettes before beginning her search for Sakura.

----------

Uchiha Sasuke had been back in his home village of Konohagakure for three years now, having finally achieved his lifelong goal of ending the life of the man who had ended the lives of his entire family. After taking out Orochimaru once he was satisfied with his use for bestowing upon him his almighty Sannin powers (which came with a ridiculous fashion statement, purple eye shadow, and a giant snake summon), he sought out his estranged older brother, forming his own platoon that consisted of several of Orochimaru’s former subordinates, who readily accepted his request for their services since he had taken out their ex-boss.

Orochimaru’s training did not go to waste, to say the least (although he could have done without the unnecessary pedophilic advances).

During the time he had sought out Itachi, Team Kakashi and Team 8 had been on his trail to bring him back home. Their efforts did not prove fruitless when Kiba’s nose had picked up Sasuke’s scent and led them to the death scene of the elder Uchiha. The sole surviving Uchiha’s goal had been attained, and there was no point in him repelling himself from home anymore.

Shortly after Sasuke’s return, Sakura had been the one to reconnect the broken bonds he had severed during the time he spent on restriction from engaging in shinobi activities, such as rank exams, missions, etc. And during that time, Sasuke and Sakura’s relationship had definitely developed to the point that the Uchiha estate was where Sakura spent as much time as she did in her own humble abode.

Which was why Hinata stood horrified before a rather pissed off Sasuke at the moment.

“I-I’m sorry, Sasuke-san!” Hinata squeaked in a tiny voice, frantically bowing to the scowling ebony-haired shinobi standing before her in the doorway of the Uchiha estate. The misery that had ebbed away earlier had returned in an instant when she found herself face to face with none other than Uchiha Sasuke. “I-I thought S-Sakura-chan was here!”

Sasuke's onyx eyes glared at her pitiful apologetic form. He was tempted to promptly slam the door in the obviously terrified girl’s face due to his crappy mood caused by the lack of sleep, which was all thanks to her irregular incessant knocking, but the exhaustion that pulled at his eyelids also affected his strength to even open the door. So no go there.

And why did she have the gall to think Sakura was at his house? Sure, she dropped by from time to time—hell, it was actually her second home, as much as he hated to admit it—but it wasn’t like she was at his place 24/7.

But then again, Sakura had indeed spent the previous night at his house out of concern for him. However, they did not do anything that would add to the villagers’ suspicion that something was going on between the two former teammates.

As much as he would have liked to kick the Hyuuga girl’s ass for depriving him of his sleep, he figured that Sakura wouldn’t have exactly appreciated him mercilessly beating the crap out of one of her friends. Neji wouldn’t have been very happy either, since he had developed a minor friendship with his cousin and could royally own Sasuke’s ass in his sleep-deprived state. No go there either.

Instead, he shoved his rather atrocious methods of instant death to the back of his mind and rasped out in a dry, irritated tone, “She went with the dobe to the ramen place.”

The dismayed girl abruptly ceased her apologizing. “O-Oh…o-okay…th-thank you, S-Sasuke-san…” she thanked him, too afraid to meet his eyes.

With that, she spun on her heel and quickly departed from the Uchiha estate, a disgruntled Sasuke slamming the door behind her before sauntering back to bed.

----------

As Hinata caught her breath from her unplanned cardio respiratory workout, she decided that she would never go directly to Sasuke’s house for Sakura’s whereabouts ever again (nor sprint at 250 miles per hour without being hydrated). Just looking at him brought shivers down her spine.

And no, it was not because she harbored secret feelings for the Uchiha despite having never talked to him and being in love with Naruto for the past five and a half years or so, for she was most definitely not turned on by his emo attitude and duck-butt hairstyle.

So sorry, SasuHina fans.

Her head was bowed forward, her hands resting on bent knees as she continued to cool down. Lacking the strength to even look up to see where she was at the present moment and navigate the way to Ichiraku, she activated her Byakugan to scan the areas of the village that fell within her range of sight. It didn’t take her long to pinpoint her destination.

Ah, the Byakugan was useful indeed.

But then again, Ichiraku actually stood a few feet diagonally from her, so it would only be a five- to seven-minute walk.

Straightening up, Hinata began her short-distance walk to Ichiraku, catching sight of the renowned pink hair of Haruno Sakura as well as the blonde spikes of the number one most unpredictable ninja in Konoha. Just the thought of seeing Naruto brought a mad blush to her face, adding to her already red face caused by her run. And so her face ended up looking freakishly sun-burnt rather than freakishly albino.

She shook her head to dispel the crimson flooding on her face. If she wanted to talk to Naruto, then she couldn’t display her shyness or she would end up fainting again. And in front of him, she couldn’t bear to look “uncool.”

Summoning all of her courage—which she severely lacked, she noticed as she felt her heartbeat quicken—she approached the duo, about to announce her arrival until a familiarly attractive face swiftly popped up in front of her like in whack-a-mole.

“HINATA-CHAN!! WHY IS YOUR FACE SO RED?!” the face screamed at her.

Screw courage, preventing the display of her shyness, and not fainting! She had a long way to go before she could emerge from her introverted ways, she realized as she felt the world go black around her momentarily, the last vivid image she could make out being the face of the only man she could ever be interested in before her back landed straight onto the earth with a loud THUD.

And that was Hyuuga Hinata’s first step to one day becoming the head of the Hyuuga clan.

Next time in “My Big Fat Hyuuga Wedding”: The Search for a Suitor Begins!

Shortly after her fainting spell, Hinata recruits Sakura, Ino, and Tenten to help her in her search for a husband. Of course, they all know about her massive crush on hyperactive Naruto, but it wouldn’t hurt to get a back-up, right? Stalking begins, and with her friends and her teammates at her beck and call, will Hinata be able to find a husband within four weeks?

A/N: Holy freakin’ crap! It ended up being about 10 pages without the Author’s Notes! However, I’m satisfied with the chapter cuz it definitely exceeds the crappy quality of the original content. I’m doing 2½-weekly updates for this fic up until probably the posting of Chapter 9 since everyone is waiting for it (though it’s WAY different than the original content). BTW, I’m not a SasuHina fan. I have nothing against you if you are, though. Anyhoo, reviews on this version would be most appreciated :D