All The King's Men (formerly I Want You So Bad)

Chapter Two:

Uchiha Sasuke: The phoenix of Konoha and the King Maker

I

"…to Neji and Hinata," Naruto inclined his head toward his friend and his new bride, "May you be as happy, if not happier, than the Bastard and myself," he finished cheekily.

"Just not too happy!" the drunken Kiba called out, earning a hearty blush from Hinata and harsh glares from both Neji and Sasuke. "Naruto and Sasuke still aren't allowed to be alone in Hokage-sama's office without three other people in the room with them."

The boisterous laughter from the main table had more than a few turning their attention to group of young men who seemed oblivious to others in the hall. But then it was not every day that eight most powerful men in all of five nations were seen together laughing, joking and drinking as they cheered one of their own and his blushing bride.

It had never been Neji's intention to marry his cousin. Aside from the giving the girl the respect she was due to her station, Neji rarely thought about Hinata or her sister as he went about his daily life. It was not until three years ago that anyone dared to approach him about that idea of marrying his cousin and even then, Neji did not view it as something overly personal.

Neji met Uchiha's gaze and he raised his glass to his benefactor as others toasted Gai's over enthused and rambling speech about youthful love and romance, he did so to acknowledge the man who that was responsible for this event.

It had taken three years for this day to come about, but the Uchiha wanted more than just a Hyuga bride for his eldest son and heir; Sasuke had wanted a powerful ally on the council and his own man in control of the recently restored Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai ROOT division. Neji thought that Sai would have been a better choice for the post, but the Uchiha did not trust the man despite Naruto's friendship with him. Again, it was not Neji's place to question the Uchiha or his plans. The Uchiha gold spoke louder than words and he had more than enough to buy all the people and positions he needed to ensure that he achieved what he wanted.

Uchiha played the political game like a master and in the last four years, he had maneuvered all those that were loyal to Naruto into key positions within the Konoha government. Haruno Sakura had been named Taichou of the medical corps, Nara Shikamaru led The Nijû Shotai (a task force created by Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, for the sole purpose of tracking, capturing, and, if necessary, eliminating Akatsuki members in the Fire Country. The group now specialized in solely in hunting and elimination of S-ranked Nukenin.) And it was the same for others who had become Naruto's close friends and allies. The Uchiha sought them all out, made back alley deals with them or out right bought their support (as it was in Neji's case, but he wasn't complaining) to garner more power for himself and to give Naruto his greatest dream.

The Uchiha had done much to ensure Naruto would become Hokage while he assumed the position of the most powerful man in the country.

This did not trouble Neji in the slightest. It wasn't as if Uchiha surrounded himself with petty, power-hungry despots whose incompetence would ruin the village; Those Uchiha sought were the best and the brightest in all the Hidden Villages. They were the paramount shinobi of Konoha. Their individual careers were the example as well as their achievements and countless accolades that were all well earned. Had it been up to the older members of the council, these positions would have wound up in the hands of individuals like Danzo or the Thirds former teammates, petty despots whose chief concerns were of their own paranoid ideas of grandeur and power.

A sneer crossed Neji's features when though of the old bastards. They were responsible for the living hell that was Naruto's early life and they tried to do so until Naruto was seventeen and that was when the Uchiha had returned to Konoha. It Uchiha's return that brought their house of cards tumbling down and cemented Naruto's position within Konoha as not only it's hero, but as the son of the Fourth Hokage.

Pale, pupil less moved to the happily smiling blond man as he bounced his youngest child on his knee, one could not help but be drawn in by that look of unrestrained affection that appeared on Naruto's face when he was in the presences of his children or his spouse—and to think the Council wanted to deny him this! It did not bother Neji at all that he was in Uchiha pocket. This man was the legacy of three geniuses, the man nicknamed the Lighting God, and to the Hyuga's he was the avenger of his late father's honor. Neji had pledged his loyalty to Naruto, but he owed Sasuke a much deeper debt.

Though it had never been his intention or desire to marry his cousin, Neji had no qualms about doing as Uchiha had asked. Had it not been for either Uchihas, Neji's current positions within both the ANBU Force and his clan would not be what they were now. The curse mark would still be upon his brow, and despite his strength and skill as shinobi, the elders of his clan would have denied him leadership position out of their petty ideas of propriety and the honor of the main branch. It had been Uchiha, as a member of the Council, that pushed, bribed, and bullied the Council into accepting Neji's nomination at the same time it had been Naruto, using every influence with the Hokage to exhort pressure the Hyuga Elders in give him the freedom to accept the position. Providing the Uchiha Clan with a bride for its heir was the least Neji felt he could do, for the life these two men who had given him.

His pale eyes moved to Hinata's obi wrapped abdomen, and sense of pride swelled within his chest for the countless time. It was hard to believe that Hinata was already well into her second trimester and in four months he was going to welcome his firstborn child into world. In her traditional wedding kimono, it was rather difficult to see the swell of her waist. Neji had rather pleased with how things had turned out for him. He had a prestigious commission within the ANBU and was the head of the Hokage personal guard with a promised advisory position within the next Hokage's council. In his personal life, even though he had married his cousin, his position within the clan had changed dramatically. He was now the heir, since theirs was patriarchic household. That blasted seal had been removed from his brow and his position was further secured thanks to the two infants growing in Hinata's womb.

She was a fertile bitch. He couldn't help the smirk that graced his thin lips. Her monthly check up revealed that Hinata was carrying twins and that one was a son and the other a girl, the promised Uchiha bride.

Neji took another sip of his wine as he basked in his good fortune. And he owed it all to a blond hair little boy that refused to be defeated and the man that would give him the world.

For Hyuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke, everything was moving along just as planned.

Hinata turned her eyes away from beaming father as he gave another toast praising the union between her and her cousin and what this farce of a marriage meant for the future of the Hyuga Clan. She was deaf to all the cries of congratulations and blind to all those that approached to offer her their best wishes and good cheer.

She had been moving on autopilot since the day began. Her aunts were shoving spiced wine into her hand from the moment she was pulled from her bed, through her torturous bath, and while she was dressed, perfumed, and painted before the ceremony began. Everything had been blur motion, colour, and sound; from the moment she was escorted from her chambers and was led to her clan's shrine to hers and Neji's entrance into the Hyuga main hall, it was all blur that left Hinata sick with despair and self-loathing.

The sickening sweet taste of celebrant sake used in her wedding ceremony still clung to her every corner of her mouth thus rendering everything else that she put in her mouth to become ash. She wanted to go away, to hide from the judgmental eyes of her peers and the sneering looks of her family's matrons, for they all knew that she had surrendered to her father's demands without a fight. That she still weak and helpless, she would never be the strong lord the clan demanded of her, she could not even fight for her own freedom to live as she wanted and for the man she loved.

Uzumaki…no, it was Namikaze, she told herself again. Namikaze Naruto, Namikaze-Uchiha Naruto was smiling broadly with his friends as Nara Shikamaru ended his toast. Naruto's bright yellow hair was trimmed to his close to his scalp and was brushed down, and tamed, his was dressed in the formal black hamaka with its white shirt was a far cry from the wild boy with his wind blown hair and loud orange jumpsuits, the boy she fell in love with. Still she could see him sometimes in that mature face, with his gaming smile, his boisterous laughter, and his unchanging eyes.

Hinata's heart ached for those bright eyes to see her now, for him to see her love and misery, and for Naruto to take her away from this nightmare...

Twenty months ago, Hinata was ordered before her father and the clan elders and made aware of marriage contract that was drawn up the year of her birth between the Hyuga and Uchiha clans. As shocking as that had been, it did not compare to learning that she once had elder brother, boy who had died far too soon to even become a memory in his young sister's mind. She was not given enough time to absorb the long withheld knowledge of her brother before she was being told that marriage contract was still valid and that current lord of Uchiha wished the contact to be honored.

There was sound behind that drew Hinata attention to rear of the room and the man standing there, and he most defiantly did not belong there. Uchiha Sasuke, her own self-sworn enemy.

To honour his fallen student Uchiha Obito, the Fourth Hokage became determined to integrate the Uchiha Clan into the Konohakagure society, and easiest and most politically efficient way to accomplished that would was a marriage with equally powerful clan like the Hyuga Clan.

Hinata, before she even saw the light outside her mother's womb, was betrothed to the Uchiha Clan heir, Uchiha Itachi.

It was in the secondary clause of the marriage contract that Hinata would later read the statement that condemned her, a promise for if the two participants were unable to fulfill the original marriage contract then the burden fell to the heirs to fulfill the terms of the contract. Hinata could only stare stupidly as her father continued to drone on about her duties to the clan as its heir, and what this would union would mean to their clan. Though the Hyuga were vast, they were not rich, not like Uchiha, especially now. Hinata was no fool despite what the Elders believed. She knew what Uchiha was doing and she was not going to stand for it.

She had saved herself for Naruto. Her body belonged to Naruto, as did her heart and all of her love. She would never allow another man to touch what rightly belonged to the man she would one day claim as her own beloved husband.

She would not allow it!

Before her words of protest could even pass her lips, her father laid her low with two simple words…Her lord and husband.

Her lord and…

…husband?

Her lord and husband, meaning that matter had been done and that she was only being made aware that her life no longer belonged to her as a fucking courtesy.

Choked by blinding rage that sweep through her like an inferno, Hinata wasn't aware that she was moving or that she has activate her Byakugan, until her open palm was just centimeters away from the Uchiha's black heart before she torn across the room and into a far wall by the bastard's Chidori Naginata. Hinata rebounded painfully on the hardwood floor, the breath was gone from her body, and she lay bleeding on the floor from where her back had slammed into one of imbedded lamps in wall.

Hinata was so busy trying to heal her wound, and plotting her revenge, that she missed who the bastards had chosen as her bloody "lord and husband." Not that she cared, for Hinata refused to accept another man other than Naruto-kun as her husband and lover. Not even if it was own dead fucking brother.

But it wasn't her dead brother. The choice was much, much worst.

Her small hands closed into tight fists beneath the table as Hinata fought down the urge to kill the spawn growing within her body. She tried it once before and her sister had sealed the charka pointed in her shoulders and hands until had calmed down. But god, it was so hard—

She choked back a sob when she though of how these little monsters had been conceived. A hysterical bubble of laughter nearly escaped when her beloved wished her a happy life with the man who no better than a rapist. If asked, Hinata could not in truth ever say that Neji had raped her; she had come to him willingly. She took the cup with the potion that had her aroused and ovulating. In that state, Hinata had been wanton and without shame as she called the name of the man she loved when her passion was peaked. She was so far gone by that point that she had forgotten that the Uchiha bastard along with her father had been there for the entire thing. To a certain extend she had forgotten that it was Neji rutting away between her legs, for her mind had changed the man—She did not regret any of it, except when it was announced that she was with child and how she lost her freedom.

As the night wore on, Hinata longed for the peace of mind that would come when she would finally spend a few precious moments in her beloved's arms. Hinata refused a cup of wine she wanted to be lucid when the moment came when she and Naruto would share their only dance. She desired that moment more than anything see her through this macabre play and those nights when she would lay beside her husband wishing for him.

Yet her dance never came. Naruto's attentions were on the four hell-spawn that crowded around him, each wanting him to play or see something that delighted them. Naruto was reaching the baby, with one of the younger boys leaning his tired little body against one of Naruto's strong legs. Hinata realized with a start that he was leaving.

She was the dance floor, having been asked by Kiba when Naruto left the main table. She could not get away without bringing unwanted attention to herself or embarrassing Kiba, but in the end the decision was taken out of her hands when she saw Uchiha join Naruto at the door, carrying two packs and one of the boys in his arms. Neji and her father met them at the hall's entrance, Hinata saw Neji look her way briefly before turning back to the Uchihas as they made their good-byes. The three younger men laughed at something while her father looked on slightly perplexed, but smiling nevertheless. A pair of dancers moved in between her line of sight to the door and Kiba has spun her about, that when she was facing the door, Naruto was gone, yet Neji was now at her side and was silently demanding her hand.

Naruto was blind to not just Hinata but everyone except for his family. Toshihiro needed a diaper change and Ji had gotten into fight with a couple little Hyuga kids in the garden. Sasuke was sent off to take care of Toshihiro while he went to calm down the Hyugas. He would not apologize because Ji had clearly been defending himself, but all the same it was best if they were ready to get the hell out there incase all Hell did break loose.

II

"I knew it was a good idea to start the boys' training early." Sasuke was still talking about the fight their three-year-old had been the night before at the Hyuga wedding and Sasuke's opinion Ji-chan had done his family name and his namesake proud. To Naruto's dismay, he did not know what they were going to do with Ji; the kid was just a natural-born troublemaker just like his namesake, the late and sorely missed Gama Sannin, Jiraiya, but he had terribly violent temper. Naruto wasn't sure they should be leaving the little boy with only the boys' governess and Sakura looking after them.

He and Sasuke were going to be Suna for the next three weeks. Their surrogate's due date was in two weeks, as this was the close of her eighth month. All the children would remain at home under the care of their governess along with Tsunade and Sakura who would be sleeping over for the benefit of the smaller ones. Temporally all of Akihiko's C and B ranked missions suspended until his uncles returned home, per his request. He was put on D-ranked missions a three-man cell of Genin, who were his age and fresh out of the Academy. The boy wanted to be close by for his young cousins who were going to miss their parents terribly and for his worried uncles' peace of mind.

Still, Naruto was upset by this new development within their son. Ji was proving to be a rather difficult child. He fought his fathers when it came to meals and bedtime. He would not listen to Naruto or his tutors. He refused to bathe and he liked to pick on his younger siblings. Sasuke often said that it was phase, but more than once Sasuke had to spank the terrible little toddler either his smart-aleck mouth or his terrorizing of Yuudai.

The last time Sasuke spanked Ji it was for cutting Yuudai's hair. Sasuke had to hold the sobbing toddler while the barber repaired the damage Ji had down the boy's once long, slightly curling black hair. Everyone said that it was just jealousy, but by then Sasuke did not give a damn. He was determined to make that boy behave and respect him now or he would have to kick his ass when he was became an unruly teenager; However, all their parental difficulties were pushed aside as Sasuke gloated over how his boy, his toddler, had beat the living hell out two little Hyuga punks.

The frown on Naruto's face said that he was tired of this current topic and quiet ready to end all talk of the boys fighting. Ji was being punished with no desserts for the day, Naruto had left a note for Sakura explaining everything, just incase she was tempted to indulge the little boy who looked too much like Sasuke for his own good.

Only Akihiko was awake when his uncles left their home that morning. Both were in civilian dress, but each had his Konoha headbands secured properly over their brows. They carried packs that contained spare clothing, their passports, and tokens with the Hokage's seals that showed they were only leave and not missing Nins. Akihiko was reminded of phone numbers and was admonished repeatedly by his overprotective blond uncle to keep his cellular phone turned on and charged. The two exchanged hugs at the Uchiha District gates, his Uncle Sasuke just clapped him on the shoulder and reminded him that he was in charge until they returned home. Akihiko puffed out his chest and proudly declared that they could count on him. That earned him gentle poke to his brow from Sasuke. Then they were gone.

Akihiko scrubbed at the spot his were his uncle's fingers had rested, a warm smile graced the boy's face all the while.

Delicate feet rushed across the cold hardwood floor to the open door of that led to private bath of the suite before coming to a quick stop. The sound of another being sick was what greeted Neji early that morning.

He would have winced in sympathy for his new bride, but it was too early for that and he didn't give a shit.

Rolling back onto his side, Neji pulled the duvet up to his chin as he tried to block out the sound of Hinata's retching. A quick scan of Byakugan revealed that his children were still safe and that crazy little bitch was not attempting to harm them again. With a broad yawn, Neji drifted back to sleep. His last thoughts were of placing the family's cursed seal on his wife if she attempted to harm his children while they were still in vitro, again. Neji would do it if he deemed it necessary.

He may not love his wife, but Neji believed strongly in protecting what was his, and those little babies were most defiantly his.

"You are a fool, Hinata," he murmured sleepily. "Naruto will never love you; the Uchiha will never let him go."


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Now that the introduction is done, lets move on to the story.

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