Chapter 30: Laws

Well, Hinata seemed determined to come out to her family and the village as a whole in both her bisexuality and involvement in a polyamorous relationship with Naruto and me. Even though I was worried, if I couldn't stop her, I should support her.

Sigh! "How much have you told Shino and Lady Tsunade?"

She smiled, warming my heart.

"I told Shino everything, my first time with you, as well as the rest of that with you fucking me in your apartment, the hand job we gave Naruto under the table at the party; I left out 'Nade's' identity and our threesome. I also told him that I loved both you and Naruto." She blurted all that out quickly, then took a breath. "Shino and I then requested an audience with Lady Fifth. All we let her know was that it concerned how the village and the noble clans have persecuted certain citizens of the Leaf and Land of Fire for years, and we want it to stop."

"And when is the meeting?"

"Later today. I really wanted to get started, but I wanted to wait for you and Naruto to return first, so we scheduled for the day of your estimated return a few days ago when we got word you were on your way back."

I took a moment to think.

"Hmn... I think we should talk with Lady Tsunade as soon as possible. Let's go now and see if she will see us early. Where is Shino?"

"He ensured he would have the day off from his clan duties. He said he would be at the training grounds if I needed him."

"Great. Let's go."

...

Our exit from the Hyuuga compound was uneventful, though we did get a few disapproving stares. No doubt, the three of us had been heard when we were fucking. Here is a not-so-fun fact: most of the people in the ninja villages didn't mind threesomes involving two women or even men gangbanging a woman. Most still disapproved and preferred those acts to remain firmly behind closed doors, but the moment two men or two women openly started dating, they lost their shit—especially the old clans.

So Hinata and I were getting bad looks because we were overheard fucking Naruto. But those were just looks. If we were to so much as hold each other's hands in public, we would get accosted, and people would complain to the Hyuuga higher-ups. And though I didn't use to think Lord Hiashi would go as far as to banish and curse Hinata, Neji did, and his fear convinced me he just might.

We quickly reached the training ground and spotted Kiba, Akamaru and Shino. We waved and called out to them. They both ceased their training regimens and walked to meet us.

"Hi, Sakura. Congrats on the successful mission..." Shino began. "Though I still don't get why Lady Hokage didn't send our team," he ended in a grumble.

"Lighten up," Kiba said as he gently elbowed Shino. "It's good to see you again, Sakura."

"Good to see you both, too. Though we can't stay, we just came to take Shino with us to see Lady Tsunade." I replied warmly. The last time I saw Kiba or Shino was the night of the party. But it looked like they were both acting normally around Hinata and me.

"Really, why?" Kiba asked as he looked between Hinata and Shino, his eyes clearly saying, 'Why aren't I coming too?'

Considering Kiba didn't know Hinata was bisexual, as she just found that out herself, and didn't know Shino was gay, as Shino was worried he would view him differently, I led with a half-truth.

"Some people in the village have been harassing them, but they have gotten some pull. We can only say more once we clear it with Lady Tsunade. Politics." I said and ended with a shrug. That seemed to mollify him.

"Oh, well. Back to the grind, Akamaru!"

And with that, Kiba and Akamaru ran off to resume their training. Shino joined us as we made our way to the Hokage office. As we walked, Shino began to whisper to us.

"You're early. Did something happen?"

"I told Brother Neji I was dating Sakura and Naruto. He got worried that my father would banish and curse me as punishment and to stop me from 'dishonouring the family.'" Hinata whispered back, adding air quotes with her fingers. "He suggested we get Lady Hokage's support as soon as possible, and I married into another clan."

Shino scratched his cheek. "That's troubling, but what's on my mind right now is how confident and assertive you have gotten, Hinata. Can I ask what brought you out of your exoskeleton?"

"W-was that a bug pun?" I asked as Hinata formulated her answer.

"Yes, I have been working on my social skills." He answered me dryly.

"If I had to say, it's that my greatest wish and one of my greatest fears have come true. I'm with the person, well, people I love, and I've disappointed my clan. I have all I ever wanted and nothing left to fear."

Shino and I nodded. I didn't know about Shino, but I could understand her reasoning. Her biggest fears were being rejected by Naruto and disappointing her clan. Now she is with Naruto and me, and to continue to be with us, she has to disappoint her clan, and one could argue that the damage was already done.

"Back on topic, what are you two going to say, and what should I do?" I asked them.

Shino went first. "I'll tell her that the gay community is growing, yet village businesses continue to refuse services, and clans actively suppress the internal advancement of openly gay or bi individuals."

"I'll tell her the truth. My relationship with you and Naruto, and that I'm scared my father will curse me in an attempt to control my life. All we want you to do is back our stories up. At the end of the day, you're Lady Hokage's student, so she's more likely to believe us if you do."

I let out a breath. " Phew! I can do that."

...

It didn't take long for us to reach the Hokage office waiting room. We informed the desk of our appointment, and I asked if we could be seen early. We were called not long after and told to enter her office.

When we did, Lady Tsunade was all business, sitting at her desk with Shizune standing next to it, holding Tonton.

"I understand you three are here to claim that citizens of the village are being oppressed. May I ask who these individuals are and who is actively oppressing them?"

Despite her newfound confidence, Hinata looked nervous when face-to-face with the Hokage, but Shino wasn't fazed.

"All three of us are members of that oppressed group; well, Hinata and I are, at least."

I WAS bisexual, but since I had never gotten publicly romantic with anyone, including any women, I was filed away under 'village whore'. I got weird looks and muttered comments, but no one refused me any services. If I had been a member of a clan, it would have been worse.

Lady Tsunade and Shizune looked taken aback; Tonton looked hungry.

"Could you explain further?" My Master asked, both curious and confused.

"Lady Fifth, I'm gay. I have known that for years, yet I have yet to come out, as I know that both my clan and the majority of the village would look down on me and actively sabotage my career if I did so. I would like you to guarantee that those sorts of reprisals will stop. For both myself and any other openly gay or bisexual person. Both here and in the Land of Fire as a whole."

With Shino's impassioned speech, Hinata found her courage.

"And I'm bi! And polyamorous! I wish to be with both Sakura and Naruto, but I fear my clan would not only disown me but also banish me from the main family to the branch one, mark me with the curse mark and use it to suppress my speech and stop me from being with the ones I love!"

Seeing it was my turn, I did my part and backed up my long-time friend and newfound lover.

"I can attest to all of their claims. I have long noticed the homophobia in the village. Many young men have asked me to pretend to have had sex with them so they could stay in the closet. And I do love both Naruto and Hinata and fear what her clan will do to her when they find out!"

Lady Tsunade leaned back in her chair and groaned. The other two seemed to take offence, but I knew she had no issues with who consenting adults spent their time with. Her visible exasperation was due to the shitstorm we were creating by wanting to go public in this old-fashioned village.

"Phew!!! Okay, easiest thing first. Polygamy is still technically legal, so there shouldn't be TOO much trouble with three or more people in a relationship, especially if it's one man and multiple women. Do you agree, Shizune?"

"Yes, Lady Hokage. Though I doubt most people realise it's still legal."

"On to the trickier matter. My jurisdiction is within our village walls and the military matters of the Land of Fire. Even if I could pass laws to ensure you are treated fairly, they wouldn't affect anyone living outside our gates unless it pertained to active ninjas operating beyond our walls but based from within."

We stayed silent as she continued.

"Now, when the village was first created, laws were made to ensure clans didn't persecute EACH OTHER. Shizune, what was the exact wording?"

Shizune looked through some old scrolls in holders embedded in the office wall. She pulled out one and unrolled it. She quickly located the passage in question.

"Quote. 'No citizen may mistreat, persecute or otherwise hinder the day-to-day lives or advancement of Leaf citizens based on their clan's beliefs, customs, teachings, religion, or acts committed or sanctioned by their clan prior to that clan joining the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Such actions may be punished by fines, incarceration, banishment or death at the discretion of the acting Hokage.' End quote."

"That is the exact wording, Shizune?" Asked Lady Tsunade.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Okay, the best I can do is enforce those laws if you form a clan of your own with freedom of sexuality and polyamory written in as core beliefs and practices."

"Form a clan?" The three of us asked at once.

"Sakura, if you and Hinata marry Naruto before that polygamy law is discovered and repealed, it can be grandfathered into your clan. And if you add your views on sexuality and relationships to your clan charter, I can use this law to dissuade others from harassing you. Also, if Hinata joined another clan before she was relegated to the branch family, they can't force a curse mark on her. Shino..." Lady Tsunade said his name repeatedly as she tried to find a way to help him. "Shizune, what is the exact wording on clan formation?"

Shizune looked up a different passage on the same scroll.

"Quote. 'To be a recognised ninja clan within the Village Hidden in the Leaves, a clan must have a married clan head with the rank of chunin, a property within the village to act as the clan headquarters and the approval of either the Council of the Leaf or the acting Hokage.' End quote."

"And the exact wording of the marriage laws?" Lady Tsunade asked for yet another passage, which Shizune dutifully looked up on the same old scroll and began to read aloud.

"Quote. 'Anyone can marry anyone as long as their clan head or the acting Hokage approves.' End quote."

"That seems rather simple and open-ended," I said, genuinely surprised. Shizune explained the history of the law.

"Before the village was founded, there were no overarching laws for ninjas, and many clans practised marrying blood-related members to various degrees. When the village was founded, the law read as follows: 'Any man of legal age may marry any woman/women who is of legal age and who he does not share any blood-related grandparents with, as long as both parties agree', end quote."

"This was to stop noble clans from marrying brother to sister at a young age and forcing them to breed new clan members, which the First Hokage deeply opposed. However, many clan heads hated this law. Hence, during the First Great Shinobi War, after the Second Hokage took over, the clan heads who opposed the marriage law convinced him to change the wording to lessen the restrictions on age, blood relations, and consent. Citing the loss of many kekkei genkai users during the war as an excuse."

Shizune finished and refurled the scroll, though she kept it in her hands in case it was needed again.

"Wait, so people can still force brother and sister to marry even if they are still kids?" I exclaimed, horrified.

"Well, only if they have a clan head who signs off on it or the acting Hokage does. Every non-clan-affiliated citizen of the village needs the Hokage's blessing, which is done through paperwork these days, and only the Second has ever given his blessing to such a... union." Lady Tsunade said with disgust. "No current clan head would try to pull that shit in this day and age." She finished.

"Hmnn... So what you are saying is that we only need your permission to marry, and we can marry any number of people we want, regardless of gender? Then, we form our own clans and guarantee our rights in the clan charters?" I double-checked with her.

"Yes, and we do this quickly and quietly. Once the clans are formed, no one can interfere, as it would set a dangerous precedent that could lead to other clans or future Hokage interfering in their own business. It's why Lords Third, Fourth, and I never abolished the Hyuuga's use of their curse mark." She explained with an apologetic look at Hinata, who had always hated that practice, even before she was under potential threat from it.

I turned to Shino. "So Naruto, Hinata and I would marry each other. Who would you marry?"

"Everyone."

We all looked at him in shock.

"What do you mean by everyone?" Lady Tsunade asked curiously.

"I will marry every gay or bi man or woman who is of legal age and consents. We will form a clan and keep accepting new wives and husbands. That way, they can all join the clan and be protected from being persecuted by Lady Fifth and, hopefully, her successors. We won't force people to live together or even spend time with each other. They can if they want, but it will mostly just be on paper. It will be more like a civil rights organisation than a clan or marriage. I will establish a practice of electing a clan head and allow them to be voted out should the need arise. Our clan name will be 'L.G.B.A.' for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Association, and we'll let 'wives' and 'husbands' add it between their first and old last names. Nothing says a clan member has to be a ninja, right?"

All of us, even Lady Tsunade, looked at Shizune for confirmation.

"Oh, no, technically, only the clan head needs to be a Leaf ninja of chunin rank or higher."

"There you go; we will all have to leave our old clans, but most would be disowned anyway if they came out of the closet."

"You certainly seem to have this all planned out." Commented Lady Tsunade.

"I've had the idea for such an organisation for a while, but I saw no way to set it up due to the backlash it would have received."

"Wow, we can really do this," Hinata said under her breath.

"But we must do it quickly. Hinata, Sakura, get Naruto and bring him here right away so I can marry you three. Shino, you need to find at least one other willing partner and bring them here as soon as possible. I refuse to marry an unwilling participant, so I need to hear Naruto and Shino's partner's consent face-to-face with my own ears." My Master ordered, as if it were a critical mission, and to us three, it was.

As the three of us left the office, Hinata and I both realised that we had got caught up in all the excitement and remembered that we had never asked Naruto if he wanted to marry us. And we never verbally agreed to marry each other. We glanced at each other, and then Shino spoke.

"I'm off to ask around if anyone is interested. They are not all out of the closet, so I'll need to go alone in case they refuse. Best of luck." He waved us goodbye as he hurried off.

"Soooo... we are going to find Naruto and propose to both marry him and start a clan?" I timidly asked Hinata, who merely nodded.

It was shaping up to be a very eventful day.