Originally written: November 10th, 2012
Inspired by: Hurricane by The Hush Sound
They were a speck on the horizon, walking beside each other as they approached the village. It looked as though every villager had come to the gates of Konohakagure in order to welcome them back home. The crowd was large but silent as the two drew ever closer. Soon, they could see the sun shinning off of his bright yellow hair, absorbed by the ink of his long black hair.
They weren't very close, but Hinata could hear the steady murmur of his voice that always chanted at the back of her mind; it grew louder the closer they got.
She had last seen him seven cities ago…
"Thought you guys were slick, huh!" Suigetsu dropped Hinata onto the floor of the room. With her hands and ankles tied, she simply fell to the ground and he frowned as she didn't complain or cry out. "Just wait until Sasuke get's here, he'll—"
"Suigetsu. Get out."
They had been sent on a reconnaissance mission when there were reports of Sasuke being sighted. Her team was not meant to engage him or the Hawk but they had been ambushed on their way back to Konoha by none other than who they were meant to avoid, though Sasuke had been missing from the fight. It was just this Suigetsu and a large man, she hadn't heard his name. Kiba and Shino were…
Hinata looked up from the floor to the missing Konoha nin. When was the last time she had seen him? She had always thought he was intimidating, able to divine tactics and jutsu at a prodigal rate while staying aloof in the light of a rather boisterous fanclub. And though she would not describe him as kind there had always been something…
Suigetsu left quickly. Sasuke stepped forward and grabbed the top of Hinata's hair, pulling her face up as he stared at her. Even for her, it was hard to read those blank eyes.
"I almost didn't recognize you, Hinata. Your rowdy teammate and his dog, that weird one with the bugs, they haven't changed at all really. But you…" He let go of her hair and, in a move that utterly surprised her, smoothed it back down by running his fingers through individual locks.
"You've changed a lot." He was too close and his scent too intoxicating; she had only been this close to him one other time and he still smelled the same, strong, a burning fire. The closer he got, the more an invisible wind seemed to stoke the fire within her, and her will unraveled.
She leaned up to close the distance.
The ropes were on the floor now, though they had been put to good use. Lying here on the hard floor with his arm around her waist, Hinata felt the wind continuing to build, though the fire had been put out. It was culminating, tumbling into a hurricane of long supressed feelings inside of her. She waited for the winds to calm, she waited for the dust to still.
He was awake, but let her dress and leave. She took her teammates and left.
She didn't believe it ever would.
They were so close. She could make out the smile stretching Naruto's face and the smirk that Sasuke attempted to hide. Her heart was pounding in her chest, racing as fast as the endless days that had been his return. They were coming back too slow, she couldn't wait…
She tore away from the crowd and ran out toward them. Naruto called out to her in surprise and stepped forward to greet her. Sasuke stopped walking, his eyes widening as she passed Naruto and…
She wrapped her arms around him and there was an audible gasp from the villagers behind them. But he couldn't hear what they were shouting, just her whisper, "Welcome back, Sasuke-kun."