The Dragon and The Crow
Sasuke closed his hand and formed a fist. He couldn't remember the last time he had used his fists in a fight but he knew he had begun to miss it. His mind shuffled and began to recall the last fight he had. He exhaled annoyed at the memory of his last fight with Naruto. He felt uneasy and for once It hadn't been because of pending danger. He felt it in his bones, a restlessness that wouldn't let him sleep. It had been months since the battle in the valley of the end but every night his dreams took him there. Every night it became more intense. His fist collided with the wall of his bedroom.
He felt a sense of pain, something he was all to familiar with. There was no wince, or a moment for his face to register the feeling . His facial features remained frozen in time, there was just the simple look of indifference across it. It had been 14 hours since Tsunade had given him a new arm and he wanted to test it. A new arm that felt just as real as his other, looking upon it his thoughts drew him back to his memory of Obito again. He turned his head towards his bedroom window, only the moon's bright glow was visible. Sasuke turned his eyes to his bathroom , his feet moved towards it entering , his pace was slow and brisk. Almost as if part of him didn't want to do it and was looking for a reason to turn around and do something else. His eyes locked on to the shower head , and without another thought went on autopilot and began to shower.
Hinata struggled in vain as a nightmare gripped her. Her body began sweating , she twisted and turned in her sleep helpless. In a sudden motion her eyes flashed open and she sat up. Her eyes darted around the room, then they stopped at the center of her room. She drew in a long breath and Closed her eyes. She tried to calm her beating heart to no avail. A sudden and terrible thought arose within her, and she flew off her bed and onto her feet. She needed to know if anyone had her hear. If they had heard her scream in her dreams, when she was in the dreaded dream and self control was taken from her. Her hands began to shake.
She pulled a thick sweater from her closet placing it on her warm body, and headed out into the cold hallway. As she entered the hallway her eyes darted back and forth between light sources to see if she could see someone. But her eyes found no one, only candles. A empty hallway only containing dark gray walls with simple candles stood before her . She released a breath she had unknowingly taken and turned back to her room. Her feet felt the cold hardwood floor , her mind registering its feel and texture across her bare feet as it now chilled her. Only now as her senses began to return to her. She closed to door as quietly as possible. Her feet took two steps before her eye caught sight of a picture frame. It was silver and had a single photo in it. Hinata moved towards it slowly, her heart racing and the warning signs of tears filled her eyes. She placed a delicate hand on the frame before firmly pressing her hand over it and bringing it towards her. Her eyes registered Neji within the photo and the spring of tears fell upon her face.
As Sasuke left the shower his eyes returned to an all too familiar mirror. But this this time instead of seeing only one arm in the reflection he saw two. The gray skin of the Zetsu's clones arm was the only thing that differentiated it from his old arm. Sasuke moved past the mirror and forced himself to avoid thinking about it. His arms pulled clothes from his drawers and began to place them on himself. Sasuke opened the window of his bedroom, he positioned himself to clear the space and cross it onto the roof of his home. The window was just large enough for him to slip through it without having to put effort to do so. With indifference to his actions he made no attempt to do it quietly. It made a screeching noise that irritated him , which reminded him why he avoided using this exit. Ignoring the noise , Sasuke slipped out into the night air , a chilly wind coursed through the night which had been perfect in his mind. He could feel eyes following him as he stood on top of his house's roof.
Nearly a year and his surveillance had remained constant , he ignored it but was aware at some point they would get under his skin. He had decided to return to Konoha relenting to Naruto efforts finally and that had come with strings attached that even Naruto couldn't prevent. Sasuke accepted the consequences of his past crimes , but it wasn't the reason he allowed to think they could control him. Sasuke just happened to not have a place to go anymore and staying in Konoha was not the worse place to be. He had never admitted it to anyone why he stayed after the first month of his return. Sasuke leapt onto the streets of Konoha and headed for the center of the village. They followed as closely as they could , they tried their best not to make it obvious. Sasuke pretended not to notice , he decided long to not encourage them. As he made it into the most populated area of Konoha he made his move and disappeared in the crowd. It had not taken much effort if any at all , Sasuke had surpassed the Anbu ops years ago.
Hinata placed the frame down gently on her bed. She wiped the tears from her eyes. She walked over to her bathroom and found herself staring at her reflection. Her eyes were red , and her face showed signs of many sleepless nights. She casted her clothes aside and drew herself a bath. She placed a leg within the water and slowly allowed her body to immerse itself within. The hot water soothed her and in moments she closed her eyes and let herself go. Her mind began to drift, not towards memories or thoughts but to a blank nothingness. When the bath began to cooldown and the cold air began to turn her bath into a frozen lake , that is when Hinata was forced to leave the safety of her bath. Hinata wrapped the towel around her body. Her hourglass figure was highlighted , her features almost always hidden under a multitude of layers of clothing for the briefest of moments was allowed to be seen. Hinata began to dress herself in thick sturdy clothing. Every layer made her feel safer , safe from her own insecurities that had always plagued her. Hinata reached the roof of the Hyuga Manor without being seen, it had taken her years to memorize the search patterns of the guards as well as their patrol paths. Upon reaching the roof she looked towards the center of Konoha, it was just before Midnight but the village seemed oblivious to that fact. Hinata leapt rooftop to rooftop until she reached her destination.
Sasuke sat down in the chair, his eyes quickly darting back and forth dreading the idea of running into Naruto. He had picked the one place no one would think to look for him , but it also happened to be a hot zone for another kind of danger. "Sasuke Uchiha!" A male voice said in a outburst. Sasuke looked towards the direction of the sound and found what he presumed was the owner of the restaurant. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and look down from the older man face to his name tag. He read it out loud "Teuchi". Teuchi surprised to see the last Uchiha held a star stuck expression. Sasuke tried to ignore his reaction, his head turned towards the other worker in the restaurant. Her expression quickly turned to a flustered look. He smirked. Teuchi noticing his daughters attention being directed towards Sasuke snapped back from his daze. "The Best friend of the Hero of Konoha". Teuchi said with a sudden outburst of energy. Sasuke eyes turned towards the man. "Best friend". Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows as he said it. "Naruto Uzumaki best friend". Teuchi pressed . Sasuke coughed clearing his throat. "I haven't seen you around her since you were a pup, what do you want to order?" Teuchi said with a grin " a large serving of miso ramen with roasted pork fillet". Sasuke ordered. It was the first thing that had popped into his mind when he entered the restaurant. How many times had he heard Naruto order that very meal, he knew it was far too many for his liking. "Ayame" Teuchi reprimanded her. Sasuke could see from the corner of his eyes Ayame slink back and return to her duties. Her cheeks a rosy pink.
Hinata entered Ramen Ichiraku restaurant and sat down. There was another waiting for their meal but they had their face turned away from her. Hinata smiled when her eyes met with Teuchi' own. "What a Pleasant surprise to have you with us". Hinata sheepishly bowed her head. "I was in the neighborhood and wanted to see my favorite ramen shop". Hinata replied. "Or maybe you wanted to see if you ran into Naruto?" Teuchi replied back. Hinata turned bright red. Ayame softly elbowed her father in the side. "Maybe she doesn't want the world to know that, especially when his best friend is over there!" Ayame whispered. Hinata and Teuchi turned towards Sasuke. A face of utter shock spread across Hinata's face and then fear over took her. Her heart raced a million miles an hour and soon all she could hear was her heart beat. Sasuke pretended not to her them , not that he had tried to over hear then but when it was just the four of them there it was impossible not to. Sasuke turned towards them. Teuchi face turned crimson. "Is the ramen almost ready?" Sasuke asked with the most neutral voice he had. Ayame was now given a good chance to get a good look at Sasuke as he spoke with her father. She studied Sasuke's features and without thinking bit her lip softly. Her hand tried to fix her hair and moved a strand away from her face. Sasuke pretended not to notice.
Hinata froze in place unsure what to do. She had told Naruto the way she felt but after that they had never talked about it. She felt her face turn red. Sasuke felt the urge to roll his eyes. He could clearly see Hinata turning redder than a tomato, he had seen women all his life turned bright red and blush at seeing him. But then it struck him that she was probably turning red because she didn't want Naruto to know how she felt about him , upon having that realization he relaxed. "I couldn't hear you guys from my side but by the expressions you guys had you were saying something about me?" Sasuke used a neutral tone. Hinata snapped back from her frozen expression and shook her head. "No we weren't". Hinata said loudly. Teuchi placed Sasuke Ramen down in front of him. "Best ramen in town". Teuchi said with a huge grin. "So I have heard". Sasuke replied. "Hinata what would you like?" Hinata turned from Sasuke towards Teuchi. Her face turning back to her normal pale complexion. "a large serving of miso ramen with roasted pork fillet , please". Hinata said humbly. Teuchi Grinned and turned to Ayame. "Another a large serving of miso ramen with roasted pork fillet!" Teuchi said loudly. Hinata raised an eyebrow at hearing that. Sasuke turned his head to look at Hinata , a bit surprised they ordered the same thing. "I just ordered that exact meal". Sasuke said with a modest amount of intrigue. Hinata nodded. "I guess we both ordered the same thing". Hinata said sheepishly.
"You're the heiress to the Hyuga Clan". Sasuke suddenly said out loud. Hinata nodded. "You're the last of the Uchiha". Hinata said shyly. "We should probably formally greet each other, being future and present clan leaders". Hinata said formally. Hinata had never really spoken to Sasuke but she knew what the protocol was. Sasuke stood up from his seat. He had no love for any clan other than his own but ever since he returned to Konoha representing the Uchiha clan had become his only duty. His clan pride had become all he had now. Hinata rose to her feet but tripped on her self. Sasuke stern face turned to an annoyed look. "Clumsy". Sasuke thought to himself. Sasuke held out his hand , Hinata hesitated but accepted it without saying a word. Sasuke lifted her up from the floor.
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