Sasuke's Secret
Author's Note: This is a Sasuke x Hinata x Itachi story. For obvious reasons, this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. Though I feel it is important to note, the brothers' romantic affections will be focused solely on Hinata in this story. If any of that bothers you, you might want to turn back now. For those of you still here, I hope you enjoy this tale and reviews are always appreciated.
Story Notation: The first three chapters will be framed either entirely or mostly from one main character's perspective to give you an idea where Sasuke, Hinata, and Itachi are at in the beginning. This chapter is focused on the Sasuke x Hinata side of things, but chapter two will build on that and begin to lay the first real foundations of the Itachi x Hinata side of this triad.
Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no profit off of any of my stories.
Chapter 1
It was over. The war was finally over and so was perhaps the bloodiest chapter in the history of the Uchiha Clan. He and Itachi had a chance to start over. To rebuild a new Clan, that would be even better than the one that came before.
"Well your pulse is good." A beautiful voice observes. "So is your oxygen." Sasuke doubted that she was even aware he was awake yet, but that was just as well.
Sasuke Uchiha was many things, but delusional wasn't one of them and he would rather not have this feeling squashed so easily. This feeling of hope. Hope that things would be better this time around and that feeling would be utterly destroyed, if the youngest Uchiha indulged in his fantasy for too long.
He knew very well who that voice belonged to. Hinata Hyuga. Some people might find that strange, that he could identify her so easily without even opening his eyes. It wasn't to Sasuke though.
"How is he doing?" Another familiar voice calls out anxiously.
The reason why was simple. Sasuke loved her. Perhaps paradoxically, he had fallen in love with the one girl at the Academy who had never fawned over him. Sasuke doubted that they had ever exchanged more than a few dozen words with each other, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that she was his everything.
Hinata sighs softly and Sasuke imagines she was likely shaking her head. "Well his vitals are good." Most likely forcing a smile as well. "He should be waking up soon." His Angel was good at that. Hiding her pain behind polite smiles.
"If they're good, why do you look so worried?" Sakura. "What's wrong?" That was who had entered the room.
It made sense, of course. Hinata and Sakura were both medics now. While Sakura was Tsunade's apprentice, the Hyuga Heiress had stumbled into the profession as far as he could tell. During the war, the need for medics had surged drastically and there just hadn't been enough fully trained ones to go around.
So people had improvised. Hinata's chakra control from what he had heard was exceptional. It was that control which allowed her to master the Mystical Palm Technique with ease and well, it seemed like the dark beauty had decided to change her Ninja Specialization. From that of a Combat Ninja to a Medic.
Hinata pauses, probably trying to soften whatever blow she was about to deliver. "It's just when he wakes up, he's going to be in a lot of pain." Sasuke had to restrain himself from smiling at that.
She really was his Angel of Mercy. Hinata was actually worried that he'd be in pain. He doubted anyone else would be, save for Team Seven, Itachi, and Taka. It reminded him so much of the day that he fell in love with her.
Two weeks. That's how long it took before the medics and Hokage decided that Sasuke could return to the Academy, after the Massacre. At first, Sasuke had demanded to return sooner. Now, he wished that he had listened to the Third Hokage.
He was only seven and his entire world had been torn asunder. A mere fourteen days ago, his beloved brother had turned into a monster. A monster who had butchered every single member of their Clan and now, Sasuke felt like screaming.
"S-Sasuke?" At everyone. "I'm r-really sound about what happened to your family." A young girl approached him. She was stuttering and clutching a brown paper bag tightly against her chest.
Every time he went anywhere, he'd get those looks. The ones that made Sasuke want to scream and punch something. Those looks of pity that everyone gave him!
For once though, he didn't see pity in someone's eyes. No, in this girl's eyes, he saw only empathy. Somehow, she understood. He wasn't sure how he knew that, he just knew that those beautiful lavender orbs understood what he was feeling. That she didn't feel sorry for him, that she sympathized with him.
"Thank you." He blinked as he stared at the awkwardly cute girl with those otherworldly eyes.
Hinata nodded and quickly shoved the bag into his hands. "T-These are for you. Naruto says you like them." He blinked and took the bag, opening it curiously.
Inside, he found tomatoes. His favorite food. The idiot was actually good for something. Sasuke had mostly been eating whatever was in the house that he didn't have to cook.
He didn't have the heart to cook. His mother had taught him how to cook and he didn't want to go out to eat. Then people would just stare at him with more pity. So it was better to eat whatever required as little preparation as possible. Like tomatoes. Though they had always been his favorite.
"He's right." Sasuke smiled. "I do like them." And he liked her.
She smiled shyly at him. "That's good. I r-remember how sad I was when my mother died." Ohhh. So that's how she knew.
That's why she understood. Hinata had lost someone precious to her too. Not her whole family, but still her mother.
Mothers were important. Sasuke knew this because of how deeply he missed his own. He wanted to know how Hinata's mother had died, but decided against asking. It would likely only bring up bad memories for her.
"It hurts, but it'll be better when I avenge them." He nodded somberly.
Itachi was going to pay. He'd make sure of it. That's when a horrifying thought occurred to him.
His brother had taken everyone that he ever cared about away from him. What if he killed this girl for being nice to him?! What if Itachi was watching somehow?!
"Oh." Hinata blinked at that, clearly unsure of what to say.
"Thanks for the tomatoes." He couldn't be her friend! "I gotta go! I think Iruka is calling for me!" Itachi might kill her too! "I'll see you later!" And with that, he ran off, pretending that their teacher had called out for him. It was the only way to keep her safe!
After that, Sasuke went out of his way to avoid her. He didn't even look at Hinata, for fear that somehow Itachi would find out. And if Itachi found out, that he'd be responsible for Hinata's death.
It hadn't been hard. Really, it had been ridiculously easy. Hinata was naturally shy to begin with and even if she had wanted to seek him out again, their other classmates would have made that difficult.
"Oh right." Sakura nods. "Well we can always give him more pain medication, if he needs it.
Ino, Sakura, and just about every other girl in their class had fawned over him. Not Hinata though. As the days, weeks, months, and even years passed by, it became devastatingly apparent that Hinata only had eyes for Naruto.
Which is probably why Sasuke was more than happy to fight with the blonde as often as possible on the playground. How dare, he "steal" Hinata away from him? It certainly didn't help matters that the blonde just wouldn't leave him alone and seemed more than willing to fight with him at every opportunity.
Which was just fine with Sasuke. Naruto had provided a safe outlet for all his anger, fear, and frustration. The only downside was that Iruka often butted into their fights. Though the young boy couldn't hold it against Iruka too much. The man was just doing his job.
He dares himself to open his eyes slightly and sees Hinata nodding. "That's true. What about Itachi though?" Itachi was already out of surgery?
It was hard to see with his eyes mostly closed, but Sasuke manages. He tilts his head to the side and notices another bed a few feet away. His brother was laying on it.
"His surgery was in some ways even more intense than Sasuke's." Sakura sighs as if exhausted. "I'm not sure how he's still alive, considering how severe his condition was. The medication that we found on him must have helped to a degree, but still."
Helpless. It wasn't right. His brother looked so helpless laying on that hospital bed, covered by those damn white sheets.
Sasuke hated white sheets. His hatred of them burned hotter than any flames of his Amaterasu and for good reason. That's what they had used to "hide" his family's bodies from him and carried them away to prepare them for burial.
"Get them off him." He didn't want those sheets anywhere near his brother. "Now."
In his more rational mind, Sasuke knew that he had just blown his "cover." He didn't care though. Those sheets symbolized death in his mind and he didn't want them on Itachi.
Not when he knew the truth. Itachi wasn't an ruthless killer who butchered their Clan without remorse. He was the unwitting assassin and martyr. His brother had sacrificed everything for this village, save for his life and only a handful of people even knew it!
"You're awake!" Sakura's eyes stare at him in surprise.
Sasuke manages a weak nod. "Yes. Get them off of him." The drugs in his system were making him sluggish. The entire room was spinning, but that wouldn't stop him.
Hinata was watching him with concern. "Sasuke, you really shouldn't be moving right now." That briefly made him smile. "You just got out of surgery and what do you want off of him?"
He knew that he must have seemed half mad at the moment and maybe he was. The Hyuga woman was still trying to comfort him though, even after all these years. Naruto had her love, but at least Sasuke had her kindness and well that was something.
"The sheets." It was better than nothing. "Get those sheets off Itachi, please." And far more than he deserved.
"Why?" Sakura looks at him in confusion.
Hinata just walks over and slides the sheets off Itachi. The bluenette probably thought he was just disoriented from the dugs, but was still "humoring" him anyway. "Are these better?" She gestures to some purple sheets.
Sasuke nods. Purple was better than white. White meant death. He knew that he was being irrational, but he wasn't quite coherent enough to care.
"Wait. Were the sheets dirty?" His teammate looks even more confused.
Hinata shakes her head. "I don't think so, but I'd rather not stress him out over sheet color." She definitely humoring him.
Not that it particularly mattered. Hinata could think he was crazy or just disoriented from his surgery, if she wanted. It was probably better that way.
"Yeah. I guess so." Sakura nods in agreement.
"D-Don't mind my foolish little brother." Sasuke's eyes widen. "He's always been rather easily d-distracted." Itachi was awake!
Sakura rushes over to Itachi and quickly checks him over. Probably looking at his vitals, but the younger Uchiha knew that was a foolish pursuit. Itachi had constantly defied the odds, even when it came to his health.
If his brother was awake enough to talk, it was because he was ready to be awake. Though Sasuke really wished that Itachi had woken up back home. In his own bed, instead of in a hospital bed.
Inside a hospital, that was surrounded by that damn clinical scent. Sasuke couldn't even begin to really describe that smell, but every hospital had it. He hated hospitals even more than he hated white sheets!
"You shouldn't be moving around or speaking." Sakura shakes her head in disapproval. "You're lucky to be alive. You just got out of surgery not that long ago." Was Sakura really lecturing Itachi? Oh that wouldn't end well.
Itachi faintly chuckles before launching into a coughing fit. "Yes, I'll be more careful. Perhaps you and your colleague would be kind enough to get us something to eat?" That coughing fit was fake. "Pudding for my foolish little brother and if you have it, cabbage soup for myself." Sasuke knew the difference between a real Itachi cough and a fake one. What was he up to?
Oh and seriously? Cabbage soup? Who ordered that because they wanted it? His brother could be really strange sometimes, even Hinata looked surprised at his request.
"Alright." She blinks. "We'll go get it, if you need anything just hit the red button by your bed for an emergency and green for a regular request." Though Sasuke notes with some amusement that her stutter was gone. That or maybe, she just wasn't nervous around patients.
"Understood." Itachi smiles at her and Sasuke nods in agreement.
Mercifully, Sakura and Hinata leave together. That meant, he could talk to Itachi. He really needed to talk to Itachi. About everything.
Though that didn't mean that Sasuke wasn't going to enjoy the view for a moment. He had fallen in love with her because of her kindness, but she most certainly wasn't a child anymore.
Naruto was a complete idiot. Hinata was beautiful and the sway of her hips was mesmerizing. How his best friend hadn't noticed the beautiful heiress who obviously adored him yet, well that was beyond Sasuke's comprehension.
"I'm relieved honestly." Itachi smiles at him.
For so long, revenge had been what Sasuke thought about most and when he did think about Hinata, it was an idealized chaste version of love. When he left the Leaf, he'd only been about twelve or thirteen and she had been a girl.
Now, she was definitely a woman. While Sasuke certainly prided himself on the fact that he was not a man who was lead around by his kunai, the youngest Uchiha could appreciate beauty when he saw it. And there was no denying the way that Hinata filled out that medic uniform, certainly qualified.
He was so busy admiring the view of Hinata's retreating backside, that he almost didn't hear Itachi. "Relieved about what?" Though he did.
Itachi just shakes his head in amusement. "To see that you still desire bonds." He glances at the door. "Particularly, romantic ones and I must say that your taste is exceptional."
Sasuke immediately froze. Damn it. It seemed that his younger self had been right. One look was all it took and Itachi already knew. Had he really been staring that openly?
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He'd just deny it.
If he denied it enough, Itachi might let the matter drop. Maybe, he could even convince his brother that he had just imagined things. That Itachi had merely thought he saw Sasuke admiring Hinata's feminine curves because he was still disoriented from his surgery. Yeah. That sounded like a plan.
Itachi rolls his eyes. "We're likely going to be here awhile." He sighs in irritation at that. "So if nothing else, you'll be able to admire your medic as much as you like in the foreseeable future, even if you wish to pretend that isn't what you were doing."
Medic. There had been two medics. Was it possible that Itachi thought Sasuke was admiring Sakura? He didn't know whether that made things better or worse.
"You're imagining things." He shrugs and then cries out in agony. "AHHH!" Moving his shoulder after an arm transplant, had been a very bad idea.
Itachi's stares at Sasuke in horror. "Sasuke! Don't move around so much!" Yeah. Sasuke had learned his lesson.
"It's fine." He grunts in agony. "It'll go away." He'd just moved too fast. Getting an arm transplant wasn't fun.
Still, he'd be better able to protect the Leaf with two arms instead of one. Better able to protect Naruto, Itachi, and her. So he'd just suffer the indignities of recovery.
Itachi shakes his head at him. "You've always been foolish. So how long have you been in love with the Hyuga woman?" Oh.
Itachi already knew which one. That was probably a bad sign. Well at least Itachi could keep a secret, Sasuke thinks to himself bitterly.
No one could keep a secret better than Itachi Uchiha. Sasuke still couldn't believe how easily he had fallen for his brother's lies. One didn't suddenly transform from a loving brother to a ruthless clan slayer overnight.
Sasuke's only defense was that he had been seven at the time. "What makes you think that I'm in love with anyone, let alone her?" Easily manipulated, especially by someone he admired.
"I might have come close to it, but I'm not blind." Right. Itachi had revived during the war and with it, all the damage that had been done to his original body was reversed. "I saw the way you looked at her."
Great. There was no denying it now. He'd just have to swallow his pride and confess. At least to Itachi.
Sasuke sighs. "Since we were children." Besides, his brother would likely find out anyway. "It doesn't matter though." No one could keep a secret from Itachi Uchiha.
"Why do you say that?" Itachi raises an eyebrow. "Because of what you did before the war?" Well yeah. That and other reasons. "She didn't seem particularly adverse to you a few moments ago." That's because it was Hinata.
No matter what she thought of a patient, Sasuke was sure she would have done her job. That and well, Hinata didn't have a cruel streak in her. She probably would have cried, if someone had stepped on a butterfly or something.
He would have shrugged, if such an action wouldn't have caused him complete agony. "That and other reasons." She was in love with Naruto. "Even if I hadn't done all those horrible things, it'd be irrelevant. Her heart belongs to someone else."
There. Maybe, Itachi would let the matter drop. If nothing else, there Clan was a rather monogamous one.
His memories of the time before the Massacre were perfectly etched into his mind. One thing he remembered was that Uchihas rarely strayed and if they did, well the rest of the Clan made it known that such behavior wouldn't be tolerated. It was a matter of pride, honor, and practicality. After all, the Sharingan was a bloodline. Bloodlines had to be protected.
"Oh I see." Itachi sighs wistfully and gives Sasuke a sympathetic look. "Well is she already involved with this other person?"
Sasuke shakes his head. "No. Not really." He pauses and clarifies. "They're friends and comrades, that appears to be it at the moment."
Itachi knew what that meant. It was hard to tell who he felt more sorry for, Sasuke thinks to himself. Him or Hinata. Being in love with someone who only saw you as a friend, well that was painful.
"Has he rejected her advances?" The other Uchiha tilts his head.
Well it was Naruto. "In his own oblivious way, yes." Sasuke had heard what happened during Pain's attack.
Hinata had sacrificed herself for Naruto. Declared her love for him and the idiot, hadn't really responded. Of course, they had been fighting for their lives at the time, so that was forgivable. Still, he should have responded afterward!
"Oblivious." Itachi shakes his head. "The woman you love is in love with your best friend? You have my sympathy, foolish little brother." Wonderful.
Though Sasuke couldn't help, but smirk. "I said oblivious and you immediately connected it to Naruto." Then again, that was obvious.
Itachi shakes his head and suddenly, Sasuke was overcome with a feeling of dread. God only knows what Itachi was planning now. He didn't like the way his brother was looking at him.
"Naruto is kind, brave, and loyal to his friends." The elder Uchiha glances at the clock. "Though he does strike me as the type who is rather innocent in love. He wouldn't understand when a woman was interested or if he did, he might just be afraid of hurting her feelings."
Sasuke nods in understanding. "That's true." The younger Uchiha would die to protect Naruto, but the man was utterly oblivious when it came to women!
Itachi glances back at Sasuke and Sasuke gulps again. He was doing that thing again. That thing were just by looking at him, his brother could somehow read his soul!
"He gave her the Friend Speech, didn't he?" Again with the raised eyebrow.
There was no point in lying, about it. "Sounds like it." He had heard Hinata's quivering voice as she told Sakura what had happened. Apparently, the Hyuga Princess had pressed the issue at some point and Naruto had tried to gently brush aside her feelings.
Itachi shakes his head as if he was somehow disappointed in Sasuke. That just made the younger ninja feel even worse. It was bad enough that he was in love with someone who was in love with his best friend, but now he had suffer through his brother's pitying looks.
"So you're telling me that you've had feelings for this woman since childhood?" Sasuke nods. Again, there was no point in denying it.
Itachi would find out somehow. Sasuke wouldn't put it past his brother to trap him in a Genjutsu and pry the truth from his mind, if necessary. His brother was definitely a ninja who believed the ends justified the means.
"Yes." He might as well be honest. "I didn't want to get too close to her though because I knew that I would eventually have to fight you and I didn't want her to get hurt." Sasuke sighs and shakes his head. "Which is irrelevant, because she's in love with someone else."
Itachi shakes his head as though he was thoroughly disappointed. "She's in love with Naruto who only sees her as a friend and comrade." He somehow manages to scoot his bed closer to Sasuke and to poke his forehead. "Meaning that while your secret pining is very noble and morbidly romantic, it is unnecessary."
Owe! Sasuke really wished Itachi would knock it off with the forehead thing. That hurt!
"Stop doing that!" He glares at Itachi.
Itachi just smirks in response. "I'll stop poking your forehead, when you stop being foolish." Sasuke twitches. Oh he'd show his brother who was foolish, once his arm was healed!
He loved Itachi and was grateful that the truth had finally come out. That didn't meant that he wasn't going to train with him at some point and train hard. And if he happened to whack his beloved brother around like a pinata a few times during that training for his cheek, well that was a cross Sasuke was more than willing to bare!
"Whatever." Sasuke rolls his eyes.
"If Naruto doesn't return her feelings, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't pursue her." Itachi smiles.
Wait. What?! Itachi was out of his mind! There were a million reasons!
"You mean besides the fact that most of the ninja world is terrified of me, her family would never approve, she's in love with Naruto, and I've only ever spoken to her twice?!" Those seemed like damn good reasons not to pursue her.
Itachi actually clucks his tongue at him as he pokes Sasuke's forehead again. "I'll admit all that is potentially problematic, but love is love." Potentially problematic?! "If you truly love her, you'll never forgive yourself for not at least telling her how you feel."
Well he had a point there. The what ifs, would eventually drive him crazy. Still, at least this way, he wouldn't put her in an awkward situation.
"Maybe, but I wouldn't even know where to begin." Sasuke shakes his head. "And she'd never return my feelings anyway."
He couldn't be more different than her. That much was obvious. Eventually, maybe Naruto would wise up and the two of them would have hyper active blonde babies with the Byakugan. And it would kill Sasuke, but he would force himself to smile for them. That was just the way it was going to be.
"Sasuke, don't make me poke you again." Itachi shakes his head. "This is my fault really. I'm the one who stunted your emotional development and you've probably never looked at another woman. It's only natural that your seduction skills would need work." He smiles at him. "That's okay though. I'm more than willing to teach you."
THUD! Sasuke falls out of his hospital bed in shock. There was no way that Itachi possibly could have said that!
"W-What'd you say?" He gapes at his older brother from his position on the floor.
Itachi smiles at Sasuke and leans down, trying to help him up. "I said, that I'd teach you how to seduce your little Byakugan Princess." Itachi was actually serious? "It seems like the least that I can do, really."