Hey guys it's theBana! Finally, FINALLY I've gotten enough inspiration to revise Find Our Way and I'm so happy about it that I just had to post chapter 1 pronto, lol. If some of you read the original Find Our Way, y'all know that things get crazy and rollercoaster-y and I can just tell you guys now that this one is just the same, just makes more sense, lol.
After help with Hana, I've learned to take events in my writing slower and I honestly think it's just made everything better for this story.
I'll give more details at the end of this chapter, of course, but for now enjoy! I DO NOT own ANY Naruto EXCEPT for my baby Soseki annnd thats about it.. have fun reading ;3
She giggled, "Sasuke stop" as he kissed up and down her neck, she softly moaned.
"No, never." He breathed, tickling her with his voice as he continued to make trails along her neck and collarbone. She stared up at her ceiling, watching as it moved with her breathing.
Running her fingers through his hair, she moaned once more and he pulled away. Staring deep into her eyes as he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"Sasuke?" She called out, sitting up as he sat up and watched as he floated towards her window. "Sasuke… where are you going?" She whispered, pulling her blankets up to cover her nude body as within a blink of an eye, he was dressed.
"I have to go, Itachi needs me." He said as her window forcefully opened, causing her long dark locks to stir and twist due to the sudden wind. She reached out for him, but he suddenly was yanked out.
"Sasuke!" She screamed, scurrying out her bed and towards her window to look outside. The sky was a purplish-blue as the winds only grew harsher. Placing both hands on her window seal, she yelled, "Sasuke!"
And woke up, gasping for air as she forced herself to sit up. Looking around, she realized it was just a dream; a nightmare, more like it. Running her fingers through her hair, she sighed and decided it was time to get up.
Dreams like that was normal to her, but that didn't mean she was used to it. That night… all she wanted to do was forget about it, but it seemed more and more impossible each night.
Getting out of bed, she headed towards the bathroom to prepare herself for today. Because today was the day she forgot about him, because today she had a date.
Her shower was warm and relaxing as usual, preparing her for the wild mornings she had whenever the smell of breakfast woke up the beast. Her son, Soseki Uchiha, a blessing that has helped her each and everyday through these five years without his father.
It wasn't like his father was dead, at least, she hoped he wasn't dead. Sasuke, the love of her life left with his brother without the knowledge of her carrying his child; their child. He left everything behind. His family, his friends, his girlfriend, his unborn child; everything was left behind and he hasn't been seen in years…
The fear of not knowing if he was alive or dead, it scared her for years as his abandonment angered her. He left out her window with her trust and purity, and never returned, changing her life forever. She was no longer just shy little Hinata Hyuga, no, now she was mommy and soon to be Dr. Hyuga.
Stepping out the shower, she cleared her thoughts. He was the last thing she wanted to think about this morning, so that's exactly what she was going to do, not think. She had to do.
First things first, she had to— She stopped in her tracks as she heard the doorbell and frowned. She's just got out the shower, who could've possibly been at the door at this time? Wrapping her robe around her nude body, she made her way downstairs and towards the soft knocks.
Opening it, she was surprised to have been face to face with Naruto. "Oh! Y-You're early." She greeted shyly, looking down at her slipper covered feet as he chuckled and scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah, sorry, it's just.. I had to bring these gifts before I forgot." He said as he lifted his other hand that held two bags, she raised an eyebrow as she reached for them but he pulled them away. "Hey! There's some things for you too, so no peaking." He chuckled, causing a small smile to appear on her lips.
"Here, you must be cold." She invited him in, opening the door wide enough for him and closed it when he began to take his shoes off. "I uh, was just about to fix breakfast." She said as they both made their way towards the kitchen. "I'm fixing waffles and sausage but um, Seki, he's still sleeping and I was just-"
"Hinata, don't stress. Go finish taking care of you, I am supposed to be watching the little guy anyway. I'll prepare breakfast annnd you, you go get ready." He insisted, shushing her before she could even protest and shooed her back upstairs.
She looked back down on him before turning back into her room and couldn't help but to smile. He was her childhood crush, but now biggest male best friend. Without Sasuke being around, Naruto's been nothing but a big help and she couldn't have been anymore thankful.
Soseki loved him, as she's sure Naruto loved him back. When she told Naruto about this date, he was the only one other than Tenten who was supportive and even pushy enough to make her go through with it and now it was happening.
Untying her robe, she began to get ready. It didn't take her long to choose her outfit, but it took her forever to do her hair. 'It becomes more of a hassle every month.' She thought, sighing to herself as she began curling the next section of hair.
It wasn't until she heard Soseki and Naruto's laughter downstairs that she made her way back down, sniffing the air to smell burnt waffles and sausages.
One of the things she loved about her house was how the stairs led her right towards the kitchen. Smiling widely, she saw how Naruto played with his charcoaled waffles in order to make Soseki laugh and copy.
"What are you two doing?" She questioned, causing them both to stop as she crossed her arms with a forced serious face. "Soseki, haven't I told you to not play with food?" She asked her son, causing his eyes to widen as he immediately pointed towards his uncle Naruto.
"Wh-Whiskers started it, mommy! I… he burnt the waffles and-and I tried-"
"Oh! He's such a little tattletale, Hinata! He distracted me when I put the waffles on and-"
She shook her head as they began telling on each other in unison and couldn't help but to burst out in laughter, shutting them both up. After a while, she wiped a tear away and made her way towards the food to fix herself a plate as both their widened eyes stayed glued to her.
Naruto's eyes were the first ones to narrow. "Ohh, Seki, she's just pulling our tails." He grumbled, gaining the child attention as he tilted his head in confusion.
"Our… tails?" He questioned, getting a small nod in confirmation as the grown man leaned in closer to whisper,
"She's not actually mad at us, she was just playing-"
"Oh! Mommy, that's not nice!" Soseki gasped, causing her to gently laugh as she took her seat next to him. He stared up at her. "I thought you were mad at me and Whiskers." He said, pouting once she messed up his hair and smiled down on him.
"Of course I wasn't. It's nice that your uncle at least tried to fix breakfast for us and it's only polite of us to eat it-"
"Um… but it hurted my teeth." He mumbled to her before she could take a bite out of her own waffles. She pretended to be shocked as she slowly placed her waffle down and picked up her sausage, fighting back a smile as he nodded at her decision.
Naruto watched the exchange with betrayal, but it went away once Hinata gave him a small reassured smile. He nudged the little boy, "Hey, brat, a thanks won't hurt anybody-"
"It won't hurt as bad as your waffles hurted my teeth!-"
"Hurted isn't a word, y'know-"
"I know that your cooking-"
"Soseki, Naruto, eat breakfast please." She requested, staring at the both of them as she tried to do the same. The house was always like this whenever Naruto was around, filled with laughter and color. She loved it, and again couldn't have been anymore thankful…
When the time came for her date to arrive, she was nervous. Her hair was wavy, her face was lightly beatened, and for heavens sake, she was dressed up like never before.
They've been texting throughout the day until recently when he said he was on his way, and that alone made her anxious. Another thing that made her anxious was when he said to get dolled up. Earlier, she had on a sweater and a long skirt, but now… she had on some fancy lavender blouse and dark skinny jeans and heels that she regretfully allowed the boys to pick out.
It looked nice, but she didn't want to look too nice. It was the first date after all.
"You look…" Naruto started, until she turned to face him. His eyebrows furrowed, "Anxious, what's wrong?" He asked, plopping down on the couch as she sat on the arm gently and frowned.
"Nothings wrong-"
"Hinata-"
She shook her head, "Nothing is wrong, I'm just.. nervous?" She questioned more than stated, causing him to frown as he took her hand in his. She tensed up but soon relaxed once they connected eyes.
"Hina, you don't have to go on this-" He stopped himself once she shook her head once more and weakly smiled at him.
"I-I know that, I just.. I want to. I've… I've never been on a date that required this much anticipation, I guess that's why I'm so nervous." She assured him, squeezing his hand as her phone began to ring. "I'm sure that's him. Naruto, thank you so much for watching Seki for me. I won't be home late." She thanked him as she then kissed his cheek and answered her phone. "Um, hello? Hi…"
"Seki, come say bye to your mom!" Naruto called, looking back at Hinata as she giggled on the phone and couldn't help but to smile himself. All he wanted was her to be happy. If that meant with Sasuke, with this guy, or…
"Bye mommy!" Soseki yelled as he ran down the stairs and towards the living room. "Have fun and don't talk to strangers." He said, hugging her legs tightly until she hung up her phone and picked him up to kiss him goodbye. "Oh boy!" He laughed, trying his best to fight her affection away, but failed.
"I," she kissed his left cheek. "Love," She kissed his right cheek. "You!" She kissed his forehead multiple times, placing him down to mess up his hair. "I promise I won't talk to strangers, if you promise me that you'll listen to uncle Whiskers." She negotiated, causing the almost five-year-old to furiously nod.
"I love you too and I promise!" He swore, looking back at his uncle to stick his tongue out. "Mommy, can you bring food back please? He's going to fix nothing but noodles again-"
Naruto scoffed, crossing his arms as he towered over the young child. "Correction, they're ramen-"
"Same thing, Whiskers-" Soseki started, turning towards Naruto as he crossed his own tiny arms.
"Not even close! Hinata, I change my mind, I can't watch the uncultured!-" Naruto joked as he turned his head up and Soseki began to bounce himself in a pout.
"Mommy! Uncle Whiskers is going to leave me alone!" Soseki told on him, causing his mommy to laugh as she shook her head, bent down, and kissed his forehead once more.
"I promise you he won't leave. You two are going to have fun, I swear." She whispered, standing back up to her full height only to connect eyes with Naruto's ocean orbs. Heavens, did she love his eyes. "Please-" she stopped herself once he held his hands up.
"Don't worry about anything, Hina, I have this under control. You go enjoy that dinner and I'll try not to burn the house down by making dinner for me and the little guy later-"
"Oh heavens." She whispered, smiling once he chuckled and hugged her.
"Go, now." He shooed, opening the door for her as her date began to call once more and she struggled to answer. "Wave bye, Soseki." He said, waving himself as the little boy did too. She looked back at them and couldn't help but to frown as she forced herself to look away.
This date should make her mood brighten, but she just couldn't bare the thought of leaving her baby alone. That and well, she couldn't truly process that she was going on a date with another man that wasn't him.. 'Sasuke… I wonder what he's doing right now.' She thought, biting back a frown as she opened the man's car and smiled at him.
"Why hello." He greeted, smiling brightly at her as she tried to do the same.
"Hello." She greeted back, pushing all thoughts of him in the back of her mind. Right now was her time to move on, she couldn't dwell anymore. The decision was already made… no matter how forced it seemed.
"Bullseye! Pay up, lover boy." A white-haired man said cockily, smirking that toothy smirk once lover boy roughly handed him five bucks. "Aw, what is this? I thought we agreed on thirty?" He whined, causing the raven-haired man to roll his eyes.
"No, we didn't. I said if I win, you owe me thirty bucks. We never agreed on what I owed you if you won-"
"Aw, c'mon Sasuke, that's not fair-"
"Tsk, give me back the five then." He spat out, connecting obsidian with purple until the man shoved the five dollars in his pocket. "Hn." He breathed, swiftly turning to leave with the man known as Suigetsu right behind him. They walked into a dimmed room of laptops and hanging newspapers, looking upon the dates as they inched closer towards the long-haired man highlighting one in his hand. "Brother." Sasuke called, crossing his arms once he got no response. Well, not from the one he wanted attention from at least.
"Sasuke, I'm glad to see you're done entertaining that idiot Suigetsu." A redhead woman chimed, placing the laptop on her lap beside her as she made her way towards the two taller men. Suigetsu shook his head, shrugging his shoulders as he said,
"Yeah, yeah, I guess now it's time for him to entertain the pathetic one of our little group.", causing Sasuke to subtly smirk as the woman almost immediately punched him in the chest, knocking him back a bit.
"SHUT UP, SUIGETSU, NO ONE WAS TALKING TO YOU!" She yelled, glaring daggers at the man as he rubbed his chest, grumbling, "Yeah, just talking about me" as the long-haired man, known as Sasuke's elder brother but most importantly, their leader looked up from his newspaper, rather irritated by their actions.
"Karin, have you found any information about what I've asked?" He asked calmly, causing her to tense up as she slowly dropped her fist and shook her head in shame. He mentally frowned at that, but kept his face impassive as they all looked at him as though to read his mind. He looked towards Suigetsu. "Have you dug up the deleted files I've asked you to do?" He asked, causing the white-haired man to sheepishly scratched the back of his head. He sighed, shaking his head as he stared back at his newspaper. Sasuke frowned, taking the paper away from his brother in order to read it.
"Homicide victim, Doctor. Kabuto Yakushi, found dead inside his office after presumed murderer leaves a rather disturbing message behind with victims blood." He read out loud, frowning deeper as he looked at his brother's distressed face. "He was our only lead-"
"I know-"
"Itachi, he was our only fucking lead to that damned scientist!" He hissed, throwing the newspaper on the ground as his brother Itachi closed his eyes. Suigetsu picked the newspaper back up and silently read the rest, smirking to himself after a while as he made his way over to Karin's laptop.
"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" She snapped, glaring at the man as Sasuke and Itachi awaited his next move.
"Shut up, will ya? Let the professionals work." He said, taking a seat next to Itachi as Sasuke leaned over the table to watch his fingers type away on the keyboard, ignoring Karin's presence as she decided to lean on him to watch. "In that newspaper, they said how the murderer left a disturbing message with that assholes blood, right? Well, if you have continued reading Sasuke, you would've read how they believe the murderer was his long term patient, Jugo. Some guy that broke out of the psych ward a few months back." He explained, causing the brothers to nod as they took in this new information.
"There could be a connection between the three men. Yakushi and Orochimaru were said to be partners, so if this Jugo man was a long term patient, he could know some information about Orochimaru-"
"Yeah, boss man, you're right about that, but you gotta look at it like this. The mans a fucking psychopath and has just killed a man. Now, I can admit, I'm not the most innocent soul in this room, but I can gladly say that I've never killed someone nor have I ever associated myself with a killer." Suigetsu said, causing Itachi to officially frown as Sasuke sighed with frustration.
"No shit, none of us have, but there's a lot holding on this. If he is the killer, then what was his motive?-"
Suigetsu scoffed, "Dude, he doesn't need a motive, he's a fucking psychopath-"
"But what led him down that path in the first place?" Itachi asked, taking Suigetsu back a bit as Sasuke shrugged Karin off in order to grab another laptop off the desk. "Suigetsu, if I give you the right information, I want you to break into the Konoha police system to find the pictures of this homicide. Little brother, dig up some information on our newest lead, Jugo, and Karin… if you could gather anymore information out of these newspapers, that'll be helpful." He ordered around, getting an excited "Alright" from Suigetsu as Sasuke scoffed, seeming to be already two steps ahead of him. Karin… she hesitantly did as asked, rubbing Itachi the wrong way but he decided to push it to the side for now.
They were no where near close, but there was still hope. Hope, something he's been holding so desperately onto for nearly five years now. It all started when he left her alone that night… He shouldn't have left her alone that night!
"Hm, look at this." Sasuke said after a while, gaining their attention as he began to read. "It wasn't until the sudden death of Jugo's close friend, Kimimaro, when he became completely uncontrollable and some suspect vengeful. He was locked away shortly after attempting murder against Scientist Orochimaru-"
"No fucking way." Suigetsu exclaimed, causing Sasuke to smirk as Itachi pulled the laptop closer to him to continue reading. "So, this Jugo guy really is connected— Wait, what good does this give us? We've been looking for Orochimaru's main hideout for how many years now, and still haven't found him? Why the hell would we waste our time trying to find another psychopath-"
"Hn, and to think I thought you were a genius in disguise a few minutes ago." Sasuke teased, causing Suigetsu to roll his eyes as he leaned back in his chair.
"Yeah, whatever, but I'm serious. Tracking this guy seems like a bad idea." He stated, watching Sasuke as he stressfully ran his fingers through his hair and explained.
"Look, since he's connected and the murder wasn't that far from us, we can try and find him before the police do and get some information out of him-"
"Ha, what makes you think a psychopath is going to be cooperative towards a bunch of strangers?" The smart-ass asked, looking back at Karin's laptop once he finally broke into the Konoha police system. Itachi spoke up as he gave Sasuke back his laptop.
"Then we follow his movements. If he was put into the psychological hospital because attempted murder and mental trauma from loss, then there's no doubt in my being that he won't go after Orochimaru next. Yakushi was just a warning, nothing else." He stated, studying Suigetsu's face once it paled. "What is the matter?" He asked, taking the laptop from the frightened man as he mumbled,
"You want us to follow a psychopath that can do that?"
They all, despite Suigetsu looked at the gruesome pictures, noticing the countless blood splats on the walls and furniture, all the broken glass, and… was that an eyeball next to the sink? Karin covered her mouth as Sasuke's stomach then turned, but they both held down their sick as Itachi flipped through the pictures.
His body wasn't even recognizable, a way that no one wanted to go out like. All you could see was his bones poking out with mixed blood and beaten flesh turned way over purple. Itachi glanced over his brother's features and fought back a frown. He truly never wanted to drag Sasuke into such a mess, but the young man all but refused to let him do this on his own…
Orochimaru wanted him. Why? He had no idea, but in order to capture him, he kidnapped Izumi… his girlfriend. Was she alive? Yes. For how much longer? He had no idea. At first, he thought she was simply ignoring him for leaving her alone after a heated argument, but when he went to visit her at her house and her mother distraughtly told him she ran away, he knew right away that it was a lie hiding something else rather big, which… he was correct.
To say he called her number a thousand times was an understatement, because it felt like a million times in his head. He knew Izumi. He knew she'd never run away from home, no matter how tough things got between her and her mother or even the two of them, she'd stand and fight until her point was across or until they agreed to disagree. So, it all made no sense whatsoever… until a man answered her phone.
A slimy yet slick voice, a combination that turned his stomach. He heard Izumi's cries of pain, but had no idea what caused it. He heard the mans terms to never inform the police or she'd die, he heard when the man gave him a false address led up by another fake address, and he heard clearly till this day when the man said his goal was… him.
In panic mode, he ringed a half asleep Sasuke, scaring the teenager half to death to the point they met up not even fifteen minutes after the call. They argued, and they even almost fought, but Sasuke still refused to get out of his car. He told his foolish little brother that it was dangerous, but he didn't care. He told his foolish little brother that he had no idea when he'd come back home, but he still didn't care. He told his little brother that no one, not even his girlfriend could know about this, and his foolish little brother said… "Anything to keep her save"… which spoke to Itachi.
Anything to keep her save, to keep Izumi save… he'd do anything.
"I call it, explosion. Hebi's creation next." Itachi read the blood written message, officially causing Karin to be sick as she then ran towards the closes bathroom in their hideout. Sasuke plopped down next to him and took in a deep breath, trying his best to focus as Suigetsu commented,
"He dotted the I's with pieces of the assholes eye.", gagging once Sasuke lost it right then and there and rushed towards the nearest trash can. Itachi closed his eyes, trying his best to block out the noise as he thought, 'I'd do anything… we'd both do anything.'
She sighed to herself as she slipped off her heels and turned on the living room light, frowning as she thought of the events prior. Well, she was never seeing him again…
Flashback to dinner date*
She squeezed her eyes shut as she threw her hands forward, immediately opening them back up once she felt a bone bend a way it was never supposed to bend against her palm with the sound of her date harshly cursing under his breath. "Ah, FUCK!" He hissed in pain, glaring at her with a mixture of anger, pain, and confusion as she threw her hands over her mouth.
"Oh my heavens!" She mumbled within her hands once she saw blood coming from his nose, causing his stare to harden. This was definitely not what she had in mind…
"What the fuck is wrong with you? When a person goes in for a kiss, you're not supposed to karate chop their fucking nose off!-"
"I-I didn't mean to, I was… a little caught off guard, th-that's all-"
"Caught off guard, so you punch me in the fucking nose!?-"
"I-I didn't punch you in the nose!" She protested, looking away from him once he pointed towards his now crooked nose. "I… I was just trying to push your face away from mine, but I-I guess I used too much force-"
"Tch, you think? You know, I thought this was a good date, but I guess my friends were right. You nurses are a real fucking hassle-"
She frowned at that, ignoring his words as she offered him help. "Um… please, I-I can pop it back in place-"
But he refused, "Yeah, like I'd want your help. You're the reason it's crooked in the first place! Do you not know who I am?" He questioned, standing from his chair as she hesitantly did the same. She looked around the restaurant as eyes from here and there began staring at them. "You should be honored I tried kissing you!" He yelled, causing her to furrow her eyebrows as she frowned and the owner made his way towards their table.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you two to leave. You two are disturbing my good paying customers of their meals." He dismissed them, causing both parties to gasp. This definitely wasn't what she had in mind. "I can call one of you a cab, but if either of you refuse to leave, I can gladly call the cops instead." He warned, smiling somewhat anxiously as Kameko began to protest. She didn't need to be told again, especially since she knew that the man wasn't going to tell them again without the assistance of police. She bit her lower lip as she silently began gathering her things.
"You can't kick me out! I'm one of those good paying customers, do you not know who I am!?" He asked the owner as Hinata silently took her leave, but not before hearing the manager say,
"I don't, nor do I care to find out. Now if you'd please. Your lady friend has already made up her mind."
She made sure she was out of earshot of their argument before she could hear what Kameko's opinion on her was now, positive that it wasn't anything good.
Flashback end*
She shook her head from the horrid memory, in a way trying to shake it out of her head as she locked the front door and made her way upstairs towards her sons' bedroom. Maybe it just wasn't meant for her to move on from him…
Yeah, this was only the first date she's been on after deciding to move on, but clearly it was the wrong thing to do. 'I truly didn't mean to hurt him…' She thought, running her fingers through her hair as she quietly opened the door.
Once opened, all negative thoughts disappeared as she gently smiled at the image in front of her. Soseki, her four-year-old son was cuddled up with his uncle in his toddler bed, asleep. She couldn't help but to take her cellphone out and snap a picture, tucking it back in her purse once she fully entered the bedroom to tuck them in. When she went to pull away, a tan hand gripped her wrist.
"Hinata… is that you?" The blond mumbled sleepily, turning towards her as she placed her free hand on top of his as comfort.
"Yes, Naruto, it is. Please, go back to sleep, I didn't mean to wake you." She said as she removed her hand, but he never removed his. Instead, he threw his legs to the side of the awfully small bed for him and yawned, causing her to smile as he stretched his free arm out.
"Shit", he yawned, standing from the bed once he finally removed his hand from her wrist. "For him to be you and Sasuke's son, he sure does know how to talk a lot. I guess he's gotten that trait from me, y'know since I'm always around." He talked, causing the short woman to gently laugh as she turned the boys nightlight on.
"He just has a vivid imagination, I quite enjoy it. Mother Miko says how it's the beginning steps of a prodigy, something that she and father Fu deemed both their sons as." She said as they made their way out of the bedroom and towards her living room.
She lived in a cozy two story two bedroom home, just big enough for her and her son. When she first saw it, she fell in love. As soon as you walked in, there was the living room with the view of her kitchen right behind it. Her tv stood halfway in front of the window as four stools sat behind her two seater couch at the isle. Though it wasn't as big as she first would've liked, she's grown to love the living room the most throughout her house.
As they made their way down the stairs, she decided to stop in the kitchen. "Have you ate? If you like, I can make us a snack." She offered her close friend, looking back at him briefly before pulling out some random fixings. He shrugged his shoulders, leaning against the counter as he silently watched her.
"A snack couldn't hurt anybody, but didn't you just get back from a dinner date? I'm usually stuffed after having one of those." He laughed, causing her to amusingly shake her head as she laid out four pieces of bread. A small frown tainted his lips as he then asked, "How was it anyway? Is he the new one?" He asked somewhat jokingly, but somewhat mockingly as she playfully rolled her eyes.
"It was… different." She admitted as she placed their bread in her toaster. He tilted his head in confusion… different?
"What do you mean by 'different'?" He asked, studying her face once she leaned against a different counter and sighed. Obviously whatever different meant, it wasn't good.
"Well, it's just… He was the complete opposite of who he presumed to be. He wasn't gentle like usual at all, nor was he kind, and he seemed very, very conceded." She explained with nothing but sorrow in her eyes. "He tried kissing me and I… accidentally broke his nose-"
"Wait what? You broke his nose?!" He incredulously asked, getting a shy nod in response as he began to laugh. "Holy shit, how does someone accidentally do that?" He asked, causing her to blush as she decided to prepare their condiments for their toasty sandwiches.
"They must panic, because I did. One second we were talking about Seki, then the next, he's bringing up… him." She mumbled the last part, causing the blond to frown as he thought, 'She still can't openly say his name…'
No, she couldn't, not yet at least. It still left a sting to her throat and a pain in her chest, no matter how many years that have passed. How was someone supposed to openly talk about a man that left her as vulnerable and broken as he did to her? Because she had no clue. Two years, they dated for two years before deciding to take the next step in their relationship, so for him to have left out her window with not only a broken promise of return, but also with her purity, it left a wound deeper than she wanted to admit.
On their one-year anniversary, he promised her that she was the one for him, his soulmate— so why!... why did he leave her like this? So empty and…
"Maybe you're just not looking in the right place." Naruto's voice chimed in, interrupting her thoughts as her eyes shot up to his. He sheepishly shrugged. "Y'know, like maybe going on dates with random guys isn't for you… maybe you should… I don't know… try someone… else?" He questioned, causing her eyes to widen.
"Like… who?" She asked somewhat hesitantly, pushing herself off the counter to get their toasted bread until he reached out for her hands. "Um.." She started, but he simply shook his head and smiled down at her.
"I uh… have something for you." He announced, causing her to shyly blush as she remembered the gifts he brought earlier. "Soseki's gift was… well, follow me." He said, giving her no time to debate his request as he started dragging them back upstairs.
She didn't know what the blond had in mind, but to say she wasn't a tad bit curious would've been a lie. "Naruto, I-I don't-"
"Just come here." He breathed as he finally released her hand and made his way towards the couch in the loft. "I uh… got you this." He reached inside the black and purple bag and pulled out a box, handing it to her as she stared at it with widened eyes. Hesitantly, she reached for it while staring at nothing but him as he explained himself. "I wouldn't have given it to you tonight if things— I mean, I would've, but the meaning of it would've been…" He paused once she opened it and gasped, "Different."
"Naruto…" She whispered as she traced her fingers over the pearled necklace. It was a purplish blue pearl within a silver moon and small diamonds around it that nearly took her breath away. It must've costed a ton. "Oh Naruto, I don't-"
"Do you… not want it?-"
"No, no I-I do, it's just… why?" She asked, staring down at the necklace briefly before she stared deep into his blue orbs, causing him to blush. He sheepishly chuckled as he looked away, saying,
"Welll, if your date went well… it would've been a friendly gesture.. a very painful, yet friendly gesture." He tried to explain himself, but she just couldn't wrap her head around what he was getting at, so asked, "what do you mean", causing his cheeks to burn brighter as he nervously chuckled once more. "I uh.. aheh… truly wanted to give this necklace to you out of my love… for you." He confessed, causing her to subconsciously squeeze the necklace as she stared up at him, dumbfounded.
He… had love for her?
"Ro-Romantically?-"
He nodded, "Romantically, Hinata." He confirmed, causing her to swallow thickly as she finally looked away from him and towards well, anything but him. "I'd understand if you don't want to accept my gift-"
"It-It's not that, it's just… I wasn't expecting this.. any of this. I-"
"I-I know, and I'm sorry for that, it's just… heavens, Hinata, you're such an amazing person and friend and mother y'know? And I.. just watching you grow as a woman from high school to now, I'm so proud of you and want to protect you and Soseki from any and everything life throws at you guys as more than just uncle Whiskers and your male best friend.." He talked on, causing a small smile to spread across her lips as her heart twisted and turned in her chest.
"I… I want to be with you completely, and I want to help you raise Soseki. I'm not saying that I want to replace Sasuke, because that's another conversation entirely, but.. I am saying— well, I'm asking if you could give us a chance… so… can you?" He asked as she looked back at him and frowned, causing him to frown as he went to reach for her free hand but she pulled away and sighed, turning her attention towards Soseki's bedroom wall and shook her head in confusion.
"Naruto, I… I-I can't just accept this." She started, placing both hands and the necklace on her heart as she refused to look back at him. "I wanted to be with you, but that was when we were younger-"
"You can't say that you have zero feelings for me-"
"I-I can't, because I do have some feelings for you, Naruto… bu-but I… I can't betray him like that-" She stopped herself once he scoffed and took a step closer to her, going to reach for her but then hesitated.
"Hinata, I don't want to betray him either, but I can't deny my feelings for you anymore." He stated, causing her to look back at him painfully as he frowned once more and placed both hands on her shoulders. "I… I love you, Hinata, and I can't watch from the sidelines anymore. You deserve love, you deserve happiness, you deserve the whole fucking world, Hinata." He gestured around them, causing her to weakly laugh as he too laughed and sighed, saying, "And I want to give them all to you."
"I… I have mommy duties, Naruto-"
"Mommy duties doesn't mean you have to forge all your happiness-"
"I-I know that, but… Soseki he… he sees you as an uncle, how would it affect him if mommy and uncle started seeing each other?-"
"We can ease our way into that-"
"And-And my in-laws-"
"Auntie Mikoto and uncle Fugaku can't dictate your love life, Hinata. They wanted you to wait for Sasuke to return for nearly five years, Hina, and now that you finally want to move on, they're upset." He snapped, causing her to frown as he wasn't wrong. When she told them about her date with Kameko, to say they were pissy is an understatement. "They should be upset with their son leaving you alone to raise his child, not because you finally want to get a move on with your life! You have needs too!-"
She shut him up with a kiss only to immediately pull away. Both eyes widened, she placed her hands over her lips as he traced his. "Hinata.." He whispered, causing her to shake her head.
"No… th-that was an accident-"
"No it wasn't-"
"Yes, it-it was, us ha-having a relationship is-" This time he shushed her with a kiss, cradling her face as she sniffled within the kiss, wishing to fight back her tears but just… couldn't. She pulled away again, covering her mouth as she began to silently cry. "I-I'm sorry-"
"Don't… I'm uh… Sorry, I should.. I should go-"
"You-You don't have to-"
"I-I think I do, Hinata. I'm sorry.." He apologized, looking at her for a moment before he pulled away from her and made his way downstairs. Watching his receding back, she sniffled and wiped her cheeks, forcing herself to follow him towards the door. Hearing her footsteps with him, he began to shake his head. "You can uh.. keep the necklace. If the date went well, I would've given it to you anyway just as a friend-"
"Na-Naruto, I… I don't want this to affect our friendship-"
"It isn't— hasn't… I'm uncle whiskers, nothing more, nothing less-"
"Naruto-" She stopped once he turned to face her with his hand on the doorknob. "I… I don't want to lose you too-"
"No, I don't want to hear that, Hinata, because I want…" He sighed with frustration, looking back at the door before he stared deep into her lavender orbs. "Sasuke didn't only leave you, Hina, he left me too, okay? He was my best friend, and I would've done anything for him as I'm sure you would've done the same, but he couldn't even stay, let alone warn us about him leaving.." He snapped, causing her to frown as she bit her lower lip and looked away from him.
He continued, "You're trying to move on from him, so why!... why can't you move on with me?" He asked weakly, getting nothing in response so decided that on that note it was time for him to leave. Turning to leave, he asked, "Can you just… think about it?" And officially took his leave without another word.
She felt a tear stream down her cheek as she watched his receding back, but decided to say nothing and slowly closed her front door, locking it as though in slow motion as she began to break down.
Naruto was known for his timing, but this one topped the cake. It wasn't the right time for her to take in his true feelings about her, especially after the date she had, but…
"He-He's right…" She sniffled as she began to numbly turn off the lights. "He's right about everything.." She whispered to herself as she made her way towards the kitchen to put away and clean up their forgotten sandwiches.
She wanted to move on from Sasuke, but… she didn't know if she could yet.