A/N: Welcome to my newest story, Sharingan Fate. Here's the first two chapters, with the third to follow hopefully in the next few days. Please leave me reviews, I love feedback!
Disclaimer: None of the characters from Naruto Shippuden belong to me =]
~SHARINGAN FATE~
Chapter 1:
Lady Hinata Hyūgasat calmly in the middle of a serene clearing, appearing to study a perfect white lily that rested in her cupped hands. In actual fact, she was using her Byakugan to scan the forest around her. She was using her eyes to track three men who were stalking her through the forest. Hinata stood up suddenly, placing the lily behind her ear stoically as she used her other hand to grab a kunai from her pouch. Pulling it up in front of her, she calmly deflected the three kunai that had been racing towards her prone figure. Stepping aside, even more littered the ground beside her.
She moved swiftly and gracefully into the Gentle fist stance as one of the three figures launched themselves at Hinata. Moving forwards, Hinata shortened their advance, causing them to stumble and curse. With a small smile adorning her face, she jumped towards him and attacked, pushing her friend backwards with the force of her taijutsu.
Kiba launched into the air, laughing as he disappeared back into the forest. She shook her head and smiled, looking pleased that she had held him off so easily. Her next opponent began to approach her stealthily through the trees and Hinata began to run towards the forest. Scanning the forest above her, she saw quickly that a figure was descending onto her, about to jump on her head and tackle her to the ground.
Using a log poking awkwardly from the ground, Hinata halted her progress and pushed off from the log into a completely different direction. Hinata laughed as her cousin Neji tripped on thin air and crashed onto the ground. It had been easy to avoid the attacks of Kiba and Neji, but Hinata knew that they had only been trying to distract her so that her final opponent would get her when her guard was done.
Unfortunately for them, their plan was quite transparent, and so she had been keeping a very careful eye on the Uchiha prodigy. At that moment, Sasuke launched towards her, lightening chakra exploded from his hand in a blazing blue Chidori. Hinata jumped straight up into the air, hiding herself in its high branches. Sasuke's lightening attack crashed into the tree, causing it to topple over.
Cursing, Hinata leapt onto the next tree, only to be surprised by Neji and Kiba jumping at her from different directions. She spun in the air, throwing kunai at their faces. Kiba dropped to the ground to avoid the attack, while Neji deflected her kunai with a flash of steel. He then used his own kunai to latch onto a branch, swinging his legs towards her. He kicked her in the stomach and Hinata fell to the ground.
Neji dropped to the ground beside her, his Byakugan eyes fixed on her unwaveringly. Kiba and Sasuke flashed to her side, and Sasuke reached down, pulling the lily away from behind her ear. He studied it with a smile and deactivated his Sharingan.
"We win,' he said with some satisfaction. Neji helped her stand up, and she brushed the dirt from her clothes with a smile at her friends.
"You always do," she responded, looking up into Sasuke's onyx eyes. He nodded, smirking in his usual way. Together the four ninja walked slowly back towards Konoha.
"You did well, Hinata," Neji commented quietly. "You deflected mine and Kiba's attacks with little difficulty. You have become quite strong." Hinata glowed with happiness, linking her arm through his affectionately.
"Thank you, Neji-niisan," Hinata said, blushing. She and her cousin were getting on better than ever recently, and it made Hinata very happy. Neji was always very respectful to her and was now training with her to help her get stronger, as well as her teammate Kiba and their fellow Konoha ninja Sasuke. She was no longer the stuttering, bumbling, weak Hinata. She was confident, powerful and intelligent, a true Hyūga heir.
Kiba left them; trailing over towards his family home on the outskirts of Konoha, while Hinata, Neji and Sasuke continued on towards the village. Soon, Neji left them as well, needing to report to Lady Tsunade for his next mission. This left only her and Sasuke, walking through Konoha companionably towards the Hyuga Manor.
Since Sasuke had returned, he and Hinata had become quite close. He had told her a few months ago that his mother and her mother had been sisters, something that she had been previously unaware of. The Hyūga's were his last remaining family, and so they had made him feel welcome. Hinata especially had done everything she could to make him comfortable and now they were firm friends.
"Sasuke-kun," she said to him with a warm smile, "Come inside. I'll make us something to eat." Sasuke looked down at her with a fond smile and nodded, following her into her small apartment.
Until Hiashi died and made Hinata the clan leader, Hinata had decided to have her own apartment built on the grounds of the Hyūga compound. Being one of the richest clans in Konoha, this was no issue. Hinata enjoyed living in her own apartment; she could be close to her family without feeling suffocated and it made her feel independent.
Hinata watched Sasuke settle down in her kitchen as she walked around, preparing a platter of food for the two of them. He, as he always did, sat properly, his back completely straight as he glanced around with his blazing Sharingan eyes. No matter how many times he came here he always catalogued everything in her house, taking note of the nearest exits and what could be used as a weapon.
Even after nearly three years he was still on edge, preparing for an ambush. She sympathised with him, knowing how difficult he had found it to adjust to the quieter life of living in Konoha.
Hinata studied him silently as he made his appraisal of the room. He had changed so much and yet she could tell that he was still living in the past, haunted by his demons. He tried hard to fit back in with his fellow ninja, but living with Orochimaru and finally taking his revenge on his brother had taken its toll on him. It probably didn't help that he was still trailed by ANBU and was watched always with deep suspicion. He had been a loner before, but now he could count his true friends on only a number of fingers.
When he had finally relaxed, she sat down across from him, placing the food between them. In sync, they bowed, murmuring their thanks for the meal and then began to eat.
As always, Sasuke went straight for the cherry tomatoes that she never failed to buy for him. After training he nearly always came back to her apartment, and so she was always prepared. He never said anything about it, Sasuke didn't talk very much, but Hinata always knew that he appreciated the thought.
She cherished her friendship with him, and in his own way, he seemed to care for her as well. It was comfortable between them, and Hinata relished the thought of him being a part of her life for a very long time. Her father had even been talking of them marrying when she turned 21, and although it had surprised her, she also found herself looking forward to it. As she picked at the food, she began to daydream of little Sasuke's running around outside the window, she could almost hear the sound of their laughter in her home. Dreamily, Hinata smiled.
"Hinata," Sasuke said softly, breaking her from her reverie. She turned to look at him, surprised at the uncomfortable aura emanating from him.
"Hai, Sasuke-kun?" She responded, frowning at him in concern. He frowned also and turned to look out the window.
"My three years of being restricted to the village are nearly up. I intend to leave," he told her seriously, still avoiding her gaze. Hinata looked at him in shock, her eyes immediately brimming with tears. She had begun to hope that he would stay, begun to think of the future, their future, but now he was going to leave after all.
"I'm sorry, Hinata," he said, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
"Sasuke-kun," she whispered helplessly. "Why? I thought..."
"I know," he supplied when she drifted off. "But... I can't do it Hinata. I can't stay in this village anymore. It's... suffocating me. Everyone watches me with suspicion, the elders wait for me to trip up, sending their ANBU to stalk me. Always, I am watched. I just want to be left alone," he tried to explain.
She nodded slowly, understanding how he felt. It may have been nearly three years but Sasuke hadn't forgotten, and neither had the villagers.
"I understand Sasuke-kun," Hinata said, looking at him with sad lavender eyes. "So, three months then?"
"Hn," he grunted, his face expressionless.
"Where will you go?" She asked him. He shrugged and Hinata looked down to study her shaking hands. "Will you return?" He looked at her sharply, hesitated and then slowly began to shake his head.
The grief overwhelmed her and Hinata felt her heart break in her chest. In three months, such a short amount of time, Sasuke would be gone from her life, forever. She tried to imagine what it would be like without him. Her training would suffer, she was certain. Neji and Kiba were too quick to let her win, whereas Sasuke would continue to push her to her limits so she would become stronger. She would also lose a very good friend. They had grown close and she had come to depend on him and his company. She barely dared to admit, but she had even come to love him in these past three years. He would leave a big, empty hole in her life.
"Sasuke-kun," she said quietly, when she had calmed down a little.
"Hai," was the simple response. She looked up at the restless Uchiha with pleading eyes.
"Will you grant me one thing, Sasuke-kun?" She begged him, her stomach dropping with fear as he saw his reluctance. "Just this one thing to make me happy."
"Hinata... I can't stay," Sasuke began warily.
"Ano, I know Sasuke-kun," she interrupted. "I understand why you need to leave. I want something else."
"What is it?" Sasuke asked curiously. Hinata dropped her eyes and stared down at the table.
"Please, Sasuke-kun," she begged. "Give me a child, your child." Sasuke's eyes widened with shock and he jumped to his feet.
"What you ask is impossible, Hinata," he cut out angrily, about to leap out the door.
"No, Sasuke-kun. Please wait. Hear me out," Hinata called out, jumping to put herself between him and the door.
"Hinata, I cannot do as you ask," Sasuke said, standing stiffly before her. She walked up to him, catching his shirt with her desperate hands.
"You're going to leave, Sasuke-kun," she said quietly. "And you're taking our whole future with you. We were going to get married one day, have strong, beautiful children. When you leave, all of that will be gone and I'll be alone." He watched, agonized, as the tears began to flow freely down her cheeks.
"Hinata... please don't ask this of me," Sasuke whispered, raising a hand to brush the tears from her face.
"Sasuke-kun, please leave me with something to remember you by. Something to ease the pain and grief in my heart. No-one needs to know that the baby is yours; I'll bring them up as a Hyuga if I must. But please, leave me with something. You can't take everything away from me and leave me with nothing. Give me at least part of the future you're taking with you!" Hinata entreated the raven-haired boy.
"Hinata," he pleaded. "Hinata, this is madness!" She shook her head firmly, gripping her eyes shut to halt the flow of her tears.
"This is what I want, Sasuke-kun. I will revive your clan for you with a son or daughter and you can leave the Uchiha legacy here with me. Then you can go where you like, knowing that your family is here, safe, and that the Uchiha bloodline will not be lost," Hinata explained, determined to sway him. She could see the hesitation in his eyes and pounced on it.
"Do this one thing for me, Sasuke-kun, please," Hinata said quietly. Sasuke shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose wearily.
"Hinata, I don't know if I could get you pregnant and just leave you and the baby here to fend for yourself. I'm not the kind of man who could do that," he explained, looking upset. Hinata stood back, considering this.
"As long as you stay in contact with me in some way then I will be happy. We'll set up a place where we can leave each other notes, say once a month," Hinata said slowly. "I'll tell you about our baby, send you pictures, and you can tell me where you are, what you're doing." Sasuke looked at her, pained.
"Hinata, are you sure this is what you want? Truly?" Sasuke asked, watching her with careful onyx orbs for any hint of doubt.
"Hai, Sasuke-kun. This is what I want, very much," Hinata said decisively. He nodded and pulled her against his chest, resting his chin against the top of her head. Sasuke inhaled her soft scent and shut his eyes.
She was making it more and more difficult to leave, something he had vowed to do as soon as he had been told of his three-year restriction to the village. He would do this for her and then, no matter how much it hurt her, and him, he would leave. He needed to, for the sake of his own sanity.
It had been difficult for them to keep their union secret, especially from her closest friends and family. Neji suspected something, she knew, but he never said anything. Hinata's feelings were all over the place; happiness, of course, about being with Sasuke, even considering his reserved temperament, sadness, that it would soon be over, and fear, always, that they would be found out. She needed an ally, someone to confide in who could help her. Although she had grown stronger and more confident in the past few years, Hinata knew that this was not something that she could do alone.
This is what had brought her to stand in front of the Lady Hokage's door, studying it with a worried frown as she struggled to summon the courage to open it. The choice was eventually taken from her as it opened to show the concerned face of Shizune.
'Hinata-sama, is everything alright?'
'Hai, Shizune-sama. I'm here to see Hokage-sama. Is she here?' Her voice shook with nerves and Shizune nodded, allowing her to enter despite her obvious concern.
'Shizune,' Tsunade barked after taking one look at Hinata, 'go and fetch some more sake.'
'Hai! Tsunade-sama!' Shizune responded sharply, rushing from the room without a single glance back. The large blonde woman then gestured for Hinata to take the seat placed in front of her desk. The silence stretched on and Hinata shifted uncomfortably in her chair, wondering where to begin.
'I need your help, Hokage-sama,' Hinata said eventually, staring at the floor. Her confidence was gone; all that was left was a shaky thread of hope that Tsunade would be able to aid her.
'Tell me everything,' Tsunade demanded, sounding bossy despite herself. She always forgot to be careful around Hinata. Although the woman had come a long way from the blushing, stuttering girl she had once been, Tsunade was conscious that it would not take much for the Hyūga to lose the confidence she had gained.
So Hinata told her everything, about Sasuke, how she loved him, how he had to leave, not to betray Konoha but because he felt trapped, about their plan, and finally about the life that might already be growing inside of her. Tsunade was shocked by the things that had been happening right under her nose. The ANBU had not reported Sasuke acting suspiciously so she was very surprised that they had managed to keep up the ruse for nearly two months.
She studied her hands and considered how they could possibly pull this off. Sasuke leaving and Hinata falling pregnant at roughly the same time would be too much of a coincidence for their fellow ninjas to accept blindly, particularly with no other men in Hinata's life to explain the baby. That would have to dealt with, and very soon at that. For now, her priority was to decide what to do about Sasuke.
'Get in here Uchiha,' she commanded. Hinata watched, confused and then surprised as Sasuke pushed open the window and stepped open. Her face softened as she realised that he had cared enough about her to watch out for her. Tsunade hid a smile as she inwardly marvelled how alike the Uchiha was to Kakashi, his sensei. The Copy Ninja also had an aversion to using her door, usually hanging around outside her window until she was ready to acknowledge him.
Sasuke stood beside Hinata, a blank look masking his emotions as he calmly met the Hokage's gaze. Her eyes flitted between the couple as she came to a decision. She nodded once and even Sasuke couldn't hide his relief. Some of the burden lifted from his shoulders. Hinata and his child would be safe and cared for. He would be able to leave now without the nagging guilt that had assaulted him since agreeing to Hinata's request.
'Come back tomorrow, Tsunade ordered. Hiding a smirk, Sasuke nodded and bowed. He grasped Hinata's hand and squeezed it with a small smile, and then he was gone. Shizune re-entered the room, now carrying the Hokage's beloved sake. He had left just in time.
'That will be all, Hinata,' Tsunade said kindly. Hinata stood up and smiled at the Hokage, bowing before she too left the room. Her spirit felt lighter and her hope that perhaps everything would be alright after all put a skip in her step.
Things were occurring quickly now that they had Lady Tsunade on their side. Hinata had begun to see Sai romantically, whereas Sasuke had started to back off. She had no feelings for the emotionless ANBU ninja obviously, but Sai's looks were similar to his own and so when their child was born, there would be no doubt amongst the villagers over the father presented to them.
He could see the benefits in the plan. Sai was loyal to the Hokage now that Danzo was dead and ROOT disbanded so the pale ninja would keep their secret. This meant that his family would be safe, and he would be able to leave behind this terrible feeling of suffocation that clawed at his chest. He didn't belong here, hadn't done so for a long time, despite what Naruto might think.
At least this time things would be different. He had achieved his revenge, bitter though it was in hindsight. Lady Tsunade had given him a top secret file that was addressed to him from the previous Hokage. Only the death of Danzo had allowed the seal to be broken and its contents to be read. The truth had shattered him.
Itachi's death had been for nothing. He was a hero in the eyes of the village, and Sasuke had ensured that the truth was made public so that his older brother would be honoured for his sacrifices. Sasuke was still angry of course, although their deaths had been necessary, he still lamented the death of his clan, leaving him as its sole heir.
Lady Tsunade had promised him that he wouldn't be followed by Konoha ninja, or labelled as a missing-nin. She would fabricate a reason for him leaving, some secret mission or another. Her public reasons for doing so would be that his three year restriction to the village was over; she intended to use his skills for the benefit of Konoha.
Privately, of course, it was just an excuse to allow him to leave safely. Hinata would rest much easier if she knew that Sasuke wasn't being pursued as a traitor. Tsunade also believed that Sasuke would return one day, and that this would make it much simpler. He did nothing to deter her from this train of thought. Although he considered it unlikely, it was impossible to tell what the future may hold. She could even be right.
So now he went around the village, saying farewell to his comrades, telling them that he was being sent on a top secret mission for the Hokage and that he was unsure of when he would return. They all swallowed it easily. It was believable, after all. Despite his defection, he was still one of the strongest ninjas in Konoha.
Finally he was ready to leave, and all that was left was for him to talk to Hinata one last time. He knocked on her door politely and listened with his heightened senses as she made her way to the door. She opened it and looked up at him with a sorrowful smile. Sasuke entered her home and followed Hinata to the couch where they stiffly sat beside each other.
The silence stretched on awkwardly as they struggled to find the words to say to one another. Sasuke was trying to figure out how to apologise for abandoning her and their future together, how to tell her he'd miss her and think of her often, how she was the only person who had made his life in the village bearable, how he was thankful to her support and encouragement, how leaving her was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. For a man of extreme reservation, it was near impossible to force the words from his lips. Hinata was just trying to figure out how to tell Sasuke that their plan had been successful. Finally, she just took a deep breath and blurted it out.
'I'm pregnant.' Sasuke's head whipped around and he looked at her with shock. Hinata was pregnant? Before, it had just been a possibility, something that he had tried not to think about. Now, it was a reality. Hinata was pregnant with his child. He looked down at his trembling hands, trying to decide whether or not it made a difference to his plans that he would be a father.
He had no idea what to do.
'I found out yesterday,' Hinata whispered, when it was obvious that Sasuke wasn't going to say anything. He nodded, watching as the emotions flitted across her expressive face. She was happy, but just as scared as he was. He frowned when Hinata started to cry.
Moving closer, he wrapped an arm around her back and allowed her to sob into his shirt. It made him uncomfortable, but his need to make Hinata feel better overrode everything else. She cried for a long time and Sasuke rested his face against her neck, breathing in the reassuring scent of her neck, feeling her soft blue hair rubbing against his face, finding comfort in her as she did in him.
After she had calmed down, she pulled back and told him everything she knew about the baby. She was already two months along with a healthy baby boy and his heart swelled with joy. A son, he was going to have a son. They discussed his plans, and again she made him promise to contact her often. When he finally left, his heart felt much lighter.
Much to Hinata's delight, Sasuke kept his promise, leaving her correspondence in a secret place on the outskirts of Konoha.
She made her way there today, although her pace was slow. It was harder now that she was nearly 6 months along. The swell of stomach was very noticeable and was beginning to hamper her movement.
The villagers had started to gossip about her and Sai, outraged at his refusal to make her an honest woman by marrying her. Hiashi in particular was furious, and refused to even look at her, such was his disappointment. Hinata didn't care about any of it, because growing inside of her was Sasuke's child, her future, and nothing was more important to her than this connection with the man she loved.
Her last letter had included an ultrasound of her baby and Hinata wondered what he had thought of it. He had wanted to be kept updated on the progress of her pregnancy and she knew he would have wanted to be there to witness her first ultrasound.
She finally reached the tree that hid their letterbox but found it empty. With a frown, she took in her surroundings, activating her Byakugan to see if he had placed it elsewhere. One a nearby tree she noticed a piece of paper held in place by a kunai. Hinata pulled both the note and the kunai down, looking down at the paper with a tender smile. It held only two words.
'Izoukei Uchiha.'
