The next morning had come. The soothing warmth of the sun heated Hinata's bare skin. The light's rays bombarded her eyelids, urging her to wake and to face yet another day. Surrendering, she sleepily pondered what time it was as she peeked her eyes open in the direction of Naruto's alarm clock.
It was ten minutes past ten o'clock, and Hinata admonished herself inwardly for oversleeping. Between her and Naruto, Hinata had always been the early bird, beginning the day just after the sun rose. Naruto would usually snore the first two hours of the morning, waking only to the smell of his breakfast, usually a bowl of ramen. Hinata lazily dragged herself out of the bed and wrap herself in a blanket. She quickly tiptoed to the bathroom as she recalled last night's walk home with Sasuke.
Sasuke had remained completely silent on their trip back to Naruto's apartment. The only thing that was spoken between them was a polite goodbye before Sasuke disappeared into the night, leaving her alone with nothing but her thoughts.
Her quiet contemplation led to the decision that she needed some time off from being a ninja. She had seen many people die, but she had never known what it felt like to lose someone special. Not until now.
Even when her mother died, she was too young to really grasp the loss, unlike her father, so she was never affected by it. Now that Naruto was gone, Hinata understood her father's pain and the loss of his ambition to do even the most mundane activities. Unlike Hiashi, however, Hinata did not have someone to carry out missions or continue her life for her while she coped with her loss. No, she would have to take some time for herself.
Hinata stared at herself in the bathroom mirror as she tried to imagine how the Hokage was going to react. Surely Tsunade, who was just as close to Naruto as Hinata was, would be understanding. Hinata's plight for a leave of absence wasn't that outrageous. Still, the fear that Tsunade would consider her weak for not being able to cope while maintaining her duties to the village lingered in the forefront of Hinata's mind. Trying not to give the upcoming exchange anymore thought, Hinata slid on her normal ninja attire and headed for the door.
Hinata walked down the busy streets of the leaf village returning greetings to anyone that recognized her. She rounded a corner of one of the main streets and was surprised to see a small crowd gathered out in front of the gates of the Uchiha compound.
"What's going—" Hinata started, her question was quickly answered before she could even finish by the large explosion that rattled the ground around the compound.
"What the hell was that?" One of the villagers screamed out. The second explosion caused even more curious onlookers to gather. Hinata had to push her way through the crowd until she stood between the villagers and the large wooden doors of the Uchiha complex entrance.
"Are we in danger?" A frightened villager asked. Hinata had no idea, but she assumed that they weren't or there would have been other ninjas here by now. She activated her Byakugan to scan the supposedly empty complex. She was caught by surprise when her pale eyes met the crimson pools of Sasuke's Sharingan looking back at her. She gasped, quickly deactivating her Byakugan, a little embarrassed to be caught spying on the missing nin. Hinata swiftly turned towards the crowd of people still trying to get a glimpse at what was going on when a firm hand grasped her shoulder, pulling her inside the complex.
"Come in." Sasuke's voice cut through the now silent crowd. Before Hinata could utter a reply, she was already trapped behind the closing entrance doors.
"O-Ok," Hinata said belatedly. Her consent was more given to the air than Sasuke, who hadn't asked her to enter but merely told her to. The large oak doors closed, cutting off the curious onlookers from the village.
Once more, Hinata found herself walking silently next to Naruto's brother for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. Without asking for an explanation from Hinata about why she was spying on him, Sasuke walked back to the spot where he had been earlier. The entire area looked like a battlefield.
Dismembered parts from destroyed training dummies littered the grounds. There were kunai and shrunken everywhere. They were all over the grounds, the walls, and many wedged in vital points of the still standing training dolls. Craters left portions missing out of some of the buildings. What was left of the iron beams and concrete block struggled to keep from collapsing.
"Oh my god. Wh-What happened here?" Hinata asked as the tips of her fingers ran along the jagged edge of one of the walls that had been penetrated. She turned towards Sasuke who seemed completely unaffected that parts of his former home had been brutally demolished.
"Grieving" Sasuke said coolly. He walked over to one of the training dummies and pulled his katana out from its wooden neck, making Hinata cringed as her mind exchanged the dummy for a real person who would have undoubtedly died from the wound. As he put the sword back into the hilt that was attached to his side, a wave of understanding washed over Hinata. This destruction was Sasuke's doing. This was how he grieved for his loved ones.
"Was there a reason you were spying on me?" Sasuke's blunt question cut through Hinata's mental trail-off, bringing her back to reality and causing her cheeks to tinge a light shade of pink at his accusation.
"I-I wasn't spying. There was an explosion. Then I saw the crowd and wanted to…" Hinata let her sentence die. Sasuke wasn't even paying attention to her anyway. She looked over into the direction that held Sasuke's interest and realized that he hadn't even asked her the question in the first place. A single ANBU stood on top of one of the buildings that were still standing.
"The Hokage wishes to see you." The ANBU member said curtly then vanished in a puff of smoke. Sasuke snorted callously and began to walk towards the gate once more. Again Hinata found herself quietly looking at Sasuke's back as he paused once more in his own 'are you coming?' stance. She followed him out of the complex, and he nodded her farewell.
It took Hinata about an hour before she reached the Hokage tower. She walked up the stairs ignoring the sad looks and solemn faces that passed her by. It seems that Tsunade-sama's pain had spread throughout the tower. It seemed the only beacon of light in the entire building was Shizune who greeted Hinata with a bright hello when the crossed each other in the hallway.
"Hinata, it's good to see you! How is everything?" Shizune asked with a bright smile.
"G-Good. Is Tsunade-sama in her office?" Hinata asked.
"Yes, but be careful -- she's in a foul mood." Shizune warned. "It seems she is still in there with the Uchiha boy. That boy must have a death wish to anger Tsunade-sama the way he has. She's already torn down nearly half of her office! It seems now, the two are in a screaming match." Shizune said in a hushed voice.
Hinata looked at Shizune in a confused manner. "What?" Hinata asked.
"What were you doing at the Uchiha compound?" Shizune asked accusingly. Shizune eyed Hinata pryingly, causing Hinata to blush slightly at the allegation .
"T-There was an explosion and I went to check—" Hinata paused, confused by Shizune's insinuation. "How did you know I was there?" Hinata asked.
"Who do you think the ANBU member was?" Shizune said with a slight smile. Clearly she was referring to Neji. The two had been seeing a lot of each other before the funeral. The look of school girl passion that masqueraded all over Shizune's face was more than enough information that Neji was the one that delivered the message. A sudden crash and the booming voice of Tsunade broke the awkward moment between the two, and Shizune quickly continued on her way out of the tower and away from the Hokage's warpath.
The dimly lit stairwell leading to the Hokage's office rumbled slightly, unsettling the dust from the ceiling above. Hinata moved cautiously, unsure if the whole building was about the collapse from underneath her. Clearly Tsunade and Sasuke were still up in her office arguing. That much could be told both by the buildings rattle that had been instigated by Tsunade's fury and by quickened footsteps of everyone that had been near the office and was now hurrying to vacate the Hokage building. Whatever the two were arguing about, it must have been big Hinata mused. After a few more moments of unsteady ascension, Hinata finally reached the intimidating oak doors of the Hokage's office.
Standing face to face with the door, Hinata understood everyone's rush to abandon the tower. Shizune's warning of Tsunade's rare fit of rage was an understatement. The hallway had been obliterated, furniture that once sat neatly inside Tsunade's office was now scattered in a broken heap along the hallway floor. The scene was worst than Sasuke's compound, and off-handedly Hinata contemplated if all her ninja companions used violence to help them grieve the loss of a loved one.
"Like I have said before, I have had several other ninja request the same mission. I will tell you the same thing I told Shikamaru, the same thing I told Ino and Chouji, the same thing I told Kakashi! I will not allow any ninja from this village to investigate the Akatsuki simply for a chance at revenge!" Tsunade shouted. Even her voice made the windows behind her quiver. It was obvious she was still emotional after the loss of both Sakura and Naruto. Tsunade's puffy red eyes had become a permanent addition to her face despite the henge she used to conceal her true age. Both Tsunade and Sasuke stood standing face to face with each other in the middle of the room. Her balled fist and heavy breathing were more than enough to answer the what-the-hell-happened-here question that sat quietly on the tip of Hinata's tongue.
"I am not a Ninja of this village," Sasuke said, advancing towards Tsunade, who in turned clenched her fists hard enough to draw blood from her palms. "I do not take orders from you," Sasuke seethed out, yet again taking another step forward. "I'm not asking you if can I go hunt down and kill Sakura and Naruto's murderer. I'm telling you I am. I will avenge them with or without the help of the Leaf."
Sasuke's words froze Hinata in place. She could do nothing but listen to Naruto's brother as he continued, "I want their names Tsunade. I want—"
Sasuke's words were cut off as he was launched from the ground into the east wall. Tsunade was done listening. Sasuke's body slammed through the wall, leaving a small crater in the mortar and brick that was hidden beneath it. Slowly he got up and faced Tsunade. The look of rage on his face was masked from the dust and debris that had yet to settle, but his eyes were clearly visible. His Sharingan glowed with anger, causing the breath to flee Hinata's lungs in fear.
"How dare you," Tsunade seethed. Hinata's eyes whipped over to see the fuming Hokage, her anger overshadowing Sasuke's rage.
"If you hadn't deserted this village, they wouldn't have died." Tsunade whispered as she slowly gripped the side of her desk, one of the last things in the office still standing. "If you had been there…" she trailed lifting the desk off the ground, but immediately losing her resolve to hurl it at the young ninja. Sasuke's demeanor had changed with Tsunade's last words. He hung his head down as he moved across the room and picked up a chair to sit on.
"They would still be alive. I know." Sasuke said in a hushed voice. The tension between the two melted away and was instantly replaced with sorrow. Hinata watched as the two took seats on whatever looked sturdy enough to handle their weight. "I need his name, Hokage-sama." Sasuke continued in an almost pleading voice.
The room filled with an anxious silence as Tsunade thought about her next words. From the corner of her eye Tsunade caught a glimpse of Hinata who was too busy staring at Sasuke. Her eyes scanned over the kunoichi who had become hypnotized by Sasuke's plight. Hinata's grip tightened around the hitai-ate in her hands. She twisted the cloth around tightly, waiting for the next words to be spoken from either Tsunade or Sasuke. Tsunade could see that the young man's wish to avenge both he and Hinata's lovers was not just his, but Hinata's as well even if she would never say it.
"Pein." Tsunade said, looking at Hinata, who was now staring back at her. "His name is Pein. He is the leader of the Akatsuki." Sasuke sat for a moment longer as the info sank in before he stood up to leave.
"Wait," Tsunade said as she turned to her desk and pulled out a Konoha hitai-ate.
Sasuke shook his head in refusal, "I am no longer a ninja of this village—" Sasuke began, but he was cut off once more. Tsunade was in his face staring at the slightly taller Uchiha.
"Let me tell you something boy. You think this is your fight? You think the deaths of two of Konoha's precious people go ignored from everyone here? I have denied every request from every ninja in your generation who has demanded vengeance against Pein while fighting back the urge to hunt him down myself. I listened to you when you came into my office, like this village owes you something because your parents we killed by a previous Hokage's orders, and demanded information like you should be privileged to it. You do not get to kill Pein for your own selfishness. You will wear this head band, her headband because you will avenge Sakura and Naruto for all of us." Tsunade finished, leaving both Sasuke and Hinata speechless.
Sasuke looked down at the hitai-ate. Sakura had been dead for nearly a week now, yet the faint scent of lavender still filled Sasuke's nostrils. It was her scent. He huffed out a breath and wrapped the hitai-ate around his forehead. After all this was Sakura's hitai-ate, and because of that, he would proudly wear the Leaf's headband again. Even he could see the truth in Tsunade's words. He may not be a Konoha ninja anymore but even this village deserved retribution. He stood up and headed for the door and was slightly surprised that he had not noticed that Hinata was standing behind him. He glanced down to meet the eyes of the young girl. She didn't say anything to him and he didn't say anything back. After a brief moment he tore his gaze away from Hinata's and walked out of the Hokage's office.
The quiet exchange between her and Sasuke left Hinata's mind in such a haze that when Tsunade questioned her about her reason for being there, she had completely forgotten the reason herself.
"Um, I-I…" Hinata began. The fog created by Sasuke and Tsunade's exchange had been lifted and now Hinata remembered why she had made this trip to the Hokage's office in the first place. However, now Hinata found herself fighting the urge to walk right out of the Hokage's office and back to Sasuke, who was actually going to do find Naruto and Sakura's killer.
"Hinata-san?" Tsunade asked concerned when Hinata's sentence trailed off.
"Why him?" Hinata blurted out. The question that had escaped Hinata's mind, shocking both Tsunade and herself as it hit their ears.
"Why him alone? Why not a team, or just Kakashi-sensei, or Neji-kun? Why just him?" She continued. Their argument and Tsunade's words had stirred something inside of Hinata. Never had she questioned a decision that the Hokage made, but after hearing that so many of Konoha's shinobi wanted revenge against the Akatsuki she needed to know why Tsunade picked Uchiha, Sasuke.
There was a brief silence in the room as Tsunade thought about her answer. "He's more like Naruto than he thinks." Tsunade said as she took a seat on her battered desk.
"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but I do not understand." Hinata replied, confused by the revelation.
"Naruto was someone that would travel to the ends of the earth for a friend because that what was most important to him." Tsunade continued. Her face brightened as memories of Naruto filled her mind. "He lived his life for his friends. Helping them was all he knew."
"Sasuke lives his life seeking revenge. That was all he knew. Once his brother, Itachi, is dead, he would be forced to try and find a new life, one that didn't revolve around vengeance. Now that his new loved ones are taken from him again, he will do what ever it takes to get revenge on who ever is responsible." Tsunade huffed out loudly as she surveyed the disaster area that used to be her office. "Besides, I don't think this office would be able to take anymore of a beating if I had kept saying no."
Outside of the Hokage tower, Hinata stood looking over in the direction of the Uchiha compound. What Tsunade said about Sasuke's life laid heavily on her mind. What did she live her life for? Naruto lived to protect everyone in the village, and Sakura lived for same thing. Had she been living to protect the village? Or was it just to protect Naruto? And now that he was gone, what now?
Every thought prompted her with more questions as Hinata meandered though the village streets. Her eyes inattentively scanning passed the homes and shops that she walked by. A sense of familiarity pulled Hinata back to reality. She found herself standing once again in front of the Uchiha gates just as the door creaked itself open.
Uchiha, Sasuke was just as surprised to see Hinata standing in front of his home as she was to be there. Both looked at each other awkwardly for a moment before Sasuke spoke, "What do you want?" He asked a little too harshly.
Hinata's hands clenched into tight balls as a fit of nervousness struck her. She dropped her mouth to speak, but suddenly found the words impossible to say. "I-I-I…" she stammered out, receiving a look of indignation from the short tempered Uchiha. Apparently not even Naruto's widowed fiancée was spared from his complete lack of patience. His stern "why the fuck are you bothering me" gaze left Hinata unhinged as she took a step back from the door.
Truthfully, Hinata had no idea why she was there. Her mind raced as she desperately searched for an answer to Sasuke's question. She remembered her earlier visit to the Uchiha compound. The caved in walls and the demolished dummies came to the forefront of her mind then. What had he called it? "G-G-Grieving…" she mumbled aloud.
Another painful silence passed as Sasuke stood glaring at Hinata. After what felt like an hour Sasuke turned around and walked back into his compound. Hinata imagined a big "follow me" painted on Sasuke's back as she trailed behind him. They both walked in silence as always. Hinata fumbled with her inner thoughts while Sasuke lead her back to where he had been before. The shock of seeing a war zone in the back of the Uchiha compound had dissipated, so this time Hinata continued to only partially mind her surroundings as she manically tried to understand why she was here in the first place.
Grieving. That's what she had told Sasuke. The evening sun had painted the destroyed area a dark orange, casting long menacing-looking shadows over the ground. The bleak, slightly scary surroundings coupled with Sasuke less-than-comforting company was not the ideal grieving site that Hinata had imagined for herself. Sobbing alone in the pitch black bedroom of Naruto's apartment was looking better and better as the seconds of nervous waiting dawdled pass.
"You can use whatever you like," Sasuke said as he lazily looked around for a surviving training dummy. "There are extra weapons, targets, and training dolls in the shed over there." He continued as he pointed over to a two story, grey colored building. The distinctive building was one of two structures that had not felt the blunt end of Sasuke's wrath as they were the only two still standing in relatively good condition.
"I'm sure you can let yourself out, but if you get lost, I am going to the other end of the compound…" Sasuke's voice trailed off as he turned and began to walk away.
A few minutes passed as Hinata just sat there in the open space of the Uchiha compound. She rested her chin on the balls of her fist as she wondered what it was she was supposed to do here.
Hinata smiled as the blades of grass underneath her legs tickled her skin and reminded her of the summer afternoon spent in the grassy open area above the Hokage monument with Naruto.
Reaching into her shuriken holster, Hinata pulled out one of her kunai, "What the hell…" she whispered to herself as she got back up to her feet and into her fighting stance. She could hear the thunderous explosion as Sasuke destroyed another building. It reminded her that many of the other Konoha ninja were venting their frustrations in a similar way.
She focused on the head of the training dummy that was in front of her. The straw man was missing the lower half of his body, courtesy of Sasuke. Hinata took a few steps forward before throwing the kunai as hard as she could to the dummy, splitting his forehead in two upon impact. Barely winded, Hinata took in a deep breathe, surprised at how good it felt to split the dummy's head open.
Sasuke sucked in deep breaths as he struggled to keep his balance against one of the splintered tree trunks that were scattered across the field. He knew the effects of chakra drainage were setting in. His limbs felt like lead and his body was barely able to support itself. He lifted his heavy left arm to his face, wiping away the sweat that threatened to blur his eyesight and distort the target in front of him.
"Just two more," He encouraged himself between deep breaths. The new area Sasuke had trashed was just as decimated as the previous. A number of training dummies stilled smoldered from the flames of his last fireball. Two building lay reduced to rubble and several trees had been distorted to gnarled, blacked ruins. Sasuke surveyed his handy work as he tried to control his labored breathing. He was exhausted, but that was the plan. In his exhaustion he couldn't feel any pain beyond his own body.
He looked to his right at the two dummies that were left standing, deciding that he would spare those two for the day. Besides, he needed to go a check up on Hinata. It had been really quiet over in that direction, but Sasuke could still sense her in the compound. He wondered if she had even hit anything or if she just stood there looking at the dummies, stupefied like she had been when he left her.
A small smirk rose from the corners of Sasuke's mouth as he took in the sight of the equally exhausted Hinata removing a shuriken from the head of one of the freshly positioned training dummies. Her Byakugan was still active, evident from the protruding veins that stemmed from her eyes and trailed back to her hairline. She breathed heavily as she inched back a few feet from the training doll before she embedded two new kunai and the same shuriken back into the head of the defenseless dummy. Hinata's exhausted frame slouched over as her throwing hand hung out in front of her long after the shuriken nailed its target.
"I think that's enough for the day." Sasuke remarked coolly as he walked over to one of the training dummies and removed Hinata's weapons from its vital points.
Hinata doubled over as she quickly tried to catch enough breath to speak, "I'm… sorry for staying for so long. I was just practicing and lost track…" She trailed off, deciding it was more important to keep breathing than to speak.
Sasuke said nothing at first he just continued his leisurely walk around the target dummies removing what was Hinata's weapons. Once he had finished he presented all shuriken and kunai to Hinata who had taken a seat on the ground. Sasuke looked over towards the guard walls around the Uchiha complex as if someone was watching him, then once satisfied that there was no one there he took a seat down on the ground next to Hinata.
As if the close proximity between the two of them wasn't enough to make Hinata feel uneasy, what happen after Sasuke had sat down was enough to knock the wind right out of her. "When I'm out here, training… I can clear my mind sort of," Sasuke said.
Hinata fought hard to control the flabbergasted look on her face. Was he talking to her? Hinata opened her mouth to say something, but quickly cut herself off as she caught a glimpse of the equally shocked Sasuke who was looking as if she had committed a crime simply by listening.
"Never mind," He muttered as he stood up on his feet. Hinata followed suit, quickly rising to her feet as well. Seemed like the bonding was over, and she had overstayed her welcome. Hinata gathered her things and began to walk away before Sasuke voice called out to her again.
"Fight me." He simply said as if his invitation was how he departed with all his house guest.
"What?! Why?!" Hinata asked looking around to make sure that Sasuke was in fact talking to her.
Already, he had removed the purple rope-belt from his waist, "It'll help. When you're fighting someone else, you have to focus on them and nothing else. Trust me." He said as he stood in a fighting stance.
"I don't really want—" Hinata began but he words were cut off as Sasuke didn't wait for an answer. He had already advanced towards her, sending his left palm upwards towards her chin. Hinata narrowly dodged out of the way of his warning shot. She knew the next one would not be so kind. And she was right. Hinata clumsily blocked his next three attacks, each one picking up speed against the pervious. It wasn't until after Hinata tripped over her own foot did Sasuke grab her to catch her from falling.
"T-Thank—"Hinata's next words, as well as the wind was kicked out of her as Sasuke's left knee slammed against Hinata's chest.
"Stop messing around and fight back." Sasuke commanded.
"I-I don't really want to fight you…" Hinata said as she struggled to catch her breath again.
"I'm fighting, you're on the ground." Sasuke replied.
His remark stung, and when he attempted to kick the crouched kunoichi, Sasuke received a stiff elbow to his chin. Staggering back few steps to regain his composure, Sasuke returned his focus back to Hinata who stood ready to attack again.
"Good, finally." Sasuke said as his lips curved into smirk.
Although Sasuke had finally gotten Hinata to fight him somewhat seriously, the fight between the two was disappointedly one sided. Hinata sent strike after strike towards Sasuke who was now simply parrying them off with the hilt of sword. "Pathetic, did you and the idiot ever train together?" Sasuke asked.
Every so often, with any blocked, dodged, or parried attack Sasuke gave Hinata his own little words of motivation. Although in the back of his mind, he had felt remorse about insulting Naruto's fighting ability, but the purpose of the insults were served. Each time Hinata's attacks became faster and deadlier as her anger towards Sasuke rose.
"Don't you dare insult Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled out as she swiftly sent a kick to Sasuke's stomach.
Barely finding the time to block, Sasuke used the sheath of his katana to bare the brunt of Hinata's attack. Although Sasuke successfully blocked, her forceful kick still sent his body skidding backwards.
"I think that was the first real attack you've done all day," Sasuke said as he pressed his hand to his own chest.
"Well I thought you were… I didn't want to hurt you." Hinata said apologetically.
Sasuke stared at her incredulously. Anger rose up inside him as well. "You hurt me? You can barely hit me! No wonder Naruto got himself killed! All of you act like you don't have what it takes to do what's necessary when—" that was all Sasuke could get out before he had to stop talking and dodge the speeding kunai that was aimed for his face.
Hinata had missed, but barely. She stood there glaring down at the ground. Sasuke had done more than make her angry. For the first time ever Sasuke could feel a deathly killer intent emanating from Hinata. The rare occurrence would have to be observed later however as the sound of a faint crackle cause Sasuke to turn around just as the last bits of the exploding tag burned.
Quickly dashing to his right, Sasuke struggled to stay just inches ahead of the explosion that followed. He was both shocked and impressed. Even in her livid anger, she still managed to place an exploding tag on the kunai.
"Hakke…" Sasuke's eyes widen at Hinata voice from behind him. She had quickly moved behind his body that was suspended helplessly in mid air.
"…Rokujuuyon Shou!" Hinata finished as her hands flew at blinding speed towards Sasuke's tenketsu.
Hinata's first two strikes connected, but to her surprise Sasuke had already replaced his real body with a Kawarimi. The log fell to the ground after being struck be Hinata's two fingers. She dully watched at the heavy wood bounced and rolled before coming to a complete stop.
It was then that the real Sasuke appeared behind her, thrusting his open palm into her back. A smile of victory grew of Sasuke's face. He was still surprised that Hinata had become somewhat of a challenge towards the end. "Good work—" Sasuke began, but once more he was caught by surprise as the Hinata in front of him popped into thin air.
"A Kage Bunshin?" He asked himself aloud.
"Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou!" The real Hinata called out from the shocked, defenseless Sasuke.
Hinata excitedly rushed towards Sasuke. She had him now, he had fallen for her trap flawlessly and now he was going to pay for underestimating her. Hinata pulled her arm back in preparation for landing her first strike on Sasuke's left side. In the spilt second that she looked in his eyes she saw the spinning black tomes amid the deep red sea of the Mangekyou Sharingan.
"Tsukuyomi."