Chapter 2:
*4 years later*
Hinata looked out the window, watching protectively as her young son ran around outside. He was a quiet child, though inquisitive. Everything was interesting to him, and there was nothing her little Izoukei loved more than to explore the large gardens of the Hyūga compound. It filled her with pleasure to see his black eyes light up with life and happiness. This is what Sasuke had wanted for their son; a happy, carefree childhood.
She spared a moment to wonder what the Uchiha was up to. Although he still checked in every few months via their correspondence, he still told her very little of what he was doing or where he was going. All she knew was that he moved around a lot, taking advantage of his freedom. Hinata missed him, but all that truly mattered was that he was happy and living the life he wanted.
Her only regret was that she couldn't tell Izoukei about his true father. Sai was good to her boy, to both of them, but it wasn't the same. All Hinata could do was try her best and hope that Sasuke would be as proud of their son as she was.
A knock at the door pulled her attention away from Izoukei and his absent father. Opening it, she found Sakura, who was looking down and scolding the wiggling ball of energy she held in her arms.
'Shinriku, settle down.' Hinata laughed and allowed her pink-haired friend and her son to enter. As soon as Sakura put the boy on the ground, he rushed off to join Izoukei outside.
'Sorry about that Hinata. He's really restless today,' Sakura apologised, walking over the same window that Hinata had been standing at only moments before. Hinata shook her head and smiled.
'Its fine Sakura, I understand. He's just like Naruto that way.' The two friends laughed, and watched as their sons greeted each other and began playing one of their mysterious games. It appeared to be along the lines of a top secret ninja mission, but as both boys were so young, Hinata knew that there would be no danger.
'So, Izoukei will be four soon,' Sakura mused, watching the black-haired boy as he ran and hid behind a tree.
'Hai, he's growing up so quickly,' Hinata agreed wistfully, thinking of how tiny he had been when he was born. Her whole world had narrowed in focus as her heart had swelled with love for this tiny human being. His eyes had blinked open then, and she had gasped to see that they were the same lilac shade as her own. Sasuke had been bemused but warned her that the Sharingan wasn't evident from birth as the Byakugan was, so there was still a chance for him to inherit the Uchiha kekkei genkai. With a sad smile Hinata moved away from the window to put on the kettle.
The two kunoichi spent a pleasant afternoon catching up on the village gossip, and Sakura moaned about Naruto spending more and more time with Lady Tsunade. She was priming him to become the next Hokage, as well as take up the Namikaze legacy left behind by his father. This left Sakura alone most of the time to deal with their incredibly energetic three-year old child, Shinriku.
Hinata was happy that their two children were friends. Their two heads, one black and the other strawberry blonde were often bent together as they planned their next lot of mischief. They kept her and Sakura busy, but Hinata preferred to be busy. She had far less time to think about Sasuke that way.
Suddenly Shinriku rushed inside and flew into his mothers lap, crying loudly. Hinata couldn't understand his words but could tell that Izoukei had scared him in some way. She ran out the door, searching for him desperately.
When she found him, he was sitting up in his tree house, his arms wrapped around his knees and his face hidden. He was shaking like a leaf.
Hinata jumped up and pulled her little son into her arms, whispering words of comfort as she brushed a hand through his hair reassuringly. He didn't seem to be injured, so she just held him and waited patiently for him to calm down.
He did eventually and she grasped his chin gently and pulled his face up so that she could look at him better. His eyes were squeezed shut and she frowned as he resumed shaking.
'Izoukei, what's wrong? Do your eyes hurt?' He shook his head, still refusing to open his eyes.
'Then what scared you, my little warrior?' She asked softly. He turned his face away and slowly opened his eyes. When he finally met her worried gaze, she gasped.
At a little less than four years old, Izoukei Uchiha had manifested the Sharingan.
She needed Sasuke.
Lady Tsunade agreed that it would be necessary for Sasuke to return, if only for a short while. Izoukei needed reassurance and some training; otherwise he could be a danger to others. Although the young boy hadn't hurt his friend Shinriku when his Sharingan eyes manifested for the first time, the potential to injure would always be there without the correct training.
Hinata was expecting Sasuke's next correspondence within the next few days, and so left him a letter explaining what had happened with their son and asking him to return.
In the interim, Izoukei was skittish and Hinata spent even more time with him than usual to reassure him that he hadn't done anything wrong, and that there was nothing wrong with him. However, her limited knowledge of the Sharingan wasn't enough to ease his fears. Always a sweet child, he now became moody and prone to tantrums. Getting him to go to bed was a nightmare.
He was restless at night, tossing and turning and waking up frequently. She had just managed to get him back to sleep after an hour long battle when a light knock sounded at her door. She glanced over at the clock, seeing that it was just after one in the morning. Hinata picked up a kunai and slowly approached the door, opening it a tiny crack as she peered at the person standing outside her home.
Seeing who it was, she dropped the kunai, whipped open the door and flung herself into the man's arms.
'Sasuke,' she whispered, smiling happily into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her carefully and rested his chin on top of her head. 'It's good to have you home.'
He pulled back and nodded, and she looked up at him happily. The Uchiha looked much the same, although he appeared to have grown even taller and his shoulders had gotten even broader. He was a tall, imposing man.
'Kaa-chan,' came a small voice from the hallway. 'Who is that man?' Hinata turned to look at her son and beckoned him to join her. He did so, looking shyly up at Sasuke, who was looking down at the boy with wide, shocked eyes. She had sent him pictures of course, but it was different to see the little boy in person. His son.
'Izoukei, this is Sasuke. He's going to be staying with us awhile,' Hinata explained, smiling at her son fondly.
'Why?' Izoukei insisted, looking at the tall man suspiciously. Hinata led him over to the couch and sat down, pulling him onto the seat next to her. Sasuke followed suit, sitting down in a chair opposite to them. Father and son studied each other wordlessly, while Hinata smiled at both of them.
Izoukei turned to his mother and pouted, looking annoyed that she hadn't answered his question. Sasuke smirked and leaned back in his chair, while raising an eyebrow at Hinata questioningly.
'It's alright Sasuke. You can tell him the truth.' Sasuke nodded while Izoukei looked confused.
'What truth?' He demanded, looking between the two adults. Hinata laughed and kissed his forehead.
'Izoukei,' Sasuke began, looking uncomfortable, 'I'm your father.' Izoukei blinked, slowly turning to look at his mother for confirmation. She nodded seriously. He sat silently for a few minutes, considering, then he looked up at the man claiming to be his father. He shook his head furiously, disbelieving.
'No he's not,' the little Uchiha stated imperiously, as if that was the end of the matter. Hinata looked down at her son tenderly and ruffled his hair. He looked up at her, annoyed, and pushed her hand away. He then turned to stare grumpily at the impostor claiming to be his father.
Sasuke smirked, leaned forwards, and activated his Sharingan. Izoukei gasped, taking in the deep, hypnotic red of Sasuke's eyes that looked so similar to his own. He than ran away into his bedroom, managing to push his door shut. Hinata watched him go while Sasuke looked bemused and deactivated his Sharingan.
'That went well,' Hinata mumbled.
'Hn,' Sasuke agreed.
'So now what,' she mused, turning to look out the window.
'We'll go see the Hokage in the morning,' Sasuke responded. 'She'll know what our next step should be. Hinata nodded, realising that he was correct. Thanks to her discussion with Lady Tsunade a few days ago, the busty woman would have had plenty of time to come up with a good plan.
With this decided Hinata got up and prepared the spare room for Sasuke. She had meant to do it as soon as she had sent the letter to him, but Izoukei had clung to her and demanded her undivided attention.
He stood at the door watching her as she made up the bed for him with fresh sheets. She seemed content to bustle around in silence but he had a few things he wanted to say.
'You've done well with our son, Hinata,' Sasuke said quietly. Hinata paused and looked over at him. She was blushing but she looked quite pleased.
'Thankyou, Sasuke,' she responded. 'It's been hard at times, but Sai does what he can and Neji comes over a lot.'
'Where is Sai?' Sasuke asked curiously. 'Doesn't he live here?'
'You've changed,' Hinata said, deflecting his question. Sasuke raised a single eyebrow at her and waited for to elaborate. 'You never used to be so talkative,' she teased. Sasuke smirked.
'I guess I have changed,' Sasuke said with a shrug, 'but that still doesn't answer my question.' Hinata looked at the floor, frowning.
'He doesn't live here anymore. I didn't really know him that well and he wasn't right for Izoukei. The older Izoukei got, the more Sai seemed to avoid the house. We, well we spilt, for lack of a better term. It's for the best,' Hinata said. Sasuke frowned, becoming angry that Sai had abandoned Hinata and Izoukei after he had promised to look after them.
'You never told me,' Sasuke grumbled. Hinata sighed.
'I knew you would have felt that you should come back, even though you needed to stay away. I didn't want to take away your freedom; that was never my intention.'
Sasuke nodded, accepting her answer. She knew him too well. That was exactly what he would have done, and though he felt guilty for not being here for Hinata and Izoukei, he knew that he would have come to resent them both for keeping him in Konoha.
'I feel bad that you were here alone,' he said finally.
'You don't need to feel bad, Sasuke. Izoukei brings only joy to my life. I will never regret him, or you,' Hinata protested, looking up at him fondly.
Sasuke walked to stand in front of her, looking down at her features as if memorising them. She had grown even more beautiful while he had been away, and she had given birth to their wonderful son. He didn't know how long he would be staying this time, but he intended to get to know his son and train him to be a strong ninja.
As he pulled Hinata into a hug and breathed in her familiar scent, Sasuke knew that he was home, for now, and it was enough.
As last time, he was struck by how much the village had changed in his long absence. People that he knew had gotten married, had children, passed away, moved, defected. It was strange to think that the world had carried on, business as usual, without him around to witness it.
It hadn't taken long for him to run into his old team-mates, Naruto and Sakura, and he had stopped still as he stared at their son. It was… weird. The boy was only a few months younger than Izoukei and displayed all the loud, boisterous energy that his son thankfully lacked. He was pleased to find that his son was actually quite similar to himself at the same age, although Sasuke thought that he might be more similar to Itachi in looks.
The child had taken one look at him and hidden behind Sakura though, which had made him smirk. Naruto had then insisted on dragging Sasuke down to the local bar and reminiscing, which is why Sasuke now found himself squashed between Naruto and Kiba, watching on distastefully as they chucked down shots of sake in some sort of drinking game.
'I win!' Naruto yelled drunkenly as he launched to his feet in victory. Sasuke smirked openly when the blonde shinobi then fell to the floor, cursing loudly. Kiba managed to finish his last shot and then his head dropped down to the table as he passed out. Shino, who had been sitting on the other side of Kiba, put the young ninja over his shoulder and walked wordlessly from the bar.
'Yeah, you better walk away,' Naruto slurred from the floor. Sasuke shook his head, utterly bemused.
His attention was then caught by Neji, who was attempting to subdue a drunken Lee, who was dancing rather dangerously in the middle of the dance floor. Many people were knocked to the ground and Neji looked over at him beseechingly. With a flash, Sasuke appeared in front of Lee and caught him in a genjutsu with his Sharingan eyes.
'Bushy-brow,' Naruto mumbled as he watched Neji drag the still figure of Lee from the bar as well. Now it was just Naruto and Sasuke left, and he wondered if he too should ensure that his comrade got home safely. Sakura would be furious if he left Naruto in the bar in his current state, and the pink-haired kunoichi was strong enough and determined enough to make sure he'd regret it.
With a sigh, Sasuke helped Naruto stand and walk out of the bar. It had taken a very large amount of alcohol to get his blonde friend drunk, but he figured that this probably had to do something with the Kyuubi and his accelerated healing rate. Already Naruto seemed more coherent than ten minutes ago.
'Sassssuke, hic, missed you,' Naruto hiccuped. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
'Hn. You're drunk,' he responded.
'No, no,' Naruto insisted, 'I'm not, hic, drunk. Hic, I'm just happy you're back.' Naruto looked up at him with a large, cheesy grin, as if to illustrate how happy he was. Sasuke just scowled.
'Come on, dobe,' he said, dragging Naruto in the direction of his home. Unfortunately, they didn't get very far before Naruto pitched forward. Sasuke rolled him over and found that he had passed out. With an aggravated growl, he picked up the blonde ninja and carried him over his shoulder.
Sakura opened the door for them, and rolled her eyes at the state Naruto was in.
'Through here, Sasuke-kun,' she gestured towards a room down the hall. He carried Naruto through the house and dumped him on the bed carelessly. He might be a strong ninja, but carrying a full grown man was still difficult.
'Thanks,' Sakura said from the doorway, looking tenderly down at her husband. Sasuke shrugged and walked past her, back out into the street. She waved as she shut the door behind him but Sasuke pretended not to see. Uchihas don't wave.
Running quickly, he returned to Hinata's apartment, eager to see her after the long day he'd had. Tsunade had kept him in her office for most of the day, drilling him over the things he'd done in his four year absence and finding out what his future plans were. However, he had refused to make a decision about his future, and his son's future, without Hinata. Hopefully she would still be awake so that they could discuss it a little tonight.
When he slipped open the door, it was to find Hinata and Izoukei curled up together on the couch, asleep, a late night movie flickering on the television in front of them. He allowed himself a rare smile as he looked down at the only family he had left.
Tenderly, he lifted up Izoukei and carried the boy into his bedroom. Once he was tucked in, Sasuke stood over his bed, watching him sleep for a few minutes. It was an amazing feeling, seeing that little chest rise and fall, and thinking that this little being existed because of him. He, the avenger, had instead of taking life, created one.
Finally he returned to the lounge room to do the same for Hinata. Thankfully she didn't stir as he relocated her into her bedroom, allowing him soon time to study her unnoticed.
She had become an even stronger person over the last four years, and he regretted that he had been unable to stay in Konoha and witness her growth. The Hinata he had come to know when he had returned to Konoha had been a remarkable woman whose shyness hid her quiet strength. However, since she had become involved with him and given birth to Izoukei, she seemed to have come out of her shell even more. It pleased him.
As he gently lay her down onto the bed, he felt a wave of longing to renew his relationship with her, perhaps even stay in Konoha for good. It would be hard for him to stay in the village that he hated for manipulating and ruining his life, but he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps staying with Hinata would make it worthwhile.
I shall at least consider it, Sasuke vowed to himself, for her sake.
With a kiss to her forehead that made her mumble in her sleep and smile, Sasuke left the room.