A Family

by Loeka

Sasuke vowed he'd become a great ninja. On his own, he isn't yet. But together they are. Together, there's nothing in the world that can stand in their way. Not even his brother. (or, Naruto with 50% less angst and 100% more fluff)

2. Chapter 2

Seeing Naruto the next morning, seeing him seated at the table in the spot that's been empty for so long, makes the fact that he's home hit him all over again.

The impact would have been greater if he'd already had some coffee. As it is, he greets Naruto with a grunt, gets a yawn and a lethargic wave in return, and goes to fill a mug.

It's nice to see that Naruto still doesn't do mornings. He does, however, summon. A rat with fur more grey than brown is nestled within the mess of his hair, apparently finding his head the perfect place to get comfortable. Their eyes are closed but the movements of their ears show that they're awake. Sasuke calls up Naruto's letters to see if he mentioned a rat summon.

He did. The rat is named Nezumi, an elderly tracker that was Naruto's sixth summon. Activating his Sharingan for a blink, he learns that Nezumi is – a sensor, nearing the end of his lifespan, used to resting on Naruto's head. Enjoying the feeling of Naruto's chakra – dozing, not paying any true attention to what's going on. Despite that, his situational awareness rivals that of Kakashi. Those whiskers miss nothing.

Kakashi, his own breakfast already finished and seated next to the kids to ensure they finish their meal without making too much of a mess, greets him with a smile. Rin wishes him good morning with her usual articulateness, while Obito waves at him excitedly. Sasuke replies with another grunt.

He'll never be able to understand how Kakashi can enjoy looking after the kids this early. Rin is fine for the most part, but looking after Obito requires more brain power than he's willing to spare at this hour. Case in point, Obito's wave almost knocked over his bowl of rice. The only reason he didn't is because Kakashi prevented that from happening with the unending patience he has for his kittens.

Meiri, not a morning person either, hums a greeting while she finishes pouring herself a mug of coffee. She takes a seat next to Naruto and asks him how he slept in his old room. Naruto grins and tells her he's missed his bed.

Sasuke transforms his coffee into something that actually tastes good and takes a large drink of wonderfully hot liquid. Then he gives Obito and Rin a proper greeting, hugging them both and letting Obito kiss him.

Naruto, still chatting with Meiri, watches the scene with a content smile. When Sasuke meets his gaze, a smile tugging at his lips as well, Naruto raises a brow and gives his mug a pointed look. Sasuke shrugs and takes another drink. He used to hate coffee, true, but he tried it again a few months ago when he really needed the energy. It no longer tastes bad. With enough sugar added in, it's even nice. Changing taste buds for the win.

"Want to try?" Meiri asks, teasingly holding out her own mug. The face Naruto makes tells them that the answer is a resounding no.

"Thanks but no thanks."

"Probably for the best," Kakashi says. He's right, it is for the best. Naruto is hyperactive enough without adding in caffeine.

Sasuke takes a seat and digs into his own breakfast. Obito asks after Naruto's summon and Naruto happily introduces him to Nezumi.

Nezumi, however, completely ignores Obito's attempts to talk to him. Rin is not impressed. Obito, on the other hand, is satisfied with Naruto saying he'll introduce them properly once they've finished breakfast. Nezumi's ears twitch in what he's pretty sure is a reaction to Naruto's words, but without his Sharingan, he can't tell if the reaction is good or bad. Nezumi doesn't speak up against the plan though.

It should be strange how easily Naruto fits into their usual routine after being away for so long.

It isn't strange. It's natural. Familiar.

Wonderful.

The atmosphere is calm and peaceful.

Naturally, it doesn't last.

Nezumi's whiskers twitch right before Kakashi gets up and moves to the window with a speed that doesn't register as rushed only because Kakashi believes time is optional. It makes him search for the incoming presences he knows are there. Naruto searches for them as well, though unlike him, he doesn't know who to expect.

Kakashi disarms the security and opens the window just in time for Sakura and Lee to leap through, the angle not allowing him to see who crossed the threshold first.

He doesn't have to wait for the answer.

"Damn it," Sakura curses while Lee pumps his fist into the air and cheers with victory, both of them careful to keep their voices down. Meiri has no problem with people breaking in, but if it happens before nine, ten-thirty on Mondays, they need to do it quietly.

Kakashi, on the other hand, is fine with anything that doesn't put the kids or Meiri in harm's way. When he's present. When he isn't, you're on your best behavior, and you enter through the door or not at all.

The setting of the traps makes very clear when he isn't present.

"Lee!" Obito cheers, his arms flying up into the air, before he puts his hands over his mouth as he realizes how loud he was. "Lee," he repeats more softly. Lee beams and goes over to pick him up, but Rin lifts her hand before he can and gives him a stern look.

"It's breakfast time, Lee."

Translation, no picking them up until breakfast is finished. Something Lee should really know by now, but half the time he still moves to pick up Obito anyway.

"Of course, how foolish of me," Lee says and places his hands behind his back. Then he bends down so he can assault Obito with kisses. There's a reason he's Obito's favorite. Lee gives Rin a big kiss as well, though he doesn't smother her like Obito. Rin is not a touchy feely person. Compared to her brother at least.

Obito starts scarfing down his food, only slowing down enough to keep himself from choking when Kakashi calls his name with gentle warning. He wants to play with Lee as soon as possible. Rin doesn't eat as quickly as him, being tidy is important to her, but she's moving faster as well. The determined look she gives Sakura reveals why even to people who don't know her.

Kakashi, already seated down again, patiently returns to preventing the kids, mostly Obito, from making a mess.

Lee takes the opportunity to welcome Naruto back. If he hadn't come during the brief window in time where Naruto isn't the living embodiment of energy, their reunion would have been a lot more dramatic. As it is, while there are hugs on both their parts and tears on Lee's, their reunion is pretty tame overall.

Nezumi completely ignores Lee smothering Naruto with hugs. His position on Naruto's head remains rock solid the entire time.

Sakura is, of course, still annoyed over losing whatever challenge she and Lee were involved in this time. Most likely their usual race to get here first, but who knows, it might be something else entirely. They're as bad as Gai and Kakashi.

Naturally, he teases her over her loss. Naturally, she tries to murder him with her eyes. The only reason she doesn't hit him is because of the no fighting rule. When it comes to Sakura, this is a rule he's more than happy to take advantage of.

Naruto, wearing a sly grin and pointedly not looking at Sakura, congratulates Lee on his victory. Sakura tries to murder him with her eyes as well. Seems like the grace period Naruto's absence bought him is over already.

Lee beams even brighter and, with an obliviousness Sasuke can never quite decide is fake or not, regales them with the details of their challenge. A race like he suspected. Lee also proudly proclaims that they're now tied at twenty-seven victories each, though that score doesn't include their usual race to get here. This score is reserved for exceptional challenges. If they kept track of every little thing they compete over, the score would rise basically every day that the both of them are in the village.

Sakura is not amused at the reminder that she isn't in the lead. But she calms down soon enough. Her temper quick to rouse and quick to fade like always.

Like usual, they stay long enough for Lee to play with Obito a little, while Rin makes a beeline for Sakura so she can play with her hair and tell her all about the book she read last night. Unlike usual, Lee and Sakura keep up a conversation with Naruto in between entertaining the kids. Then they move to resume their usual work-out. Sakura and Lee belong to the strange species known as morning people.

Lee assures Obito that he'll come over again tomorrow, barring any sudden missions of course. Then, with a mischievousness Sasuke will never stop finding weird to see no matter how often he witnesses it, he reminds Sakura that she needs to finish their laps on her hands.

Sakura, with the sweet smile that never spells anything good, assures him that she will and moves her hand with such sincere intention of squeezing his shoulder only a little too tightly.

And Lee, sweet, trusting, pure hearted Lee, turns his shoulder towards her with a friendly thumbs up.

Sasuke is convinced that Lee actually does know when Sakura is about to pull something like this and lets her do it anyway. No one can be that oblivious. And Lee is the kind of person who enjoys having a disadvantage to overcome.

Sakura slaps her hand over his ear too fast for him to dodge at this distance and scrambles his vestibular system with brutal efficiency, demolishing his sense of balance. In the time it takes Lee to reel back, she darts out the window and lands on her hands, racing off as fast she can.

"My Rival, you are devious as ever!" Lee proclaims even though Sakura is already gone, barely keeping his volume within acceptable limits and wobbling in place almost imperceptibly. "But I will still finish first! If I don't, I will perform one thousand push ups with my chin!"

How would that even work?

Sasuke is imagining the different possibilities when Lee, by his standards, clumsily leaps out the window and all but stumbles after Sakura, his usual grace nowhere to be found. Sasuke gets up and closes the window.

"I can't believe they used to date," Naruto says, weirded out just from thinking about it. Sasuke understands completely.

"I was there and I still can't believe it either." It didn't last long, but those were some very weird weeks.

"But she isn't seeing anyone at the moment, right?" the idiot tries and fails to ask casually. Sasuke contains a smirk.

"Why the interest?" he asks like he doesn't already know the answer.

"What, I can't be interested in the lives of my friends?" Naruto returns with an even worse attempt at being casual. Even Meiri has picked up on it, watching their exchange with a raised brow.

"In that case, you'll be happy to learn that I'm single," Sasuke says, letting his smirk break free. Naruto rolls his eyes, not amused by his behavior.

"You're such a bastard."

"It's a gift," he quips, his smirk turning into a smile. He's missed the idiot calling him that.

Naruto laughs softly, his annoyance gone as fast as it appeared.

"She isn't seeing anyone," Meiri says, immediately drawing Naruto's full attention. He gains a pleased smile.

"Good."

Meiri grins, delighted to have her suspicions confirmed.

"Sakura has gotten quite pretty, hasn't she?" she asks, joining him in his plan to have so much fun with this.

"Sakura is beautiful," Rin interjects before Naruto can respond, because Sakura is her favorite. Only part of that is caused by her hair.

"Rin, we're supposed to be fighting," Obito says with a frown. Acting out of character during make-believe is one of the few things he can't stand.

"She's beautiful," Rin repeats, before obligingly rejoining the battle against Kakashi's action figure. Rin is using an action figure as well, one of the new ones Naruto brought. She's also using a set of toy shuriken, pretending that her character is throwing them with pinpoint accuracy instead of herself.

Her character has white and pink colors. The pink was added by Rin herself.

Her crush on Sakura is adorable.

Obito's champion is his trusty cat plush, Inu-chan. A tank to Rin's long range support.

As always, they're winning the battle. But they encounter just enough difficulty to keep things exciting. Kakashi's assholery is nowhere to be found when it comes to his kittens.

"Is she always like this?" Naruto asks softly. As though that would prevent Rin from overhearing if she really wanted to know.

"You mean, aware of what's going on?" Meiri asks in a normal voice, her smile as wry as it is warm while she looks at the mock battle happening. Naruto nods. Meiri's smile grow warmer. "Always."

To the point of absurdity. Rin can be utterly absorbed in something, but ask her what was happening around her later on and she'll give you a detailed recounting of everything said and done.

Sasuke understands some of the things Kakashi can do a lot better ever since Rin came along.

Rin doesn't react to their words. Another thing that, for awhile, masked just how much she notices. She doesn't often feel the need to join a conversation without first giving a warning that's she's about to do so. That's what other people do that after all, and other people must notice the same things she does. The adults at least. Children are a different story, but adults must notice all the things she does.

Even with all the evidence to the contrary, Rin keeps having trouble grasping the fact that not everyone sees the world the same way she does.

It's comforting that for all the ways in which she's a prodigy, there are just as many ways in which she's a normal child.

When Naruto finishes his breakfast, he introduces Nezumi to the kids as promised. Nezumi still doesn't say anything, but he allows himself to be petted by Obito and Rin. Obito is delighted by the sensation of his fur, but Rin is disappointed by how coarse it is.

Without warning, Nezumi dispels himself. The kids are surprised. Naruto isn't.

"He does that a lot."

Rin is not impressed. Obito is and asks Naruto when Nezumi will be back again.

A lot, as it turns out. Not daily, but definitely weekly. Letting Nezumi nap on him is part of the contract Naruto singed with him.

The idiot hasn't changed one bit.

Meiri invites Naruto to come along to the Dancing Dragon. Naruto is more than happy to accept. Sasuke decides to come along as well. He can get changed in a safe house afterwards.

They say goodbye to Kakashi and the kids. He averts his eyes when Meiri moves to pull down Kakashi's mask to kiss him, Naruto doing the same. It isn't truly necessary, Kakashi's habit of hiding his face is so ingrained he does it subconsciously, but Sasuke still isn't risking it. Neither is Naruto.

Kakashi showed them his face once, after Obito was born. For all their attempts to see him unmasked before then, actually seeing his face was unbelievably weird. To the point of it being genuinely disturbing. He's glad Kakashi did it, he'd still be wondering like mad without it, but seeing him pull down his mask was like seeing him pull off his face. Not an experience he's keen on repeating.

Naruto links his arm with Meiri's as they walk to the teahouse. Given their destination, it comes as no surprise that the conversation revolves around what Renji and Tori have been up to.

Sasuke isn't expecting to run into Hinata.

"Oh? Oh! Hey, Hinata!"

Naruto's yell makes her spin around with wide eyes, absolutely not having expected this. Probably didn't even know that Naruto was back yet, but even if she did, this meeting definitely wasn't planned.

Hinata turns pink and she brings up a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. Her other hand flutters around aimlessly, before she makes an aborted movement to push her index fingers together.

Her reaction makes him feel... strangely uncomfortable. It's not like he'd forgotten about her feelings for Naruto, that's literally impossible to do. But he hadn't thought of what that meant now that Naruto is back.

"Naruto. You're back," she says, soft enough that he needs to read her lips to know what she's saying. Confirming that she hadn't heard about Naruto's return yet. She blushes even harder and freezes completely when Naruto, already a ball of energy like usual, bounces over and hugs her.

"This is still going on?" Meiri asks, watching the scene with amusement and actual surprise.

"This never stopped," he says with his most incredulous look, unable to believe her reaction. Even for her, this is absurd. "How can you have missed this?"

Seriously, how?

"I don't see her that often, brat," Meiri counters dryly, a sorry attempt at an excuse. True, he and Hinata usually meet at places other than his place, but she comes over enough that Meiri really should have picked up on this. It's not like Hinata is subtle about her feelings.

Naruto, used to Hinata's reaction to him, chatters her ear off, happy to see her again. Hinata manages to stammer out a few responses, her behavior as bad as it was before the Chunin Exams.

The conversation doesn't last long. Naruto gives Hinata a final hug and a cheerful wave, gets a flustered one in return, and bounces back to Meiri, linking their arms again. Meiri gives Hinata a wave as well, an amused grin growing when Hinata startles and hurriedly bows to her. So knocked off balance by Naruto's return that she's falling back on excessive manners.

Meiri and Naruto resume their walk. Sasuke doesn't. Instead he watches Hinata, looking down at the ground with a smile of pure delight, and feels a strange ache rise. The ache only grows when Hinata bounces on the balls of her feet as she only does when she's overflowing with joy. Then she meets his gaze and lifts her chin with determination. Telling him she's still planning to confess to Naruto as soon as possible. He forces himself to give her an encouraging smile, despite not feeling encouraging at all. Which is ridiculous. He's known about her resolve since the beginning, and until even yesterday, he approved of it wholeheartedly. Well, he approved of it. The weird reluctance he felt was minor and irrelevant.

It feels very relevant right now.

"Bastard, you coming?"

Naruto's question makes him move, giving Hinata a nod of farewell as he does. She gives him a sweet smile and a nod back, before returning her gaze to Naruto. The blush that had been fading returns full force and her smile turns delighted again. She pushes her index fingers together. For once, the gesture signals happiness, not distress.

Sasuke turns away from her and catches up with Naruto and Meiri, his stomach feeling strangely heavy.

Hinata is going to confess to Naruto. He should be proud of her. This is a huge and amazing thing for her.

So why does part of him almost wish that Naruto had stayed away a little while longer?

---

Three Years Ago

Sasuke can only watch, paralyzed with horror, as Hinata gets up again, blood staining her mouth, her breathing irregular and trembles wrecking her body as she struggles to remain upright. But her eyes are strong, full of conviction and resolve.

"You're wrong, Neji-nii-san. These eyes... can see that you're the one suffering."

Neji's expression twists with rage and then he's moving and so is he but it's too late, he won't get there in time and he can see it happen so clearly – Gai, Sensei, Kurenai and the proctor are moving and they're going to stop Neji in time so he adjusts his landing so he'll be able to leap towards Hinata because she's about to fall down and she's struggling to breathe and he catches her just as her legs give out and he's laying her down to reduce the stress on her injuries and where the hell is Sakura?

Sakura arrives on Hinata's other side, her hands holding the final seal for a diagnostic jutsu.

"Yin Release, Diagnostic Technique."

Her hands glow with medical chakra and she quickly places them on Hinata's chest, assessing the damage.

And then she's tensing even further and her eyes are widening and her chakra is about to fluctuate and she is panicking.

"Medics!" she yells and this is so much worse than he thought if she's panicking and part of him is aware that Naruto and Ino have joined them and that Gai is talking – you gave me your word, Neji – but he can't look away from Hinata, looking at Naruto and falling unconscious and she's injured and hurting and dying and she's dying because of what Neji did to her, what her family did to her, what the man she calls brother did to her and how could that man do this, how could he hurt him like this –

"Sasuke."

And then Sensei's hand is on his shoulder, his chakra steady and grounding, snapping him out of his shock.

"Turn off your Sharingan."

His Sharingan is on?

Sasuke realizes that yes it is. He's also hit with a wave of agony, suddenly aware that the mark on his neck is – breaking through the blocks and reaching deeper into his chakra system – pulsing and hungrily devouring his chakra. An almost burning sensation of greed and rage and power.

It takes a lot of effort to turn off his Sharingan and deny the mark its food source. He suspects that the only reason he succeeds is because of Sensei's help.

The medics arrive. They lift Hinata onto a stretcher and carry her away.

Sasuke can't look away from the blood on the ground. The lighting is nothing like that night, yet he can't stop himself from seeing the blood on the streets and the thin, thin trickles on the bedroom floor.

He can't stop himself from seeing that man, looking at him with the eyes that always meant comfort and safety.

He sees the world turn red, red, red.

"Why do you care so much, Uchiha?"

The words come from far away, dragging his eyes away from the blood that's red, red, red.

Neji is sneering at him.

"She's a loser. She'll never be anything else."

Foolish little brother. What a weak and pathetic creature you are.

The world is thrown back into focus and the mark flares and Sensei's hand tightens with warning and none of it matters. Only one thing does.

"I'm going to kill you."

His voice is calm, a simple statement of fact. He's going to kill Neji.

No matter what he has to do to make it happen.

Neji falters but then his sneer deepens. Trying to pretend that he isn't affected by his declaration of what's going to happen.

It's a useless attempt. His Sharingan lets him see the – rage, bitterness, shame, worry – fear he's trying to hide.

He isn't afraid enough.

"Sasuke," Sensei says with a sharpness that means he's going to resort to physical measures if he doesn't obey. With the greatest of efforts, he manages to turn off his Sharingan.

He doesn't look away from Neji. Not glaring, he isn't worth that. Just looking at him. Just letting him know what's going to happen.

Neji turns his head to the side, breaking eye contact and pretending that he didn't do it because he's unnerved.

Part of him is aware that all eyes are on him. Part of him is aware that Naruto has grabbed his hand and is looking at him with worry. So are Sakura and Ino.

Most of him is focused on Neji. On the monster who tried to kill his own family.

Sasuke is going to ensure he never gets the chance to try that again.

---

In some ways, his day is surprisingly normal. In other ways, it isn't.

After staying long enough to witness the reunion between Naruto, Tori and Renji, he goes to a safe house, gets changed, and goes to the Archives. Intelligence suspects that someone in Requisition is stockpiling equipment. His job is to find out who and why.

He's already eliminated the possibility that the discrepancy in numbers was caused by accident. The paper trail he's on has made clear that someone, possibly a singular someone but most likely a group of people, fudged the numbers on purpose. Skillfully so, Intelligence missed it for years. It was pure luck they even caught it this time. Whoever is doing this is careful to take only a little here and there, the timing random and the supplies taken spread out over various departments. They never take enough to raise any flags, but given that this has been going on for years, if not decades because he still hasn't found the origin point, they've gathered quite the stockpile by now.

He really hopes this won't end with him uncovering yet another one of Orochimaru's spies. Or, as is the more likely case here, a spy ring.

The mission isn't time sensitive. The opposite. They don't want to alert whoever's doing this that they've caught on to them. Which means he's copying the relevant files, before getting changed and doing something else while he works on cracking the pattern. In this case, light studying and training. Nothing too strenuous. Nothing that would require his full attention. He takes breaks of course, popping into the Dancing Dragon, meeting up with Naruto, Sakura and Ino, but for the most part he's constantly analyzing the data and working on cracking the pattern. Patience is key.

Patience is not his strong suit.

Maybe that's why he can't stop thinking about Hinata.

She's going to confess to Naruto. He's proud of her, he really is. He knows how much she still struggles with doing things her family won't approve of. Confessing to Naruto is something those stuck up pricks definitely won't approve of. But she's going to do it anyway.

What will happen then? Will Naruto accept her feelings? Will he reject them? Sasuke can't imagine that last happening, but given Naruto's renewed crush on Sakura, it's a real possibility.

Yet if he does accept Hinata's confession, what will happen then? Will they start dating? Will Naruto fall as madly in love with her as Hinata is with him?

Will they kiss?

His thoughts of what might happen inspires a ridiculous amount of discomfort. Worse, it inspires actual jealousy. The idea of Naruto and Hinata spending more time with each other than with him isn't a pleasant one.

Sasuke does his best to keep his thoughts away from his irrational unease over what might happen between Naruto and Hinata. He doesn't succeed, but he does his best.

Honestly, he's being ridiculous. Yes, Hinata is determined to confess to Naruto, but it's not like she's planning to do so today.

He manages to mostly shake off his stupid thoughts when he's done for the day and goes home. He arrives to the scene of Rin reading in a book that should be too advanced to her while using Bull as a pillow. Meiri and Obito are building a house out of blocks, and Uhei and Shiba are helping them. Naruto, absently petting Pakkun, dozing in his lap, has a notebook filled with the chicken scratch he calls writing open in front of him, the text interspersed with the crappy drawings he's somehow managed to turn into his own branch of sealing. Until his arrival, he was writing in another notebook. A closer inspection of the pages reveals that they're all related to the creation of summoning contracts.

The familiar sight of Naruto working to break the rules of sealing makes the last of his unease fade away. Having half the pack present makes it even more familiar. Kakashi summons them regularly as well, but there's something different about Naruto being the one to do it.

The reminder that Naruto is finally home again settles him completely.

And then the idiot ruins all the progress he's made.

"Hinata confessed to me."

"She did what," he hears himself say, completely caught off guard. Hinata wasn't kidding when she said she was going to confess as soon as possible.

"I know, it was so weird," Naruto says while he struggles to recover from this unexpected blow. "I mean, I knew she still had a crush on me, that was more than obvious, but I didn't think she'd actually confess."

"Why am I only hearing about this now?" Meiri asks.

"Because you would've teased me about it," Naruto says like it should be obvious. Meiri concedes the point with a grin.

Sasuke keeps struggling with the fact that Hinata has already confessed. This happened way too soon for him to have figured out how to handle this.

Swallowing his suddenly too dry throat, he ensures his question comes out totally normal.

"How did you react?"

"Not well," Naruto says with a wry smile, the response causing a burst of worry.

"You didn't hurt her, did you?" He hadn't even considered that Naruto might do that. Not on purpose of course, but did he hurt her by accident?

"I'm pretty sure I didn't," Naruto says pensively, making relief rush through him. "I was flailing pretty badly, she totally blindsided me, but she took it surprisingly well. Like, really well. Gave me a real smile and everything."

The meaning of his words couldn't be more clear.

"You rejected Hinata?"

His voice comes out louder than intended, startling everyone, but Sasuke is far more preoccupied with this second unexpected blow. Yes, he knew that there was a possibility that Naruto might reject her, but he didn't think it would actually happen.

"Why would you do that? She's amazing, the kindest person there is, strong and smart and funny and beautiful and why the hell would you reject her?" Seriously, why?

Everyone but Rin and Pakkun are looking at him with various forms of surprise. Naruto in particular is looking at him like he just came to a mind blowing realization.

"Sasuke... do you like Hinata?"

"I do not." That's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard.

"You don't like Hinata?" Obito asks, confused. Sasuke lets out a frustrated sound and waves the question away.

"No, I do, obviously I do, but not like that."

"Like what?" Obito asks but Sasuke is far more focused on correcting the ridiculous turn the idiot's thoughts have taken.

"I care for her. In a friendly way. Like friends do. Because we're friends." Nothing more.

Except Naruto's eyes have gone even wider, convinced that his moronic "realization" is correct. Worse, Meiri is thinking the same thing.

"You do," the idiot breathes. Sasuke crosses his arms and glares, not amused by Naruto being an even bigger idiot than usual.

"How did I miss this?" Meiri asks herself, joining Naruto in being an idiot. Meiri is dumb as rocks when it comes to romance.

"He likes her like what?" Obito repeats, starting to become annoyed.

"He likes her as a mate," Uhei tells him. The stupidity going around is apparently contagious.

"Do not," he says to both the idiot and Uhei, and shoots Meiri a glare for good measure.

Naruto has the nerve to laugh.

"Bastard, you so do. Listen to yourself! You're babbling!"

"I'm babbling because that's the only thing an idiot like you will understand," he snaps. What, it's a crime to babble now? If it is, the idiot needs to go take a long look in the mirror.

Naruto, the asshole, just laughs harder. Obito looks between them with a frown, still confused and now also frustrated. Sasuke understands completely.

"And just what is so amusing?"

Kakashi's sudden appearance makes his hand twitch with the aborted reflex to grab his saber, while Naruto's laughter cuts off and he jerks with the intention to leap to his feet. Seriously, Kakashi enforces the door rule with brutal sadism, yet he acts like entering the normal way himself would kill him.

Kakashi responds to his glare with a cheerful smile, acting like he was here all along and didn't drape himself over Meiri out of nowhere. Meiri, after recovering from her own surprise, leans into his embrace.

"Daddy!" Obito cheers, all his frustration gone in an instant. He scrambles over to him.

"Boss!" Shiba cheers as well, tail wagging as he crosses the distance with a single leap. He affectionately rubs his head against Kakashi's leg, and Kakashi has enough time to caress his mohawk before Obito reaches him. Rin, who abandoned her book the instant Kakashi revealed himself, reaches him at about the same time.

Kakashi picks them both up and lifts Rin high enough that she can pet his hair while she welcomes him home. Obito gets lifted high enough that he can pull down his mask and smother him with kisses, his and Rin's position hiding Kakashi's face from him and Naruto. Uhei comes over at a more sedate pace and affectionately nuzzles the leg not occupied by Shiba.

"Sasuke likes Hinata," Meiri tells him with a gleeful grin. She's having way too much fun with this display of stupidity.

Kakashi gives him a surprised look.

"You've finally figured it out?"

Oh you've got to be kidding him.

The idiot laughs and so do Meiri and Uhei. He's surrounded by traitors.

"I'm going training."

He doesn't wait for a response before leaving. All of them are being ridiculous.

He doesn't like Hinata like that.

---

Three Years Ago

"You can let go now, Sensei."

Sensei does not let go.

"I prefer to keep monitoring you directly," Yamato-sensei says calmly, the hand on his shoulder steady and unmovable as they walk. Sensei's chakra keeps surrounding the mark even though it's no longer necessary.

"I'm fine," he says, annoyed at how much Sensei is overreacting. "I could've stayed for the rest of the matches."

"Forgive me if I don't agree with that assessment."

Oh look, Sensei is getting snarky. He must really be fed up with his behavior.

Sasuke might have cared about that if Sensei wasn't overreacting so much.

"I'm not going to kill him now." He isn't stupid.

"You aren't helping your case."

Sasuke rolls his eyes. Then they turn a corner and he's greeted with a completely unexpected sight.

Kakashi, casually leaning against the wall, lifts his gaze from his novel with mild surprise, looking for all the world like him being here is nothing but a coincidence.

"Sasuke, Yamato," he greets. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Please look after him, Kakashi-san," Yamato-sensei says, completely ignoring Kakashi's act. "He's in a fragile state."

"I am not."

Yamato-sensei is worrying over nothing. He's fine.

He forces down the memory of the world turning red, red, red.

"It can't be that bad if he's still his usual prickly self," Kakashi says while patting his head. While he isn't amused at being called prickly, he does appreciate that Kakashi isn't making a big deal out of this. Unlike Sensei.

"I hope so," Yamato-sensei says softly. He's... really worried about him, isn't he?

"Sensei, I'm fine," he says, forcing himself to sound calmer than before. Trying to make Sensei understand that he's really telling the truth. Yeah, the mark sucks and the way it makes him feel does frighten him, but he could've waited until after the matches were over to seal it.

Yamato-sensei gives him a piercing look. Considering his claim in a way he didn't before.

Yamato-sensei lets out a soft sigh and briefly closes his eyes, his shoulders slumping a little. Showing just how tired his worry has made him.

"Perhaps. But I'd feel better if you get this done now instead of later."

Oh that's a cheap shot. How is he supposed to argue when Sensei is doing this because he cares?

He lets out an annoyed sigh and crosses his arms.

"Fine. But you're telling me what I missed first thing."

"I'll give you a detailed report of every match," Sensei says with a smile, relieved at his agreement. After giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze, he finally lets go.

The mark throbs hard enough to make him wince. It doesn't feel like it's spreading, but it definitely wants to.

His wince makes Sensei lose his smile, his brow furrowing with renewed worry.

Kakashi puts his hand on his shoulder. He doesn't inject any chakra like Sensei did, but the gesture is still enough to make Sensei lose his frown.

"No need to worry, Yamato. I'll take good care of your cute little student."

Sasuke lets out a resigned sigh. Kakashi started calling them that the first time Yamato-sensei came over for dinner, and it doesn't look like he's going to stop anytime soon.

Yamato-sensei goes back to the arena, while he and Kakashi go deeper into the tower. Kakashi is reading his novel and acting like nothing unusual is going on, but he doesn't let go of his shoulder.

Maybe this is a bigger deal than he thought it was.

The thought isn't a nice one.

"I heard you three had quite the adventure in the Forest," Kakashi says like he's commenting on the weather. Sasuke feels himself tense up despite how hard he tries to prevent it. To his relief, Kakashi doesn't react to his obvious – fear – discomfort.

He doesn't want to think about what happened in the Forest. Doesn't want to think of how terrified and helpless he felt. How much it felt like the night when –

He doesn't want to think of what he almost did to Sakura. Doesn't want to think of how close he came to doing the same as –

"We got lucky." They did. If Orochimaru hadn't wanted him alive, if he hadn't been so disinterested in Naruto and Sakura, they would've been killed.

Unlike Wave, Sensei wouldn't have been there to save them.

Kakashi lets out an acknowledging hum. He doesn't ask for details. Sasuke is grateful.

"Is this going to take long?" he asks, trying to distract himself from what happened – on the night the world turned red, red, red – in the Forest.

"Depends on your definition of long."

What a helpful answer.

"Can I go back to the arena after?"

Maybe he can see the final matches after all. Or at least be there when the matches for the Third Exam are decided. That would let him know if he has a shot at killing Neji in the finals, or if he needs to look for another opportunity.

"Probably not."

Yet another helpful answer.

"Why not?"

"Because I'll be very surprised if this doesn't make you pass out."

Great.

Sasuke brings up a hand to rub over the bandages covering the mark, still throbbing painfully. When they got here two days ago, Sakura, Hinata and Shino worked together to contain the mark as much as possible, placing blocks and getting rid of the worst of the chakra invading his system. He could've asked for professional aid, but Iruka-sensei specifically mentioned that asking medics for help might affect their chances of making it to the Third Exam.

He didn't say anything about them helping each other. So that's what they did. And until today, he felt like they did a decent job. Yeah, he could still feel the mark, but it was no longer so hard to think straight. It was no longer so hard to stop being angry.

What Neji did changed that. It would've made him decide to kill him no matter what of course, but the mark probably made him react worse than he otherwise would have.

Maybe Sensei's insistence on sealing the mark now instead of later isn't such a bad idea.

They enter a large room filled with pillars. Kakashi tells him where to sit. He does so while Kakashi puts his novel away, pulls off one of his gloves, and takes out a kunai and cuts open his palm. This seal needs to be drawn in blood? That's... worrying.

He watches as Kakashi starts drawing the seal. It's filled with a lot of words he doesn't know, but the ones he does recognize reveal that they're medical terms. He resists the urge to take pictures with his Sharingan so he can go over the seal with Naruto and Sakura later on.

The mark sucks so much. He finally awakens his Sharingan, and then he immediately can't use it because of that damn snake prick. Worse, he can't even use any techniques or illusions without setting it off, turning what should have been an easy fight in the preliminaries into a real challenge. What a wonderful "reward" Orochimaru gave him.

Okay, sealing it now instead of later is a good idea. That's made even clearer by the seal Kakashi is drawing. Aside from the medical terms, there's stuff about containment, redirection, and most worrying of all, stuff about the mind and soul.

What the hell did that snake prick do to him?

"You're going to help Naruto as well, right?" he asks, more to distract himself than anything else. That snake prick did something to completely screw up Naruto's control, and given that he did it by putting a seal on top of the one holding the Kyuubi, Naruto needs professional help even more than he does. Especially because Naruto refused to have even Sakura touch his chakra system in any way.

In fact.

"Why is he still in the arena? He needs help. Like, right now."

Just saying the words out loud makes a rush of anxious energy run through him. He crosses his arms and taps his feet, trying to resist the urge to just get up and go drag the idiot to a medic right this instant. It's not like Naruto needs to stay anymore, he's already won his match. He can get professional help.

"Seriously, Kakashi, why–"

"Naruto's condition is stable."

Overwhelming relief washes over him.

"He'll be examined more thoroughly when the Second Exam is over. Sakura's injuries will be seen to then as well."

The reminder makes his relief even greater. Sakura's injuries aren't life threatening or anything, but they aren't mere scratches either, even after she healed herself as best she could. As shown by her losing to Ino. Ino isn't a bad fighter, not by a long shot, but she focuses on support. If Sakura had been at the top of her game, she would've demolished Ino.

"And now I need you to be quiet. This seal requires a fair amount of focus."

Sasuke swallows harshly, the words getting rid of some of his relief. He's seen Kakashi draw elaborate seals and explain what he's doing at the same time. For him to say that he needs to be quiet because he needs to focus...

The mark really is a lot worse than he thought, isn't it?

Kakashi, who stopped drawing the seal while he was talking, waits until he nods before he resumes his work. Sasuke does his best not to burst out babbling like the idiot normally does. For some reason, Kakashi saying he needs to be quiet just makes him want to talk more.

He tries to distract himself by thinking about something else. Like how the others reacted to the news that Naruto holds the Kyuubi. Sakura and Ino already knew, but the others hadn't known.

They took it surprisingly well. Yeah, they were surprised and a little uneasy, but for the most part they treated Naruto exactly the same.

They didn't get mad like he, Sakura and Ino had. Not that they were mad about Naruto holding the Kyuubi, they were mad that Naruto waited almost an entire week to tell them. They'd just had that fight with Ino about her keeping secrets from them, and then Naruto went and pulled the exact same thing. And okay, maybe they overreacted a little, Naruto himself only learned about it after the bell test. Him needing a few days to think over the news for himself is normal.

But seriously, he could've just told them from the start. It's not like him holding the Kyuubi changes anything. The only thing it does is explain a few things. The idiot really should've known that they wouldn't look at him differently. They wouldn't suddenly act like –

Nope, not thinking about That Man right now.

This is easier said than done. No matter what he tries, his thoughts keep going back to That Man. To that night. To seeing his family –

He's glad when Kakashi halts his work long enough to tell him that he's halfway done. He honestly has no idea how much time has passed, time seems to be crawling by at a snail's pace. But at least he now has the comfort of knowing that he's counting down to when this nerve wrecking thing is over.

It's not long after Kakashi told him he's halfway done that Sasuke realizes something.

This is going to make him pass out. That means he won't be able to hear how Hinata's surgery went.

The idea of not knowing is unbearable.

"Can we go see Hinata first?"

Kakashi finishes drawing the character for fortitude before he looks at him with exasperation. That answers that.

"I know, seals like this need to be drawn and activated in the same session," he rushes out before Kakashi can say anything. His own words make him realize how stupid his question is. He should have asked before they began.

He didn't. Stupid.

"It's just, I really want to know if she's okay. She was hurt so bad by–"

His voice fails him before he can finish. Which is good. Neji isn't her brother. She just called him that.

Kakashi gives him the calm look that means he knows he exactly what he's thinking. Then he brings his hands together in a seal he doesn't recognize.

"Shadow Clone Technique."

A clone poofs into existence. It saunters out the room, the opening of the door revealing that it's solid.

"It'll go see how Hinata is doing and report back."

Sasuke swallows his suddenly too dry throat, feeling both grateful and weirdly vulnerable. It isn't a nice feeling.

"Thanks."

"I did tell your sensei I'd take good care of you," Kakashi says lightly, his eye curving in a cheerful smile. Acting like nothing out of the ordinary is going on. Sasuke appreciates that.

Kakashi resumes his work. After what feels like another eternity, he tells him to get undressed. Sasuke does so, grateful to have something to do. Unfortunately, even with him drawing it out as long as possible, getting undressed and putting his clothes and equipment aside doesn't last long. Then it's back to waiting.

At least this stupid thing won't last that much longer.

When they reach the part where Kakashi needs to start drawing on his body, Kakashi warns him not to move. At all. Focusing on remaining absolutely still is another welcome distraction.

Kakashi is drawing on his back when the clone returns. Kakashi halts his work and Sasuke hears the clone dispel. Did it report by using hand signals? Why? Why couldn't it just talk out loud?

What happened to Hinata?

"Don't move, Sasuke," Kakashi tells him, firm though not unkind. Then he places his uncut hand on his shoulder to make sure that he doesn't, in fact, move. Sasuke braces himself for the worst. "Hinata's state is no longer critical. She'll be in surgery a while longer, but her life is no longer in danger."

Sasuke lets out a harsh breath, slumping down with relief before he can help it. Kakashi's hand on his shoulder keeps the movement to a minimum, though.

"I told you not to move," Kakashi reprimands, still not unkind but firmer than before. Kakashi waits until he's gotten back into position before resuming his work.

The seal is finished soon after.

"You'll wake up in a hospital room. You'll be under observation and won't be able to leave for a few days, but Yamato and I will visit."

The warning is nice. The fact that his friends won't be able to visit isn't.

"Now, this might hurt a little."

This, as it turns out, is a horrible understatement. It burns like fire, like acid, like the worst thing he can imagine and it's so, so much worse than when he got the mark in the first place. Sasuke thinks he might be screaming, or maybe he's whimpering. It's impossible to think over the pain.

It's a relief when the world goes black.

It blocks out the part that never forgets when the world turned red, red, red.

---

He does as he said he would. He goes training. Unlike earlier, it isn't a light routine. But after he's gotten rid of the worst of his frustration, worry starts to rise.

Naruto rejected Hinata. How is she handling that? Naruto said she wasn't hurt, but getting rejected, no matter how kindly, must be painful. And for Hinata, who's been in love with Naruto since forever...

He gathers his wire and goes to the Hyuuga Compound. It takes a while before the gates are opened, but when he sees who it is, he no longer minds the wait.

"Good evening, Sasuke," Hinata says with a smile that seems real. "What brings you here?"

He looks her over intently, searching for any sign of grief or distress. His inspection makes Hinata turn puzzled and a little self-conscious, but not in a way that signals anything out of the ordinary.

Should he turn on his Sharingan? No, that would be an overreaction. There are other ways to find out how she's doing.

"Can we go for a walk?" Talking about this here is just asking for her family to spy on them. "Good evening, Hinata," he adds belatedly, realizing that he's being rude.

Hinata's eyes flicker to the side and her lips quirk in a way that means she found his social misstep funny.

Her reaction gets rid of the worst of his tension. Things can't be that bad if she can still laugh like this.

"A walk sounds nice."

It takes a while before they're out of range of her family. Her father can still have them watched of course, but they've covered enough distance to signal a clear Fuck Off.

Which means it's time to broach the topic that brought him here.

"You confessed to Naruto."

Wow, that came out a lot more accusing than intended.

Hinata hunches in on herself, making him feel even worse about his blunder. He hates it when he makes her feel like the pricks she unfortunately has to call family do. It almost never happens anymore, but these aren't normal circumstances.

"Naruto told you?" she asks softly, avoiding his eyes and pushing her index fingers together. Not quite distressed but definitely not at ease either.

"Yes," he says and briefly debates how to recover from his blunder. When no answer presents itself, he decides to just get to the reason he came over in the first place. "Are you all right?"

His question makes her meet his gaze with surprise, before she relaxes and gains a warm smile. Sasuke is glad.

"I am."

"Are you really?" he has to ask, despite her apparent sincerity. She truly does look all right. Which is a huge relief, but it's also confusing.

Shouldn't she be feeling sad? Hurt? Angry? Well no, not angry, Hinata doesn't do angry. Not for something like this. But hurt and sad is another story.

Hinata's smile becomes warmer, the sight soothing him further. This is how she normally acts with him.

"I really am. But thank you for asking, Sasuke."

Sasuke smiles back, so happy she isn't hurt.

It's still really confusing that she isn't, though.

"You aren't sad because..."

He falls silent, having no idea how to tactfully put because the idiot rejected you.

Hinata gains a quicksilver grin, finding his verbal flailing entertaining as always.

She really is doing just fine, isn't she.

"I was surprised as well," she says, her thumbs rubbing over the tips of her fingers. The flicker of his eyes makes her become aware of what she's doing and she almost stills her hands, a lifetime of being told to act in a "proper" manner kicking in, but then she keeps doing it anyway. It makes her feel better, despite the fact that it isn't "proper" for a Hyuuga to fidget, never mind for a daughter of the Clan Head.

The Hyuuga as a whole are morons.

"I was prepared to be turned down of course," Hinata continues, as always gravely underestimating her own worth. "But I thought I would feel..."

She glances at him in her version of a shrug. She might rebel against how a Hyuuga is supposed to act in a lot of ways, but at the end of the day, she's still one herself. And Hyuuga do not shrug.

The glance makes clear what she'd been about to say. She expected to be hurt and disappointed. She'll never say that out loud though. That would feel too much like she's blaming Naruto for acting as he did. Blaming others is something she avoids in general, but especially so when it comes to the idiot.

"But I didn't feel like that," she continues, her chin lifting in a way he doesn't see nearly often enough.

Hinata is proud of herself.

"I felt happy. I felt proud of myself. I still do."

Her frank admittance is even more rare than her feeling proud of herself in the first place.

"I promised myself I would confess to him when he returned. And I did. I didn't go back on my word."

She never does. She and Naruto have that in common.

Hinata lets out a soft laugh and smiles at him like she's sharing a joke.

"I just didn't expect to no longer be in love with him when I did."

"You aren't?" he hears himself say, completely caught off guard.

Hinata's cheeks turn pink and she lowers her gaze, her smile turning embarrassed. More amused than self-deprecating though.

"I still like him. I just no longer like him like that."

"But this morning you were..." He waves a hand to encompass the everything of her reaction.

"I don't think that's ever going to change," Hinata says with a quicksilver grin, her eyes bright with humor. "I still admire him. He still gives me courage and makes me want to better myself. But I'm no longer in love with him."

Just like that, the last of his tension fades away. This might not be the outcome he expected, but it's undoubtedly the best he could've hoped for. Part of that is motivated by pure selfishness, he's well aware of that. The idea of Naruto and Hinata dating isn't pleasant.

Mostly he's just happy that she isn't hurt. Proud of her for overcoming her fears as well, but mostly happy that she isn't hurt.

"I'm glad," he says with a smile. Hinata's eyes brighten further, making him realize just how that sounded. "I mean, I'm not glad you got rejected, obviously I'm not." He is. "I'm just glad you aren't hurt."

"That's very kind of you," Hinata says politely, definitely not laughing at his verbal flailing. He huffs with amusement and rubs the back of his neck, trying to ignore the way his cheeks are heating up a little. Hinata makes him trip over his own tongue like no one else does. Not because he likes her like that, but because she doesn't react well to him being his usual bastard self. Or, well, she didn't when they first started hanging out. She's fine with it now, she knows him well enough to know he doesn't mean anything by it, but it's become a habit to watch his words around her. Or try to watch them at least.

"So how much did the idiot flail around when you told him?" he asks. Hinata lowers her gaze and brings up her hands to cover the smile that would've been a grin on anyone else.

"He was very cute."

Translation, Naruto acted like a complete and utter moron.

"Let me guess," he says in a voice dry as dust, "it went something like this."

Clearing his throat, he puts on his best impression of the idiot, body language and all.

"Wow, uhm, that's really nice of you, Hinata, but I don't really– I mean I like you of course, but like, as a friend, you know? You're really nice and all but I don't, like, you know?"

Hinata laughs. Sasuke grins, pleased with her reaction. Making her laugh like this always feels like an amazing accomplishment.

"That is very close to what happened. Impressive, Uchiha-san," she says with a smile, making his grin grow.

"We're known as amazing mimics for a reason." Or they used to be. But talking about his family with Hinata doesn't feel as painful as it does with everyone else. Not when it comes to things like this.

She's a Hyuuga. She knows more about his clan than anyone but himself. In some ways she knows even more. While this fact is sometimes painful, most of the time it's comforting.

He likes telling her about his family. Likes sharing all the little things that made them unique.

He likes pretending that these things are still common knowledge and not fading from memory.

He's going to make sure that one day, all of these things will be common knowledge once more.

They talk a while longer, their conversation light and easy. After confirming that they're still on for lunch tomorrow, they go their separate ways. He feels relaxed and at ease.

It lasts as long as it takes him to get home. Literally the first thing the idiot does is give him a shit eating grin and ask if he went to see Hinata. Sasuke snipes back about him having the hots for Sakura, and unlike this morning, he doesn't pull any punches.

The blustering and blushing mess Naruto turns into is deeply satisfying. It's even more satisfying when Naruto, after agreeing to a truce about this topic, asks if Hinata is all right. At least the idiot has the decency to worry about how she's handling his incomprehensible rejection.

To his relief, Meiri and Kakashi decide that the show between him and Naruto is enough entertainment for one day. Oh, Kakashi says a few things that would've been innocent if not for the fact that they offer Meiri openings impossible to resist, but overall, they behave themselves. It helps that Gai and Shiro come over for dinner and give them something else to focus on.

Seriously, he doesn't like Hinata like that. She's a good friend but nothing more.

Right now she's a friend whose company he enjoys a lot more than that of the idiots at home.

---

Three Years Ago

He's finally out of the hospital. Okay, fine, he was only there for two days, but those days felt way longer than they should have.

He was glad to return home. Even with Meiri bursting out crying and hugging him like she wanted to absorb him into her body. A reaction he later learned she also had when Naruto returned.

It was uncomfortable. Kind of nice as well, but mostly uncomfortable. He isn't used to her acting like that.

But then, he hasn't needed to stay in the hospital like this since –

He hates that his thoughts keep returning to that night no matter how hard he tries to prevent it. He even had his most hated nightmare, something he managed to avoid for a whole seven months. That was a new record. And now the counter is back to zero.

He's so grateful that Sensei was there when it happened. He woke him up before it could get too bad.

He made sure he didn't wake up alone.

Hopefully Kakashi's training will exhaust him enough to keep the nightmare from happening a second time. Even if it doesn't, Kakashi will be there to wake him, and Meiri and Naruto will be there to hold him. He won't have to go through this alone. Won't have to watch his family –

Sasuke forces his thoughts away from this topic. Nothing good will come out of thinking about this.

He looks at the flowers he's carrying. Sakura and Ino helped pick them out. He knows flower language of course, being friends with Ino doesn't allow for anything else. But they know more than he does, and they made sure the arrangement conveys his message better than anything he could've put together himself.

Get well soon. That's not all it says of course, but it's the most important part.

He's already made Naruto promise to visit Hinata while he's gone. Naruto won't be able to do so often, he has his own training to focus on, but he'll visit her enough. So will Sakura and Ino.

He kind of feels guilty for asking Sakura to do this, despite her assuring him it's no trouble. She's putting on a brave front, but she's still really shaken by what she had to do in the Forest.

She killed people. Yeah, the Sound nin wanted to kill them so it's not like she had a choice, but still. She killed people. They might've known they'd need to do that eventually, but knowing and doing are something else entirely.

He wishes he didn't have to leave her – yes he does – Or everyone else – liar – but especially her. She needs them right now.

Yet if Kakashi, while Meiri is pregnant, still feels that they need to go train in the outskirts, it must be really serious. They'll come home during the night, but they'll come back so late and leave so early that they might as well not come back at all.

He doesn't think they would have if Meiri hadn't been pregnant.

At least Naruto, Ino and Sensei will be there to make sure Sakura is all right. They won't be able to spend as much time with her as they want to, both Naruto and Ino have to prepare for the finals, and Sensei has to train Naruto. But they'll be there for her. They won't let her go through this alone.

He wishes he could be there too.

Mostly wishes.

This topic isn't much better than the previous one – yes it is – so Sasuke forces himself to think of something else.

He's still so pissed that Naruto drew Neji for the finals. That ruins any chance of him being able to kill Neji in a sanctioned match. Even without Naruto wanting to beat the crap out of Neji for what he did to Hinata, Naruto would beat him just to deny him the opportunity to carry out his plan. For some incomprehensible reason, the idiot thinks that him getting rid of Neji would be a bad thing.

It feels like the worst betrayal that Naruto, that none of them, are backing him in this. He knows they will against That Man, he knows, but right now it feels like –

This isn't a good topic either. Let's try something else.

The Cursed Seal, as he's learned the mark is called, no longer bothers him. But it's still there, a... heavy weight. Not heavy like normal things are, but heavy like... he doesn't have a good way to describe it. It kind of feels like when he has to gather chakra for a really demanding technique, except it really doesn't. It's... intangible and not quite there, yet at the same time it's almost solid.

It no longer feels like it's influencing his thoughts.

Kakashi told him that the counter seal is dependent on his willpower. And on his chakra, but his willpower is the most important part. As long as he doesn't want the thing to influence him, it won't.

He never wants it to influence him again.

Part of him, a part he now realizes was caused by the Cursed Seal, still wanted that before it got sealed. It wanted to take advantage of the power it offered.

No more. He needs to become strong but not at the cost of his friends, never at the cost of his friends.

He'll never do to them what That Man did to him.

And he's back to that. Great.

Luckily, he's arrived at the hospital. The others told him what room Hinata is in, and he wastes no time in going there.

Standing in front of the door, he feels weirdly nervous. Yeah, they went to school together and they talked during the Exams, but they aren't exactly friends. Is it strange for him to visit her?

No, it isn't. She helped him with the Cursed Seal. That alone would make it normal for him to want to visit.

It isn't why he wants to visit.

Taking a deep breath, he knocks on the door. After getting permission to enter, he goes inside.

Hinata looks awful. She has huge bags under her eyes and her skin is way paler than normal, making her look frail and sickly. But she's sitting up in her bed and she's breathing normally.

Seeing her makes an enormous weight fall off him. He hadn't realized just how worried he was until this moment.

"Sasuke," she says, surprised. "Uhm, hello." Her eyes flicker to the flowers he's carrying and she frowns a little. With worry? Confusion? He isn't sure.

"Hey, Hinata," he says while putting the flowers on her bedside table, next to the arrangement the others gave her. Then he goes to the end of her bed and grabs the charts attached to it. He doesn't study healing like Sakura does, but being friends with her means that he's picked up on the basics.

The basics are not enough to understand what the charts say. Even without adding in that a lot of it is redacted. Oh, he can pick out a few things, the most important being that Hinata will make a full recovery with enough care and rest, but most of it might as well be gibberish.

Focusing, he sends chakra into his eyes and activates his Sharingan, a thrill running through him as the world becomes so much more. He can see through the redactions, knows how many different people have written on the chart, can tell where one of them stopped themselves from writing something else. He can see the seals on Hinata's bed, knows that they're monitoring her condition, and so much more.

He knows he only needs to think of this moment in just the right way later on and he'll remember everything he's seeing right now exactly.

The Sharingan is awesome.

Taking pictures of the charts to go over with Sakura later, he makes a mental note to start copying medical texts when he has the time. His control isn't good enough for more than basic medical techniques, but an intimate knowledge of the human body can only help him. Like Kakashi says, if you understand how something works, you understand how to break it.

"I'm, ah... I'm fine, Sasuke."

Hinata's hesitant words makes him look up. With his Sharingan on, he can see even better that – her position minimizes the stress put on her injuries, her breathing is too shallow, her pulse isn't as strong as it should be. Her body is tense with pain – she isn't fine.

"You aren't."

His words make Hinata – feel discomfort, shame, fear – prepare to hunch in on herself, making a protesting sound escape him. She shouldn't do that! It's going to put more stress on her injuries.

When she – becomes more afraid – hunches down anyway, he quickly puts the charts down and moves towards her. Gently grasping her shoulders, he gets her back into the position that aggravates her injuries as little as possible, glad that Hinata is letting him.

"Don't hunch like that, you'll make your injuries worse. And why are you afraid? I'm not going to hurt you." He isn't like – like Neji.

"Ah, yes, I know I shouldn't... shouldn't do that. And I'm not afraid?"

"Yes you are," he says, annoyed that she's trying to deny it. He gently tightens his grip on her shoulders when she prepares to hunch down again, and it's enough for her to catch herself.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, confused and ashamed and still afraid and this so isn't going how he thought it would. He hadn't actually thought about what would happen, but it definitely wasn't this.

"Don't– You shouldn't–"

He falls silent, frustrated with this whole stupid thing. The fact that she apologized only annoys him even more, and he doesn't even know why.

"I don't want you to be hurt," he says, choosing his words with care. "So be careful how you sit." That's the most important thing here.

Hinata is – surprised, touched, still afraid – confused and uncertain, but she does sit like she should under her own power. He lets go of her shoulders, watching intently to ensure she keeps sitting just like that.

She does.

She's still afraid.

...Is it because he's watching her with – the same eyes as – his Sharingan? That could be taken as a threat.

He turns off his Sharingan. The world becomes dull, almost blurry in comparison to what he could see before. He's always known the Sharingan is amazing, but it was only after finally awakening it that he realized just how badly he'd been underestimating how incredible it is. It's not just the ability to copy what he sees, it's more, it's so much more.

The Sharingan lets him understand. He looks at things and he knows. Knows how people are going to move, what kind of technique they're going to use, how they're feeling, and so much more. He knows when traps are nearby, spots things out of place, deduces a thousand things about his surroundings. And he does it all without thinking about it.

Without his Sharingan, Hinata no longer looks afraid. It doesn't mean that she isn't, but it makes him realize that her fear is one of those underlying things he normally can't see.

It's one of those feelings people don't always realize are there. His experimentation this morning made that more than clear.

"I'm not... I'm not afraid of you, Sasuke," Hinata says softly, fidgeting with the blanket. She stops when he grimaces and she starts hunching down again, but he barely has time to start reaching for her when she catches herself. She puts her hands down her lap and clenches them tightly.

Sasuke crosses his arms and takes a few deep breaths as he tries to think about this logically. Hinata doesn't realize that she's afraid of him. That means it's useless to try to change her mind. Or, well, maybe it isn't useless, but maybe making her admit it will make her even more afraid of him. That has to be avoided at all cost.

Which means there's only one option left. He has to prove to her that she doesn't have anything to fear from him.

Grabbing a chair, he places it next to the bed and sits down. Iruka-sensei taught them that people feel more at ease when they're bigger than others. Sitting down means that Hinata is bigger than him. It's a small thing, but every bit helps.

"How are you feeling?" he asks, figuring that's another good approach. People are more inclined to trust someone who worries over them. Also, he really wants to know the answer.

"I'm fine," she says softly, making him scowl. She obviously isn't fine.

He smoothes out his expression when she almost hunches down again.

"It doesn't hurt too much?" Yes, he knows she's hurting, but just how bad is it?

"It doesn't. Hurt much, I mean," she says, her gaze darting to the side. He's pretty sure she's lying, but he resists the urge to activate his Sharingan to find out for sure. "Uhm, why... I mean, you don't have to stay. I don't want to keep you."

"Keep me from what?" he asks, confused. What is she talking about?

"From... the person you're here to visit?"

Sasuke stares, bewildered.

"I'm here to visit you, Hinata." Why would she think he's here for someone else?

Hinata frowns, looking as confused as he feels. She looks at the flowers he brought.

"But the flowers..."

"Are for you," he points out the obvious, unable to believe he has to spell this out.

Hinata's eyes go wide and her mouth falls open a little, completely shocked. Sasuke shifts his weight, uncomfortable with her reaction. What's so strange about him bringing flowers? That's what people do when someone is in the hospital. The others brought her flowers as well.

Hinata's cheeks turn pink and she lowers her gaze, a smile tugging at her lips. She fidgets with the blanket again.

"Thank you, Sasuke. That's very kind of you."

"You like them?" he asks, suddenly worried that she doesn't.

Hinata meets his gaze before she glances at the flowers. Her eyes dart over all the different flowers and her smile becomes a little bigger.

"I do. They're very pretty."

That's a relief. Sasuke smiles and makes a mental note to tell the others to bring more flowers. Especially Naruto. The idiot giving her literally anything will make her feel great.

"Have you had many visitors yet?" he asks, suddenly realizing that her room is strangely bare. Yeah, it's a hospital room, but aside from the flowers, there's only a stack of books. A mixture of fantasy and texts on medicinal plants, he sees when glancing at them. Shouldn't she have gotten more gifts by now? Or just more of her belongings to cheer up the room? She's going to be here for a while after all.

"Kiba, Shino and Kurenai-sensei came by. Kiba and Shino brought me those books," she explains. "The other flowers are from Ino, Sakura and, uhm..."

Even without knowing that Naruto has already visited, her blush and smile would've let him know.

"And from Naruto."

Definitely reminding the idiot to visit her as much as he can. And to bring her flowers. Lots and lots of flowers.

There's something wrong with her answer, though.

"What about your family?"

Neji doesn't count of course, but what about her parents? No wait, her mother passed away a long time ago. He thinks. Is pretty sure at least. But that still leaves her father. And she has a sister too, right? Why haven't they been by yet? Or anyone else? The Hyuuga aren't exactly a small clan.

Hinata lowers her gaze and hunches down. Luckily, the protesting sound that escapes him is enough for her to stop aggravating her injuries.

"...They have more important things to do than visit me."

They what?

"Hinata, you almost died," he says, unable to believe what he just heard. "What's more important than making sure you're alright?"

Hinata bites down her lip and grips the blanket tightly, but he's far more focused on the fact that she's hunching down again. This time his protesting sound has no effect.

He's gotten to his feet and is just about to grasp her shoulders to guide her back upright when Hinata flinches. It makes him freeze, his hands hovering over her shoulders as he struggles with what to do. He doesn't want her injuries to get worse, but he also doesn't want to scare her. So what should he do? Touch her even though that might make her more scared? Not touch her and let her injuries get worse?

Before he can come to a decision, Hinata takes a deep breath and straightens back up, his hands hurriedly pulling away without him deciding to do so. She lets go of the blanket and puts her hands in her lap, though it looks like she very much wants to keep clutching the blanket instead.

"I disgraced our clan by losing against Neji-nii-san. It would be unseemly for Father or anyone else to visit."

That's the stupidest thing he's ever heard. Ignoring the fact that she almost died, what the hell is disgraceful about losing to someone older and more experienced than her?

He's starting to understand why Father always looked like he was tasting something nasty whenever the Hyuuga got mentioned.

The thought throws him completely off balance. He hasn't – allowed himself to – thought about his father in ages.

"I shouldn't be rewarded for being weak."

Hinata's voice snaps his mind back to the present. Then he actually processes her words and is completely thrown off balance again.

"You aren't weak." Why would she think that? Does she not remember how she kicked everyone's ass at the academy whenever she was allowed to use the Gentle Fist? Yeah, it was taijutsu only, and Hinata didn't win every time, but that was only because she doesn't like hurting people. If she didn't hold back, she would've won every single time, no questions asked. Hell, if she didn't hold back in general, she would've been on par with him and Sakura even without the Gentle Fist.

Hinata doesn't lift her head.

"I couldn't defeat Neji-nii-san even though I'm the daughter of the Clan Head. I'm weak," she says like she actually believes that load of crap.

"You're amazing."

Hinata's head jerks up, her eyes wide with confusion and disbelief. When she opens her mouth he just knows that she's going to deny it, so he quickly starts talking before she can.

"You're strong, smart, and you refuse to give up no matter what. That makes you amazing." He hadn't realized just how amazing she is until her fight against Neji, but he knows it now. She got back to her feet despite her body being about to shut down and despite knowing that she couldn't win.

She got back to her feet despite knowing that she couldn't defeat her – that she couldn't defeat Neji. That makes her amazing.

Hinata still doesn't look like she believes him. She also keeps looking confused. But before he can say anything more, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, her hands clenching the blanket so hard her skin becomes almost transparent.

"I... I did well, didn't I?"

Before he can confirm that she did great, she keeps talking, rushing out the words.

"I didn't give up. I didn't go back on my word. I've changed. I did... I did well."

She's obviously talking to herself. Doesn't mean he can't respond.

"You did great."

Hinata meets his gaze and gives him a small but bright smile. For some reason he's suddenly struck by the fact that she's... she's rather pretty, actually.

Weird thought to have. Hinata still looks awful – well no, not awful, not exactly. But she looks like... well, like someone who almost died.

"Thank you, Sasuke. That means a lot coming from you."

"It does?" he asks, confused and his stomach feeling kind of weird. He's more focused on the fact that his cheeks are heating up, though.

"You're very strong."

And now his blush is getting worse. Which is ridiculous, it's not like he hasn't heard this before. It isn't true either. He isn't strong enough. Not by a long shot.

One day he will be.

"Thanks," he says, awkwardly. Because why not make himself look like an even bigger moron.

Hinata's eyes dart to the side and her smile becomes a little bigger. He crosses his arms and looks away as well, trying to get rid of his stupid blush.

"I won't ever be strong like you. Like Naruto."

The words make him look back at her. Hinata is looking down now and she's clenching the blanket again.

"But I... I'm going to keep trying. I'm not going to give up anymore. That's my ninja way."

The words inspire a strange ache. For all that her voice is soft and she looks frail and almost meek, she reminds him so much of Naruto right now.

Except Naruto would never think of himself as weak. Not in the way Hinata does.

"You're strong."

Hinata startles, before she gives a smile that makes clear she doesn't believes him. She thinks it's nice of him to say, though.

It makes him let out a frustrated sound. He only feels worse when she loses her smile.

"It's not– You aren't–"

He falls silent, struggling to put into words why what she said is so wrong.

Because it is wrong. She's strong. Maybe she isn't the best fighter, but that doesn't make her weak. Yes, being able to fight is important, it's so important, but...

But he thinks of Kakashi, who's the best fighter he knows and who got so scared when Meiri first got pregnant that he refused to let her see him. And he thinks of Meiri, who can't fight at all and who lives with the knowledge that she can't protect them. Who sometimes breaks down because she's so scared but who always pulls herself together and keeps going.

"You don't need to be able to fight to be strong, Hinata."

The way Hinata looks at him makes him feel even more awkward. She's looking at him like he just told her that... that you can awaken a bloodline limit without belonging to a clan, or that you can fly if you practice jumping enough. Something ridiculous and obviously untrue, but something she desperately wishes was true instead.

Sasuke belatedly realizes that he's still standing and not sitting down. He corrects that. And he forces himself to meet Hinata's eyes again after sitting down.

Hinata is still looking at him like she would give anything for his words to be true. Which is stupid. They are true.

He clears his throat.

"Don't call yourself weak. You aren't."

Hinata flushes and lowers her gaze. Sasuke looks away as well, his own cheeks heating up again despite how hard he tries to prevent it.

Deciding to get away from this incredibly awkward topic, he tells her about what the idiot did today. To his relief, his plan works. Hinata listens intently. She keeps avoiding his gaze, only watching at him from the corner of her eyes, but Sasuke doesn't mind. He's doing the same thing.

Still. Even with him doing most of the talking and both of them not really looking at each other, the conversation is nice. It's calming.

It makes him feel better than he has in days.

He's glad he came to visit.

---

The next day is normal as well. Sakura and Lee drop by in the morning, Sakura winning the race this time.

Naruto wastes no time in telling Sakura that he supposedly likes Hinata, because of course he does. To no surprise whatsoever, Sakura reacts to the news with a cheerful oh yeah, he's liked her for ages. She and Ino are complete morons about this.

The idiot is delighted to find another ally. He's never going to hear the end of this.

Fortunately, Naruto decides not to break their truce. Sure, there's a little teasing, but it's more amusing than anything else, though of course he'd never admit that. Sakura tries to take it further, but him bringing up her own attraction to Naruto is enough to make her zip it. It also makes Lee switch from congratulating him on his Youthful Feelings for Hinata, to congratulating Naruto and Sakura on their own feelings. Revenge is sweet.

After breakfast is over, he gets to work. He takes more breaks than he did yesterday, meeting up with Hinata for lunch, and dropping by the Dancing Dragon to start planning Naruto's surprise party. It'll take a few days before they're ready. They have most things already, but a few things are still missing. And they need to make sure everyone is available.

He can't believe Naruto hasn't said anything about his lack of welcome home presents. From what he's seen of the idiot, it genuinely hasn't crossed his mind that he should get some. He's just happy to be home, nothing more needed.

He's going to get more whether he likes it or not. Not that Naruto will complain. The opposite. If the idiot doesn't burst out crying, Sasuke will be very surprised.

He meets up with Naruto as well, and he learns that Naruto and Ino had a spar. Naruto made the mistake of not using his genjutsu repelling toads from the start, and Ino caught him in some nasty illusions before he could rectify that. Unlike his own genjutsus, designed to subtly mess up people's perception, Ino's illusions are designed to freak you the fuck out. Yamanaka can screw with your mind like no one else.

Ino kicked Naruto's ass. Not once but twice, though she had to work a lot harder the second time. Well, technically speaking Naruto won the second time. His summons managed to land a fatal hit on Ino right as she cut him with a poisoned kunai. But in a real fight, Naruto would've been incapacitated as well. Even now, he almost threw up when the poison hit his system. The only reason he didn't is because of his healing factor. And the only reason Ino didn't use an even stronger poison is because it was a spar.

The result is Naruto being torn between annoyance at losing and admiration for how much Ino has improved. Ino was never weak, but one on one fighting didn't used to be her strong suit.

The Sound Four mission changed a lot of things.

When they get home, Naruto picks up that something is going on of course. Meiri sucks at being subtle almost as much as Naruto himself does. She is, however, good at deflecting. In this case it's even easier than usual. Naruto's crush on Sakura makes for great smokescreen material. Even better, Rin joins in and lists all the reasons that Sakura is amazing, offering Meiri the perfect openings.

Naruto gives him a pleading look, begging for help. Sasuke refuses with a smirk. He might have agreed to a truce, but that doesn't mean he can't enjoy the idiot being roasted by others.

Naruto wisely decides that getting Meiri to spill isn't worth the teasing. Meiri rewards him by doing her absolute best to hold her tongue about Sakura.

Unfortunately, that means her need to tease manifests itself as jabs at his own supposed crush on Hinata. Sasuke rolls his eyes and counters with unimpressed remarks, but he isn't truly annoyed. By Meiri's standards, she's behaving herself. Things get a bit more annoying when Kakashi gets home and goads her on, but by his standards, he's behaving himself as well. Will wonders never cease.

Aside from that minor annoyance, things are nice. There's talking and laughing, and Naruto wins over the kids some more by summoning the two tigers he used in their spar. They're sisters, named Inju and Sutoraipu, and they're a huge hit. Rin wastes no time in asking if she can pet them, while Obito wastes no time in introducing them to Inu-chan. Inju plays along, earnestly greeting his plush, and she gives her sister a reprimanding wack with her tail when Sutoraipu points out that Inu-chan isn't actually a dog, or even a real cat. Rin, petting Inju, patiently explains that he's a real cat plush. It's important to be nice to plushes. It shows that you like the person they belong to, and doesn't Sutoraipu like Obito?

That last is delivered with a warning glare that tells Sutoraipu the answer better be yes. Rin even halts her petting of Inju until Sutoraipu confirms that she does, in fact, like Obito. Inju snickers, while Obito beams. Rin resumes petting Inju.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" Inju asks with amusement, while Obito asks Sutoraipu if she would please let him and Inu-chan ride her. Sutoraipu agrees, to Obito's great delight. Naruto helps him get on her back.

"Yes," Rin answers matter of factly, already knowing what the word means as usual. "I'm very clever as well."

Meiri snorts with laughter while Naruto lets out a startled chuckle. Kakashi's eye is crinkled in his version of a grin. Sasuke is grinning as well. Rin might have trouble understanding just how big the difference between her and normal people is, but she's well aware that she's smarter than average.

"Rin, look!" Obito yells with delight while Sutoraipu carries him around the room. "We're flying!"

Sasuke's grin grows. Obito might not be a prodigy, but his joy in literally everything never fails to brighten the room.

When bedtime for the kids starts approaching, they prepare for story time. It's something that started after Naruto went on his trip, but while he was a bit wistful the first night, he's wholeheartedly enthusiastic this time. They'll see about getting him to play an active part later on, after Obito and Rin have gotten more used to him living here. They were already confused, and in Rin's case, suspicious enough when he joined as part of the audience. Luckily, Naruto's enthusiastic participation, marveling, cheering and holding his breath in all the right places, means they've accepted him as a Good Audience Member.

They do this every two nights. Tonight it's Obito's turn to pick a story. To no surprise whatsoever, he picks The Yellow Flash.

"You always pick that one," Rin says, not quite complaining but very close to it.

"And you always pick something different," Obito says happily, in no way affected by her implied criticism. His easy going nature is a true blessing.

Rin huffs but doesn't say anything more. This is Obito's night, and that means Obito gets to pick.

The four of them settle down the couch, while he and Kakashi and take up position. Rin, for all that she'd been grumbling before, is swept along as quickly as Obito is when the story starts. Meiri, putting on her best storyteller voice, reads from the children's book like she hasn't done it a thousand times before. She no longer needs the book, can recite it by heart, but her turning the pages is as much a part of the ritual as his and Kakashi's show is.

Sasuke plays out the story with Kakashi, the movements familiar. Rin's habit of choosing a different story every time offers a variety and challenge he enjoys, but there's something comforting about doing the same routine as well. A routine that's gotten increasingly complex over the past months.

He sends the flames licking over his arm to Kakashi's hand, Kakashi taking over the fine manipulation and making the fire his own. They're fooling around, true, but this whole thing is a good control exercise as well. Not that this truly matters.

What matters is that they're having fun. What matters is that they're transforming the story into something magical and unique.

What matters is that Obito and Rin are looking at them like they're the most amazing people in the world.

"And the Yellow Flash went flash! Flash! Flash!"

"Flash! Flash! Flash!" Obito, Rin and Naruto chant as well, him and Kakashi mimicking the famous sight through a combination of minor genjutsu and lightning manipulation. Normally the words are accompanied by mere hand gestures, but where's the fun in that?

Obito, Rin and Naruto burst into applause. He and Kakashi bow with flourish, officially ending the story.

This isn't like what his family used to do. The illusions are minor, nothing like the elaborate scenes his mother used to create with her Sharingan. The elemental manipulation is simple and nowhere near the intricate fire dances his clan used to perform.

It isn't the same. But it feels achingly familiar nonetheless.

It feels like the closest thing to a family he can allow himself to have.

After Obito and Rin are put to bed, the rest of them settle down to do their own thing. Meiri and Kakashi take over a couch like usual, Meiri tucked against Kakashi's side and shutting out the world as she starts writing. Kakashi starts reading the Icha Icha Naruto got him, one of his hands caressing Meiri's arm. Sasuke gets out the puzzle he's working on, locked away during the day to prevent Rin from working on it, and resumes completing it.

Naruto summons one of the genjutsu repelling toads, the male half of the bickering couple that helped him during their spar. His name is Fukasaku. Under Fukasaku's guidance, Naruto starts up a balancing exercise.

The exercise isn't demanding enough to keep him from chattering like crazy. Sasuke listens with half an ear, occasionally responding when the conversation warrants it, but most of his attention is on his puzzle.

Or rather, it is until he notices just what it is that Naruto is doing. When he does, he turns to face him and activates his Sharingan, careful to keep his puzzle out of sight. He doesn't want to ruin his fun.

"Cheater," Naruto says with a smile, not opening his eyes as he keeps balancing on one hand through a combination of chakra usage and muscle control. The intriguing part is that he's slowly lowering his chakra usage and until he's keeping upright through pure muscle, before slowly switching to keeping upright through pure chakra usage.

"Shouldn't have done it where I can see it then," he counters. He's seen exercises like this before, Sakura does way more extreme versions than this. Still, it's surprising to see Naruto do this. It doesn't exactly fit his style.

"The toads are obsessed with balance," Naruto answers his unspoken question, neither his lack of vision nor his long absence affecting his ability to read his thoughts. "They don't want their summoners to make them look bad. Which is hilarious, what with them letting Pervy Sage sign their contract and all."

"Jiraiya-chan's a bit rough around the edges, but he's got potential," Fukasaku, seated on Naruto's foot, says like he isn't talking about one of the Sannin. Jiraiya-chan? Really? "So do ya," Fukasaku finishes with a – curious, considering – shrewd look at him. More specifically, at the seal beneath his choker.

The toad suspects very strongly. Sasuke does his best to keep from reacting to this knowledge, but – the corners of his eyes tighten, his fingers twitch before he can help it – Fukasaku sees through him. The confirmation of his suspicions makes him turn – more curious and considering – satisfied and pleased.

Sasuke supposes he shouldn't be surprised by Fukasaku being able to tell what the seal is for. Still, having a stranger figure out his trump card so easily isn't fun.

He ensures he doesn't reveal anything more to Fukasaku by focusing on the screw up Naruto is about to perform.

"Wait, you mean–"

Naruto falls silent as he messes up the ratio between muscle control and chakra usage, distracted by the sudden visual stimulation. Opening his eyes was not a good idea. The recovery he's performing is done on habit instead of with real intention though, his attention still on the meaning behind Fukasaku's words.

The result is a very sloppy recovery. Analyzing all the flaws is another good way to keep Fukasaku from figuring out anything more.

Unfortunately, he won't be able to focus on it much longer.

"Stay focused, Naruto-chan," Fukasaku says, an order for all that it's delivered casually.

The order is ignored.

"No, no, this is more important," Naruto says while coming out of his handstand. Fukasaku hops off his foot, annoyed but not surprised by Naruto's reaction. "You think he has potential?"

The way Naruto says it makes clear this is a huge deal. Thanks to his Sharingan, he knows exactly how huge a deal it is.

He knows exactly what is is that the toad knows.

Before Fukasaku can answer, Naruto aims an accusing look his way. Sasuke is pleased. Banter is another good way to keep his secrets.

"You were holding back."

"And you obviously used up every one of your trump cards," he counters while turning off his Sharingan, his voice dry as dust. It was a spar, of course he was holding back.

Naruto crossing his arms is all the answer he needs, even without adding in his reluctant smile.

"What about Sakura-chan?" the idiot actually feels the need to ask. Sasuke gives him a look that tells him exactly how moronic that question is. Naruto tilts his head with a wry smile, conceding the point.

"I hope you don't think I revealed all I can do either," Kakashi says with mock offense, making them look at him. To no surprise, Kakashi is still reading. Genuinely so, not pretending to. It couldn't be more clear who Rin inherited her absurd situational awareness from.

To underline this point, Meiri chews her pen while going over what she just wrote, utterly oblivious to what's going on.

"You're Nekonin," Naruto dismisses with a wave of his hand, the silent of course I didn't think that coming through loud and clear.

Kakashi turns a page, looking mightily pleased with himself.

"Are ya gonna get back to yer training, Naruto-chan?" Fukasaku asks in the voice of someone who already knows the answer.

"In a moment," Naruto confirms his assumption, making Fukasaku let out a resigned sigh. "So what else can you do?"

"Tell me yours and I'll tell you mine," he counters with a smirk. Naruto huffs with amusement.

"Nice try. I'm not giving up the chance to blow your mind that easily," he says with a cheeky grin.

"Then why do you think I would?"

Naruto shrugs cheerfully.

"Worth a shot. Oh hey, before I forget," he says, switching topics without warning like usual. "Do you want a summon?"

Does he want a what?

"Yes," he answers on instinct, still reeling from the casual way Naruto dropped that bomb shell of an offer. There's a reason summon contracts are guarded so vehemently.

"Cool," the idiot says like there's nothing out of the ordinary about this conversation. "I already asked Sakura-chan and Ino," he says while unsealing a pen and notebook. "Sakura-chan refused, she wants to sign the Slug Contract. I told her she still could even with having another summon, but she was really adamant about it."

"It's a point of pride," he absently explains, hysterically amused at Naruto apparently handing out summons left and right. "She gets to sign it if she can master a technique Tsunade-sama is teaching her." What technique he has no idea, but given that it involves her storing away basically all her Yin chakra for the past two years, to the point where she overhauled her entire skill set to power as many techniques with the Yang Release as is possible, it's something huge.

He's pretty sure that this technique is going to make her all but invincible. Because Sakura clearly isn't unstoppable enough already.

"That's what she said," Naruto says, taking a seat besides him. "Ino was interested though, but she's still thinking of what kind of summon she wants. A taijutsu specialist, but she isn't sure of the details yet."

The revelation that Naruto isn't just offering a summon but a customized summon only makes his hysterical amusement grow. It's so easy to forget that for all the ways he's an idiot, Naruto is a genius in his own right as well.

Fukasaku letting out another resigned sigh snaps him out of his shock.

"I see we ain't getting any more work done today," he says in a clipped voice. Naruto is completely unaffected by his disapproval. "Call me when ya decide to take this seriously, Naruto-chan."

"Will do," the idiot says while flipping to a blank page in his notebook. Fukasaku lets out another sigh and dispels himself. Sasuke takes the opportunity to look at Kakashi. Who responds by glancing at Naruto and then giving him a look that's impressed, proud, and helplessly amused. A mirror to his own feelings.

"So what kind of summon do you want?" Naruto asks. "We can do a reverse summon if you want of course, but if you want something specific, I can do that too."

"I want a bird," he answers without hesitation, excitement starting to rise. "One big enough to carry me on its back."

That would be so cool.

"Want to fly, bastard?" Naruto asks with a smile, acting like that desire is in any way out of the ordinary.

"Who doesn't?"

Case in point, Naruto has multiple summons for that exact purpose.

Naruto concedes the point with a grin.

"So, a large bird," he says, writing that down. "What else?"

Sasuke thinks of crows and feels his throat tighten.

"Colorful. It needs to be colorful."

Naruto lets out a hum that means he knows exactly what turn his thoughts have taken.

He doesn't ask. He never does. Not about this. It's one of the things Sasuke appreciates most about him.

"Colorful, got it. What else?"

"What else is possible?" A lot, according to what he wrote, but what exactly are the limits?

"Lots of things," Naruto says, and then he starts rattling off a seemingly endless list. Fighting styles, chakra natures, species, personality and the amount of experience they have. A lone summon or one that belongs to a clan. Basically everything you can think of can be determined.

Or rather, Naruto can search for basically anything a person can think of.

He really has become a Seal Master, hasn't he.

Kakashi flips to an earlier part of his novel and rereads it slowly, most of his attention on what Naruto is saying.

"You need to limit yourself to just a few things of course," Naruto says with the voice of experience. "The more specific you get, the longer it takes to find a summon that fits all your wants. But you also need to be specific enough, you know? Otherwise you get pretty big odds of reeling in someone you don't want to work with. Or who doesn't want to work with you."

"Reel in?" he asks, bemused. Naruto makes it sound like fishing.

"It's like fishing," Naruto says, making him snort with laughter. Trust the idiot to confirm his thoughts like that. "The seal is the bait and your chakra is the rod. Oh yeah, heads up, this is going to take a lot of chakra."

"Will it kill me?" he asks, only half joking. If Naruto says something is going to take a lot of chakra, dying of chakra exhaustion is a very real possibility.

"Not if you reel in your line fast enough," Naruto says with a cheeky grin. He's really taking this fishing comparison and running with it.

But then, that's how all of Naruto's seals work.

"What if you haven't, ah. Gotten a bite yet?" Or does that simply not happen?

"Then you try again later," Naruto says, revealing that it can, in fact, happen. "Bait stays good as long as it doesn't get bitten."

It doesn't, actually. But given that this is a seal, the rules of decay are a little different than normal.

Besides, the point isn't that real bait can go bad. The point is that Naruto believes his seal won't go bad until a summon "bites" it. So it won't.

Naruto owns his seals, body, mind and soul. He actually sucks at using standard seals, or he used to at least, but the seals he designs himself? Those do exactly what he wants them to. Well, the final versions do. The prototypes are a different story.

There have been some very spectacular failures over the years. Sasuke can only imagine how much worse they must've become on his trip, when Naruto dove into the time-space manipulation that is summoning. He's betting Jiraiya had more than a few heart stopping moments when one of Naruto's creations blew up in his face. Literally so, or worse.

Though if the result is Naruto being able to create contracts for customized summons, well. That's more than worth a couple of moments of panic. Or a lot of moments. Yeah, he knew Naruto was finding his own summons, but reading about it is completely different from being confronted with it like this.

And Naruto, instead of hoarding his contracts like the trump cards they are, is freely handing them out left and right. His generosity is going to come back and bite him in the ass one day.

Though now that he's thinking about it.

"Have you offered one to Hinata yet?"

As soon as the question escapes him he realizes he's made a mistake. Naruto confirms this by giving him a shit eating grin.

"I haven't. Do you want me to?" the idiot asks in a way that would've been innocent if he wasn't still, you know. Wearing a shit eating grin.

"I figured that if you asked Sakura, you asked her as well," he counters with a warning look, letting Naruto know he has no issue whatsoever with fighting fire with fire. The idiot chuckles but mercifully doesn't break their truce.

"I'll ask her after I finish the seals for you and Ino."

Sasuke smiles. He doesn't know for sure if Hinata will accept, but he'd be very surprised if she refuses. Ignoring that Naruto is the one offering it, it's a customized summon. How cool is that?

The fact that those stuck up pricks she has to call family are going to disapprove only makes the offer even sweeter. Well no, they won't disapprove of a customized summon, that would be ridiculous.

They're going to disapprove of the specific summon Hinata is going to pick. She might struggle with doing things her family won't approve of, but she takes secret pleasure in doing so as well. Well, not quite so secret anymore. The older she gets, the more she lets it show.

"It'll take longer to make though, I don't know her as well as you guys."

While it's true that Hinata isn't as close to Naruto as he, Sakura and Ino are by far, they're definitely friends. Naruto saying he doesn't know her well enough to create a contract for her reveals that he apparently isn't handing out contracts to everyone he meets after all.

"And this matters because..." he drawls.

"Because I need to know her really well for the seal."

At his raised brow, Naruto launches into another explanation. Picking the kind of summon you want is only the first step. The second is to add what kind of person you are. Personality, hopes and dreams, likes and dislikes. It's all part of the "bait" you cast.

"You need to let them know what kind of person they're dealing with. It's a waste of everyone's time of they meet you and decide that they don't like you. I mean, that can still happen, but it happens a lot less if you give them a heads up."

"So you're just sharing your life story with every passing summon?" he asks, incredulous and seriously reconsidering this whole thing. Sharing his past with random summons is not something he's comfortable with.

"No, no, nothing like that," Naruto says with a wave of his hand, soothing some of his worry. "It's not that they see, like, specific events."

A tactful way of saying they won't see his past.

"It's just a feeling, you know? A sense of who you are. Are you snarky? Cheerful? Brave? Do you value family? Friends? Do you dislike power? Cowardice? Things like that."

And the last of his worry fades away. That he can live with.

They talk awhile longer, the conversation turning to the contract itself. He doesn't have any requirements beyond it being a large and colorful bird after all. Well no, he does have one other requirement.

The bird needs to be fast. Very fast. That's basically all he'd like though. Sure, it would be nice if it's a wind specialist, or maybe a genjutsu specialist, but it definitely isn't a requirement.

The contract itself, on the other hand, will require a lot of thought. Yes, the basics are easy, but there's literally no limit to how much the specifics can vary. There's also the fact that the summon has an equal say in the contract. The tricky part is finding something you both agree on.

Their conversation is interrupted by the bell ringing. Enhancing his senses, he's surprised to find who's at the door.

What is Hinata doing here so late?

"It's for them," Kakashi says without halting his reading, responding to Meiri remembering that there exists a world beyond her writing. "Might be for Sasuke in particular," Kakashi continues with mock innocence, because Kakashi is an asshole.

Meiri, still coming out of her writing haze, needs a moment to process the meaning behind his words. Then she gains a slow and gleeful grin because of course she does.

"Have fun, brat," she says while he and Naruto make their way to the entrance, her voice all but drowning in innuendo. He rolls his eyes but doesn't react further, and he completely ignores the snicker the idiot lets out. All of them are being ridiculous.

He opens the door, Naruto standing besides him. As soon as he does, worry spikes.

Hinata looks positively frazzled. She's tensed up, worrying the inside of her cheek, and her hands are wringing together.

"What's wrong?" Did something happen to her sister? Her teammates? Neji? Anyone else in her family? Their friends?

Hinata startles before she actually bows, so out of it she's falling back on excessive manners.

"Good evening, Sasuke, Naruto."

"Hey, Hinata," Naruto says but Sasuke is far more focused on what's making Hinata act like this.

"Hinata, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!" she squeaks before blushing with embarrassment at her own reaction. She takes a deep breath and pulls herself together, only the rapid fidgeting of her hands betraying her continued distress. "Nothing– nothing is wrong."

That would be a lot more believable if she hadn't stuttered.

"That's good," Naruto says with a smile, clearly not fooled by her act either. But he's trying to put her at ease by acting like nothing unusual is going on. Sasuke is grateful. "Do you want to come in?"

Sasuke mentally slaps himself for forgetting to offer that. Quickly moving aside, he gestures her inside.

Hinata refuses.

"No, I– thank you, but no. I was... I was hoping you might want to take a walk with me?"

The question is aimed at him. It's hesitant, pleading and almost fearful. Stabbing him right in the gut.

"Of course." Whatever she needs.

Naruto snorts softly, telling him and you wonder why I think you like her, but Sasuke couldn't care less about that. Right now the only thing on his mind is making sure that Hinata is all right. The fact that she doesn't react to Naruto's snort beyond a flicker of her eyes only makes his worry grow.

What happened to her?

When he steps outside, the idiot has the nerve to give him a shit eating grin and, in the exact same voice Meiri used, tells him to have fun you two.

Sasuke shuts the door in his face.

"He's being an idiot," he explains to Hinata when his action startles and confuses her.

"Ah," she says and doesn't ask for anything more. Yet another sign that something is seriously wrong.

They start walking. Sasuke lets her pick the route. Which turns out to be the route to their usual park, though it's obvious that Hinata didn't consciously decide their destination. She's moving on autopilot, far more focused on readying herself to spill. Sasuke bites the inside of his cheek to keep himself from interrogating her. There's no need for that. She'll tell him what's going on. He only needs to be patient.

"So what's wrong?"

He sucks at being patient.

"Nothing," Hinata rushes out, so clearly lying it isn't even funny. He gives her a look that tells her exactly how much he doesn't believe her. Then he regrets doing that when she actually cringes, but she takes a deep breath and straightens with determination before he can apologize. "Nothing is wrong, Sasuke."

She seems sincere, but given that she also keeps looking like a bundle of nerves, never mind that she actually cringed, he isn't inclined to believe her.

Hinata, realizing that he isn't convinced, finally starts explaining what's going on.

"I was talking with Kiba and Shino, telling them that I confessed to Naruto."

Wait, this is about her confessing to the idiot? Is she hurt by his rejection after all?

The thought makes his stomach sink. He knew her acceptance of what happened was too easy.

"They were really happy for me," Hinata assures him, misinterpreting his reaction. "But during our talk I realized– that is, they made me realize that... that the reason his rejection didn't hurt is because..."

"Because..." he says when she doesn't continue, a strange sense of doom creeping up on him.

Hinata takes a deep breath and stops walking. He follows her lead, trying to keep his own nerves from showing. She meets his gaze with determination.

"Because I like someone else."

She what.

"Oh?" he somehow manages to ask in a normal way. "Who is it?"

Kiba? Shino? Shikamaru? Choji? Someone from her clan?

"I like..."

Hinata falters but then she stubbornly lifts her chin and prepares to say it anyway. Sasuke braces himself for the worst. He doesn't know what the worst is, but he knows it's coming.

"I like you, Sasuke."

She what?

Sasuke vaguely realizes that his jaw has gone slack and that he's staring at her like an idiot, but he's still struggling to make sense of the words he must've misheard.

Except Hinata keeps talking and leaves no doubt that he didn't, in fact, mishear her.

"I like you. I think I have for a long time now. I just didn't realize because..."

Because of her crush on the idiot, an absent part of him fills in.

"But I realize it now," Hinata continues, firm and determined and speaking nothing but the truth. "And I told myself that I wouldn't– I wouldn't make the same mistake twice. So I'm telling you that I like you. And I was wondering if you would– that is, if you want to..."

All her confidence deserts her, her gaze skittering away from his and her index fingers pushing together. When she speaks, her voice is a whisper that grows more quiet with every word she says.

"Would you... would you maybe like to go out? On a date? With... me?"

Sasuke vaguely realizes that he's supposed to answer. To his horror, all that escapes him is a strangled sound.

Hinata closes her eyes and slumps with disappointment and hurt.

"You don't like me like that."

"I do."

The words cause a wave of panic, or maybe joy, incredulity, delight, terror, he has no idea. All he can focus on is the sudden realization that it's true. He does like Hinata like that. He likes her, he wants to date her, he wants her to be his girlfriend.

He has no idea how to handle this.

Hinata's head snaps up and she looks at him with utter disbelief.

"You do?"

And then the veins lining her eyes are bulging, her Byakugan activating, on purpose or accident he isn't sure, but he's far more preoccupied with the fact that she's about to know exactly how he's feeling and he doesn't even know how he's feeling and he thinks he's happy except he's also terrified because Hinata likes him and he likes her back.

Hinata gains a radiant smile and her cheeks burst into flames. Her hands come up in front of her face with disbelieving delight, and she bounces on the balls of her feet, the movement graceful as always.

He's suddenly struck by just how beautiful she is. Yes, he's always aware that she's extremely pretty, but right now it's hitting him with an intensity he's completely unprepared for.

He's so screwed.

"You do," she whispers, unable to believe what her Byakugan is telling her. The veins around her eyes recede and she lets out a disbelieving laugh. "You do. That's, uhm, I mean, that is..."

Hinata giggles, the sound bright and beautiful and he is so, so screwed.

"I need to think about this," he hears himself blurt out, the world seeming distant and strangely out of focus. The only clear thing is Hinata. Hinata, and the red creeping over the edges of his vision.

"Yes, of course, whatever you need," she rushes out, still all but glowing with happiness. She bounces on her feet again, and he's suddenly struck by the fact that she's so happy because of him.

Sasuke vaguely realizes that he's grinning. And blushing. Which is weird, because he kind of feels like crying instead. Or maybe screaming.

"Right, I'm just... yeah."

And then his feet are carrying him away and Hinata giggles again and he abruptly realizes just how much of a jackass he's being. He forces himself to halt and to turn around.

"See you later?"

He did not mean for that to come out as a question.

Hinata's smile becomes even more radiant. The moonlight makes her look soft and almost ethereal, but it's the crinkles lining her eyes and the faint dimples in her cheeks that draws his attention the most. Hinata is more happy than he's ever known her to be.

She's more beautiful than he's ever known her to be.

So screwed.

"See you later, Sasuke."

His blush grows worse and this time he hurries away from her in a way he didn't before. Not quite running but very much wanting to. Another bright giggle follows him as he flees.

The more distance he gains from her, the more his smile fades, until he finally looks as panicked as he feels.

Hinata likes him. Hinata likes him and he likes her back. He should feel happy and part of him does, part of him is all but dancing with joy and walking on clouds.

Most of him is terrified.

He likes Hinata. He wants to date her. He wants her to be his girlfriend.

The mere idea paralyses him with fear. She can't be his girlfriend, she just can't.

Not when just thinking about it makes the world turn red, red, red.

---

...

---

Three Years Ago

Kakashi disengages a few traps and activates some others, making sure none can slip through the defenses by copying the route he just took. He finishes by activating the wards he forces himself to leave inactive during the day. Ensuring no one can enter without force. Aside from Gai and Tenzo, but they won't use the keys he gave them unless it's an emergency.

He shifts his hold on Sasuke, asleep on his back, to a more comfortable position, careful not to wake him. Not difficult to do. Sasuke is exhausted. Will have recovered enough by tomorrow to continue, pushing him too far would only hurt his training. But like every day before this one, he's been pushed to the brink.

He needs to be pushed if he's going to have even a chance at surviving the match against Gaara.

Entering their home, he goes to Sasuke's room, checking up on everyone else in the process. After getting Sasuke into his pajamas and putting him to bed, he makes a beeline for Obito's room.

The visual confirmation that Obito and Meiri are all right makes all tension rush out of him.

"Hey, Boss," Akino breathes out, careful not to wake Obito. Bull, visible through the open door that connects Obito's room to his and Meiri's, flicks an ear in greeting. He's sprawled out against Meiri's back, warming her in his absence.

Kakashi scratches Akino's favorite spot behind his ears, takes off his gloves, and gently, so very gently, caresses Obito's cheek.

Obito remains fast asleep, drooling all over his favorite plush. Akino is curled around him, his tail positioned so he can yank Obito onto his back and make a run for it if needed. The sight soothes him further. Obito is safe.

Except he isn't because he is so fragile. Just falling down the wrong way could kill him –

Not going down that route.

"How is he?" he asks Akino, his voice less than a breath.

"Fussy. He misses you. And the pup, but mostly you."

And Kakashi misses him. Every morning is a struggle to leave.

It's a struggle he'd lose if Obito was already awake.

It sucks so much that Meiri is pregnant. While he'll be the first to admit that his worry for Obito and his difficulty in leaving him is an ever present issue, her pregnancy makes it so much harder to deal with those things. That's without adding in his worry over Meiri herself.

Akino starts reporting what happened during the day. Akino wasn't present for most of it, his shift only started right before Naruto went to bed, but Urushi and Guruko briefed him on what happened during the day. Well, Guruko did. Urushi and briefings are not compatible in any way.

As Akino fills him in on what happened, he keeps touching Obito. Checking his breathing, taking his pulse, and various other things. Ensuring that he's in perfect health. Most things he already picked up on through other senses, but verifying it by touch settles him further.

Obito's knees are scraped. Akino informs him that Obito didn't even notice it happening. It was caused by him crawling around, not because he fell. And Meiri disinfected the minor, for all intents and purposes irrelevant injury. There's nothing to worry about. Intellectually he knows that.

Doesn't stop him from worrying anyway.

Sometimes he wonders if this is how his father felt. If he felt the same fear, the constant worry that something might happen even when he was present. The terror and panic whenever he had to leave.

Kakashi doesn't think he did. Not like he does.

Father left him. He left him in a way Kakashi is incapable of doing to Obito. He'll watch over Obito until the day – Obito – he dies. He'll do the same for his daughter. Even – when – if he loses one of them, he won't do to the other what his father did to him.

The knowledge is more comforting than he can put into words.

After he's assured himself that Obito is doing just fine, he gives Akino another scratch behind his ears and moves to Meiri. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he lays one hand on their daughter and, with the most delicate touch possible, he injects a sliver of chakra into Meiri's system and verifies as best he can that their daughter is all right.

She is.

After checking all of Meiri's vitals, he finally feels the last of his tension fade away.

Giving Bull another caress, he gets up and inspects their home for anything out of the ordinary, tightens the security to the highest level, and gives Naruto a more thorough inspection as well. Then he lifts his headband and, as fast as he can without sacrificing efficiency, he gives their home a final inspection with Obito's eye.

Even having it open for so short a time makes Obito's eye throb painfully, the drain lingering for several moments even after he's closed it again. He's getting worse.

He won't be able to put off the surgery much longer.

Kakashi pushes those thoughts away. He has enough to worry about already without adding that in as well.

He goes to the bathroom and prepares for bed. When he finishes, Bull gets off the bed. Meiri lets out a protesting sound and moves around a little, reacting to the loss in warmth.

He replaces Bull's warmth with his own, lying down behind her. Curling around her, he gently positions her so there's as little strain on her body as possible and so he can immediately grab her without harming their daughter and get them out of harm's way. One of his hands lays on top of their daughter. His other caresses Meiri's ribs in a way that will wake her.

If it was up to him he'd let her sleep. She needs it. But Meiri would make him suffer if he doesn't let her know that he's back.

Besides. While the part of him that's constantly worrying over her health wants her to remain asleep, every other part of him wants to wake her.

The ticklish sensation he's causing, one she'd hate if he were to do it while she was awake, makes Meiri frown. He stops his tickling and switches to caressing her cheek when she starts regaining consciousness.

She turns her head towards him by habit, bleary eyes trying and failing to make sense of what she's seeing. Her conscious mind still catching up to what's going on. He tilts his head to better catch the little light in the room. It doesn't make much of a difference for her ability to see, civilian night vision is awful even under the best of circumstances, but the familiar play of light helps her to consciously register what's going on. When she does, she slurs out his name in greeting, drowsily lifting a hand with the intention to cover the one he's still caressing her cheek with. He meets her halfway, twining their fingers together and positioning his wrist so he can best feel her pulse.

"How's Sas'ke?" she mumbles, not quite awake yet. Her closing her eyes again isn't helping.

"He's fine. Tired, but fine." Making good progress as well. At this rate he'll be able to perform a sloppy version of the Chidori by the time the finals arrive. His taijutsu will be good enough for him to effectively use it as well. The benefits of him having awakened his Sharingan.

It won't be enough to kill Gaara. But it might just be enough to incapacitate him. And if it isn't enough, the lightning manipulation he's all but shoving down Sasuke's throat will give him the skill he needs to disrupt the bonds between Gaara's sand if he gets caught by it. It – won't – should buy him enough time to allow the match to be called before he's crushed to death.

Kakashi hates that he isn't allowed to interfere unless the match is called. He will if he has to, but the consequences won't be pretty.

If the match is called, it's a different story. Then he can openly interfere without repercussions. Or Tenzo can. Tenzo is worrying about Sasuke's first match almost as much as he is. He's also greatly regretting entering the brats in the Chunin Exams. It was supposed to be a relatively safe opportunity to give them some solo experience, showing them what to expect from future Chunin Exams, where they won't have the home advantage. Instead it's turned into this catastrophe.

He forces himself to stop thinking about this. If he doesn't, he's going to go insane with worry. Instead he focuses on Meiri's scent and the warmth of her body against his. On her steady breathing and her strong heart beat. Right now, all of them are fine. Including Sasuke.

His assurance makes Meiri let out a pleased hum, her thoughts clearing a little more. She moves their hands to bring them her lips. He ensures she finds her mark instead of hitting her own nose. Well, tapping her nose, but when she's pregnant, same difference.

She kisses the back of his hand, the familiar touch relaxing him further.

"And you?"

He nuzzles her hair, making her let out another pleased hum, and tells her the truth.

"Fine now that I'm here."

"Good."

He savors the feeling of her lips on his hand and her breath ghosting over his skin a moment longer before posing his own question. The fact that he already knows the answer doesn't make him want to hear it out loud any less.

"How are you?"

"Tired," she says wryly, his presence and her drowsy state of mind making this fact more humorous than frustrating. Her amusement is exactly what he needed. "Moody. Horny."

He smiles, not surprised by her answer. Even without what his nose alone already told him, her libido shot through the roof around this time when she was pregnant with Obito as well. Combined with his own need to stay out of sight, they ended up with recreating the first months of their relationship.

A blindfold is a very good way to get around his need to remain hidden.

"I could take care of that for you," he offers, generously.

"I prefer to be more awake when having my brain melted."

"Here I was trying to be generous."

"Oh yes, no benefit for you at all."

He grins, their banter lifting his mood as nothing else can. Even half awake, her need to have the final word is strong as ever. Stronger even. Right now she's literally incapable of filtering herself.

He closes his eye and listens to the comforting rhythm of her and Obito's breathing. Feels the steady beating of her heart and the faint and subtle presence of their daughter. All of them are fine. All of them are safe.

For now.

At least he doesn't have to worry about Naruto. The only way he'd face Gaara is if the both of them make it to the finals. While he won't deny there are reasonable odds of that happening, Naruto can forfeit in a way Sasuke can't.

Sasuke's first match is against Gaara. Forfeiting too soon would make Konoha look weak. While Kakashi couldn't care less about that for once, he does care about the message it would send about Sasuke in specific.

It would send the message that the Last Uchiha is an easy target. That's a reputation Sasuke can't afford to have. Not now that he's awakened his Sharingan.

Fortunately, Naruto doesn't face the same problem. It doesn't mean this tournament won't be dangerous for him, but the danger is manageable. While Neji has more than a few anger issues, Naruto won't trigger him like someone from the Main House would. Neji won't try to kill him. Try to beat him, yes, but not kill him. Even without the stern talk he's undoubtedly gotten from his clan about not making Konoha look weak in front of potential clients, Gai won't allow Neji to lose himself like that.

He's grateful that the Third decided to pit Naruto against Neji. He's even more grateful that they're the first match of the day.

It means that Sasuke won't take stupid risks in order to advance in the tournament. There's no reason for that if it won't get him in a position of facing Neji. The odds of Neji winning against Naruto were already incredibly low to begin with, but Naruto having somehow roped Jiraiya-sama into letting him sign the Toad Contract and into giving him pointers about sealing, has reduced them to zero. That's an enormous weight off his shoulders.

It's going to take a lot of work to make Sasuke let go of his desire to kill Neji. But that's a problem for later, after – if – he survives the finals.

With any other opponent, he wouldn't worry about Sasuke dying. Because no other opponent is a mentally unstable Jinchuriki. Their alliance with Sand, already existing only in the loosest of terms, is clearly coming to an end. Them sending over Gaara makes that more than clear.

Then there's Orochimaru infiltrating their defenses like they aren't even there and inflicting the Cursed Seal on Sasuke. Because why not add another disaster on top of everything else.

"I can hear you worrying," Meiri lies. Civilians are not known for their observational skills. But she knows him well enough to guess.

Even so.

"You're an awful liar."

"And you're an arrogant bastard."

Her smile is warm. He kisses the back of her neck, letting her know that he's fine. Well, as fine as can be under the circumstances.

She's pregnant. She's pregnant, the village is filled with foreign ninja because of the Chunin Exam, including the very obviously unhinged Sand Jinchuriki, and Orochimaru infiltrated their defenses and all but wrote his desire to kidnap Sasuke across the sky. Any one of those things would be enough to make him worry like mad, but combined they make him feel as though he's one step away from a full blown meltdown. It's made even worse by the need to keep Sasuke isolated, for health, security and political reasons, while simultaneously preparing him to face Gaara. And to put on a good show as well.

Fortunately, Sasuke is dramatic by nature. Him putting on a show won't be an issue.

Part of him is almost starting to hope that him surviving won't be either.

Almost.

So yes, he's handling it. Surprisingly well if he does say so himself. Oh, he's ramped up the defenses of their home to what even he can't deny are paranoid levels, ordered Naruto to have the pack guard Meiri and Obito at all times, and all but begged Gai and Tenzo to check up on them every day and to inform him of anything he needs to know the moment he arrives. But overall, he's keeping it surprisingly together.

Right now, curled around Meiri and their daughter, with Obito near enough to be at his side in an instant, Naruto and Sasuke only a little further away, surrounded by a fortified perimeter, and with Bull and Akino keeping watch, he feels about as relaxed as is possible. The only thing that could improve it is Gai or Tenzo keeping watch as well. That would be asking too much of them though.

His kiss is enough to soothe Meiri's own worry. But he still says it out loud. Mostly because he could really use another round of banter.

"I'm fine." Sort of.

She's right, he's worrying. Not that much under the circumstances, but the circumstances are extreme. Which is why he could really use another round of banter.

As always, she doesn't disappoint.

"Fine enough to make me see stars in the morning?"

He grins, but despite his amusement, some worry rises as well.

"You need to sleep." It's bad enough that he's waking her every night. Interrupting her sleep in the morning as well is a step too far.

On the other hand, orgasms are a great way to reduce stress. He wouldn't be able to draw it out as long as he likes, not by a long shot, but even a quickie would do them both a world of good.

"I need to get laid."

His grin grows. He'll never stop being entertained by how blunt she is about this.

"Your own hands no longer cutting it?"

"Not one bit. You've ruined me for life."

Well. He can hardly refuse her request after a compliment like that. True, he'd much prefer to have a quickie now instead of in the morning, but for all that she complained about being horny, she is not in the mood right now. He could change that, but honestly, he isn't in the mood either. Right now, he just wants to hold her close.

So.

"Flattery will get you everywhere."

"Is that a yes on the making me see stars?" she asks with an even warmer smile.

"Depends on how soon you fall asleep," he says just to be contrary. And because he really does need her to sleep. Especially if he's waking her up in too short a time.

Meiri chuckles and snuggles closer. He adjusts his position so she remains under as little strain possible.

"Sleep, here I come."

Good.

Despite her words, she lets out a soft sigh that means she's about to say something else. Something that won't be the light hearted banter from before. He would've known that even without the way she pushes even closer and the tightening grip on his hand.

"I can't wait for this to be over. I miss you."

He gently tightens his embrace and squeezes her hand back. Assuring her that he's here now.

"Only eighteen days left."

Which feels like an eternity. But that isn't what she needs to hear right now. Neither does he for that matter.

He's been away on missions that lasted far longer than this. Missions that don't have the luxury of him returning every night. But she wasn't pregnant then.

She wasn't struggling with the reality Naruto and Sasuke now have to face.

He's struggling with it as well.

Kakashi forces those thoughts away. That way lies an existential crisis he can't afford to have right now.

"I'll make sure to leave a lasting impression in the morning," he quips before she can say anything. A lighter mood is definitely called for.

The amused breath she lets out and the loss of tension lets him know that he's succeeded. Her reaction makes him relax again as well.

"You better."

She drops another kiss on the back of his hand. He focuses on her scent and resists the urge to tell her to go to sleep again. That would only start up another round of banter. While part of him would enjoy that, most of him really does need her to sleep.

To his relief, it doesn't take long for her to do just that. After waiting until she's under deep enough that she won't wake again, he allows himself to rest as well.

Things aren't easy. The opposite. But they're working through it. They're doing just fine.

For now.

---

AN: And so Hinata enters the stage. Hope it was worth the wait x3

Happy New Years!