Wow…I'm so glad that the followers are adding up. It always makes me feel good and wants to write more…Thank you very much dear SasuHina shippers for the kind reviews…and I have to warn you that there might be times when my grammar is a little off…English is not my first language but I am trying my very best to make the story interesting.
Btw…Please check my other fanfics. : )
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
-o-o-o-
Chapter Four
(f) Sasuke closed his eyes.
It was already morning and he was still feeling very tired—he has no plans to get up from his bed anytime soon. He just got off from a mission with Naruto and Kiba—and being drag into a team with two of the loudest mouth's in Konoha just made everything more tiresome. It's already hard to deal with Naruto alone, and if you add a very hotheaded and hasty Inuzuka—It was hell.
Not to mention that he was feeling irritated even before the mission begun. It was because his back was still sore from the long drop when he rescued the Hyuga girl. His chest and abdominal area hurts a bit too…since she landed on top of him when they hit the ground.
It was his day off…and he knew that nothing could tear him away from the comforting warmth of his mattress, Good thing his apartment—
Tap…Tap…Tap. There was a knock.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
The tapping sound was gentle, but in Sasuke's mind…it was like listening to a drum roll—the most irritating drum roll he ever heard in his entire life.
He remained on the bed.
The knocking continued.
With a look that could melt iron and glass, the Uchiha rose from the bed and walked to the door. Mentally telling himself to cool his temper, he pulled the door open with a flourish. "What?" Sasuke almost growled, focusing his eyes on whoever that dares to intrude his resting time.
Hinata squeaked when she saw a half naked Uchiha in front of her. He was wearing black cropped pants but his upper half was bare. She was so bewildered that she dropped the small basket on her hands. Muttering an apology, she bent down to pick it up. "Go-Gomenasai…Gomen…"
Sasuke watched as the Hyuga—the reason for his physical pain—tries to compose herself before looking up to him again. Her cheeks were bright red."I...came h-h—"
"If you wanted to say something, spit it out." He told her. He doesn't have time for this…He needs to rest so that he could get back on his Anbu duties.
"I came here to bring y-you this. I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you…Sasuke-kun." She thrust the basket into him. "Gomenasai…and Arigatou for saving me from my s-stupidity the other day."
Hinata turned her back to him and ran like hell was after her—leaving a mild scent of lilacs. Sasuke however has his eyes glued to the small basket that he was holding. Closing the door, he returned to his bed and sat down.
That girl was weird…
Removing the white clothe that serves as a cover, he found out that there's a small jar with gooey concoction inside. Wondering if it's some sort of poison, he read the small label attached:
Hinata's homemade healing salve.
Aside from the small jar, he also found a small bento box. When he took the lid off, he was hit with the delicious smell of food. Inspecting it carefully, he saw that the bento was composed of rice balls, fried shrimp, sushi, and beef.
Yep…he was right. That girl was weird. (f)
Neji took the young boy in his arms and hoisted him up high. The boy shrieked in glee as he waived his hands into the air. "U-Ucle Neji…Higher!"
Hinata watched as her Nii-san and Itachi play with each other while she was sitting on the porch with her father and sister. As one of the servants began to serve them tea, she noticed that her father was looking at her intently. "Otou-sama…what's wrong?"
Hiashi shook his head. "Nothing…I am just wondering if my grandson only has the Sharingan."
"We can't really tell yet. Itachi's very young…" Hinata answered, A little surprise that her father would bring this up when they were on a family visit. She was hoping that conversations like this would stay behind walls and offices—not on personal and familial meetings. "He was not able to activate his sharingan yet…so no one knows."
"Hn. It would be great to see what the combination of the Sharingan and Byakugan might do." Hiashi said nonchalantly as he passed her the cup. "Too bad if Itachi only has the sharingan…"
Hinata pressed her lips together.
"So Sasuke-Niisan did not come with you Hina-Ne?" Hanabi asked, diverting the conversation into a more 'familial' topic. She can see the faint disappointment on her older sister's eyes and she knew that Hinata was expecting something more of those warm conversations families always shared. "So how's his mission?"
"He has a lot of work to cover since his mission took him two months… so he may be a little busy this week."
Hiashi smirked. "Even if your husband is not busy…He will never honor tea invitations such as these. Uchiha's…being arrogant is in their blood."
"Your grandson is an Uchiha…" Hinata pointed out softly.
"Well, you two always end up arguing with each other even in the smallest of things Otou-sama." Hanabi said. In truth, she really likes her sister's husband. He is frank he also doesn't hold back in his opinions—which always makes Hiashi pissed. "So it's quite understandable if he doesn't want to join you…I mean us."
A few hours later, Hinata found herself saying goodbye to her cousin who insisted that he walked with her until she reached the Uzumaki's residence. She and Sakura decided a few days ago to let the children play together while they share a few conversations. Fortunately, they have the same day off.
"Arigatou Nii-san." Hinata gave Neji's hand a squeeze. "Tell Tenten I said hi…and congratulations for the baby."
"Hai…I need to get going now Hinata-sama." Neji kneeled and removed the child that was perched on the back of his neck. "Goodbye Itachi."
"Goodbye Uncle N-Neji…" The child waved his small hands as one of his favorite person in the world turned to leave. Aside from his Uncle Kiba and Uncle Shino…Neji was one of the few people Itachi really looks up and adore—not to mention that the Hyuga prodigy loves to spoil him rotten.
"Itachi!" A small squeal came from inside the house and a small pink haired girl—the same age as Itachi's—came running out of the door. The young girl has whiskers on her cheeks and her eyes were the beautiful color of blue—something that the child got from her father.
"Hi Sakuru-chan." Hinata smiled. "Where's you Kaa-san?
"Inside." The girl answered as she grabbed Itachi by the collar and began to pull him off from his mother. Itachi looks like he was clinging on Hinata's waist for dear life. However, young Sakuru was very strong for her age, and she easily yanked Sasuke's mini-me without effort.
"S-Sakuru….don't pull me."
"Nah."
"S-Sakuru!"
Hinata giggled as she saw Sakura—with her bulging stomach— emerged from the house and gave her huge grin. "Yokata…I though you won't make it."
-o-o-o-
"Teme…You really need to decide now. I told you this because your Hinata-chan's husband, but don't you think she needs to know before you…uhm…decide for her?" Naruto asked. "I'm sorry…but as the future Hokage, I also need to make peace with the other villages…I need to help them if they are in need. That's the purpose of the Shinobi village alliance right?"
The Uchiha looked at his best friend in the eyes. "No…I won't allow Hinata to be in this kind of mess."
"Teme…Your wife is a kunoichi…and a proud one at that."
"If it was Sakura…are you going to allow it Naruto?"
"Yes. I knew she can do it…"
"Hinata is not as firm and strong as Sakura in terms of skill." Sasuke clenched his hands into fist. Rising up from his chair, he turned his back on his best friend. "I can do nothing if you give an order about it, since Kakashi already put you in charge... And as your personal Anbu guard, it's my duty to always follow your orders without question…but as your closest friend, I implore on you for the sake of my wife…and for my son as well—"
"Teme…"
"Don't take away something that is very important for me…I already lost too much."
Not even bothering to give Naruto a glance, he walked out of the Hokage tower. If Naruto would consider his action as an insult, he doesn't and will never give a shit. The Uzumaki may be one with the highest power right now but he was just being protective of his wife.
Who could blame him?
After years of being miserable and revenge-driven, he was blessed with another chance to have a family of his own. He now have something to protect and love unconditionally. He admits that sometimes he can be over protective of Hinata and Itachi...but Naruto and Kakashi's request was too dangerous.
Yes, Hinata is a full pledge Kunoichi and she takes missions every now and then…but this was different. The sixth and the seventh are asking too much from him.
And from his wife.
"Sasuke…"
Leaving his dark thoughts for a moment, he looked up just in time to see Neji stop in front of him. The man was looking at him weirdly. "Are you alright?"
"I am." He answered curtly.
"You seem a bit off…you did not even notice my chakra."
"Cut in Neji." Sasuke scowled upon realizing that the Hyuga was right. In the past, he and Neji have been into each other's throats mostly because of Hinata. The man was as protective as he was when it comes to the blue haired woman. But as the years go by, they quite learned to get along. They even banter sometimes—like brothers do.
"Have you seen Hinata? She told me she's going to see Hiashi."
"I brought her and Itachi's to Sakura's house. They said they're going to have a little chat."
"Hn."
"You will go see her?"
"Yeah…"
(f) Sasuke was pushed into the hard concrete wall just as Neji's fingers wrapped around her neck. "Where is Hinata-sama?" The Hyuga was almost growling and his strong grip was threatening to crush Sasuke's windpipes.
The Uchiha's face remained stoic. Staring coldly at the white eyes that looked down on him with an activated Kekkei Genkai, he smirked. "Hinata is old enough to decide what she wants."
"Let me see her."
"No."
"Or I will have no choice but to kill you Uchiha. I don't care of you are an Anbu captain or an ex-rogue."
"Do it." Sasuke challenged. "I won't let you take Hinata after what her father did. She was bruised as hell and she can't almost walk on her own."
"Just let me see her goddam—"
"Nii-san?" A small voice called and both males paused. When Neji turned his head, he saw Hinata standing by the door. Just as Sasuke said, the girl was bruised. She was holding the door for support and she was looking at him with worry. "Neji-Niisan…"
Neji let go of the Uchiha and grabbed the girl—wrapping her in his arms. "Hinata-sama…I have been so worried. I was looking for you the whole night! Why did you run away? I just came back from the mission…I did not know what happened."
"Gomenasai for making you worry." His cousin answered weakly. "I just…I just can't go home right now. Otou-sama will punish me."
"I am here now. I won't let anything happen to you."
"Nii-san…"
"Come home with me… Everything will be settled much sooner. If you continue to hide, it would only make things worse. I promise Hinata-sama…I will not hesitate to disobey your father as long as I can protect you. You trust me, don't you?"
Hinata's eyes shifted to Sasuke.
Sasuke looked away but his jaw was set. "It's up to you Hinata." The Uchiha said.
"Sasuke-kun…"
With narrowed eyes, Hinata saw Sasuke looked at her cousin who was still not letting her go from the circle of his arms. "Hyuga Neji. I'll take on your word to protect Hinata…If something happens to her…It's my turn to kill you." (f)
-o-o-o-
Here ends the chapter. Wew…schoolwork got the best of me so I was not able to update sooner…hope you understand. I have no time to edit so feel free to point out the errors.
-crazygurl12