Another chapter! Oh my, -still perplexed to see so many reviews- after all, I never expect those. Fortunately, I didn't need a long time to write this chapter, it was finished two days after I finished previous chapter. No wonder, especially if you have a certain someone bugging you about the next chapter every time we meet online in Y!M coughSHaPbYcough. So all thanks goes to her, included for the beta of this chapter. This chapter will be pretty interesting in the end, though I'm a bit unsure about it. So, tell me about it in your reviews. Don't be too shy, a simple review 'Update!' is already enough for me to continue this fic. Let's read!
Another line of Standard Disclaimer… well, you already know it. So, I don't really think I need to write it. It applies to all of my fanfics. Responses, incase you forget, is below. : ) Arigatou gozaimasu!
What Are We?
Of Nightmares
The next morning, Hinata found herself sleeping alone. There was no trace of warmth on the other side of the futon where she slept. She looked at the empty place blankly, a part of her was relieved, while the other part was saddened. She glanced at the clock, and saw she wasn't late for making breakfast. As she prepared the breakfast, she was thinking about her plan of having a real conversation with Sasuke. She felt nervous of the thought of it only, she didn't know exactly what she was supposed to talk about. Her old habit of fidgeting almost resurfaced if she wasn't cooking at the time.
She was arranging the table when Sasuke returned from his morning training. She didn't need to look up to see him heading towards the bathroom. Slowly, she was getting used to with all the routine, Naruto was right about his life seemed to revolve around training and missions. Sasuke didn't bother to announce his presence to Hinata, he sat in his usual seat at the opposite side of the table without making a noise. They ate in silence, Hinata tried to break the silence yet she couldn't muster the courage to speak. For it seemed like an eternity for Hinata, she heard a noise of a chair moved against the floor, making her instinctively raised her head to look at the source.
"I have a mission. I won't return for few days." Hinata's eyes widened in surprise, he wasn't supposed to have any missions after their marriage, at least after the announcement of the marriage made. Sasuke seemed to read her mind.
"It is an important mission. All the ANBU captains are asked for their presence in the Hokage office"
"…Wakatta," she didn't try to persuade him further. Sasuke walked to the door, Hinata followed silently. She just noticed that Sasuke wore his ANBU attire and was full-geared, he had his ANBU mask that resembled a wolf on his right arm. She watched him wearing his sandals and when he was about to leave, she had gathered enough courage to speak,
"Odaijini"-take care of yourself
Hinata saw her husband's back tensed for a moment, then without giving a glance or word he left the house. She stood motionlessly until she felt his chakra signature moved further from her. She let out a sigh, they weren't going anywhere in their second day of their life together. She returned to the dining room to clean the dishes. As she cleaned the dishes, she wondered what she would do for the following days without her husband's presence in the house. She looked around the house, and decided she would do some cleaning up.
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Hinata started cleaning up Uchiha Mansion from their bedroom or the room she currently resided. She found the room was clean enough, it seemed her family's servant had cleaned it before she moved in. Her eyes examined the room thoroughly for the first time, she noticed it was the largest room in the house –she had passed other rooms before- making her wonder who used to reside the room.
She slid the storage open to place the futon inside. She noticed that there were other things at the corner of the storage. She knew it was best for her to leave it untouched, especially it wasn't her properties. But her curiosity was getting better of her, she reached out her hand to find it was a medium-sized carton box. It was rather dusty, Hinata noticed, she blew the dust away. The first thing she found in the box was a black wooden box that was beautifully engraved. She gently lifted the cover and found the most beautiful kimono she had ever seen. It was a dark lavender silk kimono along with a matching purple obi. She also found a golden hairpin and comb, she could smell a faint lavender scent from the kimono. She closed the box and reached for more inside the carton box. She found a dusty old photo album, carefully she opened the pages. It was the Uchiha family's photo album. At the first pages she saw a stern looking man, whom she figured easily was Uchiha clan's leader and Sasuke's father, Uchiha Fugaku. As the Hyuuga heiress she was taught to recognize all the leaders of important clans, and the Uchiha clan was among them. She found a picture of beautiful woman wearing the beautiful kimono she found. She had the dark eyes and hair of an Uchiha, she was standing under a sakura tree whose petals fell to the breeze. She was smiling, her smile was full of kindness and warmth. Unconsciously a smile found its way to Hinata's face, the woman reminded her of her mother. She flipped more pages and it wasn't hard for her to figure the beautiful woman was Sasuke's mother. She saw more pictures of Sasuke –and Itachi-'s childhood. She saw how different Sasuke was before the massacre, he seemed like an ordinary boy. There was no sign of the cold, stoic and distant Sasuke, she even found some pictures with Sasuke smiling. The last thing she found in the box was a framed photo, she used her sleeve to clean the frame. It was a picture of the four of them together. Sasuke and his family, along with his brother, Uchiha Itachi.
Hinata touched the picture sadly. There was nothing left of the picture now. Three people in the picture had passed away, while the only one remaining had no longer the same eyes within the picture. The bright and innocent eyes had been replaced with cold and hard eyes. She wished she could see more of him, see through his cold and stoic façade. But it seemed so hard, recalling how few the words they exchanged. Hinata clutched the photograph tightly to her chest. How much she wished to know him better and to see the other side of him that she believed still remain after all those years.
I
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I
Kurenai was doing some groceries shopping, she was wearing casual clothes, considering it was her day off. She had just finished loading some fruits and vegetables when she recognized three familiar figures walking between the crowds. Before she greeted them though, they spotted her first.
"Kurenai-sensei!" an alto voice greeted her, the figure waved her hand.
"What have I told you about calling me –sensei?" Kurenai smiled as the three approached her.
"Ah, sorry nearly forget that Kurenai-san" the figure was appeared to be a tall, slender and attractive blond with bright blue eyes. She was wearing casual attire that hugged her curves well.
"Groceries shopping?" her companion asked politely, she had her hair in a bun. She was the tallest and seemed to be the oldest of the group.
"Yes. May I know what these beautiful young ladies are doing?" Kurenai gave them a teasing look.
"Ah, nothing much, Kurenai-san. Just enjoying our break," the last of the three answered. She had a shoulder-length pink hair and her attire showed her identity as a medic nin.
"A break for Sakura and a day off for me and Tenten," the blond who appeared to be Ino pointed out.
"I see. Though it's been a while I see you together like this," Kurenai smiled to see three of the strongest kunoichi of their generation, Hinata was included. The girls had become closer after the war, but since the village needed every shinobi they had to rebuild itself, they couldn't spend more time with each other. She also noticed they had grown to beautiful and not to forget, attractive young women. One of them was already married, two was already in a relationship and only one was still available.
"Is it true Hinata is already married?" suddenly Ino asked, she had lowered her voice so only the four of them could hear.
"Yes. Didn't Sakura tell you?" Kurenai answered.
"Only few hours before the announcement made," Ino had an annoyed look in her face.
"I told you we weren't supposed to tell anybody, Ino," Sakura told her.
"I know, I know. But it seems only me who didn't know about it, while Hinata is my friend," Ino crossed her hands, pouting.
"Oh well, exactly we're going to visit Hinata. I heard more than a half of the ANBU were sent into a mission," Tenten easily changed the topic.
"Really? I haven't heard of it, but I noticed all the commotion," Kurenai remembered finding Kakashi had left before she woke up. Then there must be something that truly important that all the ANBU were sent into mission and her husband's presence was required.
"Then if it's true, Hinata must be alone in the Uchiha compound. So we decided to visit," Sakura explained.
"Especially you know how… quiet that place is," Ino shuddered at the thought.
"Do you want to go with us?" Tenten offered on their behalf.
"I'd really like to, after I drop this," she indicated her groceries.
I
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Hinata had nearly finished cleaning up the house when she heard knockings outside the door. She cleaned herself from the dust and headed for the door anxiously. She knew whose chakra signature it belonged to. She slid the door open to find all of the closest women she had, a smile appeared on her face.
"Minna-san!" it was indeed Kurenai, Sakura, Tenten and Ino.
"Hinata!" Ino hugged her, "Glad to see you're fine"
"I'm fine, thank you, Ino. Come on in," she invited them to her house, which they gladly took. The women examined the place and were impressed that the place was pretty well-maintained and comfortable.
"It looks better than the last time I visited here," Sakura commented.
"Oh, I'm doing some cleaning up and rearranging some of the furniture. I hope Sasuke doesn't mind"
"He shouldn't. After all, it looks more comfortable this way," Ino had visited Uchiha Manor once with Shikamaru when he needed to hand out a mission for Sasuke. She remembered how much the house reflected the last Uchiha, cold and quiet, and it was pretty unnerving especially to remember what had happened here. But now, with only Hinata's presence in the house and a little arrangement, the house looked warmer and more comfortable to live in. If it was her, she doubted she'd made it comfortable, instead she'd only make more mess. Now… the only thing that was missing was…
"So, how's the wedding night?"
"Uh well-" Hinata should have expected this to come from Ino, yet she found herself unable to answer. Sakura who had known everything, pinched Ino and gave her a stern look. Fortunately, since they were childhood friends, Ino didn't need a long time to figure what Sakura meant. While the others who were more observant than Ino, could easily understand.
"How about some tea? It's been a while I tasted your tea, Hinata," Kurenai smoothly changed the topic. Hinata was glad with her quick reaction,
"Ah, I'll go prepare it. Make yourself comfortable," she said as she left them in the dining room. The four took their seats around the dining table, Tenten took another from the living room for Hinata to sit. Hinata appeared from her bedroom, carrying a bag of fresh tea leaves she had kept for a time. The women watched as Hinata skillfully brewed the tea and put the tea leaves into the boiling water.
"Still as skillful as ever with the tea, aren't you, Hinata?" Kurenai watched her former student pour the tea from the teapot. Hinata chuckled slightly,
"No, not really. So what brings you here?"
"We heard about the mission," Tenten told her.
"Oh," Hinata's voice fell slightly, and it didn't go unnoticed by the women.
"Is there any progress so far?" Sakura carefully asked. The others were silent, knowing that Sakura seemed to be more aware of Hinata situation.
"We haven't had a real conversation. We barely speak to each other," Hinata admitted
"No kidding," Ino shot her an incredulous look.
"Both of you aren't conversationalist," Kurenai spoke. That what made things harder.
"So far what did you talk with him?" Tenten asked.
"Not much," then she thought it over, "Honestly, we never talked"
She received surprised and disbelief looks from them.
"We only met in breakfast and he was the only one talking. It couldn't be said talking though…"
"Oh my…" Ino slapped her forehead.
"What should I do then?" the fact was making her desperate, two days! Two days, and they barely spoke and knew each other, what a life.
"Sasuke isn't someone who initiates a conversation unless he needs to," Sakura spoke, "In the end, you're the one who need to start everything"
"There's no need to hurry, Hinata. Take it easy, I need a pretty long time to understand Kakashi," Kurenai added.
"Really?" the young women looked toward the elder with interest.
"Yes. A good liar, that Kakashi is, and especially with that mask, it's very hard to guess what exactly he's thinking. We didn't know each other for long. I remember that I needed to be extra patient to get under his skin, until I gained his complete trust. And after that, I still needed to wait until he admitted his feelings to me. You can imagine how long I waited"
"Not much different here," Ino spoke, "Even though I know Shika since we were child, there are some times I don't understand him. He even admitted his feelings in an unexpected way and then acted as if nothing had happened. It was really confusing, but well… he has his own way to show he cares. How 'bout you Tenten? I heard Neji is pretty romantic"
"He is," Hinata confirmed without Tenten's consent, resulting a blushing Tenten.
"He gave me a bouquet of red roses…"
"How lucky you are!" the women squealed, except Hinata who had seen the couple interact pretty often.
"How about you Sakura? Found a great partner?" Tenten got away with that question.
"No, not yet. Being a medic nin is pretty busy. I can hardly have time for myself," Sakura tried to get rid all the attention she was getting.
"You can if you manage your time well," Hinata disagreed, "How about Naruto-kun?"
Sakura was rendered speechless, a blush found its way to her cheeks.
"Sakura! You didn't tell me you're interested in Naruto," Ino teased her.
"No-Not like that!" Sakura tried to hide her embarrassment, but she failed miserably.
"Oh, come on. Your face tells us the opposite," Tenten joined in. Hinata and Kurenai were watching with amusement how Sakura was cornered by Ino and Tenten about Naruto. She couldn't help to feel grateful for having them as her closest people, how she was able to feel comfortable around them, without worrying about her status. Hinata glanced to her former sensei and realized there was no reason to hurry, Kurenai also had the same problem with Kakashi, and they made an adorable pair. Her mood lightened up a little with her friends' presence and it was enough for her.
I
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Days and weeks passed without many incidents, Hinata spent most of her time in the hospital or in the Uchiha Manor. She was restrained in the hospital since there were many shinobi returned with various levels of injuries, more than usual, both she and Sakura noticed. She couldn't help but to be worried about the well being of Sasuke and her friends who were in the ANBU. She heard that there were some chaos erupted in the western borders of Fire Country, a coup d'etat they said, and it was involving the Wind Country. No wonder why the more than half of ANBU together with Konoha chuunin and jounin was sent to stabilize the situation along with Suna shinobi.
Kakashi returned once in a while, reporting the situation to the Hokage and giving some information to Kurenai that all the former genin who was in ANBU was faring well. It relieved Hinata and her friends a little, but they had nothing to do than wait. Tsunade sometimes came down herself to aid the injured shinobi and comforted the kunoichis. Every time Hinata found herself free, she used it to pray for Sasuke and her friends. No one really wanted to become a widow just few weeks after their marriage.
"Tadaima…" she spoke to nobody in the house as she removed her sandals. She was allowed to take a rest for a day with Sakura covering her for today and she will cover her in other day in return. It was an exhausting week for her, she took care of the injured shinobi without having proper rest the whole week. Fortunately the amount of the injured shinobi lessened, so she could take a proper rest for at least a day. She was exhausted inside and out, she used nearly all of her chakra and she gave her full attention to heal them. Being a medic nin wasn't easy, she was inquired not to do any mistakes, any single mistake would risk a human's life. She couldn't give too much or too little chakra, she couldn't lack attention towards them, and she must do her best to save their lives. It was a huge responsibility and burden, she had realized the consequences when she decided to become a medic nin. She had seen much worse in the war, there were so many people dying, children and adults, civilians and shinobi. It was a painful memory, she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, she had tried to save all of them with all her abilities. She was still naïve back then, she could barely understand the hardships of war… the hardships of being a shinobi. She must accept the fact that she couldn't help everybody, even how much she wanted to. Death was… inevitable, she learned it hard way, she almost lost her precious people back then. In war, you didn't have many choices, to kill or to be killed. Or you would lose your life or your precious people's lives. She had learned that there was always a possibility of not returning from mission. That was the life of shinobi.
Still… Hinata wasn't used to seeing death and suffering in front of her eyes, especially when she was supposed to help them. It was still painful to see them battling with death when they were supposed to have a long and promising journey ahead. She loosened her hair and took a deep breath. It was a stressful day indeed. She decided to take a long warm bath.
Having a nice warm bath was very useful after you had a long and hard work, it relaxed your tense muscles and your troubled mind. Hinata had her hair held in a bun, then as she had the water to her neck she rested her back to the bathtub. She closed her eyes and started to regulate her breathing slowly and steadily. Minutes passed in comfortable silence, she noticed the sun was setting from the fading light that went through the window.
Suddenly her eyes shot open as she sensed someone's presence. She quickly lifted herself up from the bathtub and wrapped herself with a light blue kimono for sleep after drying herself with a towel. She headed to the front door as fast as her legs could carry her. She found the person she had been waiting for.
Sasuke.
He had taken off his ANBU mask and he was removing his sandals. Hinata noticed he wasn't in a good condition. She could see dirt on his face and dried blood all over his body, probably his and/or other shinobi. His clothes were dirty and ragged.
Sasuke straightened himself and as he raised his head he could see a concerned Hinata standing in front of him. He felt something warm inside of him to know that someone cared, that she cared, the woman who had been forced to marry and live together with him.
"Daijobu desuka?" she asked in concern. She was about to approach him when he raised a hand, stopping her further.
"I'm alright, I just need a rest," then without waiting her reply, he walked pass her. Hinata only stared at his retreating back, knowing that he didn't need –or want, other voice inside her said- her help. She realized she couldn't do anything but to prepare dinner for the two of them.
Even though she had finished her fill, she didn't see him anywhere. Thinking Sasuke was probably asleep, she wrapped his fill with plastic so he could heat it after he was awake. She headed to her room and found that it was empty, making her wonder in which room did Sasuke sleep. She would have gone to check each room to find where Sasuke slept, but she didn't do it. Instead she laid herself on the futon and let herself drift to sleep.
I
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In the middle of the night, Hinata found herself awake to her wonder. She wasn't a type of person who was awake in the middle of the night unless there was something happen. She sharpened her senses and activated her Byakugan, but it seemed nothing was out of place. It was an ordinary silence, not like a certain silence before a sudden attack. She could hear an owl and grasshoppers outside. She deactivated her Byakugan, her hand ran through her hair.
I suppose I'm just too tired, I shouldn't have overworked myself, she made a mental note to herself.
She thought of having a glass of water would be nice before she slept. So she walked through the dark hallways to the kitchen, her eyes could easily adjust with the darkness. She was reaching for a glass in the cupboard when her sharp hearing caught some noise. The noise was coming from inside the house, not far from the dining room. She decided to check where the noise was coming from, she quickly dismissed the thought of having a drink. She walked carefully and soundlessly to the source of the noise. The source of the noise appeared to come from a guest room, she sharpened her senses only to find a familiar chakra signature. It was Sasuke's.
But his chakra signature was unusual, it was rather… ecstatic. She didn't like the feeling, so she decided to check on him though another part of her didn't support the idea of going inside the room without permission. But the other part of her, being kind and caring person she was, was more worried about Sasuke's condition. She cautiously slid the door open, she waited for a moment if she had any reaction and she found none. She slipped into the room, she recognized the room for she happened to clean the room before. It was smaller than her room so she needed to be very careful in her approach. She found him sleeping in the middle of the room, still wearing his ANBU attire.
He shouldn't have slept in those clothes, she thought.
She noticed that he was sleeping uneasily. He was sweating, and breathing rapidly. She could see his head was twitching restlessly. It seemed… he was having a nightmare. His fists were clenched tightly and she saw something liquid seeped through. Her eyes widened in surprise, he was hurting himself!
She was about to touch him when she felt herself pinned to the wall hard. She needed less than a second to register what had happened. She found herself gazing towards blazing red eyes of Sharingan looking at her menacingly.
"…Sa-Sasuke," she managed to whisper through her surprised state.
She saw his eyes narrowed as if he was trying to figure who she was and there was a spark of recognition in his eyes. He roughly let her go, leaving her gasping for air from the surprise. He was so close, and his eyes… his eyes were…
Sasuke had calmed himself yet she could see from his shoulders that he was breathing heavily. In the moment she looked at his eyes, he had deactivated his Sharingan. Before she opened her mouth to speak, he told her harshly,
"Get out," it was more like a growl at first.
"Get out NOW!" the tone of his voice startled Hinata who had never seen him in this kind of condition. She hesitated at first but knowing she couldn't do anything, she quickly retreated as far as she could from Sasuke.
After he sensed that she was in a safe distance away from him, he slid downward to the cupboard near the futon, his shoulder supporting his weight. He clutched his head that was throbbing painfully as he remembered of the images he had in his sleep. He gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the overwhelming pain.
That was so close… he felt cold sweat trickled down his spine… She shouldn't have seen it…
Meanwhile, Hinata had returned to her room, her back facing the door. She was breathing heavily after her encounter. She was clutching her kimono tightly, attempting to calm herself. She couldn't forget his eyes, it was her first time in encountering the Sharingan directly. However, it wasn't the Sharingan that made her afraid, but it was how he looked at her… it was full of hatred, and anger. Beyond all of those, she also noticed pain, sadness and... guilt. It was the first time she had seen so many emotions whirling inside those usually cold and blank eyes. The only thing she could think of was…
What was that?
Author's Note: Hoho, what was that? Read on to find out! XDD It's a silly part of me, probably you can consider that a cliffhanger. Told you, about the last part of the chapter -grins- and what do you think? Is it too fast for a problem in their life? Or anything else? Your responses are needed BADLY! Honestly I'm not a writer who already has everything planned, I only have a brief imagination where the story goes but more than that, the details… Well, you got it. I still have some holes to fill. I want to know how long the story goes, do you want only 15? 20? Between? Or more? From your responses in average I'll make the story around that length. Some stories are better ended soon.
Responses:
Kat of Mosh Pits – Ho, you checked my favs? Good author… me?-blushes- Here the story begins, I hope I don't disappoint you and the others.
Fractured wings 01 – I'm sorry, I don't mean to offend you. Really! –puppy dog eyes- I got it, so many ideas yet you can't have it all continued in the same time. Don't worry. You're going to update it? Yay! Then make me blow my socks off, it's a challenge for both of us :D Oh, what exactly C2 staff do? I don't want to end up becoming a passive staff.
Dark Nadeshiko – Wow, cool name, btw. Sasuke didn't really train all night long, it'll be revealed in future chapters. Thankfully, yes, I didn't make Sakura a b… I realize in some SasuHina fics Sakura was either annoying or… dead XD (not really, only one I'm not mistaken). I wish to see them all matured, at least a little, for the war has forced them to. Hiashi cares… because I believe he does.
mUcHaChAnGiStAriRaY – no prob, I can easily copy paste your name : ) I found another person who wondered where Kakashi hid his books! Sakura and Hinata talk, Hinata will need at least one person to ask for advice, and Sakura is the best candidate. Talented… uh… okay SasuHina ring… well I don't have one, but I want to make it. So far I only join a C2 managed by Fractured wings 01. Any idea?
Lems – Thank you, I'm very flattered. Especially you've used capitals and exclamation marks to express your thoughts. There goes two… who said that I was supposed to let anonymous review. I think I'll do it then.
firewindgurl – My other favorite SasuHina author! Happy days XDD Never expect you'll drop by and read this fic. I base their character from the manga, since I don't watch the anime. You don't expect our beloved characters stay the same all the years and with so many things have happened, do you? The colder and distant Sasuke seems more interesting and possible, as much as the stronger yet sweet and kind Hinata.
Thanks to those who kept reviewing until this chapter, I'm truly honored, xxMizukixx (O-O wow, is my story that good?), Ah-choo, Dearx (Yay for SasuHina too!), newblue, chinadoll27, kenshinlover2002, and wolf-enzeru.
