Confidants and Confrontation
Tsunade looked at the man she trusted more than any other in the entire village of Konoha - Shikaku Nara. He was her oldest friend in the village, the first one to welcome her back as Hokage, and her most trusted right-hand man serving as her Jounin Commander. And now she had to tell him his son was missing, most likely due to a mission he had no idea Shikamaru had been assigned.
"The area has been secured by ANBU. The story we're putting out on the street is that the explosion was due to a corroded gas line due to years of unuse in the Uchiha compound," he told his Hokage as he gazed at her with dark unflinching eyes. "Now, would you mind telling me what's really going on?"
Tsunade sighed. "The total damage to the village, is it limited to the one house in the Uchiha quarter, the two perimeter guards on that side of the village and the one medical lab?"
Shikaku nodded, turning his tea cup carefully before lifting it to his lips to sip. "That's all we know so far. Two unconscious guards and three missing shinobi. My son, Karin and Hinata Hyuuga."
"The lab we're explaining as an equipment malfunction in a cryo-unit," Tsunade outlined her own actions to date at the medical center to him. "Drastic temperature changes caused the explosion, at least that's what we're saying."
"Good job," Shikaku commented on her cover story then added more solemnly, "There's evidence of a battle at the Uchiha house, a lot of blood."
"We're having it tested, Shikaku. You'll know the results as soon as I do," she reassured him gently. "Now, as to what's really going on..." Tsunade reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of sake. "I think we're going to need something a little bit stronger than tea."
She poured two saucers of sake carefully and raised hers to him as they both took a sip. "Shikamaru was on a special assignment, in addition to his regular duties. One that required a very high level of, shall we say, discretion?"
"Go on," Shikaku said, pouring the sake himself. Tsunade smiled, he was one of the few people comfortable enough around her to help himself to her sake.
"It has to do with Uchiha..." she started.
"That seems pretty evident," he replied and gave her a half-grin. If it wasn't his son's life they were talking about he would enjoy seeing Tsunade so flustered.
Tsunade sighed and just dove right in, explaining the whole scenario to him. Shikaku, to his credit, simply sat there and absorbed it all.
"Hmmm..., Yoshino's going to be disappointed. She'd gotten her hopes up that he was spending time with Hinata for a reason..."
"I'm sorry you weren't in on this, Shikaku, but to a large degree medical privacy rules prevented me from letting anyone except those directly involved and those whom Hinata chose to tell know anything about this.
"And the lab that was destroyed...?"
"All that was destroyed were the remaining samples recovered from various locations Orochimaru had used."
Shikaku stroked his goatee and tried to piece together the information he had just received.
"Any hunches as to who might have done this?" Tsunade prodded.
"Karin certainly comes to mind." Shikaku answered. "And Sasuke himself."
"Honestly, you don't really believe he could have swept in here undetected do you?"
"I believe Itachi 'swept in here undetected' once did he not? And would have swept out undetected as well if it weren't for Kakashi?"
Tsunade grudgingly agreed.
Shikaku refilled his sake. "Or it could have been someone from Hyuuga. Who there knows?"
"Only Hiashi and a couple of other very high level Main House members.
"Karin, Shikamaru and Hinata. All three missing," the elder Nara mused. "Who knows those are the ones missing?"
"Right now? The ANBU on the scene, me, you, Shizune, Sakura, and Kurenai, I think. Who would have taken them?"
"You assume they were taken. Perhaps Shikamaru detected a threat and he has Hinata in hiding. I wouldn't put it past him to do something like that - stage what looks like an abduction if he thought it would be safer to get her out of the village, throw whoever off her trail. Still, I would have expected to have heard from him by now. For now I want to limit the number of people who know they're missing. Make up a mission and assign all three to it. Come up with a reason for them to be suddenly sent out of the village on this mission."
"Sure, I can come up with something. But why?"
"Given the circumstances, if people know who's missing they're going to start wondering why those particular people are missing. I'd rather keep that as quiet as possible right now."
"Lady Tsunade," Shizune bowed from the dooryway as Tsunade acknowledged her and motioned her in. "The lab results are in."
The dark haired kunoichi turned and looked at Shikaku. "I'm sorry, Commander Nara sir, but most of the blood is Shikamaru's. The other is from Karin."
Shizune left the folder on Tsunade's desk and then bowed politely and left. After a few seconds of silence, Shikaku finally spoke. "Then I think it's safe to assume they were taken. I don't think he would stage spilling that much blood. Tsunade, I need a few things from you."
"Anything."
"Make every effort to keep this quiet. I don't want anyone else to know except Kurenai's original team members. Inuzuka and Aburame, right?"
"Yes."
"Send them to me as quick as you can."
"They're on a mission but due back in today. I'll have them report to you as soon as they get here. They're both excellent at tracking."
"Yes. Well, even Ino-Shika-Cho may still have a few tricks up their sleeve in that department, you know."
Tsunade arched an eyebrow skyward quizzically. "Anything else?"
"Yes. One more thing. Whatever you do, make sure my wife doesn't find out."
Hinata tried to remain calm sitting on the simple cot that was her resting place in this prison. Still unsighted, she had recently ventured to pace out the room keeping one hand on the rough hewn stone walls and stepping carefully to avoid any other furnishings that may have been in there. The ache in her muscles had started to subside and she gingerly tried to stretch them out as she walked. The room was small, by her steps she had measured perhaps four meters to a side and it was roughly rectangular although it was slightly wider than deeper.
There was one door and aside from her bed there was only a simple table and chair. A young man had brought her food earlier and had guided her to the table where her tray was placed, three steps from the foot of her cot. There may have been other items in the center of the room but she didn't feel like venturing further than an arm's reach from the wall or one of the known items.
After the initial shock over her loss of sight had subsided she tried to more calmly and methodically assess her situation. Hinata wasn't afraid of the blindness itself, trying to reassure itself it would be temporary, but rather she was just more cautious. She had to admit she was disoriented. Still she had her other senses and Kurenai-sensei had encouraged her team to cross-train over the years. Although nowhere near as sharp as Kiba's still her hearing picked up the faint deep voices of men down the hall. She only got a brief snippet of conversation but thought she recognized Shikamaru's voice as one of them.
Shikamaru! Sasuke had said he was unconscious, unable to see her. But she was certain it was his voice, so he had at last awakened.
The door started to creak open and the young man, Seito announced himself. "I've brought your lunch. I see you're up now. Do you need help getting to the table?"
"No," Hinata answered him, hardly able to contain herself, wanting to speak to Shikamaru so badly. "Is Nara-san here as well, the shinobi from the Leaf who was with me?"
Seito paused before answering but saw that no harm could come from it. "He is, in the cell across and down the hall from yours."
"May I visit him?"
"That's not for me to decide. Here. Eat." Although not rude, Seito was unsure of the status of these two prisoners and that made him nervous. He knew they were of the hated Leaf village but was also aware that they must have been his lord's previous companions, possibly even his friends at one point. It was all very puzzling. "Do you require anything else?"
Other than her freedom and to see her companion, what Hinata most wanted was a bath and a change of clothes. However, she certainly wasn't mentioning that to this young man. "No, thank you." She replied as she edged toward the table, feeling for the chair before sitting down.
She heard the door close behind Seito and counted his footsteps as they faded away down the hall. Quickly rising from the chair, she hurried as best she could reaching in front of her until she felt the door beneath her fingers.
"Shikamaru!" she called out her friend's name, then more loudly a second time, "Shikamaru! Are you okay?"
"Hinata?" came the reply from down the hall. The voice was faint and muffled, the stone walls and heavy doors doing more than enough to dampen the sound. There was a pause before he continued. "Well, I've been better. How about you?" His self-deprecating chuckle sounded weak and fake.
Hinata pursed her lips and thought before she answered. She didn't want to alarm her friend more than was necessary especially since he was the one who was more severely injured than she, at least according to Sasuke. However, Shikamaru functioned best when he had the most complete and accurate information. She answered truthfully. "I am uninjured but...it seems that the flash temporarily blinded me."
"Yeah," he answered back, "I wondered about that."
Hinata was beginning to worry that Shikamaru's faint replies were not due solely to the walls around them. He sounded tired and weak. She had no idea how the effort of talking alone was taxing his strength. "Your injury - how bad is it?"
"It's my upper thigh. She cut me pretty deep." He left out the fact that it was red and inflamed and undoubtedly infected.
"Have they sent you a medical ninja?"
"No, not yet. I've only seen the guy who brings the food. And you?"
"Just him. And Sasuke." She was about to tell him that he should rest when she heard footsteps down the hall again, a measured and purposeful stride.
Keys jingled and the door creaked open on its ancient hinges as Hinata took a step back away from it. Sasuke addressed her, "Hinata, come with me."
"Sasuke? Where are you taking me? Why?"
"I simply have some questions for you."
"I can answer them here," she replied defiantly. Being this close to the injured Shikamaru she had no intention of leaving him or straying any further from him than was absolutely necessary.
"I prefer this discussion occurs in private. I am sure you would, too. Obviously you and Nara are capable of hearing each other's words here."
"But I..."
"I'm okay, Hinata," Shikamaru interjected weakly from down the hall. "Go with him. Learn what you can." Unspoken between them was the fact that if Sasuke was going to harm either one of them he had already had ample opportunity.
"This way," Sasuke said, taking her firmly by her upper arm and guiding her down the hall. They ascended two flights of uneven stairs at a slow pace for Hinata's sake. He led her into an open room, she could smell the fresh air and feel a slight breeze.
"Oh," she said thankfully. "Are we outside?" The breeze was invigorating, it felt cool and clean after being in the dank cell for so long. Despite her circumstances the fresh air actually lifted her spirits the tiniest bit.
"No, but the windows are open," Sasuke answered, finding a chair and helping her settle into it. She heard him pull up one for himself as well and sit beside her.
"We're alone here," he began, "I've sent Seito to hunt for supper this evening."
"Y-y-es," was all Hinata could manage to utter, resorting to her stammer in her nervousness. Never in a million years since this project began had she expected to be sitting here, across from Sasuke himself. There could only be one possible topic of discussion.
"Is it true?"
The question hung between them. Hinata's heart hammered in her chest. She realized that he must know already - what other explanation could there have been for his presence in Konoha, his kidnapping of her? But to actually voice it out loud, to admit it to him face to face seemed an insurmountable task at the moment. She shrank in upon herself, thinking back to the blistering rage he'd shown the night he'd taken her. Hinata realized that the Sasuke across from her was a complete stranger. She had no idea how he would react now.
"Hinata," he repeated, "is it true?"
Her mouth was dry and her throat constricted but she managed to swallow hard before answering. "Yes," she said simply.
Sasuke pushed the chair back quickly as he stood up and whirled away from her, walking to the open windowsill and gripping it tightly looking out over the mountains in lilac-blue early evening. His knuckles were white, even the scuffed ones from his earlier punch against the stone wall. He forced himself to take three deep breaths, Hinata could hear his long shuddering exhales as he tried to compose himself before going any further with the conversation.
He finally turned to face her. "Why!" he demanded from across the room.
"I...," Hinata started and then stopped, but this time it was not due to a stammer. All her rationalizations from earlier escaped her now and she couldn't articulate them to him of all people. She had explained part of it to Shikamaru, the differences between Hyuuga and Nara clans and the opportunity this allowed for her to choose a different path for herself. Hanabi of all people would and did understand. But to explain any of that to Sasuke? Impossible."I...had my reasons," she answered lamely.
So quickly it took her breath away he closed the space between them, hands on the table on either side of her leaning over her. "You had no right!" he hissed.
Hinata blinked back tears, for the first time considering the person of Sasuke Uchiha, not the vague threat that he posed to her home. For all her own thoughts of her controlling her own fate, what about him? She had just assumed he would never be a presence in her life at all, a non-issue. When had he, Sasuke Uchiha, the boy she had grown up with, been consulted in any of this. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
She heard him sit down heavily in the chair again, breathing out an equally heavy sigh. "Do you realize what you've done? Do you realize if news gets out of this how many people and clans will have a bounty out on you or the child when it's born? Starting with Karin?" He fairly spat out the name. "Even my own people might see this as an opportunity to gain an advantage over me. That's why we're here for now."
Here? Where she was safe? Hinata considered his words carefully, he was keeping them here to keep them safe? She had come to the conclusion earlier that if he had wanted her dead she would be dead by now. How long did he intend to keep them here? Before she could ask the question, Sasuke's next words made her blood run cold.
"Terminate it."
Hinata blanched, thinking back to the tiny little spark of chakra she had felt just days earlier. She'd been unable to utilize Byukugaan since the explosion and now reflexively tried to activate it but to no avail, the whispered words of the jutsu useless in her present state. "I...I won't," she gasped out to him.
"Terminate it. You have the training to interrupt your chakra network, all kunoichi do. You're early enough on so that there will be no medical complications."
A wave of fear washed over Hinata. Her chakra network - she'd felt the blast singe her synapses with her Byakugaan activated during the battle with Karin. What if something had happened already?
Tears welled in her eyes. She was too early in the pregnancy for any normal symptoms to manifest, she'd only confirmed it by use of her technique. Now that one link was unavailable to her. "It may not matter," she replied bitterly to him.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that my chakra network has already been interrupted. The night of the blast. Byakugaan was activated. Not only am I blind and without Byakugaan, I can't infuse chakra at all."
Sasuke sat back looking at her. He could see the tears threatening to spill over in her lavender eyes. This was...unexpected. He carefully considered their position and the availability of supplies, food, game and water. They were fairly well situated and could easily stay her for several weeks. Enough time to see if her chakra network would repair itself or at least to wait things out to find out if she was pregnant the old fashioned way.
They would wait. If she experienced menses then the pregnancy had already ended. If not and if her chakra network did not repair itself, or if she still refused to cooperate then grimly he realized he'd learned enough from Orochiimaru to know how to disrupt the chakra flow of a pregnant kunoichi himself. He said as much to Hinata.
She looked at him in horrified disbelief. "What did that monster with delusions of godhood do to you to be able to turn you into a such a monster?"
"It would seem to me," he said curtly as he rose from the chair, "That we wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't decided to play god yourself with someone else's DNA."
