Chapter 14:
Recap
"Because Hinata… you aren't confident with yourself. And you're not quite fast… that's why I'm here right?" He looked at her in the eye and could tell, she was touched by his words, she just couldn't help it anymore so she cried, out of joy, and she ran to hug him…
He was surprised…
She was the first of all people to hug him after so many years…
And for the first time since he got back to Konoha, was he able to feel the warmth radiating from her…
Reluctant at first, he hugged her back, but later on relaxed a bit and hugged her tighter than before, but he didn't notice it…
He didn't know how long the two of them were hugging, nor did he know how long Hinata had been crying, but he was annoyed most when someone suddenly interrupted the both of them…
"Well, well, I think I came by on a wrong time, don't you think?" the shinobi said… he glared back…
End of recap
It surprised him that he was there, at that particular moment. Hinata pulled away from him completely red by being caught hugging him. She quickly dried her tears and turned to face the shinobi that had interrupted them. She stood up straightly and bowed to him…
"Kakashi-sensei, ohayo!" she stated, and looked up to Kakashi. Sasuke then stood up and leaned on the tree that was near him. He just glared at the silver haired shinobi, who was practically happy to see him, yet he was not. And then just as he was about to nudge at Hinata for them to go, Kakashi spoke up…
"Now, now Sasuke… is it too hard to greet your old sensei?" Kakashi asked, "We are in a presence of a lady." He finished gesturing to Hinata. Hinata blushed knowing that she was the one that Kakashi was talking about. Sasuke glared at him and cursed under his breath. He looked away from Kakashi. He didn't need to be lectured; he was too old for that now. They weren't close or in good terms either. He just didn't want to be around him. He looked at Hinata who was now blushing out of embarrassment, he sighed inwardly…
"Ohayo Kakashi." He stated, still not looking at him…
"Well, now that we finally greeted each other now I think I should steal a little moment from you both." Kakashi said still smiling underneath his mask. Hinata blushed a bit knowing what he was implying, but nodded nonetheless. Sasuke grunted and turned to look at him. He was by far annoyed…
"What do you want?" he snapped at him…
"Now I know I interrupted something but this is important." He defended…
"I said, what do you want?"
"Sigh, I just came here to tell you that Tsunade-sama summoned me earlier…"
Flashback
He was reading his favorite book by far. Happy that nothing unusual happened for the past few days. But somehow he couldn't shake the feeling he was feeling right now. The atmosphere seemed tense. It made him feel as if something was about to happen that will change the course of their fates. He wasn't really sure about it so he just shrugged it off, continuing on reading his book. After sometime of walking in the streets, he somehow noticed that it was unusually quiet, until he saw Shizune running to him…
"Ohayo Kakashi-san." She said panting…
"Ohayo Shizune-san. What can I do for you in this fine morning?" he asked with a smile…
"Tsunade-sama wants to see you." His eyes widened in shock, he was taken aback…
"She's awake now?"
"Hai, and there's something else you need to know." He looked at her, noting her shoulders becoming a bit tense…
"It is regarding about Sasuke-kun."
"Why? What happened?" Kakashi quickly inquired, worried for his former student…
"He's back! Can you believe it? Sasuke is finally back!" she stated noting a hint of joy in her voice. He leaned back; trying to prevent tears forming in his eyes… this is what they were waiting. This is what they wanted. And now… finally… after years of pain and hurt, he was back. He finally returned…
"Kami-sama… arigatou…" he muttered under his breath and now turned to look at Shizune with a smile, "Bring me to her." He told her and she nodded happily…
Now that they were standing inside the Hokage's office, he was eager to get this done quickly. He wanted to see Sasuke so badly already. He wanted to ask him so many things. But he is going to save it for later; now he was going to focus his attention to the person before him… she was obviously happy…
"Welcome back Tsunade-sama." He greeted her…
"Arigatou Kakashi, I assume that Shizune had told you about Sasuke."
"Hai, she did, demo, Tsunade-sama what will happen to him?"
"For now, we decided to let him be… under the watchful eyes of Hinata and later on maybe the others as well. I also am giving him a chance to rebuild his clan. I am not allowing the Uchiha clan to end and cease to exist. And I summoned you here because of Sasuke too." She looked at him…
"What can I do to help you, and possibly even Sasuke?"
"I am making you his guardian. He is to live with you under your home, and you are to report anything that is suspicious in his actions." Kakashi nodded, fully knowing that Tsunade is planning to have Sasuke in 24/7 surveillance. They needed to take precautions now, and wouldn't risk losing him again.
"Well then, that is all for now." Tsunade finished motioning for him to leave, but before he could step out, he turned around once again and walked back in…
"Ano, I do have one question." Tsunade looked at him with one brow raised, "Why is it that Hinata was assigned to watch Sasuke?" Tsunade looked at him surprised…
"You didn't tell him?" she asked towards Shizune, who was now smiling sheepishly…
"Must have slipped my mind, he he, gomen." She said looking down, Tsunade sighed again, and looked at him…
"Sasuke walked inside the Hokage Tower… with Hinata by his side."
End of flashback
"-and so, now I am officially your guardian Sasuke." He said smiling, and now turned to look at Hinata, "though I have been meaning to ask you this Hinata, how did you manage to convince Sasuke to return?" he looked at the blushing kunoichi, Sasuke glared at him, but before Hinata could even reply to Kakashi's question, he snapped at them…
"It's none of your business!" he growled, he was pissed off knowing that he would have to live with Kakashi. And he just wanted to go as far away as possible from him. He then turned around and yanked Hinata towards him, causing her to hit his firm chest, she blushed at the contact…
"Let's go." He said to her, she nodded and bowed back to Kakashi-sensei, before leaving to follow Sasuke, but Kakashi shouted at them…
"I'll be waiting in my apartment Sasuke… and Hinata!" and with that, he disappeared in a puff. After sometime, he stopped knowing that he was far from Kakashi already, and saw Hinata pant behind him. He sighed and walked towards her…
"You okay?" he asked out of nowhere, she just smiled at him and nodded, still panting…
"We need to work on your speed." He stated and she nodded once again…
"You aren't slow Hinata." He stated, "But you still need to be faster." And he finally motioned for her to come closer; she walked towards him still quite confused on what he meant…
"Come on. You need to go back home, it's getting dark." He then started walking towards her house's direction but she refused to be walked home and pulled him towards another direction, he saw seriousness in those eyes of hers. He groaned at her stubbornness, he did not want to be escorted…
"No, I'll walk you back to Kakashi-sensei's apartment." And she held his arm and pulled him towards Kakashi's apartment once more. He was pissed. Here he was, and he was a guy… he was supposed to be the one walking her home, she needed to be the one being escorted… not her walking him to Kakashi's apartment…
'This is very humiliating.' He thought before reluctantly following after her…
Akatsuki's hideout
"NO!" he shouted, he couldn't believe it at all! How dare he make a reckless decision all on his own! How dare he defy his own orders! He didn't plan for this… he didn't want this to happen! He had to make a plan for this as quickly as he can. He had to gather them again, he has to! For his plan, for his hard work!
Zetsu was just simply standing there… away from him. Right now, he didn't want to get near Tobi. He was ransacking the whole hideout the minute he said Sasuke is back to Konoha. He knew he wouldn't like it, but orders were orders. He wouldn't want to be on Tobi's bad side and it is exactly what he is witnessing right now. Tobi breaking everything in his way as possible and now is finally coming to a stop, still clenching his fists…
"Get Kabuto here… now." He muttered under his breath, Zetsu was surprised, why would he want Kabuto? Just as he was going to move and look for Kabuto, he was surprised at what happened next…
He was pinned to the wall by Tobi. His Sharingan and Rinnegan evident with intent to kill him right now…
"Why did you let Sasuke turn himself in?" he growled at him. Was it his fault that Sasuke chose to move on his own? Was it his fault that their plan solely evolves around Sasuke's participation? Hell, was it even his fault that Sasuke wanted to fulfill his promise to the girl? He was boiling with anger inside himself. For years he had been loyally following every order that they had given him, yet why is it that in the end that they had blamed him for his incompetence? Is this really the price he has to pay for turning against his own village? Or is this his reward for loyally following Akatsuki no matter what?
But he was taken aback once again when he felt Tobi loosen his grip on him. He didn't even realize that he wasn't able to breathe until he was released. He looked at Tobi who has calmed down now…
"Shhh… now gomen a while ago… I had to at least take my frustration out. But I will say this Zetsu, this will be your last failure… do you get that?" he looked at him with a menacing glare…
"Hai, I should go and call for Kabuto now." But before he could go someone else spoke up…
"No need for that. I'm here all along." They both looked towards the source of the voice, and indeed saw Kabuto leaning against the walls…
"You've been there all the time then?" Tobi asked…
"Hai, I have."
"I haven't sensed you at all." He stated with a hint of surprise…
"That's because I was practicing on how well I could mask my chakra so that no one would be able to sense me while I am doing a very critical jutsu… for emergencies only." He stated with a grin. Tobi chuckled, Zetsu and Kabuto was a tad bit shocked. One minute he was mad and the next, he was chuckling…
"Well, it seems that you are all set already. So be prepared," he said, walking away from them, "Our plan just had accelerated. We're going to have to move up our preparations and be double time in everything." And with that he left them both looking back on the path he just took. Zetsu then started leaving but was stopped when Kabuto called his attention…
"You don't mind me asking right?" Zetsu turned to look at him; he didn't understand his question, "Why do you stick around him, when you clearly despise him?" this time Kabuto stared at him. Zetsu frowned at him and completely left him all alone…
'A peculiar person indeed.' Kabuto thought…
"Sigh, is there anyone in this hideout not so gloomy?" he asked to himself, before turning to leave…
The next day (Kakashi's apartment)
He barely had slept last night. He guessed he was too afraid to sleep, and wake up only to find that he hasn't returned, or rather disappeared once again. He just occasionally closed his eye last night, and didn't get much sleep at all. Maybe this time he should consider sleeping in the morning and then read his precious novel at night… just to keep him awake. He wasn't going to take any chances anymore or let him lose sight of him under his house, but he did realize that we may sometimes have a bit of an alone time, and he knew that Sasuke would be able to have some of the people's trust back again, but what concerns him the most is how long will it take for them to finally welcome him again? Trust him again?
He stood up from his chair and went out of the kitchen. He stopped outside the guest bedroom and knocked. Hearing a slight ruffling of the sheets, he sighed in relief. He opened the door and took a peek inside. He smiled at him, even though he was scowling at him, he still smiled nonetheless. He just wanted to let Sasuke know that he isn't alone, even though it is just through his smiles…
"Well then Sasuke, what would you like for breakfast?" he asked at the youngster before him. It was obvious that he had been up for quite some time now. He saw that Sasuke was just lying there on his back at the bed, widely awake. Still upset from the idea that he has to live with Kakashi from now on, he didn't answer and just turned away from him. Just as Kakashi was about to say some more, a knock on his door was heard…
"I wonder who that would be…" Kakashi muttered before he left Sasuke again. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief…
'Finally I am left alone!' he thought. All night he could feel Kakashi's watchful eyes. Ever since he stepped foot inside the apartment he had been uncomfortable. He wanted to get away as far away as possible and return to the Uchiha Compound. He wanted to tell them so badly that he wasn't planning on leaving… yet. He still needed to kill those other two elders. He didn't want them to be thrown to prison. He wanted them to die… perish… disappear forever. But before he could escape, his bedroom door opened once again, he groaned…
"Sasuke, Hinata's here." Kakashi stated, noting Sasuke's surprised look…
'Guess he wasn't expecting her.' He thought and noticed Sasuke stood up and walked out already. He sighed and followed him to the living room. Sasuke then walked towards the living room knowing Kakashi was trailing behind him. As he arrived, he saw her looking over the pictures Kakashi had on his table, and stopped onto the picture where he saw, was the picture of team Kakashi. He just stood there watching her, but he was brought back from his daze when Kakashi suddenly appeared…
"Ohayo Hinata-chan, Sasuke's here now." He stated, smiling at her. Hinata turned around and saw him; she blushed, clearly not used to visiting him…yet. She then averted her gaze to Kakashi…
"Ohayo Kakashi-sensei, ohayo Sasuke-kun." She greeted and looked at them both. She was, he noted, looking at him expectantly…
"Did you need something?" he asked calmly, she shook her head and smiled at him. He felt warm inside when he saw her smile, and relaxed unknowingly, though this didn't went unnoticed by Kakashi…
"Well then, I'll leave you both." He said before leaving them alone…
"Why did you come here?" he asked again, this time she blushed…
"Well, I was, um, wondering whether or not you would want to go out today?" she asked fidgeting, he closed his eyes and opened them again and answered…
"Sure." Then without any delays, he took her hand and led her outside. Unbeknownst to them, Kakashi saw them leave, and their hands that were together…
'Is it just me… or does Sasuke really like Hinata?' he thought, and just shrugged the idea off…
"Oh well, at least now I can get a good sleep." Then he turned to his bedroom to finally sleep…
Konoha streets
They've been walking around for quite some time now, and they didn't notice that they were still holding each other's hands. As they had passed through some shops, they started getting hungry, and since Sasuke had skipped breakfast, he just wanted to stop and eat. But he didn't want to let Hinata know that he was hungry just yet… but the gods were against him today when his stomach growled. Hinata then turned around to look at him with wide eyes…
"You are hungry?" she asked, he didn't answer but instead looked away, trying to hide his embarrassment. She frowned at him; he then looked at her, like an innocent little boy who didn't know what he did wrong to his mother…
"What?" he asked
"Sasuke did you skip breakfast?" she asked with a serious tone…
"It's just a meal Hina-"but was cut off nonetheless…
"Sasuke-kun, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it is not good to go around with an empty stomach. You might get sick or something." She stated, worry clearly seen in her eyes. He sighed and smirked a bit…
"Fine, let's eat." He said and let her lead the way… this time she was the one who was pulling him towards a ramen store he knew so well. He sighed, guessing this was the nearest food stand. Hinata then seated him on one stall and sat beside him…
"Oh, ohayo Hinata-chan!" the man greeted her with a smile, she smiled back…
"Ohayo Teuchi-san." She then looked at Sasuke, and back at Teuchi, she noticed that he stopped and was shocked that Sasuke was there. He noticed the tense atmosphere, and he couldn't deny that he was proud of the fact that it was because of him. But he also notices that Hinata was a bit uncomfortable…
"Um, ano Teuchi-san?" she inquired…
"Hai?" he answered snapping out of his trance
'Hn.' Sasuke thought, and listened to them…
"Ano, can we have two bowls of ramen please?" she inquired with a smile, and he just nodded and turned around to leave. Hinata then sighed of relief, and turned to him…
"Ano, gomen Sasuke-kun, he was just surprised about you back, I think. I guess the news about your return hasn't spread that much yet." She explained…
"Stop saying it." He muttered, she looked at him, quite confused…
"Sorry, I didn't catch that?"
"Stop saying sorry, I'm used to it already." He stated, "This is where he usually eats right?" he inquired…
"He?"
"Naruto."
"Oh… um, yes, he does." She stated softly, and she suddenly looked down casted, remembering Naruto's reply. He didn't know why, but somehow he doesn't want to see her sad at all. So he then just started to think. If word of his return didn't spread that much, then there was a possibility that Naruto hadn't heard he has returned yet right?
"So that means that he will eventually show up here right?" he asked again, she then nodded at him still confuse…
"Why do you ask?"
"Then we better hurry up before he comes because I don't want to face him… just yet." He stated and she nodded in understanding, and looked over at Ayame…
"Ohayo Hina-chan! What can I do for you?" she asked…
"Um, I was just wondering how long it would take for the ramen to be finished."
"Oh, don't worry about that, I'm sure otousan is just finishing up."
"Oh, okay." She then sat back down again, and looked back at Sasuke. He was just sitting there silently, closing his eyes, and she couldn't help but stare at him. She wasn't blind; she admits he is handsome, muscular, but lean. His face was so perfect, his hair looked so smooth, and his eyes are so intoxicating… she was surprised…
She was caught staring at Sasuke. She blushed and looked away. Sasuke thought of it as amusing. He was amused when he caught her staring at him, with lips slightly parted. He was thinking of a way to get out of his current predicament, when he felt as though there were eyes staring at him, and when he decided to take a look, he indeed was right. She was staring at him, and he smirked… then Teuchi appeared with two bowls in his hands, smiling at both of them, and when he looked back at Sasuke, he smiled…
"Welcome back Sasuke." He stated before returning to the kitchen. He then looked at the bowl that was served before him, and saw his reflection at the soup. He saw in his eyes sadness… he hasn't heard those words in years, it felt so nostalgic. It reminded him of his mother, whenever he would return from his training back then, she would always greet him back. He then looked around, and saw lots of people that were happy, peaceful… not alone.
They had a family… he didn't. Would he really destroy their happiness so that he could restore their clan's pride? If Itachi was here, what would he do? What will Itachi want him to do?
'What do you want from me Itachi?' he thought, but shook his thoughts away. No… he wouldn't back down now. He should not go back now that he has gotten this far… he couldn't back off just because of a bit of this remorse. He then frowned. A day here in Konoha and he's starting to get soft… he didn't like that. Innocent or not, they are living carefree now because of Itachi's sacrifice… his misery! Unconsciously, he began clenching his fists; Hinata noticed this and then looked back up him again and could tell that he was in deep thought…
Just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, someone suddenly muttered something behind them, making her whip around to face who was the person with them… so normally, since her hair was so long, it had hit Sasuke in the face… like a whip. He flinched at the contact and looked at her, noticing she was looking behind with a horrified look, he turned around too… but he only sighed with annoyance to himself more. He didn't want to see them… he didn't want to be near them…
They on the other hand, were on a verge of tears… for so long they couldn't believe he was back! How? Why and when? Those were their questions… but they were refrained from voicing out their thoughts, all they just wanted to see was him…
Sasuke was eyeing them warily, but then looked below and saw their hands intertwined… he frowned…
'Are they… together?' he thought, he couldn't believe his eyes. Naruto actually rejected Hinata for whom… Sakura? And he thought that Sakura was a good friend? He was boiling in anger this time, but decided to calm down, it wasn't his problem anyway. He then looked at Hinata, she was clearly hurt… he could tell, just from her eyes. Tears were forming already; he groaned inwardly… why did they have to come here at this particular moment? He stood up… not even bothering to finish his meal… he just lost his appetite, and then grabbed Hinata away from the place, leaving both Naruto and Sakura in a shocked state…
Hinata was, too, shocked to say the least. She wasn't expecting Sasuke to pull her away from that terrifying moment for her. She knew that Naruto was going to go after Sakura still… but what she wasn't expecting was Sakura falling for Naruto. She couldn't blame Sakura… she knew that sooner or later, Sakura would succumb to Naruto's efforts and charms. She knew that Sakura would eventually come to realize how she felt for Naruto… but she had imagined too that by the time that Sakura would realize it, she and Naruto were together…
Still in a shocked state she hadn't notice that she was crying, nor had she noticed that she and Sasuke had stopped and looked at her. He knew how it felt to be betrayed… he felt it so many times… he knew how it felt when you lost the reason you always aimed higher than your own standards. Then without thinking, he pulled her into a hug. She gasped once she felt Sasuke's arms around her; engulfing her with his warmth… she didn't know how to react, when she heard him speak…
"Don't cry," she then realized she was crying again, "I'm sorry Hinata if you have to feel it again…" she couldn't believe her ears, he was saying sorry when it wasn't his fault, "You'll get over it… we'll get over it," she was confused now…
'Get over what?' she thought…
"We'll move on… together." He said finally. Hinata's heart leapt out of joy, he was so sweet. She didn't know of this side of him. She felt so touched by his words. Just hearing it from him was so different… like it filled her empty heart. She then thought that her pain was probably similar to how Sasuke felt… only much intense and immensely painful because he had to witness it all… undergo through it all alone. And here she was, surrounded by friends and family, thinking life was always unfair… whereas he, Sasuke, was offering her his help… when he was then one who most needed it…
She cried harder, ashamed of herself, regretting the way she reacted. She nodded in response to him, unable to find her words of thanks…
He didn't regret getting soft on her now… not one bit…
Maybe… just maybe… when he's ready… he'll tell her the truth…
Konoha's forest
Shocked to say the least…
Annoyed they weren't informed…
Hopeless they couldn't do anything…
Zetsu came up to them not to soon after Sasuke had handed himself in… they didn't know what to think. Sure, Sasuke was pretty secretive nowadays… popping in and out on them. But it wasn't like Sasuke to just suddenly hand himself in… much less to a village he swore to destroy.
"What do we do now?" Karin asked, slightly recovering from the news…
"I suppose we could return to Akatsuki." Suigetsu stated mindlessly, angering Karin…
"And what? Leave Sasuke-kun here? He could be hurt or probably is being sentenced to death right now!" she exclaimed…
"No one's leaving…" Juugo suddenly stated, both looked at him…
"What do you mean no one's leaving? Didn't you just hear? Sasuke turned himself in… and according to Karin, he might be sentenced to death at this very moment already!" Suigetsu said in an outburst, Karin nodded her head in agreement. Juugo looked back at them and spoke monotonously…
"Didn't know you think so highly of Sasuke, Suigetsu."
"Che, he got me Zabuza-senpai's sword and got me out of Orochimaru's lab… so I'm just thankful." He denied, Juugo looked at Karin…
"I just admired his chakra, that's all!" she stated blushing…
"So that's it then." Juugo stated, walking away from them, they just stood there stunned…
"Well, you coming or not?" he asked both of them, they snapped out of their trance and followed him. Unsure of what lay ahead, but they had to trust Juugo this time, amongst the three of them… aside from Sasuke, he was the most level-headed one… so it wouldn't hurt following him right? Even though his thoughts were still unsure of…
There you go minna :D!
Finally finished with it! I hope that you would find it nice
Ja ne!
PS: I DON'T OWN NARUTO T~T