A/N Guess who's back. I'm sure you all have a bone to pick with me. I'm pretty sure I deserve it. I apologise for the delay in this chapter. I admit a lot happened but I'm sure you're more interested in reading the story. Thank you all for your lovely reviews. I hope this chapter and following chapters can make up for the lost time.

Enjoy

Jiang-sama

Third P.O.V

Following Sasuke's sudden departure, Hinata hadn't seen hide or hair of Sasuke for the rest of the day and the following morning. She was worried, and worry never failed to eat up at her. She wanted to pursue Sasuke, or at the very least find out from his comrades where he had gone to; instead she reconsidered and decided to wait for him to come back on his own. For one, Hinata had to keep in mind that as a mother, Akira came first; it would do her no good to run around the village with Akira on her back. While clones would do the job, her chakra signatures in different places would attract unwanted attention from others, and she had no desire to be hit with endless questions. Particularly by her family who would question her actions and they would end up concluding wrongly that Sasuke was on the run once again.

In his absence, Hinata couldn't help but go over her last conversation with Sasuke. How could she help him ease his pain? Naruto tried to do it, so did Sakura, but Sasuke turned a blind eye to their intentions to help him and decided to close up to the world. She couldn't help but wonder how she could make him open up and share his pain, and to let go of it too. What was he so afraid of?

Hinata made the decision to consult her sensei, Kurenai Yuuhi on the matter. Maybe get insight on taking a different approach to it all. She showered, dressed in a long sleeve beige shirt with black Capri pants and standard issue shinobi shoes and did the same for Akira, dressing him in a dark red t-shirt and khaki shorts. And off they went.

Standing at the porch of her sensei's home, Hinata hesitated slightly before gently rapping on the door, and waited patiently, adjusting Akira on her hip. When the door opened, she was surprised to see her teammate instead of Kurenai-sensei.

"Hinata," Shino greeted, "you've returned"

"It's good to see you, Shino-kun," Hinata smiled, "Is Kurenai-sensei home?"

"Yes. Come in"

Shino stepped aside as Hinata stepped into the house. She paused to remove her shoes at the genkan and bent down to do the same for Akira.

"Who is the boy?" Shino asked, pointing to Akira.

"This is Akira," Hinata introduced, "Aki, this is my teammate, Shino. Say hello"

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Shino-san," Akira greeted shyly before hiding behind his mother's leg.

Hinata giggled softly, then asked, "Where's sensei?"

Her question was answered when she heard a voice call out, "Is that you, Hinata?"

Turning around, Hinata smiled when her eyes found her sensei. Kurenai quickly walked over to Hinata and swept the girl into her arms, with Hinata returning the hug of her sensei.

"It's been too long, Hinata," Kurenai said, releasing Hinata from her embrace.

"Indeed it has," Hinata returned. Feeling a soft tug on her trousers, Hinata looked down to see Akira lift his hands, signalling that she carry him and she lifted him up, settling him on her hip as he laid his head on the crook of her neck. Kurenai wanted to ask about the boy, but instead said, "Why don't we all sit down. It seems we have a lot of catching up to do"

"Is Mirai awake?"

"Well, she fell asleep about two hours ago," Kurenai answered, "But she should be waking up soon"

"If that's the case, I hope you don't mind Akira in the playroom for a while until she wakes up and they play together"

"Wonderful! Would you like that, Akira?"

To this Akira buried his face in the crook of Hinata's neck and Hinata replied, "You'll have to excuse him. He's been meeting a lot of people lately. I think the experience has overwhelmed him"

"I'm sure playing with someone his age might just do the right thing," Kurenai said, guiding Hinata to Mirai's play room, "Shino, do you mind setting up the cups and treats for tea in the livingroom? Hinata and I will be with you in a few minutes"

The bug user nodded and walked off in the direction of the kitchen. Kurenai pointed out the playroom to Hinata and went to get Mirai. Hinata shifted Akira into her right arm and opened the door of the playroom with her left hand. Inside, there were two crates full of toys next to a large futon with a lot of cushions that had been laid out in one corner, and a shelf stacked full with books. Kneeling down, Hinata wanted to place Akira on the floor, but the young boy wouldn't let go of her clothes.

"Aki? What's wrong?" Hinata asked.

"I don' wan' you to weave," mumbled Akira in Hinata's neck.

I'm not going anywhere," Hinata replied softly, "I'll just be in the living-room talking to my friends. Besides, you will have a friend here too. Won't that be fun?"

She felt Akira's grip on her shirt shyness was getting the best of him. It didn't matter that Akira was not her blood child; he shared some of the traits she head as a child as well.

"Akira, there's no need to be afraid. You're going to have a lot of fun making a new friend. And I'll be nearby if you need anything"

"Pwomise?"

"I promise," Hinata said, kissing the top of his head. Akira slowly let go of Hinata and eased himself from Hinata's arms, stepping onto the carpeted floor. He looked around the room, and the shelf with books caught his eye.

"Can I look at them, Miss Kuwenai?" Akira asked. Hinata turned around to see Kurenai with a drowsy Mirai in her arms.

"Yes of course Akira," Kurenai replied, setting Mirai on her feet. The red eyed girl rubbed her eyes with her fists and took in her surroundings. At the sight of Hinata, her face lit up and she ran to the bluenette.

"Hina-nee," Mirai squealed happily, throwing her arms around Hinata's neck.

"Hello, Mirai!" Hinata greeted (she was surprised that the young Sarutobi still remembered her), "You've grown so much"

"Mhmm," the girl giggled bashfully as she let go of Hinata. Her eyes found the boy by the shelf opening one of her books, and curious to know who his identity, she bounced her way over to him, saying, "You can wead?"

"Hai," Akira said shyly, "but only a little"

"Oooo. Can you wead dish one?" Mirai asked, pointing to the book in Akira's hands. Akira nodded, to which Mirai pulled Akira towards the futon and instructed the young boy to read to her.

The sight of the two toddlers warmed Hinata's heart and she walked towards Kurenai at the door who gave her a smile. The two women left the room and made their way towards the living-room where they found Shino already seated. The room gave off a cosy feeling, with couches lined across one side of the room and the television set across from it with the windows behind it and the curtains drawn.

Once the women were settled, the trio began sharing tales of the past year. Despite the fact that it was Hinata who they were more interested in knowing where she had disappeared to, it was Kurenai who started off with telling Hinata about what she had missed with the likes of Mirai's growth progress, festivals, and Konoha gossip. Shino continued on afterwards about his missions with his genin team and whatever titbits he felt were necessary to share. The time soon came for Hinata to share her tale.

Hinata P.O.V

Hinata hadn't realised how much she had missed until Kurenai sensei and Shino regaled her in their tales of the past year. With Akira taking up most of her time, in fact all of it, nothing else mattered to her. I wonder if it's one of those things that come with parenting, that nothing but your child's happiness and wellbeing is all that matters, Hinata thought.

"Hinata?"

"Yes," Hinata said, breaking out of her train of thought.

"Thought we lost you there?" Kurenai said.

"I'm sorry," Hinata apologised, "I was just thinking about something"

"Perhaps you could share with us how your mission was," Shino suggested.

"Where do I even begin...? It was a challenging mission I suppose. But I can't complain too much about it"

"And the boy, Akira is it? Kurenai asked.

"This will come as very surprising," Hinata began slowly, "Akira, he's my son"

Hinata witnessed the shocked looks on Kurenai and Shino's faces as she continued, "He was barely a year old when his mother passed away and left him on my care. It's one of the things I wanted to tell you about once I returned to Konoha"

"You have such a big heart, Hinata," Kurenai smiled, giving Hinata a hug.

"I have to as though, what about your clan?" Shino questioned.

"Um, I informed my father about it. He was concerned about it, but accepted it"

"That's rather, um… tame of Hiashi," Kurenai voiced.

"That's probably because I'm to be married'

"To whom?" Shino demanded seriously, "Did your father force you into it?"

It was the first time in a long time that Hinata could hear the emotion laced in his voice which surprised her so. There were a few things that could make Shino show his emotions. She hoped she could reassure him so he wouldn't act to unreasonably and thus had to tread carefully.

"Hinata?" Kurenai pressed.

"I….,"

"Mama!"

"Kaa-san!"

Two dark-haired toddlers rushed into the living-room and lunged to their respective parent.

"Mama, Mama," Mirai spoke excitedly, "Akican wead all of my fawouwite stowy booksh"

"Really?" Kuerenai said in a light-hearted tone, "That's impressive Akira"

Akira blushed at the comment and murmured, "Awigato, Kurenai-san"

"What a polite young man. Mirai, why don't you take Akira and show him all your toys?"

"Come, Aki," Mirai exclaimed excitedly. Hinata watched as Mirai as she dragged Akria by his arm towards her playroom.

Once the children were out of sight, Hinata felt the atmosphere in the room turned serious once more as two pairs of eyes focused on her. She could even feel the buzzing of Shino's kikaichu from where she sat.

"Please don't misinterpret the situation in any way. I actually approached my father with my fiancé to ask for his blessing. My father was a bit sceptical at first, but he agreed to it. I wanted to let you know about it before any formal invitations are sent," Hinata said slowly.

"This is wonderful news!" Kurenai exclaimed, "A bit to sudden but wonderful nonetheless. Who is the lucky young man?"

"Sasuke Uchiha"

As soon as the last syllable left Hinata's lips, a deathly silence followed. Kurenai's face held a surprised expression, not believing Hinata's words; as for Shino, he had gone stiff.

"You're marrying Uchiha?" Shino asked.

"Yes," Hinata replied. At that, Shino stood abruptly and left. Hinata moved to follow after him, but Kurenai held her back.

"You should sit," Kurenai spoke.

"But I have to go speak with Shino," Hinata protested.

"Its best he be left alone. Nothing you could say would change his mind. You on the other hand,are coming with me to fix the children something to eat and supplying a lot of answers. Why Sasuke?"

"Its many things," Hinata answered honestly, "The most important is that it's giving the Uchiha clan a chance to start over. I suppose it will look more like a political marriage than not"

"I can tell that's not the whole story"

"You know me so well, Kurenai sensei," Hinata grinned, "I'm actually married to him. This marriage is pretty much just for show"

"What!?" Kurenai gasped.

"It's a long story," Hinata sighed, "but I can't imagine myself away from him. He's been through so much, and through all of it he's been alone. When I got to know the fraction of himself that he allowed me to see, I was so mad at myself, and the people of this village for doing nothing to alleviate his sorrows.

"When I look back, all I see is a young boy with a shoulder of responsibility put on his shoulders by his brother, I see the people of Konoha put him on a glorified pedestal because of the Uchiha blood that runs through his veins with great expectations for him, women and girls from all over vying for his attention. But did anyone bother to ask whether he was okay? Did anyone bother to check on him to see if he had a decent meal? Did anyone give him a warm hug to tell him it would be alright?"

With Kurenai's silence, Hinata continued, "No one did, at least until Naruto who saw what we all ignored to see. I can't help but feel I could have done more for him if I took the time to know who he is. To know the person behind the image that everyone has created about him"

"Hinata," Kurenai began, "I know you have a big heart, but don't you think marrying him is an excessive move on your part? I mean, up and until a year ago, you were madly in love with Naruto and now you're married to Sasuke Uchiha?"

"I suppose my actions at the end of the day are questionable. Sasuke is not a rebound nor is he in some plot for me to get revenge on Naruto. I gave up on Naruto ever returning my love long before my marriage to Sasuke," Hinata spoke honestly, "Admittedly, once the news is out,it would be viewed as a political marriage. But the truth is I made a promise to watch over him. You're probably right that marriage is a bit too drastic, but then wouldn't that mean he would never have to be alone?"

"Hinata…"

"I'm not telling you this so I can get a second opinion orhave someone change my mind because I'm not. I am determined to make this marriage work one way or another. Even if he pushes me away and can't trust me, I'll be by his side, not as a spectator or someone who judge him, but as a friend"

"And what about Sakura?"

"A part of me feels guilty for doing this behind her back and it leaves me rather conflicted. I also can't help but feel that I have the one thing Sakura desired the most since she had Naruto's heart for many years and didn't once regard his feelings for her. But at the end of the day, what has happened has happened. If I have to confront her about it, I suppose I'll have to deal with it when the time comes. I don't regret my decisions"

By her eerie silence alone, Hinata could tell that Kurenai had a lot more things to say; but Kurenai surprised her by saying, "I would like to believe all that you just told me, but this is not something one can just accept in one day. It seems like there's more that you're not telling me"

Hinata wanted to say something, but Kurenai held up her hand, "I'm not finished, Hinata"

Hinata immediately closed her mouth.

"I can see it in your eyes. Seeing you grow from the shy little genin to a fully accomplished and strong shinobi is a blessing to me. You have matured and excelled beyond my expectations. And now that you're going into marriage and motherhood, it's honestly a step that I wasn't prepared for. You're more than a student to me, Hinata, you're my daughter. A mother can't help but worry for her children, and I worry for you, Shino and Kiba. Knowing you, it must have been an extremely hard decision to commit yourself into marriage, no less to Sasuke Uchiha.

"You must know this already, but I'll just say it for it to be said. Marriage is not an easy road. For it to work, it needs both you and Sasuke to put it a lot of effort, especially healthy communication. You're probably the closest person to Sasuke in all of Konoha, and that means you'll have to be the most patient. If you're going to create a relationship with him, you're going to have to do it your way, not Naruto's, not Sakura's way, but yours. It may be a while before you experience the joys of marriage, but don't give up so easily. I wish you wouldn't have rushed into marriage with him, but I hope you gain what you desire and I'll be supporting you every step of the way"

Hinata's right hand found her mouth and her left her chest as tears streamed down her face.

"Oh sweetheart," Kurenai said, as she wrapped her hands around Hinata, holding her tightly while rubbing her took a while for Hinata to calm down before mumbling in a watery voice, "Thank you, Kurenai-san"

"I'm always here for you whenever you need me," Kurenai declared softly. They elapsed into a comfortable silence, still hugging each other when the voices of Akira and Mirai called out,

"Mama! Whewe awe you?"

"Okaa-san"

Hinata got out of Kurenai's embrace and quickly dried her tears as Kurenai said, "In the kitchen, children"

Then to Hinata, Kurenai softly spoke, "Will you be okay?"

"Hai," Hinata smiled, thankful for coming to see Kurenai.

Third P.O.V

It was mid-afternoon when Hinata and Akira finally left Kurenai's home with the promise of a future play date for the children.

"Aki," Hinata said, "did you enjoy yourself today?"

"Mhm," Akira replied.

Akira walked beside Hinata with an extra bounce in his step. He liked Konoha a lot. He liked that he could walk around as much as he want since it didn't rain a lot and it wasn't that cold out. He liked his new friend, Mirai and was looking forward to reading more books with her, or at best, look at the picture books. Most of all, Akira liked spending time with his okaa-san best. She had the best stories, warm hugs and delicious food. And she never forgot to make him smile.

Seeing her now though, she always seemed to have a faraway look to her. Akira could tell when his okaa-san would try to hide away the feelings from him, but that didn't mean he couldn't see them. It was normally when oji-san Sasuke was not around, which then made Akira wonder, where was Oji-Sasuke? If he wouldn't be around to make his oka-san stop crying, then it would be up to Akira to make sure she didn't.

Akira grabbed onto Hinata's hand, and when her attention turned to him, he gave her the brightest smile he could muster. Hinata smiled back at the boy and knelt down to his height, suggesting, "I just need to stop at the market to buy a few things before we go home, okay?"

"Hai," Akira said.

The two ventured off to the market and Hinata where Hinata went to the clothing store to buy a few clothes for Akira (Hinata could no longer ignore the fact that Akira was in need of clothes that did not consist of padded layers and waterproof material). Afterwards, the duo went off to a grocery store to buy fruits, vegetables and baking ingredients. Hinata made small conversation with a few vendors she was familiar with as Akira and she made their way home. They made a brief stop at a dango stall –at the insistence of Akira- to buy dango.

Unbeknownst to the two, a pair of jade eyes caught sight of the two. The owner was rather surprised seeing Hinata –with a child no less- at the market since Hinata's last appearance was at the celebratory festival a year ago. With Hinata leaving the stall, the kunoichi followed Hinata and the child until they left the market area. She continued following them, pausing in her steps when the duo ahead of her stopped at a bench and sat down. The kunoichi quickly hurried over to Hinata, shouting, "Hinata-chan!"

Said person sat up straight at the sound of her name, looking around until her eyes found the pink-haired kunoichi. Her arm slipped around the boy subtle motion but protective manner and she smiled, "Sakura-san"

"When did you come back?" Sakura asked.

"It's only been a few days, I think. How are you?"

"Great. And you?"

"I'm doing well"

"And who's this young man?" Sakura asked, smiling at the boy. The child leaned in closer to Hinata, keeping the dango in his mouth.

"Um, this is Akira. Akira, why don't you greet Sakura-san?"

The boy remained quiet, hiding his face in Hinata's side. Sakura, assuming the boy was shy, smiled gently, "He's a shy one isn't he. Are you babysitting him or something?"

"I-"

"Hinata-sama," a voice called out. Both women turned in the direction of the voice to see Neji walking towards them.

"Hey, Neji!"

"Neji nii-san"

"It's getting late Hinata-sama," Neji said, "I'm here to escort you home"

"I didn't realise that time was moving so fast," Hinata commented, getting to her feet while balancing Akira on her hip, "Looks like we'll have to talk some other time, Sakura-san"

"We just started catching up," Sakura protested, and then giving a sigh, "I'll let you go for now, but we do have to meet up some time"

"That will be unlikely with how busy Hinata-sama is," Neji declared, "Let's go Hinata-sama"

With no more words said, Neji picked up Hinata's bags and lead her away from Sakura. Still surprised by the encounter, it was only later in the evening that Sakura got to share her thoughts with Naruto at Ichiraku.

"...I was really shocked to see her. You'd think Hinata would at least tell someone she was back in Konoha. If only Neji hadn't dragged her off, I would have liked to talk to her," Sakura exclaimed. Expecting a comment from the blonde next to her, she was not surprised to see him fully immersed in his meal.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, "Pay attention"

"But I'm hungry," Naruto whined.

"Aren't you even the least bit interested in the fact that Hinata is back?! Geez!"

"I've already seen her"

"Really? When?"

"A few days ago"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I guess it slipped my mind"

"You really are a hopeless idiot. Anyway, I really wish she didn't have to isolate herself so much. Guess I have to find Ten-ten and Ino so we can have a girl's day out with Hinata"

"Probably not a good idea if she's taking care of Akira," Naruto said absentmindedly, slurping up the last of his bowl. Sakura was puzzled.

"Who's Akira?" Sakura asked. Naruto's hands paused mid-air. He put the bowl down cautiously and smiled nervously.

"No one," Naruto laughed nervously, "Look at the time! I have to meet with Kakashi-sensei right now. Later"

Before Sakura could do anything, Naruto was gone. What had gotten him so nervous?

Genkan - Genkan are traditional Japanese entryway areas for a house, apartment, or building—something of a combination of a porch and a doormat.[1] It is usually located inside the building directly in front of the door. The primary function of genkan is for the removal of shoes before entering the main part of the house or building. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

A/N This is a promise, more sasuhina loving in later chapters. You as the reader may have noticed a thing or two that needs correcting. Feel free to review and criticize.

Later