Timeless

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Do feel free to weigh in on when you would like the other Sasukes and Hinatas to return to their times.

Past Sasuke and Hinata: Speak in italics.

Present Sasuke and Hinata: Speak in regular font.

Future Sasuke and Hinata: Speak in bold font.

Chapter 14

A few days later, the tournament was all anyone was talking about. Sasuke couldn't blame them. It was big news, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more going on than they were being told.

"Are you going to enter?" Hinata whispers while she was sitting on his lap.

The two of them had gone to the lake and were sitting a few feet away from the water, underneath the shade of one of the trees. He never would have thought that Hinata was capable of being sneaky, but apparently she was. The Hyuga Heiress must have suggested they go to the lake to get him to lower his guard and ask him that question.

His guard had been lowered because now he knew the joy of seeing his future wife in a swimsuit. Mentally he slaps himself for being that easily manipulated. Sasuke really should have known something was up when she asked if he wanted to go to the lake. But he had agreed without thinking about it because she was wearing a two piece.

"I'm thinking about it. I'll ask my older counterpart first. We can't risk altering the timeline. What about you?" He asks as he runs his fingers through her long, silky blue tresses.

"Part of me wants to. It's a matter of pride really, but another part of me thinks that this is some kind of trap. I just don't see how." Hinata confesses.

She leans back into his gentle administrations. That felt nice. It was soothing really.

"I can understand that. I spoke with the older me. He says that we can go public with our relationship now. He also mentioned that Kiba was going to be stupid, but I already knew that was going to happen." The raven haired ninja muses.

"Sasuke! That's mean! And should he really be telling you things like that? Isn't he worried about the future being changed?" The Hyuga Heiress exclaims.

He knew it was mildly sadistic, but it was fun to rile Hinata up. Her lavender orbs with flicker like a lightning strike and when she got really animated, she'd jump around a bit. That's when her breasts would jiggle. He liked the jiggle.

"No. The older me realizes that whether or not we were public with our relationship would have an impact on the future. So he had to tell me that much. As for Kiba, he probably shouldn't have told me that. Still I figured that would be the case anyway. So no major bombshells or alterations have been made." The Uchiha assures her .

"I guess that's true." She says as she cuddles into Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke smiles and kisses the top of her head. This was nice. He never thought that he'd be the type to enjoy embracing like this. For Hinata though, he'd make an exception. She was always an exception.

"I think you'd do great in the tournament." He tells her.

"Really?" Hinata asks with a smile, obviously rather pleased that he believed in her.

"Yeah. Naruto's Sexy Jutsu has nothing on you, especially when you wear that red lace." Sasuke says smugly.

He owes when Hinata whacks him for that one. Alright. He deserved that. Still he wasn't going to take it back. It was the truth!

"I can't believe you said that!" She grumbles and blushes ruby red at his outrageous comment.

"I'm just telling the truth. There's that and you are also a formidable ninja. People just tend to underestimate you because you're shy and kind. Use that to your advantage." The raven haired ninja suggests.

"That's better. You really think that I could do it? All the villages will likely be sending only their best." The heiress reasons.

Sasuke nods. He knew she could do it. She had the Byakugan, Gentle Fist, exceptional chakra control, and the ability to suck out chakra. Most people didn't really notice it because of her gentle nature, but she could be a fearsome opponent. Well if she wanted to be. Most of the time, she wouldn't hurt a fly.

"I don't think you can do it. I know you can do it." Sasuke replies.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me. Wait. Someone is coming." Hinata says as she looks around.

Sasuke frowns. Yeah. She was right. He could sense chakra coming their way. It felt somewhat familiar. Leaf Ninja.

"Whose there?" He demands.

"Me. Hey, Hinata." Kiba says as he walks over to them.

Sasuke watched the "mutt's" body language. He was bracing for a fight, but clearly didn't want to scare Hinata. This was going to be very annoying. He just knew it.

"Kiba! Hi." The Hyuga Heiress says with a nervous smile.

She could only hope that somehow the two of them would learn to get along. Kiba was her friend and her teammate. His opinion was important to her. Sasuke was her future husband. These were two of the most important men in her life.

Unfortunately, they couldn't be more different. This was literally going to be like cats and dogs. She could already see this. The best she could hope for was that they would learn to tolerate each other.

"Hello, Hinata. So it's really true then. You and him are together?" Kiba asks in disbelief as he looks at the couple from head to toe.

Sasuke felt himself twitch in annoyance. He was checking to make sure that Hinata wasn't hurt. The implication pissed him off. Hinata must have sensed this because she gives him a concerned look. His chakra likely lashed out a bit and the perceptive medic had sensed it.

"Yes, we are. I'd introduce you two, but we were all in the same year at the Academy." The bluenette says awkwardly.

"Yeah. I remember. You were a stuck up kid then and now you're the big bad. If you hurt her in any way, I will make you regret it. I swear it, Uchiha. I don't care how strong you are. I will find a way to take you down. Hinata is my friend. I'm not going to let anyone hurt her. It doesn't matter how many freaky eye tricks you have up your sleeve." The canine lover declares.

After that comment, it was a miracle that Sasuke didn't lunge at Kiba. How DARE he insult Sasuke's bloodlines?! This man was just asking for it.

"You are delusional, if you think there is any universe where you could even lay one hand on me. I'm going to let that go though. I know you are just sticking up for Hinata, but you don't have to. She's happy with me. She's a big girl now. Hinata can make her own choices. She doesn't need you to babysit her." Sasuke snaps at him.

Kiba frowns. He wasn't babysitting Hinata. He was just trying to protect his teammate. The Hyuga Heiress had a habit of seeing the good in everyone and wanting to give everyone a second chance. Sometimes her mercy could be taken advantage of, particularly by people like him!

"Hinata, are you sure about this? It's one thing to allow him back into the village. It's another to be dating him." Kiba says.

"Kiba, I'm happy with Sasuke. I appreciate that you are just looking out for me, but you don't need to worry." Hinata tells him with a reassuring smile.

Sasuke couldn't lie. He felt rather smug at Hinata telling the dog to back off. Of course she was doing it in a rather gentle way, but it was Hinata. She was never vicious or rude. By Hinata standards, this was firm.

"I'm always going to worry about you. You're my friend. Friends look out for each other. I'm happy you found someone. Did it REALLY have to be him though?" The Inuzuka inquires and Hinata giggles.

Apparently, Kiba just couldn't resist getting another shot in. She supposed it was a guy thing. Men just had to turn everything into a contest.

"Yes, it had to be him. You'll understand one day." Hinata says and she kisses Sasuke's cheek.

She was actually impressed that Sasuke hadn't fired off a Chidori or at least a fireball yet. She loved him, but he had a Hell of a temper. The last Uchiha wasn't Naruto. He could be quite violent when he wanted to be outside of the battlefield.

"Yeah. I don't think that's going to happen. He is right about one thing though. You're an adult. You can make your own decisions. Even if I think that you are a little crazy for dating him, I'm not going to fight you on it. Hopefully, you'll change your mind though. He's a walking time bomb, Hinata. We all know that." Kiba half pleads with her.

Sasuke balls up his fists. He knew that he couldn't have a go at Kiba. As much as he wanted to bash his face in, it would be a dumb move. Hinata had only recently agreed to be his girlfriend. She would likely leave him, if Hinata saw him beating up one of her friends.

He had to stay calm. It was hard though. Really hard. The impulse to lunge at the canine lover for his stupid comments was incredibly strong.

"Kiba, be nice. So are you going to enter the tournament?" Hinata asks.

Maybe it would be best to change the conversation. It was a horribly obvious attempt to do so, but she had no other alternatives. She didn't want Sasuke and Kiba to start fist fighting.

She adored Kiba. The Inuzuka was a powerful ninja in his own right, but it wouldn't be a fair fight. If Sasuke got really angry and lost control of his temper, it would be over and brutally soon.

"Yeah. Of course, I'm going to enter. I wouldn't miss it for the world. If we were all on the same team with other Leaf Villagers, I wouldn't though. I'm not going to fight on the same team as HIM." The other male ninja says.

"The feeling is very much mutual. Poor Hinata. Two of your teammates are dogs and only one of them is house trained. Well I suppose at least Akamaru is cute. You can't say that about his owner though." Sasuke says in a bored fashion.

Uh oh. Hinata gets between Kiba and Sasuke before her friend could lunge at the Uchiha. That comment had certainly set him off.

"Sasuke, Kiba. Stop provoking each other. Sasuke, let's go back to the Estate. We should all be training for the tournament anyway. It was nice to see you, Kiba." Hinata says as she walks off with her boyfriend.

Meanwhile back at the Estate, the youngest Sasuke and Hinata were tring to spy on their older selves again. They both knew that a tournament was going to happen. Both of them were curious to find out more about it.

"I wish we were big. Then we could compete." Sasuke says.

"I don't know. It seems like it would be really dangerous. Still it should be fun to watch. Do you think the Leaf will win?" Hinata asks quietly.

Mini Sasuke tilts his head to the side as he considers it. Honestly, he didn't really know much about the other ninja villages. The Leaf was strong, but it was hard to say. It depended on who everyone sent and what the tournament was like.

"I don't know. I think we have a good shot though. Our village is strong. Do you know anything about the other villages?" The other child asks.

Hinata bites her lower lip as she considers it. She didn't really know much about the other villages either. Sasuke was right though. The Leaf was strong though. They could do it.

"I know their names and where they are located. I don't know much more than that though. Who knows what they are capable of? We have a lot of powerful ninjas on our side. I'm sure that at least some of my family will enter. The Byakugan will be really helpful in the tournament." She says.

Sasuke nods in agreement. That's true. The Byakugan could have a really wide range in some cases. Maybe they'd be able to pull it off.

"You two really need to work on your stealth skills." Sasuke notes in amusement and the children eep.

Sasuke shakes his head in amusement. He couldn't believe that his younger self had just eeped. Then again, he was only seven. It was likely anyone his age would have had the same reaction. That could be overlooked.

"It's alright. You are in trouble. It's only natural that you'd be curious about the tournament." Hinata says.

Mini Sasuke and Hinata sigh in relief. Oh good. They weren't in trouble. That was a close one.

"What happens at the tournament? You're from the future. You've already lived through this. You know what's going to happen." Sasuke reasons.

The elder Sasuke mentally sighs. In a way, his younger counterpart was too smart for his own good. Things could get complicated and quickly, if he kept digging for answers like that.

"I can't tell you that. We don't want to mess with the future. Besides, if we told you everything that was going to happen, that would take all the fun out of it. Don't you want to be surprised?" He tries to reason with the Mini Sasuke.

Mini Sasuke glances at Mini Hinata. It was as if he was asking her what she thought of that excuse. She just nods and Sasuke seems to decide that was good enough.

"I guess you're right. It's not as much fun watching, if you know who is going to win. Are you going to enter? We are too little. They'd never let us go." He pouts.

"We can't enter. People would notice that we were older than we are supposed to be. It's important to keep our presence a secret. We don't want to scare people." Hinata says.

The Minis seem to accept this explanation. Clearly though, that wouldn't be the last of their questions. They were both rather curious people. Well all kids that age were curious really. So it was to be expected.

"I guess that makes sense. That would make people ask a lot of questions. Are we going to return to our time?" The youngest Hinata asks.

Sasuke frowns as he considers this. Hinata was right. They had been here a long time. This was one really long dream.

"Yes, you'll return to your time." Sasuke assures them, though the Mini Sasuke notes that he seemed to be looking at him with sadness.

Why was his older self sad about that? Did something bad happen in the future? Well maybe he should call it the past. This was all so confusing!

"When?" Hinata asks.

"Soon. You'll return to your time soon." Her older self assures her.

That was when the Middle Sasuke and Hinata walked in. They had sensed their counterparts chakra and headed straight towards them. The Minis weren't the only ones who wanted answers.

"I take it that they were trying to be sneaky and find out more about the tournament?" Sasuke asks.

"You're right. They were. It's okay though. Anyone is naturally going to be curious about such a big event. We knew that the two of you would also have questions. Sasuke, Hinata, perhaps you should go play outside?" He suggests.

The Minis didn't need to be told twice. They bound off together, hand in hand. This draws smiles from the elder sets' faces.

"It's a shame that they will only think this is all a dream in the end. Another friend would have been helpful back then." Sasuke mutters.

"I know the feeling. It's probably for the best though. We wouldn't have listened to anyone at that time, anyway. It would have only put our Hinatas through unnecessary pain." He says.

Sasuke nods in agreement. Their Hinatas apparently didn't take too kindly to being spoken about like they weren't in the same room. The two Sasukes rub the back of their heads sheepishly at the dirty looks that they were both getting.

"That's not nice of you to talk about us like we aren't here." Hinata grumbles.

"I'm sorry. You're right." Sasuke says as he kisses her cheek.

The elder Sasuke also murmurs an apology to his wife. He caresses her cheek and lowers his eyes in appropriate contrition. Luckily for him, this appeared to do the trick.

"You're lucky that I love you." Hinata whispers.

"I know. I'm VERY lucky." Sasuke agrees as he kisses her forehead and smiles.

"I think you know what we are going to ask. Did either of us enter that tournament? We have to know." The Hyuga Heiress says.

The elder set pauses as they consider the best way to answer that question. Both of them knew that they couldn't get out of it. That didn't change that they had to handle the entire situation with care.

"You both enter. We can't tell you anything more than that. Truly, I wish that we could, but we can't." Sasuke says.

The younger Sasuke and Hinata nod sympathetically. It was so frustrating. There was so much that their older selves knew that they didn't. Things that they couldn't tell them.

"Alright. Then I guess we better go tell the Hokage we are ready to sign up in that case." Sasuke says and Hinata nods in agreement.

"Good luck." Hinata says and her husband also offers his well wishes as the two of them depart.

Elsewhere in the Leaf, Kurenai raises an eyebrow. One of her students was currently angrily grumbling as he pounded some training posts. Not surprisingly, it was Kiba.

Like any good Sensei, she decided to check on her obviously distressed student. It was the right thing to do after all. She really did care for her students and wanted them to be happy. Clearly, Kiba was not very happy at the moment.

"You seem upset. Would you like to discuss whatever is on your mind?" She asks gently.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Kurenai Sensei." Kiba says as he slams his leg into one of the posts, completely shattering it.

Kurenai smiles at this. Her students had all grown so strong. It truly seemed like it was only yesterday, when they had just barely graduated the Academy. They had been innocent children back then. Now they were all grown up. They were strong.

"Sometimes it helps to talk about whatever is troubling us." She offers again.

"Yeah. Maybe you're right. It's about Hinata. I'm really worried about her. She's now dating Sasuke. I don't think she really understands what he's like. The guy is dangerous. He'll hurt her. I don't know why she can't see that." The canine lover says.

The Genijutsu Mistress sighs. She should have seen this coming. Of course, Kiba wasn't going to be happy about Hinata's new relationship. That was only natural.

Sasuke had a colorful past to put it mildly. Any good teammate would be worried about Hinata's safety. So in a way, she couldn't blame him. Still she couldn't allow him to interfere with everything.

"I understand why you are concerned. It's not your decision to make though, Kiba. If Hinata thinks she sees something good in him, that's her choice. I'm certain that she appreciates your concern. But if you continue to push her on this, it might not end well. I do not wish to see your friendship with her ruined." The ruby eyed woman tells him.

Kiba sighs. He knew that Kurenai was right. There wasn't really a way that he could stop Hinata and Sasuke from being together. That didn't mean he had to like it though.

"I guess you're right. So are you going to enter the tournament? He asks.

"I don't think so. Only ten people can enter from each village. I think that the younger generation deserves their chance to shine. I'm not going to take one of their slots." Kurenai says with a smile.

Well that was true. Kiba felt bad for Kurenai though. She was a great ninja. She should be allowed to compete.

"You sure? I mean everyone should have a chance to join, if they are good enough." Kiba reasons.

"I'm sure. Besides, I'm sure that they will want lots of security. Maybe I can help out in a different way. That and I will have a grand time watching the festivities." She replies.

"Well that's good. Oh look. It's Kakashi." Kiba says.

Kurenai blinks and turns around. Sure enough, Kakashi was approaching them. She tilts her head to the side and walks over to the CopyCat Ninja.

"Is something wrong?" She asks.

"I don't think so. I overheard Kiba and Sasuke getting into it. It looks like it's alright though. Kiba's with you and the two lovers went back to the Hyuga Estate." He observes cheerfully.

Kiba falls over to the ground twitching, when he hears the silver haired ninja describe Sasuke and Hinata as lovers. Apparently, that was a bridge too far for him to process. Kakashi notices this and rubs the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to shock you like that. I'm not actually sure how physically intimate they are with each other. Still it's only a matter of time. Sasuke does want to restore his Clan, after all." The masked ninja says as he helps Kiba up.

"I think that I'm going to be sick. I don't want to think about Hinata with that creep like THAT!" The young Leaf Ninja informs him with a growl.

Kakashi chuckles. Well one thing was for sure. Things were never going to be boring again in the Leaf. Talk about opposites attracting.

"I'll try to refrain from making further comments of that nature. It wasn't my intention to upset you further. Are you alright though?" The silver haired ninja asks.

"Yeah. I guess. I'm as alright as I'm going to be anyway." Kiba grumbles.

"Good. Kurenai, would you like to come with me? The Hokage wants some of the more experienced Jonin to have a meeting. Security for the tournament." He explains.

Kurenai nods. She bids farewell to her student and heads off with Kakashi. Never did she suspect that the CopyCat Ninja had made that up.

"So how are things between Hinata and Sasuke going? I must admit that I am curious." He says.

"Kakashi, did the Hokage actually want to see us or did you just want to gossip about our students?" The ruby eyed woman demands.

Kakashi at least had the decency to look sheepish. Kurenai shakes her head in disbelief. Honestly, sometimes it was hard to tell who the real teenagers were half the time.

"I wanted to gossip about our students. Do not pretend that you were not thinking the same thing." He says with a smile.

"I'll admit that sometimes it's fun to engage in a little gossip." Kurenai says.

"That's more like it. So what do you know so far? Are we about to have an army of mini Uchiha-Hyuga hybrids running around? That would really be something." He notes in amusement.

Kurenai couldn't help but laugh at the way he phrased it. It was entirely accurate, but said in such a comical fashion. It was very Kakashi.

"Oh I think the army is a little while off, but we are getting closer." She informs him.