Wicked
Author's Note: Thank for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter because we are going to return to a darker Sasuke during parts of it.
Chapter Notation: A time skip. This happens six months after the last one, unless otherwise stated in a flashback ;) You do the math. Oh and Sasuke has a new jutsu.
Chapter 21
"Hinata, we're leaving." Sasuke informs his wife six months later.
Hinata blinks. What? Why? Why were they leaving and where were they going? Sasuke wasn't making any sense and what was causing his chakra to lash out around him in a rage?
"W-here are we going? Sasuke, stop that. You're scaring Yumi." His wife stammers.
Yumi was their daughter She was now two months old. Neither she, nor Hinata were used to seeing this side of Sasuke. Hinata realized his anger wasn't directed at them, but Yumi didn't. She was just a baby.
"I'm sorry, Yumi." Sasuke says and leans down to kiss her forehead.
Hinata smiles in relief. Whatever was bothering him, wasn't bad enough to override his concern for their daughter at least. Still it had to be bad, if he wanted to leave so suddenly.
"Sasuke, what is going on?" His wife demands.
"I found out why the Volcano Village stopped responding to our letters a couple of months ago. The new Council was having them intercepted and destroyed. They wanted us to think that the other village had given up on us. The treacherous snakes." Sasuke says.
Yumi didn't know what was wrong. She just knew her normally very happy daddy was…not happy to say the least. She coos and reaches for him.
"Such a good girl, you are." Sasuke praises and he scoops her up out of her crib and rocks her.
Yumi smiles and cuddles into her daddy. Daddy cuddled her and spun her around a lot. He liked to tickle her too!
"Sasuke, are you sure?" Hinata asks.
"I'm positive. We are getting the fuck out of here. Tsunade knows about the offer. It will get the Leaf an alliance. We can leave before it happens again. I'm not going to let anything happen to you or Yumi." Sasuke says as he sets his daughter back down in the crib.
He forms a dozen or so shadow clones. They all get to work on grabbing everything that was important. The bluenette blinks and stands there frozen in shock.
She couldn't believe it. Would the NEW Council really do that? Would they do that without the Hokage's orders? The young mothers sighs and was privately forced to admit that they probably would.
"Sasuke, how on Earth are you going to carry all that?" Hinata asks.
"Shrinking jutsu. I've been experimenting with it for awhile." He says and performs several hand seals.
A houseful of belongings was suddenly shrunken down to a small enough size that he could easily shove everything into one suitcase. The bluenette tilts her head to the side. Well that was certainly useful.
"Sasuke, wait. Shouldn't we talk to Tsunade about this first? Maybe we can sort this out." The young woman suggests.
"I'm done talking. The last time the Council started being secretive, they ordered the slaughter of my family. I'm not going to let them do it again. I promised when Yumi was born that I was going to protect both of you. That's EXACTLY what I'm going to do." Sasuke says firmly as he remembers that day.
Two months earlier, Sasuke swore that Hinata was going to break his hand. She was gripping it so tightly as another contraction rocked through her body. He didn't mind though. Sasuke understood she was in a Hell of a lot of pain.
"Hinata, are you sure that you don't want the pain medication?" Sasuke asked softly.
Imagination his surprise when his normally sweet wife, almost snapped his head off. (Verbally, but still.) Sasuke got quite the epic tongue lashing. His kitten scolded him about how she wanted a NATURAL BIRTH.
"It's better for our daughter this way!" She snapped at him.
"I know. But lots of people take the medication and their children turn out just fine. I don't like seeing you in pain." He whispered and kissed her forehead.
His wife gave him a rather sarcastic reply. Sasuke was a bit taken aback. He idly mused that he must be rubbing off on her.
It took all night for their daughter to be born. The youngest Uchiha eventually emerged with a rather loud cry. Tsunade quickly grabbed her and checked her vitals. Another medic helps Hinata clean up.
"Is she alright?" Hinata and Sasuke asked anxiously.
"Oh she's perfectly fine. You have a healthy baby girl and she's surprisingly adorable considering who her father is." Tsunade observed.
Sasuke gave her a dirty look. Tsunade laughed and placed the newborn into Hinata's arms. She promptly starts trying to nurse. Tsunade gave Hinata a cover to preserve her modesty.
The only male Uchiha smiled as he looked down at his daughter. She had Hinata's midnight blue hair but his onyx eyes (well when his Sharingan wasn't activated.) Her skin tone was nearly identical to his. Sasuke noted she had Hinata's nose and smile. Definitely his ears though. Oh and he was pretty sure that was his mother's chin. Itachi was even represented. She had markings on her face similar to her uncle's.
"She's perfect, Hinata. Just like her mother." Sasuke said with a smile and kissed her forehead.
"After what I went through, she better be." Hinata grumbled.
"Don't worry about it. Most first time mothers are even more aggressive. This is actually fairly mellow." The busty blonde assured him.
Sasuke blinked. This was MELLOW? Sheesh. It was a wonder any husbands survived their wife's deliveries.
"She is. She looks so much like you." Sasuke praised their daughter because it was true and he wasn't entirely certain that Hinata wasn't plotting his early demise.
"We should give our daughter a name." Hinata said as she began to calm down.
It was hard to stay mad when you had a beautiful newborn in your arms and your husband was lavishing said newborn with praise. Their daughter was really adorable.
She smiled at that. It had been worth it. (Though she would have preferred it, if Sasuke had gone through the pregnancy instead of her!)
Sasuke smiled. It was definitely love at first sight. He couldn't really process that he had helped to create something so tiny and fucking adorable. (Adorable wasn't a word that he had ever really used before, but it was just so accurate in this case.)
"Yumi. It means excellent beauty. It suits her. Just like you." He said and kissed the top of Hinata's head.
Hinata smiled. Sasuke was trying to butter her up. She knew this. Though she couldn't deny it was an effective tactic.
"Yumi Uchiha it is then." She replied as Tsunade wrote that on the birth certificate.
"I'll protect you both. This time is going to be different." He promised as he tickled his daughter's tummy.
He chuckled at the expression on Yumi's face. It was torn between annoyance that someone had interrupted her meal, giggling, and confusion. She really did have such expressive eyes.
Hinata sighs. Clearly, Sasuke thought he was protecting them from potential death here. She thought he was overreacting personally, but there wasn't really going to be any reasoning with him at the moment. Besides, she might be able to calm him down later and they could always return.
"Alright. I guess we are ready to go. Can we at least stop by my family's estate and tell them what is going on?" She asks.
Sasuke nods in agreement to that request. He was telling the Leaf where they were going anyway. If the Leaf attacked them for taking a transfer offer, that would destroy their reputation. The Leaf did enjoyed it's position as the "moral compass" of the ninja villages, despite the fact that the village as a whole did not deserve it.
"I don't mind. Come on, Yumi. We are going to see your grandfather and aunt." He tells her as he places his daughter in her stroller.
Yumi didn't understand a word of that, but she understood his tone. Daddy wasn't as mad anymore. She smiles when she's placed into a stroller and the couple head off with their newborn.
"Hinata, you can push the stroller. It's not right to make you lug the suitcase." Sasuke says.
Hinata was getting whiplash. One second he was the doting husband and father and the next she was worried he was going to destroy the Leaf. Hinata was frightened that he would kill the Council AGAIN and then he would go and say something like that.
"You are really confusing sometimes." She mumbles.
"I know, but we have to get out of here. If the Council is interfering with our communications, I wouldn't put anything past them. I just want you and Yumi to be safe. If I can accomplish that by going to another village, I'll do it. If I have to level the Leaf to the ground, then that's what I'll do." He says.
Hinata shivers. She knew that he absolutely meant that. It was strange. Sasuke was capable of being completely sane and insane at the same time. Well perhaps insanity wasn't the right word. There was a logic to his actions, even if they were frightening at times.
"Alright." She says and they head off towards the Hyuga Estate.
It didn't take them long to read it. Sasuke knocks on the door. One of the branch members blinks when he sees the small family. He looks at them in confusion.
"Is something wrong? Why are you carrying a suitcase?" The Hyuga man asks.
"Please just get Lord Hiashi. We need to speak with him at once." Sasuke says and the other ninja races off to do exactly that.
He knew Sauske well enough to realize that if he didn't, it wouldn't end well for him. How Hinata had ever managed to tame that demon was beyond his understanding. Still Ryo wanted to live to see another day, so he comes back with the Hyuga Patriarch a few minutes later.
"Sasuke, Hinata, what's wrong?" He demands in a voice filled with concern.
"The Council has been intercepting our letters with the Volcano Village. We don't know for how long. Sasuke thinks that means they are planning something. So for now we will go there until this gets straightened out. We wanted to tell you, so that you wouldn't worry." Hinata says in a rush.
Hiashi blinks. He certainly did not like the thought of his granddaughter going to some village that he knew very little about. Still he could see the determination in Sasuke's eyes. Unless someone actually managed to kill him, There would be no stopping him.
"I see. Well I'm certain that this can be resolved. I do appreciate you at least letting me see Yumi before you head off." He says and picks up his granddaughter, holding her closely to his chest.
"Of course. Hinata asked and I'm not that heartless." Sasuke mutters.
Hiashi smiles down at the girl. She really was going to be quite the beauty someday. She looked so innocent. Sometimes he wondered where Sasuke's genes were.
Well he could see the physical resemblance here and there. You might not guess that she was Sasuke's daughter if you didn't know right away. But once you did, you could see the similarities. The skin tone, the eye color, the ears, and things like that. Hinata's genes had always strongly asserted themselves. She was just such a precious little thing.
"You be a good girl for your mother and father. I'll see you soon." He says and kisses her forehead.
Yumi coos and smiles up at her grandfather. She knew this man. He wasn't the daddy or the mommy. But he was important somehow. He always picked her up and rocked her. So she liked him.
"HANABI! Come quickly and say good bye to your sister, your brother-in-law, and your niece." Hiashi bellows.
Hanabi comes out and looks confused. Why did she have to say goodbye to them? Where were they going?
"We are going to the Volcano Village until we can find out what the Council is up to. Hiashi can explain it to you later." Sasuke says simply.
The young Hyuga woman frowns. She nods and takes Yumi from her father. She smiles and rocks her. Her niece was so cute. Hanabi then gently places her back in the stroller and hugs her sister.
"I don't know what is going on, but promise me that you will stay safe?" She whispers.
"I will. Hopefully we will see each other again soon. I shall miss you. I'll write though. I promise." Hinata says with a smile.
Hanabi and Hiashi nod. Both of them seem to take some small measure of comfort in this declaration. They sigh and bid farewell to their loved ones as the Uchiha Clan departs for the Volcano Village.
A few days later, they arrive. Hinata stands next to Sasuke nervously as they head towards the largest building. They both thought that might be the Kag's office.
Yumi was too young to be scared. She looked around wide eyed in a curious fashion. She coos and giggles. She felt completely safe.
"I must admit that this is a surprised. I am Dai. I lead this village. I'm surprised you would arrive unannounced after not responding to our letters for so long." A man wearing Kage robes greets them.
"That was not our doing. It seems the new Council was intercepting our correspondence. They figured if we didn't hear from each other, that both parties would lose interest in the potential transfer." Sasuke explains.
Dai frowns. He never expected the new Council to be as devious as the last one. Unexpected, but perhaps he should have foreseen that outcome.
Oh well. No matter. Sasuke and Hinata were here now. It looked like his suspicions were correct. The reason that they had taken so long to decide was because Hinata had been pregnant.
"I see why you wanted time to mull everything over now. I assume this is your daughter?" He inquires.
"Yes, this is Yumi." Hinata says with a smile.
"Our pride and joy." Sasuke adds and the Kage nods.
The baby was rather cute. She certainly resembled both of her parents strongly. Her eyes were black though. Did that mean that she had inherited the Sharingan instead of the Byakugan or was the Byakugan just going to be a different color? Perhaps it would turn the trademark lavender of the Hyuga Clan when activated? That or an entirely new bloodline might be on the verge of manifesting itself.
"I can certainly see why. You must be exhausted from your travels. Come, I can set you up with a temporary apartment for now. We can arrange for more suitable long-term living quarters later. I must Lady Hinata, you recover quite quickly. I never would have suspected that you had a child only a few months ago." He muses.
Hinata felt her face heat up. She knew what he was trying to imply. Clearly, he meant it in a friendly fashion. Sasuke though was giving him a warning look. He was talking about the fact that she had already begun to lose her baby weight and was out and about as if nothing had happened.
"Thank you. Sasuke takes very good care of us." She informs him and Sasuke smiles, kissing her cheek.
"Always." The only male Uchiha says smugly.
"Of course. Follow me. We can discuss things more in the morning. I think a good night's sleep will do everyone a world of good." He says and leads them further into the village towards a district that seemed to be composed of mostly apartments.
"This is for those that are just visiting or have recently transferred mostly. It's generally considered adequate until they can fully settle in. Though some do stay." He offers and slides a key into one of the apartment doors.
He hands Sasuke the key. It had the number seven on it, which matched the number on the door. The Uchihas walk inside and look around.
Hinata smiles. Well it was cozy. This would do nicely for tonight. She smiles and sets Yumi's stroller by the couch, sitting down on it.
"It is very nice. Thank you. I'm so sorry about us not responding sooner. I should have suspected that they would pull something like this." He grumbles.
"Oh it is not your fault. It's good to hope for the best. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. I do hope that you and your family will be much happier here than you were in the Leaf." Dai says.
The bluenette was about to protest. They had been happy in the Leaf. Well until the Council cut off their communications with the other village. She decides not to though. The Volcano Village was generously letting them use their lodgings. It wouldn't do to insult their hosts.
"Thank you. We are still trying to figure out what happened." Hinata says tactfully in a mild defense of her home.
"Of course. Good night, my dear." He says and heads off.
"So what do you think?" Sasuke asks once the KasaiKage was out of earshot.
Hinata pauses. She wasn't really sure how to answer that question. Was he asking about the apartment or the village in general? Maybe he wanted to know what she thought about the Leaf? She couldn't tell.
"I think that it's all so confusing. I don't know what is going on, but we need to get to the bottom of this. Please don't lose your temper until we know what really happened. Oh and I have to feed Yumi." She says and picks up her daughter from the stroller before placing her in her arms.
"Alright. I won't go off halfcocked, but it is pretty obvious what happened." Sasuke mutters.
He watches as Hinata nurses Yumi. If the Leaf tried to take his second family away from him, he would reduce it to nothing more than ash. There would be nothing left of it by the time he was done.
Sasuke should have known the Leaf would never let him be happy. It never let his family be happy. It didn't matter which generation of Uchihas it was. All the way from Madara to Yumi. Not this time.
"We shouldn't jump to conclusions. That's a good girl. You're getting so big." Hinata smiles at Yumi and continues nursing her.
How the fuck could anyone threaten that woman and baby in her arms? They were the very picture of innocence. Sasuke could understand why the Council didn't trust him. That was just common sense, but THEM?!
" I think that we are crawling towards the conclusions, actually. Still you're right. She is. She's going to be hurling fireballs before you know it." He says with a smile and sits by his family.
It made his blood boil. He briefly pictures an actual volcano going off in the Leaf Village and destroying it. Of course, he would get Naruto and the other Hyugas out of there first. Hinata loved her family and Naruto was his best friend. But other than that he couldn't give a fuck less about that place. Well and he'd have to move his family's remains of course.
"Sasuke, she's only two months old. She's not going to be anywhere near ready to start throwing fireballs until she's ready to graduate the Academy at least." Hinata says with a giggle.
It irked him. So few people knew the truth about Itachi and the Leaf Village. The rest of the world truly believed that the Leaf Village was as symbol of all that was good. Ha.
It wasn't built on sunshine, rainbows, and fairy dust like it liked to pretend. No. It was built on secrets, lies, and blood. Lots of blood, especially that of his Clan. Fuck them.
"She's an Uchiha. I was throwing them when I was six. Itachi did it before that. I'm not going to push her into doing something that she isn't ready to do. But it's in her blood. I expect she'll inherit some sort of tea fetish from your side of the family though." He states with a smirk.
"Yumi, your father is being silly again." Hinata says and lightly swats Sasuke with a pillow.
Sasuke smirks. There really wasn't anything about Hinata that he didn't find either endearing or erotic. It was strange to know that he was actually capable of love this deep. Both romantic love for Hinata and familial love for their daughter. He was still getting used to it.
"Your mother is the silly one. She shouldn't underestimate you." Sasuke says and plays with Yumi's toes.
Yumi giggles and spits up a bit of milk while she does so. Hinata just shakes her head at Sasuke. She chides him gently, telling him that he could play with her when she was done eating.
"Alright. I wonder if I should unpack or not. It was implied we would be moved somewhere bigger soon. Maybe I'll just make the bed and crib up." He suggests.
"That's probably a good idea. You're right. We really don't know how long we are going to be staying in this apartment. There's not much of a point in unpacking everything, only to have to pick it up again almost immediately." Hinata agrees.
"Mhm." He agrees.
If they wanted to attack his family again, they would regret it. He had grown up in the Leaf Village. Unlike an outside enemy, he knew exactly where their strengths and weaknesses were. He knew where the evacuation tunnels were. Sasuke would make them pay.
He could only hope that his fury didn't show on his face or in his chakra. Sasuke didn't want to scare his wife and daughter. He just didn't know how Hinata could be so calm about this.
"I'll get started then." He adds and heads off to their room, taking out the crib fro the suite case and setting it up.
Setting up the crib gave him something to do. It required moderate focus. He as a legendary ninja. He wasn't really a handyman. Sasuke could put things together, if he had to. But was much better at destroying things than fixing them.
Vaguely, he wonders if his own father had ever had to do this. It briefly made him laugh. Sasuke couldn't imagine Fugaku Uchiha ever doing such a thing.
"He'll never get to see Yumi because of them." He mutters bitterly.
Mikoto, Fugaku, and Itachi Uchiha would never get to see their granddaughter/niece because of the Leaf Village. That was a bitter pill to swallow.
He might not be able to bring them back without using a Forbidden Jutsu, but he could protect his new family. He didn't care how much blood he had to get on his hands to do it. If he suspected even for a moment they were plotting against his family, they would suffer.