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The Revival of The Clan
Chapter 29
~Gray Clouds On A Blue Sky~
Every night I spent with Uchiha Sasuke was truly amazing just like everything disclosed to me while I was in his side. Even though at the same time each one was unique in its own way. Every day was an adventure, a new experience, something different and exciting, a new world, a new beginning, a new life. The last male Uchiha was a lot different than I thought at first. Every single thing I heard about him after he returned from being a missing-nin was apparently false...all malicious lies.
Because the Sasuke I came to know as time went by was no traitor, no murderer, not heartless, not vicious and not malevolent by nature. He simply was misunderstood by his fellow-villagers and this entire world...a victim of his time and the pain that had invaded his life ever since he was a small child.
It's true that the Uchiha Sasuke was and still is a cold person, not particularly talkative or social and definitely not the easiest person to deal with. He was mostly sullen, silent and he hardly ever communicated with other means than his cold glares, since he still despised most of the villagers of the Hidden Leaf for many reasons. However, if you are bold and willing enough to meet the man beneath this cold and uncaring visage, and of course if he lets you in, you will most certainly find an amazing person, full of suppressed emotions and a heart more pure and honest than most. Because unlike most my husband had faced pain and suffering beyond belief and understanding. Isn't pain a form of catharsis after all?
Sasuke saw his entire world crumble down and burn like paper twice already.
The first time was when all his bonds were severed viciously and he was left alone, doomed to walk the path of the cursed life of an avenger. The second time was when he finally realized the true story behind his path of vengeance. When Sasuke learnt the truth about his brother, Uchiha Itachi his world and whatever he believed up until then, collapsed once again. Of course leaving Sasuke with only a remnant of his former self, forcing him to abandon the happy Sasuke for the one who was entirely bound by hatred and had no other choice but to walk the path of eternal darkness, misery and death. To walk the path of destruction and loneliness with no chance of going back.
I was able and honored enough to meet the Sasuke beneath the cold persona he displayed since his coldness seemed somehow to subside in my presence, particularly when we were alone. At last Sasuke could start a conversation willingly and voice his deeper worries and share some of his mercilessly crushed emotions. Not to mention that he was finally able to display his flirtatious and 'lover' side with me. Obviously he was an amazing husband and a fantastic lover, even though we were always moving with small baby steps.
Having all that in mind, and being able to witness the difference in Sasuke's heart I couldn't help but feel indebted to my friend and Hokage-to-be Uzumaki Naruto. He eventually was the one that pulled my dear Sasuke from darkness and showed him the light of this world. Naruto was the one who helped Sasuke open his eyes to the sun again and I will never forget that or I will ever relinquish my gratitude for the blonde Jinchuuriki...ever...
That night I returned from the mission with the Noble, Sasuke was more or less calm at first, but at the same time he was energetic and definitely loving towards me in his own way. We talked about my mission, his missions and things like that...some irrelevant and some important...
Sasuke though was completely enraged after hearing about that Noble's behavior, and I even skipped and excluded the outrageous parts. Somehow though I managed to help him relax and cool down again.
"You went in a hot spring you say? With that asshole?" he asked with a devilish aura emitting from his dark eyes always full of mystery.
"Please don't worry. Everything was fine with no incidents. It was really nice and relaxing for us." I answered sheepishly. Sasuke leaned closer and placed his hands on my body sealing my lips with his.
Some more weeks passed like translucent flowing water with missions, 'ramen gatherings', training, fighting and generally what the life of a shinobi demands. Hinata and Naruto finally married. This one wedding definitely depicted Naruto's personality. It was so much crowded and loud. There were numerous guests from other villages as well, not to mention some of the Kages. Gaara, the Kazekage certainly came, but so did the Raikage's brother, namely Killer Bee, the Hachibi(=Eight Tails) Jinchuuriki.
In a few words it looked nothing like mine and Sasuke's wedding. In any case, the two newly-weds seemed indescribably happy, so I had no place or reason to complain. Ino and Sakura were extremely excited too. It was another chance to 'party' after all. I swear...Ino is a really bad influence for Sakura….
What really burnt inside everyone's heart and mind though was those beautiful words the couple uttered out before the consummation of the marriage.
"Hinata. My precious Hinata. I promise to be your loyal husband forever and ever as I promise to be the best Hokage Konoha has ever seen. I am sorry for not being the best man you could ever deserve, because your kindness is worthy of so much more. I am sorry I did not realize your feelings for me sooner. We could have saved such precious time. I am now ready to try to compensate for that. I love you Hinata. I promise to always cherish you. Thank you for taking that silly me to be your husband." he declared merrily making Hinata flush uncontrollably, which fact was made even more profound with Hinata dressed in her silver/midnight blue wedding kimono.
"Naruto-kun. I should be the one being grateful and thankful. You now know. I used to always cry and give up some years ago. But you… You helped me find the right path to follow with your honest sunny smile. I always chased after you, wanted to catch up to you and take some your courage to never give up. I wanted to walk beside you, I just wanted to be with you, maybe even lucky enough to hold your hand. And now my dream is finally real. I can't thank you enough for what you have so kindly offered to me. You changed me! Your smile is what saved me from my foe: my weak self. I am not afraid anymore. I have you! I love you Naruto-kun! I am honored to be your wife."
Their kiss finally sealed the Ceremony, signaling us, the guests to applaud and whistle, shedding tears of joy for our friends. I even saw a small smile settle itself on Sasuke's lips, while he unceremoniously handclapped for his best friend. That made me smile even more.
This particular afternoon I was in the hospital hanging out with Sakura, Ino and Hinata. The first two were working there so Hinata and I often(as much as we could between missions and house-wife duties) passed by to say hello and make them take a break from work. Sometimes Tenten was coming as well. This time she was training with Neji, so she couldn't make it. The medical-ninja of our company always worked really hard and the job itself was stressing enough. So, we had to offer any help we could to the devoted kunoichi friends of ours, who bear in their hands the lives of our fellow shinobi and friends every day and night.
"So, Aelia, how are things with Sasuke?"
"Ino! You are asking me that every single day!" I let out a sigh, but I wasn't really that much annoyed.
"She is right Ino-pig. What do you want to know anyway?" Sakura asked the blonde.
"Hm...You know what, but you don't seem to get it." Ino winked at me suggestively.
"Aelia told you what you needed to know, so now cut it off." Sakura tried to defend me and gave Ino a light hit with some of her patients' files.
"Come on Sakura! You want to know as well what happened after that mission." Ino teased more.
"You guys should stop giving that angry looks to each other. Besides, that was weeks ago." Hinata warned. Ino and Sakura just frowned.
"Well it's not that I don't appreciate your bickering and screeching, but I should really get back now. I have to make some preparations before Sasuke comes home." I explained and sat up from my chair.
"Aelia is going to leave us again." Ino pretended crying theatrically.
"Ino! You know I can't help it." I gave her a tiny but honest smile.
"That's ok Aelia. You agreed to come tonight anyway so that's fine with me."
"I didn't actually agree Sakura. You forced me to agree." I exclaimed accusing the pinkette, but she simply smirked.
"Hm you agreed anyways. See you at the restaurant ok?" I let out a sigh and nodded.
"Ok…"
"I really don't understand what do you like about a 'girls' night' all of a sudden. The wedding was just a couple of weeks ago." Hinata wondered out loud.
"Come on Hinata! You are spending too much time with Naruto. I know you just married and all, but you should spend some time with us for a while. So does miss Uchiha here." Ino stated while looking at me.
"Ino–pig is right Hinata, Aelia. You spent too much time with Naruto and Sasuke lately and so does Tenten with Neji. We haven't had time for ourselves since that mission. We need your company as well." Sakura complained and crossed her arms over her chest with a pout on her face.
"Hm it's not like Ino doesn't spend time with Sai these days…" I noted teasingly, trying to play along for once.
"Hey! I am not even close to you three!" she retorted half-accusing us and Tenten.
"Well, Ino-chan, that actually makes sense. Aelia-chan and I are actually married now. Plus, Naruto and Sasuke are very persistent. So…"
"Hinata is actually right, but that doesn't change a thing. We will meet tonight, ok?"Sakura insisted. We all agreed again and I prepared to leave at last.
"Oi Aelia I almost forgot." Sakura called."I will give you the papers with the results tonight, ok? I think they should probably be ready soon."
"Ah ok Sakura." I nodded. "Thanks again. Sorry but I have to leave now. Bye everyone!" I said and left swiftly to prepare everything I needed to before the night comes.
I was heading towards my house to prepare our dinner and finally decide what to wear tonight. This is really a drag but I have no choice. I guess it won't be so bad spending time with my friends, but I wasn't feeling so well lately. Plus, I never was too fond of stuff like girls' night or celebrations or parties and those things seemed to happen a lot lately.
In any case, I kept walking towards the new Uchiha Compound. As I was heading there I realized that some big grey clouds were ruling, unexpectedly polluting the sky at the moment; the possibility of rain was more than evident. So I just walked faster to prevent myself from getting soaked.
The sun had almost disappeared. It was afternoon, but the absence of the sun so suddenly wasn't normal. Those grey clouds must have been the cause. I don't really like rain, or those menacing clouds. The grey clouds and the loud thunders brought me many bad memories. They remind me of that day. That very day my mother told me about father's death or the day she died and he came to get me.
...
It was raining so hard back then that I was hardly able to hear anything other than the heavy downpour. The thunders were fierce like they shook the earth from beneath. I kept running and running away from the blood and him. Moments ago...suffering thundered inside me, just like the real thunders quaked the sky. I saw my dead mother lying on the floor with blood all around, the kunai knife some steps away from her, covered in scarlet blood. I had tried so many times to wake her up to no avail…
"Mother, what happened?" I asked when I returned home from training only to find her cold on the floor, with red stains all around. My bag fell down and I run to her.
"Mommy, please wake up. What is this? Please wake up." I pleaded to no one. I was trembling trying to shake my mother up, to see her move and smile again.
"Mommy please, Wake up!" I started crying and sobbing loudly."Please don't leave me alone! Mommy..."
Then those hard footsteps…Silence, only my loud sobbing could be heard in the entire house. Those steps…
In the end all I did was ran… ran away from him and the darkness he brought along.
...
I shook my head to discard those memories. It was no time for that. Things are different now. Those heart-breaking memories have no place in my mind anymore. I tried to think of something else, like tonight's gathering, like Sasuke returning home in a few hours. That certainly brought a smile to my face again.
Shortly though a feeling of uneasiness surprisingly started to overwhelm me and settle inside me. I was still walking towards my destination. However, my steps now became careful, slow and steady. I rapidly turned on 'Shinobi Mode'. My eyes were prepared to grasp any movement. My hands were ready to grab my kunai. On the outside I looked normal, a simple girl walking home to meet her husband, but inside I was a ninja, a kunoichi, an ANBU Captain.
Soon after I started to be extra vigilant I stunningly realized that it was in fact an ANBU team that was following me, trailing my every step, my ever move, my every breath. However, I did not let my guard down, even though they were fellow ANBU members. I decided to learn their intentions first. They probably knew that I had realized. I was an ANBU captain after all and they certainly knew that.
"Aka! Stop right there!" a strict voice ordered and broke the silence the upcoming rain brought to the village.
"And who demands it?" I courageously asked looking around, but not stopping. Soon four ANBU members appeared before me as an answer. This time I stopped on my tracks, otherwise I would just collide with them since they were currently blocking my way.
"I see...Hachi (=Eight), Neko (=Cat),Saru (=Monkey) and even Kiiro (=Yellow). What business three ANBU members and even an ANBU captain have with me?" I probed with a steady and strict voice myself now. My life as an ANBU captains evokes a different side of me to surge.
"We pleaded you to stop, Aka." one of them responded.
"You didn't plead actually; it was more like an order, Kiiro. And since when ANBU call their fellow ANBU member, and especially a captain, with his alias even though the last is unmasked? That is a basic rule. I thought I taught you that while in my team Neko and Saru, Hachi even."
"You taught us well captain." Neko, the youngest of them answered impassively.
"So why are you here? Kiiro, you are a fellow ANBU captain. Explain this to me, please."
"I am not the one who gave the order, Aka." He simply answered.
"Hm easy for a masked man to say to an exposed unmasked teammate." I retorted.
"We ordered this." A cold voice -even stricter than that of the ANBU captain- from behind declared. It wasn't hard to guess whom this chilling voice belonged to. I almost shivered down my spine, but I was stronger than that.
"For what do I owe the pleasure to see you again Koharu-sama, Homura-sama?" I asked while turning around and looking at the two elders with a firm gaze. I bowed my head at them out of respect and waited for them to approach me.
"Aka. You are a difficult woman to find." Homura noted while the two were coming even closer to where I was standing.
"I don't see your point Homura-sama. I wasn't hiding from anyone or anything if that's what you suggest." I slowly raised my head while talking.
"Indeed. But the ANBU placed by Tsunade-hime made it nearly impossible to contact you." Koharu stated with her nearly invisible dark eyes locked on mine.
"And may I ask why did you want to find me Lord and Lady Councilor?" I gently asked.
"Restrain her!" Koharu abruptly ordered and all the present ANBU members suddenly rendered me unable to move, by trapping me in their arms. My arms, my legs, my torso, my head. I was unable to use my body to escape now.
"What is the meaning of this?" I asked while unsuccessfully trying to loosen their painful grip, not too violently though, at least for the time being….
"You will find out soon." Homura answered. "Uma!(=Horse)" He called for another ANBU and a medical-nin, with who I always had good relations.
"Uma check her now!" Koharu ordered when the ANBU medic appeared out of nowhere before me. I felt his stare for a second behind his mask.
"What?" I asked clearly perplexed. My hands were now behind my head and the four masked shinobi hardly gave me a chance to breathe, let alone move.
Uma raised my top blouse to the point where my abdomen was exposed. Can't be…
"Stay still, Aka." Uma ordered me and he quickly placed his palms on my lower abdomen. He held them there for a while and I could feel his chakra evading my restrained body. I didn't know how to react in this situation. Shortly, Uma removed his palms for a while and he pierced my right index finger and put the blood on a medical scroll. I knew the difference between those and the normal ones, because I often acted as the ANBU medic when we were short-handed.
"Please explain to me. Why are you doing all this?" I asked whilst looking at the Elders. They were just focused on Uma and they stubbornly refused to answer me, let alone look at me.
"So? What is the situation?" Homura impatiently asked the masked medic. Uma retracted his hands for good and covered my belly with my blouse again.
"She is indeed Homura-sama, Koharu-sama" The ANBU answered while looking at his scroll. Can't be…
"It is as we feared Homura." Koharu told the other Advisor with an almost inaudible sigh.
"Indeed. Now we have to proceed with caution." the man added impassively, but his eyes were narrowed.
"Please explain your reasoning. What is this all about? You have to-"
"Tell me Aka-" Koharu started, interrupting me in the process "You are still a loyal ANBU member, a captain in fact, is that right?"
Why would she question that?
"Of course I am. This is why I demand some explanations about this. As an ANBU captain I have to know your reasoning. The last mission was a success as always. I don't understand your strange behavior Honorable Council." I said still being held captive."What did I do to deserve such a treatment?"
"You very well know what you did, Aka."
"No sir, Homura-sama. I don't."
"We will explain then. The street seems vacant for now." Koharu stated. My eyes were focused on them.
"Are you aware of your condition?" Homura asked me. I now felt the strong humidity hit my body. I was always sensitive when it came to weather changes. The cold and dark atmosphere matched the dreaded scene.
"What condition? I still don't understand sir." My words were hard to get because of a nearby thunder that lightened our faces for an infinitesimal second.
"Were you aware of your pregnancy?" Koharu bluntly asked. I froze.
So it was true. I was pregnant…. I have Sasuke's….
"Were you aware?" Homura insisted interrupting my thoughts. A lightning lightened up the Hidden Leaf Village once more.
"No sir. I am just now informed." I swallowed thickly, trying to comprehend what was going on around me.
"But you had your suspicions." Koharu stated more than asked. Some drops of rain started falling, just slightly landing on my cold face.
"Yes, that is true. I ran a test this morning." I admitted.
"And what was the result?" Koharu insisted.
"I don't know Koharu-sama. I was supposed to receive the results tonight."
"Well now you know for sure." Homura noted impassively again.
"I still fail to understand your reasoning, dear Councilors of Konoha." The Advisors shared a meaningful glance and turned to face me again.
"Things are simple Aka. You stated that you are a loyal ANBU just now, isn't that right?" Homura reminded me, even though it wasn't really necessary. I never though that my loyalty was in question.
"Hai sir. I did say that."
"Now you have to fulfill your duty as one." He added and I heard some clouds crash with each other far away. My eyes were wide, demanding an answer.
What the hell can they possibly want?
"You cannot have this child, Senju Aelia." Koharu stated. The next thunder hit just some meters away from us and lightened up my shocked face.
Author's note: Hm...I told you drama was coming...The beginning of new trouble is here! I know Aelia's background story about how she found her mother was quite short. Believe me, we will see more of it soon.
Please do not hesitate to review! (^.^)/
