Chapter 37! Oh boy ho boy! I still don't know what to write here…. Well, Thanks for clicking and reading this far!

…..

The fire was cackling in its place, the warmth of it warming the entire room. The two chairs that were next to it had a warm tint to them, as well as the two people that occupied them.

"You aren't still in love with him, are you?" Hinata asked her, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Well I just… I don't know. I haven't seen him in so long I don't know what I would do if I saw him again." Sakura admitted. "Sasuke has just been through so much and has suffered for so long… maybe if someone was nice to him then he wouldn't… be so bad." Se huffed.

"But that's a long shot. I don't even know how he feels about me. He would come over and I would make him dinner and we would read or play card games, some days Naruto would even join us. But one day… he just changed."

Hinata didn't really know what to say to her, she didn't know her feelings towards Sasuke at any point. While Hinata has only had very few interactions with him, he was someone who had a threat dangling above them, promising to come back for Naruto, and she was sure that involved her, not even wanting to think about their child.

"Just… let us deal with him, he's extremely dangerous." Hinata told her.

"Oh, trust me, I know. I saw what he did to Shino. I had to do most of the surgeries on him. I just don't want to believe he did that."

They were in Hinata's and Naruto's bedroom, waiting on Naruto to finish up with meeting someone so they could have dinner together. The conversation just sort of came up as they waited, since they were talking about anything and everything.

There was a knock at the door.

"Oh, that's probably him." Hinata said. Usually he wouldn't knock, he'd just come in. She figured it was because Sakura was here with her.

"Come in!" She answered from her chair. The door opened, but it wasn't Naruto that was in the doorway, it was Hanabi.

"Oh! Hanabi, do you need something?" Hinata asked.

Hanabi approached the two girls.

"Actually, I need to talk to you about something… preferably in private. B-but I can come back if you want me to." She stated, and Hinata turned to Sakura, then back to Hanabi.

"Sorry Hanabi, can it wai-"

"No no! It's fine. I have some leftovers I need to eat at home anyway." Sakura mentioned, standing up from her chair.

"But, are you sure?" Hinata asked her as Sakura straightened out her dress.

"Oh yeah! I can come back some other time, don't worry about it!" She assured, walking towards the door. "Besides, it seems pretty important."

"Well, I can't stop you, but we can do this on… Wednesday?" Hinata asked as she reached for the door handle.

"Wednesday." Sakura confirmed.

She bit both of them goodbye before going out the door.

"Well, I didn't mean for her to leave…" Hanabi commented after she shut the door.

"… is something wrong? You seem quiet." Hinata asked her, watching as she stood behind the chair that Sakura was just in.

"Well… in the Earth country there's a town that has one of the best festivals this time of year in two months… and I really want to go see it." She explained.

Hinata sighed, thankful it wasn't a more serious matter, but still had to give her regrets.

"Hanabi you know that I can't travel right now, and it's a two-week's trip just to their capital- much too long for either one of us to be gone simply for a vacation." She answered honestly, knowing it wasn't what Hanabi wanted to hear.

But Hanabi seemed to light up instead.

"No, that's fine! You can stay here and I can just go by myself!" she suggested happily.

"No." Hinata stated clearly, crossing her arms in her chair.

It was a harsh tone that pierced through Hanabi's happy demeanor she just had. Hanabi expected some hesitation, but not a complete no.

"But why not?" she asked, almost laughing at how absurd her sister sounded. Hanabi thought she just needed some more convincing.

"You're too young to leave the country on your own. If you wanted to go somewhere within our borders, I would have no objections, but your actions can have severe consequences in other places, even if you think they won't." Hinata explained. As much as she loved her sister, some days she didn't think before she acted.

"But I'm just going to visit, not for business or anything! We're allies with them, aren't we?" Hanabi asked, knowing the answer already.

"Yes, we are, but if you slip up that that alliance can be ruined, you know that? You're just too young to know the consequences." She repeated, shaking her head.

"Too young? You're the one that's running the entire country at just twenty, is married, and having a kid. Don't you think that's a bit too young?" Hanabi huffed, not understanding what her sister thinks would happen If she went.

Hinata's face turned sour. She got up from her chair and walked the few feet it was between her and her sister.

"You and I are very different people, Hanabi. Father told me to take this role, and that's what I did. I didn't chose it. I did chose love but that is no concern for this conversation." She stated.

"Hinata you realize I wouldn't really be going alone, there would be military escorting me the entire time." Hanabi reminded, trying to change the subject. She knew there was a difference between her and Hinata, but she was running out of points to argue.

"You want them to accompany you on some… adventure for a month at least away from their families?" Hinata asked her, knowing she wasn't thinking this all the way through.

"Okay, maybe they escort me to the border, then some of their military could take me the rest of the way." Hanabi tried to compromise, but Hinata just shook her head.

"Hanabi it's just not good timing right now, maybe next year." She sighed, feeling tired just from this conversation.

"You asked me what I wanted to do with my life, and I want to travel and and experience things! Why would you ask if I couldn't even do it?" she exclaimed, getting mad at the situation.

"I'm not saying you can't, just start… smaller. Start closer here. You just aren't ready for something so big." Hinata put a hand to her forehead, not knowing why her sister was still set on this.

But Hanabi finally gave.

"Fine…. If that's how you feel." Hanabi hesitantly agreed.

Hinata watched as her sister turned sharply, leaving the room with her head held high. She opened the door sharply, leaving it that way as she stepped out.

"Whoa! Sorry Hanabi, didn't know you were there, dinner is almost ready if you're… joining us.." Naruto apologized, almost hitting her as he approached the door to their bedroom. But she didn't stop to say anything, no comments, no acknowledging he was there, she just kept walking.

He entered the bedroom slowly, watching Hanabi as she disappeared into her own.

'Is she okay?' he thought as he heard her door close. He tucked inside the room, closing their own door as well. He turned to Hinata just as she sat back down in a huff. Surely something just happened between the two of them.

He walked over slowly, noticing the look of annoyance on her face-a look she rarely had.

"So… what just happened?" he asked, then looked around the room "And where's Sakura?" taking the chair opposite of her.

Hinata almost laughed.

"Sakura left because Hanabi wanted to talk to me. She wants to travel… to another country. By herself, nonetheless! I mean, she's just too immature right now for me to trust her to do something like that, and the trip is just so long and there are so many things that could go wrong… I don't know how she thought it would be a good idea." She explained. "I mean, I feel like a terrible sister for telling her no, but I just can't let her."

She stared into the fire, waiting for a response from Naruto, but it never came. She wasn't sure why he wasn't speaking until he saw the look on his face. He wasn't looking at her, he was looking at the ground with his lips pursed, almost like he didn't want to say anything.

"Don't… you don't agree with her, do you?" she asked, not expecting this reaction.

He sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair.

"Ah, yeah I do, actually." He admitted.

"You can't be serious."

He leaned forward in his chair, resting his arms on his thighs.

"I mean, I traveled the world when I was fifteen, it did me a lot of good! I saw sights, experienced things, met people. It made me a better person I think." He explained his reasoning.

"Yes, but you had someone with you the entire time." Hinata pointed out.

Naruto pointed at her. "Yeah, but all he did was pay for food and a place to stay- something that Hanabi will have anywhere she goes."

Hinata just shook her head.

"She isn't ready for something so big." Hinata reminded him and herself.

"and why do you say that? She has a lot more knowledge than I did at fifteen. I think she's plenty prepared. After all, she's just going to a festival." He countered.

Hinata stayed silent, closing her eyes.

"I mean I can write a letter to their King and Queen, let them know that she's coming, but it will only be for sight-seeing. They'll take care of her, I know they will." He assured her.

There was a moment of silence between them as he waited for her answer. He could tell she was holding her breath.

She let it out with a sigh, relaxing her shoulders.

"Fine, okay, I'll let her go. But if she messes up it's on you to fix it." Hinata gave in.

"You won't regret it!" Naruto told her with the clap of his hands. "We can tell her at dinner." He suggested as he stood up.

"Is it already that late?" Hinata asked him, standing up in suit.

He waited for her to catch up to him before leaving the room.

"That's why I came by, was to come get you for dinner." He explained, opening the door for her.

They made their way to the dining hall, Naruto catching her up on the status of Shino. He was finally able to start walking again, still being kept in the hospital. Hinata appreciated the update, saying that they need to gift his with something for all he's been through. He agreed as they opened the door to the dining hall.

"Strange… I thought Hanabi would be here. It's not like her to miss dinner." Naruto said, circling the table to his seat.

"You don't think she's not eating with us because she's mad at me, do you?" Hinata asked as she sat.

"I wouldn't be surprised." He agreed. "Do you want me to check on her?"

Hinata sighed. "If you would. If that's the case I'm sure she wouldn't want to talk to me."

Naruto laughs, telling Hinata that he'll smooth it over and he'll be right back, kissing her before he left.

He was always hesitant knocking on Hanabi's door, never knowing how to really interact with her. It wasn't until Hinata and him were married that he saw her more, and got to know her better.

So, it was strange that she didn't answer the door.

"Hanabi… you know it's me, you can open up." He said from the other side, but he still didn't get an answer. He was tempted to open the door, but if she was really in there he didn't want to face her if he came in without permission.

So he waited. Maybe she was in the bathroom and didn't hear him? Maybe she just had to finish changing into something lighter for dinner. He knocked a few more times in the process, but heard not a sound.

It had been a good five minutes before he had given up.

"Okay Hanabi, I'm going to open the door whether you want to talk or not."

He reached for the handle and pulled it open slowly, giving her time to react in case she needed to. He poked his head in slowly, looking around as best he could only to find her not in there.

"What the… I didn't pass her on the way over here… where is she?" he wondered as he stepped into her room, noting the stuffed animals that hadn't changed.

Nothing seemed out of order, nothing was disturbed. The bed was made, drawers were closed, and nothing was on the floor-a first for her. He stood in the room dumbfounded as to where she could be.

Then he noticed the breeze. It was cold yet soft, lightly blowing. He turned his head towards the breeze, finding it's source was an open window.

'Why is her window open?' he thought, approaching it. It was too tall for her to open herself… unless she climbed on top of the desk that was underneath it.

"Y-your Grace?" someone said. Naruto turned around towards the doorway. It was one of the nursemaids.

"Ah, Naruto is fine." He told her, changing his demeanor. She smiled at him, patting down the towels she had in her hand.

"Right, is something the matter?" she asked him, watching as he approached.

"Well, I'm looking for Hanabi, but I can't find her… you haven't seen her, have you?" he asked, almost certain she wouldn't know.

"Hmm, I want to say I heard that someone saw her heading towards the stables, but that was almost fifteen minutes ago." She admitted, feeling she wasn't too much help

"The stables?" Naruto said, surprised. "Why would she be going to the…." He tilted his head down, before drawing a conclusion. "Oh, she better not have."

The nursemaid watched as he walked briskly down the hallway, getting faster as he went on.

"I-is that helpful?!" she yelled to him down the hall, wondering what was happening.

He turned around, but was running backwards. "Ah, yes! Thank you!" he told her, before turning the corner.

He ran back to the dining hall to tell Hinata. He didn't want her going after her sister, but she needed to know that he was. HE still didn't want to believe that she would have done something as dumb as running off on her own, without protection, to a different country, in protest of her sister's judgement.

He opened the door rather harshly, locking eyes with Hinata whose food was just served.

"She's not… in her room." He told her, taking a moment to catch his breath.

"What? Well, where is she?" Hinata asked, starting to rise form her seat. Naruto put a hand up to her.

"Not sure, but her window was open and she was seen going to the stables." He explained as he walked towards her.

"You… you don't think that she ran off on her own, do you?" Hinata worried. Naruto shook his head.

"I don't know, but you don't worry. I'll find her, I promise." He assured, not wanting her to worry as much as she already was.

….

He ran through the snow, going into the stables that we're on the north side of the castle grounds, looking for the guard on duty. He was inside, brushing through one of the horse's manes. He shook some of the snow off his pant leg, calling to him.

"Did Hanabi come here and get a horse?" he said rather suddenly, startling the young worker. He dropped his brush at the sudden voice, causing the horse the whinny.

"Ah, S-sir! Yes, she did!" he said nervously, debating whether to stay at attention or grab the brush he dropped.

Naruto sighed, wishing she hadn't. he went over to the closest stable, getting the horse from inside it.

"Do you know which way she went?" he asked, putting a saddle on the horse.

"Ah… she headed off towards the east gate." He answered, deciding to pick up his brush.

Naruto put a foot in the saddle, hoisting himself on top of the horse.

"East, got it. Thanks." He told him, finding Hanabi being the main thing on his mind. She had at least fifteen minutes on him, and he needed to make that up.

He kicked the side of the horse, taking off out of the stable.

The snow made it easier to track her, her own horse leaving markings in the snow. They didn't seem to be going very fast as they were precise unlike the mess of snow he was leaving behind. She obviously wasn't in a hurry.

He stopped as he exited through the east gates, confronting the pair of guards standing watch. They were confused at his presence.

"Hanabi go through here, yeah? Which way did she go?" he asked rather fast. He was annoyed he didn't get an immediate answer, but couldn't blame them since they weren't expecting him. They both looked at each other through covered faces, not knowing what to say.

"Ah… yeah, she went that way." One of them finally answered, pointing off to the right.

Naruto didn't respond, and instead just starting riding again. He went in the direction he pointed, knowing that Northeast was the best way to get to the Lightning Country. Surely it couldn't be coincidence she went this way.

The path turned more wooded the farther he went, making him have to concentrate on roots and branches, as well as trying to find Hanabi.

"H-Hanabi! Hanabi where are you?!" He yelled, hoping that would help him find her. He stopped after yelling, listening for anything he could hear.

A short distance away, Hanabi heard him. Well, she heard something.

"What was that?" she mumbled, turning her horse in the direction in came from.

Then she heard it again, thinking it almost sounded like her name, but she didn't know where it was coming from.

'Do I… do I call back?' she wondered, but decided against it until she knew who was yelling. She approached the source quietly, making sure to avoid anything that could sound if her horse were to step on it.

Then she saw him through the trees, looking around in distress.

'What the… what's Naruto doing out here?" she questioned, just watching him for a moment.

"Hanabi, come on!" He yelled once more, knowing how loud his voice could be. Surely, she heard him.

"I'm right here, what's your problem?" she commented, riding out from the trees she was hiding in. she looked confused and annoyed at the same time, a look Naruto did not think she should have.

"You!" he exclaimed, riding over to meet her, causing her own horse to stutter backwards in fear of being run into.

"What do you-

"How did you think this was a good idea?! Going off by yourself to a different country with NO mention to their own rulers? Not to mention just going by yourself is a bad idea!" he yelled at her.

"What?! You do-"

"I-I even convinced Hinata to let you go to this… this whatever you wanted to go to, but then you pull this kind of stunt and just proves that she was right all along!" he continued.

"Will you just-

"You have any idea what would've happened if I hadn't found you?! If you actually left without anyone noticing? Do you have any idea what stress that would put your sister under? On me? Our child?! It's like you're only thinking of yourself!"

"WILL YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME!?" she finally yelled, throwing her arm to the side in anger. Naruto clenched his jaw at her yelling, but remained silent, as she wished.

"Do you honestly think that I would just run away because I was upset about something? No, I wouldn't. I don't know where you even got the idea that I was!" he argued, angered by his accusations.

"Then why was your window open, why'd you take a horse and why are you even out here?!" he retorted, needing answers to those before he would even start believing her.

"I was frustrated, yeah who wouldn't be? So, I decided to go for a ride to get my mind off of it, I wasn't running away! I wasn't going anywhere! I was on my way back when I found you. And as for my window it's just open because it gets stuffy in my bedroom. You know, the reason why you open windows!" she yelled, feeling out of breath after explaining herself.

Naruto felt his entire body tense up, realizing that her reasons made sense. He looked over her horse, noting there was no extra baggage or items on it, clearly not fit for a long trip.

Naruto sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair, looking down in shame.

"I just… sorry. I jumped to conclusions and was frustrated at that conclusion and… I'm just sorry." He admitted, truly feeling terrible. He yelled at her without giving any time for her to explain. He wasn't her father, he couldn't control her, he shouldn't have been the one to scold her.

He looked up at her, feeling the cold glare on him.

"That's right you are." She told him, no sympathy in her voice.

Naruto accepted that as the best he was going to get, turning his horse back towards the castle. He started a few feet before she spoke again.

"You really convinced Hinata?"

He turned his head over, thankful for her conversation.

"Well yeah, I feel like you can handle it." He explained, giving her a small smile.

She rode up next to him, her demeanor completely changed.

"Really?! That's awesome!" she exclaimed, lining her horse next to his. He gave a chuckle.

"She just thinks of you as her little sister, and forgets how capable you are sometimes." He defended Hinata.

They trotted through the snow, watching as it started to fall again.

"You know… Father never gave me the time of day after mom died. Hinata reminded him so much of her and he didn't want to forget about her. So he kind of… ignored me, and never wanted to listen to me and never letting me do anything." She admitted, needing to get it off her chest. She couldn't tell Hinata, so he was her next choice.

"Oh… that must have been terrible." He commented, not sure how to react. Hanabi just shook her head.

"To hear those same words from my own sister… I just got so mad that I felt like I needed to cool off, so I opened my window, but that didn't help. Eventually I just decided that a ride through the snow is what I needed." She sighed.

Naruto nodded his head, understanding her reasoning.

"Well, maybe an outside voice is what Hinata needed." He told her, giving her a smile.

"Thanks for being that voice." She complimented.

They went back through the gate, the two guards that they both passed earlier looked at them curiously as they went back through, no sense of urgency around either one. The same thing happened with the stable worker as they returned the horses, acting like nothing had happened- and nothing, in fact, did happen.

"H-Hanabi!" Hinata yelled as she embraced her sister, crying into her shoulder. Hanabi was a bit put off by the act, but patted her sister's back to show everything was okay.

"I'm so sorry for arguing with you earlier, but what we're you thinking running off like that?!" she tried to scold in between her hiccups.

Hanabi tried to defend herself, but Naruto chimed in instead.

"Actually, she had just gone for a ride, we just kind of… decided she ran away without knowing for sure." He told Hinata as she pulled away from her sister.

"What... you didn't run away? You weren't upset?" Hinata asked her, still having her hands placed on Hanabi's shoulders.

"Well of course I was upset, but I would never run away." She explained.

Hinata shook her head, wiping her eyes off.

"Of course, you wouldn't, you're too wise to know not to. I should have been able to see that." Hinata spoke. "Which reminds me…"

She took a deep breath and straightened out her back, regaining her composure.

"You can leave as soon as next week for your trip… but I would rather you wait until a little closer to the festival before you leave." She said with a smile.

Hanabi returned her smile, trying to hide her excitement.

"Thank you, Hinata." She said. "And I'' definitely be back to meet my niece." She joked, but still sincere.

Hinata laughed.

"I keep telling you that it might not be girl!" Hinata joked back, finding her seat back at the dinner table. She hadn't touched her food since Naruto left.

"Don't worry, I think it's a girl too." Naruto agreed with Hanabi, flowing Hinata to the table.

"See, even he agrees with me." She pointed out, being the last to sit.

"Well then… I'll just disagree with both of you."

….

Badoopdoopdoop chapter ENDS! Yaay for Hanabi development. Im debating putting this on AO3 but how the heck do I even figure that out. Like I have an account but I just want to mass upload it but I cant and the tagging system confuses me. Also ive been off work since the 22nd and I don't have to go back till the 2nd, so I thought I would have enough time to work on this at home, but since im at home I have my drawing tablet here so ive been drawing and not writing and for that I am sorry. We're so close to the end (not really, but I have it all planned out) that I just have to write them and like im dragging it out by missing just a day and for that I am also sorry.

I will now share an exert from the notes I have for this chapter.

"Hina is sitting infront of fire

in relxation room of castle, nice and

cozy. ENTER HANABI"

Next chapter has our boy in it, Sasuke himself. Favorite, review, follow, all that good stuff.