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He woke up first. His head hurt a little but joyful. He smirked at this feeling. When was the last time he'd felt that way? And all because of this little woman laying next to him. He took advantage of the situation ad inspected her more closely. She had clean pale skin. In his mind it was the softest thing in the world. Her eyelashes were long and heavy. She was the most beautiful creature to ever walk the earth and nobody could change his mind about it. But looks were the least important thing about her. She was insightful and curious. He never got bored of her talking or of watching her. She's made him feel the need to live his life and it was something not many people could do. Duh, Naruto tried so many times, as did Sakura. Yet all it took was one girl who didn't even try at first. He still didn't quite know what was it that made him interested in her in the first place but he, sure as hell, was glad it happened.
When she first opened her eyes she thought that last night was just a dream but once she'd realized that she was laying on the floor it was apparent it wasn't the case. There was a strange feeling about what had happened. It wasn't regret but close to it. She was anxious and afraid of what it meant. She was falling for Sasuke. Or has she already fallen? Either way it brought back memories of the last time she loved. Of course it was different this time. This time, probably, her feelings were returned. And she didn't know if it was better or worse. She was heartbroken even without relationship with Naruto. He was her first love and she had been unseen by him, overlooked and left without an answer. But now she was seen and it felt more dangerous in a way. What would happen if he realized he'd made a mistake, that she wasn't good enough? That would hurt more. On the other hand she still had that sensation in her body she'd felt just few hours ago. She wanted more of it. She wanted to feel wanted and needed. She wanted to be loved and to love. Sasuke looked at her as if she was the only thing that mattered. Maybe it was good for her.
When she got up she heard that he was getting a shower so she sat on the bed and waited for him. Will it be weird? They kissed before but it was different. This time they were more desperate for another. But when he came into the room all he did was smile at her and all her worries vanished. He was visibly happy. A view better than the one in the Land of Snow. He came up to her and kissed her like it was the most natural thing to do. It was merely peck on the lips this time but she felt something resembling the lightning. She knew there was no coming back for her. She's longed for love all of her life and when she felt it she was not letting go. She just hoped that he knew that.
They started touring the town by visiting the Stone Monument. Probably the only place described in the books when it came to Iwagakure. It was meant to represent the Will of Stone that local shinobis lived by. Strong will. They both knew it to be one of the most essential things for a shinobi. They were looking at the monument for a little while contemplating its meaning. In Konoha ninjas stood by their own Will of Fire. It was a different kind of lesson to be learned by not only shinobi but all of the people. Love and determination. A lot could be achieved when a person had these two values. They both had the same person in mind.
„I wander if the water surrounding the stone means something" she said when they were at the restaurant eating dinner. „I mean. Water is strong enough to hollow out the stone if given the time"
„But the stone stays in place" he remarked. „Maybe it will be defeated but it won't change its position" she smiled. That was her thought as well. She saw some people glancing their way and talking quietly. She frowned. When he saw what was the reason for her look he sighted. „Don't pay attention to them" he said in a halftone. There were times he was recognized by locals and sometimes even unwelcome. Someone talking behind his back was a constant he'd gotten used to.
„They are talking about us, right?"
„About me probably. I am not the most deadly greeted person most of the time" there was a time it made him proud, then regretful but now he simply ignored that. There was nothing he could do to change it. Hinata was noticeably not pleased with the idea.
„Don't they know you saved us all?"
„They do. But they also fear what I could do next" she rolled her eyes at what he sneered. She looked funny doing so. „Don't think about it".
Later they simply strolled around the village. It had some of the most beautiful alleys. Some of the stones were covered in grooves and ornamented by the stones of so many different colors. They made the walls look like the shattered stained glass.
„What's amazing about traveling the world is that when you come across something this beautiful you can't believe people who live here aren't noticing it anymore." She said to him at one of the busy streets. „Look at them. They are so used to it that it doesn't amaze them at all" she was right.
„You can get bored by the most beautiful things when you are around them for long enough" he commented. „Were you amazed by a lot of things in Konoha?"
„Sure I was!" She was almost offended by his question. „Every time I was at the top of the Hokage Rock I couldn't believe the view."
„Of course you were" he laughed. „But you are a sucker for views" he winked at her. She smiled at him. She's never seen him so cheerful before and it suited him well. „But when you were going errands around the city you didn't look at the sights, did you?"
„Okay, you have a point" In her mind Konoha was more about the feeling. It was not so special when it came to architecture but the people were a true treasure of their home town. „Do you sometimes miss it?"
„Sometimes"
„When we were in the Land of Fire I couldn't wait to be out again. But when I was in the Land of Water I've had a job in a cafe." She said remembering her journey. „For a little while I thought to stay there" he's never asked her about time she spent on her own.
„What changed?"
„Well, I felt that it wasn't my place to be. I liked it there but it wasn't home" she explained briefly and he nodded. She liked her life there. The people of Kirigakure were mostly welcoming and open. Water was almost everywhere but it wasn't hot. If it wasn't for her feeling alone she would stay there. It was one of the best and the worst times since she'd started her travel. She smiled at the memory.
„So you want to go back to Konoha?"
„Eventually, maybe" she answered. „I don't know now. You?"
„Eventually, maybe" he mimicked her response. She read that as a joke but there was a deeper meaning. He would go back now if she wanted to go. „How much time have you spent in Kiri?"
„I was there for a long time… Half a year. The longest I've spent in one place" and she wanted to go visit it again sometime. There were a lot of places she wanted to visit again. All of them were now a part of her, she felt.
They came across the tallest tower in the city. The Kage tower. From distance it seemed tall yet when they reached it it was enormous. Definitely inspired respect in both of them. The building emanated with strength. It felt like no amount of water could ever destroy it. When they've gotten used to the sight Hinata saw something on the outside of the building and came closer to it. It was a huge stone positioned on the ground, one side polished. And on it were hundreds of names. She felt the tension in her throat and chest. These were the people that died during the war. So many names, so many lives lost forever. All of them were fathers, mothers, siblings or friends of someone. So much pain was caused by the war. He put his hand on her shoulder. It was wonderful how he was able to sense when she needed his support and this gesture was more than enough. She didn't feel alone at the sight of the misery of the world. For some time she pondered if she was happy that Naruto and Sasuke won. She remembered her dream so vividly. It was peaceful and felt so real. But wasn't real and she convinced herself some time ago that real things are better than the best illusion. But the thought was appealing still. She wandered if she knew any of them. Some of the Iwakagure shinobis were assigned to her division during the war. Even their leader was from here. She closed her eyes but the image of the list was now fixed in her mind.
When they walked back to the hotel she was silent. He held her hand in support. Was there anything else he could do? War was a recurring subject of her thoughts and it made her sad every time. She probably suffered some kind of PTSD from it but he was in no way trained to deal with it. Hell, he was most likely suffering from it too but in a different way than her. He was always ready to fight, always vigilant which was not normal for a human being and sometimes made him feel nothing but tired. And there were nightmares which sometimes were the cause he didn't sleep for days. Once in the room Hinata hugged him tightly.
„I'm so glad you're here with me" she said. There was no doubt she would be in a worse state if he wasn't here with her. That's what's been lacking in all of the places she's been. Right now she didn't feel so alone.
„I'm not going anywhere" he assured her. He lead them both to sit on her bed. He looked at her and put a hand on hers. They sat like that for a while and Hinata put her head on his shoulder.
„Do you know what happened to people who were affected by the Infinite Tsukuyomi?" She asked him. He wasn't affected by the illusion so she wandered if anybody told him.
„It created the illusion of a perfect life, didn't it?"
„Yeah" she exhaled loudly. „At that time it was perfect, yes" It would look different now.
„What did yours look like?" She wandered for a while if she should tell him, would it feel strange for him? Did he even know how she used to feel about Naruto?
„I was with Naruto and Neji-san was there" she said in a low voice. „That's all that I remember."
„Naruto?" He didn't know. Shit.
„He was someone I loved then." She waited for his response. He was astonished. If he thought he was different than her then Naruto was a complete opposite.
„You loved the idiot?" He looked at her. „Did he know that?" He was somehow amused by her revelation. But when he thought about it there were signs even back in their academy years.
„He did" she wanted this topic to end. The fact that he was hiding the fact that he wanted to laugh wasn't helping.
„Sorry but you two would be the death of each other. He would exhaust you after one day" he wasn't hiding his grin anymore. „Plus you are far too good for him" he added.
„I didn't see it that way" she was starting to smile as well.
„I'm surprised he knew. He is not the brightest when it comes to feelings" she stopped smiling.
„He knew because I told him" she bit her lip. „But I didn't get an answer from him so maybe he'd forgotten" she sat deeper on the be and rested her back on the wall. Sasuke was once again furious at the blonde. What a dense idiot. He didn't say anything else and joined Hinata. When she was too tired to sit she laid her head on his lap and fell asleep. He thought for a while about what he's just learned. There was a hint of jealousy in him but he didn't let it grow. He didn't have any reason to be jealous now but he knew that if it came to it he would be the worst case of green-eyed guy in the world.