Hanabi didn't know why her sister agreed to this trip. A moonlit picnic with her husband and his mistress - pretending to be a friend. They both knew who Naruto would be going home with that night. He was the Hokage, supposedly known for his loyalty and he was doing this. Her sister was such a glutton for punishment. Of course she wouldn't call out either of them for their behavior. She would act like everything was okay. Everything was not okay.
"Everyone, please help yourself to food." Hinata announced, opening the basket.
Naruto and Sakura both picked up a bento box and tucked in.
"Hinata, wow this is delicious!" Naruto commented with a full mouth.
Sakura waited to swallow her food before giving her verdict. "It really is Hinata. You need to teach me this so I can make it for Naruto everyday."
Hanabi nearly threw up in her mouth. "Naruto knows what to do if he wants to eat it every day."
Sakura snorted absent dignity. "No, there's no way that Naruto could ever make anything like this. He's useless in the kitchen!"
Naruto's face looked like it was going to explode. "Sakura there was no need for that. It's not like you're any better." His voice was calmer than his face betrayed.
What right did he have to be outraged about anything. Neither of them understood the point she was making. So clueless. She had to summon all of her willpower not to throw her bento box at their smug faces... If only there was something that she could do. It seemed impossible for anyone to address this situation directly.
"Sasuke's coming back tomorrow to have his arm reattached. Perhaps Hinata would be so kind to make him a delicious meal as he recovers." Sakura hinted.
Yes, that was it. Sasuke could steal Sakura away from Naruto, then the Hokage would be free to return to her sister. Sasuke may even be able to talk his friend back into valuing his marriage. The main problem was, what reason would Sasuke have to help ?
She thought about it the entire walk back home. She hated leaving her sister alone but she had to go to her father and ask for permission to pay Sasuke an obscene amount of money for him to help them. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons she couldn't commission it officially through the Hokage's office. It would have to be a private contract through the Hyuga clan. Sasuke didn't seem to be a man who cared especially for money, therefore she was skeptical that it would work.
Now that she had taken care of business. She could leave the Hyuga compound for the Uzumaki residence to comfort her sister who no doubt would be crying in her room. She had a key and let herself in. As she entered she heard Boruto run down the stairs.
"Aunt Hanabi, Mom's crying again."
"I see, I'll take it from here."
She went up the stairs towards her sister's room. She opened the door to see her sister crying on her bed face down, with her head pathetically buried in her pillow. Himawari helplessly clung to her body groaning "Mom" repeatedly.
"Himawari, why don't you go play with Boruto downstairs?"
"But Mom." She replied, her blue eyes bearing into her.
"Don't worry I'll take care of her."
Himawari released her grip of her Mom and tottered out of the room and down the stairs.
"I hate them seeing me like this Hana-bi." She sniffled.
"Me too." She said softly. She went towards the bed, grabbed her by the stomach and rolled her over on top of her own body maintaining a tight embrace. "Don't worry things will get better." She rocked her gently. "I remember when we were younger when you'd cry, you'd hold me like a teddy bear until you eventually fell asleep. Now that I'm bigger than you, I'll have to be the one holding you. I'm surprised you didn't hold Himawari like that."
"I can't do that to her, she's my daughter."
Her voice inflected up and down in a sing- song melody. "But you could do that to your younger sister. Oh, I see how things are."
Hinata laughed, the way her sister's body vibrated against hers tickled.
"I have a plan. Tomorrow make Sasuke a bento just like Sakura asked earlier, it's important."
"Do you plan to make Sasuke fall in love with me? Like I've told you... I only want Naruto. I've only ever wanted Naruto."
"I know, I know. If there's anyone who can convince him out of this madness it's him." She rubbed her head gently.
Come to think of it, this was all Sasuke's fault. If he'd been a responsible adult and married Sakura like he was supposed to, none of this would have happened. Instead he roamed freely without a care in the world.
She got up early to go back home and ask Hyuga clan attendants to wait by the gates and tell her the exact moment Sasuke returned.
A messenger bird arrived and Hanabi wasted no time heading to the south gate. She caught him en route walking in leisure. She approached him directly.
He noticed the woman making a beeline towards him, she looked familiar and clearly of the Hyuga clan. He hated that family, the way they treated the branch family members was barbaric. She was pretty though, he'd have to give her that, as her sister used to be, like 10 years ago. He was sure her glimmer would soon fade as well.
"Sasuke, I have a mission for you, it will pay well."
"I don't care about money. I'm not interested in selling my services to you, Hinata's sister."
"The name's Hanabi. You'll be interested, even if you don't actually want to do it. It's about my sister, I want you to help her repair her marriage with Naruto. You see, he's cheating on her with Sakura."
He laughed. "Sounds like you have quite the problem."
"It can't be solved without your help."
He shook his head and his only arm with apprehension. "I don't know, persuasion is not one of my strong points."
"It will take time for you to get back to normal after your operation. This mission's the perfect opportunity to keep yourself busy during the recovery period. Oh and my sister is going to prepare a delicious meal for you when you wake up."
"I look forward to the meal, I'll give you my answer when my arm is back. I thank you and your sister for your concern. " He said dismissively.
"Sasuke please take this seriously!" Hanabi grabbed his sleeve.
"Why? Use your head this time not your heart, Hyuga."
"The Hokage's behavior reflects poorly on the village. If you could seduce Sakura..." She screamed desperately.
"Hmph, good answer. I'll see you later."
The truth was he'd already decided to help. He'd heard nothing but the stories about the cheating Hokage on his travels. It made it hard to gather any real information, about anything. He was sure most of the stories about them were made up as well. Having sex on the Hokage monument. That one was hard to believe, nonetheless it reflected terribly on the village. His arm was just an excuse to be back. Hopefully his seeming reluctance would increase his payment.
He continued down the main road towards the hospital. Suddenly, he got pulled into an alley.
"Sasuke, you've gotta help, my Dad's cheating on my Mom."
"I know, Boruto. Don't worry, I'll fix it."
Sasuke poked him on the forehead and excused himself. He continued back towards the hospital.
He went straight to the front desk. "I'm here to see Sakura Haruno for an operation."
"I see Mr Uchiha, please take a seat over there and wait. She'll be here shortly."
He sat, he waited... longer than expected.
"Sasuke come this way." Sakura called out, an hour too late for Sasuke's patience.
"Alright."
She took him down some lifeless corridors, into a lifeless white room.
"Do you have any questions? We have your arm ready, we just need to attach it to your body."
"Excellent, no questions about this. How have you been? Anything new and exciting since the last time I saw you?"
"I wish Sasuke. Things have been normal but a happy normal." She looked away from him, clearly trying to hide the truth.
"I'm sorry to have taken up your time like this." He laughed. "You must have better things to do."
"Thank you for your concern. Remember, we had the arm synthesized years ago, I've been waiting for you to accept it for quite some time. I'm happy to help you, as always."
"I'm relieved."
She grabbed his hand. "Good, you're never a burden Sasuke, you always have a place here in the village with us."
"Speaking of us, how's Naruto doing?"
Her eyebrow twitched as Naruto's name was mentioned. "Good, I think, the problem is that he's overworking himself."
Sasuke faked a smile, to avoid a laugh. "Yes, that's the problem."
"Please change into the hospital gown for the operation." She said pointing to said item on the table.
He did as he was told, he felt a bit embarrassed stripping in front of her however, if it could be of any use in accomplishing the mission it was worth it. He was especially embarrassed that with only one arm, it wouldn't really stay on. He tried tying the string at the back to fasten it into place, to no avail, he couldn't tie a knot with two pieces of string with only one hand available. He sighed, his entire back side was on display. At the very least he knew he was in good shape for a 30 year old. Especially for a 30 year old with only one arm.
"Here, let me help you with that." Sakura offered after pretending not to watch him for a while, obviously his struggles had gotten to be too much for her to ignore. Her face went red after seeing him in this silly state.
"Why's this thing so demeaning?"
"It's not demeaning, it shows off all of your charms. It was just designed for someone with both arms. Now sit down in the wheelchair, I'm taking you to the operating room."
It was a strange feeling being wheeled about the hospital, it could have felt good, if it wasn't for all the people gawking at him. He figured it was because of the missing arm, and being in the wheelchair made people think he was totally immobilized. He sighed. "Why is everyone staring at me?"
"Don't worry they're not staring at you, they're staring at me."
Of course, everyone had heard about her and the Hokage. He must be the only person she thought didn't know.
He was the relieved to be in the privacy of the operating room.
"This operation is not painful, still we're going to put you to sleep. It would be hard to reattach your arm if you were to move. Please lie down Sasuke."
He did as he was told. A mask was put on his face to deliver the anesthesia. "Sakura, have you gotten more beautiful?" He managed to ask before he was out for the count.
Hanabi approached the front desk with her sister and Naruto. Of course he would be around for Sasuke, he appeared to only care for former members of team 7.
"Which room is Sasuke in?" Naruto asked.
"191." The woman behind the counter replied.
"Right, you remembered the bento didn't you Hinata?" He asked with great interest.
"Of course. "
They headed off to the room. Sakura was already there laughing and joking with him. A good sign.
"Sasuke how have you been?" Naruto asked.
"Good, although not as good as you. I'm whole now." He smiled, lifting his new arm up.
"That's what we like to hear, isn't that right Sakura?"
Sakura smiled with warmth that only came from extreme pride. "Things are going very well, he should be able to leave tomorrow, assuming nothing unexpected happens."
"Hinata made you a bento, it's the best so eat up." Naruto gestured to his wife.
"She took the box out of her bag and handed it to him. "Please enjoy Sasuke."
"Oh." Sasuke looked excited. "Thanks." He said opening it up and trying to use the chopsticks to eat it. Picking up on his trouble, Hanabi decided to help him.
"This is bad, right Sakura?" He asked without his usual confidence.
"Nothing to be concerned about. Naruto was completely helpless when he got his arm back."
Hanabi gave him a big smile as they managed to catch the food in the chopstick. She opened her mouth indicating that he should do the same and inside went her sister's delicious cooking.
"Sasuke, how is it?" Hinata asked.
He took some time to truly savor the food, like he was surprised to enjoy it. "It's good, I'm really grateful Hinata."
"How good? How grateful?" Hanabi asked getting close to his face.
His eyes drifted around, avoiding making eye contact with her. She hated how her eyes seemed to freak people out. "I'll help you." He whispered.
"Come visit the Hyuga compound when you're out." She whispered back.
Great, he was leaving the hospital. He hadn't fully gained control of his arm, nevertheless he was out. He didn't actually have a home to go back to, that wasn't especially relevant at this point because his destination was the Hyuga compound and afterwards probably Sakura's home.
He arrived at the Hyuga compound and knocked on the gate. He waited, he hated waiting.
An attendant answered. "Mr Uchiha, We've been expecting you. Please follow me inside and meet our clan leader, Lord Hiashi Hyuga."
As he followed he couldn't help but notice how similar the Hyuga compound was to the Uchiha compound of the past. It was nostalgic.
"Sasuke I'm happy to hear that you're on board." Hiashi bowed.
Sasuke bowed. "Thank you for meeting me personally Lord Hiashi."
"Of course, such an important matter. Not just for Hyuga but for the leaf as a whole."
"Quite perceptive there."
"Please go upstairs and speak with my daughter in her bedroom. She'll fill you in on all the details. It's the large room to the right."
"Her bedroom?" He had to shake himself out of his thoughts, it was just a business meeting.
"Don't worry, I can assure you, you're not the first man to go up to her bedroom."
He walked towards the stairs and muttered to himself. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Because my daughter is beautiful."
He turned back to him in awe. "That hearing."
Hiashi smiled and nodded, smugly. "If you marry into the family I'll teach you."
Sasuke felt like he was being set up. He followed Hiashi's instructions and went up the stairs and knocked on the door to his right. "It's me."
"Come in Sasuke."
He opened the door. A standard traditional bedroom with a slight, feminine touch to it. Hanabi was sitting languidly on the bed. Her bright orange kimono felt at home paired with the setting sun, streaking the room with many shades of beautiful orange light. He liked the way she smiled at him. He basked in it's warmth.
"So this is a home." He exhaled.
"It's my home, you like?" She winked and retrieved a scroll from her desk. "Here Sasuke, this is your mission scroll, please review it."
Sasuke nodded at her question and took the scroll with both hands. He sat down on the bed with her. "Hmmm, I have to give you a progress report everyday. Some of the success criteria seems a bit unlikely. They must have sex two days in a row. I take it your father didn't sign off on this, is this your way to avoid paying me?"
She shook her head resolutely. "It's not. The details are negotiable. You don't have to involve my father about any of this, you can come to me for anything. My father may be the clan leader but I handle most of the responsibilities."
"I'd like to ask Hinata a question about her relationship with Naruto. Our plan has two elements, I take Sakura away from Naruto but Hinata has to be ready to step up when the time comes. Obviously their marriage fell apart for a reason and I'd like to know why so it doesn't happen again."
Her expression turned. Anger was especially unpleasant when faced with the blank Hyuga eyes in close proximity. "Are you suggesting that somehow she's at fault?"
He hated to admit it to himself, he was scared, just like yesterday when she got in his face. "I'm suggesting a solution. I need her help. I have a question."
"What question?"
"How often she slept with Naruto."
"You can't ask her that, you'll scare her."
"Fine, you ask her but I'll need an answer." He laughed. "I'll scare her. She's a complete coward. She was face to face with both of them yesterday and she didn't confront them. She's so weak. It's that weakness that led you to challenge her for position of heiress."
"Sasuke you're being mean. I didn't come to you for judgement, I came for your help."
He sighed. "How can I help her when she wont help herself?"
"I'll bring her to you. Just wait here, lie down on the bed or something until I get back."
Sasuke did just that and fell asleep.
He woke up to some poking and prodding. He saw Hinata was here, he ignored Hanabi's touchy fingers and got right down to business. "So do you have an answer Hinata?"
"An answer to what Sasuke?" Hinata asked confused.
He glared at Hanabi briefly. "Before your marriage broke down, how often did you have sex with Naruto?"
Hinata gasped and went bright red. "Why are you asking such a question?"
"Two fold, to amend the mission success criteria so I can actually get paid and so I can better understand why things didn't work out."
Hinata bit her tongue. "Once a week."
Sasuke sighed. "I see. It all makes sense now. He went to Sakura to fill the void from his passionless marriage. Poor guy. Hanabi, amend the success criteria to having sex at least once for two consecutive weeks."It was Hinata's turn to recieve a killer stare from Sasuke. "We have our work cut out for us."
"I'll take care of it." Hanabi replied. "And Sasuke please tell me you're not taking Naruto's side. You yourself never settled down with a woman, so it's no surprise you support his actions. Must be easy going from one place to the next, fucking women without a care in the world."
Hinata gasped. "Hanabi that was mean."
"Support his actions? I'm going out of my way to stop him. You've got it all wrong, I've never had sex in my life. Now I might have to," Sasuke turned his gaze to Hinata, "because someone fucked up!"
"I'm sorry Sasuke." Hinata apologized with a bow.
"Don't apologize sis, he's trying to make you feel guilty but you did nothing wrong. Also, he's clearly lying about never having sex."
"How would you know, little miss Hyuga?"
"Don't call me that, my name's Hanabi."
"I'm going to Sakura's house, I'll report my progress to you tomorrow morning. I'll come in through the window to avoid the ceremony of the front gate. Goodbye my heiress." He turned to Hinata, her solemn face sunk into the ground. "Take care Hinata." He felt more pity towards her than anger.
"I'm not your heiress, are you allergic to saying my name or something!"
He couldn't jump out quick enough to avoid hearing that.
AN: I like this pairing but I don't know why I've found it so difficult to create a story for them. I guess it's a crack ship but an interesting one nonetheless. I especially want more Hanabi stories to exist.