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Rumors are much like a lowly spark. All it took was ignition, or in other words, nosy folks, for it to spread like a wild fire across the bustling village called Konoha. With its ever-busy market place, it was the perfect place for a rumor to be born. From there, it spread to the many venders and restaurants, all the way to the edge of the village where the farmers harvested vegetables and fruits. With the help of low whispers and gasps of surprises, it only took a few hours for this particular rumor to reach the entire village.
Normal rumors, such as 'so and so got demoted in rank' or affairs were common and most of the time it only took a day for it to pass. This, however, was even getting the attention of Aburame Shino who never had time for such childish things. In fact, many of the ninja of Konoha didn't have time for the local gossip but this rumor was slightly more personal and worthwhile. With his hands pockets in his large overcoat, the infamous Aburame bugs crawled up and down his arms, onto his fingers and even through his hair. He waited patiently in the training grounds until his ears twitched at the sound of two running footsteps: one human, one canine.
"Oy! Shino!" Inuzuka Kiba came bounding from the trees with Akamaru right at his heels. Both boys were about 23 now and both were far from the children they used to be as Team Eight. Kiba's brown hair stuck up in all directions as usual, but he had also hit a growth spurt, easily meeting Shino in height now. Of course the red tattoos remained on his youthful face, a little bit of stubble growing into a beard as well. Shino's eyes glanced over in the direction of his fellow team mate, still of course hidden by dark lens. Kiba skidded to a halt and leaned on his knees as he fought for air. Shino frowned, however that was also hidden by the cuff of his jacket.
"You're early." He simply said, that monotone voice having a slight amused twinge to it. Kiba's lips formed a scowl, his canine teeth much longer in his older state. He stood up straight as Akamaru began sniffing Shino's leg in curiosity.
"Not all of us are so dedicated…" Kiba muttered sarcastically and he crossed his arms. If Shino was the type of person to laugh, he would have, but he was much more reserved. There were only a few people who could really read the man, and sometimes Kiba even doubted his own instincts. However over the years, they were forced to form a bond with each other, as it was almost mandatory to discover each other's weaknesses, strengths, fears, and usual mannerisms. The breeze flew in to ruffle their hair and Shino watched as one of his insects fluttered away.
"Has word reached you yet?" Shino asked. Knowing that Kiba had arrived earlier than his usual lateness, Shino had a feeling that perhaps he knew of the word around town. How couldn't he know? Kiba frowned, his expression becoming slightly more serious. He nodded, his chocolate brown eyes shifting towards Akamaru. The dog whined gently and nuzzled his owner's leg.
"Yeah… I wonder what's going to happen." Kiba thought aloud as he re-positioned his forehead protector, and then tightened the knot.
"It's all up to Tsunade-sama." Shino remarked and he closed his eyes. Kiba shrugged as if suddenly disinterested.
"Guess it doesn't really affect us much, eh Akamaru?" He nudged the dog who replied with another small whine. His ears perked up after sensing someone approaching the training grounds. The large canine trotted over towards the entrance and greeted the last member of the former Team Eight; Hyuuga Hinata. Of course now they were technically called Team Kurenai, and really their training as a team wasn't mandatory any longer. However, they all agreed that it would be beneficial to continue meeting each morning.
Hinata smiled gently as the dog approached her and circled her feet as she walked. She was also age 23 and had grown well. Her long midnight blue hair was now a long braid that lay casually up on her shoulder in front of her. She was still very adamant about hiding her body behind clothing; however Hinata had progressed since her days of wearing heavy jackets. Now she wore a long light purple sweater that reached to her thighs with tight black pants. Her curves were still well hidden, leaving much up the imagination of certain males around the village. Her spirit was much the same, timid and polite.
"G-Good morning Akamaru…" She said softly as her footsteps got closer to her fellow team mates. "Good morning Shino-kun… Kiba-kun." Her bangs blew in the breeze and both boys nodded.
"Hinata, did you hear?" Kiba immediately addressed this mysterious rumor that was floating around. It wasn't like him to give in to the gossip which led Hinata to believe that perhaps it was something worthwhile. As if embarrassed, she looked away.
"Hear what?" Aside from her training sessions in the morning, Hyuuga Hinata spent much of her time alone. Tsunade had appointed her to be in charge of the many documents in the basement of the Hokage building which meant that a lot of the times she was by herself for an extended period of time. On the occasion, ninja would stop by to 'check-out' scrolls for different purposes, so in essence it was also a library. Many of the documents were available to the public to come and use as they please. However, there was also a lot that were secret and classified so that meant keeping a firm guard on those as well. Kiba raised his eyebrow almost in surprise.
"How do you not know!?" He exclaimed and Shino coughed as he stepped forward in her defense.
"I think you forget that Hinata isn't around people all day." He said. She smiled lightly at him, and folded her small hands in front of her. It would make sense that Hinata had no clue; not only was she alone throughout the day, but also at night. Ever since her rightful spot as the Hyuuga leader was taken from her, Hinata moved from the Hyuuga district and into her own simple apartment. She wasn't bitter, but it was just easier as she got older and led a more independent life. It was also refreshing to get out of the constant scrutiny of her Father.
"I-Is everything okay?" She asked, slightly worried now. This prompted a whine from Akamaru who nudged into Hinata's thigh. She frowned as she looked down at the dog, and her hand glided on top of his soft white fur. Kiba's gaze shifted over towards the quiet Aburame man who gave small shrug to his shoulders.
"Uchiha Sasuke has returned to Konoha." He said. Hinata's light eyes stared intently at him, but the name hardly registered anything in her mind. In fact, the first thought that arose was Uzumaki Naruto. She recalled his desperate attempts to reach Sasuke and bring him back to Konoha. After several failed missions to retrieve the lone Uchiha, he seemingly fell off the radar.
Konoha had gotten news that a corpse believed to be Orochimaru was discovered in an old hide-out. After several tests done, papers filed, and tests redone, it was confirmed much to the surprise of the entire village. To Tsunade, however, it had always been plausible. The immortality jutsu that Orochimaru boasted of so much did have its setbacks and the most common flaw was needing a new host after a few years. If one was not provided, the body would reject it and in turn eat away at not only the host body but the jutsu caster as well. It always struck Hinata strange that something as simple as that did in the great Orochimaru. She recalled listening in on a hushed conversation that perhaps there was more to the story, like Kabuto betraying Orochimaru… or that he might still be out there.
That in turn began to churn questions about not only Kabuto's whereabouts but also the Uchiha that was traveling with them. Both had been missing, but now it was apparent that Sasuke was alive and well…and back in Konoha. Hinata always remembered their short lived friendship, even though it was about twenty years ago when they met at the gated garden. Since then, both had obviously gone their separate ways. In fact, Hinata vaguely remembered ever interacting with the Uchiha since the attack on his clan, and his falling out with Konoha. She was slightly curious, but not much more than her fellow team mates. After a few seconds of thought, Hinata wasn't sure what to say.
"Oh, w-wow." She managed to say. "What do you think he's back for?" Kiba shrugged his shoulders before resting his hands inside the pockets of his brown pants.
"Maybe he finally found that crazy ass brother of his…" He said slowly, and Shino shifted his weight.
"It's possible. It's been several years… It was only a matter of time." Shino said and Hinata brought curled fingers up to her lips. The topic was Uchiha Sasuke; however her mind kept going back the boy of her old admirations. Uzumaki Naruto had always been the friend she needed, the center of her universe and the man who plagued her dreams for years. As young teens, Hinata often began to wonder if perhaps those feelings were what everyone talked of: love.
In all the silly romance novels she read, there was always some sort of connection or romance that progressed. Even the ugly duckling got the prince in the end. Hinata's love life was far from a fairy tale and there was little hope for her in that aspect. She stood on the sidelines in Naruto's world, as she always has, quietly rooting for him and hoping that maybe he might take more notice of her. Not that she blamed him for not; ever since Tsunade appointed her job she was barely around anyone for that matter. A small sigh escaped her pink lips and Kiba took notice.
"Ahh, enough bull shitting! Let's train. I'm already sick of hearing about that guy." Kiba said as he backed out of their circle and ran towards the middle of the training grounds. Shino's eyes watched Hinata curiously from behind his shades. As if he was the big brother Hinata never had, he often kept a close watch on her. Not because he felt any affection for her, but simply because she was fragile like a bug. Even though Hinata was a Jounin, and a strong ninja at that, her mind would forever be the kind and gentle Hinata that he knew so well.
"Are you well?" Shino asked as Hinata snapped out of a daze. Her cheeks grew pink and she nodded quickly as the heavy braid bounced off her chest.
"Y-Yes. Shall we?" She asked, and half-heartedly followed Kiba over towards their usual spot.
Their training sessions were usually the same every day: they would start with warm-up exercises to get their blood pumping. Each warm up was different for all three: Hinata would close her eyes to meditate and concentrate knowing her Byakugan would be involved. Shino called forth the Aburame bugs from within his body. Kiba was probably the only one who stretched his muscles and he flicked Akamaru's nose playfully as he did it.
Hinata opened a half-lidded eye and watched as Akamaru chased Kiba around the training grounds. She couldn't help but stifle a small giggle, but she could feel a piercing stare from Shino at her back, so her eyes closed once more and concentration resumed. After a few minutes, Kiba's chase game ended with his canine companion and he rubbed his hands together.
"Alright, that's enough of that. Let's go, you two!" Without bothering to wait, the Inuzuka threw a few seals together while eyeing Akamaru who seemed just an anxious to get started. Two Kiba's now appeared on the training grounds, and before both Shino and Hinata had a chance to comprehend the situation, they already had a running start.
"Let's show 'em, Akamaru! Fang Wolf Fang!" A whirlwind of air shot straight towards Hinata, who had seen this coming, thanks to her concentration. With quick reflexes, she leaped upwards and back flipped out of harm's way and reached into the pack the was taped to her thigh. Still in mid-air, Hinata had a handful of kunai that rained down on the two, which they deflected with ease. Hinata landed on the ground with a small smile on her lips. It was thrilling to be able to move so freely and not be so cooped up in the Hokage building.
After their warm-ups came each individual training; one would attack, while the other two used common attacks as defense as a way to keep from getting rusty when not on missions. It was especially beneficial to Kiba, who had a hard time conserving his chakra due to his aggressive attacks. At this point, the whirlwinds were doing a U-turn in the training grounds and headed in Shino's direction. With calm composure, Shino stretched his arms outwards and hundreds, if not thousands, of bugs appeared from within the confines of his large overcoat. They seemed to form a large barrier in front of Shino as the whirlwind of both Kiba and Akamaru grew nearer. Kiba smirked from within his jutsu. Gotta be better than that!
Instead of taking the bait and going towards the wall of bugs, Kiba decided to take a trip down under. Piercing into the earth below, they both disappeared and within a flash they appeared above ground again. This time when they appeared, the Fang Wolf Fang jutsu had been broken, and Kiba was headed straight towards Hinata with a kunai. Hinata was ready for him; her hands already surrounded in blue lion-shaped chakra bursts. She easily avoided the kunai and began to slowly give more of an offense as a spar began. If anything, Hyuuga Hinata excelled more in close combat than any of them. Her excellent reflects and Gentle Fist technique wasn't anything to kid around, and her Byakugan was on at full force carefully making sure she didn't cause any damage to her team mate.
The team balanced each other out beautifully; Shino did well with long-range attacks, Hinata preferred the close combat and Kiba equaled out to both. Not to mention the Academy did a good job in keeping the 'scouts' together. About 80% of their missions involved with tracking down something or someone and those missions usually had one if not all members of Team Kurenai there.
Seamlessly, they transitioned to Shino's training as his bugs began to swarm the two. Kiba grinned as his canines seemed to almost grow as his chakra flowed freely through his body. Hinata also loved the thrill as a bead of sweat began to crawl down the side of her forehead. This type of training seemed to go on for the next hour or so until Kiba let himself fall onto his back in the green grass.
"I think that's good for today…" He said in between breaths and Akamaru, who was clearly still full of energy, licked his sweaty face. Hinata rested up against the trunk of a nearby tree and she welcomed the breeze with open arms. The summer wind always felt great after a morning of training. The sun was higher in the sky than it was earlier, which indicated she might need to jog to work.
"O-Oh no. I think I might be late!" She squeaked. Hinata began to sprint through the training grounds, her arm extended in a wave to the two boys, who would never admit it, but even they wouldn't be able to run after such a training session. It was easier for them because they had so much more free time than she did. Taking what Kiba called a 'desk job' was a good choice for her. She did still go on missions, but not as much as her team mates. In fact, Shino had just returned from a week long mission with his father and Kiba was set to leave later that day.
As Hinata pushed her legs to go faster, she excused herself gently as she ran through the busy streets of Konoha. Her destination was the large orange building that sat higher than all of the others. It wasn't like her to be late at all and there was a lot for her to do still with the library of documents. Before she had taken the job, many of the scrolls and documents were poorly organized and some papers had come up missing. Usually Shizune was in charge of making sure everything was in its place, but she was staying busy with the Hokage. Besides, Hinata enjoyed doing it. Although the days did get lonely, she found the joy in surrounding herself with knowledge.
Up the stone stairs she went and the muscles in her legs were screaming at her to stop. She opened the heavy door and raced inside only to run straight into Uzumaki Naruto. Hinata fell backwards on the hard concrete and an immense feeling of dread washed over her. Papers were fluttering through the air as Naruto had also fallen back.
"Owwww…" His hand went up to nurse a large bump forming on the back of his head as he sat up. "Oh, Hinata… you're here early." Hinata wanted her body to shrivel to the size of a bug so she could fly far, far away from this moment in time. Not only was I not late…but I ran into Naruto-kun! A grin crept across his lips as he stood up and extended a hand to help her up. Hinata looked up with a beet red face and took his hand sheepishly. He pulled her up and she could barely form words.
"N-N-Naruto-kun! I'm s-so sorry! I w-wasn't even looking w-where I was going…" Her words were firing off at rapid speed and Naruto scratched the back of his head.
"Nyeh, it's all right, Hinata. I was just on my way to give the old lady these papers." His eyes suddenly got wide and he knelt down to gather up all the loose leaf sheets. "Crap. Crap. She's waiting on me." Hinata frowned and knelt down to help him. Her eyes could help but scan over the information on the papers and her stomach dropped. They were Uchiha Sasuke's documents; test results from his days at the Academy, statistic sheets and several other things that she only saw at a quick glance.
"Oh… um." Hinata handed him a stack of papers as they both stood up. He smiled and took them.
"Thanks! Hey, did you hear? Sasuke is back!" His grin warmed her body and it made her heart beat faster. Her cheeks almost felt unbearably hot but she managed to nod despite her embarrassment.
"Yes… I did hear. W-Where is he?" Hinata asked curiously. Naruto had all the papers aligned in his hands when he glanced back at her.
"Well… he's detained right now." Naruto said as a slight frown replaced that smile she so adored. She frowned along with him and folded her hands behind her.
"D-Detained?" She pushed on, almost scolding herself for letting the 'word around town' get to her. The rumor was just that he had returned to Konoha. Perhaps he had returned by force or maybe he was back with a vengeance.
"Yeah. But hey, at least he's back. That's all that matters…" His voice trailed off and his blue eyes seemed to glaze over. Hinata could tell when Naruto got nostalgic; in fact she was so observant that she could see a lot of what went through his mind. Just as quick as his sad look came, it was gone as he smiled again.
"Well if I don't get there, the old lady won't ever let me be Hokage. See ya, Hinata!" Naruto began to sprint down the hallway as he waved good-bye.
"G-Good bye…Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered to herself and the echoes of his footsteps eventually disappeared into silence. As much as she willed her feelings away and focused her attention elsewhere, it was hard for her to dismiss it so easily.
She pressed onwards through the corridors until she reached the stairs leading down into the lower level of the Hokage building. Hinata welcomed the blast of cooler air as she took each step downwards. The library was a large room with bookcases filled to the brim with books. Hinata had created a system that would make anyone with OCD proud; each bookshelf was organized by topic, then by alphabetical order. From there, every part of the room was organized by specific topics like clans, historical eras, ninjutsus, taijutsus and genjutsus. It had taken her quite some time to get a collective index down as well so that way if someone asked for documents on the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch technique, she could easily find it.
Hinata flipped the switch at the bottom of the stairs which caused a few lights to flicker on lighting up the library. She took a deep breath and was happy to find everything just the way she left it yesterday. Hinata's fingertips lightly touched the sides of the book shelves as she followed the familiar walkway towards her own little office area, which was simply a desk set up in a corner. Sitting in her chair, she let a large sigh accumulate in her chest before she let it out and her eyes traveled to the stack of documents that needed to be worked on.
Uchiha Sasuke leaned back lazily in the wooden chair within the Fifth Hokage's office. His arm was propped up on the back of the chair, while his fingers dangled. His dark eyes were narrowed and staring intently at the woman sitting in the desk before him. She only returned his gaze with curiosity, caution and even some disbelief.
Ten years had passed since Sasuke set foot in the village. He recalled the night he left and how free he felt knowing that he was headed in the right direction for once. Under Orochimaru's watch, Sasuke had seemingly blossomed into an even greater ninja than he had left as. The one and only thing that kept him going was what his goal was: to find his brother and settle the score. It took a little longer than he had anticipated, but Uchiha Itachi was no more. He didn't care to think about it much due to the circumstances of what happened between the two.
Tsunade leaned forward and the blonde hair surrounding her face brushed up against her cheeks. She was worried but not because he had returned, but more of the reason why. She folded her hands that rested on the desk and her gaze didn't falter.
"So, I guess first thing's first… welcome back." She said, not a hint of joy in her voice. Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. He didn't come back for her approval or anyone's. His blue-gray hair was still the same, long in the front and spiky in the back. The only thing that had changed of Sasuke was his height and now he wore khaki pants with a gray Uchiha shirt. Tsunade frowned and folded her arms across her chest. When he didn't say anything after a few moments, she decided to keep it going.
"I take it you've accomplished what you needed to." She said dryly as she kept a firm watch on him. Sasuke's emotion didn't falter; in fact she had never seen anyone look as apathetic before. Spending years with Orochimaru on top of having emotional issues to begin with was a scary combination.
"You mean killing my brother?" He asked irritably. "He's dead and now my clan can finally rest in peace." He figured that it would be everyone's first question to him but the point of his existence shouldn't be revolving around his brother any longer. It was done, it was over, and there were other things on his agenda now. There was an eerie silence that settled between the two and it had been a while since Tsunade ever felt uncomfortable in front of someone. That feeling was ignored as she stood up, trying to show her authority.
"And what brings you back to Konoha?" Tsunade asked as she walked in front of his chair to lean up against her desk. His eyes never once left hers as if he was saying 'you don't scare me'. His had a simple answer for her.
"I left a Genin and it's been ten years. I want to rank up." He said. Tsunade almost laughed in his face at that statement. The fact was she didn't trust him and there was no way in hell she would allow him to go on missions just because he demanded it. Not to mention the Chuunin exams were still a ways down the calendar.
"Well, I hate to break it you Uchiha but when you left, you reverted yourself back to the bottom of the totem pole. The Chuunin Exams are still several months away." She said curious as to his response. Sasuke shrugged yet again.
"Then assign me missions."
"Excuse me?"
"I said assign me missions. Even though I'm a Genin, I'm the strongest ninja in this village now." Sasuke said hoping he had made himself clear. His ego and pride were constantly worn on his sleeve and he could care less what anyone else thought. As an Uchiha, he was going to prove to everyone that he was more than just a rank. Tsunade just stared at him and wondered if he was messing with her. When it was apparent he was completely serious she rolled her honey eyes. This kid…
"Not until you can gain my trust." She said and approached him at his chair. Tsunade leaned forward, her face just inches from him. "You may be strong, but I'm stronger. One false move and you won't even see it coming." She hissed. If it scared him he didn't show it as his stoic expression remained. He had a feeling she wouldn't comply right away so it didn't matter much. He had all the time in the world now that Itachi was no longer around.
"Whatever. I have nothing to hide." Sasuke said. Which was true; Sasuke wasn't looking to commit any crimes or follow in Orochimaru's footsteps. People often gave Sasuke a bad reputation simply because of his actions as a teen. Sasuke was a person with a good heart, just a bad attitude. Once Sasuke got to the rank he found suitable, he would probably end up leaving Konoha again anyway and pursue other things. Tsunade stared into his eyes wondering if she'd see the same glint of evil that she saw in Orochimaru's but she didn't.
"Come see me tomorrow and I'll figure out what I'll have you do in the meantime." She said and waved her hand for his dismissal. Sasuke didn't like that answer, but it would give him an opportunity to head back to his old loft before he had left Konoha all those years ago. He stood up without a word after grabbing his bag and let himself out.
Sasuke could only assume that word had spread around the village of his return. He didn't care; in fact he sort of liked the attention. The one thing he did notice as he walked throughout the streets was the economy seemed to have burst. There were more people in Konoha than he remembered, but maybe it was such something he had never really paid much attention to. Or another reason that circled his mind was now that Orochimaru was gone there wasn't much for war which led to longer life spans for the ninja. Every so often, people would see him and begin to whisper to each other about the return of the lone Uchiha. Sasuke wasn't stupid; he could see it from the corner of his eyes. Whether the chatter around town was positive or negative, he could care less. Regardless, he was the topic and that's just how he wanted it to be.
Although he felt bitter, Sasuke also felt a sense of nostalgia as he made his way from the crowded markets to the outskirts. His sense of anger and irritableness towards Konoha was strange. He wasn't sure why he felt it, but there did always need to be a reason. It could be from the way they treated him after the Uchiha's massacre; hiding facts and seemingly sweeping everything under the rug. Or it could also be just be because everyone around him had flourished and become something great and here he was… a 23 year old Genin. He had heard through the grapevine of Naruto's internship through Tsunade. It was a kind of jealousy that he never thought he'd feel again for his former team mate.
Of course even Sasuke couldn't deny that a lot of attention was focused on Naruto. He had felt some jealousy, but it had never been this overwhelming. For some time, Sasuke felt like his revenge was going nowhere. It took a lot of dedication and blood on his hands to finally get a hold of his brother. It was worth it, but it also left an empty feeling in his chest. He didn't want to think that maybe his revenge was pointless as it didn't bring back his family. It also didn't get rid of the constant loneliness. For so long, it was his only goal and his only thoughts. Years upon years he drilled in his own brain that he had to kill to regain his own sense of worth. Sasuke wouldn't even admit it to himself that perhaps it was wrong.
The old loft he used to call home was coming into view and it looked a little more worn down than when he had left it. He followed the wood steps up to the entrance and Sasuke had to smirk. The door knob was much further down than he remembered. As a 13 year old boy, everything had been different than it was now. Those thoughts only went further as he recalled more than he intended to such as burned bridges and old relationships. A frown replaced his smirk as he shoved those memories away and pushed through the door. Just as he suspected, cobwebs had over run the entire apartment. Otherwise, things were just the way they were so long ago.
Throwing his bag onto the bed, Sasuke walked through a dusty apartment and over to the dresser where he saw a photo frame lying face down. A millisecond of the memory screeched in his mind and without hesitating, he took the frame and shoved it in a drawer. The past was done. It was another chapter, signed and dated at the bottom that he no longer cared to remember. After dwelling for so long on old memories and feelings, Sasuke decided it was time to start fresh and look forward towards the future and how he would jump the ranks at the Village of the Hidden Leaf.