My One In A Million

Chapter Twenty-Three:

The village looked the same, sounded and smelled the same, it felt different.

People looked at her with wide eyes and open mouths, stared at the men and women who accompanied her from the gates to the hospital with curiosity and followed them with whispered half-truths and biased opinions.

She forgave them when they gossiped about her, the strange part was how she took it personally when they gossiped about him.

It seems the news of their elopement reached the village before they could, a mere two hours after being found.

Sasuke refused to be checked up by anyone before Hinata was, and he refused to be separated from her no matter what. At first it sounded like he was being childish and overprotective, but the wary glances of the hospital staff made her aware of the possibility that there might be orders from higher up. People were anxious about their lengthy absence, insecure about her affiliation with the distrustful Uchiha, and on some militarist level: suspicious of their interrupting of a plan they shouldn't have known about.

A lot of people aren't buying their excuses, and several shinobi were briefed that it had been an abduction, it would take time and vigilance to slip out of this one…

The glances they shared in the empty exam room spoke volumes, but in this stifling silence she could only think of one question. "What do we tell them?"

"Hm?"

She swung her feet over the edge of the high examination table to distract herself from the growing tension. "Are we going to confirm our papers?"

"Saa…" The boy's shrug was light unlike the tight knot of his brows and the down turned curve on his mouth.

Oh… Maybe he didn't want to be with her after all.

She did hit him in the chin very hard…

Then again he seemed to be convinced of her betrayal so certainly that he showed her what it would be like if he treated her the same way he treated strangers and enemies.

It wasn't a nice thing to experience, not at all.

"What if they ask about it?" Her hand landed on her chest, "The jutsu…"

"Nobody will, it's no longer there. I doubt anyone would have sensed it anyway, Karen was the only one who could and I copied it off her with the Sharingan. A failure…?" He paused for a moment in consideration, "I asked Naruto, he says no one disappeared or died here, not a single person. I'll go later to check on that Cloud nin who died in intelligence, I suspect he was the puppet master that messed things up in the Rain. The synchronized timing is suspicious, and now I'll know what technique I'm looking for."

She nodded once, embarrassed that he was busy thinking up reasons to get back to work when her whole thought process was full of bridal anxieties. "How does it even work? The technique?"

"Beats me. All I know is that if the parasite dies, problems get solved. Kabuto already died in the war, why did he have to leave unfinished jutsu here and there? Annoying…"

Sakura slid the door open to the chaos outside and shut it loudly, cutting off the chatter like turning off a sprinkler. "Good morning! Sasuke kun, Hinata chan, I'm glad you're both alright! The news made it sound awful but you look totally fine!" She offered the girl a gentle hug and smiled at the passive boy. "Naruto tells me you got married! Is it true?!"

Hinata hoped the composed boy would offer some insight, he left her to fend for herself. "Father doesn't know yet, so I'd rather not discuss it before we talk to him."

The oblivious doctor nodded her understanding. "Of course. Now let me see, are you hurt anywhere?"

With a gentle shake of the head she apologized, "I'm sorry, I feel fine. Hanabi insisted I get checked up and she wouldn't let me go back home until I did."

"That was a good call, your chakra is slightly unstable." After ticking a few boxes on her clipboard, Sakura set it aside and pulled on a pair of gloves with a menacing snap. She examined eyes, ears, mouth, listened to heartbeat and held her wrist to read vitals. She spoke halfway through healing the pulled muscle in her leg, "So, don't you want to hear about Ino's wedding that you missed? Neji told me you didn't like the dress but was it really worth skipping town for?"

Hinata hid her smile with a dirty sleeve, grateful for the attempt to break the tension. "Is she happy?"

"Yeah, she's exhausted but she's happy. All that stress was worth it, the ceremony was breathtaking! I was worried there for a sec, I don't know how I'll ever top it, and then Naruto comes back saying he wants to be married by next month! I don't know if I should kiss him or kick him." Sakura grinned at the noticeable lift in the patient's morale. "Sai made a few portraits of the ceremony, so let's look through them together when you feel like it, alright?"

"I'd like that."

Sakura chatted absently as she filled up data in the chart. "A girl's gotta celebrate her wedding however she likes, you know. It's only once so might as well make it memorable."

"What are you insinuating?" Sasuke scowled from his side of the room.

"Uh!? Nothing! I was talking about girls in general, you know. If she wants a quiet wedding she should have that, if she wants an elaborate wedding she should have that! One month isn't enough to plan a wedding, especially not a future Hokage's, so maybe I got no choice but to have a big ceremony like Ino. At the same time I understand how you'd wanna avoid all that and just get it over with. I support you, is what I'm saying, even if others are skeptical about it!"

Hinata smiled at the stiff interaction. Sakura was a prominent female figure in Sasuke's life, she was his friend and teammate and war buddy, perhaps at some point even a love interest. It wasn't clear how he felt about it, but to see the woman who spent a good decade of her life expressing undying love to this boy, it was noble of her to support him about someone else. "I think it's more important to worry about what comes after the wedding than the ceremony itself, ne?"

Sakura grinned, grateful for the distraction. "Yeah, of course! That's super important!" Her grin shifted only a fraction, just enough to be suggestive. "I take it you got that outta the way, hmm? Are you sore anywhere in particular?"

"Ehh? N- No!" Hinata hid her blush behind her hands and looked away. "I meant- being happy together and- and talking things through as adults! Why do your thoughts have to go there right away?"

"Heeeh? So you haven't gotten it out of the way!" Sakura chuckled and shot the scowling boy a knowing look. "Sasuke kun, you're actually very patient with her, aren't you?!"

"Whatever, are we done? I need a shower."

"Ahahaha! Alright, then, just one last exam." The medic nonchalantly zipped down Hinata's jacket and placed her palm on the shirt, right between the girl's breasts, feeling for that familiar gathering of dead tissue and fluid around the fragile heart. Her concentration distracted her from the horrified look the girl sent the Uchiha who clenched his jaws. "Whoa, I've never seen a condition bounce back so fast! I don't know if it's because I haven't checked in so long or if it's an actual miracle!" Sakura gasped at the feedback, the heart was strong and the tissue around it had become tender and raw which would allow it to heal in all the right spots. "And here I thought you were absolutely dead back in the coliseum! Just as expected from my muse, the strong-willed Hinata!"

Hinata pushed away from the surprise hug to look at Sakura in confusion. "You mean the injury in the chuunin exam with Neji nii?"

"After! After!" Sakura smiled wide, "You don't remember? When you passed out when Naruto was in the arena I thought you were a goner! Some ANBU medic showed up to help because back then I didn't know any healing jutsu, and there weren't any other healers around to help. You almost died and he saved you with just a small jutsu, I was like: ohhhh I want to be able to do that! So when Tsunade sama offered to teach me I couldn't wait to get started! You're the reason I decided to become a medic!"

"Really?" She'd woken up in a hospital, but wasn't that because they were attacked? "It wasn't because I got hurt in the Sound invasion? I don't remember most of it, just the chaos and Third's funeral."

Sakura zipped up the jacket and pulled off the gloves, "Hmm? Now that you mention it, those guys attacked about that time… No, I clearly remember it was right before it all happened! I even looked for the guy in the chaos to help with others who got injured, I wanted to thank him and maybe learn a thing or two from him, but I never saw him again. It doesn't help that he wore a mask…"

Sasuke shared his opinion again, this time with less anger. "It's protocol not to let ANBU healers wear masks, they could easily be impersonated otherwise."

"I don't remember…!" Hinata looked between the two. "Sakura chan, you never told me!"

Sakura shrugged. "Well, it never came up!"

"So it… It could have been anyone under that mask!"

The boy's voice dropped down an octave, the buzzing of his chakra simmered down. "And nobody would have a clue."

The doctor would never know why that spurred her patient into launching herself into the boy's arms, all she knew was if she ever doubted this unlikely pair had any real feelings to each other, seeing them share a tender moment removed any traces of it.

Maybe not everyone's love life had to be jewelry boxes and fireworks, Sakura thought, maybe she and Naruto could elope and just focus on being happy, too…

It was Sasuke who barged into her father's study, she was the one to flinch. Neji and Hanabi who brought them to the Hyuuga main house decided to wait outside and eavesdrop through the thin sliding doors –for their personal safety.

They came here straight from the hospital, dirt, sweat and all. "Father, I apologize for the delay, I was escorted to the hospital even after I told Hanabi I didn't need it." She bowed her head until her forehead touched the backs of the hands she lay flat on the floor. "Please understand this is the best outcome possible."

Sasuke didn't bow or apologize, "You can see she's alive and sane, can I go now?"

Hiashi released a breath through his teeth and set aside whatever he had been reading to fix them with a direct stare. "Are you well?"

Hinata smiled, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'm great, better than I've ever been! Sakura chan said even my old injury is clearing, I don't know why but I do find it easier to breathe!"

Father nodded his understanding and turned frosty eyes to the young man. "Pulling off something like this to have it your way was dishonorable of you. I hope you have a good excuse."

Sasuke had seated himself on a cushion next to her, he sat comfortably with an elbow over his knee as he joined the Hyuuga in an unblinking staring contest. "She was an easy target."

Hiashi sat behind his desk looking quite exhausted, his thoughts unreadable. His hair was nice and straight albeit peppered with more white hairs than he had days ago, it was obviously his face that had grown a few years older. It was almost saddening to watch the effect of stress on so proud a man.

Hiashi's knobby hands shook slightly as he took a sip from the cup at his side, appearing nonchalant about the whole affair. "Was there consummation?"

"Yes." Sasuke said without hesitation.

Hinata gasped and repeated the word "No!" in so many varying nuances with so many facial expressions it was impossible even for the Uchiha to keep a straight face.

"Pfft… Alright, he gets it."

Fact 1: She can say no to him.

"That is great news to me," Hiashi said with carefully-masked relief, "It means you can be separated with minimal damage."

Sasuke made a sudden movement which got the occupants of the room and several ones outside it to be on the alert. It would have looked like a sword-drawing pose if he had brought his katana with him, now he was just baring a knee with one of his sleeves rolled up. "Does this look like minimal damage to you?" His arm sported a nebula of blown chakra points, now greenish blue and beginning to heal, and his shin that peeked between the cuff of pants and sandal was equally bruised where she kicked him with her bare heel. "You're delusional if you think she needs saving. An idiot if you can't see she's letting you push her around."

Fact 2: She hit one of the craziest ninja in the neighborhood and got away with it.

"What happened?"

The two shared an uncomfortable look.

"Just a light spar." "It was a misunderstanding…"

Hinata stopped biting her lips and broke the tense silence that followed, knowing for sure that her father was listing his options to dispose of the Uchiha. "Father… Will I be disowned?"

"It is difficult to disown someone who already left the family registry." a few wrinkles around his eyes deepened, a secret smile. "Unless you haven't really signed anything…?" His eyes might seem blank but they took in every little detail, the surprise, the questioning facial expression, the tones of voice; they had a telepathic thing going on. The casual way the boy handed her a tissue box like he'd read her mind was both irritating and remarkable; neither spoke in favor or against.

Fact 3: They did not really run away to get married, nor were they officially registered anywhere, but the prospect of it was a better alternative to whatever real reason they've escaped the village.

He was in charge of the situation now, he could steer it in any direction he wanted with a few simple words: to let her go with the Uchiha meant a troublesome life because they were both rebellious in their own ways, then again he was a worrier, she could be married to a flower pot and he'd still lose sleep over it. To take her back would mean they'd dodged a bullet as a noble family, but his righteous daughter might feel the choice was made in her stead, especially if she had any actual feelings for the frigid boy.

Having an Uchiha son in law, though, after so many generations of keeping all branches of dojutsu separate… It would require updating the rules, upsetting several elders and endless meetings with accountants.

Ibiki had spoken to him in the short hour that took for them to visit the hospital, and as furious as he had been about the news, he'd had enough time to think it through and decide it could be salvaged as long as nobody had gotten hurt.

It was decided to let everything run it's current course with as little interference as possible, that way the whole event will be set aside in the news and gossip as a silly teenager's show of commitment, while keeping the actual attempted kidnapping to be easily managed behind closed doors through the proper political channels.

For now, it was convenient to pretend not to have been in on it, even if he was one of the main players. Hinata was supposed to come here for the party and Sasuke was supposed to go home to who they assumed was his girlfriend. It had been planned to involve Hanabi who was stronger and more likely to follow orders to the death, she was the second daughter and even if women were not branded with the branch family seal, it could be negotiated if things didn't turn out well. The secrets of the Byakugan would be protected, at least, and no lives would be lost.

But this… It was not the plan, Nara Shikamaru was mildly annoyed even if on some absentminded level he'd seen it coming. To Hiashi it was an acceptable outcome just as much as the next.

Hinata and Hanabi were alive and safe, was it really necessary to enforce one of two options on the daughter he just barely got back?

She would go away no matter what he chose, so he decided on the third option: maybe he was too biased and under-informed of the whole situation, he'd spent so much of his time trying to make sure the Uchiha was keeping a safe distance that he couldn't see it was his daughter drawing near.

So he called in the cousin and sister. "What do you think?"

They both sat with their backs set straight and their eyes carefully neutral. Hanabi spoke first. "About what, exactly?"

"This whole elopement business, for starters." He could push them a little notch or two, just to test it out, just for kicks.

Because I'll be damned if I handed her away without a fight!

Hanabi shot a glance at Hinata who dodged it by rearranging her hair and making sure her tissues were folded into perfect squares, next her pleading gaze was turned to Neji who spoke calmly to the fists he set on his knees. "Hinata sama expressed to me how comfortable she is in his presence, and when I asked immediate associates, they said Uchiha san seems to treat her fairly well, different than the way he interacts with others he is not on friendly terms with."

Hanabi nodded in agreement, having witnessed both his kind and evil sides firsthand. Neji continued regardless of the other boy's insulted sneer. "However I cannot claim it to only mean romantic attraction, or accept it as a reason to rush into a complex relationship such as marriage. If Sasuke kun was spontaneous about some things, I assure you they are both rational individuals. I find it difficult to take this grave situation at face value without knowing the details. For starters, who did they kidnap, if not Hinata sama?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "A girl named Karin, ask Ibiki about her, it's not the first time she gets into something like this."

"I see… Why would she impersonate a Hyuuga?"

Irritated with the interrogation, Sasuke straightened and fixed the young man with a glare. "Look, I was busy somewhere else. You can discuss it with the commander over coffee and cake if that's your thing."

"Indeed, he will be visiting tomorrow to explain the situation in an official meeting," Hiashi offered, "There will be tea and dinner. You are welcome to join if you wish."

Sasuke's arch of the brow was simultaneous to Hinata's wary averting of the eyes, he relaxed just enough to convince them of his disinterest. "I'd rather catch up on sleep, actually."

The younger ones seemed to be thoroughly convinced that the Hyuuga clan really didn't know about any of the Cloud –and intelligence's- plans. Ibiki was good at what he did, he must be trying to keep the whole thing under wraps by promoting the elopement charade to the public to keep a tight lid on information.

If Hanabi heard bits and pieces or she was informed of the situation on their way to the safe house, she was smart enough to keep her assumptions to herself until she had enough to construct a reasonable theory.

Or maybe she was bottling it up for when she had him in private.

This was going to be a long day.

The youngest had to cut through the tension in the air when it dulled to an awkward kind of expectant silence. "Him I understand, he was always looking at you. It bugged me when I thought I liked him because he wouldn't notice me at all when you're there. What I don't get is you running away to get married to him, weren't you all about Naruto?"

"Naruto kun has made his decision a long time ago…"

"Really? I thought that kind of rejection would just fire you up more!" the youngest smiled wickedly, "Then again you always got sick if this guy did something stupid, it should've been the first clue!"

"That's not true!" Hinata gushed with a bright blush. "It- that was a cold!"

"Ooh? And that time you said you heard a girl in his apartment? You got sick for two weeks straight!"

"That- maybe it was the stomach bug…?" Her diminishing defense was unconvincing, as if she herself had only noticed it now. Slowly, she wrung the tissue this way and that in hesitation, and when nobody said any more embarrassing things, she had to ask. "Am I being interrogated to decide a punishment?"

Losing one member of his family to spare the name of the clan was already too high a price to pay, Hiashi did not plan on making a tradition out of it. "Hinata san, I may not understand the situation completely, I can see there are things you cannot reveal and I hope one day you will confide in me. But know this: you will always be my daughter. You and your sister's happiness comes first, no matter what anybody else demands. You will not be punished for trying to find happiness, I will not allow it."

Her forehead touched her knuckles again, the gratitude poured with tears of happiness. "Thank you, father! I appreciate it, I really do!"

The study became quiet and several eyes turned away from the crying Hyuuga to offer her some means of privacy, the Uchiha was stiff as a sword, impatience rolled off him in waves.

The clan leader knew that the boy wanted to go, but things needed to be settled now once and for all. The only problem was that a part of him was sure if he brought it up, it will not end in his favor. He'd watched his daughters speak about Uchiha Sasuke regularly over dinner, while they put their sandals on in the genkan, sometimes even during entertaining events when they thought nobody was listening. This was the first time he'd been in the same room with all three of them together.

Their interactions were definitely eye-opening.

Even when the youngest was open about her crush for as long as it lasted, she was reluctant to act upon it. While the eldest who was shy and reserved somehow managed to accept him in her life just as simply she accepted the handful that was Uzumaki Naruto.

Hanabi was easy to reign in, she had no secrets and sought him out for advice all the time, he knew everything about Hanabi. Hinata, on the other hand, doesn't even realize how independent she'd become.

Naruto might have taught her how to be brave for others, which was great for a community-oriented clan. Sasuke was teaching her how to be brave for herself, and that's a traditional father's living nightmare.

"What will you do?" He finally asked the couple wriggling impatiently on their numb legs.

"Eh? About what?" Hinata looked everywhere but at his face.

He would have assumed she was really naive and clueless, but now, after everything, he was convinced that she was observant and quick, and was simply reluctant to be the first one to partake in a life-changing conversation. Even the Uchiha rolled his eyes like this trait bothered him just as much. It was infuriating how well this kid knew his sweet little girl when he himself had trouble wrapping his head around her. "I can clearly see you've had no intention to be married until very recently, so now that it is fact, I can only assume you plan to either go through with it, or live separately and hope no one will point it out. So I am asking you: What will you do?"

"Oh…" the tissue in her hand was twisted mercilessly as she considered, eventually addressing the boy to her side when it looked like the staring contest between him and the other occupants of the room would not answer anything. "As for me, I will keep my word. Sasuke, you are free to decide on what you want."

Hinata, she...

Dear lord.

She'd grown. The little red newborn he'd held in his hands yesterday was now a strong woman who stood on her two feet and held her ground. The little girl he'd thought fragile and useless was now beating up legendary shinobi and bringing them home like injured pets. For years he'd thought she was too weak to achieve anything, and here she is discussing a husband of her choosing right before his eyes.

The boy's general behavior had improved noticeably as well, the first time he was here he'd been snappish, conceited, and had refused to involve himself with the clan and village in any shape or form. Now he had unknowingly –or perhaps knowingly- prevented the sorrows of the past from ever repeating themselves by pointing the blame in the right direction. Those previously haunted eyes were now sharp with clarity, he was behaving himself like a proper adult because she was here. He could have refused to come back to the village and rode a hawk into the horizon, but he came back to be by her side.

Literally and figuratively.

A lesser man would hit and run, but to have ran and returned without seizing the chance to be a hormonal teenager earned him a second thought.

Mother had prayed that night when Hinata was born and named, that she would grow up to be a gentle and warm figure in the life of those around her, a sunny spot in someone's cold darkness. And here she was, his baby girl, being exactly that, even when mother was no longer here to see it.

Fact 4: Father has already lost.

Everyone in that room was aware that whatever it is Sasuke had to say would tip the scale to one side or the other, it all depended on the words that would leave his mouth next.

What he ended up saying was surprisingly cryptic. "When it's like this, is it freedom at all?"

Hinata woke up the next morning with the heaviness of dread weighing her down through the morning routine. She'd spent the night at the family house, the whole of yesterday was spent being examined by the family doctor and catered to by old and compassionate matrons and greeting the many torrents of friends and business partners who came to congratulate.

Today was supposed to be an empty schedule, it was supposed to be her honeymoon, but Sasuke was no where in sight.

He was gone the moment father's study door was opened, and hadn't come back since.

The last thing he spoke was both critical and dismissive, and up until now she hadn't had a free moment to find him and demand an explanation.

Did he want to be free of her? After everything they didn't say at the vacation house?

Maybe it offended him when she spoke in a superior tone about having made her mind, maybe it made him think his opinion didn't make much of a difference to her after everything because of the way she said it.

She didn't mean it that way, she just wanted to take the pressure off...

She hadn't slept well, everyone could see that she was pale and lethargic and unapologetically distracted. Shower and blow-dry went by in a blur, and breakfast was tasteless despite the chef's enthusiasm and creativity.

Before she could snap out of it she was at the apartment complex, but he wasn't there. He wasn't at the office, either. Before she could activate her Byakugan and scan the village or manually search in all the places he could have gone to, the secretary of HR told her the Hokage wanted to speak to both of them if they showed up for work.

It wasn't possible that he would be there, he'd been eager to get back to work so he must have seen the old lady yesterday already. Still, she brushed down any snowy hairs, wet her dry lips and pushed through the heavy double doors of Tsunade's office.

"Ah, Hinata chan!" Tsunade grinned and nodded for Naruto to go ahead with whatever documents he had in his hands. "Come on in, have a seat!"

"Yo, Hinata chan! You look a little under the weather, everything alright?"

The current Hokage cleared her throat, "Naruto, be nice."

"I am nice! I just got worried there for a second, that's all!"

Hinata smiled as best she could, she never liked it when she was the center of attention, and having Naruto finally admit to worrying about her was too much to handle right now. "I'm good."

"Great, see! No harm done!" The boy patted her on the back with the folder as he headed out, "Take care of yourself, alright? Go on a fancy honeymoon or something, pull that stick outta his ass while you're down there!"

"Naruto I swear!" Tsunade thundered as the boy cackled and shut the door behind him for safe measures. "Huff, it's a hundred years too early for that kid to wear the hat. Relax, dear, sit down."

"Thank you." Hinata relaxed her posture and eased into one of the large leather seats on either side of the desk.

"How are you doing, health wise? Sakura tells me your condition is getting better?"

Tsunade was at some point highly invested in trying to cure her because it wasn't like any other condition she'd seen before. After a few months of stability and no answer on the horizon, they got busy with more pressing matters. Maybe she thought it was incurable, or maybe she thought it was a jutsu she could crack which turned out to be a normal occupational hazard incurable with ninja techniques.

Hinata didn't know, what she knew was that if she wanted to stay out of trouble, nobody needed to know about the situation of her heart.

Unless Sakura had told her more than she let on… Did the medic put two and two together? Was her coded conversation with Sasuke in that examination room too obvious?

Were they already under watchful eyes? Is that why Sasuke disappeared?

"I'm good." She spoke breathlessly, cringing inwardly at how she repeated herself like a stupid head. "I can breathe even if it's a little cold, but I'm still a little tired." For more reasons than one.

"I see." For a nerve-wracking moment the lady just stared with those piercing honey eyes like she was hoping for more, and then she leaned back in her expensive seat and tapped finely painted nails on the wooden desktop. "She also told me you got married? To Uchiha Sasuke? What's that all about?"

Oh no… "W- we've been engaged for a long time, is it really a surprise?"

"It is, actually." She chuckled, "You're a sweet girl, I don't blame him for falling for you. Why would you agree, though? I thought he was the farthest from a nice guy?"

"Is there a problem, ma'am?" She tried not to recoil too obviously, she really did. "I- I don't understand why you're asking me these questions…"

The Hokage's laid back attitude gave way to the seriousness she'd held at bay when she thought she could charm the girl off. "It's about Uchiha Sasuke. He chose you out of everyone else, you, the daughter of the one family he hates the most. You know his ins and outs and you know what ticks him off and what keeps him sane. Up until you showed up in his peripheral vision we had to think up ways to keep him sedated. Boring jobs, repetitive paperwork, even allowed him to destroy the abandoned fields to vent off. He was a ticking seal and you disabled it, I don't really care what you did to make him that way, but I want you to keep at it."

They want her to babysit Uchiha Sasuke? But why?

"I don't understand… If we're already together, what are you asking of me?"

Tsunade smiled tightly, "I'm not asking anything," not officially, "I just think you should know the important role you play in the safety of this village. He is a great asset to the force, and there will be a time when he will be allowed to join the active dispatch ranks like everyone else. He's unstable, you know he is, all I'm hoping for is for you to give him a reason to stay. If not, at least give us a heads up just so we're ready."

There were many things wrong with what was just said, mainly that they assumed they were in command of his actions at all. Uchiha Sasuke was not like 'everyone else', he was not a timed seal that needed tearing apart, he was a human being who was betrayed by everyone he trusted.

Even after everything, he still held on to hope that somewhere out there, someone was still worth trusting, and that's the purest of heart anyone could ever be.

"Is that what you say to every new bride?" She asked gently, picking at imaginary dirt under her nails.

Tsunade was startled with the sudden sarcasm, or was it displeasure? Was the sweet Hyuuga really capable of negative emotions? "Well… Not really. I'd say it to Sakura but she already knows what she's getting into, and Naruto isn't likely to go godmode on us. Congratulations, by the way, I hadn't actually said it."

With a quiet intake of breath, Hinata looked up and smiled. "Thank you, Hokage sama. But I don't think it's fair of you to do this to him, not when you let them pass the order to discard him when he was sick. Not when you know the whole story about what happened the last few days. Not when you know what his life had been like because of orders like this." the blurry barrier was confined to her eyelids, she was still in the safe. "So please don't ask me to repeat the vicious cycle we just barely broke, I know you mean well and I would never allow anyone to harm the village, but don't you think he always makes himself out to be the bad guy because you treat him like nothing else?" the tears remained stubborn on her lashes when she set her head high, the Hokage was displeased but speechless. "Please set him free, that is everything he needs. He will never disappoint you if you just trust him."

Two floors down the Hokage tower where she spent two hours describing the situation to an archives script writer, his voice pushed that reset button at the center of her ribcage.

Like a cat straining to hear that feint sound again, she found herself abandoning her mission to find the exit and followed an invisible trail to the office of one Morino Ibiki. Both men made her heart beat, one out of relief and the other out of pure horror.

Were they interrogating Sasuke again? Was he hurt? Did they use coercion to extract information the way they did last time?

She wasn't on speaking terms with him when that went on, but it bothered her on a moral level that people she trusted with her safety would do that to one of their own.

She'd been told it was necessary, she'd heard there was no other choice and she allowed herself to be persuaded into accepting it.

Now that he stood before her, whole and without injury, she realized it was never okay, it was never necessary and someone should have supported him through it if not stopped it.

The strong façade she'd been wearing all the way down the elevator and through the offices broke all in one go, and she stood there in front of two startled -and fairly uncomfortable- shinobi, crying like a little girl who got lost in the night parade.

Behind her hands she had no way of telling which one had left the room, and a part of her was too scared to look up and find it had been the boy she'd spent the whole morning searching for.

The gentle scent of campfire wrapped around her before his arms did, they were both strangers to physical affection, it was unfamiliar territory and she didn't know if he was apologizing for not meeting her until now, or if he was trying to pacify her long enough to tell her they banished him or something.

He didn't say anything, and slowly she came to the realization that he'd been like this since she announced they were getting married. Her quiet hiccups instantly shifted to a quiet laugh and she looked up, glad for the heavenly inspiration that would save her from this anxiety once and for all. "You don't have to marry me if that's what's bothering you, I don't mind!"

The discomfort on his face and the words he'd prepared on his lips gathered into a tight scowl. "Who did you talk to?"

Blink. Blink. "I'm talking to you…?"

"Before coming here." His lips pressed together in suppressed anger, the same face he made every time she smiled to him across the street on those bad days.

"Tsuande sama…?"

"She told you to break it up? I'll barbeque that hag and feed her tongue to the pig." The morbid promises he mumbled as he headed to the door turned into a quiet grumble when the girl refused to let go of his arm.

"She didn't! Nobody did! You just- I know you don't want to, you always look at me with that angry face when I've done something wrong…"

"I was born with this face." The tightness between his brows and the straight line of his shoulders relaxed, she was fighting a laugh and if Hinata was laughing, there's still hope. "What did she say?"

"Well… She wanted me to keep an eye on you and report to them if you're up to no good…" He responded to her hushed words by leaning closer, and for a few shallow breaths she thought he was coming in for a kiss. The heat radiating off his skin distracted her long enough to be startled by his insulted reaction.

"What did you tell her?"

She opened her mouth, closed it, and then tried again. "Would you believe me either way?"

"I would." He quipped bitterly, "I don't like it, but I would. So choose your words carefully."

She smiled. "I don't have to, you know I'm not good with lies and mind games." Her shoulders shrugged in defeat when it seemed like he was still waiting for an answer. "I said no. You can believe me or not, I don't mind either way."

There goes that angry face again, except, maybe it wasn't an expression of anger at all.

He was thinking deeply about something, and that involved asking himself how he felt about it. It came naturally to her to separate her mind from her heart and evaluate things rationally, perhaps not everyone could do that on short notice.

she tried to help, knowing that if he told the truth, it might be the last thing they ever speak to the other. "Please just be honest, you can tell me anything. Why are you really upset?"

When he finally answered, he looked at her like she was a regretful purchase. "Look… That mission I gave you could have been pulled off with any Hyuuga, but I chose you because I thought I'd give you a chance to travel solo for a while, maybe you'll run around to find yourself or whatever. I didn't expect you to be chained down to me when we got back. I don't like the way it turned out this way, but I've been after you for –what, a year now? Don't use me as an excuse if you want to call it off, and if you really just don't mind then maybe I'm better off, too."

A sort of vacant void opened at two places at once, the first in her head, she had no more words to say because all she had now was a fluttery heart. The other void was his eyes, his expression was blank and emotionless, there was no way to tell if this was what he really wanted or if he was lying through his teeth to set her free. So she let her heart do the thinking since her mind was offline. "Actually… I do mind. I mind a lot. I just don't know what else to say for you to choose freely."

He sighed, frustrated, and the hair that danced around her face fascinated him. She caught herself hoping he would brush it back like he did those few times on windy days, or break under pressure and just kiss her; heck she'll take a lame joke or two as long as they didn't have to wait in silence for this stalemate to resolve itself.

He spoke first, quietly and matter-of-factly. "They've sacked me from HR and returned one of their guys to head office, but I think I did all I could already, so I'm not pushing it. I was just talking to Ibiki about a position in intelligence, they like the idea of someone who can extract information from the dead and it's not a bad deal either. I think old hag put him up to it, now that i think about it." He waited for a response but there wasn't one. "I won't make the angry face anymore, so if you're having second thoughts just say it. I'd rather not sign up for a long term contract if I'm not staying, and to tell the truth, I'm tired of chasing you."

For the third time now he'd said it, or rather, not said it.

He was only staying here for her, only her, and he was desperate for a solid confirmation.

It didn't help that those were the words he chose, they were the last thing he said to her before he disappeared into a coma, startling her into realizing that his absence from her life was very much noticeable.

She worried then, just as she did now, that maybe it was the wrong time, maybe he didn't mean it, maybe there was another possibility that wasn't them getting married for real.

The difference now is that she'd thought it was common sense to go through with it considering the situation, automatically like going to school and training for missions and learning first aid. She'd not fantasized about being his wife or even imagined what it would be like to actually live with him in his house, to eat with him every day and have him see the scars on her skin.

She was scared this time not because it was the legendary shinobi with a troublesome past she was marrying, but because there was no mistaking it now: there was no other possibility but him asking for her hand in marriage out of an informed and conscious decision.

It was completely different from Naruto. There were no fireworks in the sky with a dramatic violin soundtrack, there weren't hurdles to overcome to prove herself nor were there flashy declarations of eternal love at the end of the race track, definitely no pitiful antics to be noticed or the drastic measures she had to take to land a private conversation with the blond.

Uzumaki Naruto will always hold a special place in her heart, he will always be the best friend she could rely on, he will always be the boy who supported her when she had no one else, he will always, always, be her greatest motivator.

Sasuke, though…

He fit in her arms comfortably, but more than that, he fit into her life effortlessly; like water finding its way into every corner and dip without overflowing a single drop or stretching the container too thin.

It was about time to come clean, she was the one who was too scared to admit it.

They were already married. More married than those who wore rings and white dresses, more in tune with the other than those who'd had three sips of sake and thirty days of honeymoon in the Land of Tea.

Sasuke made actual effort to understand her by listening to what she said and asking about what she thought, he physically went into the women's romance novel isle in the bookstore just to experience firsthand why she enjoyed them, attended boring Hyuuga ceremonies for her and tolerated a sister who hated his guts without once asking for something in return.

He let her come into his house and make him food, he showed her sides of him nobody else would understand, and when life pulled them in opposite directions he always managed to find middle ground; an office or an apartment building or a small secluded booth in a quiet teashop.

When her family and friends assumed, he asked straight out. When the others told her what to do, he asked what she wanted to do. When she was trapped he offered her an exit, he always found her a way out, even now he was willing to let her go if marrying him felt like a trap.

He wanted to be with her but only if she wanted it too, not for her reputation or honor, not even for the greater good of the village.

Right here, right now, the thought of being with him didn't come to her as vividly as it did other possible candidates, yet it was, strangely and unexpectedly, not as debilitating as if he had been some arranged aristocrat's son.

She'd never looked forward to normal things while thinking of herself as married, there were always expectations and standards and so little time. She'd been willing to cast aside her hobbies for a busy social schedule in another land, to hide herself from a husband who had little tolerance to humor her fascination with dead flowers or her tendency to pause during every walk to meow at stray cats. Even neglecting her training and personal ambitions to raise strong healthy children didn't sound too far of a stretch.

She didn't fantasize about it, that was fact, but wasn't it because she was already living it? Buying bread together in the store, being told that shade of lipstick was unflattering, talking about children and paperwork and family members who were never coming back.

It wasn't that there was no other option, it wasn't that Naruto was no longer available; she loved Uchiha Sasuke.

It was different and a lot of people will not understand, but it was love nonetheless.

"I'm free?" Her whisper caused him to look away and make that face again, taking her question for a declaration of finality.

…It wasn't anger on his face, now that she could see it up close.

It was pain.

He was in pain when they were apart, he was in pain when she cried, he was in pain all those times he held her gaze and told her to leave him alone.

"Mm." With that he released the breath he'd been holding and headed stiffly for the door.

"So I can be selfish now?" she held his hand in hers, smiling when their eyes met. "Can I tell you not to go?" Her other hand found his tight fist, she had to peek under the curtain of his fringe to find his glowering face. "Can I hug you whenever I want? Can I kiss you without asking for permission?"

If anything, that brought him even more anguish, evident in the lines around his mouth he inherited from his father. "I can't tell anymore if you're teasing or not. Just spit it out."

She didn't have to hide the thin stream of happy tears that washed away the traces of the sad ones, she didn't have to hide anything from him. "Please stay and let me be selfish for a little bit more. Please give me lots of hugs and kisses, too. I'll rub your back and wear a ring if you want, but I'm free to do what I want so maybe I'll take the ring off when I'm washing dishes." Her hands found his face to brush away too-long clumps of fringe. "Please marry me, Uchiha Sasuke. Please allow me to be happy."

"You're merciless." Was what he said, but then he kissed her so many times it didn't matter what words he used, he loved her and it showed; and that was enough.