Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi and the other various companies that own the distribution rights. I'm just pretending that I'm allowed to play with these toys.
I was determined to post this in honor of the Sasuhina month going on over on Tumblr.
Enjoy!
oOo
Bushido virtue: Righteousness
Kouki's injuries delayed them for a week and a half. Hinata attended him faithfully, but they had to move him before she deemed prudent. Her medical supplies were surprisingly extensive, but they only had so much food and hunting lizards and wildfowl could hardly cover the needs of six adults.
Their new campsite was perfect for a convalescing warrior. They traveled far enough that the flora and fauna returned. It was close to a water source, medicinal plants that Hinata needed and defensible from both wild animals and enemies. Four more days of travel and they would finally be in Fire Country. Even the clearing had thick and verdant grass for the horses.
Sasuke had been sent out with very specific notes on what they needed to scavenge. Tenten decided to be his escort.
Apparently, she wanted to gossip.
"I think he's faking it." Tenten asserted.
Sasuke said nothing. He did not want to encourage her talking. Unfortunately, she knew he was a captive audience and barreled on.
"I mean, who wouldn't want someone doting over them like that?" Tenten shrugged, sticking her fingers deep into peat moss trying to find the main root of a tall, leafy plant. "But if it was us, we would have pushed on."
Sasuke could not help himself. Tenten was a bad influence on him. "Even with a hole in your stomach?" He prodded.
This unleashed a new landslide of words. She was smiling and Sasuke suspected she knew what he was doing. "You of all people cannot be defending the limits of mere mortals. He's a warrior, dammit, he's had worse. Man up."
Sasuke inspected the leaves of a nearby fern. Their leaves were so tiny. Was this really what Hinata wanted?
"He doesn't want to reach Konoha." Sasuke murmured.
Tenten stuttered to a stop. "What?"
"The way he looks at her. He doesn't want to let her go."
She fell back onto her heels and squinted up into the tree canopy. This forest extended into the Land of Earth, reaching almost to Konoha. It reminded them both of home. Lapsing into silence, Tenten worked as she considered his observation.
"Why would she come with us if she had a sweetheart in the Land of Iron?" She finally asked.
Sasuke flexed the shoulder that Hinata insisted on bandaging with a salve, despite the fact that it was closing up nicely. Never once did Sasuke think she babied Kouki more than she babied all of them.
Tenten picked up on it quickly. "She doesn't act like she likes him more than anyone else." She hissed as thorns from a nearby bush pricked her elbow. She studied her sleeve to make sure the fabric was still intact before diving back in. "Oh damn. Who's she gonna to marry in the village? A civilian? A nin? Help her if she wants to marry into a clan. She has no one to negotiate for her."
"She's an orphan." Sasuke cut her off. "She'll do what all of us have to do."
"As an heir to a clan, you're not just a common orphan." Tenten corrected.
A tiny smirk reached his lips. "A poor clan."
"True. Who's going to want you now?" She leaned close, teasing. "At least if you were rich, you'd be a rich former terrorist. The number of your stalkers is going to plummet."
He shrugged. "Heartbreaking."
Her laughter startled a flock of birds out of a nearby tree.
oOo
Soon, Kouki recovered enough to sit upright in a saddle and they were off. They all slowly developed routines of living with each other on the road. Kouki stayed close to Hinata but Hinata did her best to pay attention to everyone, flitting from person to person like a hummingbird. With another female to talk to, Tenten left Sasuke alone a little more. Which suited him. Her increasing familiarity was uncomfortable for someone who was only used to women either obsessing over him or hating him. He did not want to tip her in any direction.
Also, for Kakashi's part, Sasuke had spotted Arata sneaking glances out of a certain adult novel. Perverts attracted other perverts maybe?
Either way, Sasuke was comfortable enough to know that no one was going to slit his throat in his sleep. (Kouki might have wanted to but Hinata would not have let him.) The sleep Sasuke got underneath the stars was some of the best of his life. No dreams, no difficulty breathing. Just fresh air and the openness of the outdoors and the slight freedom it afforded him.
When they rode into Konoha it felt like he was willingly returning to his cage.
oOo
"You look better than when you left." Jugo observed quietly.
Sasuke let his eyes roam the room. Anger simmered and he did not want to be reminded of the secrets Konoha was hiding from him. Instead, he tried to find any changes. The matrons had let Jugo paint the walls a sunflower yellow. Not Sasuke's first choice, but it was not about him, now was it? Succulents and colorful, polished rocks adorned the windowsill and bookshelf. A handful of books filled the empty space between the decorations. Sasuke recognized most of the titles from his previous visits. An old-fashioned romance, where touching fingers to wrists was as scandalous as it got. An adventure, a book on gardening. The cookbook was new.
Jugo followed Sasuke's gaze. "I was thinking of learning to cook. Do you know how?"
Sasuke shifted in his chair. "I know enough." Orochimaru's facilities always had cooks, but the Snake Sannin liked to make Sasuke prepare meals at times. Probably to enjoy how obedient his potential host body was. Even before that, Sasuke lived alone and desperate times were the best teacher.
He changed the subject. "I'm thinking of burning down my house. Building a new one."
Jugo let the switch happen. "Do you know how to build a house?"
"No." Sasuke shrugged. "I can learn."
The bigger of the two men smiled. He was sitting cross legged on his bed, the mental ward cat dozing in the gap between his legs. "It could be fun…" He dipped his head but looked at Sasuke out from beneath his lashes. "Do you want to save anything from your house now?"
Sasuke grunted. Jugo was aiming to have a deeper conversation and apparently did not care about the subject. All of the personal possessions of his family had been moved up to the attic immediately after the massacre. The bloody tatami replaced. The only improvement he had done since moving back was burning the rotting linens and furniture. The house still slightly smelled of neglect. Mold in the walls was a real possibility.
Sasuke was not going to admit he was waiting to go through the attic until Jugo moved in. If Sasuke was going to exorcise ghosts, he wanted there to at least be someone to drag him back to reality. Or keep him from slitting his wrists.
Sasuke hissed. That was dark, even for him.
"I don't know yet." Sasuke answered through clenched teeth. "I know there's documents. History of our clan. We'll need that. When we submit your adoption through the council."
Jugo became so completely still that the cat jerked awake and nosed Jugo's leg in concern. "You'd… you still want to do that?"
Sasuke glowered. "Do you?"
Pink bloomed on Jugo's cheeks. "O-Of course. I meant it when I promised I'd stay by your side. But… you don't have to make me family."
Huffing, Sasuke looked away. "You're getting adopted into a pretty shit clan. We're poor and I'm a clan leader of nothing… but it's yours if you want it."
"I'd be honored." Jugo sounded close to tears. Then he added, more mischievously: "Uchiha-sama."
Sasuke leaned over and slapped the back of his friend's head. Hard.
Jugo giggled and clutched his head in pretend pain. The cat huffed, and after walking in a circle and a long stretch, settled back into a ball to sleep.
oOo
The Hokage summoned Sasuke into his office.
Every single time it was surreal experience. Maybe people had forgotten after the War how much they distained or ignored Naruto. But Sasuke remembered when people thought Naruto would stay dead last in everything.
When Sasuke entered, the Hokage looked up from his place at his desk. He smiled brightly, as if he was pleasantly surprised by this visit.
"Sasuke!" Naruto greeted, setting his pen down.
Sasuke nodded his hello, sitting down in a chair without being invited to first.
"I've got a meeting with Shikamaru in an hour and I need to have this all done." Naruto said apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck. Papers were scattered everywhere. "So, I'm going to have to say this then kick you out." He shrugged helplessly.
"Get to it then."
Naruto beamed once more, seeing that his friend wasn't offended. "Right. Well, Hinata. We've allocated her a cottage near the Nara forest." He paused to chuckle. "Mifune, that bastard, he knew what he was doing when it came to her. She worked in their greenhouses, growing plants and allocating them all over the city. She could tell us the exact amount of vegetables they grew, how much fruit a family could eat in a month. But nothing of use to us. She didn't know where the seeds came from. She didn't know what kind of food the barracks required." He threw up his hands.
"Mifune was preparing for her to come back then." Sasuke opined.
"I guess, yeah."
Two months in T&I and reintroduction. Not too bad. Much better than Jugo and he anyway.
"I need you to do something though, Sasuke." Naruto sobered. "Well not me, but Hinata needs you to do something."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
Naruto barreled on before he could lose his captive audience. "The Hyuga want to see her. They want to inspect her Caged Bird Curse Seal."
Sasuke blinked. So?
"Problem is, as I said before, Mifune's a sneaky bastard. They took off her seal. We don't even have a seal master and they were able to undo a Hyuga legend." Naruto exclaimed incredulously and threw himself back into his seat.
Sasuke blinked but this time in surprise. Yet, why was he supposed to care? It was easy to cotton on to what Naruto wanted. Their Hokage wanted another person to intervene where he could not. Only an ancient clan could intervene in the dealings of another.
"I talked to Tsunade. As I said, we don't have a seal master to consult, but if they try to reseal her… She could lose what's left of her eyesight. It could damage her chakra system. Worst case, kill her."
Sasuke let out a soft breath. "You want me to stand in as her clan head."
Naruto nodded. "She doesn't have anyone else."
And that was the problem. Sasuke was not interested in getting involved in clan politics. But she did not have anyone else to stand up for her. She was legally Sasuke's responsibility but he could bow out of this one. Her blood belonged to the Hyuga.
He understood what it meant to be alone. Naruto did too. But Naruto and Sasuke were strong enough to stand up for themselves now. Hinata was not. Neither was Jugo. Sasuke did not like the idea of caring for other people. As a child, he wanted to restore his clan. As an Avenger, he decided he could not have a family if others could rip it out of his hands. Now, the lives others were practically thrust into his hands.
He made his decision far more quickly than he liked. He would help. If she wanted it. There was a line he had to toe. He could not take over her personal autonomy in the name of protecting her.
Sasuke stood.
oOo
An hour later, Sasuke strode into the kitchen. Jugo was there, reading a recipe from his book and slowly mixing ingredients in a bowl. He looked up in surprise, then eyed the bags in Sasuke's hand.
Sasuke set them on the kitchen table, slowly taking different items out. The first was a paper bag of his mother's favorite loose leaf tea. He never had a preference, but this was the one she served to guests she liked so he supposed it would be good form to serve it.
They had an old, cast iron teapot but his cups were chipped and discolored from the abuse of years gone by. So, the next was a box of new cups. Another set of some dishes.
Sasuke held up a paper fan with a smirk to show Jugo. "Figured we were obligated to have these." Their stove was still a metal coil one, so they could actually put the fan to good use.
Seeing it as an invitation, Jugo put down his bowl and came close. "What's going on?" He opened the bags and inspected the vegetables and fruit. Pulling out a honeydew melon, he flicked it to hear how hollow it sounded.
"Remember Hinata?" Sasuke prompted even though he knew Jugo did. Continuing at the other man's nod, Sasuke said: "She's coming over at five. I'll introduce you two but Hinata and I probably need to speak alone."
Jugo sighed and looked at the bowl behind him. "I should have made something sweet then."
Sasuke childishly crinkled his nose. "The fruit will do."
oOo
When she arrived, he led her to the kitchen. Jugo was there, setting out a few appetizers and sliced melon on the table. Sasuke did not know where Jugo had found those larger plates, but they looked quite nice.
Jugo was clearly trying to contain his excitement as he shuffled over. He listened raptly as Sasuke meticulously laid out every step of his time away. Everything Sasuke knew about Hinata, Jugo did as well.
The redhead bowed when she did, but also extended both hands to engulf one of hers. "Welcome, Hinata-san. I'm Jugo. Sasuke-sama, I've made sure the tea is ready."
Sasuke rolled his eyes at the honorific but he saw the set up on the table. "You did a good job."
Jugo flushed and rubbed his hands on his apron in embarrassment. "Thank you… so um… I'll just…" he pointed up. "Be upstairs. Nice to meet you, Hinata-san."
Hinata smiled kindly. "You too, Jugo-san."
Naruto said that Hinata had some kind of eyesight. So Sasuke did not bother to lead Hinata towards the table. Instead, he strode over and took his seat. Maybe she could see through her veil. Maybe she could not. But Hinata easily followed and lowered herself into the chair across from him.
The kitchen was a strategic choice. They had a receiving room but Sasuke was not his father and he supposed his clan of two could afford to be a little informal. As the host, Sasuke leaned over and served the tea.
Hinata broke the silence first. "How are you, Sasuke-sama?"
He hissed. "I'm not your clan leader, don't call me that. And I ran out of tea a couple of weeks ago."
She ducked her head. "Apologies." Sasuke did not know exactly what she was apologizing for. "I think I can find the tea ingredients here, but it might take a little bit. I'm not settled just yet."
"Is Naruto giving you a stipend?"
She nodded. "It's very generous, and the Hokage has promised to find me a job."
"Good." He pushed a couple of plates at her, prompting her to eat. She did so daintily. When she slowed to a stop and politely murmured her compliments, Sasuke went right to business.
"I suppose you're already aware of the situation with the Hyuga."
Even though her posture was excellent, Hinata straightened even more in her seat. "Yes."
"I can intercede for you. I would be acting as your de facto clan head."
She dipped her head. "Whatever you decide, I will listen."
"No," Sasuke practically snarled. Her head snapped up in surprise and tension was suddenly visible in her neck. Dragging his eyes away from the exposed skin, he leaned over the table a bit. "I am not your general and unless you ask, I'm not your clan leader either. You have to choose. Or we can send you back to the Land of Iron."
Hinata reeled back as if he had struck her. "What?"
He shrugged. "You have nothing here."
"That doesn't mean I don't want to try!" She exclaimed earnestly. "I can cultivate something here."
"You have no one? Kouki?"
Her reaction was so quick, so visceral. "I had a fight with him the last day he was here. This is where our General has sent me…" She fell silent in realization.
Sasuke watched her from underneath heavy-lidded eyes.
"I…" She hummed as she thought. Her lips quirked up a bit at the sides and she reached up a hand to touch them with her fingertips. "I've never quite had an opportunity to make my own choice before."
"Hnn."
She tried again. "I would appreciate your presence, Sasuke-sama. At… at the meeting."
She seemed embarrassed but her tone was teasing when she carefully said his honorific. Sasuke allowed himself to be amused.
"Okay." He stopped looming in her direction. Idlily, he picked up a strawberry and bit into it as he thought. "If they send a messenger, tell them they need to speak with me. If it's a scroll, don't open it. Bring it here."
"Thank you." She said.
"Haven't done anything yet."
oOo
Jugo sent her off with the carefully packaged leftovers from their meeting and cordially showed her out. Sasuke was grateful to have someone who was far more polite than he was. He would give Hinata a good impression while leaving, which would stay with her more than whatever she had to suffer through with Sasuke.
Jugo leaned against the doorframe with a silly smile on his face. He watched Hinata until she exited the gates. "I like her. Can you adopt her too?"
Sasuke raised a brow. "You're not adopted yet."
Jugo laughed so hard it echoed off the compound walls. "Are you not going to? How close are you to changing your mind and not going through with it?"
Sasuke held up his thumb and index finger a millimeter apart. "This close."
Jugo laughed again and slapped Sasuke on his shoulder before heading back into the house. Sasuke stared after the retreating man. Jugo was developing more self-confidence.
Good.
oOo
On his way to meet Naruto, Sakura called out: "Sasuke-kun!"
Exhaustion overwhelmed him at the sound of her voice. Irritation followed because of the way she made him feel.
Stiffly, he stopped walking and turned around to face her. "Sakura."
She beamed and jogged up to meet him. Stopping short at the last minute, she curled into herself. Ducking her head and crossing her right arm over her body, she shyly peered up towards him.
"Hi, Sasuke-kun." She greeted softly.
The sheer disgust he had for this situation made him sneer. She saw this and pulled back even more.
He pursed his lips to ward against a sigh. This was his biggest problem with Sakura. Her personality around every one else was as vibrant as her hair. Loud but fiercely intelligent, her hands could both make a man's head explode with a single punch but also stich the most delicate capillaries back together. Then when she was around him, she wilted like a flower. Like just being around him sucked the life out of her.
He hated the duplicity. It felt like she was constantly lying to him and if there was anything he did not need in his life, it was the falsity of it all.
Sasuke would probably like Sakura more if she acted normally around him. Maybe he would consider a deeper relationship with her if he thought she was honest. But all she did was walk on eggshells around him. Konoha was a village full of liars and the biggest example of it was right in front of him.
"What do you want?" He asked, gritting his teeth.
She recoiled. "I-I just wanted to see how you were doing. I haven't talked to you in a while."
Why did she act like he was going to snap at any second? It made him feel like an absolute asshole. Granted, she did have reason to fear him based on their history together. But then why did she insist on being around him? What did she get from this?
"I have to go." Sasuke shrugged a shoulder and turned to his original direction. Sakura made to follow. "Leave me alone, Sakura." He ordered.
She stumbled to a stop. If Naruto had said the same, she would have reordered his ribs. She gave Sasuke too much power over her.
He remembered his father for a fleeting second. Sasuke made so many promises to himself that he would not be the controlling, duplicitous person his father was. He promised that even if he could not scrub the stain of lies from a village full of nin, his own household would be a place where everyone could be honest. There would be no more repeats of Itachi tearing himself apart to save the village and the clan. No more repeats of his father hating one son in favor of the other.
He saw his future with Sakura and knew that it would just be repeating history. He did not have to love his future wife, but he was not going to despise her.
"Sasuke-kun," she whispered forlornly.
He turned his head to speak over his shoulder. "We don't have any kind of relationship Sakura. Go away."
He started walking before she could react. Even as emotionally stunted as he was, he did not want to know he made someone cry.
oOo
The warehouse that Naruto had assigned Sasuke to was mostly underground. Large and cavernous, damp with a few fluorescent lights struggling to give off more than a dim haze, the armory was a gloomy place to work. But a perfect way to keep Sasuke out of the public eye for a while.
He did not mind it so much.
Opening a wooden crate, he sighed as he looked into a crate full of kunai siting on the table in front of him. He sighed, seeing the top row rusted. Eying a puddle on the floor in disgust, he resigned himself to having to write off the whole crate. He begin to work when he felt Ino storming towards him.
The jonin in charge of the warehouse followed, a smug smile on his face. The jonin was no doubt expecting Ino to take Sasuke to task over something. She was slowly rising up the ranks of T&I and her reputation was growing.
Both Sasuke and Ino ignored the jonin. Sasuke set down his clipboard.
"What did you do to her?" Ino demanded, her hands on her hips.
He did not answer.
"You broke her heart! You always do!"
"True," he conceded with a nod. "Maybe this time it'll stick."
"…What? What kind of sick bastard are you?"
He shrugged and started pulling kunai out of the moldy wood shavings. "She can finally stop lying now." He offered as his only explanation. "Learning you can't have what you want hurts but she'll get over it."
Ino's eyes narrowed. "You pushed her away for her own good?"
"I did it 'cause she's annoying." He huffed.
Surprising both men, Ino laughed. "Yeah, she's a pain when it comes to you." Her posture relaxed a bit. "Okay. I'll console her this time. Give her a push in the right direction. But that doesn't mean that I've stopped looking for an excuse, Sasuke."
Sasuke deliberately set down a rusty kunai harder than necessary. The only clear spot of metal caught a struggling ray of light, and it briefly illuminated the shackle on his wrist. There was a reason why Ino had been disallowed to be one of the members who oversaw his "reintroduction" into the village. Her soft spot for him was still visible a mile away, happily married or not.
Her eyes lingered on his hand for a moment before she huffed and turned on her heel. Her hair arced behind her as she strode down the aisle. Sasuke's supervisor lingered.
"Pity that she didn't do us all a favor and turn your mind inside out. Take off your other arm at least." The jonin sneered.
Sasuke used said remaining arm to make a rude gesture. He did not bother to look up from his task when the other nin started sputtering in outrage.
"I believe I need an escort through this restricted area!" Ino called.
Torn by wanting to retaliate and protocol, the jonin stomped away.
oOo
Sasuke was in his attic, kneeling in what had to be at least a meter of dust. In front of him sat an open box and he felt like he was frozen in some kind of genjutsu. Carefully arranged into piles were picture frames. The thought of going through them had not daunted him until he was looking at his parent's smiling faces and realized something almost earth shattering.
He had forgotten what his parents' faces looked like.
Of course, he remembered that night with the awful clarity a Sharingan afforded. He remembered the way the terror made his mother's shoulders hunch towards her ears. How his father's lips pressed together so tightly, his mouth had been a tiny, tense line. Those were the resigned faces of people about to die.
Here, looking at these little windows into the past, he saw them as they were. When they were happy. When they were living.
He did not know that his mother had tiny crow's feet around her eyes when she smiled. He did not remember that dimple in the corner of his father's mouth when he smirked. Or that Itachi's grins could ever be so soft.
But suddenly, he remembered that birthday party. The day when he realized he hated sweets. That promotion ceremony, where someone lit a bonfire with a katon and his hair smelled like smoke for a week.
The room spun.
A creak from behind announced someone was on the attic ladder. Sasuke's eyes darted to the side and he felt the flare of heat near his eyes that announced he had unintentionally activated his Sharingan.
"Sasuke-san?" A female voice called.
Sasuke shut his eyes and let out a quiet breath. The tension in his battle-ready posture melted from his frame and his eyes returned to normal. "Come." He ordered.
Hinata obliged with slow, steady steps. A small eternity later, she was beside him. Sasuke fought down the urge to get defensive. A grown man should not lose his grip on his composure just from sitting next to old pictures.
She knelt beside him, so close he could smell the scent of her hair products. A quick glance revealed the ends of said hair resting in the dust behind her.
She did not seem to be one to allow herself the indulgences of most women. Never had she ever sported any makeup or jewelry or even flattering clothes in his presence. But apparently, she cared about her hair.
Sasuke blinked and tried to return to the subject at hand. Thankfully, Hinata spoke before he could figure out where to start.
"I received a message today." She stated quietly. Today she was wearing a haori over her usual clothes. She was not swimming in it but since it all bunched around her as she sat, he could not see where she had tucked the scroll away.
For some reason, this amused Sasuke. Her hair and her clothes, things he usually did not notice on a woman unless she was trying to be noticed, had distracted him enough to shake him out of his mood.
The box was still there yet the menace it produced was less.
Sasuke accepted the scroll and opened it. He noticed the time and date before rolling it up. "I'll be there."
Hinata made a small noise of protest. "Ah. Pardon me, but when and where is 'there'?"
He froze. She ignored him, taking the scroll back.
"You…" And there was no way of putting this politely. "You can't read?"
She gave him a rueful grin. It really was not fair how expressive her lips were. "I used to be able to. I cannot now."
So, it was because a deficiency with her eyes and not her intelligence. Sasuke slumped in relief. He would hate to be shackled to a simpleton.
"Then how did you read the agreement between Mifune and I?" He demanded as the thought came to him.
She canted her head to the side like a confused bird. "I didn't. The General read it to me."
His emotions were too close to the surface and Sasuke finally lost his temper. "Then what would keep him from lying to you?"
Hinata snapped her head forward and primly sat straighter. "Mifune-sama has more honor than most. And trust can be earned."
"Tch." Maybe she was a simpleton after all. Brooding, Sasuke's eyes were drawn back to the box. The papers he needed were right underneath these photos but he could not bring himself to disturb them. It almost felt like if he moved them, the memories they revealed would fade, dissolve like ash.
He found himself murmuring: "I never knew pictures could hold such power."
The words that Hinata responded with were glib but her tone was respectful. "I wouldn't know."
The frankness of her confession startled him out of his haze. Startled him so much in fact, he could not stop the low, rumbling chuckle that escaped him.
Hinata would not know, would she? She did not have the intimate knowledge that the villagers did of the massacre. Probably, she had forgotten ever seeing a Uchiha before. She had no notion of what his family had been before and she could not even see what they had been like now.
Jugo and Hinata were the only two people in the village who only knew Sasuke as he was now, not by what was taken from him.
He stood, picking up the box. "Come on," he prodded. "I'll tell you about the scroll downstairs."
oOo
The day of the meeting, Sasuke arrived at Hinata's house an hour early. It would not surprise him if the Hyuga showed up before the meeting time, trying to catch Sasuke off guard.
Her house was small. With a gently sloping roof and a shade of green paint, it seemed to blend into the copse of trees surrounding it. Sasuke cast his senses to see if there were any ANBU around. Finding none, Sasuke assumed they had deemed Hinata not important enough to watch.
Hinata was quick to let him in after he gave one firm knock. She ushered him into the kitchen and Sasuke could barely catch a glimpse of a receiving room and a set of stairs. However, her kitchen seemed to be the place where she did most of her living.
A large window sat across from the appliances, and soft, golden light illuminated the space. Her decorating sensibilities seemed to mirror Jugo's. Along the windowsill were a small row of succulents and tiny sprouts. In the middle, there was an island counter, which was notable only because of what was above it. On her hanging pot holder, instead of having any kind of utensil, she hung bundles of drying herbs and ropes of garlic. Other plants were tucked into different nooks. Some childish drawings were displayed on the icebox, ones he recognized from the day they set off from the Land of Iron.
His lips quirked at that. She could not see them but gave them a place of honor anyway.
Hinata shooed him into a chair and after an affirmative, went to a cupboard to pull out a jar filled to the brim with tea leaves. The water had already been warmed so she simply put the ingredients in a heavy, clay pot and set it on the table in front of Sasuke to steep.
She doubled back to the island and reached up to carefully snap off a leaf from one of her bundles. Bringing it over, she took the seat closest to him and took his hand resting on the table to place the leaf on his palm. His eyes flew to her face and narrowed but she did not relinquish her grip. She did not quite seem to notice her proximity, her attention turned away.
With her other hand, she crushed the leaf between her thumb and index finger. A sharp scent reached his nostrils.
"This is the main ingredient for your tea," she explained. "See how it doesn't exactly crumble? It's not dry enough yet. A day or two more and it will finally be ready." She pulled back and Sasuke tilted his hand to the side to dump the rest of the leaf on the table.
He slipped the appendage to his lap. Not that it seemed that Hinata had been flirting. She did not take advantage of her grip on his hand and try to pull him closer. She had not leaned in. Did not run her fingers around the back of his hand. Instead, she was professional, almost cold. Like with Tenten, Sasuke did not know how to manage a woman who seemed genuinely interested in being his friend.
Turning to the teapot, she opened the lid and took a delicate sniff before serving it. Sasuke took a thankful sip.
"What do you want out of this meeting?" Sasuke finally asked, cutting through the silence and going back to something he was far more comfortable with: tactics.
Hinata idly rolled her tea cup between her palms. "What exactly do you expect we can get?"
His brows furrowed and he gazed out the window. They were tucked out of view from the road, so it seemed like he was looking into the forest. "They won't seal you. But they're not entitled to give you anything."
She took her own drink then shrugged idly. "As long as they cannot touch me, I don't care."
"Don't you have any ambition?" Sasuke asked, returning his piercing gaze to her. The question had been sitting on the tip of his tongue for a while.
Instead of being offended, she smiled. "It's been clear to me for a long time that I am a pawn, Sasuke-san. My only ambition has been to survive and preserve my physical and mental health while doing so. Mifune-sama allowed me to at least contribute to the betterment of our people."
She raised her head to face him. "But what use does a nin village have for a castoff samurai? I'll have to build trust before Hokage-sama lets me do anything."
And maybe Sasuke had asked her because their situations were the same. Naruto might have welcomed them with open arms but he was still keeping them at a distance. Toys to be set on a shelf and ignored.
What use did a nin village have for a former avenger? What was he supposed to do after his life goal had been achieved? Working in a damp basement was not what he had remotely dreamed for himself.
"Tch." He changed the subject. "Don't forget that you promised to teach Jugo how to unblock my chakra points."
Hinata chuckled into her teacup. "Of course not, Sasuke-san."
oOo
When the knock at the door sounded half an hour early, neither Hinata nor Sasuke were surprised. She had already relocated the both of them into the receiving room. It was more traditional than the kitchen, with tatami mat floors and a table that one sat in front of instead of a high one with chairs. She had just finished setting a plate of snacks on the table when the visitors announced themselves.
Sasuke took it upon himself to open the door. Even though they were meeting here because Hinata was not a Uchiha, Sasuke did not mind establishing dominion over the house.
When he saw who the Hyuga sent, he deliberately forced himself not to react. But what were they playing at, sending these two?
What were Neji and Hizashi doing here?
oOo
Coming up: A confrontation we've all been waiting for.
Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites and alerts. As always, I'd love to hear any questions or theories you might have. Or just hearing what you did and did not like.