Disclaimer : I do not own the characters or the story of Naruto or Boruto.

A/N : Once again, I am very thankful for the amazing reviews, I didn't think I would receive any. To all the readers who have found my plot believable compared to the canon version, I appreciate it. Like I mentioned earlier, this will be a short story and I have decided that its come to an end with this last chapter, keeping it short and sweet. I apologize to some of the readers who would be disappointed by this. However, fret not, since I will have news for future stories at the end. To everyone who was looking for SasuHina moments, I hope this chapter will do the job. The reading guide below is only applicable for the first section of this chapter. Please read and review if you enjoy. Thanks!

Obligatory Content Warning : Chapter contains lemons, this fic is rated M.

Reading guide :

Sasuke : In universe, canon

Sasuke : Alternate timeline version


Chapter 4

"You.. took.. everything?" Sasuke heard himself ask in a whisper. Even his powerful left eye couldn't have helped him decipher what those words meant. His mind seemed to be racing as fast as his heartbeats, trying to understand, trying to think. What does it mean to steal someone, to take everything away from them? Dread started to creep up his spine as his mind conjured up different horrible scenarios concerning the woman he was in love with. The very same woman he had met a short while ago for the first time. 'No, it can't be', he thought as he tried to convince himself that the scenes forming in his mind about her, couldn't really be the experiences the woman, who had smiled so sweetly at him, could have possibly gone through. There had to be more to it. When all he received as a reply to his dumbfounded, confused question was a "Hn", he felt, for the first time since all this mess started, rage pumping into his blood. It had been a long time since he had felt angry at anyone, he had worked hard to leave those days behind when he used to be consumed by his anger on his redemptive journey through the world.

Allowing the rage he felt to be reflected on his face as his fingers twitched slightly at his side, a natural response from years of conditioning, to grab hold of his sword, he stood up and repeated the question he had asked earlier, "What the fuck did you do?" He watched as the man stared at him, seemingly carefully scrutinizing every twitch and curve of the lines of his face as if assessing him. He did that for a few moments as both stared at each other, watching the other like a hawk, for any clue or opening to the other's mind. Finally, Sasuke saw the man close his eyes and let out a deep sigh. He wondered what the hell he was going to do when he got the answer he was trying to force out of the man at this point. Clearly, it wasn't going to be any good, how bad, though, was yet to be seen. His fingers were already itching to grab hold of his sword and slit the man's throat right there inside his home, he was barely able to overcome the urge to do exactly that. Or for that matter, what would he do if the man refused to answer him? He felt a long-forgotten scowl tighten the unused muscles of his face as his determination turned to steel and glowed red hot with anger. 'No matter what happens I am not leaving without an answer', he promised to himself.

Feeling the pressure of the killing intent emanating from the other man strengthen as well as a dark penetrating glare on him, Sasuke opened his eyes. He could tell the man was ready to attack any second now if he refused to speak any longer. The drama of it all while his mind was still marinating in his own depressive thoughts, forced him to let out yet another deep sigh. He crossed his arms, took in a deep breath and begrudgingly started retelling, what was to him, intense yet fond memories of his early adult life.

"It had been a few months after the end of the war. I had just been released from prison as I was pardoned, when I saw her in the village for the first time since my return. She was busy volunteering to help rebuild everything that was razed to the ground in the war, as was everybody else", a light scowl marred his face at whatever thought crossed his mind as he continued, "She still had feelings for him. What's worse, the idiot was completely oblivious to it. She kept waiting for his thick skull to grow a brain, watching him, as all the annoying fangirls of the village fawned over him day in and day out. He was the hero of the war, afterall", his scowl had changed into an amused smirk as his eyes glazed over, recalling all the late night sake sessions he used to enjoy in sadistic amusement, with the blond complaining to him about how he had suffered yet again at the hands of his psychotic fangirls following him around. Those had stopped, however, when Naruto finally became Hokage, both the fangirls as well as the late night sessions.

The amusement passed over quickly though, as his face took on a more serious look and he started back again, "Honestly, I was going to leave her be. I had prepared myself to leave the village again. But then I saw her that day, looking so lost, so alone, I couldn't do it. When she looked at me, it was like her eyes were asking me to save her, to take away her pain. That's when I had made up my mind. I got my life in order, had a brand new arm and started seeking her out."

Sasuke felt his anger slowly seep out of him bit by bit as the man continued on with the story, such that by the end of it, all he felt was astonishment. His chest started to ache, as if invisible hands were squeezing his heart, as the words soaked into his mind and he sifted through his memories to recall that, he too had seen Hinata the day he had left the village to start on his journey after the war. He too had seen the forlorn and sorrowful face of hers that day, sitting on a park bench as he was walking by towards the gates of the village. Seeing her that day had only caused him more anguish, so he had quickened his steps to avoid having to look at her mesmerizing eyes again, lest his resolve to leave was to weaken. He had been determined to return a better man for her, he couldn't afford to abandon his plans at that time. Looking back at those memories, he couldn't help but tightly clench his fist as he mentally forced himself to stand upright. To think that, a few moments and a glance was all it took, meant all the difference between the life he lived and the life the other man had in another world, filled his entire self with deep despair. 'No, that can't be all that there is', the thought came to his mind. He refused to believe there was nothing else to the story. He braced himself, forcing the words out in a strained voice, "What did you take from her?"

The man's eyes hardened at that question as he looked back at him pointedly, face blank, and said, "I took everything. Everything she had for Naruto. Her thoughts, her dreams, her pain, her future as well as her love. At first, all I wanted to do was take away her sorrow, the pain she felt. She was the only person whose happiness mattered to me. But.. soon I realised, it wasn't enough, it would never be enough", he paused briefly as he averted his eyes sideways for a beat before looking back up at him with steel-like hardened eyes, burning with passion, as he continued, "So I stole her from him. First, I stole the pain he had caused, next I stole her virtue she had saved for him, then I robbed her mind of his thoughts and finally I stole her heart."

Realising he had stunned the man standing in front of him into silence with his confession, Sasuke let the heavy words settle into silence in the room as he leaned on his elbows at his desk, crossing his fingers in front of his lips in a well-practiced posture, hiding the small smile that always reached his lips whenever he was reminded of the love his wife held for him. It was true, that he still didn't completely believe it was possible. The circumstances that had led them to be together hardly helped this insecurity of his, even though she never lacked in showing her affections for him. He knew he didn't deserve her, the inherent kindness in her soul, the gentleness of her spirit, her calm determination, the soothing feel of her, her ability to endlessly forgive, none of those he deserved. But her light was the only thing that guided him in his own darkness, drawn to it like moth to flame. He might have preferred to win her over another way, had there been any other way, but he did not regret for one second having her in his life.

If it were anyone else he was discussing this with, he might not have revealed his deepest thoughts like so. But this man was himself, just from a different reality. If anyone could understand the darkness within him, it was this man, frozen shocked in front of him. So he decided to speak further into his thoughts, "It was the only way. The only way I could have her. Not that any of it matters now." Done with explaining himself, as much as he was willing to do even to another Sasuke, he sighed once again and waited for the other man to snap out of his stupor. He braced himself for the type of comments he was sure to receive after everything he had confessed to so far, as he deliberately straightened out his face into a blank look and stared at the other man.

Both men kept staring at each other for what seemed like forever as they neither spoke a word nor moved a muscle. It took a few more moments for Sasuke to realise that the other man was done with answering his question. There was nothing else that he would be getting out of the man any time soon. Not that he needed to hear any more, he had heard enough. He had heard the words, they had felt unfamiliar to him, stringed together in that order to form those sentences, but the emotions behind them were eerily familiar. He understood this man and his motivations deep within him, at the most fundamental level. His hard-earned moral compass had made it clear, everything this man seemed to have done was not exactly all honorable, however he couldn't completely fault the guy. How could he, when he wasn't even sure he wouldn't have done exactly the same if he were in his shoes? He wanted to believe he was a better man than that, that he had found a way to overcome the darkness within him, but he was sure when it came to his princess, he would have been willing to do almost anything, specially if she was so close to being his, yet so far. He may or may not have been able to stop himself, he didn't know. At this realisation, he felt a strange sense of calm settle over him which felt uncannily like the calm in the air right before a storm.

Sasuke mechanically straightened himself out of his frozen state, as he discerned that he needed to be alone, needed to be able to think, lest his emotions burst out of him in a gush, which he wouldn't be able to control, when the dam eventually broke. He quietly muttered, "I'm leaving", before he turned around to do just that. The sound of the other man's voice, coming from behind him, stopped him for a brief moment as he heard, "Don't take this exception as an open invitation to come strolling through this timeline." Understanding the thinly-veiled threat of that suggestion, he decided to turn his head slightly to glance at the man who had just spoken. He let the man know with his eyes that he had no such intentions. 'Like I would ever want to put myself through this again', he thought to himself as he quickly turned his eyes forward, opening a portal in the middle of the room and swiftly jumped through it.


As he watched the man in front of him vanish into the portal, Sasuke sighed in relief, as the tension in the room dissipated with the departure. However, it did nothing to quench the familiar tightness in his chest. He stood up from his desk and made his way out of the room to find his wife. During the tense conversation in his office, he had felt the arrival of the familiar chakra at the entrance of the house and shortly leave afterwards. It wouldn't have been any concern to him if he hadn't sensed his son leave with that person. He didn't interrupt the conversation at the time, deciding it would have been inappropriate in such a strained atmosphere. But he certainly did want to address it now that the unusual encounter had finally come to an end.

Finding her in the kitchen, alone, he entered and stood a few steps away from her. Sensing his presence behind her, she turned around to face him and understanding the immediate question in his eyes, she explained, "Sakura-chan came by a while ago. She took the boys to the lake. I didn't want to disturb you." She saw his face relax at this information into his usual impassive one which she was so familiar with. She couldn't help herself as she looked up at him, giving him a small smile. Suddenly her brows furrowed in confusion as another thought popped into her mind, so she simply enquired, "Did Uchiha-san leave already? I thought he would stay for lunch." "Hn", was all the reply she got, as she felt her lips curve downwards and her eyes averted to the side. She felt the once-familiar sting of rejection as she wondered if she had somehow offended the man that he would disregard her invitation like so. It was her duty as the matriarch of the clan to make sure all guests to the manor felt welcome, she worked hard to shoulder the responsibilities she had such that every failure, no matter how small, stung, reminding her of her failures of her childhood.

Seeing the glum look on his wife's face, Sasuke felt his chest tighten once again. He knew what was going through her mind, he knew her well enough at this point that words were not necessary for them to communicate. She took the duties that came with her position in the clan very seriously. It suited her, matching well with her natural gentle, nurturing disposition and her diplomatic prowess. She made an excellent ambassador of the clan and the village which is why she received many requests and invitations to other hidden villages as diplomatic goodwill gestures among the allied nations. Her almost compulsive urge to make sure everyone is satisfied, might work well on those missions, however she still felt like she had failed when she was unable to make everyone happy all the time. Sasuke wanted to comfort her, to give her soothing encouragement, to let her know it wasn't her fault. But inspiring and impassioned words were never his strong suit, he was a man of action, so he coaxed her out of her low spirits the only way he knew how.

Hinata felt her husband move closer to her as she looked up at him, watching him lean down towards her and place his lips on her temple, giving her a soft peck and resting his forehead on hers. She felt one of his hands gently cup one breast, stroking the sensitive nipple with his thumb, back and forth slowly, as she felt shivers of pleasure pass through her frame down to her toes. She recognised the familiar gesture for what it was, he was trying to comfort her. This same gesture was the first act of love she had ever received from the man who was now her husband. It seemed like so long ago when he had first done it, as a man of few words, to console her out of her desolation, the one way he knew how to, alleviating her sadness, her pain through physical pleasure. At his kindness, she felt her sadness melt away as she looked into his eyes with a warm smile, pleased, remembering exactly why she fell in love with the stoic man that was her husband.

She watched his intense dark eyes scanning her face before they turned to stare deep into her own eyes, as if looking right into her very soul, as she saw a familiar raw emotion start to swirl in those dark orbs. She recognised that look in his eyes, understanding the intensity of the emotions he felt. It was the look that always appeared in his eyes right before he marked her. She watched him lean further down to catch her lips in a brief kiss, which she gladly returned, before she felt his teeth bite down on the soft skin of his neck and gently suckle at the flesh. At this, she felt the well known burning of desire ignite deep inside her. "I need more", she heard him request in a whisper when he was done as he kissed the mark he had just given her. When he felt her nod of affirmation, he promptly picked her up in his arms and carried her to their bedroom.

Sasuke let her down to stand on her own feet by the edge of their bed once he entered the room. He made quick work of her clothing, loosening her obi as her kimono slipped off of her frame. He took a few second to stare at her form, naked in all its glory, in reverence as his eyes roved over her body and settled on her face to note the quickening of her breaths, eyes half-lidded with desire shining bright. He picked her up again and laid her down gently on the bed and hastily shook off his own haori along with his yukata underneath to join her on the bed. He parted her legs, bending them at the knees, to settle himself in between them, kneeling on the bed, facing her. His eyes roamed over her again and finally stopped on her swollen belly. He touched her there with both hands, gently caressing their child resting inside her before leaning down to place a kiss on it, without hesitating to show affection for his child.

Hinata watched her husband nuzzle her belly where their son or daughter was growing inside of her and felt tears sting her eyes. She knew Sasuke deeply loved every single one of their children, they meant the whole world to him. He wasn't as affectionate as would be considered normal by others, he would discipline them from time to time but she made sure that they knew how much they meant to him. Their safety and well being was always foremost in his mind, although he never made a show of it, she knew he always kept an eye on them, tracking their chakra wherever they went within the village. She smiled down at him and slipped her fingers into his hair, brushing through it lightly in a tender caress.

At her touch, Sasuke looked up at her and saw her smiling warmly at him, watching him with glossy eyes. He shifted himself lower along her frame, picking up one of her legs, holding it right above the knee, opening her up more for him to lean down as he bit down on the milky white soft skin of her inner thigh. He suckled gently at the delicate flesh, making sure to leave a dark red bruise on it before moving on to another fresh patch of skin to continue his exploits further, her soft sighs and gasps edging him on. When he had finished, he looked down at his handiwork to note that he had left quite a few more marks on her skin than he had the last time. He slid his hand up to the side of her hip and was pleased to see that the evidence of his ministrations from last time had already disappeared from her skin there. He never liked seeing the proof of the desperation he had felt for her on her body long after he had acted on it. It had taken some time and practice but he had figured out just the right amount of pressure to bite down on her pale skin with to mark her enough to satisfy his urges without leaving bruises on her skin for the next couple of weeks.

He climbed his way up her body, resting his weight on his arms, mindful of her protruding stomach as he leaned down to take her lips in a slow passionate kiss. She immediately returned his kiss and moaned enticingly when he bit down on her bottom lip, leaving it red and swollen, as he ended the kiss to look into her eyes. He turned the lower half of her body on her side and settled himself behind her, facing her, lying down on his side as well. He slid his hand down to position his manhood at her entrance between her closed legs, bent at the knees. He entered into her moist warmth slowly as he slid his hand up her side to grab one breast, squeezing it, then pinching the tip between his fingers, enjoying her gasp and mewls that followed.

He watched her eyes close in on themselves as he moved slowly in and out of her, her lips parted as her breaths escaped her in soft moans of pleasure. He had to force himself to continue with his leisurely, steady pace in order to not hurt her in her state, like he was wont to do otherwise, as he took her aggressively, unable to tame his desires. As he felt his own lust inching towards it's peak, he moved his hand below to her center as he massaged her little button of pleasure in slow circles. She moved her hand behind her, sliding her fingers into his hair, softly tugging on the locks to have something to hold onto at her own pleasure building towards its natural end. "Give me your eyes", he demanded, his voice rough and hoarse from his lust, as she quickly turned her head to face him, looking into his eyes with her own hooded eyes, laced with desire. She knew her husband liked to look at her eyes when she came before tumbling down into his own climax. Their audible pants, moans and groans filled the room as they stared into each other's eyes, one set pale while the other dark, their bodies locked together in their passionate embrace, performing the ancient ritual, an expression of their love.

Once they had finished and caught their breaths, they lay in each other's arms on the bed, lazing the quiet afternoon away. Sasuke was sliding his fingers through her long midnight tresses as she rested her head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeats. "You know how fond I am of your hair", he spoke up, recalling the events that had happened earlier that day. "Mmm..", she hummed her affirmation, smiling. "I don't want you to ever get it shortened", he demanded in a slight whine. At this, she turned her head up to look up at him and couldn't help but laugh lightly at his pouting face, her chest filling with warmth. She stroked his chest lovingly as she replied, "I would never even think of it." "Good", he said, satisfied. Another quiet laugh escaped her as she saw the visible relief on his face. She turned her face down again, kissing his chest right above his heart, her lips curved into a smile, and rested her head back on it, feeling completely content and fulfilled to simply lay in her husband's loving embrace.


Sasuke had spent a few hours idly by sitting on a high branch of a tree in the forest on the outskirts of Konoha as he watched the sun slowly make its way towards the horizon. The scenery around him had looked as tranquil as stormy the emotions inside of him had felt. It had helped him, to just sit and think over everything that had happened since he had made his way back to Konoha the day before. It seemed hardly believable, even to himself, how he had actually spent the last couple of days. The cascading waves of emotional highs and lows that he had experienced within a span less of than 24 hours and had survived to mull it over, was nothing short of a tiny miracle in his mind.

His chest still ached with a dull sensation of longing and regret. However, he had managed to compose his heart enough that it wasn't beating wildly out of his chest. He had thought long and hard on all the information he had been able to unearth within a span of few hours. 'At least it's been good practice', he thought finding the only silver lining of this whole episode. He had also spent hours thinking about what his life would have been like if only he had made a couple of decisions differently. He had also wondered if his journey for redemption, at the end of which he had returned, undoubtedly, a better man, had been worth it. That decision of his had apparently meant the world of difference in his life, decided whether he would have the woman he loved or not; decided if he would live the rest of his life in loneliness and regret or not.

Lost in his thoughts, he noticed too late as a figure landed on the same branch he sat on, with a thump. He didn't turn towards the figure since he didn't need to see the man to recognise him, as he sensed the pulsation of the man's familiar chakra. "Took you long enough", he said, his face and tone devoid of any emotion. "Bastard, you know I am the Hokage, right? You have no idea what sorts of tricks I have to play in order to slip a clone out of the office", came the whiny defense, clearly insulted at the jibe. However, once the blond got a good look at his best friend, who had yet to turn to look at him, his face softened, insults forgotten, as he sat down next to the man, watching the sky.

Silence permeated the atmosphere around them for a few moments, except for a few birds chirping in the trees as the two men sat next to each other in quiet understanding. Naruto was the first to break the silence as he asked, "What happened?" "I saw her. She called me Uchiha-san. He rebuilt the Uchiha district, restored the clan", came the quiet reply after the question hung in the air for a few seconds. Naruto slowly nodded his head a few times in understanding, and turned his eyes to look at Sasuke when he felt the dark eyes on himself. "You are Hokage there too and, supposedly, quite enjoyed the attentions of fangirls", Sasuke said with an amused smirk on his lips.

Naruto felt his left eye twitch in irritation at the teasing but it was quickly followed by relief as he smiled, realising it couldn't be that bad if his friend still had the ability to joke around with him. He raised his hand to rest on Sasuke's shoulder and attempted to give him some comfort through his words. "You'll be alright, Sasuke. You can move on, dattebayo." He made sure to speak low and soft to indicate his seriousness about his advice as he continued, "You have a family, a wife who loves you and a daughter who needs you. You can focus on them. After a while you'll get used to living in the village."

Sasuke turned his eyes away from the Hokage as he looked back at the setting sun, shaking his head slightly as he said, "No, not yet. What I feel for her.. it won't go away so soon, maybe never. But.. I'll try. I can't live here till that happens." He understood the enormity of the decision he had made, the road up ahead wouldn't be easy. But nothing in his life had been easy so far, he had decided to look at this as yet other challenge for him to overcome. With that thought settled in his mind, he realised that he didn't regret finding out. Neither did he regret confessing his feelings to his friend as he quickly glanced at the blond sitting next to him before turning his gaze back towards the sky again. 'Maybe this is the closure I needed', he thought to himself. It wouldn't happen so fast, it might take him months or even years to finally leave his feelings for her behind. Maybe he would even come to develop some sort of affection for his wife, who had always devoted herself to him. He smiled sadly as the image of the pink-haired woman with shining green eyes formed in his mind, however the smile quickly disappeared when that image was replaced by a different face with long dark midnight blue hair delicately framing the tops of two huge pale lilac eyes and a soft, warm smile curving the lips. 'Hm. It certainly would not be easy', he admitted to himself.

"Will you be leaving again soon?" he heard Naruto ask him after a few moments. "Hn", was his only reply. "We are keeping a close eye on Orochimaru and his experiments. He is working on manufacturing a human in his lab, can you believe that? He is even calling it his child", Naruto explained excitedly and couldn't help himself but laugh at the Sannin's recent antiques, that the snake likes to call 'experiments'. Seeing the lack of amusement on Sasuke's face, he decided to quickly move on to more relevant information. One of the more important things he had learnt in his training to become Hokage, was to read the room. "We got some intel on certain activities close to the northern borders. Apparently, its some cult. They are rallying people together to join the ranks of their temple as devotees from all around the world. We heard something fishy is going on in the background as well", he explained.

"I'll check it out", said Sasuke as he stood up to make his leave. He watched as Naruto nodded at him and quickly poofed into smoke in front of his eyes. He sighed, taking another glance at the sky, noticing the sun was already halfway there on its journey to disappear into the horizon. With his decision made and new orders in from his Hokage, he flickered off towards his destination, blanking his mind of thoughts of anything other than his mission.


A/N : First to address some of the questions I received : My apologies for any questions that I might have missed since this site continues to give me grief. One guest reviewer asked why Hinata was not strong in the last chapter. Well, all I have to say is that Hinata is not Sakura, her shy nature is inherent but she has her moments as well. Another reviewer, zisaidwut, asked if there was non-consent involved. I hope this chapter sheds some light on it. Next, moving onto the plans for the future : The next fic I am planning to write will be the story of how the alternate timeline SasuHina happened. We get glimpses of it in this chapter, so consider this a teaser and let me know if you are interested in finding out how in detail in the reviews. Interested folks can expect the first chapter by the end of next week, so please follow my author page for updates or keep an eye on the Just In section. Also, since I have received some interest in this SasuHina family interactions with the kids, I am considering writing a one shot where readers get to meet them, get to know them a bit. So please let me know if you would be interested in something like that as well in the reviews.

That's all. Hope to see you soon!