Chapter 2

The sun rose high in the sky, light piercing through colorful and vibrant leaves as the autumn season was finally grasping Konoha. The leaves that managed to cling to its branch swayed in the breeze, though several snapped off, flying through the air before landing on the ground, vibrant colors a contrast against the dirt that made up the paths along the village. It had been nearly two years since the events of the war, but the effects of it were still felt today. Hinata Hyuga stood in front of the Hokage's desk, Kakashi frowning behind his mask as he held a scroll with neat handwriting in his right hand. Hinata noted that he seemed to be tapping his finger mindlessly against the paper, lost in thought as she waited patiently for what mission he had for her.

"Normally, for a situation like this, I would ask for Neji, but based on this scroll it appears that the request would be more specific to you or your sister." Kakashi said, brows furrowed.

"Hanabi-chan or myself?" Hinata asked, blinking as she tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Have you ever heard of the term 'Byakugan Princess' in your clan?"

"Byakugan Princess? No, I've never heard that expression before." Hinata replied, clasping her hands together in front of her so as not to begin habits.

"Sasuke has had a run in with an unknown figure and came across an old Otsutsuki hideout where the term 'Byakugan Princess' was mentioned. He believes that this could be a reference to one of the main branch members of the Hyuga clan, which would only be Hanabi and yourself." Kakashi stood up, turned and faced the window, looking out over the village and watching the construction crew out, the village still coming back to its former glory.

"Well, the Otsutsuki appeared to have the Byakugan, if we are referencing Kaguya-san, it could mean one of their own." Hinata offered, proud of herself for her continued effort to not stutter.

"That would have been my first thought, but I feel it would be best if I showed you what Sasuke shared with me." Kakashi turned just enough to point to the scroll laying on his desk.

Hinata took the few steps needed to reach the scroll on Kakashi's desk, taking hold of it and opening it slowly. She read through what Sasuke had written and came across the exact thing Kakashi must have been referencing. In the hideout, it was mentioned that the current Hyuga Clan heir held the title of Byakugan Princess. Hinata's eyes widened with surprise as she looked back up at Kakashi. Depending on how old these findings were, it would mean that it was between Hanabi and herself. Setting the scroll back down, Hinata opted to take a seat, watching Kakashi turn and gaze at her with a curious look on his face.

"Do we know how old the hideout is?" Hinata asked, both of her index fingers now tapping against each other.

Just as Kakashi was about to respond, a deep voice from behind her answered. "I would say close to eighteen years based on other findings."

Kakashi looked up above her head and Hinata turned in her chair to see Sasuke standing in the doorway, his eyes fixed directly on her. Hinata felt her breath catch at the mention of how old the findings were, which meant that it referenced her. She found herself gripping the arm of the chair a bit too hard and let go, the muscles in her hand relaxing. Hinata immediately stood, offering a slight bow to Sasuke, knowing that it would be best given that he was now the patriarch of the Uchiha clan. She noted that he looked different from what she remembered during the war. His hair was longer, covering half his face and the back seemed to be going from shaggy to straight down, reaching down toward his shoulders, though the back still held a bit of the shaggy look she remembered. He also appeared slightly taller, though she realized at that moment that he had always been a bit taller than some of the men in their group.

"Your sister is nowhere near that old, which means that the title is yours."

"Sasuke, I was wondering when you would appear." Kakashi beamed at his former student.

"I had a few more things to share that I feel would be best in person. Hyuga, since you are here, you can listen as well." Sasuke offered, taking a few steps and opting to stand a few feet away from her. "I still haven't been able to catch the man in question, I believe that he's using technology beyond even our own comprehension, which leads me to believe he's used time travel."

"Time travel? Is that even possible?" Hinata asked, her mouth slightly open in shock.

"No. At least not in our time, but he ended up opening a portal that even my Rinnegan couldn't distinguish. However, with my Sharingan I was able to determine he had a device attached to his arm and he was able to open up his own portal with that. As my Rinnegan couldn't follow him, it means that he's not using a dimensional portal."

"Well, this isn't the news I wanted to hear." Kakashi frowned, looking out through the window once more. "Do we know where he is from?"

"I haven't been able to get close enough to determine, but based on the fact he went to the exact hideout that gave information about the Hyuga clan, I would assume that to be his next possible target." Sasuke's voice remained unemotional and bored, but it still left a feeling of dread in Hinata's stomach.

"We would need to let Hiashi know immediately, so he can better prepare his clan just in case." Kakashi turned and sat behind his desk. "Do you still need Hinata on the mission?"

Sasuke's only visible eye moved to look Hinata over before turning back to Kakashi. "For now, I ask that she accompany me. Especially if she is his target, she would be safer with me."

"I couldn't agree more." Kakashi beamed once more. "Hinata, I don't have a timeframe for this mission, but for now I feel that it's best if you go with Sasuke and see what you can find in the hideout."

"Oh, okay. I'll help in any way I can." Hinata nodded, choosing to not look back at Sasuke.

"Take tonight to get ready. We will leave tomorrow at dawn." Sasuke advised her before he left the office as quickly as he had arrived.


"Hey bastard!" Naruto called out to his friend, making his way towards Sasuke.

Sasuke gave a smirk. "Loser. I didn't realize you were back from your mission."

"I got back a few hours ago and heard that you would be making an appearance. Have you seen Sakura yet?" Naruto asked, moving his hands to clasp them behind his head.

"No, I was actually on my way over to see her. Do you know if she's home from the hospital?"

"She should be! Want me to tag along with you?" Naruto offered, giving his best friend a large grin.

"Give us a few hours." Sasuke felt his ears burn at the idea, knowing that Naruto would take it to mean much more than it did, and so when his face broke out, he knew he wasn't wrong.

"You two better not do what I think you're doing." Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue. "Don't be annoying."

The two parted and Sasuke made his way to her new apartment, Sakura having given him the address months ago in case he ever came by the village. A few passerbys took a step or two away from him, but it didn't bother him. He was used to a wide range of reactions from fear to immediate lust wherever he went. All of them were annoying as he could only tolerate so few people in his life as it was, so he'd admit that he approved of the ones who feared him as that meant they left him alone. He turned and stared at the entrance of her apartment, seeing that her outside light was on, signaling that she was home. Her apartment, while connected to others, seemed to be its own place, small and cozy, which he would immediately equate to Sakura. Hoping that she wasn't working later and he'd be keeping her up, he made his way to the door and knocked.

"Coming!"

He felt his heart race at her voice, having been so long since he had last heard it and recalling when it was. Guilt hit hard when he recalled her desire to join him on his atonement journey and how even then it had been hard to deny her, but he knew her place was here with friends and family. Though he had been considering offering her a chance to join him in the next year, perhaps after this next mission he was taking on, he'd ask her to go with him. When he saw the door open and Sakura's face go from exhausted to surprised and blushing within seconds, he knew he made the right choice to see her anyways.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun!" Sakura breathed out, her grip on the door tightening slightly as her eyes seemed to move over him quickly, as if trying to gauge if this was a dream or not.

"Sakura." His simple and soft response came out slowly.

"I can't believe you're here!" Sakura squeaked out. "How long are you staying?"

"Just the night. I start a new mission tomorrow." Sasuke responded as Sakura stood back, opening the door a bit wider to allow him to enter.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked, closing the door behind them as he took his shoes off, looking around the room.

"No, this isn't a mission you can help with." He turned to look at her, watching her look over his face, which he assumed was to see the changes that had taken shape in the last year. "I need help from a specific clan, so Kakashi helped me find someone and we filled her in on the mission."

"Her?" Sakura asked and he watched her face heat up slightly.

"Hinata Hyuga." His honest and quick response led to her immediately relaxing her shoulders.

"Oh! Hinata-chan! I'm surprised you need her to help you, though." Sakura frowned at the idea. "Your missions don't seem the kind that require someone like her. I would have assumed her cousin, Neji-kun?"

"Understandable as the missions I take on are not ordinary missions, however, she's the one that I need for this."

"That makes sense, then. I have no doubt she will be an asset." Sakura grinned.

"I thought that you'd feel better when I told you who it was." Sasuke smirked, watching Sakura blush more at the teasing.

"Why do you say that, Sasuke-kun?" She asked, clasping her hands behind her back, suddenly looking slightly shy.

"She's the only one who never chased me when we were kids. And she has a crush on Naruto. Not someone you need to be jealous of."

"I wasn't jealous!" Sakura huffed, walking into the living room and refusing to look at Sasuke's amused expression.

He looked around her living room, which felt simple even for Sakura. There were a few photos inside the room. One of which was their old team photo that Sasuke eyed for a moment, noting the expressions on his and Naruto's face. Sakura and Kakashi looked to be the most content in their group. It was then he remembered what he had gotten from Karin before coming here. He pulled out a photo from his cloak and held it out to Sakura, who looked at it for a moment before looking back up at Sasuke.

"It's a picture of team Taka. Karin gave me a copy and I thought you'd like to have it since we were apart during that time."

He watched green eyes widen in surprise as she reached out to take the photo, looking at it with a soft smile on her face. Knowing Sakura, he knew that it meant more to her than it would have to anyone else. She could see just how much he had changed from the time he departed from her as a young teen to now. He watched tears well up in her eyes as she brought the picture to her chest to hold it close, looking up at him with an expression of joy.

"You can do what you want with it, I don't mind." He offered, knowing her focus would be on him and not the rest of his team. "I just wanted you to have it."

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." Sakura gave a slight sniffle before laughing as she dabbed at her eyes. "You must think I'm pathetic."

"Not at all." He said, taking a step towards her, lifting his hand and poking her in the middle of her forehead softly. He watched her eyes widen, her free hand reaching up to touch the spot his fingers had poked a moment before. It was then that she dared it all and wrapped her arms around him, which he responded with by wrapping his lone arm around her. He felt a sense of peace having been able to see Sakura smile, even if for just a little while. They then went on to talk about his journey and what she had been doing at the hospital. In no time, a knock sounded, and Sakura opened the door to reveal an excited Naruto. Team 7, though for a moment, was back together as Naruto offered a trip to Ichiraku Ramen, frowning when Sakura and Sasuke groaned.


Hinata had finished packing, most of her items sealed so that her backpack wouldn't be heavy given that this mission could be for a good amount of time. She decided to take a walk through the village for a few hours, wanting to enjoy the construction and see the new and improved buildings that had recently been finished. The sun was high in the sky now, which meant that it was lunch time. So, she considered walking to Ichiraku Ramen, slightly hoping that she could catch Naruto there. The idea alone made her blush and as she got closer, she had a feeling he was there. Many were hovering around him, and she noticed that there was someone else beside him that was also being surrounded by the various 'fangirls', as Hinata called them. It was then she noticed Sakura sitting on the other side of the mysterious person, an annoyed expression on her face. Something told her that Sasuke was the one she couldn't see, probably just as annoyed as Sakura looked.

"Hinata-chan!" Sakura had turned and saw her, now waving her over as a few of the girls turned, frowning slightly, which caught Hinata off guard.

"Hinata-chan!" A very familiar and warm voice filtered through and she realized she had caught their attention as now she had Naruto's full attention.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata squeaked out, her cheeks giving her away as they went from pale to red in an instant.

"Come have lunch with us!" Naruto beamed up at her, grabbing her hand and pulling her through the crowd of now pouty women and leading her to the seat to his left, as Sasuke was on his right and Sakura was on Sasuke's right. Hinata bowed her head, feeling shy as she wasn't as close to any of them, but feeling the glare from various sets of eyes behind her, she took her seat. Seeing Naruto looking quite happy warmed her heart as he turned, his blue eyes bright and cheerful as they gazed upon her. It was then she noted that he had cut his hair, the long and shaggy strands she was used to were now much shorter and she enjoyed how it made him look.

"You cut your hair, Naruto-kun!" Hinata smiled up at him as he reached up, scratching the back of his head.

"Does it look okay?" He asked, his face shifting slightly to some confusion.

"It looks great." Hinata said, feeling her cheeks warm as she complimented him and even more when he smiled warmly in response.

"Alright you two lovebirds! Let's get some ramen!" Sakura proclaimed from her seat and even Naruto blushed at the comment.

The ramen was delicious, Naruto and Sakura doing most of the talking as Hinata and Sasuke listened, the difference being that Hinata would giggle when Sasuke looked annoyed or smirked. She had not really been around to see the dynamic of Team 7, but she noted that even with Sasuke being quiet, he fit right in, making comments to cause Naruto to call him out and Sakura to laugh, or Sakura to blush and Naruto to laugh. It made her think of her own team and how Kiba Inuzuka was the one to entertain the group. Hinata would be giggling while Shino Aburame would shift his glasses or make a comment that would give Kiba pause. Now, the three waited for Naruto to finish his ramen, watching as he devoured his third bowl.

They eventually left, walking down the path and Naruto being the first to leave the group, having reached his apartment first. Stating that he needed to go meet someone to train, he hurried off, leaving the other three by themselves. It was a bit later that they managed to make their way to Sakura's apartment. Sasuke seemed to be hesitating before he ushered Sakura onward, stating that he would be over in a moment. Once Sakura had disappeared inside, Hinata immediately felt shy as this would be merely the second time that she and Sasuke had ever been involved in a conversation together. However, she recalled the moment during his time away from Konoha and his blunt use of "shut up" thrown her way, which caused her to frown at the thought.

"Make sure you bring warm clothing." Sasuke finally said, causing her to look up at him curiously. "Our mission will mainly be in the Land of Frost, but the dimension I found the hideout in is actually also in a snowy mountain."

"Oh, okay. I had already done so, but I can make sure to have a few extra things just in case." Hinata nodded, her eyes meeting him as she made sure he had her full attention. "Is there anything else I should bring along?"

"That should be fine. I'll see you at dawn." Sasuke had been looking at her, but she could see his mind was a million miles away. Whether on the mission or on the woman who was on the other side of the door he was heading towards, she had no clue. She found herself smiling as she knew how much Sakura likes Sasuke and by the looks of things, he had finally accepted and reciprocated her feelings. It made her feel good to see Sakura earning everything she had deserved in life, the woman had become an amazing kunoichi and had proven herself during the war. To see that she had earned the affection of the man Hinata knew she had chased since they were very young made her smile. She could only hope that one day she would earn the same affection from Naruto.

Heading home, she looked up at the trees, leaves of various colors fell each time a gust of wind blew through, falling around her in a circle. Looking up, she watched them with a sense of joy on her face, feeling calm for once as she slowly went back to making her way home. She made her way inside and saw that Neji and Hanabi were talking on the foyer, both turning the moment she closed the door behind her and proceeded to take off her shoes. Hanabi ran up to her sister, stopping a few feet away and looking as though she had been up to something.

"I saw you with Naruto-kun." Hanabi giggled, Hinata feeling her face heat up.

"Still chasing after Naruto?" Neji asked. "Though, by the sounds of it, it will be a while before you see him again. Probably a good thing you got to spend time with him."

"Mm."

"I have to prepare for my boring task tomorrow. Helping Shikamaru look through documents in the Hokage Tower. Never thought I'd go back to dull tasks, but hey."

"Well, I think you two will have fun." Hinata offered, giving her cousin a smile.


Shikamaru and Neji were inside the basement of the Hokage Tower, tasked with filtering through old and current documents and separating them. It was easy enough without having to actually look through the documents, many of which were sealed and required the Hokage to unseal them. It was easy enough and Shikamaru had asked Neji to join him, both having recently gotten into Shogi and playing against each other. So, Shikamaru had brought the board, deciding that breaks could be utilized best with someone who actually was a challenge. Neji was on a break from missions, so it felt like the perfect opportunity as Kakashi had agreed, though neither had realized just how much was in the room.

"What a drag." Shikamaru grumbled, opening a drawer he pulled out several folders of documents, many seeming to be as simple as construction projects that were never started to a few that required the Hokage to unseal them. The men began their work in silence, both of them pulling out folders and having a pile that would be sent elsewhere to go through by an audit team to determine which files were acceptable to actually toss and which ones would need a second look at a later date. The task seemed easy enough, one person from the audit team would come in every so often to collect from the stack of documents for them to look through as Neji and Shikamaru continued their work. Shikamaru had a feeling that this had something to do with the secret mission that Sasuke was on, perhaps information that Kakashi had hoped were in the archives, yet it felt like busy work to him.

Just as they were about to finish up, Shikamaru noticed that Neji had paused, holding up what looked like a fairly old document. Looking over at him fully, he noticed that the document contained the symbols for the Hyuga and Uchiha clan. Closer inspection, they saw that it had a seal which needed the Hokage to open, however it seemed as though Neji was more interested in this particular folder than finishing up their task for the day. He looked over the folder, what seemed to have been once white was now yellowed, a few dark spots from the dust coated section of the folder. The clan symbols, though faded and having turned various shades, was prominent by their outline.

"I've never known our clan to have anything to do with any of the others, especially the Uchiha. What the hell could this be?" Neji asked, holding it out to Shikamaru. Shikamaru inspected it and while it had been fading, the folder felt solid and intact. It obviously had been around a very long time, but what it involved remained to be seen, especially as Sasuke was the only surviving Uchiha clan member.

"We can bring this to Kakashi and see if he can give us an idea? I would assume that anything involving this would be null with Sasuke being the surviving Uchiha. This appears to be well before his time, but I'm not sure if his parents would have been involved in this." Shikamaru offered, Neji nodded and both men walked up the stairs and knocked on the door to the Hokage office.

"Come in!" Kakashi's voice rang out from the other side of the door.

Both entered and Neji snatched the document, handing it to Kakashi. "I want to know what this is."

"Unfortunately, as you are not the Hyuga or Uchiha clan head, I wouldn't be able to divulge the contents of what this is, but I can look it over. Interesting that you found something like this as I've never heard of the two clans working together on anything." Kakashi stated, looking the folder over curiously.

"Why I'm curious about it, but I understand. I'll leave you to it. I would assume if there is anything to be discussed, you'll let Hiashi-sama know immediately."

"Of course." Kakashi gave a smile as the two left the office.

Once they had left, Kakashi looked the document over, seeing the seal, he pushed chakra into it and immediately it disappeared, the contents now available for him to view. Opening it up, he looked through and noted that the signatures had to be clan heads prior to both Hiashi Hyuga and Fugaku Uchiha. Through further inspection, it appeared that they had gambled with their future grandchildren based on the wording of the document. Flipping through several pages, he noticed that there were two names written on the document, the ink looking just a bit more new than the rest of the document, the names nearly bold in comparison. His eyes widened in shock, seeing the signature of not just the two clan heads right before the current Hyuga clan head and that of the late Uchiha clan head, but of the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

That meant that now that the document has come to light, it is still a binding contract between the clans and Konoha. Per the contents, it appeared they made sure that nothing would be able to void the contract. So, seeing the two names that had definitely been added by someone, and without there being any way of figuring out who added it in unless Hiashi could answer the question, meant that they had to fulfill the terms of the contract. He stared at the names for a good while, letting the feeling sink in of what this meant and how that would affect not only the lives of the two shinobi on this paper, but those closest to them.

Uchiha Sasuke & Hyuga Hinata


A/N: Now we are getting somewhere, and I didn't mean to make this chapter as long as it is. However, so much needed to be written out that it couldn't be helped. Definitely hints of the canon pairing, but I felt that it needed to be involved as at this point, I do know that at least Sasuke/Sakura were starting to become a thing or already were. From here, we begin to set everything in place for… we shall see in the next chapter!

Guest: I couldn't help but to write it! I know I'll switch out between these two and canon, but I couldn't resist a new one!

Guest: Same! I feel Sasuke would have on purpose, and sorta did, but as he had not been around at that time, he needed to find his way there this time around.

Azkipi: I do love a good alternate universe, which I know can be iffy on who does and doesn't like it! And we will definitely be finding that information out soon now that we have found ourselves with a document and our main pairings name on it.

Huaniri35: ALL OF THIS! You said the thing! I did give them a little moment here, but it truly does! I'm glad you are enjoying the idea for this story, too!

Bexbluedragon76: Welcome back! Yes, I adore Neji and couldn't resist making him a part of this story!

Hashira1989: Welcome back, too! And this will definitely play a role when things get a bit more interesting between the two! :P

50ShadesofSharkey: I'm glad you liked how this is going and hope that you like the others as well!