Revealing Moments
A collection of companion pieces to "Hidden in Plain Sight". Do not question the authoress with her weekend fogged mind. Just read. Still don't own Naruto or anythign affiliated with it. When eBay gets back to me on that, I will be sure to inform you.
In case you can't tell from the actual story, this piece is set right after Sasuke's return, after kicking Orochimaru and his minions into next month.
What do you see?
"Sasuke-kun is back?" Haruno Sakura was hard put to contain her elation.
"Yes, for the thousandth time. Uchiha Sasuke has returned." Tsunade was hard put to mask her irritation. "He's been put in the hospital at my request. Sakura, you can go see him, but please keep in mind you are a professional, not an adolescent." Tsunade gave her apprentice a small smile before shooing her out the door.
"And as for you Hinata, there is a reason I called you up here as well as Sakura. Take a seat, we may be here a while."
"It sounds like something I could do, Tsunade-sama." Hinata proffered cautiously.
"There are a number of things you can do, Hinata. Unfortunately underestimating yourself is one of your favorites. So when would you like to examine Sasuke?"
"If Uchiha-san is available, I think he'd like to get the examination over and done with as soon as possible. Or at least be informed of it. May I?"
Tsunade laughed a little at the ever obliging Hyuuga. "Well then, let's go. Shizune can't yell at me for helping the Uchiha Sasuke, especially after what he's done for us."
Hinata tilted her head at that statement, but didn't question it aloud. Tsunade however didn't need a vocal question. She explained as they made their way through the empty halls and the darkening twilit streets; the quiet and marginally safer village of Konoha.
"He came back of his own free will, and brought Konoha a little present. Orochimaru's head. Or at least, most of it was Orochimaru's head. Sasuke was skilled enough to do the job while Orochimaru was attempting to transfer bodies. It was a nice gesture, even if did make a terrible mess." Tsunade was understandably pleased that Konoha's rogue ninja had come back, with his priorities straight.
"Anyway, we've stuck him in the hospital, and he's waiting for you. To keep things to a minimum noise, I had to heal him myself rather than let the hospital nin take care of him. He's all yours now."
"Good evening, Uchiha-san."
Sasuke didn't look away from the window. He was drinking in the sun setting over his village. It was a beautiful thing, the red washing over everything. However it was a warm beauty, it comforted the heart with its muted heat. He thought about another time when red had seeped into everything he held, into everything he saw. That too held a kind of beauty, but a cold one, easing his mind that he was strong, that he was alive, that he was still Uchiha Sasuke. But now, in this Hidden Village of Konoha, now more than ever, he was Uchiha Sasuke.
He didn't turn to look at her, but what he would have seen anyway? What did everyone else see? What did it matter anyway?
"Tsunade-sama has kindly filled in as many details as she was able. I thought perhaps you would prefer me to examine you as soon as possible, so you could leave sooner." There was no response, not that she really expected one. There was little one could say in return, even less that Uchiha Sasuke would say.
"I was going to look over your… seal to ensure that it wouldn't mutate into anything that could cause you trouble."
So painstakingly polite. How hard is she trying to deny the ugly truth? The answer came soon. She wasn't. She was avoiding possibly painful topics because she was a healer, and causing pain was the last thing she wanted to do.
"… and Tsunade-sama will place the Fuja Hoin over it again. Not that it is expected to reactivate." Hinata's voice took on a note of contemplation. "When Kakashi-sensei put the Fuja Hoin on you the first time, I believe it was dependant on your willpower. I expect with your victory against Orochimaru-san, you'll never try to reach for strength from that channel again. But we must check." She slipped back into medic nin mode. "Would you prefer to do this tonight, or would you rather wait till you've recovered somewhat?"
The voice that answered her was toneless, distanced.
"It doesn't matter. It's not like I have anything important to do here."
Tsunade spoke from her position by the door. "We'll do it tomorrow then. Come find me in my office when you're ready, Hinata." She left.
Hinata's heart twinged at the utter defeat in his voice. "I'll… I'll see you tomorrow… Sasuke-san." Sasuke didn't move. But he caught the soft words. "I'm glad you're back safe." And she too left.
Sasuke himself did not put much import to her revising his title, but he realized that she did. With Hinata, very little was wasted when it could be helped. A word, a gesture, it all meant something, to her at least. What exactly, he didn't know, but right now, all he knew was that he wanted to sleep. To wrap himself in oblivion, to ignore the normalcy that he wanted and hated at the same time, to rest with peace.
She had called him Sasuke. Still with a formal honorific, but one step at a time. She had acknowledged him, as the number one rookie of her Genin class, as the ninja she knew, not just an Uchiha anymore. He was Sasuke. He was no longer the missing nin whose attempted retrieval had broken, however temporarily, so many of her friends. He was Sasuke once again. And she would see to it he stayed that way.
So now... who thinks I should just quit while a reasonable facsimile of ahead?
Apologies if my continual "fixing" of things gets to you. I lack a beta. We also now lack a betta... He died. We're rather upset. A moment of silence, if you please. For Ichabod Thomas Clarence du Verr, aka Squidbait. We shall miss the prettiness of the fishy. He was nice enough to put up with us for two months. And that was after the biology labs finished playing with them and their living conditions.
We have a quad... and only the one fish... I do hope the weight of that name wasn't what killed him. That'd be upsetting.