Thank you everyone who reviewed!
So Sasuke...I get that he may not be everyone's favorite character just bear with him. I'm trying to keep this story as canon as possible so he won't be sticking around that long. Pluss writing missions is my least favorite thing and I'm not great at writing action so there will be a bit of a time-lapse in this chapter.
Naruto refers to their use of cell phones in Boruto as their "device" that's what I'll be referring to with that word.
I've also started a companion piece spanning from the end of the war to the start of this one, go check it out!
January 1st
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata hesitantly questions, perched on the edge of his bed watching as he tosses various ninja tools into his pack.
"Yeah?" He answers, his attention elsewhere
"Are you sure you want to go, to go with him?" Hinata stands, she reaches out to touch his arm, stopping his movements.
"What do you mean?" Naruto stops just short from unplugging his device from the wall where it charged.
"I know he was pardoned." Hinata stops, hesitation filling her voice. "But I worry if he can be trusted. You're going to his old master's hideouts, and he's been off doing who knows what for how long?"
"I understand your concern and I like that you worry about me but Orochimarus isn't someone you need to be worrying about, he's under constant surveillance." Hinata's eyes widened in shock at Naruto's knowledge. "And as for what Sasuke is doing out there, well the easiest way to put it is he's searching for the things that started the war, and making sure they are stopped, so we can live in peace."
"How do you know all this?" Her eyes wide with curiosity.
"Kakashi-sensei" Naruto pauses to gauge her reaction. "In his words, he's 'grooming' me; he's getting me ready to take over for him. By telling me important information that would most likely carry over to when I'm Hokage."
"Oh." Hinata's brows scrunch together. "So, you shouldn't be telling me."
"I don't see why I couldn't, Kaka-sensei tells everything to his advisor, someone he can trust. I bet if he were married he would tell his wife."
"Oh." Hinata repeats herself, blushing slightly as a soft smile comes across her face at the word wife.
He's brought up marriage twice today. She thinks to herself.
"He's actually working for the village?"
"Yes, he didn't mean to cause a war, ya know. Okay maybe but at the time with everything going on well it's a long story and he tells it better. Maybe I can convince him to sit down and tell you about it when we get back okay?"
"Just be safe. Please." Hinata wraps her arms around his waist burying her head in his chest.
"I will, just trust me okay. Just please just don't worry." Naruto hugs her back before taking a step back and making his way out into the hallways. He stops as the voices at the foot of the stairs make his way to him.
"How long has that been going on?" Sasuke asks, gesturing towards the stairs.
"Technically about a month." Sakura states. "But when he was released from the hospital after the war they spent a decent amount of their time together. Ino and I may have pushed them together on multiple occasions. If Naruto wasn't as big of an idiot as he is and would have picked up on how she felt I'm guessing they would be married by now."
"Hhhmmm." Sasuke looks over her head and up the stairs as Naruto and Hinata make their way down.
"We'll wait outside." Sakura grabs Sasuke's empty jacket sleeve as she pulls the door open, walking to the end of the front walkway.
"Take this." Naruto hands her the key to his house. "I was gonna have a copy made today for you but then this." He motions outside.
"You are just full of surprises, thank you." Hinata fingers the necklace he gave her nights before.
"I love you Hinata, and I'll be home as soon as possible."
"I love you too, Naruto." He glances at the pair outside, both quickly look away upon his gaze.
Leaning down he places a soft kiss on her lips, his face turning a noticeable red color as he pulls away, walking out shutting the door behind him.
"Isn't Hinata normally the blusher in your relationship?" Sakura teases nudging Naruto in the ribs.
"Shut up Sakura." Naruto gently pushes her back.
The group make their way to the Hokage's office, passersby on the road giving strange looks at Sasuke's presence. Climbing the stairs to the top floor, Naruto reaches to knock on the office door.
"Come in." A muffled voice followed by the ruffle of paper's answers.
"Sensei." Naruto starts causing the man at the desk to look up, his eyes slightly widening at Sasuke behind him. "This showed up on my doorstep earlier asking for some help." Naruto points his thumb behind him.
January 4th
"We're here." Sasuke stops, standing in front of a blank stone facing. He places his hand on it and the rock begins to move. "Now through their entryway there won't be any traps, but if you go past the living area you'll probably get hurt." Sasuke motions for them to follow him inside.
The three make their way through a series of narrow hallways which finally opens up to a room with five doors.
"Pick a room, we'll start unlocking the scroll in the morning." Sasuke walks to the door furthest away, shutting it behind him.
"You should go talk to him." Naruto says to Sakura in a hushed voice.
"What?" She questions.
"You haven't seen him in two years. Just go talk to him, Sakura." Naruto walks away, choosing the door closest to him.
Does he even want to talk to me? Sakura thinks to herself, as she stands in the room alone. We had two whole days for him to talk to me and he hardly said a word…then again Naruto was around.
Sakura slowly makes her way to the door she had watched him enter, raising her hand she knocks gently.
"Yes?" His voice comes from inside.
"Sasuke?" All Sakura can manage as she pushes the door open.
Sasuke sits on the edge of the bed looking down like he had been in the process of taking off his shoes. He had removed his poncho and headband allowing his hair to fall into his face. Looking up Sasuke makes eye contact with the pink haired girl before him, a small smirk covers his face.
"How did I know it would be you?" Sasuke questions as he continues to take off his shoes.
"Because you know me, probably better than anyone." Sakura begins to move forward, until she's standing in front of him.
Hesitantly she looks at him, his hair longer than she had ever seen it, falls almost to his shoulders, his bangs covering his rinnegan in his left eye. He looks weary as if he hasn't had a good meal in some time. Before Sakura can restrain herself she's in front of him, brushing his wayward hair out of his eyes.
"Sasuke." She whispers, this time not a question, her voice soft.
Sakura feels an unexpected hand on her back, pulling her in close, her forehead resting against his, while her arms make their way around his neck.
"I missed you…I missed you so much." She manages, her voice catching as she holds back her tears.
"I know." Sasuke's voice sounds soft and low as he pulls her in closer burying his head in her neck.
Sakura clings to him, finally letting out the tears. The pair stayed like that for some time, holding one another, finding a comfort neither of them knew was possible after the years.
"Sorry." Sakura says, stepping back running her hand over her cheeks making the tears disappear.
"Don't apologize to me Sakura, I should be the one doing that." Sasuke scoots to the back of the bed, resting his back against the wall. He pats the spot next to him, beckoning her to join.
"Why do you want me to stay?" Sakura takes a step towards the door.
"Just sit on the damn bed Sakura."
January 5th
A dim light creeps through from under the door, just enough to illuminate the back of the girl laying next to him. Sasuke reaches out to trace the crest on the back of her shirt, the Uchiha crest.
"Sasuke…" A light mumble comes from her lips as she rolls over. "How long have you been awake?" She questions.
"Not long." Giving her a soft smile.
"I like when you smile, you should more often."
"I don't have a reason when you're not around." He states casually.
"Uchiha Sasuke!" Sakura exclaims a blush coming to her face. "Since when do you have a romantic bone in your body?"
Sasuke simply touches her forehead before moving out of bed.
"Let's get this over with so I can get the scroll back to the village alright."
Stepping into the dimly lit hallways Sasuke notices Naruto standing at the edge, peering down the dark hallway before him.
"It's a genjutsu." Sasuke states. "It's the main thing blocking our path."
"Do you know what it does?" Naruto turns in time to see Sakura leaving Sasuke's room, a small smirk crosses his face.
"Naruto isn't good with genjutsus, Sasuke we should go first incase we need to pull him through." Sakura says, making her way over to the two men.
"I helped Orochimaru put it in place. It's designed to terrorize people, keep them from moving forward. Make you believe that even if you do break through that what you saw while under really did happen."
"Fantastic." Naruto says, sarcasm dripping off his voice. "Let's just get this over with." He motions for them to step into the hallways.
Naruto watched as the pair stepped into the black hallway.
Hinata… The thoughts of all the horrible things he could see while under the genjutsu begin to run through his mind, all leading back to the woman he left at home.
"You truly are useless when it comes to these mind games" Kumar's voice echoes around his head.
"Pervy sage always did say I wasn't built for them…it's times like these where I wish I wouldn't have listened to him and trained more for them." Naruto replies, reluctantly taking a step into the darkness.
A sweet familiar smell surrounds him, soft flowers followed by sharper notes of sage.
Hinata. Naruto thinks again as his girlfriend materializes in front of him. She's dressed in her battle gear, the green flack jacket he had become so used to seeing during the war.
"Naruto-kun you made it home." She says, followed by a cough. Pulling her hand away, Naruto sees that it's covered in blood. "Oh." She turns, revealing wooden spikes sticking out of her back.
"You see, you bastard, this is how it should have been. I should have died. Or better yet you. You let all those people die for you, in your selfish quest you inconsiderate ass hole." The Hinata before him falls to the ground, dead before he has a chance to respond to the scene before him switches, now to the training grounds.
"Naruto! Naruto please!" Hinata's screams reach him. Naruto can hardly see her as she is surrounded by men wearing black cloaks dotted with red clouds. As her screams grew louder, the pool of blood seeping around their feet grows larger.
"You can't save her." Pain materializes in front of him. "She is ours, ours to use to teach you the needed lessons that you don't seem to learn, the lessons through pain."
"You're weak, you're worth nothing to me! I can't believe you were dumb enough to think you could stand by my side as my equal." The words come from Naruto's mouth followed by a cruel laugh.
"Naruto-kun." His name comes a sob from Hinata at his feet, she's kneeling in front of him. Cuts covering every visible part of her skin.
"You can't even dodge a simple kunai, you are a useless ninja." Naruto flings another knife at her, catching across her cheek.
The scenes become faster, Hinata dying in countless ways. More often at the hands of others while he stood helpless than at his own.
Before he can attack a voice breaks through.
"Naruto, Naruto come on!" Sakura's voice calls to him, beckoning him to follow.
"Naruto, are you alright?" Her face comes into view.
"Yeah, um yeah I'll be fine." Naruto sits up, looking around the room.
"Are you sure you're quite pale." Sakura hands him a flask of water.
"It was nothing, just um well nothing." He takes a drink.
"Hinata?" She questions
Naruto nods, standing.
"She's fine, I promise, she's at home waiting for you."
"Let's just get this over with, what's next."
I need to get this done, then it's back home. Maybe we can do it in a day instead of two. Making sure Hinata's okay is my top priority. Naruto thinks back to her sweet scent as a feeling he never experienced fills him. Almost as his heart was being pulled on, a sheen of sweat covered his forehead.
Just let her be okay. Naruto thinks of holding her, the way her head tucks perfectly under his chin, the feeling of her soft breasts pressing against his chest, her soft voice welcoming him home now the only thing on his mind.
"This is what I needed you for." Sasuke motions towards the wall before them.
"The scroll is locked in there, Orochimaru made it so the amount of chakra needed to access it was equal to his and Yakushi Kabuto. As I did not feel like contacting him I thought you would do." Sasuke places his hand on a rock that seems to jet out of the wall.
"Just put your hand there." He points to a rock opposite of his. "And concentrate on flowing all your available chakra into it." Sasuke's hand begins to glow purple. "Oh, and don't breathe the mist that comes out."
A still silence falls over the room, after a moment the rocks begin to shift, a fine mist begins to come out in swirls, heavier than air it floats down to the floor. The longer the pair leave their hands on the rocks the thicker the mist becomes, now pouring out at their feet like a thick fog. Naruto notices Sasuke removing his hand, motioning for him to do the same. As he moves Naruto weaves signs, a gust of wind sweeps through the room. Sasuke reaches in to grab a scroll no larger than his hand.
"We traveled and went through this trouble for that small thing?" Naruto asks, his voice annoyed.
"This small thing." Sasuke matches his annoyance. "Contains a list of everyone who worked with Danzo. The Hidden Leaf will benefit greatly from this information." He turns, lightly touching Sakura's arm, intending her to follow.
The darkness that covered the hallway before them seemed to disappear, soft torches replacing it.
January 6th
"Naruto, we can't. it's dark and we're in unfriendly territory." Sakura states.
"We are less than half a day from home, Sakura. I can take care of myself if you two want to stay." Naruto points to the tent as Sasuke stands in its doorway.
"She's fine you idiot, it was a genjutsu. None of it was real."
"You didn't see it, you didn't see the one person who loves you tell you that they wished you had died, or see them die in front of you hundreds of times. It is my job to protect her, I promised her, and she is the last person I will break a promise to."
"Naruto." Sasuke's voice, calm, sounds from behind him. "Sakura is right, you can't leave this area or you'll never make it back."
"Why would you care, it's not like you know anything about loving or caring for someone. You abandon everyone who's ever cared for you." His sentence waves at the end as Sasuke reaches out, Naruto's body becoming heavy as he falls into a genjutsus sleep.
"Leave him." Sasuke says as Sakura begins to pull Naruto into the tent.
January 7th
The gates come into vision first, the large doors painted with the symbol of the Hidden Leaf. The ninjas on guard duty obviously bored in the morning hours, playing a lazy card game.
"Good morning!" Hinata greets the men cheerfully.
"You must have someone coming home, to be that happy this early."
"I hope he said he would." The last part Hinata mumbled to herself, pulling her device from her pocket. The last message she had received saying they would be home today.
I wonder why he didn't say anything back. She thinks about how she had replied expecting him to do the same but her device had remained silent. With that though voices reach her across the air.
"Honestly Naruto it's not that noticeable just put some ice on it." Sakura's voice reaches her first.
"Yeah whatever." She hears Naruto a wide smile spreading over her face. "Fucking ass hole."
I wonder what happened…I hope he's okay.
The trio comes into view. Sasuke leading, his face emotionless, followed by Sakura and Naruto. Sakura seemed to be laughing, Hinata sees at what as Naruto turns his head. Almost the whole left side of his face is covered in a bruise, the darkest spot on his cheek bone radiating out.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata jogs the now short distance between them. "What happened?" She reaches up to lightly run her fingertips across his face.
"That dick." He hitches his thumb towards Sasuke. "decided I didn't need to come home last night and put me in a genjutsu to sleep. As I was standing, I fell on a damn rock."
Before she realizes a soft giggle passes through her lips, quickly she covers them with her hands.
"Not you too." Naruto groans.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Just picturing you falling but with the peaceful look of a sleeping genjutsu on your face is kind of funny." She looks up at Naruto's sour face. "Oh, well, maybe not that funny."
"Come on idiot, we have a report to make." Sasuke calls, impatiently waiting.