Author's Note: Ashamed to admit that I still have difficulty with third person omniscient. Oh well, here's my best effort.
Mirai means future. I will use Mirai in front of character names to differentiate them from their past counterparts.
Sasuke appreciated isolation. He very much enjoyed it, in fact. The child, however, was stuck to him like an affectionate leech. He furiously tried to detach the girl, but she would not budge. "Let go of me," he hissed.
"Tousan?" said the child, seeming confused. By then she had climbed up to his waist.
Otousan? thought Sasuke, lost as to why the child kept calling him "father."
Sasuke did not like children. He didn't know how to deal with them short of ignoring them. He usually managed to frighten them with his repulsive personality, but this child was immune.
"Aw, what a cute little girl."
For once, Sasuke was grateful for Ino and Sakura.
"That isn't your father," Ino gently scolded the child, as Sakura grabbed hold of the little girl and attempted to detach her from Sasuke's midsection.
Kasai's resisted. "He's mine!" she snapped, her grip on Sasuke tightening.
Wincing, Sasuke considered removing the child himself. He hesitated, and found his eyes lifting to meet those of the dark-eyed time-traveler. Though this man was very similar to Sasuke, he was distinctly different—wearied and dulled. Though the teenage Sasuke's eyes were shining and onyx, this older man's eyes were sooty, like coal. The coal-eyed man had fixed Sasuke with a warning stare. The man's comrades, meanwhile, seemed mildly amused.
Sakura and Ino had given up, both frowning and placing their fists on their hips. Sasuke looked back down at the girl . "Fine," he muttered unthinkingly. "I'm yours."
And for some reason, it worked. "Yatta!" the child climbed off his waist, instead clutching his hand.
Sasuke was left uncertain of what had transpired. It was almost like he had succumbed to some sort of contract.
All around the room, people had taken to staring. While some, like Naruto, were shocked that such a child would take a liking of Sasuke, others, like Hyuuga Hinata, observed the scene with intrigue.
Tsunade decided to ignore the spectacle. "Good observation Kakashi. These four indeed are Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and Hinata."
The four strangers were dressed in the gray shirts and slacks of Konoha's hospital. The women had long hair. One's expression was solemn as she adjusted the bandages on her hands. The other offered a weary smile; it was one that had been practiced and perfected—motherly.
The men both had sharp eyes. One was ruggedly handsome, and the other, elegantly so. As the blonde scratched his whiskered cheek, Kakashi's visible eye narrowed.
"Just different versions of them," Tsunade continued. "They are from ten years in the future."
The Hokage took a moment to allow her guests to absorb this information. The young Sasuke grimaced, the young Naruto blinked, and the young Hinata's eyes became huge. Their pink-haired comrade was in a mixture of shock and uncertainty as she glanced at the child clinging to Sasuke.
The rest of the room was engulfed in murmurs.
Shikamaru raised his arm. "How did they get here?" he said, peering at the time travelers. "And why?"
"Their Hokage created a jutsu that enabled them to time travel," Tsunade responded, not mentioning that said Hokage was among the them. "They fled from a strong enemy in their time. They came to the past to save Konoha, and require our full cooperation."
"How do we know they're not lying?" asked Neji, and it was a valid point. The guests could have been enemies infiltrating the village.
Tsunade nodded to him. "I expected there would be doubts. Why don't you activate your byakugan?"
Neji did as ordered. He looked from one time-traveler to the next, exploring the intricacies of their chakra circulatory systems. He then shifted his attention to the versions of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata he was familiar with. "Their identical," he said. Every contour, every chakra release point.
"Yes, they are," Tsunade said. "Any more questions?"
The fifteen-year-old Uchiha wanted to make certain. He wanted to be beyond any shadow of a doubt that he was looking at his future self. He glanced uneasily at the girl clutching his hand, then directed his gaze to the coal-eyed man. "Activate your sharingan," he demanded.
Mirai Sasuke glanced away, somewhat annoyed. But as he lifted his eyes, they had become glowing, crimson orbs.
As had Kasai's.
Sasuke's heart pounded as he stared at the girl clutching his hand and realized that his clan had been revived. How old is she? Sasuke wondered if bafflement. How strong is she? Of all the questions racing though his mind, the only one that he managed to voice was, "Who is your mother?"
Her sharingan fading, the child parted her lips.
"Enough, Kasai," Mirai Sasuke interrupted.
At his sides, Mirai Sasuke's companions had become stern, except for Mirai Naruto, who was trying to suppress a snicker.
Hugging the young Sasuke's arm, Kasai looked up at the coal-eyed man. Momentarily, she glanced between the two Sasukes. "Otousan?" she said.
But Kasai knew who her real father was—just not why she had two of them. Her true father was taller and stronger, carrying a few additional scars and faint lines beneath his eyes. He didn't have those odd seals on his arms and legs like this one did.
Her hold on the teenager loosened, and finally she let him go. I'm sorry.
Aa, Mirai Sasuke responded.
Kasai trailed toward him, leaving a curious boy in her wake. Are you sad, Otousan?
Very, he said dryly.
He offered her his hand, which Kasai took. She wrapped it around her shoulders. I like him.
Stay away from him.
"I ask you to treat these four with respect," Tsunade said, forcefully pulling her attention away from the Kasai-induced spectacle. "And most importantly, cooperate with them. Please do not question them, or prod to know your futures. You have no idea how sensitive this matter is."
The young Sasuke scowled, still curious as to who he could attribute the other half of Kasai's strength. The woman had to be strong, and the child's enthusiasm certainly wasn't something that she hadn't inherited from him. Sasuke's gaze traveled over his pink-haired teammate, and he involuntarily flinched. Sakura?
"I also ask that some of you might provide them with a place to stay," Tsunade continued.
There was a brief pause in which Sakura's eyes widened, and Ino waved her arm in the air. Neji beat them to it. "There is plenty of room at the Hyuuga compound."
Moments later, the five time-travelers followed the young Neji and the young Hinata out of the room, leaving a stunned crowd in their wake, that was still trying to comprehend the afternoon's events. The young Hinata would blush and bite her bottom lip from time to time, as if wanting to say something but not having the courage to. Neji had curiosities of his own and he was deliberating methods of uncovering them.
Mirai Sasuke was carrying the sleeping Kasai. The five-year-old had the tendency to pass out after using strong techniques. Mirai Hinata wanted to carry her, but she knew that it would be too suspicious to the curious onlookers. She saw as her husband reached up to rub the side of his neck.
The seal is bothering you? Mirai Hinata asked.
Mirai Sasuke thought Mirai Hinata was too perceptive for her own good. It's fine, he said. I'm drained right now, so it's itching.
By the time they reached the Hyuuga house, evening had fallen. Neji and Hinata led the group not to separate bedrooms, but to the guest wing. They knew not whether everyone would favor separate rooms, or would prefer to form pairs, such as Naruto and Hinata (the young Hinata was hopeful), or Sasuke and Sakura (Neji presumed). Bidding their guests goodnight, the two teenagers went off to bed, and the five time-travelers assembled in a single guest room.
Mirai Sasuke lowered his daughter to the bed in the corner of the room. It took him another moment to unclamp her fingers from his sleeve.
"This is going to be difficult," Naruto said as he took a seat on the bureau.
"With the Hyuuga house breathing down our necks, we'll have to be discreet," Sakura said. "We should keep our futures secret—our marriages too. Hopefully no one will try to spy—"
"It is disrespectful to use the byakugan in the house," said Hinata. "We should manage."
The bedroom was plain, as were all the rooms in the Hyuuga guest wing. The carpet was white, as were the curtains and the linen. The room was furnished with a large bed, a bureau, and an oak wardrobe. There were also two large windows, both of which gazed down on the front gates of the house.
Hinata sat down on the bed beside Kasai. She methodically stroked her daughter's hair, a smile gracing her lips. "I think our presence here may simplify the mission."
No one had dared to suggest precisely what the mission would entail, however, each of them was devising their own plan—schemes they knew would inevitably clash. It was just a matter of who could exercise theirs faster and successfully.
"Anything we do here is going to have ramifications," muttered Mirai Sasuke. "I'd like to suggest a rule. No killing, unless we unanimously agree on it."
Looks of surprise briefly crossed each Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata's faces.
"Fine," said Naruto gruffly, looking away. "You're going to make this hard, aren't you?"
"Are we agreed?" said Sasuke.
"Agreed," the three echoed, monotonously.
Hinata was glowering at the Uchiha.
The blonde produced an exaggerated yawn. "I'm off to bed," he chirped, hopping down from the dresser.
"Me too," said Sakura, grabbing the back of Naruto's jacket and following him out the door. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Sasuke and Hinata said in unison, watching each other.
As the door swung closed, Hinata stood. She walked around the bed to peer up at Sasuke. It was at such a proximity that she noticed he was shaking. There were shadows beneath his eyes. She reached into his collar to rub the spot where she knew the cursed seal was.
Hinata began to pull her hand away, but Sasuke caught it. He interlocked her fingers with his, and she was mildly impressed. Sasuke usually skirted intimacy. But now everything was at stake.
She wrapped her arms around his chest, catching him off guard. "Are you okay?"
He lowered his face to her hair. "Mmm."
It didn't qualify as a response, but she would take it. They remained in that position far longer than they should have. It was getting late, and they shouldn't have been alone together when there were so many things they couldn't afford to reveal.
Hinata pulled away, staring at his chest and holding onto his shirt. She then stood on her toes to kiss him lightly on the lips. Both savored it. "I'm glad you're alright."
Though she didn't want to, Hinata pulled away from him. She delayed releasing her grip on his shirt.
Then Hinata left the room, knowing that it was safer not to stay with Sasuke. She could not risk anyone finding out that she was Kasai's mother. It was a sensitive time for their counterparts, and the young Sasuke and Hinata should not have to worry about what they were and weren't supposed to feel for each other. Things would occur naturally, and if anything went off track, irreparable damage could be dealt on the future. Kasai's existence would be at stake.
Hinata entered the guest room across the hall from Sasuke's. She dropped herself onto the bed. Naruto's right. This is going to be difficult.