Author's Note:
Genzai means present. Therefore, if I write Genzai Sasuke, I mean present-Sasuke.
And as you already know, Mirai means future.
Heaving a defeated sigh, the teenage Hinata exited the Hyuuga household now wearing her shinobi attire, a five-year-old girl clutching her hand. Hinata was not sure how she would be able to train while also babysitting and she couldn't imagine that Kiba and Shino would react well to the interloper.
The heiress found herself often glancing down at Kasai. She's beautiful, Hinata mused, as they stepped onto the veranda.
Genzai Hinata was surprised to see that Mirai Sasuke was there. Much as she tried, she could not seem to avoid him.
Mirai Sasuke was turned away from her. He leaned his elbows on the wooden railing, his black eyes affixed to the horizon. Though his expression implied apathy, his breathing was deep. His demeanor suggested a strong dependence on the cool air.
"Otousan!"
Kasai broke away from Hinata to run to her father's side. The child wrapped around his legs, startling the Uchiha. He looked down, and quickly offered Kasai one of those practiced smiles.
Or rather, a smirk.
But it was warm. Fatherly.
Kasai beamed so widely Hinata could spot where she'd lost a molar.
Father and daughter exchanged a thousand words with those wicked expressions.
Looking up from Kasai's gaze, Sasuke took notice of the Hyuuga. "Hinata..." he said, observing her timid bearing. "-san," he abruptly added, upon noticing her redden.
Hinata felt her heart pounding and tried her best to cool down. As expected, this older Sasuke made her feel nothing short of uncomfortable. She swallowed her fear and searched for words. "Ano...I'm taking...Sai-chan...t-training with me," she managed.
Hinata mentally scolded herself for the absentminded nickname, though Mirai Sasuke didn't even seem to notice the corruption of his daughter's name.
He nodded. "Don't let her train with you. She's too young," he said, as his daughter pouted and began to tug at his clothes.
"Un," said Hinata, absently studying his solemn eyes.
"And if you come across my young self, treat him as a stranger."
Hinata raised her brows. "Oh..." she said, as Mirai Sasuke turned back to the yard. He muttered a halfhearted farewell to his daughter, and suddenly Kasai was holding Hinata's hand again, effectively dragging Hinata off the veranda. The heiress' mind was littered with questions, many which she knew would never be answered. In a haze, she followed the child, surprised by how well Kasai seemed to know her way around. Hinata was pulled through the garden, past the gates, beyond the wall, and onto the road, where they met—
Hinata squeaked.
"'Tousan!" said Kasai.
It was Sasuke. The teenage one. They encountered Genzai Sasuke.
He was leaning on the perimeter wall, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Upon noticing Kasai, his lip twitched. "Yo," he said, not even glancing at Hinata. Like his mentor encountering new prey, he slithered forward.
Hinata's heart was racing even faster. "H-hi," she stammered, her hand tightening around Kasai's as she attempted to drag the girl back onto the Hyuuga grounds. Unfortunately for Hinata, Genzai Sasuke grabbed Kasai's other hand. Hinata froze as Kasai giggled, peacefully unaware of how close both her shoulders were to being dislocated.
The heiress gulped as Sasuke now scrutinized her.
Then he said, "Where are we going..." and his eyebrows furrowed, as though he was concentrating, "Hyuuga-san?" he added belatedly.
Hyuuga-san? thought Hinata, finding it to be strangely formal. Though they had never spoken, Hinata and Sasuke had grown up in the academy together. Moreover, Sasuke did not address anyone else in such a way. Surely, Hinata thought, he would be comfortable using her first name?
That's when Hinata realized that he didn't know it.
With a sharp jerk, Hinata tore Kasai away from Sasuke, lifting the child to prop Kasai against her hip. Hinata didn't know why she was suddenly irritated. She supposed that she shouldn't have been fazed that he'd forgotten her first name. A lot of people do.
In confusion, Kasai peeked over Hinata's shoulder as she was carted away by the kunoichi's swift pace. Hinata followed Kasai's gaze, becoming dismayed to notice Sasuke was pursuing them, and looking peeved too. He quickly matched Hinata's stride, and they were soon side by side, looking like friends, or comrades, even though they were not.
"I-isn't that your main technique?" Hinata stammered out bitterly. "M-memorizing things?"
Copying, Sasuke thought. They're distinctly different. He stuffed his hands back into his pockets, refusing to admit his blunder. He continued to scrutinize the Hyuuga, her name at the tip of his tongue.
Hinata kept her eyes ahead of her. She knew she could never beat Uchiha Sasuke in a race. So she lowered Kasai to the road again, where the child gripped Hinata's right hand and Sasuke's left. What am I going to do? Hinata wondered, speeding up in her desire to be with her teammates. Sasuke only copied as she did, gritting his teeth as he muttered, alas, "Hinata."
He pronounced her name wrong...with an over-emphasis on the last two syllables. No one else seemed to do that. She found it...interesting.
They reached the training grounds, late to both their team meetings. The members of squads seven and eight were present, but still several yards away, scattered about a grassy field, each looking concerned or annoyed.
Hinata started towards them, but was jerked back as Sasuke grabbed her arm.
It took only a moment for Genzai Naruto to spot the missing member of team seven. "Is that him?" he said, shielding his eyes from the sun. "With Hinata?" The two doujutsu-users were standing at the entry of the grounds with a child standing between them. Hinata's arms were folded and she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there. And yet she and Sasuke appeared to be immersed in conversation.
Upon further examination, Naruto could make out Mirai Sasuke's kid. The child was clutching each Sasuke and Hinata's hands, as she would her guardians.
Naruto's mouth moved wordlessly. Sasuke talking to girls was an alien notion. Around the clearing, Sakura reddened, Kakashi blinked, and Kiba produced an angry fanged grin. Kurenai's lips twitched, Shino removed his sunglasses, and Akamaru snarled in disapproval.
"Oi! Hinata!" Kiba yelled.
Hinata didn't hear him. Her undivided attention was focused on Uchiha Sasuke.
He'd conjured a loaded statement, just dripping pathos:
"Twelve hours ago, I had nothing to live for."
And it made her stomach clench. She studied his onyx eyes, wondering why they glimmered in triumph.
If Hinata went along with Genzai Sasuke, his future counterpart probably would not be happy. And yet Mirai Sasuke seemed very far away from her at that particular moment, as present Sasuke, the true Sasuke, grabbed her collar and pulled her closer. He held her eyes, daring her to deny him. Kasai gasped as she was pressed between them, but her muffled complaints were left ignored.
"Okay," the heiress whispered. She didn't know what Sasuke wanted, or what she was consenting to, but she weakly submitted. "Alright."
Sasuke lifted Kasai, causing the child to giggle. He nodded to Hinata, and the trio disappeared into the surrounding tree branches.
Part 2
Genzai Sasuke's hand was clamped so tightly over Kasai's face that she couldn't seem to breathe. The child just made muffled noises as she struggled to pull away. Genzai Hinata could only stare on in horror. Sasuke clearly wasn't accustomed to children and all the intricacies of their care. "I d-don't think she can b-breathe," the heiress pointed out.
Though Sasuke was inclined to ignore the Hyuuga, he glanced down at Kasai, blinked, and released the child's face. Kasai made exaggerated gasps for breath.
"I can bweeathhe!" she proclaimed.
"Quiet," muttered Sasuke as he redirected his attention to the classroom window. "No…it's clear."
"W-what are we d-doing at the Academy?" Hinata said, watching Sasuke lean down and cup his hands for Kasai to step into. Hinata gasped as Sasuke practically catapulted the child inside.
"Neutral territory," said Sasuke as he glanced up at Hinata. "It's clear that you're intimidated. This is public enough but private. Or you can go. It doesn't matter. I just want to speak to Kasai." With that, he straightened from his crouch, and easily leapt through the window.
Hinata hesitated, and sighed. She glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Finally, she followed Sasuke inside.
She had been assigned to this classroom before, back when she had first become a chunnin. It was a class to prepare children for entrance into the academy program.
Miscellaneous toys littered the floor, most of them weapons—plastic kunai, shuriken, and swords. But there were also a few, more random, things. Kasai dove straight for a pair of dolls.
Barely legible handwriting was scrawled across the chalkboard, all of the sentences diagonal at the end, as though the teacher's arm had gotten tired. It made Hinata remember that Shikamaru was on Academy duty this year.
Hinata trailed towards the teacher's desk, out of habit, and took a seat. She rested her elbows on the surface and intertwined her fingers, absently scrutinizing Sasuke as he scrutinized Kasai.
"Who is your mother?" Sasuke questioned the child immediately. He absently watched his daughter-to-be initiate combat or intercourse between her two dolls.
"Oh, that's kaasan," responded Kasai blithely.
"But who?" Sasuke pressed. "What's her name?"
"Ano...kaasan."
She doesn't understand the question, Hinata thought, getting concerned by the Uchiha's lack of tactfulness.
Sasuke stood there in silence for a moment. He didn't frown, or sigh, or in any way seem exasperated. Instead his eyes narrowed in a look of killing intent. "How old are you then?"
Kasai dropped the dolls. "F-fi-five."
"Leave her alone." Hinata stared hard at the desk, her fingers twitching.
"What?" Sasuke said.
"Leave—her—" Hinata caught Sasuke's menacing gaze. "A-a-" It was her turn to stammer. But she refused to back down from Sasuke's stare, even as he approached the desk and placed his hands upon it so the two were eye to eye.
"I just want to get started on Kasai, and her siblings, as soon as possible," Sasuke said, causing Hinata to blush. Suddenly his killing intent seemed like mild indifference again.
"I don't th-think she has any brothers or s-sisters."
"Perhaps she'd like some," Sasuke countered.
"I want brothers and sisters!" Kasai piped in, raising her hand.
Hinata's blush deepened. What did I get myself into?
As Kasai returned to the toys, the corner of Sasuke's mouth rose in the hint of a smirk. "Interested in helping me find her, Hyuuga?"
"N-no!"
Hinata attempted a cold stare. Sasuke was unaffected. And so they watched each other some more.
As if only then realizing that he was teasing her, Sasuke looked slightly perturbed, and turned away from her. Kasai froze, on the brink of stabbing him with a plastic sword. She dropped the weapon in guilt.
Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, unimpressed. "Kakai, where do you live?"
"I live at home, stupid."
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. "And you live with your father?"
"And kaasan!"
"All together?"
"In my house!"
Sasuke's eye twitched. "And you say you're four?"
"I'm five!"
Sasuke looked thoughtful at this. "Hn." He stared off.
Her elbows still on the desk, Hinata put her face in her hands. She was surprised when Sasuke walked around to her side of the desk and sat on it, placing one of his feet on the arm of her chair. It was a thing that secretaries did in movies about office love affairs. Hinata slowly looked up, heat rising to her cheeks.
"In less than five years, I'll have this woman in bed," Sasuke noted.
Hinata didn't know why he was telling her this.
"Though I'd like to expedite the process..."
This was a different method of torture, Hinata decided. "Assuming you f-find her," she piped in, petulantly.
Sasuke stood, looking contemplative again. "She has to be strong," he mused aloud.
And unfortunately for Sasuke, Hinata supposed, that was where his trail ended.