Hinata woke up one day with a headache and all she wanted to do was stay in bed for the rest of the day. But she has agreed to meet Kiba and Akamaru in the training grounds in about one hour. When she was putting on her boots she had to sit down because of the dizziness she felt. She didn't know how much of a sparring partner she was going to be to Kiba but she didn't want to cancel the meeting so she went out. The weather was beautiful and the temperature wasn't too high so she smiled for the first time that day.
Sasuke's been gone for five days now and she knew they were on their way back. It was the first time that they have been apart for so long and it felt weird. She tried not to think about it and not be one of these pathetic girls that couldn't go a week without a man by their side. But she did miss him, she missed talking to him before they both fell asleep. She breathed in deeply and shook her head. He'd be home soon so there was nothing to worry about.
Kiba has been at the training grounds already when she came there. Her head didn't hurt as much anymore, right now it was mild and she could definitely train in spite of it. She said hello both to Kiba and Akamaru and they started their warm-up.
„Sasuke still on a mission?" She just nodded. „I suppose he'll be back soon enough" she smiled at Kiba.
„I think so too. So what do you want to do today? Aim training or defense?" She felt odd with the fact that she was stronger than Kiba right now. He and Shino had troubles with her new skills and she found that amusing.
„Defense I suppose, but don't kick my ass too hard today" Kiba laughed and they started their training. She didn't feel her best so she didn't work him out too much just as he asked.
When they were done she sat down on the grass and looked up at the shy. She wanted to go back home and wash so she said goodbye to Kiba and Akamaru rather quickly that day and left. Hinata was glad that she went out and trained even for a little while because she did feel better now. The hot water in the shower made her muscles feel better and her head didn't hurt at all after she left the bathroom. She prepared herself a large cup of tee and sat on the porch with her hair in a towel. Being here in this house didn't feel abnormal to her anymore. She liked the way this house was secluded from the rest of the village. It still needed a lot of work but she loved it already either way. The whole Uchicha district was a strange place that would have given her nightmares a few years back. But right now all she saw here was a past that she unfortunately didn't know. There was no other way to see it to be honest. The place itself wasn't particularly scary, it was beautiful even. Most of the houses were so damaged that they would have to be taken down completely but the way the nature took its place in them was artistic almost. She wasn't quite sure as to if she wanted to stay here secluded from everyone. It was appealing right now but they would have to eventually become a part of the village life. And living here with the ghosts of the past wouldn't help, she was sure of that.
She exhaled and put her tea down on a table. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and stood up. It occurred to her that she's never been in any of the other houses. She's spent a lot of her time in the district and yet she's never been anywhere besides this house and it's garden. Thinking about the places past made her curious as to what was inside of these other walls. The main building was the first one by the entrance. She knew it to be Naka Shrine. It was mostly destroyed by the battle, some of the columns were broken and seemed unstable the upper level of the building was completely destroyed. When she came inside she saw a lot of garbage. She suspected that some kids and teenagers had been coming here from time to time before the war. Actually she knew it to be true cause she had seen some of them sneak up there in the past. There wasn't any seal stopping anybody from entering and by that she was surprised. She suspected this building to be the most guarded one in the whole district.
On the left there was a hole in the ground, not hole exactly, an entrance to the underground level of the building. Hinata decided to go down there but when she was close enough to see what was down there she frowned. She couldn't see anything, even upon activating her Byakugan. It was weird and alerted her. There was a ladder that she used to go down there. The lower she got the less sure of her decision she became. Once her feet touched the stone floor she looked around the room. It was approximately 430 ft2. And for the most part empty. She saw a few broken bookshelves and a table. There was a feeling inside of her that she didn't see everything, that there was much more to this place than what she was able to recognize. She closed her eyes and concentrated on this feeling, she's let it take over her. There wasn't a presence of anybody or anything in particular but she knew she was being deceived by something. It wasn't something strange taking into consideration the fact that she was at the Uchicha Shrine. People who used to live here were the best users of genjutsu. She just had to focus and try to fight it. It was a difficult thing to do considering that this particular deception didn't lose it's power for a long time, she suspected it was there even before the war started, before Uchicha Dristrict became an empty one. When she felt a strong pull from one side of the rom she opened her eyes and went straight in that direction. She was facing a solid wall but when she wanted to touch it her hand went right through it.
„Easy" she muttered to herself. And she felt pinch inside of her stomach, too easy. But against her instincts she went inside. It was a smaller room shaped like the letter L. It was connected to the walls of the room she's just left. The first thing she saw were scrolls in the corner. They were old and in different sizes. Not far from them there was a wardrobe, a really huge one made from metal. It was cold when she touched it. Inside of it there were weapons, lots of them and many different kinds of them. She didn't recognize some of them. The years in the basement didn't serve them well, there was a lot of rust on most of the kunais and other blades. But some of the weapons shined as new even now. Those ones had to be so much more valuable than a simple kunai or a shuriken. She didn't dare touch any of them but still was in awe.
On the wall that was behind the corner she was a map, it was a detailed plan of the village with some notes on it. She swallowed even though her throat was dry. This was it, this was a place where Sasuke's family planned their attack, their betrayal to the village. She felt uneasy looking at it now. She looked at this map for quite a long time but she didn't see it. She saw Sasuke's face when he was reminiscing about his family, about what Itachi had done. She wanted to understand their motives, she wanted to be sympathetic about what they were feeling as a clan. But she just couldn't do it. To her what they had been planing on doing was unimaginable. She didn't understand any of this. Not the plan, not the order to eliminate the whole family by Itachi. She just wasn't able to comprehend this whole situation that had brought so much pain, so much hate and loneliness.
She was done with this place so she wanted to leave, she even forgot about that well known pinch she felt once she entered the room. But right in that moment she knew that her subconscious has been right. She wasn't able to leave, the wall was solid from this side, there was no illusion, just stone. She didn't panic right away but when some time passed and she couldn't find a way out her head started spinning. It was obvious that there was a way out, she just wasn't able to find it. She even considered going through the ceiling but when she remembered the stat of the building above her she knew that if she tried doing this it would come crushing down on her.
She sat down on the ground and started thinking. She knew that there was no way anybody would come look for her here. Well maybe there was one person who could but he was out of town for now. How long till he came back? Sooner rather than later. He was close probably so she might not die here of hunger. She knew it was not a time to be laughing but she just couldn't help herself. This situation was so pathetic. She reached for one of the scrolls and started reading it. It told a story of some Uchicha guy form a long time ago. He was not particularly impressive, she would call him boring for the most part. Not a great character to write about but she somehow liked him. He had his struggles to become a respected member of his clan, he was hard working and quite bright when it came to fights and planning them. She tried activating Byakugan. She saw nothing but a distant, faint figure. Someone was out there but she just couldn't say who it was. Was she supposed to scream for help? Would this person even hear her from down here?
Sasuke came back home. He was so eager to see her once again, to hold heron his arms and feel her presence. But when he came up the porch stairs he saw only a half empty cup of tee. The doors were opened but it wasn't strange, they didn't worry about burglars particularly if they were out for a short time. So he assumed she would be back shortly. He came into their home and went to the bathroom. He desperately needed a shower.
He didn't start to worry until it was almost nighttime. She was close, he could sense her chakra. He decided to go and look for her. When he followed her trail into the Naka Shrine he started to worry, he didn't know this place well enough. He hadn't spent there much time but he knew it was important to his family, his father.
He came down the ladder and looked around for her. He knew she was somewhere there but he couldn't see her. He cursed under his breath and activated Sharingan. It was different than it was for Hinata. He did see something now, he saw an opening in the wall and he saw two seals on either side of this opening. This was designed for Uchicha clan member. He took the seals down and came into the room. He's never been there before. There had been no time to sightsee the last time he had been there. There she was, asleep on the floor. He smirked and picked her up. But his attention was brought to the map and the wardrobe full of weaponry. His throat has almost closed.
„Sasuke?" Hinata woke up and saw his face. It was unreadable.
„Let's go home" he smiled down at her and took her back up and out of the shrine.
