Hinata looked over the market and wondered what she had seen that had distracted her. She hummed, tilting her head, dismissing the nudging feeling, and went back to her shopping. Suddenly, a small force slammed into the back of her legs, making her stumble. She heard instant crying and turned to the toddler, who screamed. She fell to her knees, dropping her basket to help him sit up. Checking him over, he seemed he had been scared by the stop, not hurt by the fall. He reached for her with his little arms. She picked him. Looking around, everyone who was watching looked confused, not concerned, so they must not know him.
She rubbed his back until he calmed down. Standing up with him on her hip, she slid the basket in the crook of her elbow, and she glanced around. "Where did you come from, sweetheart." He was far too young to speak to her. From what she could determine by his size, he was probably under three. His mother must be worried sick.
She turned her face away from the child, activating her eyes to look for a frantic parent, finding one on the edge of the market. One she recognized, she deactivated her eyes, looking back at the baby. "You must be Inojin-san, hmm?"
She crossed the market to Ino, who was frantically asking people if they saw a little boy. "Ino-chan!" She called for, unable to wave, she made the child more seen by lifting him on her hip.
"Oh my god!" She shrieked, bolting, taking the child who reached for her quickly. "Where did you find him!?" She cried, holding him tightly to her chest, breathing heavily as the panic subsided.
"He ran into me across the market. He's quite fast." Hinata offered a smile, hoping it would help.
"He's just started running around. We were sitting on the bench. I had only turned to dig into my purse for his snack. Then he was gone!" Ino explained frantically. "Thank you!" She sighed, rubbing the child's back. He had calmed down significantly now back in his mother's arms. He was more shaken by his fall than his actual adventure.
"I'm glad he didn't hurt himself running around." She offered. Looking back at the market, she had a few more things to pick up before she headed home.
Ino said something to her she didn't quite hear. She turned back to ask. "I'm sorry?"
"I… asked how you were recovering?" Ino repeated, looking unsure.
"Oh, well. I'm physically fine now. My memory hasn't returned, but Sasuke has managed to tell me nearly everything I needed to know, so I'm not lost." Hinata admitted.
"...How is he?" Ino mumbled, again looking uncomfortable with her questions.
"He woke up with a cold." Hinata smiled at the whining he did this morning.
"He gets colds?" Ino asked, confused. It was odd for nin to get sick with something so simple.
"He doesn't have his nin health anymore." Ino still looked confused. Should she explain further? It seemed like Ino was trying to be nice. "When he came back to the village, he wasn't taking all the good care of himself. After that, he seemed to lose some of his nin immunity. I'm sure if he went back to his old training, it would return, but he's retired, so he wasn't interested."
Ino took the information and looked down to think. "Oh, well, if you come by the shop, we have some eucalyptus in stock. It might help."
"It was actually on my list, thank you." Hinata smiled.
Hinata tapped her fingers, looking at the plant she had picked up as her water boiled. She had spent a lot of time not wanting to patch up old relationships because she was worried that they would just show her what she was told in Sasuke's stories. She didn't think he was exaggerating all that much but had she given up on people changing.
Ino had been surprisingly kind to her. Hinata was sure that being the one to find her son and her panic had helped, but after he was discovered, there was no need to express concern for her. Especially not for Sasuke…
She heard a sniff and the sound of fabric sliding coming from the hall. Sasuke appeared with the comforter around his shoulders, his nose red, and watery eyes. He was pale and sickly, but he didn't have a fever; he was just miserable. She poured the tea and handed him a cup.
"What's that?" He wondered.
"Eucalyptus, you don't recognize the smell?" She wondered.
"I can't smell." He mumbled nasally.
She giggled. "Well, this will help. I'm going to make you a chest rub out of it. It will help clear your nose."
He scrunched his face. "Sure."
"I met Ino and her son today." She began.
He made another face. "Should I ask?"
"It was different. Her son bolted through the market when she turned her head. He ended up running into me. We talked. She asked about you." She offered.
"Of course, she is only nice when you've done something for her." He grumbled.
"I'm not all that concerned with the reason. It was nice to talk to someone from school, and it to not be negative." She smiled thoughtfully. "Do you think I have been avoiding everyone a little too much?"
He groaned, seeing where her line of thinking was going. "Can you at least wait until I can breathe before you go patching up old relationships?" He coughed.
She giggled. "Yeah, it can wait."
Hinata dropped the Hyuga sealed note on the table and stared at him in shock.
"What?" He added, feeling worried.
"Hanabi-chan is pregnant." She gasped.
"She's not married." That was a clan taboo.
"I know." She squeaked, covering her mouth. "My father is furious."
"Do you think he will do something?" He asked cautiously.
Hinata paused to chew on her lips and stare at the letter with an unsure look. "I don't think he will hurt her, though I hope he doesn't scold her. Too much stress isn't good for pregnancy." She sighed, puffing out her cheeks. "I think she should be glad that father is Hyuga."
He scrunched his nose. "How closely related."
"I don't recognize the name..." She pierced her lips together. "Oh, yes I do, oh no." She grumbled.
"What?" He heated when she made him ask so many times.
"Low, low branch house, far relations, father will not be happy if he knows." Blood purity, he rolled his eyes. Well, he couldn't argue. His mother and father were chosen to marry because of blood purity. They, too, were not that distantly related.
"So, she's rebelling the ultimate way." He grinned.
"I don't think this is funny." She mumbled. "But she seems happy, so she must not be worried about it."
"Want to throw her a baby shower?" He smirked when she frowned at him. He laughed.
"...She wasn't married?" Hinata gapped. She hadn't thought about it when they had seen her before. She was to focus on the fact that her sister was very pregnant to wonder about who the father was. "Did... did she marry him?"
"As far as I know, no." Oh, dear. "She was proud as hell, came to you with the biggest grin because she had told your father that she was keeping the bastard child, and of course, getting rid of it wasn't an option as she is the only one who can produce heir now and risking her fertility is not an option."
"Do you think she wanted to marry him and was told she couldn't or that she would have to produce better heirs?" She hoped not, but she was sure that if nothing went wrong with this pregnancy, they would unquestionably want more children from her that were purer.
It hit her that Hanabi had said that she was having trouble keeping her children unsealed. Hinata hadn't thought about it at the time, but she should have no problem keeping her firstborn unsealed as it would have the natural birthright to be the heir. Her concern meant that the council didn't want to recognize the less pure child as the heir.
Not only would they want the first child sealed with all the branch children the day the second child would turn two, but they would certainly demand a second pure child even if that meant her sister wouldn't be happy with the father.
It was always ideal that there were multiple children in the head household in case of young deaths. It also created a natural leader to the branch house as her uncle had been and as Hanabi was meant to be if Hinata had become the heir. Her father being a twin meant that they didn't need more, but her mother had been told she would need to have another, even though she had fallen ill and the second pregnancy killed her.
She hoped they would at least consider her health, especially after how their mother had died, but it hurt knowing that they would rather have a child that her sister did not want to have with a man of their choosing rather than accept an 'inferior' child.
It finally hit her what she was talking about. "I am an aunt."
Sasuke, who was giving her a worried look, chuckled. "Is that why you are glaring at the table."
"I am an aunt." She repeated.
"Yeah." He chuckled, then coughed.