It had been mentioned briefly that Sasuke was set on destroying the leaf village. Hinata vaguely recalled the conversation with Karin. It had been pushed to the very back of her conscious because she didn't see Naruto allowing that to go down.
Naruto was a lot of things but first and foremost he was the Leaf's protector. He wore that title proudly.
Hinata scoffed and rolled her eyes. She didn't feel like getting in on the heist, but if she was going to be staying with them it would be inevitable. A small part of her wanted to help protect the leaf, of course that would mean getting in Sasuke's way like he warned her not to. Hell, what did she care? She still had friends and family that lived in Konoha and she really didn't want to see it destroyed..
How could she pull something like that off though? Sasuke would be difficult to distract or stop to say the least. Not only that, but it was hard to say exactly what he went to the mountain for. It was full of questionable creatures, one being Kiba's father which he hadn't seen for nearly a decade. The thought of it still made her blood boil. She shook her head and sighed. No point in getting angry now.
The group had left the snowy terrain behind them nearly two weeks ago, and Hinata was thrilled. They were now thriving in shorts and tank-top weather.
Hinata wiped sweat from her brow and tied a shirt around her head like a turban to shield her from any sunburn. It would be just a few more miles before they would reach a small rest stop town.
"Can we please stay in the village for a few days, Sasuke?" Karin groaned.
"Hn." Suigetsu rolled his eyes as he trudged next to Karin, "You never stop complaining, do you Karin?" And so the argument ensued. Hinata felt as if her brain were boiling in its own juices. Oddly enough, Jugo didn't seem to be breaking that much of a sweat. She glanced over at his shirtless state. If Jugo were just a little more mentally stable he wouldn't be that bad of a bachelor. He definitely had the body for it.
Hinata straightened herself and averted her eyes to the front of the group. Sasuke was looking at her over his shoulder. He seemed a little more displeased than usual. "What?" She asked but he never answered.
Sooner than expected, they arrived in the small town of Iragawa. There was a small population of 440, but the streets were surprisingly buzzing with people who seemed to be in some sort of a hurry. There were fountains everywhere and swift streams flowing along the finely carved trenches on parallel sides of the streets. Water was everywhere...
"Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin. Check us in at the hotel." Sasuke handed them a small bag and they headed off happily. Sasuke turned his head slightly and nodded for Hinata to follow him. She followed behind him silently, wondering where he was leading her to.
"Well...?"
"You and I are going somewhere."
"What about Karin.. and the others?"
"We'll be back, Suigetsu will handle them for now.."
"I want to know where we are going or I'm not going." He sighed heavily and turned to face her, "We are going to infiltrate Konohagekure." Hinata blinked and stared at him dumbfounded, "Are you really that insane? We wont get anywhere near the border until at least nightfall.."
"And that's fine, we will infiltrate during the night. We get in and get out quickly." Hinata honestly couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did he really think it was that easy? "Don't tell me you left Konoha without severing whatever ties you had?"
She didn't answer him, she only stared at him. "You're pathetic. You were told to stay out of my way. If you're not up for it, go back and switch places with Suigetsu."
Hinata stared at him coldly as she spoke, "You're going to allow the need for revenge to swallow you up and spit you out. You won't have to worry about repopulating the world with Uchiha because you'll be dead before you even get the chance." Sasuke arched a brow and started to reply but she cut him off, "You act like a child because you have never been held accountable for your actions. Do you think it is okay to murder an entire village because of your grudge against a few? Do you think two wrongs will make a right? Do you think a half grown man running around with a group of lost degenerates will ever amount up to anything? Once you get your revenge what will you do? Where will you go? When you've finally killed everyone that has ever meant anything to you, you will be alone for real then."
"Do I not look alone to you now?"
"No. Not at all. You just look like a little boy whom needs to grow up. Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo see you as a friend and you let them down daily. You're entitled and egotistic because that's your defense mechanism. You have people who care about you in that village and don't you try to deny it."
"If you mean Naruto-"
"Sakura, Kakashi, and the rest of our graduating class. We were all your friends. There may be some who are upset with you for what you have chosen to do but they are not beyond forgiving you. If you keep going you will reach the point of being unforgivable, is that what you want? To be truly alone in this world?" Sasuke's gaze softened a bit as he studied Hinata's face. She was different, not the same shy little girl he remembered from before. "You don't even think about what you're doing to them. Karin, Jugo, and Suigetsu follow you around to have a purpose. You give them a purpose. You know that and yet you use them to do your handiwork. You have the power and the opportunity to positively influence a number of people and you would rather sulk around in your hatred for just a few irrelevant souls." She wrinkled her nose in disgust, "You are the only pathetic person standing here."
"Are you done?" Sasuke asked quietly. Hinata folded her arms over her chest and shrugged, "I guess."
"Then lets get going.." Hinata sighed and followed him. "I told you that you didn't have to come." Honestly, Hinata didn't even know why she was still going. "Someone has to keep you out of trouble and I don't think Suigetsu is capable."
"Sounds like you care just a little bit."
"Part of me does." She admitted and he looked to be taken aback, "but don't get any ideas..!" She added quickly, as if realizing how that sounded. Sasuke nodded and they continued toward the Leaf village.
Night began to fall and Hinata broke the silence once more, "What exactly are we infiltrating for? You're not going to kill anyone, are you?"
"No, I'm going to avoid doing so if at all possible." Hinata nodded, "We need to get in and out of the kage tower, preferably unseen."
"Naruto stays in his office practically day and night. There is no way we will be able to get by him."
"I'm not worried about Naruto, I'll handle him if I have to." Hinata shook her head and inwardly groaned, "Alright." The pair slid by the few anbu stationed outside of the tower and under the blanket of night they slipped through an open window leading into an empty, unused office. Both were obviously masking their chakra as they slipped out of the office and down the halls. "What I'm looking for is in the Hokages office.." Sasuke whispered. "Which one?" He stopped and gave her a look, "Tsunade, Kakashi, and Naruto have an office. Kakashi is rarely in his but he does have one in the east side of the building." Sasuke thought for a moment before nodded, "You go to Kakashi's office. The scroll has a blue tipped seal on it, you'll know it when you see it. I'll take Tsunade's and Naruto's offices. If you find the scroll go ahead and get out at your easiest convenience and I'll meet you outside the perimeter in twenty minutes." Hinata didn't like the idea of separating, but she nodded in agreement that it was the best coarse of action to save time.
She branched off from him and slid down the eastern hallway. Kakashi's office door was at the very end, closest to the large windows. She skillfully slid inside the office door, which she noticed was already opened, and scanned her surroundings briefly. There were no signs of Kakashi, but she could tell Naruto had been going in and out.
At this point she didn't even care, she just wanted to grab the stupid scroll and get out. The desk was full of papers but none of them scrolls. She carefully slid drawers open and looking inside of boxes.
Once she had completed four different examinations of the room she had decided the scroll must be in one of the other offices and she should just head out because Sasuke was probably waiting for her. She headed for the door, but stopped when she sensed a familiar chakra signature. Two of them to be exact. Hinata quickly hid under the desk and waited quietly.
"I appreciate you coming to walk me home, Sakura. You didn't have to do that.." Naruto scratched the back of his neck, a smile was obvious through his voice.
"Well I understand you're busy and if this is the only way we can spend time together, that's fine with me." Sakura's shrill voice met Hinata's ears and she gritted her teeth. Of course they would be literally everywhere together. It seemed like no matter where Naruto went, Sakura was up his butt. Hinata didn't say much because there was a time when she was just like her. It was just unusual for Sakura, she had always been struck on Sasuke. Hinata closed her eyes tightly. Maybe she turned her attention to Naruto so suddenly because she realized Sasuke would probably never come home.
Hinata's mind wandered to a younger Sasuke and how secluded he was to most of their other classmates. He was always in pain, just like Naruto. Sakura was always his cheerleader, just as Hinata was to Naruto. Hinata bit her lip. She never meant for things to end this way..
If she had known.. maybe she would have switched places with Sakura. It wouldn't have made things much different, Sasuke probably would have ignored her the same as Naruto. Guilt swelled up in her chest. Sasuke felt like he had no one, whereas Naruto come to realize he had just about everyone. Naruto and Sakura were the only ones who reached out to Sasuke and he rejected them and resented them for it. But, what if things had been different? What if Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru, and the rest of their classmates had been as warm to Sasuke as they had Naruto.
Naruto was just a more likable person than Sasuke even though they were essentially cut from the same cloth. Hinata thought about the harsher words she had said to him. Of course she meant all of them, but why did she say it? Why did she wait until now to say it? Why had she been so infatuated with Naruto? If her attention had been directed toward Sasuke..would things have been different for him? Would he have still felt just as alone as he thinks he is now?
She heard Naruto take a step into Kakashi's office, "Just a minute, Sakura, I have to lock up Kakashi sensei's office."
"Sure." Hinata's eyes widened as she heard the office door close and lock. Naruto and Sakura's footsteps continued on down the hall. "Tch!" She crawled from beneath the table and looked around the room. This was great. Sasuke was going to kill her. Actually, he would probably just abandon her.
After a few moments of sulking she heard a noise coming from one of the storage closets within Kakashi's office. She jumped up and took a step back from the door. It slowly opened with Sasuke on the other side of it, "Come on, we don't have a lot of time." He whispered. Hinata was stunned. How did he get into Kakashi's office?
"How did you know?"
"Naruto left his office and was heading your way, I knew you would get stuck in here. Let's go." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the storage room where she noticed an open window.
"Why didn't I think of that?"
"You were obviously thinking of something else, if I had to guess." He gave her a look and jumped from the window and headed for the small town they had left behind. "Did you get what you were looking for?"
"Yeah, I got it." Hinata nodded and as they entered the forest outside of the leaf she remained quiet as to not be detected. It wasn't until another hour into travel that she spoke up once more, "I thought you would just abandon me, seeing you come and get me surprised me."
He didn't answer her, but he did glance over at her as they jumped from tree to tree. She hesitated and swallowed hard before continuing, "...Thank you." He continued quietly, but she acknowledged the slight tug at the corner of his lips as he was fighting not to smile. It was enough for her, because she had gotten by now that he was a man of few words.
The two stopped once they reached the hotel, just long enough to wake everyone up and head out again. Sasuke turned to Hinata as they left town and nodded, "If you need to rest, let me know."
"What about you? Shouldn't you be worried..about yourself?"
"I know my limitations, but you're still a mystery to me." Suigetsu piped up, almost offended, "Well what about my limitation?!" Karin thwacked him on the back of the head harshly, "Shut up, idiot! He's trying to be nice to her!" Hinata sighed and drug herself behind Sasuke lazily. "Yeah.. I'll let you know." She mumbled so that only he could hear.
They traveled until nightfall and set up camp. Suigetsu was placed on night watch so Sasuke could rest. Karin opted to stay up with him and no one protested. Hinata only smiled and nodded.
Barely able to move, Hinata crawled into the tent and plopped down on the thick mats, no bothering to even push them apart. Sasuke walked in behind her and discarded his weapons onto the floor next to the mats. "Hinata let me-" His voice was met with light snoring as she had already passed out. "..separate the mats.." He looked down at her as she laid sprawled across both mats and shook his head, "Tch." She hadn't even taken off her pouch or any of her ninja gear. He sat next the mat and began to pull off her pouch and discard all of her hidden kunai.
"Crazy woman.." He mumbled and scooted her over just enough for him to fit on the edge of the mat. He laid there and watched her sleep for a while as his mind wandered.
She had always been so timid and obedient to Naruto, it was his luck that she would be the exact opposite toward him. Of course he didn't really go about making his intentions known in the correct manner either. It was probably really creepy to her that he even proposed they get married under the previously mentioned terms.
He did it because she was a Hyuga...or that's what he originally thought, anyway. He had feelings for her and it wasn't a new development. That's one reason why he knew whom she was when she first showed up and took a false name, that as well as Neji and he just simply wasn't an idiot.
He reached out and gently pushed some hair out of her face. It was starting to grow passed her ears now. He thought she had always had such beautiful hair. Hinata's affection was always wasted on Naruto, in his opinion. He had so many friends that he could, evidently, afford to ignore her. Sasuke could recall bringing it up to him once before he left. Naruto just shrugged his shoulders and went on pretending not to notice her.
Sasuke took a deep breath and closed his eyes, deciding he was tired of remembering. "Goodnight.." He heard a light whisper come from her and opened one of his eyes. Sasuke swallowed hard and fought back a tired smile, "Goodnight."