Chapter 5: indelible
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The sun felt nice on his skin; it was warm and bright. Naruto enjoyed it for another hour as it spilled through the flowy curtains, and into his room. Naruto eventually made a face, using the bed covers to shield his eyes from the sun, until realization settled in.
"Shit!"
Naruto quickly scrammed out of bed to find something to wear. He picked up random shirts from the floor, and sniffed them, before tossing them back down.
He paused to look around; he could barely see the floor or the table, as clothes and empty ramen containers littered almost every flat surface. How has his room gotten this bad in just two weeks? He ruffled his hair and let out an exasperated sound.
Finally, after finding an orange hoodie and dark pants to wear, Naruto exited his room.
It always caught him by surprise how clean his living room and kitchen were. It remained that way ever since Sasuke had moved in with him after both had left the hospital.
Sasuke had been away on a mission for two days now, but his blanket remained the same way he left it; neatly folded on the sofa. Although he was just a guest, he threatened Naruto's life if he found any trash littered about.
Naruto sighed.
He beelined to the bathroom to check his hair. He was unhappy with what he saw, his hair was starting to look just like Sasuke's. Furthermore, he added a haircut to his list.
He pulled his hoodie over his messy hair and headed out the door.
When he arrived inside the building, Sakura walked out of an office with her arms crossed and a glare aimed towards him. She eyed the lunches he carried in his arm and stopped herself from berating him for being late again. She joined him, and together, they went up the stairs.
As a cue, Tenten, who had been exiting the bathroom, spotted the two. She saw the tower of bento boxes he carried in his arms and rolled her eyes. However, she followed.
Together, they entered the Hokage's office and made their way to the table in the corner that had a coffee maker. Sai, who was already there having coffee, observed his coworkers and friends.
"Naruto, aren't you a bit late this time?" Sai asked as Naruto placed the boxes on the table just as Shikamaru walked inside the room.
Shikamaru sighed, as he could picture just how he had obtained all those bentos.
"You need to stop encouraging those fangirls, Naruto," Shikamaru said as he reached past the group that was congregated around the coffee. Sai moved out of the way to make way.
"But I got us lunch!" Naruto countered.
"Shikamaru, don't even bother, I already beat him up and even that doesn't stop him from doing whatever the hell he wants," Sakura added.
"True," Shikamaru grabbed a box of lunch for himself and paused. "Let me make it clear that no amount of food could bribe your way out of trouble,"
Although she hesitated at first, Sakura begrudgingly picked up a bento as well.
"Why don't you ever eat the food that your fans make for you?" Tenten asked as she was already stuffing herself with food.
Shikamaru tilted his head slightly, as he waited for an answer. Instead, Naruto clutched his hoodie around his head in an attempt to hide his whole face, he was blushing.
Sai raised a brow, confused by his behavior. Was Naruto a romantic? Was he just waiting for the love of his life to make him a bento? His eyes then trailed towards Sakura who always acted oblivious.
"Troublesome, teasing him isn't going to get you any answers," Shikamaru's famous lazy grin was returned by the two kunoichis.
Not liking the attention he was getting, Naruto decided to change the subject.
"Oh guys, I don't know if I already mentioned this, but Gaara and Temari are visiting soon," Naruto said.
"I heard, Tenten told me," Sakura replied.
"Shikamaru, which Inn are they staying at this time?" Naruto asked, as if the Hyuga clan didn't own most of them.
The shadow user sipped his coffee, thinking over his answer carefully. Finding that he couldn't lie, he merely shrugged his shoulder. He didn't want Naruto to know just yet.
Appalled that his little soldiers had completely disregarded his presence inside his own office, Kakashi cleared his throat. Tenten nearly jumped, as if surprised he was there.
"Ah, did I interrupt? Please go on, don't mind me," Seriously, the disrespect was real.
"But you're not wearing your cloak, Kakashi," Naruto reasoned.
Instead of replying, Kakashi tossed the cloak over his shoulder. At that moment, everyone stopped what they were doing as they felt they had officially clocked into work. However, Sai managed to escape the room, as he already had a task given prior to the group's arrival.
"So what's on the agenda today?" Tenten asked as she stood next to Naruto and Sakura. Shikamaru remained somewhere by the coffee maker, sipping from his cup.
Almost as if to punish her, Kakashi pulled out the most mundane task for her.
Tenten leaned over to accept the mission scroll, she opened it up to scan the content, and her smile gradually fell. She bit back a comment and fumed over the fact that she was going to become an errand girl.
"What about me?" Sakura asked.
"Since Lady Tsunade has returned, you can take a week off to do as you like," Sakura's fist punched the air before bouncing in joy. Her carefree reaction reminded Kakashi of their genin days.
"Lord Kakashi, can you handle all the paperwork by yourself? There are still a lot of mistakes that need correcting from the time Naruto signed some documents!" Tenten complained.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned, that guy was shameless.
"I requested Hanabi's assistance. She'll take care of it during the duration of your new mission."
"How is she doing?" Naruto asked, hesitantly. Naruto always kept tabs on everything that goes on in the office, when word reached him that Hanabi had been depressed, he felt for the girl.
Kakashi rubbed his chin.
"You'll have to ask her yourself," He deadpanned. "Anyway, today is the day Shikamaru will finally challenge you in a mock debate about the top issues we discussed the other day. The Annual clan meeting is a week away, and we need you ready to tackle certain subjects."
Shikamaru and Naruto had polar opposite reactions.
"I thought you needed me to handle the draft for the Oto peace treaty," Shikamaru was a genius, yes, but he was bad at trying to get out of a given task.
"Pretty sure I don't need you slacking around." Kakashi pushed himself off the chair and sighed. He peered down at his subjects with, what they thought, was a frown behind his mask.
"I know you crave a routine, but you'll have to get used to getting swapped around." He turned to Tenten. "I know you miss your weapon shop," He eyed Shikamaru next. "I bet you just want a 9-5 office job, but starting tomorrow you'll come in at 7 am," He then turned to Naruto and Sakura but kept quiet since they were psyched up.
"When is Sasuke coming back?" Tenten asked.
Kakashi raised a curious brow and several pairs of eyes zoomed in on Tenten.
"Why do you want to know?" Sakura tilted her attention her way.
"I finished the repairs on his sword,"
When Sakura seemed at a loss, she turned to look at Naruto and Shikamaru for answers, they merely shrugged. The little details didn't seem to matter to them, as they did Sakura.
"Oi, isn't he getting a little bit too reckless? What is he doing without his weapon?" Naruto asked.
"Do you think not having a weapon makes me weak?"
They glanced up at the newcomer. Sasuke was perched on the window sill, wearing the traditional Anbu uniform, with a cloak thrown over his shoulder to cover what used to be an arm. His mask rested on the side of his head, revealing his mismatched eyes.
"Yo, Sasuke, welcome back," Kakashi said impassively.
Naruto's grin widened when he realized he wouldn't be eating cup noodles alone anymore.
"Sasuke!" Naruto ran to reach him, but he was stopped in place by a shadow.
"Let's go Naruto, we got work to do," Shikamaru said, drawing the attention back to him.
Once Shikamaru released Naruto's shadow, the blond begrudgingly followed.
Sasuke gave Shikamaru a look of gratitude, as he was tired of Naruto hugging him every time he came back from a mission. But the shadow user dismissed him and looked away.
"Tenten," Sasuke greeted and bowed slightly. Sakura, who hadn't been greeted yet, gripped the bento in her hands.
"Welcome back, Sasuke," Sakura finally said.
"Sakura," He nodded her way.
"I was just asking about you!" Tenten cut in. She gave him a knowing smile as she pretended to swing a sword.
His eyes seemed to recognize the meaning.
"I'll retrieve Kusanagi later."
She nodded.
"Then I'll see you around," Tenten said and waved.
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Kakashi waited for the two girls to leave, before speaking about the subject that could no longer be ignored. Sasuke had been approved to leave the village freely, and if he pleases, he may never return.
"Sasuke-chan," The ex-avenger rolled his eyes. Kakashi was running out of nicknames for him, it seems. "I can tell you haven't told your precious friends about your plan to leave. So here's a suggestion to make their transition go smoothly,"
"I'm listening,"
After hearing his suggestion, Sasuke's chakra flared dangerously.
"I am not doing that,"
"Aw come on, don't be petty Sasu-chan. It's not like you ever had any romantic feelings for Sakura-chan,"
"I'm not going to play cupid for those two idiots."
"Alright, then be prepared to duke it out," Kakashi chuckled. "But please do it far away from here, we rather not tap into funds to repair the damages you guys leave in your wake,"
"Hn," He was getting ready to leave when Kakashi's statement stopped him.
"I'm meeting with Hinata-chan in an hour, she wanted me to give her a tour,"
"About time,"
"You will be there I presume?"
The ex-avenger smirked before pulling his mask over his face. Oh, he will be there, and he'll be sure to make it known in his little way. Space and time distorted all around him before he disappeared.
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Kakashi and Hinata stood in the middle of the wreckage, surrounded by broken and decomposed house structures and overgrown leaves.
The Hokage remained back at a distance and watched as she walked around, occasionally bending down to pick up small remnants of the past. The entire area still had old things littered about, which hinted that civilization used to once reside in the area.
Hinata bit her lip, the idea of a clan getting wiped out in one day had become her new fear. Should the Hyuga clan ever become a problem, she knew what the village's response might be, Danzo or not.
"Um, will Uchiha-san be joining us?"
Hinata motioned to the shadow perched on a tree, a few kilometers away. She didn't need her eyes to feel him.
"I think he prefers the distance,"
"He doesn't like people, does he?"
"We're getting off-topic here, Hinata-chan. Sasuke wants you to give him an answer today if possible,"
"He's always in a rush..." Hinata turned back to where she knew Sasuke had been standing and frowned.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them back up, her Byakugan had been active.
Knowing that the Hyuga couldn't stop herself from using her gifted eyes, Sasuke waited until that moment before he activated his Sharingan.
There was no way of knowing what Hinata Hyuga had seen inside the Genjutsu her mind had been pulled into. When Kakashi grabbed her wrist and sent his chakra to break her out of it, whatever she had been dragged away from must-have been hell.
He held on to her wrist, then caught her as she fell, his Hokage cloak flowing in the wind as he patiently waited for her senses to return.
The ground beneath her stopped moving and shifting, and she gradually gained her balance.
Hinata had always known the height of Sasuke's power, as she had witnessed it during the war. It was dark, twisted, unnatural, and limitless. It was pure chaotic energy cloaked with disdain and a little bit of hatred.
Why she had been his target, she did not know.
Realizing her cheeks were wet, she traced it back to the source, she had been crying. Turning slightly, to look at Kakashi, he didn't seem surprised by Sasuke's action.
"Why?" Hinata asked.
"If you're willing to purchase this land, you need to know it comes with a lot of history and memories."
Even if there was no way of knowing what she had seen, Kakashi had a suspicion. Kakashi regarded her with concern and perhaps curiosity.
"What do you plan on doing with the knowledge, Hinata-chan?"
"If I buy the land, I can't erase its history, that much I know. But I'm guessing you have some suggestions."
"Ah, you got me there." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "I'll send you a list of ideas. Most of which came from Sasuke-Kun."
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That same night, Hiashi thought his daughter was sulking. She had pushed her dinner to the side, announcing she would rather wait for Hanabi to get home, before she eats.
There seemed to be a lot on her mind that day. But Hiashi said nothing. After all, she was probably going through the same thing he had already gone through. If she doesn't play her cards right, she will end up in an arranged marriage. That would most likely be the case, for she already turned down three of the most prominent nobles. The nerve of her, she had claimed they were all too soft-spoken, as though she hadn't been the same way.
"How did brunch go with the general's son?"
"I didn't go, father,"
He let out a sigh.
"What's your excuse this time?"
"Lord Kakashi had requested for my presence," A little white lie, she had been the one to reach out to the Hokage.
"Does this have anything to do with that barren wasteland the Uchiha is trying to sell?"
"Please don't call it that," She took a sip of water. "Anyway, Lord Kakashi gave me a tour, and afterward the negation took longer than planned." She left out the part where she was trapped inside Sasuke's Genjutsu.
A maid walked in with a letter in her hand, it had been addressed to Hinata, from none other than Temari of the Sand.
"How peculiar," Hinata said after she finished reading the letter. "The Annual Clan meeting is scheduled for next week, yet Temari-san and the Lord Kazekage will arrive tomorrow…" The Kazekage is not known for taking vacations.
There was a glint in her father's eyes which she chose to ignore.
"Forgive me, father, I have to go make some preparations," She excused herself from dinner and made her way inside her office.
Hinata sighed before removing her obi. It appears she would have to also cancel all arrangements she had before this. She had a few hours to crunch in as much work as possible because Temari of the Sand had requested that she entertain Lord Kazekage while he stayed in Konoha.
"The elders are going to love this…" Hinata said sarcastically. She kept falling more and more behind schedule.
Hinata Hyuga did not get any sleep that night, because if she did, she knew she would have nightmares about Neji's death, and the Uchiha massacre.
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Edited:
4-15-2021 Typos.
9-24-2021 Grammar
8-30-2022 Grammar and stuff
9-6-2022 Title