Chapter 28: Irresolute
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Hinata found herself alone by the vending machine located outside the Memorial site, with a can of coffee in her hand.
She took a sip, not really tasting anything, and watched Sasuke's form regroup with Naruto.
To her dismay, she had come across the two of them, just as she was about to leave the cemetery after visiting Neji's resting place. And after the most awkward interaction between all three of them, Sasuke had pulled her to the side for a moment to talk.
The Anbu, who was supposed to be lurking in the shadows, had joined Naruto on a walk, which had giving Hinata the sense that the two seemed to know each other one way or another. But that train of thought didn't stick around for too long when Sasuke's eyes were solely on her, his expression soft yet the resolve in his eyes seemingly resolute.
Sai glanced away from Naruto, when he noticed Sasuke parting from her. He ran up to Hinata, walking past Sasuke while on his way to her. Sai stood by her side, following her gaze seemingly observing something, her eyes voided of any emotions.
Naruto seemed visibly upset as he spoke to Sasuke. Hinata had caught a few words before the Naruto purposely obstructed the rest of the conversation, showing his side profile as he spoke, while they continued into the memorial grounds.
Still, she caught some of it.
'What the fuck did you say to her?' Naruto had said as he made gestures with his hands, prompting Hinata's brows to furrow. 'She looks upset,'
The answer which followed gave her enough context to make inferences of her own.
'I did exactly what you wanted, dobe,'
Her hand froze, and the can almost slip out of her hand at the prospect of Naruto possibly misunderstanding her friendship with Sasuke. Was that the reason Shikamaru had confronted her last night? And is that how others perceived their friendship?
Hinata glanced down at the coffee in her hand. It was supposed to be dairy-free, yet something about it would not agree with her, as her stomach felt discomfort. It didn't make a difference that Sasuke wanted to keep a permanent distance, as she had been meaning to do the same. How could she ever feel upset over something like that?
"Ne, who was the guy with the dark hair?" Sai asked, feigning ignorance as he was now standing across from Hinata, hands tucked inside his dark cargo military pants. His Anbu cloak, half tossed over his shoulder, shows the figure of his flat-chested avatar.
"Details like that shouldn't concern you, Anbu-san." Hinata replied.
Sai glanced over his shoulder, Naruto and Sasuke could be seen disappearing inside the cemetery, no longer in their sights.
"I have to answer to your husband-I mean future husband," He faked a giggle as his mistake was intentional on his part. "He prefers detailed reports of what you did, who you saw, with names, etc." He added, all the while trying to come off as bubbly.
"All you need to know is that person was someone who used to work for me," She paused, thinking back to the Anbu's previous interaction with Naruto. "I have a question for you too, how do you know Naruto?"
"He's everyone's friends," Sai replied.
Before she could have time to process his answer, his eyes were looking for a change of subject, and immediately he was drawn to the vending machine behind her.
"How's the coffee?" He asked while looking past her, knowing it was not the best she ever had, and that was probably the reason she made a face.
"Bitter,"
Hinata glanced at her drink in her hand again. This funny feeling at the pit of her stomach would not go away. Hinata lifted the can, pretending to be interested in the listed ingredients plastered on it, blinking rapidly to stop any tangible emotions from flowing. Initially, she was fine with Sasuke's decision, but as seconds kept going by, she was now coming to find that it bothered her more than she thought it would.
She moved past the Anbu to dispose of the can into a recyclable trash can nearby, all the while thinking that wanting to become strangers was a little too drastic. Back then, she had felt momentary relief that she didn't have to be the one to end it, but at the same time, she had wanted to ask him if she was such a bad person that he would rather not have anything to do with her but could not bring herself to because of his resolve.
"Anbu-san, since you like sweet things, try the strawberry one," Hinata said as the Anbu inserted a coin into the machine. She didn't want to think about Sasuke anymore, thinking she should focus all of her energy on wedding planning once she gets back to her soon-to-be, new home.
"For someone who claims that I'm not here to become your friend, you're sure very observant of my preferences, Hinata-sama,"
Although the Anbu was very tomboyish, there was something cute about her sassy, yet curious nature.
"It's unavoidable because we're stuck with each other, Anbu-chan,"
Sai blinked. Anbu-chan? That's right, he was a girl. He almost forgot himself for a moment.
"You should've gotten the strawberry one," Sai said as he chugged the sugary drink.
"I know. I had it plenty of times before,"
Taking the hint, Sai followed her as she adjusted her scarf and began to walk.
Although that morning she had voiced her plan of visiting her friends, the plan fell apart the moment the Uchiha left her, looking troubled. It was obvious to Sai why Hinata ended up returning to the Nara clan without doing all the things she had wanted. Something must've happened. He highly suspected most of the conversation that had transpired between those two, back then, happened much privately, as Sasuke was known to have the power to pull a person into an illusion that's rumored to be like an alternative reality.
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Once they returned to the office, Naruto did not say much during the afternoon meeting until Kakashi asked him to disperse all the clones he had stationed around the Nara clan. As Naruto listened, his eyes were unsmiling. Why did Kakashi assign Sai of all people to such a job? Sai's more adept at infiltration and assassination, as opposed to anything involving protection.
"Are you sure you're not pulling me away too prematurely?" Naruto asked.
"From what we know so far, it was an isolated attempt. And personally, from an assassin's perspective, it's going to be a little challenging to get to Hinata now that she's no longer living with her clan," Kakashi said, mostly addressing Naruto, as the eye contact remained strong between the two. "And also, may I remind you Hinata is Shikamaru's responsibility now, not yours Naruto. I think you kept your promise on your end to Neji,"
"I will always care about her wellbeing and safety and not just because it was my promise to her Nii-san,"
Not wanting to be there to hear her name being discussed, Sasuke headed for the door. "I'm heading out, does anyone need anything else from me before I go?"
"No, you're fine. I decided to assign Naruto-kun the peace treaty we were talking about,"
Sasuke paused and looked confused. When will Naruto even have time to finish something like that? They were leaving to go on a trip to less than two weeks.
"Yeah, when you guys leave on your trip, I want Naruto to do me this favor and go there, to handle the negotiations on our behalf,"
Vacation, my ass. Naruto complained internally and forced a friendly smile as he remembered Shikamaru's words about how he never truly gets downtime to relax even when on vacation because his title will always come first.
"I'll be in my office," Naruto said, beating Sasuke to the door. He walked out, slamming the door behind him. As he was standing outside the hall, he came across two men dressed in matching uniforms taking measurements right outside Kakashi's office. They both carried a toolbox and were from a company he did not recognize.
Back inside the office, Kakashi and Sasuke were still in the middle of discussion.
"Does Naruto seem kind of serious these days?" Kakashi asked.
"The Hyuga was almost murdered under his nose, so he nearly broke a promise," Sasuke guessed.
"Ah," Kakashi replied, accepting the answer before turning the conversation back to other tasks. "Sasuke, I changed my mind. On second thought, I want you to help Naruto with this treaty beforehand. Run some simulations and pinpoint the best method he could tackle the issue," He said while handing him some documents.
As Sasuke stared at the document before him, he internally sighed as it became transparent to him why Kakashi valued him. When he had obtained his brother's eyes, he had acquired something only a few were aware he possessed. He believes it might be one of the many reasons Kakashi wants him so badly as his advisor. The bygones of time meant nothing to Sasuke. He was able to enter a state of altered reality in which he was able to theorize, learn, and then get things done in seconds.
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When Sasuke entered Naruto's office, the blond ignored him and made no attempts at conversation as Sasuke settled behind the desk that Shikamaru used to once occupied. He activated his Sharingan to read the documents before him, then ran a few virtual simulations in his head, calculating the best possible outcome, effectively constructing an offer that would help achieve everyone's goals.
He got his task done rather quickly, writing a polished finished version, rather than a draft.
Sasuke pushed himself away from the chair and stretched, leaving his finished assignment to the side, deciding he'll hand it in later that day, as he didn't want Kakashi to depend on his speed and efficiency too much.
He rose from his seat and walked to the coat hanger and shuffled Naruto's cloak to the side, digging until he had access to his winter garbs and scarf. As he was doing so, a knife fell out from his cloak.
Naruto pushed himself off his chair and walked around the desk and bent down to pick up the knife. As he inspected the knife, he knew right away who it belonged to. The knife was rusted. The ornamental toy figure attached showed signs of erosion. He held it to the light, it still had a little shine.
"This is Hanabi-chan's…" Naruto trailed off in recognition. "What are you doing with her weapon?"
"I found it in the desert, around the site where she got kidnapped. I forgot to return it,"
"It must've felt awful when you found it," Naruto said, sympathetically, taking them both to that time Hanabi went missing, and how scared they both felt at the prospect she might be gone forever. He had to shake those thoughts away. "So, are you going to return her Kunai today?"
Sasuke glanced at it thoughtfully, as he didn't think it was appropriate to return something in such bad condition.
"My sword is overdue for some maintenance, I might as well drop Hanabi's knife for some repairs as well," Sasuke said, thinking about Tenten's shop.
"I don't think Tenten's shop is open at this hour."
"I know. I'm heading to a-"
They heard a strange ringing, and both turned to look at each other, already forgetting their previous conversation. Naruto was the first one out the door to investigate, both entering Kakashi's office to find him talking on a device that looked like a modified, and much polished, yet glorified walky-talky.
"Yes, I can hear you fine," Kakashi nodded earnestly, knowing full well Hiashi couldn't see him. "I'll tell Sasuke-kun right away-he's here right now. Yes, you as well, Hiashi-san,"
Kakashi continued to nod, before saying a brief goodbye before ending the call.
"Awesome. The phone is finally installed. So what does the old man want from Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
"It appears you guys sold him on the idea of wanting to hire Sasuke-kun as an ASL tutor," Kakashi then turned to Sasuke. "I didn't know you knew how to sign Sasuke-kun,"
"I don't,"
Sasuke had forgotten about that. He looked in Naruto's way and remembered how he got swayed into agreeing to that. However, that was back when he didn't know he would end up putting a permanent distance between him and Hanabi's older sister.
It would be weird to keep in touch with Hanabi, wouldn't it? He wanted to decline the mission, but the look in Kakashi's eyes prevented him from doing so.
"Well, then you better get to learning, Sasu-ke-kun," Kakashi said in a mocking voice.
Ignoring Kakashi's last comment, Sasuke walked up to the phone and picked it up, placing it in his ear. He closed it back down and stared at it with curiosity, as he was more interested in the technology before him. He'll be able to get into contact with the Suna brothers, to check in on how everything was going on their end. After spending all those months in Suna, you could say he left on excellent terms, especially when he had helped them free Toneri, something that he feels he will never regret.
"So, how does it work?" Sasuke asked.
"I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but anyone that signs up for the phone service will get a unique number sequence. Just dial the person's number you wish to contact, and it'll ring on their end within seconds. I foresee we can finally retire from using messengers birds once the service becomes available to the masses,"
"And how much does it cost to set it up?" Sasuke asked.
When Naruto and Sasuke both heard his answer, they exchanged a look. As phones were still considered new technology, it now made sense why Kakashi's office was the first place to have it.
"Damn," Naruto murmured.
It was expensive.
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Tenten had gotten home from work after assisting the manager of the construction crew, who had wanted to delegate some office work to her. To her surprise, she had recently found out the Uchiha lands were now owned by the Hyugas and were being turned into a sacred memorial.
After changing into her normal clothes, she rolled up her long hair into two buns and threw on an apron. She made her way downstairs to her weapon shop and flicked the lights. She took out a list of weapons she owns, and started counting inventory, just to make sure all her babies were still there, only glancing up when her first customers of the day pushed themselves in.
Naruto's hair moved slightly as walked in. He was half-turned, as he was in a middle of a conversation about the real state agent Sasuke had met.
"... If you hadn't let me come with you, you probably would've been overcharged for that condo. You don't know much about the market, do you?"
"Hey guys!" Tenten greeted them with a smile.
"Oi! Tenten! Long time no see," Naruto replied, while Sasuke walked past him, looking as disinterested as ever.
"Hn," He hadn't seen Tenten around the office much since he's been back. "Long-term mission?" Sasuke asked as he leaned his elbow on the counter, while she closed the book of inventory and put it away.
"Yeah," Her eyes were then on Sasuke, but she decided not to say much about her mission, which had to do with his ancestral lands. He gave a polite nod her way and began to wander around her store, to see what she had in stock.
"What do you guys have for me? Give them up and let me see the damage already," She said firmly, knowing those two tended to go overboard with their weapons sometimes.
After being called out, Naruto begrudgingly took out his weapons and handed them over, along with payment. He watched Tenten closely as she collected the weapons and placed them inside a bin, to the side, with a serial number on them, before handing Naruto a matching number. She counted the payment, tugging some of her hair behind her ear before placing the money away inside the register, giving him back the change. When she glanced up, she gave him a questioning look.
She was their senior by almost two years, yet her features still stayed youthful and attractive. Naruto doesn't think he ever saw Sasuke getting annoyed by her presence before.
Tenten was single, wasn't she? Naruto smiled like a fox before leaning almost his entire body over the counter.
"Ne, ne, Tenten, my team is planning to go together to the Ino-Shika-Cho festival next week-"
"I know, Sakura-chan told me. I guess I'll see you guys there since I'm going with Lee,"
His sly fox grin fell.
"Wait-what? You and Lee? Since when?!" Naruto said, his energy virtually deflating as his plan was already falling apart, as he was hoping to find a date for Sasuke.
Tenten rolled her eyes.
"Since a long time. You just haven't noticed because you don't pay attention to anything or anyone else unless they're in your circle. I never thought you would become so exclusive for someone who's going to be a Hokage,"
He scoffed in denial. "I don't have a circle,"
"So, what do you want, Naruto?" Tenten sighed, "The only reason you were inviting me to come along is so obvious, you need something from me," A sword upgrade? A new weapon at a discount? What did he want?
Sasuke had heard the conversation from afar, and since he knew his best friend really well, he could also sense his intention. He walked up to Naruto and patted him on the shoulder with a dark smirk on his face.
"Nice try," Sasuke said eerily, sending shivers down his spine at being caught.
Tenten looked between the two best friends.
"Naruto, you selfish perv. I see what's happening, you want to keep Sakura all to yourself at the festival, don't you? Don't tell me you're that desperate," Tenten said to Naruto, knowingly. "But sorry, I'm already taken. Sasuke-kun is going to have to find someone else to take on a date,"
Sasuke ignored her comment and reached past Naruto, prompting him to move out of his way as he put his sword down, along with Hanabi's knife.
"Tch," Naruto said grumpily, moving away to wander around the weapon shop, poking some cool-looking death scythes, no longer paying attention to the conversation happening back at the counter.
"Would you be able to have these ready before the festival?" Sasuke asked politely.
"Listen, you! You're not the only client I have!"
He reached into his wallet once more, adding to the stack of money, doubling the payment. Tenten raised a brow and picked up the knife that she knew didn't belong to him, and studied it.
She glanced back at him.
"Hey Sasuke," She didn't mean to be nosy, but she knew who the weapon belonged to, as she had done some work on it before. In fact, she had been the one that sold Hanabi the action figure back when that popular action show began to thrive. "If the owner of this weapon is that important to you, why are you letting Naruto set you up on a date?"
Sasuke raised a brow. "I'm leaving on a trip the day after the festival, which is why it needs to be ready by then,"
He didn't see the skepticism she expressed, however briefly, as his attention gravitated to the display of ornaments, which he was now noticing there for the first time. There was a selection of cutesy action figures, and he was quick to recall Hanabi's favorite character since all she used to talk about was that one annoying show, while they had been traveling to Suna. As he reached out to one of the action figures, his mind drifted to that morning, at the cemetery.
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"I just finished visiting Nej-nii-san," Hinata had said to Naruto. "And I told him you're keeping your promise," When she patted him on the head, Sasuke merely rolled his eyes at Naruto's hypocrisy who seemed to be enjoying the attention. "Anyway, I'll leave you to your visit," She said, mostly to Naruto, before walking past them.
"Hinata, can we talk for a moment?" Sasuke had ignored Naruto's warning look. And she also seemed hesitant about the idea. Sasuke glanced back at Naruto. "Dobe, I'll meet you up ahead,"
The serious look in Sasuke's eyes left no room for argument. Naruto simply nodded, motioning to the Anbu that was by her side.
"I'll provide surveillance from afar," The Anbu had said before joining Naruto.
But why the hell did he say those things to her?
He could've just disappeared silently from her life, and let time drift them apart. Instead, he had just made things irreversible in the worst of ways. And when Hanabi finds out about this, will she do the same thing and keep her distance?
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Sasuke picked out the most cutesy ornament and handed it to Tenten, feeling remorse and regret over his earlier actions. Although he was taking the kunai to Tenten to get it fixed, the one thing he had wanted to fix at the time was him and Hinata, by going back in time and being more honest.
"Can you replace it?" Sasuke asked.
"Sure thing," Tenten said as she deducted the payment of the earlier surplus of money he had given her. "... So you're traveling. That sounds exciting… "
After Sasuke and Naruto left the weapon shop, Naruto stopped in his tracks, prompting Sasuke to pause as well. He turned to his friend with a quizzical look.
"Ne, Sasuke, I know I was upset back then. But you know, I'm proud of what you did,"
"Hn?"
"Breaking it off with Hinata, I mean,"
Sasuke sighed, not caring to correct the misunderstanding anymore.
"When I used to date her, it was-"
Wait, wait, wait, what?
"You…dated her?" Sasuke asked, feeling really unsettled by the revelation.
"You didn't know? Why else did you think she hated me for so long?" Naruto sighed. "I know it's easy to be pulled in by her. It was hard for me to figure out that though those feelings I felt weren't real. And telling her how I actually felt was the hardest thing I ever had to do-"
"What gives you the idea my feelings weren't genuine?"
"Come on, seriously? You didn't care to even fight for her. I was more upset with you because she's fucking engaged now, and you won't admit that you lost,"
"I never wanted to own her," Sasuke said, seriously. He remembered thinking he didn't care about Nara, and that she could love as many as she wants. And although he was mildly the jealous kind, he mostly saw himself as a person who's able to see beauty in others, with needs and feelings that he wanted to fulfill and explore, and some of them with her. But that conversation was never up with for discussion because the opportunity never came as she kept on claiming he was just a dear friend.
Sasuke blinked, suddenly remembering something else. Is it weird to remain Hanabi's friend? He voiced this concern as if it was suddenly the most important revelation of it all.
Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion.
"Hanabi's her own person. You may think that as long as Hanabi is around, Hinata will be too. But to be honest, it's rare to see those two in the same place outside the clan,"
"They're going to the festival,"
"Ah, shit, you're right,"
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Back at the mansion, Hinata and Sai split down the hall. Sai entered Shikamaru's office to give him a brief recap.
"She's back already?" Shikamaru asked as he stopped reading a document of importance.
"The trip was cut short,"
"Hmm, did she meet with any else while she was out?"
"No, but we did come across some interesting people, Uzumaki-san and Uchiha-san. Hinata-sama told me Uchiha-san used to work for her, but I don't know what the two had to talk about for over half an hour,"
Shikamaru placed the document down and rose from his place. "They were alone?"
"Yes,"
"And where is she right now?"
"By the garden,"
Shikamaru found her staring off into space, as she fidgeted with a Shoji piece. She straightened up when he came into view and smiled sweetly as he joined her on the other side of the board.
He picked up a piece and moved, immediately cornering her knight.
"I'm told that you met up with him today," He said, getting straight to the point, mostly to call out how quickly she had broken her promise.
She raised her gaze and looked unapologetic about what was being said.
"It was a coincidence and nothing more. We stopped for a short chat, and I told him there's no way for me to be happy if he continues to be in my life," She replied, flipping the narrative around when she found that she would've wanted for that to have been the truth. The choice made by Sasuke had left her with no option or control.
She glanced up again and tilted her head in confusion at the look Shikamaru was giving her. She moved a piece. Her knight fall in battle in the following turn.
"What?" She asked.
"You can be pretty cold sometimes."
"Perhaps," What Sasuke did was cold and heartless. He had said he never saw her the same way she saw him. She knows she can't possibly force someone to be something they do not want to be, but then why did he stick around for so long if that was how he actually felt? She was beginning to believe most men were stupid. "You sound like you sympathize with your enemy, my love." She teased.
"Troublesome, maybe I do. I'm just glad that wasn't me on the other side," He patted her head, her expression momentarily hidden behind her long fringes. He missed how her eyes darkened, for she had been the one on the other side, and it hurt.
When he pulled his hand away, Hinata tilted her head and went back to staring towards the forest, already giving up on the game.
"It's been a while since I've been inside the forest. I think I want to explore. Will you come with me?"
"Explore?" Shikamaru asked as he flicked his gaze up to meet hers. "Isn't it a little too cold for exploration?"
"I was born in the winter. The cold doesn't bother me,"
He reached for her hand and kissed it, before glancing towards the forest. The trees were bare, their silhouette covered in white fluff. There were respectable gaps in between each tree, which made it impossible for anyone to hide unless you were further inside. No threat would certainly be coming her way from what he saw.
She should be safe in there.
"I still have a lot of preparation to take care of. The dues for the festival funds are right around the corner and Choji needs my help, so I'm heading for his place. You should take Anbu-san with you,"
"Alright, then I'll see you at dinner,"
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Instead of exploring, Hinata pushed herself up and went to her temporary chambers to send out a few letters. She got several responses before dinner.
"So what did you do today, Hinata-chan?" Yoshino asked over dinner.
"I visited Nii-san and then contacted some professionals and wedding specialists for their services, and scheduled a fitting and a food tasting for tomorrow. Though, I only contacted Yamanakas and Akimichis business owner," Hinata replied as Sai had taken a bite of her food and verbally signaled her that it was okay for consumption.
Something about her answer made Shikamaru's eyes light up. Meanwhile, Sai's attention seemed to perk up at this information.
"May I get a list of everyone's name and profession?" Sai asked.
"Sure," Hinata replied, knowing it was all for the purpose of her protection. "I'll give it to you after dinner,"
"Wedding planning? My, you sure don't waste time. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help, I didn't really have much time today since I'm still in the process of building my new home," Yoshino said.
"It's fine," She replied, before glancing at Shikamaru. That evening, there was something about him that seemed cheerful despite everything that had happened the previous day.
Sai cleared his throat. "I want to set some very strict visiting rules. I don't want anyone getting too close to Hinata-sama's blind spot," Sai said from his side.
Hinata giggled, although she found nothing funny in it.
"Don't tell me this is your first time on a mission like this? It's impossible to keep the seamstress away from me. They need to get close to do their job," Hinata said.
"Hinata-chan is right. And did you also forget she's a Shinobi? That headband around her neck isn't just for decoration," Yoshino added, knowing Hinata to be a very capable force. Then again, not everyone seems to know about her capabilities.
Hinata sent Yoshino a smile as Sai said nothing in return, letting them believe that he was just a paranoid rookie. He knew his demand was outrageous, but it was part of the act.
"You should invite your sister to come in tomorrow," Shikamaru said. "It's more fun with family around,"
"Yeah, I will,"
"I guess I forgot to mention some technicians are coming in to install a phone sometime this week," Shikamaru said thoughtfully, worried that their work will get in the way of her planning.
"That's nice. My father already has one set up," Hinata replied, wishing she could use it to talk to Hanabi. "I'm sure they won't get in the way,"
That night, as she lay on her side, her throat had closed up as she had forgotten how to breathe. She massaged her chest as if that would somehow relieve the feeling of pain.
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"It's freezing today," She had commented back then, awkwardly, as she watched Naruto and the Anbu disappearing elsewhere.
"Then let's go grab some coffee," Sasuke replied emotionlessly, as he had pointed to the vending machine located outside the cemetery.
The vending machine reflected Hinata's troubled expression as she stared at the options before her. Any question that began with 'can we talk?' suddenly translated in her mind to 'we need to talk,'. It invoked a feeling of dread of what was to come. At the time, she thought it would be a confession and was already thinking of ways to let him down gently. She was in love with another. She had told him this multiple times, right?
While recalling this, she quickly saw the parallels between her and Sasuke. She, too, had the guts to confess to someone knowing they had always been in love with another. But the only reason she had done so was not without reason, as she had believed she had a chance.
Did Sasuke think he had a chance with her?
She had taken a deep breath as if to gather her nerves and finally pushed a button. The vending machine made a sound as it released the drink. She moved slightly to the side after collecting it, and remained by the dispenser, leaning against the machine while opening up her drink. She asked herself why she suddenly felt like an antisocial pessimist while in his presence. Maybe it was because he was making her break a promise she had made to her fiancé because part of her was curious as to what he wanted to say to her.
He entered her personal space and leaned down. Hinata couldn't do anything but stare at him with an alarmed look in her eyes, eventually tilting her head away the closer he got, staring elsewhere as he reached past her shoulder to insert a coin and pressed a button. He waited by her, and time seemed to pass slowly from the coin being inserted, to the drink being dispensed.
His closeness hadn't bothered her much before, until it was pointed out what his intentions could really mean.
She cringed inwardly for not noticing something so blatant. But it was his fault for affirming that she was not his type.
Memories she had buried from Suna resurfaced. She remembered that day vaguely, in which he had found her in a very comprising situation, embarrassing in nature, as she was in the process of getting dressed. She stared into the can with her cheeks reddened, all the while his lips began to move.
What did he just say?
Hinata froze and glanced up.
For how long has he felt that way?
"Hinata, I don't think there's any possible way to feel good if I'm around you,"
Wait, what was he saying? The more she listened to him speak, the more it all began to sound like some kind of breakup. She stared at him dumbfounded, the coffee in her hand forgotten.
"If I continue to be around you, it will make others we care about unhappy. One of those people just happens to be my best friend, who last I checked, is your fiancé's close friend,"
She didn't think she would find herself in a position where the object she was trying to stay away from was attempting to convince her that the distance was for the best. "We both have something to lose. Don't you agree?" He had asked.
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Hinata sobbed quietly. And the shadow laying on the futon moved into a sitting position. She closed her eyes and turned the other way, not wanting to explain herself to the Anbu.
"Hinata-sama-"
"Where are you from, Anbu-chan? Do you have any siblings that you miss?" Hinata wiped her eyes and turned back to the silhouette sitting in the dark.
"I had a very kind Nii-san," Sai replied, not realizing the subject was something she closely related to.
Hinata tossed the bed comforter off herself and moved to one side and patted the empty space next to her. "Come, Anbu-chan, I want to hear stories about him. I can tell you loved him very much,"
Sai pushed himself off the floor as Hinata reached to the other side of the nightstand and flicked the night light on. If anyone had walked in, it would've looked like two girls bonding and sharing stories. However, as Sai spoke, something in his chest began to feel light because someone like her was listening to him while never interrupting. It felt nice to be heard and to have someone seem invested in his life, experiences, as though he mattered.
"Your Nii-san sounds like he was amazing," Hinata smiled, her eyes slowly closing. It was obvious to Sai that she was out.
As Sai lay there staring at her, he thought of how everything he had said about his brother was true up until the point that they were blood-related. Urgh, talking about it, he didn't realize it was going to make him feel so...
What was this feeling? Sadness?
He got out of the bed and stole a scroll and pen from her vanity table and placed it over the flat surface of a book.
Under the dim lights, he sketched memories of his brother as she slept.
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Yami walked down the empty cobblestone walkway as lights were dimming, going off one by one as he passed random homes. He made his way towards the town square area, in which a pub had a sign it was closed for the day. Still, he pushed his way through and locked the door behind him before turning to all the matching pairs of eyes looking his way as they were all scattered about inside the room.
"I'm sure you're all aware why I summoned you here tonight,"
"Hm, the main house had the audacity to try and murder our leader-sama. It was clearly an act of war against our beliefs," Someone replied, while sitting on the counter, one knee pressed in against his chest.
Yami nodded, before turning to another member. "Did you do what I asked?"
"Yes. I scoped out the locale in which the festival will be taking place. We have a perfect window of opportunity coming up to strike back where it hurts. After we eliminate the new elders, we could sweep any immediate family in the Main House related to them," A devoted member said to Yami.
Someone laughed dryly, as he was the skeptic of the bunch. "Seriously? Look around you, guys, there's not enough of us. We need more members to pull a job like that,"
"Not necessarily," A more pragmatic member added. "We all know security will be light back here, as we're mostly going to be allocated to protect whoever attends the festival, leaving the members who stay behind unprotected for the most part, right Yami?"
Yami appeared contemplatively. Maybe it was time to finally involve her after all.
"You say we require new members. And I believe Hinata-sama has a way to make that happen," Yami replied, though not entirely convinced by his own words. He just wanted the group he had rallied to feel confident that what they were doing was right, even though he might've implied that they had Hinata backing them up.
However, the one thing Yami did feel confident is that his white lies may soon become the truth.
"Then the festival strike is a no-go?" Someone asked, the relief in his voice was evident.
Yami nodded. "We'll hold off until the next window of opportunity presents itself. Our numbers should be greater by then,"
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There was no hint of the sun coming up any time soon. Tightly shutting his eyes, Sasuke sluggishly shifted for a better sleeping position. He fell back into short flashes of images, half entrapped in the clutches of his dreams or memories.
Unblemished cheeks and round lavender eyes stared at him. The hurt behind her gaze was hard to watch. He did not look away, choosing to accept and live with his choice. But if he knew that look was just going to haunt him afterward, maybe he wouldn't have done it.
Wait, that kind of thinking was dangerous, wasn't it? He shouldn't regret it.
If only he could skip it all, and fast-forward to a future in which this would all be considered a distant memory. That'll be nice.
He groaned, tossing a pillow over his head, forcing himself to sleep until the first sign of light snuck inside the room.
Sasuke sat up, tossing the comforter to the side to reveal his bare body. Reaching for a pair of long track pants to cover up, he went on to perform a series of body exercises while in the middle of the spacious room he had rented at an Inn.
When performing his routine, he would use his own human strength, as opposed to relying on his chakra, making the sets more challenging, his mind completely focused on the physical feeling of his body burning and aching.
He finished his last push-up and jumped back on his feet to get ready for a busy day. He felt kind of good, actually, to not have to think about what-ifs.
It also felt good to know he wasn't going to be walking around in eggshells when it came to her because she will no longer be in his life.
And after getting his feelings out, he believed he finally got to see their friendship for what it really was, one-sided. There had always been an imbalance between them from the very beginning and, for some reason, she liked to call that friendship. But he had been at his limit, no longer fooled by her speech of friendship when it was obvious to him that she never truly cared for his well-being.
He shook his head and scoffed at his past self, and couldn't believe he used to be enticed by the idea of being her dirty little secret, when in actuality he was just going to end up as her plaything for the times she was having a bad day or a fight with Nara.
You know what, without her in his life, he believed that the future was finally looking bright.
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A/N: Hello, hello, happy holidays if you guys celebrate! I hope all is well with you guys. Please continue to be safe in your choices! Is still kind of scary out there x.x
I will be editing here and there, mostly focusing on other chapters I neglected, which I bet has tons of grammar issues.
Be happy, stay safe!
Edited: 9-9-22