Uchiha Manor
The light of the setting sun washed through the large windows as Sasuke scrolled through the corridors of the manor. Safe to say, he was exhausted from the events of the day. Sasuke made a mental note to skin Naruto alive for not showing up and leaving him to suffer alone. He was glad to be out of his 'tuxedo' and into his own comfortable dark blue turtle neck shirt and black sweatpants. To unwind, he decided to roam around the manor; well, since he was 'forbidden' from leaving the manor. Regardless, it wasn't like he couldn't use his own means to leave when he wished.
As Sasuke strolled on, he found himself in a familiar lone corridor. He stopped at an all to familiar set of double doors which had the Uchiha clan symbol at its centre. Sasuke placed his hand on the handle of the right door, just like he had done many times before. Only he never set foot beyond the doors. He shut his eyes and sighed, it was now or never; there was no reason to be afraid. Sasuke pulled down the handle and entered the room. His eyes widened, surprised to see his mother inside. She clutched the fabric of her blue kimono with one hand and fanned herself with the other.
"Oh dear," Mikoto gasped, "you scared me for a moment, Sasuke. I have to say, it's the first time I see you in here"
"I didn't know you even come here," Sasuke replied, closing the door behind him. He looked around the room, finding it clean and everything in its place. A large bed rested against the corner of the room, and across from it was window, below it a desk with their family photo, jewellery tools, stationery and sketch pads in place. On Sasuke's right was a wooden shelf filled with books and one row with more framed photographs, a wooden carving of a raven and two lotus statues. After the shelf was another door which lead to the bathroom. To Sasuke's left, there stood glass doors, hidden by white curtains, that lead to the balcony.
Mikoto sat on the bed, holding onto a high collar black shirt that had the clan symbol only each short sleeve. She gestured for Sasuke to join her, patting on the spot next to her. Sasuke crossed the room and sat on the bed. Mother and son remained quiet, neither bothered by the comfortable silence.
"How long have you been coming here?" Sasuke asked.
"Since he passed. I came here looking for him. Searching for traces. Your father wanted this room cleaned out, but I wouldn't allow it. Especially since you haven't been in here"
Silence filled the room before Sasuke whispered, "I miss him, mom"
"Oh sweetheart," Mikoto murmured, pulling Sasuke into her arms. At first he held on to her, then he started shaking, and it was then Mikoto realised her usually stoic son was crying. It didn't take much for her to be in tears as he. After all, they were mourning for Itachi.
Tsunade and Sakura
Tsunade and Sakura were seated in the gardens of the Senju home having tea time. Well, Sakura being the one drinking tea while Tsunade helped herself to sake. They had spent their day at the Uchiha Manor with the final dress rehearsal. Tsunade was pleased that things were moving smoothly. All that remained was the masquerade ball, to which both families agreed it would be better than a bachelor and bachelorette party, which would be on Thursday night. And finally the wedding, which would be held on Saturday.
Hearing Sakura sigh, Tsunade asked her if she was alright.
"I am. It's just, Sasuke rarely speaks to me. And with this wedding, I'm not sure he'll love me," Sakura complained.
"Sakura," Tsunade began, "you have years of your marriage to make Sasuke fall in love with you. But I hope you realise that's not the only reason you're getting married"
"What?" Sakura asked in surprise.
"I groomed you to be a fit wife and leader. The Senju Clan have been a powerful family, but since the unification of the clans to create this kingdom, we have virtually been on the sidlines. I failed the clan when I eloped with my first love before marrying Jiraiya. As queen, you have to start making your mark and make sure that the Senju are redeemed. The Uchiha are slowly crumbling. Do you know why?"
Sakura nodded her head answering, "They are changing from the old ways"
"Correct. With the passing time, they show less regard for the rules that have been etched into our society. We nearly crumbled with Itachi. You have a duty to your clan to bring forth greatness. You are where you are because you deserve it"
"Do you, do you know where Hinata is?"
"Never speak that name!" Tsunade barked, "Am I understood?"
"Yes," Sakura whispered. She stared down at her cup, unsure of herself. Sasuke and Naruto had been acting weird lately, as though they knew something. Something big. The fact that they hadn't made any move towards her about Hinata unnerved her and she refused to believe that the two had accepted. Crazy enough, Naruto wasn't even showing signs of sadness considering she was marrying Sasuke. What was going on with those two?
No matter. She would fight to the end for Sasuke. Sakura came this far and had no plans to back down and lose.
Konoha Hospital
Naruto and Ten-ten were standing inside Jiraiya's room, but not alone. Dr. Kabuto Yakushi was examining the patient and wrote down notes. Somehow the two failed to keep the situation secret from the doctor when they approached him, but was very willing to be of assistance. Ten-ten made sure not to give out too many details.
"Fascinating," Dr. Yakushi said, "I wonder why the other doctors never realised this patient was under an induced coma. But I have to hand it to whoever did this to him, must have incredible knowledge on comas"
"Can you wake him?" Naruto asked.
"Sure. But there's something you have to understand, my very job and career could go down the drain if something went wrong," the young doctor responded
"Sir," Ten-ten pleaded, "could you help us with keeping this quiet? We're afraid that if word goes out that he's awake, then whoever did this might come back and take drastic measures"
"Alright"
"Thank you" bow teens bowed. Dr Yakushi set to work. He loathed people that used their knowledge in such an inhuman manner. Take his former sensei -Orochimaru- for example. A genius in his own right, but performed bizarre experiments on people made him sick. That's why Orochimaru left for the Sound to do as he pleased freely. Dr Yakushi pulled out a srynge and a vial of serum he picked from the hospital medicine cabinet. He filled the srynge with the serum and injected it into Jiraiya's vein. For a moment, nothing happened, then the monitors showed Jiraiya's vitals spiking a bit before returning to normal. The trio watched as Jiraiya's hands moved and his eyes twitch. He groaned as his eyes slowly open for the first time in a decade.
Onsen
When the young man asked how they knew Hinata, the Uchihas eyed each other, sending each other a message of sorts. Shisui replied,
"That depends on if you know the Hinata we know. Which I find very unlikely. By the way, it's rude to eavesdrop on another's conversation"
"Pardon my intrusion. I'm Neji. I meant no ill will when I asked. But you mentioned the crown prince in your conversation. That is why assumed you knew Hinata. Excuse me," Neji explained.
"For the love of pumpkins! Why can't you make life easier for yourselves!" Izumi exclaimed. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her pictures. Shoving the phone in Neji's face, she asked if he knew the girl in the picture. Neji nodded in agreement.
"Now that we're all talking about the same Hinata," Izumi said, "do you know where we can find her?"
"As a matter of fact yes. And who are you? Seeing as your eyes are similar to the crown prince, I can assume that you two are Uchiha" Neji answered.
"I suppose there's no need to beat around the bush," Shisui began, "You are right about us being Uchiha. I'm Shisui and this is Izumi. We were hoping to find Hinata. Can you take us to her? It's very important"
"Very well," Neji agreed. He was stopped by Kurenai who questioned him on his decision. He assured her that it was alright and the group proceeded to leave the restaurant. On reaching their destination, Izumi whistled, "So this is the compound. Very fitting"
"It's been around for a long time. Of course with the occasional restoration, building extension and renovation," said. The Uchihas nodded and followed Neji inside. Kurenai split from the group to speak with Lord Hiashi. As they proceeded, Neji voiced out
"Miss Izumi, are you the same Bounty Hunter Izumi that caught Sasori of the desert?"
"That's me," Izumi chirped, speeding up a bit to walk alongside Neji, "But how do you know?"
"I lived in Sunagakure for a while. Lady Chiyo is Sasori's grandmother, and he was a part of the Akatsuki no are quite well known"
"I have to admit, it was a difficult job. When I learned some of the Akatsuki members got away, I wanted revenge for what they did. I guess hauling their asses to the hands of the law was my version of mourning"
"Then I must commend you for a job well done," Neji smiled. Izumi blushed and looked ahead. Shisui had been watching the two from behind and shook his head. Izumi had a crush.
Neji lead them to a room where they found a girl playing the piano, her back to them. She was wearing a lavender summer dress and her midnight blue swayed as she played. Neji cleared his throat which grabbed her attention. She turned back and smiled at Neji, getting up from to hug him. Looking behind Neji, she took in the sight of the guests and greeted them.
"Kurenai informed me of your arrival. I believe we have much to discuss," Hinata grinned.
Konoha Hospital
Hours had elapsed since Jiraiya woke up. Those hours spent on tests, feeding him, calming and updating him, and finally, secretly moving him to the Uzumaki home. It was a huge surprise on Minato Namikaze and his wife. Especially with Naruto and Ten-ten's story about Hinata. On hearing this, Jiraiya shook his head.
"What's the matter Jiraiya?" Minato asked.
"That coma Tsunade put me in, I was able to hear everything. But I was trapped in my body and couldn't do a thing. The story is much worse than you think," Jiraiya said, sounding ashamed. When he told them his tale, everyone was pretty much shocked and shaken. How Tsunade could do such a thing was beyond them. Ten-ten left the room and exited the house. She rubbed her arms and breathed in the night air. She felt something wrap her shoulders. Seeingthe family orange and black jacket, she turned to Naruto and leaned her head against his chest. Naruto wrapped his arms around her and they remained in that position for a while.
"She's evil," Ten-ten blurted out.
"I know. We're going to stop her," Naruto murmured, planting a soft kiss on Ten-ten's head.
"That wedding is not happening. We have to tell Sasuke"
"And we will. At the ball. First Jiraiya has to get back in shape. Okay?"
Ten-ten mumbled a small 'yes' and the teens stayed outside, enjoying the peaceful something crossed Ten-ten's mind and she called out Naruto's name.
"Yeah?"
"Why did you come to the hospital that night? Tell me the real reason"
Naruto stumbled on his words and Ten-ten removed herself from his arms and gazed at him, waiting for him to speak properly. Naruto breathed and said slowly,
"Would you do me the honor of being my date at the Masquerade ball?"
"I would love to, Naruto"
"Really?"
"Yes!" Ten-ten giggled, launching herself into Naruto's arms and hugging him. Naruto laughed as well and spun Ten-ten around, too happy for words. From a window above, and teary mother was the teens, reminding her own her youthful days.