(A/N: …I just realized something, like, just this second…I forgot to put disclaimers on the last two chapters of this story that I have posted…oops. Sorry Kishimoto-sensei! I don't own Naruto by the way. If I did, would I have referred to myself as my sensei? [I also happen to be a girl…] I'm sorry, but there was a change of plans. The hinted at chapter will not happen until the chapter after this one. Again, I'm sorry.)

Chapter 13: Life in Oto

The two Konoha ninjas quickly made their way down to the dining room, with the directions of Motoaki, whom they met in the hall after pretending to get lost. Because, really, it wouldn't look good to seem like they already knew how to navigate the whole house, thanks to Hinata's Byakugan.

As they entered the room, they found the Otokage already seated, seeming bored, but his look brightened considerably when Sasuke and Hinata walked in. "Ah. I see you got lost, Mitsuki-chan and Keijiro-kun."

Sasuke smiled sheepishly. "Hai, Otokage-sama. Motoaki-san gave us the directions to get here. This mansion is so huge it is easy to get turned around."

Kabuto laughed a dark, guttural laugh. "I'm so glad you found your way. I must thank Motoaki later on." His genial look, had they been lesser ninja, would have stopped them in their tracks, not being used to seeing this side of him.

Sasuke and Hinata sat down on two of the tatami mats placed around the dining table. A servant walked in moments later with a serving platter. On it were two bowls of sticky rice and a plate of finely crafted sushi, which were placed in front of them, and a disgusting looking concoction which was placed at Kabuto's seat.

"Please help yourself and enjoy. My servants can always bring more for you two. You are our guests after all." Kabuto said with falsely welcoming tone. Had they not known who he was, they would have felt incredibly comfortable and welcomed into his village, but they were much more knowledgeable than he knew, and they knew he could never change.

The three Oto villagers began to eat. Dinner was a slow, quiet process, as it would be for many nights to come.

When the two had finished, Sasuke and Hinata stood, bowed, and asked to be excused. "Of course, of course." Kabuto said. "I wouldn't want to keep you. I'm sure you must be tired after your long walk from Kumo. I have duties to perform tomorrow, but I will try to find someone who can show you around the village, if you like."

Sasuke glanced at Hinata, unsure whether they should or not. "Arigatou, Otokage-sama. Keijiro-koi and I would love that!" She said excitedly, pretending to be unable to contain her excitement, then clapped her hand over her mouth and bowed her head, mock-ashamedly.

Kabuto, who narrowed his eyes at her 'impolite' outburst, nodded his head anyway. He was determined to keep these two people as possible future bargaining chips with Kumo, so he allowed the woman her slightly rude actions.

The two Konoha ninja stood and bowed, then walked out.

Once they got to their rooms, Sasuke questioned her. "Why did you accept his offer? I thought we were trying to get close to him." He hissed under his breath at her.

"We are. We must seem like we are interested in the workings of the village and want to get to know our new home, else it will be easier to see through our disguise." She said, regaining her emotionless stature and continuing the conversation only after seeing that no one was around with a glance of her Byakugan.

Sasuke was surprisingly stunned at her quick logic. Then a thought occurred to him. "Who's sleeping on the bed?"

Hinata glanced up sharply, seeing that, indeed, there was only a single bed in the room. She sighed. It would be a long mission. "You realize what being newlyweds means right? We are going to have to share the bed, whether we like it or not. This is all Hokage-sama's fault. When we get back to the village, I just might turn traitorous and kill the man." She growled. Sasuke was unsure, but he assumed that she was joking. He hoped so anyway, for his own status' sake.

Sasuke sighed also. So much for a good night's sleep. He and Hinata dressed in their sleeping clothes before awkwardly standing at the foot of the bed, observing one another.

Hinata was wearing a night gown of deep purple silk with lace around the neckline, sleeves, and bottom hems. Her hair was let down from its usual ANBU style up-do to cascade down her back, ending at her elbows.

Sasuke was wearing a pair of grey sweat pants with an untied draw-string. He looked at the face of his 'wife' to see if she would blush at his lack of shirt, but her eyes didn't even stray on his form for longer than necessary to observe him.

Silently, the two slipped into the bed, as far from each other as they could safely get without it arousing suspicion should someone walk into the room. Notwithstanding, that wasn't very far apart, but when people like them, who love their personal space were thrust into situations like that, they took all the space they could get.

The following morning, Sasuke awoke first, feeling something warm lying on his shoulder, and wrapped in his arms. Confused, he groggily glanced down. The only thing visible was raven colored hair. Raising his head slightly, he found Hinata's body curled up next to him, with no space in between her back and his side.

Hinata woke instantly when Sasuke leapt backward, flinging her off of him and falling to the floor. She lunged into her fighting position when she heard the thump he made upon hitting the floor. Cautiously, she crept over to the lump of covers that was crumpled at the edge of the bed.

Slowly, she pulled the covers away from the floor to find a mass of tangled limbs and raven hair below them. "Sasuke? What are you doing down there?" She whispered, cautious, but still uncaring of his situation.

"I fell off the bed." He mumbled, thankful that he had been the first to awaken. Who knows what she would have done if she had been the first to wake. Sasuke shivered. I'm fairly certain that I don't want to know.

"Cold?" She asked.

"Hai." He replied, glad she had mistaken his shiver of fear for one of cold.

"Keijiro-koi, do you know when breakfast is?"

"I-" Sasuke broke off, hearing a knock at the door. He walked over to it and gently turned the knob, pulling it backward, but only slightly, just enough to see out the door.

He opened it wider when he saw that it was the maid, Motoaki, who was standing there, smiling up at him. "I was just passing by when I heard your wife ask about breakfast. It'll be ready in a few minutes. If you would like to head on down to the dining hall, I will make sure that the servants bring it out for you. I'm afraid that Otokage-sama has already left for his meeting, so he can't dine with you this morning." She bowed and glanced in the room. Seeing the covers thrown in the floor in a rumpled heap, she blushed and scurried away, saying a quick goodbye.

Sasuke looked into the room and blushed deeply, seeing what had made Motoaki flush. The room was a mess. He was shirtless. It was morning. They were supposedly a newlywed couple. It didn't take much for Motoaki to come to jump to the completely wrong conclusion, even if it was a good thing. "Ah…we should probably straighten out the room, Mitsuki-hime." He said, still sporting his dark red blush.

Hinata responded with a simple nod. Her cheeks were no rosier than the night before, and she had a smirk on her face. It took Sasuke a minute to realize that she was enjoying his embarrassment. He frowned at her, but she had already turned to clean.

The two of them straightened up the room, then turned to walk out the door toward the smell of food.

They arrived in the room where they had eaten dinner the night before, meeting no one, finding nothing but two plates with onigiri on them. "I suppose this is breakfast." Sasuke commented. Hinata nodded.

Pretending to be civilians, they jumped when Motoaki appeared behind them. "This is breakfast. After you two eat, I will escort you to your tour guide." She smiled brightly, something that she never did when Kabuto was around, they later found out.

"Arigatou, Motoaki-chan. Let's eat, Keijiro-koi." Hinata said, kneeling at the table and picking up a pair of chopsticks.

Motoaki walked out of the room as Sasuke sat down beside her. "Is this poisoned?" He whispered without moving his lips.

"Iie. I already looked." Hinata replied in the same fashion. "Itadakimasu!" She exclaimed, bringing the food to her mouth in a prim, proper fashion.

Sasuke did the same. There was little discussion over breakfast. The two dined on their food, finishing shortly.

When they finished, Motoaki walked into the room, motioning for them to follow her to the front door of the mansion. Upon arriving, they met up with their guide, and Hinata almost gasped with surprise.

"Ohayo, I'll be your guide around the village today. My name is Suigetsu." He said in a monotone with his head bowed. Sasuke knew he was not happy about being a tour guide, nor could he be happy to be back under the control of the sound. I thought Suigetsu escaped when I let him out… Maybe Kabuto caught up to him and dragged him back? Sasuke thought.

"Konnichiwa! My name is Mitsuki, and this is my husband, Keijiro! It's such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much for the tour! We really appreciate it, Suigetsu-san!" Hinata twittered happily, knowing that away from Kabuto, the rules were much less stiff and restrictive.

Motoaki left them upon seeing that introductions were properly made.

Suigetsu looked up for a moment, catching Hinata's eye. His, in turn widened in recognition. She narrowed her eyes, and Suigetsu kept quiet. "Right this way." He said turning away from the two Konoha nins. He led them down a street that was surprisingly void of all life. The further they got from the Otokage's mansion, the more life appeared in the streets. Near the edge of the village, Suigetsu turned to them. "What are you doing here, Snake-sama? And without your mask too! I didn't know you were married. Who is he?" Suigetsu bombarded her with questions, while leaving Sasuke completely confused.

"I am on a mission for Konoha. I am not married. This is Uchiha Sasuke." She explained to Suigetsu. Though Sasuke was completely confused, he did not speak. "But listen, we can't talk about this. Not out here where anyone can listen in. You cannot give our identities away."

Suigetsu blanched, knowing Sasuke had been the one to free him from Orochimaru's prison and life as a test subject. For the moment, however, he chose to ignore that connection in favor for his stronger bond. "Don't worry, Snake-sama, I would never think of doing that. I still owe you my life, no?" He said gratefully. "Come on, I'll give you that tour now."

He took them through the lively part of town, telling them about the different food stands, and introducing them to some of his closest friends, though there were very few of them. He told Hinata and Sasuke later on that they would be willing to help them with killing the Otokage if they needed it.

Soon, the day came to a close, and the two Konoha nins and Suigetsu had to make their way to their separate apartments. "I'll drop by once and a while to help with plans and report Kabuto's activities to you." Suigetsu said when he was sure the coast was clear and as a parting statement, disappearing after he was sure they had been let inside by Motoaki.

The aforementioned maid led them to the dinner hall where they ate an almost silent dinner by themselves. After dinner, Sasuke and Hinata made their way back to their rooms. She could tell Sasuke was confused and furious with her.

She silently waited for the explosion she knew would arrive as soon as she gave the word that the coast was clear.

"Why did you tell Suigetsu about our mission, how does he know who you are, why has he seen you without your mask, and how does he know that you are Snake?" Sasuke asked immediately after they had entered the room and Hinata had checked to make sure there was no one even in the remote area.

Hinata went to her chest of drawers and pulled out a pair of pajamas. Then, she walked back over to the bed and sat down, taking a deep breath. "I helped keep him alive when he was on trial to be killed when Otogakure captured him after you left, so long as he agreed to assist me if I ever came back here and he would feed information about Oto to Konoha twelve times every year.

"I told him that I was Snake, not my real name, when I rescued him. I rescued him back when I wasn't used to wearing my mask all the time, so I forgot I needed to wear it and I took it off in front of him. He still doesn't know my real name. But Kabuto only knows that Snake can kill him because that was the way I convinced him to let my friend live here." She explained, glancing out the window.

"So you had the opportunity to kill Kabuto and didn't!" Sasuke almost shouted, but with a glare from Hinata, he quieted down.

"That was part of the bargain. Suigetsu's life for his. Besides, I couldn't take on a whole village and get away with my life back then. I can't now either. I'd prefer not to die by picking a fight I know I can't win."

"So why did you rescue Suigetsu?" Sasuke asked tauntingly, wondering if there was some deeper meaning to it than she was willing to tell him.

"I knew an inside source would be a very helpful thing to have. Godaime Hokage-sama said she wanted me to find a way to be accepted in the sound as a ninja and leak information to them. I rescued Suigetsu so that I wouldn't have to stay. I barely got out of here alive after that incident." Hinata laughed an actual laugh, the first in a long while.

"I meet him at the border once a month and he gives me all the news of Oto. All major events that happen, everything. Actually, we're not accomplices anymore. More siblings than anything. He and his friends are going to be the only Oto ninja that will be left alive in the entire village if we can help it." After explaining, she walked into the bathroom to change and did not come out until Sasuke made it clear he was dressed.

She reentered the room and sat on the bed, murmuring to herself. Sasuke thought he heard her say that the past night had been the best she'd slept in a very long while and recalled the mishap that morning. As Hinata lay back in bed, she glanced toward Sasuke curiously, for he was just standing to the side of his side of the bed with a slight blush on his face. "What are you doing?" She asked, tilting her head to the side in a bodily show of confusion.

Sasuke shook his head, as if to clear it, and slipped silently into bed with her. "Nothing." He muttered.

He slept well that night, and also every night for the next two months.

Soon, near the middle of their second month there, he found that people were making preparations for a festival. The Winter Festival to be exact, celebrating the coming Christmas season. "Keijiro-koi, are we going to go to the festival? It sounds like such fun!" Hinata said, with a deceptively excited voice. They were becoming more comfortable with one another.

"Sure, Mitsuki-hime." Sasuke replied in the same tone as they walked down the hall of the Otokage's mansion on the way back to their room after planning with Suigetsu on how to best kill Kabuto without attracting too much attention. How he hated having to act like a happily married couple, talking about things like a normal civilian would. They were about as far as one could get from happily married civilians. Though, he wouldn't admit to it, he was feeling warmer toward Hinata, and he was sure the feeling was becoming mutual.

It has been said that an act, gone on for too long, will become reality. Not even the most stoic ninja in the world are immune to such issues.

Once they reached their rooms, the two changed and glided into bed, also becoming more comfortable with the close proximity required of sleeping newlyweds. Soon, Hinata was asleep. Sasuke was the last to slip into unconsciousness, though he thought he heard Hinata mutter that she had been sleeping well, actually lying down for so long, therefore getting to sleep deeper. But that could have been his imagination. Soon, he too, drifted into unconsciousness.

Blood. It was everywhere. On the ground, in her hair, in a puddle at her feet. One was standing, one kneeling, and one was lying in it on the ground. Though raining, nothing could mask the tears cascading down her face. "Iie." The girl kneeling on the ground whispered, hands glowing with a light blue chakra. "This can't be happening. It was supposed to be perfect. We were supposed to be happy!" She wailed. Pushing herself harder, she pulled out more of her chakra and concentrated it into her hands. "Why!" She shouted, "Why is this happening?!"

The man standing by her shook his head impassively, watching as the girl fell apart in front of him.

The man on the ground reached up and took the woman's cheek into the palm of his hand. The girl's hands stopped glowing as she grasped it tightly between her own. "Why, watashi wa Koibito? Why did you do this?" She asked him.

"I…did this…for you, watashi no… hime." With his quickly failing strength, he reached up to her and kissed her softly on the lips. With his dying breath, he spoke soothing words. "Ashiteru, hime. Be strong… for me. Become… the best… shinobi you… can possibly… be." With that, his life faded away.

Slowly, she let her chakra fade entirely. "I killed him." She whispered. "It's my fault he's dead. I could have saved him. I didn't try hard enough." The woman let out a heartrending wail, falling down over her lover's body and crying until she could shed no more tears.

The other man, the one who was standing, knelt down beside her, patting her shoulder, whispering comforting words that were heard by deaf ears all throughout.

"IIE!" Sasuke heard Hinata shout as she flew up. He did so too, thinking they had been found out and there were other Oto ninja in the room. He pulled a kunai out from inside his pillow case and got into a fighting stance. He took a glance around the room, and, upon finding no one, he flopped back into bed. "What did you shout for?" His whispered question went unheard and unanswered.

He picked up a small, almost silent sound from her side of the bed. Slowly, he turned over toward her and found that she was curled into a ball hugging her knees with her face buried in them. "Are you crying?" He asked gently, sitting up.

He heard her sniffle, and took that as a yes. Cautiously, he reached out an arm and tentatively wrapped it around her, surprised when she flung herself into him. Unsure of what to do, he patted her shoulder lightly, awkwardly, and just let her cry on his shoulder.

When she had calmed down, he spoke. "Are you okay, Hinata? What happened?" He picked his words carefully.

"It's been so long since then. I can't believe he's back." She whispered, the end of her sentence almost lost due to her voice that was getting quieter.

"Who? What was your dream about?" He was met with silence when he asked this question. Looking down at the woman in his arms, he found that she had fallen asleep.

Being unable to move her without waking her, he just laid back and fell asleep, Hinata still cuddled up to him with his arms wrapped almost protectively around her.

The next morning, Sasuke awoke to find that Hinata, whose warmth he had gotten used to waking up to, was gone. Almost, almost frantically, he searched the room to find some clue as to where she had gone.

He spotted a small white piece of paper that had not been there the previous night. Quickly, he got up and walked over to it. Sasuke picked it up and took in the words:

Keijiro-koi,
Thank you so much for your kindness last night. I really appreciate it. I woke up early this morning and found that we were in the exact same position we fell asleep in last night. I'll be back in time for lunch, don't worry, sweetie. I promise I'll be careful. Suigetsu's promised he will make sure nothing happens. Be back soon, maybe even before you wake.

Mitsuki

"Are? Wonder where she had to go." Sasuke pondered. Maybe, if I track her down, I can find out what set her off last night.

Elsewhere in Oto, Hinata spoke to what appeared to be thin air. "Suigetsu-nii?" She whispered, sitting on the grass in front of the large oak where she had told him to meet her.

"What is it, Snake-sama?" He asked, walking out from behind it. He found her sitting with her arms wrapped around her knee caps and her chin resting on her hands. "What's wrong?"

"Do you remember those times back when I was still new at being Snake?"

"Hai. Why bring this up now though?"

"I think you should know who I am, Suigetsu-nii. My name is Hinata."

"The heiress who was killed by Itachi?"

"The one and only."

"But if he killed you, then how are you here?"

"It was a scheme. I planned it all. I never really met up with Itachi. Do you remember the dreams I would have, back when you first started spying for me? When I would run away from home and come here, crying. You would always find me and comfort me. They really happened."

"Aa, Snake-sama."

"Don't call me that anymore, onegai."

"Okay Hinata-nee."

"Did I ever tell you who the three people in my nightmare were?"

"Iie. I don't see where you're going with this."

"The men. The one who always stood is Hoshigake Kisame. The one on the ground, dying, is Uchiha Itachi."

"Who is the woman?" Suigetsu asked, curious to learn more about his rescuer.

"The woman?" Hinata sniffled, then smiled a joyless smile. "She would be me."

Suigetsu knelt down beside her and patted her shoulder. "Is that why you were always so distraught after those dreams? You loved him didn't you?" He asked, his voice gentle as his hands as he wrapped his sister figure in a cocoon of his arms.

She nodded against his chest. "I miss him," her voice cracked as her sobs began anew.

Suigetsu continued to console her, unknowing that Sasuke, who had come to the tree only minutes after him, had heard everything they spoke of and saw the emotion she showed to the Oto nin.

(A/N: I am sooooo sorry for my late update! I have been so busy lately that I've barely even had time to get on the computer at all! Today is my birthday! I am happy! ...October 3! Yay! Anyway…I'm sorry again for the late update. I'll try to update as soon as I can.

Edit: I just realized I used a Japanese word meaning "huh" that is also a word in English. :p Anyway, any time you see the word "are" and it looks incredibly out of place, it's supposed to be "huh" in Japanese.)