Chapter 41: Constellations
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Sai's eyes were filled with destructive intent, and though there were many things Hinata was willing to do to ensure Team 7 is safe, she took a moment to think of the effects. Fulfilling Kakashi's unspoken order would have no effect on the way the elders viewed her. They'll admittedly understand her actions and support her. The council, which were Lord Hokage's higher-ups, would praise her for ending the last surviving member of Danzo's organization. Her friends would undoubtedly have questions at first, but Kiba and Shino would come to terms with her actions, though she is not sure about the others.
And for some reason, the thought of it all made her feel like her head was underwater. The choice was becoming hard to make, since she wanted nothing more than to leave this savagery behind.
If I continue to act impulsively, then I'll always be stunted, won't I?
I don't want to fight anymore.
I'm so tired of it all…
When external forces attempted to pull her back to her default, she was forced to self-reflect on what her actions may mean, as murder and assassination would place her at odds with Shikamaru and his wish. He would want to give Sai up to Ino's family, as he was worth more alive than dead due to his memories. All these thoughts, happening at once, were formed in nanoseconds.
As Sasuke ran alongside his team, he noticed right away that something was wrong with Hinata as she stayed frozen as though she was a powerless hostage, unable to flee or fight. Knowing he didn't have a grasp of the situation, he decided to investigate. When Hinata looked his way, he quickly pulled her into his mind, bringing her back down to earth.
Hinata felt like she had just woken up from a slumber, mind slightly disoriented as she stood at the top of a mountain, overlooking the large field of wild evergreens. When she glanced toward the atmosphere, her brows furrowed as she saw a familiar silhouette of a majestic paper beast carrying someone in the sky.
"Hinata, what's the hold-up? We're ready for you to jump."
"I've been given instructions by lord Kakashi."
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly.
"When did he have time to give you a mission?"
"It was unspoken. Unofficial." She explained vaguely.
"What were his instructions?" He asked.
"Target elimination with no landing."
Hinata sighed and crossed her arms as she took a few steps further up the mountain until she was standing at the edge, while Sasuke also stood in silence.
He, too, had formed scenarios that only ended in war.
As Hinata continued to muse and pace about, she asked herself if she was qualified to go through the mission without raising red flags.
She paused and turned his way.
"Sasuke… I don't think I can do it after all."
He sent her a questioning look, wondering why she had reservations when it came to Sai's life, as she always seemed willing in the past when it had been Toneri on the other side. Did she have a soft spot for the artist?
"Are you fond of him?" Her expression gave more away, as she didn't hide the disdain she felt towards her previous colleague.
She uncrossed her arms.
"No. Believe it or not, it's just, this isn't me anymore."
Hinata let out an inaudible gasp when he hugged her tightly. She eventually returned the gesture as she closed her eyes and hugged him back.
"Hinata, I know your relationship with Kakashi may be rocky, but from what I've observed, this might be his way of testing you," Sasuke said, "And whatever your choice is going to be, I'll support it no matter what. I'll always be on your side."
Her eyes widened as her heart fluttered. These feelings, however, didn't stop her main concern.
"To test me now of all times, this level of ruthlessness makes me think Lord Kakashi has gotten tougher. Is it because of this morning's news?"
He shrugged and shook his head, "I don't know. I don't always know what he's thinking. But he's likely waiting for you to think and decide. We all have our strengths. Just do what you feel is best." Sasuke said as he retrieved a few steps back. He gave her hand one last supporting squeeze before letting go.
"Shika is the kind of person who normally can't see the wisdom in war, but now I'm certain more than ever that this has gotten too personal. His clansmen aimed their weapons at me without asking questions. It makes me wonder what their instructions had been."
"They're Shinobi firsts, men of extremes who don't always have time to ask questions. But out here on this field, you'll have the advantage. Your friends and clansmen are here. You also have me."
She frowned, remembering something from the past.
"Tell me something, do you ever resent me for what I asked of you, back then?" She asked as she met his eyes, her lavender pearls with a tint of blue, the reflection of the sky.
"If we're talking about your dream, I made peace with it some time ago when I realized how much it meant the world to you when I helped you accomplish it. Thinking back, I always wanted to give you something meaningful. With a gesture like that, I also was betting that you'll always be thinking about me in the end, even if we were apart,"
Hinata curled her fingers against the fabric on her sides. Why did he say things like that? Things that made her remember that their friendship perhaps hadn't been normal.
"You were never going to get that kind of attention from me." She insisted.
"Yet I already had it. Denial was always your love language, remember?" He shot her a half-grin as he touched her cheek when she gaped. "I thought you were cute even if half the time you weren't sure of how to treat me, since one shouldn't want to-"
"It wasn't cute at all. Everything about you infuriated me believe it or not, because you seemed to engage me in ways no one did. Still, when I'm with you, it's when I'm the most honest with myself. I think that's what's important to me."
"Then don't be afraid to do your best. I won't let you face anything alone."
The noticeable squeeze on her heart loosened at Sasuke's reassuring words, and she smiled gratefully.
Hinata glanced back at the sky.
She prayed that this would be the last time she gave in to these external forces, which attempted to pull her back to her default.
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Hinata tried to tune out their voices to focus as she was dropped back to reality. She gripped the artificial feathers tighter, like a saddle.
"Hinata, take him down!" Kiba encouraged her as he ran alongside Shino. "Come on! We believe in your strength!"
"No! I still have so many questions to ask him!" Ino also screamed, desperately.
Hinata's eyes widened, and for the first time ever, suddenly everything, and everyone, appeared all so fragile. With her thoughts much clearer, she saw no use in wasting her time trying to sway Shikamaru in any way. The way things had ended would prevent her from doing so. Thus, she shifted all of her efforts to what she knew about Ino. She did not resist her thoughts.
…Ino-san will likely be the one who will end up reading Sai's thoughts. At first, Hinata believed it would mean the end for them all. But war shouldn't be a concern if she could somehow persuade Ino to stand on neutral grounds. The question is, how?
Hinata acknowledged Ino's voice always had an influence on her friends, which she had been naive to underestimate. When Ino had spoken out in the past, Shikamaru and Choji would mostly listen. She mused that it wasn't that different from her own experience she shared with her team. Kiba and Shino were always reliable, as they were all compatible with bringing out each other's strengths.
She glanced down at the feathers in her hands, when thinking about their weaknesses.
Kami, let this be the last time I regress…
Hinata let go of the feathers, and lifted herself up to her feet, her posture much more regal as the violent wind whipped the kimono around her frame. At the time, the Hyuga logo appeared like a banner as it displayed on her back, which only seemed to rally voices of support and encouragement from her clansmen as they ran a little further behind.
"Everyone, the target has agreed that it is in his best interest to hand himself over to the Yamanaka clan. So stand down as we land!"
The pursuit stopped with sighs of relief uttered by the Ino-shika-cho parties that had witnessed the way she essentially disarmed Sai with words and supernatural-patience, or so it seemed. But something about how easy this had been put Shikamaru on edge.
Recognition washed over Sai's expression as he realized Hinata was turning him in.
"Heh, so you've finally made a decision then," Sai said, gleefully.
Her eyes trailed over her shoulder, acknowledging Sai's words. Hinata could tell either outcome pleased him because he thought he would win. But he was still such a novice in her eyes.
She turned to face Sai.
"I've chosen peace. So Anbu-chan, don't make any sudden movements when we land."
Sai's eyes widened slightly, the nickname somehow giving him something that felt closer to nostalgia, or was it melancholy? He wordlessly instructed his artistic summon to land on the nearest mountain, where a group of Shinobis was already posted, waiting to detain him. Hinata instructed Sai to wait on the mount when they land, hoping to take care of something prior to his transfer.
When Hinata spun around, her expression had changed like night and day, as if she dropped all pretense about being helpless in the first place. Her pearly eyes glowed a hue of purple and blue as she glanced down at Shikamaru's team with burning intent, before settling on Shikamaru as her lips thinned into a grimace.
"On second thought, I'm not sure if I can overlook how both of your men raised their weapons against me," Her voice was powerful, and the serious and vindictive tone seeped out on purpose, as she exercised her inherent power as her eyes were on Ino.
Negative energy seeped out, and suddenly, Ino felt like she was surrounded as Kiba and Shino's eyes were on her, along with a few clansmen who had joined. Feeling antagonized, Ino glanced around, frustrated with her men's performance.
"Whoever is responsible, step forward!" Ino screamed to her Anbus. The Yamanaka to have accidentally instigated the battle walked forward and bowed on one knee before Ino. "What have you done?! Explain yourself!"
"It was unclear whether Hinata-sama was working together with the target or not. She stood up for him when we blocked him."
"I stood up for who I presumed to be a civilian within his rights." She replied honestly, as she motioned with her hands. Although that was a separate incident altogether, Hinata chose to connect it all to her advantage, in the middle of the heightened tension she had willingly created. "I'll forgive the transgression in exchange for one thing. That I will be the one to choose the Yamanaka who will read the target's memories." She said as she rested her palm against her chest, motioning to herself.
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as he glanced at all of Ino's men. Hinata was obviously up to something. He turned to his friends to express his reservations, however Choji had already been baited to deny it.
"It was already arranged that Ino will read Sai's mind!" Choji said from their side. Shikamaru's eyes widened, what was his friend doing? A decision like this needed further thought, and it was too late now to take it back. What if they had unknowingly tipped a piece in her favor?
By then, Sasuke had slowly approached the group, with team 7 following behind as Kakashi remained a spectator, watching from afar, deciding to jump in only if things got out of hand. Some of the crowd parted to the side as they stepped through.
"Hinata, you don't have that kind of clearance to make that call," Naruto said next to Sakura. "Sai will be coming with us,"
"It's okay, Naruto. I'll allow Sai to be transferred to the Yamanaka," Kakashi said, as he remained further back, with his Hokage cloak tossed over one shoulder as he gave a nod in Ino's direction. And it bothered Shikamaru the way Kakashi did not look concerned as he remained hands off.
Hinata shook her head. "No. I'm not handing Sai-san over until all of us talk this out and clear whatever misunderstandings came about. In the meantime, Sai-san will be detained by my team. Shino, take him under your care!"
They all knew what she really meant by that. Sai would be transferred to the Aburame torture chambers. Though Shino wasn't sure of what was going on, he entrusted Hinata to handle whatever obvious tension which had festered.
Shino waited on stand-by, as Hinata instructed Sai to extend his arms, before her fingers pressed specific pathways, essentially disarming his ability to fight. When she stepped to the side, Sai finally hopped off, grinning as he was taken into custody.
Seeing that Sai's summon was going to soon revert back into paint, Sasuke used his gravitational powers to manipulated a few stones, ripping them off the ground, creating some steps for her to descend right as Sai's live painted had splatter like a Rorschach test on the ground near by.
When her wooden shoes touched the mountainous landscape, her foot positioning created a familiar silhouette, perfectly feminine in nature in both awareness and sophistication that demanded respect, and Sakura had to wonder how in the world had Hinata gained the upper hand when they lived in a world where physical strength was supposed to be everything.
Naruto left her side, Her emerald eyes widened, feeling silly for seeing it now, what her fear truly was. Up until now, she had been feeling left behind all over again, in a different kind of way. She tried to push those feelings back down as she smiled reassuringly as Naruto looked her way.
Choji, Ino, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Naruto all stood around one another, waiting for Hinata to catch up. When she joined them, she glanced up at Shikamaru, before glancing away.
"Oi," Kiba called out, over his shoulder. "You're going to be in big trouble if you don't fill us in on what this is all about."
"Yes. I'll see you soon," Hinata said, her eyes smiling, as she watched Kiba throwing Sai over Akamaru's back, before her team took off. She turned to her father's Anbu, instructing them to also stand by.
Sakura walked over to Kakashi when the group walked away to a more secluded area in the forest.
"Kakashi-sensei, what is going on? Has she lost her mind?"
"Sakura-chan, do not be quick to dismiss the actions of others. Hinata-sensei knows how much the outcome affects everyone as much as it affects her. Everyone's relationship has been strained lately, and I am giving her one more chance to help ease it. We'll see how it goes when everyone returns."
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Naruto remembers standing there, when it was just the six of them, as the air became thick.
Not a lot of words were exchanged as Hinata walked up to Shikamaru, who had taken a defensive stance as she reached out and grabbed his hand, wordlessly dropping some kind of accessory in his palm. It probably should've bothered Sasuke, the way their eyes couldn't look away from each other. But he had promised Hinata she won't let her face anything alone, even if that meant watching the two in all their unresolved problems.
Choji's eyes widened when Shikamaru opened his hand.
No way, a wedding ring? Had the two of them not talked since that day? Ino and Choji both glanced at one another, seemingly sharing similar thoughts.
Shikamaru dropped the ring in his pocket and broke eye contact to glare at Sasuke. Naruto could tell Shikamaru was about to voice his disdain about Sasuke being there, so he approached his friend and handed him a blindfold to help ease everyone's insecurities about Sasuke's power. Naruto cleared his throat and went ahead first.
"Ino, I was the one that suggested letting Sai go," He confessed as he shoved his hands inside his pockets. "I'm sorry."
"What…? Naruto…this is treason!"
"I know. I did it to protect my team, not that it makes it any better…" He replied, looking away shamefully. "I'm willing to step down after this from any candidacy," He added, seriously, as he looked to Shikamaru for any kind of approval. "Oi, I'm addressing you too," Naruto called out to him.
"You had your chance to mend it, but you actively avoided doing so, and now you're asking me to praise you for holding yourself accountable?" Shikamaru deadpanned.
Hinata approached Ino as Naruto and Shikamaru actively bantered.
"Ino-san, when you read Sai's memories, you're going to see everything, so perhaps talking about it is pointless. But there is something I have to say in advance. Despite everything Sai has done to hurt you and frame me, through gossip and lies, I have to apologize for not noticing or helping you when all the signs were there. He was very…erratic."
"I don't know if you could've helped. It's not like you and I were close. But how did Sai frame you?" Ino asked, wanting to hear her side.
"You can ask Shika," Hinata replied, and Shikamaru wished that she would stop calling him that.
Hinata walked back to stand between Sasuke and Naruto's side, and suddenly there seemed to have been some invisible line, diving both side.
Shikamaru glared.
"I really couldn't care less about the truth at this point. Did he frame you or not, it's all meaningless. Your actions put Ino in harm's way. Or do you refuse to see that's why I broke it off? Even if you might've not lied to me that day, you always had." Shikamaru replied. When Choji gasped, it reminded everyone he was still there.
"Um," Naruto motioned for Choji to join him on a walk to give the four privacy to talk. However, Ino reached out to keep Choji in place.
Though Shikamaru's loyalty was touching to Ino, she also had the urge to come clean.
"I'm not any better than anyone else. Even today, I still feel that way. I believe he's just misunderstood, since no one knows how to deal with someone like him. When I met him, I wanted to fix him and teach him how to live. But I ended up using him." She turned to Hinata and finally wiped away her tear. "I'm sorry, Hinata. I was the one that put so many doubts in Shika's mind right before the wedding."
"Don't apologize. Actions speak louder, and she did all of that on her own," Shikamaru said plainly as he glanced between her and Sasuke.
Everyone's eyes suddenly follow Naruto as he had crossed the invisible line just to punch his unreasonable friend in the stomach.
"When did you turn into such an ass?! We're over here apologizing and crap, and you think you're the only good guy? Your fucking insecurity got us here too, you know! You didn't do a thing to support Hinata-chan!"
Naruto stepped back, waiting for Shikamaru to regain his posture.
It was always Hinata this, Hinata that. Sasuke this, and Sasuke that. Didn't anyone else matter to him? What about his feelings from the very start? Shikamaru straightened himself.
Everyone seemed surprised when Naruto was met with a punch. However, what was more surprising, was that Naruto didn't dodge.
"Shikamaru! Stop!" Ino pleaded as she tried to come in between them. By then, Sasuke had removed his blindfold and pulled Naruto away, as Choji did the same.
The more time flowed, the more raw emotions everyone seemed to portray, and Hinata couldn't help but to look away. Sai was being kept in confinement, but no one was talking about what comes next. Feeling like she had done her part, she took noticeable steps away from the scene, deciding to head back. Her mission was done.
However, Shikamaru's words pulled her back in.
"Hinata, all those things you said to me, there's no way you could've meant them. You can't claim to have ever loved me while you wanted someone else instead."
"Nara, I stood by Hinata's side and watched her almost commit horrible things just to be with you. How do you suppose to justify those things if it wasn't for love?" Sasuke spat, and for some reason he couldn't help taking this attack personally.
"I wasn't talking to you, scum," Shikamaru replied.
Sasuke let out an inaudible sigh as he stepped forward. Since everyone seemed to freely be holding mirrors in each other's faces...
"I just remembered, didn't you have a girlfriend in Suna while you were giving away piggyback rides for free to a person that was engaged?"
"Sasuke…please stop." Hinata whispered, knowing when things had gotten out of hand when the two people who never speak toward one another suddenly had so much to say.
"Why can't you do the same and wish for her to be happy? Or is that the kind of person you are? Do you like it when everyone suffers with you?" Sasuke asked.
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Hinata sat on the grass, under the shade of a tree, legs tucked underneath her kimono. Although her posture was relaxed, she still appeared quite regal as she glanced at everyone around her with a small serene smile at the corner of her lips.
An hour had passed, and everyone's conversation had evolved, as it had completely deviated from the initial conflicts that had brought them all together and then apart. The brawl between Naruto and Shikamaru seemed to have been left behind. And the verbal debate between Shikamaru and Sasuke, was probably what had tired everyone out. But Sasuke had been quite amazing, in her eyes, as he had kept to his word by either coming to her defense, or stick by her side.
Choji approached the group while stuffing himself with berries he had found nearby. He sat in what now appeared to be a circle, crowded around Hinata.
Naruto pretended to yawn, though inside, he wasn't sure how much he could take of these conversation. But still, he added his contributions while Shikamaru's warning continued to haunt him.
"I'm kinda hurt that none of you batted an eye when I said I was willing to give up my dream and title of being Hokage." He complained from his side, with one knee drawn in. He declined any berries when Choji offered a few to him.
"That's because we could immediately smell the bullshit on your side," Shikamaru said lazily from Hinata's left side. Ino laughed while holding her stomach as she had been laying on her back.
"Interrogating Sai seems pointless now that everything is all out in the open," Sasuke said, rather smoothly, as he rested on his side, close to Hinata. "But now my question is, what exactly are you guys planning to do about him?"
"Sai is being kept at the famous Aburame dungeon," Ino replied knowingly, hinting at something in the past. Shikamaru glanced away from the clouds.
"Troublesome, it seems like you and Hinata have much more in common than what I initially wanted to acknowledge." Ino ignored him and smiled.
"Hmm, I don't find violence to be admirable if it just leads to more hatred. Let the guy rot in some insane asylum." Choji said to everyone, and no one could disagree.
"I agree. What he went through with Danzo, those experiences must've been unimaginable. His whole childhood is fucked up. I say he had suffered enough already. I mean, he has no friends now that he lost us." Ino said reflectively.
"Your opinion doesn't seem objective when everything about you screams Stockholm-syndrome." Choji said playfully.
"Hey!" Ino said with a glare, as she tried to aim a kick his way. "So, what do you think, Hinata?"
Hinata hummed thoughtfully as she looked away from all of their eyes boring into her. She glanced down at her lap, her serene smile disappearing.
"After having worked alongside him, I didn't really get to know much of him. The only thing I know is that he encouraged all the bad traits and force them to come out of any individual."
She unfolded her hands to receive a few berries from Choji, her smile sad as she didn't attempt to eat it. Then, when she glanced up again, three pairs of red eyes looked her way, nodding in agreement.
"What a drag, my team and I should be heading back before anyone starts feeling on edge, or turning on each other," Shikamaru said, sending a lazy smile their way.
"Good call. You should all go on ahead." Naruto said as he looked elsewhere while Shikamaru lifted himself up, mangekyo sharingan dissolving back to brown ones.
And one by one, everyone in Shikamaru's team left until it was just Sasuke and Naruto on her side.
It was now just the three of them.
Their secret, was more grave and serious than ever before.
"My eyes activated on their own by accident," Sasuke explained while frowning.
Naruto swallowed. "Teme, take a personal day and don't come back to work until you got fucking proof that Sakura-chan checked your eyes and cleared you out." He said as he rose.
They watched him go, disappearing in the same direction Shikamaru's team was last seen.
"The dobe is going to get over it. He always does."
"I don't think it's wise to put your unwavering faith in that being the case." Hinata said as she looked Sasuke's way.
Shadows of leaves and branches reflected over his body as trees rustled back and forth from above, the warm breeze of summer gently caressing his hair with movement as his eyes were aimed towards the atmosphere, his chin tilted towards the sky. His dark eyes were then on her.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked him.
"Us. If Nara expresses that he wants to work things out and take you back-"
"Sasuke, the answer is no. I respect him enough to never want something like that. After what you did, I can't trust that his feelings will even be real." She replied, sadly, unsure whether that had been the only thing inside his mind. "Is there anything else on your mind?"
"Yeah," Back then, when everyone had been expressing their truths, it had him thinking he couldn't go on this way; oppressing the reality of the other things he had done. "There is something you should know about me. It's about the night before your wedding." He said, frowning.
"I heard from Hanabi how you were left pretty beat up," Though Hinata was pretty sure that had not happened at night. So it begged the question, of what he was talking about.
"If I could go back in time and change my actions, I would," Sasuke said, apologizing in advance.
Her brows furrowed.
"Would you like to be a little more clear?" She asked, for some reason, finally feeling a little worried. "Did something happen? I mean, if you can't tell me, perhaps you can show me."
Sasuke sat up, rinnegan and sharingan active.
When he touched her forehead and shared flashes of conversations he had with Hanabi, down to the moment of her confession and the implied aftermath. When the exchange was over, she moved his hand away from her forehead, her breath almost choking her. When she could finally speak, she tried not to scream.
"...So you came back into my life just to get me to open up to you again. Then when I focused all of my thoughts and energy on you like a hamster on a wheel, you tell me that you almost slept with my sister! Am I a joke to you?" She paused, knowing she probably was not making any sense, because how the fuck does one even articulate something like this? It doesn't matter how lonely he must've been. She growled, slapping any form of contact away as Sasuke attempted to touch her, asking her to listen as to why he had done what he did.
"No!" It was inexcusable!
Then suddenly, a wave of cicadas sang loudly, their cries echoing all around the forest as birds flew away in flocks from the trees above. The footsteps that followed immediately silenced both, and Hinata turned her face away when Kakashi stepped right up to them, ignoring whatever quarrel they seemed to be having.
"Hinata, report." He commanded, urgently.
She took a deep breath and glanced up, eyes voided of emotion as she replied.
"I took into account the bigger picture and put countermeasures in place to avoid the most damage. Ino is the one who holds the decision of power, and she did not have the look of someone who's here for war."
"Great assessment. You did a good job. But I need a written version on my desk," Kakashi replied, tossing a look in Sasuke's way. "Advisor-kun, let's go. Everyone is waiting for a portal back home."
Her eyes were fixed ahead as Sasuke walked off to join Kakashi. The Hokage patted Sasuke to go on ahead before turning to Hinata.
"Hinata-sensei, we're going to leave in five minutes. Are you going to be joining us?"
"Perhaps." She said, not breaking. Her elbows, rested on her lap as the summer breeze blew by.
"Right. But don't take too long or you'll be left behind. After all, deflecting blame is one shameful mechanism. But admitting where one went wrong is an active choice. We all make mistakes, don't we?" Kakashi said vaguely, but she was not in the best emotional space to really hear him.
It was when she was finally sitting alone that Hinata finally let her tears fall.
She didn't attempt to stop them or wipe them down as she glanced down at her lap, fingers knitting together in some form of prayer.
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Thank you for the reviews!
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Kuuncai, there won't be 10 or 20 chapters left. I've settled on one or two more, tops. Lol!
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To the guest reviewer, thank you, we all felt your opinion.
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