Author's notes:
This fanfiction itself is dedicated to one of my best friends, Lara. Without her constant encouraging and help it would not exist but merely be a story in my head.
Thank you to Ryuujin96, Robotchick1, misao97, Gagster, crystalblue19 for reviewing. Also thank you to those who have favourite and followed this story. Also cheers to all the guest reviewers xx
First of all, Ryuujin96 enquired about whether or not Naruto is main character since the story centres around Sasuke and Hinata. Naruto plays a MAJOR role in regards to Sasuke and Hinata's relationship. Although, he won't pop up into the story til later, Naruto's significance is a plot device itself.
Secondly, Gagster pointed out that Sanin, is not a ninja rank. I am fully aware that it is a term and not a rank. However, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto are regarded to be the new legendary trio. If you refer to chapter 634, "Minato acknowledges the trio, stating that this is the new three-way deadlock summoning leading Hiruzen to remember his students and acknowledge that it was truly the dawning of a new era." – Naruto wikia page. Due to how I've worded it, it does suggest it as rank. Apologies for that.
Lastly, this chapter includes one of my favourite interactions between Sasuke and Hinata! Please note that a person can change quite a lot in 2 years and that will be evident in Hinata. She's still the same Hinata we all love but she's grown to be more confident which is natural. She's not a stuttering mess (which many fanfics unfortunately make her out to be ugh). However she's also still shy in some situations!
Moreover, there is a particular scene which I'm not sure how others will take it as Sasuke may seem OOC? I'm not sure but please bear with it as it HAD TO HAPPEN. I'll address it at the end of the chapter.
Anyway enjoy the chapter and you all know I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 2:
Sasuke pressed his lips together into a thin line, "you shouldn't stand in the middle of the road" he spat out.
She narrowed her eyes, tilting her head. It appeared the Hyuga was just as annoyed as he. He couldn't blame her; Sasuke after all was at fault. However, he would never admit that. Especially to this random Hyuga woman whom thought she was regal enough to stand in the centre of the street. Pretentious girl. As if realising whom he was, her eyes became wider. They were already big enough Sasuke noted but her astonishment made them even wider. The girl stood up straight and opened her mouth to retort. Yet, Sasuke found another voice speaking at him.
"That's Hyuga-sama to you. Who do you think you are duck butt? Addressing the Head of the Hyuga clan like that," she scoffed, "maybe you should walk with your eyes open!" The girl crossed her arms as she stood in front of the apparent Head.
Sasuke raised his eyebrows at her. He felt tension in his neck – she fucking insulted my hair. Sasuke Uchiha had been called many things: a traitor, murderer, monster, bastard and so on. But not once had he ever been called that. Sasuke sneered at the younger girl, just who in the hell was she? They looked a little similar he noted. Where they cousins? Or sisters?
The older girl frowned slightly at the younger girl. She placed a hand on the younger one's shoulder forcing the little girl to turn around and face her. With her chin lifted up, the elder one looked down her nose to other girl. Sasuke corrected his initial impression of the woman. She was shy but had a sense of superiority and confidence. What a strange woman.
"Hanabi-chan, you should not speak to Uchiha-san with such rudeness, you -"
The elder girl narrowed her eyes as Hanabi scoffed. Hanabi threw up her hands in the air and dismissed his presence as she waved her hands. "Onee-san, I don't care if he's –"she paused. Hanabi turned around slowly, looking at Sasuke before blushing. He noted that Hanabi blushed just as badly as her older sister. He rolled his eyes. He never thought girls could blush this badly. The younger girl muttered something incoherent to his ears to her elder sister. She scurried off without sparring him a second glance.
Now that it was just the two of them Sasuke observed the Head of the Hyuga properly this time. Her long indigo hair cascaded just above her rear. Her bangs were styled in a hime cut. She looked familiar.
"I apologies on behalf of Hanabi-chan. She has a bit of crush on Uchiha-san –"
Sasuke scoffed, "She doesn't even know me."
The girl narrowed her lilac eyes at Sasuke. It was then Sasuke realised she found great displeasure at being interrupted.
The girl turned away from him to stare at something else. "That's true. I suppose she respects you."
Her eyes turned to meet Sasuke's and they stared at one another for a few seconds. The woman then laughed awkwardly, bringing her hands to her mouth. "Sorry," she bit her lip, turning her head back to fully face him again.
Hyuga Hinata. He placed her name on her face the moment she bit her lip. That god damn lip bite. He would never forget that irritating habit of hers. Two years ago before he had left the village, he had been sparring with Naruto. His sharigan was still active when the Hyuga had approached them. He had zoned out, positive that she had come to ask Naruto a question, not him. He glanced at her for a second and unfortunately it happened to be the moment she bit her lip. It was irritating because her lips were so appealing and she ruined them by that awful habit. Her terrible habit had been ingrained in his mind.
Hinata then smiled at him, "Ah – well, I'm sure Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan are pleased to have you back."
Sasuke shrugged, "Hn."
She sighed, understanding that the conversation was fruitless. The Hyuga bowed, not too low nor too high. It was just right to express her position and his. Sasuke watched her, uncaring to return to the bow or offer any words. She walked away, almost brushing past his shoulders since the streets became even more crowded. She then stopped and giggled. Hinata whispered something only his ears could hear.
"Uchiha-san, you really should walk with your eyes open."
After she left Sasuke felt the tension in his neck subdue. He was beyond pissed at the Hyuga girl. Her words of farewell were mocking him. She had known the entire time that Sasuke had his eyes closed. Yet she pretended she was clueless and at fault, only to practically rub it in his face that she knew all along. Tch. She looked harmless but Sasuke knew there was definitely more to her than meets the eye. Speaking of eyes, she has no pupils whatsoever – which in Sasuke's opinion made her even stranger. He dismissed the fact that all Hyuga's visibly had no pupils. Everything about her was irritating. How could she be timid yet confident? There were hints of superiority especially with her parting words yet he easily observed that she also felt inferior in his presence. If she had refrained from lip biting he maybe would have over looked her inferiority towards him. But she just had to bite her lip. That annoyed Sasuke the most. A terrible habit he assumed she had been scolded on but could not get rid of. The only redeeming qualities were that she had nice lips but she ruined it by biting them. So maybe not. She did have a nice figure and was attractive, but lacked the confidence. She also knew to not pester him but…no that was it. That's the only decent thing about her. Yet in the end none of that mattered in Sasuke's mind. He scoffed, Hyuga Hinata, Head of the Hyuga clan. What a joke.
Before he knew it, Sasuke had found Kakashi's apartment. He kneeled down and placed his bag of tomatoes on the ground. He then proceeded to stick his hand under the mat, searching for the spare key. Sasuke twitched – there was no key. That bastard. He thought about either breaking down the door or a window. However, he was positive Kakashi wouldn't appreciate it. He got up, heading to the nearest window to break it open.
"Sasuke-kun!?"
He paused. Even after two years her voice had not changed. He turned around to lock his eyes with wide emerald eyes. She had grown a little in height he noted. She wore a lab coat, her cherry hair was tied up and there was sweat dripping down her face. She looked flustered and Sasuke was unsure whether it was from work or for his sudden appearance.
"Sakura," he replied.
She smiled and kneeled down to pick up his bag of tomatoes. "I didn't know you were back, Sasuke-kun. Kakashi-sensei mentioned you would be back soon, but I didn't realise that it would be…today."
Sakura walked over to him and handed him his bag. He took it and watched her return back to the door. He raised his eyebrows at her, confused by her actions. She then proceeded to fish out a key from her pockets. Noticing Sasuke's confusion, Sakura began to explain.
"I took the spare key and forgot to return it the other day. Since it was my break, I thought I might as well return it," she opened the door, slipping into Kakashi's apartment with Sasuke following after her.
Once Sasuke closed the door behind him, Sakura turned to face him. Her face was red from embarrassment once realising her explanation only provided more confusion. Sasuke raised his eyebrow at her. He honestly didn't care if she and Kakashi were involved like that. She was a grown woman and Kakashi was a much better person than him. If Sasuke were honest he would prefer that Sakura fell in love with a decent man rather than himself. However, even he knew that the relationship between his team mate and old sensei was merely familial and nothing else.
"No- I-it's not like that Sasuke-kun!" she stammered out. Sakura blushed and Sasuke realised that if blushing was a sport Hyuga Hinata would have come first place.
"I know." Sasuke moved away from the door and headed deeper into the apartment to explore. The kitchen was decently sized, including a small table to eat. Sasuke turned his head to the right, across was a living room with a variety of books that ranged from jutsus to Kakashi's perverted novels. He then peered down a hall which he assumed where the rooms and bathroom were located. Sakura now stood beside him and also looked down the hallway with a smile.
"I had the key because Kakashi-sensei asked me to prepare a room for you. That's all. My feelings for you haven't changed Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke sighed, "Sakura I –"
"It's okay Sasuke-kun. Really, I'm not asking for you to return my feelings. Sure – it would be nice but" she paused and glanced up at him, "all I want is for you to be happy, ne?" She walked forward down the hall, "come on, I'll show you your room."
He could hear her voice break a little in her statement. Sasuke understood the depth of her love for him but he also knew that he could not return it. Maybe if he had not pursued revenge perhaps he would have fallen in love with Sakura back when they were younger. It's all in the past now though. That was the thing – the past could not be erased.
During his two years of travels Sasuke decided to sort out his feelings for Sakura. He knew he harboured feelings for her, I care about her but it was not like that. She was family to him. He concluded that she was like a maternal figure – a sister or a mother. Despite all his bullshit and trying to kill her she had still found it in her heart to love him. There were no ulterior motives but to save him from the darkness and for him to be happy - just like Naruto. Even now as he watched Sakura walk down the hall, he could easily tell her words had been true. Her feelings for him had not changed.
"Thank you," he called out to her.
Sakura paused, turning around. She smiled and he knew it was sincere despite the tears beginning in her eyes. She was perhaps the only person he thanked a lot. Sasuke smiled at her, a rarity that only a few people had been blessed to see. He owed her his appreciation at the very least.
Hanabi Hyuga stared at her reflection in her black tea. She had grown out her long brown hair in a similar fashion to Hinata that it reached past her waist. She blew at the single lock of hair which fell directly at the centre of her face. Despite Hinata reassuring Hanabi that her little blow up at Uchiha Sasuke was nothing to worry about, Hanabi had still worried. It's so embarrassing. It was the first time she met someone she highly respected – as well as a crush – and she practically insulted him! Stupid, stupid, stupid. She pushed away the cup of tea, losing any interest towards it.
She glanced at her onee-san, who sat across from her sipping her tea as she read a scroll. Hanabi would be lying if she said she was not jealous of Hinata. Her older sister was everything she aspired to be. Hanabi rested her head on her palm, watching Hinata read. She was flustered as the two of them had just finished sparring but Hinata had still managed to look enticing. Her long indigo hair was tied up in a messy, with wisps of it hanging out. Hanabi crossed her arms and slouched, if I tried doing that it would end up as a complete disaster. A proud smile graced Hanabi's lips, her onee-san was empowering.
"Naruto-kun will be home soon," Hanabi blurted out. She leaned back, waiting and watching for Hinata's reaction.
Hinata did not look up from her scroll or reply at all. Hanabi sighed, she did not understand. She had tried many times to start a conversation regarding Naruto but the topic had supposedly become taboo a year ago. A year ago, Hinata was in love with that blonde idiot. She was positive that Naruto also felt the same way. Yet there was something Hanabi was missing.
"He is always asking for you onee-san. I don't know what happened but –"
"I'm going to visit otosan." Hinata closed the scroll and stood up. She did not look at Hanabi at all as she left the room. Hanabi assumed that she and her sister had grown closer. Yet it was in moments like these that Hanabi felt further away from Hinata. A year ago Hinata had flipped as a person. It was as if Hinata knew something that Hanabi did not.
Hinata had changed into a simple yukata before she left the Hyuga compound. She had let down her hair and combed it thoroughly until it looked as neat as it could be. The elders would scold her if the Head of the clan presented herself in a dishevelled appearance. The only times they deemed it appropriate was during her training or on missions. The latter she did not take part in anymore due to her duties as the Head. Hinata sighed, pushing back a strand of her hair behind her ears. She missed being out in the field.
As Hinata neared her father, she bowed and kneeled down into seiza positon. Hinata reached out caressing his grave, "Hello Otosan." She smiled sadly at the thought that they had only become closer a few years ago. It still hurt to know he had suddenly died at the worst time possible. Don't think about. Do not think about it Hinata.
"It's been a year but I think I've finally gotten a hang of handling the elders. They are really stubborn - I'm not sure how you handled them… Hanabi is doing well. She recently became chunin, but I'm sure she already told you ne?" Hinata then continued to talk about other clan matters and the progress of both Hanabi and Hinata in their training. Once she was done she moved onto her mother's grave which was next to her fathers. It had been requested that the space beside her mother's grave would be left for her father when he passed on.
"Okasan, your garden is still blooming. Being the clan head though makes it more difficult to tend to the garden but Hanabi has taken an interest in it recently. She's a great help Okasan. I wish you two could have met… when I'm gardening with Hanabi, she reminds me of you."
Hinata bit her lip as she played with the hem of her yukata. Hinata then laughed nervously, hesitant about the next topic but continued anyway. "She's very brave ne? We were out in the markets a few days ago and we bumped into Uchiha Sasuke. He didn't address me correctly and Hanabi-chan raised her voice at him – I didn't care though. He never uses honorifics…It was the first time we've ever talked. Isn't that weird? Our districts are nearby but we've never conversed."
Hinata smiled sadly, her voice dropping. "He must have been very lonely and isolated. What a heavy burden to carry, being the last of his clan… I think that's why he acts rude to others. So others won't be close to him. It's like a defence mechanism to avoid being hurt. I've only ever seen him be kind to his team mates. Ah – I still don't know what to do about Naruto-kun. What should I do Okasan?"
Hinata closed her eyes, releasing a breath she did not know she was holding. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew causing Hinata to open her eyes. She had stared in awe as the leaves danced through the air. Her lilac eyes followed the leaves until they fell on a hand that was resting on a grave. Hinata's eyes trailed down the persons arm until they found the strangers face. Hinata froze as she recognised who it was.
The scene that I was referring to earlier was the scene between Sasuke and Sakura. I believe that Sasuke cares about Sakura but whether it was to the point of romantic love, I don't think Kishimoto expanded so well in that aspect. There were hints but yeah anyway.
There's a lot of things this chapter mentions such as the tension and distance between Hinata and Naruto. That will all be revealed soon.
ALSO PLEASE READ: I'm going away on holidays, so there is a 50/50 chance there will not be an update next week. I can't say for sure if I will be able to update. Anyway thank you for reading and please review xxxxx
