Author's Note:

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

PART ONE

Chapter Six: Bittersweet

The Uchiha district was more barren than he had anticipated. It looked like it had been leveled, and then never tended to. There was still portions of buildings standing, but a majority of what was left was simply debris. Sasuke didn't see a single building that was left standing.

"What the hell happened?"

"Pein happened." Naruto muttered, glancing at the Hyuuga on Sasuke's back.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Noting that it was odd that Naruto looked to the Hyuuga when mentioning the dead Akatsuki member. "I heard he leveled the village, I didn't realize how literal that was." Sasuke snorted. He was mildly irritated that no one had bothered to clean up the Uchiha district or at least move the debris, but he should have expected as much from the leaf village. Uchiha didn't matter to the village unless they were being used as a weapon.

"So am I expected to live in the remaining rubble or what?" Sasuke looked around the empty district, trying not to think of how it had been before he left, or before they had all died.

"Of course not!" Naruto yelled, slightly offended. "Sakura-chan took it upon herself to clear an area for you, and create a new head house for your clan." Naruto smiled. It was not a comfortable smile, it was one of those where someone feels obligated to look happy about something in order not to bother someone with their feelings.

Sasuke ignored it.

"Hn."

It wasn't Sasuke's problem that Sakura repeatedly decided to bend over backwards for him. He didn't ask for her help, and he made sure to never give her the illusion that they had some sort of future together. Sasuke intentionally made sure that he never led her on. Sakura's consistent refusal to read the room when it came to him was not his worry.

He couldn't be more clear with her, aside from marrying someone else.

A little voice in the back of his head snidely told him that wouldn't even deter the pink haired kunoichi, and he had to agree. Sakura gave the impression that she would never let go of this delusion that he had romantic feelings for her.

A part of Sasuke felt bad for Naruto. Apparently Naruto had finally put together that Sakura wasn't going to let go either. Which had to mean that it was painfully obvious to everyone if Naruto figured it out.

Sasuke followed Naruto through the former streets of the Uchiha district.

Every few 100 meters Sasuke would see a piece of rubble that reminded him of a time when his clan was still alive. It caused a pang in his chest to ring out through his body. The more he saw the more hollow he felt.

The shops of his childhood, where he bought treats for his mother. The symbol for the Uchiha's Police Force that his brother had explained to him. The front of his Aunt and Uncle's home. Portions of a wall that used to proudly and prominently show the Uchiha fan. The paint was now faded and bleached from the sun, hammering home that no one had cared enough about this area to preserve any part of it.

Maybe it was for the best that it had been destroyed. So that anyone who lived here in the future wouldn't have to explain the remnants of a dead clan. Pein had washed the land clean of the history that had been here. At least the blood of his clan had been taken with it.

It was immediately apparent that Sakura had over done it. Sasuke didn't know how or why Sakura was given permission to do this, but whoever let her had not been thinking clearly. Kakashi was most likely to blame for it, hell, the man had probably encouraged it.

Sasuke sighed. It was clear that Sakura had never entered the Uchiha district when it was in its prime, or she never would have built such a ridiculously ostentatious home for the clan head.

Naruto, sensing Sasuke's discomfort, tried to appease him. "She wasn't sure what it looked like, so she based it off the Hyuuga's."

"That explains a lot." Sasuke's clan had been powerful ninja with a strong dojutsu. However, they were not as showy as the Hyuuga, especially when it came to wealth. They preferred to show power through actual ninja prowess, not with their homes. At least, he hadn't remembered his home being like this at all.

"I told her it would be too much, but Yamamoto helped, so it didn't cost a lot to build. It just looks…" Naruto trailed off, not wanting to insult his teammate.

"Ridiculous. It looks ridiculous. Did she forget that I'm alone?" Sasuke snapped.

"I think she…built for the future." Naruto shrugged at the weak explanation.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. So him teammates remembered that he wanted to restore his clan, so what. He wasn't so sure about that anymore, especially if the village was just going to use his children anyway. Plus, he'd have to have a lot of children in order to rebuild his clan, and he didn't even have a girlfriend.

None of that was changing any time soon.

"Come on," Naruto gestured for Sasuke to follow him inside the sprawling house.

At least she had gone with a traditional appearance. That was the only thing that was remotely similar to his home. There was a deck that wrapped around the home and framed the courtyard.. There were large windows and sliding doors on that made the home appear welcoming. Definitely not what Sasuke wanted.

Leaving the courtyard for the house, Sasuke pushed open double doors to enter his new home.

The first thing he noticed was the dark wood floors and simple neutral colored walls. At least Sakura had decided to not over do it here. Walking straight through the foyer and past what appeared to be a dining room, Sasuke unceremoniously dropped the Hyuuga on a large white couch that was low to the ground. He had expected that to wake the Hyuuga girl up, but she was still out cold.

Naruto tried to chastise him for his treatment of the Hyuuga, but Sasuke ignored him.

Sasuke quickly left the living room and headed for the kitchen. He hadn't trusted the hospital, so he had barely eaten while he was stuck there. Now, he could finally eat. Sasuke immediately began a search for food that was dismal at best.

Naruto must have assisted with stocking his cupboards, because his options were just various kinds of instant ramen. He'd have to figure out how to get food to his house if he wanted to eat something worthwhile in the next couple days.

Accepting that he had no other choice, Sasuke quickly made himself instant ramen while Naruto watched from a distance. From what he could tell, Naruto was unsure of how to behave in Sasuke's new home, or even how to talk to Sasuke.

Luckily, Sasuke didn't care, so it didn't bother him.

"Is there something you need?" Sasuke asked through bites of ramen.

"Well, what are you going to do with Hinata?" Naruto glanced in the general direction of the living room where they had left the unconscious Hyuuga.

"I'm going to leave her where she is, because I'm on house arrest." Sasuke deadpanned. "Or do you think the ANBU who think they're hiding right now will take her home?"

Naruto considered this for a moment and shook his head. "Her father would be pissed if she came home like this." Sasuke noted the serious look on Naruto's face. Just what is the Hyuuga to him? Sasuke scrutinized, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Naruto hadn't appeared to care that much when Sasuke had originally kidnapped the Hyuuga. Well, Naruto had reacted, which is what Sasuke had needed, but now Sasuke suspected that he had underestimated how important the Hyuuga was to Naruto.

Sasuke felt the urge to vomit.

It was probably because of the ramen.

"Do you want to take her home with you?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto.

Naruto fervently shook his head "no."

Sasuke wanted to keep the Hyuuga so he could ask her questions about his seals, get her to give him more salve, and possibly guilt her into getting him food. She had reacted pretty unexpectedly when he hadn't taken the news of his seals well. He'd find a way around these seals one way or another.

Sasuke just needed to find out how much he could manipulate the Hyuuga to help him.

Hinata woke to the sound of bickering. Something she was somewhat familiar with, thanks to Kiba being her teammate. He was strong willed and argumentative, so bickering came with the territory. Usually he bickered with Shino, but that was always uneventful, because Shino would typically not respond at all, or only give quick short responses. That usually made Kiba even more irritated.

This sounded a lot like that, which was why Hinata was incredibly confused that she opened her eyes to see a plush living room with a large white couch, a square mahogany coffee table, and an off-white rug that appeared to be some sort of animals fur.

Thinking of all of the houses she had been in and all of the friends she had, Hinata could not think of one that had a living room that she knew looked like this. It reminded her a little bit of Kiba, but imagined that the white fur rug would have made Akamaru uncomfortable, so it was doubtful to be his home. Plus, she had spent far too much time at Kiba's house to not know what his living room looked like.

Well, she hadn't seen him in a while, it was possible…

Hinata shook her head.

This place didn't smell like Kiba, it smelt like fresh cut wood and fresh air, far too earthy for Kiba. His house, no matter how often he cleaned it, still had a mild wet dog smell to it. Something that Kiba was used to, but visitors were usually slightly put off by. Hinata had tried on multiple occasions to gift him with candles or incense that would help with the smell, but he refused. Even the extremely mild scents.

It didn't Hinata that much, she just knew that it bothered Kiba ever so slightly. She also suspected that it was a part of why Kiba didn't have a girlfriend yet. He felt uncomfortable bringing women home.

"Well, then what do you suggest?"

Hinata heard someone snap in the other room. Whoever it was, they were not happy.

"I'm not sure... She could stay here, with you?"

Hinata knew that voice. That could be none other than Uzumaki Naruto. It felt like there was suddenly a large stone weighing her stomach down. She hadn't had an actual conversation with Naruto since the war, and she still didn't quite feel comfortable talking to him. Not that she really had anything to say to him, it was clear where he stood with her. They were friends, and nothing more. Hinata accepted that, even though it made her heart ache. That was something she could learn to deal with. She wasn't there yet though, she was very far from it still. Especially since seeing Naruto always made a little voice in the back of her head start talking about how she wasn't good enough for him and how he would always love Sakura, she should have known that.

It made her feel queasy.

Looking around, Hinata decided that she needed to get the hell out of wherever she was and soon. At the very least, she needed out before she had to talk to Naruto.

Hinata quietly sat up and slid off the couch. Her head still throbbed, but she could definitely get out of here without making a sound or alerting anyone to her presence. If Naruto wasn't here, she would have stuck around to thank whoever had taken care of her. She vaguely remembered passing out, but didn't remember the circumstances. Normally, she woke up where she fainted, but this person had decided to move her, and all she remembered was falling while walking around the market.

Hyuuga pride sprout up in her and made her feel incredibly rude for leaving, but her pride wouldn't let her stay either. That was saying something too. Pride never usually bothered her, but she couldn't stand to hear from Naruto what she already suspected. Not yet at least.

Inching into the foyer, Hinata crept along the dark wooden floor towards what she assumed to be the front entrance. She idly noted how bare and uncomfortable her surroundings were, but didn't think on it too much. It felt like the Hyuuga compound, far too sterile and void of life. Not comforting area, that was for sure.

"Oh, Hinata-chan! You're up!"

Hinata cursed herself. She should have moved more quickly.

Turning around slowly, Hinata tried not to make eye contact with the blonde. "Oh h-hi, Naruto." She couldn't help it though, and immediately searched his face for some sort of emotion.

He looked disappointed.

That cut through Hinata like a knife.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto began walking over to her, his movements awkward, like he'd rather be doing anything other than moving towards her.

"I'm fine, thank you." Hinata got out without a pause. It sounded odd, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to scream, or run, or pass out again. She wanted to be anywhere but here. Looking at Naruto's sunny face and bright blue eyes made her think of the future she didn't have with him and filled her stomach with lead. As long as her eyes didn't start to prickle and threaten tears, she would be alright.

Naruto stepped closer, a serious look overcoming his face. "You know, I've been meaning to talk to you, Hinata-chan. Do you mind if—"

Sasuke watched. Naruto move in on the Hyuuga, searching for answers to the questions he had about Hinata's apparent avoidance of him. That didn't really matter to Sasuke, but it was interesting to watch the Hyuuga girl shrink away from Naruto like she was afraid that he would burn her. Or maybe she felt like she was too close to the sun. Naruto did give off that bright shining aurora that was more often than not overwhelming, like an eclipse. Sasuke had some bitter feelings about that. Naruto just made people light up and he was strong and people loved him for it, but Sasuke…

People feared Sasuke.

So it was odd that this Hyuuga girl seemed to fear Naruto on some level too. That actually made Sasuke feel better, to see Naruto rejected in such a way.

"Leave her alone, idiot." Sasuke mercifully interrupted. The Hyuuga girl looked about ready to pass out again, and not from being red faced this time. She was ghost white and looked absolutely terrified.

"Shut up, Sasuke." Naruto said half-heartedly.

Sasuke noted that Naruto gave up rather quickly. He had expected more of a comeback than that, but something about being in front of the Hyuuga dampened Naruto. Made him look sad. Apparently he was seriously worried about Hinata blaming him for Neji's death.

For a moment he thought about bringing it up for Naruto so he could end his misery. Then he remembered he could use that to get what he wanted. With a rift between the two of them, it would be easier to get the Hyuuga to help him to get to Naruto. It also meant he could manipulate Naruto with information about the Hyuuga. Sasuke felt a small smile tug at his lips.

This could be interesting.

"Are you heading out already? It looked like you hit your head when you fell. I can walk you home if y—"

"Oi, Hyuuga. I need more of the salve you gave me before." Sasuke said, interrupting Naruto and Hinata's conversation to the point of moving in between them. He couldn't have Hinata leaving before he at least got what he brought her here for.

"Oh, um," Hinata fidgeted, searching her pouches quickly for some of her salve. She remembered using a good amount of salve while on her mission, and she had only brought the one with her. Normally she didn't need a lot of salve on solo missions, so she hadn't thought to have more on her person.

"I'm sorry, Uchiha-san, I don't have any with me…" Hinata felt her face flush with heat. She had helped seal the man's eyes and life. The least she could do was provide him some salve. "I can bring some by later today or tomorrow if that would be alright."

Hinata looked up, trying to gage the Uchiha's reaction. They were not friends, but she felt like she owed him something. Not only because of sealing him, but also for how he had protected her from Naruto when he had owed her nothing. It would have made more sense if he had never helped her, but he had, and she had repaid him with helping to take his freedom. If she ever got the chance, she would try to explain why she had agreed to assist Tsunade in spite of her personal beliefs.

Maybe she could even befriend Sasuke, once he forgave her. He was an important person to Naruto and Sakura, so he was trustworthy. Plus, he would need friends now more than ever.

Sasuke glanced at the time, it was already mid-afternoon, and he wanted to familiarize himself with his new home. Without people there to witness every emotion that could possibly flicker across his face. Typically he buried his emotions, but when it came to his family he had a more difficult time of it.

"Tomorrow would be fine, thank you."

"I will come by first thing tomorrow then." Hinata nodded at Sasuke and turned around, but not before catching the look on Naruto's face. "Thank you for your concern, Naruto, but I am fine." Hinata forced a quick smile in his direction before pushing the double doors open. As much as a part of her still loved Naruto, seeing him now still took her breath away like a swift kick to the chest.

Immediately fleeing the house, Hinata ran towards her home. She sensed the ANBU that were nearby, but felt like it would be inappropriate to wave at them. They would also be forced to report that she had interacted with the Uchiha, which would probably come up as an issue in the future. Or at least, she would be warned to remain neutral when she would end up taking her turn watching the Uchiha.

Can I remain neutral? Hinata pushed the thought aside. She would always protect her village. Owing Sasuke though… She never went back on her word. That was her ninja way .She would do what she needed to do to protect her most important people.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading and for all your support! It really motivates me.

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