Author's Note:

This did not go the way I planned, but I think you all will appreciate that.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

PART ONE

Chapter Nine: Obligations

Before Hinata knew it two weeks went by. Training with Sasuke had started out particularly rough, but the more comfortable and used to his demeanor she got, the easier it became. Sasuke, in a lot of ways, reminded her of Neji. That was comforting to an extent, but in other ways they were nothing alike.

Sasuke was aloof and stoic, but there was a quiet rage that she could feel radiating off of him at most times. It wasn't always quiet, though.

She had expected that any sort of anger from Sasuke would be alarming and somewhat terrifying to behold, but it mostly just made her sad. Only someone that was in great pain would ever behave that way.

The first time he got somewhat heated while training her, the ANBU that were always nearby immediately went into action. It had been unnecessary. Sasuke had been frustrated with his limitations, and as a result, with Hinata too. He still blamed her, and she didn't hold that against him. For the most part, he didn't treat her any differently, but when he was particularly frustrated, that grudge would come out.

Hopefully, that would lessen over time. It was already starting to get old, but she could handle that for now.

Understanding that and recognizing Sasuke's pain for what it was… she didn't feel comfortable with the fact that she recognized it, and she didn't want to look any further into it than that.

There were other problems that came with sparring with Sasuke, than dealing with his misplaced rage. The main one being that the ANBU had reported her immediately for interacting with Sasuke so frequently. Which caused her current predicament.

Kakashi had sent for her to see him. Immediately. That didn't bode well.

Hinata didn't hold any special feelings for Sasuke, he was helping her train, and she gave him something to do besides pace the inside of his home. If she was told to no longer visit, she would. Honestly, the main reason she kept going back, aside from his abilities with a sword, she felt responsible for him. In more ways than one.

If it came down to it though, her position as an ANBU was more important to her.

Reaching the Hokage's office, Hinata took a moment to stare at the door. It did seem redundant for Kakashi to talk to her about this, especially since the ANBU already had. They had questioned her as to why she was over there so frequently and checked her allegiance to the village.

Hinata made it clear that, although she thinks of Sasuke as somewhat of a friend, her important people in this village still come first. Plus, she wasn't even sure that Sasuke thought of her as some sort of friend too. Hinata got the impression that Sasuke saw her as a distraction to entertain himself with. Which didn't bother as much as she knew it should.

She was able to use him, and he was using her. That she could handle and understand.

Sighing, Hinata knocked on the door.

"Come in, Hinata-chan!" Kakashi called from inside the office.

Hinata slowly opened the door, feeling like she was about to be chastised by a fatherly figure. Kakashi was always extremely polite and kind with her, but he never sugar-coated things for her. He was also a little too open with her at times. Like he was when he told her that Neji would be disappointed with her. At the time it had seemed harsh, but looking back it was exactly the fire she needed lit inside her chest to get her going again.

"Your knock always sounds so hesitant," Kakashi muttered, flipping through one of many files of paperwork on his desk. Two stacks were on either side of him, the stacks large enough that it would have been difficult to tell which side was completed, or if any were at all. "Plus, you're my only appointment before noon today." Kakashi smirked under his mask, finishing up with the document in front of him, Kakashi set it down to give Hinata his undivided attention.

Hinata stood in front of his desk, ready for a lecture.

"So, what do you think of Sasuke's progress this month?" Kakashi asked, his tone serious. His demeanor changed so quickly, it was difficult to keep up sometimes.

"Well, Sasuke has been helpful with training me, and doesn't appear to have any ill intents toward the village," Hinata paused, unsure of what information to provide. With a nod from Kakashi, she continued, "He also has not had any incidents that I have heard of, but I can't speak for his every day since his sealing. Overall, his demeanor has improved and he doesn't appear to be a threat."

Kakashi steepled his fingers, thinking for a moment.

"Is that your honest opinion?"

Hinata furrowed her eyebrow, unsure of his meaning.

"You're not just saying that because you think it will make me or Naruto happy, right? This is your honest opinion? Not just what you think I want to hear?" Kakashi clarified.

Hinata vehemently shook her head. "No, no. That's my honest opinion." Hinata felt her face heat up at his comment.

Kakashi hummed and leaned back into his chair, considering something. "So, you trust him."

Hinata's went beet red. "I don't know that I would say I trust him, but I don't distrust him, if that makes sense."

Kakashi nodded his head in understanding. "Alright," Kakashi picked back up the document he had been looking at previously. "You can remove his lowest chakra seal. Thank you for your honesty in this, Hinata-chan."

Hinata nodded quickly and bowed, taking her cue to leave.

"Oh! And Hinata-chan—"

Hinata paused, turning back towards the Sixth Hokage on her way to the door.

"When were you planning to tell me that you are leaving the village?"

Hinata's heart stopped. She had no idea what Kakashi was talking about. "I'm sorry, I-I d-don't understand." Hinata stuttered out, caught off guard and confused by the question.

"I mean this," Kakashi gestured to the document he'd been looking at. Hinata stepped forward until she recognized her father's handwriting and read the first sentence. This was alarming, because the seal on the document was from Suna.

"I'm sorry, I… I still don't understand." Hinata shook her head, eyes wide.

"It would appear that your father has sent notice to all of the Kages that he is searching for a suitor for you. Gaara-san was kind enough to give me a heads up at the possibility of losing my best tracker." Kakashi grimaced. "I wish you had told me sooner Hinata-chan, I will have to replace you on your squad in the ANBU, and that takes time."

Kakashi's words washed over Hinata. She didn't realize that her father was being so proactive about this. She knew she should feel grateful for her father's assistance, but…

"I don't know what this is." All the blood had drained from Hinata's face, eyes searching the letter.

Kakashi glanced between Hinata and the letter from her father to the Kazekage. From the surprise written all over her face, it was evident that she was telling the truth.

"I didn't… Father let me know that I would have to marry soon, but I didn't know that… that it would be so soon." Hinata struggled to get out. "I knew that it would be a choice between being sealed or being married, but I didn't know I would have to leave the village." Hinata felt like she was in a bad dream or in a fog. Either way, it felt like this wasn't real.

Kakashi was silent for a moment, evaluating Hinata's reaction and what she had just shared with him. "I can look into this for you, Hinata-chan." Kakashi began, "You know that my power with the clans is limited, but I will do my best to do what I can for you." Kakashi promised earnestly, keeping eye contact with Hinata.

Hinata's eyes began to water. Looking away for a moment to gather herself, Hinata wasn't sure what to say to express how much she appreciated what he was offering. "Thank you, I really appreciate anything you can do."

Kakashi nodded. "Of course. I wish you had told me sooner, this makes it a little more difficult to navigate, but I'll come up with something."

Once she'd gathered herself, Hinata turned back around and bowed, knowing that their conversation was over. "Thank you." Hinata reiterated.

Kakashi nodded and moved the file to the left, having completed what he needed from it. He didn't watch Hinata leave, just listened to door quietly close behind her. Once he knew Hinata had left the room, he sagged in his chair. This was not good. He already knew that there was very little he could do for her, besides research and hope that there was something in the archives to help her.

Even that was doubtful. The best he could likely do was provide her with a little more time in the village, unless she somehow had been promised to someone else.

Still, it was worth trying.

"Shizune!" Kakashi called. The dark haired medic still helped him from time to time because he hadn't found a replacement for her. She usually spent her mornings with Kakashi and her afternoons with Tsunade. He really needed to get around to replacing her. Shizune had made it clear that this was supposed to be temporary while he got his footing, but that time had come and gone. They were going on half a year of working like this, and he still hadn't made any effort to replace her.

Shizune came into his office, carrying a stack files in her arms. "Yes?" Shizune queried, setting the files on his desk.

"Can you bring me everything we have on the Hyuuga clan and all clan law?" Kakashi smiled. He would at least try for Hinata, she deserved that much after everything she had been through.

Hinata left Hokage tower feeling like a weight had been lifted. Kakashi would do what he could to help her, and the fact that someone was trying to help her outside of her clan was more than she could hope for at this point.

Glancing up, Hinata realized she was incredibly late to see Sasuke today for their training session. She had been so busy worrying about what Kakashi had to say to her, that she hadn't even thought about the fact that she would be late to see Sasuke this morning. It was already almost noon. They were typically finished with training by this time.

Well, he losses a seal today. I think he'll decide that that is more than worth the wait. Hinata thought to herself, smiling. Maybe I could even…

Walking through the market, Hinata realized that this is something for Sasuke that a friend should celebrate. He's moving forward in his punishment, any milestone of it is worth celebrating. Any sort of positive spin that can be put on this, is a good idea.

I'll make him lunch! Hinata thought, excited at the prospect. From what she had seen at his house, there were certain things that he went through quickly, like onigiri, tomatoes, and salmon. Other foods went bad while he left them. From what she could tell, Sasuke was a relatively picky eater. He had enjoyed her peace offering the last time she had made him a meal, and she knew for sure he had some preferences. She could manage that.

Smiling and determined to doing something positive, Hinata went around the market and purchased what she thought would make a decent meal for Sasuke to celebrate the good news. If they were going to continue to spar together, she might as well treat him like a friend.

Sasuke was pacing the house.

The Hyuuga girl normally arrived at or around dawn. At this point, he sincerely doubted that she was going to show up today.

The last Uchiha had considered talking to the ANBU and asking if they knew whether Hinata was sent on a mission, or what the deal was. She had never been this late, and he wasn't worried, he was irritated. His time was just as valuable as hers, and for this Hyuuga to think it was fine to waste his time was infuriating.

I mean, it's not like she died. They would have to tell me if something like that happened. Actually, they would probably assume I did it… Sasuke thought ruefully. His irritation growing.

He was supposed to be getting her to be his friend so he could use her help down the line, but it wasn't worth feeling stood up. This had never happened to him before, and for it to happen when he couldn't even confront the situation made it ten times worse. It was humiliating. The only way it would be worse was if the ANBU let Naruto know—which they most likely wood, because those assholes were real comfortable with telling Naruto everything he did for the day.

Sasuke didn't care if Naruto was going to be Hokage someday, when he ate and who spoke with and whether he bathed was his business and nobody else's. This hell hole was his, and he knew that his privacy was next to nothing for the next forever until he escaped, but still.

He didn't need Naruto quizzing him every time he came over.

Talking to Naruto was irritating enough, but talking to Naruto about whether or not he was eating enough food was downright infuriating. There was only some much rage he could bottle up without it exploding.

That was the benefit of Hinata coming over. Sasuke could spar with her until he couldn't move, and she never complained. Plus, even better, she took all of his criticism in stride. It was refreshing. He did try to throw a compliment in occasionally.

Well. Sasuke tried to compliment Hinata once, and it had gone horribly, and since then he had avoided it. Hinata had looked at him bewildered, and Sasuke had decided that it was probably too weird for him to do that. Even if he knew that complimenting a woman—from what he recalled of interrogation and undercover work—was typically an effective way of getting them to like him, it was something that was so out of character for him that it definitely raised a red flag.

Next time, he needed to be more… well he wasn't sure what he needed to be more of, because he didn't typically compliment people anyway. At least he had meant it when he told Hinata he thought she was decent at close combat given her petite frame. It wasn't his fault that the compliment came off weird.

Sasuke let out a frustrated grunt. He didn't need to be thinking about this right now, because obviously Hinata was avoiding him if she still wasn't here. And obviously, she wasn't as serious about training as he had thought, which was more disappointing than he had thought it would be. A little voice in the back of his head said that it was because he enjoyed her company, but there was no way that was the case.

Uchiha Sasuke found everyone annoying, no matter who they were or how useful they proved to be. That's just a fact.

Continuing his pacing, Sasuke almost didn't hear the knock at his door.

Storming to the front door, irritation rolling off of him, Sasuke decided that he would lecture the Hyuuga for wasting his time. That is, if it actually was her. If it was Sakura he would be shutting the door immediately. Again.

He knew it wasn't Naruto because he always just walked in unannounced anyway.

"What?" Sasuke snarled when he opened the door.

Hinata stood there, smiling in spite of his noticeable irritation, with her arms full of groceries. "I brought food to make you lunch!" Hinata grinned, visibly excited.

Sasuke stood in the doorway, blocking Hinata so that she could not get passed him.

Hinata fumbled with her packages for a moment, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Is something wrong, Uchi—Sasuke?" Hinata still struggled with being so informal with him, despite the fact that his correction had occurred two weeks ago.

When Sasuke didn't respond with anything besides continuing to stonewall Hinata from entering the house, Hinata stepped back. "I brought you groceries to make you lunch, Sasuke. Did you not hear me? Is everything alright?" Hinata looked up to Sasuke. It always surprised her to realize how much taller than her he actually was. Hinata's head only reached Sasuke's chest, but she somehow always forgot until she was close to him.

Seeing Hinata with her arms full of groceries for him made something burn in his chest, which only made Sasuke angrier.

"You're late."

Hinata's eyes lit up in understanding. "I'm sorry, I w—"

"You're late." Sasuke hissed. Irritation rolling off him like toxic fumes.

"Well, that's actually why I got the food, because—"

"I don't care, Hyuuga." Sasuke snipped. "You're late. You're obviously not as serious about this as I thought you were. Clearly, your clan was right to remove you as their heiress. I don't have time for people who waste mine. Now take your shit, and leave." Sasuke slammed the door.

For a moment, Hinata stood there stunned. Not believing what just happened. Did he just… Did he just slam his door in my face? Hinata's face went red, but not in embarrassment. She was mad.

No.

Hinata was pissed.

She went through all that trouble to buy him food to make him a meal to celebrate the fact that she could remove a chakra seal, and as an apology for being late, and he did this. Here she was trying to be his friend, when the last Uchiha clearly didn't have the capacity for that.

Hinata felt something akin to rage bubble up inside of her.

"No, he doesn't get to do that."

Hinata dropped the food in her arms and opened Sasuke's front door with a bang—barging into the Uchiha's house in a similar fashion to Naruto. "You don't get to talk to me like that." Hinata snapped at Sasuke, who had turned around as soon as the door opened.

"You don't get to berate me, and snap at me, and slam a door in my face." Hinata emphasized each word by poking Sasuke in the chest. "I have a lot going on right now, and I certainly don't need this from you." Hinata fumed, poking Sasuke's chest especially hard.

"This is why I was late, you indignant ass." Hinata quipped, snatching Sasuke's arm and forcing his sleeve up. Finding the seal she needed, Hinata placed two fingers onto the line and forced chakra into it.

"I was called to the Hokage's office, which is why I was late, and told you get some chakra back." Hinata snapped, as Sasuke tensed with the invasion of another's chakra into his own.

Sasuke's own chakra felt like electricity crackling against the skin, but Hinata's invading chakra felt like fire had just scorched him. Last time she had forced chakra into him, when he had a built up of chakra around his eyes, it had felt cool, like water. This felt volatile.

Excitement flooded him.

Hinata narrowed her eyes. "I did you a favor when I didn't allow Tsunade to seal you alone. Yes, I wish I hadn't done what I did, but if I had let her do it alone, you would have died. Just because I helped, does not mean you get to treat me like a nuisance." Hinata released Sasuke's arm as if she was disgusted by him.

Hinata turned away from him and walked back towards the door, her anger fading to hurt.

"What's got you all worked up?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow and tried to hold in a chuckle. He didn't think the Hyuuga was capable of such intense emotion, or even anger of any kind.

Hinata whirled around. Tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I'm not a leader in my clan, Sasuke!" Hinata emphatically threw her hands out in front of her. "I was cast aside years ago! And now, that they know I'm capable, I have the choice to leave and marry a stranger, or take the seal! The one that is worse than yours. The one that Neji-nii-san died with." Hinata took in a breath, the cathartic release of her built up emotions emptying her.

"So, no, you do not get to treat me that way." Hinata let out the breath she had been holding, deflated. "I am not a nuisance, and I am not weak." Hinata said, as if it was something she had said to herself countless times.

Shaking from expelling such strong emotions, Hinata just stood there. She had never done something like that.

Well, she had never done something like that in front of someone else. Hinata bottled up her emotions until they could come up in training. Obviously that wasn't very affective.

Realizing what she had just done and who she had done it in front of, Hinata's face drained of all color. Mild horror at her actions taking over. She should apologize, but she was far too embarrassed and hurt to say anything more.

Hinata turned around quickly, trying flee and hide her embarrassment.

"Wait."

Sasuke grabbed her wrist in mid-air. Halting her progress.

"Please, let go, Uchiha-san." Hinata requested lowly.

Sasuke felt like the air had been forced out of his chest. For some reason, her words stung more than he would have thought possible.

"I'm…" Sasuke hesitated. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Hinata kept her head low, not wanting him or anyone else to see her face.

"What do you mean you have to marry or take the seal?" Sasuke felt and sounded hollow.

Hinata turned slightly, confused at Sasuke's reaction. She wasn't sure if he was concerned or what, but it took her off guard. "My father is arranging for suitors to come to the village so that I can be married. If I am unsuccessful, then I will be sealed." Hinata spoke softly.

Sasuke wanted to ask why she didn't do something else, but he knew why. Hinata was the daughter of a clan head. There were certain things that were expected of a clan head's child that only a few could understand. Even fewer understood what it was like as the child of a prestigious clan. Sasuke had been that, a lifetime ago.

So instead, he asked, "Do you have no other choice?"

Hinata shook her head.

"What about someone inside the village?" Sasuke asked, feeling his face go numb.

Hinata looked quizzically at Sasuke. Even more confused now. "My…my father is not looking inside the village, if that's what you mean." Hinata shook her head.

"If you were married to someone in the village…you could stay?"

Unsure how to answer that, Hinata shrugged Sasuke's hand off of her. "There's no one left for me." Hinata said, turning away from Sasuke and fleeing through the front door.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading!

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