Chapter 19. …If Not This

"Can you not see it? Must I say it?"

|Karin|

I knocked on the door, "Joō-sama, I have your towels."

"Come in." She called, and I entered the bathroom, "Hand me the body towel please."

As she shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, I couldn't help but note her goddess-like figure. Everything about her, from her chest to her curves proved that she was the epitome of true beauty. As she wrapped the towel around herself, I also happened to notice two small wing tattoos on her upper back.

She turned to me once she was done and I quickly averted my eyes, but it wasn't hard to tell that I had been staring.

"When I was 20, I got drunk one night," She began, taking the hair towel from me, "And went to this dingy tattoo spot in South Ame. The artist showed me a few designs and I picked the wings out."

"Do they mean something to you?" I questioned as I followed her out of the bathroom.

A sad smile graced her lips as she patted her head dry, "It's funny, Kyūsuke asked the same thing. He was…the guard Pain had assigned to me. Anyway, I always liked the idea of being able to fly. I thought it would be the ultimate freedom."

"And what happened to Kyūsuke?" I could only assume something bad as sadness covered on her face.

"He was killed." She slipped on her underwear before wearing her bra, "By Pain."

"For?" I furrowed my brows in confusion as I tried to think of a reason for Pain to dispose of a bodyguard she clearly cared for.

Konan sighed before spraying perfume, "For loving me. I turned him down and he respected my wishes but one night he kissed me, and I returned the gesture. Pain walked in on us just as things started getting heavy and he…got rid of him."

She stepped into a dark blue skirt and pulled it up, shutting her eyes tightly at the memory.

"I understand." I quickly said, not wanting her to recall anymore of her painful past, "Were you and Pain together at the time?"

"Hmph." Her mouth curved into an uncanny smile, "I see Toshiaki-kun has rubbed off on you. You have his habit of inquiring."

I laughed uneasily, hoping I hadn't made her uncomfortable, "Gomen, I didn't mean to pry. It's just that…sometimes it's good to talk to someone and let everything out."

"And I've been using you for that a lot lately." She turned to me as she buttoned up a white shirt, "Is there anything you would like to get off your chest?"

I raised my hands and quickly shook them, "I wouldn't bother you with my problems, Joō-sama."

"It wouldn't be a bother." She assured me, taking my hands in her own, "Tell me about yourself, Misaki-san."

Her grey eyes gleamed as she encouraged me to open up, and I rubbed the back of my neck.

"What would you like to know?"

She thought for a moment before guiding me to the bed where the two of us took a seat, "Tell me how you manage to stay so strong."

"Strong?" I questioned, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice.

"I know what you went through with Shojoji." Konan lowered her voice as she brought up the unpleasant subject, "Yet here you are, holding your head high and walking around like nothing happened. How do you do it?"

I held a hand to my stomach as my brain reminded me of that night, "I'm…not strong. Every time I remember it, I feel sick. I just shove it to the back of my mind and try not to think about it."

"Spoken like a true survivor." Zōsui sneered, "Of course, there's no need to spend your time thinking about him when you've been through this before."

I shut my eyes at the illusion.

"And I'm not helping by bringing it up." She rubbed my back apologetically, "Does Toshiaki-kun know?"

I shook my head, "He has an idea, but I haven't told him the full story. I know he wouldn't take it well."

"That's because he cares about you." Konan commented, "You should take advantage of that while he still feels that way. Hopefully he always feels that way."

"Pain cares about you." I said, catching her drift, "I'm sure he does."

"Oh?" She stood up, heading over to her dresser, "And how can you tell? Is it the way he tramples on the little dignity I have?"

"I—"

"Or maybe it's the way he constantly questions my loyalty?" She cut me off, turning her back on me as she combed through a drawer, "I like you, Misaki-san, but don't speak on things you don't understand."

"Even though people care about you, they can still hurt you." I softly replied.

Konan froze for a second before she shut the drawer and moved on to the next, "And what would you know about that?"

Jun's face flashed in my head, and I shook it away, "I…can't say, but I do know that Pain cares for you. May the wise Buddha prevent it, but if anything were to happen to you, he would lose it."

"If you knew why Toshiaki-kun had been in the office just now, you wouldn't be saying that." She laughed spitefully as she returned to my side, "But I appreciate your optimism."

"Joō-sama—"

"Hontōni," She pulled me to my feet and led me out of their bedroom and to the main door, "But I'll be calling on you more often, ne?"

I nodded and stepped out into the hall, only to bump right into Sasuke and Pain. Pain had an arm over Sasuke's shoulder, leaning on him for support, and it was then that I noticed both their faces were flushed.

"Gomennasai." Pain bowed slightly, a grin growing on his face, "It seems like I'm interrupting again."

"No, it's fine." I assured him as Konan took him from Sasuke, essentially becoming his human crutch.

Pain murmured some words into her ear, and she shut her eyes momentarily before nodding her head. The two re-entered the room and closed the door, leaving Sasuke and I out in the hallway.

"He's drunk." Sasuke began to explain, "Kisame brought him some good news and the two of them were drinking in his office. Then I went to tell him how I solved the Sarada situation and—"

"Wait." I held a hand up as I leaned forward to sniff him, "Did you drink too?"

"What? No, not really." He waved his hand, "I took a few shots but it's nothing I can't handle."

'You don't smell like a few shots.'

"As I was saying." He continued as we walked down the hall, "He thought I was genius for the way I handled Sarada."

"Instead of celebrating because he praised you, you should be worrying about how close they are to your family!" I hissed as we entered the elevator.

"Of course I'm worried." Sasuke rolled his eyes, "But there's only so much I can do from here. All I can do is pray and focus on the mission. That's what you said right?"

The elevator opened up to the second floor and I stepped out, "Don't try and use my words against me. I still can't believe you're getting drunk at a time like this."

"I told you, I'm not drunk." He said as he followed me, "Do you want to be? Because if that's what you want, I can—"

"No, I don't want to be drunk." I interrupted, "Let's just get back to the room and go over the day. I learned a few things."

"Eh, be truthful." Zōsui filed his nails as he walked alongside us, "You could use a drink right about now. I mean, you're seeing dead people for Kami's sake."

'Sasuke's taken care of Sarada, why are you still here?' I quietly asked him.

Zōsui shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno, guess she must not be the trigger. You better find out what it is, 'cause until you do, you're gonna be hearing from me a lot more often."

The three of us walked back to the room in silence and once I shut the door behind us, Sasuke entered the bathroom and beckoned for me to join him. When I was inside, he closed the door before splashing some water on his face.

"You should go first." He said as he turned off the sink, "I need a moment to think."

'Because you're drunk.' I thought to myself as I lowered the toilet lid before sitting on top, "Pain's real name is Uzumaki Nagato."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"We're 6th cousin at most, I've never heard of him." I waved a hand, "Anyway, he was forced to kill his friend Yahiko by Amegakure's corrupt mayor, Hanzō. He got his revenge six years later and killed Hanzō before forming the new Akatsuki; while he paints it as a criminal organization just trying to make money, everything he takes is to fund research for Yahiko's revival."

"I learned more-or-less the same thing when I was in their office." Sasuke nodded, crossing his arms, "But I didn't know his real name. Who told you all this? Konan?"

"No." I couldn't help but glare at him, "Daibutsu told me, you know, the same guy you killed without hesitation."

"Karin—"

"You didn't have to kill him." I continued, "He was on our side, and if you had let me handle things instead of pulling the trigger, he would've been locked up instead of dead."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "I did what he would've wanted."

I faltered a moment before shaking my head. Sasuke wasn't in that closet with us when Daibutsu had typed out his plan, he couldn't possibly have known about his intentions.

"Do you hear yourself?" I stood up, "He wanted you to kill him?"

"He—"

"And even if he did…" I shut my eyes as I recalled the blood splatter that had hit the side of my head, "I was right next to him! You didn't even hesitate!"

Sasuke touched my arm, "I would never hurt you, you know that."

I shook him off in disgust, "Please."

"Karin, you don't know these people. They would've tortured him and broken him down till he exposed us. I wasn't going to give them the chance."

"What gives you the right to make that decision?" I questioned, anger rising, "You're saying I don't know them but you're the one who—"

"Do you know what they did to Shojoji?" He hissed, grabbing my shoulders, "They would've had Suigetsu and Jūgo turn him into sashimi!"

"W-What?" I stuttered, confused at the sudden mention of our two old friends, "What are you talking about?"

"Suigetsu didn't tell you?" Sasuke tilted his head, "You're supposed to be close with him but he didn't think to tell you what he did?"

"No, he didn't tell me!" I pushed him back, "And don't touch me!"

He promptly released me and paused for a moment before explaining, "Sasori and the others told me they castrated Shojoji."

I thought about the conversation I'd had with Suigetsu earlier in the day, and everything clicked, "No…"

"Hidan's going to discipline them because that almost ruined their job. If it weren't for them, Tentō would have been in Shojoji's possession way before hand and Sarada never would've gotten involved." Sasuke continued.

"Discipline them how?" I questioned, fearful of what would happen, "When? Can we stop it?"

"We shouldn't." He crossed his arms, "They knew the consequences for doing something so stupid."

"Stupid?" I repeated, my voice unwittingly breaking, "They castrated the man who raped your wife; you should be down there defending them."

Sasuke's eyes widened, and I looked away as I realized what I had just admitted to him.

"So I was right." I closed my eyes at the defeat in his voice, "He raped you."

All I could do was offer a slight nod in confirmation. I couldn't bring myself to look at him, afraid that I would see disappointment, dread, or worse, disgust. Instead, I felt his hands on my cheeks as he lifted my head up, and I tried not to tremble as he ran his thumbs down my face.

"That night…" His voice was low, and I could feel the heat of his breath on my lips, "When I'd asked you, why didn't you want me to know?"

"You might as well tell him, Karin." Zōsui encouraged me, sitting on the bathtub ledge, "Tell him that this wasn't the first time, or the second, or even the third. Tell him about Shiawase."

"Karin?" Sasuke swiped away a tear that managed to slip down my cheek, "Talk to me, please."

The gentle tapping of his thumbs on my skin encouraged me to open my eyes, and I found his artificial blue eyes swimming with concern and love. Against my wishes, I found myself crying, and I rapidly blinked to offset the flow of tears.

Sasuke's hands dropped from my face to my back as he pulled me close for a hug, and although my first instinct was to shiver, I fed into the hug all the same. I couldn't help but notice how similar this hug was to the one that had occurred this morning, again, because of how weak I had been. I tapped on Sasuke's shoulders and he withdrew just enough to look me in the face.

My legs felt frail, and my stomach lurched at all the repressed memories I was going to dig up, but I knew that I would have to say it all if I wanted Sasuke to understand. Thankfully, he seemed to have felt my instability because sat me back down on the toilet lid before leaning against the bathroom door. He nodded his head and crossed his arms, letting me know that whenever I was ready, I could speak.

I swallowed hard and a lump in my throat made its presence known. It took a moment to make it go away, but once it was gone, I began.

"When I was seven years old, my mother died and left me in the care of a man named Zōsui. He was the manager of a brothel called Shiawase…"

|Hinata|

"Let me get this straight: the two of you got off the bus, Boruto told you to go on ahead, you didn't see him at all after that, and you didn't think to call me?" I questioned Himawari as I put the car in park.

Himawari shook her head before unbuckling seatbelt, "…Are you mad at me?"

"No, Himawari, I'm not mad at you." I sighed, "Whatever your brother does is on him, I just wish you would've told me earlier."

She reached into the backseat and grabbed a white grocery bag before stepping down from the car, "I didn't wanna tell you because I figured he went to see Papa, and I…I didn't want you to be sad."

"He went to see your father at the fire station?" I locked the car as I stepped out, "Why would I be sad about that?"

She tilted her head to me as we approached the front door, "Aren't you and Papa fighting?"

"Fighting?" If I had been drinking something, I would've spat it out, "Where did you get that from?"

"Never mind." She shook her head, bringing out her own set of house keys, "Forget I said anything."

Before I could question her and learn where she had gotten that idea, she unlocked the door and pushed it open. The sight we met was surprising to say the least: Boruto was just reaching the bottom of the stairs with a suitcase in hand, and he was poised to set it down next to the black one that was in the hallway.

His eyes met mine as we stepped inside, and I watched them widen as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Uh, Tou-chan?" Boruto called, and I quickly lifted a finger to my lips, forbidding him from saying anything else.

"Yeah?" Naruto's voice answered from upstairs.

"Stay right here." I told Boruto with my eyes before making my way upstairs.

I reached the top of the landing and heard movement in the master bedroom. Through the crack of the door, I watched as Naruto emptied out his underwear drawer. Although I lightly pushed the door, it ended up creaking as it swung open.

"Boruto? What's the pro—?" He let his words fall away as he turned and found me, "Oh, Hinata. Hey."

I gave a slight nod as I entered the room, shutting the door behind me, "Hi. What's going on?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head before going over to our closet and grabbing a duffel bag from the overhead shelf, "Uh, I'm moving out. Figured I'd give you space now rather than wait for everything to get finalized."

"Moving out? And what's getting finalized?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

It seemed as if everyone around me was in on some big secret, and I had been conveniently left out.

Naruto looked at me and then at the ground, as if contemplating something. With a shake of his head, he seemed to have made up his mind, and he reached under his side of the bed and brought out a large brown envelope.

He handed it to me before returning to his packing, and I opened the envelope to find a semi-thick packet inside. I began to bring it out but stopped as I read the heading on the top page: CITY OF KONOHA DIVORCE AGREEMENT.

Sliding the packet back inside, I closed the envelope as I looked back at Naruto, "I…I don't understand. Why?"

To my shock, he chuckled as he zipped up the duffle bag, "Hinata, I think this act has gone on long enough, ya know."

"What are you talking about?"

He turned to me, "Hontōni? Did you already forget what happened Saturday?"

"Oh." I recalled what Hanabi had endured and the abuses she had suffered from our father, "But I still don't get it, you're leaving because of Hanabi?"

Naruto laughed aloud and I almost jumped at the sudden increase in volume. I stared him down, completely bewildered at this point, and he held a hand to his face and continued to laugh.

"Benevolent Buddha," He finally said as his laughter died down, "You really can learn something new any second, ya know. Come on, Hinata, I shouldn't have to remind you what your father said to you, or what you said to him about me."

My heart sank as I realized he had overheard our conversation.

"Since you're here, I'll show you what to sign." He continued, grabbing his sweater from behind the door, "We can get this done in two days, then you can call Toneri and redeem yourself."

I silently winced at my father's words being thrown back at me, "Naruto-kun, it's not…it's not like that."

"If you say so." He shrugged, taking the envelope from me and bringing out the packet, "We've been on a downhill slope for a while now so maybe your dad was on to something. The quicker we get this over with, the quicker we get to go on with our lives."

"L-Let's talk about this." I stepped towards him, "Whatever you heard at Tou-sama's—"

"I'll get over it." He interrupted, flipping through the packet, "It might've been harsh, but because I'm so stupid, I'll forget about it in a day or two, ne Hinata?"

"Naruto-kun, Tou-sama was just angry." I tried to explain, "He just found out about Hanabi's pregnancy and said a lot of things that he didn't mean."

Naruto set the packet down on the top of the drawer, open to a page with lines for signatures, "And you basically told him you wanted to leave me and asked him what your options were, ya know. I'm supposed to believe you didn't mean that either?"

Confronted with the words I'd regretted the most from that day, I couldn't bring myself to look at him, and instead found myself looking at the bed.

"Heh." He shook his head before holding out a pen to me, "Well, at least you don't have to worry about breaking the news to me. Just…just sign these two lines right here, I'll take care of the rest."

'No, what I said—that was because…'

"I didn't mean what I said." I told him as I came closer, "Tou-sama was getting to me, and I wasn't in the best frame of mind that day."

He crossed his arms, his jaw hardening as I lifted my hand to his cheek, "Look me in the eyes and tell me you've never thought about leaving me."

I faltered, "I—I have, but only because you've been acting so strange lately. You barely come home, and on the days that you do, you don't even talk to me."

I lowered my voice as I listed another reason, "And we haven't slept together in a while…"

At this, Naruto pulled away, but I tugged on his arm before he could turn his back on me, "I might've thought about it, but I would never leave you. I love you, Naruto-kun."

"Love can only take you so far. Isn't that what your dad said?" He shut his eyes for a moment before sigh, "Anyway, whether you thought about it or not, I have no right to judge, ya know. I was planning on filing for divorce even before we went to Hiashi's."

"Why?" I questioned, grabbing both his arms and making him face me, "What did I do?"

He cleared his throat as he looked away, "It's not…it's not really your fault. It's something…something with me that can't be fixed, ya know."

"What is it?" I called his attention back to my face, determined to hear his motivations for separations, "You have to tell me. I won't sign these papers otherwise."

The look on his face could be described as absolute defeat, and he hung his head before whispering, "I…I'm not attracted to you anymore."

"W-What?" I stuttered, my heart stopping at his words.

"You said it yourself, we haven't slept together in a while." He continued, "I—I can't get it up for you."

"No. No, that's not true."

To prove my point, I kissed him and pressed my body against his own. I felt him pull away, and tried my best to keep us together, but once we were separated, I looked down in hopes to find some sort of reaction, only to be met with nothing.

"See?" He said in a low voice, "There's nothing."

As disheartening as it was to see he wasn't lying, I forced myself to persevere, "That's no reason to get a divorce. Lots of men have this problem, we can go to doctors, we can try med—"

"You don't get it." He cut in with a sigh before glancing at me, "I only have this problem with you, ya know."

I froze as the meaning of his words suddenly dawned on me, "Naruto-kun, y-you…no, you wouldn't…"

He fidgeted in place and I heard something start to break.

"The first time with her was a mistake. I—We were both drunk and frustrated, one thing led to another and it happened."

"The first time?" My voice cracked, and I felt my eyes sting as tears began to well up.

"The second time was when…well, she needed someone." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, "I needed someone. I…Gomennasai."

He wouldn't meet my eyes as he apologized, and I said the first thing that came to mind.

"Who?"

"I…can't say." He took my hand, "Knowing would just make things worse."

"Oh, this isn't bad enough?" My voice fell apart towards the end as my will crumbled, and tears ran down my face.

"Please don't cry, Hinata." He tried to wipe my tears away, but I pulled back, "My attraction to you's been sinking for a while but I…I really tried for you."

I nodded as I rubbed my eyes, "Of course. You tried so hard you ended up sleeping with someone else."

"Hinata—"

"When did it start?" I cut him off with another question, wanting to be sure of something.

Naruto paused, "The affair or—"

"You're…problem with me. I don't want to know how long you've been seeing her, whoever she is."

He swallowed hard before speaking, "You know when; it was Himawari's twelfth birthday. That night, when we…"

He trailed off and I held my head in my hands, "Oh, Kami."

"Hinata…" I felt his hand touch my shoulder and quickly shook him off.

"Don't! Just…go." I stood up and made my way to the door, "Please."

I yanked it open only for Boruto and Himawari to fall into the room. The two of them quickly scrambled to their feet with excuses about why they had been leaning on our door, but I couldn't process their words in the moment.

Naruto zipped the duffle bag up before grabbing it off the bed, and softly told the kids to head downstairs before looking back at me. His blue eyes were laced with concern, and I turned away from his gaze, fearing that if I spent another second looking at him, I would start to cry again.

He quietly sighed before shutting the door and I took a seat at the edge of the bed. I could hear the muffled voices of the kids as they spoke to him, and after a few minutes, I heard the door open and close. I found myself heading over to the window and watched as Boruto and Himawari helped Naruto with his suitcases.

As Naruto loaded them into the back of his car, Himawari ran up the walkway and into the house, only to head back outside with her white grocery bag from earlier. She said a few things to him before handing over the bag and he pulled her into a hug.

Himawari threw her arms around his waist before burying her face in his chest, and Naruto patted her back. He extended his other hand to Boruto who hesitated for a moment before joining in on the embrace. When the three of them finally released each other, I watched as Naruto lifted his hand to his face, and I realized they were all crying.

It pained me to watch the scene unfold, but I couldn't get myself to pull away from the window. Naruto clasped his hand on Boruto's shoulder and said something to him before nodding his head at the house and presumably ordering the kids back inside.

Himawari seemed like she wasn't going to move, but Boruto grabbed her hand and tugged her back, waving at their father as they walked away. I heard the door open and close again as confirmation they were inside. As Naruto got into the car, he looked up and saw me in the window. With a little focus, I could see that he was mouthing "gomennasai," and I stepped out of sight.

After a few seconds, I heard his car rumble to life and leave. All the strength and motivation I felt prior to now was gone, but I forced myself to turn and head for the door. Dinner needed to be made, and I still had to speak to Boruto about his absences in school.

I felt something hard under my foot and looked down to find a picture frame lying on its face. I picked it up off the floor and turned it over to examine the picture. It was a photo from our wedding day, Naruto was carrying me bridal style with the biggest grin plastered on his face, and I had a flustered smile on mine as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

As I remembered, we'd shared a quick kiss after the photo had been taken, to the whoops and cheers of our guests. The memory brought a slight smile to my face, but the mood was short lived as I recalled our current situation, and I set the photo down on the dresser.

"Naruto-kun…" I remarked tearfully as I preemptively wiped my eyes, "How could you—no, maybe it is my fault…"

|3rd Person|

"Could you drive any slower?" Mitsuki wondered as the stoplight turned red, and Kū chuckled.

"I was going five under the speed limit, relax. Besides, it wouldn't do us any good to get pulled over with an unconscious girl in the back seat, ne?"

Mitsuki tapped his armrest impatiently, "Well I wouldn't have to tell you to speed up if we had left on time. I told her mom I would have her home by 9 o'clock; it's 9:45."

"Yeah, well your dad also told you she'd only be out for three hours." Kū shot back, "Kirara changed her and she's still not awake, so I guess you both lied."

"This isn't a joking matter, Kū. If Sarada's mom gets antsy and calls the police—"

"She won't." Kū stated strongly, glancing at Sarada through the rearview mirror, "She knows that she's with us, and she knows that we're bringing her back. Calling the cops would just make things more complicated."

"I hope you're right." Mitsuki muttered as the light turned green, "Father expects this to go flawlessly."

"Speaking of Orochimaru-ojisan," Kū unwrapped a piece of gum as he pressed down the gas pedal, "He knows he owes us one, right? Since his guy beat up Kakō pretty bad."

Mitsuki snorted, "Next time he calls, I'll give him the phone so you can tell him that."

"Tch. Well, I'll figure that out later." Kū turned his trafficator on before making a left turn, "You planning to break up with Sarada after this?"

"What?" Mitsuki looked at him like he had two heads, and Ku returned the stare.

"The hell are you looking at me like that for? The girl got kidnapped by your dad's buddies, what relationship can you have after that?"

Mitsuki leaned against the window, "…It's too late."

"How?" Kū asked, interest piqued by the mysterious statement.

Mitsuki kept quiet long enough for Kū to nudge him with his elbow.

"Come on, cuzzo." Kū encouraged him, "I know we're not the closest but we're family. When push comes to shove, I'll always have your back."

With a sigh, Mitsuki spoke, "Father…Father wants me to take things further with her. I have to get her to open up, introduce me to her parents, introduce me to her dad in particular, and get any dirt that I can find."

"Damn." Kū whistled before tapping the steering wheel, "But uh, wasn't that always the plan? Why did you start dating her?"

"It wasn't sanctioned by him at first." Mitsuki explained, shutting his eyes, "When I told him that I had gotten an Uchiha girl to like me, he laughed and told me to be careful. But now that she's involved in the Tentō situation, she's become collateral."

The car was silent except for the whoosh of the heater.

"And how do you feel about the whole thing?" Kū asked, stealing a look at Mitsuki, "How do you feel about Sarada?"

"She's a nice girl but…" Mitsuki shrugged his shoulders, "I'll do what needs to be done."

Kū raised an eyebrow, "Even if he told you to kill her?"

"He won't." Mitsuki immediately replied.

"What about hurt her?" Kū continued, wanting to see where Mitsuki would draw the line, "If Orochimaru-ojisan called you right now and told you to punch her lights out, would you do it?"

They came to another red light and as the car stopped Kū took the chance to look Mitsuki in the eyes. His golden yellows were narrowed with hostility, which Kū couldn't help but smile in the face of.

"Would you?"

"Are you trying to be funny?" Mitsuki threw back his own question in response, "I told you, I'll do what needs to be done."

Kū laughed, "Right, right. Well, while you're playing James Bond, make sure not to fall in love with your target. It only makes it hurt worse when you have to pull the trigger."

Kū laughed again and Mitsuki clicked his tongue before leaning back against the window.

"Oh!" Kū suddenly snapped his fingers as the light turned green, "Did you tell him about her roll in our operations? I can't exactly lose her right now, what with the business taking off and all."

Mitsuki shook his head, "She never should've gotten involved. You didn't say what happened in Iwa, but I know enough about drugs to guess what went down. If the same stuff starts in Konoha and Sarada gets caught in the crossfire—"

"Nothing's gonna happen to her." Kū waved a hand, "She's just the guy in the chair, remember? The real danger's out on streets, handling the product. And the only ones that have to worry about that are me, Kakō, Sekiei, and—"

Kū was interrupted by his phone ringing, and since it was connected to Bluetooth, it reverberated throughout the car. Sarada groaned at the noise and Mitsuki turned around to check on her as Kū accepted the call.

"Kū?" Inojin's voice crackled as Kū lowered the volume, "I only got one customer today, the other guy took too long, so I bounced."

"That's fine." Kū nodded, ignoring the look Mitsuki was giving him, "And the money?"

"It's in the usual spot."

Kū smiled, "You're done for tonight then. Get some rest, alright?"

"Aa, I will. And don't forget what you owe me." Inojin hung up and the call ended.

"You're kidding me." Mitsuki said once he was sure the call was over, "The Yamanaka boy? What are you thinking?"

"What? He's easy to manipulate." Kū blew a bubble, "His dad's not in his life right now and he's having trouble sleeping at night; I'm doing the kid a favor and giving him work that'll tire him out."

"And that's all you're giving him?" Mitsuki alluded to Inojin's final words before the call ended, and Kū shot him a sheepish grin.

"What can I say? The kid's got a taste for shabu after that little bit I gave him at Sarada's house. But don't worry!" Kū raised his voice as Mitsuki opened his mouth to protest, "I saw how he reacted last time. The batch I give him is way weaker than the real stuff, so he probably gets a little energy boost, then hits rock bottom for the next three hours."

Mitsuki facepalmed, "You're still not thinking. With his mood shifting so suddenly like that, what are you gonna do if he kills himself?"

"Nah, he's good." Kū promptly dismissed the idea, "I know how kid's like him think. No matter how sad he gets, if he dies, his mom'll be crushed. And that thought alone is enough to keep him from doing it for a long time."

"I think you're underestimating how strong depression can be." Mitsuki shook his head, "If he wants to do it, he'll do it. And if he does it, you're screwed."

Kū slapped Mitsuki on the shoulder as they turned down Nara Avenue, "I promise you he won't. And if he does, the trigger will probably be you and Sarada's relationship. You know he loves that girl, right?"

Mitsuki shook his arm off before unbuckling his seatbelt and reaching under his seat to grab a bottle of Shochu. Kū watched him with a bit of curiosity as he climbed into the backseat beside Sarada.

"What're you gonna do?" Kū couldn't help but ask as Mitsuki unscrewed the bottle.

"Like you said, it's been three hours and she's still not awake. The only way we can explain that to her mom is alcohol."

Mitsuki took a bit of the drink into his mouth before leaning down and transferring it to Sarada with a kiss. He carefully lifted her head up to make sure that she drank some before wiping her lips of the excess that had spilled over.

Although not fully conscious, Sarada coughed a bit and made a face at the earthy drink, and Mitsuki couldn't help but smile.

"Everything alright back there, Romeo?" Kū teased, and Mitsuki immediately scowled.

"Everything's fine."

Kū laughed as he pulled the car into the driveway of a tan house, "Okay 007, you've arrived at the mission site. Operation Daughter Drop-off is a go."

"Fuck. You."

|Sakura|

'He said 9 o'clock.' I thought to myself as I glanced at my phone, 'It's 10:03. Where are they?'

I bounced my leg nervously and absently watched the TV. It felt like I had been waiting for years, even though the call had been a couple hours ago, and I couldn't help but think about the exchange we'd had over the phone.

I had finished speaking to Itachi and telling him the situation. As always, my brother-in-law remained calm and collected, urging me not panic and assuring me that he would do everything in his power to find Sarada as fast as possible. He then told me to go home and rest, saying that maybe Sarada would turn up and I could give her a proper scolding.

It was just as I was getting into my car that my phone rang, and I checked the caller ID only to find that it was an unknown number.

"Hello?" I answered warily, not in the mood for any telemarketers.

"Good Afternoon, is this Uchiha Sakura-san?" A young man asked, to which I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, that's me." I confirmed, "Who's this?"

The man cleared his throat, "My name is Mitsuki; I'm Sarada's boyfriend. We just realized she lost her phone and—"

"Wait, wait, wait." I interrupted, shaking my head, "Slow down. You're her what?"

"Boyfriend." He repeated.

"And what was your name?"

"Mitsuki."

I made a mental note to give Sarada a stern talking to, and possibly twist off her ears before holding my forehead, "Okay, so she's with you then, ne? Can I talk to her?"

"She's actually using the bathroom right now and I don't know how long she'll take." He explained.

"Oh, well, alright." I tried not to let my disappointment seep into my voice, "Can you tell her to head home once she's done?"

Again, he denied my request, "Gomen, but we're actually in Otafuku on a date right now and we're having a pretty good time, so I don't wanna end things too early."

"Are you—?"

"9 o'clock." He cut me off with a time, "I'll have her home by 9 o'clock, okay?"

What could I do? He had made it clear that she wasn't going to be coming home anytime soon and I had a feel arguing wouldn't get me anywhere with him.

"…Fine." I accepted his offer begrudgingly, "9 o'clock."

Once I'd hung up, I went back into the precinct to informed Itachi of the situation, at which he shook his head and smiled, commenting that Sarada "really is all grownup." Afterwards, I texted Sasori telling him to disregard my previous call. I still hadn't received any feedback from him, but I chalked that up to him being on the job and not having time to check his phone.

The sound of the doorbell made me jump, but I quickly got over my initial surprise and went to the front door. I opened it to find a teenage boy with white-blue hair, piercing golden eyes, and milk white skin. But after noting his appearance, my gaze quickly dropped to my daughter in his arms.

Sarada's eyes were shut and she had reddened cheeks along with a rosy nose. She seemed to be breathing very heavily through her nose, although her lips were slightly parted.

"Hi, I'm Mitsu—"

"Yes, I know who you are." I cut him off before taking her from him, and I eyed him warily, "Do you know what time it is? You said you'd bring her by 9."

"I apologize for the tardiness." He swiftly bowed, "The reason for the detour was…"

He patted his pockets and I watched as his eyes slightly widened. Hurriedly, he looked at the ground, and his eyes moved along the walkway as if he were searching for something.

"Oi, cuzzo!" An older voice called, and I looked past him and at the black Subaru Impreza blocking the driveway, "You forgot this!"

He was holding what looked like a phone out of the window and Mitsuki smiled lightly at me before jogging over to the car and grabbing it. Jogging back, he held it out to me.

"I got this for her." He said as I took the phone, "Since we broke the other one."

I stared at him intently, trying to see if I could discern any bit of hesitation or anxiousness, anything that would lead me to believe they hadn't been out on a date like he'd said, but there was none.

Shaking my head, I decided to give him a piece of him, "I'm sure you're the reason Sarada's been skipping school for the past week, right? Well, she's grounded for two weeks starting today, and I don't want you around in that time, understood?"

He nodded and I found myself a little taken aback by his cooperation.

"Well, goodnight…" I bid him goodbye before shutting the door and taking Sarada inside.

I set her down on the sofa in the living room and touched her forehead, relieved that she wasn't running too warm; what really caught my eye was her attire. I couldn't claim to be up to date with the times, but I had an idea of what my daughter liked to wear and a long sleeve yellow crop top with tight ripped black jeans screamed anything but Sarada.

As I leaned closer, I couldn't help but reel at the smell of hard liquor on her breath.

"For Kami's sake Sarada…" I muttered as I straightened up, "I didn't say no drinking but come on."

"She's going through her rebellious phase." She appeared at my side, "Why should she have to listen to you when you're fucking her favorite uncle?"

"She doesn't know." I said as I climbed the stairs, "Sarada isn't as subtle as she thinks she is. If she knew, she'd show it."

She let out an exasperated sigh from the bottom of the stairs, "How else do you explain her change in behavior?"

I thought for a moment as I opened the upstairs closet and brought out a spare blanket, "It's that boy, Mitsuki; and after what she told me, I never imagined she would date him."

"Well, be honest, doesn't he remind you of someone?"

I gave her a look as I came back down, "No. No way. Sasuke-kun isn't anything like that kid. He basically told me to fuck off when I asked him to tell Sarada to head home. I mean, who does that?"

She chuckled as she followed me into the living room, "Looks like Sarada is more like you than you realize. You both have a thing for the rude, cool types."

I dimmed the lights before spreading the blanket over Sarada, "The last thing I want is for Sarada to copy my life, especially in the relationship department. We know how that turned out."

"Yes, yes, we do." She shook her head and took a seat on the sofa across from me.

I stared at her for a moment before speaking, "Why are you being so nice to me? Shouldn't you have told me I'm a waste of space by now?"

She rolled her eyes, "I told you, I am you. You finally admitted to yourself what you want, what makes you happy…there's nothing more for me to do."

Something about the remorse in her voice worried me, but I didn't even have to ask what she meant by that, as she went on to explain.

"It's been eight days since you took your meds. By the time you wake up tomorrow, I won't be here." She looked down at the floor, "Maybe it's for the best. Like you said, I wasn't the most encouraging."

I kept quiet at that. While I should've been glad that I was finally going to have some peace and quiet, I couldn't deny that I was beginning to feel a bit lonely at the thought of no longer hearing her.

"And make sure you keep taking them." She encouraged me with a soft smile, "It's not exactly a good look to be talking to someone that isn't there, ne?"

"I guess…"

She stood up and dusted down her legs before giving me a kiss on the forehead, "Do what makes you happy."

Before I could respond, Sarada began to sit up, waking up from whatever drunken spell she had been put under. I watched out of the corner of my eye as She went to the kitchen, and She waved over her shoulder.

"M-Mama?" Sarada mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she turned to me.

I crossed my arms and opened my mouth to admonish her when a wave of déjà vu rolled over me. We had been in this situation before and coming out yelling last time had only made thing worse. Calming myself down, I uncrossed my arms and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" I asked her gently.

She drowsily blinked as she regained awareness of where she was, and I watched her eyes slightly widen. Before I could ask her what was wrong, she threw her arms around me, and completely caught me off-guard.

I pushed past my momentary confusion to return the hug, and I rubbed slow, small circles into her back.

"Gomennasai, Mama. For everything." Sarada apologized, her voice muffled as she spoke into my chest, "I love you."

I patted her back and tightened the hug a little more, "I love you too."

|Naruto|

I lowered the volume of the TV as the commentator raged about how the first baseman had missed the pass tossed to him, and I kicked off the covers before standing up. Stretching my arms, I went over to the microwave and grabbed my bowl of ramen out of it.

With a curse, I quickly brought out the insanely hot plastic, and set it down on the nightstand before going to the minifridge. I grabbed a Suntory beer can and put it next to the ramen before getting bed. Pulling the covers back up to my legs, I cracked the beer open and then took the now-reasonably-warm bowl into my hands.

"Itadakimasu." I clapped my hands over the food and uttered the simple phrase before digging in to eat.

As I slurped up the noodles, my mind wandered to what had gone on at the house, and I quickly shook my head at the painful memories.

'We're done.' I told myself as I picked up a piece of pork, 'It's nobody's fault, it's just…over.'

But my brain refused to listen to me and reminded me of Hinata's proclamation of love.

"You don't get to do that." I muttered to no one in particular as I held my face with a hand, "You don't get to reject a part of me for all these years and then tell me that you love me."

Before I went crazy from the images that were on loop in my head, I unplugged my phone and dialed Sakura's number.

The line connected on the second ring, and Sakura's voice floated into my ear over the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sakura-chan," I answered strongly, feeling my sanity start to come back already, "I know it's kinda late, but I was just wondering what happened? I thought you were coming back, ya know."

"Oh, gomen, things got complicated after I left." She yawned, "I actually stopped to get some ramen for you but um…what was I saying?"

"Something about getting ramen for me."

"Yeah, so I went to get ramen for you, and I learned about this robbery at the bank today. Can you believe it happened right after we got to Tanzaku Town?" Her breath hitched as she yawned again.

I found myself relaxing as I listened to her speak, and I set the bowl of ramen aside and took a gulp of my beer before answering, "No way."

"And I knew there was something going on because coming back into Konoha is usually a breeze, but this time there was so much traffic, Naruto. Oh Kami, and the amount of police cars…"

"Mhm…" I faintly confirmed that I was listening and put the beer can down as my eyes grew heavy.

"But uh…yeah. Anyway, when I got out of Ichiraku's, Shino called and told me Sarada's been skipping. This girl will be the death of me, I swear…"

"Heh, kids." I quietly laughed, and Sakura noticed my decrease in volume.

"Daijōbu?" She asked, her own voice tired but full of concern, "I can stop by tomorrow if you'd like."

"No, it's fine." I quickly decline the offer, a small yawn escaping, "I'm just tired, and I know you are. Talk to you later?"

"Alright, Oyasumi." She wished me goodnight, and I returned the expression.

"Oyasumi."

Once she hung up, I made sure that my alarms were set for the correct time before putting my phone down on the nightstand. Exhaustion took over me as I shut my eyes and slipped off into dreamland.

Reality would soon prove to be better than dreamland, as I found myself back at the house with Hinata and the kids. A familiar scene played out, as the kids made a commotion before running out to the bus, and I called out to Hinata as I made my way downstairs.

Similar to what had transpired some weeks ago, Hinata asked me to stay, with undertones of doing something else in order to compensate for running late. I was having an outer body experience, seeing as how I was watching everything unfold like you would watch a movie. As Hinata and I kissed, I watched as one of my arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her close, while the other slowly raked up her body, and therein lay the problem.

I held my breath as my hand found her neck and wrapped around it. Then came the experience I had gone through so many times: Hinata pushed me away with a look of repulsion on her face, and I staggered back in dismay at the uneasiness I could feel coming from my wife. But before I could watch as I awkwardly apologized for my instinctive reactions, the setting changed.

Now we were in our bedroom, and the overhead light was dimmed to the point where you could barely see. A quick glance at the window told me it was nighttime, and as the two of us kissed, I realized what memory I was watching.

"No…" I shook my head, "No, not this night."

I watched as the two of us stripped each other before engaging in foreplay and tightened my fists at what was to come. What should've been a sweet night, what could've led to something more was promptly ruined as I failed to keep my perverse nature in check.

"Stop." I said as I grabbed Hinata's neck and lowered onto her for a kiss.

Blinded by my own desire, I continued to hold her neck in a tight grip as I moved inside her. Unbeknownst to me, her face began to turn red as I cut off her oxygen, and she frantically tried to get my attention by clawing down at my back.

"You idiot, stop!" I yelled.

I sat up straight in bed and looked around to find myself back in the motel room. Just like my pillow, I was drenched in sweat, and there was no way I'd be able to go back to bed in this condition. As I got up, I switched on my phone and checked the time.

"*1:08." I murmured to myself, "Talk about timing."

I peeled my shirt off and hopped out of my shorts before heading to the bathroom. Once the water was nice and warm, I removed my underwear and stepped into the shower.

Although the dream had cut off before the worst part, my brain wasted no time in continuing from where it had stopped, and I shut my eyes as I recalled Hinata's hushed sobs.

"Never again." I promised to myself, forcing the memory out of my head, "I will never let something like that happen again."

*108 is a "sacred" number in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. There are a lot of cool facts about it, but the one that stuck out the most to me was how Buddhists came to fixate on the number. It's reached by multiply the five sense and conscious based on whether they are painful, pleasant or neutral, and then again by whether these are caused by an internal problem or an external subject, then again by past, present and future. I'm not the best at explaining things but search it up, it's really interesting.

A/N: I read somewhere that you've failed as a writer if you have to explain parts of your story. Maybe that's true and if it is? I don't care.

Alright lovely people, Hinata has been unlocked. Everyone's been wanting to know how she feels and here we get a bit of a glimpse, but there's more to come from our royal beauty, trust. She loves Naruto, that is an undisputed fact in the show/manga, but the foundation of her love...well, that'll be called into question.

Inner-Sakura in the show/manga was more of a comedic relief concept and as such rarely used, but since this is in a somewhat real-life setting, it should be common knowledge that seeing yourself and talking to someone that's not there ISN'T normal. Yes, we all have a conscience, but you shouldn't be able to see it move (if you can, seek help). As alluded to in previous chapters, Inner-Sakura has been with Sakura when she's gone through some shit. Is Sakura putting her away going to be a good thing or a bad thing? We'll have to see.

Naruto isn't very skilled in the art of subtlety and it shows. In the show/manga, he had a literal demon fox that made him run wild when angry. But in the real world, the tailed beasts don't exist, so what is this sinister side of him that he keeps talking about? Also, we're just gonna ignore the fact that the he still has whiskers. I searched up a picture of whiskerless Naruto and it isn't exactly terrible but...yeah, no.

As always, comments, reviews, etc. 3