Warning: Mentions of recreational drug use.
"Are you decent?" Sasuke grunts in response and shortly after his sister-in-law enters his childhood bedroom.
A large white towel is draped around his waist, while he uses a smaller towel to gently pat-dry his hair. From experience, he knows rubbing too aggressively would leave him with porcupine duck butt hair, especially given how dry the winter weather is.
Izumi places freshly pressed navy blue trousers and a white shirt on his bed, "We are heading out now. We'll see you there, right?"
Sasuke nods his head in agreement as he slips on a white vest. He waits patiently for her to leave the room before he can continue dressing. From the way she toys with her fingernails he guesses she's agitated.
"Itachi has to work tonight, he's only stopping by for a few minutes to see the birthday girl and of course mingle with Hiashi and his business partners. You know he won't ask me to, but I know he wants me to stay for the entire event since your mom and Fugaku can't make it." Izumi pauses to take a deep inhalation before continuing on, "my feet hurt Sasuke, I'm tired. Haven't been sleeping. I really don't think I can deal with the Hyugas tonight. Can you be the face of the Uchiha tonight?"
"I said I was coming, didn't I? No need for the sob story." Sasuke slips an arm into the cotton shirt.
"You say that every year but never show up." With a frown on her face, Izumi approaches Sasuke to help button up his shirt.
"I'm halfway dressed. I would've been fully dressed if I had a little privacy." Sasuke huffs, moving toward his walk-in closet to select a burgundy tie.
Lips pursed, Izumi scoffs, "nothing I haven't seen before," she then winks her left eye.
Too sober to deal with her childish teasing, he nudges her out of his room, "Out."
"Should we wait on you?" She asks through the crease in the door.
Sasuke slips on his boxers under his towel, "No, I have something to take care of before I head over."
With an exasperated groan, she pleads, "please don't show up high. Your brother is going to have a fit."
Sasuke approaches the door, and uses his index and middle finger to push her peeking head outside his room. With a wink of his eye, he tells her, "don't worry, I'll be on my best behaviour."
With the door shut, he hears her muffled yell, "Hinata's gift is on the dining table. It's already wrapped."
Once his suit is buttoned up and his hair slicked back, Sasuke checks the weather app on his phone before heading out. It is a few degrees above freezing, so he decides to brave the cold without a coat.
Hopping over the fence at the edge of his backyard, he enters into a wooded area. It is the longer route to the Hyuga mansion but he needs a bit of peace and quiet before putting on his social face. If he even has one to begin with.
The soles of his loafers struggle to find traction on the slick forest bed coated with melting snow and a thin layer of ice. Halfway between what he estimates is his house and the Hyuga mansion, he pulls a rectangular palm-sized case and a lighter from an inside pocket of his suit. He wets his lips with his tongue as he raises a blunt to his mouth.
As Sasuke inhales, the ember tip of the blunt smolders and steadily consumes the paper-brown cigar paper. His strides shorten as the smoke soothingly burns through his lungs. His exhalations paint the dry air with billowy plumes of light gray vapour.
He's halfway through the blunt, when the incandescent glow of muted shades of orange begin to mingle and intertwine with the shadows cloaking the woodlands. He crushes the lit tip against a nearby tree trunk and places it back into his suit pocket. Taking out a travel sized bottle of peppermint hand sanitizer, he drops a dollop onto his hand with the hope of masking the pungent herbaceous scent of the lit buds.
Nearing closer to the mansion, the steady humming of music grows increasingly louder. He steadies himself as he moves downhill; closer to a low area in the fence that easily grants entry into the Hyuga courtyard. As a child, he's used this area many times to retrieve toys that flew too far or drop off presents to his brother's favourite neighbor.
One long leg is over the wall of shrubbery that separates the Hyuga property from the suburban wilderness, when he hears rustling and laughter coming from a path that leads down to a small brook.
Curiosity and intoxication gets the better of him. Stepping onto the Hyuga courtyard, he eases under the shadow casted by a large maple tree.
A tall man, likely a few years younger than Sasuke, emerges from the bushes. His right arm is tautly pulled backwards, clinging to a small, feminine palm. The female is quite shorter than the male, with brown hair and pale gray eyes.
She whispers instructions to the young man, "You go first, so no one suspects anything." Without question, the man begins to move toward the courtyard, but the girl reaches out to grab his forearm, "Hold on." She crouches over slightly and zip up the man's fly.
"Thanks," the young man chuckles awkwardly. Pressing down his collar and smoothing out his bright blue scarf, the young man strides confidently back into the party.
The young woman waits a minute before she hops over the partition. Sasuke clears his throat loudly and the young woman spins around to face him. Eyes widen but then relaxes upon recognition, "Uchiha."
A jovial smirk dons his face, "You got a little something leftover on your face." He rubs the corners of his lips and she mirrors his movement then looks upon her fingers for evidence. Seeing none, she frowns and mutters, "asshole."
"So, the Prime Minister's grandson. Impressive." Sasuke remarks as they walk side by side, moving toward the heated tents where the birthday celebration is being held.
"Don't know what you're referring to," she responds haughtily. "Why are you even here?"
"I came to wish my friend a happy birthday."
The young woman brows draw-in, "Friend? With who? Nee-san." This draws out a laugh from her.
Sasuke accepts a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. Hanabi reaches out for one, but the waiter shakes his head apologetically. Sasuke laughs a little louder than is merited, "On a leash tonight, Shrimp?" At the sight of his sister-in-law seated at a nearby table, Sasuke cuts off whatever rebuttal Hanabi was ready to unleash and walks off without a word.
Sasuke slumps down on the padded metal chair next to Izumi, "Where's 'tachi?"
"Trying to wine and dine some big shot the Hyugas are trying to reel in." Disinterest turns into irritation as a light wind saunters through the air, "You reek, Sasuke." She begins fiddling in her purse. Pulling out a stick of gum, she pushes it into Sasuke's palm, "don't let your brother get near you. I'm not in the mood to listen to an argument tonight."
Sasuke chews softly on the offered gum, "He doesn't care."
"He cares when you show up to a public function as a representative of the Uchiha." Izumi sighs, "just go hide somewhere until we leave and stay away from anyone important." With the flick of her fingers she shoos him away.
Unbothered, he listens.
He moves towards the back of the party, adjacent to the now-covered outdoor pool. From here the aromatic scent of something delicious invades his senses. His stomach gurgles in response, he takes a seat on a semi-damp bench that provides a vantage point of both the hallway where he assumes the kitchen is and of where his brother's wife is seated. His plan is to wait until Itachi leaves before he can fill his belly.
He grows impatient and more hungry as the night wears on. Finally Itachi approaches Izumi and Sasuke is confident that they have left the party. As he nears the hallway leading to the kitchen, he glimpses the birthday girl trailing behind her father and a very pale, lanky man. The momentary interest in the stranger is overridden by the appetizing view of Hinata's retreating form. Seriously, when did she get all that body?
After they have all disappeared into the dark recesses of Hiashi's haunted castle, he turns toward the kitchen to finally claim his prize.
Meal in one hand, and a flute of champagne in the other, he hurries back to the little slice of privacy he has acquired next to the pool. Only to be interrupted moments later by an annoying shrimp on land.
"I'll pay you for the drink," Hanabi bargains, while offering a plastic baggy with some shaggy old buds.
"Pass. I don't deal with minors." He brings the rim of the glass flute to his lips.
Hanabi whines in protest, "I'm turning twenty in a few months."
"Sorry, little Shrimp. Best to bribe the waiters." Sasuke downs half the contents of the glass and sighs mockingly in content, "it's really good champagne."
"Neji gave them instructions. Scooch over." She grabs one of the tempura rolls from his plate and smiles when she sees the scowl on his face.
Sasuke's attention moves towards the entrance to the hallway, where the trio from earlier exits the large house. The unfamiliar male has a firm hand against Hinata's lower back as he guides her toward one of the tables under the heated tent. Hinata appears rigid and stiff, but obedient.
Hanabi follows his gaze as he poses the question, "Who is Casper?"
She giggles audibly, a little too loud that it draws the attention of some staff. She brings a hand to her mouth to muffle her laughter, "You're such an asshole."
"Look, he's nearly translucent." Sasuke tips the glass toward the stranger.
Between stifled laughter, Hanabi wonders, "Why do you want to know?"
"No reason. Just looking out for my friend." Sasuke grows uncomfortable at the awkward posture Hinata holds to keep distance from Casper the friendly (unfriendly?) ghost.
"Friend. When was the last time you two spoke to each other?"
"You'd be surprised. Maybe I'm a good guy who is looking out for her." Hanabi's joviality drops slightly by the evident discomfort emanating from her sister.
"I'm surprised you don't know. Itachi would know who he is." Sasuke bites his lip at the taunting. It seemed everyone and their mother knew how to get under his skin. "Anyways, clearly you're out of the loop. I'll tell you what you want to know for a drink." She motions her chin towards his glass.
"Selling out your kin for liquor." Hanabi ignored the triumphant smirk on his lips and assessed that a deal was struck.
"Whatever. He's an Ōtsutsuki."
Sasuke shrugs his shoulders, "that supposed to mean something."
"Seriously, aren't you starting to work for Itachi soon? You bring shame to second children everywhere."
Sasuke breathes in deeply, "just go on."
"He's part of the royal family. Far down the line but still filthy rich and powerful. Father is trying to pull him on as an investor to some new venture."
"Selling company secrets now?"
"Pfft, like Itachi, doesn't already know this."
"But why the interest in…" Sasuke pauses as the loose pieces of the puzzle fit together, "is your father using Hinata as leverage?"
"Yeah, it seems that way." Hanabi sneaks another roll from Sasuke's plate.
"Why aren't you more worked up over this." Sasuke would trample his father if ever his brother was forced upon some extra wealthy business partner.
Voice muffled by chewing, she responds, "He's going through a divorce, so I think his attraction is harmless. Hopefully the deal is closed before the divorce is finalized." Hanabi's response still didn't make sense to Sasuke, there should be venom and concern in her words.
"If it were Itachi…"
Hanabi cuts off the rest of his sentence, "Let's be real. Itachi would never allow himself to be in this position. I think this can be good for Hinata. She'll finally stand up to chichiue."
Hanabi is barely an adult and the naivety of her words are a good indicator of the sheltered life she lives. Maybe she isn't aware of how easy it is for rich men to view women as chess pieces they can manipulate and control. Hanabi was correct when she said Hinata and he weren't friends. But he still cared about the girl he grew up with. She and her sister are some of the only female peers who view him as just Sasuke, and not some prize that they can show off to their squealing friends.
Sasuke doesn't notice when Hanabi steals the flute from his grasp, as he is still focused on Hinata and the ghost. He guesses Hinata feels his eyes on her, as she glances up in his direction. He watches as her attention shifts to Hanabi and a frown mars her delicate face when she notices the drink in her sister's hand.
"Arggg. I don't see your appeal." Hanabi inspects Sasuke's features, then pushes her phone toward Sasuke; showing him an image taken a few minutes ago. "My friend, Moegi, wants an intro. Can I just tag you?"
"Don't have an account."
"Really? Neither does Hinata, so lame. Why not? Too many fangirls?" At the mention of fangirls, a light bulb goes off in Sasuke's slowly sobering mind.
"When is your sister leaving her prison?"
"I have my drink," Hanabi takes another sip to reinforce her point, "not giving up any information unless you have something good to offer."
"I could tell Neji about your lil' tryst in the bushes." Sasuke mentions cooly, "I'm sure he won't overreact. You know how calm and collected he is for his baby cousins."
Hanabi stares at Sasuke as if he is the devil incarnate. She provides the information he requested, calls him a devil and stomps off.
This newly formed plan could help Hinata (and of course himself, but that's besides the point). Hinata would just have to trust him and follow his lead.
As promised, here is the new chapter from Sasuke's pov. Not sure if there is still interest in this story, or any of my stories. I've been MIA because life is hectic. But I got a new laptop for xmas, so had to throw out a few chapters before the new year.
Can't promise frequent updates, but I still have a lot planned for this fic.
Also, I am toying around with new pen-names. I hope this doesn't prevent interested readers from finding my fic.
Shout-out to ShyHinata144 for proofing this chapter. She writes really cute fluffy/wholesome NaruHina fics (nothing like the trash-fire I write lol). You should check out her work.
Take care until next time.