At the Uchiha District, Sasuke had been working on his fireball jutsu since he was well enough to get up after having been under a genjutsu. The anger and betrayal he felt from Itachi leaving him was fueling his desire to master this jutsu and become a full-fledged Uchiha. It would bring him one step closer to bringing his brother back and getting those answers he wanted.
More than anything, he felt abandoned. Itachi, though gone a lot, was always with him to help him wherever he could, to take the brunt of everything but now…Sasuke was having to fill those shoes. As soon as Sasuke was well enough to get up, his father brought him into a meeting where he was announced at the Uchiha Heir. He needed to begin taking leadership classes and training harder than ever to be the skilled shinobi Itachi was.
He gritted his teeth as he sped through the hand seals to create another fireball. Itachi had just left and dropped all of that extra weight on his shoulders with no regard for how he would feel. All for what? Because he probably murdered his best friend, their cousin? It was unfair and…and…
Why did he leave me behind?
This question rang constantly in his head. He would've followed his brother to the ends of the earth, but Itachi had taken that choice away from him.
"Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!" He yelled as he blew a large fireball from his mouth. It was much bigger than he'd started from but it still wasn't good enough in his eyes. Cursing to himself, he immediately began doing the hand seals and going again. And again. And again.
He continued until he collapsed onto his bed and was asleep before his head hit the pillow. He dreamt of Itachi's eyes and chasing after his brother only to never catch him.
The next morning, Sasuke rolled out of bed when a maid came to wake him up. His body was sore, around his mouth felt tight and tender, and he still felt exhausted but he also felt good. The soreness and exhaustion were a testament to how hard he was working, and soon enough he could drag his brother's defeated body back to the village.
He swore this.
Touching around his mouth, he winced and hoped Hinata had some more of that salve. At the thought of his best friend, he froze. Hinata. He hadn't thought of her—rather, he tried not to but now she was there. She lost her fiancé, her future, and the life she'd been preparing to live. He felt the guilt of it all weighing on his shoulders. He knew he wouldn't have been able to stop Itachi, but with all the training they've done the last two years he felt like he should've put up a better fight.
But she hadn't even crossed his mind in that situation. After all, Itachi was his brother and she was just his best friend in comparison. At the end of the day, Itachi meant more to him than anyone else. He thought Itachi felt the same way, but that was proven to be wrong.
Yet, he missed her now. Other than his brother, he felt she understood him more than anyone else. At that, his mind went to another matter: now that Itachi was gone, who was she to marry? His father hadn't given him any other news than that he was now the Heir.
"Sasuke-sama, are you ready?" The maid asked through the door.
"I'm coming out," he announced as he grabbed his school bag. He wasn't looking forward to facing the looks people were going to be tossing out, but he was thankful he was at least going to have his friends with him.
"Sasuke, when you return from the academy we'll go over what your new responsibilities will be as the Uchiha Heir," his father said as he was putting on his shoes. He didn't think he was going to see his father this morning—or his mother as she had locked herself up in the room since the news of Itachi broke during the night. He couldn't blame her for that; he wanted to do the same.
"Yes, father," he said, bowing.
"I will also be meeting with Hiashi Hyuuga to discuss the marriage contract that had been established nearly seven years ago," Fugaku added.
"Okay. I'll be back right after my training," Sasuke said. His father nodded and turned away to head back into his office. Sasuke only saw a glimpse of the room, but it'd been enough to see the makeshift bed in there. Sighing silently, he rushed out of the house and tried not to think about how difficult everything felt now that Itachi was gone. For now, he could just pretend that he was out on another Anbu mission.
Sasuke ran toward the Hyuuga compound and was shocked to see that neither Hinata nor Neji were waiting. He decided to rush past in case he caught up to them as he figured Hinata assumed he wasn't going to be returning to school yet, but he was confused when he didn't see them all the way to the academy. He felt a bit uneasy not seeing her almost first thing in the morning, but chalked it up to him possibly being later than usual. He wasn't exactly getting rest, so it could happen.
But the feeling worsened when he entered to the classroom and didn't see her or Naruto. Was it possible she was taking Itachi leaving even harder than him? She could've actually loved him, but he preferred not to think about that.
"Yo, Sasuke!" Sasuke looked over to the person calling his name and saw Kiba waving him over with their usual group sans his best friends. "Hey, man, are you doing okay?" Kiba asked.
Sasuke gave a curt nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. What Itachi does has nothing to do with me, I hope you all know that," he said.
The group of boys looked at one another briefly before Shikamaru eventually spoke up. "Yeah, we know that. Don't worry about it."
"Where's Naruto and Hinata?" Sasuke eventually asked as he looked around the room once more in case he just missed them.
Shikamaru once again answered. "I guess they're just running late," he replied. He shot his friends a stern look, silently telling them to go along with it.
Sasuke nodded and accepted this, causing the group to inwardly sigh in relief. "I'm gonna sit. I'm not really in the mood for talking."
"Yeah, man, we get it," Kiba said, patting his shoulder.
"I'm with Sasuke on this one. I'm gonna nap before Iruka-sensei comes," Shikamaru yawned as he watched Sasuke walk away.
Choji caught his arm. "Hey, why didn't you tell him about what happened?"
Shikamaru sighed. "It's really between them. And you know Naruto, he's not gonna be silent about it for very long. You saw how mad he was yesterday, and we don't even know what happened with Hinata after." Choji let him go with a nod and turned back to the other group.
Shikamaru went to his seat and put his head down, his gaze landing on Hinata's seat before he closed his eyes.
Naruto waited outside of the classroom until Iruka entered the room to ensure that Sasuke didn't have time to speak with him. He thought a lot about what his father said and decided to let go of the anger but it came rushing back when he saw Hinata's empty seat.
"Hey," Sasuke said as Naruto, who wished he could trade seats with someone on the other side of the room, sat down next to him. Sasuke raised a brow when Naruto didn't even look at him. "Look, what Itachi did had nothing to do with me, okay?" He was surprised that Naruto of all people was blaming him for this.
"Okay, class!" Iruka began. "So, I know many of you are curious about yesterday's events." Sasuke sat up a little straighter. Was Iruka really going to discuss Clan Matters with the entire class? "I wanted to let you all know that Hinata Hyuuga was suspended for two days starting from today. She will return the day after tomorrow. As for the other girls, they were suspended for a week."
Sasuke stood up at this news with widened eyes. "What?!" He exclaimed. The class turned to him at his outburst.
Iruka smiled apologetically. "It's nice to have you back in class, Sasuke. Yes, there was an incident yesterday involving Hinata and a few girls from another class," he explained. Sasuke turned to Naruto who was pointedly not looking at him and he wondered just what in the world had happened when he was gone. "I'm sure your friends can fill you in." Then he returned to the curriculum.
Sasuke sat back down and turned to his friend. "What the hell happened yesterday, Naruto?" He whispered.
He watched as Naruto's fists clenched tightly. "I can't talk to you right now," Naruto hissed back, causing Sasuke to pull back slightly, shocked and confused by the tone in his friend's voice.
Sasuke felt thrown off by the situation. He was gone for one day and now Hinata's somehow suspended and Naruto's angry with him. Was he angry because of what happened with Itachi or did he blame him for what happened with Hinata for some reason? He shook the thoughts out of his head and refocused on class. He couldn't afford to fall behind, especially not now. Not when he'd just been thrown into Itachi's place.
Next to him, Naruto was barely holding himself back from pulling Sasuke outside and taking out his anger on him. Every time he saw Hinata's empty seat, all the anger comes back. He needed to get it under control before his eyes turned red in front of everybody. He began the breathing techniques his mother taught him and focused on his schoolwork.
When Iruka dismissed the class for lunch, Sasuke waited until everyone was out of the room before turning to Naruto. "Why the hell are you mad at me? And what happened with Hinata?"
Faster than he'd ever seen Naruto move, he found himself slammed against the wall with Naruto gripping his collar. "It's because of you that she's not here, you bastard!" Naruto growled. Sasuke was taken aback by the malice in his friend's eyes.
"What are you talking about? I wasn't even here yesterday!" He responded.
"Because those stupid girls who worship the ground you walk on cornered her in the restroom!" Naruto said.
Sasuke squinted in confusion. "What?"
Naruto let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah. Apparently, they've been bothering her for two years and she just snapped yesterday and sent all four girls to the medic." Naruto shook him by his collar. "You did nothing to actually protect her!"
Sasuke, though shocked and mortified at the news, gritted his teeth and shoved Naruto away. "I didn't know about any of that! I thought it helped that I didn't talk to her much in school."
Naruto scoffed. "Yeah, well, it didn't and now she's suspended because of your stupid fangirls. Honestly, I know it's not fair to just be mad at you, so I'm mad at myself, too. I didn't see it happening either. I had to hear from Shikamaru!" He yelled.
"Shikamaru? How the hell did he know?" Sasuke said, clenching his jaw at the fact that someone knew Hinata better than him, Naruto, or Itachi. He didn't like it. It made his stomach roll and tighten with nerves.
"He saw it happening at some point and was a shoulder to lean on or something," Naruto said before getting back in Sasuke's face. "So what are you gonna do about your crazy fangirls?! You just gonna let them get away with it or something?!"
"Of course not! But what exactly can I do about it right now?" Sasuke pointed out. "They were suspended for a week and I don't even know who they are!"
Naruto growled and lunged for Sasuke, pinning him against the wall. Just then, Shikamaru, who'd been waiting outside of the classroom just in case a serious fight broke out, rushed in and pulled Naruto off of him.
"Hey, knock it off! We can't have either of you getting suspended either. Naruto, you're the son of the future Hokage, so act like it. And you, Sasuke, you're now the Heir to the Uchiha Clan…same goes for you."
Naruto shoved Shikamaru off and glared at Sasuke one last time before storming out of the room. Shikamaru let out a breath of relief that was short-lived when Sasuke grabbed him by the shirt.
"What made you so close to Hinata?" He asked, his voice angry and yet eerily calm.
"I just happened to see some girls trip her and she sought me out to ask me not to tell anyone," Shikamaru explained with another sigh in his voice. "I tried to get her to tell someone but she didn't want to because she said it was her problem. So, I just let her talk about it when she wanted to."
"I should've known from the very beginning," Sasuke said quietly, letting go of his shirt. "She shouldn't have had to go to you."
Shikamaru wanted to let out a groan of frustration but held it back for fear of angering the Uchiha further. "She didn't come to me with anything. I just happened to be there," he repeated. "You know Hinata. She's…quiet and reserved. Like I said to Naruto yesterday, if she doesn't want you to know then you won't."
Sasuke hung his head for a moment, taking everything in before determination shined in his eyes. "Yeah. Who were the girls, do you know?" He asked.
"I just know the main girl, Ame, from next door. There were three others."
"Okay. I'll talk to my father about it and see if there's anything we can do to help the Hyuuga in their retaliation," Sasuke explained, his eyes hardening as he thought of what their clans could do to those girls.
"How bad is it going to get with those girls?"
Sasuke looked him dead in the eyes with a look that sent the genius's skin crawling. "As bad as it can possibly get. I won't let them get away with hurting her, not with everything we've all been through lately."
"What are you gonna do about Naruto?"
Sasuke looked toward the door his friend stormed out of and shrugged a shoulder. "There's not much I can do other than wait for it to pass. But I won't stand still the next time he blames me for something I had no active hand in."
Shikamaru looked over at him. "It's only been a day since you've been made heir, but you've already shown considerable maturity."
"I'm just…doing what I feel my brother would in these situations," he admitted. "Obviously I'm not going to completely follow in his footsteps. I'd never hurt my people the way he has."
Shikamaru looked away toward Hinata's desk. "Yeah. I know you're not like him in that sense." A moment's pause. "Everything's changing, huh?" Sasuke nodded. Shikamaru didn't even know the half of it. When Sasuke didn't say anything else, Shikamaru made his way to the door. He paused just before leaving. "By the way, I'm sorry about your brother, Sasuke. Truly."
"...Thanks," he replied quietly. With no one around, Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment to focus on his hearing and was relieved that he could hear no one coming. Knowing that he was completely alone, he made his way to Hinata's desk and let his fingers drag along the top.
"You idiot," Sasuke all but spat. "You should've told me. I would've protected you," he whispered. "...I'm sorry, Hinata."
In the Hyuuga compound, Hinata was studying more different herbs and learning the make ointments from her clansmen so she could experiment with different kinds. Her first priority was to make one that focused on helping burn marks when she recalled that Sasuke was practicing a new jutsu.
"Hinata," she heard her father call. Hinata wiped her hands down and turned to her father, shocked when Fugaku Uchiha was standing behind him.
She looked down at herself in her training clothes and blushed in embarrassment. She didn't want to wear the standard kimono in case she spilled anything on her clothes. She bowed to her father and the man standing behind him. "Hello, father, Uchiha-sama. I apologize for my appearance. I was working on an ointment," she explained.
"Don't mind me, Hinata," Fugaku said. "I heard about the situation yesterday and I believe you did well in protecting the Clan way, so you have my gratitude as I know it involved Sasuke." He bowed his head to her.
Blushing, she smiled gently. "Sasuke-san is my very good friend," she said. Quickly putting together the salve she'd finished making for him, she walked over and held it out to Fugaku. "I made this ointment for him. It deals specifically with burns as I know he's working very hard on a new jutsu."
Fugaku reached out and took the ointment. He opened it and smelled it curiously. "It smells wonderful. Thank you for this. I'm sure Sasuke will appreciate it," he said. He closed the lid and put the small container in his robes. "You made this?"
Hinata nodded. "Yes, Uchiha-sama. I've been studying different subjects these past couple of years in order to be more of an asset to my future team."
Fugaku smiled a bit down at her. "You're very bright, Hinata. Thank you for putting up with both of my boys."
At this, Hinata's heart squeezed when she was reminded of her lost friend. "It was all my pleasure. They've been…wonderful to me."
"I'm sorry about my eldest," he replied.
Hiashi decided to chime in. "Fugaku-san and I just concluded our meeting. We decided to officially make Sasuke your fiancé," he said. "Sasuke will be told the news when he arrives home from training."
"And don't worry, I'll make sure to inform Sasuke that you will be unable to walk with him to and from school for the next week," Fugaku added.
Hinata bowed her head. "Thank you very much, Uchiha-sama. I am very grateful. Sasuke-san is doing…okay?" She asked, looking up at him with curious and concerned eyes.
Fugaku softened a bit at the young girl standing in front of him. "He's doing as best as he can in this situation. He's been thrust into the Heir position so suddenly and lost his brother, but he's a strong kid. He'll survive this, especially since he's going to have such a supportive fiancée."
Hinata blushed brightly, causing Fugaku to chuckle.
"I hear Kakashi Hatake is going to be training you this next week. Are you looking forward to it?" He asked.
Hinata nodded, her eyes going bright and determined. "Yes! I will prove to him that I am worthy of training under the same sensei," she said.
Fugaku smiled at her and nodded. "I believe you'll do just fine. It was wonderful to see you, Hinata."
Hinata smiled. "Yes, please tell Mikoto-sama I said hello. Thank you for coming by," she said, bowing once again.
Hiashi led Fugaku to the front door in a short silence. "Hinata is a terrific girl. Honestly, I thought she was maybe too kind to be a shinobi, but she always surprises me with her skills," Fugaku admitted. "She'll be a strong kunoichi."
Hiashi bowed his head. "Thank you. She is very strong and constantly works hard, just as Sasuke does. He is a fine boy and has been very good for Hinata these past couple of years," he replied. "Thank you for stopping by. I hope we can all get together soon for dinner. It would be nice."
"Yes, I'll bring it up to my wife. She's been a little…sad since Itachi, but I'm sure this could cheer her up."
Hiashi's eyes flashed with understanding. "Yes, it must be difficult. Please give her my regards."
"I'll do that."
And then he was gone and Hiashi felt prideful at the new skill his daughter had required. He knew she was studying herbs and their medicinal uses, but he wasn't aware she was already creating salves. He was impressed and she'd also impressed her future father-in-law. He returned to his office with a puff of his chest.
Hinata quickly returned to her task. The news of her engagement to Sasuke didn't make her anxious as she'd already been good friends with him. It would be an easy marriage and she was glad. She didn't want to be with someone she didn't know until their engagement was announced.
"I wonder how he'll feel about the news," she murmured to herself. She hoped he wasn't too upset.
Hinata continued to work on different salves while a few of the maids, and occasionally her father, regularly checked in on her. They would correct her if they noticed she was doing something incorrect and she would thank them happily. She wrote furiously in her notebook and went back and forth between different notes with excitement when she realized something new to try out.
Despite all that had happened, she found herself smiling and humming while she worked. Doing this, her mind was cleared of Shisui dying, Itachi leaving, and her suspension and the circumstances around it. She felt happy. She worked without stopping and had completely lost track of the time until her father came in and alerted her to Kakashi Hatake's arrival.
"He'll be waiting for you outside," he told her.
She packed her things away quickly and thanked her father before rushing past him to put her items in her bedroom. She all but tossed everything on her bed and rushed back to the front door to put on her shoes. She was suddenly grateful that she had opted to wear her training uniform as she hadn't had to worry about changing and possibly making a bad first impression on her temporary sensei.
When she rushed outside, she was met with a very tall man with spiked gray hair. On his face, only one of his eyes and eyebrows was visible while the rest was covered with a mask going up to the bridge of his nose and his forehead protector pulled down on one side to cover his left eye. She briefly wondered if that hindered his abilities in any way before immediately tossing the thought out as she was capable of handling herself decently while blind.
She bowed before him. "I apologize for the wait. I am Hinata Hyuuga. Thank you for overseeing my training for the next week," she said before smiling at him gently.
Kakashi regarded her for a moment before nodding his head curtly. "Yeah, no problem. Where will we be training?" He asked. Hinata took in the way he was standing and instantly concluded that he didn't want to be there. Hinata shifted on her feet before shoving any of those negative emotions down.
"We have an indoor and outdoor training room if you have a preference," she said, leading them around the side of her house.
"I'm fine with anything," he replied easily. She nodded and led him through the garden and past the greenhouse and a koi pond before they came to a small clearing.
"I would have given you a quick tour but I can sense that you do not want to be here longer than you have to," she said with a soft smile. "If you change your mind, please let me know and I will be more than happy to show you around."
Kakashi's one visible brow rose up. "Am I that obvious?" He asked, forcing a chuckle out.
Hinata shrugged. "I don't mind. Again, thank you for teaching me Kakashi-sensei."
"Sensei? I'm not training you long enough to earn that title."
"You will still be teaching me, which will make you a teacher," she giggled. "If you prefer something else, let me know and I will change it."
Kakashi hesitated for a moment. "No, I guess that's fine. Okay, so Minato-sensei told me you were working on perfecting the three major jutsus, learning about elemental jutsus, and also working on medical ninjutsu, correct?"
Hinata nodded. "Yes."
Kakashi took a few steps back. "We'll start off with a spar so I can get a better feel for where you are as a shinobi. I trust Minato-sensei, but I need to see your skills for myself."
Hinata got into her Gentle Fist style and waited for the spar to begin.
Kakashi immediately noticed how she did not activate her doujutsu but still got into her family's fighting stance. She was instantly handicapping some of her skillsets by doing so, and he wondered why. He thought back to the conversation he had with his old sensei just a few hours ago.
"I'm sorry, you want me to what?" Kakashi asked as if he hadn't perfectly understood what Minato was saying.
"I know, I know, you're not really the teacher type but that changes today!" Minato announced. "Besides, I know you're not doing anything while on this break from missions."
Kakashi raised a brow. "Oh? I could have a date or something."
Minato gave him a pointed look. "With a real person or Jiraiya's literature?" He asked. When Kakashi simply looked away, he had his answer. "C'mon, Kakashi. Hinata-chan's a good kid and very talented."
"Not only do you want me to train one of your pupils, you want me to train the Hyuuga Heiress?"
"My students' family names mean nothing when we're on the training grounds," Minato replied. "She's a Hyuuga, but she's not like any of the Hyuuga you've encountered. Give her a chance. It's only a week while she's grounded."
"Why is she grounded?" Kakashi asked. A Hyuuga being grounded? It was basically unheard of, at least for him it was. Hyuugas tended to get away with whatever they wanted.
"She defended herself against a group of girls but used a technique she wasn't trained for during it," Minato explained. "It's been kind of a hard time for my students lately."
"Ah, right. They were close to both Shisui and Itachi. Did she win?" He asked.
It was Minato's turn to raise a brow. "I suppose she did. She sent all four to the medic, three of them were unconscious for the rest of the day while the last one had her legs paralyzed until the following afternoon."
Kakashi took in the information before nodding. "All right, I'll do it," he said with a shrug.
Minato thanked him happily and clapped him on the shoulder. "Oh," Minato said, suddenly getting serious. "Try not to bring up Shisui or Itachi. She was close friends with both, but Itachi was her fiancé."
"Her fiancé?" He asked, nearly shocked.
Minato nodded solemnly. "Yes. It was going to be announced when she graduated the academy, but their parents introduced them earlier, just after she turned five, to ensure they developed a friendship."
"Interesting. Well, my lips are sealed. I doubt either of them will come up though," Kakashi replied.
"I wanted to tell you just in case. Meet her at her house at two in the afternoon. And be on time. You'll train her until four when she is required to train with her father."
Kakashi nodded and walked away, pulling out his signature orange book that made others avoid him in public.
Kakashi stood with that same air of nonchalance as he told Hinata to begin when she was ready. Although confused, Hinata remained focused and pulled out a few senbon before throwing them toward her opponent. She wasn't surprised when Kakashi easily blocked them with a kunai she'd barely seen him grab from his pouch.
She took a deep, calm breath before rushing toward him. Despite throwing palm after palm and kick after kick, Kakashi sidestepped each attack, not allowing her to force chakra out as she would when Naruto and Sasuke blocked her attacks. Right then, she was aware that he knew she had memorized where all the chakra points in the body were.
She had to change her tactic. Kakashi still saw her as a Hyuuga, she could see that in the way he avoided her attacks and kept his eyes on her. She need to catch him off guard if she wanted to land even a single hit on him. She needed to do something out of the character he saw her in. As she crouched down and kicked at his legs, she did the tiger seal as he stepped back and body flickered behind him.
Kakashi, although surprised, was easily faster than her and caught the leg that was coming for the side of his head. He realized his mistake too late when he felt his hand and fingers numbing from the chakra she shot out of her leg. It wasn't enough to debilitate him, but it was enough to notice. He spun on the balls of his feet as he turned to face her. He noted the look of fierce determination in her eyes and unwavering concentration on her face and grinned to himself.
Her attacks were still easy to block and still a little clumsy as she was just a small kid, but he was impressed by her. He could see the potential that Minato had honed for the last couple of years.
He jumped back. "Enough," he said. She slid to a stop as she'd been in mid-sprint to continue attacking him. "You're good. You show plenty of promise. You managed to land a hit on me, even though I blocked it." He watched as her cheeks began to redden at his observations. "I've never gone against a Hyuuga that didn't use their doujutsu."
"I don't like to rely on my eyes. That is part of why, outside of training with my father, I do not train with my eyes activated. The other part is that I cannot show my dojutsu to anyone outside of my clan until I graduate," she explained.
"So that's why you learned to fight without it?"
"Yes, and because I was still required to train despite temporarily losing my sight."
"You can fight without using your eyes? So, I'm gonna have to see that," Kakashi said as he pulled a blindfold out of his pouch.
Hinata looked at him suspiciously. "Do you…carry that around with you everywhere?" She asked nervously.
"Nope, just to training sessions with young children with doujutsus," he said cheerily. Judging by his stance and tone, Hinata knew he was joking around but she was still wary. "I'm kidding, you know that, right?"
Hinata gave him a tired look despite her best to hold it back. "Yes, I'm aware. Okay, put it on me." When Kakashi tied it securely on her head, Hinata took a deep breath and focused on her hearing and her senses. Kakashi was a highly skilled ninja, she knew, but she couldn't sense him at all.
"I can't…sense you," she said. The only other person she could not sense to this degree was Itachi. She straightened up instantly at her realization. "You're in the Anbu, aren't you, Kakashi-sensei?" She turned her head when she heard a soft 'whoosh' she barely caught from the blowing wind and pulled a kunai out to block the projectile coming toward her.
"Impressive," Kakashi said from right behind her. Hinata barely stopped herself from jumping. She turned to look back at him when he pulled the blindfold off. "How'd you guess I was in the Anbu?"
"The only other person I could not sense was also an Anbu member," she said, her heart clenching at the thought of her friend.
Kakashi stared at her eyes for a moment, capturing the feelings she portrayed in those white eyes. "Hinata," he said, calling her by her name for the first time. "What does it mean to be a shinobi?"
Hinata blinked up at him before her eyes turned serious. "To be a shinobi is to protect," she answered easily.
"To protect what?"
"To protect my village where my family and loved ones reside, because there is no village without them," she said with conviction.
Kakashi continued looking into her eyes for a few moments longer before smiling. "That's a good thing to follow," he replied. If her teammates were anything like her, then Kakashi was sure Minato chose well. "Now, let's move on to medical ninjutsu."
"Okay, what would you like me to—" Before she could even finish, Kakashi grabbed a kunai and slashed his hand. "What are you doing?!" She exclaimed.
"Heal me," Kakashi stated, holding his profusely bleeding hand toward her.
Hinata, flustered, looked up at him apologetically. "I-I haven't exactly healed a cut like this on a person yet," she admitted.
Kakashi blinked at her before looking down at his hand which was now creating a growing puddle on the ground. "Well, this is your time to shine then or I'm just gonna bleed out right here," he said as he pulled his book out and continued reading it.
Nothing like teaching someone to sink or swim by tossing them in the deep end.
Hinata activated her byakugan and placed her hand over the cut. She gathered her chakra and began pushing it into the wound at a steady pace. Just as Kushina taught her about different types of fish and animals, it was the same for a person. She just had to remain calm and assess the damage. Looking away from his book and down to his healing wound, Kakashi let himself smile just a bit at this.
When his hand was all healed up, there wasn't even a scar left in its wake. She held Kakashi's hand firmly so he wouldn't pull it away as she dug into her pouch for her clan's special salve. Curiously, Kakashi watched to see what she was going to do.
"It's all healed up, but this ointment should help any remaining tenderness," she explained as she gently spread some over where the wound had been before securing a bandage over it. "There. You're all set," she said, taking a step away from him.
"Well, will you look at that," Kakashi said as he looked over her work. "Looks like you can heal cuts just fine." Hinata beamed. "Good for you."
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei," she said as she bowed. "What's next?"
"We passed a koi pond over there. We're going to work on your chakra reserves for the remainder of our time together," he said. "Your goal is to stay on the water until the end of training while dodging my weapons, understood? If you pass out, that is on you. I will not baby you during our time together this week."
Hinata nodded, determination once again shining in her eyes. "Understood!" She said.
Kakashi smirked.
Sasuke and Naruto stood in front of Minato and Kushina. Naruto was looking in the opposite direction of Sasuke who was on his left. Sasuke was looking forward at his teachers but was clearly annoyed with his teammate.
"Okay," Kushina said. "Hinata isn't going to be with us for a few days."
"Isn't she only suspended for two days?" Naruto asked.
"That's right, but Minato spoke to her father yesterday and it's been decided that she will not be permitted to train outside of the compound for the next week," she explained.
"What?!" Sasuke and Naruto said in unison. They glanced at each other briefly before Naruto turned away once again.
Minato laughed nervously. "In addition to that, she is also not allowed any visitors during this time. Now that that's settled, let's get into training."
"Are we sparring?" Naruto asked, already cracking his knuckles and ready to get his hands on Sasuke.
"Absolutely not. You two are too angry for that, you know. Instead, we'll be picking up where we left off last training session. Sasuke will be with Minato practicing that shuriken technique and Naruto will be working on his chakra control."
Sasuke nodded. "I successfully used that on my brother the other night," he said. "I don't know if I could do it again. I was really angry when it happened." He thought back to when his dojutsu activated and refrained from mentioning it to his teachers or his friend. He felt ashamed that he couldn't seem to activate it again. Knowing that he was capable of using the sharingan but unable to activate it made him frustrated all the more.
Minato smiled at this. "That's what training is for. We'll continue practicing until it feels natural to do."
"Wait, if Hinata isn't training with us for a week, won't she fall behind?" Naruto asked.
"Not at all!" Minato assured him. "This was something I specifically mentioned to her father. I've asked an old student of mine to train her in the meantime. When she gets back, it'll be like she never left."
Naruto grumbled but accepted this with a nod. "Okay. Let's start training now," he said, eager to get away from Sasuke.
"Naruto, let's go," his mother said. When they were far enough away from the other two, she put her hand on his shoulder as they walked. "Are you still mad at Sasuke?"
Naruto glanced back at his friend before back toward the lake. "I know it's not fair. It's like my head understands but my heart isn't there yet. I wish I could just talk to Hinata and ask her why she didn't tell us about it! We could've helped her, you know."
Kushina smiled sympathetically at her son. "I know what you mean, but your heart will get there," she assured him. "As for Hinata, well, I also understand why she didn't say anything. I think you and Sasuke would do the same though; keeping something away from your loved ones so as not to worry them."
Naruto thought on this for a moment and wanted to argue that he wouldn't, but he couldn't. He knew he wouldn't want to worry Hinata or Sasuke. "You're right, but I still need to hear that from her."
"You'll talk to her soon. Once she returns to school." She gave him a smile when they both stepped out on top of the lake. "Okay, we're gonna run some laps. We'll go until I notice you stumble. Our goal is twenty laps, but every time you stumble, we start over from one again."
Naruto gulped but nodded his head. "All right, let's do this!" He said. They easily broke out into a steady jog.
From the other side of the clearing, Sasuke watched as Naruto and Kushina trained together and talked. He let out a sigh before turning back to his teacher.
"Sasuke," Minato said. "I know I'm not part of your clan or even understand what it means to come from a very noble clan such as yours and Hinata's, but if you ever need to talk to someone I'm here."
Sasuke took this in. "Thank you, Minato-sensei. I'll keep that in mind."
"Also…Don't mind Naruto right now. He deals with hurt differently from others. He's a bit reckless, but he doesn't hate you," Minato added.
"I know," Sasuke replied. "But that doesn't make it hurt any less. Let's just get back to training," he said, pulling out more shuriken.
"Do you maybe want to talk about Hinata first?" Minato asked.
"I just want to train," he said, still feeling a little bitter about her keeping such information from him, from them. About her confiding in Shikamaru when she had told him that he and Naruto were her best friends. He felt bitter about a lot regarding Hinata and he didn't want to think about her for now.
"Okay, let's do that then," Minato said understandingly. He felt uneasy about the future of this team, but a big part of him knew they were going to make it. He just knew they could overcome whatever the world threw at them. He knew this team was destined for great things.
When Sasuke returned home, he went straight to his father's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in," he heard his father say. He slid the door open and stepped inside to see his father overlooking paperwork.
"I'm home, father. I just returned from training," he said, bowing to his father. As he bowed, he felt the pressure of representing the clan in a way he hadn't before. He knew he was only the Heir until he dragged Itachi back to the village and was cleared of all his crimes, but part of him felt like that pressure was never going to leave him.
"How was training?" His father asked.
"It's going well. Minato-sensei and Kushina-sensei are very talented," he said. Before, his father hardly ever asked about his training. It made him want to roll his eyes, but he held it back.
"That's good to hear. Take a seat," he said, nodding to the chair as he pulled out a file of papers. Sasuke took a seat and waited for his father to continue. "This is the contract between our clan and the Hyuuga Clan." He handed it to Sasuke.
Sasuke opened the file and glanced at it before looking back up to Fugaku. "The marriage contract between Itachi and Hinata?" He asked.
"Yes, that's what it was before. Part of the contract was that should anything happen to Itachi that would hinder him from fulfilling his end, it would be passed down to you. Given everything that's happened, it's safe to say that he is no longer eligible. That being said, as of this afternoon, you are officially to marry Hinata Hyuuga once she becomes of age at sixteen."
Sasuke's grip on the file loosened and he nearly dropped the papers to the floor. "I'm Itachi's replacement?" He asked. He didn't want to marry someone who had already been promised to his brother, especially not his best friend.
Fugaku looked at him sternly. "You're not a replacement, Sasuke. You are the new Heir and this is part of your duty."
"Does Hinata know about this?"
"Yes, I saw her earlier before I left their residence."
"What did she say about it?" He asked.
"Hinata was very graceful and accepted it without hesitation. She also asked me to give this to you," he said as he dug into his robe pockets and pulled out a small container. "She informed me that she made this ointment specifically for the burn marks around your mouth."
Sasuke reach forward and took the salve. He opened the top and smelled it. It smelled like her and he found himself smiling. He missed her. He hadn't wanted to admit it all day, but smelling this he had to be honest with himself. He missed her.
"Will you accept this gracefully as Hinata did or will you fight it?" His father asked.
Sasuke looked down at the contract and then up at the container in his hands before his eyes settled back on his father, the Clan Head. "I graciously accept the honor of marrying Hinata Hyuuga when we become of age."
Fugaku smiled approvingly at his youngest. "Very well. This marriage will merge both of our clans together. Once you have been wed and it is confirmed that she is with child, the wall separating our compounds will be torn down," his father explained.
Sasuke felt his face heating up at the thought of kids with Hinata but he nodded. "Yes, father. Hinata and I will lead our clans to a better future together," he said.
"I'm proud of you, Sasuke. Despite being thrust into this position disturbingly quick, you've proven to be a very capable heir."
Sasuke all but glowed at his father's praise. "Thank you," he said, bowing his head.
"This concludes our meeting. Oh, and Hinata will be unable to walk to and from school with you as part of her punishment," Fugaku informed him.
Sasuke visibly deflated at that, but shook it off as he knew he could still talk to her at school. And since his avoiding her at school didn't stop the girls from doing what they did, he figured he didn't have to worry about it altogether. "I understand. I heard about what happened."
"Yes, she defended herself pretty well, if not harshly. It's the kind of strength we need in a matriarch. I was very impressed," Fugaku added.
Sasuke stood and handed the file back to his father. "Thank you for your time, father. I will be practicing the fireball jutsu before dinner," he said.
"Someone will go get you when it's ready."
"Oh, before I forget," Sasuke said. "Those girls who were hurting Hinata, I want to help the Hyuuga Clan with whatever actions they decide on toward those girls' families. Is that possible?"
Fugaku tilted his head at this for a moment. "The Hyuuga Elders do not like others to interfere, even if it is to lend support. I will talk to Hiashi about it, as friends, and see what I can do. It is good you're showing initiative toward Hinata," he said.
"Thank you, father."
Sasuke bowed to his father before leaving the office and making his way outside and toward the lake behind their house. He tried wrapping his head around the fact that he was going to marry Hinata. He felt guilt because she was Itachi's and he felt shame that he felt happy about it as well. Hinata meant a great deal to him and she'd been essentially off-limits as she was to marry his brother, but now that she was promised to him… he felt everything that he'd been pushing down coming to him all at once.
Now, all he wanted to do was go see her. He wanted to run to her and tell her how happy he was that this was happening, but all that would do was solidify her broken engagement with Itachi. Because he was gone. He wasn't just on a mission. Sasuke wasn't ready to admit that yet, so he pushed those feelings down again.
As he stood at the end of the dock and prepared to do the fireball jutsu, he thought about his brother and the cold look in his eyes that night. The tone of his voice that frightened him sounded like it was coming from an enemy and not his beloved brother. He thought about the smile Itachi always gave him no matter the circumstances. He thought about the annoying forehead poke that Sasuke secretly loved. He thought about his brother training him and his friends, about him making an effort with Hinata just to throw it away. He thought about his own brother also throwing their family and village away. Mostly, he thought about how he was thrown away in the middle of it all.
Properly angry, Sasuke sucked in a large breath. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" He blew out the largest fireball he'd ever created. It was huge and had great heat emitting from it, but he couldn't find it in himself to be happy about it. There was no one to show but his father who already expected such great things from him. He wouldn't be proud. He would just nod and move on, because he expected Sasuke to be better than Itachi now that his older brother was gone.
Sasuke produced the jutsu two more times before sitting on the edge of the dock and watching the sunset by himself as he rubbed the ointment around his mouth.
In the end, he felt alone.
We hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! I know their behavior can see out of their characters, but they are still seven-year-olds dealing with a fair bit of trauma in such a short amount of time. Next week will be the final chapter of this arc, so I hope y'all are looking forward to it! Thank you for all the comments we've gotten. We'll answer them on tumblr in time!
-hina
NEXT UPDATE: 06/02/23
