The report had taken a long while, each person having to add what they came across and did, but it was finally done. The issue was what to do with Masaru Hyuga, the device he had on his arm had been analyzed, but so many components no one had seen before. Kakashi had been the one to establish that no one would really be able to understand the device. However, the Raikage was the one pushing, urging the other Kage to follow his lead. Only Gaara had been against attempting to ascertain the device, stating the very same thing that Kakashi had said. So, Sasuke was brought in as though his rinnegan would be able to pick up something, which he knew before going in wouldn't be the case. And to his complete and utter amusement, it wasn't able to pick up a thing. It had been several days since they had all returned, nearing a week at this point, and only now had they asked for Sasuke's assistance.
Mio, Hinata's grandmother, was also being held as Masaru did confirm with the Hokage that she had helped aid him. She had refused to answer questions from Kakashi and Sasuke, so Kakashi planned a more indepth interrogation to include Ibiki Morino and possibly someone from the Yamanaka clan if needed. Sasuke made his way to visit with Naruto, frustrated from the day as Mio refused to state much of anything other than to tell him that regardless of what happens to her, his marriage contract would remain valid. He knew she only pushed that because it was all she had in hopes of bothering him on some level. What she didn't realize was that it was the least of his worries at the moment, the main one being the biggest question she refused to answer. Given that she was behind his marriage, it was advised that Sasuke not use his Sharingan for answers at this time.
It was then that Sasuke found himself sitting on a stool in Ichiraku Ramen with Naruto to his left, both of them currently working on a bowl of ramen. Things had gone a bit quiet the moment Naruto confessed that he and Sakura had decided to see each other. Sasuke wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel at that moment, but he was genuinely happy for the both of them. He could recall Naruto pining for Sakura even before they were a team. It made sense and he had noticed the distance growing between himself and Sakura. He knew that the marriage was the reason behind it, perhaps it was for the best. Even though he recalled hearing that in another lifetime, he had married Sakura. The idea wasn't a shock, but things had changed and that life wasn't something he could have.
"How are you and Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, glancing over toward him before turning to his bowl.
"Fine." Sasuke responded, setting his chopsticks down as he had finished his bowl.
"Just fine? I figured you both had at least learned to be friends, ya know?" Naruto started on what was now his third bowl.
"We are. That's all we are." Sasuke answered, setting money down for his one bowl.
"So, you haven't done anything?" Naruto frowned. "Not that I want to think about it, but what do you plan to do? I doubt either of you want to live a life living with a roommate. You wanted to restart your clan."
"What you don't realize is that we were never friends before this. We don't have a history together like you do. We didn't develop feelings over time." Sasuke huffed out, glancing toward his right to the empty stool beside him. "That's what you don't get."
"Then learn to. If you want to try then you have to actually have to try. Take her on an actual date. Bring her flowers." Naruto offered, giving a grin. "Hinata-chan is a very easy person. I doubt you'd have to do much outside of yourself for her to like you."
"Who said I want to make it work?"
"Well, the fact that you two are still together when you both could have easily annulled the damn thing." Naruto grinned more.
Sasuke stopped to consider that for a moment, realizing that they were in a position to end things, so why haven't they? Hinata had also never mentioned it, but that didn't exactly mean that she wanted to continue this. Perhaps, just like him, her focus had been elsewhere, so it didn't leave room to consider the future. Did he even want to try with Hinata or would it be easier to move on? It had been a few weeks since their trip to the moon, which astounded Sasuke to even think about. In that time, outside of discussing what had happened since then, they were like any other day. Friends living together. Naruto made a valid point that they would need to consider what they wanted to do going forward.
Parting ways, Sasuke made his way home, thoughts drifting to what awaited him when he did. Should he bring it up? It would mean that he would need to decide what he wanted to do. That was much harder than he would ever be able to imagine. It was unlike him to ever feel unsure of a decision regarding his own life. Thinking back to the mission, he reached into the pocket of his pants and felt the material of the scarf she had made. What would have been something for Naruto she had given to him. Pulling it out, he held the small piece of fabric in his hand, noting the stitching she had spent so much time on. And at the end of it all, she had given it to him. It was as if that's what he needed to realize his decision.
Walking inside, he saw her cleaning around the stove, humming a tune, not realizing he was there. After removing his shoes and cloak, he watched her for a moment as she continued to work. The smell of citrus hit him a moment later, surprising him as usually she used products with lavender in them. He could only assume she had wanted to try something new. Clenching his fingers around the fabric before releasing it back into his pocket, he cleared his throat to get her attention. Immediately she turned, eyes wide and cheeks pink as she realized he had been standing there for some time.
"Sasuke-kun! I didn't hear you come in." She blushed more. "Not the best thing to admit to when I'm supposed to be a ninja."
"I just got back from lunch with Naruto." Sasuke explained. "I'm sure you've heard the news."
"News?" Hinata tilted her head slightly, confusion on her face as a small line formed between her brows.
"He and Sakura are together now." Sasuke shrugged, but part of him kept his gaze on her to see the reaction she had.
"Oh! Well, given how long he chased after her, I'm glad he was able to catch up." Hinata gave a smile that seemed entirely genuine.
Hinata turned back to finish the task she was working on which gave Sasuke time to study her. He noticed that aside from her kunoichi attire, she kept wearing baggy clothing which hid most of her from sight. She was wearing a gray, long sleeved shirt. A short sleeved pink shirt above that. An off white skirt that went halfway down her calves and a dark gray pair of leggings under that. He recalled that she wore baggy clothes any time he could recall what she looked like. Knowing how she looked in her kunoichi attire, he knew exactly what she was hiding under those clothes. Allowing himself the time to dwell on her in a way that he had not before was a new experience.
"Before I forget, we were invited out with the Rookie 12 for drinks tonight." Hinata said, turning slightly to look at him. "I suppose with the news, it would be best if we went to celebrate."
"Hn."
"Hinata-chan!" Ino called out, waving her over to sit beside her.
Hinata made her way over, taking the seat directly to Ino's left as Sasuke took the one between Hinata and Lee, sitting across from Naruto. Sakura was sitting to his left and across from Hinata, so the moment the two of them sat down, each of them greeted the other. It was then that Sasuke noticed a dark spot on Sakura's neck and instantly knew what it was. Apparently, Hinata was not as involved in sex and her eyes widened slightly.
"Sakura-chan, what happened to your neck?" Hinata gasped out, looking as if Sakura had gotten into a horrible fight.
"That is a hickey, Hinata-chan." Ino laughed, pushing her own shoulder into Hinata's. "Have you never seen one before?"
Hinata blushed instantly and before he knew it, she had tossed back a cup of sake. Sasuke raised a brow at her, recalling that she said he had no plans to drink while she was there. It appeared that the idea of Naruto and Sakura being physical was all it took to have Hinata go back on her own personal goal. He couldn't say he blamed her, given that the two of them had not even crossed such a line, yet the two across from them took no time at all. He frowned at the thought, making sure his features were schooled to others, realizing that they had been keeping a distance. And then everything got a hell of a lot worse.
"Hinata-chan, you are the married one here. I'm surprised you don't know about that." Tenten teased, leaning closer to Neji as she did so.
"That is my cousin you are talking about." Neji said, sipping sake as he did so.
"And yet you and I know about hickeys, don't we?" Tenten grinned, causing Neji to turn slightly red.
He watched as Hinata downed another cup of sake, raising a brow at her, which she ignored entirely. Ino was encouraging her, enticing her to drink more which she did without question. After her fifth one, Sasuke put a hand out over her cup, watching her flushed face look up at him curiously. Her reflexes were now hindered by the alcohol, so he took it from her and downed it himself. Knowing he'd need more than that to feel as she did, he kept it from her. Ino huffed about him not being fun, but Sasuke ignored her just in time to see Naruto and Sakura share a kiss as everyone around congratulated them. He felt Hinata stiffen and something about that bothered him. He glanced toward her to see her head hung down, her fingers pulling on the hem of her pink shirt. Was she really that upset about Naruto and Sakura?
"Sorry everyone! I think it's time for us to go. Naruto-kun has so much training to do for his future role in the village." Sakura giggled, her own face flushed from the alcohol she consumed.
It was a short visit, it seemed as he was now taking a wobbling Hinata back home, but his mind kept going back to her reaction to Naruto and Hinata. She had her head down, cheeks red and her eyes looked glassy as she leaned on him for support. They had a good walk, perhaps another ten minutes from the bar and he debated on asking her if she truly still had feelings for Naruto. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much, though. Why he cared to know what she felt. Though, when he thought about it, he had developed something for the woman to his right.
"I was surprised you drank so much." Sasuke finally said, feeling her tense beside him.
"I know I said I wouldn't, but…" She trailed off, a hiccup was now heard from her at this point.
"You still like Naruto." He said, frowning as he said it, but given how her head still hung low, she wouldn't notice it.
"What?" Hinata then looked up, gasping slightly, though he could see that she was still drunk. "That wasn't it."
"Then what was it?" He pressed, his brows furrowing in frustration.
"Well, it was because it seemed they were doing things and reminding me of things I had wanted to do with you." She put a hand over her mouth a moment later as if she realized what she had said.
His own eyes were wide and they had stopped walking, giving him a chance to look her over. Her face was now a deeper red, the color going from her cheeks to overtake her entire face. He realized it was an actual confession from her. He was slowly allowing the fact that she had considered him in such a way that she had not been alone. Yet, his thoughts had been a few hours ago and he wondered how long she had thought of him in such a way. He pushed his hand into his pocket and immediately felt the fabric of the torn scarf that she ended up giving to him. Pulling it out, he held it in his hand to show it to her, watching her face go from shock to something he'd considered appreciation.
"You kept it." Hinata whispered, reaching out gently to touch the remains of the scarf.
"Did you feel that way when you gave this to me?" Sasuke asked, watching her face shift from appreciation to fear.
"When I gave that to you… I was choosing you." Hinata admitted, her voice so soft he barely heard her.
That's all it took for him to close the distance between them and after putting the scarf into his pocket, he grasped onto her coat, pulling her toward him. There was no one around to notice the two of them, yet it didn't matter. While he didn't like the idea of affection out in public, he knew that he needed to show her that he was willing to make this work. It had never been their idea or what they wanted, but she had become a large part of his life. He recalled his mother telling Itachi that being friends with someone before being with them made for a better relationship. While his father was usually cold, he knew that his parents loved each other when they thought no one was looking. Love didn't always have to be displayed so publicly for it to be something intimate and known. The woman before him wore his clan's symbol on her back, never fearing what people thought of her when she did so. She had strived hard to get stronger, to be the matriarch that she felt the Uchiha clan needed.
This afternoon he had allowed himself to see her differently, putting it down to the fact that Sakura had moved on. Now that he thought about it, it had been when he rushed in to save her with their team. When she had used the fact that he taught her to fight to the advantage of their enemy. She gave him a part of a scarf meant for Naruto and established it was his. She was right when she said she chose Sasuke over Naruto and he had just only realized it when she said it out loud. For taking pride in the fact that he was smart enough to see attacks coming at him with his kekkei genkai, he sure as hell was an idiot. She was staring up at him, waiting for what he was planning to do now that he had pulled her against him. She had already confessed that she had wanted to do things with him that a couple normally did. Her upset had not been because Naruto was with Sakura, but that she wanted what they had with himself.
He leaned down slowly, giving her time to move back if she chose, his lips just hovering over her own. This would be her first kiss. Anything he did with her would be new for her which meant that he had to take his time and make each contact they had memorable. When he saw her eyes slowly close, he took that as her accepting this moment. He pressed his lips against hers, taking from her the first kiss that she had spent most of her life saving for one person. Yet, she was wanting it from himself, offering herself to him something she held dear to herself. It was then that she let out a whimper and her arms wrapped around his neck to hold him closer to her. He took that moment to begin slightly moving his lips, teaching her to meet his, which she did rather quickly. His own arm wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him as he continued to kiss her.
They finally broke apart when air was needed, both of them looking at each other as they drew air into their lungs. Her lips were now slightly more pink, swollen from the friction between them. The softness in her eyes said that he made the right call and it was one that he was pleased with. He just hoped that she remembered it in the morning, but then decided if she didn't, they'd have to do a replay. Or they'd do one anyway so he could experience this moment while she was sober. She gave a chuckle, her hand over her mouth as she did so, her gaze now looking simply playful.
"I always wondered what it would be like." Hinata smiled up at him. "I'm glad my first kiss was with you, Sasuke-kun."
"I'm sad to say this isn't my first one, but I'm glad that I could experience your first one with you." Sasuke gave her a soft smile in return, moving to move a few strands of hair from her cheek as he did so. "However, if you don't remember tomorrow, I'd like to repeat this moment."
"I'd like that." Hinata nodded, giving him a broad smile that showed off her straight, white teeth.
It was a few hours later and Sasuke found himself in interrogation with Ibiki and Kakashi, staring down both Hinata's grandmother and Masaru. In the last few days, a few scientists have been able to not only determine the items used in Masaru's time traveling device, but also recreate the entire thing. They had managed to find a few shinobi who had been willing to test out the device and had been able to time travel easily, both in the past and future. Given Masaru's reasoning for coming to the past, it had been left up to the Kage to determine any sort of punishment. Ibiki had confirmed the story Masaru had given and determined that Mio had used her own desires to drive him to make the decisions he had. While that didn't exactly exempt him entirely from his crimes, they had established that sending shinobi with him to make sure that he completed his mission.
"Mio, you need to tell us what you had hoped to gain by the union of the Hyuga and Uchiha." Kakashi said, his voice neutral given the slight narrowing of his eyes. "Your clan has given us permission to use any means necessary to gain that information. While I do not prefer methods beyond this exact exchange, I'm no longer going to allow you to continue to hide your intentions."
"Which means if you don't give us the information, I'll be forced to get it, myself." Sasuke added, remaining slightly more neutral with a bored expression.
"Fine." Mio huffed out, glaring at the three of them that stood before her. "This union was not the first between a Hyuga and Uchiha, but that was hidden under a contract we had. The goal was to breed a hybrid of the Byakugan and Sharingan and test to see what kekkei genkai they would get. Would one be superior to the other? Or would they mix and create something new and far more powerful than either one. Things were going well, the union was completed and after pushing from both sides, a baby was conceived. We monitored the child as they developed in the womb, but were unable to determine if we would see anything different.
"Well, when the time had come for the child to be born, they disappeared. We could not locate them and as the contract was between two clans, we were unable to utilize the ANBU through the Hokage. Even we knew at the time that the Hokage would not have assisted us with finding them. No matter how many of each clan we sent out, they were missing. The reason for the union now was because we found out that Fugaku had obtained information on the couple and their location, but he refused to give us that information. And my own son, Hiashi, refused to ask nor force that information out, both of them deciding to shred and act as if the contract never existed. Our goal was to find that information and use the union to obtain it.
"Or, if we were unable to gain that information, then we already had another forced union of a Hyuga and Uchiha and our goal was to have the two of you have kids. The Konoha council as well as the Hyuga elders agreed to create a new, binding contract and therefore complete what had been started by my own parents. As well as your great grandparents, Sasuke."
The information settled between everyone in the room, Masaru didn't look surprised as everyone else in the room did. No doubt proving that Mio had provided him with that information, but because his world would not be affected by the alternate reality created here, it made sense that he would not care. It made sense that Sasuke would not have known about this given that his father had died believing that the contract was no longer considered applicable. Though, the question remained why he had that information to begin with, unless Mio was given false information or believed something that didn't exist.
"How do you know that the Uchiha clan even had information pertaining to the couple?" Kakashi asked the question Sasuke had. "Was that information given to you? And can that information be factual?"
"An Uchiha elder found out and told my husband when it happened. He had witnessed the exchange and heard the name of the Uchiha man that had run off. That was enough for us to gather that they had been found and that information was given to the clan head. However, that clan head was not involved in the contract and therefore decided to keep that to himself. My son had a meeting with him and I will say he did not confirm or deny what he knew other than the contract was no longer valid and we needed to move on. That no one was allowed to discuss the contract as it was a matter specific to the clan head. It was a fault of ours to have that be part of the contract - simply an oversight on our part." Mio shrugged, seeming detached emotionally.
"Fine, then the question is why you two had teamed up? What did you gain?" Sasuke asked, glancing at Kakashi before returning his gaze between the two sitting behind the table.
"You noticed me during the war, Sasuke. I'm aware of your story and your redemption arc, if you want to call it that. I wasn't immune to knowing that you would be trying to find me, so I needed you to have a distraction. Mio had sent someone out in order to continue looking for the hybrid child. As I'm sure you can gather, it wasn't as if the Hyuga elders were going to give up because your father and the current clan head said so. They found me, assuming I was a possible link to the child in question. When it was established I wasn't, but that my reasoning became apparent, I was offered assistance in exchange for looking while also helping to assist in gaining any information the Uchiha had.
"It wasn't my problem as my problem is to save my own world. Whatever alternate reality I created here wasn't something I cared to involve myself in unless it helped me to get what I needed. Sasuke, I have read history and some details are given to give insight to the person each of you were. I'm well aware that your personality isn't' far from my own in that you don't care what others are doing or dealing with as long as you complete your mission. If that logic is correct, then you understand that while also understanding I have no loyalty to anyone currently living." Masaru blinked a few times, but gave nothing else away.
Kakashi nodded and two ANBU members grasped Masaru by his arms, leading him back to his cell, leaving the three of them with Mio. She looked entirely uncaring, even though she had put her own granddaughter in a position to be used. However, Sasuke had come across many like her who didn't see themselves as the villain, but merely did villainous things that they felt was the right thing to do. A twisted concept of reality that made them believe that their needs were above those that should have mattered to them more. While he didn't want to admit as much, he was there not that long ago. Simply making choices that he felt were correct at the time, but it led him down a road to gain the villain title. The only difference was he had been a young, impressionable teenager told to hate and walk the path of avenging his family by having his brother's blood on his hands. This woman was older, having lived a life that should have taught her better. Yet, her entire mindset was similar to what he understood, and sadly only something that she would have to learn was incorrect. Given her age and determination, he had a feeling the truth could slap her in the face and she'd still look around it and focus on her twisted thoughts as being the truth.
"Well, unfortunately for you, Sasuke is now married and is the leader of the Uchiha clan. It is now an established clan that the Konoha council can no longer make decisions for. Anything pertaining to those who hold the Uchiha last name will go strictly through him. I am not Sasuke, so I can't necessarily relay this exchange on his behalf, but I have a feeling your idea of gaining control over a child of Uchiha and Hyuga blood is out of your hands." Kakashi gave her a crinkling smile.
"How is that the case?" Mio asked, only then showing slight discomfort.
"Had you read into the laws created under our Fourth Hokage, you'd know that any clan with two or more members is an officially established clan. The moment you had Hinata marry Sasuke was the day you established the Uchiha clan as its own entity. They may have had a say while Sasuke was out of the village and the only living Uchiha alive, but thanks to you, that's no longer the case." Kakashi smirked behind his mask. "The members were well aware of the rule when they helped you along. Their interpretation was that you had Sasuke's permission to gain access to whatever child he had with Hinata. I assume you gave them that idea?"
"That's not possible!" Mio snarled, her arms now tensing as if she was attempting to get out of her chakra sealing cuffs.
"Oh, it is!" Kakashi pulled out a scroll and pointed to the law near the middle of the list. "Right here and you can clearly see the date of which this law was passed."
"No…" Mio hissed out.
"Let me just say that it appears you fucked yourself over the moment you decided to play cupid, Hyuga-san." Kakashi's grin widened before he rolled the scroll back up and tucked it into his pocket. "Now, if you'll excuse us, I have paperwork to work on and I feel you're done here until your hearing."
AN: Sorry for the long delay in updates! Needed to focus on other things as well as a desire to get back into it! So, lots of reading to get me back into my love of crack-shipping. Hope it was a solid update and can't wait to continue getting back into this! And you're welcome to take a guess on where I'm taking it now.
I-Love-Trunks1 - Love those moments as well! The scarf part was a favorite of mine to change up from the movie version to the SasuHina one!
LaCrazyWriter - It did look so forced. I don't mind the some parts where things are just tossed in and TADA, but The Last did feel odd. The fact that his love for Hinata was the same as his love for ramen. I love ramen and get a version of Naruto's from a local ramen shop where I am (though kimchi fries I will recommend for the rest of my life), but can confirm I don't love that ramen in the way I love my spouse. Lol.
Thank you! I get that Team 7 is the main focus and I honestly love that Sakura was given amazing moments, even in Boruto. I'd just love it if the other women of Naruto were given the same treatment. Each of them have amazing abilities that they could really do amazing things with, but because they are not a part of Team 7, they are overlooked.
I started it as you read, but I do plan to give them that tension… I need it in this story.
Guest - I am aware that that scene is in a non-canon based movie. I do not think adding it in here honestly took away or even really added much to the story to make it something I would have anyone truly focus on. It was a fun addition for anyone who enjoyed the movie. ^^
Azathot - Thank you for taking the time to read it and I hope that you continue to enjoy it!
Hello skitty - I understand that the arranged marriage bit isn't everyone's favorite. It was something that a reader from a previous SasuHina story I have mentioned and I decided to have some fun and utilize it for this story. I can also see that this plot would work without it, as well, but I'm down for anyone else to take The Last and make it SasuHina in the same way!