CCNote: Back at ya with another chapter! I can't wait to get to the end because I think you will all love the outcome! As you wait for updates to this story, please hop over to my P(A)treon under WritingandCurls. The new version of Sleeping with the Enemy is published there and chapters are posted frequently. There will be additional scenes, plot holes filled, and a more polished touch to the story as I plan to transform it into its own novel. Thank you so much to those of you that have already become patrons! It seriously motivates me so much! On with the story!
Being on the Run
He could smell the aftermath of the skirmish before they'd even broken through the tree line of the clearing. He could see the snapped branches and windswept meadow laid flat. To anyone else that wasn't familiar with the Hyuuga clan, it would look like a tornado had briefly touched down in the clearing. But he knew. He knew one Hyuuga's chakra all too well for it had coursed through his veins for months. Starved of its soothing, nature he had to rely on the pills Tsunade had created to keep the pain behind his eyes at bay. The dull ache was constant now that Hinata wasn't there to alleviate the pain. Frowning behind his mask, he surveyed the area further. This was the work of a Hyuuga. It couldn't be Hinata though. They would never let her out of the compound-especially not after what he'd done.
The Hyuugas' plan had been to marry Hinata off as soon as possible to the highest bidder if there was no contract. Given that there had been a contract between the Hyuuga and Uchiha, it only made sense to see it through so long as it was advantageous. Unfortunately for him, whether he saw the marriage to the end or nullified the contract he would come out the 'loser'. He either remained under the Hyuuga clan's thumb with a wife that sacrificed her freedom for him or he would lose nearly half his land and monetary assets. A small price to pay for both of their freedom. Although he supposed they still had a main branch daughter to marry off to a rich clan head or daimyo. Would she still take the seal? What if she never decided to get married? Would she be regulated to the seal the moment Hanabi popped out an heir?
"Yo."
Sasuke didn't flinch as Sai hung upside down before him. It was just one of many maneuvers his partner tried to get a rise out of him. It never worked.
"There is blood up ahead but it doesn't look like anyone died." Sai reported. "There is a path we can follow north that's not that old."
"That is not our mission." Sasuke replied impassively.
They were meant to track down the band of human traffickers in Kumo. This looked like a skirmish between a capable Hyuuga that escaped and whatever group still wanted their eyes. He could almost see Sai's grin behind his mask. If it weren't for the fact that Sai reported to Kakashi, he would have walked away. Mission be damned. He did not appreciate being taunted.
"Let's go."
"You know, if we came across Ino in the woods I would leave you and the mission to find her."
Sasuke ignored him, pushing chakra into his feet to leap across the small clearing westward. Hinata would never be allowed to leave the compound and even if she did how was it his problem? He looked back for a moment at the clearing, his eyes scanning for something. A sign. When he came up with nothing he cursed himself for letting Sai get under his skin. Kumo was less than an hour from here. That was the goal. He would not be led astray again. Behind him he heard Sai zip up something and follow him. When they set up camp he would use a summons to alert Kakashi of what they'd found. A Hyuuga alone in the world and being tracked would not bode well.
…
Everything had changed and at the same time, it remained the same.
They were now twenty years old instead of twelve. Older, hopefully wiser, and still chasing after their wayward teammate.
"Where is he Kakashi?" Naruto demanded, his fist slamming on the Hokage's desk. "It's been months since the incident and we haven't been allowed to see him. I have half a mind to-"
Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder to stymie his frustration as well as hold him back. She was worried about Sasuke too but it was Naruto that had sacrificed so much. It was through his blood, sweat, and tears that the last Uchiha still walked this earth. If he still walked this Earth, the Hyuuga were not a clan to be messed with. Seeing that Kakashi remained impassive in the face of Naruto's anger she decided to take a different approach.
"Kakashi-sensei, how is Hinata-san doing?" she asked.
At hearing Hinata's name, all the tension in Naruto's body melted away. He slumped into a chair and held his head in his hands. Hinata had not been seen by anyone in weeks. Sakura knew that Naruto blamed himself. By his own inaction, he had made the Hyuuga antsy enough to look for other avenues to marrying Hinata off. Sakura sniffed as she watched Kakashi stand from his desk and turn his back to them.
"Hinata is on a mission."
Sakura let out a sigh of relief but Naruto didn't move.
"Do you know when she will return?"
"She's due back in two weeks. You can speak with her then if you'd like."
Two weeks. It couldn't be a difficult mission if she would be back so soon but she must be far away. Sakura couldn't blame her for taking a mission that put her so far from home. Sometimes distance from the issue was the best medicine. With a side glance at Naruto, she decided to take her own advice.
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei." She said and pulled Naruto out of his chair. "If you need anything you know how to find us."
Kakashi nodded as they departed with surprisingly little resistance from Naruto. Once outside of the office, she moved from pulling on his arm to taking his hand in hers. Their fingers intertwined and she gave his hand a big squeeze.
"Naruto you know he can't tell us anything right?" she whispered as they made their way down the empty hall.
"I know."
"And you know that it's to protect him right?"
"I…I know."
"Then let's trust that Kakashi and Sasuke know what they're doing."
When he didn't respond, Sakura stopped them. She searched his eyes for some glimmer of hope but only found guilt. It hurt more than she could have ever imagined to see him like this. She cursed Sasuke for disappearing. Cursed the Hyuuga for putting Hinata in a situation where she had to subjugate herself. More than anything she cursed her own selfish desires that put them in this situation. They should have never asked Hinata to help them revive Sasuke. That day, they'd been at their wits end watching him languish in a comatose state. If he'd remained that way for just a few more months he would have been fine. Their impatience shattered the way their lives were supposed to go. Hinata and Naruto would have been married by now. The contract between the Hyuuga and Uchiha would have remained in a dusty chest somewhere never to be seen. And she…what would she be doing? Still pining after a man that didn't want her the way she'd wanted him…
"Things will work themselves out Naruto. There is nothing we can do that wouldn't mess things up more than they already are."
"I know!" he snapped, his grip tightening around her hand. "I just wish I could do something, anything! They were actually happy Sakura!"
Sakura bit her lip and looked away. He spoke the truth. Sasuke and Hinata were incredibly private people but anyone could see the peace they brought one another. If things had worked out the way they should have would they be happy? Hinata remaining in Naruto's shadow as a good wife and Sasuke wallowing with his demons on a path to potential redemption?
'No.' she thought. 'If anything it was better things happened this way…this way.'
An idea sprung into her mind. Hinata was out on a mission. It was a wild guess but Sasuke likely wasn't here either. One of the many toads Naruto had deployed would have reported back to him that the Uchiha was being detained in the village.
'Sasuke's not here. He's not here! Kakashi must have sent him away so he's out of the council's hair and away from the Hyuuga.'
If she told Naruto he would break Kakashi's precarious plan because he would surely chase after Sasuke. He'd believe he could be some kind of mediator between the Hyuuga and Sasuke to ease tensions. Or perhaps he would try to change the council's minds. As much as the village believed in him, he was not the Hokage. Kakashi was and what he'd decided to do in this situation was probably their only viable option. Keeping their distance was the best thing they could do.
'Maybe…this will end up in their happiness. Whatever form that may take.'
"Let's stay out of the way for now. Our interference in their lives helped to get them to this point. If Sasuke and Hinata are meant to be together they will be. If they are meant to be apart, they will be." She said finally and Naruto let go of her hand.
He turned away from her, back stiff, and her mind filled with confused thoughts.
"Naruto-"
"I need to be alone."
"Naruto!"
It was too late though as her companion had disappeared. Part of her was proud of his chakra control. Another part was left empty. Had she said something wrong?
…
Hinata bit the inside of her cheek in an effort to motivate herself to keep moving. Her wounds from the fight were minimal but her chakra was low and she had no idea how many people could be after her. She'd lost the men but they had followed her for miles. Now it was up to her to put even more distance between them. One foot in front of the other. That's all she had to do. One foot-
A roaring crescendo of thunder rolled overhead and disrupted her thoughts. With the loss of focus, her body froze as she looked up at the sky. It was hard to see as the tree cover in this forest was dense but all around her darkened. Another roll of thunder and then rain began to pour in frigid sheets upon her. She had to find cover quickly. If the men chasing her didn't find her, illness would.
Gathering up what little chakra she could, she activated her Byakugan. Only fifty meters northwest was a cave. It appeared unoccupied and the opening was hidden by overgrowth. It was the perfect place to wait out the storm. The prospect of respite reignited her body and moved her forward. One foot in front of the other.
Single-mindedly she made it to the cave. Humid and dank but better than the torrential sheets outside. Once safely inside she slumped against the cold cave wall, unable to take another step. Going solo was certainly different from what she'd experienced before. Her body fell further down the wall until she came to rest on the ground.
'Before….there was Kiba and Shino and Kurenai.' She thought. 'I didn't want to be a burden so I pushed through any discomfort.'
But now, alone in the dark cave with nothing but her thoughts, wallowing began to creep in. Why were those men pursuing her? It had to be for her eyes. The Byakugan was too distinct to hide. They must have seized an opportunity to take it when they noticed she was no longer with Chouji. At least she'd lost them and the rain would do even more to cover her tracks. All she had to do was bide her time until the storm passed. Then she would continue north. And then…and then what?
Return to Konoha? To her family?
At the thought of family, dark hair and dark eyes flashed before her. No. She can't let her mind go down that track. If she did she would never make it out of this cave, so consumed with regret and a life that ceased to be. She was stronger than this. She could do this. Taking a deep breath, she allowed a few angry hot tears to escape before quickly wiping them away. For now, she needed to focus on resting and regenerating enough chakra for the rest of her journey. She would complete this mission no matter what.
…
They were an overconfident bunch. Time evading punishment tended to do that to people. Across the way he could see Sai moving into position, high up in the trees. His job was to gain information about their numbers. An easy task. That left Sasuke to listen in on their banal, crude banter around the fire. With drinks flowing freely and tons of meat available, the men took no notice of him only a few feet away albeit shrouded in darkness.
"Pass the keg ya dumb ass."
"Can't keep hoggin it!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. They were so loud. Loud and arrogant, so self-assured that they were the only ones in the forest. Still, he hadn't observed them being in possession of any women as Kakashi had suggested. They didn't look all that strong. They were just a bunch of failed shinobi that hailed from who knows what hidden village. There wasn't anything inherently nefarious about their current activities…it was just odd. Why were they all the way out here? There wasn't any kind of civilization for miles.
Although the men had formed their own sort of society of ramshackle tents and a 'leader' of sorts. The leader was a large man with long, unkempt brown hair and tanned skin littered with scars. None of which appeared to be fatal blows but Sasuke supposed such a display impressed the men around him. This leader sat almost bored upon a makeshift wooden throne, head in one hand and a drink in the other. Sasuke honestly couldn't blame him, he was bored to tears as well.
"Senku! Genji!" someone shouted. "You're back!"
Sasuke's attention perked up as the energy of the crowd spiked with the new arrivals. The men were yet again unimpressive if not a bit windswept. The men welcomed the arrivals with large mugs of beer and pats on the back. They are ushered through the crowd until they were before their 'leader' who barely raised an eyebrow.
"Well?" he asked and the two named Senku and Genji seemed to shrink under his gaze. "You are empty-handed."
"We would've had them with us but we got distracted."
"Distracted?"
"Its just-she had these eyes-"
"Eyes?" the leader growled. "You let the deal fall through for EYES?!"
"Sir you don't understand-" the man started but the leader had already gotten to his feet and put a hand around the man's throat.
"Don't worry sir the deal hasn't fallen through I swear!"
"I'm sure you do."
The leader tightened his grip and the man he held silently screamed. When it looked like he was about to lose consciousness the leader dropped him into a heap on the ground. No one came to assist him. He simply lay there gasping and spitting up. The leader then turned to the unharmed man, the same bored look in his eyes he'd had for the last few hours.
"The cargo must make it to the north by the deadline. If not you and your family are mine."
'Ah, so that's what they are waiting on' Sasuke thought.
Overhead an owl sounded off, letting the Uchiha know that he would need to recede further into the shadows to meet with Sai. Their mission had just gotten a little closer to completion.
…..
The next morning Hinata found it hard to wake up from the ball she'd curled herself it. It was so cold in the cave that she could see her breath. That revelation made her smile. If it was that cold it meant she wasn't too far from her final destination.
She stretched and groaned from her place on the floor, barely able to feel her finger but ready to tackle the day. A little bit of daylight was able to light the cave enough for her to rummage through her pack for a protein bar. Hard, tasteless. She grimaced as she chewed. If she returned to Konoha she would come back to edible meals.
'If I return?' Hinata thought to herself, astonished that an if would ever be a notion for her.
Still the question remained. What was she returning to? She needed to be strategic if she wanted her life to remain her own. Shaking off the thought she left the cave to survey her surroundings, sans her Byakugan. Everything was silent. A thick blanket of frost covered everything courtesy of the storm and below-freezing temperatures. Overhead an owl called out, likely returning from its nocturnal hunt.
"Good morning." Hinata whispered although she felt silly for doing so. That passing owl was the only 'friendly' company she'd had for hours.
Smiling, she adjusted her pack and continued forward. Her mission was almost complete.
To be completed….
Being Near