CCNote: Hi Everyone! Thanks for much for continuing to read this story! I can't wait for you all to see how this story unfolds and we don't have too much left to go! As always, if you're looking for more to read I update the p(A)treon under WritingandCurls multiple times a week so you are never bereft of content. I am actively building a new story there called 'In This Life and the Next.' It's an exploration into a love that transcends centuries and souls. It will be a p(A)treon exclusive, so please join! If you have trouble finding the page, please reach out! Anyways, on with the chapter!
Being Near
Snow was something Hinata was familiar with. As a temperate climate, Konoha got all four seasons-none of which were extreme. Yet, this snow- this cold-was insufferable. She wondered how anyone could live in it let alone sustain a thriving population. Yet the Village Hidden in the Snow had managed to do just that. Their geological situation high in the mountains made the area easy to defend. Still, their isolation also meant they depended heavily on their diplomatic relations. This is where she came in.
Hinata sighed as she pressed a hot mug of tea against her lips.
The people of this village were nothing if not hospitable. A warm bed, plenty of food. It was much nicer accommodation than the cave she'd found herself in or the branches of trees she'd slept on. Still, she found herself yearning to leave. It would be a perilous journey in the current weather conditions. One week had already passed since she'd delivered her scroll and she was still advised against leaving.
It was an early start to the winter snow storms and the weather had not abated. She looked out her window at the snowy expanse before her. When she touched the window's glass, her fingers felt the bite of the cold. She had no reason to rush back to Konoha. Sure she would be late but what was a week or two? Kakashi wouldn't label her a missing-nin. He probably suspected what the conditions would be like before he sent her on this mission. She had every reason to stay in this lovely warm room, with a delicious hot meal. It all seemed wonderful but her heart ached.
Absently she pressed a hand to her chest, right over her heart. She rubbed the area as if that would make the pain go away. It didn't. It remained a dull pounding. A black hole that continued to grow as days passed. Why? Why did she feel this way?! The longer she remained idle, the easier it was for her to slip back into the depression she had right after the 'incident'. Her body refused to move as if still under the influence of the drugs her father had given her. Part of her didn't want to move. A larger part of herself hated that she felt this way.
She had to put these feelings aside if she was going to move forward with her life. Just as he had done. He'd razed the entire Uchiha Compound to the ground. He had set their contract on fire. He had turned his back on her despite all of her best efforts. Did he want her to hate him like everyone else? Was that his goal? The burning of unshed tears prickled at her eyes. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of her hate.
Determined, she began packing up her things from the room. The snow was not as bad as it had been all week. If she didn't leave now she would be snowed in for weeks. She didn't have much, just a few warmer articles of clothing she'd picked up. Some rations she'd restocked for the journey home. She quickly gathered her belongings and was out of the hotel in under an hour. If she stayed any longer she might just allow herself to wallow. And she most certainly was not going to allow anyone to see that.
Not again.
Snow crunched under her feet. Frigid winds bit at her face. She could do this. She was a kunoichi.
….
"You take the front, I'll cut them off in the middle."
Sasuke simply nodded once. Sai's plan was a simple one of causing confusion among the caravan. Instead of attacking them from the same side, they could use chaos on their side. The conditions of the North also played to their advantage. The men had been complaining ad nauseum about the cold, the snow, and the wet. They were demoralized and it wouldn't take a lot of effort to disband them before they reached their goal.
The Uchiha silently raced ahead of the caravan, dropping down on the first man's back. The man didn't even have a chance to scream before there was a knife pressed against his throat. His companions did that for him, confused as to where the intruder had come from. Two men ran off into the woods while another three ran at him with weapons. They didn't spare a second thought at killing the man he held captive by friendly fire.
A bit in the distance he could hear the screams of the other half of the caravan. Under his mask, Sasuke smirked as his dead captive slumped to the ground. He couldn't let Sai have all the fun. Kakashi had expressed that they were not allowed to kill anyone except for the ring leader. The rest of his cronies would be allowed to flee, spreading the word of the man's demise. That didn't mean he couldn't make their escape as excruciating as possible.
A sharp stab of pain seared his eyes when he activated his Sharingan but he ignored it. It had been so long since he'd used his bloodline. A huge part of him missed the surge of power he felt. The pure battlefield advantage that it gave him was unmatched. The men in front of him appeared to move in slow motion; his eyes already predicting their next step before they made it.
It was easy to dodge. Easy to stab. Twist his kunai in their thigh.
The pain in his eyes faded to the background as more blood spilled onto the forest floor. Screams of agony echoed around him. He had to be careful. He had to reign it in. If he went too far Sai was there to stop him, dragging in back to Konoha to face the music. His only reprieve was to find the leader he'd seen the other night and take him out. Slowly of course.
He dodged the blows of the men who still dared to approach him, swiftly weaving through the chaos to locate the tall leader. They couldn't be far from here. He and Sai had not split up that much. He sucked in a sharp breath as the pain in his eyes grew. As the pain mounted so did his frustration. What kind of bogus pills had Kakashi given him? He would just have to push through until he found Sai and killed the leader of these idiotic human traffickers. Once he returned to Konoha he would demand a stronger prescription. He was no good on missions if he was going to be distracted like this.
Unfortunately, it was in his distraction that everything went black.
It felt as if he were tumbling through the darkness for hours. His sense of time, of his body, all jumbled together in a familiar deluge of pain. Of a time when he relied on the kindness and warmth of another like he had done since he was a child. It was odd. He never thought that he'd miss this pain but he did. He missed the familiarity. The ease of his days when the pain had been but a dull throb behind his eyes and gentle hands would press to take it away. Perhaps this was what the afterlife would be for him. An endless cycle of darkness and longing.
'At least it's over.' He thought, allowing his consciousness to slip away.
Just as he fell to the edges of the world, the smell of lavender engulfed him. And he ceased to be.
….
It was a bright day in the village. Not a cloud in the sky and a low patient load for the hospital. That meant many of their staff were escorting what few patients they had outside in the hospital courtyard to enjoy the fresh air. Some of the best medicine was sunshine after all. Sakura sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time that day. Too bad sunshine wouldn't cure the knot of unease in the pit of her stomach.
Naruto still wasn't speaking with her but it wasn't like she pressed him to. Being alone without a little toad or clone randomly popping up was odd. Though he was only a few blocks away from the hospital it felt like he was on the other side of the world.
"Should I go see him?" she mumbled to herself, her face uplifted to the sky. "He said he wants to be alone."
She was trying to respect his boundaries. Part of growing up meant allowing others to make their own choices and Naruto was a grown man now. The world's hero. If he needed space it was the least she could do.
"Haruno-san."
Sakura drew her gaze from the bright blue sky to where her name had been called. A nervous nurse approached her, clipboard clutched to her chest. Sakura wasn't sure why but she'd gained a reputation of being an intimidating colleague among the newer nurses. She was supposed to take over once Tsunade stepped down so she guessed that had a lot to do with it.
"Yes?" She asked, keeping her voice as friendly as possible.
It didn't help.
"You-you have a visitor!" the nurse squeaked before quickly scampering away.
Sakura sighed again. It was going to take a long time to get the new nurses used to her. Reluctantly she rose from the stone bench and returned to the hospital. The hallways were relatively clear of activity. No critical cases meant less beeping, less running about. By all accounts this should have been a good day. She should be at ease and yet….
She shook her head and rounded the corner to the hospital lobby. She had to stop her mind from drifting so much! With that in mind, she pushed through the double door and entered the nearly empty lobby. The only person there was the admitting attendant and one impatient Hyuuga. Sakura blinked, surprised to see the clearly healthy but pacing Hanabi Hyuuga.
"Finally!" Hanabi huffed and made a beeline toward her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Sakura mumbled, put off by the girl's gruff attitude. "What can I do for you Hanabi?"
"Hinata still isn't back."
Mentally Sakura counted the days from when they'd last spoken to Kakashi. That had been nearly two weeks ago. Hinata should be making her way to Konoha any day now so there was no cause for concern. Still, the worried look in Hanabi's eyes made the knot in her stomach tighten. She couldn't let Hanabi know that though. Fifty percent of her job was putting on a brave, impartial face even when she wasn't.
"Hinata will be back soon. You just have to give it some time."
That answer didn't satisfy the Hyuuga whose brow furrowed further.
"Hinata has never been gone this long."
"Missions sometimes run long. We use to get detoured all the time as Team Seven-"
"This Hinata not you and Hinata is never late!"
"Hinata is a capable kunoichi. She can take care of herself."
"HINATA IS NEVER LATE!"
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the attending nurse at the front desk jump when Hanabi raised her voice in frustration. She understood Hanabi's anxiety right now, but that didn't give her the right to disturb the hospital.
"Hanabi, this is a hospital. Please refrain from yelling."
"Pft whatever. I'm just here because I can't find Naruto. At least he would care about my sister."
"I never said I didn't care-"
"You didn't have to." Hanabi snapped. "With her out of the picture you have another shot at that good for nothing Uchiha bastard. I'm sure you're glad she's gone!"
"Hanabi-"
"Whatever! I don't need your help. I'll find him myself!"
With that Hanabi left, slamming the glass door behind her. Though the girl had departed her words still hung heavy in the air. She wasn't happy that Hinata was missing and she wasn't pinning for Sasuke. Her words cut deep despite knowing them to be untrue. She looked back at the front desk attendant attempting to appear busy shuffling papers around. At least they had the decency to pretend they hadn't heard anything. Sakura took a deep breath and let it out slowly through her nose as she turned to leave the hospital lobby. She shouldn't let Hanabi's words get to her-
"Hey! Hey! We need some help!"
Sakura turned back to see two jonin struggling to get through the door with a masked anbu in their arms. Jumping into action, she approached the trio and shouted over her shoulder for the front desk attendant to get back up. There shouldn't be anyone from the Anbu gracing the hospital's doorsteps. They were at peace, weren't they?
…..
This was an all too familiar scene. Sasuke lay prone before her, still as the dead. She almost thought he was when she'd first approached the man. Although now they were in a damp cave instead of the belly of the hospital basement….
…..She'd heard the commotion before she'd ever seen it. There wasn't a lot of foot traffic this far up north, especially at this time of year. It was much too tricky to navigate the spontaneous snowstorms to take a large shipment here. Yet the noise was loud, loud enough that she couldn't just ignore it and continue on to Konoha. If innocent merchants were being attacked she would need to defend them.
Activating her bloodline, she swiftly made it through the trees toward the sounds of battle. They were close. Several weaker chakra signals could be seen fleeing in the opposite direction, letting her know that this was not an ordinary caravan of merchants. They had people that could defend them but chose not to. What kind of conflict was she hurling herself headfirst into? Just as she was about to turn around, a black figure sprinted in front of her. Chakara spilled off of him in dangerous waves. Waves that washed over her with recognition and she knew that despite the black cloak, she was in the presence of the last Uchiha.
She froze as the recognition seeped in, his figure long gone. Sasuke was here. Sasuke was HERE! Though she knew that she shouldn't, her feet followed his path. Slowly at first. Each step felt like it was being held back by lead weights but that didn't stop her from moving forward. Foolishly her heart threatened to leap out of her throat as she watched him from behind. So close yet too far to reach out to. Should she yell for him to stop? He was going to hurt himself if he kept going like this-
As if she had predicted it, she watched the chakra around him spike sharply before disappearing entirely. She watched helplessly as he lost his footing and tumbled to the forest floor below.
"Sasuke!" she shouted despite there being a battle not far in the distance.
Recklessly she followed his descent. He had to have stopped himself right? The great Sasuke Uchiha was much too proud to have succumbed to chakra exhaustion? Unfortunately, she couldn't confirm much more than a heap of black on the forest floor before she was surrounded by the combatants Sasuke had been fighting. They were giant men, scarred and armed to the teeth with kunai they weren't holding correctly. They were a ragtag group but that didn't mean they couldn't do severe damage.
"Well, well, well."
Hinata spun around. She knew that voice. It was the same voice that had belonged to one of the men that had chased her down so many weeks ago. He smiled at her greedily. The rows of his crooked teeth sharpened like fangs. She launched herself down to where Sasuke's body lay in a heap. She couldn't go far from his body if she was going to fight.
"Looks like she decided to come to us instead!"
"She's as pretty as you said. We could have a lot of fun."
Hinata never took her eyes off her previous assailant despite the jeers of his companions that seemed to join in droves. When the man licked his lips and winked at her a shiver ran down her spine.
"The boss doesn't care about her eyes and she'd not one of the merchandise so have at her."
At his permission, the men jumped down from the trees and descended upon her and Sasuke. There needed to be more room to use her techniques and not injure Sasuke or herself as well. All she could do was brace herself for their onslaught….
"Hinata!"
Bursting through the trees came another figure wearing the same cloak as Sasuke and several ink creatures. While the creatures battled with the men above, the cloaked figure landed next to her.
"I knew that it was you." He said, his voice muffled by the mask. "Go back to Konoha. I can take it from here."
"But, Sasuke…" she started, trailing off as she looked at the heap of a man.
He would not awaken any time soon and this Anbu could not protect him in this state. She couldn't carry him all the way back to Konoha either. The masked man didn't seem to care.
"We have a mission we need to complete. You are not a part of that mission."
"If he doesn't get treated for his injuries soon he will die."
"If I stay here talking to you we could all die."
Hinata frowned. She was not about to let that happen….
… She'd been presented with a choice. Run to Konoha and alert Kakashi or save Sasuke. She chose to save the last Uchiha. Despite his disdain for her. Despite her own pain. She chose him. Hinata stared at her charge in pure disbelief at her own actions. Why? Why after all this time did she feel happy to see him? It went against every fiber of her being screaming at her to get away. Get away before her heart got broken again.
Broken. That was how he left her, paralyzed on the tatami floor and unable to speak out as he nullified their contract. Why then did her treacherous heart pound inside her chest, eager for him to awaken? She had to get herself together. No matter what had happened in their past it was just that-the past. It should have no bearing on her duty as a kunoichi of the leaf village. She was a proud shinobi above all else. She could set aside her feelings one last time.
Resolute, she moved closer to Sasuke's side to examine his injuries. With mechanical hands, she unzipped his Anbu vest and sliced open the tight top so she could get a better assessment of the situation. His chest and arms were covered in extensive bruises. He likely had some internal damage but it couldn't be that severe as he was breathing normally. Biting her bottom lip, she activated her Byakugan to examine even further.
His chakra was a mess. Not as bad as when he'd been in the hospital months ago but in rough shape. It was especially bad around his eyes. He must be taking some kind of suppressant for the pain as there was so much buildup around his eyes. It was a miracle he'd been able to see, let alone activate his Sharingan. If he wasn't careful he would fry his chakra pathways and be blinded permanently.
As she had a hundred times before, she placed her hands on either side of his temple- ready to chip away at the blockage. It would be painful but he'd endure this before. Just as she was about to press her own chakra into him, his sightless eyes shot open and his hands gripped around her throat.
To be continued…Being at Odds