Sasuke sat at the bar, slowly sipping his drink, his gaze fixated on nothing in particular. He should have been with Hinata by now. He knew she was waiting for him. It had been three weeks since he had last seen her.
The seat next to him scraped against the floor as someone took a place beside him. "Can I have what he's having?" A familiar voice requested, causing Sasuke to turn his head.
"What are you doing here? Didn't you say you were moving?" Sasuke inquired, his tone tinged with surprise.
"Well, moving takes time. Shouldn't you be with Hinata?" Naruto retorted.
Sasuke remained silent, his thoughts drifting.
The bartender set Naruto's drink in front of him, and Naruto let out a soft chuckle. "You still haven't told her yet, huh?" He teased.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, his expression guarded.
"About you liking her... more than a friend," Naruto added, pushing the topic further.
Sasuke scoffed and turned his head away, unwilling to meet Naruto's probing gaze.
Naruto laughed heartily. "Or did you get rejected?" He playfully taunted.
"Shut up, will you? I don't even like her like that. She's just... a friend," Sasuke muttered, his voice tinged with defensiveness.
Naruto hummed, seemingly undeterred. "Your actions say otherwise."
"Well, it's true," Sasuke insisted, taking another sip of his drink.
They both fell into a momentary silence, contemplating their glasses.
"I think you just don't want to admit it," Naruto finally remarked.
Sasuke shot him a glare, his eyes challenging Naruto's statement.
Naruto continued to focus on the array of alcoholic beverages before him. "Just think about it. Throughout the time I've been dating Hinata, she'd tell me how possessive you were of her as a friend. The way you both light up every time you see each other. I won't lie, Sasuke. There were moments when I was jealous of you. Hinata never looked at me the way she did with you. With so much..." Naruto paused, noticing Sasuke's discomfort.
"Don't say it," Sasuke tried to halt him.
"Love," Naruto finished, his voice tender, as he watched Sasuke's reaction closely.
Sasuke's jaw tensed as Naruto uttered that word – 'love'. He took another sip of his drink, attempting to maintain his composure. His emotions were a tumultuous storm inside, but he wasn't ready to confront them.
Naruto's gaze remained gentle and understanding as he continued, "Sasuke, you've known Hinata for a long time. You've seen her through her ups and downs, and she's seen you through yours. You've been each other's rocks, and sometimes, that's the foundation of something more."
Sasuke's fingers clenched around the glass, the cool condensation slipping through his grasp. "Naruto, don't overanalyze it. Our friendship is valuable, and I don't want to jeopardize it with something that might not even be there."
Naruto nodded thoughtfully, taking a sip of his own drink. "I get that, Sasuke. But sometimes, life throws you a curveball, and it's up to you to decide whether to swing or let it pass. Just don't let fear hold you back."
Sasuke didn't respond immediately, lost in his thoughts. He knew Naruto was right in some ways, but the fear of losing Hinata's friendship loomed large in his mind. "I'm not scared," Sasuke muttered, his voice resolute.
"Then what are you waiting for?" Naruto pressed, his gaze fixed on his friend.
Sasuke fell silent again, struggling with his thoughts and emotions. After a while, he couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. "Why are you doing this?" He asked, his tone tinged with suspicion. "Don't you love her yourself?"
Naruto smiled sadly, his eyes shifting to his drink. He took a sip, collecting his thoughts before responding. "Not as much as you love her."
Sasuke scoffed at Naruto's admission. "You're an idiot."
"An idiot who's willing to let the girl he loves go to be with someone who loves her more," Naruto replied calmly.
Sasuke's frustration grew, and he shook his head. "It's not love."
"I thought we already established that it was," Naruto remarked, his voice gentle.
Sasuke couldn't argue any further and instead chugged down the remainder of his drink, trying to drown the swirl of emotions and doubts that consumed him. The bar's atmosphere remained unchanged, but Sasuke's internal struggle continued as he grappled with the idea of confronting his true feelings for Hinata.
"Just go for it, man," Naruto said, rising from his seat and finishing his drink. He casually placed a bill on the bar before heading towards the exit, leaving Sasuke to contemplate his next steps.
Hanabi sat quietly next to Hinata's hospital bed, engrossed in a teen magazine she had picked up. Hinata, on the other hand, stared out of the window in silence, the space between them heavy with unspoken thoughts.
"Hey, look at this, Hinata," Hanabi suddenly exclaimed, standing up and shoving the magazine in front of her sister. Her sudden movement caused Hinata to flinch slightly, and Hanabi immediately regretted her impulsive action. She silently apologized with a glance.
Hinata reluctantly scanned the page as Hanabi smiled at her. "You need boy advice?" Hinata asked, noting the title of the article, 'How To Tell If A Guy Likes You.'
Hanabi let out a sigh as she sat back down. "Not for me, dummy," she mumbled, her lips forming a pout.
Hinata didn't hear her and continued to gaze out of the window, lost in her own world.
Hanabi observed the side of her sister's face, her heart aching for the pain Hinata had endured. Hinata's name meant "facing the sun," but lately, it seemed like the sun had disappeared from her world. Hanabi's eyes drifted to the visible scars on Hinata's body — some bigger than others, some healed, and others still in the process of healing. Whatever Hinata had gone through, Hanabi didn't even want to imagine it. She cringed at the thought.
If she were in Hinata's shoes, Hanabi believed she might not have survived or would at least wish for death. She frowned, her gaze landing on Hinata's hands, which were fixated on her abdomen. Hanabi knew that Hinata's dream was to have children, and now, knowing that she couldn't have any, it must have been crushing her.
"Hinata," Hanabi whispered, breaking the silence between them.
Hinata turned to look at her, her expression questioning.
"Never mind," Hanabi thought better of mentioning that there were other ways for Hinata to become a mother, like adoption or surrogacy. However, she couldn't ignore the fact that these alternatives wouldn't allow Hinata to experience pregnancy herself, and that, too, would bring its own set of emotions and challenges.
Hinata's eyes held a mixture of curiosity and sadness as she met her sister's gaze. "No, go on," Hinata urged softly, her voice barely above a whisper. She could sense that Hanabi had something important to say, something that might provide a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness that had enveloped her life.
Hanabi swiftly shifted the conversation to a different topic than the one she had initially intended. "You know, I think I do need some boy advice," she admitted.
A faint smile played on Hinata's lips as she slowly adjusted her position to face Hanabi more directly.
"There's a boy named Konohamaru," Hanabi began, her words hesitant as she tested the waters of this new topic.
While Hanabi spoke about Konohamaru, Hinata's thoughts couldn't help but wander back to Sasuke and what he might be doing at that very moment. She absentmindedly placed her hand on her abdomen, the exact spot where Sasuke had tenderly rested his hand on the night they had cuddled, the night before he had left.
The memory was vivid, and she could still feel the lingering warmth of his touch, as though he were there with her in that very moment, providing a sense of comfort that she desperately needed.
Police officers continued their meticulous search within Orochimaru's ominous laboratory, determined to uncover the truth behind his gruesome experiments on human subjects. File after file, they found nothing substantial, and the frustration began to weigh on them. Kiba, feeling the mounting tension, let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair.
"I'm going to step out for a smoke. You wanna join?" He offered, glancing at Shino, his partner in this unsettling investigation.
Shino nodded in agreement.
As they made their way through the dimly lit corridors of the lab, a faint glow caught their attention. Kiba furrowed his brow. "Has anyone been in this area yet?" He inquired.
Shino shook his head, his hand instinctively reaching for his holstered gun. They approached the source of the light cautiously, their training kicking in. With a shared nod, they positioned themselves on either side of the door, preparing for the unknown.
In a swift motion, they burst through the door, ready for whatever awaited them inside. However, to their astonishment, the room was empty except for a medium-sized glass tube at its center. Inside the tube, an unsettling sight met their eyes—a fetus suspended in a translucent liquid.
"The hell... this wasn't here the last time," Kiba muttered, his gaze fixed on the strange and grotesque specimen floating before him.
Meanwhile, Shino walked over to an adjacent desk, his curiosity piqued. He lifted a piece of paper and began to read the ominous contents. "Kiba," he called out, drawing Kiba's attention away from the bizarre discovery. "Call the chief. I think I've found what we've been searching for."
