Hey, hey!
Early post today! I enjoyed writing this chapter because it explains a lot that is going on. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
"So. You're telling me Orochimaru bit this Uchiha kid and gave him a curse mark? Got ahold of the jailer of the horrendous nine tails fox and altered his seal? Making it ultimately weaker and now it's fucking with the kids head. Plus got ahold of the Hyuga clan leader's oldest CHILD, stabbed her with who knows what and now she has these weird black veins that no one knows what's pumping in them?"
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya completely annoyed. What in the entire fuck.
Why the hell would Orochimaru attack innocent kids like that during a damn Chunin exam? Jiraiya held his arms up in a defensive matter. "Hey. Don't look at me like that. I showed up in the aftermath too. I was just as lost, and upset. Plus I can't find that bastard Orochimaru anywhere. He's hiding, but still manipulating these kids."
Tsunade rolled her eyes. Idiots.
She was surrounded by complete, testosterone idiots.
Her eyes landed on Hinata as the blonde bombshell crossed her arms under her chest. She had to sober up for this shit storm. She got an FYI before she entered the hospital that this young Hyuga had a little problem with the alcohol bottle, so Tsunade refrained from even smelling like it around her.
"What's your name?" Hinata recoiled for a second from the harsh look Tsunade was giving her before she corrected herself and cleared her throat.
"H-H-Hyuga H…Hinata. Ma'am." Tsunade arched a brow at this. Okay, new approach because this girl was screaming anxiety. "So Miss. Hinata. Take your time and show me where the spooky black veins are."
It was quiet between the two females for a moment. Hinata looked everywhere but at Tsunade. Meanwhile Tsunade was trying not to twitch. "You don't know how to make it appear. Do you?"
Hinata blushed at being exposed and started to poke her fingers together. "Umm…I…no." Hinata finished her sentence feeling defeated and hung her head slightly in shame. "I'm s-sorry."
Tsunade let out a sigh and placed a gentle hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Okay. Let me check you out." Jiraiya picked up on the fact Hinata was about to get a full physical exam and decided now would be the perfect time to excuse himself. "If you need me. I shall be with the boy and his teammate."
Hinata knew he was talking about Naruto and Sasuke. She watched Jiraiya walk out the room and shut the door. Tsunade really was a medical professional. Just like how Kakashi said. She did all the protocols for examining Hinata. When Tsunade got to the actual scar that Hinata sewed up she made sure to pay extra attention to the area. "So. Orochimaru stabbed you here? You were only penetrated once by him?"
Hinata looked down at the scar and thought about that day in the forest of death. "No. Umm, I was first attacked by one of his snakes. It pinned me to a tree and had its fangs deep in my ribs. So, I-I had two bites."
Tsunade waited patiently for Hinata to piece the memories together. Little details Hinata probably never thought of was now coming to light. Sometimes it just took the right questions to get the real answer.
"B-But when he stabbed me with my kunai, he stabbed me in one of the holes of the bite mark. When I woke up, it was only one hole though. I-I…I don't know what happened ma'am."
Tsunade hummed as she listened to Hinata. She traced over the scar and smiled at how well it was healing. She has heard how Hinata had stitched herself up all by herself. Enduring the pain. Well somewhat. It was still a talent that Tsunade couldn't ignore.
"Nice work in taking care of yourself and sewing yourself up. Making sure this didn't get infected was key after the stitching. You know, one of the things Konoha and the ninja world in general lacks is experienced medic-nins. I don't know why. Maybe they feel like that's a field that's women driven or something. Maybe it's too complicated to learn the difference between combat and regular medical aid on top of their personal ninja techniques. Who knows, but you have a talent that maybe you should explore."
Tsunade looked up at Hinata and saw that her face was blank. She made it so she didn't react to the open offer. Meaning she didn't want to do it. "I'm guessing it's not custom for Hyuga's to dabble in medical care either. I'm confused though, because I hear from your teammates that you make special balms that help them heal and whatnot. So you do know basic medical aid very well Hinata. It would be a wasted talent to just steer your families way and not pick up extra knowledge."
Hinata nodded her head as she listened. "Umm…T-T-Thank you f-for the off-offer Tsunade-sama. I-I believe I have to master one thing a-at a time."
Tsunade arched a perfect grow at Hinata. It's been a while since Tsunade has heard someone flat out tell her no, but this had to be the politest, 'no' that Tsunade has ever heard. This girl was so gentle by nature, you wouldn't think she was from the Hyuga clan. Only sign she's from the clan is her features.
Tsunade cleared her throat as she finished assessing Hinata, "So, moving on. It seems that my bastard of an ex-teammate did indeed stab you. However, where he stabbed you closed up on its own. The wound you cared to was the other hole from the snake bite. If you don't mind, I'd like Kakashi and the rest of your teammates in here to listen to my findings. That way everyone is on board on what needs to happen for you to excel. I would inform your actual father, but from what I gather. Hiashi is still a fucking prick like aways."
Hinata's face lit up bright red at the insult to her father. She was flabbergasted this person she barely knew would say something about her family. Tsunade grinned at Hinata and shrugged her shoulders. She turned around to inform her right hand Shizune to get team seven and bring them to the room. When she turned back she looked at Hinata amused.
"I am a Konoha-nin as well. I've been through more wars and battles than you could imagine for this village. Reason why I took such a long hiatus. I was sick of it. That being said, I am very familiar with the Hyuga clan. They are one of the oldest clans in the world, not just this village. I've known your father and your late uncle since they were little kids. They were both always sticks in the mud, but your uncle more than your father. For obvious reasons. Your father wasn't always a mean prick, he used to be a happy one."
Hinata looked at Tsunade in awe. She's never heard anyone speak of her father and uncle like that. She's never heard such stories of her father and uncle. Her family was so tight lipped about the past that Hinata just knew of the basics. The success of the Hyuga clan and how to preserve it.
There was a knock on the door and in came Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke. Along with Jiraiya. Tsunade still eyed Hinata and could tell the young lady was flabbergasted by what she knew. Hiashi really did a number on sheltering this one.
Tsunade left Hinata in just her pants and sports bra, because she needed to see these veins sprout.
Meaning she was about to make jabs at Hinata. "You remind me of your father more than your mother Hinata."
Kakashi frowned at this. Yeah, this was what he was hoping no one would ever say to Hinata. "How do you figure that Tsunade-sama?" Said person looked at Kakashi amused. He has grown quite attached to the Hyuga girl. He seemed like more of a protective parent than her own father.
"I remember before I left, Hiashi was pushing to remove the caged bird seal from being a routine thing from the Hyuga clan."
The shocked faces in the room went around to all the younger ninja. Kakashi included. Jiraiya looked to be in thought before humming to himself. "Oh yeah that's right. It was such a big deal it traveled around from all over. A lot of villages were talking about it. How foolish of a move it would be. Typically branch members of the Hyuga clan went on missions that could possibly be fatal or with them ending up captured. Thus the Byakugan couldn't be taken. However, if the seal was abolished, it would be a free for all and easy to take the Byakugan. It happened once, reason why it was so frowned upon when Hiashi wanted abolish it."
Tsunade nodded her head. "Your father was one of the first in the main family to show that the main branch of Hyuga's could hold their own. He climbed the ninja ranks fast and was a force to be reckon with. I remember there was a group of top five jonin at the time, and Hiashi constantly was competitive with Uchiha Fugaku and Namikaze Minato. Especially the Uchiha clan just based on the clan's rivalry between the two. Hiashi wanted to prove that if a Hyuga from the main family could hold their own then there was no need for the seal."
Jiraiya folded his arms and frowned. "Yeah. I understood his point. His ambition, but from a realistic standpoint, not every Hyuga was going to be a prodigy like him. Not even his twin brother was on the same level as Hiashi. That was the argument. How was Hiashi going to get his whole clan to be like him. It was impossible. Only other prodigy I've seen from that clan was Hiashi's nephew. So, Hiashi was getting pushed down left and right because in reality everyone knew Hiashi was just trying to save his brother from getting the seal. He was able to avoid it for a few years, but in the end Hizashi was sealed and the family became bitter and even more divided."
Tsunade looked at Hinata with sympathy, "Your father lost that spark. He failed his brother and the two never had the relationship that they once had again. I can tell Hiashi still wants to achieve the dream of abolishing the curse seal and from what I hear you want to do it to. I'll let you know the Hyuga clan will tear you down piece by piece Hinata. Just like they did to your father. They really hurt him to keep him in line, but I have faith with the proper guidance you can achieve that goal Hinata."
Hinata's mind drifted to the day she was kidnapped. She could imagine that she was the one to ruin her father's dream. She was a main branch Hyuga that was kidnapped and couldn't defend herself. She was what the argument was and she proved people right.
Maybe that is why her father shunned her. Was angry with her all the time, because she was the solid foundation that ruined his dream.
Tsunade watched Hinata take a shaky breath before her lips became tight and she nodded her head. It was hollow and she could tell something dark within Hinata was causing her to sink into anger. "You see right there. The dark veins starting to appear. Look as they come out from her wrists and expand to her hand, fingers and how it keeps spreading."
Naruto looked at the clouded look in Hinata's eyes and could tell her mind was in a dark place. "She's thinking about when she was kidnapped. What you said connected to the day she was taken by Cloud Village. She's from the main family and couldn't defend herself…but we talked about this before Hinata. You were too young."
Hinata looked at Naruto and furrowed her brows together. They did talk about it. Right now she was finding it really hard to get over this emotion though. Hinata looked at her hands and looked how the dark chakra expanded to her fingernails and painted them black. She then looked at Kakashi confused.
Help me.
Kakashi scrunched his brows in thought before he started to understand what was happening. "The dark chakra is feeding off her emotions. Manipulating it? To turn into a fit of rage."
Tsunade nodded her head. "Yes. Whatever dark thought or urge runs through Hinata, the chakra Orochimaru put in her amplifies it. The kidnapping wasn't her fault, but the dark chakra feeds off the guilt still present and makes her believe differently. It'll eventually turn that guilt and sadness to malice and hate. She'll turn rabid and unstable if she cannot get ahold of her emotions. Hinata. Is there anything else you can remember Orochimaru saying to you during your encounter with him?"
Even though it was hard to listen to Tsunade at the moment Hinata still tried to concentrate on Tsunade words. She looked off it thought, remembering frame by frame everything that happened. The black veins sprouting onto her face now.
"Let's have some fun shall we? Let's see how honorable of a Hyuga you can be like this."
"He said, 'let's see how honorable of a Hyuga you can be like this.' What does that mean?"
Hinata looked at Tsunade who had her head tilted as she stared at Hinata. Studying her. "As a Hyuga. A lot of your training and focal point is controlling your emotions and being precise. As of right now, how much of what I said did you hear over the dark voices in your head that's urging you to kill something."
Sasuke looked at Hinata and his eyes widened when he saw her shaking her head. Like she was trying to blink away something she was imagining. Like she was trying to free her mind of something. Naruto looked on in concern and could see Hinata had drifted away mentally from the room. "Hinata?"
She didn't answer Naruto. Hinata could barely understand what Tsunade asked her. "Y-You said I should kill something. Right? W-What do you want me to kill?"
"Shit." Jiraiya mumbled this as he watched what was going on. Tsunade looked over at him and nodded her head.
"Kind of similar to the symptoms of a curse mark. Except Orochimaru didn't want the Uchiha to lose his fucking mind. Then he couldn't try to take his body. He wants Sasuke to grow strong, but he wanted Hinata to crumble completely. I don't understand the point in slowly breaking down her mind like this. However, the closer Orochimaru is, the more control he has over the curse mark and this dark chakra he imbedded in Hinata. He can control the pain she's in and the insanity she feels. Right now I'm guessing Orochimaru is close, but he has no desire to cause her pain right now. Just insanity."
All to break Sasuke's will even more.
Jiraiya walked up towards Hinata and looked at her as she continued to try to shake off the dark chakra that was surging through her. He pulled out a kunai and slowly cut the inside of his hand. When the dark red blood started to freely leak, he held it to Hinata's face.
Blood lust kicked in for her.
Like a ragging animal her head snapped to the smell and sniffed. The black veins pulsated on her face as she activated her Byakugan and sharply lunged at him.
Tsunade grabbed Hinata with one hand and threw her harshly on the examination bed and pinned her down. "Alright now. Just a little blood lust Hinata. Nothing to get crazy about. Calm down. You hear me. Calm down now."
Hinata stopped resisting, but the veins did not recede. Tsunade frowned at this. "She's binding time. The dark chakra has been eating at her regular chakra for too long. At this point it just lays doormat until Hinata reaches a weakened mental state. Right now it's preying. I say 'IT', because by no means should you relate this to actually being Hinata. This is all Orochimaru's doing."
Tsunade watched as Naruto and Sasuke walked over to Hinata's side. Sasuke held Hinata's chin and rotated it so she was facing him. Her eyes were growing a darker gray. Gone was the lavender color. He looked up at Tsunade for a second before he leaned over to whisper in Hinata's ear.
"I told Naruto not to listen to that stupid fox and I'm telling you not to listen to those stupid voices. You're better than this." Sasuke leaned up and looked at Hinata.
Her brows were furrowed together in confusion. Conflicted on whether to listen to Sasuke or the voices still dominating in her head. Sasuke frowned at this. His eyes started to bleed red as he looked at Hinata with his Sharingan.
Sasuke did know from working with Hinata, that if she tried hard enough with her Byakugan, she could resist the Sharingan depending on what level the Sharingan and Byakugan was. At this moment, since Hinata has had her dōjutsu for longer and has been practicing with it longer. She could resist his Sharingan.
That was if she really wanted to.
Sasuke frowned as he stared down at Hinata. "Stop resisting." Hinata frowned at him and felt Naruto take a hold of her hand. She could feel him rubbing her hands soothingly and slowly but surely the voices started to fade away.
She knew she could trust Naruto and Sasuke. The two never made her feel otherwise. Hinata nodded her head as she looked at Sasuke. "Okay."
With that said, everything went black for her.
Sasuke closed his eyes as he completed his task at putting Hinata to sleep. Naruto picked her hand up and noticed the veins start to recede and fade away. "How do we fix this?"
Tsunade looked up at Naruto as he asked such an open ending question. "First of all. Kudos to you two for getting her to surrender to you. At this point she's like a wild animal that is untamable. Remember Orochimaru said 'let's see how honorable of a Hyuga you can be like this'. Meaning his goal was to make her an animal. Take away her honor as a Hyuga and to have her shamed. At first I was clueless why he did this. Now I see. If he can control Hinata, maybe he can use that as leverage to get Sasuke to leave Konoha."
It was obvious now. The three teammates fell in love with one another. This should NOT be happening.
Tsunade gave Sasuke and Naruto both a disapproving look, "You three are playing with fire. It's obvious the connection you have with your teammate. Strike one, and I am telling you from personal experience, this could all lead to complete heartache. Hinata may not voice it, but she is too dependent on you two. I just witnessed it. She's strong, but mentally she is too attached. Strike two, and I'll just say strike three because it needs to stop."
Jiraiya intervened because he knew Tsunade was too personal when it came down to this. Having been burned and hurt from losing family and loved ones to the life of being a ninja. However, the utter anger and retaliation Naruto and Sasuke had on their faces meant this wasn't going to end well. Last thing he needed was Tsunade putting her God son through a hole in a wall for talking back to her.
"Hey, hey. We get it. Key reason why these two are coming with me after the Chunin exams. We'll give lady Hinata plenty of time to grow on her own and not need these guys for emotional support. That being said, that isn't saying they wouldn't find each other again after the boys come back."
Tsunade gave Jiraiya a harsh look and he held his hands up in a helpless manner. "What can I say? You know I've always been a sucker for romance."
Naruto was trying to hold his annoyance in as much as possible, and was slowly losing. "Again. How do we fix this? Can it be fixed? Can her dad like…never find out about this?!" That would be ideal for Naruto. If they could get control over this before Hiashi got wind of it.
Tsunade stopped glaring at Jiraiya and looked at Naruto. "It can be TAMMED. Yes, that can happen. Everyday work. Away from you and Uchiha. On her own. I'll work with her. She needs to handle the blood lust independently. She has potential, but she is a weak-minded person. She still heavily lets things out of her control bother her. I brought up her father and immediately knew that was a trigger point and kept poking until I received what I wanted from her. It's too easy for Hinata to fall victim and snap in front of an opponent at this point."
Tsunade looked at Sasuke and then back to Hinata, "The curse mark can be contained with a seal. It'll still take the holder to have will power over it, but the seal Kakashi put on you Sasuke makes it easier for you to fight against it. This is in Hinata's blood. It's in her chakra networks already and has consumed her. It lays doormat for an opportunity to take over her. Hinata doesn't have the time to contain, control and understand it like Sasuke. She's in damage control right now because it's already taken over, now she has to skip the contain and understanding part. She just needs to control this so it doesn't control her."
Kakashi looked over at Hinata and saw how she looked perfectly fine right now. "It still boggles me. She's like this 99% of the time. She's been like this for two weeks. Out of the two weeks I've only seen her lose control a little and she was able to immediately get ahold of herself. This is when Naruto and Sasuke aren't around. They were both training with Jiraiya-sama."
Tsunade smirked at Kakashi. "You didn't notice when I had Hinata pinned on the bed. I told her to calm down and I made it clear I wasn't letting her go until she calmed down. She did stop moving. She 'listened', but that wasn't Hinata. The veins didn't recede. Hinata wasn't in control yet. That meant the dark chakra was preying. Binding it's time. Scoping who is an easy target or not. It's a good thing she's not back in the Hyuga home because the dark chakra could have easily checked out all the easy prey around the household and went on a killing spree."
Kakashi was finally starting to understand. "So, you're saying the dark chakra is there 24/7 and Hinata has just been working in overtime to contain it? The only reason it doesn't let itself evident around me, Naruto or Sasuke is because of the power scale difference? We dominated it?"
Tsunade nodded her head. "Exactly. This THING in Hinata is a hunter. Purely animal instincts. It's in hunting mode all the time and when blood is introduced it goes into berserk mode. She completely loses it and can't hear or think. However, just like any animal, it knows when an alpha is around and when to attack. I told it to calm down, so it did. Still on alert though from the blood around it. Sasuke told it to stop resisting and Naruto was around touching it as well. So it completely went doormat again until another opportunity arises. Hinata has to become dominate like everyone else for the dark chakra to respect her and let it control it. Otherwise it'll eat her alive."
Jiraiya placed his hand on Kakashi's shoulder and grinned. "Don't feel bad for her though. Technically speaking, all your students are in the same boat. Nine tails, lays doormat until the opportunity to take over Naruto's body comes up. The cursed seal of heaven, lays doormat until Sasuke feeds into it. Which by the way, is more often than not. This dark chakra. Lays doormat until Lady Hinata cannot contain her dark emotions any longer. All these situations, the holder is not free of it just because it is not showing. It's still there. Binding it's time."
Kakashi looked over at Jiraiya and scowled. Did he really have to dampen the mood even more by saying that? "Thanks… Jiraiya-sama. Just, thanks."
Jiraiya smirked and laughed at this. "No need to beat yourself up over this! What's done is done. We'll work on it, and make sure these three are in tip top shape for the Chunin exams and life afterwards."
Tsunade waved the males in the room off. "You all can leave now. I'll be dropping Hinata off at your home Hatake every night around 9ish. If I don't drop her off tonight, just know she's in a little cottage me and Shizune are staying in. It has plenty of space for Hinata and it means she had a rougher day than usual, but just know I have her under control."
While this was fine with Sasuke to hear, Naruto wasn't happy in the slightest. "So, we can't see her this whole time? Not even visits?" Tsunade shot Naruto an annoyed look. This kid wasn't humble like his father at ALL. "I said scram kid. At least try to be respectful like your father."
Naruto frowned and fired back immediately, "My name is Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. I'm not a Namikaze. Apparently I wasn't any good to get that name. Stop talking to me like I'm some useless kid. By the way, you and Pervy Sage have to be the worse God Parents known to man."
Tsunade brows lifted in amusement and her hands immediately balled into fists. "Oh, is that so? Maybe you didn't deserve the last name Namikaze because of the childish entitlement you have? Brat."
Naruto ignored the stares Kakashi and Sasuke were giving him to shut the hell up. "You don't even know me…Granny." The last thing Naruto remembered was Jiraiya sighing and mumbling his name.
"Two days and you are still nursing that black eye. I guess she really is a Sannin like Orochimaru and Jiraiya. You didn't immediately healed from it."
Naruto shot Sasuke an annoyed look as the two were sitting in the barbeque restaurant and Naruto was currently nursing a raw, cold piece of beef over his eye. It wasn't as bad as it was two days ago when Tsunade initially knocked him through a wall, so that was a plus. "Fuck you teme."
Sasuke arched his brow in amusement before he started to cook some meat for him and Naruto. "Are you going to be like this around your God parents all the time?" Naruto gave him a bland look before taking the meat off his eye. It was just slightly dark around his eye now. It looked like it was from practice now instead of looking like someone was trying to kill him.
"Alright Sasuke. God parents? Jokes gone too far." Naruto looked sour as he put the meat he was nursing on the grill.
"14 years Sasuke. I get it. I'm young, but I'm supposed to be okay with 14 years of them being absent. 14 years of my own father's student, my sensei being in the village and ignoring me. I get Kakashi had his own stuff going on, but not even a fucking 'Hi'. I don't want to hear 'get over it. They're here now.' In reality if this were you or anyone else, they'd be pissed. Yet, I'm supposed to kiss their ass because they can help me now."
Sasuke was quiet for a moment as he continued to cook the meat. "No one is saying to grovel to them. They are legendary sannin and deserve respect in their own right. I get why you're angry. I would be angry too."
"Exactly! And you hold grudges way longer than I do!" Sasuke shot Naruto a heated glare for the unnecessary jab. Naruto held his hands up in a manner saying he didn't mean it and for Sasuke to continue.
"Naruto. As I get older and I meet more people. I've learned it's important to hear people out. Read the signs. You should get to know those two before you write them off. What drove them away from Konoha. There connection with your parents that even gave them the title of your God parents. From what I hear, those two were the students of the third Hokage. Along with Orochimaru."
Naruto slumped in his booth and sulked, "I don't care." Sasuke grew quiet and gave Naruto a look that said he was running low of patience. Naruto still looked off to the side and tried to stall Sasuke and his mean looks out.
Naruto lost and he ended up looking back at Sasuke and couldn't take the silence. "Okay. Okay. You win. I'll try. I promise."
Sasuke was still silent as he looked at Naruto. When the food was complete, Sasuke silently divided between the two of them. This was killing Naruto. It was worse enough Hinata wasn't around, but now Sasuke was pissed at him. "I'm sorry. Seriously I am."
Finally Sasuke looked back up at Naruto. "I'm just trying to help you. Stop being so stubborn." Naruto blushed at this and nodded his head in understanding. This seemed to be good enough for Sasuke and the two went on to eat their food. It was no fun eating out and having time together when Hinata wasn't around. It almost felt like they were losing her. Naruto was slowly losing his appetite the more he thought about her.
"I miss Hinata."
Naruto looked over at Sasuke when he felt Sasuke nudge his foot from under the covered table. So no one could see the interaction. "I know, but she needs this. Besides, you coddle her too much."
Naruto looked up at Sasuke with an amused look. He coddles her too much? They were talking like an old married couple already. "I what? Ha-ha! No I don't. How?"
Sasuke looked up at Naruto just as amused. "All she has to do is look at you with those big eyes of hers. The ones that look like they are about to cry, but she never ends up crying. It's all a ploy to get you to do what she wants. Those eyes. She's been giving you those eyes since we were assigned on team seven and you've been falling for those eyes for over a year Naruto."
Naruto blinked in thought. Now that he thought about it, Hinata never really cried. Unless she was in pain or something close to that. He laughed at this. Not too loud, but enough to show he was whole heartedly amused.
"I guess you're right! She's so cute though. She gets me every time." He bit his bottom lip as he continued to think about Hinata. Fuck man did he miss her.
Sasuke looked at Naruto for a bit before looking away. He felt bad for him. Naruto wasn't able to control his sensitivity like Sasuke could. Naruto found people that ideally cared about him and wanted him in their life and now one of them was taken away.
"We all need the help, but we can admit it Naruto. Hinata cannot. She could be sitting there with voices screaming in her head for an hour and never say anything to us because she doesn't want to be a burden. This Tsunade lady seems like she'll get Hinata to open up more."
Naruto looked at the food and concluded he couldn't eat anymore. He barely ate because of the last few days were distracting him so much. "Can we pack this up? Go to your place?" Sasuke nodded his head and found the server to ask for to go boxes. As they paid and boxed their food up, they left the restaurant.
While walking down the street Naruto looked up at the evening sky. The sun was setting and some warm air was starting to blow into his face. It was still humid outside, but it felt better the darker it became. "So. I've been thinking."
"Nothing good comes from that." Sasuke looked down the road as he replied to Naruto. He couldn't help himself but make this light jab to Naruto. Since Naruto was plucking his nerves earlier.
Naruto rolled his eyes as he stuck his hands in his pockets. "Seriously. Listen." Sasuke sighed and looked at Naruto, showing he was listening and to go on. "So. Hinata does good right? Granny works some magic and gets Hinata to control the dark chakra. Me and you leave. Like…for how long? Months? Years? What's gonna happen then? Is Hinata gonna wait for us? Can she wait for us?"
Sasuke sighed as he listened to Naruto. "I told you. Nothing good comes when you start thinking."
Naruto frowned as he looked over at Sasuke. "I'm serious Sasuke. I'm scared."
The two had walked and ended up outside of Sasuke's apartment. Sasuke leaned his back against his front door as he looked at Naruto. He's been thinking the same thing. Sasuke had his life planned. He had the people in his life planned, just for things to end up like this. He was too invested now to detach himself from Naruto or Hinata.
He loved them. He hasn't admitted it yet like Naruto has to Hinata, but again. Sasuke had plans on when to do everything.
Sasuke ran his hand through his hair as he looked at Naruto. The blonde invaded his space and Sasuke let Naruto place his hands on his hips. Sasuke was slightly annoyed with this, because again. Naruto only does this when he is sure they are all alone.
"I think the same thing you think Naruto. I don't want to lose Hinata…or you." Sasuke reached behind him and unlocked his front door so the two could have privacy.
When they were inside Sasuke shut the door and locked it. When he turned around he could see all the insecurities on Naruto's face. Sasuke sighed to himself and reached behind him and took off his forehead protector. He then took his sandals off and dressed down so he was just in his white shirt and shorts.
He was just Sasuke right now. Teenage Sasuke that was fresh and new to the world, talking to teenage Naruto that was showing he was scared. Just like Naruto didn't push Sasuke away during his most vulnerable moment, Sasuke wouldn't push Naruto away.
"I don't want this to be something we grow older and say was 'young love'. I had plans Naruto and those plans included Hinata and you."
Naruto looked at Sasuke and followed suit. He removed his forehead protector and sandals. Dressing down to hist black shirt and pants. They were having an honest and open conversation. They were making future plans and promises to each other and this needed to be handled with care. "So, what are we going to do?"
Naruto started to blink rapidly to control his emotions and looked away from Sasuke. "Because just…just THINKING that I'm going to leave and come back years later to a Hinata that has no FEELINGS for me. It's driving me NUTS Sasuke."
Sasuke looked to be in thought as he watched Naruto, "Tell her then Naruto."
Naruto gave Sasuke an appalled look. "You talk like it's just ME that feels this way. So is it?! Am I just being some little bitch here that needs to get ahold of my nuts or something?! You tell me Sasuke!"
Sasuke shook his head. Patient as he looked at Naruto. "No. You're not. I said that already. I said I don't want to lose you or Hinata. I said I don't want this to be just temporary. What more do you want me to say Naruto?"
Naruto sighed in frustration and went to grab his jacket. He was going to leave. He felt like Sasuke was being condescending and wasn't really listening to him. Naruto felt like he was exposing himself to a brick wall. "I don't know! Stop talking to me like that. Like I'm annoying you or something!"
Sasuke walked up to Naruto and grabbed his arm. "Just. Stop." Naruto shrugged Sasuke off and gave him a heated look, but soon stopped when he saw the pained look on Sasuke's face.
Sasuke looked hurt. Like what Naruto said really bothered him. His eyes were wide with the same fear Naruto expressed he had and emotions Sasuke kept bottled up was starting to ooze out. "Just. Stop Naruto. Please."
Naruto put his jacket back down and looked at Sasuke. He let out a sigh and realized he was being a hot head again. He just wanted Sasuke to express himself the same way he was expressing himself, but Naruto had to learn that two hot heads wasn't a good formula.
Sasuke wasn't the same as Naruto. He couldn't be open all the time like Naruto. It was hard for him. "Sorry Sasuke."
Naruto hugged Sasuke. He was the one in the wrong here. It was just Naruto's insecurities taking over. Naruto was terrified of losing Hinata and Sasuke. "If I talk to Hinata. Will you do it with me?" He felt Sasuke nod his head in agreement and let out a sigh in relief.
Naruto smiled as he thought about their situation. "Why do we always argue? Especially when Hinata isn't here."
Sasuke actually laughed at this. He returned Naruto's hug before the two settled on sitting on Sasuke's couch. "It's a love language."
End of chapter!
I titled this chapter 'Love Language' because Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke all have their own love language. Naruto talks and is hands on affectionate. Hinata silent and gentle. Gift giving and tries her best not to burden her loved ones. Sasuke, protector 24/7. Silent and feels the need to be a rock foundation for Naruto and Hinata. Sometimes their love language gets misinterpreted.
Also, PLEASE pay attention to what Tsunade told Hinata about Hiashi and the caged bird seal. That was a foreshadow. (I don't want to spoil anymore with that)
See you guys Wednesday!