Five
Two days. For two days Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura had been locked in their thoughts. For two days they'd been alone, replaying anxieties, worries and endless moments of sadness. Locked up like this, each of them dreaded Saturday. It was a day that felt like the end of a chapter. It meant the end of a great love for Sakura, the end of her life as a maiden for Hinata, and strangely enough, a new beginning for Sasuke.
For Sasuke, this marriage was like a rebirth. But the young man was not romantic about it; it was a marriage of convenience. But it was a marriage that would allow him to move on, and resume his life, the one that had been interrupted when he was seven and his clan had been massacred. This didn't stop the young boy from feeling a little apprehensive about Saturday. What worried him most was being the center of attention. He couldn't bear to have pairs of eyes fixed on him, but being the groom, he couldn't deviate from that. And then, above all, there would be the moment when he would be alone with her. Would she start crying? Would she scream, beg? Should he tell her to be quiet? Make her understand that she no longer had a say in the matter and that she was now the wife of the head of the Uchiha clan?
"The Uchiha clan" thought Sasuke bitterly as he arranged his desk. Even though the council and the Hokage had promised him that his clan counted just as much as the others, Sasuke knew very well that this was not the case. His clan hadn't been one since the fateful day when Konoha had decided to massacre all its own people. Returning the Uchiha neighborhood and property to Sasuke was nothing more than social decorum. A way of pretending everything was normal. And Sasuke couldn't stand this nonchalance. Kakashi knew what had really happened with Itachi. But nothing had been done to restore the honor of the ninja most loyal to the village of Konoha. Sasuke was sick of it. No one had been punished, no one had been made aware that a veritable genocide had been organized underhandedly by Konoha's leaders. Itachi Uchiha and all his family had lost their honor, and Sasuke could never give it back. All he wanted now was to rebuild his clan and live some semblance of a normal life. That was all he could do.
It was a knock on his front door that brought the young Uchiha out of his thoughts. Who could have come to disturb him? Was his future wife still prey to certain worries, he wondered, thinking back to their last meeting. He had nevertheless been impressed by the girl's guts. She had dared to come to him to discuss such a sensitive subject. She didn't really seem afraid of him, which was also a good thing. Sasuke stepped out of his office and immediately felt the chakra of his former teammate. "What does she want from me?" thought Sasuke, sighing. Despite his annoyance, the young man went to open the door anyway.
Sakura stood upright in front of her door, both arms at her sides. Her complexion was waxy and she looked as if she'd been crying for most of the day. Her hair was a mess and she was wearing her ninja doctor's blouse. Sasuke had never found the girl particularly beautiful. But now, for the first time, he found her touching. But he didn't let it show at all.
"What are you doing here?" he finally asked, pursing his lips.
Sakura let out a small hiccup of surprise and lowered her eyes to the ground. The young girl seemed genuinely unable to look her former team-mate in the eye. Since the War, something seemed to have broken inside the young pink-haired ninja.
"I hear you're getting married," she finally whispered in a soft voice.
It was the first time Sasuke had heard such a gentle voice coming from the ninja's mouth. Her voice was always harsh and authoritarian, or on the contrary, pleading and hysterical. Sasuke wasn't used to this soft voice and resigned air. Heaving a sigh, he finally decided to let the girl in. He invited her in and pointed to a chair where she could sit. The girl simply nodded and wordlessly complied. After a few moments of silence, Sasuke decided he'd had enough.
"What do you want, Sakura?" he barked, his eyes flashing.
He couldn't stand being wasted like this. If anyone had anything to say to him, let them. He'd never been a fan of long, ambiguous silences. People spoke, or they left. That was his philosophy.
Sakura looked up at her interlocutor and, for the first time in a long time, really looked at him. She found him changed. His features were harder and his gaze seemed weary. Where before her friend's irises had glowed with hatred, they were now like a dark lake. A limpid lake, without any sparkle. Sasuke's eyes no longer conveyed any emotion. His hair was long, and his head stood even taller than before. The young man had really grown in stature and confidence. He was a man now. A man who was a clan leader and about to be married.
"Why her?" she finally asked, her voice seeming to return to its usual accents.
Of course she wanted to talk about that. She must not have outgrown her childhood crush. Sasuke had never understood the pink-haired girl's feelings for him. They didn't know each other. She didn't know him. She only liked the image she had of him. She loved a Sasuke she idealized. A courageous, flawless Sasuke. She didn't know his past, his weaknesses, his wounds, his traumas. How could she love him? What did she expect, waiting for him like this-especially after everything he'd put her through? He really couldn't understand. Couldn't she understand that he'd never loved her? That he would never love her? And that he'd never-and could never-love anyone that way anyway?
"That's how it is, Sakura," he replied wearily. Seeing the girl's questioning look, he added, It's an arranged marriage".
The girl then stood up and approached Sasuke. The young man could smell the girl's perfume - the scent of red fruit rose to his throat. Sasuke didn't appreciate this proximity at all. But given the girl's condition, he felt that pushing her away might not be the best solution.
"What about me?" she asked, bringing her face close to Sasuke's.
The young Uchiha understood what she was trying to do. Perhaps she thought that by getting so close to him, by this physical proximity, her dreams might come true. But it wasn't going to happen at all as she'd hoped. Sasuke was going to be forced to shatter the girl's dreams.
"She's the one I chose, Sakura," Sasuke replied, pulling away from the girl. You should leave now," he said, indicating the door. And move on," he added, before locking himself in his study without even checking if his former teammate was leaving as he'd asked.
Naruto had never responded to the girl's confession. During Pain's attack on the village of Konoha, Hinata had fought like a lioness. She had protected Naruto at the risk of her own life. And she'd told him why. She'd told him she loved him. She'd told him so. But Naruto hadn't reacted, had never mentioned it, as if none of it had ever happened. Hinata wasn't even sure Naruto had heard her confession. But if he had heard and hadn't said anything since, then he didn't share her feelings, did he? That he didn't love the girl the way she loved him? That she was only a comrade? A sister in arms?
But now that Hinata was getting married. "Tomorrow," she thought with dread. She needed to know. She needed to know what Naruto thought of her before she was locked forever in a loveless marriage. But how could she know? What was to be done? Should she go and ask him outright? At the very thought, the young girl trembled with terror. Hinata lay in bed, lost in thought as the night wore on. The last night of her life as a free woman. This time tomorrow, she would be sharing the bed of the man who would then be her husband. At the mere thought, Hinata let out a hiccup of pain. Why did she have to do this? Why did she have to obey her father and the Elders? Couldn't she lead the life she wanted? Would she ever be free of all these obligations? Or would becoming an Uchiha make everything go back to the way it was? Clan meetings, alliances, protocol...
Hinata suddenly heard a rustle of paper just beyond her bedroom door. She heard a parchment being slipped under her doorstep, and then someone seemed to be running off at full speed. For a moment, Hinata hesitated to use her Byakugan to find out who had done this, but gave up. The person obviously didn't want to be noticed, and Hinata didn't like to intrude on the intimacy of those around her. Hinata then wrapped herself in a silk bathrobe and picked up the parchment. She turned on her bedside lamp and immediately recognized her little sister's youthful handwriting. The note invited Hinata to do what she had been dreading all night.
Go and see him, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life!
Hinata heaved a long sigh, but decided that her sister was right. She needed to know. She really needed to know. So she quickly dressed and discreetly left her room to leave the Hyuuga district. The last thing she wanted was to be spotted. What would people say when they saw the bride-to-be running away from home on the eve of her wedding? She couldn't risk such gossip. Her father would never forgive her, and Sasuke probably wouldn't either. Hinata activated her hereditary attribute and managed to get out of the family district unnoticed. Running at full speed, she headed for the apartment of the man she loved with all her heart. She sped through the streets of Konoha, hope and fear her only fuel. She used her Byakugan to check that the orange-suited ninja was at home. And so it was: the young man was sitting at the table, immersed in a dark-covered book. So sure of this information she deactivated her Dojutsu before stopping just outside her friend's door.
Now that she had arrived, Hinata hesitated, having lost all her ardor and composure. She no longer knew if this was really a good idea. What was she going to say? How could she explain her presence here in the middle of the night? Did he know about her marriage? What did he think? Wa-
Hinata was interrupted in her thoughts by the opening of the front door to Naruto's apartment. "He must have sensed my chakra" she thought embarrassed. The young boy was wearing baggy black pants and a T-shirt emblazoned with the Fire emblem. As always, Hinata found herself petrified of the blond-haired boy. She always lost her nerve when confronted by him, and although she wasn't fainting today, she was still uncomfortable.
Naruto approached the girl and placed his hand on her shoulder. Grabbing her by the waist, he invited her to come inside. Hinata let herself in without saying a word. She had never been inside the young man's apartment. The layout of the room was very simple. A table, a wardrobe, a desk and a bed. The only thing on the desk was a photo of his team's constitution. Nothing betrayed the young man's personality. The apartment seemed truly impersonal, as if no one really lived there.
"Hinata-chan, what's going on?" Naruto asked, genuinely concerned for his friend.
The girl seemed to be on edge-even more so than usual-which surprised Naruto. He knew that the wedding between the girl and Sasuke would take place tomorrow, so he was rather surprised to see her turn up in front of his house on the eve of the wedding. With nothing to offer her, Naruto simply poured the girl a glass of water. Hinata grabbed it and drank it in one gulp.
"Na-Naruto," she finally began, daring to look the blond-haired boy in the eye. Do you remember when Pain attacked the village? she asked, her hands trembling.
Then she bit her lip, embarrassed by his silly question. "Of course he remembers, he did everything he could to save the village from destruction" she thought, annoyed with herself. Yet she forced herself to continue.
"I, I told you something that day," she continued, trying to keep her voice as audible as possible.
Naruto then understood what was happening. The whole scene replayed in his mind. He saw the girl flying to his aid, determined to fight, determined to fight for him. Even at the risk of her own life. And he remembered what she'd told him. Why she was doing this for him, why she was defending him, and why she would do it for the rest of her life. She loved him. Not just as a comrade, not just as a brother in arms. No, she loved him, as a woman might love a man. Like a lioness ready to fight for the one she considered her sun. Naruto had never forgotten what the girl had said to him that day, yet he had never done anything to make her understand that he had understood what she had said. Naruto wasn't ready then. The Akatsuki were still looking for him, Sasuke was still nowhere to be found, and war threatened at any moment. Naruto didn't have time for that. He couldn't think of any romantic feelings when the world he knew threatened to topple into terror.
But even after the end of the war, Naruto still didn't know what to do. He had never really questioned his feelings for Hinata. He'd never wanted to go any further into the introspection of his feelings. And yet that was what Hinata seemed to be asking him tonight. She seemed to be waiting for an answer. An answer that would change nothing in her situation, for she was still to be married the next day.
Naruto couldn't bring himself to give the girl a clear answer. He didn't know how to explain to her that this wasn't what he was looking for. That he wasn't ready for it. That he wasn't sure he'd ever loved anyone that way. Not even Sakura. And that he didn't feel ready for that. He was still far too bruised by too many things, the scars were still too gaping for him to think about that. He had a world to rebuild and a dream to fulfill.
He approached Hinata and gently grasped her hand. He gently caressed her fingers and placed his lips against her forehead. He kissed her gently, trying to instill all the affection he felt for his comrade. To make her understand that it wasn't her fault. That he was the one with the problem. That she should never have loved him in the first place. That she was too good for him. That she deserved to be happy. Naruto really hoped the girl could feel everything he was trying to convey to her through that kiss on the forehead.
"I'm sorry, Hinata," Naruto finally murmured as he pulled away.
Silent tears rolled down the ninja's cheeks. Naruto could almost touch the girl's sadness, hear her heart breaking into many pieces. And it was his fault. But there was nothing more he could do. Only assure her that he would always be her friend, that he would always be by her side, that she would always have his support. But that he would never be who she wanted him to be.
Hinata sniffed then, and spurred on by a sudden surge of courage she stood on tiptoe and stealthily kissed the young man's lips before running off.
At least she'd given him her first kiss, and neither her father nor Sasuke could take that away from her.
Once she was sure she was no longer within sight of Naruto, Hinata stopped running. The tears had stopped flowing and a strange sense of calm had taken hold of her. The young girl seemed to have stopped fighting, to have accepted her fate. She was going to marry Sasuke Uchiha, have children with him, and that was that. This was her life, her destiny, and she had to live with it.
"Did you do what you had to do? "
Hinata immediately recognized Sasuke's voice. He was posted on a tree, like a predator stalking its prey. When he was sure the young girl had noticed his position, he jumped from the tree to find himself right in front of her. The young man stared at her without embarrassment. Hinata had the impression that he could read her like an open book. That he saw everything, knew everything. That he knew what she had just done, said and even thought. And yet this intrusion into her intimacy didn't bother her. No, strangely enough, she found it normal. And even reassuring not to have to hide her emotions for once. To be totally open, and to stop lying and pretending all day long.
Hinata simply nodded, thinking back to the taste of Naruto's lips. She couldn't help blushing at the thought. How had she dared? Where did she get this audacity from?
"You'll have no regrets this way," added Sasuke, brushing a rebellious lock of hair away from his bride's face.
He'd known for a long time that the girl was madly in love with Naruto. Who in the village hadn't realized it? Who in the village hadn't seen the girl gazing at Naruto with admiration-and had done so for years-and love? Who hadn't heard her encourage Naruto with all her might? Who hadn't seen her blush every time a certain blonde-haired ninja was mentioned? When he had first proposed marriage, he had been afraid it would be a problem, but when he saw how obedient the young Hyuuga was, he told himself it wouldn't make any difference in the end.
At first, he hadn't wanted to follow her. He'd simply wanted to see how she'd managed this last night before their wedding. But when he saw that she was leaving the Hyuuga district discreetly, curiosity got the better of him. At a reasonable distance, and taking care to mask his chakra, he followed her. When he saw her heading towards Naruto's apartment, he immediately understood what was going on. So he decided to wait until she came out to see what state she was in.
"I'm-I'm sorry," Hinata murmured, ashamed to have been caught in the act.
It really wasn't behavior worthy of a future wife, let alone the future wife of a prestigious clan leader. She was ashamed of herself, disgusted with herself for being weak like that.
"I've already told you to stop apologizing," sighed Sasuke, grabbing the girl's hand.
Hinata trembled at her future husband's touch, but didn't release her hand. After all, she had to learn to be touched by him. She was to become his wife the next day, the flesh of his flesh, the mother of his children if the Gods so willed. She looked into Sasuke's eyes and thought she saw compassion. As if the young man fully understood her state of mind, as if he were ready to share it, to make it his own.
Hinata then withdrew her hand and stood on tiptoe to kiss her future husband's cheek.
"Good night, Sasuke-san," she murmured before running off into the night.
"Good night Hinata," Sasuke replied softly before disappearing in his turn.