SENSE
"What have you found so far other than what we already know, Shizune?" the First Lady asked. Tsunade had been working day and night, finding sources, written journals, folklores and legends, and even interviewed Taiyou Iyasu multiple times, just to be able to grasp how the Locked Souls curse started.
There was a hint of frustration in Tsunade's tone because of the lack of information regarding the curse. Somehow the First Lady believed if they could crack this damnation open, many things hidden from the past that were haunting them in the present can be stopped.
… for instance like the pursuit of Konoha's destruction led by Sasuke, and possibly manipulated by Uchiha Madara.
"I have gathered information from other villages regarding this. They all said they have seen this curse before, too." Shizune added, "And that it might be the reason why Tobirama Senju could create the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu."
"I don't understand how they're connected," Tsunade quickly responded, unable to register what she heard.
"Through the binding of living souls, another layer of dimension apparently opened to the possibility of binding the soul of a deceased person to a living vessel," Shizune explained as she read the explanation out from a scroll, a copy of what had been mailed to them from other villages, "when two living souls are bound to each other, they become one, creating a vacancy… for the dead."
"And Hinata, you have reason to believe that Madara is plotting to create the 'Perfect World' by manipulating the dimensions that are available by…?" she said, pausing for Hinata to complete her sentence, who happened to be in the office doing everything she can to solve their urgent problem.
"According to the conversations I've overheard, by possessing the Rinnegan and the Gedo Statue. Which, he successfully had done." The heiress responded, confident with her intel.
Tsunade leaned back to her chair, releasing a sigh. "I have an assumption."
Both Hinata and Shizune turned to look at the First Lady, placing the scrolls they've spent hours deciphering down on the desk, their attention fully focused to their leader.
"Every tragic death between couples I've seen so far were all because of the Locked Souls curse. This is also how I lost my partner, Dan Katō." Tsunade grabbed the necklace she had given him before his death, "I gave him this with my chakra in it, and it would glow whenever I'm close to him."
Hinata found it astonishing how she was never truly alone in this situation. The heiress' eyes were focused on the Hokage, surprised after every explanation.
"He passed away shortly after, even though he had always wanted to be Hokage," Tsunade would say, her voice softer before regaining its composure, "and after his death, something big happened. And I find that to be the trend here. It seems that you and Sasuke are locked for the purpose of what I fear to be the Fourth Shinobi World War."
Whatever food Hinata had swallowed that made her feel full and nourished went away from her system, because she felt like dying from the inside. Wars never end pretty, even when a side might win. And if what Tsunade said was true, when that day comes, they will lose their memories of each other completely.
"Although I find it odd that I never could forget Dan, maybe the fates decided cruelty should be upon me, or that living with the memory of him in me was what kept the fates moving until it could fulfill itself through you and Sasuke," another sigh from Tsunade, "I sound like a fucking storyteller, but this is the closest we've gotten so far. I'm afraid we'll never be able to tackle its true origin. It's too vague."
Hinata felt heaviness fall upon herself which made it necessary for her to find a seat for herself. The thought of forgetting the Uchiha was too much for her to bear, and she's gotten to the point where she was desperate to find alternatives to save Konoha with hopes that she gets to be with him even after all this.
"Uchiha Madara reincarnated through the Impure World Reincarnation… so if we fulfill the vacancies by canceling the Locked Soul curse, maybe everything he's worked very hard to achieve might stop for good." Shizune added.
"Great observation. However, we're still nowhere when it comes to breaking the curse." The Hokage said. Silence fell upon the room as the three women tried their hardest to solve the missing piece to a whole puzzle in front of them.
"I'm beginning to think that he's manipulating the Locked Soul curse… by driving Sasuke's hatred," Tsunade said, talking to herself as she ran her fingers through her blonde hair.
"I might just have a hint for the curse's existence here, written in a 200 year old journal," Shizune said, carefully examining the piece, "mailed to us from Hoshigakure."
Tsunade looked as if hope dawned upon her being, and the same was felt for Hinata. The Hokage sat up straight, waiting for her apprentice to begin reading.
"It's said here that a strange meteor hit the village 200 years ago. It seemed like it was a normal occurrence and they've never really thought of it more than what it was at face value. The meteorite emitted—"
"Insane amount of supernatural chakra." Said Tsunade, cutting off Shizune. "We all know that, though."
"Yes, but here, it says; …some may declare as a blessing from the heavens, yet the Fates were cruel. For us to inherit supernatural chakras, the rest of the rest of the world was destined to a curse that will alter the course of history: the Locked Souls."
"Did they inherit the Locked Soul curse as well?" Hinata asked.
Shizune shook her head as a response, "It also says here that they were free from it, when the rest of the world had to fill in the gap from what they've asked the Fates to bless them with."
"And to that, their curse would be the intense radiation eating up their insides." Tsunade added.
"Is it fair to say that it is a c-cure?" Hinata asked, her heart feeling a degree of sadness unknown to herself.
Tsunade and Shizune glanced at the heiress, their faces held an expression saying that they both knew where Hinata was going with her question. And yet they waited for her to continue. Understanding the atmosphere in the room, Hinata continued,
"I've come to really… love him."
"Is it true love when the cosmos forced you into it? Don't you think your sudden change of heart is a sign you've been coerced into loving Sasuke?" Tsunade asked.
Hinata found those questions very difficult to answer. The heiress fidgeted, her fingers hugged each other as if her whole being would fall apart if they didn't.
"I personally think that there might be a possibility that we won't truly forget each other." Hinata said, avoiding the Hokage's question.
Tsunade raised her brow, intrigued by Hinata's assumption.
"We should write all of this down. Who knows, we might need it someday."
"It would be everyone's best interest for you two to completely forget each other. The damage done by your secret encounters have placed the Hyūga clan into a difficult position." Tsunade remarked.
She wasn't wrong. Hinata had seen moments where her father had to meet prominent people to have difficult conversations about her incident with the rogue ninja. The heiress didn't blame the people around her but herself. And yet, she felt like she was physically dying the more she was away from Sasuke. Or maybe… she should have just died? Sometimes she felt like thinking about everything that happened would make her brain implode.
"I'm going to need you to meet with Sasuke one last time," Tsunade added.
"W-Why?"
"I'm not sure how you'll do being depleted of so much energy before the curse' final show," she replied, "I wouldn't want you to die."
Hinata's migraines were back, and they were three times worse, and if she'd go another 24 hours without seeing Sasuke, she would be in danger. "I will look for him today."
Tsunade nodded, resting her chin on the palm of her hand. "Now to stop Madara… my head hurts just thinking about it."
"Teams are ready and parameters are sealed. We have intel saying they will reach Konoha before dawn." Shizune said. Hinata glanced at the clock hanging above Tsunade, and it struck exactly midnight. They had been researching and planning for 12 hours.
"You should go and meet Sasuke, by the looks of it, he isn't far off. And I'm pretty sure you know where he is by now." Tsunade said, glancing at Hinata.
Just one second of awareness of her beloved, she could already feel his movements coming towards Konoha. Hinata nodded at the First Lady before standing from her chair to leave the office. As the heiress walked away, Shizune said to the Hokage, "Are you going to be okay, Lady Tsunade?"
The Hokage was staring at the necklace in her hand, letting out a soft sigh, as if gathering bravery for whatever unknown tragedies befalling them shortly.
"I will be."
—
Sasuke and his team were moving fast, not wasting any time as he was eager to reach his destination faster than the sun's intention to rise. Being away from Hinata 2 weeks didn't affect his strength. He was more worried how it would be for the Hyūga, since the timespan of durability would shorten… especially now that they've completed their unison.
It somehow angered Sasuke knowing that it took them faster than expected. He had absolutely know idea that when they both admitted their feelings to each other, it expedited the process. The Fates were cruel to involve their hearts into this, especially knowing they'll forget each other soon. Possibly in a few hours.
Something within him came alive when his chakra sensed Hinata's from a few miles away. A smirk formed on his face, knowing his possession is about to approach him. He slowed his pace, which made his team mirror the same speed.
"Boss?" Karin asked, "What's slowing you down?"
Sasuke didn't answer, nor did he feel the need to. The more he felt Hinata's presence getting closer, Sasuke stopped his whole team from their travels. Karin glanced at Suigetsu for answers, knowing that he understood Sasuke the most in the last few months. The white hair whispered, "The Hyūga princess is approaching."
It was fair to say that only Suigetsu recognized what Hinata looked like, since Sasuke made it so for the rest of the team to be away from the two. Yet it would be a lie to say that the Taka team wasn't interested in what the heiress looked like. What kind of woman could have made Sasuke so distracted?
Hinata's presence was spotted from a few meters away, and the red glow of her necklace was visible. The more she walked closer to Sasuke, the brighter the orb gets. The heiress stood a few steps away from Sasuke, and as they stood face to face, Karin would shoot glances to Suigetsu, whispering as well, "A Hyūga?!"
Suigetsu nodded, replying, "I know right."
"That's how strong her chakra is? I thought the Fates would decide someone else for Sasuke."
The white-haired sidekick shook his head, "These two might be the strongest in our wold right now. Their unison was that important that Sasuke got stronger by the minute. The heiress just doesn't know her own strength."
Karin sighed, whispering a final reply, "I think our leader doesn't know his true strength either these days."
Hinata took a few seconds to look at Sasuke's team, nodding at Suigetsu as he was the only one she recognized. Sasuke could see how worried she was getting, possibly because of the anxiety piquing within her of what he might do to Konoha. Yet, the Uchiha was more concerned about how she was doing physically.
"Migraines?" He asked, straight to the point.
"Y-Yes, as always." She replied.
The Uchiha walked closer to Hinata, his hand reaching to touch her cheek, as if checking her temperature. He knew upon skin contact, her headache would lessen, and his theory was proven by the look on her face; relief.
Karin watched the two in shock, knowing the curse was real, but never really saw it unfold in front of her. She nudged Suigetsu with her elbow, whispering to the man again, "How is this even possible?"
Suigetsu rolled his eyes, "As if I'm going to explain all of this to you now. Idiot."
Sasuke kept his eyes focused on Hinata, pretending his team wasn't even around them, even though they were and that they were watching them intently. A wave of peace came over him as he touched her face, and a heat of desire wanted to control his composed nature. He wanted her all to himself for a while longer.
"You're heading towards Konoha, aren't you?"
Sasuke nodded.
"Why?" Hinata asked, pain entering her gaze.
"To protect it." He said.
Those eyes that harbored pain widened in shock, "W-What? Protect it?"
"I did all my research to uncover the truth. I found that all I've done was … a waste." He said, caressing her cheek, and then her hair. "And if the Fates want me to destroy Konoha, and if that led me to forget you, then maybe if I did the opposite, I'll still have you with me."
Karin turned her gaze to Suigetsu with disbelief, almost comical. She didn't whisper, but she mouthed, "Is this really Sasuke?!" Suigetsu could only facepalm, trying his best to avoid Karin because he tried to take notes of what was happening in front of him.
But Hinata's hope-filled eyes began be blanketed with tears, a smile appearing on her face.
"So go back to Konoha, tell Tsunade, I've come to side with the Allied Shinobi."
His words must have been healing ointment to Hinata's heart, because it was very shortly after his sentence that she lunged forward to wrap her arms around the man. She definitely wanted to ugly cry, but people were around, and she needed to stay calm. Sasuke welcomed the embrace, his arms found their way around her and he rested his chin on the top of her head.
He wasn't even sure if what he assumed was true, but it didn't hurt to try everything he could to see her okay, to ensure her wellbeing, with or without him. Sasuke leaned closer to the side of her face, making sure his lips were close enough to her ear, and he said,
"I'll see you later."
Hinata's eyes released more tears, creating a patch of wetness on his cloak. She whispered back to him, "See you later."
After having a good cry, and her migraine disappearing completely, she let go of the man, knowing that there was urgency for her to head back to Konoha. She tried to dry her eyes and was caught off-guard when Sasuke did so instead. He didn't have a smile on his face, but his eyes reflected peace. And from there, Hinata knew they'd be okay.
"I might have to fix many things I've caused damage to," Sasuke said.
"I'll be waiting. Come to me when you're ready." Hinata quickly said, as assurance. That was when she finally saw a small smile from the man. And she kind of liked it on him.
Hinata bowed to the rest of the team after her short encounter with Sasuke. A wave to the Uchiha was needed, and she finally turned to travel back to Konoha. Sasuke kept his eyes on her, making sure she disappeared from sight to give Konoha a few minutes' head-start.
"Madara is close." The Uchiha said to his team.
"He will be arriving in an hour." Suigetsu added.
"We should continue after a few more minutes," Sasuke began, "I hope Tsunade can readjust in a such a short time to welcome us." He had said, turning around to look at his team.
"Hey, boss," Suigetsu interrupted the thought, "I'm curious."
Sasuke looked at his sidekick, waiting for Suigetsu to continue. The white haired finished writing down a sentence, an account of the Uchiha's encounter with the Hyūga heiress. "How do you know you won't forget each other by siding with Konoha?"
The ex rogue ninja turned away from his team to begin his journey, "I don't."