A/N: THIS IS THE BREAKTHROUGH CHAPTER !
FIRST ARC: CHAPTER 8: FATED FIGHT
Hinata kneeled on the wooden floor, her feet bruised with blood oozing out of the gashes on her calves, her eyes stung with prickling pain surging from her forehead. She lifted her head to look up to the blurry faces of people who towered over her, "The seal has been placed." A booming and rough voice talked to the figures surrounding her. Her trembling hand patted on her forehead, the skin was scorching leading to a wince from the fallen princess.
"Bring her son," the familiar pale eyes, surrounded by the wrinkled skin, blared with a fiery hatred.
Hinata yelled, her throat clenched, "No!" Hinata's stumbling figure immediately rose, her posture hunched.
The visceral terror of her nightmare jolted Hinata from her fitful slumber, her body convulsing with each ragged breath. Trembling fingers clawed at the silk sheets as she hauled herself upright, her spine pressing against the cold, unyielding headboard. The weight of her horrific vision bore down upon her chest like a leaden shroud, threatening to suffocate her.
A searing agony pulsed through her veins, setting her blood aflame with each thunderous heartbeat. Despite the chill air, her skin burned as if touched by invisible flames, a contrast to the icy beads of sweat that clung to her forehead, traced the hollows of her cheeks and trickled down the nape of her neck.
She forced herself to swing her shaking legs over the edge of the bed, the wooden floor felt cold under her feverish feet. She hissed as she pushed herself to stand with her protesting limbs, ponderous steps dragged her to the bathroom, and the air rasped in her throat. Standing before her mirror and sink, amidst the noise of an open tap, the loudness of the remnants of her nightmare drowned, offering a moment of respite.
While she brushed, her sunken eyes roamed over her reflection; her skin looked ashen, the web of green and blue veins mapped her neck and chest highlighting the unnatural pallor, her lips were cracked and bruised by the bite of her own teeth, her cheeks were gaunt, hollowed by anguish and the hair was anything but splendid, long but unruly and unkempt.
She splashed the frigid water on her face and let the water cascade down her neck, the droplets snaking beneath the silk gown. A hiss escaped her lips as pain pulsed in her limbs. Her eyes widened suddenly as she was dawned by the horror of an inexplicable anomaly which began to unfold, baffling her, draining whatever colour was left on her. Her expressions muted as the life was leeched out of her.
She squeezed her eyes shut before they flickered open again and stared at her quivering reflection. The black silk was a stranger to her memory, the bareness of her body under the silk unsettled her.
A blur of recollection pierced through the fog of her mind—she was drenched under the cold pour, being pulled by the strong arms encircling her waist like an anchor. Coarse and calloused hands cradling her cheeks, talking to her, "Hinata." The timbre carried a depth, that resonated with only one person. It sounded…like him.
Sasuke.
Her eyes went wide at the realization, at the fragmented images from the night before which coalesced into one blurred picture. And then a thought clicked, Haru. She bolted inside her room, her pace frantic. She clawed at the wooden hinges of the crib.
The crib was empty and the rage, primal and all-consuming unfurled within her. Her face contorted, veins bulging in her neck and around her eyes, the Byakugan peered at him in her living room, rocking the crib in which her son played with a soft toy, blissfully unaware.
Her feet thumped on the creaking steps as she descended downstairs, her fists balled at her side with nails digging crescents into her palms, and her chest churned with the raging flames of frustration and fright engulfing her.
She reached the archway of her living room, heaving with laboured breaths. Her eyes bore into the figure sprawled on the couch draped in black, his hand stretched out to grip the crib and rock it lightly.
She growled, teeth grinding the words, "How dare you, Sasuke!" Her tone was strangled by the sobs choking her throat.
His coal-like eye paired with the purple one drifted towards her. A frown etched on his forehead, his jaw twitched and the obliviousness cloaked his features. As if he is innocent. She mentally grumbled, her frame quaking under the onslaught of the heat from a mere gaze from him. He rose from the couch, glancing back at the crib and then walking with deliberate steps towards her.
Even though her heart crashed at her ribs and the chill wind breezing through the open windows prickled her skin, she stood her ground. Her clenched fists were ready to lash out, despite knowing that her hits barely could scratch him; yet the urge to lash out, to make him feel even a fraction of her pain, was overwhelming.
His dark aura encroached upon her space as he loomed before her, imposing. Her lips parted with accusations dancing on her tongue, yet she held his stare with guarded courage she never thought she possessed any more.
Before her words could spill and scald him, his iron-clad grip on her wrist burned her skin, dragging her to the entrance hallway, nearly causing her to lose her footing.
She stumbled as he released her but regained her balance. She cradled her wrist, probing the skin which tingled with his harsh touch while her eyes melted into his—her brimming accusations countered his questions.
"I am sure you are going to yell at me, attempt to kill me," he spat, "I'd rather have you do that away from the ears of your son."
His eyes were unwavering at her. His body, a study in controlled tension, leaned back against the wall, arms folded across his chest.
Her resolve steeled. The revulsion washed over her, dread filled her nerves as the impending conversation threatened to overwhelm the shaking balance between them.
.
.
Sasuke eyed the girl in front of her, wrestling with the words and aiming to pierce him again, for what? He was unaware of himself. He wondered about the impending fracture that she was going to do on him, on his mindset, on his heart. He braced himself as he sucked in a breath, guarding himself against the blunt throws from the disdain-filled moon eyes staring back at him with nothing but dread and unbridled fury.
"How dare you touch me!" she gritted out a question which rattled the foundations of his guard. His eyes narrowed at her, this was new, he hadn't been prepared for the new angle of attack. Her rage-draped face twisted, her mask slipping just enough for him to peek at the fright etched in the soft lines of her face.
The flickering flame, which had been latent for almost two months, roared to life, "What the hell?" Kiba's insinuations from the dinner replayed in his head, searing the remaining sanity and patience in his mind. He abhorred being blamed for such nonsense; his dignity was in question, even though he didn't deserve to carry the weight of at least that.
"How dare you come to my room in the dead of the night and get into my shower and my c-clothes—"
His world tilted on its axis, bringing him to meet the past Sasuke, who could have obliterated anyone who had dared to lay filthy accusations of that sort on him. But he had to pull himself away from the scorching thoughts despite his blaring fury reaching out to him, to be held by him once again but a pair of sparkling blue eyes and the embrace from them washed off the stains of malice almost marring his existence yet again. The eyes didn't belong to Naruto.
His patience snapped, his soul was wrangled under the questioning glare from the meek creature before him, and the anguish rippled beneath his skin, charging him. But he had to hold himself together, he screwed his eyes shut and slammed his face into his palms and groaned, hoping to quell the thoughts that bellowed at him to just grab her by her neck, and break her.
But he couldn't. No matter how much his dark impulses clamoured for a release, to cause an explosion of destruction on her, he clung to his self-control. She…she was something who couldn't be ripped apart, even though she shredded his insides apart with her every word uttered. Sasuke was weak-willed when it came to her; she was his promise, even if she was his own punishment.
"Enough!" He growled, thrusting his fists into his pockets, to avoid the crackling energy lacing them that could cause any havoc, "You were mentally collapsed in your shower! Your son was crying endlessly…you were unable to hear him or anyone," he punctuated his every word, his words slammed her, evident by the blanched expressions dawning on her features.
"A-And that became your chance to…to…." she stammered, breathless and out of words to voice out her agony.
"Chance to what?" he seethed, his body pressed against the wall behind him, he was hoping for the invisible hands holding him back to keep on embracing him, "To touch you? To violate you?" he spat the bitter-tasting words, glaring at her shivering body glued to the staircase frame behind her.
Her mouth parted, her eyes dropped to the ground, and her breath came in short erratic gasps.
Speechless about her own accusation. He flinched at the way she fumbled with her own reasoning.
"Get off your high horse, I don't want you! I will never!" He pulled himself off the wall, easing his breathing, and calming the roaring frustration within him. "I only intended to help, which I did. Kami knows for how many hours Haruto cried—"
At his words, her expression dropped, an ache evident in her flickering, tear-filled eyes, "Y-you…you want to brag about how responsible you are and how irresponsible I am—" Her sob wracked her body.
A wince contorted his face, "I didn't mean that." Another day, another struggle of being misunderstood by her. It was a dance they had performed countless times before, each step more agonizing than the last.
"You implied that," she mumbled, her voice breaking. Her eyes were downcast, the silence stretched taut between them.
He inahled sharply. Taking a step towards her, he began, hoping to strike the right chord in her heart for once, "I simply meant to highlight the intensity of the matter to justify why I stepped in. It was for Haruto!" His tone softened.
His hopes fizzled out against her mistrust, "Fine," her gaze snapped up to meet his, her trembling hands wiping her tears as she continued to torment him, "You are so great, Sasuke. Have your medal!" she slammed the wooden staircase frame behind her with her fist, causing a loud thud.
"Fucking hell, Hinata," he frowned, exclaimed in exasperation, "Why don't you get it—"
Her voice, strained with gasps, "Get what? That I am useless? That I am a pathetic excuse of a mother right now?" Each inhale was warring against the thwarting pain she put herself through, by her own demeaning words which sliced her deeper and deeper.
"Don't put words into my mouth, Hinata—"
"Kill me as you killed him!" she snapped, her words bombarding his core, "Perhaps then I will be less pathetic for you—"
He paced towards her and closed the distance between them. Pulling her by her arm, her light body crashed on him, "You aren't pathetic right now, Hinata!" his eyes glowered at her, her face angling up to meet his, "But if you want to die, leaving your son behind…then you surely are pathetic," he bit back more of his cruel words.
"I…I don't want to leave him behind," she burst into a stream of silent tears, streaking down her cheek, her chest heaved and vibrated with sobs which thrummed in his chest too, her anger evaporated in a heartbeat, replaced by self-loathing, "B-But…I am not fit to be his mother, I d-don't even remember what went d-down last night," she looked up again, his grip on her arm, loosening, just enough to hold her steady. "Did I..ignore him, was I such a lost cause?" she asked, her words quivering just as her body was.
He shook his head, the dismay simmering within him diminished, "Calm down!" he gently attempted to pat her arm, "You are going through something, that doesn't make you a bad mother—"
She wrenched herself from his grasp, her soft hands barely managing to apply pressure on his chest as she pushed him with her feeble attempts, "My grandmother was right! She knew I was unable to take care of him! She knew I wasn't worthy as I am no shinobi anymore! Not worthy to be a Hyuga!" Her voice hollered, each blow striking her already waning strength and self-belief. "Not sane enough to keep a child in my care…even you…you…" she pointed her finger at him, "Even you are better than me at this! It is such a painful slap at me—"
"Hinata," he reached out to her, extending his hand, she swatted at him.
"M-My body doesn't listen to me, my mind doesn't cease yelling, my heart…my heart is so empty that I couldn't even hear my own baby and you…you are here every day, every night…like a torment to my already ashamed soul—"
At a blurring speed, he breached past her crumbling defenses and pushed her onto the staircase frame, clamping her mouth shut with his palm. Her body squirmed beneath his grasp, trying to break free, but Sasuke's strength held her firm. His fingers, rough and calloused, intertwined with her softer ones as he pinned her hand against one of the polished wooden bars of the staircase.
Her wide, startled eyes met his, and for a brief second, Sasuke hesitated, the weight of what he was doing hanging thick in the air, but his grip didn't loosen. The world around them seemed to fall silent, save for the sound of their ragged breaths, "I don't know how to do this! I really don't. But you need to stop hating yourself! Stop wallowing in your guilt and pain," he implored, tough words surely put a crack on her, but he needed to reach her core, if he could claw at her chest to reach her heart, he would have.
Once he removed his hand from her mouth, she began, "I hate you. What do you even know about my feelings—"
"Hate me all you want. But start taking care of yourself…for Haru," he conceded, his voice airy, devoid of resentment. He released their entwined hand but didn't lose her from his hold, instead dragged her towards the dining table. Her free hand clawed at his grip, resisting and scratching his skin as he pulled her towards the table. "Eat! Regain your strength in your body!" he dragged a chair, the wood scraped against the floor with a screeching sound. He firmly pushed her on the chair, she glared up, cheeks reddened with vitriol seeping.
"Don't touch me!" she snarled, her face twisting into a grimace.
His hand vanished from hers, "Fine! Feed yourself then." He uncovered the lid from the plate of butter-toasted slices and slid it near to her, filling the glass with warm milk.
She slammed her hand on the table, the milk rippled and the clatter of the spoons on the wood rattled the air, "I don't want you to tell me what to do!" A tempest churned in her glazed eyes.
"You definitely need me to tell you what to do!" he retorted, his face hardened with the mask of impassivity sweeping across his features. "Don't you want to look in the mirror and recognize yourself?" He put his two fingers under her chin and lifted, her raged eyes met his.
"Shut up!" she held his hand and yanked it off her.
He grabbed her chin again, her face angling up to meet his smirk, "You are a shell of a woman Naruto talked about. Definitely not his Hinata anymore!" A shuddering sob ran up her skin as her breath hitched at his calculating words. He figured that reversed psychology seemed to work on Hinata way more than the kindness he had to muster.
Her glacial eyes seared with red, tears burning in them, his words ravaged at her. Like every other time, Sasuke was gambling too, unaware of the true consequence of his venomous words. Her stare emptied, cold dread filled the air and her emptiness chilled him to the bone.
"Just shut up!" she croaked out.
"No! You will listen and reflect—"
Her chuckle, seething, cut through, "The audacity—"
He interjected her, sighing, "Yes! I have a misguided audacity," he cocked his eyebrow, "What will you do? Fight me?" he wiggled his eyebrows at her.
She slapped his hand away from under her chin, "If I could, I would have the day you entered into my life!"
"Did you take the medicine?" he turned his gaze to the cold breakfast before her, defeated by their chess game of hurting each other.
"What?"
"I left it on your side table," the crease on his forehead deepened.
Hinata huffed, looking away from him, her eyes trained on the breakfast, "No! And I don't want to!"
His palm slammed on the table, a thumping noise echoed throughout the room, and a searing tumult lanced through him as he declared with narrowed eyes on her, "Fucking hell! I don't care whether you want to or not! I am getting the damn medicines and you will have them!" Without waiting for her inevitable protests, he whirled around and stormed towards the staircase, leaving the battered woman in stunned silence.
He found himself in her four-walled sanctuary again, where last night he had watched and held the despair-struck Hinata to his chest and tended to her. His eyes caught on the untouched medicine, he grabbed it and sprinted downstairs.
Her body was rigid on the chair, her eyes glued on the untouched breakfast. He gruntled and sped to stand beside her again. "Take these!" he offered his open palm to her.
She rolled her eyes and avoided his eyes. Her childishness threw him off balance for a moment.
"Don't be stubborn just to spite me!"
She ignored and kept her lips sealed, eyes trained on the table and breathing steady. Her calm defiance.
He grumbled, "I am not as soft as Naruto!" He leaned down to her eye level, grabbing her chin to tilt her head towards him. His hot breath blew on her face, his nose almost brushed against hers, his grip tightened on her cheeks and her parted lips puckered, he shoved the medicine in her mouth and she writhed while letting out muffled noises, her frail fists slamming against his hard abdomen. Undeterred, he pressed the glass of water to her lips, angling her face up with his rough grip to let the water drown the medicine.
She coughed, sputtered and gasped for air when he backed away, standing straight. "You can't ever be Naruto!" she snapped, tears glistening at the corner of her eyes.
His face hardened as his eyes darkened, "I don't want to be Naruto either!"
She lurched to her after she summoned her dwindling strength, she lashed out, "You…*you…*behave, Sasuke! Behave!" she let out a feral, sob-struck snarl.
"Don't tempt me to overexert my hand, Hinata," he rebuked, his fervour lingering between them, squeezing both of their strengths. "Don't sacrifice your health just to get back at me!" he cupped her nape, drawing her face closer to his, her entire body flinched as his scent overwhelmed her, causing her to feel dizzy.
"D-don't come near me! Don't touch me! D-Don't…don't—" she stammered with her mind reeling, her breathing reduced to rasp gasps, her lips trembling and her voice cracking and weighted— she crumbled before him, raw and exposed, inflicting a blow on him with sharp edges that eroded his senses and sanity.
"Breath!" he pulled his hand off her abruptly while saying, she scrambled back, her back hitting the chair behind her, which sent the chair toppling to the floor, the noise of the crash grated on his nerves.
"You…you…" Mumbling incoherent words which dissolved in the air, Hinata clenched and unclenched her fists, welled-up eyes spilling the stream of hot tears carving glistening trails down her cheeks.
"Detest me and kill me one day…" he stepped in, "But don't lose your chance at survival, don't ruin yourself!" He put his palm on the crown of her ducked head.
"I…Sasuke…."
He picked up the fallen chair, "It's fine, let's sit!" he gently held her by her arms and pushed her to sit on the chair, her faint wails led to hiccups, "Just eat and rest. Take care of yourself for Haru." He stood behind her, his hand firmly holding the back of her chair as he noticed the hesitant first bite she took.
His fingers unwittingly traced the sweet-scented lengths of her dark locks pooled at her back, running his tingling fingers through them, marvelling at the softness. As her whimpers subsided, the fading hum of her chewing her food lingered, dampening the crackling aftermath of their tempest.
Another day, another fight—Perhaps his fate intended to bring a choice to him through that. A choice where he could decide the course of his actions with her and for her. He absentmindedly contemplated, hoping for the last vestiges of his sanity to keep him afloat.
.
.
.
Days continued to pass in a steady blur, the balance that had shattered between her and her housemate was tenuously regained as they both picked silence and avoidance as their way to go. Hinata would sleep, struck by her nightmares every now and then, her fears of losing herself and her son clawed at her relentlessly, choking her and bruising her self-belief.
But she managed to wake up, wipe her tears away and exist through the day, avoiding crossing his path *or having any conversation with him. He stayed in his room mostly, the eerily silence always followed him around when he'd come out and reach out to Haru, Hinata forced herself to retreat swallowing her protests, without causing another argument. His unsettling presence hovered over the edge of her awareness; a shadow in her background.
She often felt his terrifying yet incredibly powerful eyes occasionally cast a fleeting glance at her, assessing her moves, her gait, her faltering smiles at Haru or her newly found courage to drown those bitter pills which he had shoved into her mouth a couple of weeks ago.
She found the refill of the medicines in the kitchen week by week, she assumed that he got them either from Sakura or Ino, she remembered hearing the the high-pitched voice of Sakura when Sasuke stood at the door half ajar, grunting his minuscule responses before shutting the door.
The medicines helped her with constant nausea, causing the food to remain in her system and providing her strength to stand and carry Haru for a longer period. Sasuke was spoiling Haru with constant walking around the house while cradling him in his arms, so Hinata had to replicate that with her son.
Haru was growing, his features getting prominent; the blue of his eyes were not identical to Naruto's azure ones because there was a dark tinge of blue also there. His hair was not sun-yellow, but more like the warm light from the golden hour. His skin wasn't tanned purely, as it carried a pale undertone which he inherited from her. Those infinitesimal changes brought an unbidden and effortless smile on her face.
She often watched Sasuke with Haru, unable to tear her eyes away from the odd, unsettling sight of him rolling the boy onto the carpeted floor. Haru would lie on his stomach, giggling, reaching for his toys with eager, chubby hands while Sasuke gave him "tummy time" which she had read about.
Hinata wondered about the weirdly apt knowledge of Sasuke about infants, she was sure that the ex-avenger didn't have time to learn the science of babies. Haru had started to show faint signs of crawling, letting out loud squeals as a result, causing the veil of silence in their house to break occasionally.
Her all-seeing eyes flitted over Sasuke from time to time warily, to catch any mishap which her mind conjured regarding Sasuke and Haru in its paranoia. Her stormy emotions churned beneath her empty surface, fraughting her with doubts and fears — But she bit her tongue often, silencing the sharp words she wanted to hurl at him, words that could break the fragile peace they had finally settled into.
But…she feared Sasuke. For Haru. Even if Haru bounced on his lap with glee, even if Haru played with his hair and he allowed with an almost imperceptible smile on his face, even if Haru cried endlessly and constantly but only calmed in embrace. Despite his all-consuming need to be around her and her son, to honour a vow to her lover, she feared Sasuke, for her mind was a wretched place, where nothing good and hopeful could bloom.
She had resented Sasuke for being the reason for Naruto's absence, but that resentment was overshadowed by the seed of doubt sowed by her grandmother in her mind about Sasuke's surprisingly selfless devotion to them. Each day, her mind reeled, wandering off to the dark corners, sketching pictures of the scenarios where Sasuke resorted to bow down to his innate selfishness, dropping his facade and making the plaguing doubts in her head true.
The lack of trust for her lover's best friend was a gnawing sensation, jabbing at her insides. A constant ache.
But the cackles of joy and the colour of mirth on her son's face, when he held onto Sasuke's face, was driving her insane, confusing her, forcing her to see sense.
.
.
.
Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, casting pale golden streaks across the room, the soft warmth a stark contrast to the icy chill that had gripped the world outside. The light kissed her skin as she stirred beneath the thick blankets. Hinata blinked, her vision slowly coming into focus, the lingering grogginess of sleep dissipating. With a small groan, she peeled the heavy blanket away and sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her gaze wandered around the room, searching for the familiar sight of the crib, only to find it empty once more. Haru must already be downstairs, she thought with a sigh of frustration.
The hot water from the shower poured over her tense body, steam curling around her like a delicate veil. Her muscles, stiff and protesting, finally began to relax under the steady cascade. After what felt like a much-needed release, she stepped out of the shower, her damp hair clinging to her face and neck in tangled waves. She quickly towel-dried it, the cool air prickling her skin as she moved toward the stairs, a silent prayer on her lips that Haru's fever had broken during the night.
The mere thought of having to take him to the hospital sent a shiver of dread crawling up her spine. Stepping outside—it was still an overwhelming prospect. Unwelcomed stares and whispered pity; all reminding her of the loss she had not yet healed from. The medication had worked wonders on her physical symptoms—her aching muscles, her unsettled stomach—but her mind remained frozen, locked in the same relentless cycle of fear and insecurity.
As she descended the stairs, a strange stillness hung in the air. Hinata was used to silence, but this was different—unnerving. The usual sounds of Haru's soft coos, his babbling or the gentle rhythm of his breathing in sleep, were absent. The oppressive quiet seemed to hollow out the space around her, echoing in her ears like a dark void. Her pulse quickened, her heart thudding as unease began to bloom in her chest.
She quickened her pace, moving toward the kitchen with a nervous flutter in her stomach. The pristine cleanliness of the room greeted her, countertops gleaming, utensils neatly put away. The only sound was the soft chirping of a bird outside the window, a peaceful melody that did little to soothe her growing anxiety.
Her breath hitched, and a cold sweat prickled at the back of her neck. Panic seized her as she rushed into the living room, her steps growing frantic. The crib was empty—again—and the usual sight of Sasuke sitting nearby, Haru content on his lap, surrounded by scattered toys, was conspicuously missing.
Her palms grew clammy, her chest tightening as her thoughts spiralled into the dark corners of her mind, where nothing but fear and worst-case scenarios awaited. Sickening bile began to rise in the depths of her throat, she bolted towards Sasuke's room, and without any courtesy of a knock, she pushed the door open. The dark room, lit up by two warm lights on the beam, was empty.
The futon in the corner had been neatly rolled up and put away, untouched. On the wall, the picture of Team 7, taken after the war, hung slightly askew, dust gathering thickly on the glass.
Her gaze darted to the large cupboard on the side, one of its doors half open, a dark cloak spilling from its confines. The dresser on the other end had a drawer stood partially open, and a hairbrush teetered on the edge of the counter, as though it had been abandoned in haste.
Sasuke wasn't there.
Neither was Haru.
She ran to her dining hall, reaching for a glass of water to calm her nerves which were heated, her pulse thundered in her ears. The anxiety ripped her chest apart, clenching her heart and squeezing, making her chest cry out in agony. She clutched her hair, her nails digging in her hair. Her breathing ragged as her fears regarding Sasuke had mangled her calmness. Her knees bucking, her legs shivering as she felt the four walls close in on her, a faint cry caught in her throat with a desperate need to yell.
Her grandmother had hinted that Sasuke's devotion could be a facade. Was it? What if he doesn't come back? What if he's taken Haru far away, somewhere I'll never find him?
With a strangled breath, she forced her legs to move, she couldn't take risks, she needed to find her son. The closer she got to the boundary of her home, the her heart stuttered, louder than before. Her wounds were still fresh, the prickling winds from the world outside could harm her but she bore no choice. With a sluggish movement, she took a step outside the house, heart hammering in her chest.
It was like walking through quicksand. In her desperate haze, she left out her scarf which could help her hide her face, and also her jacket which could have protected her from the onslaught of chill seeping in her bare arms, despite the sun gleaming above her. The village stretched out before her, her path was undefined—Go to Hokage or Hospital or Uchiha District or where? She wondered, biting her lip. She could feel eyes on her, whispers lurking around her.
Hinata stumbled forward, her legs weak as she hurried through the streets, her mind consumed with worry.
She barely knew where to start, but her feet kept moving. Every corner she turned, every empty street, made her heart clench tighter. He could be anywhere. The fear of not knowing gnawed at her insides, threatening to break her.
Tears blurred her vision as she neared the market square, her breaths shallow, gasping.
It was suffocating—the sounds, the voices, the sheer mass of people around her. Her legs faltered, the weight of her panic making it difficult to breathe, to think. She slowed, her knees threatening to buckle beneath her. She was going to collapse.
Just as the edges of her vision darkened, a familiar voice cut through the haze.
"Hinata!"
She blinked and turned around, a soft touch on her arm made her realize that the blonde girl in front of her was once her friend. Ino. Her eyes wandered behind to find Sai looking at her stunned, carrying a little baby of their own in his arms.
A sob threatened to break her apart. Her baby was taken away.
Her chest heaved, and tears continued to slide down her cheeks, as she struggled to find her voice.
"What happened?" Ino closed in her space, draping a warm cardigan that she stripped off herself, on Hinata's trembling shoulders.
"H-Haru…Sasuke…" Her lips quivered.
Ino squinted, her eyes paling as she tried to decode Hinata's weeping.
"We should take her home," Sai suggested. Ino nodded and embraced Hinata, propelling her to walk by her side. Hinata's mind had gone numb, her thoughts which were bellowing a minute ago, quietened. A dizziness lurked behind her drooping eyes, but she was tethered with care by her friend.
.
.
"He didn't inform me!" She sat curled on Ino's couch, knees drawn tightly to her chest, head buried into the fabric, her cries loud and unrestrained,"I want my son!"
"I have asked Sai to bring Kiba here and Sakura as well, Kiba will track them, don't worry." Ino, seated beside her, reached out, patting Hinata's back.
Hinata lifted her reddened face, tear-streaked and pale, Ino cupped her face with a small reassuring smile, "I want Haru! Where did he take him…I will kill him!" Her eyes ached with the twinge of tears, the lines etching deeper on her forehead, worry mingled with anger, lacing her tone.
"Hinata…calm down, we'll find Haru," Ino tried to offer a calm presence, pushing the glass of water toward Hinata's lips, coaxing her to take a sip. The liquid didn't cool down the fire burning at the depths of her core, "I don't think Sasuke can—"
Hinata bristled, her body went rigid, her fists clenched tightly on her lap as she ground her teeth, barely able to contain her anger. "He can! He can. Why else would he be with us if not for some selfish and maniacal reason? He is Sasuke afterall!"
"Hina, this is your anger talking!" Ino squeezed her friend's hand gently, trying to draw her back from the edge. "Do you think Sasuke would dishonour the vow he made to Naruto? Sasuke out of all the people!"
"Yes!" Hinata had her heart frozen at the way Ino worded it. But her mind was gripped by the haunting doubts from her grandmother.
If her father could disown her, if her sister could cut her off, if her grandmother could plan to seal her and her son and if her best friends could presume her to be weak—Then Sasuke, the stranger in her life, could betray her too.
"You and I both know that you are not in the right state of your mind—"
"I am not weak!" she yanked off her hand from Ino's and glared at her with her red-rimmed eyes.
Ino raised her eyebrows, "Of course, you are not," she muttered, "But you are thinking with grief, right? I am not even in your head but I can read your behaviour even without it!"
The knock on the door halted their conversation, Ino squeezed her shoulder and rushed to get the door.
Hinata remained alone in the bright living room, adorned with flowers and littered with toys on the floor or on the side tables. Photo frames of Ino's memories with Sai, with her team, and even with Hinata, hung on the wall, filling Hinata with wishful imagery of her living room having pictures of Naruto and her with Haru, but that could never happen. Her yearning pained her.
Because of him. Because of…Sasuke.
A convulsing pang stung her chest at her murky thoughts about the man who had been there for her and her son for the past two months, taking her every blow, her every cutting word, her every outburst…with no complaining and an endless enduring. Never walking away.
You can be wrong, Hinata! A voice which she never heard in the last eight months wrangled her befuddled mind and stirred at the back of her mind. The voice belonged to Hinata from the past. The Hinata who was Naruto's, the Hinata before giving birth to Haru. The voice belonged to the Hinata who wasn't marred by the losses.
That Hinata finally woke up…and to defend a man like Sasuke.
The conflicting thoughts warred in her mind; The hollow part of her denounced Sasuke, blamed him, hoping to burn everything in him and around him to rid him of any ounce of semblance that he sought, but the other part, the recently awoken one, the one Naruto adored, that part of her rebuked her for drowning in the filthy sea of doubts and fear and unfairly punishing and condemning a man who caused her no harm.
Her thoughts reeled, engulfing her with the heat of what the empty Hinata believed and what the real Hinata wanted to believe.
The hollow Hinata argued with the real Hinata emerging from the depths; You didn't meet, Sasuke. You never saw the power he wielded, you never lived the brunt of his actions like I did when he took Naruto away from me.
The real Hinata, the one who hadn't met Sasuke or interacted ever with him, met him through Naruto's eyes, knew him through Naruto's words, she responded back; Naruto deemed him worth the effort, it is enough for me to choose him for trust.
Her thoughts continued to devour her, halting only when two figures trailed behind Ino. Her heart thrummed loudly, her pulse throbbed in her ears. She didn't want to meet anyone, she didn't want anyone to stare at her, she didn't think she needed anyone around except her son, so the crowding of the space, agitated her.
Sakura smiled, "Hinata." She bowed her head as a greeting, sitting across her, on the couch. Mentally, Hinata sighed in relief to not have a shower of worries over her.
But that relief was short-lived, as a hollering voice echoed, "What did that dick do, Hina-chan?" Kiba emerged in front of her, kneeling down before her. His hands shot up to cup her face, and Hinata could see the lingering worry in his intense gaze. His rough thumbs wiped away her tears, a loud voice crackling in the air again, "I told them to get ANBU on his ass, Hina. They all love to trust him!"
Sakura grunted, "Kiba, stop—"
"Where is the man you worship, Sakura? He made Hina-chan cry!" Kiba jerked his head to the back, glaring at the pink-haired girl who sank further into the couch, her mouth parting but unable to argue.
Kiba turned back to Hinata, caressing her face with his hand, and all she could remember was how Sasuke once knelt before her too, how he wiped away her tears, cradled her cheeks in his hands, attempted to soothe her with words of a lexicon he himself was unaware of — see, he wasn't any different from your friends, Hinata. The sane Hinata reminded her, drawing the comparisons of his actions with her friend's actions, putting the argument forward about how she could trust Sasuke too.
But the empty, anguish-struck Hinata squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears while wincing, seeking to drown out the voice of reason, the voice of sanity calling out to her to defend Sasuke.
Her sanity had finally woken up and chose to betray her right away, siding with the man who was partially the reason of all of her afflictions.
Her inner Hinata, the sane one, Naruto's Hinata declared in her mind—Even if Naruto-kun was here, your body would still be failing, your eyes would still be reduced to an average Byakugan, your chakra would still be depleted, it all came with birthing Haru, Sasuke's mistake of killing Naruto didn't lead to this.
The sunken, disdain-filled and rotten Hinata had no justification against the argument presented. She silently sobbed, engulfed in the arms of Kiba who mumbled some hateful words against Sasuke, despite the reprimand by Sakura and Ino.
But her warring mind had muted everything around. In the arms of a man who smelled like moss and oak, her senses betrayed her as well by craving the scent of pine and mint, which belonged to none other than him.
Kiba began assuring, "Hina, I will track them—"
Sai announced, "No need, I sent a message to Shino and he responded saying that Sasuke and Haru are with him, Shikamaru and Kakashi, and they are on their way here."
Hinata's eyes widened, her senses awoke, and her mind relaxed. Her son was fine.
.
.
.
Hinata's ears strained at the quiet murmurings from the hallway, the soft shuffle of footsteps and voices she recognized. Her dithering body continued to remain frozen on the couch. Minute by minute the living room where she sat, emptied. The sunlight slanted through the thin curtains and dappled the room with shadows which Hinata focused on to divert her mind from her assailing thoughts.
A familiar velvety voice came from the hallway, "Where is she?" Every fibre of her being screamed at her to storm out of the room and confront him, to grab him by the collar and unleash her fury.
"No one will interfere," he commanded, his voice rough, Hinata could hear the protesting groans from Kiba which drowned as Sasuke emerged in the doorway of the living room, his eyes looked weary but resolute. His fingers pinching the temple, he stepped inside the room, his quick paces towards her made her heartbeat stagnant.
His balled fists on her lap itched to land on his face. Her mind yelled at him with words dipped in venom. But her tongue was tied by an invisible force for a moment, offering him the space to justify him.
"His fever dropped but he was unable to rest, his seal was acting up, as one of the marks was fading," he began, running his hand in his hair, "I came to wake you up, but you slept after medication, you weren't waking up. I took him for a sealing session. Your trusted friend, Shino was there, he is perfectly fine now," he finished, looking fixedly at her.
Her body regained strength, and she rose from the couch, stepping towards him. He inhaled deeply as if preparing himself for her mind-shattering outburst. As if he anticipated her slamming words as if he began to know him. The coldness in her chest spread like frost, overtaking the small kernel of reason that had begun to form.
"Just because I had one slip, you think you can take care of my son better than me?" she jabbed her chakra-lit finger on his chest, punctuating each word of hers with disdain. Confusion fogged her mind, her mind was a wasteland where two sides of Hinata battled on the matter of Sasuke.
But it seemed like the hollow, empty and crumbled Hinata emerged as a winner.
He winced as her Chakra stung his chest beneath the black shirt, he expressed, "I didn't mean that."
"That is what you did! You took him away from me!" Her strangled voice boomed, thick with unshed tears.
The air began to charge around them, the tension palpable, suffocating. Blood rushed with exasperation within him as evidenced by a vein throbbing in his temple as he grinded his teeth, swallowing back a breathy curse. Her pale eyes landed on him like sharp daggers, cutting every thread of patience.
He grumbled, his fists clenching at his sides, his jaw twitching, "Take him away? Why would I do that?" His face hardened.
His question was a haunting poisoned rope snaking around her throat and body, scaring her with the possibilities of why, her chest rose and fell with agony lancing through her, "I don't know! Everyone wants to take him away from me! You must have your reasons too!" she bellowed.
Her hand gripped his collar, pulling him closer with a violent jerk. His head lowered, his menacing eyes studying her, hot breath fanning her mouth, his scent driving her to a haze.
"Let it all out once and for all, Hinata! Tell me what would I gain?" he whispered, his words heavy by the underlying fury lacing them, "Tell me, what do you think I can do? Tell me…how low can I be in your all-knowing eyes?" he pressed her to reveal her deepest doubts, that she had sealed within her for the facade of peace they had for a few weeks.
"You…you…" she began, the rigour of her impending revelation filled her with dread, one of the warring voices in her told her to hold her tongue, to not test him beyond repair, to not shatter his fragile being.
But he probed, "What?" he hissed, clamping his hand over her arm and squeezing, "Say it!"
The voice from her mind reined her words back, halting them from tumbling out and burning whatever was remaining, protecting her from making a grave mistake.
But he was exhausted of their little game of hatred, he wanted the ultimate slash on his soul from her, he wanted her to cause an explosion which would give him a reason to…walk away.
"Why would I take him away, Hinata? Why? Or you simply want to blame me because you're incompetent—"
And with that, something inside her broke, and she managed to shatter his being, "Because you are a Uchiha and he has a nine-tailed beast!" Her sharp shout made him paralyzed on the spot, his jaw was slack, and his eyes glinted red and purple, making Hinata step back and pull her hands off his collar.
The air grew colder. She inflicted a wound too deep on him.
"I mean—" she gulped, the realization of her own words dawned upon her. Naruto's constant musings about Sasuke should have taught her to not touch that nerve, but she did and she couldn't take that back.
"Hinata!" he shouted, horror of his voice echoed, her body trembled when his calling pierced through her. The sharpness of his shout tore through her, sending a tremor down her spine.
Her legs gave way beneath her, and she collapsed onto the couch, her body trembling, helpless beneath the weight of his towering presence. Her tears trickled down her face, the assaulting shudders continued to wreck her body, and her breathing raced as he approached her.
Standing like a mountain in front of her quivering frame, his crimson eye, patterned with a flower and shuriken, melted into hers, the intense heat of fear ran up her spine, she let out a low hiss, her body instinctively recoiling from the immense pressure of his anger.
His fists at his side crackled with blue energy, chirping noise reverberated in the empty room. Through her blurred vision, she saw Kiba, Ino, and the others frozen at the doorway, their expressions stricken with terror.
"Sasuke, No!" Sakura yelled.
"I will kill you if you harm her—" Kiba was about to run towards them but was held back by a dark shadow of Shikamaru.
Hinata shook her head, telling them to not interfere.
Hinata's breath hitched as Sasuke's calloused hand seized her chin, wrenching her head upward with a brutal force that snapped her gaze away from her friends. "Look at me!" he growled, his voice a snarl, low and dangerous.
Her cheeks faintly tingled with the electric shocks grazing his fingers lending hot jolts, she winced as the burning sensation ran to her brain. Sasuke hadn't ever yelled at her like that, his hands had never raised against her to attack her, but she had broken him, finally, she realized with a sinking horror.
She remembered that they once played a fated game when he entered into her life two months ago, he attempted to make her submit to his presence by making her feel helpless, while she intended to break him, to make him step away. She lost then, but she succeeded now. At an enormous cost.
Her words had always been her weapon against him, she plunged those sharp knives deep into his restraint, the blunt edges overpowered him and poisoned his blood, the blazing fury oozing out of every cut she landed on him. And now his blood dripped on her, searing her and branding her with burn marks.
He snarled, his suffering mimicking the roar of a wounded animal, "Do you think that low of me?"
"I…—" she tried, but he tightened his grip on her chin, silencing her before she could speak.
"Do you believe in those archaic amusing rumours about my family's involvement with Nine-tailed beasts?" he continued to shout, "Haven't we, the Uchihas, paid enough for those accusations? Wasn't the massacre of my clan enough for you all? Wasn't my service to Konoha in the war fucking enough to get that stain off our name? Wasn't my brother's sacrifice enough for you all?—"
HInata's heart shattered with each question he threw at her, his blaring voice ringing like sirens, "Sasuke—"
He gave her no chance to speak, "Wasn't my mind getting fucked to shape me as this…enough? Wasn't the blood in the Uchiha district enough? Weren't those bodies of children and elders under the fallen Uchiha name enough for you all to stop blaming us?"
Hinata's neck was hurting, his cruel grip angling her face up to meet his scorching gaze as if he was pulling to behead her, "I am—"
"Wasn't my sincere service to you for the past two months enough? I bowed to you, I let you use me as your punching bag, I cared for your son, I let you burn me from time to time, I intended to honour the promise I made to my best friend— wasn't all of that enough?" His resounding shout thundered in the air.
Hinata had answers…for once, she had them. For once, the real Hinata won against the empty, pain-struck Hinata. And Naruto's Hinata wanted to speak, but Naruto's Sasuke lived up to his name, he was a power that made her sink in her tears.
"Listen-" she croaked out.
"It is all in vain, you see what you want to see!" He suddenly released her face with a harsh yank, shoving her backwards onto the couch. Hinata gasped as she fell, her body hitting the cushions hard, her breath knocked from her lungs.
"Sasuke!" she snapped, frustrated at how she couldn't get a word in.
"Shut up!" he spat, "I never wanted anything, remember? I didn't consider this barter! But I expected some dignity," he rebuked, stepping back. Folding his hands on his chest, seething with rage, "The accusations that got my clan killed…you'd throw those on me?"
She managed to push herself off the couch, her softened eyes, brimming with tears noticed the Sharingan dissolving into a black pool, "Sasuke—"
"Why would I need a Nine-tailed when I can burn Konoha right now…if I want to!" Sasuke grunted.
"Please…"
"What do you want from me?" he kicked the leg of the couch at his left, sending it skidding back a few inches and grumbled.
She felt the lingering fear creeping up her skin, pausing her.
He continued to echo his rage, "What do you want from me? Just tell me, so I can give you that in the name of Naruto and leave this fucking place for good. Konoha isn't for me, at all. Just fucking tell me!"
And then the fear grabbed her by the neck, holding her accountable, for the loss of another pillar loomed over her, "I just want to keep my son!" she shrieked, tears stinging her eyes.
He snickered mockingly, "Keep him! I am not taking him away!"
"I was scared! They want to take him away! They want to seal him too!" she let out, finally, she had her turn to express the weight that had been festering within her, rotting her.
"Who? And what seal?" he narrowed his eyes, the anger still burning bright around the edges of his being.
She stuttered, "H-Hyuga seal!"
He fumed, the muscles in his neck tightening, "You are not a Hyuga, and neither is he!"
"I have Byakugan and he has a Hyuga blood, making him eligible to have a Byakugan, even if it is dormant. They'll seal him and discard me, my…my grandmother is heading the Hyuga council…" she stammered, her voice breaking, her heart smashing at her ribs.
He inquired, the usual emptiness his eyes carried didn't return, he still possessed wrath in there, "When did this happen?"
"A month ago. She implied that…you also…wanted to be near Haru for your benefit…and that if you interfere in Hyuga matters, they'll brand you as a traitor!" she revealed the cause of her agony, her ignited doubts.
"You…believed her over your own perceptions about me?" he roared. Sasuke's hand shot out, gripping her arm. She gasped, her body drawn toward him, pressing against his chest. His proximity was suffocating, a wall of heat that burned her skin. He smelled like ash, like burnt charcoal, like burnt flowers.
"I was scared! I am weak, I can't lose my son," she raged, fidgeting in his grasp, "I was scared of everyone and everything! I didn't step out of the house…not only because I was insecure of my failing strength, but also because I wanted to keep my son safe! I am terrified!" Her voice was a wounded cry.
"You should have told me!"
"I was scared of you too, Sasuke! I didn't want to believe my doubts but I had no control over what I felt! I was a mother first and foremost! I am sorry…" she faltered, "I am sorry about what I said! But I am scared for my son! I am! I can't protect him from you or anyone from Hyuga in the state that I am in!" she sobbed, her shoulders slumped, all the hatred and anger dulled and only pain remained.
Defeated, she put her head on his chest, weeping as her body convulsed with hiccups.
"Protect him from me?" he groaned.
"Please…understand me! Please!" she begged, her voice muffled into his shirt. "I can't pick anyone above Haru, not even Naruto's faith in you! I couldn't have given you the benefit of the doubt. I was simply frightened. Threatened by everything and everyone around me!" Her arms wrapped around him, her hands clutching at his back with force, as if her life depended on him. "I couldn't even sleep without nightmares of losing him, they drove me mad."
And it was! She was dependent on him. She hated it, but she couldn't deny it.
For a minute, there was nothing but complete silence. Her cries soaked into his shirt, reduced to sniffles. His quick breathing steadied, his thundering heartbeats quelled. She clung onto him, he didn't embrace her back, his hand was not on the crown of her head like before, his hand didn't pat her back or massage the tension away from her neck or his fingers didn't wipe away the hot tears from her cheek.
He stood frozen, unbounded by her. The warmth he had once offered was now absent, his arms remaining at his sides, his face set in a hard, emotionless mask.
His hand moved, sliding up to her nape to cup her neck and pulling her back, forcing her tear-streaked face upward. He asked, "This is the last time I am asking, do you want me or not?"
"Huh?" she squeaked, puffy eyes widening.
"I will leave, Hinata. I will not show you my face. Naruto will be disappointed but that won't be the first time for him…so tell me, yes or no!" He was giving her the choice, he was giving her an out and himself as well. He was ready to sever whatever they shared.
The empty, hollow, weak Hinata always wanted him to leave her life.
But the real Hinata, the one who respected Naruto and everyone around him, the one who knew from the beginning that Hinata's miseries weren't because of Sasuke — that Hinata didn't mind his presence, that Hinata knew she needed him, that Hinata berated her for splitting Sasuke apart with cruelty, that Hinata didn't want to inflict brutal wounds on him.
That Hinata answered, agonized by the choice that lay before her which could shape and alter her entire life, "Um…I am sorry about what I said—"
His grasp on her neck loosened, his hand snaked away from her neck to hold her jaw, his thumb lightly caressing the crimson tear-streaked skin of hers, "I don't want an apology. *I have his promise, but I want your choice." He gulped, his tone unmarked by the sharpness, "This is our chance to part ways-"
Panic surged through her, clawing at her throat as she blurted out, "Yes."
His jaw clenched, "Repeat that!"
She whispered, her voice dying as she confessed, "Yes, I need you."
He nodded, his eyes flickered with a glint, "You need sleep without nightmares, right?"
She bit her lips, but before she could respond, his coal-like eye turned into a pool of blood red, boring into hers, the fog in her mind clouded her senses and began numbing her, "Sasuke…" The last thing she knew was his name on her tongue as she slipped into an endless infinity of white surrounding her, calling for her.
Her bewildered mind went into a deep slumber, the last sensation she could fathom was her head falling on his chest, her hands slipping from their desperate grip on his back and being limp at her sides. He ducked and scooped her up from under her knees, picking her melting feet off the floor.
"Sleep," he muttered. Sunlight spilt across the room, but it no longer reached her.
"Sasuke…" Her eyelids drooped and fluttered shut, his pale and dark dichotomous presence blurred into nothing as she drifted into an ivory emptiness.
.
.
.
Sasuke emerged out of the room where he rested Hinata, hoping that the Sharingan-driven sleep would do some good to her mental state, "She will wake up tomorrow, I will pick her up later," he voiced out to the house owners, receiving an accepting response from Ino.
Smouldering embers of his frustration ate him up from inside. He was always aware of the formidable nature of Hinata's words, but that night, she had pierced every vein in his body, she bled him dry, fractured his every bone, and eroded what little remained of his patience. But she chose to cling to him, desperation made her bow to him, he could laugh at the irony but he couldn't, he knew Haru was the reason she was choosing to let him exist in her orbit, otherwise, he was nothing to her, no one to her.
He wasn't ever going to forget the day he just spent, he was still her sinner, but even she was no saint. She burned him too, like no one ever burned him. Not even his brother.
Almost a whimper of pain escaped his mouth as he plopped on the seat, leaning his head back, letting the warmth of the bulbs above him shine on him, letting them lit up his world even a little bit. He breathed in sharply, her scent lingered on his neck, on his shirt, on his hand— Lavender and Jasmine, the wafting scent of hers stiffened his entire body. She was becoming a part of him, even if she detested and he was afraid of that.
He was frightened about what he'd do with that lifelong commitment he entered into, he was bound to her by fate, and that startled him, jolting him awake, he sat up straight on the chair. He watched the hesitant approaching from the group that gawked at him. Shikamaru leaned on the wall, flicking his lighter in his hand. Sakura averted her gaze but stole glances at him while she bit her nails. Ino stood, arms folded on her chest, with her brows knitted together. Shino was busy restraining the huffing Kiba who was one snarky comment away from pouncing at Sasuke.
He was aware that they all were witnesses to what had happened, and they all bore questions and even accusations, but Sasuke had no qualms about being answerable to anyone.
So he cleared his throat, directing his attention towards Shikamaru, "Why is Hyuga council still bothering her? Haven't they disowned her already?" He seethed, his fingers drummed on the wooden table before him, and his jaw tightened, "With what right are they asking for a seal on her and her son?"
Shikamaru shrugged, "Clan's internal matters are not under Hokage."
"Is it really a clan matter if she and her son aren't part of their pathetic clan?" he growled, annoyance surging beneath his skin, prompting him to submerge the Hyuga council in black flames.
"I will let Hokage-sama know of your concern," Shikamaru replied.
Sasuke slammed his fist on the table, "Tell Kakashi to get me face-to-face with Hiashi or Hinoiri!" His body was leaden with exasperation.
Before Shikamaru could respond, Sai came downstairs, carrying Haru who had woken up, groggily rubbing his eyes with his small balled hands, squealing inexplicable words. "He is close to crying," Sai muttered.
Haruto's eyes widened as he took in his surroundings, the unfamiliar faces made him let out a whine, his face twisting into a grimace which he usually had when Hinata used to take away his toys from him for nap time. His bottom lip jutted out, quivering. His eyes narrowed, welling up with tears and light hiccups wracking his tiny body, while his whiskered cheeks puffed up. Faint screeching began to bubble out of his throat.
But then Haruto's bright eyes met the man he was accustomed to; Sasuke. Every ounce of exhaustion washed away from Sasuke at the sight.
His arms stretched out inadvertently towards Sasuke, babbling incoherent words at him, Sasuke didn't need to be reminded twice by that little creature, he wasn't that inept in baby handling. He rose from the chair, nearing Sai, Haruto was almost bouncing off Sai's arms, Sasuke took the small plush body in his arms and patted his back. He could have bawled but instead, he nuzzled his face on Sasuke's neck, blurting out another string of incoherent noises, 'Ah' 'Bah' 'Da' 'Ma'. Sasuke paced through the room, knowing that Haruto on the verge of wailing, relished when someone walked around continuously with him nestled against the warmth until the gleam of joy sprouted again within him.
In a way, Haruto was stubborn, like the meek creature he had as his mom.
Stubborn. Small. Delicate.
"Let's take you to your mom before she lashes out…again," he mumbled to the baby, who cooed in response, he walked back to the guest room where Hinata was slipped into a slumber, devoid of any nightmares.
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A/N: FAVS, REVIEWS AND FOLLOWS WILL BE APPRECIATED
This is what I had been waiting for! I enjoyed this chapter a lot! This arc was definitely very depressing and angsty.
Okay, next chapter is the official end of the FIRST ARC, so drop your guesses for what will be the title of the SECOND ARC, the hint is in the chapter.
THE SAD, DEPRESSIVE AND ANGSTY WAVE HAS FINALLY DULLED DOWN GUYS! Be prepared for the Second Arc, it is definitely a RIDEEEE!
And and and...I had mentioned Hinata having her breakthrough AWARENESS and here she has it, it was fun to write Sasuke when he was on the verge of giving up and Hinata holding on to him.
This chapter had their two fights! Major ones! These fights wrap up many of their feelings till now, opening up the possibilities for new beginnings!
LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GATHERED FROM THIS CHAPTER!
It felt good to finally show that Sasuke had been restraining himself and he can burst too!