Mari Makinami
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Chapter 4. The Uchiha Clan.
Everything from that moment went so fast that should someone ask him to retell it later, Kenji wouldn't be able to say what exactly happened in those few seconds after the two shinobi were suddenly ignited.
It was too blurry for his eye to follow.
First, the other Kiri ninja sliced Hina's throat with a kunai.
Before Kenji could somehow react to it, the strangest thing he had ever seen occurred. It was even more stunning than this devilish black fire that already ended the lives of the other two.
The remaining man suddenly shifted his appearance: instead of him, a raven haired boy that looked maybe a little bit older than Hina, dressed in black cloak with high collar, held the deadly kunai, stopping it just a split second before it cut the girl's neck.
At the same moment he heard some woman gasp and shriek behind his own back, this followed by a dump on the hall's cold stone floor.
Turning around as fast as he could, Kenji realized why the woman reacted like this: the same shinobi that almost killed Hina before his eyes was now lying just near the brown haired beauty's left foot with his skull pierced by a sword, his body slightly twitching as the man was rapidly dying.
“Wha... What the...?!” Both him and the female newcomer yelled simultaneously, turning their heads to the boy and Hina in hope to get some explanation.
But then something else drew their attention.
If they thought that what they felt at the moment was shock and fear, they were mistaken.
The one truly dead scared was no one else but Gatō himself, was desperately trembling as he tried to crawl back to the halls' wall after he fell on his butt to avoid being burned by the black flames.
“Just... Just who the heck are you, guys?..” Kenji mumbled to the beautiful, well dressed young woman standing next to him, not really noticing that she was equally terrified by the things they've just witnessed.
“I... I'm afraid I don't know much more than yourself...” She barely managed to squeeze these words, to which he frowned.
One didn't have to be genius to realize that what just happened to those shinobi was the boy's dealings then, seeing as the woman that accompanied him to this dungeon obviously didn't understand what happened either. So the guy was a shinobi, too. It also meant that they most likely didn't know each other that well.
On the other side...
Hina didn't look scared. In fact, she was pretty calm, too calm to assume that she was at least slightly surprised by the sudden appearance of this pair. And certainly way too calm for someone who almost died a moment ago.
In other words...
The boy and Hina knew each other, seeing as he acted so fast to save her and was untying her at the moment with barely notable smirk playing upon his lips.
And then... He was talking to someone named Hinata. Who on earth was Hinata?.. Oh...
It all finally clicked in Kenji's mind.
Hina's true name was Hinata. The boy was talking to her when he said...
Wait. What did this douchebag say about him there?! He agreed with the ugly-ass shorty?! He was surprised to see Hina with him, Kenji, and he also considered him scum...
The injured man's face twisted as he snarled, watching how Hinata got back on her feet and was now rubbing her wrists. She wasn't looking at the boy, but somehow he was sure that she was actually waiting for something from him. Were they a couple or something?..
But then he sighed, looking away. What was he thinking anyway? The guy could do things beyond his comprehension: taking down those elite ninja effortlessly, within a second... From his point of view, compared to him, Kenji was indeed scum. So perhaps the boy's words were justified, after all... But still...
It didn't make them hurt his pride any less. He tried to save the guy's girlfriend from being raped, didn't he?! But then again, could he really possibly save her should the boy not appeared just in time?
Obviously not.
“Why did you come back?” Hinata suddenly asked, breaking the oppressive silence that fell upon everyone in the dungeon, the only sound breaking it being Gatō's terrified sobs.
So they were in a quarrel, huh? At least that made some sense. Taking away their amazing abilities, they were just two teens. Nothing surprising here...
“You know why.” He simply replied, sitting down onto the altar to which Hinata was tied up just a minute ago.
How cute...
But apparently his response didn't quite satisfy her.
“No... No, I don't... You've left me to deal with this situation, I'm no fool, I saw it. You simply disappeared. I don't understand...”
So she was able to see, after all? But how?.. Oh, damn it, never mind... Was this really any surprising after everything he saw today? Probably some shinobi disguise stupid ass trick or something like that...
A quiet cough to his left interrupted Hina, making her close her mouth and turn at the woman's direction.
Great freaking job, dude. Now you're certainly in a big trouble... Women's jealousy could be awful, Kenji knew it too well for his own good.
“Uh... Hinata-san?.. I don't wanna interrupt or be rude, but your... Ugh...” She looked at the boy, seemingly a bit confused about their relationship's nature. “I don't know what happened between you and Sasuke-san, but he chased Gatō's little army until he... Well, freed me from them... He actually destroyed their base just before he headed to this place, making me lead the way, so... I don't think he...”
“It's enough, Kura.” The boy named Sasuke suddenly snapped, glaring at the woman and then turning back to Hina... Or rather Hinata?..
“We'll talk about it later. Right now, there are more important things at hand. Like I said, you did a good job capturing their leader... What Kura said here is also true, I have indeed destroyed them all. However, it's not over just yet...” He jumped off the altar, slowly walking to the said leader who looked like he was ready to wet his pants, unable to move his wide open eyes away from the incoming doom.
“What are you going to do?” Hinata asked, gazing at Sasuke's back, but the boy just waved off dismissively, coming closer to the ugly man.
“You...” Sasuke squatted before him so that their eyes would be on the same level which made Gatō's tremor even stronger, if it was even possible seeing as the man was ready to lose his conscious out of fear.
“I wonder... What should I do with you now? We have quite a few options here...” Kenji couldn't see Sasuke's face, but he was sure that there was a grim smirk now on the boy's face. “You see, I've been talking to Kura about you and your business... If it was anywhere else, I couldn't care less. However, by attacking Nami no Kuni, you've crossed our interests here. My interests, to be more accurate. Doing this, you've repeated your stupid father's mistake...” Gatō suddenly gasped, pointing at Sasuke's face with his trembling hand.
“It's... It was you!..” The man cried wickedly, only to scream in terrible pain a moment after, his wrist breaking as Sasuke gripped the arm that was pointed in him.
“Yes, it was me.” The boy said, ignoring the businessman's screams. “Don't move unless you're told to. And shut the hell up if you don't want me to break another limb of yours.” Gatō's voice died instantly, followed by Sasuke's satisfied nod. Apparently the man feared pain more than death itself.
“I should decide what to do with your pathetic ass here. Simply killing you would be no good... But I don't wanna give you to Kura, either. Even though we've had an agreement, I still don't trust her...” Kenji could hear how the woman swallowed nervously, listening to their conversation. So she knew Gatō... But Sasuke didn't trust her. Who was she, actually?..
“But then again I could kill you right here, that would've saved us a lot of trouble, don't you guys think so?” He asked, his question clearly being purely rhetoric.
“No... No, please, don't kill me!” Gatō yelped again, desperate.
The boy suddenly lifted up, turning to Kenji which made him straighten.
“It's decided then. You live in this town, right?” Kenji nodded, still a bit cautious. “Good. Then take this piece of shit and bring him upstairs. We'll let the citizens decide what to do with him.”
Kenji smirked, taking a step to Gatō that was still shaking and crying.
Perhaps the boy wasn't that bad, after all?
***
Finally walking away from Gatō, Sasuke felt a bit uneasy about the upcoming conversation with Hinata. But what bothered him the most wasn't how she took his words about leaving her, not.
What made him feel irritated was that he actually cared enough to think about it beforehand. And not only about Hinata, but this town, too. About people around him.
He wasn't used to be caring about someone else but himself. For the last few years, everything that ever concerned him was his revenge. First his brother, then Konoha, then the whole shinobi world. Simple as that.
Now, things were getting complicated. And deep inside, Sasuke felt confused. He wanted to make everything right, and he was afraid to fail. For once in a long time, the consequences of his actions did matter to him. He couldn't afford causing collateral damage anymore.
At the time, leaving Hinata seemed like a good decision. And now that he looked at her, he could see the results of his actions, and they were mostly positive, in his opinion.
First, she finally changed her outfit. It wasn't that big of a deal in general, but it certainly was a solid first step in the right direction for her, considering that she needed to change literally everything about her life in order to grow up and get over her past.
And, well, it would be foolish to deny that her new clothes suited her much better than her previous ones which hid her nice figure. Now she was a pleasure to his eye, looking way more feminine than before.
Second, her attitude was different now, too. She was certainly more confident, her usual stuttering seemingly gone, and the Hyūga even dared to question him after he freed her... That was rather ballsy, wasn't it? And that also was exactly what he hoped for.
It seemed like everything went just as planned, Sasuke thought as they were walking out of the hall, Kenji and Kura ahead, holding Gatō who stopped trying to fight his imminent destiny by now and apparently just waited for his execution to come, silently praying to whatever god such excuse of a man could believe in.
Passing the dead shinobi in the doorway and watching Hinata's back while thinking on what to say to her later, the Uchiha bowed down to retrieve his sword.
Sasuke suddenly stopped and flinched, noticing something on the dead Kiri nin's body that should of not be there.
It was a small, barely visible tattoo on the back of the corpse's neck. Even with his Sharingan activated, it was hard to notice, but this symbol... He could recognize it even if he didn't have his eyes.
It was the Uchiha Clan's crest.
“What's wrong, U... Sasuke-san?” He heard distant voice of Hinata that stopped, too, looking at him with confusion.
Carefully touching the mark, Sasuke cursed, slamming his fist into the cave's rough wall.
One doesn't simply have this symbol on his body. Was the man an Uchiha? Perhaps some dissent hermit that's left the clan? Or a descendant of one?
It didn't matter now that the man was dead. He, Sasuke, killed the guy who was likely the last existing link to his family.
Oh, the irony.
And all this for a stupid girl that he decided to help...
The Uchiha roared in frustration. What was he going to do now? Use Rinne Tensei on the dead shinobi to revive him and get the answers he needed? Sasuke doubted that it would be possible. At least not in his current state.
Even though he didn't show it, it was only a few days after his faithful fight with Naruto at the Valley of the End, and the Uchiha still wasn't completely recovered. In fact, he only had access to a little part of his full power now, which was the reason why he avoided unnecessary use of big moves that took significant amount of his chakra.
That's also why he used a pretty exotic technique that he only tried once before, Kirin, to wipe out Gatō's camp - because it took very small amount of chakra to perform, considering that it was pure nature energy manipulation.
Truth to be told, he felt pretty exhausted now after using Amenotejikara and Amaterasu at the same time. To recover completely, he would need another week or two in a bed, and he wasn't able to stand being in Konoha any longer just yet.
After what Madara, Obito, Itachi and he himself did... People feared the Uchiha, they feared him. They didn't trust him.
And it was only natural that they didn't.
This was one of the main reasons for his long journey. That was also why he decided to save this town. Not because he really cared for these people. While this corrupted system still existed, such things were inevitable, it couldn't be helped in general, so there was no point in preventing one shot reaching it's target when there was the infinite barrage of them, constantly firing here and there.
But he needed his good name back.
Of course, he did trust in Naruto and his ideals now, but it would be impossibly foolish to not grant his friend all the support he could possibly gather. And he, Sasuke... He was capable of lots and lots of things.
But if he was to help people, people must accept his help first, and right now they most certainly wouldn't. In order to make them do it, he needed good reputation with the whole world.
It wouldn't be too hard, he assumed. After all, the former jinchuuriki of Ichibi, Shukaku no Gaara, was able to become exalted by his village after all the murders he had committed, and even became Kazekage.
He would have to work a bit harder than that, but hard work never was an obstacle for him.
That's why he was going to help everyone on his way as much as possible.
That included helping Hinata as well.
And that's alsy why his departure from Konoha couldn't wait any longer, and he assumed that he wouldn't be needing his power any time soon since the war was over and well, he was extremely strong even without it.
But then again, let's get real.
Even if he was in his prime now, performing Rinne Tensei no Jutsu would most likely drain him to the point where this very shinobi would kill him rather easily the moment he awakened. It would also take much of his remaining vitality, most likely cutting his lifespan significantly if not actually killing him.
It was an idiotic idea, and he couldn't afford it anyway.
But then he suddenly smiled, sighing in relief of realization.
There was a way to get the information he needed, it wasn't all lost yet. The guy certainly knew something about his clan, or at least about the nature of this mark on his neck.
He simply needed to question him, he didn't need to be actually alive for Sasuke to do so.
After all, resurrecting him would be a gamble even if he could do it now: what if the man didn't know anything at all? It would turn to be a total waste.
But there was another way.
“Hinata, give me some sealing paper.” He asked the girl that now looked even more confused and cautious, probably thinking that he was insane. But nevertheless, she handed him a piece of paper that he needed so much right now.
“Thanks.” He uttered, taking it from her, not noticing how her hand twitched when his fingers touched hers, as if it was electrifying.
Soaking the patch with the man's blood, Sasuke put it down onto the stone surface and made a hand seal: the blood disappeared, a few black lines covering the paper and turning into a curlicue instead.
Carefully hiding the paper in his pocket, he got up, pulling the sword out of the corpse's head, and turned to Hinata who was still looking at him, puzzled.
The rest of their party was already out of the dungeon, so they were alone down there.
But the time had yet to come, he decided.
Giving her a light “never mind” head shake, he stepped ahead, running upstairs. The girl that looked like she was questioning his mind's state right now after what she saw followed after a second of hesitation, giving the mysterious corpse a final glance of confusion.
It was deep night out there, and the town's heavily damaged streets were still empty, the survivors apparently waiting for the dawn before coming out of their shelters.
Kura and Kenji were quietly talking to each other as he and Hinata appeared: they weren't moving an inch away from Gatō who simply sat on the cobblestone road and peered in the space before him, silent.
“Now then, I've changed my mind...” Sasuke said, making the older pair flinch: for non-shinobi like these two, even their casual movements were soundless. “I'll be taking Gatō. Should anyone ask, you are to say that he was burned down there along with those two.”
Ignoring their uncomprehending expressions, he bit his only thumb, slamming his palm onto the ground.
“Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” A few concentric circles of seals appeared on the road, followed by a huge cloud of smoke filling the void street, only to reveal something that made even Hinata hold her breath in awe.
“I'm at your service, Sasuke-sama.” An immense dark-blue snake that was bigger than the whole quarter where they stood bowed it's head down before the Uchiha, greeting him and awaiting for his orders.
Sasuke smirked, nodding at Gatō who seemed to finally get out of his inner world, looking at the monster before him with his eyes wide open, prepared to die any second.
“Aoda. I need you to take this piece of trash to your realm. Hold him there for another week or two, but be prepared to take him with you once I summon you again. Do whatever you want with him, but I'll need this moron alive by the time of your the next summoning, so make sure he doesn't kill himself.”
“As you wish, Sasuke-sama. Anything else I can assist you with?” Aoda replied in an awkwardly polite manner. Everyone could see how strong was the giant snake's respect to the Uchiha.
“Nah, not at the moment. Take him and go now.”
“I'm glad to serve, Sasuke-sama.” The creature took the man that suddenly started screaming again in it's maw, disappearing with a loud pop and another big cloud of smoke.
Everyone seemed to be stunned by the show they've just witnessed, only Hinata looking relatively calm, but her little nervousness was mostly because of her insecurity around Sasuke.
Breaking the silence, the Uchiha said as if they were in fact relaxing, drinking cocktails in some bar and not in the middle of total chaos that was mind breaking for a simple human:
“Alright then. You, what was your name...”
“Huh? It's Ke...”
“No matter. I understand you're this town's inhabitant? Is your home intact?”
“Y-yeah, it is, we did...”
“Good. We need some rest before we get going. I also wouldn't mind a cup of tea... And some food. Do you have a wife to cook?”
“Ye... Yes, I... Wait, stop freaking interrupting me! It's not a way to behave with someone whose guest you're going to be!” Kenji suddenly yelled, pointing at Sasuke with anger. Apparently his temper finally took over his fear for the Uchiha and he was getting to his old, cocky self.
“Hn.” Was the only reply that came from Sasuke who moved out without looking at any of his companions, fixing his cloak on his shoulders.
The rest of their way to Kenji's house went silent. Everyone of them was too overwhelmed with their emotions and thoughts about recent events, them being pretty different for each of their weird company: checking them out from time to time, by the looks of their faces Sasuke could assume that Kura was deep in thoughts and calculations for the future, which was only natural considering what kind of person she was, always looking for more ways to make profit even out of the most nasty situations. She didn't look even slightly upset about her husband's unenviable fate, and he doubted that it was because she was a righteous person that craved for justice. If anything, it was a good riddance for her.
But Sasuke didn't care about her true motives unless their agreement was to be executed. To him, she was nothing but a walking bag with money... Even though a pretty one.
On the other hand, Kenji, the man that accompanied Hinata before the Uchiha showed up, he looked conflicted and lost. He was torn by a vast set of emotions about this whole situation, and apparently the guy didn't know how to deal with them, which was no wonder: people of this country dealt with real shinobi pretty seldom, the last time probably being four years ago with Zabuza and Haku.
He was also significantly older than him and Hinata: the man looked approximately of Kakashi's age, and being bossed around by a guy who could be his son obviously wasn't the most pleasant experience for a bloke like him, Sasuke understood it very well.
But it didn't make it any less fun, he smirked.
Hinata, on the other hand, was an enigma he couldn't currently solve: her face wasn't giving away anything what so ever, and that was quite unusual for a girl like her who always had everything written on her to be almost too easy to read.
But right now, he couldn't predict her reaction to what he was going to tell her. And here was an even bigger problem.
What was he going to tell?
She was right, it would be lame to deny that he left her on purpose now that she figured it out. She wouldn't believe that, and why would he lie to her anyway? He was Sasuke Uchiha, the savior of this world and one of the most powerful beings that ever existed.
Lying was not worthy of someone of his caliber, especially when the gain was not any good.
But then what? Telling Hinata that he had left her on her own to stress her to the point of nearly breaking just to check how stable she was, it was out of the question, too, despite being the truth. It would actually negate the effect, probably making her close up even worse than before.
There had to be a balanced option, a believable half-truth. But he couldn't allow her self esteem to lower, not after it finally appeared to be higher than zero for once.
Looking up to the moon, he smirked.
Yes. He knew what to do now. It was a perfect decision, after all. Everything played even better than he could possibly hope for. And now he was going to fix the result of his actions for good.
The Uchiha frowned, noticing a man at the end of the road they were walking: his silhouette seemed somehow familiar to Sasuke, even though his face wasn't lighted up by the torch that he held.
“Hey! Kenji, my boy! Are you guys alright?! Who is there with ya? Are they injured?”
Dear lord.
He knew this voice.
It seemed like the ghosts of his past were to never let him go.
“Yeah, old man! We're all fine. These two helped us finish the attackers, the town is relatively safe now.” Was Kenji's reply that sounded too loud for the empty street.
Helped you, you say?.. Right...
“Oh! Then they are welcome to be our guests as well! Wait...” Tazuna's eyes widened in shock as they came closer, stopping near the entrance to his house. The old man peered at Sasuke, obviously recognizing the Uchiha immediately.
“What's wrong, old man? Do you know the guy? Is he dangerous?” Kenji said, apprehensively looking at him as well.
“No, you idiot! It's... It's him! He's one of the guys that saved our country from Gatō's terror years ago! You're Sasuke, right, my boy?!” He looked extremely excited, and the Uchiha could only sigh in defeat. There was no way to avoid it all now. He was caught.
Kenji simply stared at him, incredulously.
“Then I guess it all makes sense now, if you're from Konoha... Hina was with him, too.”
“Oh?! So Sasuke-san is the boyfriend you've lost there, Hina-san? What a wonderful pair...”
He fought the urge to slap his face with a palm hearing the old man's nonsense. For some reason he felt a bit embarrassed now, especially looking at Hinata's reddening face.
“I'm not her boyfriend. Tazuna, we'll be needing a place to stay overnight. Some food wouldn't hurt, too. You're also not to tell anyone, and I narrow it, anyone, that we're from Konoha. We're currently on a top secret mission, revealing our origins will likely blow away our cover and thus end up a failure.”
The bridge builder quickly nodded, his face becoming dead serious.
“I see... Sure, sure, I understand... We won't spill a word, I swear. Right, Kenji?” Without waiting for the man's reply, Tazuna stepped from the doorway, welcoming them. “Please, get in, be my guests and feel yourselves at home, Sasuke-san, Hina-san...” He suddenly stopped, finally noticing the woman that accompanied them. Tazuna slapped his nape, groaning.
“Please, forget my impossible rudeness! I was too absorbed by my nostalgic feelings, seeing Sasuke-san after all these years again... Please, be my guest as well, eh... milady?..”
“It's Kura.” She smiled politely.
“Right, Kura-san! Please, please, get in... Tsunami will treat us with some nice late dinner.”
Tsunami turned to be very pleased by seeing Sasuke again as well. After finding out that the blind girl traveled with the Uchiha, her mood became much better than before as she was placing the plates with dishes on their table.
Inari was almost ecstatic: he remembered that the Uchiha was a friend of Naruto who he admired, and seeing as he also was a friend of Hina, the girl who saved him and his sister few hours ago, he was just too happy with his presence, and even his bandaged, broken hand didn't spoil his mood. This effect was only strengthened when he found out that Sasuke almost singlehandedly destroyed everyone who attacked them that day.
Sasuke and Hinata were mostly silent during their meal, not really listening to Kenji's colorful description of their little adventure this night, supported with Kura's joyful additions here and there. Each was deep in their own thoughts, so they didn't notice how Tsunami's apparent displease switched it's aim from Hinata to Kura.
Once they were finished, the family's matriarch that was trying to burn the woman with her bare eyes this whole time suddenly turned to the Hyūga girl, smiling a bit falsely.
“Oh, Hina-san! What's up with your hair?! Did it get damaged in a fight? Please, come with me, I'll help you fix it!” She said, getting up from the table.
Hinata winced a little, clearly not expecting such an offer from the woman, and then brushed her hair with her fingers, estimating the damage that she seemingly didn't even notice before.
Sasuke had to admit that it was smart of her: even though she could see her hair perfectly with her currently covered dōjutsu, she still acted in public as if she was blind. She was much more focused than before, constantly on guard. It was a good sign.
Her hair, however, really looked bad now that he cared to check it: apparently one of the three shinobi he killed in the dungeon cut a good part of it off with a blade when they fought, making her once long, silky and smooth hair look wild and unsightly now.
After a moment of hesitation, Hinata finally nodded, getting up as well.
“Sure. Thank you very much, that would be great, Tsunami-san.” The two of them moved to another room, closing the door.
Sasuke sighed, watching as the two retired. Without stuttering, her voice didn't annoy him. In fact, he found it rather pleasant to his ears.
He will have to get used to this new Hinata, even though he obviously liked the changes.
«Oi, Sasuke-san! Please, give us an honour, have a drink with us!” Tazuna handed him a small glass with sake: the same glass already was held by Kenji who was for once looking at him with slight remorse and with high respect after what Tazuna told him during the dinner.
He took the glass and the old man got up, pledging:
“To our saviors, Sasuke-san, Hina-san and Kura-san here!” He winked at the woman who smiled with pleasure as they clinked.
They all looked so happy now, even though outside of this enclave of peace and tranquility was only hell and destruction of their homeland. Why?
Because they could endure, the sudden answer came to him. They could endure the blows that fate landed on them, and they could still live, treasuring the small moments of happiness and joy of each other's company.
He drank the sake with a single sip.
How could he possibly deny the old man's humble effort to forge a bond between him and them, even if it would only exist for a very short time?
Perhaps this was what he fought to protect, after all?
***
She stared at the wooden wall blankly as Tsunami's scissors worked with her ruined hair.
Ever since the moment Sasuke appeared to save her, Hinata felt uneasy and confused to say the least.
Somehow the man managed to break her picture of the world only a moment after she finally managed to shift her paradigm. And now she didn't know what to think and feel.
Of course, she was grateful to him, how could she not be? She saw that he was still low on chakra, and was still physically hurt after the war, and despite that he really put some effort in saving her life. She didn't know quite well what happened after everyone was trapped within the infinite genjutsu, but she could figure that defeating Madara was not that easy at all.
She also knew that something happened during that fight, right after Naruto was supposedly killed by extracting the bijū out of him, she saw his heart stopped beating, and yet he was revived by some mysterious means shortly after, gaining incredible power in addition.
Shortly after the war, when she saw his eye and asked her dad, she was told that Rinnegan was a natural stage of development of Sharingan, but there was something off about it, just like about Naruto's miraculous return from afterlife. If it was like that, why nobody aside from him, Madara and Pain ever awakened this dōjutsu? Why was it considered a legend, a fairy tale before the recent events?
There was nothing natural about these eyes, of that she was somehow sure.
Furthermore, only the Uchiha Clan heirs could awaken Sharingan. Pain most certainly wasn't an Uchiha, and yet he had the eyes.
All these points led her to the conclusion that Rinnegan couldn't be simply awakened. Something had to trigger it, just like something triggered Naruto's dramatic power increase.
But what? What did they do? Was it the thing that finally stopped the feud between them?
Before the war, she was sure Sasuke hated Naruto. The conflict between the two of them was always a hot topic between the girls of her generation ever since the Uchiha had left the village.
Now, Sasuke was different, and Naruto didn't seem to find it weird at all. That could only mean that he knew why exactly the mysterious Uchiha changed so much. Even though most people would say he was still the same, arrogant, mean and aloof, she could see it too well: Sasuke was nothing like his past self.
She didn't know him that well in their childhood, and of course she didn't know him at all nowadays.
But she was an observant person. And she watched him closely ever since he joined them at war, because he was important to Naruto, and she didn't want the blue eyed boy she adored to be hurt because of him.
Sasuke felt... Alive again?
He was a bit similar to what she could remember of him in those little fragments in her memories during those distant times in the Academy when they were still kids, before the Uchiha massacre.
When he had left her last evening, she decided that her perception failed her. It didn't really surprise her, no: how could someone like her ever be actually sure in something?
She could imagine what he thought of her. Weak, ugly, boring, annoying, pathetic. She knew she was all these things before, and probably still was. What actually did surprise her was that he accepted her, allowing to follow him.
That's why she half expected him to leave her soon. By doing so, he only proved her point one final time: nobody needed her nor cared for her.
She was alone in this dark, cruel world, and there was no place for weakness in her.
Not anymore.
But then he had to spoil everything, and now she was unsure what to do and think. She certainly didn't want to become what she used to be: after the insight he finally gave her, she never felt better.
Yet still she realized that it all depended on his reasoning now. Truth to be told, she was afraid that he actually pitied her. Because then the seed of doubt would be placed in her mind and soul again: there could be someone who cared for her old self. She wouldn't be wrong: the world would be.
She impossibly feared that this would cause her to hide in her own small world of delusions again, this time – forever.
So it was all up to Sasuke, after all.
Back in the dungeon, when the Kiri nin tried to kill her, she wasn't afraid. She believed in fate, and if it was her destiny to die there like that, she'd consider it a final liberation from this joke of a life.
But then he came to save her, and even that wasn't what she considered the most important.
Her soul depended on him now much more than down there back then.
“So, you and Sasuke-san are such a cute young couple... A perfect match, if you ask me. How did you meet each other?” Tsunami suddenly snatched Hinata out of her swirl of thoughts.
A bit confused by the sudden question, the Hyūga girl babbled:
“We knew each other since childhood...”
“Oh, it's so beautiful!” She could hear the woman's wide smile. “So you were friends since then, and he became your boyfriend at some point? It's so romantic!..”
“He's not my boyfriend!” Hinata snapped, a bit too expressive.
The scissors stopped moving.
“Is that so?” Tsunami asked, her tone dropping down to the one Hinata already heard today. Filled with jealousy towards her husband.
It would be wise to not provoke the woman that helped them, since it was so important to her. That woman named Kura already did enough of that, and they certainly didn't need Tsunami even more angered.
But what to say now that she said he wasn't her boyfriend?.. There was only one option left to smoothen this awkward situation...
Oh, gods, she was going to regret it.
“Y-yes. He is my husband.”
She could feel Tsunami's hands twitch, followed by a relaxed sigh of relief.
“Husband? Oh... That's a bit unexpected, you two look so young...”
“Shinobi mature faster than other people. I assure you that we're mature enough.” She said, her voice not giving away her embarrassment. “Especially him.” She suddenly added, unsure why – it just burst out without any thinking.
“O-oh... Of course, mind you, I have no doubt that you are.” She continued cutting her dark hair off again. “It's just that, oh, please, get it right... We here are not used to shiobi being around. That's why pretty much everything about you guys seems weird, you know? Especially about your lovely husband...”
Lovely? Yeah, right...
“But we here thought that all the shinobi of Konoha had departed to the Great War that started a few days ago, which was the reason why nobody was left to protect us. Did you two participate that war?”
“Yes. We did.” Her response was probably too calm and cold: Tsunami decided to not push on the matter any further, so she just finished the haircut in silence.
“Here, take a look! Oh... I'm sorry...” She wanted to give Hinata a mirror to check the results of her work, but apparently she forgot that the Hyūga girl was blind.
Sighing, Hinata took off the bandage from her face. There was no point to hide the fact that she could actually see here, now that half of this family already knew it.
Her white eyes widened just a bit, gazing at her reflection. She actually expected it to look ugly, but it didn't. In fact, she liked her looks now much better than before.
Her haircut was similar to her past one, in a way. But now the hair was shortened in half, only reaching an inch past her shoulders. Her forelock also looked a bit different, slightly sagging to the right and revealing a part of her forehead.
It made her look different. More... Wild. Free. Careless.
And it went great with her new outfit.
She smiled for the first time in a while.
“Thank you, Tsunami-san. It looks great.”
“Oh, so you can?.. Oh... You like it? I wasn't sure you would, I'm not a barber, but...”
“I love it.” She simply said, making the woman clap her hands in joy.
But then Hinata's smile faded.
She still needed to talk to Sasuke, and she couldn't delay it any further.
“I need to have a word with my husband before we all go to sleep. Thank you again, for everything.”
“You're welcome, Hina-san! I was glad to help!”
Sasuke was already out of the guest room. Kenji slept on the table, snoring deafeningly, and Tazuna was talking to Kura who didn't seem tired at all. Inari was gone as well, probably went to sleep since it was already nearly dawning.
“Um, Tazuna-san... Where is Sasuke-san?”
“Oh, Hina-chan... There, h'went to the courtyard, said h'needed some fresh air or somethin' like that... We drank quite a few glasses, y'now...” He laughed, pouring himself another portion of sake.
She moved at the direction the old man pointed. So Sasuke was drunk? It was hardly imaginable, and she didn't know what to expect of him in such state. Would they even be able to talk... Like this?
But she decided to try anyway. This couldn't wait any longer.
Getting out of the welcoming house, she stepped to the grass that was only lighted by the moon on the night, cloudy sky.
Sasuke was there, sitting in the lotus pose, but she could only see his back as he faced the direction opposite to the door.
Quietly coming closer to him, not wanting to break the rare moment of peace that was surrounding him, she stopped.
Yet still, there was no other choice.
Clearing her throat, she quietly uttered:
“Sasuke-san... There, back in the cave, you said we'd talk later. I think the time is now. Nobody will interfere at this place.”
He didn't reply at first, making her wait for a good half a minute in the silence of the night.
“I know. “ He finally said, his eyes closed.
There was another long pause before she asked:
“So? Why did you come back, Sasuke-san?”
He sighed, seemingly annoyed. Was she so bothersome to him?
“I wanted to test your abilities.” He snapped reluctantly, not adding anything to it, only confusing her even more.
“Excuse me?” How could he test her abilities without even being present?! That didn't make any sense at all.
“If you died there, I wouldn't care much. That would mean that my impression on you was correct, and you're just a weakling who can't defend herself even from other weaklings. I was going to come later and see how you're handling the situation, and the outcome was supposed to be the deciding factor.” He sounded absolutely serious, no sign of being drunk in his voice what so ever.
So she was right, and at the same time, she was wrong. He didn't want her old self around, but he gave her a chance to prove her being worthy of joining him.
Without realizing it, he gave her a chance and, at the same time, a motivation to change. To become better.
So she wasn't wrong. Fate was guiding her to follow this so contradictory man.
The one who was her only light left in this dark world.
“I see.” She simply replied, unsure what to do next. Was he satisfied? He said he was going to come back to check her anyway, so that didn't really mean anything. So why?..
“But why did you save me?” She asked another question that remained bothering her.
He opened his eyes, finally raising his head to meet her gaze.
“Because we're accomplices in this journey.”
Her heart started racing as she felt her lips bend into a smile. Did he mean that?..
“So you're satisfied with my abilities?”
“No. You're weak.”
She felt something breaking inside of her.
“But your will is strong. That means you can become strong, too.”
For gods' sake, this man was going to drive her crazy, giving her hope one moment and destroying it the other second, and then again, and again...
“Train me then!” She suddenly blurted, tightening her fists.
He blinked, watching her in the white eyes that were filled with resolve.
“Come again?”
“Please, train me, Sasuke-san!”
He eyed her in disbelief before finally answering:
“How am I supposed to do that? I never trained anyone before, and we're of the same age. We were in the same class.”
“We're not. You're seventeen, and I'm only sixteen.” She almost giggled at his expression. Apparently the Uchiha didn't expect her to have the ability to joke, but it was mutual, she thought, remembering the episode in the forest. “Plus, you're one of the strongest shinobi alive. You're a dōjutsu user like me, and not only that, but you're also a man of incredible skill. Compared to you, I'm indeed a weakling. But I don't wanna be one anymore. So please... Train me to become stronger!”
He sat still, looking at her, apparently thinking. Even though it was only a minute or so, the waiting for his response seemed like an eternity to her.
“Alright. I'll teach you. But it won't be easy since I'm going to put you through the same training I received years ago. But before that, I want you to answer my question, and you must be honest here.” She nodded.
“Why do you want this?”
Really, why? Was she doing it so she could prove herself to someone? To her clan? To Hanabi? To father? To Naruto? To her friends?
To him, Sasuke?
No.
“I want it for myself.” She voiced her conclusion, fearlessly meeting his obsidian dark eyes.
And then he smirked, getting up from the ground.
“Fine. We're going to start off tomorrow, while we're on our way to the next destination. No go and have some sleep, you will need to be rested.
Next destination?..
“But where are we going next?” She asked, curiously. Only now she started feeling relaxed in his presence, after he finally accepted her for real.
“Land of Sound. I need to meet some old friends.”
***
Next morning they found out that the damage caused to the town turned to be mostly material. Over eighty percents of it's population managed to survive the attack, and now Hinata and Sasuke stood before the cheering crowd, ready to depart from the country through the Great Naruto Bridge.
“Take care, Hina-san, Sasuke-san! We'll be missing you a lot, please, come back to visit us sometime later!” Inari smiled, looking at the two shinobi.
“Absolutely. You'll always be welcome in these lands, we owe you our lives.” Tsunami nodded, bowing down in respect.
“Y-yeah... They are right, of course. Thank you, guys.” Kenji uttered, clearly feeling a bit uncomfortable around his wife after yesterday's dinner.
Tazuna came to them then, lowering his hands on their shoulders.
“I don't know how to thank you, my friends. Especially you, Sasuke-san. It seems like you're our guardian angel who gods sent to protect us. We'll never be able to repay our debt for you and Hinata-san, but at least know that this is a place where you and your friends will always be welcome.”
The Uchiha nodded, smirking.
“Thanks, old man.” He then turned to Kura who was standing a bit aside from them, smiling shyly at him.
“I really hope that you follow our agreement. It's best for you to do so.”
The woman quickly nodded a few times, her smile widening.
“Of course, of course I will. But please, Sasuke-san...” She lowered her tone so that only he could hear her. “Make sure Gatō never comes back.”
Giving her a short nod, he turned away, walking to the bridge with Hinata following him a moment after.
“Wait a second, Sasuke-san!” Tazuna suddenly yelled, waving his hand.
The Uchiha stopped, turning around and looking at the old man questioningly.
“All these people who gathered here to thank you, they would like to know who saved them... To tell this story to the next generations, you know... So, who exactly saved us all?” He asked, pointedly, obviously remembering that he shouldn't mention their allegiance to Konoha to anyone.
Hinata eyed his face as he paused, deciding what to say.
And then replied loudly after a few seconds of thinking before turning away:
“The Uchiha Clan.”
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