Mari Makinami
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Small preview:
I dedicate this chapter to my best friend who unfortunately lives too far away from me to give a decent congratulation on his birthday. Originally I intended to make this chapter come out on that day, but... sorry for being late, buddy, you know I had my reasons!
I'm also proud to say that this chapter is the longest one I've written so far, and with this update, we've crossed the line of 100k words! Yay! Thanks to my every reader and especially to the reviewers - without you guys, I most certainly wouldn't get this far with this story. You and only you people who keep the feedback up for me inspire me to continue even in the hardest moments of my life!
Now, I'm off to celebrate my own birthday! Luckily I managed to finish this chapter by today so I hope you guys write as many reviews as possible, as a birthday present to me!
Cheers!Have a nice read!
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Chapter 11. The True Kunoichi
Years later, the citizens of Tanzaku-gai would remember that night as the coldest one in decades. Despite this fact, for most of them this memory would be a pleasant one – they couldn't really explain why or describe it narrowly, but despite the extremely strong snowstorm, almost everyone in the town had that strange feeling of comfort, of something mysterious, or even fairy, something from their childhood that was raising the memories they couldn't quite grasp, only a haze of happy emotions flowing up from the depths of their hearts.
That would go for nearly everyone in Tanzaku-gai that night.
Except for the girl that was foreign to this place.
Hinata sighed, trying to warm her hands for the tenth time that cold, dark and lonely night, aimlessly scanning the town itself and the area around Tanzaku-gai with her Byakugan and waiting for Sasuke's return. For some reason, with the snowstorm getting more and more powerful outside, the bad feeling in her guts was getting stronger as well. Despite the weather, everything looked absolutely peaceful for her – the majority of people were already asleep, and some strangers that were still wandering here and there were either too drunk to find their way home or to a flophouse, or they were looking for a place to continue having fun. Yet still, for some reason, the girl didn't feel well at all, being constantly on guard the whole night, barely able to force herself to take a nap, especially after that vision she had, which, she presumed, contained Sasuke's memories about the ending of the war.
Hours were running one after another, and the Uchiha wasn't showing up. What was taking him so long? According to his words, he had to get back approximately an hour ago. Did something happen to him in Konoha? Did they decide to imprison him for helping her, or for his own past crimes? Or for something else he did that she wasn't aware of...?
No, there was no way for them to be able to hold him there by force. He was far too powerful for everyone in the village, even for the Hokage. Then it had to be something urgent... Sasuke usually was very punctual and precise, so there had to be a very good reason. Hinata learned it first hand long ago, in the beginning of their training, since he always demanded the same from his student.
She suddenly smiled, hugging herself and slightly trembling of cold. Just a few months ago she would've definitely thought that he decided to leave her. Right now, such thought didn't even cross her mind.
Hinata trusted the Uchiha. She had no doubt that he was a man of his word, and that he actually cared for her.
Which meant he would definitely be back soon.
She frowned. For some reason, the familiar feeling raised inside of her again, making the girl feel confused, just like it did every time it appeared ever since they've left the ruins of Uzushiogakure. And it only became stronger after she watched that memory of his.
It was pretty simple, yet complicated at the same time - she wanted to hug the Uchiha, to feel the warmth of his body, to feel that she wasn't alone.
And this desire, which she believed was pretty innocent, made her feel uneasy.
That just wasn't right. She was his tool, not his friend, relative or a lover. A scampish student at best...
Basically, she was nobody to him. She had no right to show nor feel this kind of affection towards Sasuke. And he certainly didn't need it... at least not on regular basis. Recalling that rare moment of weakness in the insane old woman's house, it was obvious that he just needed somebody to comfort him. Anyone, not her specifically.
But that wasn't just it.
She was different from her past self now.
Although her allegiance to the Uchiha was out of the question, she now also had her own goals and ambitions. Hinata didn't want to let any weakness in her heart anymore. Serving Sasuke, or even dying for him, would be perfectly fine after everything he did for her. It was a matter of honor, actually, and she certainly considered herself an honest and honorable person.
But feelings for him... she didn't want them. Yet, being realistic... was it possible to avoid it?
He was everything for her right now: her master, her senior, her accomplice, her best friend... now, after months spent on talking to each other, sometimes about very private matters, it would be stupid to deny it. She probably already knew him better than everyone else alive, and the realization of the fact that there were still so many things about him she had yet to find out made her feel amazed by how complicated and complex was the person the girl called her master.
But that day in the Land of Whirlpools changed everything, making her feel the things neither of them wanted nor needed.
And she tried to suppress them as best as she could.
But that night, when everyone around looked so happy, cheerful and peaceful, reminding her of the night when she had left the village... without anything or anyone around to at least talk, to distract herself from the bad thoughts... she so wanted him to come back as soon as possible, to at least touch his hand... to see that he was alright...
The rogue Hyūga shook her head and gritted her teeth in the burst frustration and anger.
She needed to control her emotions. She was a kunoichi now, not the stupid, weak girl from the past. Truth to be told, that one was her nightmare now. There weren't many things that she feared, but her past image... it stalked her in her dreams, sometimes making the Hyūga wake up in the middle of a night in cold sweat, breathing hard.
Hinata wanted to bury her past for good. She didn't want anything to remind herself of what she was before she met the Uchiha.
Groaning, the kunoichi hit the wooden wall with her fist. Could she get Sasuke out of her head for at least a minute, for gods' sake?!
But then the girl flinched, noticing something strange and focusing her dōjutsu on the fringe on the shortest way to Konoha. There stood a man who looked quite familiar to her... where did she see him before...?
So they found her, after all. But...
Hinata gasped as the sudden realization hit her. He was her clansman from the Main House, an ANBU spy. And his own Byakugan was activated... peering directly at her. And it was obvious that he was waiting for something... or someone?
Slowly getting up, she yawned, stretching her arms as if she was ignorant of the fact that somebody was watching her, trying to not even turn her head in the direction of the man. Picking up her newly bought warm coat with fur lining, the Hyūga went outside of the hotel room, getting downstairs and yawning again, afraid to raise any suspicions in the spy's mind.
"Oi, Hina-sama! Are you leaving already?" The cheerful, strong-built, white haired and gray eyed barman in his mid twenties with a small beard asked, waving to her with his hand that was still holding an empty beer cup.
"Yes, Tōji-san. I totally forgot that Sasuke asked me to buy him something, so I need to get it before he comes back... I don't wanna make him angry because of my stupidity."
Hinata noticed with her Byakugan that the spy's eyes widened as she mentioned the Uchiha's name. So he was reading her lips' movements... damn it... she needed to get rid of him as soon as possible, but any rush would alarm him that he's been spotted...
And then she flinched, fighting the urge to start shaking.
Hiashi Hyūga, accompanied by his four bodyguards, was quickly approaching the ANBU, being only a mile away from him at the moment.
She needed to take him down before he revealed her connection with Sasuke to her father.
"Oh! I see! I hope you'll be staying here for a couple more days, Hina-sama! You're such a cutie!" The barman winked to her, but the black haired girl didn't seem to notice his compliment, turning around and waving him a goodbye without looking at him.
Getting outside of the relatively warm hall, she squinted, wrapping the coat as tight as she could. It was really cold out there, so no wonder that only very few people were still present on the street that was usually filled even this late at night...
Lazily gazing around as if she was looking for some specific store, she slowly walked towards the gates that were the closest to her target for what seemed like good five minutes, and then, after confirming that the man didn't get any suspicious, she rapidly accelerated, jumping over the wall and rushing towards him as fast as she could.
Fortunately her training with Sasuke brought quite some results - the man, astonished by the sudden attack, wasn't able to react in time, so she easily knocked him down, disarming and breaking his hand the same instant, making the spy's face sink in snow.
"How did you know I was here?! I'm supposed to be dead to the clan and the village. Answer now, or I'll kill you!" She growled with unusual hatred in her voice, grabbed his hair and raising the man's head just high enough for him to be able to talk.
Apparently he desperately tried to suppress the scream of sudden searing pain, quietly groaning in response:
"I won't tell you anything, you traitor... you can kill me, but you'll be dead in no time, too. Although I'm pretty sure that you can see it yourself... they are close." He grinned, gasping as her knee landed hard between his shoulder blades, making the man's spine make a loud, dangerous sound.
"You all underestimate me too much... but you won't ever know how bad you are mistaken. Farewell." She then let his hair, grabbing both of the man's hands and, putting her foot onto his back, she broke it a second later, ending his life nearly instantly.
And just a few seconds later, Hiashi showed up from the darkness of the forest, landing a few yards away from her and his now dead subordinate.
She had no doubt that her father had seen everything seeing as his Byakugan was activated, so Hinata decided to spare the futile talk, jumping away from the corpse and taking her new standard fighting stance. At least she managed to make the spy take the information about Sasuke helping her to his afterlife. This way, even if she was to die there that night, the Uchiha would remain innocent in the eyes of the council of Konoha, as well as in the eyes of her own clan. And she knew that he couldn't afford being accused for anything criminal at all after all the things he had done.
"Daughter."
Hinata didn't reply, refusing to acknowledge the man before her as her father, calmly gazing in his white, empty irises instead.
The other four looked indifferent, but knowing the ways of disciplining in their clan, the girl could easily read the hidden expression of shock and disbelief, along with disgust on their faces. They weren't afraid of her, though – each deactivated his Byakugan, apparently not considering her a threat.
Same went for Hiashi who smirked, closing his eyes and shaking his head.
"If only I knew that you'd become worthy being put under such circumstances... we could've avoided all this." He uttered, sighing.
"Hiashi-sama, please, let me deal with her...! She's killed Hoshi!" The one who she now remembered to be the twin of the man who she's just killed cried, giving up on his mask and looking at her with uncovered, passionate hatred now. Was his name Heshi...?
The tradition of her clan to name the twins similarly always seemed ridiculous to the girl. Now, come to think of it, considering the amount of tragic, ironic and laughable things about the Hyūga, her whole clan was just one big, cruel joke.
"Seize her. I want to know who helped her to trick Kō... as well as survive the Saigo no Yume. Although I have my suspicions, I need the confirmation to convince the Sixth."
And then she noticed it - the opening. Hoshi was too overwhelmed by emotions over his brother's death, and so he let his guard down for a second, looking at Hiashi resentfully, still without his dōjutsu activated.
And that was more than ample for her.
Charging forward with the highest speed she could take, Hinata sliced Heshi's throat with a kunai, jumping to the side the instant she did so to avoid the multiple attacks directed at her by the other three bodyguards.
Hiashi silently observed her movements with his eyes wide open, clearly having a hard time believing that his wimpy weakling of a daughter has just mercilessly slain the two shinobi from her own clan.
"That's some speed... apparently you are taught by someone strong. I'm curious, who is your new master? Could you tell me?" The clan's head said with apparent joy in his voice, and this was when Hinata's own impassive mask gave a crack, making the girl greet her teeth in the rising anger.
"Is this the only thing you care about now, when your subordinates from your family are being killed?!" She shouted, dodging a few shurikens sent by the three surviving jōnin.
The man shrugged indifferently.
"If they are so weak that even you can kill them effortlessly, considering their rank, they are a shame to the clan, nothing else. Your changes concern me much more at the moment."
So he was trying to taunt her... oh, well...
She calmed down, recalling what Sasuke always taught her above everything else – keeping calm and collected was more important than anything in a fight.
"I have nothing to hide, but I don't want to tell you anything, either. Perhaps you'd like to figure it out on your own, father? If you're brave enough to keep up, of course..." She quietly uttered, weaving a few hand signs.
The man's face twisted, and then he laughed, raising his palm and thus commanding the Hyūga ANBU to back off.
"Fair enough... it's getting more and more curious. I wonder... here is my offer for you. I will fight you, and no one else will interfere. But it will be a fight to death. Do you realize that you won't survive it, daughter?"
She smirked. He took the bait, and he did it so easily... was Sasuke truly correct when he said that the elders of her clan were merely a bunch of old, prideful and cruel fools who had nothing but assurance in their exclusiveness, which, in reality, made them a mere mediocrity?
"Hardly. But I accept your preposition." Hinata formed the Seal of Confrontation with her right arm, not moving her gaze away from her father.
Hiashi hesitated for a second, but then he smiled grimly, confidently striding towards the girl and forming the same seal himself.
"For the first time in your life, you're making me proud, daughter... I hope you won't disappoint me this time." He smirked, clearly not taking her serious.
The other three Hyūga shinobi visibly relaxed in preparation of their duel, apparently absolutely sure that nothing threatened them at the moment.
And that was their grave mistake.
Performing the Shunshin no Jutsu, Hinata disappeared, and then the two of them screamed in terrible pain as she pierced the back of one of them with her kunai, and, before the other one could react, she gripped his head from behind, breaking his neck with a disgusting cracking sound.
The whole action didn't take Hinata more than three seconds to return to her previous spot.
"Never underestimate your foe, no matter what. Isn't it the basics... father?" She asked as calm as before, seeing as Hiashi finally dropped his smug and prideful face, becoming infuriated by her simple bluff. It was obvious that she stood no chance against the five of them at the same time, yet still the girl somehow managed to fool them two times by now, dramatically decreasing their number and thus negating their advantage.
"I can see you've become a true kunoichi... sneaky and cunning, you've learned to hide your emotions and intentions. Let's see if you also have the strength to back up your insolence!" Now Hinata finally had to shape up – if she reacted to his attack a split second later, Hiashi's palm would've smashed her skull without a doubt.
But there was one more distraction of which she had to get rid of – the sole surviving bodyguard who attacked her at the same time as Hiashi. As far as she could remember, he was Kō's childhood friend named Haruki, and this shinobi was pretty strong. But the idea of killing him was quite exciting to her – considering the circumstances, that was a nice way of getting her revenge for what Kō tried to do with her.
Barely able to avoid the continuous barrage of their jūken strikes, Hinata jumped up to the high tree, channeling the chakra into her fists. Although Sasuke recommended her to not use this technique in real combat again for a while, she had no choice right now – the girl doubted that she'd be able to defeat her father yet, only counting on disabling him for some time to be able to flee, so she couldn't risk showing him any lightning techniques, especially Chidori, the Uchiha's signature jutsu. It would certainly give Sasuke away... after all, her father was anything but an idiot.
But then she noticed Haruki storming towards her up the tree, going ahead of Hiashi. Apparently his impatience and desire to bring her to his leader was really strong... and, considering that he was from the Main House, it would probably indeed give him some benefits in future. Despite his awful nature, no one could deny that the clan's head truly worshiped those who were useful to him.
Unfortunately for the bodyguard, though, his fate was already sealed the second he decided to waste all his power on his charge – in order to get to her as swiftly as possible, he sacrificed his focus and attention... after all, speed was never the highest priority in the Hyūga traditional fighting school.
Stopping the jutsu preparation sequence, Hinata scratched her finger on the bark of the tree, and then she suddenly changed her direction and jumped to the nearest branch, instantly turning around, only to find the bodyguard's stomach just before her eyes – exactly as the kunoichi expected, the man didn't react to her sudden move in time, inertially continuing to move up the tree.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Hinata slammed her palm into Haruki's abdomen, his body being covered with the concentric pattern of the summoning seal.
Apparently he didn't even realize what was happening to him before it was already too late. The man's horrible, heartbreaking scream of unbearable pain filled the forest as his body was being torn apart from the inside by the giant white snake, only a little bit smaller than Sasuke's favorite summoning, Aoda, covering the kunoichi with Haruki's blood.
"Hinata-sama, I'm at your service." The female hissing voice reported casually as the snake wrapped it's massive body around the tree, awaiting for the orders.
Hinata jumped up, noticing that her father stopped, watching her in awe and, at once, in sincere shock, Landing onto the creature's head, she knelt down to stick to the snake's skin tighter.
"Kiruda-san! Crush the tree, now!"
"Yes, Hinata-sama!" The giant trunk cracked, breaking into pieces a second later.
Hiashi cursed, jumping down and using Kaiten to protect himself from the debris, trying to keep himself focused on Hinata who suddenly became fast enough to make him truly wary, and on the snake at the same time.
It was by now obvious to him that his daughter became an apprentice of Orochimaru after she had left the village, yet never in his life he could imagine that she'd get so good in such a short time, even under guidance of a genius like the snake sannin.
The girl, on the other hand, seemed pretty confident now – seeing as Hiashi's resolve was fractured, and all the obstacles in the faces of their clansmen were gone, leaving only the two of them to fight, she was pretty sure that together with her summoning she'd able to land the deciding blow.
Jumping up from Kiruda's head and trying to get as high as it was possible, Hinata channeled as much chakra as she could into her palms once again. The snake, on the other hand, rapidly charged at Hiashi, trying to bite him with it's giant, venomous fangs.
"Katon: Jūho Sōshiken!" This time, despite the extreme situation, her chakra control was flawless. The two giant lions formed of incredibly potent fire element chakra and stormed towards her father along with Kiruda.
According to her calculations, it was supposed to be enough to distract him by the sudden usage of a technique somewhat foreign to him – he himself told her that nobody ever managed to add the elemental chakra to this jutsu that was quite complicated as it was.
And it turned to be correct – jumping up to dodge Kiruda's attack, Hiashi was forced to use Kaiten midair, and, being bathed in Hinata's searing chakra, he couldn't see the incoming attack – everything around him was too bright to use Byakugan without the risk of being blinded, so he had to turn it off for a while.
Realizing that, considering the tremendous amount of chakra Hinata had put into her jutsu, as well as it's explosive nature – unlike any other Katon technique, he couldn't just shake it off, since the lions would explode should they lose their form – it would take him too much time to swirl until the flames would be completely dispersed, so she knew that he needed to use a pretty tricky move to get rid of the fire, taking control over her wild, unstable chakra with his own power and throwing it away. But regardless of the outcome of this move, he needed to stop the rotation to try it, and, considering that he had to dodge Kiruda's charges at the same time, by doing so, he created a perfect opening for his daughter.
The only thing Hinata didn't consider when she was planning this sequence was Uchiha Sasuke who suddenly crossed the border of her Byakugan's field of vision, approximately a mile away from them, diverting her attention for a split second.
And this distraction failed everything.
Well, almost.
Instead of landing the fatal strike onto Hiashi's chest when he stopped the Kaiten, she was only able to touch his shoulder with her four fingers which were slightly shining with her lightning element chakra – he couldn't notice it without his dōjutsu activated, so she wasn't really risking anything.
Hiashi screamed, losing the control he was trying to maintain over the mass of Hinata's chakra, and just a second after her attack reached him, the mass exploded, throwing both of them in the opposite directions like some weightless dolls.
Hinata felt how her ribs cracked as her back hit the large oak, and then, falling down, she moaned of the terrible pain in her right forearm as well.
Her eyes couldn't see or hear anything since the flash of the explosion blinded and deafened both of them, but somehow she felt that Hiashi's condition wasn't any better.
That was a wrong assumption.
When she tried to stand up, someone's hand grabbed her hair, forcefully raising the girl up to the air.
"That's enough, you little spawn of a *****... I should have dealt with you personally long ago, just like I did with your filthy mother..."
Her mother...? He... did he...?
Still unable to see anything but the light that suddenly changed it's color from white to red as incredible hatred and rage filled her every inside, she could feel how Hiashi grabbed her left arm and broke it as well, and this was far more brutal than what happened to her other limb - the girl felt that her spoke-bone went out of the flesh, yet still, collecting the last pieces of her willpower, Hinata refused to scream, although it was probably the most painful experience in her whole life.
And then some mysterious power threw her away again, but, to her surprise, the fall wasn't painful this time – if anything, it was as if somebody carefully landed her onto the snow, making sure to not harm the girl anymore.
The last thing she heard before losing consciousness due to the immense pain was Hiashi's indignant voice as the Hyūga cried in anger:
"Uchiha?! What's the meaning of this?!"
Sasuke eyed Hinata's father with indifference, the only thing readable in his eyes being barely notable scepsis.
"I could to ask you the same thing." He snapped in a perfectly calm manner, stopping a few yards away from the harmed shinobi.
"As your senior, I demand your report right away! What are you doing here?! How could you dare to attack me, a council member?!" Hiashi yelled, clenching the fist of his only working, right hand – his left one wasn't moving, as if he completely lost control over it. But Sasuke could see that the chakra flow in the damaged limb completely stopped, so it was safe to assume that Hinata managed to get him with her Raiton Jūken.
"It's yet to determine if you're truly Hiashi Hyūga or an imposer... I have a better question right now – why are you attacking a chūnin from my village, and what did you expect me to do when I saw that you were going to finish her off, especially when the girl is already incapacitated?" He asked, slightly cocking his head to the left as if he was mocking the Hyūga clan's leader, yet still he did it with clearly visible, honest suspicion in his eyes. "I'd rather be careful on choosing the words right now if I was you, because if you know who I am, which I already doubt by now, you also know that I can kill you on your spot faster than you can blink."
Hiashi cursed. The boy was right, and he knew it. Nobody in Konoha was a match for the Uchiha save for the Kyūbi's jinchūriki, and certainly not him, Hiashi, especially not in his current condition. Even if he was reluctant to admit it, his daughter nearly managed to kill him – if her strike landed just a few inches to the right, his heart would be paralyzed, and what she used on him clearly wasn't the regular jūken. Usually when his tenketsu were disabled, he could still move his arms and legs. Right now, he just didn't feel his left arm, as if it was completely missing, and it was more than weird.
In other words, he had to explain everything to the Uchiha, but... wasn't it strange that he came here, of all places? Why...?
If Hinata was taught by Orochimaru... considering that the Uchiha and his daughter had left the village on the same day, and the fact that the boy was on friendly terms with the sannin... was it possible that these two were accomplices...?
Cleaning his throat with a cough and forcing himself to calm down to avoid any further misunderstandings, Hiashi carefully uttered:
"I will explain everything to you, Uchiha-san, but first, I insist on your explanation of one thing. Why are you here? As for my identity - as far as I know, you can check my chakra signature with your Sharingan."
Sasuke eyed him up and down thoughtfully before activating his dōjutsu, slightly nodding a second later.
"Yeah, I can see that it's you indeed... but..." He glanced at Hinata who was lying on the snow, her breath being surprisingly strong for the condition she was currently in. "I can see that the girl is herself, too. I wonder why a father would try to kill his own daughter. As for your question... I've been given a top-secret mission by the Hokage, so I'm heading to the rendezvous to meet the one who I'm assigned with."
Hiashi's eyes widened.
"The mission in Amegakure...?"
"Yeah."
It made sense now. He knew that the Uchiha was telling the truth – after all, the way he was currently on indeed led to Ame, so it was perfectly legit for him to cross this place. And who else could be assigned for this job anyway...?
A mere coincidence, then...
"I'm still waiting for you to explain yourself, though." The raven haired boy pointed out, not moving his eyes from the Hyūga leader.
Hiashi sighed, closing his own eyes.
"I understand you've been away from the village for the last few months, Uchiha-san... so you probably don't know that my daughter is a missing nin now. She betrayed the village and killed her clansmen here, so it's a matter of honor for me, as the leader of her clan, to punish her for her crimes. As a fellow clan's head, I'm urging you to not interfere with the family business. You can see that my actions are perfectly legit, since what she did here is a crime against Konoha. But I've suffered quite some damage during my fight with the girl – turned out that she's not as weak as she always pretended to be..." He coughed again, wiping the blood and sweat from his face. "I request your help. We need to get her back to the village and imprison her. I admit that I let my emotions take me over when I tried to kill her... but I'm sure that you, of all people, can understand that, Uchiha-san."
Sasuke glared towards Hinata again, and his eyes suddenly widened in surprise. Hiashi, noticing that, turned his head at the same direction, seeing with the corner of his white eye how the Uchiha's Rinnegan flashed, and the boy instantly teleported to the girl's body, but he was just a split second late – with a poof of white smoke, she disappeared in a reverse summoning.
"No... NO!" Hiashi screamed in rage and frustration, getting closer to the Uchiha who cursed himself. "Why did you let her escape?!"
Sasuke stared at him as if the man was a complete idiot.
"I didn't, I just wasn't fast enough. Somebody performed the Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu on your daughter. And, to be fair, I didn't see you being any close to catching her in time, either."
Cursing again, Hiashi walked towards Sasuke and placed his only working arm on the teen's shoulder.
"Please, forgive my rudeness, Uchiha-san... It's just that I was sure she's not getting away this time. I think I know who summoned her. As the fellow head of another clan... can you do me a favor?"
Sasuke gave the man's arm a short glance before meeting the piercing gaze of the familiar white eyes again, not moving an inch.
"I'm listening."
Hiashi hesitated for a second, unsure if he should trust the boy or not. But then he started talking anyway:
"First of all, I want to let you know that, unlike the other people in the council of Konoha, I never considered you a traitor, nor a criminal. You did what any man would do in your place – you needed to avenge your clan, and, believe me, I understand such intention better than anyone else. If anything, I believe you are a man of great honor and power. And you have my huge respect."
Sasuke's face remained impassive – apparently he didn't really care what Hiashi thought of him, and such independence made the man respect the Uchiha even more.
"On top of that, I knew your father personally... and even though we always were rivals, I respected him a lot, too. I can assure you that he'd be proud of you if he was alive. You did the right things, and the fact that you've returned to the village once you avenged your family confirms your good intentions. That's why I'm going to ask you..." He looked away, peering at the darkness in the direction of the town. "This girl, my daughter... she murdered my dear family members without any reason. We only intended to talk, to understand why she'd left the village, nothing else. And to ask her to come back. And this... what she did is heartbreaking to me, as her father... I can't forgive her. But I can't follow her right now, either – truth to be told, I don't think I have enough energy remaining for anything else but returning to Konoha right now. So I ask you to do me a personal favor..." He met the Uchiha's passionless eyes again, this time clenching Sasuke's shoulder with nearly palpable, strong emotions in his excited voice. "Please, take care of this problem. I'm pretty sure that she's now under the aegis of your former master, Orochimaru. You know where he currently resides, don't you? When you find her... please, bring her back to Konoha, dead or alive."
The Uchiha's reaction was surprising to Hiashi to say the least. The black haired teen put his own hand onto the older man's shoulder, smirking assuringly.
"Of course, Hyūga. As the head of the Uchiha clan, I promise you to take care of her. And, since I believe it would please you more than the other way around, I'll bring her to you alive. I can't promise that it will be anytime soon, though. Remember that I still have the mission of utmost importance. But I'll do it either before or after it's completion when I have a chance – if she's truly with Orochimaru now, it's merely a matter of time, and you'll see your daughter once I'm done with the job the Sixth gave me. You have nothing to worry about. Also... can we consider it another mission? The one to, let's say, improve the relationship between our clans... I might want some help from your family in future." He said pointedly.
Now that was the talk of two mature men who knew what they wanted. Hiashi smiled, finally convinced in Sasuke's adequacy.
"Of course. So I take it I can count on you... Uchiha-san?"
He smirked.
"Yeah, you can. But since I've been given this mission, I want to ask something from you in return."
Hiashi frowned. Apparently the boy was even smarter than he originally seemed to be. But he couldn't expect anything less from the Uchiha genius.
"What would it be?"
"As you well know, not many people in Konoha share your opinion about my decisions in the past. I want to reestablish my reputation, both as the head of the Uchiha clan... and as the future Hokage. That's why I took this mission in Ame... and that's also why I accepted the one you've just given me."
The future Hokage...? That was quite some ambition on the boy's part. The Hyūga clan's head still couldn't follow Sasuke's trail of thoughts, but he preferred to not say anything just yet, although the boy's perseverance impressed the man once again.
"I want to ensure that I accomplish both these missions. This way, my reputation will rise significantly, and I will be able to prove my allegiance to Konoha for good. I can guarantee you that I will succeed... and that's why I want you to not announce what happened here in public. Don't assign anyone from your clan to hunt your daughter down – I will do it myself. Your people are needed to protect the village – as far as the Sixth informed me, we're having a hard time holding our lines nowadays."
The boy's words were pretty reasonable. Hiashi's original plan was to assign as many of his clansmen to look for Hinata as possible... but now, there was no need for that. He had the perfect tool in his hands, the one he couldn't dream of receiving before that night. After all, his other pawns' deaths were not in vain – thanks to what happened there, he now had the far more powerful figure, and an ally for the future at the same time. And, after all, considering how easily Hinata killed his men there, it would be pointless to send anyone after her now anyway – he doubted that many ninja from his clan would be able to match his daughter at that point, and he certainly didn't want to risk their lives if there was a different choice.
"I agree, Uchiha-san. I'm glad that we've come to an understanding. I will return to the village now – I'm not going to hold you from your duty any longer. I also thank you for the cooperation and wish you best luck on your mission... both of them." Hiashi bowed in respect, and, turning around, he rushed into the forest on his way back towards Konoha.
Waiting a few minutes before Hiashi left and making sure that the man was gone, Sasuke sighed, kneeling down to Hinata who slowly opened her eyes when he touched her cheek with the back of his hand.
"Sa... Sasuke... what happened? Where is he?!" She tried to get up, wincing at the burst of pain.
The Uchiha shushed her, unbuttoning his student's coat to check how strongly she was wounded.
"I've put him under a minor genjutsu... he won't bother us anytime soon. How are you feeling?"
"Like shit." She suddenly scolded, making him smirk – it was unusual to hear such things from Hinata, even though she's changed quite a lot since the day they've met.
"No wonder... you look like shit, too."
She lightly punched him in the chest, giving her master a weak grin.
"That's not how you treat a woman, you douche...!"
He suddenly frowned, gripping her weakened arm with his fingers and watching it closely for a few seconds.
"Sasuke... what are you doing?" She quietly asked, frowning as well.
"That's weird..." He mumbled, turning her limb to watch it from different sides.
"You are being weird indeed." The girl carefully uttered, still not getting what he was doing, but feeling the slight blush covering her cheeks both because of being in close contact with him, and because she was simply glad to see him again after the long wait. For some reason, even the recent fight against her father, as well as the things Hiashi said implying that he did something to her mother, didn't seem as important to her as Sasuke's presence right now.
"No, that's not it... your arm... I'm sure it was broken when I showed up, and it looked pretty bad."
Hinata flinched, gasping and taking her hand out of his grasp and stretching it, squeezing her fingers a few times.
"You're right..." She muttered, looking at her arm with disbelief and shock. "I remember now... I couldn't even move it. And..." the Hyūga girl quickly raised her other hand, gasping in awe once again. "I had an open fracture on this one! And it's healed now?! How is this even possible?! I'm not a medic nin!" the girl cried, totally confused by what was happening to her.
Sasuke frowned deeper, eying her up and down.
"Do you have some chakra left? Check your insides with your Byakugan. How damaged are you right now?" The Uchiha asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
Hinata did as he told her, gasping again a second later.
"I'm... almost intact! But... I'm also nearly out of chakra, and I'm sure that I had more of it by the end of the fight. What's going on with me, Sasuke?" She gave him a troubled look as he pulled her hand to get the girl up, throwing her still numb arm over his neck to help his student walk.
"I'm not sure, but I think this has something to do with the DNA sample Orochimaru used to cure you back there... he mentioned that your existing abilities would get improved, and you might as well receive some new ones as well... I know who that sample originally belonged to, and considering it's nature, I think I might know what's happening with your body now. If I'm correct, then a new kekkei genkai is being developed in your cells... in other words, you're slowly mutating." He finished, carefully walking Hinata back to Tanzaku-gai.
"Mutating...? I don't think I like how it sounds..." She mumbled quietly, lowering her eyes reflectively.
He smirked assuringly, lightly tapping her shoulder that he was holding.
"Don't worry. It can't be worse than having a cursed seal on you." He glared at the black pattern on the girl's neck. "If anything, you will get much stronger once the process is completed, if my assumption is correct."
She gave him a weak, doubtful smile.
"I hope you're right. But, anyway... what took you so long to come back?"
For a moment the Hyūga could swear that she noticed a glimpse of embarrassment in his eyes.
"It's none of your concern. I had some private business."
Private business...? Did he visit someone? Was that a girl...?
She fought the urge to slap herself. What the hell are you thinking, Hinata?! You're such a moron...
"I see." She replied after a few seconds of silence, not saying anything else.
They walked quietly for a few minutes before he finally sighed, seeing as the girl clearly was feeling uncomfortable with his reply.
"I bought something. You'll see it when we're back to the hotel." He reluctantly added, frowning a little bit.
Hinata raised her head again, looking at him with slight confusion, but still not saying anything to not make the situation any worse.
Since when Sasuke was the one to go for a shopping...? And this had to be really important for him if he decided to waste so much time on it...
"Alright... but I also wanted to ask you... how did it go? The speech with the Sixth, that is..." She carefully asked, not wanting to provoke her master, seeing as he already looked a bit conflicted and irritated.
The girl felt as he shrugged:
"It was good, I guess. Actually, I crossed your father there... couldn't assume that he would go here afterwards, of all places. But you held your ground really well. I'm proud of you. As for the speech with Kakashi... long story short, he gave the two of us an S-rank mission. We must go to Amegakure and establish the control over the village... no matter what it takes. It's crucial both to our shaky position in the village, and to the village itself. It will also help you settle things with your clan... not to mention that Ame was our original goal to begin with anyway. I'll tell you the details later - we can be overheard here, and it's top-secret." He pointed out as they crossed the entrance of the town, passing the peacefully sleeping guardian in his small hut near the gates.
Aside from the man, there were nobody else around, so she assumed that he simply wasn't in the mood to discuss the topic.
Hinata sighed, lowering her eyes again. The snowstorm nearly stopped by that point, so she just watched as the small snowflakes lazily danced, falling to the ground.
"You shouldn't really be proud of me... I got distracted, and nearly died in action. I also couldn't bring father down..."
Sasuke suddenly stopped, looking her in the eyes.
"Listen to yourself. You're babbling like a wimp again. Did the meeting with your daddy raise the old feelings of self-pity?" His eyes were merciless again, and his voice became more harsh than she ever heard.
She pushed him away and clenched her fists, instantly becoming infuriated by his words.
"It didn't! I'm not a wimp!" She blurted out, looking in his eyes with refreshed resolve.
"Really? Doesn't seem like that to me. Perhaps I should've killed him instead of you, seeing as you're a crybaby again now?" He taunted, and she punched him in the guts.
"I'm not! Shut up!" Hinata growled, raising her arm to hit him again.
The Uchiha caught her wrist midair, pulling the girl towards himself so that their noses nearly touched.
"Now that's why I let him go. I decided to leave him for you. Don't make me regret this decision." He snapped, looking her in the eyes that were now filled with both anger and... something else he couldn't recognize. Was it... did she just blush?
Forcefully pulling her hand out of his grip, Hinata turned away, walking ahead of him towards the hotel on her own now without looking at her master.
The Uchiha grinned.
"I'm affecting you in a good way."
"No, you don't."
"But I do. See, you're walking on your own now."
She didn't reply, and Sasuke didn't really mind it, enjoying her reaction. It was rather easy to provoke her, yet still he always liked the girl's rare outbursts. They excited him far more than her usual submissive behavior.
The rest of their way went silent before they finally reached and entered the hotel they stayed in for the last few days. The barman named Tōji was still there, appearing pretty bored at the moment – it was the middle of his night shift, but because of the weather, there were nearly no customers that night, so he was just sitting there, reading some book and spinning the drinking straw in his fingers.
As the doorbell dinged, he nearly jumped, taken by surprise by the clearly unexpected visitors, and looked up at the pair that interfered his solitude, taking him out of his reading.
"Oh... Sasuke-sama, Hina-sama! I didn't think you'd be back so soon! Can I help you?" He offered, cheerful and welcoming as usual, tactfully ignoring the gore Hinata was covered with.
After the speech he had with the Uchiha a day before, when Sasuke couldn't sleep and decided to have a drink in the half empty bar, he was aware of the fact that the two of them were shinobi of the high rank, and Tōji wasn't an idiot, so he decided to simply ignore anything that seemed unusual about them, pretending that these two were simple civilians.
It was better this way for each of them.
"Yeah..." Sasuke suddenly replied before Hinata managed to say that they didn't need anything. "I'll make an order in a few minutes. We just need to get up to our room and change, so stand by."
"Roger that!" The man waved them with his book, sitting back to his chair.
Hinata eyed the Uchiha in confusion. Why did he suddenly want to eat in the middle of the night? It was pretty unusual for him, of that she was sure.
But, deciding to not ask any questions, she walked upstairs, entering their room and taking her warm coat off.
"What's this all about?" She finally asked when the Uchiha undressed, only his gray, short sleeved shirt with his clan's crest on it's back, as well as his dark pants remaining on the man.
"We're going to celebrate." He snapped, not turning to face her, untying the bandage on his wrist with his teeth.
Her eyebrows raised in surprise and further confusion.
"Celebrate...? What? My shameful performance?" She asked ironically, totally not understanding what was on his mind.
"No. Your birthday."
She looked at the Uchiha as if he suddenly turned to be an alien, her mouth slightly open at the lack of words.
How did he know that it was her birthday? Truth to be told, she forgot about it herself... and he remembered? Why? How...? Why did he know it to begin with? Did it matter to him...? Why?
It was so totally unbelievable that for a moment the Hyūga thought that she's being under a genjutsu, imprisoned somewhere in Konoha, so she pinched herself, wincing in the slight pain.
No. It truly was happening. Uchiha Sasuke was going to celebrate her birthday with her... yet still it was absolutely surreal and totally unexpected. Never in her life she could imagine that such trivial things as birthdays would matter to him, especially since he didn't care about the celebration after the war at all.
Gods, she didn't even know his birth date... what a shame...
He suddenly snapped his fingers, triggering the small seal on his wrist and thus making a humble, yet still not quite small box appear in his hand.
"Here..." He turned to Hinata, for some reason avoiding her eyes. "I came back late because I couldn't decide what kind of present I should give you. It's not that I usually congratulate anyone... but I thought that, considering everything about your situation, you might need a some relief." He obviously was implying that she now didn't have anyone aside from him, basically making the Uchiha the only person she could spend time with that day. "So I decided to make this small celebration for you. As for the present... here, take it." He handed her the box, which Hinata took with her hands slightly trembling, slowly opening it and holding her breath within temptation to see what was inside of it.
"Since you've left the village so quickly, I thought you might want some of the stuff you women usually use, since you didn't take anything with you... and forcing you to be so ascetic any longer is pretty much pointless, for I think you've already proven that you're now disciplined enough to afford using this stuff. You don't have to be a nobody anymore – now, you can be yourself. That's my present to you."
The girl was speechless, seeing the insides of the box. There were lots of different cosmetic stuff, as well as a few vials of perfume... and the small, silver earrings.
She literally couldn't utter a word, because the hurricane of emotions was overwhelming her now, and Hinata wasn't sure if she should show them to him or not.
It wasn't the gift itself that made her feel so... complicated.
It was the fact that... she didn't know how to tell Sasuke that she wasn't even familiar with all this stuff he gave her.
Seeing as he clearly felt a bit awkward giving her such a present, and knowing the Uchiha well enough to be able to say that he wasn't too familiar nor interested in the things girl used to make themselves look better, Hinata was afraid to show him that she was probably even more embarrassed than he was right now.
Never in her life she was any interested in looking like a woman... in appearing pretty or beautiful. Of course, she knew how to use cosmetics, since her elder relatives taught her that a few years ago, but... until that fateful day when she met Sasuke, deep inside, she still considered herself a child – too immature for using such things.
And once they've started their journey, she finally got rid that feeling, forcing herself to believe that now she was nothing but a tool. A machine, someone whose sole purpose was serving and killing.
To someone like that, womanly things were insignificant.
On top of that, she was naturally pretty cute... well, at least certainly not ugly, considering the attention different men gave her, so she never even cared about making herself look any better, always more than satisfied with what she had.
But this...
What did he actually mean by giving her such a present?
Sasuke obviously thought that before she joined him, she was just a regular teen girl, even though a very shy one – he assumed that she simply forgot to take all the girlish stuff with her, that he somehow made her feel uncomfortable by not allowing her to buy anything aside from some clothes and stuff of first necessity and hygiene, as well as shinobi tools and weapons.
But what concerned her above everything else...
If he bought these things for her...
Did it mean that he wanted her to look beautiful?
Did he see her as a woman, not as just a tool in his disposal...?
Finally raising her head to meet his patient, yet slightly uncomfortable gaze, she gave him a barely notable nod.
"Thank you..." She babbled, unable to utter anything else at the moment.
He smirked, apparently satisfied with her reaction.
"Now, wash yourself and get dressed – might as well use the stuff I brought. Once you're done, come downstairs, I'll order us something to eat and drink." He turned away, walking out of the room and shutting the door, leaving the embarrassed girl alone in the compartment.
Standing there stunned by his actions for a few more seconds, Hinata carefully took the multiple vials out of the box, as well as the earrings. They were pretty simple – the medium sized rings made of silver, but... the problem was that her ears weren't even pierced to begin with.
Taking a senbon out of her pouch, Hinata grabbed a few vials, flasks and small boxes with her to the bathroom.
Washing away the gore and sweat after the fight against her father, Hinata looked at her reflection in the mirror critically, pushing back a few strands of her black hair that was now an inch over her shoulders, grown up a bit since it's been cut off by Tsunami in Nami no Kuni. She picked the senbon and came closer to the mirror, aiming the needlepoint at the certain spot on her right earlobe.
It didn't hurt much – comparing with the things she went through that night, it was a joke, but she still gasped in surprise, though for an unexpected reason..
Apparently her miraculous healing back in the forest wasn't just a one-time thing – the blood stopped nearly instantly, and the fresh wound healed itself within only what seemed like ten seconds. At the same time, the Hyūga girl felt as her chakra was being drained – considering how low was the amount she had left after the fight, she could feel it clearly.
Shocked by what was happening to her, Hinata pierced the earlobe again, this time putting the earring into it the instant she did so – and, to her further surprise, she felt that the wound was being healed, but the the small piercing remained there.
Did it mean that her body could now adapt to the changes of it's shape, healing only the parts that really required it and following her will, even though it was only subconscious yet?
Sighing deeply, the Hyūga took the second earring and repeated the action, once again confirming her assumption.
But then she decided that they would have plenty of time to think about it later.
Right now, she had to decide which of the things Sasuke presented to her she should use, and he obviously wanted her to use them – even if he didn't, it wouldn't be polite to just hide his present somewhere and forget about it, would it?
Stepping out of the shower cabin, Hinata covered herself with a towel and, quickly drying her hair with a slight burst of Katon chakra and brushing at the same time, she smiled at how well it looked along with her nice new earrings.
She certainly looked more mature now. More... womanly.
And she still had to use the other things he gave her...
Looking at what she brought to the bathroom, the girl decided that she shouldn't overuse it all at once, starting with small steps and taking a nice, dark cherry-colored lipstick along with simple mascara, as well as the vial with floral bouquet perfume.
A few minutes later, satisfied with her looks, Hinata smiled to her reflection, and, walking out of the bathroom, she suddenly realized that she barely had any clothes to match her makeup now, and by saying so she didn't mean something of the matching color - she literally didn't have anything suitable for a celebration.
Sighing, she decided to wear her usual white shirt that looked similar to the one that Sasuke was wearing right now except for being designed for females and having long sleeves, as well as a new pair of long, black pants, along with her usual sandals. Yet still, in order to make her clothes look a bit different from the way she usually wore them, the girl decided to not button the two upper clips of the shirt, slightly blushing at the sudden courageous idea.
Taking a final look at the mirror, Hinata sighed deeply again, trying to suppress the nervousness and to assure herself, and then she went out of the room, closing the door.
Slowly walking downstairs, the Hyūga frowned a bit, not seeing Sasuke anywhere. She couldn't see Tōji there as well, so she went through the hall to the door which, she assumed, led to the kitchen, but, before she came close enough, it opened, and the barman showed up, holding the big plate with a beautiful, fruity cake with a few candles on it.
"Oh, Hinata-sama... wow!" He gasped, nearly tripping as he noticed her, trying to not accidentally drop the plate. The man stopped, eying her up and down and whistling. "You look totally gorgeous tonight!"
The Hyūga smiled shyly, nervously brushing a strand of her hair.
"You're saying it as if I usually look bad." She said, trying to joke in order to hide her embarrassment.
"Wha...? No! No-no-no, that's not it! I'm just saying that tonight you look especially great, that's all!" He quickly blurted – apparently the man wasn't too proficient in making compliments to the opposite gender, seeing as he was so afraid that he might have done something wrong.
Hinata smiled wider.
"I know. It's just a joke. By the way, do you know where Sasuke is?"
Tōji visibly relaxed, sighing in relief.
"Oh, yeah... he's waiting for the cake... I mean for you, of course... there, in the private room. By the way, Happy Birthday, Hinata-sama!" He smiled cheerfully, showing her the cake. "I understand it's for you?"
She looked at the plate, slightly shrugging. Did Sasuke really order it...? This looked quite childishly.
But then she felt the warm wave of strange compassion. The Uchiha's most treasured memories had to be from his childhood, when he still had a family, and probably received a similar cake on his own birthday many years ago... so he tried to make her feel the same way now, as much as he could.
It was truly touching, especially coming from him... she never expected him to do something like this for her.
"I guess it is..."
"Congratulations, then! How old are you now?" Tōji asked, taking the girl out of her thoughts and smiling light-heartedly again, although still unable to cover his blankness.
She barely managed to keep the laugh, covering her mouth with her palm.
"I believe you already know that, seeing as there are seventeen candles."
The man blushed terribly, looking now as if he would most certainly use a space-time ninjutsu to disappear right away if he could.
"Oh... right... sorry... anyway, I have to deliver this to your table!" He laughed awkwardly again, walking towards one of the small private rooms.
The girl shook her head, following the resilient blond barman. He definitely reminded her of someone from her past life... but now she realized that, despite finding men like him, careless and stupid, being pretty cute and nice to be around, she didn't feel anything else. They were entertaining, and they could cheer her up sometimes, but... that was it.
Such type of men totally wasn't hers, of that Hinata was now absolutely sure.
Entering the room where Sasuke was sitting at the table that was covered with different dishes and the two bottles of sake, one of them already open, she coughed, drawing the Uchiha's attention from the menu he was reading, and sitting down on the side of the table opposite to him.
"Here you go, Sasuke-sama!" Tōji put the plate with the cake onto the table, trying to fit it in between the other plates and bowls. "Should I light it up?"
"I'll manage." The black haired man snapped his fingers, and a small flare appeared on the tip of his index one.
Watching him in slight awe, Tōji bowed down, stepping away from the two of them.
"If you'll be needing anything else, just call! Have a nice celebration! And congratulations again, Hinata-sama!" He quickly fled out of the room, still terribly blushing.
Watching the scene with a light sign of curiosity, Sasuke slightly raised one of his eyebrows in surprise and confusion.
"Did something happen between the two of you?" He asked, and for some reason it sounded so... strange, coming from him...
Hinata herself blushed a bit, quickly shaking her head.
"No. Nothing at all. But I think... I think he likes me."
The Uchiha lowered his eyes to the cake, lighting up the candles, before casually replying:
"Well, no wonder."
She could feel her face burning at his sudden response. She was waiting for him to say something about her new appearance, and for a moment she was afraid that he didn't even notice the changes at all... but this... such laconic, casual reply from anyone else wouldn't probably mean anything, but coming from Sasuke... she couldn't possibly hope for a better compliment from him.
And it all felt so unreal... so unfitting to the life she was used to...
They were silent for a few seconds while he filled their wineglass, handing one of them to her.
"You should blow them out, you know. The wish thing and everything." He pointed at the cake with a light nod.
"O... oh..." She took a deep breath, looking at the small dancing flames, but hesitating to do anything.
"Something wrong?" The Uchiha suddenly asked, gazing at her with barely notable confusion and the slightest sign of irritation.
She quickly looked up at him, shaking her head.
"No-no! It's perfectly fine... I... to be honest, I don't recall ever feeling any better than now..."
"Then what is it?" Now he clearly looked both worried and annoyed, rapidly losing his patience, which meant that he was feeling pretty nervous himself.
That was so much like him, Uchiha Sasuke... being careful and paying attention to the smallest things that could seem insignificant to anyone else, and hating it when anything went wrong...
"It's nothing, really." She quickly replied, smiling assuringly. "It's just that I remembered something... that evening before we... before I've left the village..." She looked away, blushing again. "I wanted to give you a cake, too."
"Oh?" He sighed in surprise now, blinking, not knowing how to react to this sudden confession.
"Yeah... I saw you up on the roof of the Hokage's office, and I thought... I just..." She sighed, collecting her thoughts. "You looked so lonely and aloof back then, and everyone around was having fun... I wanted to see you being happy, too, at least a bit." She finally finished, not daring to look in his eyes, too embarrassed to continue.
A few seconds passed before she heard him quietly asking:
"Were you happy back then?"
She froze at the unexpected question, slowly shaking her head again after a short thinking:
"No. I wasn't."
Hinata didn't need to look at him to know he was smirking now.
"That makes the two of us then, doesn't it?"
She smiled, finally looking up, directly at his face.
"Yes. It does."
They clinked, and she felt the hot, burning, yet somewhat pleasant liquid flowing down her throat, warming her insides.
"Listen, Hinata... starting tomorrow, we're going on a mission that might change everything. I don't know what's going to happen... it certainly won't be an easy walk in a park to either of us. It's possible that for you it will be harder than the entire war... but..." He filled their wineglasses again, handing one of them to the girl that now looked collected and a bit worried, yet she was looking at the Uchiha with the eyes full of resolve. "This will come tomorrow. And tonight, I want us to simply relax together. Let's put our ninja natures aside and be simple humans, just for this one night..." She could see that he really wanted, or even needed it. It was clearly visible in the man's eyes. And then Hinata suddenly realized once again that he was so tired... of everything. It was written in his beautiful features which usually were mysterious and dangerous to everyone else... everyone but her. She could read him now... how come nobody noticed it before? Under the shell of the man who used to want a revolution, the one who wanted to destroy their world and build it anew... how tired this man truly was under all his masks, despite all his power and unbreakable will...? Always thinking about different things and people: his desire to avenge his family, the honor of his clan, those people he cared about, even though he rarely admitted it... and the whole world... he was never thinking about himself - only about the others.
And after everything he did for her... after all they walked through together, and everything she herself suffered... how could she possibly disagree with him, the one who created a fairy tale for her in the middle of hell that their lives were?
Giving him a happy smile, the girl nodded, and her heart skipped a bit when she saw him smile in response at once – it wasn't one of his usual grins or a smirks, but a real, sincere smile.
"Happy Birthday, Hinata."
"Thank you... Sasuke." They clinked again, and, drinking the full glass at one time, she bowed her head down and blew up the candles, not a single one remaining burning.
The Hyūga now knew what she wanted.
And she made her wish.
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