Chapter 1
It wasn't supposed to be this way, Hinata thinks as she gazes down at the adorable face of her son. She had always pictured her children having beautiful blue eyes or the familiar lavender of her own Clan. Instead, her son had obsidian black eyes that were darker than a starless sky. Eyes that were all too familiar.
"Are you hungry?" Hinata asks as she rocks him in her arms protectively as she prepares to nurse him.
Anyone looking at this child would know immediately who his father was. While his hair was midnight blue and lacked his father's spiky texture, he had the same ivory cream colored skin. Seiko also possessed the same proud, aristocratic facial features as his father as well. Features that were far more associated with his father's Clan than her own.
She smiles as she notes that he did have her ears and smile. That and her disposition. He was such a carefree and happy child. There was a piece of her in him as well.
"Let's feed you and put you to bed. I really hope that you learn how to talk fast. It's getting a bit lonely with only Neji and Hanabi to talk to." She mumbles as Seiko nurses happily.
He was completely oblivious to the trouble that his mere existence caused. Hinata knew it wasn't his fault. He didn't choose who his father was. Unfortunately, most of the Leaf Village didn't see it that way.
They knew the truth. One day, there was a good chance that those eyes might turn ruby red like his father's did. The Sharingan ran in his blood. Well at least on one side of his family tree. She half hoped that he would take after her and get the Byakugan instead.
"I suppose I should visit more often, if you are really feeling that lonely. I do visits when I can, Hinata. I'm sorry. It's just that Uncle has people watching me nearly constantly. He knows that I sympathize with your situation." Neji says as he walks into the humble apartment that Hinata had purchased.
"I know. It's not your fault. You weren't the one that became Sasuke Uchiha's lover for one night and didn't think of the potential consequences." She whispers.
Neji sighs. He knew fully well what happened. While he was thankful that his cousin had spared him the graphic details, he knew more than enough to realize how Seiko came into existence.
The young Hyuga thought it was rather unfair that people were treating Hinata like a pariah because she had bore Sasuke a child. It wasn't as though she had planned on doing so. It was just unexpected things happened to people who were alone and about to freeze to death. One's survival instincts would kick in and they seek out whatever warmth they could find. It just happened that in their case that had been each other.
"That's no excuse. They're mostly upset because of who his father is and that you decided to keep Seiko. That and they actually think that you had any idea where Sasuke went after that night and were withholding important information from the Hokage. Madness. They'll come around eventually. Our Clan might not, but the rest of the village will." He assures her.
Hinata sighs and nods. She wanted to believe that. Truly, she did. Unfortunately, she did it. As she glances at Seiko's adorable face, Hinata couldn't help but remember what got her into this situation.
She had been on a mission with Team Eight in the Snow Country. They were going to try to strengthen the Leaf's alliance with that country. The good news is that they were successful. The bad news is just as they were leaving, a bad blizzard hit.
"Hinata, we have to take shelter from the storm. Can you use your Byakugan and find us a place?" Kiba asked.
"Yes! BYAKUGAN!" Hinata called out as her bloodline activated and she scanned their surroundings for a place to take shelter from the most brutal storm that she had ever seen in her life.
"Over there! About a mile from here. There is a series of caves. We can stay there!" Hinata exclaimed.
Her team nodded in agreement. Hinata smiled. She loved her team. No one could ask for a better Sensei than Kurenai or more supportive teammates than Kiba and Shino.
While they were on their way there, they were attacked by a group of hostile ninjas. Clearly, their intention had been to use the storm to their advantage during the fight. The battle that ensued was intense. Eventually, Hinata had been going to defend one of her teammates, when one of the other ninjas ambushed her.
"GENTLE FIST!" She called out and was rather gratified to see it worked.
Unfortunately, so had the trap that ninja had been planning. She had lost her footing on the edge of a cliff. Hinata felt herself fall and she screamed. So did her teammates.
"HINATA!" Kiba, Kurenai, and Shino cried out in horror.
It was too late though. She fell. Hinata wasn't sure what happened after that exactly, but she knew that she lost consciousness. The next thing she remembered was waking up in a cave and she felt strangely warm considering the fact that she could see outside the cave, the blizzard had only gotten worse.
"I wouldn't bother trying to move. You won't get far." She heard a familiar silky voice call out to her.
That's when Hinata noticed that she was tied up. Her hands and even feet were tightly bound together by a purple rope or maybe it was a bizarre belt. Actually, she wasn't quite sure and decided that it didn't matter what Sasuke had used to tie her up. What mattered is that he did.
"Why?" She whispered simply, knowing that he was more than intelligent enough to know what she was really asking.
"You mean why haven't I killed you? I have no reason to. You've never done anything to me and I'll ensure that you won't tell the Leaf that you saw me." Sasuke said simply.
Hinata blinked. She could hear the sincerity in his voice. Sasuke might be an S Class Criminal now, but he wasn't a ruthless killer. Oh he wanted to kill, but his rage was only focused on one person. Itachi.
"Thank you." She mumbled.
She knew that while she was unconscious, he could have killed her with ease. Even now, he still could. Somehow though, she doubted that he was going to change his mind.
"You're different than most of them. Normally, this is the part where people beg for their lives, try to reach me with a heartfelt speech, or threaten me. I guess I should be grateful that at least one Leaf Villager has manners." He said as he walked over to her.
Hinata didn't know what to say to that. Apparently, a response wasn't required. Sasuke was holding a canteen of water to her lips and tilting it just enough that she could drink, if she wanted to. So she did.
First, he hadn't killed her when he could have. Now, he was giving her water? That didn't make sense with what little she knew about him. Granted, the vast majority of it was secondhand knowledge, but still.
"When the storm dies down, I'll leave. Once I'm far enough away, Garuda will undo your bindings and you can go find your team. I know that they are nearby. You wouldn't have traveled into the Snow Country alone and I heard their screams. They're worried about you." Sasuke mused.
"Alright. Thank you. Who is Garuda though?" She asked.
"He's my hawk Summon. His talons will cut through those bindings with ease. Don't worry. He has exceptional control of them. He can slice you to ribbons or not leave a single mark on your pretty skin. It's entirely up to me, which he chooses. So don't try anything stupid." He told her.
Hinata didn't know what stunned her more. The fact that he had a hawk Summon or that he had just called her skin pretty. Maybe it was just an expression though.
"Al-right." She stammered a bit nervously.
The next day, Hinata noticed something was wrong. The storm wasn't dying down. They were snowed in, but Sasuke had fire chakra. He could have burned through it easily.
There was only one logical reason why he hadn't done so. Sasuke was low on chakra. Extremely low.
"If you undo my bindings, I can transfer you chakra." She offered.
"So you figured it out. I don't know if I want to do that. You've been rather well-behaved, but you've also been restrained. I know enough about your abilities to realize that you can suck out chakra. If you hit zero chakra, you die. I'm already too close to that to allow you a chance to drain me." Sasuke muttered.
"I wouldn't drain the chakra of a man who saved my life." Hinata said.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. It looked like he was debating on whether or not, he should take her at her word. Eventually though, he strides over to her and with one swing of his sword, frees her.
"Don't make me regret that." He said.
Hinata nodded. She transferred him the chakra, but that's when they encountered another problem. If either of them melted the snow, there was a chance it could cause an avalanche. So they decided to wait it out.
A few days pass and it was obvious that the snow was taking its sweet time melting. Sasuke was considering, risking melting it anyway. That was until he saw that Hinata's lips were turning blue.
"Hinata, you're going to freeze to death. Come, sit closer to the fire." Sasuke said and the blunette shyly moved over to him.
Once it became apparent that Hinata was not getting suitably warmed up, Sasuke decided to take action. Before the Hyuga woman realized what was going on, he was kissing her and reaching for her jacket.
She was so stunned that he had kissed her, that she kissed back. If Hinata had ever thought about kissing him before, she knew that this would have been different than she had expected. His lips were warm and slightly rough, but his kiss started off rather gently. More a brush of the lips than anything.
She suspected that was because he wasn't entirely sure, if she was going to protest. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she idly notes that his kisses tasted like chocolate and red wine. The kiss changed, once he realized she was kissing back.
"Hinata, if I try to melt that snow, it might trigger an avalanche. If we stay here though, there's a decent chance one or more of us could freeze to death. Do you want me to risk it, risk freezing to death, or to keep each other warm?" He asked.
Hinata felt herself blush. At least he had the decency to be tactful about it, which was more than she would have expected even a few days ago. He was right though. Their choices were limited. Risk an avalanche, freezing to death, or keeping each other warm.
"The last one, if you don't mind." She whispered.
Sasuke smiled. The rest of their time in that cave was spent getting to know each other in every sense of the word. It was a tangle of limbs, heated moans, and a flurry of sensations that she had never felt before.
He had been surprisingly gentle. It had been a gentle seduction. Sasuke was a rather attentive lover and shockingly eager to please. Idly, Hinata thought it might be a matter of pride. Even in sex, he couldn't resist showing off.
Eventually, the snow melted. She heard her teammates call out for her in the distance. The two of them quickly dressed and Sasuke darted off, after promising that he would find her. He would find her, after he killed Itachi.few
"I hope so. None of this is Seiko's fault." Hinata says.
"He's adorable, Hinata. That's not a word that I ever thought that I would associate with the son of Sasuke Uchiha, but it's true. He'll win them over eventually. I'm more worried about you." Her cousin tells her.
"I'll be fine. I have you, Hanabi, and Seiko." Hinata says with a smile as she notices that her son had fallen asleep.
Meanwhile at the Hokage's office, Hiashi Hyuga was not a happy man to put it mildly. He couldn't believe that Kakashi was trying to insert himself into his family affairs like this. The man had absolutely no right to do so!
"Hinata knowingly gave herself to a criminal and got pregnant. Getting pregnant outside of marriage would have been shameful enough, but we could have overlooked it. Getting pregnant by a criminal is even worse, but by Sasuke Uchiha? Even if he weren't psychotic, he's an Uchiha. We have no idea what that child is going to be capable of in a few short years. The bloodlines have been mixed." Hiashi fumes.
"It's understandable that you are upset. Anyone would be in your position. Unfortunately, your fury is not helping the situation. Hinata is a good woman. She just got caught up in the moment and didn't want to terminate her pregnancy. Should you really punish your daughter for having strong maternal instincts and an innocent baby because of who his father is?" Kakashi asks.
The silver haired Hokage felt bad for Hinata's situation. The poor girl had been mortified when she tried to explain to him what had happened. From what he had been able to gather, they had both gotten caught in a blizzard and ended sleeping together to stave off freezing to death. It was an old, but effective tactic.
He was surprised that Hinata had chosen to carry the pregnancy to term though. The ninja had to know what would happen. Her Clan was going to shun her and her reputation in the village would likely never be the same.
Apparently, Hinata didn't care or she was more concerned about Seiko than herself. If nothing else, she did possess a quiet courage. He didn't know what he would have done, if he had been in her place.
"He might be an innocent baby now, but the Curse of Hatred runs in that Clan's veins. He'll end up a monster, just like the rest of that Clan. You watch. I can understand your reluctance to do what needs to be done, but at the very least I hope you see reason. Do not allow that boy to enroll in the Ninja Academy when the time comes. Perhaps if he isn't trained in how to be a ninja, he might not be the death of us all." Hiashi reasons.
Kakashi sighs. This definitely wasn't going the way that he had hoped it would. While he felt sympathetic towards Hinata, he knew that favoring her or her child would spook the village. He had to tread very carefully.
"That is not your decision to make. Hinata is his mother and legal guardian. Perhaps under Clan Law, you might have been able to make that decision for Hinata as you are the Head of the Hyuga Clan. You can't claim that authority over her anymore though and you know it." The Hokage begins.
"I know that legally, I don't have the right to prevent him from entering the Academy. Surely, you must see it though. You must see that allowing him to enter the Academy would be flirting with disaster. That is a Cursed Clan. You know it as well as I do." The lavender eyed man says.
Kakashi tries his best not to twitch. He couldn't let his personal feelings interfere. Seiko was the son of one of his former students. There was a certain degree of attachment, that garnered. It made him biased towards the boy and that was a very dangerous feeling to indulge in.
"Whether you view the Uchiha Clan as cursed, is irrelevant. You decided to disown her. She is no longer under your authority. You waved any sort of legal rights towards that child, the second you abandoned her and your grandson. He may or may not enter the Academy, but that is HER decision and not yours." The CopyCat ninja informs him with more than a little steel in his voice.
Hiashi seethes. He had a pretty good idea what was likely going on. Sasuke had been Kakashi's student. The Hokage likely still held a soft spot for the man because of that. That tenderness also appeared to extend to Sasuke's son.
"I am not trying to be cruel. I am merely suggesting a humane solution to all of the potential issues that may arise later on." He says.
"Other than Sasuke, Seiko is the last person on this planet that naturally might be able to manifest the Sharingan. Sasuke has many enemies. Once they find out that he has a biological child, it's likely that Seiko will have a target on his back. You are asking me to leave that boy essentially defenseless. Hiashi, there is very little difference between that and asking me to execute him for the crime of having the "wrong" father." Kakashi snaps at him.
The Hyuga Patriarch blinks. He hadn't thought about that aspects of Seiko's life. Kakashi was right. As a practical matter, not training the boy was as good as killing him.
He sighs and bites his lower lip. Hiashi was always conflicted. On one hand, Seiko was his grandson. On the other hand, Seiko was Sasuke's son. He didn't really know if the boy would end up taking after his father or Hinata's side of the family tree. It was a huge risk and he didn't like risks.
"Very well. I believe that I have voiced my thoughts on the matter quite clearly. I do hope that you will consider what I have said." Hiashi states, before departing.
Meanwhile in the Land of Tea, Sasuke was still on his Journey of Redemption after the war. He didn't know what to do with himself now. Most of his life had been dedicated to avenging his family against the monster who had butchered his entire family. That goal had all been an illusion though.
Itachi had actually been a hero. He had put the needs of the ninja world as a whole, above those of his family. It was an impossible decision to make, but he had made it. His elder brother had somehow ensured that he was spared. Mostly because of his age. If Sasuke had been a few years older, he wasn't entirely certain that would have been the case.
"Did you hear the rumors?" Sasuke overhears someone ask their friend.
At the moment, Sasuke was at a bar. He wasn't much of a drinker. He didn't believe in dulling his senses for any unnecessary reason, but he was hungry and they did serve food. The location had been nearby and so he decided to go inside.
"About the hybrid?" The second man replies.
Sasuke was wearing his traveling cloak and he had a hood drawn over his face. He wanted to remain anonymous whenever possible while on this journey. It made things easier and he believed that good deeds counted more, when you weren't taking credit for them.
The last Uchiha notes that the first man was definitely a civilian. He had sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, a medium build, and was likely in his 30's. He as fairly certain that he had heard the other man call him Kenji.
"Yeah. I've heard the rumors. I don't put any stock in them though. It just seems so fantastical. You know how fanatic that Clan is about protecting their bloodline." The first patron says.
The second man was also a civilian. Long red hair and chocolate brown eyes. He was a large man, probably in his late twenties. Sasuke was almost certain his name was Tai.
"Yeah. It's hard to believe. Then again, it makes sense. Itachi Uchiha was one tough customer. Sasuke might have wanted a little insurance that his Clan wouldn't die out, if things didn't go the way he wanted. If it is true, gotta give the man this much. He has good taste. That little Hyuga Princess is VERY easy on the eyes." Tai replies.
Sasuke was damn grateful for the hood at that point. He was pretty sure that he was gaping like a fish. It couldn't be true, could it?
Yes, he and Hinata had been together. He had just assumed that she was using The Jutsu, like most female ninjas. It had been intimacy, risking an avalanche, or freezing to death. Given those three options, Sasuke had decided having sex with a beautiful woman was definitely the most appealing of the choices presented to him.
"How much do I owe you?" Sasuke asks the bartender.
"Here's the bill." He replies and Sasuke examines it.
He quickly counts out the required money and leaves. The raven haired ninja had to get back to the Leaf as soon as possible. He bites his lower lip as he considered whether or not it was true.
It COULD be possible. After all, he had been intimate with her and he hadn't seen her use The Jutsu. He certainly hadn't traveled with any contraception on him. The odds that Hinata was going around and bragging about their time together seemed low. If she had gotten pregnant though, there wouldn't have been any hiding it.
"I have to find out." Sasuke says as he races back towards the Leaf.
Originally, he had every intention of trying to come back after killing Itachi. He had intended to come back to the village of his birth and to try to start over. Maybe to start over with Hinata.
Sasuke had never really paid all that much attention to the opposite sex before that night. His main goal was to kill Itachi. After that, then he'd worry about Clan Restoration. Besides, most of the female ninjas that he had met were either psychotic, annoying, or taken.
"They do say it's always the quiet ones though." He muses.
That had certainly been true in his case. It had been an easy matter to overlook Hinata at the Academy. He had other things on his mind and she tended to be quite content to fade into the background.
She was just so quiet and shy, especially compared to her more aggressive female classmates. He had known that they were classmates and that she was a Hyuga. That was about it really.
"I'll start with Naruto. If Hinata really did have a baby, he would know. This way and this saves me a trip to the Hokage's Office." He mutters as the Leaf finally came to view and he races towards Naruto's house.
A few minutes later, the Uchiha was pounding at the door. Naruto opens it and blinks. That was a bad sign. That wasn't how Naruto should react to seeing him.
The loser should be ecstatic that Sasuke was home. Isn't that what the idiot had wanted for years? For him to conqueror his internal demons and come home?
"Hey, bastard. It's good to see you." Naruto says as he tries to force a grin.
Sasuke didn't buy it for a minute though. For a ninja, his former teammate was a horrible actor. He just couldn't hide the emotions that were flicking all across his face.
Shock, happiness, and more than a little fear. That last part threw Sasuke for a loop. Naruto had never been afraid him before, not even at his worst.
"Thanks. Judging by that look on your face though, something is going on. We need to talk now." Sasuke says as he walks right into Naruto's house before the blonde could protest.
Sasuke wasn't going to give him a chance to do so. He needed to find out if it was true. He needed to know if Hinata had really gotten pregnant from their night together.
"Uh oh. Um bastard, maybe you should sit down for this." Naruto says and Sasuke wisely sits down.
"You better tell me everything. I was in the Land of Tea when I overheard two civilians talking. They seem to think that Hinata and I, have a kid together." Sasuke says.
Naruto gulps. He had been dreading this day for awhile now. Honestly, he didn't know how to feel about the situation. He couldn't help but feel like Hinata had known more about Sasuke's whereabouts than she had let on. So in a way, he felt betrayed. Still Hinata was his friend and so was Sasuke.
Sasuke wanted a family more than anything. So there was a chance that he might be overjoyed. There was also the chance that he might be enraged that the Leaf had kept this a secret from him, even though no one had been able to contact him while he was on his journey of redemption.
"Yeah. About that, I'm still not really sure what happened with you two. Do you want to explain that part?" Naruto asks.
"Oh I'm sorry. You seem to think that was a request. Naruto, you had better tell me the truth. You had better tell me right now or so help me, I will Chidori you. I'll Chidoroi you where NO man wants hit. Got it?" Sasuke says as his Sharingan and Rinnegan activate.
The blonde gulps. Oh yeah. This was bad. Apparently, they were just going to dive right into it.
"It's true. I still don't know what happened with you two, but it was shortly after the War when we found out. You had already left on your journey. I mean I guess I know what ended up happening. You must have been WITH her, before you killed Itachi. That's the only way the timeline matches up. Don't be a bastard to her. She's gone through a lot since the war." Naruto tells him.
Sasuke frowns. He wasn't exactly sure what a lot entailed, but it didn't sound good. He was getting the impression that Hinata had faced more than the usual challenges of parenting and "single motherhood." He had a bad feeling about this.
"Everyone knows that child is mine. Did her Clan disown her for mixing the bloodlines?" Saskue asks.
"Before I answer that, I want you to promise that you won't do anything crazy." Naruto replies.
The eldest Uchiha twitches. He knew what that meant. Yes. She had been disowned. Hinata had probably been shunned because she had chosen to have their baby. There were few things worse than being disowned by your own Clan. That was just psychological torture. That wasn't even factoring in the more practical aspects of such a punishment, particularly financial ones.
"I'm not going to promise that. So they disowned her. I'm going to have to talk to Hinata and that cult that dares to call itself a family. Tell me more though. Is my child healthy? Is Hinata okay?" Sasuke demands.
"Yeah. The kid is healthy. Cute little thing too. I guess they take more after Hinata than you. Your child is really sweet. That poor baby has no idea what is going on. I'm not going to lie. I should have been there for her more. I just really thought that she knew where you were." Naruto says with a sigh.
"You're an idiot. Do you really think that I would tell my lover where I was going to find my brother? At the time, I thought he was a ruthless Clan Slayer. I didn't want Hinata anywhere near him or the Leaf to try to find me." Sasuke says with a heavy sigh.
The blonde gulps again. Oh yeah. This could end badly. He wasn't entirely sure what he should say. What could he say?
"Well we know the truth about Itachi now. Back then though, I can see why you would think that way. Anyway, what are you going to do now?" The other ninja asks cautiously.
"I'm going to talk to Hinata. I'm going to see my child and I'm going to make Hiashi Hyuga wish that he had never been born for what he did to my family. I won't kill him. That'd be too easy." Sasuke says with a smirk.
The Jinchuuriki mentally panics. This was really not good. While he was sure that Sasuke was sincere about not wanting to kill Hiashi, he knew that the eldest Uchiha wasn't bluffing. This might very well get ugly and fast.
"Bastard, don't cause trouble. Hinata, has already suffered enough." Naruto says.
Sasuke frowns. He realized that Hinata must have been turned into something of a pariah for becoming his lover and having their son or daughter. Not only had she been disowned by the Clan, but God only knows how the rest of the Leaf Village was treating the former "Hyuga Princess."
"I'm not going to be cruel to Hinata. She's the mother of my child. She deserves respect. Her father though is an ENTIRELY different matter." Sasuke says as he darts off to find Hinata, leaving Naruto to fret over inevitable chaos that was clearly about to strike the Leaf Village.
God help them all. "Daddy" was home and he was furious. Naruto could only hope that Sasuke wouldn't do anything too stupid as he heads towards the Hyuga Estate. The very least that he could do to prevent a potential bloodbath was warn Hiashi that Sasuke was likely going to be coming to "visit" him soon.
"Oh man. I really gotta warn Hiashi." Naruto says as he races off towards the Hyuga Estate to warn him.
After that, Naruto had no idea what any of them were going to do. This was Sasuke. He had a habit of losing his temper on a good day and now he had a very legitimate reason to be angry. Someone had been cruel to his only child.
The blonde suddenly found himself very grateful for the fact that he was not named Hiashi Hyuga. The lavender eyed man was now the main target for all of Sasuke's rage. That was why Naruto wouldn't trade places with the Hyuga Patriarch for all the ramen in the world. This was going to be brutal.