Chapter Thirty-Three
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April 26, 2010
Sasuke stood outside the Hokage's door for what felt like an eternity. Tension threaded the muscles in his body and he hated himself for it. It was cowardice he couldn't seem to rid himself of. When he entered through the gates of Konoha for the first time since he'd left them, the sensation of home had bloomed in his chest. Like he'd been holding his breath for years and was finally able to breathe again. As he entered, he'd look towards the rising sun, taking in the village he'd abandoned what felt like a lifetime ago. The familiarity of the surrounding trees, the modest homes, the shops from his youth that were still around had brought a painful but welcome ache to his chest. He was...happy. In his heart, in his soul, he was happy to be here...
And then he stepped through the open doors of Konoha.
The two men there, one awake, one slumbering were familiar to him. He knew their face but not their names. The one not currently sleeping on the job caught sight of him almost immediately. And just as quickly, the man made his opinion known. With a glare he could feel from the distance between them, the man nudged his companion awake.
The man woke calmly, clearly having repeated this routine so many times he no longer startled at the rough treatment. Words were exchanged, ones he could read from their lips even so far away.
"That Uchiha is back...Sasuke."
"He's got some nerve coming back here after what he did...as if that wasn't bad enough, Naruto-san's arm..."
"Hokage-sama and the other Kage pardoned him but still...I can't forgive a guy like that..."
Considering himself checked in, he'd walked right passed the two, not bothering to issue even a polite greeting and the two returned the gesture. Watching him as he walked, distaste in their expressions, distrust in their hard eyes.
He was in no position to complain, nor did he desire to.
This was what he had wrought. These were the seeds he'd sown. The tree of hate he'd grown. It was the penitence he was to pay for the duration of his life, for the things he'd done...for the limb he'd taken from his closet friend. He was content with this treatment. It made him feel as though he was finally paying a price for all the suffering and heartache he'd caused his best friend, for the pain and embarrassment he'd caused the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The shame he'd brought to the Uchiha name.
Cowardice had reared its ugly head after the silent exchange...and from then on, he'd traveled by rooftop.
Telling himself it was to avoid having more people recognize him and drudge up painful memories from his actions. It had been so easy, back then to show his face. When he hadn't cared about himself or anyone else. When hatred, revenge and darkness had kept his heart from feeling anything at all. Naruto had taken that hell from him long ago and left him with the ability to feel.
To hurt.
To experience deep, unending remorse.
He wouldn't trade it for the world and held no regrets about what the compassionate Uzumaki had done for him. It was just...hard. Hard to process, hard to reconcile within himself in the light of day. When he traveled, when he worked tirelessly to protect this place from the outside, it was easier to face his reflection. To look himself in the eyes and tolerate his own presence, but when he was reminded of his place of birth, when there was time to look over his life and see where he had gone wrong, he'd avoid his reflection for as long as he possibly could.
Now he stood at the door he couldn't avoid.
To confront a man he couldn't sidestep.
Who's opinion he cared about. A man that had tried to teach him so many things his young, angry mind hadn't been ready for.
He reached out and rapped his knuckles on the door.
"Enter."
His heart was pounding as he twisted the handle and stepped through. Surprised dark orbs met his own.
"Sasuke?" this from the Nara standing next to the man who held his gaze.
He moved a respectful distance towards the large desk then bowed, his spine stiff.
"Hokage-sama."
His initial astonishment gone, the Rokudaime greeted him.
"Sasuke, its been a while. How've you been?"
A little flustered at the question, the warmth with which he was being received, Sasuke settled for the least troublesome answer.
"Fine."
"Good to hear," Kakashi replied, as though that one word had told him an entire life story, "I wasn't aware you were returning."
He reached into his overcoat and pulled out a scroll then moved closer to Konoha's leader.
"I found this in Kaguya's ice dimension. It was safer to bring it here myself rather than sending it through less secure means."
"That you are right about," Kakashi agreed, taking the rolled parchment.
He opened it and glanced over the unfamiliar text while his former student launched into more detail about the dimension he'd acquired the scroll from, what other points of interest were within it and the palace he planned on searching top to bottom.
"You're really keeping out Intel department busy, ne?" Kakashi murmured as he rerolled it then held it out to the nin at his right, his gaze never once leaving the Uchiha in front of him, "Good work, Sasuke."
The praise made him uncomfortable, but he gave a small nod of acknowledgment. He watched as Shikamaru walked to the window, made a low, birdlike trill then handed the scroll over to Anbu that appeared before returning to his earlier position.
"With business out of the way, how long do you plan on staying in the village?"
Sasuke hesitated. He wasn't sure. He hadn't really thought about it on his way here, but seeing his reception, he wasn't sure it'd be wise to remain longer than the few minutes it'd take him to retrace his steps to the front gate. As if reading his mind, the white haired man spoke again.
"Stay a while, Sasuke," he invited, "you've got a lot to catch up on with your friends."
The former rogue shinobi didn't know what 'friends' he was referring to outside of Naruto and Sakura. The first he had little qualms about meeting, the later...he wasn't entirely sure. He wanted to see her but there was a gray area there. He knew what she wanted of him, he just wasn't sure he could ever give it. While physically he'd only lost a forearm, mentally, emotionally he'd lost than anyone should.
"Speaking of friend," the Hokage said, smiling behind his mask, "he should be here soon."
Someone knocked on the door behind him.
"Enter."
Sasuke turned.
Surprised black met shocked blue.
This wasn't the one armed seventeen year old that had seen him off at the start of his journey. Blonde hair, whisker marks, bright orange, it was Naruto, and yet, he had changed. And it wasn't just the towering height, or the fleshed out physic. The shaved down looks or the new mission gear he wore. It was something else. He knew Naruto was growing just the same as he was but...somewhere over the years, in his absence, the knuckled headed blonde had matured. Even the air around him felt...different. The loud, hot-head, boisterous Jinchuuriki seemed calm, collected and radiating a confidence that was nothing like the false bravado he had held as a young boy. He seemed in charge of himself. As though he not only had a clue about his surroundings, but actually had control of the environment in which he entered.
Sasuke had only gotten a small glimpse of the man he was to become during their last battle, now, he had a full picture outside of combat.
Naruto blinked.
"Sasuke?" he questioned incredulously.
Clearly the absolute last person he expected to see, his brother in everything but blood broke into a huge grin.
"Sasuke!" he called again, cheerfulness replacing the surprise.
Elated, the happy jonin moved swiftly into the room, pushing the door closed behind him before slinging an arm over the shoulders of the Uchiha in one fluid motion.
xxxxxx
"Naruto..." Sasuke murmured.
Just as quick as he'd thrown his arm over his shoulder, Naruto pulled it back, fixing his Uchiha friend with a glare.
"What the hell, Sasuke?" Naruto huffed, "Not a single word from you, but you just show up without telling anybody! I told you before you left to keep in touch, I even gave you the coordinates for the drop off spot for your messages. Not only didn't you use it, but you didn't even pick up the messages me and Sakura-chan sent you. I get you move around a lot, but that post can take messages by bird, ya know. If you didn't plan on visiting us any time soon, the very least you coulda done was stayed in contact with us, dattebayo!"
Naruto pouted.
"Now you got me sounding like a nagging mother," he mumbled.
He sighed.
The unsociable man in front of him was hopeless. His complaints, he knew, were probably lost on his friend. Sasuke was Sasuke. He'd either do what you asked or he wouldn't, it was hard to tell which way he'd go on the best of days. Still...he thought he would at least read what he'd sent, to keep up with the changes in his and Sakura's life while he was out repenting. The Jinchuuriki had made sure each sloppy word was filled with encouragement and positivity, and at the end, assurance that he could always come home when he was ready.
When he felt he'd repented enough and could finally start his life over.
Even if that wasn't why he'd returned, that he had at all left him thrilled. Whatever had brought him back didn't really matter since it resulted in the man he'd risked life and limb for standing before him. He looked the one armed shinobi over. There was less darkness surrounding him than when he'd left. The harsh life and painful decisions he'd made remained hardened in his posture and stoic face, but Naruto could see it. There was a bit of light in this man he called friend. A lightening of the burden he'd carried out with him through the gates of Konoha.
"Welcome back, Sasuke," he told the older male, his chest tight but in a good way.
Though silent, the dark eye that wasn't covered by his equally dark hair, lost a bit of the rigidness within its depths, speaking words without a voice. Sasuke appreciated the welcome and probably had the same sensation in his own chest.
The shared emotional exchange, however, turned his attention to the initial turmoil that had brought him so early to the Hokage's office. The one that made his heart ache in a bad way. His earlier, happy-go-lucky grin dissolved from his lips and a somber downturn took its place.
"Actually...you came back at a really good time," Naruto admitted, rubbing the sudden stress in his neck, "Or maybe a really shitty one, I guess I should say, 'ttebayo."
Confused black brows furrowed. The blonde jonin glanced over at the two men across the room. He knew Sasuke did extensive intelligence gathering and threat disposal outside the village and probably had access to more inside information than he did, but he still wanted to make sure his proposal was something Kakashi-sensei would agree with.
"I've no objections, Naruto," the Rokudaime replied to the unasked question.
Worried blue turned back to questioning onyx.
"I need your help. Something weird happened with Hinata on her last mission and...a lot of people got hurt because of it. She's really torn up about it," he explained, "We set up a place to observe her and maybe figure out what's going on. I plan on using Kurama Mode and the Hyuuga are sending one of their guys, but with you here, maybe you could join us. There might be something we can't see that your Sharingan can. Either way, it can't hurt to have more eyes."
"Hinata Hyuuga?" the Uchiha inquired.
Brought momentarily from his morse explanation, Naruto slapped a hand to his forehead, then scowled at him.
"This is why you shoulda read my messages," he sighed, "Me and Hinata are together, we've been together for a while. We're actually engaged now. I'm getting married dattebayo, which you'd have known had you kept in touch."
Though not as expressive as one considered, 'a normal' person, even the emotionally stunted man before him looked more than shocked. Black depths wide, a small parting of his lips, brows nearly reaching his hairline, Sasuke seemed at a lost for words.
"Yeah, I know, when did I even manage to get a girlfriend, let alone be about to get married?" Naruto dismissed flippantly, "go read the letters I sent you if you really wanna know."
He didn't mean a word of it. The moment they finished figuring out what was going on with his soon to be wife, he was absolutely going to talk his friend's ear off about his life and relationship.
Until then...
"Anyway, you mind coming?"
Impassive face firmly in place, Sasuke merely nodded.
"Thanks, Sasuke."
He spent a moment informing the other man of the details, shared the secluded area where the examination would take place then the clone disappeared.
xxxxxx
Sasuke.
It was kinda hard to believe, but he knew the information the clone had carried to him was true and accurate.
Sasuke was back.
He frowned, a slight pout taking the starch from it. Not a single word. That jerk hadn't picked up a single letter he sent. Not great with words, coupled with his crappy penmanship, it took him a while to write those brief snippets into his life. Clearly he'd wasted his time.
He sighed.
But as his clone had thought after chewing him out; Sasuke was Sasuke.
"Naruto-kun, is something wrong?"
He looked down at the woman he held about the waist and flashed a grin. Dressed in mission gear she hadn't wanted to wear and looking particularly tired, Hinata had canted her head up to watch the emotions telegraphing across his face.
"No," he told her cheerfully, "The clone I sent to Kakashi-sensei just sent back some information. Sasuke's back. He'll be here in a few minutes."
Pearlescent orbs widen slightly before her lips curled upward.
"That's great news Naruto-kun. You must be really happy."
He hummed in his throat, the earlier petulance to his lip returning.
"Yeah, but that asshole didn't read any of the letters I sent. He didn't even know we were together and getting married until just now," he complained without heat, "what kinda best friend doesn't know when his best bud is getting married to the hottest woman in the village?"
That brought his favorite shade of pink to her cheeks.
"N-Naruto-kun!" she gasped, flustered.
"Hm?" he hummed, a teasing twinkle in his eyes.
"T-That's not-"
"You have your own fanclub, Princess," he reminded her.
"But that's because-"
"Nah, I think that club was already a thing way before we became an item," the blonde shrugged, "They just got louder and bolder when it happened."
"N-Naruto-kun...that's...not true," she stuttered.
That crimson shade deepened and then his bashful significant other did something she hadn't done in a long while. She bumped her fingers together in that silent show of shyness that had been a staple of her youth. One she often did when in his presence. Knowing how she'd felt about him back then, the gesture held a more erotic connotation.
She looked so fucking cute and flustered, so achingly unguarded and unburdened in that moment he couldn't help himself. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, lingering but a moment before finding her tongue with his. She welcomed him, parting her lips for his invasion with a sigh, twining her own wet appendage with his own. She tasted of the sweet citrus of the orange juice he'd coaxed her to drink along with the small breakfast she hadn't wanted either.
He pulled back, sucked the plump underlip he loved then tongued her mouth again, pulling her flush to his body. Carnal hunger slammed into his gut then explode in his brain. He reached down, cupping a single plump cheek of one of his favorite assets his lover offered. The feminine moan that puffed against his mouth only stirred the torrent churning inside abdomen. He swallowed the lustful exhalation, delving and plundering the wet depths before giving her cushy backside a sharp pat and squeeze, bowing her back in the process.
They really didn't have time for this, but he was hard pressed to stop until the pressure in his balls became more than a dull ache and tent currently straining his zipper throbbed uncomfortably.
He'd done it to himself and felt no remorse.
She was flushed for a different reason when he pulled away.
He knew that dazed, beseeching look and the answering lust it stirred in his groin was equally familiar. Their sex life was quite...energetic. Barring upset or absence, the two tested the limits of their bed, sometimes other pieces of furniture, quite frequently and he'd grown quite greedy with each coupling. There were days, when he was off, and she was off and there weren't any errands to take them outside their little love nest, that fucking was an all day event. Though, to his disappointment, there weren't many of those. It had been a while since he'd gorged himself on the feast that was Hinata Hyuuga and it was probably gonna be much longer before he could find ease between her thighs again.
He was fine with that.
With things as they were, his mind was laser set on finding out what was happening inside her body, beating back the sadness in her eyes, and wresting her from depression's yawning maw. But there were situations, such as this one, where the heavy ache in his balls, the desire humming beneath his skin, the wanting look in her eyes, broke through his resolve and tormented him to no end.
He had more important matters to devote his focus...
But after they got through this...
After he solved this mystery, assured her physical, spiritual safety and had brought the sun back to her eyes, she wouldn't be resting for a long time. He was greedy, and that hunger would only grow stronger, more intense, the longer he was unable to feed it.
For now though, they had things to do.
Sliding his wandering hand back up to the sexy little dip in her spine, he gave her one last peck then separated a bit, keeping contact with the arm curled about her, but removing the temptation of her lush body.
"We gotta get going," he told her, "everyone should be there already."
It was like he'd doused her in cold water. That petrified look he hated so much returned in place of the sex kitten his mouth had roused. It hurt him, as it had the first time he'd seen it and every time after. He pulled her to him for a less pleasant reason than before. He sent as much comfort as he could through the embrace, then kissed the soft top of her crown.
"It's okay, Hinata, I promise it'll be okay."
Running his bandaged hand along the back of her head, he continued softly, "The barrier is strong enough to hold whatever this power is, and I'm strong enough to handle whatever comes of it. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you or anybody else here today. Sasuke's gonna be there too, and he's as strong as me, he won't just sit back and let things go to shit either."
She nodded beneath his hand. He pulled back and gave her the intense focus within his cobalt orbs, ensnaring her own milky depths.
"If you start to feel scared, look at me. If it starts to feel weird, look at me. If you need strength, look at me. I'm here, do you hear me? I'm with you no matter what's going on, whatever you need, however you need it, whenever you need it, you find my eyes and you tell me, 'ttebayo."
His gaze would be her anchor. The expressive deep azure she had once told him while she stroked his whiskered cheek with a soft hand following a very gentle, surprisingly emotional lovemaking session, were so beautiful she often found herself lost within them. If she were to get lost at all today, it wouldn't be to what was inside her, it'd be within his unwavering blue depths and nowhere else.
What he saw in hers heartened him.
There was fear, panic, but shining through was strength, trust and hope.
"Promise me."
"Naruto..." her lips wobbled, but no tears fell, "I promise."
"Then we'll be fine."
Taking her hand, he tugged her along, grim determination a cold stone in his abdomen. Nothing would happen to her as long as he breathed, and even if he didn't, he'd find a way no matter what reality, dimension, or afterlife he had to cross to make it so.
Several miles from Konoha, the stretch of land they arrived in held towering tress shaped around the large grassy clearing. Several boulders, some broken at his hand, some perfectly untouched littered the otherwise cleared training ground. Beyond it, high cliffs and two waterfalls. There were several people already waiting and one he hadn't expected.
"Mother," Hinata murmured.
Bathed in the morning light, Hanako was absolutely radiant. Long raven hair arranged in some complex, hanging design, baby blue kimono boosting gracefully white flowers, his fiancée's mother eyed her daughter with love and no small measure of concern. She stood between Shikamaru and the Hokage and off to the side, her husband of over a decade. In the shade, far from the entire group, a familiar figure leaned against a tree.
Hanako approached them.
"Good morning," she told her daughter before turning that compassionate gaze to him, "Naruto."
He gave her a bright smile.
"Good morning, Hanako-san." he replied.
"Good morning," Hinata murmured back, worry in her voice, "Mother, I'm...happy to see you but...why...are you here? It's...not safe here. I'm..."
"I know, your father told me," the older woman said reaching for her daughter's hands, "I'll only be here a moment, but I wanted to see with my own eyes that you were alright. How are you, really?"
Eyes churning with a too many emotions to pin down, Hinata was either unable to put voice to those feeling or didn't want to scare her mother with it. It didn't work, whatever the reason for her silence. Her face told it all.
Hanako lifted a hand to her cheek, her own Byakugan-less eyes showcasing her own pain.
"I see," she replied as though her eldest had laid bare her heart, "with every fiber of my being, I wish there was something I could do to help you. Some way I could protect you."
She clasped hands with her child once more.
"The only thing I can do is tell you that I have faith in you. I may not have been able to see you grow into the beautiful flower you are now, but a mother knows her child. Those people, you protected them, you saved them from something monstrously terrifying and spared them a fate they didn't deserve. Take pride in that. You've all the courage and strength of the fiercest Hyuuga, let nothing stand in the way of everything you've fought so hard to achieve and every thing you hope to achieve," some of the turmoil left her as she spoke, "your fiancé, the Hokage, your father, even the Uchiha, the most capable people in Konoha, are all here to support you. You're in wonderful hands."
She gave their joined hands a gentle squeeze.
"So don't be scared, don't be afraid. Let them care for you in the way that I wish that I could."
Though he'd gotten a glimpse of it during his meeting with his mother, Naruto was still wholly fascinated watching what it meant to have a mother's love.
"Just having you here, back in my life, that helps me too, mother," Hinata countered, the sincerity in her voice painfully sweet, "that'd you come out here to support me is just as great, just as powerful as all the people here today. Thank you. For coming here...for believing in me."
The heartbreaking joy in the older woman's eyes was hard for him to see. Naruto stood watching as she enfolded his wife to be in a loving embrace. Much like he had, Hanako stroked the back of her daughters head, threadbare words leaving her lips, words that were lost on his ears.
When they parted, that strength he'd glimpsed earlier was even brighter.
"Everything will be alright," Hanako promised before turning her eyes to him, "I know I don't have to ask this of you but...please, take good care of her."
He smiled.
"I will. I promise."
"Thank you, Naruto."
Satisfied, her mother retraced her steps to the Hokage, gave a respectful bow and a few words before she walked towards the dark haired man still posed beneath a tree on the outskirts of the group. He straightened when she neared. Naruto couldn't see her face, but from the moving of his lips, he was sure she'd offered her thanks to him as well. He wandered over to his friend as she was leaving, Hinata in tow.
"Naruto-kun?"
Though they both knew of each other, he couldn't think of a single time they'd interacted or if they'd formally been introduced. Again, he knew they really didn't have time for it, but it felt strange for him to ask Sasuke to help the most important woman in his life without even introducing the two.
Sasuke watched them approach. Naruto offered a friendly grin.
"Sasuke," he called out as he stopped them in front of him, "you already know her but I kinda wanna make it official, 'ttebayo. Hinata, this is Sasuke, my best friend and pain in the neck. Sasuke, this is Hinata, my fiancée."
A bit put on the spot, the two important people in his life broadcast their discomfort. Sasuke seeming unsure what to say considering they weren't exactly strangers and his Hyuuga lover fidgeting. Hinata recovered first, falling back on her upbringing as the Hyuuga heir. She gave a small bow.
"It nice to meet you officially, Sasuke-san,"
Sasuke returned the gesture.
"And you as well," he murmured
"Naruto has told me a lot about you."
"And I told this jerk a lot about you too," the blonde jonin interjected, "all of which he didn't read."
"So you've reminded me since I've arrived."
The disgruntled Uzumaki merely crossed his arms and glared. He was done needling him about it, but he had wanted one last petty poke before he let it go.
"Naruto!"
He turned, locking eyes with Kakashi-sensei. Though he said nothing more, the message had gotten across. The Hokage's time was a precious commodity and he'd exhausted the extra time he shouldn't have taken in the first place.
"It's time," he told his friend, before speaking softly to the woman at his side, "Ready?"
She looked panicked but nodded anyway.
The group of spectators took positions around the nervous Hyuuga. Kakashi and Shikamaru stood to her left along with her father. Sasuke stood not too far from the trio, his red eye trained on her slender form. Naruto took the place closest to her on her right, wanting to be as visible as possible should she have need him.
"Whenever you're ready, Hinata," the Hokage encouraged.
In a flash, Naruto engulfed himself in bright gold chakra and waited. He saw her swallow, a bead of sweat trailed from her temple then traced her cheek to her chin. Her terror swept over him like a tsunami and it took everything in his power to remain where he was. As promised, she sought him out with her wide orbs, connecting their gazes over the few feet that separated them. She seemed to be searching for something, looking for some sign in his eyes.
'You can do this. I know you can,' he told her silently.
As though she could hear the words he thought at her, there was a shift in her eyes. He'd seen that look before, on the battlefield during the war, when he was pinned down by Pain.
Resolve set in stone.
Steel, unbending, unwavering surged into the pupiless eyes he loved so much. Determination bloomed, undermining the terror on her face. Afraid though she may be, guilt ridden though she may be, his fiancée was also a kunoichi. One with the grit and courage to face a jubokko in defense of the weak, to battle the leader of the Akatsuki to save his ass, to throw herself into danger and shield him from the spiked wood meant to end his life. That's who she was, his Princess. She leaned on him through the tough times, but that inner strength she'd garnered over her growing years was a part of her.
Pride swelled in his chest as she turned her gaze to the forest laden view in front of her. With graceful, exacting movements that bespoke years of discipline, Hinata dropped into the stance of Juuken.
Naruto tuned every ounce of his awareness towards her, determined not to miss a single detail.
The moment she began molding chakra, he felt it. Like an abrupt roar cutting through sheer silence, so keen was the spike. Blonde brows crinkled as the jonin processed the sensation. He felt...energy...chakra with an almost...lifelike quality. It twined about hers like a ribbon, velvety and shifting. Wrapping and sliding itself in and around the pure, butterfly soft chakra that identified his lover. It felt-
Just as fast as it arose, it was gone.
Another sensation, this one just as sharp, blasted his senses.
Hinata was no longer molding chakra.
He felt her terror like a serrated blade dipped in acid, twisting in his chest with each pulsating wave of distress. Naruto moved, his sandaled feet carrying him swiftly to the frozen woman. They may have been the only two people in the world at that moment, so focused was he on eliminating the torment that held her still. Wrapping his taller form around hers, taking the hand she held in the air and snaking an arm about her waist, Naruto gave her a minute to focus her jumbled mind on the physical contact between them. Her skin was clammy, and her body trembled as though chilled. He lowered his lips to her ear and spoke.
"I'm right here," he soothed, "I won't let a damn thing happen to you. You know that. Don't be scared, I'm right here, 'ttebayo."
He understood her terror now. He had felt the presence inside her for that brief moment and could hardly explain the sensation himself. It wasn't malice, he hadn't felt any negativity coming from it...but he'd felt something. He just...couldn't put a name to it. Couldn't describe it in a way that would make sense. It was just...alien. Separate of her. Separate of anything he'd ever felt in the natural world. And if that's what it felt like to him on the outside, he could imagine what she was experiencing first hand.
"Hinata."
He released her hand in favor of her chin. He turned her head, locking eyes with her. They were even wider, beyond panicked.
"Hinata," he urged, "Listen to me, sweetheart. I know you're scared, I felt it too, but I need you to let me feel it fully. One more time, Hinata."
He gave her a squeeze at her abdomen though the words tasted like shit in his mouth. He really...really didn't want to make her do this. It was taking everything in him not to say fuck everything and put a stop to all of this. As much as he wanted to 'put a stop' to this, he knew, he knew it would only postpone the next outburst, and much like the village that had borne the brunt of this new power, when it happened, it wouldn't be in a controlled environment like the current one. It'd be a new town, new innocents and new heartache for his lover. The only way to stop this, was to go through it and though it pained him to no end, the only one that could go through it was her.
"Hinata," he implored again.
She drew in a shaky breath, then gave a small nod of her head.
"O-One...more time," she whispered, a tremor in her voice.
He let her soak in his presence a few moments before he slipped away. He moved back to his position at her right, facing her but not directly in the range of fire, but this time, he made sure his eyes remained on hers. She need only shift those beautiful lavender orbs a tiny fraction to find his own blue depths.
She dropped back into her stance and began again. This time, goosebumps pebbled his flesh and Kurama stirred within their shared consciousness. The fox spirit, though not initially slumbering, stood at attention, watching and experiencing the sensations floating around them.
There was...a charge in the air.
Some intangible force leaking from the woman in front of him, and swelling rapidly. That ribbon was thicker, ballooning that gentle chakra that belong to Hinata, funneling it through a layer of itself much like a tube. They seemed to almost fuse, these two vastly different energies, but not quite. Like oil and water, they didn't clash but even touching, there was a separation between the two.
'Do you recognize this chakra, Kurama?'
'Partially,' his friend responded, 'there are traces that feel similar to the old man. He and Hamura were fraternal twins, their chakra signature would share a commonality. The other...'
The other parts...the ribbons...They were different but unlike her chakra, the chakra that was almost assuredly Hamura's was stitched within its velvety form. Woven into it like a thread. He couldn't make sense of this weird combination. That balloon expanded abruptly, churning in a rush to the delicate hand she directed it to. Anxiety, hers and his twisted in his belly. It felt as though he were waiting for the eruption of a volcano.
And he was right to liken it to an eruption.
"Hakke Kūshō!"
The blast toppled trees, split boulders, scorched earth and carved a deep gash in one of the cliffs far beyond the treeline. He raised an arm, watching beneath it as the shock wave tore through the vegetation with more force, more intensity than even he expected. Heat waves danced in the clearing beyond, washing over the group along with the giant gust of back wind that carried debris towards them. He lowered his arm, tracing the destroyed landscape. This was the devastation she'd unleashed on that village...the attack that had blown a monster from its legs and hurt over a dozen innocent people in its wake.
Stress, trauma and an overwhelming well of fear exploded.
Blue orbs swung to its source.
She was pale and shaking, her eyes wide and scared. She was reliving it, the mission that had plunged her into depression. He was there in mere seconds, wrapping his arms around her and clasping her to his chest. She trembled, but she didn't cry. Clinging as tenaciously to that strength she'd found earlier as she did to him.
"It's okay now," he whispered to her, "it's almost over. I'm sorry you had to go through this again."
He glanced at the men around him. Hiashi's hard face held concern, the veins around his eyes enhancing the emotion within them. Sasuke's face was nearly emotionless but that crimson orb was hawkish and sharp. Shikamaru looked as he did during a game of Shoji, contemplative and serious, while their white haired leader watched them both with much the same as his adviser.
He turned his mind back to the female in his arms when she stirred.
"I'm alright, Naruto-kun" she replied shakily, undermining her words with the quiver, "...I just...it felt stronger than before...louder somehow...overwhelming."
As strange as the description was, it...made sense a little bit. This energy in her body had presence, and it was pronounced. Loud, as she dubbed it. The quakes in her small form captured his attention. Concerned, he searched for a place for her to rest, his eyes alighting on a thick long from an overturned tree a few feet away.
"Come on," he murmured, sliding a comforting hand up and down her back, "Let's sit down for a minute."
She didn't protest as he led her over to it. He sat on the hard wood, then pulled her between his spread legs. He held her for a moment, knowing the debriefing was about to start soon. The others were already headed their way.
"It's almost over," he repeated, "when we're done talking, I'll take you home."
He pressed lips to the top of her head even as she nodded beneath them. Twining their hands, he waited for the men to arrive. Hiashi was there first, that concern still prominent in his eyes. Naruto hadn't really thought about the man since they'd met her mother, and seeing him now brought back the muted anger he felt towards the elder Hyuuga. Again, this was neither the time or place, but he couldn't help the mild displeasure he felt just looking at Hinata's father. He knew the Hiashi of today was different than the one than the one that had agreed to exile his wife, but it was difficult to reconcile the two. When was a little less irritated with the older man he'd sit and have a conversation, get a few things off his chest and move forward from there. He was marrying the man's daughter, he was going to be his father-in-law, he wanted them to get along...but it was going to take effort on both their parts.
The Hokage and adviser were next, followed by Sasuke who stood close enough to hear and be heard but somehow standoffish. Almost like an outsider.
Naruto frowned a bit.
Sasuke wasn't an outsider. He was apart of Konoha. Sure he'd made some mistakes...some really big fucking mistakes, but in the end, he'd taken the right path. He was remorseful. Even so, he recognized his demeanor, it was similar to how Hinata had been acting ever since she got back from that mission.
He too was punishing himself.
He sighed inwardly.
Or maybe he was just rejecting himself before anybody else could. The Hero of the Leaf knew how his friends felt about Sasuke...
How the civilian population viewed him.
Some were more vocal about it than others but...he knew, he'd have to be a buffer and bridge when their circle of friends got together. He couldn't force them to forgive and accept his Uchiha friend, nor would he force his presence on them if they were that opposed, but he wouldn't leave him out either. No matter what had happened, to him, Sasuke was one of them. He was family. The same went for the man in question. He wouldn't force him to spend time with people that didn't think highly of him but he wouldn't make it easy for him to exclude himself and delve back into the lonely, painful place that was solitude.
Painful, dreaded aloneness.
One of the many traumas that had guided the young child Sasuke had been long ago down a path of revenge and hatred.
After confronting his own hatred, experiencing his own loss, coming to love a woman with the entirety of his being, he could understand on a level deeper than before how a person could become a Sasuke...an Obito. As heinous as their actions were, what propelled them towards them were just as heinous. Just as important. It was easy to hate someone for the decisions they made, but it was damn hard to acknowledge the tragedies and heartaches that drove them to it, and almost impossible for most to come to an understanding of it. It had nothing to do with approving or accepting the actions as just or appropriate, it was more of seeing the human being behind it, the feelings everyone experienced to some degree. To put themselves in the shoes of their enemy.
He had told them as much and while Shikamaru and Lee seemed to at least be open to what he was saying, the rest were not as forgiving.
Even Ino.
When he joined the battlefield on their side, she had been glad he had finally returned...but when Naruto had come back, minus an arm, that feeling had changed dramatically.
It was going to be an uphill battle on both sides, of that he was certain.
"That some power, Hinata," the Hokage comment, though his eyes were serious.
They could both tell he was trying to lighten the mood, to counter the fear she felt but the lighthearted gesture melded into somber discourse a beat later, "I know that was far from easy, but I appreciate your hard work. With this, maybe we can gain a better understanding of what's happening inside of you and figure out a way to help you control it."
Naruto nodded his own agreement though Kakashi-sensei hadn't mention him, but perhaps it went without saying. Of course her lover would be at the forefront in steering her towards mastery over this mysterious chakra. Hell, he knew more than anyone in Konoha the struggle she was going through. Even if they weren't what they were to each other, he was sure the Hokage would have come to the Leaf Village's famous Jinchuuriki for assistance. He could understand her circumstances better than anyone, he could handle taking the brunt of this power should it grow in strength and out of her control. A possibility he saw as a when rather than if based on her claim that the strangeness inside of her had increased in volume since the first encounter.
"So, let's start with what we can see," Kakashi suggested, turning his gaze to the elder Hyuuga, "Hiashi-san."
Her father gazed at his daughter with burning eyes before giving his attention to the Hokage.
"There's a fluidity cloaking her chakra. It flows through her tenketsu along with her own chakra but there's a difference in composition," Hiashi explained, his own dark brows crinkling as though even he didn't know what he was saying, "its chakra but...it behaves strangely. Just before she performed Hakke Kūshō, the chakra held a strange waviness before it surged like that of a tide. And the color...it is strange. It is not one I've seen before."
"That would explain the overshadow inside and around her chakra," Sasuke added, "there were distortions threaded through it that were painful to view for an extended period. Perhaps the distortion was the color and my eyes were unable to make them out."
"Naruto," the Hokage prompted.
"Its pretty much the same thing I felt but Kurama recognized bits of the chakra. He said it was similar to Hagoromo's chakra signature but a little different. We think its Hamura's chakra since they were twins. It makes sense that it'd be similar to each other. But its threaded through that weird chakra you guys saw. It doesn't feel...malicious or anything, just really weird. It touches her chakra but its still separate, dattebayo," he took a moment, trying to compile feelings into coherent sentences, "its like a tube, it surrounds her chakra, then balloons out and explodes like a volcano."
He gave a uncomfortable rub to his neck. The description he'd conjured in his head sounded stupid out loud.
"Anyway, that's how it felt to me. Its hard to explain."
"Of that, we agree," Kakashi commented, "but you felt Hamura's chakra?"
"Yeah...I mean I guess. I can't really confirm it since I've never met him but I trust Kurama and he's pretty sure it was."
"Then it may be what we suspected," Shikamaru speculated, "this surge is an effect of Hamura's chakra."
Rubbing a thumb over the clammy palm in his own, Naruto mulled it over.
"Maybe, that seems like the explanation that makes the most sense but when Six Paths Super Gramps shared power with us, I didn't feel anything weird, it just felt like my own power increase and I knew a buncha stuff I didn't know before. What about you, Sasuke?"
"Other than an evolution in my left eye, there was nothing of note other than the power and new insight."
Shikamaru crossed thoughtful arms over his chest.
"Hinata sickened right after her mission on the moon," he reminded them, "a mission in which she sickened to a degree she's never been before immediately after. It may have been the cause of her ailment. The Hyuuga are direct descendants of Hamura, perhaps the illness and the subsequent power surge was due to that close relation. The sharing of chakra may be different in a bloodline that originated from the Sage of Six Paths but has been diluted unlike the Hyuuga."
He was no genius but...
"Wouldn't it be easier for her to deal with it as a direct descendant?"
"Not necessarily. The close relation may have made the transfer more potent to her than it was for you two. You and Sasuke also have another variable Hinata doesn't. You're both reincarnates of Hagoromo sons Asura and Indra."
"But that doesn't explain why the chakra's so weird."
"You didn't feel anything malicious in it, just 'weird', it may be that the chakra hasn't harmonized inside of her yet. She may need time to adjust. The Otsutsuki are celestial beings, their abilities and nuances are vastly unknown. There are limitless reasons Hinata is experiencing it differently than you did. "
That was true.
There was a lot they didn't know about that alien race. It was scary to her, but...as he said, there was nothing dark about that energy. It just wasn't meshing with hers...yet.
"At any rate, all we can do at this point is monitor it, watch for any negative effects or dangerous spikes and wait for it to absorb into her own chakra," he directed his words to the female in question, "I know these...sensation are scary and strange for you Hinata, but it may be something you're meant to adjust to over time. We'll sechdule regular check ups and keep track of the developments and if you feel anything going on, tell us immediately."
Her hand curled around his. Her face was dubious, but she nodded.
"What did you experience this time?" Kakashi asked.
She was quiet a moment, but he could feel her tremor in his arms.
"I...can feel it move...inside of me. Underneath my skin. The first time it happened, when I activated my Byakugan, it was like...a whisper. Really soft, almost unnoticeable, but as I built up chakra, I felt it more clearly. Its...alien. A sensation I can't...really explain in words. Its...scary, not because I feel anything dangerous about it, it just...it doesn't feel like it should be in my body. I don't know what it'll do if I use jutsu and I'm afraid to find out," she admitted quietly, "and today, it was different. Its louder now...deeper...I can still...sense it, humming inside."
Ominous.
That was the sum of what she was describing and he didn't like it.
"We'll keep an eye on it," the Rokudaime assured her, "for now, try and bear it as best you can. In the mean time, you'll need to undergo training in order to to achieve that harmony. Until you're able to harness this power and exhibit a measure of control over it, we'll need to be cautious. For the time being, you'll be on leave. I'll assign someone to assist you with training when Naruto is away."
Guess he was right then, it went without saying her main training partner would be him.
"I will send a Hyuuga to monitor each session." Hiashi announced.
"We'll go over details later." Kakashi told the group at large.
And with that, they dispersed, leaving Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata in the cheerful forest. She turned into him when they left, her petite hand curling into his jacket, holding on to him like she needed an anchor. In a way, maybe that's exactly what she needed and he was happy to provide it. As he stroked her dark hair, he looked up at his friend.
"I'm gonna take her back to our apartment," he told the silent figure, "you coming with us?"
He wasn't sure if Sasuke had other things to do or if he was gonna go find Sakura-chan next. The nod of the other man's head answered his question. Though he was sure Sakura-chan wouldn't be happy that Sasuke hadn't come to see her immediately after helping them, he was glad he was coming. He really wanted to talk.
xxxxxx
Thanks for the feedback you all, I've even seen some new names rather than just my usuals, those that consistently give back and make me feel like my hard work is appreciated XD Love yall, by the way! For those that may feel intimidated by leaving feedback, please don't feel like that. I promise I'm approachable and I don't bite...much XD I truly, truly enjoy the hearing reactions and though process about my stories. It not only makes me very happy, it makes me feel like I'm not just throwing words into an empty space, ya know?
Anyway, hope this chapter was coherent. I'll admit I struggled a little with explaining what was in my head, lol. Next chapter, we get some angst among the group with Sasuke back in the picture. And of course, Sakura and Sasuke will finally have a meeting after oh so long.
I'm done here.
Laters
Sessakag~