WITHOUT WARNING CHAPTER 16
CONFIRMATION AND CONFESSION
It had been a few days since their last interaction, so both Hinata and Sasuke had spent their time avoiding each other as best as they could to not further the awkward air. Hinata had woken up the next day with a jolt, remembering she had fallen asleep at the training grounds but finding her new room around her in the Uchiha compound surprised her. She had initially wondered if she found her own way home sleepily. But she had been able to conclude it was Sasuke's doing when she found a tomato bitten into on the floor beside her bed. It had begun crumpling in on itself when Hinata woke but she distinctly remembered smelling tomatoes and seeing a few with Sasuke the night they spoke.
She remembered a younger Sasuke who had a fondness for tomatoes -- even eating them raw the way she would a strawberry. She smiled to herself thinking he has been showing parts of himself that she had once known. She appreciated it amidst the sudden change she has had to undergo with transferring homes, and being in the company of three people she wasn't always very close with.
Hinata had kept busy by making her new house in the Uchiha compound as home-y as possible with a variety of plants and flora. She enjoyed taking care of these back at the Hyuuga gardens. Among the houses in the Uchiha compound, hers was the one with most life.
For the past days as well, neither of them had seen the red-haired kunoichi who had been Sasuke's former Taka teammate. Hinata was curious about Karin's sudden absence. She found a topic she actually wanted to ask Sasuke about but she kept her mouth shut as she moved thoroughly around the garden situated in front of the house she was provided for.
He, on the other hand, kept an equally neutral expression as he worked on repairing parts of the house he had long vacated. He was working with a hammer so it was the only sound filling the gap in their silence. He had kept himself busy as well since the night he and Hinata had spoken.
He wasn't actually avoiding her. In fact, he was waiting. He knew he had left her with confusion from their last conversation but in honor of their childhood friendship, he had wanted to give her the chance to refuse the mission if she didn't want to follow through with it. And he waited for her answer.
He glanced at her a couple of times, but still, she remained occupied with her plants. At one moment his eyes decided to linger.
For that second Sasuke was reminded of his own mother in Hinata's actions. His mother had been equally gentle and elegant in her movements. The image of his mother suddenly looked at him and he blinked to find Hinata watching him with a concerned look.
"Sasuke-kun? Are you all right?" Hinata's soft voice filled Sasuke with warmth. He didn't expect being deprived of it for the past days would cause him to yearn for it.
He realized he had been staring when he initially only planned to glance at her.
"Hn," was his only response before turning back to his work. He didn't mean to be cold but at the moment, anything but coldness felt like unfamiliar territory to him and he tried to avoid that path.
At that moment, Karin and Naruto walked into the Uchiha compound giving Sasuke more reason to avoid Hinata's gaze.
There wasn't exactly an air of friendliness between the two who had just entered, but Naruto was being his usual kind self opening small conversations with Karin to which she answer in short and clipped responses. Karin did her best to show how displeased she was with the conversation, but she wasn't at all bothered to being accompanied, no guarded, by the Leaf's hero. She knew it was something he did out of obligation rather than actual pleasure. But to her, with was as good company as she can get.
Naruto's hands were in his pockets and upon looking around his small smile widened into a grin that looked like the sun breaking through clouds. He rushed to Hinata's side nearly toppling her over.
"Hinata-chan! Good morning!"
Hinata blushed at their proximity but managed a polite good morning as well.
"Tch, it's already noon, dobe." Sasuke's surly sidecomment reached their ears and Naruto laughed.
"I guess I lost track of time there." He muttered, scratching the back of his head.
"Sasuke-kuuuun!" Karin's voice carried over to an already annoyed Sasuke and he ended up gripping the hammer a little too hard in irritation. He didn't respond but that didn't faze Karin. She skipped happily to the front of his house and looked up at him working on the roof.
"I can help you there Sasuke! And we can have lunch together, I can cook--"
"Not interested,"
"But I just thought we could--"
"No,"
"What about--"
"Karin," Sasuke said tiredly, dropping his work. "I don't have time to waste."
Karin gruffed angrily. "Then what's the point of me being here when you won't ever even talk to or spend time with me?!"
"Your mission is the dobe. Not me."
"But I want only you!"
"Tch,"
"Anyway, guys," Naruto butt in much to Sasuke's appreciation and Karin's further dismay. Hinata was equally happy for the distraction from Karin's spurt of anger as Naruto spoke. "Shizune-san told me we needed to meet with Ibiki and Baa-chan at the Hokage Tower in half an hour."
Both Hinata and Sasuke agreed calmly, knowing this would be an important meeting. Karin however agreed gruffly and proceeded to stomp her way to the house alotted for her. She slammed the door as she went.
Hinata felt bad and wondered if it would be okay to tell Sasuke to maybe spare her some of his time as he did with herself. But seeing Sasuke's stern face made her stop.
Karin was also being forced into all of this but no one seems to mind that she isn't okay. She thought sullenly.
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The four arrived at the Hokage Tower a quarter of an hour before they were expected. Tsunade had already gathered the necessary people.
In the room where the Hokage herself, Shizune, Kakashi, and to their surprise the Mizukage was also present. She was clad in her usual blue dress, her long hair like still the color of fire fell elegantly behind her slender body.
"Mizukage-sama?"
"Hyuuga-san," the Mizukage bowed slightly towards a surprised Hinata. "I want to thank you for taking care of my grandfather's accommodations when he had arrived here."
"O-of course, Mizukage-sama. It was the least we could do after all he has done." Hinata kindly stated, understanding what difficulty it must have been for Kozuya to had travelled as he had.
"Now then," Hokage clapped her hands to gain the attention of all ninja in the room. "Let us move to the conference room prepared for this meeting. Ibiki will join us shortly there."
Tsunade walked a step behind Shizune as the latter lead them to the designated room. The ninja filed one after another in order of rank. Following after the Hokage was Mizukage who kept pace with her while walking through the hall. Behind them was Kakashi, and trailing were the four younger ninja. Sasuke walked ahead of the three while Naruto kept pace with Hinata and Karin at the back of the party.
They arrived at the conference room and took their seats in the same manner and order. Tsunade sat at the head of the rectangular table set in the center, she was farthest from the door, Mizukage on the seat to the immediate right of the Hokage, Kakashi beside Mizukage. Shizune took up the seat on Tsunade's left and across from Mizukage.
Sasuke sat beside Shizune then and Tsunade gave explicit orders for Hinata to sit beside Sasuke. Karin was asked to sit beside Kakashi, and finally Naruto beside Hinata. The seat across from Naruto was left vacant, Tsunade mentioning it was set for Ibiki. That had Karin sandwiched between Kakashi and Ibiki.
Ibiki had been the last to enter the room. He held an air of authority but still bowed low and respectfully to both Kages in the room.
"Let's get to it." Tsunade ordered and all eyes turned to the head of Investigations at Konoha.
"The tests for Karin came out with unquestionable results." He began, and the four immediately understood the necessity of their presence in the conference. "As most of you would know, excluding Mizukage-sama," Ibiki gestured lightly to the Kage mentioned and she just waved her hand asking him to proceed.
"We have been working under the assumption that Uzumaki Naruto is not the last remaining holder of the formerly feared and respected Uzumaki bloodline. Which is why we had sent Naruto and Sasuke on a retrieval mission to acquire Karin who has long been acting as a ninja without a clan she belonged to." Ibiki then moved to open a scroll and present it to the group.
"This is an old scroll found in our archives, it contains valuable information on the Uzumaki clan that had been wiped out. Included in the text are distinguishing features and abilities of a bearer of the Uzumaki bloodline. One particular feature that was recurring in the text is that of red hair, especially in women while some men also inherited it, another feature would be the immense amount of chakra a single individual can hold and wield. Obviously, Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki had these exact features which further proves them."
Ibiki fell silent for a moment to be sure everyone's attention was on him before continuing. "We narrowed down the possibilities and found that Pain, or Nagato, who had been a previous pupil of the late Sannin Jiraiya and the one who had attacked Konoha was highly likely an Uzumaki. And apart from him, was Karin. There are accounts of 2 others who may be members of the Uzumaki clan but they are not in the records of any village, thus we assumed they were acting rogues or perhaps unaware of their origin."
Karin gripped her skirt as she listened.
"Nagato, as we all know, already passed. So Karin was our best option." Ibiki turned his eyes towards the red-haired female in the room. "The results on Karin's DNA have come out positive. She is an Uzumaki, and she carries the same bloodline that runs through Naruto's veins."
"Are they directly related?" Tsunade immediately asked. She wasted no time in getting down to business.
Ibiki shook his head. "Not at all, Hokage-sama. They are distant in relation, but their bloodline is the same."
At this Tsunade nodded. "Thank you, Ibiki. Is there anything else you wish to add?"
Ibiki shook his head. "None more, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade nodded and turned her eyes to Kakashi, signalling his turn. The copy-nin moved to stand where Ibiki had, while the latter sat on the seat beside Karin.
"So, everyone," Kakashi began. "We all know of our recent visitor, Kozuya-san, who has brought forth a vision he believed to be a warning and a prophecy for the Hyuuga clan. I believe it is no mere coincidence that this vision was brought up at the exact time the Raikage's information on bloodline jutsu being stolen from dead bodies during the Great War. We should also notice that these issues are directly affecting three of you, namely Hinata, Karin and Naruto." His eyes roved over the three as he said their names.
"Of course, even Sasuke is relevant since he is the last wielder of the Sharingan, and now also the Rinnegan. With that said, now we owe our gratitude to Mizukage-sama for her grandfather, Kozuya's efforts. Because of this, she will allow us to be closely in commune with her researchers in order to bring out in full detail the meaning behind Kozuya-san's vision of the Hyuuga." Kakashi upon ending his part nodded towards Tsunade.
"Now then," the Hokage took her cue and stood. "This is a final reminder to all of you. The matters we are currently facing are no joke. Hinata and Sasuke, I expect an update from you when you plan to begin reviving the Uchiha clan. And Naruto and Karin, you should also begin planning how you will go about getting to know each other enough to begin bringing back the Uzumaki clan."
Tension filled the room as the Hokage's command lingered in the silence that followed.
"At this point, we need to focus on what the Raikage is presenting to us as a threat we have yet to see. The vision is a threat on its own, but if it is something that can be held bound within Konoha, then we cannot let it control our initial plans. Hinata, I have spoken with your father on this, and he as well as the Hyuuga Council have decided to put in their efforts to understanding the vision alongside the Mizukage's researchers. You need not worry about it and just focus on your assignment."
Hinata simply nodded, not trusting her voice enough to speak. Naruto had been glancing at Hinata repeatedly throughout the time Tsunade was speaking. He had felt nothing but utmost concern for her. He could only imagine the turmoil going on inside her heart at this moment.
"Naruto, listen here!" Hokage's voice carried over with a little more volume than before and Naruto sat straighter in his seat, his head turning instantly to Tsunade. "You and Sasuke will have to come with me to the Hokage office after this. We have something to discuss."
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Naruto and Sasuke were already at the Hokage's office waiting for Tsunade. She had dismissed the conference after other finalization and with the go signal of the Mizukage as well. The Mizukage headed straight for the temporary hospital where Kozuya was being kept closely monitored by Tsunade's best -- Haruno Sakura. Shizune accompanied her to the hospital, also to assist Sakura in handling Kozuya's health.
Ibiki and Kakashi went their way as well, exchanging more information. Hinata had decided to stay behind, asking Tsunade if she will permit her to stay and wait for Naruto and Sasuke. Tsunade conceded, and tasked Hinata then to watch over Karin. So the two ladies were kept together in the same conference room as they waited for Naruto and Sasuke to finish their meeting with Tsunade.
"How has your stay been so far, Karin-san?"
Karin looked sidelong at Hinata, considering if she should even answer. In the end she reminded Hinata to drop the honorific and just call her Karin since it was what she was accustomed to. Hinata felt Karin's unwillingness and did not force conversation.
"You know, it feels weird being here." Karin's voice surprised Hinata.
"Why is that, Karin-sa--I mean Karin?"
"I was dragged here, kidnapped to be exact." Karin looked at Hinata for a while, waiting for a response.
Hinata nodded in agreement. Of course she knew that would be a bothersome situation, and even with Sasuke around, Karin has been frequently ignored by the only person she really knows in the village. "It must have been hard."
"Then being told I was part of a clan I didn't even know existed. And now I find myself in a situation where I need to make babies with someone I barely know, for the sake of reviving said clan. It's rather crazy, right?"
Hinata could only nod. She understood that Karin was at an even more difficult situation that she was because Konoha wasn't her home, and Naruto isn't someone she is even acquainted with, and she had never considered herself a par t of the Uzumaki clan -- perhaps any clan for that matter.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all that, Karin."
"You had nothing to do with it, so why be sorry? Besides," Karin leaned forward, not looking at Hinata. "Your sorry won't change my current situation, and I can't fight back. One against an entire village will spell my death."
"Naruto-kun isn't as bad as you think, if you give him a chance."
Karin sharply looked at Hinata and raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Are you actually selling him off to me now? I thought you liked him."
Hinata began sputtering words, not able to form proper phrases with the shock of having someone she had just recently met already figure out her feelings for the hero of Konoha. "Th-th-that's n-not umm, no, it's, well,"
Karin chuckled a little. "You're making it a lot easier to corner you, Hinata."
Hinata paused upon hearing Karin say her name for the first time -- and without disdain.
Approaching footsteps sounded and stopped Hinata from responding to Karin's last statement. The two women were surprised when the door to the conference room burst open.
"I finally found you!" The man shouted before grabbing Hinata.
"Kiba-kun?!"
"Oi! Hold on!" Karin shouted, trying to grab Hinata back from the stranger in her midst.
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Shortly after the meeting, Tsunade headed back to the conference room with Naruto and Sasuke trailing after her. She had asked for updates from the two on their progress with their to-be spouses, and she had requested them to take the matter seriously. Among other things, she had considered asking them to take up a mission that had recently been requested of Konoha. But she decided against it since she felt it was unfair to put so much on their shoulders at this time.
They haven't had the chance to adjust to the first assignment. It would only make it a lot harder for them to deal with this as well. Tsunade thought to herself.
She opened the door to the conference room to find Karin on her back lying on the ground.
"Karin?!" Tsunade immediately went to her side and helped her up.
"Ow," Karin touched the back of her head where she had landed upon being pushed down by the man with red triangles on his cheeks.
"What happened? Where is Hinata?" Naruto asked.
"A man took Hinata, he wore a gray jacket."
Sasuke eye twitched for a second as he stood beside Naruto, watching Tsunade help up his former teammate. "Did the man have stupid triangles stuck like make-up on his cheeks?"
Karin nodded. "You know him?"
Naruto and Sasuke shared a look. "I wonder what Kiba wanted with Hinata?"
"I can assume many things but one thing stands out." Sasuke muttered, eye twitching again. Not what's mine.
Tsunade heard the slight shift in Sasuke's voice and turned her eyes sharply to look him in the eyes. "Sasuke, you know your assignment. Find Hinata."
Sasuke smirked. "With pleasure."
"I'll come with you!" Naruto stated, already following after his friend when Tsunade's heavy hand landed on his shoulder promptly stopping him in his tracks.
"No, you don't," Tsunade said as she pushed Karin forward with her other hand. "You bring Karin home. She needs to put some ice on that bump in her head and no one else is here to take care of her. Take her back to the Uchiha compound with you."
"But--"
"This is not a request, Naruto." Tsunade's low voice threatened.
Naruto gulped for a second. "Fine,"
"I guess it's up to me to help them get along."Tsunade sighed when Naruto and Karin had gone.
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"Kiba-kun, where are we going?"
"Just trust me, Hinata!" Kiba assured, suddenly pulling Hinata from running a bit behind him and swiftly raising her legs in his arms. He carried her bridal style as he ran and Hinata grabbed his shoulders for support even as she asked him to put her down.
"You don't need to carry me, I can run!"
"I know, but I want to do even just this small thing for you. Anyway, we're almost there!" Kiba jumped a distance and they landed on an area outside the Konoha gates. Now he skipped from branch to branch of the trees they passed, with Hinata still in his arms.
He began to slow down when the trees started to change in the direction they were going. The leaves and branches were even more dense than the ones surrounding the village, and it was evident Kiba had found something hidden in this area. When the trees were at their thickest, the trunks nearly melding together, Kiba settled on the ground and allowed Hinata to stand on her own. He was kneeling beside her as she watched ahead, her vision still clear amidst the darkness that folded around them.
She heard his quick intake of breath and gust of release through his mouth before he stood. "I found this place earlier today when I was monitoring the outskirts. I had to leave Akamaru behind since he wouldn't fit between the trunks that clumped together unless we cut through them.
Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked ahead and beyond where they stood. Immediately she saw a clearing beyond the shrubs that blocked their way. She looked up slightly and noticed a rather small mountain towering above them. Kiba noticed her reaction and gave an explanation.
"This mountain can't be seen from the village or even the main road since the mountain is just small and it's top is nearly being covered by the dense trees that grew really high. It's really something." He stated with awe in his voice, looking up at the same direction as Hinata.
"But why did you take me here, Kiba-kun?"
Kiba smiled mischievously, a quick dust of blush on his cheeks. "I can explain once we're inside."
"Inside?" Hinata echoed, and Kiba offered his hand to her. He led her through a small space in the bushes leading up to the clearing she had earlier seen with her Byakugan. The place was untouched, and perhaps had not been discovered by anyone prior to Kiba. She could believe that he had such ability considering his keen sense of smell especially, that is close to that of a dog.
When Kiba separated the last of the patch of leaves covering their path, Hinata's eyes widened in mild surprise. The clearing she saw earlier was not just a random area that was clear of trees. The thick trees lined the outskirts forming a near perfect circle around the clearing, and in the middle of the short green grass was a small pond. Its water was so calm it looked like glass. There was no sign of a ripple or movement in it.
Hinata drew closer, curious about the source of water. The water reflected her face back so clearly she felt she was looking into a mirror.
"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Kiba said, watching Hinata as she looked around and admired the place.
"What is this place?"
"I don't really know if this was man-made or something that was naturally formed, but I happened to find it when I was out on patrol as I told you. When I saw this place I knew I just had to show it to you. It was better during the day actually, the sunlight was just enough to pierce through the thick leaves above us and shed some light here."
Hinata could only imagine but she smiled nonetheless. She sat on her knees by the end of the water, and Kiba sat beside her. He was near enough but not quite. His nervousness began to rise in his throat, evidently drying his mouth and leading him to lick his lips to moisten them.
"You know," he started, voice slightly wavering and Hinata calmly turned to look at him. "I really wanted to show you this place during the day. It was more beautiful then. But when I finished my patrol and there was still some light, I couldn't find you. It was a good thing I happened upon Ino. She told me you were either at the Uchiha compound or at the Hokage tower. Say, why would you even be at the Uchiha compound when you have your own place?"
Hinata laughed nervously, unsure if she was allowed to disclose the reason behind it. "Maybe Ino-chan has just been seeing me frequently there. Don't worry about it." She waved her hand as if dismissing the matter and keeping a small smile on her face. Kiba shrugged but kept smiling at her.
"Well, it was a good thing still that I doubted that info and went straight for the Hokage tower. Your scent is so familiar to me I could easily pinpoint which room you were in from a mile away." He laughed then and Hinata felt at ease after a long while. The stress she was carrying was suddenly removed from her shoulders. It was entirely different being with someone you have shared many memories with indeed. And to Hinata, being with Kiba and Shino was akin to being home since she had been with them and experienced so much with her teammates.
"I brought you here because -- oh!" Kiba started in a serious tone but suddenly turned to the leaves that hung above their heads. Hinata looked and saw a dazzling sight of tiny lights moving towards them. They sensed no hostility and with a quick scan with her Byakugan, and a quick whiff with his nose, they were able to deduce that there was no nearby person.
The lights slowly landed on the edges of the small pond while some hovered over it.
"Fireflies," Kiba breathed.
"Really?" Hinata asked, her eyes still captured by the captivating sight before her. The fireflies had also begun to settle on the grass in the clearing around them and she couldn't help but smile. Kiba had turned to watch her face, the sparkle in her eyes that captured the fireflies' light turned her even more beautiful than he thought she could look. At that moment she turned to him with such joy painted in her expression that his chest constricted and heat rushed to his face.
Damn, she's beautiful.
"It's so beautiful, Kiba-kun!" Hinata exclaimed.
"Yeah," He breathed and smiled. "You really are." He said it loud enough so Hinata could hear, but soft enough for her to doubt she had heard him correctly. She could only blink at him as they looked at each other though, unsure of what she could say.
Kiba then took her hand in his own, and sandwiching it between his two large hands. He breathed deeply before starting. "Hinata," His eyes stared deeply into hers. "I brought you here because when I found this place, you were the first person on my mind I wanted to show it to."
"Oh, well thank you Kib--"
"Wait, let me finish." He said, but there was no hint of disrespect in his voice. It was a plain request, but his tone was low and it gave Hinata the feeling that he was sharing a deep secret. Kiba took another breath.
"I honestly didn't know there would be fireflies here tonight. I thought it was only a beautiful sight during the day. Now I'm happy for this surprise because I got to see you smile so happily. And," Kiba paused for a moment, looking at Hinata's hand held gently but securely between his own. Hinata's eyes could only watch Kiba's face as she was beyond speechless at this point.
"Hinata, I'm really happy I gave the reason for you to smile that way. More than than, I want to continue making you happy, and happier, the happiest even if it's okay."
Hinata gulped, realizing where this was going but not willing to admit to it. Kiba raised his eyes once more to meet hers.
"I like you, Hinata. And I think I've already fallen in love with you."