173Sasuke trudged along the dirt road path. He was wary of his mission, he hadn't spoken to his target in nearly ten years, not since that day. He'd been remorseful, regretted how far he'd fallen. He cursed himself for finding the line, the limit of Naruto's forgiveness. A bond which he once tried to severe most violently he now desired to reforge. He wanted his brother back. He was hoping the news he had could start them down the road. There was so much he wanted to tell him. Naruto hadn't even met his daughter, little Sarada. His continued absence was noted in the village and all were aware why.
If he could just make up with Naruto… he didn't care that most of the shinobi didn't trust him. He never cared about them nor their opinions. He hated that Sakura caught some of that antipathy, she shouldn't have to pay for his crimes. She'd all but been alienated from most of her former friends and there was little she could do. But none of that animus fell on Sarada. It appeared the village had learned their lesson from how they treated Naruto, they remembered she was an innocent and never ostracized her.
If Naruto was there, if he hadn't given up on their friendship this would be different. Sasuke knows it's his fault, he went too far, clung too tightly to his beliefs even when the world was ready to move in a different direction. He just couldn't let it go, too angry, too vengeful. The system needed to be torn down, not amended. He was so sure of himself that it justified everything he did to anyone. Try to kill the Kage again? Yes. Deathmatch with his best friend? Most assuredly. Torture Hi… No, now was not the time to think about that. He was upon his destination, it was time to set things right.
He saw him, the blond appeared to be in deep meditation. He was sitting on a platform, it balanced perfectly on a sharp peak. Even the slightest movement would cause it to tilt, for Naruto to fall. But he sat there, a picture perfect lotus pose in an long sleeve black shirt and black pants. He calmed himself, wanting his voice to sound steady and resolution before he could speak, a voice he hadn't heard in so long broke through.
"Have you come to see how literal I meant "on sight", Uchiha?"
"Naruto, I have-"
"Because, granted, my eyes are closed so I can't "see" you. But I sensed you coming. I'm aware of you and have been. Is that not a type of sight? Would it make a liar out of me if I did nothing once I was alerted to your vile presence?"
"Naruto, just listen to me. This is important."
"It must be, for him to even bother to send a clone, at least he realizes I meant what I said."
"It's Hinata, Naruto. She's showing signs of waking up. Hiashi, Hanabi, Tsunade-sama, they all want you there when she does."
The now identified clone felt Naruto's chakra spike but the blond remained still and outwardly calm.
"If this is a lie or a ploy, Uchiha, I'll do more than crack you skull this time."
"I wouldn't lie about something like this. You have to know that."
"What I know is that I never knew you at all." Naruto said before vanishing. The clone dispelled itself, assuming its job was done.
Sakura watched Sasuke's eyes glaze over for a moment before the focus returned and he grimaced in displeasure.
"How does he tolerate that insipid jutsu?" Sasuke muttered, not liking the memory feedback of the shadow clone one bit.
"So did you speak to him, is he back?" Sakura asked and saw Sasuke drop his head.
"He vanished, he could be on his way back, most likely is. I know he hasn't forgiven me."
"There is still hope, Sasuke-kun. Maybe with Hinata coming back he'll forgive the both of us." the pinkette lamented, having also missed the person that became her dear friend. Sasuke wrapped an arm around his wife, trying to comfort her, she feeling Naruto's absence as acutely as he was. Another regret, another source of shame how he manage to come between them. The two sat quietly on their couch in silent misery until Sarada darted in, staring intently at her parents.
She didn't know why they were sad but she knew they only got like this when they talked about their old teammate, the hero of the world. Her Kaa-chan tells her stories all the time about him and how far he'd come. But she looked so pained while doing so, if the very memories hurt. They'd never explain why or what caused the acknowledged hero to leave the village but she knew they knew. She was very bright for her age.
"Papa, can you teach me something?"
"I would, Sarada, but I may be called away soon so I have to stay available." he said and watched as she pouted cutely causing Sasuke to poke her forehead with two fingers, making her let out an disgruntled 'ouch'. "How about I make you some lunch instead?"
"Just you?"
"Just me."
"Not kaa-chan, too?" she asked and it caused Sakura to turn red in anger. She was not the best cook in the world but she tried and felt no need to be made fun of because of it but hearing her little girl giggle undid whatever anger she was feeling as she watched the pair head to the kitchen. It was moments like this that allowed her to feel better, more secure in her choice. But just as that security would come, the memory of blue eyes, exhausted, broken and pleading come to her. Filled with desperation, hoping she could help and then disgust when she ran away.
'No.' she admonished, tears in her eyes. She wasn't going to cry over this, crying changed nothing. She made her choice and it was the right one. Even if it had cost her the trust of her comrades and her relationship with Tsunade. That hurt most of all, that her master gave up on her. Such hateful words were said as the two hot tempered medics argued for what seemed like hours. 'What if it were Dan?' Sakura barked out in exasperation, trying to will her master to understand her position. 'What if it were Naruto?' came the instant reply and Sakura only left, fully understanding Tsunade's fear.
It was the more likely outcome, what if it had been Naruto in need of medical assistance? Who would she have chosen to help, to potentially save? The hero or the traitor? The boy that loved her or the boy she loved? The light or the dark? It felt unfair and she felt like a kid again; always trapped between her two teammates, always expected to choose. She hated it.
She was hailed as an excellent medic, Tsunade's equal but there was always a tinge, a hint of recrimination. You chose the boy that would have killed your master. The boy that would have undone peace. You chose the one that never chose you. As if that's how emotions worked, that you could just add it all up and come up with a conclusion. Why did she have to justify who she loved? No one else did, why was she always looked at as the heartless bitch that spurned the pure hearted hero when the entire village did as well?
It was ironic, the one person who never treated her like that, like she owed Naruto a chance was Naruto himself. She missed her knucklehead, her family wasn't complete and she was losing hope it ever would be.
Kakashi didn't outwardly react when Naruto appeared before him. It had been a habit of his student to teleport in when he was checking in, the ANBU didn't bother trying to detain him… not after the first time. He received word Hinata was showing signs of waking up, he was the one that gave Sasuke the mission to track down Naruto and if he could accurately read the expression of his most unpredictable student, the boy, no, man wasn't happy.
Kakashi, dryly, thought Naruto's unpredictableness became infinitely less cute once the boy turned man became the recognized fourth God of Shinobi. Unpredictable people are fun. Unpredictable Gods keep you up at night as you watch the last vestiges of your sanity slip away.
"Jounin Uzumaki Naruto has returned as ordered, Hokage-sama." Naruto spoke, hands behind his back, posture straight and eyes piercing Kakashi's.
'Oh, he's really, really mad.' Kakashi thought
"I'm not mad." Naruto reassured but it had the ironic effect of not being reassuring at all.
'I hate ninshu.' Kakashi internally griped, not being able to hide much of anything from the once oblivious blond.
"And you don't hate ninshu. Also, you have a Kage's worth of high yang chakra in a child's body and let's see how focus you'd be."
"You know I hate it when you do that."
"I'm helping you, sensei. You need to be more open. You're an old man, it's time to take off that mask and settle down with a nice woman… or man? You do spend a lot of time with Iruka-sensei."
"I miss the days I could beat you and call it training."
"Speaking of violence-"
"It's real, Naruto. Hiashi told me himself. She's had an increase in brain activity and Tsunade predicts it will be soon. That is the only reason I sent Sasuke."
"Sai knows how to contact me."
"He's also out on a mission."
"Well, if that's all-"
"It's not. You can't attack Sasuke, Naruto."
"I have the utmost belief I can do exactly that." Once again, Kakashi lamented the diminished cuteness of the blond.
*sigh* "I'm ordering you not to attack Sasuke, is that better?"
"I'm not going to hunt him down. If he stays out of my way I'll stay out of his."
"No, Naruto. Short of him burning your house down, there will be no violence between you."
"There's this little issue with my nindo, Sensei. If I don't follow through how will people respect me? How will I respect myself?"
"You'll manage. Also, your extended leave ends now. You need to be seen in the village, again."
"Anything else? Want me to catch Tora while I'm at it?"
"If you wouldn't mind."
"I'd mind a great deal. Like, come out of retirement for one last prank." Naruto said darkly, which caused Kakashi to pale.
"That'll be all, you can disperse." Kakashi said and watched as the shadow clone did just that.
Naruto was welcomed onto the Hyuuga lands with little fuss. The guards had long gotten used to seeing the savior of the world. Most didn't know it but Naruto was in the village more often than they realized, he just avoided most of the villagers. They led him down a familiar path to Hinata's room, once her coma was confirmed as being long term she was moved out of the hospital and into a facility within the village. However, after the Toneri incident, Hiashi quartered off some land to construct a space.
From the outside, it appeared to be a cabin but inside it was much more. A hallway led to a waiting area as well as a administrative desk for record keeping. The care center was equipped with the most up to date technology. Coupled with Tsunade's experimental protocols to decrease, if not negate atrophy, Hinata was well cared for.
Beyond the waiting room was where Hinata was located. Naruto provided the security seals, even ones negating space time ninjutsu so only those cleared could get in. Hiashi, Hanabi and Hinata's medical team, headed by Tsunade, were the only ones allowed unfettered access. Everyone else required an escort.
Hiashi found it odd that Naruto didn't include himself and said as much, Naruto simply waved him never responding to the inquiry. The Hyuuga head let it drop as he knew how guilt made people act in odd was, most of Hinata's childhood was shaped by the guilt he felt for the death of his wife and brother.
When Naruto arrived, he saw Team Kurenai, with Mirai, Hanabi and Hiashi all standing outside her room. They greeted him briefly, all warm but Kiba. The Inuzuka has long blamed Naruto for Hinata's state, claiming if Naruto had taken care of Sasuke before she wouldn't have suffered. It was true and something Naruto had struggled with himself. After the greeting, Naruto took his seat and waited for word.
The lightly was blinding. Her throat hurt. The flurry of activity made her anxious. Hinata was overwhelmed as she emerged from her near decade's long coma. The last thing she remembered was fighting Sasuke and then being trapped in an illusion, one in which she watched Sasuke torture and kill Naruto for what felt like forever. And then, darkness. Now she was being told by Tsunade-sama she was 25 and had missed so much. She was truly an adult now, not by right or law but physically she was a grown woman. And yet, she didn't think like one, or she didn't think she thought like one. How does one become a true adult in an instant?
What had been happening during her coma? Who stopped Sasuke? Was Naruto-kun still alive? She had so many questions but could barely speak. She felt weak, drained and scared. She overheard Tsunade-sama tell some people they could only stay for a short while, as she would still need her rest.
The first to enter were her father and Hanabi-chan, looking so mature and beautiful. Not the sassy and vibrant young lady she'd left during the war. She was shocked when her father openly wept and hugged her, telling her how much he missed her. As they were telling her some of the developments with the clan, specifically the removal of the Cage Bird seal and how it had been adapted to something for the entire clan, she was glad but cried as she recalled Neji's sacrifice. Hiashi simply held her and allowed her to mourn what would still be an immediate loss to her. But she came out of her spell, thankful for their support and resolving to catch up on all the important things.
They departed and her teammates entered, along with a little girl that introduced herself as Mirai Sarutobi. She looked like a mix of Kurenai and Asuma sensei. Her team, too, regaled her of the major events of their lives. Shino had become an Academy instructor, Kiba was a Jounin and Kurenai was semi-retired. She enjoyed being surrounded by her second family even as she felt so lost, as if much of the world had passed her by. They, too, did not stay long and Tsunade-sama said she had one final visitor before she'd have to rest. She saw Kiba tense as he exited, as if the person coming and he had some conflict between them. She couldn't think of who she knew that Kiba would vehemently dislike but nine years can change a lot.
She found it hard to breathe when he stepped into the doorway. She almost didn't believe it, fearing Sasuke had actually killed him just as he had in the illusion. But he was alive, smiling just as brightly as she remembered. She fought the urge to nervously tap her fingers, feeling a need to act her physical age.
"N-Naruto-kun, you're ok?"
"Yes, and it's thanks to you. You saved me again." Naruto answered, taking a seat beside her. "And I'm so sorry the cost was so high." he said, never breaking eye contact.
"It was my choice." Hinata responded meekly and saw Naruto shake his head.
"It was but it was also mine. I kept trying to save Sasuke. I believed I could be the focus of his anger, that he wouldn't harm anyone else. Because of that, I unconsciously held back. I never wanted to save him at the expense of you or anyone else. I hope you can believe that." Naruto confessed. He'd managed to contain his guilt with help but seeing her awake, it was just pouring out of him.
"I don't blame you, Naruto-kun."
"Thank you, Hinata and not just for the words. Thank you for coming to my defense and for the support. I hope I can offer a fraction of the support you've shown me." Naruto said, reaching into one of his holsters and pulling out a tri pronged kunai and handing it to Hinata. "You have a long road ahead of you, I suspect. Fortunately, you have no shortage of people willing to help but if you ever need me for anything just channel some chakra into that and I'll be there. Even if it's just to sit in silence and stare at the moon, ok?"
Hinata could only nod as she handled the kunai, in mild disbelief that Naruto-kun knew that jutsu. Tsunade-sama came to the door and told Naruto his time was up. He grabbed Hinata's hand gentle, saying goodbye and exiting. She did have a long road ahead of her, recovery and reentering society would not be easy but she wasn't alone and knowing that made the difficult path ahead feel just a little bit easier.
Naruto decided to walk back to his place. It was actually Jiraiya's, something left to him in Jiraiya's will. It was a two story house with a nice back and front yard. It was nice and unassuming, something Naruto appreciated. Part of the reason he decided to walk, instead of flashing there, was his security alerted him to the presence of someone there. When he expanded his senses he resigned himself to dealing with her as she wouldn't be ignored.
He wished he could get her to understand he didn't hate her. He didn't even hate Sasuke, though he sincerely disliked the man. More than anything he just didn't want them in his life anymore. He truly didn't understand why they'd want him in their's. They had a family, both were moving on so why the need to involve him? It couldn't be because they were friends, he simply wouldn't allow that explanation to fly. He arrived to see her sitting on his porch, her hair long like it used to be and her wearing a similar dress to what she wore as a genin.
"Hello, Sakura." he said. Not curtly, not dryly but in a way he'd greet most people now.
"Hi, Naruto. Do you have a moment?"
"Sure, come in." Naruto said, walking past her and opening the door. The two moved in silence toward the living room and he gestured for her to sit on his couch, black, as he sat in a chair across from it separated by a dark wood coffee table.
"What can I do for you, Sakura?"
"How's Hinata?"
"Awake. Alert as well. Beyond that, I can't really say but hopefully it won't take her too long to adjust."
"And you'll be here to help her?"
"If she allows me too, yes."
"I doubt she'd turn you away, Naruto." Sakura said and then sat as the conversation lulled. It was so difficult to talk to him now. It used to be so easy, too easy as he wouldn't shut up but now he'd sit in silence until she spoke.
"Naruto, we both want you back in our lives. You've never met my daughter. How can that be? We were so close, we went through so much. How can one choice have ended all of that?"
"You know the answer to that. Why are you really here, Sakura?"
"Because I miss you. You became my best friend and I miss that, your support and your smile. You meant so much to me, Naruto. You have to know how important you are to me."
"Sakura, we've been through this. I know why you chose to help him instead of her. I know how you feel about me. But it isn't enough. I don't want to be cruel but I can't have you in my life anymore."
"You managed to forgive everyone else, why not me?"
"It isn't about forgiving you. Our relationship wasn't healthy. I thought the only way I could get people to care about me was by demanding nothing of them and giving my all for their sake. Couple that with Kakashi's belief about abandoning comrades and you get someone willing to forgive a person that broke his neck and used an assassination jutsu on him multiple times. I can't be that person. Or the person you hit when angered."
"You're reducing us to our worst moments."
"I'm not, I'm saying our relationship was such that it led to those incidents. You never hit Sasuke and he's done some objectively stupid things. But you never yelled at him, you just accepted whatever he did. He always had your sympathy, I could always earn your antipathy. That kind of thinking doesn't just change overnight and I won't play the role of the lovable idiot in your grand romance, not anymore."
Sakura let out a bitter chuckle at Naruto's words. "So, you're just like them?"
"Like who, Sakura?"
"All those idiots that silently and not so silently judge me for being with Sasuke. For not returning the feelings of the Hero of the Fourth Shinobi War. Those who act like your deeds made you entitled to me. I thought you were different from them."
"I am. You're the one that won't accept I don't want to be in your life. You're the one acting entitled, not me. Even as idiotic and emotionally stunted as I was, I realized you were never going to return my feelings after you lied about being in love with me. No, Sakura, I don't judge you for being with him. You were always clear on your desire to do so and I've never said anything against it so don't lump me in with random people I don't know."
"Why not? You're just like them, making me make a choice. Why should I have to? My husband or my best friend, why can't I have you both? Because of mistakes I made at sixteen? I'm sorry, Naruto. How many times must I say it. I'm sorry I lied about being in love with you. I had the best of intentions. I'm sorry I couldn't help Hinata and Sasuke both. But how could you expect me to let him die?"
"Life's cruel that way. Why couldn't I have my parents? Why did people hate me? Whatever the reason didn't change that they happened. I'm sorry you feel people are judging you and your relationship. It really isn't any of their business but that has nothing to do with me. I don't know how else to say this and I don't want us to start saying hurtful things to each other."
"You certainly don't mind bringing up every mistake I've ever made, so why be concerned with hurting me now?"
"I never want to hurt you Sakura." Naruto said as she got up to leave. No more words were exchanged and Naruto hoped it would be the last time they needed to have this discussion. After Sakura left, Naruto made some dinner and settled in for the evening. After dinner he worked on completing a new seal that was almost finished before showering. As he emerged from the bathroom with a towel around his waist, he was not surprised to see Tsunade in his bedroom, she being one of the few people to have access to his place. Nor was he shocked when she planted a deep kiss on his lips while turning off the lights. Naruto discarded the towel and wrapped his arms around Tsunade's waist, lifting her up as she instinctively wrapped her legs around him. Without a word he carried her to bed. Sleep would not come for several hours.
