Hope And Faith

Past

It's funny how your brain works when you are happy. When your life seems to be just fine. How it shoves away any unpleasantlry, anything that doesn't fit in the good place that you are right now. Maybe humans are just selfish beings destined to move from happiness to sadness in an attempt to understand humbliness. Or maybe your right place moves forward and evolves together with you.

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There was a wooden frame placed on his black sofa table. Inside was a picture of six people and a dog at a white background. They seemed having fun. Maybe they were even friends. Hinata had come the other day holding a wrapped square object. The red bow on top of it made it clear it was a present. She urged him to open it and there was the photo that she snached before anyone else could. He looked at her puzzled, thinking it was meant to decorate her shrine of memories. She explained it was a gift meant for him. She said his house needed a personal touch and that was the beginning. He thought at the sad tint he felt observing her life. All this years he paused and she, everyone was moving forward. He felt that her gift wasn't the picture itself. It was more the feeling of that day he spent with her and the others.
But now Sasuke wasn't looking at that. He was holding one where a paled skin girl stood in front of a raven haired man fixing a purple scarf. Maybe I should trust her.
An inner debate was held for days now. He had decided to find his brother and accept whatever the man wanted. But he needed help to accomplish that. Naruto was the person he trusted the most. He would never betray him. But the blonde wasn't exactly quiet. His approach on things was straightforward and in this case a certain moderation was important. He imagined Naruto bursting in Kakashi's office demanding answers, making a fuss. Or he would tell him to go search for themselves not taking no for an answer. But the future Hogake was well known across the shinobi world. Not the right type for a secret mission.
But she. Hinata had a unique way of handling things. She could be gentle and considerate yet firm when the circumstances required it. He touched  his cheek and smiled.
It wasn't a case of whether she agreed to help him on not. In none of the scenarios Sasuke played on his mind she responded negatively. It was others things that he feared. First he didn't want to expose his brother in unnecessary danger by reveling his existence. Second the person would be burden with a secret that was not their responsibility. Third what he wanted to do wasn't typically legal. Spying the Hogake could get you to a lot of trouble.
He sighed and look at the photo once more. What should I do? You seem to have all the answers.
He noticed how delicate her fingers were. How she had slightly lifted her feet to match his height. How her usual pale skin had a hint of pink at her cheeks. How her eyes were focused at the task she didn't see his intense stare.
He was left more confused than before.

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When she moved at her apartment she decided to plant some flowers at the small balcony. It wasn't as spectacular as the one she had at the mansion but she liked it. The carenees that needed for the little seeds to grow on a beautiful flower, the feeling of protecting something so fragile made her at ease. This hobby of hers was something she was good ever since she still a child. At times she thought that was the only thing that she was decent at. When she first heard of Ino and her family business she wished her family was involved at this kind of job too. Maybe then she wouldn't be a failure. Unexpectedly this very thing was what brought the two girls closer. Her thoughts left loose every time she was taking care of her flowers. Despite the cold she was out nursing the colourful plants hoping the snow didn't do a lot of damage to the poor things. Thinking of Ino she understood by now that as a kid she desired to be like all of her friends. It wasn't jealousy what she felt. It was admiration. They seemed so interesting, so fit for the roles that fate laid upon them. It saddened her she wasn't like them. She was born to be the heiress. The dices rolled this role for her. A role that was meant for someone else. The timid, shy little girl who couldn't express her thoughts and opinions should be the leader of one of the most powerful clans. After the war she understood that fate doesn't exist. That she herself should decide for her future. It was a cruel joke that as soon as she accepted that being the heiress was something she wasn't good at and will never be, when she finally forgave herself for that, the others pushed her at that direction.
Being lost in her thoughts, the girl didn't observed the weather getting worse. When a slap of cold wind hit her she crawled inside her clothes. The smell that her nose catched was familiar. Wood and rain. Sasuke. His scent was a wooden cabin in the woods on a rainy forest. How can a person smell like a place? Their younger days, she was aware of the tragedy that fallen upon him. It was heartbroken that a child had to carry this weight on his shoulders. She knew that he needed to feel loved and sheltered to stand on his feet again. But he isolated himself and Hinata wasn't a pushy person. They weren't compatible, she understood she couldn't help him. When he joined Naruto and Sakura, she felt their team was a perfect match. Not at the naked eye but she observed Naruto long enough to know he had the guts to break Sasuke's walls. At the darker times when their friends decide to bring him down Hinata objected. First because Naruto had a say at this and second because she believed he could come back. Thankfully he did. Now something unexpected had happened. She couldn't imagine her life without him in it. She didn't know exactly when it happened. It saddened her when the days passed without seeing him. His smirks and the annoyance in his voice. The  deep voice he made when he asked her something that was difficult to answer. The comfort, the late nights they spent together. His kiss. Stop. Unconsciously she placed her hand and the purple fabric and pressed it at her nose. She straighten her dress and walked inside her house.