日向導 - A Hyūga's Guide

Chapter Forty Three: An Apple Branch

Perhaps it was good news, or just something to spite her; but it took nearly two weeks before she finally saw the extra weight she put on. Hinata stared at herself in the clouded mirror. Yes, she did put on weight, and she knew the reason since she could actually see it. The water droplets on her skin made her feel cold, and time seemed to stop as she brought her hand up to rest on her stomach.

"Sakura..." She whispered as a sad smile spread across her face. "Was this what you were trying to tell me?"

She couldn't be as happy though. Admittedly or not, she was scared that she would be an inadequate mother, and she wouldn't be strong enough to protect the child in her stomach. That was the least of her worries, the biggest issue glared at her almost tauntingly — there were people out there who currently wanted her and Sasuke dead.

Running her hand through her hair, shaking it free from the water that drenched it, she let out a pained breath as her thoughts consumed her. A few minutes later, she was getting herself dressed while ignoring how jittery she was. Should she tell Sasuke? That was a silly question, he'd want to know, he deserved to know so that he wouldn't do something foolish and get himself hurt.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Jūgo [who offered to accompany them] were supposed to go to the nearest village to gather some supplies. She knew that the former two were just going to figure out the current situation of the Palace, and as much as she trusted them to keep themselves out of trouble, no one really knew how other people would react to them once they're seen. They would not be as kind as Jūgo had been.

The older man was shocked once he found out he was housing the future Emperor and Empress, and had apologized profusely for how inadequate the things he prepared were. That was the best reaction they could have gotten out of anyone really — the worst case scenario was Jūgo going around telling people who they were, but the man was practically an outcast, so that wasn't exactly possible.

If Jūgo letting them stay for as long as they needed to recoup and make the trip back to the Palace wasn't an indication that he did not want any issues with them in the future, the fear on his face when they were speaking about their assailants did the job. He recognized, or more so, he guessed who one of the attackers was. No one knew if he was right or not, but it was better than being clueless.

Turns out, Jūgo wasn't the only victim of this Orochimaru fellow he and Neji spoke about. There were countless, but he seemed to be the only one who managed to survive the man's ruthless experiments on the human body. He was covered in scars that made the team wince upon seeing them.

"Good afternoon." She smiled as she walked into the kitchen to see Naruto packing a satchel with things. "You look different." She looked him up and down, noting the orange and black yukata he wore that suited him well.

Naruto itched his cheek and grinned, "is that a good thing?"

"Of course." She giggled and grabbed a bun and nibbled on it. "You guys are really going, huh? There's nothing I can say to stop you." She hid her pout quickly as she took a bigger bite from the sweet bun.

"I'm afraid not, but we will be extra careful. It's been a while anyway, and I think it's a good idea to just see how things are and then plan our next move. Who knows, maybe we can go back home tomorrow!" He poked her cheek.

"What are you two talking about?" Sasuke walked into the kitchen, his hands busy securing his katana to his hip where it wouldn't be seen. He looked up to see Hinata staring at him with sad eyes. "Did he say something?"

"Oh brother." Naruto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "No, I didn't say anything. She's just sad that we're going out there right now. Isn't that right, Hinata?" He turned to her.