日向導 - A Hyūga's Guide

Chapter Forty Four: The Crow

There were many instances where strange things would happen that Hinata started to take notice of. From her reoccurring dream of Sasuke standing in the middle of the bedroom with his Sharingan activated, to feeling warm chakra surrounding her as if to protect her only to disappear. She didn't bring this up with anyone else since she thought it was best to keep it a secret, but it began to bother her somewhat that things didn't exactly make sense to her no matter how much she tried to understand them.

"Naruto and I will be leaving soon." Sasuke opened the bedroom door and placed down a tray of food on the desk. His eyes trailed down from her face to her stomach, he gave her a small smile and approached her. "We'll be back soon."

Hinata nodded, "do you have any idea who they'll appoint?"

"My guesses are not that good." He shook his head.

They've received, or rather, Jūgo had shared news in regards to the Palace. A new leader would be appointed, which the small group did not believe. If anything, it gave Sasuke and Naruto good reasons to go to the Palace beyond a simple reconnaissance mission.

"Don't do anything brash." She fiddled with his yukata and brushed his hair back. "As soon as you find out, you come back here and we plan our next move." Her eyes were as hard as steel, she was not speaking to him as his wife, but as a matriarch.

"I will." He pressed his forehead against hers and took a deep breath. "I will be gone for two days at most, if I do not return, do not come looking for me. That's not a simple request, Hinata, I will not ask you to put yourself in danger even if I know you are capable of protecting yourself."

Hinata bit her lip, stopping herself from responding as she settled for a small nod of her head.

"Good." Sasuke stood up straight and smirked. "Don't be too picky with your food."

"Oh, be quiet." She smiled softly, "I'll see you soon." She followed him out of their bedroom and stopped at the door. " We'll see you soon." She placed her hand on her stomach.

His lip twitched but he didn't smile, he took another deep breath and left her standing there. Sasuke met with Naruto at the entrance of the hideout. They both decided that it was a good idea to keep their katanas hidden and to pass themselves of as civilians no matter what. Fortunately for them, everyone was invited to see the inauguration of the new Emperor, so they did not need to be secretive with their attendance beyond keeping their identities hidden.

"We're losing daylight." Sasuke motioned for Naruto to follow him. "We should get there before the ceremony happens tomorrow afternoon."

"What happens if we get there way too early?" Naruto's eyes were narrowed, his lax posture was quickly replaced with the seriousness of a Royal Guard.

"We stay hidden as far as possible so they do not see us. When other civilians or noble families arrive, we will use them as our cover."

"Understood."

They both pressed their lips into a thin line as they walked through the forest. By the time the sun began to set, they had just arrived at the cave they settled in on the night of the attack. Naruto made sure that it was safe inside before they sat down. A fire was started and they stared into it with nothing much to say.

"Hey, Sasuke." Naruto wiped his mouth after biting into one of the pork buns they brought along.

"Hm?" The Uchiha Prince turned to him for a split second before resuming his watch of the moon above.

"Do you ever feel like you're being watched?"

Sasuke blinked and gave Naruto his full attention, "what do you mean?"