Sweet Dispositions

-Chapter 7-
Waves

September 7th. Late.

SASUKE HAD HEAD ACHES BECAUSE OF THE HYUUGA.

Sure, Hyuuga was evocative but this woman was an apparent confusion to him.

Hyuuga should be honored that she's apart of something like this. Her pregnancy is transcendent. A blank page in the new chapter of the Uchiha's history.

Despite what Sasuke thinks, he had this feeling that she doesn't want a child. She disregarded the kid and all of her pregnancy signs and dismissed them as a cold. She seemed to be perfectly fine with ignorance.

Sasuke was nothing more than astonished that she'd yielded so easily. Not readily. It took arguments and fulminations that weren't empty. Yet, after all that, convincing her was simpler than he initially thought. Even before he pitched the idea, he accepted she would reject the offer and take the baby for herself, leaving him to bite the dust. She was correctly capable of that. All mothers were.

But she hadn't. He didn't know if he convinced her enough to agree or if she genuinely sensed that it was the best route to safety. He believed she'd just split from the room and that would be the last he saw of her. She was capable of that but Sasuke wouldn't permit her to do that. She admires Konoha. Who wouldn't love Konoha if they weren't an Uchiha?

He thought he'd never be connected to Konoha in such a way. Before long, Sasuke started letting go of little things until he was so far away from Konoha. She holds on after all that she's been through during the past few weeks.

Emotional attachments are dangerous.

Leaving Konoha was a requirement for Sasuke's sanity. Staying in Konoha was Hyuuga's way to keep sane. So, when she'd said she would go with him, it was a real vote of confidence for him but a reason for trust issues. Hyuuga either aspired to save her own skin by using Sasuke for protection or Hyuuga wants to have the kid.

Sasuke didn't crave to know why she had agreed. He was cynical about that compliance but happy all the same.

If Hyuuga stayed in Konoha, there was no guarantee that Hyuuga would make it out alive. Face it, everyone loathed Sasuke. Even those who used to know him pretend they've never met. Hate has a way of passing on through generations and inflicting agony on the next line of kin. His child would probably be affected by the fuckery that the Hyuuga engaged in.

Sasuke did know that the Uchiha had secret ways of life and doing things but the Hyuuga have taken clan tradition to the extremes.

Admittedly, Sasuke knew that if she stayed, he'd probably sojourn despite misleading her earlier. Sasuke would stay but he didn't want to so he lied to get what he wanted. Sasuke was going to hell anyway. What would one more lie do? Sasuke wasn't as clean as Hyuuga's prince charming Naruto but he got what he wanted.

Would Hyuuga leave Sasuke in the middle of the night?

Sasuke'd probably find Hyuuga's chakra signature and follow her movements for the rest of the nine months but he wouldn't... force her to do anything she didn't want to. If she stayed in Konoha... that meant that he would have to stay in this kami forbidden place for five years or so to shield the freaking wicked from... destroying his chance for being whole again.

The more bonds one creates, the weaker that person gets. Sasuke was a person who lived for no one else but himself. He was young, dumb and obsessed. His motives, his every move, his every breath was not for anyone else but himself and... revenge. Sasuke let go of his thirst for sheer vengeance and retaliation but that selfish desire for self-preservation hadn't waned. It hadn't.

Why did his desires shift? It became his purpose to protect that child... He's weaker because Hyuuga's in his life with that child. She's the one who could make him lose it all. If that child dies... he knew he'd never forgive Hyuuga if it's in Konoha or if it's by Konoha's hands, by Konoha's shinobi.

Hyuuga has the potential to determine Sasuke's future.

She didn't know how much power she had in this situation. She got to have the baby, she could abort and she could do whatever the hell she wanted because she was the mother.

Hyuuga was the one who had to go through nine months of hell.

Sasuke didn't want to force her to do anything. He wasn't that type of monster. If she did abort the child then he would have another child. If she chose to give the kid up for adoption, he'd shadow the child's movements or take the child himself. If Hyuuga was going to keep it then he had everything he needed right in place.

His plan was going perfectly.

Now that Hyuuga said 'yes' to having a sharingan kid, he wasn't going to step back. Sasuke wanted to be in control of some part of the child's life. The sharingan. The child was going to be his doorway to... rebirth. To evolution. To strength. Glory.

Despite not having much of a say in anything, that wasn't going to stop Sasuke from trying to get his argument across.

Sasuke wasn't going to let the Hyuuga clan ruin all Sasuke's efforts because Sasuke accidentally knocked up one of their own. He knew (during the last three days while he researched them and watched them and with the added... memories of the Hyuuga) they wouldn't take the news of the pregnancy with decorum. They wouldn't mind discarding her.

Hyuuga girl's father... didn't like her the slightest bit.

It reminded Sasuke of his own... family. There was a time his dad ignored Sasuke. Sasuke's mother liked making him wafers when she noticed the neglect. Despite noticing Sasuke's distance, they never acted.

Then Fugaku became interested in Sasuke's development.

Sasuke thinks he hadn't turned out right. He was an abandoned orphan at age eight. There was no one to wipe his nose or clean his hands.

If Sasuke had Fugaku... things would have been different but much of the same. What would the great Uchiha Fugaku say to Sasuke knocking up some girl? Mikoto would cry. Fugaku... probably wouldn't speak for days but come around eventually like all dads are supposed to.

Hyuuga's father would never do that. Hiashi or something was comparable to Fugaku; only devoted to the clan and his other kid and... not Hyuuga girl.

Sasuke privately respected the man for keeping his clan afloat like that. It takes a real man to keep a clan running.

However, as Sasuke flipped through Hyuuga's memories, he'd noticed the uncanny parallels in their lives. Neglect. Just hours and hours of neglect and loneliness.

Why did Hyuuga love Konoha so much then? Everyone screwed her over here.

Like Sasuke, Hyuuga hadn't turned out alright because of all those issues. If she was okay... then they shouldn't have convened at the cocktail table at Naruto's wedding.

Just how okay wasn't she?

Her blue scrubs were wrinkled and darkened with dust and dirt. She looked stressed like she usually did. Worn out. She probably got stuck in her head again.

Her eyes speak out loud and have a deep meaning. Hidden behind her fringed bangs, were white opaline-looking eyes with just the right amount of some lilac shade he preferred. She had inky ebony hair at first sight but turned into the very dark blue hair after staring long enough from the distance.

She's short but hey, dynamite comes in small packages.

She has an airy but soothing voice when she wasn't ribbing on him. Her hair fell down to her lower and there were shoulder-length strands that framed her face. She doesn't look pregnant. She looks fragile and soft with all of her curves to him but he knows that she's sort of strong.

The Hyuuga don't mess around as Naruto told Sasuke.

Hyuuga might have been hollow but she was brave. She's poised like a clan heiress... She put on a front but her eyes were cold... and empty. She was confident in Naruto's words but she never talked like she had something to say. She was a medic-nin like Sakura. She didn't seem to be cut from the same cloth as Sakura. She didn't flaunt anything about herself. Why did every woman he thought about... come to Sakura?

Hyuuga unthinkingly reached for the ends of an azure strand and toyed with the tip. What's she going to do now? Sasuke thought as he as she looked demure. Timid. He read into everything she didn't say but Sasuke ended up with knowing nothing.

She tilted her head and asked, "Uchiha-san... where do you suppose we go?"

In his head, Sasuke did everything right. He did have a plan. He just thought that she wouldn't like it as much as he did. She always disagreed with him. Despite saying she didn't want any arguments, that didn't happen. She's problematic.

He didn't truly know about... where they would go but he has small ideas here and there. Hate makes men on opposite sides paranoid. The omnipresent hate limited his choices of where to stay. Finding a place for her is going to be difficult.

He could stay with that hag...

What did she prefer? He knows nothing about her. She's not like those women at pubs trying to drown out their blandness with sound and bombastic narcissism. He would've known her life story if she were like other girls...

"The wind will take us anywhere we want to," he said, being inexplicit.

Her eyes bugged out.

Oh great. She's either going to have another panic attack or she's going to freak once again. Great. Sasuke could handle those with manageable temper problems but the shy ones always surprised him. There was this aura of mystic surrounding Hyuuga. He never knew what she was going to do and frankly, it made him as curious as it made him as confused.

"Uchiha-san? You don't have a destination?" she asked.

"Relax," Sasuke said, following her jagged movements closely. She's quiet but she does this thing when her nerves get really loud.

She let her long hair down and had this sudden fierce look scintillating in her opal lilac eyes. "Uchiha-san, before we go off into... oblivion. I wanted to mention that my clan, the Hyuuga, isn't as corrupt as you believe."

Always surprising. "You don't think your clan isn't corrupt?"

"I know they are corrupt. I know it very well," she said, her tone leveled and faint. "I forgave them long ago. With eyes like mine... I have seen most of the cruel acts that they have committed and experienced some but I know it better than you, Uchiha-san. You are an outsider who turns to look at the darkness in everything. There is some light after the reform. There is light nowadays."

This girl was full of surprises. Not all of them pleasant. Why would someone stick up for something that is callously flawed? Sasuke was dangerous and an overall devil to some but he didn't expect people speaking out to defend him. He didn't deserve that coverage. Neither did the Hyuuga clan.

Sasuke may be basing everything off of her thoughts and her father's decisions. A fucking cursed seal? Why would someone do that? He let people do their own mindless things but whose idea was it? He was biased but that didn't matter. He loathed her father for putting the next sharingan child in possible pain. No one is going to stand in the way of the restoration of his clan. No one.

At that moment, Sasuke kenned that he hated deeply and easily. She had a better person than him was because she... forgave. He's seen how they treated her. It's no secret that something's off. She has a pure, good heart and... Che. Even he didn't believe in... forgiveness or the light in the darkest of people.

This girl wasn't supposed to be pregnant with his child. At least she's got a moral compass that points to good-natured-people beliefs and traditions. His kid... would have ended up rotten under his watch.

"Do you like to see the light in everything?" he asked, amused.

She nodded, embarrassed at his deduction.

Sasuke smirked. "I'm an outsider to a lot of things but I know a broken clan when I see it. Who knows better than an Uchiha?"

After their glory days came the gore. Sasuke's clan was corrupt and treacherous and violent. Powerful. There was a bit of corruption in everything but each person called it differently. Some clans, like hers, were corrupt as well.

She's seen it, heard it and knew it she forgave it. Even before the Senju's killing spree, his clan was affected by a fatal case of bad luck. A virus that killed the whole immune system then Danzou took action and allowed Sasuke clan to be murdered. Uchiha Itachi committed a crime but the real criminal was Danzou.

Sasuke's lucky he killed that bastard before Danzou ruined even more of the Uchiha's legacy. Itachi was a true Hokage in that way, for taking everyone's hate and placing it upon his shoulders in order to let Konoha live.

The civilians focused all of their malice and hate on Itachi despite not knowing the noble truth. Sasuke bit his tongue every time someone cursed Itachi Uchiha despite drawing blood with effort. Sasuke would never tell and they would never know. They lived on, blissfully unaware of that macabre fact Danzou... Secrecy was best left kept. Hyuuga was taught that by the Hyuuga and everyone went along with that.

"You and I... we are more alike than others believe," said Hyuuga.

Despite having those eyes, she was blind to his situation. He hated to have empty sympathy.

We're more alike than others believe...

The only other person who's said anything along the lines of that was Naruto and that dobe was the closest thing to... understanding what Sasuke went through. Sasuke and Naruto were both nothings without parents and suitable homes.

How could princess Hyuuga possibly know anything about that? She had a family and a house and people who loved her. Their separate plights were incomparable.

Aside from the being alone part, they had nothing in common. He wanted to comment but Hyuuga sighed.

"The Uchiha... has been extinguished... I never got to apologize at the mass funeral for that..." Hyuuga said.

Why was Hyuuga apologizing?

She went to the funeral? It was years ago and... Konoha showed one act of kindness towards the Uchiha by providing... a burial. There weren't enough... caskets to hold every bloody, black and blue body. The skies cried along with everyone else.

There were tears. The sky rained as if acknowledging Sasuke's turbulence. Everything was a grief-ridden blur. Sasuke couldn't remember what happened. He was just a skinny Uchiha without parents and a brother of a traitor.

Sasuke had never noticed Hyuuga. Through the mist of... loss, he'd never notice.

Sasuke felt... odd. She seemed to understand him, to a certain point. Her eyes got all cloudy and fogged before sighing. Was she going to cry? In that moment, she was empathetic. He could literally see how much pain it caused her. It's rare for someone to care.

Before Sasuke could ask some questions, Hyuuga changed the subject. "Uchiha-san... I must confess before we leave that when I come back to Konoha in a year... I believe that.. our status will be much of the same."

Oh. Right. Missing-nin. She would be pushed out by her clan and his kid would be... not respected. She would be socially excluded and denied by her Konohagakure people. Oh wait, nothing would be different for him.

"About leaving for the year... I want to be independent and make my own choices, yet at the same time, I wish to have a closer bond with my father. Unfortunately, I can't have it both ways. If push comes to shove, I know that... my clan wouldn't want a girl like me... ruining their clan image. I will either... be kicked out of my clan or disowned by my father. Again. I am ready to face that for my child," Hyuuga nodded.

"Why would he care so much?"

"Everything my father says and wants has reflected upon the clan's ideas, plans, and image. If everyone knows about... my pregnancy... Hyuuga and the public... I believe that I will be met with divided sides. I honestly do not know what he... will do," Hyuuga looked away. "Some ... will either kill my child or make someone else finish the deed. The Hyuuga elders will reject... me and the child of any Hyuuga privileges and you... You presumably will be winnowed by some cross Hyuuga and friends. Then there will be those who will love the truth that I am a mother and that I have a baby. There will be those who know that I am celebrating. A vast majority will not care about whose father the child is; Hyuuga or not..."

"What about your father?"

She smiled sadly like she knew that was something he was going to say. "Oh... Do not worry, I will be truly lucky if he speaks to me."

"Lucky?" Sasuke said.

That's steep. However, nothing is too drastic when it comes to restoring Sasuke's clan. Fugaku seemed like an A-plus father compared to hers.

But that's still pretty fucked up, nontheless.

Hyuuga cleared the hair from her eyes, looking sullen and disappointed. "It's reasonable... I am leaving for a year, lying to him about where my loyalties lie and denying him a Hyuuga child to pass on the Byakugan trait and... overall just being a disobedient daughter with a child who has parents who aren't wed," she looked at him. "Despite what you know of me... I am not this reckless. I honestly do want to please my clan and my father and prove myself..."

"And doing this just blows that out of the water."

"Yes... I will not regret it. My pregnancy... I will not for a moment. I promise. Thank you... You... woke me up, Uchiha-san from my dreamer's... bliss," she said placidly. She sounded thankful.

Why's Hyuuga... thanking him? An apology and thanks in a day. She screamed at him to treat her better now she's grateful to him. It's startling. She's switching her feelings. Pregnancy mood swings or... genuine feelings?

She then asked the question, "And Uchiha-san? Just... just how did you know of my pregnancy?"

He looked at her and the wonderful thoughts of Sasuke appeared.

¤¤¤

Weeks ago.

Fuck the systems of life, the lack of sake, the stupid birds and fuck her, Sasuke thought bitterly.

The ocean. The only place where the universe wasn't against him. All the waves liked crashing into each other, creating a world of danger zones and underwater conflict. All the waves, they were the ones fighting.

Sasuke didn't want to fight anymore.

Sasuke was on the rocky beach looking at the sea.

Admiring chaos was easy when one wasn't apart of it. Standing near to the waves reminded him of the never-ending cycle of life sucking. Pulling back the pain to the shore of losing it and pushing it back out to meet the rest of the hurt.

The sea spray tasted salty on his lips. It reminded him of eating. Later.

Sasuke relaxed, just enjoying the picturesque scene. The pelicans barked, swooping down low and searching for food like vultures.

He would have given some of the stale bread he had but he'd figured that bad gin and stale bread went together. He didn't want to go hunting tonight either. He would just fish and create a camp where he was situated, motionless but mildly wistful.

Alone.

The water was warm but it was sending him shivers.

Today, the water was angry. The air smelled like a thunderstorm and wet pavement. The sky was a gray color and that reflected on to the even grayer ocean. The ocean was supposed to be as green as Sakura's eyes but today, it wasn't.

This wasn't how he wanted to spend his Tuesday. All these people and their noise... He didn't like listening to it. All he wanted was his gin, the sunset that never got old and the constant pounding of the waves against the corroded black magma rock.

Things interrupted that, though.

He sensed the chakra signature of a summoning messenger, his hawk. The hawk swooped in low and dropped a message.

Sasuke took the folded message and held it between his fingers. This wasn't surprising. When he wanted to communicate with Kakashi, usually, they hadn't made it this damn hard to open it. Sasuke was missing his left arm for Kami's sake, he didn't need things to be more difficult.

Sasuke took the message and looked at the small slip of paper. It had writing. Only one person he knew had such messy characters; Uzumaki Naruto.

Why Naruto would send this letter to Sasuke after his marriage to Sakura was beyond him.

Sasuke fought with Sakura during the wedding. Naruto seemed upset and things got escalated. Sakura told Sasuke to leave Konoha. Sasuke hadn't wanted to talk to Naruto despite Sakura's words. Sasuke didn't want any letters.

He wanted to enjoy the waves and be away from Konoha. His pain. His grief. It was nice to be alright, without bonds or malice. Solitude was fine, he was always without someone anyway. He didn't need anyone else.

He read it anyway.

Congrats, teme. You have a kid. Sakura-chan hadn't said she wanted one at least not yet, so who looks like they're becoming an Otou-san first? It's neat, you know, having Sasuke-like temes like you running around Konoha.

I'll be at the baby shower, Sasuke. Visit soon.

Your future Hokage,

Uzumaki Naruto.

Sasuke knew that Naruto played kiddy pranks on Sasuke when he was a kid. Naruto, over the years, had smartened up and gotten more mature.

Naruto wasn't playing around when he shouted, 'I'm going to become Hokage!' all those times. With Sakura to keep him in line, Naruto didn't do stupid things.

Sasuke could picture Naruto with a grin while joking around. He couldn't handle the grin that he had when writing this.

Sasuke crumbled up the letter in one hand and threw it behind him. He didn't need bullshit then and he didn't need it now.

With all the crude things going round and round in his head, he wondered- why the hell would Naruto be talking about parenthood?

Sasuke's too old to remember what a kid wants or needs. Unlike him, Naruto would be a good parent.

Sasuke has that sunshine and butterfly philosophy that kids with Sakura would complete the world and his family.

Begetting kids would be a satisfying dream. They would have Sakura's face. Sharingan eyes... Perhaps maybe that exotic pink hair Sakura rocked.

Sasuke had no idea if Sakura would give Naruto a child. He was sure that Sakura wouldn't offer one to Sasuke. He didn't like speculating about that crap because it made him depressed.

Even if Sasuke did think about it, it led to nowhere good. He didn't want to feel sorry for himself- that would be the real tragedy and downfall of Uchiha Sasuke. Those thoughts will pass.

He hasn't slept with anyone as of late. He wouldn't. Sex wasn't on his mind. Girls hurl themselves at him, it wasn't very stable. They were customarily at shabby pubs or inns trying to get some. It was great to fool around but in the end, he'd rather be in front of the waves, drinking some dirt-cheap gin with his thoughts.

Sasuke's just being safe. Straight laced. Sasuke messed about but he didn't covet any Uchiha children with a one-night stand.

He did sleep with two girls.

One was a blonde bombshell. He remembered giving into lust and sleeping with her. Before they had sex, they met. It was a musty bar with bad scotch and even worse company. The girl was enticing. He didn't think it was a turn-off that she wore too much perfume or the taste of her lipstick was off. She was looking for more than what he had to offer so he cut her loose as soon as the sun came up. It ended quickly and started quickly but that was over three months ago while he was in Taigakure.

The second fling was around the time of the wedding. The first thing he noticed was that Sakura looked happier with Naruto. Sasuke remembered how much he hurt Sakura.

Sasuke remembered not looking for the girl he met in a crowd. Like always, he was visited. Seeming common and nondescript, she came to him. Through the haze, she was striking because of the way she carries herself.

You could tell, this girl's been hurt. Numerous times over. They were both blue and sober. Sasuke was disconcerted about the wedding and she was disconcerted about not acquiring love. Alcohol and sex never sculptured into love but he still drank.

Sasuke hadn't meant to get drunk around her but he did and she accompanied him as well. She dissipated from the tallest champagne glass she could find and swam in her apparent drunkenness.

It was only then that he felt understood for a brief ten seconds. Then that shit passed.

This girl was interesting. He never talks to the shy ones, he had no taste for shy ones. He was retiring himself and he didn't like himself that much either. Actually, he wasn't shy... just indifferent. Maybe that's why Sakura married Naruto; Sasuke's startling indifference towards everything... big or small including her, Haruno Sakura.

This girl was nothing like Sakura.

She had a trimmed waist, inky flowing hair that was like a never-ending waterfall. She had creamy pale skin, like the moon's reflection in a pond. Lilac tinted eyes and red, red lips from biting them all the time.

At first, Sasuke couldn't care less about this girl who decided to have a cold one. Why would he give heed to her? She merited some of his passing attention, though. The Hyuuga woman was around his age.

Hyuuga had this panicked look in her eye as if she were trying to get away from everything- the music people danced to, the laughter people shared, the people who hurt her and just life in general. It was fascinating to Sasuke.

If someone really looked for her chaos, you'd see it. Chaos in another is rarely seen through the eyes.

Hyuuga stayed by Sasuke's side, idly making conversation he didn't answer to.

She cried easily just as she smiled. How do girls do that- cry their mascara tears and smile like nothing happened?

He finally responded.

They finally got faded and it was a blur. She made the first drunken advance. She touched him like this and he touched her right back.

They slept together in the end.

He remembers being in the bed and the clothes on the floor. He remembers touching her hair and twirling it around his fingers. It was crazy long and silky. Soft. He felt like a creep but she looked peaceful while laying at his side.

Whenever he tried to push her away, the girl gripped him like a damn fever. No girls did that; breathed easily while near to him or tried to unconsciously stay around him. Well, people that he wanted to stay with.

So, he let her stay there until he was finished thinking about Naruto's and Sakura's damn wedding.

He never let girls sleep at his side. Sasuke usually shoved them out of bed because they smelt medicated. She smelled like she rolled through meadows for fun. He didn't mind her as much as he should have.

The other girls he knew were people he wanted to forget. The sleeping girl- the Hyuuga, however, was someone you think about when the day's done. Quietly and fondly.

The morning was stupid. Later, Sasuke got out of bed for a drink. It didn't matter that it was the morning- he would add toast or something.

He remembered snapping at her, saying that he'd be damned if they met again. He's an ass. What else is new?

He was disappointed when they woke up; she was so different while sober. She was a stammering mess without anything flirty to say. There weren't smiles, nicknames, laughing. Just stuttering. Sasuke wanted the wasted version of her; loud and happy.

Hyuuga was like Sakura.

The color in his gray world and then the gray.

Sasuke doesn't remember thrusting into her but he remembers her sweat-covered skin as she kissed him. He did remember the condom. He couldn't forget that you know. He wasn't a horny idiot- he was a smart asshole with condoms.

So, why the hell was Naruto giving him that note?

Congrats, teme. You have a kid. Sakura-chan hadn't said she wanted one- at least not yet, so who looks like they're becoming an otousan first? It's neat, you know, having Sasuke-like temes like you running around Konoha.

I'll be at the baby shower, Sasuke. Visit soon.

Your future Hokage,

Uzumaki Naruto.

Would Sasuke? You, know be a father? No, it didn't make sense. It didn't make sense; he slept with her, had a good time and left the damn izakaya. No strings attached.

They used a condom. Unless, of course- he hadn't- which he had.

Sasuke didn't want a freaking kid! He didn't want any fling of his pregnant either. They weren't suited for it. If they were down for a one night stand, they probably wouldn't care much about the aftermath. He wasn't ready for the aftermath especially when no one knows how to do it.

Sasuke saw them- through windows and on the streets, families with smiles and brats. He knew that eventually, he'd have to have someone to have kids with.

It was problematic- being Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasuke was sure that he wasn't going to get married- it was positive. Even when everyone was settling down and getting a lot of bloody rugrats, he'd stay an almost celibate bastard. No one could handle the crap he put on the table. No one could carry his past- if they wanted to survive then it wasn't a good idea.

No one could stand the drunk or sober Sasuke with off-color jokes. It seemed terribly idiotic to get married. Stay with someone, give them kids and love them forever- that wasn't his ideal lifestyle. He would have with Sakura but she has a ring with the dobe.

If he got any girl pregnant, what the hell would he do? Sasuke was the last of the Uchiha- he was alone with the task of making up new numbers. He wanted to restore his clan but now, as he got older, it didn't seem as easy or as fun. Would anyone want him like that? He wouldn't force anyone to do that!

If that Naruto was joking- it would be fine but it wasn't.

That was a serious damn accusation.

The last time he slept with someone- he was in Konoha. That... Hyuuga girl. He couldn't remember her name. She squeaked a lot, stuttering all the time. He could read her like a book, she was so obvious about this and that.

She also had this melancholic look on her face. She was always on the cusp of saying something but she shut her mouth instead and swallowed her sadness. It was pathetic.

What the hell was he doing while drunk?

He wouldn't have a kid with the Hyuuga.

The blonde bombshell named... He couldn't remember- he wasn't good at remembering names. That was a long time ago and he remembered her wanting to be safe so they used protection.

The second girl, well, the Hyuuga one. He didn't remember.

He didn't like thinking about this- what the hell?

Did he make the Hyuuga girl pregnant?

No.

He didn't. He wouldn't.

The water got colder and the waves froze. His dry lips cracked.

Pregnancies, huh. That's a whole new ball park.

Sasuke stood taller, ignoring the sinking feeling in his chest.

He could at least check. He didn't want to start a clan with her! What he wanted to do was sit and watch the waves. That's where nothing seemed to go wrong? You know? In Konoha, the best thing to do was fucking walk away and pretend it never happened.

He was in the village of waves. He liked the place. There were a whole lot of beaches. He liked swimming and the never-ending sunshine. It was a good place to stay. He also fancied Kumogakure but he'd make so many enemies left and right, he knew it'd be stupid to stay anywhere. He was good here. Maybe he'd come back to here

Konoha. Huh, Konoha wasn't going to fly with him as easily. He still needed to investigate. So, he set off for Konoha with the note and a wreck of a brain in mind.

¤¤¤

Sasuke shook away his thoughts and looked at the Hyuuga-hime. She was wide-eyed and tense. He could feel the nervous energy that came off of her and got released into the atmosphere.

He studied her thoughts and visual memories. He, in a way, understands her. It wasn't preferred but he knew how she would behave. If he told her that Naruto sent him a note after sensing Sasuke's chakra in her, she would sink into the ground.

It was obvious to some special shinobi that Sasuke had his chakra in Hyuuga pathway, flowing through her as if they were connected. Naruto sensed it.

Hyuuga had been away from so many people that no one recognized it. No one pays attention to either of them close enough to notice significant changes. Furthermore, if anyone did sense someone else's chakra in her, they wouldn't have guessed Sasuke's chakra. He's never been around her circle of friends, family, and co-workers to have that advantage. So, at the BBQ, it was only quite obvious to Naruto because of his skills.

She was in love with Naruto in a big way. It mirrored the way Sakura loved him in his adolescence. Hyuuga was willing to die for Naruto and sacrifice herself for him at any time. That would be a quandary. Especially with a kid. Sasuke kid.

If she knew that Naruto recognized her pregnancy all those weeks ago, he knew that she'd regret that it wasn't Naruto's successor. He can't have that. Despite being wholly neutral towards her and her well-being... he didn't want anything severe to occur to her. It would harm the child. The sharingan kid wouldn't be able to catch Sasuke's morally grayness. That's why he needed someone like her; caring, soft and good. She was a wet blanket now but still thoughtful and... loyal.

If he told her the real circumstances then she would be torn. Hyuuga would probably do something impulsive and self-destruct. He couldn't have that either.

So, he lied. Again. "I had a feeling that things would change," he answered casually.

You know, like a liar.

Sasuke had to. It was for the greater good. The renewal of the Uchiha clan. And it starts now.

She nodded, liking the answer. "Oh... things did change," her cheeks warmed up and she looked away. "What is the plan?"

Sasuke immediately told her. This was the start of something new. Something good. He thought he'd be the young man in the corner of the bar waiting for his turn to die.

He has something to live for. That's new.

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-End Chapter-