lunenightingale | (no subject)

Naruto Fanfiction

Title: Metaphor of Snow

Rating: This chapter is PG

Pairing: None for this chapter, but I plan on it being SasuHina most definitely. Granted, I’m toying with the idea of making it a triangle. ^^

Notes/Summary: All right… I’m -not- a Naruto expert. This may be a bit AU in fact. Hopefully no one will mind that too much. It starts with Sasuke having been in Otogakure for two and a half years. From here it strays from the manga and anime. This is only an idea… if it’s received well, I’ll probably continue it… otherwise I’ll probably let it die out. So please… tell me what you think!

Delicate flakes of crystalline ice fell from the gray shaded sky falling whimsically to the ground below. Each added to the seemingly soft blanket of white that coated the ground, trees, and rooftops giving them an ethereal glow of false purity. It was funny how so many seemed to think of snow as purity, especially when it was no more than a façade. Beneath the flawless perfection of powdery snow would always be the coarse unadulterated truth. Beneath the surface would always lay the truth. Covering it up, only served to hide something less beautiful, and less desirable. Or so, that was what he thought.

Standing at the window, freezing torrents of wind gusted past the lithe form pressing against his bare skin and rumpling his clothes. Goosebumps rose on his nearly porcelain skin as dark eyes remained unmoved and unemotional on the landscape before him. This scene gave him the metaphor that described his own life. It was the metaphor of a lie. Smooth brow furrowing, one hand moved to grip the window making the motion to close it. It was too cold to leave it open. It was too harsh to contemplate his thoughts any further. His life was built on lies.

“Excuse me…” The soft voice floated up from the street causing his hand to still. It hadn’t been directed at him, but something in that tone grabbed his attention. It seemed so familiar. That soft soprano was from a time he had tried to forget. Tilting his head to seek out the person, dark eyes fell upon the slight figure of a woman dressed in simple traveling clothes. Her top was white, and her pants were black, but her most notable feature was the gear she carried. She was a ninja.

Frowning just slightly, he started to move away as she fell into conversation with a man on the street. Yet, before he could turn away, pearl colored eyes rose just slightly to peer in his direction. They were Hyuuga eyes. This made him stop and frown even more in thought. He’d seen her before, heard her even… who was she? What was her name? Shaking his head, he didn’t even realize that she’d seen him. “Sasuke-san?”

Upon the gentle call of his name, Sasuke focused his full attention upon her. Tracing the soft fall of violet tinted ebony hair, he found himself comparing her voice to the sound of a song bird. A mourning dove… “Aa?” The monotone of his voice deeply contrasted her birdlike voice as he watch with a mesmerized fascination as white snowflakes got caught in her eyelashes and hair. She seemed so out of place to him. Wasn’t there something missing?

Ever so intently he gazed at her barely realizing that she was talking. What was she saying? Slowly his knuckles turned white as they clung tightly to the window ceil. “I can’t hear you…”

The girl frowned softly cupping her hands together and wringing them nervously. The image was so sad; as she seemed to hesitate then look away. That was when it hit him. She didn’t have the Konoha forehead protector, and it was nowhere to be found. Why would a Hyuuga not have the symbol of their village? Opening his mouth to call out to her, something ached at the back of his mind and he frowned. Sound left his lips but once again, he couldn’t hear. Sasuke suddenly realized, he couldn’t hear anything as the white landscape melted together into one blinding scene. But just as everything disappeared and inked black, the pure white of her eyes met his then slipped away.

Sitting up with a start, sweat gathered in droves on his forehead and trickled down his cheeks only to fall from his chin. He’d been asleep. Bringing a quaking hand to his forehead, the irony hit him. That girl wasn’t the only one without the Konoha forehead protector. It was almost funny in a distasteful way imagining not only a Hyuuga without it, but also an Uchiha.

Slender fingers fell away from his feverish skin as his eyes drifted to the window. Just like in the dream, it was snowing. Why had he dreamed that? Pushing the thoughts away, he threw back his blankets and slipped to his feet. There was no point thinking about it. Konoha meant nothing to him now, and the Hyuuga clan meant even less. He was loyal to Otogakure now. Maybe he’d just been working too hard. It was plausible, or so he told himself… Orochimaru demanded a lot from him.

~~~

“There’s nothing that can be done right now… please sit down.” The blonde woman’s eyes at the head of the room were sharp as they pinned on the one standing in the crowd. There was a tired look on her seemingly young face as she tried her best to stare down her opponent. This wasn’t going to be easy. Why oh why did she agree to let them call a full meeting to address concerns of all the ranks? Why was she not surprised that he would bring this up at such an event? Didn’t he know these were of a more secret manner?

“That’s not good enough Tsunade baa-chan!” The cerulean gaze seemed to burn vibrantly as he too refused to back down. Energy throbbed off the young body as two shaking hands tangled momentarily in his own messy locks of gold. “We can’t just leave him there! Someone needs to go! You know that!”

A slight grimace touched the woman’s face as she snorted and looked to her side. There she caught sight of the man she’d known most of her life frowning with unusual quiet. Jiraiya wasn’t one to speak up in troublesome matters, but she really wished that he would at that moment. He was practically the only one that could quell Uzumaki Naruto’s anger. Instead, the older man turned his head away pretending not to have noticed her gaze. “Ch…” With a sharp movement she returned her look to the fuming young nin. “Look kuso gaki. My answer is no. So drop it.” It wasn’t the most ‘Hokage’ thing to say, but it had to be said.

“Tsunade!” Since when did he call her that? He really was desperate. “If we let him make this stupid decision… Konoha will be in danger too.”

Tsunade frowned. When did Naruto become so level headed? He certainly hadn’t learned it from Jiraiya during the span of two and a half years together since Uchiha Sasuke had left. The thought of the so-called prodigy left a sour taste in her mouth, especially when she had to deal with the Kyuubi vessel that wanted him back. “That’s enough gaki! I won’t hear anymore of this. Even if what you say is true… you can’t go. Even if I let someone else make an attempt…. IT. WILL. NOT. BE. YOU.”

Naruto froze, and something akin to despair filled his very disposition flooding into his eyes. It was the same answer she gave every single time. But even knowing why she said this, he couldn’t let it go. “Then do something Tsunade baa-chan! Send someone!”

This response made the entire room go quiet. No one had expected this from him. Would he really let someone else go? “Naruto…” Slender fingers began to rub at her temples. She was getting a migraine. From the looks of some of the other ninjas from the Village of the Hidden Leaf… she wasn’t the only one.

Yet, there were a few the sympathized as well. One being Sakura, even though she sat quietly with her head bowed. It wasn’t easy to lose someone that was cared about so deeply. Others though seemed more disgruntled in their sympathy. But there was one that had her eyes solely on the hopeful figure of Naruto. Solid orbs of white remained steadfast on him, cheeks hot from being in his presence and brow furrowed in worry for his heart. She more than anyone, understood him. She more than anyone… loved him.

Slender fingers laced together and an urge to look down at them in her lap was ignored as a conflict emerged in her mind. Without a doubt, she knew no one would volunteer to go. No one but Naruto was that dedicated to his friends. Frowning hard, she barely noticed that her father beside her was giving her a carefully scrutinizing glance. The piercing white eyes of the Byakugan seemed to run her through as he finally made a sound of displeasure and looked away. It was almost apparent that the man wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment. The only reason he’d attended the meeting was because of the situations arising surrounding the Hidden Village of Sound led by one of the legendary sannin. Even with that reasoning, his daughter knew he didn’t want to be there at all.

But, the scolding that he was planning to give her was the farthest thing from her mind. All she wanted in that moment was to heal that look of pain in the one she adores eyes. She would do anything for him who would do anything for his friends. It was that thinking that caused her to stand before she could even think it through. “Ho-Hokage-sama!”

The room fell eerily silent as all eyes turned to her. She could feel her teammates’ eyes on her along with many others as she swallowed hard. All she could do was cement her arms to her side, as her breathing quickened from the embarrassment of being the center of attention. “What is it Hinata?” Tsunade’s voice was soft and reassuring as she puzzled over what could possible make the shy Hyuuga draw any sort of attention to herself.

“I… I w-want… I’ll go!” It was said before she could even stop it. And if she’d thought the room was quiet before, you would think no one was breathing at that outburst. Tsunade’s eyes were wide, but they were no comparison to the eyes of Uzumaki Naruto as he stared at her. One would have thought that Hinata had grown a second head with the way everyone was looking at her. “I-it makes sense!” Did it really?

“ARE YOU NUTS? What the -HELL- are you thinking?” This time the outburst came from not too far away from Kiba as his eyes stared at her in a completely bewildered manner. If he’d planned to say more, he didn’t get the chance as Shino yanked him back into his seat quietly. Not that he approved of this idea, he was just curious. Giving Kiba a sharp look, the bug master’s brow furrowed turning his attention back to Hinata. He was curious to know what the one girl on their team was thinking. It was highly unlike her… and even if she made such a request, he was certain the Hokage would turn her down.

Tsunade gave the young Aburame a thankful look before returning her gaze to the Hyuuga heiress. “Hinata… how could that possibly make sense?” The migraine that had threatened her before was now slamming the legendary sannin now full force. She wanted this pointless meeting over with so she could start drinking early. No one could even begin to understand how much she wanted this to happen.

Taking a sharp inhalation of breath, it took all of her willpower to speak and ignore the look of anger on her father’s face as well as the horror on Kiba’s. “Ho-Hokage-sama… I’m… I’m not a threat.” It hurt… It hurt to say such a thing and affirm everything that her father had ever said about her. But right in that moment, she would do anything to help Naruto. And maybe, just maybe she could prove herself. “If... if I pose as a runaway… maybe I could infiltrate O-otogakure…”

Once again the silence surrounded her as Tsunade quirked a brow. This was actually true… of all the people in the village, Hinata had the most reason to run. It could possibly work… but the Godaime wasn’t going to give in to the whims of children. Not that easily. “Hinata… this isn’t an easy thing you’re asking for.”

“I kn-know.” Closing her eyes for a moment, she bit her lip and forced herself to calm under the gaze of her beloved. “But I know that I can do it. Please allow this Hokage-sama.”

Tsunade balked for a moment, then turned her head to look at Hiashi who seemed quite intent to pretend that his eldest daughter didn’t exist. “Hyuuga-san… Don’t you have anything to say?”

Hiashi turned to his Hokage with a look of indifference, before making a sound of irritation. It was almost as though he wanted Tsunade to know he didn’t wish to be present another moment. “She’s of no use to me.” The soft words reverberated in Hinata’s ears making her weak in the knees. “If she wants to do something as fool hardy as this, then so be it.” Years of his cutting words entered her mind, and something burned in her chest. Was he glad to be rid of her? Did he hope that she would just disappear so he could give the title of heiress to one more deserving like her younger sister?

“I object.” Once again the attention shifted as another figure rose. Hardened eyes of pearl turned to glare at Hinata harshly before he continued to speak. “Hiashi-sama… you can’t let Hinata-sama go on a mission this dangerous. It’s ridiculous.”

“I fail to see how this is your decision Neji.” The cold tone of warning caused the younger Hyuuga to fall silent. He knew that tone of voice better than anyone. Clenching his teeth, he caught sight of the Hyuuga clan leader peering at him from the corner of his eye. It was almost a dare for him to keep talking. It was enough to make anyone flinch. At Neji’s side still seated, Tenten stared from one Hyuuga to the other almost timidly. She’d even flinced visibly at the gaze before giving Lee a worried look on the other side of their Hyuuga teammate.

“I think that Neji has a valid point.” Tsunade interrupted the family feud almost too smoothly before she focused her attention on everyone else. It was enough for Tenten and Kiba to finally breathe easily. “This meeting is over. I won’t hear any more talk of this in the future. Is that understood?” Pinning the room with a hard look, she seemed pleased when there were no sounds of argument. “Then everyone is dismissed.” Rising to her feet, she slipped from the room leaving two seething Hyuugas, their upset heiress, and one perplexed Naruto.

“Sheesh… if she pulls another stunt like that I’m going to have a heart attack.” Kiba grumbled his words as he slumped into his seat. The responding bark from Akamaru was the only other thing that Hinata could catch from her team. They were disappointed in her, and she knew it. It was almost as bad as the heat she felt coming from her cousin and father. But she had more cause to run from the latter…

Not waiting for another word from her father or cousin, she rose quickly. Turning on her heel, she slipped through the crowd leaving Neji with no more than the sight of long ebony strands trailing behind her as he tried to make way to her. The two male Hyuugas were angry. They had right to be, but she couldn’t stay and listen to any harsh words. Not when she’d risked so much right then in front of nearly every trusted shinobi in Konoha. Rushing from the building, her eyes began to burn and a hand clutched over her heart painfully. Why was she never taken seriously?

Rounding a corner, she let out a soft yelp as a hand shot out to grab her wrist. Bodily instinct told her to lash out, but her mind screamed to be perceptive first. As her head turned, she gasped as her eyes met with those of the Godaime. “Ho-Hokage-sama!”

The blonde Hokage, frowned pensively as she slowly released the wrist in her grasp. Running that same hand into her bangs she finally shook her head. “I must be crazy…” Grumbling something Hinata couldn’t quite hear, she finally focused on the heiress before giving her a deadly serious look. “Hinata… you are serious about wanting to do this?”

Sharp eyes watched as Hinata instantly nodded her head. She refused to second guess her decision. She would not take back her words. It was his way of the ninja, and she had made it her own. “Hai!”

Tsunade’s eyes softened as she leaned back against the building they’d just exited. This wasn’t a decision she wanted to make. But Naruto was right. If something wasn’t done, not only would Sasuke be in trouble, but so would Konoha. This idea was just crazy enough… it just might work. “All right Hinata… come to my office tonight. We’ll plot out the peripherals of the mission there. Be certain of this Hinata…”

“I’m certain…”

Taking a deep breath, Tsunade felt her chest quiver from her own uncertainty for Hinata. “Then don’t be late.”

~~~

TBC perhaps?