302A/N: So I heard that it is SasuHina month and I have always wanted to try writing a story about the unlikely couple. I hope you like it and please review if you have a chance. Always love hearing what you have to say.
ENJOY
A man with a dog, a man with insects, and a woman with pupil-less lavender eyes walked down the busy main street of Konoha. They were all heading in the same direction, towards the Hokage's tower. The Hokage had called for Team 8's audience immediately.
"So what do you think that Hokage wants us for?" The boy with the dog, who had spiky brown hair and red triangle tattoos on his face was walking with his hands behind his head. "It better not be something stupid."
"I'm sure its going to be a new mission." The other man said, dressed in a hooded jacket and round glasses hiding most of his face.
"Well yeah of course, but what kind of mission is the real question. I mean we all are now ANBU since Hinata got her promotion." Kiba patted Hinata on the back.
The young woman staggered a step from the surprise touch.
"Ah, sorry Hinata."
"It's okay. I wasn't paying attention." She smiled at her friends. It was true, she was thinking about other things.
"What were you thinking about?" Kiba asked.
"Ah…um…you see…." Hinata started her old habit of playing with her fingers. She did not want to tell her friends how she was worried about this unknown mission and how she had this feeling that the Hokage had made a mistake making her ANBU. Her family still looked down at her and still saw her weak and useless. She subconsciously rubbed her arm where the newly applied tattoo still throbbed.
"It's fine Hinata. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Shino intervened when he saw her getting nervous.
She looked at him and gave him a grateful smile.
The four continued in comfortable silence as they made their way to the Hokage's office.
When they walked in they were a little surprised to see the old Team 7 standing in front of Tsunade. Four pairs of eyes turned and stared at the group.
"Perfect timing Team 8. Please come over."
Team 8 obeyed and stood next to Team 7.
Hinata looked over at the group. The young man that had once been the focus of her attention since she was a little girl turned to her and smiled. Hinata felt a light blush on her cheeks. She then looked at the young woman standing next to him with her unique pink colored hair and jade colored eyes. But the person next to Sakura sent chills down Hinata's spine. The man that had murdered more people then she cared to think about, the man known as a traitor and a mass murderer didn't even turn to acknowledge her.
The infamous Sasuke Uchiha had finally come back to Konoha about a year and a half ago. After a long probation he regained his powers back and was now one of the best ANBU members although Hinata was not lucky enough to work with since he returned but that looked like it was going to change.
"Now that you are all here we can go on to discuss the mission." Tsunade shuffled through the large stacks of paper she had scattered all over her desk until she pulled out a scroll. As she unraveled it, Hinata instantly recognized the seal of the Fire Daimyo. This was going to be an important mission. "We have sources that say that there is chatter going around about a possible assassination attempt on the Daimyo."
Hinata heard Sakura gasp.
Tsunade nodded. "So as you can conclude, this mission is of the upmost importance so I want you all at your best."
"Lady Tsunade," Sakura interrupted. "Won't it look suspicion to have six shinobi walking about the Daimyo at all times?"
"Yes, and I am glad you brought that up. The mission is more then just stopping the assassination. You must also find the person or group and stop them. There is no way to determine how long this mission will take so you will be going undercover."
"SWEET!" Naruto finally spoke. Hinata was a little surprised that he had been quiet for this long. "I've been itching for a new mission and an undercover one sounds perfect."
Tsunade rubbed her temples. It was obvious that the rumbustious blonde was grating on her last nerves. "The undercover story is to have a newly engaged prince and princess heading to the Daimyo's palace for a celebration and they are taking their most trusted body guards with them."
"Even better!" Naruto was practically bouncing with joy. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the dumb blonde. Hinata just smiled seeing Naruto act like a kid again. Its like nothing could get him down. Naruto wrapped his arm around Sakura's shoulders. "I volunteer Sakura and I to be the couple."
And the smile that had just appeared on Hinata's face quickly disappeared. Once again Naruto choose his teammate and seemed to have forgotten about her. She felt Kiba rub her back as a sign of comfort. He saw how disappointed Hinata was by Naruto's actions.
"I don't think so." Sakura bunched Naruto on the head and he fell to the ground.
"Ow." Naruto rubbed his head. "What was that for Sakura?"
"Hmph. There is no way I want to be a couple with you, even if it was just pretend."
"Idiots." Sasuke mumbled. Watching all of this take place made him sick. Why was he needed here anyways. He worked much better on his own. There were plenty of people here for the mission. He suddenly felt pressure on his arm. He looked down and saw his annoying former female teammate latched to his arm.
"Maybe Sasuke and I could play the couple." Sakura suggested as a light blush came to her face.
Sasuke instantly shoved the still fan-girl off of him. One of his many pet peeves was that he did not like to be touched...ever, especially by fan-girls. He never understood why Sakura was still obsessed with him. Even after all that he has done, she still had a stupid crush on him.
Tsunade could feel her hand inching towards her secret stash of sake. The way that Team 7 acted sometimes made them look like simple genin instead of ANBU members. She wished they would behave more like Team 8, who were standing to the side waiting diligently for more details on their assignment. "ENOUGH!"
Tsunade's outburst instantly brought everything back in line. "I already have the prince and princess chosen."
"Who?" Naruto, if he was sitting would be on the edge of his seat.
"The prince will be Sasuke Uchiha and the princess will be Hinata Hyuga."
There was complete silence in the room. Hinata's face went as pale as a ghost. She could feel all eyes on her, including the sharingan user's. She kept her head down with her bangs covering her face.
"How come teme gets to be the prince?" Naruto whined.
"Because I know how to act like one unlike you." Sasuke scoffed.
"Sasuke is right. Both him and Hinata have formal training on how to act in high society due to their clans. So they will have the easiest time blending in." Tsunade explained. "The rest of you will act as their bodyguards. Now you will be departing in three days. There are still some things that have to be prepared before you leave. Sakura, Naruto, Kiba, and Shino you can all leave to get ready. Sasuke and Hinata please stay here."
A visibly upset Naruto walked out the door with Sakura close behind. Kiba gave Hinata a reassuring smile and Shino gave her a slight nod before they walked out. Hinata walked over to stand next to the Uchiha as the door shut.
Tsunade place her chin on her laced fingers and looked at the pair. "Now I know this is a little unconvential but because we are dealing with the Fire Daimyo's safety we are doing whatever we can. Do you think you can handle pretending to be royalty?"
"H-hai." Hinata responded nervously. It wasn't the part about being royalty that worried Hinata. She is the heiress to the powerful Hyuga Clan. She was practically treated as royalty as it was. What made her nervous was the fact that she would have to act like a couple with Sasuke Uchiha.
Sasuke simply shrugged.
Tsunade turned her attention to the last Uchiha. "Sasuke, I know it has been a long time since you had to act formally so if you are rusty on the rules and such, I'm sure that Hinata here can teach..."
"I'm fine." Sasuke cut her off. It's true that it has been years since Sasuke had ever needed to be formal, but the lessons were so engrained into his head that he was sure that he could never forget. His father made sure that his sons were the symbol of absolute perfection so he drilled everything into his and Itachi's head so to never make a mistake.
"Very well." Tsunade decided to ignore his rudeness. "You will be playing newly engaged royal couple from the Land of Snow. Your names will be Sasuke Sendai and Hinata Koshimizu. Your names are too famous around the Fire Country. And you both will be co-captains of this mission."
"Um..Tsunade-sama.."
"Yes Hinata?" Tsunade smiled at the timid girl.
"What about my eyes? They too are known around the Fire Country."
"Ah yes. Thank you for reminding me." Tsunade shuffled through her desk and pulled out a small black box. "In here are a pair of dark brown colored contacts. They will cover up your eyes but still allow you to use your Byakugan."
Hinata took the box and gave a bow. "Thank you."
Tsunade nodded. "Now remeber you will be posing as royalty, so that means pack you ninja clothes, but Konoha will be supplying you with finer garments for when you have to be undercover. Any other questions?" Tsunade was answered with silence. "Good, you are dismissed."
Hinata bowed before she walked out. She looked over and saw that Sasuke was already gone.
It was the day of the departure and Hinata was already at the gate waiting for everyone else to make their way. She looked up at the sky. It was a nice bright day. The sun the same color as Naruto's hair and the sky the color of his eyes. She then looked over to the forest where she saw cherry blossoms at the end of their blooming cycle, but their petals still the soft pink that matched Sakura's hair so well and the other trees with the leaves matching her eyes.
The sky and the earth. Both of them represented so well by the members of Team 7, but what about the last member? What is it that he represented so well?
When Hinata thought about Sasuke's hair, eyes, and his disposition, they all had one thing in common and that was darkness. His ink black hair, jet black eyes, and his brooding personality made him a perfect representation of the night. He was mysterious and people feared him. But Hinata couldn't help but think there was more to the last Uchiha then just death, murder, and destruction. He was still a person after all. Somewhere within him there was still light.
"What's with that stupid look on your face?"
Hinata's trance was broken and she looked over at the person she was just thinking about a moment ago. She blushed due to being caught. "H-hello Sasuke-sun"
"Sasuke."
"W-what?" Hinata looked at him with large eyes.
"Call me Sasuke. We don't need you messing up this entire mission. We are suppose to be engaged so cut the suffix."
Hinata looked down, unable to look the man in the face. "V-very well S-sasuke."
"And stop with the stuttering. You sound like a five year old."
Hinata wasn't sure what to do. She had been working a lot on her stutter and she thought that she was improving but being around Sasuke brought it all back. Thinking it was just best if she stayed quiet, she simply nodded.
The two just stood there in silence, waiting for the others to arrive. Hinata glanced over at Sasuke and saw that he was leaning against the wall, looking bored.
"HINATA!" She turned and felt a wave of relief as she saw Kiba riding on Akamaru with Shino walking beside them. She smiled and waved back. "Sorry for keeping you waiting. I had to get the okay from my sister for Akamaru to go on this mission."
"It's fine. We still have to wait for Naruto and Sakura anyways."
"How are they not here? We were running behind by half an hour." Kiba questioned.
"Those idiots are always running late." Sasuke said from the shadows.
"I'm sure they will be here soon, besides Tsunade is meeting us here at the gate before we leave."
"Why?" Kiba asked.
"Something about travel supplies." Hinata said. Tsunade had given her instructions yesterday to have everyone wait until she arrived.
"But we already have everything."
"Not necessarily." Shino intervened. "Don't forget we have to look like bodyguards and Hinata a princess. So of course she will need more royal looking garments."
Kiba sighed. "I guess so. I just hope they get here soon."
Just then Hinata peaked over Kiba's shoulder and saw a loud dust cloud coming their way. "What is that?"
Sasuke looked up and knew instantly what the cloud dust was. "About time." He mumbled.
"I"M HERE!" Naruto came to a sudden stop in front of Team 8 breathing heavy. "Sorry...I'm...late...had...to...finish...packing. " He said in between catching his breath.
"It is fine Naruto. Sakura is still not here."
"What!? I've never beaten Sakura before."
"She needs to hurry up though or we are going to be running late." Shino looked up at the sky. "It takes us almost a week to get to the Fire Daimyo."
That's when the five shinobi heard screaming. They all looked up and saw an even larger dust cloud then Naruto's heading their way.
"What the..."
"LADY TSUNADE SLOW DOWN!"
The dust cloud came to a stop in front of the five shinobi. Hinata started to cough waving the dust from her face. Once the dust had cleared she and the rest of her team was stunned at what they were looking at.
Tsunade was sitting on top of what looked like a horse drawn carriage. It was rather large, easily fitting six people in the back. It was elegant looking with its different shades of white, light blue, and lavender. It looked almost like it was made out of ice. It had elaborate swirls going around it made out of crystal that shined in the sunlight. Pulling the extravagant coach was not horses like one would suspect, instead it was being pulled by two large elk looking creatures.
"Holy crap." Kiba mumbled out. Everyone was in utter awe. Hinata had never been on a mission that needed something like this.
"Are you trying to kill us Lady Tsunade?" Shizune called out as she opened the door of the coach and walked out with Sakura following after her.
"No kidding. It's not as smooth as it might look back there." She flashed everyone a smile. "Sorry I'm so late."
"So what do you all think?" Tsunade said with a grin.
"This thing is amazing!" Naruto exclaimed. "It's so cool."
"This will be your transportation to meet with the Fire Daimyo. You need to arrive in style if we want to pull off this mission." She pointed towards the coach. "Inside is all the royal looking garments that you will need."
"What's with the elk things?" Kiba went to pet one on its muzzle but it snorted and Kiba retracted his hand.
"You all are from the Land of Snow so you need to look like it. Horses wouldn't suffice."
Hinata smiled. This was getting more excited. She had never ridden in a coach before. She looked over her shoulder at Sasuke. He was still leaning against the wall unfazed by the unusual entrance of the Hokage.
"Now that everyone is here and your transportation is ready, you are all set to go. And remember your suppose to be royalty." Tsunade jumped off.
"Okay, who is gonna drive this thing?" Kiba asked. "Cause i know I'm not. I don't ride anything that isn't Akamaru." He petted his nin-dog.
Shino pushed his glasses back into place. "I will drive. Everyone else can sit in the back until we get further into the forest."
They all nodded in agreement and got into the back with Akamaru jumping on the roof of the coach. Sasuke was the last one in and he shut the door.
Shino clucked his tongue and the elk trotted off.
Tsunade and Shizune waved goodbye. "Good luck."
The coach rattled along, the only noise coming from the tumbling of the luggage. All five people sitting in the coach sat in silence. Kiba, Naruto, and Sakura sat on one side while Hinata and Sasuke sat on the other. Hinata as close to the wall as possible, giving Sasuke the maximum amount of space.
No one made a sound until the coach came to an abrupt halt. The door opened and Shino looked into the coach. "If any of you like to walk outside, you can do so now. The road is now wide enough."
Immediately Sasuke stood up and walked out.
"I think I'll stay in here for now." Sakura said. "I think I will sleep and then I can take the first look out."
"That sounds like a good idea, I think I"ll do the same."
"Oh no you don't." Sakura pushed Naruto out of the coach. "You are going to walk with everyone else and leave me alone." With that she slammed the door shut.
"Hey Akamaru," Kiba called to his dog. "Let's go scout ahead."
The dog barked and jumped down from the roof to follow his owner.
"What do you want to do Hinata?" Shino turned to the heiress.
"Um...could I ride up top with you Shino? Maybe you can teach me how to drive it."
"Of course. I will happily teach you." Hinata wasn't entirely sure but she thought that Shino might actually be smiling under his coat.
"Um..N-Naruto," Hinata turned nervously to the blonde. "W-what are you going to do?"
Naruto shrugged. "Probably catch up to Kiba or something. You guys go ahead and drive the coach."
"O-okay." Hinata watched Naruto's figure walk away until he jumped into the trees.
"Shall we go?"
Hinata looked up and saw that Shino was already seated in the driver's bench. He reached down to grab her hand and hoisted her up to sit next to him. He then handed her the reins.
"It's tricky at first. Many people get the reins tangled, but once you get that settled it is real easy."
"How do you know this?" Hinata couldn't help but ask.
"My father taught me once when we went on a mission together. He said that you never know when this will come in handy. I guess he was right."
Hinata let out a small giggle. A lot of people thought that Shino was weird, awkward, and creepy due to his mysterious aura and his affinity for insects, but Hinata knew otherwise. It had taken her some time to get use to the constant buzzing around him but she quickly learned that Shino was smart, attentive, and an overall good friend. She couldn't imagine where she would be now if it wasn't for his constant support, she probably would have never become the kunochi she was today.
"Just cluck to them and they will know what to do and if you want them to stop just pull back on the reins gently and say woah."
Hinata did what he said and soon she felt the coach rattle beneath her and heard the crunch of the road under the wheels. She moved the carriage along with a large smile on her face.
The darkness was what he knew best. He blended so well into it that it was almost ghost like. He jumped through the trees effortlessly and without a sound. He was the darkness.
So many people were scared of him. They hid in their homes when he walked down the street. They shivered when he would look their way. To them he was still a traitor, still a mass murderer even after following the rules for over a year. But it didn't matter to him. He liked the fact that they were scared of him. He liked how he sent fear through them with a simple glance. And he didn't care if they didn't see him as one of them. He was simply back in Konoha because he had nothing else left in the outside world. He had succeeded in his goal, he had killed his brother.
But now he didn't know what to do with his life. What does a person do once they reach their ultimate goal? But Sasuke didn't care. He did not care if he lived or if he died. If he was to die an honorable death on a mission he would be fine with it, he would actually be happy about it. For he had nothing to live for, so why live?
Sasuke jumped through the trees scouting the area for any disturbances. This entire mission was a complete waste of his time. Why would he care of the Fire Daimyo died? It would serve him right. He was practically useless. He was indecisive and an complete moron. Sasuke couldn't believe someone like him was on a seat of such power. And the whole idea of him being a prince was also moronic. He did not want to be in the spotlight with everyone staring at him. He wasn't like the dobe who craved for attention. He would much rather be off the side, in the darkness. And his so called princess was a joke as well. Hinata Hyuga, heiress to the great Hyuga Clan was nothing more then a whimpering weakling. She had no real power and was to timid and to shy to be anything more then weak. He didn't know how he was going to pull off being engaged to her.
This was going to be a long mission. Not only would he have to pretend to be attracted to the Hyuga weaking, but he also had to deal with the dobe, the fan-girl, dog breath, and bug boy. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why he came back to Konoha in the first place.
Suddenly Sasuke heard the light rustling of leaves near him. He then felt a familiar chakra signature.
"What do you want?"
"There you are Sasuke." Naruto started to jump next to the Uchiha. "I was starting to wonder if you ran off."
"It's cross my mind."
Naruto gave him a look but otherwise ignored the comment. "Anyways, Kiba and I went ahead and found a small village ahead that had an Inn. We already reserved some rooms for the night. I'm off to let the others know."
"Fine."
Naruto let out a sigh. "We need you in the coach. Even in this village we need to be undercover. Word spreads fast and when we roll up in that coach people are sure to ask questions."
Sasuke gave him a glare, but followed him back to the main path anyways.