Title: Tsutsudori

Claimer/Author: This story is written by and belongs to Emmy Kay.

Pairing: Hinata/Naruto

Summary: A dream of a bird and a snake. A journey that uncovers great secrets of the powerful Hyuuga clan. AU Feudal-era Japan. Naruto/Hinata. Sasuke. Sakura. Potential character death.

Disclaimer: Naruto and all affiliated characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi. This story is written without permission and for personal/fan/nonprofit entertainment purposes only.

Personal note: This started out as a character study of Sasuke for my multi-chap fics, but evolved into something else entirely. Inspired by the the 6th closing from shippuden (of Sasuke vs Naruto dressed as feudal era samurai). "Broken Youth" by Nico Touches the Walls - have no idea what is written on the screen as the "pictures" of Naruto and Sasuke are panned across on screen (if anyone knows or wants to share, I'd love you forever).

If we are to meet

cuckoo, in this way - come, then,

let us compare tears,

for I, also, like yourself,

cry constantly in this cruel world.

- Former Imperial Lady Kenreimon'in from the Tale of the Heike

She dreamed.

A snake lay, sunning itself on a rock, amidst the dappled shadows at the base of a great red cedar. It raised its head slowly, taking in something new in its surroundings.

Nearby, a small grey and black bird hopped closer and closer to a large puddle of clear water, unaware of the danger in its environs. The snake slowly moved closer, its forked tongue testing the air, tasting it. The bird cocked its small head to one side, listening.

The snake halted, becoming as still as the stone it had so recently occupied. Sensing no danger, the bird shook itself and continued on its way. And suddenly, suddenly, the snake was looming over the bird, cold dark eyes reflecting the meal in front of it. The bird looked up, seeing only the sunlight beaming green-gold down through the dense forest canopy.

The nun awoke, the images following her into consciousness. She wondered how the dream would end. Would the bird survive? Or be engulfed by the snake?

Kurenai looked out of her simple thatched hut to the unfinished grey and white castle that sat far uphill, a series of rough masonry walls indicating a hurried completion marring the image projected by the polished stone. Some called it haunted. Others had called it cursed by the one who had designed it and had died defending it. What was it about this dream that made her think of the ancient family within those great stone walls?

"Hinata!" Who's voice was that? That didn't sound like Sakura or Karin, her attendants.

Mother?

"Hinata!"

Is that you, Mother? Or is it only a dream?

Like a current of silk trailing into the night, she heard, or thought she heard, "A dream is nothing unless acted upon. Only then it becomes something real."

"Lady, you must wake up!"

Hinata stirred, shaking her head, not wanting to leave the comforting voice in the darkness.

"You must be brave. Be strong. You must believe."

She didn't want to return to the light and all the pain and sorrow that came with it. She didn't want to return to the loneliness, or the endless spasms that racked her frail body.

"You are not alone." It was a mere filament of thought, lost in the urgency of outside voices.

"Hinata!" A woman called, urgent and commanding, pulled her from the timeless, dreamless place.

Groaning, Hinata opened her eyes to take in a stranger's face with red-rimmed eyes, one that seemed very maternal for all its youth, lines of exhaustion fading into a small, warm smile.

"She's awake!" cried Sakura, happily, seemingly from a long, long distance away, her green eyes brimming with relieved tears. "If it weren't for you, Kurenai, I don't know what we would have done."

"Wait till I tell your brother, lady," exclaimed Karin, eyes gleaming as she hurried out of the darkened room.

"How long?" Hinata wondered, almost to herself. How long this time?

"You were delirious for almost two whole days," replied Kurenai, soberly.

A fortnight later, still weak but gaining strength, Hinata's long black hair was dressed and anointed with delicate oils by Karin and Sakura, her pale skin massaged and patted with rice powder as if she were a living doll.

"It is time," Kurenai announced, watching her patient with a sharp eye.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, eager to learn whatever this healer was able to teach.

"I can't do any more for you, Lady Hinata. It is time to go to Konoha," she announced.

They had begun to pack over the objections of Hinata's brother. As the only living young male member of the family, Sasuke took his duties very seriously. He had taken on responsibility for the ancestral lands while their grandfather, father and youngest sister were at court, attending to the various duties required of a materially-favored, well-born family that wished to remain so.

"Sister," said Sasuke to Hinata, his pale face tight with condemnation. "I fear you won't be able to make the journey. It is so far into the great forests. You should stay here."

Karin had stopped moving, glancing back and forth between the siblings, in her hands a half-folded kosode.

"I must go," Hinata said nervously, eyes cast to the floor.

"What will you do if the sickness returns? You know it always does." Sasuke reminded her. "You have always been weak."

She tried to reassure him. "Brother, I will have Kurenai with me. And Sakura and Karin."

"Your mother had the same sickness. Even Kurenai can not know what will happen."

Hinata merely shook her head, unable or unwilling to argue. She herself did not know which, only that the effort would take too much from her. When it seemed Sasuke would press his objections, Hinata looked pleadingly at Kurenai, who was sitting near a window, looking over a large scroll.

Sasuke drew closer to the young nun, almost standing over her calmly seated position, his own hands fisted at his waist. "But why there? Why not have another healer come here?"

"I had a dream," Kurenai said softly, her posture like steel. "With a great red cedar tree and a healing lake - Konoha is the only place like that. There is a famous healer there that I need to consult."

Sasuke backed off, looking aggrieved.

"Well, I guess we're still packing?" queried Sakura, looking at Karin, her voice deliberately light.

Slowly, Hinata nodded.

Hinata grunted in exertion, attempting to propel herself along with a walking stick. Besides her own pained exhalations, the only sounds were the slow tapping of the wooden cane on the eternally creaky wooden floors of the castle. She was glad she was alone. Having any of the Hyuuga retainers, even those distantly related, see her in this state would have been humiliating.

She paused, out of breath, sweat beading unpleasantly on her forehead and upper lip. She had been bed-ridden for so long, even the smallest acts, like walking down a short hall, was taxing. She started to shake with exhaustion. As she took another step, her legs collapsed under her. She tried to climb back up, clutching the stick for support, but it slid out from under her hand, dropping her to the floor.

Hinata was angry with herself for being unable to do more, work harder, for being so weak. She had dreamed of becoming healthy, so healthy that she would never need support again. She had dreamed, fantastically, daringly, of travel, of marriage, even children. It all seemed beyond impossible now. She flung the stick down, wanting to cry out in frustration. It rolled away down the corridor, far out of reach, coming to rest against the dead end of the corridor, where the raw-looking stonework had been hastily erected after the architect had died.

After a moment's disbelief, she huffed out a rueful laugh. Let that be a lesson, she lectured herself, giving into that tantrum had done nothing but make things worse. Now, she not only had to get back to her rooms, she had to get the stick which made it possible - without a single person to help her. Sighing resignedly, she placed both hands on the floor so she could begin crawling. A chill, ghostly sensation caused the hairs to prickle at the back of her neck. Something felt odd, sounded oddly still. Swiftly, Hinata looked up.

Sasuke had been standing right near her, watching, so quiet that she had not even noticed.

Hinata squeaked and jerked backward in reaction. "Brother!" she cried, "you surprised me!"

"Hinata - you are not ready to go." He walked over to the stick and picked it up. He turned it slowly over in his hands, his deftness making Hinata uncomfortably aware of her vulnerability.

Slowly, she shook her head. "I do not want to argue."

"Then just listen. The roads are dangerous, full of bandits and thieves."

"I will take a large cortege with me, don't worry - "

"Listen," he interrupted. "Can you do it without drawing power away from the castle' defenses? We're down manpower as it is, and the walls are only half-built - "

"I will take just enough," Hinata said, catching sight of someone at the end of the corridor.

Sasuke also turned his head, as Sakura and Karin halted just outside of earshot of the siblings. "You won't have any of the luxuries you're used to," he warned.

The sight of her handmaidens, hovering indecisively between the indiscretion of intervention and the discretion of silence, was enough for Hinata to fake a confidence she didn't feel. "Brother, I will be fine."

He sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that." A rare smile broke through Sasuke's face. He reached out and affectionately tapped her forehead. "If you are foolish enough to go, I shall have to go with you to make sure you are safe." He passed her the walking stick. "I'll have the ox-cart prepared. You don't have the strength to go by foot."

As Karin hurried to Hinata's side, Sakura sighed in relief as Sasuke walked by, her hands clasped longingly over her heart.

After several days on the road, the routine was ingrained. As they slowed down by the evening's inn, Sakura got ready to jump out and prepare Hinata's room, Karin close behind, as they had done every night. But tonight, Sakura halted, her eyes wide.

"What're you stopping for?" fretted Karin.

"Something is not right," replied Sakura, pressing her ear against the opening of the door.

Sasuke, who had been riding ahead of the small group of wagons, was heard challenging someone. The person answered back, loudly, without any of the deference suitable to someone of Sasuke's status.

"Go look," Karin prodded.

"No!" shot back Sakura. "It's not proper!"

"Don't you care what happens to our Lord Sasuke?"

"Of course I care! More than you! But it's still not right!"

While the two squabbled over the merits of looking, Hinata quietly parted the heavy curtains and peered out.

A lone figure in a coarse brown robe, with a half-mask of a fox perched on top of an unruly mess of yellow hair, stood facing Sasuke in the middle of the courtyard. "What makes you think you're better than me - huh?" he argued, hotly.

"I don't have time for you," Sasuke returned, frigidly, staring down from horseback. "Get out of the way or get run over."

The two men faced each other, bristling with hostility. The yellow-hair clenched a bo tightly a raw-boned fist, gesturing angrily. Sasuke's hand remained within the vicinity of his sword, drifting closer and closer to the handle while he argued. Some of the Hyuuga samurai started to pay attention, taking defensive poses along the periphery.

"Jiraiya at your service, my lord," interjected an older man, sliding between the two combatants with the oiled grace and poise of a long-time courtier. He bowed deeply, diffident, yet still managing to show off a great head of white hair and extravagantly multi-colored robes patched with even brighter swatches of fabric. He nudged the younger man off to the side, "This is Naruto Uzumaki, my very young apprentice."

Naruto grudgingly dipped his head.

"We were in the middle of our performance. You'll have to forgive us, we actors are highly sensitive -"

Sasuke looked unhappy, but before he could do anything, the innkeeper came out, full of apologies, ready to whisk the fine gentleman away to the rooms which he had just prepared.

The arrogant lord was heading inside the inn, flanked by the unctuous innkeeper. Naruto snorted. Jerk. He'd be glad to see the last of that one. He just wanted to fulfill his obligation to his master by getting him to the best healer in the country. Even if it meant getting into a fight every night with bastards like that.

He looked down; the collection bowl had barely begun to its job when the disagreement began, scattering the hope for any more possible income for the night. He stooped, picked it up and dumped the meager contents of the bowl into his palm. One more bad night.

A sound too close for comfort startled him into looking up. Naruto stepped back awkwardly, nearly run over by a massive ox-cart wheel. As he angrily opened his mouth to curse it, the driver who put it in his way, and the driver's forebearers, he saw a slender white hand parting the curtains - and a pale girl's face looking out inquiringly. Large grey-grey eyes turned towards him and looked at him. His breath stopped. Although he had never experienced or seen anything like it, he recognized the sensation from some place deep within. It was as if the moon itself shone down on him and him alone.

"Lady Hinata, what is it you see?" a voice asked.

The spell was broken; the light turned back into a pale, tired-looking girl with long dark hair who turned to the inside of the carriage, saying, "Nothing, Karin. Nothing." The curtain dropped and she disappeared.

Naruto shook his head, wondering why he suddenly felt dizzy.

They were seated in a room upstairs, overlooking a small plot of greenery. The highest quality room of the inn, the proprietor pronounced. Quality rooms for quality guests, he said repeatedly. The food was served, and the waitstaff withdrew, gawping at the fineness of the group.

It was only then that Sasuke made a moue of disgust at what he obviously considered coarse, peasant fare.

Hinata found the food interesting, being so different from the invalid pablum she had had to endure so recently.

"I wish Neji were here. He always liked traveling," she said softly, thinking of her cousin, the last close male heir in the family. Neji was an undisputed genius, a planner, a thinker, someone who knew what to do in any situation. He had spoken of someday completing his father's last great work - Hyuuga Castle. But Neji had died, terribly, far out in the northern provinces, putting down a rebellion for the Emperor over two years ago. With him had died the plans for his father's legacy.

Belatedly remembering that Sasuke had been wounded there, Hinata hastily added, "I am glad you are here with us, Brother." Her eyes flicked over to Karin and Sakura, warming up her face. "I'm sure others are glad you are here also."

Sasuke did not smile back. "Hn." He got up abruptly, nearly spilling a cup of tea on the table in his haste. "I must see to the horses."

Hinata reddened in embarrassment. It had been years since she had said the right thing to Sasuke. She sighed inwardly, something mirrored outwardly by Sakura and Karin.

The food, so recently attractive, suddenly seemed unappetizing. Hinata glanced away, then out the window, down onto the small garden. There, propped up against a tree was the older man in the brightly colored suit from the altercation with Sasuke earlier today. She watched as the young blond man brought out a small bowl and presented it to the older man. If she concentrated, she could listen in on their conversation.

"Look at all the rice I bought," Naruto said, his voice falsely hopeful.

"Looks good. You eat it," Jiraiya grunted.

"No, I'm not hungry," he denied, sounding obviously dishonest. "Something about that guy today has taken away my appetite."

"I'm not hungry either. Somebody should eat it before it gets cold."

"You are my master - you should."

"You are still growing, my boy." It was clear that this conversation had been shined and polished through many repetitions.

"You are still unwell," Naruto urged. "I'll see if I can trade work for food tomorrow. I'll find something."

"I'll get something later."

"Eat this now, before you get any sicker."

Sakura's high voice carried directly to Hinata. "I wonder what Lady Hinata is looking at that is so interesting."

Hinata turned towards her small retinue, an idea at the tip of her tongue.

Sakura walked out to the two men, geta visible under her silk skirts, lifted high to avoid the mud in the courtyard. "Kind sirs," she said, "My lady Hinata requests the pleasure of your company for this evening." Her own expression indicated no such joy.

"What?" asked Naruto, his face blank, uncomprehending.

"Well, yes, of course she would," Jiraiya preened. He turned towards Naruto, nudging him with the end of his walking stick as he rose. "Come on, kid, we've got dinner for tonight."

They followed the pink-haired girl, Jiraiya leaning heavily on his stick as the two men entered the room. Jiraiya knew instantly who was to be the star attraction as he settled into his seat. As additional food and drink was ordered, delivered, and consumed, he regaled them with stories – just a few tales, he said, from the many gathered during his varied career as farm laborer, monk, acrobat, actor, and samurai to a mighty warlord.

Hinata watched Naruto and Jiraiya, fascinated by a way of life and the kind of people she had never known before. Naruto sucked down enough noodles for a half-dozen men. It was only when Jiraiya, Hinata, and Kurenai spoke of their reason for being on the road that Naruto perked up.

"You are going to see the healer Tsunade? We're headed there, too," he said, his hunger-sharpened features lightening with a wide smile of recognition. "The innkeeper says it's only a few more days, maybe a week on foot. But there aren't many more inns – it's all wooded - deep forest protected by kami. But we'll need to be careful - there are bandits and ronin - one I heard about from the innkeeper - Orochimaru - he sounds especially menacing -"

The wood-and-paper door was shoved open, to reveal Sasuke's dark mien. "Perhaps we shall see you there," he said in dismissal.

Naruto bristled at the suddenness of Sasuke's return. "Oh, yeah?"

Jiraiya drew himself up proudly. "Perhaps we shall. That was a most lovely evening, and we are most grateful, Lady Hinata." He bowed, deeply. Then, with a judicious poke at Naruto to also bow, they departed.

The door hadn't even shut when Sasuke began with his reprimands. "Hinata - you must be careful around strangers!"

"Of course, Brother," Hinata murmured, the words and stories of Jiraiya still dancing around her head. "But I don't think they mean any harm."

"You have no idea what people are truly like!" Sasuke shouted. "You have always been so sheltered - so spoiled - "

Astonished, Hinata looked up, her jaw dropping as she listened to her brother's vehemence.

Her brother, who rarely raised his voice, and never lost his temper, had shouted. Sasuke's pale skin pinkened with agitation. "These are strangers. They could be all smiles on the outside, but deep inside, they could mean nothing but trouble for you and me!" He stopped to ask, "Are you listening?"

Chastened, Hinata looked down and nodded.

"Good." He looked away, his jaw working until finally, he said, very quietly, "I have watched over you for as long as I can remember. I would not want you to jeopardize my life's work."

Early in the morning, Hinata looked out the window again. At first, she thought she had caught a glimpse of an elderly man, his body heavily gnarled with time, being helped out of the inn by his loving, upright grandson. She squinted to sharpen her vision, the misty morning slowly revealing the truth. Jiraiya leaned heavily on Naruto, coughing deeply, his face creased with pain. It was surprising to see how diminished the older man looked. Without the stimulation of an audience, the thinness of his frame and the deep lines on his face were immediately apparent, making him seem almost ancient.

Hinata turned toward Sakura, who looked resigned. "I know what that expression means. Do you want to give them breakfast?"

Karin was flabbergasted. "Breakfast? What would Lord Sasuke say?"

"He would say 'No,'" sighed Hinata. She closed her eyes, thinking about Sasuke's displeasure, and reconciled herself to keeping her feelings hidden. Quietly, the women finished dressing - Karin and Sakura helping Hinata with her voluminous robes and making sure she had her fan and every necessary accessory. They consumed breakfast, Hinata merely picking at her food and wetting her lips on the tea, and then packed up in silence.

Unable to resist, Hinata looked out the window again. Naruto, whose youth mixed oddly with the mature concern on his face, was holding a steaming cup of something up to a seated Jiraiya. In a fit of coughing, Jiraiya upended the cup, spilling the contents over the courtyard and himself. Instead of a great show of anger or resentment, Naruto collected the cup silently, looking sorrowful and resigned. He left and returned shortly with a grubby towel and a refilled cup, patiently waiting until Jiraiya seemed ready to drink. Then, brightly, as he mopped up the mess, he said, "Once we get to Konoha, Tsunade will know exactly what to do and cure you."

Hinata's heart moved in sympathy. She felt as if she were standing on a threshold, torn between the safety of how she had been trained her whole life to behave and the unknown danger of doing what she wanted to do. Sasuke would be very angry with her if she spoke to them again.

Unbidden, came the image of Naruto, facing Sasuke and all the Hyuuga samurai armed with only a bo and his defiance. The comparison between that and her fear to cross words with her own brother shamed her. Quaking with her own boldness, she spoke. "Sakura, ask them to join us on this trip to Konoha."

Seeing the new additions to the travel party, Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He immediately pulled Hinata aside. "Something has happened to you since this last illness, Hinata. Something is different." He looked at her searchingly. Hinata dropped her eyes to avoid the sharpness of his glance.

Sakura piped up, "I'm sure it's just the travel, Lord Sasuke."

Karin watched as Sasuke gave Sakura a cutting look. "Perhaps," he said. "And perhaps it is the people around her."

Sakura flushed.

Unable to bear someone else's embarrassment for her sake, Hinata said softly, "Maybe it is the travel." She tried appealing to his logic. "Two more travelers would help make us more secure, wouldn't it? We're all going to the same place, so it wouldn't hurt anything."

"Hn." Sasuke looked unconvinced. "Lord Hiashi had thought you were properly trained in a woman's submission, but I see he has failed. Perhaps he has been too free in your upbringing, too lenient about your discipline, Little Sister. And now you express yourself in a way that is unbecoming."

Hinata had been aware of their father's powerful desire to have Sasuke train and study unceasingly, to become a better warlord, a better scholar, a better protector of the Hyuuga and their lands, but she had not been aware of the depth of Sasuke's resentment. Slowly, she spoke, "If Father has allowed me freedom, Brother, then it is only because there has been no other choice. I have not been in the same excellent health as you."

Sasuke looked stunned.

Hinata hurried to apologize, beside herself that such words had left her mouth. "Brother, I'm sorry – "

"No, Hinata. It is I who should be sorry." He bowed and left her, joining the waiting group.

A/N -

Thirty kisses challenge 6 - the space between dream and reality.

This story is roughly late Sengoku period. It was an era of great deal of social mobility: "samurai were easily able to move between masters and even between occupations. They would also marry between classes." (wikipedia) - although perhaps not as fluid as I've made it out to be, but things are always a bit more fluid while traveling, right? I decided to not include firearms, even though there surely would have been an increasing awareness and influence of such weaponry and the foreign traders who brought them.

kosode = a large wrap-around robe that was used as the main article of clothing before the kimono.

bo = a long staff weapon used in martial arts, in particular bōjutsu.

geta = footwear consisting of an elevated wooden platform and a strap between the toes and over each side of the foot.

Japanese fans are made of paper on a bamboo frame. There are folding fans (ōgi), and non-bending fans (uchiwa). The fan symbolizes friendship, respect and good wishes. It was also used in the military as a way of sending signals on the field of battle; a form of weapon, by actors and dancers for performances, by children as a toy, and for social and court activities.

kabuki = highly stylized classical Japanese dance-drama, begun ~1603 under the Tokugawa shogunate. The expression kabukimono referred originally to those who were bizarrely dressed and swaggered on a street (like Jiraiya). (from wikipedia) Even though it is a little anachronistic, as kabuki's origins were feminine and highly scandalous (the pleasure quarters of Edo), maybe Jiraiya might have seen some of the early precursors - plus, traveling performers have been with us throughout history/story-telling.

I have tried to be mostly historically accurate, but there will be some failures, as I'm not very well versed in this period and wanted some things to be addressed in this story. Corrections and comments are welcome. Let me know what you think.