Note: Tbh too scared to promise anything at this point, but for those who waited for this update, thank you for your patience, support, EVERYTHING. Y'all make it worthwhile. And I do mean it when I say that I'll finish what I start! Hope you enjoy! 3 chapters left!

Artichoke Heart

Chapter 7: Effort

Naruto was never quick to catch on. It was a problem since he was a kid. Standardized testing was his sworn enemy in his academy days. His abilities were never proportionate to his passion. For a moment he almost questioned his capability to even pursue a career as a ninja. If not for his determination and stubbornness, he may never have come so far. As an adult, he was now a powerful vessel of the Nine Tailed Fox, a decorated war hero, the youngest to ever serve as Hokage - all of these accomplishments, with all their pomp and circumstance are even more impressive considering as a child, he was nothing but a dead last. The one least likely to succeed.

Naruto stayed true to who he was. Goofy, easy-going, relentlessly loyal to his friends. He maintained the attributes that made him a valued teammate and worked tirelessly to improve in other areas where he fell short.

He studied lots. More than he ever bothered to in school. In moments where he had free time, he participated in brain exercises designed and conducted by Shikamaru. He studied the history of the clans in the village, stayed up all night if he needed to, and committed every factoid to memory. He made sure he was always caught up on the curriculum being taught at the Academy. He secretly took mock tests, and forced Shino to mark them, much to the instructor's chagrin. He approved of and assisted in research lead by the greatest brains in the village to develop revolutionary, practical ninjutsu to market to other villages and fuel Konoha's growing economy.

Being colloquially smart was hard work. But Naruto knew his role as a figurehead was much more than being charismatic. He had to know his stuff.

And, his knowledge of the clans certainly came in handy when Ryuu inadvertently exposed a secret hunting mission.

As he and Ryuu made their way to the Inuzuka compound, he contemplated why Hanabi would gamble on him finding out. Perhaps the chances really were that low. It was true that there was little going on in the village, and everyone was mostly on holiday. Perhaps she believed the Hokage would be too distracted by vacationing and other diplomatic duties. Or even more likely, perhaps she relied on confidentiality.

However, Naruto knew that unlike the Hyuga, the Inuzuka believed very little in secrecy. Quite contrarily, the resident canine clan had strong familial bonds, complete with heightened awareness of internal relations. Kana may have overheard from rooms away about her brother's "secret hunting mission". Perhaps she knew from scent alone that her brother had been missing, and went to investigate. It would be easy enough to pick up the intermingling scent of a Hyuga amongst the distinct scent of the clan members. Hanabi clearly had not done research in her haste. She likely utilized her connections with Hana to expedite the trip. And, being similarly reckless to himself, she probably left with little consideration of the possible consequences and the aftermath of her actions.

Naruto arrived at the front gates of the compound, still deep in thought. The guard let him in without questioning, and Ryuu waved happily as they passed. Naruto knew the compound well, having visited countless times. He knew exactly where Kiba's room was located, deep within the interiors of the estate.

When he was outside Kiba's door, he knocked loudly. Ryuu saw, and began knocking excitedly as well.

Kiba awoke to a banging on his door. He sat up in bed, discombobulated. Rubbing his eyes, he swung his legs over the side of his bed.

"Coming, coming!" Kiba grunted. He slid open his bedroom door, and immediately he was face to face with Naruto. "Naruto! What the hell"—he stopped, noticing little Ryuu gazing up at him with wide, emerald eyes—"I mean, what are you doing here?"

"Did any of your ninken go on a mission?" Naruto asked, voice lower than usual. Kiba wore a puzzled expression, but nonetheless stepped outside.

"Uh… I haven't heard anything," Kiba said, rubbing the back of his head. "Did you guys eat yet? Dinner should be soon."

"That's alright, Sakura wants to cook tonight," Naruto said. Kiba walked them down the hall of the Inuzuka compound, towards a common room. A few ninken puppies were asleep in front of the fireplace, and Ryuu excitedly approached them, kneeling down silently and running his small hand through one of the pup's golden fur.

Kiba and Naruto sat on the couches across from each other.

"Do you want tea or anything?" Kiba asked.

"No, that's fine," Naruto waved his hand, glancing quickly toward his son before leaning forward. "Ryuu told me one of your ninken went on a mission. A hunting mission. For one of your pups."

Kiba seemed bewildered by the notion. "No… I mean," he rubbed the back of his head, leaning back slightly. "I think Hana-nee might know a bit more about that. She's been pretty busy. I don't even think she's in her lab."

"Do you know when she'd be free?"

"Couldn't tell you." Kiba frowned slightly, noticing the concern on the Hokage's face. "Why, what's up?"

"I'm pretty sure Hanabi has something to do with this," Naruto said lowly, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared at the center of the coffee table. "I mean. She's good friends with your sister right? Hana might have okayed it?"

"Jesus," Kiba muttered, "I mean, yeah, I guess so."

"I'm pretty sure if we went to the Hyuga compound right now, Hanabi's not there."

"Okay, but don't do that," Kiba said. He sighed, "That'll just mess everything up."

"What should I do, nothing?"

"Well"—Kiba's eyes darted toward Ryuu briefly—"My guess is she's looking for Sasuke. I'm sure you've guessed that too. At the end of the day, yeah, it's a stupid thing to do because she's a Clan Head and you already closed the case, but it's harmless. If she finds Sasuke, it's not like he's gonna hurt her."

"It's not Hanabi I'm worried about. It's Hinata-chan."

"I don't know what to say man. I guess, maybe talk to my sister? She'll probably"—

Kiba was cut off when Naruto's cell phone began to blare. Ryuu quickly scrambled to his father's side. He clambered onto the couch, standing on the cushions and leaning against his father's shoulder. Naruto dug into his pocket, pulling out his phone. It was Sakura.

"Hey," he answered, out of breath from bracing his son's weight with his other arm. "I'm with Kiba. No, Inuzuka compound. Yeah, Ryuu's here, do you wanna"—

He stopped talking suddenly. Kiba watched with increased concern as the Hokage blanched.

"Naruto, what's wrong"—

"I'll be at the hospital soon."

That was the last thing Naruto said. He shoved his phone into his pocket.

"Naruto, what"—

"Kiba, I need you to watch Ryuu for an hour or so."

Kiba blinked widely. "Why"—

"Hisashi's awake."

A look of dismay crossed the heiress' face as Ginta splashed in the water.

"Hey! You're gonna get dizzy if you keep that up," she admonished the pup, who merely barked in response. She shook her head. "More stubborn than I thought you'd be."

Ginta sprang from the water onto the natural rock that surrounded the spring. He shook the water from his pelt, receiving another glare as drops of water were flung in all directions. "I love bath houses," he declared.

Hanabi sighed, sinking so just her head was visible above the water's surface. "We haven't even gotten a lead yet, Ginta."

"It's only been three days," he pointed out. He yawned as he laid on the cool rock. "You told your clan you're on vacation, you might as well act like it."

Hanabi adjusted the towel that held her hair. "We may need to start being more upfront. Maybe we should talk to the locals."

"Why would we do that? We can't bring up a missing persons case."

"Not to ask about nee-sama. To ask about the Uchiha."

"Isn't he a wanderer?"

"Yes. But he's not exactly inconspicuous. People would remember him, for sure."

Ginta snorted. "How can you be so confident."

Hanabi scowled. "Well first he doesn't look like a normal civilian. Secondly, girls think he's handsome for some reason."

This only provoked another dubious scoff. The pup jumped back into the water, effectively splashing steaming water into Hanabi's face.

When the pup resurfaced, a red-faced heiress was glowering at him, coughing profusely as she removed her now sodding wet towel. She threw it onto the nearby rocks.

"I definitely swallowed water," she mentioned darkly. "This is supposed to be a natural spring, but it tastes salty."

"Probably minerals from the rocks," Ginta said sagely. This only elicited another pointed stare.

"Kids are more keen nowadays," she muttered offhandedly.

"Even if we did ask people in the village, and they can confirm he was here, what does that do for us? By now he's halfway across the world."

"It's only been a week and a half. He's not on the run, he's just wandering aimlessly. He wouldn't have gone far."

"If we ask too many people, it will raise suspicions about his character. And yours."

Hanabi clenched her jaw at this prediction. "I can't turn back now. I'm here. I won't get time off again. If I do wait, then Sasuke will be worlds away, and he will have faded in everyone's memory. This is it, Ginta. Now or never."

The puppy tilted his head, for once appearing truly empathetic to her plight. Ginta sighed. "What if we lie?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't think anyone here is a ninja. They probably don't know your clan, or Sasuke, or anything about Konoha. Why not make up some story to justify why you're looking for him? So it's not weird."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. You said he's good looking. How old is he?"

"He's my sister's age so… twenty-four?"

"Say he's your runaway fiancé."

Hanabi blanched. "What? No. That's stupid." She scoffed, sinking into the water for emphasis. "And weird."

"Isn't part of being a ninja being sneaky? Just do it, who cares."

After a few moments of saying nothing, she mumbled, "Well… I guess it would raise urgency to find him if I had some sort of sob story."

"There you go."

"I'll need a disguise, just in case," Hanabi said.

"Use a transformation jutsu?"

She groaned, "Such a waste of chakra to maintain that." She seemed to be in thought.

"Buy a wig and a new outfit and call it a day," Ginta suggested. "Use the transformation jutsu to disguise yourself as you buy the actual disguise. It's a double fail proof plan."

She let out a short laugh, and raised one arm from beneath the water to scratch him behind his ear. "Good boy."

At that, he flicked his head away. "Don't say that."

She laughed again, this time more genuinely. For the first time, she felt hopeful. "Sorry. Good thinking, Ginta."

"Can we stay five more minutes?"

She nodded, a small smile on her lips. "Five more minutes."

"Hinata."

She did not even look at him. She was knitting - she always seemed to be knitting - and was watching a television drama. She was absorbed in the action onscreen, and hardly mumbled a "hm?".

He gently tapped a scroll atop her head. This caught her attention. She frowned slightly and set down her knitting needles. She eyed Sasuke quizzically as she took the scroll from his hands. He watched her expectantly as she opened it, pupil-less eyes scanning the characters.

She blinked widely. He could tell she was rereading it again to be sure. Finally, she lowered the scroll and breathed, "You… you did this?"

He plopped down on the couch beside her and propped his feet onto the coffee table. "It's nothing."

"It's not, it's…" Hinata swallowed, shaking her head in disbelief. "This is so kind of you."

He shrugged. "I was training the other day and noticed that the genjutsu protecting your house and garden was getting weaker. I just improved the illusion. I had it in place for a couple of days to see if you'd notice," he smirked a little, "but you didn't."

"I mean, I just"- she sputtered for a bit before finally turning to him to smile. "This will be great when I start planting again in spring. Thank you, Sasuke."

He shrugged again, "it's no problem. I'm impressed that you didn't notice your house was harder to find."

She smiled, "The secret to seeing through any illusion is knowing that the illusion is there. That's why I was so shocked to see you on my doorstep. To break an illusion you don't expect is… amazing."

"For a while, my whole life was an illusion," Sasuke muttered. "I'm always ready to be messed with."

Hinata chuckled lightly, shaking her head as she neatly rolled the scroll. She set it carefully on the coffee table, and collected her knitting needles again. "I suppose that's somewhat of a good thing."

"I also like the seclusion," Sasuke blurted offhandedly.

Hinata blushed deeply, "R-Really? You don't find it boring?"

"No," he said, unabashed. "It's been fun."

She buried her face into her turtleneck, hoping that it made her burning face less obvious. "Your company has been r-really nice…"

Sasuke seemed to be fully aware of how his words affected her, and appeared pleased with himself. "Can I switch the channel?"

He was actually surprised that Hinata shook her head. "After this episode."

"I've never seen you watch this show," Sasuke accused. Lightly, he teased, "I didn't think you were… so girly."

"A woman doesn't need to be girly to enjoy drama," Hinata chastised, just as lightly. She nudged Sasuke. "Maybe you should watch with me. The series just started."

Sasuke scoffed, "I don't like drama shows."

"Consider it sensitivity training."

She was smiling.

It had been a few days since her breakdown. At first Sasuke assumed that the confrontation would make it incredibly awkward, but the opposite happened. After Hinata explained in detail the reasoning behind her leaving Konoha, she had spent a majority of the evening crying. Sasuke had limited experience with crying women - in fact, just the notion of it was disturbing. But somehow the situation was underwhelming.

Hinata had cried silently. She remained on the couch next to him, knees drawn to her chest and a box of tissues nearby at the ready. He flipped through the channels at his discretion, and every so often she would sniffle or yank a fresh tissue from the box. At some point, he offered her tea which she gladly accepted. Somehow the sight of her swollen, red eyes and wet cheeks reassured him that he had achieved some sort of breakthrough. Her vulnerability in that moment translated into trust. Trust in him.

He did not need to say any more than he already did. He just needed to be nearby.

Hours later when she found she could not sleep, she knocked on his door and asked him to use his Sharingan to induce sleep. And he did so.

The days after there was an immediate difference in her behaviour. She was talking a little more. Still not as much as Naruto or Sakura did, but still more than she had. Moreover, she was smiling.

She resumed her day to day activities. She cooked, she cleaned, she did laundry and knitted nonstop while watching television. But she was lighter. It was inexplicably contagious - it was affecting him. In fact, it was this subtle change in her demeanour that motivated him to strengthen the genjutsu that guarded their dwelling. And he was rewarded again with her gratitude, and more importantly her happiness.

He leaned back into the couch cushions, forcing himself to hone in on the drama show's dialogue.

"What's the premise of the show?" He inquired with forced interest.

Hinata beamed at the question. "That woman," she aided her explanation by pointing in the vague direction of a brunette woman onscreen, "is the main character. She's in love with her sister's fiancé."

"That's… gross."

Hinata tittered, "Her sister's fiancé was her college sweetheart, but," Hinata paused for effect, "her sister did not know that, since her and her sister have only recently reacquainted after the death of their mother."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Okay."

"When did you even meet?"

Onscreen, the main character was confronting a younger looking version of herself, supposedly the sister.

"Father's country club. He's wonderful, isn't he?"

"Yes, he seems lovely."

"He mentioned you once. Apparently you were schoolmates? Did you know each other?"

"Yes. I mean, not well."

"Why wouldn't she just tell her sister they dated?" Sasuke questioned, blunt yet incredulous.

"That's her sister's fiancé, that might ruin their engagement."

Sasuke snorted, "This is so stupid."

Hinata shushed him.

Onscreen, the setting had changed to a classroom. The main character was sitting next to a man, presumably the love interest. He tapped her on the shoulder.

"My vision isn't the best, is that a nine?"

"That's a two…"

"Ha, I was quite far off. I'm Takahashi. Yourself?"

"Shiori…"

"Shiori, do you think we could be friends?"

The next sequence of scenes were what Sasuke inferred as flashbacks of their relationship in college. Short clips of the two studying together and dining out together ensued.

"You don't like this," Hinata observed. "We can watch something else if you'd like? This episode will air again later tonight."

Sasuke shook his head, even though she was right. "It's fine."

She smiled before redirecting her attention to the show once more.

From what Sasuke could determine from the episode, the characters were simple and vapid. The drama was a result of Shiori's dishonesty, her sister's obliviousness and Takahashi's misunderstanding. The show was stupid, in his opinion. But despite the cliches, predictability, and tropes, the characters reminded him of people he knew. The show was a manifestation of stupid situations that actually happened in real life. He realized that, Hinata was relating herself to the characters. She was invested in the main character because she saw part of herself.

Of course, a stupider, less interesting version of herself. But nonetheless, that was the appeal. Not necessarily the drama.

"Was it all bad?" Hinata asked him softly as the show ended.

Sasuke rolled his neck, feeling stiff after sitting in the same position for nearly an hour. "It was alright."

She removed the basket of yarn and a half-finished toque from her lap and set it on the floor at her feet. She turned smoothened the fabric of her pants as she stood. "I'm glad you didn't find it all terrible."

He watched as she opened the fridge, bending slightly to peer at its contents.

"What do you want for dinner?" She inquired, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Doesn't matter," he replied, hastily switching the channel to an action movie. "You decide."

He heard her withdraw a few items from the fridge. "Is soup okay? It's been so chilly recently."

"Sure."

She resumed preparing for dinner. She took out a wooden cutting board. She skillfully rinsed and diced vegetables, creating neat piles. At some point, Sasuke joined her in the kitchen, peering at the collection of fresh vegetables in the large wicker basket that she always carried to the village.

"Is that a vegetable or a fruit?"

Hinata followed his gaze, before laughing lightly, "Oh, that's an artichoke. It's a vegetable."

"Never heard of it."

"It's imported," she said emphatically. "It was a gift from the grocer."

"How do you eat it?"

"Well," Hinata began, setting down her knife as she started filling a large pot with tap water, "I've actually never tried it, but I was told to either steam or pressure cook the full thistle. Afterwards we could eat the leaves, but the best part of an artichoke is it's heart." She placed the pot on the element, turning the temperature setting to high. "It's a bit of work to get to it, and in comparison to the rest of the vegetable, it's rather small, but it's supposed to be delicious."

"I see."

"I was thinking"- Hinata hesitated, "I was thinking maybe… we could learn how to cook it together? Maybe we can come up with a recipe?"

In response, Sasuke poked her lightly on the forehead. "Sure. Tomorrow."

She smiled, absently reaching up to touch her forehead when he withdrew his hand.

"I'm gonna train for a bit," he informed her as he strode towards the door. He slipped into the boots that Hinata had pressured him into buying. He had initially resisted - he had never needed them before. But even he had to grudgingly admit they were far more comfortable, and dare he say cozy, for training in the snow.

He secured his scabbard around his hips and exited the front door. Hinata shivered at the cold air that entered as he left, relishing the steam that was coming off the boiling water's surface,

She absorbed herself in cooking. Noodles, she felt, would make the soup more substantial. This in mind, she carefully lowered a large portion of uncooked, hand made noodles into the water. The bubbles that rose to the surface ceased once the cold noodles were submerged. Within a few seconds, the bubbling continued. She stirred slowly, cautious of spilling.

What began as an uneasy coexistence rapidly became a natural state of codependency. Sasuke was the only person that knew her truth. The development was subtle, and she could hardly believe that he had been around for her entire life. When they were very, very young children even, when their clans would host networking and social events, often she would notice him off to the side. He was just a background person. A friend of a friend's, a classmate, a colleague, an enemy, an ally…

And now suddenly, he was more than anyone had ever been to her.

He was slowly becoming everything.

A part of her wanted to fiercely deny this as fact. They were a young man and woman living together in seclusion, so naturally they were predisposed to be attracted to each other.

But the more she considered this, the more she realized that simply wasn't true. They had differences clear as day, but one of their fundamental similarities was their discipline. Ninja of their caliber are trained to separate emotion from their necessary interactions. Ninja are prepared to potentially face their loved ones in battle with intention to kill, should it be necessary in attaining peace.

Perhaps it'd be easier to remain in denial, but more than ever it was becoming clear that even Sasuke was affected by whatever was happening between them. Sasuke the former avenger. Sasuke the s-ranked missing nin. Sasuke who murdered his brother. Sasuke who saved the world.

He was all of those things. He was that Sasuke. Someone who was once so alien to her, so revered. And at that moment, without a doubt, Hinata knew that in addition to being everything he ever was, he was also hers. And although he certainly knew how she felt about him, he probably still had no full understanding of the meaning he had brought into her life.

Hinata saw no need, no value in confessing all this to him. Sasuke did not need the facts laid out for him. Just their continued interactions were enough to reassure her. It was the subtle things that he did for her that meant the most.

When she clicked the stove off, like clockwork, Sasuke emerged through the front door. He seemed paler than usual, but was visibly flushed from the cold.

She smiled at him as he slipped out of his shoes, and approached her side. Without saying anything, he began to take out bowls and utensils for both of them. He assisted in helping her put away the unused ingredients.

Once the countertops were clean to her standards, he assisted in portioning the soup into two bowls. He knew from memory which sized bowl she preferred.

They sat across from each other, as always.

She was the first to lift her chopsticks, "Itadakimasu."

He followed suit, murmuring, "Itadakimasu."

Note: Until next time, babies! Let me know how I did!