Dream of Future

By Zetnnik

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto and characters, just borrowing…

Rated: M

OooO

Otogakure: A few days after the wedding

Sasuke parried Kimimaro's sword, "This marriage was supposed to be a convenience. My wife was supposed to keep my home and present me with children and generally exist to make life easy for me, at least that was my expectation. Was that unreasonable?" Sasuke asked Kimimaro while they continued their deadly dance with their swords.

Kimimaro looked thoughtful for a moment as he digested Sasuke's comment. "I guess it had worked like that for some, but from what I can see, it is usually the woman who calls the tune."

"Hmm," Sasuke grunted, it was his turn to be silent and process Kimimaro's words. "That's ridiculous!" He snapped after he'd had the time to consider Kimimaro's opinions and then discard them. "The gods made man calm, capable of reason, and not be ruled by his emotions. Man is also stronger and wiser. Obviously they meant for him to be in charge." As though to emphasize it, Sasuke swung his kusanagi and brought it straight down at Kimimaro.

Kimimaro grinned, leaped back, and parried with his own weapon, a chokuto (long straight sword) just like Sasuke's kusanagi, but his was made out of his own bone (A/N: gross, I know, but this is Kimimaro). The sounds of battle could be heard clearly across the training field. Soon there was a small gathering of men and children by the wayside, watching as two supremely powerful shinobi battle it out.

"Maybe," Kimimaro said, showing no signs of exertion from their sword play, "but a man doesn't particularly care who's in charge as long as he gets to enjoy himself. Once he's married, and he gets all the responsibilities that come with a marriage, a woman will make sure that he's always aware of those responsibilities. Who do you think is in charge then?" Kimimaro slashed the air in front of Sasuke as their swords met again.

"No, marriage was for the woman's benefit. She gets a man to take care of her and her children… the man gets what?" Kimimaro shook his head in rejection as he thrust his sword at Sasuke.

"Children to perpetuate his bloodline? Sons to carry on his name?" Sasuke suggested, parrying the attack smoothly.

Kimimaro expressed his amusement at Sasuke's seeming naïveté with a quick laugh, "That may be, but I've known many women who'd let other men in her bed aside from her husband. Should she happen to get pregnant on those times… then what?" He plunged again, coming from a different angle this time, aiming to slash off Sasuke's legs from under him.

Sasuke grinned at the strategy and moved too swiftly to be seen, coming up behind Kimimaro and forcing him to turn. "Do you not plan to marry then?" Sasuke asked as they locked swords.

Kimimaro pushed with his sword and did a few back-flips, landing several feet away from Sasuke. "Me? Oh hell, no! I wouldn't mind more than a few sons, but I don't need marriage for that, only a willing woman or two, or three…" His grin flashed white as he made his pronouncement. "And there's no lack of those."

"You said it yourself, you wouldn't know if the child was yours," Sasuke reminded him.

"I can count to nine as well as you. Besides, a man will need to know how to keep control of his woman, and not give her the opportunity – or the need – to let others in her bed."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "And when a woman is beautiful and tempting?"

"Then he'd better be fast and damn good with a sword, my friend, damn good indeed."

Sasuke grunted, dug his feet into the soft ground, took a flying leap and knocked Kimimaro on to the ground. His heart's brother landed hard on his back and shot him a rueful smile. "Not bad, Lord Uchiha, not bad at all. But shouldn't marriage have dulled your sword and slowed you down just a little?"

Sasuke sighed and sheathed his kusanagi, and offered a hand to help Kimimaro up. They had dueled often the years and stood almost even in number of wins. Any conflict between them was saved for the training field; in all other matters, each stood strong beside the other.

"Not this marriage," he said as they walked beside their packs and each took a gulp of cool water from the bottles they brought. "I swear, she hasn't missed a chance to irk me," Sasuke sighed, as he lowered his bottled water.

"Your sweet, gentle bride?" Kimimaro laughed. "But I see her everywhere, interested in everything, inquiring about all sorts of things. She obviously takes her responsibility to run your household seriously. I swear, in the short time that you've been married, she's been in every corner of this place."

Sasuke grimaced. Kimimaro spoke the truth. Hinata was a veritable whirlwind, seemingly busy everywhere at once. The woman didn't stop moving from dawn to dusk. And she had an opinion about everything, a suggestion; different ideas on how this or that should be done. Worse yet, she need only murmur a request and people stumble over each other to fulfill her request. Well, not all people, Hatsu looked like she'd swallowed a mouthful of vinegar whenever she was near Hinata. Some of the other women, those he vaguely knew to be Hatsu's friends, seemed to be following her lead.

A frown darkened Sasuke's face. The last thing he needed was a war among the women. He really did not have the time to be dealing with that. Sasuke sometimes wished for the simpler days when he didn't have the responsibilities and care of the whole village. In those days, he only dealt with things he wished to. He was perfectly fine in ignoring things that did not concern him, or even those that did concern him. Those where the days when all he cared about was gaining power, and in attaining his goal. The days when he'd take off whenever he wanted. But now… a leader had no such luxury. He now had to do what was best for all. And that, Sasuke decided, was to stop this problem with his bride before it could go any further.

"She's just settling in," he murmured. "That's all."

Kimimaro laughed. "Who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?"

Sasuke's only answer was a grunt. He strode off in the direction he'd last seen Hinata, only to discover that she was nowhere to be found. He'd checked all the possible places that she could be, but no one seemed to pinpoint exactly where she was.

"I have no idea, Sasuke-sama," Hatsu said with cold pleasure when he finally broke down and asked her if she knew where his wife had gone. Seeing Sasuke's annoyance plainly showing on his face, "If you don't mind my saying, the Lady Hinata seems to be a very headstrong individual, perhaps the result of an overly privileged upbringing," Hatsu boldly added.

Sasuke did not appreciate hearing any criticism of his wife, but he had to admit, if only to himself, that Hatsu may have a point. Hinata's family seemed to have given her virtually free reign to live as she pleased. They even allowed her to live away from their protection and establish her own household.

OooO

"Look! Bloodroot," Hinata said easing the plant from the soil, ensuring the root was kept intact. Hinata happily displayed her find on the palm of her hand. "I never thought I'd see it here. It's excellent for bronchial problems and severe throat infections. An overdose can be fatal, so it must be taken in small doses when being taken internally," Hinata cautioned. "We cultivate this Konoha as it is endangered. We should start that here too," she added as she carefully placed it in the sack she had, along with the other mosses, lichens and plants she'd already found and picked. Smiling, Hinata got up from her kneeling position and lightly wiped her hands on her skirt to brush off any remaining soil.

"It's amazing how you know so much," Mai said shyly. The young servant was still a little shy around Hinata, but had lost some of her reservations after having been in her company for several hours now, helping her find and collect herbs. "My mother had a little skill in healing, but nothing compared to what you know. How did you learn so much, my lady?"

Hinata hesitated a little and chose her words carefully. "I've always been interested in herbs and healing ever since I was a child. I was lucky that my father and my cousin encouraged me in my interest and helped me in any way they could in my education. I was doubly lucky that the best healer in all the countries combined is also our own Godaime Hokage, I learned a lot from her."

"You were lucky…," Mai started to say, but paused when they felt a gust of wind and the sudden materialization of Sasuke in front of them. The young woman was so startled that she gave a helpless "eep" as she lost her footing at her involuntary step back.

"Sasuke," Hinata whispered. She was not as startled as Mai was for she recognized the minute trace of chakra Sasuke had allowed to leak out. She shot Sasuke a sour look as she turned and helped the poor girl up from where she fell on the ground. Hinata was both relieved and annoyed that it was Sasuke and not the outside danger they had thought. But really, what was the man thinking for frightening them so?

He had barely said a word to her in the past few days since their wedding; had hardly acknowledged her existence despite her efforts to be a good wife, as she had resolved to be. Not only had she taken a vow and sworn during their wedding to be a good wife, she recognized that the success of this marriage will help in cementing the peace they all crave. Yet looking at Sasuke, the former avenger of the last of the Uchihas, now the lord of Otogakure, she couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe she bit off more that she could chew? Normally, Hinata was the most even-tempered woman she knew, but something about her new husband brought out feelings she barely recognized that threatened to shatter the serenity that she endeavored to cloak herself with.

Sasuke looked from his errant wife to the servant girl beside her. He pointedly looked at Mai. "Go."

The girl paled and visibly shook from head to foot, but incredibly, she did not immediately go as ordered. Instead, she looked at her mistress questioningly, "Lady?"

Without taking her gaze away from infuriated presence in front of her, Hinata assured the frightened girl, "It's all right. You go on. The Lord Sasuke will stay with me."

Mai shot the mighty lord of Otogakure a last frightened glance before hurrying off. Sasuke glowered at his wife, the servant's disobedience forgotten, as he took in Hinata's glowing appearance. Her beauty enhanced under the sunlight, her look of annoyance unmistakable.

His gaze narrowed at that. She was annoyed? She? What right did she have to be annoyed about anything? Wasn't he the one who'd been denying himself these past few days in allowing her time to heal?

She's annoyed?

Sasuke took a purposeful step towards her. He was given the satisfaction to see her take a quick step back before she caught herself. She stood her ground, hands on her hips as she glared at him.

"You're trampling on the plants I was about to collect."

Sasuke was thunderstruck. He can't believe that she's not doing everything in her power to placate him. Instead she's prattling on about – "Plants?"

"Plants. Herbs," Hinata tried to explain, her tone the soul of patience. "For the herb garden. I looked, I truly looked, but there is none. I don't think there has ever been one. So it has to be started, and these plants are to be the beginning."

Sasuke could not believe what he was hearing. She wanted a garden? She left the safety of his home, without first obtaining his permission, alone except for the company of one lone girl because she wanted a garden?

Sasuke was so infuriated he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her as he growled into her face, "This isn't Konoha, wife. And you are no longer the pampered daughter of an overindulgent parent. This is Otogakure – a hard place filled with hard people. Your privileged life was a thing of the past. The luxuries you've enjoyed are no more. You will learn to live without them, as you will also learn to.." Sasuke was about to instruct Hinata further about learning to obey him in everything and at all times when she stared at him and then burst out laughing.

"Luxuries? A garden is not a luxury. At least not the type of garden I had in mind."

Sasuke had stopped shaking her, but did not let go of his hold on her nor did his visage lose any of its fierceness. Hinata thought maybe he just did not understand what she was trying to say.

"I told you I am a healer. You brought me my medicine chest, but soon the herbs and medicines I have there will need to be replenished as they get used up. These plants and others I expect to find are important to that," Hinata explained.

"You're thinking of using your herbs and medicines here?" Sasuke asked as he let go of her. "People here in Otogakure are hardened people. They are not used to much cosseting as people in Konoha are. And you're forgetting Orochimaru and Kabuto. After all the atrocities those two had perpetrated on them, people here are suspicious of potions and medicines. They basically stick to simple remedies – fire to a wound if it won't heal, knife to a limb if it must come off. They are simple remedies, and may be a bit harsh to outsiders, but they are sufficient for them."

Sasuke could see that his words had distressed his gentle wife. Hinata was in fact horrified by what she heard. This confirmed her observation of the past few days. She had noticed that people of Otogakure looked to be enjoying robust health, but if what Sasuke had said was true, that meant that anyone with weaker constitution did not live very long in this place.

"B-but what about a sick child or a… a woman suffering from childbirth? What about them? Do they just suffer in pain and just give up and die? Will they reject treatment if it's available and was being offered? I can't believe that all people here could be so cruel and ignorant!"

Sasuke stared in wonderment at his naïve little wife. He hadn't had contact with anyone like her in a long time. No, actually, Sasuke didn't believe that he'd ever met anyone like her before. None of the women he'd ever had contact with were as gentle and caring as his beautiful wife, nor as softhearted – none of the women in Oto, not Karin or even Sakura – his former teammate from his genin days, were anything like Hinata.

"I am a healer," she insisted stubbornly. "I can't just ignore the pain and suffering of others if it is within my power to alleviate it." Hinata stood proudly in front of Sasuke, but inside, she was quaking and trying to imagine what she would do if she were forbade to practice her life's calling. She knew… she knew that she would shrivel up and die if she were to live among these people and have to see their suffering and feel their pain, but not be allowed to help them.

Sasuke surveyed his wife. He could tell this was something very important to her. He couldn't understand why. He supposed it had something to do with her overly tender nature. But then again, perhaps it's not such a bad thing for a woman to be caring. There might even be some benefit to it.

"I suppose it would be OK if you cared for the women and children," Sasuke relented. He figured there was no harm in allowing her that much.

Hinata was relieved to hear his consent. She wasn't totally satisfied by it, but she'd take it… for now. Silently, she vowed that her arrogant and pigheaded of a husband would not only acknowledge her contribution to the care and welfare of his people, not just the women and children, but ALL of his people – including the men, and thank her for it.

"Thank you, it's a start," she said to Sasuke who frowned at her words. She hastily added, "I'll need an assistant," looking directly in his eyes.

Sasuke smirked. His wife was certainly not timid when it came to getting what she wanted. He wondered what it would be like if one was the object of her desire. Would she be as aggressive?

"An assistant?"

"Yes, an assistant. Someone to help me gather the herbs and plants. Assist in the mixing of potions and medicines. Help with patients," Hinata quickly enumerated. "How about Mai?" She asked Sasuke, her face lit up hopefully.

Sasuke shrugged. "Do as you like."

Sasuke stiffened at the glowing smile she gave him. It just occurred to him that they were alone, and some distance away from anything. The past few days should have been enough for her to heal, at least he hoped so. Sasuke was very much aware that their wedding night, instead of slaking his hunger for his wife, only served to whet his appetite for her even more and he didn't think that he could wait any longer.

Hinata felt Sasuke's sudden tensing. She warily looked at him and noticed the change in his demeanor, the different light that sprung in his eyes. She didn't understand and didn't know what to make of it.

As Hinata watched him, it was brought home to her once again that her husband was an extraordinarily handsome man. He possessed immense strength tempered by grace. And the way he's looking at her… 'Oh my…' Hinata hopelessly thought to herself, her mouth going dry all of a sudden. She had the sudden urge to touch him, to trace the chiseled lines of his face, caress the thick strands of ebony hair, run her fingers on that hard, muscled chest… Hinata stopped. Eyes widening as she became conscious of her thoughts. To hide her embarrassment and the flush she could feel was heating up her face; she bent down to pick up her sack from the ground.

As if reading her wayward thoughts, Sasuke's smirk deepened. He reached out a large hand to take the sack from her, which Hinata refused to relinquished, all to no avail of course. Slowly, but steadily Sasuke pulled his wife towards him.

"S-Sasuke…," Hinata started to say his name.

"Shh…," Sasuke whispered as he closed his arms around her and tipped back her head in order to claim her mouth for a kiss with ruthless thoroughness. As soon as their lips touched, Sasuke wanted to lose himself in her, wanted to feel again the delight he felt on their wedding night and have her feel the same.

Swiftly, allowing her no time to protest, he laid her gently down on the leaf strewn ground. He kissed her brow, her cheekbones, the side of her neck… all the while his hands were busily divesting her of the simple yukata she was wearing.

Hinata softly gave out a small whimper. He meant to do this now? Here? Where anyone could come along at any moment? But she couldn't seem to find it in her heart to object. She was actually eager to experience again those feelings his touch had elicited from her on their wedding night.

Hinata frantically pushed away his kimono off his back, laying bare to her touch his powerful chest – the smooth texture of his warm skin. Her sensed whirled, but she refused to let herself think, or doubt . No hesitation.

Sasuke was surprised at her eagerness, but wasted no time to take advantage of it. He knew in the back of his mind that he should slow down. After only a few days, she may still be feeling a little tender. He did not want to hurt her. Praying for patience, Sasuke reached down to free himself. He hesitated only a bit before what little control he had snapped and he drove within her.

OooO

Long moments passed before Sasuke was again aware of anything; he found himself slumped on top of Hinata, pleasure still reverberating through him. He's pleased to see that she was as disoriented as he when she opened her eyes and gazed into his.

Hinata gave Sasuke a shy smile and said, "I…it's not always like this, is it?" Then she proceeded to answer her own question. "I mean if it is, then nothing will ever get done. Everyone would want to do this all the time. I guess it's just as well that men need time to recover…"

Her last comment caused Sasuke's eyebrow to quirk upward. "Excuse me?"

"Well, the four days since our wedding night seemed hardly enough time for recovery. Does it really take that long?"

Sasuke gave a little twitch as he finally grasped what she meant. His eyes narrowed as he plopped himself on an elbow and gazed at her. "You thought I needed the four days to recover from making love to you?"

"Oh, no… no, please, don't take that as a criticism…," Hinata was appalled that she may have inadvertently insulted her husband.

"Listen, wife. I left you alone these past few days in deference to your virginal state on our wedding night. It allowed you the time to heal. Rest assured that I don't feel any such restrictions now," Sasuke told her. And he proceeded to show her just how eager he was to be exercising his husbandly duties and benefits.

"OH," was all Hinata was able to say before she was once again swept away by passion.

OooO

A/N: I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, it felt a little blah to me...

Recent happenings in the manga kinda turned me off a little on Sasuke... .

Makes me want to thump him!

Anyways... please read and review...