Indelible

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Do I actually need to say anything. I don't own anything affiliated with Naruto. The end.

A soft breeze drifted through the tent sending a small chill down Hinata's spine. She pulled the sleeping bag up around her, and turned over on to her side. It was a nice night, just cool enough to need a blanket. A welcomed but striking difference from Suna with its scorching days and below freezing nights that seemed to suck the heat right out of everything. Hinata had not been able to get used to Suna drastic changes in temperature in the four months that she had spent there. The weather let her know that she was getting closer to Konoha, closer to home. She shifted again...and again. During the last four months she had wished for a night this nice and now that she finally had it she could not get comfortable. However these days she rarely could, and even when by some stroke of luck she did get comfortable she couldn't turn her mind off, there was always so much for her to think about. Getting closer to Konoha made it worse, she knew exactly what was waiting for her there and she wasn't sure if she was ready to face it. Not that I have much of a choice. Hinata had been told she needed to avoid stress as much as possible and here she was making her way into an ocean of it and hoping for the best.

Giving up on falling asleep, Hinata got up and opened the tent flap. She shivered slightly as a wave of cool air hit her. She paused momentarily then grabbed her coat, wrapping it tightly around herself before heading out.

When Hinata had been a child she had been afraid of the dark, not being able to see what was in the shadows scared her especially in the Hyuga mansion. Being a old building it creaked and groaned and as a girl Hinata had laid awake at night hiding under the covers, terrified. All that had changed the night that she had first awakened her bloodline limit. As if by magic, suddenly she could she everything around her clearer than she had ever seen anything during the day and from that moment she fell in love with the night. Night-time seemed to suit her, it was calmer and quieter then the hustle and bustle of the day and while she could see perfectly most people could not see her clearly, lowering her inhibitions and making her feel light and free.

Although she felt more at peace, light and free was nowhere close to how she was feeling right now. In a few days she would be home and she would have to face Kakashi, she felt bad the way she left things. She had broken her one promise to him, when she ended things without a proper explanation and without telling him the truth. She had been upset and embarrassed after finding out that he had broken his promises to her then she had gone and done the same to him. She knew she hadn't handled the situation properly, she had been so shocked and hurt that she had barely been able to talk to him for ten minutes in order to tell him she wanted to end it, she would have never been able to handle having the long talk that needed to be had. How was I supposed to tell him the truth when he...She pushed the thought from her mind it didn't matter now, what was done was done and could not be undone.

Worse than facing Kakashi, would be facing her father. He probably knew by now about her relationship with Kakashi and she had a pretty good idea of what his reaction would be. She had worked so hard these past few years not only to become physically stronger but a stronger, more confidant person as well, Kakashi had helped her a lot with that. Yet, her father had the uncanny ability to make her feel like a pathetic, weak little girl again. Her father could break her down completely without even needing to try, within minutes she would go from steady and strong to stuttering and unable to make eye contact under his scrutiny.

"You should be asleep."

Hinata nearly jumped. Glancing at the tree branches above her she crossed her arms in an attempt to disguise being startled with mock annoyance. "How long have you been watching me Kazekage-sama?"

Gaara glared down at Hinata when she used his title. He was sitting on the branch directly above her, his gourd nestled in between his back and the tree trunk. "Long enough to know you were completely unaware of your surroundings." His admonishing tone made Hinata want to roll her eyes. He had a habit of treating her like a younger sister despite being the same age as her. They had become very good friends during her time in Suna and he had become very protective of her. He knew she could take care of herself but also seemed to think that she shouldn't have to.

Hinata often found it hard to believe that this person, her rock over the past four months, was the same person she had witnessed brutally murder those grass-nin in the forest of death without even blinking, but in all honesty he wasn't. Gaara was nowhere near the same person he had been seven years ago when he had terrified her so completely. He hadn't had anybody to care for him or protect him back then and now it sometimes seemed like it was his personal mission to make sure that no one else ever went through that. Hinata admired him for that just like she admired Naruto but still she couldn't help but feel like she was burdening him. Especially now, she had gone to Sunakagure on a mission to help out with their ninja academy and then had almost immediately upon arriving forced Gaara into an awkward position by asking for his help and discretion.

"How much longer until we get there?" If it hadn't been for her, they could have made the trip to Konoha and back at least twice in the time it had taken them to get this far. Hinata could tell that the other members of their traveling group were frustrated by this even if Gaara wouldn't let them say anything about it. This is one of the reasons why Hinata had wanted to make this trip alone but Gaara insisted on coming along, saying he was due for a diplomatic visit to Konoha anyway and so he had left Suna in the capable hands of his sister and the two of them (plus Gaara's small entourage) had headed out.

"We should arrive in Konoha tomorrow afternoon." Hinata took a deep breath, she knew they were getting close but she didn't realize they were that close. In the next moment, Gaara was standing right behind her which his hand gently squeezing her shoulders. "My offer still stands." he said quietly.

Hinata turned around and looked directly into his sky blue eyes. "I know." she whispered. So much silently passed between them in that moment. He was the only person in the world that knew the whole story, she had confessed everything that had happened and everything that was likely to happen as a result. He had offered to help in the only way he could but Hinata maintained that it be a last resort. She didn't want to use Gaara but she had to admit it was comforting to have a backup plan.

Hinata turned away, heading back to her tent, she would need her strength for tomorrow. She glanced back at Gaara briefly

"Goodnight Gaara."

"Goodnight Hinata."

Sakura stood impatiently at Kakashi's door, Tsunade had asked her to check in on him and so on the way to work she had decided to stop in to see him. Now if he would just answer the damn door... Frustrated, she pressed the doorbell again. She knew he was in there and if he didn't get up and answer the fucking door soon she would break it down. Just as she raised her fist the pound on the door, it opened. Kakashi took one look at her and closed it again, or at least would have if Sakura hadn't stopped him.

"I don't think so, I did not just stand here waiting for you to answer the door for the last ten minutes just to have you slam it in my face, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi sighed and walked away from the door, leaving in open for Sakura to follow which she did. Inside of the apartment it looked like someone had triggered an explosive tag. It amazed her that all this mess had been created in just a few days, she remembered Kakashi being a fairly neat person.

"You really haven't left the house in the past few days, have you?" Kakashi didn't answer, he was now slumped on the couch looking like he was nursing a headache and judging by the number of empty sake bottles around the apartment it was probably horrendous. "You look like hell." she said coming further into the apartment.

Kakashi glared at Sakura, but it made him look a little pathetic. The forehead protector that normally covered his left eye was missing but he still kept that eye closed which took away most of the power behind the glare. She had never seen her sensei like this, looking so completely hung-over, it was a bit unnerving. When she was twelve she had thought that Kakashi-sensei was one of the strongest people in the world, that despite being a bit eccentric and frustrating he could do anything, although her opinion of him had matured over the years she had still thought of him as being unshakable. Seeing his pathetic remains after a night of drinking himself into a stupor was difficult for her after looking up to him for so long.

"Did Tsunade send you here to check up on me?" he was clearly annoyed.

"She's worried about you, Kakashi-sensei and it looks like she had every right to be. You aren't dealing with this very well."

"So you know then?"

"Yeah..." Sakura replied standing there awkwardly. "Shizune told me."

For a few minutes neither of them said anything. What was there to say anyway? Sakura wasn't going to tell him that it made her feel a bit uncomfortable that he had an affair with someone her age that she considered a friend, and that she felt it was wrong and now didn't know what to do with that. To be honest she felt betrayed, almost as if it were one of her parents sleeping with one of her friends and also because they had done all this behind her back. She pushed those feelings aside, she certainly wasn't looking to make this about her. Sakura sighed, she hadn't come here to be judgemental or to think about how all this made her feel, she had come here to check on Kakashi and if possible get him out of the house and that is what she was going to do.

"Come on sensei, it is time for you to get up." she said enthusiastically, reaching for his arm in order to help him up. Kakashi glanced over at her, clearly not impressed.

"I would rather not, thanks." He pulled his arm back in annoyance but Sakura wasn't taking that and forcefully yanked him to his feet. She smiled sweetly at him.

"You misunderstood Kakashi-sensei, that was not a request," her expression became stern, "it was an order. Now you are going to go take a shower and get dressed and then we are going out, do I make myself clear?"

Kakashi looked about ready to tell her to fuck off but then thought better of it and turned around heading towards to bathroom, murmuring something about ungrateful students and spending too much time around Tsunade. Sakura was almost thankful for all the practice she had dealing with unruly males, particularly from dealing with Naruto, it certainly came in handy. She found that the secret was firmness and knowing when to and when not to use it.

She figured that while she waited for Kakashi she should at least try to tidy the place up a bit. She started by going around the room and picking up all the empty sake bottles lying around, there were a lot. Once she had the majority of them in a garbage bag she started on the various items that had been knocked over or seemingly tossed around the room. She found Kakashi's forehead protector underneath the couch along with more empty sake bottles. On the floor she found a picture frame, when she picked up she was relieved to see the glass wasn't broken however when she went to place it on the table she realized the back wasn't attached properly. In it was the photograph of Kakashi when he was a kid in the standard team photo but on closer inspection she realized there was another photograph behind it. Curiosity got the better of her and she pulled the other photo out.

It was a photograph of Hinata. Sakura could tell that it was a candid photo, there was nothing posed about it. She was smiling in the photo though, a type of smile Sakura had never seen on Hinata's face in the entire time she had known her making her wonder if she ever seen the girl truly happy. It made her look beautiful. Sakura found herself wondering once again what the full story was behind Kakashi's relationship with Hinata. Shizune had told her bits and pieces but she knew there had to be a lot more to the story.

Sakura was brought suddenly from her thoughts when she heard Kakashi get out of the shower. Carefully, she placed the photo back in the frame, securing the back piece and then placing it on the table. So much about what she knew of Kakashi and Hinata's relationship didn't make much sense to her. She hoped when Hinata came back she could get her to fill in some of the blanks.

A few minutes later, Kakashi was standing before her looking a little worn out but otherwise back to normal. Sakura tossed him his forehead protector, and as he secured it around his left eye she had sudden thought that nearly made her giggle. If Hinata and Kakashi were sleeping together does that mean that she has seen him without his mask? Sakura smiled mischievously, she was going to have to corner that girl when she got back and force out some of the details. At this change in expression Kakashi gave her a quizzical look. Walking over to him, she patted him lightly on the shoulder.

"You clean up nice, Kakashi-sensei." She headed towards the door. "Now let's go get something to eat, I imagine," she said glancing around the apartment once again, "that you haven't eaten a proper meal in awhile."

Kakashi couldn't really argue with that and he was too tired to even try so he followed her out of the apartment.

Hinata stood before the gates of Konoha. She couldn't seem to make herself go any further. The gates seemed to tower ominously over her, as if welcoming her to her doom. She knew very well that she was being melodramatic but she couldn't seem to shake the panic rising up in her. Relax. Breathe. Keep breathing. Over and over she repeated the mantra in her head. This is exactly what she was suppose to avoid. As if on cue, she felt a wave on dizziness wash over her and the beginnings of a headache creeping up from the base of her skull.

Almost immediately, Gaara was at her side, steadying her with his arm on her back. She smiled weakly at him, quickly trying to hide her discomfort. The last thing she wanted was for Gaara to call over the medic. Gaara wasn't fooled but determined the medic could wait and instead his hand fell from her back, taking her delicate hand. He gave her hand a soft reassuring squeeze and once again Hinata couldn't help but wonder what she would have done without him over these past few months.

With Gaara at her side she made her first steps into Konoha.

It seemed to be a quiet afternoon in Konoha. No one was there to greet her, for which she was grateful, she would like to get settled in before she had to face everyone.

"Gaara!" It seemed she had spoken too soon.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Naruto dropped from the sky in front of them and with a big grin plastered on his face, he wrapped one arm around Gaara.

"I didn't know you were coming to Konoha."

Gaara had to let go of Hinata's hand to avoid pulling her with him as Naruto yanked him closer. Gaara did look annoyed with Naruto's antics but Hinata didn't miss the hint of a smile that graced his lip at seeing his old friend. As different as those two were, they were also very similar. Two sides of the same coin. She giggled.

That got Naruto's attention, who hadn't really noticed Hinata standing there until then. As his attention shifted to her, he grinned.

"Oh, hey Hinata."

"Hello Naruto" she said with a shy smile.

He was just about to go back to talking to Gaara when he did a double take. He let go of Gaara and took a step back, looking a little confused. He stared at Hinata, starting with her face and then farther down, back and forth a few times, making her blush a soft shade of pink. Shifting his gaze to her stomach for a final time, he cocked his head slightly to the left

"You're pregnant?"

Author's Note: As per usual, it took awhile but as least it didn't take me almost two years this time. Thanks for all the support.