Lanterns on the Roof
Summer has finally come to an end. Trees transform from their usual greens into brilliant displays of reds and golds. The summer insects have grown quiet, and their chatter is replaced with the sound of the wind.
Hinata sits on a large rock that overlooks her forest. She rests her chin against her legs as the sun rises over the trees. It bathes her in a warm, golden glow.
Naruto’s birthday is this week. The entire village is putting together a festival to celebrate the Hero of the Leaf. The village gates will be opened to people from all over the world. Hinata’s a little worried about the amount of people that she’ll have to smile and converse with, but she’s excited for Naruto. He loves the attention.
She shivers as the breeze begins to pick up and wraps her coat tighter around her. She had already told herself multiple times that this would be her last season of feeling scared. The world is changing. It’s okay for her to change too.
A rustle in the trees sends her to her feet and she raises a kunai in a defensive position. But it’s nothing but her favorite bird, the messenger hawk. Hinata holds out her arm and he lands against it. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the seeds that she has begun carrying everywhere. The bird goes to her other arm and plucks at the seeds gratefully. Hinata smiles and grabs her latest letter. This one isn’t as thick as the other package, and she knows right away it’s just a letter.
Hinata,
I’m sorry my letters have been shorter than usual. There are still a lot of enemies in the smaller villages. There’s still a lot of people that need protecting. But I’m doing my best to do right by them. To do right by the world. And to do right by you.
Sometimes, late at night, I look up at the sky and wish that I could talk to you. But then, I think about how you’re probably happy in Konoha. I don’t want to be the reason for your unhappiness or your separation from your family. If I could change anything about my life, I’d change the times that I made you unhappy. I know guilt doesn’t leave with time, and neither will this. So be happy, Hinata. That way, the next time I see you, maybe you can share some of it with me.
Naruto’s birthday celebration sounds like a boring waste of time. I mean, I’m glad he’s getting the recognition. But that’s a lot of people. Just make sure you're safe. Maybe ask that prissy cousin of yours to stick by your side. Then again, he’ll probably be too focused on his crazy-genius girlfriend.
I don’t think I have a favorite animal. I’ve come to enjoy the hawk a lot since whenever I see them, I know that I’ll hear from you. I also like snakes just because I understand them so well. Your certain affinity for bears is amusing, yet it makes sense. Bears are fierce protectors, just like you. What flower is your favorite? Wow. That’s not something I ever thought I’d ask anyone. But still, I await your answer.
Tell Naruto Happy Birthday from me.
Sasuke
—------------------------------------—————————
Hinata stands in front of her mirror with a frown. She has done her hair in a fancy way where it’s braided in multiple different sections that all sit high in a bun on the top of her head. She wears a light purple kimono with dark blue trim and the Hyuga flame embroidered in silver on her back. Naruto’s celebration is in full swing and the usual streets of Konoha have already been filled with people from all over.
“Hinata! You look hot!” Sakura says from Hinata’s doorway. Hinata turns to her friend with a smile. Sakura’s long hair is pinned back from her face, and she wears a green kimono that perfectly brings out the color of her eyes. It has embroidered pink flowers all over it and Sakura has adorned more gold jewelry to match her signature necklace.
“You both look beautiful,” Neji says with a smile. He delicately picks up Sakura’s hand and plants a gentle kiss on the top of it. Sakura blushes and tucks a fallen piece of hair behind her ear. “Hanabi’s already out with some of her friends, so it looks like it’ll just be us for now.” He tells Sakura and Hinata.
The three depart the Hyuga compound and make for the main streets. Hinata admires the paper lanterns and lights that twinkle from all the rooftops. She smiles and gives friendly nods to every familiar face.
“Hinata-chan!” Kiba cries as he runs out to greet her. Akamaru is at his heels. Neji takes one look at Kiba and frowns. Sakura gives him a nudge and a silent command to be nice.
“Kiba-kun.” Hinata says with a bow.
“Well…I was wondering if I could be the one to escort you to the festival.” Kiba says as he rubs the back of his neck nervously. Hinata stares at him in surprise. Asking to be an escort is practically the same as asking her on a date. Kiba is asking her on a date?
“Hinata already has an escort,” Neji says as he steps up and places a hand on his cousin’s shoulder.
“Relax, Neji,” Sakura says as she grabs Neji’s free hand. She thinks it’d be good for Hinata to have someone on her arm for the night. It’d get all the men from adjacent villages to stop gawking at her, that’s for sure.
“I don’t need an escort, Kiba. But you’re welcome to join us.” Hinata tells him. His cheeks grow red, and he nods. It wasn’t exactly the response he wanted, but at least it wasn’t a dismissal.
Kiba immediately falls in step next to Hinata. “You look great!” He tells her with a grin. Neji watches him with an eyebrow raised.
“I’m smoother than him, right?” He whispers. Sakura looks at him and gives an exaggerated nod. Now that she and Neji have been together for over a year, he is smooth. But she recalls their time before a relationship when Neji couldn’t even touch her hand without going red in the face.
Their chunin exam suddenly begins to replay in her head. The memory of it used to haunt her. The enemies that almost killed her. But now, she just thinks of the constant presence of Neji and Lee. She was so young, but even then, she knew she was in love with her stoic teammate.
Eventually, they make it to the main square of town. Naruto looks elegant in his typical orange and black and he greets everyone with his kind smile and a big hug. Ino stands next to him, her long blond hair pulled together in an elegant braid and her purple kimono donning the mark of the Yamanaka.
“Hinata!” Naruto exclaims as soon as he sees her. He pulls her towards him in a tight hug. “Look how many people are here! I had no idea it’d be this busy!” Naruto shouts over all the noise and the music.
“Of course, it’d be busy, Naruto-kun. They’re all here to celebrate you.” She says as she squeezes his hand. Somebody bumps into Hinata’s shoulder, and by the time she tries to look back at Naruto, he’s gone. She didn’t expect to spend the entire night with him, but she was hoping to at least have a conversation with her best friend. But then again, what she said earlier remains true. These people are all here to see him.
Hinata’s eyes scan for Sakura and Neji, but it appears she lost them in her scuffle as well. Kiba tries to get to her, but he quickly gets sucked away by a couple of girls from the Sand who begin to admire Akamaru. Hinata continues to be bumped into by strangers and eventually, she heaves an anxious breath. Hinata must get out of this crowd. She pushes her way out of the main square and takes an alley away from all the noise.
Hinata’s feet wander in and out of the crowds until finally, she takes a breath of fresh air, away from the people. The music behind her is a dull throb and squeezes her hands, trying to cease their shaking. She wants to laugh at herself. Her entire village is having fun. And she’s stuck fearing the sounds.
Unknowingly, Hinata’s feet begin to march her forward. Her robe drags on the ground as she makes her way into the Leaf’s cemetery. She stops in front of a familiar headstone. In a couple of days, she will have been without a father for two years.
“Why are you still haunting me?” She whispers as she stares at his engraved name. “What can I do to make you go away? I’m taking care of the clan. Better than you ever did. What else do you need from me?”
In Sasuke’s letter, he wrote that he's glad that she’s home because it must make her happy. And she is sometimes. The mornings when she can wake up and spend the day with Hanabi, or the days where Kakashi allows her to linger in his office. In the afternoons she gets to demonstrate techniques at the academy. The mornings where she, Sakura, and Neji all drink tea together. But most of the time, she’s just sad. And she doesn’t know why. Before the war, her life was full of dread and anxiety. She thought it’d all change. But it didn’t. She’s nostalgic for a life she never enjoyed.
Tears begin to leak into Hinata’s vision, and she takes a deep breath to calm herself. She’s sick of crying. She’s sick of feeling sorry for herself. She’s alive! Her friends are alive! Isn’t that all that matters?
“Hinata, are you okay?” A familiar voice calls. Hinata turns to see Kakashi wearing his white robe and the Hokage hat. Despite her downtrodden mood, she still lets out a slight laugh.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so formal, Kakashi Sensei,” Hinata says as she wiggles her eyebrows.
“Yeah, don’t get used to it. This is all for show anyway.” He responds as he buries his hands in his pockets.
“What’s for show?” Hinata asks. “The party? Or the robes?”
“Both of them. The party is just so I can get the other villages off my back about being able to meet the Hero of the Leaf. And Shikamaru said I’d have to wear the robes.”
“Is the party too loud for you too?” She asks her sensei. He snorts.
“I don’t think either of us are the party type. But no. I just came out here to visit some old friends. I see you’re doing the same.” Kakashi gestures to Hiashi’s grave.
“I didn’t even mean to come here. It was an accident.” Hinata says with a frown.
“No, it wasn’t,” Kakashi tells her honestly. “I knew your father. Not as well as you did obviously, but I worked with him on several occasions. He was a formidable shinobi and a good leader.” He pauses. “But you’re better, Hinata. You’re better on both fronts. He would be extremely proud of you.”
Hinata’s throat grows warm, and she reaches her hand forward to clutch her sensei’s. He gives her a squeeze in return.
“Whoever you’re here to see…they’re proud of you too. You’re the most selfless person I’ve ever known, Sensei.” Hinata tells him. He smiles under his mask.
“Are you feeling any better? Want to get back to Naruto’s super important and extremely diplomatic birthday bash?” Kakashi says teasingly.
Hinata wants to ask Kakashi to not leave her side. But she feels that it would be childish to ask such a thing. So instead, she breathes a sigh and nods. Kakashi begins to walk back towards the noise.
“Kakashi Sensei?” Hinata clears her throat and debates on how she’ll ask the question. “Do you think…do you think that Sasuke will be back anytime soon?” She stares at the ground after she asks. Hinata knows she shouldn't be embarrassed. Sasuke is her friend. It’s okay that she wants to see him. But still, her cheeks grow slightly rosy.
“Hm? Last I knew, he was in Suna. He completed the mission that I gave him forever ago. Now, he’s just doing his own thing.” Kakashi responds. Hinata can’t help but feel disappointed. She knows that Sasuke has always been a loner. It’s who he is and who he wants to be. But still, she wishes she could see him. Kakashi smiles and gives her shoulder a gentle shove. “Don’t worry, he’ll be back eventually.”
“I’m not worried!” Hinata exclaims. She gives her father’s headstone one last glance before following Kakashi.
“Hinata!” Neji cries. “Where were you?” He quickly bows to Kakashi before turning his attention back to his cousin.
“I…took a walk. But don’t worry. Kakashi Sensei found me.” She says with a glance at her Hokage. Kakashi gives her a wink before he’s brisked away by the higher-ups of the Leaf.
Neji sighs in relief as he takes in his cousin. He didn’t think anything bad would’ve happened to her. Hinata can take care of herself just fine. But he thought maybe she was having another anxiety attack.
“Would you like to go home, Hinata-chan?” He asks as he searches her eyes for any sign that she’s uncomfortable.
“I just want to stay out of the big crowd. Where’s Sakura and Kiba?” Hinata asks as she peers over Neji’s shoulder.
“Most of us gathered in a restaurant away from the crowd. Come, Hinata. You’ll like it there.” Neji offers his arm, and she accepts it gratefully.
The two eventually make it to a familiar sushi restaurant and Hinata sits between Kiba and Sai. Naruto and Ino are still out in the crowd, but everyone else seems to be present. Even the Sand Siblings are at the table and Lee tells Gaara an intense story. Temari leans her head on Shikamaru’s shoulder and Kankuro yells at Choji for stealing his food.
“I’m sorry I lost you, Hinata. Those girls just swooped in on me like buzzards.” Kiba says. Akamaru pops his head between the two and Hinata laughs.
“I think they were more interested in your dog than they were in you.” She teases as she gives Akamaru’s ear a scratch.
“Still. I wanted to stick by your side tonight. And I failed.” Kiba hangs his head in shame and Hinata frowns. She doesn’t understand why he’s being so hard on himself.
“Don’t trouble yourself, Kiba. I’m okay.” She reassures. Hinata bites into her sushi and listens to everyone talk around her.
Sai and Tenten seem to have grown very close. Hinata watches them playfully fight over a piece of ginger. Everyone’s either paired up or involved in their own conversations. Hinata rests her chin against her hand as her eyes grow heavy. She loves her friends more than anything. But she’s grateful that they all have their conversations to attend to. Hinata relishes in her silence, wishing she had someone to share it with.
——————————————————————-
Hinata stares at the assembly of Hyuga around her. Team Guy left a day ago to escort Gaara back to the Leaf, so she’s stuck facing the council alone. At least she convinced Hanabi to join her.
“Hinata-sama, in two months, you’ll be 19. Neji-sama is already spoken for, and we all approve of the match. But Sakura Haruno is not of noble blood. It’ll be up to you to further our clan’s powerful bloodline.” The oldest one says. His creamy eyes have grown wrinkled, and his hair sits in a loose bun on the top of his head.
“I think we’re a little past having arranged marriages. Hinata should be able to marry whoever she wants, whenever she wants.” Hanabi retorts.
The older Hyuga is about to bite back at her, but Tokuma raises his hand to silence him. “I agree with young Hanabi-sama. Hinata-sama has already proven to be a wise leader. If she chooses to be married, our bloodline will remain powerful, no matter what.”
“I don’t think my marriage should even be an object of discussion. If I ever wed anybody, it will be my own choice. Nobody at this table will have a say in who it is. That may have been the way things were then, but this is how they will be now.” Hinata now turns her direct attention onto the clan elder. “Don’t ever question Sakura Haruno in my presence again. She may not be of noble blood, but she’s stronger than anyone at this table. Me included. She’s an incredible asset to our clan, and she’s already proved that.”
The clan elder dips his head in response. Hinata moves her glare to anyone else who may be hesitant, but the others look at her with pride.
“The same goes for Hanabi and any of you. No more arranged marriages.” She commands.
“But our bloodline–‘’
“If our bloodline weakens from being with who we want, maybe it was never meant to be powerful in the first place,” Hinata states.
Finally, nobody objects. Hinata heaves a sigh. She wishes Neji were here.
“Are there any other matters to discuss?” Hinata asks. When nobody speaks, she dismisses the rest of the Hyuga.
“You’re so cool, Hina!” Hanabi exclaims “Not even Father would have commanded the room like that.”
Hinata heaves a shaky laugh. “Yeah right. If Father was here, he would’ve already had someone for me to marry lined up.” She stares at their antique meeting table as she considers her own words. As a kid, she always thought she’d marry Naruto. She used to dream about a grand wedding and Naruto telling her that he loved her. But now, that dream seems so foolish and almost makes her nauseous.
Who would her father have paired her with? Someone from the Leaf? She doesn’t even want to think about it.
“Why don’t you love Naruto anymore?” Hanabi asks, almost as if she read Hinata’s thoughts.
“I do love him, Hanabi. Just not in that way.” She shrugs her shoulders. “When I was younger…I think I just wanted someone to notice me. Not Heiress Hinata Hyuga. Not the Hinata who couldn’t speak a full sentence. Me. Naruto was the first one to do that. I always admired him for that. And then as we grew older…that admiration turned into a deep love to protect someone precious to me.”
Hanabi leans her hands against her chin with a wrinkled nose. “So, who do you love? It must be someone, right?” She asks mischievously. “Is it that dog boy?”
Hinata laughs at the thought of Kiba. “No, it’s not the dog boy.” She says, matching her sister’s tone. “I think right now, I’m still focusing on loving myself.” Sometimes, Hinata thinks the war damaged her beyond repair. Sometimes, she thinks that nobody will ever be capable of loving her shattered mind. But Hanabi doesn’t need to hear about Hinata’s fears. “Plus, I don’t need a boy. I have you.” She says as she grabs her sister in a hug. Hanabi giggles and rushes away from the table.
Hinata stands up and frowns at her silly formal kimono. Maybe she can change that clan rule too. Night has fallen onto Konoha, and the silver moon streams through the windows. Hinata’s mind is immediately drawn to the thought of Sasuke. Is he looking at the sky too? Hinata sits at her desk and grabs a fresh stationary paper.
Sasuke,
I just got done with another clan meeting. Neji wasn’t there, so I had to shut down the idiotic attempts to marry me off on my own. Now that I’m technically a Clan Head, I understand that I have a duty to my family and my people. But sometimes, I’mselfish about my father’s death. I miss him. I wish he was alive. But for more reasons than one. And I hate myself for it.
Naruto’s birthday was okay. I didn’t get to see him a lot, but he wasn’t alone. Luckily he had Ino. I didn’t enjoy the festivities for too long. You know that sometimes the noise gets a little too loud for me. Unfortunately, that’s what happened again. But Kakashi Sensei helped the noise go away and I was able to spend the rest of the night with friends.
I made Neji-kun some pumpkin muffins the other day. Obviously, he didn’t like them. But once I told him that you were the one that sent me the seeds, he ate every last one. Sakura and I laughed for the entire morning listening to him groan about his stomachache.
I don’t think I have a favorite flower. They’re all so lovely. If I had to choose, my favorite ones would be the wildflowers that grow on the outskirts of the village. Annual and Perennial flowers are beautiful, but there’s something special about a flower growing based on its own will to live. Kakashi Sensei said you’re done with your mission. So that leads me to my question. When are you coming home, Sasuke? I know that may be a hard one to answer, so you can skip it if you’d like.
Love, Hinata
Hinata summons the hawk and quickly sends her letter out in the open night. She watches it fly away with a strange wish that she could somehow follow.