The Agreement

The Agreement

Chapter 16: Past Confession

Sasuke watched rather mutedly as Naruto left for his dinner with Sakura. It felt strange watching him leave the house. It felt like Naruto was leaving him for good, and a part of Sasuke wanted to reach out and tell Naruto not to leave. But he knew he was being foolish, and so he just waved goodbye to his friend instead.

"Naruto has hardly left here since the birth of the quads," Sasuke noted. Hinata merely nodded her agreement. She also seemed rather upset with his departure. Naruto had practically lived there with them for the better part of a month, and to have him return to Sakura made Sasuke feel hollow. He wondered if Hinata felt the same way. Her white-eyed gazed turned to Sasuke and she finally spoke.

"Whisker marks created with dye?" Hinata asked, her voice unusually skeptical. Sasuke could feel a slight blush creep into his cheeks. He had almost forgotten about the lame excuse he had come up with in order to explain to Sakura about the quads’ whisker marks.

"It was what came to my mind on the spot," he said defensively. Hinata just gazed at him a little longer trying to look somewhat supportive. Sasuke spoke faster, trying to defend himself. "It's not that far fetched. Think of all the clans around here that use face painting and dyes. Kiba, your own teammate, uses them. There are all sorts of different types and colors too! What's wrong with whisker-"

"Sasuke!" Hinata said suddenly interrupting Sasuke. Her face was lit up. "That's it!" Sasuke stared at her confused. "Don't you see? It's perfect! We can use dye for the children's cheeks to cover up the whisker marks. We'll get a dye color that will match their skin tone. Normal make-up would wash off, but the ninja dyes and face paints won't!"

"Hinata, you're right," Sasuke said rather dazed. She smiled at him. Sasuke idly wondered how his lame excuse had turned into a brilliant solution. Well, it wasn't really his idea. He gave Hinata a quick, grateful hug.

Sasuke sighed before quickly going upstairs. He grabbed some money from his dresser. He headed back downstairs and headed immediately to the door, feeling Hinata's questioning gaze upon him. He turned toward her and smirked.

"I’m heading out immediately to get the dye. I'm just dying to go shopping," Sasuke said sarcastically.

"No offense, but I hope the quads pick up Naruto's sense of humor and not yours," Hinata said, and then quickly covered her mouth. She looked shocked that she had actually said what she had. Sasuke was too shocked to say anything back. He just gave a quick wave before turning and leaving the house.

Sasuke shook his head as he walked in town toward a store that he hoped would sell face dye. First lame excuses, then lame jokes? Forget the lame part, since when did he even tell jokes? What in the world was going on with him? If Hinata of all people had told him his sense of humor was bad, then he knew it had to be.

As much as he loved being a father, perhaps he needed some alone time. He was starting to question his sanity.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Sasuke was once again questioning his sanity as he sat in a little dango shop, the bag with his children's face dye propped on the table. It had cost a small fortune for the dye, but he had paid extra for the safest dye for the quads. But buying face dye hadn’t been what had made him question his sanity.

He sipped his green tea slowly. He was already on his fourth cup, and his stomach was starting to feel rather full. Still, he didn't want to get kicked out of the shop, especially from the seat he had because from it he could see perfectly across the street to Ichiraku ramen. It was an excellent view of where Naruto and Sakura sat eating dinner together.

Perhaps he was going a little overboard with Naruto. Sitting in a dango shop, ordering tea to keep his seat with his beautiful view of Naruto in order to just look at him was a bit over the top. After all, spying on someone for personal reasons did sort of fit into the scary stalker category. But Sasuke couldn’t help but enjoy watching Naruto.

It wasn't as though Sasuke couldn't look at Naruto all the time when Naruto was over at his house; it was just that he couldn't do it so openly and unabashedly without Naruto's knowledge. Since Naruto didn't know he was looking at him now, Sasuke was able to gaze at him as longingly and lovingly as he wanted.

Finally sipping the last of his fourth cup of tea, Sasuke paid his bill. He'd been half tempted to just order the shop’s complimentary green tea as that was always free, but he wasn't that much of a prude. Besides, he had a more expensive taste anyway and preferred a specific brand. Sasuke picked up his bag off of the table and walked out of the shop.

As he headed home, new thoughts began to plague him that made him pick up his pace slightly. Now that Naruto was out of his sight his mind began to worry about his other, newer obsession: the quads. Sasuke began to worry. Would they miss him? Would they even notice that he had been gone? Would they be okay without him?

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke stopped and turned, slightly surprised when he recognized the owner of the voice who had called him.

"Sakura," Sasuke greeted from a distance, spotting her pink hair among the crowd. Sakura weaved in and out of the few people in between the two of them before stopping before him.

"I'm glad I caught you without Naruto or Hinata nearby," Sakura said, her voice a little breathless. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, not liking the sound of that.

"I thought you were with Naruto at dinner," Sasuke accused. Sakura nodded.

"I told him I saw a friend and that I would be right back. I saw you with your bag from the dye store," Sakura said, pointing to the bag with its bright label stating it was from “Ninja’s Scrolls, Weapons, Dyes, and Misc.”, "and decided we needed to talk sooner rather than later."

"Why didn’t you tell Naruto that you were coming to see me specifically, and not just that you saw someone?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"I didn’t want him to know that we had spoken. Besides, he still has another bowl of ramen coming, so he shouldn't interrupt us for a few minutes. Still, he eats fast, so we don't have much time to talk," Sakura explained. Warning bells were going off inside of Sasuke's brain. Sakura was being secretive from Naruto, and he didn't like it.

"I don't like the sound of this. This seems too secretive," Sasuke clipped. Sakura sighed.

"It's about Hinata and Naruto. You said earlier than you were upset that Neji thought that the quads were Naruto's, but have you looked at the facts Sasuke? Doesn’t it seem strange that the quads look like Naruto?" Sakura asked quietly. Sasuke's anger flared, and he took a menacing step toward Sakura, his face livid.

"The quadruplets are mine. Don't make me repeat myself," Sasuke threatened, practically snarling. Sakura swallowed but stood her ground.

"Perhaps they are yours. Even so, I still think that Naruto and Hinata are having an affair. He was so happy when she was pregnant, as though he were hoping for it, as though he went to her because she could have children," she said. Before Sasuke could yell at Sakura for such a stupid notion she pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Sasuke. "Maybe this will make you believe me," Sakura said sadly.

His anger evaporated. It was quickly replaced with confusion. Sasuke gently unfolded the piece of paper. It was clear by the softness of the creases and the ease at which the paper unfolded that it had been read many times. Its color was faded slightly with age, and the ink on the paper had also dulled over time. There were wrinkles all over its surface as though it had been wrinkled up into a ball at one point and time before being smoothed out again.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he read through the letter. It wasn't until his third time through that he was able to actually register what was obviously a letter from Naruto to Hinata.


Dearest Hinata,

I don't even know if you know who I am or not, but I hope you do. I mean, well obviously you know who I am, but I don't know if you know who I am. I am a failure sometimes, but you don't seem to see that. It makes me feel good to know that someone can see my abilities, even if you don't seem to see how much of a loser I can be.

This was definitely Naruto. It would be like him to ramble in a letter like this, but it was very rare for Sasuke to hear Naruto put himself down like that. Very rare. It was odd that Naruto would do so in a letter to Hinata, Sasuke mused to himself.

You're not like other girls. You don't participate in stupid gossip. You're very kind. I still remember after my fight with Kiba during the Chuunin exam how you gave me that medical salve stuff to heal me, even though I wasn't on your team!

Sasuke frowned. He hadn't known that Hinata had given Naruto something during the Chuunin exams. Of course, he had been taken away from the match in order to have the cursed seal subdued.

You're brave too. You stood up to Neji when it seemed like you were going to lose and kept going. I loved how you quoted my words! Made me feel good to know that someone had paid attention to me. I wasn't even trying to get your attention and I had. It made me feel worth something. You've always made me feel like I was worth something. Even when I didn't believe in my own abilities, you believed in me. I felt much more confident after talking with you before my own match with Neji. Other people would have laughed at me if I had told them how insecure I was. Not you. You made me believe in myself.

Sasuke's frowned deepened. He didn't know that Naruto had doubted his own capabilities before his Chuunin match against Neji. Then again, he hadn't been around so it wasn't as though Naruto could have told him. Still, he had a feeling that Naruto wouldn't have confided in him anyway. Sasuke continued reading the letter. It talked about various missions that Naruto had gone on with Hinata during Sasuke's absence, and Naruto continued to praise her about her bravery and her abilities throughout the letter.

When Sasuke re-read the last paragraph, a few things finally clicked in his brain.

I'm so glad you're you Hinata. You're so sweet and kind. You'd never ever hit me like Sakura-chan does. She hits me for the stupidest things too. It makes me feel like I'm an idiot. I hate that. (Sasuke could tell that Sakura would not like that part, and he was rather gleeful that Naruto had actually written the words.) I can't wait to return home to Konoha, and I can't wait to see you again.

Yours Truly,
Uzumaki Naruto

Sasuke folded the letter back up, quite a few things whirling around in his head. Sakura clearly wanted to discuss the letter, and he decided he would start with a topic that had bothered him for some time now.

"If you know that Naruto doesn't like that you hit him, why do you still do so?" Sasuke asked. Sakura bristled, clearly not expecting Sasuke's first reaction to the letter to be to that comment.

"That's not the point. Besides, I just found this a few days ago, and I don't hit him to belittle him. It's just that he should know better," Sakura said defensively. Somehow Sasuke doubted that Sakura saw it from Naruto's point of view, but he decided that Sakura was too upset about the actual letter to discuss that she shouldn't hit Naruto. He would press her about that again when they had talked about what Naruto had written.

"I don't know why you're so upset about this," Sasuke said nonchalantly.

"You don't understand why I'm so upset? Sasuke, that letter confesses that he loves Hinata!" Sakura said miserably. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"First of all, the word love is never mentioned in this letter. Second of all, he never even says that he likes her as more than a friend. He's clearly grateful for her encouraging words and her support. People used to rarely encourage him. Of course he was grateful. Lastly, he wrote this letter when he wasn't even in Konoha. Judging by the age and tone of this letter, he was traveling with Jiraiya when he wrote it. Surely he was lonely and missing his friends in Konoha. This is several years old, and I doubt that you can take this as a confession of his feelings," Sasuke said logically. He turned the letter over several times, looking at it. "Where did you get this?" Sasuke asked curiously.

Sakura flushed slightly.

"I was doing some cleaning and I found it in an old backpack of his. It must have been the backpack he used when he traveled with Jiraiya," Sakura noted, slightly embarrassed, as though she just realized that the letter wasn’t recent. "There were several letters in the backpack to various people. I understood why he wrote letters to most of the others but why Hinata? I understand why he would write to Iruka-sensei, Tsunade-sama, Kakashi-sensei, Konohamaru, you and me but-"

"There was one addressed to me as well?" Sasuke asked his curiosity peaked.

"Yes, but that makes sense. We’re his friends. Even his letter to me wasn't as flattering as his letter to Hinata," Sakura said miserably.

"That doesn't mean anything," Sasuke said rather coolly. "Naruto is allowed to have other friends besides us. And did you even ask Naruto about this?" Sasuke wondered, waving the letter around for emphasis.

"No. I-"

"You should. I'm sure he would have an explanation. I can't believe you would jump to conclusions about Naruto like this," Sasuke said angrily. He turned away from Sakura, feeling beyond annoyed. He quickly pocketed the letter and began to return home.

"Wait a minute!" Sakura said slightly upset that Sasuke had walked away from her.

"Naruto is probably done his ramen by now. I would go to him if I were you and explain your doubts," Sasuke snapped before walking faster away from Sakura. Sasuke didn't even bother to see if Sakura was still following him as he made sure to pick up his pace and continued on his way home.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Despite what Sasuke had told Sakura, to him, the letter was a confession of feelings that Naruto had held for Hinata. Naruto might not have come out right and said it, but he could tell through this letter that Naruto had some affectionate feelings for Hinata. Whether Naruto even knew he had these feelings, Sasuke wasn’t sure. Still, the letter had been from a few years ago. Sasuke hadn’t paid attention to who Naruto did or didn’t like back then.

Sasuke took his time on his way back home, not sure how to feel. On the one hand, he wouldn't deny feeling jealous that Naruto had thought of Hinata in a more than platonic way, but on the other hand, he was at least pleased to know that Naruto thought so highly of her. Sasuke was glad that he had chosen Hinata as the biological mother, and even more pleased that Hinata had accepted. From a calculating viewpoint, Naruto had named out certain characteristics from Hinata that he seemed pleased she possessed, good characteristics that Sasuke hoped Tenpi would also possess. Hopefully the other quads would also glean these characteristics as Hinata raised them.

From a more emotional standpoint, Sasuke was glad that Naruto would be pleased to know that out of all the women to be his children's mother, Hinata had bore him his children. Sasuke was sure that Naruto would have picked Hinata himself – if Sakura were out of the picture.

Feeling jealousy and pleasure simultaneously was a strange mixture. However, he was also extremely curious as well. Sakura had said that Naruto had written a letter to him. He had never gotten the letter if there was one; that was for sure. Naruto had probably never meant to give the letters to their recipients. He probably just wrote them as a way to get rid of some of his loneliness while training away from Konoha.

Sasuke could understand that Naruto would probably do various things to rid himself of loneliness, but he wondered what Naruto had written to him about. He also wondered what Naruto had written in the letter for Sakura. She had said that the letter Naruto had written to her was not as flattering as the one he wrote to Hinata. However, as far as Sasuke knew, Naruto had a tendency to offend Sakura quite easily when he was attempting to flatter her, so he wasn't sure how serious he should take Sakura's comment. What Naruto saw as a compliment versus what Sakura saw a compliment were two different things.

Still, what was in the letter that Naruto had written to Sasuke? Perhaps he ought to invite himself over to Naruto's at some point and see if he could coerce Naruto into letting him read the letter.

"Did everything go well? You were gone a while," Hinata said concerned as Sasuke walked through the door. She held Kitsu in her arms, rocking him back and forth gently. Sasuke could see tear streaks on his son's face, but he wasn’t crying at the moment. Sasuke’s mind refocused from Naruto to Kitsu.

"I'll tell you in a minute. First, what happened to make Kitsu cry?" Sasuke asked concerned. Hinata pressed her lips together as though trying not to laugh. Sasuke wondered why Kitsu crying would be so funny, but then Hinata explained.

"Seiryuu and Kitsu were lying next to each other as they looked at one of the mobiles in the playpen. Seiryuu got a bit too excited with watching it above her head. She squealed excitedly, and then began to squirm around happily. She got so excited that she began waving her arms up and down. She accidentally bopped Kitsu in the jaw with her itty-bitty fist," Hinata explained. Sasuke shook his head.

Clearly, as an infant, that had been an accident, but he would make sure that his daughter knew better than to go around hitting people for silly things. She'd only be allowed to hit her brothers when they sparred; he didn’t want her to turn out like Sakura.

"Let me hold Kitsu. In the meantime, I want you to read something," Sasuke said as he took out the letter from his pocket, idly wondering if Sakura had wanted it back before pushing the thought aside. He grabbed Kitsu out of Hinata's grasp while she took the letter from his hand.

She read the letter, her eyes widening upon reading it. After she finished reading the letter, Sasuke told Hinata what had happened with Sakura.

"This was written some time ago though," Hinata said thoughtfully. Even so, Hinata smiled widely as she re-read the letter. Sasuke sighed, having a hard time feeling jealous as he watched Hinata's genuine smile. People rarely gave her compliments, and he knew he owed her a lot. She had agreed with his crazy plan after all. He also knew that if Naruto had chosen Hinata instead of Sakura, Sasuke knew he wouldn't have been able to try and take Naruto from her. Hinata would take care of Naruto. Sakura was already proving that she didn’t deserve Naruto if she was questioning things behind his back.

"Sakura clearly feels threatened," Sasuke mused as he gently rubbed circles on Kitsu's back. Somehow, the idea that Sakura doubted whether or not Naruto cared for her made him wonder if there was more going on that he didn't realize.


Next Chapter: Changing Relationships


Let me know what you thought of this chapter. :) ~ Jelp