Another boring month went by and mail day came by once again. Sasuke moodily went through his ever growing pile of letters. His fans just didn't get the hint. Instead of stop writing to him, seeing as how he never replied to any of them, it seemed that they got more encouraged by his indifference.
He was in the process of shoving all the letters into the garbage bag after fishing out Naruto's letter when he felt his blood run cold. He heard Gaara comment next to him, "This Hyuga chick again?"
Sasuke nonchalantly offered his garbage bag to Gaara and to his relief the letter was thrown away unopened. Later, before discarding the bag into the bonfire, Sasuke discreetly pulled out the letter. Once in the safety of his tent he tore open the envelope and soon a small smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Yearning to share his thoughts with someone else and receive normal letters from someone other than Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke had actually replied to Hinata's letter. Not wanting to scare her off by making her think he was some weirdo he had signed his letter using Gaara's name, after all it was he to whom she had written. The apprehension of her having found out that it hadn't been Gaara who had replied to her letter vanished as soon as he read her response to the few lines he had written.
Thus their routine of writing letters back and forth started. Weeks started to become shorter and life less dull since now he had something to look forward to every month.
Sasuke kept all of Hinata's letters hidden in a small box and recurred to them often when he felt bored or frustrated. He felt rather stupid sometimes clinging onto some words sprawled on a piece of paper by someone he had never seen in his life and who thought he was somebody else. But as time went by and the letters went from the most trivial things to more intimate and profound matters of their lives he was sure that he was getting to know the real Hyuga Hinata. Who cared if he didn't know what she looked like? Who cared if she addressed her letters to Gaara Sabaku and not Sasuke Uchiha? She was getting to know the real Sasuke as well, because even if he didn't sign each letter with his name he did pour his heart and soul into each letter he wrote. Sasuke wasn't one to write really long letters but he knew that Hinata understood exactly what he was trying to say even if he used only a couple of words.
Every month Sasuke would make sure he was there to help Shikamaru sort the mail before he delivered it. In truth he just wanted to make sure he snatched Hinata's letter before it reached Gaara's hands. The first couple of times that Sasuke wordlessly started sorting the mail with him he shot Sasuke surprised looks, but Shikamaru wasn't one to refuse help, especially when it was for free. He also wasn't one to ponder much on other people's reasons to behave the way they did, especially when it came to the first lieutenant's rather strange behavior. Life was too troublesome as it was to be worried about other people's actions.
x·o·x·o·x·o·x·o
The sun was just starting to peek out of the mountains and a grayish mist weaved its way through the camp when Sasuke left his tent. He didn't have to go on patrol until noon nor had he any other military duties, but after several months of the same routine his body woke up automatically. Every first Tuesday of the month he would wake up at the crack of dawn to help Shikamaru sort the mail. With a scowl he made his way to the main hall to get a cup of black coffee. He knew the cooks were up already working on making breakfast. He was in an exceptionally bad mood this morning. It had been two months since he had last heard from Hinata. He figured that she had gotten tired of writing to him or she had found out that it wasn't Gaara who had been replying to her letters. After all, Gaara had been reassigned almost three months ago to a village in Wind Country not too far from Konoha.
Sasuke already had a foot on the threshold of the hall when he muttered under his breath, "last time." Then he turned around and went to the "mail room," otherwise known as Shikamaru's tent.
Disappointment clawed at Sasuke's heart when he picked up the last letter he had to sort. The familiar calligraphy on the envelope told him it was Hinata's and his heart soared. He swiftly hid the letter in his jacket before going back to his own tent. Once there he took out the letter and for a moment fear took a hold of him. The sender's address was different this time. On her last letter Hinata had told Sasuke that since her father considered her incompetent to run the family inn he had decided to name Hinata's younger sister as heir of the family business. The Hyuga Inn was the oldest and most prestigious resort in all of Fire Country, the favorite of the royalty and the aristocracy. Since disowning the eldest daughter would be cause of scandal, Hinata's father wanted her to marry some politician of the region to justify why the younger daughter was to be the head of the resort.
He feared that her father had forced Hinata to marry this man and thus the reason why she hadn't written for the past two months. Sasuke was afraid that this was Hinata's letter of good bye telling him that she could no longer write to him because it wasn't proper for a good wife to be corresponding with another man. But to his greatest relief, that wasn't the case.
Hinata apologized for not writing in so long but running away from home and finding a place to live had taken most of her time. Not being one to complain, Hinata spared Sasuke the details of her trials and tribulations and instead focused on more positive things such as the fact that she was now happily working at a tea house in Akibashi, a small village north of Konoha and contemplating the possibility of pursuing her dream of becoming a nurse.
Sasuke laid back on his bed holding Hinata's letter against his chest wishing that it was Hinata he was holding and not a piece of paper. Even if she hadn't complained much Sasuke knew this had been a very painful ordeal for her. He could imagine just how hard it must have been for Hinata to have been thrown into the world like that after living a particularly sheltered life. He knew perfectly well what it was to be thrown out into the streets with nothing but the clothes on his back and by his own relatives no less. He closed his eyes and for the first time he wished for something more than a letter. He wanted someone to spend the rest of his life with.
"I'm screwed," he whispered covering his eyes with his right arm. As impossible and ridiculous as it sounded, he had fallen for someone who he had never even seen in his life.
Another boring month went by and mail day came by once again. Sasuke moodily went through his ever growing pile of letters. His fans just didn't get the hint. Instead of stop writing to him, seeing as how he never replied to any of them, it seemed that they got more encouraged by his indifference.
He was in the process of shoving all the letters into the garbage bag after fishing out Naruto's letter when he felt his blood run cold. He heard Gaara comment next to him, "This Hyuga chick again?"
Sasuke nonchalantly offered his garbage bag to Gaara and to his relief the letter was thrown away unopened. Later, before discarding the bag into the bonfire, Sasuke discreetly pulled out the letter. Once in the safety of his tent he tore open the envelope and soon a small smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Yearning to share his thoughts with someone else and receive normal letters from someone other than Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke had actually replied to Hinata's letter. Not wanting to scare her off by making her think he was some weirdo he had signed his letter using Gaara's name, after all it was he to whom she had written. The apprehension of her having found out that it hadn't been Gaara who had replied to her letter vanished as soon as he read her response to the few lines he had written.
Thus their routine of writing letters back and forth started. Weeks started to become shorter and life less dull since now he had something to look forward to every month.
Sasuke kept all of Hinata's letters hidden in a small box and recurred to them often when he felt bored or frustrated. He felt rather stupid sometimes clinging onto some words sprawled on a piece of paper by someone he had never seen in his life and who thought he was somebody else. But as time went by and the letters went from the most trivial things to more intimate and profound matters of their lives he was sure that he was getting to know the real Hyuga Hinata. Who cared if he didn't know what she looked like? Who cared if she addressed her letters to Gaara Sabaku and not Sasuke Uchiha? She was getting to know the real Sasuke as well, because even if he didn't sign each letter with his name he did pour his heart and soul into each letter he wrote. Sasuke wasn't one to write really long letters but he knew that Hinata understood exactly what he was trying to say even if he used only a couple of words.
Every month Sasuke would make sure he was there to help Shikamaru sort the mail before he delivered it. In truth he just wanted to make sure he snatched Hinata's letter before it reached Gaara's hands. The first couple of times that Sasuke wordlessly started sorting the mail with him he shot Sasuke surprised looks, but Shikamaru wasn't one to refuse help, especially when it was for free. He also wasn't one to ponder much on other people's reasons to behave the way they did, especially when it came to the first lieutenant's rather strange behavior. Life was too troublesome as it was to be worried about other people's actions.
x·o·x·o·x·o·x·o
The sun was just starting to peek out of the mountains and a grayish mist weaved its way through the camp when Sasuke left his tent. He didn't have to go on patrol until noon nor had he any other military duties, but after several months of the same routine his body woke up automatically. Every first Tuesday of the month he would wake up at the crack of dawn to help Shikamaru sort the mail. With a scowl he made his way to the main hall to get a cup of black coffee. He knew the cooks were up already working on making breakfast. He was in an exceptionally bad mood this morning. It had been two months since he had last heard from Hinata. He figured that she had gotten tired of writing to him or she had found out that it wasn't Gaara who had been replying to her letters. After all, Gaara had been reassigned almost three months ago to a village in Wind Country not too far from Konoha.
Sasuke already had a foot on the threshold of the hall when he muttered under his breath, "last time." Then he turned around and went to the "mail room," otherwise known as Shikamaru's tent.
Disappointment clawed at Sasuke's heart when he picked up the last letter he had to sort. The familiar calligraphy on the envelope told him it was Hinata's and his heart soared. He swiftly hid the letter in his jacket before going back to his own tent. Once there he took out the letter and for a moment fear took a hold of him. The sender's address was different this time. On her last letter Hinata had told Sasuke that since her father considered her incompetent to run the family inn he had decided to name Hinata's younger sister as heir of the family business. The Hyuga Inn was the oldest and most prestigious resort in all of Fire Country, the favorite of the royalty and the aristocracy. Since disowning the eldest daughter would be cause of scandal, Hinata's father wanted her to marry some politician of the region to justify why the younger daughter was to be the head of the resort.
He feared that her father had forced Hinata to marry this man and thus the reason why she hadn't written for the past two months. Sasuke was afraid that this was Hinata's letter of good bye telling him that she could no longer write to him because it wasn't proper for a good wife to be corresponding with another man. But to his greatest relief, that wasn't the case.
Hinata apologized for not writing in so long but running away from home and finding a place to live had taken most of her time. Not being one to complain, Hinata spared Sasuke the details of her trials and tribulations and instead focused on more positive things such as the fact that she was now happily working at a tea house in Akibashi, a small village north of Konoha and contemplating the possibility of pursuing her dream of becoming a nurse.
Sasuke laid back on his bed holding Hinata's letter against his chest wishing that it was Hinata he was holding and not a piece of paper. Even if she hadn't complained much Sasuke knew this had been a very painful ordeal for her. He could imagine just how hard it must have been for Hinata to have been thrown into the world like that after living a particularly sheltered life. He knew perfectly well what it was to be thrown out into the streets with nothing but the clothes on his back and by his own relatives no less. He closed his eyes and for the first time he wished for something more than a letter. He wanted someone to spend the rest of his life with.
"I'm screwed," he whispered covering his eyes with his right arm. As impossible and ridiculous as it sounded, he had fallen for someone who he had never even seen in his life.
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