Sasuke's and Hinata's past 6 years

[[[ Present day ]]]

[[[Sasuke's Perspective | Age -12 ]]]

It was another typical day for Susuke. He was training his kunai using targets placed on different trees at many angles. There were three kunai in each of his hands.

*Swish* *Swish* *Switch*

In the blink of an eye, all of them were impaled on the targets exactly at the bullseye. But he didn't seem impressed with his results as he threw kunai at them repeatedly.

'I need to get stronger.'

'I'm still weak.'

That was his thought the whole time. He knew he was far from strong enough to get revenge on his traitorous brother. He needed to pay for what he did. But that didn't stop him from recalling his loving memories of his brother Itachi;

How Itachi trained him and how Itachi cared for him.

Sasuke couldn't even understand the reason for Itachi's actions. 'No', it would be better to say that he didn't want to believe that it was his brother who committed such an atrocity.

'At least I have someone in this village who could understand me.' He then thought as a certain blonde-haired boy came to his mind.

Indeed, it was Naruto. Sasuke at first considered him a rival, but little by little, they became best friends. When the Uchiha massacre happened, Sasuke was devastated. He didn't have anyone to talk to or relate to. He lost everything that day, from his loving family to the last clan member.

At least that's what he thought until he met Naruto, who came to him a few years back. He didn't talk to him for months after the incident because he believed that Naruto would never be able to understand him. It was exactly one year after the Uchiha massacre that he got to know that boy's secret. What Naruto showed him that day made him stare in utter disbelief.

It was his first time seeing or hearing about such eyes. They were of milky white colour, like byakugan, with three tomoe, as in sharingan. What surprised him most was the fact that Naruto had three tomoe, which directly correlated to the pain he went through.

Sasuke couldn't help but sympathize, finding him the same as himself. Even more pitiful as Naruto never got to experience his parent's love at any point in his life.

Although he was just eight years old, Sasuke was not a fool. He clearly knew that revealing such a thing could pose Naruto many problems because of his peculiar eyes. Knowing that Naruto did it for their friendship, Sasuke finally decided to open his heart to his best friend again. It was because, deep down, he didn't really want to be alone.

I mean, who can blame him? He was still eight, no matter how mature he was.

Anyway, as he was training, he was taken by surprise, hearing rustling leaves just behind him. By reflex, he threw a kunai in the direction of the sound.

"Oi Oi"

"Are you trying to kill me?"

Then he heard a familiar sound. Looking around, he saw Naruto approaching him while rotating the kunai he had thrown on his index finger.

*Sigh*

"How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?"

Sasuke said as he forcefully grabbed the kunai from Naruto's hand.

"Haha, Sorry." Naruto patted his shoulder. "But it's always fun to see you startled."

"Whatever." Susuke then shrugged off his shoulders and started picking up all the kunai impaled in the targets, including those that had fallen down. "So, what brings you here?"

"Why? Can't I check on a friend?" Naruto said in a teasing voice.

"Haah, Just tell me if you want a sparring partner. No need to go about in a roundabout way."

"Hehe, you caught me."

With that brief exchange being over, they started sparring with each other. Despite how Sasuke acted when Naruto asked for a spar, he knew without a doubt that it helped him improve by leaps and bounds. To be honest, most of the time, he was beaten senselessly. But the improvement couldn't be denied. So he also had no complaints, as he needed every bit of help to get revenge on Itachi.

In either case, all his past six years were spent training by himself and sparring with Naruto every so often.

~~~~

[[[Hinata's Perspective | Age -12 ]]]

"Get up, big sis!"

"Get uuuup"

Hanabi ran all over Hinata's bed, trying to wake her up. She also had white eyes and looked quite similar to her older sister. She was no more than seven years old.

*Yawn*

"Let big sis sleep a bit more." Hinata covered herself with the blanket again.

"I'm going to tell brother Naruto you are a sleepyhead."

"Waaait!"

Hinata jolted up from the bed only to realize she had reacted too abruptly. Then she looked at her younger sister, who had a teasing smile on her face.

"You cheeky girl," Then Hinata caught her and started tickling Haanabi, saying, "Let big sister teach you a lesson."

"Hahahahahaha"

"I can't, hahaha."

"Let me goo."

{Hanabi's image here – maybe a bit younger than this}

Hanabi tried to escape, but she unfortunately, didn't get a chance. Then the whole room was filled with never-ending laughter. After a while, seeing Hanabi's pleading gaze, Hinata finally let her go.

Hinata then got up and wore her usual cream hooded jacket along with her navy blue pants. The one thing different about her was that she had long hair. So she had to keep her hair in a ponytail style. It gave her a new, refreshing look.

{Hinata's image. Imagine her being a bit younger}

Well, without saying it, it was due to Naruto telling her that she would look more beautiful with her hair in a ponytail. Being the Naruto fanatic she is, that's what she did.

Her effort paid off as Naruto occasionally played with her hair while he was flirting with her.

She had always been trying to get close to Naruto since the day that she was saved from the bullies. Initially, she was nervous and lacked the courage to talk to him.

But as she interacted with Naruto all these years, her shyness was reduced by a good margin. That is not to say that she doesn't get nervous with him.

She was pretty sad that her clan members really didn't give her a chance to associate with him out in the open, saying that she shouldn't associate with him. So other than the flirting she got from Naruto, she couldn't leisurely meet up with him outside the academy.

Now she was more determined than ever to take her life into her own hands so she could follow what her heart desired. To achieve that, she went so far as to request training from her father, who was a pretty strict person. She had changed entirely from a person who was shy and timid to someone with great resolve.

When she first asked for that, Hiashi Hyūga was quite surprised. But he was more than happy to train her. He always thought Hinata had potential, but he could never see any motivation in her. However, no matter what the reason was for the sudden motivation, he happily accepted it. Although he always acted stern and serious, he cared for his daughters more than anyone could imagine.

"You are finally here, Hinata," Hiashi said while looking at Hinata.

"Yes, father"

"Show me your eight-trigram technique."

"Okay, father"

She then concentrated, making her byakugan activate. Pulsing veins could be clearly seen around her eyes. Hinata then envisioned herself in the centre of an eight-trigram symbol and focused her eyes on her father.

{Image of the Symbol in here}

Initially, her attacks were slow, but then they started getting faster and faster, turning them into a blur. Seeing this, Hiashi also activated his byakugan to reflect her attacks. It was pretty easy for him, yet he was surprised by Hinata's rapid improvement. He was genuinely proud of his daughter.

"You have improved quite a bit. Good work"

"Thank you, father."

Hinata bowed and ran towards her room while smiling, getting praised by his father, who was always serious. She really felt happy seeing his father acknowledge her.

On the other hand, Hiashi had a heavy heart, remembering that he would have to give her daughter away to a blond-haired brat. He was not a fool. Her daughter's emotions were like an open book.

So how could he not tell?

Although her clan always encourages marriages within families, he only o wanted his daughter to be happy. Therefore, he had no quarrels about giving her away if Naruto becomes someone strong in the future. But no matter what, the pain of a father giving away a daughter still lingered in him.