Secrets of the Hidden Leaf

By : Sessakag

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Sakura stole a glance down the kitchen table, muted emerald sliding over the silent male at the other end. The soft clink of chopsticks against porcelain was rhythmic in the permeating silence. Each clink slowly grating on her nerves. He was silent as he ate, eyes fixated on the rapidly emptying bowl of rice.

Uninterested in conversation.

Unaware of her presence.

Uncomprehending that most couples conversed over breakfast.

Irritation jabbed at the tenuous control of her temper.

Pink brows furrowed as she watched him, grip tightening on her own chopsticks.

The marriage counseling had been a nightmare.

While the session had allowed them both get some things off their chest, the resentment it spawned was palatable. They'd been ignoring each other ever since. Sitting in stony, unfriendly silence when they couldn't avoid each other. Speaking curtly and abruptly when conversation was unavoidable.

She hadn't wanted to talk to him, rancor deepening when he seemed content with her continued silence, unruffled by the cold shoulder she presented.

He had to know she was upset by the things he'd said during their therapy session.

Hurt even.

Burning with embarrassment.

She was embarrassed that he'd shinned a light on her most distressing insecurity.

That she was hanging on to a childhood fantasy of the handsome Uchiha. Trying to shove him into a mold created from the naive mind of a young girl.

That she didn't know the unguarded truth of the man she was married to despite the ring on her finger and new way she spelled her surname.

It scared her.

Filled her with the gut wrenching fear that their marriage was…

Pain lanced her heart.

"Sasuke."

He looked up, inky orbs reserved, chopsticks hovering over his bowl. His quiet regard felt unfriendly and unwelcoming. The aloof aura he exuded, that remote air that had once stoked her interest and fueled her girlhood fantasies now adding fuel to embers of aggravation smoldering in the pit of her stomach.

She took a calming breath, swallowing back the biting words on the tip of her tongue.

"About the other day," she began, "I think we should talk about it."

Sasuke carefully set down his chopsticks. The slight rise and fall of his shoulders, the sharp expansion and reduction of his chest reigniting the embers of irritation. His inaudible breath of impatience or frustration a slight she was unable to ignore. Rubbing like sandpaper against raw nerves.

"Or we can not talk about it." she snapped.

This was hard for her too. She didn't want to talk about it anymore than he did, but if they were going to repair their relationship they were going to have to have really tough conversations. He had to be open with her, he had to be as invested in changing their dynamic as she was.

"No," he responded coolly, "Let's talk."

Sakura scowled at the lack luster reply. Was it that difficult for him to at least pretend he was interested in healing their marriage? To feign that he meant what he said when he agree to working on communicating.

Her hands fisted beneath the table, annoyed jade eyes turning away from the man across from her.

She wasn't asking for much and she wasn't asking him to be someone he wasn't.

Love.

Affection.

A kiss here.

A hug or smile there.

All the things any woman wanted.

All the things she had ever dreamed of.

Had chased and thought she would have with her husband.

Her stomach knotted.

She'd spent so much time pining after the traumatized Uchiha. Gone through so much to get where they were now.

She remembered those agonizing days. The hurricane of emotion fresh in her mind. The nights she had wept over the dark path he'd taken, worrying herself sick over the snake's den he'd entered, making a fool of herself in front of friends that viewed the rogue Uchiha as a lost soul that could no longer be saved.

Picking up that poisoned kunai with hands that shook in a last ditch effort to stop him.

The anger, shame and sadness she'd felt making the heartbreaking decision to end his life and the nauseating weakness that had stayed her hand during the moment of truth.

The terror of that glacial expression on his face when he'd turned the blade back on her…

After all of that.

All of the pain and heartache she'd finally married the love of her life and now…

What had it all been for?

Wasn't she owed something?

Didn't she deserve more than begrudging kisses and declarations of love that he often didn't return?

Two years had come and gone and nothing had changed.

He was still so distant.

Emotionally guarded.

Unwilling or unable to soften.

Reinforcing her worry and that horrible creeping fear grew louder as the days passed. The idea that she had wasted her time chasing a dream was a soul crushing notion she couldn't accept.

Wouldn't accept.

Pain lashed her heart.

It wasn't a fantasy.

What she felt was real.

The man she fell in love with was real.

He just…

He didn't understand her feelings.

He didn't understand at all.

xxxxxx

She was upset again.

Irritated and aggravated. The stiffness of her shoulders, the wrinkle between her arched brows broadcasting her agitation. A posture he was very familiar with. She was gearing up for battle.

They hadn't even began the exchange and it was already destined for a fight.

Their hostile truce had come to an end.

It wasn't the end he had hoped for. In the time he'd sat eating, he'd been wracking his brain for something to say. Sensing the undercurrent of tension slowly ratcheting higher. Idle conversation wasn't something he found very enjoyable, less so when it was forced. Trying to find a safe conversation starter incredibly difficult considering the past twenty-four hours.

After their counseling session she hadn't seemed to want his company and he had to admit he hadn't really minded much. Stony silence was preferable to strained conversation that ended in a quarrel.

Sakura sighed, the breath of annoyance, harsh in the awkward silence of the dining room.

"The therapist said we should try and communicate better," she began, "so let stop avoiding each other and talk."

She paused, pushing away her mostly untouched meal.

"Yesterday, we said some…things that were really hurtful and I feel like we should both explain what we meant by them."

She lapsed into expectant silence, waiting for him to pick up the conversation. Sasuke hesitated, mulling over what to say. He didn't want to pretend he hadn't meant what he said, and he didn't want her to either. They had already opened the can of worms, trying to tape it closed was an exercise in futility.

"I think we both said what we meant, Sakura."

She was quiet again, turning her gaze from his then back again.

"You're right," she conceded, "I did mean the things I said."

Fire snapped behind luminous green orbs. The flare of temper he'd once found attractive now a tedious irritant.

"This isn't how marriage is supposed to work, Sasuke. We don't go out, we argue all the time. We haven't had sex in weeks. You're barely home and when you are you may as well be a hundred miles away. You spend more time with Naruto than you do me. Its not normal."

Irritation needled his patience, the warning signs of a headache gathering at his temples. They'd talked about this.

More than once.

His pardon was conditional.

He had little choice in where the village sent him and for how long. In a time of peace, the missions were a cover, an excuse to remove him from the village for extended periods of time, his mere presence intolerable to many. His own actions and the taint of his surname sowing discontent among prominent Clans. A situation Kakashi and Naruto were working to remedy. The fact that he hadn't been sent out again was a testament to the progress they'd made on his behalf.

He stifled a sigh of aggravation and entered the repeat pattern of rehashing the state of his citizenship.

"I don't have a choice, Sakura," he told her, struggling to keep his voice even, "My temporary pardon is just that. Temporary. Naruto's helping push my pardon through. He has leverage in the village. I can't get a pardon without his help."

"They've offered you a pardon."

"With the intrusive of stipulations."

Concessions that would see the Uchiha little more than prisoners, lowly animals to be watched and muzzled. He couldn't live his life that way. Didn't want his children, grandchildren or any of his lineage to have to bare the consequences of his actions. To end up at this place and time again years down the line. Suspicion, paranoia and mistrust on both sides had aided the downfall of his Clan once, he wouldn't restore it only to repeat the same cycle.

Her eyes closed, chest rising and falling.

"I understand how important restoring your Clan is to you, Sasuke, but it might not be possible without some kind of compromise. At least not right now. Even if you take a pardon with stipulations there's time to renegotiate down the line. Kakashi-sensei would agree to that, you know he wouldn't just let stuff like that stand and by that time, Naruto will probably be the Hokage so it'll be even easier."

He fell silent, aggravation blooming into a slow simmer of something akin to anger.

 Accept the shackles.

Consign his lineage to scorn and scrutiny.

He had no guarantee he would be able to renegotiate. The Hidden Leaf was not a dictatorship. Having Kakashi or Naruto as Hokage changed little. They couldn't overrule the will of the people in favor of a former traitor, nor did he want them to. Naruto especially. The fiercely loyal blonde would probably try to do it if he thought there was a chance he could succeed.

If he was to find a place among Konoha once more, a place for the future he wanted to mold, he would have to do it right.

"You wouldn't even consider it would you? Not even for me."

He had considered.

Had even gone as far to request the documents for review and signing, but as he looked at those black and white words, his hand had froze. Nausea twisting his insides so hard he feared he'd lose what little he was able to eat that day.

"Your Clan is gone, Sasuke. Why are you still holding on to the past?"

"Sakura." he warned sharply.

"No, Sasuke! Enough is enough. You've been clinging to this idea of Clan since we were kids and where has it gotten you? At what point are you going to start a life with me? For God's sake, when are you going to let it go?"

The screech of chair legs against hardwood floor was shrill in the echoing silence. Her footsteps were clipped with ire as she stormed from the room. He sat in the ensuing void, stewing over her words.

Let it go.

Simple words that held a wealth of complexity, a shadowy pit of grief and a shameful depth of fear.

Let it go.

She didn't know what she was asking.

Let go of the driving force that had kept him sane and moving forward when all he'd wanted to do was climb in the grave with his family. Relinquish the sense of pride and purpose that had kept him from crumbling year after year. Remove the parts of himself that held him together when he woke from the frigid grips of nightmares. When the horrific night that had nearly broken his young mind unfolded in his dreams. A gut wrenching replay that left him shaking, drenched in sweat, and sickened to his core in the dead of night.

Reliving the aftermath of a slaughter.

Walking the blood soaked streets.

A child again.

Running through a hushed village painted crimson. The smiling faces he'd seen just hours ago twisted in pain, their staring eyes glazed with the irrevocable stillness of death.

Scared and helpless with the ravaged bodies of his mother and father at his feet.

Relinquish the familial ties that were entwined with the name Uchiha. The happy family life he'd had before. The happy life he could never return to. The mother that had shown him love. The father he'd wanted to make proud. The older brother he'd admired and emulated.

A brother that had borne the entirety of his Clan's hatred on his shoulders.

A brother that had stained his hands with the blood of their parents.

He shied away from the painful thought, suppressed the confusing clash of emotions that tugged him towards anger before whipping him back to love for the elder sibling that had done what he thought was right.

The legacy of the Uchiha had shaped his life, for good or ill, was an ingrained foundation of his world.

His surname becoming a safety net that gave credence to his identity. The adhesive that had held him together for so long.

If he took it away…

If he 'let it go', what would take its place?

Who would he become?

Who was he without his Clan?

Who was he without the Uchiha identity?

Where was his place in the world?

He didn't know.

Wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Wasn't sure he could handle the festering pit of unresolved emotions beneath it all. The bottled up storm simmering below the surface of his calm facade. Turbulent feelings he didn't know how to cope with.

Mind numbing pain.

Acrid Bitterness.

Suffocating shame.

Lingering hatred.

And a hollowness of his soul he'd spent his young adolescent years trying to fill. Relentless demons that still chipped away at what little was left.

Letting go meant more than he could convey in words. It was a dream just out of reach. A fantasy that didn't mesh with the harsh reality of his world.

Sasuke stood from the table, his breakfast long cold. He moved down the hall leading to the front door, pausing to grab his cloak from the closet. Slinging the gray swab of cloth over his shoulders and tying it one handed with practiced ease, he opened the door and stepped out.

Barely managing not to slam it behind him.

His gut twisted, churning with a kaleidoscope of emotion.

He was trying his best to follow the advise of the counselor, to open up and purge the darkness rotting his insides but it was hard when his wife just…

Just…

Didn't understand.

xxxxxx

Shikamaru sucked in a harsh breath, his desperate gaze shooting to the softly ticking clock on the low coffee table.

A shaft of pleasure lashed his spine, the swirling of a wet tongue threatening to rob him of control. He was fifteen minutes into a devastating blow job and was afraid he wouldn't last the last five. Temari's blonde head bobbed in his lap, the yellow curtain flowing down her naked shoulders.

He grimaced, hissing between his teeth when teasing fingers found the sensitive skin of his balls.

"Shit." he groaned as she traced circles.

The gentle pattern weakening his resolve. Slow, deliberate slurps of suction filled the room, the sound tightening his abdomen and sending his thoughts scattering.

He wanted to hold out.

Wanted to win…

The throbbing tip of his cock met the back of a determined throat, the wet orifice contracting rhythmically. His head dropped to the head rest of living room couch, his toes curling in his sandals. She hummed, the vibrations pulsing from top to root. Panic set in, an explosion of bliss bursting in the hard straining muscles of his body.

Sweat slipped down his temples, the salty liquid obscuring his view of the clock.

Her head descended, taking the entirety of his length down a hole of rapture, her tongue meeting the top of testicles.

He panted, grimacing again as he squinted at the clock.

Three minutes.

Trembling hands entwined her golden locks, his grip subtly attempting to impede the devastating pace.

Lust coiled in his gut as she grabbed his wrists and pressed them none too gently to the plush couch.

He loved when she was rough with him. Reveled in the domineering Mistress that often appeared in their bedroom.

It turned him.

Made him-

"Ohhh fuck." he groaned, mind blanking.

Plush lips held his mushroom tip trapped, her tongue lashing the sensitive underside. Strong fingers pumped his base.

Up and down.

Fast and tight.

The combination of sucking lips and stroking grip sending him into a tailspin. His hips lifted, tension snapping and the incredible sensation of hot semen meeting an even hotter mouth threw him into a world of ecstasy.

He shuddered, gripping the cushion beneath him as she ran her fist over his cock with one and reached for a tissue on the table with another. Shikamaru swallowed, glancing at the time keeper as she emptied his deposit into the tissue.

He sighed.

He was short a minute and a half.

"That's a loss." Temari chuckled.

He looked down between his legs, scowling at his gloating fiancé. She was enjoying his downfall a little too much.

"You know I hate going there."

Temari shrugged.

"You knew the risks," she gloated, "and don't drag your ass and wait until the last minute. I want it here when I get back."

"Yeah, yeah." he huffed, lifting his hips to pull up his pants.

"I don't know why you have such a problem with it. She's not actually your sister, you know."

"Close enough," he muttered, "Choji's feels the same way."

"Maybe, but Choji's not in to the type of items Ino sells anyway."

"Still, its embarrassing enough to have to go into a sex store, even worse when the owner is your sister."

"Crybaby." she mocked without heat.

"What a drag," he sighed, "At least explain what the hell a rabbit vibrator is."

xxxxxx

"I think you broke her, Ino," Isako murmured, "poor girl looks ready to keel over."

"Nah, she's just overwhelmed with excitement. It's not every day a girl walks into the greatest sex shop known to man." Ino touted.

Hinata barely heard the light banter, focused instead on picking her jaw up from the floor. Lilac orbs widened, bright crimson flooding her face. Her lips moved, up and down, the movement reminiscent of a fish.

"I-I-I-Ino!" she sputtered, "what…what…"

She didn't even know what she wanted to ask first.

How long had this been down here?

How on earth had she kept it a secret this long?

"Definitely broken." Isako giggled.

"Hush," Ino replied, slinging an arm around her red cheeked friend, "Now I know it can be overwhelming at first, Hinata, but don't worry, I'll help you pick out an awesome new toy."

Hinata offered little resistance as she was carted through the scattering of people browsing the rows of porn. Stunned and dumbfounded that she recognized a few pink cheeked faces.

"Let me show you our sub section," Ino chattered, "We have the cutest collars."

Burning with shame and curiosity, Hinata ducked her head, finger tips meeting repeatedly as they passed through an archway. 

"So what's the news." Ino asked.

"N-News?"

"Yeah, you were all aglow about something when you walked in and while incredible sex can do wonders for any girl's disposition, I can't help but feel it was about something else," Ino explained, "Hmmm, did he pop the question?"

Hinata shook her head.

If only.

"You knocked up?"

"No!" Hinata squeaked, eyes as wide as saucers.

Ino laughed.

"Well, clearly something happened. Spill."

Suddenly bashful and happy, Hinata twiddled her thumbs.

"We're moving in together." she admitted.

"Whaaaa? You guys aren't already shacking up? You're at his place so much I thought it was already a done deal."

"That's what Naruto-kun said, but-"

"The Clan," Ino huffed, "Say no more. I know how it is. It ain't always roses being a Yamanaka either. But that's great, Hinata, I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, I…no..."

She trailed off into silence as they moved through fetish themed area. Dildos, bigger than she thought any sane person could ever want inserted into their private areas, hung on silvery walls. Shelves of kinky knickknacks and creative vibrators. Colorful costumes and scantly dressed manikins piqued her interest. There was frilly pink kitten costume that left little to the imagination and a tasteful yet sensual fairy ensemble with pretty, glittery wings. Beyond the statues were display cases full of delicate bands of leather.

Lilac orbs peeked beneath dark lashes at a display case of collars.

They were as cute as her chatty friend declared.

Standing out among the crush of pleasure toys.

Heat bloomed in the pit of her stomach, her mind constructing erotic scenes that made her insides squirm.

Images of her, naked and needy, kneeling at the feet of her blonde lover as he slipped the physical symbol of possession around her throat. Of being pulled and directed by the tug of a leash.

"See something you like?" Ino murmured.

The softly spoken question coupled with the slow glide of a hand down her spine stoked the carnal need unfurling in her abdomen. Arousal slid over her skin. The touch and tenor of the other woman's voice more suggestive than friendly. Confusion joined twisting lust.

"You know, Hinata, it really warms my…heart to see newcomers enter the exciting world of erotica."

That delicate hand whispered dangerously close to her rounded buttocks. The perky globes still pleasantly sore from a night of pounding and the stinging bliss of Naruto's hand. Tingling desire bloomed in her clit, the pulsating sensations moistening her panties. The mere though of their hard lovemaking leaving her nipples acing. The burning pressure of Ino's hand fueling the flames.

"You don't have to be shy with me. Show me what you like." Ino coaxed, the warmth of her words barely brushing the shy Hyuuga's ear.

Hinata suppressed a shiver, pink staining her cheeks.

The words were innocent, the tone was not. It held the timber she'd heard before. A suggestive undertone Naruto often used just before she found herself naked and screaming in the throes of ecstasy.

"Ino." she murmured, unnerved, aroused.

The wandering caress trailed up her side and over the curve of her shoulder. Soft fingers brushed back her inky black mane.

"Don't hide," the blonde encouraged, "hold your head up and take a look. Surely there's something you want."

Embarrassment turned her ears red. Milky lilac orbs swept the room from beneath thick lashes. The search short lived as her eyes stopped on an object of interest.

"Ahhh, that's a classic," Ino whispered in her ear, "I knew we had a lot in common."

Hinata shivered, her nipples hardening beneath her dress.

"I'll bag it up for ya," Ino said with a playful grin, dispelling the air of seduction in an instant.

Hinata stood stupefied, watching as the other woman trounced off with a cheeky wave and conspiratorial wink.

"Don't worry," she said with a wink, "This one's on the house. A first time customer gift."

Harassed and aching in the middle of a sex shop, the embarrassed young woman wondered if her friend had actually been coming on to her or simply teasing an out of place Hyuuga.

Minutes later, Hinata left the shop in a haze of aroused excitement, and sexual confusion, clutching a nondescript bag to her chest. In the crush of traveling villagers, tingles of awareness crawled over skin. She felt naughty, libidinous and perverted carrying such a scandalous package around in the light of day, right beneath the noses of those that crossed her path.

It was mortifying.

Exhilarating.

Shameful and titillating.

By the time she made it back to Naruto's apartment, the blood pounding exhilaration had dulled to a slow burn.

Reality returned, leaving her in a precarious position.

How to ask for what she so desperately wanted?

She glanced at the package still pressed to her breast.

What she had in the bag wouldn't be out of the ordinary.

What she wanted him to do with it, however…

Red flooded her face. She reached up to cover her flaming cheeks.

How in the world could she look him in the eye and ask him to do…that.

What would he think?

She glanced at a bright yellow square sitting on the kitchen counter. Dropping her hands, she treaded closer, an idea forming. Hinata set the bag down, then opened the small drawer beneath the counter. She pushed aside old bills, pieces of wire and scraps of paper in search of a pen. Grabbing an uncapped ball point, she grabbed her bag and the stack of sticky notes and moved into the bedroom. She paced in front of the unmade bed twice before taking a seat at its foot.

Heart pounding, she took the sticky note and began writing.

The words were slow to come, the request even more perverted spelled out on paper.

Finished, she looked down at the note of doom, hesitating…

Fifteen minutes later, Hinata headed in the direction of the Hyuuga residence, the journey and sobering subject she wanted to discuss with father cooling the raging fires of lust.

She was a little disconcerted to find her father wasn't home when she reached her soon to be previous residence and debated waiting for him. But with the elder Hyuuga member meandering by with disapproving scowls, Hinata retraced her steps and headed back to the apartment.

Her heart thundered against her ribcage as she walked.

Naruto would have stopped by for lunch and left again by now.

Had he gone into the bedroom and found her note?

The question left her queasy and sensually stimulated.

It was quiet when she stepped through the door. Dirty dishes in the sink the only indication her lover had been home. She closed the door before scooting off to the bedroom, her eyes searching and finding the place she'd set the items down.

A new package and sticky note sat in its place.

Curious, she walked over to the dresser, reaching for the paper bearing her boyfriends sloppy handwriting.

She read silently

'Of course baby. Didn't I say I can give you anything you can handle? Be dressed when I get home.'