Chapter : 6

                                    

                                          
Hinata was in awe, her eyes wide open as she walked through the gates of the village. She surveyed the village around her and the people. 
                          
Everyone was busy with their work as they ran here and there. It seemed that they were all preparing for a festival or something as she saw some people hanging garlands and lanterns around--- Everywhere! She also spotted a group of people who were carrying musical instruments. She spotted another group who seemed to be dancers, judging by their costumes. 
                          
She was still observing as a voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned to the source and saw the brown haired boy from before. 
                          
"You are finally here, Uchiha-san," said the boy as Hinata faced him. The boy looked Hanabi's age, maybe a year older or something. He wore a guard uniform and a blade was strapped on his back. He had brown eyes just like his hair. 
                          
Sasuke only nodded in answer. But then he said, "It's good to see you, Yuko." The boy smiled at him then his eyes landed on Hinata. He looked at her with awe and curiosity. 
                          
"Hi, I am Yuko. Nice to meet ya!" He introduced himself enthusiasticaly. He reminded Hinata of a certain blonde from Konoha. She smiled at the boy and introduced herself as well.
                          
"I am Hinata Hyuga. It's nice to meet you too." She finsihed as she looked at him. 
                          
He had a faint blush on his cheeks and said, "Wow! Your are so beautiful and your voice is like an angel!" 
                          
Hinata blushed but chuckled at his comment. "Thank you." 
                          
But soon came Sasuke's cold voice as he said, "Don't you have guard duties to do?" He also had a slight frown on his face. 
                          
Yuko's smile was gone and he straightened himself as he cleared his throat and said, "Yes, sir. I should be going now." And with that he was gone.
                          
Sasuke then turned to Hinata and informed her that they will be going to meet the head of the village and will be staying here for the next three days. Soon they were walking down the street that led to the head's house. Hinata observed her surroundings once again and a question popped up in her mind. 
                          
"What festival is today? What they are preparing for?" she asked, pointing to the garlands and the unlit lanterns hanging around the shops and houses.
                          
"It's the founding day." Sasuke said.
                          
"Founding day?"
                          
"This village was formed four years ago from today. Every year, they celebrate it with great joy and bliss." A small smile tugged on his lips as he serveyed his surroundings, seeing childern wearing comical masks as they ran through the streets, men and women decorating their respective homes and shops. They all looked so happy. It was like Hinata was standing in her own village, Konoha. She took a glance at Sasuke who seemed as if he was reliving a memory.
                          
"They are happy," Sasuke went on, "because they have a home where they can belong. They were all once homeless with no relatives or friends whatsoever. They had lost everything. But they had hope. They hopped that someday they will find their homes and the once who they'd lost. When I first came to this village, it was merely a community, with 100 or so people, and it was raided by bandits. They had no food to eat, water to drink but they still continued to smile and never lost their hope. They made me realize that even though we don't have a family or a home, we can still find happiness if we go look for it. By looking at them, now I see how wrong I was. How wrong I have always been. I tried to do everything by myself, I thought I could bear the burden alone but I was wrong. Its just like how the dobe said. That's what he does, doesn't he? He surrounds himself with the people he care about and it gives him strength."