SasuHina Renaissance Week: Lavender and Coal Chronicles

Day 1 June 24th

Hanahaki x Jijivisha

Title: Red Roses

Puff in

Puff out

Breathe in

Breathe out

Inhale

Exhale

Let the fumes of nicotine fill your lungs

Let the fumes of sadness, sorrow and agony become one with your body

Close your eyes and let the smoke cover your tears

Strain that damn cough and don't release the pain

Only cigarettes are the cure for all.

Present Day: Shinobi Night Club

Sasuke Uchiha stepped inside the night club with bodies pressed into each other as men and women dance like crazed animals. As he walks towards the bar, he spotted the indigo haired beauty he's been searching for.

"Scotch please."

He smoothly sat next to her, then leaned closer and whispered huskily on her ear.

"Missed me, princess?"

Hinata Hyuga tilted her head up and looked at the raven haired man and drunkenly replied "Not a chance, what took you so long to come here?" Her body swayed slightly as her cheeks are tinted pink and her neck and ears turn into the lovely shade of crimson. Sasuke placed a stick of cigarette on his thin lips grabbed a lighter and lit the end of the stick and puffed the smoke out, the neon light in the background and the scotch on his hand made him look so cool.

"Just busy with work." He replied as he sipped his drink, staring blankly at the drunk Hyuga heiress.

"You? How's working with the devil?"

Hinata snorted in the most unlady like manner as she leaned back and drank her vodka in one shot, then replied

"You mean my father? Hell. I'm pretty sure I won't last a year working under him."

Hinata looked blankly at her empty shot glass, dressed in her usual corporate attire which consist of a navy blue body fitting dress, black pumps and her blazer placed on her lap. Her lavender eyes are glassy and tired as if life has been sucked out of her system and made her become a puppet to be used in the business world.

Sasuke grabbed another packet of cigarettes, placing the stick between his lips and inhaled the nicotine that burns his lungs and slowly kills him away. Hinata stared at his aristocratic nose and strong jawline and murmured

"I keep on telling you to stop that."

Sasuke sipped on his scotch and replied "Stop what?"

Hinata rolled his eyes and replied harshly,

"Smoking."

She grabbed his half burnt cigarette and crushed it on the ashtray then glared at him, Sasuke rolled his eyes and replied "Don't be a hypocrite Hinata, because of you I got addicted to smoking." Hinata gave him a longing smile then leaned her head on his shoulder.

They sat there in silence as if they're the only ones' co-existing in this crowded club, in a room full of strangers they got each other.

They staggered outside the club their arms linked together as they laughed their woes away, their drunk happiness speaks volumes as Hinata grabbed Sasuke's calloused and large hand then Sasuke spun her around like she's a Disney princess dancing in the grand ballroom. Hinata giggled and exclaimed with passion and fervor.

"Uchiha Sasuke! You are the b-bestest f-friend in the world!"

Hinata let go of his hand and ran at the curb like a mad woman dancing and singing tunes of merriment and spreading her arms wide like a child.

Sasuke stopped his tracks and stood there watching her be happy, even if her happiness is fueled with alcohol and temporary promises.

Sasuke stood there knowing that someday he might never see that look of happiness ever again.

Present Day: Konoha Condominiums

Sasuke knew that it was killing her, working under her hell-bent father.

He knew that Hinata is slowly fading away from the way she looks at him or how she holds her paint brush and staring blankly at the canvas, unsure what to paint next.

Hinata is always known to be the creative one, the talent artistic girl who can paint flowers out of watercolors and make the sunrise and sunset look real by just a simple canvas and paint. She is known to sketch at every single surface, on paper, on the back of her notebooks, on sketchpads and on skin. Everyone knows how capable of art her delicate fingers, they know that there is so much beauty and life can be produced with just a mere ink and imagination.

Now Sasuke can't stand looking at her slaving herself away in a company that just want to see her fail.

Hinata grabbed the paint brush and tucked her long indigo hair on her ear and asked

"What's your favorite flower Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged and replied

"Red roses."

Hinata smiled sadly and stared at the blank canvas then asked

"Why?"

Sasuke removed his work blazer and placed it on her couch as he grabbed his packet of cigarettes and stepped outside her living room, walking towards the balcony and replied

"I don't know, they're the prettiest flowers in my mother's garden."

Hinata nodded and continued mixing colors of paint on her pallet then, Sasuke grabbed his stick of cigar and lit the end with his lighter, placing it in between his lips and inhaled the toxic fumes, as he stood on her balcony looking at Hinata struggling to paint red roses. In the corner of his eye he can see her inhale and exhale deeply then suddenly a strangled cough escape on her lips, heaving to breathe properly. Hinata blindly grabbed a box of tissues to cover her lips as her body hunched frailly, jar filled with water and used brushes toppled down and crashed on the floor. Hinata quickly run towards the adjacent bathroom and shut the door with so much force, the picture frame fell down with a loud thud.

Sasuke stood up and walk towards the bathroom and knocked on the door,

"Hinata? Are you okay?"

He pressed his ears and he can hear her hackle on a cough, spitting and breathing deeply, as if she's drowning underwater.

"I-I'm fine! N-Nothing to worry about." She said hesitantly then added "I-I'm sorry Sasuke but can you p-please clean the mess I made?"

Sasuke nodded and grabbed the broken picture frame and broken glasses on the floor. As he dumped those in the trash he saw a trashcan filled with tissues stained in blood that looks like red rose petals. He staggered back and fell down on the floor, he stared blankly at the bin like it's his mortal enemy. When the bathroom door suddenly clicked open and Hinata went out with a smile plastered on her face and cheerily said

"I just had a bad cough-"

Her excuse died when she saw Sasuke staring at the bloody evidence. Then he said

"How long are you sick?"

Hinata murmured

"7 months."

Sasuke looked at her harshly "Is that why you keep on telling me to stop smoking?"

Hinata nodded solemnly and stared at the floor pressing her lips together forming a thin line.

"What is it?"

Hinata looked at him and tilted her head

"What's what?"

"Your sickness." Sasuke's hand formed into a fist as his body shakes.

Hinata turned away from him and looked at the open window as the white curtains flowed with the wind and she replied with familiarity

"Lung cancer."

And that moment, that exact moment Sasuke felt like his world is going to end.

Because of pretty red roses on stark white sheets and droplets of red flowers on paper.

Sasuke lost the meaning of living ever since she left him, he let life pass him by as if nothing truly matters anymore.

Because without Hinata, without his best friend nothing matters even living is a burden.

He moved into Hinata's apartment after she told him about her sickness, he lived with her and took care of her more than her family will ever do. He is there for her when she is coughing blood all over her bedsheets, he held her hand during examinations and visits of the doctor. He stood by her side as she recovers from an intense chemotherapy, he never broke down and cry in front of her because he wants Hinata to know that this lung cancer is just another hurdle, another bump on the road.

But late at night when Hinata is asleep in the intensive care unit room, Sasuke kneel down on the floor and shed tears like an overflowing river. Every night he cries for her, he cries for her life that was once filled with colors suddenly vanished, he cries for the night they spent together in college drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes like fools, he cries for the days he didn't know that Hinata is silently suffering and he cries because he never told her that he loves her.

In fact, he never confessed his love to her even if her body is lowered six feet under the ground and her body is hidden by a white casket. As her family members threw red roses on her grave like it's mocking Sasuke.

Sasuke never spoken to anyone after her burial, he left his father's company and lived in the confines of Hinata's apartment. Nothing changed, everything remains the same except for the dust speckled on her lavender bedsheets, a clear sign that no one laid down on that bed for a long time.

Sasuke lived life smoking more than 5 packs of cigarettes a day and drinking scotch straight from the bottle, flicking on the old photo albums and watching movies that Hinata used to love so much and playing songs from her lavender iPod.

His life revolves around her and he can never imagine moving on.

One night Sasuke drunkenly fell asleep on Hinata's bedroom, he inhaled the comforting scent of lavender and cinnamon. Maybe it's because he's drunk, delusional or insane but he heard a soft humming voice and gentle footsteps in the living room. Sasuke groggily stood up and walk towards the room and saw a lady with a lavender dress and long flowing indigo hair sitting down on the stool painting on the blank canvas, her dainty fingers flicker and painted what seemed like flowers.

And just like a snap of his fingers the image disappeared and Sasuke fainted on the floor.

He woke up with an awful hung over and his eyes widen as he saw red roses beautifully painted on the blank canvas.

Red roses scattered on the floor and crimson petals near the painting table.

A crushed cigar on the ashtray and an empty shot glass on the table.

For the first time in the longest time Sasuke smiled as he grabbed the packs of cigars on his pocket and emptied his stash of scotch and boxes of cigarettes in his cabinets and threw them on the trash bin.

And like the wind that kissed his tired, weary and sad face, Sasuke Uchiha found his will to live and continue living again.

He will live for Hinata and surely when time comes, he will follow her. This time, once he will see her again he will tell her that he loves her more than his vices, more than his life and more than himself.

AN: I'm so late to the SasuHina Renaissance Week party (cries internally) also random update I finally bought a new laptop and I'm so excited to write more SasuHina and Naruto fanfics, I'm currently obsessed with Food Wars and I'm currently binge reading the manga. Are you guys interested in a fanfic about Soma and Erina? (ultimate OTP). See you in the next chapter!

Thank you for reading!