As promised so long ago, I have taken my Christmas Eve Festival story and have decided to make it into a twelve chapter story. So, please, enjoy and let me know what you think.
Twelve Days of Christmas
The village was alive with excitement and bustling. All around people were buying gifts, or helping with construction of the stands for the Christmas festival that was to come on Christmas Eve, while the children of the village were filled with anticipation for the holiday to come.
Though while the entire village was preparing for the big day, Sasuke was nowhere around. He was deep in the forest, avoiding the villagers and their joy for the season. Instead he was focusing on his training, focusing on becoming stronger.
He was dripping with sweat. He had been at his training for hours, nonstop. Focusing on his sharingan while performing taijutsu. Though he was exhausted, the Uchiha refused to let himself stop, refusing to admit that his limits were so low.
He felt so much weaker, ever since Jiraiya had removed the curse mark that Orochimaru had given him.
Sasuke wanted to prove that the mark wasn't what made him strong, that it was all him.
The cold air bit at him through his sweat soaked shirt, his breaths came out in deep gasps, which could be seen as puffs of steam.
Sasuke was getting ready to make his next strike when he noticed that not far from his spot, someone else was within the area, training as well no doubt. He could hear there footsteps and the clanging of their kunai striking its target.
Sasuke figured to leave them alone, true he could use a partner for his training, but he didn't want anyone to see him in such a beaten state. So he figured to leave them alone and not bother with them.
He went back to his target and struck.
His training went on for several more hours, not once did he stop to rest, drink, or eat. He had been at it all day, from sunrise to the almost sunset that was happening now, yet he refused to rest.
He activated his sharingan once more and began, though once again before he began he heard another person in the area, training. Sasuke thought that it couldn't have been the same person, but didn't really show any interest in it.
Ignoring that other person, he sprang into his training with his sharingan. Sasuke leapt into the air, and began twirling. This act brought on a feeling of nostalgia, this was how Itachi taught him as a child. Sasuke shook his head as he regained his focus, and began, first throwing out two kunai, then sending out two more. As they came into contact, they veered off into different directions, all still managing to hit their targets.
Sasuke landed, breathing heavily, his kunai training was as perfect as ever, but it wasn't good enough.
As Sasuke moved over to the trees that the kunai struck, he heard a twig snap. Out of pure instinct, Sasuke leapt for the kunai before him, rolled into a stance with the kunai drawn, ready to fight.
A figure was there in the shadow of the trees. When Sasuke had taken his stance, he saw that the figure drew back slightly. Sasuke wasn't about to let anyone come in on his training, whoever it was friend or foe, they weren't welcome. Sasuke stood up, kunai still drawn, "I'm training! Leave!" Sasuke called.
The person in the shadows pulled back again, slightly, then turned away to leave. Sasuke turned back to the tree to grab the other kunai.
Sasuke reached for the kunai, when he felt a shock go through him. All of a sudden, his knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground. Slowly he began losing consciousness. He heard the sound of footsteps moving quickly toward him. Before he could see who it was, he passed out completely.
Sasuke woke in a daze, he was somewhere that had seemed familiar, though it wasn't his home. He lifted himself off of the bed he was laid on. The room had a violet theme to it, obviously a girl's room, still it was familiar to him.
Sasuke noticed that he was missing his shirt, and bandaged on his training wounds. Mostly on his fore and upper arms and one or two bandages on his cheeks.
He found his shirt on the stand beside the bed and slipped it on. He didn't want to leave this girl's house, whoever she was, without a shirt. It would only cause misunderstandings, depending on who this girl was.
The room was big, the kind that he remembered back at the Uchiha compound, only… well violet colored.
Sasuke walked over to the door of the room, he didn't want to spend too much time here, otherwise he might be… he didn't even want to know. Outside the room was an open area that looked like a training ground. Whoever lived here must train here very often.
No one was around and the area, so Sasuke quickly and quietly made his way towards the gate to leave.
Halfway down the hallway, Sasuke felt lost. This complex was… complex. He had no idea where he was going, but he figured he'd be better off moving and not be found, than to stay put and be found.
As Sasuke walked quickly, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. The sound was of more than one person, and they seemed to be moving slowly, though they weren't too far if he could hear them. Sasuke decided to move quicker.
He was close to the end of the hall, when he saw three shadows, looming at the end of the hall, they were around the corner of the hall, so they had yet to see Sasuke. And if he could help it, they wouldn't see him at all.
Acting on his ninja instinct, Sasuke darted forward, and silently slipped into an open room.
Closing the door, slightly, Sasuke could see the people as they passed by. Two of which looked to be guards, but one that looked very familiar.
Walking so casually down the hall was the genius, Neji Hyuuga. Sasuke couldn't believe that he was staring at Neji Hyuuga, of all people, in this place, and the only question that Sasuke's mind was screaming, was Why?
Sasuke backed away from the door slightly, thinking that they'd see his shadow and he'd be found.
The room he was in now, was another bedroom. Though this one was a bit different from the previous one. The other room, like this one, was a violet color, was plain and empty, aside from the bed. This room, however, had a lived in appeal, there were some a dresser in one corner, along with pictures along the wall. And some on the dresser itself.
There was some art on the walls, mostly what looked like drawings. And beside the bed was a nightstand that seemed to have a music box on top.
Sasuke moved around the room slowly, identifying everything around him. It came to his attention that this was obviously a girl's room, and that being found here, would be worse than being found in the halls. Though there were no windows in the room, so Sasuke had no way to leave the room other than the door.
As Sasuke looked around the room, Sasuke heard a small moan, coming from the opposite side of the room. Sasuke looked in the direction of the sound, only to see the bed.
It was covered in plush looking blankets that piled high on feathery mattresses. Against the headboard of the bed, were dozens of stuffed animals, all looking cute and fluffy, Sasuke thought to himself, 'yeah, definitely a girl's room'. He rolled his eyes, and turned his attention back to figuring out his escape.
Again, he heard a weak, low moan coming from the bed.
Sasuke looked again, and saw nothing but the many blankets and comforters atop the mattress. But still, the sound was coming from there.
Sasuke, against his better judgment, approached the bed. The bed looked perfectly made, and smoothed out, but figured that the thick blankets on the bed could easily cover up a person, and not show any sign of a person.
Sasuke placed his hand on the corner of the blanket. And somewhere in the back of his head, was that little voice, the one that always tells you when something seems like a bad idea. Well, that little voice, was screaming loud and clear, telling Sasuke to not do anything stupid. Unfortunately, Sasuke isn't famous for following other people's orders.
Sasuke laid his hand on the corner of the blanket and quickly, pulled it back. Sasuke was shocked at what was lying there on the bed. It was… nothing. Nothing more that a few stuffed animals, and he was right. These animals were the size of a large dog, and yet the blankets gave no sign of anything under them.
Sasuke sighed in relief, the moan he heard was probably nothing more than his imagination. Sasuke was moving away from the bed, when he heard it again, the soft, low moan of his imagination, though it was louder now, just a little bit, since he was so close to the bed.
To Sasuke's surprise, the sound he heard wasn't coming from the bed, but under it.
Sasuke knelt down and lifted the many comforters and blankets that fell over the bed and draped down to the floor. Beneath the bed was clean and empty, though Sasuke did see one thing underneath there, the producer of the tiny moan. It was a small body that looked to be curled into a ball.
Sasuke quickly dropped the blankets and comforter and moved away from the bed. He had not expected anyone to be there. But then, who would?
He hadn't got a good look at who it was, but at the moment, Sasuke could make a good guess at who it was under the bed.
That little voice was still screaming, only now, it was screaming for him to get out of the room and make a break for it. Though Sasuke, simply moved around the bed to the other side, hoping to identify this sleeping person.
He lifted the blankest once again, and looked under.
He was now, face-to-face, with the person he figured to be under the bed. Curled up into a ball, looking so innocent, was Hinata Hyuuga.
Sasuke slowly lowered the blankets and began to stand up. However, Sasuke had almost forgotten his surroundings, and bumped into the nightstand beside the bed.
He managed to not tip over the nightstand and caught the music box that toppled off, but the music box had opened from the fall, and out of it came a soft and sweet sounding lullaby.
It was a low sound, but the room was silent and still, so the music sounded loud in the silence of the room.
Before Sasuke could close the box, he saw a hand slowly poke out from under the blankets.
Sasuke was a trained ninja, but in that instant, he might as well have been bolted to the ground, because he felt that he couldn't move an inch. So much for his skills.
The hand that poked out from under the bed, was followed by a head, slowly coming out and looking up. Hinata's eyes were still, slightly closed, but even through her shut eyes, she could see the dark outline in the night's shadow that was Sasuke.
Once she saw Sasuke, she immediately let out a small, "Eeek," and fell back under the bed. Sasuke knew that this would be the opportune moment to leave, since he didn't want to have to explain why he was here, but he stayed bolted to the ground.
Hinata peeked out from under the bed, lifting the blankets slightly and staring at Sasuke. Even in the dark, Sasuke could tell that her eyes were starting to tear up. It was a typical Hinata thing for whenever she was scared.
Sasuke just looked at her, he finally put it all together, seeing Neji, the sense of familiarity, and now Hinata sleeping here. It was obvious now that he was in the Hyuuga manor.
Sasuke lowered his gaze and looked directly at Hinata, who slightly flinched back from his gaze, "what am I doing here?" he asked. Hinata looked up at him with scared eyes, she didn't know what to say at this moment, and Sasuke couldn't blame her, "were you the person who brought me here?" he asked. This time Hinata nodded, she still seemed to be frightened at Sasuke.
"well, you want to tell me why you brought me here?" Sasuke asked, trying to keep his tone calm and even. Hinata looked up at him and slowly slid back underneath the bed.
Sasuke sighed, as he saw her slide away. She didn't want to answer him.
Sasuke stood up, and just decided that he should just leave as quickly as possible. He began moving to the door, when he heard rustling coming from the bed.
He turned to see, Hinata, standing beside the bed, in her nightgown, clutching something to her chest in one hand, and in the other, was a kunai.
Sasuke looked confused, as to why she had that of all things now, they were comrades, not enemies. Hinata inched toward Sasuke, while he did the same, until they were only about a foot apart.
Hinata held out the kunai, offering it to him. Sasuke saw how scratched up the kunai was, and that's when he recognized it as one of the kunai he had been training with before. He took it from her and eyed it for a moment. He suddenly remember passing out and seeing Hinata's face before he blacked out.
"so, you did bring me here, right?" he asked again, this time without trying to be relaxed, Hinata nodded slightly and moved her other hand to clutch whatever it was she had to her chest tighter. "y-you were hurt…. A-and I just d-d-didn't want you t-to…" Sasuke understood now, "thank you Hinata, I get it."
He slipped the kunai into one of his pockets and smiled at her, a rare thing, but still.
"so, would you mind showing me out of here? I have no idea where I'm going in this place." He said with a small grin, Hinata giggled slightly at his comment, she figured that this would happen, though she hadn't expected it to happen in the middle of the night.
"sure, follow me." her nervousness, seemed to evaporate away with her giggle.
She led him through the halls, keeping out of sight, and eventually taking a hidden path to avoid a guard.
Sasuke had noticed that the thing that she was clutching to her chest, was a stuffed animal. Though it wasn't like the other ones that she had on her bed. This plush doll, seemed to be hand made, and looked as though it had been squeezed many times, the way she had now. the stuffed animal, seemed to be a fox, most likely for the reason that everyone knew.
Once they finally reached the gate, Sasuke thanked her, "thanks for the help Hinata. I really owe you." Hinata seemed surprised at this comment and began to object, "no, no. I didn't do this for you to owe me anything. Please, you don't have to worry."
Sasuke figured that he'd leave it at that, but he didn't like being indebted to someone, "no Hinata, I owe you for helping me this afternoon, as well as helping me get out of here. There's got to be something I can do for you."
Hinata waved off his offer, "you really don't have to do anything. So just don't worry about it." she seemed to be sincere in her objection, but something seemed to be troubling her still. Like she was second guessing herself, but didn't want to trouble Sasuke.
Sasuke thought it over for a moment, and it hit him, the only thing that Hinata would be second guessing herself about. Though he figured it'd be rude to just say it out loud, "Hinata, there has to be something I can do for you… anything." He sounded desperate, he needed to if he wanted to make it up to her, and this was the only thing he knew that he could do.
"you don't need to do anything for me Sasuke. Really, I'm fine with helping you." She said, Sasuke started to get frustrated, "you're telling me, that there's nothing that you want? Something that you can't get on your own?" he was dropping small hints now, and if Hinata didn't take them he was down to his last resort.
Hinata's face began to look slightly flushed, even in the moonlight. "n-no, n-n-nothing you can h-help m-me with…" she said, clearly she was thinking of the same thing Sasuke was.
Her stubbornness and nervousness were on Sasuke's nerves, 'alright! That's it!' he thought to himself. "well Hinata, I did seem to notice that fox you're holding," he said casually, Hinata looked down at the fox she was now crushing to her chest, "maybe I can help you with something like that" he knew that she understood, and Sasuke was glad.
Hinata's cheeks grew redder and redder, as Sasuke mentioned the fox. She was sure that he didn't know the meaning of it, but still, it made her so embarrassed to show how attached to it she was. Because it reminded her of, him.
"w-well, I d-do know, one th-thing." Sasuke grinned, she finally took the bait, now he just had to see if he could get her. "i-its ab-bout… Naruto."
Thank you for reading, I know it took forever to make this story. But I wanted to get this just right. Let me know if there's anything that I should fix in this story. Thanks again for reading, and please be patient for the next chapter.