PE: Yes, yet another story. This, however, is just a two-shot.

Things you might need to know, because I like spoiling you:

Character death(s)
The gods and angels, the heavens and the hells...
Though it may say Romance/Spiritual, this has an amount of angst/drama in it.
Because dead people tend to be out of their nature.

Should you dare, my dears, read on...

x

x

A gorgeous field of flowers, surrounded by a lush forest.

A clear blue sky with few puffy white clouds.

One white-eyed, bright-pink cheeked, 17-year-old girl picking said flowers and braiding them into a chain.

No one can bother her, and very few will reach her in this state of bliss.

This was Hinata Hyuuga's dream.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A field of white clouds and the gentle sun shining above, a golden gate surrounding the court.

An ethereal judge sitting on a throne, facing a table with a gavel with a panel of angels at his side.

One scowling prisoner with a black halo over his head, his body chained by white steel that was stained with blood.

The man's afterlife was decided by the heavenly beings in front of him, yet his face was indifferent. Death was bound to come after him anyway and he could care less about prissy bitches with wings.

This was Sasuke Uchiha's fate in the heavens.

x

x

"The prisoner's status will be stated: Uchiha Sasuke, lived for 18 years, no current living relatives, was a resident of Konohagakure, and the cause of death for the entire Otogakure population and Uchiha Itachi. Further sentencing is now awaited." The judge announced, his voice booming over the plain of clouds. Murmurs spread across the panel, irritating the black-haired man.

"What about it?" Sasuke snapped, not even caring how he got here. Yes, it looked like a heaven, but he refused to believe it. Even if the rest of his supposedly deceased family, including a smirking elder brother, were standing behind a golden gate. It was probably a genjutsu...

The judge raised an eyebrow, combing through his white beard. "Excuse me, mortal? Your soul was a bare millimeter from being destroyed, leaving us to rescue you, and you still dare to--"

"Sir, please." The head of the panel, the angel with long, light-brown hair interrupted. "We are to give every soul chance to redeem themselves. I propose a test for the Uchiha."

"What test?"

The archangel readjusted his glasses, flipping through a book handed to him by one of the council. "Since there are no records of any intimate love in the mortal's life, I say he must enter a dream of a living human and make her fall in love. The time limit would end when she wakes up. Of course this will be likewise for him."

Sasuke gagged inwardly, not at what he was supposed to do, but at the nonexistent difficulty of the task. There was bound to be someone who still--

"Blasphemy!" The god snorted. "Almost every girl in his home village has an infatuation on this mortal. It will be too easy."

Yah. Speak the truth.

"Then it is his job to find one that has not spoken or thought once about his looks, beauty, or power. He will also have to learn how to give and receive love in turn." Another of the council-angel piped up and a splash of agreeing murmurs flooded the vast Courtland.

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed and the edge of his mouth twitched. "Hell no."

"You will take the test." The archangel glared at him. "Otherwise, you will be reincarnated into an fly or be imprisoned in mental anguish for a millenia. If it were up to me, I would pick all three for you--whether you passed or not."

The chains rattled slightly, due to the black-haired man's frustration. The deceased family waited beyond the gates, almost all left with a bated breath (Itachi was trying extremely hard not to laugh). The Courtland was silent, all waiting on the youngest Uchiha's answer.

Then came one word...

"Fine."

x

x

Hinata was just sitting on the field, picking flowers and making a little chain. A 17-year-old teen or not, you still couldn't take away the simple pleasure of being with flowers. Small animals, such as deer or white mice, came once in a while. She was more than content to place the flower laces on the animals since she couldn't wear all of the crowns she made. Even if a flower was plucked, another would blossom in place.

Soundlessly, another being poofed behind her. He glowered, obviously not liking the dreamland scenery. Crimson eyes focused on the back of a girl, who was humming a tuneless song.

"Hey." He grunted, resting a hand on his hip. 'Might as well get this over with...'

The indigo head turned, peering at him with innocent, white eyes. Her face was riddled with mild shock but continued to smile at him anyway. "Uchiha-san?"

Sasuke rattled his mind for names. 'Hyuuga...Hyuuga...Hyuuga what? Hinata?'

Hinata turned around, resuming with her work. "I know we d-don't know each other w-well but will you s-sit here with me?"

Shy.

Weak

Quiet.

How hard was this going to be for a spot in heaven with his deceased family?

Reluctantly, he made his way, finding a spot with no flowers. They sat relatively close to each other as he was watching her continue to make crowns. Her face was flushed...was it from shyness or a fever?

Then, she giggled. Sasuke was brought out of his trance, feeling something slither up his right arm and something tug on his left shoulder. A snake made its way to his neck as a fox was biting gently on his clothes. He was used to the snakes, due to quality time with Orochimaru, but the canine was new.

"If you make a flower necklace for them," Hinata instructed gently, handing one to him. "They will leave."

The Uchiha took the daisies, placing it on the fox's head. It sat expectantly, as if waiting for something else. The Hyuuga came over, scratching it behind its orange ears. The snake slid away angry at the canine for getting more attention.

"See?" She smiled. He looked away, almost glaring at a rose.

"I'm not that used to this kind of...thing." It was a long time ago since his mother showed him how to woo girls with bouquets and flowers...

Hinata tugged on his hand and they both stood up. "Since you aren't accustomed to this p-place, is there somewhere you want to go?" A dream was a dream...you could change it to any form you wanted.

Sasuke thought about it. 'Somewhere...I would like to go?' Well, there were a few places he wanted to see before his final destination.

"...And make her fall in love."

"Anywhere?"

"Any place you want. It's my dream."

"The Uchiha grounds then, before it was burnt down."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Soon, they were now standing in front of a large but plain mansion. Sasuke blinked, seeing the house he spent a quarter of his childhood in. Even with his faint memory, it was exactly how he remembered it...

"If you don't mind me asking..." Hinata tried hard not to stare at it. "Why do you have a black halo floating above your head?"

The Uchiha raised a hand, feeling the halo. 'Oh yes...I'm dead.'

"Actually, I do mind. Would you like to see the house?" He offered a hand to her, trying to be more of a gentleman. It was sort of odd for him really.

He felt, dare I say it...giddy. Not the grin-like-an-idiot-and-jump-up-and-down giddy though. It's been ages since he last saw a vision of it, not to mention actually be in it, dream or not.

She wondered if the Uchiha house was similar to the Hyuuga, seeing as how they were/are powerful and rich clans of Konoha. Hinata nodded anyway and tried to take his hand, only to have it slip through.

"The girl will be able to touch you when love reaches her, Uchiha." The judge's voice spoke in his mind. Sasuke sighed. In one lifetime or the next, things would never seem to go his way...

"It seems you'll just have to follow me, Hyuuga."

And follow him, she did. Neither of them talked for the first few rooms as he led her through the courtyard, kitchen, a half-a-dozen hallways, and the parents' room. Mental pain started acting up as Sasuke entered his old room, seeing the familiar neatness of it. A small bed by the window, a closet full of dark shirts and white shorts, and a small wolf doll placed neatly on the windowsill.

He picked up the wolf doll, seeing its black fur with the dark-blue tips of the ears, an odd white tail with the end dipped in red that matched both their eyes. An impassive frown formed on his lips.

"Is that yours, Uchiha-san?" Hinata asked. It was hard to imagine him as a child, actually playing with dolls...

"I can't remember." Sasuke replied softly, gripping the plushie harder. He had seen the doll before, but never remembered having it in his childhood. Tossing the wolf away, he looked under the bed, seeing a box of pictures.

Hinata picked up the discarded plushie, patting the soft fur. She kneeled by him, as he started to look through old photos. They included people who looked interestingly similar to Sasuke, meaning they were his family. Some containing shots of the Uchiha Senbeiya, some of the entire clan (probably took a while to get them all in there), and some of just him acting like a child for once...

He looked through all of the photographs, stopping long at the one with a younger version of him hugging Itachi at the waist. His eyebrow twitched at the...sweetness of the photo. Itachi looked somewhat happy with a hand patting the Young Sasuke's hair while small arms tried to encircle the elder.

"Is that you?" Hinata found the picture cute but chose not to voice it. The Uchiha might get angry. But the photo was proof that he wasn't as bad as Naruto bragged for him to be..

"It seems so..."

x

x

"Ha! See? At least one of my boys knows how to get a girl."

"But, haha-ue...what about me?"

"Err...of course, Itachi-kun. You know how to woo ladies, right?"

"Uhh..."

"Nonsense! The boy practically spent his life with nine other men. Is that not taboo, Mikoto?"

"Well, no, Fugaku-sama. Maybe he was too busy looking after Sasuke. You did check after your brother every once in a while, right, Itachi-kun?"

"Mmm, well...About that..."

The whole clan surrounded Itachi in seconds, waiting for an explanation. He sighed, wishing Sasuke would come up here so he could have someone to annoy. The Uchiha family had forgiven Itachi for the massacre but he wasn't sure to gamble with their temper, even high up in heaven's clouds. They were over-protective of the little brat, in his oh-so-humble opinion.

Well, they both became missing-nin for one...

...Both of them got black halos...

...And neither of them got a wife, which was usually solved by an arranged marriage or two. But since they were both dead and heaven didn't allow marriages...

Would it be better if he created a diversion from the whole torturing-Sasuke/being-a-bad-influence thing?

"All right, my dear family. It's better if you hear this from me rather than from someone else..."

x

x

"Do you want s-something to drink?" Hinata asked all of the sudden, breaking the quiet.

"You can drink in a dream?" Sasuke stood, wrinkling a nose. Who knows what else you could do? All he had were dreamless nights...

"Sure. A dream is a fantasy." She stood up, exiting the room. He stuffed the last photo in his clothes and followed her, seeing a familiar teapot being used. In an instant, the pot whistled and Hinata poured the hot water in two small cups. The water quickly turned a pale green and darkened slightly, showing the essence of tea.

Sasuke placed a hand on the counter, taking his cup as she handed it. For a split-second, he could have sworn...

Their hands touched. Her hand was quite warm, if he hadn't been imagining things.

Suddenly, she raised a hand. Her palm reached to cup his cheek, only to pass through the pale skin. Hinata smiled wistfully. "S-sorry. I thought I felt y-your hands and I th-thought..."

He noticed her voice stutter a bit. Was she really blushing or was it a fever? She dropped her gaze, embarrassed by her actions as shown by her flushed face. They stood not too far from each other, sipping tea peacefully.

The Uchiha titled his head slightly. "You...grew out your hair." A desperate attempt for conversation but he wasn't one to talk much.

Hinata brought a hand to twirl an indigo strand. "Mm-hmm."

"I liked it shorter."

"Oh."

Sasuke sighed, having an urge to bite the teacup. Where were a big brother's tips for catching girls now? He knew very little on how to deal about these women creatures, much less take care of one.

The Hyuuga mistook his sigh for a bored one. "Why d-don't we go somewhere else?"

Before Sasuke had anytime time to respond, a harmless whirlwind blew around them. When the wind finally died, the surroundings changed to a sunset on the docks. Hinata was sitting on the edge of the boat-less pier. He was still standing, holding the cup of tea.

"Will you s-sit with me, Uchiha-san?"

And he did, just after leaving the tea on the pier. Her eyes were fixed on the sun in front of them, watching the twilight rays. "What d-do you time do you th-think it is?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Sunset?"

Hinata shook her head and placed her cup on the wood. "Sunrise."

How could you tell though? The sun moved at a slow pace, so you couldn't keep watching if it moved up or down.

"Do you...r-remember my n-name?"

"No. What is it?" It wasn't that he didn't know; he just wasn't sure.

"Hinata."

Sasuke looked at the blue-orange sea. Hinata? Relative of Hyuuga Neji? That girl who Naruto kept rambling about whose cousin beat her at the chuunin exams?

"Uchiha-san...why d-did you come here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Usually when a p-person appears in a dream, they h-have something to s-say." She took off her sandals, dipping her pale toes into the water. He wondered, how someone could be so carefree, even in a dream.

"I do have something to tell you," Sasuke now stared at the orange-violet sky. "I'm dead."

Hmm. Maybe that was a little too blunt...

She did not reply, probably shocked or trying to absorb the information.

"They wanted me to tell someone I could trust and someone who didn't let their feelings get in the way," The Uchiha reached for his halo, slender fingers wrapping around it. "My body won't be found anyway, being far too desecrated to be recognized. I want you to tell the Hokage I'm dead. They don't have to hold a fancy ceremony but...it's better if they stop looking."

For a moment, Sasuke thought she had left. His hand dropped back to the wooden wharf and his head turned to look. Hinata was still there, hastily wiping her tears.

"I'm s-sorry but I can't, Uchiha-san." She hiccupped and her face seemed to get more flushed. "I j-just can't..."

He raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes. "You get too attached easily. It's just a fucking dream."

Sasuke raised a hand, meaning to feel her forehead for a fever. The Hyuuga backed up, almost afraid of his touch. He grabbed her wrist to steady her and put the back of his hand on her forehead gently, then felt her cheek.

"You have a fever."

"U-uchiha-san...Your hands..."

"What about them? You're the one needing medical assistance." Sasuke let go of her, scowling yet again. Hinata inched closer to him, reaching for his head. Her hand tangled itself in his black hair, her fingernails gently rubbing his scalp. He winced at her touch, reminding him of his mother's fingers...

"You...n-never seem to be h-happy..."

'You will be able to touch her when love reaches her, Uchiha.'

"I have an eternity to spend with my family...of course I'm happy." If his nose grew for every lie, it would touch the sun.

The Hyuuga withdrew her hand from his hair, taking the Uchiha's hand. His skin was cold like ice but it calmed her at the least. "You're n-not happy. Is th-there something m-missing?"

Missing? No. The only thing gone from his miserable soul was--

Love? Sasuke bit his lower lip, annoyed at his spiritual state. With an actual body, the ice facade was easier to put up. 'Arrgh, emotions.'

"Uchiha-san?"

"... ."

"Uchiha--"

"What?" He snapped irritably, being brought back to reality.

Hinata winced at his cold tone but held his hand up, wrapped by hers. "You're...d-disappearing...Your skin is t-turning transparent and your halo is turning s--"

A wind blew by Sasuke's fading ears just before he completely vanished from Hinata's dream.

"If it makes you happy...I'll stay with you..."

x

x

"No! Itachi-kun...Don't say it!"

"I'm gay, haha-ue." Well, they did forget about Sasuke long enough not to punch his soul... (Yah, you can fight in that heaven.)

"You bastard! How dare you shame the Uchiha sexuality?"

"Shame it how, chichi-ue?

"You...turned your brother into a dead stick, you--you...pedophile!"

"Oi, old man. The direction where Sasuke's door slides open is not my problem or fault..."

"Yes it is, or have you forgotten that the entire Uchiha clan is dead? If you or your brother had gotten at least one girl pregnant, we would have a faint chance to recover. But no-oo-oo...both of you just had to kill each other and die."

An exasperted sigh. "Of course, chichi-ue..."

x

x

Covered in a light sweat and the sun's rays battering upon it, Hinata's eyes snapped open. She sat up briskly, seeing her old room again. Her breath was labored and fingers combed through her hair.

Was it real?

Was Sasuke really...dead?

The Hyuuga's vision became blurry and tears started falling to their own accord. She tried to wipe them away but they kept rolling down her cheeks. A slight pain attacked her heart, almost crushing it.

Like he said, it was just a fucking dream.

So why was she crying?

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Neji heard soft footsteps in the hallway, assuming it was either Hinata or Hanabi. Hiashi wanted to talk to the Branch member but disappeared for the time being. He was now sitting, bored of sipping his morning tea.

A faint scent of salt hit his sensitive nose. Tears, maybe? Whatever.

The door slid open, revealing a puffy-eyed, sniffling Hinata holding a glass of water.

"Hinata-sama?" Neji almost gasped, never seeing his cousin this sad in some time.

"Pl-please don't ask me how I am, N-neji-nii-san." She murmured in the softest voice, taking a small sip.

"Okay..." He didn't know how to address the proper question. Would it be rude? Would she mind him asking?

"Hinata-sama, forgive me but...why did you cut your hair?"

x

x

When I saw the selfishness from praying for you to come back,
I realized there was nothing I could do for you.

This faint memory of your soul that is buried inside of my heart,
It was just like a drop of water.

It evaporated away, leaving an invisible trace that makes my mind wonder,
"Were you ever there?"

When all I can do now is wish for never-ending rain,
A voice always retorts back angrily,
"You are foolish to yearn for never-ending pain..."

x

x

PE: "Chichi-ue" and "haha-ue" are used to address "Father" or "Mother" in a more formal way. (When speaking or addressing them)

Sort of like "otou-san"/"otou-sama" or "okaa-san"/"okaa-sama", which is more general.

The Uchiha Senbeiya is the Uchiha Sweet Rice Crackers Shop.

Review if you wish.

There is one more chapter to this!