Uchiha Sasuke walked out of his boarding room door and drove his black Z-9 to the Orochimaru Academy. "Hmph," He thought to himself, "If Orochimaru could get anymore self centered. Who has an academy named after yourself? Especially when your the princable of the hell-hole." The boarding rooms were two miles from the actual class buildings, so who ever didn't have a car had to get up early and try to hitch a ride. Everyone always asked Sasuke for a ride; Sasuke always turned his head. He wasn't in the mood for people to spill something and stain his new seats, or annoy him and have him drive of a cliff to end his misery.

Sasuke parked his car in front of his building and went inside. The hallways were silient, the doors were closed, everyone was allready in class. Sasuke opened the door to the weight and strength training class and took a seat in the front. "Ah, nice of you to join us, Mr. Uchiha," the jounin said, "Always late, as usual."

Of course the last seat avaliable was located next to the biggest idiot one could ever imagine, Uzumaki Naruto. "Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto whispered, "Want to be my partner for the exercise?" Sasuke ignored him.

When it was time to chose partners Sasuke got up, didn't spare Naruto an eye, and looked for a misfit. He spotted one! A girl, long dark hair, looking very timid and shy. He grabbed her and told her she was his partner. She covered her face with her hair and didn't speak to him. Everyone went to the gym and went through the sparing exercises and weight lifting to better their strength. Then stretched and focused on their chakaras. The bell rang and the girl stood up to leave. Sasuke grabbed her arm and asked coldy, "What's your name?"

"Hyuga Hinata," she said, flustering a little.

"Uchiha Sasuke," He replied.

"I know," She murmured and walked off. Sasuke grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.

"How would you know? I've never seen you before," Sasuke asked. She only shrugged before moving through the hallways to her next class.

"Hey!" Naruto screamed in Sasuke's ear. Sasuke cringed. "How come you blew me off for Hinata?"

"You know her?" Sasuke asked confused.

"She's been here for about two weeks. Orochimaru called me to show her around the school her first day here. She doesn't say much and is very quiet, kind of like you. She has a cousin who enrolled her here, but no other family memebers are on her record. She sits with Aburame Shino, Inozuka Kiba and Gaara at lunch, though I never she her talking much. So what's your interest in her?"

"Seems like you have more interest in her Baka."

Sasuke walked off leaving Naruto with a confused look on his face. Sasuke went to change his clothes and then he jogged out to the track. He stretched before running lap after lap on the track. He had purposely left out a free period, instead of signing up for something useless like study hall to train on his own. He finished about 34 laps for the one hour period then went in to take a shower. He killed another twenty minutes in the library catching up on homework so he could pass his classes with straight A's without his "friends" knowing.

The lunch bell finialy rang and Sasuke headed down to the lunch room. He grabbed a tiny bowl of ramen and an apple, then went and sat at his lunch table. Naruto was shoving his mouth full of ramen; two empty large bowls sat beside the one he was frantically devouring. Nara Shikamaru was flirting with Ten Ten. Rock Lee was listening to Vamanaka Ino and Temari talk about some girls hair, and Haruno Sakura was sitting in Sasuke's seat.

"Sakura," Sasuke said, she turned around with a big grin on her face, but Sasuke's voice was flat and cold when he said, "Get the hell out of my seat."

"Uhm yea, sure Sasuke," She moved over a seat. "So I was wondering if you'd want to come over to my house tonight? All of us were going to watch a movie and order some food."

"Get off me Haruno."

"Get off her Uchiha!" Ino said, "Get your nuts out of a knot, she just asked you to come over and watch a movie with us, she didn't ask you to wipe Naruto's butt or ask you to prom, or a date or something!"

"No, but do you know how many times she has?" Sasuke asked in the same cold voice.

"Enough for you to snap at her everytime she does?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and picked up his half aten apple and ramen that was barely touched and threw them away. He didn't want to go back to the table but he had to. They were less annoying than the other idiots in the school. Shikamaru used to be Sasuke's best friend, and Kiba used to make them three, but times change, and so do people.

"So, Sasuke," Shikamaru agknowleged him, "Naruto says you were hitting it up with Hina this morning in class?"

"Oh, so Naruto could get his face out of his bowl long enough to tell you other people's business?" Sasuke asked.

"So it's true?" Temari asked.

"No, it is not true. Now Temari and Shikamaru, I respect you both, shut up before I insult you."

"What's your problem today man?" Shikamaru asked, "Something's racking up your nerves."

Sasuke just shrugged his shoulders and got up and left right as the bell rang.

When all classes ended Sasuke got into his car and drove to his room. He opened the door, changed clothes and went for another run. Sasuke passed Saukra's board and saw all the guys' cars parked out front. He considered going in but thought better of it and ran another three miles before crashing at his house. He grabbed his mail from the metal boxes incased into the wall, then walked into his room. He threw the mail, mostly party invitations, that he would never go to, and picked up the letter he was most dreading to find. He had been waiting on it for over three months. Itatchi said he would send it soon, but soon was never a word in Itatchi's vocabulary.

Sasuke,

I'm sorry to say that you will have to spend yet another year at the academy. You are not nearly strong enough to fullfill your duties with me yet. Enclosed I have requirments for each day over the next year, which is why it took so long for me to send this. You will graduate next year so it will be perfect. I know I never intended on you graduating middle school but times are changing. The killers are on a bound, I can't quite keep them in my sights. And no Sasuke, you wouldn't be any better than I am at finding them.

Mother would be proud of you.

-Itatchi.

'That was it? Another training schedule with harder workouts? Another set of weights that were heavier? Another year waiting to regain my honor as a Uchiha? Three months for a lousy paragraph? Father wouldn't be proud of me? My brother isn't proud of me? Only my soft mother would be proud that I graduated. Not of any of my other acheivements?' Sasuke thought wildly.

Sasuke had just gone off the deep end. If he had any sanity before he didn't have any now. He skipped dinner and worked out in the gym, lifting three times his body weight. Punching the bag so hard the chain almost broke. Kicking the dummies till he kicked the head off of the one. He was oblivious to the girl watching him destroy the items in pure fury.

Hinata spoke up when Sasuke stopped to throw the head across the gym. Sasuke got down on his knees, eyes filled with water. "Do you think the academy will make you pay for that?" She said softly.

Sasuke threw his head around and stared at her in blank horror. No one had ever seen Sasuke like this. "Go!" He yelled, "Leave me alone!"

Hinata heard his voice crack. She knew he was more sad, than mad. She didn't know why but she wanted to be there for him. Hinata went over and sat beside him. Sasuke stared at her with disbelief. "Did you not hear me?" He yelled, "Get away!" She didn't move.

From what Naruto had told her, Hinata knew Sasuke would never hurt her. Sasuke had never gotten into a single fight. No one messed with him. He worked out, ran, swam, did everything physically possible to make himself stronger, but he never used it on anyone. His parent's died and his brother Itatchi enrolled him here. They had one thing in common. One relative left to tell their tale.

Sasuke collasped on the floor. Hinata seemed innocent but they always do. The next thing he knew, Hyuga would be telling everyone in a ten mile radius that Uchiha had a mental breakdown at the gym. "Can you do me a favor?" He asked her, she nodded her head, "Don't tell anyone about this."

"Why would I?" Hinata asked.

"Why wouldn't you?" Sasuke asked in reply.

"It's not my position to tell anyone about this. Hey, and think of it this way, what do you think my friends would say if I told them about you? Gaara couldn't care less, and Shino and Kiba are too far into each other to care about anyone else. It would be pointless."

Sasuke calmed down. He hadn't been calm since before his last meeting with his brother three months before. "Your allright Hinata," Sasuke said, "I haven't been this calm in forever..." He dazed off a little.

"I didn't do anything," She flustered.

"No but you were here for me. No one ever is."

Hinata knew the feeling. Neji could care less about her. That's why she was enrolled here. Neji got sick of her always being around. So, after six years of having Hinata and taking care of her, he shipped her off to this academy. 'Bastard,' She thought. Blushing at her choice of words.

Sasuke misread and thought she was blushing at him and he scowled. Hinata shook her head and said, "I was thinking of my cousin. He's not that wonderful. My thought's surprised me is all." Sasuke nodded and his stomach growled. "Would you like to go get something to eat?"

"I, uhm," The last thing Sasuke needed was to be spotted at a resturant with Hinata.

"We could order some chicken and rice, but we don't have to."

"No, that sounds perfect," He got up, and gave her a hand, "Would you like to come over to my room? We could watch a movie."

"That sounds good," Hinata smiled.

It was then that Sasuke realized that Hinata had only a sports bra on and a pair of really short shorts. She must have come to work out, but got sidetracted when Sasuke was on a rampage. He felt bad.

When they got to his room Sasuke put on a shirt and he asked Hinata if she would like one too. She thanked him and couldn't help notice how nicely his shirt clung to him. 'Hinata! Stop checking him out!' She thought to herself. He threw her a black t-shirt that hung down over her shorts. She even notcied how it smelled like him, she had a hard time not to just dig her face into the shirt.

Sasuke order the food and brought some movies out of his closet, all horror of course. But he couldn't help noticing how the way the shirt hung on Hinata made her look like she had just got out of bed without pants on. 'It made her look cute' he remarked to himself, 'Shut up!' He yelled at himself. But he couldn't help going over to hug her.

"What was that all about?" She asked.

"To thank you properly for earlier," Sasuke answered, feeling dumb.

Hinata smiled and hugged him again. It caught him off guard but he smiled, chuckled, and hugged her back.

"Hinata, you are something special," He smiled. She blushed, and this time he let her.

The food arrived shortly after Hinata had picked a less gruesome looking movie, but little did she know it was the scariest. They sat on his bed and watched it. Halfway through Hinata shrieked and threw her bowl of rice everwhere. A tear escaped her eye, but she quickly wiped it away. Sasuke saw it though and hugged her. He didn't know what had caused the pain in her eyes, but it had something to do with the tied up man with a knife sticking out of his throat.

"It's allright Hinata," He whispered in her ear.

Sasuke held her for ten minutes before she removed her face from his neck. "I-I-I'm so sorry," She cryed.

"Why?" He asked in concern, "There's nothing to be sorry for."

Hinata shook her head, some rice fell out of it. She then realized that her bowl of chicken and rice had spilled all over both of them, his bed, his floor. Sasuke turned the television off and grabbed a trash can. He picked the pieces of rice out of her hair, then he slowly picked up every piece of rice, with her help. He changed his sheets while she picked his mail up off his floor. She noticed the open letter. She noticed the word "killers." But she didn't read it. She expressed her concerns with Sasuke but he brushed it off and threw the letter away, keeping the training schedule.

Sasuke let Hinata finish his bowl of chicken and rice, claiming he wasn't hungry. He put on some heavy metal music, but turning down the volume so it was barely audiable. She finished the bowl quickly and they sat on his bed and talked about random subjects. Hinata yawned and laid down beside Sasuke as he followed in suit. He glanced at the clock and noticed that it was two AM.

"Hey Hinata," He whispered.

"Hm?" She sighed.

"It's two AM, but it's allright if you want to stay the night. It's friday, no school tomorow."

"Would you mind?" She asked.

Sasuke nodded his head and pulled her close. Her skin was cold, so he pulled the covers tight around he shoulders. She dug her face into his chest and fell asleep right away. It didn't take him long after that to fall asleep either.

"Mom? Dad?" The little boy cryed as he saw his parents covered in blood. He fell down, crawled in between the two and held onto both of them. How could he let this happen? His mother told him to hide in the chute but he couldn't have know who was banging on the door! Could he? He couldn't have saved them! Couldn't he have?

A new boy entered the scene, yelling at the little boy. How could he have let this happen? Why couldn't he have died with them? He was weak! A disgrace to his family name! Good for nothing, worthless, idiotic child! Fire flew out of the older boy's mouth. The fire chased the little boy burning him, stinging him, till he was just laying in pain.

"Sasuke!" He heard a voice yelling, "Sasuke! Sasuke! Wake up!"

He woke up. He was sweaty, crying. Squeezing Hinata's hands. He let go. She hugged him, he sat in a trance. She went and got him a glass of water and he slowly broke out of his dream. He couldn't stop the flow from his eyes but he laid back down. Hinata asked him if he wanted her to leave, but that wouldn't sit well with him. Hinata was never going to leave Sasuke. She meant to much to him whether or not he liked it or not. He couldn't lose her too. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back onto the bed. He covered her back up and pulled her into a hug.

"I can't lose you too," Sasuke breathed.

"I'm not going anywhere," she whispered. He ran her fingers through his hair and he finially fell asleep as the sun started to rise. She watched him with drowsy eyes and fell asleep herself.