A/N:
Warning: This story contains elements of prostitution and trigger words related to the dark side of that topic.

His plans were originally to go out and get drunk, but it turned out Sasuke's sense of direction was off that night. Why else would he have found himself parked a distance away from Hinata's apartment building.

This is fucking stupid, he rebuked himself as he stared at her tenement. A little over two weeks after she had left and he still couldn't get her out of his mind. Regardless, he wouldn't succumb to pining for her. Such idiocy was Naruto's department.

Just as he was about to turn his car back on to leave, he saw a shadowy figure on the roof of the building. In the dark, he could only make out that it was a woman, and she was disturbingly close to the edge.

The image of Hinata, when she was once close to falling from the same rooftop, raced through his mind. She had put herself in that position, and it agitated him that it could be her up there again.

A pit formed in his chest, compelling him to get out of his car. But just as he did so, the woman toppled over the ledge of the roof, her high-pitched scream filling the quiet, night air. As fast as she had fallen, the woman met her end; even from across the street, Sasuke could hear the breaking of bone that came from the crush of the body against the hard, dirt ground. Silence befell the night once more.

He rushed to her. When he saw who it wasn't, relief released the tension in his muscles. This woman was blonde.

But then he realized what he was seeing—a body unmoving, dead, with dark blood spilling from her head, staining the weeds around her.

Turning away, he closed his eyes, but the image was already captured in his memory, daring to haunt his mind, so he opened his eyes and looked everywhere else. His shaky hand grabbed his hair as heat rushed through his body. He felt dizzy, lightheaded. Before he could lose consciousness, he stepped away from the body and closer to the street for fresher air. Taking out his phone from his pocket, he hoped the voice from the other line he was calling would distract the image from his thoughts.

"9-1-1," said a female. "What's your emergency?"

"A woman fell from the roof of a building."

Suddenly, the sound of tires screeching was heard. He looked in the direction of the noise and managed to catch a dark-colored car speeding away.

"Sir?"

"What?"

"Can you tell me the location," she repeated.

It didn't take long for the police to arrive. The ambulance came just after.

Once the scene was assessed, Sasuke was taken to the police precinct for further questioning as a witness, seeing as how he was visibly uncomfortable at the site. He gave his testimony about the car, even knew part of the license plate number because it was the same numbers as his birthday. Though the officers took it, they weren't as active as they were about the rest of his account. After his cooperation, he was on his way out of the building.

But then he saw her.

Hinata trudged alongside Sakura, their cheeks stained with tears. Both wore jackets to hide their outfits that left little to the imagination. A cop escorted them.

Sasuke stopped, yet she did not look up at him. Just as she was about to pass, he grabbed her arm, but immediately let go afterward.

Finally, she paused and met his eyes. "Sasuke," she half-whispered.

He stuffed his hand in his pants. "What are you doing here?" he voiced casually.

Sakura placed herself between the two and snapped, "What's it to you?" Wrapping an arm around Hinata's shoulders, she said, "Let's go, Hinata," and they continued on.

"She was your friend?" he said, causing them to stop again.

"How," Hinata turned to him, "do you know…?"

"Were you there?" Sakura probed. "Did you see it happen? You saw her die?"

Sasuke's gaze returned to Hinata's. He didn't reply.

To the cop, she said, "You got everything out of him, right?"

"This way, please," responded the officer, gesturing for the women to continue walking forth.

"It wasn't suicide, right?" Sakura insisted to Sasuke, her tone firm. "The stupid cops think it's suicide, but Ino wouldn't do something like that."

Perceiving her threatening aura, Hinata took her arm. "Come on, Sakura," she said, unraveling Sakura's trembling fist to help guide her in the direction the officer wanted them to go.

"Ask him, Hinata," she pleaded behind watery eyes. "He'll answer you, won't he?"

Hinata managed to not give in to the urge to look at him again. He waited for her to, but she wouldn't. Rather, the girls went on into the room the policeman took them to and disappeared once the door closed.

"This officer will take you home," said a policeman as he gestured to another.

"Actually," said the other officer, "that man over there offered to take them."

The girls looked in the direction he pointed toward. Resting upon a bench, with his arms crossed and his head down was Sasuke.

"Do you know him?"

"Yeah," Sakura said reluctantly, as Hinata nodded her head. "We know him."

The girls approached him, but he made no movement to look at them. In fact, he appeared asleep. Sakura told Hinata to wake him up.

First, Hinata tried by calling his name. He didn't even stir. Bending forward slightly to get a better look at him, she noticed his features were not relaxed. As she wondered whether he was perhaps dreaming of something unhappy, she took hold of his arm and nudged him. Unexpectedly, he sprang awake, striking Hinata across the face in the process. His eyes widened briefly before realizing what he had done. Composing his features, he stood up.

Hinata took a small step back as she held her cheek. Sakura asked her if she was okay, but her response was overshadowed by the booming voice of an officer, who saw the action from afar.

"Hey," barked the cop. After he came to them, he demanded, "What's going on here?"

"It was an accident," explained Sasuke.

Eyeing him, the officer said, "Yeah. I hear that a lot."

"No," said Hinata, "it—it was. He was sleeping and I startled him. It's not his fault."

"You sure?"

"Yes," she nodded, lowering her hand.

"Alright," said the officer. He went back to what he was doing, but not before narrowing his eyes at Sasuke one last time.

After the cop was gone, Sasuke turned to Hinata and affirmed, "It was an accident."

"I know," she told him.

"Well you know what," said Sakura, "I'm tired and I just want to go home, but I'm not tired enough to be taken home by you. I'd rather not because the last time I saw you, shit happened." To Hinata, she said, "I know you told me he was good to you and all"—Hinata blushed and Sasuke noticed—"but for once, I'd rather be in the company of a cop."

"Sa—Sakura—" she tried, but Sakura already left them to tap her finger on an officer's shoulder, the one that was originally supposed to take them home.

"What's your name again?" Sakura asked the young cop.

"You can call me Sai."

"Can you take me home please, Sai?"

"If you're willing to wait a moment—"

"Yep, I can wait. I'll be right over there," she pointed to the bench Sasuke was originally sitting on. Then she made her way over and sat. To Hinata and Sasuke, who were looking at her, she waved them off. "Go already. I want to be alone right now anyway."

Hinata glanced at Sasuke, then back to Sakura.

Leaning back in her seat, her head against the wall, she looked away and said, "See you at home, Hinata."

"…Okay."

The drive to her home was mostly quiet, until Hinata felt the urge to say something.

"Um, Sasuke?" Though he made no response, she knew he was listening. "When you were sleeping… earlier… I've seen you make that face before." She peeked at him. His expression told her nothing. "Do you dream often?"

He chose not to answer her.

Maybe he just didn't want to talk, so she continued, "I… I don't. I mean, I don't sleep very well anyway…" her voice trailed off.

Her pathetic tone persuaded him to respond, if only to ease the tension. "They're not dreams," he admitted.

Nightmares? she thought. Her curiosity got the better of her. Softly, she inquired, "May I ask… what they are about?" Though she was hesitant to pose a personal question, it would be okay if he didn't want to answer.

But he did. "Death," he replied without looking at her. "Blood."

The car parked outside her apartment building like it did the first time he dropped her off. Her hands automatically undid her seatbelt, however she was lost in her thoughts.

Death struck a cord with her now that Ino had suddenly passed away.

Hinata could not believe there was now an empty mattress awaiting her in the apartment. No longer would she have to wait long periods until Ino stepped out of the bathroom. Her spark wouldn't be there either, her fire, like when she would go back and forth with Sakura. Ino took care of her, had welcomed her and allowed her to stay in the small apartment already cramped with two. She was a good friend, and Hinata couldn't believe she would never get to see Ino again.

"Hinata."

Sasuke broke her from her thoughts. She realized then that fresh tears streamed down her face.

"I don't want to fuck anyone else."

She didn't either.

With the backs of her hands, she wiped her eyes dry. After, as if forgetting that time had passed since the ending of their arrangement, she moved herself onto his lap. His hands held her waist as hers were on his shoulders. Her fingers then slipped down to his chest, their faces so close. He said nothing, willing her to make the next move. So she did.

Their lips met with such intensity, like they were desperate to reclaim lost time. He could feel she missed him, as he did her. Surprisingly, she moved more boldly, opening her mouth and allowing him entry. He met her with the same energy she released onto him before moving his lips to her jaw and lower.

Nobody told her the truth—after you have sex the first time, it becomes addicting. The pleasure was addicting. It didn't make having sex with every client worth it, but the good memories she had when she felt pleasure with Sasuke… those were what ran through her mind when every other client thrust himself inside her.

Unexpectedly, he stopped kissing her as quickly as she had started.

Resting his forehead in the crook of her neck, he said, "I can't." He sighed, then met her eyes with a hollow stare. "I can't look at you," he told her coldly, "without imagining some guy fucking you."

She embraced him tightly. "Don't say that," her voice trembled, "please." Then she mumbled, "It… It wasn't many..."

"It doesn't matter. It's your job." Her chosen occupation was the problem. It may have brought them together, but it separated them as well.

Silence passed for a moment.

She didn't want to let go. However, his rejection forced her to. Dejected, she kept her head down.

With no response coming from her, he told her, albeit in a flat tone, "Go home. You don't want to do this."

Perhaps she wasn't in her right mind because for once she did want to do this. She wanted to have sex. She wanted to have a moment of pleasure to forget for a moment the pain of Ino's sudden death. She wanted to use him in that way. What's worse, she knew it.

Covering her mouth, she realized her position and suddenly felt ashamed. What am I doing? she repeated to herself. Hastily, she fell back into the passenger's seat, opened the car door, then left.

Sasuke didn't watch her go. Instead, his eyes stared at the empty seat beside him.

There was no goodbye like the last time. It happened suddenly. This was it, and it was better off this way. He could never handle being with someone who was everyone else's property. So, their separation was for good.

To forget about her, he busied himself. It worked. For years he managed to live without her. Five years he managed, and he was doing well.

Until she showed up again.

At the moment the corporate event started, cater waiters rushed to attend their clients. One of them was Hinata, who already had over a couple years of this job under her belt.

Some months after Ino's death, she and Sakura accepted a deal given to them, which allowed their freedom from prostitution. Thereafter, the girls took the opportunity to attend school—Hinata for business and Sakura for medicine—but even after two years, Hinata was unable to grasp some required topics. In the end, she left. Under agreement with Sakura, she instead was to acquire a job to start repaying the debt the girls were in. Sakura in the meantime focused her attention on memorizing all things biology.

Cater waiters had it tough. Manners were very important and techniques were strict; some clients weren't very kind and others were fastidious. Not every client was though, and at the end of the day, Hinata was satisfied whenever she completed a service successfully.

Back to the event. Men and women adorning suits and dresses sat at circular tables that filled the gala dinner. These men and women were under Akatsuki Corporation, all coworkers in one way or another, and this event was held to honor their CEO, president, and everyone who made the corporation earn its highest net profit for the last fiscal year in quite a number of years.

The president of Akatsuki Corp., Kabuto, introduced the CEO, Orochimaru, onto the stage to make his opening announcement. Meanwhile, the cater waiters were still pouring the wine for their clientele.

Attending a table close to the stage, Hinata tuned out the speakers to focus on her precision. The bottle of wine should never touch the glass. It should run smoothly and not splash.

In the middle of her pouring, a name suddenly boomed through the speakers and to her ears, stealing her attention and making her head turn to the person in question.

"—Sasuke Uchiha," said the CEO, Orochimaru, "who is going to be my son-in-law."

As the room filled with applause, Hinata gaped at Sasuke. He was only a foot away, a redheaded woman the only person that stood between them. Five years did nothing to his appearance, and that he was clad in a suit made him look even more handsome. What with his standing and addressing the jovial crowd with a curt nod, he didn't seem to notice her presence, or maybe he had forgotten about her, that is until a shriek suddenly quieted the room.

The redheaded woman Hinata was pouring the wine for leaped up from her seat, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked down at the damage. "You ruined my dress!"

Shifting was heard, and it seemed as if all eyes were on the tomato-red Hinata. "I—I'm so sorry! Please—Please forgive me!" Taking her white towel from her back pocket, she attempted to pat down the woman's dress but her hand was slapped away.

"Don't touch me!"

Hands shaking, Hinata turned then to the wine-spilled table. Other cater waiters came to alleviate the situation, but the redheaded woman would not quiet down. Steam blew out of her ears.

Something was said by the CEO that made the room fill with laughter, but Hinata didn't hear a word. Heat radiated from her body and she had to encourage herself not to get light-headed and faint.

It was such a struggle not to want to however. She could feel the burning gaze of the man she once shared her body with. Does he remember her as she did him? What was he thinking? Oh, how embarrassing a situation! This had never happened before.

"Hinata," said her fellow cater waiter and friend, Kiba, in a hushed tone, "Come on, let's go back into the kitchen." He could see her shaking hands and was worried.

Nodding, she allowed Kiba to lead her back into the safety of the kitchen, away from the anger of the woman, the noise of the room and the eyes of him. But before she passed through the black doors, she snuck a reluctant peek back at Sasuke.

Their eyes locked. He was staring right at her despite the redheaded woman calling his attention, her hands possessively on his chest.

That look, Hinata thought, as she sat down on a stool in the kitchen to calm her nerves.

Kiba had left to help finish attending the other clients. It wasn't long after he had left, however, that the man on Hinata's mind burst through the kitchen doors and spotted her.

"Come here," he commanded, grabbing Hinata's wrist and dragging her to the kitchen's back door.

Hinata's eyes widened. Then they fell to his hand. She spotted the ring on his finger.

The moment the two were outside in privacy, he let go of her wrist and faced her.

Memories of the short time they shared together flooded back to him. It was a time of rest. She had been his stress-reliever, and to see her again, he realized nothing changed. He still wanted her to relieve his stress.

As for Hinata, strong emotions welled up inside her chest and the silence only made the tension worse. To see one of her former clients, the first man she had sex with… She felt so awkward and avoided his stare by eyeing the ground between them.

"What are you doing here?" he blurted before he could even think.

"I'm… working," she looked at him with understandable confusion.

Clenching his jaw over the stupid question, he tried to recover by appearing nonchalant. "Is this what you do now?" he asked, stepping closer to her.

In turn, Hinata stepped back. "Yes."

"Only this?"

Her back met the wall. "…Yes."

He placed his palms against the wall on either side of her. "Good." His deep voice and their close proximity made her chest tighten.

When he began to lean toward her, she averted his lips by embracing him instead. His arms wrapped around her a moment after, and it was then that Hinata realized how much she missed him. But he was a taken man, and she shouldn't be doing this.

It was he who pulled away first, however, to attempt to kiss her again. This time she prevented him by turning her face. To have her succumb to him, he cupped her chin.

"Let me," he commanded.

"You're engaged," she reminded him, but to which he quickly replied—

"No, I'm not." Then he pressed his lips against hers before she could fight back again.

For a moment, he got what he wanted. She leaned into him, admitting her own repressed desire. It was comforting to know that both longed for each other, as expressed through their lips. But Hinata's mind raced around the knowledge that she was wrong to be doing this, that he was in a relationship, engaged in fact, had a fiancée, and was going to be unavailable to her for good. Slipping her hands to his chest, she mustered enough strength to pull apart from him and make him step back.

"Sasuke," she tried again, "please stop."

His intense gaze questioned her resolve. Unable to match him, she looked away, holding her hands to her chest, over her rapidly beating heart.

"I'm engaged to that woman not for the reason you think," he told her.

"Then," she asked softly, meeting his eyes, "why?"

"To be in good standing with her father. I plan to take over his position."

Ambitions. Of course.

Suddenly, the back door opened.

"Hinata," said Kiba upon seeing her. "Why are you out here?" Then, turning to the man—and recognizing him to be the aforementioned Sasuke Uchiha—he asked, "And why are you with her?"

Sasuke gave no answer. Instead, he glanced at Hinata one last time before stepping past Kiba to reenter the kitchen and make his way back to the event.

He was lost to her forever, she believed, as she watched Sasuke disappear through the door. Lowering her arms, she leaned against the wall and exhaled a deep breath.

Why did she feel so much for him? Where did this hope come from? When did it start? Why did it have to exist and torment her now? Had she hoped all this time, these past five years? To see him again as a different woman and be together, live happily like in fairytales?

"—nata?" Kiba was calling, suddenly at her side and interrupting her from deep thought. "Hi—"

"Yes?" she said abruptly, looking at him.

"Are you okay?" he placed a hand on her shoulder, watching her suspiciously. Her forlorn look just a second ago worried him. "What did he tell you? If he hurt you, I'll make sure to return the favor."

She wrapped her arms around him for momentary comfort and to deter him from doing anything rash. "It's okay," she stated simply. It helped too that he wouldn't be able to read her eyes. "I'm okay." Then she added, "Nothing happened," as she remembered the feel of Sasuke's kiss.

After she let him go, she headed back inside.

Kiba eyed her as he followed. It was unusual for her to have hugged him. All the same, he didn't question it too much, knowing he wouldn't be given an answer anyway.

Back inside the kitchen, their manager and occasional supervisor, Kurenai, called Hinata's name and told her, "You won't be serving Table One anymore."

"Okay." Reassigned, her mind and body felt relief, her heart—regret.

When Sasuke returned to his table, the redheaded woman, Karin, who was his fiancée, said, "Did you tell her off?"

"Hn."

"Good," she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Glad to have you back, Sasuke," said Orochimaru from across the table, raising his glass to the man.

Sasuke nodded in return.

In seeing Hinata again, he realized whatever had started then was still alive within him now. Rekindled feelings doubled with her in his sights once more, yet still he couldn't have her. It didn't matter that she found a new occupation. She refused to give herself to him because of what the ring on his finger represented.

So Sasuke grabbed his wine glass and drank.

To Change That Part – "Famous Last Words"

To Be Continued

A/N:

Hello old and new readers alike! This was long awaited. For those that love For Angels to Fly, I hope the sequel's introduction chapter still catches your interest.

Bear with me on updates in the future. I am transferring to a university soon so I will be adjusting to the new curriculum and therefore may not update as quickly as I have before.

Anyway, what do you think? Questions, comments, concerns? Please let me know. This sequel is for all those who asked for it.