Authors Note: After leaving One Kind soul on Hiatus forever I finally decided to hand this story off to a friend of mine. She will still write it under my pen name as she doesn't have a Fan Fiction account. She has changed the whole story and the new Title is "Kindness can change the Heart."

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.


Sasuke walked lazily through the Uchiha compound, he had been back in the village for a few months and other then the ANBU assigned to guard him he felt at peace, or as at peace as he could be. Naruto had finally managed to drag him back but not before truly making him a member of the "I got sense knocked into me by Naruto" club. Sasuke had always known that Naruto would one day make good on his promise to bring him back he hadn't planned for it to be anytime soon but there wasn't much he could do. He had been beaten soundly and had been kept in restraints for the better part of three weeks.

He had planned on only staying in the village long enough for them to agree he was "safe" then leave again. However he was given an option that he wasn't about to turn down. He would have the full backing of Konoha when he went after Itachi. He would be given his own team of people he felt would be best suited for tracking and with that he agreed to stay. He gave them all the information that he had acquired during his time with Orochimaru. That hadn't been hard until he got to the point where he had to tell them about the "experiments" he had been forced to watch and at times participate in.

Shaking his head he looked down at clutch of Jasmine he held in his hands. He had been gone from his home for almost six years and had not paid respects to his parents. He closed his eyes and remembered his mothers smiling face and sighed. Nothing would change the past but he would make sure the one responsible for their deaths would be brought to justice. Itachi was living on borrowed time at this point.


Hinata quickly braided her hair and then bundled it all up under the kerchief she wore over her dark locks. Opening the gate she moved through the shrine before coming to the first marker, setting down all her supplies she whistled slowly as she cleaned. She didn't really know why she had taken up this errand nor why she continued, she remembered being fourteen and walking past this place and seeing it overrun with weeds and moss. That night had been the first night she had walked through this place and had decided that she would care for it. So once a month she came like clockwork. Moving around she made good time, after five years she almost felt if she knew these people. She would wash the stones and light incense, lay a clutch of flowers that she had put together during the week and then move on after saying a silent prayer.

Finally she made it to the graves of those she did know though only vaguely still in some cases. She remembered a few dinners when the Hyuga and the Uchiha had talked together. Her mother had died and Mikoto had been very kind to her, telling Hinata that she was the daughter she wasn't blessed in having. She always took more time with this stone and her prayer was always longer. Mikoto and her mother had been good friends when they had been alive and sometimes Hinata felt like Mikoto was a second mother to her. That hadn't last long though. She had been murdered by her own son about two years after Hinata lost her mother.

Hinata didn't really remember much about Sasuke-san, he had been the "it" boy of the academy and had been first in her class. He had been a member of Team 7 along with Sakura-san and Naruto-kun. Her lips twisted up in a smile thinking of the silly crush she had once had on Naruto. He had been like her and she owed him a lot for being a constant presence and showing her that hard work paid off. Finishing with the stone she began to pray. She always told Mikoto everything that had gone on during her visits.


Sasuke had finally arrived at the shrine and found the gate standing slightly ajar his brow raised slightly as he heard light humming being carried by the night breeze. He quickly became angered that anyone would dare come to this place. This was his place no one else was allowed here. Activating his sharingan he quickly moved through the stones before he spotted the intruder kneeling over his mothers grave. His vision went red and he was aware that he had moved without thought. He grabbed hold of the arm of the person and he spun them around. Red met opal and in the opal was fear.

He didn't see any of that his vision was still clouded with red as he held the intruder by the arm his fingers digging into the soft skin. "What are you doing in this place!" he roared. His sharingan whirled dangerously before he caught a scent on the wind. Shaking his head he let his vision clear enough to note the terror on the face that did not belong to a man. He held a young girl in his grasp and he quickly let go of her arm, only then did he notice the eyes. "Why is a Hyuga here? Wait do I know you?"

Hinata had been prepared to scream but as soon as her eyes had met his she knew that wasn't possible. His eyes held her as surely as his hand had. She slowly rubbed her arm as he released her and tried to find her voice. Failing in finding her voice she just gestured with her hand. She watched as he looked around at the graves.

"You did all of this?" he walked over to his mother's stone and laid his small clutch of Jasmine next to Hinata's.

She nodded. "I've done this every month since I was fourteen.."

He stared at her for a long minute. "Why though? What are they to you?"

"I didn't think it was right that they be forgotten. While I can't claim to know any of them except those two there I wanted them to know that someone still honored them."

"You're Hinata right?"

She nodded slowly. "Hai, I am surprised you would remember."

"You weren't as annoying as all those other girls. You were quiet."

He was perplexed, the Hyuga's and Uchiha's had never really gotten along but there were a few times when they would have formal dinners together. This girl had gone out of her way to care for the graves of his family and he thanked her by nearly breaking her arm. He looked up to thank her properly only to find her running from the shrine. Her long braid flowing behind her. "Damn" he muttered under his breath, he would have to thank her properly when he saw her next however he doubted that would be anytime soon. She had fled as quickly as she could from him. He didn't blame her, his temper was violent.

He moved around the shrine noting that each stone had a mix of flowers, it smelled wonderful here. In a place where death was a constant reminder she had found a way to make him feel safe. He paid his respects to each member of his family and was closing the gate when he noticed a pale blue kerchief caught on one of the spikes. He knew that it had been hers and placed it in his pocket. He would have a reason to find her and thank her now.

Hinata ran as fast as she could, she knew he was back in the village but she never dreamed he would catch her tending to the graves. She slowed to a walk about a block from her apartment she forced her legs to steady and her breathing to slow. She placed all of her cleaning supplies in a small closet next to the door and then examined her arm. Shrugging she opened the door and turned off the front porch light. Neji had left it on for her when he came home. Looking around the room she toed off her sandals before calling out to him. "I'm home".

"Welcome Home Hinata-sama." he said as he went back to reading a scroll. "Did you enjoy your walk?"

She smiled and came to sit next to him taking an apple from the basket on the table. "Yes I did it was lovely. The air is crisp, I think it is going to rain tonight." she took a bite of the apple and looked over at the scroll he held. Her eyes crossed trying to read the complex jutsu. "Wow okay I think I'm going to go wash up and then head to bed. Enjoy your scroll." bouncing off the couch she turned and headed toward the back of the apartment.

"Hinata-sama?" Neji watched her as she turned and smirked. "What happened to your arm?"

Hinata looked down at the bruises and giggled slightly. "Um.. It was really nothing. I-I was walking and I tripped yes tripped and someone caught me and I guess they grabbed my arm to hard."

Neji raised a brow and shook his head. "How about you tell me the truth in the morning. Sleep well Hinata-sama"

Hinata could only smile. "Good night Neji-ni-san. Sleep well."


AN: Okay so I went back and tried to fix a few of the errors I had in this chapter and I'm trying to make it flow a little better.