-Chapter One: A Distressed Kunoichi-

Hospitals are so illuminated and clean, that at first glance, someone could be lead to believe that hospitals give off pleasant, upbeat vibes. On the contrary though, hospitals are one of the most depressing and haunting places Hyuga Hinata has ever been to. Especially if you are being cared for and looked after in that hospital, the feelings are intensified. Hinata didn't understand why, she guessed maybe it was because many Shinobi let out their last breath in this hospital, or maybe from the times she would hear the weeping of people from the other rooms very late at night. It brought much sorrow to her heart, she wanted to hug the person next door and be there for them, that is, if she had the strength to even stand up.

An IV cord ran down her right forearm and was taped to keep it in place, the needle was covered with a small cotton square and tape, Hinata guessed to keep it from accidentally getting pulled out of her vein and, possibly, for her convenience so she didn't have to look at it. Hinata stared at her arm, and secretly thanked the nurses for hiding the needle. She never understood why, but needles always made her uneasy. 'So pathetic, a Kunoichi being afraid of a tiny needle pierced in her vein' Hinata thought grimly. If her father were here, he would have surely looked down upon it.

She sighed heavily, which was a huge mistake on her part, because her sigh sent a surge of pain throughout the left side of her body, making her cringe and grab instinctively for her left side. Hinata wanted to cry out in pain, but she knew if she did that it would hurt as well. She heard her Heart Monitor beep faster, but slowly go back to a normal pace as the pain subsided. The steady, rhythmic beating of her heart on the monitor relaxed her, easing her tension away. It was almost hypnotizing, hearing that constant beeping pattern echoing through the room, through her mind...her eyes felt heavy. Hinata wanted to yawn, but she knew the movement would hurt too much. She drifted off to sleep, escaping the world and entering the dimensions of her mind.

Tsunade sighed heavily as she slowly rubbed the bridge of her nose. Her week had been so hectic, and her future week wasn't looking any brighter either. Paperwork piled up in an intimidating tower, there was an important meeting she had to attend to in an hour and Sangakure council would be attending. She also had to tend to the hospitalized patients, and to top it all off she hadn't had a drink in days. Tsunade pulled out her desk drawer with the sake in it, longing for even the smallest sip. Shizune gave her a harsh look and shook her head, and Tsunade sighed and closed the drawer.

"Milady, what should we do about the patients? The nurses could use a little extra help, since you won't be able to make it" Shizune said curiously, and Tsunade sighed another heavy sigh.

"I honestly don't know, I was thinking maybe I could assign some Shinobi to watch over them until I can get around to it, but I'm not sure" Shizune said cheerfully, "that's a great idea malady! I'll make a list of everyone who is available" she hurried out of the room and came back with two scrolls bearing all the names of the people available and all of the patients.

"Here you go, ma 'am" Shizune set the scrolls down in front of Tsunade, and Tsunade opened and looked at them with much doubt.

"I don't know if they'll be willing to do it though, Shizune" Tsunade sighed, and Shizune said, "of course they would, those are their comrades right?" Tsunade contemplated this for awhile, usually she was the one who thought up something like that but she was way too stressed, she could hardly think straight.

"That's right Shizune, thank you. Contact all the Shinobi on this list immediately, tell them the Hokage needs to speak with them, and that it's urgent!" Shizune bowed, "yes, mi lady!" she was leaving hurriedly, when Tsunade yelled out, "oh, and Shizune?!" Shizune turned and faced the Hokage, "yes mi lady?" Tsunade turned in her chair, facing the window to look out at her beautiful village.

"Send for Uchiha Sasuke as well."

Shizune looked shocked and terrified all at the same time, what was the Hokage thinking?! Sending him to one of those poor patients? She kept her lips sealed though, and bowed. "Y-Yes ma 'am, I will send for them all, immediately" and Shizune vanished, leaving the blond Kunoichi all to her self.

He heard loud rapping on his door, but the people knocking shouldn't have wasted their energy on such a frivolous thing. He was an esteemed Shinobi, they should've assumed he already knew they were there before they started walking up to his doorway. This didn't irritate him though, in fact it didn't even bother him to begin with. He was just stating facts just to state them. Was it because of how quiet and uneventful things had been for him? Probably. Another knock on the door. He got out of his bed, and went to open the door for whoever this guy was.

"Uchiha Sasuke, the Hokage wants you to report to her office immediately." Shizune said sternly, as she looked in to the young mans face. Sasuke sighed irritably, he hated talking to that woman, she was so quick tempered and loud, he always had a headache when he left her office.

He shrugged his shoulders and replied, "ok...whatever."

Tsunade talked to each person individually, for security reasons, and assigned them to an injured comrade. When it was Sasuke's turn to go in, he walked begrudgingly into the Fifth Hokage's office.

"Sasuke, you realize that you have only just recently come to live in Kohona again, right?" Sasuke was quiet, and simply nodded because he knew if he didn't answer in some way she would throw a temper tantrum.

"And you realize why I am having you under 24 hour surveillance and house arrest?" Sasuke nodded again, and Tsunade replied to her own question. "Because you're prior occupation was a missing-nin, and you're past actions are highly questionable. I would have never let you back in my village, if Naruto hadn't persuaded me to give you some mercy. This is why you are currently under house arrest, until I deem you worthy of being apart of the Konohagakure community again. But there are ways you can help deduct time off this..."

Sasuke remained silent, he wanted to hurt Tsunade in multiple ways. What position was she in to say his past actions were, "highly questionable?" But he kept listening, and held back his fury, he would do whatever needed to be done to gain back his freedom and prove his right in this tiny village, his old home.

"How?" Is all Sasuke said, and Tsunade's golden eyes looked sharply in to his eyes, "there are many injured comrades that are currently hospitalized. I don't have enough time to take care of all of them, so I have been assigning other Shinobi to tend to them while I'm away. Are you willing to watch over a patient?"

Sasuke didn't really think twice about her question, it was a simple task and if it took time off, then he would seize the opportunity. He responded, "yea, I'll do it. Under what conditions?" Tsunade nodded gratefully, "you're patients name is Hyuga Hinata, I need you to see the patient every day, make sure she has enough water in her IV, make sure she eats, assist her in any way you can. You will report back to me at the end of every week and let me know of her condition. You will be doing this until she is healed enough to go back home, and you will still be under careful surveillance during this time. Thank you for your help Sasuke. You will be escorted to the patient at once."

Sasuke bowed his head and left her office, following the ANBU to the hospital. This would definitely be a simple task, he would only have to be there maybe one or two hours a day, he didn't even have to talk to this person. If he kept getting effortless tasks like this, he would be apart of Konohagakure in no time.

Hey guys! So just letting you guys know this is a Sasuke and Hinata fanfiction. I know, I know this didn't happen in the actual anime or manga! But, needless to say, I still love this pairing and still want to continue supporting it. I'm not saying I despise Naruto and Hinata or Sasuke and Sakura, I actually love this pairing just as much as I love Sasuke and Hinata. Anyways, this story takes place in Naruto Shippuden, but it is not tied up with the end of the series. It doesn't really tie in with the story line much, but I try to tie it in to certain parts of the story so it's not completely crazy scattered around or anything. I would love to hear negative or positive feedback from you all (whatever kind of feedback you think I deserve, I guess lol xP) I hope you guys enjoyed it, thank you for taking the time to read my story and hopefully it wasn't horribly gut-wrenching! Haha ^_^