AN: This story is dedicated to Darth Taisha. Back here again! Might as well finish now...
XI.
The first time that Sasuke saw her, was the first day of high school, when they were all introduced. She was staring at the idiot: Naruto, his best friend. She was in the shadows, unnoticeable, invisible. So unlike all of the other loud, bright girls in the room. Maybe it was her darkness that drew him to her.
She had long, indigo coloured hair. What captivated him the most, if he had to say, were her eyes. Her eyes that reflected your own right back at you... the eyes that were so rare, found only in the Hyuuga family.
It was obvious that she was in love with Naruto. So glaringly obvious, in fact, that he immediately looked away, with a deflated ego and a bruised pride. What may have been the only girl that he had taken interest in had the hots for his best friend. The irony of his life.
As usual, all of the other girls in the room started making googly-eyes at him. What was so good about him? What was so good about his sickly skin, his too-dark hair and eyes? What was so good about his anti-social behaviour, his cold personality?
He knew. It was the 'Uchiha' name, that was attached right next to his. He was the 'last' Uchiha.
He stopped dwelling on the Hyuuga girl, his mood much too ruined by all of the fake and superficial girls in the world, and instead, stared at something much more interesting, like the window.
XII.
It was lunch break. Next to his ear, his best friend, Naruto, was blabbing on about inconsequential things, like his 'first and only true love, Sakura!'. Sadly, Sasuke didn't think that he could convince Naruto that he really, really didn't want to listen to this, as Naruto was the most stubborn person he knew.
"I think I'm going to marry her, Sasuke! That is, when she gets over you, you asshole!" It really was very easy to tune Naruto out, especially as he did it on a daily bases. But he was in need of fresh air, and Naruto couldn't exactly provide that.
He got up to leave, before an angry Naruto shouted to him, "Hey, asshole, where are you going? You can't just get up and walk out like that!" Sasuke took a deep breath, and in an effort to calm himself down, he counted to ten.
"You really want to know, don't you, idiot? Well, if you must know everything I do, I'm going to take a shit." Sasuke glanced back to see the blush on Naruto's face, before he exited the classroom. As he stepped out, he noticed a trembling Hyuuga, silent tears dropping down her face. She must have heard the conversation...
This was totally out of his comfort zone. In an effort to stop her incessant sobs, he hurriedly pushed her his handkerchief, the only one he carried. "You look ugly crying." He commented, and then he said, "The idiot doesn't deserve it." He walked away before his mouth could betray him again, feeling the tips of his ears burn.
It was a good thing he carried that handkerchief... although he couldn't believe that he had given it away quite so easily, with it being one of his mother's momentous. It had an Uchiha fan embroidered on its front.
XIII.
His late parents owned a company. Not a company, really, but the police station. It was theirs: the Uchiha Police. One night, some crazy-ass criminals wiped out the huge main building, with his parents in it. He had been eight, and Itachi, his older brother, had been thirteen.
His perfect older brother. Itachi Uchiha: the genius of the century. The heir to the Uchiha Police, destined for greatness. While Sasuke remembered his jealousy, he also remembered the caring side of his older brother, the one that Itachi only showed him. The only distinguishing feature that Sasuke could remember were his tear troughs, that ran under his eyes. Back then, he had always been envious of them, because they made him seem more adult, and more in charge.
His mother. He looked like his mother. They shared the same onyx black hair (Itachi's was lightly more dull, while his father's was brown), and the same pale skin. His kind, forgiving mother... blown away to bits by a bomb. Never again would he be able to taste her onigiri with tomato fillings.
His father. To his father, he had always come second, and Itachi had always been the priority. But still, he would have liked to have proven his worth to his father, to make him proud. Now, he would never have the chance. No, because that criminal, the nameless one that Sasuke had spent many hours researching upon, remained just that- nameless.
XIV.
The beat of the music drifted through his fingers as they viciously attacked the guitar. It created a sad, almost melancholy tone- totally describing the mood he was in right now.
The guitar was his last living memory of the brother that he had idolised so much. He had given the guitar to him for his sixth birthday, as Itachi had seen the way that he had eyed it in the shop. It was nothing special- just an onyx black wooden guitar with red rings- but to him, it meant the world. This guitar left him with his only pride and joy, which was, of course, making music.
A creak was heard throughout the music classroom (it was after school), and a door opened, showing a startled and embarrassed Hinata Hyuuga. His fingers immediately stopped what they were doing; they lingered, but dared not continue, not in the presence of someone else. "Well? Are you going to come in, or just stand there like the idiot you are?" He finally snapped, as she shuffled in, hurriedly closing the door behind her.
"U-un. I, u-um, wanted t-to give y-you, e-er, t-this." She held out a peace of cloth in front of her, as if it was a token of peace, an offer for a peace treaty, while Sasuke eyed the cloth with disinterest. Had she, the only non-fangirl world he had met, suddenly turned fangirlish? If she had, all his hope for the female race was lost...
Eyeing the cloth with mistrust, he then snatched it up, the cloth seeming familiar in his fingers. Only then did he recognize the peace of cloth that he had given her, last week, for her to dry her tears. It was washed, and folded neatly into a triangle. A strange blooming of warmth erupted in his stomach, one that made him feel weird, but good, at the same time. "T-thank y-you for a-all that y-you have d-done, last w-week. I, um, I-I'm s-sorry for being s-such a b-burden, and, w-well, i-if you'll excuse m-me." Just as she was about to exit the door, Sasuke's voice rang behind her, stopping her in her tracks.
"It's about damn time that I have an audience. I'm not leaving you, Hyuuga, with a favour unpaid. You walked in one me, and now you're stuck listening."
XV.
Most days, they stayed after school, with Sasuke practising, and the Hyuuga listening. He admit, it did feel... nice... to have someone listen to him when he played. Sometimes, he even forgot himself, and started singing of himself, of his pain, and so forth. It was unexplainable, the feeling of letting your bottled emotions explode. Wonderfully unexplainable.
Hinata had advised him to go into a singing career, and much to his disbelief, he was actually considering it. If he could feel like this all the time- light, weightless, free- then, this was the job that he would do for life. And just like that, a year passed.
A year passed, and it was his second year in high school. A year passed, and his notebook was already filled with songs... and not all of them angry and miserable. A year passed, and he caught himself thinking of Hinata more often then not.
It was degrading to say, but he really did need advice. And to his utter humiliating, the only person he could probably ask was his idiot of a best friend, Naruto. So, once lunchtime, when Naruto was happily discussing Sakura's new stunt, he decided to cut in. "Naruto." Naruto instantly straighted up, because he knew, and Sasuke knew, that once Sasuke used the name 'Naruto', and not idiot, or any of the other ridiculous nicknames, that he meant business.
Instead of Naruto eagerly asking him what was on his mind, he waited for Sasuke to be ready. "Say... if you were hypothetically thinking of a... girl too much, hypothetically... what would that mean?" Naruto raised an incredulous eyebrow, as if he couldn't believe that the day had come. And, well, frankly speaking, neither could Sasuke.
"Asshole... hypothetically, that would mean that you're in love. Sasuke, that poor, poor girl. I send my prayers out for her." Sasuke wished that Naruto had remained as oblivious as he was when he was younger. Sadly, that was not the case.
Sasuke was too distraught about the concept of him 'falling in love', to punch Naruto for the last statement (any girl would pay millions for him to be in love with her... well, maybe except Hinata).
XVI.
"I-I like y-you." Sasuke would have paid if Hinata had said that to him, but sadly, it was not so. Instead, she was in that empty classroom, confessing to his best friend, Naruto.
Another year had passed, and Sasuke had come onto terms with the fact that he was in love with Hinata. He had to, if he wanted Hinata for himself before she escaped from his grasp. Unlike all of the other girls, Hinata would not wait for him. She didn't even like him in the first place. Which brought him back to the point: she was in there, confessing to his best friend (she had asked to talk to him in private... however, Sasuke was no gentleman, so maybe that's why he why he was outside the door, eavesdropping). "I'm sorry, Hinata, but I love Sakura. I can't return your feelings."
If Sasuke knew Naruto as well as he did, he was pretty damn sure that right now, Naruto was reaching out to comfort an agitated Hinata. He heard sobs, that stung his heart, and he moved away from the door as it opened, revealing a teary-eyed Hinata. She moved to run, but Sasuke caught her wrist.
He dragged her to the opposite classroom, one that was empty. A little more familiar with Hinata, he awkwardly hugged her. She hugged back, her sobs subsiding. Once she stopped crying, she moved to step away, but Sasuke growled a firm, "Stay."
She reluctantly stayed in place, entrapped by his arms. "I know this is probably the worst time, and the worst place, but I figured, what the hell. Hinata will you be my girlfriend?" If Hinata could confess... he could as well. It didn't matter if Hinata rejected him (it would sting his pride), because at least he would be able to get his feeling across.
"I-I l-love N-Naruto." She mumbled. "T-that would be u-unfaithful to y-you." Hinata and her traditional logic.
"I know. But I don't care. Give me a chance, Hinata." He knew it was cruel, but he couldn't help it. Making her evaluate her own, fresh feelings, with his, would definitely make her give him 'a chance'. He wasn't a gentleman, not by any standards.
"O-ok."
XVII.
By the end of high school, their relationship was steady, to say the least. So steady, in fact, that by graduation, he asked her to move in with him. He had already started in his career path to be a singer, but he wanted Hinata to support him, the whole way.
She had happily accepted. Ever since their relationship, her feelings for Naruto had quickly ended, ensuring that he was the only man that held all of her attention. That had always made him feel good, inside.
Of course, because of their relationship, her family caused an uproar, which led to her eminent disowning. Sasuke had been concerned, but Hinata had assured him that she was fine with it. She said that it was going to come 'sooner or later'. Sasuke hadn't pried. Hinata also didn't pry, even when he shared his past with her. She had just accepted it, and Sasuke would never tell her how much that meant to him.
Sakura was his manager. He had no idea why she had pursued such a job. But she had, and now he was stuck with a fangirl, and the girl his best friend had been in love with for years. If he could choose, she would be his last choice of manager, but he wasn't important enough to make those decisions, not yet. Maybe when he gained fame, he would be able to fire her like he so wished to, and have no regrets. But right now, it just wasn't possible. Never mind, fame wasn't important, not when he had Hinata by his side.
XVIII.
He had found his brother. Rather, his brother found him. By luck or by chance, his idol, Uchiha Itachi, had found him. Except, he told him that he was no longer 'Uchiha Itachi', but that he was just Itachi. It was strange, having no last name.
Itachi had phoned him, and told him that he would like it if the kept in contact, like real brothers. Since they were real brothers. Sasuke was glad. At least he knew he wasn't the last Uchiha, not any more. Although he technically was, since Itachi, for whatever reason, refused to bear that name.
He had come home, willing to share the news with Hinata, but he had found her as distant as ever.
He was getting worried. She had been distant the whole week. It was like she couldn't even hear him. Although, what was strange, was the fact that she was more passionate than ever, and much more willing with physical contact. If this went on for one more week, he was going to pry, even if she didn't like it.
At the start of the relationship,they had decided that neither of them would pry into each other's minds, and that they would tell each other when they were ready. But, he didn't think he could keep his word. He really was starting to get worried.
XIX.
Sakura had worked him to the bone, today. He was exhausted, and the only thing he was looking forward to, was seeing Hinata when he came home. Even though a deep, foreboding gut feeling had been bothering him all day.
Upon entering the apartment, he immediately noticed that something was wrong. It was empty. The silence seemed to loud; the shadows seemed too long. He could hear his own heart-beat, accelerating as he panicked. He ran from room to room, ransacking the entire apartment, but he couldn't find Hinata anywhere.
He tried calming down, and tried to look at this with a rational, logical mind. It was then, that he noticed that along with her presence, all of her things were gone. He hurled the wardrobe doors open. None of her items were there, no feminine clothes accompanied his male ones. He stalked to the bathroom, not caring about the amount of racket that he made.
Her toothbrush, and all of her essentials were gone. That was it. She was gone. She had left him.
Sasuke crumbled in a pit of despair, a dark hole of depression engulfing him. Why did everyone important in his life leave!? His mother, his brother, and now Hinata. Was he not worth staying for? A sense of abandon passed through him.
That was when he spotted something glinting on the bed. He went over to get it, it being, to his surprise, a letter, addressed to him. On the front was written Sasuke, it what Sasuke could recognize as Hinata's elegant handwriting. He tore it open, his eyes trying to devour the words on the paper.
Dear Sasuke,
I left... for the best. For you. But know that I loved you, more than I could have ever loved Naruto. Thank you for being my first love, and my first boyfriend.
Love, Hinata.
He didn't know what he felt. But sadness, pain, and confusion were all definitely a part of his well mixed emotions.
And so, he dealt with these emotions the only way that he really knew how (without resorting to vile substances like alcohol and drugs): he found his notebook, and furiously began writing. The words flowed to him like water flowed to a river, and he had no problem finishing the lyrics.
When his hand started shaking, he put the pen down, and out came the ferocious downpour of silent tears. They fell down onto the paper, blotting out some of the words. He cupped his shaking hands to his eyes, and let himself go, crying, for what felt like the first time in years.
He had lost her. She had slipped through his fingers, and he had let her.
XX.
He had become famous. The moment that Hinata had left his life, he had given himself over entirely to work (having nothing else to do), and fame had found its way to him.
Sakura, his manager, seemed extraordinarily happy. Sasuke couldn't bother himself with caring. He couldn't care about anything, not any more. Nothing gave him happiness: the one ray of light in his life had left him willingly, left him alone in the drowning darkness. The only thing that gave him relief was his songs; they were a way to channel his anger and frustration at the world. His songs... his only salvation.
His only contacts, outside of work, had become Naruto, and his brother, Itachi. He had grown to be much closer with his brother, which was a good thing. Naruto came over regularly, and worried for him, even though he said that he was happy that Sasuke was becoming all rich and famous.
"So, any knew women? Surely a handsome bachelor such as yourself is bound to have some women..." Yet another interviewer asked. The questions. They were all the same. Wherever he went, they all asked the same, exact same questions.
"Hn." Was his nonchalant grunt, as he didn't want to involve himself in such a question. She asked many more questions... but he had lost interest a long time ago. No, he hadn't had any girlfriends. He would be betraying Hinata, by doing so.
He would find her. He would. Even though she left him... he demanded an explanation.
But before that, Itachi had invited him to his wedding. Although Sasuke had no interest, he had to attend. For his brother. And then... then, he could search for Hinata.
Omg. That was so depressing. :/. Poor Sasuke.
Review, review, review,
Aurora-chan!
