Start the Machine

- all I can see is you -

chapter one; the beginning

The silence was deafening. It crept upon my reality, clouding my insight and taking away all of my fear. This is the end, I thought, the wound I had been inflicted with growing wider as the blade dug deeper into my flesh. I could not feel it. I knew what was happening, but at the same time everything was just so… Unreal. As though it was not happening at all.

It felt… Almost as though nothing, not even my own life, had ever taken place to begin with… Nothing was real, and nothing had ever been real… This, this is what it feels like to, to…

I shot upright in my bed in a cold sweat, my heart pumping violently. The first thing I did was take in my surroundings; I was in my bedroom.

I had never left.

I kind of laughed to myself for a moment, thinking of course I never left... They would never let me just leave.

I sighed heavily, allowing myself to fall onto the rough slab of wood and thin sheet that was called my bed. This is what it feels like… I remembered the thoughts that had ran through my head, only a split second before I had been abruptly awaken. "To awake from a terrible nightmare…" I completed the thought aloud, rolling to my side. It was 3:01 am. "Every night…"

I often had strange dreams such as this. Murder, despair, screams surrounding me... But then again, this had also become my every day reality. Sometimes, it was hard to tell the difference. This dream seemed to speak out to me a bit more than the others though.

I had never had a dream about myself being murdered before.

In all honestly, it freaked me out. I was laying there shaking, almost, because the dream had been so… Vivid. I felt as though I was realistically facing death, only to wake up in my own bed…

I wondered, does this mean anything?

I suppose I had fallen alseep for a few more hours, because the next thing I knew, I was being awoken. The loud clanking sound of the locks that bound my door being opened was what woke me up at 6 am every morning.

Every morning for the past three years...

Sai would walk in next. He would give me a glass of water and a bowl of rice, then instruct me to dress for the day and be out front in half an hour, no later. I knew this routine well, yet Sai always found it necessary to tell me.

But today, something was a bit different. Sai walked in, but he was holding no water or bowl of rice. I sat up.

"Hinata." He said. "I've been told to tell you to pack any belongings you may have, it appears you are being moved."

"Moved...?" I asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You're being transferred to a different part of town."

This definitely perked my ears up. "R-Really!" I felt joyous for a moment, but then I felt fear; what if they put me in a worse place than this? Or what if they are going to kill me!

"Yes. So, please pack your things. I'll be waiting outside your room for you, please don't take too long." Sai left the room and closed the door behind him.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing... For three years I had been there, in that building, doing petty chores for the Uchiha... I cooked, cleaned and served in the manor with a few other girls. I wondered what they could possibly plan on doing with me...

It didn't take me long to gather myself and be ready to get on the way. I was eager. For the first time in forever, I felt a thrill.

Sai and two other ninja were the ones who would be excorting me to my new home. But it was a lot farther than I had expected. We were walking a good 20 minutes out of town before I saw a small hut over the horizon of the field we were walking through. This scared me, and really made me think that they might just be getting rid of me...

But that was not the case. I almost wish it was, for it would have saved me much pain and suffering, but... It turned out that my role in this war was only just beginning.

As we got closer and closer to the hut, I noticed a figure was perched on the roof. He was tall looking, with long, jet black hair... Definitely an Uchiha. But as my vision grew more clear, I realized that he wasn't just any Uchiha...

He was Sasuke Uchiha, a former classmate of mine from way back when we were free. He turned his face towards us, and it brought back a distinct memory...

Flashback

It was the very day before the genocide...

My last day of freedom...

I was spending it in the park with my younger sister. I watched her while she played, making sure she didn't get hurt, or get into any trouble. I remember my name being called.

"Oi, Hinata!"

I glanced behind me only to see three classmates of mine; Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura waved to me, and I waved back. Naruto grinned widely and waved as well, Sasuke, however, did not acknowledge me. I locked eyes with him for but a moment, but he smugly looked away before I could make any sort of friendly gesture. I had always admired Sasuke... He was a skilled ninja, especially at the young age we were. I wanted to be his friend, but... So did everybody else. He never seemed too interested in people though.

They continued on their way, and I continued to do my thing; standing there, thinking, and watching my sister play. It was a peaceful day… Very normal. I liked that.

End Flashback

Sasuke jumped swiftly before me as I stood at attention, Sai and the two ninja standing behind me. Sasuke's cold onyx eyes met mine, and a chiver sent up my spine. To think I hadn't seen him in three years, though he had been in the same villiage as me the whole time. He looked much the same, only older, stronger, and colder...

Sasuke had always had this strange ability to make girls weak to their knees just by looking in their eyes. In that moment, my knees were trembling, and not out of fear.

"Well here she is, Sasuke." Sai said. "As your father ordered, you are to watch over this girl, and use her as you need. Her byakkugan should serve useful to you. You know your mission, right?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Simple... Just keep an eye out for enemy chakra in this area. I probably don't even need the girl."

"Well your father requested it, in your favor I assume. It will make things easier on you."

"I suppose." Sasuke's voice was always so nonchalant.

"Kill anybody suspicious you see lurking around here." One of the ninja said very sternly. "And memorize your shift schedule. There are two other outputs set up nearby here in the forest."

"Yes yes I know." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I've been told everything. You can all leave now."

"As you wish." Sai nodded. "Hinata..." I turned around to look at him. "Don't try to cause any trouble."

"O-Of course!" I stuttered, and with that, they took off in a flash leaving me standing there alone and feeling awkward with Sasuke. His eyes locked on mine, and that weak feeling arose.

"Well." He said. "Let's go inside then I guess..."

I followed him into the shack, which wasn't too nice on the inside. I was used to sleeping in poor conditions but the estate I worked in last was beautiful. Oh well, I thought, at least its a change...

There was a bed in the corner, and a kitchen attached to one of the walls. There was a small fireplace, and a table with three old looking chairs. Off to the side, I noticed a set of stone stairs leading to a basement.

"You're not going to try anything, are you?" Sasuke asked warrily. "This mission is bothersome, I really don't want to have to deal with chasing you down and killing you..."

"N-No, of course not." I replied instantly, frightened at that last statement. "I wouldn't try anything."

He half smirked. "Good. That means I can relax then." He kicked off his sandles and lay on the bed. I stayed in my place. "What?" He asked. "Just gunna stand there awkwardly?"

I couldn't help but blush. "What would you like me to do?"

"I dunno." He shrugged. "You have to join me in a few hours to watch for enemies... That's about it. Til then, I don't really know what slaves enjoy doing on their free time."

"I haven't been given free time since the beginning of all this..."

"Hmph, such is the life of one too weak to withstand slavery... But I suppose my life hasn't been much different."

"What do you mean? You're free..."

"Pffft." He scoffed. "Hardly. You think I want to be sitting in some dusty shack watching trees for hours every day? Just like you, I have to follow orders. I have my freedom but I also have troublesome tasks that I generally don't want to attend to... But, it is my duty."

"I see... The family I worked for before this were completely free. They were usually home, living their daily lives normally..."

"They weren't born into a life of military. Once you join, you can never back out. Those people may have been Uchiha but they were still common folk."

"I understand that."

Sasuke stared at me for a moment, as if waiting for something to happen. "Why don't you sit down? You just standing there is irritating me..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, rushing over to one of the chairs at the table. I sat down quickly.

"Hmph." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I remember you from the academy." He stated. I blushed yet again.

"You do?"

He nodded, eyes still shut. "Yes."

"I wasn't sure if you did. You never spoke to me, back then."

"Yes, but you spoke to me. At least you attempted to."

"Yeah, I did..." There were a few moments of silence, where I found myself lost in thought. This was all so strange... Being there, with a former classmate as my boss... He seemed so much more laid back than any of the adults who were in charge of me last. Here, I even had free time... I knew my life would never be the same, but this... This gave me hope, that maybe, things wouldn't be so terrible anymore.

My thoughts were interupted by Sasuke's velvety voice. "Do you know what's going on, Hinata?" He inquried, his dark eyes now locked on mine.

"Not exactly." I admitted. "They never told me much. I know the beginning, which I try not to remember..."

"Well there is word out that the surviving people of the city, the ones who do not serve under us have been training their own army for the past few years elsewhere. That's why we're here, to watch out for any spies or anybody of the sort. I guess they're pretty pissed off that we betrayed them..." He chuckled a bit. "Fools. No body can destroy the power of the Uchiha... Konoha will be ours forever."

To this, I said nothing. What could I say? At that point in time, I beileved what he said was true. The Uchiha were very powerful beings. The clan wasn't even all that large, yet, they were able to conquor a whole villiage and make its townspeople their slaves... Killing most of them, of course. I wondered who had been able to escape. I hoped that all my old friends were alright... Like Kiba and Shino... And Naruto and Sakura, among all of the other friends I used to have. They were all so much stronger than me.

I hoped that they were able to use the strength that I didn't have to get away.

Well yeah, there you have it. I revised the entire storyline. The Uchiha have overthrown Konoha, killing most, enslaving many, and having few get away. I hope you like it, I don't usually write stories like this. Please review and let me know what you think :)