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Chapter 3: Sasuke's Castle

"Don't worry, we're almost there" Suigetsu reassured.

Hinata nodded trying to catch her breath and struggling to follow the two men. She had no idea that Sasuke lived in the treacherous mountain forests around Konoha and she had a hard time keeping pace during the day long trip. Even Suigetsu seemed at least a little fatigued, while Sasuke continued on as if it were nothing. She stopped for a moment to regain her breath and when she looked up again both of them were gone.

"H-hello?" She called, hoping to hear an answer.

But the forest was dense and all she heard was her own voice echoing back at her from the trees.

"H-hello?" Hinata called again taking a tentative step forward.

Again there was no answer and, after adjusting her bag to a more comfortable position, she began to travel slowly in the direction she believed Sasuke and Suigetsu had gone. Using her hand to guide her over the roots of the close growing foliage she finally saw what appeared to be a clearing up ahead. With her courage renewed and her determination set she sped up and reached the end of the forest. Hinata collided with Suigetsu, who had turned to call for her. He laughed and helped steady her before nodding over his shoulder.

"Welcome home!" He said brightly, stepping aside so she could see.

She felt her mouth fall open when she caught sight of her new home. It looked like giant piles of metal and wood stacked precariously on top of each other. Smoke spilled out of the numerous chimney's that stuck out of the mess. It didn't even look like there was a door, or anyway into the 'house'.

"W-what?" Hinata asked confused.

"I know it doesn't look like much," Suigetsu reassured. "But believe me it's far more than it appears."

He grabbed her hand and pushed past Sasuke leading her to the side of the giant pile. To Hinata's surprise there was a simple unassuming wooden door there. He barely allowed her to get over her shock before he pulled the door open and stepped inside. Once again Hinata felt her mouth fall open. She was in a large entryway, and using the dying embers that smoldered in the large stone fireplace at one end of the room, Hinata tried to make out the rest of her surroundings. She thought she could see a table, but it was covered with piles of junk. There were heaps of books, and jars filled with miscellaneous things, a few broken quills, and tons of dirty plates and dust strewn about the surface. Four rough looking wooden chairs were placed around the table, and there were a few more comfortable chairs at random places around the room. On the far wall there was a staircase that led up to the different levels of the house, but the wood was old and looked as if it would fall apart at any moment. Across from the stairs there was a doorway leading into a different room, and the young woman didn't even want to know what was in there. She assumed that the small door located adjacent to the fireplace was a closet and couldn't help but notice that the whole place smelled slightly like decay. Hinata stepped out of the house again to take another look at the outside. Suigetsu laughed at her perplexity and Sasuke scoffed making his own way into the house.

"Get in here and stop acting like an idiot." Sasuke said harshly.

Hinata jumped slightly at his cold tone. She hadn't had someone talk to her that way since she had moved in with Kurenai. She nodded and stepped back into the house like she was a child who had done something wrong. Sasuke slammed the door closed and made his way deeper into the house.

"Don't mind him Hinata, he's just mad because Naruto made him stay for the banquet last night." Suigetsu said, glaring at his master.

"Well hello there." A soft sleek voice whispered.

Hinata turned and looked around, but saw nothing. She turned back towards Suigetsu and gave him an uneasy smile afraid she might be hearing things.

"Whatsssss your name, my dear?" the voice hissed again.

Hinata looked around frantically; sure that she heard the voice this time. Suigetsu frowned and grabbed at Hinata's hair. She flinched away from him, but watched in horror as he pulled a long white snake from her shoulder.

"Get back in your cage Orochimaru! No one wants to see you." Suigetsu growled, moving to the cage hanging by the fire that she hadn't noticed before and throwing the serpent inside.

The snake seemed to laugh at the young man before curling up and resting its head so it could watch Hinata.

"What is t-that?" she asked quietly, as Suigetsu turned back to her.

"That's Orochimaru, don't mind him. He's a pain in the ass, but he won't hurt you." Suigetsu reassured.

"Hmmm sssso I sssee you got your way then." The snake observed, keeping his yellow eyes trained on Hinata.

"Yeah," Suigetsu said happily. "Not that Sasuke didn't fight me on it."

Suigetsu continued to talk to the reptile and Hinata proceeded to take a closer look at her surroundings. While she was genuinely surprised that the mess outside had actually been a house, she wasn't surprised to see how dirty it was on the inside. Hinata ran her finger along the table and frowned at the line she had made through the dust. She looked up again as Sasuke stomped back into the main room, a tomato and glass of water clutched in his hand.

"Uh S-sasuke-sensei, where do I s-sleep?" She asked shyly.

Sasuke's scowl deepend and he threw a glare at her over his shoulder, but continued up the stairs as if she hadn't said anything.

"I don't care Hyuga." he sneered. "As long as you stay out of my way."

Hinata let her eyes fall to the floor, willing herself not to cry. The dark haired male snorted and she heard him thunder the rest of his way up the steps. Suigetsu walked over to Hinata and gave Sasuke's back the finger before shrugging and heading to the stairs himself.

"Sorry Hinata," Suigetsu replied to her lost and pleading look. "I would offer to share my room, but I have a feeling you wouldn't accept my offer." He said with a devilish smile, making Hinata's face turn red. "But I'll help you figure something out in the morning."

And then she was alone. She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet nervously, not sure what she should do. Immediately she felt a wave of loneliness. She already missed the small farm house, and Kurenai, and Shikamaru, she even missed Asuma. Standing in the cold and vacant front room of this strange house she couldn't help but feel that this was all a big mistake.

"Come here pretty thing." the white snake's oily voice cooed. "Rest by the fire, everything will seem better in the morning."

"I-I don't think I should." She whispered fearfully, broken from her thoughts by the sly creature resting in his cage.

"Oh come now, do you intend to sleep on the floor? Ku ku ku ku!" the snake laughed.

Hinata took a tenative step back and crashed into the table, knocking dishes and papers over in the process. The snake ceased it's cackling but hummed in amusement as its eyes found hers.

"You can't be serious." he began. "If you sleep on the floor you'll get sick, and then I'll probably catch it." He said grumpily, after she shook her head. "You know, for a little mouse you sure are stubborn." he hissed. "Tell me little mouse, do I frighten you?"

"A-a little." Hinata admitted.

The snake laughed again before slithering through the bars of the cage. Hinata gasped, he looked much too big to fit through the small gaps of his prison. The bars seemed to move out of his way, as if even the metal was afraid of being touched by the great snake. They shuddered back into place as the last of his body slid onto the floor. The snake gave her one last look before slithering into the darkest corner of the room.

"If my presence is making you nervoussss then I shall be gone, at least for a little while." the voice mocked.

Hinata waited a few more minutes, listening intently for the snake to return. Silently she activated her Byakugan and saw that she was alone in the room except for the occasional bug. She breathed a sigh of relief and placed her bag down gently on the table next to her. She frowned at the floor; she refused to sleep on something so dirty. Shivering she weighed her options. The best and warmest choice was to sleep in front of the fire like the snake suggested. Taking one last look around she pulled a small comfortable looking chair over to the fire and grabbed a book from her bag. She leaned back in the chair and began to read the familiar pages of her favorite book. It wasn't long until she had fallen asleep, the book sliding out of her hands and landing with a soft thud on the floor.

-Page Break-

"Welcome home Hanabi-sama, Neji-san." one of the servants said bowing her head.

Hanabi ignored her, but Neji stopped to give her a curt nod. He turned to walk towards his room but was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Neji." his uncle called him. "Meet me in my study in ten minutes."

"Hai Hiashi-sama." Neji replied formally, bowing towards the man.

Once Neji was sure that he was out of earshot, because that would have to do; no one was ever out of a Hyuga's sight, he stood and walked into his room before throwing himself on his bed to rest for the precious few moments he had. There was a brisk knock on his door a few minutes later, and he let out a soft groan as he stood.

"Yes, Hanabi-sama?" he began before the door was even opened, only one person knocked on his door like that.

"Otou-san would like to see us." she answered simply.

Neji was a little surprised but tried not to show it as he followed his younger cousin. If his uncle only wished a debriefing of what happened at the ceremony he would have just called Neji. The fact that Hanabi was summoned as well gave Neji the hint that that was not the only thing the clan leader wanted to discuss. They stopped in front of his door and waited to be called in. It took only a few minutes but they were soon ushered into the sparse but large office of Hiashi Hyuuga.

"Neji, Hannabi." Hiashi said as if he hadn't ordered them there. "How was the ceremony?" he asked,before taking a sip from his tea cup.

"Uneventful." Hanabi answered, Neji nodded in agreement. "Except for the fact that Hinata-nee-san was there as well." Hanabi said.

Hiashi paused mid sip to look at his daughter and nephew, before resuming his motions a moment later. From his reaction Neji could tell this is what he had wanted to talk about from the begining.

"Yes I had heard about that." the older man said. "And how was she?"

"Healthy, as far as I could tell." Hanabi said bluntly.

Neji clenched his fists and gritted his teeth but remained silent. He wanted to call his uncle out on pretending to care about Hinata now when he was the one that had sent her away in the first place. He wanted to hit Hanabi for referring to her sister as if she was some stranger. She might as well have been. Hanabi was only four when Hinata had been sent away. But most of all he wanted to weep for Hinata, a child that deserved love from a father who never gave it, and for being alone in a world that would eat her alive.

"Neji you seem awfully quiet about this." Hiashi confronted.

He wanted to yell and shout at the frustrating man sitting across from him. Tell him that Hinata was better off without them because she was something good and pure. But he didn't. He didn't do anything because that was not his place. He was merely a branch member of the family; he served and obeyed the main family.

"It was good to see her there Hiashi-sama." Neji said, stoically.

"Yes, well my intelligence had a very limited scope. I was able to hear that Hinata had gone to the ceremony, but not if she was picked as an apprentice." Hiashi said.

"Does it matter?" Hanabi answered, slightly confused.

"Yes it matters," Hiashi answered sternly, but his voice held slight hints of anger. "And I should not have to explain why."

"She was picked." Neji interrupted.

"By whom?" Hiashi asked.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

-Page Break-

She was running. She didn't know why. But something or someone was urging her to keep running, to keep looking. The floor beneath her bare feet was rough stone like the walls around her. It was almost as if she was in a tunnel. Torches littered along the wall blazed in their brackets offering minimal light, giving the place a more foreboding feeling. She was dressed in her mage robe, but her hat was gone briefly she wondered why that was. But that didn't matter now. Keep looking. You have to find him.

"Sasuke!?" She called, her voice echoing back at her.

That in itself shocked her. Why was she looking for Sasuke? She searched her mind for answers, but she found nothing, all she knew is that she needed to find him. Find him and save him.

"Sasuke! Sasuke please answer me!" she pleaded.

The echoes of her own voice were her only answer. She slowed to a stop so she could catch her breath. Suddenly a noise from up ahead caught her attention and soon she was running again. It was strange it sounded almost like...crying? But as she moved further down this dark passage the noise got louder, and it didn't take her long to recognize it. It wasn't crying, it was manic, sadistic, disturbing laughter. She stopped mid-step and looked around, searching for the source of the noise. The torches along the walls began to go out and Hinata's blood turned to ice. Soon the hallway was pitch black and Hinata couldn't hear anything except for her heavy breathing as she spun around frantically, trying to see anything. She whipped around and was met with two cold, malicious yellow eyes. And then, she screamed.

She woke with a start and clutched at her chest as her heart pounded against her ribcage. Suigetsu stood in front of her stoking the fire. He turned around and glanced at her briefly before turning back.

"Morning." he said covering a yawn.

Hinata moved and flinched as her body protested. She stretched and felt her bones pop as she tried to chase away the stiffness in her limbs. Straightening as best as she could she remembered the book she had the night before. Looking around frantically she saw it placed precariously on the table. Scooting back slightly she stood and collected her item before stowing it back in her bag.

"Where is Sasuke-sensei?" Hinata asked Suigetsu after a long moment of silence.

The young man snorted and turned towards her before gesturing towards the stairs.

"We probably won't see him emerge from his emo cave until he gets hungry." he explained.

"B-but...what about my t-t-training?" Hinata asked, astounded.

Suigetsu shrugged before walking to the small closet near the door. He pulled out a cloak and fastened it around his shoulders, before reaching for a heavy coin purse.

"I'm going into town for supplies." He answered the silent question. "While I'm out I'll see what I can do about your bed situation."

With that he strode to the door, turned the lock and stepped outside. She stood for a moment in shock, wondering what she was supposed to do now.

"If you hurry," Orochimaru hissed from inside his cage, drawing her attention. "You still might catch him."

Hinata didn't stop to think about when the reptile had returned to his cage; instead she rushed to the door and pulled it open.

"Suigetsu wait...!" She began but stopped mid-sentence.

She was expecting to see the large forest that she had had to trek through yesterday, but instead she saw rows of shops in front of her. Slowly she stepped out of the house in awe and was met with the stifling heat of the desert sun. She shielded her eyes and looked around, hoping to gain her bearings. Hinata stood in the middle of a bustling city street in a place she had never been before. She blinked her eyes, rubbing them when she still saw the sandy streets stretched before her. Quickly she backed into the house and closed the door. Taking a deep breath, she tried again hoping she would see the familiar trees of Konoha. Again she was met with the same scene as before. This time she didn't bother trying to take a look around; she slammed the door and turned the lock.

"Ku ku ku." the snake laughed in his cage.

She turned to him quickly, thoroughly puzzled. But the creature didn't answer her and instead looked towards the young woman expectantly.

"U-um w-what's going o-on?" she asked the snake nervously.

"Open the door." Orochimaru answered simply.

She shot him another confused look before reaching for the lock to turn it, but his voice stopped her.

"No no. Just...open it." he explained.

Hinata gave him one more look before turning back to the door. She noticed for the first time that engraved into the lock was a small colored circle. Running her fingers over the small green indent she turned the handle and was caught off guard as the door swung open. Her breath caught in her throat and she took a few tentative steps outside. She was once again standing in the heart of Konoha. Looking around she recognized the bustling shops that she had seen just yesterday. Turning she looked up at the building she had just walked out of. The worn sign in front of her said that this was an apothecary shop; she quickly stepped back inside and saw the gloomy and stale smelling inside of Sasuke's house. The door closed behind her automatically and she whirled around, hearing a loud knock. The lock spun in a circle before stopping, and Hinata was surprised to see that this circle was blue. Whoever had been knocking knocked again and she cautiously opened the door.

"Good morning." a young boy, maybe Hanabi's age, with a striped white and blue hat said. "I have a letter for Suigetsu-san."

Hinata took the offered letter and looked at it. It was addressed to Suigetsu's Shop of Magnificent Magical Merchandise. She coughed to cover her laugh and looked at the boy smiling.

"T-thank you." She said brightly.

He nodded, giving her his own small smile, before it was replaced with a confused expression.

"Hey, I've never seen you before are you going to be staying with Suigetsu-san for a while?" he asked.

"Yes I…" she began but froze when she heard Orochimaru speak.

"Suna door." The snake hissed, lifting its head for a minute, before tucking it securely away.

"I-I have to go t-thank you for the letter!" She said quickly before closing the door and turning towards the animal.

"Suna door." He repeated.

She turned the lock until she saw a yellow circle waited for Orochimaru to nod in agreement and opened the door. A man dressed in a black suit with what looked like cat ears on the top and purple markings painted on his face was standing there, hand poised to knock again. He let his arm fall in surprise before he cleared his throat and leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed and a grin on his face.

"Hey," he said, trying to be smooth. "What's your name?"

"H-hinata." She answered nervously.

"I haven't seen you around here before, the names Kankurou." He supplied, shamelessly flirting with her.

"It's nice to meet you Kankurou-san!" Hinata said bowing quickly and oblivious to his flirtatious tone.

"So, are you and Suigetsu…you know," he asked, suddenly serious.

"Ah yes," Hinata said misunderstanding the question. "I will be living with him for a while."

"Damn," he cursed lightly. "Suigetsu always gets the cute girls."

"W-what?" Hinata asked confused, until the obvious hit her like a ton of bricks. "Oh n-no! It's n-not like that a-at all!" She said her cheeks scarlet.

Kankurou laughed at her expression, making Hinata blush harder. She wrung her hands nervously as the man laughed hysterically.

"Oh that was great." He said after he calmed down a little. "Hey I didn't mean anything by it, I was just kidding." He reassured after he saw her expression. "Just, can you do me a favor? Tell Suigetsu I'll come by tomorrow for my order okay?"

Hinata nodded, and gave him a small smile. He flashed his own grin, standing straight and preparing to leave.

"Thanks, I'll be seeing you around Hinata." He said waving before turning and walking back down the street.

Once she was sure he was gone she closed the door and turned the lock twice, so that a red circle was showing instead. She quickly pulled the door open and saw the thick forest that they had traveled through to get to the castle in the first place. Closing it again she turned the lock once more on a blue circle. Hinata opened the door once again and heard the crying of gulls and could smell the salt water. It was where the same place the young boy had been. She laughed with childish glee as she closed the door again and turned the lock till it was showing a purple circle.

"This is amazing!" She breathed as she caught sight of the ruined city around her. "I d-didn't know that S-Sasuke-sensei could do this! This is m-magic I've never e-even heard of!"

"That'ssss because it isn't SSSSSasuke's magic, it's mine." The snake replied.

Hinata turned towards the snake and gently shut the door, waiting patiently for an explanation. When he didn't elaborate she turned back towards the door and twisted the lock one last time. The circle didn't look the same as the other circles; it looked as if someone had desperately tried to scrape the paint off of it. She let her fingers run over the deep gouges before she grasped the handle. Suddenly her hand was pulled away from the knob and her wrist was being clenched tightly. Her heart hammered in her chest as she was paralyzed by two red eyes. In an instant Sasuke had released her wrist and had pushed himself between her and the door, his eyes the familiar icy black.

"Listen to me." He said forcefully. "What I said before stands. You may go anywhere as long as you're not in my way," he continued before grabbing her chin roughly and forcing her to look him in the eye. "Except through that door, you can go to Suna, Konoha I don't care. But if I ever catch you going through that door, I will kill you."

Hinata watched him fearfully as he explained this to her in a calm voice as if he was telling her that the sky was blue.

"Do you understand me? I. WILL. KILL. YOU." He emphasized. "Nod so I know you understand."

Hinata nodded not doubting for a moment that if he ever had cause that Sasuke wouldn't hesitate to kill her. He released her face and turned away from her. Hinata stumbled back in surprise and landed heavily against the table. The Uchiha sent one last glare to her over his shoulder before opening the door and disappearing.

A/N: Sorry if the door part was confusing I didn't know how to explain it. And I had to add Kankurou he's one of my favorites.