Things between the engaged couple were not so great that night when they got back to the compound. Every time Hiroshi tried to speak, he would only get shut out by his precious fiancé, who would then in return get scolded by her father for acting so poorly towards the man who loves her more than anything. Apparently only his feelings matter, and not his own daughter's. That right there is what drove her over the edge, and actually caused her to lock herself in the bedroom. At least in there she would have some peace and quiet for a while. Luckily she never had to give him a key to her bedroom, so she was safe in here. This is where she always goes whenever she feels like shutting herself out from the world, and just...wants to be left completely alone. It was better than having to put up with that...that disgusting man! No part of her body was going to be groped or molested by his dirty hands either.

This is where Hinata remained for the rest of the night, since she wound up falling asleep due to sheer exhaustion. What else would you expect out of someone who was crying their eyes out for hours? People like to throw it in her face on how sensitive she was, and that she needed to stop acting like such a big baby all the time. Multiple people have already told her to grow up already... That she will be a married woman, and soon a mother! So she needed to become a better role model to her very own children. That was the last thing she wanted to think about though. What is she, seventeen?! Why can't she at least live her life first before settling down with a baby? Because once she does, she won't even be able to stay a shinobi anymore. All of her time will be eaten up on raising and taking care of that baby. Not to mention she won't be able to train during her pregnancy either.

She wasn't a baby machine! But Hiroshi likes to think otherwise. He's already excited to start a family with her. Figures he'd be ready, since he's so much older than her. Technically she wasn't even legally an adult yet. Not even old enough to drink alcohol! And yet she has to get married here soon, and then have babies with a man who just wants her for her body. How fair was that? Being a mother was hard work, and you should always prepare yourself for that first. You should only have a baby when you are ready, not your husband. It's not his body who has to go through all of that hell after all. Not saying she wouldn't love her own child. Being the loving, caring, and gentle person that she is, of course Hinata would love any baby she carried, despite who the father was.

It's not like it would be the baby's fault. It would be completely innocent. There was still so much more she wanted to do, and now it was all going to be thrown down the drain. A wife and mother...while her friends and team mates are out going on missions and having fun with their lives. But no one could help her out now. It was far too late, since everyone has accepted the wedding invitations that her father sent out. And the thing is, is that they know how miserable she is! They all know how badly she wants to get out of this arranged marriage, and yet...no one was standing up for her. No one even offered to protect her. Was that too much to ask for? Especially Kiba and Shino of all people. Those two should definitely be knocking down that door and taking her with them. But no...they were probably out on a mission right now, having the time of their lives.

That following morning, the sun shone brightly through the Hyuga's bedroom. Usually she was a morning person and got up earlier than everyone else here. But since she stayed up so late crying her heart out, she still felt pretty tired and wanted to sleep in longer. As she opened her eyes a little to see what time it was, she let out a long and heavy sigh. Yet again, if she doesn't get out of this bed soon, then people will start pounding on her door, trying to get in. Just thinking about it made her body tense up slightly. As if she wanted any of them in her face right now. Today was going to be another long and drama-filled day, which is why she took her time in sitting up and rubbing at her eyes, trying her best to wake up some more. If only she could get some more sleep! Might as well enjoy getting the bed to herself while she can, because once she's married, that's going to go right out the window.

And speaking of windows, hers was wide open. It was strange, because it was shut all the way when she went to sleep last night. Being the type of person who gets cold fairly easy, Hinata had to sleep with multiple blankets... So of course she wasn't going to keep her window open, so that the cool air can get in. Maybe she just forget, what with everything that was going on and all. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she slowly got to her feet and shuffled across the room. Even the breeze coming in through it caused her to shiver a bit. Well, at least it looked very beautiful outside. That was a huge plus right there! It helped calm her nerves, just watching as a few birds gathered together in a circle while trying to find food, just pecking away at the ground with their beaks. If she could, she would own some animals herself. A dog...maybe a cat. But her father never allowed for such a thing.

As she bent over to get a better look out the window, that's when her hair fell forward so that it was in plain sight. Normally it would hand in long locks down past her breasts whenever this would happen, but today it wasn't even close to that length. No...it was much shorter! Pale eyes widened, as she quickly reached up to touch her hair, running her fingers through it. Although when the strands slipped through her fingers all too quickly, that's when she realized it had been cut. Whirling around to look back at her bed, that's when she saw a pile of lavender-colored locks all over her pillow. "W-what the..." She trailed off, slowly walking over to grab a handful of them. Her hands shook slightly as she just stared at them for a good few minutes, feeling utterly shocked at what was happening right now.

Someone had broken into her room and chopped off most of her hair! This was very unsettling, as fresh tears pooled in her eyes. It didn't even take her long at all to figure out who had done it. But...why?! To think he would stoop so low, as to cut something very precious to her. It took so long to grow it out that long, and now it was...gone. Oh how angry she felt right now. Usually she wasn't one to rage or snap at someone, but that was about to change. How dare he do this to her! What did she ever do, to deserve such treatment from him? Was this punishment for not listening to him yesterday and running off? For locking herself away into her bedroom for the rest of the night, all the while ignoring him completely? It probably was, knowing him and how petty he is. This just wasn't right at all...

Hinata threw on a pair of black sweat pants, and a dark purple tank-top, running a comb through her shoulder-length hair. Yeah, it looked all choppy and was going to have to get fixed. Looks like she'll have to head down to the barber shop. Hopefully they can salvage what's left of it. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she tried her best to throw it up into a ponytail. At least like this you won't be able to tell just how bad it looks. This also made her feel sad in a way, because she viewed herself as being a lot less attractive with shorter hair. Once that was done and taken care of, she swung her bedroom door open and walked out, going straight into the kitchen. Usually whenever she makes breakfast, it makes the entire compound smell absolutely delicious! But today there wasn't anything. Can these people really not make themselves something to eat? Must they always rely on her to cook all the meals every single day?

Cooking is something that she was very passionate about. Having other people eat the food she made, and then to hear their compliments on her was always the highlight of her day. Especially if it was made for someone important, like her friends or family. But to be forced into doing this was just not fun at all. As she stepped into the kitchen, that's when she saw her fiancé sitting at the table, tapping away on it with his fingers very impatiently. That's when her blood began to boil just looking at him, her hands clenching into tight fists as she tried to remain calm. Of course he had to be the first person to see this early in the morning. What was he doing, waiting for her to wake up and feed him? It wouldn't surprise her if he literally wanted her to spoon-feed him all of his meals, since he's that dependent on her. That's where she will draw the line. He wasn't a baby!

Hiroshi turned his head and blinked, slamming both of his hands onto the table as he stood up. "Finally! I've only been sitting here for an hour you know. Why aren't you in here making me my breakfast? You know how important it is to have a fulfilling meal before heading out for a mission. It's not right to keep your soon-to-be husband waiting. So un-lady like..." He scoffed, shaking his head in disappointment.

"E-excuse me?" Hinata was in pure shock at how he was speaking to her right now... As if she owed him something. He didn't deserve a single thing from her! Especially with that rude attitude of his. Her eyes narrowed slightly while continuing to stare at him. Although with that look on her face, it was more of a glare if anything.

He crossed his arms and nodded. "It's time to move on already, Hinata. No wife of mine will be so neglectful towards my needs, you got it? I expect a freshly made breakfast when I wake up, and a hot meal whenever I come home. And make sure to run a bath for me as well. I shouldn't have to prepare these things for myself when I have you to do them for me..." His tone was a tad bit harsh when saying these things. At this point he didn't even care if they hurt his fiancé. She threw him over the edge when she decided to avoid him the entire night. Like he was going to sit back and allow her to do such a thing without paying the consequences.

"W-why must you be so demanding? You could treat your wife with some more respect..." She mumbled. Hiroshi was going to get nowhere in life, being so cruel towards people. A simple "thank you" or "please" goes a long way. How has he not realized this by now? Seriously, does he treat all women like this? Like they were here only to please men and give them what they want, whenever they want it? If that was the case, then her life has become ten times worse than it already was. But she wasn't going to stop at that. There was still more to say that was on her mind.

"You broke into my bedroom during the night and cut off my hair! What would possess you into doing such a terrible thing? Y-you know how much I loved my long hair. How could you?!" Her voice got much louder now, as she was practically shouting at him. It echoed throughout the kitchen rather loudly, leaving a long silence between them as he just blankly stared at her in response to what she had just said. This made her body twitch with irritation.

He simply rolled his eyes at that. "Are you that slow? Come on baby, we both know why I did it." Pausing in his sentence, Hiroshi made his way on over to her and stopped before her, reaching out to touch the soft locks that stuck out from her ponytail. His gaze darkened then, as he grabbed a hold of it and yanked her head towards him, crushing his lips against hers. Even when he felt her struggling to break free from the kiss, he only kept a strong hold of her, making sure she couldn't pull away. Oh how he loved the taste of these lips of hers. So soft, and sweet. He couldn't get enough of them! His arm wound around her waist, keeping her close to his body as he pulled away finally to speak.

"That filthy Uchiha touched it during that pathetic party. Only I can touch you!" He yelled right in her face. All of a sudden he was becoming more cruel...and violent. What was he going to do next, start hitting her and pushing her around? Will she have to think about hiding bruises on her body after this? Will he...be this verbally, or even physically abusive towards their future children? If that's the case, then she cannot allow this marriage to play out. She will not allow him to lay a finger on any baby of hers! Placing both of her hands onto his chest, she shoved away from him as roughly as she could, and took a few steps back to distance herself from him.

Was he implying that it was Sasuke's fault that her hair got chopped off? "I could have taken a shower if it disgusted you that much! A-anything but this..." Fresh tears spilled over and ran down her face. It was impossible to control her emotions right now, since she was hurting so badly. Because another guy touched her hair, she had to get it chopped off. What's going to happen if she gets touched on a different part of her body? She didn't even want to think about that possibility! It honestly made her feel sick to her stomach. No...she needed to get away from here. She couldn't stand to even look at this monster that stood before her! She felt bile rise in her throat, and she tried so desperately to keep it down. Where was her father?! Her sister?! No one was even here to witness any of this.

Hiashi wasn't going to believe any of this. If so, then he will only turn a blind eye to it and just act like it was no big deal. Yes she has had short hair before, but that was in the past. "Y-you disgust me. If anything, your hands are filthy!" She shot right back at him. "How dare you sit here and treat me this way, and speak to me as if I'm your slave! I deserve better than this. I did nothing to be treated in such a horrible way!" Fearing that he would turn on her for this, she whirled around and ran out of the kitchen, going right over to the front door, where she then slipped her sandals on. Grabbing her purse and hoodie, she then booked it out of the compound. Well she did need to get her hair fixed up anyways.

Hardly anyone was out, as most people were probably still asleep in their beds, or enjoying breakfast with their families. That was something she wanted so desperately to do...but with only her father and little sister. Right now she felt so alone, and didn't know what to do anymore. Maybe Sasuke was right... Maybe she really was weak after all. Yes she put her foot down this time, but she still hadn't called off the wedding. There was nowhere for her to go if she were to get kicked out of the clan. Unless she burdens one of her team mates that is. Both of their families absolutely adored her! But it still wouldn't feel right though. She can't just live with one of her team mates forever! They needed to find their own happiness, and she would only hold them back from it.

Walking along the streets of Konoha, Hinata tried her best to remain as invisible as possible. At the moment she felt so...hideous. Once a beautiful woman, and now just a used and abused, pathetic accuse of a shinobi. No wonder she was viewed as a disgrace to her clan for most of her life. What has she accomplished? It's not like she wanted to fight to begin with. Hurting and killing people just wasn't her cup of tea. But in her clan, you needed to become as strong as possible, or else you were basically shunned and cast aside. Even though she has been mistreated by her clan members for so long...she still wanted to be with her family. Her father may be very strict and mean towards her at times, but she still loved him. And it's not like her little sister can do anything, since she's too young to stand up to everyone else. If Neji were here, he would have gladly stepped in.

But then again, if he was alive, she would be marrying him instead.

Other people may find that to be disgusting, marrying your own cousin. But in certain clans that's what they did! Members hooked up with each other and had children with them, wanting to pass off the purest of their clan's blood as much as possible. Could you blame them? At this point, she honestly wouldn't care about marrying her cousin. At least Neji was gentle with her, and treated her with the respect that she deserved! Sure they have had their differences, argued, and even fought to the point where it nearly killed her...but everything changed after the chunin exams. He became a much better, humble person who was very sweet and protective of her. Oh how she missed him...

"Hinata?" She heard a voice call out to her. Judging by the tone of the person's voice, it belonged to a woman. Since they knew her name, she decided to stop walking and turned around to face them. When her eyes locked onto a pair of emerald green ones, that's when she realized who it was. Was she heading towards the hospital to start work? If so, then that was pretty early to be working on patients. But then again, she's probably use to it by now. And she's not one to talk either, since she's up this early and walking around aimlessly.

Sakura placed a hand onto her hip, raising a pink brow at the Hyuga as they stared at each other. "...Is something wrong? You don't look so good..." That's when yesterday's events popped up into her mind, and she immediately regretted asking such a stupid question. Of course something was wrong!

"Ah, it's nothing..." She mumbled, reaching up to nervously play at the small ponytail that stuck out from the back of her head. Well this was very unexpected! Her gaze fell down to the ground, as she just blankly stared at nothing. What was she supposed to say now?

"...?" Well that was odd. The pinkette took a few steps towards her, and then suddenly peered over to look where her hand was. But when she saw what she was grasping onto, her eyes widened in shock. 'What happened to her hair?' She thought. You could even tell that it had been done roughly with a blade. Did she do this to herself? Or...did someone else do it? Whichever one it was, she had a strange feeling about it.

Hinata backed away a little, noticing how close she had gotten. "I-I wanted to try something knew." She lied. Oh it was very obvious that she was lying. She always has been a terrible liar. It just wasn't in her nature, since she's so sweet and innocent.

Sakura looked at her suspiciously then, and shook her head. "I'm not stupid, Hinata. What really happened? You know you can talk to me..." But before she gave her the chance to respond to that, she grabbed onto her hand and pulled her out of the middle of the street, and into a much more quieter place, where no one else was around. "You look drained. Did you not get enough sleep last night?" They haven't talked to each other much, but she still worries about her. They were pretty much friends if you thought about it. It's not like they were rivals or something like that.

Pale eyes shifted back up to look at her. This was one person who she could trust. And she did need something to vent to. But that didn't make it any easier for her to open up to the medical-nin. This is something that she has always struggled with, and that wasn't going to just up and change over night. So instead of saying something right away, she reached back to pull the binder from her hair, letting it fall down to rest at her shoulders. But even at this length, there were still shorter strands than this, which meant it would have to rest above her shoulders, rather than on top of them. "..."

"H-Hinata..." She was left feeling speechless. Yup, someone else did this to her. A frown spread on her lips as she felt her heart sink. She was on her way to the hospital when she spotted the Hyuga, and wondered what she was up to. But maybe she just wanted to be left alone right now... And here she was, pestering her. Reaching into her back pouch, she pulled a kunai out of it. 'I have been in a similar situation, back when I had to cut off my own hair in order to save my team mates. But she didn't do this to herself, so this is different...'

"I'm okay..." But even as she said this, tears pooled in her eyes as they threatened to spill over. Hasn't she done enough crying for one day? This is the last thing she wanted, especially in front of someone else who was viewed as being one of the strongest shinobi here in Konoha! Well okay, to be fair Sakura use to cry and whine a lot...but she has changed over the past few years. "I was going in to get it fixed up. I-I'm sure they can do something to help salvage what is left of it..." She tried to urge a small smile while saying that, but it failed miserably when she felt something went running down her cheeks. A gasp escaped from her when this happened, and she quickly turned away from her, hiding her face in her hands.

"Hey..." Sakura wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. "It'll be okay. I can fix this up for you and give you a beautiful new hairstyle. How does that sound?" Back when her long hair was cut off, her own best friend cut away at the uneven ends and made it look so much better. Why not return the favor by doing it to someone else? This way Hinata won't have to pay someone to do it for her. Plus she won't be put in that awkward, uncomfortable position of having to explain herself on what had happened to herself.

"You...w-would really do that? For me?" It shouldn't be that much of a surprise to her, since the pinkette has always been very friendly towards her, and has helped her out so much! Never has she had a problem with her. So why shouldn't she take her up on that offer? It would actually make her feel so much better, rather than having to depend on someone else who will want to try and pry into her business. Like she wants to sit here and explain to everyone on what happened to her!

The medical-nin didn't hesitate to nod. "Here..." She got behind Hinata and began cutting away at the chopped up ends. It was definitely going to be above her shoulders, there was no denying that. However, it wasn't going to look bad on her at all. Well she did use to have it a lot shorter than this anyways, and she pulled it off pretty good. Actually, she was a cute little girl who blushed a lot and fidgeted with her fingers. Now she was beginning to grow out of that habit, after having found so much more confidence. It was all thanks to Naruto that she has come so far. 'Does she still love him? I feel so bad for her. That idiot hasn't even talked to her about that confession...'

Knowing her, she probably did hold feelings towards the blonde. Whether it was as strong as before was a mystery. It's not like she talks about him all the time to her, so she of all people wouldn't know. But she was still being shy around him yesterday at his birthday party, so maybe him ignoring her must not have had much of an effect on her. 'She needs to find someone much better for her. Someone who will acknowledge her feelings, and will be there for her! Not someone who is still chasing after someone else...' Sakura doesn't like him in that way either, so Naruto was screwing himself over. Just what was he doing, wasting such a perfect opportunity in getting closer to such a lovely and beautiful woman such as Hinata herself?

But she knows what it's like to love someone who doesn't love you back.


Author's note: I know, I know! This story is kind of depressing right now, I will admit that. But it won't stay that way for long, I promise. I'll be throwing Sasuke back in for the next chapter, so we'll get to see his reaction to Hinata's new hair.

*To the person who left a review on here telling me to go and kill myself for shipping SasuHina, you're a coward for using a guest account. And if you're calling me a NaruSaku tard, then damn you didn't even look at my profile at all or read any of these chapters. I do NOT ship them together. I ship pairings like SasuSaku, NaruHina, NaruSasu, SasuHina...so you shouldn't assume what I ship and don't ship. Better hope you don't say that to the wrong person and literally cause someone to commit suicide, you pathetic accuse for a human being.*