a/n first off, merry chrismakwansica, and festivus for the rest of us! Whatever holiday you do or don't celebrate, I hope you enjoy it! I personally plan on making hella egg nog, nom nom!

My in-laws are going to be in town this week, so not sure when I'll get to update again: just to be on the safe side, I'll say two weeks. That way, if I do manage to post next weekend, I'll exceed your expectations!

This chapter is best enjoyed while listening to the album "Ring" by Glasser, especially the first track called "Apply." You can listen to it for free on grooveshark at:

grooveshark. com/playlist/Glasser+Ring/64386482

minus the annoying space of course. You might need to add an h t t p in front there, but it should work without:)

Special super duper thanks to my beta, Uchiha.S, who rocks my socks:)

~(^.^~) ~(^.^)~ (~^.^)~

Chapter 4

Nagi Island

I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger, traveling through this world of woe;

but there's no sickness, no toil or danger, in that bright world, to which I go.

~Wayfaring Stranger, traditional

Hinata does not ask Sasuke where they are going, nor does she question his silent orders; she walks behind him, staring at the ground. She thinks of things to say to break the awkward silence, but the words always die in her throat.

Eventually she gathers enough courage to stare at his back and simply thinks questions at him. Who is this man? She knows his name, and his affiliation with Team Seven, but beyond that, Uchiha Sasuke is truly a mystery. Hinata's lips purse; her fingers lace themselves behind her pack straps. Why does Sasuke want to die when he has been granted eternal life? Is life so empty for him that he would prefer to die again?

As if in response to her thoughts, Sasuke shoots her a look from over his shoulder; it is as if he can hear her thoughts, even without using his doujutsu. Hinata squeaks and looks back down at the ground; nothing is said, and Hinata does not even dare to think for quite some time.

They travel for three long, silent days. Hinata thinks that she may possibly lose her mind. She is a shy person by nature, true, but she is also gregarious in her own quiet way. Starved of any social interaction, she begins to feel like a plant deprived of sunlight. So she clears her throat and forces herself to say, "Uchiha-s-s-san?" She bites her lip, and curses her sibilant stutter.

Sasuke, who is walking ahead of her, slows his pace until they are side by side. "Hn?"

Hinata takes a deep breath. "W-W-Where…?"

"Hn."

With that, Sasuke pulls forward once again, and Hinata's mouth is left gaping. She curses herself; she believes it is her own inability to articulate full sentences that has raised Sasuke's ire. Isn't this the very reason why she left Konoha? To over come her atrocious stutter, to create her own destiny? Instead, she is letting a walking-zombie lead her to Kami only knows where! The least he could do would be to include her in his travel plans.

With newfound determination, Hinata states, "Uchiha-san. Where are we g-going?" She is pleased that she only stutters once.

He smirks at this, withdraws a map from inside of his vest, and tosses it over his shoulder to the kunoichi. She catches the scroll with ninja acuity and unravels it slowly as she continues to walk, for Sasuke has not stopped. As she peruses the map, her pace remains steady, but her expression grows quizzical. "Nagi Island?"

"We're almost to the port," Sasuke replies, laconic as ever. Sure enough, in a few hours, they reach the coast. It is gray and overcast by the shore; the mist seems to hang heavy, a suspended rain-filled cloud. Hinata has never been to this part of Wave Country, a peninsula that juts out from the border with Fire; it is as unremarkable as dirty chewing gum stuck to the bottom of one's shoe.

Soon, they pay for a small fishing vessel to take them to Nagi Island. They board the dodgy-looking boat, its red paint peeling, its oars well worn from pushing through the sea. "You two married?" the fisherman asks, his well-muscled arms heaving the oars through the water. Hinata turns as red as the setting sun, which is glinting up through the fog and bloodying the thin horizon; Sasuke smirks.

"Yes. I'm visiting my parents," Sasuke replies suavely.

Hinata feels sick; she leans over the side of the boat and heaves up her meager lunch. When she is done wiping the vomit from her cheek, she sees Sasuke out of the corner of her eye; his scowl makes her cheeks burn hotter than the bile gathering at the back of her throat.

When they finally reach the island, Hinata is still green in the face, while the pale, blue twilight has fully faded into black night. The full moon glows eerily through the patchy clouds, and its filtered light suffuses the sea with silver. The fisherman anchors his boat and makes his way towards town. He calls a goodbye over his shoulder, wishing them a safe rest of their journey; he adds that Hinata shouldn't be so scared of her in-laws. He assumes that is why she vomited before: how wrong he is.

Hinata chews the inside of her cheek and looks up at Sasuke, whose back is turned towards her. He is gazing out at the water, at the heavy moon looking into the mirror of the sea. Before she can stop herself, Hinata blurts out, "Why did you say that?"

"Say what?" Sasuke answers slowly, without turning around.

"About your p-p-parents…"

Sasuke simply shrugs. He spins around, walking forward into town without warning; Hinata follows him with a squeak. Why am I even here? Why am I following a lunatic vampire like some lost puppy? What the hell is wrong with me? Despite her tumultuous mind, outwardly she is silent. She follows Sasuke to a noodle shop, she lets him order her dinner, and she stuffs soba into her face. Her cheeks puff up like a starving hamster gorging himself on bread. And all the while her mind is humming why why why?

She cannot answer any of these unbidden questions, except to say that she is transfixed; she is stuck in a genjutsu and she cannot get out. She is drowning in Sasuke's presence; he is a whirlpool and she is an abandoned rowboat, spiraling closer and closer to the vortex, to oblivion. The bland noodles catch in her throat.

As if he can sense her inner turmoil, Sasuke's voice breaks the quiet. "I told him," Sasuke muses aloud, "because if all goes according to plan, I will be visiting my parents."

Hinata chokes on her noodles. After a few minutes of sputtering, she drinks a glass of water and leans her head in her hands. "I'm sorry…w-what…?"

"I was just answering your question," Sasuke replies evenly, his chopsticks twirling noodles with deft movements.

Hinata blinks, and she processes what he has just said. Oh. He is going to die soon. He is going to meet his parents… The macabre truth hits her like a kunai to the heart: how awful this all is. They sit in silence, and Hinata half-heartedly pushes her noodles around in her plate until they disintegrate in a starchy, congealing blob.

"Sasuke," she ventures timidly as they leave the restaurant, "I-I…I…"

"Spit it out."

Hinata takes a deep breath. "I don't understand why you want to d-die." She wants to add that eternal life is the dream of philosophers; fountains of youth are the goals of explorers; to throw away his life so recklessly after his miraculous reanimation seems ungrateful and foolish. Perhaps it would be wiser to live and enjoy life? But these thoughts cannot be uttered.

Sasuke's black eyes bore through her; her heart beat increases, and for a moment, it looks like Sasuke is going to smack her. But just as Hinata flinches away from him, he throws his head back and laughs; the loud barking sound frightens Hinata. When his laughter stops as abruptly as it began, and the Uchiha regards her once again, her blood freezes like a shallow pool in winter.

"The Uchiha don't deserve to live. I thought you understood that," he snaps, his tone as icy as the blood frozen in her veins. Without another word, he strides back to the beach. Hinata scurries after him and wordlessly, they set up camp.

She takes the first watch. With lachrymose eyes, she watches the full moon rise to its zenith; the fog clears, and the ocean roils with silver waves. It does not matter that Hinata's eyes are as wide and as white as the moon; tonight, she understands that she does not see a thing.

When she gently rouses Sasuke for his watch, she has a feeling that he has not slept at all. "Get some rest," he barks at her. "We leave for Orochimaru's hide-out at dawn."

"Y-Yes, Uchiha-san." She slides down into her sleeping bag, wondering what horrors will await her in the morning, and why she is agreeing to confront them; for they are not her horrors to unearth. And when she drifts into sleep, she has nightmares of what they will find at Orochimaru's base: body parts preserved in jelly, or jars of formaldehyde; rusted knives still caked in ancient blood, hollow skulls and rotten bones. When Sasuke's rough hands force her awake, she does not feel well-rested.

a/n thanks so much for reading and holiday hugs!

I'm going to turn this into an original story at some point, so your feedback would be super duper appreciated!

xoxoxo!