I cried upon writing the second half of this. You may try reading it while listening to my new favorite song for the extra effect - I See Fire by Ed Sheeran

On a mission. Sasuke is on the verge of death, and Hinata is trying her best to heal him. And a skip like a couple days later, or months or even year to where they are now.
(Requested by Narutoimagine1)

Hinata let her attacker hit her in the stomach. This way she flew back, hitting a nearby tree.

But this was a mere distraction. As the Sound shinobi closed in, she slammed her chakra-enhanced palm on his chest, rupturing his heart and left lung. The man coughed some blood, then fell in her feet.

Good. One more down.

But they were getting more and more. This was an ambush, and one that her Byakugan eyes had not seen through. The men that attacked them were not simple fighters. They were well trained and had planned this assault. And they surely had a specific target.

Though it was hard to tell who it was. It wasn't Kiba, who lay on top of his dog, both unconscious on the ground. The attackers did not even bother killing him.

It was most probably Naruto. He was Hokage now, besides, he still had the Kyuubi inside of him. But those men had mistaken greatly. Naruto never needed huge escorts when he traveled between the Hidden cities, he had some of the strongest people on his side.

Sasuke alone was enough of a guard for the Uzumaki. And together with Hinata, the two doujutsu users could conquer easily. And Sakura as an addition always made things easier. But they were outnumbered now. Badly outnumbered.

Hinata stared ahead with her kekkei genkai and as far as her eyes could reach, there were men, ready to attack. Her opponents alone were more than 30 men, all attacking at once. But she was a Hyuuga. Few could compare with her powers.

She spun on her heels, creating a vortex wall that sent a few of the Sound shinobi flying in all directions. Running between them quickly, she struck their chakra points, their most vital organs and spots, and killed one after another.

They could be after her as well. Her Byakugan eyes were unsealed. But she had no intention of giving them to anyone. And she knew well enough this was the case with Sasuke as well. As the only Sharingan user alive, his kekkei genkai was extremely precious. But the man was quite fond of his brother's eyes. And he would not let anyone near them. Except, of course, Hinata. She could get as close to him as she wanted.

Sasuke dug his sword to the hilt, ripping the man's chest badly. He chopped some limbs, then a head. His crimson eyes were not missing a single target. But he needed to get closer to Naruto and Hinata. Together they could end this quickly. And Naruto was too far away. He could barely hear Hinata fighting as well in all that ruckus.

Running ahead, he decapitated a few more of his attackers. He needed to get to her. She was strong and wise in battle, maybe even wiser than him. But he had to get closer, for his own sanity's sake. And yet, there were too many people after him. He couldn't bring them all to her. Smirking, he let his Susanoo fill the air with its deadly energy, lighting the darkness of the night.

"NOW!" one of the Sound shinobi screamed.

Sasuke was genuinely interested in what they had in mind for him. He was always surprised to see the new tactics enemies tried to come up with to strike him down. Poor bastards. Would they never learn they were doomed to fail whatever they did?

Laughing, the boy ran ahead, still headed in Hinata's general direction, slashing with his Kusanagi sword, letting the Susanoo skeleton-creature cut people with its blade as well. Not more than 20 people stood in his way now, and he smirked once more. This was a mere spar.

Not ten feet away appeared an old man, as if he materialized in the clearing before Sasuke from thin air. The Uchiha cocked his head to the side, watching as the man started performing hand seals quite frantically. Tiger. Bear. Wolf…

Suddenly, his fingers parted. Between the attacker's palms was something small, like a tiny white ball. It reminded Sasuke of Naruto's Rasengan, a shining ball of energy, spinning in its place. But this was so small, it made the boy laugh.

"You are truly pathetic," he spoke, then stormed through the gathered people, killing one after another. But it was too late. Because this was not a Rasengan.

"Hide!" the old man screamed. Sasuke had almost reached him.

The Uchiha could not quite follow why the attackers suddenly ducked away, hiding their faces as if in complete horror. They had fought bravely until now. But then again, maybe this was their limit.

Sasuke was not more than two feet away from the old shinobi when he grabbed the small Rasengan and smashed it on the ground with one hand, covering his eyes with the other.

Light. Light exploded in the clearing so bright that it shone over the whole forest, making the night brighter than the brightest day. For a moment Sasuke could see only whiteness. The blast was so strong that the outlines of everything around him were smeared. Then everything disappeared completely.

What a thoughtful way to retreat, he thought. But no. He could still feel their chakra around him. No matter if they ran or not, he would find and murder each and every one of them.

Blinking, he waited for this whiteness to go away. But it didn't. He blinked again, then rubbed his eyes. It wasn't going away. Was this a jutsu? Maybe something like a smoke wall was cast. But he could hear everything clearly. Rubbing his eyes once more, he felt the sword in his hand starting to shake. No.

Someone in front of him laughed. "Let's see how good you are with no eyes to do tricks with, Uchiha."

Sasuke unconsciously took a step back. His Susanoo still hung in the air above him. His sword still hung in his hand, electricity flowing through its blade. But all he saw was a painful whiteness.

He was blind. His eyes, Itachi's eyes, were damaged. He could not see.

The blade clattered in his shaking hand. How? How had he let this happen?

Sasuke grit his teeth, releasing a furious groan. The bastards would pay with their lives for this. He ran ahead and slashed through the air, feeling as his sword hit a neck and cut it through. He had spent so many years practicing fights with his eyes closed that this was a mere inconvenience.

Until someone stabbed him in the thigh. He screamed in pain as the blade cut through his leg. But how? How had they gotten behind his Susanoo defense?

And then it hit him. He was unstable. Shocked. Panicking. He couldn't steady his hands, let alone maintain the Susanoo form. The skeleton-creature had disappeared.

"Kuso," he spat out and spun on his working foot, killing two more men.

Hinata blinked, trying to cast the white light out of her vision. Her eyes were blurry. Someone had used a powerful blinding jutsu where Sasuke was fighting. It barely got to where she was, but the light had still burned her pupils. And yet, she could still see clearly enough to know her boyfriend was in trouble.

Killing man after man, she ran as fast as she could. She had suffered a strike in the abdomen, but it was only a flesh wound. Nothing she could care about right now. Because her eyes were fixed on Sasuke in the distance. His Susanoo abruptly disappeared from the air. His leg was slashed. His voice sounded in the night, his scream sending shivers down Hinata's spine. Because she had never, even once, heard him scream.

She was getting closer. Hang in there, Sasuke, she thought, delivering a blow in one of her attacker's head, killing him on the spot.

Sasuke was blinded, she was sure of it. And what she saw terrified her. Because the Uchiha was stripped off his composure. He was frantic. Panicked.

Hinata spun, then ducked, digging a kunai in an attacker's chest. And then her feet felt like they were paralyzed all of a sudden. But it was not a jutsu.

Sasuke, meters away from her, was buried in a wave of men, each of them attacking him at once. He swiftly evaded more than 4 of their bows.

But the fifth one was successful. One of the sound shinobi, an old man, dug his chokuto in Sasuke's neck, ripping his artery. The blade dug deep into his flesh, making its way through his collarbone, through his chest, reaching his stomach.

A subdued scream escaped Sasuke's tattered lungs as he fell on his knees, dropping the Kusanagi sword. Blood poured from his neck and chest, soaking in the forest ground. Blood poured through his mouth as well as he tried to breathe.

Hinata was unsure when she had reached him. She was not very sure on when she managed to kill more than ten men. She did not pay attention to the screams that were produced by her own voice, nor did she notice when the Uzumaki, glowing in the darkness with his Kyuubi form active, killed all the remaining men in the clearing.

Because Hinata had lost all kinds of control. Her arms caught Sasuke before he could hit the ground and gripped the open wound on his neck, trying to stop the bleeding. Her light-colored jacked soon appeared black, soaked by his warm blood. Sasuke's onyx eyes were distant, barely opened.

"Hi…na-" he managed to say.

"Be quiet, don't speak!" the Hyuuga girl urged, letting her palms glow in the green healing chakra. She was not a good medic, but this had to work. Sakura was nowhere to be seen. The girl turned Sasuke on his back, letting his head rest in her lap. The wound was too deep. She couldn't stop the bleeding.

"Hina…" Sasuke spoke again, opening his eyes to try and locate her.

"Shut up," she demanded, moving her left hand to his chest. His heart was weak, his pulse unsteady. Her white eyes moved to Naruto. The Uzumaki stared, his lips parted, but he soon turned around and disappeared. He had to find Sakura. Fast.

Silence fell upon the clearing, broken only by the harsh sound that the Uchiha produced upon trying to breathe. His lungs were damaged.

Hinata was shaking. Panic was overwhelming her. She pressed her hands to his wounds harder, but the cut was so large, she could feel his flesh underneath her fingers. All she could see on him was blood. Except his eyes.

Biting her lips, she tried to stay calm. He would be alright. He had to be.

Slowly, barely, Sasuke managed to raise his left hand. It searched for the girl's face, but found her hair first. Black and soft, like a sateen waterfall. Raising it a bit more, he touched her cheek, moving his fingers to her lips. He traced them with his fingertips.

"Hina…ta."

"Shhh, don't speak." Her voice was weak.

"Are you…"

"I am fine, Sasuke. I'm fine." Taking a deep breath, she tried not to pay attention to his paling skin.

"I… I can't… see you…"

The girl blinked, gritting her teeth. She should have been there. "I'm here," she spoke softly, feeling a painful lump in her throat. "I'm here."

"Will you… Will you always be… here?"

A bloody cough ripped him from her arms as he curled in a ball and groaned in pain. She managed to catch him, fixing her healing palms on his neck again.

"Yes. Of course I'll always be here. Right next to you…" She was panting. Hinata tried not to cry, but her treacherous tears spilled from her eyes, falling on Sasuke's face.

"You know…" he started, his voice a mere whisper. "I wanted to… marry you…"

The girl widened her eyes feeling the burning tears wet her cheeks. "You… You can still marry me, you idiot," she cried.

A smile appeared on his lips as he sighed painfully.

"I am glad," he spoke. Sasuke took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then let it leave his lungs, never to return.

"Sasuke?" Hinata called. He did not answer. His unseeing eyes were fixed on her white ones. "Sasuke!"

Moving her hand she soon understood that his heart had stopped.

Hinata could not breathe herself. The world spun around her. She shook the boy, but he did not react. His blood was no longer pouring through his wounds so badly. But not because she had healed him. Because he barely had any blood left.

"Sakura…" the girl whispered. "SAKURA!" she yelled with all the strength that she had left in her…

Hinata walked through the streets of Konoha like a ghost. A month had passed since that unfortunate battle in the borders of the Land of Fire. And people had quickly learned not to bother her.

Because this was not her. It was an empty shell, pale and hollow. She walked slowly, gripping the shirt in her hands tightly. The Uchiha fan on it was clearly visible for the onlookers. But even the damn gossipers had the dignity to leave the poor girl alone.

Slowly she passed by the Hokage building. Naruto met her there, then the two of them continued walking without exchanging a word. The blond bit the inside of her cheek, fighting the urge to hug the girl and let her cry in his arms. Because it was clear to him how she cried herself to sleep each night. Her weary eyes had lost the little color they once had. She was beautifully ghost-like.

Taking a turn, the two soon reached their location. They walked up the small set of stairs. Everyone around knew well not to bother them. He led the way for her and Hinata followed blindly. She was frail, thin. She was probably not eating right. But could he really blame her?

Opening the door for her, he waited for the girl to gather the courage to walk into the room. She took a deep breath and managed to step in.

Dozens of lights flickered. A couple of machines beeped. Many sets of tubes were placed around the hospital bed, all plugged in a tattered, barely-functioning body.

Hinata took a hesitant step ahead, leaving the shirt at the foot of the bed. She watched Sasuke lay there, almost lifeless. A machine was helping him breathe. Another one was supporting his heart.

A sigh escaped her lungs as she fought her tears away. Her arm moved with difficulty, finding the boy's fingers. She held his hand lightly, afraid not to bruise his pale skin. The silence in the room was unbearable. She needed to hear his voice more than anything else in the world.

After what seemed like hours, Sakura finally decided it was safe for her to approach the Hyuuga girl.

"Hinata," her voice was gentle. "Do you want to sit down?"

The white-eyed girl shook her head, declining the offer.

Sakura swallowed. "I have some good news." The medic smiled widely upon seeing how surprised Hinata was. "His eyes have recovered. Whatever blinded him dealt a temporary damage. I think the attackers were after his Sharingan and…"

"Sakura," Naruto's voice interrupted her.

The medic remembered that it was best not to speak of the fight yet. She exhaled, feeling extremely bad. But soon smiled again and took a step ahead, reaching for Hinata and taking her empty hand. "Come. Let me show you something."

The Hyuuga followed, not having any strength to decline the kunoichi's offers any more. But instead to a chair, she was taken through the tangled set of tubes, to where Sasuke's face was.

"Come closer," Sakura explained. Hinata leaned in. "Look," the medic spoke, gently pointing at Sasuke's eyes with her index finger.

It took Hinata a few seconds to find what she was looking for. But there it was. Sasuke's eyes moved behind his eyelids.

"W-what does this mean?"

"It means he is getting better. This is REM. A person gets it when dreaming. Hinata, this means he is stabilizing. His breathing is better. His heart is stronger. Sasuke is a fighter."

The Hyuuga could no longer hold her tears away and simply let them wet her face. "When will we know more of his condition?"

"Soon," Sakura noted. "I think that in a week we could try taking him off the ventilator. Within a month he could be out of the danger zone."

Still crying, the girl took the chair previously offered, adjusted it next to the bed and crashed in it. "Thank you, Sakura."

The medic smiled, then waved at Naruto, who quickly followed her outside. Hinata and Sasuke needed their privacy.

It took Hinata a few moments to stop crying. For this was the first information she was getting in a month. And the news were good. Hinata reached in and held Sasuke's hand again, kissing the outside of his palm. She smiled at the unconscious boy.

"You hear that, Sasuke? You are getting better." She watched his face, not bothered by the oxygen mask any more. The girl squeezed his fingers and smiled. "I know you will wake up from this coma. And when you do, I will be here. And before you do that, I will be here too. Always."

Note:

I could never kill Sasuke. Ever. In no universe can I end his life. Sorry for the ones that expected it. But I just love him too much.