A/N: Big Thanks for the reviews and comments, people! You are the best! =^.^= Here is an extra update for you all to enjoy!

Chapter 6. Erased

"What's wrong? Is that all you got? I thought you were angry."

Smack!

She took a deep breath and regrouped, ignoring the dull pain in her chest as his palm pushed her backwards. She was indeed angry. Angry at her own body that failed her miserably no matter what she tried to do. Even now, when she attempted to raise her left hand and attack, she simply wasn't nearly fast enough...

Kick!

She ducked, barely dodging his leg as it swung just an inch away from her shoulder.

Punch!

She panted, clumsily blocking his fist her unruly wrists and then grabbing his arm tightly to prevent it from further movement.

"Not bad," commented Sasuke, effortlessly breaking out of her grasp and lowering his hand. Just like it was during their first sparring session, he remained perfectly calm and relaxed, breathing steadily without so much as a drop of sweat. "I guess you could've beaten a civilian teenager at this rate."

She frowned, unsure if this was a compliment or a mockery which somehow seemed to be more likely the case. Either way, she decided that she disliked it. And combined with her anger and frustration, it got the best of her. So Hinata charged forward again, attempting to deliver a rough punch at his face. Of course, she failed again; in a blink of an eye, the man disappeared, and her hand instantly got twisted painfully behind her back, making the indigo-haired woman gasp and fall on her knees.

"Don't break the rules," he drawled almost lazily from above, not loosening his remorseless grip. "We've agreed not to aim at the face."

"S-Sorry," she muttered, gritting her teeth – the pain in her shoulder joint was becoming almost unbearable. "P-Please, let me go."

"And if I don't? What if I also decide to break that rule? What are you gonna do?" he asked just as casually, not moving at all, though it didn't make the situation any easier for the girl as her own every movement made her hiss in pain.

"I-I don't know!" she cried, biting her lip to suppress tears.

"You don't know, huh?" He bowed down towards her, his lips almost touching her ear. "It's because there is nothing you can do."

"Y-Yes!"

"On the contrary, I could do anything to you right now," he uttered quietly, "Anything, do you understand? Didn't you say you'd never get captured again?"

"I did…!"

"And?"

"I—gah—please, let me go…," she begged in a whimper. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she felt humiliated, desperate and, most importantly, powerless once again – just as it was back in the cage. For a moment, she forgot that it was Sasuke holding her right now. The only thing she wanted to do was to kill this person, or at least to hurt them back… badly. Right now she regretted she hadn't memorized her warden's face back there. Perhaps, some visualization would help her let all this negativity out...

"Hn." He finally released her without warning, making Hinata fall on the wooden floor awkwardly, panting heavily and rubbing her aching arm. "You have the drive, but your skill currently isn't even worth commenting. Right now any hostile shinobi would easily kill you if they wanted to. Even a genin," he mused, meeting her pained gaze as she curled up on the floor, giving him an almost offended look.

"We'll that change soon enough," he added confidently, with a certain satisfaction noticing the dangerous spark somewhere deep in her white eyes — the same spark he'd had himself many years ago. Hatred. "Get up," he offered her his hand, which she hesitantly took. Sasuke pulled her towards himself, but then his expression instantly changed to a surprised one — clearly, he'd forgotten the fact that she'd lost too much weight in captivity. The girl's fragile frame bumped into him, and he reflectively wrapped his hand around her waist so that she wouldn't fall again.

They stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds as he held her tightly, the intense silence was broken only by the lone bee flying lazily under the sun around the wooden terrace. Hinata felt her face slowly reddening as she felt his warm breath on her skin. His lips were now inches away from hers, and the tight grip of his hand almost made her want to remain in this position forever. Almost. Because the girl realized this was not something she should think at all… She looked away, feeling ashamed for a reason she couldn't quite fathom herself.

He blinked, and his eyes regained focus as if breaking out of a mirage. He then looked away too, frowning.

"You must eat more. Your body is still too weak, though better than before," he murmured, removing his hand of her and stepping back. "This spar is over. For now, go and rest. I have some business in the village." He turned away, grabbing his jacket from the fence.

Hinata followed him with her eyes perplexedly, feeling a bit dazed by the situation neither of them had foreseen. It was only when he was about to leave the terrace that she locked her palms in front of herself asked meekly,

"W-When are you going to return?" He stopped.

"Probably by the evening," came the immediate answer, "If anybody comes here while I'm away, use transformation jutsu and tell them something."

"S-Something?" she echoed in confusion.

"Come up with some story of who are you and why you're here. Nobody important should be coming anyway, if anybody at all, so you can just tell them you're a maid, or—," he paused, weighing up his idea for a second. "Actually, just tell them you're my girlfriend."

"G-Girlfriend?!" her eyes widened and she almost gasped, staring at him in disbelief.

The ninja shrugged carelessly, looking at her impassively.

"A maid is an easy target for anyone to interrogate. A girlfriend of mine, however…," he walked away without further due, leaving Hinata standing there alone, completely dumbfounded.

Of course, he had a point, now that she thought about it. Considering the things she'd already discovered about Sasuke's reputation within this settlement, nobody would dare to mess with his girlfriend, whether she was real or not. Still, Hinata felt it would be highly inappropriate to even pretend to be his… his...

Feeling tired and still in a bit of pain, for a while, she kept looking in the direction Sasuke went, slightly spacing out. Perhaps out of sheer curiosity, even though against her own will, but for a brief moment, she imagined herself actually being in that position. How would she behave if she really were his lover? A foreign woman he had brought here only temporarily – surely, he wouldn't want her to order around his possible guests, whoever they might be. The best she could count on was that it would scare away any unwanted curious people who might decide to pay Sasuke a hollow visit. But, if someone like that blonde girl Ino would come, she probably wouldn't buy much of it…

Hinata hugged herself, sighing abruptly. Of course, this little stress was nothing compared to the tortures she'd gone through before, but somehow it was probably even more of a pressure. She was horribly afraid of doing something wrong, of letting Sasuke down after everything he'd done for her. She already inwardly scolded herself for losing control over her aggression in the spar they'd just had – truly, the girl had no idea what was wrong with her back then.

And what had followed afterwards…

She blushed even more than before, remembering both the physical pain he had caused to her and the awkward yet very comforting hug he'd given her right away, even if though wasn't an intended one for sure. That was an odd contrast, and most people would probably find her attitude unhealthy, and yet… Even though she would never dare admit it even silently, Hinata actually found the whole sequence quite thrilling, secretly wishing for it to happen again.

—=OwO=—

"Well, well, now what is my favourite student doing down here this early in the morning?" asked Kakashi in an indifferent tone very similar to the one Sasuke had used just an hour ago while talking to his own student.

The Uchiha gave the Hokage a gloomy glance in response without taking a break from checking countless papers one after another, his Sharingan actively copying everything he saw.

"Your coffee is shit," said the young man instead of a greeting, the half-empty paper cup with already cold liquid standing lonely in the corner of the desk.

"That is because you chose the coffee machine for guests. The good one is upstairs inside my office. All the more reasons to pay a visit to your old sensei for once, don't you think?" replied the Sixth with a slight smirk. "It's been a while. What brings you here to the archive of all places?"

"Just looking for someone is all," murmured the Uchiha, opening the bingo book.

"Someone, huh?" His former teacher narrowed his eyes a bit suspiciously, as he leaned on the edge of the Uchiha's desk. "Could it be Hinata Hyūga by a chance?"

Sasuke's hand twitched, pausing mid-air for a split second before almost instantly returning to its previous routine.

"Maybe," he replied vaguely a moment later, still not looking at the man.

Kakashi sighed, turning away and staring blankly at the numerous bookshelves of the underground shelter of the famous red building.

"If so, then don't bother, Sasuke," he uttered quietly after some time. "You won't find anything here."

The Uchiha paused again, this time raising his head to look at Hatake.

"I only need her picture," he finally admitted, putting the book on the table and opening it.

"Well, even though I don't think you really need it, I guess I'll have to repeat – you won't find it here."

"Why is that?" asked the younger shinobi with a hint of irritation.

"Everything on her has been taken out and burned. Whenever a ninja dies, we destroy all the information about them including their photos, in order to prevent possible intruders from impersonating them via transformation jutsu. It's a standard procedure, didn't you know? Even for a Hokage."

The raven-haired man lowered his head, dissatisfied. Now that he thought about it, he remembered hearing something about it before. Naruto had told him it was the very reason he'd never found out anything about his parents until actually meeting them — there were no pictures anywhere.

"I still need to see her face," he said, peering at Kakashi stubbornly.

"There's not much I can do for you in this case. The best you can hope for is getting some luck in her clan's estate. If they let you in at all, that is."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, recalling what Naruto had told him. Her clan… The Hyūga clan, isn't it? It means the guy I saved back then is there… Yes, her father, that is.

"They will," he then said, surprising Hatake with how adamantly it sounded.

"To be honest, you should just drop it, Sasuke," said Kakashi unexpectedly firmly yet somehow gently at the same time. "This won't get you anywhere. She is dead. I understand that you want to help Naruto, but—"

"This isn't about her," his former student interrupted him, finally meeting his gaze with a surprisingly soft expression. "Make no mistake, I don't think she is alive."

The Hokage frowned, crossing his hands on his chest.

"Then what exactly is your intention?"

Sasuke looked away, locking his fingers on top of the bingo book.

"I'm buying Naruto some time to recover. Nothing else."

Kakashi's eyes widened a bit at his confession.

"Time…?"

"Yeah. Time doesn't heal this kind of pain. Nothing ever really does, but it helps one suppress it. The more time passes, the deeper he buries it in his mind. Don't you know yourself? It may be false hope, and he may even realize it himself deep inside, but he needs something to cling to in order to move on… for now anyway."

Kakashi took a deep breath, finally nodding in understanding.

"I see. What I don't get is why you're looking for her photo then."

The Uchiha shrugged indefinitely, returning to the book and going through its pages very quickly — apparently, he was looking for something, or rather, someone specific.

"I'm leaving again soon, and I'll travel a lot. If she happens to be alive after all, it would be stupid to miss her just because I don't remember her face." He realized that the Sixth noticed how evasive and dubious was his response (despite being genuine to an extent), but apparently, the older man decided not to press. Maybe because he knew that Sasuke simply couldn't be so talkative all of a sudden without a good reason — particularly, hiding something he found worthy of hiding. And if this was the case, pushing further would get Kakashi nowhere for sure.

"I see," he said after a while. "Well then, good luck. Another place you might want to check up is Kurenai's. She was her sensei... I believe they were pretty close."

"Thanks," replied the Uchiha, closing the book with a snap and getting up. "I should go."

"Oh, by the way!" Kakashi's voice made him stop when he was already about to leave the dusty chamber. "It's not that I don't trust you, but I wanted to ask you nonetheless – just for my own solace. The fact that you requested the most recent version of the bingo book earlier… It doesn't have anything to do with the identity of the mysterious lady you brought in the village, does it?"

Sasuke froze, feeling the nasty cold going down his spine. Those bastards…

"Are you spying on me?" he scowled, barely suppressing the uprising anger.

"No, we don't. Please, don't think that," quickly said Kakashi, raising his hands apologetically. "It's the rumour mill and all… Besides, let's be honest, you should've known better than introducing her to one of ANBU's highest ranks," he reasoned, grinning under the mask.

Introduced her to an ANBU? Could it be that Ino…? he thought, unable to believe his own wild guess. But, he then remembered the blonde's suspiciously-looking boyfriend, and it all clicked in his head right away, making him want to slap himself. Kakashi was right to question him like that. He'd been too careless.

"Whatever. I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied casually and turned away, letting his old sensei know that the topic was closed.

"Just one thing," said the grey-haired man quietly, rubbing his chin. "If she is a rogue ninja after all, please make sure to have her out of Konoha by tomorrow evening. A diplomatic mission from Kumo is arriving soon, and the village will be checked very thoroughly."

"So long, Kakashi," said Sasuke, leaving the place.

—=OwO=—

"Hiashi-sama," said the relatively young man whose short black hair already had a few grey strands. "We have a visitor wanting to talk to you."

"I do not accept visitors today," replied the head of the clan, returning to the scroll he'd been reading quietly in his cabinet for the last thirty minutes.

"But, this is—"

"Did you not hear me, Kō?" his normally calm voice cracked a bit, and he gripped the paper tighter. "I do not wish to talk to anybody."

The younger man lowered his head obediently.

"As you wish, Hiashi-sama." He turned around, looking at the secretary girl from the Branch House who was waiting for him near the entrance of the room. "Tell Uchiha-san he should come some other time."

Hiashi stopped writing, slowly raising his head at Kō.

"Uchiha? Sasuke Uchiha is here?" he asked a bit emotionally, making the younger ninja give him a baffled look.

"Well, yes, that's what I was trying to tell you…"

"Let him in."

Kō nodded again after a brief pause, motioning at the girl so that she would follow Hiashi's command, which she did right away. He then looked at his superior worriedly, quite curious about the reason why he'd suddenly agreed to talk to the Uchiha, of all people, yet not daring to ask it directly.

Sasuke showed up not more than a minute later. To Kō's great disappointment, Hiashi, having noticed the former rogue ninja enter the room, coughed and said firmly:

"Leave us now. Everyone."

Naturally, they obeyed without hesitation. When the door finally closed behind Sasuke's back, Hiashi got up from his chair, and came close to the ninja, offering his hand.

"This is an honour, Uchiha-donō."

"Likewise," replied Sasuke greeting the man with a handshake. "Sorry for breaking in so suddenly. I'm leaving again soon and I need to talk to you before I go."

Hiashi's rather tensed up face relaxed just a little bit at his words.

"No need to be sorry. I owe you my life; a conversation is the least I can do to pay the debt, Uchiha-donō."

"Sasuke is fine," he replied, defying the traditional formalities as usual. "And there is no debt. As long as you're a ninja of Konoha, my duty is to protect you with my life."

"That is very noble of you," Hiashi nodded approvingly, locking his hands behind his back. "So what can I do for you, Sasuke?"

"This is about your daughter, Hinata."

The man's features darkened again, and his jaw clenched a tad.

"Pardon me for being blunt, but this is not a topic I would like to discuss with anybody right now."

The Uchiha nodded quickly.

"I understand. Still, there is something I require on the matter. It is important."

"And that would be…?"

"Her most recent photo."

Hiashi stared at him grimly for a few seconds and then sighed, closing his eyes and thinking for a while.

"Please, follow me, young man." With this, he walked towards the exit, and Sasuke strode after him, unsure what to expect.

They went through multiple stairs and rooms, eventually going deep underground of the old mansion. Frankly, too absorbed by his own thought, Sasuke had long lost the track by the time they finally stopped – not that he had a reason to memorize the path anyway.

Hiashi bowed down in front of the heavy door, and the Uchiha realized that it was some kind of a traditional ritual, so he arched reluctantly as well, not wanting to offend the man and his clan. They then walked inside, and Sasuke frowned, looking around. It certainly didn't strike him as a family archive of any kind, nor as a living room. The walls of the entire spacious hall were covered with names. Some of them hand-written, others – particularly on the wall directly in front of them – appearing to be sealed into the huge stone tablet lit by multiple candles.

"You most likely are wondering what this place is," Hiashi voiced his thoughts, turning to look at his guest. "Normally, an outsider is not allowed to come here, albeit this is not a secret place. Rather, a sacred one." He came close to the wall covered with seals, touching it gently. The young ninja frowned, his eyes quickly running through the names inscribed on it – there weren't too many, barely above a hundred. And the rest was just empty space.

"A lot of us died during the Great War," the clan's head answered his silent question again, peering at the seals thoughtfully. "As you can see, my name is right here," he touched the top middle part of the wall, his fingers sliding down to the left then. "This is the name of my younger daughter." Sasuke's gaze followed his hand – the kanji on the stone said 'Hanabi.'

"And here," Hiashi's palm slowly moved to the right, stopping on the empty spot, "Was my elder daughter's name. It disappeared a few weeks ago," he uttered quietly, biting his twitching lip which suddenly made Sasuke feel deeply sorry for the man, realizing what he was feeling right now. The Uchiha had lost his entire family while being a child himself; he didn't know what it felt like to lose his own child, but he imagined it to be at least just as agonizing...

"This shrine is enhanced with ancient chakra of our clan's ancestors. Nobody knows for sure how exactly it works. What we do know is that it can sense the chakra of any member of our clan, wherever it is located – even if it's been sealed away. That's how we know who is alive at the moment, no matter where they are." He then walked towards the left wall, instantly finding a certain name – this one clearly written by a human's hand with a piece of chalk, just like all the rest on this wall.

"And here, we leave those that disappear from the monument."

'Hinata', Sasuke read the kanji Hiashi was now staring blankly at — directly under the one that said 'Neji'.

"My daughter is dead, Uchiha-donō. Her chakra is gone. I imagine that you needed her photo because you wanted to search for her, but it is too late now. She is no more," he said quietly, turning to look at his guest. "If there is anything else I can help you with, please say it now. Otherwise, I would ask you to leave me alone in my grief."

Sasuke slowly nodded, lowering his eyes sadly. As he had suspected, the girl was officially dead after all. Still, there was one more place to visit. Futile or not, he had promised Naruto to try out everything, so his next goal was the house of this Hinata's sensei.

—=uWu=—

"That's enough. Our job here is done," commanded the pink-haired kunoichi, letting the two minor medics stop channelling their energy into the unconscious man.

"But, Sakura-san," began one of them. "We still—"

"Don't waste your chakra on something that can be healed with basic therapy, remember?" She smiled at her protégé, patting her shoulder gently. "You've done well. Both of you," she added, winking at the teenage boy who gulped nervously, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Thanks, Sakura-san." They bowed in respect simultaneously, and the young kunoichi chuckled, waving at them dismissively.

"You may get some rest, for now. It's almost lunch break already and we don't have that many patients today. For once..." She sighed and walked towards her office, taking off the white robe.

As the woman entered the room, she stretched her back and limbs, enjoying the warm sunlight coming through the window.

"Well then, at least I have some time to go and clean up Sasuke-kun's place," she murmured to herself, glancing at her watch. "Ugh, it's been too much work in the last few days..." The kunoichi sighed, pursing her lips. I guess I should also get fresh flowers on the way… For both of them, she thought. The image of the cold gravestone of her recently deceased friend popped in her mind, instantly wiping the half-smile off her face.

Shaking her head, Sakura grabbed her purse and walked out of the office, heading towards the exit.

A/N: Some of your questions got answered, and some new ones have appeared, I imagine :P Please don't forget to tell me what you think, if you don't mind sharing your opinion — it is very important for me ^^ Don't hesitate to write in any Language, I google translate all your comments! ^^ and as always, any criticism is welcome!

Until next time! oWo