Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.


Chapter Six

10ShizukaYuukiMistress10


He had saved the most vital organ in his Chakra System, but in doing so he'd allowed the rest of his chakra pathways to take the brunt of the devastating damage. As a result, almost all of Sasuke's chakra had dissipated out of his body and into the air. He still had some chakra left… However, it amounted to the amount of chakra she'd expect from a civilian. It was miniscule.

The weight of her actions and the guilt of potentially facilitating Sasuke's death had finally caught up with her, and Hinata was in limbo over what she should do now. The Hyuuga heiress abruptly backed away from the catastrophic havoc she had once again wreaked.

Now kill him.

But the rescinding veins of her bloodline limit betrayed her. She couldn't do it. And she'd known that from the start.

The fact that Sasuke had chakra left, even as small as it was, told Hinata that at least the loss of his chakra perhaps wasn't permanent.

But thankfully, there had been no significant internal damage from her attack.

However, the absence of most of Sasuke's chakra disturbed her deeply, even if it was only temporary. How would Sasuke react to such a situation when he found out? Would he react in the same way as the past victims of her Koryoku, who had screamed in torment at the loss of their precious life force, despite his circumstance being different?

Perhaps chakra transfusions will be able to stabilise and restore Sasuke's chakra…

It was worth a try. Although would it be wise to rehabilitate this monster whom Danzo had warned her was a threat to everyone?

However, as Hinata gazed anxiously down at his still features, from where he lay motionlessly on the hard grassy floor of the mountain, like a man in his death coffin, she realised that the most urgent use of her chakra was actually for his partially-healed wounds…

Despite all that Danzo had claimed about Sasuke's wrath and unpredictability, he didn't look dangerous at all in that moment. His pale, serene features almost seemed at peace, funnily enough.

Was he really so dangerous?

She was supposed to have killed him.

Instead, Hinata found herself healing him.

Almost of their own violation, Hinata's hands reached out to heal his broken ribs. She used her Byakugan to assist her in the healing. And the longer she healed him, the more of his injuries she uncovered, and the more she realised that he was a walking miracle.

Had he been in some kind of torture chamber?

At first, Hinata thought his injuries were from his battle with Itachi. But then she realised that some of the wounds were pretty fresh. And it puzzled her how a skilled S-Class shinobi like Sasuke would have much trouble against amateur, ordinary shinobi in comparison.

If Sasuke hadn't been so severely weakened when I attacked him... would I even still be alive?

Hinata shuddered at the chilling thought. However it was still kind of dispiriting that despite all her training, the only reason why she'd come close to defeating the Uchiha prodigy was because he was already half-dead.

But why?

Swiftly rubbing the sweat from her brow as she finally finished healing the last of his wounds, Hinata let her whole body and muscles finally relax.

A few hours ago, she had been fully prepared to kill Sasuke, and had come quite close…

And now she had just saved his life. Hinata couldn't understand her contradictory actions. But perhaps, just this once, she didn't want to destroy a life, but rather, restore one.

Maybe she was tired of being Danzo's puppet, and for once she wanted to do the morally right thing, just maybe…

It was at that moment that a pair of obsidian eyes opened.

Hinata ceased all movement. It was like she had become the prey and was about to meet her untimely death at the hands of a thoroughly pissed Uchiha.

But Sasuke didn't try to kill her.

Instead, a weary mask of blankness overtook his features as he broke away from their locked gazes sharply.

"You should've killed me."

Before she could process what was happening, Hinata could no longer breathe.

She had a chance to glance down at his bruised hand tightening around her neck before her back slammed abruptly against the cold forest floor, forcing the breath out of her lungs even further.

Hinata choked, staring up into two fearsome red and black eyes. He can still activate Sharingan with so little chakra?

His grip around her neck only eased up slightly.

"I'll ask you this only once. Answer me."

Hinata realised that, despite his hold around her neck, the sounds of her shallow, laboured breathing meant that he had purposefully allowed her the luxury to breathe, albeit with difficulty. But she had no idea how long that would last—

He leaned in closer.

"Why didn't you just kill me after I blacked out?" He sounded extremely pissed.

He sounded like he had wanted to die...

"I-I... didn't... want to... k-kill you anymore..." She managed to force the words out weakly.

Had Hinata said the right thing?

Suddenly, Sasuke let go of her, lifting his body away from hers.

He seemed unsteady on his feet, but Hinata didn't have time to think too deeply on it.

"Who are the hell are you?" He asked gruffly.

Something about her was familiar, rang a bell in his mind, but after all that he had been through recently, Sasuke's mind was a warped, messy, chaotic place.

"Hinata Hyuuga." She said slowly, her throat still sore. She used the last of her chakra to place a hand against her throat and heal the bruising he had caused. This only served as a harsh reminder.

She had been extremely foolish and naive to believe that she was safe in his presence.

Even if he has barely any chakra…

Hinata shakily got to her feet.

Sasuke was staring right back at her like she was from another planet. This weak, timid Hyuuga girl, whom he now remembered from his genin years, had almost killed him? Had even recklessly spared his life? And for some reason… healed his life-threatening wounds?

Hinata's voice suddenly broke him out of his incredulous thoughts.

"You're not going to kill me..."

She knew she sounded scared. And Hinata realised that she was petrified.

"Now why would I do that, when you're the one who's going to restore all my chakra for me?" Sasuke said haughtily.

Hinata tried not to let her shock show. How had he already known that something was up with his chakra?

In reality, he had known from the moment he became conscious. Most of it was gone, after all.

Sasuke suddenly came forward a few steps closer to her, his intense onyx eyes pinning her down.

"Do it now." He said impatiently.

"Now…?" Hinata's brows furrowed grimly, knowing he was not going to like what she was about to say next.

"If I give you chakra transfusions daily, it should take a few weeks, maybe months. It's better than the alternative—" Hinata said, "—naturally it could take several months, even up to a year. It all depends on how much chakra you had."

As Hinata had been healing Sasuke earlier, she had already considered these possibilities and figures in case it came to this.

Now he wanted to live?

Sasuke's expression was unreadable, but Hinata took the slight tightening of his mouth as a sign that he was more than pissed.

"And I can't do anything for you now... I used up all my chakra healing your previous injuries."

Sasuke remained silent for a while, his stormy chrome eyes breaking away from her face in favour of glaring at the sky.

She wasn't stupid. It had become clear to Hinata that Sasuke had been voluntarily taking beatings from his previous opponents, for whatever reason. Quite frankly, Hinata didn't want to know. The Uchiha was a complex, confusing and miffing individual. He certainly had a death wish, that much was obvious… Although why a slow and painful existence before his eventual demise? What had he been attempting to atone for?

"This is all your fault." Sasuke suddenly deadpanned mercilessly. "And you're going to fix it."

Hinata tried not to flinch. Danzo had been harsh but Sasuke was relentless. And it was also clear to her that he didn't want any of her sympathy towards whatever the hell he was going through.

The sun was starting to go down. Hinata hadn't realised how much time had already passed.

Sasuke turned his back on her abruptly.

"There's the cave we will be staying in tonight," He said, pointing in front of him to the rough outcropping of rock. "If you try to run away, or try to kill me again, I'll end your pitiful existence without any remorse. Understood?"

He was scary. And he meant business. He had to keep her with him until she restored his chakra for him. Which meant he had to keep her in his sight at all times.

What other choice did she have?

And how had she messed this all up so badly?

Hinata supposed she deserved this.

For once, she would not be running away from her problems. She would be dealing with them head-on.

Hinata slowly followed Sasuke into the dark, unforgiving cave.

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A/N: Greetings everyone! So Sasuke and Hinata have "formally" met each other (albeit rather violently initially) haha. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

I'd like to thank you all for your support and cheering me on! It's so nice to hear from you guys and know your thoughts.

Please lemme know any predications you have, or maybe anything you hope to see. Although I already have a plan for this story so I might not able to adapt any changes. But I wanna know anyway!

See you!