Chapter VIII


"What are you doing out here, Hinata?" Neji asked in concern. He held onto Hinata and could feel her shaking and trembling. She refused to look him in the eye. What could have caused her to become so scared?

He looked up from the frightened girl and saw Sasuke standing there in the shadows. He was leaning casually against the railing, with his hands in his pockets, looking guilty as hell.

"I'm going to fucking kill you."

Before Sasuke could retort, Neji rapidly charged towards the dark-haired boy and punched him square in the face. The impact of the hit caused Sasuke to stumble back and he tried to hold his balance. Blood trickled down from the corner of Sasuke's mouth.

"Neji, stop," Hinata yelled, though her voice hardly reached his ears.

Neji jumped in for another punch but Sasuke was now ready and dodged his attacks.

Punchkickblockkickjumppunchblock.

Both were fighting hand to hand combat, otherwise known as Taijutsu. Neji had to refrain from using his Gentle-Fist technique because even though Sasuke was a bastard, he didn't want to completely kill him. He only wanted to teach him a lesson of what happens when people mess with his cousin.

Neither of them activated their bloodline traits. This was not a fight between two ninja's, but between two men.

The commotion of the fight caused many people from the restaurant to come outside and observe what was going on. Tenten and Kiba were also amongst those people because Hinata had ran inside to find the two so they could help her stop Neji. Both Kiba and Tenten tried to call out to Neji to stop him, but Neji wouldn't hear any of their pleas. Hinata repeatedly called for Neji to stop, but her pathetic cries were ignored and she was held tightly back by Tenten.

"How dare you think you could fucking mess around with Hinata, you bastard," Neji said as he once again punched Sasuke in the face. More blood dripped down Sasuke's chin from the second blow and he tumbled against the railing. His breathing got heavier.

"I'll kill you before I let you put another hand on her."

Sasuke remained silent while tried to avoid every punch and kick that Neji threw, but the ANBU Captain was much too fast for Sasuke, especially after he just got thrown against the balcony wall and railing. It was not like he was facing an ordinary person; Neji was also considered a prodigy like him, and he was much more experienced in simple Taijutsu.

However, Sasuke was also not giving one hundred percent of himself into the fight. He deserved every punch in the face and every kick in the stomach. He had been playing with Hinata and if anyone deserved to be beaten to a pulp, it was him. Hinata was much too innocent to be corrupted by the likes of him. If he saw any other man treating her so badly, he would've reacted the same way.

Neji punched Sasuke in the stomach once again. Sasuke groaned as he hit the ground hard. Sasuke lay on the ground unmoving and Neji hovered over him. He grabbed Sasuke by the collar and lifted him up roughly and threw him back. Sasuke tried to stay steady on his feet, but he could feel himself falling any second now.

Neji stared at him in disgust. "You're pathetic, you motherfu--"

Before Neji could finish his insult, Sasuke ran towards the white-eyed prodigy in full speed and speared him in the stomach. Neji fell backwards onto the balcony railing. Red eyes stared at him.

Hinata and Tenten screamed as they watched Neji fall back.

"Don't say anything about my mother," Sasuke sneered angrily.

Neji quickly recovered as he stood up on his feet and panted heavily. At least now he got a reaction out of the stoic boy. Before it was like hitting a lifeless punching bag and now he would enjoy beating the shit out of him.

Neji provoked him further. "Why? She's the one who gave birth to a dog like you. So what does that make her?"

Sasuke could bear Neji insulting him in any shape or form. He could call him a bastard, asshole, jerk - he knew he deserved to be called those names. But he would never allow anyone to say anything about his late mother. That was going too far.

Before Sasuke could register any logic or reason in his mind, he started forming the chidori in his right hand. Blue and white light started emerging from his palm and everyone around the two men could feel the heat from the Uchiha.

Hinata had seen Sasuke use the chidori once in her life before. That was at the Chunnin exam when she went to go cheer for her cousin. It was a very dangerous and powerful attack and if he successfully used it, the attack could possibly kill her cousin.

Hinata watched as Sasuke collected more energy in his hand. He could strike at any moment and kill Neji and it would be because of her. Neji had been protecting her. If anything happened to him, she would never let herself live it down. She needed to stop Sasuke… fast.

Hinata broke through the restraint Tenten put on her and ran in between her cousin and Sasuke. She stood in front Neji, protecting him from Sasuke's vision.

"Sasuke stop," she said weakly, but it didn't look like he was listening.

"Hinata get out of the way," Neji said as he grabbed her.

Hinata shook her head and latched herself to her cousin in a hug. She buried her head into his chest.

"No. I'm not going to let him hurt you."

Tears rolled down Hinata's cheeks as she clenched onto Neji's shirt. She turned her head towards Sasuke and saw that his eyes were flaming red and that he was looking right towards them. Her eyes locked with his; she pleaded with her eyes, hoping that he would stop. He didn't.

"Please Sasuke. Stop," Hinata choked out. If he was going to strike, he would have hit her also. She would not let Neji die alone.

"Please…"

Sasuke stood still, his chidori slowly fading away and his eyes turning back to normal. He had never seen such devotion before. Hinata was willing to die for her cousin? How could she be so fearless… so selfless?

Why wasn't there someone here to risk their life for him?

Hinata blinked a couple of times as she heard the chidori slowly fizzle away into nothing. She still couldn't believe that Sasuke had calmed down and that they were safe from the deadly attack. She had never seen so much energy accumulated in one area before and was amazed by Sasuke's potential.

Hinata was still holding on to Neji as they both stood there in silence.

"Are you okay?" Neji asked gently.

"Yes. But its you we should be worried about," Hinata said as she let go of Neji and starting examining his wounds, although she had to admit that he looked in far better shape then Sasuke. Soon, Tenten and Kiba joined the two cousins and they also started fussing over Neji.

The crowd started dispersing slowly and Sasuke was left alone. No one was there to help him up or to even comfort him. He had no idea where Reiyuku (the girl he has been seen with before) had run off to. Not that he cared. That woman only cared for herself and when she saw that he was fighting against Neji, she probably ran towards safety.

She would never stand before danger for him like Hinata had for Neji.

Hinata discreetly glanced over to Sasuke and watched as he stood their lonely and forgotten. She wanted to help him, but she couldn't. She felt wretched for leaving him there when it was obvious that he was hurt the most, but she wouldn't dare leave her cousin's side for him. Neji was far more important to her then he was.

Sasuke watched as Hinata fussed over Neji's minor injuries. Wasn't he the one who was being pummeled to death? He couldn't even stand up properly and Neji was getting all the attention?

He continued to stare at them as the four walked past him. Neji, Tenten and Kiba glared at him and muttered curses under their breaths. And then there was Hinata. She simply looked at him with sadness and grief. He knew that she wanted to reach out to him, but she couldn't.

Why should she?

Its not like he was the nicest person to her. He deserved to be ignored by her.

But he couldn't help but hope that maybe somewhere out there, there was someone who would run in and protect him for a change, he was tired of protecting himself all the time.


Hinata hesitantly walked up to a familiar doorstep. She was a carrying a bag of medical supplies that she hoped she would not have to use.

It had been exactly two days since the fight at the restaurant. Neji forbid her from going back to work for him and Hinata had no choice but to agree. Hinata herself agreed that it was too dangerous to go back to that house and be completely alone with him. Neji was the only family she had left and she wouldn't lose him over something so trivial. He was only looking out for her.

So then why was she standing on Sasuke's front porch?

Neji was out on ANBU business and Hinata still couldn't forget the way Sasuke looked after Neji got through with him. It was a terrible sight. His blood was everywhere and it looked like he broke many bones. She had wanted to help him out that night, but she was unable to because of the circumstances they were under. At that time she could only think about her cousin.

But right now all she could think about was Sasuke.

She knocked on the door and waited patiently until someone abruptly opened the door.

She gazed into cold, onyx eyes.

He stared hard at her. "What do you want?"

"I-I just wanted to m-make sure you were okay," Hinata replied meekly as she fiddled with the bag in her hand.

"You didn't care that night, why now?" He asked sternly.

Hinata lowered her head and stared at her feet. She already felt bad about leaving him out on the balcony injured that night, it wasn't because she didn't care, but because her hands were tied.

"I d-do care. Please, can I come in?"

Sasuke blankly stared at her for a moment before he moved aside and let her pass through. She smoothly walked into the living room and placed her bag on the couch. She turned around to face Sasuke, who was walking behind her and observed him.

It looked like someone took care of most of his injuries, much to Hinata's relief. He had a few scrapes and bruises along his chin, lips and eyes, his arm was bandaged up and from the way he walked, it looked like his ribs were also bandaged up.

"I'm sorry about what Neji did to you," Hinata said in a quiet voice.

Sasuke shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I deserved it."

Hinata couldn't argue with that. He did deserve it, but not to the extent that her cousin put on Sasuke. Neji and Sasuke were very much alike when she thought about it. They were both quiet, stubborn, reserved and very quick to anger.

"Do they hurt a lot? I m-mean your injuries."

"No."

Hinata looked at Sasuke and could easily tell that he was lying. It had only been two days after the fight and his wounds couldn't have possibly healed that quickly.

"Why did you do it?" Sasuke suddenly asked.

Hinata blinked. "Do what?"

"Protect Neji," Sasuke said grimly as he walked over the couch and took a seat.

Hinata looked over to Sasuke and smiled. "Because that's w-what you do for people you love."

Sasuke didn't say anything after that and they were both engulfed by silence. Hinata stood at the foot of the couch and fiddled with the hem of her shirt.

Maybe coming here was a bad idea. She just wanted to see if he was doing okay.

"Is there a-anything I can d-do to help?"

Sasuke thought about her offer for a moment. He was feeling very stiff from the fight and no one else was around to do it and he wouldn't dare to ask any of his fan-girls to do what he had in mind.

"My neck hurts," he stated plainly.

Hinata waited for him to continue.

"Can you give me a massage?"

Hinata froze. Give him a massage? But that would require physical touching and she didn't think that was such a smart idea.

"I-I don't t-think that's a g-good idea," Hinata said as she suddenly felt more nervous around him then before. The room became very small.

"Why not? It was your cousin who beat me. It's the least you can do."

Why did he always need to make people feel worse then they already felt? Its not like she planned any of what happened that night before hand.

Hinata sighed and hesitantly moved behind Sasuke, who was already sitting on the couch.

"I-I'm not very g-good," Hinata said nervously and could feel her breathing pattern quicken.

Sasuke didn't respond and waited for her to start.

Hinata gulped as she figured out how she would begin. Just the thought of touching him was causing her to go red and feel tingly all over. She placed her hands lightly on his shoulders and she felt him instantly tense up from her touch. This caused Hinata to feel even more nervous. She was really hoping to not mess things up.

She started working on his knots and applied more pressure when he became more relaxed under her touch. She could feel his muscles under his shirt as she worked her way across his shoulder blades. All that training really paid off. Hinata tried not to think of this as she worked on him.

Think of anything else… shoes… chocolate cake… puppies…. Think happy thoughts… One happy thought would be massaging Sasuke without his shirt on.

Hinata blushed. She should not be thinking such things.

She noticed how tight his neck really was and that he wasn't lying when he complained that he felt stiff. Hinata felt happy that she could be of some use to him after what Neji did to him.

Sasuke had to admit that Hinata was doing a good job. After they both got over the first-time-touching awkward moment, he began to relax. Her slender fingers targeted every single trouble spot and he was feeling more comfortable.

They both stayed silent as they kept to their own private thoughts.

"You can stop now," Sasuke suddenly announced.

"Huh? Oh, umm," Hinata stumbled as she quickly removed her hands from his shoulders. Her hands suddenly felt cold without the warmth from his body.

Before Sasuke could say anything, Hinata spoke.

"I-I have to go," she said softly.

Sasuke didn't say anything as he watched her quickly pick up her bag and scurry out of the room, but not before she turned around and smiled at him.

Sasuke didn't smile back at her, but she kept smiling.

Strange girl.


Hinata and Tenten sat on bar stools as they waited for another round of drinks to come their way. Neji was still away on ANBU business and Tenten was bored and insisted that Hinata come join her for a couple of drinks.

This was Hinata's first time being in a bar and her first time ever drinking. Alcohol did not suit Hinata well. Normally, she would have declined Tenten's offer, but Hinata wanted to experience something new and felt like going out, hoping to forget a certain someone. Sitting at home and moping around, dreaming about him, wasn't very fun. She was feeling depressed and lonely and decided to venture out.

"If youuurr cousin tinks that I'm -hic- going plan thiss whole wedding by myself, thens he's got anotherrr -hic- thing coming," Tenten said as wailed her hands around to make her point.

Hinata, who only had one drink, was not one who could manage her alcohol consumption well and was also feeling a bit tipsy.

"He's away -hic- on damn ninja business again."

"At least you've got someone who loves you," Hinata said quietly as she took another sip from her drink.

She was thinking about him again...

She couldn't hear Tenten too clearly over the noise in the rowdy bar.

"Are jou talking about that Uchiha guy?" Tenten asked as she stared at Hinata with a confused expression on her face. "I personally thinks he's gay and he runs around with dat -hic- hussy to prooove he's not, er gay."

Hinata thought about that for a moment but shook her head as an attempt to clear her mind. Sasuke was not homosexual. He couldn't be! If he was then she had been wasting all that time daydreaming about him.

"Oh myyyyyyy gosh! Look its Leeeeeeee! I haven't seen him -hic- in like forever," Tenten screamed as she made her way to green-spandex wearing boy, leaving Hinata alone for the moment.

Hinata turned around and watched as Tenten put Lee into a giant bear hug. Tenten sure was a happy drunk. Beyond Tenten and Lee was something that seemed familiar to Hinata. It couldn't be him. Was he following her now? She squinted her eyes in an attempt to see better, which of course, never works.

Feeling a bit confident, probably because of the effect that the alcohol was having on her, she made her way to the lone figure sitting at a back table. She reached up to him and put both of her hands onto the table as she tried to maintain her balance.

"Are you following me now?" Hinata asked bitterly.

Sasuke looked up and saw a very drunk Hinata standing before him who was almost on the verge of keeling over. Her cheeks had a very pink hue on them... they were rosy. There were only a few selected bars that were open so late at night in such as small town as Konoha, but he never imagined bumping into Hinata at a place like this.

"No."

"Good," Hinata said in fake anger. She started looking around the room, as if trying to search for someone.

"So where's the hussy tonight?" The affect of alcohol was not good on Hinata. She would have never used such a word had she not been under the influence.

Sasuke chose to ignore her question and continued to sip his drink calmly. What in the world possessed her to drink? It was something that didn't suit her image too well.

"You know herrr breasts are fake. Its impossible to have such large ones," Hinata said absentmindedly. Sasuke listened quietly to her gibberish.

"I mean how can she walk with those?" Hinata scratched her head. "I wish she was herre so I could feel em and see if they really are real."

Hinata leaned in closer to Sasuke and whispered. "Is that why you like her so much?"

Sasuke stood up from his chair and grabbed Hinata by the arm and dragged her through the crowd and towards the exit.

"Lets go. I'll drop you off home," he said in a monotone voice.

"No," Hinata said as she tried to pry off Sasuke's hand from her arm. "I wanna stay."

"Too bad. You're going home."

Sasuke hauled Hinata out of the bar forcefully. Tenten was too busy arguing over who fought better while being drunk with Lee to notice Hinata's absence. Sasuke walked down the empty, dark streets while dragging a drunk, aggressive and very loud girl all the way back to her apartment. He couldn't believe that Neji even allowed Hinata to enter a bar after the protective hold he had on her.

They made their way into the building complex and walked up to her apartment door. Hinata lazily leaned against the door frame.

"You want to come in? Neji's not home," she said as she giggled.

So that would explain her presence in a bar and why she was drunk. Neji would never allow her to go to a bar or be anywhere near liquor.

Hinata stumbled with getting the keys out of her bag and Sasuke quickly grabbed her purse and fished out the keys. He opened the door and Hinata grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.

"Where's your room?" He asked in annoyance.

Hinata pointed towards the first door on the right in the hallway. Sasuke felt some type of moral obligation to make sure that she was safely tucked into bed before he left. If he went through the trouble of making sure she got home, might as well make sure she's tucked into bed.

He grabbed Hinata's wrist and pulled the girl towards her room. They stepped into the room and he turned on the lights. He walked over to the bed but before Sasuke could tell her to get into bed and go to sleep Hinata pulled the unsuspecting boy under herself and laid on top of him.

She pressed her cool forehead against his and her long indigo locks flowed around them. Her chest was heavily pressed against his and her legs tangled into his.

She looked straight into his eyes- without any fear, anxiety or hate.

Tonight it was only him and her.

She breathed in slowly. Both of them could feel the other person's hot breath play on their face. Time seemed to stop.

"Why?" she whispered so softly as she closed her eyes. "Why can't you care about me as much as I care about you?"

Sasuke couldn't answer that question even if he wanted to. He had convinced himself that feelings were nothing and that they only interfered with reason and what really mattered in life. He was not going to let some little, meek girl erupt nonsense and unwanted feelings within him. He hastily pushed her aside, trying to get away from Hinata as fast as possible. He jumped off the bed and stood up. Hinata quickly recovered from the shove and grabbed his hand, while his back was facing her. Both her soft, petite hands covered Sasuke's rough, calloused hand.

"Please don't go. Please stay with me," she quietly pleaded, hoping that he wouldn't leave her alone.

But she was left hoping.

"No," Sasuke said as he wrenched out of her grip and left the room.


A/N: I just wanted to clear some things up. 1) Hinata is NOT a ninja in this story, she wants to become a doctor. But everyone knew that, right? 2) Hinata and Sasuke are going to be seventeen in this story, because the idea of twelve year olds doing all this stuff freaks me out. 3) I know it seems weird for Hinata to be drunk, but she's young and depressed and everyone has been drunk once in their life, right? wink wink This story is partially AU! Please remember that!

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