A/N: I LIIIIIIIVE!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter 9
You were nothing but another bet!
Her mind went blank and she stopped breathing. It was as if time had stopped.
…a bet?
Hinata looked at Sari, lavender eyes wide with confusion.
Seeing her expression, Sari let out a grim laugh and released her hold on the frozen girl. Sobering up, she shook her head in amusement. "Oh my," she said with a light chuckle, "I hadn't meant to tell you that little secret of ours. But no matter, it was nice to see you so shaken up…miss goody-two-shoes." Her lips slid into a wicked smirk.
Hinata couldn't react. It was hard to think, to understand what's happening. Her arm was numb and her head still throbbed, but even pain was forgotten in place of shock and questions at Sari's revelation.
"I…I don't understand," Hinata said, frantically searching the ground as if the answers were there.
Sari clicked her tongue. She lifted a finger and lightly traced it on Hinata's cheek. "Of course you wouldn't," she said in an overly sweet tone. "But I'll gladly repeat it for you," she gripped Hinata's face on her hand, one of her nails digging on the girl's skin causing Hinata to whimper. "You, bitch, are just a bet. The only reason Gaara-kun dated you was because I dared him to date an ugly girl. It just so happened to be you. I honestly didn't think he would last long, but I should've known how stubborn Gaara-kun is," she said with a sneer. "So remember this and remember it well, Hyuga Hinata. It was all thanks to me you even had a chance with Gaara-kun."
She pulled Hinata down and the girl fell to her knees. "Since you don't have anything of interest to me, as cliché as it sounds, I'll let you lick my shoes as your way of showing gratitude."
Hinata's head shot up. The voice in her head screamed for her to fight back. But she wouldn't, she didn't want to, for fear of hurting Sari.
She looked back down, her fists clenched. No…in actuality, she feared fighting back at all. The skills taught to her, she had never tried on someone in a real situation. She didn't want to start now.
Sari huffed. "What are you waiting for? Get on with it!" She shoved a foot in front of Hinata, kicking her lip.
Hinata yelped and moved back. With a hand to her mouth, she winced when she tasted iron. She looked up at Sari, pleading with her eyes for the brown-haired girl to stop.
Sari just glared. She raised her foot again and swung her leg, aiming straight towards Hinata's stomach.
With a gasp, Hinata instinctively thrust her hands out and caught Sari's foot.
Sari froze in surprise for a moment. Then she frowned and shook her foot but Hinata had her in a firm grip.
"Ugh, let go of me!" Sari said, shaking her foot again but still failed to free herself. She glowered at Hinata but was only met with a stern gaze. "Release me, you fucking dweeb!" she gritted out.
Hinata just watched with half amusement as Sari grunted with effort to be free of her grip. Despite the profanities and threats escaping the girl's mouth, Hinata remained indifferent and unyielding.
Yes, she didn't want to fight back, but she couldn't help it. Sari was just asking for it.
"I'll give you three seconds to let me go," Sari said with her hands clenched into fists. "One."
Hinata just stared at her, ignoring the blood from her lip slowly trailing down her chin.
"Two." Sari shook her foot more violently Hinata almost lost her hold. With gritted teeth, Sari met Hinata's gaze, ready to strike the girl with her fist at the last count when she saw the smile that formed on the girl's face. "Thr—"
It was all she could let out when she felt her foot being yanked up and the world before her suddenly spun. Soon, her back hit the ground, knocking the wind out of her. Pain shot through her spine up to her head, white spots appearing in her vision. She rolled to her side, curling up with her hands to her head and eyes shut tight. Her loud moans of pain echoed through the empty hallway.
Hinata stood up, eyeing Sari with both satisfaction and worry. She wasn't even sure with herself if her action was intentional or not.
But on the bright side, she did let go on "three".
"Bitch!"
Hinata winced at Sari's earsplitting scream. It was then she heard rushing footsteps getting louder and clearer. Her head whipped to the direction of the sound.
"Sari!" a female voice called out.
"Sari, are you okay?" This time, it was a male.
"Where are you?"
Sari-san's friends, Hinata thought in a panic. Once they get here, who knows what they'll do to me. Her blood ran cold. There's too many of them for her to handle.
"Sari!"
Hinata gasped. The voices were closer. Not sparing another second, she gathered her things and ran away with Sari's curses echoing behind her.
Sasuke muttered a curse and wasted no time stepping out of his brother's car. Stretching his sore muscles, he turned to Itachi who was already heading to their house. He followed shortly when the front door opened and they were both greeted by the butler who smiled and bowed.
"A little behind schedule, young masters?" the butler said.
"Traffic," both brothers said at once.
The butler chuckled. "I see. You do get that once in a while."
The two just gave a nod and proceeded to the direction of their rooms.
Once in his own room, Sasuke let out a weary sigh and placed his bag on his desk. He removed his jacket uniform when he caught sight of something. Draping his jacket on the chair's backrest, he reached for a photo lying neatly just beside his laptop.
"This is…" he muttered, analyzing the picture with a serious-looking guy and a girl with an unkempt hair who was smiling bashfully yet brightly.
Ah, that's right, he thought. This is Hinata's photo that I've taken from her.
"But you'd throw it anyway. What's the point?"
"Who says I'll throw it away? I only told you to hand it over."
"…Oh."
He remembered flicking her forehead then. The look on her face was just…
A chuckle escaped his lips.
"Now this is a rare sight."
Sasuke's head whipped to the side and saw Itachi casually leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.
"What's so amusing that made you of all people laugh, little brother?"
Sasuke frowned at him. "Don't you knock?"
Itachi uncrossed his arms and glided across the room towards the younger Uchiha. "I did, actually," he said and held up a hand just as Sasuke opened his mouth. "And before you accuse me of disturbing your privacy, just know your door was open."
Sasuke's brows furrowed deeper, annoyed at himself for forgetting. After setting the picture back face down to the desk, he went to close the door.
"What do you want?" he said and turned to his brother, only to freeze in shock at the sight of Itachi holding and scrutinizing the photo he had just put away. On impulse, he snatched it back and glared. "What happened to 'privacy'?" he grounded out.
Itachi sighed. "Forgive me, Sasuke, but I had to."
Sasuke huffed. "Oh, really? You 'had to'? Had to satisfy your curiosity?"
A short pause.
"Yes, there's that too," Itachi said with a shrug, a tinge of amusement glimmering in his eyes.
"Fuck you."
The older Uchiha raised a brow at him. "And here I thought your language has finally gotten a little better," he said, "how unfortunate."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
Itachi just gave him a glance before sitting down on the leather couch in front of the TV set. "I came here to let you know I bought some dango. Perhaps you'd like some."
"No," Sasuke said, "too sweet for my liking, you know that. Also, you could have sent someone else." Removing his school tie, he threw it haphazardly on the bed. "Itachi, don't change the subject."
His older brother smiled. "I wanted to talk to you," he said.
Sasuke stared blankly. When a few moments passed, he gave in with a sigh and sat down next to his brother. "What is it?"
Pondering for a best way to start, it was a while before Itachi said, "You've been different lately."
Sasuke turned to him with a brow raised. "How so?"
"Let's see…" Itachi leaned back and thought for a second. "For one, you're not as grumpy as you once had been."
Sasuke's eye twitched.
"You're not as rude, you're already a little patient, and you actually smile a lot more often," Itachi said and turned to the younger Uchiha only to find him glaring menacingly. "What a horrible look you got there, little brother."
The younger Uchiha turned away and breathed in to calm himself. "So? You've made your point."
With his lips forming into a smile, Itachi nodded. "Indeed, I have. Normally, you would've argued with me by now. But you didn't." When there was only silence, he continued, "by any chance, did it have something to do with those two people in the photo?"
Sasuke was quiet. Disregarding Gaara, Hinata wasn't anything special—at least, in his opinion at first. But if his brother had said so, was Hinata really the reason? Did Hinata really, in some way, affect him?
Perhaps, it was the case. He had never felt such strong guilt before over something he did wrong. But with Hinata, he couldn't help but feel like he was the worst guy anyone could've met.
After a moment, he said, "No, just one of the two."
Itachi nodded thoughtfully. "Let me guess. The girl?"
Sasuke nodded. When he saw the smirk on Itachi's lips, heat crept up his face. "It's not what you think!"
"What is it, then?"
Leaning forward with his forearms on his knees, Sasuke pondered about the best way to explain. "She's just a plain, gloomy girl who sits behind me."
Itachi simply raised a brow. "Really now? Yet I'm surprised a 'plain' and 'gloomy' girl could smile so brightly in the picture."
Sasuke shot him a glare. "Let me finish," he said and huffed. "As I was saying, for a plain and gloomy girl, she sure has guts. I first thought she couldn't do anything more than scurry and hide. In fact, she was a complete mouse when I met her. She couldn't even do something as simple as looking me in the eye." Then, he sighed. The softening of his expression didn't go unnoticed by Itachi. "But...in time, I realized she's a strong girl who, whenever determined, could do anything." Yeah...like when she forced me to eat a candy. He frowned at the horrifying memory.
"She's also as considerate as fuck. She cooks me food despite being scared of me. And she easily worries over the smallest of things. One time I just sneezed and she literally dragged me to the infirmary."
Itachi couldn't help but chuckle. "Why, couldn't you have just stopped her?"
Sasuke's cheeks colored in embarrassment. "It's not that easy. For such a small person, she has quite some strength."
Itachi only laughed harder. "I'm even more surprised you're admitting she's stronger than you," he said in between laughs.
"T-That's because she's not! I was just caught off guard," Sasuke said, his blush turned a darker shade.
His older brother just waved him off. When his laughter toned down to snickers, he stood up from the couch and turned to Sasuke. "You said she was scared of you. But, with you always frowning, I can actually sympathize."
Sasuke gave him a look, much to his brother's amusement.
"See?" Itachi said and walked to the door. "In any case, she seems nice." Then, he grinned, "Nice enough to rub some goodness on you."
The older Uchiha closed the door just as a shoe went flying towards him.
Cursing under his breath, Sasuke picked up the photo from his desk and stared at it. The wide smile on Hinata's face suddenly reminded him how precious the picture was to her—enough to keep it with her at all times, enough to look at it often, and enough to throw her mannerisms away and tackle with him just so he wouldn't get his hands on it.
A long sigh escaped his lips.
Maybe it's time to give it back...
Hanabi rapped at the door to Hinata's room for the third time but it still didn't open. Frustrated, she frowned at the unmoving piece of wood. "Ugh, I've had it! Onee-sama, you better open up or I'll get someone to break this door down," she said and crossed her arms.
"I do hope you're not serious, Hanabi," Neji quietly said next to her, knowing all too well what she'd say.
The girl turned to him with a blank look. "Oh, but I am, Neji nii-sama," she said. And in a louder voice, so Hinata could hear, "In fact, I'm going to find that someone right now." Then, she walked away, stomping her feet as she did so.
But after only five steps, the door clicked open.
"W-wait..."
Hanabi smirked to herself. "Finally decided to co—" Turning around, her words died down in her mouth at the sight of Hinata with disheveled hair, bruised lip and a scratched cheek. Her eyes widened.
"What happened?" Neji said, rushing to Hinata and cupping her face in his hands for a better inspection. "Who's responsible for this?"
"T-This is nothing, Neji nii-san," Hinata said and gently removed her cousin's hands. "I was...being clumsy. I fell forward and...accidentally bit my lip."
"How do you explain the one on your cheek?" Hanabi said in a challenging tone.
Hinata looked at her sister. "T-This? Well, this one I...uh...don't remember…"
Both Neji and Hanabi narrowed their eyes and Hinata suddenly felt small. Their expression said it all. They don't believe her, not one bit. Well, she never was a good liar to begin with.
Hanabi turned to Neji and they shared a look. Looking back at Hinata, she said, "Let's talk, shall we?" Without warning, she pushed Hinata into the room with her. Neji followed and closed the door behind him. Staring at her older sister with all seriousness, she demanded, "Spill."
Hinata gave her sister a confused look, her head tilting to the side.
"What's been going on?" Hanabi said.
Hinata shook her head. "I don't—"
"Hinata," Neji cut off, "something's changed and it's obvious. These days you haven't been…your usual self."
"Exactly," Hanabi said. "Do tell, how long ago did you and that ex-boyfriend of yours break up?"
"You mean Gaara-kun?" Hinata said.
"Duh," Hanabi said with a roll of her eyes. "Who else would it be?" Then, she gasped and stared hard at her sister. "Why?" she said in a whisper, "Is there someone else? Is that why you're acting all weird?"
Neji stepped in before Hinata could do anything, a frown marring his features. "What is the meaning of this?" he said. A thought crossed his mind and his face drained with color. He looked at a frantic Hinata straight in the eyes. "It's not someone else, is it?"
The two sisters could only blink at him.
"Don't tell me…you're with him again. Is that it?" Neji said in an almost thundering voice.
Him? …Sasuke? Again? Hinata's brows furrowed in confusion. "I'm sorry, who?" she said.
Neji gave her an incredulous look. "You know very well 'who'. Sabaku Gaara!" he said. "Are you or are you not together again?"
Hinata's eyes widened. Then, it flickered with an emotion Hanabi and Neji couldn't catch. She looked down and said, "No, of course not."
The two fell silent. Hanabi glanced at her cousin, at a loss of what to do at Hinata's sudden gloom. Neji cleared his throat, successfully bringing Hinata's focus back. "That's good then," he said, a little lamely for he couldn't think of anything else to say.
When Hinata just weakly nodded, Hanabi touched her sister's arm. "Nee-sama, why have you locked yourself up again?" When Hinata looked at her, she could easily see the hesitation in her eyes. "You can talk about it," she said in assurance.
"I…" Hinata look toward Neji who nodded his head, then back to Hanabi whose eyes were filled with worry.
She wanted to confide in them. But upon seeing their concerned looks, it didn't take a genius to know they would be outraged if she ever told them the truth behind Gaara's and her relationship. And the worse part, she knew they'd do something about it—which will definitely not be a small thing and would only end up ugly.
Hinata gave a smile and patted her sister's head. "Thank you, Hanabi-chan, Neji nii-san. But there's nothing to worry about. Whatever I'm facing now, I'm confident I can handle myself," she said and smiled more brightly, silently hoping she sounded convincing enough. "So, please trust me on this one, it's the only thing I'm asking of you two."
Hanabi and Neji looked at each other and, without any words exchanged, they smiled.
"Fine," Hanabi said, back to her usual haughty manner, "If you put it that way, I'm willing to abide."
"If that is what you wish, then I have no qualms," Neji said.
Feeling relieved and grateful, Hinata leaned forward and enveloped them in a hug. "Thank you."
Only…I hope I could handle it.
"Come and get your copy of the school newspaper for this month's news!"
Students gathered around the front desk of the classroom, each both excited and curious of the contents.
"Woah! Seriously?" one said, staring at the paper in complete disbelief.
"Hey, guys," another gestured for his friends to come. "Check this out!" But before any of them could approach, a hand snatched the paper from his grasp. "Wha—hey!" Whipping his head to the person responsible, the train of curses he had thought of died in his mouth.
Sasuke gripped at the paper, his hands shaking in fury. He glared at the headlined words written in capital and bold letters which read, "Hyuga Hinata and Sabaku Gaara back together?! Uchiha Sasuke enraged". Under it, there was a picture of Gaara and Hinata seating at the same table in the library where they talked just a few days ago. He shifted his gaze to the one beside it and couldn't help but grimace. A smaller picture showed himself holding Hinata to his side while they faced Gaara outside the library. There was a caption below it which says, "Unable to accept it, Sasuke confronts Gaara and takes Hinata away."
What. Complete. Bullshit.
Doesn't the fucking school have any important news than this load of crap?
"Ne, Sasuke-san," one dared step closer to the livid Uchiha, "who cheated first?"
He was promptly slapped away with the rolled up school paper.
Sasuke glowered at the guy who cowered helplessly at the floor. But before he could do anything else—especially plot the murder of the stupid article's author who had a death wish—he heard the door slide open, followed by a familiar silent greeting. Turning around, Sasuke looked at Hinata who had her head bowed down and shoulders slouched while she crossed the room to her seat. He raised a brow at this. Ever since her…"wardrobe change", he had never seen her walk the way she did just now.
Forgetting the guy he had hit, Sasuke approached Hinata to her desk. He stopped in front of her and crossed his arms, waiting. Slowly, she looked up and he immediately took notice of the pink shine on her lips.
His throat suddenly went dry.
He looked off to the side, so as not to get ideas in his mind again like what happened days ago when he—
Shaking his thoughts away, he asked himself why Hinata would wear lipstick. Not like it didn't suit her—in fact, it enhanced her appearance—but it just looked strange and it was doing something strange to him. He assumed she was the type not to care about her looks and found wearing cosmetics was a bother.
But then again, he couldn't really say for sure. After all, he didn't know Hinata well.
At the realization, his brows creased together in puzzlement. So what if he didn't know a lot about Hinata? It didn't matter.
But…why did it bother him so much? Why did it make him feel…uneasy?
"Good morning, Sasuke," Hinata said, snapping him back to reality.
He glanced at her. Then, he nodded and mumbled his greeting.
Hinata stared at him in bewilderment.
Looking anywhere but her, Sasuke said, "Have you read the school paper?"
Hinata blinked. "Not yet, why?"
He was about to explain but their classmates were too loud with their conversation, oblivious to the presence of the two.
"That's really too bad, I was even rooting for the two of them."
"Tell me about it," one girl huffed indignantly. "I mean, what could she not like about Sasuke-kun?"
"Hold on, maybe it's neither the two's fault. Maybe it's the third party. Haven't you noticed Sabaku-san has been acting weird and more aloof ever since Sasuke-san came to this school?"
Hinata visibly froze at the mention of her ex.
"Hmm...now that you've said it, he really was acting unusual."
Hinata turned to Sasuke. "W-What's going on...?"
Hearing her question, the students who were just talking about them whipped their heads around. Their eyes all widened at the sight of the "former" couple facing each other. One by one, the people present in the room took notice and turned their sole attention to the two, eager to witness something they could gossip about.
The room fell in complete silence.
Ignoring the eyes fixed on them, Sasuke simply handed the paper.
Hinata took it and her gaze went straight to the headline. Her brows furrowed in confusion. "This is what this is about?"
"What else?" Sasuke said.
She looked back down to the school paper. Then, a wry smile formed on her lips, the half-hearted chuckle she let out startling Sasuke. "This…would never happen," she mumbled, "no matter how I wish it to be otherwise."
It was subtle, but Sasuke managed to catch the quiver in her voice and the trembling of her shoulders.
His eyes narrowed. No matter how you wish it…? Somehow, his chest felt tight.
After all he put her through, after what he did, after he broke her and left her alone…After everything that guy had done to you, you still have feelings for him? Sasuke thought, staring at Hinata with his fists unconsciously clenching and unclenching. He hasn't done anything for you, you said so yourself. But then, why?
He looked away and gritted his teeth, feeling frustrated and confused. With himself or Hinata, he wasn't sure. He wasn't supposed to think about these things, Hinata's business wasn't his problem. But despite everything, it nagged in his head. Hinata was no better. She was foolish. How could someone still care about a person who doesn't even give a damn about you?
Why continue to love someone like him when you'll only get hurt?
Hinata raised her head and smiled at him. "At any rate, we're still together and I don't have any intention to change that," she said.
Her smile was strained and her eyes were looking quite…empty. She couldn't hide from him, he could easily see through her. And he knew there was something going on with Hinata, a problem big enough which caused the heavy air around her.
There was a tug in his chest. Impulse told him to ask her right then and there. And when he was about to, pride kicked in and held him back.
As what he always told himself, if it isn't his business, he could care less.
But his mind was as stubborn as his pride. Sasuke ended up thinking about it all throughout the day. Cursing himself, he glanced over his shoulder at Hinata, just as the school bell rang for lunch break.
With mechanical movements, Hinata stood up from her seat and waited for him to join her by the door.
"Practicing for a robot dance competition?" he asked as soon as he reached her. "I think you're too stiff for that."
She blinked, and then strained another smile. "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware of my posture. I'll try to watch out next time."
There she goes again, apologizing about the smallest of things.
He hadn't meant to warn her. He just wanted for her to lighten up, to bring back the life in her eyes even a little—because Hinata's mood was starting get on his nerves. Obviously, it didn't work. So maybe he was horrible at jokes…really horrible—it was his idiot friend's thing—but it wouldn't hurt to try again.
Thus, on their way to the rooftop, he reached for her hand and pulled her closer to him, knowing how conscious she was about public displays. He watched her stumble for a second before regaining balance. Her eyes widened at their joined hands, her mouth hung open, and then—
Nothing. She did nothing. Her expression went back to blank and she wasn't the least bit flustered. Even the sly grins from people they passed by failed to elicit the faintest blush from her.
He frowned and thought of another approach.
When an idea came, he gave Hinata's hand a light tug and stepped in front of her. Hinata looked at him, vaguely questioning him with her eyes. He raised his hand and brushed her bangs away from her face. Then, leaning down, he touched his forehead with hers. She flinched but didn't do anything else.
"You're acting weird today," he said. "Do you have a fever?"
Hinata stared at him, and then blinked. "No," she said, pulling away from him. "I'm alright, Sasuke."
He gritted his teeth, more than peeved with the lack of reaction. With such a close contact, he thought she was bound to give in but, damn, she was obstinate. What could possibly make her snap out of her trance and finally turn her attention to him? He hated this—how she was there but not there, how he thinks up of ways to make a fool of himself so she would just react, how he fusses around her when he shouldn't even care and just leave her be.
This further proves Itachi's point. He really did change, and it's because of the unresponsive girl standing in front of him. He'd had enough of looking like an idiot! He'll just ask her directly. To hell with his damned pride!
And so, when they settled themselves at the rooftop and ate their meal, Sasuke finally decided to ask, "What's wrong?"
With the chopsticks halfway into her mouth, Hinata looked up at him. "Nothing, I'm fine," she said.
She's such a lousy liar, he thought and looked off to the side. Well, since she wasn't willing to open up to him, he'd have to take it upon himself to guess it. He wasn't about to leave without getting some answers.
Sasuke pondered for a moment. Earlier, Hinata arrived already looking gloomy. And when he showed her the newspaper…Focusing his gaze on Hinata, he said, "This is about him, isn't it?" He hated mentioning the Sabaku's name.
Hinata tensed up.
"Tell me," he said.
She shot him a wary glance and shook her head. "You'd only think of me as a fool," she said and went back to eating.
He suppressed a sigh of exasperation. Maybe it's really not the best option, but it's the most effective, "So, you're weak after all, if all you do is run away."
Her brows furrowed, head snapped up and she glared daggers at him. "I'm not running away!" she said, slammed her lunch box to the ground, and stood up. "I wasn't trying to. But I never thought—" She stopped herself and turned her back to him.
Setting down his meal aside, Sasuke stood up and went in front of her. Hinata tried to turn away but he held her shoulders and made her look at him.
"Let me go," she weakly said and tugged at his hands.
He refused to budge. Whatever was bothering her, he wanted to know. It wasn't because he was curious. He didn't want to admit it, at least not out loud, but he was worried…worried sick. "What's wrong?" he said again, albeit softer.
She shook her head, hiding her face with her hair.
"Hinata," he called, but she didn't raise her head. He held her chin in his hand but she gripped his wrist in place.
"Don't…please," she said. "Don't look at me." Her shoulders shook. "I don't want you to see me like this…"
Slowly, he let her go and could only watch her helplessly hug herself.
"I'm…scared," she said. Covering her face with her hands, she sucked in a breath. "I still…after all this time…" she sniffed, her hands curling into fists, "to h-him, I still—"
Grabbing her wrists, he yanked her to him. He heard her gasp and felt her tense, but she didn't struggle against him. Bringing his arms around her, he pulled her closer to his chest. "I know…" he said, "don't say any more." He didn't want to hear, didn't want her to say it.
But he knew. And the ache in his chest only grew worse.
Hinata was silent, her arms hanging limply at her sides. She was trembling, but Sasuke couldn't feel a wetness seep into his clothed chest. "I'm surprised you're not crying," he said as casually as he could.
"I'm…t-trying not to" she said, her voice a little strained.
"It's fine," he said. "Cry if you want."
She shook her head. "I don't want…I don't want to disappoint you."
His brows creased in confusion. "What are you getting at?"
"I don't…" she took a deep shaky breath, "I don't want you to…see me being w-weak. That's all I ever do."
He paused. Then, he sighed. "Listen, I may be a bastard but I'm not heartless." As if to further prove his point, he placed his hand on her head.
Hinata jumped, and then her shoulders shook.
"It's okay," his voice a whisper against her ear.
Unable to hold it anymore, Hinata wrapped her arms around his waist, buried her head to his chest and finally broke down.
Sasuke held her tighter and listened to her sobs.
Whatever the Sabaku did to make her act like this, he didn't know. But he cursed him—cursed him for everything he had done, cursed him because he made Hinata cry, and cursed him because even though he wasn't around, just the mere thought of him could shake her up so much—something he, himself, couldn't do.
And he hated himself for not being able to do anything.
Hinata cried and cried. Her tears wouldn't stop from falling. Her loud and deep sobs was all she could hear.
Sari's words kept repeating in her mind. There were thousands of questions she wanted to ask. But more importantly, was what Sari said real or not? Could her words be trusted?
Deep within her, Hinata knew Sari won't lie about it, not with the way she acted when she practically spat the words out like it left a vile taste in her mouth.
Her heart throbbed painfully. It was all a lie then...
"I despise you because Gaara-kun loves you"
If he did, why had he done what he did? Why did he deceive her, toy with her?
Her confession to Gaara remained a vivid memory. But it was to be expected. It was, after all, the first time in a long while she had felt so happy in her life. It was the day she got accepted and acknowledged by someone she admired and loved.
But now she knew better.
It was nothing but an illusion…
"The only reason Gaara-kun dated you was because I dared him to date an ugly girl. It just so happened to be you."
"So remember this and remember it well, Hyuga Hinata. It was all thanks to me you even had a chance with Gaara-kun."
…and she was the fool, played like a fool.
All the questions she asked herself countless of times; why Gaara broke up with her, what had she done to make him end their relationship, why did he seem to be so unconcerned, why did he leave without any explanation, and did he really love her, if at all? Everything was finally answered with just one statement.
"You are just a bet."
And everything clicked in place. Everything made sense.
"Sasuke, do you think Gaara-kun really cared for me when he agreed to date me?" she had asked.
"If he really did care, don't you think he would at least tell you his reason why he broke up with you?"
She had agreed back then, but she never would've guessed how right Sasuke's answer was. And it was what's hurting her the most because, in the first place, their love never existed.
It was one-sided.
And she had been too blind to see it.
Another sob escaped her and she clung tighter to Sasuke. "I'm s-sorry…can't…I c-can't stop it…" she said. "M-my tears just…keep f-falling…I'm…sorry…"
Sasuke just patted her in the head.
In the background, the school bell rang for afternoon classes. But neither of the two reacted or paid any attention to it.
Minutes passed and when her sobs toned down to sniffles, Hinata's hold on Sasuke slackened a little bit, though she didn't pull away. Her eyes felt swollen and heavy and she struggled to keep them open.
"Are you done?" Sasuke said.
She flushed, embarrassed about imposing on Sasuke. "Y-yes…sorry" she said and sat up, vaguely wondering to herself when they had taken a seat.
Sasuke sighed and sat upright. "That's another thing we have to work on, stop apologizing too much," he said with a frown. He reached up, cupped her face in his hands, and wiped away the remaining streaks of her tears on her cheeks.
Then, he paused in shock at himself. Did he just do what he did? Last time he checked, wiping tears away never became his thing. Yet, he did it with Hinata. Thus, once again, this further proves Itachi's point.
He really did change. He had gone soft. But what surprised him the most was the fact he wasn't disgusted as he thought he would be…should be. Instead, he found himself not minding it at all.
Shrugging the matter off, he patted Hinata's head once more—another thing which had shocked him—and was about to talk when his eyes spied out a scratch on her cheek. He grabbed her face and tilted it a little to the side. "Where'd you get this?" he said in an almost alarmed tone.
Hinata gasped and jerked away with a hand to her scratched cheek. She sputtered out an excuse, lightly nibbling on her lip which only made Sasuke narrow his eyes at her.
"Be honest, Hinata."
She stopped, and then she looked down in defeat. "This…I got it from Sari-san…yesterday."
He stared in disbelief. "But I was with you the whole time."
"Until dismissal, yes," she said.
His eyes widened. "After I left?" When she nodded, rage stirred up inside him and his fists clenched.
"I was hoping you wouldn't notice," Hinata said. "I thought if I put powder on it…but it got washed away because I c-cried."
His head snapped up and his eyes darted to her lipstick. "You've got one on your lips too, don't you?"
She winced at being caught and slowly nodded.
No wonder she wore makeup, he thought. "What did she do?"
Sparing him a wary glance, Hinata said, "I…I think it was her fingernail that caused this scratch when she gripped me by my face. This bruise on my lip was when she kicked me after she made me kneel down."
His teeth grinded, his fists clenched harder but Sasuke's expression remained impassive. He'll deal with that bitch later when he sees her—and he'll make sure to find her. But, at the moment, he had to do something. He breathed in to calm himself and turned back to Hinata who was looking down at her hands resting neatly on her lap.
"Hinata," he called. When she looked up, he pulled out a photo from the inside pocket of his jacket and held it out to her.
Her eyes widened at the sight of her old treasured photo. Slowly, she took it and examined it closely, as if she couldn't believe it still existed.
"Now may not be the best time, but I didn't know when to give it to you," he said.
Hinata looked at him, eyes still wide in shock and a little incredulity. "You're…returning this?" He simply gave her a nod. "But…why?"
Sasuke shrugged. "I thought it's been with me long enough. And…" he glanced at her, "I just thought, with the you right now, it would serve as a motivation with your goal rather than distract you, like what happened last time that made me keep it away from you."
Her gaze shifted to the photo finally back in her hands. The happiness she used to feel whenever she looked at it was gone and in its place was an ache which throbbed insistently in her chest. With eyes already opened up to the truth, she could now see how frank Sari had been. In the picture, Gaara wasn't even looking at her. He wasn't even trying to stand close to her, unlike what she did. It almost made her laugh at her own stupidity.
She traced her smiling self at the photo with a finger while she wistfully gazed at it. The old me…the 'me' who would only accept the way things were no matter how unpleasant it was, the 'me' who would give and give without thought for the one she loved, the 'me' who was naïve and who was the laughing stock of the many…
Her gaze moved to Gaara and she felt tears prick at her eyes. She quickly looked away before she started crying all over again. How could he do this to her? Play her without feeling any remorse? She felt sorry, not for herself, but for the past her who was broken and bent too many times. She was sorry, not because she had been blind, but because she knew—if it was the old her—she would've still stayed by Gaara's side despite knowing the truth.
But…
She pressed down her thumb on the photo, covering her image.
…I'm no longer my past self. Staring hard at the impassive redhead, she thought, I want to hear him say it. I want to hear the words come from his own mouth. For him to say 'I never felt anything for you'…I want to hear him say it.
And maybe then, I'll be able to move on.
"I'm going to see Gaara-kun," she said, her eyes still fixed on the photo.
Sasuke snapped his head up. Her words set an alarm off in his head and sent a pang to his chest. He almost voiced out his incredulity.
What did she mean? She was going to see that guy…for what? Something happened between them which caused her to be depressed. But, thinking back on it, perhaps it wasn't between them, but instead, the guy's demented girlfriend. Maybe it was because of whatever she said that made Hinata cry.
Then, why would she approach the Sabaku rather than his girlfriend? A voice in his head disputed. Sasuke frowned. Wasn't it after you gave her the photo that she made her decision? After she saw the face of the one person she always thought about?
He stilled, taken aback by his thoughts and the truth behind it. He couldn't deny it if he tried, it was as clear as day.
Hinata had indeed, and still has, strong feelings for the Sabaku.
His chest tightened once again and he felt agitated.
As strange as it seemed to him, he didn't want Hinata to go. Something was nagging at the back of his head, sending warnings and telling him to stop her. Because if he won't, something he wouldn't like would happen…something would slip from his grasp and would be lost—possibly forever.
But you can't deny her of her decision, the voice went again, you have no right and you're well aware of that.
He gritted his teeth, suddenly feeling irritated. To hell with it! He could think whatever he wanted, do whatever he wanted and say whatever he wanted. He couldn't be bothered to give a flying fuck about what other people say. If stopping Hinata was what he wanted to do, then he would push through with it!
At the expense of her happiness?
Sasuke stopped.
Are you truly willing to risk that?
His hands curled into fists and he gripped and gripped, even when it trembled and throbbed by the force he was giving.
She loves him.
In the end, he yielded and suppressed a sigh of defeat.
And so despite everything, all he ever said was, "Do whatever you like."
Under the dark skies and outside the cold night air stood Gaara at an empty recreational area dimly lit by street lamps. His arms were crossed and his face schooled to its usual impassiveness. His book bag slung over one shoulder with his uniform jacket draped on the other.
Across from him, just a few feet away, was a shell-shocked Sari dressed in a tan tank top and khaki short shorts while her sandals were hurriedly worn, making it only halfway to her feet. She carried nothing but her cellular phone on her hand, its screen lit up to Gaara's message: Meet me at the park now.
"W-What did you just…?" Sari trailed off, unable to believe her ears.
"It's exactly as what you heard."
Her eyes widened and she stepped forward in her franticness. "If this is about what I did to that girl—"
"It's only one of the many reasons," he cut off, his voice slightly rising. Then, he turned his back to her. "I'm tired of this game," he said and walked away. "You should be happy. After all, you finally won."
A/N: I already told some of you via PM that I was already working on this chapter…months ago. And yes, I was working on it, a little everyday for I had such limited time. And because I love you guys sooooo much, I wake up before sunrise and sleep late in the night just so I could finish this chapter and update. I am really flattered by all your reviews and you, dear readers, are the ones who motivate me to continue with my story. So, give yourselves a round of applause…lol. Thank you so much!
