authors note:

A few things I felt that needed to be addressed before we go in this story.

Storyline:

Itachi and sauke have already faced off,Itachi is dead and Sasuke knows the truth about his sacrifice. However , before he could focus singlemindedly on vengeance he was...distracted...

Sasuke was a silent witness to the Pein invasion,he didnt help either side(he does hate Konoha after all) but he also didnt attack or anything.

And that is where my story diverges from canon.

Personalities:

Hinata in my story has the same personality as her creator intended, shes kind,generous, a bit too quick to forgive but she has obviously grown up and so despite continuing to be shy,she is not devastatingly so.

Sasuke is as complicated as i'm sure Kishimoto intended.

I have always found him a very interesting character, because as ruthless as he is when working towards his goals,he maintains a soft spot towards a few people and oddly this soft spot also seems to increase or decrease at various points within the Anime/Manga.

It is that is the aspect of him that i want to explore, the fact that his life experiences are so terrible and so traumatic that they must definitely have damaged his psyche irreparably. I believe that there may even be moments when they overwhelm him and turn him into something he can not control( we see that with his cursed seal also).

Underneath it all,he is just our favourite lonely,lost,damaged avenger ,waiting to be saved.

*end authors note*

Even before knowing that her captor was The Last Uchiha himself , Hinata had realised her prison would be a difficult one to break from.

Combined with her acute dehydration and exhaustion it had proved impossible.

Now, with sasuke watching her every move like a hawk, Hinata knew she was doomed.

Strangely though, her mind-numbing fear of him had abated rather than increased after he had claimed ownership of her.

Those words had been of a mad man but it had been Sasuke's behaviour after the proclamation that forced Hinata to relax against her initial instinct.

They had stayed in their respective positions for a while , Hinata warily watching the obviously insane rogue ninja as sasuke stood eyeing her across the room.

Finally after what seemed like hours of staring, nature won the battle(as it always does) and Hinata muttered a mortified curse before hesitantly murmuring to the most dangerous man in the shinobi world ' A-ano, I need the washroom.'

Sasuke's eyes narrowed suspiciously and the staring continued.

Silence reigned.

When Hinata was sure she would have to resort to something desperate, Sasuke gave a short nod and flicked his head in the direction of the hall way.

He waited until she was standing in the doorway before coming up silently behind her, wordlessly forcing her to move ahead.

She involuntarily flinched every time he came too close and with an uncharacteristic snort Sasuke immediately withdrew from her personal space.

He sounded like a mad man, he acted like a mad man but for some inexplicable reason Hinata realised , he was unwilling to scare her.

Once they had reached somewhere in the middle of the corridor , Sasuke felt along the jagged rock surface and pressed on a spot on the wall .

Slowly a huge section receded and revealed a hidden archaic wash room.

With a curt',I'm waiting outside' the piece of wall was replaced and Hinata was left standing mercifully alone in the dark cavity.

When Hinata emerged she was resigned to her fate.

There was no way she could think of to escape Sasukes prison.

Not only did it seem impenetrable but he was just too strong, too powerful to defeat one on one.

The only thing she could do was wait for him to make a mistake, even if all she was able to do was send a message asking for help.

Upon deciding on this course of action Hinata also decided that it would be wise not to antagonise the Uchiha.

Maybe playing along to his insanity would make him lower his guard towards her.

So when Sasuke followed Hinata to the sparse 'bedroom' and adopted a straight back guard position near the door Hinata didn't say anything.

Despite her wilding thumping heart and raw nerves she ignored his savage scrutiny and settled on the bed feeling much more in control after being able to remove some of the grime on her.

She was a kunouchi, and kunoichi don't just fight, they fight smart.

She didn't say anything when some time later as lay in bed succumbing to her fatigue, she became aware of Sasukes face mere inches from hers, his warm breath wafting on her face as he whispered her name.

'Hinata.'

She didn't say anything when hours after she had fallen asleep, she was woken up with a harsh nudge to her shoulder, to see Sasuke standing over her, only a jerk of his head indicating that he wanted her to follow.

She didn't say anything when he led her back to the kitchen(cavern) ,to the ledge where she saw fresh bread sitting atop the counter.

And she didn't say anything when all of a sudden she felt his large hands ghost along her waist, chest pressed up against her back , his nose buried in the crook of her neck.

No, she didn't say anything,

instead,

she attacked.