DISCLAIMER: Still not mine...

CHAPTER NINE

Hinata panted down a street full of late night wanderers. A sleeve was dangling from the partially closed luggage and was lolling pathetically with every bump Hinata made as she struggled. She packed hastily. And without thinking. She just grabbed everything she saw in her room and shoved them inside the luggage.

Uchiha Sasuke is the most cold-blooded creature I have ever had the misfortune to meet, she thought angrily. He's the most horrible person. He's heartless. Sure, it wasn't really my business but I'm not going to just sit in my room while he's beating his niece. Miyuki-chan…

Her eyes filled with tears as she remembered how the child clung to her and begged her with those huge, sad eyes not to leave. Hinata didn't want to but as Uchiha Sasuke pointed out, it was his house and he made the decisions. And so, Hinata left. But not without a say. She delivered quite a speech that she hoped had Sasuke thinking deeply. If he's capable of rational thinking, that is. Poor Miyuki-chan… I promised her that I'll check up on her often. I don't want to go back to that house but I'll do it for her.

Hinata stopped walking and looked around. She had no idea where she was going. There was a convenient store across the street and her stomach started rumbling in complaint. Maybe I can meet up with Ino-chan there and then ask her if she knows a cheap, clean place where I can stay. Hinata could not muster the courage to use her credit cards. She was sure her father's minions were on the lookout for any trace of her. Fortunately, Hanabi suggested of withdrawing a handful of cash before leaving France. She fumbled on her jeans' pockets for her mobile phone. It was not there.

"Oh, no. Where is it?"

Then she groaned as she remembered. She left it on Uchiha Sasuke's kitchen counter. What am I going to do now?

One of Hinata's qualities that annoy her cousin Neji so much was that she doesn't memorize phone numbers and instead relying on the phone. "What if you lose your phone and you're stuck somewhere all alone?" was what Neji used to say. She doesn't know her friends' addresses too since she was always chauffeured everywhere.

I was hoping that I won't see Uchiha Sasuke anytime soon, she thought resignedly. I guess I have to go back.

xXx

"Go to your room. NOW!"

Miyuki had been throwing a tantrum for half an hour already since the Hyuuga left. She stayed glued next to the front doors, crying loudly and thumping the floor. Sasuke ignored her and went upstairs to clean up the shards of broken glass. When he got back, his niece was still at it. He tried to talk to her calmly but she wouldn't listen.

"I said go to your room now, Miyuki!"

She threw her slipper at him but missed. What the fuck, he thought in shock.

"Listen, I'm not going to hit you okay? Just… just shut up and go to your room," he pleaded.

She threw the other slipper.

"FINE!" he shouted, losing his patience. "Stay there and don't go to your room! Sleep on the fucking floor!"

His niece sobbed even harder. She looked very pitiful. Her face was swollen from crying too much. Tears and snot drenched her shirt. She was also trembling uncontrollably. Random sounds were coming out of her mouth, as though she was trying to talk. For some unknown reason, Sasuke felt a huge lump in his throat at the sight. He ignored how he seemed to be having difficulty breathing and walked away while Hyuuga Hinata's words were haunting him.

"Before I go, I just want to say something," she said passionately. "You said you did not want this. But you know… Miyuki-chan did not want this either. She did not want her parents to die. And she definitely did not want to be here with you. But she doesn't have a choice. While you, you clearly had a choice. You chose to take care of her. And I'm asking you. Why?"

Why, indeed. He dropped down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He left the door open so that he could hear his niece. Why did I agree to this madness in the first place? Deidara was willing to take care of Miyuki but I refused. My mother offered to help but I refused. Why? Sasuke touched his left cheek. That Hyuuga… she's so small… and yet she can hit so hard.

A six-year-old Sasuke was running through thick trees that surrounded the lake. His brother was here somewhere. This was Itachi's place of solitude. Sure enough, Sasuke caught sight of Itachi's back a few feet away. He was sitting on the bank.

"Aniki," Sasuke called out cautiously.

"Hey," Itachi said without turning his head.

Sasuke stood behind his brother. "Are you… okay?"

"Yeah,"

"What are you doing here?"

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

Itachi took his time before answering. "When I have my own family, I want a daughter."

"What?" asked a bewildered Sasuke.

"I'll spoil her. I'll give her everything she wants. I'll support her in everything she wants to do. I won't care if she becomes a lesbian. As long as she's happy then I'm happy. I will never shout at her. And I…" he turned to face Sasuke who let out a gasp. Itachi's face was beaten to a pulp by their father. Itachi and Fugaku argued that day. "I will never hit her. No, I will never hit any of my children."

Sasuke smiled. "Aniki, you will be the best father there is."

Itachi turned his back to Sasuke to gaze at the lake once more. "Sasuke…"

"What is it, Aniki?"

"Wake up."

Sasuke opened his eyes. He was back in his room. He looked around sleepily. Something's not right, he thought in confusion. The house is quiet. Quiet… Did she stop crying?

He went downstairs, expecting to see Miyuki sleeping on the floor. What he saw made him falter in his steps. The door was opened and there was no Miyuki. He rushed outside. To his horror, the gate was opened too. He ran out.

"Be outside… be outside…" he repeated to himself desperately. Who he saw outside the gate was the last person he expected.

Hyuuga Hinata almost bumped into the guy she slapped a few hours ago. "H-hi…" she said nervously.

"What are you doing here? Is she with you?"

"I – what?"

"Is Miyuki with you?" Sasuke asked again, peering at her luggage as though she was keeping his niece inside it.

Hinata shook her head and frowned. "No. Why?"

"Did you see her on your way here?" he inquired, looking up and down the deserted street. No one was around, not even a stray cat.

"No. Uchiha-san, what's happening?"

"I think she left the house,"

"Miyuki-chan left?" Hinata asked dazedly. "A-are you sure? Did you check the entire house? Did you look everywhere? She could be hiding somewhere."

"The gate was open."

"She can't have opened it. She doesn't know the password… a-and even if she knows, she might have gone back inside and… forgot to close the gate," Hinata said, trying to convince herself that everything was okay.

"I'll go check the CCTV."

"C-can I come in?"

"Sure," Sasuke said vaguely. He didn't want to admit it out loud but he could use some company. He was a mess at this moment. For the first time in his life, he was in a panicked mode. Where is she? This is my fucking fault.

"I fell asleep," he explained out-of-the-blue. He thought he saw accusation in the Hyuuga's eyes. "She wouldn't stop crying. I told her to go to her room but she wouldn't… she even threw her slippers at me. Then I left her in the foyer and went to my room. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Hinata looked up at him closely. He was pale. Although his face showed calmness, the panic in his eyes was very evident. "It wasn't your fault…" she said softly.

Sasuke glanced at her.

"W-well… maybe a little. I'll go look for her," she said. She went upstairs and Sasuke proceeded to his study.

He could hear the Hyuuga calling out his niece's name as he played back the CCTV footage. An hour and a half ago, Miyuki could be seen sitting quite still on the floor. Then she stood up, put on the slippers that she threw, opened the door and walked out. Sasuke viewed the CCTV from the gate next. After punching in the password, Miyuki hesitated briefly. She looked back at the house and clutched Mr. Fishy tighter. After that, she went out into the night. Sasuke fast forwarded the video but no Miyuki came back.

Oh, shit. My niece is gone. Sasuke felt like throwing up.

12-10-10 – WOW! I was expecting to get at least a hundred reviews this week but I got over a hundred in just one/two days. THANK YOU SO MUCH! You guys are awesome! Y_Y

As a thank you, I present… another cliffhanger, lmao! I didn't mean to (okay, just a little). You see, I wanted to update soon for my readers, hehe… this chapter is short, sorry.

I don't want to write about ghosts. I'm scared of them. I write every midnight when everyone else is asleep and I'm the only one awake and the house is in complete darkness. So yeah, no ghost ^^

Gaara won't be appearing anytime soon. I think… last chapters maybe? Who knows… I might change my mind ^^

By Your Side is in hiatus... I still don't know if I'll continue writing it...