Role Reversal
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 10
The next day, Hinata was extremely frustrated. Not only was she being tormented by images of Sasuke in a shower, but said Uchiha had to make things worse by pinning her to the bed. This was Sasuke though.
Instead of trying to ravish her as would usually be the case in a scenario like this, the Uchiha in question was worried about her health! That's right! Sasuke was trying to force her to rest!
"Hinata, we're not going anywhere today. You're sick. You're bright red and your skin his hot to the touch. Your illness is going to slow you down. The Sound might catch us, if we go out like this. That and God forbid, that Neji stumble upon us when you aren't ready to fight at your best." The Uchiha points out in what Hinata was sure he considered to be a very logical fashion.
It wasn't like she could tell him why her face was actually red. Sasuke was convinced that she was sick and Hinata supposed that was better than him knowing the truth. Sasuke would never look at her the same way again, if he knew what she had done.
"Alright. Alright. I guess one day won't hurt us too much. We did get pretty far away from the Sound and the Leaf is at a disadvantage. Itachi probably doubled back to get more help. So time is on our side to a degree." Hinata says.
This was one time, where she would just let Sasuke win. The alternative was just too embarrassing to handle. That and it was sweet that he was so worried about her.
"Good. Do you want me to go get us some food?" Sasuke asks.
"Yes, please. I'm starving." Hinata tells him with a shy smile.
In truth, she was a little hungry. Mostly though, the Hyuga Heiress just needed to get her blushing under control. This was ridiculous! She should not be reacting this way!
At the Sound, she had stumbled across her share of unexpected eyefuls. In the beginning, she had been absolutely scandalized. After awhile though, she got used to it. With Sasuke though, it was different.
"Alright. I'll see what they got and if you want, I can rub you again when I get back." Sasuke offers.
She had spent far too much time in the Sound. Innocent offers of foot rubs were now making her mind go places that it most definitely shouldn't go! Sasuke was still Sasuke, but she was no longer the Hinata that he used to know. It wouldn't be right to act on these thoughts.
He deserved someone who was still nice. Someone who hadn't seen what she had. He also deserved someone who wouldn't violate his privacy in the wicked way that she had.
"Okay. I'll just wait here." She mumbles.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. Maybe, being so agreeable was making him suspicious. She had been fighting with him in one or form or another since the other ninja had found her.
"You must be sick. You're not arguing with me." Sasuke says with a smirk.
Alright. She did deserve that one. Though honestly, they wouldn't be arguing, if the Massacre never happened.
"I think that I just realized that you're more stubborn than me and I should conserve my energy for the fight against Neji." Hinata says.
She'd give him a "victory." That should make him drop the matter. Better for Sasuke to be a bit smug than for him to know what she did. She still couldn't believe that she had actually done that.
Her father would have been horrified at her improper behavior. Hinata really shouldn't have peeked. She didn't know, if she'd ever be able to look at him again without blushing.
"Smart girl. Alright. I'll be back in a few minutes and don't do something stupid. Don't try to run off on me because I WILL find you, if you do. I don't need the Byakugan to track you." The raven haired man warns her and with that, he heads off.
Hinata shivers slightly. She didn't really know what it was about that tone of voice, but she knew that he was serious. Sasuke definitely would hunt her down, if she tried to run.
She hadn't been planning to and that was just a mark of how dangerous this all was. The thought of leaving him behind when he went to get food, hadn't occurred to her at all. It should have though. That have been the real smart thing to do. It was dangerous for Sasuke to be around her.
"This isn't his fight." She whispers to herself.
She was being selfish. Sasuke at this point was equal parts security blanket and guilty pleasure. Hinata felt safe around him and as much as she knew she shouldn't be, she was attracted to him.
If they were back in the Leaf, the last part wouldn't have been a problem. Well at least not as much. At least her affections for him wouldn't have potentially put him in the path of a serial killer.
"He might not have returned them, but Sasuke would have been safe." The bluenette mutters.
As long as Sasuke was in the Leaf Village, Hinata didn't think that Neji would go after him. What would be the motivation? He and Naruto were both Leaf Villagers and would her cousin really risk going back into the Leaf just to kill her two friends?
Neji was pure evil, but he wasn't stupid. That would be a great risk to take and Sasuke was an Uchiha. He would be in the Uchiha District surrounded by his family and some of his family members also had the Sharingan. It wouldn't be an easy fight for him. Not to mention, Naruto had the Nine Tailed Fox.
"Now that he's traveling with me, that's changed though. He made himself a target." Hinata says as she feels a silent tear slide down her cheek.
He didn't have the protection of the Leaf or his Clan here. It was just her, him, and Neji. Neji the man who had slaughtered almost an entire Clan.
Hinata knew that Sasuke was a powerful ninja in his own right, but he wasn't like that traitor. He wasn't a cold-blooded killer and that might end up getting his own blood spilled. She had to do something.
"I won't let Neji hurt him." She vows to herself.
Meanwhile in the Sound Village, Orochimaru hisses in frustration. This was getting ridiculous. He had to find Hinata and Sasuke now! He was running out of time!
"Have our trackers found anything yet?!" The Legendary Sannin demands of Kabuto.
"I'm afraid not, my Lord. We're checking all the villages that she has bank accounts in. That will take some time though. You made certain that she was well connected. Hinata could have gone almost anywhere in the Five Nations. Though she hasn't been gone that long. The geographical possibilities are only so large." The silver haired medic reasons.
That wasn't what Orochimaru wanted to hear. He needed to find her and quickly. If it came down to it, he could choose another Vessel. Though he had been grooming her for years and he would lose out on the Byakugan.
That was why he had chosen her in the first place. The Byakugan held great power. The only other Visual Bloodline that could rival it was the Sharingan. He had almost had both and now, he had neither!
"Send trackers to every village within a five day traveling radius and start looking!" He snaps.
"Lord Orochimaru that is a huge portion of our resources to send most of them out on a wild goose chase. Are you certain that's what you want? If the Leaf comes back, we will be extremely vulnerable to attack." The bespectacled man points out.
"Are you questioning my orders?!" Orochimaru seethes at the other man.
Kabuto was his most faithful follower, but that didn't mean that the Sannin wouldn't punish him for disloyalty. Oh he wouldn't kill the silver haired man. He was far too valuable for that, but the Orochimaru would make him regret challenging him.
"No! Of course not! I'll go and dispatch the teams. Please forgive me, Lord Orochimaru. I meant no offense, truly." The silver haired man says as he bows his head low in respect.
"Good. Now, get going!" Orochimaru hisses.
Kabuto nods and darts off quickly as Orochimaru sighs. Things were no longer going to plan. He was going to have to act quickly, if he wanted to secure two perfect Vessels for his body.
He should have realized that it was too good to be true. No matter though. Orochimaru would find them and he would get his new bodies. One way or another, he was going to do it.
"Perhaps, I should have one of my teams follow Itachi and Shisui. After all, who would know Sasuke better than them?" He mutters to himself.
Orochimaru knew Hinata. He knew the way she fought and how she thought. Sasuke was somewhat of an unknown variable though.
The Sannin really didn't know how much influence the Uchiha had on the Hyuga woman. Who would be the one who would be deciding where they would go and when? Hinata or Sasuke?
"If it's Hinata, I have a better chance of tracking them." He says thoughtfully.
If it was Sasuke though, that was harder to predict. Where would the young Sharingan User go? What sort of places would he deem were safe and would he slow her down or speed her up?
There were simply too many questions and not enough answers. The elderly ninja didn't like that. He didn't like it at all.
"I will find them. I will find them and they will regret betraying me." He hisses.
Meanwhile back at the Uchiha District, Itachi warily heads inside his family's neighborhood. Shisui was by his side. A fact that Itachi was very grateful for. His family was going to be outraged and he needed all the support that he could get.
After speaking with Tsunade, the Hokage had set to work on organizing teams. While she was doing that, he and Shisui were going to break the news to the rest of their family. The news that Sasuke was missing and the details behind his disappearance.
"Everyone, there is an important reason why we called you all here today." Itachi begins warily.
He normally wasn't someone who was shy about public speaking. Unfortunately, today was most assuredly not a normal occasion. Itachi Uchiha was about to confirm that Sasuke was indeed his extremely foolish little brother.
"Itachi, what's wrong?" His mother asks in concern.
Mikoto Uchiha wasn't oblivious. It was rather obvious that something was amiss and the younger Uchiha couldn't blame her for sounding anxious. He would be anxious as well, if he was in her place.
"Sasuke ran off after Hinata and found her at the Sound Village. Our team discovered them both. It was supposed to be a simple retrieval mission, but some fighting ensued. Hinata and Sasuke escaped together. We believe that Sasuke is attempting to help her avenge the Hyuga Clan by killing Neji." Shisui explains.
Thank goodness for Shisui. The man certainly had a way with words. Normally, Itachi did as well. Sadly, the Uchiha wasn't feeling nearly as articulate today as he did on most other days.
That was only to be expected though. His brother had just been "kidnapped." Well sorta.
"What?!" Fugaku demands in outrage.
"Father, he's run off to help Hinata kill Neji. We'll find him. I promise you that. Lady Tsunade is already assigning teams." Itachi explains.
The entire Clan was now whispering and shouting. Itachi had never heard so much noise in all of his life and that was certainly saying something. He had seen many a battle in his career as ninja.
"QUIET!" Aiya Uchiha thunders out loudly, using a Jutsu to magnify her voice.
The Jutsu certainly got everyone's attention. Suddenly, everything was eerily silent. No one was foolish enough to mess with this Uchiha woman when she was angry.
"That's better. I'm worried for my grandson too, but panicking isn't going to help. The Hokage is forming teams. We WILL find him, kill Orochimaru for taking advantage of him and that poor girl, and THEN Sasuke is going to be grounded until he turns thirty." Aiya grumbles.
"He's our son. We should decide how long he's grounded for!" Fugaku protests!
"Sasuke isn't a boy anymore. He's a man and he's made more than enough money from missions to buy his own home, if he wants to do so. You can't ground him. You're all being ridiculous. It's rather obvious what has happened here." Kenji interjects.
Mikoto, Fugaku, and Aiya certainly didn't appreciate Kenji's logical interjection and soon enough, there fury was turned on him. Itachi almost felt sorry for his grandfather, really. Though honestly, he really should have known better.
"That boy has run off to go chase a Clan Slayer and you don't think that he should be grounded?!" Aiya snaps at her husband.
"He obviously did it for love. You can't ground someone for trying to help their most precious person." The elderly man replies as if it was the most logical thing in the world.
"Kenji, I love you and I adore that you're such a romantic. Truly, but that really isn't the point in this case. He could get himself killed!" His wife growls at him.
Oh boy. This wasn't going to end well. Itachi was going to have to step in. He sighs and quickly stands between the bickering old married couple.
"Alright, grandmother. Alright, grandfather. The two of you shouldn't quarrel. That's not going to bring Sasuke back. We need focus more on helping him and less on bickering amongst ourselves." Itachi says softly.
"You're right, of course." Kenij says and Aiya sighs in agreement.
"Of course. That's what we'll do. I'm sorry, Kenji. I shouldn't have lost my temper at you. I know that you only want what's best for our family and you can't help the fact that you have such fanciful romantic notions. It's sweet really. Reminds me why I love you." She says as she kisses his cheek and Kenji just smiles in response.
Elsewhere Sasuke heads back to the room that he was sharing with Hinata. His arms were loaded with food and drinks. They had pushed themselves far too hard. It was important that they have a decent meal.
"Hinata, they had cinnamon rolls. I know that you're sick, but you really do need to eat and I remembered that you used to really like them." Sasuke says.
Of course, cinnamon rolls weren't all that they had. Still he figured that his best chance to entice her into eating was with one of her favorite treats. He wasn't above being sneaky, if it meant keeping her healthy.
"That's great. Thank you." Hinata says as she smiles at him sweetly.
When she smiled at him like that, he almost pretend that it hadn't happened. Neji hadn't killed her family and they were still back at the Leaf. That Orochimaru and Kabuto hadn't done God only knows what to her and that everything was normal.
It was only for a moment, but it was a nice fantasy. One day though, Neji would be dead and they would go back home. After that, maybe he'd tell her how he felt.
"You're welcome. Are you feeling any better?" Sasuke asks as he sets the food down.
Just about every breakfast food imaginable was on that tray. That and some orange juice. Supposedly that was good for sick people. Sasuke didn't really know, if that was indeed the case or not. Still it was the thought that counted.
"A little. We'll rest the day and then head off." Hinata says determinedly.
"We'll head off tomorrow, if you're feeling better." Sasuke states firmly.
He wasn't going to let her rush off while she was sick. Sasuke would put his foot down. After all, she had admitted that he was more stubborn than her. Hinata had to know that was a fight that she wasn't going to win.
"We're heading off tomorrow. We can't afford to waste more time than that." Hinata says.
"Hinata, we don't even know where Neji is at. Where do you want to rush off to so badly?" Sasuke demands as he sits down on the bed next to her.
This woman was going to be the death of him. He just knew it. Sasuke knew that he may have won the battle for today, but not the war.
It was a war between Hinata's common sense and her rage at Neji. Her completely justifiable rage, but still. He wasn't going to let it consume her. He wouldn't allow Neji to completely ruin her.
"I don't know, but we can't just keep sitting still. If the Leaf doesn't find us, the Sound will. Orochimaru won't just give up. He needs a new body and soon." She whispers.
So that's what this was about. She was worried about getting caught. It was a valid fear, but there was no way that he was going to let that damn snake go near her. The Leaf was another matter though.
"You don't have to be afraid of the Leaf. Everyone understands why you left. You aren't a Criminal Ninja, Hinata. Not to us. They're your friends and your comrades." Sasuke reminds her gently as he caresses her cheek.
Maybe, he could get through to her. It was a long shot, but there was a chance. There was a chance that he could get her to change her mind. They could go home and figure out a way to make her cousin pay.
"I know that, Sasuke. They're getting in my way though. They were going to hold me back from what I needed to do. They were going to coddle me. I don't need or want to be coddled. I don't want pity or sympathy! What I want is to make sure that he can't do this again. That he can't hurt anyone else, the way that he hurt me." The Hyuga woman whispers.
Sasuke sighs and wraps his arms around her. He could understand why Hinata felt that way, but it wasn't about pity. Well at least not for him.
"I know. We aren't going to let him get away with it. I promise. Right now though, you need to focus on getting better." He tells her.
Hinata nods and bites into a cinnamon roll. Sasuke figured that she was only doing so to pacify him, but he wasn't going to argue. So this was what it meant to be in love.
To want to kiss and strangle someone at the same time. She was so damn stubborn. If she would only think about all this logically, they could be back in the Leaf and organizing a plan to take down Neji.
She wouldn't though. Hinata just couldn't think logically about this. She was too blinded by rage and fear. That was alright though. He would just have to think logically for her.
"Okay. We'll focus on that." She mumbles as she continues eating.
At some point, he would try to coax her to come back to the Leaf with him. Right now, her feelings were too raw. It was just so damn frustrating.
The woman had just grabbed him and she didn't really have any sort of plan. Other than to make a withdrawal to get funds and the disguises. That was better than nothing, but not by much.
"The Akatsuki are after the Tailed Beasts. I think that if we want to find Neji, we'll have to find one of them. I only know two of the nine. Naruto and Gaara. Since you don't want to go back to the Leaf, it might be wise to head to the Sand Village." Sasuke suggests.
He sees Hinata pause as she was eating. Clearly, she was at least considering what he said to her. That was progress.
"You're right. The Sand might be the best place to start. Are you sure that you really want to go through with this though? Sasuke, this is my fight. Not yours." She asks him.
"If it's your fight, it's my fight." The Uchiha retorts.
He wasn't going to be coaxed away from her side. Hinata could get herself killed at this rate and Sasuke wasn't going to let that happen. Not to her.
"You're still the most stubborn man that I've ever m-met." She says.
"And you're still the most stubborn woman that I've ever met. So I guess that we're a matching set." The raven haired ninja says with a snort of amusement.
He was being stubborn to save her life. Sasuke supposed that Hinata was doing the same. They were both trying to protect each other, but hurting each other in the process.
"You're right." Hinata says as glances at him.
"Of course, I'm right. Do you know how much simpler your life would be, if you just assumed that I was right from the beginning?" Sasuke retorts.
That's when Hinata did something that shocked him. She kissed him! The Hyuga Heiress just leaned over and kissed him.
It was an innocent kiss. A brushing of her soft lips against his own. That didn't change the fact that she had done it though. Unfortunately, she quickly pulls away form him, before he could decide what do about it.
"I'm sorry. I s-shouldn't have done that! It was just that you looked so cute when you were all smug. You've been so sweet and then I saw you y-yesterday. I shouldn't have looked. I'm so sorry." She says in a rush.
"Hinata, I'm not sure what you are talking about on that last part. You don't have to apologize for kissing me though. The only thing that you have to apologize for is being stubborn enough to leave the Leaf in the first place and stopping. You shouldn't have stopped." Sasuke tells her as he leans over and captures her lips with his own.
Soft, warm, and slightly sticky. Her lips were soft and warm. The natural texture of them, he supposed. The stickyness came from the icing on her cinnamon rolls. Normally, he didn't care for sweets. Though he did like that particular kind of icing and the fact that he was kissing Hinata made it okay.
It was better than okay actually. This was…perfect. It became even more so when he feels her shyly begin to kiss back for a minute or two, anyway.
"S-sasuke, we really shouldn't do that. I shouldn't have kissed you. Neji is still out there and this will make you a target. He kills the people that I care about." Hinata whispers in a horrified voice.
"I've already got a target on my back because I'm helping you kill him. He can only kill me once and he's never going to get the chance. You'll kill him before he does. I'll help you." Sasuke tells her as he caresses the bottom of her lip with his thumb.
He had to make her actually believe that Neji wasn't going to kill both of them. If he had any chance of bringing her home, that man had to die and he would. Sasuke would make sure of it.
"We still shouldn't. It's a distraction." She protests.
"So you admit that you want me to kiss you again. It wouldn't be a distraction, if you didn't want me to." Sasuke says smugly.
"Sasuke, that really isn't the point!" Hinata exclaims.
She was adorable when she got flustered. How this woman was the same one who had trained with Orochimaru was beyond him. He wondered just how red he could get her face to turn.
"So why were you apologizing for seeing me yesterday? Of course, you were going to see me. We were in the same room." Sasuke says.
That's when the Uchiha hears a little squeak and a loud thump. He blinks when he sees that Hinata had fallen off of the bed in shock and apparently fainted. Thankfully, so had some of the blankets and pillows. So she hadn't taken any injuries to her head.
"She used the Byakugan on me while I was in the shower." He mutters.
It was the only logical explanation. That was why she was so red. That was why she had fainted. Hinata had used her bloodline to stare at him. Well he was DEFINITELY going to have a talk with the naughty Heiress when she woke up about that later.
"For now though, I might as well get her off the floor." Sasuke decides as he scoops her up into his arms and lays her on the bed.
He couldn't help but wonder what had he gotten himself into? The Uchiha had fallen for a woman whose main goal in life was to kill her cousin. A woman who was somehow adorably innocent and paradoxically willing to use her Byakugan to spy on him in the shower.
"Itachi was definitely right. I am his foolish little brother." Sasuke says with a sigh.