Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto sensei does.

Warning: Mature sexual content. Sasuke imagines how it would feel like to rape Hinata. This can very possibly trigger you, so if you are uncomfortable, please skip the present day part of this chapter. It is at the way way bottom. You'll notice right away. This is meant to be a portrait of a character's sexual fantasy, not a justification of rape. Rape is a serious crime and should be addressed in a way that is constructive, full of justice, and respectful of the survivors. In real life, I have absolutely zero tolerance for sexual abuse of any kind, and I am the most unkind and knife-cold as i can be when I hear any sort of justification or glorification of non-consensual rape or scapegoating of victims. This is more like a one-shot than an actual plot on plot chapter.

It is my first attempt to write adult themed stuff, so please take that into consideration.

5010 years ago, at 5 am in one of the numerous training courts of the Waker's Pearl candidates

The sun still refused to emerge from the mountains, so the sky was still dark but beautiful in its pastel blue glory. The stars have already departed, but the pale shadow of the moon remained smiling down.

"Ow!"

Feeling small fangs penetrate her shoulder, Hyuuga winced in pain as she assumed her fighting stance again. The lizard caught her not paying attention to her posture because for a moment she was so mesmerized by the sky.

The reptilian culprit hissed, "You forgot to put weight into your palms! Stop putting tension on your shoulders! It obstructs the flow of chakra into your hands. How many times do I have to tell you, Hyuuga?"

Ever since the lizard began to talk to her through 'invisible waves,' it insisted on teaching her how to properly utilize chakra during her trainings. So far the lizard has been ruthless in its training, but it did help Hyuuga a lot with its ability to see chakra and freeze or accelerate chakra flow through its fangs.

With a tear forming in her squinting eyes, Hyuuga stuttered apologetically, "Go-Gomen!"

"Now I am really doubting if you mean it when you say 'sorry.'" the lizard hissed maliciously, "I think my time is better spent waiting for the sun to come up as I lie on my favorite rock,"

As the tiny lizard leaped from her shoulder and landed on the ground, it felt a strong tug on its long tail.

"Le-let me go, you pathetic human!" the lizard started splaying its crooked arms and legs in panic as Hyuuga's hands held tight on its tail.

Hyuuga was lying flat on her stomach on the stone floor, refusing to release its tail. She cried, "I-I-I'm so-so sorry, li-lizard san! I-I pro-promise I won't do it ag-again!"

Meanwhile there was a certain girl who was looking from a distance that was far away enough to not be noticed. Hiding behind a tall pine tree, the girl seemed to be around the age of ten and had the brightest red hair that reached down to her hips.

She adjusted her glasses as she stared at what seemed to be a little girl begging to an invisible ghost on the floor, "Who is that crazy Hyuuga doing?"

Unknown to both Hyuuga and the redhead, the lizard can control the frequency of chakra waves and manipulate the earshot of its telepathically transmitted voice. So only Hyuuga can hear the lizard's speech.

Then the redhead recoiled at the sound of a girl's voice behind her, "Hyuuga!" Quickly she hid in the shrubs and vacated the area lest the girls find out that she was spying on one of them.

Soon a pink haired girl, tall for her age and beautiful enough to turn heads, passed through the shrubs and ran up to her white eyed friend.

A smile spread over Hyuuga's face, "Haruno!" The lizard quickly hid itself in the Hyuuga's sleeves.

Unaware of the lizard's existence, Haruno asked "What are you doing here?"

"Oh-oh, I-I was ju-just training a little bit!"

Haruno then looked at Hyuuga's posture, right foot bent forward and her left arm folded over her chest while her other arm stretches out in front of her.

The pink haired girl tilted her head, "But didn't we go over that a month ago? You should've got that hammered into you by now."

Embarrassed of her slow progress, Hyuuga blushed, "I-I-I know, bu-but Hi-Hidan se-sensei to-told me that I sho-should focus on th-the ba-basics."

Haruno then nodded in understanding, "Oh, okay, the basics is foundation to everything we learn, so it makes sense."

"Yakbari Haruno..." Hyuuga smiled and looked at her in admiration, "you're no doubt the star student."

"Stop flattering me, Hyuuga," Haruno then clapped her hands together, "Ah, I forgot for a second! Let's go grab breakfast before the other girls get in!"

At her words, Hyuuga nodded weakly and followed her out of the training grounds. As they passed by the labyrinthine path surrounded by rose bushes, Hyuuga gave her friend a sweet, apologetic smile, "I-I'm sorry, Haruno. If-if it wasn't for me, you would've been so popular…with a lot of friends..."

Haruno's green eyes widened, "Eh? What are you talking about?"

Hyuuga poked her index fingers together, "If-if you-you didn't take my-my side that one time wi-with the girls, then…"

"Nonsense," Haruno interrupted, "it's not like I was ever close with those pricks. Their brains are empty, and they know nothing but themselves. Why would I ever want to be friends with them?"

"Bu-but, they-they spread rum-rumors about you that were false! And it wouldn't have happened if-if you didn't…"

Haruno raised her head up high and talked with cool confidence, "I don't want to receive favors from girls who believe in everything that they hear."

She continued after they picked up their breakfast bentos from the cafeteria booth that stands outside, "And popularity is not the reason I'm here, Hyuuga. I'm here to serve the Second Waker, Uchiha sama. That's the only purpose I left home and came here."

As they both sat on their designated breakfast spot in the grassy hill that overlooks a vast meadow, Hyuuga popped the question she always wanted to ask. "Ho-how do you know how the Waker samas look like, Haruno?"

As she opened her bento box and separated her wooden chopsticks, Haruno remarked, "Oh, yeah! I forgot you came later than the rest of us."

Wondering if she messed up again, Hyuuga asked with a stutter, "Do-does that ma-matter?"

Her green eyes widened in a way that already became familiar to Hyuuga, "Wow, Hyuuga. I sometimes wonder about how you even became a candidate. You know so little!"

Hyuuga made a sheepish grin and bowed her head as she picked her sushi with her wooden chopsticks. Haruno went on to explain,

"It matters a whole lot that you came way later than other girls. All of us, before you, got to see the two Waker Samas in person in the hall during our first conference."

"Wh-when wa-was th-that?"

"That was a week before you came to the Realm. You are the hundredth candidate, the last in line. So many girls were already curious about you."

At her unexpected words, Hyuuga gave her a look of surprise. As she stared at her, Haruno started to chew on the end of her wooden chopstick, a habit she does when she has to say something uncomfortable but true, "But you know...when they found out that you were an orphan...People began to be either disappointed or suspicious that you did something, like lying."

Hyuuga almost choked on her sushi roll, "Bu-but that's not true! I-I never even knew what a Waker's Pearl was!"

Haruno took a bite of her mini egg sandwich and kept talking, "Yeah, that's the weird part. But you still got to be a candidate while hundreds and thousands of girls who prepared all their lives weren't so lucky."

Suddenly feeling ashamed, Hyuuga bowed her head low again, "I...I don't understand…"

"Well, luck is an asset too, so don't feel guilty about it, Hyuuga" Haruno shrugged as she took a sip of from her milk carton, "That's why Takahashi and Fumiwara gang targeted you. Their families had to pour a lot of wealth to make them candidates, so they got butthurt that you were also chosen."

Hyuuga then nodded. "I-I see…It-it makes more sense now…"

Then a question dawned on her mind, "Ha-Haruno, wh-why are you so interested in being a Waker's Pearl?"

Haruno looked at her. And then she stared into the sunrise that breathed gold into the vast straw meadow that looked decrepit and barren in the dark.

The rising sun lit her radiant face with an ethereal glow, and her emerald eyes stared into the horizon without squinting at the light.

"When I was six, my parents told me I was part of the legend of the Waker's Pearl. My date of birth and location all fitted the prophecy of one of the hundred candidates."

'Ahh...Yeah, that's how the girls were chosen…' Hyuuga remembered how Konan sensei explained in her class, the Book of the Waker's Pearl Prophecy that has the list of a hundred girls who were destined to be candidates. But just because the girl's date and location of birth matched the details in the book didn't guarantee her access to the Realm. Most of the times, the girl or her family has to sacrifice a lot of wealth in the name of the Wakers for charity in order for them to accept her as a potential guardian.

Haruno kept talking, "But when I saw the Second Waker sama…" She paused and then blushed as she smiled down at the golden meadow, "Let's just say I wasn't the only girl to...love him the moment ninety nine of us saw him in the orientation hall."

"Wow...he-he must be re-really handsome for you to have fall for him at first sight, Haruno."

"Handsome?!" Hyuuga jumped as she suddenly raised her voice, "He's not just handsome, Hyuuga! He's the most handsomest man you can ever see in your life! You can never mistake him for anyone else, Hyuuga. The minute you see him, you'll know he's the Second Waker!"

Although she knew that Haruno was one of the most practical girls she knew, she couldn't help but feel a nagging sense of doubt at her words, "E-even if I never met him before?"

But Haruno was adamant, "Yeah! He's too handsome and attractive to not notice right away!"

Arguing with Haruno won't get her anywhere, she already knew. "O-o-okay…"

Not wanting to bother her friend who can be impatient sometimes, Hyuuga became quiet and concentrated on taking small bites of her egg white sandwich.

But she couldn't deny her curiosity. Who could be the handsome Second Waker sama all the girls were gushing and swooning over? Including the star student and school princess, Haruno? Haruno also had absolutely no immunity to the charms of the Second Waker, it seemed.

Then suddenly Haruno shrieked, "Oh gosh, we only have ten minute left!"

So they closed their bento boxes and scrambled up from the grass and ran to their respective classes.

'Why do I always bump into this Hyuuga again?'

This was the Uchiha's thought as he grumbled and crossed his arms as he hid behind one of the marble pillars. He didn't even need to hide. This entire palace and its land was his own damn house. But here he was, hiding behind the pillar, waiting for the Hyuuga girl to pass by so he can enjoy his afternoon stroll once again.

The arcaded stone corridor provided cool, dark, pleasant shade for the students who were running to the communal bathhouse after their arduous training lessons under the burning sun.

Hyuuga, as always, was running late because she was almost always the student who is way behind others in terms of physical training. The penalty for not catching up to Hidan's military boot camp style training was running fifty laps around the main courtyard.

Her reptilian friend who coiled around Hyuuga's neck grumbled, "That teacher who uses too much wax on his hair, he never goes easy on you."

The girl, who was the one sweating and panting, actually had the spirit to make a weak smile, "Bu-but Hi-HiHi-Hidan sensei wa-was gen-generous this time. He-he ack-acknowledged my improvement in chakra us-usage."

The lizard scoffed, which she can tell by it breathing blue mist from its tiny nostrils, "By making you run forty five laps. Are you sure he doesn't secretly hate you?"

"It-it's all all thanks to you, li-lizard chan! If-if we did-didn't do-do those morning practices, it-it would've taken me way longer to learn the same thing!"

The lizard scoffed again, and this time she giggled, and the sound of her shy laughter was like hearing tiny silver bells chime in the breeze.

For some reason, hearing her say thank you to the snake thing made the Uchiha nod as if he was the one being thanked.

'It doesn't matter anyway, I suppose,' he thought when he caught himself imagining the little ten year old girl bowing her head in gratitude as her pale cheeks blush like she caught a fever.

But what the strange girl said next cruelly shot down the handsome, cold man's admittedly pleasant, warm, and fuzzy imagination.

"Bu-but I sti-still do-don't know what to think about the Second Waker sama."

The lizard tried to hide its amusement as it nonchalantly asked, "Why do you say that, Hyuuga?"

"I-I hear all the girls say nothing but wonderful things about him...Even Haruno chan loves him...but…"

Now the tall man was leaning his body on the marble, thinking 'But what? Finish your sentence, woman! What is she stalling for?' He tried to keep his foot from tapping on the stone in impatience.

The lizard shifted its green eyes toward the pillar where it felt its master's presence but slyly guided the conversation.

"But you said you never saw any of the Wakers, left alone the Second. What makes you so presumptuous?"

"I-I don't mean to be!" but the girl scratched her chin with her index finger, "bu-but he-he has so-so many girls who are literally dying to see him, but...he-he never even lets any of them near him. Ju-just last month, I couldn't sleep because all the girls who sent him gifts were cry-crying cause he-he returned them back...untouched."

The lizard started to panic as it felt a flare of deadly chakra from behind a pillar they just passed by, "Uhh...Hyuuga?"

But the Hyuuga didn't stop her blasphemy there, "It-it's re-really mean, if you think about it!"

She was speaking with a lot more than passion, which is highly uncharacteristic for her reserved, shy personality.

"If-if I had so-so many people who-who care for me, I...would wa-want to be their friend."

The lizard shaked its triangular head, "You're okay with having a hundred squealing, pushy girls who don't mind their own business as friends? That won't work for you Hyuuga. You care too much about everyone and everything."

"I-I guess you have a point, lizard chan...But...it wou-wouldn't hurt to sa-say 'thank you' in person…It's...a little heartless of the Second Waker sama to only show himself once and then disappear...All the girls want is to just see him one more time...They wo-work so hard for him, a-and they want so little."

The lizard stared at her in disbelief, "You're feeling bad for those bullies who just kicked sand in your face when you fell down thirty minutes ago? Are you that stupid?"

"Bu-but they look so different when they talk about him...The-they look like my friends back at home. I can't help but feel bad for them. I-is it that much to ask of Waker sama to show his face once in a while? Af-after all, lizard chan, they did leave their homes to see him…"

She knew that she will sound stupid to her four legged sensei no matter what, but that didn't stop her from trying to explain herself. And the lizard would never admit it outloud, but that persistence was what made her somewhat admirable despite her incomprehensible traits. For example, her suffocating naivete and affinity to being a pushover and doormat to those bitches who disguise themselves as sweet, bubbly ten year olds. In fact, the lizard hates children on the verge of entering adulthood. It's a miracle the reptile had been staying with the Hyuuga 24/7 for so long.

The lizard scoffed again and turned its head away from her in contempt of her plushy soft heart.

As he heard the dissipating sounds of her footsteps, he finally got to relax his shoulders that he didn't realize were tensed while he was listening to her nonsense.

Foolish nonsense, the girl was sputtering. What did she know about him? She was just like the rest of the other girls. Presuming things about him without knowing him. He ought to be completely disappointed and brush the thought of her away like the dirt caught in the soles of his boots.

All these thoughts were running in the back of his mind as he stomped away in the opposite direction. His long dark cloak fluttering behind him, as his handsome features froze in icy resentment.

'How dare she, how dare she, how dare she...'

He was not just mad. He was irate. He pushed his cloak from his shoulder as if it was the source of his annoyance.

From a distance, Hidan was just coming back from his meditation in his temple.

Even though he always seemed pissed, he was actually in a good mood so he made his mind to at least greet his boss.

"Uchiha sama-"

But the Akatsuki's gesture of politeness was brutally shot down as the dark haired man passed by him in a huff. The cold wind that was stirred by his billowing cloak hit Hidan's face as he stared slack-jawed.

Dumbfounded by Uchiha's rudeness, the religious maniac couldn't keep his mouth from spewing unholy profanities like "Motherfucker" and "Asshole."

And he had to go back to the temple to rinse his dirty mouth and mind once again through prayer and petition.

"OHMYYGAWWWD!"

Hyuuga feared she might die if she remained head locked in the scrawny but powerful arms of her pink haired companion.

Finally Haruno released her and her lovely face broke into an adorable, sheepish grin, "Sorry Hyuuga, I didn't mean to squeeze you!"

Hyuuga smiled. She was in Haruno's room because she begged her to come and see if her hairstyle and outfit looked as perfect as possible.

Haruno was showing her assortment of dresses and flowy jumpers in her wardrobe cabinet. Hyuuga sat on Haruno's bed and gave her opinions about which dress did most justice to her slim, willowy figure .

"Now perfume!"

Haruno dashed to her vanity mirror and jumped on her mattress as soon as she got her two tiny perfume bottles.

Hyuuga stared down at the sparkling crystal bottles, one that looks like a sparkling red apple and another like a golden pear.

She gave the sparkly eyed Haruno a quizzical look, "Umm...Ha-Haruno chan...I know that the di-dinner bouquet with the Waker samas is a big deal but...are-aren't we too young for per-perfume?"

"It's a dinner banquet, Hyuuga, not bouquet!" Haruno spritzed a little of the apple perfume on her wrist and took a sniff, "And yes, it's a huge deal! We just heard of this an hour ago, and we don't have much time! We have to look our best for the Waker samas!"

Hyuuga smiled warmly and shook her head, "I-I'm good, Ha-Haruno...I-I'll just wear the dress we-we wore at our orientation."

Haruno gasped, "But Hyuuga, this is finally our time to see the Waker samas up close! You don't know when we will ever...if EVER we'll get to see them again before we become Waker's Pearls!"

Hyuuga doubted that she will ever be able to best the rest of her competitors, but she was thankful of Haruno's optimism and high opinion toward her.

And it was not just Haruno. Every girl was doing anything and everything within their means to look perfect for the candidates' dinner banquet with the Wakers.

But Hyuuga was simply not interested. Some girls took her disinterest as having an unwarrantedly huge ego, but she just didn't care.

Finally Haruno settled on her outfit-a one-piece dress that had a slim fitting dove grey top and a top waisted flowy red dress that accentuated her endless, perfect legs.

She didn't look ten- the tall, lean girl with beautiful green eyes that shot deep into guys and girls looked at least twelve, if not thirteen.

Even the mild hearted Hyuuga couldn't stifle the pang of jealousy she felt as she stared at Haruno's reflection in the tall mirror.

When Haruno turned at her abruptly, Hyuuga quickly smiled at her friend and told her how beautiful she was.

The girl smiled radiantly back, "Alright, let's go!"

Hyuuga sighed in exasperation as she stood behind the sixteen girls of her cell. Except her, the girls were all anxious for their turn to enter the banquet hall, and their cell was one of the last remaining groups in the waiting hall.

Actually, there was something that made her anxious to get in the banquet. She nodded. Food. Strawberry tarts with chocolate layers. Toasty cinnabuns. She heard that they even have steamed crabs that were caught fresh from the silver lakes of the Realm.

All the girls picked their turns to enter the banquet hall through a lottery system. Once they enter, they take their seats at first come first serve basis. It Even though she tried to brush her concern away, she was very unlucky, and she was the last in line.

Even though she never saw the Wakers, she doubted that their looks would eclipse her desire for crabs and tilapia bone soup with wontons, no matter how handsome they are.

She just hoped that the ninety eight girls who already went in left some crab legs and cinnabuns.

Zetsu sensei opened the door of the waiting hall and called the next girl in line, "Murakami."

Now she was really the last person. She realized that as she stood in the middle of the empty waiting hall that used to accommodate a hundred girls who were excited to finally see the Wakers for the second time of their lives.

Some girls even cried, and a few fainted in over excitement, causing Hidan to throw a fit in rage that made Hyuuga quail in fear. He didn't even care about tossing the unconscious girls into the dining hall without as much as a thought about their well being.

Creak-

Her ears perked up as she heard the sound of the door opening.

"Little poo," Zetsu sensei called.

Hyuuga stepped forward, but her smile dropped as Zetsu closed the door behind him, barring her exit.

To her surprise, Zetsu sensei was acting a bit strange and unusual. He was averting his eyes from Hyuuga and shuffling his feet.

"Uhh..Little poo, umm..."

"So, the guy who brought you here right? He-he suddenly said he...umm..."

At his inability to continue, Hyuuga's face showed a look of surprise and deep consternation, "Ye-yes! Di-did some-something happen to messenger sama, sensei?"

"Umm," the tall morphous man scratched the back of his light green hair, "umm, he said...he wants to see you...I don't know what his deal is. You can honestly say 'no,' cause it's probably not so important."

"Is-is he-he okay, sensei?!"

Her instincts told her that if it was "not so important," the clear cut, seemingly emotionless messenger sama wouldn't suddenly ask her to see him in the middle of the night. Maybe he was sick or in a big trouble? Her ten year old maternal instincts kicked in right away at the thought of kind messenger sama getting sick, lying on bed with a towel over his forehead, and the delectable images of cinnabuns, crab legs, and hot soup were banished from her thoughts.

She raised her voice as she gave Zetsu a pleading look,"Ah-ah, se-sensei, pl-please tell me wh-where I can see messenger sama!"

Zetsu internally groaned. Now why was that cold faced Uchiha making him lie to little poo through his teeth? She looked worry sick for the undeserving cold face! Testing an innocent ten year old girl's loyalty to the Wakers by lying was not part of his job contract.

"Uhh...sorry, I can't. Even if I joke around, I am still an Akatsuki, so I can't let a candidate drop out of the Wakers' dinner banquet. That's against the rule. All candidates must be there when the Wakers summon them."

"Pl-please, sensei...just this once...pl-please."

But a black head of Zetsu sprung from the marble floor and shook ruefully, "Sorry. Rules are rules, little poo."

She was already used to her sensei's strange, mellifluous body, so she wasn't so shocked by the sight.

She clasped her hands together and pressed her lips on her hands joined in prayer, "Ze-Zetsu se-sensei, I-I promise I will co-come back right away after I see that me-messenger sama is okay. I-I won't stall too long. Please..."

"Ummm," Zetsu crossed his arms, and his black head hopped on his shoulder, making him look like a black-white siamese twin.

She looked up at him with wet, puppy eyes, and Zetsu groaned aloud, "No...that face...that eyes...Oh-fuck, fine."

Her face brightened as Zetsu finally told her, "He said he'll be waiting at the East compound with the courtyard where the giant pond is. You know there right?"

She nodded fervently and bowed in gratitude. As she ran toward the exit door that was opposite to the entrance door to the banquet hall, Zetsu called her, "Hate to be the fairy godmother, Cinder-poo, but come back before midnight, okay? Or else, we'll both get in big trouble!"

"Ye-yes, sensei! Th-thank you!"

And the girl didn't waste her time running out of the monumental waiting hall, the seemingly endless labyrinthine corridors, and gardens that smelled of sweet jasmines. She jumped down the stairs and pushed the heavy door with all her might and plunged into the cold night air that would've made her want to shrink back in the main palace's warmth. Her breath took form as a white smoke in the chilly atmosphere, but her eyes were bright like opal stones and cheeks were flushed with scarlet.

She continued running in the direction to the East courtyard, which is a decent half of hour away if she runs with all her strength.

She didn't have anything since her lunch with Haruno, but strangely she felt a spring of energy propelling her to move faster and faster.

"Pl-please be okay, messenger sama," she begged out loud as she became closer and closer to her destination.

It was a scene worthy of a masterpiece work of art, having Uchiha stand underneath a six hundred year old willow tree and gaze at the full moon's reflection on the wide pond that was created for the East courtyard.

Even when the little girl was trying to catch her breath due to her exhausting race, he refused to take notice of her presence and continued staring at the lake. He finally looked at her when she stood upright, but the way he stared at her made it seem that he was the one asking why she was there.

"Me-messenger sama, did you a-ask for me?"

After a pause, Uchiha made a statement that sounded like an observatory remark, "You came."

"Ye-yes! Ze-zetsu sensei told me that some-something happened to you! Are you-"

He interrupted her, "You could get in trouble...for not going to the banquet."

His dark eyes pierced into her heart like the first time they met. He asked, "Why did you come?"

Why did she come? She was worried! But the tall messenger sama looked perfectly fine. Now the poor girl was confused. "Me-messenger sama, I-I..."

He sighed and continued, "I told Zetsu that I wanted to see you. I didn't say I was sick or anything."

He softened his eyes as he explained to her the reason of his surprise, "It was a chance to contact your potential master. But you passed on that opportunity," He then interrogated her pointedly, "Why?"

It was true. There was no guarantee that the Wakers will open another special event for the candidates to see them in person in the next six years. But she deliberately made the choice to throw away that chance to see the coveted sight of the Wakers and instead ran to him without even having dinner.

And the crazy thing was she knew all this but still chose to go to the messenger sama.

He then asked this blush worthy question with a straight face, "Is seeing me more important than seeing the Wakers?"

"Me-messenger sama, I-I was worried...Because I didn't know what you-you were going through, that made me worried."

She lowered her head and poked her fingers together.

"The Waker samas...I never met them and possibly never will, bu-but...I know you, messenger sama, and I-I didn't want you to be sick, or cold, or hungry," she paused and then said as a final thought, "or scared..."

She tentatively raised her eyes to him, but his expression remained as unreadable as ever.

She felt the heat from her chest rise to her throat, "Me-messenger sama, I-I don't know the Waker samas li-like I know-know you!"

What she said was worthy of treason. The Waker's Pearl candidate, no matter how young she is, should never state or imply that someone else is more important in her life than the Wakers.

Saying that her priority is on something or someone else than the Waker can get her in serious trouble. Even exile.

But that didn't matter to this little girl. She wasn't afraid of two people who don't even care about the people who love and idolize them. But she was indeed afraid of losing the one person who saved her from the darkness. "So-so, are you o-okay, messenger sama?"

There was a strange pause. The girl looked eagerly at the tall man and her pearlescent eyes roamed around his face, looking for signs of illness.

When she was just about to activate her byakugan, she heard a sound.

"Kuk..."

Her eyes snapped open, and she stared wide eyed at the tall man. "Messenger sama?"

The man was being weird again, rubbing his septum with his knuckles while his broad shoulders vibrated as if he was trying to hold something in-like a sneeze. Then he covered both of his eyes with his long fingered, broad hand.

When he withdrew his hand from his face and straightened up, his face was as calm and placid as ever.

However, Hyuuga thought that she saw a faint ghost of a smile curved on his lips just a while ago.

"So, you just blew off on the lords of the Realm for a mere bodyguard," he looked at Hyuuga, and there was a glint of mirth in his dark eyes that made the ten year old suddenly feel really shy and self conscious.

The tall man then pointed at the starting point of the labyrinthine rose path, "That's the shortcut."

Hyuuga tilted her head and gave him a quizzical look, "Bu-but...that's a dead-end?"

The man assumed a slight scowl but it was not intimidating enough to offend her, "You came all the way. Do you think I'll make you waste your time?"

"No-no, but..."

He sighed a little and softened his eyes a lot more, but his tone was firm. "You can take my word on this one."

He turned his back on her and fixed his stony attention on a solitary gold fish that visited the shallow shores and then disappeared into the watery depths.

Hyuuga took a step back and tried to go back the way she did, but it seemed that the messenger was not going to leave without making sure she followed that strange direction.

Sighing, Hyuuga relented and just decided to take an extra five minutes on her way back.

She kept turning her head to look at the lone figure of the messenger who stood as a statue by the big willow tree and kept looking at her.

But when she placed her right foot on the first stone tile of the rose garden path, he was gone and only thin willow leaves wafted where he was standing.

Even before she can realize that he disappeared, she felt a familiar clasp on her shoulder, "Hyuuga!"

She shuddered in surprise, and Haruno looked at her weirdly, "Where were you?"

"Ha-Haruno, wh-why are you here?"

Haruno frowned in puzzlement, "Why I'm here? This is the outdoor terrace of the banquet hall!"

"Hu-huh? Bu-but...we're in the Ea-east gard-"

But Haruno grabbed her hand and tugged her in, "Stop being so silly, Hyuuga!"

Indeed, when the pink haired girl pulled her in a few more steps, she saw that they were surrounded by other candidates, and they were all enjoying their time out in the outdoor terrace lit by pixie lights of various colors.

The soft music of the harps filled the air, and the only words she can hear were really, "Second Waker sama is so handsome," "First Waker sama knows how to have fun." or something like that.

Now Hyuuga had to pretend that she was here all the while to not get in trouble.

After giving her a glass of a fruity drink, Haruno put both of her hands on her hips and gave her a triumphant smile, "So, I'm right, ain't I?"

"Oh? Oh, yes, yes!"

Haruno put her hands up high and tossed her head in glee, "I knew it! I knew you would understand why I like the Second Waker sama so much!"

Hyuuga tried to hide the fact that she actually didn't go to the banquet by laughing into her glass, "Haha..."

Two tall men were walking down the arcaded corridor that was exposed to the cool night air. Their long shadows stretched in a diagonal slant over the granite tiles.

One of the man called to another,

"Hey, teme!"

When the man who was walking ahead turned around, the man who stopped him in his tracks suddenly threw a punch at his face- Poof-

The man felt his fist, wrapped in gauze, hit the empty air. He then grabbed his blond hair in exasperation, "Gahhh! I knew it!"

He glared at where the shadow clone used to be with sharp blue eyes, "I was sitting with a less bratty but fake teme all night!"

He raked his hand through his blond hair, "Now, where is that bastard?"

Present, in Konoha

Splash...drip drip

The sound of water gently splashing around in the bathroom reached his ears as he pressed the back of his head on his bedroom wall. He groaned.

It was late at night, the time Hinata would expect him to go to sleep. Some times, late at night when she feels like it, she would creep into the second story bathroom like a little mouse and turn on the bathtub faucet and let the hot running water lull her into defenseless rest in the giant porcelain tub.

He hoped that the two years he lived away from her caring and aggravatingly platonic touches and her apologetic sweet smiles in the kitchen and the sunflower fields would abate this unreasonable passion that survived the time of separation.

Listening to the sound of water lapping on her skin, he mused, 'How would she react if she saw the thoughts running in my head?'

For a moment, he appreciated the fact that she does not have the ability to read minds. But then he couldn't deny the satisfaction he feels when he imagines seeing her eyes wide and startled in a revelation that is so horrific in her small, naive mind. Maybe he subconsciously wants her to know the thoughts he has towards her.

What would she feel? Revulsion? Maybe a maternal type of pity that she shows towards animals that hurt their limbs?

But Sasuke was not an animal with a hurt limb. He was a seventeen year old boy with physiologically normal urges that were unfortunately directed toward a girl who didn't love him.

'Well, then do YOU love her?' a darker side of him whispered into his ear.

"Shut up," he answered stoically and went back to the secret cave of his thoughts where he imagines a setting where she also had such feelings and those feelings belonged to him.

One thing he can definitely be sure though is that she'll never reciprocate his advances and he'll lose whatever relationship they had if he does. He can practically picture her awkward attempt to shroud her discomfort as she stutters and turns away, "Sa-Sasuke, I-I think we-we need some spa-space. Go-gomen..." Curiously, her effort to soften the edge of her rejection always managed to cut deeper in the men who desired her, even though he knew that was never her intention.

At times, he even wondered if she is aware of the unhealthy desires he harbored towards her in their daily interaction. When the touch of his rough, trained hands linger too much on her wrists or back or when his breath is an inch too close to her hair, she would lower her eyes in a tragic manner, as if she is mourning the time of innocence they used to share.

"Times were so simple then," she would say as she conjures the times she was his doting elder sister and caregiver and he was just a young boy, strong-willed and emotionally vulnerable and according to her terms, "treasurable." The memories of the boy she loved would bring a smile to her mouth that he just wants to muffle with his lips or his rough, brute hand while he pushes her on the floor and pulls her pants below her waistline. While he is imagining these, she would raise her angelic eyes up to him eagerly, "Don't you miss those times too, Sasuke?"

At such moments when she would obliviously reject him, he would always feel the reflexive urge to backfire at her unintentional cruelty by finishing off where they stopped when they were arguing about the daimyos in Suna. Every night, he kept himself busy with his fantasy of what it would be like to bring kind, sweet Hinata into a state of shell shock by shoving her into one of the empty, unused rooms in the mansion and pouring every bit of him inside her until he was sated. Until it was she who was tainted, not him. Maybe then, she will finally realize that he was no longer the boy she can coddle into submission. Then she would regret the moment she brought in a wolf cub, thinking that it would be a docile pet she can cradle and kiss on the nose and cuddle with under the blankets.

He would sometimes imagine seeing her smiling, sleepy face next to him in the morning, but these days, he enjoys seeing shots of her flesh as she tiptoes to reach something on the cupboard or bends over to pull a stubborn weed by its root in the garden. He imagines sneaking up to her and slipping a hand underneath her blouse and cupping a generous handful of flesh, hearing her gasp and whimper in fear as he laughs in dark elation and triumph. When she implores him to stop or at least show some mercy toward her untried body, he will darkly whisper into her ear that it was all too late.

And he'll continue where he stopped.

And what was the most messed up is that he would gladly relish in her helpless cries and useless struggles as long as he can keep her. One of his biggest turn on is imagining her writhe underneath him in a futile, desperate attempt to run away from his dirty words and exploring hands.

That alone makes him possibly the worst scum of the world. Saying that he wants to violate the one woman who took care of him the best she could.

Since he left her to protect her, everybody, including Tsunade, no longer treat him as a wayward, naive boy, but why can't she see that?

He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration. She was probably the most difficult person he met.

But that was not the only thing that kept him up late at night.

He remembered the look on the Hyuuga head's face (Neji was his name, he believed) when Hinata quickly left to avoid suspicion arising related to the 'perfume incident.' The disappointment that was edged into his sculpted features turned into harsh animosity when Kiba cornered Sasuke about the reason he smelled a lot like her. But since Hinata was more like Neji's benefactor who aided his ascension to clan head, he has no right to interrogate any of them of the reason they share the same body odor. Hinata deserved every bit of Neji's respect and technically she deserved Sasuke's too; it's just that Sasuke would rather provoke her with his insolence than treat her as an elder the way Neji does.

Reflecting on the Hyuuga event that caused his momentary exile, Sasuke knew that Hinata and Neji shared some Hyuuga blood and technically Hinata was his ancestor. But thanks to a five thousand year gap, even the long haired prick had a better chance at approaching her with explicit intentions than he ever will. Him, who does not share a single blood with her. Just because she arbitrarily signed some adoption papers that Tsunade had in her office.

Drip, drip

Then his breath hitched to his throat when he heard her soft padded footsteps on the bathroom tile and water falling from her long, black hair.

Sasuke seems to think that she was still treating him like a baby, but she is fully aware that he is now a grown man. She became a Waker's Pearl when she is sixteen, and he is seventeen. His eighteenth birthday was coming soon. Now it was time for him to go out into the world, see new people, and...it saddened her a little, but sooner or later he'll find a girlfriend she knew would love him enough for him to never miss her care.

'Sometimes...I wish he was a little shorter than he is...his features just a little less defined and less sculpted...'

It was selfish of her to wish upon that, but she couldn't help it sometimes. He became too handsome for the girls to not notice. And she couldn't stop it even if she wanted to.

Hinata is not entirely clueless. She is twenty, and she can sense it when a man is interested in her. She is careful to not assume that a man was attracted to her, and she cross-examines evidence and questions herself again and again before arriving at such conclusion. But Sasuke has been looking at her with the eyes of a man. Far too often. And she is doing nothing to thwart that kind of feelings.

The biggest hardship for her is knowing that she should never confuse Sasuke with the sovereign of the Realm.

They are different people, she told herself. Sasuke may be the reincarnation of her sovereign, but they are not the same. The composition of their soul, personality, and external appearances might be identical, but their experiences that molded them into who they were are disparate. She can't love Sasuke, while still missing her sovereign.

Why are the matters of the heart so complicated? Or was she overthinking things?

The girl staring back at her from the surface of the water refused to answer.

She firmly believed that experiences are what makes people who they are. And it would be unfair to expect Sasuke, a seventeen year old boy who has adventures and a life to lead, to be the substitute for her sovereign. She could never force him to love her the way her sovereign did because of a past he doesn't even remember. She would never impose that on him, because in her own way, she loved the boy too much and hoping that he would become someone else is so unfair.

And it felt like a betrayal of the heart for her to love Sasuke or even consider thinking of Sasuke in a romantic light. Even though he was the reborn, regenerated entity of Uchiha sama, her heart refused to open up to the boy who was a shadow of her first master and first love.

'And...what Sasuke is feeling towards me is a phase...lust that he can feel toward any girl...'

The best she can do is to not confuse the boy and support him as a faithful servant.

These were the thoughts that haunted her when she bathed late at night.

Creak

Hinata froze right after she closed the bathroom door behind her.

"Sasuke..."

She thought he was asleep. But he was standing in the corridor with a cold, indifferent expression that settled like a mask on his handsome face. It pained her to see that look on his face. Did the years of living away from home and accomplishing those arduous missions do something to his spirit? He was already so cold when he was young, but now he looked like his heart was made of ice.

But since he has been frequently shrinking back in disgust from her loving touches, she can only look at him from a safe distance and hope that he is doing okay.

Did she possibly wake him up? She wanted to ask him, but she was uncomfortable to be standing in front of him with only a towel wrapped around her. If she was fully clothed and if it wasn't so late at night, she would approach him and tenderly touch the area around his eyes that were starting to show signs of tiredness.

After a pause, he asked, "Are you done?"

She blushed and was about to apologize for taking her time too long, but he interrupted her, "I'm going to take a soak. Did you drain the water?"

The blush suffused wider and reached her collarbone and shoulders, and his eyes narrowed.

She actually left the water in the tub so she can use it to do some delicate laundry and use the rest to water her garden.

She made a move to go back to the bathroom to drain the water, but he abruptly slammed his hand on the door and blocked her way.

His eyes stared right into her startled eyes. Her eyelashes were still wet from the humid bath, he noticed, and her glistening pale pink lips were slightly apart. Her soaked black hair tumbled onto her shoulders and water kept dripping down into the valley between her ample breasts that were concealed by the white towel. The height difference gave him a vantage viewpoint of her chest even though she wrapped them around as best as she could, making it harder for him to suppress the urge to seize her wrist and drag her to his bedroom where he would lock her on his mattress and forget everything that has been holding him back.

Instead, he cast a cold sideway glance down at her, "This is also my house, and I'm not letting you waste water."

Also, because he was her master, her property automatically was under his power, and he already knew that it was unnecessary to remind her of that.

He then turned his eyes away from her and ordered, "Go to sleep."

Stung by the coldness of his tone and haste to get rid of her, she bowed her head down, hiding her tears, and said, "Yes..."

And like a dutiful Waker's Pearl, she did as he ordered and left him to his own devices.

After seeing her go in her room, he sighed and opened the bathroom door with a click.

That night, he slept in the tub full of jasmine scented water.

And that night, he dreamt of taking Hinata against her will.

He seized her hand that was clasping on the edge of her towel, and before she can do anything he shoved her to the cold wall and stripped her of her weak barrier.

"Sa...Sasuke?"

When his ice cold hands made their presence known on her warm flesh, she pushed against him with all her might but that only made him smirk in victory as he licked her cheek. The brief, tentative licks became long, teasing strokes, and he smeared his tongue over her jawline, marking her as his.

"Sa...Sasuke!"

She was too sweet, too sweet for him to stop. So she resorted to begging him with her eyes to stop, but he shut down her silent pleas by groping her left breast while lifting her entire body from the floor by gripping her right thigh. Pinned and naked, she shook her head and continued begging,

"No...no"

He broke into a sigh as her begging him to stop had the opposite effect and kissed her.

"Umph!"

She tried to shake her head off but his long tongue already held hers in hostage. He meant for his kiss to soothe the poor girl, but she refused to be soothed. She was stubborn, so he expected her resistance anyways. His tongue lingered in her mouth and he stroked the side of her entire body with his hand in an effort to comfort the whimpering girl.

He finally broke away from the kiss, and the thin sliver of saliva between their lips glistened in reminder of their forceful reunion.

She moaned, "Aah..."

Startled by his scorching gaze, she turned her face away but her feeble attempt to escape only served to annoy and excite him. So he gingerly rubbed himself against her, his throbbing, hot member attacking her innocence but barely restrained by his pjs. His pjs were dark and cheap so the lint of his fabric rubbed off against her inner thighs and between her legs because of the wet friction. He groaned and threw his head back, drowning in the sounds of her plaintive mewls and protests. This moment was what he always dreamed of for as long as he can remember. Tonight he will forever change the dynamics of their relationship, and she will never forget the moment he bludgeon her frail, tender body with the full force of his desires.

Seeing that she can't bring him to his senses, she looked at outside for her savior.

"He-help! Somebody!"

He grunted as he slid down his pj's and briefs, freeing his member from the cotton confines.

"Ki..Kiba! Shino! Neji kun! Somebody, please!"

It would have been better if she didn't call for her knights in shining armor, but it was too late. Nobody was going to save her tonight.

But she didn't give up. She cried, "Somebody, anybody, please!"

"You can cry out as much as you want," he chuckled, "this is a mansion with every wall soundproofed. Nobody can hear your screams."

"Ahhh!"

He has always been the physically stronger one, but now he is using his power to corner an unwilling mate—a fruitation of a violent union between a male and female.

"Ah! Sas...Sasuke! No!"

She cried out in surprise as he pounded into her, and the squelching sounds of her pussy filled to the limit and the sounds of his pelvic bone and cock slapping her wet flesh filled the air, and her nails clawed on his arms.

"Oh! Stop! Noo-!"

Her loud cries excited him like nothing else, incomparable to the heat of battle or rush of ecstasy after a majestic feat. But her cries also worried him because he didn't want her knights in shining armor try to rescue their princess after hearing screams of a woman from the Uchiha house.

He was done being her protector, her chivalrous knight, so he decided to be the overpowered villain that kidnaps and thoroughly defiles her pure, pitiful body.

Seeing her face, eyes dazed and cheeks red, made him wonder if she was as affected as him during this intimate moment.

In an ideal world, he would be sharing this moment with her, not inflicting it upon her, but it came to a point where he can't imagine having her without committing a crime of rape.

When he finally filled the channel of her body to the brim with his oozing discharge, he hissed in frustration as he was far from sating his appetite and he already ejaculated when he believed he just started.

He slid in and out a couple more times, and her back hit against the wall with loud noises of thudding and it brought him huge satisfaction to see her breasts jiggle and her mouth to voice "ah ah ah ah."

And when she shed tears from those eyes, he couldnt hold back so he sucked on her soaked cheeks. Her hopeless tears were delicious.

When he pulled himself out of her, she was panting and blocking his view of her pretty face with the back of her hand pressed on her nose.

Her refusal to see him right after he climaxed made him call her name reverently, tenderly, "Hina..."

He stretched out his hand and intertwined his long fingers with hers, the fingers that were curled around her face in shame.

He gently peeled her hand away from her face and lifted her chin up delicately so that her tearful eyes can see the worry and concern etched on his face.

When he saw her eyes, he sighed. Even in his dream, he cannot imagine being with her other than having her as either a humble servant and advisor or a petite receptor for his animalistic desires. His mind simply cannot imagine her wanting to be his lover, his woman.

His large hands cupped her round face as he asked her, "What should I do, Hinata?"

The last question echoed in the vacuum. "What should I do?"

She broke the silence, "Pl-Please...let me go..." she begged.

At first he stared at her wide eyed and then his dark hair covered the sight of his eyes, casting a shadow over his eyes.

And then with double the strength, he hoisted her body up by sliding his hands beneath her underarms. When her breasts bumped into the tip of his nose, he groaned and opened his mouth wide and engulfed her left nipple and surrounding flesh.

Goosebumps rose on her skin and she gasped, throwing her head back.

He lavished all attention on her breasts, murmuring audibly, "ah...umm, what makes you think I will let you walk out on me after our first sex?"

Seeing his dark hair mussed and sticking out between her breasts, she shook her head and tried to push him off her.

"Fight me..." he murmured.

He hummed appreciatively as he suckled on her, his sharp nose resting on her plush voluptuous breast.

She softly whimpered and shook her head but that only resulted in added punishment of being subjected to six more times of being pummeled by his dick from various positions.

The second time, he forced her into the bathroom and fucked her senseless from the behind in front of the mirror. It excited him to see the reflection of his dick coming in and out of her plump ass that he massaged with both of his hands.

The third time, he sawed his member in and out of her pussy while he fucked her on the bathroom tile floor. Even then she begged for someone to save her from her master's evil lust. He cruelly muffled her cries for help with his hand and lifted her right leg to hit a different spot.

Then he carried her limp, close to unconscious body to his bed where everynight he will dream of smearing her beautiful body with his cum. While he groped both of her chests and penetrated her relentlessly, he whispered his sordid details of his dreams that haunted him since he was fifteen. "Yeah, you...Fuck...so tight... did you ever think I will give you your freedom?" When she refused to answer, he pummeled into her with twice the speed and aggression and she kept shaking her head, "no, enough...no." That was the fourth.

The fifth was when he saw the sky turning bright white through the windows. He was shoving himself in and out of her on her own bed and when he came... it was glorious.

After the sixth, she finally collapsed in exhaustion and he woke up.