A/N: HAPPY 2013! This is my first update for the first day of the year :D
I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter and sorry for the wrong grammar, misspelled and lacking words. I don't what is with me, I have been rushing in writing the previous chapter that I no longer proof read them… HAPPY NEW YEAR again J

Disclaimer: Naruto is Masashi Kishimoto's not mine.

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HEARTBEAT

Chapter 8

Hinata felt her phone vibrate. She took it and saw a message from Sasuke.

From: Sasuke

We need to talk.

'What does Sasuke want to talk about?' The heiress asked on her mind. Hinata's brows were furrowed while she typed her message.

To: Sasuke

Okay. When?

A few seconds later after her message was sent, a new one popped up on her phone's screen.

From: Sasuke

I'll pick you up tomorrow. Just wear your casual clothes, no skirts nor dresses.

Hinata had an eyebrow slightly raised at the Uchiha's last statement. 'No skirt? He must be bringing his bicycle.' She smiled a little at the thought.

The heiress typed her message of affirmation and plopped down on her bed once it was sent. She had a huge smile on her face at the thought of seeing Sasuke on the next day after not having any communication with him for the past days. No text message, no phone conversations, no dates, no anything! And she missed being with him and hearing his voice. 'Sasuke...' was the last thought she had in mind before she fell into dreamland.

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Sasuke read the last message the beautiful heiress had sent to him.

From: Hinata.

Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then.

Good night :)

He read it a few times before he collapsed on his bed and groaned. Hurt and confusion was welling on his mind. He didn't know what he was supposed to feel, all the while he had been thinking of the pearl eyed beauty he was to meet the next day. Sasuke had been thinking of what to say to her when they meet until finally sleep had taken him.

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The sun was high up in the sky when the dark haired Uchiha had finally awakened from his slumber. In his sleep he had dreamt about the little girl who gave him a moon snail shell on his birthday when he turned four. He barely remembered how the girl looked like and so was the female doctor who helped him when he had accidentally stepped on a sea urchin.

Sasuke got up from his bed and walked to his study table. He opened the table's first drawer, there lying on top of his notebooks was the shell he received from the little girl and he could still the words she told him.

'Just hold it and it will take your pain away.' the memory of that little girl saying those words lingered on his mind. Sasuke hesitantly took the shell and held on it tightly.

"Why can't you take away the hurt and pain I'm feeling now?" he mumbled with his eyes tightly closed. A few tears escaped his eyes and he felt like there was something squeezing his heart and it was getting hard for him to breathe. Suddenly, his room's door burst open and Yuki came in.

"Sa-ke!" hollered the little boy while he ran and hugged his uncle's lower half. Yuki looked up to Sasuke when the Uchiha teen didn't pay any attention to him. His eyed widened when he saw his favorite uncle in tears.

"Sa-ke..." The chibi Itachi climbed on the chair next to Sasuke and wrapped his arms around the older Uchiha's neck.

Yuki's action had finally caught Sasuke's attention. The young man was shocked to see the little boy hugging him and when he realized that his nephew was trying to comfort him, Sasuke embraced Yuki and murmured a small 'thanks' to him.

The small Uchiha smiled as he pulled Sasuke's hand towards the door. "Sa-ke eat bweakfast!" Yuki chirped happily on their way to the kitchen.

When they reached their destination, Sasuke sat Yuki on his high while he took a seat on a chair beside his nephew. Mikoto placed the pancakes in front of them and the two youngsters indulged their food with their own cup of coffee for Sasuke, and milk for Yuki.

The Uchiha matriarch had a smile on her face when she saw that her son had been in a good mood, but that's what she thought. Soon, her wistful smile turned into a sad one when she noted his red nose and ears, only one thought came to her mind – he had been crying before Sasuke made his way for breakfast. Mikoto walked to stand beside him and grabbed her son's head to her chest.

Sasuke stopped feeding Yuki and gave the fork back to the chibi Itachi when he noticed his mother came near him. He was beyond shock by his mother's action. She slowly started to caress his hair as the teen Uchiha grasped his mother's apron.

"I don't want you to hurt on whatever decision you'll make." She mumbled to him and felt him tighten his hold on her. "You'll not only hurt yourself, you'll hurt her more on whatever drastic decision you make." Mikoto said in a soft tone.

Sasuke stiffened with his mother's words. '...you'll hurt her more...' the words repeated on his head.

The Uchiha teen abruptly let go of his mother and walked away but before he left, Mikoto had seen the hurt all through his eyes down to his soul. 'Please don't do this, Sasu-chan...' she said to herself.

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It was almost lunch time when the onyx eyed young man decided to meet the Hyuuga heiress. He got dressed and reached out to the shell that he had left on his desk when the younger Uchiha dragged him to the kitchen. Sasuke hesitantly took the shell until he finally decided to keep it in his shirt's pocket. He left their house with his bicycle and moved his way to Hinata's home.

At the huge Hyuuga manor, Sasuke was greeted by the heiress' twelve year-old sister.

"Who are you?" Hanabi asked with a glare.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the younger Hyuuga who looked like more to Neji than to Hinata because of the younger girl's chocolate hair same with Sasuke's senpai.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke." He replied coolly.

"Ah~ It is you! You're more handsome in person than in pictures." Hanabi shook his hand in awe. "By the way, I'm Hyuuga Hanabi your girlfriend's younger sibling." The younger Hyuuga had a huge grin plastered in her face.

"Err... Thanks?" Sasuke uncertainly shook the girl's hand thinking that she may be a fan girl of his.

"What's with that look?" Hanabi looked at him amused. "Afraid that I may be a fan yours? Don't worry I don't go after my aneki's boyfriend." She snickered.

"S-she's not my girlfriend." Sasuke denied Hanabi's accusation, he looked away and he felt hurt in his heart when he thought of the heiress.

"Oh here comes Nee-chan!" Hanabi beamed widely when she saw her sister come towards them. "Better take care of her, aight?" She winked to Sasuke and hugged him before she went to hug her sister and bade her goodbye.

"...Hi..." Hinata said shyly.

"Hn" The Uchiha replied guiltily. He stretched out his hand to her. "Come on." He eyed her from head to toe, satisfied that Hinata had worn denim jeans and stretched his hand to her. Hinata grasped his hand tightly and continued their way until they reached his bicycle.

"Hop on." The dark haired teen told her and the Hyuuga heiress slid on the bicycle's back seat and embraced the Uchiha tightly when Sasuke sped his way.

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Before they went to the Uchiha's favorite place, Sasuke brought Hinata to the food district to have their lunch. The pearl-eyed heiress was so happy that she'd spent the day with guy she likes – she loves even. They were not officially a couple yet but she doesn't want to rush things and ruin whatever they had from the beginning but she's happy and content that they share the mutual feelings. Sasuke liked the thought that Hinata was enjoying this little treat he had for her but he couldn't shake the feeling that what happens next will greatly affect what they currently have, a frown had marred his handsome face but he couldn't let the girl he loves to see it.

An hour had passed and they were both lying on the grassy field outside Konoha's business district. The dark haired couple was shaded by a huge tree that kept them from the sun's rays. It was peaceful and quiet but it was cut short when Sasuke suddenly spoke.

"Hinata…" he called and sat up from his previous position.

"Yes?" the Hyuuga looked up to him who was now leaning on the huge trunk of the tree.

Sasuke took her hand and caressed it smoothly. "I think we should stop this." He said in a cold tone but Hinata could sense something was wrong.

"W-why?" W-what's w-wrong?" the heiress stuttered. She couldn't believe what Sasuke had been saying and she couldn't help the tears from hers.

The Uchiha noticed the hurt in her voice and the tears forming in her eyes when she got up from the grassland.

"I can't…" he mumbled.

"Why don't y-you tell w-what's wrong? M-maybe we c-can work it o-out." Tears continued to flow down her porcelain cheeks.

"I just can't! I'm confused!" Sasuke said frustrated.

"But y-you told me – " Hinata was cut off when the Uchiha suddenly stood and turned his look away from her.

"Yes, I told you I love you but I don't know if what you said to me is what you really feel and not just as brotherly love!" Sasuke almost yelled in response.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked while trying to stop her tears.

"That the love you feel for me is not just something like brotherly feeling because it is my brother's heart that is beating inside you." The Uchiha said ruefully.

Hinata clamped her mouth with her hands. She was stunned and didn't say anything Sasuke saw her appalled expression and continued.

"Surprised? Yes, your heart donor was my brother." He said coldly but the hurt can be seen on his eyes. "The heart transplanted on you belonged to my brother." Sasuke clenched his fist.

"H-how did you k-know?" Hinata clutched her chest where her heart was beating madly, painfully.

"I heard my mother talked to your dad through the phone. She said she wanted to meet the person who received my brother's heart." The Uchiha closed his eyes as he recalled the incident.

"B-but I love you! I know it! I can feel it!" the heiress reiterated.

"Are you sure? It's not even your heart that's beating for you." He winced at the words he said to the first girl he loves.

Hinata was at a loss of words. She didn't know to say besides he had a point, her heart was gone the moment she had her heart transplantation surgery. And now, she had Uchiha Itachi's heart beating inside her body, beating for Sasuke whenever she saw him. The heiress gasped for air, she didn't know what to do, she didn't know what to feel but right now, the things she could only feel is her heart breaking into pieces.

"I don't know…" she mumbled and tried to grasp for something to hold on to. "I don't know what to feel anymore…" Hinata continued while Sasuke only stood there listening to her, listening to their hearts slowly shattering into tiny pieces.

The Uchiha stood next to her and grabbed her arm they walked to his bicycle and motioned Hinata to seat on his bike. The heiress sat on her place but made no move to hold him when Sasuke rode his bicycle. The young man then took her arms and wrapped them around his torso.

"I'm sorry…" he said in a gloomy voice and dashed their way to the Hyuuga manor.

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The way back was awkward and silent. Hinata had been crying all the way while hearing Sasuke's unsteady heartbeat and heavy breathing but her tears had stopped halfway to the Hyuuga manor. Hinata stepped off the dark-haired teen's bicycle and immediately went inside her huge home without waving Sasuke a goodbye.

Tears blurred her eyes and didn't notice her father standing before her. Hinata bumped to him with such force that she almost tumbled down but the Hyuuga director had a firm hold on her arm.

"I'm sorry…" she mumbled in apology.

Hiashi flinched when he saw the tears on his daughter's eyes. "What happened to you?" he asked softly.

Hinata looked up and saw her father. "Why?" she asked him. "Why didn't you tell me that Sasuke's brother was my heart donor?" the heiress grasped her father's clothes in slight anguish and wept.

"I'm sorry if I didn't tell you…" Hiashi ran his hand through her hair. "You must hate me now…" he whispered.

"I wish you would've told me… so I know if what I felt for him was real and not just because it was his brother's heart that is beating… because I don't know what to believe in anymore…" Hinata cried harder.

"You love him… I can see it in your eyes, in your soul… I know you do just give him time he needed to clear his mind…" Hiashi told her daughter.

Hinata was slowly feeling light headed and her heart won't stop beating madly, it made her hard to breathe. Yes, she heard her father's advice of giving the Uchiha time but she didn't know the next words he said because the next thing she knew was that darkness had enveloped her.

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After Hinata had left Sasuke felt his chest constrict in pain. He felt like the air was sucked out of his lungs. In a moment, he was rushing to the Uchiha residence and he made it to their front gate in no time. He threw his bicycle on the pavement and ran to the door. There standing in front of him was his mother, upon seeing Mikoto, Sasuke had finally let the dam of tears he had been holding since he started the conversation at the park. He didn't mean to say those cold words. He didn't want to hurt her but he did and he ruined everything they had.

The dark haired teen embraced Mikoto and cried on her shoulder.

"It hurts." He mumbled. "It hurts more than when I lost aniki. I love her, Mom." Sasuke confessed.

The Uchiha matriarch could not afford to see her son cry like this, to see him heartbroken like this.

"Oh, Sasuke…" She sobbed when the teen held her like life was slowly slipping from his hand.

"I'm sorry…" he murmured. "I don't know what to do anymore… please… please help… help me take this pain away…" he pleaded to his mother.

Kiba who was playing with Yuki on the living room was speechless when he saw his dark haired best friend breakdown in front of his mother. It was the second he had seen him cry like this but this was the first time he heard him plead. He was in no place to question him what had transpired but Kiba can feel that this one involves Hinata.

'I will just ask him when he has finally calmed down.' Kiba thought and went upstairs to Yuki's room with the toddler on his arms to give the two some privacy.

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End of Chapter 8.

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I hate this. It IS the first day of 2013 and I think I'm not doing any good with this story. Anyhow, HAPPY NEW YEAR! This is now the third to the last update of this story. So yeah, it'll end soon… with the last two chapters remaining…

I won't ask for reviews, but if you insist, that would be nice :D

I don't know what to write anymore… I think Soju had really an effect on me. My head kinda hurts but not that bad, I just had a shot and I did good for a first timer I guess because I don't really drink any liquor.

So, that's it for now… Au revoir!