A/N: Sorry for not updating for almost a month but here's a new chapter soooooo, enjoy! And also, thanks to those who left their reviews and for the follow/favorite :D

Warning: Please bear with my wrong grammar, missing words and misspelled words…and also, please warn me if you notice any inconsistencies in the story. Thank you!

HEARTBEAT

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Chapter 11

He was tired of being hurt and the roller coaster of emotions he had been. Sasuke hated the fact that his sempai had forbidden him to see Hinata, he thought the Hyuuga prodigy trusted him.

'I deserved it, I guess.' the Uchiha thought. 'I've caused her too much pain.' Sasuke released a deep sigh.

After walking the long way home he lied down on the cushiony sofa and asked his mother when the Uchiha matriarch came out from the kitchen.

"Mom, where's Yuki-chan?" grumbled the young man.

"Oh! Kiba-kun took him for the weekend." Mikoto replied while mixing the batter she held. "You know how that little Uchiha's schedule is. He's kinda busy." Tha lady winked in mirth.

Sasuke let out a small laugh. "Sure he is that little guy is so much loved." He turned to look at his mother. "What are you making?" He eyed the batter curiously.

"I'm doing cheesecake for Tsume-chan, she'll be here tomorrow." His mother smiled.

"I guess I'll be seeing my beloved nephew tomorrow." Sasuke stood up and walked to his room.

'I really need someone to distract me now but Yuki-chan is not here.' Sasuke frowned at the thought and went to his room for a nap.

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Days had passed since their graduation day and Kiba hadn't heard any news from the Hyuuga. He hadn't seen them either, the Inuzuka tried to call their home but only the servants had answered and told him that their masters are out of town for vacation. So, Kiba decided to call their blonde friend, Yamanaka Ino.

"Hello?" a soft voice came from the other line.

"Ino, it's me Kiba." he answered.

"I know it, dumbass. What do you want?" The blonde sounded a little irritated.

"Can you tell me where the Hyuuga are?" Kiba asked straight to the point.

"I'm sorry but I can't tell you..." Ino's tone turned sad.

"Why?" he queried.

"I-I just can t-tell you..." she said in a low voice.

"Sasuke has been not himself this past week... since that fateful day of our graduation." Kiba sighed, he didn't know what happened and he didn't know what to do to cheer up his best friend.

"..." no answer came from the blonde.

"Ino-chan..." Kiba begged.

"It's a long story..." she replied to him.

"I want to know what happened. Why is he suddenly like this... I hate to see him with all this gloomy aura. He's had enough." The chocolate-haired teen sighed. "I'm not that attached to him like Naruto does but he's still Itachi-nii's otouto and he's also like a brother to me..." Kiba whispered.

Ino kept silent for a while and decided on what to do with the persistent Inuzuka.

"Fine. Meet me tomorrow at Ichiraku's Ramen. Three pm. Got that?" She declared.

"Alright." Kiba had a strained smile on his face.

'Now, let's see what I can do for that Uchiha.' the teen said on his mind.

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The blonde beauty woke up the next day with her boyfriend's little cousin watching her sleep.

"Had a sweet dream, Ino-nee?" Hanabi snickered.

…The young girl noticed the guest room when she was on her way to her older sister's room. Due to her curiosity, Hanabi peeked inside the room and saw her beloved cousin, Neji, snuggling up his blonde girlfriend. She dashed out to get her mobile phone and took a picture of the sleeping couple.

Then she crept behind Neji and mumbled on his hear.

"Nii-san, Onee-chan is on the phone with the Uchiha." Hanabi giggled when Neji suddenly shot up from his sleep.

"Sneaking up on your girlfriend, Onii-san?" The little Hyuuga smirked.

Neji blushed on his cousin's words because he did sneak inside Ino's room last night when she was in a deep slumber.

"Do you want me to show this to Otou-san and Yamanaka-san?" Hanabi showed the photo of him hugging a certain blonde girl while both were asleep.

"You won't do that, Hanabi." Neji growled and was about to grab the mobile phone when the little girl laughed aloud.

"Of course I won't, Nii-san." Hanabi hugged her angry cousin.

The Hyuuga prodigy kept ignoring her until a servant and asked Neji of his presence on his uncle's room.

"You better delete that." He glared to Hanabi...

"What are you doing here, Nabi-chan?" Ino smiled at the girl.

"Nothing." response the little girl.

'Looks like she didn't know that Neji-nii sneaked up on her last night.' Hanabi thought.

"You're going back to Konoha today, right?" The Hyuuga girl asked.

"Yes, I'll visit my father while your cousin does his job with Hiashi-san." The blonde answered as she got up from her bed.

"Will you take home some sweets for me?" Hanabi pleaded.

"Of course, Nabi-chan!" Ino smiled.

The little Hyuuga hugged her future cousin-in-law and squealed in delight.

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Kiba was waiting at the said meeting place he had been sitting there while idly waiting for the Yamanaka. It was fifteen minutes past three and the blonde lady hadn't shown up he was now doubting if Ino would show up or not.

The Inuzuka was ready to stand up from his seat when someone grabbed his arm and pushed him back down on his seat. Ino was gasping for air when she reached the chocolate-haired teen.

"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting, Kiba-kun." apologized the lady who had just arrived.

"What took you so long, Yamanaka?!" The Inuzuka asked irritated. He crossed his arms on his chest and glared to her.

"I-I'm really sorry... I was from Suna-gakure." She blabbered and took a seat across him.

Kiba looked at her bewildered. "What?! What are you doing there? That's at least a three-hour drive from here." he asked her.

"Neji-kun... He asked my father for me to come with them this summer until the new term starts." Ino mumbled.

"What? I don't get it." The Inuzuka looked at her confused.

"Dammit, Kiba! That's what I'm trying to say." She cussed.

"Hey, you don't have to get mad. You know very well that I don't know what's happening." He told her casually.

"Fine. Let me-" Ino was cut off when a boisterous blond teen entered the ramen shop.

"Kibaaaa! Why didn't you tell me you're coming here?" Naruto asked loudly.

"Shut up, Narutard. Can't you see I'm having a conversation Ino-chan." Kiba sneered.

"Oh, Ino-chan, didn't notice you there! Where were you? I didn't see you since our graduation day." The Namikaze heir inquired.

"That's what I'm about to tell him, idiot, but you interrupted me." Ino glared.

"Well, I didn't mean to intrude." Naruto scratched his cheeks.

"Whatever." Ino and Kiba said at the same time ignoring their other blond companion.

"As I was about to say, Neji-kun asked for my father's permission so that I could be with them on their country house in Suna-gakure this entire summer." She informed her two guy friends.

"And what has that got to do with Sasuke?" Kiba butt in.

"Let me finish first, baka!" The blonde smacked his head with her small hand bag.

"Oww." Kiba held his throbbing head. "Fine. I'll shut up now." he was now annoyed at the abusive lady before him.

"That's good," Ino smirked and continued explaining to the two men. "The Hyuuga decided to take Hina-chan in Suna-gakure to relieve her from the stress she had been through for the past weeks."

"Are you saying that Sasuke's girlfriend is not in a good condition?" Naruto asked.

"In a way, yes, and it looks like it is getting worse." The Yamanaka shifted her gaze she looked anywhere but to her friends.

"What are you implying, Ino?" This time Kiba asked in a serious tone.

"She – her system is rejecting her transplanted heart and Neji-kun is trying to keep her away from Sasuke-kun for the mean time." The blonde lady told them sadly.

"Why the hell would your genius boyfriend do that?!" Naruto fumed whilst glaring at the Yamanaka girl. "Does he hate Sasuke that much? Can't he let them be happy?" The Namikaze heir continued babbling in rage.

"That's not it, Naruto-kun," Ino tried to calm him down. "Neji-kun does not hate Sasuke-kun. He just wants what's best for our dear friends. He knows that Sasuke-kun had been through a lot and he doesn't want him to hurt once more and as for Hina-chan if things get worse." The girl explained to defend Neji.

"If he really cared he should not have let them meet from the start." The blond boy snarled. "You know that their meeting was set-up but he didn't make any move to stop it."

"It was Hiashi-san and the Uchiha's plan, Neji-kun cannot do anything and he did not expect that such thing would happen to Hina-chan." Ino tried to stop the tears forming in her eyes. "We are all praying and hoping that this had not happened to Hina-chan... You don't know how Neji-kun feels seeing how much his cousin wanted to be with Sasuke-kun." The blonde girl broke into sobs.

"Oh dammit, Ino-chan, don't cry! The people here are already staring at us." Kiba retorted when he saw that the lady in front of them was about to break into tears.

"But it's your fault! You keep blaming Neji-kun where in fact it was nobody's fault." hiccuped the girl.

"W-well, I-I'm sorry for over reacting... I didn't mean it... I just care about that Teme." Naruto mumbled in apology.

"It's alright, we all care for him." Ino wiped a few tears that escaped her eyes. "Just please... Don't tell him what I've told you... Not at this moment, when time comes Neji-kun will explain to him." She begged the two young men.

"I won't tell him." The blonde man assured her and had his signature goofy grin.

"Promise?" Ino asked.

"It's a vow." Kiba interrupted. "We'll keep our mouth shut for the mean time." He held out his pinky to the girl.

"I trust you." she smiled and shook Kiba's pinky while Naruto joined their pinky promise.

"I think I better get going, the Uchiha's and my Kaa-san might already be looking for me." The Inuzuka stood from his seat.

"Where are you headed to?" Naruto asked jumping from his place.

"Kaa-san and Yuki-chan are at the Uchiha's. It had been one hundred days..." Kiba cannot continue what he was about to say.

"Oh, sorry... So, it had been that long already." a frown marred the Yamanaka's features suddenly remembering the accident that occurred one hundred days ago. The news that had changed their whole life, the news that was the beginning of what they had been going through now.

Kiba smiled sadly at the girl. "I'm going now, Ino-chan, please watch over our Hina-chan." He bade his goodbye and walked off.

"Yeah, take care of her and keep in touch with us! Take care!" Naruto said his farewell and went after the Inuzuka.

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"Oy, where are we going? This is not the way to Mikoto-oba's home." The blond frowned.

"I didn't instruct you to follow me, dobe." Kiba snickered. "I'm going to visit their grave." He continued in a low voice.

The Namikaze heir kept silent and continued to follow Kiba. A few minutes later both of them were standing in front of the tombstones of the young Uchiha couple.

They said their prayers in silence and Kiba left the necklace he got for the young couple's wedding anniversary which he had never got the chance to give.

"I was supposed to give this to you on your wedding anniversary but I got short on money and I was only able to buy this last Christmas. It was then supposed to be a Christmas present but we didn't have the chance to meet..." Kiba closed his eyes and had his forearm over his eyes. "I miss you, Hana-nee, Itachi-nii..." the Inuzuka whispered as he silently wallowed in the overwhelming sadness he felt.

Naruto stood there stunned as he watched his brunet best friend cry his heart out in silence. The Inuzuka may not have seemed affected like Sasuke did but deep down he knew that Kiba was hurt as much as Sasuke had been. He was just keeping it to himself because people around them knew that Inuzuka Kiba is a happy-go-lucky person and he does not dwell in sadness or sulk in the corner like the Uchiha does. He was the class jester along with Naruto so he had to keep his jubilant personality all the time, but now that his guard was drawn and his wall had broken, all that Naruto could see was a young boy missing his onee-chan. The closest person he had since their father left them, Hana was all Kiba had.

Naruto stood still and waited for the Inuzuka to compose himself. He patted Kiba's back a few times for comfort.

"Come on, Kiba, get a hold of yourself Tsume-oba and Mikoto-oba will worry if they see you like that." Naruto mumbled.

"I'm sorry I got all emotional..." Kiba apologized.

"It's alright," the blonde smiled in understanding. "I know you miss them and I know how it feels to keep all the emotions inside... It's how I felt when we learned the news about their death... You know how the Uchiha siblings were to me... They were like my own brothers and losing Itachi-nii is also hard for me to accept... But my Kaa-san told me to be strong for you and for Sasuke-teme. And every time I see that you two are sad, it hurts me because it felt like I had failed my promise to Itachi-nii to protect my brothers."

The brunet was stunned by Naruto's words. 'So, he was also keeping it all inside and yet he tried to be strong for us.' Kiba thought.

The Namikaze heir wiped the tears that threatened to fall. "Come on, they must be looking for us!" Naruto had that goofy grin on his face and ran past Kiba.

"Us?! What the hell! Wait for me, Narutard!" The Inuzuka followed the blond and raced their way to the Uchiha residence.

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"Kiba! Where have you been?" Tsume asked his son when he burst in from the front door.

"Sorry I was late. I just had some important matter to do." The young man apologized to everyone present in the room.

"And you brought Naru-kun with you!" Mikoto declared in delight upon seeing the blond enter the house.

"They must have been on a date." Interfered Sasuke who was feeding his nephew.

"Good afternoon, Mikoto-oba!" Naruto greeted and bowed his head to everyone. "Why? Jealous much, Sasuke?" Naruto retorted and wiggled his brows to annoy the Uchiha.

"Hell no!" The Uchiha teen answered in disgust.

The three teens gathered around the long sofa and started to chat.

"So, any plans for college?" Kiba was the first one to ask.

"You know how it is when your family is involved in business... The usual, Otou-san wants to send me in Konoha's business school." Naruto frowned in response. He disliked to handle his father's business but being the sole heir and son he has to take over in their family business someday.

"So, you're not going to run a ramen house?" Kiba snickered. He knew how Naruto wanted to be a ramen chef.

"Of course I will! I'll open as many ramen houses as I can when I take over the family business." The blond grinned as he thought of having free ramen when he's in his own shop. "How about you, teme?" Naruto looked at the Uchiha.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Me? Father said he'll send me in Oto-gakure." He said in a low tone.

"What?!" Both Kiba and Naruto exclaimed in surprise.

"Ehh?" Yuki looked at the surprised teens sitting beside him and his uncle. "Kiba!" cried the toddler and held out his arms to the Inuzuka. Kiba smiled and took him on his lap.

"Why would Fugaku-oji send you to Oto?" Kiba inquired.

"He wants me to take over on our business company in Oto after we graduate college." The raven-haired teen answered.

"You'll be taking your college course in Oto, right?" Naruto asked while Sasuke only nodded in response.

"Aww, I thought we'll be together in Konoha College of Business! Who's gonna me help now?!" The blond cried in frustration.

"You have your girlfriend with you... You'll manage to survive." Sasuke smirked. Naruto pouted to his best friend.

The Uchiha turned to his other side and asked Kiba. "How about you, what do you plan for college?"

"I'll be taking veterinary medicine." The brunet answered. "And I'll be taking it in Oto-gakure School of Veterinary Medicine." Kiba grinned from ear to ear.

Now, it was time for Sasuke and Naruto to be stunned.

"Whoa. You passed in Oto-gakure School of Vet Med?! Hell, that's the best university for veterinary medicine!" Naruto bellowed.

"I never thought you were a smartass." Sasuke snickered.

"Gawd! If you only knew what I've been through! Okaa-san locked me up in my room every weekend to read all her books in veterinary medicine!" The brunet said in protest but kept silent when his mother sent him a murderous glare. Sasuke and Naruto both laughed at the Inuzuka's frightened expression.

"Gaaahh! So it means that I'll be left one here in Konoha while you two will be in Oto." The blond whined.

"You're not alone, Narutard. The girls are with you. Ino and Sakura will be at Konoha University." Kiba teased, Naruto slumped his shoulders in defeat and had a sullen look on his face.

The trio continued their chat and laughed all through their conversation. Seeing them this happy made the elders in the room glad.

"I've never seen them this happy since the accident happened." Tsume muttered to the Uchiha matriarch beside her.

"I think they are finally moving on... Even Naruto-kun. Kushina-chan called me one time and told me that her son had been sulking and sometimes she sees him crying after he learned about the accident. I think he took the news badly knowing how close he's been with my sons." Mikoto had a motherly smile on her face.

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Two nights before the one hundredth day since the accident, Mikoto received a call from Hiashi saying that he wanted to talk to her in person. The Uchiha matriarch took her car keys and headed towards the garage.

"Going somewhere?" Fugaku asked.

Mikoto came near him and whispered to her husband. "Hiashi wants to talk to me I think it has something to do with his daughter. You know very well that he has not been in Konoha for weeks now and that Hina-chan has not been on dates with our son. I'll tell you everything he told me when I get back." She kissed his cheek and left.

"Where is mom going?" Sasuke asked as he noticed his mother went towards the door.

"To talk about business with a friend." His father smiled.

In a few minutes, the Uchiha lady finally reached the place Hiashi had told her for them to meet.

"Hiashi-kun," Mikoto greeted the man. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's alright, Koto-chan. I should be the one apologizing for rushing you. I know you are preparing for their one hundredth day." Hiashi frowned.

"Don't worry about it I wasn't doing anything at the moment when you called. What is it that you wanted to talk about?" The blue-haired Uchiha asked.

"It's about my daughter, Hinata." The Hyuuga male had a sad look on his face.

"How is she? Sasuke and her have not been on a date recently." she inquired curiously.

"I guess you knew what had happened, right?" Hiashi glanced at the woman. "After their last meeting, my daughter had been rushed to the hospital. At first Shizune-san did not know what had been the problem but after days of observation it was discovered that Hinata-chan's body was rejecting Itachi-kun's heart." The man told her friend in a sullen voice.

"Oh my... How is she now? Is Hina-chan alright?" Mikoto questioned worriedly.

"She's still under observation but she's currently stable now." Hiashi smiled a little. "But here's the thing... I sent her in our rest house in Suna-gakure. The doctors told us that she must be refrained from any kind of stress. As you can see, I think the emotional breakdown she had when she talked to your son had triggered the stress that caused her body's rejection of the transplanted heart." He told Mikoto in a calm voice.

"I see... Are you mad at Sasu-kun for doing such thing to your daughter? For hurting Hina-chan's feelings?" The Uchiha looked at the man beside her while supressing the tears that wanted to escape her eyes.

"I'm not mad at him... I know he loves my daughter, I think Sasuke-kun was just confused and I know that it had really hurt him when he knew that his aniki's heart was given to the girl he loves." Hiashi said warmly. "Mikoto, for the meantime, please tell don't this to Sasuke-kun... I don't want him to worry that much about my daughter, he's still young and I know he'll find someone out there... Please, don't tell anything I told you about Hinata-chan... I think it will be better if they meet when she's better. We do not know what will happen but we're hoping for the best... That Hinata would be able to survive this and that her body would stop rejecting her heart... If you could keep Sasuke-kun from prying about our family's whereabouts please do so...Neji and I will talk to him when time comes." Hiashi explained to his friend.

Mikoto felt the frustration in Hiashi's voice and the pleading eyes he's been sending her. "Don't worry, I'll try to keep it from him as much as possible but please, I beg you, please let me know about Hinata's condition once in a while. I love that girl so much and you know how to reach me... Please let me know if she's getting better." She pleaded as she held Hiashi's hand tightly.

"I will..." He smiled and said his goodbye. It was a long journey to Suna.

"I hope to see you all soon..." Mikoto bade her farewell.

When she got home, Mikoto told her husband about Hinata's condition and how Hiashi wanted to keep her away from Sasuke the whole time she's under observation and rehabilitation.

"We'll send him in Oto-gakure." Fugaku said in a stern yet calm tone.

"What?" Mikoto was confused by her husband's statement.

"We'll send Sasuke in Oto-gakure. He'll have his college at Oto School of Business Administration." The Uchiha patriarch clarified. "We'll keep him occupied and distracted so he won't bother to know about the Hyuuga's whereabouts."

Mikoto was bewildered that Fugaku had thought of this plan but she agreed for the sake of the Hyuuga heiress' and her son's sake.

"Okay, we'll tell him in the morning that he'll be taking his college in Oto-gakure." The Uchiha lady said in agreement.

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End of Chapter 11.

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And here's the second to the last update! Uhh… yeah, the next chapter will be the last… sorry if you think that this story is kinda rushed… because it really is… it should've ended a long time ago… My class just ended last Friday (hell yeah! Final exam is oveeeerr! :P) but unfortunately my internship will start on Tuesday (Yes, I just had Holy Week for a vacation break) so the update for the last chapter may take a while… And right now, I'm still thinking if I'll write (upload) a new story... who knows, I might upload it almost a year after I published the last chapter of Heartbeat (LOL!).

That's it. I hope you enjoy my story Heartbeat! And I do hope you leave me some review on what you think about this whole story and what you expect on the last chapter :D

Thank you very much and AU REVOIR!