A/N: Today is the 22nd of January. Hi guys… My apologies for the VERY long wait. I assure you that I have a very good reason for it. Almost three weeks ago I gave birth to a very beautiful little girl. Due to some medical concerns, we had to remain in the hospital for almost a week but right now she's one healthy, fussy, hungry baby *smile*. When people tell you there will be sleepless nights with a newborn, they weren't kidding… Anyway, all the while, since I've last posted a chapter, more people have been favoriting this story and I've been feeling guilty of not writing. I do plan on finishing this fic but time has not been on my side lately. I hope my procrastination will be forgiven and that you all will enjoy this chapter.
Note: I know some of you do not accept the fact that Hinata forgave Sasuke so easily and feel that that's the reason why this fic lost its touch. But unfortunately I lack the time to change all that. I cannot please everyone and with a newborn at hand, I have better things to do than to rewrite a chapter that has been posted a long time ago. My main focus is finishing this fic. Thanks for showing interest in my story, though.
A beautiful day has begun for Hinata when she awoke at seven am. She stretched and yawned and turned to her side to take a look at her sleeping husband. He was silently snoring, which made her smile. The last few days have been a true blessing for her. Everything was the way it was supposed to be. Her prayers have been answered and she was immensely grateful. She placed a light kiss on Sasuke's lips, which made him stir a little, and then stood up and went to the kitchen. She was in the mood for a good cup of coffee.
She was in no hurry today; for the first time in a long time she was able to lazy around, taking her time for everything. She took her time making her coffee, reading the paper, water her flowers, fixing her husband's breakfast… She felt at peace, the love had returned. She could only hope that things will remain this way.
Right when Hinata finished fixing Sasuke's breakfast, the said man just came in the kitchen. He walked straight towards Hinata to give her a proper morning kiss. Hinata looked at him, surprised. Not because of the kiss, but because of the way he's dressed.
"Going somewhere?" she asked. He had his pilot's uniform on and he smelled like a morning in the mountains. It kinda turned her on a bit but it didn't take away her confusion. Sasuke still had at least three weeks time off. Was he already bored of being with or around her? After all that has happened and even though she genuinely did forgive Sasuke, it was hard not to doubt him when things didn't add up.
Sasuke merely smiled at her when she asked her question. He knew that she doubted him, that she was still afraid of things going wrong between them. Instead of answering her immediately, he encircled her with his arms, making her face him without the option of leaving. Hinata looked into his warm eyes and his soft expression, not knowing what to expect.
"Don't worry," he said. "I won't be doing anything foolish. A call from the CEO at Konoha Commercial Airline woke me up. Miss Tsunade wanted to phone me personally considering the accident and knowing I was on my time off. She insisted I attend a meeting about airplane and staff safety. After I've been through, having firsthand experience, they wanted to gain more knowledge on how things within the company can change for the better."
"Hmmm…," Hinata thought. If Sasuke's excuse was a lie, he pretty much made up a very good one. It wasn't uncommon for his CEO to ring him up. After all, Sasuke is a top pilot in the company and because he's very straight forward and good with words, the company often asked for his opinion as a pilot when new procedures were to be introduced.
"Will you leave immediately?" she asked. She was a little disappointed; she was hoping to spend the whole day with him. Sasuke smiled again and leaned his forehead on hers.
"The meeting starts in about an hour. I have some time."
Hinata smiled back and gave him a quick kiss.
"Well then," she said. "You better have breakfast before you leave."
Sasuke chuckled softly, let her go and sat at the table where his food was awaiting him. Over the years he learned that Hinata has always been dead serious about his eating schedule; missing a meal at home has always been a deadly sin.
Sasuke and Hinata spend their time talking, laughing, flirting around. It wasn't long till he had to say his goodbyes. He promised the meeting wouldn't last over three hours and that he'd be home in the afternoon. Hinata walked him out the door, where Sasuke held her close one more time before he left.
"You wait here, beautiful," he said. "I'll be back soon."
He kissed her goodbye and went for his car. Hinata waved at him till his car was out of sight and went inside. She dropped down on the sofa of the living room and zapped on the tv. She scrolled aimlessly while thinking of ways to fill up her time while Sasuke was away. All the things she had to do with the fund have been covered and the flowers in the house have recently been replaced so there's no need to go to the flower shop.
"Well, I could clean up my wardrobe," she said to herself. "And rid myself of clothes I don't wear anymore."
She nodded to herself, turned off the tv and went upstairs.
Outside the Uchiha house, a dark figure was hiding behind a tree across the street. When he saw Sasuke leaving, an evil grin painted his lips.
"This time, things will go my way," a sinister voice said. There was nothing innocent about this man. A passerby would probably flee if he took a minute to observe him. It won't take long to realize that this man meant trouble. He reeked of alcohol and dried up sweat. His voice was deep, hoarse and evil but the most scary about him is probably the red animal like eyes. If someone had watched him speak, he'd also notice the slightly sharpened teeth. A man like that could scare anyone…
The figure waited around 15 minutes after Sasuke left and then he casually strolled towards the house. When he reached the front door, he looked around to see if there was anyone watching. When it seemed like the coast was clear, he knocked on the door. At first there was no answer but the figure didn't mind; no need to rush. He knocked on the door again albeit a little harder this time. All the while, a smile curled on his lips as his face started to hang and eventually he was facing the doormat. If you listened closely, you would've heard the soft and sinister laugh coming from his throat.
Hinata had thrown all the clothes she thought she doesn't wear anymore out of her wardrobe and onto the bedroom floor. When she was done, she was surprised at the sheer amount of clothes that had piled up. It had been around five years since she'd done this last but it was still very surprising.
"Okay," she said to herself. "Let's get this done with."
She sat on the floor, in the middle of all her clothes, and started to sort her garments. After sorting, she'd put them in the laundry, fold them and put them in bags. If by then Sasuke hadn't come home yet, she'd go to the local shelter and drop them off there. She always gave away things she thought she didn't need. After all, Hinata believed throwing away perfectly good stuff is a waste.
While Hinata was sorting her clothes, she heard a knock on the door. She looked up in surprise. She didn't expect anyone today and she couldn't think of anyone who'd come by for a visit. When the knock repeated itself, this time much harder, she got up and hesitantly went for the door. Somehow she didn't have a good feeling about this. Maybe she shouldn't answer; she could always pretend she wasn't home. But then she shook off the crazy ideas. What kind of bad could happen, right?
When she opened the door, she took a step back. She looked at a man who had an incredibly foul stench. Her first thought was a homeless man who wanted some food but then she saw the blond messy locks on his head and she knew he looked familiar. She couldn't see his face because for some reason he was staring at the floor. He had his hands on either side of the doorpost as if trying to block a way out.
"Naruto?" she asked hesitantly. The feeling that something might be off came back again in a rush, just like the way her adrenaline level was rushing through her system right now. Something was really wrong here.
"Are you okay?"
She reached out a hand to him but just then his hands clenched the doorpost tighter. So much so that the wood where his fingers were resting, actually started cracking. In horror, Hinata looked as his fingers imprinted the post and was terrified seeing that his nails looked more claw-like.
Naruto's body began heaving up and down as if he was having trouble breathing.
"Hinata…," she heard him say. It was a strangled voice. It was almost as if someone was choking him.
"Hinata…," Naruto tried again. "Run…"
Hinata was too astonished to do anything. It's as if she was molded to the ground. She did however, take a step back.
It was as if Naruto was fighting himself: he took a step into the house but his hands grew tighter around the doorpost as if he wanted to prevent himself from going any further. Then, Naruto looked up at her. His eyes were the beautiful blue color that she liked but they were also expressing an excruciating amount of pain. He almost looked like he was begging her.
"Hinata, please…," he was able to say, but his voice was getting weaker. "Please… Run…"
Afraid, Hinata took another few steps back. She didn't know what was wrong with him but he sure was frightening her a lot. Then, Naruto grimaced and let out a loud but short cry. He lost his balance and almost fell to his knees. His hands were gripping the hair on his head but then he grew silent. His hands fell to his sides and he slowly got up, his face to the floor. A different voice started to chuckle from within him.
"You should listen to him, Hinata," the voice said. "You better run now."
Hinata's breathing drastically increased, as she took a few more steps back. Naruto slowly lifted his head, so he could look at her. And what Hinata saw then was enough for her to gather strength from all parts of her body and run away from that what she saw.
[A/N: 3rd July 2015. Sorry for long wait. Had hands full with baby, busy with thesis now. I apologize once again but do not expect any forgiveness in return. Please enjoy this chapter.]
As she ran, she heard that evil Naruto cackle as he followed behind her. Him being a man who's possessed, he was way faster than Hinata and almost caught her, had it not been for the sharp turn she took towards the kitchen. She frantically looked around for something to defend herself with, ran to a drawer and pulled out the biggest chef knife she had. When she turned around, Naruto was already uncomfortably close to her.
"Stay back!" she yelled. "I'll hurt you, if you don't!"
Naruto laughed out loud.
"Hurt me?" he chuckled. "Such empty threats..."
He slowly walked closer to her. Indeed, Hinata's threats were empty; she had never seriously hurt anyone before, so she basically didn't have the guts to do it. But as Naruto inched closer, she felt seriously threatened. If she didn't do anything now, he might just kill her. She raised the knife and quickly wanted to slice him but a strong hand prevented that.
"Showing off your courage," Naruto taunted. "How cute…"
Hinata struggled to get her hand free, and seeing that it didn't help much, she bit his arm out of desperation. Surprise riddled Naruto's face as he let go of her arm, giving her some time to flee.
"I'll get you, bitch!" he yelled after her as he followed.
As he ran out of the kitchen, he felt something heavy hit him in the head. He fell to his knees, as small dots of black clouded his vision. He felt a tiny stream of blood coming out of his wound and saw pieces of a porcelain on the floor.
Hinata had cleverly waited for Naruto while she hid behind the wall for an ambush. She felt extremely satisfied as she saw the big porcelain vase break on his head. Unfortunately there was no time to celebrate. She quickly grabbed the keys of her car and ran for the garage. She heard an angry scream which was more beast-like than human. It scared her even more and quickly got in the car. She had already put the keys in the ignition when Naruto bumped on her car door.
"You're not getting away from me, bitch!" he yelled wildly.
Fear gripped Hinata's whole body as she struggled to start the car but it was already too late. With incredible force, Naruto opened the door and pulled her out. He grabbed her by her throat and lifted her up. In vain, Hinata tried loosening his deadly grip so she could get a life saving breath.
"You will regret your bravery, girl," he hissed as she slowly chocked in his hand. "Too bad I need you alive."
With that, he threw her to the side of the garage where there were shelves with a lot of gardening and crafting tools. As she fell to the floor, she painfully tried to breathe, coughing loudly and spitting out some blood as she did so. Before she could come back to her senses, Naruto picked her up by the throat again and slapped her hard in the face. That side of her cheek turned red instantaneously and one could just tell it would swell later. He let go of her so she could stand on her own feet.
"If you do that again," he threatened, "I will kill you."
As she felt the immense need to cry out of pain and fear, she saw Naruto raise his hand in a punch. And before she knew it, everything before her turned black.
Late that afternoon, Sasuke arrived home. He didn't bother parking his car in the garage this time; he just wanted to see Hinata as quickly as possible because he had some serious explaining to do. The meeting took longer than he expected and almost everyone wanted to hear his story about the crash first hand. As some kind of peace offering, he stopped by a bakery to get her favorite goody in the world: cinnamon rolls. He did find it odd that she didn't even call once to ask him what took him so long, but he shrugged it off. Maybe she just didn't want to disturb him.
He rushed out of the car, a box of cinnamon rolls in his hands, when he dropped dead on his tracks: his front door was open. As he came closer, he saw impressions in the wooden doorpost. His heart fell as his beats increased, adrenaline rushing, fearing the worst. The box he had in one hand was slowly being crushed by the pressure he was putting on it. Hesitantly, he walked inside the house, putting the box with rolls on the nearby table.
"Hinata.." he called out weakly.
'Please don't let anything have happened to you,' he prayed in his mind. For some reason he was afraid of finding her mangled body somewhere.
'No.' He said to himself firmly. 'Nothing can happen to you!'
He walked faster around the house, running up the stairs. He called out her name as he looked in every room but only when he returned downstairs did he see the broken vase. He also saw that the door to the garage was slightly open. As fear gripped him tighter around the throat, he ran to the garage. The car door was open, tools were flung on the floor but the thing that most caught his eye was the little pool of blood. He didn't want to but he couldn't help thinking the worst.
"No.." he said in disbelieve as he dropped to the floor. "No!"
A/N: I won't make up any excuses: having a baby to me is fairly new and tiring. Trying to find a good balance between family, household work and college took me a few months. I'm sorry for the delay but I truly hope you guys like this chapter. I have the whole story plotted in my mind; all I have to do is type it down. So, that means I have no writer's block and I assure you I'll finish this. Reviews will help a lot in telling me whether I have lost my touch since I haven't written in so long, so please feel free to do so. I love you all! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.