Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi and the other various companies that own the distribution rights. I'm just pretending that I'm allowed to play with these toys.

I promised you this chapter as an expression of my thankfulness for you all. Enjoy!

*ALSO: There's mention of an eating disorder in this chapter. If that's triggering to you, please be aware.

oOo

Hinata felt like a terrified rabbit, stuck between a rock and a snarling wolf. The journalist was still clutching her wrist and the smile he leveled at her made her feel sick. He was baring his teeth, self-satisfied on stumbling across a juicy story.

Hyuga Hinata, the spurned heir, was in his grasp.

oOo

The day started off nicely. Sasuke was scheduled for a television interview. She took the train to meet him and his entourage at the broadcast station. He wanted Guren to detour and pick Hinata up, but Hinata knew as soon as the paparazzi caught wind of Sasuke in her neighborhood, she would never have any privacy. She knew enough from her time with Sakura.

Also from her childhood.

In a way, she was used to being reported on. It Her fame was not as all-consuming as Sasuke's. In contrast, she was the heir to a very prestigious family and dance company. Anyone who wanted to be a ballet dancer in Japan had to go through the Hyuga Ballet Company. Anything else was not done. It held all the premier shows and traveled all over the world. They preformed for diplomats and royalty. Their charities were renowned for bringing the arts to disadvantaged citizens the world over. Hinata could have presided over it all.

Instead, she gave it up to be an anonymous make-up artist for a pop idol. She had a small online following, where she showed her looks on her friend's faces or did demos of palettes on her arm. She never appeared in her posts. Neither did Sasuke.

If Kabuto decided to fire her tomorrow and refused to let her use her employment with Sound Machine on her resume, Hinata might have to go back to a department store. Both he and Karin liked her being anonymous. So did she.

Hinata hummed to herself as she walked through the halls, trying to find the break room and some tea. Apparently, Karin liked feeding Sasuke, which meant everyone on the team got some freebies, including some expensive health drinks. A voice from behind interrupted her.

"Hyuga Hinata?"

And damn her. She had practiced this, swore to never, ever respond to the Hyuga name again. She was not a Hyuga. She was only Hinata. If Rola and Ayaka could be big celebrities with only one name, then it would probably be easier for Hinata to be a nobody with one as well.

Try telling her reflexes that.

She turned, eyebrows raised.

A man with medium length grey hair was standing in the hallway behind her. He had a hand resting on a cubicle wall. He let go to gave a small bow. Hinata bowed distractedly in return. Where did she know him from?

He approached, still grinning. "Hasegawa Hidan. I work for the Music and Arts department. We've met."

Realization lanced through her heart. Her stomach started churning. She had sat through many interviews with him. Even when he did not talk to her, he had a way of twisting her misfortune with malicious glee. Hinata only read one article by him and one passage became forever tattooed into her brain. It sat there, infected and bleeding for most of her life.

It read: "She is the incompetent heir of the most prestigious ballet dynasty in the East. Instead of preforming a grand jeté with grace like a deer, she instead reminds one of a hippo. Thankfully, Hyuga Hiashi, the current Head does not believe in unjust nepotism. She is a permanent staple of the chorus until she can figure out her limbs and stop letting her appetite get the best of her. Which will probably never happen."

On her worst days, his words echoed through her brain while she hovered over the toilet. With every gag, the words looped anew.

She crossed her arms to hide her shaking hands. "Can I help you?" She asked, sounding like the timid child she had once been.

Hidan smiled. "How about we talk? It's been a while since anyone has heard anything about you. There were rumors you were still dancing but you pretty much disappeared." He leaned in. She leaned away. "Your cousin has been named successor. How do you feel about that?"

"I don't have anything to say." She breathed, fighting tears. Her eating disorder had not been caused by him. But she had not been strong enough to fight against his vicious words. Honestly, she did not know if she could face him now.

Turning, she tried to flee but he caught her arm.

"Come now, just a few words. You're a hard woman to find. I almost didn't recognize you without your hair up." He chuckled.

"Please let me go," Hinata pleaded weakly. Guren had been teaching Hinata basic self defense. If Suigetsu had tried something like this, Hinata would have broken his hold without a problem. Something about this man, like with her father, intimidated the hell out of her. She was shaking and close to tears.

He bared his teeth and moved in for the kill. Hinata sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, trying to think of being anywhere but here. She tried to calm down. Tried to remember the warmth of the stage to calm her tremors. Tried to think of the sound of Itachi's cello to drown out Hasegawa's voice. Tried to recall the smell of Sasuke's makeup to block the smell of foreign aftershave.

And either her imagination was amazing, or she could actually smell Sasuke's cologne. There was the sound of skin violently meeting skin and suddenly, Hinata was free. She stumbled back, her eyes flying open. A body blocked her path. Hasegawa stared at her with wide eyes and she returned the gaze. Looking up and behind her, she saw Sasuke looming over her. He was so close she could really only see the line of his jaw.

He had a hand on her shoulder and the other was raised like he had just finished slapping off Hasegawa's grip.

"Who are you?" Sasuke growled.

Despite herself, Hinata curled back into Sasuke. His grip on her shoulder tightened but not to the point of pain.

Hidan held up his hands in a helpless gesture. "Come on now, we were only talking."

Hinata shuddered.

"If you have to assault someone to get to talk you, you're doing it wrong." Sasuke hissed.

Hidan's face lit up. "You're Uchiha Sasuke. Interesting."

Sasuke froze. "Oh I see, you're one of those. We're done here." He directed his next words to Hinata. "Let's go."

With an arm around her shoulders, he marched her past a smirking Hidan, down the hallway to the small changing room. More of a closet, it was the only place where there were not security cameras.

Right before they entered, Sasuke pressed the side of his face to her hair. "Hinata, you're shaking." He murmured with so much concern that Hinata almost started sobbing with the weight of it all.

Her stomach hurt.

In the room, there was a padded bench. He led her to it and lowered her down. He stood there awkwardly for a couple of moments.

Hinata wanted to tell him it was okay. That she was fine and it was all a misunderstanding and how did his interview go, by the way? But she could not. Her breaths were short and catching on the back of her throat. Her eyes welled with tears.

"Shit." He sat down next to her and he placed his fists in his lap. "Hinata, did he do anything to you? Are you okay?"

She shook her head and her lips stuck together as she tried to talk. What came out instead was a cry. "He-I th-thought..." She attempted to suck in a deep breath while dashing the water from her cheeks. "I t-t-tried to stand... up to h-h-him but he grabbed me a-a-and..."

Sasuke hissed more curses. "Tell me how I can help you." He leaned in, then with a whispered apology, he moved out of her personal space. "Tissues, water?"

She shook her head and to her disappointment, cried harder. She felt like she was shaking apart. Like she would shatter and her pieces would blow away. Unable to voice it, she tentatively reached over and pulled on the sleeve. Thankfully, he was fluent in body language.

With a sigh, he reached over and pulled her into his arms. A hand slid into her unbound hair and the other around her upper back. He was warm and familiar and for the first time all day Hinata did not feel any shame for just being herself.

oOo

*Notes: I like Hidan but even I can admit he's the perfect character to use as the jerk. I don't know much about them, but Rola and Ayaka are supposed to be big celebrities in Japan.

See you in the middle of December. I would love to hear what you liked or did not like about this chapter.