Start the Machine

- all I can see is you -

chapter twenty; nonsense

Hinata's POV

It was like what had happened years ago all over again... Only worse.

Not only were dead people everywhere, I was seeing them get killed. All I thought to do was run; my brain was completely scrambled, and I was terrified. I didn't want to get killed, not like that. And I definitely did not want to watch anyone get killed no matter what side they were on.

I heard a curdling noise behind me and a few screams, before I was shoved into the dirt by a number of people who had fallen. I looked back to see an Uchiha, who had just killed a slave. A few people fell back in the process.

Fuck, what am I doing here? I shouldn't have left the cells, I should have just stayed and waited for Sasuke. Now it's too late... I have to run.

I attempted to scamper to my feet but slid in the mud and fell again. All of a sudden, I felt my body lift as someone swiftly pulled me out of the crowd.

It was Sasuke.

Despite everything, I was still able to smile, knowing that he came for me. I held onto him tightly as he took me toward the forest. I felt skin; it was very cold. I then noticed the blood stained rips in his white clothing, as well as the cuts on his exposed chest. We stopped at the side of the river, where he lay me down without saying a word. He proceeded to sit on a rock and tear off his shirt; there was a huge gash connecting from his upper back over his shoulder, and it looked bad. Blood practically poured off of him.

I ran up to him and wanted to hug him, but due to his injuries, I simply grabbed his face and pulled it to mine, kissing him softly. For the first time, I saw something strange in his eyes. They looked dead, and he was incredibly pale. I was no doctor, but even a child could see that he had lost way too much blood. I wondered who he was up against that would cause him so much trouble.

"You need water." I stated, grabbing him by the hand and gently leading him closer to the river. He took some in his hands and drank it, before letting out a long sigh of exasperation.

"I don't feel good." He admitted, which I doubt was easy for him. By that point, I think I knew him well enough to say that he wasn't one to talk about how he felt. Ever. Which gave me another reason to freak out.

I tried to stay calm, thinking of ways I could stop some of the bleeding. I went and grabbed his torn shit and pressed it to his worst gash, the one on his back. It instantly soaked the shirt with blood. We didn't speak as I attempted at treating it. I didn't really know what to do other than clean the cut with water, and proceed to hold the shirt against it. He winced every time I touched it, though made no objections. It was relieving that he would at least let me help him.

After about fifteen minutes the cut started to bleed less. "I wish I had bandages." I said quietly.

"It's okay.. I'm fine."

"You still feel so cold, and your skin is so pale." I wanted to cry seeing him like that.

I sat down in front of him and focused more on his other cuts. After what must have been thirty minutes, I had cut down a lot of his bleeding, though he was still in rough shape.

"Hinata, it's fine." He said sternly, touching my hand. "You can stop now. It's okay."

I hesitantly put down the shirt and sat so I was facing him. He refused to look me in the eye. "What happened to you?" I queried.

"I was faced up against more people then I could handle. It was too much. I pushed myself too far." He buried his hands on his face. "I'm fucking ashamed."

I hesitated. "Why are you ashamed?"

"If my father were to see how bad I am, he would be disappointed. Itachi could have handled the crowd better than I could have, he probably wouldn't have even been hurt. And yet here I am bleeding the fuck out."

"I'm sure your father would be relieved to see you are okay, at least."

"Yeah right. You don't understand, both my brother and I are under way more pressure than anyone else in the clan. My father expects us to live up to him, to his level of power. Itachi has done so, but I'm just... Weak."

"You're anything but weak, Sasuke..."

"Why do you even say things like that?" He snapped. "I helped kill your fucking friends and family, I helped keep you here, I'm responsible for everything that has happened to you. Yet you sit here and try to help me, and cheer me up. Why the fuck do you do that?"

"I can't quite answer those questions myself." I told him shyly, averting his stone gaze.

"I just want you to be alright, okay? That's all."

"Why do you care?"

"Because." I bit my lip. "I care about what happens to you. I don't know why, okay? And besides, I could ask you the same thing... Why did you get me out of there? Why do you care?"

"I don't care." He barked, startling me. His hardened expression never changed, even as tears began to form in my eyes.

I started to cry.

I think sobbing violently would fit better, actually.

I hid my face in my hands, not wanting him to see my puffy red face. I was embarrassed of how much hearing him say that actually hurt, and how out of control my emotions were. That painful feeling in my heart filled up again. I wanted him to say something, but he didn't. He simply sat there, eyes faced as far away from me as possible. After a few minutes, my tears began to calm down and I turned my back to him.

We sat in silence for several minutes until I finally stopped crying. Of course I was still upset, but the wave had passed, and I was able to face him again. He stared into the river with a solemn expression, the moonlight reflecting off every part of his body making him look even more beautiful.

I mentally scoffed at myself, thinking how ridiculous it was that he made me feel this way. I caught myself staring at him until he finally looked at me. I noticed that the cut on his chest had reopened and blood was drizzling down his torso. The shirt I'd used before was completely soaked in blood and dirt. I don't know what I was thinking, but regardless of how cold he was towards me I wanted to help him, even if in the smallest way. Who knows, maybe if he hadn't gotten me away back there, I could have already been dead.

I moved a little closer to him and he watched me with curious eyes as I took off the tank top I was wearing. I hid my breasts with my one hand, and with the other, I dipped the shirt in water and began to clean off the cut on his chest. His expression softened as I did so though he still said nothing. After I had worked at it for a minute or two, he softly touched my arm.

"You shouldn't dirty your clothes."

"They were already dirty, and you've lost enough blood."

"No, it's alright. I'm fine now." I pulled my hand away from him. "It's probably cold, but you should put that back on. I need to get back... Will you come with me?"

I laughed a little. "Do I really have a choice?"

He paused for a moment. "Yes, you do."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to force you to stay here any longer. You can go. This is the only time I'll be able to say this, but I could tell my father that you either died or escaped during the battle. It would be easily excused."

I was speechless. "But why?"

He averted my curious eyes. "Just go. I'm sure if you continue north through the forest someone from the Leaf will find you. You'll be alright, and you'll be free. You want that, don't you?"

"Y-Yes, but-"

"So, this is your only chance. I'm letting you go. After this, I won't be able to give you this offer again." I thought for a moment as I put my shirt back on. It was cold and wet but I didn't mind. "Go." He said.

"No." I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest. "No, I'm not going."

Sasuke frowned. "Why the hell not?"

"Not unless you come with me."

He scoffed. "Yeah, right. Like I can just leave."

"Why can't you?"

"Because... I have a duty here... I can't just abandon my family, shit doesn't work like that."

"I don't know why it can't. You've told me yourself how unhappy you are here. So I guess that makes two of us."

He simply scoffed again and looked away from me. "That's not an option."

"Then I'm not going, either."

"God, what's with this sudden persistence?"

I bit my lip, thinking of the right words to say. I didn't even know what I was saying any more, it felt like my brain had gone totally ecstatic. So I sighed, and turned towards where we came. "Let's just go." I spoke, walking ahead.

A/N: Well, here's another chappy for ya. Hope you guys like it! Thanks so much for the reviews, I always read and appreciate them all even if I don't always reply!

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