Hinata opened her eyes, still feeling quite exhausted. She was facing the large window and could see that it was dark outside. How long had she been sleeping? Something was bothering her and she shifted slowly to see the black haired man sitting on the bed behind her. His hands were underneath the blanket she was covered with and he swiftly roamed through the little satchel, tied on her thigh. She watched him for a while, but he completely ignored her.

"What are you doing," she finally asked, her voice still sleepy.

The man continued fumbling through the contents of the small bag, not bothering to move his eyes to her. "Where is my medallion?"

The girl shifted, sitting up. She pushed his hands away from her leg and zipped the bag, giving him an evil stare. "I will not tell you."

His blank stare was replaced by anger. Shifting as well, he pulled closer to her. His black eyes turned red. "If you do not give it back, I will have to take it by force."

To his surprise she stood completely still, a determined expression on her face. "Your Sharingan does not frighten me anymore. Besides, how do you know I have it? I could have hidden it somewhere."

Still slightly astonished, the man could not help but move his eyes to the room. He did not sense the black Soul Stone anywhere, but he did not have the Byakugan. The jewel could be anywhere. The Hyuuga was clever. Sasuke finally sighed and lowered his eyes, a smirk curling his lips. "As I said, if you do not give it willingly, I will take it by force. And I will start my search with you."

As much as she tried to stay calm, her white eyes widened a bit and he noticed this. The Uchiha laughed. He gave her a moment and soon she exhaled, taking the medallion out of her pocket. But she did not return it. Instead, she put the chain around her neck and tried putting it underneath her shirt. Her hand was immediately stopped.

"What…"

"Don't. This thing is dangerous."

Her eyebrows rose. They staid like that for a while, then she shifted her wrist out of his grip. "Like you even care."

The girl tried standing up, pushing him out of her way, but he caught her shoulders and stared at her. Yet, he was not sure what to say. Did he really care? Why had he stopped her? Retracting the medallion from her bosom would have been an easy and a pleasant task. And yet, he was still feeling weak due to his experience with the black stone. He did not want to see something like that happen to her. In the end, the man let go of her and stood up, taking a few steps away. Why couldn't he think straight all of a sudden?

"Fine," he finally exclaimed, turning to her with a mad stare. "Carry it as much as you want. But if something happens to you, don't expect me to return the favor and save your life."

The girl parted her lips. She looked a bit upset. "Of course I would not expect such a thing from you." She stood up, fixing the bed after her. "After all, have you ever done anything nice for anyone?"

"Did I not save you from being raped?"

"This would not have happened if you did not kidnap me."

"I warned you not to run away."

"I had to take my chances!"

Suddenly, she noticed the man was extremely angry. And yet, he appeared to be trying to control his fury as much as possible. He clenched his fists, but moved further away from her and sat on one of the chairs near the door. "I left you sleep in peace," he replied, seemingly satisfied by his comeback.

"This is what normal people do, Sasuke. It is not a sign of niceness."

"You are currently infuriating me. The fact that I have still not forced you to shut up should show you something."

The girl closed her mouth. She sat on the bed again, holding the medallion in her palms, staring at it. The burn mark on her palm still stung. As much as she did not want to believe it, it seemed that the Uchiha was really trying to behave. Was he really so grateful that she saved his life to go out of his way and actually be nice? As nice as he could be, of course.

"Give me the medallion back."

"How long are we going to stay here?"

"Two more days. Now give it back."

She finally shifted her eyes to him, glad to see that he had calmed down. "If I give it back, you will try something stupid again. And you have still not recovered completely." She sighed. "You may not know what it is like, but I care for you. And I do not want to see you risk your life like this. Next time I may not have the powers to save you."

The man blinked. His lips parted, but he was out of words. His elbows were resting on his knees and he was slightly hunched, so he finally decided it was appropriate enough to stare at his feet. His black hair fell upon his face, concealing the girl from his sight. He definitely had to cut it. He took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to be as rational as possible. Standing up, he walked to her, towering above her. Noticing she took a defensive stance, he put his hands in his pockets. He did not intend on fighting her.

"Look," he started. "I appreciate that you are trying to preserve my life. And I am grateful that you actually saved me. But I can not let you carry this stone. I saw what lies in it. If you somehow touch this power, it will kill you."

"The same goes for you."

Sasuke grit his teeth, trying to stay calm. "I do not care for what you do with your life. But you are just in no use for me if you are dead."

This was a lie. And he clearly understood this. What he could not understand was why he had suddenly started worrying for this girl. She was not that important for his plans. In fact, with the medallion he could destroy Konoha on his own. Besides, he had not even tried placing her under a genjutsu for quite some time. He decided not to wait any further and activated his kekkei genkai again, dragging her in the imaginary world his eyes could create. It was time to hypnotize her, this would make things so much easier. He leaned in.

"Give me the medallion."

Her blank stare lasted for only a second before it was replaced by anger. Veins appeared on her temples. The Heiress pushed him away, standing up. She obviously tried to look serious and fulminating, but her short and slim figure did not help her much. Yet, the man was astonished at how quickly she had managed to pull away from his genjutsu.

"It is strange how easily I can block your eye techniques now that I know how they work."

The Uchiha blinked, obviously confused. She was better at this than he had ever imagined. But how, it was so easy to trick her in the beginning. "You are good," he noted, finally looking away, a slight smirk on his lips. "However, this makes things much harder for me. I'll have no use of you if I can not use you against the Leaf Village."

Hinata stuck her gaze on him, watching as his eyes turned black. However, the man's face suddenly looked too fierce. She could not help it and took a few steps back, ready to run if she had to. She knew she could not outrun him in any way, he was too fast. But deciding he would not need her for his plans meant he could dump her at any given time. And by dump her she clearly meant kill her. The girl gulped, clenching the black stone in her palm. The Sharingan user walked to her with a calm pace, which caused her to open the door to the pool and take a step outside.

"Don't make me hunt you like an animal," he spoke, his voice frighteningly calm.

With another step she was already outside, her Byakugan active, searching for the fastest way to run. However, the man was too fast. He appeared before her and extended his arm to grab her, but with a chakra blast, she struck his chest and pushed him away. She tried to run, but his hands wrapped around her. She tried striking him again, but her arms were immobilized by his strong grip. The girl kicked and pulled, and the only thing that this caused was for them both to lose balance. Before she could react, she slipped on the edge of the pool and fell, the man following her into the water. A loud splash frightened the birds that silently occupied the nearby forest and they flew in the air, away from the fighting people.

Hinata jumped up, gasping for air and tried to cough the liquid from her lungs. She moved the hair off her face and tried to crawl out of the pool, but her ankle was caught by Sasuke and she fell in again, fighting to breathe. She struggled to get out of the water with everything she had. One of her worst nightmares was to drown. She kicked, trying not to breathe, but the water was so hot, she could not think straight. It burned her.

Two hands wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her harshly. She gasped, coughed and tried to back away. Yet, the hands shook her and she finally looked up to see the soaking man before her. His eyebrows were knotted in a confused expression. "Calm down," he called.

But she couldn't. She pulled away again, but he was holding her too tightly. She tried hitting him, but he caught her arm. Each time she tried to break free, she took a step back, until her shoulders hit the wall of the pool. She was shaking, hyperventilating and could feel tears run down her cheeks. Finally, without her being able to react, the man pulled her to him and wrapped her with his hands, letting her face dig in his chest. She was struggling and was freaking out, but he had to calm her down somehow before she hurt herself in her panic. He rubbed her back, feeling the softness of her wet hair and waited until she finally started breathing again. He then let her go and still holding her shoulders, he glued his eyes on her.

"What's the matter with you?"

Still shaking, she tried to speak. "I… I won't let you kill me!"

His head shifted on the side and his lips parted. He was getting confused. "Why did you decide I want to kill you?"

"Well," she started, looking away. She could feel warm tears rolling down her face. She was too frightened to stop them, but hated when people saw her in this state. "You said you have no use of me."

The Uchiha blinked, then laughed his mad laughter. "This does not necessarily mean I will kill you." He looked at her again, smirking. She was ridiculously cute when she was frightened like that. "You are interesting and constantly fascinate me. You are actually a good company Hinata. I do not intend of killing you, at least not yet."

It was time for the girl to be confused. She opened her mouth a few times, looking for the right words. "W-what?"

The man laughed again, not being able to take his eyes off of her. She was beautiful. "If you behave, I may accidentally let you run away from me eventually. But I actually still have some use of you. I need to learn how to use the medallion. And you seem to be unable to let me die, so your company, together with your medical skills, is actually quite convenient." The Hyuuga blinked, then pulled away from him again, finally breaking away from his grasp. She looked around, trying to find the safest way to get out of the pool. Sasuke watched her with interest and finally couldn't help but laugh again. "I can't believe it."

"What," she asked, her voice low. Her hands were still shaking.

"You are afraid of water."

She eyed him with surprise and the panic started building up in her again. "I... I am not!"

"Yes you are. Come on, wasn't water your element?"

Her frightened eyes widened even more. "I-it is. But..."

"Ah, I get it," he interrupted, staring at her, smirking madly. "You just don't like the idea of drowning." Her panicked look clearly confirmed his statement, so he just rolled his eyes, the odd smile still occupying his lips. He took a few steps and placed his hand on the edge of the pool, pulling himself out swiftly. He then turned around and offered his hand to the girl. Hinata hesitated, but eventually took it. Yet, just as he had pulled her away from the water, the man let go of her. She tried to grasp his palm, but failed and fell in the pool, splashing water everywhere.

The Heiress jumped up, completely furious. She dismissed the hair out of her face and stared at him as evilly as she could. "You bastard," she yelled at him, watching as he burst in laughter, holding his wounded stomach. Eventually, when he could breathe again, he offered his hand once more, but the girl exited the pool on her own. Still angry, she walked to the room. Sasuke was following her closely, but she decided to ignore him. She entered the bathroom and slammed the door after her, locking it. The girl took her wet shirt and pants off and stared at the mirror, finding that her cheeks were flushed. It must be from the hot water, she thought and looked around. Yet, she could not find what she was looking for.

"You realize you have no spare clothes, right," she heard the man call from the other side of the door. There wasn't even a towel she could wrap herself in. He must have used the last clean one. Completely furious, she activated her Byakugan and stared at him through the door. The Uchiha appeared to be having too much fun. And yet, she watched as he walked away, headed to the main entrance. "Stay there," he continued, turning around to face the bathroom. "I'll bring you something to wear."

The girl was forced to put on her wet attire to go out and take whatever he had brought for her. She was handed a pile of nicely folded clothes. Upon investigation she found that they consisted of a light purple shirt with white floral elements. It had a semi-high neck, shot sleeves and was long, reaching the middle of her thigh. She also found what appeared to be a pair of black leggings that covered her feet only a little below the knees. She eyed the man.

"Did you steal these?"

"Technically, no. The girl gave them to me willingly. She even let me choose."

Hinata gave him a bad look. "You used your genjutsu on her."

"Mhm."

"So you stole them."

He sighed. "Yes."

The Heiress eyed him for a while, but in the end exhaled and locked herself in the bathroom again. She had no other choice but to put them on. Upon getting dressed, she found that the shirt was quite tight. The girl that occupied this house was younger than her, and Hinata's chest size did not help. Exhaling, she left the bathroom to find the man had changed as well. His new clothes were black and a bit too loose for him, but still suited him well. Sasuke gazed upon her, satisfied by what he saw.

"I knew the color will suit you," he explained. "Come on, I took some food."

She followed him to the small dining room and sat on one of the chairs, resting her arms on the table. She was happy to see a few freshly baked buns and a lot of fruits and vegetables. She grabbed an apple and bit into it, watching as the Uchiha took a tomato. One of at least twenty.

"You…" she started, feeling strangely anxious. "You like tomatoes, don't you?"

"Mmhm," the black haired man confirmed, sucking on the red vegetable. His onyx eyes were locked onto her and she could not help but look away. They ate in silence for a while, when he finally spoke. "Was it too bad?"

She raised her eyes with hesitance. "What are you referring to?"

"My condition, after I tried gaining access to the medallion's power."

The girl looked at the apple in her hand. She still had the black jewel on her, it hanged on its long chain underneath her shirt. "It was very bad. You were delusional."

He raised his eyebrows. "Delusional?"

"Yes."

"Why? Was I seeing things?"

"I… I think so."

His face changed. He looked strangely serious. "Did I hurt you?"

Why does he sound like this has happened plenty of times before? "No. You only… you called the name of your brother." The Uchiha looked away as if he got distracted by something. His serious expression was replaced by a sullen one. Suddenly, Hinata found she felt sad for him. "It is normal to miss your brother," she continued. "I miss Neji nii-san as well. I dream of him all the time."

The man slowly shifted his eyes to her. "But you did not kill him, did you?"

Her lips parted. "Sasuke," she started, leaving the apple on the table. "I do not know you too well, but it is understandable that you killed him."

His eyes suddenly became fierce. "You don't know the truth."

"I know it. Naruto told me what had really happened to your clan. And I understand your pain and hatred."

"You don't."

"But I do. Regretting your actions is perfectly normal. However, I understand your brother as well. I would gladly let my sister end my life if I had caused her so much pain."

Suddenly, the man jumped to his feet. He was ready to say something, seemingly furious, but in the end just grit his teeth and looked away. "Then can you blame me for wanting to destroy Konoha?"

The girl stared at him. "No. But I also do not think it is needed. Itachi-san did what he did to protect Konoha. He gave his life away so he can save the Leaf Village. If you destroy our hometown, you will also destroy everything your brother has ever cared about, including yourself."

Sasuke finally sat down. He took a few deep breaths. "You can not expect me to leave things as they are."

"But have you not done enough already? The people, responsible for the death of your clan are only a few. Not the whole village."

His onyx eyes rose to stare at her in question. "What are you implying?"

She gulped. "I am not implying anything. I just think that murdering Danzo was enough. Was he not the one that gave the order to your brother?"

She was right. Danzo was the main culprit of the destruction of the Uchihas. Him, as well as the rest of the Konoha Elders. Sasuke looked at her, trying to trace the black jewel that rested underneath her shirt. Purple did indeed compliment her skin and made her eyes have a mild pinkish color. Staring at her somehow helped him think, it soothed his senses.

"A death of a single man can not pay the price for the lives of a thousand."

"You don't think that you can simply march in Konoha and start a killing spree, do you? You are alone, a single man against too many. Eventually someone will stop you."

"You have no idea what I am capable of."

"Maybe. But someone will manage to at least knock you unconscious. Besides, I will not stand there, watching you kill my family and friends. And even if you kill me, this will only make my clan more determined to stop you."

Yet again, she had a point. Even with the medallion, he could not expect to get to the elders so easily. He had to lure them out somehow. He had to gain access to those people first. If he killed them, he could then go ahead and destroy as much of Konoha as he wanted. Only then could he die in peace.

Note:

Thank you all for the lovely reviews once more. There is something big coming up and I hope you will enjoy what I have in store for this story.

Tell me, what do you think Sasuke is going to do next? I love to hear such predictions, as they help me come up with details and new ideas.

Special thanks to Oriz-chan for being my beta reader and for basically being my co-writer. Each time I get a brain-stuck, she is there to rescue me!