A/N: Im soooooooo sorry for the late update! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! i didn't have the time whatsoever but now, rest assured, you shall read this lovely chapter. well, i wouldnt call it lovely, since you know... Whoops aint gonna say anything... But good news! I couldnt get ahold of updating a chapter, but that doesnt mean i didnt write anything! Yes, my children, this is chapter 25 and i have finished many chapters after this... THIS ISNT OVER YET! Thank you all who were patient for this chapter, and i am very grateful for the people who reviewed and followed and favorited this story, I'm really happy and excited! This story hasnt really reached its final climax but it will soon! Thank you all once again!

Chapter 25

"Hina...Hinata."

Was someone calling me? Her eyelashes fluttered open but shut immediately as she felt a jagged pain travel like lighting through her body. She tried to open her eyes, and to her confusion, she was in a forest. What happened? She lifted her body slowly to a sitting position, as she took a few deep breaths to calm down.

Then, memories flooded her head. The attack in Suna, her chasing Senya, Sasuke coming, her killing Senya-

She gasped. Wait, Sasuke!

"Seems like your head is in place now."

She turned sharply to her right and gasped loudly. The Uchiha sat upright against a tree, blood covering his whole chest and arms. She blinked back tears when she saw his face, blood running from his mouth and his eyes were a darkish grey. She needed to stop his bleeding or...

She scrambled to him, and nearly tossed herself at him. Her body screamed at her but she didn't listen. She pushed the last remaining chakra she had into her palms and began healing him, but both of them knew it won't be enough.

"You need medical attention. Heal yourself," he spoke slowly.

"I'm f-fine," she ushered. "You're bleeding to death."

"True." He sniffed some blood that was oozing from his nose. "Hinata."

"Don't talk," she whispered. "You'll be alright."

"You killed her?" He simply asked.

"...hai."

He chuckled softly. "You know she was right."

The Hyuga's head darted to his. "What?" She whispered harshly.

He chuckled again. "To think ill die from simply not sensing her. She stabbed me like I was merely prey."

A slap echoed throughout the forest, as birds flew out of the trees. Sasuke's head was facing the other direction, his cheek growing fairly pink.

"Don't you DARE say that!" She cried. "You are not gonna die!"

"Hina-"

"Over MY DEAD BODY!"

He frowned at her. "Hinata," he repeated.

"WHAT?!"

She watched him angrily, and he watched back at her emotionlessly. She wanted to throw a fit and Kami hug him, hold him close, but his heart was slowly beating in his chest.

She swallowed hard and smiled naively. "Don't worry, medics are going to be here soon. You'll live. You'll come back to the village and-"

"Do you know why I couldn't sense her?"

She blinked. "What?"

"You know why I didn't sense her right away?" He was breathing heavily and she grabbed his hand on instinct.

He smiled and looked at her. "It's because I was looking at you."

She didn't answer so he continued. "I was stupid to think she would die so easily." He coughed as blood continued to pour out of his mouth. "When I saw you, eyes on me, heart beating, nothing mattered to me at that moment. And seeing you now..." He looked at their intertwined hands. "I think it's worth dying for," he whispered softly.

Silence enveloped them after his words were spoken. Hinata was trying her best not to cry as she grabbed a piece of material and wiped all the blood off his face and mouth. She didn't want to see it. She just wanted to see him smiling, standing, anything but this. But he needed to say a few more things before it was going to be too late.

"You need to leave."

She froze from his words. White eyes clashed with fading black as her mouth opened to protest. He looked back seriously.

"Seventeen m-men are approaching us, and as you can see, I won't be able t-to fight them." His words became in stutters as he clutched her hand harder. "Three are our men, they're ahead from everyone else, but I need you to start walking towards them. They're coming from the north-"

"I'm not leaving without you."

"Hinata, listen to me-"

"No, YOU listen to me. You're going to come with me. You're going to live and come to the village." Her eyes swelled up with tears and they rapidly fell on her cheeks. "You'll see Naruto and Sakura and everyone else, you'll live a happy life, restore your clan-"

"Hinata-"

"And you'll live happily with me." She watched the rings on their hands. Sasuke watched her. "After all, we're married aren't we? We'll-"

"Hinata, l lied."

At first she didn't say anything, but her head slowly rose to his and she watched him with such shock, he felt a pain so hard in his heart, the stab earlier would be like a poke.

"I...I don't have much time left, the men will be here any second," he grunted out.

He raised his head up at her and smiled ever so sadly, if felt like she was the one with a wound to her heart. Gently, he raised his hand to her face and brushed a strand of blue locks away from her face. She opened her mouth to speak but the hand grasped behind her head and pulled her close, their lips closing the distance between them.

She didn't bother fighting, as her eyes fluttered closed and let the moment last as long as it could. The kiss tasted so bitter, yet she felt she was in the safest place in the world.

He pulled back first, and her eyes looked up at him to see an expression she wasn't expecting. Guilt.

"Sasuke-"

"Hinata, leave." He spoke in such a emotionless voice, she felt uneasy.

"Sasuke, what's wrong? You said you lied but I don't see-"

"Hinata, the m-marriage was a mistake." His mouth began to fill with blood again as he placed a hand over his bleeding heart. "I l-lied, about all of it."

Hinata laughed carelessly. "What are you talking about? It was no mistake, you-"

"I set you up." His right hand reached into his pouch and pulled out a scroll, wrapped in a red thread. Her eyes widened at the object in hand. "Thirty seconds and back up will be here." He grimaced as a spark of fire ignited his hands the scroll instantly caught on fire. That scroll was their...

Hinata's eyes widened tenfold. "Sasuke wha-what are you doing?"

The scroll kept burning and he dropped it next to him, only turning into ashes. He looked up at her, and her world stopped at his last words.

"Forget a-about me. Forget about the marriage. Hate me, Hinata. It's the only way I'll feel satisfied for what I've done. I'll die knowing you knew the truth."

White eyes sparkled with salty tears as she watched his face. What was going on? Her heart was pounding hard inside her ribcage and she wanted to scream at him, she wanted to erase the words he just said. What lie? Hate him?

What were those days together on the mission? A lie as well? Those smiles, laughs, kisses they've shared...it was fake?

Impossible, I...I love him...

Sasuke smiled once more. "I hope you'll get your dream of becoming ANBU. It suits you really well."

"Sasuke, I don't understand!" She felt his strength vanishing from him, as his eyes grew lighter. "Sasuke, don't leave! Sasuke!"

Three shinobi landed near them, instantly a woman grasped into Hinata.

"Hinata! Hinata, are you alright?" Tenten anxiously asked. Hinata didn't respond, only looking at the body in front of her.

Neji and Shikamaru squatted next to Sasuke, whose heartbeat was holding onto a thin thread. "He lost too much blood," Neji quoted.

"N-Nara," his voice came out almost inaudible.

Shikamaru instantly leaned in closer to hear him. Sasuke's lips moved near Shikamaru's ear, unheard between the two Hyuga's and Tenten.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as he finished speaking and backed away to see the whole face of the Uchiha's. "P-please," he whispered coarsely. Shikamaru sighed heavily and gave a small nod. "Understood."

The black raven let out a small smile to him. "Thanks."

Shikamaru didn't reply but watched the leftover of what was the scroll next to him, then looked over the Hyuga heiress. She wasn't breathing correctly, her pale eyes towards Sasuke. He looked down at her death grip on the Uchiha's hand.

"Tenten, Neji, get her out of here."

Both looked surprised at first but nodded after seeing the heavy look in their captains eyes.

Tenten grabbed Hinata's arm but she pulled away. She wouldn't let go of the Uchiha's hand, and her face was so empty, the brunette couldn't look at her without the feeling of punching a brick wall or a tree.

"Hi..nata, just go...p-please," Sasuke spoke out quietly.

Hinata shook her head slowly, tears continuing to stream down her pale face. Sasuke turned to her cousin, and the look he gave to Neji, he couldn't help but listen to the Uchiha.

"Hinata, forgive me," he said quietly, as he cut her chakra channel in her arm. It fell limp and he eased her hand from the ravens and picked her up as gently as possible.

For a moment, she didn't understand what was happening, but as soon as Neji and the others began walking away, she tried to get out of his arms.

"D-drop me! Let me g-go! S-Sasuke!"

She twisted in Neji's arms and was able to look at the Sharingan user's body once more. He gave her a small smile, and she struggled in her cousins arms, but her body was not responding as she wished it would.

"Forgive me again, Hinata." He placed a hand to her forehead and before she could process, she fell limp in his arms.

Her vision grew hazy and blurry but she had enough strength to see a dark raven haired man take one last shuddering breath, and his chest moved no more.

A pineapple head shinobi stood on top of the stoned monument of the Hokage's heads, specifically the third's.

The sun was setting beautifully in the horizon, a soft breeze tangled with the smoke coming from his cigarette that was propped in his mouth. He smirked. Damn his sensei, the smoking got to him.

His smile grew into a frown as Asuma's dead body flashed in his eyes and Sasuke's followed afterwards.

The Uchiha's words played over and over again in his head. He tried to reason with them, but he sighed heavily at his last request. What a burden he put on the lazy shinobi.

"It was quite a surprise I had when I learned you wanted to meet me here," a figure spoke behind him.

Shikamaru turned and bowed slightly. "Forgive me for the late request. I just came back from a-"

"The mission in Suna." White eyes looked to black. "I'm aware how it turned to an S-rank to retrieve my daughter from danger."

"The Hokage told you that much already?" He sighed. "I'll apologize right away, Hiashi-sama, I might repeat her words, but there are some things that weren't said to you right away. But let's wait on Neji."

"No need." The Hyuga landed next to the lazy shinobi, curtly nodding his head to his uncle in greeting.

Shikamaru crossed his arms. "Alright. Hiashi-sama, you already know of Senya and Hinata exterminating her?"

Hiashi tilted his head in acknowledgment. "Yes."

Shikamaru sighed heavily mentally. Here comes the harsh part. "She wasn't alone in the mission."

Shikamaru didn't miss the light crease in his brow or the twitch of his lip. "Who was it?" he asked in his usual monotone voice.

Neji looked at the Nara clan head, seeing the heaviness of the situation.

"It was...Sasuke Uchiha."

He tensed fully but didn't bother to relax. His face grew more serious than it was originally and the Hyuga prodigy feared it would only get worse from hear on out.

"Why was he there?Did he hurt my daughter in any way possible?"

"He didn't hurt her, actually he helped her on this mission. No one could understand his motives, and Hinata won't speak a word of what happened between them. But somehow...he damaged her."

Hiashi's lips tightened. "Tell me everything."

As of right now, she wanted nothing but to die in a slow painless death. They tried to cheer her up, but she wasn't budging. No food that was placed in front of her can fill the empty void in her stomach, no smile can make her smile or lighten her day, no person can make her heart beat in a faster pace, and no medicine will cure her back to normal.

No one knew what happened on the mission, it was taboo to speak of it between her cousin, Tenten and Shikamaru, even the Subaku siblings. The Hokage promised to tell the remaining Konoha 12, but Hinata requested to tell them herself. Naruto himself was on an escort mission to an ally hidden village. As hokage he would have needed to know what happened on that mission, and finding out his best friend was gone, it would have been to painful for the both of them. He would only find out when he'll come back.

When they just arrived from their mission, they took her to the hospital right away, and Shikamaru didn't explained everything, only the parts he thought was suited. When it was Hinata's turn to report, she was as silent as the night.

A week passed slowly, the summer days long and the chilly night short. She slept most of the day, hoping to avoid everyone, and laid awake during the night, letting one tear slip each night.

She wanted to end her life the moment she woke up. Everything was going perfectly a few days ago, and now she was laying in a hospital bed, most of her ribs and bones broken, a heavy concussion to the head, and some damaged organs. Thankfully, some medics in Suna patched her up but they immediately left back to Konoha. She was unconscious the whole way there and when she woke, she was in a hospital bed, screaming from nightmares in her mind.

Tsunade healed her fully, but she couldn't heal one part of her. Her heart.

It would never be healed. Hinata didn't speak to anyone about anything cause if she did, it would bring up Sasuke in her mind.

She never cried, not since Naruto's wedding. Tears slipped unnoticed from nurses or friends, and sobs from the night were silenced from crying into a pillow until she fell asleep.

Nightmares filled her dreams, blood, bodies, demons...Sasuke.

Neji took her ring before they came to the hospital. Afterall, no one knew Sasuke participated in the mission, let alone he was dead.

A small breeze entered a white, medicine smelling room, blowing indigo hair in the breeze. Her head was turned to the window, watching the sun set in the horizon. Another night was approaching and she felt fear every time she shut her eyes.

The Hyuga raised herself from her pillow, and let her feet dangle from the bed. It's been eight days since she was brought to this prison of a hospital, and eight days since a part of her soul was ripped from her.

She pulled the IV from her arm and walked slowly to the ajar window.

The breeze was chilly but nothing fazed her. She's grown numb, numb to all senses, feelings within her.

All she thought about was the days before the incident, her days with Sasuke. When they were in the cave, sitting eating fish or rabbit, teasing each other, talking about their dreams or ambitions, getting married...

A tear slipped down her white cheek, as she clutched the windowsill.

Why, why do people around me die? First Neji, and now Sasuke?

His last words came to her mind as she stifled a sob. His words were still a mystery but even hearing him say that made it hard to believe.

The marriage being a mistake? When was it a mistake? From the beginning? When he was the one who proposed it! Why would he do that?

Another tear slipped. Did he regret it? Regret getting married to me?

There must be a reason he did what he did, but no answer came to her mind. She wanted to know, why he did this. Why he decided to use her so, leaving her heartbroken and numb from any feeling?

A knock on the door was heard barely to her ears as she watched the glass window. A door slid open and footsteps entered quietly to the room, and the person shut the door behind him.

It was silent, as the person didn't speak as soon as he entered. Her cheeks were dry from tears but her head was turned away from him.

"A lot happened on this mission, and I'm sure you have questions that need to be answered," he spoke.

She was silent at first. "You know then?"

"From your father to Neji and Sasuke, and my own information, I've gathered enough information to fill in the blanks," Shikamaru spoke. He sighed heavily. "What I'm about to tell you is not something easy to take on. Are you willing to hear the truth?"

It was still in the room with a dense atmosphere. Her hands fisted on the windowsill, body firm and head facing the sunset. "Tell me. Tell me the truth about Sasuke Uchiha."

A groan echoed near the gates of Konoha and was followed by a yell of exitement.

"Ah, finally! Home sweet home!" A loud blonde yelled. He stretched happily and exhaled heavily. "That mission was no fun, no action."

A fist hit his head. "Oi, stop complaining! No action means no danger means no killing which is good," a pinkette explained.

He rubbed his sore head with a look of stubbornness. "Right, right." He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his jonin vest. "Lets go. I have a feeling Baa-chan didn't do much paperwork."

As soon as Naruto finished speaking, someone landed in front of him. He was thoroughly surprised. "Neji, I didn't know you would escort us."

Naruto raised a brow and for a second he felt heavy. "Did...did something happen when I was gone?"

Neji's eyes were dead hard on his. "There's a secret meeting at midnight at the Hyuga compound. Don't be late."

Neji turned to walk away. "Wait, Neji!" Sakura spoke. "What happened?"

The Hyuga stopped and looked over his shoulder. "You'll find out there." And he vanished.

Naruto felt his body tremble. He never saw Neji like that before, and it didn't take him long to find out.

"And that's pretty much it," Shikamaru concluded.

Hinata was sitting on the edge of her bed, sitting so motionless, you'd mistake her for a statue.

Shikamaru felt uneasy and it surprised him that she didn't break down into hysteria. Instead, she just walked to the bed, and sat there, listening to the knife stabbing truth.

He felt concerned so he opened to speak but she spoke first. "I see."

He shut his mouth and let out a sigh. "It's been more than a week since Sasuke's..." He sighed again. "I think it's time to tell everyone. Naruto just came back from his mission and we informed all of Konoha 12 to meet at the Hyuga compound at midnight."

He looked at the clock; 11:30. "Neji's gonna come and escort you to the compound-"

"No."

The Nara shut his mouth. "I'll go myself. There's no need for him to escort me."

"But-"

"I'll manage." She grew silent. "Thank you...for telling me."

He frowned. "No need to thank me," he muttered. He walked to the door and slid it open. "What he did was beyond reason and not even I can't find out his full motive. You'll need to explain that to everyone."

"...alright."

He left out as silent as he entered, leaving the Hyuga to herself.

"So that's why..." She spoke softy to herself. She stood slowly off the bed and walked to the still open window. The sky was dark, filled with tiny jeweled stars. She didn't bother to hesitate, as she jumped out the window and left her prison, heading toward her home.

The atmosphere in the room was tense and everyone of the Konoha 12 sat around a table, only missing Hinata and Sasuke.

Naruto sat at the head of the table, elbows propped into the table and hands covered his mouth. He eyed everyone on the table, seeing everyone was as curious as he was, except for Tenten, Neji and Shikamaru. They sat next to each other to his left, eyes dead.

He frowned deeper. What the hell happened?

A door slid open and heads turned. A swish of a robe filled the silence as a bluette walked silently to an empty seat, opposite side of Naruto and sat down.

She was wearing a Hyuga robe, which was rare of her to wear one, only when she went to important meetings with the Hyuga elders. He noticed some bandages around her neck, and he stood abruptly. "Hinata-"

"Naruto, sit." Shikamaru didn't bother to look at the blonde, and didn't bother to hide the edginess in his voice.

Naruto snarled. "What the hell is going on? Is anyone going to tell me?"

Hinata sighed through her nose and she raised her eyes to the blonde. "Naruto, please sit."

Naruto blinked and shut his mouth. "Hinata, why are you in bandages?" He froze for a second. "Your mission...it went wrong, did it? Were you at the hospital? When did you get back? Why-"

A hand grabbed his shoulder and pushed him down. Naruto turned to look at his one and only sensei. "Calm down, let her speak."

Naruto grimaced but obliged. Hinata was looking at the blonde before lowering her view to the table. "This has to do with the mission I went on. It went completely out of course and many people were involved."

She looked up to the blondes eyes. "There was five people involved from Konoha 12, including me. It was Shikamaru Nara, Tenten, and Neji Hyuga, myself and..." She shut her eyes. "And Sasuke Uchiha."

No one spoke after she finished, everyone in deep awe and shock.

"S-Sasuke?" Sakura shuttered.

Naruto stood and hands slammed the table. "Okay, he was involved, so where's the bastard?" The blonde Hokage turned to the three involved. "So, where is he?"

Shikamaru shut his eyes and Neji and Tenten turned away.

"You won't get an answer from them," Hinata spoke in a monotone voice. Naruto swiveled his head back to her. "There is one and one purpose only why he couldn't make it." Hinata looked into Naruto's eyes once more, making a nasty shiver run down his spine.

"He died during the mission."

This was kind of a jumpy chapter, i had to keep changing the scenario a bit but i hope you guys liked it! For those who haven't, please favorite and follow and PLEASE review for this story. its almost complete, i just need to post the chapters. Don't worry there will be a chapter up tomorrow! I guarantee it! and ill try to post another chapter in Family Renaissance or Perfect Moments if i can. THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN!

Love and Farewell,

NarutoImagine01