Chapter 28-Let Me Take You Away, Part II
Sasuke stared down at the weeping woman helplessly. He wished with all his heart that he could take away her pain but he had no words of comfort to ease her suffering. He hated this—this feeling of uselessness.
"Princess, listen to me. Sakura has always been unsure of herself. And she's—always looked for self-affirmation, in other people and that's a huge flaw of hers. You have to be confident in yourself…you have to find strength within yourself if you hope to find the true happiness and meaning of life." Calloused, pale fingers stroked through Hinata's hair as the raven-haired Uchiha spoke softly to her.
Hinata was quiet for a long moment, resting against Sasuke's chest as she listened intently to his words. He was so wise—and he was so kind and gentle to her, she couldn't help but wonder why? He'd never been this way towards anyone else…so why then with her…?
"There's also the fact that she's just plain jealous of you."
"B-but…why? I don't u-understand."
A soft smile touched the Uchiha's lips and his fingers stilled as he tilted his head and looked down at her. "…Because she knows that you are precious to me."
Hinata's body stiffened; her breath hitched and milky white orbs widened in amazement. Moments seemed to drag on forever until at last, the timid woman pulled back and slowly gazed up into the Uchiha's intense Obsidian eyes.
"S-Sasuke-kun…" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Sasuke could feel the anxious tightening in his chest and he tore his gaze away from her. "I—I don't have a habit of letting people get close to me." The Uchiha gulped, forcing down the discomforting tightness in his throat and continued. "In fact I, I never let anyone get close; I've lost everyone dear to me in my life and because of it, I don't let myself feel close to anyone because I figure it's only a matter of time…before I lose them too."
Hinata's eyes glistened with tears and she physically ached for him; reaching up her hand, she settled it against his cheek and gently turned his face towards her.
"Sasuke…"
Her voice held so much tenderness in that moment, the Uchiha could feel the walls crumbling around his icy heart.
Gods, he was falling in love with her.
"But I—that's changed since I came back. I honestly never planned on staying this long; I planned to leave for the wind country in just a few weeks but then…then I saw you again. And—everything changed."
"Sasuke-kun…what are you saying?"
Biting his lip nervously, the Uchiha's eyes fell for a moment and then raised to meet hers again. "I'm saying that you changed me, Hinata; your friendship has changed me and that is what makes Sakura so angry—she can't understand what it is about you that's affected me but the thing is, she could never understand it because she isn't like you—she doesn't have the kindness, the warmth and the unconditional compassion that you have. You have this way of—seeing the good in people, along with the bad but you don't judge them, you don't have the capacity of thinking ill of anyone! Honestly, you've amazed me every moment that I've spent with you."
"Sasuke-kun; I think it's you who is overwhelmingly kind and compassionate. I—regardless of what you may think of me, I don't—I don't see the good…in everyone."
At this, the heiress' lips curved into a despondent frown and she looked away.
"You don't know everything that happened between me and Sakura; when she accused me of being presumptuous and naïve in my friendship with you, I—I told her that she was the one naïve—I told her that she had never accepted the person that you are and that her expectations of you had been unfair. She resented you for abandoning her…but you never made any promises to her; you owed her nothing."
Sasuke stared at her in amazement. "That's true. But I didn't think it mattered to anyone; in everyone's mind, I abandoned Naruto and Sakura; no one cared to know my side of it—my side of the story didn't matter and it still doesn't."
Hinata spoke softly but firmly. "It matters to me. I told her as much and—a-and that's when she demanded t-to know…"
When Hinata didn't continue, Sasuke gently prodded her. "What did she want to know?" His voice was deep and soft as he reached for her hand again, gently caressing it with the pads of his fingers.
Hinata took a deep breath. "She…she wanted to know why me. S-she broke down and—s-she c-couldn't stop crying but all she kept saying was 'why you? Why did he have to choose you?'" Hinata's voice broke at the end and a few tears spilled down her cheeks.
"Hinata, don't…please don't cry."
"I got so angry at her, Sasuke-kun, I couldn't help myself, I don't how but suddenly, I just—I l-lost c-c-control and—"
"Hinata, what happened? What did you do?" The Uchiha's black eyes were etched with worry as he pulled her closer, brushing the hair back from her face and looking deeply into her eyes.
Hinata was trembling and the tears flowed freely down her porcelain cheeks, soaking the collar of her Yukata. "I struck her. A-and I—I t-t-told her that if she e-ever—ever h-hurt Naruto…that I would never forgive her."
Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. Hinata Hyuuga, the timid, self-conscious Heiress had struck the brutish and outspoken Sakura Haruno?! To say he was impressed was putting it very lightly but his expression was calm and etched in understanding. "Well, that makes two of us, Princess; Naruto may be an annoying pain in the ass but…aside from you, he's my only true friend."
This brought a hint of a smile to the Hyuuga's lips; she loved Sasuke's fierce protectiveness of his friends. "I a-also told her—to stay away f-from you." She admitted weakly, unable to bear looking him in the eyes.
The wind was knocked out of him and the man gaped at her, stunned. "You—you what?"
She bit her lip hard, somehow terrified of what the next few seconds could mean. "I told her—to stay a-away from you; and I promised I'd make her suffer—i-if she didn't."
There was nothing but silence for several moments, the crackling fire almost echoing in the deafening emptiness of the room until at last, the frightened Hyuuga felt warm, roughened hands cradling her cheeks and tilting her face upwards.
Crystalline white met deep Obsidian as Hyuuga and Uchiha gazed into each other's souls for the first time.
"Hinata Hyuuga. You are…the most unspeakably incredible woman…I have ever met; I don't deserve your kindness or your friendship…but I would be a lost man without it."
Hinata blushed furiously but her eyes never left his. "I—I just wish I could do more, I mean you've done so much for me and I—"
"Well there is something but I—something tells me you wouldn't agree to it." His black eyes glimmered with a mixture of determination and uncertainty.
"What?! What is it, Sasuke-kun? Please tell me!" The young woman's eyes glimmered as she gazed up at him eagerly.
Her child-like innocence was so endearing, the Uchiha smirked in spite of his attempt to keep his composure.
"If you would—let me take you away, then—you wouldn't have to suffer anymore."
Hinata gasped, staring into his intensely serious eyes in wonderment.
"I know. I know it sounds insane and I—I don't know I just—I hate seeing you treated like this!" His black eyes bored into hers then and his expression hardened. "I'm tired of your family trampling on you and even though I know you're strong, it just…it pisses me off." The Uchiha's mouth curved into a frown and his brows pulled together in a deep scowl.
A soft smile touched Hinata's lips. "That is because you are very kind, Sasuke-kun…and it means so much to me."
The Uchiha shrugged. "I don't know about that, I mean wanting to run your old man through with my sword probably isn't considered very 'kind'." He rubbed the back of his neck and his mouth pulled into a tight-lipped smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Hinata's expression turned sympathetic and she rested her hands on his chest. "Perhaps not. But it does mean you are fiercely protective and I greatly admire that about you." She smiled shyly, a light shade of pink dusting her cheeks.
"I'm only that way with you." For the first time, the Uchiha felt incredibly embarrassed and the faintest hint of pink dusted across his cheekbones. "I don't typically…get that way with anyone else."
Hinata bit her lip, glancing down shyly. "So why is it that you are that way then…with me?"
An intense warmth spread through his body and the Uchiha ached to tell this woman what she was beginning to mean to him…but he held back; he couldn't help but feel that the time wasn't right and in spite of how much he wanted to bear his heart to her, he didn't want to be too hasty either—the last thing he wanted was to scare her away and as much as he hated accepting it, the Hyuuga heiress was still hurting over Naruto's rejection. If he was ever going to tell her how he felt, it would only be when she was completely free to give her heart to him, wholly and completely.
He could wait until then; he would wait as long as need be. Hinata was a once in a lifetime woman and she was more than worth it.
"You are a very precious friend to me, Hinata. I will never take that for granted and I will always treasure it."
His black eyes softened and one of his rare, warm smiles shone in the depths of his onyx orbs.
"I—you are a precious person to me too, Sasuke-kun. You always will be and—I will always protect you." Her Opalescent orbs shone with the most radiant of smiles.
Sasuke nodded and the two fell into a companionable silence for a while. The storm still raged on outside and as Sasuke watched the rain coming down in sheets, he knew it wouldn't be letting up anytime soon.
"The rain's not letting up. Stay here for tonight, Princess—"
His black eyes looked down, only to find the pale eyed woman snuggled against his chest, fast asleep.
Her slumbering face was even more beautiful if that was even possible and he took a moment to selfishly drink in every last inch of her features. Reluctantly, he stood to his feet with her gathered in his arms and carried her down the hall to his room.
Kneeling down, he carefully laid her on the futon and pulled the covers over her slender figure, tucking them in around her shoulders and under her chin.
Looking down at her, the Uchiha couldn't help himself and bowing his head, he pressed a tender, lingering kiss to her forehead.
"Maybe someday, Princes…" He whispered softly. "Maybe someday…I can take you away."
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This one was a bit long, I'm so sorry! Grr! I hate when I can't just find a good place to end a chapter but I don't know, this one was just tricky I guess. Hopefully, I can do better with the chapters to come, I'll definitely do my best! Review, Review, Review and as always, I hope you guys are happy with this turnout; your raving Reviews have been amazing, I just love you all to bits!
