Rabu yawned. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to stay awake.

On his right side, Sato was leaning on the wall, sleeping soundly. How one could doze off while standing on his feet was a mystery to the man.

Suddenly, the guard jumped up. Someone was coming down the corridor.

"Sato, wake the hell up!"

He punched his colleague and watched as the other barely opened his eyes.

"Leave me alone…"

"Someone is here."

"No one is-"

But before he could finish, a woman appeared before them in the darkness. The dim light in the tunnel barely revealed her face. Her white clothes made her look like a ghost. She took a step forward and both men jumped in fighting positions, holding their kunai.

"Who are-"

"The Hokage should have informed you that I would come."

The guards blinked. In a moment, Rabu recognized her. Her ghostly white eyes were the ones of a Hyuuga.

"Hinata-sama," he started. "I… We did not expect you so late."

"Has the Hokage told you when I would come?"

"N-No…"

"Then when did you expect me?"

The man opened his mouth, seemingly baffled. Hinata clenched her fists and tried to stay calm. It was not like her to be rude, not at all. But she was doing this on purpose. She had to use her authority so to scare the men at least a little.

"I… Would you want to see the prisoner?"

"Do you think I came here to chat with the two of you?"

Both guards looked at each other, a bit blushed. The two were young shinobi and guarding the Uchiha was probably the first serious mission they were given in their careers. Biting her lip, the girl waited for them to open the door to the prison cell for her. She took a step forward.

"I want to speak to the man that murdered my father. Leave."

"But Hinata-sama..."

"I said leave!"

She watched with the corner of her eye how her voice frightened the men. She was no one to give them such orders. Only the Hokage could dismiss them from their posts. But they seemed too frustrated by her to think straight. And this was exactly what she had in mind.

Bowing lightly, the men headed down the corridor. They would not be too far, she was sure. But this was better than nothing.

The girl sighed. She slowly walked ahead, gripping the ends of her kimono so the cloth wouldn't drag itself on the floor. It was too damn long. She walked in and closed the door behind her. Activating her Byakugan, she saw the two guards in one of the next corridors. This would have to work.

After a bit of a hassle, she managed to light the small torch and left it on the wall. What the light revealed before her shocked her deeply.

Sasuke was still hung from the wall. The chains on his wrists had blood on them, deep cuts seen on his skin. His cheekbones were too distinctive. Were they feeding him at all? Or had he refused to take any food?

His hair was messy, dusty and also contained stains of blood. His face was bruised. They might have been beating him. They definitely had. Maybe the Morino had paid him a visit?

Finally managing to calm down, the girl got closer to him. Her hand slowly touched his cheek. His skin was cold. Too cold. He did not react. Lowering her fingers, she traced his jawbone, until her fingertips reached his neck. She needed some time before she felt his pulse. It was too week. The man was barely breathing.

"You are trying to kill yourself," she whispered.

And she could understand him. Death was much more honorable than rotting in the world's worst prison.

The woman carefully removed the dirty cloth that was covering his eyes. It had special seals on it to block the chakra from being used, so it burned her fingers, but she didn't care. Letting it fall on the ground, she stared at the man. But he still didn't react.

"Sasuke…"

A moment of silence passed.

"Why can't you just let me die?"

She stared at his lips and tried to figure out when they had moved. He could barely talk. His voice was hoarse.

Turning around, she quickly filled the glass that rested on the small table with water and pressed it to his lips, but he did not move.

"You have to drink."

"I don't."

"Please."

Slowly, his eyelids lifted, just barely, but enough for her to see his eyes. They were black, and very tired. A bit hazy as well. He was in a very bad condition.

She couldn't help but let both her palms go to his face, carefully placing them on his cheeks. His eyes opened a bit more.

"You look… different," he noted, his voice hoarse, the words just a whisper.

"It's because of the kimono."

"Why are you here, Hinata?"

The girl finally let go of his cold face and stepped back. She took a deep breath. "I am here to free you."

Surprisingly, a smirk curled his lips. "That's impossible."

"You will be send to the Raishini prison tomorrow."

"I know."

"I cannot let this happen."

The Uchiha slowly licked his lips, his eyes strongly fixed on the girl. The smirk was gone. His expression was deadly.

"You can and you will."

"Why, so you can starve yourself to death?"

"I was supposed to die."

"No-"

"Hinata." The girl blinked. Many people called her by name nowadays. But hearing it from his lips was different. It felt… nice.

"I can't let you die, Sasuke."

"You-"

"Stop being so stubborn," she interrupted, watching him as he widened his eyes.

Pulling back, the girl placed her palm on his chest. She could still feel the wound the medallion had left there. Maybe this hurt him. He didn't show it.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Katsu."

The odd chains that were entangled around his whole body suddenly loosened up, then fell on the ground one by one. The Uchiha inhaled, feeling strangely relieved. He could breathe properly now.

"Hinata…"

But the Heiress was too preoccupied. She gazed upon the huge seal that could be noticed on the wall. It was the exact one she had seen in one of the books in the Hokage library. Thank god Naruto had reluctantly let her browse the old papers.

She bit her thumb and smeared the blood on both her palms. This wasn't a summoning jutsu. She just had to give a small amount of her blood and chakra in sacrifice so the seal could be broken. Slowly, she performed a combination of hand-signs.

"Hinata."

She placed her palms on the wall and watched as the seal disappeared. She did give some of her chakra for that and felt dizzy, but just for a slight moment.

Minutes passed as she dismissed each seal or jutsu that had been cast on the man. Some were easy to be taken off, some were complicated. And yet, she had been prepared. She had been researching the Hyuuga archives, the ones in the Hokage building and a few that she managed to find through old historical scrolls.

He was free. Activating her kekkei genkai, she watched as his chakra flow was completely restored. But it was uneven. He had too many internal injuries.

"Hinata."

The girl finally decided to stop ignoring the man and stared at him. Although he was only held by simple chains right now, he had no strength in him to use his powers, or even move.

"This should be better…"

"Stop this."

"Why do you want to be locked up so much?"

Sasuke closed his eyes. He sighed. "Your life here is perfect. You are the Hyuuga Clan Leader. You can be the Hokage's wife. Why do you so wish to throw this away?"

The girl blinked. "Don't be like the others. They see me and think that I am happy, that I have everything I want. Well I don't. I have everything I don't want."

"If you free me, they will prosecute you."

"Don't act like you are worried about me."

"Hinata-"

"Stop it."

She then pulled her kimono up and dug in the pouch on her thigh, taking a kunai out. Releasing her chakra, blue light engulfed her palm. It went all the way to the edge of the weapon.

Hinata then turned and removed the glass and water bottle from the short table, then moved it and climbed on it. She had to be quiet, so instead of breaking the hand-cuffs, she broke their locks.

His left hand was free, and his whole body shifted, letting him hang from his right arm. The girl hurried to release him from the rest of the chains and jumped in front of him just in time to catch him before he fell on the ground. She wrapped her hands around his shoulders and let him lie in her lap.

He was only skin and bones. She had never seen a person so physically week. A painful lump appeared in her throat, but she tried to breathe. Now was not the time to cry.

And still, she could not help it. Her hands dug in his hair and she touched his face, watching as his onyx eyes were fixed on her.

"You still have time to stop this," he whispered.

"And you still have time to run away."

"Hina-"

"Please don't do this to me. Don't die. The only way I could live my boring little life here is if I knew you were safe." The girl roamed in the little bag, attached to her leg and took out a small bottle, full with little round balls. "Here. These are energy pills. Sakura gave them to me when I was recovering from… From what happened. They are gross, but they help a lot. This should help you run."

Surprisingly, the man managed to rise up, supporting his weight on his elbows. His face was inches from hers.

"I am not leaving without you."

The Heiress blinked, then smiled. "You don't have another choice."

"No."

"Sasuke, if I stay here, I will be able to make sure they will never find you. I know where you will go, and I know how to keep them away."

"No."

"Sasu… Go. Live. Maybe someday we will meet again."

A tear dropped from her eye and fell on his cheek. The man slowly raised his fingers and touched the wet spot, examining his palm. His eyes slowly drifted to her again.

"Just go!" She was getting worried, too much time had passed and the guards could come check on her any time now. "There is no time to waste."

The bottle with energy pills was taken from her. The man rose up, sat on his knees and grabbed her shoulders, gluing his eyes to hers.

"Why?"

She smiled a crippled, painful, bitter smile. "Because I love you. Go."

His black eyes drifted away. He looked down. "I should have not involved you in my madness. You deserve much more. But you are enchanting, Hinata. I am obsessed with you."

"Sasu-"

"Forget about me. Forget I ever lived. That we ever met. Be happy with Naruto, he will give you everything you can ever wish for."

"Go."

Sasuke looked at the door. Someone was coming down the corridor. He opened the bottle of pills and gulped in too many, then dried the water bottle behind him. He stood up and the girl followed, holding him with her hand to make sure he would sustain his balance.

She stared at him, tears falling from her eyes. He raised his palm and wiped her face, his expression deadly.

"Farewell, Hinata."

Pulling her, their lips met. The kiss was short, too short. She needed more. His body was too slim, but his touch was still giving her shivers.

He let go of her and walked out the door too fast for her to be able to follow. Turning around, she heard strange noises. He had engaged the guards. She immediately ran ahead. He was too weak, he couldn't battle.

And yet, by the time she got there, the men were both lying on the ground. At first she thought they were dead. But taking a closer look, she noticed their eyes – wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Genjutsu.

The girl turned around and saw him. He was hurt and week. But he looked as determined as always.

His red eyes shimmered in the darkness.

"Take care, Sasuke."

Her voice was only a whisper, but it echoed in the underground tunnel. The man parted his lips, but didn't say anything.

His lips curled. He smiled. A gorgeous, genuine smile.

Before she could react, he was already gone.

Smiling herself, Hinata headed ahead and made sure to escape this place as soon as possible. She had to get to her room before someone noticed she was missing.

Note:

I cried when writing this. Honestly, I started crying. It is too damn painful.

A very, VERY special thanks to the awesome girl who drew this AMAZING art, inspired by chapter 23 of this story. I spent all yesterday and some of today's morning gazing upon its beauty and perfection. And I cried too. This is one of the most awesome and amazing things anyone has ever done for me.

Please make sure to check the art, I have left a link to it in my author's info. Artworkparadise, you are amazing.

Kudos to everyone that has been reviewing, liking, following and sharing this story. It was amazing, purely awesome to write it, knowing that there are people that actually like it. Another special 'Thank You' to imorin - your review made my day, thank you. And I do love the long and large reviews, don't worry.

Really guys. Thank you for all your support! You are what makes me update so often, and what inspires me to write. It has been a pleasure.

Edit: it appears that many of you are left with the impression that Hinata is pregnant. Please note that I have not said, stated, shown or confirmed this in any way. One night together isn't a certain fact for a baby to happen ;)

This story is painfully going to an end. Will try to update soon :)