Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did Chouji and Karui would have an explanation. Seriously.

Chapter 13: This Hollowness

"Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs." -William Shakespeare

Waking with a renewed energy he didn't know had escaped him Sasuke went about his daily routine before resuming his mission preparations from the day before. He was to leave at sunset that evening. He felt rejuvenated but also a little annoyed at the prospect of his new-found peace being immediately taken away from him in a few hours. He welcomed the mission with little objection, it was who he would be carrying out the task with that sent him into a foul mood.

Absentmindedly rubbing his towel at the wet ebony strands at the nape of his neck, Sasuke used his other hand to sort through the rations he intended on taking during his two-day mission- obviously it wasn't much but he still liked to triple check on everything before leaving for an assignment. If there was one plus side to his rather unpleasant childhood, it was that he developed a great sense of organization and time management. He was nothing if not completely thorough.

As he was sorting through the weapons he planned to take in his lightning scroll he felt his shoulders instantly tense at the anticipation of a person approaching behind him. Pausing his movements, he didn't bother turning around to address the individual.

"Karin…" Sasuke said not trying to hide the question in his tone. He had figured she'd be too upset to talk to him for a while, yet there she was standing behind him as if the matter had been resolved.

"Sasuke." He could her the shuffle of her clothes as she shifted uncomfortably in place. "I…"

"Don't bother." He grumbled already hearing the words 'sorry' before they fell from her lips. He didn't want her to apologize because she didn't need to and if she did he would be more inclined to do so himself which was an option he wasn't too fond of either.

Sasuke could practically hear the cogs spinning in her body as she quickly closed her mouth. Turning around to finally face her he noticed the grocery bags she held pressed between the crook of her arms. Her scarlet gaze found his as she looked intently in him for something he couldn't understand.

Raising a brow at her actions, Karin tersely smiled as she shifted her weight onto one foot, the other tapping impatiently on the wooden floor beneath it. He lowered his eyes to the offending foot with a single glare and it halted.

She was nervous that was clear, but she didn't have to stand there with such a look on her face if she didn't want to.

Casting her one last blasé glance Sasuke turned around to continue his earlier task. "You can go."

"Uh," Karin hesitated. She lingered around for what seemed like an eternity until Sasuke turned to address her once more.

"What?" He questioned not too nicely, as she opened her mouth to speak he suddenly noticed the folded piece of paper she had tightly clenched in her left hand.

As if answering his silent question, she thrust her arm before him, urging him to take the note.

Watching him stare curiously at the paper without moving to reach for it, she quickly explained, "I saw your old teammate Sakura while out for food. She told me to give this to you."

Nodding his head Sasuke grabbed the note and skimmed over its contents guessing it to be something important. His nose scrunched as he reread the quickly scribbled writing over and over still not understanding the context. All he saw were time intervals that meant nothing to him.

What did it all mean? What was Sakura up to?

Looking up from the kunoichi's coded message he caught Karin examining him once more only to quickly shift her eyes away and adjust her ever falling glasses when he raised his own coal gaze to meet hers.

Gripping the brown bag closer to her chest Karin slowly walked backwards, her eyes shifting to the paper every now and then as if she knew something he did not. Before he could ask her however she was halfway out the door.

"Good luck," She called out to him.

He stared quietly at the door for a moment as her words registered. He didn't know why he would need it.

Sasuke sighed suddenly feeling his burst of energy finally wane. Quickly finishing up the packing for his mission he felt the threat of familiar thoughts beginning to emerge as the distraction he so taxingly dragged out was complete.

He felt frustration beyond his years and there was only one person he knew would understand him.

But was he really that selfish of a person?

Casting an angry look towards the blood-stained clothes he had yet to wash thrown so carelessly in the corner of his room, Sasuke tightly clutched the note within his hand, and left through his window.

...

He knew he was being unfair to him, but he was also the only one who he felt comfortable confiding in. Walking with purpose Sasuke headed to the one place where he knew he would find Uzumaki Naruto- Ichiraku Ramen.

He paused as he caught the familiar sight of blond hair and vibrant splashes of orange. Naruto was sat in his usual spot staring at his ceramic bowl as if it was the most interesting thing on earth. Although Naruto usually spent his days admiring ramen as he were now Sasuke could tell that this time around his thoughts seemed to be somewhere else. He had a feeling that he could pinpoint exactly where they were.

Furrowing his brow, Sasuke hesitated before approaching him. It was selfish of him to come here but Naruto was his best-friend and he was someone he knew wouldn't judge him despite everything else. He was aware he was abusing the knucklehead's unbounded kindness, but he couldn't think of another person he could turn to without the pressure building up in his lungs.

Besides Naruto would know better than anyone else exactly how he felt. According to Sakura, Hinata had almost thrown away her own life for his too.

The brush of his fabric against the plush seat was barely audible behind the clank of steel pots that resounded throughout the back half of the ramen stand. At the tense drop of his company's shoulders Sasuke knew that he had long ago been sensed but was promptly ignored for the sake of the man's own comfort.

Naruto smiled tersely, the usual vibrant nature tucked away somewhere as he swirled his chopsticks in the leftover broth from his lunch, "All these years I begged for you to appear before me and you stayed stubborn, but the one time I don't want to see your stupid face you always end up in my presence. You're taunting me, aren't you Sasuke?"

Lifting the corner of his mouth a little, Sasuke leaned forward on the wooden plank in front of him. "I guess it's just second nature."

"Whatever bastard," Naruto chuckled, his usual boisterous disposition slowly coming forward. "I knew you were gonna' say something like that, ya know."

"Naruto." Sasuke's voice hung heavy in the air despite not saying much of anything at all.

Naruto paused his movements and closed his eyes gently, letting out a built-up sigh. Then with one swift motion, he brought his bowl to his lips and emptied the contents. In his silence Sasuke wondered whether the blond did the action to delay the conversation or gather his own thoughts.

In the end, he surmised it was probably both.

Wiping his mouth, Naruto put the ceramic down with a loud clinkand then turned towards Sasuke with a lopsided grin, his azure eyes sparking with understanding.

"Naruto." Sasuke repeated, he couldn't stand the hint of desperation in his voice, but it also couldn't be helped. He was frustrated.

"I know. Just shut up about it and have a bowl with me if you're gonna' stay. That's the very least you owe me."

The Uchiha kept his gaze still, slowly getting annoyed of the situation. He knew his best-friend like no other, he would postpone anything he didn't want to do for as long as he could.

Watching as Naruto raised his hand for a second bowl, Sasuke felt his body tense up in agitation before opening his mouth, "Make that two."

"Hey Old man, I need another bowl!" Naruto beckoned- his usual grin slowly making its way back on his face.

The two of them sat in silence for the remainder of their meal. Sasuke swirled his chopsticks through his half-eaten ramen, watching as the broth moved in an almost mechanical rhythm. Tiring of the tense atmosphere he let his chopsticks drop, as he turned towards Naruto with a blank expression.

"Naruto." He beckoned for the umpteenth time. The orange clad shinobi paused his own movements, his obviously fake chipper mood slightly cracking as he fought to keep the slight smile on his face.

"You," Sasuke hissed, feeling the annoyance at being ignored gnaw at him. "Do you even know why I'm here?"

"I can guess." Naruto frowned. The ocean drowned in darkness as Naruto bore his eyes to stare straight into Sasuke's unwavering gaze.

The Uchiha heard the name even if Naruto didn't say it. He didn't need to utter a word, his face said it all.

"Would you feel more inclined to speak if I came out and said it myself?"

Laying his cheek against the counter, Naruto turned his head away as his shoulders heaved with a loud sigh. "It doesn't matter, I turned out to be right, didn't I?"

Nodding his head Sasuke guessed the unpredictable idiot was right.

"Look not to be rude or anything, not that you don't deserve it and all, but I know you're going through a rough time and so I'm just gonna' be nice to you,"

"Naruto," Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Spit. It. Out."

"What the hell do you want from me, Sasuke?" Naruto sighed, finally allowing his annoyance to come front and centre on his face. It didn't suit him much.

"I… don't know." Sasuke quietly sighed. He had always been a man of few words, but he still found it frustrating to say anything at all in his current situation. "I guess I thought you'd understand."

Letting out a humourless chuckle Naruto shook his head. "I do understand," he quipped. "That's what makes it feel worse."

"How'd you get over it?" Sasuke asked, ignoring his best friends growing irritation. It didn't matter if he was pissed at him or not. He really wanted his advice, he needed to know how Naruto got through it himself.

"She confessed to me during her show of death." Naruto admitted. He sat up a little as the corner of his mouth twitched slightly at the memory. Sasuke watched him then with great intrigue, finally realizing the magnitude of what Naruto felt for the woman.

What a cruel twist of fate it was that he happened to be in the same predicament. It was like heaven was hell-bent on having the two remain rivals in everything for the eternity of their time on earth.

Playing with his food Naruto's blue eyes glazed over as they stayed trained on a spot far away. His face quickly shifted into a tight expression, the whiskers adorning his face slightly twitching with his cheeks movement. He was remembering something painful.

"I didn't do anything." Naruto finally finished. "The timing…, it was too hectic. I never even grasped the magnitude of what she did or said until she was looking at me in the war begging me not to give up."

At that, Sasuke's attention piqued. Naruto had almost given up in the war? The same Naruto who had spent most of his life chasing him down with an unending sense of relentlessness? That didn't sound like the Uzumaki at all, but he factored the conversation away for a later day.

"I see." Sasuke said. He was well aware of the regret in his words, of the underlying message the shinobi was too hurt to say outright. He knew that Naruto wouldn't have said anything at all if he didn't want to. He was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for, especially emotionally.

"Thanks, Naruto."

At the scoff that came soon after Sasuke knew that Naruto was aware that he understood.

"I'm way too damn nice." Naruto groaned, instantly reaching for his ramen for comfort as if on instinct.

The Uchiha didn't say anything as he stared down at his own bowl. He was determined to see her now even if he was apprehensive about it. If not for his sake, then for Naruto who seemed to always have the answer. He at least owed him that much, he'd given him the key to his sanity after all.

Stuffing his hands in the pocket of his pants his fingers came in contact with the paper he so hastily pushed inside them. Absentmindedly taking out the note, his eyes scanned the message once more while he waited for Naruto to finish eating so he could pay and leave.

Peering curiously over Sasuke's shoulder to stare at the note Naruto sat back down properly with a pout as if disappointed in what he'd seen. "How boring." He mumbled.

Looking at his company Sasuke couldn't help rolling his eyes out of habit at the man's childish nature. "What?"

"I thought the note would be something juicy but it's just bunch of Sakura- chan's hospital shifts. Why do you have that anyway?"

His heart raced as Naruto's attention returned to his bowl of ramen. "Come again?"

"That's the new shift schedule Sakura-chan got for the hospital," Naruto said in-between large bites of his food. He was slowly reverting back to his old self as if the ramen at Ichiraku's was some sort of antidote. "She was talking about some extra secret patient she was assigned to the other day and how her team got benched from missions because of it. I'm sure she's just exaggerating though, it's not the first time she's done that. It's probably just some boring fire daimyo in for a couple of check-ups. She's the one those prissy guys usually request for that type of medical stuff."

"That's what Sakura said?"

Throwing Sasuke a perplexed look Naruto nodded his head slowly as if it would make his words more understandable to the ex- avenger.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly insulted, but they soon widened in understanding. He turned to the clock hanging at the back of the ramen stand and seen that he had about ten minutes to leave. He pushed his bowl towards the blond who let out a shout of joy. Fishing out his wallet he tossed it towards Naruto who caught it with a raised brow.

"I'm paying." He imparted, watching as the Cheshire grin stretched the jinchuuriki's face before quickly heading towards the hospital.

He knew that the idiot would be merciless with his money as some act of petty revenge, but he couldn't bring himself to care as much as he should've.

He had just helped him twice.

It wasn't long before he found her standing there tapping her foot impatiently. In front of the large white hospital building she stood underneath one of the tall pillars. She was expecting him. At the sight of his nearing figure her countenance lit up as she slyly smiled.

"Sakura."

"Sasuke- kun." She smirked, crossing her arms as she shook her head, her rosy hair bouncing with every swing. "I wondered if you would figure it out." She stood against the outside cement wall of the tall hospital building.

"Took me a while." He dryly admitted as he frowned, none too proud of himself.

Laughing she grabbed him by the arm as she turned to brusquely walk inside the hospital. Her clean scent wafted towards him. She smelt like hand sanitizer. "Keep your head down. We've got to hurry, if anyone see's you they'll alert Kakashi-sensei. His orders."

Casting his attention to their hurried footsteps he sneered at the kunoichi's revelation, "That damn pervert."

"He cares for you, you know." Sakura said, quickly giving him a soft smile from over her shoulder. "But still. It wasn't his choice to make."

"Damn right it wasn't."

The strange smell of blood and disinfectant mixed together filled his nose as he passed through the crowded hallway careful not to bring too much attention to himself. The white tiles blurred together as the quiet sound of padded footsteps and squeaking wheels filled his ears. When they reached a flight of stairs Sakura's grip tightened around Sasuke as she scolded him to keep his head down when he instinctively raised it. She expertly navigated him through nearly empty halls and stairwells, which he concluded she probably memorized long ago.

Finally, Sakura's navy sandals stopped moving, her stared down at her red painted toenails. Keeping still he waited until she released his arm to look up at her. It seemed they were in a private section of the hospital, as there was no one else but them in the hallway.

Green eyes shifted solemnly towards the door to the right of him. Following their direction his landed on the wooden door beside him, the sign '405' nailed onto it in gold plated numbers. Obsidian eyes drew to the blurred window right above the doorknob. Taking a step towards it, he felt his breath hitch in his throat as he instantly recognized the person laying almost motionless in the hospital bed.

'Hinata'

"Why?" Sasuke breathed, "Sakura…" 'I don't understand'. He stopped himself before he could finish, saying such a thing would probably make things worse.

"Shikamaru told me about your mission the other day. I figured you'd want to at least see her before you left for two days, right?"

Sakura bit the bottom of her lip as she looked through the same blurry window. Her smile didn't quite reach her face and Sasuke knew that what she'd done for him meant more than he could possibly realize. He squeezed her shoulder before he could even think about it, her emerald eyes lighting up in surprise as she stared down at his calloused hand.

"She's in an induced sleep right now." Sakura informed him, watching as he dropped his hand and wordlessly stared at the door.

'That'd make it easier' he bitterly thought. Some part of him was relieved that he didn't have to speak to her now, but the other part was sort of upset. He'd gone through all the trouble just to have her not even be able to hold a conversation. But he couldn't be too particular about it now.

Grasping the metal handle tightly between his fingers he felt her gaze stay heavy on his back as he turned to leave.

"Sakura. Thank you." He had been saying that a lot he realized. But he truly meant it every single time. He wasn't one to say what he didn't mean. And Sakura…what she did…

"I guess you finally realized how you felt. I'm glad."

The Uchiha was aware of the magnitude of what she felt for him. He'd seen it firsthand on many occasions. He'd seen just how serious she was when she confessed her feelings. She was dear to him and he didn't want her to hurt because of him ever again. He hoped she knew that.

"You didn't have to."

Sliding her foot across the tiled floor she clicked her tongue. "Don't mention it okay? You don't have to, I'm doing this more for me than for you. I was sick of seeing you mope around, you obviously needed to see how strong she was for yourself."

She read in between the lines like she always did.

"Still." He replied.

"Sasuke-kun." He turned hearing her call his name. Her jade eyes held much emotion in them as they often did, but as always, he couldn't read them at all. "I already told you that day on the training ground. I want you to be happy. That's how people are when they're truly in love. That's what love is, it's selfless. Don't make me out to be an idiot."

He nodded his head as she leaned against the wall on the other end of the long hallway. "I'll keep lookout."

He smirked slightly at the kunoichi's feisty display then with bated breath pushed open the door that his most difficult obstacle lay behind.

The soft click of the door closing behind him registered faintly in his mind as he felt his jaw tense at the sight before him.

She was beautiful. That was his first thought. The one after that was a violent one. His sight traced the bruises along her arms and face with clenched teeth. He felt the simmering heat of anger pool in his stomach.

Taking another step closer towards her he felt the anger slightly dissipate as he reached a hand out to trace the marks on her skin, his frown deepening as he came to the blunt scars that now sat in the middle of her right hand. It sat exactly where she gripped the sword.

She moved in slight discomfort as his fingers drew along the deep line. Placing her hand firmly beside her he stayed staring at her for a few moments taking in that this was, in fact, not his imagination. He was truly looking at her.

Shifting her indigo bangs away from her clammy forehead he pursed his lips at the still expression her features laid claim to. It was such a Hyūga expression, yet it didn't quite fit her. He was so used to seeing her strained smile as she tried to hide behind a mask of serenity.

She looked quite colourless this way. Pale and deathly silent. He didn't like it he realized, his hand cupping the side of her face as his eyebrows knitted together. He could feel the steady breathes she took against his hand as he brought his thumb to lie near the edge of her mouth where stitches were healing.

He cursed under his breath at the realization that she wouldn't allow them to use medical ninjutsu on her. Tightening his hand's grip on her cheek he softly chided her, though she probably couldn't hear him. "Idiot."

At the beep of his phone Sasuke jerked backwards, eyes quickly darting to his pocket. He could feel the unusual formation of heat at the tip of his ears, suddenly aware of the proximity.

Taking another step further back Sasuke looked away in mild embarrassment. It was certainly easier to be close to her when she wasn't awake he darkly surmised. Pulling out his phone he read the text he received reminding him of his mission. He glared at his phone for a few seconds and then put it safely back in his pocket. Glancing at the clock above her bed, he realized that he needed to go in order to gather his things and leave in time for his mission.

He stepped towards the door, his head over his shoulder as he memorized her face one last time. As if sensing his departure Hinata's eyelids begun to shift as if she was stirring awake. Realizing he didn't want to speak to her, yet he exited the room with brusque movements and made his way to his house, making sure to follow the along the same path Sakura had took him earlier.

Making his way home, he let the image of her scars sear the inside of his brain. Her once smooth skin was marked with the sins of his past.

He clenched his hands into tightly wound fists, somehow, he would repay her.