Chapter 9:

The coffee was hot, just what they needed. When you're doubtful, a good cup of Joe warms the soul. Coffee breeds the mind and spirit. That is exactly what they needed right now. Many things were going through their minds, like feelings of insecurity, uneasiness and doubt. For Sasuke, it could've been the heat coming from the vents up above him in the quaint cafe, or it could've been the stolen glances they were giving each other, but he was left feeling warm inside and out.

Tensions were high. She would take a sip and he would take a sip. Sasuke could hear two things; the loud thumping of his heart and the indie music playing in the background. Other people surrounded them and talked and chattered away. This is the first time, in a long time, that Sasuke and Hinata stayed silent. Eventually, Hinata couldn't take it anymore. With a desperation and eagerness that only the most open-mouthed of people feel, she says:

"So do you want to know why I want to find my dad?"

"I'm not gonna lie, I am curious. But like I've said before, I didn't want to bother and pry you with all my questions."

"Honestly, you're too considerate." After taking another sip she continues. "Well, my father left when I was young. He and my mom hated each other. They would fight. And these weren't like the normal fights most parents get into, these were violent fights. They'd yell at each other and hit each other. This went on for a long time until one day, a while ago, they split up. Ever since then, they haven't talked to each other at all. That's probably for the best, really. If they'd stayed together, they probably both would have killed each other."

"So how do you know that he's here? And why do you want to find him now?"

"This is my dads home town, he was born and raised here. Last I heard, he was back to working as a construction worker. I just have no idea how to find where he's at. Once I do find him, I'm gonna give him an ear full! Maybe then I can have some peace."

Sasuke assumes that that's where he'll come in handy. He's known as being a computer savvy peron, at least compared to Hinata. The hours and hours he's spent on the internet only serves as a testament to that fact.

Sasuke replies, "I can think of a couple of ways we can find that out. First, we can find out if he's a general contractor. If he is we can look up his contractors license. From their we'll be able to look up his business name and hopefully business location. And, you know, the most amazing thing about the internet is that sometimes all it takes-" He slides his cell phone over to her. "-Is a quick google search".

The phone's screen is set on the google homepage. Hinata face is halted in shock. She's not one to mess around areas of the web and find things out. Definitely not as much as Sasuke. The coffee in their mugs doesn't last nearly long enough. Eventually they both leave the cafe and go about the city. One of the places they wanted to visit was a tall steel structure that's called the Sunsphere. They hop on the elevator and ride it all the way to the top floor.

Around them were tall glass windows, clear as day. It gave them a view of the entire city area. The sun reflected onto the tall historic buildings. Bystanders walking and going about their business, ignorant to the beauty that surrounds them. Hinata grabbed Sasuke by the arm, she could feel the goosebumps on his skin. In turn, Sasuke could feel her grasp his arm. He attempts to not react, in reality, he didn't know how to react.

He says, "Pretty, isn't it?"

She turns away from the view, still holding onto him, looks at him and replies:

"That's an understatement."

Several hours later, they both are back at the hotel, resting. With the TV playing in the background, he grabs the extra sheets and blankets that are in the closet and starts setting up his bed. Unfortunately, the couch was going to serve as his bed that night. He grabs one of the extra pillows and throws it on top of all the sheets. Hinata watches him set all this up as she listens to music on the speakers of her phone.

Hinata giggles to herself and says sarcastically, "All set there, captain?"

"Pretty much."

"Before we go to bed, can I tell you something?" She stops the music on her phone.

"Sure."

Hinata gestures for him to sit next to her. He walks up to the bed and takes his seat to her side.

Hinata says, "I want to thank you for everything."

"Thank me for what?"

"Oh, you know. For all your help and your support. The fact that you're even here at all. You didn't have to go with me. But the fact that you did means a lot to me."

Hinata goes over his legs and faces him. She adds:

"You mean a lot to me."

She works her way up to Sasuke whose hands were shaking with nervousness. Hinata stares directly into his eyes and deep within his soul. With her hands, she feels her way up his chest and lays her body on his. Slowly their faces inch closer and close, until their lips touch. They kiss. Sasuke puts his hands around her hips and touches her back. Grabbing onto her shirt, as if it helped him and gave him support. Sasuke didn't know what to do, he's never kissed a girl before, although that didn't stop him.

Hinata couldn't help herself either. After his mouth, she started kissing his neck. The sensation of Hinata's caresses sent tingles down his back. His hands started moving on their own, they couldn't help but feel the texture of her clothes, wrinkle them, and ride up her entire back. He squeezes her and throws her onto the bed. While he is right on top of her, he starts kissing her again. Hinata moans with this sudden change of authority and position. Built up in him was a feeling he couldn't control. His heart burned with passion and lacked the self restraint he usually maintained.

She took off his shirt and threw it to a corner. His mind was scattered, lost, but not without a purpose. He couldn't believe this was happening. He followed suit and began unbuttoning her shirt. Once he got to the very last button he pulled her shirt open from the seams. The lights were dim but, from the obscurity, the moonlight lit up her body. Suddenly he stopped himself from what he saw.

He can barely mutter out, "Hinata… I."

Her skin was red and scarred from below her chest to below her navel, across almost her entire abdomen. It didn't look new, it appeared to have many years of age to it. Hinata was breathing heavily but caught sight at Sasuke, whose face was stopped in front of her stomach. She freaked out and pulled her shirt back together to hide her scars.

She says, "Sasuke." While explaining this she fondles and brushes through his hair. "Remember how I told you I was abused? Well, when my father left..." These words were torn with her tears and struggled to escape her mouth with the pain of her past. "When my father left, my mom freaked out. I got so mad that I yelled at her. It was then that mom threw this boiling oil at me. Ever since then I've been scarred from results of my words and my history."

Sasuke pulls up the blanket over her and comforts her with his hands. He says:

"Hinata… I-I, uh, I just want to be there for you. I know I'm not much. But-"

"Yes you are! Never doubt that."

Sasuke began to realize that maybe his life was like a car that needed a jump start. Maybe Hinata was the jumper cables to his life. No one has ever meant this much to him. He's never felt this way about any girl before. This was one of the first times he has ever been truly happy. So far, he is only happy when he is with her. She changed something in him, something he didn't know needed a changing. He came to a conclusion:

I'm going to help Hinata. I always want to be there for her. When she's sad, when she is lonely, when she needs a shoulder to cry on, I want to be the one who comforts her!

The two spend hours together, talking to each other and giving encouragement, until the night dies out and they fall asleep in each others arms.

Early in the morning, the following day, they eat together at the downstairs breakfast buffet. She brings up the topic of her father:

"So, how are you going to find him using google?" she wonders.

"Its pretty easy, I'll just type in his name and the name of the city next to it." He presses the search button and ten results pop up, all of them being men with the same name as her father. "You see? Just like that, we've got ten results. That means ten options we need to consider."

She quickly grabs the phone and eyes the internet page. She says, "Just like that, huh? But there's ten addresses here, how do we round it down?"

"By going to each one of these addresses and finding him."