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XXXX
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Chapter 3:
Insanity
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"It's true: we're all a little insane
But it's so clear now that I'm unchained."
-Sweet Sacrifice by Evanescence
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XXXX
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November
Ino took three long strands of midnight hair and plaited them firmly, careful not to disturb the girl that slept soundly.
A part of her knew, however, that Hinata wouldn't wake. She'd come in an hour ago to give her a bath. Through it all, Hinata remained immobile.
The Yamanaka secured the last piece of hair with a purple band, finally concluding her work. She laid the braid over the girl's shoulder and sat back, observing her handiwork.
With the Hyuuga's hair now collected and her hands folded over her stomach, her bandages clean and her skin fading from an unhealthy blue-green to an equally unhealthy pure white, she almost appeared to have passed away.
The Yamanaka's eyebrows knitted into an unhappy frown.
She'd arrived this morning, her usual rounds completed, anxiously anticipating the end of any daily appointments so she could come and see how Hinata was doing. She had been told her friend had attacked the nurses in charge of her when she woke up, screeching at them not to touch her, struggling with an imaginary enemy.
To hear the news made Ino's stomach drop.
She reached out slowly to smooth Hinata's bangs, careful not to sweep the area around her eyes, and parted them to the side, exposing an unsealed forehead.
The twelve-year-old girl with big eyes and blushes had become a young woman to admire in the war, and after being trained to become head of her clan for the last year and a half, Hinata had further developed an aura of gentle power with the same effects as the Gentle Fist; her power was a soft brush, but had anyone who came across it down to her feet. Ino's opinion was reinforced when the young Hyuuga seemed oblivious to the effects she had on people these days.
Ino's lips turned up in a smile, the scent of light vanilla and fresh rosemary brushing her nose.
Hyuuga Hanabi had appeared the day before, a basket full of Hinata's usual shampoo and lotions in hand. She'd handed it to Ino personally and coolly added to not use any hospital soap on her sister. After that, she had left without visiting, posture straight.
Ino had stared after her for a moment and shrugged.
Very well then, she'd listen to the cheeky brat, if only because Hinata's soaps of shrubby rosemary with a touch of soft vanilla was heavenly and because Ino wanted to keep something of Hinata intact.
She hadn't known her very well at the Academy, mostly because both of them had run in two different social circles while young. Ino was the exuberant blonde with a bright personality, Hinata the withdrawn, quiet Hyuuga with pale eyes and short ebony hair.
They were complete opposites in character and appearance but they were friends. Hinata's soft smiles, her lovely and calm company were things that drew people to her when she was feeling confident and didn't try to fade into the background.
The Hyuuga heiress created a peaceful balance when they were together, unlike Ino's time with Sakura, in which they fought over nothing and everything unceasingly, the only way in which they dealt with the friendly insults and comments.
That was the bond the Haruno and the blonde established since Sakura declared them rivals for Sasuke's affection. Not much had changed now that the Uchiha was back. Sakura was still infatuated and kept single, waiting for the day Sasuke turned her way. Both ninjas had matured, her and Sakura, but that didn't mean they'd forgotten about their adoration for the ex-avenger.
Ino could sometimes swear she felt his presence near, but that was absurd. Uchiha Sasuke didn't leave his house for any reason, except when a certain blond Jinchuuriki dragged him out by force. He also wasn't enrolled in ANBU since the village scarcely trusted him, so he couldn't be one of the elite guards watching over Hinata's safety.
They hid their presence well, but Ino wasn't the heir of a sensory clan for nothing.
The Hyuuga clan had taken precautions and only Tsunade-sama, Shizune-sempai, four medics, herself included, and other selective personal knew of the Hyuuga successor being back in Konoha. Hyuuga Hiashi had demanded to classify the information for security measures and no one had objected.
Out of the Rookie Nine, Ino was the only one who officially knew what was currently happening with Team 8. Kiba and Shino were still within the hospital's walls and the rest of their friends were well aware of that, but not of Hinata. She had the suspicion Shikamaru knew something but wasn't letting her in on it. She'd gave up on bothering him about it and decided to focus on Hinata first and her lazy teammate later.
Ino sighed, stood up from her seat beside the dark-haired girl, and began to take her temperature, checking the monitors for any changes.
She encountered none.
She fixed the already-impeccable pillows and stretched the blanket when there was nothing else to do, brushing imaginary lint from the white sheets. Once done, she sat back on the chair and continued to watch her friend quietly. Hinata's usually bright lips were a waxy pink, cheekbones looking rather sharp due to her sunken cheeks.
Ino took one of Hinata's wrists with care, avoiding the IV inserted in her vein, and interwove their fingers, feeling bumpy bones. A wave of unstoppable, hot-red anger crashed against her and she ground her teeth, light blue eyes ablaze.
When she switched to the early morning shift a week and a half ago, she hadn't expected for her first patient of the day to be an unconscious Hyuuga Hinata. She'd quickly snapped out of her shock when informed of internal bleeding, fractures, a concussion, and blood loss.
The state in which the next Hyuuga head was brought in had kept her awake for hours until exhaustion submerged her into sleep. However, the images of Hinata's bruised body, the jagged brusque cuts beneath her clothes and upon her skin, the teeth marks, and the prints of hands around her torso, stomach, back, and thighs where someone had touched her violently, kept repeating themselves in the Yamanaka's head like a never-ending dream.
Hinata had gone into starvation mode, Ino had found out the next day, and was therefore put to rest with medicine until the liquified nutrients feed to her through tubes reached her system and stopped the brunette's intestines from eating themselves.
It was unfair, that someone like Hinata had to go not only through torture and the extraction of her Byakugan but starvation as well, perhaps even rape –
Ino shook her head, lips pressed into a gray line, attempting to banish the thought. If that had happened, and she knew the chances were high, then she'd be here for Hinata and wouldn't abandon her. It fell on her shoulders to accompany her since no members of her family had come by and their friends were unaware of the situation. She knew Neji had missions all the time, but where the hell was he?! He was Hinata's protector and cousin, he should've been here!
She squeezed Hinata's hands, rubbing them together for warmth. It wasn't the first time Ino wished the hospital wasn't so cold and Hinata's form so...frighteningly small.
Sure, Hinata had grown up, just like everyone else and it was her that changed the most out of the Konoha Twelve, but her stature was deemed short compared to the rest. Height aside, the girl had become a woman by sixteen.
Ino had seen her once in the thermal waters after training a few days before becoming a chunnin, trying to bind her enormous bosom that would make every female jealous and every man stare, blushing and pressing her mouth in a thin line of frustration when the white cloth came undone. She had fluttered her lashes, containing her tears of helplessness, and seeing the cause, Ino had stepped in to help her tie the gauze firmly around her torso.
Hinata had almost melted into a pool of goo out of embarrassment but had thanked Ino sincerely.
But Ino wasn't done. Oh no. She dragged the smaller girl into a girl's store to teach her what to buy to resolve her problem. After all, sports bras were wonderful things and Ino preferred those over bandages.
"Why have you never used these instead?" Ino asked, raising an eyebrow in inquiry, a size C-cup chain-material bra held high above her head for inspection. "I think this might fit?" she wondered aloud to herself, ignoring the looks of two shinobi across the street.
The Hyuuga heiress blushed at the item hanging from the Yamanaka's hand, averting her lavender eyes to anything but what was in front of her. "I-I, well, I never had anyone to ask. My father and Neji-nii-san are men...they don't have, um, this kind of problem so I couldn't..." she trailed off but Ino nodded in understanding.
"What about your sister?" the blonde murmured, absorbed in her quest.
"She..." Hinata looked down at her covered chest, uncomfortable. "She doesn't have my measurements. I'm really sorry to bother you, Ino-san," she apologized, staring at her feet this time.
The other girl waved her worries away. "It's okay; it's not like I mind. Oh, and drop the honorific."
"Ino, then...?" the shy girl tried tentatively, tapping a finger on her chin and looking at the blonde with big, doe-like eyes.
Ino smiled. This girl could be so cute. "That's right. Anyway, it's not every day I get the chance to look for bras with a girl my age, you know," she wriggled her eyebrows.
"Eh? R-Really?" the brunette squeaked, turning a dangerous shade of the brightest red nature was capable of creating. Ino couldn't help but laugh at the scandalized face.
Her eyes twinkled with mischief and her grin only grew. "Aww, Hinata, you're so cute when you're embarrassed."
"Ino," Hinata tried to reproach but her pouting face was just too funny.
Ino reached to pinch one crimson-apple cheek. "Come on! I'm just teasing!" Hinata's shoulder relaxed, only to tense again when the blonde added, "Imagine if we asked the boys for help..."
"I-Ino!"
XXX
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Sasuke was beginning to doubt the Yamanaka's sanity.
Scratch that; he'd always suspected she was crazy anyway.
He eyed her with a skeptical arched brow from his place encased in shadows, wondering if the blonde had finally lost it.
One second, the Yamanaka was deep in thought, eyes glazed. The next, she burst out laughing, only to end in tears? Sasuke just didn't get it.
Finally wiping her face, she stood, long blond bang tossed aside.
"I'll come back sometime tonight, all right?" she whispered, clearing her throat. After making sure everything was in order, the Yamanaka gave the unresponsive Hyuuga a last glance before closing the door.
About time.
Sasuke's genjutsu fell slowly and he winced behind his mask, stretching his arms over his head to ease the stiff muscles of his shoulders.
He didn't want to admit it but he was tired.
Standing up for hours without moving, maintaining a jonin-level genjutsu, and sleeping for a few hours each day was finally catching up with his body. Not good.
He couldn't wait until another ANBU took his post to get away from here.
He directed his gaze to the Hyuuga, but his disdain had little effect when the person he was trying to intimidate couldn't see it.
"When will you wake?"
His only response was the light tap, tap of the rain dripping outside and the hum of the monitors.
Great. Now he was talking to himself.
He needed a break.
His eyes moved elsewhere, carefully avoiding her face.
It was outrageous, really. The girl wasn't doing anything to bother him, and yet...as calming as her presence was, he disliked being at peace.
Peace and the name Uchiha didn't go hand-in-hand and would never come close together again. Itachi hadn't died in peace, as much as he made himself think he had. Itachi had gone through a cruel fate and died, leaving the only person he truly loved behind. He'd smiled at the time of his death on both occasions, and Sasuke was able to see the pain and anguish behind his older brother's grin. Obito couldn't have possibly forgotten what he'd done, even in death. As for Madara...that man was gone, and if he'd died a second death without a single regret, Sasuke highly doubted the afterlife was serving him with the same courtesy.
Sasuke didn't deserve to be calm.
That's not it, he thought. He did not want—or need—freedom from oppressive thoughts and emotions. He was a shinobi; he could control his turbulent states of mind just fine without the Hyuuga. He'd done so since the age of eight, why stop now?
Yes, and look at what you became.
Sasuke's eyes flashed at his inner voice.
He didn't need her. The Hyuuga was a burden, a mission he had to complete, a girl he had to put a distance with, the dobe's friend, someone warm and soft and inviting...
He felt his unsteady hands curl into fists.
No.
He didn't need her at all.
She was just a weird girl.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Hyuuga Hinata was no one.
By the time his replacement so much as stepped into the room an hour later, Uchiha Sasuke was gone.
XXX
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Inuzuka Kiba scowled at the white ceiling of his hospital room as if by glowering at it his mere will would destroy the entire care unit and give him a good excuse to leave, injuries be damned.
The bland ceiling stared back mockingly.
The brunet growled.
His dislike of hospitals was notorious and with good reason. The penetrating smell of decontaminant and sickness hung heavily in the air. In the case of normal people, such smells were considered sharp, disgusting, and unwanted. For a member of the Inuzuka clan, this was the ultimate punishment of a lifetime.
This didn't put Kiba in a good mood. He wanted out.
There was a reason why the Inuzuka kept to the outskirts of town and in the forests; staying indoors wasn't in their nature. Everyone knew it, except, apparently, the damn doctors in this bloody place.
Staying in bed with nothing to do ought to leave him with a lot of time to do some calm thinking, but Kiba's thoughts were hardly cute rainbows and bright sunshine.
He was worried sick, absolutely furious, and pathetically helpless. There was nothing he hated more than impotence in the face of uncertainty.
Hinata.
The mental image of a faceless individual without a scent, without even a detectable chakra attacking them made his blood boil. How dare that bastard hurt his teammates, throwing Hinata to the ground and banging her skull to a rock, shocking Shino with raiton so abundant the Aburame had almost died. And him? The pain of electricity had been so ardent his sight had clouded within moments.
"Hinata was taken; she's gone." Shino's somber words on the day he awoke had seized his breath, numbing him. But rage had quickly taken over.
Now, Kiba's fists clenched until his nails bit so deep his skin bled.
We couldn't protect her.
He tried to get up again, but his efforts were useless.
I need to get out of here.
He cursed out loud, releasing his contained rage and thrashing under the chakra restraints binding him down to the cursed bed. Why wasn't the Hokage letting him search for Hinata?! Didn't she know Hinata was in danger?! He was the best ninja equipped to bring her back, he knew how to track her, she was his teammate, why wasn't the Hokage letting him go?!
What if it was too late already?
He stilled at the thought, his veins running cold with dread for even considering the possibility.
No, Hinata wasn't dead.
She couldn't be. He would've known.
Right?
"DAMN IT!" he roared when the last of his strength was sucked out. "You bastards, I know you're listening to me! Let go of me already!"
When there was no response, Kiba resumed with his colorful use of words and snarled at no one in particular.
"Kiba."
The Inuzuka ignored the ninja on his left. He really wasn't up for another argument with him.
"Your mindless actions will be of no help to us. Why? Because—" Aburame Shino began, only to be cut off by his feral friend.
"Oh yeah?!" he exploded. "Well, what do you suggest we do? Stay here and sleep while Hinata is who knows where with that son of a bit–"
"Language, Kiba."
"–ch?! Is that your magnificent plan, bug boy?! Because it sure is working well!"
"What's going on in here?!" a third voice demanded.
Haruno Sakura stepped into the room, her eyes hard, her pink eyebrows turned down in a scowl. "Kiba!" she yelled. "What the hell is wrong with you? I can hear you all the way to the east wing!"
"Good!" Kiba snapped back. "That way your stupid sempais will get me out of here for being so noisy! Tell those bastards to release me, Sakura!"
"The only thing I'll do is knock you out if you keep up with this behavior!" the medic replied. "Tsunade-sama has gotten many complaints about you since you woke up!"
"Then take these damn belts off me and I'll be on my way. I won't bother you then!" he replied, teeth bared.
"Kiba—"
"I don't want to hear it," he snarled and a vein throbbed on the girl's forehead. "Where's Hinata?" he asked, his voice low with menace but his eyes full of despair.
Shino, who was about to intervene, directed his glass-covered gaze to the Haruno, whose face softened into a grim purse of lips.
She looked away, not able to take on the heavy attention of both men.
"I...I don't know," she admitted after a moment of silence.
Kiba's wild features turned dangerously harsh, his eyes darkening. The glint of playfulness he usually exhibited was nowhere to be found. "Next time, don't you dare ask me what's wrong with me when the answer is obvious."
"Kiba, you shouldn't talk to Sakura-san like that," Shino said sternly.
"Does Naruto know?" Kiba ignored the Aburame and continued. "How many teams have gone after the imbecile that took her, eh? Did they find anything?"
"Kiba—" Sakura was starting to regret her decision of stepping into the room.
"Does Naruto know?" he insisted.
Sakura frowned. "I don't know."
"You don't know, you don't know! Let me out of here and I'll find out for you. What do you say?" He proposed sarcastically.
"Look, I understand you're upset but this isn't helping Hinata—"
"Oh, I'm the one who isn't helping her, is that it?! Well, I got news for you; it's not because I don't want to–"
"Kiba, that's enough," Ino intercepted from the doorway, although Kiba, who faced the ceiling, had no way of seeing her.
"What do you want, Ino? Do the world a favor and mind your own business," he barked, narrowing his eyes in irritation.
"You-!" Ino bit back the insult dancing at the tip of her tongue and tried to keep composure. She wasn't liking the way this guy was speaking to her or her friend but she understood why he was acting like this. Nonetheless, that didn't give him the right to yell at them.
"We may not know where Hinata is, but have faith in her. She's strong." She walked to Sakura and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Don't lash at us with your anger, Kiba. We don't deserve it."
"But Hinata deserves what's happening to her?!"
"I never said that," she cried, now standing directly above him with her fists on her hips. "Listen to me, Kiba. If you calm down and behave, I'll talk to Tsunade-sama and convince her in sending you with the next tracking team, but if you don't do as I say, Sakura will knock you out and you won't see the light of the sun in a whole week. Hear me?"
Kiba froze suddenly, his dark eyes widening.
Ino took his expression as an affirmative and crossed her arms over her chest to radiate confidence. Inwardly, she hoped he hadn't smelled her lie.
Kiba had smelled something, but it wasn't Ino's deception.
He sneaked a tiny trail of chakra to his nose, managing to tune down his wince of pain as the chakra restrainers reacted to his struggle, and sniffed.
He laid still, his mouth parted in surprise and...immense relief.
His heart skipped a beat and he felt an uncomfortable warmth in his eyes.
Could it be...?
"I-Ino," he whispered.
The blonde, who was about to walk out with Sakura, turned back to him, a confused look adorning her face.
"Can you come here?"
Stunned by the civilized request, Ino blinked down at the Inuzuka who had a wavering grin plastered on his lips. "Do...do you need something?" she asked hesitantly, coming closer.
Kiba sniffed again in reply, and bit down on the lower part of her loose white uniform, dragging her to him unexpectedly.
The girl gasped. "What are you doing?!"
She was about to swat him away, but before she could, Kiba released her, chuckling like a madman. Ino stared at him with wide eyes. She looked over at Sakura who was watching the scene with the same puzzled look.
"Rosemary and vanilla!" Kiba exclaimed happily, making the girls jump. He turned to Shino, whose eyebrows had risen over his dark shades in silent inquiry. Kiba laughed breathlessly. "It's rosemary, man! With vanilla! And it's fresh!"
Shino seemed to go still, catching on to the Inuzuka's meaning.
Both males in Team 8 smiled, Kiba a full-on grin and Shino a small, microscopic smile.
They centered on the unsuspecting blonde and the Aburame thought that perhaps Kiba's illogical behavior wasn't such a bad thing after all.
XXX
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He snatched his arm back, not looking at the person who had wanted to reach out to him.
He hated to be touched.
"Teme."
So. The dobe was finally back. Joy.
"Sasuke-kun..."
What were they doing here?
Sasuke didn't open his eyes but he sensed them there, looking at him with concerned, anxious gazes.
He really wasn't up to listening to their endless questions. He wanted to be alone. Wasn't the locked door giving out a clear message? Wasn't his choice of staying far from the local population hinting that, perhaps, just maybe, he wanted to be left alone?
He'd become aware of two presences closing in, but hadn't bothered to check if they were the occasional ANBU checking up on him or some random shinobi venturing into the woods.
It was raining. It was cold. It was lonely. It was dark.
Sasuke should have expected this. No moron, no matter how idiotic, just went for a stroll late at night during a thunderstorm and stepped through his door, uninvited, and turned out to be a random ninja.
Sasuke hadn't cared for his teammates' company, so he hadn't contacted them.
He should've known they weren't going to consent to that.
How inconvenient.
All he wanted was to sleep without Nightmares, to not wake up to see ghosts surrounding him, picturing what could never be and rewinding a past he had no desire to unfold.
He was angry because he couldn't close his bloodshot eyes. The Silence in the cottage was alive and had a very unpleasant face and wanted to speak to him and keep him from sleeping.
Why was it annoying him this much? He had lived in Silence. Silence had been his predominant companion since he was an orphaned child. He was used to it.
This Silence, however, was sinister. It wanted to eat him, it wanted to break him and see him down on the ground. It wanted him useless and shattered.
It wanted to cause despair, it wanted him to suffer and remember and know and regret.
This Silence's single goal was to destroy him.
And, as disgraceful as reality often was, Uchiha Sasuke had let the Silence win this battle.
Just this once, his mind managed to barely whisper, utterly worn down by the Silence's relentless insistence.
He was too tired and his mind was already striding down to the shadows of Death and Gloom, what was the problem with adding more hatred to the fire, right? In the end, it made little difference.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, teme?" Naruto asked, voice eerily calm.
Hn, the dobe was serious then.
Sasuke didn't reply, tongue twisted and heavy and dry. He solely sat on the last step of the stairs of the living room, elbows resting nonchalantly on his knees, dripping hands leaving puddles of black blood on the wooden floor.
Even the once-hot liquid was cold.
It ran down his raw, calloused knuckles, dipping his fingers with crimson paint.
Blood was a very sticky thing, the Uchiha reflected dully, or was that simply a commensurate effect induced by his sweat?
He wasn't sure. He had no true intentions to find out, either.
A hand reached for him again but Sasuke was already on his feet, his Sharingan activated on instinct and swirling madly at the female offender, who hastily stepped back.
"Don't touch me," he seethed, his eyes bright, menacing.
"Sasuke..." Now the blond was using his first name? The dobe really was serious. "What happened here?" He motioned broadly to the broken remains of several bookshelves and the overturned table. "What did you do?"
Questions, all of them. Sasuke decided he wasn't going to answer them. He had no patience for this nor was he willing to even attempt a facade of it. Not tonight.
"Leave."
Sakura flinched at the brutal command and her green eyes dulled, hurt. Naruto was another case. His azure eyes went from dark blue to a striking azure in an instant. He stood his ground.
"Why did you do it, Sasuke?"
The Uchiha headed up the stairs, brushing the interrogation aside.
"Where're you going? I'm not done with you yet!" the blond Jinchuuriki said and hurried after him, Sakura close behind, calling out the Uchiha's name in worry.
Sasuke continued on his way up until he reached his bedroom. He slammed the door, hoping they would simply disappear. He didn't want their company.
Seeing his discharged ANBU gear, he snatched it from its place on the bed and put it back on*.
The door was kicked open just as he strapped the katana to his back.
"You're not going anywhere until you answer me, Sasuke!"
"Mission," the stoic Uchiha answered tonelessly and waited for Naruto to move from the doorway. "I have one."
The orange ninja was either not getting the memo or he had a death wish because he did no such thing. However, he did pause.
"A mission?" the Uzumaki fixed him with a puzzled look as his eyes ran over the distinctive uniform. His eyes widened. "The hell...? Since when are you in ANBU?!"
"Since you left." The world doesn't stop spinning just because you're absent. "Now get out of my way."
"At least let me heal you, Sasuke-kun," Sakura offered, her hands already flickering with green chakra.
"No."
"Sasuke!"
"No."
"But–"
"I've got to go." The atmosphere here was suffocating him. Drawing breath was so difficult; it caused him pain.
"What, where to?!"
"But Sasuke-kun, your wounds–"
"Are fine," he cut them off brusquely. "I don't need you two to babysit me."
"Why are you being so uncooperative?!" Naruto bellowed, all sort of restraint with his jerk of a friend gone. "Did something happen—?"
But there was no answer but that of the door closing behind the Uchiha.
XXX
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The only word that could explain what he felt at seeing her was 'relief', but he refused to acknowledge it.
She was there, still breathing in and out, the Silence around her at ease.
Why?
Why was it different here? Why with her?
He didn't need her.
Uchiha Sasuke didn't need Hyuuga Hinata. It was that simple.
She was his opposite. Kind, warm, graceful, awkward, innocent, humble, and bright. She was a child of the sun, just like her name described her to be.
He was rude, cold, indifferent, and tainted with reality. A traitor, a selfish being, and a very arrogant bastard.
He was losing his sanity. He really was.
Hmph. Probably not much of a surprise. Many shinobi in Konoha had expected it, he was sure. After all, a criminal with a past like his would never be free of it, no matter how fast or how far he ran.
His memories and his sins were just a step behind, tormenting, screaming, reminding him.
Sasuke stood over the small indigo-haired Hyuuga and cursed her existence and tried to deny that her company was desired.
She was the Light chasing the Darkness from his surroundings, something he'd lacked and was now receiving.
But he didn't want it. He didn't want her.
"What do you want from me, Hyuuga?" he panted, the cool air of the hospital suddenly poisonous in substance. "What do you want from me?"
His sleep-deprived state was the only source that could excuse his thoughts and actions. The ache in his body, a result of the endless training hours he pushed it through in private, wasn't enough to knock him out anymore while sedatives were nothing more than incompetent pills resting on his nightstand.
Insanity was once again trying to take over, to possess him and make him lose all sort of control.
The bruised girl was driving that Madness away.
What was she? She was fragile-looking, small for her age, childishly innocent.
So much in fact that it sickened him.
And yet, here he was.
He clenched his fists, the sharp sting of his nails against flesh sending waves of pain to his brain. Perhaps he'd hit his furniture too hard.
The weary Uchiha, too depleted to perform his genjutsu, fell on the chair the Yamanaka used when she came by and attempted to catch his breath. It was a miracle the previous ANBU operative had let him take over earlier than the time appointed.
After a moment, his eyes took her in, the unsunned snow that was her skin, the rise and fall of her chest, the heart-shaped face that was thinner than he remembered it to be, the long cascade of hair in some styled braid, her folded hands, her vulnerability. He saw it all and it ached.
He wanted to approach her side, touch her skin, and breathe her scent. But his hands were too dirty for that, they would stain her essence too much.
Isn't that what you wished for? To destroy what she is? Wasn't your intention to corrupt her, body, and soul?
Sasuke's eyes began to close of their own accord but the Uchiha put up a fight.
No. He didn't want to sleep. He didn't want to dream, to feel. Being unable to sense emotions was so much better. No Pain, Sorrow, or Grief. Nothing but a lovely, seductive Darkness embracing him.
His shoulders relaxed and his throbbing arms went slack, limp on his knees. He was failing; it was no use.
What twisted dependency was to rely on someone who couldn't even save herself. He loathed it -and her- with every fiber of his being.
The last thing he saw before everything evaporated into unconsciousness was the pale face of a porcelain doll.
XXXX
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A/N: *ANBU uniforms are stored in HQs, but Sasuke's an exemption to this rule due to Tsunade hiding his active status.
Personalizing Sasuke's emotion is also not a mistake :)
I'm glad you like this SasuHina story! Others fics like Paint With Words, Stronger, Ikigai, A Traitor Branded, Una Segunda Oportunidad, Debe Ser Invierno, and Prey for the Hunted really shaped my perspective on this excellent pairing.
Thank you: xxYou-shall-ve-my-Squishyxx, FearaNightmare, Kibachow, Darth Lelouch, LadyCassie, umnia, nikols, Duchess23, Bottomless Pit of EMOTIONS! & SONE.
-10.25.13
Revised: 12.13.20