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XXXX
Chapter 10:
Strength
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"Unchain the colours before my eyes,
Yesterday's sorrows, tomorrow's white lies.
Scan the horizon, the clouds take me higher,
I shall return from out of fire.
Tears for remembrance, and tears for joy,
Tears for somebody and this lonely boy.
Out in the madness, the all-seeing eye,
Flickers above us, to light up the sky."
-Remember Tomorrow by Iron Maiden
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XXXX
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November
Fire ran through his veins, and Sasuke had to suppress a maddening smirk of satisfaction as he swung his sword against Naruto's kunai.
When was the last time he'd fought, really fought like a true shinobi?
Since the war, he realized as sparks of friction flew in every possible direction.
Nothing much had occurred in Konoha since then, and after wasting a year in prison and months in house arrest, life had turned dull, monotonous, no longer one that satisfied him.
He'd thought that immobility would aid him in his recovery of mind, in reaching a stable condition in which the Nightmares would cease and he'd be able to start again, the past placed where it rightfully belonged; behind him. But that plan had come back to haunt him with anxiety and dark cravings for something exciting, like battles...Like blood.
It was hard, leaving the life he'd come to know, that of a wandering criminal. A nomad seeking retribution.
At the age of seven, his secured life had ended, his childhood no longer a known concept. Five years later, at the age of thirteen, he'd betrayed his village for power. Now he was twenty and still...his life was a mess with a blind ex-heiress as his only source of gravity holding him down.
Who would have thought.
The clash of metal against metal rang like a deafening screech in the valley both men had destroyed in their efforts to defeat the other, Sasuke's territory long since abandoned in the midst of confrontation. Not even the ANBU patrol in the surrounding area minutes ago had distracted either man from their goal.
Hn. The Senju would be furious at the news of the Uzumaki and Uchiha disposing of four of her elite shinobi with a single, although combined, attack. No words had been spoken when they heard the commanding ANBU Captain's order to stop, but both knew this was their fight and no one would take it from them.
Not those pesky ANBU, not Tsunade.
Sasuke had allowed the blond to throw some hits first out of pure arrogance, but he wasn't one to appreciate being thrashed around, and once he'd kicked Naruto off and stood up, the fight had begun and their Summons had been called.
Naruto and Sasuke hadn't truly fought when the blond and the Hyuuga trained together, though they did spar against one another in the name of competition. Or, in Sasuke's case, physical exhaustion to sleep by the time the sun hid behind a curtain of darkness.
But even now, we're not fighting with everything we got, he thought as he added electricity to his blade, a move that Naruto swiftly counterattacked by creating two of his clones, sacrificing one and sending the second to meditate off into the distance.
Sage Mode.
Sasuke's black eyes didn't narrow at the whiskered man's tactics; his face remained calm and detached, frustrating his opponent to high degrees as he blocked a blow that made the ground shake under his feet.
The brunet had spent too much time in combat and battles, always with a purpose, never without it, and keeping a straight face was like breathing air to his body. He was built to fight, so he was used to this; to the clanging of metal engaged in a mortal dance; to fast motions and evasion; to muscles stretching, bruises forming, mind reeling.
Every sensation was as enticing as the Hyuuga's blood had been, spilling down her face and contrasting with her white pallor as she clung to him in that hospital room of hers.
He inwardly frowned at his line of thought, suddenly upset at remembering just who had done that to the doll. The next vicious swung of his katana managed to scratch the Uzumaki's face.
Seventh blood draw, the Uchiha counted, though Naruto's blood wasn't exactly the one he wished to see dripping from his blade. There was a monster out there that had to die by his hand. It was just a matter of finding it...and getting rid of it slowly and unmercifully.
His defensive stance disrupted, Naruto jumped back, avoiding in the process the weapon that had been about to pierce through his neck.
"Bastard! You lied!"
The gruff, angered accusation made the birds that had yet to flee the valley scatter with a start, their morning routine coming to a rough halt.
The sun was beginning to rise in the east, and although paying attention to one's surroundings was a basic rule that all shinobi and Academy students followed, neither Sasuke nor Naruto paid them any mind, both clueless as to where they were heading.
Sasuke said nothing, letting Naruto talk.
It was better that way. What was he supposed to say, anyway?
Like he'd stated earlier before the fight had started: he owned the dobe no explanations.
"I asked you where she was, I told you I was looking for her, had been for days! And you lied! You told me you knew nothing!"
Sasuke dodged a punch and using a tilted rock as leverage, he jumped above the Uzumaki's head, going for a clean cut.
"I trusted you!"
Naruto's kunai came up to engage the brunet's katana into another line of defense, stronger and more persistent than the last.
The sound of the men's strength trying to repel each other bounced off in the hollow valley. Strong and powerful chakra exploded outwardly and Sasuke had to cover his eyes with the back of his arm to avoid the gigantic cloud of dust that had roared between them, hardened rock breaking beneath his weight, its groan thunderous, as if protesting about the immense, thick amount of energy radiating out of the combating individuals.
"How could you lie to me like this?!"
Again, the Uchiha said nothing.
"Answer me, dammit!" he heard Naruto's frustrated howl. Sasuke's blank facade fell, irritation bubbling to the surface.
Did the dobe had to be so loud?
As much as Sasuke enjoyed the fight, he knew that the amounts of killer intent were going to soon call the attention of everyone in the village, civilians included. He decided to speak.
"You shouldn't have trusted in anything I said. I'm a shinobi; I deceive and my missions are none of your concerns." It was a curt answer, but one Naruto had done everything to get.
Blue eyes flashed crimson red, his restraint on Kurama's power coming undone.
'Stop it, kit,' the demon inside of him finally spoke, having witnessed the entire confrontation but deciding to stay in the sidelines. 'If you use my chakra without control, you won't only hurt the Uchiha, but yourself.'
Despite the fast recovery his vital energy provided, Kurama didn't want to see the blond knucklehead hurt. Not to add that the entire village would wonder what was going on and think he took possession of the boy.
Tch. Stupid humans. The great Kyuubi no Kitsune didn't betray his Jinchuuriki, as much as he liked to say otherwise just to piss said Jinchuuriki off.
With obvious effort on the Container's behalf, his eyes returned to a frog yellow.
He could have cared less about getting injured by his own cause, but he and Sasuke had agreed that using the Kyuubi in their spars, as well as the Eternal Sharingan, was to be banned. And so far, both parties had complied. Not that it was likely for Sasuke to cheat on the agreement, anyway; the seal the Elders of Konoha had placed on his person once he walked through the village's gates after the war made the use of his Mangekyo Sharingan impossible.
Naruto himself wished he could make an exception, but his nindo wasn't made to be broken. Once he gave his word, there was nothing that made him change his mind.
Or so he'd believed.
Now, the temptation of getting answers out of Sasuke through any means necessary was starting to get the better of him.
"So she was your mission? Why would Hinata be your mission? Why is she in the hospital?" he demanded.
Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction only to become slits as he whirl-kicked the dobe across the face, never mind that one of his ribs was about to fracture in two.
"Shut up!" he hissed. "Don't say her name."
Naruto's head snapped back to look at him, stunned, the blood gushing from his split lip the last of his worries. "The hell is your problem?!" he yelled, obviously misunderstanding. "I can say her name as many times as I want!"
"You don't understand," the Uchiha growled. He glanced around, trying to make sure no one was around to eavesdrop on their argument. Sasuke, after all, couldn't disclose the Hyuuga's whereabouts. It would put her in unforeseeable danger.
"What don't I understand?" Naruto roared as orange eyeshadow began to flicker over his yellow-tinted eyes.
"Anything. You know nothing."
That seemed to set him off even more. "THEN TELL ME!"
"Why?" Sasuke spat, his hand accumulating the electricity needed for his Chidori, Naruto's with wind and chakra for his Rasenshuriken.
"Why? Why?! Because I care, that's why!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth. "If you cared as you claim, you would have found her sooner. Even her teammates did, but you?" He sneered with disdain. "Where were you when she needed you? Gone. You were gone."
Naruto's anger faltered, confusion and a portion of guilt taking over. "What are you talking about, Sasuke?! What happened to her?" The jutsu in his hand decreased in size, the ear-splitting cry of Wind Element rotating at high speed lowering. "I sensed her chakra, I did. And," his eyes found Sasuke's dark ones, "it was different. Cold." He shook his head, as if he couldn't comprehend his own thoughts. "That wasn't her chakra. Hers is...warm, and light, and is always calm but this one was...dense and dark." His face then returned to that of boiling anger. "And you were with her; what did you do, bastard?! What did you do to Hinata!"
"You're still the same idiot I was teamed up with when I was twelve," Sasuke said, ignoring the question. "You haven't figured it out yet, have you?"
Naruto pressed his lips in a gray, thin line and for once in his life, kept quiet.
"The Hyuuga isn't the same woman you left behind two months ago. She has changed."
"That's not true," Naruto was quick to deny. "Hinata...Hinata isn't –!" He growled in exasperation at his poor wording. "She's not cold!"
"How would you know," Sasuke spat. "You didn't see the state she was brought in. You weren't here to see her scream at night."
Naruto stiffened, his Sage Mode attributes disappearing.
"You weren't here when she was Cursed."
Naruto's breath came in raspy sips.
Cursed? Had the Hyuuga sealed her?!
Impossible! She's the heir!
"You didn't see her lose control of her emotions and try to feel physical pain by harming herself."
A gasp escaped his lips as his eyes pulsed, sapphire orbs filled with shocked horror as Sasuke gazed at him calmly, as if the things he was saying were old news.
"You don't know much about the Hyuuga, do you, dobe?" The orange ninja's only response was a scowl at the Uchiha's dry tone. "Her clan has enemies. A lot of them. Those enemies, truce or treaty involved, would do anything to steal the White Eye and effectuate old grudges. The Byakugan is feared, just like the Sharingan and Rinnegan. Many want these dojutsus or vengeance." He paused. "And the little Hyuuga you know is the heiress of her clan. She was bound to change after everything she went through."
"W-what happened? Sasuke, tell me what happened." The fight seemed to evaporate from Naruto's spirit, and he looked at the dark-haired Uchiha. "What happened to Hinata?"
Sasuke was unmoved by the begging look he was receiving.
But.
"Why don't you ask that Hokage of yours you respect so much?" he murmured.
The blond paled. "Baa-chan?"
"Hn. Go on. Talk to her," Sasuke encouraged him mockingly as he shook the dust out of his hair, his eyes no longer on Naruto but on something beyond him. "I'm sure she has sent for you already."
Warily, Naruto turned around.
Heading their way was not only the Hokage's guards, but Nara Shikamaru as well.
The lazy Nara scarcely noted the disaster created by the men before him and their Summons. He was just glad they hadn't been fighting in the center of the village. That would have been such a drag.
"Shikamaru?" Naruto wondered out loud.
The jonin's gaze flickered from Naruto to Sasuke. "Hokage-sama wants to see the both of you." He paused. "...She's not happy."
He was barely done before a blur of orange dashed past him.
"...Did you tell him?" Shikamaru asked after the guards followed behind the Uzumaki.
Sasuke looked at him from his peripheral, cautious. "Tell him what."
Shikamaru pursed his lips, hands shoved in the pockets of his pants. "About her," he clarified.
Surprised that the Nara knew about the Hyuuga (he quickly blamed it on the fact that the Nara was a damn genius), Sasuke suppressed the urge to react. "What do you think," he said flatly before vanishing.
Shikamaru sighed with annoyance. "Troublesome."
XXX
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Eyelids the weight of lead fluttered like the wings of a butterfly caught in a mid-winter storm.
A lick to moisture dry lips and a shuddered intake of stale, hospital air, slowly followed. Hyuuga Hinata opened her implanted eyes to see nothing but a canvas of inky black.
The dooming darkness, the one that she hadn't seen since yesterday –or earlier during the wee hours of today– received her with a sense of deja vu. Instantly, she missed the cold depths of her mind with their white ice and wondrous violet skies, their shades of reflective silver, and the dark, rich blues of the waters. Even the red from Uchiha-san's Sharingan was preferable.
She didn't bother to flick her gaze away like she had done for the last few weeks.
It was a waste of effort.
Trying to avoid the inevitable was useless; so she laid on her side, unblinking and immobile, listening to the hum of her monitors and the dance of air coming from the vents.
Suddenly, her teeth clenched together, and hot liquid began to accumulate in her eyes, suspended by thick lashes and sheer will.
She'd wept enough. It was time to stop crying.
Her head hurt from trying to hold back all the desperate sobs that her breaking mind wanted to release. But she refused to bend all the way; some things she couldn't help, but others, she could fight.
But why was it so hard?
Why was being blind so difficult? Why was it so impossible for her to swallow that painful pill of reality all the way? Why couldn't she be strong, like her Father had taught her to be in those months of training, the way Naruto had demonstrated through the years, the way Uchiha-san had been when lost in his own turmoil and unimaginable predicaments and face all her demons once and for all?
Although she knew the answer, that it was because she just wasn't them and that the lessons her Father had instructed her with had dealt with nothing close to her situation, she still wondered.
"You're strong, Hinata," the blond Jinchuuriki had said at the end of the first afternoon of shared training, eyes closed against the rays of the sun that refused to disappear behind the mountains and relent its place to the oncoming evening.
She had wished, at that moment, that he worded his sentence differently, and that his voice – that voice that she had loved to hear – hadn't sounded so apologetic.
But as much as he tried to conceal the true meaning of his what he was trying to say, she had known.
Hinata wasn't stupid or blind when it came to Naruto. She noticed things. She'd noticed the potential and greatness in him before anyone else had; she had believed in him, just by witnessing and finding the small details that accompanied him as a child. She had known. She had seen.
No one had needed to tell her that the lonely blond boy sitting on the Academy's swing would help save the Shinobi World and its Nations in the future.
No. No one had because she'd known.
And she had loved him for everything that he was.
He'd been the light in her life, the person that shunned all the things that harmed her away. With his own courage, with his determination, with that smile that could have lit the entire night, a smile no one could erase...Or so she had thought as a Genin.
Then, she had noticed more.
He wasn't perfect, he wasn't a skilled ninja, and behind that confident facade, he doubted; he felt; he wasn't invincible.
He was a proud failure in her eyes. And in the moment she told him that to ease his doubts of going against Neji in the Chunnin Exams final, she had known she was in love.
When he'd hesitated and reopened his sapphire blue eyes, looking for a moment at the retreating back of his best friend as the Uchiha walked away from them both, at the clan's red-and-white crest drawn bold and proud on his shirt, as if looking for a source that could interrupt whatever else that he was about to say, Hinata realized.
To this day, she wasn't sure what she had expected from being invited to train in the afternoons with him. She had learned not to expect anything sentimental unless it concerned friendship. That was it.
And yet, her heart was a dirty traitor and it killed her to understand what he wanted to say with that phrase.
"You're strong, Hinata."
Words she had wanted to hear, words she had worked hard to be worthy of. And she had them...but not in the context she wished.
He had tried to say that she was strong, strong enough to get back up from rejection. His rejection, the one he was struggling to spit out and throw into the open after years of staying quiet and acting as if nothing had ever occurred.
She had forced her lips to form the most genuine smile she could and said, before he could continue, "I am," as a confirmation.
And he had looked stunned when her eyes of pure lavender mercury looked at him, and softened, as if silently accepting what he tried to confess but hadn't.
"I am strong."
No stutter, no fear, no hesitation.
In another occasion, she would have laughed at that look, at the one with widened eyes and mouth agape that he sported. Her smile had stretched reassuringly, no longer forced but true, and she had given him a light reverence. "Thank you for inviting me, Naruto-kun."
With that done, she had walked away, leaving him behind, and once she entered the Hyuuga Compound, Neji had taken a look at her and opened his arms for her to run into.
But Neji-niisan couldn't be there for her at all times, picking the pieces of her broken heart or spirit.
He was currently in mission, facing the dangers that came with his position as an elite ANBU.
"You'll be the light this Clan needs, Hinata," he had said once, his eyes closed as he sat under the shade of a tree after seven hours of nonstop sparing.
At that moment, she wasn't 'Hinata-sama'.
She was his little sister, not his superior.
It had taken a while for him to start calling her as she had requested, but in the end, he had dropped the honorific, if in private.
At hearing his words, she had startled, looking at him with unbelievably wide eyes that had resembled full naked moons hanging in a clear night sky.
He'd glanced at her and smiled, one of those rare smiles that only a few people were lucky enough to see in a lifetime.
"It won't be easy," he had proceeded, this time facing her completely, tone serious. "But I know...that one day, you'll open the cage of the cursed bird."
After she had come out of her shock, she had laughed and cried using the same breath and bowed down to her nii-san because without him and Team Eight, she didn't know what would be of her.
"You're the balance of this Team, Hinata-chan," Yuuhi Kurenai had said, observing Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino's one-sided argument, hands on hips as she smiled down at the Hyuuga.
A smile that slowly turned lopsided as the dark-haired beauty with rubies for eyes watched her student, the roll of white gauze she was about to pack forgotten.
"You're not like Shino, or Kiba."
In the distance, Kiba cursed Shino out with a very...imaginative vocabulary, as he scowled at his bandaged arm Hinata had taken care of a minute ago, proving, unbeknownst to him, the Yuuhi's point.
"Kiba's pride is his downfall, and Shino's 'logic' for punishment doesn't make things better." She had settled a hand around her shoulders. "They claim that their job is to take care of you...and yet, the one who heals them when hurt is you."
"You will be the base of our people, daughter," her Father had said, his voice a smooth blanket over her shoulders, pushing her down with advice she was to follow once she became the Head of the Hyuuga. "You'll be the rock. The foundation. Our Clan is powerful, and as such, you must be stronger than anyone in the Compound and represent it."
Hinata had listened intently, her keeled position on the floor in front of Hiashi showing major respect, her forehead dripping with sweat as the burning sun outside clashed down with its heat onto the ground, warming it up to its peak.
It had been the middle of summer, and the days in the southern region of the Land of Fire were insufferable. The heat wave washing over the land had been extremely hot, she remembered that fact well.
It'd been one of the most unbearable summers she had ever lived through...and she had to strive through it every day for the remaining of the season with layer upon layer of cloth. Her training clothes had to be heavy, for endurance and to hide the curves of her body away from men.
Having developed so soon sometimes overthrew the pros of possessing a mature body.
Having to pose as a male in her journeys with Father, as to not call attention to herself, had turned out to be harder than anticipated when it came down to climate issues.
The only thing that had helped her cool down was the braids that were the fashion in the regions Father had trained her in.
"The Clan will rely on you, and not the other way around. You must learn to be strong for yourself. Confident in times of struggle, firm when dire situations knock on your door. Do not lean on the members' strength, for you are it in their eyes. Do not forget this, daughter."
"You can be anything you want," Uchiha Sasuke had said, black eyes locked unshakably on hers on as she hugged her knees to her chest, his hands on her shoulders as her frozen mind-scape howled with its unstoppable piercing wind and cried with its constant rain, his hair whipping around his face, unveiling his sharp, manly features and his strong jaw.
She could be anything.
But how could she?
"Genjutsu affects a human's five senses. You still have four to work with."
Hinata didn't know how long she stayed still on her bed, her unseen eyes wide, her breath caught in her throat.
"You still have four to work with."
The sentence hung in the air around her, echoing in her ears endlessly.
She did.
Maybe not five, but four.
It wasn't going to be the same, but she knew that already. Things changed and people adapted.
Could she...could she adapt?
An ironic urge to laugh and cry built inside of her as she realized that it didn't matter if she wanted, or could, get used to her blindness.
She had no choice.
She had to.
She was strong; she was light; she was the balance; she was the base, she could be anything she wanted to be.
"Destiny isn't set in stone," Neji had stated firmly, "Destiny is something you create as you live and experience."
And for the first time in months, Hyuuga Hinata pushed herself up, her eyes dead and inexpressive due to the material that could do little to reflect emotions, yet, that did nothing to deter her
She had always taken strength from her pain.
This time, she would do the same, and from out of all the pandemonium of ashes and tears, she would rise again.
Hinata lifted her covers and sat up all the way, fingers feeling for the IV stuck in her arm and slowly getting rid of it.
She didn't need it anymore.
First, she needed a shower. And breakfast. Her appetite ranked from little to none, but she had to eat.
Once she stood on wobbly legs, her fingers ran the length of her bed, and from there, she reached out for the wall. There was a moment in which she felt she was falling into nothing, before managing to grasp part of a sturdy wall.
A small sigh of relief left her, and a small smile curled her lips.
With baby steps, she made her way around, memorizing with her touch her surroundings. Some objects were smooth and cold, like steel, and others paper-thin, like her bed-sheets.
It took a while for her to make a mental map, but it was worth it.
When she found the restroom, a sense of childish pride invaded her, and she made an involuntary sound that showed it.
Her hands flew to her mouth, but she shouldn't have worried; there was no one aside from Ino, and she wasn't moving.
She must be sleeping, Hinata thought, and stepped into the other room, unaware of light blue eyes watching her previous actions.
Yamanaka Ino allowed a smile to blossom over her face from the other side of the room, where she sat in the loveseat, pretending to be asleep, silently cheering the brunette on.
XXX
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So many scars.
So many.
Hinata's fingers brushed past healed skin, tracing, searching, finding.
She swallowed the knot forming in her throat and rested her forehead lightly against the cool surface of the wood-encased shower, closing her eyes (an act that changed nothing) tightly, her lips pulled back in a grimace.
How could it have slipped her mind? She had forgotten how damaged her body was.
She had been so busy thinking about...everything, that she had missed the new tissue adorning her skin, where scars would most likely stay and not fade away for a very long time.
They were imprinted on her back, formed a thick circle around her waist, and descended down her legs in patterns she hadn't been aware of until today.
Her fingertips caressed them as if the owner of that hand wished to erase them with a simple, yet caring, touch.
But they remained where they were, everlasting.
Suddenly, her earlier courage seemed absurd, stupid, and nonsensical.
Her optimist waned by the presence of her scars and the remembrance of how she had received them.
"STOP! STOP!"
Screams.
Hinata unconsciously covered her ears at the blood-curdling sounds, a horrified gasp lost in the pouring spray of water.
The screams she had eaten up for days were piercing.
Days of torture in which not a whimper had escaped her flowed back in a second, the times she had fought all of her pain down, refusing to give in, clear as the light she could no longer see.
I never give up. I never give up. I never give up!
The mental chant that had become her thread to stable but maddening sanity.
It had served its purpose for a time until that day.
Because on that day, things had changed.
Things had turned worse.
She could feel the sharp object penetrate her skin, tearing it apart in two with a single slice.
"STOP!"
She was breathless, her throat sore.
Time was the second most deadly enemy in her state.
It dragged by so slowly, crawling in a pause-like motion that made her stomach churn. Her eyes saw nothing, her nose smelled coppery blood, and her ears heard the scarlet liquid drip down to the floor as if to keep the concept of time always in her mind.
Oh, how she wished those leather restrainers to be magically cut off so she could fight.
Her torture had started with starvation. Days without a single drop of water. That she could cope with. She was a shinobi. Shinobi were not bred for luxury, even if her clan was one of the wealthiest in all of Konoha. She was named the Princess of the Hyuuga, but she had never behaved like one. She wasn't a damsel in distress; she was a capable kunoichi with training.
The longer she had stayed in that unknown place, however, the heavier and drastic her punishments became.
Until this.
Her skin burned, tiny cuts that felt like hot coals on peeling flesh.
The sweat running down her figure had done nothing to ease her pain. Instead, it had aided it, fanning the consuming fire that ate at her as the blade kept on working. Never stopping, just like her screams.
There was a point in which one's psyche broke after standing for so much.
Hinata, if she had seen her bounded feet and arms and her body bathed in her own blood, would have then known that a part of her had indeed broken that day.
"STOP!"
It was one word.
A plea that was not important to her torturer.
Begging.
She was begging.
What would her father think of her if he heard her now?
What would Neji-niisan think?
What would Naruto think?
But it didn't matter. They didn't matter. She wasn't thinking about them. She couldn't think of anything.
Because she kept on screaming.
And the cold, metallic knife kept on cutting.
Hinata's knees almost folded underneath her, but she forced them to stay upright.
She tasted salt in her tongue and shook her head.
No, no, no! Don't cry, don't you dare cry.
"You can do it...Hinata. You can face this. It already happened. E-everything's going to be okay."
She didn't know whether or not she was lying to herself, but any comfort, even if it was coated with lies, was better than those memories she wanted nothing to do with.
"N-no more," she swore as foreign anger took reign.
She couldn't give that person that had caused her all of this misery the satisfaction of breaking her even when he wasn't around.
"No more," she whispered to herself for good measure. "No more tears."
XXX
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Everyone knew the Fifth Guardian of Konohagakure no Sato was infamous for her patience.
Or lack of.
Prudent shinobi, when in trouble, ducked their heads and stood by the closest exit silently, ready to make a run for it if the blonde decided that it was time for some ninja steak at le morte. They were aware that if they so much as set the Hokage off with a mumbled word of defense or even looked as if they weren't guilty of whatever crime it was that she was raging about, then not even the most amazing painkillers would be able to dull their pains after the Senju was done with them.
Answering the Hokage back in any form was like signing your own death certificate.
Most knew when it was wise to zip their lips shut, stick them together with glue, if needed, and stay still, nodding in agreement (if the occasion afforded it), while looking as ashamed as humanly possible.
Some weren't that smart.
That morning, Senju Tsunade wasn't angry.
She was livid, and that, take note, was a huge difference.
Having a whiskered Jinchuuriki notorious for having the ability to annoy the Hokage at unmeasurable lengths didn't help, either.
It merely raised tension.
First Hyuuga Hiashi sends his nephew and his Team out to who-knows-where without waiting for permission and then this. She had had enough of this nonsense!
So it didn't come as a shock when her desk was thrown from the Hokage's Tower, taking with it an entire wall.
The loud crash disrupted the calm morning market, scaring civilians and making the shinobi in turn wonder and pray for the poor souls that were about to get ripped to shreds by the blonde woman.
Speaking of said female...
Had she possessed the Sharingan, she would have sent those two morons into the next life without so much as a second thought. Heck, hell sounded too good for those two right now.
"Idiots!"
Sasuke didn't even twitch at the rather impressive roar.
He leaned on the neighboring wall (still-standing, mind you), his arms crossed over his chest in aloofness, a neutral look on his face, unfazed by the wooden desk that had missed him by mere millimeters seconds ago.
Naruto, on the other hand, would have trembled like a leaf in the autumn winds, but he was too angry to register that his life span was about to shorten if he kept that accusing scowl on his features.
The bruises and blood smearing both men's faces did nothing for their looks.
Tattered clothes, bruised cheekbones, and black eyes aside, they somehow managed to look dignified.
Tsunade hadn't seen them this battered since...well, the 4th Shinobi War.
A part of her huffed. Served them right.
"This isn't about you, can't you see? You can't just go around the village and start a fight because someone wants to know what the hell is going on when it's obvious it doesn't concern him!" She looked pointedly at the blond, whose only response was to throw imaginary kunais at her.
"This is about her safety! But what did you two morons go and do? Scream her whereabouts to the four winds, that's what! Naruto! Stop looking at me like that before I rearrange your face myself!"
"I could have helped protect her! Why didn't you tell me?! I could have–"
"Could have done what?" the Senju interrupted. "You may be one of the heroes of the War, Naruto, but not even this village and its clans could do anything for Hinata, nothing to stop–"
She bit her tongue. Naruto didn't know about Hinata's situation and here she was, about to spell everything out for him.
To cover her slip, she turned to the other brat who had the decency to look bored, and barked, "And you! You were supposed to stay out of her way! I told you before! She wasn't supposed to know about you in the first place!" Yes, Naruto had told her about him feeling the Uchiha's chakra beside Hinata's. This had immediately made her wary, but she wasn't going to let that brat know. "I swear to whatever deity you have heard of in your life that if you so much as touch a hair on her head," she paused to emphasize her point, "I. Will. Destroy. You. Understood?"
Sasuke didn't bat an eyelash...but his eyes did turn red.
Before Tsunade could avert her gaze, she was trapped in a world of casted illusions and crimson, bleeding skies.
Damn it! She cursed. She should have never looked at him straight in the eye.
Though unable to evade the attack, she wasn't a Sannin for nothing. Placing her hands in the 'release' seal, she gathered her chakra –
"Don't."
Her brow twitched. She would recognize that voice anywhere in hell.
"How dare you," she said calmly, although there was nothing more she wanted to do than to behead him and erase that stoic Uchiha-like look off his face permanently. In this world, she was at his mercy. She knew that, but that wasn't going to stop her from fighting back if she needed to. If Sasuke was affected by her appeased composure, he didn't show it.
"It won't happen."
Tsunade refused to look at him, lest she fell into another layer of genjutsu (something she knew was likely due to the Sharingan's complexity), but she had to keep her eyes down on his feet with all the self-control she possessed.
"What won't?" she retorted, tightening her fists lest she tried to murder him.
"A hair won't fall from her head. Not on my watch." Not if I can help it.
Tsunade tch-ed and thought, To hell with it, before lifting her piercing gaze to his bloody one, reckless in the face of possible consequences. "You're damn right, Uchiha," she seethed. "It sure as hell won't happen again because I'm relieving you off your duties as Hinata's guard!"
Sasuke seemed unaffected, though a slight frown on his mouth flashed by. "That won't happen, either," he stated with utter confidence. "You can't afford to lose me in this mission," he added as Tsunade opened her mouth to say otherwise.
His eyes narrowed, a calculating, if smug, look on his face as he took a step forward.
"You chose me, the former traitor of your village, to retrieve and protect the Hyuuga, a mission that you didn't give just to anyone, not even Naruto. You could have had your pick from any ANBU, her cousin included, but you didn't. Instead, you chose me. You gave me the job for a reason, you told me that yourself, despite knowing that I wanted nothing to do with the Hyuuga. But that didn't stop you, did it?"
Clever little bastard, Tsunade smirked grimly to herself as he verbally corned her.
Her silence didn't stop Sasuke, for he continued. "It could have been my Sharingan you wanted, or my skills. Like you've said, I'm not any shinobi. I am powerful, if I want to, I can make things happen."
"You could raise the death for all I care," she snapped. "But you're not to present yourself tonight. Take a break."
Sasuke knew that was the best deal she would give him.
He was about to deactivate his blood-limit when she spoke.
"She called for you."
Sasuke paused.
Tsunade studied his body language like a hawk scrutinizing its next meal. "When she received the mark and I was stopping the internal bleeding, she called for you."
Silence.
And then, "That's how you found out we were talking to one another." It wasn't a question.
The Hokage waited for him to go on, but he didn't. "What's your game, Uchiha?" she growled. "Whatever it is, stay away from that girl, do you hear me? She doesn't need you to make her life harder than it already is."
"What makes you think I'm planning something?" he demanded, annoyed. First of all, no one threatened him. Second, the idea of him hurting the doll made him want to break something, preferably the Senju's neck.
"You had no interest in her before, and now all of the sudden you become her loyal guardian?" she asked skeptically. "I'd believe it from anyone but you."
He met the Senju's light brown eyes and scoffed lightly. "I care not for your opinions. They mean nothing to me."
Deactivating his Sharingan and letting the illusion fade away, he used the enormous hole she had made and exited without being dismissed.
Tsunade merely watched him go.
In front of her, Naruto kept on talking, having missed the quarter of a second it had taken Sasuke to ensnare her in a world of his own to hand her his message.
Just as well.
She, too, had a message with restrictions she had to give the knucklehead present.
Today was going to be another long day.
XXX
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Hiashi's office.
Not a place that brought pleasant memories, if at all, to Hanabi. It was a corner empty of all illumination.
Hanabi, despite her 'firecracker' name, despised light. She favored dark colors, but now...she wasn't so sure.
The dark was beginning to scare her.
Her father's office seemed to be submerged in that darkness Hanabi was starting to hate.
She disliked that office. It wasn't a place of happy occurrences.
Today wasn't an exception.
An enemy. The Hyuuga had an enemy. A powerful one.
That, she had known. That, she had expected.
Her father had decided to show her, not tell her, what the enemy was capable of doing. What that monster had partly done to her nee-sama.
And as she stared at the objects in front of her, she couldn't help but freeze.
She went still, her muscles nonworking, her breath knocked out of her body.
Why had he sent nii-san out on mission when he was aware of just how dangerous being outside Konoha was?
To protect your sister, he had said.
Where had he sent him?
To find a safe place.
Father contradicted himself, Hanabi had thought with anger. And didn't explain himself more.
Who was this mysterious enemy?
Someone of the past.
Someone of the PAST? Couldn't he have been more specific?!
When confronted with this question, the leader of the Hyuuga had closed his eyes, and said nothing.
Did he at least have an idea of what the hell that sick bastard had in mind?
"Our destruction."
It had been stated so openly, a fact that Hiashi thought would come true if he didn't do anything to prevent it.
"Why us?" she had inquired through gritted teeth.
And Hiashi had opened his eyes and said, sadly, "Because we destroyed them first."
So it was vengeance what he wanted?! The reason why he had killed several of her cousins? Why he had taken and tortured her nee-sama?
Sick. That monster was sick!
And so was she, but for a different reason and not in the same way.
No, no. She felt ill.
Physically nauseated.
The diagrams of her sister's brain scans and the drawing of the curse seal on her forehead written in red kanji, so diverse from that of the Cadet Branch, had almost caused her to scream. She hadn't seen it, not really, until that moment.
Hinata had worn bandages when Hanabi had visited.
But that wasn't the worst part. No, no.
The worst part was the set of Byakugan eyes in front of her floating in a green, clear liquid.
Her sister's eyes.
Staring back at her through glass.
They had been impossible to take out and inspect when the Raven-masked ANBU turned them over to the Hokage the day her sister had been hospitalized, her father had told her as she sat, unmoving. Her legs had been too weak to support her.
The original containers in which the eyes had been found had refused to open.
All kinds of methods were used to take them out.
None had worked. Not even the Hokage herself had been able to do much.
But, then, for some reason, the containers had opened.
By themselves.
It had happened the night her sister was Cursed.
The same moment that bloody seal had been awakened in her sister, her eyes had been released.
There was a connection.
Hiashi thought so. Hokage-sama thought so too.
The pieces of the puzzle were coming together...slowly, but surely.
Soon, the enemy was going to be tracked using those lavender orbs that were currently in front of the youngest of Lord Hyuuga's daughters.
Soon, they would find the enemy.
Soon, he would pay.
And all the while, as her father spoke, Hyuuga Hanabi couldn't help but think...that her onee-sama was the strongest person she had ever met.
How could she had gone through everything and still be alive, was Hanabi's wonder.
XXX
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"Did you hear something this morning, Hinata?" Ino asked as she dried her indigo hair with a towel.
Hinata, sitting down on the small table Ino used for...well, just about anything, frowned in uncertainty.
"I...don't think so," she answered, though her doubt was more than obvious. She bit her lower lip as Ino's fingers brushed her wet bangs away from her forehead.
She tried not to flinch away from the touch that grazed by the curse mark she received.
"Hmm," Ino murmured. "Well, did you sense anything?"
Hinata resisted shaking her head. She didn't want to displease her friend by messing up whatever hairdo she worked on. It had become a routine, Ino braiding, brushing, or twisting her navy locks this way and that. Secretly, Hinata liked the attention her hair was getting, but it saddened her that she couldn't see, only feel, the results that were for sure beautiful arrangements. No one had ever treated her long tendrils with so much care before, and though it was a new thing, Hinata rather liked it.
It was soothing and relaxing.
It was...nice.
"Yes, a disturbance," she commented. "I sensed...strong chakra." She paused, adjusting a white towel across her lap. Hinata smoothed it out over her legs and folded her hands atop of it. "High levels of it."
Ino chuckled. "A fight broke out this very morning, around six." Ino snorted at her own news. "And you won't believe who was involved."
Hinata blinked in mild interest. "Was anyone hurt?"
"Nah," the Yamanaka said dismissingly. "You shouldn't worry; I can assure you those guys will live. Trust me, they've survived worse stuff."
Hinata breathed in relief. "I hope they're okay."
Ino patted her head. "Really, don't sweat it. I bet they inflicted more harm to the environment than to themselves! You're too compassionate for your own good, you know. Aren't you going to ask me who fought who?"
Hinata didn't need to see Ino's face to know there was a slight pout on her lips. "Ah! Who were they?" she humored her.
Ino smirked knowingly. "Heh. Why don't you try and guess?"
It was Hinata's turn to almost pout. "I thought you were going to tell me..."
It was a feeble protest, and one Ino found amusing, but she decided to be a little more adamant before spilling the beans. It wasn't often that Hinata was willing to talk. Most of the time she replied with short answers that left no room for conversation. Today she seemed to be a little more alert, if interested (though Ino knew the blue-haired Hyuuga held no interest in mundane gossip), and the blonde was ready to take advantage of it. Providing normal activities girls their age were active in served to calm the most distraught of minds. That was exactly what Ino was aiming for.
"Oh, I'll tell you for sure," she teased. "But I want to see if you can get it right."
"Ino," Hinata whined as Ino pinned a piece of navy blue hair to the side of her head. With that action, Hinata knew Ino wouldn't leave her hair loose. Maybe she would put it up, the Hyuuga mused.
"Aw, come on! It should be easy since you know them."
Hinata thought about all the people she knew.
Lee-kun and Neji-niisan were out of the list; Neji was on mission.
Kiba-kun and Shino-kun? No; Kiba never left his bed so early except if there was something obligatory that made Tsume-san kick him off the house. Shino would never start a public fight; the Aburame despised scandals.
Shikamaru-kun and Choji-kun had never fought in their lives.
That could only leave...
Naruto-kun and Uchiha-san.
"Got any good guesses yet?" Ino prompted.
Hinata's tense shoulders and the murmured "Again...?" were all the answers Ino required.
"Yup, those two went at it again, and it wasn't pretty. The nurses were talking about it when I went to get breakfast and left you with Snake-san." She tsk-ed. "I swear, those two have no limits. Though I know Sasuke-kun fought well. But you can't leave someone like Naruto behind. He really came a long way." She sighed wistfully.
"Was the fight," Hinata began, only to stop.
"Was the fight disastrous?" Ino caught up with her line of thought easily.
Hinata nodded and the blonde threw her head back and laughed.
"I heard they destroyed a valley in the outskirts of the village! Some say they had Summons. Apparently, the fight went up a few notches. But I'm sure they're fine," she assured her when she saw the Hyuuga's distressed expression. "After all, they're two of the best shinobi Konoha has – by the way, would you like purple or white?" she interrupted herself, eying the two ribbons she had brought from home thoughtfully.
"Purple." The answer was instantaneous.
"Good choice," Ino approved and finished the last touches before letting Hinata's bangs free from their pinned place. "I'm done here," she chirped. "Now just apply lotion and I'll help you dress if you need help."
"N-no, I'll do it myself."
"All right," the blonde consented and was about to say she was going for a shower when Hinata spoke.
"Ne, Ino..."
"What is it, Hinata?" she said as she gathered some of her clothes, looking at her curiously.
Hinata fidgeted with her forefingers slightly before saying, "Thank you, for taking care of me."
Ino's mouth formed an 'o' of surprise before her eyes softened. "You have nothing to thank me for. I'm glad to be of help."
"But you don't have to..."
Ino nodded, though Hinata couldn't see her gesture. "I know, but I want to. It's my decision."
The door opened before Hinata could formulate a proper reply.
Ino turned to look at it in surprise (the Hyuuga barely came) but once she saw who it was, Ino almost had a myocardial infarction.
Standing at the threshold was Uchiha Sasuke, his dark hair still wet from his own bath, his dark clothes a handsome contrast against his ivory skin, eyes as sharp and deep as ever.
Now, it wasn't often Ino was caught off guard. She was a sensory ninja, for crying out loud, she sensed people before they reached her.
But this? This was too much for her brain to handle.
The blonde stared at him, the clothes in her hands coming dangerously close to slipping through her fingers, her jaw almost reaching the floor.
Later, she would berate herself for losing control over her reactions and look like a gaping moron, but Ino shouldn't have worried about her dignity; the Uchiha wasn't looking at her.
The second he turned the knob, his eyes had settled over the Hyuuga girl.
It wasn't until Hinata stuttered a very shocked, "U-uchiha-san?" that Ino got ahold of herself.
"Sa-Sasuke-kun." The Uchiha glanced at her for a short moment and then away. "What–What are you doing here?!"
"I need to talk to Hyuuga," he replied easily as if it was the most typical thing in the world.
It wasn't.
"Huh?! Wait just a moment! How did you–?! Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry but you can't be here," Ino said firmly, her protectiveness taking over. How had Sasuke-kun found their whereabouts? Unless he was...
Ino's eyes went wide and she was about to start forming hand seals when he cut her off.
"I'm not the enemy in disguise." It was said flatly, and his eyes were unreadable, but his aura radiated annoyance.
"You can't be here," Ino repeated.
He shot her a look that could be interpreted as 'And you are going to stop me?'
Out loud, he said, for the Hyuuga's benefit, "Your Hokage knows I'm here. "
Sort of. Maybe.
He could have cared less, truthfully.
"Tsunade-sama?" Ino blurted, stunned.
"Yes," Sasuke almost hissed. His patience was thinning. "Now, if you don't mind," his head tilted towards the door. "I need to talk to Hyuuga. In private."
Ino didn't know what to do. Since when did Uchiha Sasuke talk to Hyuuga Hinata in private? Screw that; when had Uchiha Sasuke ever talked to girls in general unless he had no option?
Hinata took the decision for her. "Ino," she started softly. "Would you mind giving us a few minutes?"
Ino was too flabbergasted to respond accordingly. "I- But..!"
"It'll be fine," Hinata reassured.
"...Sure," she finally said, faintly.
She took hesitant steps, much to Sasuke's irritation.
"I'll, um, see you in a little bit, Hinata."
The meek girl nodded, her fingers gripping the towel draped across her lap.
With one last look at the surviving member of the Uchiha, the blonde closed the door, still in a daze.
There was silence between the two dark-haired ninjas, Hinata not knowing where to begin and Sasuke eying her exposed flesh.
It was marked with pink scars. They ran along the length of her arms and he followed their path up to her neck, his brows pull over narrowed eyes in discontentment.
Even her collarbone was marked.
He glanced at her forehead and could see none of the written kanji; her bangs, (accommodated by the Yamanaka, he supposed,) rested on them, hiding the characters from view.
The Hyuuga, as if catching on to his scrutiny, made a mortified sound and tugged at her robe, pulling it close to her body, her shoulders hunched inwardly as if to form a tiny ball and disappear.
Too late, the Uchiha thought, a smirk forming on his face, something that he allowed simply because he knew she couldn't see it.
"Um, Uchiha-san?" she called, her implanted gaze moving around the room, her cheeks (for the first time in months) flushed with an embarrassed heat.
Whether the action of averting her gaze was mere instinct, Sasuke didn't know, her blush having all of his attention.
"Hn?"
The Hyuuga parted her lips, "Are you...okay?"
He blinked.
Realizing how vague that sounded, she elaborated. "I heard about the fight this morning."
Sasuke knew who was to blame for that. "Yamanaka," he voiced coldly. That girl knew her stuff, despite staying underground.
Hinata tried not to wince at his tone and nodded tentatively in confirmation, suddenly feeling guilty for getting Ino on the Uchiha's bad side. "We...heard the noise from here," she added and her eyebrow twitched at the white lie.
She truly was a lousy liar, he thought.
Regardless, he debated between telling her about his cracked rib and bruised cheek or the dobe's broken arm and black eye.
He ruled against both almost instantly.
"I'm fine," he finally graced the Hyuuga with a gruff reply.
"...Are you?"
Even he could tell she didn't believe him.
He frowned darkly at that.
"May I check?"
Sasuke blinked again, slowly.
Sensing, perhaps, his surprise or realizing whom she was talking to, Hinata's face flushed red. "I mean! Only if you want to! You don't have to. I was just –"
"Hyuuga."
"– asking, that's all! Um-!"
"Hyuuga," he called again, more firmly this time, cutting the blabbering off.
"S-Sorry," she whispered, eyes closed.
A deliberating gaze regarded her for a moment."...Here."
Hinata raised her head at hearing the Uchiha's voice closer.
Sasuke clicked his tongue impatiently. "Here, Hyuuga."
It was then that she felt his hand on hers, and her whole face changed, the way Sasuke had seen it change only once.
He didn't recall exactly what the dobe had done (most likely something stupid), but he'd hurt himself during training and Sasuke had witnessed the stubborn look on her face when she demanded the blond to give her his sprained hand for close inspection.
Yes, he remembered that look.
And it was the same one she was sporting right now.
Letting go of the oversized robe, the Hyuuga stood, taking his hand with both of hers.
Sasuke ignored the spark of electricity that ran up his spine.
With indigo brows knitting slightly and full lips pressing in concentration, the doll's hands glowed with blue chakra. She was no medic-nin like Ino or Sakura, but it was unrefutable that she knew what to do at the moment.
Slim fingers took him by the wrist, securing his position. Her other hand ascended up to his forearm, slowly, carefully, gently.
Sasuke managed to stay still, barely daring to even breathe. She was so close and smelled so very delightful. He swallowed with difficulty but followed her traced path. Her palm was on his flank now, hovering above his damaged rib. She paused, frowned deeply, but kept on going. She slid to his left side and up to his broad shoulder and neck.
There, she murmured a quiet "Excuse me," as she finally reached his bruised face.
Carefully, she prodded at his cheekbone with her fingertips and made a face as if she felt his pain, the corners of her mouth turned downwards grimly.
Sasuke watched her reactions through his lashes, letting her do as she wished with him, though not without effort. He had never allowed anyone to get so near, and it was taking all of his might to remain calm and not take a step back, no matter how addictive her light touch was.
Focusing her chakra from blue to light green, the girl rose on her tiptoes and cupped his injured cheek, the difference in height making it difficult for her to heal the bruised tissue.
The sensation of his skin mending the way it was before the dobe had landed a hit hummed through his nerves gently and had he been anyone else, he would have groaned with pleasure.
The warmth of her was gratifying in ways he couldn't describe.
"Your rib...I'm sorry but I can't do much for it in my condition," she said. Someone else would have to set the fracture. If she miscalculated the amount of chakra needed there, she was afraid she'd puncture one of his lungs.
"I understand," was his reply.
The glow dimmed, and Hinata's hand began to lower.
With a smooth movement, Sasuke caught it, long fingers wrapped around delicate bones.
Hinata started but didn't pull away. "Uchiha-san?" she questioned.
"They're healing," he murmured, his thumb rubbing one of the scars on her otherwise white skin.
She flinched, but he held on, refusing to relent his grip.
She tugged but Sasuke didn't plan on letting go. She had to acknowledge those marks and confront them.
"Don't move," he ordered and the doll stopped.
She hid her face in the collar of her robe, fingernails biting crescent moons into the skin of her hand.
Sasuke gradually pulled her to him, studying the harmed flesh and then those synthetic eyes. "You hate them, don't you?"
The Hyuuga's lids lowered at the sensation of this strange, loose embrace and bit the inside of her cheek.
Turning her face away was her answer.
Sasuke kept silent for a moment. "Nothing stays in a place forever, Hyuuga. This won't be an exception."
"I know," she admitted quietly.
But there was a long way to go, and they knew it.
XXXX
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A/N: Fight scenes...not my forte.
-While you wait for my next update (I have tests, projects, & essays due), go read my two on-work SasuHina fics (Dear Stranger, Make Me Remember & Free Ravens; combined they make up +41K!)
-Also: I'm NOT following the manga, keep that in mind. I need no canon!
Acknowledgements: MeghanLeggyLeaf, BlackBat123, TheOneWhoPervs, Guest, NaruNarurin, AlwaysNaruHina, oCloudNine, umnia, Taira, OriSweatshirt, SabakunoAnjel, FireGladiator, BekotaTheMonsterHuntress, LIZA, HamaK0, Aliminesa, Faded Pink, YukiTenVianey Team, luvhinata, , TAIRA18, 21me21, XxJasmineReyxX, Guest, xHinataLovex, misha48, miandB, Pandora Lillith, holmesfreak1412, anlmoon, Kibachow, farahb, heyla, aurora0914, rainbowxpersonality, Kia-B, & Tenten143!
Once again, review! I'm sick and need light in my life lol.
-5.4.14
Revised 5.24.20