And moving along, also this story is rated M. I'm a pervert and like to make fictional characters do it, you've been warned

I don't own Naruto, but if I did Sakura would be better, still horrible, but that one kinda horrible that you can live with and you're like, "yeah this is horrible but it could be worse"...yup.

Chapter 3

Sleep was not a usual occurrence for Hinata.

She felt dizziness swarm her as she struggled to remind her brain that she was no longer blind and that the darkness was only temporary.

She knew instantly she was not at the hospital, she was also not at the Hyuga compound. Her body lay on something soft yet firm at that the same time. She kept her eyes closed, feigning sleep as she felt out her surroundings for chakra signatures. Her memories rushed back to her. She had been brought to Sasuke Uchiha of all people.

Her first impression was that Sasuke was a man without a purpose. His walk had no destination, his eyes held no pursuit, and his demeanor was lazily relaxed. Sasuke was a man who had mastered the most powerful jutsu, killed the most powerful foes, and had nothing else to do after the smoke cleared. Her father had always said that a man who lives his life early would become lifeless. Hinata had never understood the phrase, but it now made sense. Sasuke had amassed power that was worthy of Kami herself at the age of nineteen. Anything after saving the world was a litany.

Hinata sympathized. After losing her eyes, even if she did possess interesting new ones, her world had pretty much spiraled. She had no family, and the shinobi identity that she had worked hard for seemed to be fading just as fast. She let out an unladylike snort. Her future was fading just as fast before getting acid dumped on her face.

She had confessed her love to Naruto. She had finally worked up the courage to tell him how she felt, her fingers numb from knitting him the scarf she thought would be the shining declaration of their newfound love. After her confession, Naruto had told her of his love for the weapons mistress. He said that he had fallen for her after she saved his life during the Obito, formerly Tobi or Madara, attack. Hinata had felt the tears sting her eyes when she thought about her own fight against Pain to save his life. Had she succeeded; would things have been different?

No.

Neji still would have died, she still would have thrown herself into being a shinobi. She still would have gotten acid sprayed on her face.

Hinata shook her head, effectively clearing her thoughts. Part of her heart still ached for her crush, but she knew that time of her life was over. Naruto-san was never hers; it was something she needed to learn to deal with. Distancing herself as far away from him as she could definitely helped.

Shaking her head, she flicked her eyes across her surroundings. The room she was in was sparse. The walls were navy blue with white trim and a shine finish. The dark walls combined with the grey and red accented curtains on the floor to ceiling window provided stark darkness that Hinata found more soothing an aesthetic than anything she had experienced since recovering from her blindness.

She exhaled a breath through her nose. Flashes of yesterday, at least she hoped it was only yesterday, flashed through her mind. The Sharingan was more complex than the Byakugan ever was. She did not believe her clan's dojutsu lacking in any way, but it was a gentle dojutsu that allowed the user to simply see chakra pathways, the flow of life, and then chose to strike out at them or not. The Sharingan was different. The dojutsu assaulted a person, demanding to control the mind, learn their motives and patterns. It struck hard and fast eating even Hinata's tightly controlled chakra reserve.

Every time she used it, she felt violated. Not only did the Sharingan demand to conquer whatever foe she directed it at, but the visual prowess also seemed to want to possess Hinata as well.

She shook the dark visions out of her head and shifted the covers off of her body. She was still wearing the simple gear she wore every day. Ever since Hinata had become a jonin level spy shinobi she had abandoned her usual lavender tones in favor of dark blacks and deep blues the color of her hair. Though she had grown stronger, she lacked the god-like power that Naruto possessed which allowed him the openness of wearing an alarming color like orange.

Her feet were bare and for a moment Hinata stared at the pale appendages and wished she could be in her home. She missed painting her toenails with Hanabi and visiting Neji's grave. She shook off the distant memories and pushed herself out of bed.

So, this was Sasuke-san's house she thought to herself. She noticed how plain the room was and remembered from the previous night that the rest of the house was similar. She didn't remember much from the Academy, just that Sasuke was always alone, similar to Naruto.

He reminded her a lot of her father, then and now, he was a simple man, he didn't have conversations that didn't need having, he didn't buy things that didn't need buying and people were but a means to an end. Her father had been a nicer man once in the company of her mother; however, she did not think Sasuke had been afforded a similar luxury.

Hinata groaned as she caught sight of her hair in the mirror. Her hair had always grown faster than she could keep track, if she did not braid it before she slept, she would wake up with something the greatest comb in the world couldn't tame.

She groaned and used the elastic on her wrist to tie the offending mess on the top of her head in a messy bun that still let thick tendrils frame her face.

Hesitantly, she peeked out the door. Though half of her expected Sasuke to hold a kunai to her throat when she woke up, she knew the man was a bit more methodical than that. He was a top shinobi and knew how to get information from a target.

She walked silently down the stairs. The houses floor plan was very open and allowed different parts of the house to be seen from different vantage points. From the top of the stairs, Hinata could see into the living room. The living room that she had lost control in and that still held a large whole in the massive area rug that covered the area.

Sasuke-san was not in the living room, neither was he in the connected kitchen and Hinata just did not imagine the ill-tempered man as a late sleeper.

On habit, she made her way to the kitchen and began to survey the space. It was done in stark contrast of dark black and smokey grey color that made Hinata a little excited to play with all the kitchen had to offer.

The food was sparse. There was only half an empty bottle of sake, a bag of tomatoes, some flour, and two eggs.

She didn't make a habit of looking at, or judging people's kitchens, especially when she was technically trespassing, but there was nothing she could do with any of this.

She sighed. She had wanted to make something to thank the Uchiha, maybe to stay in his good graces until she could control her new prowess; she would just have to think of something else. However, when she opened up the last cabinet, the one that should have contained tall glasses, she did find spices. She happily reached for the sugar and cinnamon and shut the cabinet grabbing her other ingredients.

When they were still in the academy, Hinata would get up early every morning to make fresh cinnamon rolls for Naruto and his team. He had told her that everyone loved them and had asked her if she would continue to make them as long as he wanted.

Hinata loved to bake, she had made Naruto-san sweet rolls every day till the end of the year when he had left with Lord Jiraiya. If Naruto was right, Sasuke would love them.

Hinata finished kneading the dough with her small hands, then she sectioned them off and carefully placed them on the baking sheet and into the oven.

Turning away from the appliance she almost screamed aloud when she saw Sasuke there, examining her curiously.

"S-Sasuke-s-san, I'm s-sorry I d-didn't see you," Hinata stuttered out, hand clutching her chest.

"Hn," Sasuke remarked as he looked down at her from his height which was a head and shoulders taller than her own. Hinata felt small as she stared at an area in the middle of his chest.

He was in a long sleeve kimono that was navy blue and held the Uchiha clan crest on his back. It was open and the one arm he had hung lazily through the front of the garment as he rested his elbow inside. Hinata had not been this close to the man since, well never. Hinata had never been this close to the tormented Uchiha.

Hinata was a sensory type and the aura that Sasuke gave off was intense. His chakra crackled like blue lightning and froze the air around him. The hairs on the back of Hinata's neck stood up just being in his very presence. Kurenai-sensei had once talked about how some shinobi gave off a "killing intent" an aura that let people know what they were getting into if they held any ill intent; Sasuke Uchiha was one of those shinobi.

Sasuke looked pointedly at her. Hinata couldn't interpret whether the look meant 'what are you doing?' or 'what are you doing here?' Hinata chose the one easiest to answer.

"A-as a t-thank you, I'm making you breakfast," Hinata smiled widely, when the dark-haired man did not return it, she averted her eyes elsewhere.

"A thank you for what?" the man asked. His face was immobile. She didn't know if there was a person who existed on earth today who could read the emotions of the Uchiha man. Hinata noted that talking seemed to be painful for him.

"F-for h-helping me," Hinata was growing nervous and had resorted to her habit of twisting her hair in her hands. She could feel her face heat as Sasuke's multicolored eyes appraised her with bored indignation.

Sasuke said nothing, just looked at her as though looking for something. Her worth maybe?

Hinata saw the slightest twitch in his jaw before he nodded curtly. "Get out".

The two words were purposeful and final. Hinata would have been surprised if she had honestly not expected this reaction.

"S-Sasuke-san, I-"

"You're a stuttering nervous wreck, I doubt there is a single Uchiha like quality that you possess and therefore mastery of the Sharingan will be impossible for you. Tell Tsunade to keep trying, good luck."

Hinata was stunned. She knew all those things about herself, but no one had ever confronted her about them. Everyone was so busy trying to make sure they didn't hurt her feelings or 'break' her that they never told Hinata the things she needed to hear. Things like the fact that losing her eyes was a result of her own lack of skill.

Sasuke turned his back on her and walked out the side door. He spared her no other glances, he didn't see her out or lock the door, it was almost like she was so insignificant that he didn't even feel it appropriate to spare the time to see her out properly.

Hinata felt the tears involuntarily come to her eyes. She was crying, of course, she was crying. In her weakest moment, to emphasize her weakness, of course, she would be crying.

The smell of the rolls in the oven interrupted her thoughts. Robotically she looked at them through the small opening that allowed her to glance into the oven. They were almost done and Hinata could see them becoming a nice golden brown, she could see the dark flakes of cinnamon swirling through the cake.

She felt a small smile take place on her lips and thought back to the only memory she had of her mother, one where they were cooking. It was a stupid thing to think about now she knew, but the memory she had with her mother comforted her when she was nervous or scared. Right now, she was terrified. Sasuke was not going to help her, he was the only one that could, and he refused. Hinata had expected it, yet when it happened, she had been unprepared.

What scared her most was the thoughts that followed after. She was sure the Hokage would take care of her. Maybe she would pawn her off on another powerful shinobi like Kakashi or Kurenai-sensei. They would take her in out of an obligation, but she would be in the way. Hinata had trained so hard to become a passable shinobi so that she would no longer be a burden, she couldn't go back to that.

She could grovel to her father.

The elders were old, maybe they knew some ancient Uchiha techniques since the Hyuga and Uchiha were distant cousins. She thought back to her father's shame-filled tone as she lay blind on Tsunade's operating table.

"If she's not a Hyuga anymore, she is a regular citizen of Konoha, I leave her to you."

He had said this after three days of waiting for Tsunade's solution. Hinata honestly applauded him for not letting her go sooner.

She felt her eyes burn with fresh tears. Of course. She angrily whipped her sleeve across her face just as the oven timer dinged at her. She glared at it. Without thinking she yanked open the door and reached for the interrupting pastry she was making inside.

Hinata hissed in pain as her fingers closed around the 400-degree pan. Yanking her digits back, she accidentally yanked the tray out of the oven and the goods flew across Sasuke's hardwood floor, the pan sliding with a metallic sound that echoed unpleasantly in the still air.

She screamed in tearful outrage and collapsed to her knees next to the pan that had once held her small peace offering. The tears flowed freely now and Hinata didn't try and stop them. She thanked Kami that her Sharingan didn't activate and leaned her back against the island behind her.

She was done. Her father had turned his back on her, which meant she no longer had a clan. Shino and Kiba would take her in, but what kind of friend was she if she denied them an active life in favor of caring for their weak teammate. Tsunade, Hinata was beginning to believe, was at her wit's end. She felt a small amount of betrayal when she thought of the woman who had just left her in the home of the man whose eyes, she had just transplanted into Hinata.

If Hinata was being truthful, she couldn't blame Sasuke for his reaction. The village had kept so many secrets, one of them being that they secretly held his eyes, the very future of his clan.

"Your still here," a voice said.

Hinata looked up to see Sasuke leaning over the island looking down at her with his fixed gaze. His visible eye was dark and unwavering. His bangs, the color of a night sky, obscured his other eye from sight.

Hinata let out an un-ladylike sniff as she attempted to collect herself. Whipping her tears on her long sleeves, she stood up and bowed low.

"I'm sorry S-Sasuke-san, I'll b-be going now."

Hinata collected the now cooled pan from the floor and balanced the large, discarded pastries atop it. Her stomach cried at how delicious they would have been if she only possessed common sense.

"What did you make," he asked. From his tone, Hinata had the feeling that he had not asked it of his own free will.

"Cinnamon r-rolls, I-I'm sorry they're no good now," Hinata said as she threw the pastries in the steel trash can and placed the tray in the sink and began washing it by hand.

"I don't like sweet things," he said, his face scrunching and his hand clenching around a paper bag he had not had before.

"H-hai." Hinata nodded sadly. Even if she had made them perfectly, they would have been rejected. Hinata smiled sadly, her back still to the man as she dried the dish and placed it back where she had pulled it from. She wiped her hands on her pants and bowed once more before turning to exit the room.

"What was Tsunade's back up plan for you," he asked. The question was casual, as though he didn't care whether she answered or not.

Hinata chewed the inside of her cheek.

"I-I don't t-think I can continue to bother L-Lady Tsunade anymore," she breathed out in barely more than a whisper.

"So, you'll go back to the Hyuga?"

Hinata turned to look at him after his second question. She turned her head to the side, studying him. He had been so adamant before that she be gone, now he seemed to be prying for something. Hinata didn't know what, but it wasn't as though she had anywhere to be.

"I no l-longer possess the Byakugan, s-so so…"

"Hn," was all Sasuke said as he pursed his lips. There was no exchange after that. Hinata looked at him for five more minutes before she bowed once more.

"Do you know how to make anything else besides junk food?" Sasuke asked.

"H-hai, I-I'm quite fond of c-cooking actually," Hinata admitted.

The man studied her intensely once more. His face shifted from a glare to a stoic expression and then back to a glare.

He seemed to decide on something before he spoke, "This district is difficult to renovate on my own." His words were blunt, as though he were firing off statistics, or stating the forecast.

Hinata felt her heart race. Sasuke couldn't be insinuating what she thought.

"I'll make an arrangement with you because I get nothing out of this deal but a headache otherwise." As he spoke, he undid the binding on the paper bag that he possessed and produced from it a rather large tomato. A kunai knife also appeared in his hand as though it had come from mid-air. Hinata watched as his long thin fingers gripped the flesh of the fruit as he cut into it. Hinata had never seen someone slice anything one-handed, but from his actions, Hinata deduced that he ate like this often.

"If you agree to handle the cooking, cleaning and assist in the district restoration, I will train you to use your Sharingan," Sasuke stated bluntly.

Hinata attempted to fully wrap her mind around his words. "You want me to be your s-servant?"

Sasuke smirked at her question. Hinata felt her face redden at the expression for some reason.

"Think of yourself as a branch member."

Hinata's eyes widened. Then again, of course, an Uchiha would be aware of the clan structure of the only other noble clan in the village. He had probably been taught by his father.

Hinata's mind went back to the swirling thoughts that it had before. What other alternative did she have? Tsunade was growing impatient with her, and Hinata had a sneaking suspicion that Tsunade had transplanted the Sharingan into her for reasons other than helping her.

Her family was of course no longer an option. She had also broken off correspondence with a lot of her other friends after Neji passed, save for Kiba and Shino, who were also not an option.

"W-what about food? W-where will I s-stay?" she asked quietly. She didn't think Sasuke had it in him to starve her, but she had expected more from people that had been closer.

He looked at her with an annoyed expression. "That room you woke up in is fine, and no Hyuga you'll starve."

His tone dripped in sarcasm as he rolled his eyes, continuing to eat his breakfast. However, he must have seen the terrified expression on Hinata's face.

"Let's say 10,000-yen a week food budget," the man said, throwing out the number haphazardly.

Hinata nodded, it should be more than enough to feed both of them, seeing as how Sasuke didn't eat sweets and seemed to live on a constant diet of tomatoes and sake.

Something else occurred to Hinata, maybe she could…

"I accept, with o-one c-condition," Hinata spoke softly, trying to be as firm as she possibly could.

Sasuke looked at her amused. The look disturbed her for some reason, it reminded her of the looks her father would give her when he dared her to even try and speak up for herself.

"I wasn't aware you were in a position to make demands Hyuga, what is it?"

"W-when I-m trained, a-and the district is r-restored. I want a house within the c-compound."

Hinata blurted the last part out faster than she wanted, however, she summoned everything she had and looked Sasuke in his mixed matched eyes as she made the request.

The dark-haired man simply shrugged.

"Sure, whatever," he stated bluntly. "But it's not my fault if you get haunted by ghosts."

You know the drill, review, love me, feed me never leave me.

stay safe