Sasuke rested his head back in his car and watched as people walked by.
Maybe he shouldn't be doing this.
His suspicion and conscience were eating at him. He had to know what he should feel.
However, if anyone asked, he was here to prove his suspicions right, not because he might be wrong.
Sasuke caught sight of what he was looking for. He got out of the car without much plan. He walked up to the short girl with a familiar smile and called for her. "Hanabi Hyuuga?"
Hanabi turned to look at him, confused. "Yeah."
Sasuke hadn't planned this far ahead. "Do you know Hinata Hyuuga?"
Hanabi's expression soured, and her posture became defensive. "Why do you ask?"
If he said he worked with her, and they were in on it together, he would tip her off.
"Did she send you!?" Hanabi yelled at him. "You can tell her I don't need her checking up on me. And she can stop sending money. I'd rather work my ass off at part-time jobs than take any more of her blood money."
Sasuke was baffled by how much of an opposite this little monster was from Hinata. "You ungrateful brat."
"Excuse me?" Hanabi squawked.
Sasuke felt anger as her remembered Hinata's tears. "Do you know what it's like watching her stare at her phone all day?" He barked. "All she does is work and think about you!"
Hanabi's face was faulted, but she shouted back. "Tell her this is her fault!"
"I did!" Sasuke snapped.
Hanabi gaped at him.
"I told her that she chose work over family," Sasuke admitted, pointing to himself.
Sasuke could see the cogs spinning in Hanabi's eyes, the confusion, regret, and anger.
"I told her she was a selfish piece of shit, and she deserved you hating her." Sasuke's face snapped back with force. "I'm sick of her self-pity. It's annoying."
Sasuke didn't expect someone so small to have a solid right hook. He coughed and put his hands on either side of his nose, hoping she hadn't just broken it.
"You bastard!" Hanabi screeched.
Sasuke put his hand up before she hit him again. "Wait, wait." He coughed again, painfully. "That last part was a lie. I didn't say that."
Hanabi hesitated, her teeth clenched and tears treating to overflow. Now she looked like Hinata.
"I was proving you still care." Sasuke coughed, moving his nose slightly, is seared with pain. She broke it. The little shit broke his nose. He could taste blood in the back of his throat.
Hanabi stared at him with anger in her eyes but sadness on her face. "Does she talk about me?"
Sasuke nodded. "Constantly."
"She still works for that bastard, though." Hanabi huffed, still clearly betrayed.
"What did you expect her to do? She had the option to put you through school. She obviously didn't think an over 20-year-old feud would cost her relationship with you." Sasuke explained. He would have to begrudgingly say he was convinced. Two assaults were too much for a con. His nose throbbed.
"Do you know what that bastard did to my family?" Hanabi growled.
Sasuke made a face. "That bastard is my father, so I can probably say something worth being pissed about."
Hanabi's eyes brows knitted together, looking over him.
"But, it should have stayed with his generation." Sasuke wondered if she was going to try to hit him again. "Look, just call her. All she does is work and care for other people, and it pisses me off." Sasuke knew it didn't make sense when it left his mouth, but it was a very accurate explanation of his feelings toward her.
Hinata made him mad, and he couldn't really explain why. Maybe fixing this would get him closer to knowing.
"This is her address." Sasuke handed her a slip of paper. "She comes home late."
He took a breath as she took the note hesitantly. He turned toward his car and left her there to contemplate what he said.
God, his nose hurt.
Fugaku jumped as Hinata audibly squeaked and nearly dropped her phone. She snagged up her bag. "I'll be right there." She told the other end of the line.
She looked up from across his desk, where they were looking over documents. "Sasuke's in the ER. His nose is broken." Fugaku looked up from his work and watched her frantically gather her work. "I am going to go down to do his paperwork. I hope he didn't drive himself." She fired off as she tossed her coat on. "I'll update you when I get there."
Fugaku watched her as she left and stopped at Lee's desk to give him instructions. A smile spread across his face.
Fugaku chuckled. "He would have been fine. He's an adult. He probably deserved his nose being broken."
Sasuke blinked his eyes through the drugs they gave him to see Hinata look at him with worry in those big sad eyes.
"What happened?" Hinata whispered. Her hand came up, he flinched back to keep her from touching his face, but she went past to push the hair out off his forehead, looking for other injuries. He probably didn't look great. Driving to the hospital hadn't been pleasant, with his eyes watering from the pain. "Oh, I have to tell your father you're okay. I ran out."
Sasuke stared at her for a moment as she pressed her lips together, looking down at her phone. "You really are cute."
Hinata's fingers hovered over the keyboard. Her eyes slid up as she gave him a bewildered look. "I think I should drive you home. You are on too much medication."
Sasuke chuckled and grinned. Yeah, he would blame that thought coming out of his mouth on the drug but could he blame them for having it?
"I should tell Itachi-sama to..." She whispered as she typed. "He wasn't even in the office today." She paused again but quickly went back to typing.
"I don't want to go home," Sasuke grumbled truthfully, closing his eyes and resting his head back.
Hinata put the phone down and sighed, looking up at him with a tilt of her head. "You want to come home with me then?" She knew the answer.
Sasuke stared back with no answer. He wasn't going to admit to that even with his head in the clouds.
Hinata patted her hands on her legs. "Alright, I need to check your paperwork and pick up your medication, and I'll take you back to my place."
Sasuke laid back on her couch and closed his eyes. It felt like someone dripped hot oil down his nose. The meds were wearing off.
Hinata fluttered around. Tea and snacks appeared next to him, then a blanket on top of him.
Hinata crouched down next to him and lightly placed an ice pack on the side of his face. He slid it to the pain and squinted his eyes at her. They stared at each other for a moment. Hinata looked way first.
"I should go back to work," Hinata said, standing up.
He caught the edge of her skirt. She stopped and looked back. He didn't look at her, and he didn't want her to go.
Maybe the drugs were still affecting him.
Hinata pressed her lips together. "I'll tell the director that you need to be looked after."
Sasuke released her and rolled to his side, and closed his eyes. She would be there when he woke up. That's all he needed to know.