Tears shimmered at the corners of Hinata's lashes. She blinked slowly as if she feared she'd misheard. "You would… help me?"

Sasuke clenched his jaw. Too late to take it back now. "Tomorrow. Same place. Same time. Bring what you think might be helpful."

"S-Sure. I will." She nodded firmly. A smile full of hope illuminated her face. "Thank y–"

"Don't. It's not as easy as you think."

"Uh… Okay." Her nod was a bit more hesitant this time and her smile started shaking. The irritation rose inside of him. Another reason he didn't want to engage in the first place.

Leave. Without saying anything else, Sasuke opened a portal. Back in his apartment, he leaned his forehead against the cold glass of the window. "Fuck," he murmured. Why on earth had he agreed? To give her hope?

Itachi surely wouldn't want him to forget. So what was it about? Those light eyes filled with guilt, grief, pain–it reminded him of something–or maybe of someone–but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Sasuke paced his living room. Stopping in front of a particular tatami mat, he pulled it up, revealing an opening on the floor with a seal on top. He channeled his chakra into the seal; the lid snapped open. His hand grasped the scrolls inside, fingers tracing the Uchiha emblem.

Research was due. He had erased memories before, but this would be different. Even if Hinata bothered him, she wasn't an enemy. She was a shinobi from the Leaf, just like him. Whatever it was, something made him want to help. What would his ancestors have said if they had known of his plan to use the Sharingan in such a way? And what would you say, Itachi?

He placed the scrolls on the table. This is going to be a long night.

Sasuke sat on the grass next to Naruto, both catching their breaths after their daily spar. This time, Sasuke had won; it had been easy. Too easy. Sasuke wrinkled his nose as he watched Naruto clumsily nursing his injuries. Thanks to the fox, it wouldn't take long to heal. Normally, Naruto would whine about it just to tease him, but today he didn't.

Instead, Naruto babbled even more than usual. Something about the dark clouds above them, when it was going to rain, and so on. As if it mattered. Sasuke watched Team Eight's training on the other field, tuning out his friend's loud voice.

Last time Hinata's movements resembled a flawless dance—weightless and gracious. This time, it looked more like a dying bird. Kiba shot kicks and fists at her, and she staggered, stumbling as she let him too far into her close range. The footwork was sloppy, her arms hesitating whenever they reached out. Sasuke's eyebrows tightened when a kick broke through her patchy defense, met her neck, and sent her flying into a wooden pole.

"Anybody in here?" A tanned hand waving in front of Sasuke's eyes tore his attention from the scene. "You really never listen!" Naruto huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing," Sasuke muttered.

Thankfully, Naruto didn't follow his line of sight but had his eyes solely on him. "Really? You can talk to me about it, ya know. You seemed off sometimes… I'm worried."

"Worried?" Sasuke scoffed. "That I'd kill you in your sleep?"

"Naaah. You wouldn't. You don't have a bad heart. Grumpy bastard." Grinning weakly, Naruto wiped away the remaining blood from his face. They stayed silent for a while before Naruto cleared his throat. "I'm worried you feel alone here… and I can't understand everything because I haven't experienced it… but I wanna try. If you wanna solve a conflict, you gotta try to understand the person. I learned that, ya know."

The stinging feeling of guilt rose in Sasuke's gut. Naruto always tried to understand him, believing in the best of him, and he rarely ever listened. Did he ever try to understand anybody? He quickly glanced at Hinata's team on the training field. Shino was helping her back up while Kiba patted her head. Hinata was smiling at them for whatever reason. Understand. Sasuke snorted as he narrowed his eyes and turned to Naruto again. "What's your point?"

"This." Naruto pointed at his chest. "The point is you should let me in if you're not fine. Maybe I could help you then. We need to look into people's hearts. All those years, I saw that we really aren't that different. But you're not letting anybody in…"

To look into someone's heart? That sounded like the biggest cliche. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

I'm going to experiment on Hinata Hyuga's mind. "No," Sasuke said.

"Really?" Blond eyebrows wiggled suggestively. "Maybe it's about a certain… girl?"

You wouldn't want to know. Remaining silent, Sasuke's eyes wandered to Hinata, who was walking away with Aburame and Inuzuka.

"All right, all right. How would I know if you never talk? Hmmm, sooo if it's not a girl…" Naruto stood up and dusted off his knees. "Maybe a guy?"

It's about Neji Hyuga's death. But Sasuke couldn't voice that either. After a long stretched silence, he sighed, slowly rising to his feet. "Jealous, loser?"

Naruto's grin broadened before it turned into full-blown laughter. "You wish!"

"Wait up!" a female voice hollered behind him.

Sasuke cursed silently because he couldn't flicker away anymore. Running would surely ruin the flowers he was holding. He turned around to face Ino, who also had a white bouquet in her hand. Sasuke scowled, hoping it would make her leave. "What do you want?"

"Listen, I have to close earlier today, but Hinata usually comes at half-past, which is in"––she pretended to look at her watch––"fifteen minutes. Could you give it to her?"

Sasuke dismissed her request with a shrug. "Leave it at the door or whatever."

Ino huffed. "Listen up. Your antics can be amusing, but not today. I've got something to take care of. But I don't want to disappoint her. Nobody can handle those big sad eyes. I know you know it."

He quickly scanned her face. Does she know something?

"Come on. Just give Hinata the flowers," said Ino. "Didn't you want to atone?"

Sasuke pressed his teeth together, planning to kill who'd ratted him out. Most likely, Naruto.

Ino clicked her tongue. "All right, all right. Guess she can pick them up tomorrow then."

He was about to walk off, but a sequence of pictures flashed in his mind: Hinata walking down the street, halting in front of the flower shop. Her pale face upon the realization that she couldn't honor her brother like she usually did. Suddenly, Sasuke couldn't help but think about his own routine and how he would—Damn. He groaned, reaching out his hand. "Fine."

Platinum blond eyebrows shot up, a mischievous grin flashing on Ino's face. "Great! And the payment? It's not like I work for free, you know."

Devious brat. Sasuke sneered as he reached for his money.

Ino had already run off when Sasuke wondered how he got into this mess again. He stood next to the shop, leaning against a wall, comparing the two bouquets in his hand. They looked similar—all white with occasional sprinkles of other colors—but they contained different types of flowers. He smirked at his thoughts. The boredom really must have gotten the best of him.

After some minutes passed, Hinata arrived at the shop. Her light eyes didn't betray their last meeting. A short, neutral nod was her greeting as she walked past him to the flower shop's door. Her eyes widened when she found it locked.

"Yamanaka closed earlier today. Here." Taking some steps towards her, Sasuke handed her the flowers. "Those are yours."

"Oh. Thank you." With a hesitant smile, she turned the bouquet in her hand, her eyes traveling over every bud. "Today is…"

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow, waiting for her to finish her sentence. Hinata tended to speak less while all other women babbled more than he asked them to. But she didn't seem to want to end her thought. She's so weird.

"Oh. Sorry, I almost forgot." After opening the pouch strapped to her leg, Hinata pulled out the money and reached out. "Thank you. Here—"

"Keep it." Sasuke could have slapped himself. Why was he offering to pay for her?

"Uh. I… cannot accept that. Please take it." Her hand quickly snapped to his and stuffed the money in his palm.

The second he felt her cold delicate fingers against his, he couldn't help but stare. The touch prickled his skin. What is it? His eyes stopped at her reddened neck where Kiba had hit her. Suddenly, he understood something.

"Sasuke?" she asked quietly, drawing back her hand. "Is something wrong?"

"You saw that kick."

"Huh?" Her mouth opened and closed as her glance fell, avoiding meeting his eyes. "Yes."

She isn't even denying. "Why didn't you dodge?"

Her lips trembled as if getting ready to lie, but then she sighed. "I-I'm not sure. Maybe I didn't mind… being hit?"

First, he wanted to ask why, but he knew it was because she felt like she deserved it. Then, he was about to tell her that it was stupid. However, he remembered lying next to Naruto after their final battle and how he had argued that it would have been easier to die there. Wasn't it similar…?

So what? As if in reflex, Sasuke's inner voice shouted "Leave" again, even though a small part whispered—

"I'm leaving," he pressed out.

"Of course." Hinata dipped her head into a bow. "Thank you again. Goodbye."

He marched to the cemetery without looking back. Talking to her was like a riddle. What might have been today? Most likely, the answer would involve later today because it would be the day she'd forget her brother's death.

As the sun set, thick raindrops began to pound onto the streets and the roofs. Sasuke groaned as he put on his cloak. Is this a sign? A sign to break this strange promise he gave her?

When he arrived at their meeting spot, Hinata already stood in the middle of the park. The rain poured down on her head, sticking her dark bangs to her forehead as it ran across her nose, lips, and chin.

"Good evening, Sa—"

"You're early." He pulled the hood of his cloak deeper into his face.

Her eyes widened a little as her slightly opened mouth tightened into a thin line. "I didn't want to make you wait."

"Did you bring it with you?"

"Yes." She opened her coat, showing him a scroll. The rain instantly whipped against her body.

"It's getting wet," Sasuke growled. Before she could retort, his hand darted forward, gripped her wrist, and pulled her towards him. Simultaneously, his Rinnegan opened a portal, and he teleported them into his flat. The unexpected movement caused her to stumble and bump her face against his chest.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Hinata took a quick step back, a hint of a blush brushing over her cheeks. Her reaction baffled him. Calm, unbothered. She simply didn't care. In school, she was one of the only girls who had never sent him presents, letters, or tried to talk to him. For the first time, he wasn't the one backing away. Karin or Sakura would try to get closer and smother him with their desires. They would cling to him or run around in his apartment and touch his stuff. Meanwhile, Hinata stood there, biting her lip, looking up at him.

Slipping off his shoes, Sasuke silently pointed at her feet. "We'll do it here."

"Um, sure." Hinata hurried to take off her sandals. Wet feet padded on his tatami floor as she followed him into his living room.

He hung his cloak onto a hook and sat at the table. "It's safer to speak here anyway. Nobody should know."

"Right." With a serious look, Hinata took a seat on the opposite side. The water drops on her skin shone, her completely soaked top clinging tightly to her chest. She would get sick in no time.

"You're getting the furniture wet." Sasuke stood up, pulled out a small towel, and threw it at her.

"Thanks." She caught it and started patting her face and hair dry. Usually, he avoided inviting people to his home, and now he had dragged a stranger with him without second-guessing. It wasn't like him. She looked at him attentively, waiting for—right.

"There is a problem."

"A problem?"

"I can erase memories. In fact, I could wipe out your whole day today if I wanted."

"Go ahead," she mumbled as her fingers clenched around the towel.

One corner of his lip twitched. "Tch. That bad?"

Hinata opened and closed her mouth as if she was about to say something but stopped at the last second. He decided to leave it at that.

"What exactly do you want to forget?" Sasuke asked.

She swallowed. "I want to forget how… that day Neji died. "

Neji Hyuga. Sasuke's thoughts curtly shifted to an arrogant kid in the Chunin exams years ago. "It has almost been a year since the war ended. It's now already in your long-term memory. Your other memories–newer memories–depend on it or have a connection to it."

Hinata bit her bottom lip. "It's more complicated then?"

"Only erasing the memory itself won't work because parts of it and copies are still contained in other memories. We would need to alter the newer ones too. A recursive process that would take time."

"I see…" Hinata nodded slightly. "So every memory that includes his death would need to be… rewritten?"

"Reprogrammed in a way. Any inconsistencies would lead to confusion or worse."

"Okay."

"'Okay?'" Sasuke frowned. "Do you know what I mean by 'worse'?"

Hinata's eyes dropped to the ground. "I-It won't matter."

She doesn't care for her own mind's integrity.

"Sasuke… Do you know how to rewrite the memories?"

"I only have partial knowledge on that."

"And just erasing would mean… wiping out every memory from the war until now?"

"Yes. Though, that wouldn't make sense either. Imagine waking up not knowing where your brother is or what happened to him. How would you feel?"

She swallowed. "Scared."

"Imagine I'd told you he's dead when you don't know about it. Everybody knows, except for you."

Her eyes went wide, tears pooling inside them. "I…."

"You'd be confused, and it would lead to even more pain. And forgetting their existence would mean—"

She shook her head. "I want to remember Neji. I don't want to forget him. But that memory of his death…."

"Hm." Sasuke shut his eyes. "Show me the scroll you brought with you." After she reached out and handed it over, he skimmed through the contents. As expected, the method with Tenketsu would resemble an operation with the precision of a butter knife instead of a scalpel. "This isn't safe," he said, closing it. "We'll do it my way."

"S-Sure."

Sasuke fixed his glance on her. "I need to access the memory first. It'll be a simple genjutsu to get access. Show me the memory you want to erase." In the reflection of her pale eyes, his black one turned red. "Don't push me out."

"Okay," she murmured.

Extract the memory first, then find a way to alter it. Sasuke concentrated his chakra into her nervous system. Instantly, a surge of odd pictures washed over him. Images of large empty rooms, men and women, soldiers, a destroyed Konoha… But none of it was what he was searching for. Instead, there were too many unrelated memories overflowing his mind. He stepped out of the visual stream, dispersed the jutsu, and glared at the woman in front of him.

Only now he noticed the veins of her Byakugan were throbbing on her face. Damn it.

"I said don't push me out," he bit out when she finally opened her eyes.

The bulging lines around her eyes receded as Hinata massaged her temples. "Uh… sorry. I-I didn't realize I did."

"You activated your dojutsu."

"I'm sorry. It must have been a reflex."

"A reflex?" He lifted an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Mhm, maybe… it's because of Kurenai-sensei's genjutsu training?"

Sasuke drew his hand through his hair. This was going to be even more complicated than he had thought. What proved helpful in fights would be an obstacle to completing their task. "I'll use a stronger genjutsu now. Don't. Push. Me. Out. Understand?"

She nodded firmly, clenching her fists on the table.

Once again, he locked eyes with her. The Sharingan weaved a genjutsu around her, a more advanced one this time. Another flood of pictures pushed against his mind, this time all images of… him? Sasuke saw a younger version of himself fighting Naruto when they were in school, sitting next to Naruto in class, when the cursed mark had taken over his body in the Chunin exams, and when Naruto had been in hospital after their fight. All memories of when they were younger.

Sasuke concentrated on pushing past that stream and his original task. I need to find the memory of Neji's death. Hinata's mind bombarded him with images but didn't disclose the one he was after. Finally, he saw a memory showing him on the battlefield when he declared that he'd become Hokage. Sasuke ground his teeth at the embarrassment and the realization of what she thought of him.

It doesn't work.

He dispersed the genjutsu again. Her Byakugan was again visible. "Wake up." When his attempts didn't help, he snapped his fingers repeatedly. "Hyuga?"

This is useless.

Hinata was breathing heavily, still recovering from the genjutsu. Due to her wet clothes, goosebumps ran across her long neck, where the bruises had started to turn blue.

After some minutes, Hinata's eyes fluttered. She swallowed when their eyes met. "D-Did I push you out again?"

"Obviously." He realized that his frown must have grown while waiting for her. "You don't trust me."

"Huh?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"I saw what you think of me. Subconsciously, you're in a state of defense. The reason for that is that you don't trust me."

"Hm…" She folded her hands as her Byakugan subsided. "But I… do trust you."

"You don't." He shrugged. "And why would you? You're only here because you're desperate."

She remained silent for a while before mumbling, "Naruto trusts you. So I trust you too."

He refrained from rolling his eyes. Even her memories were filled with Naruto, while he appeared as the villain hurting the hero. "Your subconscious thinks otherwise."

"My subconscious? I––What can I do?"

"Forget my offer. It's not working." Sasuke rose from his seat when a small hand caught the loose fabric at the hem of his pants.

"No!" Hinata's eyebrows drew together, and she shook her head. "Please… I want to learn it. Let's try again."

"It makes no sense." We should stop until it's too late. He wasn't even sure what "too late" would mean.

"Please." Hinata locked eyes with his eyes.

"It'll hurt."

"I know. It's okay." Her lower lip trembled, and she bit on it. "Today… today is Neji's birthday."

Too late. He swallowed, frozen in place. So she really decided to trust him? Most people who trusted him regretted it at one point. According to her memories, she was fully aware of his past.

"Sa-Sasuke?" Hinata whispered, still looking up at him.

"Fine." When her hand let go of his pants, Sasuke walked to his closet and pulled out a black shirt and a pair of shorts. He couldn't break through without mental exertions and pain. The only solution would be that she let him in deliberately. But her subconscious didn't seem to allow that. Reasons for it varied but sitting shivering in his somber apartment didn't help.

"Wha—" Hinata caught the clothes he threw at her.

"Put them on. Freezing increases the inner defense." Sasuke took a deep breath and turned on his kettle. He picked up two mugs and placed them on the counter. "I'm going to increase the genjutsu difficulty. It'll mean more pain and less control over the output." Staring at the clothes in her hands, she didn't move. He expected her to retort, so he growled, "I don't have time for arguments. Change or go home."

"R-Right." She jumped up and bolted to the bathroom.

When she came back, he was about to place the tea on the table. He halted when he saw her sitting there. At his table. In his shirt. That picture held a strange feeling of… what? He wondered what she thought. Reading her was difficult; it was more subtle, like reading between the lines or decrypting a certain code.

"Look into people's hearts," Naruto's babbling echoed in his mind. He had pointed to his chest and––

Sasuke's eyes darted to Hinata's chest. He was about to avert his glance when the realization struck him that Hinata still seemed to be very… cold. Suddenly, his ears burned. What is wrong with me—

"Sasuke?" Hinata blinked, pursing her lips.

Damn Naruto. Sasuke reached behind him and handed her a blanket. "You have to stop fighting me in there."

"I know." She wrapped the blanket tightly around her body. "I try but… it's like a part of me I can't control."

I get it.

"Drink." He pushed a mug towards her, reprimanding himself for his weird thoughts. Insomnia must be getting to him.

"Thank you." With a small smile, Hinata took a sip of tea, its warmth instantly reddening her cheeks. They drank in silence as Sasuke assessed the situation. Even if she'd let him in, he wasn't sure how to proceed without inflicting pain on her. He decided that if he passed the first barrier, he'd look for the solution afterward. It was supposed to be a cooperation, not a battle. But how was he going to convince her mind?

Hinata put down her empty cup on the table. A determined glint flashed on her face, red lips forming a smile. "Can we try again?" she asked quietly.

Sasuke reached out his hand and opened his palm in front of her. "Take it."

"Eh?" She blinked, lips parting in confusion.

"It'll help," he said, "to lower the inner defense."

"Oh. I see." The slight blush on her face grew as her fingers quickly wrapped around his. "I'm ready."

Sasuke hesitated for a second. Holding hands felt strange without the purpose of forming hand symbols for an attack. But they were at peace, not at war. Under her cold, callous fingertips, the warm chakra pulsed nervously. It slowed down after some seconds as his breathing calmed down.

Finally activating his dojutsu, he initiated another genjutsu on her. Once again, a stream of memories and pictures gushed towards him again, useless remnants, but this time they didn't crash into him. Instead, he saw a shadow at the end of that stream. Her inner self.

"Why do you keep trying? Leave her alone," a low voice spoke.

Sasuke tightened his eyebrows, trying to catch a glimpse of the figure. He had expected to see Hinata herself since the subconscious was usually an image of that person. Hinata's didn't look like her, though. It appeared taller with broad shoulders and a straight posture.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "What are you?"

"None of your business. Leave." It didn't sound like Hinata at all.

"And if I won't?" Sasuke asked.

"Then I'll make you."

Sasuke cocked his head. "How? What would you do?"

"Everything it takes to protect her."

To protect? Sasuke stepped closer until a man with long brown hair and light eyes became visible. Neji Hyuga.

Sommer: Thanks for reading :) What I really love about the limited POV is that if you look closely, you'll find some stuff Sasuke is too distracted to see. I had some fun with this chapter, hehe. Maybe it's too subtle, I'm not sure. Thank you very much for all those nice comments, wow O.O As always, I'm happy to hear your thoughts :)

Thank you to my wonderful beta IcyQueenWriter for her time and effort. I am so grateful to learn from you.