"I need you to trust me."

Sasuke says it with such conviction, that for a split-second she actually believes the earnestness in his tone. Believes that she has freedom to accept or refuse his presence, and to make decisions based on her personal stance.

Then she remembers who he is and the reason for his current presence in her life. Regardless of these facts, she is also aware that she is powerless against him – physically, emotionally and even socially. There is no one in her family or social circle that will take her side over Naruto's. Most, if not all would scoff at the thought of Naruto betraying her. He is their golden hero.

He was once hers too. Maybe he will always be, just in a different manner than before.

Cognizant of the gap between her and Sasuke, she relents; conceding her autonomy.

With this in mind, Hinata doesn't think twice about accepting Sasuke's hand and walking into the void with him. She has no idea of his intentions or where he plans to take her, but she follows without resistance.

As her left foot meets her right in the nothingness of the void, Hinata barely has time to blink before the darkness fully encompasses her and the ruined temple disappears from sight.

Hinata is nearly knocked down from the pressure she feels first against her chest, which then quickly assaults her entire body. Her heartbeat speeds up. Blood rushes away from her brain; legs feel heavier. She feels her consciousness slipping. She wants to fight against it, but there is a certain allure to letting go.

Sasuke's hands slip from hers. She smiles at this; he too is releasing her from the agony that is life.

A harsh grip is felt on her chin, "Hinata!" Hinata follows his voice, consciousness seeping back into her. "Stay with me!" He demands. In the swirling abyss, a dreadfully beautiful eye illuminates the darkness and peers into her soul. The concentric rings swirls; hypnotizing and pulling her in. Helping slow her rapid heartbeat and breathing.

Hinata's eyes are still locked onto his enthralling dōjutsu when the darkness slips away.

"Hinata," Sasuke calls calmly.

It's only when he utters her name that she realizes that the darkness no longer shrouds them. She quickly looks away, embarrassed and torn at finding safety and comfort within him.

As if that would be the only problem sent her way; her stomach groans. Moving away from him, her back hits a tree trunk.

"It's your first time using this form of transport," and likely her last, if Hinata has a say, which she likely doesn't, "you're going to feel upset."

On cue, bile rises in her throat. Fortunately, she has enough time to turn her back towards Sasuke, allowing her to retain a modicum of dignity. Doubling over she spews yellow-green vomit speckled with crushed fruit and nuts. Once the churning feeling has subsided, she wipes her dirty mouth with the back of her palm.

Turning around, she inspects her surroundings.

Several feet below her is a large stone building. From her vantage point, the building appears to be carved into the earth. She wonders how deep down it extends.

A thick, dense forest surrounds the building; shielding it from the harsh midday sun.

Amidst the sound of the leaves blowing in the wind, she hears a brook somewhere in the distance. Under normal circumstances, she would find the scenery pleasant and serene.

But the faded, mauve stone building, with what she believes are snakes painted at the entrance, fixes her with a sense of dread.

"Where are we?" Hinata asks quietly and cautiously, ensuring that her voice isn't carried with the wind.

"Sound," Sasuke supplies tersely and begins walking towards the entrance of the building.

During her tenure as a shinobi, she was not tasked with missions to Sound. Her Hyuga bloodline made her a liability; a sought-after target for the snake Sannin.

"Is this Orochimaru's hideout?" Hinata asks in a hushed tone, eyes scanning their immediate surroundings for enemy nin.

"Yes," Sasuke's response is clipped as he keeps on walking ahead.

Realizing that he expects her to follow and not wanting to be left alone and defenseless, she tries to catch up to him.

He slows down his pace until she walks next to him.

"Why are we here?" Hinata hates that she sounds like a scared toddler.

"I'm getting you help," Sasuke explains.

"From Orochimaru?" She asks in disbelief. Naruto mentioned to her in passing, the infamous Sannin was reformed, with his loyalty now pledged to Konoha. Whatever doubts she had about him were never voiced, as then there was no reason to fear Orochimaru. Then she was safe within the village, surrounded by her clan and husband.

But today, she was with her husband's lover. A man who didn't find it necessary to hide the contempt he felt for her, and who only tolerated her because of the fetus growing within.

She believes he wouldn't bring harm to her child. But would he extend the same courtesy to her? An eyeless mother could still birth a child.

Hinata tries to reel in this paranoia. Naruto, even devoid of romantic feelings toward her, would never allow his lover to bring pain and suffering to another shinobi.

"No. I told you to trust me." Sasuke replies impassively, without divulging further. Hinata doesn't probe as her immediate concern is to get to safety, away from any possible danger.

They bypass the entrance as he leads her to the side of the building. She nearly trips on a heap of rotting wood. Looking up it seems to have fallen off of the traditional styled rafter. This makes wonders about the safety of the interior.

When she looks up, she sees Sasuke eying her distastefully, he then motions to a door she hadn't noticed was there. It was one designed to be hidden within the cracks of the wall.

She steps into the threshold first and he follows, making sure to shut the door behind. He leads her down a dimly lit hallway. Glancing at the walls, she notices barely discernible carvings of snakes. Sasuke stops midway in the hallway. Squatting down, he lifts what appears to be a trap door.

"I can't see anything," Hinata tells him nervously as she peers down into blackness. Fear of breaking her neck on the descent swarms her mind.

Again, he offers her his hand, "I'll guide you, hold onto the wall for support. It's just a few stairs."

Hinata shuts her eyes and does as is told. There are a few instances where she does stumble, but Sasuke is always there to ensure that she doesn't fall headfirst into the concrete or stone below their feet.

After thousands, or maybe just a few dozen stairs, her feet finally touch solid ground and she can see illumination creeping out of a room a few feet ahead.

Sasuke releases her palm, while they both walk towards the light.

They enter a small abandoned lab.

Two stainless steel gurneys on wheels, with metal restraints, flank either side of the room. She remembers the rumours about Orochimaru's cruel human experiments, and prays that she doesn't end up like the souls whose presence once graced this lab.

At the far end of the room, Hinata sees a metal work table, with various discarded items, including syringes, scalpels and gloves.

Nearing closer, under the flickering fluorescent lights, she notices another doorway.

How many hidden rooms were located in the dilapidated structure?

With one hand, Sasuke performs a hand seal. The metal door slowly creaks open. Almost ominously.

Hinata decides that this is the most disturbing place she has ever had the displeasure of visiting.

A green glow at the other side of the room grabs her attention. Curiosity compels her to investigate.

Her sandals click against the dusty tiled flooring.

In a large glass casing with a built-in lighting system, a large specimen of some sort is held within a solution. Hinata gets closer to the enclosure, placing her hands against the cold glass as she peers into the murky substance.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sasuke's warning doesn't come fast enough.

Hinata jolts as the creature inside bangs against the glass. She pulls away, hips hitting one of the gurneys.

Terrified, she asks, "What is that?"

The creature fades into the green-looking solution, only to once against thrash against the glass. This time Hinata gets a good view of its long serpentine body and what appears to be a human face with scales and dark hair.

"Is that a person? Is he alive?" Hinata gasps in mortification.

"It's one of Orochimaru's forms. It's dead now." None of this made any sense to Hinata. How could one of his forms be dead? She had no idea that the Sannin was immortal and that he could shed bodies like a snake does with its own skin.

"But it's moving, and reacting to me," Hinata protests.

"It's only the head of his previous form. The solution keeps the brain from decaying. It's sensing and reacting to your body heat. It's still deadly, and I am not sure how secure that enclosure is." Sasuke doesn't need to further elaborate, Hinata rushes back to his side and is the first to walk through the recently opened door.

They enter into another corridor, only a few feet in length. The light from the lab reveals yellow, bricked walls, and a white, nondescript door in the middle of the hallway.

No hand seals are used to open this room, just a simple turn of the knob.

Sasuke flips on a light switch to reveal a modestly sized room, with a double bed in the middle, a wooden dresser in the left corner, and a desk with a chair on the right.

Hinata lays her bags on the floor, unburdening her sore shoulders.

She doesn't wait for an invitation to occupy the bed. Slipping off her sandals she slides under the thin white covers.

Exhausted from the journey and the tour of Orochimaru's house of horrors, within a matter of minutes Hinata is fast asleep.

The sudden urge to void her bladder, awakens Hinata from her restful sleep. How long had she been asleep - days, hours? Probably the latter, since the bed was unsoiled.

It had been weeks since she slept this well. For a moment she wonders if the affair was a nightmare. Was Naruto sleeping peacefully at her side in their home in Konoha?

Seeing the sleep figure on the ground dispels that short-lived dream.

Not wanting to wake Sasuke, she tiptoes to the door and tries to quietly open it. But the squeaky, old hinges awaken the other occupant in the room.

Voice hoarse with sleep, he sits up, "Where are you going?"

"Bathroom," she responds with urgency.

"First door to your left." Sasuke rolls to the next side of the cold floor.

Hinata grabs her bag before hurrying down the hallway.

After voiding her bladder, and brushing her teeth with the toothbrush she took from the inn, Hinata steps into a dusty, but clean stand-up shower. Taking a few steps back, she turns the tap to the far end of the dial and steps back as a spray of water pours out.

Surprisingly, the water isn't icy cold. When it reaches a comfortable temperature, she immerses herself under the soothing spray of water.

Hinata cleans and rinses her hair, with what appears to be a very expensive brand of shampoo and conditioner that she found under the sink. A frown forms on her face at the chunks of dried vomit clumped together on stands of her hair. She doesn't understand how Sasuke was able to be in close proximity to her without hurling.

Cleaned, refreshed and relaxed, she dries herself with her travel towel and slips into a cotton nightgown procured from her knapsack.

Back in the bedroom, Sasuke appears to be asleep on the hard floor.

She can't help but pity him. What sort of immense love and devotion would drive another to the point where he would voluntarily take it upon himself to care for his beloved's wife?

Hinata was and is still willing to risk her life to save Naruto's, but Shinobi did that everyday for their comrades. Sasuke's love was beyond that; he was risking his sanity and pride by helping her.

"What?"

"Hmm?" Hinata shakes her head lightly, removing her thoughts with the movement.

"You're staring at me," Sasuke sits up from the tiled floor.

"Sorry, was just lost in thought," Hinata explains.

She places both feet on the bed and rests her chin on her knees.

Now standing, Sasuke turns on the light, and fetches a few bottles of water from the bottom drawer of the dresser. He flips Hinata a bottle, and uncaps the one he kept.

Slowly she drinks the water, mind lost in thoughts of Sasuke's love for Naruto. Did he ever bring Naruto to this hideout? Did they make love on this bed?

"You shouldn't go to bed with wet hair. You'll catch a cold." Hinata smiles at the repetition of this old wives' tale.

"Colds are caused by viruses," Hinata replies with a slight look of mirth in her eyes.

Somewhat childishly, Sasuke rolls his one visible eye, "Yeah, it's still not healthy to sleep with wet hair."

He walks back to the dresser and once again opens the bottom drawer, but this time he retrieves another towel and a blow dryer. What else did he have hidden in the bottomless drawer?

After plugging in the dryer into an electrical outlet in the wall, he hands her the device.

Shaking her head, Hinata declines, "I'm really tired. I just want to go back to bed." She wasn't trying to be disagreeable; she really was exhausted. Her hair was long and thick, it would take close to an hour to dry.

"Move over," Sasuke instructs, then sits on the edge of the bed, one leg folded on the mattress, and the other planted on the floor.

Hot air hits her scalp causing her to wince. He lowers the heat in response.

Deciding it's best not to protest, Hinata scoots down to the middle of the bed, and Sasuke moves to the middle, so that the soles of his feet are on the mattress. Once he seems settled, Hinata settles between his legs, body still far from his that they aren't physically touching.

Sasuke moves the nozzle from the top of her head to the ends of her hair. She allows herself to be relaxed by the soothing heat.

After several minutes of this, he turns off the dryer and rests it to the side.

Hinata jumps when cool fingers rake through her scalp, disentangling the knots. His touch sends a shiver down her spine. The gentle contact is unexpected, and feels somewhat practiced. As if sensing her curiosity, he divulges, "I used to do this for my mother," he yawns openly before continuing, "she had hair like yours."

Wistfully, he murmurs quietly, "It's pretty," but follows up with an immediate correction, "it was thick like yours."

Hinata smiles dolefully, recalling the vague memories of her own mother.

An amiable silence of understanding ensues, before Hinata says, "Your hand must be tired. I think it's dry enough."

He hums sleepily through another yawn, then turns off the dryer.

He retreats from the bed to return the dryer to the whimsical drawer and to turn off the lights.

He requests a pillow from the bed, but Hinata proposes an alternative to the hard ground, "You can sleep on the bed with me." It wasn't like this would be the first time they were sharing a bed. There was no reason for him to suffer on the floor.

Even after everything, Hinata couldn't find it in her heart to be selfish.

His actions were self-centered and led to the downfall of her marriage, but they weren't conceived from malice; just from a place of unconditional love. A reciprocated love that probably existed before hers ever bloomed.

Her anger and pain could not be directed at him. His fealty didn't lie with her.

As much as it must have pained him to be in her presence, he battled on and helped her (in what he thought was the best manner) every step of the way. There was a harsh kindness to his controlling actions.

Naruto was lucky to have him in his life, not the other way around. She ponders on if Sasuke is aware of this.

Now laying on her back, her hands caress her miniscule bulge. How unfair he must believe life to be, here was a woman, beneath him in every facet of life, except the ability to bring life into this world.

Would he be a better parent than she?

She feels the bed dip, as his head relaxes on the pillow. Turning over, she stares at his broad back.

"I think you would be a good father," Hinata says with a sleepy smile on her face.

He doesn't physically or verbally respond, but it doesn't stop Hinata from spewing her half-conscious thoughts, "I can see why he loves you so much."

He turns around to face her, "You should have been the one with the ring on your hand." She swipes away the stray tears leaking from her eyes. She doesn't want to show him her weakness again, but her body has a mind of its own.

"I don't blame you for disliking me. Look at me and look at you," Hinata points at him and then herself.

Sasuke scoffs, "It's not even a comparison."

Shrugging her shoulders, Hinata shakes her head in agreement, "Of course not. You're perfect in everything that you do and how you look. I'm just a fangirl that guilted him into marriage."

"It's like five in the morning, Hinata. I thought you were tired," Sasuke exasperatedly mentions.

"Right, I am sorry for disturbing you," Hinata says defeatedly, about to turn her back to him.

"Wait. What I meant, was that we're very different people. Different genders, and we both bring something unique to the table. Don't compare yourself to me. If I did the same, I would lose every time." Tiredness it appears brought out a softer side to the stoic Nin. But his attempt at assuaging her rumination isn't effective.

"Like what? My cooking skills?" Hinata scoffs.

"Are you fishing for compliments, Hyuga?" The light creeping in from the hallway reveals a smirk on Sasuke's tired face.

This light playful remark triggers something deep and painful within her. What genuine compliments could anyone offer? She wasn't remarkable or memorable in any way.

Both palms come to her face and she stifles a wail. In between sobs, she tells him, "So much of my heart and soul was devoted to loving him, that I don't know who I am without him."

She rubs the back of her palm against her leaking nose, "Why did I ever believe that he loved me or cared about me? I was so foolish."

Sasuke remains quiet and rooted to his spot in the bed.

"I thought I had finally found home. Someone to love me unconditionally. I never had that as a child. My mother was dead before I could make any real memories with her. I always had to fend for myself against my own clan. But then finally my luck changed, I had the man of my dreams. Someone who would be there for me when times were tough. But it was all just a lie and now I have nothing," Hinata clutches her chest, trying to ease the restrictive sensation of her lungs closing up.

"My stupid childish fantasies only brought trouble to your life." Hinata pauses to swipe at her runny nose and continues her tearful rambling, "I have no one to turn to." She stops, and looks Sasuke directly in the eye, "I should have been the one to die. If Neji hadn't given up his life for mine, yours and Naruto's would have been better."

Her body shakes uncontrollably. She begins to recoil into herself.

When would this pain end?

How will she ever get over the immense love she has for her husband? If someone as benevolent as Naruto could break her heart this callously, what did this mean for her future? Was she doomed to live a life filled with heartbreak and loneliness?

Maybe it would be better. No, not better, but easier. Easier if she didn't exist.

Hinata audibly gasps when Sasuke firmly places his hand across her shoulders.

Her shuddering breath stills for a moment as she awaits his next course of action.

Gently he glides her palm soothingly down her back.

Hinata doesn't want his pity nor his comfort. But the touch of another living being calms her aching heart. She inches nearer, needing more.

Sasuke doesn't recoil. Reacting to her unvoiced exigencies, he pulls her forwards into his clothed chest.

The tears leaking from her eyes are collected on the fabric of his shirt.

There is comfort and safety within the arm of the man who should be her adversary in love.

In silence, Sasuke strokes her back and hair until the trembling subsides. Eventually she shuts her eyes, temporarily escaping her suffering.


Two chapters in one week! It's a while since I wrote a full-length chapter. But I love this plot and I am so intrigued to continue. I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

I've considered all suggestions/ideas from the comments I received, and it's given me some great ideas. So, thank you for taking the time to review.
As always, I would appreciate your feedback.

Until the next chapter!