3. Moving on

Every morning, Naruto came by to go for a run with Sasuke. The blond would come before sunrise, as if Sasuke would run away should he not come earlier. Looking at his friend sweating this early somewhat wore him out already.

That Naruto took out a good chunk of his time to give him some pretense of social life affected him. It's only the tip of the iceberg though. He still couldn't believe Naruto went so far as to forgive him and make an effort to help him after he'd bottomed out.

"You don't need to get me out like a dog every morning."

"A dog? What with those scary eyes, you look more like a cat to me!" He laughed

"You've got some serious problems."

"Ha! Ha! Sure, if that's what help you sleep at night. Besides, if I don't do this, I won't get laid." Naruto nodded with a straight face as he crossed his arms. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta."

"What do you mean?"

"When Sakura's sad, Ino gets angry, and you make Sakura sad. So, the equation to my healthy sex life is simple: me keeping an eye on you plus me reporting to Ino plus Ino reporting to Sakura equals everyone happy, including lil' Naruto."

"It's just about sex."

"Nooo –it's about boobs. Huge diff'."

"Perverts never change."

"That's not me being pervert; that's me enjoying life."

"I'd rather never face your pervert side then."

"You'd better not."

Naruto laughed wholeheartedly, making a smirk pull at Sasuke's lips.

"And it's spring! Look up at the sun shining down on us poor souls!" The blond head said in a dramatic manner, mimicking someone they both knew all too well. "Look up at birds singing and shitting on people… and look at the beautiful park and cherry trees and shiny buildings. How can I not help Sasu-cat get some fresh air –hey, don't run so fast! Wait for me!"

"I've got better things to do than listening to your shitty nonsense."

"Like what? Having Sakura know about your whereabouts so I could receive a reward from my girlfriend?"

"I don't remember it being any of my business."

"Ha! Ha! So funny." Naruto grumbled as he looked at his friend's laid-back attitude. "But seriously, what is going on with Sakura-Chan?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Dunno. You look but you don't act like her fiancé." Naruto said as he waited for a reaction that never came. "Beside the Sasuke I know would've gone relationship-wedding-baby, not the other way around."

Sasuke sighed hard, trying to catch his breath between running and talking about the topic. "I'm not her fiancé."

"You guys are still on the boyfriend-girlfriend stage uh?"

"No."

"So… you're trying to tell me you'd unprotected sex with a girl you don't even go out with?"

"I know. So shocking." The dark-haired young men deadpanned. He might have sounded sarcastic but he was just as troubled as his friend. He didn't know what to think of the situation.

"O-kay. Not your style but, okay." The blond eyed his friend for a few seconds, still surprised, shocked… worried. "What about her then? Because, she's a very nice girl."

"Nothing. I'm not interested and I don't see why she's."

"Reality check mate: you knocked her up." Naruto looked at his friend, bewildered that he just shrugged. "You're heartless as ever."

There was a bitter kind of joke in Naruto's last words despite the seriousness in his tanned face. Every one knowing him had always thought of him as a cold, heartless android when ironically, what he had craved the most was love. He had craved it like a drowning man lost in the middle of an ocean would for air.

Then she entered the picture.

She had been a like meteor crossing his cold pitch-black sky, warming him, blinding him and disappearing as fast as she came. Everything now was back to cold, black and lonely, like that moment of raw illumination and exaltation had been nothing but an illusion in his head.

No one could understand what missing her warm and light had meant.

No words had been strong enough to describe the euphoria her presence had brought to his life –no words could express his agony when she left him behind. That love he felt for her had been so intense it had hurt…

Her departure threw him off the deep end.

He remembered when he learned through another person, she was to marry another man. Time had stopped at that moment. Memories didn't flash inside his mind. No. It had just been silent and isolating, like everything would disappear did he close his eyes for a second.

Days passed by like a blur.

The feeling of being right at the bottom of a well was constantly nagging.

Each morning, he would wake up with an overwhelming sense of dread and anxiety. His heart would descend from his chest into his stomach. As he would lay under the sheets that still held her scent, he'd muse about how lonely not having her there to talk to was.

He had held so much regrets then.

There were times when she would appear with her much older and far richer husband on TV or newspaper. When his eyes would slide over her finger rid of the ring he gave to her when they exchanged their vows, he would wonder how different things could have been, had he been enough to keep her. His heart would be a little heavier, and his breath a little more itching.

Now, things were different. His life was an urgent, desperate struggle to survive.

Nothing was left of that person that had let himself drown in an all-consuming relationship. He had learned his lesson: never again would he trust so much, love so hard. That lesson had burned its imprint in his heart as he remembered how all that time, his real place had been of a pet she'd kept around for lonely days and then had thrown away when she'd found what she's looking for.

The worse part of all was, he couldn't forget her despite trying. She's embedded in his brain like cancer. His guilt had stopped, though, and that was a big step forward. That had lasted over eight months.

Sasuke hated Hinata now.

He hated what she had done to him.

He tried not to think about where she was, how she felt or what she was doing. If he thought about it too hard, he'd probably feel guilty all over again. Thus, he always forced her out of his head and trudged through life ignoring anything that'd pull him under so far that he wouldn't be able to find an exit.

It's hard to feel hatred toward someone you've still got feelings lingering though…

"Don't be too harsh. She's now part of your family and life, I'm sure you want to be close to the baby and she's in love with you."

"As I am now, I'm not good to anyone," Sasuke quietly said then turn to his friend with a mocking smile "not even for you."

"Don't worry dude, you've always been shitty." Naruto patted his friend on the shoulder.

"I'm doing her a favor. I don't want to do to her what I've been done."

"Is it that or do you still have feelings for Malefic?"

"What?"

"I mean, you went pretty far for her and you were bat-shit crazy about her so…"

"One, you're always dramatic. Two, I was as you said."

"What about now?"

"I want to forget… about her."

"You can't just erase a memory like that. It doesn't work that way."

To his grief, people and things in his life tended to circle back to her. Either they talked about her or he'd go through places where they had spent time together – it felt like they'd been in every damn place that he knew.

It's said that memories are part of us, but he wasn't about to live up to that saying. She had done enough, hurt enough for him to keep her as memory. Maybe one day he'd be able to look back and remember their time as nostalgia, but the wound was still all too fresh. Worse, it was turning into gangrene.

It needed to be closed.

There was no way around for him to be functional.

"Even so, I'll do whatever it takes."

"As long as you're a functional human being, whatever you decide to do is yours to choose."

"You're a shrink now. How funny." Sasuke chuckled, gladly embracing the change.

"Maybe I'm a deep guy."

"Definitely impossible."

"Yeah, whatever. I prefer to be the Cool Guy rather than the deep emo."

"Of course, Dr. Love."

"Definitely! AND, I'll be the greatest uncle of all. Be sure I'll compensate with him or her. Tu niño es mi niño."

"And I won't let you get anywhere near the child to infect it with your craziness."

"AND-" Naruto said as he made an exaggerated impression of a vexed person "I hope the child will take after their mother, especially if it's a girl. This world isn't ready for your female version. You'll do the perfect angry dad though... Wow. You're a father Sasuke, can you believe it."

"Not quite yet."

"You've always been one lucky lad. I'm envious."

Sasuke didn't think so. In fact, he was the one envious. His childhood friend had always had that thing he could never possess, something that always held him together and gave him strength in the face of adversity. Darkness always left him unscathed. He felt that the blond would have done better than him on this matter.

"I agree with you though. Let Malefic rot in trash and party like good ol' times!"

"Malefic? Really?"

"I know I've outdone myself on this" Naruto shook his head with a prideful, shit-eating grin before frowning again "–but no! let's not talk about her like you said! Let's party! Man, when was the last time we'd fun? We're old dudes in young skin. Such a shame."

"Bushy brow would be so proud of you." Sasuke sneered.

"Oh my gosh, Bushy brow! I'd never get over his green spandex."

"What do you suggest then 'Party Boy'?"

"You 'air-quoting' doesn't reach me." Naruto sneered. " As for now, let's travel back to Konoha and see some ol' friends."

Naruto eternal energy and easy way of making things fun would keep him entertained enough not to delve back into dark corners. He couldn't completely erase the anger, the pain, the helplessness and all those dreadful memories of her as of now, but he's definitely going to give it a try.

Ever since this morning, after the newsflash on her husband's funeral and the view of her swallowed by her long black dress, he couldn't help but remember that he'd put his life and everything on stake for her…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was crazy how danger could bring one such vivid lucidity.

It felt like his life had been a haze up until that very moment. Now, he's seeing the world as it's. His eyes saw colors brighter, his ears caught the slightest sound and his skin perceived the slightest movement of the wind. However, his survival instinct was the sharpest.

Sasuke could barely believe what he was doing.

Everything was her greedy stepfather's fault for he'd attacked the wrong person –his boss. Complaining and showing fingers was of no use, though. The cause didn't matter. The consequences on the other hand did and they were big: her family was in danger, so was Hinata.

Literally.

Her stepfather's boss had suggested to take her in exchange for the debt. Sasuke would never forget the eerie way the older man had looked Hinata up and down. No later than that, he'd sent four heavy men to beat him up. He almost lost his life there.

To say his life was in danger was an understatement. The man's goal to have Hinata, his wealth and influence, the beat-up and the death threats from both that scumbag and Hinata's own stepfather. The only way out of it for him was to leave Hinata alone. But then, it was Hinata.

They might as well ask for his kidneys.

If it took looking past morals and values, so be it. It's the only family she's left, so he'd help her save them. After that though, there was no way they'd put her through so much trouble, ever again. There's a limit to how much someone could endure because of selfish people. It might be selfish of him too, to want to take her away from her family as far away as possible, still, he's already coming up with ways to convince her and get away with her.

Sasuke gazed into Sakon's arrogant eye, the other one being hidden behind a strand of silver hair. The mission was clear: make a little trip to Colombia and bring some stuff to their boss' friend. They were to travel together. Of course, it's just in case one of them didn't make it back.

He'd have to play it fine and clever because there was no way he wouldn't see Hinata ever again.

Sakon's appearance wasn't one to trust. He had mid-long hair hiding one part of his face and his look was heavily punk-influenced, from his painted nails and lips to his attire. While his fashion statement would've made Sasuke see him as a wanna-be-emo or edgy rebel, his sneaky and versatile behavior distinctly showed the silver haired young man was up to something.

Adrenaline was now buzzing through him.

"Wow! Pretty boy here is finally ready." He sneered. "I wonder why Orochimaru-Sama has waited just for you to launch the mission. Someone here knows how to win favors."

"When do we go and comeback?" Sasuke asked, looking as unimpressed as ever. He did hit a nerve though.

"You're quite arrogant Hatake. I don't like your tone."

"I don't give a shit about what you like or not."

"Aw! The boss' pet is talking all high now. You don't know it yet but you're poaching on my turf here." Sakon hissed with an evil grin.

When things could get any uglier, a familiar blond head made his way toward Sasuke. The latter knew that it was bound to happen, soon or later. He wasn't prepared though.

Hinata wasn't the only person he wanted to protect in this. Anyone he considered family; he could give his life for them -every one of them. That meant none of them should get involved with his problems. Even more, they should be hold at arms' length.

"What? Do you have a problem Blondie?" Sakon dully asked, eyeing the newcomer with annoyance.

"Naruto…" Sasuke quietly said with clenched his jaw.

"What? Do you know him? Is that your boyfriend?" Sakon sneered, his voice full of insinuation.

"I barely know him."

Naruto was too bullheaded to get any clue. Even if he tried to explain the situation, Naruto would still try to do reckless things to stop him because of his moral code, because of his friendship code… because of his chivalrous code. Tension seeped through Sasuke's muscles, making him tightly wound. He knew his friend would've come to him to ask questions but it was the worse place of all.

Sasuke just wanted everyone he cared about to be alive by the end of this.

Just a little more time.

That's all he asked for.

Once he'd be far away from this town with Hinata, he'd call Kakashi and Naruto to apologize and tell them everything. For now, he'd be a dick to his best friend like he'd been to his father.

"You've been avoiding everyone Sasuke."

"What time do I have to come by, tomorrow?" Sasuke asked Sakon, ignoring Naruto pointedly.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

"Your boyfriend's talking to you, you know." Sakon was obviously enjoying himself, but Sasuke didn't care.

"Do I have to go ask Orochimaru directly?" Sasuke asked, still looking at Sakon with a stern look.The guy was a piece of work.

"I am talking to you!"

This time, Naruto pushed Sasuke in the chest. The abrupt movement made Sasuke stumble a bit and meet face to face with a frowning Naruto.

Sparkles fizzled between them like neon flashing 'fight'. Curious heads turned their way.

"What the fuck is your problem?"

"No, what the fuck is your problem. You've been ignoring me; you've been ignoring everyone and you've even gone as far as insulting Kakashi! Have you forgotten that man took you out of that shithole they call orphanage and raised you?" Naruto was livid.

"I've never asked him to." Sasuke said with as much scorn as he could summon. It was enough to calm Naruto down for a few incredulous seconds.

"Dickhead Sasuke has come back, I see."

"When someone doesn't answer your calls maybe it's because they don't want to. Didn't all those rejections from every damn girl, teach you a lesson?"

"Wow… what the hell is wrong with you?"

"You! You still don't understand I don't want anything to do with you. I'm tired of dragging dead weights, you loser!"

"Stop calling me loser!"

"But that's what you are! You're just a piece of shit and stupid as fuck. I still can't believe you thought we're friends. Did you really think we belonged to the same league?"

"If you're so better than me, you wouldn't be working in this hole!"

"This hole, like you call it, is better than the streets you're working on. You're just a loser who will stay that. A fucking lo-"

Naruto's fist popped on Sasuke's clenched jaw. A roar erupted from the onlookers as Sasuke's back hit the cold concrete. He got up as if it was nothing and dusted his jeans. He spitted some blood.

"Shit! Not bad for a weak-ass like you."

For a second their eyes met; cold dark eyes faced fierce blue ones.

They clashed as fast as their body led them. Naruto struck first again but Sasuke dodged it, and landed his knee in Naruto's ribs. The blond winced and crouched as he cussed. He suddenly grabbed Sasuke's ankle and pulled on it.

Sasuke stumbled back.

Naruto got on top of him.

Hits rained, some dodged, most landed –the public was in turmoil, witnessing the merciless fight. It was hard to decide between being shocked by the blood splattering or the insults jarring the air.

"You're such a hypocrite. I've always seen you as my brother but you're mocking me all this time. I've always looked up to you, dammit!"

"Not my problem, loser."

"You're a pathetic scumbag."

"You won't achieve anything in life."

They fought a good deal again, bones' popping choked down by the crowd's enthusiasm. It took mostly Juugo, a six feet four redhead and Sasuke's restrain to stop the fight. As helpful as a crowd usually was, they cussed and booed the redhead but didn't have the courage to face his scary frame.

"What the hell Sasuke!" Karin tried to hold Sasuke back.

"Get the fuck outta my way." He snapped back and pushed her out of the way.

Sasuke snatched his leather jacket and headed out of the dojo to his Camaro.

He craved to have Hinata with him at that moment. His world was crumbling, everything was falling apart and adrenaline wasn't enough to keep things together.

Hurting Naruto had hurt him so bad, and remembering what he did to Kakashi wasn't far behind. The same chanting kept looping inside his head, the same promise of calling them when everything would be okay.

They'd understand.

As for now, he had to soothe and comfort her first. He needed to tell her that he had a solution, that everything would soon be okay. She needed to stay strong for both of them until he came back from his trip.

On his way to her house, he couldn't stop thinking about her soothing presence, how they'd be much happier once everything would be settled. Just thinking about her erased every other pain. It was probably not healthy but he couldn't help it… in fact he needed it, otherwise he'd fall apart.

He didn't realize at that time that things could get uglier….

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Her eyes watched the cigarette glow brightly in the dark as she took a deep pull. She blew out the smoke in a long exhale, her grey eyes glued to the pale ghostly smoke swirling in the dim light sipping through the heavy curtains. Those curtains were one of the few things she didn't change in her late husband's office.

She shifted in her seat and took a quick shot of expensive bourbon in a sculpted glass. Both the glass and its contents were like the rest of the house. They were both too expensive for the common person, for most people.

It had been a long way since the first day she stepped a foot into the mansion. Penniless and love-struck, she was now one of the most powerful and wealthy people of Japan, the richest woman by far. Her riches were envied by hordes that didn't know how ugly the other side of the picture was.

Nevertheless, all that mattered was that the victory had been hers at the end.

She'd won over her horrendous husband and owned what has been the most precious thing to him; she was richer than her 'father'; she had gotten what her stepfather had greedily exchanged her for; she was stronger than him.

A bitter smile stretched her lips as she thought about them, one after the other.

They'd treated her like dirt. They'd handed her over to a monster that had destroyed her in every way possible. Physically, emotionally they all had abused her… and they'd turned her into this: a bitter woman full of hatred too heavy to bear.

That anger that was hers now, that hatred that sipped through her marrow was so intense that she shook badly sometimes and broke things other times. There're times when she would scream so hard and tear at her hair until Obito came around and try to calm her.

Craziness seemed one step away.

She was losing it, but not just yet. She wouldn't go down alone. They're all going to hell with her, where a special place awaited them, right next to her dead husband.

A rough laugh escaped from her throat as a foreign sound to her ears. Even her voice had changed, taking undertones of someone who had gone a long time without talking. That, along her losing hair, losing weight, losing health, and losing her mind, he was going to be the receptacle of that hate rooting her heart.

"Mrs. Uchiha."

She stopped laughing and lowered her head to meet honey eyes. It was a wonder to her that the man had a skin as pale as hers despite supposedly being an outdoorsy person. In the end, her brain eventually caught up to the fact that he did spend most of his time lurking in the shadows. She remembered that her husband used to send him on quite a lot of errands. He had been her husband's right-hand and the closest person to Obito among their late boss' army –he was the only one who dared to call Obito, Tobi.

Zetsu was a mystery and so was his relationship with Obito.

She didn't trust him. The man could be upset about the new reforms for all she knew, and he's definitely dangerous, but he was too discreet. The only guarantee she had was his close relationship with Obito. It'd do for now.

Her pale fingers pushed something toward him. It was a small squared paper with her handwriting on it. She sipped a bit of her beverage.

"You've been to this address once." She drawled with a vague hand's gesture. "When you're still set to destroy my life."

He didn't let anything show.

Her eyes never left Zetsu, wondering if he should be on her blacklist or not. Obito who came with Zetsu never moved from the shadow, nor did he even utter a word. His eerie presence coupled with Zetsu partly draped in the dark gave a little insight of what her life could be.

Well, she'd make sure to have them eating out of her hand.

"Destroy everything you'll found there. Burn it to the ground. Not even a flea should survive your hand. Nothing, and I mean nothing, should survive this."

For the shortest of time, a glint of positive appreciation shone in his eyes.

"Do I have carte blanche?"

"As long as the job is done, I don't give a damn about what you do."

Without adding another word, Zetsu made his way to the door to join his tanner twin. Ever since her arrival, they had always been stuck together and to their black Audi with dark windows. Very few knew about what stories were attached to that car.

"Is that the best course of action? It might bring you unwanted attention."

She closed her eyes, and laid her neck against the soft leather seat. All of them had always wanted something from her, and it was evident to her that she looked like a safe deposit box to every living soul in that mansion.

'Of course you care'

"Zetsu is an expert."

"What make you think he would know it's you? After all, it's part of the reason of your plan, right?" He asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Oh, he'll know." She smirked at him. "After what he did to me, he would know without the need for Zetsu leaving clues that might incriminate me later on… you should do it too. It feels good."

Hinata remembered him talking about someone he wanted revenge on. He might've tried to emotionally manipulate her but if it was anything true, then it's an opportunity to get him in her pocket.

"What?"

"Find the one who hurt you and give them back what they deserve."

"It doesn't work this way unfortunately." He smirked a bit, which was a rare occurrence.

"Then, how does it work? By letting social justice do the work?" Hinata sneered.

"You're supposed to be meticulous about it. You've to come up with a good plan and patiently execute it lest you regret being too hasty." He answered in an eerily cold voice with the same smirk still in place.

"Well, he might escape you. Or worse, he might die before you get your chance. I'm not risking that."

"You're full of passion." He chuckled at her.

He was as relaxed as only he could be but it's enough to give her the opening she'd been waiting for.

"I'll support you at one hundred percent." She firmly stated, looking at him straight in the eyes without flinching. "You can always count on me Obito-san."

It was silent as something passed between the two of them. Understanding, support, friendship… Hinata hoped she could display those emotions as well as possible so that he thought she was on his side. Obito tentatively smiled, to which she answered with a smirk of her own. Sometimes words were unnecessary.

"I'll devote myself to your cause too."

"It's pleasing to know that but you should be careful who you make promises to. Some take them seriously."

"So do I."

"I wonder what he'd done for you to hate him so much."

"It's a long story…"

"I've got a lot of time."

….