4. Are you afraid?

"What the fuck is this shit about?" Sasuke quietly cussed, looking darkly at the massive men standing in front of the door. "Tell Hinata I'm here." He wasn't willing to start a fight but one seemed inevitable.

"No." One of them replied in a cold voice.

Sasuke gauged the two men guarding the front gates.

They're gigantic and had bulging muscles covered by dark attires. They looked like they could kill someone with just one punch but he didn't care. No, he didn't, not even when they roughly pushed him to the ground when he tried to enter.

He didn't care because he was looking for her.

He could've tried to fight his way through. His fighting skills were amazing after all. However, they were two, they had weapons and today was neither the day to die nor to commit a crime. He wasn't going to fight; he'd just get over the terrible way they'd handled him and see her.

They didn't move from their spots but it was obvious that through their dark glasses, their sharp eyes were scrutinizing Sasuke very movement. Maybe this time they wouldn't just push him to the ground. Sasuke, on the other hand, stood slightly crouched in front of them as he sharply surveyed Hinata's window and listened for any sound that might come from the house.

After an eternity, the gate finally opened. Sasuke's breath involuntary got caught in his throat as Hinata went through the gate in his mind…

"What the hell is going on here?"

… But his mind's been wrong.

A man in his late fifties went pass the guards with an angry look. Sasuke's heart squeezed painfully with disenchantment.

"You again? What is a little good-for-nothing like you doing here? Didn't I tell you not to ever come back to my house? I'm gonna call cops on you."

"Huh. Go ahead. Call them." Sasuke sneered, fists against his hips. "I'm sure they'd love to hear about our little story."

"Who do you think you are, little punk?! You think you deserve her? You can't live up to her standards! You-"

"I don't give a fuck! Let Hinata out."

"And you dare interrupting her father while he's talking. Of course." The man laughed lowly. "You didn't have your parents around to educate a miserable thing like you-"

"I didn't come here to take any shit from you. I'm here to see Hinata," Sasuke said, suddenly calm "with or without your consent."

Sasuke looked cold.

Her stepfather looked miffed.

"You won't see my daughter!"

"She isn't even your daughter or else you would have strived for her happiness instead of yours, you greedy old man."

"You little piece of shit! Guards, get him out of my face!"

It took the neighbors' intervention to calm down the havoc and stop the fight between the two monster-like guards and Sasuke. It wasn't enough. The fight ended once Sasuke knew for sure Hinata wasn't there and then went back to his car.

He kept driving, aimlessly moving along streets that he couldn't see. His mind was meticulously blocking out any superfluous information and draining away any feelings that could bring him to miscalculation.

Emotions out.

Logic in.

He had to find her first and make sure she was safe.

"Today she doesn't have class." Sasuke muttered to himself. "Maybe she's at Karin's-"

The idea died a quick death when he saw said Karin. He stepped on the brake harshly. As he looked her walk away, something disagreeable spread inside his chest.

To spot Karin wasn't that much difficult. First, there was the random length her hair was cut into, short and long strands mingled in a crazy mix that belonged to a punk rock's stage. Second, the red color of her hair akin to blood, a color she claimed was natural, was quite flashy. Third, there was the bright red frame of her glasses and the style of her outfits… but he's used to it. No, something else caught his eye.

She had a huge black Bible in hands.

The Bible not only mixed strangely with her clothes, but also with her expression of boredom and occasional grimaces. Besides, he knew her enough and she never had mentioned anything about religion.

All of that information, his fear and the look she had on when she spotted him went over his head. His mind veered back to his mission of the day: find Hinata.

He took a deep breath to calm down his agitation.

"Karin." He greeted coolly, his eyes calm and scrutinizing.

"Sasuke~" she quickly said and hid the Bible, her voice high pitched and her expression different from usual –too sugary.

Suddenly an image crossed his mind. He remembered how he'd roughly pushed her aside, after his fight with Naruto, when she'd tried to talk to him. Now was the time to be as smooth as ever.

"I'm sorry for earlier but were you trying to tell me something?"

The question made his brain backtrack. The cold fingers of dread slid down and through his back. He wondered. Had she really been trying to tell him something? Did it have anything to do with the men standing guards in front of Hinata's house? His breath itched; his body turned rigid.

It couldn't be.

He breathed in slowly…

"Were you trying to tell me something?"

"… No Sasuke. I was just surprised to see you fight with Naruto. That's all." She giggled maniacally.

"Ah…" He wasn't surprise. Relieved, maybe. Disappointed, definitely. "Why are you out there this early?"

"Nothing!" The redhead shrugged and grimaced as if Sasuke was asking an obvious question. "Just… getting some air. You?"

"I was at Hinata's house. Didn't find her so I went for a ride."

"Ah Hinata… yes Hinata!" Karin coughed. "Of course, she wasn't home. What were you thinking about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"My, my, Sasuke! When was the last time you checked on her?" Karin shook her head. "Now that I think about it, I'm surprised you're still looking for her."

He couldn't pinpoint what kind of game the redhead was playing but he didn't like it, neither the dread trying to creep back into his mind. He didn't want to misread her words and jump to conclusions. He couldn't afford it.

"Oh, he doesn't know!" She exclaimed like any gossiper worth their salt would. "What? You don't really know? The minx! Ha! Ever since last week she's been living in that big mansion of that rich Uchiha. I was there on Monday. It's so big! You can definitely tell-"

Karin might've as well hit him with a metal bat.

It hurt, it hurt so bad.

He ignored the pain.

He tried to.

"What are you talking about? I've gotten her on the phone recently."

"When was that 'recently'? Isn't it before last Sunday?"

"It's on that day."

"Well, she started living there on that Sunday evening. She looked okay when I saw her. It was supposed to be a kind of one-week-getting-to-know-each-other thing and preparing for the big day. Damn lucky one! She always gets what she wants -"

"What are you… what do you mean?"

"I mean that she's already Mrs. Uchiha Hinata! I've tried to reason with her on this wedding but she wouldn't listen to me. It made me angry of course, so I got out of the car that was bringing her to Church. I was with her because she called me to be her maid of honor -that's why I'm wearing this- and I was there during her preparation but I refused as you can see. It had been two to three hours since I left her and she made it to the Church in a nick of time so I guess they are definitely married by now.

It was supposed to be a simple wedding for intimates so it was definitely a quick affair. Too bad for the tabloids though. Oh gosh, I know a star now but-"

"You're making no sense. Where did you see her for the last time?"

Karin didn't dare talk at Sasuke's sudden tone and look. If she didn't know him better, she would have freaked out whether it be for her own life or for someone else.

"Don't you get it?" The redhead said quietly as she tried to summon courage to continue talking. "You should've known better than this." She murmured and reduced the distance between them. "She's always strived for a world different from ours."

He was devastated.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Time went by when he got to his car.

How many minutes? How many hours?

He'd lost notion of time and space. He didn't feel his pale hands though deadly wrapped around the steering wheel; he couldn't see the darkness of the evening embracing the neighborhood; he couldn't feel the soft warmth carried away by the breeze.

For endless minutes, he had been immobile; his eyes were glued to the windshield.

From being an orphan without any memories of his parents and spending most of his childhood in a hole to be dumped heartlessly by someone he had loved more than life; he'd thought nothing could get worse.

Now that he was doing his best not to stay the eternal victim, now that he finally knew what to do to go on with his life, another tragedy struck.

"Why?" He hissed through gritted teeth.

When he found policemen and firemen in front of his building, he immediately brushed it off his mind. There was enough tragedy in his life for him to feed off those of others as morbid crowd liked to do.

The problem was, it wasn't someone else life has decided to mess up with but him again.

A criminal fire they'd said, a professional one at that. They'd asked lots of questions: did he set it himself? (He almost laughed at that one.) Was he involved in illicit activities? Was there someone who could want his death?

He'd wondered about that last one, racking his brain until one of the policemen suggested to look into a revengeful ex among others. They had suggested plenty of possibility but only that caught his attention, paralyzed him. He didn't listen to them anymore, even when they suggested him to sleep somewhere else for the night.

Once again, everything circled back to her.

He was cold.

He was flabbergasted.

Dread twisted his guts, burned his throat.

He had to understand. He had to delve back into a place he had sworn off –memories of her. Everything tended to exculpated her. In his memories, she was nurturing, warm, welcoming, clumsy, smiling, shy, beautiful… she was amazing. Nothing in her had pointed toward a twisted mind.

The heartless way she had left him behind had surprised him beyond words. It had twisted his mind but he'd let her be; he'd mourned their relationship on his own; he'd painfully crawled back to humanity; he'd worked hard to save enough to leave Japan behind him. He'd done all of that without interfering with her life.

So why?

What had happened in their past that made her wish him dead?

Then it hit him like a wrecking ball.

Her smile that day, her ring… they'd been married once, much before she left him for her second husband. She'd no right marrying another man. It was punishable by the law… She was afraid. Now that her husband's colossal wealth was hers, he'd blackmail her, ask for money. She had left him for money, she's now trying to kill him for money.

Once again, she regarded his life as insignificant. He's just a stone in her shoe and she wanted to get rid of him for a second time, for the last time.

Fury squeezed his guts.

He'd given her everything he could, everything he possessed, everything he was but she'd scornfully thrown it back to his face. She'd taken everything she'd wanted from him. He'd let her do so until the very end. Even then, he'd been ready to let her get away with it, let everything go with the wind.

It wasn't enough for her though. Now, she wanted to take his life away too.

Her lack of regard for his life was the last straw.

"I've been running away for too long." He hissed. "I'm not afraid of you anymore… Hinata."

With hate clawing at his being, the road flew away beneath his tires.

XXX

When they entered the meeting room of Akatsuki Corp., a company once owned by her late husband, she'd been quite surprised. In the middle of the avant-gardist room adorned with blue, grey and white, were men –and a woman.

She'd imagined old sleazy men you'd show only superficial respect and laugh at them behind their backs. They're supposed to be pathetic old geezer whose eyes showed perversion instead of intelligence. The kind that laughed too hard at their own stupid jokes, and whose manners and style reflected the eighties at earliest. The kind that could only get women, friendship or respect through money, money being their only quality.

They were supposed to be Madara's lackeys instead of rivals. Despite hating the man to the core, she couldn't deny the man had possessed certain charisma, handsomeness and a sharp mind. He'd been a demon hidden in gods' clothes.

They didn't look the part.

They're definitely much more than that.

They were young, charismatic, elegant in their suits and manners and possessed intense eyes. They were the kind of folks that turned heads and had people hang onto their every word. She doubted any door could be close to them be it professionally or personally. What was the most striking to her however, was the dark aura emanating from them like neon lights, warning you: they're dangerous.

That's how she met Madara's associates: Konan, Nagato, Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, Deidara, Hidan and Kakuzu. Half of them looked calmly at her, half of them looked arrogantly at her; all of them looked intently at her, as if to intimidate her.

They're indeed associates instead of lackeys to the company.

Well, it didn't matter.

During that meeting, they had to get acquainted with their new boss, review their actual situation and plan for the future. The business had to strive, the associates had to be tamed and she'd to command. However, that didn't meet welcoming minds.

Some of them were quite still and didn't say anything while others showed their hostility and spoke their mind. For some of them, she's meddling in business that not only didn't concern her but was beyond her. Kakuzu had been cold about it while Hidan and Deidara showed it through overly arrogant attitude and grand gestures.

In the face of such hostility, Sasori offhand attitude and Kisame's friendly one stood out even more. Konan, Nagato and Itachi kept their faces blank. Hinata didn't trust them even more than the others. Maybe they didn't care, maybe they thought she had no business being there, maybe they wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible. Anyway, she suspected them to be waiting for the right moment to strike.

Every last one of them had a hidden agenda, even the careless redhead or the friendly blue haired man. However, one of them was peculiar.

One of them stood out.

The one that managed to draw her attention more than the rest was Uchiha Itachi. Two details about him made him stick out, which was quite a fit when considering the others.

Firstly, he was named exactly like her late husband, yet she saw him neither at her wedding, nor around the house –not even once… yet he was an associate.

Secondly, there's his face. Despite being drop dead gorgeous and having behaved, he made her ill at ease for unknown reasons. She felt that she'd met him before and he'd left her with a bitter memory. What memory, she couldn't tell.

Hinata sighed heavily, leaned her head against her right fist and closed eyes.

By the end of the meeting, she had come to two conclusions. She was definitely a target to some of the most dangerous crowd of Japan, and she needed to rely on Obito, Zetsu and Zero more than ever. That Obito was also an associate didn't surprise her. However, the fact that Zetsu was her lawyer and Zero, his rougher twin, was the former's associate had made her smirk. It was a double-edged sword.

She sighed again and slightly opened her eyes as she mentally ticked the meeting off of her 'to-do' list.

As she gathered her belongings, one of her new associates came back. It was him, Uchiha Itachi. A feeling of deja-vu struck her again. It was strange to think that she had met him before but had forgotten about him. He had that kind of face one wouldn't forget about, even if they tried to.

She was so engrossed in staring at him that she noticed he wasn't alone when the other person spoke up.

"Mrs. Uchiha." The newcomer smoothly called out.

Another familiar face she couldn't remember.

Another frustration.

"Is there something you need?" She asked, standing up.

"Let's start with introductions for starters, shall we?"

"I couldn't agree more."

Itachi stared back at her with a look that bordered on condescending territory. Hinata guessed that he had many an enemy with that attitude of his, something that had been confirmed by the resentment that one of his colleagues –Deidara she remembered- seemed to bear toward him.

The other dark-haired man moved forward, holding that familiar look she'd noticed on Itachi. She squared her shoulders and straightened her spine to look more intimidating. Hinata didn't blink, not even once.

"I'm Itachi Uchiha as you must have caught earlier. This is Izuna Uchiha, your late husband's younger brother."

Hinata stopped breathing for a few seconds.

They shouldn't know what that information was doing to her.

Cold crept along her back. Her heart fluttered. Her eyes too. She hoped they didn't notice it, but Itachi's sharp eyes never left her. Thinking of a way to make up her façade back, she managed a tight smile and greeted Izuna with a gentle bow.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, though, I find it quite strange that neither of you came to the wedding."

"Madara had always been a secretive man, though, he never hid from us things he deemed important."

The venom, hardly hidden, had Hinata straighten a bit more. She couldn't believe that on top of having her plate full of real problems, she had to deal with petty in-laws. A hysterical laugh bubbled in her chest. He posed no threat at all, yet he seemed to feel important. She'd have found it funny if the real reason for his presence didn't irritate her. It was the same old story. A man dies, and the in-laws attempt to strip the widow of her late husband's property. He wanted to prey on her apparent weakness.

He wished to abuse her.

She wanted to crush him.

Hinata made a grimace of apologies and turned toward said brother.

"I'm sorry he kept that from you Izuna-San. It'd have been a pleasure to hear more from my husband's family." She turned her attention to Itachi. "And who are you to him?"

"Madara was my uncle."

Hinata visibly drew breath in. She nodded.

"Please, be seated sirs. I'll call someone to bring something for you."

Hinata was suspicious of how easily they got along her demand this time. She became alert when she noticed how intently Itachi stared at her.

In no time, one of the firm's interns came with some snacks and drinks. The brown-haired girl swayed her hips tentatively on her way to serving Itachi. She lingered by his side before making her exit with a dreamy look on her face.

The drinks and snacks stayed untouched while three-way stares were taking place. Finally, Hinata detached her drumming black-painted nails from the table and laid her forearms on it.

"Tell me… What had compelled both my brother-in-law and nephew-in-law to pay me a visit?"

This time, Izuna was the first to speak.

"We came to get the documents concerning Madara's properties."

He was annoying her.

He was grating on her nerves.

She leaned into the big dark leather seat and managed her features into an offhand expression. She arched an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about Izuna-San?"

"We're asking for Madara's will and every document related to his belongings, including his house and this company you said to be the new owner of." Izuna paused; he slightly cocked his head. Hinata knew he was mocking her; he was looking down on her. "You might think to stake a claim because Madara was your husband but let me give you a friendly warning. Leave when you still can. If you try to get in the way, we'll consider you an enemy and act accordingly."

Hinata sucked in a gulp of air. She peered out of reflex at Itachi. Since the beginning of that informal meeting, he didn't utter a word. He didn't do anything but cross his legs, lean in his seat and openly look at her. He stared and stared and stared… and she stared back.

Of all the associates that pretended to be neutral at that meeting, he'd been the least aggressive. Yet, he was the first to strike. He wanted to take away everything she had left on this earth.

Hinata steeled her gaze.

"And how does any of my husband's business concern you?" She said to Izuna but didn't detach her gaze off Itachi.

"Well, you'd be surprised at just how much concerned I am, or Itachi is."

Itachi, of course.

Hinata bitterly chuckled.

"I guess I should be grateful that we've got rights in this country and that said rights protect widows from greedy in-laws."

"You know, I find you sole argument funny." Izuna said with a mocking smirk. "Actually, I'm surprised that he married you. I've only known of one woman he'd ever considered marrying for good. The other ones were just for fun, dare I say, mere tools… I still ask to see that marriage certificate."

Hinata tightened her jaw. All trace of humor was gone from her face as she took her eyes off of Itachi to focus them back on Izuna.

"If you were that important to him as you like to think, you'd have gotten wind of our wedding. You'd have been there. But you weren't. I understand why though and it's quite pathetic." She stood up. "I think we're done here. Can't say it was a pleasure. You may now leave."

"This company, that house you live it, anything he had ever had are patrimony that has to stay within our lineage. You're nothing but a little girl with petty ambitions who has no connection to the Uchiha. This, Miss Tsuki," he showed around "is above and beyond your abilities. It is something you can't bear on those frail shoulders of yours." Izuna said without leaving his seat. "We give you one chance to turn your back on everything and never get involved with the Uchiha family."

She clenched her jaw tightly. She fought through the discomfort, the dread, the hate that crowded her chest and stood still. The murderous glare she held at that moment came naturally to her.

He was arrogant, overly confident and he was threatening her. Up until that time, she had never had to face actual antagonists. It had always been speculations, clues given away by what she knew of human nature, by the way they looked at her defiantly, by their potential ambitions. Izuna was different from them.

Izuna was so much like her husband. He wanted to corner her, to destroy her.

It took her one whole minute to find back her voice and not let her emotions get the best of her.

"First of all, it's Mrs. Uchiha for you, not Miss Tsuki. You are so despicable, so pathetic. Your family's money, you say? Where were you when he was making a name for himself? Where were you when he was building his businesses? You've waited around like hyenas. You've waited for his death to prey on his money. You could have confronted him when he was alive, but nooo. No, you've waited for his wife to be left behind to throw yourself at her? You've chosen the wrong person. All of this is MINE!"

"You can talk louder, but all I hear is an empty speech and naïve self-confidence. Fear not Miss Tsuki for there's so much information that could help us drown you in that arrogance of yours." Izuna replied.

"My arrogance? Because I'm protecting what's mine from rats, I'm the bad guy? Well, so it be. I didn't put up with Madara for you to come out of nowhere and steal everything from me."

There was a long moment of silence where they faced each other. She saw his smile broaden for a second before going back to normal. After all the pressure she'd been under since the meeting, her shell was cracking, letting out things that had to be hidden. She knew it was a bad slip for her. She could only imagine what they'd read behind her words but it didn't matter. They weren't better than her and whatever they wanted was between her hands.

"It's all about the money."

"I was thinking the same of you. Now, get the hell out. You've just used up my quota of patience for the day."

"We've got more right than you to be there, Miss Tsuki."

The same name, the name of her stepfather. They kept using it but she didn't see their point. That fact flew over her head when they still refused to leave their chairs.

She immediately grabbed the office phone and typed away the security's number.

"It's Mrs. Uchiha. I'll need-"

"You think we don't know?"

"-you to take two men out of-"

"You've killed him."

"-the building. They are causing troubles." She ended the call with a harsher tone.

"Who can believe that he actually died during some sex when he was quite healthy and far stronger than his 'partner'?" Izuna finger-quoted the last word. "You really believed you could get away with his murder and steal from the Uchiha family? Well, he did have one hell of an influence on you."

Hinata's nails dug so hard into her palms that her skin almost broke. She smiled nevertheless, that same cruel smile she remembered from Madara whenever he was enjoying from the fear he could read in her pleading eyes. Despite not having a mirror at that time, she could easily picture her poor self, scared and curled in a corner with trembling lips.

Oh, Madara had transformed her into something far from what she used to be, and it was there that she would draw her strength from and keep what was hers. All of Madara's wealth was hers to be taken.

Her life, her safety, her wellbeing depended on that money.

Her survival depended on that money.

"We can go to court whenever you feel like it -either for that accusation of murder or your claim on his will." She turned toward the security guards. "Get them out of there!"

The newcomers were confused once they recognized the said troublemakers. Hinata waited but they guards did nothing to make the Uchihas leave. Her temper raised as both Uchiha remained seated without a care in the world, like they owned the place.

"You definitely don't know what you're in for Miss Tsuki… or should I say, Miss Hyuga."

Her muscles tightened upon hearing her biological father's name. For the first time since they'd started talking, she realized that they're no negligeable threat. They might've been preparing themselves for some time if they knew something as secret as that. She wondered what else they knew, what else they could do.

It sent shivers down her spine.

She squeezed the edge of the table. She fought to regain some composure.

"Oh, I do know dear brother-in-law, as much as I know that I don't have the patience to put up with you. So, get out now or I'll get the security guards to treat you like you deserve."

"You seem to think we aren't worth your time." Izuna said with a pleasing smile.

"One thing we agree on at last."

"But his son is, isn't it?"

Time stopped for her.

"What?"

"Your dear husband had a son but you didn't know about that?" Izuna chuckled as dread rose in her. "Well, he did have one, one that would certainly love to hear about all the billons he'd have to share with his black widow of a step-mother."

"You are delirious!"

"We'll comeback with him, don't worry." Izuna's smile grew wider. "Be prepared."

"Get out. Guards, get those parasites out quickly!"

The guards never touched them. They went away as they came in, with their steps full of confidence. It filled her with so much hate, she began plotting to get rid of those guards too. Their loyalty wasn't with the right person.

More importantly, Itachi and Izuna made it at the top of her list of enemies.

After everything that she went through during her short-lived marriage with Madara, nothing could frighten her anymore –not even bastard child, nor greedy in-laws.

"I am not afraid anymore."

N/A: In French we usually say "sécurité!" to call upon security guards. I don't really know how it's said in English, so I went with 'guards'. Is it the correct wording?

Thank you for your reviews on both my stories. It means a lot to me. 3