Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto if I did Konan would've survived her fight with Obito
Chapter 11: The Beautiful Martyr
"A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it." - Oscar Wilde
It was dawn now, the orange splashes of colour marking the early sky. The trio were currently in the middle of nowhere in the Land of Tea, it was an inconspicuous dirt spot that Hinata managed to find using her byakugan. Looking down at his phone Sasuke ran through the list of information he and his squad managed to pull from the village citizens on the street and at the Inn. It wasn't exactly the most exciting mission, but he sensed that Kakashi wouldn't be calling them anytime soon if they didn't at least pull this off.
"So far what we've learned is…" Sasuke paused before saying another word. Looking over at the obviously tired countenances of his teammates he found that he himself felt a little bit over the mission as well.
"Absolutely nothing," Shikamaru finished for him, breathing in, and exhaling bitterly- in his fingers he was twiddling with his lighter- flickering it on and off. "At this point I'm not even sure this person exists. I mean the war wasn't exactly gentle to us."
Instinctively Sasuke's eyes trailed to Hinata who managed to keep a straight expression on her face, he knew better however. Whatever it was that happened in the war before he arrived was something that haunted and followed her around.
"There has to be something," Sasuke said, quickly changing the subject. "Kakashi's methods may be questionable at times but he isn't one to send us on a wild goose chase before having all the information that this guy exists."
"Hm, actually, there is one thing." Shikamaru offered, pocketing his lighter and retrieving the village map from his back pocket.
Unrolling the map, he placed it on the dirt laden concrete below them smoothing its contents out before drawing his finger across it to point at an empty spot in the middle of the street adjacent to the town hall and an old village house.
"While walking in towards the village, did you guys feel a little strange?" the languid shinobi queried, his normally sluggish eyes becoming sharper in contrast as his brain began piecing together information.
Hinata shook her head, raising her finger to rest below her chin in thought, "Not that I know of."
Thinking back to the day before Sasuke lingered on the memory of entering the village, a small spark igniting in him as he remembered.
"Actually yes. I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was using a genjutsu. I figured it was just paranoia however now I'm beginning to think my instincts were right."
Nodding his head Shikamaru snapped his fingers, "Exactly. There was something missing, a house."
Turning his bag around from his back to his chest, Shikamaru pulled out another map, laying it side by side with the previous one. Crouching down to get a better look Sasuke could see that maps were nearly identical except for one thing, in the empty space the first map depicted there was a small house that sat comfortably there in the second map.
"We got him."
Sharing one last look with his teammates, Sasuke reached into his bag and pulled out his ANBU mask, the red swirls seemingly glowing under the warm hued sky. Placing the swirled mask across his face he instructed his team to do the same as he formulated a course of action in his head.
The guy was a former ROOT operative and he knew a little about them from his dealings with an annoying Sai who didn't seem to know the meaning of personal space. The shinobi from that operation weren't exactly friendly to their fellow Konoha shinobi and we're known to put ROOT interests above the interests of the Leaf. It didn't take much to figure that the missing nin was going to be a little more than hostile when met with fellow Leaf ANBU.
But if his team was to go about it in a more covert manner and incapacitate him before he could do anything, than it would prove to be a much cleaner mission for them.
With his sharingan Sasuke was able to create continuous genjutsu's inside another's with the victim being none the wiser. It was something he picked up when fighting Itachi- who mastered such techniques. All he had to do was make sure the person didn't figure out, which shouldn't be too hard considering he was the last living sharingan inhabitant and apart from a few expert shinobi the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai was pretty much indecipherable.
Satisfied with his plan, he informed both his teammates as they fastened their masks. With the confidence that they thoroughly understood orders the three of them masked their chakra and moved before the light of day made it easier for them to be seen.
Shifting his hands in through the seals of genjutsu dispersion Sasuke felt a huge fog lift as the house that was once invisible became clear from the distance.
"Everyone can see that?" he voiced, his squad was behind him so he had to raise his voice a little for them to hear him.
"Clearly now." Shikamaru answered, just a little behind his left.
Weaving his fingers in and out of seals of rams, tigers, and others Sasuke kept his pace up as he and his squad raced to beat the light of day. Hitting the final seal along with the activation of his sharingan he managed to make sure whoever was inside the house believed it was still concealed.
Looking behind him he sped up his movements knowing the other two could catch up. With the intelligence gathered about this individual they still didn't know who this shinobi was or what they were capable of, so surprise tactics were their best bet in terms of mission success. They were planning to ambush the missing nin, capturing him when his guard was down and bringing him back to be interrogated and shipped off to wherever Kakashi saw fit. They had a little less than an hour left to carry out their objective but most, if not all ANBU missions had a sense of urgency behind them anyway.
Stopping behind the back wall of the town hall, adjacent to their target house, Sasuke crouched down low just in case there was anyone nearby, after all the most important thing to any ninja was concealment.
"I just had a thought. Whoever is inside that house is still under the impression that their concealed by genjutsu," Sasuke began speaking once everyone was present, "Considering that the map we've been given has the place concealed but the other one does not, it's safe to assume that the genjutsu that had been put on before was only for shinobi and not regular citizens."
"So, they wouldn't be surprised if say, a neighbour was to knock on their door for something." Shikamaru pieced together.
"Exactly." Sasuke confirmed, "So with that being said, change of plans, you and Hinata will quietly enter the house and immobilize them while their back is turned being distracted by me at the front door."
Raising an inquisitive brow Shikamaru's stifled laughter behind his mask didn't go unnoticed by his squad captain, "You're going to be playing the friendly neighbour?"
"And so?" Sasuke crossed his arms indignant, "Hyūga has one of the most recognizable Kekkai Genkai's in the world plus she can render people unable to move, and your Nara clan has jutsu that possess people's shadows. Seeing as both your rookie teams we're created for infiltration and information gathering it should be second nature for you both to carry your assignments out no problem."
"You do realize that you have one of the most recognizable faces in the world, every shinobi knows who you are."
"I'll make sure my hair covers most of my face."
Nodding his head, Shikamaru leaned his left shoulder on the building wall behind them. "Still, did you happen to take personability into account of this plan of yours?"
Pursing his mouth in a thin line Sasuke stared at Nara Shikamaru with what he considered to be their most hostile stare down yet. Sasuke stood up first, Shikamaru repeating the action, not soon after the two of them were standing face to face.
"Do you have something better in mind?"
"Not really."
Stepping closer, Sasuke shifted his mask aside so that the man before him could see his full – not amused- expression, "Then follow my orders."
"Understood."
Sasuke still didn't like the way Shikamaru said it, almost as if he was undermining him, but he was too prideful to let that lazy man get any deeper under his skin than he already did. This wasn't the first time they two have budded heads and it certainly wouldn't be the last. If it wasn't for Hinata he was sure they would've traded blows by now. For the most part they continued to act as if the other didn't exist, only being capable of acknowledging the other in small dosages, anything more than that and it ended up just like it did just now.
As their conversation ended Hinata urged the two to continue the mission before it was too late, as they already wasted enough time as it was. Though she didn't manage to completely dispel the awkward tension in the air she did create a much-appreciated separation of the two as both her and Shikamaru shifted onto the roof of the house next to their target, waiting on Sasuke's signal.
Staying behind the back alley of the town hall Sasuke quickly changed his standard ANBU attire to that of a civilian. Shifting his hands in his hair to mess it up, he mimicked the rural hairstyles he'd seen the men sporting upon entering the village.
Walking as inconspicuous as he could from the back alley in towards the streets, he caught a glimpse of himself in one of the reflective glasses of a shop window. Stopping he examined the loose-fitting clothing and his low hanging hair that made him look laid back and country-like. It was semi- embarrassing but it was all just a means to an end. That Hokage title was beginning to loom over him as of late, he needed to do everything in his power to secure that it became his.
The door to the house swung open as his fist was raised to knock it. Blinking a few times, he looked at the man in front of him adorning blacked out glasses inside his house in the early hours of the day. His curly chestnut hair hung low across his shoulders as he leaned them against the door frame.
Looking Sasuke up and down the man paused for a minute before pointing a chin in his direction, "It's a little early to be knocking on someone's door don't you think?"
"Not if you're a morning person like I am. Besides I haven't knocked yet."
"You sure don't smile like a morning person," The man countered, ignoring his other valid point. His body language slowly shifted from tired to hostile as he concealed eyes stayed glued on the man in front of him.
Shrugging Sasuke pocketed his hands, "It's just not my style, I guess."
Nodding the man loosened up, leaning off the door as his posture relaxed, "I see," he chuckled, "Well what can I do for you?"
As far as Sasuke was concerned, Nara Shikamaru could kiss his ass.
"I just wanted to borrow some water as my tap's been acting funny lately. I've got to have my morning tea, you understand."
"Ah," the man answered, his floppy brown hair swaying with the nodding of his head. "I don't know why but the village's been having some piping problems as of lately."
"Right…" Sasuke said, awkwardly smiling as the information was new to him although working in his favour. Raising one of his hands he made it seem as if he was scratching the back of his neck while flashing the signal to Hinata and Shikamaru, both of whom shifted into action upon seeing it.
"Well just hold on a minute let me go grab a jug or something."
An odd buzzing sound circled his ear as the man turned around to get the water and to be, unbeknownst to him, sneak attacked by his teammates. Absentmindedly tapping the door frame, he waited to see either of his teammates emerge with confirmation that their objective was attained, instead he heard the crash of glass and the mixture of steadfast footsteps and smacking.
Piecing together the obvious Sasuke quickly entered the house cursing underneath his breath. Running towards the kitchen he felt the slight discomforting crunch of water and broken glass shards underneath his feet, a trail that led to Shikamaru who was holding their captive prisoner with his shadow possession jutsu. In-between them was a still horde of bugs, which explained the buzzing he heard earlier.
"So, he's an Aburame." Sasuke concluded, walking around the broken glass and bugs to stand beside his teammates.
"Yeah, luckily Hinata caught on due to having Shino on her team all those years, she said she recognized the buzzing. Why'd you come in? Wasn't the plan that we'd get you when he was finally constricted?" Shikamaru said, his voice strained as he continued to hold his hands in their seal.
Shrugging Sasuke stepped closer towards their captive activating his sharingan and knocking him into a genjutsu trance. Like a switch of a circuit the buzzing went into a diminuendo as the settled bugs retreated back into their host. As his shoulders slumped Sasuke allowed the man to drop forward into his arms the heavy weight of his body causing his feet to slide backwards across the wet floor. Regaining his footing Sasuke crouched and adjusted the man's weight to rest evenly on his back, finally standing once he was sure he wouldn't fall off.
"We're done here, let's get going before someone comes to check in about the noise."
Long ink tresses caught his eye as he made his steps out of the house. With her hands clasped in front of her, Hinata turned her owl masked face in his direction, the tilt of her neck giving off the allusion of concern.
"You're going to carry him all the way back to Konoha like that?" She questioned, just as considerate as ever. He wondered how she could carry on and act as if the night before and their awkward conversation hadn't happened so easily.
"No," Sasuke said keeping his face ahead, "Kakashi has arranged for there to be a drop off point somewhere in the village. I think he didn't trust us fully so he sent backup just in case. Adjusting the man on his shoulders once more, He scoffed, "Shows how confident he is in his shinobi."
"Ah, Hokage-sama must've had a reason I'm sure."
"Don't let his serious facade fool you, it's all just for show. For the most part that man, as always, does absolutely nothing." He said matter-of-factly. An image of Kakashi stupidly giggling at his lewd book suddenly flashed in his mind much to his chagrin. Thinking back on it Sasuke remembered Naruto saying something about the third along the same lines. Was it a requirement or something that the Hokage have such a perverted nature?
Laughing lightly Hinata simply nodded her head knowing better than to challenge him on his former sensei.
The quiet ate at him more than it should have. He wanted her desperately to bring up the prospect of lunch again even though he didn't have his answer for her yet. Now that he was aware that there were feelings on his end he couldn't help but notice the things he tried so hard not to before, like the way her hair drifted in the breeze and cascaded around her, each strand a silk feather he wanted to run his fingers through.
Looking up at the blue bird sky he quietly sighed to himself. He felt as if there was a weight on his shoulders, which ironically enough there literally was. The one he had in mind however was more of a mental weight, he wanted to shake it off him so badly but whenever he would do so it would just find its way back again like a leech.
He wondered what exactly it took for him to be able to just do what he wanted without having to think two steps ahead. He wanted to be able to just jump before he looked and think about his consequences later, but he was never that type of person and he wasn't sure if he could ever be. Looking over to the peaceful woman beside him he really wanted to be.
Sasuke wanted a lot of things he wasn't so sure he could ever have. But it didn't stop him from entertaining the thought of them. Maybe just this once he could just let go.
Watching Hinata swing her clasped hands back and forth he felt a strange sense of comfort wash over him. Despite a restrained darkness he knew rested deep inside of her, to him Hyūga Hinata was still the embodiment of innocence. He wanted to bask in it just once, just to know what it felt like, as those memories he had of being such a person were long gone.
Maybe if he felt that innocence, even if just for a moment, he would be able to be the person he wanted to be.
Maskless, his ANBU squad walked in silence most of the way. They had delivered the captive at the checkpoint to fellow shinobi Shiranui Genma, it came as half a surprise to Sasuke but then he remembered how Genma was the last person to see them off and it made sense. He was probably trailing them the whole time, which only served to bruise his ego a little more than it already was. Sometimes Sasuke found himself lost inside his mind, a habit he needed to desperately rid himself of.
Twisting a cap of bottled water Hyuga Hinata pushed it in front of him as an offering. Taking it and downing the whole thing he wiped the excess water off his mouth as he looked down at the woman in step beside him.
"Thanks." he nodded, discarding the empty plastic somewhere on the dirt road.
"No problem, you looked parched." She said, her voice coming off in a soothing hum.
Glancing ahead he saw the dragging feet of Nara Shikamaru in front of them. He was probably sleep walking and thankfully was safely out of earshot to hear their leveled voices.
"About tha-" he began, only to be cut off shortly after.
"You don't have to give me an answer right away Sasuke-san."
Roughly swallowing he blinked a few times as he attempted to gather his wits about him. It seemed as if it got a lot harder to communicate with her now that he knew he fancied her in some way. He couldn't help but be a little awkward.
Pushing his tongue against his cheeks he nodded his head as they pressed forward towards Konoha. After a few minutes of silence all he managed to get out was a simple "Ah," tapping his hands on his thigh in an effort to keep himself from wincing at his tactlessness.
Placing a dainty hand over her mouth Hinata stifled a laugh as she eyed him up and down.
Straightening up, he burrowed his brows as the kunoichi next to him wiped the tears of laughter that had managed to sneak their way out. "What?" He huffed slightly self-conscious.
"It's just that," she said, pausing to take deep breaths to stop the giggles, "Every time someone has mentioned or talked about you they stressed how cold you were. But the you in front of me right now is nothing like that."
"They weren't wrong," He said. "I think I'm exactly like that."
Grinning she shook her head in disagreement, her indigo locks swinging along with her, "Not to me at least."
"Ah," Sasuke suddenly speechless, said once more.
Sneaking a glance to the side of him he looked just in time to see the bright sunlight point one of its beams in her direction highlighting the striking blue undertones in her dark hair against her skin. Her eyes stayed focused ahead of her as an absentminded smile was left behind on her lips. The man sucked in his breath as he tore his eyes away from her, afraid to get any more of a reaction than he already had.
Although he spent most of his years in solitude Uchiha Sasuke was very much a man. Sometimes he longed for the comfort of another in his empty home and like any healthy man he wasn't blind to the charm of a woman. Hyūga Hinata was such a woman. Such a sight really, that he didn't understand why she wasn't at least being pursued by a multitude of men after she had split from his best friend. Shamefully enough, he was also glad that things turned out that way as it gave him some pathetic sort of relief.
Communicating with her wasn't the only thing harder after he became aware of his feelings, the longing he held somehow managed to worsen as well, he had to clench his hands to keep them from reaching out against his wishes. He really didn't like the vulnerability that came with liking someone, ignorance was bliss in that respect at least.
Crunch.
A shuffle could be heard from the nearby trees, the trio halted their footsteps as they turned their heads to the left into the sea of tall oak - one of them in particular baring a strange shadow beside it. Focusing on the spot intently Sasuke kept his gaze still while the shadow shifted as the owner of it made their way into view.
With bluntly cut short purple hair the oddly dressed woman shared a devilish grin with the three. Her outfit consisted of tattered brown sacs forming a long-sleeved patch dress. Slinking forward her hands disappeared into her sleeves only to return with a pair of Sai.
Keeping her steps slowly paced she walked towards Sasuke's direction with her weapons tightly gripped in her hand. Hinata noticing this quickly shifted in front of him with a kunai placed in the defensive hold.
"Move aside wench," the woman said stopping in her tracks, "Uchiha Sasuke is not a man worth protecting. Don't foolishly die for a cause you know nothing of."
Though he couldn't exactly pinpoint it the woman had a strange accent that Sasuke was sure he had heard before, the memory on the tip of his tongue.
"I won't let you hurt him." Hinata bravely declared. Sasuke noticed her hand lose its colour as she clasped it tighter around her weapon, making sure she fully blocked his body from the strange woman's view.
"Uchiha Sasuke must die," The woman roared, "Step aside or die along with him!"
"Sorry. No can do." Shikamaru lazily drawled. Making his way back to his teammates he also moved to stand in front of the intended target with a couple of shuriken within both hands.
Though he felt somewhat grateful for the help of his teammates, he was able to fight his own battles. Reaching for the hilt of his katana Sasuke was surprised when a soft pair of hands quickly grabbed his, halting his movements. Looking up Hinata met him with an austere expression, her normally soft eyes steely glaring at him.
Clenching his jaw, Sasuke tried shaking her off him to no avail, "What do you think you're doing?"
"Shikamaru-kun and I will handle this. Don't get involved." She said, pushing his hands to swing away from his sword.
"She wants me, not you. If she wants to die that's her problem but this has nothing to do with you guys so stay out of my way."
"No can do to you as well Sasuke-san," Shikamaru chimed in, looking over his shoulder to give his captain a curt smile whilst he twiddled his shuriken between fingers, "Hokage's orders."
"Kakashi." he repeated, suddenly remembering the reticence the Hokage had exhibited towards him as of late.
The memories of his old sensei privately meeting with Team Taka and his ANBU squad behind his back all started to come together as he acquired this new piece of information. Looking back on it, that man had been acting suspicious since his ANBU exam…
Suddenly the memory of where he first heard that accent came flooding back. The foreign shinobi during the ANBU exam, he had that same exact one. Looking at the strange woman he could see that she too wore a blank silver headband with no village affiliation in sight.
He tightened both fists, his eyes seeing red as his nails dug into the enclosed skin. That damn Kakashi knew. He knew something this whole time and didn't tell him. Taka knew, Team 7… Hinata. They all knew.
And they left him in the dark.
Feeling his bubbling frustration erupt Sasuke sneered as he pushed both aggravating shinobi out of the way. His heart was racing and his muscles were tense but he moved to attack nonetheless. He began to weave through hand seals as he felt volts of chakra swirl in his fingers, it was his favourite jutsu and he would love nothing more than for his attacker to die the same way the one before her had, with a hole right through the chest. The energy kept building and building until it was abruptly brought to a halt as his left hand limply fell to the side.
He desperately tried to move his arm but it stayed still as it hung corpselike by his side, his right arm joining his left not soon after. He felt a nimble pointed jab near the back of his neck until the sensation disappeared and his upper body just felt numb.
Hinata had closed the chakra points in his upper half, rendering him useless. He couldn't do much with his arms out of commission, the temporary paralysis eliciting a prickly kind of pain his mind couldn't completely process.
"I'm sorry." She apologized, but he was sure she didn't entirely mean it. She gently guided him to stand a couple of feet behind her and Shikamaru as he could do nothing to protest against it, all he could do was watch as the woman charged towards them.
Intercepting the woman's Sai with her Kunai, Hinata focused her eyes on her opponent as the sound of metal against metal resounded throughout the usually quiet forest pathway. Hinata pressed her kunai forward as she kicked the woman in the stomach, clashing weapons breaking contact and creating distance as the kunoichi slid backwards, the dust beneath her feet gathering around her into thin fog.
The kunoichi bitterly laughed and clutched her stomach as she regained her footing. Shaking it off she slipped into her weapons pouch, throwing several shuriken deflected by Shikamaru's own.
There was a palpable air of exasperation as the woman exhaled loudly, her grin dropping lowly into a snarl as she changed her sloppy fighting stance to a demurer one.
She rapidly threw more shuriken, this time aimed at Hinata, whilst running full speed ahead at Shikamaru with her Sai, the latter was forced to quickly jump back at the last minute, though she managed to be too quick and grazed his arm leaving an artificial wound.
Wincing Shikamaru grabbed her arm before she could move it, pulling her forward he attempted to trip her but she caught on quick and reversed the attack, sending him tumbling forward instead as she kicked him with the back of her leg.
The shinobi thrust his hands in front to break his fall, as the unknown nin moved towards Hinata who had activated her Byakugan. Reaching behind her Hinata guided Sasuke to move along with her as she slightly stepped backwards.
The woman threw one of her Sai forward knocking Hinata's Kunai out of her hand. Quickly, the Hyūga heiress twisted her body just in time to kick the kunoichi who had taken to charging at her away, changing her hands to the gentle fist stance.
Flourishing her one Sai the kunoichi twirled it in her hands and tightened her grip. With a battle cry she lunged at Hinata who with open-palms hit her hand away, closing some chakra points. Taking this as an opportunity the kunoichi grabbed Hinata's extended arm and using her free hand punched in between the heiress' elbow, eliciting a loud groan her.
Watching the fight Sasuke winced as he heard the impact of the blow, his anger boiling at Hinata's induced pain. He felt his veins strain as he tried to will his arms to move to no avail. He was still motionless.
Gripping her elbow Hinata jumped back as she caught her breath, not once removing her eyes from the grinning assailant who seemed satisfied with her attack. Breathing in sharply the Hyūga heiress reached for another Kunai as Shikamaru swung his foot at the back of the obscure kunoichi's legs. Tripping forward a bit she turned around with a hiss as she swung her empty fist at the languid shinobi, who managed to duck in time. Not satisfied she swung again, immediately stabbing her Sai into Shikamaru's thigh whilst he was blocking her first attack.
Groaning in pain, Shikamaru counteracted with his own fist successfully landing a sharp blow into the side of her rib. Yelping she flew backwards away from him with the wind knocked out of her as Shikamaru took the opening to remove the prongs from his leg, struggling to stand properly as crimson stained the grey of his standard ANBU pants. Noticing his struggle the purple haired maven, caught her breath and charged towards him in the hopes of getting him out the way.
Running at her before she could get to Shikamaru, Hinata swiftly hit the woman's stomach with a pointed jab causing her opponent to keel over in pain. Raising her Kunai equipped arm to plunge into the back of the kunoichi's neck, the heiress gasped in surprise when she was tackled to the ground by the same woman who should've been unable to move for a while.
Quickly she crossed her arms in front of her as they took the blows meant for her face. Pummeling her repeatedly, the kunoichi drew blood down the length of Hinata's arms managing to bruise them purple quite a bit before Shikamaru, still limping, struck a shuriken right in the middle of her clavicle.
Teetering backwards the kunoichi ripped the offending weapon out of her body, dashing it to the side in a sprinkle of red as blood began to promptly spill in its place. Hastily she weaved her crimson coated fingers through hands signs as her body swayed, attempting one final attack with her limited chakra before she succumbed to her injury. Before she could finish however Shikamaru staggered over and plunged his shuriken straight through her chest, roughly pulling it out as her body fell to the ground with a resounding 'thud'.
"You, all right?" Shikamaru asked looking down at Hinata with concern, although he looked a lot more worse for wear, haggard even. His breathing was so heavy it almost made his words indecipherable.
"I'm fine, though my arms are a little sore," Hinata said, strands of hair clinging to her face from sweat, "I'm more worried about you however, your leg looks really bad."
"It looks a lot worse than it actually is," Shikamaru assured her. Unwrapping the gauze around his right thigh he tightly tied it around his other, applying pressure to his wound to stop the bleeding, "Luckily she didn't manage it get it in that deep but I still won't be able to walk properly on my left leg for a couple of days."
Watching the two converse so nonchalantly amongst themselves Sasuke just wanted to scream. If he could move his hands he would've been able to stop the foreign kunoichi before she could seriously hurt anyone, he didn't know what the hell Kakashi's line of thinking was but he would be sure to tell him how much of an issue he created when they got back.
That's when he heard it, the rapid succession of footsteps in his direction. Shifting his legs to turn around Sasuke desperately tried to will his arms to move, to do anything, while a brusque man- who was closer than he anticipated, charged towards him with the blade of his sword. It seemed he had come along with the now dead woman, as on his forehead was another blank headband.
"Sasuke-san!"
With wide eyes Hinata's head snapped in Sasuke's direction, lightly gasping she stumbled slightly as she made her way over to him in desperation.
The man hurled a Kunai in his direction, Sasuke tensed his muscles to get them to move and block the attack with no luck. He felt the veins on his neck strain as he exerted himself to get his chakra flowing, the feeling in his arms coming back but not nearly enough to actually do anything.
Stepping in front of Sasuke, Hinata intercepted the Kunai with her own but wasn't quick enough to dodge the blade of the man's sword.
A deafening slash vibrated thorugh the forest as Hinata screamed in distress. Horrified Sasuke looked down and could see the sharp tip of the sword covered in blood, her blood, as it pierced straight from her chest through her back.
Scarlett pooled around his feet as Hinata dropped to her knees in agony, retching as she clutched the hilt of the sword still wedged inside her. The smell of iron and bile filled his nose as he stood still in shock.
"Hinata!" Shikamaru cried, trying to step forward but stopping due to his injury.
With sharp breaths Sasuke watched as Hinata's face twisted in suffering, panic rising in him as he begun to process what had just happened. Static filled his ears as his fingers began quivering from rage, an uncontrollable rage he never thought he'd feel again.
As the man went to reach for his sword, Sasuke kicked him to the ground. The feeling in his arms that should be gone flowed back with the adrenaline that pumped through him. Quickly straddling the shinobi before he could move, Sasuke punched him repeatedly as his eyes bled red, his Sharingan swirling into the stages of Mangekyo.
"Sasuke-san!" Shikamaru shouted throwing a Kunai his way.
Catching the weapon Sauske slashed the man across the throat, sputters of red splashing at him as the shinobi choked to his death. It still wasn't enough to subside his anger however as Amaterasu's black flames formed unintentionally, beginning to sear the man's body quickly.
With the battle over Sasuke ran over to Hinata with apprehension, the tightness in his chest twisting into a huge knot as he watched her struggle to breathe. Gently he lifted her head into the palm of his hand as he went to remove the sword from inside her before being stopped by Shikamaru's voice.
"Don't remove it!" He yelled, standing to slowly walk over, a feat that served difficult with his injury. "You do that and she'll bleed to death!"
Stopping himself Sasuke moved her head from his hand into his lap. Watching him with half-lidded eyes, her matted hair stuck to her forehead in sweat and blood. Slowly she raised her bloodstained hand to wipe the red from his own face, making his face dirtier as she did so.
"Stop." He said, pulling her hand back down.
She was too considerate of him for her own good, if she'd had just… He stopped himself before he could finish the thought. The back of his eyes felt heavy as water built behind it, he felt just so damn frustrated and angry. He was especially angry at himself. Sasuke didn't know how he could've missed the flare of chakra. He had fucked up and now Hinata, as always, was paying the consequence. He didn't deserve her, he was sure of it now.
A frustrated tear freed itself despite his wishes, wiping it away he shook his head as he clenched his teeth, "You idiot, why do you always…"
"It just…happened that way," She softly said, her words slurring together. "I'm sorry…I don't think... I'll be able to," She winced, shutting her eyes in pain, "Make it to lunch…when we get back."e
"Stop it," Sasuke ordered, "Stop talking, you're wasting your breath." He couldn't believe she was thinking about something as menial as that in the state she was in. She needed to put herself first for once and stop thinking about him.
Nodding, she stayed silent as Shikamaru managed to finally make his way over. Hissing, he knelt and shifted his brown pouch to the front of him. Reaching into it he pulled out a roll of gauze and set it aside. Using a small saw like object, Shikamaru took his time in cutting the top half of the sword off so that Hinata could be properly carried without it obstructing them.
During the time it took to remove half of the sword Hinata's breathing had quieted into slow wheezing as she fought to keep her eyes open. Noticing this, Sasuke turned to Shikamaru in panic urging him to hurry up.
"We need to get her to a hospital now," He stressed, moving to pick her up only for his hands to be swatted away by the apathetic shinobi, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Calm down Sasuke-san. I can help her." Shikamaru said before pulling out a wound disinfectant and some swabs, cleaning the slashes down the length of both her hands which were wounded from when she tried to stop the sword, before wrapping them with gauze.
"You know medical ninjustu?" Sasuke asked, looking at Shikamaru in bewilderment as his hands began to glow the familiar shade of healing green.
"Ino made me learn it, she figured that with two reckless teammates, her words not mine, that someone should be able to take care of them just in case. But my knowledge is still somewhat limited though, only enough to subside the pain until we get more experienced help."
"Shikamaru-kun…" Hinata breathed, her head lolling to the side as she rapidly blinked her eyes to keep herself awake, "No medical ninjustu…"
"Are you crazy?" Sasuke indignantly voiced, "Do you have a death wish?"
"Don't…" She softly begged, regardless of the Uchiha's wishes. Her skin was pale and clammy and she was slightly shaking, she was practically on the verge of going into shock and yet she still refused to help herself.
"If you insist Hinata." Shikamaru grimly said, putting back his medical items after inspecting and cleaning her sword wound as much as he could without moving the blade and slowly standing to his feet.
Blinking in disbelief Sasuke turned to Shikamaru in anger, "You're going to listen to her?"
"Yes, because I respect her wishes." He answered staring back at him with the same fervency, "Now I've done all that Hinata will allow me to do, luckily the sword missed any vitals and all her insides are where they should be, but still we need to hurry back to Konoha and get her proper treatment at a hospital. She only has roughly about two hours before complications like potential paralysis start, now are you going to spend that time pointlessly arguing or are you going to help?"
Despite his anger over the situation Sasuke realized that Shikamaru was right so for once he put his pride aside and he crouched down low for Shikamaru to safely place Hinata on his back. Her arms loosely wrapped around him as her sweaty face pressed into the back of his neck, he could feel her slowly breathing against his skin, a reminder that she was still alive. Making sure she was secure he carefully stood back up waiting for his other teammate to heal himself enough to not fall behind.
"That should do it," Shikamaru said, finishing up and testing it out by repeatedly shifting his weight from leg to leg, "I'll still be limping for a while and the wounds not exactly closed as I'm not able to do that yet, but it's enough for me to run on with minimal pain, at least until someone at the hospital can aid me."
Nodding his head Sasuke adjusted Hinata's legs around him once more, tightening his grip on her calves. "Let's go then."
Running at full speed he made sure to keep the kunoichi on his back tightly to him. Blurs of green passed in and out of his vision as he pushed his tired body to keep going, the level of desperation moving his aching muscles despite their protest. He had to get her there on time, even if it killed him he had to make sure she didn't die for his sins for he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if she did.
His chest burned and his legs screamed, begging to be given a break but still he forced himself to keep moving until the trees became few and the familiar red pillars of Konoha's gate came into view like a God sent vision.
Getting closer, he tightly held on to the woman on his back till his knuckles turned purple. It had taken them roughly an hour and a half to get to Konoha and Hinata's breaths had descended into far and few in between during that time.
His throat was on fire by the time they reached the gates, staggering slightly he turned towards the nearest Guard, who gasped when he'd seen them, an unsurprising reaction considering how haggard the three of them must have looked with matted hair and clammy pale skin all covered in blood.
"Please, she's in desperate need of medical attention." Sasuke stressed, quickly sliding Hinata from his back and into the arms of the Guard who simply nodded his head and rushed her in the direction of the hospital.
Keeling forward not too long after Sasuke clutched his hands on his knees to slowly catch his breath. Red tinted sweat rolled off the tip of his nose onto the brown dirt below as grimy pieces of hair stuck to his face despite the gravity inducing position he stayed in.
Levelling his breaths, he closed his eyes to calm himself before opening them and standing up. Turning in the direction of the Hokage's office, Sasuke kept his eyes trained in that direction for a while before addressing his teammate.
"You should get checked out at the hospital too, I'll submit the mission report to Kakashi." He said.
Shikamaru shook his head, "I'm fine."
"Nara," Sasuke bellowed, his voice leaving no room for discussion. "That's an order, not a request. Now go."
He walked away before Shikamaru could protest ignoring the gasps of surprise and horror he received from countless civilians as he moved through the village streets and intently towards the crimson academy building.
Shouldering past the multitude of people he cleared a pathway to the building, making his way up the academy steps until he stood inside the long hallway that lead to the Hokage's office. The wooden walls blurred together as he raced towards the familiar metal door, swinging it open in pent up rage.
Swiftly looking up from his paperwork Kakashi moved to stand when he caught sight of his former student. "My God, Sasuke." He gasped, his one visible eye blinking wide open.
Slamming the office door shut Sasuke made his way across the room to stand face to face with his former sensei, "Save it."
"What happened?"
"You did," Sasuke clamoured, exasperated at the whole situation at hand, "Why didn't you tell me the real reason Taka was here? Why did my teammates step in front of me when I was being threatened to die?"
"Ah," Kakashi nodded his head, suddenly understanding the situation, "So, they appeared."
Slamming his fists on the wooden desk Sasuke ignored the sheets of paper that fell in the process, "Hinata's in the hospital with a life-threatening injury, and that's all you have to say?"
"What? Hyūga Hiashi's going to kill me," He sighed, sifting his hands through his grey hair in worry. "In all honesty, I didn't think anything serious would actually happen to them. They wanted you."
"Who's they?"
Pushing away from his chair Kakashi moved to stand where Sasuke was, leaning against his desk with crossed arms, "We're not exactly sure. As of late they've been causing your old teammates problems but I'm sure you're already aware of that fact. Kirigaya Katsura must've said something to you before she died, Shikamaru told me how she bargained for her life with information, which, as I recall, you didn't tell me anything about."
Scoffing Sasuke raised a finger, "Don't even try it. You kept the real reason Taka was here away from me. You told my ANBU squad about it and not me, the actual person it involves. And now someone else is paying the price for that."
"Hinata's a strong person. You're probably unaware as you've never grown up with the others from your genin class but she's taken on things of bigger magnitudes than this. She'll pull through don't worry." Kakashi said, seeing right through the act to what was really bothering him, "Until then I don't think it's a good idea for her to be having visitors at the moment so I'll be ordering the hospital to revoke that option for now."
Staying silent Sasuke bowed his head so his former sensei couldn't see his pained expression. He knew that by "visitors" Kakashi really meant him. His sensei was surely aware there were some feelings on his end but the Uchiha didn't want to confirm it, at least not yet.
"Very well. Other than that hiccup, overall the mission proved to be a success." He imparted, ending the conversation before Kakashi could dig further than he already had.
Making his way out of the office he traveled home by rooftop, letting the cold air wrap around him as he tried and failed to forget the image of an injured Hinata lying helplessly in his lap. Entering through his bedroom window he quickly threw off his blood-stained clothes into his laundry basket and took a hot shower.
The scalding water helped him relieve some tension but it still wasn't enough to calm him down completely so he headed towards the one place Team 7 always frequented when they wanted to let their frustrations loose, Training Ground Three.
Walking with a cloudy mind he was surprised when he stumbled across the familiar orange countenance of his best friend. Naruto, who made no move to do anything, stood quietly in the middle of the road with a peculiar expression on his face, like always he must've guessed that something was wrong but Sasuke wasn't sure he felt comfortable enough telling him.
"Want to spar?" Sasuke asked, uncharacteristically speaking first.
Pausing before he spoke, azure blue eyes moved in thought before piercing straight into his, "Sure."
...
Standing face to face, he dodged his best-friend's movements and counteracted with ones of his own. It had been a while since they last fought but still he knew all of Naruto's maneuvers like the back of his hand.
Catching Naruto's enclosed fist with an open palm he yanked him forward as he kicked his legs from underneath him, falling the golden-haired shinobi made sure to drag him down for the ride, the two of them crashing on the hardened dirt beneath them and then rolling over beside the other.
Pulling out a kunai to point at his opponent's neck Sasuke chuckled in amusement when Naruto did the exact same, matching him and finally ending the spar. Retracting his hand, he placed his kunai back into his weapons pouch and sat up with his arms resting on his knees.
Breathing heavily Naruto good-naturedly slapped him on the back, letting out a breath of exhilaration, "Don't tell Sakura-chan this but you're a way better sparring partner. She's too rough!"
Nodding his head in agreement Sasuke let out a breathy laugh, as he also knew all too well what kind of disaster sparring with Sakura entailed, it was really hard to get a solid footing as she always used a little too much force than she intended to.
"About earlier," Naruto began, switching to a more serious topic of conversation, "You usually only come here when somethings bothering you."
"I'm not sure you want to know." Sasuke soberly said. He kept his gaze fixated in front of him in the hopes that Naruto would just drop it and move on but knowing that idiot it was never that simple.
"Sasuke I know we're not in a good place right now, but you're still my best-friend dammit!" Placing his hands on the Uchiha's shoulders he turned him around and forced him to look him in the eyes, his ocean gaze burning a hole in his resolve. "You can tell me anything, you know that."
For a few long minutes, Sasuke said nothing. But then against his better judgement he found the words spilling out before he could stop himself.
"It's about Hinata…" Sasuke sighed.
Promptly dropping his hands Naruto blinked as he swallowed thickly, understanding where the dialogue was heading next, "Oh."
"She's in the hospital."
"What?!" the blonde shouted, quickly standing up to presumably go exactly there and demand to see her.
"There's no visitors allowed," Sasuke grimly informed him. Crossing his legs, he placed his hands on his thigh as he hung his head, "Kakashi already told me."
Sitting back down Naruto's expression twisted into a more concerned one, his head shaking in disbelief at the news. "How bad is it?"
"She took a sword for me," He answered. His hands tightly buckled into fists at the memory of her risking her life for his, "How stupid was that?"
"Hinata…"
Looking up Sasuke met Naruto's gaze with a vulnerability he didn't usually give. His obsidian eyes bore into his as he opened up to his best-friend with an honesty he rarely allowed himself to show, "I'm sorry about hurting you Naruto, but I won't apologize for how I feel."
Dipping his eyebrows in realization, the golden-haired shinobi said nothing as he took Sasuke's words for confirmation of what he already knew. Although it pained him to do this he still felt obligated to at least let the Uzumaki know the truth.
"I understand," Naruto finally said, "But it still hurts, I just…I need some time. I'm still not over her."
"I see."
Sasuke understood completely but he still missed his best-friend.
Standing up first, the Uchiha brushed the dirt from off him. "So, that means you'd say no if I asked you to get ramen with me?"
Jumping up with a speed, Naruto scratched his face absentmindedly as he turned his head away in shame, slightly pouting, "Now I didn't say that…"
Shaking his head at his best-friend's light-hearted antics Sasuke felt a little bit better after getting his confession from off his chest. The two weren't exactly back to normal yet but it was a good start. Throwing an orange clad arm around his shoulder Naruto dragged Sasuke in the direction of Ichiraku's as he jokingly listed the number of bowls the man owed him for his broken heart.
Although he was happy to get a sense of normalcy back with his closet friend and have the guilt that ate him absolved, Sasuke still felt a sense of apprehension at the back of his mind that stayed with him until they both parted ways and he made his way home.
Now that Naruto was aware of his feelings that meant that Sasuke was able to proceed in perusing them. Despite this he was still felt a bit of uneasiness as he still didn't want to put a name on what he felt despite knowing its existence.
Hinata jumping to save him fed the flames inside him. He was more invested in her than ever before and that scared him. He didn't want to fall deeper than he already had but that seemed impossible given the new circumstances. Walking home underneath streetlamps that brightly lit Konoha's slightly bumpy sidewalks, he tried not to let his feelings take over like they always managed to do.
Uchiha Sasuke was worried for Hyūga Hinata, and selfishly- more incredibly worried for himself.