Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto! I do not get any profit from this fiction. I only write for fun and to improve my creativity.

Chapter Nine

Your lonely is so lovely

It makes me wonder

How something so beautiful

Can be so very sad

Nikita Gill

…

If Hinata had known she would be seeing him again, she would have done anything in her power to avoid crossing paths with the man before her. The Uchiha was the last person she wanted to see. Yet, it seemed like the Kamis' were set to make her last remaining days of freedom a living a hell. Why was he here? That was a question she had absolutely no answer for. As far as she knew, the former avenger did not have anyone buried in this cemetery. His clan had been buried in the Uchiha District, so it was fair to conclude he wasn't coming to visit anyone in particular.

As if matters could not get any worse, the young man had smirked at her. What was so funny to him? She only assumed it brought him joy to see her crying. Why was this man so adamant in making her life a living hell? Wasn't enough for this man to have brought her back to the village? Yes, she disliked this man. Everything about the Uchiha was despicable. She had known he didn't care for this village, but did that include everyone residing here? Why her? She had never done anything to him. They had barely ever spoken to one another.

Deciding it was best to end the encounter with this man, she made an effort to address him.

"What do you want, Uchiha-san?" She said through clenched teeth.

"Hyuga, what did you mean by being sealed?" He asked without preamble.

She blinked once, twice, and a third time. For how long had he been there spying on her? Hinata had no idea how someone could be so disrespectful and socially inept. Did he find joy in tormenting her? She concluded that he most likely did. That's the only explanation she could find for his strange behavior. He was a sadist, and she was his prey. But she was not going to let him see her vulnerability ever again.

"Since when does my wellbeing is of your concern, Uchiha-san?" She inquired, her face stoic.

"It isn't." He admitted simply.

Then why even bother asking? She thought.

"Move, Uchiha-san." She said walking past him. "I don't have time for you."

"Perhaps, it is the same curse Neji was branded with?" He inquired waiting for a reaction, to which he was not disappointed. The moment he said the fallen Hyūga's name the girl stopped to face him.

"Do not mention his name!" She raised her voice causing the former avenger to frown in surprise.

Sasuke noticed how fierce the woman before him had become at the mention of her cousin's name. Her actions, instead of aggravating him like it should have, had impressed him. It was clear the Hyūga girl was devoted to the memory of the late genius.

"I did not intend to disrespect him or his memory." He tried to explained

"I don't care…" She was trembling from anger. "Do not speak of him. Respect his name." Fist clenched. "Neji-niisan was an honorable shinobi, a good man, and a hero."

Indeed, Sasuke admired her stance. She was much like him when it came to defending the name of his beloved brother.

"Very well." He said in a monotone voice. "Answer my question then, Hyūga."

"I don't have to answer you anything, Uchiha-san!" She spat trying to suppress her anger. In reality, she wanted to gentle fist him to the next life, but that would only prove unsuccessful.

"I can only assume you betrayed your clan."

"Not everyone is a traitor like you!" She snapped, but the moment she said those words she regretted them. The former Avenger flinched at her spiteful comment, and she felt even worse.

To say the former avenger was surprised was an understatement. He had't expected this reaction from the former heiress. The Hyūga girl was kind and considerate, but it seemed even she had her limits.

Hinata hadn't meant to say that, at least not out loud. One thing was to think of something, and another very differently to actually say it or act on it. She wasn't the kind of person to take revenge by inflicting pain in others; she knew the former avenger had paid for his crimes, and was doing everything he could to amend his sins. However, the man before her had the power to make her feel emotions she wasn't familiar with. His mere presence was unsettling her and making her say things she would have never said in other circumstances.

She covered her mouth and looked down to her feet, embarrassed of her admission. "I'm s-sorry…" She said meekly.

"You hate me." He stated, and she looked up at him horrified. His face remained unbothered, as if he expected this reaction.

None of this was of a laughing matter, and yet, Sasuke found himself amused by the woman's antics. It was obvious she hated him, and still she was apologizing for feeling this way.

"A-ano... I… I d-don't hate y-you…" She lied lamely, and a faint blush dusted her cheeks. Her reaction caused the Uchiha to smirk.

"Hinata" He found himself calling her by her name. Owlish lavender eyes stared at him in confusion. "What is the seal you were talking about?"

It was unlike him to be gentle, but the last Uchiha reasoned it would be the only way to get this woman to talk. He wanted to know about the seal. No, he needed to know. For reasons unknown to him, he felt it his responsibility to know.

"Is it that bad?" He asked carefully.

His actions seemed to be successful, for the former heiress' resolve quivered.

"Y-you don't understand!" tears flowed freely through her rosy cheeks "The s-seal hurts…"

She was sobbing and gasping pathetically, but she didn't care.

He didn't know what to do. Never in his entire life had he dealt with someone crying this profusely, much less a woman.

He knew he was at fault. She had begged him not to bring her back, but he still did it. She had cried, pleaded him, attempted taking her life, and when he didn't change his mind, she had tried to lock his chakra points. All of which was futile, for he still forced her by means of genjutsu. Had she known this would happen? Was this the reason she was so adamant to come back to the Hidden Leaf? Now it was too late for his musing. The damage had been done and he was the one to blame for her misery.

There were a few things that caused him to feel guilt and regret, but this one wasn't supposed to be one of them. She was no one special to him. He didn't even know her, and yet he had caused her pain. Someone as innocent and pure as the one in front of him became another victim of his. He was truly a curse to this village and the people living in it. Yet, this time he had to fix what he had done; somehow, he would fix it. But how? And would she trust him? Could he keep his promise? He had to.

"I will fix it, Hinata." He said taking a few steps toward her. She stiffened. "Don't you worry about it."

"How?" She asked in between sobs.

"I'll find a way."

Sasuke placed his hand on her shoulder, as a way to comfort her. She shuddered at the contact but didn't move away from him. She knew he meant it, but could he really fix it? She had to believe him. He was her only hope.

He was an arrogant and unkind man, but something in his voice convinced her that he meant it. He really wanted to help her. The next thing he said was all the confirmation she needed.

"But I need your help." He said impossibly soft for someone as ruthless as himself. "Help me understand, Hinata."

And so she did. She told him everything about the caged bird seal, and why she was to be branded with it.

It was a busy morning in Konoha hospital. Haruno Sakura was doing rounds and seeing patients. She was healing wounds, diagnosing new patients, and filling up reports. By the end of mid-morning she was exhausted.

"Forehead" Ino shouted bargaining into her office. "There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Pig..." Sakura took an annoyed glance at her best friend before going back to filling up reports. "What do you want?"

"That's no way of greeting a friend." She took a seat in one of the chairs. "I came to tell you something." She said mischievously.

"What?" She looked up at her friend, ignoring the reports.

"Sasuke-kun is back!" She grinned.

Ino noticed that her friend did not show a single sign of surprise, instead, she turned gloomy.

"Did you know?" Ino asked.

"Yeah" She said, and Ino noticed how Sakura's shoulders slumped. "I saw him last night."

"And you didn't tell me!?"

"Ino, I really don't want to talk about it." She said grimly.

"He rejected you again." It was a statement, and Sakura didn't deny it. Instead she looked down.

"Sakura, you don't deserve this." Ino said gently. "You are beautiful, smart, and a successful medic. You could have whoever you want. Except for Sai of course, he is mine."

"I don't want Sai" Sakura muttered.

"Of course you don't, he only loves me."

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Who do you suggest then, Pig?" Sakura glowered, annoyed by her friend. "Lee?"

"Lee is dating Tenten, you're already late." Ino said as matter of factly.

"He is!?" Sakura's emerald eyes widened in shock. "Since when?"

"Two weeks ago to be precise." Ino informed her friend proudly. "Don't tell me you're jealous?"

"No, of course not. I'm happy for them." Sakura smiled. "He is a great guy, and Tenten is a lovely girl."

"They are, and they seem very happy!" Ino chirped. "You could be happy too, you know? You just have to give yourself a chance with someone else."

The medic-nin knew her best friend was right, but how did you get your heart to stop loving someone? She couldn't bring herself to move on. Despite of what some people may think, she really did love Sasuke, and she missed the amazing person he used to be in their Genin days. She knew the boy she loved was somewhere in there, hidden by all that darkness that surrounded him.

"I don't know." She said meekly.

"Think about it." Ino said standing up. "See you later, Forehead."

Sakura heard Ino's footsteps and the click of the door when she closed it behind her. And once again, she found herself alone.

Uchiha Sasuke had come to the conclusion that something was wrong with him. This damn village was doing things to his brain. Why did he care about what happened to the Hyūga girl? He didn't know, yet he cared if she was sealed. Whether it was the sense of culpability or other unrealistic reason, he wanted to help her.

Like most citizens and shinobis of the village of the Hidden Leaf, Sasuke knew the Hyūga's were obsessed with protecting the Byakugan. The clan wasn't particularly cruel, but if needed to be, they could be. However, to seal one of their main house members was absurd. No wonder she had tried to take her life when he had told her they were going back to Konoha. The Hyūga girl was desperate and with a good reason. Perhaps, that's why he felt obligated to help her - it was his fault that she was in this predicament.

The moment he saw her crying, he felt guilt. He felt responsible for her fate, and that didn't make any sense. Uchiha Sasuke didn't care about anyone, other than his family, clan, Itachi, and Naruto. Yet, here he was making promises to a woman he didn't even know. Not only did he make a promise, but he was now on his way to formulating a plan to help her escape from Konoha. Whoever god was doing this had a terrible sense of humor.

Jumping from roof to roof at an ungodly speed, Uchiha Sasuke made his way to the one and only person he could trust in this damn village.

"Naruto" He called his best friend once he found him.

The Uzumaki had been training at his usual training ground.

"Oi, teme!" Naruto shouted in surprise as a grin plastered on his face. "Came to train?"

"No" The Uchiha said "We need to talk." He said in a low voice.

"What is it?"

"Lower your voice, baka!" The former avenger looked around before continuing, searching for possible ANBUs or noisy people. "It's about Hinata."

"Sasuke, I warned you" The Jinchūriki said menacing "Hinata is a sweet girl, and you are… Well, you are rude, weird..."

"It's not what you think, dobe." Sasuke said rolling his eyes at how stupid his friend could be.

"Then what is it?"

"They are sealing her." He announced without any preamble.

Blue eyes widened and stared in utter shock at mismatched eyes. "W-what…?"

The Uzumaki wasn't sure he heard his friend correctly. Did he say she was going to be sealed? That was impossible. Hinata was a member of the main house… And yet, It made perfect sense. Her sister was the new heiress of the clan, the elders and Hiashi had decided it, so it was only a matter of time before they branded her with the caged bird seal.

W-when? Why?" Naruto questioned stunned.

"She will be sealed in eleven days." The Uchiha said. "As for why? I'll explain later."

"It's my fault…" Naruto muttered to himself, but Sasuke heard him.

"Naruto, this is not the time to feel guilty."

Naruto didn't know what to think. He knew it was silly of him, but he felt responsible for what was to happen to Hinata. He wanted to help her, but what could he do? The Hokage was prohibited to interfere in clan matters, so Kakashi wouldn't be able to help. There was nothing he could do to prevent them from sealing her.

"I promised her that I would help her." The Uchiha continued saying, breaking Naruto from his reverie.

"Why are you helping Hinata-chan, Sasuke?" Naruto asked looking at the former avenger skeptically. "It's unlike you to help others."

The Uchiha didn't know why he was helping the Hyūga. He just felt like it was the right thing to do, but he wasn't going to admit that to his friend.

"Will you help her or not?" The Uchiha asked dryly.

"Of course I will help her!" Naruto said with determination. "Hinata-chan is a precious person to me. Believe it!"

"Could you keep it quiet?" The Uchiha said annoyed.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Naruto laughed nervously.

"I've got a plan."

"What's the plan?"

"Onee-san" Hanabi called as she waved at her sister from the Hyūga compound's entrance. "I'm glad you're back!"

"Thank you, Hanabi-chan." Hinata smiled appreciatively.

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better."

To Hinata's surprise, she did feel better after speaking with the lone Uchiha. Their conversation had been short, but it served her to vent. Who would have thought that she and the Uchiha would share a secret? Other than her father, elders, and members of the clan - with the exception of Hanabi - no one else knew what was happening.

"Would you like to have tea with me, Onee-san?" Hanabi asked when her sister reached the entrance.

"I would love to."

Hinata followed her younger sister to a room. When she arrived, she found that Hanabi had been waiting for her, for the table was set for two people. At the bottom right of the room, a housemaid stood waiting for the young women to take their seat to start serving the tea.

"I have so much to tell you, Onee-san." Hanabi chirped. Hinata observed her little sister as she chatted without a care in the world, reminding the former heiress of how lucky her little sister had been her whole life.

Hanabi had never suffered her father's disapproving glares. She was always showered with compliments and gifts from their father and elders. It had always hurt Hinata, but she knew it wasn't Hanabi's fault. Her father and the elders were the only ones to blame. During the years, before the war, both sisters barely ever spent time together. Hanabi had become a replica of her father, making it impossible for Hinata to get closer to her. However, after the war, Hanabi had warmed up. When Neji died, both sister found comfort in one another. Without a doubt, the death of their nii-san had brought them together. They became even closer when Hanabi had been announced as the new heiress of the clan, for the young heiress sought for Hinata's support more than ever. Indeed, Hanabi was much agreeable now.

"You can leave us now" Her sister ordered the housemaid after the woman had served the tea. "So Onee-san, what happened to you?" She asked once they were alone.

"I… I don't r-remember, Hanabi-chan" Hinata lied nervously. "It's all a blur."

"How were you saved by Uchiha-san?"

This took Hinata by surprise.

"L-like I s-said, it's a b-blur." She prayed Hanabi hadn't noticed her lie.

Thankfully, Hanabi didn't notice her sister's nervousness, and continued her chatter.

"Otō-san said you were attacked by rouge ninjas and Uchiha-san saved you."

Hinata smiled, afraid that if she said something, Hanabi would notice she was lying.

"Is he still as attractive?"

"I suppose..." Realistically speaking, Hinata hadn't even paid attention to that during those days he held her hostage.

Hinata noticed the mischievous smile spreading on her little sister's lips, and she knew she was on to something. Whatever it was, it wasn't something the former heiress would appreciate.

"Did anything happen between you two, Onee-san?"

Hinata choked on her tea. "H-hanabi!" She gasped. "Of c-course n-not!" Hinata could feel her face burning red.

"You're stuttering!" Hanabi accused laughing. "And blushing too!"

The former heiress didn't understand why her body had decided to betray her now. Even if she wanted to deny it, Hinata was, in fact, blushing profusely.

"S-stop it!" Hinata reprimanded her sister, but Hanabi only continued laughing.

"You're so red!" Hanabi said finally calming down. "I wonder what happened between you and the Uchiha that made you so flustered."

"Hanabi!" Hinata said more serious now. "Nothing happened between me and Sasuke-san."

"I hear Sakura-san is still pinning after him." Hanabi continued, ignoring her sister. "I don't blame her."

"Who told you that?" Hinata asked horrified by her sister's indiscretion.

"I heard the Yamanaka girl talking about it with her boyfriend" Hanabi said taking a sip of her tea. "I went to the flower shop to buy white Lillies for Neji-nii-san and heard the conversation." She explained.

"Oh" Hinata said "Well don't go talking about it with others, Hanabi-chan." She reprimanded her sister.

"I know, Onee-san."

"Thank you."

"You can't deny he is very handsome, though." Hanabi said taking another sip of her tea.

Of course Hinata knew the Uchiha was handsome, she had gone to the academy with him, took care of him at the hospital after the war, and made food for him during the time he was on house arrest. She wasn't blind to his physical attributes, but she didn't care about any of that. Besides, the Uchiha's personality was far from attractive; his aloofness and ruthlessness made him unpleasant. It truly didn't matter if he was handsome or not, her heart belonged to Naruto. No matter how handsome anyone was, nobody compared to the Uzumaki. He was her sun; her hero.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Hanabi said annoyed. When Hinata gave her a confused look Hanabi elaborated. "Naruto."

"I am not…"

"Don't try to deny it, Onee-san" She said. "You always look sad when you think of him."

Hinata wanted to deny it, to argue that she wasn't thinking about Naruto, but she knew it would be futile. Hanabi knew her well enough.

"Let's talk about something else, okay?" Hanabi quickly changed the subject and for that Hinata was grateful. "Want to hear about my newest mission?"

"Sure" Hinata smiled. "I would love to, Hanabi-chan."

The conversation shifted to Hanabi's newest mission, and both sisters found themselves laughing at the antics of Hanabi's team. Hinata had missed this. She had missed her little sister very much.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for your lovely reviews, follows, and favorites!

Not that it matters, but I haven't read any SasuHina fanfics in two months because I don't want other stories to interfere with mine. For some reason, I always doubt my writing when I read other works from fanfic authors. Meanwhile, I've been reading Black Clover! I'm currently on chapter 114, and so far I love it. I highly recommend it. Does anyone like the manga? No spoilers please!

I apologize for any grammar errors, there were a few things I added and weren't edited. I was honestly too tired do it.

Answer to reviews:

DAngel7: Yes, I feel like depression (mental illness in general) is not addressed enough in other fanfics. When we think about everything that Hinata has been through, I think depression would explain her personality a lot, along with anxiety and self-worth. I'm glad that you liked this chapter and that Sasuke was somewhat on character. Thank you!

Gangnam Style X3: Thank you! Yes, Hiashi is a character that is often portrayed as heartless. I firmly believe that he came to feel proud of Hinata's growth throughout Naruto. Also, I do believe he loved his daughter, but his position as leader of the Hyūga put him in a tight spot. Anyways, he can only do so much as the leader.

Psycho-schlemiel: Yes, I absolutely agree with you, it was of mutual acceptance from both parts. I just wanted to point out where I got the inspiration to write that specific scene between them. Also, throughout the story, I've always made it clear that Sasuke wants to marry Sakura when he comes back to the village (if he does), which I was inspired by the canon story as well. Anyways! I am so happy you liked this chapter! Your words mean so much to me! I'm so excited you think that about my writing! Thank you so much!

Munchiedi: Haha glad you liked the last chapter so much! I can't say much of what's to happen next, thank you so much for reading this fanfic, and for supporting my work like you've had. I hope that you continue supporting it!

See you next Friday!