Chapter Eighteen

She was,

in fact,

a child of the moon.

Wandering around aimlessly,

In the dark.

Bringing light,

To everyone around her.

S&A

One week later...

…

The Uchiha watched the small Kunoichi make lunch as Karin told an uninteresting story. He was hiding in the shadows that the cave's darkness provided, but from where he stood he could still see the way Hinata would smile and nod politely at the red-haired kunoichi. On occasions, Hinata would say or giggle at something the Uzumaki would say.

He would never admit it, but Sasuke would often watch her as Hinata did her daily chores. Of course, he only did it because he wanted to make sure she didn't try to escape the hideout, and also, he wanted to make sure Karin didn't pester or forced the small Hyūga to allow her to study the Byakugan. He had seen the red-haired kunoichi ask questions about the abilities of Hinata's blood limit, and although Hinata had been polite, it was obvious she wasn't going to give anything away. But Sasuke knew Karin, she wouldn't give up so easily, so he made sure she didn't do anything to bother the small woman. He was also doing it for Naruto, and definitely not because he had started to care in some small way for the small woman.

Uchiha's did not care about weaklings.

For the last week, Sasuke and Hinata hadn't crossed words. The last time she ever spoke to him was the night she brought him the onigiris. Her blush and reaction that night had been, dare he say, cute. But unlike Karin or one of his fans, that would have taken the opportunity to throw herself at him, Hinata had fled the scene as quickly as her legs could carry her; and although she had run away out of embarrassment, he was certain he had noticed those pale lavender eyes roaming his shirtless chest. He smirked at the memory. Not even the shy Hyūga was immune to him. For reasons unknown to him, he wasn't bothered by that. Perhaps because he knew she wasn't going to harass him like other women.

Although he hadn't spoken to her in a week, that's not to say they didn't see each other often. He would see her during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He had made a habit to be the first, if not the second, to be at every meal. The last time he came in last, Suigetsu had eaten everything. Thankfully, Hinata had offered to make him onigiris. The Hyūga had taken as a chore to cook for everyone, and well Sasuke had to admit her cooking was pretty fantastic, not that he would ever admit to liking her food as much as he did.

Apart from seeing her during those times of the day, he would see her meditating in her room. She often left the door ajar while meditating. He only knew this because he had to walk by her room to get to his. He wasn't spying on her or anything.

In other occasions, he had watched her training with Suigetsu. They had started to spar three days ago, and although Sasuke didn't like the idea, he had allowed it. However, he always made sure to lurk in the shadows to watch them until he was certain Suigetsu wouldn't hurt the small woman. Because that's the only reason why he'd watch them, to make sure she wasn't hurt. Of course, it's not that he cared for her, but he had promised Naruto he would take care of the former heiress and he would, at least for now.

She was precise with her gentle fist, and she seemed to have an affinity with the element of water, like Suigetsu. Yet, there was room for improvement, but it wasn't his place to tell her that. Besides, he didn't care, he would be leaving the hideout soon to resume his travels.

"Let's go to the laboratory Hinata-chan" He heard Karin say to the Hyūga.

The Uchiha frowned.

He stepped out of the shadows stealthily, making sure neither of them noticed he had been there for the past couple of minutes.

"Where are you going, Karin?" He asked the red-haired woman making her jump.

"Sasuke-kun," She whined and the Uchiha cringed internally. "You scared us!"

"Answer my question."

"To the laboratory, Sasuke-kun." She answered a little confused.

"What for?" He asked without missing a beat.

"Sasuke-san" It was Hinata that answered. He looked at her and noticed her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Karin-san is teaching me the basics of healing." She said smiling. "She says I have good control chakra, perfect for healing."

"Hn"

"Want to join us?" Karin asked.

"No," He said. "I'm going to train."

"Alright, Sasuke-kun"

He followed both kunoichi's with his eyes until they were impossible to discern in the darkness of the hideout's corridor. He would have to tell Jūgo to keep an eye on those two while they were practicing their healing.

"Very good Hinata-chan!" Karin said giving Hinata a smile. "You have excellent chakra control. Perfect for healing!"

"Thank you, Karin-san" Hinata smiled sincerely. "You're a very good teacher."

"You learn fast too," Karin said. "Tell me, did you have training before?"

"Not really, but after the war, Sakura-chan taught me the basics to heal small cuts and bruises."

"The pink-haired girl that was all over Sasuke-kun, right?"

"Um…" Hinata bit her bottom lip, "Yes."

Karin didn't say anything after her admission but only smiled at Hinata.

They continued working on Hinata's healing and chakra control for the next hour. By the end of their second session, Hinata was exhausted. Who knew that healing could be so tiring? She wondered how Sakura could manage to heal so many patients a day.

The former heiress took a seat next to the red-haired woman as they sipped the tea Karin had been making moments ago. It was good, but not delicious.

"You did well," Karin said taking a small sip from her tea.

"Thank you." Hinata smiled.

"Say, Hinata-chan" She turned to look at the Hyūga. "How did you and Sasuke-kun meet?"

Hinata finished her tea before answering the question.

"Sasuke-san found me after I attempted escaping Konoha the first time." Hinata said looking at the kunoichi, "He then returned me to the village." She said and Karin waited for her to continue, but when Hinata didn't say anything else she asked another question.

"And how did you end up with him again?"

Hinata gave her a small smile. "He helped me escape the second time." She said smiling a little wider. "In fact, it was Sasuke-san and Naruto-kun that helped me escape Konoha this time."

Karin could only gape at her. "He did what?"

Noticing the red-haired woman's reaction, Hinata froze and paled. Had she said something she shouldn't have said? Would Sasuke be mad at her for saying too much? She hoped not.

"D-Didn't you k-know?" Hinata asked nervously. "Why a-are you s-surprised?"

"Hinata-chan," Karin said "Sasuke-kun doesn't help anyone. I would know."

"He is only doing it as a favor." Hinata clarified quickly. "Naruto-kun asked him to help me because I was going to be sealed."

"Sealed?"

"Yes, it's a practice of my clan." She said a bit uncomfortable now.

"I see," Karin said pausing for a moment. "So Sasuke-kun helped you."

"Yes" It wasn't a question, but Hinata still answered it.

They didn't say anything else after that, but Hinata noticed how Karin had become pensive. Whatever she had said, had bothered the red-haired kunoichi.

He was only doing this for Naruto. At least that's what he told himself over and over again.

But he knew that wasn't entirely true. He had done enough for the Hyūga. He had done exactly what Naruto had requested, and now he was free to go. He would leave Jūgo in charge of her safety, and the rest of the team would be there in case they had to help protect her too.

He had done his part. And yet… He couldn't leave. Not when she had been crying every night since she arrived at the hideout. Not when he had heard those heartbreaking cries every time she would wake up from a nightmare. Sasuke wasn't an emotional person, but he had felt for the former heiress. For he knew exactly how she felt. She had lost everything. Her clan, her village, her friends, her family… Like himself, she was all alone without anyone. He could understand that.

Sasuke opened the door to his bedroom; he had opted to have dinner in his room after Karin and Suigetsu had started arguing again. He didn't have the patience or the mood to deal with their bickering.

The former heiress was quick to give him his bento box and wished him a good night sleep. He was tempted to wish her a good night sleep as well, but he opted for his usual noncommittal answer. She seemed to understand what he meant because she had smiled.

For reasons unknown to him, he liked when she smiled.

Once in his room, he sat on his bed and opened his bento box. The sight of rice, beef curry, and cherry tomatoes greeted him. Taking his chopsticks he began to eat and savor Hinata's cooking. This was another reason why leaving the hideout would be so difficult. Where would he find food this delicious? Moreover, no one had ever cared enough to indulge his tomato addiction as the former heiress did. She always made sure to add extra tomatoes to all of his meals.

Smirking the Uchiha thought that perhaps, he could stay for another week, just so he could enjoy her cooking a bit longer.

Hinata sighed as she finished her katas and meditation before sunrise.

Changing into a pair of black sweat pants and a white shirt, she put her hair up in a bun and walked out of her bedroom. She still had an hour before she had to start breakfast, maybe she could convince Suigetsu to spar with her.

She was walking down the corridor toward Suigetsu's bedroom when she felt someone approaching her.

"Good morning, Sasuke-san," She said without turning around, she could recognize his distinctive chakra signal, just like she could recognize Naruto's.

Once in front of Suigetsu's room did the former Avenger addressed her.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Um… I'm looking for Suigetsu." She said a bit confused.

He narrowed his eyes. "He isn't here."

"Oh" She looked at him a bit confused. "Where is he?"

"He is doing something for me."

"I see", She said biting her bottom lip and feeling a bit disappointed. She really enjoyed sparring with Suigetsu.

The shinobi was lively and fun to spar with, and like Hinata, Suigetsu had an affinity with the element of water. She was learning a lot from his style of fighting.

"Why are you looking for him?" She heard the Uchiha ask making her look at him a second time.

"I wanted to spar with him before I had to start breakfast."

There was a pause. The Uchiha looked at her intently and she began to fidget.

"If you want" She heard the Uchiha address her again "I'll spar with you today."

She looked at him owlishly. Was he really inviting her to spar with him? Uchiha Sasuke?

Not every day did you get to train with the lone survivor of the Uchiha clan. This was a great opportunity to see how much she had improved all those years training before and after she earned the jounin rank.

"Never mind" She heard him say when she didn't say anything for a long time.

"Wait!" Hinata said a little louder than intended. "Yes, I'll l-like to s-spar with you." She said blushing.

He smirked.

"Follow me"

And follow him she did.

She followed the Uchiha to the room designated for training purposes only. It was spacious and, although it was still as dark as the rest of the hideout, it didn't feel as claustrophobic.

For the last couple of days, she noticed the strange behavior of Uchiha Sasuke. To say that his invitation didn't surprise her was an understatement, but thinking back to his behavior for the last couple of days, his invitation didn't seem all that strange. There wasn't a single day where she didn't feel or found the Uchiha watching her from the shadows. At first, she believed him to be watching her in case she attempted to escape the hideout, but after a week she didn't understand why he kept doing it. It should be more than obvious now that she did not intend to leave the hideout. She was starting to like them, including the quiet Jūgo.

During the days that followed, she spent time cooking for Team Taka, helping Karin in her laboratory when she needed of her assistance, sparring with Suigetsu, or doing any other chore that needed her assistance. Slowly, Hinata was becoming to like her new friends.

However, no matter what she found herself doing, the Uchiha was there watching her.

She had wanted to ask him why he did it, but she feared a negative reaction from him. So she never mentioned it, and she didn't plan to. Let him do whatever he wanted to do. However, that did not mean it didn't bother her. Feeling someone watching over you every day was quite unnerving, especially if it was Uchiha Sasuke. She wondered if that's how Naruto felt when she'd watch him. There were a few times after the war she was certain Naruto had noticed her watching him.

As soon as they arrived at the training room, the Uchiha went into formation. She barely had a few seconds to step into a fighting stance before the Uchiha lunged at her.

The Uchiha and the Hyūga had been sparring for more than half an hour. Hinata was completely exhausted, but she refused to back down. She seemed decided to finish their training session. On the other hand, Sasuke wasn't even panting.

Uzumaki Karin had stayed watching them spar in case Hinata needed of her healing assistance. However, it was obvious Hinata didn't and wouldn't need it. Not once did Sasuke hurt the small woman.

Unlike the way he trained with the rest of team Taka, which consisted of difficult and painful sessions, Sasuke took great care not to harm the small woman.

Moreover, Karin was quite surprised to see the Uchiha hadn't stopped sparring with the former heiress the moment it was obvious she couldn't keep up with him. Instead, she noticed how Sasuke slowed down to match Hinata's pace and stopped when necessary for a few minutes to allow the former heiress to catch her breath.

Karin was amazed by the amount of compassion and patience the once heartless Uchiha Sasuke was capable of showing toward the small kunoichi. Indeed, Naruto's friendship meant a great deal to the former Avenger… Or was it something else?

Taking one final look, the woman returned to her laboratory leaving Sasuke and Hinata to finish their sparring session, but she would think about the way the Uchiha treated the small kunoichi for the rest of the day.

Author's Notes: Thank you all for your kind words and your awesome reviews. I am blown away by the support! I never thought this story would reach 131 followers.

The ending was a bit abrupt, but it kind of feels right to me.

This chapter is also a bit short, but I figured that maybe I should keep them like this. Maybe that way I'll be able to update sooner. This one is full of SasuHina goodness because yall deserve it!

Answer to Review:

You are all amazing! I LOVE reading your reviews so much! Whenever I read your comments, and you guys express how much you enjoy the chapter, I can't help but grin like a madman. My face hurts, okay!? So thank you so much for taking the time to show your love. I'm so glad you liked the previous chapter. It was hard to write, and at times I had no inspiration to write it whatsoever. But I did it! And seeing how much you liked it gave me new inspiration to write this new chapter and update a little sooner. So keep them coming!

Grammar momma: Goodness! Thank you for pointing that out. I made some small changes, let me know if you approve. Also, are you a beta? It would be nice to have someone to check my work before it's posted.

See you later!

PS: I edited the chapter because it had too many grammar errors. I doubt I was able to correct all of them, but at least it isn't as terrible lol. Sorry about that guys!