Disclaimer:

Masashi Kishimoto

AN:

Hello I's been awhile. I wasn't Naruto fans. I stopped reading the manga years ago. So there would be a lot of things that didn't match with canon. But that's what fanfiction for, wasn't it? I'd try to update but Idk if I would

Thank you for all the comment even the flame. I'm sorry for the long delay.

Beru Wang

Thank you and sorry. Actually I wanted to stick with the first version. But then I thought that for a newbie like me, it would be too exhausting. The drama and realization, how Hinata found her true feeling etc.

For the chapter two. As much as I wanted to say that it's a mystery that would be answered in this chapter, I couldn't. Because the truth was, I forgot to write why Sakura asked for Hinata to examine Sasuke's eyes. But I wrote about it in this chapter.

Warning: Literary Write and Post. Unbeta-ed, Unedited, grammar error, spelling error, OOC, slight NaruHina, hints of NejiHina, ItaHina, might be SasuHina, making up about fuuinjutsu. I love Hinata.

English isn't my first language.

Chapter 3

She sat in a seiza position, facing a big but short wooden table. Thick scrolls and specially made papers covered most of the dark brown surface in a neat arrangement. With Byakugan turned on, the midnight-haired kunoichi focused her attention on a pale green-yellowed paper. Two chakra infused brushes were held in her steady hands. They moved evenly, leaving black trails in their progress.

She had done this since the sun rose, and it was approximately an hour after sunset. Food and drink were forgotten, and her chakra was almost depleted. But she kept going. Determination shone through her eyes and firm posture.

Pearl eyes had come into her dream along with onyx orbs she wanted to bury. Guilt, regret, and helplessness threatened to destroy her life. The burden nearly got her crazy, and the thought of Naruto barely saved her mind. It was then that she remembered her promise.

Neji's death not only affected her but the Hyuga clan in general. Hiashi Hyuga was one of the most affected. He failed his brother and nephew. Hinata found it accidentally late at night when sleep didn't want to touch her. She walked to her cousin's room, but someone was ahead of her. Sobs were heard. They were well hidden and soft, similar to sighs in the ear of ordinary people. But, not in her ears. Her father sat there, back on her, silent tears dripped occasionally. She stood outside the room until her father came out.

The plan was to stop the sealing and blur the margin of main and branch. However, even with the support of the clan head and Hanabi, it's not enough. Hyuga council disagree but couldn't reject the plan outright. In the end, they made an agreement. In five years time frame, no cage bird seal would be placed. Without the help of others, Hinata had to find another seal for byakugan safety. Furthermore, the had-been-put cage bird seal should be erased without harm inflicted. If she failed by any means, then she would be sealed.

It sounded like a trap, but she accepted. The clan made her busy with almost no free time but the night where she should be sleeping. With her never-ending nightmare, she chose to decrease her sleep hour. An hour or two through the night. In less than two years, she found the wonder of fuuinjutsu.

Hinata stopped her hands' movement and put brushes in their stand. Her byakugan examined the nearly done seal. She searched for fault in the newly forged chakra pathway. She had found out about byakugan advantaged for fuuinjutsu in the first year of her learning.

Making seal was like forging chakra pathways. Where the line was a track and dot was a fountain. The clear example was in the complex seal where lines and dots formed layering structures. When she used byakugan in her sealing for the first time, she was amazed. The infused chakra brush left chakra covered ink trail. Then, with her mind, she could mold the chakra to form a tunnel in which another chakra could flow through. This step took longer to train without byakugan. They usually need a lot of training and chakra control to get to that point.

When she found nothing amiss from her unfinished seal, she tried to stood. But her leg gave up in the process. She waited for the pain of collision, but none happened. A strong arm prevented it.

"Ko…" she smiled.

White eyes locked at each other as the younger leaned more to the hard body behind her. She didn't catch how the male Hyuga gulped at the feeling.

"You should be careful, Hinata-sama." he said, Byakugan turned on. "You've almost drained your chakra level."

Soft chuckles were heard, "I'm fine, Ko. Would you mind to accompany me to the porch?"

He nodded, and they started moving silently toward a porch where a bamboo bench and coffee table were placed. Hinata, with the help of Hyuga Ko, sat on the bamboo bench. Pink lips turned upward in gratitude. With a stiff nod, the older Hyuga went inside to make a pot of tea.

The place was dark with a kerosene lamp and night sky as the only source of light. There's no one else but them in several miles radius. The small house was placed in a clearing deep in the forest. Night bugs, rustling leaves, and pouring water from a nearby small waterfall serenely filled the silence.

Hinata closed her strained eyes, feeling the chill breeze caressed her skin. The atmosphere brought her to several years back when the house hadn't been built yet. When the place was a simple clearing where a simple meeting happened. Nostalgia carried the pain, then it remained. Never healed, just kept growing.

Years ago a crow with red eyes perched on a strong branch of willow. Night had come and her team was sleeping. She got the first watch shift. The black bird looked at her and no word needed to convey what it wanted. She leaped from branch to branch. Slow at first then faster soon after.

Woods grew thicker then a clearing was found. She started walking quietly like entering a sacred place. The crow had gone, serene atmosphere filled the night. Calmness spread from her ears to all over her body.

She saw him stood near a small waterfall. Looking at the full moon with a melancholy expression. He turned at her. His jet warm eyes were familiar. The yearning that she had never wanted to admit arose. Her legs wanted to run but she bit her lips and clenched her fist tight. Keeping composure had never been easy but it must be done.

When she took another step forward, all the surrounding faded. He was the only one she could see. In that place, she wasn't Hinata the heiress of Hyuga clan anymore. She was his anchor to sanity. Nothing more.

Onyx met gray-lavender. Locking each other in every step they took. As the distance grew shorter, black orbs slowly turned into bleeding red.

"Hinata-sama…" Ko's voice brought her back to the present time.

The scent of freshly brewed leaves attacked her nostril. She opened her eyes slowly. The kerosene lamp's orange glow illuminated the dark surrounding. She saw her caretaker sat beside her, two steaming cups were placed in front of them. She took one, savoring the relaxing aroma before drank a sip.

"It's excellent…" she said.

"I'm glad you like it, Hinata-sama." Ko sipped his tea. "I've been trying to dry some herbs from the garden. But it will take awhile."

"I'd like to try it."

His lips turned upward slightly, "It looks good." he leaned to the bench's back rest. "Live here, isn't so bad."

"You are right." she put the cup.

Some questions were formed in the older Hyuga's head. But he swallowed them. He glanced at the dark-indigo-haired woman and sighed. Her serene complimented the place tranquility well. It's looked like she was at home.

Haruno Sakura's mind was in chaos. The time was running out. Sasuke would depart from the village tomorrow. He had been considerate enough to wait for a week and she couldn't push for more.

She tried the best of her ability but found nothing wrong with his eyes. It didn't elevate her worry as she was unable to examine his doujutsu chakra pathway. She needed a Hyuga for that and especially one who trained the Byakugan for healing purpose.

She could always try to do it herself. Finding Sasuke's doujutu chakra pathway. But the path around the eyes had always been thin and fragile. Furthermore each person would have different chakra pathway there. Hinata once told her about it, how one Hyuga was different with another in the thickness, pattern, and fragility. Tsunade told her to give up, because the risk would be too great. She proposed the plan to Sasuke after the incident with the Hyuga heiress. He didn't agree after hearing the risk.

It left Sakura stood in front of Hyuga compound asking for Hinata but got rejected with "Hinata-sama wish to not see you, godaime hokage apprentice." in the most detached way. The next day she tried again. She got rejected with "Hinata-sama is not here right now."

After her five days in round got rejected in the same way, she asked for a Hyuga medic. But there's none. Hyuga had no medic, it was a new knowledge for her. Because she remembered how she'd rarely seen an injured Hyuga in hospital if not a fatal one. She asked the help of whatever Hyuga available but they said, "It has to be with the clan head's approval but Hyuga-sama is not available in the moment." It needed all her thin self control to bow slightly and go away.

In the end here she was, fuming and pacing in Ichiraku ramen. With concerned blue eyes and apathetic black as audience.

"Sakura-chan you've been like this for minutes, what happened?" asked Naruto.

"Thoose Hyuga bastard…" she mumbled quietly.

The pink-haired kunoichi sat beside the blonde and told him from the started. How Sasuke came to the hospital and told her about the pain he felt in his eyes the night prior. She examined it but found nothing then send an emergency summons to Hinata.

"I know I shouldn't do that. She thought that it was an emergency then went to hospital with nothing but her night dress and jacket. Furthermore I didn't explain anything to her and order her to examine Sasuke-kun's eyes. Rudely. I thought she would be okay. You know how gentle she was. But she got angry."

Naruto could understand how bad Hinata state of mind that morning. He bet, she'd got not enough sleep. Then again after that night, facing Sasuke must be the last thing she wanted.

"It was the pain in the sharingan eye, right?" he asked the black-haired man.

"Hn." he nodded.

"Trust me. It will be alright. The same pain won't come again anytime soon." he said sadly received a curious look from his two companions.

"You know something?" Sakura asked him.

"Enough to guarantee it for the time being."

"What is it dobe?"

He sighed, "You should ask Hinata-chan when she come back."

"She's not in the village? I thought they'd lied to me." Then Sakura told him her effort this week.

Sasuke looked at his blond teammate suspiciously. But he remembered what the Hyuga female said.

"He won't need emergency attention for months to come, apprentice director-san."

tbc...