Exaltation.
I'm so happy right now, I just read all the reviews and they almost made me blush! D Thank you so much, everyone who reviewed! I want to write even more now. X) Anyways, hope you like this chapter too!! But be warned: Character death!!!! I changed the story's rating into M, because of some gore in this chapter. I'm really sorry if some people don't like it, but… this is just my imagination:) Oh, and before I forget: Please tell me if you see (too) much grammatical errors! It's just, I'm not English (I'm Dutch actually), so I would really appreciate it if you see something and note me about it. It would help me truly.
Disclaimer: Don't own it! (you know what I mean)
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Chapter two.
Eyelids fluttered open.
Opal eyes gazed around slowly, but widened suddenly when realization appeared in them.
This was a strange room.
With a shocked gasp Hinata shot up, and fell almost immediately down again, attacked with an agonizing pain. Moaning softly, she tried to sit up very slowly, careful to not strain her aching body any further. Hands gripping the greasy mattress under her tightly, she heaved her body up.
Nausea overwhelmed her. Her head was spinning so severely that she almost collapsed. With fast, raspy breaths she leaned against the bare wall behind her. Trying to calm herself a little, the girl closed her eyes tightly and raised a shaking hand to her temple.
When the overrunning wave of nausea slowly died down, Hinata re-opened her eyes and glanced around once again, from under her raven-coloured locks.
She could barely distinguish one wall from another. The room held nothing, except for the mattress. It was empty, just like she felt. No presence of another living creature but herself.
With no windows, the room was pitch-black. Hinata didn't like the sun, but she wished that it had shined its bright light upon her now and warmed her body. She felt very alone. It reminded her of her youth.
Loneliness…
Mommy…
No.
Don't think about her anymore. She's gone.
A lost soul…
A chilling feeling dawned upon her senses. Shivering in the numb coldness, she could only look as the shadows appeared again, looking at her with dead eyes.
"G-Go a-aw-away…" The girl backed away fearfully, back pressing even more into the solid bricks of cold stone. Silhouettes reached out to her, mouths hanging open as if they silently called her name. No sound was made, but Hinata still heard them, whispers echoing in her mind. Thin fingers grazed her skin, almost gently, leaving a trace of coldness behind. A shudder went down her spine as she attempted to move away from the dead hands, but failed. The girl squeezed her eyes closed, bringing shaking hands up to her ears as if to block the whispering.
The cold fingers traced her body, she couldn't escape them.
She wanted them to go away.
She didn't wish for this.
"L-Leave me a-alone… Leave me a-alone…"
A surprisingly warm hand among the cold ones touched her check, caressing it softly with rough fingers. The voices in her head disappeared bit by bit, leaving only a divine silence.
Letting out a relieved sigh, Hinata let her hands fall at her sides and slowly opened her eyes.
Pure white met overwhelming black.
For a moment it was only them, the world around them was vanished.
Then Hinata remembered how to breathe again and gasped for air.
"You…" she whispered.
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Sasuke shot a glare at his cell phone.
And again.
And again.
Finally he couldn't take it anymore and threw the cursed thing against the wall. Scattered pieces of plastic flew around everywhere, but he didn't care.
He was angry.
He was pissed.
He was enraged.
"Goddamnit!" Yelling out loud, he banged on his desk and cursed a few times.
Where the HELL was Yakushi?!
The bastard should've returned again, or at least he could have fuckin' called.
If that son of a bitch had fled, he would hunt him down and make him wish he had never been born…
His resentful thoughts were interrupted by someone who was knocking on the door rather harshly and came in three seconds later, not waiting for permission to enter.
The Uchiha was rather surprised when someone dared to barge into his office like that and was about to give said person a piece of his mind, but the guy spoke before he could even begin the colourful diatribe. He looked quite pale and his eyes shifted from side to side while he heaved, as if he had seen something gruesome.
"S-Sir, you're not g-gonna like th-this…"
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Holy mother of gods.
Fuck.
He just stared at the sight in front of him as someone behind him threw up.
This had to be the most sickening thing he had ever seen. And this came from a man who was at the top of a disreputable and dangerous clan that had made killing an almost daily routine.
The unbearable smell of rotting flesh attacked his senses and swiftly he put a hand on his mouth, before he would have to puke too.
Lying in the alley, Yakushi Kabuto looked straight at him.
If he still would have had any eyes, that is.
Blood was still dripping out of the gaping holes, leaving traces on the face as if they were tears. On his cheek was a single slit, but it formed a thin line compared to the large secant in his neck. Flesh was torn apart like it was primed with a razorblade, neatly slashed in one move.
The body lay in a strange position; crouched against the blood-smeared wall, arms crammed behind the back. Sasuke walked over to the body while ignoring the horrified gasps of his co-workers and gave it a slight nudge with his leather shoes. The body fell forwards, now showing what was left of the arms.
Where the hands should have been were two bloodied stumps, pieces of skin hung onto the remnants of the arms as shredded fibres.
But a large wound in his back was what gained the attention of the Uchiha.
Shaped into the form of a fan, it looked familiar.
Very familiar.
It was now clear to him that a certain someone wanted to give off a sign.
And that someone had her now.
Shit.
Seemingly unaffected, he turned around again to his men who were right behind him, looking with fear-stricken expressions from the slaughtered body to their boss, and were taken aback by the grim expression he wore.
The Uchiha glared at every single person, one by one, his dark eyes boring a hole into them.
"Find out who did this."
He gave his former right hand one last glance. "They have the girl now… I want her. Alive."
He walked away, never looking back at the sight behind him.
"And clean up this mess…"
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He smirked.
"Yes, it is me indeed… surprised…?"
She nodded slightly, too shocked to say anything.
Here, in front of her, was…
…a man whom she thought had…
…passed away.
Surely, it hadn't been the first time she had seen dead people, but this one looked very alive.
He still had his stoic expression, the one he always wore in the past. "Are you feeling better?"
She nodded once again, still thinking that she had to be delusional. It couldn't really be him…
He lifted her from the filthy mattress. "Let's get out of here…"
Hinata smiled softly, carefully putting an arm around his neck for supporting herself.
She felt safe now.
In his arms.
He would protect her.
Yes.
She wouldn't be alone anymore.
Leaning against his chest, she sighed contently and closed her tired eyes. She could finally sleep peacefully again. No more faces that would haunting her in her dreams.
No more shadows, except for hers and his one, contrasting slightly with the walls they were passing by.
No more whispers, save for the soothing nothings he murmured to her occasionally.
No more cold hands, but only warm ones that held her protectively, shielding her from the dangerous outer world around her.
It didn't even matter to her that there were vague stains of blood on them.
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The door was slammed shut.
Sasuke leaned against it, closing his eyes while gripping his dark hair tightly.
Fuck.
This couldn't be happening.
It was just a dream or something.
Yeah, that's it.
He would wake up, and nothing that had occurred would've actually happened. Everything would be just a dream. A hallucination.
While he stumbled over to his desk, he stepped on the remaining pieces of his phone. Looking down, the Uchiha realized that everything was not just a fragmentation of his own, retarded fantasy.
It did happen.
He heaved and collapsed on his expensive Persian carpet.
Trying to overpower the sudden feeling of nausea, Sasuke let himself fall backwards, back hitting the soft outlines of the material beneath him.
Really, he didn't give a shit about Yakushi.
The thing that bothered him was where Hinata was at this moment.
Who had taken her away, probably finished Kabuto off as well.
And he already had a pretty good idea who it was, and why.
Not only was the fan a sign, the out-jutted eyes and the disappeared hands clearly meant something too.
He still lived.
He apparently cared for Hinata and wanted to protect her…
…protect her from the roaming eyes and filthy hands of Yakushi Kabuto.
Sasuke cursed silently. Not only Kabuto, but himself as well.
Damnit!
He knew it wasn't a good idea to sent Yakushi for searching her. He knew that the bastard couldn't really control himself with girls, especially the innocent and fragile-looking ones.
But he still sent him to look for her. He sent that son of a bitch, thinking that his menace would hold him from doing… things to her.
It was his fault. His fault entirely.
He could only hope that Hinata was still untainted.
He could only beg to the Gods above him that she would be alive.
He could only guess where Itachi would take her to.
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He looked at the small form in his arms.
It was strange, really.
How she could sleep after all that had happened.
Apparently, she felt safe.
He grinned.
She shouldn't feel that way.
Not with him.
He was a dangerous man.
But even when she could read people's souls, she still trusted him.
Even when she could see what he had done in the past, she still felt safe with him.
Even when she could sense what he would do in the future, she still slept in his arms.
Itachi sighed. He didn't know why. He didn't even know why he had saved her out of the grasp from that silver-haired man. Normally he wouldn't give a shit. He didn't even care when his family acted like he was dead. He didn't even move a muscle when a war between his clan and hers erupted and halve of the ones involved died. And it left him most certainly cold when he had heard what his little brother had done.
Never, once in his life, had Itachi cared for anyone. Let alone acknowledge anyone.
Anyone except for a certain white-eyed girl.
He didn't know why she affected him so much.
But what he did know was that he felt a strange rage boiling within him, eating his normal apathetic appearance away, when he saw her being harassed by that guy. Not that the latter lived long enough to procedure his foolish actions, though…
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Flashback.
I saw her.
How strange it was. I hadn't seen her for a long time, and now she was there. Sleeping.
She just lay there motionless, like a creature of heaven. Shivering slightly in the coldness of the dark night, she moved a little, nightgown ruffling. But she didn't awake. Peaceful, it gave a calming and soothing effect.
The only fact that annoyed me, though, was that she wasn't alone.
A man was bent over her, touching her face. Whispering a few words, his hand slit down to her collarbone. Recognizing him as Yakushi Kabuto, I confirmed my suspicions that my little brother was behind this.
I felt the tiniest sting of anger. It was long ago I had resentful feelings, but something inside of me made me take my tantō(¹) and calmly I walked over to the disturbing scene.
The man didn't even notice I was standing behind him, for he was too occupied. However, he did seem to notice the blade on his neck as I put it there quite harshly.
"What, if I may inquire, are you doing…?"
The other didn't answer, just grinned. Seemingly he didn't care that he was threatened by a cloaked stranger.
Finally he answered. "That really doesn't concern you."
My expression didn't change.. "It does, actually…" Moving the tantō from his neck to his cheek, I slowly draw a slender line. He cringed a little as the blood dripped on the white gown of the girl. I continued speaking. "Who hired you?" Although I already knew the answer, I decided to play a little game with Yakushi.
He adjusted his glasses. "I don't know what you're talking about…"
Hn.
A good liar. Like me, he kept his face stoic.
"I'm sure you don't… Well, it doesn't matter. You are still to die. Now that you assailed her, you have perpetuated your destiny. You will never touch her anymore…" The tantō was lifted from his neck.
Blood-curling screams filled the empty streets and echoed through them for an eternity.
I wiped some blood off, while I threw the filthy hands that had dared to touch her in a trashcan, were they belonged.
The owner of the hands stared at me with an empty look, as if not believing what just had happened. I stared back stoically, not caring for his pain.
He stared at the remnants of his arms, while the blood began to form little puddles on the ground. "You'll pay for that…" Lifting his head up, the silver-haired man spat at me.
I didn't move a muscle. "You are not in the position to utter any menaces…" Crouching down, I came at eye-level with the sweating man. All his blood had drained from his face, leaving only a deathly pale countenance. Pressing the cool blade harshly against the crook of his neck, I almost felt the shudder travel through his spine. A thin stream of red liquid travelled down, dripping onto the ground.
I could feel the hate radiating off of him and smirked. It seemed that I was the best in retaining my emotions after all.
Removing the tantō, I turned it a few times right in front of his grey eyes. "And this…" I pressed the point slightly against his eye socket, "…is the last you shall see from this world."
He didn't budge. "See you in hell, then…" He grinned wickedly. "Maybe sooner than you think."
I decided he had said enough. Pressing the point further, I found his choking sounds rather satisfying.
Another scream was heard. Soon the screams were turned into horrified shrieks, for I twisted the point a few times, torturing the man to no end.
I enjoyed his suffering.
Those eyes, which had stared at her shamelessly, were no longer more now.
Nobody was to look at her, except for me.
That, I decided right there and then.
She was mine.
I had to make that clear to everyone.
Including my brother.
End flashback
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(¹) A tantō is a common Japanese single- or double-edged knife. If you're interested, look on There's much info about it.
End of chapter two.
A/N: (Yawns) Well, it's 23.39 here right now, so I'm a little tired! This was chapter two, personally I think it kinda sucked, but I can't seem to make it otherwise. So I hope you guys still like it:) I'm really sorry if there's someone who doesn't want to read this story anymore because of the gore… But review, please? (puppy dog-eyes)