Hinata lay on her bad, trying to remember what had happened last night. Her bed had still been a mess from deciding what to wear, so maybe that was why Sasuke had just let her sleep in his bed. But was there more to it than that? Sasuke seemed to have been looking at her differently this morning, like he was wary of her. Had something happened? Maybe she should call Sakura, no doubt if something embarrassing had happened to her Sakura would have no problem recounting all the gory details of it. Perhaps there would be something that could at least tell her where she had been in her bag? She had heard Sasuke leave the apartment a short while ago, so she decided it was safe to retrieve her things from his room. She didn't want to have to face him again just yet, when she had no idea what she may have said to him last night. Leaving her room, she went across into Sasuke's room, taking the sheet she had wrapped around herself until she had dressed with her.

Throwing the sheet over the bed, the draft it created made Sasuke's masculine, alluring scent hit her like a wall. Feeling slightly dizzy, she straightened the sheet and turned to see her clothes draped over a chair near the bed. She picked them up and started to leave the room, but something caught her eye. There was a glass on the bedside table closest to the door.

And next to it there was the photograph of Sasuke's family.

Suddenly she remembered everything. The club, Sasuke taking her home, Sasuke taking care of her, Sasuke comforting her...he had been so...nice... She placed her fingers to her lips...she had asked him to kiss her... And his family...he had been so young...what had happened to them? From his words it mustn't have been pretty.

She was distracted from her thoughts as her phone started to ring in her pocket. She fished it out and frowned, not recognising the number.

"Hello?" she said, wondering who it could be.

"Hello, is this Hyuuga Hinata?"

"Yes," she replied cautiously. This was getting stranger and stranger.

"This is Suzuki Aoi. I'm the manager of the Black Lotus in central Tokyo. We currently have a vacancy in our bar staff. Would you still be interested in the position?"

Sasuke got back into the apartment after another much-needed cigarette to hear Hinata speaking to someone on her mobile phone. He could hear her voice through her door.

"Yes, oh, thank you so much, you won't regret this!" There was a pause. "Okay, thank you again, goodbye," she said excitedly. Who was she talking to? He took his coat off and hung it up on the stand. Her door opened and she bumped right into him, knocking her off-balance.

"Oh, Sasuke, I didn't hear you come in!" she exclaimed, trying to steady herself.

"It's fine," he said, setting her back onto her feet.

"I have great news!" she said animatedly. She smiled up at him. Why did he get the feeling he wasn't going to like what she was about to say? "I have a job!" She clasped her hands together and smiled even wider.

"That's great," he said, trying to sound enthusiastic. He watched as she practically skipped to the kitchen. Why did his stomach feel so uneasy? This should be a good thing. Now she had a job she could move out and he could get back to the way his life was before he had met her.

"The manager was very understanding when I explained my situation and he said I'll be paid weekly at first, so I'll be able to start paying you back and move out quite soon." She busied herself with making some lunch, her hangover clearly forgotten.

"Great," he said again, feeling a bit shellshocked. He went into his room so he didn't have to watch her be so happy that she would be moving out. God, why did he feel so angry? It was a good thing she would be going. He wasn't supposed to want her anyway. She clearly couldn't wait to leave. And why wouldn't she? No one else seemed to be able to stand his presence for longer than ten minutes if he wasn't in bed with them. He looked down at the bandages around his hand and thought back to how she had tended his wounds for him. She was so kind and loving... The thought of her leaving made his chest tight. It was selfish of him to want her to stay and he couldn't even think of a good enough reason to explain why he wanted her to. He let out a frustrated sound. This would be a lot easier if he didn't want her so much.

Once the thrill of finally getting a job had worn off somewhat, Hinata's thoughts returned to Sasuke. She thought he would have been happy she had a job and could start paying him back, but he had seemed instead...upset? Angry? She couldn't quite place the emotion. Thinking back to what he had told her last night, she sighed. She just couldn't figure him out! She wanted to help him, if he could only let her in, but she was beginning to doubt she would ever even see him smile properly, let alone confide in her. She sighed again. It was quite possible she would move out without knowing much more about him than she had when she moved in. Yes, they didn't talk that much, but she had to admit, she would miss him and his strange ways. At least when she left he could get back to his normal life. From what she could tell, he had been changing his normal routine in small ways ever since she moved in. They ate together quite often even though he could just as easily go out to eat alone, and she had noticed he was bringing women back to the apartment less and less as time went on. Maybe, if she had enough free time with her new job, she could try to get him to open up more before she left, and they could become better friends.

Hinata made an aggravated sound as she tried to do her tie in the mirror. It was part of her uniform for work, which consisted of a white shirt and a black skirt and tie, along with a black apron to tie around her waist. She had been working at the club for three days, and it was going quite well, as everyone seemed friendly enough and she had developed a talent for hearing customers' orders even over the loud music. Every day however, she hated doing her tie. Why couldn't she remember how to do it? Sighing, she exited her room and went to find Sasuke, who was sat on the sofa reading a newspaper, his brow furrowed. He was dressed in black jeans and a t-shirt, as it was his night off so he wasn't dressed for the host club. He usually went out, though she wasn't sure where or who he met. That usually wasn't till later though.

"Sasuke, can you help me with my tie again?" He glanced across at her as she sat down next to him, putting his paper on the table in front of them and leaning over to her. His gaze remained focused on the tie as he did it in about four seconds flat. He straightened her collar, his hand resting on her neck for a second. Hinata's heart skipped a few beats as his fingers brushed her skin. He traced the line of her lower lip with the pad of his thumb, his dark eyes flickering up to meet hers. The look there seared her, and she suddenly forgot to breathe for a second. He leaned slightly closer, but instead of kissing her like she had expected, he stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

"You really need to learn how to do that tie yourself before you move out," he said over his shoulder. Hinata's heart beat rapidly in her chest. Why did she feel...disappointed?

"Y-yes, I will do," she stammered back, feeling a little unsteady. He had been so close...and she hadn't wanted to stop him. The thought worried her a little. Just how far would she let him go? Suddenly she noticed the time on her watch. She stood up quickly, rushing to her room to get her apron, shoving it in the pocket of her coat as she went to the coat stand in the living room. She spoke across the room to Sasuke.

"I have a long shift tonight, so I'll be back late."

"Right," he replied, not looking up from his paper. It was if nothing had happened a few moments ago. God, why was he so difficult to read? If only he was as simple as his newspaper. She went to the elevator and stepped inside as the doors opened.

"Okay, see you later," she muttered, not really expecting a response. She didn't hear one before the doors closed.

Hinata was putting her coat in her locker at the club when Nana arrived next to her.

"Hey, how have you been?" she asked, smiling. Nana was a nice, upbeat girl, who was a little taller than Hinata with a short, messy white-blonde hairstyle. She was usually assigned to the same shifts as Hinata, and they had got along well enough over the last few nights.

"Oh, hi, Nana! I'm fine, how about you?"

"Hmm, can't complain," she replied, putting her bag in her locker. Hinata straightened as Suzuki, their manager, approached them. He smiled, rubbing his hands together.

"How are we tonight, girls?"

"Absolutely fantastic, sir!" Nana said, saluting him in a military fashion. He laughed and spoke again.

"Hinata, you're downstairs tonight, Nana, take her down with you," he said, rushing past them to talk to someone else who had just entered the room.

Nana smiled and took her arm. "Come one, newbie, you haven't been downstairs yet have you? The bar is pretty much the same as the upstairs club, but the clientele are a bit...different."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, puzzled.

"Well, upstairs is a normal, drunken idiots dancing club, right? Downstairs, once a week..." She paused and turned to face Hinata for maximum effect, clasping her hands together. "It's a fight club!" Hinata blinked.

"A fight club? Like with Brad Pitt?" She had seen the movie a couple of years ago but hadn't really understood it, as it hadn't been subtitled and she didn't know enough English to understand the conversations. It had been violent. Nana started walking again.

"Kind of, I guess, but they're more cage fighters in here. Oh, Hinata, you should see the current champion! He's stunning! And so strong..." She sighed dreamily. "But I haven't plucked up the courage to go and talk to him yet...maybe he'll come to the bar again tonight..."

They went through a door at the end of the short corridor to a flight of stairs, which came out behind another bar.

"Hey, Shouji, we're taking over now," Nana said to a tall man with light brown hair who was currently drying a glass.

"Cool, I'll see you tomorrow." He put the glass down and untied the apron around his waist. "I'm glad I've not got the main shift down here tonight. There's a battle royale to kick off the year so things might get a bit rowdy." Nana laughed and put her hands on her hips in a pose very reminiscent of a superhero.

"Don't worry about me, Shouji, I can handle the rabble in here!" He laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Hey stop it!" Nana squealed, batting him away with her hands. Hinata smiled at their behaviour. It was clear the two had at least been working together for a long time. Shouji laughed again before making his way over to Hinata.

"Hey, I don't think we've met, I'm Fukuzawa Shouji," he said, bowing slightly.

"Hyuuga Hinata," she replied, bowing back. Shouji smiled and headed for the stairs.

"See you two around," he called over his shoulder, holding up a hand and disappearing up the stairs.

"Bye!" Nana yelled after him. She turned back to Hinata. "Okay, so the place is empty now but, trust me, it'll be packed in a little while."

Sure enough, less than an hour later, the club was packed. Hinata hadn't really wanted to watch a bunch of testosterone fuelled morons duke it out, but it looked like she would be too busy serving people at the bar to even notice the actual fight anyway. The room was packed, the sound of laughter and chatter filling the room while music played through speakers placed in every corner of the room. There was a large cage set up in the middle of the room, and there were seats around it, getting higher with each row. There was room for a standing audience in front of the seats, which was packed right up to the barriers that were set up around the cage. She never would have thought there would be such a large audience for this kind of thing. As she finished serving someone, the lights dimmed and the background music stopped. The crowd cheered as an overweight, balding man came through the double doors opposite the bar and cage.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" his voice boomed from the speakers through the microphone he was holding. "Well let's get right down to it. I've got a treat for all of you tonight, because we're starting the year with a bang. Tonight is a wild battle royale to see if anyone can beat our reigning Champion. So without further ado, let's bring out the fighters!"

Hinata lost interest as the various fighters went into the cage, and she had customers to serve anyway. Nana leaned over to her and pointed to the door. "This'll be him now!"

"Who?" Hinata asked, confused.

"The champion!" She sighed. "Raven..." Hinata looked towards the announcer, she had to admit, she was intrigued to see this champion she kept going on about.

"And now," the announcer said. "The twelfth and final contestant! The ladies' favourite!" Several women in the audience cheered. "Isn't it about time someone wiped the smirk off that handsome face? It's your Champion, Raven!"

The doors opened once more as a black haired man, Raven, strode confidently into the room. Dressed only in a pair of black jeans and heavy looking boots, he certainly was just as handsome as Nana had made him out to be.

But Hinata didn't see a man called Raven. She saw a man called Sasuke.

Sasuke exhaled deeply as he waited to go into the fight. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck to loosen up. He even dropped to the floor and did a few press-ups. He was confident he could win but matches like this always got more brutal than usual so he had already booked the week off from the host club to recover. And Hinata had said she was working late tonight, so if he did get any obvious injuries at least he could get home before her so she wouldn't see and question him.

The two men on the door opened them for him and he strode through to the cage. The crowd was practically deafening. As he approached the DJ started playing music again, Pendulum's remix of "Voodoo People" by The Prodigy if he wasn't mistaken. The cage door was closed behind him by a woman in a bikini top and short leather skirt. As the music kicked in properly a loud buzzer went off, signalling the start of the fight.

Immediately, the man to Sasuke's right threw a punch at him. He ducked, countering with his own punch using his left hand, followed by a shattering blow from his right. The man crumpled to the floor and didn't get back up. Sasuke stalked towards his next victim. He grabbed the shoulder of a man who looked too young to even be doing this and threw him against the cage, making it rattle. As the younger man straightened up Sasuke delivered a perfect roundhouse kick to his head, forcing him to stagger back against the cage. Sasuke let him recover for a few seconds before finishing him off with a few more punches. He didn't have time to consider who to go after next as the decision was made for him.

Ren, a fighter with brightly coloured crimson hair and tattoos, pulled him around and landed a solid strike to Sasuke's jaw. Sasuke liked the man, he had a twisted sense of humour that only Sasuke seemed to appreciate and was a decent fighter. But now wasn't the time to hold back. Ren certainly wasn't. Sasuke responded with a punch of his own, making Ren stagger back. Sasuke picked him up in a sort of fireman's lift before slamming him down on the floor of the ring. Ren let out a grunt of pain before Sasuke dropped to one knee. Only his knee landed on Ren's throat. He waited as Ren struggled to breath, trying to push Sasuke off him before he fell still, unconscious.

Sasuke stood up and turned to see five other fighters on the floor out cold. Two others were locked in a battle while the last one strode towards Sasuke. Standing a couple of inches shorter than Sasuke, Soshi had short blonde hair and a lip piercing. As he neared, Sasuke caught him around the neck, flipping him over and onto the floor. Soshi stood back up but Sasuke kicked him in the chest, forcing him away. Suddenly he felt a hard blow to his back, knocking the breath out of him and forcing him to his knees. While he was recovering, his attacker went after Soshi. Sasuke knew as soon as he realised who it was Soshi didn't stand a chance. Sasuke stood to face him, refusing to be intimidated by him, even as he had just knocked out Soshi with one blow.

Fear was a 6'6" giant, who seemed to be made from a pile of muscle. He had a shaved head and a metal ring septum piercing, with his name tattooed on his collarbone. Of all the fighters in the match, this was the one Sasuke was most worried about. He had known they would end up as the last two men standing. He certainly was scary, but then Uchiha Sasuke did not get scared. As Fear circled him slowly, Sasuke formed a strategy. The brute relied on pure strength and power to win his matches. He was slow, and Sasuke was anything but.

Fear swung at Sasuke, who ducked and punched at him. It was a powerful blow to Fear's torso, but it only made him pause for a split second. Fear punched at Sasuke again, who took the punch and fell to the floor on his back. He tasted blood, but it was all part of the plan. As Fear approached him, Sasuke used the strength of his upper body to kick upwards at Fear, his heavy boots colliding with Fear's face. He cried out and staggered back in pain, while Sasuke used the momentum of the move to flip back to his feet. Fear recovered quickly and Sasuke narrowly missed another punch to his head, ducking to the side only to receive an agonising blow from Fear's other fist. He shook his head to clear the pain but before he could attack back he was pushed up against the wall of the cage. He hissed in pain as the wires cut into his back and Fear held him up off the ground.

"The title of Champion is mine," he snarled, pushing Sasuke against the cage even harder. Sasuke gave a short, bitter laugh, a little blood trickling from his lips.

"I don't think so," he answered, head butting Fear, making him drop Saskue. His forehead throbbed from the move but it had given him the advantage. Ignoring the pain that seemed to be all over his body, Sasuke punched at Fear. He climbed up the side of the cage and jumped down, spinning and delivering a bone-shattering kick to Fear's head.

He went down and didn't move. The buzzer sounded again, signalling the end of the fight.

Takahashi stepped into the cage, over the bodies of unconscious fighters and held Sasuke's arm up in the air. "Ladies and gentlemen, your Champion!" The crowd erupted into cheers, the music even louder. Sasuke looked around the room, the adrenaline rush still coursing through his veins making his heart pump faster.

It was a blur of faces, but there was one that suddenly stood out. Standing behind the bar was Hinata, watching him with wide eyes, as still as a statue.

Hinata couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. This was what Sasuke did on his night off? She felt sick. So she had been living with a psycho after all. A brutal, sadistic psycho. What on earth possessed him to do such a thing? And every week? That hadn't been like the professional wrestling stuff you saw on television. All of that had been real… Why would he put himself through such pain? Her stomach clenched as their eyes met across the room. And to think…she had thought herself actually beginning to like him. She had wanted to help him. Yes he did need help, but from a psychiatrist, not from her.

The feeling of revulsion slowly turned into one of anger. How could he have kept something like this from her? No, they weren't exactly close or anything, but surely this was the kind of thing you tell the person living with you? How dare he not tell her! It was difficult to stop herself screaming out in anger. Just you wait until I get home, Sasuke, she thought furiously.

Sasuke was pacing his apartment. He should have known she'd find out sooner or later. It was his own damn fault for not even asking where had hired her. But he hadn't wanted her to find out like this… he wasn't sure if he wanted her to find out at all. He should just go to bed and clean up properly, why should it matter what she thought? It was his choice after all. He looked up as the elevator doors opened. Hinata stormed out.

"How dare you keep something like this from me?" she asked angrily, striding towards him. His temper snapped immediately.

"Why do I have to tell you anyway?"

"Sasuke, I live with you! It would be nice if I knew I was living with a psychopath!"

"A psychopath? Is that what you think? It's my life and I'll do what I damn well please!"

"But why this? What, do you get a kick from inflicting pain?"

"What gives you the right to say what I can and can't do? You know nothing about me!"

"Then tell me!" He gave a short, hollow laugh.

"You want to know about me?"

"Yes! Sasuke, I've lived with you for a month and I hardly know anything about you! Every time I ask you something you get all defensive! Why would you do such a thing?"

Sasuke was ranting before he could stop himself. She wanted to know about him? Fine. She would be leaving soon anyway and he would never see her again.

"Right! Have it your way!" he shouted. "Want to know why I'm like this? Why I fuck everything in a skirt and why I beat people up for a living? You want to know why I'm fucked up in the head? I'll tell you! I had a normal life until I was seven. There was a family meal, everyone was there, my parents, aunts, uncles, even family friends! Everything was fine until my brother arrived. He showed up and can you guess what he did? No? He killed everyone. Everyone. Butchered them like pigs on the floor. I watched my parents die, Hinata. But he left me alive. You know what he did after he had murdered everyone I loved? He helped clean my parents blood off my face, told me it was important that I look my best because we were the head of my family's company now. That we would make the company more powerful than it had ever been. My parents ideals were old-fashioned he said. They couldn't see the bigger picture, and it would be a new age. So I've not been the same since then. I'm not normal. And do you know the best part? I sleep with so many women in a futile attempt to fill the void in my life and I fight in a cage every week because I'm just so fucking angry with it all. I can't let anyone get close to me because they'll just get ripped away from me as well. So there you have it. That's really all there is to tell. So don't you ever question why I do the things I do."

Hinata stared at him, her eyes filling with tears. What he described was just devastating, soul-crushing… Every day… He was so alone. How could he bear it? Her heart breaking, she felt herself fall to the floor, tears overflowing from her eyes. No wonder he acted the way he did…She wanted so badly to just hold him, tell him everything was okay, but she knew it would be useless. His heart was hardened and guarded to a point so extreme it was unbearable. He was always pushing people away, never once finding solace from his pain… She cried even harder.

Sasuke's heart clenched unexpectedly at the sound of Hinata's tears. Honestly, that was the last reaction he had expected. A wave of guilt consumed him. He crouched down next to her and put his arm around her shaking shoulders. He stroked her hair.

"Stop now, it's not your pain to feel," he whispered. "I didn't mean to…" Didn't mean to what? Tell her his darkest thoughts?

"H-how can you b-bear it?" she sobbed, wiping her eyes with her hands. "Does it ever get easier?"

"No." Every day was a battle. Sometimes he wondered why he didn't just put a gun to his head and finish it all. But then if he was anything, he was a survivor. He knew he wouldn't have it in him to end his own life, no matter what happened. Hinata clung to him as if she were drowning, like she was letting out all those years of keeping his emotions locked away for him. He closed his eyes and held on to her. It was so nice to be held for once…this woman, she now knew more about him that he had ever permitted anyone to know. He didn't even want to begin to contemplate what that might mean…

Hinata tried to stop her tears, but it was useless. He was so strong…and so alone…how did he do it?

In the end all she could do was cling to him and hope the tears would eventually stop.

Thank you! Please review with your thoughts, I would love to hear them :)

Quite a jump in Sasuke and Hinata's relationship...he finally opened up and revealed some of his past! But there is so much more to learn...

See you next time!