Meiwa Says: Again, I have to apologize for my slow updates and whatnot. I feel so bad now, especially since the alert's list has gone up. Oh yeah, this chapter's inspiration was from Lady Antebellum's song: Need You Now.
Note(s): Hm. The first part, again, is not so significant, but my original plot was based on this sentence: They say that before you die, your life flashes right before your eyes, but it wouldn't fit the mood of the rest of the chapters. Alright, just for your information, this is going to be the second-to-the-last chapter of MnK! The last one is going to be: 'I love you' again, and things are going to be cleared up. Such as questions from chapter two, why does Sasuke hate Hinata? And so on.
Warning(s): Mentioned one-sided KibaHina. Definite OOC and swearing. A lot of it...I think.
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to tatoo26, who figured out the next chapter before I even gave out hints! Oh, kudos to you! And of course, I also dedicate this to the people who added this fic in their alert's and favorites list & the people who were kind enough to review.
Disclaimer: I would've been rich. Sadly, I'm broke.
Mittsu no Kotoba: I Need You.
Meiwa Chinmoku.
There were moments in which Hinata Hyuga could remember where she thought that her life was slipping right out of her fingertips. She was a high-skilled ninja, and although at the top of her game, being an assassin was a fragile job, and death was unpredictable.
She had lived through the pains her father had brought upon her. She had lived through the pains of being called weird or weak or even useless. But none of those mattered to her anymore because she was happy where she was – the proud heir of the Hyuga family, ninja of Jounin rank and top medic at the hospital. In fact, Hinata was more than content with what she had and what she had made of herself, but she knew that death could take everything she worked so hard for… but yet, she wasn't afraid.
But what she was afraid of losing was herself.
Would people still remember her even after her death? Would she keep a legacy in which the members of Rookie Nine would continue? Would they even recall the times she put out her way to help them?
Hinata knew that the Rookie Nine were compassionate, and loved each and every one of the team. But she was overshadowed by most of them – her skills as a medic-nin incomparable to Tsunade's, her jutsus not strong enough like Neji's, her taijutsu weaker than Lee's, and her attitude not bright enough like Sakura's or Ino's. Even her confidence, which had greatly improved over the years, could not even reach halfway of Naruto's.
Sometimes she wondered if she really had changed; if there really was progress within her. But she kept all these thoughts to herself, knowing that her team would not be pleased at her doubts.
"Have you been listening to me?" a gruff voice entered her ears. Hinata turned her hazy eyes to see Sasuke Uchiha, in all his handsome glory, snarling at her like he had when they were thirteen. It was like he hadn't even remembered her confession.
She shook her head, abashed at her answer. "Ano…gomen... but I was... distracted."
"Scared of the mission, Hyuga?" he taunted. But she could hear the genuineness of his question. "Or are you scared to die?"
Hinata had never heard him speak so much in one sentence. "Neither. I'm just…it's nothing."
Sasuke snorted in amusement, jumping to another tree as he snuck a glance at her. The way she was acting was rather strange – it was as if she had all her walls up again. He knew it was because of her confession and what one could call 'rejection'. But he hadn't meant to leave her hanging without an answer – in all honesty; he didn't even know what to say. He couldn't tell her he felt the same – not then, he still need some 'reflective time' to sort out his thoughts – nor could he say that he didn't. This was one of the reasons why Sasuke Uchiha never bothered himself with love. It was all too mystifying.
"I sense someone." Shino spoke suddenly, alerting the two of his presence. They had forgotten about him.
"Is it…is it…them?" Hinata asked, gulping as she activated her Byakugan. Her weary eyes darted back and forth in search for the somewhat-familiar and dangerous chakra signatures. She knew perfection in this mission was critical – or she could only hope Konoha be spared.
Shino adjusted his glasses, whispering to one of his bug-minions. "I believe so."
"Well what are we waiting for?" Ino suddenly spoke up. "Let's get moving!"
…
Kunais were thrown. Jutsus were performed. Blood was shed.
This all happened in just a few minutes, in front of Hinata Hyuga's very eyes. She had seen people be killed – hell, she had even killed to save their lives; it was their life as a ninja. But never had she seen such skill, such power emanating from all of the contenders.
Their mission, at first, was to retrieve a hidden scroll from the Land of Sand. It had been a breeze, Tsunade sending out her most trusted troops who had been willing to go to a low-classed mission. But peace was not on their side, as they found out that another set of ninjas were after the scroll in their possession, which held the secrets of jutsus that were meant to be buried for all eternity. It was a pity they accidentally got the wrong scroll.
Upon hearing this from a messenger bird, Tsunade immediately sent back a note and informed them of the danger they could face, and pushed the mission from being C-rank, to A-rank.
Narrowly avoiding a kunai thrown in her direction, Hinata felt the need to raise the bar. Thankfully, killing half of the fifty ninjas had been easy, but the other half was as stubborn as Naruto.
"Chakra Needle Technique!" Hinata chanted, propelling the chakra in her hands towards the enemies. Thanks to her Byakugan and excellent chakra control, their chances of missing the attack were slim.
Taking a quick survey at her teammates, she had realized that about more than half of the fifty were dead. She was glad to see her teammates unscathed like she, but they weren't finished.
No sigh of relief can be made yet.
...
Everything went in slow motion.
The battle continued on for hours, ostensibly endless. But as Sasuke was observing the fight, his opponents dead on the floor, he could see that one was trying to escape. Quickly, he followed him, leaving the group behind.
He threw kunais, performed his fireball technique and even tried some of the new jutsus Kakashi recently taught him. It was hard to think that all of these attacks seemed useless at the moment, as the enemy continued to run away from the scene.
The two reached a clearing, giving Sasuke time to activate his Sharingan. "Give up."
The blue-haired shinobi was shocked as the ninja's skin started to melt. Suddenly, his body was transforming and his eyes turned blood red. After a few seconds, he found himself pinned to a tree, Itachi Uchiha threateningly clutching onto his throat. The younger Uchiha's eyes widened.
"Hello, otouto," Itachi snorted at the name, holding up a kunai in his free arm. Sasuke helplessly choked. "Long time no see."
He tried to release himself from his brother's grasp. He had been training for so many years and given the opportunity, he wouldn't let his strength go to waste. But it seemed as if he wasn't ready for the surprise assault. He couldn't even perform any of his jutsus.
Although, despite the fact that he was nearing his demise, Sasuke managed to choke out, "F-Fuck you…"
When all hope seemed lost a loud cry of "Shukuken!" reverberated in the area.
In that instant, everything seemed like a blur. Hinata burst through the leaves, creating hand signs for her Shukuken. But Itachi had already anticipated her appearance, as he turned around and thrust his own hands into the air, creating an invisible force that sent Hinata tumbling towards the tree, choking up blood. As all of this happened, Sasuke was still suffocating from lack of air.
"Hm," Itachi grunted. "Reinforcements?"
Sasuke was suddenly blinded by rage and fury, seeing Hinata gasping for air, her mouth covered in blood. It was not a surprise that she had fallen after the first strike – Kami knows how much chakra she wasted in killing their enemies and healing her teammates at the same time. Not only that, but her wounds during the chuunin exams were not exactly healed, and too much stress in her chest area can cause internal damage – which was what Itachi did.
He couldn't forgive his brother. He never could. The bounty on his head didn't matter – Sasuke didn't even know if Itachi really had a price for his head. But he was sure of one thing and one thing only –
His brother needed to die.
...
Once his eyes opened, all he could see was white.
"Sasuke-kun..." Someone called his name. Struggling to move, Sasuke forced his eyes to the caller to see who was addressing him. "You're finally awake."
When his eyes adjusted to the light, allowing him to clearly see his surroundings, Sasuke could see a familiar shade of pink hair hovering right above his own. His first instinct was to jump and run away, or to simply tell her off, but his limbs were screaming pain.
"W-What am I…doing here?"
Her eyes told the story. "From what Ino-chan told me, you guys had this A-class mission and were fighting off some nins that had been after the scroll as well. You trailed off and well…they found you and Hinata-chan in some clearing, barely breathing –"
"…Is…is Hyuga alive?"
Her suspicions were right. Sakura thought bitterly, taking a deep breath to stop the tears from pricking her eyes. She had enough crying for worry over his well-being, and showing weakness in front of Sasuke was not the best option as of the moment.
"I…" Sakura stopped, unable to find the right words. "I'm…I'm not sure. Tsunade-sama and I have done all we can, but her organs wouldn't take in the medicine. Her chakra reserves are extremely low and is at a dangerous level, but Naruto-kun managed to give some of his for the sake of keeping her alive."
"I didn't…understand…any shit you s-said." He growled in reply.
"…S-She's…she's in a coma. And I don't know when she's waking up."
…
It was against all facts for Sasuke Uchiha to think about others before himself. It was in his cold stature – to mind his own business without caring for anyone else. Although the last phrase was therefore proved by an untimely confession – which triggered something inside of him – Sasuke had never put his thoughts aside for anyone else. It was in his nature.
But again, those factual statements could always be proven wrong. Anything could. Especially with his current display of utter concern towards Hinata Hyuga.
"Hey." He flinched at his cold intonation, looking at her spent form. "Hyuga. Wake up."
It was against all odds for him to be pleading.
Sasuke grumbled, feeling foolish to even try it. He affixed the needle onto his arm again, feeling his body weaken without its source of sodium chloride. The dextrose was truly irritating, but he needed it. "Hyuga…fuck, this is stupid…Hyu-Hinata. Kami-sama, Hinata, wake up!"
"Talking to her won't bring her back."
Angry and humiliated, the Avenger whirled around on his heel and glared at Kiba. The Dog-boy had always been where Hinata was and would not leave her side – not that he knew…or anything. It was merely an assumption. "Shut up."
Kiba strolled towards her bed and stroked her midnight blue hair. His eyes portrayed apprehension, friendship and even the slightest hint beyond that. Since they had been in the Academy, her teammate had not been very keen on hiding his already-obvious infatuation with the girl. Only she, to his disappointment, didn't notice a single bit of it.
"What are you doing out of bed, Uchiha?"
Sasuke hissed, "None of your business."
"If I remember correctly, you got injured in the fight as well."
Suddenly, a flashback of the scene replayed in his head. The skilled ninja whom he had fought, the cause of Hinata's coma, and the way he unmercifully exerted too much effort in his jutsus to kill Itachi. Yet, as always, his attempts to avenge him clan seemed useless, as his brother had managed to leave without a single scratch. "Shut up. You don't understand."
"You think I don't?" Kiba angrily replied, removing his hand from her silken hair. "Do you even understand the gravity of this situation? She's practically dying, Uchiha, and you don't fucking care!"
"Don't tell me how I feel about her!"
"Oh, so now you feel something? Now you want to look at her, after the hell you'd put her through?"
That last comment went too far. Before he knew it, Kiba found himself pinned onto the wall, a fuming Uchiha threateningly clutching his throat, Sharingan fully activated. "I told you. You don't understand."
"Fuck off, Uchiha! There's nothing to understand!" the brown-haired boy yelled, shielding his eyes from view. "You…How dare you even come near her. You…you don't deserve her…not one bit. She's been through hell…when she was in love with Naruto and he brushed her off like shit… Hinata-chan came back…but then you put her back there again...And I... I…I heard your conversation with her before."
"What?"
Suddenly, he laughed sarcastically. "The time you told her you cared. You're a lying bastard, you know? You don't care about anyone but yourself – especially not Hinata-chan –"
"Shut the fuck up, Inuzuka!" Sasuke screamed, throwing Kiba onto the cold floor, watching as he glared back at him. No words were exchanged as they simply stared at each other with nothing but mortifying hatred. In an instant, Kiba stood up as Akamaru barked from outside, turning around to leave.
But not before saying, "She doesn't really love you, Uchiha."
And that probably triggered the boiling fury building inside of the last Uchiha. Before painstakingly removing the dextrose from his arm, Sasuke roared out a battle cry and took out a kunai from his pouch and was ready to slit Kiba's throat, when a soft voice, something comparable to a mouse, stopped him.
"N-N-No…S-Sasuke-k-k-kun…"
Kiba ignored the threat and ran towards her side. She was obviously still sleeping, yet her eyes were shut tight and her fists were clenching and unclenching simultaneously. It seemed as if she was having a difficult time to wake up.
"Hinata…Hinata-chan, wake up please."
Kiba exchanged words, only receiving miniscule results from actions. Sasuke slowly blinked and walked towards her, bending to her head-level and gulping in the damned lump in his throat. He swore his pride could be the death of him.
"Hyug-Hinata…come back. Damnit...I…I need you."
Her eyes suddenly shot open as she tried to steady her uneven breathing. Kiba Inuzuka and Sasuke Uchiha had never been more speechless.
Meiwa Says: Honestly, I think I lost the plot somewhere in the middle of all that. Let's just pretend Akamaru's isn't allowed in the room because of his...size.
tatoo26: Thanks! I hope this is equally-awesome. Lol. But it looks like Sasuke's shell is slowly cracking heh? Haha. We'll wait and see for the last chapter!
fat cherries: Oh, you really think so? Cool. I was worrying about that too. Lol, Sasuke really is stupid when it comes to matters of the heart! But let's wait and see, shall we? ;)
Phoeliz: Lol. Haha, now that I think about it, it's pretty strange to stumble across the wrong pairing, but I'm glad you did! And don't worry about the spelling/grammar mistakes. I'm going to have a beta sooner or later! I guess my eye isn't that good anymore, lol! As for the time thingy, yea...there is some things bothering me about it. Maybe I'll check on it later! Actually, your constructive criticism is very helpful. Thanks a lot for dropping by, hope you find this chapter alright!
evilbananalol: Lol! Yes, Sasuke made one of the worst mistakes ever! *throws tomatoes at his head* Nah, just kidding. Sasuke-kun is too hot for that! Lol. Anyways, thanks for the review! Hehe. A jealous Sasuke is a cute Sasuke.
lover9: Haha! True, true. Thanks for the review and compliment! I don't think I deserve such praise. Hope you like this, too!
So thanks for the reviews guys! Honestly, each review makes one author happy. :) Constructive criticism is very much accepted and appreciated. Flames...meh, whatever.
SHUKUKEN- Palm Heel Strike.