My lovelies! Oh how I missed you all! Love and sprinkles and sunshine for you all! La di da di da! Hahaha please excuse my moment of weirdness, I was going to explode if I didn't do that. Anyway... This chapter is for my friend "Hinata6" (her late bday present) - omgsh you guys she is such a good writer. If you haven't heard of her, which is a shame, look her up! But before then... da da di da da da da!

All For Love

KawaiixKisses

(Muah)

Wife

He was right to be suspicious it seems. His dark eyes studied the bruised face of his employee, watching as she did her damnedest to keep him from seeing, despite the fact that she had already been caught. What he couldn't understand though was why. Why would she want to hide that? Why wouldn't she try and seek help? Surely she had family who would fight for her? Get her out of the relationship? It wasn't at all making sense to him.

"Uzumaki-san?"

The assistant only remained quiet, not wanting to answer him – she sat there pretending that wasn't her name. She wasn't Uzumaki she was Hyuuga. Funny. Before her marriage to Naruto, Hinata was delighted by the idea of losing her maiden name, she wanted to feel separated from her family and all the grief they had bestowed upon her.

"Uzumaki-san. Talk."

Her opal gaze met her boss's reluctantly.

"It's… it's n-none of you b-business Uchiha-san."

Sasuke stared at his assistant. True, it wasn't any of his business, but what was he supposed to do? Sit around knowing she's being beaten up by her husband and do nothing about it? He might be indifferent to a lot of things but he was still human, he still felt the need to help someone when that person so obviously needed to be helped. And Hinata… she was screaming for it. She needed someone to stand up for her because based on that nasty bruise covering her eye she couldn't stand up for herself.

"So?" he countered her at last.

Her brow wrinkled slightly as she stared at him. "S-so it r-rude to mind other people's b-b-business," she informed him.

Uncharacteristically, her boss shrugged his shoulders in nonchalance. "Has that ever stopped anyone before?"

Hinata didn't know what to say to that, instead she fixed her gaze on her lap once again, studying her thumbs as they spun around each other.

"Look, I know it must be hard for you to talk about this, but I can't help you unless you help me first," he said to her, trying to coax a response from her.

The fair-skinned woman remained quiet. She didn't want to be having this conversation with anyone – she was embarrassed, ashamed. Look what he did to her. He tore her down. Knocked her off her high horse. She was once a proud Hyuuga like the rest of her family, but thanks to him, thanks to Naruto she was reduced to the woman she was now. She was pathetic.

"I… I d-don't want any help."

Sasuke's eyes widened. What the hell did she just say? Did she not know what her face looked like? Did she not own any mirrors or were they all broken? Why on earth wouldn't she want help?

"I-if you don't mind I'd l-like to get back to w-work."

Sasuke couldn't believe it. She was serious. Was she that afraid? Sasuke had met the man and he didn't look too threatening to him – sure he had been an ass, but not threatening. But how was he to know? Abusers didn't have one set profile; they came in all shapes and sizes. If Sasuke remembered right, Uzumaki's husband looked oddly familiar, like he had seen him somewhere before, on TV perhaps.

"Sure."

Hinata nodded her head and rose to her feet, smoothing her bangs over her eye.

The male sat back in his chair and watched as she left his office, reflecting on what had just happened between them.

It was like any other morning at the office and Sasuke had a shit-load of work to get done. He busied himself all morning shuffling through papers, running back and forth from his office to the copy room and back, trying to make the deadline for this month's issue.

The male had been on his way to the cop room once more, his long legs allowing him to dash down the halls until he mistakenly bumped into a body much smaller than his own. The woman stumbled back slightly before falling back on her bottom with a soft groan.

"My apologizes," he offered to her, holding his hand out to help her up.

That's when he noticed her, Uzumaki. She looked up at him from the floor, her hair falling away from her face to reveal the nasty bruise that surrounded her eye. It was a stark contrast to her pale skin, the bruise a dark purple and red, her eye swollen and puffy. It looked awful.

"Uzumaki-san," he exclaimed softly, kneeling down in front of her. "Who did this to you?" he asked, reaching out to push her hair out of the way with his hand.

She flinched away from his hand like he had some nasty flesh-eating-disease. Why was he surprised? With a bruise that awful, he'd be flinching away from people as well.

His assistant shook her head a bit, proclaiming that she was okay and pulling herself to her feet.

"I'm fine, Uchiha-san," she said softly once on her feet, smoothing her hair into place and patting the dirt from her bottom.

He should have known something was up with her from the moment she walked into the office that morning. In the months he had worked there he had never seen her with her hair down and for her to be wearing as she was for two days straight now should have sparked his interest.

"Like hell you are," he breathed. "Come with me."

He took hold of her wrist and began pulling her towards his office.

"U-Uchiha-san… Uchiha-san… P-please… let me go, let me go," she demanded softly, tugging her arm away from him.

Her voice sounded desperate, as if she were on the verge of crying. Immediately, he let go of her. He hadn't thought about the affect him grabbing on her would have had. Of course she wouldn't like it, the woman so obviously had been smacked around.

"Just come with me, okay?"

Nervously, she nodded her head and followed quietly behind him.

She had looked so afraid then, much as she had when her husband had come to back her up a few days ago. Sasuke wondered vaguely the abuse had been going on for. Did anyone else know? Her friends maybe? He thought about sending her home early but figured the safest place for her to be was probably at work.

Maybe he should give her more hours – more time away from home? Sasuke shook his head at the thought. Her husband had seemed upset by the idea of her working on a Saturday, more hours would probably make him twice as upset. What should he do then? For some reason the male felt that protecting his assistant was something he was obligated to do. Since he knew for a fact that she was being abused it was his responsibility to do something about it. Or something like that.

The Uchiha let out a tired sigh, sitting back in his chair. What was he to do about Uzumaki? The woman was proving to be a lot more trouble than he really wanted to do with. If he thought he was having a hard time thinking of anything other than her than he was definitely going to have a hard time thinking of anything other than her and that hideous bruise.

Hinata stared at herself in the mirror of her en suite bathroom after work that same day. Her opal eyes were glued on her reflection, memorizing every last imperfection she could find. Her nose was too thin, her skin too fair, her eyes too wide. Then there was the huge bruise Naruto – her husband – had left behind.

She was ugly.

Her eyes filled with tears as she stared at her reflection. She had long ago rid herself of her clothes and pulled her long black-silk hair into a messy bun at the top of her head. Her opal eyes scanned her neck and her forearms, gazing in horrified wonder at the many, many bruises her husband had given to her. They varied in color, some red, some purple, some blue and some a disgusting green.

"Why?" she whispered softly to her reflection, tears spilling out of her eyes and sliding down her cheeks.

Why did he hate her so much? She went over it over and over in her mind yet she could find no answer? What had she done to deserve such a man? What god did she anger? The battered wife sobbed, her shoulders hunching forward slightly as heavy, heart-felt groans of despair slipped from her throat.

The woman shook her head a bit, sliding onto the floor of her bathroom, her bottom sitting on the cold tiles. She drew her knees up to her chin, resting her cheek on top of it as more tears shed from her eyes, her body shaking uncontrollably.

"Hinata?"

Her head shot up, her tears ceasing. Her husband was home.

"Shit," she swore softly, pulling herself up from the ground and racing to the bathroom door.

Quickly, she shut it and pressed her back to the warm wood. Nervously she bit her bottom lip, her brain processing what was going on. It was early, way too early for him to be home.

"Hinata? Where are you?" he called out to her once more.

The wife pushed herself from the door, rushing to the closet to pull out her robe and shrug it on, drying her eyes with her puffy white sleeves. Sniffing back the last of her tears, she turned and headed out into their bedroom.

"Here I am," she said softly, just in time to watch him enter the bedroom.

"I've been calling you forever now, why did you answer me – "

The blonde stopped in his tracks, his gaze finally landing on his wife. He eyed her for a long while, studying the discolored flesh around her eye. It was disgusting to look at. It was so bad that a part of the whites of her eye was tinted red. Had he really hit her that hard? Was he the reason for that shameful bruise?

"Hinata… I," he started out, moving closer to her.

He watched as his wife flinched slightly. He could feel the rage building up within him – he hated whenever she flinched, as if she were afraid of him. The rational part of his mind was telling him that she had every right to be afraid of him – he was after all her attacker.

What should he say to her then? What could he say to her that wouldn't lead to her to say something that would piss him off? He didn't want to hurt her again. He didn't want to feel the guilt he felt now, knotting in his stomach.

"I'll change and get dinner started," she said suddenly.

The husband nodded his head, unable to find something else to say to his wife. He watched as she removed her robe from her body, unabashedly walking around him to the wardrobe to find something more appropriate to wear. His eyes found every last bruise and scar that marred her once perfect skin. Had they all been because of him? Where those all his fault?

"Hinata I –"

"I hope you're in the mood for chicken; I planned on making turkey but I hadn't taken it out of the freezer this morning," she interrupted, turning her body to face him halfway.

The husband felt his throat becoming dry. Her forearms were covered in red bruises the size of fingers, his fingers. Her neck had the same markings; only they were faded with age. Everywhere… they were everywhere. How had he not seen them before?

"Hinata –"

"I could just make meat loaf instead, I know how you like western dishes," she commented, pulling on her panties.

"Hinata –"

"Or even spa–"

"Will you shut up and let me speak?" he said irritably.

The wife shut her mouth and nodded her head, allowing her husband the chance to speak. He was silent however, just staring at her for a while. His steady blue gaze traveled over her body, eyeing every abrasion carefully, remembering each incident as clear as day.

The opal-eyed woman turned her gaze away from him, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Don't hide from me."

Nodding, she let her arms fall. She could feel his eyes burning into her flesh.

"Wh-what is it?" she asked quietly.

He had seen her naked thousands of times but this was the first time he had ever been that interested. The part that made her nervous was the fact that it wasn't sexual interest; he was just staring at her.

"Those bruises…" he started out, moving closer to her.

Hinata fought the urge to close her eyes, even though she badly wanted to disappear. She didn't want him to look anymore, as silly as it sounded.

He touched her gently, his callused fingertips smoothing over the skin of her back, tracing one of the purple bruises. "They're from me aren't they?"

Hinata bit her bottom lip, unsure of how to answer him. If she told the truth he might hit her and if she lied he still might hit her.

"Tell me," he said softly to her, his eyes pleading with hers.

Hinata looked away from him again. She couldn't stand the look he was giving her now. She couldn't trust it, she couldn't believe it. Her husband actually looked regretful, as if realizing a tragic error in his ways.

"Yes… you d-did it."

Naruto was silent for a while, just watching her as she through up that same mental/emotional wall. She was always trying to distance herself from him, always trying to escape. He didn't comment though, just continued to gently rub her back, unknowingly making his wife even more uncomfortable.

"I-I should go and s-start dinner… you must be h-hungry…"

She began pulling away from him but he stopped her, closing his hand around her elbow. "Don't leave."

Hinata nodded her head slowly, her eyes refusing to meet his.

"I need to talk to you."

She gave no response other than another head nod.

"I… love you – you know that. I just… I don't know why I get that way. I see you sometimes and I don't know what I want to do to you, I just want to make you feel the way that I feel, the way I've been feeling."

He paused for a moment or two, watching her face carefully. Nothing. She closed herself off from him once again.

"I miss you," he continued. "I miss everything really. Our old life, before any of this – before Akira –"

"Don't talk about him," she said softly. "Don't talk about him. J-just… stop mentioning him. Please."

Naruto stared at his wife, his brows wrinkling.

"What the hell is your problem, Hinata? We can never talk about him. Ever since he – "

"Shut up!" she yelled, turning to face him finally.

Naruto studied her face with wide eyes.

"Just shut… up."

"Are you asking me to forget about him? Pretend he never existed? Is that what you want?"

Hinata placed her hand over her eyes; preventing him from seeing the tears she felt building up in them.

"Huh? Is that it Hinata," he asked her, shaking her a little. "I'm not like you – a bitch – I can't just forget him. He was a living, breathing person, Hinata, not just some puppy you can just forget about."

The wife jerked her arm away from her husband's painful grasp. "I didn't forget," she said to him, her voice low.

"I didn't forget him. How could I forget the one person who ever really loved me? Hm? How could I?" she countered him, her brows furrowing slightly as she glared at the floor.

Naruto watched her. She had a lot of nerve, talking to him like that.

"You know what, Hinata? I'm just about –"

"What? Huh? What?" she yelled at him, turning her nasty glare onto her husband. "Just about what? Sick of me? Well I'm sick of you!"

His eyes widened slightly as he watched the angry expression his wife held.

"Everyday you walk around here playing the victim card like someone's doing something to you. No one's doing anything to hurt you but you! So you don't get to talk, you don't get to complain. Just shut the hell up!" she screamed at him before storming out of their bedroom, uncaring for the fact that she was clad only in white lace panties.

Naruto stared out the door into the hallway, his brain taking a few moments to process what had just happened. Had she honestly…? That hadn't happened. Did it?

He stalked after her, heading down the stairs to find his wife in the kitchen, going through the fridge as if nothing had happened upstairs. He watched as she pulled out the chicken and all the necessary ingredients to prepare it.

"What are you doing?"

She gave him no answer, just continued on as if he wasn't there. She moved around the kitchen, rubbing seasoning all over the raw meat. Was she really that free with her body? – it was okay for her to simply cook naked? Naruto watched her for a while longer, still waiting for her to respond.

"Are you going to answer me?"

"What do you think I'm doing Naruto?" she countered, using a knife to separate the chicken's limbs from its body.

Before any of them comprehended what was happening he was all over her, crushing his lips to hers and forcing her against the wall. She struggled against him but to no avail, he was simply too strong for her. He pressed his body closer to hers, his hands closing around her neck to hold her head in place.

"You listen and you listen good," he started slowly, pulling his lips back from hers. "I was willing to forgive what happened upstairs, but you're not going to continue talking to me like that."

The wife gave no response; she only stared at him, eyes narrowed.

His brows crunched together.

"Fix your face," he demanded, shaking her a bit.

Though she longed to rebel, she did as he said and relaxed her face muscles, or at least tried to.

"Fix. It."

He shook her once more, forcing her against the wall harder. He studied her face for a while. If he were to say his wife wasn't the most sexually attractive woman he had ever met he'd be a damned liar. Something about the back sass she was giving him as turning him on. What was going on with her? Was she having a nervous breakdown?

"Let me go," she demanded.

He frowned at her. Too bad she wasn't getting the message.

He slid his hand from her neck and weaved his fingers in her hair before pulling her from the wall and turning her around so that her front was pressed to it.

"You just don't get it do you? Do you?" he questioned her, pressing her face closer to the wall. "I. Run. This. You don't have any say in anything."

Hinata bit her bottom lip, keeping herself from saying anything she would definitely regret later. It was as if there was a ton of adrenaline following through her, giving her the courage necessary to stand up to her husband, but it wasn't really helping her.

His free hand roamed down her back, his fingers hooking in her panties and guiding them down her legs.

"You're beautiful," he told her, using his hand to spread her legs apart. "I love you."

The wife shut her eyes. She knew what was coming next. He wasn't being fair. He was breaking her all over again. The courage she once felt only a few moments ago disappeared as she heard the menacing sound of his zipper being released.

"Naruto I –"

"Shut up. You are my wife. You do as I say. Always."

Her shoulders began to quake then and tears built behind her closed eyes. It was gone. The power she felt, the nerve she gained. All gone. He robbed her of it. And as he thrust himself inside of her, she felt as if he had robbed her of much more than just that. Her pride. Her dignity. He took them. Why? Because he could. He could do whatever the hell he wanted to. Because she was his wife.

If you're anything like me then you're feeling that there wasn't enough Sasuke in this chapter. Ugh. Next chapter I promise. The romance between Hinata and Sasuke will begin soon. I have some good stuff up here *points to forehead* involving their love affair! Hope you stick around to see it (despite my many spelling errors; I haven't gotten around to finding a beta. Think I need one? Offers? Anyone? Anyone? Bah!). Review onegaishimasu!