I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

The Caged Raven

Chapter 5: Forbidden Contract

How long had she been in this state; in this endless darkness? She couldn't tell anymore. She had lost her sense of time. Actually, she had lost all of her senses. She still hadn't understood her predicament. Was she dead or alive? Nothing made sense for her anymore.

Hinata had been imprisoned for almost a month now. No one knew what she was doing or what was going to happen to her in her prison since no one was allowed to make any contact with her. She had been in a 'living' dead state. Her chamber was small, moldy and barren with only iron barred door to be considered as the only 'furniture'. She grew thinner by the day. She never ate; no matter how many times food was sent to her. She never felt hungry. Couldn't feel hungry. She was only left in her little prison to rot and die.

One of the ANBU wearing a cat mast glanced at her partner, the rabbit.

"She's still not eating?"

"Idiot! How can she eat in this state? She can't even feel anything, much less do anything! Just leave her to die; it'll make things a lot more easy."

"Poor thing, she'll probably won't even realize it if she did die."

Rabbit and Cat were standing on either side of the 'cage' with highly trained discipline. Any ordinary shinobi wouldn't be able to withstand on guard duty for twenty four hours with only a brief break to eat. Even if they had a break to eat, they would still need to eat in their post. Of course, they would change shifts every two days.

"By the way, I heard they increased the number of guards for that cursed scroll," Cat stated.

"Yeah, the council is getting rather rowdy lately."

The two continued to chat about anything and nothing to pass time. Besides, even if they do disclose any information, it wasn't like the girl could hear them or anything. So what was the harm?

Hinata was getting tired of everything, she just wanted to die. Why can't this torture end? She could feel herself die over a hundred times in different scenarios. This 'dream' was no different. This time she was being stabbed to death by an Uchiha woman. Mustering up her remaining energy, she begged the woman to stop.

"S-stop…please. I can't take it anymore. If you want to kill me for good then do it. I don't want this anymore… just please stop it! I'll do anything… anything!"

The multiple stabbing stopped and the searing pain over her body ceased as well. Was this one of their sick games? They'll heal her then torture her again? She waited for the woman to inflict more torture, but nothing came. She just stared at her.

"Anything?"

It wasn't a woman's voice, but rather a man's coming out of her pale lips.

"Yes, anything! You have my word- here; take my blood as a sign of my oath! If you want just take my body and let me die already…"

The woman loosened her grip on Hinata. The knife she was holding a moment ago had vanished.

She smirked.

"Those were the words I've wanted to hear for a very long time."

Then she continued.

"What if I don't want to end your life? What if I want your service? In exchange, I'll let you live a free life. You won't have to deal with this curse anymore."

Hinata bit her lip.

"If this service you ask for requires betraying the village, then I won't!"

The woman evaporated into nothingness. A familiar sick maddening laugh brushed against her ear. It was chillingly familiar.

"You don't know what Konoha has done to you have you?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"You are nothing but a sacrificial piece for those lowlife scums!"

She winced at his loud voice.

"They think you were going crazy because of the illusion at first. But clever Sakura had it figured out. That's right, the moment they had found out I was using you, and they had immediately branded you as a traitor."

"Who are you?"

Her surroundings were all black, so she was only able to hear his chilling voice. Her body suddenly felt cold and bare. She felt a large cold hand covering her eyes closed. Yet strangely, she couldn't move. She could feel his other hand trailing down from her cheek to her chin, stroking gently. She could feel something rough slithering over her nude body. This 'something' was hissing as it coiled itself around her.

The man in question decided to ignore her question.

"I see that Manda has taken a liking towards you."

She could feel his warm breath tickle her ear. She hated herself for feeling elated with the fact that she could finally have human contact after so long! It had been too long since she had felt contact with another human's warmth. Her lack of contact with others had made her into a desperate puppy who craved for affection.

This man knew her every thought and desire. He was after all, in her mind. It was his advantage to be able to exploit her weaknesses as well as use her in any way he wants. It was very enjoyable for the man to tease her like this.

His moist tongue tingling over her earlobe sent shivers down her spine. He was teasing her.

"Would you like to hear the entire story? I've been watching you know."

He didn't care whether she replied or not so he started talking anyway.

"Instead of wasting my breath, how about I show it to you instead?"

He grasped her head forcefully, making her slightly whimper.

Images from Sakura searching through her files to the day of the council meeting flashed before her eyes.

"Stop it!"

"It hurts doesn't it? To know that your very own village, even your family, has betrayed you."

"Enough! I don't want to know anymore!"

Then, his voice lowered into a soft whisper.

"They did the same thing to my brother. They used him like a pawn. I think you know the story, but the elders had already covered it up with their petty excuses saying that it was for the good of the village. They said it was a meaningful sacrifice to protect the future of Konoha. But that's just lies to mask their greed. In the end, they only want more power and used their own people's sacrifices as stepping stones. They eliminate any possible threats, even if they are minute."

His breathing went shallow due to his effort to restrain his anger.

Hinata was at loss of words. The revelation had hurt her more than the mental tortures she have had. This new feeling that was slowly growing in her heart was suffocating. She could feel it; hate. She knew this man who had ruined her life, it was Sasuke.

"They had branded you as a traitor before you could even have a chance to explain."

"That's because it's your fault! If you hadn't-"

"Well, if I never did what I did, would you ever know how the dark side of Konoha? Do you seriously want a village to be run by tyrants who would treat their shinobis like trash? Anyway, you're still alive right now, but just barely. Even if they said they would eventually release you if they find a way to break the jutsu, they won't. Because there's no way to break it unless they kill the user. It's already been described in the archive of forbidden scrolls. It's painfully obvious that the council knows about it already. In other words, if they want the jutsu to be broken, they would have to release me in order to kill me. I doubt they would actually go with the idea of releasing me. Trust me, they would do anything to keep me tightly locked up in that hell hole. The only option left is to let you die. Why else would they take away all your senses?"

His cool hands released her from his hold. Pale hands encircled themselves around her chest and stomach. The feeling of her soft back against his hard chest made her heart skip a beat.

"I… thought you were at peace in that scroll?"

He gave an indignant snort.

"Peace? That's just probably another bullshit they fed to that idiot just to ease him. There was nothing but constant torture in there. It was nothing but loneliness. The scene of my clan's massacre and Itachi's death kept replaying itself. They should have decided to kill me, but Naruto thought I would be happier alive. The council obviously wouldn't want to let me live or die without punishment. They invented the scroll so that I could live in torture for all eternity. Those sadistic bastards."

Large swelled tears rolled down her eyes. How could the village she loved do such a thing to their people?

"S-Sasuke-kun, if I help you, what will happen to me? What will you do?"

He shifted into a more comfortable position. He rested his head at the top her head, inhaling the scent of her soft silky hair.

"You'll be a traitor with a death penalty. As for me, I won't do anything to harm the village. I'll just run away."

Cold sweat broke through her brow. He was planning on using her then dumps her like a trash? He was no better than the council!

"You're a hypocrite," she hissed.

"No I'm not. I never said I was going to leave you behind with the pack of wolves."

"But that's what you were implying," she retorted.

"If you help me, I'll give you what you want in return."

She couldn't see his expression, but she could tell he was smirking.

"How do you know what I want? I'll be a wanted criminal labeled as a missing nin. If I said I want to live a life where none of this had ever happened, can you grant my wish?"

Pale hands grabbed one of her wrists. His nails slowly dug into her soft skin, drawing blood.

"Of course I can. I'm an Uchiha; I can do anything."

She couldn't believe how full he was of himself! Was this man just teasing her? She had enough of his mind games. Both relief and disappointment overcame her when he finally removed his body from hers.

"To show you I'm serious, let's make a blood pact."

He walked in front of her, which made her feel self conscious over her current state. Ignoring her sense of discomfort, he summoned his snake.

"Manda."

It uncoiled itself from her body. She was able to move freely again. The snake slithered to its owner, then transformed into a scroll within a puff of smoke. Manda will be the living proof of the contract.

"Sign it," he urged.

She was too mentally drained right now. Too many things had been happening to her and she just doesn't care anymore. She hadn't given a second thought or bother to read the contract before signing it. Her mind was numb again. She just wanted this whole thing to be over with. The thought that she'd finally be out of this nightmare was sorely tempting. If she were to help him, she'd be free from all of this. Hinata let the blood from her fresh wound drip onto the scroll. The deal was made.

Pain surged throughout her frail body. Every twitch of her muscle sent jostling electricity. She bit back a yelp to not alarm her guards. They were still talking or arguing about something to not notice her recovery. It was better if she still played 'dead' for a while longer. The air was humid making her skin feel uncomfortably sticky. She took a moment to feel her surrounds with her newfound senses. It felt rejuvenating.

"Hinata, I'm borrowing your body for a bit."

Before she could protest, her body began moving entirely by itself.

'Sasuke, what are you doing?'

'Trying to get you out so you can free me.'

Cat and Rabbit stopped talking as they sensed something changed in the atmosphere. Both turned to see their captive to be missing from her chamber.

"Shit!" Cat cursed.

Rabbit fumbled over his keys to get the door open. Both got in the prison to inspect. By the time they had realized that the captive was hidden along the ceiling, it was too late. Both ANBU guards lay dead in the cell. Hinata looted their weapons along with Cat's attire quickly before leaving the corpses. She was lucky that there happened to be a female ANBU. She tied her hair up in an attempt to have the same hairstyle as Cat's. The disguise should do, for now.

Hinata dashed through the thickets of the forest towards the underground headquarters of ANBU. That was where Sasuke was being held. It was like a prey that had willingly entered a lion's den. No matter how much she tried to stop herself, Hinata couldn't. Sasuke would be the death of her, literally. Having good chakra control, she was able to hide her presence very well. Neji had taught her the art of hiding one's chakra since it was crucial for an ANBU. She felt bad that she was using his teaching for a bad cause. She shouldn't feel guilty anyway since Konoha had already labeled her as a traitor. What difference would it make if she did another bad deed or two? Her feet led her through a loophole which held less ANBU roaming about. She walked among the crowd of ANBU. So far, no one had recognized her yet, which was good. She got as far as the secret door which leads deeper underground where Sasuke's scroll was kept. She counted the number of guards there were. There seemed to be about six of them.

'That many?'

'They're just paranoid.'

She froze when she noticed a familiar mask. Neji.

"Hey Cat, you're supposed to be on guard duty with that Hyuuga girl. What are you doing here?"

She tried to stay calm but her heart won't stop jumping from panic.

"Cat, did you lose a lot of weight?" one of them asked.

With swift precise strikes of her palm and sword, she had managed to kill five of them in a matter of seconds. Save one, Neji.

"Hinata-sama…"

Neji was stunned. If his cousin was here then does that mean Sasuke had successfully manipulated her? He can't let her get to the scroll no matter what. His heart fluttered with happiness that the thought that his dear cousin was still alive. But a part of him nagged him to complete his duty. Hinata took advantage of his dilemma to knock him out. His moves were slow and hesitant, allowing her to finish the job faster, knocking him out. She can kill anyone except her fellow clansmen.

The door, now clear of the guards, was visibly covered in seals. These types of special seals could only be taken off with different chakra waves. It was like a code, except it was a code which can be unlocked based on different combinations of how much chakra you should emit. One must have excellent chakra control to do this. She was grateful that she was s Hyuuga. Unlocking the seals on the door was as easy as lock picking for the kunoichi. The sound of the iron door clicked open.

The heavy large door produced a loud groaning sound as she pushed it open. Sitting on a velvet cushion was the scroll. Crouching in front of the scroll, she waited for further instructions.

'I want you to perform the hand seals that I'll recite got it?'

Hinata nodded.

He recited a series of hand seals which she hastily performed in fear that they will be discovered soon. Her hands were starting to ache as she was working on the fiftieth seal. Back up were coming and if she doesn't finish this quick, she'd be discovered. She forced her hands to work faster, ignoring the numbness about to take place. She sighed in relief when she finished the last seal, which was the one hundredth one.

The black scroll shredded into oblivion with Sasuke materializing in front of her. Red sharingan eyes stared back at her lavender ones. Those eyes were haunted her like the ones from her visions.

Sasuke stood mere inches away from his savior.

"I've been waiting for you. I think it's time I return your favor."

Again, he held her gaze as his sharingan went into work.

'You will leave behind everything and forget your life in Konoha.'

In an instant, she had collapsed in his arms. He had kept his promise; Hinata would be able to start her life anew. She will forget everything in this life.

He settled her down gently against the wall, silently promising her that he would fetch her once he was done with his business. Walking outside the chamber, he was faced with a flood of ANBU preparing to launch at him. The headquarters would soon be filled with a blood bath which he will enjoy every second of it. Once he was done, he'd be on his way to destroy this damn village; starting with the assassination of the elders.

Did Hinata seriously believe that he would let Konoha go unscathed? He scoffed at the thought. Konoha would receive the judgment it deserves. The avenger would bring hell upon the village. He merely lied to her so she would help him. He knew that if she were to find out about his real agenda, she would refuse to set him free.

Sasuke emerged out of the headquarters covered with the ANBUs' blood as a symbol of trophy. The loud cries of the shinobis deep underground went unheard of from above during the battle. He took a whiff of fresh air before hunting for his two preys.

His assassination was quick and efficient. He didn't bother wasting his time to give them a slow painful death. If he tortured them that would only mean that he was stooping down to their level. They were so pathetically harmless in their sleep. They were old people who had all the power they ever wanted. It seems that they were so smitten with it that they think that any danger coming for them would be kept at bay. They had taken their security for granted. Too bad their guards were easily taken down.

Of course, before he finished the old woman off, he decided to make use of her one last time.

"Where the hell did you keep the Uchiha estate's liquidated assets?"

He was strangling the woman's throat.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

His grip tightened.

"You very well damn know what I'm talking about. Don't think that I don't know that you had the entire estate property demolished to be sold for your dirty money!"

Koharu's eyes widened. That was supposed to be classified information.

Realizing that he won't get any answers from the persistent woman, he decided to end her pitiful life. He rummaged through her room and her entire house; he had practically flipped the entire house upside down. Yet, there was nothing. It was time he moved on his next victim

The window to Homura's window creaked open. A tall shadow loomed into the room through the white curtains. Hovering over the sleeping figure, his blade touched the man's throat dangerously.

Wrinkled eyes shot open.

"You-"

He was cut off when the sharp feel of steel cut deep into his skin.

"Tell me where the liquidated assets from the Uchiha estate are."

This old man wouldn't budge either. So he wants to play it this way huh? Fine then, he'll just have to look for it himself. Instantly, blood spurt out of the deep wound from his sliced jugular, splashing onto the assassin's face. Again, he rummaged throughout the room. His guards hadn't realized his presence yet. Good.

Then, under the man's bed was a secret compartment leading to a small safe box beneath the floor board. Lifting it up gently, he groped through the small opening. He felt something. It was a small object in the shape of a box. He grabbed it hastily and opened it.

Here it was the deed of his family estate. It was a sealed certificate indicating that everything had been liquidated. With this, he could have enough money to rebuild the entire estate if he wanted to. This would take him one step closer to reviving his clan. He wasn't' stealing, he was merely taking back what was stolen from what was rightfully his. Folding the piece of paper, he summoned Manda to keep it in storage.

The peaceful village was still asleep under the full moon. It was just like the night when the massacre happened. This time, it wouldn't be the massacre of his clan, but the village. Summoning his Susanoo, he willed it to destroy the streets at buildings. Houses were torn away from the earth, torn into shreds. After he was satisfied, he used his amaterasu to burn down the entire village. The fire of hate would stop at nothing until everything had completely been burned. Screams of terror ripped throughout the village within the chaos. He marveled it all. Konoha would be wiped off from the map; he'd make sure of that.

The thought of the village living in peace while he suffered was unbearable. The village had always looked at his clan with scorn, believing every bullshit the elders fed them. They didn't even know the entire story, yet they blindly believed them. He felt pity for Naruto; they treated him the same way before. Now, he's just one of Konoha's dogs to use as for as military power. So who are they to just suddenly change and turn all wishy washy, suddenly acting like they had always loved Naruto from the very beginning? It aggravated him.

Angry red eyes glared at the catastrophic scene with satisfaction. He had succeeded in delivering his justice.

Unfortunately for him, he couldn't stay to enjoy wreaking havoc much longer. The blond would show up any time soon. He didn't feel like having a sentimental reunion with the idiot. In fact, he never even wanted to see him again. The avenger had completed his lifelong goal. Now his clan would finally be able to rest in peace. It was time for him to leave his taunting past behind along with the village. The now former avenger disappeared into the black flames to fetch his prize, Hyuuga Hinata.

Everything was going according to his calculations, even Hinata's imprisonment. With her broken spirit and betrayal, it was easier for him to use her.

Little did Hinata know that the contract she signed was a binding oath in which she would forever be bound to Uchiha Sasuke. She wasn't going to know she was tricked anyway since he had erased all of her memories. When she wakes up from her peaceful slumber, Hinata would be living in a completely new life as Uchiha Hinata. They would both start a new life together, leaving behind all the haunting memories.

A/N: Keep anticipating for the next chapter. Next chap will be a real treat for you guys since it'll be almost 2x longer than my usual chapters. HOT ROMANCE ALERT!