I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

A/N: Here's another chapter… still a little shorter though. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy!

The Caged Raven

Chapter 11: Doubt

Things were not supposed to be this way. True, she was no longer the mousy shy little Hyuuga princess, but out of all the traits that she had to keep, it just had to be that annoying useless one. She was still too trusting and naive for her own good! Sasuke sat lazily on the veranda as he glanced over at his wife doing the laundry with their newly added occupant. Well she won't be an occupant much longer since he was going to get her out one way or another. At least, until her wounds heal. It had been close to a month already and any traces of open wounds were no longer visible. So why was she still here? Right, she had complained to Hinata that although her wounds had healed externally, she had probably suffered internal injuries that still hadn't healed yet. Bullshit. It was plain obvious that the woman wanted to freeload and board at their home for free. Well, he made sure to take care of that, now Midori was treated as no more than a house keeper by Sasuke, which, Hinata greatly disapproved of.

"Sasuke, she's not a servant, she's our friend and guest! You can't keep ordering her to run errands or do our chores."

"There's no way in hell I'm letting her lodge here for free. She has to earn her own keep," he retorted.

Thus, another argument was raised all because of that annoying pest. Ever since then, Hinata had refused to share the same room as him and had decided to be roomies with Midori. What the heck? It was starting to get childish! It was like one of those clichéd scenarios when a kid would bring in a new member into their circle of friends, only for the newest addition to be neglected by everyone else in the group because they felt like their group had an intruder. Now, the friend who had introduced the new member decided to detach from the group to be with the neglect. Of course, the silent treatment goes without saying to teach them a lesson.

Who the hell does that Midori girl think she is? Now Sasuke felt like the kid getting all jealous over his buddy's newfound friend.

He was still glaring at the woman who was hanging the laundry now. His eyes trailed over to the silhouette at the corner of his eye. It was Midori bringing in a basket of more dirty laundry to wash. The girl had been very helpful, as much as he hated to admit. Things were done a lot faster around the house; chores were done faster, grocery shopping as well as cooking too. He hadn't lifted a single finger to help, not that he needed to and he never had. There was a certain point where he even decided to keep Midori for a longer duration because she was being such a useful serv-helper. God, had he been such a jerk? He bemused himself. He had never helped Hinata with anything other than grocery shopping and that was it. Alas, his consideration was entirely diminished when he realized that the girl had been spending more time with Hinata. She was clingy and kept vying for the older girl's attention. Damnit! He wanted to be aggressive, he wanted to show the girl who was really in charge of the house. He would love to threaten her secretly. Then again, he was living with a facade which prevented him from showing his true nature. Sasuke was a brute and heartless man but he couldn't show that in front of Hinata. He was starting to get tired of playing the facade of a typical kind hearted husband who couldn't even hurt a single fly except for his crude words.

On the other hand, maybe playing this facade wasn't bad after all? His 'fake' personality was slowly starting to incorporate itself within his own persona. It was starting to become a part of him. He was slowly developing the heart of a human. It was very confusing for him. Who was he right now? Which one was his true self? He started to wonder if he was facing what's known as an identity crisis from playing a fake for too long

He was hoping that he could start over with his new life and find someone he loved to settle down with to revive his clan after fulfilling his long journey or revenge. Now he wanted nothing but peace and rest.

He had found that partner to be with. He couldn't afford to show his true nature or everything he had hoped for would fall apart.

The man cursed under his breath. They hadn't slept together for more than a week. His sexual frustrations were starting to drive him crazy! Not like he could force her to sleep with him or that would be considered rape and that was the last thing he wanted...although, the idea did seem a little tempting. In the sorry state he was in right now, he had no other choice but to fulfil his desires with fantasies or a replay of their previous encounter in the corridor.

He sighed with discontent.

"Fugaku-san, is there something the matter?"

That fake sweet smile with her fake sugary voice. It was making him sick. He knew what she really was, a stuck up obnoxious... ironic how he was actually describing himself as well without realizing it.

"Don't worry about him he's probably just deep in thought."

He snorted. 'You have no idea.'

"Midori-chan, why don't you prepare the rice while I get this done? I'll help as soon as I'm done."

"M'kay."

Once she made sure that the girl had disappeared from view, Hinata approached Sasuke.

"You know, you could have showed some kind of gratitude for the help she's giving around the house."

He crossed his arms.

"Why should I? It's what she's expected to do since she's supposed to pay for the rent anyway."

"Not this again...Haven't we argued enough already? Sasuke, I'm starting to get tired of this."

Tired? Tired of what?

"Tired of me...?"

"You know what I mean."

"You've been spending so much time with her that all I can deduce is that you're tired of me. You don't even sleep with me anymore because of her. What? Is she more of your taste? Don't tell me you swing that way after all."

The moment he said those words, he regretted it immediately. He wanted to apologize, but the look she gave him made him froze.

Although she didn't say it verbally he could see it clearly on her facial expression it was as if she was saying "I'm done."

He ran his long fingers along his hair.

"Hinata, I... you know what, I'm going out to train. I won't be back until late. Don't worry about lunch or dinner since I'll be eating out."

Midori dropped the bucket of rice she was washing when she saw Hinata leaning against the doorway. She had one of her covering over her eyes. A small hiccupping sound escaped her lips followed by a few gasps of air.

"...Mikoto-san?"

She hurriedly ran over to ask her what was wrong.

"Forget about dinner. He won't be home until late."

She knew what the older woman meant. They had another fight because of her.

"Okay. I'll prepare us some tea so we can talk about it."

"Must be hard living with a husband who has constant mood swings huh?"

"Tell me about it."

It was nice to live in a cave-like environment especially during the summer heat. They were enjoying the slight breeze on the veranda with their cups of tea.

"I'm tired of this or more like tired of his attitude. The nerve of him," she mumbled.

"Should you be saying that?"

Hinata gripped her teacup, threatening it to break under the pressure.

"Don't you feel like he's been falling out of love for you lately? You two have been doing nothing but fight. He's rarely at home too. Your husband has always claimed to need to cool off somewhere but what if, just what if, he has a mistress that he's hiding to from you? He could be secretly meeting her right now to spill all his problems."

The thought of it made her blood froze. He wouldn't, would he? He had been going out often lately, not to mention that he had never requested for her to sleep with him since she moved to Midori's room.

"By the way, this has been bugging me lately... but why does it seem that the two of you are rather detached from each other? I mean, I haven't seen a single spark of love or passion between the two of you since the first day I met you. It's mostly him who shows any slight signs of affection. It's as if it's a one sided thing."

Here comes the real question that Hinata had always tried to burry behind her mind. Normally she would brush the little doubt away and convince herself that she must have loved the man otherwise why would they be married? Did she really love him? Did he love her? Had they ever shared mutual feelings of love? She knew she had lost her memories, does that mean she had forgotten her feeling of love for him as well? But the girl was right, since the day she woke up she noticed that Sasuke had seemed a little aloof to her. Sometimes she can't help but feel that his actions were fake as if he wasn't used to showing her any affection. When he touched her, sometimes, she could feel the uncertainty from his tense body language.

"I was told that I had lost my memories."

"That's the thing! Don't you find it suspicious that you wake up in an unfamiliar place with no memories at all and having a man claim that you two are married? You two have been married for a while now right? Why don't you have kids?"

"He said I wasn't ready, but we've done it plenty of times with protection of course."

Midori tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"How do you know that he's not lying? For goodness sake, even a blind person can tell that the man is still a virgin judging from the way he acts around you."

"Virgin? But we've-"

"Well, it wouldn't be surprising if it's only you who acts like a virgin since you lost your memory and all, but he shouldn't have any excuse!"

"Are you saying that my marriage is a lie? I have the contract to prove otherwise."

"No no of course not! It just seems you know... well it's true that you both are married but if he really is still a virgin after you guys have been married for a while, don't you find that strange?"

Hinata slammed the teacup on the wooden surface which caused Midori to jump.

"But why would he lie about our sex life?"

Midori shrugged. "I don't know maybe it's because one of you are lacking something. Imperfection maybe?"

Her head was spinning with all the new information. The small doubt that she had safely tucked away rushed out like a broken water dam. Her doubts were growing more and more as she heard more of Midori's speculation.

"...What if he was filling your mind with fake memories? I won't be surprised if you two were never married in the first place."

That caught her attention.

"What?"

"But that's ridiculous right? Why would he do that? You two are already married with a certificate as proof."

Her shoulders relaxed slightly from the tension. 'That's right, we have the contract.'

Still, she tucked the little speculation in the recesses of her mind. Just in case.

"Midori-chan, there's somewhere I'd like to go."

Midori gave her a look of uncertainty. "But Fugaku-san said to never leave the cave without his escort."

Escort? Pft! She could protect the both of them perfectly with her gentle fist and byakugan. There was nothing to worry about. Besides, there was something that she had to confirm no matter what. She had to know even if she had to disobey her husband. For once, she wanted to know what it was like to roam freely without her husband. The mischievous curiosity to rebel was burning deep within.

"Let's find a doctor or a specialist."