A/N: This is dedicated to my readers who've stick with me since I've published this story.
To the (possibly) one person spreading hate reviews, if you don't like this story, don't read it. Don't go around spreading hate reviews if you can only do so using a 'guest' review.
Un-beta-ed. Un-edited.
III. Shōtsuki Meinichi
"Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them."
– George Eliot
In a blink of an eye, May had passed, and June had come.
Hinata has adjusted pretty quickly within the the three months she'd started to live a somewhat independent life.
Within the past seventeen years of her life, June had been her most dreadful month of the whole year. It was the second month of the summer, meaning it was the hottest month of the year. Hinata hated the scorching sun, much less the heat it radiated. But everything changed two years ago, when she'd met the very person who changed her life––during the hottest day, of the hottest month of the year.
Reaching her stop, hot air slapped her face the moment she got off the train. And after a five minute walk to her destination, her pale skin flushed pink. She entered the hospital with beads of sweat running down her forehead, but she didn't care to wipe it off. She hurriedly headed to the west wing of the hospital, nearly crushing the bouquet of flowers gathered near her chest.
It had been long since she last visited the hospital, which was during the first week of May, the Golden Week. Unlike most of her classmates who had spent their Golden Week to go to the beach with their friends, she spent her week in the hospital––most especially because she did not have any friends in her new school to spend the holidays with. That was fine. She did not come to Taka [1] High School to make friends.
She has established a routine to live her independence accordingly. She woke up at six AM to make herself breakfast and lunch. On weekdays, she attended all her classes like a good student. On Sundays, and after classes on Fridays, she visited the hospital. On Saturdays, she trained for judo. After the day had gone, she ran for thirty minutes. Then, she'd do her homework and study, cook dinner and eat, take a bath, then go to sleep by eleven PM.
The routine seemed exhausting, but she liked spending her leisure hours in the hospital. For her leisure hours was limited by her guardians, allowing her to do what she freely liked, for seven hours of no disturbance in a total of eight days each month. Therefore, she always chose to spend it on Sundays and Fridays at the hospital.
Independence was once what she had craved for. She'd dreamt of a completely normal life, surrounded by the people she loved. Yes, she was now living a life away from her family, but every day she lived her independence was determined by her family. She did not transfer to a completely different school, and live in a different environment for the sake of putting her family background behind her. No, this was her punishment.
It was her punishment for the decisions she made on her 17th birthday. Every incident in the past three months, be it the mishap with the Uchiha, or the bullying at school, was her retribution.
Hinata stopped in front of Rm 327. Her selfishness led to the current state of the person on the other side of the door. It also led another to welcome death earlier than expected.
"NO!" Sasuke shouted, breathing heavily as panic overtook over him. He opened his eyes, but quickly shut them as bright lights blinded him.
His heartbeat pounded loudly in his ears, but the screams in his nightmare outdid the sound of his heartbeat. Morbid images were still fresh in his mind, as if he'd been surrounded by fire just a minute ago.
He clumsily reached for the pills tucked away in a drawer near his bedside, knocking the lamp down from the table. He hurriedly opened the lid, popping the pills into his mouth, and rinsing it down with water. He didn't bother to check how many pills he drank, he needed the screams and nightmares to go away... To to sleep this horrid day away. He needed to... or he might just have to take a different route, to end his nightmares.
After a few minutes, his ragged breathing calmed down. The images slowly blurred from his memory. But, everything was too calm for his taste.
Suddenly, he heard a loud knock in his front door. "Sasuke!" He heard, followed by a second knock that was louder than the first one. It was Kakashi.
Sasuke drunkenly got up from his bed, heading towards the front door. But before he could reach the door knob, darkness consumed him, followed by a dreamless sleep.
"––Oh, and a model transferred in two weeks ago. Hm... What's her name again?" Hinata eyed the bouquet she'd brought. "Sakura! Yes, Haruno Sakura! She's very pretty, like Ino. I guess she's nice too, since almost everyone wanted to be friends with her. And... she likes Uchiha Sasuke." Hinata scrunched her face in disgust, leaning her chin down to the bed. "I wonder what she saw in him. He's a horrible person. Poor girl."
The hospital bell rang. Hinata's eyed the clock that had both hands pointed at upwards, it was noon time. She stood up from her chair, then ran her hands to smoothen the wrinkled sheets in front of her. "I'll be back, okay? I will just grab something to eat." She said, but there was no response. She leaned in and kissed the forehead of the unconscious person, before leaving the room.
After eating a meal in the cafeteria, she made her way back to Rm 327. Walking through the hall she'd passed 30 minutes ago, she abruptly stopped when she'd seen a familiar person.
"Principal Hatake?"
The white-haired principal looked up. He looked worn out. The handsome features she'd seen observed, when she first met the young principal on her first day, were not evident, as tired lines marked his face.
"Ah, Hyuga-san." He said in a whisper.
"Are you okay? You look unwell."
"No, no. I'm fine, I'm just resting for a few minutes." Kakashi stood up abruptly, when his watch sounded an alarm, but almost lost his balance, if Hinata hadn't caught him.
"You need to get checked up, sir. You're obviously not feeling well." Hinata sat him back down to the bench he occupied seconds ago.
Kakashi massaged his nose bridge, "I can't. I'm watching over someone."
Hinata glanced at the room number plastered on the wall. 'Rm 305 - Uchiha S.' She stretched her neck to peak through the small glass window, exposing the an unconscious figure hooked up in various machines and an IV. "I'll..." She cleared her throat. "I'll look after him, sir. You need to rest, even for a few minutes."
"No Hyuga-san. It's my responsibility to––" Kakashi fell forward to the floor.
"Nurse! Nurse!" Hinata crouched low to reach the level of her school principal.
A passing nurse immediately came to their side, while another brought a hospital bed. The two nurses hoisted the unconscious principal to the hospital bed.
"What happened?" The male nurse asked.
"We... we were talking, then he just fell unconscious."
"We'll take of him little miss." The nurses rolled him away.
Hinata glanced back at the room plate, with Uchiha Sasuke's name. What's he doing here anyway? When she'd come in the room, a bitter sour smell greeted her. Ignoring the smell that disgusted her, she walked over to his bedside, ignoring the clipboard that held his record.
The smell became stronger when she had taken the chair near Uchiha Sasuke's bedside. She'd figured the smell was from vomit. Reaching for the wipes, she wiped the dry vomit stain from his mouth.
Hinata watched his chest go up then down, then her eyes travelled to his face. Uchiha Sasuke was undoubtedly beautiful, like Adonis reincarnate. But his beauty was to feminine for her taste. No wonder Haruno Sakura likes him. She swiped the lost strand of hair back to its place, accidentally running her fingers across his forehead.
Sasuke's eye lids stirred, slowly blinking them open. Hinata pulled her hand back, as if she had touched something hot. She turned to leave the room, not wanting him to question her why she was here in the first place.
"Nii-san?" His voice croaked.
Hinata's eyes widened, whipping her head back to face him. Uchiha Sasuke was crying.
"Don't leave, Nii-san..."
June was his older brother's birthday month, and since his brother was his favorite person, June has been Sasuke's favorite month.
A 12 year-old Itachi walked through the long hall separated by sliding shōjis, hand-in-hand with a chatty 7 year-old Sasuke, who was telling on Namikaze Menma. Itachi's footsteps echoed softly against the wooden floor boards––opposed to Sasuke's that pit pattered, with a pace quicker to match the long strides of his brother.
"He said that he has the best brother." Sasuke squinted his eyes. "So I ruined his ice cream. And told him that I have the bestest brother of all the brothers all over the world!"
Itachi chuckled at Sasuke's childishness, as he ruffled his little brother's inky hair. "That's not nice, Sasuke. The Uzumakis [2] might not let Naruto come over next time, if you keep arguing with Menma. You'll have no one to play with."
"T-that's... That' fine!" Sasuke pouted. "Nii-san will always play with me! Won't you?"
Itachi stopped walking, and before Sasuke could react to what Itachi was about to do, Itachi flicked Sasuke's forehead.
"Nii-san!" Sasuke gave a mean look to Itachi, who seemed unfazed by Sasuke's look.
"Of course I will always play with you. But," the two brothers reached Sasuke's room, "if you're not nice, you might not have any friends. Friends are important like family." Sasuke climbed in his bed, while Itachi tucked him in.
"But..." Sasuke thought of his older brother's guests on his birthday party a while ago. "Nii-san hit Kisame too. Hitting is not nice."
Itachi smirked at his little brother's wittiness. "Kisame's a different story. You'll understand when you get older. But still, no hitting, and be nice to your friends."
Sasuke put his sheets over him. "Mkay!" He grumbled through his covers.
"Good night Sasuke."
"Hmph!" Sasuke turned to his side, trying to ignore his big brother. He heard Itachi laugh, then his bedroom lights were off. Sasuke smiled to himself, planning how he'd spent the next day with his dearest old brother.
Sasuke woke up when he felt his whole body dampen. Onyx eyes peered through his small lids, trying to see what was going on. His vision was strained, due to the heavy smoke that clouded his sight, and the bright orange hues that flickered in every corner of his perception. Taking a big breath in, he suddenly coughed, feeling the smoke damaging his lungs.
"Sasuke? Are you okay?" He heard Itachi's muffled voice. Then he sensed his brother's head move, followed by a grunt. Sasuke felt a wet fabric over his mouth, in which he tried to remove. "You need it Sasuke. Keep your nose covered." Itachi's voice was clearer.
After a few turns, they had reached the outer grounds of their house. Sasuke felt a cooler breeze kiss his skin, opposed to the torrid feeling he felt inside. Itachi suddenly dropped to his knees in the pond, with Sasuke in tow. Now fully awake, Sasuke looked around. The dull and quiet Uchiha compound he'd always known, was now crackling with red orange flames, and the environment howled agonizing screams.
The scene before him was straight out of a horror movie his parents barred him from watching, and it frightened him to his very bones. Tears started to pool out of his eyes, blurring his vision.
"Nii-san..." He hiccuped.
Itachi's body had cooled down from the heat he experienced in their home. "I have to go back Sasuke." He unwrapped the semi-wet blanket from the body of his little brother, soaked it in the pond, and wrapped it around his body.
Tiny hands grasped the blanket. "D-don't... leave... me... Nii-san." Sasuke croaked.
"You have to stay here. I have to go back for mother and father." Itachi pulled his little brother's body into a tight hug. Then proceeded to unhook the necklace around his neck, shoving it into the tiny hands of his brother. "I'll be back, I promise. Just stay near the water Sasuke."
Before Sasuke could say anything, his big brother ran back into the burning house, without a second look back. Sasuke waited, hoping his brother was on his way back. But the longer he waited, the more evident the agonizing screams got. He cried louder, trying to drown the noise with his own. However, it did not work.
Time had passed, which felt like hours for the young Uchiha. When the fire had eventually died down, and the howls seemingly reduced, his own cries tamed down. With groggy eyes maintained to the path Itachi had taken, exhaustion took over his worn out body, and darkness consumed him, not before seeing figures dash into his charcoaled home.
A familiar sensation tingled Sasuke awake. Slowly prying his heavy lids open, a sudden headache pounded his head, which felt like the pressure crushing his brain.
There was a figure in front of him. "Nii-san?" Was he dreaming? He doesn't know. He just hoped his nightmare stayed a nightmare, rather than it a memory, hoping that the figure in front of him was indeed his brother. The figure stood up. "Don't leave, Nii-san..." He didn't want it to end yet.
He felt a burning sensation in his throat, and before he could say anything else, he'd tasted the sour liquid that accumulated near his mouth. In a swift move, the figure placed a basin in front of him, allowing him to freely rid of his vomit.
Successfully expelling the nasty taste, he'd welcomed sleep once more.
After Hinata had wiped the Uchiha's face once again, she disposed the vomit in the bathroom. She stared straight into the mirror that reflected Uchiha Sasuke's worn-out figure.
Before she'd met Uchiha Sasuke, there were two other times she'd met another––Uchiha Itachi. The first time was when she was around 5 years old, her mother had died from giving birth to her younger sister. She was crying alone, and he'd comforted her, mentioning how she reminded him of his younger cry-baby brother. The second time was when she was 6 years old, the Emperor had passed and the whole country was in grieving. She was lost in a sea of unknown people, and he found her, and took her back to her parents.
She'd hoped to see him more often, as she'd grown attached to him in a short period of time, for he was a big brother she'd always wanted to have. But she'd heard Uchihas had died, leaving behind one sole survivor. She expected her father to bring her to the wake of the Uchihas, like how he'd always bring her to similar events, but he did not.
Hinata walked back to his bedside, with her thoughts revolving around the Uchihas. Suddenly, her eyes widened with realization. In this very day, ten years ago, marked the lost of the Uchihas. It was such a devastating tragedy, that led journalists to form conspiracy theories, for there were no hard evidence as to who started the fire that wiped a whole clan in one night.
June 9 was Uchiha Sasuke's own personal tragedy.
[1] Taka High - the school they are attending
[2] Uzumaki - Both Naruto and Menma are Namikazes, since Kushina married Minato. There'll be an explanation to this in the future chapters.