AN: Finished chapter 10 early, so here you guys go.
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5
xxxxx
"Greetings Hinata-san! How are you doing this fine morning? Is Sasuke-san awake yet?"
What the hell? Dark eyes opened, it was still mostly dark in his room, the faint signs of the upcoming rising sun indication that it was close to early morning. Sasuke looked at his clock. Four thirty in the morning. Who the fuck…?
"Ah! That is all right then, I will wait for a while longer if that is okay with you?"
Why was this guy so loud? What did he want from him? With an inward sigh Sasuke slid out of futon and trudged his way towards the living room. It was too early for this and the Uchiha had only slept a total of two out of twenty four hours. The nightmares had kept him awake for the most part.
Hinata's voice was soft and hushed, at least she knew how to speak indoors, while the other male's voice was just…too chipper and bright and loud for it being morning.
"Oh! I almost forgot! I have something for you Hinata-san." The sounds of rummaging could be heard as Sasuke moved to his spot where he could look out but they couldn't exactly see him.
Standing there in front of Hinata was Rock Lee, the source of the rummaging while he dug through his bag for something. Sasuke would never forget that ridiculous face and outfit. The chunnin vest was a new addition, he noticed, but he was sure that Lee's overall taijutsu skills far exceeded that of a chunnin. The guy had always been tall but Sasuke was sure that he was almost a solid six feet. Oh well, at least Sasuke was taller than Naruto, and that was comfort enough for his ego.
Lee pulled out a slender box, which probably at one point had looked very nice. Being in Lee's bag, however, the wrapping looked crinkly and the bow was now misshapen. The taijutsu master's face shifted from one of shock to one of disappointment.
"Ah…it was…" he gave Hinata an apologetic glance. "I am sorry Hinata-san, I had fully intended to give you a beautifully wrapped present for your belated birthday but…"
Hinata giggled and something tightened in Sasuke's chest. He didn't know what it was, only that the more he watched the two of them, the more pissed off he was becoming.
"It's okay Lee-san. I'm sure I'll love whatever it is you brought for me," her expression turned concerned "But, you didn't have to go through all this trouble for…"
"It was no trouble at all!" Lee insisted "I was on a mission when it was your birthday and I actually did not know about it until I overheard someone mention it. Since I knew your birthday had only been a few days past, buying you a present seemed best, if not a bit late. I will also make sure to remember it, so that next year I can give you a present that is on time."
The Hyuuga gently took the box from his hands with a soft smile and a blush drifting along her features. "Well…thank you Lee-san."
Lee flashed her, what Sasuke believed if his memory served, a 'nice guy' pose. When she started giggling again, he chose that moment to make his presence known.
"Why are you here?" Arms crossed, eyes narrowed, Sasuke emerged and leaned against the far wall. He didn't look at Hinata, who for some reason he was growing extremely pissed off at. What the hell was she giggling for anyway?
"Ah, so you are awake!" Lee turned his full attention to the Uchiha and flashed him a grin "I am here to train with you this morning. I was informed that you had been training in taijutsu and it was suggested that I should come to see if I could help in any way."
This…this situation had Tsunade's name written all over it in huge red letters. A week after he challenged Hinata to their 'bet' suddenly they send over one of their strongest taijutsu users? 'He wants to fight my medical ninja using taijutsu, I'll give him someone to practice taijutsu with.' He was positive that had been her thoughts. She'd probably suggested it to Naruto, who of course would think it was an outstanding idea and call on Lee the moment he could.
Tsunade had pretty much made number one on his list of people he was going to kill when he escaped. What a petty, bitter bitch. Fine. He'd play along, all it could do is help him in the long run. One extra person giving a good word to Naruto and pushing away the negative ones – i.e., Tsunade – was acceptable. Lee would also be a rather loud supporter, which was even better.
"Whatever," was his eventual response. He finally turned to Hinata "I'd like to eat afterwards."
She blinked at him for a moment and then let out an 'Oh!', turning to Lee "Would you like to join us for breakfast, Lee-san?"
"Hinata-san, I would be honored to be able to eat some of your delicious cooking once more," he paused, as if he had just reached an epiphany "You know, you would make a wonderful wife for a lucky man someday."
Lee's tone suggested that he had been thinking of it as merely an observation but Hinata's face turned a bright red and she began to splutter, unsure of how to reply.
"Are we going to do this or not?" The Uchiha practically snarled it at Lee, making Hinata's gaze jump to his in obvious surprise. He ignored her, refused to look at her. What was her problem anyway, acting like an airhead around Lee? He ignored the rational voice telling him that he was reacting strangely; it was her fault, not his.
If Lee was bothered by Sasuke's tone, he didn't show it. Instead he looked excited "Yes, please lead the way!"
It was a little brighter by the time they walked outside, but it was extremely cold and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. Damn it, who trained this early in the morning? The fact that Lee looked wide eyed and bushy tailed did nothing for his mood. It wasn't that he wasn't a morning person, but he had his limits, boundaries. This constituted as a breach of boundaries.
None of this showed on Sasuke's face, however. He remained as stoic as ever, despite the slight bags under his eyes.
When they were at a decent position Lee spoke up "Based on Hinata-san's report and what she observed, I would like for you to come at me full strength using only your taijutsu skills. From there I can determine what would be the best route for your training."
"And what exactly did Hyuuga say about me in this report?" His voice was flat and hard.
"She did not say anything bad, if that is what you are worried about."
"…Forget it. Let's just get started."
Lee shifted into that familiar taijutsu stance Sasuke remembered. Last time he had fought Lee it had been embarrassing to say the least, Lee hadn't even broken a sweat. If Lee had been training for the past almost three years in taijutsu, he was more than likely way more skilled than Sasuke, meaning a possible repeat of those years ago.
Logically, he understood that this was why Tsunade had sent him, a way of trying to humble the Uchiha for 'picking' on one of her medical ninja. Emotionally, he absolutely detested the fact that there was a possibility that Lee would utterly defeat him. It didn't matter that Sasuke's real skills lay in ninjutsu and genjutsu, his ego made him a sore loser.
With that thought Sasuke shot forward, a blur as he shifted his body to deliver a high kick to Lee's shoulder. Lee dropped down to a squat and blocked the powerful kick with only his forearm. Surprised by Lee being able to keep up with his speed, he twisted, landed, and then tried to strike from behind. Lee 'disappeared' and only instinct told Sasuke to turn and block as the taijutsu master delivered a kick of his own towards Sasuke's chest. Unlike Lee, Sasuke flew backward from the sheer power of the kick, flipping his body and forcing his feet to the ground. By the time Sasuke finished sliding and regaining his footing Lee was on him again.
Sasuke quickly learned that Lee was as fast as, if not faster, than him. As if that wasn't enough, Lee would purposefully have Sasuke take the offensive for a while, his eyes scanning every move calmly and patiently, as if the Uchiha wasn't even doing anything of importance to him. Then he would take the offensive and it took all of Sasuke's instinct and skills to properly block. A lot of times he wasn't fast enough and those blows felt as if he had been rammed by a tree trunk. Even blocking was beginning to hurt like hell, Lee was just impossibly strong.
By the time the sun had fully risen the 'spar' – or as Sasuke was dubbing it, 'the beating' – had pretty much reached its conclusion. The Uchiha was sweating, panting, and dirty. Lee looked as fresh as he had when he came out with him. It pissed him of, gods did it piss him off, because the fact that he hadn't even properly laid a scratch on Lee was insulting and demeaning. His ego was roaring for blood and retribution; how dare this guy make him look like a fool?
That was why Tsunade 'suggested' him, remember?
There weren't enough obscenities to describe how he felt towards the prior Hokage at that moment, so instead he focused all of his attention on a final attack. His goal was to land at least one blow, that would be enough to somewhat appease his bruised pride. He made his move, putting everything into his speed and strength.
Two things happened. One, Lee dodged the blow with no small amount of skill. Two, Lee's elbow came into contact with Sasuke's nose, effectively ending the session.
"I – I am sorry Sasuke-san!" Lee's face would have been funny to Sasuke with how surprised he looked, but well, he wasn't in a good mood right now. He couldn't feel any blood but his nose was definitely broken and it hurt like all hell. "I thought you would have seen that and ducked back, forgive me, it was not my intention to strike you so harshly."
Knowing that Lee accidently hit him because he had overestimated Sasuke was more salt to the wound than he could take. Before he could properly lash out Lee was removing his hands and took a look.
"Ah, this can be fixed, please do not move Sasuke-san."
Sasuke actually cried out in pain as Lee quickly realigned his nose and the Uchiha's instant response was to strike at Lee.
Without even looking, Lee batted it away, his concern still written on his face as he tilted to get a final look. "Does that feel better? Perhaps we should call Hinata-san…"
That attack had been so weak for Lee he hadn't even registered it, his body moving automatically. Sasuke stood there for a moment, almost dumbstruck, then pure rage filled him as he realized how much of a slap to the face this had been. This had been done as a reminder to him as to his place, a reminder of his obvious limitations. It was also a warning, to not underestimate the ninja here in case he got any ideas. Tsunade wanted to play it that way, fine. He wasn't going to cave to the subtle manipulations of that old hag.
Suddenly, Hinata was beside him and moving to take a look at his nose. Sasuke snapped a harsh 'Don't touch me' before walking over to Lee who had, obviously, gone inside to get Hinata and was following her back outside.
"You," The Uchiha addressed Lee "I want you here tomorrow, same time even."
Lee nodded "That is fine. Unless I am given an emergency mission, I will definitely be here. Perhaps we can go over some things that I noticed you could possibly improve in with your defense. Your offense seems solid, you just need more power behind your blows. With hard work, we can definitely fix that in no time!"
"Whatever," Sasuke walked up the stairs to the house "Hyuuga, put my breakfast aside, I'll eat it later." He was going to shower and then avoid all human contact until Lee left and Hinata went about her business, otherwise he was pretty sure he wouldn't be responsible for the things he would possibly say or do.
Damn his nose hurt.
xxxxx
He remained in his room – what else was there to do here? – lying on his futon with his arm covering his eyes. Dozing off at least twice since the training session, his third awakening was from the smell of food and shuffling at his door.
"Hyuuga," the shuffling stopped. "Just bring it in here. You don't need to scurry around like a mouse."
Slowly the door slid open, revealing Hinata and a tray of food. Sasuke remained lying down on his futon with his arm over his eyes, but he could sense her presence well.
"I, um, brought you something to eat, Sasuke-san. A-and I wanted to ask if you wouldn't mind me taking a look at your injury. I'm…not a skilled medical ninja like Sakura-san or Ino-san but…"
With one fluid motion the Uchiha moved himself into a sitting position, cutting her off. His dark gaze looked over at the Hyuuga with a blank expression. They remained like that for a moment before he turned his head to the side.
"Do whatever you want."
More shuffling as she walked over to his desk and sat the tray of food down. When she turned to face him he looked up at her from where he was sitting, his expression still a blank mask. She didn't seem nervous as she approached, although she was wary.
"I don't actually have to touch you to heal the wound so…" she let the sentence trail off and he continued to stare. What was there to say that wouldn't be just a waste of breath? Besides, he was still supposed to be angry at her for acting like an idiot earlier.
A delicate hand hovered just above his nose and Hinata began to release her chakra, giving it a greenish glow. Immediately the swelling and the pain seemed to fade bit by bit, until there was nothing but a little tenderness. The glowing stopped as she removed her hand, letting out a little sigh.
"It's still going to be a little sore for a few days but I think overall you should be fine now."
"Hn."
Now his gaze on her was beginning to make her nervous. Her eyes darted to the door.
"Um, well…you can just leave the tray outside of your door when you're done. I'll come pick it up later. Goodnight Sasuke-san."
He surprised both Hinata and himself when the moment she turned and tried to walk away his hand darted out and grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip. Gasping, she stopped, her eyes widening in surprise as she looked at his hand on her. His own eyes were slightly widened in surprise as he looked at his hand as if it were something foreign to him.
Why…why did I do that just now? What the hell…?
He could feel her eyes on him, knew that if he looked up she'd have the obvious question in her eyes. There was tense silence, yet he still didn't let go of her wrist. If he merely moved his thumb across her skin would it feel soft?
Get her out of your room. Get her out now!
Slowly, very slowly, he released his hold on her. She lifted her arm to rub at her wrist but he still didn't look up at her. He could still feel her staring at him. Was he really that bad off that his own body was reacting negatively?
It's only been six months, you've been alone before.
Before, he had always had a goal, a purpose. A reason for being alive. Now he had absolutely nothing and was struggling, scrambling to find something. Anything. His goal of freedom was one he constantly wavered back and forth on as he sat alone in this room with nothing but his thoughts. The nightmares of his family and Itachi were becoming worse.
True sleep, not the little cat naps he would take, hadn't happened in who knew how long. He knew he was starting to go insane, having nothing but constant grief and pain. Revenge had been the cure-all, once he had it, everything would be fine again. He would be able to rest, to die even. In the end, the pain was still there, the grief and anger were still present and there was nothing he could focus on in an effort to calm those feelings. He had been stripped of everything and now he realized he was possibly starting to lose it, and only after six months of captivity.
I'm pathetic.
He did not tell her to get out, she did not leave. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours. It was Hinata who broke the silence eventually.
"Um, Sasuke-san, I think your soup is getting cold."
Something bubbled in the pit of his stomach. It crawled up his chest and when he realized what it was, he fought the urge. The last thing he needed to do was start laughing hysterically at something that wasn't even funny. Or perhaps it was. All he knew was that if he hadn't stopped himself, he didn't think that he would have stopped. That was enough.
"I'll leave the tray outside when I'm done." Why did his voice sound so distant? For a brief moment there was a disoriented feeling, where it seemed like he was merely a spectator and this wasn't really his body and this wasn't really his life.
I'm seriously going insane, aren't I?
She took his words as a dismissal and this time when she turned and left, he did not stop her, didn't even realize she was gone until minutes later. It wasn't until the soup was almost ice cold that he finally rose from his futon and ate.
xxxxx
Two things stopped him from beginning to really lose it. One was the training sessions with Rock Lee. They were not every day, as Lee would sometimes have missions or things that he needed to do, but they were enough that it helped. Having a person instead of a wooden log to try and vent out frustrations was much better. The second came in the form of Hatake Kakashi.
He knew eventually the silver haired jounin would come to visit him. Honestly, Sasuke had been surprised that he hadn't stopped by before. When Sasuke did run into him, it was just after he had finished training outside on his own one day. He walked into his room and Kakashi was there, sitting on his futon and reading a book.
"Yo." Kakashi raised a hand in greeting. "It's been a while, Sasuke."
"Hn." Sliding the door closed, Sasuke leaned against the frame, a small smirk emerging. "To what do I owe this honor of having the great Copy Ninja in my bedroom…reading porn?"
The jounin closed his book with a sigh and the shake of his head. "You kids just can't appreciate the fine qualities of good literature," he ignored Sasuke's loud snort "Speaking of literature, I figured since no one thought to bring you anything to read that I would give you a bit of my collection." He motioned over to Sasuke's desk were, sure enough, there was a rather large box.
"I don't want your porn collection, Kakashi. I don't care how bored I get here."
"Why don't you take a look inside the box before you refuse, hm?"
The look he gave Kakashi was obviously not one of trust, but he walked over anyway, opening the flaps and grabbing a random book, surprised that it was book on some rather unique techniques. Another book was fictional but looked as if it were something of a historical novel.
"Are you satisfied now that I didn't bring you a box full of porn?" Kakashi sounded amused although whether or not he was smiling was anyone's guess.
Sasuke went through a few more books before he gave a small grunt of recognition. With his back still to his old teacher he spoke "What's the catch?"
"Hm?" There was genuine puzzlement in Kakashi's voice "There is no catch, Sasuke, those books are yours to keep. I see that you have an empty bookshelf if you want to take them out and put them up." When Sasuke did turn to face him Kakashi gave him a small shrug "I already know what you're going to ask me, so I'll save you the time."
He hated it when Kakashi acted like this; like he knew him or something. "What was I going to ask you then?" His tone was snide, curt.
"You were going to ask me if I came here to lecture you like the others." When Sasuke stood in irritable silence Kakashi's visible eye lit up again with amusement. "To answer your question: No, I am not going to do anything like that."
That was a surprise. "Huh. Not going to rub it in my face about how now that I've had my revenge and I have nothing left that you were right all along?"
"No, especially since I don't like repeating myself. You did what you did, things happened the way they happened. I simply came here to see how my old student was doing and to bring him some reading material. That really is all there is to it." With that he stood up, dusted off invisible dirt and began to walk to the door. "Oh! By the way, there's a special book or two at the bottom that I selected just for you. Bye, Sasuke."
The Uchiha was positive that Kakashi was all but laughing when he slid the door closed just as an Icha Icha Paradise book flew with amazing accuracy towards his head, hitting the ground with a 'thap'.
"...Perverted bastard…'Special Edition' my ass."
Despite the – five, not one or two – porn books Kakashi slipped in, the remainder of them were either on techniques or completely fictional, ranging from realistic to outright fantasy. It wasn't a cure for what was going on with him, but it helped tremendously. Instead of sitting and listening to his thoughts go on and on until they became almost unbearable, he sat and read instead. It helped give him something to focus on, a way to 'escape' for a while from his thoughts and ever changing emotions.
The same day that happened Hinata came to his room later that night. She even knocked on the door. He had already eaten, so he looked up at her curiously from his book when she entered, flashing him a shaky smile before looking down at her feet.
"Um…" she began "I was…I was wondering if maybe you…if it's alright with you…that perhaps we could talk?"
The Uchiha gave her a strange look, trying to figure out what she was doing here and why she would all of a sudden want to do something completely out of the norm. It didn't take him terribly long.
"Kakashi talked to you, didn't he?" When Hinata stiffened and an embarrassed flush came over her face he closed his book and set it down, sitting up on his futon. "What did he tell you?"
"Well…he first asked me how I was doing and um, how you and I were getting along. He then asked me if you and I…speak often. When I told him the truth he suggested that maybe it would be helpful for you if you sometimes had someone to talk to."
"What if I don't want to talk to you?"
Hinata tensed and her hand reached behind her for the door. "I…I could leave…I…"
"What do you want to talk about Hyuuga?" He forced his voice to sound exasperated but in reality he felt that perhaps Kakashi had helped him out a bit more than he thought. Sasuke would have never tried to hold actual conversations with her on his own and she was obviously not the sort of person who invaded one's personal space unless necessary. Engaging in conversation would help bridge the gap and help him along with his on and off plan.
She stayed at the door, leaning against it a bit. "Um, whatever…I don't mind…"
The topic came to him immediately. "I have a question for you. It's been bothering me for a while because I don't really get it. Why are you in love with that idiot Naruto?"
Pale eyes flew up at him, her mouth stood slightly ajar.
Sasuke snorted. "It's really obvious, Hyuuga, I noticed it the first day I came here. You do know he has a girlfriend, right?"
Something flashed in her eyes – sadness perhaps? – but then was gone. Instead of the expression he had imagined her to have, she instead smiled and actually looked…at peace.
"Y-yes. I know he and Sakura-san are dating. I congratulated them when I heard. Naruto-kun…he's always loved Sakura-san, and as long as he's happy, that's what matters."
If any other female had told him that he would have called them a liar to their face. However, Hinata didn't seem to be like other females he had been around. Her expression held no regrets, no longing for something she couldn't have. Saddened, perhaps, but her smile was genuine and Sasuke for the life of him simply didn't get it.
"Did you actually confess?" Why did he even care? Okay, so he was mildly interested in what she saw in him, the guy was an idiot with little redeemable traits after all.
"I-I did…eventually." Once again, just like at the hospital, her hand moved to a spot on her chest. "D-during Pein's attack. Naruto-kun…I thought he was going to die and I wanted to protect him."
"From Pein?" He didn't even try to hide the skepticism in his voice. "What could you have possibly done against him?"
She shook her head "That didn't matter. I just…who stands by and watches the person they love get killed and…and do nothing? It didn't matter if I died in the process, standing there just…it didn't seem like an option. I knew I was going to die, and I confessed then. I…I never expected Naruto-kun to return my feelings, I knew how he felt about Sakura-san from the beginning."
"So you just gave up? You didn't even fight it?" This wasn't something Sasuke could entirely understand, mostly because whenever he wanted something, he got it. Whether it was by earning it or taking it, he didn't just give up. Even if it took him years and years, if he wanted it, it would eventually be his. He applied this to everything, so when he tried to put himself in her shoes, the only thing he could think of was: How pathetic.
"Being with Naruto-kun would have…it would have been nice, I think. B-but he loves Sakura-san, so that's who he should be with."
"You are the most selfless person I've ever met." It sounded nothing at all like a compliment. "I don't even understand how a person like you exists in the world." He all of a sudden felt really disgusted with her. It wasn't like she was spineless, she had confessed after all, but instead of trying to fight and maybe get him to see that she could be worth it, she stepped aside for Sakura. The same Sakura who, if memory served him, had treated Naruto like garbage, refused to give him the time of day and hadn't given two shits how he felt when she tried to hang all over his 'rival'.
It wasn't like he wanted Hinata with Naruto, it was just how she simply stepped aside and let someone else take what she wanted. He would never do that, the thought of that happening didn't even register in his head as being something plausible. The fact that she didn't regret it was probably what was pissing him off the most.
"Why the hell did you even confess then, if you knew he was going to go to Sakura the moment she threw him a bone?"
Hinata ducked her head, her bangs shadowing over her eyes. "I…it was important to me that I confessed. It was something that I had needed to do, no matter what the results. I always kept things to myself and…I never spoke up or conveyed my true feelings. Over the years I tried to change that part of me, become stronger. So…for me, confessing was…that was the final obstacle. Even though he didn't return my feelings, that was okay because at least I had said it…at least I…had found the strength to do that. An-and they say that if you truly love something, you should let it go if that's its path."
"That sounds stupid. If I had wanted something for years, I wouldn't have stopped until I finally had it. Even those idiot fan girls understand something that simple. Why have those feelings in the first place if you're not going to have the person in the end? It's a waste of time." Love and romance in and of itself was a waste of time, but that wasn't the point he was trying to make.
The Hyuuga looked up at him and she gave him a serene smile that threw him completely off guard. "I think, Sasuke-san, that I'm glad I don't share that in common with you." When he just stared at her incredulously, she took that as her cue to leave, gave him a soft "Good night, Sasuke-san," and quietly left the room.