They were everywhere; there wasn't a spot where she couldn't see them. It was like she was drowning in these limbs that were constantly finding a way through her defences.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Swipe. Kick. Block. Stab. Five dead.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

A sharp gasp that she wasn't sure was hers as a kick finally connected against her chest.

Beep. Beep.

Beep.

A sloppy block that barely stopped the shuriken from flying into her windpipe. A disoriented jab at an opponent's temple. A cry that she was sure this time was hers as a kunai plunged into ribcage.

Beeeeeeeep.

Everything was black. Everywhere she turned her gaze was black. Were her eyes open? Looking down, she examined her hands that glowed brightly against the pitch dark of everything and deduced that indeed, her eyes were open. A flicker of something caught the corner of her eye, causing her to whip her head in that direction and stare at the steadily growing tunnel beside her that seemed endless until she noticed the small pinprick of light at the end.

No.

No, no, no, no! She could not go into there! She wasn't ready yet!

Yet, even as these thoughts passed frantically through her mind, the tunnel began to grow shorter, almost if coming to meet her if she wouldn't meet it. Struggling and stepping back futilely, she desperately begged for the light to quit its advancement.

She had too much to live for.

Like her goals.

She punched and twirled, defending herself against an imaginary opponent in attempt to sweat away her frustrations as well as prove as a distraction against them. Flinging off her coat, she stamped her foot against the ground and stood still with her chest heaving and eyes watering.

Third time.

That was her third time failing the jounin exam.

Third time.

"Your punches are too wild and sloppy."

She turned around quickly and was surprised to find herself face to face with Konoha's once missing nin. Even after he had come back and Naruto had issued a grand party for him (that few actually agreed to go to and even fewer approved of it), Hinata had still seen very little of him. She still heard whispered rumours about him still; that hadn't changed, but now it wasn't the gossip heard boisterously at the merchant stalls or as small talk, but something told in secret in the ladies washrooms for fear he would hear.

She merely grunted and continued her training, ignoring her usual politeness that had forever been ingrained in her memory. Right now, she couldn't really give a damn if Sasuke thought she was being rude to him, her father (who hated the boy more than words alone could say) would at least finally approve of something she did. Nonetheless, she straightened her punches and found her form (grudgingly so) improving.

"Concentrate on your chakra level; it's leaking out in immense amounts." His monotone voice made her stop once again, this time making her eyes narrow and her fists clench.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" She whispered and tried rubbing away the dirt on her cheek, with not much avail.

He crossed his arms defensively and his frown deepened. "This is a training ground. A public training ground. I'm here to train."

She merely turned a bright red and resumed her training.

Over the next few months, Hinata would find the other ninja training just as often she did. Though usually the two trained in silence next to each other, the quiet between them usually went about unnoticed and fell into an air of almost comfort with the occasional murmur from Sasuke to correct her stance, or whatever other critique he could find.

"Why do y- you train so often?" She asked quietly one day as she picked up her heavy jack and prepared to leave.

"Why do you?" He asked back and kicked high into the air before bringing his fist down to the ground in a punch that sent a reverberation through the ground.

She scrunched her eyebrows together. "B-because I need to be better. I need t-to pass my...my e-exam."

"Hm."

She took this as a sign to continue as he kept flickering his dark eyes back to her as if waiting for something. "My j-jounin exam. Since father...f-father gave my birthright to H-Hanabi, I want to b-be a teacher." She could feel the tears of frustration well up again in her bright eyes and quickly tried gulping them back."I...I really want t-to. I want to d-do something for myself for once."

He replied with another grunt and stood up, wiping the seat off his forehead. "Kids are annoying."

She merely shrugged on her coat and smiled brightly with the knowledge that he actually listened to her.

The light was approaching too fast.

She couldn't leave yet! What...what about her friends?

"Look! Look!" Sakura shook both Ino and Hinata's arms vigorously. "It's Sasuke! Over there!"

"He's shirtless!" Ino squealed and held back onto Sakura.

HInata peered over at the garden across from the cafe they were eating at and was mildly surprised to find Sasuke slaving away in a garden with dirt smeared up his arms and occasionally on his face and the sun beating down on her back. For the first time after the many years of seeing his face, she could feel the tug of attraction curling in her stomach. It wasn't so much that he was shirtless and sweaty, but more the appeal of seeing him working so hard to do such honest work like gardening.

"I can't believe you still find that asshole attractive after all he's done." Kiba growled and glared at Sasuke's turned back.

"Yoo-hoo!" Ino stood up and called, her arm waving in the air. "Sasuke! Come over and have a drink with us!"

He turned his head to look at them, his gaze scanning the whole group that surrounded the patio table and let his eyes linger on Hinata who blinked at him a second longer than the rest before turning back to his work of pulling out the weeds. A sudden rush of guilt plummeted in Hinata's stomach as she realized she hadn't even asked him...

"Hey, it's Hinata's birthday we're celebrating, not Sasuke's!" Naruto frowned at the two girls still gushing over Sasuke. "Right, Shino?"

Shino only nodded and stared at Sasuke, who suddenly seemed to be swatting at the air around him much more, with narrowed eyes behind his glasses.

"Shino." Hinata murmured and lightly put her hand against his thigh, earning a nearly unheard sigh as Sasuke finally stopped batting the air around his head.

"Sorry, Hinata." The two girls said guiltily before brightening suddenly. "Hey, we could invite Sasuke over here to have lunch too!"

"Yeah, what about it?" Ino asked eagerly and waited in anxious silence for Hinata's answer.

Hinata turned to look at the formidable ninja who was being degraded to pulling weeds at a house whose owners weren't even kind enough to offer him any water in the surprising heat of winter. His back was still turned and he showed no sign of hearing other than the noticeably slower rate that he was tugging at weeds.

Hinata ignored the frowns from her male friends and the anxious ones from her female friends as she said in her clearest voice, "Y-yes. Of course." She however visibly deflated as she watched Sasuke pull on his shirt and walk away as if nothing happened, leaving behind an angry group of friends and a weed-free garden.

"See? Asshole." Kiba muttered angrily and looked ready to pounce at Sasuke's retreating back.

"C'mon. Let's not dwell on this, guys." Naruto pleaded. "We have better things to do, like celebrate Hinata's birthday!"

Beams lit up everyone's faces as they suddenly took the chance to leap upon Hinata, enveloping her in a tight group hug. Hinata's eyes widened before crinkling with joy and returning the hug with teary eyes.

"Happy birthday, Hinata!" They all chorused together and sang in warbled voices their birthday wishes to her.

After being stuffed full from lunch and beginning her walk home, Hinata felt the tears of gratitude spring up as she bumped shoulders in the crowd with the boy with unmistakable dark hair who murmured quietly, "Happy birthday."

The tunnel was now only twenty feet long and the large entry of light was big enough to fit her entire manor into it.

But her...her family, they needed her!

Hinata looked up from the book she was reading with a startled expression as she watched both her cousin and sister enter the room with their usual sombre expressions donning their faces. Knowing that this was a serious matter for both of them to visit her during their training time, Hinata closed the book and sat upright on her bed. "He-hello there, Hanabi and Nii-san."

Neji gave a stiff nod whereas Hanabi only crossed her arms across her small chest and frowned. Swallowing nervously, Hinata asked with an uneasy chuckle, "Can I help you gu-guys?"

Hanabi, never one to beat around the proverbial bush, put her hands on her hips and frowned further at Hinata. "That traitor, you know, Sasuke, or whatever? Yeah. I don't like him." She jerked her thumb over to Neji and scowled. "And neither does he or father."

Neji sighed and rubbed his temple. "What Hanabi is trying to say is that...that we don't approve of you mingling with the traitor. He'll be a terrible influence on you, and...well...we only want what's best for you."

"O-oh." Hinata murmured and looked down at her hands with a pained expression. She enjoyed training with Sasuke. Not only was the prodigy amazing at everything he did, but he forced her to improve, never holding back when he saw something wrong with what she was doing.

Hanabi gave an exasperated sigh and continued, "But he seems to make you happy for whatever reason." She gave a brief and highly unladylike snort. "Listen, Hinata, we're not here to force you not to see him, we're warning you. I don't want my big sister to start crying or whatever because that's just annoying and then Neji will have to deal with you instead of training me."

"Hanabi that's not—" Neji began but was cut off before he could get too far.

"Shut up, Neji, you know it's true. Anyways." She turned back to her sister who was staring with wide eyes up at her. "As much as we hate the Uchiha, we love you a lot more, so we're willing to sacrifice our pride for that." With that, Hanabi re-crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling with what may have been embarrassment.

Both Hyuuga prodigies were forced into uncomfortable fidgeting, muttering, and blushing as Hinata launched herself at them in a tight hug that said all that was needed to.

She could almost touch the blinding light if she raised her arm in front of her. It would be so easy to give up too. So painless.

No.

She had to keep fighting. If not for her dreams, her friends, or her family...

Then for him.

The rain was falling heavily all around her as she continued her training, concentrating intensely on not letting a single drop fall on her while she moved through the empty clearing gracefully.

"I told you to tighten those punches."

She stumbled forwards for a moment and lost her concentration, letting the rain pelt down against her skin and plaster her hair against her neck uncomfortably. Turning around, she gave a small smile as she saw Sasuke standing under the relative shelter of a tree, holding a black umbrella above his head.

"Y-you never came here t-today." She walked over and pushed pieces of hair away from her eyes.

"No, Kakashi forced me to take a day off and said I had to spend it with him." He tilted the umbrella slightly so that she was now sheltered beneath it too. "That man talks too much. He talks so much I end up saying more than I want to say too."

Hinata merely chuckled at this and began wringing out her hair. After clearing his throat in what may have been an uncomfortable way, he continued, "He told me I should come here and...and say something to you."

"Say what?" She tilted her head and asked, her eyes visually tracing the hard lines of his jaw and the slant of his nose.

Without hesitation, he dipped his head to place a kiss against her lips. Gasping, Hinata leaned against him after feeling her legs almost give out beneath her and clutched his shirt beneath her shaky fingers. When he lifted for air, he pushed aside her bangs that were hanging in her eyes and stared straight into her eyes with intensity she had only seen from him in battle.

"That I love you." He said it as if it were the simplest fact in the world.

The first thing she was aware of was the pain. It was everywhere. Even her hair hurt. Cracking open her eyelids, she hissed through split and peeling lips at the harsh light that was threatening to blind her.

The second thing she was aware of was the grip encaged around her that caused the pain to increase tenfold. She gave a sharp whimper and suddenly, both the warmth and hold around her disappeared.

"You're alive."

Forcing her eyes to squint open, she looked up at His face and croaked, "Am I?"

The closest thing to a smile she had ever seen on his face sprouted at the corner of his lips as he bent closer to her bed and tucked his head into the crook of her neck. "Barely...you...you scared me. I don't think I've felt that much fear since Itachi."

"I'm s-sorry." She whispered and tried lifting her hand to place it against his head, but was restrained by his hand that clutched gently against her wrist.

"Don't move." He placed both of his hands on either side of her and leaned over. Lifting one of those hands, he gently ran his fingers against her cheeks. "I...I swore..." He clutched that hand into a tight fist and whispered in a choked voice Hinata strained to hear, "I swore that I would go over and rip the Other Side apart to bring you back."

"I-I guess they didn't want that, hm?" She gave a small chuckle and wanted to do nothing more than kiss the distressed face above her and assure that she would never leave him.

He buried his face back into the crook of her neck and gasped in a strangled voice, "Just...just don't do that ever again."

"Sasuke," She murmured into his hair and closed her eyes, feeling sleep wanting to claim her. "I'll always live and be there for you." She yawned. "J-just for you."