"Get away from the window!"
With a jerk the young girl was pulled back, away from the broken window and hurled desperately onto the floor. Grunting, both girls smacked their heads together with a painful clunk that elicited a loud groan from each one. Being the first one to recover, the scrawniest of the two squirmed out from beneath the other's loosened grip and hissed, "Jesus, Hinata! I know what I'm doing, okay? They can't get us from up here on the fifth story, alright?"
The elder of the two sighed before rubbing her eyes and curling up onto her knees to rest her elbows on them in order to cradle her weary head. "I…I know. I'm sorry, I'm just tired, Hanabi."
Exhausted or even shattered would probably been better words to describe how she was feeling. For three weeks straight, the two had been running, running, running, running. She wasn't even sure how she was still managing, even on the minimum food they managed to take from the abandoned grocery stores, gas stations, and corner stores along their way, it was still few and far between. She glanced up at her sister who was in the process of sharpening the end of her hatchet slowly and with great care.
Her tiny frame caged itself around her weapon as she sat on her haunches, slowly scraping metal against metal. She looked as if to shield it, or even perhaps cradle it. Fingers momentarily reached up to touch foreign hair that used to be long, smooth and chestnut, but now grew in choppy strands around her gaunt face, and it made Hinata want to cry. Cry for her sister's lost innocence, lost at the age of fourteen, forced to be on the run constantly out of necessity of survival. However, tears, as Hanabi always snapped at her, had no place in a hard world where if you were weak or too emotional, you would die.
"Go to sleep then," Hanabi mumbled as she sat down properly in a cross legged manner. "I'll take first watch." She didn't wait for an answer as she turned her back to the open door way, resting her hatchet lazily against her shoulder.
"Thank you," Hinata whispered and made her way over to hesitantly curl up against her sister's side on cold, concrete floor and closed her eyes.
"Get up! Get up, Hinata!" Shrieking and jostling woke Hinata into instant consciousness as she instinctively grabbed her crowbar she always kept near and leapt up. Already Hanabi was pulling her desperately towards the window and small ledge outside of it.
"How did they get in?" Hinata gasped as Hanabi lithely crawled out of the window, careful not to cut herself on the broken glass and up the barely hinged fire escape with the hatchet between her teeth. There was a telltale groan and fumblings heard from behind as she quickly followed her sister up, not daring to look down. "I thought we destroyed or blocked off all staircases!"
"Yeah, well," Hanabi swung herself over and onto the flat rooftop. "Evidently not." She glanced over rooftops and pointed. "I can see the coast from here. We should be there by the end of today."
Scrambling up behind, Hinata looked in the direction Hanabi had been pointed and could also see the faint glimmering of water, only highlighted by the bright moon dangling far above. She took a moment to stare out at the horizon placed beneath her. Empty, empty, empty, empty. There were no cars, no busy street noises, not even a flickering of lights from the city, just what little light the moon managed to provide.
"Hinata!" Hanabi shrieked and pushed her off to the side as she took the end of her hatchet and smashed the blunt edge against the disfigured face and hand clawing after where Hinata's ankle had been moments before. Readjusting her grip seamlessly, Hanabi swung the weapon clean into the skull with a sickening crunch and watched as the body wavered for a moment on the ladder before falling down to earth eight stories below.
"You okay?" Hanabi murmured and looked over at her sister who was leaning back on skinned elbows, staring up at her sister, angel of death and vengeance itself.
"I…am."
The first time Hinata had ever heard of the Infected was four years ago. If she recalled correctly, it had been at one of her father's parties. One of those parties women attended to elevate social statuses and old men came to gloat.
"Oh, yes, have you heard what the English have done?"
"Nasty business, those Infected."
"It's spread across to France."
"That's one of the things you get, dabbling with witchcraft and death. Leave it be, I say. Now look what they've gotten themselves into, a country filled with mindless eating machines. It's horrific."
At the time, Hinata had given it no interest or even much cared. Why bother with the affairs of somewhere a continent away when she already had her hands full with trying to maintain grades, do everything in her shy nature to catch the attention of her crush, sleep, and have some semblance of a social life?
It was two years later when the epidemic finally hit Japan.
They had been relatively lucky at first, being quarantined on an island and it had taken longer than normal for the spread to finally reach them, but once it had; there was no escape. She remembered that summer. She remembered being quarantined in her suffocating and hot mansion with her family, having thrown all the servants out to the streets to fend for themselves. Her father had got stir crazy and destroyed any furniture he could find at the mention of "Infected" or god forbid…"zombies."
It was he that was the first to turn. They had swarmed. Limbs breaking through glass by sheer force of numbers and They just did not stop. He had tried to make an escape for them all, and eventually, both Hinata and her sister as well as their cousin had escaped through the forest behind their property, though not before her father had been enveloped by the crowd of monsters.
Five weeks later marked the day Neji had been bitten.
Neji had known and told them. All of them knew his fate. He had begged for them to kill him, knowing that if they didn't, he would end up killing them. By the end, it was too late and once he attacked Hanabi, Hinata drove her crowbar into his eye, feeling the crunch of metal hitting the back of his skull from the impact and snatched Hanabi, running as far away from there as possible.
She had cried for weeks.
Occasionally, they would run into other few survivors, but they never strayed too long together in one place. Too many people attracted Them. Perhaps it was the sounds, or the smell, or even the actual occasional sounds of happiness, but They were always came.
At least, until she heard the rumours.
Rumours of the far off eastern coastal prison. It was infamous, what being the largest and most secluded prison in Japan, impenetrable walls and trapped upon an island a mile off of the coast. Oh, it had plenty of attacks placed upon it, and because of it, transport of live people to and from the island proved difficult, but never once had in been breached.
It wasn't much to go on. It was mentioned in passing between other survivors they had met. Not truly believed in…yet it represented some sort of hope. The last hope Hinata had for herself and her sister.
"Hanabi! Hurry!" Hinata stopped for a moment as she watched her sister stumble across roots and push branches futilely out of her way. She could see it. She could see it's tall protective walls peering up over the tops of the trees teasing her. It was there though, and that alone was almost enough.
Finding a boat to the island had been difficult. Finding fuel for the boat had been even more so. Fortunately, the two managed to set off before night fell and watched as the sun set dangerously low just as they landed. Neither wanted to chance sleep outside unprotected on an island probably large enough to play host to several colonies of Infected, so decided on the even higher risk of trudging through forest at night, praying that any they came in contact would be few and far between.
Luck had been on their side thus far; not once had an Infected approached them or even seemed to sense them. It unsettled Hinata, but she knew to count her blessings at the same time, even as mosquitoes were nipping relentlessly and branches tore through them as they trekked through a dark forest. Every snap of twig or fall of shadow sent their senses into a heightened sense of frenzied action knowing that every corner could reveal an Infected lurking, starving, and unyielding.
"I can see a road!" Hanabi hissed and pointed. It was cracked and bumpy, clearly not cared for in years for obvious reasons. Though, it hinted to the chance of some form of civilization that sent the two girls skirting over roots and brambles onto the pavement. Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata watched as her sister stumbled onto the road, her knee buckling slightly before setting it back with clear resolve as she jogged down the road ahead of Hinata.
"We…we can slow down a bit." Hinata murmured, "The sun's almost rising, and its almost there." She referred to the walls standing tall perhaps near a kilometre a way.
"Almost there doesn't cut it." Hanabi snarled and stopped for a moment to turn and glare at her sister. "Goddamn it, Hinata, I know you're trying to do this for me. I'm fine. I'm alive, which is more than enough, but if we don't fucking keep going, I don't know how long that's going to last for."
"Hanabi-"
"Listen! We cannot stop. We cannot stop because it's almost there. Do you want to-" Both froze as clear sounds of branches snapped and ruffled. Muffled thumps echoed through the forest making the sounds of limbs dragging through the bumpy forest ground. Slowly, Hinata tightened her grip on her crowbar and watched as her sister did the same with her hatchet, knuckles bleeding white. Fear constricted chokingly around her heart as her legs suddenly jittered with blood flow, ready run at any given moment.
It didn't take too long for them to emerge from the forest, monsters Hinata had come to be known as faceless in their devoid of emotion as a torn limb hung on by sheer strands of muscle, or a gash continued to bleed them dry, or an organ hung limply out of an open wound. Hissing in a sharp intake of breath, Hinata's eyes widened in horror as she watched a swarm crawl and stumble onto the street. They were surrounded. It suddenly dawned on her that they had grouped and waited to strike this whole time, as if it all been…planned.
Her sister's fierce shout as she cleaved a hole into the skull of an approaching Infected shocked Hinata back into the present. Narrowing her eyes, she shifted her crowbar within her hands and deftly swung it with a resounding crack into the soft material of brain matter as it shattered messily through the skull. Another one filled the space of it's previous fallen and groaned hungrily as it came closer. With a disgusted grimace, she twirled the bar in her hand and brought the pointed end of it straight into the eye socket with a satisfying squelch. A sudden claustrophobic panic flittered through her as they began crowding around in numbers she didn't think were possible. The gnashing of teeth, the groans, and the entanglement of limbs reminded her all too much of the last night she saw her father and was unable to keep from squeezing her eyes shut momentarily to suppress the memory.
Hanabi's strangled shriek was what threw Hinata yet again back into reality as she watched her sister get tossed back by a grotesque hand grasping desperately for her. Suddenly, Hinata could care less about memories long past, because right now her sister was on the ground and she was entirely vulnerable. With an enraged shriek she threw herself forward and with a quick slashing moment drove her weapon straight across its face, causing it to stumble slightly before attempting to attack yet again. Growling, Hinata swung in desperation and frustration, only to have the point of a sword come face to face with her as it protruded out of her enemy's skull.
A loud shot filled the air followed quickly by a victorious yowl. Breathing heavily and looking around in a prey-like mixture of confusion of panic, Hinata watched as another head went flying from its severed body. The blade-katana, she corrected herself (father would've been horrified otherwise)-was swift and she felt it was strangely ironic to have an action so gruesome seem more graceful than any dance she had been privy to have seen in her life.
Another shot. Blinking, she grasped her sister's arm and tugged up, pulling Hanabi to her feet into a brief hug in which she murmured, "You still have your hatchet?"
"Yeah," She pushed away quickly to swing said weapon into the oncoming head of a persistent Infected. Blood splattered across the two, neither of them noticing as they watched Katana Man continue to weave his way in and out of the swarm seamlessly. A nearby blond was taking pleasure in firing shots with a shotgun of sorts at the skulls of their opponents with deadly accuracy as he taunted the other man with numbers. "Who are these guys?"
"I-I'm not sure." Hinata answered and found herself staring at a nearly decimated battle field. In fact, with a loud squelching noise, Katana Man sliced through the very last one and smirked as it fell with a satisfying groan.
"Whoo!" The blond grinned and shouted. "Thirty-nine! Beat that!"
"Forty-two." The darker man murmured with a smirk as he began wiping his blade against the grass. "I win. Again."
"What? No way, I totally got more kills than-"
"Who are you?" Hanabi snapped at the two and pointed her hatchet threateningly at them. Hinata sighed and looked away in embarrassment…every time they met a survivor this happened. Although Hanabi's suspicious nature more often than not saved them in many different situations, it made for having comfortable conversation with others more than a little difficult.
The blond blinked as if just noticing the sisters. "Oh. This would explain the sudden outbreak of Them in this area…" He trotted over with a grin that made Hinata breathless plastered across his chiselled and blood splattered face. "My name's Naruto." He took Hinata's hand into his and pumped it vigorously. "It's very nice to meet you."
"Hinata," She greeted back with a wary smile before turning his gaze back to Katana Man who was glaring at the two with a thoughtful frown. He looked very familiar.
Naruto seemed to notice this and grinned. "This is Sasuke. He's a bit of a grump, but really, don't let that get you down. He's just a bit of a social retard is all."
"Luckily that doesn't apply to my entire brain, unlike you, Naru-tard." He called over loftily as he sheathed his sword. His hair though short grew unruly against his forehead where it was currently plastered with sweat. Hinata was appalled to discover herself thinking about how fine of a specimen these two men were. Was it that long since she had been in the company of a male? She blushed a horrid red and quickly jerked her hand out of Naruto's and glanced away from the two.
"Hey! Fuck you, Sasuke!" The blond pouted and rested his shotgun against his shoulder. "I have a better shot than you ever could, asshole."
"Wait. Sasuke…Sasuke Uchiha? I knew you looked familiar!" Hanabi growled and put a two hand grip onto her hatchet as she warily stepped away from Naruto. "You…you went to rot in jail for treason and attempted assassination of our president."
"Aw, how cute." He sneered back and took a step towards the two. "Someone watched the news five years ago. Hm. I didn't think six year olds cared for that sort of thing."
"I'm sixteen now, you fucker." Hanabi hissed dangerously and swung her weapon threateningly.
"Hey…um, c'mon now," Naruto murmured uneasily and put his hands in front of himself in a calming gesture. "That was a long time ago back when those things actually mattered…we're all on the same side here."
"That was my father you tried to kill!" Hanabi shrieked and swung her hatchet, narrowly missing Sasuke's head as he casually ducked it. "You. Have. No. Idea. What we went through!" She panted through gritted teeth.
"Hanabi," Hinata murmured into her sister's ear and placed herself in front of her field of view. "This…this isn't the time. Survival first, remember? You can't show that…that any part of you is weak." Lightly, she placed her hand on her sister's that was still wielding her weapon and waited for Hanabi's breathing to return to normal.
"Learn to keep your dog muzzled." The dark one snarled and crossed his arms before making his way over to the blond who shrugged helplessly.
"Do not speak to my sister that way." Hinata looked over at Sasuke, her voice soft. She remembered him now. Granted, he had been cleaner and leaner then and his hair longer, but he was still the same. Olive complexion, dark stormy eyes, untameable dark hair and arrogant stride as he walked into the court room. She couldn't look anymore; it brought back too many memories of days yesterday past. She turned to Naruto who had given Sasuke an accusing punch in the shoulder and asked, "A-are you from the prison?"
"Yes we are!" He grinned and wrapped a friendly arm around her. "Out making our nightly patrols…and I must say, Miss, I am very impressed with your skills with a crowbar. I can honestly say I have never seen one used in such a way. Care to join us on our way back?"
"Yes, thank you, so much." Hinata deflated in relief against him, her knees wobbling as he let go of her. She fell to the side, bracing herself for hard ground only to fall against a warm chest and open arms. She gasped indignantly as a hand groped at her waist, running itself up against her side slowly. Before she had a chance to twist away, a low and familiar voice murmured, "When was the last time you ate? I can feel your ribs sticking out."
"I…" Yesterday? Two days ago? Three? She honestly couldn't remember. All the days meshed into one. "I…I don't know…" She admitted in a whisper.
"Let go of her!" Hanabi shrieked and launched forwards, only to be caught roughly around the waist by a soothing Naruto.
"Hey. It's okay. Sasuke's not like that…"
"I don't care!" Hanabi shrieked and pointed at Sasuke accusingly. "I don't trust you, I don't trust you one fucking bit!" Desperately, she lashed out in Naruto's grip with the hatchet dangerously swinging and nearly slicing off one of Naruto's fingers and ears in the process.
"That makes two of us then…" Hinata heard Sasuke mutter quietly as he rolled his eyes heavenwards. Perhaps it was the bizarreness of the entire situation, but Hinata felt it was appropriate to notice just how long his eyelashes were as the swept over his high cheekbones.
"Do you know when she last ate?" Naruto asked quickly and flexed his fingers threateningly against Hanabi's side as she squirmed some more in his grip.
"No." Hanabi growled. "Sorta. Two days ago? It's been a while…" Her face lowered as she quit fighting against the iron band that was Naruto's arm before mumbling, "Maybe more…she gave me her share of that granola bar…"
"Okay. Come on then," Naruto hoisted a shrieking and indignant Hanabi up into his arms. "Time to conserve energy. HQ's about a kilometre and a half away and we have to walk it on foot." He sighed as she continued to beat against his chest relentlessly. "Listen, I can carry you three different ways. Option one: Like this. Option two: piggy back. Option three: hoist you over my shoulders not unlike a sack of potatoes."
Both sisters could hear the threat in his voice, causing Hanabi to pause before crossing her arms sulkily across her small chest and mutter, "Piggyback."
"Good." Naruto said cheerfully and set her down and bent over to let her crawl onto him. He adjusted her quickly before straightening up. "Alright. Anyone know any good songs?" He laughed as Hanabi groaned and beat small fists against his shoulders again.
With a small exhale that could've been a sigh, Sasuke leaned forwards and gathered Hinata into his arms, one arm tucked under her legs and the other securely behind her back. Blinking, Hinata looked up and asked softly, "…Do I get the same choice too?"
"No." He didn't even look as her as he answered firmly and followed behind Naruto. "You'll be too much of a hassle to throw over my shoulder and I don't need you kicking me if I piggyback you."
Hinata echoed his sigh before leaning against him and letting the sounds of Naruto and Hanabi argue wash over her.
"We're hooooooome!" Naruto cried out jubilantly and let go of Hanabi's legs to wave enthusiastically at a largely gated wall, leaving Hanabi scrambling desperately against his back to avoid slipping and falling. "Don't shoot this time, okay, jackasses?"
Laughter filtered from the top of the thick wall making Naruto frown and pout. "It wasn't funny, okay! Just fucking open up!" He banged against the steel door before him.
"Calm your shit, Naruto." An obnoxious voice drawled out as it flung open revealing a wild looking man with messy brown hair and what looked to be tattooed marks beneath his feral eyes. "It was once. And yeah, it was fucking hilarious to see you piss yourself like that."
"Fuck you, Kiba. Fuck your dog too." Naruto sniffed primly as he readjusted Hanabi against his back. "We have company. Wouldn't want to shoot these nice young girls, would you?"
At this Hanabi cuffed the side of his ear and barked, "I hate you! You groped me the whole way here, pervert! I hope they end up shooting you!"
Kiba barked loudly in laughter and doubled over as he managed to hiss out between guffaws, "I like this one! Where'd you find her?"
"On the road about a kilometre from here." Sasuke answered as he stepped forwards, Hinata still in his arms as she watched the man curiously. He seemed to finally notice her before blinking and letting a sly grin spread across his face as he stood up to walk closer.
"Hm," He leaned forwards towards Hinata and pressed his nose against her hair to sniff. She jerked away in alarm and glanced up at Sasuke who glared at the other man in annoyance. "You caught yourself a pretty one. The name's Kiba, milady." He bent over in a low, sweeping bow, "Enchanté."
"Ew. Get away from my sister, perv!" Hanabi chucked her shoe at Kiba and scowled angrily. "Jesus. Do I have to defend your honour every time we come across anything that has something even remotely resembling a penis?"
Another laugh on behalf of Kiba. "Speaking of penises, Sai's gonna be the one who does the check up on you two when you pass through."
Both men flinched at this. "Why do we even let him have that job?" Naruto whined and looked skywards in prayer. "There is such thing as a job too thoroughly done."
Smirking, Kiba shrugged before motioning for the four of them to follow them into a dimly lit entrance way. "Hey, he does a good job of it." He glanced at the two girls who blinked and looked around at the bare room. "You two are lucky enough that you aren't gonna be checked up by that creepy little shit." There were two doors before them. He pointed to the far left and said, "Ladies go through that one."
Without hesitation, Naruto dropped Hanabi ungracefully and stretched. "Whatever. Time to get this over with. C'mon, Sasuke."
With considerably more care, Sasuke let go of Hinata and let her stumble over to Hanabi who was growling death threats beneath her breath and nodded. Whispering, she held onto Hanabi's arm and tugged lightly towards the door. "Let's go, Hanabi. We made it."
After a gruelling and altogether embarrassingly thorough exam of their bodies, the two were let into the main hallways of the prison. She was surprised to find how…at home she felt. Though perhaps living in abandoned houses while on the run for the past two years left one with a biased opinion.
The main cafeteria was filled with people as they ate, talked amongst each other, or seemed merely to enjoy basking in the company of something living. A hand shot up amidst the crowd, waving vigorously to the girls as they entered. "Hinata! Hanabi! Come and sit with us!"
A soft smile lit her face as she nudged her reluctant sister to an overly jubilant Naruto who was in the process of stuffing ramen down his throat. "Do we have toooooo?" Hanabi whined and dug her feet into the ground. "I just spent the last hour having some chick grope me, I don't want to spend the next one having him grope me again."
"I'll defend your honour this time." Hinata chuckled softly and gave a shy smile and wave back to Naruto whose face lit up into a bright grin. Hanabi scoffed at this but sat herself down with a surly frown on her thin face next to Naruto who laughed in delight and wrapped a friendly arm around her, pulling her close.
"Have you guys eaten yet?" Naruto asked and taunted the younger Hyuuga with a noodle dangling precariously in front of her face. Hanabi responded with a disgusted scowl as she smacked his hand away and hissed, "I've lost my appetite, thanks."
"Aw, c'mon. You haven't eaten in days! You need to eat some ramen, who doesn't love ramen?" Naruto insisted and ended Hanabi's firm and annoyed denials by shoving a chopstick full of the noodles into her mouth. Enraged, Hanabi spat out the noodles with a screech and threatened to dump his bowl atop his messy blond head.
"Let's go." Hinata blinked as she noticed Sasuke stand up next to her, rolling his eyes. She hadn't seen him in any sort of light before then, and she found it for some reason surprising how sharp his features were; high, sharp cheekbones, thin lips, slanted mouth, jagged scars that ran across his arms and chest.
"Wh-what?" She asked in a confused murmur, hoping her ogling didn't continue for as long as she thought it did. "I…go where?"
"To find you something to eat before Naruto forces ramen on you too." He walked away without another word, though if the steady pace of his stride was anything to go on, he expected her to follow along too. Obediently, she did so and was led to a buffet of sorts where she was surprised to find fresh vegetables, pasta, and fish all carefully laid out before them. In response to her surprised flicker of emotion, he said, "We grow everything here. Nothing's been contaminated by the virus."
"Impressive," She murmured as she piled as much of everything as she could onto her place. She blinked and pursed her lips in confusion when Sasuke's hand gripped her elbow and shook his head as she tried walking back to the table where Kiba had now joined in on the harassment of her sister.
"There's…a better spot with a view." He dropped her elbow and made his way through the cantina area and down a corridor, Hinata trotting along closely behind, determined not to get lost in the maze of cells, some turned into used living spaces with real wooden doors replaced with cell bars, that curled and turned unexpectedly. Before long they reached a long, twisting staircase with no rail as it curled up in a spiral to the top of what looked like almost a turret. She followed Sasuke uncertainly up the stairs, her hands shaking precariously out of fear as each step creating a small cry of unsteady metal and partially to retain balance on all of her food.
The stairs, it turned out, did not lead up a turret, but to the roof of the enormous jail. Sasuke hadn't been lying when he said it had a view. Beyond the forest laid the ocean stretched out and sparkling happily against the orange hue of sunrise, slowly making its way up beyond the city at the shore, striking windows of skyscrapers and buildings alike and glowing harsh against her eyes. Robotically, she made her way to the ledge and sat, feet dangling carelessly over the edge as placed her plate carefully in her lap before inspecting an apple to take a delicate bite.
"Thank you," She looked up at Sasuke who stood tall next to her and stared out the horizon, sun glinting off of his cheeks, highlighting every bone structure and crease on his face. He was her age, she was surprised to remember, supposedly a super genius only next to Neji in terms of intelligence and cold hearted calculations…yet, for twenty two years of age, he looked like a man much older. His eyes as the slid to her were not of a young man, though she supposed in this world no one could afford the luxury of being young anymore.
"You're welcome." He dipped his head lightly in acknowledgment before turning back to the brightening horizon.
It struck her slightly as odd to have him be so accommodating and…kind to her. She recalled his angry glares during the trials, the cold glares as the judge proceeded to question him, and the indifferent manner in which he treated Naruto. It didn't sit right. Unsettled, Hinata asked quietly after thoughtfully chewing another section of her apple, "Why are you being so n-nice to me?"
There was no answer at first. Finally, he sat down gracefully next to her, mimicking her position as he leaned forwards and clasped his hands together as his elbows rested on his thighs and his hands dangled between his legs. "Guilt…perhaps?" He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm a little unfamiliar with the feeling myself. I think it might be because you remind me of life before all of…this." He gestured vaguely to the empty city across the water. He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "I knew who you were the first second I saw you."
A little uncomfortable and unable to respond similarly, Hinata merely finished off her apple and set her core to the side before working on the pasta and regretting not bringing a fork, though too hungry to care as she clumsily plucked the noodles from her plate to her mouth. He seemed to understand this before looking back to the ocean. "…You know I had nothing against your father or your family." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.
"I worked doing political fuck ups and assassinations for money, and I was offered a lot of money to get rid of your father." He closed his eyes and Hinata watched in fascination as wind rustled through his very shortened hair, ruffling the soft texture into a messy array. "…I've never seen a target's family after the hit until now. I don't know how I feel about it."
"Stop, please." Hinata found herself saying abruptly as she placed her plate down next to her. "You…you aren't sorry. I know. Somehow…I can't find myself caring. My father is dead either way and I don't want to remember anymore. Remembering hurts too much knowing everything that's been lost…and it makes me angry." She looked at him. "I'm not about to forget, but I don't want to dwell. I promise not to hate you if you promise not to be the person you were."
"I won't make any promises. I am who I am." Sasuke snorted softly before standing and offering a hand to her, one which she declined and stood on her own.
"Then I won't either." Firm years of etiquette pounded into her after being a high ranking politician's daughter required her to make a quick change in subject as conversation began to draw sour. "I appreciate y-you bringing me here." She stuck out her clean hand to be shaken as she demurely said, "I would like to start over. Being humanity's last hope requires a bit of cooperation, I would think. My name is Hyuuga Hinata."
He took it uncertainly with an amused smile forming slightly at the corner of his mouth as he shook it firmly and replied, "Sasuke Uchiha. Though I doubt we are the last in the world, perhaps Japan's last hope. We humans are a fairly hardy race."
She smiled lightly. "Japan's last hope…I like that, I think."
That amused smile was soon to be one that would grow on her, she was sure.