Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 8

The Uchiha heir began to notice a slow and small change occurring within himself, and he felt the need to confront it. Sasuke was beginning to grow soft on her. He suspected that it was the primary reason for why he had even agreed to go to the festival in the first place. As silly as it may sound, he would have remained completely obvious to such things, if it were not for the other day. He had learned from a young age to close himself from any kind of emotion, emotions were weak, and it was what got you killed in battles. Emotions drove shinobi to commit imprudent actions. So, Sasuke stripped himself off them when he left Konohagakure, failing to recognize any other emotions except for apathy and aloofness. Throughout the years, the other emotions began to dwindle, and the last of them were used on Itachi Uchiha after his death.

But why her? Why was she able to revive them?

Sasuke was around women before, but they didn't bring about such actions. Shit, when he looked at Sakura or Karin, he felt nothing, if they were to bleed out in front of him, entrails spilling out of their bodies, he wouldn't feel any obligation to help them. But, when he gazed upon the face of the sleeping Hyuuga. The Uchiha heir felt a sort of peace and contentedness. It was the first time that he had felt the feeling of contentedness in his lifetime. When he was a young shinobi, he was not satisfied with his life, and much to others belief, he was not content with his life after he had killed Itachi. Maybe, it was because she quenched his thirst for a fight that he felt these two feelings. Either way, Sasuke had let his guard down, and now he was ruined. Furthermore, he couldn't get the smell of her perfumed skin out of his head. The Uchiha heir could swear that her scent lingered on him for days, and it almost drove him to the point of throwing away the black kimono.

What was going on with him?

It had been the first time that he had allowed a woman to be within so many feet of him. Often times, when a woman invaded the parameters of his space, it was when they were throwing themselves at him, begging that Sasuke would take them. The Uchiha heir cursed underneath his breath, he had been so aversive to touch, and here he was allowing her to touch him. Not necessarily, skin to skin contact, but harmless bodily contact.

Why did he let her? Maybe it was because she was so gentle.

Oh how far he has fallen!

Sasuke considered to stay away from Hinata for a couple of days, but he knew that wouldn't work out very well. It would defeat the purpose for why he came to this forsaken place.

The Uchiha heir stood in the forest, its quietness was interrupted by the chirping of birds, and he stood in a casual stance. After a few moments, Sasuke's eyes narrowed in agitation, and he looked up at the sun.

She was late.

In fact, judging by the way, he sun was positioned in the sky, he had been waiting on her for an hour, and frankly, he was getting impatient. Sasuke took a deep breath through gritted teeth, he balled up his fists, and turned around. The Uchiha heir was going to find Hinata, and make sure she regretted wasting his time like this. As if right on cue, Sasuke saw the Hyuuga heiress run out to where he was, her face was frantic, and he crossed his arms.

"You're late."

"I-I am sorry, Sasuke-san." Hinata looked at him, apologetically, and she gave him a shy smile. "B-but I am not able to t-train with y-you today."

"What?" Sasuke asked.

" I was just now able to get out of our hectic day today, we have to g-go deliver some goods to a starving village."

"You couldn't have told me sooner than this?" The Uchiha heir looked at her, displeased.

" I-I am so sorry, I h-have been out earlier than our sparing time gathering up some goods." The Hyuuga heiress explained, breathlessly. "This was the o-only time that I could get out."

"I see… and what village is it?"

"A small unaffiliated village, I-I am not sure of the name."

"And you thought it was okay that you put aside our daily spar for that?" Sasuke asked as he approached her, keeping intense eyes on the soft contours of her face, and Hinata looked at him, speechless.

"what if they starve?"

"Hmm… who care?" The Uchiha heir stated, apathetically.

" I care if they do." The Hyuuga heiress muttered as she directed her gaze to the ground, and the Uchiha heir stopped to where he was no more than a few feet in front of her.

"Of course you do." Sasuke scoffed at her. "How long are you going to be gone for?"

"A c-couple of days."

And what pretell do you think I am going to do in your absence?

"You didn't say anything about this before." Sasuke hissed.

"I just learned about this morning, and I-I will be drafted out this afternoon, it is an emergency situation." Hinata explained. "They have been in f-famine for days."

"You have wasted my time telling me this news, I would have been able to figure out where you were, and do you honestly think I am so completely oblivious to my surroundings and to those who are in it."

"No, I didn't want you to think I left you."

"Why does that matter, I am nobody."

"No you a-are not." Hinata said, quickly. The Uchiha heir saw her meet his eyes for a brief second when she said this, and he rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." Sasuke pushed past Hinata, she followed him with her eyes, and he stopped to where they were side by side. There was a long pause exchanged between them. "I don't know what to do with you." He saw a perplexed look come across Hinata's face, but he didn't wait for her to ask what he meant by the words. No, he left Hinata standing right in that forest before he revealed anything else.

XXXX

Hinata didn't mean to leave the Uchiha heir waiting for her so long, she had been summoned by Naruto at 6: 00 am this morning, and it had been non-stop ever since then. Late last night, Naruto had gotten a scroll tied to dove's leg that was a plea for assistance. According to the scroll, this unaffiliated village had recently experienced a serious of droughts that have left the lands infertile, and this has led to the death of several inhabitants including children. Furthermore, the villagers who had been surviving were living off storage food. Hinata had been packing carriages of food since this morning, and she couldn't just abandon the tasks that she was assigned to complete. The foods ranged from fresh fruits to packages of meat. The Hyuuga heiress wondered what the Uchiha heir would do while she was gone.

Would he remain a hermit in the estate or would he still come to the forest here to train?

Hinata stared down the path that the Uchiha heir took to disappear out of the forest, and she bit her lip.

What did he mean by what he was going to do with her?

She wanted to ask him the question, but he had left before she could utter the words. Hinata sighed to herself as she made her way back to where they were stocking the carriages, and she grabbed a bag of grain. The Hyuuga heiress threw it onto the carriage, it started to weigh down, and Ino walked up to her.

" I hope we can get there soon." Ino crossed her arms. " I hate sleeping out into the open."

" We have a map, so I-I don't think it will be too long." Hinata smiled at her, warmly.

"we haven't even gotten there yet and she is already complaining." Shikamaru grumbled. He grunted as he tied down the food on the carriage, and Ino looked at him, sourly.

" I am not." Hinata chuckled at the two fighting, she walked up to Sakura who had a billboard in her hands, and Sakura smiled at her.

" I think that is everything." Sakura said as she checked off a box on the list, and she handed it to a young male shinobi. " I hope we get there soon, I don't want any more deaths because of malnutrition."

" I think Kiba-san h-has the map."

"Yeah, I do." Kiba said as he came around the carriage, Akamaru trailed behind him, and he held up the map. Hinata looked at the blueprints of the lands, and she looked at Ino.

" I-I am sorry, Ino-san, I misspoke, it looks like we w-will be traveling for a couple of days." Ino groaned in dread, and Hinata walked up to a horse. She made sure that the horse was secured, tightly to the carriage, and they all got ready to take off.

"We will have to take turns leading the horses." Shikamaru stated. "There is only enough space for one person in the carriage."

"I will t-take the first lead." Hinata volunteered.

"And the rest of us will be guarding the carriage in case there are any attacks on it." Sakura informed.

"If any of us get tired, we will take turns sleeping the carriage." Kiba crossed his arms, and Hinata nodded in agreement.

"There will be little to no breaks though." Shikamaru explained. "Only at night when it gets too dark will we stop."

"Okay, agreed." Ino said, quickly.

"I also have the food for all of us." Kiba held out several bags of bread, and Hinata grabbed the horse's rein, gently.

"We will h-have to find an r-river for w-water."

"Right." The Hyuuga heiress tugged on the rein, the horse started to follow her as the gates opened up, and she ventured out into the outside world.

XXXX

The Uchiha heir went back to his estate, he grabbed his cloak, and Sasuke pulled the hood over his head. He was not going to stay here in Konohagakure if the Hyuuga heiress was not here, after all, she was the sole purpose for why he resided in this place. It was good in a strange way that she was leaving here. He needed a break from his former village, from everyone, and Sasuke didn't care if Hinata returned sooner than he did. He would come back when he felt like it. The Uchiha heir walked out of his estate, he ran through the streets, and he slipped out of the gates.

"Hey!" The two guards shouted. "You!" The Uchiha heir activated his sharingan, looking at them, sharply, and he watched their eyes roll into the back of their heads. The two guards collapsed on the ground, and Sasuke smirked to himself.

So easy.

The Uchiha heir ran as fast as he could from the village until it became a dot, and he stopped. He figured that he would stay at one village, and move onto the next one tomorrow. It was what he always did. The next unaffiliated village closest to where he was, was about a couple of hours away, and the Uchiha heir made his way in the direction of the village.

-Several hours later-

As suspected, Sasuke arrived at the village just as the evening started to fall. There were no gates for the village, it was open for any attacks, and anyone to wander inside of it. The proportionality of villagers in this village paled in comparison to Konohagakure. They didn't seem to be paying much attention to the Uchiha heir, continuing on with their daily tasks, and Sasuke walked into a hotel. A small young woman stood at the counter, and she looked at Sasuke, shocked.

"I'd like a room for the night." Sasuke pulled down his hood, reaching into his pocket, and he laid the money on the counter. The woman stared at him, blinking twice, and the Uchiha heir pressed his lips together. "Do I have to repeat myself?"

"Oh!" the young woman took the money off the counter, counting it, and her face flushed red in embarrassment. "And when will you be leaving?"

"First thing in the morning." There was no way he was going to be charged for a new day, most hotels that he had been in charged if you stayed to a certain time, and Sasuke suspected that this hotel was no different from the others.

"Okay, that is fine, and also our standard rooms all have king sized beds in them and room service is offered."

"Room service is extra charge right?"

"Yes."

"Is that enough?" Sasuke exasperated.

"Oh yes." The woman handed him the key, and he snatched it from her. "Your room number is 150, and your dinner will be up very soon."

"Fine."

" oh, please wait, I also forgot to tell you our menu for tonight."

" just get me whatever you have ready." The Uchiha heir walked down the hallway, he kept his eyes forward, and the hotel was quiet. Sasuke opened the door to his room, there was a king sized bed, and it had two gray pillows with matching gray covers. The carpet was tan, there was a lamp sitting on top of a cherry wooden table, and Sasuke slammed the door shut. He took off his cloak, and the Uchiha heir waited for his dinner. No more than thirty minutes later, a knock came at the door, and the Uchiha heir opened it up. The woman stood with a sliver tray that had a cup of green tea and a plate of onigiri.

" I hope this will do."

" It is fine." Sasuke took the tray, and he turned to close the door.

"Just leave the tray outside the door here and I will get it." The Uchiha heir gave her a small nod before he closed the door, and he sat down on a small table in the room. Sasuke's stomach growled at the sight of the food, he had become spoiled in Konohagakure with getting meals every day, and the Uchiha heir ate the food, silently. Once he was finished, Sasuke placed the tray out the door, walking over to the bed, and he collapsed on it. The Uchiha heir closed his eyes, the bed was not as comfortable as the one at the estate, but Sasuke was not the one to complain. Either way, it was a bed, and whether comfortable or not, it served the same purpose. The Uchiha heir pulled out the blade of his sword, tightening his grip on it, just in case anyone tried to sneak into his room, and he drifted off to sleep.

- Several days later-

Sasuke began to wonder if the Hyuuga heiress was enjoying her time, traveling with those idiots. Instantly, the Uchiha heir frowned to himself and wished that he could rid that thought out of his mind.

What was he thinking?

Did Sasuke ever consider anyone else's feelings before? Hell no, he didn't.

Sasuke headed for the other village that was further from this previous one, however it was only about an hour away, and once again, the Uchiha heir would settle there. So far there had been three different villages that Sasuke had been to excluding the first village. Sasuke noticed something unusual as he approached the other village, the vegetation around it was dead, and he activated his sharingan. The Uchiha heir hands rested on his katana, there was once where he saw signs similar to this, and the whole village had been massacred. Sasuke approached the village, there was a field of recent graves, and fields of crops that looked like they had been burned up. The Uchiha heir stopped in his tracks, and he stared at the scene. This was the village that the Hyuuga heiress was bringing food to.

How ironic!

Sasuke saw a carriage enter the village, he could see sakura was leading the carriage due to her unusual hair color, and he crossed his arms. The Uchiha heir considered turning back around and head back in the other direction. However, he had come too far to settle for something else, and Sasuke caught sight of Hinata walking alongside the carriage. He was curious to see how well this little benevolent act would go with the villagers. With a smirk, Sasuke headed down to see the event.

XXXX

Hinata wished that they could have been there sooner to prevent the deaths of loved ones, she promised herself to go to the local shrine, and pray for the dead. The villagers perked up at the sight of them, they came out of their homes, and Hinata could tell that some of the men, women, and children had frail physiques.

"We have come from Konohagakure to give out food to those who need it." Sakura stated. An elderly man pushed through the gathering crowd, and he was adorned in fabrics that had all kinds of ornaments hanging from it.

" I was beginning to wonder when you all would come." He began. "I am the village head, Gakukoru." Hinata bowed in reverence, and she beckoned to the carriage.

"We have brought foods of all kind." There was a chatter among all the villagers, and she noticed that they started to become uneasy.

"Now, we will distribute it all evenly." Shikamaru began as he untied the food, revealing the bags of grains, rice, and vegetables. As soon as the villagers caught sight of it, they rushed up to the carriage all at once, and Kiba along with Ino tried to control the influx of inhabitants.

"Please c-calm down!" shouted Gakukoru. The inhabitants seemed to be ignoring his commands, Hinata held out her hand, and she looked at everyone, concerned.

"T-there is enough for everyone, please relax."

"Out of my way." A young man shoved `the Hyuuga heiress to the side, and she stumbled backwards. This was getting out of control fast.

XXXX

Sasuke watched the scene from on top of the building, he smirked at the sight, and his eyes focused on Hinata. He watched her tried to effortlessly calm down the crowds. Sasuke wanted to see her use violence against these weaklings, to use her byakugan, and throw them off her. However, Sasuke knew that it wasn't going to happen, and he pressed his lips together as he noticed that the villagers started to push her around. The Uchiha heir watched her start to be thrown among them, and that irked him.

The Uchiha heir saw that sakura, and the other shinobi were preoccupied with their own problems. He saw her fall down to the ground, Sasuke scowled and he jumped off the building. He walked up to the ruckus, and he unsheathed his katana. He walked up to a man who was trying to push his way through the mass, and the Uchiha heir grabbed his shirt. Sasuke threw him backwards, and the man's eyes widened as he stared into his eyes. He let out a scream, catching the attention of everyone, and the Uchiha heir saw the crowd turned to face him. Instantly, his presence became well known, he pointed his sword towards the mass, and looked at them, coldly.

"Move out of my damn way." The Uchiha heir commanded. The crowd moved from him, Sasuke walked up to see Hinata was on the ground, and she looked at him, shocked.

"Sasuke-san, you're h-here?" Hinata asked. Without a word, the Uchiha heir did something that he had never done before, not even to his own teammates. Sasuke extended his hand to Hinata.

Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator.