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 17

The Uchiha heir took a sip of green tea, his ash burn eyes never wavered off Satsuki as she passed around the plate of food. It was early in the morning, they had to start heading out to towards the second checkpoint if they wanted to make it before nightfall. The second checkpoint was the Jyokujo village where Satsuki's father resided in, according to Sakura, he was going to meet with them, and accompany them for the rest of reminder of their travels. Of course, this agitated Sasuke, he had to deal with more sliver spooned nuisances, and he would be forced to protect them.

And why? Because Hinata would protect them, put herself in dangers way, and the Uchiha heir was not about to have that.

The plate came around to Sasuke's end, his eyes moved to the food, and then back at Satsuki. Satsuki smiled at him, kindly, that façade of hers was really starting to piss of Sasuke, and the Uchiha heir passed the plate to Hinata. Hinata looked at him, shocked, and her eyebrows furrowed together.

"You're not g-going to eat, Sasuke-san?" Hinata asked, worried. Sasuke shook his head, Satsuki giggled at the two, and he gave her a piercing glare.

"I'm not hungry, Hinata, just make sure you eat." He stood up from the table, and Sakura crossed her arms.

"Where are you going?" The pink haired kunoichi asked, curiously.

"None of your business." Sasuke slid open the door of the dining room, slamming it behind him, and he walked outside on the front porch. He stared hard at the ground, leaning up against the columns of the porch, and he heard the door open up behind him.

"I-is everything okay, Sasuke-san?" The Uchiha heir felt her hand touch him, gently on the shoulder, he turned around, and a concerned expression was on the Hyuuga heiress's face.

"I thought I told you to eat." Sasuke sighed, heavily as a smirk played on his lips. Hinata smiled at him, her eye lashes lowered, and she gently touched his face.

"Please tell me if s-something is bothering you." The Uchiha heir touched her hand, pulling her towards him, and he titled her head upwards.

"I knew Satsuki was hiding something." Sasuke stated. "So it turns out that she is planning something."

"W-what is it, how do you know?" Hinata asked with parted lips.

"Last night, I saw her consorting with one of the men who attacked us." The Uchiha heir informed. "I noticed that when we were asleep that the man snuck in, and I went to her room, and he was coming out. She is quite cozy with what is supposed to be her enemy." Hinata's cheeks turned red in embarrassment, and she grimaced.

"D-did you tell the others?"

"No."

"Shouldn't you tell them?"

"Hm… maybe." Sasuke leaned in, brushing his lips along hers, and his pressed her against him harder.

"Will you tell them, please?" Hinata pleaded. The Uchiha heir had his eyes closed, not answering her, but instead still caressed her rouge colored lips with his. "Please, tell the others… for me... will you do it for me?" Sasuke stopped at her words, pulling away, and he looked at her, intently. There was a silence exchanged between the two heirs.

He relinquished his hold on her, crossing his arms, and clicked his tongue. "Fine." Sasuke breathed. "But, I really don't see why I have to, the others should learn to be more perceptive."

XXXX

She knew that Sasuke didn't like having to do stuff for others except for her, but it made her chest swell that he would go pass that just because she asked him to. She knew that Satsuki was hiding something, but never this, so it turned out that she knew those men, so she was never in the real danger.

Was her father aware of this? Surely not, otherwise it would have defeated the purpose of him asking them to protect his daughter, then went on inside of her head?

They had been used, tools in whatever she was planning. So when, they attacked the carriage, where those men trying to take Satsuki away, and saw Konohagakure as a hindrance in that goal?

"Be careful, Hinata, I can see you trying to figure out the situation." Sasuke stated. Hinata looked up, smiling at him, and he sighed. "Some things are just not worth the time trying to contemplate about."

"S-sorry." Sasuke shrugged.

"Oh!" Hinata said as a sudden epiphany hit her. "Here, I have something for you." The Hyuuga heiress reached in her pocket, pulling out a napkin filled with food, and she unwrapped it. "I was worried about you not eating, you need your strength too, Sasuke-san, so I-I saved you some food."

She saw a momentary look of surprise come across his face, it was faint, but it was there. His eyes closed, a smile came on his lips, and he held out his hand. She handed him the napkin, it was filled with an assortment of fruits, and two balls of onigiri. He took a bite of the food, and poked her forehead. Hinata winced at him, covering her forehead, and she smiled at him, warmly.

"You're always so worried about me." The Uchiha heir stated.

"Of course, I care about you, Sasuke-san." Hinata informed. "That is what people do who care about one another, they worry about their well-being."

XXXX

The Uchiha heir looked at her as his eyes lowered, staring at the food. He pursed his lips, pondering the commentary that she had just made to him. It was an odd thing for her to say, no one really cared about him except for Itachi, and as for Naruto well… the Uchiha heir didn't really see it as caring so much as Naruto just trying to reach out to someone who he thought was like him in order to fill some void he had in his life.

He knew that she did care about him, but to say it out loud so sweetly. His eyes flickered to the bracelet around his wrist, and he grimaced.

He was very fond of Hinata. Yes, he had to admit it. Sure, he had noticed it when she was sick, and they laid together. But, the more that she was around him, the more he wanted her to be constantly around him.

The Uchiha heir did care about her in an odd sort of way, she was not a hard woman to please, and he assumed that the reason why he was even here was because he worried about her. Yes, Sasuke Uchiha worried about someone other than himself.

Could this mean… he had fallen for her… more than just pure boyfriend and girlfriend? Did he want her as a woman, as his woman, to belong to him only, to take on the Uchiha name?

Hands touched his wrist, snapping him out of his thoughts, and he looked at Hinata.

"Did I say something wrong, Sasuke-san?"

"No, of course not." The Uchiha heir sat down on the porch, Hinata sat down next to him, and he ate the food in silence. She leaned up against him, resting her head on his arm, and closed her eyes. It was at that moment, Sasuke looked at her out the corner of his eye, and a certain question came into mind, one that he found himself unable to answer.

Did he… Did he love her?

No, I couldn't possibly…

And the worst part about all these thoughts clouding his mind was that he didn't seem to mind the idea of possibly loving her.

Everyone gathered into the women's room to discuss some of the vague, yet valuable information that the Uchiha heir was able to get.

"So are you telling me that this princess is not really just a fraud?" Ino asked as she blinked in disbelief. Sasuke glared at her, and his jaw clenched.

"I just said that." Sasuke hissed, curtly.

"I saw the same man from last night, the same one as Sasuke-san saw." Shino said, quietly. Hinata looked at Shino, shocked, and although, Sasuke couldn't see his eyes through the dark tinted glasses. He could feel him staring at him.

"You did?" Kiba asked. "How?"

"Well, when we were attacked, I noticed that Satsuki despite her screaming was surprisingly calm, it was all just an act." Shino informed. "So I got suspicious, and some of my bugs saw a man leaving this estate last night. It is true what Sasuke-san says."

"I would have never guessed."

"So what are we going to do about this?" Sakura asked as her eyebrows furrowed together,

"I-I don't think w-we should let her know that we are onto her." Hinata stated.

"Agreed, it puts us at an advantage." Kiba complied.

"We will all have to be on a guard as we make it to the second checkpoint." The Uchiha heir rolled his eyes, not wanting to hear any more of the mindless chit-chat, and he turned around.

"I don't care what you all do." Sasuke hissed.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted. "Don't try anything funny if something is to transpire as we make it to the second checkpoint."

"Oh, don't worry, Sakura." The Uchiha heir derided. He left the room, a smirk playing on his lips as he reflected back onto his promise he made to Satsuki.

Hinata waited by the carriage, Satsuki was getting ready, and she bit her lip. She told herself not to reveal anything to Satsuki, Hinata looked at the Uchiha heir who seemed to be in deep thought. She stared at his broad shoulders, the way his shirt outlined his back, and his back stiffened. She squeaked as he turned around to look at her, and she turned the other way. A slight rouge color coming on her cheeks.

"Hey, Hinata." Sasuke said, coolly. His face was hard, his eyes were intense, and she was taken aback by it.

"Sasuke-san… is-" His last statement made her shiver.

"I'd kill for you."

"I-I don't understand, w-what do you mean?"

"No worries, I am sure that you will find out, soon." Hinata followed his eyes as they looked past her, and rested on Satsuki coming out with a warm smile. "Very soon."

"Ah, Hinata-sama, are you going to be my bodyguard for today?" Satsuki asked, curiously. "I would love for you to be?"

"S-sure." Hinata said with a kind smile.

"Would you like to ride with me inside of the carriage?"

"No, she wouldn't that is beyond our duties, Princess." Sasuke snapped. "And it violates the relationship between shinobi and those who they are assigned to protect." Hinata took a mental sigh, thanking the Uchiha heir for bailing her out, and Satsuki nodded at Sasuke.

"I understand, forgive me, Hinata-sama." Satsuki closed the door to her carriage, sticking her head out, and they made their way towards the second checkpoint. During the journey, there was tension in the air, and an unnerving silence that made Hinata shift a little bit. The Uchiha heir walked alongside her, she saw his hand was rested on the hilt of his katana, and she pursed her lips.

"Hinata-sama, is there any reason why everyone is so quiet? Satsuki asked, curiously.

"Oh, I-I am not sure." Hinata grimaced.

"I hope it is not something I have done." Satsuki said as a regretful expression came across her face.

"No, no worries."

"Ah, I can't wait to see Jyokujo again." Satsuki sighed. "I haven't been there since I was a little girl, it is truly a beautiful village, small, and did you know that is where my mother is from?"

"Oh?"

"Yep, it is one of the few memories that I have of my mother, she died when I was very young."

"I-I'm sorry." The whole way there, Satsuki tried to talk with Hinata as much as she could, the more that she spoke, the more the Hyuuga heiress saw the Uchiha heir clench the hilt of katana tighter. Hinata wasn't quite sure if she was talking to her because she had a genuine interest in her or because she was trying to get information out. However, when they got a couple of miles away from the village, and it came into view. Satsuki fell eerily silent, making the Hyuuga heiress think that she was concocting something.

The village head and Satsuki's father stood at the gates of the Jyokujo, her father had brown hair, and stern expression on his face. He had on a silk kimono, several ropes were draped over it, and tassels hung from it. His eyes were brown, he seemed to me in his middle ages, and Satsuki got out of the carriage to meet her father.

"Father!" Satsuki shouted. "I have missed you so." Hinata watched the stern man greet his daughter with huge arms, his face melting into a warm expression, and she began to wonder if they were beginning to get a little too suspicious of Satsuki. However, it was at that moment, a man in the same mask dropped behind Satsuki and her father.

XXXX

The Uchiha heir recognized the built of the man who appeared, it was the same man from last night, and he grabbed Hinata's wrist. He pulled her back, quickly, and his sharingan activated. His eyes flickered to several men who appeared, about thirty of them all at once, and he growled.

"It's an ambush!" Hinata gasped. Her byakugan activated as she got into a defensive stance, and Sasuke saw Satsuki hold onto her father.

"What is happening!" she wailed.

"Stay away from my daughter, you!" Her father hissed. The man behind the mask only chuckled, pulling out a tanto, and he stabbed Satsuki's father in the gut. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he saw her father fall over to the ground, and Satsuki reached into her kimono. She pulled out a tanto as well, and stabbed her father in the back. Blood stained her clothes, and Hinata's eyes widened.

"Satsuki, w-what are you doing?" Satsuki turned to face her, and she smiled at her, darkly. Her face stained with her father's blood.

"Sorry to disappoint."

"You planned this didn't you, witch!" Kiba shouted as Akamaru grabbed one of the men by his jaws, and swung him into the ground.

"I did." Satsuki cooed. "You pathetic fools."

"What is the meaning of this?" Sakura shouted. Satsuki's eyes flickered to her father, he laid on the ground as a pool of blood formed underneath his body, and he reached out a hand towards her. She looked at him, disgusted, and she snapped her fingers. The man behind the mask stabbed him one last time, his arm fell to the ground, and he wrapped his arm around her. He lifted up his mask, kissing her, passionately, and licking the blood off her face.

"You see, my father was a fool, thinking I would marry some weakling." Satsuki informed. "This alliance is pathetic, and he was pathetic, I have longed awaited the day in which I would see his death, he killed my mother, stole everything I ever loved from me, and I wanted revenge. And well, I met Yabuya, here, leader of the Toichio clan, one that my father planned to take down after I was married off, and as it turned out, he wanted to see my father's head as well. So, we bonded. I have long awaited this day, sorry, you got all involved, you can thank my dead father for that."

Shino sent a swarm of bugs her way, Yabuya jumped in front of Satsuki, forming hand signs, and out of the ground came a dragon. The dragon swallowed the bugs, then headed for Shino.

Sasuke cursed underneath his breath, one of the men came after him, and the tomoe infused together into the enigmatic design of mangekyo sharingan.

"Amaterasu." He murmured. Black unnatural flames consumed the man, the man screamed in agony, and collapsed on the ground. The Uchiha heir unsheathed his katana, cutting down the numerous amounts of men who came after him, but he watched the Hyuuga heiress out of his eye. Hinata dodged the men with ease, her arms moved fast as she depleted the chakra of her assailants, and spun on her heels. A wind defense formed around her, throwing the men back, and Sasuke's eyes rested on Satsuki.

Satsuki met his eyes, and she smirked at him. "Oh yes, how I could forget, Yabuya, this man threatened me in my room last night."

Yabuya looked at Sasuke, irately, and he held up his tanto, dripping with blood.

"Please, be a dear, and kill that Hyuuga princess." Satsuki commanded. Yabuya looked at her, shocked.

"I can't even get close."

"Try." Satsuki urged. Yabuya nodded at her, Sasuke hissed, and he kicked the man away from him. Satsuki's lover leaped for Hinata, she took notice of him as he tried to stab her, and she bent the other way. Hinata pushed him away from her, Yabuya flew backwards, and he landed on the ground. The Uchiha heir moved to him, holding the blade of his katana up to Yabuya throat, and Yabuya looked at him, icily.

"Kill me." Yabuya urged.

"You asked for it." The Uchiha heir raised his katana, however Satsuki appeared behind him, and she tried to stab him. Sasuke grabbed a hold of her kimono, ramming his katana through her chest, and her eyes widened. Blood trickled out of her mouth, and Yabuya screamed.

"I warned you." He hissed. "Now go to hell, and say hi to the people I have sent there." Sasuke yanked his katana out of her, Yabuya reached into his shirt, and she shoved something against the Uchiha heir's back. Upon instant, the Uchiha heir fell to his knees, feeling all his chakra suddenly drain from his body, and he turned to see a box like object attach to his skin. Yabuya grabbed Satsuki before she fell to the ground, she reached up a hand to cup his face, but it fell short. Her body became flaccid, all color drained from her face, and Yabuya grabbed his tanto. He pointed it towards the Uchiha heir.

"I am going to make you pay for that."

"What the fuck did you do to me?" Sasuke growled.

"Oh, it is just a mere trinket that sucks all the chakra out of whoever it is placed on, it is really useful in battles."

"That's dirty."

"Who cares?" Yabuya said a wild smirk came on his face. "Now, that Hyuuga woman, is se yours?" The Uchiha heir didn't answer. "I see, well, I will just have to see won't I?" Sasuke watched the man move to Hinata, Hinata was breathing, heavily, and all of the men around her were passed out on the ground.

XXXX

Hinata saw Yabuya head towards her, once again, but there was something different in his eyes. He was going to try to kill her, it was evident, and she looked over to see the Uchiha heir looking at her with a clenched jaw. The lifeless body of Satsuki laid next to him, and she frowned at him.

Why was he sitting there? Something must be wrong. Yabuya lunged for her, she jabbed one of his arms with her hand, draining the chakra out of it, and he hissed. He did some hand signs, the ground came up like ropes, constricting every part of her body. Yabuya snapped his fingers, she was pulled to her knees, and he smirked at her.

"Your special to that Uchiha aren't you?" Yabuya asked, coolly. Hinata's eyes widened, she tried to reach for her kunai, but the restraints on her wrists prevented her from doing so. Hinata looked at him, fearfully, and Yabuya pointed the dagger to her chest. "No matter, you won't be special for long."

And with that, Hinata gasped as the blade pieced her, and she heard Kiba scream her name. However, it was drowned out as a she felt warm liquid trickle down, and darkness overcome her.

XXXX

Sasuke watched Yabuya pull the blade out of Hinata's chest, the restraints released her, and she collapsed on the ground. Sasuke remained silent as Yabuya walked over to him, and Yabuya smirked at him.

"How does it feel, Uchiha?" It was at that moment that Yabuya noticed a dark chakra emanate off of Sasuke's body, he dropped his dagger, and began to back away with wide eyes. The black flame like symbols of the curse seal spread across Sasuke's face, the box like trinket on his body broke, and the Uchiha heir grabbed Yabuya's arm. Yabuya screamed, fearfully as Sasuke's eyes began to darken, and Sasuke looked at him, smirking.

"I am going to make sure you pay." The bright blue flow of chidori formed in Sasuke's hand, and the Uchiha heir made sure that he didn't hit any major places. Yabuya howled in agony, Sasuke saw Sakura, and the others look at him with mouths hung agape, and for once, he considered them to be smart. They stayed away from him, the men started to flee, and the Uchiha heir pulled his katana out of Yabuya's shoulder next.

"Just kill me!" Yabuya shouted, frantically. Blood trickled out of his mouth, and Sasuke chuckled at him.

"Oh, I will, I assure you, but not in this reality." The Uchiha heir forced Yabuya to look at him in the eyes, Sasuke plunged Yabuya into a world of illusionary torture. Yabuya's eyes widened, he let out one last strangled cry, and then collapsed on the ground. All of the remaining men, Sasuke sat on fire with Amaterasu, but he didn't hear their screams. He just focused on the incapacitated Yabuya.

The ravens should pick at your entrails now.

Drool trickled out of Yabuya's mouth, Sasuke stepped away from him, and walked over to Hinata. Hinata had her eyes closed, he could tell that her chakra was fading fast, and he picked her up. The Uchiha heir turned around, Sakura and the others were at his side, and he laid her down on the ground.

"She can be healed. " Sakura assured. "Her wound is deep, but I assure you that she can be healed." Her voice was delicate, almost sounding as if she were trying to mediate a hostile situation. Sasuke didn't say anything, he watched Sakura's hands glow green, and press against Hinata's chest. Kiba looked at Sasuke with a guarded expression, and Akamaru hid behind his leg.

"Your quiet, Uchiha, what are you thinking?" Kiba asked, apprehensively.

" That if she doesn't wake up from being healed, if she doesn't recover from her wounds, I will kill all of you, especially, you, Sakura, and trust me, not even Naruto will be able to save you from my wrath, and that is a promise."

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