Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
She could feel the water lapping at her feet, cool and unforgiving as it slowly crept further up her leg. The sound of the water rushing into the car drowned out every other sound as she frantically reached with her seatbelt. Her hands fumbled with the strap before finally she clicked it open and it snapped back across her body, releasing her from its confines. A thin haze still seemed to surround her thoughts, her mind screaming that she was forgetting something important though at the same time unable to remember it. Her head and leg throbbed, the sound of rushing water sounding like a roar in her ears and making her head pound furiously. She needed to get out of this car, it was sinking, but there was something else, something just as important.
"Sasuke!" The cry left her lips and she turned to look at him, a yelp of pain escaping her lips at her sudden movement. She realized then that she couldn't move completely, her leg was pinned by the mangled frame of the car. She gasped at another wave of pain. It felt like something sharp was digging into her upper thigh and she knew that looking to see what it might be was a mistake. It was better not to know. Instead she focused on Sasuke, slumped over in the passenger seat, the seatbelt the only thing keeping him from sliding out of his seat. Blood was dripping down the right side of his face, the deep red liquid a sharp contrast to his pale skin. His eyes were closed and if it wasn't for the steady rise and fall of his chest Hinata might have feared the worst.
His face passive as if he were sleeping, but he wasn't sleeping, he was out cold, and they were both running out of time. The water was already up to her knees and still Sasuke hadn't stirred. She had to get them out. She tried to move again, another cry of pain forcing its way past her lips as an intense white hot pain shot up her leg. She finally decided to look at her leg, she needed to get it free. Her pale eyes fell to her leg and she noticed immediately the blood stained water around it. A piece of the car's frame was cutting into her thigh and her foot was twisted in an odd way, wedged between the floorboard and part of the body of the car.
"Sasuke," she yelled again, willing him to wake up but there was no response from the seat beside her. She was on her own.
Her hands went to the piece of metal digging into her thigh. She tried to tug it away, slicing through the palm of her hands in the process. She bit back a cry of pain and jerked her hands away, blood now running down the palm of her hand and down her arm. Hysterical tears threatened at the corner of her eyes, obscuring her vision as the water made its way up to her lap as the car continued to bob along in the water, sinking lower with each passing second. Leaning her shoulder into the side of the door she pushed away from it, screaming as the mangled piece of metal that had been embedded in her thigh tore at her skin more. She pushed harder against the door, screaming her throat raw as her thigh finally popped free, the water red with her blood that now poured out of the long gash that ran across her thigh. She choked on her sobs, the hysterical tears rolling down her cheeks without pause. Her leg felt like it was on fire, the whole thing burned in an intense physical pain that she had never once before experienced.
She felt fatigued, the loss of blood no doubt hindering her attempts at escaping the sinking car. Her pale eyes stared at the dark water that lapped around her stomach knowing that under it her foot remained pinned at an awkward angle. She tugged resulting in another cry of pain, every part of her body protesting more movement. She felt weak, defeated. Her tear stained face turned towards Sasuke's limp form. She couldn't save herself and she couldn't save him. It just wasn't fair.
"Sasuke," she sobbed as she reached over towards him. "Wake up. Please just wake up," she pleaded shaking his shoulder. He could save himself if he woke up. He could make it out of the car. She felt herself shaking whether it was from the cool water, the hysteria, or fear she wasn't sure. The water was at her chest, the rate that it was pouring in picking up slightly as the car slid deeper into the river.
"I'm sorry, so sorry," she said shakily, she said laying a gentle hand against his cheek before pulling it back and abandoning all attempts to plead him into waking.
"Just wake up damn it," she screamed as she brought her hand back and slapped him hard against the cheek, all the while tears still spilling down her own pale cheeks. Her hand stung from the impact and her leg protested the movement but in that moment none of it mattered because she was staring back at a pair of the blackest eyes she had ever seen.
"Sasuke," she choked out, her voice hoarse.
For a moment, he simply stared back at her, the confusion clear on his face as his mind played a game of catch up in which he attempted to put together the pieces that got him to this point. And then the reality of it all sunk in and the recognition became clear on his face. For a brief moment there was horror at the sight of the red water that surrounded Hinata in the driver's seat but it was quickly followed by a look of determination, a resolve that was comforting despite everything.
"My foot's pinned," she shakily stammered out. "I can't move," she said, a sob cutting into her words.
"I'll get you out of this," he said, already in motion. He unsnapped the seatbelt and leaned over the center of the car to lay his hand on her tear-streaked face. He forced her to look into his eyes, their intensity burning into her slightly blurred vision. "I promise."
She nodded, able to feel the water at her chin as she did so. They were out of time. A few more seconds and her head would be under water. He went under the water then and she could feel his hand following her leg down to her foot. She felt a sharp tug then and her scream left her sputtering water. The pain left her seeing black spots in front of her vision as he moved her to different angles trying to free it from its watery prison. More tears spilled from her cheeks and she took her last deep breath as her head went under the water. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming out what little air she had left. She could still feel Sasuke at her ankle, the pain was still intense. Then suddenly the pain stopped. She knew that her foot was still pinned, it hadn't been popped free. He had simply stopped tugging on it.
The thought that this was where it ended wasn't an easy one to entertain. There was so much that she had left undone and even more that she had left unsaid. Now it seemed like she was out of time to do any of it. Perhaps if she had stayed locked away in the timid shell she had built for herself none of this would have happened. She would be safe at home not drowning. That shell had been a prison, it hadn't been a life, so in the end she supposed she couldn't regret the decisions that had gotten her here, to the point where she could be her own person. Her only regret was that it wasn't going to last any longer.
Sasuke's face appeared in front of hers then, the determination in his gaze replaced by what she would call fear. Perhaps he realized what she had just accepted, that she wasn't getting out of this car. This was going to be the end for her but not for him. He would be okay and that fact was comforting for her. She smiled at him then and while the smile was full of sadness it was beautiful in a haunting way. Her hand came up and rested against his cheek and she leaned forward to press her lips against his in a bittersweet farewell. He grabbed her hand holding it tightly within his own as if he were unwilling to let her go. Yet his need for air caused him to let go and she watched as he moved away from her.
She watched him moving away, a black ring around her vision, slowly moving inwards to shut her off from the world. Her chest burned, her leg long forgotten now that her lungs felt as though they might burst. She couldn't hold her breath any longer. She had to breathe, she choked as she did, the water pouring into her lungs as her eyes closed. Naruto, Shikamaru, Lee, Sakura. She hoped that they were all alright. She hoped that Neji and her father knew that despite everything else she did love them. She hoped that Sasuke didn't blame himself. She hoped that she would be missed but not mourned. Then she closed her eyes and the pain finally stopped.
His head broke the surface of the water as his burning lungs sucked in as much air as he could. The back of the car still had a small pocket of air left that kept it floating just beneath the surface of the water. It would only be a matter of moments before that two was gone and the whole car would sink to the bottom of the river. None of that mattered though. He didn't dwell on that, instead he heaved in a deep breath and dove back under the water and back to the front of the car. To his horror he saw Hinata with her eyes closed, her body floating lifelessly in the water. She looked almost like a bloodied angel, her hair dark hair swirling weightlessly around her, her pale features flawless and peacefully relaxed.
In his mind he was screaming. This couldn't happen to her. He ought to be the one in her shoes. It should be his life not hers that was to be forfeit. She didn't deserve any of this. She was an inherently good person, a person who truly cared for those around her. That much had always been clear to him even from the very beginning. He hadn't deserved even having her in his life whether it was as a friend or something more. She was so much better than he was. It wasn't right. Life was playing a cruel joke on his once again, leaving him alive while the people, or in this case person, he cared about died. And it would seem that each time he was helpless. Each time he was cursed to watch and be unable to stop it from happening. Before it had been with his family and now it was happening with Hinata.
His hands found her foot again, frantically feeling for a way to free her. He couldn't let her die, he wouldn't let that happen. No longer thinking rationally, he pried at the metal causing it to bit deeply into his hands. The pain though was nothing compared to the weight that was crushing down on his chest. Her face seemed to hover in front of him as he blindly pulled. Nothing budged and the anguished yell that escaped his lips was muffled by the water that surrounded him. This hand slipped off the piece of metal that it had been pulling on and slid in between two jagged pieces. The pain didn't register as the metal tore at his flesh. Instead the only thing he felt was his fingertips brush against what he realized to be the other side of Hinata's trapped foot. He strained against the metal, wedging his arm further between the pieces feeling his skin tear along his arm as he did so. His teeth were clenched, his own blood mixing in the water with Hinata's.
He could nearly wrap his hand around her foot at this point and with one more forceful push he had his hand wrapped firmly around her foot. Bracing his feet around the mangled metal he twisted her foot with his free hand while he pushed with the hand that was now wrapped around her foot. The pain would have been excruciating if she were conscious to feel it but he knew that right now she wasn't feeling anything. Despite this the guilt of having to hurt her still nagged at his own conscious. However, more important than that was getting her out of this watery grave. He refused to acknowledge the fact that he had failed her so terribly up to and including this moment. Another sharp tug was given and he felt something slip.
At that moment her foot was free. Like the dawning of a new day, the realization brought with it a stronger, rekindled glimmer of hope. It fed the dying flame, revitalizing it and spurring Sasuke into immediate action despite his own injuries. He tucked the limp form of Hinata under his uninjured arm. Hinata as both herself and Violet had always possessed a subtle yet beautiful grace in her movements, but here, in this dark water, the way her body moved seemed ethereal. An angel surrounded by darkness, darkness that, at the moment, only he could save her from. He was hardly fit to play that role, something he had seen very clearly the moment his actions had put her in so much danger, but he would fulfill that role for now. At this moment he would be the white knight, not the prince of darkness who had put her in this mess to begin with.
It was so clear to him then while they were both suspended in the dark waters that she did not belong in this world, his world. He had been selfish for dragging her under, knowing the dangers that awaited her by being associated with him, but doing it anyway. He should have stayed away, he should have saved her from himself, but he wasn't strong enough to do that. From the beginning he had felt some undeniable pull towards the girl that he now had cradled in his arms. There had been some unnamed force, pulling him towards her all this time.
He felt like he was a better person when he was with her, though it was strange to think that that was the case after such a brief amount of time of actually being with her. He made her feel as though maybe there was something left for him out there other than the drive for revenge, that he could feel something other than the hate that radiated from his chest where his heart was supposed to be. She wasn't the only one who wore a mask after all. He wore his own though rather than hiding his face from the world, he hid the pain, the lonely, empty feeling that was the essence of who he was. Around her he hardly felt so empty and the hate that threatened to consume him every day was nothing more than a twinge of remembrance in the back of his mind. That was why he had been so selfish. That was why he had pulled her under with him. It hadn't been fair and he promised himself that he would never drag another person under again, especially not her.
His own lungs were beginning to burn as he shoved against his door. Under the water the door was slow to open but as it finally did, he kicked out his legs and swam for the surface. His head broke the water with him gasping for breath. The air rushed into his tired lungs as he drew in another deep breath, his body already pushing him to move towards shore. He kept both their heads above the water making the process of getting to shore laborious and longer than he liked.
As soon as his feet touched the muddy surface of the ground hidden beneath the water, he had Hinata's limp form in his arms. He nearly stumbled in his rush to get onto the riverbank but regained his footing at the last moment. With the water behind them serving as a grim reminder, he dropped to his knees and set Hinata on the ground. His onyx eyes focused on her noting that her skin was paler than usual with no hint of the blush she so often wore. He would give anything to see that color on her cheeks again. Her lips were tinted blue and her dark hair was plastered to her face. Her pale eyes were closed and he knew that she wasn't breathing. There was no steady rise and fall of her chest and when he pressed his fingers to her neck he found no pulse.
"Please no."
The simple plea left his lips and was swallowed up in the night air. He wasn't sure who the plea was meant for. It could have been for anyone. In fact it was for anyone, anyone who could do something for the lifeless girl in front of him. Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he prayed. He would have to assume it was sometime before the death of his parents. After losing them to the hands of his own brother he found it hard to believe that there was something more out there. However right now he wanted to believe because if there was something more, a higher power so to day, he or she would save this girl.
With one hand he covered Hinata's nose and then sealed his mouth over hers. He gave one rescue breath, counted to five, and then gave another. Pulling away he checked for a pulse or any sign of shallow breathing. Still there was nothing. Placing one hand over the other, he laced his fingers together and pressed them to her sternum, his face void of emotion, he began compressions, counting to thirty out loud as he did so. They had learned CPR in health class that very year. Sasuke remembered the only one in the class who had any trouble getting certified had been Naruto. Somewhere between one and thirty his attention would always be captured by something more important than the dummy laying on the floor in front of him. Sasuke hadn't had a single problem passing but now the situation was so much more critical. Now the situation meant everything.
He gave Hinata two more rescue breaths, her chest rising and falling from the air he was forcing into her lungs. Again his hand went to her neck, this time feeling the light flutter of a pulse under his fingertips. A rush of emotions swelled in his chest at once as he watched her chest rise a fraction of an inch before falling. Her breathing was shallow and sporadic, her pulse was faint but it was better than before. He had to keep her blood flowing until she could be revived, he had to keep her alive.
His hands went to her chest again to continue compressions. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… He got no further. Instead he felt a solid impact on the side of his head, knocking him away from Hinata and causing him to hit the ground. Right above his left ear felt like it was on fire, his head still sore from the accident on top of the blow he had just received. Shaking his head, he was momentarily confused, all his previous thoughts lost for a moment. Staggering to his feet he remembered there was something far more important than himself. He squeezed his eyes shut tight only to have them fly open as he pictured a blushing young woman with pale eyes and dark hair. Hinata.
He whirled around, the motion nearly sending him staggering to the side as the blow to his head left him feeling off-balance. He was vaguely aware of the feel of something warm running down the side of his face, but none of that mattered. Instead he came face to face with Orochimaru who was now standing over the body of Hinata, a gun in one hand and a sadistic smirk on his face.
"Ssssuch a sssshame. She was a very pretty girl," Orochimaru hissed leveling his gun at Sasuke. "Do you regret bringing her into this messssss?"
With those words Orochimaru delivered a swift kick to Hinata's side causing her limp form to turn over on its stomach. Sasuke growled and stepped forward, his eyes nearly crimson with rage. He froze however when Orochimaru lowered the gun to point at Hinata's limp form. A chilling laugh escaped his lips then as he shook his head, his piercing eyes burning into the battered form of Sasuke.
"Sooo weak. I never thought you possesssssed such a side, so willing to die for someone who is already dead. You are a fool, and you are the one who killed her."
The words cut into Sasuke like a knife. The truth of them drained the fight out of his body. This was his fault. Again he had been too weak to protect someone he cared about. Exhaustion and shame nearly brought him to his knees but he forced himself to remain standing as Orochimaru turned the gun on him. Sasuke stared down the barrel, the idea of death not scaring him, his biggest regret not that he never gotten his revenge, but instead that he had drug Hinata into all of this. If there was one thing he could change, that would be it without question. Did that mean that he loved her, was that the reason for such intense feelings? He didn't know and he never would. They were both going to die.
"Goodbye Sasssssuke"
She felt like she was suspended in the darkness. In a strange way it was almost nice. While the lack of light was a bit frightening, the silence seemed to embrace her. Like so many times before she felt as though she was hidden away from the world, safe from prying eyes. She felt no pain, no sorrow, and no need to hide herself. Was this what death was?
It seemed off, like something wasn't quite right. She was sure she had been dying but now she was unsure of everything. She opened her mouth to say something, just to drown out the silence, but the darkness seemed to swallow up her words without a sound. No longer did it feel so comforting. Now she felt the need to escape. Suddenly it felt like she needed to get out, she wasn't sure why but she felt like there was a reason, like someone needed her.
She frowned internally as the darkness began to fade, the blackness that surrounding her fading into something less imposing. Yet as it faded she felt an intense pain. She wanted to clutch at her leg but she found that she couldn't move. She could feel her body but she was unable to control it. She felt hands on her chest, forcing her body to pump blood through her system. Then she felt nothing. She tried to scream for that person to come back, to help her, but found herself unable to breath. It was like she was choking, drowning all over again. The darkness that surrounded her crept in, threatening to engulf her in that place she had been moments ago, a place where she felt no pain. For a moment she considered letting it, she wanted the pain to end.
Yet a sudden sharp pain in her side, seemed to drag her even further from the darkness as she felt the water being forced from her lungs. The water poured out of her mouth and nose as if she had swallowed the whole river. Her lungs burned with a need for air as the water continued to pour out of her mouth and nose. She wanted to cough, to suck in a deep breath of air, but the sound of a chilling voice stopped her. Instead as soon as the water stopped she took in several shallow and quick breaths. Slowly the feeling of the muddy river bank beneath her registered as did the voice that was speaking. "You are the one who killed her." She recognized the voice though at the moment no name came to mind. She allowed her pale eyes to flutter open and take in the sight before her.
If you think it had anything to do with me finding out the truth you are wrong. I figured you out before Neji and Tenten told me. You kept me guessing for awhile but that night at the hospital I figured it out.
His voice, his words echoed through her head. Everything he had done to her and for her all replaying in her mind. The fact that no matter how irrational it was, she wanted him in her life, that she cared for him more than she thought possible in such a short amount of time.
I guess you're easier to read when you're Hinata. You're not hiding behind some mask.
"Goodbye Sasuke"
The words had her in motion, ignoring all the pain that shot through her body as she jumped forward.
I'll get you out of here. I promise.
"No," she screamed as she threw herself at Orochimaru not caring that he had a gun and that she could barely stand. She saw the shocked stares of both men as she collided with him. A shot rang out, the sound loud in her ears, and then they both began to fall. She saw the gun fly out of his hand, scattering away as they both hit the ground. A cry of pain escaped her lips as she landed, her leg burning as if it were on fire. She swallowed the rest of her cry as a fist landed against her jaw, sending her mind reeling.
She was being pulled upward by her hair then, a whimper escaping her lips as she was forced to her feet, her weight all on her right leg. She heard a click at about the same moment she felt a metal blade pressed to her throat. Her pale eyes opened then to the sight of Sasuke on his hands and knees, Orochimaru's gun in his right hand. His face was twisted in discomfort, his face still bloodied as he fell to his side in a seated position, his left arm propping him up as if he were going to fall over.
Sasuke had the gun leveled at Orochimaru who was now standing behind her, his head hovering above her shoulder. She could feel his knife digging into her throat and the small trickle of blood that began to run down her neck. It felt like this would never end.
"Sssasssuke lets talk about th…"
A shot shattered the silence again, cutting off Orochimaru's words and silencing him forever. She felt his head jerk back, the knife cut into her skin a bit further before dropping away. She felt the blood that wasn't her own on the side of her face and for a moment she felt sick to her stomach. It was forgotten though when she saw the gun slip from Sasuke's hands as he slumped forward and hit the ground.
"Sasuke," she cried moving forward. She collapsed in a heap when she put pressure on her leg, biting back a scream as she fell. Lifting herself off the ground, she crawled forward, doing her best to ignore the pain in her leg as she tried to get to Sasuke.
When she reached him, she was horrified to see him clutching at his chest, blood seeping through his fingers. His eyes were shut against the pain and his breathing was shallow and labored. Silent tears began to roll down her cheeks as she looked at him.
"What can I do," she asked, her voice cracking at the end of her question.
"Just sit with me," he coughed out as his free hand found hers.
She squeezed his hand gently and smoothed his hair back from his face with her other hand though it was shaking nearly uncontrollably.
"Can you hear that," she asked softly. "I can hear sirens. Help is almost here."
Sasuke coughed but did not respond. Instead he dropped her hand and reached for his pocket. She watched through tear-filled eyes as he reached into his pocket and pulled out her mask. She had forgotten that he had taken it from Neji that day at school. He pressed the mask into her hand then before allowing his hand to fall back to the ground.
"Promise me you won't use that thing again," he choked out, his own voice sounding strange to his ears. It was weak and broken. "You shouldn't hide yourself from the world," he added, his already weakened voice even quieter as he spoke.
Hinata nodded, her tears falling onto his face as she leaned over him and kissed him lightly on the forehead. The sirens were shrill and close, their help nearly there. "I promise," she whispered softly.
The last thing she remembered was clutching the mask to her chest and watching the flashing lights dancing off of Sasuke's bloodied face. She remembered the shouts of people around her and her determined grip on the mask as she felt herself being lifted off the ground. Then her world went black.
Author's Note: Well there is only one chapter left now. I actually considered breaking this chapter down into two seperate ones but I decided against it. It actually ended up being a lot longer than I had originally planned. Needless to say this chapter was actually one of the easier chapters for me to write. It goes a bit more into the intensity of feelings they have for one another though neither has put a label on it. Of course it is once again a bit of a cliffhanger but would I have anything else for the second to last chapter? As for their injuries and CPR I am no expert so forgive me if any part of it all isn't believable. I know that it is rare to have a drowning victim recover from CPR alone but it isn't impossible and it works for the story. Other than that I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading.
