A/N: kigome ibaki, if everyone else can wait patiently so can you. I do have a life and also other stories to update. For everyone else, thank you for your reviews and your patience, I apologise for the wait, enjoy as Hinata begins to get paranoid :)

Noroi no Uchiha

When someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage,

A curse is born

The curse gathers in that place of death

And those who encounter it will be consumed by its fury.

Temporary Escape

一時的 に逃れる

The more time she spent in that house, the more she thought her sanity was slipping between her fingers. Every shadow seemed to move. Every draft seemed to roll across her skin. And on top of all her paranoia Uchiha Sasuke was seriously trying her patience.

He was glued to her. She moved, he followed as though chained or pulled by a magnetic current. She wanted a shower, he would sit on the toilet and wait for her. He wanted a shower she had to stand in there and wait. She couldn't even go to the damn toilet in peace!

So she decided, to hell with it. She was living with him and taking care of him (while the hospital and police were doing all they could to try and find a relative for him to stay with) and she needed, and I mean seriously needed a little bit of space. So she asked him if she could go back to working at the hospital part time. Any idea what he replied?

No.

As if he was her father of all things. Was he becoming dependant on her? Attached? Obsessive? You have to remember that this is Sasuke and no matter how depressed, paranoid or deeply traumatised he still was he still had an excessive amount of pride. Rather he treated her like some sort of disabled child that he had been dumped with and was committed to look after. She wondered if he loathed her.

And then she was struck with a brilliant idea.

Groceries.

Sadly, he was adamant he go with her. They walked out umbrella in hand and headed towards the bus station that was a twenty minute walk away. You have absolutely no idea how good it felt to step out of that house; as though you were being freed from imprisonment after a long sentence or you had just been rescued of a desert island. Sasuke seemed to share the belief as he didn't complain or snap at her the whole walk, rather he simply scowled at the rain.

"Sasuke-san, is there anything you'd like in particular?" Hinata asked chirpily, a wonderful mood sparking in her at the taste of reasonable freedom. He said nothing and simply dumped many packets of fresh tomatoes in the basket. Hinata raised an eyebrow and he gave her a defiant glare that just dared her to question him. She shrugged and continued getting necessities.

The thought of going back to that house, made Hinata force back tears. She wanted to sit in the middle of the shop floor and childishly refuse to move. As a usually sensible person this thought shocked and humoured Hinata and she decided to try and cling to her good mood as long as she could.

"Ready to go?" Sasuke asked impatiently. She offhandedly wondered how he didn't have frown lines with all that scowling. She then berated herself for her silly thoughts. To be honest no, she really wasn't ready to leave. She wanted to stay away from that house for longer and if possible, never return. She'd quite like to leave Sasuke behind too what with his suffocating personality but her conscience nagged and nagged at her until she felt truly awful and took it back.

The rain fell heavier as they left the store and headed back to the bus stop. People were huddled under the shelter, rather gloomy with the constant rain. Like a plague the gloom began to seep into Hinata and she felt her earlier good mood begin to slip away.

They took a seat near the middle of the bus and sat side by side, Hinata taking the window seat while Sasuke leant back on the uncomfortable seat, spreading his legs slightly and sitting in a way most young males do. He folded his arms over his chest and looked ready to doze off.

A few giggling girls passed and shot him suggestive looks which he ignored. She supposed he was used to them with his rugged good looks. Hinata sighed softly, her posture sagging slightly when her shoulders drooped. They'd be back in that house soon and she couldn't use groceries as an excuse tomorrow. Maybe she'd think of something else. Perhaps visit a friend? Most of her friends were male and had a tendency to be a tad protective due to her shy nature. It wouldn't be a good idea to let them meet Sasuke who was arrogant and mostly rude to her. Perhaps a female friend? But would they be able to resist his good looks? It would be mortifying if they made a pass at him while she was there and even worse if they got rejected. Her family was a big no-no. Daddy would question him on family and finances, and if he liked what he heard arranged marriage, Neji-niisan would look at him with disgust and try and force his 'I am alpha-male' opinion onto him which would surely end in a fight and Hanabi… What would Hanabi do? Probably copy father.

As the bus lurched into movement Hinata looked at the stormy grey sky and watched as raindrops raced each other down the window. She rested her head against the cool glass, ignoring the knowledge she'd probably get a headache. She could feel the movements of the long vehicle and ignored the mixed feeling of nausea and drowsiness. Her eyelids drooped and with a sigh she looked back out the window only to lurch back violently falling onto Sasuke's lap and startling him.

"What the--?!" Sasuke cried angrily but stopped at the frozen look of pure horror etched in her face, eyes wide and lips parted ready to scream. "Hyuuga?"

Those eyes, those eyes! They had stared directly at her a hairs width away! Blood red eyes, sunken into darkened sockets. Was it the same as before? Was it? She'd been so close she could only see the eyes surrounded by dark bruises contrasting against sickly pale skin.

"Oi Hinata." She looked up wildly like a rabbit caught in a trap. "What happened?" he whispered.

"N-nothing," she choked out and see could the disbelief in his face before she'd even spoken. Could he feel her heart beating like a hummingbirds wing? Was that what gave her away? "I-I-I… I j-just saw your face in the window and it startled me!" she quickly lied. His lips thinned and eyes narrowed, but he said nothing more, just pushed her shaking body upright, back into her seat.

When she glanced back at the window all she could see was her own horrified reflection and the raindrops beating innocently against the glass.