In a pool of white sheets, the two lay asleep facing one another.
One slept soundly, even as sunlight washed over his body. He lay on his side with the sheets drawn to his waist, one of his arms cradling his head, and the other upon his companion's hip. Their lips were inches apart.
Hinata shifted slightly, when she felt her lips press against something warm. She opened one of her eyes, and then the other, meeting Sasuke's closed ones, before she blushed and broke the unconscious kiss. She watched him for a while, before leaning over to kiss his chin, musing that as he slept like that, his face exposed under the light of the sun, he looked incredibly handsome.
She blinked as Sasuke pulled away, burying himself in his sheets. "Good morning," he said wearily, opening one of his eyes to glance through the window, then cursing at how late it was. Naruto and Sakura were going to start looking for them, probably starting with hotels.
He threw a glance at Hinata, realizing he had chosen a bad day to have a bad morning. He half expected her to start crying.
But she was simply watching him, sheets wrapped around her naked body, and cheeks dusted with a faint blush. "Good morning," she said meekly.
He ran his fingers through his hair. "Morning…"
"Y-you already…said that…"
"Hn…"
And then they kissed each other, once, lightly, for no particular reason. When they broke apart, Hinata was wearing a dreamy smile.
Sasuke amended this. "You were good," he teased, smirking slightly.
He enjoyed watching as Hinata reddened then opened and closed her mouth, before just settling on pressing her lips.
"How do you feel?" he said. He pulled his sheets back and leaned on his elbow to scrutinize her.
Concern, Hinata thought, spotting it in his eyes. Her heart fluttered. "F-fine," she mumbled, but Sasuke didn't seem very convinced. "Sore," she confessed.
"Then rest for a while."
Hinata was hit by a wave of dizziness when Sasuke began to pull her closer, and she resisted. "No! You're n-naked!" she cried accusingly. It took her a few seconds to realize how stupid her statement had been.
The dark-eyed man stared blankly at her for a moment, before his gaze strayed downwards, causing Hinata to clutch her sheets tighter. "Of course I am." His cheek twitched. "So are you."
"Where the hell have you two been?"
"Sleeping."
"Training."
Hinata felt her face catch fire. She glanced up at Sasuke who was smirking. They had failed to establish a proper alibi. Naruto gave them a suspicious look, but dropped it.
The group resumed their trip back to Konoha, Sakura mostly muttering to herself about the delay, while Naruto spent his time watching her lips move. Sasuke walked in silence, neither saying a word nor paying much attention to his company.
And Hinata...Hinata bit her lip to keep any words from spilling out, as she was conscious that Sasuke had been ignoring her since they left the hotel several hours earlier.
Maybe she was over-analyzing the supposed issue. Naruto and Sakura were around now, and he obviously didn't want to let them on to what they had been up to.
Hinata stared at her hands, as they shook despite her. Calm down, she told herself, taking deep breaths, and trying to ease her racing heart. This was stupid. She was getting upset about nothing.
She looked at Sasuke's turned back. He seemed as impassive as ever, hands shoved into pockets, and eyes focused on the world ahead. What if Sasuke was done with her now that he'd had her? What if he didn't love her after all? "Sasuke?"
Her voice had been weak, but she knew Sasuke had heard her. He always heard her voice, even if he wasn't minding the words. His eyes rose slightly, but he continued to disregard her.
She should have just brushed it off, but her anxiety defied her, crippling her in a fantastic attack. Hinata stopped in her tracks, and–
Burst into tears.
She watched as the others kept walking, taking little notice of her breakdown. She tried to follow, but her legs refused to heed her, instead glued to the earth and threatening to buckle. She almost flopped down onto the ground, but his voice caught her, holding her up, as though with invisible strings.
"Hinata?" Sasuke was casting her a disbelieving look, like maybe he thought she had lost her mind.
Naruto and Sakura turned around as well, both staring in shock at their hysterical comrade.
"Hinata?" Naruto started to approach.
But he stopped in his tracks as Sasuke stalked past him, closing in on Hinata with so much aggression she tried to back away. He stopped just short of colliding with her, and peered down at her, his nose inches from hers.
Hinata gasped as he grabbed her jacket and pulled her against him, tightly, so tightly, in fact, she was having difficulty breathing, and suspected he was trying to suffocate her in his chunnin vest.
"It's okay," he said robotically, like he didn't really know what he was talking about. "Whatever it is – it's okay." Maybe he was regretting choosing such an emotional girl to fall in love with.
Hinata sobbed into his chest. "A-after last night, and – and n-now, you w-won't even t-talk t-to me anymore!" Her inhalations became deeper in her efforts to breathe, and maybe that had been Sasuke's intention. The attack slowly subsided, the world coming into better focus as she breathed, in and out, leaning more heavily on him in her weariness. He supported her by wrapping one of his arms around her waist, albeit still seeming rather irritated.
"We'll catch up," Sasuke called over his shoulder to his staring teammates. They hesitated, but turned and kept walking.
"What's w-wrong with me?" Hinata mumbled.
"You were hyperventilating," he deadpanned.
"I'm l-losing my m-mind!" she said. It must have been the Hyuuga curse!
"Un," Sasuke agreed indifferently, his free hand moving up and down her back, until her breathing evened out completely and her shaking subsided. She didn't know how long they stood like that, but she felt secure in his arms. When he finally released her, she stared up at him, her face still wet with tears.
"Sorry," said Sasuke, even though he didn't think he owed her an apology. "I've been…preoccupied."
Hinata balled one of her hands and rubbed her eye, looking so pathetic and adorable, it was an enigma. "Sasuke, d-do you – do you still–
Tell me you love me.
But Sasuke's eyes has shifted to something beyond her shoulder, causing Hinata to turn around where she spotted a large squadron of shinobi exiting the woods on the right side of the dirt path. As she looked around, she could see others coming up behind them. She and Sasuke were surrounded.
Most of the shinobi were dressed in the grays of Cloud village jounin, their forehead protectors confirming their allegiances. In looking closer, Hinata saw a few familiar faces. She had seen several of them at Gaara's party in Suna. They carried weapons, but also, small spoon-like instruments that made her stiffen as she realized what they were. Though technically an ally of the Leaf, Kumo had never been on good terms with the Konoha clans.
"Hyuuga." One of the nin nodded to her. Hinata shuddered as the men licked their lips and gave her lecherous grins. Hinata glanced at Sasuke, who remained impassive. He was unfazed, unbothered, always carrying that over-inflated balloon of confidence that he never bothered to share.
A minor inconvenience, he thought.
"And the Uchiha," another said, noting his onyx eyes. At this, one or two of the shinobi actually stepped back, fully aware of Uchiha Sasuke's combat reputation.
"Be careful," some muttered. "Watch him," they said.
"Are you all right?" Sasuke said quietly, to Hinata, as the other nin closed in.
A circle had formed around them. As she fell into a fighting stance, she managed a nod, though she knew it was a lie. She was completely discomposed, and would be surprised if she didn't lose her balance. "Byakugan," she whispered, veins rising to flank her eyes. "There are even more up ahead, by Naruto-kun and Sakura-san." She watched their opponents inch closer, but had no fears with Sasuke by her said.
"Can you perform the kaiten?" he asked.
"Un," said Hinata, thoughtlessly. She was too disoriented to perform any technique.
"Then I'll get out of your way," Sasuke said as he dematerialized.
"But–" Hinata stared at the empty space Sasuke had occupied a second before.
Sasuke had left her alone, because he had confidence in her abilities, neglecting to take into account the fact that Hinata had little confidence in herself. Sasuke was accustomed to relying on his famed teammates who could hold their own in any fight, and so had left her there, alone, against many who out-ranked her.
At seeing Sasuke's leave, her opponents launched themselves at her.
"Kaiten!" Hinata shouted, spinning around, and disappearing in a vortex of her white chakra. When she stopped, she saw that several of the nin around her had been flung back onto the ground, but several had managed to avoid her attack.
She could hear the slashing of metal on flesh where Sasuke was fighting further up the road. Beyond him were the disgusting sounds of bones cracking, which could only indicate Sakura. Finally, there was the subtle whistle of wind and rasengan.
Someone suddenly leapt onto her, pinning her beneath him, and she managed to throw him off, but only after he had stabbed her with a kunai.
Hinata climbed up to her knees, one of the hands pressing the ground for balance, and the other clutching her stomach. She managed to get back up, but then folded, and vomited some blood. She fell into a fit of wet, disgusting coughs, more and more of her blood splattering the ground. Blots of blackness decorated her vision. She imagined Naruto cheering her on at the sidelines, but dismissed him. She wanted to see her boyfriend before she died.
He was really mean...and dark, and glum, and cold, no, heartless, and he rarely smiled (though when he did she melted to goo), and was hardly affectionate (except always when they were alone). In fact, it was kind of fun to see those sides of him that he never showed anyone else.
Naruto's excited howls some kilometers away reminded her of Kiba. She also heard Sakura scold him in response, even as she effortlessly smashed bones and snapped limbs. She heard a slash and then a thud, which must have been Sasuke decapitating someone.
The pain was unbearable. Her peripheral vision had gone completely black. I think that...maybe...I have something I really want to live for. Even if I shouldn't. Even if it's just for him.
The leader of the squadron was wearing a tiger mask on his belt. He approached Hinata and began to execute some hand seals for a jutsu that was likely to take her down. He wasn't cautious, and he came too close.
With amusement sparkling in their eyes, his subordinates watched as Hinata fell forward, causing their leader to falter before he could finish his technique. He caught her by the shoulders before she could hit the ground, then slipped his arms around her waist, wearing that same lewd smirk many of his men sported. He didn't mind that his uniform was smeared with blood as Hinata weakly raised one of her arms, lightly patting the right side of his face. Blood trickled from his left air.
He fell in a heap to the ground, but not before she pushed him off her, even though she wanted to collapse as well. Startled gasps surrounded her, and then angry snarls. I've lost too much blood, Hinata mused, as it soaked her clothes, pasting it against her. The veins beside her eyes retracted as she ran out of chakra.
Where were Kiba and Shino? Wasn't this the point in which one of them stepped in? Or even Neji? Kurenai, Naruto–?
Her savior dropped from the sky in front of her, and she would have informed him that he was late, had she not finally allowed herself to close her eyes, sink to her knees, and drop to her side, where the earth caressed her and she slipped into beautiful blackness.
Her eyelids were heavy. It was silent except for the faint buzz of electricity above her. She felt something warm against her forehead.
Her eyes opening to slits, Hinata noticed Sasuke staring down at her. He looked upset, but she didn't know why. It was his hand on her forehead, idly brushing back her hair. As her eyes focused on his, his expression changed – to a collection of things she would never hope to catalogue. But there was pain, relief, frustration, then a terrible weariness. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Aishiteru." There was a kiss on her temple. "Kami," another, in front of her ear, "I love you."
The sterile odor was sickening.
She didn't like hospitals, and never had. Not since –
"Stop squirming," said Sasuke.
They were in a village neighboring Konoha. Sakura had wasted too much chakra to heal her, so they had rushed her to a hospital in the Fire Country. Naruto and Sakura then headed for Konoha without them so to inform Tsunade of the situation.
Hinata was not supposed to move around too much. Sakura had healed her enough just to stop the bleeding, so Hinata was waiting her turn for an additional treatment at the hospital, though the medics outside of Konoha were not as abundant, nor were they as skilled.
Hinata lay on her back, her hair splayed around her. She hugged a spare pillow to her chest, absently wondering why Sasuke cared. When she voiced the question, he threw a pencil eraser at her head.
"Because...you're stupid," was the best answer the Uchiha could come up with on such short notice. He was seated in the chair beside her bed scribbling something down on a piece of parchment against his knee. Hinata rubbed the spot on the forehead as Sasuke continued working on his note to Tsunade. Though his gaze was on the paper, he watched Hinata from the corner of his eye.
The heiress was staring at the ceiling through her half-lidded eyes. She wore a thin white hospital gown and white sheets drawn to her chest, beneath which was a long coil of white bandages encircling her waist. The pain had been numbed by drugs that made the world swim unpleasantly. "I...am," she mumbled. Stupid. Weak. Useless.
"No you're not," Sasuke muttered, contradicting his prior statement. Hinata had been acting strangely since awaking. He eyed her IV line and wondered if her doctors weren't giving her too much pain medication.
The two looked up as one of them entered the room. "I'm sorry for the wait," said the middle-aged man as he examined Hinata's her chart. "We only have two medical nin on hand, and they've done what they can for the day. You should be out of here tomorrow morning."
As Hinata nodded slightly, Sasuke decided to speak. "Will she still be able to–"
Hinata looked down. Sex.
"–have children?"
Hinata blinked in surprise. She felt her face catch fire.
"It's too early to tell," the doctor responded. "We'll have to wait and see how she heals."
Sasuke nodded and the doctor excused himself. Hinata's face continued to burn as she looked in the opposite direction. She slowly managed to turn to her side, if just to turn her back to Sasuke, and hope to be ignored. She wondered why Sasuke was concerned with whether or not she would still be able to have children. His children? She stuffed her face into the pillow she was clutching in an effort to smother the heat.
She had been sure that all he really wanted was sex. But...could it be that he wanted to stay with her? To marry, and to have children with her?
Her eyes widened. Maybe he just wanted her help reviving his clan. Maybe he thought they could make super-powerful Hyuuga/Uchiha hybrid babies he could use to take over the ninja world.
Hinata's eye watered as she realized this had to be his ambition. Evil hybrid babies. It all made perfect sense! She stiffened as Sasuke poked her arm. She didn't want this anymore – she wanted nothing to do with it!
So why did she melt, as he climbed upon the bed behind her, and draped one of his arms around her shoulders.
Hinata squeezed her eyes closed. "N-no," she stammered badly. "All y-you w-want are – e-evil – babies."
There was a moment of frozen silence, as Sasuke again glanced at her intravenous line. As he sighed, his breath tickled the back of her neck.
"You're absolutely right," Sasuke muttered tiredly. "I want," he pulled back some of her hair, "your children."
Hinata felt herself redden more.
"I want everything."
Everything? What did that mean? Maybe if she was sober, she might have figured it out.
