Note: Thanks for the favs, follows and reviews. They honestly fuel my motivation :D Hope you enjoy Chapter 2

Sasuke could hear the shuffling of shoes next to his bed and he knew the presence. Sakura was checking the machines hooked up to him, and the sound of scribbles on a clip board could be heard as well. He kept his eyes shut and pretended he was asleep. Even though Sasuke was now able to open his eyes without the pain, he didn't want to deal with her at all. He didn't want to deal with emotions, with tears, with anything. The door slid open and then closed, and he opened his eyes slowly. She was gone. The room was dark so he tried to sit up to get a better view of his surroundings. His muscles ached and there was a throbbing pain in his leg but otherwise he felt better than when he had first woken up. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Sasuke looked down at himself. Both of his arms were covered in bandages, and he could feel some wrapped around his right leg as well. He also felt the sting of an IV in his arm. Sasuke exhaled before leaning back into his pillow again.

His mind was racing. He was trying to pinpoint what exactly happened and what all he remembered from two weeks prior. Memories came rushing back and his eyebrows furrowed. He remembered following Itachi into Konoha. He remembered the fire set to the buildings. He remembered Naruto. He remembered Itachi. He remembered blood. It was all very fuzzy to him, and it was frustrating. He weakly lifted his arm to look at his hand. It was wrapped in gauze and bandages. I should have died along with him.

"Oh, you're up." Tsunade said with a smirk across her lips. She shut the door behind her and walked towards the blinds that were closed. "Shield your eyes, Uchiha." Sasuke growled as light burst into the room. He rubbed his eyelids before slowly testing them to see what pain it would bring. It was bearable.

"How are you feeling?" Tsunade asked, grabbing the clipboard at the end of his bed. She glanced down and flipped a few papers, then looked back at him. Sasuke ignored her. This irritated her.

"Do you know what happened? I don't think you understand the predicament you and this village are in." She snapped and slammed down his clipboard on the table next to his bed. Sasuke didn't even flinch. He just stared daggers at her.

"When can I leave?" He asked. Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"How can I know that when you won't tell me how you feel?" The Fifth Hokage scared many, but not Sasuke- the pupil of Orochimaru. Of course the only things that scared Tsunade were blood and the fear of losing loved ones.

"I feel like shit." He smirked at her. His eyes kept a close watch on her. This time she ignored his smart ass response.

"Sasuke, you destroyed my village all for your own personal gain." Tsunade sat in the chair next to his bed and eyed him. "I understand why you did. But now I am left with a third of my village in shambles, many who are left dead and homeless, and at least 13 missing ninja."

"If you're going to lecture me, you can leave." Sasuke spat. He didn't care if she was the Fifth Hokage, and he didn't care about her precious Konoha. Tsunade felt little flames of anger explode in her eyes, but this was to be expected. She knew he didn't care.

"Not only that, but Naruto is still in a coma." She said and hoped that it would tear at his heart strings. It didn't.

"He should have minded his own business." Sasuke said flatly, trying to remember the timeline of events.

"No, he was trying to save you." She said quietly. "Sasuke, you both hit Itachi at full force with the Chidori and the Ras-Shuriken."

"Yeah. I did what I set out to do. I got my revenge." She frowned at him and hesitated.

"Not exactly," Tsunade said. "We did an autopsy. While your Chidori did heavy damage... it was the Ras-Shuirken that ultimately killed him." She watched him for a moment not too sure what to expect. Sasuke stared at her and wondered if she was lying. She didn't bat an eyelash. He began to feel hot and like he was going to throw up. Naruto…killed…Itachi? Suddenly Sasuke lurched up and ripped out the wires that were hooked up to him. Enraged, he tried to get out of the bed but his legs were wobbly and could barely support his weight. This just fueled the anger. His Sharingan activated and he looked wildly at Tsunade.

"Where is he!?"

"Sasuke!" Tsunade shouted, and before he knew it, she pushed him back on the bed. She leaned over him with a hand holding him down on his chest firmly. He began yelling and trying to push her off him but in his weak state it wasn't working- especially against one of the strongest ninja in the Land of Fire.

"I don't think you fucking understand! Revenge is all I lived for! That bastard took everything away from me! It was MY FIGHT!" He screamed at her. Everything was turning red in his eyes as the thoughts of Naruto killing his brother circled in his brain. The one thing he wanted to do in life had been taken away from him. Everything was always taken away from him- his parents, his clan and now the opportunity for revenge. The door slid open as a few medical ninja, including Sakura, burst in.

"I need him sedated, NOW!" Tsunade ordered sharply, as a medical ninja fumbled with a vile and needle. Sakura went to end of the bed and tried to hold Sasuke's ankles down as he struggled. The medical ninja finally managed to get the needle injected into Sasuke's arm. Sasuke didn't care though, or perhaps he just didn't notice. There was only one thing he was looking at, and it was Tsunade's eyes. He wanted to see a glimmer of hope that what she told him was a lie, but there was nothing. Sasuke continued yelling and struggling against Tsunade. He wanted to get out of that hospital room. He wanted to kill Naruto. How DARE he!? Tsunade's eyes were wide as she put more force on his chest to keep him from getting up. Eventually, Sasuke's body started to feel weak as the medicine slowly worked through his system. Tsunade's face was getting blurry, and everyone's frantic voices began to sound very far away. And then he was asleep. The medical ninja all breathed a sigh of relief, as did Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama… are you okay!?" Sakura asked as she ran to turn off the beeping machines. Tsunade looked over at her and nodded as a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. Well…that was interesting.

"He needed to know." She said as she brushed her clothes. Sakura picked up the clip board off the floor and hugged it close to her chest. She looked over to Sasuke who was now in a peaceful slumber. Her heart ached for him. Sasuke-kun...

"This soon, though?"

"Better now than later."

Hinata felt the breeze blow back her long hair as she stepped over piles of rubble. The Uchiha district (or whatever was left of it) was ahead of her. As she got closer, the words of Tsunade echoed in her mind. Whatever you find, report to me immediately. But what was Hinata even looking for? Did Konoha really just leave the Uchiha district as it was from the massacre? Her father would rarely speak of it, but she overheard a hushed conversation between the elders of the clan discussing it long ago. The Third was in talks of having the district destroyed after they gathered all the evidence needed, but the plan never followed through. Hinata reached the crumbled gate, and she could see the faded Uchiha emblem. She took a deep breath and followed the path ahead. It felt eerie walking through the once thriving community. Roofs were now caved in, houses had fallen, and even the once sturdy Police Headquarters was in shambles from the recent invasion of Itachi.

The Hyuuga and Uchiha Clans were never really on the same page. The Hyuuga clan was more traditional while the Uchiha's kept trying to bring new and innovative things to the village. On more than one occasion, the Third Hokage had to break up heated discussions at village meetings between the two clans. Hinata thought back to the day she found out about the massacre and it sent a shiver down her spine. The Hyuugas always had tragedy in their family, but nothing close to a whole district being taken out by one man. The wind howled through old buildings and it made her wish that Kiba or Shino was with her. Not that she believed in ghosts, however being in an area where murder had happened made her uncomfortable. But she was a ninja and would follow the orders she was given.

"I don't even know where to begin," She said to herself and looked around. Anywhere is a good start though. Hinata brought her hands up to activate her Byakugan just to get a good look of the whole district. There wasn't a single trace of another person. It was certainly unsettling. She surveyed a building in front of her, searching for anything that might be of some importance. But there wasn't much around except for concrete and wood. A crow squawked overhead as it swooped down to settle on a crumbling foundation of a building. Suddenly, something caught her attention in the distance. It was… a chakra presence. She would have missed it if she was being careless. Hinata furrowed her eyebrows and concentrated harder. It was a very small presence, definitely not a human though. But there was something lying in the rubble. She followed it about a half a mile to an old worn down building, with its roof caved in. It looked like it might have been someone's house, but someone of importance. Hinata climbed over rubble until she reached the middle of the front room to the house. The source of the chakra was right underneath a bunch of rubble. She took a deep breath and started to move cinder-blocks, and large wooden beams, but she found it was quite difficult. She didn't have the strength like Sakura or the endurance of Kiba to move heavy objects. Hinata gathered chakra in her hands to form the Gentle Fist, and she blasted away the debris. The chakra presence was still below the rubble but she was getting closer.

It took Hinata a good half an hour to get past all the concrete chunks and wood splinters. She frowned when she realized she would have to start digging into the actual earth. Someone buried something here… it isn't just underneath the rubble. There was a small sheet of metal a few feet away that she figured would make a good enough shovel to start with. And from there, she began to dig. The chakra was glowing brighter and brighter underneath her and her curiosity was growing. She deactivated her Byakugan and used her fingers to start moving loose dirt. Suddenly she felt something hard hit the tips of her fingers, and slowly started to unearth the top of a wooden box. Hinata squinted and wiped sweat beads that were rolling down her temples. Is that...an Uchiha symbol on it? Indeed it was.

"What…is this?" She murmured to herself. Her fingers were beginning to get raw and chunks of dirt were shoved up her fingernails, but she eventually was able to grab the box and pry it loose from the earth. How can a box emit chakra? It certainly looked old. It was as big as a mailbox and when she shook it, there were things moving around inside. On the top lid was the very faded Uchiha symbol, and it was smooth to the touch. Hinata bit her lower lip and wondered if she should open it or just hand it over to Tsunade. She examined the latch on the front. Normally it wasn't any of her business to go through anyone else's things, especially when this is probably something important. But the chakra it emitted was something to be on alert about.

"Hmmm…" Hinata thought to herself, but her curiosity was getting the best of her. Her fingers released the latch, and she opened the box to find several scrolls inside. There was also a necklace with the Uchiha pendant attached, along with a few photos of people she didn't recognize. The breeze blew back her bangs and it felt good. Hinata had been digging for what seemed like an eternity and her arms were exhausted. The box was certainly a mystery and a good find. She looked up to make sure no one was watching her. Of course no one was around, though.

The Uchiha district was forbidden to anyone around, even in shambles. Not that anyone would want to come by anyway. Hinata looked back down at the scrolls. They had some kind of seal on them that she didn't recognize. The ink was really faded and she squinted to read what the name said. Uchiha Sasuke. Suddenly she felt like she had opened someone's personal things and felt embarrassed. Hinata closed the box, and got up. Another quick sweep of the Byakugan revealed nothing out of the ordinary. She then spent the next hour or so digging through more rubble before she decided there was nothing else left behind.

On her way out of the district, Hinata held the box close to her. The decision to hand it over to the Hokage weighed on her mind. There was a good chance that those scrolls were left for Sasuke, and Tsunade might keep them from him for his own good. Who knows who left them and what the sealed scrolls said. Hinata wondered if he was still in his coma like Naruto was. Should she just hand them over to him? But knowing Tsunade, she would be furious if it was kept from her. There was no reason to keep secrets so she trudged on to go see the Fifth Hokage.

"Sasuke."

There's that voice again. But where is it coming from? … Mother?

"Sasuke."

Father? Where are you!? I'm sorry... I failed you again. I wasn't able to avenge you or anyone.

"Sasuke-kun, are you awake?"

"…Nnn." Sasuke's eyelids were heavy to open, but he managed it when he heard Sakura's voice. What the hell did she want? He saw her sitting next to him replacing the bandages on his arm. He watched her and felt very groggy. She smiled softly as she tied off the ends of the bandages.

"You're healing up just fine, Sasuke-kun. I persuaded Tsunade-sama not to put any restraints on you from earlier."

"Nn." Sasuke closed his eyes again, remembering the events that had unfolded earlier. He decided he needed more sleep… to forget he was here, to forget what had happened, and to forget what Tsunade had told him.

"It's a miracle you're alive." She continued and he groaned inside. Woman, will you just shut up? He ignored her but she kept talking anyway as if it was more for her conscious to say these things than for him to hear.

"Naruto is still in a coma. He suffered severe wounds, and was caught in Itachi's Tsukuyomi. He is healing but… he just won't wake up." Her voice cracked as she kept back tears. Sasuke's eyes remained closed while he tried to force out thoughts of his old team mate. Shut up.

"I'm just so worried about him… and about you. Kakashi-sensei has been in to visit you both." Shut up.

"But now you're back and when Naruto wakes up, we'll be a team agai-"

"Shut up!" Sasuke growled with his eyes still closed. She was silent as a tear rolled down her cheek. It was quiet for a few moments while she finished with the rest of his bandages.

"Sasuke-kun, why don't you let anybody care about you?" She asked softly. He scoffed at her.

"It's because I don't need anybody to care about me. Besides… there's nothing left for me anywhere, anyway." The words left his mouth bitterly. There really was nothing left for him. His whole goal was to kill his brother and even then he couldn't do it. His chance was gone. What was he supposed to do now? Sakura didn't say anything more. She simply stood up and left. There was nothing but anger pumping through his veins. He wanted to get out of this hospital and out of this god forsaken village. Nothing good ever came from here; Not him, not his team mates, and certainly not Orochimaru. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. He glared at it. It wasn't Sakura or Tsunade because they barged in whenever. Either way, Sasuke decided not to answer the knock. He closed his eyes again and pretended to sleep.

Hinata frowned when she didn't hear a "Come in". Sakura mentioned Sasuke was awake now, although she did warn about his incident earlier. She looked down at the box in her arms and frowned. Maybe she could just leave it for him when he woke up. Hinata opened the door and peered in. He's sleeping... She walked in the room with the box held tightly to her chest, and then she sat down on the chair next to his bed. He looked like hell. His hair was a mess; his arms and one of his hands were covered in bandages. But he looked somewhat peaceful. She let the box rest on her legs and watched him for a moment. Back when they were children at the academy, she remembered every girl in her class admiring him from afar. They would whisper excitedly amongst themselves when he would walk by. And as they grew older those admirations became crushes and young love even though Sasuke wanted nothing to do with them, which was why Hinata never understood the ruckus about him. Uchiha Sasuke was distant, cold, and difficult to be around. He was the complete opposite of Naruto, and yet her lavender eyes couldn't stop staring at him. It wasn't his good looks that attracted her to him; it was his sorrow of losing everything.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked without opening his eyes. Hinata felt her cheeks get hot because it seemed like he caught her staring.

"O-Oh… you're awake." She said softly. Sasuke peeked out from behind his eyelids at her. At first he had no idea who he was talking to. And even after looking at her for a moment he still wasn't sure.

"Who are you?" He asked irritably. Hinata cringed at the fact that he had no idea who she was, and she looked down at the box in her lap.

"Hyuuga Hinata… u-um."

"Hyuuga…" He said. The name was familiar to him. Oh. She was related to the rookie, Neji. Well he's probably not a rookie anymore. Sasuke vaguely remembered her in their academy days. She looked…different. Her hair was longer and her eyes were more confident.

"Um…" Her cheeks felt warmer as he stared at her. She felt like she was under a microscope. It serves her right for staring earlier, she thought. "I was told to search the Uchiha district." Sasuke felt a sense of jealousy and disgust for a moment. For some reason, he felt violated. Not for himself but for his family and clan. Who had the right to go through what didn't belong to them?

"Who gave you permission to do that?"

"W-Well T-Tsunada-sama gave m-me direct orders." She stumbled on her words seeing that he was getting angry. He laughed bitterly.

"And!?" He cried; his anger was about to overflow. How DARE that Hokage-bitch give orders to go to his district? How dare she? Hinata was beginning to think of Sakura's warning about his temper. All she could do was hold the box out to him. Just before he could say anything else, he looked at it. Suddenly he was curious.

"… What is this?" Sasuke asked feeling his anger subside. Hinata got up to get closer and she put the box on his lap. His eyes shot her a glare all the while and then they settled on the emblem on top of the box. For a while, Sasuke just stared at it. Hinata wasn't sure what to do so she sat back down on the chair.

"It had a chakra presence. I found it while I had my Byakugan activated." Hinata said after a few moments. She looked at him and noticed his facial features had softened. Sasuke unlatched the box and slowly opened it. He saw the scrolls first, and picked one up. This seal… He looked at her for a moment and decided he'd read them when he had more privacy. Sasuke then picked up the necklace and ran his thumb over the pendant. It looked old and worn. Is this really all that's left? Is this all I have to hold onto? Sasuke put the necklace back in the box and shut it. He then put the box on the table next to his bed. Hinata blinked at him as he settled back into his pillow.

"Is that all?" Sasuke asked dully. She bit her lower lip and stared at her hands.

"Y-Yes." The conversation was over when he rolled over and had his back to her.

Thank you! Feel free to review to let me know if I'm doing an okay job. Chapter 3 will be up eventually.