It was a long trip, almost two days by road, to the Land of Tea, but finally, we made it there in one piece. Throughout the trip we made stops at some interesting places and tried some really weird things. One even involved getting me pushed by Hinata into a river. That one was kind of funny actually, because after that I had hauled her over my shoulder and gone all the way into the river with her. She was soaking wet just as much as me, but it was refreshing to be in the water even though we were in our normal clothes. After that we had changed and just roamed around town until our bus was ready to leave.

All in all, it was a good trip, but now it was close to its end.

We had arrived to the Land of Tea late last night and decided to stay in a hotel because, according to Hinata, Toneri's place was still an hour outside of the Land of Tea itself. In the morning we had gotten breakfast together and went around the city since neither of us had ever been there. Hinata looked around for souvenirs she could take back home with her. It was weird to have her be normal throughout this whole endeavor. Whenever I'm reminded of what exactly Hinata is doing, I feel this despair spread over me, but seeing how happy and carefree she is makes me want to pretend that all this is fine with me too.

For the past few hours, we had been roaming around doing nothing as if trying to drag this journey before it ends. It was now almost close to sunset and I knew that this was it.

After taking a cab out of the city, we were finally outside Toneri's workplace.

"I can't believe we made it," Hinata stared at the building with wide eyes.

It was a small building with a beautiful landscape and a lake behind it. This place was more to the countryside since there were lots of tea farms there. Hinata had said that Toneri wanted to start his own business with tea exports so it made sense that he was in a place like this.

"Are you sure you want to do this? We can still go back and make up some excuse to tell your family," I said to her in hopes that she might change her mind at the last moment. It was her life and so she could decide to live it however she wanted but having seen my mom and Sakura throw away everything in their life for some kind of an idea of love made me apprehensive.

"Yes, I'm sure Sasuke. I don't want to go back," she shook her head.

"But how can you do this? Aren't you scared?"

"I am! But I'm never going to live my life if I always hold back just because I'm scared. The possibility of being with the one I love is far greater for me than any fear or pain I might feel," she smiled.

This girl was absolutely crazy and her naivety only caused me to worry more, but I couldn't stop her because she was so sure of herself and already had her mind set. I just hoped that she would get what she wanted and be happy.

"I'm so excited! It's almost been a year… I wonder how he has been," Hinata kept smiling as we made our way towards the office building.

After a few minutes of silently walking, I decided that I didn't want to continue any further so I stopped. Hinata saw that I wasn't moving so she stopped to stand by me.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" she asked.

I turned to see her staring at me worriedly so I took one of her hands into my own. This would be it. I was never going to see her after this.

"Goodbye Hinata… Take care of yourself," I said as I gave her hand a squeeze before letting go.

"Don't you want to come inside and meet him?" I just shook my head in response and turned to head the opposite way. Hinata looked heartbroken for a minute but then waved and went into the direction we had been heading earlier.

I had met this girl in the most random ways but I had been with her far longer than I needed to be. Now, when she was finally going to meet the one she loved, I couldn't help but think that my time was up. It was as if I had found a small escape from the abysmal circumstances my life was in at the moment, and now it was about to end and leave me forever.

Three Months Later

"I'm so glad you came to see me Sasuke," at the moment, I was sitting in a small house just outside of Konoha as the woman seated in front offered me some coffee.

"I got your voicemail, Mom." Yes, the woman sitting in front of me was my mom. She owned this house but lived alone in it.

Itachi and I used to spend only summer with her for some years but never did she have anyone in her life that mattered more to her than us. I wasn't naïve to think that my mom never met anyone after she divorced my dad, but she never had a relationship that lasted longer than a year. Now she was old and alone, living away from her family. I never bothered to visit her after graduating high school, but it seemed that Itachi had stopped visiting her recently.

"Oh, yes. I wanted to talk to you, but it was nice of you to come meet me," she smiled at the fact that this was my first time coming to her place willingly. "How have you been?"

"Fine."

"Sasuke, I know you were fired a couple of months ago… If you need any help financially I can –"

"Mom, I'm fine. Stop worrying," I cut her off. "I've been applying to different jobs."

"Oh, really. That's good. How is that going?"

"Well…" I looked away, as I didn't have anything good to tell her. It was true that I had been applying to jobs for the past three months but for most of them I would barely get past the first interview. Having been fired from the Uchiha Company did not make it any better whenever I applied but recently some rumors about the company had been going around making it even harder for me to find a job.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. Just keep trying," she smiled.

"Yeah," I sighed as I leaned back into the sofa and stared at the ceiling. I started wondering about Hinata. What was she doing right now? Did she ever go back to her family? Did they accept her back? Was her life just as much a mess as mine was?

"What are you thinking, Sasuke?"

"Mom, why did you ever leave dad?" I asked. She was quiet for some time so I turned my head to see her expression change from surprise to sorrow at my question.

"It just…didn't work out between me and your father."

"Did you love him?"

"Yes," she replied immediately.

"Then why did you leave him?"

"It's more complicated than that, Sasuke."

"Then tell me. You've never told me why you left and all my life I thought you were a bad mother because you left us for someone else. But now I want to know why you left," I said as she just stared at me.

After being with Hinata and seeing how far she was willing to go for the one she loved, I wanted to know what made my mom go as far as to leave her family. I wanted to know so maybe I could understand her better and maybe try to forgive her. I didn't want to hold back in my life just like Hinata, so I had to get rid of all the pain and fear I was holding onto from my past.

"Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

"I think I'm old enough to get an explanation."

"I…" she was at a loss for words and I could tell she was trying to come up with something to tell me.

"Was it because of what the rumors are saying now?" Her eyes widened at my question and I knew that what I had said was true.

For the past couple of months rumors had been going around that the Uchiha Company was under investigation for embezzlement and funding illegal activities around the city. Having worked there for only a couple of years, I didn't come across anything like that in the company. But for someone who had been there for far more years, like Itachi or my mom, it would have been apparent after some time.

"Sasuke…"

"Mom, if that was the reason, then I understand. If I were you I would've been scared to be a part of something like that too," I said as I tried to reassure her. Tears began falling from her eyes and she hugged me.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry for leaving you like that. I just… I wanted to take both you and Itachi with me but… I didn't have any money and I couldn't take care of you," she kept crying.

"It's okay mom." I said as I passed her the tissue box on the coffee table when she let go of me.

"I knew too much and that was dangerous for the company so to keep me from telling anyone, they gave me a deal where I could leave the company only if I divorced your father and gave up custody for my children," she sniffed as more tears fell on her cheeks. "I didn't want to leave you but they forced me out.

"Your father promised that he would never let the two of you get involved in this but soon Itachi found out about it when he started working in the company. Madara, the president, was so impressed by Itachi that he wanted to involve him in his plans as well."

"What plans?" I asked intrigued by what my mom told me. All that I knew was what the investigations had said so far but I had a feeling that Itachi was involved in it as well.

"Madara was involved with the terrorist organization, Akatsuki. He had been funding them for years to gain access to their illegal trading to expand his business. Itachi found out about this and tried to stop it."

"What do you mean?"

"Sasuke… the reason why I wanted to talk to you in the first place was that I wanted to tell you what Itachi did… He made a deal with the police and secretly kept giving them information on all of the company's illegal activities. It took them a couple of years but they finally had enough proof to start as investigation and arrest people.

"The reason why he fired you and took away all the assets and earnings you had made from the Uchiha Company was so that you didn't get involved when the investigation began."

I was so stunned by what my mom said that the only thing I could do was blink. Why would Itachi do this? He would put himself under investigation and risk going to jail just like the other people in the company. But why would he spare me?

"Sasuke," she said as if she read my mind, "He did this so that you wouldn't be corrupted by Madara, so that you could take over and build the company from the ground when all of those who were involved were gone."

"Itachi wanted that?" did he really want that for me?

"Yes. He told me about his plans and wanted me to help you when the right time came. He didn't want you to find out about this until the investigations had started because he didn't want you to be a part of it and risk going to jail."

"I can't believe Itachi did all of that."

For the next couple of months after I found out the truth about the Uchiha Company, one by one most of its board members, president, and CEO were taken into custody. Somehow almost everyone was involved with the Akatsuki. Even though I had no part in the company, I was still taken in for questioning by the police, but since no evidence was found to link me to any involvement with the Akatsuki, I was not charged.

It took almost a month for me to completely take over the Uchiha Company after every one of its board members that was involved with the criminal activities was arrested. Before leaving, Itachi had convinced the remaining members to vote for me as the next CEO of the Uchiha Company, and soon I was back in the company. This time I was not going to let fear or any doubts hold me back in my efforts to succeed in this company.

Itachi had gotten a sentence for a few years in jail as well since he had partaken in the company's illegal activities but since he had cooperated with the police, his sentence was reduced. Soon Itachi would get out and be able to join me in this company as well.

Nine months after taking over the company one of the news channel had done a report on the investigations and aired it on the television. It wasn't ideal to have my face come up on the TV every time they spoke about the company but it was a good way to show that the Uchiha Company was moving forward from this and I was the one who would be taking over from now on.

Recently things had settled down in the company and employees were becoming more and more confident in keeping their jobs at the company. It took a while but the company was getting back to a strong foothold since many of its shareholders had pulled out after the investigations.

"Mr. Uchiha," I looked up from my desk in the CEO's office to find my secretary standing in the doorway.

"What is it, Karin?"

"You have some visitors," I raised an eyebrow since I didn't remember having anyone scheduled to see me at that moment. "I keep telling them that they would have to make an appointment but they keep yelling and asking to see you," she said nervously as she pushed up her red glasses.

That was odd. No one ever came to meet me without making an appointment.

"Let them know that I can't –" I was cut off by a loud noise and some commotion in the main lobby. I got out to see who was causing it, only to find four pairs of pale grey eyes staring at me.

What was Hinata's family doing at my company?

"You!" said one pale-eyed man as he pushed off one of the guards holding him back. I had never seen him before but the rest of them I had met in Suna when I took Hinata there. Suddenly he came up to me and grabbed my collars as he kept yelling, "You bastard! Where is she!?"

More guards came as they tried to pull him off of me while I pushed him away. I did not want to have a fist fight in the middle of the lobby, but seeing the worry and anger on Hinata's family made me want to hear them out.

"Wait! Stop! Leave them!" I told the guards as they pulled the man away.

"Where is she, you bastard!?" he yelled again but did not attack me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused by his anger.

"Where is Hinata?" asked Hiashi as he came up behind Neji while glaring at me.

I was surprised and slightly alarmed by his question about Hinata, but I kept my expression blank. People were starting to gather around us and I did not want to make a scene, so I took them to my office where we could speak privately.

I brought them into my office and told Karin to cancel all the next appointments before closing the door. By the glares I was receiving from each of them, I knew something was terribly wrong.

It was Hinata's father and her uncle, Hizashi, along with Hanabi, and the person I found out to be Neji, that were looking at me with such hostility.

"What can I help you with?" I asked in a professional manner. Even though I had met these people last year, we were still in my office and I wanted to keep things professional, seeing as how all of them were so riled up.

"Where's Hinata, you bastard?!" yelled the same man who had attacked me earlier.

"Neji, calm down! Remember, you are a Hyuga. If he values his life he will tell us without any trouble," Hinata's uncle looked at me threateningly, "Tell us where Hinata is?"

"I don't know where she is," I answered truthfully. It had been a year since I last saw here.

"He's lying! Bring her here, right now!" Neji yelled.

"She's not in Konoha. I haven't seen her for a year."

"Don't lie!" yelled Hinata's uncle. "Both of you lied to us saying that you met in the train, and that nothing was going on between you two. Gaara told us what he saw! And Hanako saw both you running off holding hands! Don't lie to us, boy!"

"That's a misunderstanding, we weren't… Hinata should've gone back home and explained everything by now. She said that she would go back." I was confused by what they were telling me. I could understand this reaction when they found out that Hinata ran away with me, but by now the misunderstanding should have been cleared. Hinata was supposed to go back to her home and that would have cleared it up.

"Hinata hasn't been home for a year," said Hanabi as she tried to hold back on the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

"What?" I said, shocked by her reply.

"We haven't seen her since she ran away with you," said Hiashi solemnly.

"We didn't know where to look for her," said Hizashi, "and it wasn't until we saw your face on the television that we hoped that we could find her."

Hinata hasn't been home since I left her at the Land of Tea. She's been missing for a year? I was beginning to panic at all the possibilities of what could've happened to her, but I did not let that show to her family. They must have been worried about her this entire time.

"Hinata isn't here in Konoha," I said, and I could see Neji about to start arguing at that, but before he could say anything I kept going, "But I promise you that I'll bring her to her family."

They were silent for a few minutes and I could see that they were hesitant to trust me.

"Please bring Hinata back to us," said Hiashi, and it was the first time I had seen the proud man show some emotion.

Hanabi began wiping her tears as she repeated her father's request, while Neji and Hizashi still looked hesitant.

"Give me a week and I promise I'll bring her back to Suna," I said more firmly this time to assure all of them, but on the inside I was worried about Hinata.

"We're holding you to that, or else next time we will come for you and your company," said Hiashi as his brother and Hanabi nodded. Neji still looked at me skeptically, but didn't say anything.

Finally, after reassuring them, they left my office with a look of dejection on their faces. They probably had hoped to see Hinata here.

After they left, I tried to figure out what exactly was going on with Hinata. I thought back to the last time I had seen her in the Land of Tea, and couldn't think of anything that had gone wrong. Maybe she is still there.

She had never told her family about Toneri so it made sense that they never tried looking for her in the Land of Tea, where he was. It would make sense for her to be there if she was with Toneri. She probably got scared to go back home after eloping with a man her family knew nothing about. Maybe that was why she never went back home.

"Karin," I called my secretary and a few seconds later she was in my office. "Book me a flight to the Land of Tea for tomorrow… And cancel all my meetings and appointments for the next week. Send them all an email to apologize and tell them that I'll be out of town for personal matters."

"Yes, Mr. Uchiha." She hesitated by the door a little before asking, "Is everything ok, Mr. Uchiha?"

"No," I leaned back in my chair and sighed thinking about all the trouble Hinata was making me go through again. "I swear, this idiot always puts me in the worst situations."

"W-what?"

"Nothing," I waved my hand at her and rotated my chair to stare out the window behind me, "I just have find this idiot. I bet she's somewhere having the time of her life while people are worried after her," I said to myself not paying attention to Karin as her eyes widened.

"Is it y-your g-girlfriend?" she asked nervously.

"What?" I turned back to find Karin still in my office. "Go do what I told you to do."

"Yes, Mr. Uchiha!" I rolled my eyes as she scampered off. It was annoying how women always acted the same way around me once they found out who I was. But that was why it was nice to find someone like Hinata who didn't pay attention to titles and looks like any other person.

For the past year I had been thinking about Hinata often, and how she was naïve but honest. I had wondered if she was always like that and whether she was happy or not. Now, knowing that her family hadn't seen her in almost a year, all I could do was hope that she was ok.

Hinata, what are you doing right now.