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Being At Odds

It wasn't as hard to push him away this time. Before she'd needed the aid of Sakura to pull the previously comatose man off her. Now she had the aid of knowing what strength he possessed, her body unconsciously remembered the hours spent training together. She knew that if she'd been just a second too slow there would have been power in his grip and her windpipe crushed. The man was in a constant state of fight or flight and he always chose to fight.

Hinata slipped out of his grasp in less than a second. His hands were reaching for her again but a few well-placed jabs at his arms left him immobile and sneering up at her with sightless eyes. Those dark eyes moved frantically, desperate to land on his enemy. Red began to bleed from his eyes and it was not the sharingan.

'He must be trying to activate it.' She thought.

He was going to fight even when he couldn't. If he kept this up he was going to blind himself permanently.

"Sasuke-Sasuke it's me." She whispered desperately as she hovered over him and placed her hands on either side of his face. "It's Hinata. You are safe with me. Please calm down!"

The sound of her voice seemed to break through the adrenaline-induced haze he was in. Slowly his jaw slacked and his angry features soften. If she allowed herself to be delusional, she would have sworn that he looked relieved-even happy to see her. However, she was not that insane for the man was now as impassive as he ever was. Maybe even more so. She felt like a stranger as he stared past her. An inconvenience.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice stern as if scolding her.

Her hands fell away from his face.

"I was on a mission."

"Mission?" he scoffed. "I suppose making sure I didn't fuck up completely can be considered a mission."

"You are not my mission."

His brow furrowed with skepticism, but she ignored it. Instead, she turned her attention making sure they wouldn't freeze to death overnight. She pulled out charcoal heating pads and began placing them on the inside of her clothes. This plus her own chakra and a blanket would help to keep her warm. The sleeping bag she had would be more than sufficient for the Uchiha when it came time to retire.

She looked out at the mouth of the cave, now dark as night had fully fallen. A sharp winter breeze blew in and sent a chill down her spine. How long would they be able to stay here until the enemy found them? Hopefully the chaos of early had impeded any regrouping a subsequent manhunt. If they could just get through tonight, they would hopefully have enough energy to travel, albeit slowly.

With a sigh, she reluctantly turned back to her charge that was now sitting upright. His head was bowed, long raven locks hiding his face and falling over his shoulders. When was the last time he'd had a haircut? It felt like just yesterday she had washed that unruly hair and trimmed it until it was a more manageable length. Still, as much as she hated to admit it, he looked handsome with long hair.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to stare?" he said, his head lifting slightly. "I may not be able to see but I can still tell when someone is staring at me."

Her face flushed with embarrassment, but she swallowed it down.

"I…I need to unblock your ocular pathways again. It's going to hurt."

"I know."

"I'm sorry." For what she wasn't sure.

Sorry for staring. Sorry for the pain she was about to cause. Sorry for the giant chasm between them…

"I don't care."

….

He shouldn't be here.

Sai was too good of a shinobi to have ended up in their ward from a simple gang elimination mission. Sakura pressed her lips in a tight line as she read over his charts. Everything looked fine. The biggest issue was chakra exhaustion from traveling nonstop for nearly four days. No food. No water. Just pure adrenaline and determination had seen him to the Konoha gates. It was the guards that had brought him to the rest of the way. Why was he here? Why was he alone at that? Kakashi would have never allowed an Anbu agent to operate alone. If anything happened they needed someone to return to report on it.

'I guess he is the report.' She thought and her gut churned uncomfortably.

Whatever he had to say wouldn't be good. As soon as that thought entered her mind, the monitors hooked up to the pale man went off signaling that he was now conscious. As with almost all of her most stubborn patients, he immediately began to unhook himself.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She said as his hand clutched around an iv placed in the crook of his elbow.

Sai looked up at her, disoriented at first but then he smiled.

"Sakura, what a sight for sore eyes."

She rolled her eyes and took a seat by his side. Her old teammate would never change. The time for nostalgia would have to wait though. Instead, she put her stethoscope in her ears and placed the cold metal to his chest.

"Breathe in." she directed, listening carefully to the sound of his lungs. "Out."

It all sounded fine. His heart had returned to a regular pace as well.

"Where is Naruto?"

How many times was she going to be asked that question today?

"I'm not sure. Home maybe." She replied softly as she then pulled out a flashlight and checked his eyes. "How are you feeling? You've been out for a few hours."

"Dammit! Hours?! I have to find Naruto."

Sai tried to get up again but Sakura firmly pushed him back to the bed.

"You are of no use if you pass out again. Your vitals are fine but your chakra can't replenish that fast."

"Sakura-"

"You are to remain here for twenty-four hours until released to a guardian. That's our rule here."

"But-"

"No buts. If it's that important to find Naruto, I can relay a message to him."

Sai's brow furrowed. Likely contemplating telling her what he knew. If it pertained to the mission he'd been on, Kakashi would likely see to it he was on D-ranked missions as punishment for divulging secret information. Damned if he told her. Damned if he didn't.

"Sasuke is trapped somewhere in the North." He said finally and Sakura's eyes widened with worry.

"Is he hurt?"

"Yes but Hinata is with him. She's likely gotten him past any immediate health concerns."

"Hinata."

The Hyuuga's name escaped her lips like a prayer. A sense of guilty relief filled her. Despite whatever had taken place in the Hyuuga compound Hinata would never leave someone to die. So long as the woman had the energy she would do what it took to get Sasuke stable.

"They should be fine then right?"

"No." Sai said. "If the group doesn't find them the storm must have already. We need a search and rescue. Hinata can't bring him back here on her own. We need Naruto."

….

"You think he can find her?"

Naruto knew that Kiba's brood was powerful. The entire clan was known for their unique canine fighting style and even better tracking skills. With Shino's bugs there was no way they could lose!

"He's still really young." Kiba replied, brown eyes studying the pup as it rolled around on the floor at their feet. "But he was with Hinata for quite some time. He would know her scent better than anyone else right now. We just need to know the direction she went."

"Are you sure we need to leave? Hinata has always been a capable kunoichi." Shino said. "Its odd to see you so worked up about someone that isn't the Uchiha."

Naruto frowned, guilt eating at the edges of his heart as it had for the last few weeks. Every day that went by the feeling got worse. Why did no one seem as bothered as he was about Hinata's delay? Well no one besides her little sister who was impatiently sulking on the couch.

"Hinata is never late."

It was as if that was all the Hyuuga could say. She was dead set on figuring out what happened to her sister. Though he had no blood relations of his own he knew exactly how she felt. Something was wrong. He had put off acknowledging Hinata's feelings for him after the war. He had used her skills to bring Sasuke back to the land of the living and relied on her for even longer to make the man sane. When he learned that she was willing to sacrifice herself to be sealed from Hanabi, he wanted to burn down the dojo just as Sasuke had.

His fists clenched at his sides as he contemplated Shino's question. Why? Why was he so worked up? If she was one of his precious people- a person he was sworn to protect- why did it feel like she'd been protecting him this whole time? He hated that her efforts had gone all but unnoticed. He had to find her and make it up to her-

His front door opening broke him from his thoughts but did not worry him. Instead, he felt an unfamiliar anxiety. The only other person with a key to his apartment was Sakura. When she walked into the room, surprise flashed in those green eyes he could get lost in.

"I guess we have a full house." She said though her voice held none of the mirth usually accompanied with a joke.

"What are you doing here?" Hanabi sneered but Sakura ignored her.

"Sai arrived at the hospital a few hours ago. He says he knows where Sasuke could be. Sasuke…and Hinata."

A sense of relief filled the blonde's chest at the news. If Hinata and Sasuke were together they were safe. There was safety in numbers. His elation was short lived though. He wondered how Sakura felt about the news. Her eyes were impassive but he knew how she felt. She had been worried about Sasuke for weeks- as was he- but for a different reason.

"They are somewhere up North but the gang they were following is still at large and Sai says a big storm was brewing when he left."

"Then we go get them. A simple search and rescue." Naruto said and the other men in the room nodded.

"Kakashi is not going to let you leave the village right now Naruto- especially not to go chase after Sasuke again." Sakura countered.

"This isn't just about Sasuke. Hinata is out there too-"

"Which makes it even worse! Sai says he's not supposed to have any contact with her."

"And that's too damn bad! When you're out there you can't control who you're around."

"I know that but if you leave the council will know something is up! Sasuke will get punished regardless of the circumstances!"

"Then I'll go!" Hanabi interjected. "I'll take the damn dog and be back here as quick as I can."

"You know you can't do that." Shino said. "You have been gone from the compound too long already. I'm sure your father is also keeping an eye on your whereabouts as we speak."

"But-"

"He's right Hanabi." Naruto said, raising a hand to thwart any more protest. "We can't risk damaging our relationship with your clan any further. Kiba, Shino. Get ready, we leave in two hours."

The two men nodded before leaving with the naïve pup in tow. Hanabi followed them shortly after, not wanting to give her father a reason to darken the Uzumaki's doorstep. That left him and Sakura alone for the first time since their argument. An argument he wasn't ready to continue because it would reveal his own childish thoughts.

"Naruto-" Sakura started but he shook his head.

"I'll bring him back. I promise."

He thought that was what she'd wanted to hear. He'd promised her Sasuke's return before and he'd delivered on that promise. He would succeed again.

"You're needed here."

"I will be back before anyone notices I'm gone-"

"NO! Listen to me dammit! Please!"

He was used to Sakura cursing him. Yelling at him. He was not used to her pleas. She crossed the small living room in only a few strides before she threw her arms around him middle, burying her face in his chest.

"Let me go. I won't be made to stand on the sidelines this time. If either of them are hurt I can heal them. I'm strong enough to defend against attackers and with Kiba and Shino we make a full recon team."

"Sakura-"

"You are needed here."

Sakura's grip tightened around him. It wasn't a dangerous mission. He had gone through so much worse.

"Please Naruto. I promise to bring them back."

….

It was odd.

He hadn't noticed the cold until he regained his blurry vision. It was as if his body had been so focused on trying to find some sense of stability when blind that it ignored superfluous information. Like the cold. Like hunger.

Hinata hadn't forgotten. The minute she didn't need to touch him anymore she retreated to the other side of the cave. He could hear her rustling around. The rip of a rations packet. The sound of her chewing. Ever the diplomat, she had offered him some but he'd rejected her. He didn't want her to do anything else for him. She'd already done too much by simply being in his presence. Why was she here if not to keep tabs on him? Why, despite his suspicions, was he relieved to have her by his side once more? He didn't want her there. He wanted her gone. Anyone that would sacrifice themselves to such an extent was a liability. He would not go through that pain again.

Now he found himself staring out the mouth of the cave at the dark expanse before them. The snow blurred his already poor vision as it came down in near sheets outside. It was accumulating quickly and showed no signs of abating any time soon. It was no matter. The moment it let up he was leaving.

"Sasuke. I will take the first watch." Hinata called softly as she approached him.

"Hn."

He knew that he needed to sleep. He and Sai had been traveling at a brutal pace but after regaining his sight he didn't want to return to the darkness. Hinata didn't reply. Her blurred figure simply stood next to him and watched the snowfall. They stood like that for what felt like hours. If he ignored the cold, he could almost imagine them back at their house watching their meager garden during a storm. Silent. Comfortable. She would only rise to make tea and they would continue their vigil. Sasuke shook his head of the memory. The life they once shared was a lie.

"It's peaceful here."

Peace.

That was also a lie. There were enemies lurking in the dark just waiting to take advantage of the situation. If the men were able to regroup fast enough it was only a matter of time before they were found. He needed to finish what he came out here to do. Beside him, he heard a sniffle and it tore him from his thoughts of escape. Her blurry shoulders shook but not from the cold. He almost wondered if she was getting sick until she finally turned towards him.

"Sasuke…do you really hate me that much?"

He looked at her. Truly looked at her as though he were seeing things for the first time all over again. Round pale eyes made glassy with unshed tears and determination. Face red with frustration and cold. Plump lips pressed in a tight line that he wanted nothing more than to kiss. He wanted to hate her. He wanted to lose himself in the lies he told himself. In the lies she'd told him. And yet…

"No."

To be continued….