CCNote: All of the remaining chapters have been outlined fully and I honestly can't believe that this story is ending. I also couldn't be prouder of the work I put in. Thank you all for your support and reviews over the last few years. They truly meant a lot and when I was going through tough times the random review emails ALWAYS picked me back up. This story wouldn't be here if it wasn't for readers like you! If you want to continue with me through my writing journey feel free to join my p(A)treon at WritingandCurls. I can't post a link but if you have trouble finding it send me a DM and I'll give you my email for a direct link. Thank you!

Being Devoted

It was the first rays of dawn when the storm finally abated. The dark night sky tinged pink. Without the aid of a map or Hinata's eyes he had no idea where he was going. The only thing he could do was keep moving forward. Through the expansive white fields. Past the dense forests. His toes and nose were so cold that they burned but none of that deterred him from moving forward. He'd been walking for so long that when he finally saw a light in the distance he almost didn't believe it. As they drew nearer and the sky lightened, he could make out the large grey silhouette of a building. The light was coming from an upper room on the far left. Almost as soon as he was able to confirm that the light was not a hallucination, it shut off.

The Uchiha gritted his teeth and pushed forward against the cold wind. The light shutting off meant that someone was awake. Someone that would hopefully be able to help them. When he reached the doorstep, he raised his fist to knock but the door had already swung open. There stood one of the oldest women he had ever seen. Stooped and wrinkled and entirely surprised to see him on her doorstep. It didn't help that he was covered in blood- most of which was not his own. The old woman quickly scrambled back inside before he could say a word but as she was about to slam the door in his face, Hinata stirred.

"S-Sasuke…" she groaned weakly.

At the sound of Hinata's voice she threw open the door and ushered them in. Her cautious gaze never lessened despite allowing them entry. If anything she was even more suspicious of him.

"Place her on the couch." The old woman rasped. "What did you do to her?"

Sasuke licked his chapped lips, his throat almost too dry to speak. The living room around them was outdated with furniture that looked more suited for the Hokage mansion. Even the couch he wanted her to put Hinata on looked far too expensive to be ruined by their mud and blood. He placed her there anyway.

"We were attacked."

"Now why on earth would you have a girl out her alone in a storm!"

No matter what he told this woman he was going to be at fault for Hinata's condition. She wasn't wrong. The old woman immediately began to remove Hinata's cloak and gasped at the black and blue bruises beginning to form on her face. Despite how cold it was she was sweating profusely, her dark hair sticking sickly to her forehead and neck. The old woman turned back to him and glared.

"She hit her head."

"Dear Kami." The old woman whispered. "Stay here."

She left them to go busy herself in the kitchen. She then returned with water and rags to wipe away the blood.

"You are lucky you made it here boy but the village is still ten miles east." She tsked. "Head injuries can take a person in the blink of an eye but it looks like she wants to hold on."

Hold on.

For the first time in years he felt hope worm it's way into his shriveled heart.

"Which way to the village?"

The old woman paused her cleaning of Hinata to look him up and down. Dark brown eyes pierced through him. Distrustful. Skeptical. She then pulled out a wooden token from under her cloak and handed it to him.

"Ten miles west. The hospital isn't far from the gate. Tell them Reika sent you."

….

Getting to the village and finding the hospital was the easy part. Reika's token had allowed him swift passage past the gates without any issues. Getting the grouchy medic on night duty to leave the hospital proved to be a bit more difficult. The medic was even older than Reika and just as distrustful. It appeared that wherever they were, outsiders were frowned upon. However, one flash of his Sharigan had the man rethinking his initial refusal and following him back to Reika's.

When they arrived the old woman and Hinata were still in the living room but Hinata looked even paler than before. Sweat beaded on every inch of exposed skin and her chest was rising and falling shallowly. The medic spared Reika only a slight nod of his head before immediately setting to work.

"I haven't seen anyone beaten up this bad in so long." he mumbled before sneaking a suspicious glance at Sasuke.

"The young man says they were attacked. She hit her head."

"Hmph…I'm sure." He growled. "Please leave young man. I will need to examine her thoroughly."

"No."

There was no way he was going to leave Hinata alone. He'd already been gone for far too long chasing down this medic. Reika clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"The least you could do is give the girl some dignity-"

Dignity?

Sasuke blinked, taken aback by what the two geezers were getting at.

"She's my wife." He said finally.

A lie but one that got the two off of his back. Reika sniffed disapprovingly but allowed the medic to begin stripping Hinata of her bloody clothes. The wet cloth dropped sickeningly to the floor and exposed her pale body. Rekia gasped at the giant bruises forming on her torso from where the gang leader had hit her earlier.

All Sasuke could feel was an odd sense of pride. Those bruises were proof that the meek little Hyuuga had fought back and fought back hard. The disdain that he'd been convincing himself of for her had all but petered out. She was interfering. Self-sacrificing. Confusing. He would make her pay for mixing up his emotions but for that to happen she had to live.

She had to hold on.

Warmth.

That was the first thing she felt as she rolled over from her back to her side. It was almost unbearably warm but she welcomed the sensation given how many cold weeks she'd experienced. With great effort she struggled to open her eyes that felt as if they were caked shut. She rubbed them slowly before peering up at an unfamiliar ceiling. This was not Konoha. No…it wouldn't even be possible for her to have returned to the village.

'Those eyes would be worth all the lost cargo.'

The sinister voice of the man who attempted to execute Sasuke sent a chill down her spine. All at once the memories of the skirmish outside the cave came flooding back to her. Sasuke kneeling on the ground with a blade coming down for his neck. The heat of the man's body when she tackled him to the ground and the hard blows he landed on her.

All of the memories swirled in her mind jumbled and out of order. Trying to focus too hard caused her head to throb but she had to push through and figure out her next move. Had she truly been captured? No, Sasuke wouldn't have let that happen unless he was dead. Her heart clenched painfully. If he wasn't dead where was he? Why was she alone?

Worrying made her head want to explode even more. Sitting up, she pressed a hand to her temple and tried to concentrate her chakra to heal herself but nothing came forth. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't concentrate hard enough to produce more than the weakest faint green glow. It was then that the door to the room opened with a long squeaky groan and a silver-haired old woman stepped through the door. She held a knife in her hands and panic immediately set in upon seeing the stranger. Her reflexes as a kunoichi immediately stepped in and she tried to get out of the bed but instead only stumbled onto the floor. Her body fell with hard thud to the floor causing the old woman to shuffle over and click her tongue.

"I swear if you ruin all of the medic's hard work! Kids these days are so impatient!" she chided as she placed the knife on the bedside table. "You were only left alone for a moment!"

Hinata was surprised by two things as the woman helped her get back into bed. First was the woman's strength- she was a lot stronger than she expected and a lot older up close. The second was that she smelled of cinnamon. It was overpowering and burned her nose but had a calming effect at the same time.

When she was solidly back in the bed the woman pulled up a chair to sit bedside. She then riffled through the basket on the nightstand and pulled out an apple. As she peeled it, Hinata felt embarrassed but on guard. She had no idea who this woman was but at least she wasn't an immediate threat.

"For someone that almost lost a quarter of their body weight in blood, I was surprised to see you up and moving about. Well not too surprised all things considered." She crooned.

The old woman cut off a piece of peeled apple and ate it right, her face puckering a bit as she did so.

"Too sweet. Here." She said and offered a slice out to Hinata. "The sugar is good for you."

Hinata hesitantly took her offering but didn't eat it. She knew it wasn't poisoned as the old woman had just had some herself. She stared at the slice in her hand. Unable to eat or throw it away.

"You should eat. That man of yours will be happy if you do."

'Man.'

"Sasuke."

His name tumbled from her lips unintentionally, hopeful that he was the one this stranger was referring to. The old woman nodded and ate another apple slice.

"Yes. He dragged you all the way here in the middle of a storm. I'm surprised you're still alive."

Sasuke saved her?

The old woman clicked her tongue and handed her another apple slice, this time a little more forcefully. She brought it to her lips and took a small bite, her mind racing a mile a minute.

Sasuke saved her.

…..

She was awake when he made it up to the room with more kindling for the fireplace. His body eased slightly seeing her sitting up and speaking to the old woman. After being so close to death he was grateful to see her do anything. He dropped the armload of wood by the fireplace and swiftly made his way back to the bed. There he placed a hand on her forehead and then one on his own. She wasn't running a fever anymore but her face was turning redder than a tomato.

"I-I'm fine!" she squeaked, flinching away from his touch.

"Oh he has to make sure dear. He's been here this entire time waiting for you to wake up."

Sasuke watched as her eyes widened and the little bit of color she'd regained drained from her skin.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Three days." He said.

If she'd been asleep a day longer he would have dragged that good-for-nothing medic out of his home and brought him back here. It was difficult to watch her sleep for that long. Trapped in her own mind. The knowledge of what happened seeped in slowly for the Hyuuga and her eyes held an unrecognizable emotion as she looked at him now. She reached for his hand and gave it a weak squeeze. Although feeble, a strong warmth spread out from her fingertips and through to his hand.

"You saved me." She whispered. "The storm. Those men. You should have left me behind."

"I can say the same to you."

Hinata blushed at his response but that unrecognizable emotion remained. Amused, the old woman cleared her throat and rose from the bedside chair.

"Your little wife is awake but she can't take a lot of excitement right now. It's best to let her rest for a while."

"I-I- We -I'm not-"Hinata stammered, desperate to correct the woman but she had already left the room.

She then buried her face in her hands to hide her embarrassment.

"Is being married to me that shameful?" he said flatly. "Let her believe what she wants until you are fully healed. We will then return to Konoha."

….

It was odd having Sasuke take care of her instead of the other way around. He kept the room very warm with plenty of firewood. So much firewood that she had to ask him to open a window. He changed her bandages without prompting every few hours even when they were not dirty. He handled her with such a gentleness…as if he made a wrong move she might break. It made her heart flutter and infuriated her at the same time. This was not the same man she'd been trapped in a cave with. Had he truly been this worried about her?

She sighed and tried for the umpteenth time to focus on her chakra. She had to heal herself quickly if they were going to get back to Konoha soon. Unfortunately, only a dull green light came forth. She would not even be able to heal a paper cut for the next few days. She was useless.

"What are you doing?"

Hinata jumped at Sasuke's scolding. He stood at the foot of the bed holding a tray of food and a disapproving frown. She hadn't even heard him come in. Just how addled had that man made her brain?

"I…I was trying to see if I could heal myself." She said with a sigh as Sasuke set the tray on her bedside table.

"Stop it. You won't get better pushing yourself to do things outside of your control."

"But-"

"Eat."

He handed her the bowl from the tray. Inside was a plain clear broth. This was likely what he'd been feeding her the last few days as she'd been unconscious. Her eyes pricked with unshed tears. She was such a burden. Why did she let that man get the better of her? Why had her first thought been to tackle him instead of using her gentle-fist? Why was she so incompetent?

"Hinata."

His deep voice rolled over her. The way he said her name seeped into her bones and brought out a warmth she had only cursory experience with. He made her heart flutter so simply. So alarmingly that all other thoughts in her mind were pushed to the side. All that existed was him staring at her. His dark eyes gazed at her with a rare concern…as if he had been worried about her. As if he cared.

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

"No."

His answer seemed contradictory to all of his actions up to this point. It infuriated her to no end that her treacherous heart still longed for a man like him. A man that would never be able to return her feelings. Yet looking at him now she almost believed that he could. She tore her gaze away and focused on the soup in her lap. Sasuke, however, did not turn away from her and for the second time that night her heart skipped a beat.

To be Continued…Being Loved