Sasuke and Hinata get a small break before they have to continue the mission.

Chapter 11: Buried alive inside my dreams

Sasuke's vision swam, blurry around the edges. His body was moving, stumbling through the snow, head lolling to the side and one arm braced around Hinata's shoulder as she propelled them forward. He bit back a sound of confusion and tried to focus his eyes on his surroundings.

They were outside, back in the forest, back on Mogami land. Bracing himself, Sasuke leaned away from Hinata. "We need to talk to Kakashi," he said and immediately winced at the sound. His throat felt like sandpaper. He started to channel chakra to his rinnegan, but a hand on his arm stopped him.

"You need to rest," Hinata said, voice soft but firm.

Sasuke glared at her and Hinata flinched, but stood her ground. "Your chakra is exhausted. You didn't sleep yesterday, did you?" she said grimly. "And how many times did you use your rinnegan to travel in the past two days? To Konoha last night, then to Kiri and back to Konoha in the morning, then here. At least four times."

"I'm —"

"You're not fine." She said it quietly and yet she managed to cut right through him. "You need to rest. Please, Sasuke."

He continued to glare at her for a long moment before turning away.

Sasuke lost track of time staring at the trees around them, mind still foggy. Hinata's touch on his arm drew him back again.

Too tired to protest anymore, Sasuke let Hinata guide him into the tent she'd set up. He sat down on the cushiony surface of a sleeping bag.

"Here," Hinata said, pressing his canteen into his hand.

Sasuke forced himself to drink despite the uncomfortable feeling of the water against the raw tissue of his throat. "This is pointless. I won't be able to sleep after that," he admitted, lips curling into a sneer. His voice cracked only a little, the water having done its job.

"Please try," Hinata said. "Just for a few hours. Even just closing your eyes."

Sasuke grudgingly reclined onto his back, aiming his glare at the ceiling of the tent. It was the stinging in his eyes, a combination of the cold, dry air, remnants of flaking blood and overuse of his dōjutsu that finally made him shut them.

He felt Hinata withdraw and his hand shot out to grab hold of her, eyes still closed. "Where are you going?"

"O-oh! I…I was going to keep watch."

Without looking, Sasuke could perfectly imagine the expression on her face. Her timidity made it easy to say, "Stay."

If anyone was stupid enough to attack them right now, Sasuke would tear them apart.

Sasuke slipped in and out of a disturbed sleep plagued by habitual nightmares. Each time he jolted awake, he nearly bit through his tongue with the effort to keep from screaming. Hinata's soothing hands and hushed words of comfort would help him drift off again. By the fourth time he woke, she had taken to keeping one hand on his upper arm.

Finally the dim light of dawn started to seep through the canvas of the tent. Sasuke sat up, headache still present, but eyes no longer burning. "Your turn," he told Hinata gruffly. The small snatches of sleep had done little to improve his mood.

Hinata shifted next to him. "Your chakra levels look better," she agreed. "Do you think you could take us back?"

Sasuke frowned at her, confused. "You haven't slept."

Hinata leaned back, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Well…if you're recovered enough, it doesn't matter." She stared at him with sincere eyes.

Sasuke's frown deepened.

He tore through the tent opening, leaving Hinata to pack up as he stood outside drinking from his canteen. Once she'd fit everything into her backpack, Sasuke wordlessly opened a portal with his rinnegan. He impatiently waited for Hinata to walk through first, then followed after her and shut the portal behind him.

They were back in the same alley near the Hokage Tower. Sasuke turned and strode off without a backwards glance. He could hear Hinata scurrying to keep up, but didn't bother slowing.

He slammed open the door to Kakashi's office without knocking. At least his former teacher had enough sense to be there early with an urgent mission in progress.

"My, my, what a pair of overachievers," Kakashi said in greeting. "I was expecting to hear from you two last." His cheeriness grated on Sasuke's already frayed nerves.

Grunting in response, Sasuke took up residence against the wall. He proceeded to stare emotionlessly at Kakashi until the Hokage sighed and turned to Hinata.

"Welcome back, Hinata-chan. Can you provide your report?"

Sasuke let Hinata recap their mission. He cut in twice to add more detail about the white zetsu, but otherwise kept silent. When she got to the part about the Fujiwara, Sasuke turned to look out the window.

Kakashi listened intently, arms folded on his desk. Once Hinata had finished, he turned to the Uchiha. "Sasuke, if you need an out, I can pull someone else onto the mission —"

"Shut up."

Kakashi simply nodded. "Alright. The other two teams should check in by this afternoon. We'll plan to meet up with them in the capital tomorrow, so be ready to leave at 07:00." Kakashi paused and gave Hinata a close-eyed smile. "Oh, and Hinata-chan, please pack some formal wear for yourself and Naruto."

Sasuke straightened, eyes darting between Kakashi and Hinata.

Kakashi offered no further explanation. "Thank you both, you're dismissed. Go get some rest."

Sasuke started to leave, already halfway out the door when Kakashi added, "That's an order, by the way. You both look terrible."

Sasuke only stopped walking once he'd exited the building, standing at the bottom of the entryway stairs. He turned at Hinata's quiet footsteps, finding her at eye level for once. He quirked a brow and glanced down to see that she was standing a few steps above him.

Hinata, too, seemed surprised by the direct eye contact. She shifted as if to step back, but ultimately stayed where she was.

"I'll walk you home," Sasuke said matter-of-factly.

"Ah, you don't have to, Sasuke-san. You should go home and rest more. Besides, I need to stop by Naruto-kun's apartment first to pick out some kimonos for him." She averted her gaze just slightly, opting to stare somewhere above his eyes.

Sasuke felt his brows twitch. Hinata's formality had been amusing at first, but he'd quickly grown bored of it. He had ended up entertaining himself by making a game out of it, copying her honorifics in a more sarcastic tone. Now, Sasuke just felt irritated.

"No."

Hinata blinked. "Um…"

Sasuke leaned closer, their equal height allowing him to do so without bending his neck. Hinata had no choice but to meet his glare.

"You tricked me," Sasuke accused.

Hinata's brows scrunched together in confusion. "I…what?"

"You. Tricked. Me." Sasuke pronounced each word clearly. "You made me sleep, but you didn't bother to yourself. So I'm making sure you go straight home to rest. The kimonos can wait."

Hinata's lips moved soundlessly as she seemed at a complete loss of what to say.

Some of his irritation eased and Sasuke shook his head. "Come on."

This time he waited for her, matching their pace so they walked side by side. Sasuke dropped her off at the Hyuuga compound gates. Even after they closed, he stood outside, waiting. Eyes shut, he tracked her chakra signature until it settled.

Then he left.

Hinata forced herself to sleep, but spent most of her time lying in bed reliving the mission. Scenes of Neji's death now overlapping with Sasuke getting injured and, worse, Sasuke breaking down in the Fujiwara house.

Hinata tossed around under the covers, eyes shut tightly in vain. She couldn't get Sasuke's devastated face and heart wrenching screams out of her head.

Giving up on sleep, she took a long bath as an alternative. The heat of the water soothed her muscles. She then prepared an elaborate lunch for Hanabi and her genin team, dropping by the training grounds to sit with them. They were a talkative bunch, even young Aburame Sota, and she appreciated the opportunity to focus on something other than blood and death, even if it meant frequently trying to break up arguments between her sister and Inuzuka Akio. All three genin and their sensei praised her cooking, but she could only muster a feeble smile, cheeks unusually pale.

Hinata dropped by the academy next. Shino asked no questions and let her sit in the back as he gave his guest lecture. The students shot her curious glances, especially one of her younger clansmen, but eventually lost interest. She listened to Shino's lecture attentively, enjoying the sight of her friend settling into a new niche. Teaching suited him.

Being back in the classroom brought back a different set of memories that was much welcomed. Hinata was even sitting in her old seat. Her eyes drifted to the window and the swing set brought a bittersweet smile to her face. Many times she had seen Naruto sit there, dejected by a scolding from Iruka or a snide comment from their classmates. Many times Hinata had watched from afar, unable to bring herself to approach him.

Looking away, she found herself lingering on one tree in particular. A young Sasuke came to mind. This time the memory was clearer. His first week back from the hospital their classmates gave him a wide berth. The healthy glow to his skin was gone, replaced by dark shadows under his eyes. Both arms and legs were covered in scrapes and bruises that he must have gotten in training outside of what they did at school. His clothes hung looser, indicative of weight loss and there was a lost look on his face. In comparison to Naruto's sadness, Sasuke's had been lined with an anger that had frightened Hinata. And yet somehow she had gathered the courage to walk right up to him and hand him a bento.

Hinata felt a spark of pride for her younger self.

Of course, she'd run away each time, not stopping to see if Sasuke even touched the food. And he never returned the box, so for all she knew he could have been tossing them uneaten. But she'd persisted, at least until Ko had reprimanded her for losing five Hyuuga bento boxes.

But by the next week their peers seemed to have returned to normal, crowding around Sasuke again though he ignored them in a way he hadn't before.

The sound of the bell had Hinata looking back to the front. The students were rushing out noisily, eager to go play. Young Hyuuga Ryota gave her a keen wave before being dragged off by his friends. Meanwhile Shino was wiping the board clean.

Hinata waited for Shino to tidy up and then followed him into the teacher's lounge. She looked around curiously, feeling a little like a kid that shouldn't be there even though she'd graduated so long ago. She shook her head at her silliness.

Shino bought two cans of iced coffee from the vending machine. He knew she didn't enjoy canned tea. When he handed one to her, Hinata held it between her hands, appreciating the contrast of the cold tin in the heated room.

"May I ask?" he said. They were seated across from each other at the small table in the lounge. Shino had snapped open the metal tab of his can.

Hinata nodded while opening her own can.

"How was the mission?"

Hinata contemplated her response. "The mission was successful," she said, "But…" She bit her lip, thinking of her reaction to Sasuke protecting her from getting hurt by the white zetsu. "I'm embarrassed," she confessed.

Then she thought of the way she'd reacted to Sasuke's screaming. At the time it had been an instinctive response to a comrade in pain, but Sasuke wasn't a particularly tactile person so perhaps she had overstepped. Sasuke had seemed angry at her this morning outside of the Hokage Tower, yet he'd walked her home regardless…

Hinata squeezed the can of coffee, brows drawing together. "I behaved so unprofessionally. And on my first mission with Sasuke-san…he must think I'm a terrible kunoichi," she said miserably.

"You're a good kunoichi," Shino said. "And I'm certain you were perfectly professional. You have a habit of being hard on yourself and projecting those thoughts on others. Sasuke-san in all likelihood is thinking no such thing."

Her friend's straightforward words helped a little, but Hinata was still worried about having already ruined the friendship she was cultivating with the Uchiha.

"Also, this was not your first mission with Sasuke," Shino added casually before taking a sip of his iced coffee.

"Eh?" Hinata's head shot up.

Shino continued to drink.

Hinata frowned in confusion. "When have I been on a mission with Sasuke-san?"

Shino finally set his can down. "When we were genin, Team Eight, Team Ten and Team Seven were assigned to a mission commissioned by Nara Yoshino to tend the Nara yard."

Hinata blinked at Shino. "I remember that, but…"

The Nara yard was at least an acre. Yoshino had complained, with her hands on her hips, that the only way to get it taken care of was a D-rank mission since her son was too lazy and skipped out on his chores.

She wasn't wrong, as shortly after she left Shikamaru had sat down under a tree and fallen asleep. Kiba had been throwing a fit because Akamaru wasn't allowed to come in case he trampled the plants. Naruto had been whining about how lame the mission was and how it wouldn't help him get stronger, but Hinata hadn't minded at all.

What stood out to Hinata the most, other than how cute Naruto had looked with dirt smudged on his whiskered cheeks, was that the Nara yard had a very interesting collection of plants. She remembered wanting to ask about a flower she didn't recognize, but Shino hadn't known either, Shikamaru was still napping and Ino was too busy arguing with Sakura over…Sasuke!

Of course Sasuke had been there with the rest of Team Seven! Hinata just…hadn't noticed.

He'd been his quiet and broody self, an upset look on his face though whether it was because he agreed with Naruto on the uselessness of the mission or because Ino and Sakura were shouting above his head and kept following him no matter how many times he moved, Hinata didn't know. She had glanced over once after a particularly loud screech by Ino only to catch dark eyes boring into her from where Sasuke was crouched over some weeds. She'd snapped her head back right away, embarrassed that he might have thought she was staring.

In the present, Hinata unknowingly smiled. Sasuke had looked upset, but he'd still done the work meticulously.

"You're right," she told Shino, finally taking a sip of her own coffee.

They spent the next little while chatting about Shino's guest lectures and his plans for the future.

"I think I'd like to teach at the academy, permanently," Shino said.

Hinata smiled. "That's wonderful! It's different than what you had wanted when we were younger, but it suits you."

Shino nodded thoughtfully. "Yes. The solitude of being a researcher, studying rare insects and discovering new ones and documenting it all, had appealed to me back then. But as I grew and spent time with Team Eight and the rest of our comrades, it began to seem like a lonely path. It's not so much that my dream changed, as I still desire to spread knowledge, it is me and my feelings and priorities that have changed. And thus my dream evolved as I did."

Hinata laughed lightly. "Evolved, not changed. I like that. Shino-kun has always been very cool, but has evolved into a cooler adult."

Shino smiled, amused. "You have also evolved very well, Hinata-chan."

"In a cool way?" Hinata asked, hopefully.

"Indeed."

Little ShinoHina interlude. Hinata's remembering more about young Sasuke (she had a one-track mind at the time).

Sasuke was running pretty much on empty since last chapter which didn't help his emotional state, raise your hand if you think he's actually going to rest.

We'll check back in with him next chapter and find out.

Thanks as always to everyone leaving reviews!

MVH