hi! English isn't my first language. thought in italic , dialogue in " ", POV alterning and Naruto's still not mine.
Chapter 14
Pine.
Rain.
And Lightning.
Those were the smells that tickled the sleeping Hyuuga's nose as her senses were awakened by a small ray of sunlight touching her closed eyelids.
Hinata raised the covers to her head in a futile attempt to stave off reality. She was completely enveloped in that distinct crisp masculine scent that for some reason loosened her shoulders prompting her to sink further into the soft mattress.
A sigh of contentment left her lips, as she felt herself hovering over the edge of dreamland again.
That completely went down the drain at the sound of a dropped metal utensil and a muttered curse.
The young woman's eyelids fluttered open slowly, taking in her foreign surroundings. Dark sheets different from her usually white ones covering her body were her first clue. The lack of her picture frames on the nightstand to her left were the second. The sheathed katana resting innocently against the wall a few feet away was the last clue that flooded her system with adrenaline completely taking her out of her drowsy state.
This is not my room.
The alarm bells ringing in her head stopped abruptly at the recognition of the blade. A blade that had been pushed against her throat more times than she cared to count, always without leaving a scratch on her neck.
You'd think the sight of a weapon that ended near her jugular constantly would be another cause for alarm. But Hinata only felt secure for she knew the hands wielding such a dangerous weapon would never harm her. Well, outside of the preset parameters of a spar anyway.
Her body's fight or flight response came to a halt as it caught up with her mind's main chain of commands: Sasuke. Safe. Relax.
Hinata inhaled the scent surrounding her deeply to shake off the remaining of the adrenaline coursing through her veins.
His sheets smell like him.
The young kunoichi shook her head at her own weird observation. Since when did she start cataloguing what he smelled like?
Her thought came to a halt as the information registered: His sheets.
She was in Sasuke's bed.
Her cheeks colored at the notion. The Hyuuga never slept in a man's bed before. Not even when she was with Naruto, she never stayed over.
At the reminder of Naruto, her mind was flooded by the previous events. That twinge in her chest was less sharp than it was yesterday. Probably because she let it all out.
Her muffled groan of embarrassment could probably be heard from outside the bedroom.
Hinata tried to suffocate her own mortification by putting a pillow over her face, as she recalled her small mental breakdown all over Sasuke's chest. Blood rushed to her face when she remembered how firm that chest was and how nice his fingers in her hair felt.
She wondered not for the first time, if someone can combust from sheer humiliation.
With her mastery of her fire element, it was definitely a possibility now. Still the new fire user took calming breaths, because burning down Sasuke's bed wasn't a nice way to say thank you.
The blue haired kunoichi made her way out of the bedroom towards the source of noise that originally woke her up.
Sasuke was in the kitchen, his back to her. He was preparing, judging by the disregarded eggshells some type of omelet.
She silently studied the peaceful aura surrounding him. His muscled back was relaxed and his shoulders were loose. Muscles that were visibly well defined even under his shirt, and shoulders that looked broad.
She never noticed before how deadly he looked even without weapons or famous Kengei Genkai on. The aura of danger never really leaving him even when doing something as mundane as making eggs. And yet, her mind whispered it was in those deadly arms that she felt the most comfort.
How peculiar that someone who inspire such fear from others, for she noticed how almost everyone tensed whenever he moved, can only make her feel safe.
"It's rude to stare." Sasuke said not facing her yet.
Hinata's face burned at being called out, she's been doing this a lot lately; staring at him.
If I keep doing this, he's going to think I have a crush on him.
The Hyuuga chose not to examine that thought closely.
"Good morning." She said after clearing her throat.
"Hn" He turned around, two plates of Tamagoyaki in hand "Sit. Eat."
She obeyed. Bringing a bite to her mouth using her chopsticks, she hummed as the flavor exploded over her tastebuds.
Huh. Who knew Sasuke-san could cook that well?
"It's mostly breakfast foods and anything with eggs." He said as if silently reading her thoughts.
"How did you learn?" The blue haired kunoichi smiled as she imagined a very serious Sasuke using his Sharingan to copy recipes from cook shows.
"My mother taught me." He said taking a sip from his morning tea.
"She must've been a great cook." Hinata's eyes filled with warmth, honored he shared this piece of himself with her. Knowing he intended to level the playing feel so to speak after he took a stroll through her deepest insecurities.
"She was." He simply said.
Hinata kept her eyes glued to her plate as she finished eating in silence, replaying all the memories she revisited last night. She didn't regret sharing them with Sasuke. She meant what she said; she does trust him, but it still left her raw and exposed.
Because now, he knew how much of a failure to others she was. What if he found her lacking too?
She didn't think she could handle another person looking at her the way they all looked at her.
She didn't think she could handle seeing disappointment in the depth of those onyx eyes.
"Stop that." Sasuke's voice rang in the silence "Stop feeling sorry for yourself."
Before she could deny it, he continued "I know how your brain works now, and whatever it's telling you is probably not true."
"I'm sorry." Hinata murmured.
"Don't apologize." There was a hint of exasperation in his voice "You are not a burden."
"Can you still..?" Her wide eyes found his.
"Read your mind?" His lips twitched in amusement "No. You're just easy to read."
"I'm still sorry" Her half empty plate was less intimidating than his penetrating gaze "For what you saw."
"Do you want to know what I saw?" He said after releasing a sigh "I saw someone who was beaten down and humiliated constantly"
Hinata winced at the reminder of those early years of her life. They called it physical and spiritual training.
"I saw someone who was belittled and ridiculed for years by people who were supposed to care for them" His voice was firmer "I saw you bend… but never break."
The blue-haired kunoichi raised her head at the conviction in that statement, and what she saw on his face left her completely breathless.
"You didn't give up. They tried to break you; they are still trying. But you never do and you never will." Hinata looked away, overwhelmed by his unwavering faith "You do not need to search for strength in somebody else's story. All you have to do is look in the mirror."
She swallowed hard at the reference to the admiration she held for Naruto and how his careless words affected her.
She felt Sasuke's finger curve under her chin as he redirected her gaze to his.
"You Hinata Hyuuga were forged in fire. And anyone who doesn't see the steel in your spirit hidden behind this softness, doesn't deserve you." His eyes burned with resolve, respect and something she couldn't identify "Your clan doesn't deserve you, and I'm beginning to think he never did either."
Her cheeks dusted with the pink of an opening rose at dawn in the face of his sincerity.
Sasuke Uchiha wasn't a man of many words but when he did speak, he somehow always left her bereft of speech, whether he was teasing her or teasing out a side of her she was unaware existed.
He kept searching her gaze for something and didn't retract his touch from her face until he found it. Until it all sank in.
Hinata hid behind her bangs. She mirrored him and picked up her chopsticks again.
"Thank you." She whispered.
"Don't thank me. I only spoke the truth." He replied his voice returning to that neutral tone.
"You're very bossy this morning Commander Uchiha." She said trying to dissipate the heavy atmosphere.
"Tell me you don't like it and I will stop." Sasuke had a teasing smirk on his lips and a challenge in his eyes.
"Wouldn't that make me as bossy as you?" Hinata smiled at his subtle redirection from the previous topic.
"Although something tells me it's more of your thing, I wouldn't mind being bossed around by you once in a while Hyuuga." His eyes filled with mirth as she choked on air.
Sasuke leaned against the wall of the sterile room, his displeasure palpable. He wasn't fond of hospitals but one of his stubborn operatives was injured in his last mission and was avoiding a checkup.
The Uchiha wasn't worried or anything but he decided to drag him by the ear since he was heading that way anyway.
The constant sighing of his companion didn't do anything to help his mood.
Just as he was about to reprimand the brat, the door opened and the medic walked in. His mood improved instantly, especially when she immediately headed his way concern readable on her face.
"Sasuke-san! What happened? Are you hurt?" Hinata said, her eyes taking inventory of his body looking for injuries.
"I'm not injured." Sasuke answered with a smirk.
"Oh? Okay." She released a relieved sigh "Why are you in the ER?"
I wanted to see you.
He silently gestured to the ignored patient, who was still sulking looking at the wall not acknowledging the medic yet.
"Oh?" Her cheeks reddened. "Right."
She walked towards the young man sitting on the bed, her cheeks still dusted.
"Hello, I'm medic Hyuuga. I will be your doctor for the day" Sasuke could see his subordinate looking up then doing a double take. "How may I help you?" She smiled in that soft way he came to like.
The young Anbu operative blushed.
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"I..uh..My hand keeps spasming after I was hit by some kind of chakra absorbing Jutsu in my last mission" He said.
"Let's have a look. May I?" The blue haired medic took a step closer offering her hands, still keeping that smile that put everyone at ease. It seemed to have the opposite effect on his socially challenged subordinate.
"Oh Anbu-san you should've come earlier" She scolded gently "but it's nothing a bit of chakra therapy can't fix." She smiled again.
"ehh. Next time I promise to come see you immediately." He scratched the back of his head still with that obnoxious blush.
Sasuke's eyebrows twitched in annoyance.
Hinata's hand glowed with green chakra, unaware of the effect she had on the man who seemed to have lost his mental faculties as he stared at her.
Idiot.
A few minutes passed before said idiot cleared his throat and asked a questioned that'll make Sasuke's ancient Uchiha blood burn hot.
"Miss Hyuuga, are you busy after your shift?"
He didn't wait for the question to register before he spoke up.
"I am keeping miss Hyuuga quite busy." The Anbu operative blanched at the Uchiha's activated Sharingan "Isn't that right Hinata?"
Sasuke never saw this particular shade of red adorning her cheeks, it probably had something to do with him calling her by her name for the first time.
"Y-yes." She couldn't suppress the shiver that traversed her body.
He promised to use it more often if it'll get him this reaction.
The charged air lingered while the medic refocused on her task.
Sasuke was glaring, Hinata was blushing and the Anbu was about to shit his pants.
Thankfully all of it came to a stop when the door opened and a nurse stuck her head in.
"Hyuuga-san incoming trauma."
"Big?" Hinata turned around facing the nurse.
"Massive. Collapsed building by strong earth Jutsu. Multiple victims with crush injuries, head trauma and blood loss. Several bones to set."
Hinata's eyes sparkled with pure unadulterated joy.
"Wonderful!" She could barely hold her excitement.
"Adrenaline-junkie." Sasuke coughed under his breath. He was ignored.
"I knew I'll cheer you up." The nurse smiled.
"Akane-san call the blood bank, get us as much blood as you can. We're using protocol A: one medic, two nurses by zone" Her spine straightened as she took command of the situation "You're with me."
"Who would you like to see first."Akane said opening the door so that they could take a look at the chaos outside.
"I'll start with that." Hinata's eyes widened as she saw a man impaled on multiple metal rods.
The forgotten Anbu cringed at the sight that made the medic even more eager to get to work.
Another male medic seemed to be making his way towards the victim, when the blue haired kunoichi exclaimed loud enough for him to hear.
"Hey! That's my human shish kebab! Back off." The poor man raised his hands in surrender and backed away slowly as if afraid of ending up in a hospital bed himself.
"You're a sick person Hyuuga." Sasuke said trying to suppress a smile.
She was such a lovely contradiction. Compassionate in the face of other's injuries but animated by its brutality.
Hinata looked back at him bashfully, she seemed to have forgotten their presence.
"I'm sorry Sasuke-san, I might run a bit late today."
"Go. I'll wait for you." The Uchiha said with a smirk.
"You don't mind?" She asked apologetically "I can always find you later in your office."
"Hyuuga. Go enjoy your human shish-kebab."
"Ok! I will" Her smile was radiant as she turned around and dove head first into the pandemonium.
The other man's jaw hung open as he saw the most feared shinobi of all five nations smile at her retreating back.
"Damn." Sasuke's eyes snapped back to his subordinate "sooo…Commander are you… seeing her or..?"
His mouth snapped shut at the Uchiha's glare.
She found him hours later, with damp hair, changed clothes, a tired but beaming smile.
"I'm sorry for making you wait." Hinata said
"It's fine." Sasuke had used his time wisely and was almost completely done with organizing his troops around the village. Working in Hinata's small office was better than the gloomy atmosphere in his dark one at the top of the Anbu facility. Hers had big windows that offered a nice view of the sunset.
"I don't think I have enough energy to be thrown around by you in the training ground." She bit her lips at the mere thought of making him wait for nothing.
He wondered what she'll do if he said he'd rather throw her around in the bedroom.
"Did you eat?" Was what he said instead. She shook her head no. "Hn."
He pulled her to him with a gentle but brisk movement, taking her of guard. His arm encircled her waist as his Rinnegan glowed.
Sasuke found himself unconsciously initiating these small physical contacts since the night she came to him crying. Holding her in his arms and running his hand through her hair once, was enough to open the floodgates to this new need of touching her.
A need he was assuaging subtly; by keeping her in place by her shoulders. Turning her face to him with his fingers quickly enough she didn't think anything of it but slow enough to create another type of torment in him.
Or as he was doing now, pressing her to his body while using Amenotekikara to swap places with an object in his office in a blink of an eye so they didn't have to walk all the way there.
The last Uchiha suppressed a smirk as she gaped at their surroundings. She was still reeling from the change and didn't let go of his shirt even after he dropped his arm.
He did like to show off from time to time.
"H-how?" Her palms flattened against his chest. He hoped she couldn't feel his heart racing.
Whatever. I'll blame it on the Justu.
"Always the tone of surprise." His smirk widened when her face colored at their proximity before she took a step back.
He came to enjoy the blush that seemed to appear more often in his presence.
Hinata took a seat on the familiar couch taking one of the take-out boxes from the small coffee table.
"When did you have time to get food?" Her eyebrows furrowed.
"I didn't." Sasuke sat, keeping a respectable distance between them "I had that Anbu you examined get it."
"I'm pretty sure that's called an abuse of power, Commander." Hinata's voice took that teasing tone whenever she addressed him by his official title. Mockingly respectful.
Sasuke wondered how it'll sound if she said it breathlessly. The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
"As far as punishments go, that's considered mild" He answered with a straight face not betraying the rabbit hole his mind dove into.
"What did he do?" She asked.
Tried to ask you out.
"That's classified Hyuuga." He reached for his own food. "so did you quench your bloodthirst with today's tragedy?"
"I'm not b-bloodthirsty" She sputtered indignantly.
"My apologies" His dark eye danced with humor "how was the adrenaline high?"
"So good." She bit her lip slightly trying to hide her smile. "I don't know why anyone does drugs."
"Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery" He smirked
"it's not about the high" She explained with a smile "It's about how it makes me feel. Trauma for a medic-nin isn't about perfection, it's about making it work even if it's different then what it's supposed to be." She lowered her head to hide from his clear regard "Different doesn't mean inadequate when I'm at the hospital. And yes the adrenaline high is there, but it's the combination of the two that make my heart sing."
"And you miss it." Sasuke could only imagine what it was like for her, all she wanted was the freedom to be herself ,make mistakes and be different without feeling like a pariah for diverging from the perceived norm.
From what he observed and gathered from her memories. The Hyuuga clan wanted that perfectly unified representation of harmony. Same looks, same principles, same discipline.
But Hinata stuck out like a sore thumb with her blue hair, Fire chakra affinity and gentle disposition. And so they punished her for it.
His blood used to simmer every time he remembers they forbade her from using her chakra normally but now it boiled once he saw the educational methods used to make her change her natural chakra flow, practice technique not suited for her and humiliate her when she couldn't. All in the name of making her a 'proper Hyuuga heiress'.
She couldn't change her fire affinity no more than he could spout wings to fly.
"I do especially since everything slowed down" Her voice brought him back to their current conversation "The closest I can get to that feeling again is when I'm with you."
Sasuke's head snapped to her with such speed it would've made the Yellow Flash proud.
"I-I m-mean when we t-train"Her face became red as her own words registered to her ears "L-like when you first showed me how to convert regular chakra to elemental if you remember."
He did remember.
He remembers perfectly how he cupped her hands with his and put a dancing flame in them. How the flame flickered when he let go and how her eyes widened when it didn't go out.
How her face glowed in the light, how her mouth parted in surprise when the color changed to mirror her chakra. He was surprised too.
He remembers how she stood there overwhelmed like she discovered what it felt like to breathe again.
He remembers how she stared at her palms with innocent awe and the joy of a child watching fireworks for the very first time.
And he remembers wanting to taste that innocence on her lips and when she looked at him eyes watery and filled with so much gratitude it made him feel unworthy.
"I do" Sasuke cleared his throat to chase away that haunting memory. "And it certainly doesn't hurt that you're giving your entire clan the metaphorical finger."
"Maybe." She muffled a startled laugh behind her hand.
"Speaking of flipping your family off" He smirked when she giggled again "Why don't you tell them to shove it and participate in the tournament under your first name only"
"I wish" Hinata sighed "If I were to do that, it'll be like I renounced the Hyuuga name publicly. I'll be giving the elders what they wanted all along. The perfect excuse for them to disinherit me and maybe push for a seal"
Sasuke wanted to reach over and take her hand as he could clearly see the flicker of fear in her eyes.
"It's not an option" She smiled sadly "The only other way I would be able to participate is if I was affiliated with another clan."
"Like being married into another clan?" His dark eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement, his political education wasn't the best since his own clan was wiped out, he was more focused on avenging them than learning the dynamics of Konoha's ancient clans.
"Yes. Marriage is technically a binding contract between an individual and a clan" She had a thoughtful look "and although I really wanted to prove to myself that I've gotten stronger, I'm still trying to figure out how to dodge a potential arranged marriage not get tangled in one."
Her shoulder slumped at the reminder of the potential threat looming over her. Sasuke immediately regretted bringing it up. He much preferred her sparkling eyes and lively smile when she spoke of what brought her joy.
"Would you like to learn how to channel lightning through a weapon?" He asked seemingly out of nowhere.
"Y-yes" Her eyes cleared from her troubled thoughts.
"I'll teach you. You can use my sword"
"I..You'd let me touch your sword?" Her eyes widened as she probably knew how sacred a blade was to a swordsman.
Unfortunately for Sasuke, his brain didn't follow that path but rather dove down a more indecent road as he envisioned his other sword being handled.
"yeah, you can." He coughed, his ears warming.
"Really?" Her eyes shined with hope, which made his head clear from any improper thoughts.
"Will it make your heart sing?" He asked failing to suppress the quirking of his lips.
"Yes!" She answered all thoughts of tournaments, clans and arranged marriages disappearing. "You'll probably be able to hear it."
Sasuke smiled softly at the delight that overtook her face.
AN: I am glad you guys found the previous chapter moving, I know I did. And for anyone who ever felt like they weren't good enough. Know deep down in your bones, that You are a thousand time enough! You're still standing, aren't you? I am sure more than one person admires the steel in your spirit the way Sasuke does Hinata's.
Now on a happier note, how cute is scalpel hungry medic Hinata? No need to even ask about Mr definitely-not -jealous-Uchiha.
I'll be waiting like always for your feedback.
-Your review hungry writer
Lady Thunder Storm