Her first thought was that he was at the cemetery. He wasn't. Even after walking along the entire section belonging to the Uchiha clan, she couldn't find him. Her second thought was that he was surely training. A quick scan of the training grounds showed her that, no, he wasn't there, not even in the most secluded grounds. Once those two options were discarded, she honestly had no idea where to look for him.

If she were Sasuke, where would she be on a day like this? Where would she be at the anniversary of the downfall of her clan, if not the cemetery or training?

It didn't take long to come up with an answer, and that answer made her chest hurt.

Slowly, she made her way to the now abandoned Uchiha district. The district wasn't that far away from the Hyuuga compound. However, her compound was closer to town, surrounded by the many streets of the village, unlike the deserted district, barely standing at its edge, almost like its own town annexed to Konoha.

She was nervous, having been near the district only a handful of times, and only once inside in her whole life. She had no idea what kind of place would receive her. She imagined plenty of possibilities: a dilapidated ghost town, an eerie ghost town, a cursed ghost town…

Well, at least she was sure it was going to be a ghost town.

And her intuition didn't deceive her. When she arrived at the imposing doors with the big red and white fan displayed on its front, they were open, and the sight of buildings and houses that she could see from the entrance, though in good shape, looked so… abandoned. Paint was chipped here and there, and the streets were unmaintained, leaves and other things scattered around.

Hinata fidgeted, not knowing if to enter or not. Her Byakugan, in this case, would be of no help. Her range was only of ten meters, after all, and if Sasuke really was there, it would be impossible to find his exact location with her meager vision.

So, did that mean she had to enter? The mere thought gave her goosebumps. If she did that, it would feel like intruding upon sacred ground. More than the fear of being haunted and killed by resentful spirits, it was the disrespect such action would entail that stopped her short. What right did she have to venture inside? None.

And yet… even if she waited all day outside for Sasuke to come out, if it turned out he wasn't there, then she would have wasted her time. Hinata kept pondering what to do over and over, until finally, her mind settled on one option, one she was rueful to take. She would enter the district.

Only for fifteen minutes.

If she didn't find Sasuke in fifteen minutes, she would leave immediately. With that new resolution, Hinata gulped, and taking trembling steps, she finally entered the abandoned district.

If it looked ghostly from the outside, it was even worse on the inside. Inside, you could really feel the loneliness, the eeriness of such a huge place with no people inside. Whether she turned left or right, she could see buildings, houses… all devoid of life. In some places there was even blood splattered against the walls, that no rain or snow could wash away. Hinata had to summon every bit of her willpower not to turn away and run. It did look like a ghost town. A ghost town of massacre and solitude.

However, along with that dreadful feeling, she was surprised at the size and at the quantity of stores and places on the district. Not even a few hundred meters inside and she could already tell it was way bigger than her own compound. Houses and apartment complexes were there, but there were also multiple stores, supermarkets, parks, even a clinic and an elementary school… it was like its own town. Its own village.

No wonder it was called the Uchiha district and not compound. It was nothing at all like her home.

But why? Hinata wondered. Why so much separation? She didn't know about any other clan, but she was sure that, if they were even a little bit like the Hyuuga, then, despite having their own separated complex and living quarters inside the village, they were still completely integrated with it. Meaning shopping and health and other things were still done inside Konoha. This place… someone could literally live their entire life here and never go out to the village and still lack nothing. Why was that? Was that separation intentional? Were the Uchiha even more secluded and secretive than the Hyuuga? Did they enjoy their independence so much? If so, then it would make sense. But in that case, why being associated with a village at all?

She kept walking, her feet guiding her towards a big tree that seemed to mark the center of the district, at the end of the main road she was taking. From there, a hill rose, and she thought on walking towards it to have a better vision of the district. With the place so empty, surely even the smallest of movements would caught her eyes, no?

It was with that thought that she started walking faster, however, as soon as she stepped on the rectangular central plaza where the tree was, something came running at her from her right side. Before she could completely turn around, she was sprawled on the ground, the air knocked from her lungs and her backpack lying away from her, sliding with the impact until it came to a stop.

Hinata gasped, quickly moving to stand and adopting a fighting stance, not understanding who or what just attacked her. But, when she looked up, she was left speechless.

"Sa-Sa…"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Sasuke was standing there, feathers ruffled and fangs bared.