First Arc - CHAPTER 12: HER CRIMSON SEA
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Hinata was unconscious for an hour, her body was unresponsive to every counter Sakura was attempting. Tension coiled around the room like a taut wire, snapping when Sakura with her nerves on edge, threw everyone out of the room, slamming the door to everyone's faces.
Outside, Hiashi stood rigid, his back pressed against the doorframe. Shikamaru dragged Naruto to the bench and forcibly sat him down. The fiery and flaring orange aura flickering now and then as Naruto and Sasuke shared heated glares, Shikamaru was acting like a voice of reason between them—keeping Naruto away from latching onto Sasuke's collar and thrashing him. The tension between Sasuke and Naruto was palpable.
Sasuke stood a few steps away from Naruto's huddled figure with his eyes almost boring holes in the door. The familiar, water-like Chakra that Hinata always carried, was faint, rushing in her feeble body with barely any strength. Something deep inside him burned and settled with a thud on his chest like an unbearable weight. The colours drained from his face, a scowl marring his features. His hand flexed, a futile attempt to get rid of tremors running along his fingers. Fear crossed his heart, awakening an urge to break something, destroy someone…preferably himself. A vein popped in his neck and temple with the searing fury engulfing him, his chest rumbled, and the gnawing guilt was chipping at his insides. His breath came in uneven bursts as anger was simmering inside, him.
Sakura emerged from the room, wiping the sweat off her forehead from the back of her sleeve. Her head bowed and shoulders slumped. Naruto rushed towards her, hovering around her, holding her by the arms and shaking her, "Sakura-chan, please tell me you saved her! Please just—"
"Naruto!" Sakura grunted.
Naruto neared her, his grasp tightening on Sakura's arms as if he didn't hear her fatigue. He continued to sputter, "She will be alright…She will be fine, right? Nothing will happen to her?—" Sasuke could hear the familiar noise of guilt lacing his words, the same guilt that was tormenting his mind, clawing at his thoughts.
"Naruto!" Sakura pinned him with one look. Her authority sliced the "Calm down!"
Shikamaru grabbed Naruto from his shoulder, pulling him back. Naruto's eyes wandered around, attempting to take a peek inside the room. His body was trembling, and his mind was shattering. Sasuke knew Naruto. He could see the agony mounting at Naruto, sitting on his shoulders, grabbing him by the roots of his hair and feasting on him.
Hiashi stepped into the conversation, his voice tinged with urgency, "Haruno-san, I also require the update on my daughter."
Sakura exhaled and steadied herself. "She regains consciousness in brief intervals, but she's unresponsive. Even though as we all know she is struggling with Genjutsu, she is fighting it as well with the bare minimum chakra that she has in her reserves. Her diminishing Chakra levels will render her entirely useless if we do not manage to break her out of it—"
Sasuke pushed himself off the wall and stepped towards them. His gravelly voice didn't waver as he offered, "I can use my Mangekyo—"
Sakura shook her head, thumbing her temples to quell the stress. She explained with wariness lacing her tone, "Hinata possesses the skill to break out of a typical Genjutsu on her own, but this isn't an ordinary technique. It's reinforced by a forbidden Jutsu, creating a mental barrier that cuts her off from external stimuli. Her mind is being blocked. The brief moments when she regains consciousness give us a sliver of hope, but it's a delicate situation and her chakra is too fragile for external interference—"
Sasuke cut her off, he clenched his jaw as he urged her. "Let me see her—"
"No!" Naruto grumbled as he threw a stern glance at Sasuke before he began, "I will see—"
Sasuke's mind was reeling, his insides were churning. Naruto's existence there was a thorn prickling at his resolve. The storm within Sasuke broke loose. In two strides, he had Naruto by the front of his Hokage robe, slamming him against the wall."Who is the expert in Genjutsu here?"
Naruto seethed. His face reddening, his body heating up with the scalding Chakra flaring around his hand, Naruto's words cut deep as he spat, "You were the expert I sent with her and you failed to protect my wife—"
Sasuke interjected, if Naruto knew where to hurt Sasuke then Sasuke knew him like the back of his hand as well, he sneered, as he daggered him in return with his retaliation. "Why the hell didn't you go then, Hokage-sama—"
Naruto gulped, he was slammed against the wall as Sasuke pushed him. Sasuke could see the fury-filled frown dissolving and regret taking over every line of his best friend's face. Naruto excused, "I am the Hokage, I have responsibilities—"
Sasuke's grip smothered with the crackling chakra burnt the edge of the fabric of Naruto's robe. Sasuke's grip slackened, and with a guttural snarl, he drove his fist into the wall beside Naruto's head, cracks spidering out from the impact. He snapped with his eyes narrowing at Naruto and his breath shallow, "In thirteen years, you never went. And now you dare to make excuses—"
"Stop, both of you!" Sakura wrenched both of their arms apart, anger flashing in her dimmed eyes, "Sasuke-kun…you can go inside and gauge the situation." Naruto glowered and shook his head but Sakura began before Naruto could jump in and whine, "I allow Sasuke as the medic in charge, Naruto. I know what I am doing. You sit back for now!"
Sasuke moved away from Naruto and, without a word or a glance, sauntered towards the room. As he pushed the door open, the chill nipped at his skin. The air swirled around him carrying the scent of medicines and disinfectant, coiled around his throat and made it hard to breathe.
He coughed as he neared the fallen and feeble body of Hinata on the bed. Motionless. Frail. Mangled. All because he failed.
"Hinata…" he whispered, more to himself than to her. He stood at the edge of the bed, yet again, his feet were shackled, for he couldn't step closer to her. The rumbling thoughts were a tempest inside him, thwarting whatever self-control he honed for years.
Her body didn't move. Her eyes didn't flutter open. Her hands didn't flinch. Her pale skin didn't glisten the way it always did. Her cheeks didn't flush with pink hue. Her lips didn't curl into a pout that she always carried whenever he got on her nerves. Her meek voice didn't call for him. Her tears didn't swim in her eyes. Her head didn't bow. Her touch didn't reach him.
She was devoid of the Hinata he knew and befriended.
"Hyuga," he raised his voice, mustering the courage to move in closer.
With each step, her smooth chakra seeped into him more and more, filling him with the sensation of dizziness. He leaned over her, hovering over her, drawing his face near to hers—wincing at the lack of her blush, her frown, her wide smile or her averted gaze. He whispered again, as if with only an inch of the space between them he could reach the deepest and darkest parts of her which were wrangled and under the wrath of a mind-crumbling experience.
But to his surprise, her eyes flickered open—lilac and glazed. His eyes widened at the response.
She spoke up, her meek voice, her tone frayed, "Uchiha-san…" His name tumbled out of her mouth, tenderly.
His dark eyes lit up, a visceral reaction rippling through his brain. His skin prickled, a cold shiver slithering down his spine. He breathed in disbelief, "You…—"
"You are real?" she whimpered, her sobs wracking her body. She bit on her trembling bottom lip, her face contorting into a broken expression, twisting his gut, "You are alive? she gasped. He lowered himself further, enough to have his nose barely brush her tear-soaked cheek. The scent of her fading lavenders lingered, gripping him, as always.
His voice was a low, fervour murmur. "I am real, Hinata. I am with you, and I am real," he offered her, urgency rushed in his blood, as if his insides gave in, readied to be at her service. As if he was submitting his soul to whatever punishment she carried in her icy-precise gaze.
Her voice came out as strangled by the onslaughts of sobs caught her in the throat, "Please…" Her gaze turned glassy.
Hinata shifted her gaze to another side, squeezing her eyes shut, and bringing her cold palm to cover her eyes. A grimace twisted her expression. But Sasuke leaned closer, his hand prying her hand away from her eyes. The back of his eye pulsed with shooting pain, preparing for the arrival of his Mangekyo, which could pull her away from the haunting dawn creeping up on her. He urged, "Look at me, Hinata. Let me help you—"
She sniffled, "Please…be real." She frantically fumbled with the hook of his cloak. Her quivering fingers tugged at the button. Sasuke expression dulled in curiosity, he fidgeted at her approach. But he assisted as with one quick flick, he let the cloak slip off his shoulders. Her blank eyes, red-rimmed and half-lidded ignited with a fiery pull, her fingers hovering over his collar as she tugged at the buttons, her grasp turned brutal as she yanked his shirt. The fragile thread gave way, sending one of the buttons clattering to the floor in a metallic echo.
Her fingers came in contact with the silver of his skin. Her eyes narrowed, her palm pressed on his collarbones and then slowly dropped lower, reaching the middle of his chest and flattening against it, the pad of her thumb tracing the ridge of the scar that marked his flesh, the result of the wound that she had healed in the cave and the cottage, she sucked in a sharp breath, exhaling shakily. Her soft touch chilled him to the bone, he winced under his breath.
Her eyes lifted, "You are real," she sighed, her eyes blurring her views as tears filled them.
"Yes. I am," he affirmed.
He pushed back her bangs, threading his fingers through her silken locks. His touch trailed down, brushing her cheek, dipping down to ghost over the smooth curve of her jaw. His touch was light, holding back from shattering her.
"Look at me," he deduced that the firm touch of hers on his chest, tracing at the scar, tethered her to the reality. She sought the connection to reality, her recent memory of healing Sasuke was fresh in her brain, overpowering whatever dreadful terror she was living in her head.
The scar on his chest made him real in her eyes. Whatever wicked was roiling inside her, behind her eyes, beneath her shattering resolve—it was choking her, but his presence was real and was piercing the grim cloak.
Sasuke huffed, understanding that she was hanging by the fraying threads, her sanity was mangled and her soul was battered. His hand cupped her cheek, thumb caressing the smooth skin, her eyes shot open, the daze in them momentarily diminishing, and the shine in them returned for a flickering minute. For a fleeting moment, the spark of clarity returned, illuminating her features with a fragile glimmer of hope.
"I should have been more vigilant," he swallowed the lump in his throat and croaked out. "Will you blame me as much as I do?" His tone softened as he muttered, his smoky breath fanned across her mouth. Sasuke's gaze caught the tremble in her bottom lip jutting out. The dark eye of his pulsed to life, the deep crimson swirling in the pools of dark, consuming the darkness. The pointed shuriken pattern, encased in a flower, flashed back at her. He delved deeper, his gaze boring into hers, searching for the broken fragments of her soul amidst the storm that ravaged her mind.
Her eyes were heavy with haze again, he stared deeply into that pearly gaze, aiming to snatch her pain by thrashing all the barriers but something pushed against him, and the burn behind his eyes intensified by the force of the retaliation. Yet he pressed on, every fiber of his being screaming against the strain, refusing to yield.
But he was thwarted back, he almost staggered away from the bed, his hand covering his throbbing eye. Hinata couldn't cling to her reality and slipped into unconsciousness again, despite the restraining groans from Sasuke. The walls erected around her mind were made of some malevolent force, blocking him away from her.
His fist clenched, his jaw tight and his eyes blaring—he exited the room, unable to see her in that state anymore.
Outside the room, Naruto was prancing around, with Shikamaru huffing and puffing and being his Hokage's anchor. Hiashi was consulting with Sakura.
Sakura's eyes drifted towards Sasuke. "Give me a minute, Hiashi-sama." She walked towards Sasuke, concern swimming in her questioning gaze, she squeezed his shoulder noticing that his back was stiffened. "Sasuke-kun…"
Sasuke craned his neck sideways, shedding the tension from the nerves, "I believe, we should get Ino here. I can get inside her mind with her expertise, whatever the blood-jutsu has done to her, it will not withstand me and Ino together."
"Is this safe?" Hiashi interjected.
Sasuke stepped away from Sakura, walking towards Shikama, "It is the only way I can think of." His gaze darted to Naruto, who was on the bench, head bowed and elbows on his thigh, foot tapping the floor. "Naruto…" he called out for his best friend, putting his hand over his shoulder. Naruto lifted his face, grimace shadowed his features but Sasuke didn't need his Sharingan to see the hurt simmering beneath the cold facade. "I am sorry."
Naruto's face blanched, and his rapid breathing quieted. He fidgeted, sweat streaking on his brow. His pinched expression washed off. "I am sorry too," his best friend said, his eyes darting towards the surroundings, avoiding locking his eyes with Sasuke. His excessive blinking, squinted eyes, the twitch in his jaw, the shake in his voice, his stiffening posture and his rigid muscles—everything spoke of his sincerity.
With that Sasuke retreated his hand from his shoulder, looking away from him and sighed. Shikamaru's voice, tired and clipped, cut through the suffocating thickness in the air, "I will get Ino right away. She is in her barrier team's meeting, but I will use Naruto's approval…" Shikamaru glanced at Naruto, and so did Sasuke, and they both saw the slumped nod.
Even though Naruto apologised, taking away the brunt of his accusations yet still, something harsh tugged at his insides because it wasn't the validation from Naruto that he sought. He had failed her. He couldn't protect her. And that sting continued to prickle at every inch of skin, disrupting the calm that washed over him at the way his name was uttered by her, so softly.
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After a few minutes of silence, the approaching footsteps echoed, piercing the silence. Sasuke's slumped posture straightened, he turned his head sideways and saw Ino, clad in purple attire with Sai trailing behind, rushing towards them while talking to Sakura. "Sasuke-kun can guide you about this better than me," Sakura stood before him, regarding Ino with a pinched expression.
Ino looked over at Sasuke, her eyes squinted as she took in his battered state. The cloak was missing, left at the edge of Hinata's bed, his hair dishevelled and the fatigue gleamed in the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. "What is it that I have to do?"
"Getting inside her mind seems to be a problem, your clan's jutsu—"
Ino's mouth fell open, and her voice sounded hurried, "It is highly intrusive, Sasuke. Even for medical reasons, we don't do it without the consent."
"I consent." Naruto stood up, his breathing heavy. "I consent as her husband. And I order you as the Hokage of Konoha to do anything in your capacity to bring her back to me!"
Sasuke pulled himself together, standing up and towering over Ino. His stump brushed against Naruto's arm as he moved ahead, ducking his head to match Ino's eye level, "Even if he orders or not, Ino. I will make you do this because this is the only choice. Take me inside her mind, and I will do the rest, I can bring her back." Sasuke didn't realize that his voice had turned stern, he was gritting his teeth. His eye had turned crimson at the screeching anger flaring his insides, his sneer made Ino grimace.
"Sasuke!" Sai intervened, pushing his shoulder.
"Sasuke-kun, calm down," Sakura grabbed him by his hand and pulled him back, "She is just following basic medical ethics—"
Sasuke wrenched his hand off Sakura and glared at her, his blood was rushing in his veins with electrifying heat, he gritted out his words, "We don't have time for all that! Her chakra won't last anymore, Genjutsu does severe bodily and mental damage!"
Hiashi's voice finally raised, his curt demeanour mirrored Sasuke's as he charged, "I agree with Uchiha-san here. Instead of wasting time at formalities, we must gear towards healing my daughter!"
"Alright, fine." Ino huffed, "Let's go inside." She turned on her heels and padded towards the room. Sasuke saw Hiashi and Sai following Ino and Sakura, but before Naruto and he could enter the room, they shared a glance. The worry etched onto Naruto's features was loud, the cloak of bleakness shadowed his tanned face. "I have lost a lot of time chasing these saints for the past two years, still haven't caught them…I wouldn't live with the guilt of losing her to them—"
Sasuke assured, "Nothing will happen to her." Taking a harsh inhale, Sasuke pushed Naruto inside the room along with him. "I won't let anything happen to her," he muttered, unaware if Naruto heard or not, but he surely heard, and planned to honour the promise he was making to himself.
Everyone encircled the bed, Sasuke kept his gaze focused on Ino and scrutinized her actions, intentionally keeping his eyes away from her. Hinata's pallor worsened, even the mere sight of it had set his every nerve on edge and fire. He saw Ino bracing herself, looking over at him, her face schooled into a scowl, "I will attempt first." Sasuke nodded.
Ino formed hand seals, preparing herself to transport herself inside Hinata's crashing mind. The room reeked of biting silence…as if the air itself was holding its breath. Ino's hands pressed onto both sides of Hinata's head, and her eyes closed, a moment passed and with a shrill yelp, she backed away.
Sai's embrace from the back held her. Her eyes shifted to Sasuke and she gulped, the horror shone naked in her glazed eyes. Sai's concerned mumbles seemed to dissolve in the air, as she pulled herself away from him and stepped towards Hinata's bed again. Her eyes softened as she took in Hinata's figure, her hand caressing her cheek. Hinata's consciousness hung by the threads, she opened her eyes, flickering lights above made her squint. With her ragged gasps and dazed eyes—Hinata looked as if she was dwindling between reality and an illusion.
"Ino…" Naruto's voice cracked.
Ino squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, managing to croak out, "Sasuke…let's do this."
Sasuke nodded. His steps were measured and laborious as they drew her closer to Hinata. The room faded around him as he hovered over Hinata, her misty eyes met his and his heart thudded in his chest with force. Her fallen look reeked of despair, and her quivering hand lifted to hold the collar of his shirt, with faded strength, she attempted to pull him closer, her voice sounded winded as she pleaded, "U-Uch…Uchiha-san…"
The pulse at the back of his eye stung, the carmine glory swirled into his eye, and the power emanated from him made her shudder and a small frown etched onto her forehead. "Don't worry," he mumbled as he along with Ino, shattered the barriers around her mind together, slithering inside through the cracks. Sasuke's cold hand grabbed her cheek, cradling her face as if she were made of glass…his crimson eye mingled with her pale ones, earning a silent sob from her. The pressure of Mangekyo Sharingan tearing through one's brain was not a matter to take lightly, yet the strength of Hinata endured.
The transition from the white veil to the dark fog was jarring—on his way, he lost the presence of Ino in Hinata's mind. There were depths that his Sharingan could explore, which were simply too deep for a Yamanaka. Gratefulness pulsed in his body, for Ino provided him the opening that he desperately required. The dark fog began to shed, and the wicked spell cast around her, choking her and shattering her was coming into his view.
The horizon was stretched endlessly, cloaked in smokey grey, an oppressive weight on Sasuke. His eyes darting around, he could hear nothing, he could breathe nothing but the remnants of ash. There was stillness in the silence, there was a scent of iron clinging to the vacant space. Suddenly, the ground where Sasuke was walking turned crimson—a red sea…of blood. The nauseating scent sent a shiver down his spine.
His gaze lifted, and he found Hinata in the center. Her posture slumped, her body drenched in blood. Blood lapped at her face as the waves crashed into her. Her hair clung to her damp face, her body trembled with each ragged breath that tore her from within. Her pale eyes, devoid of their shine, devoid of their aura, devoid of their angelic pull—stared blankly at the bodies floating around her. Sasuke continued to trudge towards her, the view clearing into clarity with each blood-soaked step that he took.
The tide of grief and terror was sucking her will to live, he could see it, he could feel it within him…for he had also felt that way when he stood, alone, in the middle of the Uchiha street, with blood spattered windows and sliced-up bodies surrounding him. He was a few paces behind Hinata's crouched figure, he could see Naruto's lifeless body drifting the closest to her, along with Boruto and Himawari lifeless at her feet.
Her quivering hand held onto the hands of both of her children. Various bodies bobbed in the sea of blood, the people closest to her and even her acquaintances because at a distance, he could make out the figure of Kakashi floating. Her sister's twisted body floated nearby, along with Hiashi's whose pale eyes were wide and bloodshot, aiming at the grey sky above. He couldn't see himself though.
Maybe you don't matter to her much…after all, you failed to protect her. His thought came at him, biting him.
He shook his head. His priority was her. He couldn't waste his time, wallowing in his guilt. He steeled himself, he needed to reach her, he needed to bring her back.
"Hinata…" his voice rang out. The blood dragged at his legs as he waded further into the blood sea, to reach closer to her. To touch her, to shake her, to soothe her.
He managed to stand before her, he had to drag his stare away from the death surrounding him, lapping at his feet. Naruto…it is not real, Sasuke. Get a hold of yourself. He shifted his gaze from Naruto's body and looked down at Hinata.
She didn't look up, she shivered. She clutched the lifeless, pale and limp hands of her children tightly, and sobbed, "I am sorry." Her chest heaving with pain so raw it was palpable. "I couldn't s-save a-anyone." Sasuke was hit by her words as if they were daggers twisting in his gut.
He lowered himself, he felt his lower body drenched in the cold, red liquid. The blood hissed and resisted his presence, but his chakra flared, burning hot. His knees sank into the clinging mire. Sasuke reached out, his hand attempting to pry her hands off the feeble bodies of her children, "Boruto…" she sobbed.
"None of this is real," he muttered, catching her attention. Her eyes lifted, and her tear-streaked face looked ashen. The lilac hue in her eyes had dampened, making them look sunken, dull and hollow. "I am here to take you back."
"Uchiha-san?" She flinched, "You came?"
He took her palm into his, threading his fingers with hers, "Of course, I did."
"I saw them die…I…I saw…Naruto…Boruto…Himawari…I couldn't help them, I was…" she fumbled, sobbing with each breath that she took. Her sanity collapsed over her, dissolving her deeper into a crimson tide.
"No, nothing is real here." His tone sharpened. He held her cold hand tighter, the usual warmth she carried was absent. His chakra surged, "You are coming with me, your family is waiting for you in our world."
"But…they are dead!" she yanked her hand off his and scrambled backwards, her hands dipping in the warm blood and the sight of the liquid trickling on her skin, filled her with dread. "They are gone!"
Sasuke's voice almost broke, the resolve shattering at the sight of her frail body sinking deeper into the blood of her loved ones, "I am here…"
She clutched the side of her head and shook her head, "You are not real!"
"I am real. I am here for you. We can go back…" he crawled forward, extending his hand to her, "We can go back to Naruto, to Boruto…to Himawari…to everyone."
"You…You…" she whispered as she contemplated.
Sasuke asked, reaching out to hold her face, wiping away the splatter of blood from her ivory skin, "Do you…Do you trust me, Hinata?"
She tilted her head, leaning into his touch, "Y-Yes."
He breathed, "How much?"
She muttered, her hands reaching out to grab his wrist, "So much."
He offered, pulling away his hand from her face and sliding down to grab her hand, "Then come with me."
"Promise me…" she sniffled.
He rose, pulling her up as well, "I promise you, your reality is entirely different from this." She collapsed on him, her head buried in his chest, her shaking body thrumming along his heartbeats. His hand snaked around her waist, steadying her in his embrace, hoping that his presence was absorbing every ounce of pain that was drowning her. Hinata's smooth chakra pulsed back to life. Sasuke's fiery chakra seared his insides as it flared. The bodies around them began to disappear, the darkness above them dissolved into a white light casting shimmers on her, and the crimson sea began to recede into nothingness—relief coursed through him. Hinata clutched him tighter as if she wanted him to melt into her.
And then the dark, the scarlet and the white—all of that shattered. They were back in the beige-painted room, the beeping noise of the monitors humming in the air, the scent of medicines cutting the lingering scent of metallic agony from Sasuke's brain.
A streak of blood trickled down from his eye, marring his pale skin, as he pulled himself away from Hinata. Naruto's stronghold held his back, otherwise, the dizziness could have landed him on the floor. Fatigue burned him from within, but the sight of colour returning to Hinata's face, the steadiness of her breath and the stability of her chakra…made him forget the shooting pain pounding at the back of his head.
He managed to croak out, "It is..done."
"Thank you, Sasuke—" Naruto squeezed his shoulder.
"It is fine." Sasuke pulled himself away from his friend. The sight of him, alive, filled him with peace but he didn't want to engage with anyone at that moment. Naruto nodded and turned towards his wife, he dragged the chair towards her, his hand clasped Hinata's and he peppered kisses on the back of her hand. Sasuke winced and looked away.
Sakura announced, while her hands glowed green, replenishing Hinata's chakra, "She needs a strict two weeks rest. Her mental and emotional healing will take time, even after her discharge."
"I am grateful to you, Yamanka-san and Uchiha-san," Hiashi offered, the curt nod of his head was a substitute for a bow. Sasuke's shoulders were heavy, and throbbing, his eyes were burning…he couldn't care to respond to him.
He crouched down, his cloak was dirtied and was slipped under the bed, he picked it up and slung it over his shoulder. He turned around, his movements were slow and heavy, and his steps pulled at his strength as if he were still trudging in the crimson sea.
A small squeak, a familiar softness, halted him in his steps, "Uchiha-san…"
"Great! She is regaining her consciousness," he heard Sakura's enthusiasm.
"Uchiha-san…" another soft squeal, exclaimed in a state of haze.
But Sasuke didn't turn around or dare to look at her. He clutched the hem of his cloak tighter and dashed outside the room, hoping for the nightmare to end.
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Sasuke sat alone in the shadows of his living room, dimly lit and cold, the faint glow of the lights reflecting over him. His hand clenched into a fist stayed on his knee, his feet tapping on the carpet with a buzzing thud. The silence of the room clawed at him and suffocated him—but he welcomed it, for that mirrored everything that was droning in his mind.
Sasuke leaned his head back, eyes shut and hand flexing. A grunt escaped his lips. He had been an avenger, a picture of evil. His regrets, his guilt, his remorse—had piled over him countless of times, made him lost, forced him into a nomadic life and then brought him back to the life of a conformist, in a system which he detested, at a house where he didn't belong.
But being the reason for her agony was a constant tremor within him, not leaving him even for one second. Sasuke spent the entire month, caged in his house, training her son or sparring with her husband, but away from her. He had witnessed contempt, disappointment, frustration and sadness in everyone's eyes, as a quiet punishment, but it was the pair of pale eyes that had never judged him for his past sins in the present that he lived. Those pale eyes simply peered at him, as if he was a normal human.
A man.
Not a God.
Not a student who went rogue.
Not a best friend who was a war criminal.
Not a brother who strayed from the righteous path.
Not a husband who was a failure.
Not a father who was absent.
Those eyes only looked at him as a mere man. A flawed man.
And the prospect of finding hatred, regret, blame or anything of that nature in her eyes, was becoming his doom.
Sakura had informed him when Hinata began to fare better, regaining her physical and mental strength. Naruto had informed him when they brought Hinata home, and how he was guilt-ridden himself for letting it happen to her. Boruto had told him that she asked about him. Sarada had told him that Hinata baked her cookies.
"Sasuke-kun, Hinata is getting better now! She is eating well, her sleep is still an issue but she is strong."
"Teme…I should have been with her, right? You were right! I get so busy with the saints that I never noticed…But I am spending time with her."
"Mom asked for you, you know!"
"Papa, Hinata-san baked us cookies!"
With each push, he forced himself to wander around and somehow, find himself in the vicinity of Uzumaki's residence. He could feel the thrum of Naruto's chakra in the air, his footsteps were mapping the frantic route as he roamed around the house, yet faltering at the threshold. His sharp turns would engulf him in the shadows, taking him away from her, again and again. The seething pull of his anguish crept up his skin, as he often found himself thrashing the trees in the training ground as if the harshness of the bark against his knuckles could strip him of the guilt that gnawed at his soul.
He possibly had lost his only friend, Naruto was more of a brother than a friend so Hinata's possible loss was a haunting fear, swinging like a sword over his head. The silent companionship she used to offer, the curiosity she used to ignite within him and the rush of blood in his nerves whenever she was near—he was insanely reliant on all of it. His life at Konoha was a laughable attempt from him, but her presence had made it all bearable.
That was how she poured her kindness and warmth into his life, losing it was a dark thought lingering in his mind.
The nights were the worst, her crimson sea used to replay in his mind a thousand times, reminding him of the night of his doom as well. The flash of her hand clinging to the dead bodies of her loved ones, the tears streaming down her face and her hopelessly vacant eyes…everything was splitting his mind. Her Genjutsu was a nightmare, for him as well, along with her frail body laying in the hospital, which often played in his mind right after—tormenting him.
This night is not better. He couldn't sleep, he kept on tossing and turning for an hour, but sleep was a distant dream, an unattainable reprieve.
Now, he sat in his dimly lit living room—one month of cowardice chiding him, however, a part of his sanity was berating him for delving into that feeling a little too much.
The pressing weight in his chest branded him, marking him. He huffed and rose from the sofa, grumbling as he rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up from the drowning. But he was sinking, willingly.
The night was dense, the wind was lightly brushing against his cloak. His feet had taken him towards the destination which he was avoiding, but before he could talk himself out of it, he was already at the edge of her presence. The familiar chakra of Naruto that he had been witnessing for the entire month was absent. He sighed.
His jaw clenched, his fist pushed into the pocket of his trousers and his face, carrying the mask of impassivity—he stood at the door, stillness in the air was the witness of his crumbling resolve, mocking him. He stepped back, retreating his steps yet again for the sake of being unaware of her true feelings. Her reaction, her answer, her look—it would solidify his doubts, it would make her one of those who were disappointed in him.
He didn't want to see that.
He began walking away, his eyes staring upwards, at the dark sky cloaking him and stars gleaming around the moon. The moon. A similar sight, like her eyes.
Fuck! He was cursing under his breath as his eyes drifted towards the balcony, he could feel the subtle, smooth and clear chakra oozing from there. His mind decided later, because he was already in the air, whirring towards the balcony and with a soft thud, he landed there. The curtains, white and thin, swayed faintly with the breeze. The door was ajar, he could see the faint outline of her figure on her bed, illuminated by the moonlight spilling into the room.
Sasuke moved closer, his hand lightly nudging the door to leave his way. He stood at the edge, his one more step could make him cross the threshold of her room. She lay on her bed, restlessly twisting against the sheets. Sasuke's eyes turned crimson, and the Sharingan awakened to life, to observe the consuming pain nagging at her. Her faint chakra was perturbed as if she was having a nightmare.
Her hand clutched the sheets and she pushed her face into the pillow, her legs kicked the blanket off her, revealing the silver of the skin of her bare legs. Sasuke averted his gaze. Her body trembled, uneven gasps echoed in the room, sweat trickling down from her head to her cheek. She continued to murmur something, he couldn't comprehend as they sounded like a strangled whisper.
Her chakra grew frantic, the tension pulsed through her and terror radiated from her in waves. The resonance of fear was loud in the room as her sobs twisted his insides. His fingers grasped the edge of the door, the wood groaning under his harsh grip. His knuckles were white as if he was physically restraining himself…which he was.
The dull roaring of her agony stilled his breath in his lungs, he could hear nothing but her afflictions. "Ah!" A loud shriek broke the stillness.
Hinata abruptly woke up, clawing her way out of the nightmare. She slumped forward, burying her face in trembling hands. Her shoulders quaked with the force of her sobs, a sound so fractured it sliced through him. Her chest heaving, her breathing quickened. The world ceased for a moment, and all he could hear was the raging beat of his heart and her broken breathing. His addled senses caught on fire because she froze. Her head jerked upward, the tear-streaked remnants of her face illuminated in a pale halo of moonlight. Her gaze darted toward the window, eyes wide and wild with unspoken fear.
"Who is there?"
Sasuke's heart stuttered, a primal panic coursing through him. But he knew it was futile to fight it and run away.
She slid off the bed as she smoothened her silk nightgown and Sasuke didn't need his Sharingan anymore, for the woman, clad in silk, with hair messily tied in a ponytail, was approaching the balcony…where he stood, awaiting a confrontation.
"Uchiha-san…" Even a few paces away, she recognized the dark cloak, or perhaps, her all-seeing Byakugan assisted.
Sasuke pushed the door and slid the curtains to one side, revealing his presence, completely bare, devoid of any cowardice anymore. No more hiding. No more retreating. He met her gaze head-on, his face an unreadable mask, though inside he was anything but composed.
Hinata's steps were slow, deliberate.
Gauging the condition and how it looked, his sanity woke up, choosing to salvage anything, "I am sorry, I shouldn't have come here."
She stood a few steps away from him. Her eyes, lit up by the moon's gleam, stared up at him with the same vacant look he dreaded, "You remember me?" Her eyes glinted in the dim light, brimming with emotions too tangled to name.
"Hm?" he queried. His mind was boggled at her question.
She bitterly chuckled, wiping the tears clinging to her lashes with the back of her hand. "I thought…I thought the great Uchiha must have forgotten about the woman he pitied enough to save—"
He took a long look at her, arching his eyebrow. He spat the word as if it was a curse, "Pity?"
She wrapped her arms around herself, heating her bare arms, "You must have felt pity for me, haven't you? I must have looked so weak to you that you forgot—"
"Weak? What are you saying, Hyuga?" Annoyance bubbled within him.
"I am saying…" she breathed out, shutting her eyes momentarily. "I am saying…" She walked up to him, her trembling hands reaching for the lapels of his cloak, clutching the fabric tightly. "Where have you been?" As she pulled him closer to her, his feet crossed the threshold, and crossed the barrier, entering her room with her harsh tug.
He was at a complete loss of words, "You..wanted to see me?" He felt like he was thwarted inside her crimson sea vision again, shock jolted him. His disbelief was tangible.
She sneered, bitterness lacing her tone, "Of course! I even asked Boruto if you were alright, I asked Naruto…Sakura…everyone came to meet me…" Her hands slipped from the lapels of his cloak and she stepped back, "Except you…" her voice trailed off, muffled by a sob.
Bewildered, he confessed, "I thought you wouldn't want to see me, Hyuga."
She clenched her fists, he could see the anger flaring inside her, the streaks of warm blue-purple chakra running along her forearm. "Why?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, his finger clawing his neck, his stance fidgety, "I failed you. I should have protected you—"
"You…you are out of your mind!" she neared him again, staring up at him with her tear-filled gaze. His thoughts were muddled, he couldn't string a proper sentence, and he was unaware of the circumstance that was unfolding before him. "You saved me, Uchiha-san. I wanted to see you. I wanted to thank you!" The conviction in her voice silenced him, his protests dying on his tongue. She continued, her gaze unwavering even as tears welled again.
He reined himself back from his looming thoughts and refocused on what her words conveyed. She wanted to see me. She wanted to thank me. Her eyes softened at him, the vacant shade dissolving as the lilac hue glinted. The Hinata he knew always peered at him like that. Her gaze was devoid of contempt, blame and anger. However, it carried sadness. But not the kind he had imagined and dreaded.
"I…" he was lost, unable to provide her anything.
"Even Naruto managed to come, apologize and spend time, dedicated the whole month to me and my kids. Kiba-kun stayed over. Shino-kun visited every day. Sakura-san…your wife was thoughtful enough to drop by with food…" she continued to sputter, looking away from him, fiddling with her gold bracelet and pushing her feet on the floor to steady herself with a bitter smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "But you…you weren't there at all. I get it that you like your distance and perhaps, I am expecting too much but you could have just come once, right?"
Sasuke remained rooted to the spot, his composure shattered, mouth slightly agape as the gravity of Hinata's words bore down on him. She had a knack for cracking through all the walls and layers of a person and finding her place somewhere within. He had noticed her talent of seeing through people…even without Byakugan. Her words lanced through his muddled thoughts, leaving him tongue-tied. His dwindling thoughts rendered him useless against her word, his speechlessness agitated her as she stepped back further.
She shook her head, sucked in her breath and gulped. She rambled, her insecurities broke free and consumed her, "I am sorry…I am so sorry, I shouldn't have behaved with you like this, I…I just expected…I thought we were friends—"
Her words pierced him, shaking him free from his paralysis.
He realized what his silence was doing to her, he surged forward towards her, standing almost in the middle of her room. Invasion of her space, breach of her privacy in the dead of the night…he shouldn't have been there, but he had better things to devote himself to, like her.
His hand shot up to grab her arm and pull her towards him. "Stop apologizing." He levelled her with a look. "We are friends." Her eyes widened for a moment, then she lowered her gaze. Their mingled breathing continued to have a conversation.
Her balled fist came in contact with his chest, her voice shaky as she whined, "Then why didn't you come?" The storm of thoughts blew through his mind and seemed to enrage him even more with the way her voice sounded desperate. "It scared me so much. The Genjutsu…whatever it was, it made me need people…again. I wanted to see every one of you alive to feel at peace…but you…you didn't come."
He muttered, "I am sorry."
Her tears slowed, though her hand pressed against her chest as if trying to steady her heart. She looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with a mixture of sorrow and understanding. "I understand now," she whispered, her tone both fragile and resolute. "What I experienced in that Genjutsu… it was your reality. You lived through it, and I can't fathom that pain."
Sasuke's expression darkened, his grip on her arm loosening. "My brother made me relive that night a hundred thousand times," he said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion. "It's a distant pain now, nothing more."
Hinata gasped, her hand covering her mouth, and her eyes widened, "Why would he do that?"
"To make me stronger!"
She asked, tilting her head, "Did you become stronger?"
Sasuke explained, his hand lifted to brush the tears away from her cheek, "Yes. But the cost was unimaginable. As I have said to you before, Hyuga…my power is not worth all the pain." She flinched at his touch, he pulled his hand back with a jerk.
Clearing his throat, he wanted to bid his farewell and leave her space as soon as possible.
But she began, her body seemed to have shrunken, "It is hard to feel what is real and what isn't. I don't know what to do."
His eyes stared at her with determination, "This is the reality, Hyuga. You will recover. You were strong enough to fight that forbidden Jutsu, I know you can heal yourself."
She was startled but nodded after digesting every word uttered. She moved towards him, her eyes clouded by the haze of sleep shining at the corners. Her hand pressed onto his chest and then travelled up to the hook of his cloak, the sudden heat of her touch sparked an unknown sensation within him, he almost staggered back but she had him in her embrace. She let the cloak fall, slipping off his back. "Hinata…" he breathed out.
Unlike when she was in her state of unconsciousness, she didn't yank the buttons of his shirt, but pressed her hand over his chest, with the thin fabric of his shirt as the barrier only. "Your scar…" she began, closing in on him. Her fingers lingered, tracing the outline of the scar beneath his shirt. "It makes you real to me. Reminds me of how I healed you—"
He hummed as the air grew thick around him, "I know." The fabric did little to conceal the heat of her touch, and he tensed under her fingers.
"Never heal that scar, please," she requested, burying her face into his chest, "I still get nightmares…It has been a month." Her hands snaked around him, clutching the back of his shirt in a tight grasp. The familiar scent of lavenders and lilies wafted and engulfed him, the simmering heat, the consuming proximity—he knew it was all the result of her traumatic experience, but somehow, he welcomed it.
He gulped, suppressing the urges that were nameless but pushing at his brain, "I should leave."
She pulled away from him, her head lifted from his chest. Her hands tightened their grasp on his back. "No! I am scared. I can't sleep…Uchiha-san."
He sternly added, "Hinata, no more Sharingan-induced sleep."
She shook her head, biting her lower lip, her eyes pleading. "I don't want your Sharingan…I just…"
Silence dawned upon them. The nameless emotions surged, dying to make their presence known.
He whispered, leaning down towards her, his words were a hot breath ghosting over her cheek, "Then what do you need?"
"Stay with me?" she questioned, pulling herself back, fidgeting with the hem of her silk shirt, lowering her gaze. "Just fifteen minutes…until I sleep…I know, I know it is a selfish request but—"
"Go to bed, I am at the balcony. You are safe." He couldn't decline, he should have but nothing within him willed him to deny the plea. "I will leave once you are asleep."
She walked slowly to her bed, dipping in the soft mattress and flinging the blanket over her. She murmured, "I am sorry—"
He assured her, "Just sleep, Hinata. I am here."
And as he remained perched on the railing of the balcony, he noticed that in no time, Hinata had fallen into her slumber. No nightmare dared to encroach on her peace, nothing twisted in her gut, and nothing woke her up in the middle of the night again. Fifteen minutes had passed, and Hinata was already in her deep sleep, but Sasuke only left when the door of her room was knocked, with voices of Boruto and Himawari echoing. The dark sky above had turned bright blue, illuminated with the golden hues of the sunbeams, that prickled at Sasuke's sleep-deprived, sunken eyes.
.
A/N: FAVS AND REVIEWS MAKE ME WANT TO UPDATE SO KEEP THEM COMING!
So yeah, it happened!
-What do you think of Sasuhina being 'friends'?
-What is your favourite moment?
-Any favourite line?
-Any future predictions?