sasuhina- lovestory chapter 12

PART 12

Hinata that Sasuke was shaking uncontrollably. She placed a hand on his trembling arm worriedly and asked, “Sasuke-san! Is something wrong?!”

It took Sasuke a while to find his voice. It’s her!! Hinata!! It’s her! O Kami! “H-Hinata, I-“

But then his throat was blocked. Something in him made him stop. He observed her, and how she was now.

She was living a happy life, with a great lover, and well, she was strong. He had a feeling that if he told her who he was, her world might shatter. His words might change her world forever. Innocent, gentle world of Hinata might be permanently tainted.

Hinata found his stare uncomfortable, and said quietly, “S-Sasuke-san?”

The boy snapped back into reality. He wouldn’t tell her. Maybe he would tell her someday, but not today.

“Was there something you wanted to say?” Her quiet voice inquired.

“Er…not really, I was just wondering why you call me Sasuke-san,” he lied.

A puzzle look crossed her face. Why such a random question? But she answered anyway.

“Well, you told me not to call you Uchiha-san, and then I didn’t want to call you Sasuke-kun, because I didn’t want to sound like your fan girls.”

Sasuke flinched at the mention of his fan girls. They were still chasing him after all of these years.

A sigh escaped his lips and he spoke coolly, “Then just call me Sasuke. No honorifics or anything, ok?”

She nodded without speaking a word. She started to stand up until he pushed her back down.

“Rest as much as you can. We’ll be leaving for the others soon. I’m going outside to clear my head.”

Before she could say anything, the last of the Uchiha left the cave leaving her to recover her strength.

Outside, Sasuke was thinking deeply.

I can’t believe it’s her…I was told she was dead. Hiashi must have lied to keep me away. But that’s not the problem. The problem is: should I tell her? That I was her best friend who was said to be dead? Will she hate me for leaving her for those 11 years? Crap, I don’t know what to do. Hinata…

Subconsiously, his fingertips tapped the pendant on his necklace. Finally he came to a decision.

I won’t tell her…unless I have to. For now, all I can do is become a friend again.

“Sasuke?”

He whirled around and found that Hinata was standing a few feet away from him.

“How long was I out here?” He felt as if he had lost track of time.

“Well, umm, it’s been an hour, and I was getting worried.” Her shy voice echoed.

“Are you ready to go?”

She nodded and smiled kindly. “Let’s go find our friends.”

They launched their feet of the ground and sped through the forest. Sasuke kept his Sharingan on for any enemies, and Hinata searched for their comrades with her eyes and Sense.

“Tell me about your Sense,” Sasuke said in a bored voice.

“Well, basically, with it, I can tell what takes up the space around me, without needing ears or eyes. But the thing is: I’ve only recently gotten it back.”

“What do you mean by ‘back’?”

“When I was blind, my Sense was weak, but after going under harsh training under my father, it disappeared. But it’s strange. I believe I got it back, when I first shook your hand.”

Sasuke recognized the Sense as the ability his Hinata had. This girl was definitely her. Maybe my familiarity has reawakened that ability.

“I found them!” Hinata suddenly cried excitedly.

“Where?”

“They’re almost back in Konoha. They might send a search party for us, so let’s hurry back.”

They increased their speed, and Sasuke was afraid that Hinata would tire out, but she never showed any signs of exhaustion.

“Hinata?”

“Hm?”

“I…well…I was just wondering…do you consider me a friend?” he blurted struggling with the words.

She seemed caught off guard by the question, but she didn’t hesitate to answer, “Of course. You remind me of Hero-kun, since you two are so alike.”

Sasuke couldn’t resist smiling back at her sweet face.

Suddenly, kunai darted out at them, but they managed to dodge them. 3 men in grey cloaks walked forward from behind some trees.

“Leave your valuables and you won’t die.” They called.

Bandits.

“And if we don’t?” Sasuke asked coolly.

“Then-“ one of them couldn’t finish because Sasuke had already struck him down with a blow to the neck.

The other two charged at Sasuke, forgetting about Hinata. Kunai flashed in their hands, but Sasuke evaded their attacks expertly.

He quickly defeated the two of them, and turned to Hinata who was still standing there. She smiled and he said, “Let’s carry on.”

But then her smile disappeared, and she suddenly pushed Sasuke to the ground. He looked at her furiously and was about to snap, “What was that for?” when he saw a shuriken in her arm.

A stream of blood trailed down her arm, and she gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the pain. Two more bandits appeared.

Sasuke cursed himself for being so careless. But by the time he got back on his feet, Hinata had taken one down with a powerful kick, and slammed the other leg against the remaining one’s throat.

He gazed at her bleeding arm, and noticed that she wasn’t trying to stop the blood with her other hand.

“You’re not going to bleed to death right?”

She still didn’t move her hands. But she smiled and said, “Come on, we’re almost there.”

He raised a brow and sighed. Sasuke ripped a strip of cloth from the end of his sleeve with his teeth, and approached Hinata.

Hinata was surprised as she watched him bandage the shuriken wound, and tighten it with a strong knot.

“There. Now we can go.” His face was so close to hers! She blushed furiously, as she thanked him.

During the rest of the journey, Sasuke realized that Hinata hadn’t moved her hands or arms. When he questioned her, she just said that they hurt a bit from Amaterasu.

They finally arrived outside the gate of Konoha. They had been running for four days straight with great speed, and they were definitely exhausted.

Sasuke saw Hinata sway on her feet a little bit. She asked quietly, “Sasuke? Are you using Kage Bunshin?”

What kinda question is that? He thought. “No, I’m not.”

“Then why do I see two of you?” Suddenly she fell forward, into Sasuke’s arms.