Midnight

Chapter Twenty-One

It took him long enough to understand. Longer to reply. He was lost in the seriousness of her statement and the braveness on her eyes. She must have been truly crazy, that woman to even think the words that escaped her lips.
"No." Was his only reply before he got up to make the distance further from her madness. She got up to follow him when he halted.
"Go home." He walked again and as he heard no more steps of her bare feet on the wood he believed he succeeded. It was important for her to stop. He was barely holding his anger and if she pushed him more he would unleash it. All his hard effort would be thrown to nothing after that. The grass grumbled at his feet when he heard the pound of a person running.
"Go home Hyuga." He said again in defeat. She was about to ruin everything.
She touched his hand to stop him.
"I want to see." The voice echoed in the light evening stubbornly.
He lost his calm. She brought this upon herself. Naruto would understand. He would forgive him. He let her come in front of him, thinking she succeeded.
"Was today one of your plays? You thought you would make me relax before you ask for a pick on the killer's memories?" He thought the lake moved in the echo of his voice yet the woman didn't blink.
"Is this to satisfy your curiosity or you want to feel better about yourself? What is it Hyuga." He hissed. Her silence didn't help his nerves. He pushed her aside.
"I don't care either way. Only a crazy person would leave someone to pick into his mind. And I assure you I'm not one not matter what anyone's says."
"You smell like burnt wood."
Her words was so out of place he stopped and turned.
She closed the distance he had made.
"I had fun today."
He opened his mouth but she wasn't finished.
"It's not a lie. I had fun today. Thanks to you. I want to help you have a day like this too."
He walked to his house and this time he didn't stop her.
As she sat across him on her light dress, fixing her hair on a braid, he questioned his sanity. Why would he ever agree to this. Hyuga didn't seem to have an ultirior motive, she spoke with her eyes fixed on his. But for him what was to gain. They sat on the ground with only the light of the moon coming from the curtains. His worst hour of the day combined with the worst memories. It fit.
"I'm only doing this because it will help on the mission."
She nodded with her head slightly turned as she fixed the end of her hair.
"If you speak of it to anyone..."
"I will not." Her voice firm.
He closed his eyes and when he opened them again they were at his old home. The child version of him standed outside the window, hearing a part of a conversation before he run away. Hyuga looked puzzled as to why this was a regret. She waited patiently for him to explain and when he didn't, she spoke.
"I don't understand Sasuke-kun."
"Did you expect blood and killing? Let's get you satisfied."
He pushed her to the end. He let her see everything, every attack he unleashed to his brother, every drop of red spilled on the ground. Itachi's body on the ground, her hand in front of her mouth in a shock. She walked closer to a scene that wasn't there yet he let her. She bent her knees, whispered some words so lowly that he didn't hear. A prayer for Itachi, he thought. He stopped the scene and cut it to his walk on the street with his mother. The brat that run away the previous night when he didn't know she would be gone the next.
"Your mother is very beautiful."
Was the only thing Hyuga said before she turned on him.
"You look exactly like her."
He smirked with her ignorance of the compliment she just gave him.
They walked in silence in his memories. When Sasuke didn't understand hers, he asked and she explained. But after her first question Hyuga seemed determined to just observe to the point he started talking.
There were no consistency, images flood around, changing every second until he felt he couldn't hold it anymore. When the voices screamed in his head altogether, he stopped and let them both be free of the horror.
He looked at the woman in front of him. His expression blank, he had learnt to never let the emotions reach his face. What troubled him was that hers matched his. Was the images too much for her fragile mentality to handle. Maybe she would be scared by now, seeing his avenge in all his glory.
"I'm a terrible person, aren't I?"
She finally spoke. Sasuke frowned, not understanding the meaning of her words.
She untangled her feet from the sitting position and move her hand to his face. Her finger brushed unter his eyes as if tears were shed. He grabbed her wrist and tossed it away.
"Leave." He commanded.
"It wasn't your fault." She said instead. "You were just a child."
"A child that killed. I don't need your excuses. I know what I did."
"You lived a life that was chosen for you."
"I was an idiot Hyuga. I never appreciated what I had until I lost it. Now leave."
She seemed to think about it yet she stayed still.
"I don't want to hurt you but you give me no choice."
He got up and grabbed her arms to throw her out. She could fight him, he knew that but as a felling propably from the many days they had spent with each other, he believed that she wouldn't.
"I won't go."
She said as he dragged her to the door and pushed her outside. He throwed his body on the couch and closed his eyes. Why would he ever allowed her to be this close. Maybe they were right, maybe he truly was insane.
That time he dreamt of something different. He was outside his old house crying. The streets were empty so his sobs echoed through the abandoned buildings. Sasuke. He heard his mother voice from afar. When he unhide his face from his child's arms she was there.
What's wrong dear. She said while brushing his hair. I'm hurt mom. The woman smiled. Where are you hurt darling? He raised his finger and pointed at his chest. Then his hand was big again and he felt the warm sense of blood. He looked at his body and he knew that his heart was bleeding. He looked at the woman in terror only her eyes weren't black anymore. She raised her hand and he saw the red liquid running from thousand small cuts yet she smiled. Her finger wiped the tears that kept flooding until they stopped and his mind was lost in oblivion.

____

He woke up early again. He took a bath and made himself some coffee. When he realised his gaze was fixed on the door he frowned. Hyuga was yet to come. Maybe he was too harsh last night. He yelled and through her out. Yet her request wasn't any different than what he had proposed. She maybe thought that the chances of winning against their enemies would be increased if they worked on his visions too. She was just doing her job as a shinobi. Eventually she would come. Kakashi would force her as a last resort. She couldn't quit now. There were too much on stake. He was rationalising a fear that was crawling. Hyuga would stop coming.
He got dressed. He would drag her back, the same way he throwed her out. It was for her sake. If she left unsupervised for long she might fall back to self harm as before.
He opened his door with force only to halt at the sight.
Her head was slightly thrown on the side, resting on the handrail of the stairs. It seemed she still was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. I won't go. How much of an idiot was she. She could catch a cold even in the hot nights of the summer. He took a step forward but she was unfaced by the sound. On the second step he saw she was sleeping. Her hands were resting on her lap, her fingers interwined together. She still had her braid from the night before falling almost on her lap.
"Oi." He tapped his feet on the ground. She opened her eyes slowly, still in the haze of sleep, trying to understand where she was. A small frown appeared in her face making her look like a child. After two blinks, she was fully awake.
"What are you doing here?" He crossed his arms.
"Good morning Sasuke-kun."
"Are you stalking me Hyuga?" He was already irritated.
She denied with her arms in her front like she usually did.
"Are you going to train in that outfit?"
She smiled like his question held no meaning.
"I'll be back in an hour." She jolted up.
"Half." He yelled as she began to run to her house.
She turned around to show him a smile full of pearls.

____

As the first month of the summer was slowly coming to an end Sasuke thought that the attacks had stopped. He was convinced that there were no point of staying behind when the rest of the leaf shinobi was leaving for missions.  It wasn't that his time was unpleasant. He met with her everyday and at some point not strictly for training. She would come everyday and he let her choose whether was for training or not. Sometimes they walked in the village together,once she even convinced him to participate in a gathering with her old teammates. Aburame would be back briefly from Suna before he left again. She was off a little that night. He sensed that she didn't know exactly how to behave. He found it odd because she was never like this when he was the only one around.
Their behaviour didn't make much sense either.  They talked with him casually, like it was natural to participate in their meeting. Inuzuka sat beside her in a hurry and he was closer at times as to protect her. But other than that the evening passed smoothly. When they left the same man tossed his arm around her and pushed her quickly outside to show her a trick that he and his dog had learnt, leaving Sasuke and Shino behind.
They watch at the door exit as the three had gone ahead not to cause any commotion. Sasuke started to walk at their direction when he felt the hand of Aburame on his back.
"Uchiha-san why are you with Hinata?"
"She invited me here today." He said a little rude. It wasn't his choice.
"I know." The man said. "But why did you come?"
Sasuke looked at the peculiar man. The glasses he wore even in the middle of the night didn't let him take a peak at his eyes.
"It wasn't my intention to spent my evening with you two. So tell her not to include me next time."
The man smiled for once before he turned serious again.
"Do you know how her arms got hurt?"
Sasuke just looked at him. It her secret. He wouldn't share it with someone behind her back.
Aburame nodded on his still face and began to walk.
"I'm looking forward for the next time Uchiha-san."