Hinata Hyuuga appeared to be living the high school dream. She was a kind-hearted girl who had once dated the popular guy she'd always had a crush on, had good friends, and excelled in her studies. However, everything changed when her father introdu...
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Sasuke's POV
The room smelled like medicine and rain.
I hadn't moved from the chair since they brought her in. I didn't sleep. Didn't look away. I just watched the slow rise and fall of her chest, counting it like it was the only thing holding the world together.
They said the poison was leaving her system. Slowly. Painfully. A month. One month of stillness, of waiting, of wondering if breathing was all she had left in her.
They didn't say whether she would fully recover or what damage the poison made.
Her fingers twitched.
I noticed immediately. I stood so fast the chair scraped the floor, my hand closing around hers before I could think. She was warm. Too warm. Alive.
"H-Hinata."
Her lashes fluttered. When her eyes opened, panic hit first, sharp and immediate, like she expected hands on her again, like she expected darkness. Her breathing stuttered, shallow and fast.
"He's gone," I said quietly. I kept my voice steady even though my chest burned. "He can't touch you anymore."
Her gaze slid to me, unfocused at first. Then it settled.
"Sasuke...? My sister..." Her voice was fragile.
"She is safe, back at your cousin. Konan has taken her there. She has no idea what happened because she was drugged. But she is safe, I promise.
Her eyes rested when she heard this and her tensed body relaxed. She faced the ceiling and then she spoke.
"I... killed him."
This marked her. I could tell as she was not even blinking.
"I'm a murderer."
Her words were so heavy.
"You stopped him," I said. "That's all."
Tears welled instantly, spilling down her temples. "I was scared," she whispered. "I didn't want my sister to die. But I didn't want to be like him."
"You aren't." I moved closer, resting my forehead against hers. "You never were like him. You did the right thing, Hinata. The world is a better place without him in it."
Her fingers tightened weakly in my sleeve, like she was afraid I'd disappear if she let go. "I thought... if I lived... I wouldn't deserve it."
I closed my eyes.
"I thought," I admitted, my voice rough, "that I'd lose you without ever telling you that you were the reason I stayed human."
Her breath caught.
I pulled back just enough to look at her. Really look. Sad. Exhausted. But still Hinata.
"I love you," I said. No hesitation. No regret. "And I don't care what it costs me to stand here. I'm not leaving."
