Becoming an Uchiha

I. Becoming Necessary

"What do you think?"

What did she think?

What did she think?

How could they ask her such a loaded question? Hinata bit her bottom lip and looked back at the hospital bed that had been Uchiha Sasuke's home for the last six months. Hooked up to thousands of wires which connected to state of the art machines all whirring a mile a minute just to keep the once great ninja alive. His name alone had instilled fear in the hearts of millions of people.

Tales of his Sharingan and supposed acquisition of the Rinnegan had elevated him to the levels of power that were rumored to surpass even Madara. He was integral to helping Naruto end the great ninja war, without him she knew that it was a strong possibility that she and everyone breathing in Konoha right now would be dead.

Yet, the culmination of the man known as Sasuke Uchiha was reduced to nothing more than a vegetable in a back corner of the hospital basement. Aside from the machines crowded together in the dark, dank space, Sakura had placed a vase of purple flowers. It was a paltry attempt at making the basement less of a crypt than it already was.

Hinata looked at the sad, broken man lying unconscious before her and noted how visible his veins were against skin that hadn't seen the sun in months. His hair had grown significantly during his incapacitation, staining the white pillow his head rested upon like black ink. His eyes, eyes that possessed two of the strongest kekkegenkai Konoha had ever known, remained closed and for that she was grateful. With nothing but a thin, white hospital sheet to cover his lower half, Hinata would have thought he were a cadaver ready for autopsy except for the almost imperceptible rise and fall of his chest.

So…what did she think? At this point, it would be more merciful to just pull the plug on the man but she couldn't say that. She couldn't give her honest opinion on the matter when Naruto and Sakura were counting so heavily on her. They may have asked what she thought but they didn't want the harsh truth.

"Well?" Sakura asked nervously. "Do you think you can do anything?"

Hinata's shoulders slumped as she picked up on the undertone of suppressed desperation in Sakura's voice. If Konoha's best medic couldn't help Sasuke what could she possibly do for him? She knew that Sakura had been working tirelessly to find a way to revive him, Hinata was the one who had to pick up her slack after all when she stole away from her regular duties. There had been countless mornings that she'd found Sakura passed out with unraveled scrolls spilling off of her already cluttered desk.

She was trying her best to bring the last Uchiha back to the world of the living but it appeared that her best wasn't good enough. Hinata turned her eyes away from the unconscious man to look at his teammates huddled together watching her with expectant eyes. She could handle disappointing Sakura, the woman was a medic after all and was used to receiving unfortunate information on a daily basis. No matter how much she loved him, no matter how broken she felt, Hinata knew that Sakura would be able to continue on. Sasuke was not the first patient she'd lost and he certainly wouldn't be the last.

Naruto on the other hand…she couldn't even look him the eye. His entire life had been spent trying to bring back one of the people he loved the most in this world. If Sasuke died Hinata was positive that a large part of Naruto would die as well. That was something she couldn't allow to happen. Taking a deep breath in through her nose and clenching her fists by her sides, Hinata gave the only thing she could to them.