My brother's comrade

11.2

Sasuke approached hinata, she was smelling and feeling the vegetables. She was quite good now, it has been three years since she was blinded, and still she was able to cook.
Sasuke watched as sakuragi played outside the cottage. The boy was pretty impressive, he played some and trained some of the techniques that must have learned from hinata.
"Shall i help you.." sasuke cracked the question.
"Oh please natsu-san.. you are our guest.. please rest" hinata smiled genuinely.
"I insist" sasuke retorted.
"Oh.. okay, you can cut the carrots and the potatoes" hinata exclaimed.
"Hmm" sasuke hummed.
He started to chop the veggies and then decided to ask the question.
"How.. i mean did you.. find sakuragi" sasuke asked.
Hinata smiled genuinely at the beautiful memory.
She decided to share such with Natsu. In the end he gave her a comfort vibe. He was nice to her.

"Where..am i.." hinata asked, she was already blind but she needed to know whats going on.
A gentle voice cracked and said.
"Welcome back, hina-chan"
Hinata knows that voice.
"Konan?"
Konan chuckled..
"You never fail to amaze me, hinata..what happened to your sight" konan asked
Hinata bit her lips.
"Sorry...may i not answer that.." hinata said with a sad voice.
Konan sighed.
"Okay hinata, lets.. go back to our lair" konan retorted
"I..i am of no use now konan..."hinata stuttered.
"But you are still one of us.." konan retorted
"I..am sorry konan. I need to go back home..." hinata said
Konan sighed, she always admired hinata's pureness. She gave hinata a pat on her head.
"Then let me repay your debt hinata... the debt when you saved me once from an attack" konan exclaimed.
"Hai"
Konan had led hinata to the cottage, the hidden one, that she is living in now, the cottage was known to be a residence for a famous forest witch.
The elderly of konoha, had hidden and omitted such detail, as the witch was one of them, she was against the uchiha massacre and the whole shinobi system. So they exiled her.
This witch raised konan. So she was known to develop different remedies and medicines. And she was a ruthless ninja in her former times.
The whole shinobi world had feared her, she was called the blond devil.however all her history was hidden and omitted by the elderly. Only few knew about her.
"Hi...yukine san" konan greeted her former teacher, also known as the blond devil, she had long blond hair, And heterochromia eyes, one blue and the other green.
"What brought you here konan, and who is the Hyuuga" yukine said sternly.
Hinata flinched, surly yukine should have known she is a Hyuuga from her eyes.
"I need a favor, yukine san"
"I don't owe criminals favor..as far as i remember" yukine had a rough tongue.
"Please yukine... for hinata not for me" konan begged.
"Convince me then" yukine said sternly.
"Hinata saved my life, i owe her...please yukine" konan begged.
Yukine sighed and let hinata and konan inside her hidden cottage.
Konan has told yukine about hinata's losing her sight and trying to find a remedy.yukine listened intently and checked the poor Hyuuga.
"Well, i'll let her stay, but i won't promise i'll help her, not until she proves her worth" yukine retorted.
Konan cheered and bid hinata a goodbye kiss with
"Take care hinata" she went off.
"Listen Hyuuga, you have lost your sight, you have a cripple, and you'll feel yourself a burden." Yukine voice was harsh and strikes like bullets.
Hinata tried to hold her tears.
"However, we can't give in to our cripples, instead we have to improve other senses..." yukine retorted.
Hinata was shocked by her words.
"Nobody will be by you, don't wait for someone to save you, you shall save yourself Hinata, only you and yourself are able to come out from such misery..." yukine retorted.
"You have to improve yourself.. and i'll train you..." Yukine retorted.
The blond devil trained hinata an intensive training, first she made her close her eyes and listens carefully to the surroundings to differentiate the sounds.
Then she started training her how to dodge and fight, and feel. Yukine was indeed the blond devil.
Though she was tough, harsh and had a stern voice, hinata learned that yukine was actually gentle and had more of a mother figure, she even had pampered and nurtured hinata. Something hinata didn't use to have from her family, only her comrades. But nothing can replace a mother's affection, and for hinata, yukine was such.
One day as hinata was at the river by the cottage, filling the pots, she heard a silent crying.
She was by the age of seventeen, she found sakuragi, crying and his both legs were broken, an open fracture, his bones pierced through skin.
She knew because she tried to feel him. And found the bones piercing cutting her skin. Sakuragi's screams were unbearable.
Hinata held sakuragi up, she went to yukine.
Yukine bandaged sakuragi's legs and took good care of the boy. However she told hinata that sakuragi can't stay with them, he is a burden and she can't take care of two. Hinata insisted she won't abandon the child, and how could she be so cruel.
However yukine was actually testing hinata's innocence and gentleness. At this point she knew hinata deserved the remedy for her eyes.
Yukine and hinata raised sakuragi, for sakuragi yukine was his aunt, while hinata was more of a motherly figured.
One year has passed and yukine grew older and her disease ate her alive, she gave hinata the remedy and told her to put it in her eyes, she'll gain her sight back, but hinata refused. She said its the least i can give for the horrible things i did and to atone.
Hinata hide the remedy, yukine died, and both sakuragi and hinata grieved. Yukine was indeed hinata's surrogate mother.

"And thats what happened.." hinata smiled with a tear falling down her cheeks at the memory of the blond devil.
Sasuke approached hinata and wiped her tears away.
"Sorry natsu san..i..its just..i..i miss her.." hinata cried.
Sasuke couldn't stop himself but found his body moving on its own, pulling her into his hug.
Hinata flinched and gasped at first but then she relaxed as she clutched his cloak and sobbed quietly.
"I..i wanted to go back to konoha, but i know i did horrible unforgivable sins..no one will ever forgive me..." hinata sobbed and weeped. Sasuke stroke her hair, he understands what she was actually saying.
In the end, sasuke and hinata had suffered the same But hinata is the gentle one, and sasuke is the exact opposite.
Hinata was wrapping her arms around sasuke when she felt that he has only one arm. She flinched and pulled back.
"Natsu....natsu san..i...your arm..." she stuttered.
"I lost it in a battle field, and as you said before, its for atonement..."
Hinata smiled inwardly, at least she doesn't to feel she is a burden and she is the only cripple. Or someone will be detested for being blind.
Because what she saw was only people's cruelty.
Both started again cooking and then sakuragi came and they all ate.

Sasuke stayed for the night again, sakuragi was reading while hinata was reading a book, surly she learned how to read braille.
Sakuragi bid them a good night and headed for the bed. Again sasuke heard hinata singing to him the same song, she kissed sakuragi and went again to continue reading.
Sasuke asked if she wants to drink tea, she accepted it and sasuke made them two cups of tea.
Then sasuke again cracked the silence.
"How..how did you get blind..." surly he knows the answer, but he wanted to hear hinata's thoughts about him, what if she learned the truth, it'll add to her hate. Sasuke wanted hinata to be his, wanted to make it up for her, guilty? Maybe ,but mostly love.
Since he thought she died he was a dead man alive, couldn't find any interest in life, wanted to change the system like she wished, wanted to be a good person to make her proud, because he believed she was watching from above.
Now he had her, he wanted all of her.
Hinata dropped the tea cup.
"I...i am sorry Natsu-san... i" hinata stuttered and couldn't contain herself. Flashbacks of the incident came rushing.
Sasuke went and crouched on his knees, he patted her lap.
"I..i am sorry..." he apologized sincerely.
"It..its fine natsu..its not your fault..."
"If you don't want to talk about it.." but sasuke was interrupted by her words
"I..do..i do.. maybe it'll lift some of the burden" hinata let a silent sob, sasuke held her hands.
Hinata told him about the incident. Sasuke heard it again, he wanted to go back in time and punch himself and burry it alive before asking hinata to do so. Then she continued.
"I..i saw my reflection... i saw his reflection... i couldn't... i just couldn't...so i hit my major Byakugan points and blinded myself..." hinata weeped and sasuke pulled her again into his deep embrace.
Hinata felt comfort like never before, he was gentle to her and he treated her well, they pulled away sasuke cupped her cheeks and whispered
"Hinata..."
"Natsu..."
and both sealed their lips into a passionate kiss.