Waking up had never been kind to her. There was this moment where her heart was only hanging heavy with the feeling of content, her muscles soothed, and her mind blank. She thought nothing, she felt nothing, she was nothing.

Then, as her chest heaved upwards with a breath, it seemed as if she sucked it all back in. Quickly exhaling, she sat up with one hand supporting her behind her while the other clutched the side of her neck. Wide, unseeing eyes swung around hoping to catch a glimpse of something.

They didn't catch anything.

This feeling was not panic and it was not fear. She didn't know where she was or if it was a dream (being saved- Neji there- hugs of warmth and not claws raking across her back). She swallowed thickly, holding back the bile threatening to spill. "Neji?" It was a whisper, rough from disuse and shaky from nerves. 

"Neji?"

"Neji?" She called out. Shaky hands gripped the thin fabric of her pants as she hastily ran her dry tongue over her dry lips. The room was dim; she could only make out shadows of objects and couldn't place exactly what they were. The ground was cold beneath her and even with a barrier between it and her skin, it seemed to find a way to seep through and stick. The prolonged silence dwindled down into ringing in her ears, yet that could have also been the thumping of her heart.

She shivered.

Calling out a little harder, she stuttered out "Neji? Is that you?"

"Hanabi?"

"...Papa?" 

A laugh was the only reply, causing Hinata to jump and scramble away from her. She gasped as hot pain emitted from a bleeding wound on her thigh (How did that get there? What happened? Where was she? Why couldn't she breathe correctly?). "W-Who's there?"

"You really don't remember Hinata?" She gulped harshly, throat closing in shock as laughter reverberated throughout the room. "How rich, really, really rich. When they gave me the Byakugan, I had no idea they gave me a useless puppet."

She tensed. "I'm not useless." Her skin craved the warmth of the sun but was only met with the darkness caressing her exposed body. She was still resolute despite it, however, eyes scrunched up in unbridled fury.

"Oh, no? I must be mistaken then." He came into view at that moment, startling her as her eyes raked over a broad form, eyes of green and hair of the sun and clothes of the sea, and yet, despite it all, he looked grey. His hand reached out to grab the chain restricting her limbs and rattled it. "These must not be chains." He ran a hand over her hair, snarling as she leaned away from his touch. "This must not be mine to claim." Her breath hitched as he pressed a single digit to her eyelid. "These must not be gone soon."

"You-You wouldn't."

He shrugged. "Perhaps." A smile grew on his lips, sincere in its darkness and she couldn't tear her eyes away from it. He roughly grabbed her face.

Baring her teeth, she sneered, "You won't get away with this."

He chuckled, "Perhaps." Leaning down towards her, he squished her cheeks even further. "But I promise to do my absolute best in taking everything away from you." Capturing her lips and stealing her breath, he didn't let her breathe. 

"Everything."

And she couldn't breathe, couldn't push him away, but she could cry in silence because that was reserved, she was saving that. She needed away- that wasn't his. She shouldn't be here, why hasn't anyone come yet- why did heartbreak have to physically crush her heart-

"Breathe." 

Red eyes? Were those red eyes? But one was purple. Wait, what? They weren't- they weren't supposed to be here. What was even real anymore?

"Look at me." And she did. Because that was a voice she had not heard in so many years. One that wasn't taunting her and marking her and taking, always just taking until she felt like she was nothing. It wasn't him, yet she couldn't help but feel like she was going to explode.

"Hyuga, goddammit, just calm down." She breathed in as deep as those eyes were. They were bright, the only thing shining in the darkness, and she sunk away from it, yet her eyes stayed looking at them. They were hypnotizing and if she could focus on that, then she could focus on her breaths coming in and out in a continuous process that let her know she wasn't dead yet.

She knew those eyes. Thinking about where they could be from kept away from thoughts that she'd rather stay from. She was safe now; she was rescued (Where was Neji? He wouldn't just leave her, would he?). 

One of the eyes were as red as fire (liar, they were red like blood) and the blackness swirled in a spiral, making her more at peace rather than fright. The other one was a pleasant purple, never-ending rings staring her down, yet she wasn't frightened. 

They made her feel calm, but who was he? 

Her eyebrows clenched in concentration, fingers digging her into the bed sheets (and they were soft, she almost cried again). She could feel it, the name was on the tip of her tongue yet wasn't- wait. 

She could see the eyes. 

She could see.

"H-How?" She whipped her head in different angles, trying to see anything else, anything besides two eyes in the darkness; however, nothing was seen. The eyes even stayed in the same place in her vision. "What are you doing?"

"It's a genjutsu Hyuga. I'd at least hope you know what that is."

She took a breath in order not to sink back at the tone he took. "Could you-" She felt like a beggar in the desert. She wanted to see. She needed it; it crawled under her skin and wormed into her stomach, feeling almost like nausea. His eyes, a taste at something other than darkness, made her yearn for color. For life. "If you wouldn't m-mind me asking-"

"I do mind." The eyes vanished and she sagged with shame.

The curt dialect he chose connected memories in her brain though. "Uchiha-san." She sat up straighter, firm in her choice. "You're Uchiha-san." When he didn't reply right away, she continued, head slightly cocked to the side. "Unless... it's Uchiha-sama? Pardon the assumption, but you're the head of your clan, now, are you not?"

"Don't talk about my clan." 

She nodded, not hurt by the jab. She didn't want to talk about her's either. (Did they even want her back?) "Uchiha-san, then. Um, do you know where we are? Are we back at the leaf? Why am I- am I in a cell?"

She squirmed as only silence met her words. She was desperate for conversation. The one she conversated with for the past months laid rotting in a basement with a dead fetus in her belly-

A hand grabbed her bicep. "Come on, Hyuga, an evaluation has to be done-"

She screamed. "Don't touch me! Get your hands off me, please!"

Hands glided along her arms, teasing the skin, until he outright gripped her throat. "Oh come on, Hyuga... it's all in good fun." He pushed into her trachea until she gagged on the air she pulled in. "Always in good fun."

"Are you having fun yet?"

"Are you feeling it Hyuga?"

"Hyuga?"

"Hyuga!" She gasped as she shook with the aftermaths of a panic attack. In and out, Hinata. In and out, just breathe. You're safe now- you're not there anymore.

There was no hand touching her anymore. It disappeared altogether and she scrambled to recall what had happened. There was a hand, a warm one, and it had gripped her like he used to-

"Uchiha-san? D-Did you- I'm sorry." She took a second to stabilize herself, a palm rubbing away tears pooling at the edges of her eyes (her broken, unseeing, useless eyes).

"Tch." She could hear footstep coming back towards her and she couldn't help but to tense in preparation. "Stop apologizing. It's annoying." She nodded, afraid tears (or maybe a scream) would spill past her barrier if she did. "You need to get mentally and physically evaluated. It's protocol."

She felt no need to tell him, that as a shinobi herself, she knew that. Was she even a shinobi anymore? She had no clue and filed it away for further questioning later. Nodding, she answered, "Hai. But could you, um, could you not touch me?"

"Can you see?" She flinched and turned her head downward, shaking her head in a negative. "Then I need to lead you."

"Just please, Uchiha-san."

"Tch."

She clenched her eyes shut (as if she could see, ha) and took a deep breath. He was being logical, there was no doubt about it, but that was no reason to enjoy that fact. She didn't want him to lead her only because she didn't want to be touched. Nausea built just at the thought of it. In the end though, she nodded in agreement and moved her legs until they hung off the cot. They barely scraped the floor and she realized she had been given thick warm socks. She made a mental note to profusely thank Tsunade. 

"Anytime Hyuga." 

She could feel him near him, could feel eyes glaring holes into her temple as she moved slowly. She stayed sitting for a while (whether it was to make him wait longer or to let the dizziness leave her head, she'd leave up for debate) and then placed her weight little by little onto her feet. 

Even with Sasuke there with his glaring eyes and imposing aura, she felt unrushed. This was all her, for her. She was standing on her own and the fact that she was able to do this on her own terms made her sniffle. If Sasuke saw the tear fall or the wobble of her knees, he made no comment to which she was grateful for. In a long time, she felt the slight pull of her cheeks as she stood. She generally faced where she felt Sasuke was located at and took a step his way.

Without words, she followed him. His steps were not as soft as they could be, and she was grateful as that made them easy to follow. She could feel the literal sparks that came off him, the warmth. It was a pleasant surprise as everyone made him out to be so cold. Despite the circumstances in which they were placed in, he seemed to be quite kind. 

Focusing on him made it easy to forget that the cold floor seeped through her socks (like they did then. Like they did after he used her, played with her, and dressed her with grabby hands that spent too much time in certain places) and the patient attire she wore hung off her frame like a drape, making her feel quite small. The aches in her joints, in her head, in her abdomen (not to mention the ever increasing greed growing in her chest), all of these were easy to forget when she had a raging fire in front of her.

She blinked when he came to an abrupt stop. Body swaying, she gripped the top half of the drape in a death-like hold. Nervousness gripped her stomach and bile rose up to her mouth. Swallowing, she spoke, "Are we here Uchiha-san?"

"Hai." And with nothing else, he opened the door.

~~~~~~

oh, hello there. you're still here and reading? wow, i'm flipping surprised. 

BECAUSE YOU HAD TO WAIT FOR SO LONG OMG HAHHAAH ITS NOT FUNNY I FEEL REALLY BAD THAT WAS NERVOUS LAUGHTER RIGHT THERE IF YOU COULDNT TELL WWERWRV3R

thoughts? kinda, really short, but i was in the mood and really motivated by this one guest review on fanfiction.net hahah that was the best review i have ever gotten, jesus christ i snorted in class

okay whelp

see you next time my lovelies