Hi guys…I know this is super late (3 months to the day :[) but I promise I have been working on it the whole time!

I had a lot of issues with writing this chapter, mostly because it's the first meeting of Hinata and Sasuke and I didn't know how I wanted it to go…I'm not satisfied but it is what it is (after rewriting this a whopping 11 times…). Hopefully you will be satisfied with it as well.

Thank you for all the well wishes regarding the Hurricane! Things are back to normal here...Obviously there were many displaced and affected by the weather, but all the donations and money sent our way really helped a lot of people.

Just be forewarned that as soon as I was done I wanted to upload it so I didn't do nearly as much editing as I usually do. Please excuse any typos or let me know of them in a review. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I claim to own Naruto or any of the characters in the Anime/Manga. This is a fan fiction purely written for pleasure.

Forbidden Fruit: a thing that is desired all the more because it is not allowed

Chapter Three: Fleeting Courage

Hinata couldn't stand the silence anymore.

She was never one to shy away from it as she did most other situations, but in this case, it was only stifling.

She felt like an outsider, her arms wrapped around herself as she watched the impasse before her with concerned eyes. Naruto was on one side, staring down his rival with his arms crossed across his chest, a formidable sight as he scowled instead of carrying his typical goofy smile. Sakura stood a bit behind Naruto, her eyes glued to the dirt trail they stood on.

A few feet away, Sasuke stood with his hands (well one hand she thought idly to herself) by his side, a mask of complete disinterest on his face.

No one had spoken for at least ten minutes.

"I-I'm going to scope out the area…" Hinata mumbled, pushing her hair behind her ear and glancing at the two bright haired shinobi. Whatever standoff she had found herself in, she wanted nothing to do with it. She moved to do just that when a deep voice interrupted her escape.

"There is no point, no one is here." Hinata paused, she felt too intimidated to look at the Uchiha directly so she peeked at him from the corner of her eye. If Naruto didn't trust him, neither did she.

"It's fine, better safe than sorry." Better than being here more like….

She saw the Uchiha shrug. "Suit yourself." Hinata ran.

Letting out a breath of relief as she left the tense confrontation, she flitted through the trees, her mind still stuck on the awkward moments from before.

She counted her stars that she had been paired up with Kiba and Shino. Things were easy for them, they always knew where they stood with one another and in a team with three trackers; secrets between them never lasted long. They understood one another, cared for one another, and if they had an issue they resolved it right away. They simply had each other's backs, no questions asked.

With Team Seven, those lines blurred to grey.

On one hand, their bond had to be strong since they had been able to save the shinobi world from disaster. But on the other, Sasuke had tried to kill both Naruto and Sakura on multiple occasions, and Sakura had even tried to kill Sasuke herself at one point. There was so many layers of pain and resentment in their relationship that it seemed like the hurt still ran deep if their chilly reception of their former teammate was anything to go by.

But Hinata knew they didn't hate Sasuke.

His actions? Yes. His motives? Maybe. But in a sick sense, even she had to agree that some of it was circumstantial.

Hinata was sure the reason they acted the way they had was simple: they didn't know how to act around Sasuke anymore. When they finally thought they had him back, he left again of his own volition. It wounded them that he didn't want to stay with them, she could tell.

That's why she needed to give them time.

Time to talk out their feelings without the prying eyes of a third party. She was sure they wouldn't mind much but Hinata was too proper to impose on them.

She activated her Byakugan as she arrived in the village not too far from where the rest of her team stood. As Sasuke had stated, not a single soul was present. Not even the typical fauna that associated with a thriving community.

Hinata slowed down the further she made her way into the town. Doors were hanging from hinges, chairs scraped back and toppled. Whoever lived here did not leave voluntarily. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise in uneasiness. Maybe she shouldn't be alone…she felt as if someone or something was watching her here.

Blowing her bangs out of her face in a huff, Hinata paced back and forth, restless. The eerie sound of only the breeze blowing, causing the doors to sway gently and produce a harsh squeak made Hinata anxious. Kiba and Shino had always made fun of her saying she was just superstitious or had an overactive imagination but Hinata blamed it on her enhanced chakra perception; no chakra meant no lifeforms…and that was not normal.

Staring back the direction she came, Hinata desperately hoped they would finish talking soon.

OoOoOoOoO

Sasuke held back the urge to sigh as he stared down his two former teammates, the beginning of a headache hitting him full force. He didn't like to deal with emotions or emotional people. There was a reason why he preferred solitude.

He watched as Sakura stood behind Naruto, clutching the back of his shirt as his rival instinctively stood in front of her – to protect her from him no doubt. He knew that his leaving things vague between them before he left over a year and a half ago had not allowed the two to instill much confidence in him, but it was easier to not give them hope in his return than to try to explain himself. Weakness was allowing human connections to influence and inhibit the truly tough and often heartless decisions he had to make outside of Konoha's walls…it would not do him any good. It was his burden to bear; even if it meant they hated him.

"Sakura." He called out to the girl who loved him and would be more receptive. She had a heavy blush on her cheeks and she started at the sound of her name, looking up with eyes wide and glistening before glancing back down, a tortured expression on her face as she moved closer to Naruto. Naruto grunted, moving a hand back to keep her close. Sasuke's lip twitched in annoyance but that was his only tell. Why did these two have to over-dramatize everything?

Sasuke settled on speaking to the both of them. "Why did Kakashi send you?" He moved his hand to his chokuto handle, playing with it idly as he scuffed a sandal on the ground, a façade of boredom on his face. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the words.

"What do you mean by that, Sasuke?" Naruto's face was more hostile than he remembered it being last.

Sasuke raised a brow at the defensive words and shrugged disinterestedly. "It will be hard to work together if this is how you plan to conduct yourselves." He glanced around them and nodded towards the direction the other kunoichi had skirted off to. "And the other one deserted. Konoha shinobi must have lower standards these days."

"Teme..." Naruto growled, his eyes automatically bleeding into gold as his anger rose. Sasuke felt his lips turn up into an almost smirk; it had been some time since he had a worthwhile battle, it was nearly worth riling the blonde up over. Sasuke strengthened his grip on his chokuto, readying to parry the first blow.

It seemed the deteriorating conversation between to two men was enough to give Sakura her voice back. She placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder to calm him before stepping out from behind the orange clad ninja, an expectant look on her face. He could tell she wanted desperately to trust him. "Sasuke-kun, we're here because you requested help from Konoha. We…" She paused here and glanced at Naruto who met her gaze and nodded reassuringly at her. "We didn't want to waste an opportunity to see you." In stark contrast to her words, Naruto refused to lower his glare as they eyed each other. Sasuke scoffed at her empty sentiments.

"Then why are your hackles raised?" Sakura looked ashamed as she moved to close the distance between them. Sasuke's eyes snapped to the sudden movement of Naruto, who brushed past the kunoichi to rush him, his hands burying themselves in his collar.

"Why do you think, Teme?!" Naruto snarled. Sasuke idly noted that his rival had matured some; the anger was warranted but he controlled it better even if it was just bubbling underneath the surface.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried out, and Naruto turned his head slightly towards her in acknowledgment of her warning. He leaned in and met eyes with Sasuke. Most wouldn't dare look into the eyes of a Sharingan user but Naruto was an exception.

"You better have learned some civility out here for your sake Sasuke, or I will drag you back to Konoha and beat it into you." He shoved Sasuke back and turned away to look at Sakura. Sasuke smirked as he pulled himself up to his full height after the affront. He brushed his shoulders off and straightened his clothes, doing his best to look unaffected by the threats of his former team member. Sakura looked at him in concern but he ignored it; there were more important matters to attend to.

"If the theatrics are don-" Sasuke sighed again, as the other kunoichi barreled in, interrupting him as she caught her breath, the veins around her white eyes engorged. A Byakugan user.

"Hinata-chan what are you-" Sakura started, alarmed.

"There- There was someone here!" Hinata frantically looked around, her Byakugan searching for the specter she spoke of. Sasuke pinned a glare on her at her words; if someone were watching them, he would have felt them long ago.

Naruto moved to the indigo haired girl's side although she moved away to continue her hysterical search. "W-What do you mean someone was here Hinata-chan?" He followed her and grasped her shoulders, trying to bring her attention to him. "What did you see?"

Hinata turned to the Jinchuuriki and spoke, a look of horror on her face. "I felt chakra I've only sensed during the war…White Zetsu."

Sasuke eyes narrowed. There was no way this girl had felt chakra that he had been searching for since he arrived in the village from assumedly hundreds of meters away. "You're mistaken."

The girl with the rabbit-like features turned to him, eyebrows crashing down in confusion. "W-What do you mean? I felt the chakra when I was in the village. It came from the tree line just past you." Naruto looked between the two of them, his face serious.

"Is it still there Hinata-chan? If you tell us where, we can go find it." She shook her head and looked sadly at the blonde.

"It disappeared almost as soon as I noticed it. I had felt like something was watching me so I activated my Byakugan…" She wringed her hands before her, uncomfortable with the attention her outburst had caused. Sakura walked up to her and placed a gentle hand over hers. Hinata looked up and smiled gratefully.

"It's okay Hinata-chan, we will get to the bottom of it." Sakura comforted the petite kunoichi.

Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes. "You must have been imagining things. If there was someone here Naruto and I would have detected it." The Hyuuga (he recognized her now as one of his batchmates) refused to look his way, instead turning to Naruto.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun…" Sasuke sneered as Naruto shook his head and grinned at her. This was not the time for apologies.

"It's okay Hinata-chan, you are really impressive you know. At least you gave us something to go on. Show us where you picked up the chakra and maybe we will find something!" Hinata beamed and nodded, glancing over his shoulder to point out the general location in which the chakra had come from.

"A-Ano, I felt it right over there…" Sasuke watched as the three completely ignored him and started investigating the area. As they looked around the general vicinity the Hyuuga had pointed out, Sasuke grew more and more annoyed. They were wasting time!

Sasuke grudgingly walked over, a grimace on his face. "You won't find anything, there is nothi-" Sasuke paused, stilling as his eyes landed on a gouge in the ground, roughly the size of a tree trunk in diameter.

The others turned to him as he grew quiet and moved closer as he bent down to touch the freshly disrupted earth. "What is it Sasuke-kun?" Sakura ventured, brows furrowed as she strained to understand why that particular patch of earth drew his attention.

Sasuke had seen this before…in the past when Zetsu had moved from location to location, Sasuke had witnessed a similar pattern in the dirt left in his wake. He glanced at the Byakugan user with veiled surprise. Somehow, she had actually picked up on something he would have completely missed otherwise. How exactly had she caught Zetsu's chakra when Naruto, a sage-level shinobi with the ability to detect the chakra in nature and himself, a Sharingan user had not even noticed? This had to be a bluff.

Sasuke side stepped the two shinobi in his way and cornered the girl, who backed away from him the more he invaded her space. He was going to get answers.

"How did you detect that chakra?" He almost growled, frustrated that he had not been keen enough to notice their little spy. The Hyuuga's eyes were wide in shock as she glanced up at him and promptly looked away. She continued to back away until her heels hit the trunk of a tree, causing her to fall back against it. Sasuke didn't relent. "Tell me!" He barked.

Hinata jumped and shook her head. "I-I don't know!" She glanced up at him and winced at his expression. He didn't care if she was scared of him. From his experience, fear got answers more often than kindness.

"Sasuke! You're scaring her, back off." Naruto moved to intercept him, but Sasuke shoved him off. Sakura just watched worriedly.

"How did you know the White Zetsu was here. How did you find it when neither Naruto or I could detect it?"

The girl – Hinata, they had called her – took a deep breath, and raised her head, meeting his gaze full on. "I – I'm telling you the truth Sasuke-kun. I don't know how I felt it, I just…did." Sasuke gave her a scornful look full of spite.

"You just did?" Hinata flinched again at the inflection in his tone. He was about to continue but Sakura moved in front of him, blocking his view of the Hyuuga completely.

"Let her be Sasuke-kun. At least we now have proof that the White Zetsu were here." She watched him warily and Sasuke didn't have the patience to argue with her on the matter. Letting his mask of indifference infuse on his face once more, he backed off. He noticed Sakura's sigh of relief; it was as if she didn't trust him to let the issue drop.

The Hyuuga looked rattled but with a hand from Naruto, she moved away from the tree he cornered her against and gave a small smile of reassurance to the other two shinobi. For some reason, their comradery rankled his feathers. Naruto and Sakura's closeness bothered him too.

He wasn't jealous but he felt as if he were an outsider looking in on something he would never get to enjoy. The headache became a full-on migraine. This was why he left; emotions did not help his cause.

Turning away from the group, Sasuke addressed them through gritted teeth. "I have pinpointed a likely location the White Zetsu are congregating." Naruto perked up at this.

"Did you see the White Zetsu too, Sasuke?" Sasuke glowered at Naruto's naïve reminder that he in fact had not spotted a single White Zetsu during his entire search.

"No…" He turned so Naruto could catch his glare. "I have run into villages like this one that have all come up deserted as I've moved east. Each one was empty longer than the last which means the Zetsu are moving west."

Sakura piqued up, her face serious. "Do you think they are moving towards Konoha?"

Sasuke shook his head, catching sight of the Hyuuga who watched him with pupil-less worried eyes. Creepy. "The most likely place the White Zetsu are convening is Madara's old hideout. It is where they were made and in the path their direction leads."

Naruto grudgingly moved to stand beside his rival and gave him a sidelong glare before rolling his eyes. "Well you better lead the way then since you seem to know everything, Teme."

Sasuke ignored the dig and started the arduous trek back towards the west. He didn't bother to check if the others followed him; they were already turning out to be more trouble than they were worth.

OoOoOoOoO

The group had stopped their trek to Madara's Hideout to rest, for which Hinata was grateful. Hinata sat at the fringes of the campfire's reach, watching Sasuke's back with wary eyes; he had spooked her quite a bit when he had gone after her for no reason.

If Hinata were a cynical person, she would have pointed out that the reason Sasuke even knew of their current destination was because he had been aligned with the wrong side in the past. But even if she would never say the words aloud, she thought it. Hinata wasn't quite above holding grudges, the issue was they never lasted long as she usually felt the crushing weight of guilt loom over her almost immediately.

Their journey had started out with quiet awkwardness but the silence must have eaten away at Naruto's sanity because he had relapsed into his usual boisterous self to fill the dead space between them. Although Naruto had reacted pretty harshly to their initial meeting, he now merrily updated Sasuke on the happenings in Konoha. Unbeknownst to him, the dark-haired man with an attitude problem (the guilt was already beginning to creep in) valiantly tried to ignore him as he tended the fire in an effort to escape the bombardment of words. Sakura sat between the two men, a smile on her face as her eyes tracked Sasuke's every move.

This was the thing about Team Seven that confused her the most. They often times brought the worst out of each other, some could argue that their relationship with one another were borderline toxic (namely when Sasuke was thrown into the mix) but somehow, they could put the pain aside to focus on the present. It wasn't that the pain or the distrust was gone, it was that they were just that good at ignoring it. After all, ignorance was bliss.

Maybe that was why Naruto never seemed to acknowledge her affections. He couldn't acknowledge what he didn't perceive. Hinata sighed and shook her head at herself for going down that line of thinking.

Hinata was pulled from her thoughts as Sasuke suddenly stood, his cape closing in around his frame and hiding his disability. At times she completely forgot that he lost his left limb fighting Naruto after the war. But then even the most mundane tasks took the brooding Uchiha a little longer or he would use his teeth to help maneuver things that were second nature to her and she was reminded of his handicap. A part of her held that against him too; if he hadn't picked a fight with Naruto, at least her favorite blonde wouldn't have been in undue pain and suffering.

The last Uchiha let out a huff of air and gritted out with what seemed like a mountain of restraint, "Shut. Up. Naruto!" He stalked off into the darkness around them, leaving them all flabbergasted.

Naruto gave the two girls a confused shrug. "I always talk this much though." Sakura sighed and shook her head.

"Naruto-kun he's been alone for over a year…don't you think it would be a bit overwhelming to you too?" Naruto opened his mouth to answer but Sakura beat him to it. "I…I'm going to go…" She floundered for a few moments, a blush staining her cheeks. "I…well…goodnight." She mumbled incoherently and ran off in the direction Sasuke had gone. It was painfully obvious to Hinata what Sakura was too shy to voice.

With a sigh, Hinata turned towards the fire, moving in towards the warmth now that the object of her discomfort had disappeared. She glanced at Naruto out of the corner of her eye and caught him staring after his two teammates, a perplexed look on his face. Usually she would rejoice at the opportunity to be alone with Naruto, but after all the events she dealt with today, she couldn't muster the energy to be happy.

Surprisingly, Naruto picked up on this. "What's wrong Hinata-chan?" He asked in a rare moment of sensitivity. Hinata blushed and looked down, throwing another branch into the fire.

"A-Ano, nothing is wrong Naruto-kun…" He gave her a look as if he didn't believe her then turned to face the fire. She turned back to the fire as well, blushing from humiliation this time.

Naruto sighed and spoke, his voice somber. "I'm sorry the Teme treated you that way earlier today." Hinata looked up in surprise, not expecting that in the least.

"What? Naruto-kun you don't have to apologize for that, you didn't do anything…" Naruto shook his head, a look of frustration on his face.

"That's just it, I stood there and did nothing to help you." He sighed again. "See, the thing is…Sasuke doesn't know how to interact with others very well. He's standoffish, rude, arrogant, you name it." He huffed in annoyance as he seemed to wind himself up the more he spouted off Sasuke's worst traits.

"But the thing is…Sasuke does what he does because he doesn't know how to express himself. Me? I didn't have anyone growing up to get attached to and I've always been mischievous, I don't hold anything back." He had a faraway look in his eyes as he remembered the past.

"Naruto-kun…." Hinata watched him with sad eyes.

"But Sasuke? He loved his family more than anything, they were his whole world…and then they were taken by Konoha." He turned and looked into her eyes. "He has this inner battle with himself…he wants to protect what his brother loved most…but at the same time, it is the very place that took his family away from him. It's almost as if he can't afford to express himself because he's already lost it all. Emotions, attachments…those are what caused him the most pain in his life.

"If I give up on him, who does he really have left to care about him in the world? I try to help but my emotions get in the way too…betrayal, worry, distrust that he may desert us again…Sasuke puts on good airs, but sometimes I get the feeling he's the most sensitive of us all."

Hinata felt the guilt hit her. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun…"

"Huh? Why?"

"I…well I didn't think of what Sasuke might have been struggling with…It's just… I understand all of that…but I guess I needed to be reminded."

"Haha, but Hinata-chan you are the nicest person I know. I know you haven't had much experience with him, but I feel like you would understand Sasuke even better than I ever could if you had the chance to get to know him."

Somehow Hinata sincerely doubted that.

OoOoOoOoO

Sasuke heard her long before he saw her. Stealth had never been her strong point; she was too blunt and straight-forward, just like her attacks.

Although he preferred to be alone at that moment (half a day and he was already tired of human interaction) he knew if he tried to push her away too quickly it would not make his life easier.

He turned and stood still, facing where he knew Sakura's head would appear.

"Sasuk-omph!" Sakura ran straight into his chest, staggering back with a blush as she realized what had just occurred. "I'm so sorry!" She bowed in forgiveness and caught herself, her blush magnifying at her automatic reaction. Sasuke almost smirked at her reaction; it was always easier for him when others were flustered and not him. He knew how to traverse that human interaction better than anything.

Keeping his aloof mask upon his face (especially since he finally got it back after his outburst towards Naruto) Sasuke stared down his nose at Sakura. "What do you want Sakura?"

She blushed and fidgeted, not unlike the Hyuuga girl from before…a habit she picked up perhaps? "Stop doing that and answer me." He felt the annoyance bleed into his voice and caught Sakura's cringe. She dropped her hands and looked up at him, albeit timidly. That was one trait he commended about Sakura; she knew when to be serious.

"Sasuke-kun I wanted to talk to you…" She pushed a strand of pink hair behind her ear and snuck a glance at him. He made a noise of acknowledgement prompting her to continue; his patience, already worn so thin by Naruto was not going to last long. "I uh…"

Sasuke sighed and reached out and hooked a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up into his eyes. "You have five seconds to get what you want to say out or I'm leaving." She looked faint and her face was hot to the touch but she seemed to understand his threat, the words rushing out of her mouth.

"I've missed you, and while I was waiting I thought I should do something for you, something to pass the time until I saw you again…." Sasuke didn't know how to answer that. He knew of Sakura's affection but without meaning to, he let out an audible sigh. She glanced at him at that before looking down. "I…I made you a new arm!" She blurted out, screwing her eyes shut as she did so. Sasuke stared at her in mild shock, trying to understand what he just heard. She was breathing heavy but after a few minutes of silence, she opened one eye to gauge his reaction.

Sasuke's hand dropped to his side, disappearing beneath his black cape as he stepped away to put some distance between them. He started to turn away, surprised Sakura had been able to make his dead heart jump, but she stopped him. "Wait! Did you not hear me Sasuke-kun? I said I made a new arm for you…it took a while but now you can have full mobility and fight at full strength out here…"

Sasuke stared off into the dark forest before him, wanting to run. His pride stopped him from admitting it but he often regretted the fight with Naruto that cost him his left arm. Life after that had been a struggle, but being who he was he had made do. The phantom limb pain that woke him in the middle of the night howling was a reminder that he was alive…that he was repenting.

"I don't need it." He wanted to walk away but for some reason his feet wouldn't move.

"Sasuke-kun please…" Sakura pleaded. "I know I can't do anything for you in Konoha, and you won't let me travel with you but…I worked hard on this for you…"

Sasuke turned and gave her a glare. How dare she make him waver, how dare she appeal to the inherent selfishness he was trying to suppress by going on this mission of solitude. "I didn't ask you to do anything for me Sakura." He immediately turned away as he saw the tears pool in her eyes.

"I-I…" Her voice broke and he heard her sniffle. "I just thought-"

"You thought wrong." Sasuke forced steel into his voice, trying to end the conversation. And maybe in the past it would have worked, Sakura would run off crying immediately and he would just have to wait for her to come crawling back as she always did. In some ways he relied on that…Sakura's ability to love him no matter how badly he treated her sometimes was the only thing that humanized him when he strived to cut all ties. It was probably the only thing giving the small amount of good in him traction.

"Sasuke-kun you can't really mean that…" He turned just in time to see her press a lingering hand against her forehead, her voice laced with pain. "Why did you make that promise to me…why did you say next time if you didn't mean it?" He couldn't help but sigh.

It took him a few moments to collect his thoughts, but he finally settled on an answer, an answer the last two years led up to. If he continued to fail people like those in the villages he found empty and rotting…he didn't deserve happiness, he didn't need good.

"My time out here has shown that I was too lenient on myself and my path to forgiveness."

Sakura pushed on. "But when will that end? And what of rebuilding the Uchiha?" Here she blushed heavily despite herself. "I always thought that even if I couldn't be with you out here, maybe…I could help you with that at least…"

It would take a dolt like Naruto not to get what she was hinting at. Before, when he was naïve, it was true that's what he had wanted - to build the Uchiha back to their former glory. But the reality was they has only been pawns, their unique eyes used to bring forth the destruction of the shinobi world.

His time out here, seeing the strife that even he was the direct cause of…had made him rethink things. Maybe the world was better off without the Uchiha.

"I have decided my line will end with me." It was succinct and to the point. There was nothing to misinterpret. A future with me is impossible.

Only the sound of Sakura's sniffling permeated the air between them. Sasuke was surprised she was still there, but more so that he still stood before her to even hear her cry. Something kept him rooted in place. Maybe because he knew she would never give him up….

"Sometimes I really hate you."

Sasuke shut his eyes as he heard the whisper and then her escape through the foliage, just as loud as she had arrived.

He always knew he took her affections for granted…but in the long term it would only do her good to hate him too. After all, life for him was not meant to be enjoyed.

OoOoOoOoO

"It seems there is some animosity between the Konoha heroes isn't there? Kukuku." Black Zetsu smirked from his seat on the raised dais before the flowering tree, looking down on his other half as he presented him with his intel.

"Yes Dokuzetsu, Naruto does not fully trust the Uchiha." He paused and considered his words before continuing. "Can we not use this to our advantage? They can hardly get in our way if they cannot cooperate."

Black Zetsu shook his head, leaning back on an arm. "They were not on the best terms when they defeated Kaa-san either, we cannot count on that."

"I understand that but why can we not just kill the Uchiha? We can find an alternative for the Sharingan." Black Zetsu scowled at his counterpart, jumping down to confront him face to face.

"I have already told you Jozetsu, there is no replacing the Sharingan when it comes to resurrecting Kaa-san. The Sharingan must be pure and complete."

"But how would you get the Uchiha to cooperate? He is not as gullible as his predecessors."

Black Zetsu stroked his chin, deep in thought. "You are correct. Our plan may need to wait until we can manipulate the future lines as I did before."

"But Sasuke is willing to let his line die off before allowing the Uchiha to be pawns once again. How can you guarantee that future lines exist?"

Black Zetsu smirked at his counterpart and placed a hand on his shoulder. "That is why I need you. We are going to ensure our future pawns while crippling the Uchiha as you so wish. You will be integral to that plan." He stepped away and jumped back up to the dais, giving White Zetsu a passing glance over his shoulder. "Is there anything else you have to report?"

"Hmmm…oh!" White Zetsu's golden eyes glazed over with a faraway look as he licked his lips delectably.
"A kunoichi was among the Konoha brats, one with the purest chakra I have ever witnessed."

Black Zetsu perked up at that and turned to face White Zetsu. "Oh really? Maybe we should find her and eat her."

White Zetsu nodded enthusiastically at the thought of a tasty treat. "I recognized her from the war, I imitated her and wanted to take her away but was stopped. She is a Byakugan user, I've never tried one of those before..."

"Wait." Black Zetsu stilled as his interest was piqued. A thousand different scenarios ran through his head, all ending with his Kaa-san resurrected. "A Byakugan user with pure chakra you say? Maybe I need to see her for myself."

OoOoOoOoO

After Naruto's words about Sasuke, Hinata tried really hard to look at him differently. However, Hinata was surprised to find the next day the atmosphere around the group was even worse than before.

Sakura completely avoided Sasuke and stuck to either her or Naruto's side for the most part but didn't utter a word. Hinata got the feeling that whatever the two had talked about had gone badly.

Sakura had entered the makeshift camp site long after her and Naruto had turned in for the night; although the only reason Hinata knew was because she had stayed up worrying for her friend. She still didn't trust Sasuke. Speaking of, the brooding man hadn't returned until after she had awoken for the next day so she wasn't sure what had happened.

Sasuke looked completely unaffected by whatever had come to pass and it bothered Hinata more than she was comfortable admitting. Naruto walked alongside the Uchiha and Hinata could just barely make out their conversation.

"Hey, Teme, why do I get the feeling Sakura is avoiding you?" Naruto glanced back at Sakura who trailed behind the group.

Sasuke was just as forthcoming as usual, which was to say not at all. "Hn." Naruto scoffed and Hinata assumed he rolled his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest in disbelief as he did so. Hinata was surprised at how emotionally aware Naruto had become in the time since the war, it showed he had gained some maturity. It also begged the question as to why she was still left with no answer to her declarations of love. Don't think about it…

"Sasuke you realize how much power you have over her feelings don't you? You must have done something." Hinata couldn't help but cringe at his hushed words, it bothered her to hear him talk about something that from her perspective could easily be directed towards himself. It's not fair…how come he acknowledges such things when it doesn't apply to me…? Hinata barely noticed the bite of her nails digging into her palms. "Come on Teme, what did you do? At least tell me so I can pummel you and make her feel better!"

Sasuke made a noise of frustration and turned to the blonde, his eyes catching her watching them and forcing her to look away awkwardly. She peeked back in time to see his attention divert to Naruto. "If you want me to continue on this mission with you, you will do well to mind your own business." He raised his voice at the end, ensuring Hinata heard him. Her ears burned in embarrassment at getting caught.

Naruto was having none of it though. He just brushed off the threats and continued his line of questioning, looking down on his nose at his rival. "I don't know Sasuke…something seems fishy and I want to get down to the bottom of it…."

Sasuke positively growled and stalked further ahead, the blonde right on his tail. Hinata sped up to keep the group together, looking back to see if Sakura was following.

Hinata waited on her friend to catch up, trying her hardest not to preemptively judge the dark-haired man. "Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" She placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder in comfort.

Sakura sighed, a forlorn look on her face as she shook her head in defeat. It seemed her prompting was enough for the emotions to burst forth. "Sasuke…Sasuke-kun denied the arm I made for him." Hinata could tell Sakura just wanted to talk about it with someone.

She glanced at Sasuke's back as she probed further. "What do you mean? Did you tell him how long it took you to make it? How hard you worked on it?"

Sakura gave a hollow laugh. "Hinata-chan, it doesn't matter how hard I worked on it to him. It was a stupid idea to begin with…I shouldn't have even done it but I just…" her voice broke and Hinata reached out to comfort her but Sakura squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. "I told him I hated him."

Hinata gave her a look of surprise. Never in a million years did she think she would hear those words. "W-what...?"

Sakura looked Hinata dead in the eyes imploringly, as if convincing Hinata would convince her of the next words that fell from her lips. "I…I don't want to love Sasuke-kun anymore. Maybe I should give up on him…"

The words burrowed deep into Hinata's heart. I don't want to love Naruto anymore…sometimes I just want to let go…. How many times had she thought the very same thing?

It was surreal, watching Sakura lament letting go of Sasuke. Hinata could see it came from a place of frustration, a need to be liberated from the constant barrage of negative emotions and self-doubt. Many would say Sakura's affections for Sasuke were unhealthy…were Hinata's feelings towards Naruto only cultivated by others because he had a good image in their eyes?

Hinata saw her friend's shoulder shake with silent sobs.

Hinata felt the tendrils of anger flare to life in her chest. She didn't know what took hold of her, but something about Sasuke's brush off of Sakura's affections bothered her to her very core.

Maybe it was because Sakura was her friend. Maybe it was because she had been there every time Sakura missed him, comforted her when she was in tears. They were comrades when it came to love. Maybe it was because Sakura wasn't getting anywhere with Sasuke just like she wasn't getting anywhere with Naruto and she just couldn't stand it anymore. Maybe, just maybe….it was fear that if Sakura had given up, her affections for Naruto no longer had any stock either.

Suddenly she was up and moving.

She didn't know what she was going to do. She didn't know what to say. But for the first time it didn't scare her as much as it usually did. Something in her had snapped. She may not have the confidence to help herself but somehow, the strength she often found absent in the past surged forward and refused to keep still.

She marched up to the two men who were about to come to blows and cleared her throat, this alone stopping them in their tracks to look at her because it was so out of character. "Can we stop here for tonight Naruto-kun?" Hinata faced the blonde-haired boy only, her bias against the Uchiha glaringly obvious. Naruto blinked at her mutely in surprise.

"A-ah, yes…sure I guess." He glanced around as he rubbed the back of his head. "This place is fine."

Sakura watched Hinata with a peculiar look on her face, trying to subtly wipe her tears in the process.

Sasuke let a fistful of orange fabric go and situated himself, his mouth in a thin line of poorly concealed contempt. "I will go out and get supplies." Hinata could tell he just wanted to be as far from the group as possible. One quick glance at Sakura who looked down forlornly to avoid anyone's gaze bolstered her cause and Hinata suddenly found the words spilling from her mouth, nerves causing her voice to squeak a bit.

"I-I'll go with you!" Sasuke glared at her instantly and Hinata was surprised to find a sliver of satisfaction at his misery tugging at her lips; his suffering was her pleasure when it came to her friends.

Sasuke refused to answer, turning to leave without her. Hinata darted behind him, not wanting to lose sight of him before she lost her opportunity (to do what, she still wasn't sure). Naruto's voice called after her. "Hinata-chan you don't have to go!"

She turned back mid-stride to wave at him in reassurance. "I'll be okay Naruto-kun, see you soon!"

When she turned back into the trees, her person of interest had completely disappeared. Panicking, Hinata activated her Byakugan and was relieved to find a stream a kilometer or so away. Although she couldn't see Sasuke, if he really was going to get supplies for their campsite, that would be the ideal location to do it.

As Hinata ran towards the water source, she found her confidence begin to wane. Doubt and fear despite her good intentions settled like a pit in her gut. She didn't have much interaction with Uchiha Sasuke – she vaguely remembered him a handful of times growing up before he left the village – and based on the few moments she had been graced with his presence in the past day or two, she had no intention to befriend him anytime soon.

Naruto's words from the night before came back to her, that Sasuke was emotionally stunted because he had to protect himself from a small age. She was an extremely empathetic person, almost to a fault, but she still couldn't conciliate his treatment of Sakura's affections to the situation that traumatized him.

It was true that people would react differently to situations from one another, and maybe this is what hindered her from understanding Sasuke, but Sakura's affections didn't seem like they would trigger any bad memories. Her feelings aside, what caused him to reject a thoughtful gift that took over a year to produce – one that had almost no strings attached other than the ones that held Sakura's heart dangling in front of the dark-haired Uchiha?

Hinata could make out the water's edge just outside the tree line when suddenly a dark figure materialized before her. It took everything in her to not barrel straight into the new obstacle in her path, her rush to right herself sending her careening from the tree tops to the ground below. She rolled out of the fall with a loud "Oomph!" and skid to a halt on her bum, wincing as the rocks and branches dug into her skin.

This time Hinata knew not to look up to find the dark-haired man she had been pursuing as he would no longer be there. She raised her eyes to the waterline and saw him standing there, his broad back facing her. He glanced over his shoulder at her, his gaze looking particularly smug as he waited at the water's edge for her to approach him.

With a sigh, Hinata picked herself up and brushed the dirt off her clothing, noticing the scrapes on her hands and legs as she took stock of herself. Reluctantly moving towards the water, Hinata was sure to take her time, delaying the inevitable. Satisfied that she was making her way towards him, Sasuke turned back to the water, standing eerily still.

Hinata kept trying to remind herself why she put herself in this position in the first place but her mind went blank and her mouth felt dry. She could feel her palms begin to sweat and her heart pounding in her chest made her want to run away from this situation. Sasuke had been an S-ranking missing ninja, he had helped Naruto defeat Kaguya…but he didn't have the same morals as the blonde. He was formidable and Hinata knew if the other Team Seven members couldn't trust him, she had far fewer reasons to.

Taking a deep breath to stabilize herself at the tree line, she squared her shoulders and marched herself the remaining few feet, stepping up to the banks of the stream next to Sasuke. He didn't turn to acknowledge her and Hinata almost felt relieved.

"Why did you follow me?" He sounded peeved at her hesitance to start the conversation. After a few moments of silence in which Hinata collected her thoughts (and the last vestiges of her stubbornness) Sasuke kissed his teeth in annoyance, startling her into looking in his direction. The thought that Sakura was sure to have been treated in the same manner provided Hinata with the tinder for her confidence to grow.

Hinata's brows furrowed and she turned completely toward Sasuke, adrenaline pumping through her veins as if she were confronting a beast. In some ways that analogy held true. Sasuke noticed the change in her demeanor as he sneered in mockery, as if daring her to try something. The fire ignited.

"Why was Sakura-chan so upset today?" They both knew the reason why but Hinata hoped to hear Sasuke's explanation of the situation. He scoffed and turned back to the water, as if the conversation held no interest to him anymore, almost as if she disappointed him.

"That's why you followed me?" His condescending tone did nothing to help his case in her eyes.

Hinata gave him her best attempt at a dirty look although the intent was poorly conveyed. "W-why else would I want to speak with you?" He appraised her for a few moments, his thoughts on her surprisingly easy to read on his stoic face; contempt. Hinata forced herself to not be swayed by how he treated her, she would not back down when it came to the people she loved.

He decided to ignore her question. "How did you know Zetsu was spying on us?" He took a step towards her, his tactic changing to intimidation. She faltered back one step by habit, catching herself at the last minute and standing her ground as he took another step towards her.

"I a-already answered that question. Now please answer mine." He smirked at her when she cringed at her use of polite words; she hated that the word slipped out to a man undeserving of them. She looked down in shame but when she looked up - realizing she shouldn't do that in front of him - he locked eyes with her and suddenly it was hard to look away.

Hinata noticed his eyes were unusually hypnotizing, she barely noticed that he had closed the distance between them, significantly closer than strangers such as them would ever be comfortable with. Everything around her seemed to ebb away, the colors becoming dull and the background began to shift. She vaguely noted that Sasuke's right eye was blood red, the tomoe in both eyes spinning rapidly but she could not remember when the change had occurred.

Her body suddenly felt heavy, time seemed to slow down and the light surrounding them became saturated with the same blood red color as Sasuke's right eye.

Her mind was oddly calm even as warning bells rang in the back of her mind. It was so easy to just drift away…

OoOoOoOoO

"Hinata…"

"Hinata!"

Her eyes were heavy as she tried to open them, her lungs straining to fill themselves with lifesaving oxygen as she gasped for air. Somebody was calling for her…

"HINATA!"

She startled awake, her body moving of its own volition as she pushed up to her hands and knees, coughing. Red splattered against the rust colored dirt.

Her head lolled but moved to look before her, her vision blurry. She needed to keep moving forward…

Blinking a few times, the image before her cleared and Naruto's figure appeared prone on the ground, metal rods piercing his limbs and holding him in place…A man in a black cloak with red clouds stood above him, gauging her next movements with apathy.

I need to protect Naruto-kun….

Pushing forward she crawled to his side, clutching her injured arm to her.

She fell to her feet before the man she loved, her hands clutching the black metal rod protruding from her continued savior's body.

"I don't understand. Why would someone weak like you try to resist? Why fight me? Knowing…that you will die."

And then she was flying.

OoOoOoOoO

"Hinata…"

"Hinata!"

Her eyes were heavy as she tried to open them, her lungs strained to fill themselves with lifesaving oxygen as she gasped for air. Somebody was calling for her…

"HINATA!"

She startled awake, her body moving of its own volition as she pushed up to her hands and knees, coughing. Red splattered against the rust colored dirt. These motions felt familiar…as if she was having a case of déjà vu.

Only one thought stood out to her…

I need to protect Naruto-kun….

The man with the spiky orange hair dressed in black and red looked down his nose at her. She couldn't remember how she got to Naruto's side but her hands clutched the black metal rod protruding from his crossed hands, her own shaking in an effort to keep them there.

"I don't understand. How did you detect the White Zetsu?"

And then she was flying.

This time she noted how saturated the color of the clear blue sky above her was as she tumbled in the air, her momentum slowing down as gravity dug its cruel hands into her and pulled her back to the earth.

For some reason the color seemed unnatural…as if it was tinged with red…

OoOoOoOoO

"Hinata…"

"Hinata!"

Her eyes were heavy as she tried to open them, her lungs strained to fill themselves with lifesaving oxygen as she gasped for air. Somebody was calling for her…

"HINATA!"

She startled awake, her body moving of its own volition as she pushed up to her hands and knees, coughing. Red splattered against the rust colored dirt. She had started counting…five times she had been in this scenario. This one marked the sixth.

Only one thought stood out to her…

I need to protect Naruto-kun….No…Something isn't right…this isn't real….

The man with the spiky orange hair dressed in black and red looked down his nose at her. She was on her knees before him, her strength failing her as her hands rested on the metal rod holding Naruto to the ground. This time instead of trying to break the rod, she raised her head to the specter before her.

This cannot be real…this has happened before…

The man's face betrayed nothing but his voice did.

"Answer the question. How were you able to detect the White Zetsu?!"

She could feel the confusion wash over her face, and it seemed the man before her was not happy. This is not the way this usually went…

"Answer me!" The man barked, surging forward slightly in his sudden anger. Hinata's brows crashed down as one of the man's eyes flickered to blood red and then back to lavender.

And then she was flying.

OoOoOoOoO

"Hinata…"

"Hinata!"

Her eyes were heavy as she tried to open them, her lungs strained to fill themselves with lifesaving oxygen as she gasped for air. Somebody was calling for her…

"HINATA!"

She startled awake, her body moving of its own volition as she pushed up to her hands and knees, coughing. Red splattered against the rust colored dirt. This time she knew what was going on.

Only one thought stood out to her…

I'm in a Genjutsu…

The man with the spiky orange hair dressed in black and red looked down his nose at her. She was on her knees before him, her strength failing her as her hands rested on the metal rod holding Naruto to the ground. This time instead of trying to break the rod, she raised her head to the specter before her.

The man kneeled before her, spittle flying in his rage.

"You will answer my question- "

Hinata felt a serene smile flit upon her face as she finally got the man right where she wanted.

"Answer me!" The man growled, his hand moving forward to send her in the air once more. The veins around her eyes bulged with the influx of chakra.

This time she didn't go flying.

Hinata let go of the metal rod keeping down the blonde Jinchuuriki and grabbed the wrist of her attacker. "This is a Genjutsu, isn't it?"

The orange haired man just stared at her in silence.

Releasing him and grasping the metal rod with both hands, she used her remaining strength to dislodge it from the ground. The man moved to stop her but with a smile, Hinata drove it straight through her heart.

OoOoOoOoO

Hinata fell to her knees breathing hard and clutching her chest as the pain from her actions in the Genjutsu rippled through her body.

Sasuke stared at her, never having had this situation happen to him before. No one had ever realized they had been in his Genjutsu before, better yet been able to release it of their own will. After the Sage of Six Paths had imbued he and Naruto with his power, no one had been able to touch them.

She still lay prone at his feet, coughing and gasping for air and he could honestly say a part of him relished her suffering. How dare she upstage him once again. He wanted to question how she knew of his deception but his anger and shock at the turn of events trumped his curiosity.

"Y-you…you placed me under a Genjustu…" She struggled to stand, weaving back and forth dangerously as she fought to keep her footing. He gave her nothing. "What? To get answers to questions that I've already told you?"

Sasuke turned to leave but something wrapped around his wrist and tugged him back.

"W-Why did you reject the arm Sakura made for you?" Her voice reflected her determination to get an answer from him. He could tell that she had reached her tipping point. For some reason he was glad.

He only then realized that her small fingers still entrapped his wrist and he pulled away from her, letting his only arm drop back under his cape. Just because he had been caught by surprise did not mean he was going to allow her to see him ruffled.

With a scoff, Sasuke turned to walk away. The Hyuuga didn't let up.

"You can't keep running away every time something bothers you Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke stilled and he could feel the chakra snapping around him.

"Do not speak of what you couldn't possibly understand." But Hinata didn't care anymore. Her friend was hurting and for some reason she felt as if she needed to do this. Because if Sakura's love for Sasuke was extinguished, it meant that maybe she would have to let go of her own feelings. Something about that seemed exceptionally sad and Hinata wanted to fight it.

"Y-you think I don't understand what you are doing Sasuke-kun?" Hinata did not patronize, she just implored him to listen. "I know that you have been going on this journey of yours for some ill-conceived notion that you will somehow gain forgiveness for your sins." Sasuke turned to look at her, his face completely void of emotion.

"Oh really, so you think you can preach to me about what I am doing?"

Hinata let out a hollow laugh. "That's just it though, you think that you are unreadable but you are an open book to me."

"Pray tell then, what do you think I'm doing?"

"You keep thinking that if you travel long enough and save enough lives, you can make up for the sins you've committed, that you can gain forgiveness for your misdeeds. I bet you especially feel guilty because you could have chosen a better route in life on multiple occasions but you are ashamed that you were too misguided by rage and anger to do anything…you wish deep down inside that you could have been like Naruto." Sasuke stared at her, dumbfounded.

Hinata looked down, wrapping her arms around herself. "I understand that…punishing yourself because you think you aren't good enough…" She looked up and met his eyes. "But you are going to have to realize that the only time you will truly repent is when you forgive yourself. It doesn't matter how long you go on your journey.

"All you are doing right now is hurting the people who care about you the most. Why don't you gain forgiveness by making them happy at least?" She glanced around, suddenly feeling awkward after reprimanding a man whose power far exceeded hers.

Sasuke completely turned from her and growled under his breath. "Are you done?" He knew if he continued to look her in the eye, the unexplainable urge to maim her would rear up and he couldn't have his freedom if he fell into that trap.

A noise that sounded like a squeak came from the affronting girl's direction and Sasuke turned to catch a peculiar expression -which was out of place in this context of their conversation- abruptly flitted across the Hyuuga's face. It was hard for Sasuke to place but he noted that it looked like a mix between confusion and concern. As he tried to piece together what could have caused her to suddenly show concern for his sake, Sasuke realized a second too late that the ground beneath him had given way.

"Sasuke-kun!" He heard Hinata cry out to him as he jumped away from the gaping hole that now stood where he had just moments ago. Sasuke noticed movement in the tree line and a white form pushed forth from the desecrated land that stood between him and the Hyuuga.

"Uchiha Sasuke, we found you..." The teasing lilt was a dead ringer for White Zetsu. Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he glared at the figure who attacked him.

"I've been the one looking for you." The white figure laughed.

"Not very well I noticed, it seems your senses are getting awfully dull." Sasuke felt his face dissolve into an expression of pure loathing at the insult.

Between dealing with Naruto, Sakura, the Hyuuga and the fact that the White Zetsu's dig held merit, Sasuke's patience had completely wasted away. With a roar he unsheathed his Chokuto and ran towards his current bane of existence.

Although the figure before him was white, all he could see was red.

Again, I humbly apologize for the delay. Hopefully from here on out the chapters will come out quicker…Although I will be on vacation in December so my next update may be in January. Just a heads up.

Please let me know your thoughts and anything you think may help the story along! I read each review even if I don't always reply so I guarantee your thoughts definitely guide this story! Please review if you want your voice heard or just want to give me the extra push to keep writing. It is definitely what got me to keep writing even when I wanted to give up!

Please let me know if you found any part confusing and I will explain in the next chapter in an Author's note.

Until Next Time,

Trinity Effect