YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ THIS BEFORE READING THE STORY.If you don't read and then complain I will feel no sympathy. :p

Some of you might remember me saying that when I posted A Traitor Branded that it was a re-written version. Well, after talking to Fairheartstrife she convinced me to upload the original story and then she encouraged me to finish it (go give her praises and love, she totes deserves it). So I plan on it and I figured if she liked it that I'd share it with you guys too.

THIS STORY IS THE ORIGINAL AND HAD INITIALLY BEEN SCRAPPED. You are going to see some similarities, things that made it over to the one I had initially posted. The actual storyline, however, flows in a completely different direction. This story was meant to be more emotional and Sasuke wasn't a nutjob. I wrote this story before the Danzou fight meaning this was before Sasuke went bonkers.

This story will be updated once a new chapter is completed. Unbeta'd.

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A Traitor Branded(Original)

Chapter 1

(Dedicated to Fairheartstrife, because this fic would never had seen the light of day without her support)

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"I can't feel the way I did before,
Don't turn your back on me
I won't be ignored,
Time won't heal this damage anymore
Don't turn your back on me,
I won't be ignored"

-'Faint' by Linkin Park

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Black eyes snap open and his back arches as he takes in a painful gulp of air. Immediately images flash in his mind, images that had been so real, felt so real that even though his brain faintly registered it as having already happened there he was, back again as if for the first time.

How simple. He watches as dark red blood blossoms from the mesh of skin and black steel, pouring down his chest and over his stomach. Slowly, numbly, he watches as his hand rises, too afraid to touch the kunai, too afraid to simply not do anything. Blood splatters over his raised hand and chest, forcing his gaze to the person holding the kunai now embedded in his heart.

Blonde hair, blue eyes. Bruises all over his face, blood bubbling from tanned lips, tears pouring unchecked down dirty cheeks. He can't help but to notice his own hand, the free hand, hovering over the other's heart. Black and orange fabric is torn, burnt away, revealing charred skin. He looks back at that face, at the smile forming. So sad, so pained, so…relieved.

"S…Sasu..ke…" the blonde chuckles a bit and he cannot help the small smirk that emerges on his face as well. "I…it's over."

Over. Revenge, taken. Madara, dead. This final battle, had it even been necessary? Yes, it had been predestined after all, hadn't it? The two of them, dying at each other's hands.

His last thought was,'Killed by a kunai. How simple.' Then he surrendered to the welcoming darkness.

Sasuke was clearly aware that he was not, in fact, dead; the fire in his chest was more than proof of that. His back slams into something soft as his breathing goes from heavy gulps to rapid breaths. His eyes squint closed because damn it hurt like a son-of-a-bitch and he needed to focus. Focus. With some effort, he was able to calm his breathing, lying prone on he was confident was a bed. When he opened his eyes he was greeted by a familiar ceiling. Pale white with lights overhead; a ceiling he's seen many times in his youth. As realization dawns on him rage slowly begins to fill him, his black eyes flashing red and then…

Pain. Unimaginable pain.

He tries to move his arms and cannot, he is strapped – no this is something else. A sharp cry escapes pale lips as he endures something similar to having someone drive a long, thin needle into his brain at various angles and degrees. He stops his attempt to activate the Sharingan and instead tries once more to calm his breathing. Once that is done, his brain begins to work frantically at what the hell just happened.

He was spared a bit of analysis as a voice breaks the silence of the room. Female, unfamiliar. It has a commanding tone, she sounds older.

"Glad to see you awake Uchiha." The voice drones, the humor in her voice a little dark. Sasuke opens his eyes and turns his head, his gaze roving over an older woman with pale blonde hair and interesting brown eyes. She looked in her late forties, lines striking along taut firm lips and sharp eyes. Her body was alarming to look at, she was tall and well framed, with impossibly large breasts which she held no shame in revealing as she leaned over in a chair, sitting in it backwards. Was this Tsunade? He remembered her a bit differently; the first female Hokage who had almost killed herself in protecting the village from Pein. The one who had healed him after Itachi's attack years ago. The infamous diamond Orochimaru had told him about after he had joined rested on her forehead but looked paler. Hadn't she looked younger?

"You're not Hokage." Was that his voice? It sounded horrible, like his throat had been replaced with sandpaper. He watched as her lips quirked and an eye twitched. What was it Orochimaru had said? Something about her temper?

"No, I'm not." It came out tight, clipped. "I do, however, run this hospital in its entirety, so don't piss me off or the food will be terrible."

The Uchiha ignored the warning, once again fighting down a wave of rage. He turned his head from her and tried once again to move his arms. A scowl emerged when he could not. A simple turn of the head and he looked at his arm with detached curiosity. Black markings started from his wrist, disappearing into the light blue cloth of the gown. If it went any further, he was unsure. Turning towards Tsunade, he noticed the other arm held similar markings.

"Noticed that finally?" Tsunade now sounded smug and he turned his dark gaze to her. If she was affected by this she wasn't showing it. "They're binding seals, obviously. Only the people who activated it and the people who will be watching over you while you recover can lift those seals and even then, it'll only be for you to eat, get up to use the restroom and bathe. And you will be watched carefully while you do all of these things. You won't be able to make sudden movements, anything faster than a twitch will lock you up."

"They cover my entire body."

"They cover your arms and legs." she corrected, "I put the seals on myself so there's no escaping them."

Bitch. "My Sharingan…?"

"About that." She smiled and got out of her chair. He watched as she pulled a mirror from a dresser to the far left of the room. When she closed the distance between them she held the mirror up so that he could see.

If he could have, he would have killed her right on the spot. Wipe that smirk off her face.

Resting ever so neatly on his forehead was the exact same symbol that branded Hyuuga Neji's forehead, except a different color and with two extra symbols that looked like small diamonds going vertical. It was a dark blue instead of a light green. His face was pale, paler than normal, his eyes sunken in but wide with shock; his mouth slightly agape.

Tsunade sat back in the chair, removing the offending mirror from his face. "That particular curse seal was designed just for you Sasuke. Those two diamonds are extra restrictions. We can release it and reapply it at any moment. One diamond will allow you to use the Sharingan but at a very limited capacity. Removing both of them will allow you to use the full extent, but we can still activate the curse mark at any time. Both diamonds make it impossible for you to use it and you suffer quite painfully for your efforts." She leaned forward then, her eyes steely. "Listen to me Uchiha and listen to me good. If I had had my way, you'd be dead. I don't like you and I don't think you should have been given anything close to a second chance. It wasn't my call though, so you count your damned lucky stars. You are to be confined here in this hospital until I think you're good enough to be released. I have full authority to unleash that curse mark on your forehead and turn your brain into jelly if you decide to get out of line. I really, really hope you give me an excuse to do that."

So then, he was in Konoha. He was alive and in Konoha. What had happened? Naruto had killed him, that wound had been fatal, Sasuke had walked into it. He had wanted to die, it was over, he was done. No more Uchiha, revenge was accomplished; he was ready to go to hell. What the fuck happened?

"Sakura saved you." Tsunade answered as if reading his mind. "Backup arrived shortly after your fight. Hinata and Ino finished treating the rest of Naruto's injuries, thanks for barely missing his heart by the way, after Sakura stopped the bleeding. Then she went to work on you. You did actually die for a few seconds but Sakura poured the rest of her chakra into bringing you back. Make sure you say thank you."

No. This wasn't how he had wanted it. He had been an avenger, the ultimate avenger. He had never expected to live past that, there was no life past that. On top of that he was here of all places, in the place that had condemned his people, ruined his brother and set him on his path in the first place. Anywhere would have been preferable to this. Anything would have been preferable to this.

Naruto was alive.

Sakura had saved his life.

Fuck them both.

"What does Konoha want from me?" his voice came out strained and rough, but understandable. "Shall I fight for you once more, under force this time? Going to lock me up in a cell and let me rot?" he tried to chuckle but it hurt "I'm sure you're not holding me here out of the goodness of your heart."

Without hesitation, "We want you to rebuild the Uchiha."

His eyes went cold. "I refuse."

"I was lying."

He wanted to scream at her. What was with her and these mind games? Did she really hate him that much? Sasuke looked at this older-looking Tsunade and realized that yes, this woman did hate him. He could see it in her eyes, the way she regarded him as if he were little more than scum, how her eyes seemed to narrow every time he opened his mouth to speak. There was hatred there, but it was hatred born of watching a loved one suffer, born of frustration and sadness of wanting to help someone you loved and could not because of the person right in front of you. She hated him because he had made Naruto and Sakura suffer, two people very precious to her. She hated him because she could not, would not forgive him. That was fine; he didn't want or deserve forgiveness. He held no regrets, which was the look he gave her in response. They stared at each other like that for a moment before she snorted in disgust, standing. Obviously, she was done with him.

"At the moment, the Hokage is negotiating your conditions with the other nations. The Raikage doesn't want your head anymore since you didn't actually kill his younger brother. Looking at it, the only real crimes you committed," she lifted three fingers, ticking one off as she went through a point, "…was killing Itachi, who was a S class criminal anyway, attempting to, and eventually killing Danzou, a traitor to Konoha, and turning on Madara and helping to kill him. What a good boy you were."

He jerked, ignoring the pain in his chest, angry at the way she so casually mentioned Itachi in that equation. "You don't understand anything about me."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it already." She waved a dismissive hand at him. "To be honest, we don't know what we're going to do with you yet, it all depends on what the other nations say and what the Hokage decides to do. He's fighting for you with all of his power, believe that." She didn't sound pleased.

"Naruto." The name slipped past his lips before thought had manifested itself fully. Naruto held the strength of a Kage, that was sure, and he had proven himself over and over again. Sasuke had wanted to be surprised but then again, the fact that Naruto had been becoming stronger and stronger while he had been stagnant was one of the reasons he had left Konoha to join Orochimaru in the first place. The blonde had trained just as hard as he had, trained by one of the powerful Sannin just the same. He had thought he had heard rumors that Kakashi had become Hokage, but perhaps he had stepped down for Naruto. That made sense; Kakashi had never been that ambitious to begin with. So, Naruto had achieved his dream. Sasuke didn't really care about that as much as he thought he would, he had done what he needed to do and had been ready to die. The only thing that bothered him was that with Naruto as Hokage it would be close to impossible to escape. Not that it would deter him, he would escape eventually.

A nod confirmed his suspicions. "You've been unconscious for the latter part of three weeks, he's already become Hokage." Done with the conversation, she walked towards the door. On the way out, however, she paused, turning her head ever so slightly.

"They're dating by the way. Sakura and Naruto. I just thought you should know that. She finally got over you."

That earned Tsunade a snort from the far end of the room and he said nothing further as Tsunade left him alone. He immediately began testing the strength of his bonds and let his mind roam aimlessly. She hadn't been lying, his legs and arms weren't budging and he wasn't confident enough to try and go through the pain of activating the Sharingan again. That had been a quick and painful lesson.

So he lay in the bed, watching the ceiling for long moments, unable to fully move. He actually had to use the bathroom quite badly and he was starving. Tsunade hadn't bothered to release the seals enough for him to do anything and he refused to soil himself. He was trapped and branded, even if he fled the curse seal would remain forever branded on his forehead and he'd never be able to use his Sharingan ever again. Not only had he been dragged back to the last place he ever wanted to be, they had effectively handicapped him; he was a prisoner in every sense of the word and completely at their mercy. He hated it. Anger and rage filled him so intensely he thought he would forever see red. It took a good minute or two before he was able to calm himself down.

How dare they do this to him? How could Sakura deny him his rightful death? He had done what he was destined to do and his life was over, should have been over. He really didn't even care that Naruto had survived although he used that as a good reason to be pissed off at him anyway. Sasuke had shed those bonds willingly and yet still…

They should have let me die. What am I supposed to do now?

A moment of weakness. What did he have left to live for? He would not restore the Uchiha, that legacy died with him. There was no revenge to be sought and trying to get revenge on Sakura for saving him really seemed ridiculous even to him. Oh, he hated her definitely, but not enough to kill her. Not yet anyway. So what was left for him? He wasn't going to kill himself; he had too much pride for that. They couldn't force him to work for them. Jail? Even if Naruto didn't want to do that, he was fairly positive that the only recourse Konoha would have that would please the other nations would be to put him in a high security prison for the rest of his life.

Saved me, only to have me locked up for the rest of my life. You're right Tsunade, I should thank her.

Despite there being a lack of windows, he was certain at least a few hours had passed before the door to his room opened. He had expected to see Sakura, or Naruto, expected to watch as their faces looked sad yet relieved to see him, to know that he's alive and well even if it's under forceful circumstances. He had already readied his 'Get lost and die' expression on his face for them in an effort to wipe the potential hopeful smiles off their faces.

What greeted him instead were pale eyes, almost white but with a hint of lavender to them. Instead of tanned and nervous faces it was pale and emotionless. Her face was familiar to him, eyes which were shaped as if constantly sad, round face, bangs in that hime-cut. The hair was longer and she was a few inches taller than he remembered but those eyes, those Hyuuga eyes, he could never forget.

He did not remember her first name, hadn't really cared. It had been her cousin Neji he had been interested in fighting, not the shivering, timid little counterpart. Sasuke kept his surprise as he reassessed her, however, for the years had changed her. As she walked inside she looked neither scared nor timid, her face a calm and perfect mask. Her steps were sure and confident, she didn't look at all nervous at being in the same room with someone as dangerous as he. She carried a tray in her deceptively delicate hands that he determined to be food, cursing his traitorous stomach as it growled loudly in anticipation. He saw amusement flash in those pale depths and he wanted to snarl at her, instead he turned his head away as if looking at the ceiling but continued to evaluate her appearance.

Obviously, the years had been kinder to her than Sakura. Hinata's figure was much fuller, although she hid it behind a massive jacket. Where Sakura was slim and toned, Hinata was curves and softness. Even Karin's body was a little lacking. Not that Sasuke had ever held a particular taste for women, just that Hinata held more of a womanly body, similar to his mother. Speaking of Karin…

"Where are my teammates?" he demanded.

When she pretended as if she didn't hear him, setting up the tray on top of a rack to serve to him, he repeated his demand more forcefully. The second time she shifted her gaze to him and shook her head.

"I'm not allowed to give you that information." To her credit, she actually looked sad about it.

She was definitely not the timid girl from before. Gone was the stutter, replaced by a soft quiet. She didn't raise her voice but it didn't quiver either. Quiet but firm.

Fine then. "Who is?"

Turning away from him, she shifted the rack so that the tray hovered over his stomach. Then she shifted closer to his bed, her eyes glancing at him for just a second before he heard the click of a button. The bed jerked and then began to rise until he was sitting up enough to eat his food, were his arms working properly. He gave her a look.

"How am I…"

"I can make it so that your arms can move," she began, "but I'm ordered to do whatever is necessary if you try to fight me. I'd…really like to avoid that if possible Uchiha-san." She was standing now, her hands politely in front of her, stance straight, good posture. Then again, she was supposedly from the main house of the Hyuuga, so she must be well bred. She continued, "I'm one of the people here who will be looking after you, Tsunade-sama and my family are well versed in the seals on your body now." He caught a flash of sadness in her eyes, but she didn't apologize for his situation as he initially thought she would. Not that it would have mattered, he didn't want or need her pity.

"So you're my nurse?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I suppose," came the soft reply.

"Hn." There wasn't much else for him to say to that. The Hyuuga female must be much stronger indeed if she was sent to watch over Sasuke. He tried to shrug and failed. "I was told even if I twitched the marks would lock me up."

The girl nodded "Yes. I've been told to…spoon feed you," she finally hesitated, obviously uncomfortable with the idea of doing such a thing. "But, I don't want to do that. Um, as long as you move slowly, the seals won't activate." She gave him a look that said 'So please don't try anything, I really don't want to spoon feed you.' Just as well, he didn't want to suffer the humiliation. As hungry as he was, however, he had a more pressing need, and he wasn't in the mood to be civil about it either.

"So, since Tsunade doesn't believe in letting her patients relive themselves, are you going to give me a bedpan or will I be forced to call you in later to change the sheets?"

He watched, rather amused, as the Hyuuga's eyes widened into saucers and she scrambled, with some skill he noted, to remove the tray and the sheets. Cold air hit him and he realized he had been completely stripped and was wearing nothing but a hospital gown. No pants Tsunade? For shame.

The girl went through various hand seals and his body jerked as he was suddenly released from his hold. Even if he had wanted to try and escape his body felt unnaturally heavy and weak. How long had Tsunade said he had been out? Three weeks? And that was after dying and being brought back to life. He hated to admit it, but he was going to need the girl's help to go to the restroom. His jaw clenched and he was about to open his mouth when suddenly she was on the other side of the bed, letting the bars down at his side and legs. Then, without asking permission or anything of the sort, she took his arm and put it around her shoulders, her other arm moving around his waist. Instead of protesting he merely shifted his body and allowed her to support him. Well, allowed was somewhat of an exaggeration, he had to let her support him, he couldn't stand on his own. They stumbled at first, his surprise at how utterly useless his legs were and her surprise at the abrupt shift of weight causing them both to almost collapse to the floor. A familiar hum of chakra filled the air and then the two of them were standing upright.

"S-sorry," she stammered out. She waited for him to get comfortable with putting weight on his legs and then they slowly shuffled their way to the bathroom. By the time he reached it, he was at the very least able to stand on his own. There were support bars for him along the walls, which he used to brace himself up. When he lifted up the gown a quick movement from her caught his attention. She had turned her back from him.

"I thought you were supposed to watch me do this in case I try anything funny."

The female stiffened and her ears turned a bright shade of red. "P-please just finish," was her reply.

So her stutter wasn't completely gone. Interesting. He turned back to the task at hand, unable to help a sigh of relief as he was finally able to relieve himself. Even he had basic needs. When finished, she helped him back to the bed and the tray of food was presented to him once again. It wasn't much, a small bowl of rice, some pickled radishes, apple slices and a little bit of fish. It was awkward using the chopsticks when he felt so out of it but he managed and she never once moved to help him. She sat in the chair that Tsunade had been in (correctly, of course), her gaze focused on her lap as her hands did some sort of fidget thing that he couldn't figure out. He watched her as he ate, taking in everything about this new enemy, not wanting to underestimate anyone here for future reference. Yes, he had every intention of getting out of here if possible; he wasn't going to spend the rest of his life in this hole. As this Hyuuga was part of the main branch, no, the heir of Hyuuga, she could control the seal on his forehead which put her on top for people he would have to dispatch to escape.

An eyebrow twitched when she began to actually shift nervously, her pale gaze flicking up to him and then back to her lap. Her lips would part as if to speak, think better of it, and close again. After a minute of this Sasuke's patience wore thin.

"What?" he nearly snarled at her, his expression fully matching his mood. "Just say it, whatever it is."

He hadn't expected her to snap up and meet his gaze with a determination. The fidgeting stopped and her hands balled up into fists. Her eyes narrowed just a bit and he realized that she no longer looked as frail or comical as before. That look almost won a little respect from him. Not quite, but close.

"Are you going to try and kill Naruto-kun again?" she asked the question flatly but there was nothing menacing or harsh about her tone. The question was rewarded with a blank stare for a moment.

"No." and that was the truth. For what reason did he have to kill Naruto now? He didn't stand in his way of revenge; Sasuke had no desire to hold any positions of power so Naruto could keep the Hokage's seat as far as he was concerned. Let him run this worthless place. His lips quirked up a bit as he continued to regard her determined features. "Would you try to kill me if I did?"

She didn't even hesitate. Didn't even blink. "Yes."

This was definitely not the same Hyuuga girl who stuttered and twiddled her fingers whenever someone even so much as looked at her funny. Despite the fact that Sasuke had discarded all of his past bonds, he retained an excellent memory - he was just horrible with names at times. While he had never spared the dark haired girl any real glance at the academy, he did remember her. How she would sit by herself at lunch, how quiet she was. She would sneak around after school to watch Naruto; he had seen that a few times and had discarded it just as quickly. He remembered her being a slightly above average student when it had come to academics and almost below average when it had come to practical application. It wasn't even that she had been terrible shinobi, her form had been fine; she had just poured off 'no confidence', 'no self-esteem'. A worthless ninja if any, he had thought then, although he had appreciated it that she had never joined his 'fan club'. So on a scale of annoying, she hadn't really even blipped on his radar back then. On a scale of anything, she had been nothing.

Now he was painfully aware of the fact that the mark on his forehead came from her house and she could activate it at any time. The thought of this frail-looking woman having that sort of power over him was more than a little frustrating. Had Tsunade sent this girl in first to remind him of that? Rubbing it in perhaps? Trying to show him how futile trying to fight and escape really was?

"Are you going to try and destroy Konoha again?" the second question had been a bit quieter than the first and Sasuke had only been half paying attention. She wasn't looking at him directly this time. "I had heard that you had planned on destroying Konoha."

"Pein did a fine job of that, although he left you all alive in the end." And they had sprung back like roaches in the night. What was the point of destroying the village again? Besides that, he couldn't do it on his own anyway. If he had Suigetsu or Juugo and a bunch of lackeys perhaps things would go better, but he was no fool. Suigetsu was missing, he was sure Juugo was dead and Karin was useless as a real fighter anyway; Sasuke couldn't destroy this place by himself, not by a long shot. He wished he knew what really happened to them but he was pretty confident that no one here would give him that information. "Besides, does it look like I can destroy Konoha as I am right now?"

The Hyuuga flinched but did not look apologetic. He watched in idle curiosity as her hand moved to her chest, rubbing at a particular spot. The mention of Pein was obviously touchy for her. Was it because he had destroyed the village and killed most of her family before bringing them back to life - What a copout. If you're going to commit mass murder, do it right or don't do it at all - or was it something else?

He allowed the silence to stretch on as he slowly ate his food. It was annoying having to move very slowly so as not to activate the seals on his arms but he managed. When he finished she quietly got up and began to clean.

"Do you want me to keep the bed like this?" she offered, her eyes hidden by her bangs as she dipped her head to look at one of the machines.

"Yes." He preferred sitting up and facing the people he knew would be coming through that door eventually to lying down prone. Less vulnerable. He decided now would probably be a good time to see how much information he could get from her. He was sure that if she was in here, she was aware of some of the more top secret things going on, especially if the Hyuuga were directly involved. She wasn't gullible and using his attractiveness wouldn't help as it would with other females. That fact was actually not as appeasing at it had just been five minutes ago.

"Does Konoha actually expect me to revive the Uchiha clan?" He hadn't believed Tsunade when she said she had been lying. Maybe she held no plans to revive the Uchiha, but he was sure some of the elders might disagree. If it were possible to reestablish the Uchiha and utterly control them, maybe with a system similar to the Hyuuga, he was sure they'd try to do it. Bastards.

"I don't know," she answered and he knew immediately she was telling the truth. "I suppose it would make sense, the Sharingan is powerful and useful for whatever village holds it. Naruto-kun mentioned that you had once said you wanted to restore the clan so, if you heard that rumor that's probably how."

"Well, tell the rumor mill I'd rather die than produce an offspring for this village to control," he spat, his eyes hardening. Yes, years and years ago he had said he wanted to rebuild his clan. That was before he had learned what he had about Itachi, before he realized Konoha's utter betrayal. Would they try to convince him as a way of making up for the slaughter of innocents? Now that the ones responsible for ordering the Uchiha's annihilation were all dead, did the powers that be want to come to him and go 'Sorry, let's try it again?' he snorted out loud at the absurdity of it.

"They're going to lock me away." It wasn't a question but it was definitely a gentle probe. He didn't trust Tsunade not to lie although it seemed like this girl wasn't much for it.

Another shake of the head. "Naruto-kun is fighting to keep you in custody, so no one knows what will happen." A small pause, "He's really happy you're back. And alive."

"I'm sure he is," came the dry reply. He was sure both Sakura and Naruto were very happy, it had never really mattered to them what he had wanted.

"He never lost faith in you, even when everyone told him he should." Her hands were gripping the tray tightly, her delicate eyebrows drawn down in a frown. She wasn't facing him but he could tell from her profile that she was growing upset. Naruto, it seemed, was a very touchy subject for her. "No matter what, he fights for you."

Like he really wanted to hear this. "That didn't stop him from driving a kunai into my chest," he reminded her sharply.

"With Sakura-san around," she reminded him, and suddenly he wondered. Suddenly he thought about how much harder Naruto had fought after Sakura had arrived, how serious and determined he had been. How he had let Sasuke deliver the final blow with the Chidori just as he had allowed Naruto to stab him in the heart. He had been ready to die, had embraced it. Had Naruto planned it? Had he planned on Sakura being able to save him? It sounded like a very Naruto thing to do, pay the ultimate sacrifice in order to 'save' someone else. Naruto had never intended for Sasuke to die in the first place.

He had been outsmarted by Naruto. If he honestly thought about it, all of them had. He had acted so determined to kill him, as if that were the only way, as if he had been convinced it was the only way yet held the final trump card. Naruto had known Sakura wouldn't let both of them die, so he had waited, dragged out the fight until she had arrived and then did his ultimate performance. If the thought of that didn't make him so unbelievably enraged he'd probably be impressed with Naruto's cunning. However, he wasn't impressed, he was pissed. Naruto had cheated him of a rightful death and now he would spend his days here, against his will, to appease his selfish friends who couldn't let go of him.

He really wanted to just break shit right now.

Unfortunately, 'breaking shit' wouldn't get him the information he needed or allow him to gauge if he could manipulate this girl and by how much. So he forced himself to calm down and relax his body. Nice, deep breaths.

"I take it then that you're of the same camp as Tsunade? You want me dead?"

The question stunned her and she did finally turn to him, the empty tray now fully in her hands. "N…no, of course not." She looked almost offended. "I'd never wish that on anyone. It's just that Naruto-kun still wants to save you and…"

"I'm not savable?"

"That's your decision, I think. I don't…I don't trust you. You've hurt Naruto-kun so badly, he's not the same anymore and it hurts to see him like that."

"He'll get over his hurt feelings." His voice was lowering the angrier he became. In all honesty, he shouldn't give a damn what this girl thought or how obviously obsessed she was with Naruto's 'feelings'. "And I don't want yours or anyone from Konoha's trust. Trusting you people got my clan wiped out. Or is Konoha still keeping people ignorant of the truth?"

Oh no, she knew. He could tell by the way she reacted that she knew or had some idea. Perhaps now with Danzou gone and everything said and done perhaps it wasn't completely classified anymore. Either way, she squared her shoulders and faced him completely, determination and resolution behind those sad-looking eyes.

"You were going to kill everyone though," she argued. "That doesn't make it better."

"As if you could understand me or my reasoning." He faced her as best he could in his circumstances. He hadn't planned on arguing with her, that didn't produce answers. This was going downhill too quickly and yet he couldn't stop the anger that had been bubbling within him since he realized what happened. "You still have your family, last I checked. You still have your clan, a clan you'll even be leading one day. What could you possibly understand about my pain or suffering? Why I did what I did? Keep your self-righteous bullshit to yourself."

Instead of responding, she quickly turned and began to head for the door. She stopped, keeping her back to him for a moment, before turning to face him. Pain, anger, sadness, and worse of all, pity shone in those lavender depths.

"If understanding you means I would have to accept the killing of innocents just for the sake of revenge, I'd rather stay ignorant. No matter what, no matter what has been done to you, or me, or anyone…it doesn't justify hurting innocent people. What the village did…what Danzou-san and the others decided…it wasn't right. I still don't agree with Itachi-san's actions, and I don't agree with yours. Danzou-san ordered to have your clan wiped out because they threatened the village, he had Itachi-san kill innocents and drove you to revenge. Then you decide that wiping out the village, killing innocents in response is not as bad as what Danzou-san did? I think…the two of you are more alike than you would like to think."

The Hyuuga had never raised her voice, never sounded angry. She still held that quiet tone; it was merely laced with steel and determination instead of hatred and anger. He said nothing as she left; using every bit of willpower he had not to want to say something, anything to lash out at her, to hurt her, to do something for what she had just said to him. His teeth gnashed painfully, his fingers curled up in the sheets slowly until they became tight fists. As the doors slid closed his body jerked as she reactivated the seals on his arms and legs, his hands still balled up into fists. Sasuke fought the urge to activate his Sharingan, had to call on every bit of discipline he possessed as he glared at the door, wishing he could just destroy her right then and there.

How dare she? How dare she? She didn't know shit, didn't understand anything. She was nothing but a spoiled Hyuuga, everything having been given to her, never having to really worry about anything. That simple, meek, ignorant little bitch…

He forced his thoughts to calm down. Losing it here wouldn't get him out. Like it or not that girl and a few others held absolute power over him. If he wanted to free himself eventually, he would have to come up with a plan. Using Sakura wouldn't work; she was more ruthless than this Hyuuga obviously. Tsunade wanted him dead, Naruto wasn't going to trust him enough to let him go or do anything and he didn't know who the other people were that would be watching over him. Like it or not, the Hyuuga was a good candidate as a source to be used for his freedom, destroying her wouldn't be good. Yet.

That didn't mean he wouldn't make her pay for her words today. Not by a long shot.