Summary: His dying body. Her only weakness. How could she say no? Slightly AU. Eventual SasuHina.
A/n: Hey everybody! It's Enpitsu here, back with another Naruto fic! My first one was called Imperfect, and it had to do with White Day. The coupling in this one will be...how shall I say...a little different. But please give it a chance! Haha, thanks!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. No way could my mind even conjure up half of those hot ninjas.
The Heir
Chapter One
The Good Samaritan
He could barely lift his head anymore. Rain washed his blood into his eyes and onto the concrete but he made no attempt to wipe it away. The beating he took earlier had made his limbs immobile and even blinking was difficult. His chest heaved with his breathing and once again he hacked a cough full of blood.
He was the last known remaining heir to the Uchiha clan. Either no one knew or no one gave a damn.
The young man cursed every person who spared a glance but couldn't spare time to help a dying guy. Here he was, literally taking his last breaths and no one had enough heart to assist him. Truth be told though, he wouldn't blame them – he wasn't sure if he would help either.
Sasuke's mind wandered back to the events that brought him here; in the gutters of Konoha. With a vain attempt to scowl in anger, he scowled in pain.
Uchiha Sasuke had been the younger of two brothers–the other half being Uchiha Itachi. Their family was the richest but lacked members because a genetic disease which wiped out the clan. The two lived luxurious lives though they stayed apart. Sasuke didn't care about Itachi and it was the same with the elder.
The younger one had always seemed to under-appreciate his life. Spending money but living as an empty shell was a daily routine for him. He cursed himself sometimes, wondering why he was never truly happy. What else was there to life anyway?
And earlier tonight, it was all taken away in one fast sweep. Sasuke lost his money, life, and pride.
"Sasuke, get your ass up," a sharp voice ordered, kicking the young man in the side. The shinobi sputtered blood and got to his feet, refusing to go with out a fight.
Four figures stood around him, all laughing at his pain. For an instant, he wondered where Itachi was and what they did with him. But that thought didn't last as he made a feeble attempt to dodge a kunai. Sasuke fell to the floor again and as he started to stand up, one of the figures rested their foot between his shoulder blades.
"Little boy, you need to grow up. We haven't broken a sweat and you're on the floor bleeding profusely," an oily voice purred. Sasuke grunted in an attempt to get back on his feet.
"Now that you and Itachi-kun are out of the picture, we're free to do whatever we want with your fortune," a female's voice said, breaking into the conversation. Sasuke shut his eyes in pain but refused to utter a sound.
The four battered him around for a bit more before they became truly bored. The coldest and quietest of the quartet stepped up to address him. Sasuke looked up through his bangs and saw something sticking out of a shoulder.
"Let's see how his bones sound." Someone else had spoken first and received a silencing glare from the cold one. The latter looked down upon the young man though, and smirked.
Sasuke's chokes were muffled as his face suddenly met the floor. His arms were held back behind him and he immediately knew what they would do. And so, with sickening sound effects, his arms were rendered useless.
The Uchiha fell to the floor like a limp doll. His breathing was very shallow as the others watched in amusement as he fought for his life. A few whispers were exchanged and they agreed.
"Let's leave Sasuke-chan in the gutter. We'll show him how much everyone cares for the great Uchiha clan," the woman said, laughing lightly.
Obviously that last remark was meant to be sarcastic because no one cared. Sasuke almost laughed at his predicament. Maybe it was better to die in the gutter than in debt to some stranger.
His onyx eyes watched her as she stopped and looked down at him. Just another person to walk by, huh? But she didn't walk by. All she did was stand there and it served to piss him off at the world even more. There was nothing he could do to keep her creepy, white eyes from staring at him.
Worse of all, she was looking at him with pity. And pity was something he didn't want. Sympathy, he could take. But pity was something he'd take and shove it up the giver's ass.
Sasuke's breathing became even more difficult for him to bear. He lowered his eyes again as he welcomed his final moments. He just wanted it to end; wanted it all to go away.
The girl bent down in front of him and he felt the warm rain stop. Sasuke looked back up at her and saw that she was reaching a hand out for him.
The last the he saw before completely blacking out was her white eyes shedding tears for him.
Hyuga Hinata fumbled with the hem of her shirt. Her thick jacket was resting on a chair and drying next to a fire. It seemed to rain constantly the last few days. She didn't want to rest her eyes on the sleeping figure so she let her eyes go to her black pants. Her eyes wandered to the young man again though. It's not like she was infatuated with him, it was just that he looked so familiar but she couldn't place her finger on it.
The man had the darkest hair she had ever seen though his skin contrasted greatly. He had the facial features of someone who grew up in wealthy living: high cheekbones and a strong jaw. The firelight cast funny shadows onto his face – Hinata didn't want to wake him with the light.
Haruna Sakura, the doctor she had called, had told the Hyuga to restrain the man to bed for a few days. Sakura had a pretty good reputation around Konoha so Hinata didn't want to contradict her.
Hinata wouldn't have done so if she wanted to anyway. The man's arms were broken and a numerous amount of cuts and bruises adorned his body. He had also lost a lot of blood so maybe that's why he was really pale.
Despite the inspection, they still weren't sure who the guy was. His nose was broken, his eyes were swollen, and his lips were cut. Along with the shiners on each of his cheeks, his face seemed blown up. The man had no identification on him and where his family crest should be on his shirt, was ripped off.
Hinata had no idea why she took the guy in. Obviously, it was the right thing to do but she had no idea what he would do to her when he awoke. But she watched as everyone before her just passed him by and didn't give a second glance. When she stopped to look at him, his eyes showed contempt. Though that part of him was stubborn, the rest of him was weak.
Even when she was little, Hinata could not stand anyone being hurt. She had her own past involving pain, and knew what it was like. She knew what it was like to ask for help and never get it. She was weak at the sight of someone who was helpless like she used to be.
Against the want of his eyes, Hinata bent down to shield the young man from the rain. Despite all the strange looks she was getting, she reached out a hand to the man who fell unconscious.
Hinata sighed and fell from her straight posture. The young man still wasn't awake–it had been three days since she found him. The Hyuga scratched her head in distress.
Someone entered the room and Hinata turned around to face the newcomer. He had the same features as her: light eyes; violet hair. "Hello, Neji-nii-san."
"Hinata-sama." Neji nodded at her and started to stare at the lying figure. "So this is the filthy pup."
Hinata's eyes widened slightly and she turned to look at Neji's countenance. Slight disgust shown in his eyes and Hinata was a little afraid to speak up. "Neji-nii, he's...not a filthy pup..."
"But you took him in like one, didn't you? It was his fate to die that night but you went ahead and messed with destiny," the older one admonished. Hinata tore her gaze away from him and looked down at her lap once more.
Neji was quiet as he came over and put a hand on her head. Hinata made no obnoxious indication she felt it.
"Your heart is too kind sometimes, Hinata-sama," he said to her. He went to the doorway again and stopped before he exited. "If that dog wakes up and has rabies, I'll put it to sleep myself."
Hinata sighed as the door opened and closed. She knew what he meant. If the guy woke up and was evil and/or attacked her, he would die. Leave it to her cousin to be so mystical and distrusting.
The Hyuga girl loved her cousin, but sometimes she felt like he was only doing his job a bodyguard. Neji always seemed to just show a type of grudging familiarity towards her, but it was better than what her previous house-mates showed.
Uchiha Sasuke grimaced in his sleep but Hinata didn't seem to notice as she got up from her chair, stretching slightly. The girl blew out a breath and scratched her head. A little snack from the kitchen wouldn't hurt, would it? So Hinata grabbed her jacket and strode out of the room but not before one last glance at the still form on the bed.
Sasuke groaned after the heavy door closed. Why did his body hurt so much? Then reality came crashing back into his body–he had been jumped. Damn, I'm sore everywhere.
The young man realized he was lying in a bed. How that could be, he didn't know, because he was out on the street the last he remembered. Sasuke groaned again, eyes still closed. He had to get out of his state.
The Uchiha opened his eyelids but saw nothing. Sasuke blinked again and saw the same effect. Oh, hell no. The boy was blind.
Sasuke cursed everything in the world–except for the girl who saved him. He went just a little lighter on her. He sat up but refused to look like an idiot, waving his hands around. Sasuke refused to look weak again.
The man shifted and his toes touched the cold, wooden floor. He almost retracted–almost. Sasuke got up and started walking around, trying to use his senses to find his way around the strange environment.
From the sounds he could tell there was a fire going. And from touching he could tell there was a stupid chair that made him stumble. Sasuke decided he didn't care anymore, and reached out in front of him. He really had no idea where he was going.
Finally, he reached the doorknob. The man was slightly wary as to what lay behind it. Sasuke almost slapped himself–he was being like a girl in a scary movie! He snorted. It's only the person who sleeps around that gets killed, anyway... Oh, shit.
Pushing this thought out of his mind, he concentrated on the cold metal under his palm. He realized that he really didn't know where he was. He had no idea if he was in a mansion, shack, or haunted house. But Sasuke used his deductive reasoning that the house wouldn't be too bad.
Eventually, Sasuke opened the door. He found it to be heavier than he thought–his muscles screamed to rest. But even with his injuries, the man ventured out into the hall. He felt a carpet runner under his toes but that was pretty much it.
He had to get out of this place, though. He didn't know what kind of sadistic bastard was living here, but Sasuke didn't want to find out.
"Hinata-sama! Your patient is fighting the guards!" a voice called, echoing through the place. Hinata's pale eyes widened in shock.
"He's doing what!" she exclaimed, running to where the voice came from.
Hinata met the servant in time and walked in step with him. "It seems that he woke up while you were away and got out of his room. And there's also something else you should know. He's bl–!"
The voice was cut short as the body of a guard came flying at them. Hinata squeaked in surprise and evaded in the nick of time. The servant and she gaped at the body and turned to the fight.
Sasuke was doing a particularly good for someone who had been struck blind. True, he wasn't landing as many hits as he should've but it was more than a normal blind guy could've done. Some of his wounds were reopening though but it didn't seem like he'd stop for any regular person.
"Mato, what's wrong with him?" Hinata demanded, slightly afraid. She was glad Neji went out, or else the dog would be down in a second.
"He's blind, Hinata-sama!" Mato replied. The girl gave him a small, disbelieving look. "I swear! He hasn't been able to see one of his opponents."
"Then he must be a shinobi...," Hinata whispered in awe, but mostly to herself. The girl got up to take action. "Guards! Please stop! I'll handle it."
Hopefully, she added mentally.
The guards pulled back as soon as the heard the lady's voice and left the heaving Uchiha in the middle of the hall. Hinata nervously approached him, hand out like she was talking to a doe.
"Um, excuse me. Please don't do anything harsh...," Hinata pleaded, trailing off slightly. She wasn't trained in any type of fighting style–how could she go up against a shinobi?
Sasuke turned his head sharply to face the direction where Hinata's voice was coming from. His eyes were closed but Hinata could finally tell he was really blind. The girl couldn't help but feel sorry for him–he seemed like an animal in a corner.
Sasuke recognized the voice as a female's, so he didn't attempt to kill her. No matter what, he would never kill women or children. His mother made had sure of that. Instead he stood still, his breathing some what feral. "Where am I?"
Hinata couldn't help but wince at his harsh tone. Indeed, this guy was on the edge. "Um, I found you on the streets...and I took you in."
The man was silent as he regarded the information. Hinata noticed that his eyes were drawn to the floor in contemplation.
"Um, if you just let me, um, explain things everything will be all right," Hinata said, trying to assuage the dark beast. Sasuke nodded after a while.
Hinata moved to take his arm but Sasuke snatched himself away. The girl hopped back a little, a hurt look hidden behind her eyes. Hinata understood though, and let him be. This guy seemed like a strong person but his pride had just been struck blunt. He was blind and he was beat up–there's nothing worse than that.
The girl hummed a quiet song as she started walking, and Sasuke took that as a queue to follow her. Hinata didn't trail too far in front of him and she constantly turned around to make sure he didn't bump into any welcoming walls.
Sasuke grit his teeth. I must look like some weakling. I was so lucky and now I'm following this girl like a dog to a whistle.
The Uchiha let out a silent sigh of gratitude as his derriere fell onto the bed he was in before. The fire had mellowed out a bit but the room still retained a homey warmth. He heard the girl shuffle about and sit in the chair across from him. The two were silent as Hinata tried to go about telling him things.
"Why did you do it? Everyone walked by except for you," Instead of the girl talking, it was Sasuke who was taking action. Hinata jumped a little.
"Um, I...don't know. But you were hurt and I can't stand it when someone's in a state like you were in," she replied, giving a vague answer about her own past. Sasuke coughed a little, which brought sharp pain to his sides.
"But if you want, you can leave as soon as you're better," Hinata quickly continued, trying to sound upbeat. "I'm not making you stay."
"What does it matter? I'm blind anyway," Sasuke said, a bitter mood settling over him. Hinata slumped a bit when an important piece of information came to her mind.
"Ah, I'm Hyuga Hinata," she said nicely. The girl's smile faltered only slightly when she sadly recalled that he couldn't see it.
Hyuga, huh? That's one of the most powerful families around. Second only to what the Uchiha used to be, Sasuke thought. He stayed silent though, since the girl never really asked him what he was called.
"What's your name?" Speak of the devil.
"...Sasuke," he said lowly. "My name's Uchiha Sasuke."
Hinata's eyes widened as she realized who he was. He was one of the heirs to what was the most prominent family ever. If he was on the streets and beat up, what kind of crazy-powerful people would be able to do that?
"Hinata-sama!" a voice called out. Two heads turned towards the doorway to find none other than Hyuga Neji.
And he did not look at all pleased.
Author's Note:
Thank you very much for reading! As you will come to find, shinobi in this fic are very rare. They're like the Navy S.E.A.L.S of our time–a special unit of fighters. Yeah, well, I'll elaborate more in the story...eventually. As for coupling, you will find some that most likely haven't been done yet.
Anyways, thanks again! Please don't forget to review!