NOTE: I'd like to give a special shout out to 00-night-eyes-00, who has been reading and reviewing my story since my early chapters. You are WONDERFUL. Thank you for your reviews.

I have gone back and made a few changes to my chapters. It doesn't alter the story at all, the chapters have been edited for grammatical errors and spelling of names. It shouldn't effect the story at all.

Thank you for your support!

Chapter 5

"Oh there you are Hyuga Hinata, please hand out these practice tests to the class." Iruka-sensei instructed to his student, who had just returned from the washroom.

14-year old Hinata took the stack of papers respectfully, "Y-yes sensei."

Iruka-sensei continued his lesson as Hinata walked around her classroom like a mouse, her peers taking the handouts she passed them around absentmindedly. As she made her way to the back of the classroom, she stopped. There was a moment of pause that came from a fellow student who had his hand already stretched out for her. His eyes were to the front of the class -as he couldn't be bothered to look at her- but unlike the rest of her classmates, she knew he was aware of her. She was about to place the handout into his hand when the boy sitting directly in front of Sasuke interrupted.

"Oi, Hinata-chan. You gave me an extra test." Shikamaru said lazily, turning behind him, "Here Sasuke, take this."

Sasuke's eyes shifted from the paper in Shikamaru's hand to Hinata, almost as if he was waiting for her to do something. She didn't, opting to chew her bottom lip uncomfortably instead. With a grunt, Sasuke took the extra test and Hinata moved on to the next classmate. What reason would an ex-friend need two tests?

"Neesan! Koko-neesan! I need your help."

- Sasuke -

Late in the afternoon a knock brought the lifeless Sasuke out of his daymares. The sound was more aggressive than what a 7 year old girl could muster, and somewhere within his consciousness he knew it wasn't that classmate of his. He couldn't remember how he got up and opened the door, but he found himself facing a young woman standing at the door, friendly Hyuga eyes peering down upon his sullen blank face.

"Sasuke-kun, we were just on our way to the bathhouse, would you like join us?" The older girl inquired cheerily.

He knew the woman had said something to him, but he was clouded by the sound of his violent memories that her voice was but all but faint.

In a dulled voice he asked, "Who…?"

"My name is Kokone Hyuga," the woman introduced politely, "But you can call me Koko-neesan if you'd like. Hinata-sama thinks it's easier to say." She gestured to her side where Hinata stood shyly behind her, peaking through her guardian's yutaka.

Hinata nestled her face against Koko-neesan's leg timidly, holding something firmly in her tiny hand. She took a deep breath, and with all the courage she could muster in that moment, she announced in a barely audible voice, "I-…I brought you a boat, S-Sasuke-kun…!"

She thrust a toy boat into his hands. It took a minute for him to register what she had said, but he looked down at it then to her. I know her, he thought.

"Hinata… Hyuga." He acknowledged.

A laugh was heard above him. Koko-neesan kneeled to her level and pinched her nose with a fake-gross expression, "How about we all get rid of our stinky-ness?"

He blinked a moment of awareness, his mind came out of his empty state. Kokone spoke to him with familiarity, yet he had never seen her before. He thought about how liked the way her long dark hair reminded him of someone he couldn't quite place. Someone he dreamed about every night. Someone who made him think of home.

He must have been silent too long because Hinata started to twiddle her thumbs again. Regardless his is unresponsive behavior, Kokone smiled a sweet smile that caused a flicker of memory to pass him. Sasuke, would you like me to help you with your shuriken training? His mother's voice echoed in his head.

"Okay." He answered slowly. His answer uplifted the spirits of the two girls, who quickly moved to make preparations for bath time.

Together the three of them entered the bath; Koko-neesan modestly covered her womanly parts with a towel, Hinata in a more than a little fancy robe –traditional to the main family-, and Sasuke embarrassingly in his underwear. Sasuke remained vacant the majority of the time, but the girls were patient with him.

It was a very long time since he had been given a bath. He didn't know it then, but it was these mundane memories that would stick with him for the rest of his life. It might have been the way the young bodyguard softly washed his hair, the smell of the shampoo sweet and inviting as the suds slid down his arm. It also could have been the gentle way Hinata played in the bubbles across the tub from him, anxiety completely washed away with every splash. Sasuke's face remained listless throughout, but for the first time there was a calm that swept over him, his bloody memories fading ever so slightly into the bubbles.

~ Hinata ~

For a very long minute, Sasuke made no reply. Hinata had initially taken it as rudeness, but the look of embarrassment as he shifted his eyes to the side taught her otherwise. He's shy about his nakedness, she thought. The realization turned Hinata's cheeks redder than a cherry tomato, and her body stiffened like a wooden training post. How could she have missed a detail like that? When Neji-niisan was younger, they occasionally bathed together, but Sasuke isn't family so that would be weird, right? What should she do, her father would be mad if Sasuke's smelly order filled the house.

Suddenly, a laugh was heard above them. Neither child knew how amusing the 'tense' situation between them looked to adults. Koko-neesan's giggle replaced the tension in the room with easy warmth- something that not only calmed Hinata, but surprisingly Sasuke as well.

Koko-neesan took a very long time to clean Sasuke; his hair washed twice because of the oily buildup, his skin aggressively scrubbed to get rid of the caked dirt, and his teeth cleaned with guidance. Hinata thought brushing his teeth was the strangest thing. Blank and absentminded, he held the toothbrush in his hand as Koko-neesan held his, making the brushing movement for him. Hinata pressed her lips together to keep herself from laughing improperly. She knew she wasn't supposed to be mean, but it looked really funny!

"Tehehe…" She giggled.

She thought she might have seen Sasuke some out of his zombie state. It was when she tried to hold in her giggle. For a brief second, he looked up at her curiously, almost as if he just noticed she was there taking a bath with him. She returned his curious expression.

What's so funny? His expression asked.

"Neesan, I heard you're going to be jounin soon?" Hinata avoided, turning to Koko-neesan.

She laughed," Well, I'm about to take the exam. Yes."

"I hope you get it." Hinata said softly.

"Thank you, Hinata-sama. How about you, Sasuke-kun?" Koko-neesan asked as she scrubbed his arm, "Are you going to be jounin one day and help protect our Lady Hinata?"

Hinata blushed but Sasuke again said nothing and sank deeper into the water.

After the successful bath, the two children stood by the tub wrapped tightly in cotton towels, bodies mostly dry but their hair still dripping on the tile floor.

"Now, isn't that better?" Koko-neesan tucked the end of Sasuke's towel into place, "Let's dry that wild hair of yours, shall we?"

She stood up and made her way to the wooden shelves behind them; Hinata noticed how Sasuke followed wherever Koko-neesan went. He reminded her of lost puppy. Koko-neesan passed Hinata her favourite comb and was about to grab an extra towel.

"Thank you, Koko-neesan." Hinata thanked softly, brushing her hair with the mini comb.

"Thank you…" Sasuke said deadpan, "…Okaa-san."

Hinata noticed Koko-neesan's back tense, her hand frozen in mid-air, reaching for the extra towel. Hinata looked back between her guardian and her classmate, confusion pasted on her round face.

"Sasuke-kun," she said puzzled, "That's not your mom, it's-"

"That's right Sasuke-kun!" Koko turned around and giggled. There was a strain on her voice that the children hadn't picked up. She leaned close to Sasuke's face, ruffling his wet hair with a fresh towel, "I'm Kokone, remember? You call me Ko. Ko. Nee. San." She sounded every syllable.

For the first time, Sasuke's eyes had a sparkle of recognition in them. He analyzed Koko-neesan carefully, particularly the symbol across her forehead, which he had recognized as a cursed seal. He learned it in class. She was too young to be a mother, about eighteen by his guess. No, this woman was not his mother.

He looked down solemnly and nodded, Koko-Neesan…

Koko-neesan finished drying his hair and looked into his eyes with a pained smile, "Let's go get you dressed. The maid's will have finished cleaning your room by now."

Kokone kept that cheerful smile on her face as she brought Sasuke back to his room and even as she dropped Hinata off for her training with her father. Only when the children were gone and she found herself alone was she able to let the happy mask fall off her face. She took a deep breath before she broke down and cried.

Hinata returned from training, exhausted and a disappointment. Her father's approval was scarce and never given. Today she had to spar with her younger sister, her failure at taijutsu left her with scraped knees and bruises. However, it was her lack of confidence that made her walk slower, slumped shoulders carrying the weight of a failed heiress.

She was on her way to her room when she turned the corner and to her surprise, she found Sasuke outside of his room. How long was he standing in the hallway? She thought.

"Oh Sasuke-kun." She called quietly, "Are you hungry? Do you need to go to the bathroom?"

He said nothing. She walked over and stood face to face with him. Innocently, she waved a hand in front of his vacant face. Still no response. An idea popped into her head.

"Would you like to take a walk with me? We-we can go through the garden, or you can meet Shiba-nin and Keropi-san. They're having a tea ceremony while I was in the dojo with my father."

As expected, no response from the spiritless Sasuke. She looked left and right, cautiously checking if anyone was around watching. When it seemed like the coast was clear, she made her move. For the first time in her life, Hinata took initiative. She hesitantly grabbed Sasuke's arm and led him down the hall to her room.

I'm sure this will cheer Sasuke up!

Hinata's bedroom is what you would expect a noble clan's heiress to look like-very flowery. The furniture were soft pinks and purples, and yet it was still adorned with all kinds of traditional Hyuga clan knick-knacks. It was surprisingly unspoiled with too many toys a rich kid would be expected to have.

At the centre of the room there was a small round table with a tea set, four stuffed toys occupying the seats.

She guided Sasuke closer to the table and introduced each friend accordingly, "This is Keropi-sama, "She gestured to a plush toy shaped like a round frog.

"This is Koneko-chan, Shiba-nin, and Suppi-kun." She pointed to the toy cat, panda bear, and monkey.

Maybe if her best friends could cheer him up, his nightmares would disappear. Hinata picked up Suppi-kun the monkey from his seat and sat Sasuke down in his place. She made Suppi-kun and Shiba-nin share seats, and began to serve Sasuke his pretend tea.

"Otousan." Hinata began.

"Speak up Hinata." Her father commanded.

"Wh-where is Sasuke-kun's…ano… mom and dad?"

Hiashi quieted. Other members of the family tensed as well, Hinata could feel that energy crawling on her skin. She said something inappropriate and she knew it. Still, she could do nothing but wait for her father's response.

He knew that everyone in the room had his eyes on him expectantly, it was a dangerous territory of information they wanted to know as well. The details of the Uchiha were spreading fast across the village.

"That is not your concern." He carefully answered.

"B-but you had instructed me to take care of him, an-and the other day he-… ano, he said 'okaasan' and-"

"Hinata, what did I just say?"

"-If maybe she comes to see him he won't be sad any-"

Hiashi slammed his hand against the floor in impatient rage, "Hinata, that's enough!"

Hinata jumped frightened at his sudden change of tone, the whole room followed, shaken by his outburst. But he continued, "You are never to speak of this again. Understood?"

Hinata meekly nodded, excusing herself as quickly as possible from the dojo. She knew when she overstayed her presence in front of her father. Once she was out of sight another family member asked permission to speak.

"Maybe if she knew she could-"

"She's a child. She doesn't need to know such horrors. Not yet."

Another spoke, "Hiashi-sama, it is not safe for the Hyuga heir to be so close to that boy. Danger follows him."

"I cannot reject our Hokage's orders. We are the strongest clan in the village, so it must be in the best interest of Konohagure to keep the sole-surviving Uchiha protected. We must honor it." Hiashi felt like he had been repeating himself for the past weeks. He was annoyed but continued, "But Sandaime's request to have my daughter aid in the care of Sasuke is absurd to me. My daughter is hopeless. I don't see his reasoning."

"Maybe Sandaime would like Sasuke to have a friend his age during this time."

"That's idiotic."

Until next time! Please review!