Mezzo Forte: Naruto Song Meme Collection

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Notes: Yes, yes I'm doing another song meme, only this one will be a real challenge since it's for a pairing I 'like' half of the time, and 'hate' the other half of the time: yep SasuHina. I don't know why, but I seem to have a love/hate relationship with this pairing.

Anyway how a song meme works:

1: Pick a fandom, character or pairing you like

2: Play your play list on random/shuffle, write the drabble for the first ten songs.

3: Start writing the drabble-which must pertain to the song in some way- from the moment the song begins and stop when the song ends: Meaning when the music stops, you stop writing.

4: Post the song meme when you're done.

Now, granted I follow 'most' of these rules save for the time limit, which I always seem to go over- Blue is such a bad, bad girl-.

Anyway, I might do more of these in the futures so if you have any hetro pairings- I honestly can't write yaoi/shounen ai to save myself so please don't make me- to suggest or songs for me to use next time as an 'additional' drabble, feel free to offer suggestions.

Disclaimer: Naruto the anime/manga series belongs to Kishimoto, not me; this includes the plot, setting, characters, etc.

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Song Meme 1: SasuHina

Side Notes:

Drabble(s): 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10 are set in a canon/semi-canon universe

Drabble (s) 2, 7, 9 are set in AU/Modern Day settings

1 and 8 are from the same 'storyline'

Warning: Possible Spoilers from the newest Shippuden chapters.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Kishimoto, not me. Same goes for anything in the Naruto anime-verse/manga-verse, so please refrain from suing me!

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1: Song: 'Won't Go Home Without You' by Maroon 5

A strong hand tightly gripped her wrist, refusing to let go even as people started to stare.

Feeling her face flush with the onset of a blush, Hinata kept her head lowered to hide the small tear drops forming behind her eyes.

Words of anger uttered just days ago, still echoed inside her head, so Hinata stubbornly attempted to pull away, but he wasn't about to allow it.

Instead of releasing his grasp on the young woman's wrist; Sasuke attempted to draw her closer to him, only to have Hinata cry out and push back against his chest.

Pale eyes opened, looking pleadingly to her teammates and sensei. Kiba looked like he was about to spring up and defend her; but Shino was holding him back. Kurenai glanced away to her left, while holding onto a small hand belonging to her young son.

Realizing that no one could spare her, save for herself, Hinata swallowed uneasily.

"I'm not going back…" she said quietly.

Dark eyes crackled with something unreadable as Sasuke suddenly reached over and cupped Hinata's chin so she would have to look at him.

"So you're not coming home?" Sasuke asked directly.

Hinata stubbornly nodded, her chin still held in Sasuke's hands.

His hands on chin and wrist slowly pulled away, "Where do you plan on staying then?"

"K-Kurenai-san…is letting me stay at her place for a little while." Hinata muttered.

Silence, or relative quiet at least since there were still noises of people milling about the busy village center, surrounded them.

"You're giving up." Sasuke said, his hands falling and pulling further and further away from Hinata.

'No. No, I'm not giving up. I never give up.' Hinata thought. She didn't see this as her giving up on Sasuke, giving up on her 'mission' assigned to her by the Hokage, it was…a short retreat; not a surrender.

But Sasuke didn't see it as such, because he pulled away a few more feet, then turned around with a sneer on his mouth.

"I knew it. You weren't going to last, no one else had. You're just like the rest…weak."

Hinata shivered at the last word, but stood her ground as she watched the last Uchiha walk away from the village center, heading east toward the empty and haunted district he called home.

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The sky was a blend of orange and crimson. It had been hours since Sasuke could last recall seeing his 'wife'.

A sneer appeared again on his lips, but it was weakened by exhaustion. Several neat rows of perfectly aimed kunai and shuriken pock-marked the trees surrounding the Main House of the once great- but late- Uchiha clan.

Dragging his sore and overworked body over to the wooden porch, Sasuke sat down on the planks, hands on his knees.

Dark eyes glared disdainfully at the black bracelet-like clasped around his wrists. Those objects prevented him from using more chakra than what was decided as a 'safe' level for him. Which meant, most of his chakra was blocked off save from some minute amount which was barely enough to activate his Sharingan and even when it was active, Sasuke could only keep it going for a few minutes before his chakra was completely depleted.

Clenching his hands into fists, Sasuke stared at the bracelets as if he could burn them off through sight alone. But after a moment, Sasuke gave up and looked elsewhere, his gaze wandering around the garden.

Silly, worthless bit of land Hinata had taken to cultivating and turning green again the moment she became an Uchiha.

Sasuke didn't flinch or even verbally remark it, but he was…disappointed. Since Hinata refused to stay, the ANBU guards would be coming back to hound his every footsteps and report on him daily to the Hokage.

While Sasuke didn't like the idea of having a shy and timid woman peeking around the corridors of his childhood home, he'd choose having a wife over an army of spies tailing him any day.

'Ah, but I chased her off…' Sasuke thought, a mixture of smugness and bitterness returning to him.

Something similar had happened with Sakura. She had been the first to volunteer to take the role of 'wife'. She lasted on a week before packing her things, tears streaming down her face, and calling him a "monster", before leaving his home to run into Naruto's arms.

The fingers on his right hand twitched and curled, 'Monster huh? Maybe…' Sasuke mentally conceded, but didn't dare admit it aloud.

Hinata had been a sort of 'second choice' and almost didn't come since her father had strongly protested the arrangement unless there was an actual marriage contract involved rather than Hinata simply being a live-in guard.

And for being so quiet, Sasuke actually found that when Hinata was around, the silence surrounding his home wasn't quite as haunting or depressing.

Shaking his head, clearing away those thoughts, Sasuke resigned himself to one night of freedom before the ANBU squad would return to stake out his house and trail him all around Konoha.

Pushing against the wooden planks, Sasuke stood up and discarded his training sandals at the back door, sock-covered feet lightly padding across the floor as hands slowly slid the door back into place.

Not expecting visitors, Sasuke was…surprised to hear the chimes situated on the front door clank and clatter together as the rice paper door slid across the track and a young woman walked inside.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, leaning against the door frame.

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At hearing those words, Hinata visibly flinched, yet delayed her answer long enough to take off her sandals, leaving them at shoe mat, fixed the hem of her skirt, and only after leaving Sasuke waiting for at least a entire minute did she answer him.

"I'm coming home. That's allowed…isn't it?"

Stained silence started to form a quick barrier between them.

But before quiet could strangle the moment and kill it, Sasuke shrugged, "Did you eat dinner already?"

Hinata shook her head, "I'll fix something in a moment," she said knowing that Sasuke didn't like to cook unless he absolutely had to.

Taking a step forward to enter the house, Hinata suddenly paused as Sasuke stood in her way, blocking the open archway with his taller and larger frame.

Questioning pale lavender eyes slowly looked up to lock with dark- almost black- orbs.

Sasuke shrugged then moved back a little, "Welcome back…" he said flippantly as if he didn't care one way or another: if she stayed or left again.

Despite herself though, and knowing Sasuke didn't mean those words, Hinata's cheeks flushed a small smile playing on her lips as she replied with, "Thank you, Sasuke-san. It…it feels good to come home."

This time, it was Sasuke who turned to look, taken aback by the seemingly sincere comment; but before he could properly read Hinata's face and eyes to tell if she was lying she had already breezed past him to start dinner.

'Sometimes…' Sasuke thought as he stared at Hinata's back, 'I don't understand her at all…'

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2:Song: 'Hungry Like the Wolf' by Duran Duran

"What's a girl like you, doing out in a place like this?"

A fine shudder poured over narrow shoulders covered by a ratty red cloak.

'Don't talk to strangers,' she recalled, thinking on the sage advice of her father.

"Especially don't talk to the Wolf…" Hinata muttered to herself.

The pale-eyed young woman bit back a small gasp as the Wolf leaned in close, his crimson eyes beacons in the dark forest.

"Where are you going little Red?" he asked in soft and deceptively smooth tone.

Lips pressed then parted, she had something to say, but had forgotten it in the wake of the warning bells ringing off in her head.

But the Wolf circled her, yet at the same time didn't leave Hinata's line of sight.

Closer, closer, so close the young woman could feel the caress of warm air hit her cheek.

Then, he lunged forward and feasted…

"Ahmph!" Hinata gasped, a muffled cry all but swallowed up by a hungry mouth as the Wolf kissed her.

Hinata struggled to pull away, but the Wolf held on tightly, one clawed arm on her waist. Pale lavender eyes closed as long locks of black hair touched her face.

A small nip here, a caress there, and the tip of a tongue darting out to entreat entrance eventually won the formerly frightened damsel over.

Their kiss only broke apart as a noise from the path behind them startled the girl.

As if coming out of a daze- or a day dream- the woman with pale eyes gasped, a hand covering her mouth as cheeks flushed pink.

"I…I'm sorry…I…" Hinata started only to cringe as she realized she was apologizing to the Wolf, when he was the one who had attempted to ravish her.

Gathering the basket she had dropped and securing her cloak back in place, Hinata pulled out of reach of the Wolf.

The Wolf's lips twitched into something resembling a frown, then he spun on his heel to find the source of the noise and kill it…err negotiate with whatever animal or person decided to interrupt him and Little Red's moonlit rendezvous.

He found the source of the disturbance when a high female giggle reached his ears and bushes rustled.

Diving into the foliage with both clawed hands, he parted the leaves.

"Oi! Do you mind!" a blonde-furred fox asked as he held onto a girl with vivid and short pink hair, "We're in the middle of something."

"So was I, until you idiots decided to make enough noise to wake up the dead…" the Wolf snapped.

Green eyes rolled as pink-haired girl lightly pushed the wolf's hand aside, "Pick a quieter spot next time," she suggested in a less than helpful manner while replacing the bush branches back in place.

But before the couple was fully hidden the blonde Fox chuckled, "Looks like Sasuke Wolf isn't getting any tonight."

Once that unnecessary crack was uttered out in the open, Sasuke grabbed a rock and threw it over his shoulder into the bushes, effectively knocking the loud blonde out.

"Naruto? Naruto?! Speak to me!" Sakura yelled while shaking the unconscious Fox.

Sasuke walked away with a smug grin on his face, "Looks like Naruto Fox isn't going to 'get any' either."

His work accomplished for the evening: Chaos, destruction, and ravishing of a returning Hyuuga heiress; Sasuke decided to call it a night and go home.

However, for being a Wolf, Sasuke was unaware he was being followed by 'Little Red'.

But that's another story…

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3:Song: 'Dare You to Move' by Switchfoot

"Is that all you've got?" a voice above her mocked.

Hinata stubbornly shook her head then opened her pale eyes only to gasp as she saw Sasuke looming above her. Arms crossed over his chest, the Uchiha impatiently waited for her to get up from the safety of laying low in the grass.

A smug look crossed his face, "What's the matter? Fallen and you can't get up?" Sasuke said blandly, yet Hinata could tell he was secretly laughing at her.

Hands planted on either side, Hinata pushed herself off the ground and sat up. Her head spun for a moment, making her dizzy what with the sudden rush of blood to the head.

Yet despite the light-heady feeling, Hinata stood up and sank back into a defensive stance.

Her opponent raised a dark eyebrow, "You sure you want to fight again?" he asked.

Hinata quietly nodded, not about to rise to Sasuke's condescending baiting. She had asked him to help her train, so the heiress wasn't about to complain, fuss, or stall their sparing for longer than she had to.

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked again, this time catching Hinata by surprise since there wasn't that bite of arrogance or impatience in his tone.

However it was a distraction, for no sooner were the words spoken aloud, did Sasuke bend low and attempt to knock Hinata off her feet- again- by swinging his left leg.

Hinata managed to get out of the way barely in time, feeling a rush of air as Sasuke's foot missed, but thankfully she was still on her feet and ready to fight again.

With a murmur of 'Byakuguan', Hinata's vision expanded far and wide, yet also showed her the smallest detail within Sasuke, namely his chakra points.

Her right hand darted forward only to be ruthlessly blocked by a forearm then pushed back.

Another strike, this time directly by her left hand, Sasuke blocked that one as well, but he almost got caught by the right one. Instead of attempting to block both hands, Sasuke leapt backwards several steps.

The cycle of attack, dodge, miss, attack again continued on and on, with Hinata hitting the ground several times.

And though he wouldn't admit it aloud, Sasuke found Hinata's persistence to be…refreshing. She didn't trash talk like Kiba or Naruto, and she didn't dally in her attacks and defense even after hitting the dirt moments earlier.

As they were once again deadlocked, Sasuke holding Hinata's right arm trapped above her head to keep her fingers away from any chakra points and Hinata with her left leg locked around the knee about to kick in her stomach; they were only an inch apart, panting heavily to regain lost oxygen.

Sasuke, in a last attempt, uttered something he had previously promised never to tell a girl, ever. The dreaded 'c' word…

"You're kind of cute…when you fight like someone possessed."

Hinata, wide eyed and shocked, had no chance of recovering in time before Sasuke leaned over an rudely head-butted her.

Falling to the ground, her head aching from the sudden crack against her skull, Hinata barely noticed that Sasuke had fallen too, but more from exhaustion than actual pain.

Birds in the surrounding forest chirped, grasses rustled with a light summer breeze…

Hinata closed her eyes, willing the headache to go away, but dared to open one eye as a shadow fell on her.

Sasuke stood over…again only this time he offered a hand to help her up.

Surprised, again, Hinata gingerly placed her hand in Sasuke's, half expected him to push her back down.

But he didn't, instead Sasuke suggested they had trained enough for today and should go home.

Agreeing, Hinata moved to gather her things, yet stopped herself. What Sasuke had said to her earlier…bothered the Hyuuga heiress.

"Um Sasuke-san about what you said…"

"Don't worry about it." Sasuke said shortly, his back turned to her, "It…was just a distraction tactic."

"O-oh…" Hinata said softly, her cheeks turning red while pale eyes stared turned downward to stare at blades of grass.

'Stupid. He obviously didn't mean it…and it's not as if I like Sasuke-san in that manner anyway.' Hinata thought

Hinata turned to the right fork, walking back to the center of the village and back to her clan compound. Sasuke glanced over his shoulder watching her go, then turned his head.

"Tch, I can't believe she actually fell for it. Girls are strange…" the Uchiha remarked before he walked on to return home as well.

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4: Song: 'Here with Me' (Shillin' with the Family' Remix) by Dido

Pale fingertips reached over to flick on a light switch. Long indigo hair fluttered as bare-feet carried her away from the threshold and into the center of the room. Knees barely covered by a thin robe bent as fingers moved to untie the knot formed just above her growing middle.

The cloth slid off, but didn't crumble to the floor or simply lay in place to mingle with bed sheets. Instead the young woman quietly folded the fabric in half and reached over to the closet door to place the robe on a hanger. Turning, a head resting against a white pillow, Hinata stared blankly at the empty space in the bed next to her.

Her fingertips skimmed over the top sheet, it felt cool. Not a soul had laid there since he left days ago.

Dark eyes widened, surprised to see her coming downstairs.

Silence settled between them, her fingers digging into the wooden molding of the doorframe, while Sasuke's hands clenched into angry fists.

"He's still out there Hinata. I have to find him and…"

"And kill him…I know." Hinata said quietly, her gaze lowered, "T-that's all you talk about. It's…" she tried to blink back the start of tears, "it's the only thing you care about…"

Sasuke's stone-faced expression warned Hinata not to say as much, but she couldn't help herself. She had half expected him to be gone once news of Madara's whereabouts reached Konoha two months ago, not afterward.

So if anything Hinata felt…betrayed. Sasuke waited for weeks before choosing now to leave. His lingering presence had lulled her into a false sense of security and now he was leaving to find and fight Madara, therefore Hinata felt Sasuke had lied to her.

The tears build up behind dark eyelashes, "W-what if you d-don't come back?" she asked, feeling for once entitled to a portion of selfishness, because she wasn't protesting only for her sake, but for their child's as well.

Though she didn't look up, still trying in vain to hide the tears falling from her face, Hinata could tell by the sound of his footsteps that Sasuke was crossing over to reach her.

Hinata's first response was to pull away, to deny him any comfort or assurance in exchange of getting Sasuke to solemnly promise he wouldn't leave to chase down yet another Uchiha ghost haunting his present. But, even though she felt hurt and the closest to being angry Hinata could recall being, she stayed silent and still as two strong arms enveloped her.

"I'll come back." Sasuke whispered into her right ear.

Hinata's hands moved, clinging tightly to his arms as if to hold him in place, all the while pessimistic thoughts attacked her psyche.

'You won't be back…you won't…you won't…'

But after a brief kiss and another promise of him returning home, Hinata knew she had no other choice but to let him go; one by one fingers uncurled, releasing her possessive hold on Sasuke.

Another press of lips against one another, warm air tickling her as Sasuke repeated for a third time, "I'll come back. I promise, I will."

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Two months…

She knew the lack of sleep was unhealthy for herself and for the baby growing in her belly; but Hinata found it next to impossible for her to sleep when there was a cold and empty place right next to her.

Fingers, the nails bitten down to the grove, yet another nervous habit she had picked up since Sasuke left home; clung to the pillow for dear life.

Tears clinging to dark eyelashes, Hinata laid to rest in bed, but didn't sleep.

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5: Song: ' Twisted Logic' by Coldplay

Skin twitched at the slightest touch he gave. Fingertips skimmed over a slender neckline, a thumb resting right at the pulse point, feeling the heat and the rapid pulse beat of a cornered and scared woman.

'How did it come to this?' Sasuke asked himself, a tongue skimming across parched lips as his own throat constricted.

He was parched, hungry, empty, all of the above…

Wide pale lavender eyes of a sheltered princess, seemed to pierce the very armor he had spent a lifetime building up. A sizable hole was left behind and it was only filled by her...

But the young woman squeaked, eyes clenched closed, and kept twisting her body- and mouth- out of his reach, until Sasuke strongly grasped two slender shoulders, forcing her to stay still.

Kissing Sasuke…wasn't at all like how the fan girls said it would be. It was…sloppy, very inexperienced, and… wet.

Hinata resisted the urge to bite through Sasuke's tongue to get him to quit.

Wrists penned on either side of her head, Hinata found she had a limited chance to escape. So, closing her eyes, the young Hyuuga put forth her best effort to give into the kiss by parting her lips, to lure Sasuke into thinking he had won.

'When we have to pull away to breathe, then I'll run…' Hinata thought, yet a small gasp escaped her as the strange sensation of scale against flesh caused pale eyes to fly open.

Shocked, Hinata looked down at the slender and jet-black serpent summons tying her hands together in their coils, one even slithered up her neck, the fangs so close and poised to bite should she move away.

Trembling, Hinata turned her terrified gaze up to Sasuke to find the dark and seemingly endless inky-black of his eyes had now transformed into the crimson pin-wheel stigma of the Sharingan.

With a small grunt, Hinata leaned forward as Sasuke pulled on the front of her jacket, he leaned in close, whispering the exact words Hinata was thinking at the moment.

"There is no escape."

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6: Song: '24' by Jem

They say when you're near death…you see angels…

Hinata didn't think this is what 'they' had meant…

Craggy rocks cut into her back as the young girl scrambled to press herself as far back as she could, while holding a hand to her bleeding side. He stood in front of her, his hair long, white, and wild, a dark star-shaped sort of scar above his nose, and large fleshy hand-wings unfurled out of his back.

'Not…not an angel…' Hinata thought her hands slick with fresh blood, vision fading in and out as people approached them, or rather Sasuke.

"What's this? Ow! Karin cut that out!"

"Say 'who' is this then!" a female voice snapped to correct the first one's grammar.

Hinata struggled to open her eyes, but even if she pried them open, they quickly closed.

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"She's out cold." Jugo remarked as he got up from a kneeling position beside the injured girl.

Sasuke, released of his cursed form, looked over at the one who had intruded into their encampment and had gotten caught in Suigetsu's traps.

He looked over to Karin next. Flustered for a split second, the red-haired girl cleared her throat, "Well…her injuries do look bad, but as long as the bleeding is stopped she'll live."

Sasuke nodded, "Good. That'll be your job, Karin."

"W-what me?!" Karin asked as she glanced from Sasuke, to the unconscious girl, then back to Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded, "Keep her alive and we'll keep her prisoner for now."

"Great, just what I need…competition for Sasuke…" Karin grumbled to herself as she pulled at the girl's jacket to find the source of the bleeding and stop it.

Meanwhile, Sasuke wandered a few feet away from Karin and the girl she was treating.

'What is a Hyuuga doing this far away from Konoha?' Sasuke wondered as he sat on a large flat boulder.

'Could it be another 'rescue' attempt?' he thought with a small cold smirk, 'Idiots don't ever give up do they?'

Sasuke was temporarily drawn out of his musing as Suigetsu sat down to his right.

"So…any particular reason we're healing her…boss?" he asked.

"Don't call me that." Sasuke said shortly.

Suigetsu uncapped one his water bottles and took a long sip, "What else am I suppose to call you then? Sasuke-sama sounds pompous, or would you rather I call you 'Sasuke-kun' like Karin?"

Sasuke barely repressed a shudder while still managing to avoid Suigetsu's question.

"Maybe…" Suigetsu mused, the straw of his water bottle between sharp shark-like teeth, "she'd be better off dead, for our sake, ya know?"

Sasuke frowned.

'He has a point. If she's part of a team or has some sort of tracking device on her. It would be better if we left her behind to die.'

"No," Sasuke said aloud, "We'll keep her. If she survives then…"

"Then what?" Suigetsu questioned, obviously having reservations about taking a live prisoner. Sasuke didn't like the idea much either; but also he found it difficult to want to leave the girl behind wounded and alone.

'I'm going soft. I knew I should have traveled alone, being around…people is making me soft.' Sasuke thought with a scowl as he stood up and approached Karin.

The red-head, pushed back beads of sweat forming along her face as she healed the bleeding girl to the point the wound stopped spilling out blood, but it was far from closed up.

"How is it?" Sasuke asked.

Karin twitched in annoyance, "So far, so good. But…Sasuke do you really want to take her along?"

Sasuke nodded, yet didn't contribute a verbal command to it.

"Why though?" Karin asked with good reason, "If she's from your old village, won't she try to take you back by force or call her comrades?"

"Either way, it would bring us trouble…" Sasuke agreed, still wondering how he was to explain this sudden and unexplainable bout of compassion from him to his team.

"Right! So we should just leave her be. Someone is bound to come by and help her…wait…wait Sasuke!" Karin protested as Sasuke bent down and picked up the unconscious Hyuuga and slung her over his shoulder.

He walked ahead a few feet. Surprised, Sasuke's team first looked at each other, then shrugged on to follow their 'leader'.

'Insurance. If we get caught by someone from Konoha, we can bargain with them. The girl, in exchange for leaving me alone.' Sasuke thought.

Yes, his excuse of keeping her around was flimsy and riddled with holes; but Sasuke still couldn't find it in himself to leave the Hyuuga injured and alone on that dusty road either.

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7: Song: 'Suburbia' by Matthew Good Band

"W-where are we?"

"…Nowhere…"

As if satisfied by that answer, she drifted back into a deep and forced sleep.

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Waking up again, Hinata moaned while rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Once her vision was clear, the Hyuuga heiress found herself staring into an abyss of darkness.

'Did we…' Hinata wondered as she looked at the walls similar to that of a cell, her fingertips feeling the slight groves, curves, and arches carved into the craggy orange/reddish clay.

Feeling no one else's presence in the room, Hinata shivered before activating her Byakuguan, only to find her eyes were unable to penetrate the clay and stone.

'A chakra barrier…maybe?' she wondered.

Yet all wonder ceased as the door to the 'cell' cracked open.

Blinking against the sudden intrusion of light, Hinata gasped as she saw Kabuto-san from the Chuunin exams shouldering a limp body on his right shoulder.

"Ah, so you're awake Hinata-chan." Kabuto said with a slight sheepish smile, but the effect was lost to the horrified girl as he carelessly dropped Sasuke's body onto a cot.

Swallowing hard, Hinata timidly ventured over to Sasuke. The young woman felt flooded by a sense of relief when she saw Sasuke's chest steadily rise and fall. But, what bothered Hinata, was the curse seal mark marring the juncture between Sasuke's neck and shoulder glowed red-hot, and even felt hot to the touch as Hinata's fingers just hovered over it.

Hinata gasped in surprise as cold, cold fingers tightly grasped her hand, close to the point of breaking the bones.

"Sasuke will be fine, Hinata-chan." Kabuto said behind her, "But, you really shouldn't keep Orochimaru-sama waiting."

Hinata whimpered a little in her throat, but tried to keep the noise from escaping past her lips; she couldn't however keep from shivering or stop her heartbeat from speeding up.

Attempting to swallow her heart back into it's proper place- instead of pounding inside her throat- Hinata followed Kabuto to the door, pausing only to give a backward glance to Sasuke and he groaned in his 'sleep'.

"He'll be fine." Kabuto repeated, holding the door open, but Hinata was starting to trust his words less and less…

'Goodbye, Sasuke-san…in case we won't see each other again…' Hinata thought despite herself.

Her own curse seal burned and itched as footstep followed behind Kabuto's.

As they came closer and closer to Orochimaru's inner sanctum, Hinata still hadn't figure out why she had been 'chosen' to bear the mark along with Sasuke.

'I'm not that strong on my own. And…I really don't like to fight. So why?' Hinata asked herself.

Almost without noticing, Hinata's eyes started to tear up as she recalled how…disastrous her fight with Neji-niisan had turned out to be when the curse seal flared up for a second time.

She hadn't even attempted to attack Neji, only to defend herself from her cousin's relentless attacks. But…something had caused her to panic and the curse seal…Neji…

Closing her eyes, Hinata tried to squeeze the moisture away.

'I can't cry, not in front of Orochimaru…' Hinata recalled, thinking on Sasuke's warnings to her long before they had even left Konoha together. His purpose was to find Orochimaru to get strong enough to defeat his brother; Hinata followed so she could find out why she was given the curse seal and how to break it.

But as the seal started to burn and pulsate, Hinata was coming to the realization what a grave mistake their journey was.

'Even if I'm 'cured'…I won't be able to go home ever again.'

A knot formed in her chest, it burned like cold fire and twisted her insides to the point Hinata felt close to throwing up.

"We're here…" Kabuto said as he pushed open a hidden door.

Hinata stared into the dark inner sanctum.

'Don't worry…I'll look out for you.' Sasuke had once said. It was so…unlike him to promise to protect anyone, so at first Hinata dismissed the muttering as simply a dream. A far-fetched figment of her imagination.

'Maybe it was a dream…' she thought.

But dream or not, Hinata found that those words gave her the little bit of courage she needed to step forward and face Orochimaru.

The door slammed behind her. And as Hinata stared at the master of serpents, Hinata wondered…just how long it would take for those in Konoha to realize she was missing…and might not be returning home ever again.

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8: Song: 'Apologize' by OneRepublic

Mutters and stares followed him everywhere. And Sasuke could almost write it off as a sense of paranoia if it wasn't for people suddenly closing the partitions between the streets and their restaurants, or switching shop signs from 'Open' to 'Close' the moment he walked past..

So, Sasuke found a 'use' for his wife, namely sending her out for groceries, to get worn weapons repaired, or to order and bring back take-out food.

At first the situation worked out well for Sasuke, he could have a few hours of time to himself without Hinata sneaking around the place and bothering him in her quiet yet still intrusive manner. And Hinata would have something to do to occupy her time.

To Sasuke it was a win-win situation; until he started to notice little bruises forming along Hinata's forearm, small scratches along her feet, and how long it took her to run even the simplest of errands.

At first, Sasuke resigned himself to keep quiet about it. What went on in the outside world and how it involved Hinata was none of his business.

Yet, Sasuke found he couldn't keep quiet another minute when Hinata came home one evening limping and leaning heavily on anything solid.

After dinner and they each had their separate bathes, Sasuke sat up in front of a small lap table set at the foot of his futon.

Hearing staggering footsteps approach the bedroom door, Sasuke kept his gaze half on the scroll before him yet would occasionally glance up as Hinata entered the room. Her left ankle looked swollen and bruised and…bleeding?

"What happened today?"

---------

Hinata felt her chest get tight. She had run into some less than pleased villagers who had wanted to have a 'word' with Uchiha-san while she was shopping.

'Just who do you think you are?'

'Marrying that traitor! Are you so low a woman that you would willingly live with that heap of scum?'

'What about your oath to protect the village? Or have you forgotten all about that?'

'Why don't you and your husband got back to Otogakure where you belong! Or better yet go away and die somewhere!'

Hinata restlessly shook her head, trying to get rid of all those horrible memories of her head, "N-nothing…happened."

"Really?" Sasuke asked, or rather forcibly pressed.

Hinata paused, but then nodded vigorously as if to convince her husband of the lie she told.

Nevertheless, Sasuke stood up, loamed above her, and pressed her back into the bed.

'He…he…he's wanting that?!' Hinata wondered, honestly shocked since Sasuke had never shown any inclination of having her, even if the purpose of their 'union' was to revive the Uchiha clan.

Sasuke frowned above her, "Why are you blushing like an idiot? I'm only asking you a simple question." he asked still pressing against Hinata.

"You…you…Sasuke you're squishing me…can't breathe!" Hinata gasped, when really it was Sasuke's closeness which was causing her to be breathless.

Pulling back a little, Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed to Hinata's right, his fingers curled tightly into the sheets.

"Have people…been hurting you because of me?" he asked suddenly.

Hinata once again attempted to stopper that notion, 'Tsunade-sama said not to upset him, since we're still not sure if the curse seal is truly broken or not…' she recalled.

"Don't lie to me." Sasuke replied, all but spitting out the words, causing Hinata to cringe.

"…yes." Hinata finally said, "B-but it's alright! I can take care of myself, so please…don't worry…ah…" the young woman breathed as Sasuke got up off the bed and walked to another part of the room.

Hinata watched quietly as Sasuke paced the length of the room for a few steps before suddenly turning to enter their shared bathroom.

Unable to prevent it, Hinata felt her eyes burn with the start of tears, "I…must have really made him angry this time. Stupid…stupid…I can't even protect myself from something as pointless as this…" Hinata muttered to herself while at the same time trying to stop herself from crying.

-----------

'I'm paying my debt…' Sasuke thought as he looked through the medicine cabinet for ointments and bandages. Picking a few of Hinata's own ointments and creams, yet not sure which ones worked for what, Sasuke then searched for the elusive bandages.

'Hinata didn't even know when I decided to leave. So why…'

Sasuke slammed the cabinet closed, causing a small fracture to form on the mirror surface.

'Why… do they feel the need to punish her for something I did?' Sasuke asked himself, while clenching his teeth.

Catching his own reflection in the mirror, Sasuke blinked…surprised to see how…angry his expression was.

Narrowing his gaze, displeased at what he saw, Sasuke then snorted as if that simple act was going to brush his initial anger under some unknown rug.

Then he returned to the bedroom carrying the medicines and bandages.

--------

"God, you're crying again aren't you?" Hinata heard her husband ask.

Gasping, Hinata quickly tried to rub away evidence of her tears, but she failed since all the rubbing left her face and eyes puffy and red.

"Tch, if your ankle hurts that much, you should have gone to Sakura's house so she could have fixed it."

"S-sorry…" Hinata muttered.

Sasuke shrugged, "Whatever, just don't blame me if your ankle ends up being screwed up. I'm not a Medic Nin, but I think I know enough to at least help relieve the pain."

Hinata looked at all the ointments Sasuke had brought out and the length of cloth bandages.

"Ah, you don't have to do this, I can take care of it myself…"

"No, I'll do it." Sasuke returned as he twisted the cap off of one of Hinata's handcrafted medicines.

"Um..."

"What?" Sasuke snipped.

"It's…just…that medicine is made for burns, not bruises." Hinata interjected.

Sasuke picked up the small container to give the inanimate object a death stare.

"Well if you would mark them with labels…" he said, starting to build himself up into saying something cutting; but Hinata stopped Sasuke from reaching that point by picking out the 'right' medicine.

"This one is for cuts and bruises."

"Hn, could have said so earlier…" Sasuke muttered as he twisted open the cap and dabbed his fingers.

A short hiss of air escaped Hinata as cold fingers, and even colder globs of medicine cream, hit her throbbing and bruised ankle.

After a few applications of the medicine, Sasuke unwound a length of bandage, measured it by placing it against Hinata's swollen ankle, then cut the length he need with a kunai.

Hinata smiled, which surprised Sasuke since she was suppose to be in pain, so he remarked on it.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Huh? I was?" Hinata asked, her face turning red, "I…it's nothing."

Sasuke 'hn'ed in response, going back to wrapping the length of bandage across Hinata's ankle being sure to wind it tight enough to reduce swelling, but loose enough so she could move without cutting off circulation to her foot.

"For someone…who isn't a Medic Nin, I think you're doing a great job, Sasuke-san."

"Don't get used to it. I'm only doing this because you would wind up doing something wrong and mess up your own ankle, if left to do this by yourself." Sasuke remarked, yet Hinata saw his lips move a split second afterward.

Blinking, Hinata was almost convinced she had imagined it, but her memory wouldn't let her forget how Sasuke's lips moved, slow yet short and inaudible.

'Sorry?' Hinata questioned to herself, then slowly shook her head, 'No…I'm imagining things. Sasuke-san never apologizes…for anything.'

Once her leg was bandaged, Hinata smiled again, "Thank you, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke didn't reply to the gratitude, instead he returned back to studying his scroll.

'She didn't notice…good.' Sasuke thought to himself. He'd hate to have to explain to Hinata just why he felt it…necessary for him to apologize to her.

'She shouldn't have to suffer for what I did.' Sasuke thought as he watched his wife slowly drift off to sleep.

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9: Song: 'Addicted' by Kelly Clarkson

If asked where she saw herself in ten years, Hinata knew her answer wouldn't have been something like this…

Lying among wrinkled and entangled bed sheets, her bare chest rising and falling in time with a rapid heart beat.

'He can hear it…I know he can…' Hinata thought as she self-consciously closed her eyes tightly, unable to look for much longer as her lover kissed his way across her stomach.

Airy gasps, lungs desperate for air, Hinata's fingers curved tightly into the bed.

Never…

"Hinata…" a voice said, fingers lightly touching against her cheek, making the young woman open pale eyes to clash with dark ones.

Sasuke smiled…no, no it was more of a smirk since the corners of his mouth just barely twitched.

Never had she even imagined…

Trembling, wanting to feel more, wanting more of him, Hinata reached up to brush back long bangs of jet-black hair.

"More?" he asked smugly.

Hinata nodded vigorously in response. Yes, more…always more.

But even as she allowed Sasuke to capture her lips in a kiss, Hinata couldn't help but feel something was off about their…situation.

'I don't love him though…yet…I can't get enough.' Hinata thought as she gasped and curled her fingers into Sasuke's back as his mouth moved from her lips to kiss and suck on skin.

Hinata attempted to twist her head, her pale gaze catching only the briefest of glances from Sasuke before his eyes closed.

'I don't love you…I don't…I don't…I…' Hinata kept thinking to herself.

Naruto was still on her mind, perhaps he always would be.

But, as horrible as it sounded, Sasuke had her charmed and claimed in ways Hinata knew Naruto never would understand, or if he could, such things would be directed only at Sakura- never at her.

Sasuke…looked at her differently than anyone else.

'I don't love you…' Hinata mentally said to Sasuke, her lips never moving save to moan aloud as fingertips brushed along sensitive ribs.

'I don't love you, but I can't live without you either.' Hinata realized as her face burned from a blush as she buried herself next to Sasuke's neck.

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10: Song: 'I've Seen It All' by Bjork

Footsteps, followed by the opening 'creak' of the door as someone from the other side pulled. Footsteps sounded yet again, the door closing behind the intruder and locking with a 'click'.

Pat-pat-pat-pat…

Tuning his ears, Sasuke could hear faint and nervous intakes and expulsion of air.

"You…" an audible gulp, "You've been messing with the bandages around your eyes again, Uchiha-san."

He grunted in response, honestly uncaring what she thought of him or the situation.

"Here…let me tighten it again…" the soft-spoken intruder said as Sasuke felt the shocking sensation of skin brushing against him.

In an instant, Sasuke raised his right arm to block the woman from getting closer to him, let alone reaching the bandages around his eyes.

"Leave it." Sasuke ordered sharply.

A long pause, silence…a strange and empty space void of sound, of touch, or taste, and since his eyes were all but useless, Sasuke had no idea whether the woman would follow his command or not.

Most likely not…

"Please Uchiha-san I have to put the bandage back in place. They can't heal properly if we can't keep them covered…"

"Healed…huh?" Sasuke responded, feeling every bone in his hands and fingers as he clenched tight fists.

"They're gone, you idiot. How can they be healed!? Or better yet, what's the point! Even if I could somehow…by some miracle be able to see…it wouldn't matter! Because Itachi is out there still, alive…immortal even…the bastard…"

"P-p-please Uchiha-san, lay back down."

"I won't!" Sasuke protested, but had no choice but to stop when the 'nurse' hit a nerve or rather she paralyzed his arms with four simple touches.

'A…A Hyuuga?' Sasuke realized. Obviously, his new nurse had to be a Hyuuga since she was able to isolate his chakra points and seal them off so that he couldn't move.

"Please…" she repeated quietly, "lay down again."

Having no other choice, now that his arms were limp and unable to move, Sasuke scowled as he leaned back into the soft bed coverings.

He flinched as fingers touched his face, pulling the fallen bandage piece to wind it around his eyes.

"What's your name?" he asked suddenly, taking the 'nurse' by surprise.

"H-Hinata, Uchiha-san," the girl replied softly.

"So I was right, you are a Hyuuga after all." Sasuke remarked.

"What… does that have to do with anything?" Hinata asked in response.

Sasuke sneered, "Obviously. You're here the gloat. The one of the last Uchiha in such a pathetic state. Blind…and helpless."

"I…I'm not here to gloat Uchiha-san. I'm here to help treat your eyes…"

"You're an idiot then." Sasuke muttered, "They're gone. Nothing is there…"

"There is a lot of damage yes; but your eyes are whole Uchiha-san… and Sakura-chan is trying to find ways to restore the eyes fully…"

A bitter laugh escaped the young man, "All of you are fools then! It's hopeless. Don't you get it?! Even if I have my sight back…Itachi is still out there. I…" fingers twitched and twisted into bed sheets, "I couldn't kill him. I…"

"No matter what I do, I'm not strong enough…is that what you're thinking, Uchiha-san?"

Stunned, Sasuke could only sit in silence as Hinata finished rewinding the bandages around his head.

There was a rustle of cloth as the girl bowed, "I'll leave now Uchiha-san, please get some rest before Tsunade-sama comes by to run more tests."

Sasuke searched for something to say. Something to cut the upstart woman down, she couldn't posibliy understand what he had lost; not just his eyes, his chance to kill Itachi, his clan; but everything…all of it combined in a lifetime of misery and loss.

"How…dare you," he finally managed to say, "How can you get off telling me what you believe is on my mind! You don't know me."

"You're right," Hinata said, her voice causing Sasuke to turn his head in order to follow the sound.

"I…I don't know Uchiha-san, but that doesn't mean I don't…understand…what it's like to feel like a failure."

Another pause, but it only lasted for a second since Sasuke heard the young woman's voice again.

"That's why…from one failure to another…please don't give up hope." Hinata finished.

After her words, Sasuke heard the footsteps fall away from him, the door open…then close.

And he was once again left alone in the darkness to think on what she said.

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Notes: Well that's it for the SasuHina song meme! My next song meme project will be NaruTema as requested by SpammishRice. If you would like me to do a song meme for a HET pairing let me know and I'll add it to my request list ; please only request hetero pairings only, no yaoi or yuri please since I can't write either type very well.

Also, please suggest songs for me to add to my shuffle playlist if you'd like so that I can use it in a song meme.

Thanks for reading!