Chapter Four

Naruto woke up the next day expecting another room of their house to be remodeled. He didn't expect the cardboard boxes by the door. "Hinata?" He called, searching through the pile of items for his petite wife. There she was, packing some random trinkets into one of the smaller boxes. Her eyes met his for a second before guiltily flickering to her feet.

"I don't understand." You were doing so well yesterday, he didn't add. Was this another part of her recovery? Was she regressing to pushing people away? She bit her lip, gaze slowly reaching his face but not his eyes.

"I-I need some…t-time." Space, room to breathe, time to think. Naruto stretched his hands before placing them stiffly at his sides.

"Okay," he breathed. "Okay, we can get through this. I'll go sleep at a friends and—"

"N-no!" Finally, her eyes met his. "My whole life I've b-been dependent on others. I got my strength from you. I need some time…so I can learn to be strong on my own."

Naruto closed his eyes and took in a long, stabilizing breath. He didn't feel very strong at the moment, in fact he felt at his weakest. These past couple weeks had exhausted him, especially with Sasuke's trial looming over his head.

"Are you going to defend him?"

"Yes."

"Even when I prosecute? Even when the entire room knows what he did to you?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Naruto's voice was barely a whisper. "Why defend the monster that still haunts your dreams?"

Hinata's hand shook as she placed it gently on his cheek.

She breathed in slowly, out a little too quickly.

"B-because only then will I b-be able to sleep at night." Naruto looked over at Hinata as she removed her hand and gave him a small smile.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Hinata. I really hope you do."

"I'm m-making it up as I go." With that, the couple broke apart. Naruto watched with an uncharacteristically masked expression as Hinata moved her things out of their home. He wondered how he could have stopped this, how he could have expected this. He couldn't find the answer.

Hinata looked over at her husband with shaded eyes, wondering for the billionth time if this was the right course of action. She was hurting him again, and she told herself she wouldn't. She told herself she couldn't watch that hopeless look in his eyes again.

She slowly sealed all of her personal belongings into scrolls that she placed in her mission pack. Naruto didn't wish her farewell as she exited the front door. She didn't know if this was goodbye, didn't want it to be, but Naruto needed this just as much as her.

I could have cost him the war. He's too important to be so influenced by the likes of me. His happiness cannot depend upon mine.

"Goodbye, Naruto. I-I love you." She turned abruptly, before she could change her mind and go running back into his arms. She adjusted the straps on her shoulders and made her way to her new apartment. She was given the option of moving back to her previous room in the Hyuuga Compound. She was given the option of moving into several friend's houses.

She didn't—no, she couldn't.

If she wanted this to work, she needed to go all out. She had never, never been on her own. She had never relied solely on herself. If she ever wanted to bring a new life into the world, she thought as she looked at her almost smooth belly. She would need to be strong enough to support the both of them.

So she walked to her new apartment, looking stronger than she felt. She ignored the rumors and talk that circled around her. If Naruto could handle—no. If she couldn't handle a few offhand remarks, then she didn't deserve to call herself a kunoichi.

Her apartment was small and clean, perfect for her. It was on the third floor, so she had a nice view of her village from her bedroom window. It would have been cramped if not for her truly meager belongings. It was, fortunately, already furnished and lacked the smell of cat urine that most apartments seemed to always have.

The silence was the first thing to get to her as she sat alone on her bed. She opened all of the windows. It didn't help. She left her apartment as she pulled on a light sweater. Her walk to the market was short as was her breath. She was getting out of shape. She stopped and bought a small radio that could run on either batteries or by being plugged into the wall. She paused in front of a shinobi-specialized shop. Looking down at her clothes and the subtle layer of fat over her stomach, Hinata found herself making her way into the shop.

It was one of the smaller shops and lacked many customers. She was thankful for the solitude. Her hands grazed over various kunai and weapons. She had forgotten the feel of metal in her grasp. The worker at the register watched her silently.

She had plenty of weapons sealed away at home, but for some reason she couldn't stop herself from buying several as well as a new outfit to train in. She paid for her purchases and left the store without a word. The walk to her apartment seemed longer than before.

Sasuke's trial began the next day and would span over a week's time. It was not a widely public trial and only high-ranking shinobi would be present. Various witnesses would be called to speak for or against him. The Hokage, his council, advisors, and all the clan heads would be there to judge. Hinata let out a deep breath. The Hokage would have the last say and Naruto was definitely not going to listen to a word she said on Sasuke's behalf.

What was she going to do about that? She left that thought for another time as she sprinted up the stairs to her apartment. She placed her purchases on the floor by the door and glanced out the window. Seeing that there was still several hours of light, she decided to pay her defendant a visit before she lost her nerve.

This time was going to be different. She was not going to quake in her boots like she had the last time. She was not going to let him have the last word, or the first for that matter. She was going to be the Hyuuga Heiress she was born to be. She would be strong. There was no other option.

This time, she opened the door for herself. She forced her arms stiffly to her side to avoid fidgeting. Sasuke sat on his stool, much less cognizant than the last time she had seen him. His left eye was nearly swollen shut and his face resembled more of a potato than any human's face should be able to. She could see various bruises spread across his skin and could tell by the awkward angle he was holding his arm that it was broken.

His good eye barely registered who she was. Slowly, he opened his mouth to speak the first cruel thing he could come up with. She wasn't going to let him.

"No." Whatever he was about to say died on his lips. "I-I'm the one in charge here. Seeing as I'm the only person here that isn't chained and locked up, we follow my r-rules."

"Says who?"

"Me." Hinata had to avoid biting her lip. She was a rock. Her feet were rooted to the floor. She was not yielding.

"You weren't in charge when…" His voice faded from her ears as that night threatened to replay in her mind. She squashed the memory before it could take hold of her.

"I-I'm not as w-weak as y-you think."

"You're definitely not strong."

"Look at y-you. You're tied up, chained to that stool. You are drained of all of your chakra and even if you weren't, you have seals that are blocking off your sharingan. You are helpless, weak, and in seven days you will be killed in the most inhumane way possible." The smirk he tried so hard to pull off looked more like a grimace of pain.

"What do you want from me? You're not getting an apology."

"I d-don't expect one."

"Hn."

"You need my help."

"I don't need anyone's help."

"Fine," Hinata clipped, pulling the door open. She glanced at what was left of the mighty Sasuke Uchiha behind her shoulder. "Have fun in hell, Sasuke." And with that, she slammed the door closed behind her.

Hinata suddenly felt liberated. She took in a deep breath, feeling as if she had never smelled something so beautiful. She had an extra bounce in her step as she walked home that evening. She was in such a fantastic mood that she forgot to check the shadows that were appearing as the sun set over the horizon. She was in such a good mood that she made it to her apartment without breaking down.

She ran up the flights of stairs with a new sense of purpose running through her veins. She locked her door behind her and all of the windows she had opened earlier that day. Then, she plugged in and turned on the little radio she had purchased earlier. A sweet little melody filled the apartment.

Hinata made herself a cup of instant ramen, feeling the need to rush to her project. She slurped up the noodles over a notebook, her pencil placed behind her right ear. She needed a battle plan. She couldn't go into that trial tomorrow without one.

First, she needed to get rid of Naruto. His influence was too great and his final say could not be swayed. She needed some kind of evidence to pin against him, though. She needed witnesses that would not know they were sentencing him.

Secondly, she needed to convince the council of the worth of keeping the last Uchiha alive. They would be the easiest to convince. She already had the advisers' full support. She would have her father's support, she was sure. Next, she would have to gain the support of individual clan heads. Some would be easier than others. Those that had the least contact with Sasuke would be the easiest.

Thirdly, she would have to convince everyone there that her opinion and what she was saying was credible and accurate. She needed them to trust her. But how?

And all of this she had to do without Sasuke saying anything stupid and ruining everything she was working for.

As night fell, Hinata was grateful for her recent insomniac tendencies.

She needed all the time she could get.

The swelling on Sasuke's eye was finally going down enough that he could close it without crying out in pain. He wished he could lay down, but he knew it was all part of Naruto's plan to "crack him."

He scoffed. Like that would ever happen.

He took this time to wonder what he expected to come of the next seven days. He knew he had created quite the list of enemies inside of Konoha; however, he also knew that the blood running through his veins would greatly sway their opinions.

He was the last Uchiha. His blood was like liquid gold. He smirked at that.

They hate me, but they can't help but respect me.

He decided that if they elected to execute him at the end of the week, that it was a good way to go. Respectable. He would go down in the history books as a martyr to his cause. But it wasn't enough for him. A common criminal maybe, but not Sasuke Uchiha.

No, he was going to leave them with something to really remember him by.

A/N: I'm sorry for all the confusion about the pairing of this story. The genre is hurt/comfort/friendship and the character development mainly surrounds Hinata and Sasuke. That is why I labeled it the way I did. Naruto has had a major roll in the story thus far, but he will have less and less as the story goes on. I thought it would be wrong to label it NaruHina if only a small number of the chapters actually contained him. I will be writing more and more of Sasuke's point of view, especially now that the trial is about to start. If you all still think that this story should be labeled NaruHina instead of SasuHina please tell me and I will make the appropriate change.