(Author's Notes) These won't be as long as my sister's... (Yukishiro Madoka) Haha. Look, I'm advertising for you, sis. xD Anyways, this story was inspired by a Korean drama. Yes, I actually watch those... but only if they have DBSK in them. x) I think this drama was one of their more "serious" ones though. (Probably because Micky was in this one. -.-;;) But seriously they're a riot. xD And if you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about... ignore what you just read... Oh and this also my first Naruto fic! And this story has a love triangle! Or is it? ;)

(Warnings) Oh, yes, and there will be the occasional curse word. I actually hate cursing but ehh, this is Sasuke we're talking about... Oh, and did I mention there's character death?

(Disclaimer) Sadly, I own nada...

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+ Chapter 1 +

"What?" her tone was disbelieving.

Perhaps she had heard wrong through the static of the cell phone.

Not now, not so soon. She was so close...

Oh, Hinata... You wanted to see him so bad, didn't you?

"You heard me, Yamanaka. Your Hyuuga friend. She's dead," was the blunt reply. "Your fiancé would have told you, but it seems he is too painstricken at the moment."

That's right. They were best friends...

The unintentional past tense stung bitterly.

"Oh, and Yamanaka?"

"What."

He could tell she wasn't taking the news well. He chuckled silently to himself.

Little brother would probably take it a lot harder, even if he doesn't look like he is. After all...

He paused a moment to recollect his thoughts on the conversation, then continued as if there wasn't that 15-second pause.

"Bring him home."

+-------------------------+

A lone figure stood at the corner of an empty crosswalk. Despite the cold rain pelting against his sleak dark blue blazer, he was quite warm. He had just gotten out of his favorite cafe and in his hand was a cup of espresso, properly lidded, of course.

His eyes narrowed as he waited impatiently for the light to turn green. He tore his gaze from the light briefly, eyes boredly roaming across the street to his right.

For a moment he thought he caught a glimpse of dark blue hair. A sigh escaped his lips and he shook his head.

It must have been his imagination... or maybe it was just the weather.

He needed to get home if two minutes out in the rain was already making him halucinate.

She can't be here, he thought unwaveringly, his eyes returning to the light to find that it had already turned green.

No sooner did his feet touch the curb on the other side did he hear the undeniably familiar voice.

"S-Sasuke!"

He turned, his expression never faltering even as his mind rallied all the reasons why she wouldn't—shouldn't be here.

And there she stood, across the crosswalk, so near yet so far. The familiar flush was across her face—from the cold or from seeing him, he wasn't sure. She was dressed in dark blue capris and her trademark tan parka.

She waved shyly, hesitantly, and when he didn't move, she stepped down from the curb.

Even before she was able to move a few steps from the curb, Sasuke knew something was wrong.

Very wrong.

His eyes strayed slowly to the light. Its dark red glare stared menacingly back at him.

The blood drained from his face. His heart stopped, his breath left him.

No...

He had been so fixated on her that he had not noticed that the light had changed color—or that they were still on a busy street.

And so had she.

Time seemed to stand still.

And then the deafening screech of tires and clash of metal reached his ears.

The espresso cup fell from his hand, the dark warm liquid flowing away, slowly bleeding in with the crimson fluid that trickled from the motionless body.

He stood frozen, rooted to the spot as if by a spell.

The warmth he had felt when he had left the cafe was gone. He could clearly feel the cold merciless pelting of the rain against his skin.

Then he felt the spell break, his breath come back to him.

And for the first time in five years, he spoke her name.

"Hinata..."

The world spun, blurred.

Until all he could hear, could see, could feel was the wind cutting into his flesh, into his very heart.

She can't hear you... the cold eerie wind whispered sardonically.

+-------------------------+

"HINATA!"

Sasuke sat up sharply, so fast he thought he must have pulled something.

He was drenched in perspiration and his hair clung to his head as if he had been walking in the rain. Despite the blankets and functioning heater, he felt as cold as ice.

He noticed his grip on his blankets and abruptly loosened it. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

It was just a nightmare...

Another nightmare.

He had been having similar dreams the past few days, all in which he would bear witness to Hinata's death.

He wondered if it meant anything, but then decided against it.

After lying in bed for a few minutes, he found he couldn't sleep and reluctantly got up.

After taking a hot shower to rid himself of the chill he felt after the dream, he went into the kitchen to brew himself some coffee.

The front doorbell rang just as he was leaving the water to boil.

He frowned, wondering who it could be.

The last visitors he had were his neighbors, attempting to make him feel welcome.

And, well, let's say they never came back again.

Not to mention that he made no attempts whatsoever to make friends...

So who could possibly be bothering him—he glanced at the clock—at 7:30 in the morning?

Sasuke raised his eyes to the ceiling and muttered under his breath as he walked as slowly as he could to the front door.

Maybe the person would give up and go away to leave him in peace?

As he neared the door, the person on the other end started pounding loudly on the door.

Hn. Maybe not, he thought sourly.

He unlocked the door without checking who it was and flung it open, ready to strike the poor person on the other side with the first expletives that came to his mind.

What greeted him on the other side was not who he expected.

A familiar blue-eyed blond female stood in the doorway, impatience clearly written across her face. Her fist stopped in mid-air and dropped lamely to her side when she realized the door was open.

Ino Yamanaka, Sasuke thought with mild disgust.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, well. Sasuke Uchiha, as charming as ever," Ino replied, a hint of a smile in her blue eyes. "I see you haven't changed at all."

"What do you want?" he snapped.

She rolled her eyes, an amused smile on her lips.

"Relax, jeez, I'm not here to rape you. Besides," she paused and raised her left hand to show him the diamond ring on her ring finger, "I'm engaged."

Sasuke snorted, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Tch. So you went through all the trouble of finding me and coming all the way here just to tell me you're engaged?" His eyes narrowed and he gripped the door as if he was going to slam it in her face at any moment. "Sorry, but I'm not interested in attending your wedding."

"Well, actually, that's not exactly why I'm here," she replied coolly. "I'm here on behalf of one of your former best friends. Does the name Hinata Hyuuga ring a bell?"

He stiffened slightly.

She noticed.

He averted his eyes from her probing ones.

"What about her?" he replied coldly.

A dark-haired man and woman passed by on their way upstairs, surprise evident on their faces as they eyed the blond but that soon turned to something akin to fear as they noticed the Uchiha glaring at them. They left quickly, not wanting any trouble.

Ino raised an eyebrow in amusement, then smiled. "Actually, can I come in? It feels kind of awkward standing out here..."

"Fine."

He closed the door and without another word went to the kitchen, expecting Ino to follow.

Hm, impressive. His housecleaning's even better than mine... Ino thought, surveying the nearly spotless living room.

When she stepped into the kitchen, Sasuke was already seated at the small round table, staring into his cup of coffee.

She noticed that no other chairs were present and the only chair there was already occupied.

Hm, guy obviously lives alone... Ino thought. Typical.

With a sigh, she leaned against the counter, facing the dark-haired young man who still hadn't looked up.

Sasuke finally looked up and upon seeing her current predicament, shrugged.

"I don't normally have visitors," he explained, pausing to take a sip of his coffee.

An awkward silence followed.

Ino sighed again.

"Listen, I know you and Hinata weren't exactly on good terms before you left... But you two were good friends—along with Naruto," she saw him flinch at the name. "I don't know what happened between you guys, but before... you guys were so close. It kind of made me jealous..." she gave a short laugh.

"Hn," he waved his hand, gesturing for her to go on.

"Well, about two weeks ago, Hinata—she was sent to the hospital..." she paused, waiting for his reaction.

He was staring at her intently, waiting for her to continue.

"She had been in a car accident and was in pretty bad condition. A couple of broken ribs and bones, it wasn't anything that couldn't heal... But... Her heart condition got worse. You remember, right Sasuke? That one time you and Naruto took her to the hospital because she suddenly started coughing blood all over you?"

"Yeah." I thought I was going to lose her that day...

"It was so bad that they had to keep her in the hospital. They said any more stress on her heart would probably kill her."

"What? That's bullshit."

"Yeah, that's what I told the doctor, but they were firm on it. They even had restrictions on how many people could visit her per day. Can you believe that?"

Sasuke sat quietly, knowing where this might be leading but hoping it wasn't.

"Well, anyway," she continued, "I came to visit her one day. She was all bandaged and everything, but she still glowed. I don't know how she was able to smile after something like that."

Ino smiled fondly at the memory.

"But the funny thing was, the only thing she could talk about was you. How she wanted to see you, wondered how you were, where you were..." her voice broke, "She was afraid. Afraid of dying without getting to see you and apologize for whatever it was that made you leave."

Sasuke looked away, his heart clenching a bit—with guilt?

"It was like her dying wish and I promised her I'd bring you back. But... it seems I'd failed to grant it."

He looked up and was surprised to see tears of sorrow—and guilt?—start in her eyes.

A cold chill ran down his spine.

"You mean..."

A nod and a melancholic smile.

"Hinata... she passed away, yesterday afternoon."