“Power. You must gain power. You need to get stronger.” These words echoed through the Uchiha boy’s head. “You’re too weak.” It was his own voice telling this to him. “You’re not strong enough.”
Sasuke seemed to be standing in the middle of an abyss. There was no floor. Just waves of grayish lines all around him. It frightened him.
“You must be drunk with power. You must get stronger to kill Orochimaru and Itachi.”
“No!” shouted Sasuke. “I’ve done enough. I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore.” He tightly covered his ears with his hands and closed his eyes.
“The others don’t matter. Nothing matters. Especially if you are weak.” Taunted his own voice.
“Stop it! That’s not true!”
“The villagers hate you. Your best friend despises you. There was no point of you coming back to this village.”
“No! That’s not …” Sasuke trailed off, unsure of what to say. This voice was right. There was no point of him coming back…
“There’s no point of being alive either. Especially if you are weak.” Echoed the voice.
“Stop saying that.” Said Sasuke weakly.
“You’re not worth killing right now.” It was Orochimaru’s voice this time. Sasuke gasped and removed his hands from his ears. His eyes were wild.
“I’ll wait for the day your anger burns with such intensity, that it can be seen.”
“Shut up!” the boy shouted. He violently looked around him, trying to find the source of this voice.
“You will gain so much power that your body will not be able to control it.”
“You’re lying!” he exclaimed. “I’m in control of myself. I can control my power.” He swiftly turned his head to his right, then to his left. More wavy gray lines.
“When that day comes,”
Sasuke was sure where this voice was coming from this time. He turned quickly to look behind him and gasped. It was himself in his demon form. The form that is made by his cursed seal. It looked just as shocked as him. Then it smirked, and slowly, it faded into Orochimaru’s image.
“When that day comes,” he repeated. “That power which you possess,” the man reached a hand out in an attempt to grab the boy. Sasuke stepped back.
“will be mine.” He finished. His lips stretched into a wide smile, and his eyes grew bigger. Sasuke fell back in fear. What he saw now was not Orochimaru. It was a giant snake. Its mouth wide open, ready to swallow the Uchiha boy. Its tongue waved around violently as it hissed.
Sasuke couldn’t move. He stayed there on the floor, petrified. Before he could scream, the snake plunged forward with an open mouth, then everything went black. He felt numb again. His lungs seemed to have failed him, but he wasn’t gasping. Darkness. That’s all he could see. Nothing but darkness.
After a while, he realized that he was falling. No, not falling. His body felt much too light. He was gently drifting down. There was no floor. He’d be drifting down forever. His lids fell over his eyes, waiting.
“Sasuke-kun?” a soft voice echoed through his trance.
“Sasuke-kun?” it said again. This voice sounded familiar. He couldn’t say who it was. It definitely wasn’t Sakura. This voice was much softer.
“Sasuke-kun…” It called again. Sasuke didn’t want to open his eyes, but felt like he had too. His lids felt heavy.
At first, everything was black. Then came the voice again, “Sasuke-kun?” The darkness seemed to have subsided a bit. Light was streaming in slowly.
“I’m here.” Said Sasuke weakly. “I’m right here.” He attempted to raise a heavy arm up, as if something would grab his hand and pull him out of this abyss. “Call my name again.” He said. “Please…” This voice sounded like that of an angel.
“Sasuke-kun, are you alright?” This time with the voice came an image made from the streaming light, above the drifting Uchiha boy. After a few moments, the image became clear.
Hinata was hovering over him, glowing. Her long hair waved behind her, as if she was drifting with him, too. Her face never looked so heavenly.
“Hinata…” he said weakly. He dropped his raised hand, and kept on looking at her angelic image.
“Wake up, Sasuke-kun. Wake up.” The girl pleaded. She sounded worried.
“Wake up?” said Sasuke puzzled. He didn’t feel like he was sleeping.
“Sasuke-kun, please, wake up.” Pleaded Hinata again.
Follow her voice, thought the boy. Follow it.
As if he was in water, Sasuke straightened himself up and began kicking with his feet in an attempt to swim to this celestial maiden. A hand from her was stretched out, seemingly to reach him. He stretched out his hand as well, and kept on kicking. He was desperate now, to get out of this darkness, to be able to breathe.
Finally, he clutched onto Hinata’s hand, and felt a tug into reality. Everything around him quickly faded to white.
     The ceiling was yellow. Sasuke blinked a few times before he looked around some more. He turned his head to his side, and sure enough, Hinata was standing next to him, worry clear on her face. He switched his gazes to the ceiling. “What time is it?” He asked. The timid girl’s face formed into a puzzled expression. “I-it’s about 3 pm.” She stammered.
“Oh.” Replied Sasuke. Without thinking, he tried to sit himself up. As a result, an aching pain shot through his body. He fell back with a slump.
“Ah, Sasuke-kun, you shouldn’t do that.” Hinata said frantically. “Don’t move. I’ll go get Tsunade-sama.” She turned around, towards the exit. A tug at her wrist stopped her before she even took one step. Slowly, she turned her head to see a pale arm stretched out towards her. Her eyes met his, and as usual, he had an unreadable expression on his face. He let go of her and looked away.
“Don’t leave.” He said unsurely.
Hinata’s eyes widened in surprise. Hesitantly, she nodded and sat down on the blanket she had slept on.
Sasuke turned so that he wasn’t facing Hinata at all. Why’d I do that?, he thought. Lately, Sasuke has noticed that the heavy feelings in his heart were relieved slightly around this girl. He had grabbed her wrist on impulse, without thinking, as if not wanting to be away from her.
“Sorry.” He managed to say. “But … I need you to stay with me.”
Hinata could feel her face grow warm. “N-no, it’s fine.”
Sasuke hadn’t realized what he’d just said. The thought of Hinata misinterpreting it didn’t cross his mind.
He couldn’t figure out what was so special about this girl. She made him feel unfamiliar emotions. Sometimes she made him feel powerful. A new thought dawned on him. Is she the source of his strength? Will she be the one to help him gain power? He shook his head. That’s ludicrous. She’s just a girl. A weak, timid girl. There was nothing special about her. At least not her appearance. But she’s a Hyuuga. He thought again. One of the strongest clans in Konoha. And she’s survived this far. Maybe there’s more to her then it seems. He sighed. Right now, she’s his comfort. The only medicine that would make him feel better. And right now, he wanted her to stay with him.