She cast her gaze about for a few moments, observing that she was in fact in her own room and she was not alone. “Naruto,” she uttered softly.
The blonde's head snapped up, and his eyes filled with relief. He was sitting on a wooden stool with his back against the wall. He smiled, despite that the only clothing he wore were simple pajama leggings and bandages neck to toe. His face was covered in deep gouges which had sealed themselves with either scars or thick scabs.
“How long...?” Hinata murmured, her mind still sleepy.
“We were all in there for a month. You and Tenten were in there up until the last week. You passed out, and Tenten brought you back here then went to her own place to sleep,” Naruto explained.
“Oh.”
Naruto studied her for a moment, then looked away, sighing. “Sasuke's in prison. He hasn't said anything. Tsunade's still trying to figure out what to do with him. A lot of the villagers want him executed. Others want him banished from Konoha.”
“What do you want to happen to him?” Hinata asked after a moment's pause.
Naruto's fists clenched. “I...I don't know. I really want to help him, but I don't know how. I don't think he even wants help.” He winced slightly and murmured, “Poor Sakura.” Naruto shook his head slightly. “No one's allowed to go near his prison for a week until Tsunade decides on what's going to happen to him. No one. Not guards, not friends, not even Tsunade herself. He's not being fed, but I doubt that'll affect his health much. I...I'm more worried about what we'll find in the cell by the time the week's over.”
“You think he'll escape somehow?”
“No, that's not it. That's not it at all. I don't think he cares what happens to him anymore. I don't know what happened to him these past years. When he noticed us, he immediately attacked. It was without reason at all. The Sasuke I remember would have at least said something, asked us something, told us something. He acted more like...more like an animal with nothing to lose. A lone wolf seeking death from his old pack.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“That's why I'm worried. Because no matter how insane he got, Sasuke's actions could still always make sense if you thought about it for a long enough time. And I've got nothing. Neither does Shikamaru.”
Hinata frowned. The memory of the journals returned, and a sick feeling churned her stomach. “We'll figure something out eventually,” she said, more to convince herself than Naruto.
“Hopefully it's before the week's over,” Naruto replied, sighing. He stood slowly and put out a hand. “Let's get something to eat. I don't think I'm in any shape for Ichiraku's, though. More likely to scare away customers than anything else, really.”
Hinata smiled slightly, glad for the momentary respite.
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Chapter notes: Haven't started on the next chapter yet, but instead I'm working on The Shinobi Effect. Although I'll probably get distracted and work on this one again. ^^;;