1. Customers Are Always Right

Do you know what a cliché is?

A cliché is something that is used too many times so it loses its true original meaning.

But for someone once called Hyuuga Hinata, life was a cliché all over again.

No one could say that it was just 'by chance', or 'by accident' that he had come to her clinic just when she was facing the difficulty of an arranged marriage. But no one would call it 'love at first sight either'. Because their first meeting was far from loving or caring.

To say that it was cold and strange would be an understatement.

The first thing that she noticed about him was his hair.

It might've been shiny and beautiful once, but now, it was stiff with gel and in complete spiky disarray. She didn't know if this appealing to the young women ogling at him in the corner or if it was just some bizarre fashion statement.

What bothered her more was that she had a strange feeling in her hands, like she wanted to run her hands through that hair and break off a few pieces.

It certainly had seemed like that at first, but now, she would just laugh and make a joke of it.

Just like she would flush in embarrassment at their first meeting.

She had been working at that chiropractice for a couple years now, and was used to the standard procedures. But it always irked her whenever she had to use her skills on a man. Women were fine, some were nasty and stressed, but by the end, they were relieved and half-asleep.

But men were another thing all together.

First they itched and complained, and then they started blubbering about random things that Hinata could certainly care less about. After a while, they might start complaining again that she was using too much pressure, too little pressure or massaging the wrong place all together. It was annoying and usually, Hinata seemed to get more stressed out than they were at the end of the session.

She didn't know if it was fate, or the gods playing a trick on her, but apparently that man was her protégé.

To top that off, it seemed like all the girls in the lobbies and offices were staring at her; some in envy and some displayed the pure look of death. Hinata smiled cheerfully at them; the customer is always right, even when they are wrong.

So obviously, if they are cursing Hinata out in their minds, then Hinata must be deserving of those insults. Or so says the golden rule, 'the customer is always right'.

She never understood that anyway; if something was priced at fifty dollars, did the customer have to right to say it was only five? Well, not like the cashier would care; they would just charge fifty of the credit card regardless. Besides, if they started arguing, one could call it 'bargaining'.

And so her mind wandered back to undressing man in her office. She took a deep breath and stuttered out, "P-please l-lie down o-over th-there," she glanced at her notepad, "…U-uchiha-san."

He walked over and did promptly that.

She followed him and sat down in a tall stool by the side.

When she started working on the tight muscles around his neck, his cell phone suddenly rang. He grumbled and reached down to his pant pocket and pulled a red Razor out, he flicked it open and immediately, Hinata heard what sounded like a woman's squawking at the end.

"What do you mean I can't just leave you there like that? I told you, IT. IS. OVER, Haruno."

Then he shoved the phone back in his pant pocket and muttered some more. Hinata tried to keep her concentration on relieving the built up stress around his upper back, but her mind wandered elsewhere.

She felt sorry for that woman, it seemed like he was too cold to her; the men she knew would never just leave a girl like that. But then again, the only men she had in her life were her father and cousin; who coincidentally arranged a marriage for her just recently. It was almost like a blind date, except the word "date", was replaced by "marriage". She had to marry some Hyuuga who was her long distance cousin, someone around the same age as her; maybe even younger.

The possibilty of marrying someone younger than her made her feel sick.

The reality of marrying a stranger was horrible; just because she was already twenty-five and showed no interest in men didn't—

"Hello? Anyone home in that empty head of yours?"

Black, coal colored eyes were glaring at her, making her want to flinch and hide somewhere safe. Preferably somewhere without this oddball. She apologized nervously and concentrated on her work again. Sometime near the end of the session, the man shifted and his cell phone fell onto the carpet floor.

Hinata stopped and bent down to pick the cell phone up. HE glanced at her, annoyed apparently that her hands had stopped working. She put up a nervous smile and said, "U-um..h-here's y-your ce-cell ph-phone…"

"Just leave it."

"E-excuxe m-me?"

"Just leave it on the damn floor."

"B-but—"

"I said; just leave it on the godamn floor!" His voice was rising now and to Hinata, that didn't make the situation any better. She blinked back tears and put the cell phone on the counter across the room quietly. Then she wiped her eyes hurridely and sat down near him again.

There was a new kind of tension between them now; she was furiously blinking back tears of fright and while he was just glancing at her once in while out of the corner of his eyes. Then he just looked the other way and said in a voice that sounded forced, "Stop crying."

Hinata stayed quiet, her heart was racing, what could she do without bawling out anyway? So she acted like she didn't hear him and continued at massaging his shoulders. She could feel them tensing again, as if bracing himself for something.

"Sorry."

Her hands stopped suddenly and then a smile appeared on her face.

"I-it's o-okay.." she whispered softly. He glanced at her for a second out of the corner of his eyes and then turned away again. The silence returned, but this time it was just slightly awkward, not so tense as before. Before Hinata even realized it—

RRRRRIIIINNNGGGG

The timer ringed, signaling the end of the session. Hinata almost breathed a sigh of relief when Uchiha left the building. But when she read the appointment book the next day, she wanted to crawl on the floor and die all over again.

He was coming back.

Again.