Sasuke wasn't sure why he had begun training with the girl, but he had. Maybe it was because of her determination or her confidence in her skills, but he really didn't know. Still he wouldn't say it was a waste of his time, as she had really begun to bloom under his guidance, from being a mere chunin to one of the best in the village in under three years. In the beginning she was ranked as a ninja of the C-Rank, a normal class for all average chunin.
But now she was on her way to an S-Rank, which showed that he was a good teacher and that she was a good student. Still, he was glad to have company these days, as most of his friends were always together or with their families and he didn't want to intrude, as he wasn't that welcome in the village and he wouldn't want to spoil the mood.
Looking over her form, he knew she was close to mastering her techniques, where it became second nature for her to use, which was good, as she would need it, especially on the missions she would go on when she would reach S-Rank. He found no mistakes in her form, but she was at few points, a little bit to tense and it would slow her down around for about 0.02 seconds, which was far too much in his opinion.
Thinking back a few days, he saw the same girl, which was now expressionless and fully concentrated on her training, from a different side, a side he thought didn't exist. She was completely distraught, her confidence shattered and close to tears. Yeah, he knew that everyone had insecurities, but somehow he had believed for a little she was exempt of something like that, as she was always fully confident, not matter what.
She had rushed at him, embracing him and totally stumping him as he didn't know how to react to it. It came worse as her body began to shake lightly and he could hear muffled sobs from her and so he had just wrapped his arms around her too and held her.
He normally wasn't like this, to anybody, but somehow he was too stupefied to do anything else and he certainly didn't want to make the situation worse. So he waited until she calmed down, before he pushed her gently away and led her to a tree to sit up on a sturdy branch.
She had explained despite how her skills had grown and of how much respect she had from the Hokage and the other Shinobi, she still wouldn't inherit the clan, just because her sister would marry the future Hokage of the leaf, Uzumaki Naruto. It came worse, as she would be branded with the Caged Bird seal of the branch house.
She told him it felt like she was discarded by her clan like trash, as if she wasn't worth anything, as if it didn't matter to them that she was the second strongest kunoichi in Konoha and almost an S-Ranked Shinobi. As if all her her sweat, blood and countless time she spent training wasn't worth it, despite being the unofficial apprentice of Uchiha Sasuke, meant nothing to anyone in her clan.
He had smiled lightly at her words and her eyes seemed to water again, as she thought he would make fun of her for confessing all the things she had kept bottled up. He said, in a light tone, that she wasn't just unofficial his apprentice and it was official since two and a half years now that she was learning under him.
Told her, how he enjoyed training with her, see her soak up knowledge, techniques and tactics. That she was a good apprentice and that there was a reason he had kept sticking with her. She had smiled at his words, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before vanishing in a whirlwind of leaves, a quiet thank you resonating through the area.
He just smirked before muttering under his breath: "Hyūga Hanabi, you truly are a special little firecracker, aren't you?"
*Edited out a few typos*