Suicide

Chapter One: Affection

Hyuuga Hinata had never been fond of the appealing boy who was the sole survivor of his clan. In fact, he seemed quite unattractive compared to Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke knows just the thing to resolve that.

- Not AU Fic – SasuHina, NejiTen – Rated T – Rookie 9's Age: 16 – Sasuke: Back at Konoha –

Chapter One: Affection – Hinata's POV

I had never been one to notice his presence. My eyes were for Naruto-kun and him alone, but I couldn't help but stare at the boy beside me. He was my former classmate, the pretty boy of Rookie 9. Come to think of it, he was our Number One Rookie and he garnered all the awards on Graduation Day.

I feared for my life as he turned towards me, obsidian eyes directed at my own. Yes, Uchiha Sasuke was still as intimidating as ever. I evaded his gaze and decided to turn away from him, for I knew it was rude to stare at other people. Even father always said that, and I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of his chakra-infused palms.

I twiddled my thumbs together and bit my bottom lip, albeit gently. Breathing sensitively, I heard him sigh. I used my Byakugan to check out was he was doing, and I found out that he'd pocketed his hands and was looking languidly at the Hokage.

Tsunade-sama handed him a scroll and Shizune escorted us out of the room, smiling forcefully. "Have fun at the mission," she speedily said, before slamming the door on our faces.

We remained unmoving and silent, standing still in the middle of the corridor. Yes, I knew Sasuke-san was a man of a few words, and even though I was similar to him, this silence was getting a bit creepy. I noticed that he was still looking at the red-bordered scroll in his pale hands. Wanting to break the thick silence, I spoke first.

"U-Uchiha-san, c-can you o-open the s-scroll?" What came out as a stutter didn't really surprise me at all, since Sasuke-san really was an uncomfortable person to be around with. He had just come back Otogakure no Sato, for he had killed his brother and learned the truth from him in his last words, to which Tsunade had the Konoha Elders publicly executed. Sasuke, however, was not accepted by the village and was still considered a convict, so he was put into house arrest for a month. Today was the day that he would resume taking missions, although I didn't really expect that I was going with him.

He looked at me like I had just laid an egg in front of him. "Did you even listen to the Hokage?" he deadpanned, onyx eyes searching my own for a decent answer.

As usual, I broke eye contact and focused on the wooden floor beneath us. I hadn't really listened to a word Tsunade-sama said, for I had been pondering and… erm… staring at my new teammate. I desperately tried to think about an excuse but my lips betrayed me and I started to speak."N-No, I was b-busy—"

"Staring at me, yes, I noticed," he cut in. If I were my father, I would have called him rude and Jyuuken-ed him to Neptune. But there were 2 concepts that were wrong here. One, I am NOT Hyuuga Hiashi, my father and Head of our prestigious clan, and two, I'm not exactly adept with the idea of hurting an innocent person… if you could call rude still being innocent.

He must have noticed that I had blanked out because he continued, "Hokage-sama said not to open the scroll until midnight. She wants us to read the mission at that exact time and I do not particularly know the reason why." He looked at the scroll before putting it inside his weapon pouch. "I'll hold it. Make sure to meet me in the Training Grounds at 12 sharp later. See ya, Hinata."

Without any warning of some sort, he disappeared in a puff and smoke and I was now alone in the deserted corridors of the Hokage Tower. I guess that was an order then.

But still, I cannot help but wonder what kind of person Sasuke-san really is.

As soon as I stepped inside my room, a blur of white rushed past me and closed the door behind me, locking it with alarming speed. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw my cousin holding the doorknob, his grip as firm as ever. Hm, the only time Neji ever talked with me privately is when father's having his out-of-character tantrums again or, he needed help with his girlfriend, Tenten-nee-san.

"Good evening, Hinata-sama," he stiffly said, turning around to face me. His silver eyes were blank as usual, but I could feel that there was something bothering him. "Good evening to you as well, nii-san."

It never ceased to amaze whenever Neji-nii-san and I would have a conversation. He hated stuttering, and I don't know how he disciplined me to stop my peculiarly 'bad' habit. But he did stop my stuttering and I was surprised at how calm he was when my words came out smoothly. Even I managed to shock myself with that. The only persons I stutter to are my father and other males except Neji-nii-san. But my cousin always comes to my rescue so it really didn't bother me one bit.

I felt his hand on my shoulder and I relaxed a little. "Was there something you needed?" I asked, curious at what my cousin was worried for.

"Did Uchiha do anything to harm you?"

Oh, so that was it… He was worried that Sasuke-san might have molested me or hurt me. Well, I could never blame Neji-nii-san for his preconceptions. Sasuke-san was still a criminal in the Leaf's eyes, for he had betrayed the village and had only been taken back because of the Hokage's mercy. "Nothing, he did nothing to me, nii-san," I replied reassuringly, showing him a miniscule smile.

"When is your mission with him?" he asked promptly. At this, I knew Neji-nii-san wanted me to relay the information on the mission, for he always helped me with coming up with strategies and giving me the needed projectiles, courtesy of his girlfriend. We had become quite a bit close over the years, haven't we?

"I apologize but we have yet to know at midnight. I'm meeting Sasuke-san on the training grounds later this evening."

Neji raised an elegant brow. "Would you like me to chaperone you?" he offered awkwardly, his eyes showing a bit of concern.

"No need to, nii-san. I know you trust me fully well and I won't break your trust."

In that particular moment, Neji-nii-san smiled me a smile that only I and Tenten-nee-san had seen. "Then I will trust that you come home immediately or else your father would kill me," he jokingly stated. Yes, Neji-nii-san had his playful side, just like all prodigies do. I wonder… does Sasuke-san have a mischievous side too?

Hm, I also wonder why his face was entering my mind often today, when in fact, in all the years I had known him, this never happened before.

It was already 11:40 in the evening and I had decided to go a lot earlier than planned. The training grounds were near our clan compound, for us Hyuugas are very addicted to training, or so they say. I bid my father goodbye and he went off to sleep immediately. Neji-nii-san had been very kind to accompany me to the front gate, where I saw Tenten-nee-san standing.

"Hello, Hinata, I heard you've got a mission with that cute Uchiha," Tenten joked silently, making her laugh when Neji had reddened up with jealousy. I nodded gently and smiled. "Yes, Tenten-nee-san," I replied, giggling softly when Tenten reassured Neji of her love.

Sometimes, I wonder if I could be like that someday: A girl with a happy love life who can feel so in love. Tenten-nee-san surely was happy with my cousin, and from the way they cuddled each other whenever they're together, one could say that their love would last forever. And I must admit... I hope it really will. Neji-nii-san had taken care of me with great kindness and I would hate for him to suffer… and that counts Tenten-nee-san in too.

"Well, I must be going now, goodbye," I said as I walked briskly past the gate. I looked over my shoulder and saw both of them waving at me. I gave a small smile and leaped up into the trees by the path. Jumping from branch to branch, I wondered who I was going to end up with.

I have always wanted Naruto-kun to accept my feelings, but he always looked at Sakura-san and never at anyone else. I have given up on him but I still feel a pang of pain in my heart whenever I see him proclaim his feelings for Sakura. Why can't Sakura-san accept his feelings? If I were her, I would've said yes in a nanosecond.

Kiba-kun and Shino-kun are not in my list of possible lovers. I consider them as brothers and nothing more than that. They protect me and care for me, and I really appreciate that. I thought they also loved me as a sister, but when Kiba-kun confessed to me, I tried in the gentlest possible way to reject him. He ended up crying when I said no.

Shikamaru-san is already taken. He was already going out with Temari-san of Sunagakure and I think they make a wonderful couple. Chouji-san wasn't going to marry, that I'm sure of. I think he's already pledged to yakiniku. Sai-san was already taken too, by Ino-san. They've become a totally opposite couple but I suppose they'll get through.

Now the only men I can think of are Neji-nii-san, Lee-san… and Sasuke-san. Neji-nii-san's already happy with his current girlfriend, and I doubt that they'll break up soon. Lee-san has hooked up with a very pretty girl from Kirigakure, who seemed to be his number one Fangirl. Lee-san's girlfriend is very elegant, so beautiful that even she beat Sakura-san in the looks department.

Now all that's left is Sasuke-san. I have never really taken a liking to him and I still think he's a dark, scary monster. But, well, that's the same opinion I thought of when I met Neji-nii-san and he's actually a very, very, very, very nice cousin. But what if Sasuke-san was like that too? Would I like him? Would he be able to make me forget about Naruto-kun?

I flinched when the thought of Sasuke-san kissing me flashed into my head. "No, no, bad thoughts," I mumbled to myself. With that statement, I failed to notice the snake on the next branch and when I accidentally stepped on it, I slipped and fell.

Waiting for my body to hit the grassy ground, I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the impact. But instead of a hard ground, I hit a soft mass of… something foreign.

"Oof, what the hell?"

That voice seemed so familiar, that scent was similar to what Sasuke-san smelled. I opened my eyes and craned my neck. My eyes met the familiar crimson of the Sharingan, glowing brightly in the moonlight. "S-Sasuke-san!"

"Ugh, get off," he blurted, pushing me from him. Whoa, talk about coincidence. I would've broken my spine if Sasuke weren't there. That fall gave me a scare. I rolled off his body and shook a little. That fall made me feel a bit traumatized.

Silence engulfed us once more, just like when we were in that deserted corridor. Checking my watch, I saw that it was already 11:57 PM. I had just opened my mouth and was about to talk to him, but he beat me to it.

"Are you okay?" he said coolly, the scarlet color of his eyes vanishing and turning back to his deep, obsidian ones.

Staring complexly at him, I replied, "I'm f-fine, U-Uchiha-san—"

"Sasuke, call me Sasuke."

"O-Okay… I'm f-fine, S-Sasuke-san—"

"I'd prefer it if you'd called me Sasuke-kun."

Goodness, he likes to cut people off, doesn't he? If he keeps on going like this, I don't know what I'll do! "Y-yes, okay, I'm f-fine, Sasuke-kun. S-sorry if I h-hurt you o-or anything, I d-didn't look w-where I was s-stepping on and I s-slipped."

He stared at me blankly before standing up and offering his hand. "Hn… We'd better open the scroll."

That grunt… it seemed so familiar. I think I've heard Neji-nii-san use it a lot of times. Yes, prodigies do have an exclusive monotonous-sounding monosyllabic vocabulary. I took his hand and stood up, wobbling a bit. I still felt really traumatized by that fall.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I heard him say. He still had that blank look on his face, but there was a peculiar glint in his onyx eyes.

I straightened myself up and looked him in the eye. "Of c-course," I said, convincing myself to stop twitching and just get this over with. I neared him and nodded, just as he got the scroll from his pouch.

"You ready?"

"Y-yes."

He opened the scroll and we both read its contents.

Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata,

You have been given this A-Rank mission for special purposes. You are to guard the daughter of a Sunagakure daimyo, for she will be travelling from Sunagakure to Kirigakure on Saturday, October 20.

You must leave the village at exactly 7 AM tomorrow, and make your way towards Suna as fast as you can. Escort the daughter to Kirigakure in one week's time.

Please bring your own weapons and necessities. Those will not be provided for you.

Before you go on, there is one special condition that you must enact.

Sasuke stopped reading and so did I. We both looked at each other blankly before resuming our reading.

The daimyo's daughter is a very touchy feely, attention-hungry woman. She'll do anything to… get what she wants, even sell her body to a beggar. And for that I request that you two pretend to be husband and wife, so that she'll get her hands off Uchiha Sasuke. You never know when Sasuke might explode and kill the daimyo.

This is considered an A-Rank mission. Do the mission well or you'll be both in house arrest for a month. Do engage in public display of affection. I fear for the daughter's life. Eliminate all possible evidence of this scroll once you finish reading.

Godaime Approved Scroll: Mission – Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata

Sasuke, who had been quite irritated at the Hokage's constant fear that he might kill the daughter in a fit of rage, tore the scroll into pieces. He glanced at me when he heard a miniscule whimper, and saw that I was blushing a delicate shade of pink.

"Why are you embarrassed?" Sasuke asked boldly, doing a small Goukakyuu to incinerate the pieces of paper on the forest floor. "It's just a mission. It's not like we're married for real."

"B-But Hokage-sama s-said to h-have p-public display of a-affection and I'm n-not sure if I c-could—"

Sasuke raised a delicate brow and cut me off, "Here, let's have a trial."

I couldn't help but gasp softly when Sasuke cupped my chin in his ashen hand. His hands were cold and light and I felt the blood rush up my head when he neared me. "What t-trial?"

I'll let you feel affection," he said candidly, before leaning down and capturing my lips with his.

He withdrew his lips from mine when it was beginning to feel right and I almost missed his foreign taste. It lasted for merely a second but I still couldn't help but gawk at him. That was affection, he says? He just took my first kiss!

"So… that didn't affect you one bit, did it?"

It DID affect me! I wanted my first to be Naruto-kun, and he took it from me like a simple candy. That was unfair, that was… impolite! I immediately flushed and my brow unpredictably furrowed. "T-That was… t-that was… w-was…"

"Would you speak appropriately? You're always stuttering and that irritates me," he cut off audaciously, bringing up his hand and covering my mouth with it. Okay, I've had it! He was going to get it! I swear, when I'm through with him, I'll—

"Hinata-sama!"

Before I finished my train of thought, a flicker of white appeared before me and before I knew anything else, Neji-nii-san was standing right in front of me, shielding me from Sasuke's vision.

"Nii-san!" I blurted out in surprise. So he was watching me all this time! I didn't feel his presence at all but that wasn't the point. He might have used Byakugan to spy on us… I wonder how much he had seen already. I really hope that he didn't see that moment of affection Sasuke gave me!

My cousin didn't mind me at all. Mainly because he was glaring holes into Sasuke's soul, although Sasuke didn't really seem perturbed. He stepped near him and said in his most stoic voice, "Stop coercing Hinata-sama, Uchiha."

Sasuke scoffed in reply. "Speak for yourself, Hyuuga." This was wrong. This was totally wrong! Neji-nii-san has never, ever spoken ill of me ever since Naruto-kun changed him! And I've liked him ever since! Sasuke-kun had no idea… no idea at all! He just came back and now he's blaming my cousin!

"Neji-nii-san, he didn't intimidate me," I interrupted shyly, for white chakra was leaking dangerously from my cousin's hands, and I actually feared for Sasuke-kun's life.

He looked at me questioningly just as Sasuke-kun smirked behind me. But Neji-nii-san saw it he has Byakugan, doesn't he? clearly and he faced him in a millisecond. "Did you just smirk at me?!"

"Didn't think you were blind, Hyuuga," Sasuke added coldly, folding his arms across his chest.

We all took a minute to register in our minds what he just said…

…

…

Then, the apocalypse happened.

Chapter One End.

Oh... um... my first try at a SasuHina fic... Please leave a review, flame or whatever advice and comment you could possibly give! Thank you!

Chapter Two is titled Rejection, and well... I'll post in a few days...