Me: Alright, Sasuke's birthday is tomorrow, but I won't be able to upload this tomorrow. DEAL WITH IT. I know I say I hate Sasuke, but when paired with Naruto or Hinata, what's there to not love? Yeah, he can be an ass, but can't we all? Besides, I only hate him because of who he killed. BTW, this is the prequel to "Happy Birthday," if you haven't already guessed.

Seth: This is a two-shot, also. It starts from the Sasuke retrieval up to the beginning of "HB."

Me: I hope the title will make sense to you at the end.

Seth: Kira doesn't own Naruto or me.

Me: Enjoy!

Pomegranate: Chapter 1

"How are we gonna get him back, Shika?" Ino asks. Shikamaru closes his eyes for a minute before grinning, "Got it. Out of all the girls here, who has the biggest chest?" he shivers at the growing murderous aura, "Wait, let me finish. Sasuke's a guy and will probably react to seduction, leaving him open for attacks." The genius relaxes as he sees the fists lower.

Ino takes the silence as a cue, "girls, bathroom." The four females-Ino, Sakura, TenTen, and Hinata- enter the bathroom adjacent to the meeting room they were just in.

"I know I'm out, so I'll decide. It'll be easier to judge if you guys stripped to the bra." Sakura steps out of the circle and waits for the others to disrobe. TenTen and Ino easily strip, but Hinata remains a bundled, beet-red mess.

"Come on, Hinata-chan, it's just us girls," Sakura soothes. Hinata nods and unzips the bulky jacket and removes her shirt.

"Hinata." Sakura approves. The others nod, "definitely." They put their clothes back on and exit the bathroom, making their way back to the meeting room.

"Well? Shikamaru asks.

"Hinata is the best." Sakura answers.

"Good. She has the best outcome. So here's the plan: we get close to Sasuke and at my call, Ino uses her Mind Body Switch Technique on Hinata. Hinata and I will have radios on us so I will tell Ino what to say as Hinata. Ino, Hinata is not a fangirl, so she has a chance to bring him back. Don't screw this up. Everyone meet at the main gates in two hours. Dismissed." He stands up and exits the meeting room.

'That's right, Ino. Kunoichi before fangirl.'

"Alright Hinata, let's go to my place to get you changed."

"A-ano, Ino-chan, my sister keeps g-giving me clothes because sh-she thinks I need to look s-se-sexier, so we c-can go through m-my closet first."

"Well then, Hinata, to your place!" Ino practically drags the other girl out of the room to the Hyuuga Estate.

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At the Hyuuga compound, Hinata brings Ino to her room and opens her closet. Ino brushes her aside and starts rummaging through the clothing.

"Aha!" she pulls out a shirt and pants.

"I-Ino, isn't that a b-bit too r-revealing?" Ino assesses her choice: a ruby red, form-fitting shirt with a deep "V" neck lined with white lace, and a pair of short denim shorts.

"Hmm… these aren't practical. These are off duty clothes." Ino throws them on the bed and puts her head back into the closet, "Here we are! Mesh! And revealing ninja attire!"

"Th-those are too sm-small! I outgrew them y-years ago!"

"Exactly." Ino throws a jacket, an off-white ninja skirt, and black spandex shorts on the bed, beside the discarded 'civilian' clothes.

"We're going to my place now." She grabs the clothes and drags Hinata to the Yamanaka household.

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"Scissors." Said utensils are handed to Ino and the kunoichi starts cutting the jacket from Hinata's closet. After cutting to the zipper on both sides, she rips the zipper's stitching out and cuts it to length. She reattaches the stopper, making sure it works, and hems. She hands the modified jacket to Hinata while asking, "Colour and style of panties, tell," Ino demands. Hinata blushes and stammers out, "b-b-blue c-c-cot-cotton." Ino 'tsk's and opens a drawer, "these are new, I promise. You can keep them or destroy them after the mission. I really don't care." She winks and holds up a pair of sky blue, lace panties, "your bra is fine. Get dressed and I'll tell you the rest of the plan as we go to meet the others." Hinata nods and scrambles into the bathroom and emerges minutes later.

"No shirt?" she whispers.

"No shirt." Ino confirms.

"O-okay." Hinata's ensemble is as such: a mesh top, black spandex under a long off-white skirt with a slit on the right, and a skin-tight brown jacket (like the one she wears normally) that barely covers the bottom of her ribcage.

'Thank goodness Neji nii-san isn't going on the mission with us. He would throw a fit,' she muses. "W-we should get g-going, Ino," she suggests. The other agrees and the two head for Konoha's main gate.

"Ino-chan, I w-want to be able to talk to U-Uchiha-san myself. S-Since I don't like h-him, I won't st-stutter as much."

"Are you sure? He's still male and don't forget you'll need to take off the jacket in from of him, along with not wearing the shorts for the confrontation."

"I-I'll be fine. Let's get going."

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"Sasuke is half a kilometer off. Hinata, get ready." Hinata nods at Shikamaru and takes a deep breath. She activates the Byakugan, "t-target sighted. I'm g-going in." She takes to the trees and removes the shorts at an appropriate distance.

'Okay, Hinata. This is your chance to show how strong you are!' she cheers to herself, turning on the communicator. "C-closing in. I'm going to c-call out."

"Be careful, Hinata." Shikamaru warns.

"A-alright." She masks her chakra and silently approaches the still Uchiha.

"Uchiha-san!" she yells, startling herself, Shikamaru, and Sasuke.

Sasuke whips around, "Hyuuga." He raises an eyebrow at her outfit, 'clearly that jacket she normally wears is for her own safety. If she went out in public like that, she would get jumped or raped.' He thinks. Hinata jumps down, unknowingly giving him a panty-shot.

She steels herself while listening to what Shikamaru says and decides to add on a bit more, "I u-understand why y-you want to leave. If g-given the opportunity, I would, t-t-too. B-but unlike m-me, you would be m-missed. Your fangirls, your sensei, and e-even N-Naruto-kun will miss you! M-Miratashi-san will be willing to h-help you control the c-curse mark. L-let's go back to Konoha, U-Uchiha-san."

"Going back to Konoha won't let me kill Itachi, Hyuuga." Hinata flinches at the icy tone, but responds with Shikamaru's guidance, "Wh-when we A-ALL get s-strong enough, we will ALL h-help you. I kn-know you don't want any help, but the t-tracking and initial f-fighting would be ea-easier. Y-you would get the f-final b-blow."

"Great job Hinata. Get ready to finish it. We're all in position. Just keep repeating what I say," Shikamaru encourages.

"W-well, Uchiha-san?"

"No. I am NOT going back to Konoha."

"Th-then you leave me n-no choice. Fight me. I win, you come b-back. You win, y-you go to Oto."

'This was finished before it even began.' Sasuke smirks, "deal."

"Take off the jacket," Shikamaru instructs. Hinata unzips the article of clothing, takes it off, and throws it aside. At that moment, a chilly breeze sweeps through the clearing, making her skirt sway and her nipples perk up under the thin material of her bra. She shifts into her fighting stance, causing the underwear to ride up and her breasts to give a small bounce. Sasuke shakes his head, trying to undo a blush and wipe off a small trickle of blood from his nose. He tried to move into his battle stance, only to find himself at the mercy of Shikamaru's shadow and being brought back home.

Me: That's a wrap for the first chapter!

Seth: Damn, that's long.

Me: I know right? I'm getting better.

Seth: Review, please.

Me: Any and all flames will be used to make s'mores.