Just A Little Guidance

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Summary: Eventual SauHina AU Hinata, a counseller, has a new client who refuses to talk to her. Will this improve with their weekly appointment, or wil he continue his silence?

Chapter 1

The door clicked shut.

Hinata sighed. Only one more person to go now. One more hour until she'd be free to go home.

After briefly reading through her notes, she stacked them neatly before deciding to put them into a folder. Humming quietly to herself, she thought over the appointment that had just ended.

Konohamaru had made significant progress over the past two months or so since he began his guidance counselling on a weekly basis. His attempts to injure his grandfather had become much less frequent and Hinata could tell that he was a good kid at heart. From what she had heard from him in the last to sessions, Konohamaru was sick of being called 'Professor Sarutobi's Grandson' – he just wanted an identity of his own!

Maybe next week she'd find out how Konohamaru had decided to get himself noticed in such a …weird…way.

Hinata jumped a little as she heard voices just outside her door. She hurriedly tapped at her laptop to see who she was seeing next – the last person of the day would be the new client. Scanning the lists of names and times on the screen, Hinata strained her ears to hear the conversation taking place just outside her office door…

"All you have to do is go in there and talk… and nothing you say in there will be repeated outside that room."

"Hn. This is pointless."

"Just give it a try!" The first voice insisted, "Plus, if this becomes regular, I'll get an extra hour to read 'Icha' every week! Don't worry I'll be just out here."

"Hn." Was the unenthusiastic reply.

The door knob began to turn and Hinata glanced hastily at her screen:

Uchiha Sasuke.

The door opened a little to admit a young man of about 24 (Hinata's age) muttering darkly something that sounded suspiciously like "perverted moron".

He closed the door behind him and hovered in front of it. Hinata waited for a few moments nervously, before realising that he wasn't going to move on his own.

"P-please, take a s-seat." Hinata mentally slapped herself – why couldn't she stop herself from stuttering? She had stuttered for as long as she could remember, though she had recently started conquering it. The annoyance still resurfaced, however, when she was nervous. And being a timid girl meant that it cropped up at the worst of times.

The man turned his head slightly to rest onyx eyes on her. His raven coloured hair was swept back to frame his face, leaving his line of vision clear. Hinata squirmed a little under his cold stare as he made his way towards a chair.

As he sat down, Hinata started the normal introduction…

"Hi. M-my name is Hyuuga Hinata and I-I'm your guidance counsellor."

The man continued to survey her coolly and Hinata felt her cheeks heat up. Trying to break the uncomfortable silence, she gabbled;

"And y-you must be Uchiha S-sasuke."

He inclined his head slightly, eyes never leaving hers.

Sasuke noticed her squirm a little under his gaze. Her eyebrows were furrowed slightly as she lowered her pearly orbs to stare at her desk. A porcelain hand went up to fiddle with a strand of her indigo hair.

"Um…" her gentle voice was so quiet that he had to lean forward to catch her words.

The Uchiha let a smirk touch his pale face. This would be easy. A few awkward questions here and there and Sasuke would be free of this stupid idea. This woman had less confidence than he had patience. This would be the first and last day of his 'guidance counselling' here.

"W-well," The sound made Sasuke jump. "As your counsellor, y-you can speak to me about anything. Also, n-nothing you say in here will b-be repeated."

Her words were greeted by silence.

Hinata fidgeted uncomfortably in here chair. While she did appreciate peace and stillness, this silence was suffocating! She opened her mouth and drew in a breath. About to speak, she was cut off.

"You're shy." It was more of a statement than a question.

Well it didn't take a genius to figure that out. Talk about stating the obvious! Hinata wanted to scream 'well, duh!' at the top of her lungs (though that probably wouldn't have made too much of a difference). Aside from the fact that her brain would completely overrule such uncharacteristic behaviour, it wouldn't solve a thing. The man would continue to sit there, smirking silently 'till the end of the hour.

In order to get him to talk to her, she would have to talk to him.

"I…uh…suppose so…"

"Then why are you a counsellor? You're surrounded by people all day and your job requires you to talk to people. It's not exactly what you'd call a shy-person-job."

Sasuke smiled to himself, though he didn't let this show on his face. This tactic was a little different to what he had done the last time his mentor, Kakashi, had tried to force him into therapy.

But then again, he'd been about nine at the time.

He surveyed Hinata carefully, trying to gauge her reaction.

Hinata's eyes had widened by several centimetres on hearing her client's little speech. It was the most he'd said in the twenty minutes that he'd been in her office. Then, after getting over that fact that he could in fact speak in more than monosyllables, she cocked her head to one side considering how to answer.

Usually she would have said "None of your freaking business, we're here to discuss you not me." Ok, who was she kidding? She would have liked to say that but would have, in truth, said something a lot more polite. Then if the Uchiha persisted, she would have had this client assigned to one of her colleagues.

Judging by the conversation she'd overheard outside the door and the brooding face before her, Hinata concluded that this was probably what he had intended from the beginning…

So, she'd tell him the truth.

And why not? She supposed that he did have a valid enough point…

She had been silent for a while now. At first she had looked shocked. Now the expression on her face seemed more resigned…

'Bye bye Hyuuga Hinata.' Sasuke thought. 'Wait a minute. Hyuuga? Why did that sound so familiar? He discarded the thought for now. It looked like she was going to speak.

"U-uchiha-san. Being a shy person form childhood, I've h-had to go through the process of counselling before t-too." Sasuke was shocked. Why was she telling him something so personal? He was practically a stranger! Her plain eyes weren't really focussing on him and there was a hint of determination buried in their depths that was almost undetectable. The sudden decrease in stuttering was caused by being absorbed in some distant memory… She continued, "I didn't like the way that the people in charge handled things. They were p-patronising and asked lots of…unrelated and personal questions. I want to h-help people who need the guidance w-without making them feel uncomfortable about it."

Sasuke was both disgusted and intrigued by this openness. Since when did the shrink answer the client's questions? Curiously, he pressed the girl further;

"But you have to talk to people. All day." He was careful to keep his voice flat and devoid of any emotion.

"W-well… It's just one-on-one right? I c-can handle that." 'Just about' she added to herself whilst Sasuke repeated these thoughts in his own mind, smirking.

Still, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. Why was she telling him this? She should have kicked him out of her office by now, but she hadn't. Anyway, the only person who would discuss something personal with him, was his (sort-of) best friend, Naruto. And still, this was only after he had known him for a while and was sure that he could trust Sasuke. It was strange, but the Uchiha felt like he was obligated to tell her something in return.

As he contemplated this, Hinata sighed wistfully. How she'd love to go home and cuddle up by the radiator with a hot chocolate and a good book! Glancing at her laptop, she noticed the time. Maybe her hot chocolate wasn't so far out of reach as she'd thought. Smiling to herself slightly, she extended her hand, startling Sasuke out of his thoughts.

"Well, Uchiha-san, thi-this is the end of t-today's appointment. I hope to see you n-next week."

Instead of shaking her hand, he nodded and stood up, zipping up his jacket as he did so. Hinata hadn't noticed his simple yet expensive looking attire before- she'd been too nervous; he wore a red sports jacket and a pair of black jeans. He made for the door and Hinata began to pack her bag.

The Uchiha had almost reached the door and Hinata was unplugging her laptop when her desk phone rang. She picked it up.

"H-hello? Neji ni-san!" She paused, listening to the caller.

'Neji? And she said her name was Hyuuga? Where have I heard these names before?' Sasuke wondered frowning. Hoping to hear more, he bent down as if to tie up a shoe lace.

"It has been a long time… Bring Tenten-chan too!"

There was another pause.

"Don't be silly – just make sure you get there on time. You know that as soon as Kiba-kun smells food, he will try to eat everything. Temari's fan will only be able to stop him for a while."

''Cause that was oh-so-very productive,' thought Sasuke glumly. 'What a waste of ti- wait. How could I forget? The Hyuugas are the owners of "Byakugan™"'

Hyuuga Neji was rumoured to be somewhere near the top of the company… Perhaps another trip here would be beneficial if he could get this woman to talk. If her sudden cease in stammering and the whole "Neji ni-san" thing was any indication, his new counsellor was quite close to this Hyuuga Neji.

Still, as Sasuke stepped out of the office, he couldn't help but think with amusement, 'Even a little mouse like her has plans on a Friday evening…not that I mind – I have work to do.'

As he walked over to the reception, his mentor Kakashi poked his head out from his book. Almost reluctantly, he put his beloved "Icha Icha Paradise" into his coat pocket and began to speak.

"I didn't hear any gruesome sound effects or screaming so I've arranged another appointment – same time neat week. Also, that pink haired receptionist wanted to give you her business card."

"Hn." Sasuke glanced at the desk in an uninterested manner, then looked away – he didn't have the time to waste on people like her. He ignored her completely, striding out of the building as quickly as grace would let him.

Putting down the phone receiver, Hinata smiled to herself. Grabbing her coat, laptop and shoulder-bag, she hurried towards the door, almost forgetting to pick up her keys.

After retrieving them, she scurried out of her office, locking the door a split second later.

If she had to make dinner for eight, she'd need to get to the supermarket soon! With this thought in mind, she began to shuffle toward the door, only to be cornered by the pink-haired receptionist, Haruno Sakura.

"What was he like Hinata??"

"W-who?" Although she had become friends with the part-time receptionist, part-time medical student, she could still be quite intimidating!

"Uchiha Sasuke of course! He's so hot!"

"…"

"You just spent a whole hour in a room with the owner of "Sharingan". What did he tell you?"

"Nothing, really… Sakura-chan, I really have to g-go…"

And with that, she rushed out of the door. Owner of "Sharingan" eh? She'd have to tell Neji about this…

A/N: This is the first time I've written anything Naruto, let alone SasuHina... Also, sorry if parts of it didn't flow. Please R&R if you read it, whether to say you liked it, if you have any advice or if you hated it.

Hollyrose