Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Updates may not be frequent. Sorry.

The salty aquamarine waters splashed against the small sailboat with white foam topping the crests of the watery waves. Mild winds blew the white canvas sail full, and the sky was filled with the honking and screeching of sea birds.

It was a crisp Saturday evening, and Hinata had finally been able to get out and rent a small sailboat that she could spend the day sailing in, relaxing and worrying about nothing in particular. She was lucky, she supposed, to have gotten a boating license when she was fifteen, and every once in awhile she had been able to surf the sea, breathe the fresh air, and get away from the tedium of Hyuuga business matters.

Not that it mattered now, anyway. She smiled inwardly at the memory of the day when she finally became free of her future position as chairman of Hyuuga Co., the day when she stopped dancing around the issue and put her foot down against majoring in business at Uchiwa University. She felt lucky to have escaped the ominous fate of attending Hina College though, where business skills came before anything. She thanked Kami for that, at least.

She had known that she simply couldn't survive as the manager of all those stuffy, pale-eyed people who would suck up to her just because of her position (but probably acted like the duplicitous bastards they were to pretty much everyone else). She had lasted through all the pre-business classes, but really, Hanabi took to it much faster and enthusiastically. Perhaps she wanted the power and control that came inevitably with being a Hyuuga businesswoman in the Hyuuga company. Hinata snorted at the thought, knowing that she would never want such a position for the great manipulative power it came with. Hell, she didn't even like manipulating people.

A particularly strong gale of wind burst past the little boat, and Hinata immediately turned her attention to the matter at hand. She skillfully adjusted the sails, and soon the sailing became smooth again. She loved how the cool wind blew towards her and caused her dark hair to flutter freely; still, it was quite chilly, and she hugged her somewhat thin jacket closer to herself.

The sun was slowly setting, and as it sank lower into the vast expanse of blue, it cast its last rays across the sky and sea, turning the clouds a range of colors from purple to orange to pink. As Hinata glanced across the waters, she was enveloped with a feeling of tranquility. The past few months she had been dealing with repercussions from the major position refusal, so peace was rare and hard to come by, and while she was immensely happy that she was, in a sense, free, there were several complications that marred what would otherwise be a perfect situation.

Since her family co-owned the Uchiwa school along with the Uchihas, Naras, and Uzumakis, she attended there free of cost, and her father had stated so and had even written up a legal document for her when she asked for it at the very beginning of school. However, though she did not have to worry about school funds, there were many other troublesome monetary problems, such as living space, food, clothing, and gas. She knew she probably shouldn't have spent money on this little vacation, but it had been months since she had been able to get out…

Currently she was living in a small apartment close to the school within walking distance, and after school she dumped all her things there, and she immediately left for work, which was, a mere five minute drive away, at the ever so popular Juci-Y, a healthy beverage shop and one of the sources of income that she had so she could support herself Her greatest trouble was spreading her paycheck enough to cover the costs of all the essentials. She hadn't bought any new clothes in awhile, and unfortunately some of her older clothes were starting to get worn from frequent use, such as the jacket she currently had on.

She worked at the Juic-Y from four to eight, and after that, she drove to the martial arts practice session where she helped younger students with their katas and such for about two hours, in return receiving a nice pay check and getting some practice in herself.

She was debating whether she should try to get some students for the piano and violin, but she hadn't acted on that train of thought yet. She had a piano and violin from the time she moved out because she had fortunately been able to take the instruments with her when she left. Although the piano did make the apartment a bit crowded, it likewise gave the small space an overall pleasant and aesthetic quality. She constantly reminded herself that having her favorite instruments with her was a definite blessing despite the costs of replacement strings and other various maintenance matters that would turn up at the most inopportune times. Plus, it was especially nice to be able to calm herself down with her music when she was feeling too much stress.

At school, things were a bit awkward. The Hyuuga at school simply treated her as if she did not exist, her cousin Neji included, though that she expected, as he had not been one to show any type of recognition or acknowledgment towards her whatsoever ever since the incident. She was hopeful, however, that she had succeeded in blending with the background to the best of her ability, and her proof was that the other students had not taken any hostile actions against her. Yet.

As to what motive they would have to want to harm her, she had only a slight idea, but the slightly paranoid side of her consciousness whispered that things had only been held back and might soon be released.

As she shook herself from her thoughts, Hinata glanced about at her surroundings once more. It was getting rather late, and the temperature had decreased steadily. There were few people out at this time, so with one last look at the sunset, she turned her boat back towards the shore. The craft glided over the waters smoothly and Hinata scanned the area ahead, making sure the coast was clear. The waters and the sky became darker and less inviting, and Hinata hurriedly pressed her boat onward. Suddenly, she felt a suspicious premonition She glanced back at the horizon apprehensively.

In her line of sight was a person flailing desperately about in the water. Hinata gasped harshly at the sight and immediately turned her boat around to investigate. She maneuvered her boat towards the person and soon reached him, and she quickly threw out a rubber red and white lifesaver out towards him. The ring sailed through the air and began to fall. Sadly, from what she could see, the lifesaver wouldn't make it far enough, but just then a brief gust of wind blew it just a little bit farther and the mysterious person grabbed onto it as best as he could and stuck his head through. She started hauling in the person, struggling to get the body out of the water, off and over the side and into the boat. Her hands were red from the effort of pulling so hard on the rope, but she paid them no attention. Another cold gust of wind blew past, and she shivered uncontrollably. Her teeth were chattering, and she knew had to hurry back soon. Her urgency might have lent her strength, for with a final jerk on the net, she finally hauled the person onboard. She pulled the lifesaver off over the now barely conscious person and took a good look at who exactly she had 'saved.'

Her face paled and all the blood slowly drained away. Of all the people in the world…

It just had to be everyone's idol, the handsome prettyboy, the one and only… Uchiha Sasuke.

Hinata was in a rather troublesome quandary. Now at the dock, she had to turn in her boat soon, but there was a major problem that prevented her from doing anything at the moment. That particular problem went by the name of Sasuke. Currently he was out cold on the deck and dripping ocean water all over the place. Hinata sighed inwardly. If she didn't do something quickly, he would probably freeze solid, or get pneumonia, or something worse. But on the other hand, she didn't have any extra clothing with her or any heating items, and she was rather unwilling to touch him She didn't know why exactly, but she just had a bad feeling about doing that. As if her brain screeched sirens as a warning every time she thought about it.

She looked quickly around, but it was just her luck that at this time there was no one around. So she squatted and waited. Unfortunately for her, she was in for a long wait.

Sasuke's first coherent thought was, Am I alive?

Then he opened his eyes. Okay, so that was a stupid question. Whatever. What really mattered to him now was, where in the world he was and why the hell he was numb all over. He really, really hoped that he didn't have paralysis from the neck down. Now that would be bad. Extremely bad.

"You're awake?"

A voice. Not his own, definitely. He wouldn't talk to himself in second person, after all, and his voice was not that high pitched. But if it wasn't his, whose was it? Who could be so close by? He remembered the question and decided to answer it. He opened his mouth and moved it a bit to check to make sure it was functioning properly. One never knew what might have happened, and it never hurt to do a quick test and inventory check.

"Yes." Good. His voice was intact. Next on his agenda, to extract the details of where he was. "Where am I?"

Hinata was sure she had been sitting next to the Uchiha for an hour. She knew it. So she didn't have a watch, but that didn't really matter. It felt like at least an hour for sure. An hour of just sitting and staring at him, waiting for a sign, any sign of awareness so she could leave and not feel guilty at leaving an unconscious person behind. And that just wasn't her way, no matter who it was.

It was already bad enough that the person she had rescued from the water had been Uchiha Sasuke. The Uchihas did own half the Uchiwa school (and then some), and she had no idea how he would react. What would happen to her now? She supposed things couldn't get any worse than they were at the moment.

That was when he decided to open his eyes. As she had been staring at his face for the past half hour or so, she immediately noticed the small change and almost jumped at the tiny motion. "Are you awake?"

"Yes." Thank Kami he answered! Now he could get up and she could leave… "Where am I?"

Sasuke sat still in the front passenger seat of the black car. Here he was, an ultra-rich college boy, and he couldn't even get public transportation without his wallet, which happened to be in his jeans, which happened to be somewhere out in the ocean where the tide had carried them far far away from civilization, from where he could find them again.

So that was why he was currently in Hinata's small sedan, hitching a ride with his sav-… with the person that had pulled him out of the water.

After their initial greeting and introduction (he wasn't a bit surprised to know that she knew him, or knew of him, because he was an Uchiha), Sasuke had discovered that his body was somewhat frozen but he could move rather sluggishly. However, that was an overstatement to say the least. He could have walked to the main road by himself, but at his 'rather sluggish' rate, well, giving him a day might not be enough. So, to his great embarrassment, he was given… a piggyback ride. A reluctant one on both their parts, but Hinata was surprisingly strong for one with her slender build, and he would love to see her in the rain with that white T-shirt… but he had quickly dumped those thoughts out of his head. But really, why did she look familiar, and yet he had some trouble recalling where he had seen her? And she didn't act like his usual fangirls either… That was definitely something to consider. But now his eyes were drooping and his throat was becoming sore. He decided it was time to get some sleep.

Hinata was annoyed. After all that waiting, she still ended up having to touch him and now she was stuck driving him… to her apartment. At least he hadn't taken things badly though, and she was rather relieved at that.

She glanced at him briefly and shook her head. Yes, he looked as though he had come down with something, although what exactly she did not know. Her apartment was the closest place around, and he needed some treatment, probably. To top it all off, he had just fallen asleep… and there went any chance that he would say something about going anywhere else. Oh please. Well, to her apartment it was. The light became green, and she stepped on the gas. Another sleepless night for her…