Hinata: Secret Valentine, a naruto fanfic

xxx SECRET VALENTINE xxx

A Sasuhina Fanfic

Disclaimer: The lyrics to the song belong, not to me, but to the band We the Kings. The band members mentioned are all purely fictional and do not exist in real life. The preceding sentence is a very lame joke, so please ignore it. Also, Hinata, Sasuke and the rest, are not my creations, but that of Masashi Kishimoto. I know I'm boring you with my disclaimer, so on with the story.

Soft kiss and wine, what a pretty friend of mine
We're finally intertwined

"I apologize; this is all I could afford to get for us."

Hinata looked with surprise at the young waterfowl-haired boy at her side, who was frowning down with chagrin at the bottle of amazake in his hand. She blinked.

"Pardon?"

Sasuke looked up at her, his eyes like two black holes, sucking her in. Hinata felt her face go into a slow burn.

"It is…" a frustrated sigh, "…our first anniversary, right?" Quickly, he looked away. "As friends, I mean."

"Oh."

Suddenly, Hinata giggled. Surprised, Sasuke looked back at her, quirking one dark brow in bewilderment. What was so funny?

"I am sorry," Hinata managed in between her giggles, "I had been wondering why you asked me to bring two glasses. I had to smuggle them out of our kitchen while Obaa-sama had her back turned."

Once again, she marveled at how, when she was with Sasuke, her stutter had a way of just vanishing. Maybe, without her consciously noting, she had already gotten so comfortable with him, came to trust him so much… Even though he was a missing-nin and all of Konoha was after him.

Sasuke heaved another frustrated sigh and looked away once more.

"Hey," she chided, laying her fingertips on his arm. With amusement, she watched the tips of his ears go red. "This is perfect, Sasuke-kun."

She took the bottle from his hands and poured a small amount in each glass. She held one out to him, which he took rather hesitantly, and raised hers.

"To us."

And on some crazy impulse that Sasuke hoped he would not be regretting later, he kissed her.

Sake spilled on the forest grass.

Their very first kiss.

Nervous and shy for the moment
We will come alive, tonight

Hinata was never good with crowds. Aside from being absurdly shy, she just really enjoyed her peace and quiet. She would much rather curl up in bed with a book, or enjoy tea in the afternoon with her grandmother, than attend a concert. Yet here she was. Attending a concert.

If only she didn't love the band, We the Kings, so much, she wouldn't have let Sakura, Ino and Tenten drag her into this. Speaking of which…

Hinata looked around for her friends. They suddenly disappeared, the crowd swallowing them up. Or was it Hinata who got swallowed up by the crowd? Doing a quick survey of her surroundings, she realized that she was already off her original position by a good eight feet or so. Now, how did that happen?

A rather hard shove from the right promptly answered her question. Surprised, Hinata lost her balance and was luckily saved from falling by a firm body at her other side. Looking up, she met dark, enigmatic eyes.

She was caught.

Secret valentine
We'll write a song that turns out the lights
When both boy and girl start suddenly shaking inside

For Naruto's birthday, the village decided to throw a surprise masquerade party, seeing how stressed the young hokage has been lately with the constant failure in capturing Sasuke. Somehow, everyone managed to put the party together without Naruto having the slightest awareness, which was not really that much of a feat, considering how dense the loud blonde can be.

The party was already in full swing by the time Hinata arrived. Everyone had such wonderful masks on, and each had fun trying to guess with whom one was dancing or conversing. Hinata herself wore a simple white mask edged with silver glitters, matching her silver silk obi. Her kimono was an unassuming lilac with lavender petals printed on the hem and on the neckline.

Most of the guests were out on the floor, twirling and dipping in time to the music. The rest were either socializing on the sidelines, carrying plates of food, or strolling in the gardens. Hinata opted for the latter.

The gardens, Hinata found, were rather dark, lit only by paper lanterns of varying colors, hung from the branches of trees. The trees bordering one side of the garden were already part of a forest, and Hinata dove into them, wanting to get lost in her own thoughts for a while. Though the mood was festive, she could not help but feel only sorrow.

If only he were here…

"Thinking of me?"

Hinata jumped and whirled around, lavender eyes wide with shock.

Before her, breathtakingly handsome in a black kimono and a black and navy blue-striped hakama, with a matching dark blue mask framing his coal black eyes, was the object of her thoughts. Behind the mask, Sasuke's eyes glittered. Hinata's emotions warred between immense joy and fear for the missing-nin.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, worry marring her usually placid features.

Sasuke merely smirked, brushing off her concern. Hinata did not know if she was more infuriated at the Uchiha's careless dismissal of the danger he was potentially facing, or amused at his obvious confidence in his own skills of evasion.

Suddenly, the Uchiha's smile softened, as did his eyes, and he held out his hand to her.

"Shall we dance?"

How could she refuse?

Don't waste your time
Speed up your breathing
Just close your eyes
We'll hope it's not for nothing at all

"I-I'm s-sorry."

Damn. Why did her stutter have to surface now of all times? She was making so much progress in getting rid of it, why now? And her face was probably as red as a tomato, too. Damndamndamn…

"It's okay."

His voice, deep and smooth, reminded her of dark chocolate. She thought it suited him.

The crowd started going wild just then, signaling the entrance of the band. Hinata wrenched her eyes away from the oddly familiar stranger and onto the stage. Still, she remained acutely aware of him standing so close.

Daniel Duncan was the first to step onto the stage, quickly taking his seat behind the drum set. The brothers Hunter and Andrew Thomsen followed soon with their instruments, taking their places on the left and right front corners of the stage, respectively. Finally, Travis Clark appeared, and the crowd went berserk. After a brief dedication, they started playing Secret Valentine.

Hinata's breath quickened. She was feeling the hype. So this was how it felt, being in a concert. She took a peek at the stranger; inexplicably curious about how he was taking everything. To her surprise, his eyes were closed, head tilted back, as if he was trying to absorb the music itself. More peculiar, he seemed invulnerable to the erratic movements of the people surrounding him.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, looked down at her, caught her staring.

He smiled.

Lay down, be still
Don't worry, talk they will
I'll be loving you until

Morning's first light breaks tomorrow

I'll take care of you tonight

They sat down, trying to catch their breaths after a particularly rousing dance set. Thankfully, the trees provided sufficient concealment as the couple danced the night away.

Still, Hinata could not help but worry,

"Sasuke, what if they suddenly decide to do a quick surveillance in the middle of the party and catch you here with me?"

Sasuke quirked a brow, familiar smirk taking residence on his handsome face.

"Well they have not, have they?"

Hinata wanted to stomp her feet in frustration, but knew that this would only amuse her companion. She wanted to be taken seriously, since it was a gravely serious matter. Simply imagining what would happen if they catch him… It was too much for Hinata's heart to handle.

Seeing the tears starting to form in Hinata's eyes, Sasuke quickly turned serious. Taking both of the Hyuuga's small, pale hands in his large, warm ones, he looked earnestly into her eyes. Hinata's face flamed.

"Did you seriously think I could stay away, with you looking so enchanting tonight?"

Hinata was struck speechless. Sasuke smiled, so tenderly it made her heart ache a little bit more.

"I want nothing more than to stay and dance and talk and love with you the whole night, and that is what I will do. We shall watch the sunset from the top of the trees, and no one will see us. They would all be too drunk in the morning."

He laughed then, and Hinata basked in the rich melody. Once more, his eyes glittered.

"What do you say?"

How could she resist?

Secret valentine
We'll write a song that turns out the lights
When both boy and girl start suddenly shaking inside
Don't waste your time
Speed up your breathing
Just close your eyes
We'll hope it's not for nothing at all

Luckily, Travis chose that exact moment to reach his hands out to the crowd, and everyone started pushing forward, wanting contact. The pushing and shoving increased, and Hinata started speculating over how many bruises she was going to find the next morning.

She gave a start when the stranger suddenly snaked his arm across her back, wrapping it around her shoulders, pulling her closer. Her eyes widened as she realized he was trying to protect her.

Hinata tilted her face up to his –she barely cleared his chin –and mouthed,

"Thank you."

"Hey," he mouthed back,

"I'm caught."

When guilt fills your head
Brush off, rise up from the dead
This is the moment that we will come alive
Brace yourself for love, sweet love, secret love

They lay on the grass. They were at their favorite spot in the forest, where they shared their first kiss.

As they watched the clouds float by, Hinata could not help but wonder how many more days they can enjoy in such carefree bliss.

"Neh, Sasuke… What if –"

In a flash, his lips were on hers, abruptly cutting her off.

"Our time together is too precious to waste on 'what-ifs'. Let us enjoy this, cherish every moment."

As she looked up at the beautiful face hovering above hers, Hinata felt that familiar tightness in her chest, that awful lump in her throat. He was always the strong one, has always been strong for her; she must try to be strong too.

But no, she has never been strong, never could be, not with the circumstances surrounding their forbidden love.

Sasuke lovingly brushed a stray tear from her eye. Hinata choked on a sob, forced herself to speak.

"Yes… Let us…"

We'll write a song that turns out the lights
When both boy and girl start suddenly shaking inside
Don't waste your time
Speed up your breathing
Just close your eyes
We'll hope it's not for nothing at all

He invited her to a nearby coffee shop after the concert. He introduced himself as Sasuke, told her to call him by his first name, and Hinata did likewise, face aflame all the while. They chatted, and were both pleasantly surprised to find that each had so much in common with the other.

"It's weird," he said, staring at her in that penetrating way of his, a puzzled smile on his dashing features, "When I saw you, I thought you looked familiar, like I knew you from somewhere before, but all the same, I was sure we haven't met yet."

Hinata's pale eyes widened over her cup of frappe.

"I felt the same!"

He laughed, and Hinata thought she had never heard anything so wonderful.

"Maybe we knew each other from a past life."

His eyes twinkled, and hers twinkled back.

"Maybe…"

"Hinata, do not cry."

Hinata felt angry. How could Sasuke ask such a thing of her, when everything had come to this? When his execution was a mere hour away? She felt so angry. And hurt. Oh so very hurt. Why could not someone just drive a kunai through her soul over and over? She would much prefer that to how she was feeling that very moment.

She shook her head, indigo tresses flying all about her face, tears sparkling in the warm afternoon light.

"Hinata, look at me," Sasuke commanded.

Hinata resolutely kept her eyes fixed past the iron bars, on the space over the Uchiha's shoulder.

"Hinata, look at me."

This time, it was a soft request, a plea, and all the fight drained out of her. With an effort, she looked at her beloved, blood and dirt caking his ebony locks, myriad wounds and bruises a blasphemy to his once perfect features. His wrists and ankles were shackled, weighed down by heavy chakra balls to the ground.

Hinata's heart broke all over again. Why would she not just die right then? She was in so much pain, and yet there was a feeling of numbness. Or was it emptiness? She could not tell. Nothing was clear anymore.

"This is not the end."

Hinata held back another sob. How could those deep, boundless eyes still hold so much force, so much power? How could Sasuke still say such things with those eyes staring straight into her soul?

"We shall meet again."

The tears flowed freely down Hinata's face. Though she believed not a word of what the Uchiha said, she merely kept listening, drowning herself in the sound of his voice, letting it wrap around her, knowing these were the last words she would ever hear from him.

"We were not meant to be together in this life, but in another life…"

Unable to contain herself any longer, Hinata reached her hand through the bars, caressed her beloved's face, most probably for the last time.

Sasuke smiled. Despite his efforts to remain strong for both of them, some of the anguish broke through in his eyes. Still, he pressed on.

"We shall meet again…"

"Yes…"

"And we shall be as deeply in love as we are now in this life…"

Hinata's breaths came in short, painful gasps. Even more painful was trying to hold everything back, when her heart wanted to cry out all it had, let the world know of the cruelty it was inflicting upon its children, let Konoha know of the sin it has committed by separating them, by destroying a legacy of pure love. Despite this, she forced herself to respond,

"Yes, Sasuke, yes…"

Through her tears, Hinata saw Sasuke smile, a smile so plaintive, her heart would have broken, had there been enough left of it that was still intact.

"And nothing could then keep us from being together for eternity. Nothing.

Hinata smiled back, just as wistfully.

"Nothing…"

Nothing at all

xxx OWARI xxx

Author's Notes:

Yeah, it's a little bit confusing. I thought I'd make the sequel to Hinata: Moonbeams a little different, so this is the result.

For those who were lost while reading:

The paragraphs in italics are set in the "past", which is the Naruto universe.

The paragraphs in standard font are set in the present, which is the normal world (the one we live in).

The phrases in bold font are the lyrics to the song.

So there.

I just loooove We The Kings! Don't you?

Once more, thanks to all who read and review!:)

*Amazake is a sweet, low-alcoholic, traditional Japanese beverage made from fermented rice.