Hyuuga Hinata was sitting on one of her best friend's couches. Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura were looking at the pale, raven-haired girl with wide, shocked eyes. Had they heard correctly? Was their timid little friend really going to get a tattoo?

"Ne, Hina-chan, are you serious? You're considering a tattoo?" Ino asked. "Are you feverous?"

Hinata swatted Ino's hand off her forehead, giving the platinum blonde an exasperated look. Truthfully, she was feeling a little annoyed. Both young women had a decent number of tattoos, some they had gotten when they were still in high school and most certainly against their parents' wishes. Hinata may not have been as rebellious as Sakura and Ino in high school, but that shouldn't have to exclude her from getting a tattoo.

"No, I'm not feverous Ino. I would appreciate it if you took me seriously." The Hyuuga looked each girl in the eye, feeling the Hyuuga pride rile up within her and cool her body to effectively give the signature Hyuuga glare. "I want a tattoo to commemorate the new move I've come up with."

"Tell me your idea, Hinata. I may have just the guy you could go to. He's done a couple of my tattoos," Sakura said, grabbing her friend's hand and giving it a supporting squeeze. The pinkette glared at the blonde, urging her to do the same. Ino did just that.

"Yeah, Hina-chan! Tell us your idea!"

Hinata felt better, knowing that her friends were now taking her seriously. After all, a tattoo was not something to be taken so lightly. It was stuck on your body forever, so serious thought and consideration needed to be taken into account.


Hinata had described her vision to Ino and Sakura in detail, and after realizing just how serious she was, Sakura gave her the phone number of a tattoo artist she had work on several of her most beautiful tattoos. His name was Uchiha Sasuke, a popular and in-demand tattoo artist who owned his own shop in the somewhat gritty part of Tokyo.

A few days after sitting down with her friends, and Hinata found herself standing outside Sasuke's shop. It was almost her birthday, so she was bundled up in her coat and scarf. She took a deep breath, calming her anxious nerves, before opening the door and walking in.

The shop was nice. The walls were red and the ceiling was black. There was a chandelier hanging in the middle, providing a decent amount of light to the shop. Ornate mirrors were hanging, along with random pictures of Sasuke and the rest of the tattoo artists. Hinata noticed one of Sasuke with a blonde boy who was rather attractive.

"Can I help you?"

Hinata gasped, a blush dusting her pale cheeks. She had not noticed the red headed receptionist behind a desk. The raven-haired young woman offered her a smile before answering her question.

"Yes, hello. My name is Hyuuga Hinata and I have an appointment with Uchiha-san today."

The red head looked like she didn't believed Hinata. She was almost glaring at the Hyuuga, making the women feel uncomfortable. Finally, after staring at Hinata for a while, the receptionist stood up and motioned her to follow her. Hinata did as she was beckoned to.

"Oi, Sasuke, your appointment is here," the receptionist said, popping her gum and cocking her head.

"Send them in. Is this my last one for today?" Hinata heard the silky smooth voice of what she imagined to be a very attractive man. Her heart began to race against her chest and her blush from earlier returned as she imagined this tattoo artist spending an intimate amount of time with her body in a rather intimate way.

"Yeah, unless someone walks in."

"Alright."

The receptionist looked at Hinata one last time before walking away, heels clacking against the tile floor. Hinata knocked on the side of the door, alerting Sasuke that she would be entering his office.

A raven-haired man looked up, obsidian eyes locking with her lilac orbs. Hinata gasped softly, noticing just how handsome he was. Sasuke was classically handsome with a pale face and thin features. His eyes definitely added to his attractiveness; they were intense and mysterious, almost begging someone to try to learn his secrets. Sasuke was wearing a black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, which Hinata found odd because of the freezing temperatures outside. His visible body parts were covered in tattoos; his right arm was a sleeve of a dragon that was made of lightning. Another, more traditional Japanese dragon was on his neck, black and red. She thought she saw the words "fire and blood" on either side of the Japanese dragon.

"Are you going to continue to stare or are you going to tell me what you want?"

The rude commentary snapped Hinata out of her reprieve. Her blush was so strong that she was sure she looked like a ripe tomato.

"A-ano, I'm Hyuuga Hinata. N-nice to meet you, Uchiha-san," Hinata said as she walked to stand in front of his desk and stretched out her hand for him to shake.

Sasuke merely looked at her hand and went back to his computer. He saw that the attractive young woman with strange eyes retract her hand, her head held down. The Uchiha smirked, finding her reaction strangely cute.

"You can sit down."

Hinata did exactly that, taking her coat and scarf off as she sat. Against her knowledge, Hinata's leg began to bounce out of nervousness. After all she had never been in a tattoo shop before with an artist to discuss something that would become a part of her.

Sasuke closed down the applications on his computer and put the device to sleep. He leaned back in his chair, looking at his client. Sasuke thought she was attractive, and very much liked her lilac eyes. They somewhat reminded him of the moon.

Reaching for his notebook and pen, Sasuke said, "Tell me what you think you want."

"Ano…well. I recently came up with a new move, something I'm incredibly proud of. And I want to commemorate that with this tattoo. I want it to be big…to make a statement."

She shyly looked at the rude and intimidatingly handsome tattoo artist. He was not looking at her; instead he was focused on her words. She smiled before continuing.

"I named the move the Gentle Twin Lion Fists. So I would like two lionesses with a traditional design. And I want there to be blue flames around them as well."

Putting down his pen, the Uchiha looked at his shy client. She was smiling at him embarrassedly, as if she had just revealed some silly schoolgirl thought. Sasuke felt the threat of a blush so he quickly took his eyes away from her.

"That sounds like a lot of work, and it's most likely going to take a few sessions to complete. Are you sure you're willing to make that commitment?"

Deep down, Sasuke hoped she would say yes. And his prayer was heard and answered.

"Of course. This tattoo is very personal to me."

"Come back in a week and I'll have a sketch. If you have any more ideas, call or email me. Here is my card with my personal contact information."

Hinata grabbed the card, her face blushing hard again. Did he really just give her his number? And without prompting?

"H-hai. Thank you, Uchiha-san. I'll be in contact with you," the Hyuuga said as she put her coat on and headed for the door. Before she could walk out though, Sasuke's voice stopped her.

"Just call me Sasuke. You're going to be spending a bit of time with me if you're going through with this tattoo."

While she was still staring, Sasuke winked and flipped his computer back on, effectively ignoring the woman he had so shamelessly flirted with. Both parties did not know that the other's heart was racing wildly. Something had been exchanged in that small office in the back of a small tattoo shop.