Author's note: Hi everyone! I am still in the process of writing Recreant, so please don't take this short piece as a sign I'm abandoning it. It's exam season so it's been really hectic these past few months. I just felt inspired to do something new cause I haven't written anything in a while. I hope you enjoy it! It'll probably stay a one-shot, but depending on how it goes I might change my mind. Have a nice read and a great day!

ON-CALL

Painful redness spread across the back of her pale hands as Hinata proceeded to rub a bar of scentless soap against them. Washing it away, blood seeped down the sides of the narrow sink she stood over, running its course down the drain.

The timid streaks of sunlight that crept through the blinds and saturated the interior of an empty on-call room told her morning had come. She pulled a few coarse hand paper towels from the dispenser machine and automatically scrubbed to soak the moisture off her palms. Hinata's eyes reluctantly darted upwards and beheld the image of an exhausted woman in the mirror she hated to recognize. Her scrubs were stained by a wide variety of bodily fluids her sense of smell had become numb to several long hours ago. She plucked out a strand of midnight blue hair from inside her messy bun and brought it up to her nose – on it still lingered the fading, but sweet aroma of her shampoo and with that thought, her whole body itched to be back home.

"Boo."

Hinata jumped when an unfamiliar voice suddenly broke the silence of the on-call room. She swiftly turned around and gasped at the sight of a man ascending from the top of the bunk-bed. A mop of black hair emerged from the parody of white sheets, followed by a masculine body clad in a uniform much like hers. Shadows danced across the surface of his ivory skin and chiseled visage that the girl struggled to recognize.

"Oh," he whispered once sat up. "You're not who I thought you'd be. Sorry about that." Fresh out of a nap, the guy ran a hand through his disheveled raven locks and glanced around the room.

"Who were you… expecting?" Hinata mumbled as her heart was still racing from the incident. She watched him as he soaked in his surroundings and rubbed the crook of his neck.

"Another resident… Tall, blond, obnoxious. You might not know him," he then kicked the covers away and lazily propped himself down the ladder.

Hinata chuckled, somewhat relieved by the guy's nonchalance. "Sounds like someone I dated once."

He couldn't help but laugh. Once his feet hit the ground, her surprise companion turned around with slight intrigue in his eyes and a mischievous tug at the corner of his lips. "Call me Sasuke," he extended his hand to the girl in the blue scrubs, leaning against the oval sink, "Nice to meet you."

She accepted the hand-shake and gave an endearing smile. "I'm Hinata… I don't think we've met before."

Sasuke nodded and said, "I don't work in this ward, but the mattresses in your on-call room are superior in both quality and hygiene. You see, I come to nap and enjoy being chased by the head nurse whenever she finds me crashing without permission."

"Adrenaline junkie much?" Hinata mustered the energy to tease, tilting her head.

Sasuke gave a partial nod and scratched the back of his neck. "Says the surgeon… You in peds?" He finally retrieved his hand and leaned against the ladder.

Hinata raised her eyebrows, "How'd you know that?"

"The burp stains on the back of your shirt are a dead give-away."

The girl's eyes closed, and lips tightened with discomfort as she imagined the health-hazard her scrubs must be. She sighed and pulled the tee off, dumping it in the laundry bin by the sink. Clad in her trousers and a white undershirt, Hinata turned to face Sasuke again.

"Thanks for that," she heaved.

The Uchiha was obviously amused. "My pleasure."

Watching her continue to loosen her hair and untangle it was riveting, but Sasuke felt oddly inclined to keep the 5 AM conversation going.

"Why have I never seen you before?" he wondered out loud. His voice grew quieter so as not to disturb the fragile tranquility of the golden hour.

Hinata picked up a brush and ran it through the dark waterfall of waves that cascaded down her shoulder.

"I transferred in from Kyoto last week," she said and Sasuke followed with a nod of understanding.

"Fancy," the Uchiha chuckled. "How're you finding Tokyo so far?"

"The city is more hectic than what I'm used to, but there is more opportunity for practicing with real patients." Hinata mused, having broken eye-contact to observe the superiorly entertaining tips of her hair.

Sasuke scoffed. "By practicing with real patients, you mean burping babies and changing diapers?"

The Hyuuga rolled her eyes in good humor, "I don't get to be in the OR all the time, it's part of the job."

"You don't seem like the type for surgery," he noted. There was something strange and enticing about the way her hands stopped moving through her tresses and for a split second her violet orbs darted to look at him with mild annoyance. Sasuke grinned. It was mean of him to say something she must've been used to hearing from others, but he couldn't contain his curiosity to see her react.

"Turn around," she said.

Hinata moved behind the bed. In compliance, her companion respectfully repositioned himself to face the opposite side of the room. In the background, he could hear the ruffles of her clothing as it came off.

"What do you do, Sasuke?" The girl queried, though trying to maintain an air of indifference.

"Why don't you guess, Hinata?" He bit the corner of his bottom lip, having said that. The Uchiha was normally a lot less open to banter around strangers, but something in the air made it feel right.

"You're not a surgeon, but you seem neurotic enough to be one. I'll go with trauma unit."

Sasuke licked his lips, "No, actually, I'm in dermatology."

Her laughter echoed the miniscule space they found each other in, right before Sasuke made out the sound of a zipper being done up.

Hinata walked over and stood before him, now clad in blue jeans and a white tee.

"Lotions? Really?", she quirked an eyebrow.

"No, you're right, I'm in trauma..." he chuckled heartily. "You laugh like a child, by the way."

"And you are late for your shift," she informed him with a subtle smile.

Sasuke gulped, glancing at the clock before looking back to the woman before him. "I hate to leave you."

Hinata sighed theatrically, "I'm going to have such a hard time thinking of your departure when I'm asleep in my own bed, safe from all varieties of projectile vomit coming my way…"

"I'd love to join you there, but I have lives to save," he grinned, pushing himself off the wall he'd been leaving against.

"No thanks, Romeo," Hinata ran a hand through her hair, "I'm sure the ER nurses would miss having your pretty face around."

Just as she turned around to leave, his words stopped the girl dead in her tracks.

"Dr. Hyuuga Hinata… the celebrity student that transferred from Kyoto University Hospital under the stellar recommendation of Dr. Senju Tsunade to continue her training with Dr. Uchiha Obito," Sasuke said, his smirk widening as Hinata turned around slowly. He relished the way her expression melted into one of sheer bemusement. Sasuke continued, "Dr. Hyuuga has also been acclaimed for her impeccable technique. Also, in 2018 she was named the most promising talent in neonatal surgery and pediatric oncology by none other than Dr. Ōnoki of Yokohama's Cancer Institute."

The Hyuuga stood there, stunned by the words coming out of Sasuke's mouth.

"I've been itching to meet you," he said. "I'm sorry to ambush you like this but," his eyes reflected clumsy albeit genuine concern, "I put a lot of thought into it and no other way of approaching seemed more socially acceptable... I just... think you're amazing at what you do and I respect that."

A moment of silence ensued as Hinata wrapped her head around the relative turn of events and Sasuke anticipated in her reaction. For a second he wondered whether he'd been too outward.

"Thank you," she said weakly, eyes staring into his with a newfound seriousness and clarity which hadn't been present before. "It's been a rough week… I… appreciate you saying that... and knowing... that..." After a second, Hinata broke into sheepish laughter, tucking her hair behind her ear. Sasuke still seemed to be staring at her with quiet intrigue.

"You're welcome," he muttered, "and here I thought you have people fawning over you all the time". Sasuke scratched the side of his torso before saying, "Honestly, I wasn't expecting you would be so normal."

A faint pink blush dusted Hinata's cheeks and the girl briefly buried her face in her hands. "I'm flattered," she nervously said.

Sasuke took her hands and gently pulled them away from her face to reveal a flustered countenance. A smile crept up on his features with ease.

"That is a good thing... Hinata, I hope we meet again soon."

"And I hope I won't have to wind up in the ER for that to happen," Hinata bit her lip and halted eye contact nervously.

Sasuke was left speechless – was that a green light he'd just witnessed?

Gathering her thoughts, Hinata mustered a way to break the silence.

"Your shift," she exclaimed.

"Your bed," he gulped.

They both nodded simultaneously, although failed to move. The warm streaks of sunlight saturating the on-call room were becoming pale white as the golden hour came to an end.

Hinata took a deep breath, facing him. "It was nice meeting you…"

"Profoundly," Sasuke whispered as the girl bowed and paced out the door.

Rather than running out or counting all the different ways he could potentially face a long and painful death by the hand of Hatake Kakashi for being so late for duty, the Uchiha's sights remained set on the thin cotton bag that rested on the side of the sink, seemingly neglected by its owner. She fled the scene having left an indelible impression in every possible way. He felt a strange rush of adrenaline settle down in the bottom of his gut – one he hadn't acknowledged as it arose.

Hyuuga Hinata was a gem and this wouldn't be the last she saw of him. That much was clear.

Author's note: It's weird, it's different, it's pretty informal, I'm not sure how to feel about it... But I like the idea of the characters and I thought it might be worth publishing and hearing your opinions. Here I played around with a slightly adjusted, more mature, modern versions of Sasuke and Hinata that I hope you enjoyed! In the style, I tried to focus less on setting the scene and more on depicting interaction. This short chapter was more experimental than what I'm used to, but here it is!

Also, I apologize for Recreant and I will update it as soon as I can! I don't want to do it before I feel confident with the content because it's a story I take very seriously. It's my baby. ;.;

As for this story, let me know how you feel about it in the comments!

Wasuremonogatari xx