AN: It's been a while since I've given these two any love and I felt the need for it as I've been reading some great SasuHina fics. I am very pleased by the SasuHina community. I am still working on the pretense sequeal, but it is coming along nicely. However it's like the 4th or 5th side project I'm working on whilst my other fics are being updated so don't expect it any time soon.
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The sound of the blade against the whetstone kept time and tempo, the rhythm steady as Sasuke honed the kusanagi blade. His thoughts centered on his homecoming, on the events that had happened months before. Particularly on the core of team seven.
::Flashback::
"I love you, Sasuke Kun." Sakura's tears fell steady as they always had, steady, constant. She was always steady and constant in that. He had returned to Konoha, thanks to the dobe and now she had expected everything else to fall into place like some foreign fairytale. "I have always loved you!" She declared with unheld affection. She had never held back.
"Sakura-" Sasuke began with a sigh, trying yet again to find the words to say to make her understand and realize. He didn't want to hurt her surprisingly. Gone was his anger and rage and frustration at her. Left was simply the desire for her to move on.
"Sasuke kun! You came back. Now we can be together." She exclaimed, the hope in those green eyes overflowing with her tears.
Sasuke hated this. Years of pushing her away through every action possible and it still was not enough to make her believe he did not want her. He had never wanted her like that. She was his teammate and his teammate only. It only seemed to encourage her all of his spurning. Foolish of her. She was worth so much more than he could ever offer her. And any idiot could see the way the dobe looked at her, the painstaking efforts he had gone to for the girl to smile again. Naruto had kept his promise, dragging him back here, all for Sakura's sake. Naruto would love her, in fact, had loved her, far better than he ever could.
Sakura could see the look in his eyes. Could see his distance, his heisitance. He cared for her, but... it wasn't the same. It hadn't been the same since he had left. And looking at him, the way he was looking at her, something finally clicked and connected. It was like she was seeing it, the whole situation, him for the first time. He was her teammate and that would never change, had always been solid between team seven. But something had changed in Sakura. Something deep, that went beyond the layers. It was acknowledgement. He didn't love her. He would never love her. And suddenly that knowledge dried the tears in her eyes. It filled her. It registered, in a way she never could have expected it to. Sasuke didn't love her. So why was she wasting her time, her efforts, her energy, on a cause that had been lost for years? It wasn't bitter, it wasn't malevolent knowledge. It wasn't angry, or pitiful or the woeful cries of a scorned lover. In fact, in a scary way, it was serene, peaceful even, like the tranquil waters of a lake lapping at her ankles.
Sasuke could see the wheels turning, her thoughts processing something. She had even stopped her tears. She paused, brow furrowed, heisitated and finally found the words after mostening her lip.
"I-" She frowned again, and summoned her gumption. "I get it, atleast I think I do, anyways. You will always be my teammate, Sasuke ku-san. But I know now, that it will never be more than that. It may take some time, but I want to learn to be okay with that." Sakura replied eyes closed as she bowed.
"Sakura..." Sasuke began, searching for his own words. "Thank you." He bowed his head grateful.
::end flashback::
And so one day Naruto had come to him threatening to maim him.
"I didn't drag you all the way back to Konoha so you could make her cry again! What the hell is wrong with you teme? She loves you, and you love her, dont you?" he accused "If this is because you think you dont deserve her, then-" Naruto's tyrade was loud, obnoxious and insistent.
"Dobe. Shut. Up." Sasuke commanded turning from him and heading to the training fields.
"No." Naruto replied grabbing his sword, and following him. "I've been silent long enough. You're hurting Sakura chan by dismissing her feelings so carelessly. She loves you!" He said, grabbing him by the shoulder and forcing Sasuke to face him. Blue eyes blazed, a contrast between tanned whiskered cheeks and the unkempt blonde hair.
"Naruto, I do not love her as anything more than a teammate. Sakura has finally accepted that." Sasuke told him as if speaking to a child.
"She-WHAT?" Naruto stammered thrown off entirely by the trail of conversation. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you telling me she refused you? Did you drug her?" Naruto accused.
"Idiot. For someone so quick to judge my own withheld desires and feelings, you might consider your own." Sasuke told him.
"W-wha-" Naruto was lost, confused by the conversation.
"You love her, dobe. I am not standing in your way, nor have I ever been standing in your way. I have never loved Sakura as anything more than a teammate. So before you stick your foot any further in your mouth, you should talk to her." Sasuke had told him turning and leaving him speachless.
And so his teammates had found love in one another. Their light and warmth was sacharinely sweet, almost sickening, as the two of them undoubtably were, even apart from one another. It was meant to be. And yet again it was a tie, a bond that Sasuke could not understand, could not interfere with. They had gone to a place he couldn't, and without meaning to, left him behind. He was together with the only team, the only family he had left and yet was still wretechedly alone. He could only blame himself.
His sword was sharp, perfect really. He eyed it, making sure that the balance wasn't off. This sword had seen far too many battles. Had lived with him during the darkest portions of his life. It was why he couldn't get rid of it. This sword knew him, like he knew it. It reminded him of who he was, and who he wasn't. Because of this sword, because of the battles he had been in, it had trained him to rely on his senses. It had made him paranoid and particular beyond all reconcilable belief. It was this and his own abilities that had kept him alive.
Because of it all, he knew she was there. He could sense the chakra and the person weilding it. She was hardly threatening. He doubted kittens would be intimidated by her stare. One Hyuuga Hinata, heiress to the main house of the Hyuuga clan stood behind the trees surrounding Naruto's house. He would be disturbed had he not known her propensities for stalking his dobe ramen loving teammate.
"You might as well come out. I can sense you" He told her.
Long dark purple hair, and curious pearlescent eyes greeted him from behind the tree. Hyuuga Hinata was still painfully shy after all these years. She was less awkward though having grown into her quiet spirit, her movements were poised graceful as she came nearer. Such juxtapositions did not belong in a woman of her title and rank. After all, Sasuke was surrounded by power housed loud mouthed women all the time.
"Is N-Naruto kun h-home?" She asked, not meeting his eyes, her hands clasped in front of her . Her eyes were on the sword in his hands.
"He is not here. He's on a mission." Sasuke told her with a shrug. He sheathed his kusanagi realizing that might be making her uncomfortable. He'd never hear the end of it from Naruto if he scared off innoncent little Hinata.
"O-oh. I'm very sorry to have d-disturbed you Sasuke san." Hinata replied bowing. She had to admit she was surprised to see the Uchiha heir here. It was hard to imagine Sasuke being the kind to house sit.
Sasuke eyed her. "You didn't disturb me." He told her. "After all these years, you still bother with formalities. Chee. You are the only one." He turned heading into the garden.
Hinata frowned. The way he had said those words implied that he wanted an answer. Had he been expecting an answer? But he was walking away from her...Hinata frowned. She did not want to appear rude. If she left when he had said something, striking and starting the conversation first, it would appear rude and as clan heirs it was her duty to build working partnerships with each of the clans. Even if the Uchiha clan was only one person. Hinata jogged after him feeling flustered but persistent. But what was she to say?
"The only one? I don't understand, Sasuke san. You are a c-clan leader...are you N-not?" he stammered, feeling the blush in her cheeks.
Sasuke was surprised by her. She had followed him to the garden, a bold move for a girl, no a woman such as herself as he eyed her curves. Hinata was to become the next head of Hyuuga clan. She would inherit the post her idiot of a father had, as he would inherit his own fathers title when he married. If he married. Those thoughts soured and Sasuke's look was equally ill.
"I am not the clan leader yet. That is contingent on Tsunade's approval and my own affairs." Sasuke replied dismisively.
'A-affairs?" Hinata asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"Marriage" Sasuke told her, unstrapping his weaponry to lay on the porch. "Do you spar, Hinata?" A tiny squeak of surprise was his answer as the future heiress turned 3 shades of red.
"S-S-spar-" Hinata was bright red embarrassed by her lack of understanding.
And now he wanted to spar with her? Hinata tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. He had invited her into the house, even if it was Naruto kun's. The crush that had long held her waivered, had been waivering once Sakura had entered the picture in their adolescence. Hinata had come to tell him that she wished them the best. She did not want to be the kind of girl that would cause trouble, and Hinata was happy for her friends, even if she was sad in some ways for herself. The look Sasuke was giving her deemed her unworthy of even being a sparring partner. This ignited something deep within the Hyuuga Heirress. Hinata wouldn't run anymore, not from challenges.
Hinata straightened herself, pulling her hair back into a ponytail, binding it with a leather chord and pursed her lips. She unzipped her jacket, tossing it to the side, revealing fishnet beneath the deeper purple tanktop. The swell of her chest reminded him that she was no longer a chuunin, was most definitely a woman. Those eyes were different, determined as they had been at the chuunnin exams. He found that he liked that look on her.
She took up a defensive stance, causing a smirk to tug at the corners of his mouth. Sasuke was amused by her antics. Hinata's pearlescent eyes narrowed just a fraction. She would give him reason to be concerned, not amused.
Not to be outdone, he too stripped off his white haori, revealing his toned chest uncovered by a simple vest with the Uchiha seal on it's back and hakama that hung low on his hips.
"I like this change." He commented, smirk blooming right before her eyes. "Hand to hand combat only? Sharingan versus Byakugan?" He asked, feeling his own feelings surge at her demonstration of determination.
"Fine with me." Hinata replied, summoning her Byakugan, puffy veins around her eyes boosting her vision as her stutter all but vanished by her serious gaze and demeanor.
Sasuke's smirk only widened, and she realized he did not summon his Sharingan. "So you were here to see Naruto. Was it to finally confess how you feel?" He said, moving quicker than a blink, hands moving into various kata as she blocked.
Surprised, Hinata did not block the blow to her collarbone and winced as she teetered backwards, managing to stay on her feet. Sasuke retreated, a polite reprieve for her sake as she rubbed the muscle. Her fingers went to work using ancient healing methods similar to the tenketsu to open the flow of blood in her collarbone.
"No." She said, and those eyes held a bit of fire. "Why would you ask such a thing?" Hinata replied, leaping to the offensive. He was forced to block her straight handed blow with his forearms as they paused again retreating to starting defensive positions. He still had not summoned his birthright.
"If you were any less obvious the dobe might have actually figured it out by now. The only one that doesn't know is him" Sasuke replied simply with a shrug.
The knowledge that everyone else knew about her personal childhood crush was dissapointing. Hinata hadn't realized she was that easy to read. The tone he held was superior and haughty. As if it was beneath her to love one such as he.
"I would never ruin Naruto kun's happiness." She replied, with a dissaproving gaze. "I merely wanted to congratulate them on their engagement." Hinata told him.
"Really? Is that how you really feel?" Sasuke taunted, leaping forward as his speed rose, Hinata blocked a kick, lending a chopped hand to his forearm, managing to shut off a tenketsu in the process.
He justified himself with protecting his teammates happiness. But if he were being honest, he wanted to see how Hinata responded, both in and out of sparring.
"Of course" Hinata replied, her brow furrowed. "Are you unhappy for them?" She asked him, pearlescent eyes fixating their stare on him.
"Of course not." Sasuke replied, and yet he had looked away in that fraction of an instant before replying.
"You may fool others Sasuke san, but not me." She told him. And suddenly his moves grew faster, sharper. Hinata felt her heart race, exhilarated by the chance to spar with someone so strong. Blows were parried and countered with alarming speed. It wasn't long before Hinata felt her back pressed against the tree, Sasuke alarmingly close.
"And who pray tell, Hyuuga, am I fooling?" He asked, Sharingan burning bright and hot in their intensity as he looked deep into her Byakugan.
Hinata swallowed, closing her eyes against his intensity, those eyes that looked as if they were peering inside of her. She summoned her spirit, blinking as she opened those pearlescent eyes, met his gaze head on.
"You may not have feelings for Sakura san, but you feel abandoned by them nonetheless." She declared.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and the grip on her wrists tighted as he pressed closer to her. She could feel the warmth of his breathe on her, sharp and hot against her skin that perspired. He was so near to her that she could smell the scent of lightning and musky forest pine from him. He smelled very nice. Hinata felt the flush rise to her cheeks at the thought, forcibly tearing her gaze from his. His hand released a wrist, grabbing her chin and gently pulling it back up to meet his eyes.
Sharingan searched her own pearlescent orbs, piercing in their intensity as she felt her cheeks warm, the color blooming, deepening as he looked at her.
"S-Sasuke-" Hinata stammered weakly as she felt the cascading spirals growing in her stomach at his look. She hadn't felt this way since...since...
And as quickly as he had her, hypnotized as if in a trance, he released her, turning from her and walking away.
Hinata frowned, rubbing her wrist, as she felt keenly the absence of his wamrth, his presence in her vicinity. How odd. She thought, wondering what on earth that had been about? She thought as she tried to process her own feelings.
"I am not sad at their union. I even encouraged it." He replied. "I have no romantic notions for Sakura. It is just..." He paused, and Hinata was surprised he was even talking to her about this, trusting her with this.
"Bonds." She finished for him."They have gone somewhere you cannot follow, and it hurts though they are your teammates." She replied.
Sharingan turned, a look of surprise in their depths. Hinata felt the smile come gently to her lips. She knew that feeling. Knew it very well over the years.
Sasuke was surprised by the Hyuuga Heiress and her powers of observation. She tempered those keenly shocking powers with a compassion and gentleness that made her a woman of great wisdom and depth. The Byakugan did indeed give her insight into people, where as the Sharingan focused on jutsu and battle technique. He had never met a woman quite like her, one with quiet dignity, that did not throw herself at him desperate for his attention and approval.
Intrigued, he took a step forward. "Is that how you feel about them?" He asked, though whether he was asking for Sakura and Naruto's sake or himself, he didn't know.
"Yes." She replied, taking up her stance again.
Sasuke peered at her, examining her sharply from head to toe. Then he nodded, apparently coming to some sort of conclusion about her. He launched into attack, aiming high, forcing her to lift her arms to block him as his taijutsu increased.
She dodged his fist, in a move of speed, Byakugan narrowing as she countered his strike, shut down yet another tenketsu on his arm, holding it with her right arm, as her left inflicted the tenketsu blow. In a shot of speed, Sasuke turned, breaking the hold and managing to lock her arms as she struggled. Freeing herself for an instant, she fell forward, but was too slow to counter his grip around her collarbone as he came alongside her. She tried to pry his arm from around her neck, but his grip was ironclad. He pulled her tight against him, tight enough to feel the muscles in his abdomen ripple, as he kept her feet from jabbing him. His other arm locked around her ribs, stilling the other arm from causing damage and keeping her torso from moving, just below her breasts. His breathe was quick and short, like her own, hot, moist on her ear, as she felt the sweat drip down her back, and sweat from his own efforts. She took a deep breathe and felt the rumble from his own labored breathing.
"You are stronger than I remembered." He told her, closer than he needed to be, feeling gracious, as he took in the smell of her hair. Lavendar. She smelled like lavendar and honeysuckle, his mother's favorite tea. Her hair was radiant in the sunlight, shinny and healthy, though drenched with sweat beneath her ponytail. She felt good against him. Sasuke was surprised as he felt the inklings of something, developing the longer he held onto her. Her grip on his arms relinquished, in a forced moment of concession, making his ego rise.
She turned to face him with a sigh, wiping her forehead. "T-thank you for the spar Sasuke san. I regret that I must be g-going now."
It was a shame that her stutter had returned. He rather liked her quiet irritated disposition when they fought. He wondered if she had even noticed. Her words forced the smirk to appear, but formaility had to be maintained and it appeared she would be the first to give it.
Sasuke eyed her properly executed bow for a clan head, surprised by her formality inspite of his current status. She flattered him by such a gesture of respecgt, giving him need to return the gesture, bowing appropriately in acknowledgement of an heiress. Her eyes widened at the gesture, making him smirk that much more.
"We should do this again, Hyuuga heiress." Sasuke offered, looking so confident and superior.
Hinata felt the flush in her cheeks. "P-perhaps" She replied. "Good d-day to you, Sasuke san" and left.
Sharingan eyes took in her sight, his senses tingling at the smell he could not forget. There would be no perhaps about it. He would see her again, make no mistake.