[Starting Author's Note]

Here we are with the second part of the preface aka last part of the preface. I hope I'm not going too fast for you guys because there's a little time skip when Hinata's leaving for her hometown. Oh, and I'm also sorry if you like Sakura. I actually really like her since she has great character development but... Somebody needs to push Sasuke's buttons.

I apologize for the late update. I'm overdue by a day. My bad.
Oh and I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't that great. It could have been better, right? :\
Thank you for the reviews by the way!

Review Answer:
Lost-puppyEYES | Ohoho~ You pay attention well! I totally forgot to mention Neji in all this... Meep, my bad. Yes, Neji was an orphan along with them. Since he was kind of cold and kept to himself a lot, he didn't spend much time with Kiba, Shino and Hinata. So... He's strictly business. One thing I can tell you about Neji is he is a good cousin towards Hinata. Very caring and cares about her...well-being? Yeah, that. Hehe. Thank you for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

[ Ending Author's Note ]

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| Bitter Parting |
~ Preface Part 2 ~

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A heavy sigh filtered the room as he ran his sweating palms through his hair. The contemplation about whether to see Hinata off nailed him to a plank. Ah, yes.. Hinata was to leave today. He wouldn't see her for a whole year. How was he going to survive a whole year with out the only sane person he knows? The most humble.. The sweetest, kindest, easiest person to talk to.

From the corner of the room, beeping interrupted his frustration. Ignoring the beeping, his back flopped down on his bed as he stared at the empty ceiling. Closing his eyes, he acknowledged he was wasting time. Also, his reluctance to visit Hinata meant he would regret it.

Beep... Beep..

Sasuke pushed himself from the bed, searching for the pestering noises. At the corner of his eyes, a bright white lit in between the piles of clothes. Swiftly, he threw the clothing aside staring at his phone. Hinata's name lit in black text, running across the screen.

Good morning sleepy head! Are you awake? Hmm.. Of course you're not.. I shouldn't even be texting you if I know you're sleeping. But I'm at the airport, I have to wait for 2-3 hours and it's kind of boring...Anyways, thank you for spending time with me! Oh, and introducing me to Naruto. Remember that day?

These two weeks have flown by real quickly, hasn't it? It's been a pleasure. I'll see you next summer!

Without a moment to spare, Sasuke rushed for his wardrobe for a quick change of clothes then scrambling for his box. His pretty little box for a dear friend, Hinata. Paying no mind to his untamed hair, he dashed for his car.


Hinata slumped in the empty seat, her eyes wandering for something to entertain her with. Although her eyes were set on her Polaroid camera, her mind was elsewhere. Sudden questions compensated her loneliness but soon replaced it with grief. In her palms lay 14 days of Sasuke clean prints. "Snap.. Snap.." Hinata mimicked, tears rolling over her reddened face. Treasuring each photo in her hand, her eyes wandered aimlessly into thin air to come to realize she would miss him for a whole year.

Day 14.

Day 13.

Day 12.

Hinata shuffled the photographs, flipping them on the back. Has it really been 2 weeks? 2 weeks of spending time with someone... 2 weeks of spending every waking moment with him and she was already struck by cupid's bow and arrow.


"Damn it, can traffic be ANY slower?" Sasuke slammed his elbow against window, rubbing his temples together. Traffic was ridiculously slow due to a collision and people backing out but it was only 6 o' clock in the morning. He was so close to the exit too. Patience was never his forte and never will be.

With nothing better to do, his attention was sucked in by the grey clouds. The grey clouds that kept his boredom to a simmer. Just like the weather, he was cloudy and in no mood to lighten up. By his rule book, if a day starts bad it will always end bad. Today was no exception but he did admit that he finally had one thing to look forward to during summer.


As Hinata groaned out for boredom, she slumped into her seat, lost in the rain clouds, paying no mind to the person sitting next to her who happened to be calling her name. But the fact that her flight held almost no passengers she peeked over her should to find... Sasuke.

"S-Sasuke...?" Hinata's eyes grew wild as her shivering hand touched his white skin. "W-what? I-It is you!" She pulled him into a hug as he reeled her closer. Hinata snuggled her head into his shoulder, sniffling uncontrollably.

"Stop your crying, Hinata... We still have an hour left. Save your tears." Sasuke consoled with a delicate stroke on her sleek hair. Rather than lightening the atmosphere, he only dampened both their spirits. It was only an hour, it was too short and they both knew it would pass by fast. "Y-You idiot! Don't s-s-say that.." Hinata's small broken tears turned into sobbing.. "What.. I'm sorry Hinata but we're wasting precious time here."

Hinata beat his back like a drum, a little bit disappointed. "Just a little while longer.."

"..The longer you hold onto me, the harder it will be to pull away."

"Are you saying it's easy for you to leave me? Am I not worthy enough to stay in your arms just for a few more seconds?" She pushed her hands onto his chest, darting from his cold gaze to the wall.

"No.. It's not. You've misunderstood, dummy." Sasuke brushed her bangs from her face, cupping her chin into his firm hand.

Hit with a wave of embarassment, Hinata slapped his hand away and fiddled with her fingers. He smirked with amusement. "What a baby." He chuckled. "Don't insult me! You didn't even.. It was so sudden... You know, you didn't even answer my question."

"Wrong, I partially answered it." Sasuke held Hinata from the waist, setting her comfortably into his lap. Reaching into his pocket he placed a small baby blue box wrapped with white ribbon. "You're worth the gift. It's a pretty little thing. Note, I don't buy things just for anyone."

"W-What.." Touched by Sasuke's appreciation of her, Hinata took her sweet time to open the box. Inside was a silver bracelet rimmed in simple fractals. For more personalization, a name plate was engraved in 'Summer Polaroid' with the date of when they met.

"Summer Polaroid? Sasuk-"

"So whenever you forget how you got this or who you got it from, you'll look at the pictures we took. That way, you won't escape from me so easily." He nuzzled his face into her neck as she giggled uncontrollably. "S-Stop!"

"Do you like it? We're matching too." He rolled up his sleeve. All this flattery made her heart swoon.

"Sasuke.. I.. I love it. I think I love it too much because.. Because n-now.." Hinata bit her lip in between sobs. Sasuke frowned, holding her waist to ease her heartache "Now.. I don't w-want to l-leave you.. E-Every little thing you d-do makes me want to stay by your side a-and I can't help myself.." She covered her scrunched face into her hands to weep. Time was running out and absence of someone you love was a complicated woe.

"You're too sweet to me.." Hinata muttered under her fit of crying. "I should be saying that about you.." Sasuke averted his gaze from her.


The sound of an airplane grew louder by the second. They knew Hinata's plane was to arrive in an hour but part of them wished it would crash and burn on the way here. "It's time." Sasuke lifted her from his lap, wiping the cornered tears that stung her eyes. Looking at her lament affected him in more ways than she could think but he couldn't make out what it meant. Without thinking, he held her hands in his. All his stress was relieved just by standing nearby her and his worries fleeted away just by holding her. But most of all, being beside her felt right.

"Sasuke.. Before I go, thank you for everything. Spending time with you held the greatest moments of my life and.. I think I like you.. Really really like you." Shamefaced as she was, she dangled her head towards the ground. Sasuke rolled his eyes at her overt modesty in behavior and pulled her into a deep kiss, holding her by the waist.

"I love you too, Hinata. Or should I say 'I think I really really like you too'" He mocked as he parted, licking his lips tastefully.

A serene smile sneakily crept upon Hinata's face as she ran into his chest to hide under her timidity. With their final seperation, Hinata boldly pecked him on the cheek and dashed off out towards the plane thinking if she looked back, she would never want to leave.

Sasuke ran his hand through his fingers and touched his cheek. He wasn't happy seeing her leave, but satisfied enough to motivate him to spend his time busy. That way, summer will be here in no time, right? What a coy little sheep she was.

I'll see you next year, love.