Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Special Thanks: goes out to Sachiko Heiwajima, Guest, wolf-enzeru, Dani Stark, Kibachow, ariannaisgone, Tamani, Hyoyeon, CrimsonNight41, xlyphiechanx, and rao hyuga 18 for all your wonderful reviews! Also thanks to everyone who's already added this to their follows and favorites lists - you all have blown me away!

Author's Note: I'll admit this story does get something of a slow start. It will still be a few chapters before Sasuke and Hinata first encounter each other - but once they do, I promise things get really interesting really fast. I am so excited about this story and where it's going - thank you all so much to those of you who have given this story a chance, and I hope you like this chapter!

*~Chapter II~*

~Disturbance~

It was going to be one of those days.

Hinata felt like she was running ten steps behind the day in general. Even though she rushed through her shower and breakfast, she still didn't get away before the moving crew showed up to haul Tenten's boxes and most of her furniture to her new home. By the time she finally got on the road to work, she knew she was going to be late. She had been working at Konoha Public Library for five years, ever since she graduated from college. She'd only called in sick three times, and she had never been late.

...Her near-perfect record was about to be blasted to bits.

After parking in her accustomed spot behind the tidy, red brick building, Hinata grabbed her purse and hurried to the back door. The knob turned in her hand - an unaccustomed feeling, considering she was usually the one who unlocked it.

Feeling like a teenager sneaking through the back door after curfew (though she had no personal experience of such a feeling), Hinata briefly wondered if she could slip past her boss's office without being noticed. A quick glance proved the door stood wide open. And from the extremely unhappy sounds pouring out of it, her superior was not in a good mood.

Hinata crept to the doorway. She slid a pale eye around the frame, catching sight of the figure sitting at the desk with a phone in one hand and her fist banging the top of her desk with the other. Even though she worked in a library, Senju Tsunade was not a quiet woman. The fact had always confused and amused Hinata.

Piercing amber eyes landed on Hinata as Tsunade slammed down her phone. "He refused again!" she practically shrieked.

Feeling somewhat thankful Tsunade seemed distracted by something else, thus didn't notice she was late, Hinata crept into the room and queried, "Who refused what?" Thankfully we're not open yet. It was Hinata's job to unlock the front doors, which she hadn't made it past Tsunade's office to do yet.

Rubbing her forehead, Tsunade glared at the silent phone sitting atop her messy desk. "Uchiha Sasuke. I've been trying for years to get him to do something here at the library - like a meet and greet, or a book signing, or a discussion, or something! You'd think the man would show some appreciation for the library of the town in which he not only lives, but was also born and raised." She huffed angrily. "But no. I came in this morning to yet another message from his agent, saying Mr. I'm-such-a-famous-author-I'm-too-good-for-such-things again refuses our invitation." Tsunade growled loudly, baring her white teeth in obvious frustration.

Hinata swallowed hard. Several famous authors - some of her favorites, as a matter of fact - came from Konoha. The likes of Yuuhi Kurenai, Shiranui Genma, and Yamato Tenzou had all very generously made appearances in the library several times. Senju Hashirama, Tsunade's grandfather (also a famous novelist and the founder of the library), had basically set the standard of community involvement by making several appearances at the library and other functions around town.

But Uchiha Sasuke, arguably the most famous author Konoha had ever produced (from the modern stock, anyway), always refused to participate in that tradition. He never gave a reason. Since no one ever actually saw him (just his creepy looking mansion crouching on the highest hill on the outskirts of town like a giant monster), it seemed hopeless they'd ever get a positive answer.

It was a running joke there must be something in the water which made the town produce so many prolific, famous, and community-spirited authors. But Hinata thought Uchiha Sasuke must have lead-lined pipes or something like that running up to his house when it came to community spirit. It was a crazy theory, sure, but it would certainly explain a few things.

Biting down on one candy-apple-red painted fingernail, Tsunade narrowed her gaze on a point somewhere over Hinata's left shoulder. "One of these days," she muttered. "One of these days, I'm going to get him in here, even if it kills me."

Hinata privately thought the odds were actually in favor of such a thing happening, particularly considering Uchiha Sasuke's obvious dislike of the idea. She'd lived in Konoha all her life, and she couldn't remember ever seeing the man - even as a kid in school. "Hopefully one of these days, if you keep trying, he will change his mind," she agreed diplomatically.

Continuing to mutter under her breath, Tsunade waved toward the door to dismiss Hinata. Relieved, the young woman slipped out of the office, closing the door behind herself, and went out to the front of the library. After stowing her purse under the desk, she flipped on the lights on her way to unlock the front doors.

Several people trickled in after she opened the door. She greeted most of them by name and then went back to the desk to boot up her computer. She breathed in the smell of books (she wished they'd make a perfume) as she pulled things out of the overnight returns bin.

Despite the late night and her sleeping in, Hinata decided, it might turn out to be a good day after all.

Sasuke woke with the sun, prying his eyes open to greet the pale yellow light filtering through the mini blinds across the room. Huh, he'd slept longer than he thought he'd be able to. Sitting up slowly, he rubbed the crick in his neck and reached out to pick up his phone off the nightstand.

No calls. Weird.

After completing his morning ablutions, Sasuke went downstairs and let Ninja out in the privacy fenced backyard to do his business. Tucking his phone into his pocket, he went to the kitchen and started the coffee pot, knowing he'd need caffeine before he could even try to tackle the list of things he had to do.

He tended to neglect certain things when writing. Important things, like laundry, dishes, eating, bathing... Now he'd finished Checkmate, he could catch up on his chores before he had to tackle future edits (his least favorite part), possible (spotty) re-writes, and galley proofs.

Sasuke munched on an apple as he waited for his coffee to percolate and his bacon to microwave. When Ninja barked at the back door, he let the dog in and played some tug with the big black shepherd until the coffee machine chimed.

He'd just sat down at the table when his phone vibrated. Grinning, he pulled it out and glanced at the screen - a text from Jiraiya. His grin faded a little. Weird. Usually his agent liked to call to talk about the manuscript, to gush about the things he liked and gripe about other things he didn't.

Sipping his coffee (black - only wimps put in cream and sugar and other girly stuff like that), Sasuke opened the text and read it, puzzling over its contents.

Halfway through. Will call later.

Concern stirred in Sasuke's chest, and he set down his coffee mug with a thump. Something must have happened for Jiraiya not to be all the way through yet. He'd sounded fine on the phone, but Sasuke knew from personal experience things could happen in a person's life to put everything on hold in the blink of an eye.

Staring down at his breakfast, which suddenly didn't seem so appetizing anymore, Sasuke wondered uneasily if his agent didn't like the book. On many occasions in the past Jiraiya had complained about portions of a book; but he'd never not liked an entire manuscript in general. Could it be Checkmate was the first?

No. Shaking his head, Sasuke bit down hard on a piece of bacon and chewed thoroughly. It'll be fine. Jiraiya's a busy man - I'm not the only author he represents. I'm just blowing things way out of proportion, that's all.

With his confidence (mostly) restored, Sasuke finished his breakfast and went to start the first of several loads of laundry. Ninja followed him around with various toys in his mouth, and Sasuke was always glad to take a break every now and then to play. While always quick to protect his master and his property, when he wasn't "on duty," as it were, the black shepherd turned into a overgrown, playful puppy.

The morning passed in a blur of laundry, dishes, a shower, sweeping, and washing his car. All the while he kept his phone close, hoping to hear it ring or feel it vibrate. As the hours crept by, he felt his tension mount. Ninja, closely attuned to his master's moods, picked up on it. He started pacing around the house, growling deep in his chest at every little sound he heard. His toys lay untouched in the basket in the corner of the living room, where Sasuke had put them while vacuuming.

A late lunchtime came and went without a phone call. Sasuke ate quickly, without much appetite, and went back to his rapidly-dwindling chores list, trying to get a handle on his anxiety since he knew he was driving poor Ninja crazy. He let the dog out in the backyard to run off some of his tension. He leaned in the doorway and watched, hand hovering close to his pocket.

When the phone finally rang, it startled Sasuke so badly he nearly dropped it. After a quick glance at the caller ID, he answered with a breathed, "I was starting to get worried. Everything okay, Jiraiya?"

"Oh, fine, fine." Jiraiya sounded strangely subdued, though, and the knot in Sasuke's gut tightened a little further. "I'm fine. But I'm afraid I have bad news for you."

Sasuke's breath caught in his throat. His mouth went dry. He couldn't swallow. Couldn't speak. Could only wait for Jiraiya to explain his comment.

"My boy, you know I love your work. Half the agents in the industry hate me for snatching you up when you became available, and the other half are scheming to get you away from me. Your books are a huge asset to the thriller and horror communities. The twelve published works you've got under your belt - and the success of each of them - are proof of that."

There's a but coming. I can hear it. Sasuke's hand tightened around the doorframe. He couldn't even smile as Ninja jumped in the air, trying to catch a butterfly fluttering around his head. This is very bad. Very bad. Bad bad bad bad...

Jiraiya cleared his throat and spoke in an oddly hoarse tone. "This is your thirteenth book, Sasuke. One of your most anticipated, according to the online community. Up until today, I completely agreed with them. But-" and there it was, the dreaded but "-I'm afraid thirteen is definitely not a lucky number for you."

Sasuke closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the doorframe. "You hated it." Rejection churned in his gut, and to his surprise, the backs of his eyes began to prickle.

"I wouldn't say I hated it. I don't think I can hate anything you write. But I couldn't connect with the characters, the plot felt a bit like a hatchet job, and the ending just fell flat." Jiraiya went quiet, and when Sasuke didn't say anything - couldn't say anything - he went on gently, "I'm sorry, my boy. It just didn't work."

Rubbing his hand over his face, Sasuke cleared his own throat and rasped, "Can I call you back later?"

"Of course." After another apology, Jiraiya hung up.

Sasuke sank to his knees in the doorway, shock filtering through him. He'd felt so certain about Checkmate. He thought it would be one of his best, if not his best to date, period. He'd been so excited.

And now Jiraiya had yanked the rug out from beneath him.

Ninja came up, nudging his master with his wet black nose, a whine building deep in his throat. Wrapping his arms around his constant companion, Sasuke buried his face in the dog's ruff and squeezed his eyes shut.

He'd failed Jiraiya. He'd failed his fans. He'd failed himself.

Now what was he supposed to do?

*~To Be Continued~*

Author's Ending Notes: I know a bit how Sasuke feels. It's my worst nightmare, failing my readers. I love you all so much, and appreciate all your kind words and your support of me and my work. And I'm always fighting that niggling little fear in the back of my mind that I'm going to fail you. Like I said, I put a lot more of myself in Entanglements than perhaps any other story I've written, and it's made it hard sometimes to write it. But it's also been so fulfilling, and I really hope that comes across, even this early in the story. I know it's getting a bit of a slow start, and it will still be a couple of chapters before Hinata and Sasuke come face-to-face for the first time. But I promise, when they do finally meet, it's going to get really, really fun. Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you all again for next week's update!