Ah, hello again! My darling readers who have or have not reviewed, I appreciate you reading. But I won't know unless you say something, so review, review, review!

I would like to thank all of you who reviewed, I think I replied to most of you, but I'm fairly lazy, therefore, if I did not, I give you my most sincere apologies and gratitude, trusting you may understand the innocent plight of the ADD, OCD, procrastinator of a writer, which I am. Of course if you don't...well, SORRY! I'm actually pretty proud it only took me so long to update (haha!) with that book that is at this very moment staring me in the back as if saying, 'You have 100 pages to go by tomorrow and you're on the internet?!' Ahaha...

By the way, if my writing seems a ton different, that may very well be the result of having to read a certain book (with a certain writing style) all day long and then coming to try to write this knowing perfectly well I shouldn't be and should actually be reading the book in question…

DISCLAIMER: I really don't own him, so stop beating down my door looking for Naruto.

Uchiha Sasuke was less affected by the encounter with Hinata than a blade of grass would have been. It was a fact. After all, if the fangrils had happened to hear about the encounter, they wouldn't have cared. Why? Because Sasuke didn't fall for girls. So, did it matter that Hinata had taken notes for him? No, of course not. And the fangirls wouldn't care. But just to be safe, neither Hinata nor Sasuke said a word on the subject. Because even though Sasuke had felt absolutely nothing when it happened (and he meant nothing), the fangirls may not see it that way.

And then Sasuke stopped and rubbed his head. Because there's a limit to exactly how much you can deceive yourself. Sasuke had felt something, even though it had gone against all logic, Hinata had made his rock-hard heart move and soften—if only a little—with only a few stuttered words and one kind gesture. That, he decided, was something. But then he decided it would be best to stay away from the girl who had that kind of power over him. Because he was an avenger, and he couldn't waste his time with a weak girl who was just like all the others.

Hinata, on her part, really didn't think twice about her—as some would call it—"random act of kindness" besides giving herself a pat on the back that at least she had gone out of her way for another person that day, then going on her way. It was simply what Hinata did, it was her forte. It wasn't anything big, or heart-softening as Sasuke seemed to find it. Simply something she did, frequently, for anybody who needed it. Sasuke—at that point in time—had no higher standing in her heart than any of her classmates. In fact, he had a lower standing than most of them. Whether this idea would make Sasuke happy, or drive him into depression, is yours—my fair reader—to decide, as he never actually heard this piece of information. I, however, am inclined to think the latter, and perhaps, as the story progresses, you shall see why.

Anyway, life went on, as it always had. A series of normal days, where Sasuke and Hinata barely noticed each other. Or should I say, where Hinata barely noticed Sasuke. Sasuke—as fate would have it—although trying to avoid the girl, could barely cease to think of her. In fact during a lesson he'd be carefully thinking through some equation or another when his thoughts would stray! His focus was slipping, and the poor boy, as you might suspect, overreacted. Now, perhaps you would not suspect this, but as Sasuke had never before experienced a slip of focus, it was quite a eye-opener that there actually existed such an occurrence. This being said, is it any wonder his composure began slipping along with his concentration?

As Iruka-sensei was teaching his lesson, Sasuke was focused totally and completely on what some may say was an equation far beyond his mind as a twelve-year-old boy. It was as he was thinking upon this that an image of a certain blue-haired, white-eyed young girl crept into his mind.

Sasuke was furious.

How dare she? She had protruded into his thoughts as though they were something she owned! So, Sasuke did what any boy-genius would do when he was on the verge of realizing his true feelings. He stood up, causing the room to go deadly silent, turned around, walked up to the girl in question and calmly asked, "What are you doing to me?" before running out of the room at break-neck speed.

As all eyes of the classroom swiveled in the direction of the door, then toward Hinata, her face began to grow warm, then hot, until finally a furious, red blush was on her face and she fainted without an inkling of knowledge as to what Sasuke could have been talking about.

Hinata was taken to the infirmary and Iruka-sensei was forced to decide who should be able to take Sasuke the homework he missed. As Hinata seemed to be the cause of his absence, he came to the conclusion—much to the chagrin of the fangirls—that she should be the one to take him the work he missed.

--

"Wh-wh-what?" Hinata asked, her voice quiet, but filled with incredulity.

"Sorry, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said, rubbing his head. "I know you don't want to do this for that teme."

"B-b-but!" Hinata gasped. "Surely som-someone e-else w-would have…"

"Oh, yeah," Naruto replied. "All the girls were ready to rip him apart when Iruka-sensei decided to send you, but he thought it would be fairest…are you okay, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata was decidedly not okay.

You see, making a copy of her notes for her classmate was one thing, but going to his (emphasis on his, after all, this was a boy) house, after he had made it perfectly clear he wanted nothing to do with her during class, now that was quite another altogether, and Hinata felt as thought she were about to stick her bare hand into a bees' hive to see if she could get honey without getting stung.

Nevertheless, she went. Because that's who Hinata was. The girl who would do those types of things because they needed to be done, and that, my good people, was how Hinata ended up standing in front of the Uchiha compound, wondering how best to proceed.