Author's Note: Well, I opened my e-mail, and…all the nice reviews made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Which, of course, made me feel out of character and guilty about not updating any of my stories. So I rushed this chapter. I feel miserably unlazy now. XD


Geniuses don't ever appear outside of school or their house. Well…scratch that. They can appear in lonely forests shrouded by mystery, or at training grounds, perfecting their already nearly perfect technique. In Uchiha Sasuke's case, he was also allowed to visit the Uchiha resting grounds, and, out of necessity, the marketplace. But that was limited to days when his fridge was empty, and only in the evening. That allowed his enigmatic aura to go unscratched. Geniuses, especially the brooding types like Uchiha Sasuke, just didn't go on picnics, field trips, or any other social activities that required sunshiny-ness.

Uchiha Sasuke was about to make a house call. On a schoolmate. A female schoolmate.

The universe had been thrust into chaos.


Looking very much like an unwilling infant, the twelve-year-old Avenger scuffled slowly through the deserted street that led to the Hyuga compound.

I'm sure Hinata isn't really sick. She'll probably be back at school in a day or two. Therefore, visiting her isn't really necessary, Sasuke argued to himself. All of a sudden, he had a mental image of an extraordinarily pale Hinata in convulsions, tiny hands clutching onto a meager blanket for warmth.

Being a genius with an overactive imagination sucked.

But as much as he hated to admit it, Sasuke had a conscience. Which meant he kept on scuffling through the deserted street.

"SASUKE-SAN!"

Well, almost deserted.


"How are you doing on this fine day? May I ask how you're planning to exhibit your bountiful youthfulness today?"

Sasuke twitched. Lee had gotten a little…stranger, to say the least, ever since acquiring a new sensei.

Not knowing how to respond, he opted for the traditional "………"

"But of course! You're going to the Hyuga compound, aren't you?" Lee inferred quickly.

…drat. And what's worse, Sasuke couldn't lie about it. After all, the street led only to the Hyuga manor. "…yes." He said finally.

"Could it be that you are going there to challenge Neji? The number one rookie versus the Hyuga prodigy?" Lee questioned excitedly.

"No."

"Oh. But…we don't know any other Hyuga our age, except…"

Sasuke held his breath.

"Sasuke-san! Is it possible that you are there to…"

Sasuke kept holding his breath.

"Such a thing from you…"

Sasuke was still holding his breath.

"…I would have thought it impossible…"

Still holding breath…

"…but you and Hinata are both youthful, so…"

Lee turned towards Sasuke and gave a thumbs-up sign.

"I give you my support in getting married!!!"


It was a good thing for Sasuke that geniuses had a remarkable ability when it came to holding breaths.

It was a bad thing for Lee-kun that they didn't have a sense of humor.


After a short period of time (ten seconds, to be precise) Sasuke finally thought it necessary to let Lee off. This time.

As for Lee? He gained a new respect for the legendary Uchiha glare.

"…so…" Lee continued meekly, "…does this mean that you're not heading towards the Hyuga compound to propose to Hinata?"


Lee had earned a twenty-second Uchiha glare. With a shudder, Lee decided that you definitely did not get used to some scary things. The Uchiha glare was one of them.
"So what are you visiting her for?" Lee persisted.

"………she's sick."

"Oh. It's wondrous to see someone visit a sick classmate! It denotes great character and enormous bonds between the two people! Surely, Hinata-chan means a great deal to you?"

Had it been a love story, Sasuke would have taken this moment to look surprised and blush. Fortunately for Sasuke and his self-dignity, true geniuses were hardly ever in love stories. Which meant that instead of wide-open eyes and cherry-stained cheeks, the Uchiha was currently wearing a bored expression and a small frown.

"I was sick yesterday. She helped out, that's all."

"Ah. Well, allow me to give you some advice on how to visit sick classmates."

"That's not necessar-"

"First! You must present the afflicted classmate with the required homework! This ensures that the learning process is not interrupted!" Sasuke held up the textbooks he was carrying, more out of a desire to shut Lee up than an actual response.

"Good! Secondly, you must present the damsel in distress with cheerful items such as flowers or a stuffed animal!" Briefly wondering when Hinata had turned into a damsel in distress, Sasuke held up the small bouquet of flowers that Ino had donated at the last minute towards Hinata.

"Excellent! Lastly, you must approach them with a positive aura and a brilliant smile! You must make them feel as if the sickness can be overcome, and-"


Uchiha glares were good at shutting people up. Lee should know by now that geniuses and sunshiny social duties did not mix.
So why am I going to see Hinata, then? Sasuke asked himself.

Because: 1) You might have made her sick. 2) She helped out during your sickness. You can't owe her a favor because of that. 3) If you didn't go see Hinata, the dobe would. Which would probably make her even sicker, and as a result, nobody would be around when you needed another nifty ointment to cure your stuffy nose.

After listing all those reasons, Sasuke decided he didn't like them. So here was the official reason why he, a normally moody, isolated genius, was seeking out the company of a unhygienically sick classmate:

Because he felt like it.

No overly complex reasons. After all, geniuses were pretty much allowed to do as they liked, right?

"Sasuke-san! It appears that we have reached our destination! I'm afraid we shall have to part ways, now, for I must locate Neji and tell him of our team's practice. Good luck cheering up Hinata!"

...good luck, huh? He just might need it.


Author's Note: Somewhat longer than the second chapter? Hope this was long enough for you guys…personally, I wouldn't want to read any more of a chapter than I had to, but…that's the lazy me talking. XD Anyway. I appreciate all the nice (and non-nice, though I haven't gotten any of those yet…) reviews, even IF they make me act unlazy and out of character. Which is my way of saying I heart all the new reviews and the old ones.