IT LIVES!! THIS STORY STILL LIVES!!!

I'm sorry I haven't updated this story in awhile. I've been too busy with school, reality, and other stories to relax and update this story and I appreciate your patience.

Disclaimer: I've had a few people mention a mistake in the last chapter of my usage of the Byakugan. And I'm sorry for the fluke! One day I'll change it… hopefully

Well without further ado, enjoy!

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Chapter Three

Pride of the Needy

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What can be said of a man's fault? Why, his pride of course! There is nothing worse than a man whose pride has been shattered. Especially at the fault of a woman.

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Hinata tilted her head again, trying to catch the eye of her employer. He hadn't said much of anything ever since their little spar and she was getting a bit worried at the permanent pink tint dusting his pale cheek bones.

Not that Hinata noticed how well defined and strong his cheeks were. No, not at all.

She had thought that with her victory, his compliance and acceptance of her position would come easier. Instead the hopeless Uchiha turned icy cold and took to staring at the walls for far too long than what was considered normal.

Well, if you could call Uchiha Sasuke normal in the first place.

His dark abyss-blacked hair shined in sweat making the stray locks cling to his defined and toned face. Those hooded eyes constantly shifted from a bloody crimson hue to the darkness of the night. And even though she had probably caused him to pull a muscle from his back, he still moved with the grace of a restless cat.

But no, these facts were not seared into Hinata's mind compared to other girls whose sole life purpose was to catch the Uchiha in a tight wedding ring.

"Demo, Uchiha-san?" she awkwardly tried to break the silence.

He grunted, not moving from his staring contest with the wall.

"I'm going to… look around your apartment. Check for what security measurements that need to be taken, all right?"

He grunted again in what Hinata hoped was approval.

With a nervous look at the sullen Uchiha, she fidgeted a bow before scampering out of the room to do her job. The Uchiha's presence was just too… strange and forlorn at the moment.

Hinata was hired as a bodyguard, not his therapist.

Meanwhile, chaos wreaked havoc in Sasuke's mind.

Very much so as the monster in Cloverfield demolished all of New York while most pedestrians were totally ignorant of what the hell it was doing there in the first place.

For Sasuke, the monster could be analogous with the thought of what the hell went wrong during that little spar. And he, Sasuke, on the verge of coming to terms with that knowledge would rather stay as a running pedestrian than accept the fact of the inevitable.

Uchihas are like that. Stubborn, arrogant, and most of all pig-headed.

Uchiha Sasuke just could not accept the fact that he had lost to a girl. And it was probably his own fault too. What was an even more shocking revelation was that Uchiha Sasuke, may in fact, be attracted to this non-meaty thug type of bodyguard girl.

And though Sasuke was in fact not gay, much to the chagrin of many fellow males, he had not felt the need to date or worry about companionship when all girls did were bicker, chatter, and pester him.

However, he felt that this Hyuuga Hinata did in fact annoy him she did not follow his normal guidelines of a normal girl. But then again, who had ever heard of a small girl acting as a bodyguard for a macho man like him?

That's right, none.

But then the fact hit him, that maybe it wouldn't be so bad having a Hyuuga as a bodyguard. Back in the old days before life had turned to meaningless soap operas and whatnots, the Hyuugas and Uchihas were surprisingly good friends. He was too young to remember but his mother had told him of a cute little Hyuuga girl he always used to play with.

His mind began to ponder the possibilities and ironic coincidences of the woman searching his other rooms was actually the little girl in the sunflower dress, hiding behind a wall but peeking out shyly to look at him.

He quickly threw that notion away.

As Uchiha Sasuke, he could not let petty childhood memories interfere with his plan to rid himself of the bodyguard next door.

Oh yes, the fun would definitely begin.

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The content of your pockets (or purse if you are that type of person) say so much more about you then the endless chatter emitting from your lips. No matter how perfect you say those lips are.

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Hinata frowned as she shoved more of the homicidal death threats into her purse.

Uchiha Sasuke had lied to her. These creepy poems and news clips had been coming to his house for weeks on end! The dates on the news clips proved her theory and her purse was sadly getting heavier with each new finding in the inspection of Uchiha Sasuke's desk.

She now realized that the draw he had shown her was the death threats of only this week.

Sighing, the thought also occurred that maybe Sasuke didn't trust her as one should trust a bodyguard.

Well, she'd have to change that soon if the two were to be stuck together for a week. Already their relationship was shaky at best. This was the first day of her first assignment and already her employer had taken to staring listlessly at the wall.

She shoved the last death threat into her purse and prayed the seams wouldn't burst from the overweight and then proceeded to tidy the desk up as if she had never been there. With the desk cleared, she went on to check out the locks on the windows, doors, and everything else in the room.

Her mind mentally noted down improvements and when she was finished with that, she headed towards his bedroom. As she was about to open its door, she heard Sasuke run swiftly from his wall to grip her hand in motion. She jumped a bit; startled at his speed and the amount of strength he was pressuring on her hand.

"U-Uchiha-san?"

He glared at her, "No. Not this room."

"B-but I have to check all the rooms. Safety precautions."

"This is my bedroom," he said emphasizing the last word.

Hinata only blinked and nodded slowly in confusion.

"I-I still have to check it."

He glared harder, trying to send a message to her with his angry stare. However it seemed that Hyuuga Hinata was oblivious to such fiddle things as death glares.

She moved to twist the doorknob with her other hand but he stopped her by tightening his own grip.

"Uchiha-san, please let go. I must do my job and check this room out."

"No. I don't want you in this room," he hissed.

Hinata's brow knotted in confusion at his persistence when a light bulb finally lit up in her mind.

"Ah! I think I understand now Uchiha-san!"

This comment threw Sasuke off and now it was his turn to bask in the darkness of puzzlement.

"Huh?"

"Is your room messy? Well then, I'll check this room out last to give you time to clean it up."

She took advantage of his slacking grip to free her hand from melding to the doorknob. With another polite bow she left the stupefied Uchiha at the door to check on the living room and kitchen.

Sasuke stood still for a moment and then slowly entered his room. His eyes stared deadpanned at the notes littering the floor and the maps pasted to his walls with strings and lines marked all across. He stepped across a few scrolls and his eyes drank in the sight of the dried stain of blood still crusting on his walls.

He was still tracking down his progress and he couldn't have that happy-go-lucky bodyguard interfere. But then again, he couldn't let her know about his current obsession with revenge.

Yes, he definitely would have to clean.

Holding in a sigh, he went into the adjacent bathroom to find the bleach. He'd start with the bloody stain where the bastard had tried to draw a sword through him.

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Which would be harder to wash off? Wine or blood?

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Hinata had finished checking the small apartment two hours ago with exception to the Uchiha's room. He hadn't emerged from it yet and only barked at her to stay away whenever she knocked on the door. It was almost lunchtime and her stomach's grumbles were really starting to gnaw at her.

She took another glance at the closed door before looking at the homey kitchen. Maybe Sasuke wouldn't mind her cooking a little lunch for the two of them while he cleaned. She went to check on the fridge when she remembered that the Uchiha's kitchen was empty and bare of anything edible except for a can of Crisco.

She sighed and looked at the door once more, still closed and locked tight. She probably could have picked the lock opened but she respected the Uchiha's privacy to get his room in order.

Her stomach growled in protest.

A few more minutes of her angry stomach's moans and Hinata knew she couldn't take anymore. She cautiously went up to the door and timidly knocked. She heard loud crashing noises and a series of curse before the door was swung open to reveal a very messy Uchiha.

His hair strewed all over the place and his clothes were splotched in bleach but when she peeked behind him, the room looked spotless.

And quite normal.

"What? Did you need something?" snapped the Uchiha.

Hinata shook her head until her stomach answered for her in a whiny and long grumble. She watched in morbid embarrassment as the Uchiha rolled his eyes and moved to shut the door.

"Fine. We'll go out to eat. Just wait for me to change."

And he snubbed the door in her face.

Hinata wearily rubbed her sore nose staring at the door. It seemed that she'd been getting that door treatment the whole time with the Uchiha. At least he had complied to eating out without her having to say a single word.

She smiled at that and skipped off to find her black jacket and over-stuffed purse.

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Disappointment is something everyone eventually gets use to.

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The breeze blew warmly into the crisp afternoon air. Hinata, knowing nothing about the neighborhood, dutifully followed Uchiha Sasuke as he briskly walked through the crowded streets. Her eyes kept a sharp outlook for any suspicious or threatening persons and she couldn't get rid of this nagging feeling that someone was stalking them.

She hurried the Uchiha ahead and felt around in her jacket for the 9mm gun she had hidden.

Sasuke only glared at her pushing as he strolled down the streets looking for a decent restaurant. He was about to walk in to his regular Ichiraku's Ramen Stand but thought better of it incase the dobe would be out eating.

But when he felt Hinata's insistent pushing again, he growled and stomped into Ichiraku's Ramen Stand anyways.

He quickly sat down in his usual spot and ordered a plain miso ramen. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Hinata double glance around and casually scanned the current customer's before sitting a seat away from him.

He only snorted at her paranoia and proceeded to eat his ramen.

Hinata was fine with the façade of strangers between them. They had, after all, only met this morning. Besides it would be easier to catch their stalker if he thought Sasuke was alone. Softly, she loaded her gun with its magazine as she ordered a plain miso ramen too.

The two ate in a silence.

Hinata tensely fingering her gun.

Sasuke ignorantly eating his lunch.

And then a scream pierced the quietness with a high pitched squeal.

"AAAAIIEEEE!!! SAAAAASUUUKE-KUUUN!"

Several things immediately happened at once.

One, Sasuke stiffened praying to a God out there that it wasn't who he thought it was.

Two, a pink-haired woman jumped out of the shadows ready to capture Sasuke into her arms and into a blissful marriage and if not, then hopefully a sunny date.

Three, Hinata bolted straight up knocking down her bar stool seat and pinpointed the gun on a squealing Sakura shouting, "Freeze!"

The awkwardness immediately escalated.

"H-HEY! D-DON'T POINT THAT AT ME!" screamed Sakura.

Hinata only stared harder repeating her command, "Freeze! Or I'll shoot!"

Sasuke blinked at the scene occurring between the two women and was torn from telling Hinata to shoot the pink harpy or from laughing out loud at the whole chaos of the situation.

Instead he continued to peacefully eat his ramen. Uchihas never loose their cool.

"SA-SASUKE-KUN!!! HELP! SHE'S GOING TO SHOOT ME!! HELP ME!"

He sighed and looked at his gun-ho bodyguard. He waved a cavalier hand at Sakura saying, "She's not a threat to my life. Maybe to my sanity, but not to my life. You don't have to shoot her. Not this time, anyways."

Hinata glanced once more at the frantic woman and back at Sasuke before giving a reluctant nod and lowering her weapon. She did not, however, put the gun out of sight.

With the gun no longer pointed at her face, Sakura regained mobility to glomp onto Sasuke sobbing in tears. Sasuke tried pulling the woman off him and now felt a sudden regret in not having Hinata shoot her.

"Get off me!"

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun! I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes! My future too! We're meant to be! Together!! Sasuke-kun!!!!"

"AARGGH! Get off me woman!"

Seeing the familiarity the two people shared, Hinata happily hid her gun once more and sat down to finish her ramen. It was getting a little soggy but she still enjoyed it now that the atmosphere was no longer tense.

"Please Sasuke-kun! I could have lost my life back there! That crazy lady tried to kill me!!"

"Get off me!"

"I would have died crawling to you Sasuke-kun! You are my life! I love you!!!"

"Get off me! AARGH! Hyuuga! Help!"

Hinata looked at the couple and giggled at the Uchiha's desperate face. Taking pity, she stood up and tapped the woman on the back. When Sakura looked back though, she only screamed holding on tighter to Sasuke.

"YOU!!"

Hinata nervously fiddled with her fingers as she politely spoke, "Ah yes. I'm so very sorry for the misunderstanding. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to let him go."

"NEVER! SASUKE-KUN IS MINE!!"

"Uhm.. It's just that he's.. turning blue."

Sakura's iron gripped loosened at that and Sasuke coughed, standing up to drop Sakura onto the ground. He groaned, rotating his neck while softly cursing under his breath. He gave a thankful nod to Hinata as he dropped a few bills on the restaurant's counter. He turned to leave when Sakura stood planted in his pathway.

"Sasuke-kun! Who is that hussy?!?" she accused, pointing a finger at Hinata.

Hinata arched an eyebrow in confusion, pointing her own finger at herself.

"Me?"

"Yes you! You're the hussy! You almost killed me! And NOW you're trying to steal my Sasuke-kun!!!"

"N-N-No! It's not like that Miss – "

"I'm Haruno Sakura! But to you, I am the future Mrs. Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Wait Haruno-san I never – "

"No! If you must be formal, you must say Uchiha- "

"SHUT UP WOMEN!"

Both Sakura and Hinata turned to a huffing Sasuke blinking at his outburst.

"Sakura I've told you time after time, I will never marry you! Understand that! Now Hyuuga, let's go!"

He grabbed a baffled Hyuuga and dragged her to the exit when Sakura grabbed Hinata's other wrist.

"No Sasuke-kun! I won't let you leave with this hussy! Who is she anyways!?!!"

"Enough Sakura!"

"NO! I'm not letting you go until you tell me!"

A tug of war match ensued as both tried to drag Hinata apart by the arms. The poor little bodyguard jerked in their grips, seeing stars at the pain.

And when the pain became unbearable, Hinata exploded.

"S-Stop it!! You're both acting like children!!!"

The tugging stopped and Hinata took the opportunity to snatch her arms back to herself, rubbing the new bruises sullenly.

"Haruno-san, please understand that Uchiha-san does not want to associate with you at this time. And Uchiha-san, please tell Haruno-san our current relationship so her mind may be at peace."

Her eyes glared at the Uchiha who only glared harder in return.

"Sasuke-kun, who is she!!?"

"She's just my…"

He couldn't say it. No he couldn't say the word bodyguard when the Hyuuga women was nothing like a bodyguard. Sure she could actually act as a bodyguard but the women looked nothing like a big meaty thug!

No! Not at all!

Uchihas were nothing without their pride. And at the moment, Sasuke's pride would not let the word of Hinata's profession come out into the open. He could feel the eyes of the whole restaurant zooming in on this commotion.

"You're what, Sasuke-kun?"

"Uchiha-san, please tell her. If not, then I would be happy to."

She gave a pause to let Sasuke continue but the Uchiha seemed to be trapped in his own inner turmoil. She turned and gave Sakura a sunny smile.

"I am Hyuuga Hinata, Uchiha-san's bodyg – "

"GIRLFRIEND! She's my eh girlfriend, Sakura."

Two simultaneous outbursts of confusion followed Sasuke's words breaking the sound barrier in a whole new matter.

And all this fuss for the sake of an Uchiha's pride. But the again, an Uchiha is nothing without his pride.

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Misunderstandings make the world go round.

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A.N: I thought that was a nice way to wrap things up. I actually have nothing really plotted down in ink for this story and am just letting the wind take me wherever it wants.

POLL #1:

Would you consider this story to be a crack fict? Or is the authoress just on crack?

Opinions, comments, maybe some flames, WHO CARES! EVERYTHING IS ACCEPTED IN A REVIEW!