Another chapter! Thank you for your reviews! Thank you for my dear friend, SHaPbY who helped me with the chapter, and enjoyed the chapter very much, especially about a certain line (you know what I mean XDD). As usual, responses are below. And if you have some time, could you read my other fic, Ayame? There's no romance, but there's drama, and fighting scenes (not much though), if you think it's interesting, please leave a review (and more if you can). Thank you very much! And…let's go on with the story!

Another standard disclaimer… -holds out a hand- I never ever own Naruto, except the manga I bought and this story, it's all mine!


What Are We?

Of Conversations

Hinata woke up to the voice of the birds outside the window. She slowly pried her eyes open and saw the sunlight had brightened the room. She needed a moment until previous event returned to her memory, her eyes widened when she remembered. She was married to Sasuke. She was living under the same roof with him and was supposed to share bed with him. In alarm, she checked her body and found her kimono was still intact, she was still in the same position she had laid herself to sleep. She sighed in relief, it seemed he thought she was asleep, but she knew she couldn't pretend to sleep every time or sleep before him, it wasn't appropriate for a wife to sleep before her husband. Hinata had been taught since she was young how to be a good wife and mother and it seemed she practiced it automatically. She sat up and her pearly eyes swept the room to look for any sign of her husband. But she found none, her hand touched the other side of the futon, she found it was cold as if no one had slept on it. She blinked in confusion, then where was Sasuke last night? She felt a pang of sadness, even though she didn't want to be married to him, at least she would like to have his company. So she walked out from the room to look for him, but she didn't sense his chakra signature anywhere in the house. Her shoulders slumped, she returned to what was supposed to be their room. She opened the window to let fresh air into the room and noticed the sun hadn't fully risen. Then a flash of memory passed her mind, when she had met Naruto before she moved to Uchiha compound.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto smiled cheerfully, the same smile he had since they were young.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata smiled back, long she had gotten over her crush to Naruto. She had found out the crush she had was only admiration to him, that's why she blushed and stuttered around him. It was something you usually felt when you were around the people you admired. Naruto had taught her many things, and she was grateful of that.

"You're going to move soon?"

"Yes, it's a part of agreement"

"Oh," then Naruto took something out from his pocket, "I have something for you…"

It was a piece of paper, a bit crumpled since he put it in his side pocket's pants. She accepted the paper and stared to Naruto in confusion.

"Ah, well. Since you're going to live with Sasuke, I think you'll need to know his daily schedule. It can't be called a schedule though, since most of the time he spent his time training or doing missions, sometimes we have team gathering or something like that," he grinned sheepishly.

"Arigato," she smiled gratefully to see how much he cared.

She still had the paper inside her clothes' pocket, she quickly reached for her clothes and found the paper was there. She hadn't had time to read it, her eyes were brimming down the contents of the paper carefully. Naruto's writing couldn't be said neat but it was readable enough, Hinata was surprised how complete Naruto had written Sasuke's schedule for the whole week -he even had the time written. She looked for today's schedule and found that Sasuke was supposed to have his morning training from 5 to 7 then he had his breakfast afterwards, she glanced at the clock on the table. It read 6:00. No wonder he wasn't at home, she felt a little relieved. She quickly reached for fresh clothes in the cupboard, she had an hour to prepare breakfast for the two of them.

I

I

I

Sasuke finished his morning training, he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, not bothering to acknowledge that his hands were dirty. Not only his hands were dirty but also his whole body was full of sweat and dirt. His clothes were a bit torn and in some parts it was burnt. He had been practicing with his kage bushin, and the bushin didn't hold back, it even used fire type jutsus against him. It was a good training though, so he could learn his weakness and strength. He removed his ragged and dirty shirt, as he walked to his house he thought of having a nice warm bath. He slid the door open and soon his nose caught a luscious aroma from inside his house, from the direction of the kitchen. He nearly forgot that he didn't live on his own anymore as he sensed her chakra signature in the kitchen. She must've woken up, he thought and decided to check on her. He found her cutting vegetables beside the stove where a pot of soup was being heated. It was the source of the luscious aroma. He raised his eyebrow, it seemed she had gotten used to pretty easily. He noticed two sets of eating utensils had been prepared on the dining table, she had known where to get the utensils. He had organized it so he would be able to reach everything he need easily, not too hard for her it seemed. He returned his gaze to the new figure in his house, she had her hair braided and rested on her right shoulder. She was wearing his mother's apron, which suited her well. It had been a long time since the apron was used.

"O-Ohayo, Sasuke-san," she greeted as she sensed his chakra signature, she turned her head slightly to see him and her eyes widened slightly when he saw him shirtless, revealing his upper torso. She quickly returned her attention to the vegetables, her cheek flushed in embarrassment.

"Ohayo," for a moment he wondered why she looked so flustered, then he realized he wasn't wearing his shirt,

"I'm taking a bath." Without looking at her, he left for the bathroom. Hinata felt his presence left the kitchen and tried to calm herself. It was the first time she saw a man bare-chested, even she had never seen Neji like that. Well, it wasn't totally right though, she had seen men bare-chested in the hospital, after all, she was a medic nin. But it was the first time she had seen someone like that outside the hospital. So she had no reason to be flustered because of it, but she knew why. In the hospital, her attention was on the injuries, she didn't bother to look more. And when she saw how lean, toned his body was and well… being a shy person she was, she couldn't help but to blush. She shook her head to brush the thought off her mind and her finished cooking removed her thought easily. She prepared the food skillfully even though it was the first time she cooked breakfast. In the Hyuuga compound, she had everything prepared for her, included food. Fortunately, she liked cooking, a trait she had from her mother, so she was able to cook pretty well. She sometimes made bento for her team. Then she thought of her tomboyish younger sister who wasn't even able to cook simple food such as soup, she ended up poisoning herself. She restrained the urge to laugh when she remembered the memory. Hanabi was impressed with her cooking skills and asked to be taught to cook. Hinata had taught her the best she could yet her sister always failed. At last, Hanabi gave up and told her that cooking wasn't her thing, and she wouldn't need to cook for she had someone else to cook for her. Hinata didn't try to persuade her further, for she knew how stubborn her sister could be. She shook her head, she wondered why Hanabi always failed, it wasn't that difficult to cook compared to learning the Hyuuga style. Well, it seemed everyone had their own strength and weakness, and one of her brilliant younger sister weakness was cooking.

She raised her head to find Sasuke had cleaned himself, he was wearing his usual attire. He had his utility pouch on his waist and kunai pouch strapped on his right thigh. He sat himself on the chair, Hinata took off her apron and followed suit.

"Itadakimasu," he spoke barely audible and started to eat his breakfast. Hinata just held the chopsticks, her eyes on Sasuke who was eating her cooking. She tried to see if he didn't like her cooking, and when she found no sign of it, she ate her fill. They passed the breakfast in complete silence, both didn't make much noise. Sasuke finished first, he stood from his seat, without looking at her he told her,

"I'm training with Naruto, I will come home late. Do anything you want"

He said it monotonously without any hint of emotion, Hinata silently watched him leave. After cleaning the dishes, she decided to go to the hospital. As a jounin, she did many missions, sometimes on her own or within a group of four as a medic nin. She didn't choose to be an ANBU, instead she chose to become a jounin. One of ANBU missions was assassination, and she didn't like taking people's lives in purpose. She could kill when she had no other option, but if not, she would only paralyze her opponent. She could have become a jounin instructor and had students of her own -after all she liked children- but the clan didn't like the idea. The Hyuuga heiress should do much more useful thing than teaching a bunch of kids. She was about to object but knowing the clan, it was proven fruitless to convince them otherwise, because it was related with the clan's pride.

Don't they remember who taught them? She thought ruefully. On her day offs, she spent most of her time in the hospital, lending a hand that was accepted blissfully by the hospital staffs. Then, it had become a habit for her, she loved to help people, to see the smile return to their faces when she succeeded in healing them, and she felt sad when she couldn't do more to help them. It was one thing that didn't change through the years.

She passed a certain weapon store, and decided to pay a visit. The door had the sign 'open', she pushed the door open and she was greeted by a familiar young woman.

"Hinata!" she had a wide smile when she saw Hinata and hugged her.

"Tenten," Hinata returned the hug.

"How's the wedding?" she asked after she released her hug.

"Neji has told you?" it was more a statement, Hinata knew Neji told Tenten nearly everything, after all, she was his girlfriend. She was the only person that could make Neji blush, and Hinata often teased his cousin of it.

"Yep, mind if you tell me about it?" she asked in understanding.

"When do I mind? Do you have the time?"

"I doubt there'll be customers. It's the end of the month you know," she shrugged nonchalantly, Hinata smiled. Tenten motioned her to sit near the cashier after she changed the sign on the door from 'open' to 'close', they sat face to face.

"What did Neji tell you?" Years ago Hinata would never be the one who started a conversation, Tenten noted with a smile, but it turned to a scowl when she remembered about the marriage.

"An arranged marriage. How both of you has been betrothed to one another since you were born. Now that you're living with him in the Uchiha compound. How much he is worried for you," she looked at her sadly.

"I see…" she looked downward.

"Is everything alright?" Tenten titled her head upward with her finger, she could see concern within her eyes.

"It's alright so far, Sasuke-san isn't that bad"

"He's your husband, yet you still call him –san," Tenten's eyebrow twitched slightly,

"You know people will notice it. At least try to call him by name directly, even though you don't feel comfortable to. You're married, keep that in mind," she emphasized the last part.

"Alright… I'll try to," Hinata gave her a small smile, "Can you imagine people's reaction?"

"Surely I can, especially the girls," she snorted when she thought of it, Hinata giggled to see her expression.

"You know, some girls will be pretty violent when they find out. Don't bother them, you're way much better than them," she looked straight at Hinata, she knew she meant it,

"Most importantly, you have us, we'll right by your side when you need us. If Sasuke hurts you in any way, don't afraid to tell us. We'll gladly help you," she squeezed Hinata's hand firmly.

"Thank you," it was a sincere gratitude. She had been feeling doubt since the news of her betrothal, but now the doubt was slowly going away. For the first time she thought everything would be alright, especially with her friends supporting her.

"By the way, how did Sakura react?"

"…Well, she's been avoiding me since she found about the marriage from Sasuke-s.., Sasuke," she was beginning to call him by name, Tenten's eyes gleamed with pride.

"Oh geez, why can't she be like more like Ino?" Tenten rolled her eyes, "Well, don't bother her, she needs to overcome her crush anyway"

Hinata merely twitched her eyebrow in question, it wasn't the best thing to do and since both of them were medic nin, meeting her was inevitable.

"I suppose I'm going now, I can't disturb you any longer"

"Oh no, I still have a plenty of time!"

"He is on his way here," Hinata smiled teasingly to her. For a while, Tenten only looked at her then she sensed a very familiar chakra signature.

"Now I see how you become a jounin faster than most girls," she was impressed, Hinata didn't even bother to use her Byakugan.

"See you, send my regards to Neji," Hinata stood and walked to the door.

"No prob, take care," Tenten gave her a thumb up. With a last glance, she headed to the hospital.

I

I

I

Sasuke found Naruto resting on a tree branch around the training ground, his eyes closed, yet he knew he wasn't sleeping. Sasuke stealthily approached the tree where Naruto was and kicked the tree strong enough. Some of the leaves fell to the ground, along with Naruto. Naruto seemed surprised for a moment as he fell but within few seconds he had landed safely on the ground.

"Ouch! What was that for!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger on Sasuke who didn't seem to be disturbed.

"First, you already knew I've arrived. Second, you landed safely on the ground. So there is no reason for you to be angry, Dobe"

"Oh, alright!" Naruto raised his hand in surrender, he knew he was right, so instead of keeping a fight with him, he asked, "So how's life after marriage?"

"Not much. She cooks well." Naruto gave him a dumfounded look.

"Did I hear the coldest person on earth praise someone, most of all, a female?"

Sasuke merely looked at him, "She's my wife"

"Wow, you admit that! So how's the wedding night?" Naruto asked anxiously, but he didn't get any reply and he didn't need long to figure it out –which was pretty amazing for someone like Naruto, oh well, he'd matured-

"You didn't do anything?" Silence greeted him, Naruto was thinking of throwing some remarks about Sasuke being a married virgin or something like that, but he dismissed the thought when he noticed the look in his friend's face. He approached his friend and gave him a friendly pat,

"You're not as cold-hearted as people think you are"

Sasuke merely gave him a glance,

"Let's train"

"Alright." As they said so, they took opposite position and started their spar, a full taijutsu fight.

"Have you told her about your reason?" Naruto spoke in the midst of fight.

"No," Sasuke gave him a series of punch.

"Why not?" he dodged it one by one.

"Haven't had the chance to," he evaded a kick to his shin from Naruto.

"You know you should," there was weight in the latter's voice, it wasn't an advice.

"I know," he caught Naruto's left hand and aimed for a hit on the gut.

"You know Sasuke… you could've asked for Kakashi-sensei's advice. He's married after all," Naruto suggested after twisting himself and releasing Sasuke's grip on his hand.

"Since when he's a marriage counselor?"

"No harm to try," he shrugged and barely missing a kick aimed to his head, "I always wonder… you know that Sensei likes to read that book and Kurenai-sensei hates that book. Where do you think he hides it? He's still reading it for sure"

"Don't want to know," even though there was a smirk of amusement on his face.

"But I want to know," Naruto grinned.

I

I

I

Hinata had arrived in the hospital, she was easily noticed by the staff.

"Ohayo, Hinata-san," a woman with orange hair tied into a pigtail greeted her, she was wearing a doctor's coat and had a board on her hand.

"Ohayo, Ayumi-san. Is my help needed?" she smiled to the woman who was in charge of the hospital.

"Since when was your help not needed?" she smiled to her, she was fond of the Hyuuga heiress, all the staff of the hospital and most of the patients would agree with her.

"What can I help you?"

"Well, let's start with the children ward, you know how much they like you"

"I'll get started then"

Hinata enjoyed being around children, the children seemed to amaze her with their innocence and sincerity. She could easily forget her problems when she was with them.

"You're better in handling children than me. They're so hard to organize," a nurse who was in charge of the children ward told her.

"Oh, they aren't that difficult. We just need to be very patient to handle them"

"You would've made a great mother, Hinata-san. Why don't you have a child on your own?" another nurse added. Hinata blushed when the nurse mentioned about children, it reminded her about her marriage.

"Ow, Hinata-neechan's blushing! Who's the lucky guy?" a girl squealed.

"Akane-chan!" Hinata tried to hide her blush but no avail.

"Really, Hinata-san?" the nurses was making things worse for her, she felt heat rising up to her cheeks.

"Hey, stop teasing Hinata!" a voice came up from the direction of the door, "She'll let you know if you stop teasing her"

Hinata looked to the source of the voice to see her savior, she found it was Sakura, her hands on her hips, her eyebrow twitched.

"Sakura-neechan!" the children greeted her, Sakura was one of their favorite nee-chan other than Hinata even though sometimes they were afraid of her. Because when she was angry, she would give them a scary glare or make a dent on the wall with a flick of her finger.

"Hi kids. Sorry, but I need to borrow Hinata for some time," she approached a still blushing Hinata and grabbed her hand, she slightly titled her head to the door.

"Oh, sorry children. I need to go," Hinata smiled to the children and saw them pout. Without saying another word, Sakura half dragged Hinata to leave the ward. After a good distance away, Hinata let out a relieved sigh.

"Hinata, you should have just told them straight if you don't want to tell them. You're too easy to tease." Hinata looked at Sakura to find her smiling kindly at her.

"Thanks. I suppose, children is my weakness," she admitted. Sakura laughed good-naturedly.

"You're going to make a good mother." Hinata was surprised and she saw Sakura was sincere about that.

"Well, uh- you're free?" Sakura scratched her head nervously.

"Yes, it's near lunch time"

"Good. Then let's eat at the cafeteria, my treat," she added with a smile.

"Sure," Hinata smiled back, she liked to see Sakura back.

They took a seat in the garden, far from the crowd, it was their favorite place. When they were tired from practicing medical jutsu under Tsunade herself or Shizune, they would rest in the garden. It was a nice place, offering peace and tranquility.

"It's been a while," Hinata roamed through their surrounding slightly in a daze.

"Indeed. We've been busy these days," Sakura agreed, her eyes followed Hinata's gaze. They put the tray of food on the table, yet they didn't bother to eat it. Both was waiting the right time to talk, it was Sakura who spoke first,

"Sorry for being a jerk back then"

Hinata was caught a little off guard with her statement, she was about to speak when Sakura spoke again.

"… I'm a bit disappointed that suddenly Sasuke get married," she played her food with her fork.

"Not because of you, of course," she quickly added, "Well…I suppose I still have some crush on him, but well I should have overcome it long time ago. We're simply friends, not more"

"Sakura…" Hinata looked at her symphatically.

"I just realized it yesterday, how foolish of me… But I can't help to feel upset… We're supposed to be friends, yet Sasuke didn't bother to explain about the marriage to me. It was Naruto who explained to me and Kakashi-sensei. It seems he doesn't trust me as much as Naruto, huh?"

"Sakura, you know it's not true," Hinata disagreed, "You know you're the closest girl to him and the only one that he feels comfortable with. I don't know much about Sasuke but I notice that he is much more at ease around you, Naruto and Kakashi-san"

"Do you think so?" Hinata nodded in assurance. Sakura knew Hinata was telling the truth, but when she thought of her words, she frowned.

"…Does Sasuke treat you well?"

"He treats me fine, though it's a bit hard to understand him"

"I suppose it's hard for you," Sakura looked at her sympathically.

"Not really," Hinata lied, she didn't want to make people worry about her. Sakura looked at her skeptically.

"You know, Hinata. You're not good in hiding your feelings. Probably it'll work to people who aren't close to you but for us… it won't," she waved her fork warningly to Hinata.

Hinata knew Sakura was right, she had spent more time with Sakura than any other people due to their medical training and she could consider Sakura her best friend, like Naruto to Sasuke. The truth was, when she found out she was going to marry Sasuke, she was afraid that Sakura would hate her and she was sad when the last few days before the marriage Sakura avoided her. She was truly relieved and happy that Sakura didn't hate her, she was even worried about her.

"Well, after all we barely know each other," Hinata at last admitted.

"I see… I need years to understand him and honestly, until now sometimes I don't," Sakura started to eat, and she motioned Hinata to do the same. Hinata gladly followed, the air felt much friendlier, just like old times.

"How come?"

"Well, the old Sasuke was easier to understand, he started to open up when we were closer as a team. But after the war… after he achieved his goal… he changed," Hinata saw Sakura's eyes saddened,

"He became colder and more distant, even though I feel that he trusts us more and he smiles more often than he used to. There some times he truly closes himself from everybody, that time there are no hint of emotion in his face… totally blank and… cold, that way he is more like him." Hinata didn't need to ask who was the one Sakura mentioned.

"And all the time… the only one who understands is only Naruto. Isn't it funny?" Sakura smiled to her, though she didn't seem amused with the fact.

"Those two rivals, one is the dead last, while the other is the number 1 rookie. One is loud and brash, while the other is calm and composed. One is more open in his own feelings, while the other keeps it to himself. One is like the day, while the others like the night. Complete opposites, yet they understand one another better than anyone else… It is sad, that I consider myself their friend but I can hardly understand their pain, what they've gone through"

"Sakura…"

"They're so much alike, despite of their appearance. If you can understand Naruto, then I believe you can understand Sasuke. He's a good person inside, trust me. I think you haven't experienced your wedding night yet"

Hinata gave Sakura an incredulous look, Sakura chuckled to see Hinata's face.

"Told you," Sakura grinned.

"So what should I do?" Hinata encouraged herself to ask, she had been looking for someone to ask that question.

"Try to understand him. Start a conversation.. oh wait, that'll be hard, but try it anyway. Be very patient. I believe he'll open up to you sooner or later. Just be yourself, Hinata. If there's someone who can get through him, it'll be only you"

Hinata blinked in confusion, Sakura gave her a playful look.

"We'll see," she ended her advice.

I

I

I

Hinata came home late –she was getting used to calling the Uchiha Manor her home-, she found the house was dark, indicating that Sasuke wasn't home yet. She was tired, there was an emergency case, a shinobi had returned from a mission with severe injuries. He lost lots of blood, had broken bones and his consciousness was drifting away slowly, he would die without quick and right treatment. She and Sakura took the matter at their hands, since they were the best the hospital could afford. They healed the person nonstop for 4 hours straight, and the man was saved successfully from the brink of death. Afterwards, they left him under the hospital full care, knowing how tired they were. She was relieved that the man was saved, now she was more at ease knowing he was at the right hand. She flexed her sore muscles and headed straight to have a warm nice bath. She was nearly fallen asleep in the bath tub, fortunately Sasuke hadn't come home, or she would be embarrassed that she was nearly drowned in her own house. She cooked dinner for two and waited for Sasuke's arrival. But even though she had finished her fill, there was no sign of him.

Hinata sighed sadly, she wanted to start to understand him, but it seemed Sasuke was avoiding her. Both of them weren't ready, she realized, it needed a long time to earn each other trust… and love if possible. So she decided to sleep and hoped the next morning they would exchange more than words, but a real conversation.

Author's Note: Umm, I suppose I should warn you that the story will progress a little slow. Oh, come on, you don't expect them to fall in love so fast, do you? Step by step. One at a time. Oh, another pairing! Neji and Tenten! Not really a fan of them though, but since Neji is one of Hinata's closest people whom she regarded as a brother… well you get what I mean. Who's gonna appear next? Any suggestions? Constructive critism? You're very welcomed. And a side note, the dialogue between Naruto and Sasuke reflects my curiosity what happen to that book after Kakashi is married, aren't you curious?

Responses:

Fractured wings 01 – Wow, you're the first reviewer. Thanks, I'll ask your advice probably soon enough. I'm a little blank here. Too bad you don't continue, it seems all your series fic have no ending, or I'm mistaken? I love your stories, and I wish to see them continued.

Kat of Mosh Pits – O-O the longest review I've ever had… Cool… I'm flattered that you think my story is nice, I hope I won't disappoint you. I think there are other SasuHina stories better than mine, I'm not kidding! Check my favorite stories list and I suggest you read The Logical Conclusions or Era. Sasuke's characterization is inspired from Era, though a little different. About anonymous reviews… well, I'm not that confident in my ability so… I don't dare to take the risk –scratches her head, smiles sheepishly. Sorry about the Kakashi, Kurenai's husband thing I suppose I overdid it, just thinking of filling empty spaces, I truly need a lot to learn. Don't say Kiba just mature slightly, he'll be mad to hear you… though I agree :lol: after all in my story the rookie nine are 21 and Gai's team are 22. And here's the longest response XDD

Athar-Luna – Thanks, and here a chapter with Sakura in it. I've thought of making Sakura jealous yet… it just seems too childish. Come on, for the whole NINE years, having a crush to someone who treats you only as a friend? Just doesn't suit me. I'm sorry if you expect more. There will be a lot of SasuHina interaction though. KakaKure after they're married -grins- you'll know how silly they can be, especially they are a figure of parents for their students.

SHaPbY – Hey, at last you logged in! I thought you didn't have an account! Thanks for the beta! I'll send all the next chapters for you to beta, and glad to see you join the ring of SasuHina fans, cheers! Told you, they're an interesting pair. Me? Talented? No way!

Not to forget other reviewers, Kumiko Yamashita, mUcHaChAnGiStAriRaY (I always have trouble in writing your penname XDD), Ah-choo, xxMizukixx (Glad you like it), Hell Devil (Thank you very much! I'm trying my best!), newblue, kenshinlover2002, and chinadoll27.