Chapter 6 - Predator and Prey

AN:Fluff! -ish. well i'm still plot developing here, but i enjoyed writing this chap. I really did. I still have...15 more days before school. so i'm going to do as much as I can here! To reply to some readers here. Thanks loyalreader123 for your comment: I realized the beginning was confusing, because my plot was wobbly and unestablished, but I think if you TRULY read this chap. you'll find it clears a lot of things. If you're lucky I might rewrite the first 2 chaps. Thanks Avaflame as usual for editing.

Rating: T

Pairings: Sasuke Hinata...back off Neji :P

Summary: Nobody told Hinata, Neji was just another playboy, but luckily she found out. it's rare to lose a Hyuga and gain a friend, soul-mate and lover called Sasuke on the same day. Who can she trust?

Here goes!


Hiashi-sama couldn't have been more joyous than watching his daughter leave to attend an Academy for the gifted, complete with an escort – none other than Sasuke himself. It was a turnaround for the aging man, and he felt, for the first time in his life, an assurance that both his nephew and daughter would face a high-esteemed and fortunate life – his job was done. If luck comes his way, Hinata might even be married to the most talented and esteemed shinobi of the entire village. Uchiha Sasuke was a good match and he waited the day to come.

"Hinata-sama! Hurry up Sasuke-sama is at the door waiting!." She heard a slave call from the main floor.

Sasuke-sama this, Sasuke-sama that. He wasn't a Hyuga and yet he was already renowned among the Hyuga slave network.

Hinata remained seated in front of the mirror, waiting for her maid to finish tidying up her morning hair. It was odd, this morning the maid spent an enormous amount of time finding her rings, hair accessories, anklets and an assortment of unnecessary items that slowed her down.

"Hurry up, Tori. We're going to be late."

"There, it's done. I hope Sasuke-sama likes it." Hinata closed her eyes and pretended not to hear his name. "Please. It's not like we're dating he's just –"

"Picking you up for school. I know." Tori answered wearing a sneaky grin. "Nothing romantic."

Hinata sighed and shoved her way out the door. Why were all the slaves acting this way?

Her thoughts were scattered by the thought of Sasuke. She barely knew how to act around him anymore. She gathered her luggage and satchel then proceeded toward the door. What was she thinking? She just needed to be herself, normal, slightly more ambitious to match up to his wits.

Absently mindedly she reached for the door handle and walked into something hard. Something familiar, ripped muscles, death glare. Bingo.

Owww…She squirmed mentally.

"Hinata." Came an all too familiar voice. Without thinking, she had walked right into the Uchiha prodigy.

"Oww.." Her response was delayed when their eyes met.

"Are you alright? Let me take a look."

He reached forward with his hand like a gentleman, but Hinata was faster, "There's no need," She brushed his hand away and headed towards the door. She promised herself, she'd be ambitious and firm with Sasuke. No mistakes, no stuttering, and absolutely, consequently – no 'gomenesai'.

Sasuke was glued to the floor, taken aback at her sudden movement. The usual Hinata was so mild, innocent and cherubic. There was definitely something wrong. Without a word, he moved to help her with her luggage.

Once outside, he could hear her awe and appalled look as she gaped at his black Mercedes in the sun, as if five year old in an amusement park. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but smirk at her fascination.

He didn't hesitate to play with the remotes. *Click* and the front passenger seat swung open with such speed, Hinata rushed forwards to witness the magic.

"Wow, is this really yours?" She exclaimed rhetorically.

"Do you like it?" he prodded heaving the forgotten luggage into the trunk. Hinata took her seat and nodded ecstatically.

Watching the pleased girl, Sasuke shifted effortlessly into the vehicle and slipped on his shades. It was the first time Hinata realized how manly he looked. With his gelled up grassy hair, his neat-done tie and ebony suit, complete with shades – no wonder all the girls fell for him. He didn't just have brains and brawn, he had charm.

While Hinata goggled at his looks, he turned, "I wonder who'll be selected as student president this year." Hinata mentally slapped herself awake.

Ignoring her puzzled look, Sasuke went on.

"A few years back was Itachi," he recalled. There was silence at the mention of the name, and Hinata looked out the window. After a long pause she gathered her courage and asked, "Do you still think of him?"

More silence followed. Sasuke didn't like the subject much, but since he started it…

"Not as much as the first year," he lied without constraint. "You get over it." Yet another lie.

There was even more silence. The cheerful atmosphere was severed and in place was a dull silence that revived lugubrious memories of his past.

Why did I have to bring Itachi up?

"I'm sorry," Hinata's soft voice drifted to him. After all her efforts to never say sorry again, she couldn't restrain herself.

"Sorry for what?" Hinata opened her mouth to speak only to be cut across by Sasuke's harsh tone. "It's over. It's not like I can bring back what's lost. Let's go."

Hinata was so entwined in their conversation she didn't even realize Hiruzen's beige buildings in front of her.


When she glanced at the clock it was already 10:28 am. Two minutes to go! She thought eager for the opening assembly to begin. Once they were dismissed to the gym, she walked down the hall, when a familiar brunette poked her back.

"Hey you! Didn't bother saying hi huh?" The brunette with an asian-like appearance animatedly updated Hinata on her summer vacation.

"…I still don't believe we didn't hang out the entire summer." Hinata nodded in agreement and suggested they should meet up at Tenten's since her house was off the hook. There'd be no way Sasuke would even let her consider bringing a possible fan girl to his manor.

"Sure thing," Tenten laughed spritely as the two entered the gymnasium. When they saw an enormous poster, Hinata stopped dead in her tracks.

She traced her finger down the school opening notices. OK no smoking, no drugs, no alcohol on school grounds. Sure sure. Student career plan. Advisory council. But none of that caught her eye. She thought she saw the name when she passed the poster…aha!

This year's freshmen respresentative speech with be delivered by two honorary students who scored highest on the opening exam:

Neji Hyuga

Nothing she hadn't expected, and the second…

Sasuke Uchiha

Before she had time to recollect her thoughts, a massive – did she say massive? This was mammoth – brigade of girls in Luis Vuitton handbags, fleshly garments and heavy blush bombarded in front of the poster.

"OHMAGAWD. I can't believe my eyes," A girl with cottoncandy-colored hair squeaked.

"My Sasuke-kun he's…" She didn't get very far.

"Your Sasuke? Puh-lease billboard brow," Another blonde girl with shocking red fingernails, nearly embraced the part of the poster with the two freshman's name in fine print.

"Don't you think Ino-pig," The first girl gave a sly grin. "That's it's a little greedy to go for Neji and Sasuke?"

She didn't want to hear the rest of it and pulled Tenten's arm toward their seats in the grand auditorium.

And grand it was. Emblazoned with wall lamps, stellar theatre-style seats and a massive Greek theatre at the very forefront, the so-called gymnasium felt like an indoor amphitheatre. By the quickened breath of the brunette next to her, she could tell she wasn't the only one to stand with her mouth agape at the sight. It took her a minute to realize they'd better move for the front seats before the whole school moved in.

In a matter of seconds, the entire school was seated comfortably in their respective couch-seats, vivaciously admiring the grand scale of things.

The lights eventually dimmed and two tall, masculine figures stepped up just behind the view of the spotlight, each beside their own podium shuffling papers, looking extremely professional and at ease while the packed gym was still boisterous in conversation. Hinata had a faint idea who she was expecting.

When their silhouettes disappeared with the spotlight, sure enough the two 'honorary' freshmen straightened themselves with Neji moving behind the podium.

Neji cleared his throat, "Good morning Hiruzen." With one sentence, his anima had capacitated the room and everyone's voices died to listen to the two handsome freshmen's speech.

Hinata left the gym before Neji could commence.

When the dismissal bell rang, Hinata sprinted out the front door and was about to begin walking home before she realized it was no longer her home. She hesitated before sitting on the pavement of the parking lot waiting for the Uchiha boy knowing it would be a while for him to make it through student union meetings and sport tryouts (the boy was captain and the walking "mascot" as she often overhead on convos in the hallway). Oh yes, she was going to be here for a while.

She was just beginning to decide on catching a ride with Tenten, when she heard her name.

This was interesting. She panned the parking lot and he was already beside his Mercedes-Benz in an instant. She had forgotten how fast he was.

Only she plopped down in the seat beside him, he observed her for a moment before asking, "How was your day?"

"Great, I saw you at the opening assembly," she remarked, making sure the conversation continued, at least while they were in the car. She knew if she didn't go ahead, the conversation would halt dead in its tracks.

"That," he emphasized. "Was a waste of time. Next time the hag asks me to read another one of those…"

She couldn't say so for herself, since she had left the second she recalled a specific someone's face. She smiled and added, "Couldn't have been that bad, prince Sasuke."

He jerked his head around from traffic, and pushed hard on the breaks at the crosswalk. "So you caught on."

"No, I just heard it the first time today, thought you might enjoy it."

"Hn. I never have," he smirked. "and I never will."

`````````````At The Uchiha Manor``````````````````````

Once the Mercedes was parked beautifully in their five car garage, she stepped out and examined her surroundings.

One…two…three….four….the Mercedes and she was sure there was one parked out on the pavement….

SIX CARS. A single Uchiha boy owned SIX cars. She shook her head at the absurdity, why would anyone need even more two cars? Though it would be nice if she owned even one. Sure the Hyuga compound was enormous, but father would NEVER allow any misuse of wealth – it was mostly left to rot, they called it investment for her future. She called it cheap.

She was still a little dazzled in images of gleaming convertibles, Limos and smart cars when Sasuke jingled his keys, just enough to get her attention.

After what seemed like thousands of turns, grand staircases and cavern-like hallways, he stopped and inserted the tiny golden key into the bronze, sculptured door with lion engravings.

Once she blinked at the bright sunlight filtering through the bay windows, he handed her the tiny golden key.

"You can eat, sleep, read in any of the rooms on the second level. There's a washroom in your room and if you need anything press the yellow button on the remote and a maid will be come and help you."

She nodded and soon found her luggage piled neatly beside the queen sized bed.

"One more thing," he said hesitantly. "My room is down the hall, and the one beside it is my workroom – other than those two rooms, you may roam anywhere you'd like."

"Okay," The navy-haired girl was already content with her living space, she couldn't ask for more, though she didn't quite like the fact her room was so close to he open hallway with the large distinctive bay windows. Any kunoichi would know the bay windows wouldn't shield a competent Shinobi from entering or simply from snooping from the first level – afterall the second level was a mere three meters off the ground. As for the staircase that lead to the back door, she convinced herself in a mansion as big as this there would be alarms or alarm systems to ward off unwanted visitors. For now, she wouldn't complain.

She flopped down on the pillowy sheets and was asleep in a matter of minutes.


The raven-haired boy left immediately after his victim entered her room. The distractions ought to keep her fascinated for some time while he managed his own business.

It was late afternoon and dusk had already scattered across Konoha, displaying a pleasant contrast between the darkening clouds and the caramel colored patches near the horizon. It Sasuke had time, he would pause at the Konoha gates and admire the wonderful scenery. But ah, time was what he did not have and he quickened his footsteps as he wandered around the corner of the Konoha gates debating the best tactics for deceiving the gate guards. He needed his training with Orochimaru, even if it was just one night.

Before he had even made it past the end of the block, a shadowy figure in one alleyway surprised him. Even if the man was well-disguised as a rice farmer with straw-knit hats, he could recognize the chakra. Sasuke's eyes bled red as he changed direction, "Come out. I know you're there."

The man took one step toward him, but to confirm he reached for a kunai.

But the Uchiha was faster, sensing his movement, he accurately sent a shuriken for the wall beside him.

Cling! The kunai landed a few inches from the man's foot, "Kabuto." Sasuke greeted.

"Well, looks like you found me first," he smirked.

"This isn't hide and seek. Spit it out, why did Orochimaru send you here?" He hissed, aware that he was in fact very noticeable with his sound headband still draped across his belt.

"That was a good performance," The spectacled man shrugged off his question. "I never expected you to be so great with women."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "I'm guessing you're not so great."

Kabuto grinned, but was serious when he opened his mouth again, "Orochimaru wanted to confirm that can you finish the Hyuga girl in seven days from now. It's been three days already."

The Uchiha boy finally deactivated his bloodline jutsu and calmly replied, "Hn. I don't know if he's unsure of me, or of himself."

The grey-haired man leaned against the alley walls and folded his arms, "Well. As long as you're confident, I'll assure him then."

With that, Sasuke took leave the same way he had come, and when he neared the end of the alleyway Kabuto's voice stopped him.

"Orochimaru informed me you will not be training with him for at least the ten days you're here."

That made Sasuke stop. Since the day he was persuaded to join the sound nin in the journey to Orchochimaru's hideout, he had made up his mind to train til his muscles was worn with pain so he'd have a chance of avenging his clan. Training meant his life, and his hatred deepened every day because of it. It was what will lead him to success.

"What?" Sasuke said through uneven breathing.

"It's too risky," Kabuto said simply. And when this didn't calm the boy down, he added.

"You have brains Sasuke. If you're caught, you'd be without training for however long it takes for me to get you out of Hokage's grip."

Still clenching his fists, Sasuke turned onto the streets, letting the darkness swallow up his anger.


Hinata turned the corner without stopping to catch her breath. She heard footsteps and she immediately ran down one alleyway. You can't keep hiding forever. A voice echoed in her head.

Despite her sore ankles, Hinata knew she would soon run out of alleyways to hide, or even to just run. Her surroundings felt like a labyrinth. Her pursuer was approaching every second while she stopped to catch her breath and horrified she realized that she was the game. The kill. The prey.

Her mind wobbled and moved to the next block. She frequently panned behind her shoulders. Good no one on the left, or the right!

For a moment she didn't hear the nefarious voices inside her head, but making sure she wasn't completely helpless, she felt a little more confident when she used this time to plant several bomb seals into the ground that would warn her the location of the perpetrator – assuming he didn't fly or travel like Spiderman.

Hinata Hyuga might not have the physical strength, but she had brains. During their missions outside Konoha, their squad often benefited to have a little innocent girl hatching up the biggest, not necessarily wickedest, but certainly beneficial schemes because of her careful attention to details.

She was just beginning to feel like she outwitted the predator, when BOOOM! BANNGGG!

The ground behind her cleaved and a figure was exposed in her traps. Running away so soon? The eery voice was near. Very near… She kept her byakugan in full view of her back, not knowing when to stop.

That was when she realized her mistake. She was too busy looking behind her.

Bingo. You found me.

ARGHHH. She snapped up straight from her position. And commanded her eyes to open with so much force, it started watering blurring her vision of the explosions, dark alleyways and the predator. It took her time to realize she was sitting alone under the bay windows of the Uchiha Manor with cold sweat.

She had never been this intimidated in her life. After taking several large gulps of air she wandered across the hallway toward the room across from hers.

Sasuke rolled over from one side of his bed to another, thinking of his encounter with Kabuto earlier in the day. Somehow still furious he didn't get his training as if a five year old. He cradled his head in his arms and thought of all the things he didn't deserve in the world when his door handle creaked.

Immediately he rolled over in a sleeping position, so he faced the ceiling with a shuriken in each hand, hidden strategically under the sheets.

Could it be a slave? No. He was positive none of them dared approach him at midnight unless they hoped for a kunai sticking out of their guts.

He watched as the figure carefully shut the door behind her. Yes, it was a her. He could tell by the gentle touch on the doorknob, and the unmistakable long hair trailing behind her shoulders.

"Um Sasuke?"

He sat up. "Hinata?" He furrowed his elegant eyebrows. "What is it?"

From the street lights from his window, she could see his naked chest heaving itself up from the covers. His well-toned abs tensed when she took a step closer. She took one glance at his muscular figure before commencing.

"I was wondering if I can sleep in your room," she said slowly, as if choosing her words wisely.

Seems like the sheep comes searching for lion. Hinata wasn't part of his fan club, wasn't anything near to a pink haired kunoichi he had the misfortune of knowing and yet here she was asking a question that blew his mind. Something must have scared the wits out of her for her to come this far. Nonetheless, he moved to the opposite side of the bed leaving her with as much space as possible.

"Hn." And that was her cue to climb on his king-sized mattress.

"Arigato." She was still shivering from the dream when she got on the bed and curled up like a cocoon near the edge of the bed. He knew there was something wrong with the way she winced uncomfortably and shuddered intermittingly, but didn't lay a hand on her.

When her breathing became softer, he draped a blanket over her back watching her sleep in the odd position.

It was when she rolled over in subconsiously searching for warmth that she curled up centimeters from his chest.

Sasuke almost forgot to breathe. Instead he laughed, ran his fingers through her hair to the back of her spine and felt her breath against his muscles. He rested his hand there before falling asleep.

For one night she had made him forget all about the mission.


AN: I'm interchanging between updating this fic and another humor crackfic I've started (career explorations), so it will take some time. Meanwhile if you'd like, check it out on my profile - here's the summary:

Summary: When all else fails, Pain resorts to his last plan: Akatsuki members must pursue their own careers. This is seven homicidal men we're talking about. Who will get hired first? The challenge is on.

Rating: T

Pairings: no SasuHina, but still worth checking out. It's purely Akatsuki humor

Question for THIS fanfic: should Itachi appear at ALL? if you love me please review! TY :)

Kiritori