Title: "Anything and Everything"
Author: King Cobbler
Warnings: Romance, Fluff, Emotional blackmail, Hinata-angst, Sasuke-angstier.
Summary: Sometimes, in the dank confines of his own mind, Sasuke wished she'd chase him instead.
Pairing: Sasuke/Hinata, Hinata/Naruto
Disclaimer: This fanfic is a product of fanfiction. No infringement was intended and no money was made.
It took him a solid week to corner her, but the terror spreading across unnaturally pale features made every minute worthwhile. He'd promised himself Sakura would pay for her crimes; the most serious of which was telling Hinata he wanted to be her brother of all things. He'd been expecting vengeance on her part, but this was by far the worst thing she'd ever done to him. She'd crossed the line, and by the look on her face, she knew it too.
"Now, now, Sasuke-kun," she pleaded. "Let's not be too hasty!"
"You told her I wanted to be her brother."
"It was a joke, really! I didn't expect her to ask you!" Sakura paused. "Why'd you say yes, anyway? It would've been the perfect time to confess!"
"You told her I wanted to be her brother."
"Jeesh, don't you ever get tired of repeating yourself?" Sakura's eyes rolled. "I can fix this, you know, but not if you kill me."
"You told her I wanted to be her brother."
Sakura nodded. "I can just as easily tell her you're in love with her, so you better watch out, Sasuke-kun!"
"Her brother, Sakura."
"Well, at least she's not calling you Sasuke-san anymore, right?"
Sasuke sighed. Being spoken to so informally by Hinata was something he enjoyed, but not nearly enough to like being her Nii-san. He'd thought about telling her he didn't think of her as family, but he knew Hinata didn't cope well with rejection and he wasn't about to tell her the truth. She'd never return his feelings with Naruto in the picture, and after she rejected him, things would be stilted. Just thinking about it was enough to turn his stomach. It was all Sakura's fault. Why couldn't she keep her mouth shut?
"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I'll fix it though, really I will!"
"How's that, Sakura?"
"I-I'll talk to Naruto! I know he doesn't care about Hinata as much as you. I'm sure once he understands the situation—"
"No."
"But—"
"You aren't telling the idiot."
"But—"
"No."
"Fine," Sakura agreed. "I won't tell Naruto, but what do you want me to do? I could talk to Hinata—tell her I was joking—but considering you already confirmed the whole I-think-of-you-as-a-sister thing, it wouldn't do much good."
"Sakura."
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Sakura murmured. "Okay! How about we send her flowers and say they're from a secret admire— "
"No."
"But Sasuke—"
"No."
"Fine. How about . . . We send her chocolate and say—"
"No."
"You didn't even—"
"No."
"But Sasuke—"
"No."
"Why don't you just tell her the truth? Its gotta be easier than this!"
Sasuke glared. Sakura sighed.
"I'll talk to Hinata, then! You're Sasuke-kun for goodness sake! She has to like you! I'll just . . . coax it out of her!"
" . . . . ?"
"Your biggest competition is Naruto. You can beat that!"
"Last time you talked with Hinata, you convinced her I wanted to be 'Nii-san'. I can't trust you."
"Would you rather have Ino-pig?"
"Not exactly."
An hour later, Sasuke walked out of the hospital in a perfect Sakura henge, content in the knowledge that the real Sakura had been locked in a storage closet. Sometimes, life was good. The only real threat to his new plan was Hinata's byakugan, but she probably wouldn't use it around someone like 'Sakura'. Now, where was Hinata? Training grounds, he decided, heading there first. It was more likely she was in the Hyuuga compound, but even he wouldn't risk sneaking in there. It was the fastest way to get caught—and maimed—if anyone saw past his disguise.
She wasn't there, but Kiba was kind enough to point him in the right direction. ("Last I heard she was out with Narutard. He probably took her to Ichiraku's again. Baka.") Ayame and her father were equally helpful. ("Hyuuga-san? Naruto-kun said something about going for a walk . . .") From there, a bratty academy kid led the way. ("Yeah, the boss came through here with that Hinata girl. What's it to you? I think they were headed to the hospital, or somethin'.") After a good hour's worth of detective work, he ended up back where he'd started.
It was annoying, but the real Sakura was still unconscious, so he'd probably get away with it. The nurses had swarmed him from the start with cases and questions, but he'd ignored them all in favor of looking for Hinata. It wasn't as if he actually knew medical ninjutsu anyway, so he didn't feel too guilty turning them down. All the stress gave him a better understanding of Sakura's temper, though. If he was under this much pressure every day, he'd have done a lot worse than beat on the dobe.
"S-S-Sakura-chan!" Ah, found her.
He plastered on his most winning smile. "Hinata-chan, it's good to see you!"
"Hai, S-Sakura-chan!" She fidgeted nervously. "Ano Sakura-chan, are you f-feeling a-alright? Y-You look like y-you're in p-pain!"
Sasuke's grin dropped immediately. He was frustrated that his best effort looked more like a grimace, but tried again with a more subdued, Sasuke-esque smirk. "Gomen, Hinata-chan. Its been really hectic today."
"O-Oh," Hinata exclaimed. "I-I don't want t-to keep you! I'll just b-be . . . going! Sorry!"
Sasuke stopped her with a glare. "Don't even think about it, Hinata. I want to know what you're doing here."
"Uh, I w-wanted to . . . t-talk to you. I c-c-can tell y-you're busy, though. I-I'll just leave!"
"Hinata."
"Gomen, it's uh, i-it's Naruto." Hinata blushed.
'Sakura' sighed. "Fine, let's go somewhere more private." He found an empty room, trying to act like it wasn't by accident. "Here's fine." He said. "What did the dobe do now?"
"D-D-Dobe?" Hinata repeated in confusion. "I-Isn't that w-what Sasuke calls N-Naruto-kun?"
"Yeah," Sasuke nodded 'her' pink head, fixing her face into a frustrated frown. "I guess he's starting to rub off."
Hinata agreed with a head bob, then winced. "N-Naruto-kun hasn't d-done anything . . ."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I doubt that."
"N-No, really!" Hinata protested. "N-N-Naruto-kun's b-been n-nothing b-but k-kind t-t-to me."
"Except?" Sasuke prompted.
"H-He makes me . . . r-really n-nervous . . ."
"He's always made you nervous."
"H-Hai, b-but . . . I-I've always t-thought that I-I would feel b-better if Naruto-kun w-was nervous with me."
"And you don't?"
"I-It's not t-that! Naruto-kun, he . . . H-He doesn't feel nervous a-at all!"
"That's good, right?" Sasuke leaned forward. "That he's comfortable with you?"
"N-No. I mean, y-yes . . . but not l-like this. H-He's not nervous b-because . . . because he d-doesn't look at m-me the same way I . . . look at him." Hinata pressed a hand against her heart. "H-He's already g-given that look to you, Sakura-chan!"
"I—" Sasuke paused, trying to think of what Sakura would say. He'd known her for years, so it was easy enough to mimic some of her mannerisms (and he couldn't do that perfectly), but he had no idea how she would respond to Hinata's declaration.
"T-That's why I-I wanted to talk to you, S-Sakura-chan. Naruto-kun . . . He r-really loves you! He's o-only with me b-because he t-thinks you're too good f-for him. Onegai, Sakura-chan! Please give h-him a chance!" Hinata panted.
Sasuke wanted to agree, he really did. Here was Hinata, being selfless, and agreeing to let go of Naruto—her most precious person—to give him a shot at true love. It was beyond generous. It was masochistic! He was half-convinced that Sakura herself would've said yes, if only out of respect, but he couldn't be sure. Should he agree anyway? Common sense said no. Would Sakura play along once he let her out? He doubted it. It seemed like a big risk, but . . .
"I—I'll give him a chance, Hinata-chan."
Hinata looked pained, but happy. If Sasuke had to name her expression he'd call it 'bittersweet'. It looked strange on a face he was used to seeing happy, or flustered. He didn't like it at all. Her head was bowing and were those . . . tears?!? Was she crying?!? She wasn't supposed to cry! He'd said yes!
"Gomen nasai, S-Sakura-chan." Hinata wiped her eyes with a sleeve. "I-I'm just . . . r-really g-grateful! I was s-so s-scared that y-y-you'd . . . A-Arigatou."
"Are you . . . going to tell Naruto?" Sasuke cleared his throat nervously.
"I-I think N-Naruto-kun would be r-r-really embarrassed i-if I did that. Could y-you just, um, say y-yes the next time h-he asks to w-walk you home? If it's not t-too much trouble . . ."
"I'll do it. It's just . . . Hinata, you should think about this. Naruto's a moron. He'd be just as happy with you as he would anyone else. You should grab for your own dreams instead of worrying about the dobe's. He's a fast healer, and harder to kill than that. He'll land on his feet—he always does."
Hinata shook her head, releasing a giggle. At Sasuke's questioning look, she explained: "Gomen, Sakura-chan. Sasuke m-must be r-rubbing off on you."
"Huh?" He questioned intelligently.
"J-Just now, you s-s-sounded l-like h-him."
Two hours later, after seeing a smiling Hinata out, Sasuke was now—as himself—following around the real, recently healed Sakura-chan. He knew it would be hard for her to see the light, (considering he'd knocked her out and locked her up) but he was equally sure Hinata's touching speech would've swayed her resolve. It didn't. Maybe he said it wrong . . .
"Sakura."
"Oh no," Sakura chastised. "Don't use that tone with me, Uchiha. I said no and I mean no."
"You already agreed."
"No," she said. "You agreed. I was locked in a closet. Which, might I add, isn't very comfortable."
"Sakura I—"
"Save it, Sasuke. What kind of person knocks out their friends? You could've just asked, you know."
"Would you have said yes?"
"No," Sakura answered, "but that would've saved us both a lot of trouble. Look at the mess you made! Promising I'd give Naruto a chance . . . The nerve."
"Hinata—"
"I'm sure she was persuasive, Sasuke-kun, but you can't go around changing people's lives! There's a reason I've never said yes to Naruto, you know. I don't want to give him false hope. I won't lead him on. Not even for you."
"Sakura— "
"Sorry, Sasuke-kun, but no."
"Wait, Sakura!"
"Sasu—"
"I-I'm sorry, okay?"
"That's not good enough, Sasuke-kun."
"I— . . . Please," he murmured.
. . . .
"What did you just say?"Sakura asked, her eyes wide.
"I'm . . . sorry?" Sasuke returned.
"After that," she said.
"Please?"
"Huh," Sakura sighed, resigned. "I'm in."
The next weekend, on a roof across from and overlooking Ichiraku's, Sasuke was at ease . From here, he had a perfect view of Sakura and Naruto's first, official date (as in one they'd both wanted to happen). So far, it was going well. Sakura's lessons had paid off. Hinata's presence only added to the captivating scenery. She still looked sad, but her expression was more sweet than bitter. It was good enough for him. As Naruto stole a noodle from Sakura's bowl and she blushed instead of smacking him, Hinata smiled.
"Ichiraku's again?" Sasuke shook his head. "The idiot never learns."
"Naruto-kun s-says a date can't be c-considered a date u-unless you have ramen," Hinata laughed.
"Sounds like the dobe," Sasuke agreed.
"N-Ne, S-Sasuke?" Hinata blushed. Her fingers twitched.
"Hn?"
"W-Would y-you like t-to have . . . r-ramen with me?"
"Took you long enough," he replied. "From now on, it's all we're eating."
Hinata blushed.
Sasuke smirked.
As one, two pale hands entwined.
"H-Hai, S-S-Sasuke-koi!"
It was so much better than Sasuke-kun.
