35-Year-Old-Virgin
Chapter Four: Dating Hinata
The moon's pearl glow reflected on her pale skin and pink hair. Sakura's luminescent face reminded him of a mermaid underwater. He approached her with a delicate caution, afraid to break the calm.
Sakura turned her attention to Sasuke and grinned. Her eyes had a small twinkle that brought a shadow of a smile out of him.
"Can I help you with something?" he asked.
Sakura shook her head and stepped away from the door to allow Sasuke to enter. He turned the lock and opened the door for her.
He locked up behind him and kicked off his boots in one lethargic motion. Right beside him, Sakura took her time removing her sandals, placing them neatly perpendicular to the entranceway.
After making a teapot of matcha, the two sat down at the kitchen table. He took a long drink and refilled his cup, but the dry itch at the back of his throat would not dull.
"How are things going for you Sasuke? Naruto said you were trying the dating scene now," she said, sipping her tea as her eyes drifted off to a distance.
Sasuke thought a moment before replying, "Yes…well, your husband insists on being the kind Samaritan… and help me settle down."
"Oh? You want a family?" Sasuke saw her eyes flicker, but wasn't sure if it was a good reaction or not.
"I'm not jumping for the idea. I can't remember what a family is so I don't have a preference."
She gave a small chuckle as she set her tea down from her wet lips. Sasuke absentmindedly licked his own, feeling the cracked skin scratch at his tongue.
"You always worried me with your indifference to everything Sasuke," she said, smiling softly.
He looked away and asked hurriedly, "How are you and Naruto?"
"Oh…we're okay. Naruto's really kind to me."
"I heard you both were going to try for a kid soon."
Sakura didn't respond. She circled the lip of her cup with her finger, following the circular motion with unnecessary concentration.
Sasuke bent his head and tilted it so that he could see her face better. He asked, "Sakura? Is something the matter?"
She shook her head slowly and said, "No. Nothing's wrong… but I think I should go. It's getting late."
Sakura rose from her seat, bowed and thanked him for the tea. He thought it was odd to come all this way for such a short visit, but he didn't protest for her to stay longer. Before exiting, Sakura paused and gave Sasuke a long hard look.
"Naruto's really good to me." She said it as if it was more geared towards her than him.
"Yeah," Sasuke nodded. He gave a curt wave and shortly after, Sakura was gone.
He changed from his regular clothes and crawled into his bed. The day's exhaustion crept all over his body and yet Sasuke found it hard to fall asleep. Every time he closed his eyes, Sakura's face would emerge from the darkness. Her cheeks were wet and her eyes red and puffy as she told him one last time how much she loved him.
It was a frigid morning. The first snowfall from the previous night had left a crunchy layer all along the streets of Konoha. The white scenery only bolded the pink-haired girl standing before him. Her face pleaded with him, haunted him with its sad beauty. As always, her heart was exposed, revealing nothing less than dedication for him. It was undeserving. He did nothing to deserve such overwhelming emotions. She extended it out to him and yet he could not accept. He could not return the deep feelings.
They stood on the field blanketed in snow until the sun began to colour the white canvas a fiery orange. Little words were exchanged, but nothing covered the overwhelming pain engulfing both. Pain for her unrequited love. Pain for his uncomfortable circumstance. How selfish he was and still is.
Before he knew it, a year had passed and Sakura married Naruto. The news came as a shock to him and he never understood his mixed feelings for his two best friends. He was the best man at the ceremony; Naruto wanted it. Sakura seemed pleased with the arrangement, but he wondered how much he still pained her. After their ceremonial kiss, he dropped the subject of him and Sakura from his mind forever.
The sun beat down on his exposed face as the birds' relentless chirping attacked his ears. Morning came as a bitter embrace for Sasuke, the beauty drained through the garishness of the sky, sun, animals- everything.
The clock read 6:30. Sasuke groaned, throwing the covers over his head in defiance. He really needed to buy curtains; or destroy the sun.
By 8 o'clock, he was out the door, heading towards Team 7's usual meeting spot by the park canopy. The three female chunins were already waiting for him when he got there.
"Morning," they said and Sasuke replied with a nod.
"Are there any missions today?" Sachiko asked.
Sasuke shook his head and said, "No. There were some A and B level missions, but I decided to leave that for the genins. We'll train by the waterfall today."
"Sasuke-sensei I saw you at the park yesterday," Kana said as they jogged down the alleyway towards the east gate.
"Oh?" he was far too busy planning out a thorough workout for the girls to take notice of her comment.
"Yeah, I saw you with this lady. You were in one of those swan boats. I didn't think much of it, but then you threw her into the lake and jumped in right after her and I thought that was pretty weird. Is this your idea of a date Sasuke-sensei? I don't think a lot of women would appreciate that."
Sasuke didn't even bother to glance at her and just said, "That's none of your business Kana."
"Does Uchiha-sensei have a girlfriend?" Sachiko chirped, running up beside him.
He did a mental sigh, replying, "No, I don't have time for that. I have my hands full with you three."
"Geez Sasuke-sensei. Aren't you forty and single?"
"Thirty-five Kana. And it's none of your business, but I dare you to address me by my first name again."
"Isn't that lonely?" Sachiko asked.
"I am content with my life. Some people find joy when they are with company while others find joy by themselves. I'm more of the latter and prefer to keep it that way."
"Then who was that lady with you yesterday?" Kana asked.
"An old friend."
"Do you like her?" Sachiko asked
"No."
"Are you going to see her again?" Kana asked.
"None of your business."
"Can we meet her?" Sachiko asked.
"No."
"Why not?" Sachiko asked.
"Because she has nothing to do with you."
"Are you seeing anymore old ladies?" Kana asked. Sasuke didn't like how the word 'old' resonated in his ears.
"None of your business."
"Do you like anyone right now?" Sachiko asked.
"Irrelevant to training."
"Come on Sasuke-sensei, play along-" Kana couldn't finish her sentence because Sasuke hurled a fireball right in her face. She narrowly dodged the hit. The tips of her hair curled and broke off, leaving a pungent burning scent.
"Don't waste my time with useless banter. Now let's get training."
"Yes Sensei…"
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"So I hear Hinata's single and ready to mingle," Naruto commented. Most of his concentration was focused on the chess game he was playing with Shikamaru.
"Wow Naruto. He's only gone on two dates with two different women and you already want to send him another one. Check, "Shikamaru swiftly removed the white queen from the board with his black knight.
"There's no harm in trying to deal all your cards at once," Naruto mumbled, biting his lower lip. He was down to one bishop, one knight, four soldiers, and his endangered king,
"Naruto, I'm going to side with Shikamaru. I thought this whole dating game was for me to settle down- not get it on with all the single women in Konoha."
"Yeah, and he hasn't even decided whether or not he likes the women he's dated yet," Shikamaru said.
Naruto moved his king, asking Sasuke, "Well, do you like any of them?"
Sasuke shrugged, crossing his arms.
"Look, I'm just saying if things don't work out between you two, would you be interested in seeing Hinat-"
"No thank you Naruto."
"Why not?" He'd already given up on his chess game and was now focusing his attention towards Sasuke.
"Because it's weird."
"How can you say that? Hinata's a sweet girl!"
"It's weird because she loved you for so long."
"Sasuke, if all men thought like you, there'd be a lot of single people with unrequited love," Shikamaru noted as he flicked Naruto's king off the chessboard with his bishop.
"Just give her a chance, alright? She's super sweet-"
"You already said that."
"Come on Sasuke, what do you have to lose?"
Sasuke pondered that question for a moment, but refrained from answering.
"Hey, I talked to her and she said she's available tonight at, let's say, six?" Naruto flashed Sasuke one of his blue-eyed puppy-dog-look maneuvers. This only made him grimace.
"Fine, just… stop…looking like that. It makes me want to punch you."
Naruto grinned, "Deal."
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Sasuke checked his watch for the fifth time, eyeing the entrance to Konoha's Fire Pub as he sat at the bar table. His foot methodically tapped the ground in sharp strikes, each tap getting louder than the next.
The bartender eyed Sasuke, then the entranceway before passing him a drink.
"Stood up?" he asked apologetically, flipping his towel onto his shoulder.
Sasuke sighed, taking the drink as he mumbled, "I hope so."
"Being set up, eh?" the bartender chuckled, "well, I hope she's pretty."
Sasuke downed his drink before responding, "Yeah, well, I hope she doesn't show."
"What time was she supposed to meet you?"
"Six."
The bartender paused a moment, before saying, "Son, you came half an hour ago. It's only been twenty minutes. There's ten more minutes before she shows. Why so impatient?"
"Well, if by six she doesn't show, I'm getting the hell out of here. Buy her a drink on me as a apology."
"Hell, I'd give her a drink on the house if you did such a thing. But I don't think that will be necessary. Is that your lady friend?"
Sasuke turned and saw Hinata standing near the entranceway. She looked around the pub, confused and uncertain. The bartender generously refilled Sasuke's glass and he took a large gulp before motioning for her attention. Hinata stared at Sasuke, looking more confused and uncertain than ever.
She approached him, bowing her head as she said, "Hello Sasuke-kun. Is Naruto-kun here?"
"Hm? No, was he supposed to be?"
"Well, he told me to go to the Fire Pub at six…" her voice trailed off as she looked around the pub once more.
Sasuke made a mental note to strangle Naruto the next time he saw him.
"Hinata, I don't know how to put this, but Naruto asked you to go to the pub to see…me."
"Oh? What is the matter Sasuke-kun? Is this about team assignments?"
"No, it has nothing to do with work."
"Then why did you ask me to come?"
I didn't,Sasuke thought bitterly.
"The hokage thought it would be swell if we got to know each other."
"Oh." The heavy weight of disappointment was evident in Hinata's tone of voice.
Sasuke sighed, holding up his glass and asking, "Drink?"
"No thank you. I don't drink."
"Yeah, well, I never drank before either, but you learn to love it either way."
Hinata responded with a confused expression, but Sasuke only shook his head. He motioned for her to take the seat next to him. There a long pause of silence that Sasuke didn't know quite how to end without turning it into awkwardness.
"So…what have you been up to late-"
"Did Naruto set us up on a date?" Hinata interrupted.
"Okay, well, we can talk about that too." Sasuke kept a mental picture of him kicking Naruto continuously in the back of his mind.
"I can't believe he would do this to me," she muttered.
"What's the matter-" Before Sasuke could finish his question, Hinata took his glass and downed the contents with speed faster than his own. Sasuke only stared as she circled the rim of the glass with her finger. Finally, he asked, "Er…drink?"
"No, I don't drink," Hinata insisted, but Sasuke waved for the bartender to refill her glass anyways. Her cheeks were already flushed red.
"I know we don't know each other well Sasuke-kun, so I'm sorry to impose my inner feelings at you so suddenly."
"Don't worry. I'm here to listen to whatever you have to say."
Hinata heaved out a long sigh, her lips pouted like a child's. "He knew I love him…why is he doing this to me?"
"I knew it! That Naruto, I keep telling him-"
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. So what is he doing to you?" The mental picture now switched to him fireballing the helpless Hokage.
"He's forcing me on these dates with strangers all the time- as if I can get over him just like that. It's not that easy Naruto…I keep telling him that, but he won't listen."
"Why did he never return your feelings?"
"He was…we were going to…but then…Sakura came into the picture."
Sasuke felt something sink within him. He knew what was going to come, but he asked anyways. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you know Naruto was always in love with Sakura. Even I knew that, but I couldn't help but try. Then, finally, he responded. He told me he was ready to get over Sakura, but he didn't want to rush anything until he got his own emotions settled. So I waited for him, like I always did. When we were about to…well…suddenly, Sakura came to Naruto and asked him to help her forget you Sasuke. He spent an entire year by her side all the while still being so kind and gentle with me. It was so painful to watch. And when nothing else worked, he asked Sakura to marry him. And…and…she…." Hinata paused to give Sasuke and half-hearted smile, "well, you know what happened afterwards."
Sasuke didn't say anything at first. He rubbed his temples slowly, trying to digest the information he just heard.
"Wow Hinata…I never knew…"
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault."
Sasuke turned to face her. She had a sad beauty that seemed to resonate. "Did he ever…love you back?"
"I think so. I think he was about to, but I guess old feelings are hard to fade away," she said, returning Sasuke's gaze. He watched her examine him with little interest. He felt a sudden pang in his heart. It wasn't chemistry towards Hinata. He felt pity.
"What happens now?" Sasuke finally asked.
Hinata smiled, pushing herself away from the table. She got up and just as he stood to escort her out the door, she turned to him, saying, "Nothing Sasuke. Thank you for the drink."
Sasuke watched as she disappeared into the shadows of the dimly lit street. Something in the back of his mind told him to run; but he didn't know from what. Or who.
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Next chapter: TBA (will be up next week! Summer updates will be plenty =) )