Sorry about the long absence. I've been worrying about scholarships and just started back to school. Gotta catch up on my fics! .

Naruto & Characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 4: Secrets and Lies

There were two ways Sasuke could go about this situation: a) suffer a blow to his ego, or b) accept and take advantage of it. If anyone could say that they truly knew Sasuke, they'd know that there was absolutely no way he would choose option 'a'. Of course, he chose to take advantage of being the only one of the two who knew the other's identity. Yes, this was the perfect chance for him to mess with the girl he hated. He could learn about her from the shadows and torment her wherever she was most vulnerable. This would be fun. Maybe even more fun than it was before he knew that she was the 'mysterious other'.

Hinata was disappointed when she got no reply for a week, but figured that the unknown person had things he or she needed to take care of and couldn't visit every day. She continued to take care of her puppy each morning and afternoon, though, feeding and playing with it. To her, it could never get old, for seeing her puppy was the best part of her day. Soon, she knew, the little dog would get bigger and would need more exercise, which would be a problem. How could she take him on walks without being noticed by other people in town? She also wished she could socialize him with other dogs. He'd never even had a bath yet, because she was unsure of how she would do it being in her current position. The girl worried more and more as the days went on. She was concerned that she wasn't really able to take good care of him.

That wasn't all Hinata was worried about. She still felt awkward in class, sitting behind Sasuke Uchiha and fearing that he may try to do something awful again to make her think even less of herself. All of that next week, however, he didn't do a thing. In fact, she was being completely ignored, making her feel on edge. It was as if he was planning something brutal. None of her questions on why he seemed to dislike her could be answered. Hinata had absolutely no clue what his reasons were.

About a week after she left her note, one morning before school, she found that the person had finally replied, which lifted her spirits. It felt like so long since the person had responded, even though in reality, it had only been several days. She hastily tugged open the plastic bag and pulled out the new note. 'I wonder what name they suggested.' she thought while unfolding the scrap of paper with a smile upon her face, but when she read it, her heart dropped.

'How about Sasuke?' It said, sloppily written in red pen.

Really? The name of the boy she didn't like? That name out of all names? What a coincidence . . . well it was somewhat understandable, though, considering that it was a popular name. 'I'd feel bad turning their idea down, but I just can't name him that.' The girl sighed as a result of being in such a tough spot. She'd waited for days for a reply and it was something that she had to object. So, she hesitantly pulled out a new little sheet of paper and wrote another message.

'Thank you for your suggestion, but it seems that it is also the name of someone I don't get along with. I'm very sorry.'

As she zipped it up in the plastic bag, she wondered why they would choose that name out of all names. She thought that maybe it was a girl from her school. After all, a majority of the girls in school loved Sasuke Uchiha. Her lilac eyes traveled to the small, white furball that was fast asleep on its blanket.

"You're such a sweet puppy. You don't want the same name as a cold, bully like him, do you?" she whispered, more to herself than the puppy, and then headed off to school.

The little dog jumped on the gate, happy to see his second friend again. Sasuke smiled lightly at the dog. "Hey, pup." he greeted, opening the gate. After grabbing the note, he sat against the fence with the puppy. It was a full moon that night, so a bright blue tint reflected off of the paper making it easy for him to read. As he read it, a smug grin formed across his face.

"Heh, someone you don't get along with, eh?" Laughing to himself, he took out his red pen and wrote a response. He decided that he'd continue to write these messages and pretend to be someone else.

"Arf! Arf!" Sasuke rubbed the dog behind its ear with one hand while his pen scratched at the paper.

'I see. So, this guy - do you hate him?' he wrote.

This way, he would learn what Hinata truly thought. At school, she never talked and she acted like a saint. Now, he just knew he would reveal the real side of her. This was all just too good. Finally, he wrapped the note back up and hung it on the gate before leaving another bag of dog treats. Sasuke said his goodbyes to the puppy and left, satisfied. Tomorrow, he would find out her answer.

"Hinata, you seem to be out a lot more lately, and you're daydreaming a lot more than usual." Her sister, Hanabi, finally voiced her concern that same night as she helped prepare dinner. "Is there something father and I should know?"

Hinata jumped slightly and thought of ways to respond. "Ah, well I just joined the, uh, s-student council so I've been staying at school later. It's been p-pretty stressful."

Hanabi eyed her carefully with suspicion. It wasn't like her sister to get involved with such matters, but at least it was a step forward for her. "Well don't push yourself too hard."

"Y-yes."

After dinner, Hinata removed her hair band, slipped out of her clothes, and got underneath the fluffy comforter of her bed, lying there in silence. Just how long could she keep her secret? What would her father say if he found out? Something like, 'You're wasting time with stray animals rather than concentrating on your school!' She turned toward her moonlit window and wondered if her puppy was sleeping alright and what he would do if she suddenly left him. The girl didn't want to leave him all alone, so she would keep this secret for as long as she could. Her worries kept her up for at least a couple of hours before she was able to drift off to sleep.

'I see. So, this guy - do you hate him?'

Hinata looked up from the note in thought after reading it carefully that morning. She didn't want to think that she hated him. Before, she thought that Sasuke was the one exception - that he was the only person she could hate - but as she contemplated the idea more deeply, she decided that it wasn't hate. So with that, the girl's slender hand reached into her bag for her notebook and blue pen to write a new response.

'I can't say I hate him. He could be going through a lot that I don't know about, and it could be the reason for his actions. Even if he takes things out on me, I don't think I know him enough to hate him.'

And her message was true. Granted, she didn't particularly like him and he didn't make her feel any better about herself, but she really didn't hate him. She felt a little embarrassed for venting to someone that she didn't know, but this was her only friend other than her puppy. Tucking the note into the plastic bag and hanging it on the gate, she gave the little dog one last goodbye and reluctantly left again for school.

"Oh! Hi, Hinata! Are you headed for the library?" Naruto's loud voice echoed through the hallway during lunch the next day, once noticing the books in her arms. Hinata's heart stopped at the sound of his voice, butterflies entering her stomach, as she turned her head toward the blonde-haired boy.

"Y-yes." She squeaked, glancing down at the library books that she was planning to return. The soft-spoken girl's heart pounded harder and harder in her chest to the point that she worried Naruto would hear it. Her gaze darted everywhere but his face.

"Cool, I'm going there too. Sasuke, Sakura and I are going to study for the literature test. You wanna walk with me?" his bright blue eyes scanned her face, seeing the red painted on her cheeks. "Unless you aren't feeling well . . . ?"

"N-no! I'd love to!" Hinata interjected, but then gasped to herself bashfully. She didn't mean to be so blunt, but she had a chance to walk with her crush and she wanted to take it. Naruto's face transitioned from surprised, back to cheerful.

"Haha, well it's good to see you in high spirits today, Hinata!"

"U-un." She clutched the books closer to her chest as she walked toward the library with the boy she liked, not even thinking about the fact that Sasuke would be there too.

Swinging open the library doors, Naruto made his well-known entrance. Many people gave him looks of displeasure, but he didn't seem to notice. Hinata giggled to herself quietly at the goofy boy she admired; However, her laughter was soon setback for she knew she would have to part with him now. He turned to her to see a lonely face.

"Hinata, you're good in literature, aren't you? Why don't you study with us?" he asked, wanting to cheer her up.

"O-oh, no, no, that's okay."

"Aw, come on!" he grabbed her small hand in his and dragged the petite girl toward the other side of the library. The girl felt like her heart might stop at his touch and she briefly observed their intertwined hands. His hand was a lot bigger than hers, she thought, causing her blush to deepen more if that was even possible. Seconds later, she saw Sasuke and Sakura sitting at one of the tables, studying. In an instant, her bashful manner was replaced with a wave of fear.

'A-ah! I forgot Naruto was friends with Sasuke for a moment. This is bad, I can't study with him!'

Naruto's two friends looked up at the same time. "What took you so long?" asked Sakura, and then her green eyes became softer. "Oh, you brought Hinata!" she smiled. At the mention of her name, Sasuke's face cringed, Hinata noticed. She just wanted to leave, but she couldn't reject Naruto and Sakura's kindness.

"Yep! She's really smart, so she's gonna help us. Right, Hinata?" Naruto turned back to her.

The troubled girl wasn't able to utter a single word so she nodded in response before sitting next to her crush and across from her enemy who didn't so much as look at her. She hoped that she could avoid such pressure and that's why she tried not to stand out, yet she found herself in the exact situation she didn't want to be in. If only it were just Sakura and Naruto . . .

Her mouth became dry and she was afraid that she would not be able to say anything if Naruto had a question. Her palms were sweating and her body was trembling. She just couldn't imagine where she would be a couple of hours from now, because it was as if this moment would never end.

"Can you explain this for me, Hinata?" Naruto asked politely, holding a book out for her to see.

"Ah, y-y-yes. W-when you read a p-passage, y-you have to look f-for the context clues s-so you can interpret the i-implied meaning." She stuttered like crazy and could barely recognize her own voice. Glancing over at Sasuke, she realized that he had been glaring at her before looking back down at his own book. She just wanted to go home, now. 'P-please just let me go home.'

"I see!" Naruto yelled, getting shushes from people around him.

Sakura studied Hinata's face. "Are you okay, Hinata? You look really pale."

"I'm sorry! It s-seems I'm not feeling well after all. Thank you for i-inviting me to study." She said, clumsily getting up from her seat and bowing. She ran toward the doors and to the girls' bathroom. Naruto and Sakura were left in bewilderment and looked at each other with questionable expressions after she was long gone. Sasuke continued to stare at his book, but wasn't really reading the words.

Last night he'd already read her reply:

'I can't say I hate him. He could be going through a lot that I don't know about and it could be the reason for his actions. Even if he takes things out on me, I don't think I know him enough to hate him.'

'That's bullshit.' he thought as he sat there. She was really uncomfortable around him and it was obvious. Of course she hated his guts, just like he hated her. All she wanted was to get away from him. Those notes she wrote were all lies. Despite his true thoughts, however, he replied the night before with his fake, kind persona.

'So that's how it is. You could try talking to him.'

But she didn't. She ran away again. It was just as he predicted.

He skipped basketball that day and just left when the bell rang. He had been skipping basketball a lot lately and was thinking about just quitting. His hands were buried in his pockets and he stared at his shadow on the pavement as he walked. It took a while for him to realize there were someone else's footsteps ahead of him, so he raised his head to look. Just his luck. It was Hinata. She'd already noticed that he was walking behind her, but didn't look back, hoping for him to leave. A grin spread across his face as a result of his new idea to toy with her.

Sasuke knew where she was headed and would follow her there. He went a different way so she would think he was gone. When Hinata didn't hear him walking anymore, she let out a long sigh, and continued toward her destination.

The old lot was pretty quiet except when the little white dog saw her coming. He jumped up on the fence, barking, while awaiting her arrival. "Hi, boy! How are you doing?" she sweet-talked him, making him more excited. Her hands worked at the gate so that it may open and the dog bounced into her arms; Its cold, wet tongue met her face.

"Hahaha! S-stop!" The little puppy wriggled in her arms ecstatically until she set him back down on the ground. "Time to eat!" she reached in her bag and fed him some anpan. This was the only time she felt happy and relaxed. Even after such a stressful day with a roller coaster of emotions, she thought that nothing could ruin this moment with her puppy. But as she watched the dog gulp down its food, she heard footsteps in the gravel behind her. Judging by the sound of its gait, it was definitely a guy. Hinata quickly stood up and twisted around like an agile cat, eyes becoming larger when she noticed who it was. Each hair on her back stood.

Sasuke had followed her to her secret 'shortcut'.

I hope this chapter made sense. My biggest problem with this story is keeping it from being confusing. So Sasuke knows that Hinata is the 'other person' now and is using his unknown position to tease her, writing notes and seeing how they affect her at school. Now he's followed her and is pretending to have just now found out about her secret when in reality, he already knew and is pretending to be two different people.