She Deserves Better

Silver's Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. If I remember correctly, this is a fairly lighthearted chapter. One person did point out that Princeton doesn't actually have a medical or business school. Apparently, it's the only Ivy League School that doesn't? Strange. Anyway, in this story let's just assume they have one. How that came about is entirely up to you lol. We both hope you enjoy this chapter.

Warning: There are a couple chapters ahead that will have no or little direct Sasuke x Hinata interaction, but they are necessary for the plot. While the beginning of the story started out rather lightheartedly, we are hoping to make this into an epic lovestory, where the characters have to overcome some major issues before getting together (or at least start overcoming them, because really...who doesn't love their limes and lemonade?). Be prepared and have your tissues ready.

Chapter 8

A few months had passed and Hinata was now studying at Princeton. The bluenette smiles at that thought as she tours the pristine campus on her first day there. Naruto had already started at the Police Academy last week and Sasuke had enrolled in summer courses at West Point, apparently. So she had gotten the longest summer vacation so to speak.

She was well rested and bright eyed and bushy tailed as Naruto would say. The bluenette smiles at the thought of her rather cheerful boyfriend. Sadly, there had been no skinning dipping to speak of. When he father found out she had a boyfriend, it had been the most awkward dinner of her life. "The only thing more awkward was realizing Sasuke got those letters." She blushes, still embarrassed about that.

"Hinata!" A long blond ponytail streams through the air as Ino races towards her friend, having finally escaped the bookstore with her business textbooks. "Did you get the map yet!?"

The Hyuga woman nods and smiles. "Yes, I did." She pulls out a rather large map. "It'd be so easy to get lost here, without it."

"No kidding, I took three wrong turns on my way here and had to ask a graduate student for directions." Seriously, this place was way bigger than Ino expected. But somehow, Hinata had convinced her to apply to Princeton for a degree in business management. Not that it wouldn't be a useful degree, it's just that the campus was huge!

"Yeah." She smiles. "That's part of the reason why I wanted you to come with me." Hinata rubs the back of her head sheepishly. "You have a better sense of direction."

"Well, then we're both screwed, aren't we?" Ino grins as she takes the map. "Okay, now I see where we are." She looks up, taking in the spaces all around her. "Okay, so we're in the liberal arts section right now, and I need to get to the business department, and you need to go…" She check the map again, frowning as she skims through the legend and all of the symbols littering the map.

"I need to go the School of Medicine." Hinata smiles at her. She was majoring in Physiotherapy. Originally, she would have been happy with nursing, but that wasn't really prestigious enough for her father. "Once, I'm there...I can probably find my way around." So she had decided to become a doctor who specialized in physical therapy. Hinata figured she could help a lot of people that way and her father seemed to find it an acceptable, if not ideal...choice.

"Alright…" Ino scans the map again. "There it is. If you take the first right and walk past the new gardens they put in, the ones with the koi in them, it should be a straight shot to the medical building." She points out the route on the map, before pointing off in the direction of the first turn. "I'm going the opposite direction, so let's meet back here after first period. We've both got a break before your second class, right?"

"Alright." Hinata pauses as she looks at her schedule. "Yeah. I have a break too. So we can meet up after that." The bluenette smiles. "I can't believe they actually have koi fish."

"It's probably so that they can say the whole multicultural campus thing." That seemed to be getting popular these days, Ino had noted. "Besides, its just fish, in the end, it's not really all that different than having an aquarium on campus."

She smiles. "I guess you're right. Though they are really pretty." The Hyuga woman turns to head off. "They remind me a bit of Naruto. I"ll see you later." And with that, she scurries off to find her first class.


Summer had been stressful, to put it mildly, but Sasuke felt like he handled it pretty well. He put twelve credits towards graduating before the school year even started. And now, taking eighteen credits, along with his extracurricular sports, and the training exercises, there's little else to think about but school.

The dorms were fine, kind of small, but that didn't bother Sasuke, he'd been in worse situations like this when Itachi locked him in the closet a few times as a child. Still, even with his quickly growing workload, he could make time whenever a call came in either on his phone or his laptop. A salute to unlimited wifi.

Maybe it was unrealistic, but Sasuke was aiming for nothing short of top of his class here as well. So, he sits in his room, or outside the dorm near the trees, or in the bleachers of the sports fields after every day's classes and sports end, reading and memorizing his textbooks thanks to his eidetic memory.

Thankfully, he can sit in partial shade, letting his skin slowly get used to the sun, like he'd been doing all summer. After all, being overseas meant getting a lot of sun, and there was no way he was going to let his ivory skin burn red like his favorite tomatoes.

"You're really dedicated." A rather large orange haired man observes with a smile as he ambles over to Sasuke. "I don't think I've ever seen a freshmen study that much." The man was truly massive. Probably around seven feet tall and broad shouldered would have been an understatement. "I'm Jugo by the way.

Sasuke looks up out of his book, his mind already filing away the page he just read. "Sasuke. And thanks, I'm trying to finish in two years at the top of the class." The man, Jugo, really was a giant. Could that possibly be natural? Well, maybe, some basketball players were like that, but this guy was built more like a tank.

"That's rather ambitious." Jugo smiles. "But as I'm graduating this year, I won't take offense to it. You just might do it. Just don't burn yourself out." He had seen far too many promising cadets do exactly that.

"The only thing threatening to burn me is the sun." Sasuke squints a little as the sun filters through a few clouds, warming his skin even further. "Besides, I have to do something with my brain, or it'll find something else to occupy its time with. Memorizing my textbooks seems a better strategy than anything else." It kept his mind off less pleasant thoughts.

"Alright. Well good luck. Don't mind Karin and Suigetsu's bickering. It's entertaining in small doses." He warns him with a smile.

Sasuke blinks, not believing his ears. "Karin and Suigetsu are here?" How had he not known that one of his best friends and Naruto's cousin were both here?

"Yeah. Suigetsu told me to be on the look out for a 'pale bastard with eyelashes prettier than any chick'. He also said you were Japanese and were probably likely to have your head buried in a book. So I figured I'd take a chance." He smiles.

Sasuke smacks his forehead in frustration. "Who the fuck told him that I was here!?" He was pretty sure he'd kept his trap shut to everyone but… "…Itachi told Kisame, and Kisame told Suigetsu, and Naruto told Karin, right?" That had to be it, and it must have been done months before graduation. And somehow, those two blabbermouths had both kept their mouths shut.

Jugo shrugs. "I'm not sure. He found out about it though. The red head is very smart." The large man pauses. "But she's got a wicked left hook. Suigetsu's been on the receiving end of it a lot lately."

The world had to be playing some kind of joke on him, seriously. Those two idiots were HERE? "Where are they?" If they weren't going to settle down, Sasuke would make them settle down. There were certain expectations here, and they'd get thrown out if they couldn't follow them.

"Campus library." Jugo smiles. "I think Karin is trying to make him actually study or something." he shrugs. "He doesn't really strike me as a particularly scholarly type. I'm not really sure how he got here. He said something about an athletic admission." He pauses." Swimming, I think."

"Fastest on our high school swim team. Won the most races for our school in its whole history." Sasuke would admit that if Suigetsu was better at him than anything, it was swimming. "Thanks, I'll go and make sure they're not trying to destroy the library." He gets to his feet, brushing away stray strands of grass and straightening his cap over his eyes to keep the sun out.

Jugo was right in a way. Karin and Suigetsu were in the library and they were together, but not a single textbook was open in sight. If they were studying anything, it was apparently how to make out.

Sasuke's eye twitches as he walks through the rows of books and happens upon the sight of his friend making out with Naruto's cousin on the floor of the campus library. "And here I expected Karin to be pounding you into the floor." He smirks wickedly, still pissed at the sight of the two of them goofing off like that. Seriously, did they have no shame? "But if you're happy with taking it another way, you might want to do it in a less public place."

Karin squeaked rather loudly and Suigetsu jumps up so fast, that several books fell on him. "Damn it, Sassy!" He grumbles. "That was so not cool!"

Karin glares at Sasuke and pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Well we were fighting and that happened. I wasn't actually going to sleep with him." She does a hairflip. "He wishes he was that lucky."

Sasuke raises an eyebrow at Karin, and especially at her now bobbed hair. The hairflip was a little…off, thanks to the absence of most of her blood red mane. "Why and how are you two even here in the first place?" You needed to have some pretty good connections, since one of the requirements was basically to go to a politician and get them to vouch for you. For Sasuke, that had been no problem, considering how well-connected his family was. And maybe Karin could pull it off, being related to the Commissioner of the NYPD, but Suigetsu?

Karin smiles. "Well the Uncle Minato vouched for me and the governor apparently is a graduate of Konoha High and a former Swim Team Captain. He was impressed by the merman's swimming." She shrugs. "So that's how his lazy ass got in."

That explained so much.

Sasuke pinches the bridge of his nose. "Okay…you two really need to be careful, otherwise you'll get kicked out of here. But you still haven't answered the why. I didn't know that either of you were interested in coming here." He glares at them pointedly, silently commanding them to answer.

"Well I didn't really have any plans." He smiles. "Keeping you from getting blown up seemed as good as any and they do let you play with a lot of cool toys."

Karin groans. "He's an idiot, but his heart is in the right place." She smiles. "Well it's rare to find a career that gives you a full pension after twenty years and there's a lot more that you can do besides active combat. So yeah."

Sasuke wanted to slap them both upside the head, but that would be frowned on. So, he settles for glaring. "You followed me." These two had to be some kind of nuts. "I hope that you two realize just how stupid that is. Are you going to spend the whole four years here?"

Suigetsu nods. "Yep! We survived high school with you." He seemed to think that proved something. "So we'll survive this with you."

The red head smiles. "Exactly. For once he's right. Mark this on the calendar." And nods her own head.

"I'm not staying the whole four years, you know." They really should have seen this coming. "I've already got twelve credits, and I'll add eighteen more this semester, and eighteen more next semester." That would give Sasuke a total of forty-eight credits, not including sports, training, and other extracurriculars. "I'm planning on being done in two years."

They facefault at that. "Well we'll survive two years with you and two years after you graduate."

Sasuke sighs. Well, maybe this was a good thing. At least then, he'd have some experience by the time they got out of the academy. Maybe they'd end up all together, if they were lucky. "You're both idiots…" He glares at Suigetsu in particular. "And I do not have 'eyelashes prettier than a girl's', got it?"

Karin shrugs. "Well actually, I've always been jealous of your eyelashes." This causes Suigetsu to burst out laughing.

The urge to smack them both only grew.


Several months had passed and her first university finals were hurtling faster towards Hinata than she was like. It was as bit frustrating, between studying them and all her other obligations, she had little time to see Naruto in person.

"I know, I miss you too, but my father is forcing me to attend some charity event. Maybe, next weekend?" She sighs into the phone. At least she could hear his voice this way.

Overall, her relationship with Naruto was going well. They were just experiencing the normal struggles that any college students would have, if they didn't live in the same city. He was sweet and kind. Funny and every inch a gentleman. (That last part was slightly frustrating, but they were almost never alone anyway).

Ino was now thankfully her roommate. Unfortunately, the blond was sitting on the other side of their dormroom and could hear every word, most likely. "Damn. That sucks. I was really hoping that I would get to see you." She hears Naruto sigh out and knew that Ino was likely going to give her a mouthful about this. Ditching the guy she had spent years trying to win over for a charity even. Hinata liked charity events as a matter of principle, it was just frustrating.

Ino continues filing her nails, rolling her eyes every time she knows that Hinata can't see her, even out of the corner of her eye. Honestly, she pitied Naruto. Hinata meant well, of course, but this was NARUTO, the guy she'd been into since forever. The only kind of charity event that could possibly be more important than her boyfriend would be something thrown by either the president, or the UN. And she highly doubted it was either of those.

"I know." She smiles. "I can't wait to see you either, but I'll try to put my foot down. Definitely nothing next weekend." After a bit more protesting, Naruto seems to accept that and Hinata hangs up.

"Your dad really doesn't seem to understand that you need some time to yourself so that you can be with your boyfriend and relax." Ino scoffs at the image of Hiashi Hyuga in her head. "The man wouldn't know fun if it bit him in the ass. We're students! WE need to unwind sometimes, and he's being a cockblocker."

Hinata splutters and blushes beat red at that last part. "I-Ino!" She blushes more. "Naruto isn't really like that. Which is p-probably a good thing because my father would k-kill him." She sometimes wished Naruto was like that, but their time together was scarce and alone time was even more so. There really just hadn't been much of an opportunity.

"I guess, but seriously, your boyfriend is like a dog, he needs attention, or he's not going to feel loved." And Ino saw another problem in that analogy. Dogs were loyal, and neglecting a dog was just…wrong, just like neglecting a boyfriend who was like a golden retriever puppy.

"I like dogs, but that's a little offensive." She grumbles. "He's not a puppy that I bought at the SPCA or something." Hinata huffs. "I want to give him attention it's just our schedules are so... different."

Ino glances at her friend and sighs, putting down the nail file. "Well, you have to admit that Naruto reminds you of a happy little golden retriever puppy sometimes. All cute and energetic and willing to please. But my point is that this isn't good for either of you. So, once finals are over, you need to make sure to make a lot of time for him. Go somewhere, have a getaway with your snuggle bunny. It's almost summer, so it's the perfect time to go out and enjoy life."

"Well alright." She sighs. "Maybe Naruto does sometimes, and we do need more time together as a couple." Hinata nods in agreement.

"Good, now…" Ino grins widely at some pictures on her phone. "There's plenty of hot boys here. Maybe one of them would be interested in having some fun after finals." With all of her classes, she hadn't had time for a boyfriend in ages. She deserved to have some fun too!

Hinata laughs. "I'm sure you could find someone." She smiles at her friend.

Ino grins. "Time to find myself a Prince."

"Mmm and you deserve only the best prince." She smiles.


Forty-eight credits, a basketball championship, a soccer championship, and the exams from hell. Sasuke felt like he'd accomplished a lot this last year. He'd squeezed two years worth of material into a single year, and he could feel his teachers staring at him all the time. Not to mention the whispers about where he'd be recruited to after the academy. Though he didn't really pay much attention to most of it. Gossip was gossip, and putting stock in it only led to trouble.

Two of the loudest gossipers were still in an exam that Sasuke had finished an hour ago, and he sat outside, reading through the hand-me-down textbooks that one of the seniors had tossed him after their exams were done. It couldn't hurt to get a head start on next year's credits.

"Sassy, you're such a machine." Suigetsu yawns as he heads over to him. "Karin and I might be able to pull three years, but not two." He looks at his friend reading his secondhand textbook. "No idea how you do it."

"I'm a genius and you're not, but I'm pushing you guys to take more classes anyway. That's how it's happening." And it's true, Sasuke had pushed them both to take extra classes the second semester to speed them up a bit. Just a bit, though. "I've got another summer term coming up and a mock boot camp for the next two months. One of my instructors recommended it." It would definitely keep him busy, but it definitely looked good to the higher-ups, and that was a bonus.

He shakes his head. "You're nuts. You're going to have a heart attack by thirty." Suigetsu shakes his head again. "You know that, right?"

Sasuke raises an eyebrow at him. The guy did realize that they were going into the military, right? The chances of dying of a heart attack were pretty slim. "My heart is perfectly fine. Though you should probably get your head checked out again, I think you bumped it in sparring."

Suigetsu rolls his eyes. "Whatever, Sassy. Time to go to lunch. Oh and it looks like you got a text. Your phone is vibrating."

Sasuke frowns as he gets to his feet, slipping his phone out of his pocket and clicking it open. He scrolls for a few seconds to find the new one. "It's from my brother." It had been a week since their last conversation, since Itachi had wanted to give him space to prep for his exams.

How did your exams go? ~ Itachi

His brother had never been one to waste words. Every word had a purpose. And today, apparently wasn't any different.

Sasuke snorts. Like Itachi didn't know it already. That man probably knew what classes he already had picked out for the next year, and estimates on how he'd ace them.

Just finished the last one an hour ago, should have the results in a week. Hard, but I should manage to stay at the top. ~ Sasuke

Well you know Sasuke, there is more than one position. Sometimes it's fun to let someone else take charge. ~ Itachi

He knew that would fluster his innocent baby brother. He didn't know what possessed him to do it exactly. Sometimes, it was just fun to tease him.

Ah, the eye roll was still a habit, just not one that he indulged in while in front of his superiors. Though Sasuke managed to keep his blush non-existent.

Real mature, Itachi… Has the FBI come knocking on the door, asking to 'borrow' you permanently? ~ Sasuke

Yes, I've secured a position. I thought the least that I could do in return was make my texts interesting. ~ Itachi

There was a pause. Probably Itachi typing something else. He was soon proven correct.

Just kidding. This is a disposable and encrypted so even the techies can't read my stuff. ~ Itachi

Itachi was such an idiot sometimes. Sasuke actually felt bad for the rest of the FBI. Having Itachi there with them was going to turn out to be their greatest asset, as well as their most horrific nightmare. You could not one-up the man.

Try not to traumatize the hackers. The FBI needs them to track the real bad guys. ~ Sasuke

Of course, I'll do my best. ;) ~ Itachi

Sasuke could feel the smugness oozing from the text. Itachi was even worse than him. Still, there was something that Itachi should probably know. There was one piece of 'gossip' that he'd heard straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

The teachers have been looking at me a lot lately. I think it has to do with the colonel who's been walking around lately. There's been talk about him recruiting talented cadets as officers when they graduate. And I heard one of the teachers saying that I could make Lieutenant straight out of the academy at this rate. ~ Sasuke

That's wonderful news. Lieutenant Uchiha has a nice ring to it. ~ Itachi

He was proud of his foolish little brother. Sasuke definitely didn't know the meaning of doing anything half-heartedly. Though he still worried for him a great deal.

Sasuke can't help but grin at the praise. Of course, he was shooting for higher than just Lieutenant, but one step at a time. He was already doing the best he could, trying any harder would be a bad idea, even he knew that. It's why he didn't add two extra classes on top of everything else. Still, getting a ranking officer's position out of that would be fantastic.

Well, I've still got a year to go before I graduate, and I'm pushing it as hard as I can without dying, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'll do my best, though. Did you at least see the basketball and soccer championships? ~ Sasuke

Of course, I saw them. You were fantastic as usual, even Father was impressed. Of course, he didn't say so directly. I could tell though. It's a good idea to pace yourself. The world will still be fucked up and in need of soldiers whether it takes you two, three, or four years to graduate. ~ Itachi

He smiles. Sasuke was still Sasuke. Always wanting his accomplishments acknowledged. Of course, that was human nature. Though he worried that Sasuke might be a little too eager to please sometimes.

Sasuke frowns. His father had been impressed? He doubted that. The man was clearly still angry with him. He had only visited once this whole past year, and only because his wife made him. And he'd only looked at Sasuke once.

Well, the sooner I graduate, the sooner I can start making a difference. And this is pacing myself, I'm taking fifteen less credits a year than I technically could. Besides, who was it who slowed down his schooling because the FBI kept wanting to borrow him, making it take a whole extra year to get his master's? ~ Sasuke

Just promise me, that you'll do something else besides just work when you get out. You're only young once, Sasuke. ~ Itachi

An "extra" year was an odd way to put it. He'd still graduated at the same pace as the other students who had enrolled at the same time with him. Itachi digressed though. That wasn't the point. The point was what Sasuke considered pacing himself, most people would consider working themselves to death.

Well, I'll have to, after all, I'll get some mandatory leave eventually. Whole months where I get to sit around doing nothing. ~ Sasuke

That was actually the part that Sasuke wasn't looking forward to. He hated being idle, and the mandatory leave was just going to make him idle.

Good. I'm sure the single female population would be more than happy to find you a way to...pass the time. I love you, foolish little brother. ~ Itachi.

Seriously, Itachi could be so annoying. After all…Sasuke wasn't looking for random hookups, and being overseas would make any steady relationship tenuous at best. Besides, he had plenty of time. Maybe going across the world would help the perfect girl just fall into his lap. Well, not really, but Sasuke supposed it could happen, hypothetically, anyway.

Tch, love you too, sadistic smartass. ~ Sasuke

Better a sadistic smartass than a sadistic dumbass ;). Be safe, Sasuke. ~ Itachi

No promises. Suigetsu and Karin are right here. I'll probably have to break up another fight, or another makeout session in a few minutes. ~ Sasuke

That is a lot of repressed sexual tension. You're a much braver man than I am to get in the middle of such things. ~ Itachi

Kinda have to be to join the army. Not like I went for the desk job with the FBI. Besides, it'll be good practice. ~ Sasuke

Itachi chuckles. Sasuke really was just Sasuke. He didn't know what he was going to do with him.

There's nothing wrong with having a desk job. Desks can be fun. Anyway, I"ll talk to you later. ~ Itachi

Yeah, see you later. ~ Sasuke

Stuffing his phone into his pocket again, Sasuke looks up to see Suigetsu and Karin at it again. This…was going to be a very long day.