We're back to a short chapter. I apologize very much. I swear I am trying to be more consistent this time so please bear with me.


It was the start of a new season where people often began a new chapter in their lives. One was such for high school students, something important, for them to decide what they wanted to do after graduation.

It was an always assumed that Sasuke would go to college and pursue something that would eventually lead him to the family business, where his brother, his father and generations of Uchihas before him had gone to live out the rest of their lives. Since he never held any conviction for something he wanted on his own, Sasuke had relented to follow the path that was the most obvious one. Even though he did not care much for it, this was one thing he truly felt envious about with the one person who he thought could never out do him.

Naruto was always in last where Sasuke was always first in everything they did from school to sports to anything else he could think of. It was years and years of hard work for Naruto that made him finally reach a level that even Sasuke got to notice, but in the end, in the back of his mind, Sasuke always felt he could do better that Naruto in anything.

Yet, when it came to the future, Sasuke could not help but let the envy sting his heart when the realization finally set him that he could not set his own path, because he did not know which path he wanted. In the end, he was just following the same path that he had once hated so much for taking his father, and now his brother so far away from their family. He had somehow become complacent in how his future turned out.

"What are you thinking about?"

Sasuke's eyes came back to focus as he realized he had been in a daze, stuck in his thoughts while still at work. It was a Friday evening, and he was the last one left on shift, beside Hinata, taking up the counter. Beside him stood his boss who had just noticed the small frown on his face, which prompted her to ask her question.

"Nothing," Sasuke responded without much thought.

"You were staring at the register for a while," Hinata quipped, not buying his answer.

"Hn…really?" Sasuke tried to play it off by deciding to put away some of the items on display in the glass counter since it was close to closing time. It was still jarring to be alone with her but it had gotten easier talking to her, especially since the event they went together last weekend.

Watching Sasuke turn away from her to avoid the topic made her drop her shoulders a little and lean by the counter, blowing away her bangs to let out her slight frustration with the boy. He had gotten better at talking with her because now she was able to get a little more than a few words of responses from him, and he was not always looking away from her. But it was like taking baby steps with him causing Hinata to sometimes just give up hope of ever having a proper conversation with him.

Hearing her sigh as she straightened herself before she went back to the kitchen prompted something in Sasuke, and without his control, he said out the first thing that came to mind.

"What made you decide to own a bakery?"

His sudden question caught her by surprise causing her to stop and stare at him. That was a rather straightforward question that she had heard from Sasuke for the first time.

At her lack of response and the prolonged stare that he held for a few seconds, Sasuke felt a little unsettled, causing him to continue.

"I was just thinking…about my future and what I want to do. You don't have to answer." Feeling a little stupid for suddenly bursting like that, he went back to sorting through the things he was working with earlier, hoping that she would just ignore this and go away.

"Future…that's a tough one," Hinata finally spoke as she leaned back on the counter with her hands folded in front of her.

Sasuke perked up at the sound of her voice, unknowingly feeling intrigued and excited at the prospect of finding a little more about her at least.

"But you shouldn't have to worry so much about it. You're still young and you have time," she smiled.

"I'm graduating in a few months. I don't think I have as much time as you think," he said, still keeping himself busy with his work while listening to her.

"Graduating? I thought you had another year left." Sasuke almost dropped the tray he was holding in his hand at Hinata's response.

"No," he said flatly with a glare, "this is my last year."

"O-oh," she bit her lip, "I thought you were a second year." She blushed as his eyes narrowed, still glaring at her. "B-but even so," she continued, looking away from him in embarrassment as she realized she had forgotten what year he was in high school when he had said it just last week to Hana when they drove to the event. "You shouldn't worry. I'm sure you have lots of options."

When Sasuke did not say anything, Hinata turned to see him with the same frown he had earlier as he stared at the ground.

"Do you know what you want to do?" she asked to which he looked up, and hesitated before he shook his head. "Um…okay," she was never really good at dealing with these kinds of things, especially when it came to giving advice, so she did not know what to say, but she decided to continue anyway. "Well, you can always figure that out." She tried to smile even though she knew it probably looked forced because she felt too on the spot when Sasuke just stared at her so intently taking everything that came out of her mouth seriously. "W-why don't we close up early today?"

"But we still have 30 minutes left," he frowned in confusion.

"Ah, it'll be okay," she waved her hand at him, "nobody is here and no one usually comes this late anyway."

"Hn."

Sasuke did not say anything else as Hinata went to the back leaving him alone in the front by the counter. For the next fifteen minutes, they went on to clean up the bakery. Since today had not been such a busy day, it was fairly fast to clean up, so when they stood out at the front of the bakery to lock it up, not much time had passed from the conversation they were having before.

Not having anything else to say, Sasuke just nodded to her before he went on his way.

"Wait!" she yelled before he could go any further.

He stopped in his tracks, half surprised by her request, and half anticipating what she wanted to say.

"Um…do you…like ramen?" She asked before immediately turning her head to the ground with her eyes growing in surprise of herself for asking something as ridiculous as such.

"What?" he asked, not expecting that to come out of her mouth as he immediately remembered a certain blond head.

"W-well, you asked why I decided to open a bakery, so...I was thinking...I could answer that over a bowl of...ramen...?" When the frown did not leave his face she continued blurting out whatever she could think of. "Just think of it as a way for me to repay you for helping me on the event last weekend. N-nothing else, I swear!" She blushed a little at how long he had just been staring at her like she was spewing nonsense.

On the other hand, Sasuke was having a hard time trying to piece together what she had just said. When it finally clicked that she had asked him to eat ramen with her, he had to really try hard to keep himself from looking like an idiot. Even if he agreed to go, to which he was not opposed to, it would not be anywhere near what his mind was assuming it to be.

"I don't really prefer ramen," he responded as he averted his gaze to the street, feeling his ears warm up while Hinata felt embarrassed for asking. "…But I don't mind," he said quietly just so she could hear and no one else, even though they were alone on the street.

"O-okay...?" she said as her eyes grew in disbelief. "Okay," she repeated with a smile this time, which caused Sasuke's ears to warm up even more as he looked at her smile from the corner of his eyes. "I know a really good ramen place. Let's go there."

Forgetting any embarrassment or nervousness she held just a moment ago, Hinata grabbed Sasuke's arm at the elbow and pulled him with her as she led the way. However, her bold actions, even if she had not realized them yet in her excitedness, caused Sasuke's heart to beat rapidly. He could feel his palms sweat as he gulped the harsh words that were trying to escape. His first reaction had been to jerk his arm away with a few, less than harsh words to discourage her, but he had held them back as he knew she was not one his fangirls. Her intent was not the same, even if he might not mind the idea of it. He shook that thought away as soon as it came to his head, not wanting it to grow into something else.

Sooner than he had realized, Hinata had let go of his arm and was walking right beside him with a smile on her face as they made their way to the ramen shop.

"You're quite excited," he commented out loud without his intent causing him to bite his cheek for letting it slip.

"Does it show that much?" she laughed as she brought a hand to her cheek. "It's been a while since I went there so I guess I got carried away."

She giggled to herself as if she had remembered something, causing Sasuke to yet again feel his ears warm up as he averted his gaze away from her with a scowl. He really needed to learn to control this before it got out of hand. Especially now that they were going on a date. Sasuke almost choked as that thought crossed his mind, before he tried to shake it away. Seeing Hinata's look of concern, he faked a cough small cough behind his hand before she could ask anything, as they continued their walk to the shop.

Sasuke could already feel tonight was going to be rough on him throughout this entire date, not a date, with Hinata at the ramen shop.

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As always, thank you to everyone who commented on, favorited and followed my story.

I wanted to write some more with the interactions between Sasuke and Hinata, making it sweet and enjoyable...like a calm before the storm...haha jk, maybe.

Moving on, I really enjoyed reading your feedbacks and reviews. They are one of the main reasons why I like writing stories. Thank you so much to all of you. I would like to shout out some of the reviewers I have seen several times in the reviews section: LittleRock17, emva9x, Break Blade, LB Cat, onlyluna, Haruka2007, DAngel7, DreamsOfTheDamn, Koen D, Gangnam Style X3, Cat Beats, Bexbluedragon76, kayna96, and the guest reviewers. I'm sorry if I missed some names, but I will get you another time. Just know that I appreciate everyone who takes the time write something, even something small in reviews. Thank you.

Once again, PM me if you are interested in being a Beta Reader for this story. I would like having a few as it can make it easier with writing and characterizations. So feel free to let me know.

I hope you enjoy this and have a good day. Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the reviews as well.