Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto~

A/N: taa-daaa! the seventh chapter. (seventh!) Man this is turning out to be a lot longer than I'd originally planned it to be o_O


"No Hinata," Neji snapped, and Hinata could have just smacked him. Not a very tactical way to have a go at him - probably he'd just sidestep it - but still. Usually even on his finer days Neji was cold; today he was just plain cruel. "How many times have I already told you? That stance is not correct."

"I see what she's doing. Your arms are raised too high," her father chipped in from where he stood watching.

"That's what I keep trying to tell you," Hinata said impatiently, rolling her eyes. The two of them kept trying to convince her that her stances were wrong, but she still managed to carry out everything they told her to do - perfectly after just one or two practice rounds. Still Neji and her father were both convinced that it was plain luck that had gotten her this far. "My arms are shorter than most people's," she explained. "They have to be higher, or else nothing I do will work."

For the first time since the training with him had began, Neji looked confused. With a small frown he examined her more closely, stepping up and then backing away to get a better look. "You're right of course," he said with a shrug, and after all the trouble they'd gone through over this issue, he wasn't even going to give her the satisfaction of a surprised look as he realized that she was right. Neji just didn't care, and that was his problem. Cold, emotionless Neji Hyuga. She kind of regretted comparing him with Sasuke now. At least Sasuke had a heart.

She grumbled as she got into position again, and her anger boiled for a moment, allowing her to more easily direct her chakra flow. In one smooth instant, she executed the move perfectly on the first try. Her father clapped from the sidelines, obviously impressed, but not in a way that satisfied her. He didn't praise her for her work anymore, he just acted as if it were nothing of any consequence, which only ruined it all for Hinata.

She wished she were training with Sasuke, or with her friends, instead of here with these two. Even when her family had finally somewhat accepted her, well, it didn't mean that Hinata actually had to like them, right?

By the way, three weeks had passed, and Hinata had finally started training with her team again. Of course, Kurenai, Shino, and Kiba were all happy enough to have her back, and none of them asked too many questions about why she had been away from them for so long. Hinata wondered idly if Kurenai had told them about what had happened to her, or maybe the other two had just come to accept that her heart wasn't really into being a ninja anymore. Perhaps they had even been glad to have her gone; to have poor, clumsy, weak little Hinata out of the way so that they could move on to more important things.

But she smirked when Kiba noted that he thought there was something different about her, and had had to hold back a little laughter as Shino started to "teach" her something. So, even if Kurenai had told them about what had happened, apparently not even she herself knew yet how strong Hinata had become. None of them knew.

And so, the look of absolute shock on their faces when she casually said, "You mean this Shino?" and followed through with the technique effortlessly, was really very amusing.

Kiba whistled, impressed, and she was more glad for his approval than she ever was for her father's anymore. "Hinata... man, you've gotten strong."

She laughed. "Yeah. Guess I should have told you. I've not exactly been slacking off, you know."

"Glad to see you've thrown away the blushes and the stutters," Shino said coolly, and he bowed his head to her, as if acknowledging a brand new person he had never met before, someone strong... an equal. Hinata felt blessed, and then her sensei punched her lightly on the arm and said, "Welcome back to the team, Hinata."

She had spent most of that day showing her teammates and her sensei what she could do, and was more than pleased to realize that she had surpassed them - well, she had her teammates at least - and that now they would be the ones struggling to keep up with her. Quite amusing indeed.

On the other hand, she hadn't seen much of Sasuke in the past few weeks, but she knew that he was doing better. At least he wasn't doing anything too stupid. His nineteenth birthday had just passed though, and he and Naruto and a few of his other guy friends had gone out to celebrate late one evening.

The very next day Hinata had showed up at his house to wish him a happy birthday, and also to remind him through the daze of his hangover that she had specifically told him not to do anything stupid. Sasuke had just smiled though, and said, "You're right. Sorry about that." Apparently hangovers did not affect him the way they did most people. His head didn't hurt that she could tell, and he wasn't shying away from any particularly loud noises. Rather he was sitting at his kitchen table, looking a little rough for wear, with his eyes staring off into nothing. He seemed more out of it than he did hangover-ish.

That was about the extent of her meetings with Sasuke during those three weeks though, and Hinata had to admit she was really beginning to miss his company. Training with him was so effortless, easy, and sometimes... even fun. With her teammates it was different, because she hadn't been with them for a while and they just didn't connect on the same level. And as for her family, well... there simply was no connection.

"Perhaps we should stop for the day?" Neji suggested.

Hinata sighed, and lowered her arms gladly. She needed a good rest, perhaps a long nap. Between Neji and her father, they really liked to wear her down. As a matter of fact, her father was just opening his mouth to protest to this when suddenly they were interrupted. "I found him pacing around the woods in front of the house," Hanabi said as she entered the courtyard from the kitchen. "He was waiting for Hinata."

And just behind Hinata's kid sister was none other than Sasuke Uchiha himself. "Speak of the devil and he shall come," wasn't that how the saying goes? And she had just been thinking about him too.... This would be his second surprise visit the Hyuga household.

"Yes?" Hinata asked, perking up a bit again.

Sasuke grinned foolishly, as if he found something greatly amusing. But his voice was different, casual. "You look beat Hinata," he said, not looking at any of her family members who were standing 'round. "Maybe you should get some rest." There was a suspicious look there, though. She could just detect it. The humor lurking somewhere behind those guarded eyes.

"I guess," she replied, not really thinking about an actual conversation. "So was there something you needed or did you just happen by here out of chance?"

He looked at her slyly. "No, I was hoping we might talk."

Glancing around at her family members, she nodded. "Alright. Let's go." And Hinata left with him, leaving all three of the other Hyuga's behind, staring with mixtures of shock and surprise.

"Sorry if I interrupted your training back there," Sasuke said, not bothering to hide his grin now.

"No, actually you saved me from my father forcing anything else on me." She paused. "What are you so amused about?"

He laughed. They were in the woods now, jumping from tree to tree. Hinata didn't know where they were headed exactly, but she guessed it didn't matter. "Actually I'm supposed to talk to you."

"Talk to me?" she said in surprise. About what?

"Yeah. For Naruto. Actually he asked Sakura to do it, I just happened to overhear... and then I politely suggested to take the ugly matter off her hands."

Hinata laughed as well, but nervously. Naruto wanted someone to talk to her about something for him, and she had a very bad feeling about this. Somehow, she could just guess exactly where this particular conversation was going to go.

"You know he's in love with you right?"

Hinata gulped, hard. Suddenly Naruto's face filled her mind, and for a moment her cheeks flamed red and her voice stuck in her throat. Shit. There he was again, reversing all the good that Sasuke's influence had had upon her. There goes the independent, smart, strong Hinata right down the drain. Really, how was she supposed to respond to something like that? She had already feared it's coming, true, but that's why she had avoided it. Damn that Naruto Uzumaki. There was just that something about him that she'd never in her life be able to quite shake off. Damn him.

"You like him too right?" Sasuke asked, suddenly sly again. "You always have."

Hinata blushed even brighter, and mentally cursed herself for it. And rather than denying it, like she probably should have, she demanded, "How do you know that?" She was just able to keep the stuttering at bay. She wanted to curse out loud.

Sasuke's lower lip puckered as if he were thinking about something unpleasant. "It's always been pretty obvious." He made a face. "So what, am I actually supposed to hook you two up now?"

"Oh no," Hinata complained. "Let's just stop for a minute and talk about this, okay?" So, they stopped, and Hinata found a dry place of grass to sit. The sunlight was breaking through the canopy of leaves above, and it felt good with the wind that was blowing. She sighed heavily. "I don't. like. Naruto." She spoke each word separately, as if putting more emphasis on this fact would make the situation easier to deal with. And then she made a face, just as Sasuke had. "Actually, right now I dislike him very much." She thought about it for a second. "Damn him."
And Sasuke laughed. "I don't think I've ever heard you cuss before."

She grimaced as he crouched down on the ground across from her. "Well get used to it, because I'm about to do it some more." She paused, sure that he was waiting for her to say something else, but she just wasn't quite sure what. "I mean, I did like Naruto. Before...." she trailed off. Sasuke just watched, and she figured he got the picture. "But it's different now. I just want him to leave me alone. It's impossible to be friends with him, because..." she buried her face in her hands, mortified, "every time he's around I get all embarrassed and start stuttering again. It's awful!"

Everything was quiet for a while, Hinata hiding her face and Sasuke saying not a word. But the wind and the sun felt good, and then a single leaf floated to the earth only to land perfectly on the top of Hinata's head. A little annoyed, she flicked it away, and she could only wonder at the look on Sasuke's face. The gears in his mind were turning visibly now, like he was thinking very hard about something. Casually he said, "You know, I don't really care about any of this. As far as I'm concerned, if you don't return Naruto's feelings then that's his problem, and if you stutter whenever he's around then that's your problem." Sasuke grinned suddenly, maliciously. "But still, I think I see a way that I can get Naruto out of your hair, and it'll be strictly beneficial to me." He chuckled darkly, and Hinata could only guess at the things he had in mind for poor Naruto.