A Man's World


A/N: How typical for me to get sick while I was writing about Hinata being sick.


Chapter 9 Inspiration

When morning came for Hinata the next day, there was not a trace of doubt left that she was indeed sick. Her whole body felt as though it was weighed down by lead. She could barely move her limbs from beneath her covers. Hinata could never recall a time in her life where she had been this miserable. Her whole body was burning as if it was slowly being overcooked in an oven yet she had chills running down all throughout her body. Well, Hinata thought, at least her headache was gone.

With strenuous effort, Hinata managed to roll onto her side to get a good glimpse of her clock. Once she made out the time, she gasped, alarmed. She immediately flung the covers off of her and ran to the bathroom. She was late! She halted when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her face was flushed with a slight fever. Under any other circumstance, she would not get out of bed, but she couldn't just missschool. She quickly brushed through her black hair and that had finally dipped past shoulder length.

For a moment Hinata simply stared at her hair. She couldn't decide what to do with it. Would she look more masculine if she let her hair down? Neji's hair was longer than hers and no one had ever mistaken him for a girl. Or, she thought, should she just leave it in a ponytail? Shikamaru had his hair tied up and no one thought it unmanlyof him to do so. And what about Sasuke's older brother, Hinata thought desperately. Hinata wondered if it was time to go to a hair stylist to get a more boyish cut.

"Stop driving yourself insane," Hinata ordered herself in front of the mirror. She tried to practice her best "tough" face, but she just ended up looking like Hanabi when someone took the piece of chicken she wanted at dinner; she looked more like a spoiled child pouting than an intimidating teenage boy.

After a few more minutes, she surrendered the mirror so she could go grab a change of clothes. When she stepped back into the room, Sasuke was standing with his back to her checking something in one of his notebooks. When he heard her footsteps, he rotated his head just enough to give her a sidelong glance.

"Where are you going?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"School," she told him as she reached for a change of clothes in her closet.

"You're sick," Sasuke stated, putting his notebook away.

"I'm not thatsick," Hinata told him, trying to laugh his words away, but instead ended up coughing.

"You're sick," he repeated.

"I can still attend class," Hinata argued. "Does it really matter anyway?" Honestly, Hinata didn't feel like doing anything but crawling back into her bed, but there was no way she could miss school. Attending school was her dream.

"Of course it matters," he muttered, making Hinata arch an eyebrow of her own.

"If you go to school sick, you might end up spreading your germs," he quickly added after noticing her change in expression.

"That's true… but I really don't want to miss school," Hinata sighed deeply, taking a seat upon her bed.

"I… can take notes for you," Sasuke offered, looking a bit embarrassed at the suggestion. Hinata gaped at him; he certainly was acting weird this morning. It was also a pleasant surprise to hear that he was actually going to attend class after missing it for two days in a row.

"Oh," Hinata said, fingering her bed sheets longingly. "That's true, then… thanks. I'll leave it to you then," she said with an agreeable smile.

"Alright, I'll be leaving then," he took his bag and started away.

"Bye," Hinata called out as she watched him disappear as the door shut behind him.

Hinata climbed back into bed, still feeling a bit guilty for not going to class. But, Sasuske seemed adamant about her staying put, even enough to offer her his notes. There was no way she could've actually out right refuse him if he actually thought that it would be better for her to stay in bed and rest.

For the rest of the early morning, Hinata spent the majority of her time drifting in and out of sleep. Still, she couldn't help worrying about her classes. She also hoped that she wasn't worrying any of her classmates or friends. When Hinata felt that she had enough sleep, she decided to go look through the things she brought from home.

In her closet she pulled out a trunk she had yet to unpack, mainly because they weren't things she could really allow anyone to see. Hinata carried the key to it around her neck, which she kept hidden in her shirt. She unlocked the trunk and lifted up the lid. The first thing she noticed was her stuffed kitsune (A/N: nine-tailed fox) plush doll that she had had since she was a child. She smiled nostalgically as she took the doll out. She gave it a quick squeeze and a pat on the head before placing it back into the trunk. Underneath the doll was a discreetly small box where she kept her feminine products. Next to it was a small stack of letters when she begged Neji to write to her from school. There weren't very many, but Neji, without fail, always sent her a letter home for her birthday. Next to the letters were a few framed photos, mainly of her father, Hanabi and herself. She had only one with her mother in it.

Suddenly remembering Sasuke's family picture, she went to retrieve it from the unused notebook where she left it. She grabbed the photo and decided that it would be best to put it in the trunk in case Sasuke found it. She would return it in the future, but for now, she'll keep it safe for him. She slipped it in between Neji's letters.

There were many other miscellaneous items in the trunk, but Hinata didn't have the heart to pull them out. Many of the items were reminders of her deceased mother, but she couldn't bear to look at them now. Although her father had always told her that she had died conceiving Hanabi and that was always what Hinata told others, she knew that the truth was not so simple.

She closed the trunk. Nothing in life was very simple anymore, Hinata thought as she pushed the trunk back into the darkness of her closet. She closed the door and decided to head back to bed, but a voice called out from the other side of her door.

"Hey Hikaru, its Kiba!" Hinata was honestly startled that she actually had a visitor. She glanced at the clock and noticed that should be about lunchtime.

Hinata went to the door, sliding it open. "Kiba-kun, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I heard you were sick so I came to visit you," he told her with a beaming grin.

"I-I'm fine," she said, blushing a bit, but it was unnoticeable since her face was already pink from her slight fever.

"Actually, I'm afraid I have some pretty bad news," Kiba said with a sigh. "Shikamaru decided on the cast for the play today. You're going to do the part of the Prince."

"Oh," Somehow, it did not come as much of a shock to Hinata. "I-I don't mind, I guess. I'm just afraid I'll mess up the role. Who is playing the other roles?" she asked. She was honestly too tired and sick to give it much thought.

"Well, Sakura is going to play Shirayuki," Kiba said. Hinata was once again, not surprised, Sakura did fit the role. "Naruto is the magic mirror," she couldn't stifle a small laugh at hearing that. "Ino is going to play the role of Shirayuki's sister and well…" Kiba began to trail off, looking a bit solemn.

"Are you playing the Dark Prince?" Hinata asked, though she already knew the answer to that.

"I wish," Kiba stated, and for some reason Hinata's heart rate sped up a few beats. "Actually… Sasuke is playing him," Kiba told her darkly. "I tried to argue with Shikamaru, but he said to take it up with Sasuke and well… you can probably guess what happened after that.

"Hm, it doesn't sound like Uchiha-san to take on a bigger role when he doesn't have to," she replied.

"That's true," Kiba laughed rather nervously, making Hinata bit suspicious. "I know I've seen your room before, but I'm still amazed at how big it is," Kiba said, quickly changing the subject. "It's really neat too," he said.

"Uchiha-san dislikes dirty things," Hinata said with a soft chuckle.

"What's it like living with that guy? I mean… won't he find out..?" Kiba asked, hinting at her real gender.

"Luckily Uchiha-san is a private person, he tends to keep to himself," she told him.

"That's true," Kiba agreed. "Though you two seem to be pretty good friends, at least, for how long you've known each other."

"I don't think that's the case," she said solemnly.

"No, it's true," Kiba said seriously. "If you see how that guy normally treats other people, you would notice it right away. He's pretty ruthless to both genders." Hinata couldn't help but recall that moment when Sasuke had knocked the bowl out of Sakura's hands.

"… It's probably because we have to live together," she explained, although she too wondered why Sasuke treated her so nicely. Undoubtedly there were moments when Sasuke would be cold towards her, but that was the extent of it.

"Well, I should probably start heading back," he said, checking his watch.

"Kiba-kun, don't forget to get something to eat before you head back," Hinata told him, escorting him to the door.

"Hey, don't worry about me. You're the one who's sick," he said with a charming grin.

They exchanged goodbyes. After Kiba left, she couldn't help thinking that if anyone was a prince, it would be Kiba. He was so incredibly kind, generous, considerate and thoughtful. Hinata couldn't help but feel she was very fortunate that Kiba wanted to be her friend.

After classes were dismissed Hinata received a few more visitors. First to stop by to check up on her was Tenten, who brought her a basket of fruit. Tenten told her that it was actually Neji who had bought the fruit, but she was simply delivering it because Neji was busy. They also had a nice laugh over the image of Neji holding a fruit basket.

Naruto stopped by shortly afterwards, coming in without warning and frightening Hinata. The blonde boy in his usual lively self, forgot to knock or say anything before he stormed in. Hinata was in the middle of reading her bonsai manual when he came in, startling her to the point of making her drop her book.

"Oops, sorry," Naruto said sheepishly.

"N-no, it's okay Naruto-kun," she said, trying to calm her thumping heart. She picked up her fallen book and placed it on her bedside table.

"I heard from the others that you were sick, and they weren't lying," he said, examining her face. "I told you, if you want to stay healthy like me, you need to eat well," Naruto lectured her.

"You're right Naruto-kun," Hinata said. "I-I didn't eat properly," she wasn't sure why she was feeling so nervous all of a sudden. Maybe it was because it was the first time she had ever been alone with Naruto without any one else around.

"You have to eat the whole ramen bowl next time," he said. She nodded. "Good."

"Naruto-kun, how was school?" she asked.

"Boring," Naruto replied. "But Kiba and Sasuke got into this huge argument over the roles. Oh yeah, did anyone tell you about that? Shikamaru picked the roles today," he said excitedly. "I'm going to be the mirror."

"Yeah, Kiba-kun stopped by at lunch and he told me about the roles…"

"Oh, yeah you're really unlucky Hikaru," Naruto laughed, making Hinata a bit depressed. "To be stuck as the prince. But hey, at least you get along with Sasuke. I think if it was any other guy, there would be a lot of issues."

"Naruto-kun, why do you think…" she wanted to ask him why Sasuke treated her so nicely while he mistreated others, but thought it was too inappropriate and also quite self-centered to ask. "Nevermind."

"You know, if you got something that's bothering you, you can always tell me," Naruto said, his voice suddenly becoming serious. "There's no use in carrying all that baggage on your own. You can rely on me because I'm strong," his usual boyish grin returning to his face.

For a moment Hinata just remained silent as she digested his words. There were so many things on her chest, but she couldn't possibly burden Naruto with her ridiculous worries. But, still, she appreciated his offer more than he could possibly ever know.

"Thanks, Naruto-kun," she said with a grateful smile.

After Naruto had left, Hinata decided to do some light reading while she waited for Sasuke. Thanks to the fruits Tenten had brought over, she felt a bit better after eating something with actual nutritional substance. She began reading and couldn't help reciting the poems out loud for herself. *(check A/N for poem title and where it comes from)

She began to read theatrically to herself:
"In a nap at midday I met my beloved, then did I begin to believe-"

But Hinata was cut off by the room's door sliding open, revealing a highly amused Sasuke. He leaned against the doorway with a bit of a smirk on his mouth.

"Then did I begin to believe in the things we call dreams," he finished for her.

She gaped at him, wide-eyed. She wasn't sure whether she was more horrified that he had caught her acting so ridiculous or whether she was more shocked that he knew the poem himself. All this mixed with the incredible embarrassment that only yesterday she had taken a nap and she did have a dream where she had met with Sasuke. Of course, she said quickly shoving the thought out of her head, Sasuke was certainly not her beloved.

Sasuke as if testing her began to cite another poem from the same book. "Should I have the chance to see you again," he paused, giving her a challenging look, daring her to finish it for him.

"I would comb the four seas- diving deep as the sea tangle." Hinata flushed, embarrassed that she replied, but the words escaped from her mouth like the air she exhaled. She always did have a soft spot for poetry.

"Good job," he remarked, placing some notebooks onto her desk for her. "Here are the notes." But, what caught Hinata's interest was a black plastic bag that he was carrying that he also put down. "This is for you," he said, giving her a very serious look. "Don't open it until I leave," he warned.

"Okay…" she said staring curiously at the bag as well as at Sasuke. A gift? His facial expression didn't betray him in the least as to revealing what it was exactly. Why didn't he want her to open it before he left? Maybe he was embarrassed, she thought to herself, but silently laughed at how ridiculous the idea was.

She watched as Sasuke went to gather a few things before he headed out the door. He muttered something inaudible but she was sure he said "Bye." When he left she walked over to the mysterious black bag, regarding it with keen interest she pulled the opening apart and was astonished to see that inside was a small container of vegetable soup. She was sick and he had made it for her. Stunned, she quickly rushed out of the room, sliding the door in a hurry to catch sight of her unexpectedly kind roommate. But the hallway was empty, he had already disappeared. She lingered at the doorway for a few moments, watching the turn of the corridor as if he would suddenly appear again. A foreign emotion seized her heart, and it was almost so suffocating that she could not move from her spot. When it stopped, Hinata wondered what it was that she felt. She was... happy.

Upon returning to her room again, she picked up the container of soup. It was the same kind of vegetable soup they had made in cooking class. She smiled to herself. When she was better, she had to remember to start making him the cookies she promised him.

Factoring in the schoolwork she had to make up, she wouldn't be free till the weekend… But, wasn't the weekend Valentine's Day? Hinata quickly glanced at the calendar by her desk, she silently groaned, it was. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to give him baked goods on a day when girls everywhere were clamoring to give gifts to the boys they liked? Hinata sighed; she was stuck in another awkward situation. It seems that fate enjoyed producing these romantic misunderstandings between Sasuke and her, Hinata thought bitterly.

Hinata took a seat at her desk, fishing out the spoon that was included and she tasted the soup, pleasantly surprised by how delicious it was. She smiled to herself; she knew Sasuke would be good at cooking if he simply tried. Her stomach was immediately warmed by the soup. Hinata couldn't help but think that perhaps was what "thawing" felt like. Even though her body burned with a fever, she didn't realize just how cold her insides were until she felt the hot liquid melting inside of her.

As she sipped on the savory soup, she couldn't help thinking how silly she was for thinking she actually wanted to go home last night. No matter how frightening and stressful it was to attend school, she would never trade up her time there to go back to her lonely world. She had friends here, people that cared about her and people she cared about. She had so much to learn about the world. She didn't want to be lonely anymore, even if it meant she had to sacrifice her own safety and comfort.

After finishing her soup, she placed the container back in the bag. Feeling full and having regained her spirits, Hinata decided that she wanted to take a short stroll to get some fresh air and to see the beautiful twilight scenery. She grabbed a warm jacket and headed out the door.

The sun had just begun set and the sky was an icy blue color. Half the sky was covered with a plethora of smoky white clouds that looked like unravelled cotton. Hinata took a deep breath, savoring the cool and crisp air that helped to clear her head. She decided to walk past the school building since she had yet to explore very much of the school. Hinata passed by the girls' dormitory curiously. She wondered if the insides were the same as the boys'.

When she turned the corner past the dormitory, she froze in her steps upon seeing the flash of red hair that she had all become too familiar with, an even more startling color amongst the backdrop of the setting sun. He was walking down from the top of the hill perpendicular to her. Frightened that he would see her, Hinata snuck behind a tree. But he didn't notice her, or at least, he made no show of it for he continued on the path without distraction.

There was something about the boy that both terrified her but also piqued her curiosity. His actions and looks were beyond her imagination. Hinata had not had the experience of meeting many different people, but surely, this boy was nothing like anybody could have seen before. His actions and his appearance were stranger and more wonderful than fiction and she followed him like she would some mythical creature.

After a few minutes he turned behind the cafeteria building in order to walk towards the other edge of the school grounds. She noticed that he was heading towards the gym. Although she knew of the gym, she had never gone inside before. Anko-sensei may have taught the physical education portion of the school curriculum, but she had yet to force anyone to exercise.

She was afraid that he would notice that she was following him, but not once did he look back, but he paused momentarily at the front of the gym before entering. Hinata was uncertain or not whether to follow him into the building, but she was curious to see where he was going and what he was going to do there. She also wanted to see this "training" that Naruto often talked about doing at the gym and wanted to at least take a peak inside.

She walked inside the building only to be faced with a short hallway. The boy was nowhere to be seen, but she her attention was instantly diverted by the sounds of shouting and cheering coming from one of the rooms. Curious as to what all the noise was about, Hinata peaked into the room and was thunder struck to see to see a brawl happening between Sasuke and Naruto. There were a bunch of bystanders, cheering and rooting them on, commenting on what was happening and as usual, Sasuke's female (and a few male) fans swooning on the sidelines.

The room was separated into two levels where the viewers stood on the top level (which was also were the door was) and the bottom level where the fight was. She was surprised to spot her cousin Neji also watching the match, his arms crossed, as well as Tenten and Lee. She returned her attention to the violent match that was occurring below.

Hinata stared in awe as the two boys fought. She had never understood why men preferred to fight these pointless battles before until now. There was undeniable electricity in the air as the two fought. They exchanged blows if their life depended on it, as if every second of their life was in preparation for this one fight, but it was not a struggle between something as simple as winning and losing, there was more to it than that. It was a chance for both of them to discover the limits of their own will and self-determination. There was no more hiding behind masks or made-up personas, their true natures were laid bare. When fighting, one has to completely reassess the true essence of one's own character, one has to believe in it with unwavering conviction in order to win. It was a battle of mental and well as physical strength, in order to win, one must have complete faith in themselves and what they are fighting for. Hinata realized that having a rival didn't mean they were simply competing; they were forcing each other to improve, to change and to grow.

Hinata felt a strange tingling feeling course through her body. Before she knew it, she was shaking, trembling as she discovered for the first time what "strength" really meant. To be strong wasn't simply a physical aspect, not even simply a mental one. There was a fight of spirit, the clashing of the heart and soul. Sudden inspiration hit her and she could hardly believe the thoughts that were forming in her head.

She wanted to be strong like them. She wanted to learn how to fight too. She wanted to train, she didn't want to be the same girl she used to be who always run and hide every time she was in an uncomfortable situation. She didn't want to be scared anymore. When people look at her, she wanted to be able to meet them eye to eye. Especially Sasuke, she didn't want to shrink under his gaze anymore. Her lack of strength and determination was what caused most of her problems in the first place. If she was stronger, Hinata thought, she would be free. How could she meet and laugh with her new friends if she wasn't able to show them the same honesty that they showed her? Hinata knew that this was what she wanted, no, needed to do.

She continued to watch the match, completely absorbed. There was a clear contrast in the two boys' fighting style. Sasuke's movements were quick, sharp and deadly. He struck his opponent with bursts of power, similar to lightning. However, her attention couldn't help but be drawn to Naruto. He moved like wild fire, whose movements were unpredictable and rough but were awe-inspiriting in their intensity and sheer violent force of power that seemed to overflow into the atmosphere. Hinata felt that just by watching Naruto, she had become stronger.

Naruto's usually friendly cobalt blue eyes flared with a fiery intensity that she had never seen before. He was no longer the boyish and carefree troublemaker she had come to recognize. When he was fighting, he changed. In watching him, Hinata could see finally clearly see that there was much more to Naruto than what he normally showed. For a moment, she couldn't stop staring at him, almost completely forgetting about Sasuke until their inevitable clash.

Suddenly, Hinata felt herself being tugged away from the match. Neji, who had saw her standing by the door immediately dragged her out of the room with a disapproving frown on his face.

"You shouldn't be here Hinata-sama," he said, momentarily forgetting to refer to her as "Hikaru". Luckily everyone was too absorbed in the match to pay them any attention. He looked worried, as if the fight was something someone like her should not have witnessed.

"Neji-niisan," Hinata said. She had decided, "I want to learn how to fight so I can become stronger." Although she was determined, she couldn't help but flush at the expression on Neji's face, which was a mix between disbelief and shock. He looked as if she had just told him that she wanted to run through a pit of poisonous rattlesnakes naked.

"What are you talking about?" Neji said as he tried to understand the words that just came out of her mouth. "You do not need to fight, you would simply be endangering yourself if you do."

"But, I'm endangering myself by not knowing how to protect myself," Hinata argued. Usually she didn't have the willpower to stand up to Neji, but this time she was determined.

"You'll get hurt," he said with some finality.

Tenten, overhearing the two came to the rescue. She had noticed that Neji had left and went to go look for him.

"What are you doing here?" Tenten asked with a big grin. "Did you come to see you-know-who in action?" she asked slyly.

"Stay out of this," Neji warned her.

"Hey, it's too late," Tenten said with a shrug. "Neji, don't be such a stick in the mud. If Hikaru wants to learn how to fight than you should allow it. After all, Hikaru is a boy and it would be natural if hewanted to become stronger. Besides, don't be so old-fashioned. Even girls nowadays can fight just as well as a man," she sneered.

Neji still didn't look persuaded. "This is different."

"It's not different," Tenten argued. "If you don't teach him, I'll teach him myself if I have to," Tenten said, winking at Hinata.

"You…" Neji began to argue, but then sighed after realizing that no matter what he said Tenten and Hinata were going to have their way regardless of his opinion on the matter. "Fine, but make sure Hikaru is properly trained beforeany fighting happens," he said.

"Of course, of course," Tenten said nodding her head enthusiastically.

"Come, I will take you back to your room," Neji said, gesturing for Hinata to follow him.

"I-I want to watch the rest of the match," she said sheepishly.

"In your state of health, you should be resting," he told her, his arms crossed. Hinata looked at Tenten who simply shrugged. Figuring that since Neji had allowed her to learn how to fight, she could at least do him the favor of not worrying him with her cold.

"Okay," Hinata said with a resignating sigh.

"I'll walk you back," Neji told her. He exchanged a quick nod with Tenten before leading Hinata back towards the dormitory.

"Um… Neji-niisan…?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know of a really red-haired boy with green eyes?" Hinata asked. She had forgotten to look for him thanks to seeing the fight. In a way, she thought, it was a good idea to follow him after all. If she hadn't, she would've never come across this sudden inspiration to become stronger.

Neji suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at her. "Why?" he asked with a severe expression on his face.

"No reason," Hinata immediately answered. "It's just that I've seen him around and… well…" Hinata trailed off. Actually she couldn't exactly think of a good reason as to why she wanted to ask about him. She certainly wasn't going to tell Neji about the episode at the infirmary, but Hinata felt there was no actual reasonexcept for her own curiosity.

"Did he approach you?" Neji asked, looking more worried than Hinata had expected.

"No," she didn't mean to lie, but in a sense it wasn't exactly a lie. Neither had really approached the other, they just happened to continually stumble into each other's presence (although for the most part it was of her own doing).

"Good," there was evident relief as he said it. "He is a dangerous individual. Don't get involved with him Hinata-sama." By now she had figured out that he only referred to her as "Hinata-sama" only when they were alone and he was telling her something very important.

"Who is he?"

"No one you need to concern yourself with," he said as they began walking again.

"I want to at least know who he is so I can avoid him," there was some truth in her statement, but Hinata knew that it was only an excuse to gain more information. She wondered when she had become so skillful at this kind of half-lying. Now that she lived a lie, the lies seemed to come out quite easily.

"Sabaku no Gaara," Neji finally said after a long pause. That explained why he smelled like sand, she thought. "He is the son of a corrupt politician and it seems that the son is infinitely more corrupt than the father. Involving yourself with him will only lead to misfortune for you. You are the heir Hinata-sama, if anything happens to you it affects the clan as well. Your actions also affect the future image of the clan and involving yourself with him..."

"I'll be careful," Hinata cut in quickly, not caring for the clan politics, she had the rest of her life to worry about that. Instead, she was too busy thinking that Gaara was a very fitting name for such an interesting person. It was a strange name, and she wondered what the kanji for it was.

"Good, he's dangerous," Neji repeated. She agreed that he probably was dangerous, but whether he was the villain that Neji was making him out to be, Hinata was still uncertain.


A/N: A nice Sasuhina moment for you guys. In case you guys are wondering where this fic is going with the whole fighting aspect of it, there won't be that much of a concentration in it, but I wanted to use it as a means to develop Hinata's character more. A strong Hinata will be important later on when she eventually takes over the clan. Usually I would just pass on that title to Hanabi to make things a bit simpler and keep the story more romance-centric, but since this fic is so long, I don't want to cheat Hinata out of her chance to be someone with authority and greatness in the future nor do I want her to be solely defined by her relationship with her various male companions. Even though all of you are probably reading it for the Sasuhina moments (or... other pairing moments), I still want to write a story where the readers will be interested in what Hinata, by herself, can accomplish. But don't worry, there will still be plenty of moments to look forward to. :D

*poems are by Izumi Kyoka's short story One Day in Spring. This will also not be the only time I'll reference poetry as a means of conversation between Sasuke and Hinata.


As always, please review and thanks for reading!