"What? Off limits? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sakura cried.

The guard standing by the door to the Hokage's personal study shook his head. "I apologize, Sakura-san, but Tsunade-sama has banned anyone from entering during her absence."

Naruto caught the look of disappointment on Sakura's face and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, Sakura-chan, cheer up! The old lady should be back any time soon, so-"

He was suddenly cut off as the pink-haired kunoichi grabbed him by the front of his orange shirt, her face blue with terror. "You don't understand, Naruto. I don't have time!"

Now what am I supposed to do?!

"Oniichan, oniiichan, are you okay?"

Sasuke peeled open his eyes to find a very worried-looking Hinata staring down at him. Steam and warmth enveloped him completely, his body strangely moist and…bare? Confused, the Uchiha returned his eyes back to the young Hyuuga, trying to discern as to why her hair was so wet.

Did she spill something on herself?

Realization hit him like a fat boulder.

Sitting up immediately, Sasuke looked down to realize that he was still naked with only a towel on. He again turned to Hinata, now aware that she was still naked as well, only without a towel.

Frozen, the Uchiha sat there, unable to process effectively. What the hell was God doing to him?!

Sasuke uncharacteristically flinched as Hinata moved forward to approach him, much to the Uchiha's horror. The young man in turn turned his head to the side and scooted backwards. Despite his obvious attempts to keep a reasonable distance between them, Hinata only shortened it more as she moved closer, her young face set with concern.

"Stay back!" Sasuke cried. "I mean it, don't come any closer! If you do, then I'll-!" Then I'll do what?!

"But oniichan," Hinata pouted "you're…you're bleeding."

"Huh?" Sasuke reached up to touch his nose. He felt no blood. So I'm not a pervert?

Hinata pointed out the location. "Here." It was the side of his head.

Sasuke sat there and stared off into space for a few seconds, trying to recall what had happened.

Flashback:

"Oniichan, I love you!" cried an elated Hinata.

What Sasuke dreaded most had actually happened; the girl's damn towel had come off.

Much to his embarrassment, he did something out of character, something he never thought he would be able to do.

He screamed. It wasn't the usual scream for a male, but rather something indecent, equivalent to that of a woman almost.

His parents would've been ashamed, even now in their graves.

Feeling her bare body latched onto his own, Sasuke inwardly panicked as he tried to gently remove her from him while removing himself from the tub as well. In the process, however, his one foot outside of the tub had caught a bar of soap, causing him to slip and hit his head.

The memory was somewhat vague, but it was still there. Reaching up, Sasuke touched the side of his head and look down at his crimson-dipped fingers. His turned his eyes back to the still worried-looking Hinata.

"D-Does it hurt, oniichan? You're not gonna die a-are you?"

Tipping his head back, Sasuke let out a relieved sigh.

The day I die is if I go after you when you're still like this.

After exiting the bathroom, the pair emerged clad in matching t-shirts along with a pair of shorts. Staring down at Hinata, Sasuke couldn't help but notice that her hair was still slightly damp. Drops of water slid along the tendrils of her midnight-blue hair, prompting the Uchiha to remove the towel from around his neck and place it on the top of her head.

She angled her head to look up at him with a questioning gaze.

"You need to dry your hair properly or else you'll catch a cold," he muttered.

Hinata beamed in response to this, allowing Sasuke the privilege to witness another one of her earth-shatteringly adorable smiles. "Okay! Like this, oniichan?"

Cracking a barely noticeable smile, Sasuke took the towel from her clumsy and awkward hands, drying her hair for her with a gentleness he currently wasn't aware of at that moment. A somewhat restrained and small chuckle escaped the Uchiha's thin lips. "Stupid, you do it like this."

Once she turns back to normal, she'll probably forget about everything. She'll probably forget that she even liked me too. It was quite depressing when he thought about it, but Sasuke pushed aside his selfish thoughts. God, I'm stupid.

Unknown to the Uchiha, however, a blushing Hinata was gazing up at him from beneath her damp and tangled bangs.

Hanabi leaned against the post of the veranda, watching as her older cousin demolished the huge boulder sitting in the training grounds of the Hyuuga compound. Pebbles flew in all directions, while one landed daintily beside Hanabi's bare feet. She picked the pebble up and examined it at eye level. Unbelievably pissed off? Check.

"Nii-san, are you alright?" the younger of the two asked. She flipped back her shoulder-length hair casually, fanning herself while she spoke. Despite it being evening, the heat wave still hadn't cooled down. "You haven't been yourself lately."

"What are you talking about?" Neji managed through gritted teeth. A small beetle crawled in front of him, prompting the young man to stomp on it without hesitation. "I'm fine."

You're obviously not! Hanabi could only stare in disbelief at what her cousin had just done. Neji had never been one to stomp on anything that was alive, aside from something unavoidable as grass that is. He wasn't naturally cruel; it was usually unintentional on his part. There was definitely something that was bothering her cousin.

"Is it nee-chan?" It was obvious as to who it was. "Are you that worried about her?"

"Of…course I am!" he grunted as he shattered the few remaining rocks within range, using only his bare palm. Breathless, the Hyuuga wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his bruised hand. "For all I know, she could be-" he stopped himself before he could say anymore, choosing instead to turn around. "Excuse me, I just remembered something that I have to do."

With a single leap, the prodigy disappeared into the darkness of the trees, leaving behind a trail of leaves.

Shrugging, Hanabi decided to head back into the compound. Neji was definitely way too overprotective, and she was somewhat thankful that he didn't react that way towards her.

But…

Jeez, nee-chan's already a woman, it's not like she's some little girl who can't handle herself. Frowning, Hanabi couldn't help but be a bit upset with her older cousin.

"Nii-san, you idiot…" she pouted.

"It feels good, oniichan." Hinata tilted her head back to look up at Sasuke. The Uchiha looked down at her in return, careful as he ran his black comb through her dark hair.

"What, you mean this?"

She nodded.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a brief second, feeling a somewhat dizzy spell pass over him. "Then enjoy it while you can because I'm almost done."

"Okay," she yawned, sleepily into her hand.

Sasuke noticed this. Ah, she's sleepy too.

A few minutes passed by. After combing her hair to the side, the Uchiha ushered for her to stand up, but she made no movement in doing so. It was only when she fell against him without reservation that he realized she had already fallen asleep.

With her eyes closed, the little girl breathed quietly in her sleep, long lashes fanned against her white skin. Effortlessly, Sasuke lifted her up, causing Hinata to automatically clutch onto the front of his shirt with her small fists. Innocently, she snuggled herself closer against the warmth of Sasuke's body, causing the Uchiha to again panic at her frequent intimacy. It was something he wasn't very used to, and Hinata only made the experience even worse.

How can she be so defenseless?

Silent, Sasuke carried her into his bedroom, setting her down on his bed. After pulling the thin covers over her, the Uchiha was on his way out when Hinata's small hand suddenly reached out to grab a hold of his fingers.

"Oniichan…don't…don't go," she mumbled, half-asleep. "Stay with…me…" her grip on him relaxed, allowing Sasuke the chance to free himself from her. He stared down at the little girl, unsure of how or what to feel regarding her misleading words.

She thinks of me as a brother though… the thought was depressing, which caused Sasuke to cut it from his mind completely.

Babysitting had taken its toll on him. With his body aching from lack of exercise, the Uchiha decided to do something he never thought he'd do. Climbing onto the bed from the other side, Sasuke pulled the covers over himself as well, relishing the softness of his bed. Sleeping on the couch had done his back some damage.

Its fine, he told himself. She's a kid inside and out anyways, so sharing a bed with her shouldn't be that big of a deal.

These comforting thoughts helped Sasuke somewhat, and with those thoughts in mind, the Uchiha fell into a deep and peaceful sleep beside the sweet little girl.