Before I begin this chapter, I just wanted to answer a few reviews.

In regards to Hinata staying with Sasuke, (mentioned by the anonymous reviewer, Sarah), I was not planning to have Hinata stay with Sasuke to begin with. Honestly, that would be rather awkward for them both. You will see the person she will be staying with :P

The reason why I made Hinata leave instead of Naruto was that I wanted to switch it up.

I know the story seems a bit rushed, for that I apologize. Originally, I planned to complete this story with 25 chapters. However, due to how busy I have been lately, I am trying to complete my unfinished stories at least before summer. I will complete this story by chapter 15 (maybe, it might be 20, but so far 15 for sure) before I move onto finish Abandoned Love, etc.

Side-note: I'm currently working on another SasuHina AU story and I'm looking for a good beta reader. Someone reliable and wouldn't disappear, can check for grammatical errors, awkward sentence structure and so on. If you know someone or believe you fit that description, please send me a message and we'll go from there! :)

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Hinata sat in the car, her mind in a daze. When Sasuke offered her to stay with him, she had politely rejected his offer. Staying with him would only cause more commotion, especially if Naruto discovered.

Her eyes shifted to the window of her apartment. Naruto's silhouette was walking back and forth. By his movements, it was easy to tell he was frazzled with the current situation. It has only been three hours since she left and he was the last person she wanted to see. After parting her ways with Sasuke, she called her oldest friend, Karui. They had been friends since middle school. Karui was an outspoken girl with an impulsive attitude, but that personality won her a friend when students would bully her, Karui would defend her.

Karui wouldn't allow her to go back to the apartment alone. She told her to remain in the car and she'll get her things. That was twenty minutes ago. Hinata could only imagine that Karui was giving Naruto a hard time in there.

The vibration of her phone snapped her out of her thoughts. Quickly opening her purse, she searched around until her hand found the small phone. She bit her bottom lip warily as she stared at the screen.

"Ah, hello."

Karui called me and told me everything. Are you okay?

"I'll be okay, Shikamaru. Don't worry about it." It didn't surprise her that Karui called Shikamaru knowing that the lazy man had been suspicious of Naruto since the moment he watched the way Naruto and Sakura interacted.

No. It's not alright, Hinata! This prick cheated on you. Aren't you upset? Not only that, Sakura was your friend and betrayed you. Hell, they both betrayed you.

She could his exasperated groan and flinched at his tone. It was rare for Shikamaru get mad. He often told her anger was a troublesome emotion. There was only one time he revealed his anger, at the death of his mentor. Since that incident, that side of him buried its way back into whatever dark abyss it came from.

"I am upset! I just…need time to—"

To what? Don't tell me you're thinking about going back to that guy?

"No! Shikamaru you know me better than that. I just want to calm my nerves. He really upset me…"

On the other end, Shikamaru sighed. I know how you must feel, Hinata. Just know a guy like that isn't worth your time or thoughts. It's all just so troublesome…

She couldn't help but to giggle at his lazy tone. "Everything is always troublesome to you," she paused as she looked towards the window noticing Karui was approaching with a two luggage's. "I'll call you later." She ended the call and quickly got out of the car help.

"I got it. You should have just stayed in the car," Karui huffed, snatching the bags away from Hinata.

"How was it…?"

The red-haired woman rolled her eyes as she motioned for Hinata to open the back door. "How'd you think it went? The loser was mopping around like a kicked kitten, demanding to see you. I had to stop him a few times from coming out to talk to ya'. He's really annoying. I don't how you dealt with him for so long." She tossed the black luggage's on the seat and closed the door, turning to face Hinata.

"I'm going to be honest with you and I want you to listen, okay?"

Hinata nodded, making sure not to utter one peep.

"Naruto wants forgiveness and I'm almost positive sooner or later you'll forgive him," Karui held up her hand when Hinata opened her mouth to speak. "There is a saying "once a cheater, always a cheater." In Naruto's current state, I honestly believe he wouldn't cheat anymore. However, giving him another chance is absolutely out of the question. In addition, that so-called friend of yours isn't a true friend to do something like this behind your back. From this moment on, it's time for fresh beginnings. Don't dwell on this for too long, okay?"

"Thank you, Karui."

Karui grinned. "Don't mention it. Now, let's have a girl's night, eat ice cream and dish about the latest gossip."

Hinata giggled. She and Karui may be polar opposite in personality, but the red-haired woman was her best friend and was always there for her whenever she needed her.

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Sasuke gritted his teeth, trying to ignore Kakashi's gaze. The older man had been staring at him ever since he arrived back. Not only did it make him feel uncomfortable, it irritated him beyond limitations. Unable to contain it any longer, he whipped his head in Kakashi's direction.

"Do you have something you want to say?"

Despite the mask concealing his face, Sasuke could see the way his eyes glinted as if he were smiling.

"Well, what is it?" He continued to prod.

"You had a visitor today."

Sasuke waited for him to continue, but it didn't appear Kakashi was going to speak any further. "Who was it," Sasuke asked as he rolled his eyes.

"It was a pretty young woman. Now I know why you were sneaking off so frequently. Is the reason you aren't ready to return home because of her?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. The only woman he knew in town was Hinata and she had no idea what hotel he was staying. Unless she was more intuitive than he assumed her to be. "Did this girl have bright lavender eyes?"

Kakashi's visible eyebrow furrowed. "Lavender eyes? No, this girl had green eyes. Wait. Just how many girls are you talking to?" He asked slyly.

He didn't know any girls with green eyes. Unless a former bedmate/stalker found him. "Wait a minute," Sasuke narrowed his eyes, trying to remember every face he has encountered during his time there. Then it came to him. The girl with green eyes was Sakura, Hinata's former friend/coworker and Naruto's sidepiece. What could she have wanted with him? More importantly, how did she even know where he lived?

"Did she leave anything?"

Kakashi grabbed a torn piece of paper from the nightstand. "She left this number for you. She told me to tell you as soon as you return to give her a call. It's important."

Sasuke snorted and snatched the paper. "That's all she said?"

Kakashi nodded. "So, who is she? A little girlfriend," he winked.

"Never in a million years," Sasuke mumbled and sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling out his cell phone from his pocket.

"Then who is she?"

Sasuke glared at the older man. "What are you? My wife? It doesn't matter who she is. It's none of your concern."

Kakashi remained quiet, but Sasuke knew he was internally begging to know who Sakura was to him.

As he dialed the number, he stood up and walked out to the balcony, purposely slamming the door. Kakashi could be a nosy man when he wanted. He didn't need him listening in on his conversation.

Hello?

"How did you know where I lived?" Sasuke didn't want to beat around the bush. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

I'm sorry. Who is this?

"Did you visit anyone else's hotel today? You should know who it is."

He could hear Sakura pause before inhaling a gasp.

Oh, Sasuke, it's you. I didn't recognize your voice.

"Are you going to answer my question? Or do I need to hang up?"

Sakura chuckled nervously on the other end. Naruto gave it to me. I wanted to apologize. I've caused a lot of drama between everyone.

"Why are you apologizing to me? I'm not involved. Hinata is the one that needs the apology."

She doesn't want to talk to me.

"That doesn't surprise me. I wouldn't want to talk to you either. How would you feel if the roles were reversed? Just imagine how she is feeling right now. Betrayed by someone she once called a friend and a boyfriend that she loved."

The silence lingered. He knew she was reflecting on his words. "Word of advice, think about your actions and how it would affect people before you do it. Is there anything else you needed to say?"

I…I'll give Hinata space for a while before I speak with her. Do you think she'll forgive me?"

"You've known her longer than me. What do you think? Give her some time to sort through her thoughts. I'm going to hang up now." He didn't bother waiting for a response as he ended the call.

He leaned against the door and gazed up at the stars. A part of him was happy Hinata rejected his offer. He didn't know what made him ask her in the first place, but luckily she didn't get any ideas behind his words.

Hinata was a good woman when he actually thought about it. She showed complete loyalty to Naruto. She didn't seem to have wavering gazes and she didn't flirt with men. Never in his life had he met a woman like Hinata. She was one of a kind. If he ever were to settle down, Hinata would be the perfect type he would look for in a woman.

Admittedly, he had developed a small crush on her within the past couple of weeks. The only thing he could do was repress the feelings. It was helping during the times he didn't see her, but the moment he laid eyes on her, those feelings would return. It had been a long time since he had feelings for someone, though his first crush had been during middle school on his teacher, which really didn't count.

Returning inside, he found Kakashi stretched out on his bed, watching television.

"Did you want anything to eat? I was going to order some food?" The grey haired man questioned, never removing his gaze from the screen.

Sasuke shrugged. "Sure."

Eating would definitely take his mind off today's events.

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Naruto stared at the empty left side of the walk-in closet. All of her clothes were gone. His chest felt hollow. He had no one to blame but himself. One drunken night with Sakura led to countless sinful nights spent with her.

He needed to talk with Hinata, but knew she would want her space. After she had left earlier, he promptly told Sakura to leave. What was he thinking? Sasuke always called him an idiot and that he was. Driving a perfectly good girl away was the biggest mistake he could have made.

Hinata loved his every flaw and didn't care that he wasn't the brightest person in the world. She would play video games with him, instead of complaining about his gaming ways. She was the perfect girlfriend. He had to admit that his feelings for her began to fade, but he dealt with it the worst possible way.

He cheated on her with Sakura, someone he disliked.

Sliding his fingers through his thick blonde hair, he groaned loudly in frustration. "I'm so stupid!"

The last person he expected to see was Karui. He had met her couple of times in the past, but wasn't too familiar with her like he was with Shikamaru. From what he could remember was how frightening she could be. He wasn't used to girls like her and when she came to collect Hinata things, he thought for sure Karui would beat him up. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she gave him a piece of her mind that made him feel even worse than what he already felt.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he turned his gaze to the picture frame sitting on the nightstand of him and Hinata taken six months ago. He smiled sadly and placed the picture facing down. Looking at Hinata made him feel horrible.

Unable to take it any longer, he grabbed the cordless phone and dialed Hinata's number. He had to sort things out with her.

Hello.

Naruto tensed at her voice. He wasn't expecting her to even answer. "Um, hi…how are you?" He slapped his head at his question.

How do you t-think?

"What I did was stupid and selfish. Telling you sorry probably won't mean a thing to you right now, but I truly am sorry for my actions. It was wrong of me."

Do…you love her?

Naruto's eyes widened at the question, furiously shaking his head. "No. She never meant anything to me. I just…it was a mistake. A mistake that I regret," he paused and swallowed, preparing himself for what he was going to say. "Hinata, I have to honest with you and myself. I care about you. I really do, but I don't feel the same way about you anymore. I don't want to pretend anymore."

She didn't say anything and was going to apologize once more, until he heard her speak.

Lately, I feel the same way, especially after this. Even though neither of us has officially said anything, I think it's time to go our separate ways.

"I understand. I'm sorry, princess. I really am."

I'll be by sometime this weekend to pick up the rest of my things. We'll talk in person. See you then.

"Yeah, see you."

Naruto placed the phone back down on the receiver, resting his back on the bed as he stared up at the- ceiling. "Naruto Uzumaki, you are an ass."