I didn't lie! I'm trying to keep the mojo flowing so I can keep this story going for you guys. Thank you so much for the feedback. It warms my heart to know that there are still people out there that are still interested in my story even after so long. And also that there are people who are just starting the story and enjoy it too.

But there are a few Guest Reviews, I'm not sure if they are the same person or what but what they wrote isn't very nice. And although I do not mind criticism, these reviews were written with malice and were just plain rude. If you do not like my writing, that's okay, I understand. No hard feelings. But that does not mean you should go bashing a person or their characters is such a manner. It is simply low class and not needed in a place like this, where people should feel comfortable writing and expressing their creativity.

Thank you

ENJOY!

Hinata held herself back from punching Kori in the face when he had ordered her to go home after the tournament was over because he was exhausted, like she was his little lap dog. But instead she decided to look on the bright side that she wouldn't have to be in his presents any longer and could go back to the hotel to rest and more importantly, check up on Sasuke.

His battle had been the most intense one of the night and Hinata had a sneaky suspicion that Kori had matched the two of them like that on purpose. She just hoped that Sasuke was well enough that he could continue with the tournament the next day. Kori had announced that six people would be moving on to the semi-finals based on the fighting that he had seen that day.

Sasuke had obviously made the cut along with that Grim Reaper opponent of his.

When Hinata entered their room she saw that the lights were out, meaning that there was a strong chance that Sasuke had already fallen asleep. She tried her best to be quiet but before she could even take the first step Sasuke's voice made her jump.

"Bout time you showed up."

"Sorry. I wanted to leave a long time ago but had to stay because of Kori."

"Hn."

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

Hinata wasn't so sure. Sasuke may be tough but that didn't mean he was immortal, so just to make sure, she turned the lights on to see how he was.

Sasuke was lying on the bed with only his pants on. Hinata might have blushed if she hadn't noticed the various scratches and bruises across his torso.

"You're hurt."

"Minor stuff." Sasuke retorted. "I'll be fine."

But Hinata wasn't listening. Instead she ran for her bags and grabbed a small bag and then into the bathroom before coming to sit on the edge of Sasuke's bed. "At least let me clean them up so they don't get infected." Sasuke didn't say anything but sat up on the edge of the bed anyways. Hinata used the wet wash cloth to wash away some of the blood and dirt.

Luckily, Sasuke was right and everything was pretty superficial, so all she needed was to put some of her healing ointment on the scratches and Sasuke would be fine.

"Now this might sting a bit." She warned before she scooped up a small amount of the ointment and gently placed it on the largest of wounds, a gash across Sasuke's back. He didn't even flinch as she slowly rubbed it in.

If Hinata was being honest she probably didn't need to be so meticulous in rubbing the ointment in but she got caught up in the sensuality of their position.

Here they were, on a bed together, Sasuke shirtless, and her in a kimono that revealed more than it hid. It also gave Hinata an intimate view of Sasuke's back with its definition and the contours of his muscles. She was getting a treat that she wasn't sure any other woman has been given before. Hinata could feel the blush rising in her cheeks and quickly moved on to the other cuts on his back.

Once she was done with his back she had to change positions to work on his chest. Now she was kneeling in front of Sasuke but he wasn't looking at her, instead he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

"You did good out there today." Hinata finally broke the silence.

"What are you talking about?"

"The fight." She explained. "I'm happy you didn't go all out of that guy. We don't want to show all our cards to early."

Sasuke scoffed. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

Hinata stopped what she was doing and looked up at her new partner. "What's the matter? You have been weird since I walked in."

It took a minute but finally it seemed that Sasuke was ready to open up just a little. He kept his head turned, not looking at her. "I may not have gone all out in our fight but he got the better of me. I should have beaten him easily."

Hinata couldn't help but smile. "Is that really what's bothering you?" Sasuke finally turned to look her in the eyes. "It was just a simple sparring match. Nothing to get upset about. Everyone has their bad days. No one expects you to be perfect all the time Sasuke. Whether you like it or not, your human like that rest of us." Hinata reached over for some more ointment when her kimono slipped down her shoulder, revealing the bruise once again and also reminding Sasuke.

Hinata placed her hand on Sasuke's chest to continue but he grabbed her wrist before she could do anything else. "Now its your turn. Explain yourself."

Hinata looked at him in confusion until she saw where his gaze landed. A blush rose in her cheeks. "I-It's nothing, really."

"What did he do to you?"

"He didn't do anything. I was worried about him throwing me away so I tried enticing him with something that he wouldn't refuse."

"Your body." Sasuke didn't pose it as a question but Hinata nodded anyways. He simply scoffed and threw her hand away from him.

"We only made out a little bit. Its not like I let him go all the way." Hinata didn't know what she was defending herself. It really wasn't his concern on who she kissed or slept with for that matter.

Sasuke didn't respond.

"What's your problem?" Hinata stood up, her hands on her hips. "Its not like I enjoy making out with these psycopaths!"

"Then why do it?"

"Because that was what I was trained to do."

"You were also trained to be a shinobi, someone that could kill with her bare hands." Now Sasuke was standing up too. Staring her straight in the eyes and she stared straight back.

"You think its so easy don't you." She retorted. "You don't understand."

"Try me." He challenged.

"You probably don't remember much from our childhood and what you do remember probably has nothing to do with me. I worked my ass off trying to do everything that my father wanted, trying to make him proud, along with trying to get Naruto to notice me. Of course, no matter how hard I tried, not matter how hard I worked on myself, no matter the blood and sweat I shed, no one noticed me!"

Hinata was saying more than she wanted to. Things that she never told a soul about before, but now that she started she couldn't seem to stop. "It was like I was invisible, always overshadowed by somebody better; my father with Hanabi and Naruto with Sakura. I was a nobody. But thanks to Keiko-sensei and her training, I can do something that helps. Even if I never live up to my father's standards or have Naruto love me like I once loved him, at least I have my skills. At least I know that when all else fails, I can be confident in myself and my abilities, not just as a shinobi but as a woman."

Once Hinata had finished opening herself up, the two of them stood their staring at each other, waiting for the other to make a move.

Soon Hinata couldn't take the silence. "Whatever, just forget it." She tucked her hair behind her ear. Unable to look Sasuke in the face. "Forget I said anything." Now she was feeling ashamed. She had opened up to a guy she barely even knew and not just any guy, the infamous Sasuke Uchiha. She began walking to the bathroom, ready to get out of the kimono and into something more comfortable.

"You're wrong." Hinata stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. Sasuke didn't turn to look at her, instead staring at the ground. "You never noticed because you were too busy with Naruto but I noticed you. I noticed how you would spend hours in the training field, punching the log until your knuckles bled. And although I left Konoha, I knew that you were constantly training yourself to be better, all so you could walk by that dobe's side. So you could walk hand in hand with him." Hinata's eyes went wide. How did Sasuke know all this? Its like he knew her deepest feelings since she was a child.

Finally Sasuke turned to look at her. "Just because the dobe and your father didn't notice you does not mean no one else did." And with that Sasuke grabbed his shirt and shoes and headed for the door. "I'm going for a walk." And then he shut the door, leaving Hinata standing there in shock.

There was barely anyone on the streets leaving Sasuke alone with his thoughts.

He had no idea why he said those things to Hinata. It wasn't like he was trying to make her feel better. Why should he care about her insecurities? Sure she was the only girl that didn't fawn over him like a love sick puppy, which made her stand out in class, but that didn't mean he had to tell her that. And she was right, why should he care so much about what she did with other guys? She had said that she had only made out with Kori but that alone had made his blood boil, he was just thankful that she hadn't actually slept with the guy.

Someone as idiotic as Kori wasn't worthy of being with someone like Hinata. She was a girl that had real quality. Sure she was beautiful, anyone could see that, but it was more than that. He knew since they were kids that she had a kind heart. He could always tell by the way she would hold back from hurting others in class, even if that was what she was supposed to do.

Just look at who her first love was. Everyone else in class, and in the entire village, saw Naruto as a loser and a monster, but Hinata saw past that, she saw the power and the determination. Qualities that even Sasuke would eventually see in his old teammate. She had the all-seeing eyes of the bykugan but even her kekkei genkai couldn't see what her normal eyes could see and that was a person's true self.

Sasuke groaned as he ran his hand threw his hair. There he was again, giving the Hyuga compliments when he had no real reason to. But part of him secretly hoped that Hinata's skill for seeing the best in people could somehow allow her to see the better qualities in himself.

Maybe, hopefully, she could see him not just as Sasuke the prodigy of their academy, Sasuke the last Uchiha, Sasuke the ex missing nin, she could see him how no one else saw him, simply Sasuke.

Sasuke shook his head vigorously. He needed to keep his mind focus on their goal, this mission may have not started out as his but now he was invested. He wanted to see Kori taken down and if he personally got to ram his sword through Kori's throat before he landed another hand on Hinata, then all the better.

While Sasuke was trying to clear his head, his partner was walking nervously around their hotel room.

"I'm not sure what I should do." Hinata said for the third time in a row. "Part of me wants to follow him and part of me knows that's a bad idea and I should just give him some space."

"If you want I can go follow him." Daisake asked once again while sitting on the windowsill. He wasn't very interested in Hinata's problems but she had summoned him so he was patiently waiting for her orders.

"No, no," Hinata shook her head. "Sasuke would know that he was being followed. I summoned you so you could go keep an eye on Kori once again. Do you think you can do that?"

Daisake stood up on all four paws and stretched. "Of course I can. That man does not try to keep his presence hidden." And without another word, the cat jumped out the window.

But Hinata barely noticed. She continued to pace. She was still trying to process what Sasuke had said.

Had he really notice all her hard work when they were kids? She couldn't figure out how he could have, they barely even crossed paths and when they did they had never spoken. But maybe he was right, maybe she was so focused on getting Naruto's attention that she never really paid attention to the other people around her.

Hinata threw her head back and groaned. "How could I be so oblivious? I'm just as bad as Naruto."

But then a new thought came into her head. Did that mean that Sasuke had feelings for her back when they were in school? But as soon as that thought came into her head she quickly pushed it aside and laughed. "There is no way someone like Sasuke would have ever had any interest in me when we were kids." After all, this is Sasuke Uchiha, we are talking about. The man could have had any girl at the academy. Girls literally threw themselves at him.

No literally. Hinata remembered Ino and Sakura jumping at him when they were younger. That image made Hinata giggled and allowed her to finally relax enough to go to bed. She could think about Sasuke and everything else tomorrow.

There we go, another chapter done and ready to go. Hope you liked it.

Please let me know what you thought. Its those reviews that help keep me motivated.

xoxoWendbria