Advice and Truth?

Hanabi was sitting comfortably in her sisters living room, happily humming as she ate pocky sticks and osenbei on the couch. If there was one good thing about her sister moving out of the Main house it was that Hanabi got to visit and stay over from time to time. It was such a relief to be able to escape from the mansion and the suffocating atmosphere of perfection and cleanliness. At her sisters apartment she could toss her shoes off, get crumbs all over the furniture and have a home cooked meal that wasn't served like it was plated at a five star luxury restaurant.

She didn't mean to sound like a spoiled brat because she loved and appreciated all the luxuries and riches her family has but it was so refreshing to take a breather once in a while...when her sister had officially moved out two years ago she realized the warmth and simplicity she brought to their home and how it was gone the minute she left.

Hanabi didn't complain about it though... if her sister found out how much she missed her or if she constantly came over she would be intruding on the independence she had gained when she moved out.

"Is Nee-chan ever coming home?" she said checking her phone. I was almost four and she had called Hinata around one when she decided to skip afternoon classes from school, feeling too frustrated with her father to try and pay attention in class. "Well...whatever" she said happily to herself as she flipped through a high fashion magazine, circling all the outfits she liked with a red marker so that Miss. Nina can put together something similar like it for her closet.

Suddenly she heard the door open and looked up to see Hinata come in, leaning on the door frame as she closed it. "Onee-chan welcome back" she said getting up to greet her, but stopped when she noticed her sisters heavy breathing. Looking at her closer she noticed that her face looked hot and red as if she had been running...

"Nee-chan what's wrong? Hanabi asked worriedly "What happened to you?" she looked at her elder sister worried that something dreadful had happened to her.

Hinata looked up at Hanabi shocked, as if just realizing she was there "H-Hanabi, I...sorry, no nothings wrongs I just had to run to catch the train" she said moving inside and taking off her coat

"Why would you need to run to catch a train? It's not like you had to come home quickly" Hanabi said following her as she walked towards her bedroom. She knew her sister was hiding something from her. She was very easy to read and her stiff, tight limbed movements told Hanabi that something was very wrong

Hanabi grabbed her arm and forced her to turn around. Her sister gave her a tremulous smile trying gain her composure and reassure her. "I-I'm fine. I promise...I just need to take a bath...um give me a minute" Hinata said feeling so humiliated that she couldn't meet her eyes

"But your hairs all wet" she said touching her sisters cold and stiff dark head

"R-Right, if I don't warm up I'll catch a cold" Hinata said quickly freeing herself and running to her room locking the door. Once alone Hinata hugged herself against the cold, her face pale.

"Oh crap... I'm embarrassed." she thought her legs trembling as she tried to collect herself. "I thought we were only going to have sex but I ended up seeing his roommate and of all people it's Naruto-kun!" Her legs gave out and she slowly slid to the floor on her knees "I can't believe he saw me naked" remembering the look in his cerulean blue eyes when he opened the door.

"I'm such an idiot. I knew that he lived with someone but I went over anyway...I should have been more careful. I was the one who said we couldn't meet each others friends and now...

Hinata covered her face with her hands sobbing lightly "I feel so ashamed I could die".

"Eh! No way! Y-You mean the girl that you've been sleeping with is Hinata!? Naruto yelled in shock

Sasuke just glared at him "Will you shut up you idiot, your always so loud" clenching his teeth against his irritation towards the ramen loving freak. They were sitting across each other in the kitchen on the small table where they ate most of their meals. After Hinata left Sasuke had confronted Naruto and told him to tell him exactly what happened. He swears he almost face-palmed when Naruto told him he just opened the bath assuming it was him...well he could see why he would think that but why the hell would he try to walk in on him in the bath without knocking first!?

"Calm down, don't get mad, your an adult now...think of the apartment, you can't let the place get trashed just because you want to beat the shit out of Naruto" he thought of Hinata lying unconscious on the floor with Naruto on top of her and clenched his fist "No matter how much he deserves it"

"Man what the hell were you thinking Sasuke? Hooking up with Hinata like that, what's wrong with you? Do you realize who she is, who her father is?" Naruto said looking at him

"Yeah I know. So what?" Sasuke said reaching for his cold plate of takoyaki he had forgotten about.

"Oh and the thought of I'm literally nailing the bosses daughter didn't cross your mind?"

"No. Why should I care?" Sasuke said with indifference

True he didn't find out who her family was until a week ago but he wasn't about to let Naruto know that...

"Weren't you the one who said you wanted to focus on your career? What if her father finds out and you get fired for it? He'll fire you for the dumbest thing and it will follow you where ever you go. You'll end up in a dead end job with no chance for promotion! The most you could hope to "achieve" is to marry some old cougar with tons of cash" Naruto said baffled that he didn't see the seriousness of the situation.

Sasuke scowled, giving him his signature are-you-an-idiot-look used mostly for him "Your over thinking it Naruto. Besides we're both consenting adults and I'm sure someone as rich and powerful as her father would either threaten her inheritance or pay me off not to see her anymore"

"Hinata isn't the type of person to be swayed by money" Naruto said

Sasuke silently agreed with him. Despite her family being very, very rich she lived and worked like a normal person. She doesn't care about brand names or expensive items. She's the type to care more about others than herself and lives a practical life instead of lavishing in her family's money. But his eyebrows knotted in annoyance at the fact that Naruto who had only spent a little time with Hinata could already tell this much about her.

"And would you really stop seeing her if her dad paid you?" he asked looking at him skeptically

Sasuke snorted, amused despite his mood "No..." the day he let himself be bought off was the day he let Sai do a nude portrait of him, a request he's turned down more times than he'd like to think about

"Well it's good to know your not cheap but more importantly was it really ok to let Hinata leave like that Sasuke? She kinda looked like prajna* when she came out of your room" Naruto said shuddering at the memory of Hinata passing him on her way out.

Sasuke rested his chin into his palm and sighed "I don't know...it's better to let her calm down first before I talk to her again"

"Yeah when a woman is mad it's better to let her vent her anger and frustration on someone else" Naruto said thinking of all the times Sakura had sent him flying when ever he rubbed her the wrong way

Sasuke nodded but then he looked at Naruto sourly, his thoughts returning to another pressing issue

"Hey...so you really didn't see anything?" Sasuke asked narrowing his eyes at him

"I told you I didn't. I closed my eyes when she screamed and there was too much steam ya know" Naruto said defending himself

Sasuke narrowed his eyes "Really?"

"Yeah, get off my back already will ya?" Naruto said not meeting his eye as he poured himself some barley tea..

"Damn it. Why the hell is Sasuke so popular anyway?" he thought sullenly "He could practically have any women he wants and he had to pick the cute heiress of the Hyuga clan...and to think I thought I had a shot with her" he sighed..."But I'm seriously lucky" Naruto thought trying to ignore Sasuke's scrutiny. "Even though it was just a moment I can't believe I saw them all wet and bare and man they were bigger than I thought"

"Of all the breast I've seen those were definitely No. 1- the best of the bounciest. Not just in size but in shape too, so nice and soft-Ahhh!" Naruto cried as Sasuke punched him with all his might not realizing he had spoken out loud

"So you did see!"

Hinata stepped out of her bedroom just having finished taking another bath to see her little sister doing some self-study in her living room. When Hanabi looked up to see her she quickly scrambled up to her

"Nee-chan are you all right?"

Hinata gave her one of her best smiles hoping it was enough to convince her "I'm fine, sorry for making you worry"

"You didn't look fine when you came in, what happened?"

Hinata inhaled deeply as she sat the couch wiping some crumbs off "Nothing, I was just overreacting to something that happened but I'm ok now"

Hanabi sat down next to her moving all her garbage out of the way "You looked liked you saw a ghost when you came in"

"Was I really that bad?" Hinata thought feeling embarrassed but then became expressionless "I'm just fine. Now can we please just drop it and talk about something else?"

Hanabi bit her lip to keep her mouth shut...she didn't want to drop it, she couldn't after seeing her sister that way. But she knew Hinata wouldn't tell her unless she wanted her to know and it was clear that she didn't.

Hanabi knew she had to respect her sisters wishes. It wouldn't be a good idea to upset her when she was trying to convince her to speak to their father and let her move in..

"Ok. What's for dinner?" she asked smiling trying to brighten the mood

Hinata smiled back "Hm? How about stew?" she said getting up and heading towards the kitchen

"No make curry instead" Hanabi said closely on her heels and playfully slumping over her shoulders

"Ok, ok" she said her eyes delicate as she looked at her sisters lovely face, grateful.

Half an hour later they were sitting down to eat their curry. Hanabi had tried to help but there wasn't much she could do anyway and since she never handled a knife a day in her life her sister quickly lost patience with her.

"Mmmmm" Hanabi cried happily "Nee-chans food is always the best" eating her curry happily

"It's nothing special, especially compared to the chef at home...how is Tsumire-sama doing?"

"Eh, he's the same as usual his cooking is as delicious and extravagant as ever but I like your cooking better"

Hinata thanked her for the compliment "So...tell me about Kieo University is there a something particular you want to study in or a certain professor that teaches there?" she asked

"Not really" Hanabi said shrugging her shoulders "I just knew it was a good school so I thought it would meet Father's standards but I never imagined he would make such a big deal about a co-ed school"

"I know that Seion is also a good school. There are other ways to meet guys you know, like at mixers and circles are open to all people as long as their schools are close enough" Hinata said

"...I know all that but I still don't wanna go to Seion" Hanabi said quietly, her head down and playing with her food

Hinata's eyebrows knitted, confused "Why? Why is going to Keio so important to you?"

"Be...because this is probably the first time that I get to decide what I want to do now that I'm eighteen. I want what you have... the freedom to have control over my life and develop my independence. I know I'll probably end up working for our company but I want it to be my choice! I want to go to Keio to see if there's anything else I might wanna do"

Hinata didn't know what to say...she felt proud of her little sister for wanting to establish herself outside of the family but at the same time a little nervous that she wouldn't like the world without all the leisure and privilege they've grown up around.

"Hanabi why don't you tell this to Father, I'm sure he'll understand if you tell him like that"

"You know he wont understand, the only reason you were allowed to do as you please is because you were a success but I'm not like you Nee-chan. I can't dance and no matter how many academic awards I get Father doesn't see it as a validation to let me live on my own, please talk to him nee-chan please" she begged

Hinata sighed not sure that she would be able to convince him but knew she had to at least try for Hanabi's sake "Ok fine I'll talk to him"

"Really? You will, Yay!" she said getting up and hugging her

"Yes but on one condition"

"Anything" Hanabi said eyes full of sparkles

"If I can't convince Father to let you go to Keio, you have to tell him why you want to go yourself"

"Ok" Hanabi said with reassurance "So when are you going to talk to dad?"

"Tomorrow...he called me this morning and told me he had something to discuss with me and to meet him at his office" Hinata said

"Sounds ominous" Hanabi said worried "Don't bring up Keio until you know he's in a good mood"

The next day Hinata went to her Father's office in downtown, wearing a beautiful and expensive suit to please him. She knew he wouldn't approve of the everyday clothes she preferred to wear so instead she wore one of the many gifts he would send her in big satin white boxes with violet ribbons and a bouquet of flowers that was delivered to her doorstep every month or so...

When the elevator reached the eighteenth floor she was warmly greeted by the secretary at the front desk before she walked down the hall to her Father's office where he sat waiting for her behind his desk. He looked at her in a odd way as if it had been two years instead of two weeks since the last time he had seen her.

"Hello Father" she said her skin fresh and rosy from the chilled air outside

"...Hinata" Hiashi said nodding "You look well"

"Y-Yes, thank you" she said her radiance fading a little from her nervousness of his cold and business-like way of talking and the way he stared at her...

Hiashi though very laconic in his expression, was really glad to see her. He was pleased that she had worn blue for she looked very lovely in blue. It highlighted her hair a beautiful dark sheen and brought roses to her fair skin instead of the usual flush of pink on her cheeks. Seeing her so beautiful like that made his heart swell with pride and admiration, maybe he was being biased but he really thought he had two of the most beautiful daughters in the world...and it worried him to death.

"This way" he said rising from his desk and moving to sit down in one of the luxurious, deep, leather chairs with Hinata closely behind and soon they were supplied with tea and little canapé's.

"F-Father" Hinata said cursing herself for stuttering. She knew she needed to be strong in order to win her fathers favor. "I wanted to talk to you about Hanabi. She told me about your objection to her attending a different school than Seion University"

Hiashi looked up from his tea "What about it?"

Hinata cleared her throat a little "Keio University is a perfectly respectable place Father and I wouldn't mind if Hanabi moved in with me"

Her Father said nothing but looked over her until she finished taking a sip from her drink "Hinata" he sighed closing his eyes

"Y-Yes?"

"I see that you haven't changed at all. You are still far too kind and give your sister too much credit" he said looking at her again. Hinata felt herself blush a little but knew she couldn't say anything

"We are a very old and noble family. Everything that we have achieved has been done through hard work and it is now our obligation to succeed to honor those who have given us so much. Since the time that you could walk you've had a rigorous upbringing in order to hone your skills...I've realized now that the lessons and studies placed upon you were too strict and to a degree that would have been difficult even for an adult and for that I apologize"

Hinata blinked in surprised "Father..."

"But.." Hiashi continued "It was through all that training that you discovered your love of dancing and with your talent you were able to make your professional debut at fifteen. You've made a name and a fortune for yourself while holding on to the values of our family legacy and for that I am very proud of you" he said with a small smile but a smile filled with happiness

Hinata felt her heart beat, unable to believe what she was seeing "Is it going to rain?*"

"However" he said getting serious again "Hanabi is not like you. Every skill that she has been put to learn she has mastered and she would do well alongside Neji as one of the heads of our corporation. Seion University is a prestigious school and is near our downtown headquarters so that she can become familiar with our company while attending classes"

"B-But Father, that's why Hanabi is upset your not letting her have any choice in the matter. I...I was very grateful to you when you allowed me to pursue dancing instead of joining our company and I don't know much about university life since I had to take online classes but let Hanabi go to her choice school Father. There she can meet different people and learn to stand on her own for the first time in her life. It will allow her to make her own mistakes and figure out what she wants to do for the company or herself" Hinata finished feeling more courageous and out of breath

"Hanabi has known what she has wanted ever since she came to understand her position in the family. To give her too much freedom now would allow her to become silly and wild like so many young girls these days"

"How can you have such little faith in her when she has always exceeded your expectations and now all she is asking for is her right to live like an adult. Father reconsider" Hinata said pleadingly

Hiashi felt his stomach flip as he looked into her kind eyes "Don't look at me like that, it's the same look your mother gives me"

"All right. I'll tell Hanabi she can take the Keio entrance exams and if she gets accepted then she will be allowed to attend only under the condition that she live with you and there will be rules placed for her and yourself Hinata" Hiashi said firmly

Hinata smiled and nodded her head "Of course"

"We'll go over specifics after her exams are over but in the mean time I'd like to discuss why I called you here today"

Hinata waited patiently, folding her hands in her lap

"You had a meeting with some lawyers from our Senju Company how did it go?" he asked

"It went well, Senju isn't having any legal issues at the currently and their working hard to maintain the buisness contracts that are under development with the the new line of alcoholic beverages their developing" she said promptly

"Good, good...and how were the lawyers?" reaching out for a canapé

Hinata flushed a blazing red as Naruto's face came into her mind "U-Um they...they were very n-nice and polite" she said quietly clenching her hands tightly

Hiashi noticed her change in mood and slightly raised an eyebrow "Is something wrong?"

Hinata's face went pale as she quickly stood up "N-No nothings wrong, um is that all Father? I don't want to take up too much of your time"

"...Yes. That will be all for now, thank you for coming in and I'll see you Sunday night for dinner" Hiashi said calmly

Hinata bowed when she was dismissed and left quickly not wanting to be under his gaze for too long

Hiashi continued to drink his tea slowly, when he finished the canapé he was eating he made his way over to his desk and dialed the call button on his office phone

"Yes Lord Hiashi?" his assistant Hoshina said on the other line

"Get me Kabuto Yakushi's number"

"Yes sir, right away"

Hiashi hung up and made his way towards the window overlooking the city. He suddenly felt very tired and could not wait to see his wife tonight...he had been gone for too long.

Three days.

.

.

.

It had now been three days since Sasuke saw Hinata and he was starting to think that he would never see her again. He tried calling her but she never picked up and he knew there was no way he could go over without getting the ok from her first.

"Can't a man admit his mistakes" he thought miserably as his call went to her voicemail again for the tenth time. He thought he did the polite thing- he called her the next day hoping she would understand that he sincerely thought they would be alone and would have never taken her to his place if he thought otherwise...

But it looked like she was still mad but he didn't know if it was the type of anger that would shimmer over in a few more days or anger that meant she never wanted to see his face again

Sasuke lay on his bed staring at the ceiling.

"I guess it's over..." he thought scowling and sulking away "I had such a good thing going too"...now he felt like a spoiled child who was denied what he wanted and scowled even more. He wanted to blame Naruto but as hard as he tried he couldn't feel any resentment towards him since he didn't really do anything wrong, well besides having a peek and trying to grope what was his... but not anymore

Sasuke was about to get up to drown these depressing thoughts with alcohol when the door to his bedroom suddenly burst open and his older brother coming in a blaze of glory

"Sasuke! I heard about your crisis from Naruto, as your older brother I'm here to cheer you on!" Itachi said suitcase in hand. He was wearing broken hole jeans, a plain black T-shirt under a dark blue plaid long sleeve shirt with a brown jacket and a pair of aviator glasses

If Sasuke was surprised by this sudden home invasion he sure didn't let it show, instead he exhaled deeply in annoyance

"Why are you here?" he asked sitting up and swinging his legs over the bed

"So mean. Can't your big brother stop by and say hi?" Itachi said smiling charmingly and removing his shades

"You didn't come here to say hi" Sasuke said nastily eyeing the suitcase in his hand

"What this?" he said innocently holding it up before moving it behind him "I just got back from a business trip from Okinawa"

Sasuke eyes narrowed, he wasn't sure if Itachi was lying or not. He did work for an Art gallery called the Akatsuki as a photographer and was always dashing off on airplanes all over Japan and sometimes even abroad but if Naruto had called him he wouldn't be surprised if he ran out of his apartment as soon as he hung up.

"What exactly did you hear?"

Itachi moved to sit next to him "Naruto told me that you've been feeling down because you got in a fight with your girlfriend and asked me to help" he said putting a hand on his shoulder "...So when did you get a girlfriend little brother?" squeezing his shoulder menacingly, a false smile fixed on his face

Sasuke winced from the pain, his patience running thin as he struggled to get out of his hold "Oi, Itachi let go!" he growled angrily getting up and walking to the living room where he found Naruto fidgeting nervously.

Sasuke grabbed the top of the blondes head, pulling on his hair "What the hell are you trying to do you idiot?" his mean glare so sharp it could cut and draw blood

"Ow! Ow, ow ow teme!" Naruto yelled as he shook Sasuke off of him, flinching in pain as some hair got pulled from his scalp "I didn't know what else to do all right! You were acting all upset about Hinata and told me not to talk to her so I asked Itachi for help instead" rubbing the top of his head

"What did I tell you about calling her my girlfriend"

"Eh? What are you talking about? I didn't say that, I just said you were having trouble with a girl not your girlfriend" Naruto said defensively not wanting to piss his roommate off more than he already was

"So her name's Hinata" said Itachi who was close behind Sasuke "What happened? Did you have an argument?"

"No" he said irritably feeling a headache coming on "Don't go having weird misunderstandings because of this guy Itachi" turning away from both of them to the fridge for some beer

Itachi nodded at Naruto who seemed to understand and headed towards the door "Sorry but my coupon for a free bowl of ramen from Ichiraku expires tomorrow so I'll be back later" putting on his coat and walking out

Sasuke scowled knowing what they were trying to do but it's not like any of it would help him. He felt betrayed not only be Naruto but by his brother too. Naruto was doing this because he felt guilty about what had happened with Hianta and maybe he thought calling Itachi was his way of helping but it was the last thing he wanted and his brother should have known that.

Itachi grabbed a beer and sat down next to Sasuke as he turned on the TV, flipping to a basketball game

"Ah when was the last time we played one on one?" he asked nostalgically

"My third year at University after I quit my part-time job" Sasuke answered quickly remembering the day very well. They were both athletically gifted and there wasn't a sport they didn't excel at. Sasuke had trained almost everyday to the point where he hated it determined one day to beat him in a match. Itachi had been out of practice for four years when he called him that day, they had played for about two hours straight until they almost collapsed-and the bastard still won!

"Oh yeah...you were really stressed that day"

"I wasn't stressed"

"You were or else you wouldn't have bothered to call me" he said taking a swig before he circled the top of the can playfully with his fingers "So... who's Hinata?"

Sasuke shot daggers at him, trying to get him to shut up but he went right on "You know I was really shocked when Naruto called me and told me you were in a fight with your girlfriend. First congratulations for no longer being single. I was starting to worry about your devil-may-care attitude with women"

"You don't honestly believe what Naruto said do you?"

"What else am I suppose to think if you don't tell me" he said smirking crookedly

Sasuke gave him an impassive look of defeat. Itachi always knew just what to say to get under his skin. He knew he would hate him thinking that he was all heartbroken and whiny over a girl and to claim that she was his girlfriend was really pushing it over the top

"You really wanna know?"

"That's why I'm here"

"It's a long story" giving his brother a chastising look, trying to delay the truth for as long as possible

"I've got time" Itachi said looking lighthearted, not one to be deterred

So Sasuke told him all about Hinata and their arrangement, he told him about how Naruto had met her and all the precautions he had made so she wouldn't figure out his connection to him and how it ended up blowing up in his face

"So she's mad at you for bringing her here and Naruto walking in on her huh..." Itachi said after Sasuke told him what happened few days ago "Well can't say I blame her for being upset but what are you gonna do now?"

"Nothing. I already tried calling her and it's obvious from her lack of response that she doesn't want to have anything to do with me" Sasuke said ignoring the weighted lump that dropped in his stomach for reasons he didn't understand

Itachi must have noticed his discomfort for he went on to say "You know Sasuke if you like this girl you shouldn't give her up without putting more of a fight"

"I told you we weren't like that. Ok yeah I liked her but not in that way, we only used each other for sex and that's it. There wasn't any emotions involved and there was no future to look forward to... it would have ended sooner or later" he said in a dry voice

"And your really ok with that?"

"Yes!" Sasuke said aggravated "What's the problem here? I knew what I was getting into and more than that it was exactly what I wanted"

Itachi just looked at him and frowned "I've never understood your hostility towards women and relationships"

Sasuke turned away from him pretending to focus on the game "I don't have any hostility towards women, mom taught me to respect and be a "gentleman" to women"

"I have never known you to be a gentleman to any girl you dated" Itachi said trying not to laugh

"I wasn't that bad...ok I admit I was an ass but I could have been a lot worse and as for relationships I don't need it" Sasuke rebutted

"Why not? Don't you want what are parents have?"

"Our parents did right by finding each other and falling in love but...it's just not for me" Sasuke said feeling uneasy "Love makes people do thankless work and in the end someone ends up loving the other more..." he thought

"Besides she's an heiress and I'm sure her family has much higher expectations for her than someone like me" Sasuke said thinly turning back to the TV

Itachi sighed as he tried to think of the special words to put into advice that would reach his ears

"All right just let me say this Sasuke...love is precious. And if you should want it someday understand that it doesn't come because you need it or with strings attached. It comes when you least expect it and it's yours when you earn it. When your in love you find out that that person will smile for you and cry for you, be sad for you, mad for you and even be angry at you. If you fight and resist it you'll never have anyone who will stay long enough" he said with a gentle smile on his face before he got up and moved to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich

"Aniki*"

Itachi turned around, eyebrows raised in surprise

"You still can't stay here."

AN: Hi I'm sorry I've been away for so long, too long. But right after I wrote that one shot for Sasuhina month (P.S. 'It's called Under The Moonlight' if you wanna check it out) I hurt my hand and wasn't able to type much on my computer but I'm all better now and have no problem using it. So what do you guys think of this chapter! I re-wrote Itachi's part over and over again because I wanted to get him to have a playful side as well as the mature self sacrificing person we know that he is and I think this version is the best one so far. I'm sorry for the lack of Sashina here but they needed time apart before they meet again. Sorry once again for the delay and please review and let me know what you think! Happy reading and see you next time.

*Prajna or the Hannya mask is a mask used representing a jealous female demon or serpent. It has two sharp bull like horns, metallic eyes and a leering mouth split from ear to ear.

*In Japan, when something unusual happens people often say this.

*Aniki is a more respectful or formal term for "older brother"