Hinata climbed up the stairs heading to her destination, which happened to be the hokage's office. Since the previous night, she found it somewhat very difficult to put on her usual smile. The only ones that noticed this behavior was Sasuke, who had ended up comforting her in his own way, and Neji, who noticed something was wrong the minute she walked through the door. Besides Team 7, Neji was the only other one who knew about the previous night's event. Hinata assumed that once someone like Ino found out about the break-up and the new couple, the news would spread like wild fire. If there was any chance that Naruto was being open about his newest relationship, which she had a great feeling he was whether he meant to or not, than it wouldn't take long for anybody to figure out that Sakura and Naruto were now together.
Hinata turned the sharp corner and began heading up another flight of stairs, as her mind stayed focused on her current thoughts. She couldn't seem to fully understand the pain she was going through. She realized that the love she once had for Naruto had diminished, and was replaced by something more like a friendly love. Despite that, she couldn't help but feel a sense of abandonment. A part of her was thrilled that Naruto and Sakura had found a true love in one another. As two of her closest friends, Hinata felt they deserved it. The other part of her was what was keeping her from adorning her usual cheerful smile. It was a strange feeling to describe. It wasn't one of jealousy like she thought it would be; instead, it was more like a jab of loneliness and pure confusion. Like a pet who was taken back to the pound to be replaced by something more beautiful and loving. Hinata felt lost and useless. She felt like she wasn't good enough, or pretty enough, or smart enough to be chosen. She wasn't anyone's first choice…even though she would've done anything to be that first choice.
A brief flashback of her being held by Sasuke while crying made her face automatically heat up. How was it that he continued to surprise her in ways she never would have imagined? She always thought he was purely independent and never accepted help when offered; he ended up letting her take care of him when he was ill. She assumed he was a completely stoic person with no sense of humor; lately, she had laughed around him more than she ever had with Naruto. She thought he would always be so closed off to everyone; he ended up opening up to her and letting her see what he was so hesitant to show everyone else. Finally, she would've never guessed he would waste his time on caring for others; last night, he was the only one to bring her the comfort she needed. Comfort…for someone who says he's never cared for anyone but himself, he comforted me in a way nobody else really could. He told me what I needed to hear, instead of what I wanted to hear. She giggled lightly, He really is different from who I thought him to be…
Hinata brought her fingers up to brush across her lips, and her face heated into a blush again. And his kiss…his lips weren't like Naruto-kun's. I love when Sasuke kisses me…he makes me feel wanted and loved. He makes me feel…like I'm…his first choice… She smiled contently and saw that she had entered the hallway. She began walking through it continuing on towards the Fifth's office. I'm pretty sure now that I do love Sasuke…but… her smile was replaced by a soft frown. I don't know if he really loves me. He's never really said it…all he's said to me was 'likewise', but that hardly comes anywhere near meaning 'I love you'. So, maybe even though he makes me feel like I'm his first choice, doesn't necessarily mean that I am his first choice. Also…I'm a little frightened. What if he really doesn't love me? What if all he wants from me is to satisfy his lust? What if he's just playing some game with me? I can never tell with him. Now that all this has happened…I don't think I can even look him in the eye. I don't know why, but…I just feel so scared that no matter what he says…he doesn't want me for love. And if I continue looking him in the eye, smiling at him, and even letting him get closer to me…I'm scared that it'll just hurt more. Hinata sighed from being so frustrated from the situation. Maybe I should stay away from him for awhile. That way, I can take the time to really figure out if he's the one I love…and maybe he'll take the time to figure out what he really feels for me. She nodded to herself in agreement and saw the office door just up ahead.
Just as she approached and it came into clearer view, she noticed that someone was already there waiting. In the dimly lit and empty hallway, the raven-haired and onyx-eyed young man leaned against the wall nearest the door with his arms crossed comfortably over his chest. His eyes were calmly closed making it look as if he were asleep, but she knew that he clearly wasn't. She stopped walking once she was a few feet away and couldn't seem to tear her gaze from him. His eyes slowly opened and turned to look back into the white eyes of the young Hyuga female. His face wore its usual impassive facial cast, but his eyes almost looked amused. So much for trying to avoid him for awhile. Hinata flushed under his gaze, and gave him a weak smile, one that caused him to furrow his brow. "Um…h-hello S-Sasuke."
"I see you've been summoned here too." He stated pushing himself off the wall standing more erect. She glanced at him quickly before turning back to the ground and nodding. The weak smile she once wore had now faded, but nonetheless he felt she was improving from last night. He examined her appearance noting that she was more drawn inward, and she would tremble for a few seconds before containing it. Her eyes weren't red and puffy, which proved she hadn't been crying, which also was a good sign that she was improving. Overall, she was withholding her emotions well, but the self-confidence she worked so hard to build up around him seemed to drop back down to square one. She was as timid and shy as she was the first time they met. Noting this, his body swelled with anger, and there was one person he would've just loved to take it out on. Sasuke made a note to himself to make a stop at the ramen stand later.
"U-Um…what are y-you here f-for?" she asked still avoiding his gaze.
"Che…that lazy sensei of mine wouldn't tell me." He replied bitterly.
"O-Oh…Kurenai-sensei wouldn't t-tell me e-either…" she paused for a moment before moving up to look at his face now that it was turned away from her. "She just said…to m-meet Tsunade-sama…at n-noon…"
"Heh. Same here." He turned and met her eyes watching her quickly look away again. He narrowed his eyes and felt more anger build up within him. He relaxed his arms by his sides even though his clenched fists contradicted the appearance. "Stop that." He hissed.
Her head shot up and she looked at him with a questioning fear. She gulped at seeing his dark eyes staring at her intensely while the rest of his face gnarled into a scowl. "S-Stop w-what?"
"That. Why are you all of a sudden so nervous around me?" he stepped closer to her watching her shrink into herself, but she didn't break the eye contact. "You stutter around me more, talk a hell of a lot quieter, and you're having trouble just looking me in the eye." He was now less than a few inches away, and could already smell the sweet scent she carried. He could feel himself almost getting enthralled in her scent, but managed to quickly compose himself since he still had more things to say. "What the hell did I do to you? Obviously, I must've done something for you to look at me like that. Don't think I can't recognize fear when I see it."
"…I…" She could feel his warm breath run over her face, and each breath that she took she inhaled more of his own scent. Why is it always so intoxicating to be around him? I can't focus clearly…I don't think I even heard half of what he was saying. "I…um…" She unconsciously focused on his lips that seemed to look so inviting at the moment. No, what am I doing? Focus, Hinata, focus! He's talking to you, not trying to kiss you! She gulped and her gaze lingered despite her internal commands.
Sasuke was about to snap at her again, but halted when he saw that her eyes no longer held fear anymore, and instead had focused on something else. She was looking at his lips, and he could easily discern that she was taking in quicker breaths. Wait a minute, what was I just talking about? Damn it, how the hell is she distracting me so easily? One minute I'm getting angry with her and telling her something…and the next it's as if it never happened. I shouldn't have gotten this close, because now I can't seem to pull away. Sasuke watched her lick her lips and bite on her bottom lip briefly. Her lips looked so lush and tempting, he almost didn't notice when he started leaning in towards her. In fact, it seemed neither of them really took notice that they were both inching towards each other, until they were only a breath away. He leaned down as she was leaning up, and their lips brushed against each other making their eyelids immediately close. Their hearts raced and beat loudly in their ears blocking out all external noise. All they could hear was the drumming of their hearts and the erotic breaths they were taking. Sasuke lifted his hand up to her cheek and gently caressed her skin while their lips continued to brush against each other without actually claiming them into a kiss. He caressed her lips with his own enjoying the soft texture. Her lips were parted just barely, as were his own. He gently nibbled on her bottom lip, and began running his tongue across it. At hearing a quiet moan come from the woman before him, he at once claimed her lips ending their innocent caressing. He moved his hand behind her neck pulling her closer to him, just as his other hand went behind her waist doing the same thing. She melted into the kiss allowing his tongue to smoothly enter her mouth. Moving her tongue against his made him shiver and want to intensify it more. As their tongues dueled with each other, Hinata slowly moved her hands up his arms caressing them gently until they made their way over his shoulders and around his neck. Her fingers combed through his hair entwining them into his black strands. Feeling her fingers massage his head, he backed her up against the wall pushing delicately against her. They broke from the kiss for air, but Sasuke immediately went down leaving a trail of kisses from her jaw-line to her collarbone. His hand that was behind her neck now rested on the wall behind her, but he kept his other hand on her waist. Sasuke moved his thumb underneath her shirt rubbing her skin, which felt so much like silk. Hinata tried regaining her breath in her dizzy state. She tried to think, but found it increasingly difficult when every time he touched her she just got more lightheaded. "Sasuke…" she breathed and gulped while licking her lips, "Do you…love me…?"
Once the words left her mouth, his body tensed and his movements stopped. Slowly, he lifted his head and met her eyes with his own. His expression was unreadable, so she tried searching his eyes for any emotion. Strangely, his eyes were as unreadable as his face. "Do I…love you…?" he mumbled making it seem like he was questioning himself more than repeating her question. She tried searching his face and eyes again, but still found no underlying emotion. There was no hint at all as to what he could possibly be feeling. Seeing this, she felt herself tremble uncertainly. The door to the office suddenly slammed open and the hokage stepped through with her hands on her hips and her eyes looking around her. The two young shinobi snapped their attention to their leader, and any other motion seemed to freeze. Tsunade looked to her left quickly and then to her right, where Sasuke and Hinata were, and almost looked away until they did catch her eye. Seeing their two faces first she sighed in relief, "Ah, there you-" she stopped and furrowed her brows at seeing the position the Hyuga and Uchiha were in. She noticed right away their shocked expressions, and then took a look at the way they were holding each other. Sasuke, with his hand on her waist and his fingers inching up into her shirt, and Hinata, with both her hands still entwined in the Avenger's hair. To put it simply, Tsunade's jaw dropped, her eyes widened, and her eyebrows rose in utter surprise.
Finally, Sasuke and Hinata broke apart from each other. Sasuke cleared his throat and stuffed his hands in his pockets while Hinata fiddled with her fingers as her face turned as red as it could get. Seeing this, Tsunade snapped out of her stupor and a knowing smirk graced her features. She crossed her arms under her chest and raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, sorry I interrupted. I'd have to say…this is quite shocking." She spoke and laughed lightly. She watched Sasuke scowl at her and Hinata look away bashfully. She chuckled again, "I'm glad to see you two are here though. Come on in, we have much to discuss." She turned towards the doorway hearing their footsteps behind her. Before she went through the doorway she glanced back at the pair, "Oh, and I'd be more careful where you decide to have your make-out sessions. Especially if you don't want to get interrupted." She winked at the two watching Hinata take on another dark shade and Sasuke darken his scowl. Tsunade changed her look to one of confusion as she settled her gaze on Sasuke. "You know, Uchiha, I thought you were gay…the way you were turning down the whole Konoha female population." Hinata let out a tiny giggle earning her a glare from the angry Avenger. "But…obviously you're not. Anyway, in my office now, lovebirds."
After Sasuke and Hinata entered her office and shut the door behind them, they noticed the Fifth already took her seat and began pouring sake into her teacup. While taking a sip from her newly poured beverage, she motioned to two seats in front of her desk for them to sit on. Hinata took up on the offer bowing in thanks before taking her seat. Sasuke, being as impolite as they come, just sat down on the chair with a slight slump and a purely bored glare on his face. Tsunade took a quick analytical glance between the two, and couldn't help but still be in awe at the newest discovery. How on earth did this happen? She pondered to herself. I don't even remember them being friends. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen them exchange glances. Now all of a sudden, they're making out in my hallway? I never knew dear little Hinata-chan had it in her. Besides all that though, these two are practically opposites in character. On my left we have the village heartthrob, who claims to be an avenger and has the worst attitude imaginable. On my right, we have the sweet, shy, and innocent Hinata Hyuga. She's one who could never have any enemies, while her boyfriend here has too many to count. She scoffed to herself before taking another sip, What a couple…
"All right, you two are my first pair of the day. I have a lot more to get through with, so don't expect this meeting to hold detailed information. All I'm giving you is the basics." She paused waiting for the typical comments that any other ninja would give, but remembering who these two were she quickly continued, "Hina-chan, how's work going? You're one my best medical ninja out there, so it's my job to make sure you're doing all right."
"Everything's fine, Tsunade-sama. Just busy, I guess."
"That's to be expected. The hospital gets full enough as it is, and after a day or so it's only going to increase."
Hinata looked at her questionably, "Why is that…Tsunade-sama?"
"Glad you asked. After all, it plays into this whole meeting. To fill you in as briefly as I can, one of our allies, the village hidden in the Rain, has had some kind of natural disaster. Apparently, due to some bad rainstorm they had, their village got badly flooded and did a good deal of damage onto their homes. A lot of people were injured. They asked us if we would be able to care for their injured while they repaired their village until it's at least livable. Come tomorrow or the next day, the hospital will be filling up with a lot of people you won't know. Hinata, this means that you will be put through a lot of work. In fact, by the time you get home every night, you'll probably only get in a few hours sleep before having to get back up again to go to work." She watched Hinata's expression for any sense of panic, but only saw a concerned worry. "So just come to work tomorrow like you normally do, and if the allies arrive by then I'll make sure I'm there to help organize and get everything settled in."
Hinata nodded with a more determined look. "I'll do my best, Tsunade-sama."
The blonde smiled gently at her with a nod of approval. All that seemed to disappear, though, when she met eyes with angry-as-ever Uchiha. "As for you, Sasuke…I have a job lined up for you."
"A job? Don't you mean a mission?" he asked as emotionlessly as possible.
"No, but if you like to think of it as a mission you're welcome to. More specifically, it'd be a permanent mission."
At this, he narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"You see, I didn't call the both of you in here for nothing. Uchiha, you'll be working at the hospital starting tomorrow."
"Does it look like I have any medical knowledge whatsoever?" he retorted angrily.
"No, it doesn't. In fact, you seem to do more damage than you do good. Nonetheless, you will be working at the hospital. To put it more clearly, you will be a personal assistant to Miss Hyuga here." Tsunade stopped for another sip of her choice beverage, while she watched their shocked expressions. She swallowed and sighed before looking back into their still-shocked faces, "Hinata, the only tasks he'll receive are ones that help you. Such as, bringing your patients medicine or making their beds or whatever. I'm giving assistants to Sakura and Ino as well. The reason I'm giving this job to you, Sasuke, is because though I know these kunoichi are very capable, I can not afford to lose them. Even though the Rain is our ally, we can never be too careful. Think of your assistant as basically being the muscle behind the operation, okay?"
The two glanced at each other quickly, and turned back to look at their Hokage. "So what? I'm supposed to follow her around all day?"
Tsunade sighed aggravated, "Yes, Sasuke, you have to follow her around all day as well as help her with her duties. The other assistants will have more leniency and be able to go about their own personal tasks, but since you are still under a trial period of trust, you will have to stay by her side at all times. Is that understood you two?"
Sasuke grunted and Hinata nodded politely with a "Yes ma'am."
Tsunade studied them for a moment before chuckling to herself, "You know…the way I planned this whole partner thing didn't seem to work out the way I thought it would. For instance, the reason I put Sasuke with you, Hinata, is because if I put him with anybody else the nurses would do more flirting then actual work. I figured you were the most levelheaded of them as well as the only one who had no interest in the young Uchiha. Obviously, I was mistaken. I might end up worrying about you two going off into some storage closet rather than treating the patients."
Hinata's face turned from white to red in a matter of seconds, while Sasuke made his smug smirk present. Tsunade chuckled to herself as she stood up motioning for them to stand up as well. "Okay, if you have no questions, you can leave." She spoke watching them begin walking toward the door with their previous expressions still plastered on their faces. A small smirk made its way onto the Fifth's face as she watched them open the door. "You guys make a real cute couple." She called out to them making them freeze in the doorway. "I can't wait for the wedding!" she called again excitedly. Sasuke turned towards her with a scowl, while Hinata covered her red face with her hands. While their Hokage laughed, Sasuke gently pushed Hinata out the door to get them moving as far away from their leader as possible. Just before the door closed, Tsunade yelled out once more, "And the kids! You two will have such cute children!" At this last comment, she laughed at hearing Sasuke grumble and Hinata whimper in embarrassment. Once the door closed as their footsteps faded, Tsunade turned her smirk into a more genuine smile. "They really do make a cute couple." She turned and gazed out her window at the villagers walking down the streets. "Treat her well, Sasuke. She's the best thing for you. I can already tell your soul is at ease when she's with you. Keep her close…you'll need to. And fight for her…even though I know you'd already do it whether told to or not." She turned back towards her desk letting her stare linger on some anonymous pile of paper. "You'll need to fight for her…especially when her father and Neji find out." Tsunade felt herself cringe at that last thought. "Man, that's going to get messy when it happens. I might have to keep some ANBU nearby for the Uchiha's sake."