It was still dark out that morning when the young Hyuuga had woken up.
Hinata's eyes fluttered open the second she felt a strong arm wrap itself around her waist. Her cheeks flooded with heat as she drank in the close-up view of her sleeping oniichan, who was stunningly beautiful, even in her adolescent eyes.
From the way his dark hair fell over his eyelids and lashes, to his perfectly white skin, which felt cool to the touch whenever their skin made contact-much to her embarrassment, were all things she couldn't help but secretly enjoy.
She could clearly recall the day of their first meeting, from the clearing of the white smoke, to the sight of her oniichan's surprised face. Sakura and Naruto were also there from what she could remember, but no one, other than the dark-haired Uchiha had quickly seized her attention as he had. It was during that moment when their eyes met that she had wanted to cry tears of joy. To put simply, it was like darkness seeing light for the first time.
The very second the smoke around her had cleared; it was within that instant that she realized the pretty oniichan with dark eyes would be everything to her, and everything for her.
She took advantage of the arm he'd flung around her waist and cuddled her body closer into his warmth, relishing the feel of his cool skin on hers and the softness of his dark hair. Inhaling his sharp and clean scent was almost dizzying, but she didn't mind. Being close to him like this was all she really needed.
Neji wasn't quite sure as to what emotion he should've given into first-his anger towards Sakura for his cousin's current condition, or his fear towards Hinata's father. Said man had just recently grilled him for answers of her whereabouts.
Luckily for Neji, he was good at keeping up a poker-face, and managed to make his lie sound like nothing but the truth.
"Neji nii-san, do you know how long it will be till nee-chan returns from her solo mission?"
The prodigy froze halfway into his daily training upon hearing the question. "Oh, um…she sent a message just yesterday. I was notified that she would be returning within three days or so."
"That's it?" Hanabi asked with raised brows. "No mention of her sudden leave?" The young kunoichi stretched herself out flexibly like a cat on the veranda before continuing on. "Otousan's not showing it, well, not too much that is, but he's really worried about her."
Neji fought hard to keep up his trademark poker-face, because not only was his uncle becoming stressful due to the sudden disappearance of his daughter, but he was also very pissed off at a certain pink-haired kunoichi for having placed his dear cousin into such a situation in the first place.
He was seething with anger, but he knew that it wouldn't do to let on just how angry he was, so he calmed himself down and simply answered her. "Yes, that is all," he concluded, trying to make it clear that there was nothing else worth mentioning.
Hanabi eyed him hesitantly before sighing in acceptance. "Well, if you say so…" Thankfully, she'd chosen to drop the subject and instead decided to move onto something else. "By the way, nii-san…" she began in a rather reluctant manner, which strangely reminded him of Hinata. "What should I pack tomorrow for the trip? I know bandages and ointments are necessary, but should I also bring along a bar of soap for clea-"
"What trip?" The words were out of Neji's mouth before he even realized it.
A heavy silence enveloped the surrounding atmosphere as Hanabi's previously calm eyes narrowed dangerously into slits. Anger was evident in both her gaze and tone as she stood up abruptly, causing even Neji to flinch, much to his surprise.
"Nii-san…" she managed through clenched teeth. "Do you really not remember?"
Neji raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Did I forget something?"
Those words alone seemed to make Hanabi snap, along with Neji suddenly wishing that he could take them back.
With her fists balled up, she glared straight at him and yelled in what seemed to be her loudest voice, "GO AND DIE, YOU IDIOT!"
Frozen stiff, Neji stood there as the young Hanabi stormed off with tears in her silver-hued eyes.
"Sakura-chaaaan, why do we have to go to that bastard's place so damn early in the morning?" Naruto whined, clearly frustrated from his lack of proper sleep. The blond was still in his nightshirt and pants, much to his companion's embarrassment since he'd been too sleepy to actually change into a proper pair of clothes.
Sakura on the other hand, had always been an early bird, and looked every bit awake while full of energy as she usually did. She began to pick up speed, walking faster than Naruto would've liked for her to. "You know why!" she cried out, equally frustrated with how childish her teammate was being. "The faster we get Hinata back to normal, the less likely you'll find me dead," she muttered almost to herself.
"Hn? You say something…?" he mumbled after waking up from a few seconds of sleeping.
"NO!" she roared. "Now hurry it up unless you want me to drag you there myself!"
Having reached their destination, the two stood before the Uchiha's apartment door.
"What do we do now?" Naruto asked while adjusting the ugly, yet strangely cute nightcap he always wore to sleep. "I don't think they're awake yet, so what do you say we go back home and-"
To his horror, however, the pink-haired kunoichi had one-upped him by pulling out a key from her back pocket. "S-Sakura-chan, don't tell me that that's-"
"Yes, it is," she answered, looking rather annoyed by the almost judgmental look in his eyes.
"But why would you-I mean how could you-?" he was at a loss for words.
"Geez, calm down, it's not like I stole it. I just borrowed it and made myself a copy," she scoffed.
That's the same thing! But Naruto was much too exhausted to even try and reason with her at all, so he let her be as she slid in the key, allowing them an open entrance into his rival/best-friend's home.
When they stepped in, Naruto watched through sleepy eyes as the love-struck kunoichi made an instant dash towards the Uchiha's bedroom. He yawned for a few more seconds before following her, not at all excited at the prospect of seeing a sleeping and defenseless Sasuke. That seemed to be more of Sakura's thing, though he wasn't exactly pleased about that either.
Upon entering the Uchiha's bedroom, however, all former thoughts in his head disappeared the second his blue eyes passed over the two sleeping figures. It didn't seem possible, not one bit. He had to be seeing things. Naruto turned to Sakura for some sort of explanation, anything really, but the look on her face confirmed it; that what they were seeing was in no way an illusion.
Without warning, and rather loudly at that, Sakura cried out with tears in her eyes "SASUKE-KUN, HOW COULD YOU?"
The Uchiha was amusingly, in Naruto's eyes, jolted awake by her loud voice. Sasuke immediately sat up, his raven hair and clothes disheveled in a manner, which, even Naruto had to admit looked quite sexy, much to his annoyance.
He seemed surprised at first, his obsidian eyes uncharacteristically wide, but once his blood-pressure rose from its lowered state, he fixed a narrowed gaze on both Naruto and Sakura, his eyes burning with a silent sort of fury. It was during times like these that the blonde felt it necessary to stay away from the Uchiha, because he knew very well how moody his rival could get should anyone disturb him during his sleep.
"What the hell are you two doing here," he growled in a rather low voice, causing both intruders to nearly jump out of their skin.
Naruto decided that he would rather have Sasuke direct his anger towards him instead of Sakura, especially considering what she had done, so he took the first step forward and gave the other young man a cheeky grin. "Oh, c'mon, don't be such a grouch, Sasuke. We just thought we'd swing by and check in on you and Hinata."
The provided explanation did little to lessen the Uchiha's anger as he mouthed his next words more slowly. "And how did you get in?"
This question made Naruto freeze up as he quickly tried to come up with another answer. "Um, your…door was unlocked?" he grinned.
"No it wasn't, I locked it," Sasuke stated in a chillingly cold voice, his gaze locked with Naruto's.
Said blonde was sweating bullets by this point as he tried to come up with another believable excuse, but with the way Sasuke was staring at him and everything only made it harder for him to properly think.
"Well?" the other boy was starting to look impatient.
"Well, that is-"
"Naruto nii-chan?" came his savior's voice. All eyes fell upon the youngest person within their presence as she slowly sat up and rubbed sleepily at her eyes. "Sakura nee-chan too?"
"Ignore them," Sasuke said in a rather cold tone that left even Naruto feeling somewhat lonely. "Just go back to sleep, I'll wake you up later." He sometimes couldn't help but wonder why he was friends with such a prick.
Naruto, as well as Sakura, couldn't help but notice the slight change in his tone of voice. Had he been hearing things, or had Sasuke sounded strangely kind? Well, kind for him that is, which wasn't as often as Naruto would've liked.
Maybe I'm sleepier than I thought? He mused silently.
"No, it's okay, oniichan. I'm not sleepy anymore," she smiled as she continued rubbing at her eyes. The girl certainly wasn't fooling anyone, but she was adorable to watch nonetheless.
Naruto saw this as an opportunity to distract Sasuke from being angry with him, as well as questioning him any further. "Nee, Hinata. How about we go and make some breakfast together in the kitchen? I'm kind of hungry, what about you?" he grinned while baring his pearly whites.
The young Hyuuga's face was practically beaming with excitement as she leapt from the bed and into Naruto's arms, completely throwing him off guard. And as he held her, he couldn't help but take note of how surprisingly light she was. Her skin was white and smooth to the touch. Not to mention how nicely-shaped her assets were for a-
He quickly cut himself off there. WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING? That damn Ero-sennin, I really have been around him too much!
The fact that she was also in nothing but a baggy t-shirt, which obviously belonged to Sasuke, did nothing but help to spurn his imagination even further than was necessary. The very idea of Sasuke being a lolicon was more than priceless-It was pure gold. This thought, however, made him realize something as he set Hinata down and took her by the shoulders, his blue eyes serious. "Hinata, has Sasuke ever touched you anywhere inappropriate-"
He was quickly cut off by the cool touch of a blade pressed gently at his throat. Said blade was actually a kunai being wielded by none other than the Uchiha himself.
"Whatever it is you're thinking, I suggest you empty out your already empty mind and stop talking." Sasuke pressed the blade closer to his throat, to his horror. "Unless you'd rather I do it for you." His eyes were a pitch black, seething with fury.
"I-It was just a joke," the blonde squeaked, his face blue from fear.
"Do you like miso ramen, Hinata? I'll make it for you if you want me to," Naruto grinned.
Sakura swiftly elbowed him in the chest, causing the blond to double over in pain. "Baka, don't make her eat what you have for breakfast," the young woman frowned. She then turned to the Hyuuga. "Hinata-chan," she smiled "I'll make you some French toast, okay?"
"Really?" the younger girl beamed. "I love French toast!"
"Yup!"
"Sakura-chan, if you're cooking, then I don't think it's a very good ide-ugh!"
"Shut up. I'm cooking, whether you like it or not."
Sasuke sat at the table with his head down, not sure if he could restrain himself from kicking them out, since it would only upset Hinata. He was not a morning person. Even Kakashi, his former sensei had known that much-but to think that these two didn't, or had chosen to forget, greatly irritated him. He sighed, deeply wishing from the bottom of his heart that they would just disappear and leave him in peace.
Watching Hinata, however, as she smiled at the two idiots with an expression full of adoration made it almost impossible for him to just suddenly kick them out. Upsetting her was the last thing on his mind. So, while mustering as much of his patience as he possibly could, he settled for keeping an eye on them until they were done eating and what not. And then he would kick them out. It was as simple as that.
His thoughts were interrupted by the young Hyuuga as she suddenly took him by the hand, urging for him to stand up. "Oniichan, come cook with us!" she smiled, her eyes lit with excitement. "We're going to make French toast and ramen for breakfast!"
The urge to hurl wasn't far off at the thought of both dishes, as he allowed Hinata to drag him towards the other two. One looked at him excitedly, while the other raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"
"Can you cook, Sasuke?" the blond asked while pulling a hair clip from the breast pocket of his night shirt. He swiped his bangs upward with one hand and snapped the hairclip into place to hold it back, revealing a tan forehead. "I never took you for the chef type," he chuckled.
"Naruto, you idiot! Of course Sasuke-kun can cook! Why else do you think he's been able to live this whole time without starving?" Sakura frowned, placing both hands on her hips.
"Uh, Sakura-chan, there's something called take-out y'know-"
"But the fact that you can cook is what also makes you the ideal type of a husband," she sighed dreamily, her eyes practically heart-shaped. While Naruto lowered his head in defeat, Sasuke turned away from Sakura's burning gaze and walked over to the cupboards, pulling out a small pot.
"If you guys want to stay, then I'm going to make breakfast."
The two seemed excited by this.
As an afterthought, he turned to glare at them, "And no French toast or ramen either."
Their excitement deflated and was instantly replaced with sad looks and childish pouting. Much to Sasuke's surprise, however, they seemed to know better than to argue with him and responded by muttering "Fine…" under their breaths.
He shook his head slightly, not quite sure as to whether he was dealing with one, but three children instead.
"Man, I can't believe that Sasuke is actually a pretty decent cook!" the blond grinned, clasping his hands behind his head. "I didn't know grilled fish with miso soup could taste that good!"
Sakura could feel herself smiling at Naruto's words. Of course Sasuke was capable of doing something as simple as cooking. He was Sasuke after all. Handsome, cold, indifferent, harsh, and at times, maybe even a little kind. These traits of his were what defined him for her, and the person she knew him as.
But the look on his face this morning…
"And to think that I'm not even hungry for ramen right now!" Naruto laughed.
"Ne, Naruto?" Sakura suddenly spoke up.
The blonde ceased his one-sided conversation, his ears perking up at the sound of his name. He gave her his full attention with a questioning smile. "What is it, Sakura-chan?"
Unconsciously, Sakura had grabbed onto the sleeve of his shirt with both hands, moving in closer towards him. She didn't want anyone else to hear her.
Naruto on the other hand became increasingly nervous at the sudden display of intimacy, mistaking the kunoichi's actions for something completely different. A long silence passed by as they continued walking together with no particular destination. Blushing, he asked almost shyly, "I thought you wanted to tell me something?"
Sakura froze upon hearing his words, not quite sure as to why she hadn't spoken when he'd answered to her earlier. Her grip tightening on him, she suddenly tilted her head up to meet his gaze, unaware of how flustered she was making him. "Naruto," she began, trying to keep her voice firm.
"Y-Yes?" he asked, gulping down the lump in his throat.
"Was it just me, or did…Sasuke-kun look different this morning while he was asleep?"
All expectations were instantly thrown aside at the mention of Sasuke's name as Naruto's face soured with annoyance. "That's what you wanted to talk about?"
"Of course!" she huffed. "Did you not see his face?"
"Of course I did. What about it?" he seemed rather irritated, but she paid no mind to that.
The excitement in her words seemed to disappear at the next thought. "Sasuke-kun and Hinata were…I didn't think…" Never had she seen Sasuke look so content in all her life. But what made everything worse was that Hinata had seemed to be the cause for it. That thought alone was frustrating.
"What do you expect," the blonde scoffed. "The guy's a damn lolicon."
That one word triggered Sakura's attention immediately as she glared at Naruto. "Don't call him that. He does not like young girls."
"Y'know, Sakura-chan, have you ever thought that maybe all of this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't tried to come up with that stupid new jutsu?"
His blue eyes were cold, and his tone, malicious. It was a sharp contrast from his usually energetic and warm personality. She wasn't sure of what she'd said to set him off like this. "Why are you so mad?"
"You tell me…" he muttered, pulling his arm from her grasp. Turning his back on her, he instantly disappeared, leaving behind nothing but a white cloud of smoke.
Sakura stood there, speechless, not quite sure as to what had just happened.
"Did I say something wrong?" she muttered to herself.
While cleaning up after his teammates mess, Sasuke allowed Hinata to make herself feel useful by wiping down the table with a wet cloth and soap.
"In circles, oniichan?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied, exhausted from having to wake up so early in the morning. After rinsing the last of the dishes, he set them aside and searched for something clean to dry his hands on. He would've used his shirt, but he didn't feel like changing it again.
"You can use this, oniichan. The pretty girl at the flower shop gave it to me." Hinata smiled while holding out a pure white handkerchief for him. It was patterned with a familiar looking flower, though Sasuke wasn't able to recall exactly what flower it was.
He nodded his head in thanks while wiping his hands dry with the offered cloth, strangely bothered by how familiar the flowers seemed. Where have I seen these before…? His traced a finger along the lines of the intricately woven patterns, trying to process the name of the flowers. The colors were a mix or bright-blues and pale lavenders. They weren't as grand looking as a sunflower or a rose, but more on the delicately-small side with fewer petals.
"Forget-me-not."
Sasuke looked up from the handkerchief towards Hinata, unsure of what it was that he was hearing. "Don't forget you?" he asked, looking rather puzzled, considering the situation the Hyuuga herself was in.
"No," she giggled. "That's what the flowers on the handkerchief are called. They're forget-me-nots."
The name itself made him raise an eyebrow. "That's kind of a strange name."
Hinata slightly frowned at this, which was something he didn't see too often. Though he had to admit, it was kind of cute. "It is not," she pouted. "Ino nee-chan told me that the flowers are a symbol of memories and…" She cocked her head to the side a bit as a thoughtful look suddenly crossed her face.
"And what?"
"Um, for some reason, I can't…remember the other one," she grinned, looking rather embarrassed.
Sasuke gently placed his hand on the top of her head and lightly ruffled her hair. "One meaning is enough," he said with a hint of a smile. "Don't force yourself, if you can't remember it."
That alone seemed to be enough to make the younger girl go red, much to the Uchiha's amusement. She covered her face with both hands, clearly wishing to not be seen by him. Sasuke felt like inwardly grinning. For some reason, it felt fun to tease her.
"O-Oniichan," she pouted. "I-I'm not a child anymore-just so you know," she added as an afterthought.
Sasuke couldn't help but snort at this. "Are you sure about that? Because I clearly remember you asking to take a bath with me not too long ago," he nearly smirked.
Her entire face flooded with heat almost instantly, even going so far as to reach her very earlobes. The look of absolute horror that came upon her face was just as priceless as Sasuke watched the heiress flee to the bedroom.
"Ah, I think I teased her too much," he sighed, feeling somewhat embarrassed as the sound of her clearly locking the bedroom door could be heard.
A/N: It's been a bit over a month, but I kept my promise…kind of, right? Anyways, thanks again for all those who are still reading. Just a heads up though: in about two or three more chapters, this story will be officially complete! So, look forward to the next one!