Enjoy!
To Sasuke's own surprise, he wasn't as grateful as he expected himself to have been that Sakura revealed her lingering, powerful attraction to him. He thought that it was what he wanted to hear, but upon the confession, his heart sank deep. It wasn't what he had dreamed. Had he deceived himself all along? He felt like he had jumped away from her too abruptly, rudely abandoning her to her loneliness on the roof, even though it had been her idea to cut the conversation short in the first place. As he walked the long, enlightening, and reflective path back to the alcove secreted away in the back corner of the restaurant, he thought about exactly what everything that just happened actually meant. He dwelled momentarily upon Sakura's selfishness, but he forgave her on the spot—she wanted him gone from the village, and it was his own fault. Through nobody's doing other than his own, Sasuke had given Sakura a village without him, and she had grown used to it. Although she was the one who wanted him to come back, and had initially forced his promise to stay, it was borderline unfair of him to be there and make her miserable. She had earned her place; he still felt like a newcomer, though at least he no longer viewed himself as just a guest. The shoe of jealousy and regret was on the other foot, so to speak—Sakura was the one feeling what Sasuke had been feeling, and the guilt lived stubbornly under the roots of the man's hair when he thought about what he was doing to her just by existing.
He hadn't told her on the roof because he didn't want to make her feel foolish, but he didn't feel the same way that she thought he did anymore. There was still an unfulfilled need, living in his inner mind and scratching against his skull, but it was tiny...the overall change had happened subtly—maybe because Sakura, like him, had left the village suddenly and offered a view into what life would be like without her. He had gotten quickly accustomed to Konoha without Sakura, and even when she returned, she didn't have quite the same influence over his thoughts. His love had fallen down to a dull ache, not a raging fire—and then it nearly vanished altogether. Almost every ounce of lingering anger, resentment, and regret had been burned off of him like wax from a new wick at the very moment Hinata's hand touched his knee during his strain. It was a massive sensation, the likes of which he hadn't felt since the moment he and Naruto crossed their chakra for the final time and destroyed one another's limbs. That instant was a heap of clarity piled onto him like dirt, and when he had finally dug his way out of the pile to see the light again, he was a different man forevermore.
He was inside the restaurant and he found the door to the private room, but he stalled. Instead of opening it, he looked over his shoulder and waited for Sakura. If she didn't come quickly, he was going to go out and fetch her. She had been crying rather hard, and the Uchiha she had confessed her continuing love for had been able to see the guilt, the pain, and the self-hatred that filled her. Seeing her in such a state was almost too much for him to bear, and so he was glad to separate himself from the situation, at her request, despite his concerns. Soon enough, and thankfully so, Sakura's bright hair and red top came into view in the doorframe. Sasuke smiled softly before entering the room without her; he was probably worrying for nothing. She was strong; that's why he respected her. She would catch up.
He opened up to see Naruto and Hinata smiling at one another and trading small-talk. "Yes, Hanabi's training has been going very well, just like mine!" Hinata chirped enthusiastically, with her hands clasped together on the table surface. She paused and looked with curious wonder at who had entered, and then smiled when she saw his face. There was something else in her expression, though something withheld. Something she wanted to say, but for some reason hadn't. She hadn't been aware of Sasuke's return because her eyes were inactive. She felt no need to exert such extensive vision while both Naruto and Sasuke were so close by; surely the restaurant was the safest place in the village that night. Then again, she had thought Hanabi would be safe with Naruto back in the village, too. True safety seemed to be a myth, but it was one that she allowed herself to believe in.
Naruto peered up at Sasuke as the latter entered. The blonde-haired, surprisingly-perceptive guy was looking somber, as if he could read his old friend like a tea leaf. "Is she gonna be okay, Sasuke?"
Sasuke was taken by slight surprise by the question, though he didn't take long to realize that his counterpart was a great deal more perceptive than he used to be. Years could change a person in countless ways. He opened his mouth to answer, but he hesitated. He almost said yes, but it would have been a lie and Naruto probably would have known it. In exchange for everything that the once-hated jinchuriki had done to help Sasuke, he felt as if honesty was owed: "I don't really know, Naruto," he settled on saying. And it was the truth.
Naruto followed up: "And what about you, Sasuke? Will you be alright?" His blue eyes, once so dopey and clueless, seemed to pierce the mind and thoughts and soul all at once, and do so effortlessly. Naruto looked so comfortable in his chair, with an arm draped over its back and his shoulders slanted lazily downward. His abdomen was bent a bit as he slouched, probably keeping the position he settled on after a lot of squirming over how long the food was taking. Even as innocent as his stance made him seem, not a single human being could have looked into Naruto's eyes and felt anything other than a deep, almost prophetic understanding. It was actually unnerving for the standing Uchiha, and he quickly made for his chair.
"I'll be fine," he muttered, wishing the food had already arrived, or at least wishing that his menu was still on the table. Anything to busy his hand and keep his eyes suitably distracted. The clear glass of water could only work for so long, though he seized it and guzzled it to hide his shaking nerves. Hinata, ever-watchful of her new training master's condition, seemed concerned. She wasn't able to read Sasuke, not like Naruto could, but she noticed a slight change. It didn't seem like a negative one, though—he almost seemed like he had come to an understanding within himself. Naruto probably saw it, too. That insightful way of viewing people was why Naruto was the only one who could have saved the world three years prior. He understood. He cared. He did what it took to make sure that everybody came out ahead of where they started. His return to the village was met with such tremendous fanfare precisely because of how good he made everybody around him feel. Hinata envied him for being so masterful with people while she, herself, had always struggled to make meaningful connections. Too shy, too submissive, too easy to ignore or overlook.
When Sakura returned a short few moments after Sasuke, she seemed chipper and dismissive of her own absence. "Hey, guys. You seem quiet." Her mouth turned to a ponderous slant, and she bit the corner of her thumb idly. "Paralyzed by hunger, love?" She quipped, laughing effortlessly as she joined Naruto's side and pecked a kiss onto his cheek. Everything seemed so normal, if one were to only look at her. But Sasuke and Hinata could both see the thoughtfulness in Naruto's crystal gaze; he had sensed the change long before she had even entered the room. Sakura felt guilty. It wasn't tough for him to guess why.
The tension in the small chamber was mercifully eased by the timely arrival of Choji, who bombastically shoved the door open with a serving tray and four loaded platters balanced atop one hand. "Sorry about the wait, had to get the ramen just right! Nothing but the best is ever gonna go into a guest's mouth here, on my honor and the honor of our entire clan!" He gave a salute, a fist over his chest. Then he set the serving tray down and divvied out the food laid in plates or bowls upon it. The aromas were divine as to be expected, and the soup ordered by Sakura had the strongest allure of all with its patented (and secretive) mix of herbs and spices.
"Everything looks wonderful," Hinata uttered to break the uncomfortable silence still living at her table, though her voice was barely above a whisper. "Thanks very much," she added with a gentle bow of her head when her plain, boring ribs were set before her. Sasuke nodded to accept his unflavored rice, Sakura gave a word of thanks and Naruto barely had time to thank anyone before he began to dig in.
Hinata plucked at her lean, bare strips of meat with a chopstick. The pieces were a light beige, cooked to perfection and remarkably tender despite being so barren on the surface. She felt the strangeness at the table even after Choji bowed out and shut the door again. She felt thoroughly left behind, as if she was the only one who didn't know about some big secret. The quiet was making her frantic. "I-is anybody going to say what's the matter?"
Naruto looked at her and gave a sort of nervous smile, then talked with his mouth full to try to cover things up a bit. "Oh, uh...we're all just busy eating, y'know?" He gave a facial twitch that was supposed to mean 'don't worry, I've got it under control,' but it ultimately seemed more like an untamed spasm than anything. Adept in some ways, crippled in others. That was Naruto Uzumaki.
Next, Hinata looked to Sasuke. He was unreadable, as always, and then she saw that Sakura was pretty happy-looking. And why shouldn't she have been? She was married to, arguably, the most cherished member of the village and was a young, gorgeous woman with tons of strength and admirable character traits of her own. She should have felt like she was on top of the world. Hinata, conversely, was still shaky after her talk with Naruto, and she couldn't even try to hide it. She felt suddenly shunted out of place, as if she had been one person right before sitting down, but was then replaced by somebody else with the exact same body and mind, but for one key difference—she had forced herself to feel okay while looking at Naruto's wedding ring. She wanted to press her case more completely, to at least make him feel a little bad about choosing Sakura over her, but he raised a good enough point to get her to back down—Hinata was named as one of his greatest influences. Still, the list was a long one. She was just one of a dozen or more names he could rattle off from the top of his head. If one were to figure a comprehensive account of all the people Naruto owed his life and decisions to, they could probably fill at least a small novel. Maybe even a big one. He was everybody's hero, but they were all his heroes, first. He was just paying back what he felt like he owed.
"How's your soup, Sakura?" Sasuke inquired between modest bites out of his steaming bowl of rice. Small talk. Still not his strong suit, but it was all he had to go on. For Hinata's sake, he tried to act as if nothing was wrong.
"It might be the best I've ever had," Mrs. Uzumaki replied, taking a spoonful into her mouth and politely draining it without so much as the slightest slurp. She savored it on her tongue before swallowing.
Naruto chimed in, following Sasuke's lead and focusing on the one subject that was sure to be totally harmless: the food. "What about your ribs, Hinata? You should at least put some pepper or something on them, right?"
Hinata shook her head. "No...I want them exactly like this..." she glanced over at Sasuke, and that was when Naruto actually made the observation. He blinked at her, then looked at the ribs. Then to Sasuke.
"Hey, so...you two are training together, yeah?" Naruto suggested, recalling one of them saying something to that effect earlier on.
Sasuke answered while Hinata shied away from the tone he used. "Yes, that's right—and she's been growing stronger every day." He swallowed down a bland heap of sticky grains but didn't seem bothered by the lack of taste. "She'll be ready for the tournament when the time comes."
Sakura's attention was snared. "Oh, that's right...I guess she's fighting, too. Which tier did she enter?"
Hinata spoke for herself: "I shouldn't say...not yet." She was still worried about her father finding out too soon. As Kakashi had said, Hiashi might have enough clout to force a change in the roster at any point up until the other village heads had seen and approved of it. Hiashi's pull in Konoha was enormous, though outsiders weren't as willing to bow to his legacy. There were still a few days left before the roster was approved, at very least, so Hinata kept the sneaky entry to herself. She didn't want to lie, exactly. Ambiguity seemed like the best choice.
Pink hair swished to the side when Sakura tilted her head. "Oh? Well, okay then...I'm in the General pool now, and I've kind of been wondering about what sort of opponents I'll be facing...If it were just Konoha, I'd have a good idea of it, but all the villages are involved. I'm actually worried I won't do that well against some of their strongest." She gave a smile toward Naruto. "I don't want to taint my new family name by getting beaten out there, after all."
Naruto laughed and slung his arm around Sakura's shoulder, spilling some of the soup from her spoon and onto her shirt with the abrupt movement. She gasped and looked down in total dismay, and Naruto talked onward anyway. "You'll do great! No wife of mine is gonna be anything less than amazing out there!" He noticed the slight spill after a moment of silence, then clenched his teeth and pulled his lips back in fright. "Oh, uh...sorry, Sakura."
Sakura made a fist under the table and it sent tremors up her arm. Although she wanted to pound her husband's skull, she released her fingers from their squeeze and then laid them on the table one at a time, calming herself down. "It's okay...I'm wearing red anyhow, so there's no harm done." She sighed and took her hand up to her forehead, wiping at nothing just to occupy herself.
Naruto definitely knew something was wrong then, even if he hadn't noticed before. She never would have let something like that go if she were acting like herself. When it came to figuring out Sakura, it was no use reading her expressions—Naruto had talked to Sai about her, once, and the ex-Root member had gone into detail about just why Sakura was so difficult to read on facial cues alone. She had gotten remarkably good at faking things: Smiles, laughter, tears, interest, damn near everything, as a result of her constant need to put on a brave face during Sasuke's perpetual absence. Her expressions were pretty much a wash, but Naruto knew her well enough to pick up on her other cues—some small, like the way she entered the room on her left foot instead of the right, and then some huge, like her unsettlingly calm response to the spill onto her shirt. The stain wasn't intentional—he wasn't testing her or anything—but it was definitely a convenient turn as a way of gaining some insight. "Still, sorry about that," Naruto said just a second after earning forgiveness. He was already holding napkins to help wipe the excess liquid away.
"I'll live," Sakura added, then gave Naruto a pat on the back as he worked on cleaning up as best he could. She looked over at Sasuke, and she got a blank stare in return again. Something wasn't right about the way he looked at her. She had made a mistake, alright, but it wasn't the one she thought it was. "Anyway...I hope I do well. Sasuke, what convinced you to enter the fight? I didn't think you'd want to be involved in something like this after all the time you've spent away. Are you trying to make a grand statement to the village?"
Sasuke smirked, leaning back in his chair. His rice, barely touched, was left to cool and become wasted. He had his fill of it, seemingly. "Kakashi all but begged me to enter. To his credit, he raised a few strong points—for starters, this contest is a good way, like you said, of bringing myself back into the village in a big way. But it's also for the sake of my clan's name. I'm all that's left, and the world doesn't know anything about the Uchiha name that isn't associated with war. I'd like to show them what I am now."
"Plus he can't wait to fight me again, huh?" Naruto belted from his place near Sakura's chest, leaned over and putting the finishing touches on his wipe job. "We'll finally know once and for all who's the best."
Sakura scoffed. "Hardly," she sneered. "With all the restrictions in place, I wouldn't call it a proper rematch."
Naruto pounded his fist into an open palm. "That's exactly what makes it so exciting, though! It'll be like the old days, just me and him using our own strength! No borrowing from Kurama, or from natural energy..."
Sakura went quiet for a moment. Sure, a lot of Naruto's banned techniques were the result of 'borrowing,' but Sasuke's entire list of forbidden skills belonged completely to his own body. Honestly, if Sasuke weren't on their side, the fact that so much power existed in a single person as nothing but his own strength would have given her nightmares. And for a while, the thoughts actually had given her trouble sleeping. Those were some of the nights when Naruto needed to comfort her the most. While Sasuke was away, Sakura had imagined all sorts of terrible things—what if he did something cruel again? What if he decided to seek revenge against Konoha after all? She had been awoken by nightmares as recently as eight months prior, though moving in with Naruto had caused them to fade away over time. Waking up next to him made her feel safe—he was always there, with his arm laying heavily on her stomach, or chest, or hip. His breath constantly tickled her neck when they slept, and she loved it. The guilt came back even harder as she remembered the roof outside, with a fresh dent in its tiling; no amount of small talk was enough to vanquish the feeling of regret.
"I love you, Naruto," Sakura whispered as if to apologize to him, though it could easily have been confused with a random declaration like married couples tended to give. Naruto wordlessly put both of his arms around her, holding her secure and tucking her face against his chest and neck; his hand rubbed her back to soothe her. Their chairs were pulled completely together. Sakura's new husband knew enough, without having the finer details—she had done something she regretted. He also knew, perhaps even better than she did, that it wasn't really their marriage that she was regretting at all. "I really love you..."
While the quiet moment between the spouses was sweet and soft, Hinata and Sasuke were left at the table trying to pretend that they weren't feeling marginalized by it. They looked at one another and started whispering, forming their own little faction of two to avoid being outnumbered. Hinata took the lead as she leaned toward Sasuke's ear. "Hanabi made it home safely; I made sure of it." Of course, she couldn't mention the incident without acknowledging the role he played in resolving it: "Thanks for your help, earlier."
Sasuke nodded, but his voice was kept even lower than hers. "Don't worry about thanking me. Worry about what the attack means...I don't know for sure what's happening, but I want you toget home safely tonight. I'll come with you if you want me to."
Hinata shook her head, though she sincerely wanted to let Sasuke take her home. Her family was too sensitive, too intrusive into her business—and they were especially problematic with their visual strength. Even if Sasuke only walked her halfway there, she might still have been caught with him by some stray line of sight. Truthfully, she might have already been caught, even as she sat quietly in a restaurant behind two closed doors and in the view of no windows. The Byakugan, she realized, was a nightmare for people who had something to hide. She never thought about that before, though, because she had never really needed to hide anything important. "I'll be okay, Sasuke, I promise...but thank you. Thank you so much..." Maybe it was the affection across the table, or maybe it was just the natural curve of things; in either case, she felt pulled to him. "For everything," she continued, even more softly than a whisper. "For being here tonight, for training me...for coming home..."
Sasuke, too, felt that exact impulse. It drew him in. He felt just like he had felt earlier in the day, during the embrace that followed the mutual assurance that neither of them were alone so long as they stood together. They had each other, whatever that meant; they were still deciding on the specifics, but the moment again spoke for itself. The gravity was there like an old friend tugging between their faces. So close, already, after the whispering back and forth. Their eyes met, their hands touched one another at the fingertips under the table, and Sasuke's breath stopped flowing under the anticipation. He was seized with the urge again, familiar and inescapable; the first time it had been an impulse, something he hadn't expected but could easily brush off as being a momentary lapse in judgement. Now, with it happening a second time in the same day, he could no longer shove it away and pretend that there was no significance. Even Sakura had previously noticed something in the way the pair had looked at one another, despite Sasuke's efforts to keep himself guarded.
Hinata leaned forth in her chair, the wood creaking softly along the legs beneath her. She blushed and timidly turned her eyes to Naruto and Sakura across the table. They were still distracted by one another, despite the sound of her movement. Hinata gulped and felt the rising heat of her skin; her hands were turning pink. Her heart was thumping; she heard it loud and clear and even felt it pushing against her ribs. Her throat was dry and her scalp tingled. She was embarrassed, but also thrilled by the attention she was being given by Sasuke. Would it be okay if she stole just a little kiss? Would he be mad, even despite the way he looked at her? She thought Sasuke might have wanted it to happen, and she knew she wanted it, too...and the silence in the room was all but whispering into her ear: Do it. It doesn't matter if they see you; do it. She tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear, getting them out of the way. She made it as clear as she could that she wanted to at least try it, no matter the consequences.
As if the very same voice was in Sasuke's mind as well, his hand further touched Hinata's and clasped it from around the back of it. He said nothing; he thought nothing. He was going to do it, and any consequences could be dealt with later. His emotions were still smoldering and befuddled from the shock of realizing that he was no longer jealous about Sakura—she wasn't the thing consuming him anymore. The violet in his mind, the girl in the chair beside him. The girl whose face was so close that he could hardly see her in full focus. That was the image that clouded his every waking thought. It was Hinata Hyuuga, the quiet girl from the back row, the unassuming young woman who had big dreams but almost never spoke of them. She was both enigmatic and familiar. Her lips looked soft and they were puckering slightly. She was inviting him close; she seemed ready to bridge the gap by herself if he didn't go the rest of the way. To answer some underlying question, to address some unspoken command, he had to know what it would be like. In that breathless minute, Sasuke wanted, more than anything, to feel Hinata's mouth on his. And so he went for it.
And just before their lips touched, just before the the fantasy could be turned into reality, Hinata yelped and backed away with her flesh toned like Sakura's tomato-stained shirt, facing forward over the table with urgency and yanking her hand from Sasuke's to fold both of her palms into her lap. A half-second later, the door to the room was shoved wide open and Choji stepped in with a heavy laugh. "Anybody need refills on drinks!?" He paused to look around, then: "Ahh, I see you guys made yourselves at home!" He crossed his arms over his chest and guffawed, puffy cheeks and squeezed-shut eyes making him seem all the more friendly. For a split second, Sasuke wondered if they had been seen, but then he recalled the much more famous couple across from them. "I'm glad!" The head chef clarified, then Naruto and Sakura looked up at him, but they didn't pull apart. It was okay for them to be seen—they were newlyweds; it was expected of them to be affectionate.
Sasuke felt all of his veins harden against his skin as he was forced to abandon his proximity to Hinata and pretend that nothing had happened. He figured that she had heard or seen or sensed Choji coming, and she was still far too self-conscious to let herself be seen with a guy like Sasuke, let alone be seen like that with him. The interrupted Uchiha's teeth crisply ground together behind closed lips and his hand was clenched tight; the individual knuckles were cracking rhythmically as he tried to work off his ample stress without howling out loud. He felt as if he had never been so extremely close to something that he undeniably needed, only to have it completely denied to him. Well, without it somehow being Naruto's fault, that is. Choji was a new one to blame. Sasuke looked over at the girl, the one who was driving him absolutely insane, and he took a breath for the first time in almost a minute. She was looking at him, too, with the most sincerely apologetic look imaginable.
Sasuke then understood why Sakura was so eager to go on her honeymoon—interruptions were ridiculous in that village. First Hanabi, then Choji—who was going to be next, he wondered? Or would there be a third time? No matter how right it felt to be so close to her, there was always the fear that the possibility would completely evaporate. So many forces seemed to be working against them both—Hinata's family, the training couple's own conflicted feelings, interruptions, some rising criminal element, and so much else. How could anything good survive in a world full of chaos and strife that had fooled itself into thinking that it was peaceful?
Choji and Naruto started talking to each other about random things—the tournament, the restaurant, how good the ramen tasted, the weather, the wedding; ultimately it was nothing worth paying attention to. Somehow, miraculously, it seemed as if Naruto and Sakura hadn't picked up on the almost-kiss that had fizzled out, or they were at least pretending it were so. That was fine, too—as long as they weren't looking Sasuke's way, everything was fine...even though he wanted to slam Choji's face into the curb outside as punishment for his timing.
Hinata was trembling at Sasuke's side, and he could see it clearly. His eyes whirled slightly; the black discs became the multi-facted red-and-black pattern that defined his clan. If he couldn't kiss her, he at least wanted to see her while she struggled with her own lack of fulfillment. The symphony of her shivering body was a beautiful thing on its own; the want and disappointment still meshed together seamlessly as her feelings transitioned and she tried to settle down. Her pinkies moved the most of all while her hands locked together. She was using the tiny digits to caress the backs of her wrists on each side. Just a little thing that Sasuke noticed about her, one of the many insignificant details that could be so easily missed without the proper attention. She was looking into her lap, and her hair was swaying under the motion of the fan overhead. The color of her chakra was unique in its own way; blue, like most, but with the tiniest splash of violet undertone. Or perhaps that was just Sasuke's imagination playing tricks on him. The eyes could only see what the brain was willing to perceive; even the Sharingan could be tricked by its user's own thoughts.
He turned away from her just as the muscles in her neck began to twitch like she planned to look up at him. He didn't want to be caught staring so rudely at her. His eyes powered down after his 'mission' was accomplished—he was driven by something that Ino had said, actually. We want somebody who knows everything there is to know. She emphasized an attention to detail, and there was nothing more suited to observing details than Sasuke Uchiha's eyes. He decided that he wanted to know everything about Hinata—not to impress her, but to sate his own curiosity. There was no rational explanation for how strong his attraction to her was. She was beautiful, but so were many other women who had thrown themselves at him in the past. She was quiet, which should have kept her in the background, yet somehow her presence always popped out to him. There had to be some explanation, some rational thought that could reconcile the bizarre happenings since Sasuke's return. The violets in his dreams, the constant run-ins with that one girl in a village completely filled with people. He wanted to ask her so many, many things, to figure her out from top to bottom—but it wasn't the time for that. Not with Naruto and Sakura so close by. His questions could wait until tomorrow's training, he decided.
Hinata had her own questions to ask Sasuke, especially in the wake of Naruto's slipped tongue. She was silent while Choji had his conversation with Naruto, and eventually Sakura too. After a while, it wrapped up; nobody actually needed refills, it was decided. The interruption was unnecessary. Hinata lamented the way things had been going—just as some ethereal force pulled her toward Sasuke, some other invisible-yet-opposite push seemed to set up a variety of obstacles that kept them at arm's length as much as possible. She hoped to herself that the frustrating circumstances hadn't been turning Sasuke away. She wanted to arrange a time where they could find total privacy; to have a conversation without the worry of interruptions. Unfortunately, with her family and friends on constant alert, she realized that it wouldn't be possible within the village; they would have to leave, which would be suspicious in itself. Unless Sasuke knew of a tranquil place other than his family's ruined district—Hanabi had proven that not even 'cursed' ground was safe from snooping.
When Choji left and closed the door again, Sasuke stood up and opened it just a sliver. He heard something by the entrance—something unusual. It was a conversation at the front desk, but not a person coming to ask for a table or make a later reservation. Through the din of conversation, Sasuke could pick up little bits and pieces. Naruto called up to him: "Sasuke, what's up? Did you need more water or something?"
Sasuke made a shushing sound over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing. From the angle of the cracked-open door, he couldn't quite see what was happening in the foyer. He picked up just enough of the quietly-muttered keywords: something about deadlines, something about 'protection.' Whatever it was, the greeter wasn't having it; the tone was a bit harsh. By the time Sasuke stepped out to get a better view, whomever the greeter by the door had been talking to was gone. The large door was still swinging closed behind the one who had left. Sasuke started to head out in pursuit, but he was stopped by a concerned voice behind him.
"Where are you going, Sasuke?" It was Hinata. She looked and sounded worried.
After realizing that he didn't want to let Hinata out of his sight, and recalling that he still had a very specific matter he wanted to discuss with her before the night was done, Sasuke sighed and stepped back in. He looked to Naruto. "This may sound strange, but could you tap into the Kyuubi's chakra for a moment, Naruto?
Naruto scratched the side of his head. "His name's Kurama—but what're you on about?"
"Just a sinking feeling...I need to know if you can sense it, too. That beast's chakra allows you to sense evil intentions, right?" Sasuke thought he had heard about something to that effect, but he hadn't ever been certain. Like many things, it could have just been a myth.
Naruto blinked, then gently took his arms off of Sakura. "Yeah, that's right..." he huskily confirmed, looking perplexed. Even so, he humored the request. Sakura leaned away from him when the shimmering golden layer of chakra began to funnel outward from Naruto's system. It encapsulated his clothes and his face, extending all the way from his sandaled toes to the tips of his hair with a fiery flourish. He became a shining beacon that dimmed the light fixtures overhead, and he shut his eyes to concentrate. His brows furrowed; it had been a little while since he had taken that form, and the shift in attitudes around him seemed somewhat jarring. He narrated his discovery: "I'm getting a lot more than what I'm used to..."
Sasuke returned to the table, his one hand firmly placed upon the wood. "Anything around the restaurant? I thought I heard something suspicious, but I'm not sure about it yet."
Naruto nodded, but seemed indecisive. "Yeah, but...it's not just one person. The village has a lot of people, and everybody's got some kind of darkness in 'em, y'know? It's easy to sense the biggest threats on a battlefield, but...the negative emotions in a place as crowded as the Leaf feel more like one big layer of fog. Anyway, I'm not picking up anything especially powerful." He relaxed his chakra, the flowing yellowish layer dissipating from around his body and allowing his clothes to return to normal. "Maybe you should tell Kakashi-sensei about what you heard."
Sasuke made a tsk. "I've got a feeling that he already knows..." Looking at his unfinished bowl of rice, he then turned to face the door instead. "Thanks for dinner, Naruto, but I should really be going. Good to see you again, too, Sakura," he added at the end. She frowned at him slightly; he didn't mean to be sarcastic, but maybe she thought he sounded that way. Finally, with a silent glance toward Hinata, Sasuke tipped his head toward the door. Before she could ask him exactly what he meant, he was out in the main part of the restaurant and had vanished behind a layer of people being guided to tables. Closing time wasn't for another couple of hours, so business was still bustling.
Hinata blinked, then looked at Naruto and Sakura. Sakura pounced on the lone sheep, leaning over the table with intensely curious eyes: "So...what do you think of Sasuke? Is he a good trainer?"
"Y-yes, he's very good," she said without thinking too hard. It was merely the answer that came to her head naturally. "He seems to really know what he's doing."
Sakura nodded. "How has he treated you? I know he can be pretty intense, but he's not a bad guy..."
Hinata smiled softly, her cheeks colored yet again. "N-no, I know that; he's not a bad guy at all...he has actually been really good to me."
Sakura was blushing, too, at the thought. "He has, huh? How do you mean...?" She was getting personal; maybe a little bit too curious. Naruto flexed his mouth and lifted one eyebrow to look at her inquisitively.
The Hyuuga felt like she was on the spot, but she answered anyway because she didn't want to disappoint. "Well, he didn't think twice about taking me as a student, and he's been really attentive to what I need. He's given me lots of encouragement, and, well...he makes me feel kind of...happy, I guess."
Sakura's mouth hung open slightly and she swallowed a dry lump in her throat with a roll of her tongue. "That's...good to hear," she said after a second. She looked at Naruto, and he looked back at her somewhat somberly. The extent of her selfish declaration on the roof really hit her, then—she wasn't just hurting Naruto. She was potentially hurting Hinata, too. While her jealousy was making her see red, she hadn't been paying attention to any of the consequences. "It's getting late, I think..." Sakura said while brushing off the skirt laying over her pants, freeing it of any stray specks that might have fallen upon her due to the fan's movement of the air overhead—or from the destruction of roof tiles. "Maybe we should all head home."
Hinata nodded, squeezing the collar of her shirt and turning on her Byakugan for a brief moment. She looked outside and she saw what she wanted to see. "Y-you're right. And please, don't worry about paying for anything. I'll speak to the man at the front desk and have it charged to the family account..."
Naruto grinned. "Whoa, really? That'd be awesome! Thanks, Hinata!"
"You shouldn't do that; we can afford it," Sakura assured, getting a small wallet out of her hip-mounted pack and fishing for a few bills. As if he could smell the money, Choji returned and poked his head into the door.
"You guys headed out? I just saw Sasuke," the future Akimichi Clan head commented, then saw Sakura searching for the right amount of change. The receipt for their orders had been tucked under her bowl, as if she was trying to be sure that nobody else knew how much to pay. She insisted on making it her treat. "What're you doing, eh, Sakura? You guys are all paid for."
Naruto grumbled. "Hey now, don't go givin' us free food just because we're famous, okay?"
Choji laughed, rubbing his elbow in good humor. "Actually, it's nothing like that—see, Sasuke already paid for this table on his way out. Added a really nice tip, too."
Sakura stuttered a little. "He...p-paid for the meal...? But I thought he..." She brought her hand to her mouth, nipping the knuckle in the middle of her pointer finger. "Well, alright then...thanks for a beautiful experience, Choji. We'll come again soon."
"Looking forward to it!" The brown-headed, well-fed fellow bellowed from the doorway. "Have a nice night, everybody; we'll take care of cleaning off the table, so don't you worry. Just have a fantastic night, you hear?"
Naruto nodded. "You bet, Choji! Thanks again!" He sprang up from his chair and vaulted smoothly over the table without disturbing the dishes. He landed and reached his hand out and started shaking Choji's grip pretty assertively. "You're one of the best chefs I've ever met!"
Choji blinked, then scowled in an exaggerated way. "Oh yeah? One of? Who's better than me?" He snorted defensively, and Naruto suddenly felt like he made a misstep.
"I uh, didn't mean...uh...Sakura, help me out, would ya?" He whispered behind his hand. His wife covered her mouth and snickered, then shrugged.
"You got yourself into it, so you have to get yourself out," she remarked with a wink. Somewhere in the middle of that confusion, Hinata had slipped out without being noticed.
Sasuke was perched high atop the same building he had just left. His hand was cautiously on the hilt of his sword, and his eyes were fully shining with their mismatched glory. Purplish-gray on the left, with black rings and commas lining up in concentric circles. The other eye, red and glowing, was a bit more recognizable to the layman. The restaurant was one of the tallest buildings in the area, so he was likely not noticed where he stood despite the softly lit power in his sockets. A few curved, smooth metal pipes stuck out of the roof for ventilation; some of them ran all the way up from the kitchen far below, and the scent of cooking meats and stews made up a nice distraction from the still darkness of the night. Some of the surrounding structures had lights on in a window or two, but many people were already in bed.
Hinata climbed to Sasuke's height with a few graceful steps, taking big leaps of scant weight to bring herself up soundlessly, though Sasuke knew she had arrived before she even hit the stiff concrete behind him. "I think we should talk, Hinata...about earlier," he said without facing her.
She gulped once her feet were on stable flooring. She knew exactly what he meant. She might've been happier if they had both pretended that nothing happened, just like before. "Do we really have to talk about it?" She took a slight step backward. She had come up to see him because she noticed him lurking above with her Byakugan, but she was hoping for something else. She didn't know what, but she was suddenly very nervous.
"I think we should acknowledge it, at least," Sasuke said in response. "How do you feel about me?"
The girl's dark hair was almost invisible in the night, leaving just a softly-lit pale face with equally pale eyes flitting in different directions; by force of habit, she was avoiding eye contact despite the fact that Sasuke was still facing away from her. "I-I don't know, Sasuke...I like to be around you, but that's all I can say, really...It's all so confusing right now."
Sasuke nodded, but then he exhaled with a sensation of being lost. Had be been asked an identical question, his answer would have been the same as hers. "If you actually like to be around me, then let me walk you home, Hinata. I don't trust the streets tonight."
"Because of what happened to my sister?" A whisper in the dark was all she was, as long as he refused to face her directly.
"No, not entirely...it's partially because of what I realized about you." He turned, then, to square his shoulders in her direction. He took a step, one long stride of steady legs that put him close to her. She didn't move back, but she shrunk around the neck and shoulders and held her arms vertical along her chest.
"R-realized? What is it?" Hinata sucked air in through her nose, gasping without letting her voice play it out.
A warm breeze blew over the high roof, and Sasuke's cloak whipped around on his left side, unhindered by a limb. He spoke with the wind, and the words carried themselves into Hinata's ear with tender purpose. "You're afraid to speak against people. You don't want to disappoint them or make them angry, isn't that right?"
Hinata blinked, and her fingers curled self-consciously beneath the neckline of her shirt. "But I'm entering the General Tier, like you said I should...I'm going against my father's wishes."
Sasuke nodded. "And I'm proud of you for that...but that's only half of it. It's dangerous for a person who might hesitate out there...And how do you expect to prevail in a tournament full of determined fighters and hardened killers if you can't even tell Naruto what's really on your mind?"
Hinata froze for a second. "W-what?"
The taller one of the dark-headed pair sighed and brought his hand up to rest atop Hinata's head; his fingers fell through the silky blue of her hair and he rolled a few strands between his thumb and forefinger. She leaned toward it, cherishing any touch he gave her. He spoke with a soothing tone, his eyes brightly examining her and appreciating the blissful expression he had brought onto her face. "I don't know exactly what you said to him, but I know that you wish you had said more...When I walked in, you were smiling and laughing, but I could see it plain in your eyes, Hinata. I saw regret—regret that came from holding something back."
She felt caught, but at the same time she was a little flattered that Sasuke could read her expression so well. She fessed up: "I...wanted to be mad at him. I wanted to scream at him. I felt neglected; ignored...but then he smiled at me and told me that he thought good things about me. It made me feel kind of special again; it was a good enough feeling to make me forget about what I wanted to say...but you're right, Sasuke. There's more I need to say, but...I don't want to hurt him..."
Sasuke sighed and made a tsk with his tongue. "He's a tough guy. I spent a lot of time trying to get him to back off, but it was no use. Trust me: Nothing you say is going to knock him down for long...and he deals best in hard truths. Don't let him think that everything is okay if it's not. You're too used to appeasing people, Hinata—it's time for another lesson in breaking your own mold."
The girl blinked. "Another lesson...? But it's late; I need to get home..."
"This one is very important. You can't let Naruto go home tonight and think that he did everything right by you. If you disagree with him, if there's even one thing still bothering you, let him know it..." Sasuke took his hand down from Hinata's hair, and it dangled at his side. His expression was something of a smirk. "So tonight, if you won't let me walk you home, then make him do it. And if you get the urge, at any point, to give him a piece of your mind...then do it. Don't let him brush you under the rug, Hinata. You're worth more than a few carefully-chosen words at a dinner table."
The accuracy of Sasuke's guess was almost alarming—had he somehow been able to hear their short conversation? "I don't know if I can say what I want to say..." She poked her pointer fingers together. "Are you sure he'll forgive me for it?"
Sasuke huffed, seeming just a little bit amused. "It's that bad, is it?"
Hinata nodded. "There's one thing in particular that's really hurting me, but...I didn't want to bring it up, because it scares me how me might react..."
"Then that's why it needs to be said...it's hurting you, Hinata, and if Naruto never hears it, then he'll never know your pain...share it with him. Be forceful. Even if you have to do it right in front of Sakura, in front of half the village, it still needs to be done—for all our sakes, but especially yours. You're second to no one, Hinata. Remember that." Sasuke stopped talking, and he held a finger up to his lips to urge quiet. He whispered and ducked down, creeping toward the ledge of the roof and looking down over the side. "They're coming out...must've gotten caught up talking to somebody." He gave Hinata's upper back a pat, almost like a push, to urge her onward. "Go down there and speak your mind, no matter how bad it is."
Hinata blushed as his hand pushed against her. He was immensely strong, but his fingers were still so gentle against her spine and shoulder blade. "You won't come with me...?"
Sasuke shook his head. "No—this one is on you, Hinata. It's your second important lesson: Don't let anybody make you feel small. Your thoughts matter. Make them known."
"I have one question, first," Hinata said while peering at her encouraging tutor.
"Don't take too long—they're going to be gone before you know it." Sasuke tried to keep her focused on the matter at hand, but she wouldn't turn away from him without an answer. "Alright...what's the question?"
"Why did you pay for the meal?" she asked, an innocent but worthy question.
"That's easy," Sasuke replied. "I told you that I'd be the one to pay the next time we went out together. I kept my promise, so the next one is yours to handle." He narrowed his eyes. "But that's enough chatter; it's now or never...get down there. They're already walking away."
Hinata smiled wide at Sasuke's simple answer. Recalling those two simple words—next time—had made her feel a little better. Even if she did end up damaging her relationship with Naruto by speaking her mind, she could always look forward to next time with Sasuke. "Alright...I'll try." She spent one last moment pointing a lingering, hopeful gaze toward Sasuke. Then she vaulted over the waist-high wall that served to protect visitors from falling off the roof. She traveled like a feather in the wind, gliding from one foothold to the next as she descended from the sloped perch.
"Good luck, Hinata," Sasuke wished into the night as his intriguing student dropped to street level below, jogging quickly to catch up with Naruto and Sakura. Even from such a height, Sasuke could see that there was determination and invigoration in each one of her steps.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think. I take any and all feedback seriously! For the record, I actually really appreciate all the mixed reactions I got regarding the previous chapter (particularly those revolving around Sakura). There's nothing like a little disagreement in the reviews to let me know that people are invested in the story, don't you know? Haha, I've seriously been having a blast reading all the feedback recently. Thanks again to all of you for being so interested, and for taking the time to let me know your thoughts. There's much more to come, so look forward to it!