Enjoy!

Hinata was cradled exactly where she wanted to be. In a thousand dreams she couldn't have imagined a more soothing place than this one: tightly packed into Sasuke's arms with the tree-top wind in her hair and the springy bobbing of a flimsy branch beneath her carrier's feet. It was altogether like resting in the clouds, high above the ground and without the noise of the city to disturb her thoughts. She relaxed, became putty; she nearly dripped out of his hold, but her rescuer was resolute. He did not drop her, did not let her fall from balance. He allowed her to rest in silence, a weight in his arms that gave him a reason to live; a reason to endure. After a few minutes of simply holding her, plenty of tears had been soaked into his lavender shirt where Hinata had been wiping her face and eyes. She was quiet, then. Calm. Her peace gave him satisfaction, and after the woman had fallen silent, Sasuke spoke to her: "What was it that made you cry, Hinata?"

She shook her head as if to dismiss the problem. To her, the earlier confrontation was muted, pushed back from the front of her thoughts at the very moment of Sasuke's arrival. He was there to save her from her self-pity, her doubts, her disagreements. She clutched the man's chest; his shirt was soaked and salty in her fingers while she shrugged and murmured. "It's nothing, really." She didn't want to create a scene; she saw what happened when Sasuke sought to avenge her against Shell. That time, Sasuke's victim had survived by luck alone, and in truth she didn't know for sure that he was still alive. That incident was different, though—her very life had been at stake, retained by a single thread. Her savior had plenty of reason to be vengeful. She doubted that he would overreact this time, given the minor nature of the conflict, but there was a natural hesitation in her thoughts. Kiba would definitely make things worse for himself if Sasuke confronted him. And so she left it at 'it's nothing', hoping for that to be good enough.

Sasuke wasn't satisfied. "You don't need to conceal your feelings from me, Hinata—you can tell me about what happened." He peered down at her, really getting a detailed look at the borders of her clothing. His lids narrowed and he studied the lower hem of her shirt. There were a few superficial rips that took on a recognizable pattern, one that was characteristically scorched along the edges. She probably hadn't even noticed, herself. "There are burns on your clothes."

"Burns...?" Hinata blinked, then peered down to follow his gaze. So it was true—in her rush of anger, confusion, and sadness, she hadn't noticed that her lovely yellow top had been singed along the sides and fronts of her hips. Near her hands. She thought back to the battle: surrounded by whirling assailants on all sides, searching for a way out—her mind was demanding a perfect counter to what was coming. Instinct quickly kicked in, and before she knew it her hands had slapped together and formed the seals. Her training had laid a foundation, and she needed no time to think before building upon it. It happened so quickly as to be near-instant. Lightning surged through her body from head to toe, coalescing in each of her hands. With a twirl of her arms the sparking energy was propelled in several directions, individual threads of electricity slipping free of her fingertips and lashing her surroundings like supercharged whips. She felt the weight of the energy, heard the crackling in her ears...then the horrible thrashing of the wind had stopped, and her feet were once again on the ground. She hadn't really been able to think about what she had done before Kiba took offense to her use of lightning—did he even see the power of her technique, or was it the element itself that disturbed him? She flexed her hands and cleared her throat. "I-I must have scorched myself during practice..."

Sasuke nodded, sensing that she was holding back something important. He let it sit; no reason to push her. She had her reasons to keep the details scarce, and he respected that. "I recognize the burn pattern. My own clothes caught a lot of the same scorching while Kakashi was teaching me how to use Chidori." He smiled at the recollection. "Lightning...it's very difficult to tame, but the power is worth the effort." His fingers played at the side of Hinata's hip while he held her, tracing the ruined edges of her frilly garment with a gentle thumb. Was it nostalgia that made him smile, or was it the woman who was there in the present? A mix of both; perhaps she forced him to remember the better times simply by keeping his thoughts positive. That was good for him.

Hinata nodded toward his observation. She took her hand off his chest and looked at her palm. It was bright red, as if still sore from the heat and force of her chakra output. "Yes, very difficult..." She had done it so easily, though. So naturally. Not naturally enough, she lamented as she silently noted her damaged shirt. "I need more practice, that's all." She raised the numbness of her palm to touch the side of Sasuke's cheek, rubbing his smooth skin gently and smiling up to him. "Did you really hear me crying, Sasuke? Is that why you're out here?" As romantic as the notion was, she couldn't quite believe it. Surely he was already nearby on his own business, perhaps hunting within the woods to replenish his dwindled supply of jerky. Was it really her, and only her, that brought him so far from the walls of Konoha?

Sasuke smiled with a light huff of laughter. He knew how surreal the explanation must have sounded, and he didn't resent her skepticism one bit. "It's true, Hinata..." And it was true, though he left out the fact that he had utilized his moderately keen sensory capabilities to track her down from afar. He wasn't near Naruto's or even Karin's level of sensing, but he could find a person when he really needed to. Especially since he had spent so much time with her, and had gotten to know her chakra fairly intimately during their training within his genjutsu. Earlier that day, after his senses had brought him close to the presence of her chakra, he really did start to hear her sobbing. The sound struck him to his core and forced him to reach her as quickly as possible. When he saw the sadness on her face make the transformation into joy as she felt both of his arms upon her body for the first time, Sasuke promised to remember that moment for the rest of his life. She was aglow with admiration and gratitude. Was he really so cherished? She proved that he was, time and time again, but it was still difficult for him to believe. A traitor, a murderer, a member of an accursed clan...yet she focused on his eyes as if they were shining stars, not raging infernos. She did not flee from his darkness, and she welcomed his light. She knew that he had flaws, but she didn't resent them. "You don't have to tell me why you were crying," Sasuke whispered, touching his lips to her forehead. "And you shouldn't stop unless you're ready to stop."

Hinata smiled, and the thought of his acceptance made her eyes well up all over again. Not because she was sad, but because she had been given 'permission' to let her sorrow show through. Her weaknesses. Her father was rarely so sensitive; even Naruto was usually so upbeat as to discourage sadness simply by wearing his goofy grin and ever-optimistic attitude. With Sasuke, though, things were different. She felt his personal aura of sadness like a shadow; always there, blocking out the brightest rays of the sun. There were openings, though—holes in the dark. Rather than frightening blackness, his eclipse felt more like the protective shade of the dense forest below her feet. Mysterious and potentially hazardous, but ultimately natural and hospitable to those who were invited. She asked herself why she was still withholding things from him, and chose not to do so. "I had a fight," she eventually confessed through her quiet lips. "It got bad..."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed again, looking to Hinata's face and checking for bruises or scrapes. She seemed fine, other than the superficial damage to her clothes. "Was it one of them?"

Hinata shook her head quickly, looking to defuse his already-rising vengeance. "N-no, nothing like that...it was my teammate, Kiba." She bit her lower lip, wondering if it was wise to tell Sasuke all the details about it. She had grown to trust his restraint and judgement, but there was the off chance that she had been mistaken in doing so. "He wanted to spar, and I agreed, but...when we started..." She trailed off, having trouble finding the words to summarize what happened.

Sasuke gave a slow, understanding nod. He made a guess. "When you started, he realized that you were far stronger than he was...and he got angry about it."

The Hyuuga girl blushed gratefully toward Sasuke's faith in her abilities. She didn't need to explain herself—he knew how strong she had become, no matter how much she had been doubting her own potential. "Y-yes...how did you guess?"

"Well, I know more about Kiba than you might think I do. He's a blowhard like Naruto, but without the natural talent to back it up. He picks fights with people who are stronger than him, but then he's furious when he loses. He blames his shortcomings on others, so his mistakes are never his own." Sasuke explained his views without blinking. A bit harsh, but generally focused on the truth. His eyes softened. "And I know you, too. Somebody like Kiba Inuzuka can't challenge you anymore."

Hinata felt a certain defensiveness in her chest, and it conflicted with her pride. She was compelled to speak on Kiba's behalf, as she felt dirty while discussing him so unfavorably behind his back. "That all sounds like him...but he's not as bad as you think. He does have a big ego, and he has issues taking responsibility for his failures...but his heart is always in the right place, and I'm sure that he's only angry because he thinks that he needs to protect me from..." She paused, sighing as she found herself repeating the exhausting sentiment yet again. "From you."

Sasuke saw an opportunity to seek some understanding, there. An anchor to revisit later—a way to perhaps win Kiba's approval, or at very least convince him of the truth. "He's one of the people who's worried that I'm going to hurt you?"

"Actually...he's certain that you've already hurt me." Hinata sheepishly looked aside. "He still thinks so, even though I..." She hesitated, but it was too late to backpedal. "I told him what really happened the other night. I know you told me not to talk about it, but I didn't know what else to do; he saw my wounds and assumed you were the one to cause them. I guess it doesn't matter, though. He thinks I'm lying about what happened just so I can protect you."

"You told him about the attack?" Sasuke's eyes widened a little; he was genuinely shocked. As he thought it over, though, he realized that he wasn't that shocked. Sakura told Naruto, Hinata told Kiba (and probably her sister, too, at least), and he suspected that Sai would tell Ino sooner or later as well. For a village full of shinobi who were trained in the art of subtlety and espionage, it was surprisingly difficult to ensure that secrets remained as such between friends. Perhaps that was part of the enemy's plan. "What's more...you told him the actual truth, and he didn't believe you?"

Hinata shook her head sadly, then laid her ear against Sasuke's chest. Her eyes closed slowly and she allowed the warmth of his core to help her relax all over again. Her left hand reached up to her own shoulder where she was being held up, caressing the bandages of Sasuke's new arm with a few slender fingers. She was definitely enjoying the warmth that replaced what would have otherwise been cold, unfeeling machinery. "Like I said, his heart's in the right place, but he's always been stubborn. Maybe as stubborn as Naruto. Once he gets an idea in his head, I can't do anything to change his mind. I told him the truth so that maybe he'd stop accusing you, but...I guess it didn't work after all."

Sasuke looked over his shoulder. Somewhere in the forest at his back, there was surely an angered Kiba ranting about something or another. He couldn't hear it, but he could imagine it. The thought made him sigh inside, but the warmth of his precious Hinata in his arms kept him from vocalizing the sound. He kept a smile because she made him happy. His cheeks were aching every day—probably because he had been smiling too often and wasn't used to it. "You did what you could," he murmured, shaking his head, "but you don't need to risk your reputation for my sake. If he thinks you're lying to protect me, it won't do any good to repeat yourself."

Sadness touched the woman's features again, her forehead sagging and lips curving down. "So what should I do? He's convinced himself that you're a terrible person, but I know that you aren't."

"Let him be. I've dealt with worse." Sasuke squeezed Hinata's shoulder, then looked down past her frame to the forest floor below. The gentle trickle of a narrow stream was running below, not far from the base of his chosen tree. The cool water invited him to come closer, as the hot sun was making his bandages itch against his freshly-attached skin. "I'd like to get out of the sun for a while. Do you mind?"

Grinning appreciatively, Hinata leaned up in his arms, both of her hands finding his face and taking both cheeks gently between her palms. She could feel the lingering heat there, not all of it his own. "It's a muggy day...I wouldn't mind a break from the heat." She smiled and planted a soft kiss onto Sasuke's lips, tender and reluctant. She departed from his mouth while still wanting more, but she did so because she was consciously trying to hold herself back. With hopeless futility, she aimed to ration her kisses, to maintain a subtle affection rather than acknowledge the burning need that thrummed in the back of her mind. She was constantly thinking about their first kiss, then the day that followed. It was only yesterday that she was in his lap, straddling his hips and sucking his lips with something like desperation. She blushed at the memory once again; she wondered if she would ever come to terms with that feeling of wild abandon, if she'd ever forgive herself for succumbing so quickly to the urge to throw herself upon him. That moment had made her feel deeply unladylike, made worse by the way Hanabi teased her about her inexperience. And so she defaulted to easy kisses, ones that were simple pecks upon the lips, and Sasuke didn't seem to mind. He didn't press her for more depth, but he audibly and physically cherished each brush of lip on lip. Hinata gleefully kicked her legs quietly back and forth with her knees bent over his supportive arm.

Sasuke did chase her brief kiss with one of his own, catching her on the way backward. It was his answer; his counterattack. In a fair fight, two parties should trade equal blows, giving and taking hits with identical measure. So when she kissed him, he felt the urge to do the same in return, though he kept it separate. An entirely new kiss, one that was exactly as short and nearly as sweet as hers. The taste of her lips kept him hooked on the exchange, but just like Hinata, he was hesitant to press so far again. Was it still too soon, still too risky to give in to the fall? What was she to him, and he to her? What could they be, realistically? Master and student, yes...but what else? Sasuke and Hinata looked at one another, as if simultaneously asking the same question. No answer was needed. Sasuke stepped down from the top branch, and his hair rose up while his body fell, with Hinata's doing the same. They were each capped by fluffed clouds of dark strands, and as they dropped perilously down, they continued to behold one another without flinching.

They fell freely, with neither a branch nor a leaf finding a way of scraping or scratching either of their forms. Sasuke slipped through the thick canopy like a narrow thread that pierced the eye of a needle on the first try, and when his feet later touched the ground, the landing was soft and silent despite the twigs and loose leaves that coated the forest floor. The sun was blocked by the thickness of chlorophyl overhead, and there was no beaten path near where they settled—save for the winding 'road' that the unseen, crisply flowing stream had carved for its own use. The forest was raw and peaceful, and the region seemed deserted. There were no chirping birds or groaning deer, no rustling trespassers within the surrounding bushes. They were alone, but for one another's company.

Sasuke gently began to lower Hinata so that she could stand on her own feet, and she caught the dirt with her rubbery boots and smiled up at her transport, keeping a hold on both of his hands. She clutched Sasuke's fingers with hers, feeling the bandages on one limb but meeting the resistance of firm flesh and bone beneath. She laughed with wonder as she felt it, rubbing her thumb against the back of his new hand. He really was complete, and he did it for her sake as well as his. "It's so quiet here," she acknowledged, eventually pulling her eyes away from the perfection of Sasuke's face to look upon the serenity of the brown and green spires around her. The layout was dense, but something about it was..."Just like home," she observed, then quickly shook her head and corrected herself. "Like your district, I mean...our training ground." She was hotly blushed, and she hastily released his hands and turned away in hopes of hiding the redness from the man she was trying not to lose herself in. It was a slip of the tongue, sure, but she had spent so much time in those ruins that they had begun to feel like home. It was as if the house that contained her bed was a place she only visited when she had to, and the destination she yearned for was the field of gray stone and lopsided pillars that served as the last remaining foothold of the Uchiha family.

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed, allowing Hinata to escape him in her embarrassment. He heard what she said, and he knew the practical reasoning behind why she said it...but maybe he didn't know the precise implications. "Calm and tranquil," he mused, stepping around Hinata to approach the heard-but-unseen stream. The trees were less than a yard apart from one another and the ground underfoot was covered in foliage, with roots that were both soft and scratchy rising up from the dirt. The unkempt, crusty terrain rose and fell in natural waves, with a variance of seven or eight feet from top to bottom along with the occasional gaps and crevices that dropped into muddied depressions. The wilderness was wild indeed, nearly unnavigable but for the fact that the visitors were experienced ninjas. Such a trek was simplicity itself for the pair, and when Sasuke lightly hopped across a small gap and then descended a slope to find the edge of running water, Hinata followed with lackadaisical ease. The scrape of loose dirt and the tumbling of tiny stones followed behind them as they slid.

Hinata gracefully coasted ahead of Sasuke to reach the border of the stream before him—the water was relatively shallow, perhaps ten to twenty inches deep depending on the spot, and only a few feet across. It flowed slowly in the center with a bit of a rush near the sides, occasionally lifting a stray twig or errant leaf from the bank to carry it off to parts unknown. Regardless of the passengers on the surface, the water was crystal clear. The bottom was visible in the form of slick mud with smooth stones dotting the scape. The banks were higher and wider than the present water level, suggesting that the heat had sapped some of its volume via evaporation along the way. Hinata fell to her knees along the muddy bank without a care—her clothes were already dirty from training, and she had singed them even worse than that, so the mud on her legs didn't matter. She scooped her hands into the lazy flow and as she brought the liquid to her mouth, she sucked it up from the reservoir of her palms with greedy gulps and finally realized how thirsty she had been.

Sasuke joined her, dipping his right hand into the water in a similar fashion and scooping up his own serving of fluid to drink down. He did not chug it so greedily as Hinata did, but he had been told by his doctor to keep himself hydrated to encourage the development of his new arm, so he did as instructed. The dormant limb itched, and it throbbed, and it was still a little numb from lingering cold deep inside, but he was getting used to its presence quickly. Still, he opted not to use it for drinking—the bandages would likely add an unpleasant flavor, and even if they didn't, he saw no reason to take the modest risk. The water itself was stupendously cool and refreshing, and the pair of shinobi took several more scoops worth before becoming satisfied and settling down to take a seat along the bank. Hinata laid on her back and raised her arms above her head, stretching out and groaning quietly. Though she hadn't been suitably challenged during training, her muscles still appreciated the stretch.

Sasuke fell back onto his rear a few steps from Hinata and crossed his legs, laying his left arm on his knee and humming pleasantly. "This is more like what I'm used to," he said as if longing for the past. "Emptiness in every direction; nobody to accuse me, nobody to resent me."

Hinata turned from her place on her back and rested herself in the mud on her side. She left a Hinata-shaped imprint in the mud behind her, and she was making more tracks along the formerly-smooth ledge each time she moved. "You spent a lot of time in the wilderness while you were away?"

Sasuke nodded. "Most of my time. There are untouched parts of the world that are vast—if you were to travel one step at a time until you had laid a footprint on every square foot of empty soil, then every one of the nations would be as big as a lifetime. I could have spent the rest of my years exploring hidden paths that have been carved by nature, let alone humanity, and I might have been happy with that." He looked over to Hinata, her innocently-curved body having turned his way in an unintentionally-inviting way, one arm draped casually over a hip with fingers idly playing at the hem of her shirt. He felt a lump in his throat but he didn't let it affect his speech. "I think that I could have been happy by myself," he continued, but his heart was no longer confident in what he was saying. From time to time, a person might get the chance to be stricken by a vision of utter perfection, the flawless arrangement of form, scenery, lighting, and atmosphere that is so rare and so influential that it can change a person's life forever. Sasuke was seeing one of those visions and having one of those moments again—in fact, with Hinata nearby he had those moments alarmingly often.

Her clothes were a bit tight in certain places to begin with, a problem that was made a little more obvious by the way she rolled in the mud and let the material get caught up behind and beneath her. The cloth was pulled taut against her shape by the resistance of the ground while she rotated in the cool, wet dirt. Particularly, her shirt was squeezing her chest and her pants were squeezing her hips and thighs prominently. She didn't think much of the strain on her threads, other than for the mild discomfort it created against her skin—her life had generally been one sustained by nearly-naïve innocence. Men who looked at her rather well-developed features in the past were swiftly 'dealt with' by either Neji or Ko, but neither of her guardians were there to run Sasuke off, and so she experienced the entire length of his awestruck stare. Willingly. Though she was made nervous by his intensity, she found herself compelled to bask in his focus. Her breath gained weight and her lips tensed timidly. A shiver ran down her spine and her body went still. She knew that Sasuke was captivated by her, by the way she looked at that exact moment. She could see that his eyes were dark, but they were focused, and he was as motionless as she was. Freckles of sunlight struck her in just the right places to give her an exotic appeal within the dimness of the shade.

Finally, she felt overwhelmed by the silent gaze. Though she loved the way his steamy attention made her feel, she could not endure it any longer. She was becoming too tempted by her own thoughts. Trying to gradually relieve the tension of the moment, Hinata spoke with shaky curiosity, her throat trembling just like her spine and fingertips. "D-do you still think you'd be happy if you were alone?" she asked quietly. She was shifting somewhat awkwardly as the question hung in the air, as if she was trying to offset the accidental perfection of her pose.

The slight turns and tilts of her shoulder, hip, and arm were not enough to break Sasuke's enthralled stare. He blinked several times, doing his best to break the lock from his own side. Failing that, he answered with a sensual hum, letting the heat of his pumping blood warm the sound of his throat. "No...I can't be happy by myself...Not anymore." He didn't move. He couldn't. Hinata's beauty echoed in his ears, the undeniable allure of her body and her mind coming together to make Sasuke sweat. "That's been impossible since the moment I saw you in the moonlight."

Hinata shuddered a gasp, bringing her arm to her chest and squeezing near her heart. She was flattered, but she was speechless. She licked her lips to wet them, because despite her greedy drinking her breaths had made them dry again. The mud on her clothes was heavy while she tried to sit up, and it covered most of her left side and all of her back. Her pale arms were slick with a thin film of the syrupy earth. She felt dirty in more ways than one, but at least one of those ways could be dealt with. She was self-consciously on her knees again, and she crawled to the side of the stream carefully. She couldn't tell Sasuke how happy she was to hear his words; she couldn't bear the shame of admitting that she was instantly addicted to the way he looked at her with such unspoken hunger in his eyes. She couldn't reply at all, and while her half-open mouth was panting shallowly with confusion, she slowly reached a hand into the clear water of the stream to splash it along her arm. It was the only way she could distract herself; the only way to keep herself sane. She started haphazardly bathing her limbs with the cold water, one ounce at a time. The mud that coated her was still wet, and it washed away with ease to give way to clear skin.

Sensing a chance to dilute the tension at last, Sasuke got a gleam in his eye. "Maybe I can help with that," he hummed fluidly. He inched closer to her and dipped his new hand into the water along the way, parting the surface slightly as it flowed to either side of his digits.

His gradual approach made Hinata more nervous than ever, and her blush became solid as he got nearer to her, creeping through the mud on his knees inch by inch. Help me wash off? Is he suggesting...? She whined inwardly, then shut her eyes tightly as if to escape the terrifyingly tempting prospect. Tempting? She bit her lip as she caught herself thinking so, and her head shook frantically to follow her silent narration. No no, none of that! I don't care how warm he is, how understanding he is, how...perfect he is. I can't take this. Just as she was turning to tell Sasuke that she didn't need his help, her face was splashed by a heaping lump of cold water. The forced hydration filled her open mouth and flushed up one of her nostrils before she raised a hand to defend herself. By then, it was too late—the damage had been done and Hinata's upper half was soaked. Her hair was weighed down and her face was dripping from forehead to chin. She gasped for breath and shivered beneath the icy splash that drenched her. Sasuke was kneeling a pace and a half away with a sly smirk on his suddenly-childish face. Initially, Hinata was angered by the sneak attack—but then she realized what it was. She grinned wide and wiped a hand down her face to clear the bulk of the saturation, then she brought her own hand down to the stream. With playful vigor, she growled: "Not fair! You're in for it now, Sasuke..." She thrashed her arm and sent a modest torrent of the clear stream water toward Sasuke's face in retaliation.

Oh, he could have avoided it for miles. To the demigod it was like there was a slow-moving lava flow gradually stretching its way toward him, or a stalagmite forming one drop of sediment at a time to never reach his face. Instead of edging out of the way, instead of raising his arm to block the worst of it, instead of playing for keeps, Sasuke simply held firm, smirking his insufferable smirk until the full force of Hinata's splash struck him right on the nose. The volume of the water she was able to move was actually impressive, and it seemed to rush over his face, neck, hair, and ears for several seconds before he could see and hear clearly again. When the shock of the cold came and went, Sasuke's smirk turned into a full grin. His hair seemed worse off than Hinata's, its midsection falling limp into unevenly-long strands across his forehead and eyes. He laughed; he laughed long and hard, then pulled the hair to one side with a pair of fingers. "What was that for?" He asked playfully, reaching for another splash. The fight was on.

As Hinata turned her back, she was soaked from behind by the second wave. She couldn't contain her blissful giggle. Drops of water rose high and fell low, reflecting the thin beams of sunlight overhead into a hundred sparkles in each direction. The beads barely had time to land on one side of the battle before the opposite side sent them back twice as quickly. The war raged on, and both Sasuke and Hinata were grinning wide. I didn't even know you liked having fun, Sasuke. The words had been Hinata's, weeks before.

I was a kid, once. Sasuke's previous admission rang through Hinata's mind as they laughed and splashed together, ducking and kicking to do everything within their child-like power to soak the other. I had a lot of fun as a child, he echoed as another healthy dose of water drenched and cleansed the mud from the side of Hinata's shirt. She squirmed in an attempt to avoid it, but the purifying rush couldn't be denied. Some of the dirtiness still remained, but the bulk of it was easy to wash away since the liquid was so clear. I'm starting to remember what it was like to feel happy. Sasuke had an honest grin, a clear and weightless laugh. He was proving to Hinata—without really meaning to prove it—that he was becoming someone else. No, not someone else—he was becoming himself again.

Hinata and Sasuke, two honorable combatants in an impromptu splash war, had waded into the stream to where it was knee-deep, gradually growing closer and closer until they shared a final exchange. Two massive waves collided and canceled each other out, and when the foam of collision finally dispersed, the two locked eyes and took deep breaths. For a moment, they stood in silence Without a word, they mutually sloughed through the muddy ground and threw their arms around one another, embracing fully from the waist up. Their grins remained, their soaked bodies pressed together as waterlogged articles of clothing squished and squeezed, wrung out by the pressure of the naturally tight embrace. Hinata looked up at Sasuke, who looked down at her with a slow pant, mouth still spread wide with an appreciative grin. It had been so long since he had simply played, since he had allowed himself to forget his worries and just entertain himself for the sake of it. A hand of Sasuke's rose up and sloshed through Hinata's soaking tresses. After wringing out a long lock, he gave her hair a gentle tug to tilt her head back, then moved his mouth to hers. With a tight kiss to her lips, he surrendered.

Hinata submitted herself to that kiss, leaning herself back at the waist to find an arm looped just above her backside, a turning point for her spine to curve against. She pressed her stomach up and out, molding to Sasuke's firm abdomen. Her own arms came up to throw around his neck and pull his face to hers. Their noses clashed like usual, still not fully rehearsed in their kissing technique. It was fine; everything was fine. More than fine. It was actually ideal. They owned that stream, they possessed the forest that surrounded them; in that moment, they were blissful. Euphoric. Nothing could go wrong, anymore. Sasuke's hand followed the enticing curve of Hinata's hip and thigh, running warmth down her left leg to seep through the chilly film of water that trickled over her. The drenched woman let off a natural moan into the tight lock of Sasuke's lips, and her mouth opened to really suckle on his smooth skin. She tongued against his mouth for a moment, and she was met with a light prod of his own slick muscle in exchange. She pulled him nearer, pressed her chest and stomach tighter, and ensured that her eyes were fully closed.

"Nngh," Hinata groaned into the kiss, and then she pulled her head back gently. She was panting hard, but she didn't want to discourage her playmate. She pursed her lips and took a stiff breath through her nose. Her whole body was covered in water and she could feel it trickling down all her curves beneath her clothes. "I feel much better now," she said sheepishly, and Sasuke puffed out an amused stream of air that was accompanied by a bright-toothed grin.

"So do I," he replied, then leaned down for another kiss, not quite as deep as the first. That moment was crucial. Don't get carried away, he reminded himself. If he were to have tried, he would have been able to peer through the thin, soaking yellow fabric of Hinata's shirt. Out of respect for her, and for his own sanity's sake, he avoided looking at anything below her neckline, keeping his own chest tightly locked to her cushioned bosom and his eyes nicely sealed against the pale irises of his...of his what? Was she his student, friend, or more? Such a trivial question to ask. Their togetherness spoke for itself, and yet a label was inevitable. Whether it came from him, from her, or from somebody else in another place, their connection would be called something that didn't adequately reflect the beautiful truth. Let somebody else decide, Sasuke thought as he felt Hinata's arms slowly tightening around his neck in a classically wanting position. A minute passed, and the kissing finally ended, though perhaps not for long. A short break, but not an ending.

As Sasuke retreated with tasteful reluctance, Hinata stood up straight to match him and lowered her arms from his neck and shoulders to his waist, wrapping around his mid-back with a tight squeeze. Her head nuzzled his chest and she felt his hand come behind her hair to hold her there. It felt good to be wanted—to be cradled and kissed, to be desired. To have a strong hand behind her head to hold her close and tell her 'I don't want you to go; I want you to stay right here.' She murmured into his chest with bashful lips, and she melted into him. "Sasuke, I..."

Suddenly, the blissful couple simultaneously broke out of the moment and turned their heads in unison toward the nearby bushes. Somebody was coming...somebody had seen. Sasuke's right hand immediately reached for his hip in search of the hilt of his sword. It wasn't there. He had left it behind that morning. That would have been unfortunate, were it not for the speedy and disarming response of the encroaching presence. Before the embracing pair could even separate from one another's arms, a voice called out to them.

"Don't kill me, don't kill me, don't kill me!" It was a young girl's voice, a small but experienced exclamation repeated thrice for the sake of certainty. "I know I'm not..." pant, "supposed to..." pant, "sneak up!" Hanabi came with a burst through the nearby bushes and looked completely winded when she emerged into view. "This is an emergency, though!" She looked genuinely disturbed; her face was red from exertion and her knees were shaky. She must have been sprinting all the way from the village.

Hinata immediately responded. "Hanabi, slow down!" Shebroke free of Sasuke's embrace with ease and stumbled through the muddy stream to approach her sister. "What's the matter?"

Hanabi had her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath before answering. She had a dire expression. "Sis, we need to go home right away..." She peered at Sasuke, then thought for a minute before adding an exhausted condition: "But I don't think he should come with us."

Sasuke nearly protested, but Hinata could see that the matter was genuinely serious and spoke before him. "Tell me what's going on, Hanabi. I need to know what this is about before I say anything else." Though it was almost definitely Hanabi as far as Hinata could tell, she didn't want to foolishly waltz into another trap like before. Skepticism was her ally, especially in such a bizarre situation. Clearly, Hanabi found her with her genuine, still-active Byakugan—but what sort of emergency could have been so urgently terrible, yet also delicate enough that it required her to keep Sasuke away?

"Father..." Hanabi began, beating her chest with an open palm to clear her air flow. "He's furious. He sent everybody out to find you, so I had to be sure that I was the one to reach you first...I mean, who knows what Sasuke would do to somebody else sneaking up?" She gave a wincing, apologetic look toward the quiet Uchiha. The man was soaked, and Hinata was soaked, but Hanabi wasn't even making a snide comment about it. That's what sealed it—the emergency was real.

"Furious? About what?" Hinata gave Sasuke a concerned glance, a look which was met with dark eyes full of stoic intrigue. The twinkling, carefree enjoyment had already faded from Sasuke's face; he had become stone again.

"A message from the Hokage arrived at the house today. Do you know what was written on it?" Hanabi was finally catching her breath, and she had adopted a mildly aggressive tone. She looked like she felt betrayed. She was met with silence from both Hinata and Sasuke, so she sighed and revealed the 'surprise'. "It was a comprehensive list of all the registered tournament participants...including which tier they were entered into." Her expression was locked tight and she was scowling a little.

That's when Hinata's eyes grew wider and her throat swelled with a gulp. She looked at Sasuke, and he gave her a reassuring glance of silent eyes; he had nothing vocal to say, but just the tilt of his head was comforting to her. The older sister regarded Hanabi and hugged her own dripping wet torso with both arms. "So he saw...and you saw...?" Hinata's voice was meek and quiet. She was caught. She knew it was coming, but she had hoped somehow that the announcement would be ignored by her father just like everything else was.

"Yeah, we both saw where your name was...and since you aren't denying it, I guess it isn't some kind of mistake." Hanabi closed her eyes and puffed a sigh, mimicking her sister's arm placement over her chest. Though where Hinata's stance seemed defensive, Hanabi's posture was determined and steadfast. "I get it, I do—you're too strong to be in the lowest tier and everybody knows it...but Father doesn't see it that way."

"H-how mad is he, Hanabi?" Hinata trembled at the base of her spine, a tingle that made her feel heavy.

"Well, let's put it this way—he didn't shout, but it's been a long time since I've seen his face turn that red...and that little vein popped up on his forehead, too. So unless you want things to get even worse, you need to come back with me right we can smooth this over together." Hanabi extended her hand, inviting Hinata to take it. The short teenager peered at Sasuke, who seemed to be taking the whole thing in stride. "I really am sorry about interrupting...I wouldn't have bothered you guys if it wasn't something serious."

Sasuke nodded slowly, though his face was flat and cryptic. "I know you wouldn't have." Was it a threat, or an acknowledgment? Hanabi thought that she was better off not knowing the answer.

Hinata timidly took her sister's hand and frowned slightly to Sasuke. She wanted him to come along but knew that his presence would only make things worse. Her father was angry, that much was obvious—but how bad was it, really? How open was he to reason? Those were the important questions to ask and answer along the way. Only Hanabi could provide the backup that was necessary to deal with the family-rooted issue, though it was Sasuke's lingering strength that kept Hinata's backbone straight. "Alright. I know I can't run away from this, so thank you for being the one to tell me, Hanabi."

The young girl wagged a finger. "Don't get ahead of yourself, sis...I'm actually pretty annoyed that you didn't tell me about this." Hanabi smirked, a sharp tooth showing behind her lip. "I think I can forgive you once I've beaten you, though." She winked, then focused her Byakugan with a serious expression. "The others are still looking around inside the village. We should go before somebody gets the bright idea to come out here and cause a problem."

Hinata nodded, but first she looked one more time toward Sasuke. "Thanks for cheering me up today," she said to him. "I promise I'll see you again soon!" She showed a smile that could melt a glacier, but Sasuke could see the worry in the back of her eyes. He had seen that latent concern before, and he would see it again on another day. One thing that Sasuke knew not to worry about, however, was the girl herself—she would be fine, one way or another. He trusted her to make the right choice. And so it was okay that he was being left behind—he would have liked to help, but he knew that there was nothing he could accomplish for her in light of her father's disapproval. The master's role was reduced to serving as a passive voice in Hinata's memories, but that was enough. As Hinata started to leave, the worry in her eyes turned into a flash of recognition: "Oh, and good luck with your photo shoot! I know you'll do great!"

Sasuke had almost forgotten; in fact, he was surprised that she remembered, given the situation. He smirked with no enthusiasm. Her well-wish was received gratefully, but the thought was a bit silly—who needed luck for a photo shoot? "Thanks, Hinata." That was it. With such simple words she was gone again, vanished beyond the trees with Hanabi towing her along. He was tempted to follow her through the thickness, but thought better of it. The rest of her family was searching for her. He was forced to remember once again that most people saw him as a menace, a corrupting influence on the village and its people. She was better off without having him nearby—at least with regards to her image, something that was precariously teetering on a pinpoint. He heard the rustle of branches and the crackling of windblown leaves above—Hinata and Hanabi were headed home quickly, leaving Sasuke behind to contemplate the moment.

Loneliness was an old sensation, one that he had gotten easily accustomed to. It wasn't the loneliness that nagged him most, but the sense of obligation. Why did I agree to a photo shoot? Do I really want my face on a poster? He could already imagine the graffiti and the disdain, but it was too late for regrets. Until the moment he imagined himself in front of a camera, he had forgotten that his body was soaked with stream water. He looked down at his sopping clothes while his hand came up to run his bare fingers through the sopping mop of his hair. He groaned quietly and stepped out of the water, pulling his signaling mirror out of his pocket to quickly look at himself. Pitiful. If he was going to be photographed, he was going to be photographed properly. He raised his left arm and tried to force chakra through the pathways within, but the shrunken channels were still sluggish and muddy. On top of that, the muscles felt a bit weak and sore. All he had done was carry Hinata and splash some water, but the limb had already been fatigued? He sighed at the thought. Getting used to this thing might take longer than I thought it would.

Resigning his mind to the near-uselessness of his fresh arm, he raised the, old and reliable right one and passed chakra to his fingertips. Fire-like heat began to jet from each digit with a rush of air to simulate a blowdryer, which Sasuke then used to begin prepping his hair. Though he didn't frankly care about how the photos turned out, he preferred not to catch hell from Kakashi over not taking it seriously enough. Time had passed with surprising quickness while he and Hinata were together, and the sun was showing the early signs of setting. Ten o'clock was the scheduled time of his appointment, and ten o'clock was coming sooner than he wanted.

Though Sasuke tried to distract himself with his personal grooming, his eyes constantly wrinkled with the hope that Hinata would be alright. He knew surprisingly little about Hiashi Hyuuga, but everything he did know pointed to one cautionary conclusion that Hinata had defied: Do not make him angry.

Thanks for your patience on this update! Hopefully I'll have a bit more time (and thus faster updates) during the upcoming holidays, but don't hold me to it because there's a lot of things other than school going on as well. That said, thanks for your amazing support and all of the helpful/insightful reviews you've given me so far. As of right now, there are 798 reviews for this story, so this chapter will undoubtedly push that number past 800. In my wildest dreams I couldn't have imagined such incredible support! I write for my own enjoyment, but also for yours, so please don't hesitate to tell me what you think about the story—positive, negative, neutral, whatever! I'm very PM friendly, so if you have any specific insights or questions that you don't want to put in a review, feel free to send a private message. I'll reply as quickly as possible. The same goes for questions asked within a review. I try to answer all non-spoiler questions as I see them, so if you don't get an answer to a specific question you can probably assume that the answer will (eventually) be given by the story itself. Unfortunately this does not apply to Guest reviews because there is no reply/PM system in place for them.

With all of that said, thanks again for reading this chapter, and for continuing to come back every time I post one. I see a lot of the same names showing up in the review section for every chapter, which is awesome. Knowing that there's a consistent group of people reading each and every new chapter encourages me like you wouldn't believe. Again, thank you.

(Added fun fact: the previous chapter [#37], is tied with chapter #27 [Sasuke vs. Shell + the first kiss] for the highest number of reviews in the history of the story, standing at 38 each. I'm glad that both of them have been so well-received!)