I've noticed you guys like the stuff where Sasuke is embarrassed or trying to impress Hinata or is emotionally hurting over her.
This is not one of those.
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Suigestu and Jugo were at a loss.
Sasuke had left his village again. He got approval from his village under the guise of collecting information on the most notorious people connected to the ninja world. This was not all a farce because their former leader was indeed doing what he said, but the real reason he left was because his girlfriend broke up with him. She was the heiress of some renowned clan or something outrageous like that, and both thought it was a bit fitting that Sasuke couldn't leave any part of his life to normality.
Sasuke couldn't just date someone ordinary.
And for the most part, Sasuke's emotions over the break-up were well hidden around his lesser known team, but they now realized a large part of that was due to Karin being around. Apparently he would not show his supposed weakness around the only female in their group, but Karin had stayed behind in small country they passed through to help an alarming amount of sick children with mysterious illnesses.
Now Sasuke was an irritable, moping cloud of resentment.
Kiba and Shino were worried.
Hinata had broken up with Sasuke over a month ago, and she had been doing fine ever since. They could never understand why she chose a guy like Sasuke if she wanted to go through a bad boy phase, and it was even more difficult to understand why Sasuke even went along with it in the first place. So when Hinata said it was over, Kiba and Shino were not surprised. They hated to say they were relieved.
Hinata didn't need someone so out of the norm.
But the team had ventured to a small village on the outskirts of Kirigakure, and they were staying in a secluded inn for the time being.
And so was Sasuke and his companions.
The groups were located on two different sides of the inn, but it became apparent that Sasuke and his group were not going to leave any time soon. It was most likely intentional. It had to be intentional because the groups ran into each other more than what could be passed off as a coincidence.
And on their fourth day there, Hinata went missing.
Sort of.
"Don't you think she's been gone too long?" Kiba asked. He sat in a chair next to a small dirty window, and his nails clacked restlessly on the splintered wooden table next to him. He looked expectantly at Shino, who was reclined on one of the beds. "Do you think so?"
"I don't," Shino said loud enough for Kiba to hear. The moistened air of the village was getting to him in the worst of ways. "If Sasuke wasn't here, you wouldn't be worried."
"Duh! The guy's unpredictable!"
"But logical enough." Shino removed his sunglasses and rubbed his eyelids. "Look for her if you must. She's fine, though."
Kiba shot up from his chair. "I will look!" He left the room after telling Akamaru to stay behind.
Kiba was about to storm down the hall when the door across from him opened. The orange-haired guy he knew as Jugo appeared, stopping when he saw Kiba.
"Hello," Jugo said rather awkwardly.
"You guys changed rooms?" Kiba asked.
"No." Jugo glanced down the hall. "This is temporary. Sasuke needed…space."
"For what?" Kiba bristled when a thought occurred to him. "Is Hinata down there?!"
Jugo sighed, stepping out the door and closing it behind him. "He just wanted to talk, and she agreed to it. He wouldn't do anything to ruin this."
Kiba turned down the hall. "I'm going to check on her."
"Wait." Jugo paused a moment when Kiba turned to face him. Rethinking, he waved him off. "I recommend not startling him to avoid getting hurt."
Kiba glared at Jugo before marching down to the end of the hall. He grumbled to himself the whole way because apparently he was the only one willing to intervene. Sasuke could be highly unreadable, and Hinata had not been comfortable ever since seeing Sasuke in this village.
Kiba grabbed for the doorknob when he reached it and found it to be unlocked. This inn was not fancy in the slightest, so the doors had to be locked manually. For Sasuke to leave the door unlocked rubbed Kiba the wrong way.
In an odd way.
The ominous bubbling in his gut told him he should walk away, but it was not in fear that he was on the verge of seeing something horrific. But he wouldn't want to see it.
"Don't be stupid," he muttered to himself, pushing the door open carefully. He stood in the doorway, waiting for something odd to jump out at him, but he saw nothing. The curtains to the window were pulled open, but he could not see the entirety of the room unless he walked in.
But he hesitated, the bubbling in his gut boiling.
A few steps in, the bathroom door was on the left. The light was on, the door was closed, and Kiba began to realize why no one got involved, why they didn't want to.
It was only after he heard a quivering breath, a low grunt, and a slight bang that he closed the room door and walked back to his own room.
Shino looked up, watching an exhausted Kiba sit in the chair near the window and stare out the ceiling. He settled back into the bed. "She's fine?"
"Yeah. She's fine."
