AN: honestly, i've no idea where am i going with this story BUT i feel its going the right way, does it make sense? Most of the time i just settle down and turn on my laptop, have the office playing in the background and just let my hands and mind guide me through in wherever i want to write. It feels soothing on a lot of days to be honest! Sorry the other story of mine is taking some time to update because THE PLOT ISN'T THERE EITHER :( Geez, i want to write something with the perfeect planned out plot but i dont want to be stripped of the freedom to freely roam around either hahah!
Anyways do enjoy and review hehe!
.::.
Dipping his naked body into the opened air hot spring bath, Sasuke breathed out a satisfied sigh when he felt the muscles and tensions within his body loosened up. Jugo had found his way towards the corner of the bath so they could rest their bodies against the rock.
"Ah, this feels so nice!" Suigetsu popped his head out from the water, obviously being over the moon for being in his own comfort territory. Water.
Two days ago, Sasuke remembered he had no intention on attending the opening festival knowing that the female Hyuga, whom he had some surprising situation with, was definitely going to show up. He did not really care about the embarrassment or anything he had to explain – which he also had no idea why he kissed her, but mainly just wanting Hinata to fully enjoy herself at the festival without having to deal with his presence. Sasuke assumed there bound to be awkwardness between them, mainly emitting from her.
In fact, Sasuke did not really bother about the way she was going to perceive him, but he knew he did owe her an explanation, or an apology for catching her off guard. However, he thought that his apology could be called off since she had previously used certain words that sorta affected him.
Yet, he found himself strolling in the direction of Oto. He watched the festival from afar, perching on a tree branch and admiring the bright lights that brought life to the village that was once so dead. Knowing how the chances of him bumping into her was significantly reduced ever since the kissing event back at the inn, Sasuke could decipher that she was avoiding him by perhaps taking uncommon routes or even returning back to Konoha.
Deciding not to approach any of them while Orochimaru was giving his speech, he took notice of the bathhouse and ought to have a quick bath before heading off to his next destination. Nobody said no to a good shower. He just so happened to forget that Karin was a really good chakra sensor.
"Isn't the water burning your face?" Jugo asked, a towel resting on the top of his head.
"A little." Suigetsu shifted himself next to Sasuke and rested both his elbow up against the rock. "Feels good to me either ways. Do you think Hinata and Karin is in?"
"We paid for it. I supposed they will be in the bath too." Jugo said.
"Hm, we can't tell." The shark liked male smirked. "If only we have the byakugan."
Sasuke almost rolled his eyes, but he had his eyes closed as he enjoyed the warmness of the bath.
"It will be great to see Hinata's – "
"Suigetsu." Sasuke spoke. "I will report you to the reception."
"She's a friend." Jugo added in with a stern tone. Jugo had to agree on the fact that Hinata was a beautiful grown lady and with her possessing such nice and demure character, he wasn't surprise if she suitors or… perverts lurking around her. Being a friend of hers, he wanted to keep her safe.
Sasuke seemed to have taken notice of how Jugo had addressed the female Hyuga. "Doesn't matter if she's a friend or not. It's not nice to be spying."
"Geez." Suigetsu whined. "I was just joking around. Wonder how many Hyugas out there are sick bastards."
"Are you sure you're not the only pervert?" Jugo quizzed softly.
"That's not what I meant! I mean… you've got to admit that Hinata's a really – "
"We can hear you, Suigetsu! I will beat the crap out of you when we get out if you continue sprouting those words out of your mouth!" A high-pitched voice travelled from behind the wooden partition, causing Suigetsu to blush out of embarrassment.
Jugo chuckled softly. "You're getting what you want." He said and stood up, preparing to exit the bath. "I am going to wash my hair."
"Like hell I want Karin to beat me up!" Argued Suigetsu. Maybe he did not mind it at all.
.::.
Hinata fanned herself as she sat on the mini couch while waiting for Karin. She could feel the heat pooling around her face, but it was the good kind. Her body felt so much better and the heat that was consuming them a little way too much earlier on when they lost track in their conversation was starting to cause her to feel a little sleepy.
She looked around her surrounding, seemingly searching for that one particular person whom she was still trying to avoid. Maybe he had left, since Karin and her indeed took their own sweet time. Hinata thought maybe she could have talk to him a little more during the time Karin dragged all of them to pay for the sessions, or maybe when all of them were walking towards the direction of the bath. Instead, she kept herself busy listening to Karin and not even giving him a single eye contact.
And she felt something cold tossed onto her lap. She stared at the packet of tomato juice lying lifelessly before her eyes. Her brows subconsciously knitted in confusion as she raised her gaze.
Hinata thought her heart almost stopped when her pale orbs met the duo colored eyes of the Uchiha. She pressed her lips and returned her attention towards the packet of juice and grabbed it lightly, clearly confused and mainly shocked by his sudden appearance. Where did Suigetsu and Jugo go?
Sasuke looked away and ruffled his slightly damped hair. "Cool yourself down."
Hinata nodded her head slowly, trying her very best not to give away the awkwardness she was feeling at the moment. "A-Ah. T-Thanks, Sasuke-san." She managed, her eyes darting around trying to avoid his.
"Not leaving?" He quizzed.
"I'm w-waiting for Karin-san. She's s-still inside. Are they s-still inside?"
Sasuke noticed her usual habit of stuttering had returned, something he assumed it was either out of shyness or uncomfortableness. He could deduce the reason was the latter. He was supposed to leave after finishing his bath but Suigetsu was insisting to hung around the cafeteria of the bathhouse, probably trying to make full use of Sasuke's attractive appearance in hope to get extra food.
"They are at the cafeteria. I left my towel here."
"I see." She muttered. "Are you s-staying to eat with them?"
He would not mind but his main concern was the emotions of the shy lady. "Are you okay with me staying?"
His words had caught her by surprise. Her cheeks took a slight pinkish turn. "I… Y-Yes, I m-mean, there's n-nothing f-for me to not be okay about!"
Sasuke almost scoffed but he decided to keep it in. He nodded, knowing well enough that it wasn't the true feelings of the female. "It's fine I will – "
"Sasuke-kun!" Karin popped out from the female door while drying her wet hair. "You're still here?" She beamed and shifted herself closer to him. "Wait, where's the other two?"
"Cafeteria."
She silently let off an evil chuckle. But noticing the presence of Hinata, she decided to put her plan on hanging out with the Uchiha alone for later. "Let's go then. We can get some ice cream to cool ourselves down!"
Hinata smiled, her hand still grabbing onto the tomato juice as she stood up, following the direction of Karin who was tugging onto Sasuke's sleeve as she guided the two of them towards their destination.
As they approached nearing towards the lobby where the cafeteria was located, the crowd returned causing Karin to let go of the Uchiha's sleeve as the trio were simultaneously being brushed and pushed by the strangers around. Hinata winced, feeling a strong bump against her shoulder and apologized out of habit. The male simply clicked his tongue and glared at her, as if she had murdered his entire family.
It wasn't in Hinata's character to argue over trivial stuff even though it wasn't her fault to begin with. She decided to apologize again but was stopped when she felt a hand brushing against hers. She followed the gaze of the male in front of her and looked behind. Sasuke was there, standing tall with his apathetic facial expression yet holding subtle sense of fierceness.
The guy cocked his brow and rolled his eyes, muttering something neither of them could catch and turned to take off. She heaved a sigh of relief, grateful that no one's night would be ruined on the opening day. Just as she was about to spin herself around to express her gratitude, she felt his hand grabbing fully onto hers.
She averted her gaze towards their hands, face instantly flushed.
"Stay close." He said, in an almost soothing tone. "It's crowded."
All Hinata could manage was a nod as she allowed him to guide her to the cafeteria. She felt a sudden heaviness on her chest, as if she was committing a sin for allowing anyone other than Naruto to hold her rough hand. His previous words started travelling back to her mind again.
Was it true that she had taken comfort in liking Naruto? Everyone knew the Uzumaki's character. Brave, loyal and everything she could think about and knowing how her life would be settled with someone she and everyone already knew since young, she felt safe and assured.
Then there was Sasuke Uchiha. He was great, a little aloof from time to time and perhaps requiring some effort and time for him to open himself up but he was still a magical mystery piece that no one really knew about other than his greatest deed of saving Konoha with Naruto.
But Hinata could see so much through his nonchalant disposition. As much as she wasn't sure about what else was hiding behind the Uchiha, she was still pretty confident in stating that he was a nice person. And being nice was enough for her. Yet, she still couldn't seem to understand why it was so hard to get herself out of wanting to be with Naruto.
As they entered the cafeteria, Karin was already inside, sitting next to Jugo. Sasuke let her hand go when he noticed the scarlet eyes meeting them. The red head waved with a light frown marring her face. "Where did you two go?"
"It's too crowded. We got pushed back."
Hinata nodded to his words as she settled herself down next to Suigetsu. Sasuke found his way next to her and everyone around the table resumed their conversation. The female Hyuga tried her best not to think about the presence of the Uchiha next to her and focused on the words that was running out of the other three's mouth, something regarding about fights and yogurt.
Sasuke rested his cheeks on his palm as he drifted away from the conversations they were having. Often, he would listen tepidly even though it did not serve him any form of reward or good but this time round, his mind was troubled by the particular lady beside him. He stole a few glances at the hand he was mindlessly holding onto earlier on.
His random actions had also been catching him off guard recently. And for some reason, he actually remembered the minor details and feelings about the physical interactions he had with her. How soft her lips were, suiting those selfless words that often left them and how the minor bump of scars he could feel from her fingers.
"Are you going to stay for the night?" Karin directed her question to Hinata. "It seems a little too late for you to be on the move right now."
Turning to look through the small open window of the cafeteria, she nodded. "It does seem a little late."
"I'm sure they have rooms for you. Just not the big ones." Jugo said, noticing the high amount of families hanging around the bathhouse.
Hinata never knew there were so many households in Oto. Perhaps the grand opening announcement, since everyone had been talking about the newly revamped village. Or just for leisure. "They have rooms here?"
"Yea. Orochimaru-sama built a whole level for it. He said it will help in Oto's tourism economy." Karin explained. "I wasn't expecting him to be mindful about money!"
"It's Oto he cared about."
Hinata thought it wasn't a bad idea. She could probably spend the day exploring Oto, finally after all those times of visiting at the wrong time. "Yea, I think I will stay!"
She then felt something touching her thumb, as if it was caressing it. She knew what it was, and it could only be the person who had been quiet – not that surprising, throughout the entire time they had been at the cafeteria. She instantly clenched his hand into a fist, but it did not stop him.
Sasuke boldly placed his hand on top of his, lightly caressing her clenched fingers as he continued to focus on the talking around the table. He could feel her hand trying to shake him off, after a few tries with him still having his hand resting on hers, she unwound and allowed her fingers to be released from her own grip.
He wanted to feel closer to her. He could feel the tenseness and simply hoped that his light touches could ease her out eventually. And it did. He smiled to himself ever so lightly, something he was sure that no one caught it as he for once, actually paid full attention to everyone's talking,
.::.
"Jugo, I am good to go by myself." Hinata smiled as she held onto her room's key. "You don't have to send me here. Karin-san and Suigetsu-san is waiting for you."
"It's okay. It won't take that long." He returned the smile and stood silently as he watched her unlocked the door. "Do you need anything tomorrow?"
"Hm… I'm thinking if you are keen for breakfast?" She suggested, her eyes twinkling. "I guess I've to trouble you guys again for a guide around Oto."
The smile on Jugo's face widened slightly. "We will see you tomorrow then."
She nodded and let out a soft giggle. "Goodnight, Jugo." She gave him a quick hug before entering the room.
She could hear his footsteps retreating as she made her way towards the tatami mat. The room somehow reminded her of the inn, where she and the Uchiha had exchanged their lips. Oh, Sasuke. He was such a confusing and troublesome man.
Hinata looked at her hand briefly as the memory of their interaction at the cafeteria hit her. She frowned, wondering about all the things Sasuke had been doing to her. She thought she could ask for some explanation from him, but at the same time not exactly ready for any potential chance where she had to execute a rejection.
Hinata knew the chance of the almighty Uchiha liking her was low, especially with the presence of his confused feelings for Sakura and how Hinata was his best friend's former girlfriend. How she wasn't exactly the strongest kunoichi to be suitable for him too.
Be that as it may, Hinata still couldn't disregard the possible chance that that could be a reason why to all those surprise actions that had been occurred on her. Her thoughts were instantly cut off when she heard a soft knock against the door. Dropping her backpack onto the ground nearing the door, she proceeded.
A smile adorned her face as she stood up. "Did you forget anything?" When the door opened, the feeling of once again being surprised consumed her. She was getting annoyed by this.
Instead of Jugo whom she was expecting, it was none other than the person that had been on her mind for the past few minutes. She watched him stared at her, as if being at a loss of words too.
"Yea." He replied softly. "I've forgotten to talk to you."
Biting her bottom lip, she sighed inwardly and stepped aside, granting him the permission to enter her room. Debating whether should she close the door for not really keen on another episode of surprise attack by the Uchiha, she still regarded that the next conversation they were both going to have was personal. Feeling slightly defeated, she shut the door.
Sasuke was sitting next to the tatami mat as he waited for her. He thought he could use this time to explain himself, and also asked for opinion in regard to whatever he had been feeling. "Are you sleepy?"
"A l-little." She admitted and sat herself down on the tatami. What a deja vu. "Sasuke-san, are you okay?"
"Your stuttering came back." He said and Hinata thought she heard a soft chuckle but could not be sure. "I'm fine. I thought you deserve an explanation."
She nodded and hugged her knees. "Is s-something going on?"
"I don't know." He shrugged. "I'm sorry, again."
Hinata felt the corner of her lips curved lightly. "If t-there's anything, you can tell me. I'm here to l-listen."
"Nothing's wrong." Truthfully, there wasn't anything wrong with him. Other than his really confused feelings and actions. "Are you mad that I kissed you?"
She swallowed and looked away, not really wishing to relief that memory where she had yet to come to an acceptance. "I'm m-mad you just left. And I'm sorry, too. For s-saying you're not my friend."
The apology he wanted came, and he felt blissful. "Sorry I left without a single word. I was a little confuse."
"Why did you… do that? And earlier on… is there s-something wrong, Sasuke-san?"
"I'm not sure either." He inhaled. "I don't mean any harm, Hinata. There's absolutely no hidden intention, I can assure you that."
"Is that it?"
Sasuke kept mum, not knowing how to further with his explanation. He knew for sure it wasn't the greatest but explaining certain stuff you did not understand was a daunting task.
Hinata wasn't satisfied. "Previously you spoke to me about Naruto-kun and b-brought up Neji nii-san. Then y-you k-kissed me and you left without an explanation. You showed up, which I am very happy but then you held my hand in a way… as if... A-Am I being rude to say that I don't think your explanation is good enough?"
He understood how she felt. "I've no idea what's going on too. I can't even explain for my actions other than simply telling you that I just felt like I wanted to." He paused. "And I still want to."
Her lips parted as she felt the heat slowly rising from her neck. Her pupils enlarged as she stared at him. "W-W-What?"
"You heard me."
"Y-Yes." Hinata breathed. "V-Very clear. But y-you're not making sense Sasuke-san. What about S-Sakura – " The female stopped talking. There was no way the Uchiha saw her in that light. There was someone still waiting for him in Konoha.
He noticed her pause. "I've told you before. I am confused."
"You just needed time to figure things o-out. You told me that." She hesitated.
"And in the midst of everything, I figured that I wanted to kiss you at that moment." Sasuke finished, his eyes finally locking onto hers as they sat in the similar way as how they were back in that inn. Her on the tatami and him on the cold hard floor with a mild feeling of contentment knowing that she was close.
"Sasuke-san, a-are you – what are you trying to say?" She queried. "And y-you don't kiss people l-like this. Things like this… you n-need to ask for permission. You can't go a-around doing that just b-because you saved the w-world."
Sasuke felt like he was smirking when he heard the comment she had made. She was valiant. Despite the darkness surrounding them, he could still capture the redness around her cheeks. "Can I kiss you again?"