My One In A Million
Chapter sixteen
Ten points off Hyuuga Hinata.
Sasuke decided on his way from rehab, legs sore and head aching, that if the Hyuuga was stupid enough to accept a mission to help someone's cat then she deserved the dropped points.
So what if nobody else was willing to help, the world was overpopulated with cats anyway.
At her level, it was a disgrace to accept such lowly-ranked a mission, she should have at least gone with the request to deliver seeds from the land of Tea to the hidden village of flowers…
Girls liked flowers, didn't they?
Or maybe just seven points, it was a good thing she wasn't obsessive about girly stuff.
He stood by the sidewalk and observed the comedy theatre unfolding before him, the old lady trying to coax the fat cat off the branch, Hinata stealthily walking up the tree from behind to grab it.
It was hilarious.
She should just use a jutsu and get it over with, it's what the lady was paying for. If anything, a firm kick to the whole structure would make it unstable and drop the thing off in no time; he'd done it once a long time ago, and back then he was just six years old.
The hairball squirmed and growled but remained still in the hands of its captor until it was back on the ground. It wasn't even that high, the darn thing could've jumped right down if it hadn't been so heavy in the belly.
Oh, it was pregnant.
Hn…
His hip flared suddenly, sending distress signals that he needed to sit down as soon as possible if he didn't want his whole leg to go numb; he decided to continue on his way and not bother with whatever it is the old lady was telling her hero.
He didn't care about lady talk anyway.
The bench a few paces down the road was hard but at least it wasn't drenched from the sudden drizzle that came and went all day, the umbrella overhead was brand new, another part of the village rebuilt.
The cat hero found him as she went down the same street, he tried not to roll his eyes too obviously. "Sasuke kun!" Hinata smiled and bowed politely, her cheeks were pink and she seemed to be breathing harder than necessary. Did that woman chase her away? "Good afternoon, how have you been?"
"Fine. Did you just let that old lady kick you off her property?"
Her laugh was breathless and somewhat strained, she took a seat next to him and arranged her hair with cold fingertips. "No, not at all. I was just… Well, I thought I saw you coming down this road and I um… Followed you."
She had nice hair, he wouldn't mind putting his fingers through it.
Mmmh… Five points.
"And how are you, really?" There was a scratch on her forefinger, she plucked a white hair out of her lips.
"I said I was fine." Five points off.
"Really? You look better but are you sleeping well? You're still covering your eye."
He didn't like it when someone pried into his business, five points off. "And what about you? Don't they have new Chuunin members now? You should sign up for Jounin evaluation."
"I- I am a Jounin…?" she wasn't sure if he was serious or just testing her, "Everyone who participated in the war got upped a rank, even those who lost their lives."
He did not know that.
It would cost twenty-five points off Konoha Council, except they were already running on a minus scale.
"But I guess Sasuke kun isn't even on level with a Jounen, huh?" She picked imaginary dirt from under her fingernails, unaware of the insulted face he pulled. "You're legendary now, aren't you. You and Naruto kun. The YinYang Hokages, they called you… Except you didn't aim for that position so I guess the name didn't stick."
This was valuable information, so the people of the villages acknowledged his power and appreciated his alliance… They were terrible at showing it.
"No wonder I was crowd surfing right after, the welcoming party was outrageous." He grumbled, sarcasm was the only option now.
"Well, everyone was intimidated by you, maybe."
He fixed her with a calculating gaze, noting exactly at what angle her back was before she straightened and how subtle the scent of flowers radiated off her skin. "And you aren't?"
"Not- Not really… A little, at first. But you know? Naruto kun was okay with it, and you were helping rebuild the village, so…"
He scoffed, "So now I'm not frightening anymore?"
"You are! A team from the Chuunin exam still visits the hospital for therapy."
Those weenies. "Are you afraid of me?"
He'd give her points just because she honored him with adequate consideration before answering. "I'm told to be, but I'm not. We're friends, aren't we?"
Not sure if plus points of minus points. "You still owe me a bottle of tea."
With a surprised rounding of the mouth she hopped off the bench and walked away.
Did she-
Did she just end a conversation with him?
For a bottle of tasteless tea?
That little greedy-!
Fifty points off Hyuuga Hinata!
With a grunt, he pushed himself off the bench and rolled his heels to relieve the blood that was pooling into his feet, and begrudgingly made the trek back to his disgusting apartment.
Just around the corner was one Hyuuga Hinata straightening up from a particularly inappropriate bend, she'd been retrieving a beverage from the basket at the bottom of a vending machine. "Ah! You didn't have to follow! Sorry I thought it was closer, they must have moved it so it's under this umbrella."
He glanced up at the foil shield from the rain, and then down at the flushed girl. "I thought you went home."
"Eh? No! I'd never leave you like that!" She laughed, it was more like silent reluctant coughing. "Here you go, the tea was out, and I know you don't like too sweet things so this is umm… Dark unsweetened coffee with smooth chocolate and a hint of vanilla." She read across the round container, then handed it to him.
It was warm. "What did you get?"
She grinned down at her purchase, still unopened. "Strawberry and peach milk."
His disgusted reaction amused her enough to break a smile, she had straight teeth and kissable lips. Those plump cheeks weren't too bad, either, even if he only wanted to pinch them because of the stunt she just pulled.
She was planning to come back, though…
Alright, fine, six points to Hyuuga Hinata.
She'll have to do better than that if she wanted to recover the fifty ones she'd lost just now.
Hinata took a sip from her chilled drink, he took a sip of his own; a collective sigh of appreciation was breathed out at the same time. She turned her attention to the busy street, noting the new businesses that had opened up and the street vendors that were setting up their stands in preparation for the night traffic. She didn't ask anything, she didn't even look at him with expectation.
He waited for her to grow impatient with the lack of conversation, but just like those quiet days in his hospital room, she was at peace with silence.
It was… Different.
Nice.
At least until her friends showed up.
The loud Inuzuka was hard to miss, strolling through the evening crowd on that giant dog, he noticed them first and bound over with a wide grin aimed at the surprised girl. Aburame showed up as if out of thin air.
Did members of the Aburame clan materialize by stacking up beetles in the shape of a human and then infusing their soul into the body?
"Kiba kun! Shino kun! Akamaru tan!" she rubbed noses with the happy dog, ignorant of the fact that it could open its mouth and swallow her head. "How have you been?"
"Great! And you?"
"I'm ok! Welcome back, how was the mission?"
Sasuke watched the interaction with a scowl. Did she ask everyone so sincerely? Hmph, some points off, not sure exactly how many. Those guys were sure friendly in their conversation with her, was she always this sociable with other boys? "See ya, princess."
"Eh? Where are you going?"
"Unlike you who have time to waste, I've got things to do." Not really, he was in for a night of boredom and headaches.
"Join us for a treat." Kiba asked and hopped off the dog. "I know we're not exactly chummy, but you know… Can't hurt to knock back a shot or two. You don't have anyone else to drink with, do ya?"
"Are you showing sympathy for me, Inuzuka?!" His body surged forward at the boy, aiming to grab his shirtfront and show him exactly where he can put his sympathies. A firm hand stood between him and his target, landing on that tender spot right in the center of his chest. The pain that shot straight to his heart had very little to do with the physical touch; she could have killed him, she was a Hyuuga and she could have killed him with those carefully manicured fingers.
"Please, it's nnot like that!"
"Whatever." He pushed her wrist away and angled himself to leave, his body language was neutral but everyone could feel the anger bouncing off him like electricity. "Thanks for the coffee We're even now."
"Sasuke kun wait! Please! I was- I asked them to invite you if they went for drinks, please don't misunderstand!"
His hot glare zeroed in on her, the container in his hand threatened to collapse under the pressure of his iron grip. "Why?"
"Because we're friends?" Her breath smelled so sweet it nearly brought tears to his eyes, he decided he didn't like it.
"Not with them I'm not."
Kiba clucked his tongue and scratched his hair in irritation, this wasn't worth it. "Tch! See, I told you he was still a tightwad! I'll go first to grab us a table, do what you want, man, I don't care. Akamaru, come."
The dog and it's master paddled away, tail tucked between the legs. The quiet Shino remained stationary, he observed for a few seconds more before finally speaking his mind. "I do not mean to threaten you, Uchiha san, but if you bother Hinata in any way I will make sure you pay for it." And then followed in the same direction. A sliver of his chakra lingered, whether it was an insect or a piece of his soul was yet to be determined.
The Uchiha exhaled the anger slowly and stuffed the half-empty coffee into the trash bin, it dropped with a bang. "That is a threat, though."
Hinata's heart was having a hard time dealing with what just happened –or what could have happened! "I'm sorry, they're not usually like this…"
"Whatever, it's not my business who you associate with." His ankle hurt when he turned to walk away, he couldn't wait to be in a hot bath to unwind the rest of his aching muscles.
He wanted a back rub…
"Huh? You're really not coming?"
He let her figure out the answer by walking away and not saying anything. Maybe she was a dumb bimbo after all, maybe she thought she could lose him a crowd of her own friends and then she wouldn't have to keep personal tabs on him.
Or maybe someone told her to keep an eye on him from the higher ups.
Another fifty points off Hyuuga Hinata.
He hadn't decided yet how many points she could spare before he scrapped her name off a very short list, and by the time he was at home, soaking his sore limbs in hot water, he decided she'd already exceeded the minimum required points to qualify.
Qualify…
Qualify for what, exactly?
Wife, lover, potential girlfriend?
Interesting puzzle?
Enemy?
Whatever it was, he wanted it out of his mind as soon as possible. Even if the outcome was different, what good would a crush on someone do, anyway?
No, he didn't have time for useless relationships.
He had to get back in shape, get out of this town, and find a better place for him to live. Somewhere quiet and secluded, where the warriors didn't treat him like a ticking time bomb and the girls didn't look at him like an unfashionable dress on a hanger.
She didn't look at him like that…
No, stop it!
Her case is closed!
That girl must have been nice to him because he was injured, anyway; a lot of girls got their kicks by tending to handicapped patients and feeling needed. Now that he was able to take care of himself she barely talked to him.
Well, to be fair, he never gave any indication that he wanted to be talked to. He went from home to rehab and from rehab to home, occasionally getting things from the supermarket in the middle of the night.
Okay maybe she didn't get any chances to talk to him, basically…
Why was he back to thinking about this?
It's.
Over.
There were others, the world was vast and mostly unexplored, he'd only seen the thin strip of land around the fire country, who is to say the right girl for him wasn't in a land where there's no such thing as shinobi?
He's young and rich, he could find a wife almost anywhere.
Wait, why was he looking for a wife? He wasn't ready for that kind of stifling commitment.
Maybe in ten years or so, if he was still alive…
Hn… maybe it was high time he packed his stuff and left, to a different land, to different people, see the world he'd worked so hard to protect before his youth was gone.
Find other things to occupy his mind.
The unfamiliar sound of the doorbell startled him from a light nap in the tub, he wrapped a towel around his waist and yanked the door open; there was barely anything to be seen in the darkness of the hallway but the cold wind that hit him straight in the chest felt like a punch. "What?"
There she was, blushing and looking away, mortified by his state of undress. She pulled up a clear plastic bag containing a lame-looking box as a shield between them. "I- I- I'm so sorry! I just thought- This is for you!"
He exhaled through the nose, outraged. "You brought me your leftovers, Hyuuga?"
"Eh? No! I'd never do that!" The betrayal in her eyes met his in surprise, she wet her lips and cleared her throat to start again. "I- I was just walking home when I saw this- it's um the shop-! It's a specialty bento. They don't always last this long, so- It's just I noticed you limping a little bit and umm… I thought you'd like it if you didn't have to walk to the store. There's sour plum and salmon roe with rice… It's still warm."
"What makes you think I like sour plum or salmon roe?" a wet brow arched.
"Y- You don't?" in her horror, her eyes wandered down to the dark scar on his chest. She looked away, frustrated with her own unreliability and cursing her eyes for looking. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't apologize for stupid things." He accepted the bag from her nonetheless. "Go home, it's late."
"Goodnight."
"Mm." He shut the door after she opened her umbrella and stepped out into the loud rain, his hair was still wet but damn it he was absolutely famished and would eat whatever junk he got. She just saved him the trouble of having to slosh through that mucky weather for a stale packed dinner, it was stupid of her to come all the way here for this, anyway, no need to feel touched about it.
When the top lid of the box came off, the contents appeared to have been arranged elegantly in squares and circles. The biggest one, steaming white rice and glossy red fish eggs, was shaped unmistakably into the Uchiha fan crest.
The eggrolls were cooked just right, no brown patches anywhere. The garnishing was actually edible, none of that cheap plastic stuff, and the side dishes were fresh and plenty.
There was even a tomato salad on the side, salted and peppered to perfection.
This wasn't a playful lunch box, or something mass produced and left on shelves for hours; this was proper high-grade food made for enjoyment and satisfaction. The only time he'd ever seen something this elaborate was that one time he went on a cherry blossom picnic with the rookie nine, and even then, enjoying the food wasn't his first priority.
He didn't want to admit that it was suspicious, because why would the shop create such a design when he'd never even shopped with them?
They wouldn't, not unless someone specifically asked them to…
The same someone who didn't drink but invited him over for shots, the someone who would chase him down the street for an awkward conversation.
Someone who was reaching out, just as tirelessly and annoyingly as Naruto.
A hundred thousand points to Hyuuga Hinata.