Hey guys

So the last chapter sucked horribly. Ya know something, the first version I wrote had her training with 'all' her friends and though it was okay it still sucked too. I think I might leave the last chapter as is, because it does cover all the important things on the plot and though it might not be fluffy, life aint fluffy and I don't wanna say it is in a fic. SO.

Yeah, it was a lil dull in comparison to my other ones, but since you've all read it already, lol, I'll leave it and move on. ((and also, rewriting something so boring is TORTURE))

READ.REVIEW.

-inky

The rain had begun to pour, three seconds and it was down, a cascade of water.

Hinata paused on the road to look up at it, feeling it caressing her face as it fell, eyes closed. It was a pleasure to just look at the sky sometimes, to know that the world wasn't just where she was and that things were beyond her understanding… so it wasn't really her fault.

She hadn't been able to do that in weeks, outside she had always been with Sasuke, and he had caught her staring up at the sky twice already, both times he had been unsure as to what to do and she had been vaguely embarrassed by the situation. So she hadn't done it again, in his presence, for both their sakes.

But now that he wasn't around and Ino had left, shouting out something about Shikamaru and a date as she ran away, she was alone and free to do what she wished, if only for a few minutes.

Sighing softly she closed her eyes, letting it drench her in its cold touch. She would probably get sick from it…

Her body had been over heated just a few moments ago, the sudden shock from hot to cold was probably not a good idea.

But even though her inner self was speaking so rationally and stating how she should probably be rushing home to change for work she didn't move, still staring up at the heavens.

What time is it anyway? Three? Perhaps four…

She opened her eyes to stare at the sky, trying to find the sun, but it was hiding behind the clouds.

Sasuke hadn't mentioned if he was going to come back for her after his 'business' so she finally sighed and bent down to pick up her things, flinching visibly as she felt one of the bruises caused by Ino's harsh blows strain. The kick has landed right against her stomach. But she figured she deserved it for not paying attention.

There was nothing Ino could throw at her that she couldn't dodge, it had been purely a lack of concentration that had earned her that giant bruise.

For a long while at the beginning she had held back, moving slowly, watching Ino's fighting style and becoming reacquainted with it.

The odd thing was that she never noticed just how obvious Ino was when fighting. She didn't know how to hide her movements, a skilled fighter could tell before she was going to punch or kick, it was all in her shoulders, obvious as the eyes in her face.

She didn't say it out loud, but she thought it over in her head as she watched her blonde friend run off happily, completely unaware of the sudden change of roles in their relationship.

For the longest time, Ino had been stronger, she had taught Hinata a lot of things, but now… more than likely, Hinata was the strongest of the two.

It had been an odd feeling at the time, something she didn't really want to go into, because of the odd sensation she got in her chest, she wasn't sure what it was yet, so she left it alone. Perhaps later she would know.

Smiling, despite the rain she skipped over a tree root, landing in a puddle that splashed up all around her, a giggle escaping her lips despite her best intentions.

"Oka-san… the rains are back… it looks like they didn't want to leave like they usually do." She mumbled, bending down to examine a small daffodil struggling against the pounding rain. Slowly the pulled one of the bigger leafs closer to the little flower so as to give it shade.

"Onii-chan… you have to take care of the little daffodil, what will she do without you?" she smiled, feeling free. The first time in months that she had been allowed to be herself. The daffodil seemed to pull itself together as the bigger leaf covered it, glad to be out of the rain.

"You'll grow little one, I'm sure." Hinata nodded. She wouldn't have felt as free if she had known she was being watched.

Standing behind one of the trees nearby was Sasuke, crouched down and studying the girl living at his house with new found interest.

There was no stutter from this particular Hinata, and she moved with confidence. Wherever she came from, he needed to find out and drag more of her out…

Because Tsunade told him to, of course.

"Onii-chan." Hinata stated over the rain, frowning at the leaf as it removed itself from over the little daffodil.

"…she needs you, don't you understand?" sighing softly the pale girl smoothed the leaf over with her fingers, glancing at the giant bush to whom it belonged.

"Perhaps you need to grow some too, ne? So that you can take care of her? Here." She muttered, looking around until she found a twig. Biting her lip she pulled out one of the towels she used during training and began to wrap it around the twig so as to make a little umbrella.

"She'll be fine until you grow, ne?' she smiled, pushing the twig into place beside the daffodil.

What the…Sasuke frowned, confused. It seemed like such a childish thing at first, but if you watched long enough, it didn't feel so childish.

Just, more caring than usual.

Hinata finally stood, stuffing her things back in her bag, wet but they would dry. Wrinkling her nose irritably for a moment she stood still, lifting her hand up to her face, eyes closed.

Confused again Sasuke stood as well, watching past the tree trunk silently, puzzled.

Suddenly and out of the blue she sneezed, a soft and very small sneeze. Wide eyed now the pale girl sighed.

"Oh no.." she mumbled, rubbing her face. "I should get home… I'm going to be sick." Before she finished the sentence she was already running past him in the direction of their house, moving with the agility he had taught her over the last few months.

He just watched, blinking rapidly in the rain, soaked and probably soon to be ill as well.

But that didn't matter. He had learned something, even if it was by accident. Maybe he would stop telling her whether he was going to pick her up from places from now on. It seemed to bring out interesting things when she didn't believe he was around…

"S-sasuke-kun?' Hinata called, standing in the foyer quietly, listening to the pounding rain and the utter silence that accompanied it.

It seemed as though there wasn't anyone home at that particular moment. Everything was still and the lights were all out.

Glad that he didn't lock the door when he went out, Hinata sighed, looking down to stare at the puddle of water that was forming on the floor from her dripping clothes.

"Oh no." she sighed, looking at the seemingly endless hallway leading to the stairs.

If she went up there all wet she would take forever to dry everything once she got changed. And somehow she didn't want Sasuke to come back and slip on the wet floor.

Though the image of him tripping made a smile slip over her face for a few seconds.

"Ne." she sighed, glancing around nervously as an idea slipped into her mind. She didn't really have the time to dry the ground where she stepped, she was probably late for work already.

Sighing she lifted her hand up to unbutton her black blouse, biting her lip tightly.

"…ano.." she mumbled, staring down her fingers caught in the act of undoing the first button.

Letting out a frustrated sigh she reached down and unbuttoned it, following her fingers as they undid each one quickly, ignoring the gnawing feeling rising in her throat.

Her face was red, despite the fact that there was no one there.

Oh God, if Sasuke walks in here right now I will probably die…

Shivering she slipped her training tunic off, standing in just the dark tube top over the training bandages she used to tie her chest down and her panties also covered over in the training bandages around her thighs and hips.

Letting out a breath of nervousness she looked down, blinking at the giant bruise spreading on her stomach.

"Ne… this looks bad…"

The door knob turned. Slowly the sound of the rain grew louder and the cold wind caressed her wet skin as the door opened quietly, light from outside flooding in, along with the shadow of someone standing at the door.

She spun around, terrified, slamming her shoulder against the door so hard that it would probably bruise too. Gasping she slammed the lock into place and stepped back, arms wrapped around her chest.

Sasuke stood on the other side, staring paralyzed at the dripping bushes by the door, trying to figure out what it was he had seen, because from what he could tell it was curvaceous hips and smooth skin slick with rain water.

He swallowed, unaware completely of his cheeks turning very very red.

…what exactly is she doing?

He froze, staring at the water sliding slowly along the curves of the pillars holding up the cover for the doorway.

He blinked, trying to get the image of a raindrop sliding across her pale skin to vanish from his mind.

Slowly, and attempting to sound normal he turned back to the door, licking his suddenly dry lips.

"Hinata?" Sasuke's voice called as irritably as he could from the other side. "Hinata- is that you?"

If it was possible to blush all over Hinata managed it right there and then, feeling her entire body take on a new level of warmth.

Rapidly she bent down and picked up her wet clothes, struggling with what to say.

"A-a-ano!!" she squeaked. "O-o-one second!"

Biting her lip hard she lifted her hand to the lock and turned it.

Faster than she had ever moved in her life she turned and ran, scurrying up the stairs fast enough that when Sasuke finally opened the door she was nowhere in sight.

"…what in the hell…"

The Uchiha stepped inside, looking down at the puddle of rain water on the floor and the fact that there was no Hyuuga in sight. Frowning slightly he closed the door and shook out his head, making more water drip everywhere.

Puzzled he bent down to remove his soaking shoes, studying the still house with interest.

Finally he caught sight of something at the foot of the stairs.

Not caring if he was soaking or not he walked over to it, crouching down to pick up the obviously drenched cloth.

"Nani…" he began, staring at Hinata's shirt. Then his face colored.

"Oh." Dropping the enticing little object he stepped back, not daring to head up the stairs.

"Oh shit." He sighed, rubbing his wet face irritably.

I almost walked in on her wearing no shirt…

Little did he knows he was wearing no shirt AND no pants.

As if thinking about her was enough to make draw her out of hiding, Hinata tripped down the steps to the landing in the middle, wearing dry, hastily put on clothes, her braid still dripping with rain.

"S-s-s-sasuke-kun!" she gasped, blood rushing to her face as she noticed her shirt lying rather guiltily at the foot of the steps… right by him.

"Gomen nosai!! I-I-I… uh…. Ano… I just…" she squeaked, lifting her hands up to her lips, staring wide eyed at him for a moment until realizing rather quickly that he was studying the house rather than her.

And he was red.

Nani..?

"Don't lock the door." He sighed, choosing to pretend he hadn't realized the situation. "It's annoying."

Hinata's face took on another hue. "Eh-h-hai! Gomen!"

Unsure now of whether or not he realized why she had locked the door she watched as he stepped into the living room, ripping off his soaked shirt in the process.

Staring anywhere but him she bent down and scooped up her own discarded clothing, stuffing it in the bag hanging from her shoulder, shaking all over despite her best intentions to remain calm.

"A-ano… I-I- the clinic-" she stuttered and then clenched her eye shut tight. "I have to go to work!" she cried in a hurry, finally getting the words out without tripping over herself.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, his back turned to her.

Someone's up tight. I didn't even see anything really…though what I did see wasn't half ba- oh shit… Christ.

"Hai." He shrugged, flopping down on the couch, soaked over and all. He was 'not' about to continue removing his clothing with her standing there all gittery. It would just make him want to run and have a very long, very cold shower.

Hinata blinked, watching the rain water drip off his pants and to the floor. It looked dreadfully uncomfortable.

"Ano…d-d-dinner is ready…i-it just need to be warmed up…i-its in the f-fridge." She mumbled, watching him throw his shirt on the ground.

"Fine."

"I-I don't know exactly w-when I'll be b-b-back."

"Sakura wanted to talk to you, Naruto asked me to let you know." Sasuke stated suddenly, remembering the dobe's little rant at the steps to the Hokage's office earlier that morning.

Hinata blinked, confused by his suddenly cool demeanor. He was never very friendly, but this seemed kind of forced. Puzzled and a little curious she nodded."…hai.. I'll be back later." She mused, too absent minded to stutter as she walked out the door, still pondering how he had not cared about the water.

…maybe I shouldn't care either…ne?

Finally outside she let out a sigh, closing the door quietly behind her. The tension across her shoulders wasn't gone yet, no way, but it was better to know that he wasn't around, for some reason.

I… am never changing in the foyer again.

"Well… it was a stupid thing to do in the first place, anyway." She sighed at herself, shaking her head as she skipped down the steps, umbrella in hand.

Hopefully the nerves of coming back home wouldn't affect her work.

Hopefully.

As soon as she was out the door Sasuke sighed, melting into the couch as he relaxed.

"Hell be to all women." He grumbled, shaking out his head again to get rid of the water. What in the name of any god gave her the idea to change in the foyer… Christ…

Still jumpy from the nerves of the possibility of walking into her…well…naked he walked up the stairs, noting that her shirt was gone.

It hadn't occurred to him until then that something of the sort could happen. For some reason they were always out of the house when one or the other was taking a shower or bathing or at least they were unaware of changing and all sort of physical nonsense.

Right up till then when he almost barged in and saw her-

Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it…

Ruffling his own hair irritably he slipped into his room, glancing at the mess of blankets on the bed and the wide open window staring out at the rainy day.

Still soaked over he sat down on the edge of the bed, frowning at the sky and it's limitless torrent. Somehow he wasn't hungry, despite having eaten nothing but the breakfast much earlier in the day.

Not having the enticing smell of her cooking coming up from the kitchen didn't help his appetite at all. Letting out a frustrated sigh he lay down, closing his eyes to ponder over why he was so frustrated.

Lately he had had a lot of odd emotions he couldn't name. Usually he called them frustration and was done with it, but he had come to the realization it was probably not frustration at all and he just couldn't figure out what it was.

Little did he know… that it was normal to experience such things.

Sighing deeply he blinked, breathing in the scent of jasmine still over powering his covers. The moment she started doing the laundry everything was attacked by the smell that clung to her skin. He couldn't figure out where she got it from. Her shampoo in the bathroom didn't smell of it, nor did any of the little bottles that had appeared beside his own on the counter.

But somehow he couldn't believe it was natural for a woman to smell of jasmine.. or whatever it was that she smelled of.

And for sure it wasn't good that his covers smelled of her. If someone else happened to come in and…

He stopped, frowning at his train of thought. Who the hell would be going into his room to smell his blankets anyway?

Shaking his head he closed his eyes again, feeling the weirdness of the day acutely. Having routine broken by something like boredom wasn't good for people like him… it made him think.

Thinking wasn't good.

Hinata stared dazedly at the running nurses within the huge building that Tsunade called a 'clinic'. Truth be told it was more of full rank hospital just without the proper papers to say so.

Hinata was the head of a very certain department, which Sakura had been trying to run the moment she disappeared to train, but from the look of panic on all the nurses faces Hinata was suddenly aware of just how much help she was there.

"Ano…Toki-san-" she began, watching a nurse she knew run by, looking flustered. "Sorry ma'am, we'll be having no visits today because of-" Toki stopped, her plain but innocent face changing into surprise the moment she noticed who she was talking to.

"Hinata-sama!" she gasped, throwing her arms around the girl despite the towels she had been holding. "Thank GOD!"

"Eh!!" Hinata gasped, stumbling back, smiling despite herself. "Nani? What's t-the m-matter?"

"We've missed you so much!" Toki gasped, stepping back to yell at the others that Hinata-sama was back.

Soon Hinata had accumulated a small crowd of excited nurses welcoming her back loudly.

"The department is a disaster! It's loud there 'all' the time!"

"How did you do it before?"

"They won't be silent!"

"You wouldn't believe the amount of complaints we get nowdays!"

Sakura came in then, carrying a clipboard and looking frazzled. "Where is everyone? I can't be in there all on my own, I have to go take care of the emergency department on the- Oh." She froze, staring at Hinata in the middle of the welcoming crowd.

"Hinata." She stated, confused. "W-what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be training with Sasuke?"

Hinata blinked back at her friend, feeling her cheeks burn slightly from the awkwardness. Sakura and she had not been able to speak like they used to the few times they met after Sasuke's harsh expulsion of the girl the first day after Hinata's disownment.

Somehow, it felt like something had been broken.

"H-hai." Hinata sighed, nodding. "Demo… Tsunade-sama a-asked that I t-take a few hours each day to r-run my department-"

"Heh." Sakura replied, crossing her arms thoughtfully. "Well… that's good, I guess."

"Hai?" Hinata blinked, pressing her fingers to her lips nervously.

"Yeah." Sakura shrugged. "I can't do it. It's just not my thing."

"Ne…I-I'm sure y-you just need p-practice is all, Sakura-chan." Hinata smiled, starting to roll her sleeves up.

"No, I just don't think I'm made for that kind of thing." Sakura shrugged. "Here." She added, handing her the clipboard. "Have fun."

Without another word the pink haired med nin started down the other hall, calling out for the nurses of her department to follow.

Frowning slightly in confusion Hinata watched after her and then sighed, looking down at the clipboard thoughtfully.

"Well… we've a full house, ne?" she murmured, biting her lip. Thirteen of their twenty beds were taken.

"Toki-chan, Asumi-chan." She called, turning to smile at her two nurses. "L-let's go, ne?"

"Hai!" the two girls grinned, following after Hinata the way apprentices follow a powerful master.

Hinata continued to study the clipboard and all the information on it, feeling once more at ease in the environment she felt she belonged in.

Maybe… she wouldn't talk to Tsunade about cutting her hours…

Oh no! What will happen to Sasuke-kun's dinner?

Stay tuned to find out!

(omg, that was so cheesey)

Read. Review.

-inky!

PS. My comp hates me. I was finished tweaking this chapter, and making it GREAT. and then it ATE it and now it's GONE and now it's OKAY instead of GREAT.

WHY DO I KEEP SCREAMING THINGS?!

please review.

-inky.