He didn't mean for it to get this far…but it wasn't exactly something he could control. SasuHina(one-sided) /NaruHina [T for cursing] Canon-verse {EDITED/REVISED 11/16/20}

Warning: This is also canon-compliant so there is mention of canon pairings but if you're a Sasusaku fan or a Sakura fan in general please don't read this.

To understand what's happening in the fic, you must have watched at least the Hinata-centric episodes, The Last movie, and Boruto the movie. If you didn't I think it'll be okay, but major spoilers, so up to you.

Re-revised/Edited/Slightly Lengthened [6/2/2020]

A/N: (This is a note to past followers of this fic): I've come back to write for this fandom again. I left before because of some hurtful comments and with the recent situations of having to stay home I decided to start writing again.

I edited everything and cut off part of the original ending to be rewritten and lengthened as an epilogue. You don't have to read it if you don't want to but I think I've improved with all the years of experience(?) and it may not be the best writing but it's certainly better than before.

I'd also like to say that I will no longer read comments. Maybe when I've become stronger, but if I read another not so nice comment that's just out to get me, I might not write again so I'm going to avoid that for a while.

I'll get my motivation and idea of the how much you guys like it from the alerts of follows and favs.

Re-revised/Edited/Slightly Lengthened [12/28/2020]

A/N: I've revised the story yet again...sorry...You don't have to read it again but as for why, I'm writing an alternate ending where Sasuke actually ends up with Hinata. I've been feeling bad about making him 'the second guy' in both my fics and I thought I could change that with this one.

If it wasn't too obvious, I've also changed the summary since I've been thinking that it was a bit misleading, and as for the story, it has been revised to either go more into detail or change some awkward sentencing. I don't know if I'm getting any better as a writer but I hope I am for both your sake and mine ^^;;

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

He didn't mean for it to get this far…but it wasn't exactly something he could control.

After the massacre of his clan, Sasuke had one goal in his life at that young age.

Revenge.

Nothing was going to stop him from being the best. He would take down any competition in his way.

He needed to, if he was going to kill that murderer.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before that determination was challenged by a certain annoyingly loud blond. The boy's constant hassling from left and right caused Sasuke to bite back despite himself, and the annoying gaggle of girls chasing him only added to his building frustration. He didn't have time to be concerned with petty things like popularity as the blonde was, and Naruto was by far not an opponent worth his time, but with the continuing jabs, it became irritatingly difficult to not respond.

Here he was, expecting himself to take down boulders upon boulders so he could one day take down a mountain, only to find himself stumbling because of a small insignificant pebble at his feet; kicked away only to be stumbled upon again and again.

Just like any other uneventful day, Naruto was rambling on about becoming the Hokage, while Sasuke was doing his best to ignore him. He didn't care about attention, but Sasuke couldn't help goading the idiot at times with a knowing smirk. Everyone knew it, but if anyone was going to be anything, it was Sasuke. To affirm his standing as the most popular, most awed student of his class, he found himself discreetly taking in his surroundings, and it was that day that he took notice of the shy, almost invisible presence not too far away.

It was Naruto's fault that she had come into his line of sight. If he had left him alone, Sasuke would have never seen her. Her big curious white orbs.

Those eyes weren't directed at Sasuke though. No. They were shining with admiration for the bane of his existence.

Sasuke knew not all of the female population looked at him the way most did. There were thankfully a select few sane girls who weren't obsessed with him. What he couldn't wrap his head around was the reality that any girl could possibly be attracted to someone like Naruto.

He identified her in that moment. The white pupils and the unblemished forehead were a straight give-away. Hyuuga Hinata. The heiress of the Hyuuga clan; well, former. She'd been disinherited for reasons unknown, but Sasuke had an inkling it had to do with her lack of prowess. He'd kept an eye on the Hyuuga as their clan rivaled his own with their doujutsu, but only one, Hyuuga Neji, came up as a real threat. He hadn't bothered to put a face to the name of the heiress after he'd heard the news. Until now that is.

Sasuke couldn't stop the look of scorn dawning on his face. In a way it angered him…bothered him to the point where he would catch himself observing her to try and understand why someone from a high-class clan would look at that idiot with such eyes.

He knew somehow that the way she looked at Naruto was different from the way the other girls looked at Sasuke, and it only made him hate Naruto all the more. Not getting anywhere with the unending cyclic questions, he decided it was because she was just as weird.

In her weakness, she sympathized with the pathetic Hokage-wannabe. A weird little girl who had no business taking up his time.

And yet, he found her at the corner of his vision from time to time.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

After joining Team 7, Sasuke was swayed once more. His clear path to vengeance was blurred as he learned about friendship and teamwork. The picture of another future took shape in his mind and the possibility made him question his resolve.

Sasuke found himself smiling, doing things he'd considered childish and beneath himself, but he'd enjoyed it. He had even been so juvenile as to steal from his so-called rival. A small circular container that used to hold ointment. Hinata had given it to Naruto at the Chunin exams with his victory.

Sasuke had tried to convince himself that he took it to spite the annoying brat with his continuous boasting, but it was at that point he had to admit to himself that he had a small crush on her.

As much as the revelation had surprised him, it also made sense. He'd gotten to know her over time from a safe distance.

She was quiet, soft-spoken, kind, nurturing, and from her loud teammate's constant boasting, a great cook. Sasuke hadn't entertained the idea of girls; abhorred it not too long ago. Hyuuga Hinata had redefined his desires, and admitting it to himself was refreshing in its own way. Of course, the problem lied with the fact that her sights were not on said Uchiha.

Before he could put any more thought into what he could do about his predicament, Sasuke was brought to an abrupt stop with Itachi's appearance.

Weak. So weak. He needed power.

Sasuke regretted that he had wasted his time on 'making friends', 'having fun', 'falling in lo...

Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura...Hinata...They were all distractions.

He needed to leave Konoha to cut all ties. They would only draw him away from his priorities of avenging his clan.

Sasuke knew no limits in his chase for strength. He was revered by those around him, but it was never enough. He'd never let it show but those times tormented his mind. The dark thoughts, the dismal environment, the foul company...it was a miracle he hadn't gone completely insane.

He didn't want to think about her…he really didn't…but at times when he was on the brink of total darkness, it helped to think about her and wonder how things were, how things could be…If he let his mind wander far enough he found himself hoping to see her again...he hoped she would never confess, and that the idiot would never know.

After Sasuke killed his brother and soon afterwards found out the truth…even her light could not stop the all consuming darkness that took over his mind, his body, his soul...

It was only after all the conflicts and war that he saw her again, and he was overcome with unexplainable feelings. Feelings he thought he pushed away, feelings he thought had departed ages ago…

With a clear mind, he saw the small timid girl had grown into a woman, and seeing her appearance, the first person that came to mind was his mother.

Her long indigo locks cascading down her back dancing with the breeze. A simple attire consisting of a loose gray sweater over a peach shirt paired with a long white skirt. Very basic, and yet even in wearing such modest clothes, her beauty shined in his eyes. Under the light of the moon and the stars, she was illuminated, and without even seeing her face, he recognized her.

It was a chance meeting. Sasuke had avoided going out because of the wary eyes of the people of Konoha, but even he needed fresh air after being cooped up for so long. The darkness, the silence of evening welcomed him that night, and as always he had worn a black sweater on top of a grey shirt and black pants. Taking a walk through the familiar yet foreign streets, he met the one person he wanted to avoid meeting.

For the first time in a long while, he was afraid…afraid of her rejection…afraid of her fear…afraid of her hatred…

Thinking of escaping their encounter, Sasuke had stepped back a little too late. Loathe to admit, he only had himself to blame for his inability to leave. He could have done so easily, but the part of him that wanted to see her, face her; it had won.

Ebony black pupils met snow white.

He was several feet away from her, but he could see her so clearly. Her unique eyes held a hint of lavender, her porcelain skin was tinted with pink from the night breeze, and her features had matured, yet still retained pure innocence. He had pictured her to grow into a beautiful woman, but to actually see her become so, it made his heart stop.

They stared at each other for a long second before Sasuke was the first to wake from his trance. A second attempt to flee was made, but again he was stopped; this time by her soft-spoken voice.

"A..ano…Uchiha-san…" Hinata had wanted to call him as she called her friends. A sense of familiarity may break down walls, but knowing little to nothing but varying rumors and tales, she opted for the safer route of formality.

His heart wrenched at the sound of her voice calling him. A million thoughts went through his head in that second and knowing he could not deny her, he turned to her, keeping an inscrutable facade.

She stepped closer and it took Sasuke all of his willpower not to step back from his place under the streetlight, which had ironically been exposing him to the world.

"I…I'm sure you don't remember me but…" She had been meaning to approach the last Uchiha. This important person to Naruto-kun. Hinata had rehearsed it several times but words escaped her under his attentive gaze. She found comfort in looking at his grey shirt instead.

Unbeknownst to her, he too took that time to regain composure, and dared himself to call out her name. "Hyuuga Hinata."

Her lowered head shot up to look at him in surprise. Her wide-eyed innocence almost made him break into a smile. She looked like a deer caught by headlights and it was just…adorable.

It took her a moment to get a bit of her countenance back. "…Ano…thank you…"

For a moment he was puzzled and wondered if it was because he remembered her.

As if she saw that thought pass by, Hinata became flustered. "Not that you remembered me, of course! Not that I'm not thankful about that too! But um..not to say you're rude or anything..but..but…I'm sorry…"

"Pfft.." He couldn't help but let out a small laugh, and thankfully it seemed to calm her.

She looked at him properly with a soft smile and he was mesmerized by that alone. "Thank you."

"…"

"Thank you for coming back."

Two simple words…two words that held so much meaning…so much feeling…two words he never thought he'd hear from anyone…especially her. It had almost made him think that maybe she too felt what he felt, but that thought had quickly died with her next words.

"Naruto-kun was so happy…"

Sasuke knew she didn't mean to hurt him…how could she when she didn't know…when nobody knew…when even he hadn't known…but he'd never been so hurt as now. Overcome by rage in the next second, Sasuke could not hold back his words. "If you're bold enough to tell me such a petty thing, why haven't you confessed to that idiot?"

In that moment he had confessed to her that he knew of her love for Naruto, of her shyness, of her weakness, but it went unnoticed by both as her face turned bright red at the accusation. Sasuke had recognized that it wasn't just embarrassment, but that she had confessed and seeing as to how she didn't immediately look crestfallen, his heart had dropped.

"…"

"..."

Hinata calmed down to say with a sad smile, "I did, but he must have thought of it as something between friends."

It shouldn't have relieved him, but relieve him it did…that fact had made him happy, and for the first time he was silently thanking kami the blonde was an idiot.

Waking from her momentary musing, Hinata continued, "I've been thinking of thanking you. We were all worried after finding out about everything that happened, and a lot of people had given up hope…but I knew Naruto-kun could do it."

In that moment he had almost told her how he nearly killed the man she loved several times, and how even now he wanted to hurt him.

"But I'm really more thankful to you." A look of true sincerity was directed his way.

As minute as it was, Sasuke could not hold back his look of surprise.

"Thank you for being strong in all those hard times…I couldn't possibly know or understand the hardships you faced…even just hearing about it, what little I heard...I was ashamed of how difficult I felt my life was…"

"…"

"Thinking about how conflicted and difficult it must have been to forgive us…to forgive yourself…"

"…"

"It's a bit silly for me to say this when I don't even know you that well, but I was very happy to hear you were coming back…so thank you."

The warmth of the smile radiated to his entire being. He felt like an idiot for getting angry. Sasuke took that moment to just stare at her smile, remember it, lock it away with all his other precious memories. Everyone...even he himself believed he was incapable of crying, but the foreign dampness on the corners of his eyes told him otherwise. "…Why?"

"…I just felt like you needed it…I've regretted not saying things, not doing things in the past because I was afraid. If I had extended out a hand, had been more confident…then maybe I could have made things better. So I wanted you to know."

Sasuke kept silent; taking in her words he kept his eyes downcast. She gave him that moment of peace and he had been very grateful for it.

"Why aren't you scared of me? Why don't you hate me? I've killed a lot of people…I almost killed him…"

He looked up at her again expecting her to flinch, but Hinata only looked more determined.

"Partly because he trusts you. But also because..I understand."

No one could possibly fathom the life he had lived, but he found himself believing her nonetheless. "…You're a fool…"

The obvious harmlessness of his words made her giggle.

Sasuke turned away from Hinata to hide the stray tear and he vanished from sight to his current abode. That night Sasuke let down the many burdens upon him fall with his silent tears.

He reflected on many things upon his bed as he stared out into space. Even without placing his hand upon his erratic heart, he felt the thrum of its beat throughout his whole body. From the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Kono kanji...kore ga..ai nano... (This feeling...is this..love...)

It was quite ridiculous really. He only knew about her by silently watching her from afar and having had only one conversation…but that was enough apparently…he had tried denying it once, but now…he couldn't.

She had grown so beautifully. No longer did she stutter or lack confidence. In the few days he'd been in Konoha he had heard bits and pieces of news about her as his ears would tune in at the call of her name. She had become a strong kunoichi and if possible an even kinder person than before. What took him and many others years to realize, it took but a moment for Hinata to see Naruto for his true worth. Her ability to see and understand someone such as Naruto…someone such as himself…not to say that she was not attractive, but the beauty which she had within was what made her truly beautiful. And it was because of that…that he did not belong with her…...

He now understood Naruto to be a great person, and seeing how much she loved him, the only way for her to truly be happy was for Naruto to be with her. He couldn't do that for her…

He would never admit it to his friend, but the only one he knew who deserved such pure love was Naruto. As much of a hard life he had lived, Naruto had also gone through the same…the difference was in his optimism and the choices he made. His greatest friend and greatest rival. Maybe it was also because of that, that he also felt so envious. Even now he wanted to follow that dark voice within him…steal her away…

…

….

He had come back for redemption and here he was thinking of taking what he also knew Naruto desired the most and was also too ignorant to see. It made him think of Sakura and the many times she claimed to love him…he didn't love her. His feelings for her never went beyond friendship and even accepting that had taken some time. He knew he would not love her as she did him, but he was willing to try, to be there for her, to marry her for all the sacrifices she made for him.

He'd decided to run away again. Told the others he was going because he wanted to see the world in a new perspective. It wasn't a complete lie as he had been planning to leave, but not so soon and not for so long. At that time he had also set an ultimatum for himself. If Naruto didn't realize or rejected Hinata in realization, if Sasuke's own love for Hinata did not die over this journey, he would pursue her. A part of him understood that Hinata and Sakura's love would not die, so he left it up to Naruto and himself. In the case that things worked out between Naruto and Hinata, even if he still loved her…he would take this love to the grave. He would give them time and hope that things would go well, hope he made the right decision for the first time…

In his long journey his feelings had not waned. If anything it had grown. Looking at the sights before him with a new perspective, Sasuke found himself contemplating, imagining Hinata next to him. What he thought she would be awed by he kept in mind. Black, blue, purple, white...any color reflecting her palette; red, pink, peach, brown...all other hues complimentary to her image, he would think of her with a smile. Believing enough time had passed, Sasuke set back for Konoha. No one could have foreseen he would find an unconscious and beaten Hyuuga Hiashi before him.

He could not help but think it was a sign. Here he was going back to Konoha still very much in love with Hinata, and an opportunity, a chance to approach her had fallen at his feet. Quite literally.

He quickly trekked back to Konoha, saved the nation from what was apparently a piece of the moon, and patiently waited for Hinata to come; to fall into his arms in tears of gratefulness…or so he thought…...

Sasuke had wanted Hinata to approach him first as he felt that to be more appropriate, but in his anticipation of wanting to meet her after so long, he took off to where the team would most likely be spotted in coming back from their journey to the moon. Sensing their chakra he looked up to see a sight he had hoped to never see…

Naruto and Hinata sharing a kiss in the light of the moon.

The embarrassment, the betrayal, the pain…it made him numb…He stayed rooted to that same spot for what seemed like centuries…

The one to break that silence was the one person he really did not want to face…in his current state, Sasuke knew he would lose control.

"Oooyyy~~~ Sasuke~~~~!"

He turned to look and he saw...a truly happy Naruto. Of course he had seen the idiot smiling all the time, but this…this happiness that was radiating off of his friend, it was nothing he'd ever seen before. What Naruto had been looking for his whole life…he had found it. It was of course not because Sasuke had come back from his long journey…it was because of her.

If it had been me she was with…would I also have made such a face?

"Oy teme! I heard you came back! Why the hell are you here though?!"

"…"

"Silent treatment already? Heh, well if you didn't do that it wouldn't be you would it. Welcome back man~~!"

"…"

Unfazed by his friend's silence, Naruto's expression changed to a grateful one. The look in his eyes and his posture were serious, but his smile was sincere. "Kakashi-sensei told us you saved Hinata's father and Konoha. Thanks a lot."

Naruto continued to talk but only hearing up to that point, Sasuke started to drown him out. He was consumed by resentment. What he had wanted to hear from Hinata, he was hearing from Naruto. What he had wanted to do with Hinata, he witnessed Naruto and Hinata do. The love he had wanted to share with Hinata, Naruto was the one she shared it with.

"Hinata is with her father right now and she wanted me to relay her thanks to you. She wanted to thank you in person, but of course her father comes first. Speaking of Hinata, I wanted you to be the first one to know. You don't know how happy I am you're here right now, cause I don't think I could've held it in much longer. Hinata is officially my girlfri-" Before Naruto could finish his sentence a kunai was thrown at his head. It was easily avoided, but the act of violence was completely uncalled for. Naruto had imagined his friend wouldn't respond with any kind of enthusiasm save for maybe a small grunt of congratulations, but this reaction was far from what anyone could foresee.

"What the hell teme! No greeting, and the first thing you do is try to kill me! I'm trying to tell you something very important! I know you love fighting but couldn't it wait a few seconds!" He was yelling, but Naruto was trying to make light of the situation. He didn't quite know how to react to the shocking response until he saw Sasuke's eyes. His Sharingan was activated.

"You…you do not deserve her. If you were going to take this long to realize, then you should have stayed blind to it. An idiot like you wouldn't have been able to figure it out all on your own. You probably had to have someone shove it in your face until you realized!"

"..." Naruto was rendered speechless. He'd seen Sasuke's wrath one too many times. He'd said hurtful things in the midst of his rage to push everyone away but this..the things he was getting accused of...

"And you, so thirsty for love, so ridden by guilt...that's the only reason why you think you love her."

Enough was said at that point to push even Naruto over the edge, and not a moment later, the two fought with no real goal but to satisfy their anger. It was not until Sakura intervened that the two were stopped. She and Hinata were going to greet Sasuke from his journey back when they came upon the commotion.

It was unclear whether exhaustion or Sakura's fist knocked them out, but when they had woken up the two ninjas saw the familiar white ceiling of the hospital. Naruto and Sasuke could only listen to Sakura's unending lecturing until Hinata came to their rescue to escort the pink-haired kunoichi out of the room. She sent them both an apologetic look before her exit, and it was but a moment, but Sasuke saw Naruto and Hinata exchange a look of a small smile and a blush. Just as he thought he could not be more damaged, seeing the confirmation of Naruto's confession...another blade pierced his already bleeding heart.

They were the only two patients in that room. Knowing that, Naruto spoke first after a few minutes of deep contemplation. "I've always loved her."

Sasuke was taken aback at his friend's confession. The overflowing emotions clouding his mind, those words put them to a momentary stop.

"When we were young, I thought she was weird at first for fainting whenever I got too close, but even then I knew that it was because she admired me…liked me…but I was in denial. All my life I'd been hated, scorned, turned away from...and to think someone might like me…I couldn't believe it..."

Sasuke felt the sting of guilt. He was one of many and a prominent one at that.

"Confessing to Sakura and getting rejected constantly…that was what I thought I deserved…what felt right. If Sakura had ever accepted and confessed to me, I probably would have rejected her and run away. It was also because I was jealous of all the attention you got that I wanted her to look at me, but I never thought of Sakura like that. Liking her was really the same as how I liked all my other friends. It was just fun to get on her nerves sometimes.

"Being friends with Hinata though…I thought, this is what it's like to be loved, and I was really happy. I felt things I had never felt before and somehow I knew it was what she felt for me, but I knew she would be scorned and hated if I were to accept her. So I strove to become stronger, become the Hokage, someone acknowledged by everyone so that maybe when that happened, we could be together.

"I was so thankful her feelings never changed over the years and she actually confessed to me...on the battlefield no less...she saved my life knowing she could die...she almost did.." Regret and pain contorted the jinchuuriki's voice.

A great amount of willpower and reasoning with his inner demons kept Sasuke from grabbing Naruto at those words. Somehow he knew he needed to hear his best friend's words to the end.

"I was so weak...I lost control..when I thought Pein had killed her, something inside me broke and I went berserk, I almost gave into the darkness thinking I would never see her again...After I calmed down, and when I felt her chakra, knowing she was alive was the greatest feeling, but it was also then that I realized I almost killed her along with everyone else. I knew I couldn't be with her… not until I got control of Kurama's powers, so I trained even more.

"I knew it hurt her but I feigned ignorance and everyone else seemed to accept that…expect it from me even…...I was afraid..deathly afraid...

"When I did get in control, the war started and when I thought to confess to her after we won, after I had proven myself to the world…Neji died…and I just couldn't do it…

"It took a lot of time for the guilt to die down, but when it did, I felt lost and looking at her so mature and strong…I thought I had lost my chance to be with her, that she had moved on, but on our mission to the moon, we fell into a genjutsu where I saw her memories with mine. I saw that she still loved me…had loved me…for so long and so I confessed. Funny thing was, I got rejected and I concluded that the genjutsu was simply showing me what I wanted to see…But after listening to Sakura, after really thinking about it and gaining confidence again, choosing to believe what my heart had been trying to tell me, I confessed again and she wholeheartedly accepted.

"I was a fool, a coward…and you're right…I don't deserve her…but she loves me…Hah…she loves me…"

Sasuke hadn't looked at Naruto throughout the whole conversation, but he heard the tears within his friend's voice near the end and he knew. Since the beginning of the conversation, reflecting on his own awakening to his feelings, Sasuke had no choice but to admit that he had utterly lost in every way. In Naruto's fits of quiet laughter and tears, Sasuke continued to listen. His friend wasn't a complete idiot after all…

After calming down Naruto continued on. "For all the years I made her wait, for all the love she's had for me, I'm gonna make it up to her and give her the world. I'm sorry Sasuke…As my best friend, there are a lot of things I'd be willing to give up for you, but I will never give up on Hinata."

A verbal response was not given to Naruto's many words, but he had not expected to get one. Instead, Naruto saw a look of quiet acceptance upon Sasuke's face as he closed his eyes.

Sasuke had made many discoveries that day. It was a lot to take in, but he knew he had to. Not only had his friend also been in love with Hinata, but he had also been aware of her feelings for him. Naruto and Hinata were now together, and it was time for him to honor his promise…

Although he was weary in body and soul, he did not sleep that night.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

Naruto was set to leave the next morning and as he was about to leave Sasuke spoke to him for the first time. "Don't f*** it up dobe."

Knowing all the underlying meanings of 'I'll kill you if you f*** this up' and etc., Naruto simply laughed. Turning around and giving him his signature smile he replied, "Of course not teme! Ore wa Naruto dattebayo!"

After his own physical recovery, Sasuke set to leave Konoha again that night. As he took his first step past the border, he heard her voice again.

"Uchiha-san!"

Turning to the direction of her voice he saw her running toward him, and so he waited. The distance to her current location from the training field she had been occupying was nothing, but it was only a few minutes ago that Hinata's hours of training were put to a halt as news of Sasuke's departure were made known to her. When she was but a few feet away catching her breath he said, "Call me by my name."

"Hai?" She looked up in surprise to meet his gaze and he spoke again.

"Sasuke."

"Ah, hai! Ano…Sasuke-san."

Seeing his look of dissatisfaction, she tried again.

"Sasuke-kun?"

He smiled a little hearing his name in her voice. He had on the same outfit he had on when he came back to Konoha so his smile was hidden by his cloak, but she noticed the shine in his eyes and seeing it she smiled back. It was one of the topics he had planned on confronting her about when he came back, and even under the different circumstances, it was…nice.

"It's pretty ridiculous to be calling your boyfriend's friend so formally."

Her already slightly flushed face had turned an even brighter red at being confronted by Sasuke. Hearing 'boyfriend', Hinata had a quick flashback of her time with Naruto and she suddenly felt rather embarrassed. The remark seemed to revive Hinata's old habit of poking her index fingers together and it made Sasuke chuckle.

"Some things never change."

Catching herself in the act, Hinata quickly hid her hands behind her back and at this point her face reminded him of a tomato. She didn't know it, but she was putting the Uchiha in a very tight spot. Dismissing the emerging thoughts, Sasuke went on teasing her.

"You look like you're about to faint."

She started waving her hands and shaking her head in denial at his accusation. "I..I'm fine! Really! I'm just a little flustered! I just need to calm down a bit!"

His smirk got wider and he continued to poke fun at her. "If you say so, but how'd you know I was gonna be here? You're not stalking me are you?"

"Oh! No, I…I was…!"

He was smiling inside, but his steady voice did not help in any way to alert her that he was only teasing. Seeing how she might really faint at that point, he took a moment to look at her before he called her name. "Hinata."

As if telling her it was okay, his deep and yet soft-spoken voice calmed her down. Getting back her composure her red face slowly turned to a light blushed pink and she spoke up. "Naruto-kun told me you'd be leaving again tonight."

'So he wants me to say goodbye…what a bas****…'

Remembering why she had come here in the first place, she took a deep bow before him. "Thank you. Thank you for saving my father. Thank you for saving Konoha."

A moment passed for Sasuke to understand her gesture. He closed the distance between them to lift her chin up to face him. "What you have done for me…it cannot measure, to what little I have done for you."

To say Hinata was surprised was an understatement. She could not form a response as she could not understand his actions or words. He towered over her small form, but for some reason...she was not alarmed. After a brief time of consideration, Hinata thought maybe the words she had shared with him in their first and last conversation had somehow helped him in some way, and it made her happy…but somehow, although she could see the hidden 'thank you' within his words, there was something else he seemed to be saying with his eyes. She had never seen Sasuke's obsidian eyes so close. The longing stare held an overwhelming amount of underlying emotions, but before she could fully make sense of it, he let go of her.

Sasuke coveted what little he had shared with Hinata that day. It was a simple gesture of taking his hand away and stepping back, but in that motion, it was his first step to really letting her go. Since it was truly the end, he wanted the moment to linger if just a second more.

Somehow, she understood it was important to him for him to have this distance, and she waited a few minutes before asking, "Do you have to go again so soon? You just came back. Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun missed you a lot."

"…What about you?"

"Hai?" Hinata was again perplexed.

"Did you miss me?"

There it was again…that look in his eyes. As she was about to reply, he cut her off.

"It's because of them that I have to leave." It's because of you…

It didn't make sense but Hinata didn't question him.

"Tell Sakura I'm sorry…and Hinata…"

"Hai?"

"…I hope you're happy."

"…"

"Sayonara."

Before she could say her goodbye, he had gone. Sending a silent farewell in his direction Hinata stood in the same spot for some time pondering what he had meant. As she could not come up with a clear explanation, Hinata could only give up and turn away, but the question of how Sasuke knew of her old habits persisted in the back of the kunoichi's mind.

A/N: Thank you for reading. I wanted to write something completely based on the canon to show the possibility of Sasuhina and making better sense of Naruhina's love story. I hope you enjoyed it.