Under the Yoshino Tree

by The immortal sage

"Why me ? " whispered Hinata. "Because you made me feel the warmth of the sun again," replied Sasuke. The unlikely love story of a soft-spoken Hyuga and a troubled Uchiha. (Post-war)

22. Letztendlich

Under the Yoshino Tree

Chapter 22

letztendlich

Hinata shunned the urge to fiddle with her hands as Sasuke examined her with an investigative gleam in his eyes.

"Hi," she whispered. She furiously tried not to dwell on how she sounded like a timid kitten.

"What is your answer ?" was Sasuke's gruff response.

She succumbed to the urge to twiddle her fingers. A crease formed between Sasuke's brows. He repeatedly flexed his clenched jaw before separating her fiddling hands from one another.

"Surely you didn't come here just to stare at me."

She wiped her moist palms on her tweed dress, took a deep breath and banished the thoughts that were delaying her from giving him an answer. Sasuke drew in a deep breath.

"I've d-decided to t-take a leap of faith."

Her stomach was performing summersaults. Sasuke frowned, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Stop speaking in riddles, Hinata."

She wanted to slap him. Or to slap herself. She could not decide which one of them were vexing her more.

"I w-want m-more. I want us to be m-more."

She held her breath and waited for his reaction. Why was he taking so long to comprehend such a straightforward statement ? He seemed skeptical when he finally grasped what she meant.

"Really ?"

Her already racing heart quickened. She nodded.

"Yes."

Sasuke's doubtful expression morphed into one of acceptance. Acceptance transformed into glee. She had never imagined that he could smile so broadly. She was still entranced by his smile when he reached out and kissed her.

The contact of their lips was like a jolt of electricity, an injection of thunder, into her system. She melted like butter on a hot pan and rested her hand on his cheek as their mouths moved oh so tenderly. Warmth buzzed into her chest while butterflies twirled in her stomach as Sasuke soothed her yearning for him.

They expressed their feelings with no sense of urgency. Time was not their enemy. Not anymore. They were not indulging in a guilty pleasure. The clock was not ticking towards a moment where they would become sober and withdraw from one another because they were engaging in platonically-questionable behaviour.

Their eyes found one another when they separated for air. Lavender met Onyx. A smile met a smile. In that moment, she was convinced that she would have robbed herself of something crucial if she had rejected him.

Sasuke cupped her cheek and captured her lips once more. She looped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer as he stroked her waist. He was simultaneously dousing the yearning within her and further igniting it.

He pressed her against the wall and littered her neck with kisses. She arched her neck to the side to give him further access. Her knees turned to porridge when he kissed the uttermost sensitive area of her neck. She moaned. Her reaction mortified her but Sasuke took it as an indication to double his efforts.

Perhaps she had the capacity to fall in love with Shino. They clicked in so many ways. They fitted together like a key and a lock.

From an objective standpoint, Shino was the better choice between him and Sasuke.

Despite objectivity favouring Shino as the better choice, Sasuke had emerged as the victor. Simply because he was the subjectively better choice. He was the superior subjective choice for one plain reason : loving Shino was a highly probable reality but loving Sasuke was a reality she was already living.

Yes, Hinata Hyuga had fallen in love with Sasuke Uchiha. She did not know why it had taken so long for her to realise it. The extensive introspection that had resulted from having to decide the future nature of her relationship with Sasuke and later on having to choose between Sasuke and Shino had enlightened her about the degree to which she cared for Sasuke. This realisation had came as an epiphany of sorts during her last few hours at Kamimura Plantation.

In the midst of all the tears, the smiles, quiet laughter, ugly fights, heartfelt embraces, bitter resentment, light conversations, whispered secrets, the unveiling of dreams and aspirations long deserted and the unclothing of their truest selves she had fallen in love.

Against the backdrop of mundane activities, movies, novels, finger-pointing, softly-spoken reassurances, days of moodiness, days of heightened affection and touchiness, blistering hot days, rainy days, windy days, depressing days and happy days Hinata had fallen in love again.

She was not under the influence of a shallow crush or a fleeting infatuation. The depth of her feelings was leaps and bounds beyond that.

Hinata's heart hammered as her mouth wrestled Sasuke's - as they expressed messages that words sometimes failed to convey. The absence of oxygen began crushing their lungs and forced them to part. She leaned her forehead against his.

At some point, she had contemplated turning down both Sasuke and Shino. But she had not fancied that option. She longed for the kind of affection Sasuke and Shino had to offer. There were very few forms of affection that surpassed romantic affection and she was a glutton for affection. Maybe that great desire for affection was the echo of a child who never received much affection at home.

The realisation of her love for Sasuke had flipped the whole situation into something else entirely. Everything had suddenly turned crystal clear. Her conundrum had had ceased to be a conundrum. She desired romantic affection. And she loved Sasuke. The way forward had been clear. Shino had ceased to be an option.

Perhaps it was reckless of her to cast aside her reservations and be with Sasuke but she had always perched love on a high pedestal. Maybe she was a hopeless romantic or maybe the abused and emotionally neglected child inside her was to blame.

She was startled out of her reverie when Sasuke threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He carried her to the clearing and began spinning around like an overly energetic child.

"Put me down !"

Her demand fell on deaf ears. Her laughter was probably not helping.

Sasuke eventually stopped his shenanigans and lowered her from his shoulder. He secured his arm around her waist and suspended her inches above the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck and wondered if her eyes were reflecting the happiness that was glowing in his.

Had she made the right choice ? Was the universe nodding its ancient head at them ? Did the watchful sky endorse their relationship ? What about the birds ? The tiny, invisible insects ? The furred little creatures that ran to and from ? Did they approve ?

It was as though they were hoping to merge into one when their lips reunited. They kissed until her lungs were sore.

She was still panting when Sasuke leaned in for another kiss. She did not appreciate how slowly he was going about closing the gap and decided to hasten the process by diving her mouth to his. Her lips landed on his cheek.

Puzzled, she opened her eyes and deduced that he had turned his head a split second before their lips could meet. She realised he was teasing her when he began laughing at her.

"Sasuke," she complained in a highly pitched tone.

He laughed even more and started spinning. Their eyes remain locked as they spun around with grins on their faces. She was intoxicated with the exhilaration.

Dizziness placed an end to the spinning. Sasuke tried to steady them but lost his balance. He fell on his side and took her down with him. The grass cushioned their fall.

"I might have I overdone it."

"I told you so."

They were sprawled out on their backs - shoulder to shoulder - and staring at the infinite blanket of blue that was way beyond their reach when Sasuke pointed his face away from her before speaking.

"There were numerous moments in the past where I was supposed to feel like I had won and yet I felt no true sense of victory."

His voice was quiet - hardly above a whisper. His tone had lost its vibrancy and had regressed to a spiritless monotone. She could only stare at his jaw since his face was turned away from her.

"Itachi's death felt empty. Probably because I had discovered the truth. I thought I would be overjoyed when I killed Danzo but, once again, the victory felt hollow."

He finally faced her. Her chest contracted. The dampness in his eyes seemed out of place on someone like him

"But today, I finally feel like I've won."

She blinked away her tears and sent him a weak smile. He redirected his gaze to the sky as if he was suddenly allergic to her eyes. She rolled over and pressed herself to his side.

"I'm happy for you."

"If there's something you want to say then say it," Sasuke said some time later.

Her heart began racing but she was careful not to give away her panic. She suppressed the twinge of remorse she felt for deceiving him and feigned ignorance.

"What do you mean ?"

"There's something you want to say."

She swallowed heavily.

"I can read your mind," Sasuke told her before poking her temple.

"Liar," she replied.

"Well ?" pushed Sasuke. Why did he have to be so insistent about it ?

"Fine. I was thinking about how I'm lying on the ground in my special tweed dress."

"It's just grass."

"It's a special dress."

She was relieved that he had bought her lie. Her longstanding fear of rejection had not allowed her to tell the truth. She lacked the bravery needed to tell him that she loved him.

Even though he clearly cared for her, she feared that he would reject her declaration of love - that he would be repelled by it. She was afraid of being too much. Frightened of saying too much too soon and feeling like a fool afterwards.

"I never thanked you for saving me that day. I wouldn't be here if you had allowed me to do it."

Terrible memories she longed to keep buried resurfaced. She unconsciously touched her neck - recalling the feeling of pressing a kitchen knife against it.

"We mustn't allow what happened that day to ever happen again. We mustn't allow a number of things that happened in the past to happen again."

"They won't," he said

"We'll need to work on some things. We need to be kinder to one another. More patient with one another," she told him. "I don't want us to fight to the point where we break up, Sasuke. I... I want us to last."

"We will."

He brought their intertwined hands to his lips and kissed her hand.

"I promise."

It was in moments like these where they co-existed so harmoniously that the beauty of their bond touched her. Where conflict was nonexistent between them and tender affection defined their relationship.

It was as though they had been transported to a world without afflictions, without demons that refused to die, without malicious, disturbing dreams and troubled relations. They had stepped into utopia. It was futile, she knew it, but she placed a wish upon the hidden stars and prayed that they would never leave paradise.

---

In his eighteen years of life, Shino Aburame had never truly known the meaning of sorrow until Hinata Hyuga had broken his heart. He had never personally suffered a terrible loss or a devastating setback until that point.

He felt utterly drained as he stared at the ceiling of his unilluminated bedroom. He had never imagined that he could spend hours doing nothing but lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. He had never thought that heartbreak could be potent enough to make his head sore. Or even bring about such a tempting desire to shut himself in his room, cut off all contact with the outside world and languish in self-pity.

He was a realist. He had known that there was a great possiblity of rejection. He had braced himself for that outcome but that had not helped even in the slightest. Perhaps he had underestimated the ramifications of being rejected by the girl you love. The crushing sense of defeat that came with knowing that he could never have one of his greatest desires was devastating.

He had taken his time building Hinata a dwelling place in his heart - modelling it to her unique specifications so that no one else could fit in it. As a matter of fact, she had built it herself - he had never asked to fall in love with her. In the end, she had instructed him to evict her from that residence and find someone else to take her place.

She had asked for the impossible. How could anyone else take her place ? Where would he find someone who looked like her ? Someone who talked like her ? Who walked like her ? Who smelled like her ? Who thought like her ? Who cared like her ? Where would he ever find another Hinata Hyuga ?

He felt stranded - shipwrecked on an uninhabited island with no means of returning home. He was like an infant that had been left alone to fend for itself in a forest. How was he going to get through this ? Could he even get through it ? Would he wake up one morning and realise that he no longer felt anything for Hinata ? Would he ever reach that point ? He had so many questions but no answers.

He nearly wished Hinata had not rejected him so gently. Maybe he would have despised her if she had gone about it in a mocking, cold-hearted manner. Perhaps whatever resentment he would have felt towards her would have lessened the sense of loss he was suffering from ?

The previous day...

Sunset was upon them. The sky, with all its brilliance, all its purplish glory, failed to capture little more than a speck of his attention. His mind was occupied with a more daunting issue - the fate of his relationship with Hinata.

Hinata stopped walking when Konoha's gates appeared on the horizon. He halted and tossed an inquisitive look over his shoulder. Hinata bit her lip and fiddled with the straps of her satchel.

"C-can we talk ?"

His heart began beating so erratically that he felt its pounding on his throat. He turned around and approached her.

"I've decided."

He drew in a deep breath and cleared his throat.

"And ?" he quietly inquired.

She fumbled with the straps of her satchel and flashed him a faltering apologetic smile that disintegrated as quickly as it had formed.

"I'm sorry, Shino-kun. I can't ignore what I feel for Sasuke. I'm sorry."

"No."

"I'm sorry."

He grabbed her hands.

"Please," he pleaded.

He was desperately clinging onto the hope that her decision could be reversed. He was still willing to fight.

"Please forgive me," she weakly uttered while barely even looking at him.

"You'll find someone better than me. Someone who doesn't have such a glaring flaw. Someone who will love you as much as you love her."

He shook his head vehemently, willing her to understand.

"I need it to be you. And what are you talking about, Hinata ? What glaring flaw ? There's nothing wrong with you."

Her lips curled sadly. Her smile gave him the impression that he had missed something crucial. He wondered if Sasuke knew what that something was.

"What can he give you that I can't give you ? Tell me and I'll give it you."

She frowned and tried to free her hands from his grasp. He squeezed her hands tighter.

"Shino..."

"I'll rectify whatever needs to be rectified."

She shook her head.

"It's not something you can rectify. I love him."

And just like that, she plunged her hand into his chest, grabbed his heart and squashed it into bloody smithereens. She seemed so resolute, so certain of the fact that she loved Sasuke. No words could describe the sheer pain of it all.

The desperate hold he had on the hope that he could change her mind slackened. Realising that pointlessness of trying to reverse her decision, he allowed himself to let go.

Despair trickled into him as he released her hands. He felt the need to lie down. He felt spent to the bone. Hinata was merely an arm's length away but she might as well have been a thousand miles away considering how unreachable she felt.

He felt more humiliated than he had ever felt before. He felt as though he had made a fool out of himself by pouring out his heart to her just so that he could be rejected. He looked away - unable to bear eye contact. Not when he was sinking in humiliation. Not when she was staring at him with such sympathy.

"So what now ?" he asked in a pathetically feeble voice.

"I don't know," whispered Hinata.

"I hope this doesn't push us apart."

"Me too. But I'm only human, Hinata."

"I know."

Silence prevailed for the longest time. He turned around - intent on reaching Konoha and separating himself from Hinata as soon as possible.

"Some people believe that there are multiple copies of us throughout different realities."

"Alternate realities," he answered after mustering the strength to face her.

"Yes,"she replied."If alternate realities do exist, I'm certain there is a reality where I fall in love with you. To be honest, I could have grown to love you in this very reality if things had played out differently."

She had shoved a knife between his ribs by rejecting him. And now, she was twisting that knife. How could she say something so unthinkable ?

"Tell me, Hinata, how exactly am I supposed to feel after hearing that ?" he choked out. Even speaking felt strenuous at that point.

Hinata crossed her arms across her chest and looked down. She answered him with the tiniest of whispers.

"I just want you to understand."

"Understand what, Hinata ?" he snapped, throwing his arms in the air.

Raising his voice like that was uncharacteristic of him. He had never snapped at her before .A part of him felt guilty but another part of him was too damn hurt to care.

"Understand what ? Enlightenment me !

"That you're not inadequate ! I don't want you to feel as worthless as Naruto made me feel !" she shouted, her hands profusely gesturing towards her chest.

"I just... I need you to understand that I chose Sasuke because I fell in love with him first ! Not because you're not good enough for me !"

The Present...

His weary bed squeaked as he readjusted his position and lied on his side. He stared at the girlish keychain on his bedside table. The trinket consisted of a cute, pink, bug-eyed miniature teddy bear that was attached to a keyring. Hinata had bought it for him a year or so ago as a joke of sorts.

He rose and paced about when his aching back and shoulders no longer permitted him to remain immobile. His eyes flickered to the lime cover of the botany book on his bookshelf. Hinata had gifted him with it on his sixteenth birthday. That was the day she had revealed to him that her love for flowers stemmed from her mother.

His eyes strayed to the sizeable jar of ointment Hinata had prepared for him. The encyclopedia that was missing from his bookshelf was all too apparent. Hinata had borrowed it in preparation for their jonin exams and had never returned it.

There were traces of Hinata everywhere he looked - reminders that aggravated the fresh wound in his heart. He needed to spend some time away from his room. Steam and the sound of artificial rain filled his ensuite bathroom as he prepared to take a shower.

---

Shino found himself trudging up the stairs of Sakura's apartment building after aimlessly wandering around Konoha. The aroma of fried shrimp, smoked beef, grilled fish and the plethora of poultry, pastries, vegetables and spices saturating the food district had reminded of his promise to treat Sakura when he returned.

That recollection had lead him to Sakura with greasy takeaways, a tub of mint flavoured ice cream and a box of dango. Why he had chosen to fulfill his promise on that particular evening, when he was so heavily dejected, was ambiguous even unto himself.

He rang the doorbell. Soon enough, Sakura answered the door. The crisp liveliness radiating in her green eyes was a sharp contrast to the angst churning within him.

He took in her lithe body - her shapely legs, her toned thighs and her athletic midriff. His gaze locked on her breasts. Why was she so scantly dressed ? Tiny shorts and cropped tees were hardly appropriate for the weather.

It occurred to him that he was eyeballing her breasts at point blank range. He redirected his gaze from her body-hugging top to her face. Surely, heartbreak had thrown his cognitive functions off balance. Since when was he such an inattentive neanderthal ?

"Hey," Sakura casually greeted.

She crossed her arms over her chest, retreated a step back, uncrossed her arms, rubbed them, crossed them again, glanced behind him and plastered a tight smile on her face. She was uncomfortable. Wasn't that just fantastic ?

"Hi," he smoothly replied.

He ignored the urge to clear his throat or look away. Her smile became less tight.

She leaned her shoulder and her head against the doorframe.

"Welcome back."

"I kept my promise," he said, lifting the parcels in his hands. Her smile no longer seemed engineered.

"I'm glad."

Sakura beckoned him inside. He entered her apartment and handed over the parcels in his possession. Sakura went into the kitchen as he hung his coat on the coat hanger.

He joined Sakura in the kitchen and approached the sink to wash his hands. She abruptly turned and collided with his chest - spilling the water in her cup on his chest.

Sakura stumbled back, stared at him with a slightly parted mouth and turned red. She grabbed a cloth and frantically blotted the large wet splotch on his grey t-shirt while alternating between apologising and berating herself for being clumsy.

He told her not to worry but she was too preoccupied with insulting herself to notice. He grabbed her wrists. The warmth of her wrists shocked his cold fingers.

"I'll take care of it, Sakura."

She opened her mouth but only blushed further instead of speaking. She stared at their hands before roughly pulling her wrists from his grasp.

"Good. It's your fault that I'm acting like a headless chicken anyway."

She pushed past him and marched to the opposite side of the tiny kitchen. She deposited the ice cream in the freezer and banged the fridge door in the process.

He dismissed her behaviour, not in the mood to ponder such things. The heated water was a reprieve from the coldness in his fingers but he barely noticed. The ceramic soap dispenser was the same shade of lavender that was prominent in Hinata's wardrobe.

"I doubt anyone's hands need to be that clean," muttered Sakura, commenting on his long period of absentminded hand washing.

He dried his hands and went to the lounge.

Sakura followed him to the beige sofa with two takeaway boxes and two pairs of chopsticks. She sat cross-legged and passed him his food. He accepted it with a word of gratitude and they ate in silence.

"So... Are you going to tell me what's bothering you ?" Sakura said after he had consumed half of his food.

He lifted his head and looked at Sakura for the first time since he had began eating.

"I apologise for dampening the mood."

Sakura smiled a little.

"I didn't ask for an apology. I'm interested in knowing why you are upset."

Sakura wiped away the sesame seeds at the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand without breaking eye contact. His chest expended as he breathed in deeply.

"It's Hinata."

Sakura returned the piece of beef she was about to put in her mouth back into her takeaway box. Her gaze dropped to her lap.

"What about her ?" she prodded in a more guarded tone.

"I told her how I feel."

Sakura rubbed her neck with her left hand.

"Well ?"

Discussing his rejection was not a very appetising idea. He picked up his chopsticks and continued eating.

"For goodness sake, Shino, how many times have I poured out my heart to you ?"

He kept on eating. Sakura huffed.

"Fine"-she stabbed a piece of meat with her chopsticks-"be that way."

"I was too late." He clenched his jaw. "She has feelings for Sasuke."

He felt too exposed without his shades and coat on. He stirred his rice so that he would have an excuse for not looking at Sakura.

"Does Sasuke..."

"Fancy Hinata ?"

"Yes."

She sounded as though she was afraid to know the answer.

"He asked her to be to his lover. I think the answer is easy to deduce from that."

Sakura's posture withered away like a pot of dying flowers. He placed his food on the floor and leaned back his head on the sofa.

"She told me that she would have probably grown to love me if things had unfolded differently. If I had acted sooner and told her how I feel before she had fallen in love with Sasuke."

He wondered if Sakura was listening. She was staring at the wall with an empty gaze.

"I dug my own grave and I wonder if I'll ever forgive myself."

Sakura brushed her hair behind her ears, looked down at the food on her lap, shook her head and laughed a bit.

"Unbelievable."

She picked up her chopsticks and resumed eating.

"Are you not going to say something, Sakura ?"

"No, I'm waiting for you to get everything off your chest. Isn't that how you go about it ? You let me vent until I feel a bit lighter and then you sprinkle a few words of wisdom or a motivational sentence or two ?"

He managed to smile despite everything and spent the next half an hour dumping his cynical musings on Sakura - only pausing to have a few bites of food that had long gone cold.

"That sucks," Sakura commented afterwards.

"That's all you're going to say ?"

"Did you actually expect a words of wisdom ? I'm pretty horrible in the romance department," she said with a trace of a smile.

"Ooooh, I know what we should do !"

She rushed to the kitchen.

"I'm so smart. This forehead really isn't just for show, Ino-pig," Sakura babbled as she disappeared into the kitchen.

She returned with a chilled bottle of sparkling wine in one hand and two wine glasses in the other.

"It was a gift from a grateful client. It's high grade stuff, apparently. I was waiting for the right occasion to open it."

She held the bottle away from her, scrunched her face and popped open the bottle. The cork shot into the air and fell down with a dull plop. The fruity, sharp, alcoholic smell of wine soaked the air. She poured wine into the glasses and offered him a glass. Her courteous smile turned into a frown.

"Stop staring at me like I'm crazy. Do you want a drink or not ?"

He took the glass.

"I know this is not exactly a celebratory mood but we need the wine for our toast."

He observed the air bubbles in his drink.

"What are we toasting to ?"

Sakura sat down and smiled.

"To losing Hinata and Sasuke respectively. To moving forward and to closing those chapters in our lives."

Sakura clinked her glass against his and downed her wine as though she were in a drinking competition. He drank a sip. He was undecided about whether he enjoyed the taste. Sakura drank the rest of her wine in a single large gulp and smiled at him.

"Things would be so simple if a mere toast could make you forget the one you've loved for so long, wouldn't they ?"

His glass was soon empty. Calmness and relaxation possessed him. He felt as though he had recently woken up on a Saturday morning, during their academy days, and had remembered that he would not be going to the academy because it was a weekend.

Sakura refilled their glasses. She was in less of a hurry to finish every last drop in her glass the second time around. She brushed her fingers over her eyelids between sips. It dawned on him that she was crying.

"What is it ?"

She sniffed. Her lips quivered and her tears began falling more freely.

"I feel like I'm running around like a headless chicken. I'm so confused."

"I have all these questions that I don't have answers to. Was I really in love with Sasuke ? Or was I attracted to the idea of being in love with the unapproachable boy with a traumatic past and being the one who melts his cold heart ?"

He had never expected that Sakura, with all her past devotion to Sasuke, would ever doubt the legitimacy of her love for Sasuke.

"On top of that, I think I'm developing feelings for another guy. As if my confusion over whether I was actually in love with the boy who I was prepared to give everything for is not enough."

She pursed her trembling lips before exhaling shakily.

"Am I really developing feelings for this guy or is that just what I want to believe ? And what should I do if these feelings are genuine ? I don't think telling him would end well. He's... preoccupied with other things. And why do I feel like Sasuke still has a hold over me ?"

He stopped Sakura from pouring herself a third glass of wine and told her that he preferred her somewhat sober. She rolled her eyes and called him a bore.

"I don't know what's real and what's not anymore, Shino. I need answers but I can't seem to find them."

He digested Sakura's words as he sipped his wine. Her words had struck him in the nucleus of his being. Her feelings were too relatable.

"I spend a lot of time reading books and asking questions in search of knowledge, answers or solutions to a variety of problems. I..."

Was he really going to tell her ? The thought of revealing his true nature to anyone disturbed him. Despite every instinct of self-preservation telling him to keep quiet, Sakura's unguarded and patient expression disarmed him.

"I don't search for answers and solutions out of curiosity. I'm scared of not knowing the answers because I'm afraid of being defeated."

He was certain that the alcohol had loosened his lips.

"I'm afraid of being defeated by people. By situations. That's my greatest fear. I pretend that I'm perfectly fine with defeat. Coming out victorious every single time is nearly statistically impossible after all. But deep down, nothing frightens me, petrifies me, more than defeat."

Sakura nodded.

"Defeat is your greatest fear, huh ? The fact that spiders are my greatest fear is making me feel silly."

Sakura stared at her glass and swirled the few drops of wine left in it.

"I'm lying. Inferiority is my biggest fear. Probably because I was bullied as a child. I've struggled with feelings of inferiority all my life."

"Why am I telling you my deepest secrets again ?"

"Blame it on the wine."

"Ah," Sakura replied with a smile.

She reclined on the armrest and threw her legs over his lap. He found himself massaging her feet for no apparent reason.

"Add more pressure," she instructed as he massaged her ankles

"You're rubbing my ankles not fondling my boobs. Ankles are not boobs. Ankles don't have nipples."

She moaned when he added more pressure.

"Mhmm. That's it."

She stole his glass from the floor and took a gulp. He repossessed his glass. She reached for the wine bottle.

"No."

"Why ?"

"Because I can tell that you can't hold your liquor very well."

She pouted and crossed her arms over her chest like a child throwing a tantrum.

"I'm perfectly sober. And you're on your third glass so why can't I have more wine ?"

"Biology," he answered, "Don't tell me that the hospital's golden girl doesn't know the difference between male and female bodies."

Sakura stuck out her tongue. He continued massaging her feet.

"I don't want to live like this anymore. I don't want to feel so much anxiety about not having the answer to every problem. I don't want to live in constant fear of failure."

"So what are you going to do ?"

"I want to teach myself to accept that it's okay not to have the answer to every problem. Maybe I'll stop being so afraid of defeat. Maybe it will give me peace of mind."

Sakura frowned.

"But how do you move forward without knowing the answer ?"

He contemplated Sakura's question.

"I suppose you just deal with the situation one day at a time. You accept that you will not always have a manual you can refer to for guidance and simply face each moment as it comes. And not be afraid to face it."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side. She now sported a perpetual flush on her cheeks.

"You mean we should learn to accept that sometimes you just have to wing it ?"

He nodded.

"Being distressed about not having a blueprint to follow won't help us."

She giggled in a way that made her seem not very intelligent.

"I never thought I'd hear such words from you. That's something I'd expect to hear from Naruto."

"Me too."

Sakura's eyes defocused.

"I guess we'll just deal with moving on from Hinata and Sasuke one day at time," she stated, her voice having lowered in volume.

"And I'll have to accept that I don't know the answer to my internal conflict and just try to deal with it one day at a time."

He hummed in agreement. Sakura placed her feet on the floor. She leaned towards him with a wide smile - completely disregarding his personal space.

"At least I'm not confused about what I'm going to do next."

His body was stiff. He could nearly taste the wine in her breath and the strawberry flavour of her hair. Her breasts were pressed against his arm and her hand was uncomfortably close to his crotch.

"And what would that be ?" he said when he finally remembered how to speak.

She giggled and poked the tip of his nose.

"I'm gonna dance for you, idiot."

Sakura moved to the centre of the lounge before he could overcome his suprise.

"I present to you Sakura Haruno," she announced.

"Ready ?"

"I've been waiting for this my entire life," he humoured her.

What followed was a silly, corny and poorly coordinated demonstration. He could not resist laughing as she waved her arms up and down like a bird flapping its wings and jerkily moved her hips from side to side. She responded by dancing more enthusiastically.

"Look, Shino, Look !"

"I'm looking," he laughed.

He stood up and clapped his hands as she twirled. She stopped, bended over and held her sides as she laughed.

There was shift in her eyes and body language just before she resumed dancing. Her movements were slower, less haphazard and sensual. She slowly swayed her hips from side to side. He sharply sucked in some air when she leaned her upper-body forward, perched her butt in the air and ran her fingers down her breasts and torso with velvety, silky smoothness that thrilled his eyes and inflamed him.

She straightened up and moved her hips up and down while gilding her hands along her body. What was she trying to accomplish ? Was she even working towards a particular end or was she merely being led by the wine ?

He was too engrossed with drinking in every bewitching movement she was performing to comment about the madness that had possessed her. He was too fascinated with the seductive whispering of her eyes.

The vicious pounding of his heart made him feel as though he had just finished running for his life. Her eyes were beckoning to him - almost daring him to take action instead of merely observing.

Where had she learned to work her hips like that ? To arch her back so alluringly ? To teasingly caress her flesh in a way that caused him to be envious of her hands ? To move her butt like that as she turned around ?

She strutted over to him - her lithe curves dangerously swaying with each step and her eyes never leaving his. He gulped when she sat on his lap.

Her stomach was glistening with a thin layer of sweat. He searched her emerald eyes - trying to discern her thoughts. Wondering if she truly grasped the wildness of her actions.

He tensed as her fingers glided over his bicep, his chest and the veins on his forearm. Her eyes followed her fingers. She leaned into his ear. Her hot breath licked his ear as she whispered.

"Did you enjoy yourself ?"

"What the hell was that ?"

A shiver ran down his back when she lightly bit his ear.

"A tiny gift to cheer you up."

The warm, slightly damp skin under his fingers alerted him to the fact that he was caressing her waist.

"I severely overestimated your alcohol tolerance."

"I'm perfectly sober."

"Doubtful."

He reminded himself to stop stroking her sides and her thigh. Evidently, the wine was working its magic on him too.

"Did you enjoy it ?" Sakura said while tracing his jawline. She ran her fingers through his hair.

He had to refuse. Such an admission would be inappropriate. They were friends. Friends do not perform erotic dances for one another or admit to being aroused by one another.

"Don't ask foolish questions, Sakura. Would I have nearly slept with you if I was indifferent to such things ? I'm not homosexual, am I ?"

Sakura giggled. The words had flown out of his mouth without his permission. Sakura pulled back and studied his face. She decided that pinching his cheek would be perfectly acceptable.

"Stop pinching my-"

"Shino, I need to peeeeeee."

"Then go. I don't see how I'm stopping you from peeing."

"But the toilet is so far awaaaaaay," Sakura whined.

She sighed in resignation, rose from his lap and went to the bathroom. He glanced at his glass of wine and decided to abstain from taking another sip.

"I'm baaaack," sang Sakura. "Miss me ?"

Sakura sat next to him. She hooked her arm around his and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Of course you missed me. You like my boobs."

She tightened her hold on his arm and mumbled something. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand as he yawned.

"What ?"

"I said do you only like me for my boobs. Would you still spend time with me if I woke up with no boobs ?"

"You're joking, right ?" he laughed.

"No."

He looked down at his shoulder. There was nothing in her frown that indicated insincerity.

"You're a handful when you've drank, Sakura."

"And you're touchy."

"I am not touchy."

"Neither am I a handful."

"Where did you learn to dance like that ?"

"It's all natural talent," she said. "I've never danced for anyone so you better be grateful."

Their lack of decorum was of little concern to him in his state of mind. They would face the after-effects of Sakura's little display on another day. They would be embarrassed about how she was nestled to his side while he traced the scars on her left knee and the stretch marks on her waist on another occasion.

"Thank you for consoling me, Sakura. I feel better now."

The kunoichi in question gave no response. He peered at his shoulder. She had fallen asleep. He felt a twinge of guilt for making her stay up so late when she had to work the following morning.

He felt inclined to be a gentleman and carry her to bed. She stirred when he took her into his arms but drifted back to sleep. He pushed open her bedroom door with his foot and lowered her onto the bed and managed to get her under the covers.

He went back to the lounge, locked the front door, threw on his coat and returned to Sakura's bedroom. Sakura stirred as he approached the window.

"You're leaving without saying goodbye ?" Sakura questioned with a furrowed brow. He smiled.

"Sleep well, Sakura.

She cracked a smile.

"One day at a time, right ?" she mumbled.

"One day at a time," he replied.

He took one last look at her and climbed through the window.

---

Kiba reeled back as he took in the sight of Sasuke standing on his veranda with his hand inside his pocket and a partially disinterested expression on his face. His throat constricted as failed to fathom what could possibly give the Uchiha the audacity to set foot on his clan's territory.

He narrowed his eyes, straightened his arms, locked his hands into fists and stood on the balls of his feet. He would not be caught off guard on his own territory. Never. Thump, thump, thump - his heart pounded in anticipation.

"Who allowed you in ?" Kiba demanded, his voice rough and taught with tension.

Akamaru drifted closer to them, seeming uncertain about how to regard the traitor.

His partner was well aware of the bad blood between him and Sasuke but neither was he oblivious to the dynamics of Hinata and Sasuke's relationship.

"I bumped into your sister at the gate."

A smirk slithered on to Sasuke's face.

"Hana's quite a woman."

The urge to drive his fist into the Uchiha's teeth was nearly irresistible.

"Keep her name-" he pointed at Sasuke "-out of your damn mouth !"

The snake removed his hand from his pocket and raised it in the air.

"I didn't mean to offend."

The bastard's smug expression implied otherwise.

"What do you want ?"

The smug expression slipped away.

"I'm here because of Hinata."

He sneered at the mention of his stubborn friend. He had not spoken to her since Shikamaru's party.

"What about her ?"

"Stop being an asshole and make amends with her."

He laughed. What delusions was Sasuke suffering from to think that he had any right to meddle in his affairs with Hinata ?

"Spare me this self-righteous crap. My relationship with her is none of your concern."

Sasuke's left eyebrow wrinkled. The Uchiha leaned back his head and looked at him down his nose as though he were an insect. Kiba was tempted to spit in his face but doing so would be pointless. His saliva would not fly that far.

"It is my concern. Hinata is involved."

Kiba partially turned his back on the Uchiha.

"You can show yourself out."

Sasuke bowed his head and shook it.

"Stop the melodrama, Kiba. Hinata-"

"I told you to fuck off !"

He could tolerate many annoyances and irritations. He could tolerate a few things that were downright maddening. Being lectured by Sasuke was not one of them.

Sasuke stared at him unaffectedly. Sasuke's unresponsiveness snapped his last strand of patience.

"Go !"

He shoved Sasuke. Sasuke's face twisted into a scowl. Pain ripped through his back as he collided with the wall. By the time his fist struck the space where Sasuke's head had been, the Uchiha was already standing on the lawn - out of reach.

The feeling of Sasuke's crushing chokehold lingered on his neck. The Uchiha's eyes were spewing poison at him. Akamaru was barking and growling from his side.

"Stand down. I'll handle Sasuke on my own."

Sasuke titled his head to the side. His eyes were brimming with amusement

"Calm down before you embarrass yourself. I didn't come here to fight you. I came here to-"

He charged towards Sasuke. His pride could not permit him to stand down like a subservient puppy. He lashed out with a furious barrage of punches, kicks and elbow strikes that were easily evaded.

He felt an adrenaline rush - heightened senses, a racing heart, a surge in energy.

He punched, kicked, punched, kicked. Again and again - constantly switching tactics to gain the upper hand. But none of his hits touched Sasuke.

Despite how he was pouring his all into the fight, Sasuke's doujutsu remained unactivated. The disparity between them was shameful. He gritted his teeth and pushed his body to move faster as his humiliation and Sasuke's arrogance enraged him further. He would stop at nothing to humble Sasuke.

---

Evading Kiba's fruitless assault was as tedious as painting an entire door with a toothbrush. Fighting Hinata was preferable to this. She was faster, more agile, more unpredictable and her deceptively harmless fingers could bring a man twice her size to his knees with merely a touch.

He maintained a neural expression to avoid further enraging Kiba. Provoking Kiba and ripping apart his ego in a one-sided fight was not the objective of his coming.

Admittedly, he had blundered by saying a few unnecessary things and allowing himself to lose his composure and shove Kiba into the wall. He needed to salvage the situation. Squandering his chance to help mend Hinata and Kiba's relationship was not something he could afford.

He had sacrificed his pride to approach Kiba. He would not allow that to go to waste. He could not stomach the idea of

of humbling himself so thoroughly to approach the person he despised the most and essentially begging him to mend things with Hinata for nothing.

Kiba was running out of breath but showed no signs of surrendering. When would he be spared from this misery ?

Even the dog seemed embarrassed at that point.

Kiba finally stopped humiliating himself and retreated from his reach. Kiba's shoulders rose and fell as he breathed shallow, erratic breaths. His face was flushed and marred by a scowl. Refraining from mocking Kiba's futile efforts was no easy feat.

"Have you calmed down now ?" he said to Kiba, mindful of his tone.

The scowl on Kiba's face melted as he relaxed. His lips curled into a smile as he tapped his fingers against the kunai holster strapped to his thigh.

"I'm not done with you, bastard."

Kiba raced through an unfamiliar sequence of seals. He activated his doujutsu - slightly wary of Kiba's burst of confidence. He merely watched with no intention of stopping Kiba from performing the jutsu. He stifled a smirk. There was not a single thing Kiba could throw at him that could-

"Fireworks, Akamaru !"

The dog spun around in an explosion of speed. Simultaneously, a dazzling white light flashed. He cried out despite himself. A mere second had been enough to cripple his sensitive vision.

He felt as though his eyeballs were being squeezed. There was a disorientating ache in his head. He was still reeling from it all when the unmistakable pain of metal plunging into flesh seared his thigh.

A fist barrelled into his jaw and stunned him. Kiba pulled him by the front of his shirt as he stumbled back. Sasuke forced his eyes open. Everything was nothing but a white blur. The air was knocked out of him when Kiba kneed him in the stomach.

Kiba ripped out the kunai embedded in his leg and stabbed him again in the same leg. He groaned and shuddered as a new wave of pain ate away his flesh. He slammed his head into Kiba's head despite the excruciating pain in his leg and how his stomach was screaming in agony. His opponent - no, his soon to be victim - groaned and released his shirt.

He gritted his teeth and pulled out the kunai. Kiba rammed his fist into his already brutalised stomach and nearly caused him to vomit. He staggered back before wildly sweeping the air with the bloody kunai and forcing Kiba to retreat.

He fell on his knees. Pangs of pain were rippling through his stomach. The burning in his leg and the increasing dampness of his trousers was making his head spin. He clenched his jaw and tried to control his breathing. The grass compounded with his blood and formed a metallic, grassy smell.

He channeled chakra to his nose and ears to enhance his senses just in time to block Kiba's foot from striking his head. The impact of the kick rattled the bones in his arm. Orochimaru, with his obsessiveness, had cultivated within him the ability to fight without sight.

A thirst for revenge propelled him forward. He shot up, defying the pain in his leg, and threw a punch at Kiba. His fist grazed Kiba's cheek.

He had tried to be civil but Kiba had urinated on his efforts. Now, he wanted his bloody pound of flesh for being blinded and stabbed.

He blocked and dodged Kiba's furious blows with the aid of his enhanced senses and sixth sense - limiting his movement to spare his throbbing leg from pain. His enhanced senses failed to fully compensate for his injuries and incapacitated vision. As a result, Kiba managed to uppercut him and kick him in the chest.

He opened his eyes just in time to evade Kiba's three jabs and an elbow strike. Keeping his eyes open was torture but his vision had been partly restored. Things were blurry but he could clearly see Kiba's outline.

His recovered vision thrilled him. The strong metallic scent of his blood drove him forward. Blood rushed in his ears as he sped to avenge himself. He would have his bloody pound of flesh.

The way in which Kiba gasped and bowed forward when he rammed his fist into Kiba's stomach made him grin. He drove his fist into Kiba's eye before the bastard could escape out of reach. The sound of his fist smashing into Kiba's skull was beyond satisfying.

Kiba staggered back before regaining his footing and attempting to punch him. He effortlessly deflected the blow and pounded his fist into Kiba's face.

He ducked Kiba's roundhouse kick and punched him in the side. He pummeled the same spot until Kiba cried out. He grabbed Kiba by the collar and kneed him in the stomach. Kiba groaned. The soreness in his eyes drove him to knee him again. And again. And again. And again.

Kiba grabbed his neck in a pathetic chokehold. His skin was a sickly shade. He was shaking and barely holding on to consciousness.

"Bastard," Kiba said in a strangled voice before spitting on him.

He froze as a wet glob of mucus and saliva sickeningly slid down the side of his face. Kiba exhaustedly cracked a smile despite his torn and bloody lip. He shoved Kiba away. The Inuzuka crumbled to his knees and clutched his midsection as blood spilled from his nose.

He wiped his face, grimaced at the phlegm on his sleeve and roughly wiped his sleeve against his trousers. He glanced at his bloody thigh before glaring at Kiba unblinkingly. He kicked Kiba in the head.

Kiba collapsed facedown. The dog rushed to Kiba's side, barked and bared its fangs at him before focusing on its fallen owner.

He fell on his behind - feeling slightly lightheaded. The bloodloss was probably to blame. He tore off a part of his shirt and pressed the rag against his wounds - not caring wether Kiba was conscious or not

His vision was gradually returning to normal but his eyes were still painful. He felt as though a heavy object was squashing his head.

Kiba rolled over and sat up with great difficulty while clutching his head with one hand. Blood was still coming out of his nose. His skin was still an unhealthy shade. He squeezed the bridge of his nose and tipped back his head. The dog continued whimpering.

"Tell your damn dog to stop whimpering. It's getting on my nerves."

"Piss off."

---

There was a buzzing in Kiba's head.The pain in his gut made him wish he could lie flat on his stomach. He felt so weak that standing seemed impossible. He was certain he would have a black eye and multiple swollen areas on his face by the end of the day.

"Know your place, dog boy. You can't beat me even on your best day. Just because I'm out of shape doesn't mean I've stooped to your level."

His chest tightened. He wished he could reach out and shove his fingers into Sasuke's wounds but he was too weak to do so. Why was the bastard still there ? He wanted to be alone and lick his wounds in peace.

Sasuke ripped off his sleeves and used them to bandage himself. The way Sasuke winced when he tightened the rags around his wounds brought a smile to his face.

"How's your leg ? It feels good, doesn't it ?"

Sasuke threw him a cold glare.

"Tell me, dog boy. Why do you hate me so much ?"

He snarled.

"Isn't it obvious ? You're an unstable and backstabbing traitor who betrayed us in order to be Orochimaru's pet. You tried to kill Naruto and Sakura. And you murdered Danzo."

His abused jaw was complaining about the pain of speaking. Sasuke's eyes glowed with amusement.

"Bullshit. What's the real reason ?"

He tightened his hands into fists and slowly loosened them before looking away from Sasuke. He swallowed heavily and licked his torn lip. The bastard was too perceptive. Or perhaps he was too obvious ?

"Is that not reason enough ? You're making light of what you did ?"

"I have never trivialised my mistakes," Sasuke said with an edge in his voice.

"But you can't seriously tell me you hate me so much because of that when I've never done anything to you personally."

His gaze bounced from place to place. He cracked his knuckles. Sasuke's line of questioning was grating at his nerves. He drew in a calming breath. He was a nudge away from bursting and revealing the truth.

Sasuke scoffed.

"I don't really care why you hate me. You're not that special. I don't want or need your acceptance. I just want you to stop treating Hinata like-"

That was the feather that broke the camel's back.

"There you go again, acting all self-important. You're too superior to care about why I hate you, right Sasuke ?"

He felt his throat closing up.

"Well, fuck you and anyone who thinks you're so important !"

The truth was that he had resented Sasuke long before he had betrayed Konoha. Sasuke's treachery had merely contributed to his resentment but it was not the root of it.

"You've always been the prodigy, right ? The precious Uchiha who's better than all of us, right ?"

He seldom acknowledged the true reason why he despised Sasuke. He often told himself that it was because of Sasuke's betrayal and the events that had succeeded it. It made him feel better about himself. It made him feel more righteous about his resentment.

"You want to know why I really hate you ?"

He was going to get it off his chest. Repercussions be damned. Secrets be damned. Pride be damned.

"I'm jealous of you."

Sasuke's eyebrows drew towards one another but that was the only change in his expression.

"Yes, I said it. I'm jealous of you !"

Shouting was aggravating his stomach. Akamaru nudged his muzzle into his side as if to silence him but he had resigned to getting the matter off his chest. He exhaled and slumped his shoulders. Why did this feel so liberating ?

"You've always represented a level of power and influence I've never been able to attain. You've always been Konoha's golden boy. I've always wanted that for myself."

The buzzing in his head was still raging on.

"You betrayed the village but you merely got a slap on the wrist. You became Orochimaru's lapdog. You fucking murdered the acting hokage but here you are freely walking the streets of Konoha. You're given special treatment because you're Konoha's precious last Uchiha. And I hate it."

He patted Akamaru's head. His partner was still on edge.

"Growing up, you had all the attention, the praise, the girls and the skill. By the end of the war you had all the glory. But that still wasn't enough. You still had to take Hinata. And I hate you more for that."

They remained stationery on the grass - producing an ironic illusion of two people who were simply having a nice chat while resting on the lawn. As if Sasuke was not sporting a bloody leg. As if he was not in tremendous pain because of the beating he had been subjected to.

"I didn't steal her from you. You're the one who pushed her away."

His sensitive nose caused the scent of Sasuke's blood to remain on the forefront of his mind.

"Do you know how often she talks about you ? I tell her to forget about you and she tells me that it's not that simple."

Sasuke scoffed and shook his head.

"She's too softhearted at times."

"I know that better than most," Kiba replied.

"But she also has her limits. We both know what happens when you stretch her beyond her limits. You won't like it when she stops giving a damn."

His gaze fell to the ground. He felt foolish for his pettiness

"You're going to risk losing her just because of me ? After all you've been through together. You must be retarded, dog boy."

Sasuke's words ripped him apart.

He had gotten so carried away by his anger towards Hinata for becoming close to Sasuke that he had neglected to contemplate the bigger picture. Admittedly, he had been shortsighted. He had only considered the immediate effect of giving her the cold shoulder.

If Hinata remained adamant about her relationship with Sasuke and he did not budge then what would become of their friendship ? He exhaled deeply.

"I'm being an asshole, aren't I ? She doesn't deserve this."

He slowly unhardened his heart. He felt ashamed that Sasuke had been the one to show him the error of his ways.

Sasuke rose from the ground - leaning his weight on his uninjured leg. He followed suit and dragged himself off the ground. By the time he was on his feet, he felt as though his brain had collided with the sides of his head numerous times. He clutched his stomach and stood with his shoulders hunched over - unable to stand up straight due to the pain in his gut.

"Why did you go through such lengths, Uchiha ? Were you tired of hearing her complain about me ? Was she annoying you ?"

---

"Why did you go through such lengths, Uchiha ? Were you tired of hearing her complain about me ? Was she annoying you ?"

Kiba's tone was riddled with a hundred and one accusations. Being around Kiba was exhausting.

"Hinata is precious to me. Seeing her miserable because of you doesn't exactly amuse me."

Kiba's eyebrows rose towards his hairline as his jaw went slack. The Inuzuka took a step back and looked at him as though he had uttered an unspeakable blasphemy.

"What...?"

He raised his chin.

"You can't comprehend that there's anyone who's precious to me ?"

After some time, Kiba stopped gawking at him and shook his head.

"You really care about her," Kiba said in a dull voice.

"Of course I do."

He lifted his chin a little higher and smirked.

"Why else would I be seeing her ?"

Kiba's jaw snapped shut. His eyes hardened as he pulled his chin towards his chest. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side.

"Aren't you going to congratulate us ?"

Kiba lifted the corner of his upper lip.

"You smug little bastard," he replied in a low voice.

"Of all the guys in Konoha..."

Kiba sighed and shifted his gaze to the side.

"I guess I have no choice but to tolerate this little relationship of yours. Clearly, she doesn't care about what I think."

"She's capable of making her own decisions. She doesn't need you to be her big brother," he replied.

"And I don't need your approval to be with her, dog boy. It makes no difference to me.

Kiba's expression turned sour. He opened his mouth only to close it.

"Let's not fool one another. I don't like you and you don't like me. We merely share a mutual... associate. So stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours."

"Fine with me," Kiba answered. He rubbed his jaw and smirked.

"Now get the hell out of my yard, bastard."

Sasuke mirrored Kiba's smirk.

"You're not even going to invite me in for some tea ? You're so uncivilised."

"Piss off, Uchiha."

"You punch you like a five year old girl," he said as he limped away.

"Who taught you how to knee someone in the stomach, Uchiha ? I barely even felt it."

---

Sasuke winced at the pain that ripped through his injured thigh as he rose from his futon. He schooled his expression to hide his pain and proceeded to the front door.

Hinata greeted him with a tiny smile and cheeks that were dusted in pink. Her soft smile, twinkling eyes and faint but poignant perfume distracted him from the throbbing in his leg. He lowered his eyes to the bags of vegetables she was carrying and raised an eyebrow.

"I remembered that you were running low on vegetables."

"And you decided to hoard the entire store ?" he questioned as he unburdened her from the bags.

"There was a sale," she replied as she stepped inside. She sent him a sidelong glance. "A simple thank you would have sufficed, Sasuke."

Hinata began rummaging through his cupboards as soon as they entered the kitchen. He unpacked the shopping bags and stored away the produce.

"You're also running low on rice. And salt," Hinata noted while counting on her fingers.

He pinched her bum as he manoeuvred around her to put the tomatoes in the reed basket she had bought. She jumped and whipped her head in his direction. He winked at her. She reddened and pouted.

"Sexual harassment," she said while pointing an accusing finger at him. He shrugged.

"As I was saying, you're running out of rice. There's a rice sale at Hanako-san's store. You should buy some before the special ends."

He spun her around so that she would face him, slid his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him.

"I'm being manhandled just moments after being sexually harassed," Hinata playfully lamented. She encircled her arms around his neck with a tender, endearing expression on her face.

"You're quite a menace to society, Uchiha-san."

His chest constricted as he admired the curve of Hinata's jaw, her nose, which had been moulded to near perfection by her genetic makeup, full lips and gorgeously arched eyebrows. Hinata Hyuga was strikingly beautiful. She blushed and looked away when she could no longer suffer his gaze. She shyly tucked a few strands of indigo hair behind her pale ear.

"Did you hear what I said about the rice special ?" Hinata said while curling her finger around his long hair.

"You might as well move in with me since you're so obsessed with the domestic affairs of my home."

Hinata's wide eyes snapped up to his. She turned even redder and shook her head.

"Slow and steady, Sas-"

He kissed her before she could finish her sentence. His fingers sneaked under her jacket and shirt and explored the delicate, smooth skin of her side as their mouths danced. She tugged on his hair in the slightest manner. Desire consumed him like fire on a burning bush and compelled him to slide his tongue over hers. Hinata tensed against his chest before pressing her tongue against his. He separated his mouth from hers when the endurance of his lungs reached its limit.

He took in her appearance. Her face was flushed prettily and her lips slightly parted as she tried to catch her breath. Her eyes, which were teeming with affection, never left his. He basked in the evidence of her existence - her warmth, the mixed scent of her perfume and her hair, the windy sound of her panting, the weight of her palms on his chest. This evidence proved that she was not merely one of the mirages that visited him in the land of nightmares.

"Move in with me. I'll buy you a cat to sweeten the deal."

He knew he was rushing things but the fact that she was merely a visitor in his home was not enjoyable even in the least.

"I never expected that you'd use a cat to try and bribe me into moving in with you," laughed Hinata. A happy sparkle was gleaming in her peculiarly coloured eyes.

"I hate pets. So this simply shows the extent to which I'm willing to sacrifice for us to live together."

He brushed his nose against her neck.

"Just imagine. Sleeping in together on days when you don't have morning shifts. Your sexy little self cooking breakfast with me while you're wearing my shirt. Etcetera, etcetera," he whispered in her ear while slowly running his fingers up and down her bare side. Her body was tense.

"It'll soon be winter. Don't you want someone to hold you on cold nights, princess ?"

He brushed his fingers across her cheek. She inhaled sharply when he kissed the spot just below her jawline.

"Just think about it."

He tilted her head so their eyes could meet.

"What colour should our cat be ?"

"I'm m-more of a d-dog person," she said in an apologetic tone.

He gave her an unimpressed look.

"That's never ever going to happen. I'd rather let you paint the walls pink."

Her smile grew broader.

"I guess we don't have a deal then," she said before shrugging.

It was still slightly shocking that this beautiful, scarred and kindhearted woman now belonged to him. Hinata's hand froze on his chin.

"Why are you looking at me like that ?" Hinata asked self-consciously.

"You're nice to look at."

She smiled at him demurely before breaking eye contact.

"That's not how you tell a girl that you think she's beautiful but thank you."

She lifted her eyes and squinted at him.

"You're also kind of nice to look at when I squint really hard."

"What a brutal compliment."

"I've told you multiple times that you're not my type, Sasuke." She raised an eyebrow. "Have you forgotten that you blackmailed me into being with you ?"

He smirked.

"I don't quite remember the specifics of our arrangement. Please refresh my memory."

She hung her arms around his neck.

"Well... You said you'd reveal that I'm actually an imposter who was hired by the Hyuga clan to pretend to be Hinata because the real Hinata has crippling social anxiety that makes it impossible for her to leave her room. You threatened to expose that I'm actually a male doppelganger who's been living a lie for twelve years."

She glanced behind him and spoke before he could retort.

"You're not done storing away the vegetables. Please do that."

"I forgot you have obsessive tendencies when it comes to the kitchen."

She gave him a sour look.

"You know it's true," he said as he played with her fingers. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Sasuke. The vegetables are waiting."

"Where's my goodbye kiss ?"

"You're literally just going to the other side of the kitchen."

"I'm failing to see the relevance of that."

She gave him a peck on the lips.

"Happy ?"

"Hardly."

"The vegetables, Sasuke."

He shook his head and disentangled himself from her. He felt the scrutiny of her eyes as he walked.

"You're limping."

"Am I ?" he answered while packing away the carrots. Hinata frowned.

"Is the condescending tone necessary ?"

He looked away.

"Sorry."

Hinata shifted closer to him.

"What happened to your leg ?"

"I fell on a kunai."

"You fell on a kunai and stabbed yourself in the leg ?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"Let me take a look at it."

He did not want her to see the extent of the injury.

"It's fine. I disinfected the wound and bandaged it."

"Let me look at it," she softly insisted.

He attempted to walk away but she blocked his path and crossed her arms across her chest. Her hard stare told him that the matter was non-negotiable.

"Fine. Let me put on some shorts."

He took a few steps before pausing.

"Unless you don't mind if I strip down to my underwear ?"

Her face turned crimson.

"I think shorts will do just fine," she replied while not meeting his eyes. He smirked and continued to the bedroom.

He came back dressed in a pair of black knee-length shorts and found Hinata sitting on the sofa. He sat down beside her and pulled up his shorts to reveal the bandage on his upper thigh. She undressed the wound. Her hands were exuding a sharp antiseptic scent.

She discarded the bloody bandage and studied the two stab wounds. The wounds seemed more severe now that Hinata had seen them. She pointed a withering stare at him that made him avert his gaze to the wall.

"You fell on the kunai twice ?"

He did not respond. A blue glow of chakra encased her hands. The satisfying sensation of Hinata's healing technique made his skin tingle. Her chakra was so tranquillizing that he closed his eyes.

"I'm not stupid you know, Sasuke."

"I'm trying to spare your feelings."

"I'm already upset. You might as well tell me what happened," she whispered.

The healing glow around her hands vanished. The pain in his leg had been extinguished and the stab sounds had been closed. He opened his eyes and found Hinata staring at him gloomily. She shifted her gaze to the side. She slowly and forcibly exhaled a long breath.

"Have you been drinking again ?"

He straightened up.

"I wasn't drunk," he answered with a defensive edge in his tone.

"What then ?"

He swallowed heavily.

"I had a talk with Kiba yesterday. Emotions ran high and we fought."

Hinata briefly covered her mouth with her hand before shifting it to her breastbone. The panic in her eyes made him slightly regret his scuffle with Kiba.

"Emotions ran high to the point that he stabbed you ?"

She paused to consider something. Dread welled up in her eyes.

"How badly did you hurt him for doing this to you ?"

He clenched his jaw and glared at the floor. Was she more concerned about Kiba than him ? Who was she seeing ? Him or Kiba ?

"Don't worry. I showed some restraint and allowed him to walk away with nothing he couldn't sleep off."

She exhaled quietly.

"Thank you," she replied, not commenting on his abrasive tone.

"I went there to tell him to stop treating you badly."

She slumped her shoulders and lowered her eyes to his chest.

"You don't have to fight my battles for me, Sasuke."

Her lips curled into a sorrowful smile.

"You don't need to be my hero."

She rose from the floor and sat next to him. She clasped her hands, placed them on her lap and stared at them with an empty stare.

"Is it a sin for me to want to be your hero ?"

"No."

Did she truly believe that ?

"You don't have to listen to that voice that's telling you that you're undeserving of a hero. That voice is lying to you."

Tears gathered in her eyes. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the sofa.

When was the last time he had desired to be someone's hero ? Maybe before his life had been ruined. Before he had vowed to avenge his kindred under a mournful sky. Yes, he too had once aspired to be a protector - a hero like his brother, his father and his grandfather.

The part of him that desired to be a protector instead of an avenger had perished with his kindred but Hinata had resurrected it. His life had become less centred on his own self interests. For the longest time, no one but himself had mattered. Nowadays, Hinata's well-being mattered. She was steadily endowing him with parts that had been amputated by his past.

Hinata lifted his arm and drapped it over her shoulder. She squeezed herself to his side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Would he ever grow accustomed to how a simple glance, a fleeting touch, a miniscule frown or a tiny word from her could affect him so severely ?

He wanted Hinata to be the opening and closing act of his love life. There would be no other woman in his life. He would sacrifice his remaining arm before allowing anything, other than death, to separate them. Even death would first have to wrestle him before he allowed it to separate them.

"Do you remember that I told you that Team 8 and Team 9 have lunch together at Yankiniku Q, Asuma-sensei's favourite restaurant, every two weeks ?" Hinata said after some time.

"Yes."

"We're going to meet for lunch the day after tomorrow. I'd like you to come. Kiba was a no-show the last two times. I doubt he'll come."

The fact that she assumed that Kiba would be a no-show meant that Kiba had not yet approached her. This gave him further reason not to bring up the resolution of his confrontation with Kiba. Raising her hopes only for Kiba to be a coward and not patch things with her would be an unnecessary headache.

"Karui comes with Choji whenever she's in Konoha. Even Temari has joined us before."

"Your point being ?"

She sighed.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're being intentionally dense ?"

"Intentionally dense ? I don't know what you're talking about."

She sighed even louder.

"I want you to be there because you're my... you know."

"Your what ? I'm not following."

Hinata huffed.

"My partner. My boyfriend. My lover. Which ever term you prefer."

He glanced down at her face. She was bright pink.

"Why didn't you just say so ?"

Hinata narrowed her eyes and pinched his arm.

"Ouch. What did I do to deserve that ?"

"That's for intentionally getting me flustered," answered Hinata.

"It's not my fault that you tend to be a prude."

She elbowed his side.

"Where is all this violence coming from ?"

He tossed her a flirtatious smirk.

"Are you trying to hint that you have a fetish for roughness ? I can slap you around and pull your hair if that's what you like. I can even choke you if it floats your boat."

Hinata's eyes grew wide as her jaw dropped. She remained like that for a while before tearing herself away from him and standing up. She opened and closed her mouth a number of times.

"I think that's my cue to leave. It's getting late anyway."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Don't be shy, princess. If you want me to slam you against the wall and call you unspeakable slurs before violently grabbing your neck and kissing you just say so."

Hinata repeatedly dragged her eyes up and down his body while frowning and shook her head.

"What did I get myself into ? I'm seeing a creep."

He pulled her into his lap. She tried to get away but he would not let her. She begrudgingly stopped struggling.

"It's too early for you to leave."

He caught her lips in a kiss. She laid her hands on his neck and deepened the kiss. His stroked her thigh as their mouths moved against one another and their tongues danced. He licked his lips when she pulled away.

She dug through her pouch and retrieved a tiny tube of lip balm. She uncapped the tube and dabbed his lips with lip balm. It smelled like cherries.

"You should really moisturise your lips, Sasuke. They're chapped."

She slid the pad of her forefinger across his lips to spread the lip balm.

"Really ?" he deadpanned.

"What ?" she mumbled while sliding her forefinger across her lips as she moisturised her smooth lips.

"You don't believe in lip balm ?"

She returned the lip balm inside her pouch.

"I'm going home."

He captured her waist.

"Relax. The night is still young."

"The night is still young but my innocent mind has been corrupted enough for one day."

"Prude."

Hinata glared at him.

"Creep," she retorted.

"Goody two shoes," he shot back. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Sexual deviant I should stay away from," she said while slightly jerking her head from side to side to emphasise each word.

"Closeted rough play fetishizer who is diverting attention from her own sexual deviance by accusing innocent partner of being a sexual deviant."

"Shameless sexual deviant who is projecting his own rough play fetish on his poor partner so that he can bring his little fetish to life all in the name of humouring his innocent partner."

He shook his head and sighed.

"So what are we going to call our cat ?"

Hinata smiled.

"You mean your cat."

"We'll be taking it into our home. Hence it will be our cat."

"Your home," Hinata corrected.

"You're always complaining about how bare this place is. I'll let you decorate the place if you move in."

Hinata laughed while reflexively covering her mouth with her hand.

"Your attempts to bribe me are amusing."

"Are they working ?"

"No."

"Why ?"

She raised her left hand.

"I'm not following."

"There's no ring on this finger," she explained while wiggling the finger next to her pinky."Hyuga women don't move in with romantic partners for free."

He scoffed. She slipped her fingers through his and stared at their intertwined hands.

"What's your ring size and where do I sign to make you an Uchiha ?

He was not sure whether he was entirely joking.

"Unfortunately, I don't marry guys I've only been seeing for five days. It's not my style," Hinata answered with an apologetic smile.

"Tea ?"

"I'll pass."

She rose from his lap and went to the kitchen. He followed her and silently watched as she poured water into the metal kettle and placed it on the stove. She retrieved her favourite cup from the cupboard. It was a white mug with the words *Sasuke's stalker*written in his handwriting with a permanent marker.

---

Historical films were hardly the type of films Ino preferred to watch with her friends during sleepovers but Tenten and Hinata had outvoted her so she had to be a big girl and bear with it.

Hinata was lying next to her on the bed - hugging a pillow to her chest and leaning her head against the headboard while intently following the movie playing on the television. The black, masculine, oversized t-shirt Hinata was wearing alongside her baby-blue pajama pants oddly seemed like it would perfectly fit in Sasuke's wardrobe.

She shifted her eyes to Tenten. She was sitting on the worn, lime beanbag chair her father had bought for her a year or two before she had become a genin. She filed her nails as the murmuring of the TV, the crunching of popcorn, and the occasional sound of Tenten slurping her nearly-finished apple juice through her straw echoed through her bedroom.

She heavily exhaled through her nose. She still could not figure out why Sakura had declined to join them. Did Forehead not appreciate these rare sleepovers ? The multiple excuses Sakura had given were unconvincing. That little know-it-all was hiding something.

Could it be related to the rumours circulating at the hospital about Sakura and Shino ? She found it difficult to believe that anything romantic was brewing between the unlikely pair. Beyond intelligence, what did Forehead and Shino have in common ? Despite her doubts, she was itching to sit Sakura down and interrogate her about the rumours.

She shifted her gaze to Tenten once again. Hinata and Sakura were not the only ones keeping secrets. Tenten, like Sakura and Hinata, was being less than transparent about the time she was spending with a him from their cohort. She had seen Tenten and Naruto alone together five times in the past two months. Five Times ! That was more times than she had seen them alone together since she had known them !

"Keep staring at me like that and I'm going to think you want to make out with me, Ino."

Ino rolled her eyes. Tenten scooped a handful of popcorn and shoved it into her mouth.

"Stop entertaining weird ideas in that head of yours. You're my not type, love."

Tenten dismissed her every time she prodded about Naruto. Naruto had been even more evasive when she had questioned him about Tenten. Why were they being so secretive ? Surely that suggested that something was indeed going on between them, right ?

Were they trying to hide whatever was going on because of Naruto's past with Hinata ? Did Tenten feel guilty about being involved with her close friend's ex ? It was quite an awkward predicament now that she thought about it.

No matter what reasons Hinata, Sakura and Tenten had for being so secretive, it still hurt to know that they were not confiding in her. Did Tenten feel that her love life was none of her business ? But was is not normal for close friends to share such details ? Why had Hinata hidden the fact that she had grown close to Sasuke and that she was spending so much time with him ? Did all three of her closet female friends not trust her ?

Why did everything have to be shrouded in mystery ? And why did she have to take it so personally ? Why did it have to make her feel so unimportant and disregarded ?

The truth was that if someone were to peel off a few of her layers - peel of the boldness, the loud purple clothing, the showoff, and the bluster - they would find a woman whose heart could be bruised by the smallest of things. They would find a girl who was sometimes too sensitive for her own liking.

Fantasies about the coffee jelly in the fridge started floating in her mind. Surely dessert would free her from the sad thoughts that had ambushed at such an inconvenient time. Consoling herself with junk food had become one of her vices. She blamed Choji.

She regained awareness of the world outside her and abandoned her dreary thoughts when Hinata mumbled something inaudible.

"What was that, Hina-chan ?"

Hinata's eyes remained glued on the television. A flush had crept on her cheeks, neck and ears.

"I'm dating Sasuke."

She gasped. Tenten whipped her head in their direction. Her eyes were wide open and her hand, which was full of popcorn, was frozen below her mouth. Ino could do nothing but allow her mouth to hang open. The furious feudal lord's rant blared from the TV. It was the only sound in the room.

"You know how some people feel about him," continued Hinata. Her face was crimson but her voice was steady.

"I need you to support us as my friends. Please ?"

"Pause !" commanded Tenten. She deposited the popcorn clutched in her hand back into her popcorn bowl.

"Hold on a minute, Hinata !"

"Wait one damn minute, you big-boobed Hyuga !" Ino shouted while making a halt gesture with her hands.

Tenten rushed to Hinata and grabbed her by the shoulders. Hinata leaned away from Tenten with her eyes slightly wide and her mouth parted.

"When ? Where ? How ?" Tenten demanded - her face centimetres away from Hinata's own. It was inronic how scandalised Tenten was considering how she was keeping secrets of her own.

She flanked Tenten's side. Hinata warily glanced between them as though they were possessed. She struck Hinata's side with a pillow.

"Talk !"

"Don't just sit there and look all innocent and dazed as if you didn't just say that you're dating Sasuke ! Out with it !"

"What do you want me to say ?" Hinata whined as she tensed her shoulders under Tenten's grip.

"Aha !" She snapped her fingers, crossed her arms and bent forward towards Hinata. "You've finally admitted that you've been going MIA all these months so that you could suck off Sasuke's face. You repeatedly denied that you're seeing him when I asked you !"

Hinata shook her head vehemently.

"We weren't together at the time. It's only been a few days !"

She and Tenten glanced at each other to gauge whether the other believed Hinata.

"When did you start liking him ?" interrogated Tenten. Hinata's shoulders slumped.

"Not long after we started talking. Months ago-"

"What ?!" she cried,"Then why are we only finding out now ?"

Hinata bit her lip and shrugged.

"Who confessed first ?"

"He did. No, I did - indirectly. No, he hinted that he's attracted to me first so I-"

"Does he treat you differently than us ? Is he soft with you ?"

Hinata blushed and nodded.

"What do you like about him ?"

Hinata shifted her eyes to the side.

"A number of things."

"What does he like about you ?"

"A number of things."

"Damn it, Hinata !"

"What ?" cried Hinata."Ouch, you're hurting me."

Tenten loosened her grip.

"Is he romantic ?"

"In a subtle way. He's not loud about it."

"You're saying he's not the flowers and chocolates type ?"

Hinata nodded and smiled.

"He finds practical ways to make my life easier. He's not interested in superficial gestures. He would probably argue that what he does is not romantic but I find it romantic when he goes out of his way to accommodate me."

Hinata's face beamed as she babbled on about Sasuke.

"There was this one time when he offered me coffee. I told him I don't like coffee, I prefer tea. The next time I was there, he offered me tea. He bought tea just for me. He didn't know which type of tea I like so he bought six different types. Six ! That was really sweet of him."

She had never seen Hinata talk about a guy so fondly - not even Naruto. She was certain about one thing, the poor girl was in love.

"What about his um... issues ?" Tenten asked softly with furrowed eyebrows.

"Has he ever been violent with you ? Do you think he's a hundred percent okay in the head ? Has he ever pressured you to do something you're not comfortable with ? Naruto said that..."

Hinata clamped her mouth shut and narrowed her eyes.

"What exactly do you meant by that ? And what did Naruto-kun say about Sasuke ?"

The iciness of Hinata's voice made her spine tingle. Tenten released Hinata's shoulders and averted her eyes. Ino gulped and licked her lips. Hinata's eyes continued boring

"Please elaborate," said Hinata. Ino decided to diffuse the situation.

"Coffe jelly, anyone ?" The question was followed by a little laugh that felt terribly out of place. "Having some dessert while Hinata tells us about her romance with Sasuke would be nice."

---

Hinata stopped walking when she spotted Kiba leaning against the street light opposite the hospital entrance with his arms folded across his chest. She rubbed her triceps and looked around. What if Kiba saw her and caused a scene ? She would surely die from embarrassment if her co-workers or, even worse, her superiors stumbled upon her arguing with Kiba in the street. She blew out a series of short breaths, stood taller and walked out of the hospital entrance - intent on ignoring Kiba.

"Hinata !"

Her shoulders tensed but she continued walking. She was not in the mood of being condemned for not demonising Sasuke. She wondered if he knew that they were no longer platonic. Kiba jogged after her.

"Hinata !"

She stopped walking when he grabbed her shoulder from behind and braced herself for a confrontation.

"Yes ?" she said, impatience leaking into her voice.

Kiba moved in front of her. He smelled like a dew-coated forest on a winter morning. His eyes met hers before they darted to the ground. A recollection of the stab wounds on Sasuke's thigh made her heart clench. She bit her lip to stop herself from raising the issue.

"Hinata..."

"Did you have to stab him ?"

"He wasn't exactly soft with me," Kiba grumbled while glaring at her feet.

She forcibly blew out air through her nose. She did not need another squabble with Kiba or to be reminded that Sasuke was an evil lunatic. Her tolerance for Kiba's antics was hanging by the threads. She was close to no longer caring about reconciliation anymore. She decided to leave in order to preserve her peace. Kiba caught her wrist when she started walking away.

"Look, Hinata, I'm sorry."

Her eyes snapped up to Kiba's face. She searched his face for a hint of deceit and found none. Instead, remorse was wading in his black eyes. He released her wrist.

"I was wrong for giving you such a difficult time about Sasuke. And I was wrong for stirring up trouble and ruining Shikamaru's party. I messed up."

He looked away and sighed.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to give Sasuke the benefit of the doubt. I hate to admit it but he cares about you."

The right side of his lip pulled up as he grinned lopsidedly and exposed his elongated canine. The grin was shaky. He tried to hold her gaze but his eyes darted from side to side instead

"Can you forgive me, Hinata ?"

She lowered her gaze to the thick red fang-shaped marking on his cheek. Sasuke's efforts had not been in vain after all. What had Sasuke said to Kiba to overcome Kiba's tremendous stubbornness ?

She sighed. What did she stand to gain from withholding her forgiveness and possibly perpetuating such a draining conflict ? Nothing but unnecessary stress. So she forgave Kiba.

---

The grin that Ino had sent them as they approached her friends at Yakiniku Q had made Hinata feel as much of a target as a bleeding human swimming in shark infested waters. A part of her had considered telling Sasuke that they could simply turn around, leave and forget about the whole thing.

Despite Ino being Ino, she had made an effort effort to not bother them too much with her nosy questions and little jokes about their relationship. As she had suspected, Shikamaru and Choji had already been tipped off that she and Sasuke were an item.

She was grateful for the noticeable effort that Shikamaru and Choji had made to make Sasuke feel welcome. The easygoing best friends were among the least prejudiced people she knew so it was not surprising for them not to stigmatise Sasuke severely.

Kiba had been a surprising addition to the group. He had mostly ignored Sasuke and focused on squabbling with Ino as usual. He had butted heads with Sasuke a few times but the conflicts had remained relatively civil instead of escalating into a fistfight. Watching Sasuke and Kiba breaking bread together, even begrudgingly, had felt a bit surreal. As she had anticipated, Shino had been a no-show.

Sai had been the last to arrive. Within five minutes of his arrival, Sai had asked Sasuke how he coped with using one hand to satisfy Hinata's sexual needs. She had choked on her drink and started coughing. Kiba had become quite interested in inspecting his drink. Choji had become extremely engrossed in grilling meat. Ino had suddenly needed to use the bathroom. Shikamaru had immediately taken out his pocket-sized diary and started going through his to-do list. Sasuke had pretended not to hear the question.

She still felt like she was floating on a cloud even more than a day after the lunch. Her friends were willing to give Sasuke a chance. While Sasuke was not being particularly friendly to her friends, he was not being hostile or even unreachable. Things were going so well.

"Bringing dessert on Sunday would be a nice display of effort," she said to Sasuke as they navigated the streets to get to the bookstore they favoured.

"Anything besides cake is fine. Kurenai-sensei hates cake."

It was two days after their lunch at Yakiniku Q and her shift had ended an hour ago. Sasuke lifted his eyes from the dusty road. There were rumours that a mass paving project was in the works - that dust roads would soon be a thing of the past.

"Why would I randomly appear with dessert ?"

She frowned and slowed down.

"I didn't tell you ?"

Sasuke glanced at her from the corner of his eye and continued walking without changing his pace. She hurried and caught up with him.

"Tell me what ?" asked Sasuke, his voice thick with dread.

Saliva settled in her throat. She bit the inside of her cheek as her heartbeat quickened.

"You and Hanabi are joining us for dinner on Sunday."

She cringed. That sounded so authoritative and demanding. It was more of a command than an invite. This was not how she had envisioned inviting Sasuke to have dinner with her family for the first time.

"Please ?" she added to salvage things.

Sasuke groaned and directed his gaze to the ground. Hinata frowned and lagged behind.

"You don't want to have anything to do with my family ?"

He shook his head.

"I didn't say that."

He waited for her to catch up. She caught up with him and blocked his path. He sighed and closed his eyes before muttering under his breath. He opened his eyes and spoke.

"I'll come. Stop giving me those sad puppy eyes. They don't work on me."

The sweet rush of triumph surged through her. She would have thrown her arms around him and kissed him if it were not for the fact that they were in public. He grumbled about how she was parading him around like a party animal.

"Stop smiling like that. It's just dinner."

She rolled her eyes. Her fingers brushed against his fingers as they walked.

"Of course sad puppy eyes don't work on a monster like you. It's been a long time but I haven't forgotten how you confessed to eating babies and murdering cute kittens for fun."

He laughed. There was something absolutely magical about experiencing his laughter. Or maybe she was just in love ?

Sasuke remembered that his rice stock was a few grains away from depletion when they passed Hanako-san's grocery store and decided to purchase some rice. She insisted that they separate so that she could check a few things at the women's clothing shop down the street while he bought rice.

Thankfully, he agreed without asking questions. She would have been forced to postpone her visit to the clothing store had he insisted that they not split. She doubted that she could peruse the underwear section with Sasuke peering over her shoulder, and possibly making a few suggestions about what would suit her, even on her bravest day.

After scanning through the undergarments section at the clothing store, she left for the rendezvous point where she would reunite with Sasuke. She stopped breathing when she turned into the street where she would meet Sasuke. She froze as a head covered in short, vibrant, blonde hair turned in her direction. Those striking blue eyes - the ones that had visited her in her fantasies once upon a time - spotted her before she could execute a getaway.

"Hinata-chan !"

Her insides quivered and the fine hair on the back of her neck rose. To make matters worse, Naruto was not alone. Standing a short distance behind him were Shino and Sakura. Surely this encounter had been orchestrated by evil spirits. It was beyond her understanding how she managed to convince her legs to move towards the trio.

Naruto's toothy grin was like the afternoon sun in the summertime. The smile that had been on Sakura's face before Naruto had spotted her was gone without a trace. She suspected that Sakura was avoiding her at the hospital. It had been more than a week since they'd been within in close proximity. That was slightly extreme even though they worked on different floors.

Naruto rushed to her when she was near the group, swooped her up in an embrace and lifted her off her feet. She reminded her body to relax and wished that Naruto would release her.

"Hinata-chan ! It's been forever. Damn it, I missed you."

"Hi, N-nruto-kun."

Naruto finally released her. She lifted her chin to appear confident and waved at Shino and Sakura. Sakura stiffly waved black. Shino did not even bother to wave back. She sensed his uneasiness despite how his neutral expression gave away nothing. She licked her lips and wished she could vanish. Where in the world was Sasuke ? Why did she have to deal with these three alone ?

"So how are you, Hinata-chan ?"

There was something off about Naruto - an uneasiness in his demeanour that his carefree grin could not mask. She wondered if he had heard the news about her and Sasuke. If that was the issue then why was he being weird about it ? He had broken up with her - not the other way around.

She felt a new presence beside her and quietly exhaled. Naruto's face brightened up significantly.

"Teme ! I can't believe I missed you of all people !"

Naruto embraced Sasuke. Sasuke did not reciprocate the embrace. He remained as unmoving as a tree trunk. Sakura quickly glanced at Sasuke, looked away and clutched her arms to her body. Shino partially turned away from them.

"You look good. What has Hinata been feeding you ?"

"Did I say you can touch me, dobe ?"

Sasuke's voice was a poison-coated dagger. Hinata bit the inside of her cheek and snuck a glance at Sasuke's face. He had an ugly scowl on his face. Naruto released Sasuke and frowned. Shino shook his head. She wished she could crawl into a hole and hide. She quickly looked away when her eyes met Shino's.

"Damn, Sasuke. Loosen up a bit," said Naruto. He slapped Sasuke's shoulder and laughed. His laughter sounded forced.

Sasuke pinned his eyes on Shino and wrapped his arm around her waist. Shino stared back dauntlessly. She stared at the ground. Naruto's gaze shifted back and forth between Shino and Sasuke. She discretely shoved her elbow into Sasuke's side. Sasuke looked away from Shino and redirected his gaze to Naruto.

"Back off, dobe. You're suffocating her."

She opened her mouth to disagree but the side glance Sasuke gave her kept her quiet. Naruto stepped back and scratched the side of his side while grinning. She touched Sasuke's wrist and sent him a glance. He released her waist.

"You sly bastard. I look away for one second and you snatch Hinata-chan. What did you do to convince such a nice girl to give your gloomy ass a chance ?" laughed Naruto. Sasuke sneered.

"I didn't snatch her. She wasn't yours."

Naruto laughed.

"I did not snatch her from anyone," Sasuke proclaimed with his eyes pinned on Shino.

Naruto's grin faltered but refused to die. She admired his tenacity. Tension was floating in the air like a poisonous gas. It crackled with the ferocity of a thunderbolt and burned like oil in a hot frying pan.

"Sakura-chan and I were going out for Ramen when we bumped into Shino and convinced him to join us. It'd be great if you guys joined us too."

Hinata shifted her gaze from Naruto and bit her lip. Naruto's ideas were awful at times. She was about to politely decline when Sakura spoke.

"We'd probably be disturbing them. They seem occupied," insisted Sakura.

"Don't mind, Naruto. You don't have to joi-"

"We're busy, dobe."

Sakura winced, lowered her eyes to her feet and slumped her shoulders. Shino's face tightened. He removed his hands from pockets.

"Don't you know it's rude to interrupt a person when they're speaking ?" Shino questioned in a cutting, low-pitched voice.

Sasuke pulled his chin towards his chest. His fingers tightened around the plastic bag he was carrying and clenched into a fist. He was audibly breathing through his nose.

"Sasuke," she whispered.

Sasuke ignored her and continued unblinkingly staring at Shino. Sakura said something to Shino and touched his arm in placating manner. Naruto moved directly in front of Sasuke - obstructing Sasuke and Shino's view of one another.

"We should catch up some time, Teme. You'd think that we don't live in the same village. I know I haven't been around most of the time lately but still."

Sasuke lifted his chin.

"I'm busy."

Naruto's mask fell off. He looked at Sasuke with a troubled expression. Sasuke pressed his hand against her lower back and ushered her away. Just like Sasuke, she made sure not to look at Sakura and Shino as they passed them. She realised that Sasuke had not looked at Sakura even once.

"Bye, Hinata-chan ! Don't become a sour piece of work like Sasuke !"

She gradually relaxed when they were no longer within proximity of the trio they had left behind. Sasuke's jaw muscles flexed as he continuously clenched and unclenched his jaw. He was marching, rather than walking, to the bookstore.

"You could have handled that better. You didn't have to be rude to Naruto and Sakura. Especially Naruto. He was just trying to be nice and he simply wants to spend time with you."

Sasuke's lip curled in displeasure but he kept on marching ahead without sparing her a glance. The plastic bag in his grasp wildly swung back and forth. She was struggling to keep up with his stride.

"I leave you alone for fifteen minutes and I find Naruto practically breathing down your throat. He's too old to not understand the concept of personal space. Who does he think he is being in your face like that ?" spat Sasuke.

"Bug boy was really testing me. He needs to back off before I-"

"Before you what ?"

Sasuke scoffed and shook his head.

"I knew you wouldn't be on my side. I just knew it."

"Stop walking so fast," she complained from behind him.

"Walk faster. It's not my fault that you have short legs."

"Excuse me ?"

Having had enough, she caught up with Sasuke, grabbed his wrist and pulled him into an empty alley for some privacy in the same manner in which a fed up mother would drag along an unruly child. Sasuke snatched away his wrist and glared at her.

"What is the issue here, Sasuke ?"

He dropped the rice on the ground and stepped closer to her.

"Why are you defending them, Hinata ?" he demanded while pointing his fingers at her chest.

"Naruto wasn't in my face. And what did Shino do other than react to your hostile behaviour and mention that you were rude to Sakura ?"

Sasuke clenched his jaw and tore his eyes from her.

"Fine. Take Naruto's side. Take bug boy's side. I don't give a damn anymore."

She shook her head. She was beginning to understand what the whole fiasco was about.

"Look at me, Sasuke."

He refused to look at her. She placed her hands on his face and forced him to look at her. The scalding fire in his eyes gradually deteriorated after their eyes connected.

"Really, Sasuke ?"

He turned his head away.

"I don't feel threatened by dobe and bug boy."

He scoffed.

"That's ridiculous."

"It is ridiculous." She turned his head to her once again.

"So stop the jealous fit, okay ? Have some faith in me, Sasuke. No one is going to steal me away. I chose you. Not Shino. Naruto is my simply my past and nothing more."

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. Her insides trembled when he rested his hand on her lower back, pressed her against him and bit her lip. She pulled away and touched her lip. He pulled her back and kissed her so intensely, so passionately, that she felt as though she would fall down.

Was he reasserting that she belonged to him ? Not to Shino and not to Naruto but to him ? If that was the case then he was succeeding in achieving his goal. The way the world blurred out of existence, the bustling of the street went silent and the way she felt like she was flying without wings made the idea of leaving Sasuke for anyone else incomprehensible beyond measure.

"Wow," she whispered in a stupified manner when they parted.

Sasuke smirked at her with half-lidded eyes. She was certain that her reaction was inflating his ego to dangerous levels.

"And to think you nearly rejected me. Foolish Hyuga."

It took some time for her brain to finally be able to construct a sentence.

"I've fallen to participating in indecent acts in a shady alley. Hyuga women have more class than this. This"-she jabbed her finger against his chest-"is your fault. I was warned about bad influences like you."

Sasuke smirked.

"Snob," Sasuke said as he lowered his face.

"Unholy barbarian," she retorted as she lifted her face, closed her eyes and kissed Sasuke.

---

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It's a colossal one. It's the longest one so far so I hope the wait was worth it.

Let me know what you think about the outcome of Hinata's choice. Which were you favourite scenes ? Please let me know what you think about whatever aspect of the chapter.

At long last, Sasuke and Hinata are finally together :) It's been quite a journey since their first encounter, hasn't it ? I love how their relationship has evolved.

As usual, please review, favourite, follow. I stumbled on this story on Reddit discussion. That gives me great joy. Please keep spreading the word. The more the merrier. And as always, thank you for the reviews. You have no idea how giddy reviews make me.

Until next time. Thank you for reading.

{The Immortal Sage}