A/N: Heya! So, uh... it's been a little while, hasn't it? Sorry about that. Not only have I been a bit busy this month, but writing has been kicking my ass a bit as well. I'm very hard on myself when it comes to writing, as all writers should be to some extent. But I get way too deep into my own head about what's good, what's not, what people will like or think about how things are going, making everything come out perfect, yadda yadda. Being my own harshest critic puts a bit of a damper on my writing process.

But it's done! And I'm more or less totally happy with how it came out! Now I just need to, uh... keep up with myself. And find more time to actually sit down and write and not distract myself with other stuff. I will say that every single review I've gotten has been a massive boost to my motivation, and I appreciate each and every word. As always, and for every chapter, thank you so much for the click. :)

Let's continue, shall we?

Lion x Ghost

Sleep came eventually. Friday came quickly, and it greeted Sasuke the same way it did every morning, with the harsh chirp of his 6 AM alarm on his nightstand. He squinted his dark and bleary eyes awake and rolled over to smack the button before sitting up and turning to put his feet on the floor.

Sasuke sat on his bed with the sunrise on his back for a long few moments, staring at the door and listening for a moment to how silent the house was, with him being the only one in it… He could only stand it for just that moment. With a shake of his head and a rousing grunt, he got up from bed and readied for school with a quick shower, a light stretch, and a short rummage through the fridge and cabinets in the kitchen for something to eat for breakfast on his way to the train station.

By 6:40, Sasuke was ready at the door with a snack in one hand and his schoolbag in the other. Before he stepped out, he lingered near the entranceway and turned his eyes toward the small table by the door, and the small family picture upon it of himself, Itachi, and their parents, all smiling.

Sasuke sighed and left the house, leaving those thoughts behind him as best he could, and looking straight ahead again as he struck out to begin the day.

At 7 AM, while Sasuke was boarding his train, Hinata awoke slowly to the much gentler chimes of her own alarm sounding off from her phone. Face-down on her pillow, she groaned and fidgeted, slow to rise, but eventually giving in.

As Hinata rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes and rose to stand, memories of yesterday naturally began to rush back to her, as well as a smoldering anticipation for tomorrow. But it was the here and now that worried Hinata most. She accepted Sasuke's demand for her presence without a second thought, but it was only just dawning on her now as she left her room for her morning rinse that it wasn't exactly her decision alone to make…

Hinata took her clothes with her into the bathroom and came out a short while later, dressed and freshened up, just in time for her and Neji to pass by each other as he came out of his room to start his own morning routine.

Hinata nodded to her cousin as she passed, and continued down the hall. She didn't look behind her, but she could feel his eyes lingering on her back as she went… Hinata closed her eyes, hoping there would come a time soon when Neji would forget about this. But she couldn't let him make her anxious. Not when she needed to talk with her father.

Hiashi was standing alone at the edge of the house garden on the western porch, his back to the doorway Hinata stood hesitantly within. Hinata vaguely remembered days when she was very young and would often walk curiously around that garden while her parents watched from that very spot, only to all too often flee in fright when a bug or bird would startle her, running to cling to her mother's kimono…

Despite her best efforts, anxiety managed to nail her feet to the floor and still her voice in her throat. She was tempted to turn and go away, to try to work up the nerve to maybe ask him in another minute… or after school.

"What is it, Hinata?" Hiashi spoke firmly, making her heart leap and her thoughts scatter.

"F-Father, I…" she began weakly, before shaking her head and trying to steady her voice. "I… I would like permission to... meet up with a friend tomorrow."

"...This is not the first time you've ever asked this of me, Hinata. Why was that difficult for you? What exactly made it so hard for-" As Hiashi spoke, an edge began to rise in his voice, his all-too-familiar harsh and scolding tone… before he simply stopped speaking.

Hiashi turned his head and regarded Hinata with a cold and weary expression for a moment. Her eyes were on the floor, her hands fidgeting in growing distress in front of her chest, her breath almost held fast for how tense she was. He squinted, his brows furrowing slowly, before finally Hiashi closed his eyes and turned away, heading away from the garden and sighing as he left.

"Do what you will tomorrow. Do not be home late."

"..."

Hinata didn't release her breath until her father was well out of sight, and with the next breath in came a sour feeling that welled in her chest, a sickening sort of relief that their interaction was over, but a hollow reminder of what her relationship with her father amounted to. What she amounted to, to him.

"Breakfast is ready, sis."

Before Hinata's thoughts could sink any lower, the sound of Hanabi's voice behind her pulled her up. She blinked and turned her head to look back at her younger sister, well and dressed in her own school uniform, and standing beside the kitchen doorway, gesturing for Hinata to come.

If Hanabi had seen or heard the exchange between her and their father, she didn't show it, which Hinata was grateful for, at least. The last thing she needed was for Hanabi to pity her. She managed a small smile and nodded.

"O-Oh, I'm coming," Hinata said as she turned away from the gardens as well to head back into the house and leave the porch silent and empty once more.

Saturday… I want you over here the earliest you're able…

The walk to school wasn't particularly long, nothing even close to the commute that other students needed to make to get there, but as lost in her own thoughts as Hinata was, it felt so much longer.

With permission given, Hinata cast her time at home as far away from her mind as she could, and instead filled her thoughts with restless anticipation for being with Sasuke tomorrow. She'd been in his home before; tomorrow wouldn't be a milestone of theirs. But this feeling welling in her heart was one that would never grow stale, or something that she was 'used to', not so long as there was something outside of each other that she could feel eager to escape from.

Thoroughly removed from everything around her, Hinata passed through the school's front gates and drifted past her spirited and talkative classmates and underclassmen like a silent ghost, only paying just enough attention to not bump into anyone or draw any eyes toward her as she walked. Her idle path, driven by a little more than two and a half years of repetition, brought her before one of the large trees just off the courtyard path.

Hinata sighed as she stood in the shade of the lush tree and closed her eyes as she leaned against the bark. The growing chatter around her, however, would not allow her to stay alone with her thoughts for very long. Hinata opened her eyes, already sure of what the fuss was, but eager enough to see for herself. And when she looked to the gates, it was just as she had assumed: Sasuke had arrived, on the far end of the small group that arrived at school together just about every day: himself, Sakura, and… Naruto.

A few girlish chirps of good morning and squeals for Sasuke's attention rang out from some of his more vocal admirers, as they often did. And as usual, Sasuke regarded none of them. His eyes were aimed straight ahead, thoroughly removed from everything around him, even Naruto's spirited and active chatter beside him. He seemed to be holding Sakura's attention at least, though she looked fairly exasperated with him, par for the course for most people when it came to talking with Naruto for too long.

As they passed close by the the tree, Sakura glanced over, and she and Hinata met eyes with a moment's pause before she smiled and raised her hand in greeting as they passed. "Good morning, Hinata."

Naruto followed Sakura's lead, pausing his mostly one-sided conversation and turning his head to gaze over toward Hinata's usual spot, before offering his own wave. "Oh, hey! Morning, Hinata!"

Naruto's expression pulled into its usual wide and happy-go-lucky grin, filled with all the unruly brightness and spunk that she admired and painfully envied. Despite her better judgment, Hinata gazed deep into Naruto's eyes in the half-second between his greeting and her response, searching - not yearning, not anymore - for even a spark of something more than just the same outgoing light that he shone on everyone he was friendly with. Of course, she didn't find it.

And so Hinata just put on a light smile and bowed her head in greeting as the three of them passed. "Good morning, you three."

Sasuke kept his pace steady and his eyes forward as he continued on toward the front doors of the school, seemingly without a word or a glance. Hinata folded her hands in front of her as she watched them walk off before looking down at her feet again, her mind a storm of emotion and her heart beginning to ache with old dead feelings… It wasn't long before the 8 AM warning bell rang and everyone else in the courtyard began to move for the doors as well. Hinata pulled herself together and moved to head inside as well to begin the school day.

Sasuke noticed her before anything else, of course, as he walked through the school's gates alongside his long-time friends. But as much as Sasuke wished he could let his gaze linger and watch her smolder beneath it, he knew he couldn't. Not now, while there were so many other troublesome girls staring after him.

The heat of their admiring stares was not a new feeling, and the lilting chirp of their calls for his attention was not a new sound. He'd heard and felt them for the majority of his time in high school, and if it was just as simple as that, he'd have had no trouble simply ignoring who he wasn't interested in and keeping his eye on the one he was. But he wasn't the only one they were gazing at. Peppered amidst the heart-eyed stares aimed at him was the occasional envious glare aimed at Sakura beside him, a subtle reminder that human stupidity never made things as simple as they should've been.

When Sakura and Naruto turned to greet Hinata, he didn't. He knew she'd understand. Or, at the very least, he knew she wouldn't mind. Not for long, anyway. Naruto, however, didn't understand.

"The hell's your problem, didn't you hear Hinata say good morning?" the scruffy blond grumbled at him with a light shove on the shoulder as they made their way up to the third floor homeroom.

"Maybe if you shut your mouth occasionally, Naruto, I'd have been able to hear her better. Fuck off," he shot back with a shove of his own.

"Oh, break it up," Sakura sighed, getting between them and shoving them both. "It's too early in the morning, and the student council president shouldn't be pushing anyone around or starting fights at any time of day."

Sakura reached out to flick the red band that Sasuke wore loosely on the bicep of his uniform, and he just rolled his eyes at her.

"Speaking of the council, though, on Monday, I was thinking we could start throwing ideas around for school festival events. You told Hinata to think about what she was doing, right? We might as well all give it a think together, right? Or at least start to."

Sasuke was close to giving Sakura a skeptical look, wondering what she was talking about, but thought better of it at the last second. She must've called and asked Hinata about what happened after the meeting yesterday, and Hinata spun her something about the festival that he'd probably mentioned off-handedly earlier in the week. As expected. Even Sasuke's closest friends had parts about them that disappointed him. Sakura's nosiness was definitely one.

"Ohhh, so you can talk to girls, huh?" Naruto taunted with a smirk as they headed down the hall toward homeroom.

"Of course I can, idiot. Don't you see me talking to Sakura just about every day? Think a little."

"Eh, Sakura doesn't count. She's not really a girl, you know?"

Before Naruto could realize how deep he'd put his foot in his mouth, Sakura turned and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, shoving him against the wall and raising her fist, threatening to stick it there as well.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean, huh?!"

"Wait, wait, no! I didn't mean it like that! You don't count because you're a friend, not just some girl! I wasn't trying to point out that you're kinda flat or anything, I just- Gah, wait!"

Sasuke shook his head and kept walking, not even looking back at the thrashing Naruto was surely receiving as he stepped into homeroom and moved to his seat by the window. As he set his elbow on his desk and his chin in his propped up hand, the rest of the class steadily began to file in and find their own seats. In the faint and faded reflection of the window he idly looked through, he watched Hinata as she took her seat right beside his.

She was interesting to observe, unpacking her belongings and notes so quietly and meticulously, as if making every effort not to make a sound in doing so, though she'd become so good at it that it might very well have not taken any effort at all. It was easy for most to forget that Hinata was even present with how little she cared to make her presence known. Less so this year now that she'd grown her hair longer, but even the initial uncomfortable spotlight that was cast on her at the start of the year only lasted for a few days before she got what she wanted: to disappear back into obscurity; he'd already gotten what he wanted: confirmation of her devotion to his requests; and they both got what they craved: each other's full and undivided attention.

Classes began, every seat was filled, and the room went quiet of chatter as their daily lectures proceeded. Sasuke, though his eyes were forward, was only half paying attention, unchallenged by most of the material they were learning. He noticed as the day went on that Hinata wasn't fully focused, either, and it wasn't hard for him to imagine why.

Amusement sparked in Sasuke's dark eyes at the idea of Hinata fidgeting inwardly from the aching anticipation of there still being so many hours between now and when they'd meet up tomorrow. Part of him was tempted once more to just turn his head and stare at her, watch her melt beneath his heated gaze like he knew she would. But again, he resisted the urge, leaving what little focus she held onto alone to commit to her schoolwork.

Hinata slowly and subtly began packing up her things in the last few minutes of class, so that by the time the bell rung for lunch and free period, she was fully ready to rise from her seat and leave the classroom with her bag in hand, even while the rest of the class had their eyes down and their mouths open, beginning to fill the room with chatter again as they put away their own school supplies and gathered their lunches. She was gone like a passing ghost before anyone was the wiser.

Sasuke set his own things aside and pulled out his phone. He had an idea of where Hinata had gone.

That same tree outside in the courtyard. Hinata felt more comfortable eating outside in the shade, where she was more likely to be alone, than stuck in her homeroom surrounded by chatter. Meals at home were never lively, and so Hinata was more inclined to quiet meals at school as well. She pulled her lunch from her bag, wrapped in a small blanket, and set that blanket down on the grass before sitting against the tree and beginning her meal.

The short buzz and chime of her phone caught her attention as she ate, and Hinata raised a curious brow at it, wondering who would be texting her now.

I owe you a good morning. I'll be sure to pay you back in full tomorrow.

Hinata put her hand lightly on her chest, feeling her face grow brighter from Sasuke's message. She wondered...

Leaning to the side to look more toward the main school building, Hinata peered up toward the upper-story windows, searching for the ones she knew belonged to their homeroom... and sure enough, she spotted him, looking out at her. Hinata's blush magnified, and she embarrassedly moved herself and her blanket around to the side of the tree facing away from the school, too bashful to eat with his eyes on her like that.

Hinata let out a soft sigh to get her easily-fluttering heart under control before sending a text back.

It's fine, I understood. You don't owe me anything.

I thought you'd say that.

But that's not for you to decide, is it?

Hinata could almost hear Sasuke's voice in her head, speaking the words on her phone screen with that low and leonine cadence that made her shiver. All she could do was respond in turn, and hope her own feelings reached him as surely as his reached her.

No it isn't, Sasuke.

Thank you.

Good girl.

Sorry that I moved... You watching me eat is embarrassing.

No need to apologize.

You can't hide from me.

Hinata whimpered softly as she put her phone down, almost too wound up to eat now. But she managed to settle and go back to quietly eating her lunch, letting the gentle chill on the breeze and the rustling of trees cool her thoughts as she ate. She was fully settled by the time she'd finished and packed back up, but quickly realized as she stood and came from behind the tree that she'd never truly be fully settled. When she came back into view and spared a glance up, she saw him, still watching. And when they met eyes this time, he smirked.

Hinata scampered quickly back into the building, fighting down her blush with all her might. A few flights of stairs and a lingering moment outside the classroom door helped to cool her head before she stepped back in again, to find that Sasuke's eyes were still looking out the window, and they wouldn't be aimed at her anymore.

Before long, the bell rang for classes to resume, the last three classes of the day that required them to actually change rooms: chemistry, art, and finally P.E, Hinata's least favorite part of the day, on the days like today when they actually went outside. She and the other girls in her class, as well as the girls from the third-year class next door, changed out of their school uniforms in their homerooms, and into the simple gymwear they wore beneath, loose white shirts and fitted athletic shorts, before heading out to either the gymnasium or the field outside, wherever the boys weren't. Today, it was the field.

Hinata hated physical exertion. She considered herself unbuilt for it, and she wasn't the only one.

"Boing~ Boing~" teased a couple of other girls from the next-door class as they giggled and jogged past a struggling Hinata during their warm-up lap around the track. She gulped hard and furrowed her brows, her ears growing hot as she crossed her arms momentarily over her chest before trying her best to shake it off and return to form so she could just get the lap done. Never did she scorn her own sizable bust more than when she had to manage it while being physically active.

The rest of class wasn't much better. Between sit-ups, group stretches, and tumbling exercises, Hinata was red in the face and utterly beat by the time class was only halfway over. She knew she was a pathetic sight, and that there were at least a couple girls nearby looking and shaking their heads at her as they thought the same thing.

Who cares? It looks even worse if you just don't try at all. If they don't think you're feeble, they'll just think you're lazy. I'll think you're lazy. Is that what you'd rather?

Hinata closed her eyes as an old conversation drifted back to her, the same one that drifted back to her just about every time she needed to go to gym. As ill as her heart felt, every so often enduring the taunting pity of her stronger peers, it was preferable to Sasuke's disappointment, by far. And besides...

"Good job today, Hinata. Up and at'em."

It wasn't as if she had no one else on her side, anyway. Hinata looked up at Sakura and their class's gym instructor, Kurenai, as they reached down for her hands to help her up to her feet.

"Thanks, Sakura, Kurenai-sensei..." Hinata sighed, accepting a bottle of water from the red-eyed woman and taking a long drink.

"The rest of the class today will be kickball. Go on and join them, Sakura. Since you're spent, Hinata, why don't you come help me take water to the boys as they come outside? They'll all probably need it as much as you do."

Kurenai turned her head and gestured to the case of water bottles beside one of the school building entrances, and Hinata nodded before following after her.

This was how Friday gym classes usually ended, with the boys joining the girls out on the field to rest or do whatever sports they wanted in the time they had left before it came time to clean the school. And given how intense of a person that Guy, the boy's gym instructor was, it wasn't uncommon to see most of the boys just taking the time to rest, which is exactly what greeted her as she and Kurenai carried water across the field toward where the boys were lurching themselves tiredly out of the gymnasium.

Hinata quickly scanned the approaching faces and smiled as she spotted Sasuke beginning to move off on his own. He was sweating as much as the rest of the boys, and breathing heavier than usual as well, but Sasuke wasn't one to wear his fatigue on his face, of course.

Right away, she began to move toward him, raising her to wave at him with one of the water bottles she had.

"Heads up!"

The distant cry nearly fell on deaf ears. Hinata's attention was elsewhere, only focused on what was in front of her, assuming that the call was being directed somewhere else. Sasuke did turn his head and glance over.

"Here y- Ah?!"

No sooner than Hinata could begin to speak, Sasuke's eyes flashed in alarm and he stepped closer swiftly, reaching out one hand to wrap around her shoulders to brace her and raising his other toward the well-struck kickball that was hurtling toward them, catching it with a loud and rubbery POMPF of impact against his palm.

Hinata flinched with a squeal of alarm, moving on reflex and cringing defensively against Sasuke's body for a fearful instant. The warmth of his form and the sound of his breaths made it difficult to pull away, but his voice brought her back to his senses.

"You alright?"

Hinata blinked, pulling herself away from Sasuke's grip and looking wide-eyed into his dark stare. "Y... Yeah." With her composure slowly returning, she raised the water bottle to offer again. "Thanks, Sasuke..."

As he silently took it, she turned and began to move away, before noticing just how many eyes had seen what just happened. More than a few boys, and just about all of the girls watching and playing kickball, of which a few were jogging over to collect the ball from Sasuke. An... uncomfortable feeling passed over Hinata, that fled as quickly as it came over her, once the moment passed and things began to return to normal as she returned to handing out water bottles with Kurenai for the rest of class.

Hinata fielded a couple more questions about whether she was alright from the kickball scare, plus an apology from Sakura, whose ungodly powerful game-opening kick was what sent the kickball rocketing off the field, before class ended and it came time for the daily cleaning of the school after changing clothes again. Every class started in their homeroom and worked their way out into the halls and across the rest of the school before being dismissed for extracurriculars.

Who else but she and Sasuke to be the last ones in the classroom as everyone else left with buckets and brooms. Though they didn't plan on being far behind, they most certainly took their time, time enough for a brief conversation.

"So... Should I take what happened today as you paying back that good morning you said you owed me...?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke looked back at her and shook his head with a smirk. "Why would you? You don't want my actual payback?"

Hinata pursed her lips and bashfully lowered her gaze. "I, um... didn't say all that..."

Hinata held her breath as she felt his fingers beneath her chin, tilting her head up to look at him. "We'd both have hated for something like a bruise or headache to mess tomorrow up any. But since we're on the subject of owing each other, I do still owe you, but I think it's fair to say you owe me now as well for preventing that, yeah?"

Hinata gulped, looking anxiously toward the door. School wasn't exactly out yet; their privacy was almost never assured here, but now less than almost ever. She nodded quickly. "W-What would... That is... H-How would you like me to pay you back, then, Sasuke...?" she asked hurriedly.

He leaned in close, warm breath tickling her ear as he whispered quietly to her. "How about a picture tomorrow? At some point before you leave?"

Hinata's brows rose and she swallowed hard. It wasn't hard to imagine just what sort of picture he wanted, especially after their short video call last night. Sasuke never failed to make her heart do flips in her chest with nervousness, excitement, and everything in-between. She hadn't much of a moment to hesitate, as her urgent panic about being seen like this moved her to respond quickly.

"O-Of... Of course, Sasuke."

Sasuke raised his hands and let his fingers flow briefly through Hinata's long dark hair before turning to take his cleaning supplies out to join the rest of their classmates in cleaning the halls. Hinata lingered for a few moments longer to allow her face to cool, before clutching her broom and running out to join them as well.

A/N: Thanks for the read! I know there were a lot of reviews pining for them getting together on Saturday, and they will, next chapter. Since last chapter poked a bit into their home life, I was thinking this one would poke just a little bit into their school life as well before going back to seeing them more intimately.

This chapter went through a lot of ground-up revisions before I started on and finished a chapter I can say I'm happy with. Since I'm a little more confident writing lemons and such, hopefully the next chapter won't take three whole weeks this time...

But even if it does, I'll definitely do my best to get it done. I'm having a blast writing this, and if you're having a blast reading it, let me know. n_n

Till next time!