Hinata reminded him of his kaa-san. Call it Freudian, call it Oedipal, Sasuke didn't give two shits. He craved the presence of someone caring about his wellbeing, ever since it had been ripped from his life all those years ago. She provided that for him, and that alone would have been enough for him. Though, that is not to say that that was all she provided him though. But it was enough to notice her at least. It was like Mikoto was taking care of her little boy one last time, by guiding him to Hinata.
The first time he noticed her similarity to his mother was during a particularly hot summer. Going to a pond near the outskirts of Konoha was a popular way to cool down. Especially amongst the 'Rookie Nine', as some still liked to refer to them, though they were far from rookies now. Invited along by Sakura he showed up far later than the rest. Late enough for the Hyuuga lady to have gotten out to avoid getting pruney even though the rest where still splashing around.
Kiba was yelling at her to get back in, but she just responded with a shaking of her head before petting Akamaru who had an aversion to water since the battle with Sakon and Akon in their genin days. He was not afraid, he just tended to keep his distance if given the option. Always liking Hinata, Akamaru appreciated her presence now, and how was a dog to show appreciation if not by giving a kiss in the form of a big sloppy lick? A big sloppy kiss right on Hinata's face. Laughing she reached up to wipe off the slobber and in the process pushed her bangs out of her face and split them to either side. Her eyes shut but the smile from laughter remained. Sasuke froze.
He had not been paying attention to her, just his surroundings when he was suddenly completely unaware of reality was instead in his childhood home. Sitting in his kitchen dejected, voicing his concerns about his father and their relationship. Stopping her tasks, Mikoto comforted the boy with her kind words relaying Fugaku's pride for Sasuke through her beautiful smile.
It had been years since he had recalled a memory with his family so clearly without trying to. But in an instant it was over as the Hyuuga had opened her eyes and white eyes looked over to him instead of familiar black ones, and her bangs fell back into place, covering her bare forehead once again.
He had no idea how long they held eye contact for, before her soft smile and greeting, "Hello Sasuke-san, I'm glad you made it today," startled him into movement.
He responded with usual "Hn" and a nod of the head before scurrying into the water to cool down, as obviously this heat was making him see things.
After that he started noticing her more. He had never realized how often their paths crossed. At the grocery store every other week or so. Coming and going from the Hokage's office for mission assignments and reports. Half of the time he hung out with Naruto around the village she would appear. The first thing he observed was she was more confident than she'd been when they were children.
Sasuke noticed her kind demeanor reaching nearly everyone she encountered, the trail of smiling people in her wake. He noticed how her grocery basket was always full of fresh...ingredients, clearly nothing that could be eaten by on its own. He realized he never did run into her on the frozen food aisle. None of her actions and habits bothered him except when he noticed the look in her eyes when Naruto was around. He thought back to the stories he'd heard from his time away from Konoha. Combined with the look on her face, he deduced she had feelings for the dobe. How pathetic. Naruto was clearly too foolish to notice anyone besides Sakura, therefore nobody besides the pink-haired kunoichi had a chance.
Sasuke wanted to go back to before he started noticing her.
