Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Call It Fate: Part IV
The rays of sunlight beat down on his head as Sasuke squeezed himself through the crowed shopping area. How hard was it to find one person in this village anyway. He seemed to have that problem often.
But only when it was Hinata.
Sasuke could very well find the two loud blondes and anyone else for that matter.
He glanced warily to his left to find a small ice cream parlor.
It had…shade.
Using long strides, he was within the little shop, protected by the roof. He sighed and leaned against the wall, hoping they wouldn't kick him out for not buying anything.
Sasuke still remembered that place though. It was the first time he had gone somewhere with Hinata. It hadn't been an official 'date'. But it had been close enough.
It had been extremely hot that day too, and it was her idea. It was also the first time he had tried the fudge brownie cookie dough ice cream.
And the last time he tried it too. Way too sweet for him.
Sasuke closed his eyes and smiled, Hinata, on the other hand, ate the ice cream like how Naruto eats his ramen. Pretty incredible.
He straightened himself up again and glanced quickly around the shop.
The corners of his mouth lifted up slightly as he strode over quietly to a corner in the back next to the fan.
Before he could reach it though, the occupant turned around and smiled at him.
"Hello Sasuke-kun!"
He nodded back at the dark-haired woman, "Hello, Hinata."
Hinata wasn't someone who could be sneaked up on like Naruto or Sakura, even though her physical appearance shows the opposite. She had matured and lost her shyness though. Her eyes were no longer wavering and she held her gazes, her bangs were grown out and brushed to the side, held up by two silver bobby pins.
She gestured for the waiter as Sasuke sat down across from her.
"Another Choco-mint and…"
Sasuke shrugged at her questioning glance. All he basically knew were chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and that horrid cookie dough thing that was extremely sweet.
"…and an Orange sherbet, please."
An eyebrow raised and she smiled at him.
"Don't worry Sasuke-kun, it's not as sweet as the other one."
The fan blew in Hinata's face, blowing her longhair back. She quickly gathered it into a loose ponytail, stealing glances at him once in awhile, her face blushing.
It was either that or it was the heat. Sasuke, himself, was nervous, being alone with her. Usually there would be other couples around…like Ino or Naruto that would interrupt at these awkward pauses and get the conversation going again.
Unfortunately, this wasn't one of those times.
"Um…uh…Sasuke-kun…?"
"Hai?"
She fidgeted awhile as she tried to form something to ask. Sasuke's heart leapt…maybe…just maybe; she's finally confessing her feeling towards him. Sasuke had taken many initiatives with her so far, but she had ignored them, maybe its finally time she's realized.
"I was wondering if you could do a favor for me?"
"Go ahead." He heart dropped a bit. So she wasn't confessing…but he felt glad at least that he had been chosen to help her instead of someone else. That showed that she at least trusted him.
"I can't go on a scouting mission because of this, so I was wondering if you would…"
"Fill in for you?" He finished.
"Hai. It's going to be with Neji and two other people I don't know."
Two other people? If the Hokage had planned out to have Hinata and Neji on the same team, it must be a pretty dangerous mission to have both Byakugan holders. That must also mean the two others should be pretty advanced too.
But Hinata, being the friendly person she is, knows everyone from the Chuunin rank to almost all the Anbus and Jounins.
Could it be…the Sand team?
But they came as a three…not two.
"What ranks are the other two?"
"As I've heard, they are Jounins too…however, I was not given information or names of them."
Sasuke frowned a bit…to put Hinata in her state on a mission with two unknown shinobis…
"Does the Hokage know about your injury?"
"Hai. Tsunade-sama said that if I wished, I could get someone to replace, and I'll take over his/her job for awhile. I do not want to impose on Neji and the others during the scouting mission. I will take care of your patrol job if you comply."
Sasuke nodded, "Hai. I'll do the mission."
Hinata reached over to her bag and pulled out a scroll, "That would give you some information of what you're supposed to do and where to meet."
He nodded and tucked the scroll away. He'll read it later…
Even with the fan right behind him, the heat was killing him, and he longed for something…
Unfortunately, he could not keep quiet any longer…
"Want to go swimming, Hinata? It's kind of hot here."
She blinked a few times before turning a shade of pink all the way to a bright red.
"Huh?"
…Maybe she took it the wrong way…
A red haired man lay sprawled on the floor; his eyes open, staring at the ceiling. He could sense the people outside the building trudge around in the blinding sunlight.
To him, however, the heat was nothing new…heck, he didn't even need the fan. The desert was at least three times hotter than this.
There was nothing to do.
Except think of her.
He hadn't gone outside for two days, keeping to strict orders. It was starting to make him feel claustrophobic, irking Shukaku inside him even further.
His hand twitched, longing to squeeze something to death.
Gaara let his sand out and let it surround a wooden chair. The grains of sand dove in, like a horde of bees in attack. The sounds of snapping wood brought his brother out of the adjacent room.
Small bits of splintered wood fell lifelessly onto the floor as the sand retreated back into the gourd, finished with its victim of the day.
"Man, Gaara, that was our last chair…you've already destroyed the couch!"
He let out a low growl and immediately, the taller man shut up and strode back into his room, away from target range.
A gust of wind blew in the room and a blond woman appeared, holding a scroll.
"We're called on a scouting mission in two days, with the Leaf."
Gaara rolled over on his side, facing the other way as Kankuro stopped the trek to sanctuary.
"Two of us go, while Kankuro will stay back and handle situations here."
"What?! Why me?!"
"That's how it's planned, don't mess up Kankuro."
Gaara murmured softly to himself, "So…we…are out now…"
End: Part IV
Hey look, Ame finally got her stuff together and chapter four's finally done! Heh, my plans have TOTALLY changed, but hey, it's all good.
I want to thanks all those who reviewed. Sorry it took so long for this chapter…next chapter is going to be awhile. Got a 10 page essay for History, 12 page for English, and a 2 page essay for French…IN French! Oh man, I'm screwed. SATs are once again around the corner, making me look like a dork carrying my prep book around. Not to mention, finals are in like three weeks…and I can't remember any trig stuff, and I haven't learned anything in physics either!
Well, I hope I can get the next chapter out by mid June. Suggestions for the story are welcomed…
Ame