"Good-bye, Kakashi-sensei," Hinata bowed him out the door as Sasuke stood beside her, arms crossed.

"Good-bye, Hinata-chan, Sasuke. I look forward to another meal!" Kakashi winked at Hinata and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

When he was gone, Hinata softly shut the door and turned to Sasuke.

"Hmph, that baka," he muttered, more to himself. "I bet he's looking for free food."

Hinata placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't be like that, Sasuke-kun! Lighten up!" she smiled and tilted her head. "Anyway, I'm sure Kakashi-sensei meant well, coming here and checking up on you."

He snorted, but his eyes softened on Hinata. "You're always like that, aren't you?"

"Always like what?" she asked curiously. She looked at him, studying his expression. His arms were crossed and his face revealed nothing, except his eyes, which looked at her affectionately. She could feel the heat rise up to her cheeks as Sasuke stared at her intently, also studying her.

He uncrossed his arms and led the way to the kitchen. "Always seeing the good in others."

"Well," she said slowly. "If I wouldn't be like that, then I'd have no reason to live."

She sat down and he leaned against the wall. "I see," he answered. "That makes sense."

She glanced at him, and remembered Ino and TenTen's needling.

"But you, Hinata-chan," Ino gave a knowing wink, "what about you and Sasuke-kun?"

"Yeah! You two are thick as thieves these days," TenTen smiled slyly at Hinata.

"Oh! W-what do you m-mean?" she stammered a little. She blushed several shades of red before settling on a deep crimson.

"What do I mean?" Ino replied incredulously. "You two—"

"She's blushing!" TenTen exclaimed joyfully. She leaned in conspiratorially. "How long have you been together?"

"W-w-we're not together!" Hinata stammered out, holding up her hands. "We-we're just best friends."

"Just best friends," Ino scoffed. "Hinata-chan, you should be proud! Sasuke-kun doesn't let anyone get close to him! You are very lucky!"

She turned redder, if that was possible. "I-I know I'm lucky," she said. "But really, we're not together or anything."

"Sasuke-kun…" she said slowly.

"Hmm?" Sasuke regarded her with a mild curiosity.

"A-ano…" she poked her fingers together. "Ano sa…"

"Stop that." Sasuke sat beside her and held her hands. "Don't show people you're nervous, otherwise they'll take advantage of you."

"Sorry…" she said, turning red. Sasuke's hands were soft and warm against hers. She liked him holding her hands.

"Now, what were you going to say?"

She shook her head. "I—never mind. It-it probably wouldn't be best not to talk about it." She sighed. She quailed under Sasuke's penetrating gaze. With nothing to occupy her hands, she contented herself with shaking her head vigorously.

"Why not?" he asked her. "We're alone, and nobody can hear us. Tell me."

"Um… Alright…" she took a deep breath, knowing this was a delicate matter. "I met Ino-san and TenTen-san today… And they were asking about us… If-if we were… Together…"

Sasuke squeezed her hand, and she hid a smile, liking the feeling immensely. "What did you tell them?" he asked.

"Well… I told them of course not, we weren't together… We're just… We're best friends. But… But tell me, Sasuke-kun… Tell me something…"

He looked at her, focusing his whole attention on her. "What is it?"

"You know Ino-san and Sakura-san have been trying to get you to notice them when we were younger," she said in a low voice. "Why didn't you give them attention? They were pretty and smart."

"There are many reasons, Hinata-chan," he said, letting go of her hands. He placed his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling.

"Tell me all of them." She took a deep breath, and laced her hands together, not wanting the feel of Sasuke's hand on hers to go away soon.

"Alright. One, sure they were pretty. Pretty loud. I don't really care for loud girls, Hinata-chan. Two, they're always arguing about me. I don't want any girl to quarrel with anyone because of me. Three, if I give them the time of the day, they'll hound me for the rest of my life. Four, my fan club will get angry and might cause trouble for the village. Five, I… I'm waiting until I see the best one for me." Sasuke exhaled slowly as he finished voicing out his reasons.

"You—you said you liked girls with long hair," Hinata said, subconsciously fingering her dark locks. They were not too long, but not too short. Her bangs were long enough to be tucked behind her ears.

"I still do," he said simply. "However, if I don't like her attitude and behavior, even if her hair reached the ends of the earth, I still wouldn't like her."

"I—I see…" Hinata faltered, fiddling with her hair, looking at the man beside her, Sasuke still looked like the arrogant boy she knew of, but she knew he wasn't like that when you get to know him. He was still good-looking, but to her, he wasn't arrogant or bossy. He was mature, caring, and kind. His eyes were warm and his touch was gentle.

"As for Ino and TenTen…" he looked sideways at her and she blushed. "Do you—do you…" he hesitated, and his voice trailed off. He cleared his throat. "I'm not really good at this," he mumbled.

"That's… okay. I understand," she said, looking everywhere but at him. No, I don't really understand! Are you about to ask me what I think you were going to ask? She studied her fingernails intently. The room was silent. A sudden movement caught the corner of her eye, followed by a splintering crash. She yelped and knelt down on the floor next to Sasuke.

He groaned, raising himself on one elbow and rubbing his back with his other hand. He glared at the pieces of wood that once belonged to the chair he was sitting on. "Stupid chair," he muttered.

"Are you alright?" she helped him up, her small hands holding on to the small of his back. Holding him that way made her feel so good.

"Yeah," he replied, testing his upper body. "Nothing's broken."

She activated her Byakugan. "You're fine. Let's go sit in the living room, or better yet," she brightened, "let's finish the house cleaning!"

"Okay," Sasuke replied. "I haven't finished the basement and the rest of the rooms."

"Let's start!" Hinata grabbed him by the arm and went off in search of brooms and the dustpan.

A/N: Yoshi! XD Another chapter again… Thanks so much for the reviews! I love getting reviews! XD So far, no flames… Well, not that I'm asking for them anyway.

Anyway, do you all remember the Autumn Festival? Well, I have a surprise for you guys about that. Watch out for it!

Chibi Tetra- Yup, that was exactly what I wanted to emphasize!

Audriel- Now, at least you know there an inner Sasuke too, lol! XD

KKSG- Oh, Kakashi's mask! Ahahaha… Forgot about that… Let's just say they didn't really notice it because they were too engrossed in Hinata's cooking!

chinadoll27- Oh wow, I saw your review in my other fic too! Thanks so much! Well, there's still the Autumn Festival, and I'm going to give it a little twist… Ahah ahahah… Um, yeah… XD

And to everyone else who reviewed this chapter and the other chapter, a great big hug and THANK YOU SO MUCH!