"So if Sasuke comes back empty handed, we'll send him for Suna two days from now... Otherwise, we have all former battle fronts covered at the moment." Shikamaru wrote as Naruto skimmed the council session report that was typed live, as it was happening.

"And is there a bride on the way Naruto?" The old man suddenly interrupted Naruto who was about to close the council session.

"Eh?" Naruto abruptly snapped back to reality.

"Don't just spring it on the boy Homura." The female elder scolded him.

"Uchiha's marriage was arranged, maybe you need some help yourself?" Another elder added making Hinata's grandfather look somewhat stiff all of a sudden.

"Wha..? Wait!"

"As we have heard it young Sasuke was quite popular with the ladies regardless." The female elder responded.

"Hey! He only looks cool! He's more incapable than I am!" Naruto complained turning red. Shikamaru beside him tried his best not to smile and kept writing, but failed, and Naruto saw it when he turned to him for help in a sort of a panicked state. "I mean it! That asshole once agreed to go on a date with Sakura, showed up for 5 minutes, did nothing and walked away!"

"We just believe, seeing how you are the hokage, it's time for you to begin thinking about marriage."

"We have a big population problem, especially now after the war, you know set an example." Lady elder added.

It was like they coordinated. Naruto gulped. "I… I am not getting married! Session is over!" He got out of his chair, quickly bowed and stormed out, with amused Shikamaru collecting all the documents after him, in no hurry at all. The whole council just sat there stunned, staring at him expectantly and he ignored them until they got the message and began to slowly pack up as well.

-…Konoha Centre; 11 pm…-

Sasuke walked the streets of Konoha that barely resembled the village he left at this point. It was adorned with themed colorful stands and the whole village including an outside 3 kilometer radius was one big marketplace. Most of them were covered in transparent plastic coverings creating one giant umbrella that protected the entire festival from the rain. Police hour was less and less of use since more people were coming in, in charge of finishing up the preparations. The place was still rather crowded this late at night. There was a lot of tradition behind these festivities that marked the spirit and lives of these people indicated by decorated shrines, firework distribution, medallions, traditional festival kimonos, special kinds of food you wouldn't normally see sold out on the street. Sasuke knew so little about this world where people got to just be without outrunning death from moment to moment. He left the report at headquarters to be delivered to Naruto in the morning and headed home. Hinata was asleep at the living room table on a pile of open books. He came in, adjusted the blanket sliding off her back and started the fire, trying to make the spark appear on top of a stack of wood in the fire pit. It was raining heavily outside, soothing the atmosphere and drowning out the sounds, but the floorboards squeaked just loud enough as he sat down for Hinata to open her eyes. She lifted her head and saw him sitting opposite her, leaning on the table, supporting his chin, his still damp hair glued against his skin, with fire pleasantly burning behind him. After the initial surprise and coming to, Hinata paused quietly staring at him, inspecting him for a few moments. "How did it go?" She asked, her voice soft and restrained. She already knew the answer.

"Nothing."

"Welcome home." She said forcing a melancholic smile.

Her face was so hard to stare at sometimes, even with the crumbled page imprint ridiculously marking her cheek. He felt she somehow revealed everything about him in only a few moments of eye contact. Sasuke was exposed, weakened, yet filled with this abnormal need to hold her and pet her and talk to her... "We should go to bed."

"Oh I'm sorry, I fell asleep. I haven't finished…" She pulled back and looked down at the books she was sleeping on.

He leaned over the table, pulling one of the books out of the middle of the pile. "Anatomy?"

"Hm." She nodded.

"Where is the brack. Brackiou..sephalic vein?" That serious tired face of his strained with frustration, as he struggled to get the word right.

"Brachiocephalic vein is in the upper chest, there are two and they are formed by the union of each corresponding internal jugular vein and subclavian vein." Hinata responded quickly, obviously really pleased she remembered the answer.

Sasuke scanned down along the page still looking rather frustrated. "I can't read this shit."

Hinata giggled and stretched out her hand lightly touching the book with the tips of her fingers. "It's ok, I can do this alone." She now smiled much more brightly, endeared by his sudden clumsiness.

Sasuke pulled the book back a little. "Come with me." He felt like a childish asshole deep down, irrationally sabotaging something she needed so much courage to fight for, yet… "Please." Slipped out, his face frozen, his heart beating in his ears all of a sudden. What am I doing?

Hinata's eyes widened and she blushed. "I don't have much left." She still insisted, she knew she'd feel horribly guilty if she went and saying no to Sasuke felt normal somehow. It felt like she had the permission to and for the first time, a "no" was truly freeing, relaxing, instead of a burden.

Sasuke handed her the book back and stretched down on the carpet next to the table, listening to the crackling of the fire, feeling the heat caress a side of his body. Hinata wrote in silence. For an hour, they were together in this room, closer and less alone, than they've felt in any conversation they ever shared with anyone.

"I think he's alive." Sasuke spoke when he saw her slowly begin to close and stack her books, jotting down a few things for last.

"I'm glad." Her hand stopped moving and she looked up.

"I shouldn't have come back without him, I knew the old man was turning irrational." Sasuke stared at her from the floor. He was so afraid she was the reason and yet… Looking at her now, he was sure she was. All the reasons rolled into one, masked by lies Sasuke told himself up until now.

"Don't do that." Hinata stopped and focused on him. She seemed serious, even strict for a moment.

"What?"

"Ask too many questions, assign blame… It's a road that is hard to come back from." She mumbled as she nervously continued to tidy up the table, slowly moving the books to the shelves in the middle of the wall.

"I don't think I ever did anything else but that." Sasuke watched her.

Hinata said nothing, her expression tense.

"Why?"

She crouched at the pit to put it out, but Sasuke sat up and took her wrist. He wanted a look of her face. She turned her head and looked into his eyes. There was a bit of pain lingering behind... "I've never seen it bring peace to anyone."

Sasuke smirked mildly. "Peace." He was amused by the idea in fact. Is that what I should be looking for? She lowered her gaze, but failed to hide what burst forward. He could feel the pain, already nesting under his skin, crawling inside him it settled in the pit of his stomach and wiped the smile off his face. Suddenly he let go of her, as if she was poisoning him via skin contact.

"I don't want you to have to feel that." She said serious and turned to the fire pit again, continuing to work. "It isn't worth it."

Sasuke now took what she gathered and helped get the soot out of the house in silence. That weight in his gut almost grew heavier, pressing on his lungs, he was trapped. "Is that what happened to you?" He knew the answer.

"I'm done with it." She looked at him serious and surprisingly determined, adding with genuine care in her eyes. "Just, please do your best."

-…"Konoha Fish'n'Chip" restaurant; the next day, 5:00 pm…-

Sakura has already gulped down her beer. "Yeah…"

"I mean, think about it, who can sleep next to Sasuke and not fall in love?" Ino kept yammering on to her friend, who seemed to be dead set on getting drunk in the middle of an afternoon.

"I don't want to think about that!" Sakura snapped.

"Sakuraaa!" Naruto waved at them at the door with Shikamaru following behind, and Sakura let out a whiny moan as she placed her glass back down on the table. The two shinobi joined them, Naruto obviously feeling a bit dejected by Sakura sulking and pushing herself to appear courteous. "We haven't done this in a while!" He smiled pleased after ordering his ramen, obviously faking the overexcitement.

"We did this 3 days ago." Shikamaru objected.

"Where are the others?" Ino asked.

"Sasuke says he and Hinata will be training." Naruto said and then looked at Sakura who remained stone faced.

"Sai isn't coming either." Ino added, while secretly glancing at Sakura.

Sakura suddenly snapped a glare at both of them and the table went quiet.

Ino turned sideways hiding a small smile. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow with a sarcastic expression on his face. This wiped her smile away, making Ino feel a bit guilty for wanting to tease Sakura. After all, it wasn't long ago that she was the one whining about Sasuke going out with Sakura and not her, just because she got to be on his team. Oh shut up. She took a sip of her drink looking away from him. Shikamaru then glanced at Naruto who was obviously made miserable by Sakura's reaction. With all that was on his mind, he decided he's had enough of this, lighting his cigarette, looking out the window in peace.

-…-

"You guys seem awfully free lately." Ino noted when only Shikamaru, Choji and she were left sitting in the restaurant.

"We aren't, Naruto was trying to force this hang out 5 times already, but got held back by work. Gheez… If I stick with him, I don't think I'll ever see sunlight again." Shikamaru sighed.

"Why the insistence?" Choji asked.

"He might die and doesn't want paperwork to be his last memory I guess." Shikamaru rubbed his eyes, still trying to wake up properly.

"Die? So Sasuke was right, this is that dangerous?" Ino asked calmly.

Shikamaru looked at them. "We're going to take a side in a civil war, use a non violent approach to top it off, all while trying to stave off an invasion by an enemy we can't even identify. If you consider the worst case scenario, Sasuke was generous."

"And best case?" Choji asked as a waitress came to pick up the stack of plates in front of him.

"I don't know." Shikamaru shrugged uninterested in analyzing it right now.

"This is upsetting my stomach."Choji seemed annoyed and then stretched slowly getting out of his seat.

"Don't leave me with the bill." Shikamaru warned.

"I told you last time I forgot!"

Shikamaru nodded taking a sip of his tea and Choji left. Ino now sat opposite him looking out the window at the stands stretching out all the way trough Konoha, sun was setting and orange light painted the atmosphere. "Birds." She briefly raised her eyebrows upon noticing a makeshift pet store set up beside the circus tent. After a while she turned looking at her friend. "You're tired."

"You think?" He responded slowly.

"No need for that." Her eyebrows furrowed, she was annoyed with Shikamaru's sarcasm.

"Geez." He exhaled.

"You broke up with Temari, didn't you?"

His eyes widened and he looked at Ino. "Who..?"

"Hmpf, I know you your whole life." Shikamaru stared back irritated. "Ok, ok I saw Kankurou report in instead of her."

"It's not important."

"It's not my ass."

"What about you?" He knew how to misdirect his somewhat narcissistic friend. Ino loved talking about herself. Or so he thought. She was simply acquiescing his request.

"Ehhh…" She looked away uncomfortable.

He was somewhat intrigued.

"Sai..."

"You're dating Sai?"

"I tried. He's…"

"Autistic." He said at the same time as she finished her sentence saying: "Boring."

Ino looked at him in surprise.

"Aspergers. It's in his file." Shikamaru clarified.

"That explains a lot." She said looking down still taken aback.

Shikamaru smirked. "I guess you're not as superficial as you thought."

Ino smiled all of a sudden placing her hand on her forehead amused by the whole situation. "It's because he looks like Sasuke." She admitted giggling and Shikamaru shook his head disapprovingly while smiling. "What the hell is it about that guy?"

"He's a jerk." Ino looked at him with a grin on her face. Obviously joking, though there was a hint of truth to it. "You of all people should understand."

Shikamaru's smile disappeared immediately. He didn't feel like thinking about her.

"I'm sorry." Ino corrected herself. She knew she should have been more delicate even as she was saying it.

"You spend your whole life running from a dragon and then..." He finally admitted, smiling a bit.

"Masochist..."

"I'm not a masochist." Shikamaru turned serious.

"Oh no, you have mommy issues. I'm the masochist."

Shikamaru stared at her for a moment, before they began to smile and Ino laughed. "I'm not really a masochist, though." She added after her laughter subsided.

"And I don't have mommy issues." Shikamaru teased.

"I mean it!" She protested getting insulted all of a sudden.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and she laughed again, confusing him a little. She's missed her friend.

-…Uchiha Compound, training area/lake; 7:32 am (earlier that day)…-

It began with her touching his hand at breakfast where there was a residue cut from the mission from last night. Sasuke wasn't the one to enjoy hanging around the hospital for every minor injury, something he and Naruto, got scolded for by Sakura many times over. Any cut could be their last if it got infected, yet the two shinobi refused to take them seriously. With a light touch Hinata distributed chakra trough his finger in a Hyuuga-characteristic quick flow attack, but instead of imbuing her own chakra in order to shut down his chakra points, she combined it with the healing technique and he was fully healed. It was the brand of Hyuuga technique she performed before when he came back from a mission, but now it was far more advanced and something Sasuke has never seen before by any of the Hyuuga he ended up doing missions with, including Hinata herself. She's actually repaired him with a tap. It stopped him in his tracks and Sasuke looked at his hand then at Hinata who said nothing at all and seemed a bit confused, as to why this alarmed him so much. "What?" She asked getting a bit nervous at this point. She underestimated his ability to recognize the level of skill this took.

"Where did you learn that?" Sasuke asked.

"I developed it..?"

"In the last few days?"

Hinata swallowed, her eyes growing. "N-not really…"

Sasuke has had far too much insight into all the ways one can develop knew medical techniques of this caliber, after all the years he's spent with Orochimaru. And he was pretty sure Hinata wasn't testing this on other people, or animals. "How long did you take to develop it?" He was trying to figure out if she was injuring herself on purpose for this, or if she tested it on accidental wounds.

"I… Don't know really." Hinata stared back into his widened eyes, like a deer in the headlights.

Sasuke's eyebrows suddenly furrowed and he looked at the table. He could have been overreacting, she's helped him and he treated her as if she committed a crime. He decided he at least owed her to drop the subject. "Thank you." He said looking seriously at her, but the nervousness he provoked in her turned his stomach as soon as he landed eyes on her again.

-…Hokage mansion; 4:51 pm, just before the group hangout…-

"You don't want to come with us, again?!"

"I'm training." Sasuke was terse.

Naruto sighed. "Did you remember to invite Hinata at least?"

"I'm training with her." He closed the doors and disappeared.

-…Training field; 5:35 pm…-

"Sasuke are you sure I can help you? I'm not as strong as Naruto…" Hinata warned him standing in the middle of the training field, dressed in lilac shorts and the black, tight spandex T-shirt she normally used for training these days. He's asked her to help him test some new technique and she was now worried Sasuke didn't fully understand her level of strength. It was cold, but they expected not to feel it once the training begins, so neither really reacted to the wind that blew trough, cooling the body to the bone.

"You'll do great." He responded grimly as he was completing the wrapping around his fake arm and secured it.

His mood and this whole scenario unnerved her and she prepared for whatever attack Sasuke was about to launch. She slowly got in a fighting stance and activated her byakugan to its full capacity. Sasuke stood in front of her, pulled out his kunai and sliced his entire healthy forearm open.

Hinata stared at him shocked and he just stood there, bleeding, blank faced as if it was nothing. Blood gushed out in bursts, he obviously cut an artery open.

"Sas… What are you doing?!" Hinata exclaimed, but he said nothing. She ran to help him, but Sasuke jumped back, now putting light pressure on his arm. She ran after him and he kept evading her. She was now realizing what he was doing; forcing her to use the technique from this morning. It took a while to get him out in the clearance where she had a chance to outmaneuver him, for she could not rely on speed alone against Sasuke. "Sasuke this isn't safe!" Hinata exclaimed while attempting and succeeding at making contact several times, landing the healing "attack" on him. It didn't finish the job, but at least she's closed the biggest leak, the artery. He was still bleeding pretty bad and not making any effort to make this easy on her. It was only 10 minutes later, when Sasuke was getting dizzy, that Hinata closed all the bleeding despite his evasion. He suddenly stopped, looked at his arm and bent it squeezing his palm into a fist. Hinata stood there, looking at him in shock, still terrified, desperately trying to calm her breathing. What are you doing? She looked down seeing his blood on her hands.

As if having read her mind, Sasuke finally spoke. "That's an S ranked healing technique."

"Why did you hurt yourself?" Hinata's voice was weak …

He cocked his head to the side obviously irritated and looked at her. "Is that what you did?" She's tested on herself and hid this from everyone. Not that he cared if she did this as long as she stayed safe, but the thought of her hiding it from him, left him feeling so irrationally vulnerable he couldn't drop it even though he tried.

"Yes." Slipped past her lips, as if all her strength went with it.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Why didn't you just tell me everything this morning?" He finally felt like he really overdid it. She doesn't owe him all her secrets, and now he knew he intruded too much by her reaction.

She almost whispered. "Because I'm ashamed of it…" Tears filled those shiny, light eyes in a way Sasuke didn't expect.

It clicked.

His mouth dried up. He stared blankly. This is why she never seemed to judge him unlike the others. She understood. She was once as broken as he was, the only difference being she attempted to destroy herself, instead of everyone else like Sasuke did. "So the cuts came first." He named the elephant in the room. He's seen plenty of people like that in Orochimaru's asylum, some of whom didn't mind being tested on.

Hinata turned red, realizing this whole time, he just thought she inflicted injuries on herself to develop the technique and not the other way around. "I saw a therapist. I would never do it again!" She seemed to panic now, tears leaked down her cheeks and she looked away. Her hands shook as she was attempting to dry her face.

Needing to feel safe, needing to control what happens, to get things the way he wanted, once again Sasuke steamrolled straight trough someone who cared for him… Only this time, he wasn't detached, mad, out for revenge... He wasn't ready to feel so horrible about doing it. His voice became quieter, mimicking hers. "It doesn't matter." It sounded like a plea, surprising even Sasuke himself when it came out of his mouth.

"You're the one to talk..." She now looked like a cornered cat hissing at him, unwilling to even look at him. Hearing him move, she immediately took a step back.

"Hinata."

She disappeared.

-…-

He knew she wouldn't go home where he, or anywhere else, where someone could accidentally see her, catch her off guard, or corner her.

What possible location in an overcrowded Konoha is there?

Where would he go?

-…-

Sasuke sat on the edge of the dock as close as polite distance allowed him, careful not to touch her. They sat separated out above the water where no one could see their faces from across the lake, or sneak up from behind without announcing themselves far earlier. He sat there in silence staring into the water blankly. Inside, a silent prayer she doesn't disappear again. Sasuke had no idea how to connect, but couldn't just let go as per his usual MO. He was stuck. It took him 20 minutes of silence. "I'm sorry."

Hinata turned away, unable to stop a tear from coming down her cheek. Sasuke looked at her. She dried her cheek with her palm, but started crying again and covered her eyes.

Please look at me. His blank façade was hiding the thoughts boiling under the surface. Please…

After what seemed like forever, she forced her eyes his way, a sideways glance somewhere at his chest. "In a twisted way, I felt relieved they forgave you. Like I wasn't so bad if.."

"You're not." His eyes widened. He expected her to attack him, not herself.

Without warning, Hinata looked at him and the vulnerability on his surprised face was now more apparent than ever. "You're actually the only person I'm not ashamed of because of that. Only you can know about this." She said grimly, as if it was somehow a punishment for what he did. This was her version of revenge in trying to connect, and let go of what happened.

"Fair enough." Sasuke responded, relief washing over him, a small smile catching his lips. She really didn't know how to do revenge right, maybe he should teach her that too? The tension and distance he thought existed between him and others due to his crimes, was closed so completely, Sasuke didn't know what to do with this unfamiliar light feeling.

"But don't ever do something like this again." She said firmly, still angry, her eyes watering again by the end of the sentence. For the first time it wasn't at all hard for him to take her anger seriously. She finally noticed his face. It was unexpected, seeing this side of him now, at a time she felt more distressed by his presence than ever. Sasuke's expression seemed to change in turn, and she just as suddenly smiled, obviously relieved. Finally she exhaled like one does after a particularly daunting chore, before she looked ahead at the water again. "You know it was only twice in my…" She began calmly.

"It doesn't matter." Sasuke emphasized interrupting her, furrowing his eyebrows. He didn't care if it was every day since she was born.

"It's not a reason to worry I mean. Don…" She suddenly felt presumptuous, implying he would worry about her. "It-it's not something that could interfere in the mission." She quickly added turning red.

"I'll still worry about you." He smirked, amused by her hesitation to assert there was affection between them. In Sasuke's mind, he could not have been any more obvious.

She didn't look at him again, but he saw her smile brighten. She too felt somehow lighter, calmer than ever before. She then looked at Sasuke's badly patched up arm, inspecting it. She lifted her legs which were hanging off the dock on the dock and sat on them facing Sasuke's arm in order to finish the job properly. Her sudden touch felt like an electric shock and he just gave in letting her move him, while helplessly trying to control his reaction. That was useless though because now Hinata was feeling his pulse. She pulled her fingers away surprised and then went to check again in disbelief. It seemed to be slowing down, so she decided to check again in a minute or two. Then, while still somewhat nervous about the frequency, she began to heal him using the proper, slow technique. The fact that she could relax like this with another person, was suddenly increasing this intense happiness filling up her chest, creating so much room for breathing. "You only have one good arm." She teased shyly. Coldest wind blew over the water. They were no longer fresh from training, and it could really be felt as it beat against their now dried, cooling bodies.

He smiled amused. "Hm." And unnoticeably leaned his head a little closer, where it was warm.

Without noticing she was doing it, Hinata mirrored him.

-…Streets of Konoha, 08:12 pm…-

The festival was about to open in a few days and the place was far less filled with busy people. The police curfew was in place for all shinobi and civilians without working IDs, so Sasuke just left the house, and set them up with two without telling her. Hinata wanted to get some popcorn and realized they didn't have any. Despite her embarrassed refusal, Sasuke still insisted she get dressed and both were now in their jackets, strolling out in the night, a whole festival as if just for the two of them. She seemed to be staring fascinated with the colorful decorations that stretched all throughout Konoha, which was adorned in their light. She couldn't believe the new building that was recently completed in record time as a place for temporary civilian housing. It was most beautifully decorated.

"That one is torn down now." Sasuke referred to his childhood apartment.

"Oh I'm sorry."

"I'm not. I hated that place."

"Why?"

"It reminded me I'm not home. Suffocating." Sasuke responded with surprising ease. He wasn't sure he was ready to be this honest, but somehow no break was in his way to stop him.

"You were always on the training field anyway."

Sasuke glanced at her from the side.

"I travelled trough to go home after Academy." Hinata blushed all of a sudden. "I didn't spy on you or anything!"

"Naruto was too. You were spying on Naruto." Sasuke smirked evilly and Hinata turned red.

"I wasn't!" She was quite embarrassed.

"Pfft." He snickered.

"Uh..?"

"You're awfully aggressive." He looked at her raising an eyebrow.

Hinata turned red. "I am?"

"I think created a monster." Sasuke smirked and she looked away. "You're mean Sasuke."

"I shouldn't be?"

"You said you owed me for being mean already." She pouted, but he suddenly took her hand and drew closer as they walked. He didn't explain, didn't care to explain and really didn't want to start thinking about Naruto right now. Sasuke regretted bringing him up. He just wanted to see Hinata smile and keep it at that. She blushed becoming slightly nervous, but he did once again see her smile. Sasuke decided to tone down the teasing for now.

-…-

"It's rigged, who cares?" He responded as they slowly walked the narrow path through the shrubbery, in the dark, careful not to get stuck on it.

"He is only trying to make money." Hinata still felt guilty over Sasuke beating a newly opened throwing game. He then gave her the stuffed bunny he won.

"Shinobi will clean that guy out anyway." Sasuke concluded. "You don't like it?" He got in her way looking like he's annoyed, nervous and a bit hurt all at once. They stopped walking.

"No I do!" Hinata defended and held onto her giant stuffed bunny as if Sasuke would take it away if she said no.

"I thought you might." He looked to the side slightly, his face still conflicted and menacing. He really didn't know how to charm people.

"It's lovely." Hinata smiled and Sasuke blushed a little suddenly staring at her smile.

"It's for what I did..."

"I thought popcorn was for that." Hinata responded confused.

"No."Sasuke's eyebrows then furrowed and he almost seemed like he was scolding her for something, if not for the nervous undertone in his voice when they made eye contact.

Hinata was surprised for a few moments before she suddenly giggled. Even being mocked like this, his heart skipped a beat as he watched her bright face, adorned with laughter, seemingly lighting up the darkness around them. "Is there something else you wanted?" He asked looking slightly nervous about what he wanted to show her now. Maybe he should have just asked.

Hinata stopped laughing and responded sweetly. "No, I'm happy."

"Then this is last." He immediately took her hand and they stepped out from behind the bushes standing on top of the stone faces mountain. Hinata slowly lowered the stuffed toy and looked out in amazement at the village, millions of glowing lights, more than she's ever seen in one place stretching as far as the eye can see, far out of its borders, in patterns, lines, or bundles of dots of light that became more dense towards the center of Konoha. Her eyes filled with tears and he felt her squeeze his hand. She was genuinely touched Sasuke would know what to give her as a gift. He noticed the bunny pattern on her clothes she really liked, and then that huge plush toy out on the street, he took her to the most beautiful scenery she has seen in so long, yet also the most quiet. For the first time in a long time, Hinata felt truly seen. First she got her mother back and now him… Fear overwhelmed her that she will somehow lose them, lose this… Combined with all the other feelings that filled her heart, it made her cry.

Sasuke noticed she's not going to snap out of it and slowly pulled her along. He took her down into the makeshift stone seats, carved discreetly for workers who maintain the mountain. He made sure to get dazed Hinata close to his body as she sat down on the edge next to him. He looked at her crying and drying her eyes. He wanted to say something, but didn't know where to even begin asking. He didn't want to hear she's crying because she's happy either, for he would hate her family automatically, more than he's already grown to resent them. He dreaded the idea of soon meeting Hiashi again.

After a while Hinata started paying attention to him and to the fact that he has intertwined his fingers with some of hers, caressing the back of her palm with his thumb, as he watched the village in silence. He was leaning back against the wooden seating; playing with her palm as if that would somehow help fix everything he didn't quite understand.

"Uhm." She was going to ask for her hand back, but she could suddenly feel his each caress send electricity from her palm throughout her whole body. Her heartbeat was loud, every part of her body frozen in place with excitement. She didn't want her hand back, she wanted to draw near, to be in his arms.

"Hm?" He smirked, teasing her by not turning to see what she wanted. He knew what he was doing wasn't justifiable as them pretending anymore, but as long as Hinata didn't pull away, he somehow hoped this was her way of acknowledging his feelings, that there was hope that one day, maybe... What other reason did she have to hold his hand here in the dark? She could pull away.

Her face was bright red. She couldn't say another word. Oh no…

-…Uchiha Household, bedroom; 9:21 pm…-

Hinata's heart was going to beat its way out of her chest. No. No please, no, no, no. She shut her eyes tight trying to make it go away. The slowly building feeling that occasionally interrupted her interactions with Sasuke lately, was now an obvious, full blown crush. She laid stiff in his arms, unable to fall sleep with him wrapped around her his weight slowly increasing, tone of his body, smell, the safety she's never felt before, anxiety and happiness filling her up. He seemed to be becoming drowsy since he was beginning to relax and lean on her like he normally does. This isn't fair. I made such a precious friend. He will hate me when he finds out!

Maybe..? Like I could measure up to any of the girls he rejected. I'm so sorry, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... She tried not to cry, she could feel her whole body betray her, becoming helplessly weak, her sex pulsating, pressure building in her lower stomach, she was shivering under his touch. I can't have my heart broken again. A tear leaked out of the side of her eye and onto the pillow.

"What is it?"

Hinata suddenly pulled away from him, getting all the information about her physiology out of Sasuke's hands, at a safe distance where she could keep her secret for at least a few more seconds. She knew it was over, she couldn't lie to him, she was panicking. Now on the edge of the bed, she nervously watched Sasuke's worried expression. "I-I think I shouldn't sleep here!" She quickly admitted, surprised to realize she actually desperately hoped he will say he feels the same, without any idea where her hope was coming from.

"Why?" He was now obviously distressed with this news.

"I feel weird." That he'll tell her it's ok and he likes her too...

"Why?"

"I just feel…weird." She confirmed way too embarrassed to use another word. Her voice was so soft and quiet.

"What are you saying?"

"Ah-I… I think this is now inappropriate.. b-beca.." She turned completely red.

Sasuke's heart sank and his expression suddenly seemed cold, guarded. He said nothing, just staring at her, waiting for her to speak.

"I'm sorry." She could now see he did hate her for this after all. The sliver of hope she had before, was now gone.

"I won't force you." He turned his head to look at the ceiling, he couldn't look at her.

"Uhm… If Father…" A part of her wanted to take back what she said, to go back to bed, to just attempt to pretend if it kills her!

"Couples fight." Sasuke interrupted. He cut the cord so fast, so callously… He's thought this scenario trough before, when he himself was having the same issue.

"I'm sorry."

She can lie after all… There was literal pain in his chest.

"I still want to be your friend." She tried to smile trough her heartbreak.

"Go." His voice was cutting, now filled with obvious irritation. She stared at him surprised and his face looked stone cold, as if none of this concerned him. He turned his back to her, he didn't want to see her hurt right now. She had no right to make him feel worse, he was the one being rejected. Hinata took her pillow and hurried out of the room.

Making sure to choke back her tears, she remained awake late into the night. Sasuke didn't sleep either.

Heartbreak is a messy process after all.

-…Uchiha Household; 4:00 am…-

When she was preparing for her scouting mission, Hinata realized he was nowhere to be found. Just as well. All her gear on, she looked at herself in the mirror pressing her hand to her chest, trying to look strong. More tears came out immediately as if to spite her. It'll be fine, you're used to it… She wiped her eyes again, calmly observing her reflection in the mirror.

She had a job to do.

-…Hokage Mansion; 6:03 am…-

"Sakura come in." Naruto called her sitting behind his desk and Shikamaru walked out, meeting her on the doorstep of the hokage office as he passed her by. He nodded and Sakura was slightly worried if there was a crisis, as it was now obvious she was called from the hospital by Naruto personally. She bowed as it was appropriate and looked at Naruto serious, ready for anything she might hear.

"Today is the day your teacher died."

Sakura's eyes widened.

"If you want it, I'm willing to intervene and give you the day off. You look…"

"Killed." She cut him off irritated.

"Huh?"

"My teacher was killed, she didn't die."

"Sakura…"

"Don't. I of all people know what she was capable of, to just die of old age so young..!" She suddenly raised her voice.

"I believe you." All medical examinations confirmed death by old age. Even though Tsunade used a jutsu to look young, on the table where she died, she looked a very old woman. Older than they expected her to look, the conclusion was, her use of that jutsu resulted in accelerated aging. A theory Sakura never accepted.

She then blushed and turned away embarrassed for lashing out. "Well… I'm ok Naruto."

"I know I felt crushed when Jiraya died. I'm still not over it actually..." Naruto forced a smile.

"And you never will be." Sakura responded melancholically turning to face him again.

"You think Sasuke will cry when Orochimaru dies?" Sakura looked at him irritated, as he seemed to amuse himself with this comment quite a bit. Naruto cleared his throat and stretched his collar. "I mean, it's only been a year. No one will blame you... I bet all I have to do is just tell your hospital chief and you'll be sent home."

"I'm not that weak..." He pushed her buttons again, he knew how to get inside her heart and dig out her secrets. She hated him for that right now, spitefully staring him down trough increasingly teary eyes.

"You're allowed to be." Naruto responded keeping his tone as kind and peaceful as he could. He could see he was pushing it and felt bad.

And he was right. All the pent up feelings over the last week leading up to this day burst forward together with tears leaking down her face. "Naruto I approached her because I wanted to save Sasuke. I didn't appreciate what she taught me other than doing it so that I can keep up with you two. Only she knew how much I loved him, how silly I was and she taught me anyway! And now.. Now I lost her, I lost the only person who will ever really listen to me, because you no longer will! So don't you dare tell me what I am allowed and not allowed to feel!"

"S..." Naruto stared shocked.

"That whole time I didn't see how much she was teaching me! Or who she was to me, because I did it all for Sasuke! And now to top it off, he's probably in love with someone else! So that's great! So I'm fine! Just let me do my job. Don't..." She finished trying to restrain her voice. After all, here in this office, on an official call, she was yelling at the Hokage himself, as she stood in front of him, in a spot where utmost respect was the lowest of expectations. She quickly wiped her eyes trying to remain composed. She was about to face him, expecting to get the same, hurt, restrained coldness she got from Naruto before, but she didn't care. He didn't have to…

She opened her eyes wide looking at an empty chair, feeling Naruto's arms wrapped around her shoulders. Immediately she started crying. "You idiot Naruto." She complained.

He then placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her completely serious. "I told you I'm always your friend!" He seemed a bit hurt she forgot that part. "My feelings are almost gone Sakura I promise you… Soon I'll listen to anything! You're never alone, ok?" He suddenly grinned and Sakura laughed, more tears coming to her eyes.

"You're an idiot…" She covered her face as she dried her eyes and Naruto laughed a bit, genuinely happy he managed to provide a bit of relief for the person who meant so much to him.

He stretched placing his hands behind his neck and grinned. "You up for ramen?"

Sakura knew how insanely busy he was and this offer felt like way too much. "I couldn't..!"

"Nonsense, I gotta eat! Have a seat Sakura!" He hurried down into the lobby.

Left alone in the office, Sakura slowly approached his desk, sat across, now noticing Sasuke's signature on one of the papers, covered by a single paper on top. She tried to ignore it, but her curiosity made her… Blow… a little…it's not snooping… noooo…It's out here in the open! She read upside down.

Mission Contract

Team Leader: ANBU capt. Sasuke Uchiha (ANBU Konoha afil.; Uchiha Clan)

Team members: ANBU Oroya Hikari (ANBU Konoha), ANBU Leoniee Nara (ANBU Konoha afil.; Nara clan)

Mission objective: Recovery and retrieval of Konoha jonin Kakashi Hatake; DoA

Detail: Mission is contained to territory of the the Land of Wind under express support of the kazekage Gaara of The Sand. In case of said support being retrieved during the course of the mission, team leader Uchiha Sasuke is hereby authorized to act according to his free will, presuming he remains in a clear state of mind as outlined by Article 5. in Chapter 12. of MSCC (The Manual for Shinobi Code of Conduct) on foreign ally territory.

All members are expected to report to the Kazekage in 3 days time after start of the mission marked bellow, by noon, time which is allotted for travel and other necessities.

Signed…etc…etc..

Sakura skimmed the most important information down the page in a detailed mission contract until she got what she feared she will see. Sasuke left earlier today! He's already on his way to Suna and she didn't get to do, what she now realized she needed to do a long time ago. It can wait. It can! He'll be out for 10 days tops! I..! Not now... Sakura was stiff, desperately trying to drown out the pressure in her heart.

"Hey Sakura I didn't know what you would like so I brought us..!" When Naruto came in, she was already straightened out, standing next to the chair he offered her.

"Naruto I have to go."

"Huh?"

"I'm fine, but you're right…" She smiled politely. "I really should rest today." She walked around him. "Thank you!" She ran out without being dismissed.

Naruto just stood there suspicious, with two bowls of ramen in hand.