The first day of spring came … too quickly; which, honestly, was shocking to hear from Hinata Hyuuga, who was known by her friends to practically live in her gardens during the good, unfreezing seasons.

But there was a good reason for that.

Because she wanted to spend her day off following the crowd and enjoy the sight of the sakura trees sprouting their lovely, pink petals for the world to see and savor. When she woke up early that Sunday morning, it was not to prepare a picnic basket that she would eat around the hanging limbs and waving flowers.

Actually, it was to go to church.

Because she was quite sure the strange man that had been showing up at her place of work for the past three days was a demon trying to sell her soul to the devil.

Chapter 4

The Demon Following Me Has Never Experienced Hanami Before

Hinata has not visited church since her mother passed away fifteen years ago.

Looking back, maybe this was God's twisted way of telling her to start going again.

It was hot that morning. A natural sort of heat, thank goodness – Hinata had checked over her shoulders multiple times to make sure a certain horned man had not followed her to the local church. But as people filed in and took their spots in the cushioned benches, the stuffiness and heat only got worse, and Hinata tugged off her light jacket and tied it around her waist.

Worship would start soon, she believed. The priest had been at the front, greeting people and shaking hands with returning church-goers. As he slowly made his way up the aisle in his dark cassock, he'd pause every now and then to speak to a few people, and it was then Hinata noticed the petals stuck on his shoulders. Pink and vibrant.

Sakura petals.

Oh, Hinata mused, standing with the crowd as music began to play, if only service was outside today.

…

She didn't remember any of the words to any of the songs, and while the people around her threw their hands in the air and sang their praise to the heavens, she curled into herself, blushing and unsure what to do with herself. She felt guilty, in a way, and she often checked around her to make sure no one was staring and wondering why she wasn't participating.

Eventually, they were allowed to sit as the priest spread his hands over his pulpit and began to read some scripture. Women snapped out their fans to cool their faces as children kicked their legs out from their benches, eyes usually glued to the windows. Hinata could not help but follow their lead, trying to turn her head this way and that to see if she could spot any sakura trees about the place.

A shift came to her left as someone settled down next to her, and she whispered a quiet "Excuse me" as she swiped the skirt of her dress close to her and tried to focus on what the priest was saying.

In the corner of her eye, she caught a glance at something dark. Black, probably, which did not fit most of the spectacular dresses the women wore to church.

And when she noticed shortly after how startlingly hot it was, she whipped around to find that the person sat directly to her left was –

"S-S-Sasuke!"

He put a single finger to his mouth and nodded towards the front, where rainbow lights from the tinted windows shined with brilliance over the extravagant priest who threw his arms out in passion. "Amen," was sighed through the crowd, no one noticing the sickly pale girl in the back with the horned demon next to her.

"Don't be rude," he murmured, leaning forward and resting his chin against the heel of his hand, "I'm trying to listen."

Hinata stared, gawking. "How are you … you can't be … this is a church."

His dark gaze gave the room a lazy once-over. "I've noticed."

"And y-you're a demon." Unless I imagined you opening the doors to Hell.

"I'm the demon," he corrected without much enthusiasm.

Baffled, Hinata curled her arms close to her body, wishing to move as far from him as possible, but finding the woman to her right was much too close to allow her such a luxury. She looked around, then behind her, wondering how no one has even blinked an eye or, at the very least, spoken up against the horned man. Horned. In a church!

"I-Isn't this a sanctuary?" she asked, leaning a tad towards him to not disturb the readings. "You can't be here."

"And yet here I am."

And life came to the air as the priest cried, "Hallelujah!"

Hands reached for the heavens as the crowd called, "Hallelujah!" And Sasuke, with a twisted smirk, called with them, sending Hinata into a nervous sweat as she bent her chin between her knees and began to pray for her safety and sanity.

…

"N-No one's saying anything."

Service finished, and the priest was once again at the doors and seeing the crowd out. Hinata had just gotten to her feet, legs wobbling and ready to collapse, while Sasuke sat on the back of the bench and watched with flittering nonchalance.

"Shame," he hummed. "I'd have enjoyed seeing them panic and throw their filthy water at me."

Hinata filed into the aisle, pulling her hair behind her ears to listen for any mentions of the feathered man, but nothing came. Nothing.

Except, well –

"I like your hat, Mister."

In front of them, a blonde kid looked up at Sasuke, eyes wide, but not with fear.

Sasuke only sneered down at the boy, but the kid laughed and grasped at the hand of his mother. It reminded Hinata of the day before – when Kurenai had giggled and cooed about him being her boyfriend when, clearly, he was anything but.

"They … don't see you," she realized, chest feeling heavy all of the sudden.

He looked at her. "Only you do."

That did not assure her at all. "Why?"

A hand tapped her cheek right below her eye, and had it not been for his gloves, she would have screamed. "Well," he muttered, "this face has been staring at me for centuries, I suppose."

Head fuzzy, Hinata could not find her words as she shook hands with the priest. When he gave Sasuke a pat on the shoulder as they passed, she flinched, fully aware that he had no idea he had just been in the presence of a demon.

…

He was walking side-by-side with her down the street.

Him.

A demon.

"This isn't the way you normally go."

And from how it sounded, this demon knew her regular route home, which was more than simply disturbing.

"W-Well, that's because I –" She had to consciously snap her mouth shut to keep herself from talking. She couldn't help it. She was a people pleaser – or, er, demon pleaser in this instance. If someone spoke to her, she would speak back. It was only polite.

But she really ought to stop talking so comfortably with him, as if they were friends. She really didn't want to be known as the girl who was friends with a demon. Not that, well, anyone would know, because it seemed only she was aware of how he truly looked and acted.

Frowning to herself, Hinata tore her gaze away from the sidewalk and tried to focus her attention on the scenery. It was the first day of spring, after all. The cherry blossoms had bloomed, and the smell in the air was –

"Disgusting."

Her heart jumped. "H-Huh?"

Sasuke grimaced, nose wrinkled. "It's atrocious," he said, glaring at the trees overhead. "It didn't smell this horrible yesterday."

Hinata followed his gaze and smiled at the pink petals waltzing above them.

"I think it smells nice."

Nothing. No sound. No words.

Good. She just wanted to enjoy the silence and the sunlight for a moment without having to acknowledge the demon trailing her. A hard feat to follow with the constant blast of heat at her side, but she would let it slide.

At least … for a minute or two.

But then she glanced back at his straight shoulders and curled lips.

Don't, Hinata, she begged herself, her heart, which already began to thump with worry. Don't do this. We learned about this. Don't be nice to every person you see. Sometimes, they aren't worth it.

But she looked down at the bandage tied around her left hand, tight enough to not fall or loosen.

But he gave me that burn, she reminded herself. And he's a demon. Don't be nice to demons.

Common knowledge, she was sure. But no matter how much she repeated it and tried to drill it into her skull –

"I'll take you home. The smell won't be as strong there."

His eyes met hers, sending a powerful wave of electricity through her system.

Oh my God, she cried as she sheepishly led him through the crowd and away from the sakura trees, you just invited a demon into your home.

…

"Ha-na-mi."

The word was written and underlined and circled many times on her calendar, but when Sasuke said it, it sounded so odd and foreign that even Hinata forgot the meaning behind it for just a moment.

"It's, u-um, a celebration of beauty in flowers." In her kitchen, Hinata was busy preparing lunch, as well as lunch for the next few days of work. She cut the crust off her turkey sandwich and checked the noodles boiling in the pot, stirring it every now and then.

It felt … weird to have someone in her home. She was somewhat of a private person, and even her friends had rarely come to her apartment since she moved in two years ago. But Sasuke was a stranger and not even human, so the fact that she had so willingly let him into her home … well … .

She was beginning to question if he really hadn't cast a spell on her.

The wall where the calendar hung was to the left of the fridge, and when Sasuke leaned away from it, she was given a clear view of his scowling mouth. "What's to celebrate? They just exist."

Not at all was Hinata surprised by the idea that a demon, of all things, was not a fan of flowers. "But the sakura trees only bloom around this time of year," she mentioned, pulling out a piece of noodle and biting off the end to test the firmness. "They are our treasure. We want to enjoy them before their time is up and celebrate the beauty they give our land."

"What can a tree do for your land?" Sasuke muttered. "You're just wasting your time."

Biting the inside of her cheek, Hinata turned off the range. It was time to drain the noodles, but …

Her left hand was bandaged. She wouldn't be able to lift the entire pot up to pour it into the –

"Here."

With his bare hand, Sasuke grabbed the scalding pot, stuck his right hand right into the boiling water, pulled out a wad of noodles, and threw it into the strainer in her sink. Hand pressed to her mouth, Hinata watched as he fished out the rest of the noodles, and once no more was left, he brought the pot to his mouth.

"O-Oh!" she yelped. "It's –" But he didn't even flinch as the steaming water poured into his open mouth and down his throat. "… hot."

Right. Of course. She should have expected that, really.

Wiping his mouth against the side of his arm, Sasuke's gaze turned back to the calendar.

"Do you like it? Ha-na-mi."

Hinata stood by the sink, pulling out the strainer with her purple pot holder and watching the leftover water drip out of the holes in the bottom. "Yes," she whispered, "it's very important to me." She didn't have to look to know he was staring again, and fearing that she would offend him, Hinata quickly added, "A-Ah, but the first few days are always the busiest. I'll just go celebrate later this week, when the crowds have died down."

Placing down the strainer, she glanced over at her prepared sandwiches.

Two.

She hadn't even realized she had made two.

"D-Do you, um … ."

But when she looked up, he was gone, and she didn't know whether to be relieved to have been saved from having to ask if he'd join her for lunch, or disappointed in never knowing what his answer would be.

…

It had to have been very early in the morning when Hinata was shaken out of her sleep, for her room was pitch black and crickets still chirped outside of her window. Her head, drowsy and still latching onto the wonderful dream she was having, barely recognized anything around her, and if it weren't for the steady hand on her shoulder, she would have gone right back to sleep.

But fingers tightened when her eyes lulled, and when she followed the arm connected to that hand, she saw a shadowy, looming figure next to her bed. Yelping, fight-or-flight senses jumping into overdrive, Hinata shot up and reached for the lamp on her nightstand, fully intending to throw it at the bastard who –

"Good. You're awake."

Oh.

Sasuke.

For some reason, her shoulders relaxed, and she breathed out a long sigh as she tried to tell her pumping heart to calm. A short glance to her alarm clock told her that it was, indeed, early in the morning – 4:46, to be exact. She had school in about four hours. What could he possibly want at this time of night?

And as if hearing her thoughts, he said, "The crowd is gone."

Rubbing at her eyes, Hinata peeled back her blanket. "Pardon?"

"I hate repeating myself." He turned around and ripped back the curtains. "I thought you wanted to enjoy Hanami."

That's … what this was about?

He gave her a near heart attack by sneaking into her room and shaking her awake at nearly five in the morning because of Hanami?

If she were not Hinata, she would have … well, actually, she didn't know what she would do. Because she was Hinata, and no matter what, she saw the good in people (and demons, apparently). Perhaps she was fooling herself; perhaps she was trying to see something that wasn't there. But if his intentions were what she thought they were, then could she really get that upset?

It took a lot to surprise Hinata, and it took a lot to upset her, as well.

"A-Alright." She slipped out of bed and shuffled into her slippers. "Um, okay." Going over the checklist in her head, she walked over to her closet and pulled out a dress and jacket for her to wear. She'd also have to bring something to see with. A flashlight, maybe, or a paper lantern. Food would also have to be prepared. Her fingers found the hem of her PJs, and then she snapped out of her thinking and looked at Sasuke. "I, um, need to change."

He did not move. "Hurry up."

Her face warmed up. "C-Could I have some privacy, please?"

The moonlight coming in through the window gave her a good look at his narrowing gaze, but without a word of discouragement, he turned and left her room.

…

The horizon was a dusty grey when they arrived at the park.

It didn't take nearly as long as she had expected. The extra sandwich she had made yesterday was packed into her backpack, along with some grapes and onigiri and iced tea. Paper lanterns decorated the park, so she did not have to worry about bringing a flashlight. They found themselves a picnic table by the entrance, under two, mighty sakura trees, and as Hinata set the table, she enjoyed the distant songs of the windchimes as a breeze fluttered through the park.

Sasuke was right.

There was no one in sight. The sleepy town was still stuck in their dreams, and when Hinata sat and drank her tea, she relished in the sights and smells, in the chirping birds, in the warmth of her jacket.

"Isn't this nice?" she mused, opening her bag of grapes to plop on into her mouth.

Sasuke, of course, did not look nearly as pleased as she felt. His nose was curled in disgust as his lips pursed and eyes sunk, but when she expected harsh words to match an equally harsh expression, he only rolled a shoulder and rested his jaw in his hand.

"Sure."

His dour tone did not match his feeble attempt to agree with her, but Hinata smiled, nonetheless.

Chapter 4 - End