"This is it."

It took a few days for her to gather the courage (and lose a good portion of her sanity) to take Sasuke to the rainbow field by the college. The sun was just a little over the horizon, the sky still melting into a plush blue, and it was a perfect, spring morning.

Despite the heavy textbooks in her backpack, Hinata felt weightless. But Sasuke –

"This is it?"

He sounded … less than pleased.

Hinata looked at him, then back at the field. "You don't like it?" She found that very hard to understand, as she was quite sure everyone liked flowers. And this field – it wasn't just flowers. It was a masterpiece, an oasis; utopia. The poppies in their bright reds and pinks blushed at every man and woman they fancied. The cool bellflowers jingled and rang with the breeze. Oxeye daisies winked and waltzed, and near the front, lining the concrete pathing, were a type of flowers Hinata loved the most. Lupine: tall, graceful, and stable.

This field was full of life, of personality, of quaint charm.

Demons must not have taste, Hinata affirmed as she bent down to the lupine, smiling and running her fingers along them, or good eyesight.

But Sasuke must have had perfect eyesight because when she leaned down to kiss the lupine good morning, he snatched it away from her lips and made sure she watched it burn in his fingers.

Zero good taste, her terrorized mind decided, and definitely jealous.

Chapter 5

Note to Self: Demons Do Not Make Good Gardeners

Hinata threw her alarm clock away.

She had no use for it anymore because –

"Oi. Get up."

Because demons, apparently, were very good at waking people up.

And that … was a very strange sentence that could get her worried looks if she ever muttered it around her friends.

The dark ceiling was what she first saw when her eyes fluttered open, but she was more focused on the leather hand pressed against her left cheek, long fingers dipping into the tangle of her hair. The warmth of it and the nearby body that she could not see but could definitely feel made her want to do nothing more but curl back into her covers and sleep.

But Sasuke was a stubborn, mean creature, and she knew if she didn't wake soon, he'd tear the blankets right off of her.

It had been like this for four days. She wanted to say it was still weird for her – it definitely should be! Demons should not be able to just roam about her apartment. But her body was already moving to the side of the bed, and despite her knowing she had three more hours to sleep before classes, her tired eyes peered through the dark as she searched for an outfit for the day.

The bright lights to her room flashed on, and she muttered and squeezed her eyes shut. Eventually, she got used to it, and when she opened her eyes, she found Sasuke hanging from the ceiling fan, knees locked around one of the wings as he tugged at his gloves.

Yes, hanging.

He really couldn't just act human.

"Good morning, Sasuke."

His reply was a grunt, and Hinata rubbed the sand out of her eyes as she went to the bathroom, turned on the shower, and began to wash her face in hopes the water would wake her up. Her mind began to clear up and sharpen as she turned and began to scrub shampoo through her hair, and as she stared at the shower wall, she began to go through a checklist of all the things she'd have to do today.

Classes, obviously, were one of them. She had lab today, so she made a mental note to make sure she had read over the procedure her professor had sent over via Canvas. She had a two-hour break between classes for lunch, and she would have to text Shino and Kiba to see if they'd want to meet her somewhere so they could eat lunch and watch the sakura trees. Thankfully, she had no work that day, so before and after classes, she could focus on starting up the campus gardens.

Now, to decide what she'd be growing this spring –

"You're taking longer than usual."

A squeak left her mouth as her eyes snapped to the shower curtain, still shut and completely hiding her – but, somewhere beyond it, a dastardly demon lurked.

"S-Sasuke?" The water suddenly felt cold when compared to the raging blush on her face. Why was he there!? "Do you … um, need something?"

No answer, but she knew he was there. She could feel him there. Cleaning the last of her shampoo out of her hair, she took a small step forward and grabbed the end of the curtain, pulling it back just enough for her to get a look at the bathroom without revealing anything below her shoulders.

He was right there, sitting on the sink, breathing in the humid air. His back was against the mirror, and when he found her staring, he stared back. Casually. Like there was nothing off about this situation.

"Yes," he finally answered.

And she would have asked what, exactly, was so important for him to interrupt her shower – but the way his eyes absolutely bore into her made her realize, quite quickly, what he was trying to imply.

Oh.

Lips biting together (they had finally healed after the whole kissing fiasco), Hinata hid behind the shower curtain once more and meekly grabbed a bottle of conditioner from the shower rack. "U-U-Um."

"You're taking way too long," he muttered, but it was somehow louder than the water falling around her. "Five minutes, or I'm turning it off."

Heart skipping a startled beat, Hinata squirted the conditioner in her open palm and began to slather her hair with it.

Because, for a while, she had been sure Sasuke took a fancy to her sleep-deprived state. That was why he was so keen on waking her up early. But now she began to wonder if demons were just bossy creatures.

…

Cucumber seeds, red pepper seeds, sweet peas, and some hydrangeas.

Not nearly enough for what she was planning, but it was a good start.

The sun hadn't even begun to rise, and the horizon was a dim grey when Hinata was on campus. Dressed in ratty overalls over a simple, green shirt with a few holes on the sleeves, large boots, and thick gardening gloves that reached the midpoint between her elbows and wrists, any passing students would surely find her looking at least a little silly. Or, maybe, they wouldn't. After all, after the beautiful garden she had made last year, most would know that the college had hired her to bring some life and color to the front of their campus every spring.

Either way, it didn't really matter. It was much too early for anyone to start showing up.

Dropping her bag of gardening tools on the ground, Hinata gave the area a quick lookover. The front of the campus was lined with a fabulous, brick wall and metal gate that was always open to let the students in. The main, stone path that led up to the student resources building was mostly plain, with some trees lining it near the grand staircase of the building. The open area near the front was great for plants that needed at least eight hours of sunlight, and the garden beds that she had made last year, though littered with weeds and in dire need of her help, were still perfectly intact. There was also a greenhouse near the culinary building where she would plant her cucumber and red peppers, but the main focus that morning would be pulling weeds and tilling the soil.

A challenge. But despite her meek nature, Hinata rarely bowed away from a challenge.

She got to work, bending down to yank out the weeds and throw them into the plastic bag she dragged with her. The knees of her overalls were already stained with dirt, but Hinata barely paid it much mind.

For a while, she worked peacefully. The cool breeze tickled the beads of sweat on the back of her neck, and when she paused for a moment to drink from her water bottle, she saw Sasuke was still there, still watching.

She was pretty sure he knew what gardening was. Sure, there were no plants or flowers in Hell, but she had talked about it so much when he was around. Hinata probably didn't have to explain it to him; and even if she did, he probably wasn't interested in listening. Not many were. Kiba would sometimes fall asleep when she'd go on her passionate talks about flowers and the like; Temari would try to change the subject at work when Hinata would hint at the spring or soil or –

"You look disgusting."

She nearly choked on her water.

"P-Pardon?"

Dark eyes peered down at her, then glared at the bag of weeds. "You look like a mutt," he said. "Digging through dirt. Playing in it. Are you an animal?"

Okay. So he really did have no clue what she was doing.

At least that answered one of her questions.

"I'm gardening," she whispered. "I'm pulling the weeds and tilling the soil so it's loose enough for the roots of the flowers to get water and nutrients."

His scowl was present, but he did not say another word to her as she continued to work. There were about eight large beds lining the path, and Hinata got through three of them by the time the sun was in the sky and students began to show up for their earlier classes. A few of them mused at her work, some passing her words of encouragement, and Hinata smiled at them as she wiped at her forehead.

Sasuke, however, was getting a lot of attention, as well. A crowd of girls whispered as they passed by, faces pink and eyes straying on his figure. Hinata knew they did not see the demon – they probably saw some regular-looking boy who was hovering about her with no real purpose. But that … could be dangerous. Because if he looked normal, then he might look like Sasuke Uchiha to them, and that would just cause more trouble than Hinata needed at the moment.

"Sasuke." She motioned him over, and he crouched down to her level. Her dirty hands worked on the hat string around her chin, loosening it enough for her to be able to take off her sun hat. "I'm sorry to ask you of this – and, um, you can of course say no if you don't –"

"What is it?"

Sucking in a shaky breath, Hinata rolled a shoulder to the flower bed she was currently working on. "I need to get a hose to help soften the soil so I can till it better. D-Do you think you could help me?"

If he worked with her, people would pay him less attention, she hoped. Just him standing around and watching was not helping much with him staying out of the spotlight. That, and it would actually be nice for her to have a bit of help. He looked terribly bored, and she didn't have the courage to tell him to leave, so –

"How?"

How?

He was asking how. Didn't that imply he was … agreeing to help her?

Demons didn't help, she thought. They wreaked havoc and played crude tricks and scared the ever-living shit out of you. Honestly, Hinata was sure he would have denied her his help the moment she asked. But … he didn't.

Not that she was complaining, and with a grin, she stood, wiped the knees of her overalls, and led him to the shed where the garden supplies were being held.

"Oh!" Turning, she stood on the ends of her toes to place her summer hat on his head, giggling a bit with how it leaned on its side due to his horns. His mouth twisted, but stayed still as she adjusted the string under his chin. "There, now people can't see you."

"Only you can see me," he said.

Hinata glanced around at the stares they were getting, blushed, and continued on her way.

…

The first few minutes were fine.

Because, well, for the first few minutes, she was in control of the hose.

But the second she placed it in Sasuke's hands and asked him to gently sprinkle the flower beds, all hell broke loose.

Literally.

Because, as she was quickly reminded, Sasuke was a demon. He had horns and hot skin and could turn any doorway into the gateway to Hell – and now that she thought about it, she was quite sure the only reason he agreed to help her so quickly was to get his hands on that hose.

The beds … were pools. Filled to the brim with water that leaked out and stretched across the stone path, creating puddles that students had to leap over to avoid ruining their shoes. When a few girls giggled at the sight of him, he turned the raging blast of water onto them, drenching them completely and ruining their clothes and hair. Yelping, Hinata rushed over to turn off the water, but the damage was already done.

It was a mess. A wet, muddy mess.

Sneering at anyone who looked over, Sasuke flung down the now useless hose and stepped across the overflowing bed to get to her. His hooves sunk into the muddy grass, but he either did not notice or did not care.

"Stop gardening," he said. "It's useless."

Her heart fell into her stomach, cracking. She knew she should be angry at him – pissed, even. He had just sent her hours behind schedule, and someone was bound to go tell the college of what had just transpired and get her kicked off the whole project. And, really, she wanted to be angry. She wanted to yell at him, to glare, to huff in frustration.

But … she couldn't.

She was drained. Tired. Even thinking about getting so worked up made her eyes heavy, and with slow, exhausted movements, she gathered her tools and school supplies and went to go get an earful from whoever was willing to give it to her for entrusting a demon, of all things, to help her.

…

And an earful she got.

As well as, like, seventeen different types of warnings of how 'this would have gotten her kicked off the project' if it weren't for her being a 'good student' who had done a 'wonderful job' last year.

So after an hour of terse words and huffing, she was told she would be given a second chance before being kicked out of the office to go to class.

God, how embarrassing.

She didn't even get enough time to change out of her gardening clothes, so she spent all of Composition II and Organic Chemistry in crusty, smelly clothes that got her looks from all her classmates. During her two-hour break, rather than taking a quick nap (which she was scared she wouldn't be able to wake from if she did have one), she went about campus, asking friends and professors and peers what types of flowers they'd like around campus this year.

She had about a list of twenty by the time she stumbled into the library, wobbly legs taking her to the hidden corner in the back. Her eyes were bleary, and she rubbed at them and tried to clear them up before she came across Sasuke Uchiha.

A spike of bitterness sunk into her chest upon seeing his face, but she held her breath and reminded herself he wasn't the one who ruined her day.

"Hyuuga," he hummed.

She never knew how he knew it was her that was coming.

Her eyes scanned the area. Empty.

Right. Because no one came back here except for them.

"Sasuke, hello."

His tight mouth dipped as she pulled out a chair and practically fell into it. "Are you sick?" he asked, leaning away from her.

"No," she murmured, "just a little tired."

Her brain lagged in the silence, but eventually, she remembered why she was there. Pulling out her notepad, she clicked her pen, and asked, "What kind of flowers do you like?"

His arms crossed. "Flowers?"

"Oh, er –" Her gaze bowed. "I mean … what flower smells do you like. Anything in particular? I'm asking around to see what I should plant this spring."

"Oh, right," he said. "It's you that does all that shit."

Hinata blinked. Slowly. "You … don't like it?"

"I hate the smell of it all."

She swayed to the side. Odd. Both Sasukes hated strong, flowery smells, it seemed.

"Any herbs, then?" There were a few, smaller beds by the buildings that got mostly shade throughout the day.

"I don't know anything about them." He stopped for a moment, foggy eyes drifting. Then, "Citrus. It doesn't bother me."

Hinata's mind already snapped things together. Lemon balm did well in shade and had a faint, citrusy smell. She could put those by the entry of the library so that he can smell them when entering or exiting. Her hand began to scribble down the idea, but the sudden movement of looking down made her whole world spin.

"Hyuuga?" Sasuke called.

"Sorry," she whispered, gripping onto the side of the table. "I haven't been getting enough sleep. Um … ."

What was she going to say again?

She couldn't remember.

…

Suddenly, she was waking up.

… What? Her eyes trailed the white walls. The nurse's office?

"God, Hyuuga. And here I thought you were smart."

Sasuke?

When she looked, she saw he was at the side of the bed.

"What … time is it?" The sunlight coming in through the windows was orange. Was it really that late?

"Around six, I think," Sasuke answered. "You passed out about five hours ago."

Five!?

Oh gosh.

When she sat up, he caught her shoulder, frowning in her direction. "Where the hell are you going?"

Her racing heart sent adrenaline through her system. It was hard to stay still. She needed to move. "Lab –"

"Dr. Umino heard what happened. You can make up for it later."

"B-But the notes –"

Sasuke gave an irritated, long sigh. "Christ. You can listen to my recording." He pulled a small recorder out of his pocket and placed it on the bed, near her leg. "Chill out, before you pass out again."

Counting her breaths, Hinata took his recorder. "Thank you. I'll bring it to you tomorrow."

He sat back in his chair. "Don't break it."

"Thank you, Sasuke."

He sneered. "Stop thanking me."

She pulled the sheets off and stood between him and the bed. "Can I, um, leave now?"

"I don't know why you're asking me." Sighing, he stood and grabbed his cane. "Go ahead."

"Thank –" She bit her tongue, blushing, and pulled on her backpack, which was sitting next to his. "And, e-er, I'm sorry you stayed here. You didn't have –"

"I know," he bit out. "Are you leaving or not, Hyuuga?"

Right. The day was almost over and she still had to clean up the mess from that morning. She straightened the sheet and made sure no dirt had stained the bed or the floor before she walked over to the door. No footfalls followed after her, and when she opened the door, she paused and looked back at Sasuke.

"Um," she called after a moment, "I can walk with you to the gates … if you want."

He shifted in the middle of the room, going from one leg to the other, as if contemplating her offer. But then he shook his head, frowning, and said, "You'd just slow me down."

Laughing, she said, "You're probably right."

"… Hinata."

Oh. That was her name. It wasn't often he said it. She stared at him. "Yes, Sasuke?"

The orange light surrounding him made him look … unreal. Which was a common utterance on campus, as most people found his looks beyond that of human beauty. And Hinata had never really seen it before. Sure, he was handsome, but many people in her eyes were.

But this … was different.

"Sleep well tonight."

Somehow, to her, he seemed –

"You shouldn't be passing out like that. Dumbass."

Warm. The cold-blooded Uchiha with the black heart.

Warm.

…

There was … no mess.

"You're late."

Only a messy demon on his hands and knees, scraping through the damp soil.

Hinata had no idea what she was looking at, really. Her mind was still tired, it seemed, because she was quite sure she was seeing things.

"Stop staring," he hissed as she walked over.

Blinking, she tore her gaze away and looked down. The water was gone, no puddles or sloppy mud to be seen, and while the flower beds were … littered with holes, Hinata could tell the soil was tilled.

He had tilled it. Awkwardly, sure, but the effort was there.

And as mentioned previously, he was filthy. Everything was covered in grime and dirt, and Hinata tried to hide her smile as she fell on her knees next to him. "Did you do all this?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Did the water evaporate?" His skin was scalding. It could do a quicker job at getting rid of the water than the sun could. "Did you clean it up?"

"No," was his quick answer.

Hinata couldn't help but laugh that time. "Thank you."

He stood and peered down at her. "I don't understand why you enjoy it," he said. "The smell, the grime, the tediousness. What can it possibly do for you?"

Tugging on her gardening gloves, she packed in the holes and brushed any stray soil back into the beds. "It makes me happy," she said, "and it makes me think of people I love. Flowers have a way of making us feel things. They send messages to us, but you really have to look to see them." She pointed north, where the field was. "All those flowers together – it's like a family. Strange and crowded, full of different sorts and oddities. But together, they are united and beautiful. I want to bring that here. I want people to feel loved when they come to campus. I want them to feel like they belong, that they're special. Like flowers."

Finished cleaning up, she stood and smiled at him.

"Silly, I know. But I truly believe that."

Hinata gathered everything, and after making sure everything looked fine, turned and led the way back home.

For a while, she enjoyed the wind and the windchimes and the smell of the cherry blossoms.

"Hell does not have flowers." When she looked over, Sasuke was staring at the pink petals overhead. No twist of disgust. No flash of disdain. Nothing. It was such a blank expression that it was almost pure, innocent.

Innocent. A demon.

Goodness.

"But when you're there," he continued, locking eyes with her, "you'll figure things out, I'm sure."

…

A garden – in Hell.

She doubted that would ever happen.

But, still, it felt nice that Sasuke entrusted that if a feat would ever come to happen, it would be because of one Hinata Hyuuga.

Chapter 5 - End