He felt slightly better during the humans' summer months.

The temperature was … bearable.

"Oh my goodness."

His human was a small thing, which ought to have been beneficial for her when it came to dealing with the heat. But as she danced around the small dining table by the kitchen, setting breakfast while her eyes hovered on the weather broadcast playing from the television, he was keenly aware of the gleam of sweat on her skin and the slug in her steps. She was hot, the sweltering air weighing her down and exhausting her. She had pulled on thin clothes that day, but it did not aid her much in cooling down.

"The high today is going to be 110," she murmured, mostly to herself, but he still listened. Her eyes narrowed as she peered out the kitchen window. "I hope they got the air conditioner working again. I'd hate for the customers to have to deal with such heat."

Humans had an odd way of hating the heat, which Sasuke could not empathize with whatsoever.

110-degree weather sounded ideal when compared to the 50s-70s spring had brought them. It wasn't perfect Hell temperatures, but then again, humans were too weak and crabby to deal with such heat – so 110 would suffice, he supposed.

Her eyes turned to him, expecting an answer, and he just muttered, "That's good."

Because it was. He felt better when it was hot – more energized, more comfortable.

"I guess it would be," Hinata said with a laugh, face lit up with a cheerful blush, "for you, Sasuke."

Energized.

Definitely energized, and it took a lot for him to just sit there and watch her smile and laugh and glow.

Maybe the heat wasn't so great after all.

Chapter 8

Humans Love to Assume Things That They Don't Truly Understand. That Damn Bastard Is One Good Example.

It was the beginning of June … whatever that meant.

Hinata's classes ended about two weeks ago, and instead of staying at her cramped apartment with him, she decided to take extra hours at the cafe.

Complete bullshit, if you wanted Sasuke's honest opinion.

She worked many morning shifts, which she had explained she preferred, as she was more of a morning person. But the problem with that was that when she returned to that shit apartment of hers, she was tired, without much energy, and went to bed early to get enough sleep for the day. When he was around, he spent most of the time watching her work. It was annoying. Frustrating.

But she liked it, and whenever she was with her coworkers or that sleazy mutt, her happiness was obvious on her face. Shining.

Things did not shine in Hell. They burned and melted. Sometimes, as he watched, he'd wonder if that shine would stay when she came to Hell with him.

Probably.

Because she always shined when he was around.

…

Humans were always being watched by things they could not see.

By angeli.

By daemones.

By –

"I've been seeing you on Earth a lot lately."

Him. Whatever the humans screamed as they worshipped him.

All Sasuke knew him as was the irritating bastard that always messed up his things.

He didn't bother to look. He just stayed on the sill of the window that Hinata had opened for him to sit on and peek in as she worked. The world suddenly got very bright and very hot as he was joined on the sill, but the humans in the cafe did not bat an eye at them. Not one.

Blind fuckers.

"Let me guess. It's because of that person you've been talking about."

Sneering, Sasuke turned his head and finally regarded the forever morphing, constantly shifting, bright and blinding figure of Naruto. Naruto, he knew him as, but humans liked to mess things up and make things too complicated. Creator of everything as they know it. King of the Heavens. Father of all.

They loved to make him out as this almighty being, but if they had half the eyesight Sasuke had, they'd see how much the guy was a –

"So which one is he?"

… complete and total moron.

"She," Sasuke pressed, then pointed to Hinata, "is right there."

Naruto followed his finger to her small figure hunched behind the register, squinting. Then his non-existent but also maybe-existent jaw fell as a mighty gasp left his mouth and probably sent a hurricane somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico.

"That's –" He looked between the two, gaping, sputtering. Yeah, Sasuke thought, All Knowing being my ass. "That's a chick."

"How observant."

Naruto sucked in that explosive gasp, saving the entire southern coast of the States from sheer destruction, and yelled, "But you're into guys, I thought!"

No heads snapped up. No eyes wandered over. No whispering or staring. No one heard them, saw them, even had a clue of their existence. Which was a pity, because Sasuke would have loved to show them just how far he could throw the bastard.

"Her name's Hinata," he drawled.

But Naruto wouldn't let it go as he shoved his shoulder. "I'm serious, here. You're gay – I thought you were gay! I – if I had known – oh shit … ."

Sasuke glared over, saw his guilty, ever-changing expression, and began to put things together. "That's," he hissed, standing and glowering, "why you've been sending all of them down to me? Because you thought I was gay?"

"Hey! I was trying to find you a good guy!"

"You also sent the lesbians!"

"So you guys can bond over your similarities – feel, y'know, included. Welcomed."

"Welcomed," Sasuke snorted. "In Hell."

"Well now I know!" Naruto stood and grabbed the collar of his dark cloak. "Hey – you got to give them back! We gotta right this wrong."

"We?"

"Yeah, we! Look, if you had told me sooner, I would have stopped centuries ago!'

Sasuke ripped the hand off the front of his cloak, scoffing. "Damn it all, Naruto. I have no idea how you had enough brainpower to make even a damn inchworm, let alone the entire fucking –"

"S-Sasuke."

He caught his words and turned to find Hinata approaching him, her round tray clutched to her chest. She glanced around the cafe for a moment, made sure no one was paying attention or listening in, then turned to him.

"You're so loud," she whispered. "I can hardly hear what people are saying to me."

Forcing himself to relax, Sasuke closed his mouth and huffed and sat back on the window sill. Her pink lips tilted in a smile, and then she glanced over at the idiot next to him, who had fallen silent, as well.

"Who's this?" she asked. "Another demon?"

"Demon?" Naruto repeated with a large, blinding, hypothetical grin. "Me?"

Hinata's eyes lidded as she hummed to herself, pondering. She glanced between him and Naruto, comparing them – his darkness to the light, his fixed structure and features to fluctuating reality. She looked back at the cafe, understanding that no one else could see Naruto, and when she slowly turned back, her shoulders arched and her eyes widened.

"O-O-Oh my God …"

And Naruto snickered and saluted her. "At your service."

And at that, her tray fell to the floor as her eyes rolled up into the back of her skull, and she fainted.

…

"You are such an idiot."

"Hey, how was I supposed to know that would happen!?"

As her coworkers dragged her into the back, fanning her and pouring a glass of water from the sink in the breakroom, Sasuke and Naruto hovered in the middle of the room, watching. He witnessed them fuss over her for a while, but his annoyance was high and his patience thin, so after a minute, he barked for them to get the fuck out of his way as he yanked on his gloves.

"Oh, good," a blonde human sighed upon sighting him. "I'm so glad you're here. Watch her for us, will you?"

He scowled, and she smiled and left.

When he turned back, he saw Naruto had moved closer to Hinata, who lay on a small cot in the back, unconscious. His bright hand hovered by her face, and Sasuke grabbed it and yanked it back.

"Don't touch her," he hissed. "You'll hurt her."

Naruto blinked, stood upright, and loomed as Sasuke bent down to her side.

"Hurt her, huh?"

Sasuke didn't have to look to know the shit-eating grin on his morphing face – it was clear in his voice, alone. But he didn't let it bother him as he pressed his hand to Hinata's cheek, similar to what he did when waking her up.

"Hinata."

Her lashes stirred, but her eyes remained shut.

"Wake up, already."

"Oh, wow," Naruto mused with a low whistle. "You fell hard, didn't you?"

"Say another word," Sasuke muttered, "and I'll kill you."

"You can try!"

…

"She prays for you, y'know."

They were sitting and waiting around for her to wake up. Them. Both very powerful beings who had better things to do than laze around on Earth and waste time. A sad sight, Sasuke was sure, but he also couldn't find the will to care.

"Is that right?"

"She starts every prayer with her name and address, like I wouldn't know who she was if she didn't specify." Naruto chuckled and wafted over to his side, both of them looking down at her. "She wants you to be happy. 'I hope he'll learn to smile when he feels joy, because Sasuke makes me very happy,' she said last night. I honestly had thought she was talking about a completely different Sasuke – yet here we are." He leaned down, and when Sasuke looked over, celestial eyes were giving him a knowing look. "Who knew you could make someone happy."

Sasuke scoffed and turned away. "Leave me alone."

"The Lord of Hell himself – getting soft for a human. What would your little minions think when I let that one spill?"

Glaring, he barked, "You wouldn't dare."

Naruto stood and shrugged. "I'm an Almighty being – the pinnacle of good. I'm not cruel like you, I don't take pleasure in suffering." But the smirk on his changing lips did not match his words at all. "But if you stopped causing so much trouble for me and maybe gave me those souls that shouldn't be there, I might just be able to keep it from accidentally slipping."

"Are you," Sasuke started lowly, "blackmailing me?"

"I'd call it more of giving you a head start." He looked down at Hinata. "After all, what would poor Hinata Hyuuga think of such a thing – her Sasuke being blackmailed, of all things."

Sneering, Sasuke stood and took a few steps away from his human. "Fine," he said. "I'll give them to you."

Naruto smiled. "Great! All is good in the world, then."

And with that, he vanished, and Sasuke sighed and crouched down next to Hinata and waited for her to awaken and smile again.

Chapter 8 - End