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Day 12 Prompt: Koi no Yokan (Japanese)
"A premonition sensed by two people that they will one day fall in love."
"Whatcha looking at?" Naruto asked, leaning towards Sasuke.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were at a round picnic table next to an ice cream stand. Naruto sat on a stool to Sasuke's right, Sakura on the left.
"Nothing," Sasuke said while staring at the strange scene in front of him.
Sasuke refused to admit it, but the mystery of Hinata and the Hyuga clan plagued him. Even while doing his surgery rotation with Tsunade, thoughts of her managed to sneak in.
Add to that: the conundrum of why the Hyuga wanted to talk to the nin in Sand. Converse with seal masters. The only seal he could think of in relation to the Hyuga was the Caged Bird seal. But Neji had been freed from it a long time ago. And no new Hyuga had been given one since then.
If Neji wanted to get rid of the brand on his clan members, he could. Just like his had been taken off. Why would he need to see seal masters in Suna?
Now, Hinata dared to show her face near Sasuke. Standing over there. Talking to…
To Kakashi?
What?
"Sasuke," Naruto whined. "We haven't seen you in forever because of your extra training and now you're not even paying attention to us!"
Sasuke held an ice-cream cone and felt the melting treat drip onto his hand. Without taking his eyes off the scene in front of him, he blindly grabbed for a napkin on the picnic table. Finding it, he dabbed at his skin without looking and began to methodically eat his ice-cream.
"Unbelievable," Naruto huffed at Sakura. "He's not even paying attention to me."
Sasuke swallowed. "I'm paying attention."
"Oh yeah?" Naruto asked. He tried to cross his arms, but Sakura grabbed his hand before he could smush his cone in his elbow. "Thanks. Oh yeah? Then what did I say?"
Sasuke smirked. "Sasuke," he said in a high-pitched nasally whine.
Sakura barked out a laugh and covered her mouth to keep from spitting out her own food.
Sasuke kept going. "We haven't seen you in foreverrrrrrr because of your extra traininggggg."
Naruto repeatedly kicked at Sasuke's legs under the table. "I don't sound like that!"
Sasuke pulled his legs as close as the bench would let him.
"Ouch!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Oh shit, sorry!"
Sakura kicked Naruto.
"I said I was sorry!" Naruto whimpered, rubbing his leg.
She laughed again and pointed at Naruto. "Naruto! You do sound like that!" she exclaimed.
"No, I don't!" Naruto squealed, only continuing to prove Sakura's point.
Sasuke ignored their bickering and leaned to the side to see better around his friends. Why in the world was Hinata talking to Kakashi?
There, in broad daylight, standing on the side of the road, they faced each other. Kakashi slouched a bit with his fists in his pockets, so he did not tower over her. Hinata did not have the crutch anymore. She held a basket in front of her with both hands on the handle.
She smiled up at him and he laughed and rubbed the back of his head. The whole scene looked intensely cute. Ew. Why did that look cute? Kakashi was too old to be looking bashful around Hinata.
Kakashi's gaze dropped to the basket. Not for long, for as soon as he noticed, she handed it to him.
Oh. That is how it was? She just gave out baskets to every man in the village now? Those baskets full of homemade salves, and strange care products that actually made his hair super soft, and little savory biscuits, and little sweet treats that Shisui said were delicious? Sasuke thought it was a nice gesture, but not if everyone else got them.
Naruto pushed onto Sasuke's tiny seat to get away from Sakura.
"Hey," Naruto sniffed. "Your hair smells really good, did you get a new shampoo?"
Naruto stuck his nose into Sasuke's hair like a snuffling little dog. Sasuke darkly crunched into his unsweetened cone.
Sakura huffed, finally noticing Sasuke's glare. "What are you looking at?"
She turned to look over her shoulder. Hinata waved at Kakashi before they walked in opposite directions.
"Oh! Hinata-chan! Hinata, over here!" Sakura waved.
Hinata turned to them and smiled. She headed over. Sakura patted the spot next to her. Hinata obligingly squeezed into the small stool attached to the table. The newcomer almost pushed Sakura off. Sakura giggled and wrapped her arms around Hinata's waist and Hinata mimicked the action. They clung together to keep from sliding.
"Hey, Hinata-chan!" Naruto greeted. "Hey, hey, were you talking to Kakashi-sensei?"
Sasuke hid his bitter frown behind the mangled remains of his food.
Hinata nodded, her expression cheerful.
Naruto leaned forward. "What did you have to talk to him about?"
She shrugged. "I just wanted to thank him. He helped me with a puzzle, so I gave him some baking."
Sasuke resisted the urge to snort. Apparently she baked for everyone.
"Aw," Naruto whined. "I want to eat some of your baking."
Hinata giggled. "I've been stuck at home. It's given me a lot of time to bake. Kiba says he's gaining weight."
"I want to gain weight," Naruto pouted.
"No, you don't!" Sakura rolled her eyes. "Just ask nicely already."
Naruto clasped his hands together, held them under his chin, and widened his blue eyes. "Cookies, please?"
The woman in question laughed again, her cheeks going slightly pink. "Of course. Sakura, do you want some cookies?"
Sakura nodded her head empathetically. Hinata turned to Sasuke, but he was already standing. He tossed his messy napkins in a nearby trashcan and deliberately did not look at Hinata.
"I gotta get back to the hospital."
He waved at his friends as they called out their goodbyes. Walking away, he could still hear Naruto's voice.
"Don't bother with him, Hinata-chan. He hates sweets. Do you know what kind of flavor he was eating? Lemon! It wasn't even sweet! It's sour!"
He did not hear what Hinata said in return.
oOo
A while later, Sasuke stopped in the middle of his practice. He paused, needle driver in one hand, and tissue forceps in another. He suddenly felt a lightning bolt of embarrassment lance through him, making him feel like an absolute bumbling idiot looming over half-sutured simulated tissue.
The realization hit him hard like taking a charging billy goat to the stomach.
He, Uchiha Sasuke, felt absolutely, cripplingly jealous of Kakashi and his stupid basket. That stupid basket filled with thoughtful gifts and skillfully baked goodies. And Hinata, smiling cutely, pushing her beautiful, long hair behind her ear. Her smooth hair that must feel extremely silky to the touch. And the way she looked up with those glimmering pale wisteria irises beneath sooty lashes. Her soft voice and the way she gently held onto his arm. The way she said in that sweet voice of hers: "I trust you."
Hyuga Hinata was beautiful and nice and how did he never, ever notice her before? Why was he noticing her now?
Shit. Now that he thought it, he could not stop thinking it. Hinata was so pretty. Like, so pretty. And she was friends with his friends. And she had been in the periphery of his life for so long.
Shit.
Tsunade swaggered up to Sasuke, pausing at the table and looking down at his work. "You forget how to do a surgeon's knot or something?"
Sasuke could practically feel his brain dribbling out of his ears. He stared blankly at his hands. "Uh."
She turned her attention to his face and raised an eyebrow. "Are you blushing?" she asked gleefully.
Sasuke met her sharply amused gaze. "Uh."
"Shizune!" Tsunade shouted across the room. "Come here, look at our boy!"
He knew he should protest but did not remember how. Shizune bustled over, leaning over the table to examine him. Her lips curled up in vicious entertainment.
"I don't think I've ever seen him look like this," Shizune said to Tsunade.
Tsunade studied him like she would a very disgusting but fascinating boil. "I wonder what he's thinking about."
Sasuke tried extremely hard to wake his brain. Everything felt a little bit shifted out of place, like his sense of balance was off kilter. Like he woke up standing horizontal on a tree trunk without knowing how he got there.
He looked back down at his hands. "Uh."
"Is it Itachi?" Shizune asked. "Your mom? Your family? Naruto? Sakura?"
"The hospital?" Tsunade tried.
Sasuke's hands slowly lowered as he attempted to continue his practice. His hands knew what to do even if his brain did not.
Words worked again, enough for him to force out: "I'm fine."
"Uh-huh," the women around him said at once.
"Look," he tried, pointing at his finished stitch. "It's fine. I'm fine."
"Uh-huh," they repeated.
They turned to each other and started whispering to each other like he was not even there.
"Who has he been hanging around that's new?" Shizune asked. "It has to be someone we don't know; I've never seen him like that before."
Tsunade crossed her arms, her eyes boring into the side of his head. "He doesn't do anything other than work and spend time with Naruto and Sakura and his family."
"Hey," Sasuke groaned.
He determinedly focused on his work. His ears felt hot. His shoulders hunched.
Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Shizune tilt her head. She leaned forward again. "He can't be nervous about the surgery."
Tsunade started. Sasuke spied the slow, delighted smile grow on her face. If he knew they would not chase and catch him, he would start running.
She slapped the table, almost making Sasuke rip the stitches out of the fake skin. He grimaced and set the medical instruments down. He stared at the ceiling to avoid looking at their faces.
"What?" Shizune demanded. "What?"
He sighed.
"The Hyuga. The Hyuga surgeon," Tsunade said excitedly. "It reminded me. Guess which Hyuga Sasuke's been seen around lately? The Hyuga around his age?"
He sighed louder. There were no secrets in a nin village.
Shizune's brow furrowed. "Neji? A man?"
"A girl Hyuga," Tsunade elaborated.
Shizune gasped. "Hinata-chan!"
Tsunade pulled him into a crushing hug. He knew from experience that he could not escape without fracturing at least one bone. He went limp, letting it happen. Shizune giggled and clapped her hands together.
"Sasuke," Tsunade crooned. "Why didn't you tell us you had a crush?"
"Ugh," he moaned, the air being squeezed out of his body.
"You haven't had a girlfriend in so long. Why didn't you let us know?" Shizune sniffed, dabbing at her wet cheeks.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. Was she crying?
"It's not that serious," he wheezed.
Tsunade suddenly released him, and then slapped him on the back. The force of it sent him into the table. He barely caught himself in time.
"Are you playing with Hinata's feelings?" she demanded. "She's too sweet. You've better be taking this seriously. If you're looking to play around, you better look somewhere else!"
Sasuke snapped. "I just figured this out today, there's no playing around!"
He realized his mistake too late. Both women stared at him in a mixture of glee and amazement. He grimaced.
"Can I go home?"
"No!" Shizune shouted.
Tsunade manhandled him into a nearby chair and they sat next to him.
"Tell us everything," Tsunade said.
Sasuke covered his face with his hands. "You two are so embarrassing."
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Coming up: Hinata and Itachi both put their respective fathers in their places.