I don't quite like how this chapter turned out but it's finally done. Let's hope chapter 3 doesn't take as long to write!
By the time the sun once again fell into the horizon, the bustling village of Inzai finally came to sight. In a way it reminded Hinata of Konoha's marketplace which had always been teeming with travellers and inhabitants alike, but seeing so much activity when there wasn't much sunlight made her wonder if the village was a commercial or tourist area.
It seemed like a nice place with the colorful lights lining up businesses and the delicious aroma of warm food. Hinata couldn't help but smile at the festive atmosphere, her gaze trailing over to a food stall with longing. It had been several hours of fast paced travel since she last had a meal.
"Should we start mapping or…" Hinata snapped her gaze away from the stand as Sasuke came to a stop. "Or take a small break?"
He glanced at the girl and then the food stalls. Despite the heaviness of his limbs and pangs in his empty stomach it would be completely foolish to not take advantage of their head start. But then again, a distracted Hyuuga was no good, right? It wasn't his growling stomach speaking. "Let's get ourselves a quick meal before starting."
Her gloomy gaze brightened considerably as she gave him a small smile. "How does yakitori sound? We don't need to sit while eating that."
At his nod Hinata led the way, her slightly quicker pace gave away her level of hunger. Behind her Sasuke scowled at the mini crowd before them and prompted the more faint of heart to step aside until the thankfully short line was revealed.
After their order was handed over Sasuke glanced down at the familiar jingle of coins. Beside him Hinata struggled to get her money with one hand, the other holding on to their dinner.
She could afford the food. Sasuke knew this. The Hyuuga clan was very well off and despite not being a favored child she surely had a pretty penny in her possession, but he couldn't let her pay. She had already taken care of the previous meal, anything more only meant that he was in her debt.
Before she could manage to pull out her funds Sasuke slapped his own money on the counter. He ignored the way she opened and closed her mouth, seeking out the proper words after the surprise. "Let's get going."
"Yes…" Hinata snapped out of her reverie. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."
After passing a couple of blocks Hinata's steps came to a sudden halt and her gaze drifted to a shop before rushing away. Sasuke only raised an eyebrow as he followed her at his own pace. So far she had proven to be an acceptable teammate; whatever caught her eye couldn't be an entire waste of time. Or so he hoped.
Hinata was looking down at a paper in the souvenir shop. As he reached her side a click echoed in his mind. In her hands was a map of the Inzai village and the surrounding area. If it was accurate then that could save them much time and he would have a week off to perfect new techniques.
An older woman approached them with a friendly smile. "Good evening, lads. Have you found anything interesting?"
"Ah, yes," Hinata said with a smile of her own. She turned around the map in her hands to face the vendor. "I was wondering, how accurate do you think this map is?"
The lady hummed as she adjusted her glasses. "I know that you shinobi children need to know where you're going so I'll be honest. The central roads, I believe, are accurate but the map is a bit old. This village has grown plenty under the guidance of the young lord's sister. A lovely child, she is."
"I see, I'm happy for Inzai's prosperity," Hinata said. "In that case I'd like to buy it. How much is the map?"
Instead of answering her, the lady turned to Sasuke with the price. It was most likely old fashioned customs that made her do so, but he didn't seem peeved. He pointedly ignored the scandalized expression on his teammate. If Hinata was the one to find the information then he should be the one to acquire it.
"N—no! That's not necessary, Sasuke-kun, allow me," she stammered as heat rose to her face. He paused to glance at her, finding an expression similar to what she showed Naruto the day before. Her face dusted with a pretty pink and pale eyes reflecting the myriad of lights from outside the shop.
Before he could retort anything the lady snatched the money from his hands and hummed to herself as she counted. "My, what a gentleman. Since you're so eager to please your companion—"
"—I'm not."
"I'll give you a discount," she said with a grin, handing back a portion of the payment. As the pair headed to the exit, map in hand, the lady waved cheerfully. "He's a keeper, girl!"
Before Hinata could stutter out a correction he grabbed her wrist— not at all roughly, she noticed— and pulled her away. He would not wait for her to correct the shopkeeper when they had a solid advantage over Naruto and Sakura.
"This is a… good start, I suppose," Hinata murmured as they strolled down the road. "Kurenai and Kiba did say that positivity is always the right way to start a mission."
Sasuke didn't seem too convinced. "If that's what you want to believe. Let's get started."
"Oh— yes! Since we're supposed to do this quickly I was thinking about splitting up." At his hum of approval Hinata continued, "so one of us could draw the perimeter and the other could find and draw landmarks within that perimeter. Once the former is done we would continue with the landmarks."
"You find the landmarks, it's easier with your eyes, right?" Hinata nodded as he opened their newly acquired map. "Take this and keep track of the differences between what you see and what's in the map."
Before he could rush away Hinata's hand shot out for his wrist. Her fingers jolted at the contact she provoked, missing his own jump of surprise. "Let's… let's regroup in three hours. Market square?"
"Yes." With that, he disappeared in the streets before she could blink.
He really seemed to want to win and the creeping doubt of her ability to keep up only grew. With each step away from the center she murmured to herself, "but I can do my best, right? Naruto-kun and Sakura are surely doing their best too."
She nodded to herself; that sounded about right. Her fingers raced through familiar signs until her sight expanded. Sure enough the souvenir shop matched its location in the old map, but the shop next to it was a completely different business from what the map said. Hinata raised her pencil to a blank sheet of paper.
By the time the three hour mark was close, the moon was shining high in the sky and there were still many people out and about. It probably wasn't unusual considering that it was an area of tourism, but to a native of a hidden village it felt a bit strange if not exciting.
In a perhaps unsurprising twist Hinata ended up being shoved to the side as the market square reached her sight. With one hand she hugged the maps to her chest and the other reached out to break her assailant's fall.
"Oh no!" the assailant dropped to the ground, picking up a now trampled flower. "Now I need to get another one…"
Hinata crouched beside the girl. She seemed to be fine, only a few minor scratches on her legs and looking more closely she appeared to be Hanabi's age or younger. Red flags appeared in her mind. "Are you alright?"
"No— I mean yes." She stared down at the flower. "I'm sorry for pushing you, miss."
"It's okay, just be careful next time." Hinata rose to feet and gave her a small smile. "Say, where are your parents? It's dangerous to be out alone."
"I'm just getting some flowers."
Hinata's gaze alternated between the girl and the direction of the market square. Sasuke would likely be mad if she was late… but she couldn't leave a civilian girl wandering alone either. Despite the sentries, the area was filled with people who come and go on a regular basis. Anyone could be ill-intentioned and then disappear without a trace.
For a brief moment she glanced at the clouds above, recalling the village named after them. There was still time. "Let me take you."
Strangely enough, she agreed. And despite the absence of people in the area, her destination was not too far from the market square either, it was only a matter of periodically using the Byakugan to check if Sasuke arrived.
"Miss, what do you think?" the girl pointed at the flower beds with an excited jump. "I got a blue one earlier but maybe I should get something else."
Hinata raised a hand to her chin. As expected of such a vibrant place, none of the flowers were lacking in anything. If she were well versed in the language of flowers like Ino, she might've had a better suggestion. "I'm not sure… who is it for?"
"My mom! Tomorrow is her birthday and I need something really pretty for her."
Hinata glanced at the girl more closely. Her apology from earlier suggested good manners and the clothes she wore were not low-priced. The only things that seemed out of place were her pastel yellow handbag and a hat, which doubtlessly weren't professionally made.
"I see," she said. "Did she make that bag?"
The girl looked down at her bag and held it up proudly. "Yeah, she took up knitting recently. Isn't it cute?"
"Indeed it is," Hinata smiled. The mother seemed to enjoy crafts, but they weren't too detailed even for a beginner. So a simple woman who possibly liked the color yellow. "Do you think she'd like those flowers?"
Judging by her wide grin, it was the right choice. As the girl skipped over to pluck the flowers she glanced back at Hinata. "Would you like one too? It's okay, everyone picks flowers here."
She hummed thoughtfully at the array. Even if it did not make up for the time lost between missions and training, Hanabi would surely be happy if she brought back something for her. "Maybe another time. If I pick one now, it won't last long enough for me to press."
"Okay then," she said. Briefly, veins extended by Hinata's eyes and she pulled out her pencil. Surely Sasuke wouldn't be quite as mad if she showed him that her small detour was not completely useless, as it provided a chance for her to map a new area. "I'm done, miss. Thank you for escorting me, it was fun."
Hinata nodded. As the girl bowed and began walking away a lump formed in the Hyuuga's chest. Her breath stopped, eyes gazing at the clouds drifting under the moonlight. The glint of a foreign hitai-ate flashed through her mind again.
"W— wait!" The girl turned around questioningly and Hinata immediately regretted her impulsive words. If she didn't come off as strange before then she certainly did now. "Um… would you mind if I accompanied you— not to your home, of course, but perhaps just somewhere with more people?"
She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, eventually breaking into a gentle laughter. "You shinobi are a really paranoid bunch. But I'd appreciate it if you do take me to the market square."
Hinata returned the smile with a sigh of relief. She had suffered firsthand the result of a small mistake within the clan's security and came very close to paying with her eyes. If she had the chance to prevent a tragedy like that then she would take it. There's no such thing as too much caution, was there?
oOo
She could already feel Sasuke's glare on her back after bidding the girl farewell.
"I'm sorry for the delay," she said sheepishly as she approached his table. "I hope you didn't wait too long."
He glanced at her, wordlessly snatching the map she offered. Hinata bit her lip as his eyes turned red and proceeded to jot down their findings.
Sasuke was definitely mad. But silence was always better than facing words spoken in a fit of rage. She could handle silence.
After ongoing minutes of stillness she began tapping her fingers on the table. It was getting uncomfortable. For a moment she considered apologizing again, but what then? Judging by his silent anger he'd deny or ignore it and then they would get nowhere.
But the reason she even accepted the mission was because of Kurenai, who wanted so dearly for her to become a capable leader. It wouldn't be fair to Kurenai if she didn't at least try… though of course she wasn't there to witness such disappointing behavior. Her mentor wouldn't know any better if she decided to simply ignore Sasuke's anger and yet the pang of guilt wouldn't leave.
With her best poker face Hinata glanced at the area behind him. Sasuke seemed to be perfectly composed; detached as usual, with no glare or downturned lips in sight. When she lowered her gaze to the map she found the sign. Most people didn't write in such a harsh and hurried fashion unless they were fuming.
That wasn't very encouraging.
As he continued to draw and Hinata continued her silence, she could almost see the disillusionment in Kurenai's eyes. Even more mortifying, was imagining Naruto's familiar content expression dulling. Before her mind could go any further she finally found her voice.
"Sasuke-kun?" If he heard her quiet voice he gave no indication. Steeling herself with a deep breath Hinata continued, "I know that you aren't happy with me, but you should know that it wasn't my intention to— to sabotage you or anything."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, still not looking at her. "How stupid would it be to purposefully sabotage your own team. That's not the problem." Before Hinata could formulate a response he continued in barely contained anger. "You simply don't have the motivation or give this mission importance, princess. Is that why you let your birthright be stolen away?"
At her lack of response he turned to her with a huff. Instead of her usual flustered or wide eyed expression, Sasuke came face to face with an eerily expressionless Hinata. As the seconds ticked by her lips were turned down and eyebrows became furrowed.
A small fraction of his anger melted away at the sight. Perhaps he pushed it a bit too far by picking at the wound of her fall from grace.
"Don't chide me about that!" Hinata finally snapped. "Hanabi beat me fair and square— that's all there is to the matter."
Sasuke bit back a scoff. If Hinata wanted to protect her younger sister's honor then she shouldn't have hesitated to beat her so blatantly that her clanmates ended up blabbing the story to the entire village.
Before he could say a word Hinata continued, "as for that other girl, how could you expect me to let a civilian girl wander around such a crowded place when I could offer my protection."
"Right now you should focus on the mission. Once we get our week off I will dedicate that time to further my training and you… you can continue playing the guardian angel or whatever you do in your free time."
Hinata narrowed her eyes at the ground. Sasuke Uchiha was a lost cause. "Why do you want to get this over with so fast, isn't this the training itself?"
"There is someone I must kill," he said simply. "I've no use for the ridiculous teamwork missions I'm handed all the time."
Hinata's gaze snapped back to him. Her anger had ebbed and familiar hints of concern bled through. Despite that she remained silent, thankfully offering no condolences as he handed over their version of the map. She hummed with a satisfied nod.
After a moment of internal debate she spoke. "You… you don't deserve an insincere apology so I won't give you one. I did what I thought was right."
"I can tell," he said unimpressed.
"But, I do promise to give this assignment my best effort." Sasuke set down the pencil and turned around to face her silently, his gaze pensive. After a second too long she averted her eyes and felt her face warm. With stiff movements she stood up. "Anyway, I'm going to look for our lodging."
Before stepping too far away he reached for the sleeve of her sweater. "Hold it."
"Yes?" Hinata's voice came out a pitch higher than intended.
Sasuke paused before turning away, hiding the probable red of his ears. "Since you're incapable of focusing on our task, I'll be forced to join you."
It was hard to disregard the flare of frustration in her chest, but to an extent Hinata could understand what he meant. What to her was an opportunity for growth, for him was but a step towards the most important goal of his life. Wordlessly, she nodded and started walking.
As they reached the main street she had to admit that despite the uncomfortable silence, it could be worse. She remained one step behind him, enabling her to look around without accidentally meeting his gaze. The festive cheer and laughter felt a bit out of place with Hinata at that point.
They were greeted by a beaming lady who hastily hid a bag of cotton candy under the counter as they walked into the reception area. "Welcome, how can I help you two?"
"Two rooms," Sasuke said simply as Hinata placed their funds on the counter.
The lady looked at them from head to toe and shook her head with an apologetic smile. "I'm afraid we only have one room left. Does one bed work with you?"
Clearly it didn't.
Hinata hastily shook her head until her face resembled a strawberry. Beside her, Sasuke was mildly offended and his ears were burning. As she caught his gaze her eyes widened. "Not that I don't trust you! It's just that I toss and turn a lot and— and I don't want to bother, that's all."
The lady raised a hand to her mouth and began shaking. As Hinata leaned closer to her with concern, the lady snorted. "I jest, I jest! You look hilarious, how cliche would it be if that were actually the case?" she trailed off in laughter before continuing, "now, in all seriousness we do have one room with two beds available."
Suddenly Hinata wasn't too inclined to give that place any of her money.
oOo
In the end they took the offered room. It was faster than to look around for another place and it was also as close as she would get to apologizing to Sasuke over her choice to escort the girl.
Her mind wandered back to the map when she stared at the floor's art. Simple ridges that took shape within her mind. Judging by the amount of work Sasuke managed to complete in a three hour time frame, it wasn't far-fetched to imagine that he would have the updated perimeter done by midday.
If they both worked on filling in what was inside the perimeter the rest of the day they could have a complete map though it wouldn't be thoroughly detailed. For that she estimated they would need tomorrow and part of the next day.
Hinata followed the trail of ridges with her eyes and quickly averted eyes as she caught Sasuke's gaze. Her lips turned downward as her face touched the damp pillow; in her hurry to finish showering and changing she completely neglected to properly dry her hair. For a split second she was tempted to find a towel, but Sasuke up and about discouraged her
Across the room Sasuke flicked the light switch off, completely oblivious to her predicament.
He settled back, feeling the stiffness from the silence. He listened for a moment, her fingers fidgeting with her hitai-ate for what seemed like hours. Sasuke's lungs constricted with the urge to sigh and he finds his hands feeling the soft wrongness of the sheets. Perhaps he would recount the threads until she stilled. The surge of uneasiness got to him and then without willing it he rolled over.
Her cool blue hair clumped over the pillow appeared darker with dampness and the sliver of moonlight on her side shone on her eyes making them bright orbs. A strand of hair remained pinned to her face and his fingers twitched, wanting to brush it back into the sea of blue. Sasuke knew very well that his inclination wasn't logical and yet he couldn't fight the helpless honesty half sleep gave him.
As his eyelids grew heavy Hinata whispered, "hey Sasuke-kun, about today—"
"—Hyuuga, go to sleep, we've a long day ahead of us," Sasuke murmured, ignoring the growing flush on his face as he clenched the pillow.
Any words that her mind scrambled to assemble died on her lips as she adjusted her pillow. "Okay."