Hey guys! So sorry about this long hiatus. I've just been in this really bad funk to the point where my mind isn't right and I just haven't had the time to really write much. Anyway, I hope you guys will forgive me and enjoy this chapter. Thanks for understanding (hopefully). Oh! And because of my absence for so long, I'm going to do my best to add some SasoHina moments to this chapter as well.
Xxx Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me, but to Masashi Kishimoto xxX
Today was a day of light snowfall; 3 to 4 inches at most, and the perfect time for Hinata to take some shots for her photography course. The spot she chose for her winter wonderland pictures had to, of course, be the local park; the area with some of the best scenery in her opinion.
Bundled up warm and snug, Hinata held her expensive camera to her eye and snapped a silly shot of her companions, Kiba and his loyal pooch Akamaru, rolling around in the snow. She chuckles when she looks back at the charming photo. She then turns to point the camera at her more quiet friend, Shino, who was staring up at the sky, watching the snow drop in his typical thick olive coat. Just as she was about to look back at the photo, she manages to capture another shot at the absolute best moment; right as a snowball thrown by Kiba connects with the back of an unsuspecting Shino's hooded head.
"Hmph!" Shino grunts, hunching forward from the impact before snapping his body in the direction of the sound of Hinata's camera clicking. He then turns from the chortling girl towards a guffawing Kiba with a glare.
"Hahaha! Please tell me you got that, Hinata!" Kiba snorts with laughter, slapping his knee and holding his stomach while Akamaru wagged his tail beside him. "That was perfect!"
"I got it, Kiba-kun," Hinata laughs along, shielding her face from the stare of Shino.
"Oh yeah?" Shino suddenly speaks, making the Hyūga lower her camera slightly. "Well then I suggest you also capture this, Hinata. Why?" The tall man suddenly leans down and grabs a fistful of snow in his gloved palms. "Because payback is a bitch."
Next thing everyone knows, Hinata's camera is going off and Kiba suddenly has a mouthful of snow as he falls back with Akamaru jumping next to him.
A moment of silence passes as Shino walks over to a puffy-cheeked Hinata as she tries to conceal her laughter as she shows the aspiring entomologist the photo. Her laughter finally explodes, however, when Shino grins at the photo and Kiba sits up with the snowball still in his mouth before spitting it out.
"Damn it, Shino! That was overkill, dontcha think?!" The tanned man barks, his chuckles barely concealed as well.
Shino merely shrugs and pushes up his dark glasses. "No I don't. Why? Because I said that payback's a bitch." He then reaches down once more and grabs another fistful of snow. But when Kiba flinches on instinct, a squeak is heard from Hinata when Shino plops the ball of snow on her hooded head instead.
"Shino-kun!" Squeals the bluenette, hers and Kiba's cheeks tinted pink with laughter while Akamaru jumps and barks at the antics.
Shortly after an all-out snowball fight breaks out after Hinata tasks Akamaru with watching her bag after putting her camera inside. The park is filled with their boisterous fun before it ends with Hinata being tag teamed by her two best friends, coating the poor girl with a giant snowball.
"N-Not fair you guys!" She giggles. "That's two against little ol' me."
Kiba places his hands on his hips with a sly grin as Akamaru goes over to Hinata and starts licking the snow off her face while she scratches his head. "What's not fair is that you have pictures of me and Shino with snow to the face, but we don't have one of the glorious moment of you becoming the inside of a snowman."
The bluenette's mouth drops in mock disbelief before laughing aloud when she hears what sounds like Shino sniggering at her reaction.
The hooded male suddenly turns to her, though, with his hand outstretched to help her up. "Speaking of pictures, shouldn't you finish up your shoot soon? Why? Because it's cold and I don't want any of us to get sick from being out here for too long."
Thanking her friend for his help, Hinata nods in agreement before going over to her bag and pulling out her camera once more. "You're right, Shino-kun. I should only need a few more shots and then we can go back to Kiba-kun's house. Just make sure that you guys keep an eye out for anything that looks like it'd make a good photo."
"You got it, bossman!" Kiba waves, earning him a surprised giggle from the girl. "What?"
She shakes her head as she moves to walk over towards a tree with snow covering its branches. "Oh it's nothing. It's just that the other day Naruto-kun called me that too. It's cute."
All of sudden the sound of gagging is heard and Hinata turns her head to see her dog loving friend pointing a finger at his open mouth pretending to be sick. "Ugh! Aw man, why'd you have to tell me that, Nata? You basically just compared me to that idiot."
Hinata and Shino and even Akamaru (seemingly) roll their eyes at their friend's dramatic display and continue on with their own things, making Kiba pout at being ignored. Immediately after, he goes to do his own thing as well with Akamaru trailing alongside him.
A few minutes have gone by since the Hinata and her friends separated so that she could take pictures of the scenery. She managed to snag a couple of decent wintery shots for her portfolio, so now all she has to do is go back to Kiba's place to edit them.
She managed to walk a bit farther off than she originally planned to, but it wasn't too bad if she started to head back to their meeting spot right now. Yet, as she turned around to go back, a familiar head of red blots into her vision making her halt in her spot.
"Sasori-kun?" She mumbles, slightly surprised, under breath.
There, walking along the snow-covered sidewalk was none other than the man that has been calling out of work for the last couple of days, leaving Kushina with no other option but to take interviews with some new potential employees. But he wasn't alone. He was walking beside some woman wearing a red winter coat with a white faux fur trim. A beautiful woman, at that, with bubblegum pink locks and the prettiest green eyes that Hinata knows for a fact she's seen somewhere before.
Knowing that she could potentially be caught and called a creep for doing this, Hinata holds her camera up to her eye and steadies herself for a shot. It wasn't so that she could hold this over Sasori's head or anything as blackmail, but she had to admit that with the way those two looked together and with the scenery behind them, this would make for an excellent photo for her portfolio. Of course, though, after the picture was taken, she would immediately ask the duo if she could use it and even make copies for them in case they would like to keep them.
Soon after the shutter of her camera was heard, the bluenette nearly jumps when the couple's heads snap in her direction almost immediately after, making her wave nervously at the duo. She raises a brow, however, when she could have sworn that she had seen probably one of the deadliest stares that she has ever seen Sasori give since she's known him directed at her before it instantly turns stoic upon recognizing it was just her.
With hasty steps, Hinata makes her way over to the two with a bowed head. "I-I'm sorry about that. I-I was going to ask for your p-permission after the picture was taken as to not ruin the s-shot and.. And.."
"Hinata, what are you doing here?" Sasori interrupts her with his ever bored toned voice that she can sense has a bit of irritation in it. "And why did you take a picture of us?"
The said girl fumbles around with her camera, before showing them the picture she had taken of them with tinted cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, Sasori-kun. I'm here with my friends who are helping me take some shots for my winter themed portfolio for school. I-I was about to head back over to them when I saw you two walking and the scene just looked so perfect that I had to take the picture!" She breathes in deeply when the two look from the camera to her with questioning gazes.
"L-Li-Like I was saying, I was going to ask for your permission to use the photo once I took the shot because I didn't want to miss the opportunity to take the shot naturally!"
At this, the pink haired girl hums in understanding, but Sasori's eyes remain passively hard as he continues to stare at her, making her shrink back further.
"Well she's not lying when she says that it was a pretty photo, Sasori," The pink haired girl voices with a smile as she continues to look at the picture. She then points a gloved finger as a look of recognition crosses her lovely features. "Hey, aren't you that girl that always comes into the café and orders a cinnamon bun, like, religiously?"
Hinata's already reddened cheeks darken with further embarrassment, much to the pinkette's amusement. She then extends her hand towards the blushing girl with a kind smile. "I'm Sakura by the way. Glad to finally put a name to the face, huh?"
With a shy smile of her own, Hinata shakes hands with Sakura before going back to fiddling with her camera again. "Y-Yeah, it's nice to formally meet you, Sakura-san. I'm sorry again about the picture. I just couldn't help it…"
Sakura waves off the nervous girl before looking at the ever silent Sasori. "Nah, don't worry too much about it. It was a nice picture like you said, and you did ask for our permission afterward, so I don't see the harm."
"Permission which she doesn't have." Sasori finally speaks up, startling both girls, earning him a pout from both.
"Aw c'mon, Sasori. What's so bad about her using such a nice photo for school?" Sakura questions, crossing her arms. Sasori merely side glances her, keeping his full attention on the smaller girl in front of them.
"I don't like having my picture taken without my knowing." His brows furrowed just slightly and Hinata flinches at the subtle harshness in his tone.
"O-Oh well I'm sorry about this, Sasori-kun. I can delete the picture now if you'd like…"
Suddenly a hand is gently placed on the jittery girl's shoulder. Following the hand, Hinata's eyes land upon a smiling Sakura. "Don't worry about it, Hinata. There's no need to go for such drastic measures." She then nudges the redhead, not noticing the glare he gives her in return. "Sasori here is just being a grump. I don't see why such a nice picture should have to go to waste."
Hinata looks between the cherry haired duo anxiously. "W-Well I don't want to make Sasori-kun upset or anything; it's really no big deal."
"Ah~" Sakura sighs in defeat and turns her gaze to her pouting partner. "C'mon Sasori, can't she please use the picture? It's not like she wasn't going to use it without us knowing anyway, so in a way, it wasn't technically taken without your knowledge."
Sakura clasps her hands in front of her and leans into Sasori, trying her best to be cutesy, raising so many more questions in Hinata's head about the pair. "Pretty please? For me?"
A small smile creeps its way on the shorter girl's face and she does her best to hide it behind her camera when Sasori's pout deepens and he turns his head away from the girls. Sakura snickers cheekily when Sasori releases a deep sigh and digs his hands into his pockets.
"Whatever. Use it if you want."
"Are you sure, Sasori-kun?" Questions Hinata, holding her camera now to her chest. "If you really aren't comfortable with it I could alway-"
"I said use it, Hinata." Sasori practically snaps, taking in a breath. "If you need it, I don't mind anymore. Just make sure that it's only used for your portfolio and nothing else. Got it?"
Hinata's eyes glimmer with glee and she offers him a wide grin, practically standing on her tippy toes. "I promise that it's just for school! Thank you so much, Sasori-kun, Sakura-chan!"
"O-Oh it's no problem, Hinata," Sakura stumbles with rosy cheeks, taken back by the smaller girl's eagerness. "The only thing I ask for in return is a possible copy of the picture when you get a chance?"
The bluenette nods. "Of course! I'll make sure to bring in a copy the next time I come into the café and you're working."
"Cool, thanks so much." Suddenly Sakura's phone rings, startling the group a little. The pinkette takes one look at her phone before putting it back in her pocket and taking ahold of Sasori's hand, surprising Hinata and earning her a subtle snarl from the redhead.
"Sorry about that. Looks like it was Ino. She's said that she and Sai are waiting at the theater now and to hurry so that we don't miss the show." She says, looking at her companion, whose face was once more blank. She waves goodbye to Hinata as she pulls Sasori along down the sidewalk. "It was nice talking to you, Hinata. I'll see you another time, kay?"
Hinata, unable to speak from the confusing thoughts swirling in her head at the moment, can only manage to wave and mumble a farewell of her own. But just before the pair is out of earshot, Hinata calls out to them once more after thinking about something relating to the shop.
"By the way, Sasori-kun!" Said man turns to her while still being dragged off by a hasty Sakura. "When's the next time that you will be showing up to work so that I can let Kushina-san know when I see her later?!"
"You can tell her I'll be in tomorrow for my shift." Hinata could just barely make out his response since Sakura seemed to pick up her pace as she took out her phone once more. The only reason she managed to hear what he had said was because he had snagged his hand away from the pinkette to properly answer her.
Because of this action, Sakura stops in her tracks as well, turning halfway around with a baffled expression as she looks between the two. It's only when Sasori starts walking again that she hesitantly follows him, sparing glances over her shoulder at a retreating Hinata.
Finally back to the spot where she was to reunite with her friends, Hinata scrolls through all of the pictures that she has managed to take, pausing on the one of Sasori and Sakura. She stares at the photo for a bit as she waits.
She can't help but think that it's strange that those two were together and wonders when and how it happened. She can remember Sakura giving Sasori a lingering stare when they went to the café together, but other than that, he never really seemed to show any interest in her beyond saying that the girls there "weren't bad to look at". So when exactly did they get a chance to plan something like this?
Hinata blinks and shakes her head at her train of thought. It was starting to sound like she was little jealous of this situation, which was far from the truth. She was just confused is all. Right?
"I'm glad that he's met someone…" She whispers to herself when she jumps at the sound of her name being hollered.
"Oi, Hinata! You ready to go?" Kiba calls to her as Akamaru runs up to see her. "Shino and I took some nice pictures that you might like. You can check them out when we get back to my house."
"Yeah, alright. I'm all set here." The bluenette stumbles as she pets the huge canine. "Let's go Akamaru-kun."
Okay, so I know this is a shitty place to end this chapter, and I was going to add some more, but I realized that what I wanted to write would be a lot better for a chapter all on its own. I also know that this chapter seemed kind of fillerish, but trust me when I say that it serves a purpose for the plot.
I also did something that you all may not care about really, but to help me try to get through this depression and writing, I marked down some plot points for this story so that I can motivate myself to finish and write what I want next. I really hope it helps like it's intended to because I really want to see this story to completion.
Anyway, thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and continue to stick with me even with my slow updates. Please review, follow, and/or fave! Seeing the feedback helps with the lack of motivation for me. Thank you all so much! I hope you have a great day and/or night!