Not a new chapter! I reformatted everything but feel free to read from the beginning~

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did Karin would be working as a medical researcher in Konoha

Chapter 10: I Must Admit

"Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses." - Lao Tzu

The steady string of tiny rapping at his window flung his eyes open. This time however it seemed to get louder and louder with each knock. Pushing the pillow off him Sasuke ran a frustrated hand through his messy hair as he opened the window and allowed the dog to enter his room.

"Pakkun," Sasuke simply greeted, his voice rough from being woken up so suddenly, "What time is it?"

"Time for a mission Sasuke-san. Kakashi figured you were pretending as if you couldn't hear the three messenger birds he sent earlier, so he sent me instead thank you very much."

The brown pug had aged significantly over the years, the deep creases in his face having become even more profound. His dog mouth was etched into that same frown he always wore, he looked as if he wanted to be anywhere else but there and Sasuke couldn't blame him.

"You caught me," Sasuke said, turning his attention to the brown pouch dangling from the pug's neck. "What's in the sack?"

Walking towards his sensei's former student Pakkun jumped on the bed causing Sasuke to frown in displeasure. As he grew older the dog begun to shed a lot more easily, his hair sticking to the satin material of the Uchiha's bed coverings.

Brushing the hair off his bed Sasuke then turned to remove the pouch from Pakkun's neck, weighing the item in his hand before opening it. His interest peaked at the moderately light weight, hastily opening the small bag to reveal a black rectangular item.

The black thing fit seamlessly inside the palm of his hand, examining it with considerable concentration he ran his fingers across the small black buttons that ran across the side of the item. Pushing all the buttons absentmindedly he was stunned when the front of the black thing glowed ominously white, instantly dropping the item onto his bed confusion.

Watching intently Sasuke was even more perplexed when nothing happened after. Cautiously reaching for the small item he turned to see the front of it had been replaced with a blue screen with small little drawings. Bringing the screen closer to his face he brought his fingers to touch a drawing of a message bubble- the button growing larger unto the screen until it filled the screen and a blue highlighted box appeared.

Looking at Pakkun, Sasuke raised a brow as he held the item up in his hand, "What is this?"

"It's a phone." Pakkun said, answering as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Phone?" Sasuke said, trying the foreign word on his lips. "What would I possibly need a 'phone' for?"

"Didn't you hear? It's the new communication system they've begun rolling out to Konoha operatives."

"This thing?" he repeated, examining the phone even closer. "How do you use it?"

"I forgot you hadn't been informed on how to use it yet." Pakkun replied, his mouth twitching in slight amusement at the whole situation.

"Well?"

"Oh, I don't know," the pug replied, making his way to the windowsill. "I'm just a dog."

Feeling his eye twitch, Sasuke gripped the phone even tighter as his old sensei's stupid dog laughed his way back to his summons in a cloud of smoke. Staring at the phone even harder he took a huge breath as he pressed the highlighted blue box, the screen opening to show a paragraph that explained his squad's new mission in surprisingly coherent detail.

It was a mission that entailed the retrieval of information on a missing Konoha nin found in the Land of Tea. The assignment was for three days and accommodations were already waiting for them at a local inn in the heart of the village.

Blinking at the new style of briefing Sasuke read the last paragraph that summoned him and the rest of his team to the Hokage's office before proceeding with the mission.

Rolling his eyes, he gently threw his new phone aside as he leaned his head back into his pillow, his dark eyes staring intently at his rooms boringly white ceiling.

His deep breathes filled the silence in the air as he attempted to clear his mind of its thoughts of her. He didn't know how he was supposed to survive three days with her if he couldn't get his mind to focus on the task at hand- his conversation with Sakura replaying in his head repeatedly.

It wasn't like he could avoid her either as she seemed to appear in front of him when he wished she wouldn't the most.

Hyūga Hinata was infecting him he was sure, but he couldn't decide whether or not he hated it as much as he appeared to or if he felt something else entirely… a feeling that filled his entire body with an immense sense of guilt and yearning.

Shaking the thoughts from his head Sasuke shut his eyes only opening them again when the swirling in his mind and stomach finally ceased.

Sitting up in his head he lazily reached for his ANBU uniform as he fought against the urge to just go back to sleep. Finishing his daily morning routine, he prepped the items such as scrolls, kunai and his new phone that he would need for his mission, sheathing his katana last.

Taking one last longing look at his bed, he moved to leave through his window and towards the Hokage tower.

"Sasuke." Kakashi leisurely greeted him, his one eye upturned in a shadow of a smile.

"Kakashi." Sasuke greeted back, closing the metal door of his office and leaning against it. Looking away from his old sensei's gaze Sasuke's eyes scanned over the other two people in the room- one of them in particular holding his gaze a bit longer than usual.

"So," The Hokage said cheerfully, tilting his head in interest, "What do you think of the phone?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Sasuke shot Kakashi an unimpressed look, "It's unnecessary."

"Ah, I thought you would say something like that."

Shaking his head at the old pervert's shenanigans Sasuke huffed in response, wanting nothing but the topic of discussion to discontinue.

Clearing his throat the Sixth Hokage crossed his fingers in front of his masked mouth before speaking, "Well, there isn't much more to brief to you three on beside the fact that this particular shinobi has been classified as missing since the beginning of the fourth shinobi world war. He is a former root operative so take the utmost care when dealing with this as his current affiliation is unknown. It would be ideal if you could deliver him back without much conflict, as the Land of Tea is a village that is especially gracious in making deals with Konoha."

"And if we can't make that promise?" Shikamaru asked, lazily sliding his hands into his pockets as he shifted his weight onto his other foot.

"Well then that would be a shame, now wouldn't it?" Kakashi said, his one visible eye closing in a humorless manner.

Forming his mouth in a thin line, Shikamaru quietly sighed as he removed his hands from his pockets, standing as straight as he could manage to, "I see."

Watching the exchange Sasuke found the corner of his lips dropping into a frown, it seemed that his old sensei was still upset at the chaotic way the Katsura mission was handled. The polished execution of this mission was significantly important.

Closing his eyes in exasperation he willed himself to calm down as he felt a dull pang forming on the right side of his head. The squad captain couldn't afford to stress himself out right before the mission, he needed to deal with this assignment with the utmost care and attention he's ever given anything or else he and his team would be placed on the back burner for a while.

"Now that's all settled, Sasuke, I'd like to speak to Shikamaru and Hinata for a while longer if you don't mind."

Raising his brow in inquiry Sasuke looked at the Hokage in slight suspicion. He was always the one asked to stay back after a mission briefing so the sudden change alarmed him quite a bit.

Three pairs of eyes turned to look at him expectantly as he remained in the room. Looking at each of them, he lingered on the unnerving gaze of the one he wanted to avoid the most, standing there for a while longer before breaking contact and heading outside the door, his heart thundering as it closed.

He could practically feel Kakashi carefully observing that interaction in the back of his mind, and he really wasn't looking forward to whatever conversation he had planned for him when he came back. That man was always budding in his business and he was sure he felt that he had the incentive to pressure him about his unfinished goal even more.

He really didn't need any of this right now.

He had figured that he would be able to get by this mission without so much as a problem but now he was beginning to doubt himself.

He was Uchiha Sasuke, dammit, and yet he was acting like this.

Staring at the light brown metal door before him Sasuke willed his mind to go blank as he leaned against the yellow tinted tan walls attempting to cleanse every thought he had of her at least until the mission was over. That feat however was easier said than done, so he just settled with leaning against the wall silently as he waited for Kakashi to finish talking to his squad members.

Sasuke's keen intuition was ringing bells in his head. He could easily guess that whatever he had to speak to them about involved those rouge nin after him and Team Taka. He just wondered what kind of information the Hokage could possibly be telling them that he himself didn't already know.

What was everybody hiding from him, and why did they feel the need to withhold the information?

Something always frustrated him these days it seemed.

The door opened as Shikamaru and Hinata walked out of it, both of their expressions unreadable. Scoffing a little Sasuke guessed that bastard Kakashi told them to leave his office like that as not to make anything obvious to him.

"Are we ready to go?" Sasuke asked, looking at both of his teammates in confirmation. At the nod of their heads he led their way out of the academy building and to the crimson Konoha gate pillars. There they were met by Shiranui Genma- a familiar jonin equipped with three knapsacks with clothes and food for them to take with them.

"Take care." He dispassionately imparted, his brown hair hung low over his honey eyes as he moved the senbon he always kept in his mouth from side to side.

Simply nodding in response Sasuke slipped his arms through both straps, positioning his katana to hang safely at his side instead. Waiting for his squad to ready themselves he stepped forward unto the gravel road as they moved to travel to the Land of Tea. It would take them almost a day to get there, a day to carry out the mission and a day to get back if they moved at a semi- quick pace.

Gripping both straps by his side Sasuke walked on the road with his team in silence as the animals bustled through the forest with little regard for the shinobi travelling through. It had been a while since he took the already paved pathway to a mission instead of travelling via the trees, a welcome change if you asked him. He had grown tired of jumping and much rather preferred walking opposed to it.

Allowing his head to fall back a little he continued walking without as much as a peep, ignoring the other two accompanying him who remained idly chatting to pass the time. It seemed that in order to make sure his mind remained clear at all times Sasuke would have to disregard the presence of the other two unless he needed to instruct them.

He didn't mind it however, the three of them never really shared much conversation regardless, not unless they were truly bored out of their minds. Instead they would stay just quiet situating themselves in an unspoken pact of silence and tranquility.

Though this time he felt a little more hostile compared to his usual countenance. They had been walking for about an hour and a half and he was running on little to no sleep, it was a wonder how he didn't just collapse right in the middle of the dirt path.

Letting out a rigid exhale, Sasuke inhaled as much fresh air into his lungs as he could, trying to get his body to get out of its sluggishness. He could feel his half-lidded eyes drooping as the fought to stay open and he had fought the urge to yawn ten times over the course of a minute. It was really cruel of Kakashi to just continuously pile things on him with little regard to the effects of such overwork, though he did suppose it would help him eventually as Hokage- the amount of paperwork that covered that old man's desk was seemingly relentless.

At the pulse of yet another teary yawn, Sasuke was surprised to see a dainty hand, palm wide open, thrust in front of him. Taking a second to blink away his tiredness he stared at the offered hand for longer than he should've before noticing the brown soldier pill sitting in the middle of it.

Glancing sideways at Hyūga Hinata, the squad leader resisted the sudden desire he had to encase her hands in his. Where such an idea had come from he wasn't so sure and he wasn't exactly dying to find out either.

Knitting his brows together he ripped his glued eyes off her countenance and returned to staring at the pill in mild interest.

At his apprehension Hinata daintily smiled, bringing her palm even closer to his face, "It's an energy pill Sakura-san made, I noticed you were tired. Take it."

The mention of Sakura and the word made together caused Sasuke's nose to scrunch up in distaste. He thought of that girl dearly, but Sakura for the life of her could not cook as much as an egg without it tasting suspect. But he was incredibly tired, and although they tasted awful, Sakura's soldier pills did the job quite nicely.

Peering at Hinata's palm for a while longer, Sasuke pushed aside his better judgement and reached for the pill without a second thought, his face turning in disgust as he attempted to quickly swallow it so he wouldn't have to taste it for long.

Coughing slightly, he reached his arm to the side of his bag where he kept his water bottle. Quickly pushing the cap open he swigged a large mouthful to get the bad taste out of his mouth.

Returning his water bottle, he panted slightly before nodding his head in thanks, "That was disgusting. Thanks."

"Ah, it was no problem really. Sakura-san asked me to give t-them to you anyway."

"She did?" Sasuke echoed, wondering what would make the peach toned kunoichi think of doing such a thing.

Swallowing thickly Sasuke watched as Hinata's eyelashes fluttered across her cheek as she looked down before speaking.

"Yes," She said, "She told me that she figured you'd be needing them so she gave me a handful when we passed by each other the other day."

Leave it to Sakura, Sasuke thought. He wondered if his childhood friend had a little more than an innocent motive with her actions. It couldn't have been that long after they had shared their little talk before she saw Hinata.

Grimacing at the memory of that conversation Sasuke suddenly gazed at the woman beside him with great intrigue. She couldn't have been any taller than his mid-chest, but she managed to invoke such strange complexities inside of him he didn't think were possible to imagine.

It hadn't been that long since the mission begun and he already failed at his intention to ignore her, she was someone who begged for his utmost attention and he couldn't will himself to turn away for the life of him. How was she so different from literally anybody else?

Why couldn't he just push her away? Why didn't he want to?

He had always stopped himself from seeking those answers but now more than ever he desperately wanted to. Maybe if he understood why, he would be able to rid himself of her- but even he knew it just wasn't that easy.

She was certainly enthralling, he gave her that. Walking beside him quietly she smiled softly to herself as she looked ahead, her ink like hair shifting gently in the soft wind. Sasuke could see why Naruto had called her a sight for sore eyes, Hinata was easily one of the prettiest women he had ever seen. But her looks weren't as interesting as the untold story she carried around with her, that was the thing that drew his attention the most, he wanted nothing more but to find out all her secrets and in return…

Pausing he stopped himself before that thought continued, he was allowing himself to get too deep at this point and was bordering into dangerous territory.

Glancing behind him he saw Shikamaru quietly slinking forward with hands in his pockets and eyes closed. He wondered what he thought of him and Hinata together, or if he thought anything of it at all. If he did he wouldn't be the first that's for sure, just the sight of them together seemed to cause controversy.

As far as Sasuke himself knew he hadn't been doing anything remotely telling to even prompt that line of thinking from anyone, and he wasn't sure why everyone else felt so damn entitled to voice their opinion about it either.

He guessed he was sort of grateful for Shikamaru's passive nature, that man was a certified genius and he was sure he had his fair share of their conversations and actions to base all kinds of theories on, the fact that he didn't relieved him a little and made him feel less guilty about his thoughts.

If Nara Shikamaru didn't see anything suspicious between the two of them then everyone else was probably overreacting.

Shifting his shoulders back Sasuke slightly lifted his chin and walked forward, trying not to think of the person walking comfortably by his side.

Still even with all that reasoning Sasuke still couldn't stop himself from thinking things he knew he shouldn't have, like how nice it felt walking with her like that, how if he allowed himself to indulge he could go even further and experience things more serene and euphoric.

But he let those thoughts melt away, not latching onto them so they wouldn't spread like moss in his subconscious. Instead he focused his attention on the fact that thoughts as such as those were intrusive and brought an unspoken rift into his relationship with his best friend and how he wanted to mend it instead of make it worse.

And that made it a little easier to forget about such permissive things. But only a little.

The atmosphere of the Land of Tea was one of relaxation and homeliness. The smell of mint carried strong through the light breeze as they headed towards the inn they would be sleeping at. Mint leaves were currently in this season so the city had done its fair share of mass producing whatever they could manage to make with them. The village streets were bustling as the market was full of merchants pushing their many mint creations in their the most part Sasuke thought it was a nice village. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing though he couldn't exactly put his finger on it.

Glancing around the squad leader made sure to avoid eye contact with any passerby. He wasn't too fond with the idea of people crowding his personal space, especially random one's he didn't even know and he didn't really feel like spending money on anything minty.

Weaving his body through the myriad of people in the way, Sasuke made his way through the central market and into the heart of the village. Reaching for the small map in his back pocket he opened it and located where his squad currently was, using the guide to find a relatively fast path to the Inn. Putting the map back he checked to see that his team was still caught up and continued to rush along the cobble roads.

He was desperate for a bed at this point, his body having already absorbed the solider pill he had taken earlier and quickly close shutting down. He smiled peacefully as he imagined finally being able to sink his heavy body into a mattress after a cup of tea- he was in the Land of Tea after all, he might as well embrace it.

Plus, it didn't hurt that he was in fact very fond of tea, he practically had to be, his older brother Itachi basically lived on the stuff growing up. Because of this fact the village felt somewhat placating to him- the smell of the streets, though busy, reminding him of his childhood.

The last washes of blue swirled in as the sky begun to burn red, the impeding end of the day signaling its closeness. Reaching the medium sized cedar wood hut that was the Land of Tea Inn Sasuke breathed a small sigh of relief as his dream of getting some rest was nearing his reach.

The faint smell of mint still lingered in the air upon entrance of the Inn though it was much a subtle note that seemed to mix well with the much stronger and greatly appreciated woodsy musk that encompassed the hut.

"I'll check in," Sasuke said, turning around to address his squad, "You two are free to roam and rest until we resume our mission tomorrow morning."

"I'll be outside." Shikamaru yawned, repositioning his backpack to lowly hang off his left shoulder as he leisurely walked away.

Sasuke observed the shinobi's receding form, watching as he nonchalantly reached for the pack of cigarettes he never seemed to run out of, and his never- vanishing old silver lighter. Being a shinobi was hard and God knew they all had their fair share of vices- he didn't blame Shikamaru for developing his coping mechanism, but he did recognize it as a nasty one.

Following his line of vision Hinata creased her lips, "I've asked him to quit at least once a day."

Looking down at the concerned woman Sasuke's eyes drifted towards the small light scar that sat on her right cheek, it was a battle scar from their ANBU initiation test and he had completely forgot about it until that point. It was practically invisible and wasn't noticeable unless you really looked at her but it still seemed out of place on her relatively clear face. He couldn't help but remember the circumstances that led to that and the help she refused.

Yes, they all had their vices.

"We can't help what comforts us, especially in this line of work."

"I know." Was all she said. It still managed to hitch Sasuke's breath.

Her iridescent eyes always spoke in volumes, filling in the words she often left unsaid.

"Like us." She wanted to say. And she was right. She wasn't too far off when she said that they both were a lot alike, he could see that now.

Sasuke always felt bare in front of her like those eyes of hers could see even deeper than she let on. If he had to describe it he would call it as an addicting suffocation- he almost always found himself breathless around her although he wasn't necessarily sure if it was a good thing. He threw away all logic when it came to her, and he couldn't stop himself from giving in to her pull every once in a while.

Walking away he received the room keys from the blushing brunette manning the front desk. Admittedly he didn't mind women fawning over him as he grew older, in fact it fueled his ego- even more so if Naruto was around and he happened to get more attention. This time Sasuke didn't really like the way the woman's eyes lit up as they registered him bashfully- If he was being truthful with himself he didn't want any of it.

He wanted something he couldn't fully grasp. Even so, he was sure that all of it was just fascination and nothing more. It had to be.

Giving the remaining two room keys to Hinata, who agreed to pass the other to Shikamaru, Sasuke wordlessly travelled to his room, careful not to linger around her in case another conversation began.

Unlocking and pushing open the heavy wooden door to his room the exhausted man threw his keys on the nearest end table, and the rest of his belongings on the floor. Removing his sleeveless turtleneck and leaving himself with a white tank top, he set his sights on the white sheet laden bed and hurriedly collapsed on top of it.

His slightly open eyes drank in the shadows that flashed across the walls from the small golden lamp that stayed lit in the corner of the room. Watching as the shadows moved in rhythm with every shift of the lamp's flame Sasuke allowed the images to lull him to sleep, his mind drifting into darkness.

….

Fluttering his blurry eyes open, Sasuke sat up in the disarrayed white bed. Rubbing his eyes, he took a while to gather himself before reaching his arms up and stretching them out as he yawned.

Throwing the white sheets off him, he swung his legs on the side of the bed and stepped down- stopping to stretch even more. He was currently satisfied, he hadn't had a good night of sleep like that in a quite a while.

A slight growl rumbled through the room as he stared down at his stomach. That's right, he had forgotten to eat something in his morning rush. Turning his attention to the small window that overlooked the street below, Sasuke could see the pitch darkness outside of the smut smeared glass. Reaching for his phone thrown carelessly on the floor along with his shirt, he checked the time- sometime past two in the morning. Kicking aside his stuff that blocked the way, he made his way downstairs to the Inn's dining area.

The dining room was filled with wooden booths with green cushion seats, and medium sized tables accompanying them. The air had a crisp feel to it as the heat of the room engulfed him. Moving towards the nearest seat, Sasuke slid into the booth and reached for the menu placed in the center of the table. Scanning over the menu he raised his hand until an Inn employee came over and shyly took his order, her eyes barely lifting from the notebook in her hands.

Fumbling with the paper in her hands, the young woman awkwardly bowed as she shuffled away to fulfill his order, stealing glances at him behind her every so often. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke hoped that the green tea and rice balls he ordered were worth it.

Clasping his hands atop his table he sat there wordlessly as he tried not to think of anything. It had been a while since he felt truly relaxed and he didn't want to ruin it by getting worked up over his burdensome thoughts.

Focusing intently at his fingers, the sound of a throat clearing caused him to straighten up surprised. Looking up he was met with the sight of Hyūga Hinata sitting across from him. He hadn't even noticed that she was in the booth, let alone saw her enter the dining area.

She was wearing a simple black t-shirt and an oversized pale green cardigan with her hair roughly cascaded around her in a mess of strands. She still managed to look undeniably regal. He stared strangely, Sasuke wondered how she always seemed to appear when he was trying not to think of her the most, like the universe was trying to tempt him or something. She was never too far from him whether it was in his mind or out of it.

Staying frozen in his seat, Sasuke watched intently as Hinata swung her hair over her shoulder. Absentmindedly playing with her hands, she wrung them agonizingly in a repeated manner, it was an annoying tick of hers that went against all their shinobi instincts – he momentarily wondered how she still managed to leave the academy with that habit without someone breathing down her neck about it.

"I'm sorry if I've interrupted you." she said, removing her hands from the table and placing them in her lap. Leaning in closer she breathed in heavy as she glanced up from her fingers and into his dark eyes.

Holding her gaze Sasuke stayed still and kept his voice level, "You didn't. I wasn't really doing anything."

"I see."

Saying nothing else the two of them stayed there silently staring at the other without pause until the worker from earlier had arrived with Sasuke's food.

"Um, your foods ready." She cautiously spoke, watching the two of them in considerable interest.

Turning towards the woman he nodded his head in acknowledgement as she placed the food in front of him whilst simultaneously eyeing Hinata peculiarly. Standing there for a few seconds longer then she needed to the young woman finally turned around and returned to the back where the kitchen was, leaving the two of them alone again.

Reaching for his tea he allowed the drink to warm his throat as he gulped down a significant amount, trying to delay whatever this thing was with Hinata. Placing down his mug he cupped his hands around its thermal base as he stared down at the green tea inside of it.

"Is it any good?" she asked, following his line of interest to his drink.

"Yeah, it is." He remotely responded, keeping his eyes glued to their spot.

"I'll have to try some then."

Roughly exhaling, Sasuke looked up and pierced his gaze into Hinata's luminous eyes. He was tired of all the skirting around the subject whenever they two of them talked- he wanted her to give it to him straight.

"Why are you here?" He bravely importuned, his eyes never wavering as they delved deep into the reflective depths of hers.

Stunned at his question she blinked, before opening her mouth and closing it a few times. Squeezing her eyes shut she slightly turned her head and exhaled before facing him again.

"I wanted to apologize," she answered. Licking her lips, she played with her fingers again as she continued, "For lunch last time."

Smiling humorlessly Sasuke was tempted to again roll his eyes, was she still on that? He wanted nothing more than to leave that awkward situation behind and far out of mind.

"Seriously?" He voiced arduously, shifting his hands lower on the mug in-between them, "You already di-"

"No," she intercepted- cutting him off, "I haven't. At least not honestly."

Clenching his jaw Sasuke watched as Hinata bit her bottom lip clearly frustrated. Scrutinizing her demeanor, he noticed the tense air that enveloped her entirely.

What was her problem? He ran through a list of possible reasons as to why she would be behaving the way she currently was, but he couldn't think of anything that would set her off in this manner. Maintaining eye contact, he felt it become more intense as she peered at him indecipherably before speaking again.

"I lied."

His ears perked up at the otherwise, unusual sentence. She lied about what? Before he could ask her, she leaned in closer, making sure never to remove her eyes from his own. She pushed up the long sleeves of her cardigan as she crossed her arms in a defensive manner, her entire stature screaming that she wanted to be anywhere but there in that moment.

So then why was she here?

"I haven't been completely honest with you this whole time and it's been bothering me. During our last mission, I tried to make it better by…" She didn't finish that sentence, but he still felt a great discomfort in it.

He tried everything to forget the image of her standing there, struggling to hold back her tears, but it still haunted him. He was certain that he didn't want to see that look ever again.

"You've probably already noticed but I've been sort of pushing you to talk to me."

Sasuke scoffed at her somewhat comical self-awareness, "That's an understatement."

Simpering, she nodded her head in acknowledgment, "I know. But it wasn't because I'm just that nice of a person. In fact, I'm pretty selfish."

"And where are you going with this?" he quipped dropping his lips into a thin line. She was again dragging out whatever it was she was trying to say.

"I've been using you." She finally admitted, gauging his features for any sort of reaction.

He kept his expression neutral, but inside it was a different story. He didn't understand what she was talking about at all. How could she be using him, when he was the one that intended to do just exactly that? Gripping his mug tighter he realized that he truly didn't know anything about her. Every time he thought he was closer to figuring her out she said or did something that completely threw him off kilter.

"You probably already know this but Naruto-kun and I…we didn't end on the best of terms," she paused, blinking rapidly as she attempted to string together her words, "I've wanted to reach out to him so badly, but with the way things were I just… I couldn't do it. And with you two being best friends and all I just thought that I… I could be closer to him again somehow. Even if it wasn't exactly with him."

It was a dull pang and it still hurt like a bitch. He couldn't deny that what she said bothered him, he had let Hinata in, even if it was just by a little. He always pushed himself to throw that part of him away, saying that he couldn't let himself jump deeper than he already was but he was already in too deep. He let go of the mug between his hands before he broke it, pushing it away from him a little.

"That makes no sense," He said, saying the words carefully as to not reveal any of his swirling feelings, "Me and Naruto are nothing alike."

"You're both a lot more similar than it may seem like to you two."

"Oh?" He raised a brow, the upper corner of his lip raised in the shadow of a scowl. He couldn't help the way he spat out his words, "Like you said we were?"

Leaning back in the green cushions inside the bench, Hinata took a minute to laugh senselessly to herself as Sasuke watched her in mild indignation. She paused for a moment as her harsh intake of breath quickly turned into sharp gasps. The feeling she was desperately trying to suppress was fighting its way out and clearly winning. His anger subsided into a bit of concern as he witnessed her break down before him. With her quiet chuckles quickly tumbling into small sobs she painfully sucked in air as her bangs slowly began to hide her from his view.

"I just wanted to feel something again," She silently sobbed, her shoulders caving in as her cardigan slipped haphazardly off her left shoulder. "I just wanted a small piece of Naruto-kun again, even if it was selfish."

Maybe he was truly getting soft, or maybe it was in the way her voice broke when she said it but Sasuke couldn't find it him to be entirely upset with her. It wasn't like he was any position to judge her on the basis of using him, not when he had been planning to do exactly the same for his own selfish reasons.

He thought back to their earlier conversation about Shikamaru.

Everyone had their vices. Even them.

"I understand."

Hinata looked up, red tinged pale eyes wide open. Her mouth lightly parted as she blinked a few more times, her tears falling more freely as she silently cried in front of him- head shaking in tiny disbelief. Collecting herself a few minutes after she unrolled her left sleeve and rubbed it across her face. When she was done, her face became an irritated shade of red, resembling a small tomato.

It probably wasn't an appropriate thought at the moment but Sasuke couldn't help but notice how kind of cute she looked.

"Thank you." She simply replied, her voice still rough from before.

He murmured in response, reaching for his mug to keep his inherent emotional awkwardness at bay. He usually wasn't good with the heart to heart stuff, he'd much rather someone fight it out with him and call it day. But he couldn't deny that the conversation was appropriate in their situation, even if everything in his character was against that sort of thing.

Using her hand to straighten her hair and clothes out, she scooted even closer afterwards, leaning into the table even more.

Trying not to choke on his drink Sasuke set it aside, as he roughly swallowed the lukewarm liquid down his throat, though his mouth remained dry.

On her puffy face, Hinata had the most genuine smile he had ever seen her give – teeth and all, pointed right in his direction. He noticed every single expression on her face, but never did one seem to elicit such a pool of warmth in his chest as this one did. It was an ethereal sort of radiance that tempted him to draw closer towards her.

The two of them stayed there completely silent for a couple of minutes, Hinata smiling and Sasuke watching her do so. It was a halcyon of sorts, the type of moments he didn't usually find himself a part of and he craved more of it- even if he knew he shouldn't have.

"I just want to let you know, even if it started out because of Naruto-kun it wasn't exactly always about him," She said, breaking the quiet atmosphere as her smile still remained, "Somewhere along the line I genuinely wanted to get to know you more. And I would like if we could do lunch properly when we get back to the village."

He twisted his face, puzzled, carefully allowing the words to sink in fully. As realization dawned on him like a crutch he reached for his mug handle without looking, accidently knocking it over and spilling the tea across the table.

"Shit," he cursed, picking up the mug before it dripped even more. Reaching for the napkins that were thankfully placed on the corner of the table and grabbing a handful Sasuke bent over the table to dry the liquid before it ran onto the floor. Another pair of hands joined him as Hinata grabbed her own napkins, helping to wipe the remaining spillage.

The brushing of their fingers against each other's caused Sasuke to momentarily look up realizing just how close in proximity their faces were. Absentmindedly, he bit the inside of his check as he observed the way Hinata delicately moved her hands across the surface of the wood, focused. A strange wave washed over him as he felt the sudden desire to move forward and brush the long inky strands of hair on her face, behind her ear.

Quickly retracting his hand, he abruptly got out of the booth startling both Hinata and himself. He wasn't privy to overreaction but something about her sent his common sense in a frenzy.

"Sasuke-san…?" She questioned, attempting to move forward towards him- which in turned caused him to take a step back.

"Tired." Was all he said before grabbing the wet napkins and his mug. Returning the mug to the front desk, he threw away the napkins in the trash can beside it before ardently making his way out of the door and back to his room, not throwing his dinner guest another glance.

It was a stupid and embarrassing move on his end, but he couldn't trust himself any second longer if he was to stick around. He couldn't deny it any longer. Sakura had hit it right on the nose when she said maybe what he felt was a little more than fascination and although he felt like he was betraying her and Naruto in some way Sasuke was always true to himself first.

At this point it was too obvious for even him to deny it anymore. He, Uchiha Sasuke, had a massive crush on Hyūga Hinata.

Slowing his pace down a little he mulled over the lunch invitation he had managed to not yet answer. He couldn't find it in himself to deny that he wanted to go, but he also couldn't find it in himself to accept when he still felt like he didn't deserve it. He had too much on the line to just jump into things without thinking again. He still wasn't sure where he stood with Naruto and Hinata's revelation made it seem as if their story wasn't over yet.

Though Sasuke was now somewhat sure on where he stood with his feelings, he was also certain that he didn't want to be the guy used to get over someone else. Especially if the guy was someone he reluctantly considered to be his brother.

As he pushed open the room to his door, he couldn't help but wonder that when all was said and done if it would be truly worth it.