Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, favs and follows. They truly motivate me a lot.

As you guys can see, I've changed the title of the story "The Kiss" to "Kiss me", because I think it suits the story better.

Enjoy!

4

They said he was the most oblivious boy in the world. Okay, maybe they're right because he hadn't noticed Hinata's feelings towards him until she said it straight to his face. Now when he thought about it, she had expressed her feelings quite clearly that everyone noticed, everyone but him. Her behaviors, whenever she was around him, had said it all. She blushed a lot, she stuttered to the point he couldn't understand what she was trying to say, she treated him kindly, she offered to pay for his ramen and she would even faint when he showed up too abruptly. He should have noticed her feelings without her telling him.

Even when she had confessed to him, he couldn't give a proper answer. He had lots of reasons for that. His mind was preoccupied with so many things that he barely had time to ponder over her confession. He could name some things such as finding Sasuke, helping Tsunade rebuild the village after Pain's attack and of course, not to forget Sakura's sudden confession. She told him she loved him when it's clear that she was still in love with his best friend. With all these things going on, Hinata's confession was the farthest thing in his mind.

He knew he was hurting her and he hated himself for that. So many times he noticed Kiba's fists clenched tightly like he wanted to punch him hard on his face but couldn't. The buzzing sound around Shino would get louder every time he saw him walking on the street. The worst was Neji. The prodigy Hyuuga always had a look of distaste on his face whenever he saw him. His posture was tense as if it took all of his willpower to not launch at the blonde boy and gentle fist him right on his chest and also make sure that it would take even Tsunade a few months to heal him completely. Maybe it would have been better if they just beat him to a pulp, but they didn't, because Hinata would hate them for that. "Hate" probably was a little too strong word, but they wouldn't risk hurting her feelings.

Hinata didn't come asking for his answer. She never did. She only did the same thing as before her confession which was acting like it didn't exist. She still blushed around him, stuttered a little, smile shyly, but Naruto knew better. Kiba and Shino had always felt the need to drag her away saying that they would treat her cinnamon rolls and Neji would find some excuses to take her somewhere else whenever he showed up around them. Hinata always said yes to their offers.

And then came the Fourth Ninja War. She fought alongside him, bravely. Until this day he could still felt her warm palm on his cheek. She had pulled him from the dark abyss of feeling hopeless and about to give up everything after witnessing his comrades die on the battlefield. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if she hadn't slapped him.

Naruto wondered which would be crueler, rejecting or ignoring her? Neji died protecting him and his cousin and Naruto knew he did it for Hinata more than for him.

"I promise to Neji," Naruto said as Shino sat down next to him. "That I'll protect her at all cost."

"That's what I want to talk to you about." And without waiting for Naruto to say anything, he continued. "Our mission is to find and rescue Hinata, not to bring Sasuke back, so as soon as we have Hinata safe and sound, we'll return to Konoha immediately."

"What?" Naruto exclaimed. "Why give up on him when we can bring them both back to Konoha?"

"Sasuke is too dangerous," Shino said calmly. He had expected Naruto to react like this, but to actually talk sense into him was really exasperating.

"But he is our teammate too." He insisted.

"We here means Shino and I. After rescuing Hinata-sama, you and Sakura can chase after Sasuke as much as you want. I only care about her." Kou's calm voice cut in making both men turn around to see him walking leisurely to them with his hands being shoved deep in his pocket.

"No, we can't do that. We're supposed to be a team. We must return to Konoha together." Shino opposed.

"Let them chase after Sasuke might be a good thing," Kou explained. "Because if he causes Hinata-sama any harm, I want him to be punished. And that requires him to be in the village."

"If he hurts her, I'll punish him myself," Naruto said, and he meant it. Sasuke might be his brother and best friend, but he wouldn't turn a blind eye to his crimes.

"Sasuke might hurt her physically and gets punished, but what about you?" Kou kneeled down at his eyes level, pale eyes stared straight at blue ones. "You hurt her emotionally."

Silence fell over them. Kou knew this wasn't time for that, but every time he saw Naruto he would think of his Lady's sad eyes and how it's so unfair for her to be ignored by this boy.

"I'll settle things with Hinata when we have her back," Naruto said gravelly.

"You two, that's enough." Shino snapped. "This isn't time for that." He rarely snapped, but when he did, it meant he was really annoyed and you should be careful around him. "This team's goal is to rescue Hinata, not to quarrel with each other. If this happens again, I'll send a letter to Tsunade-sama to request two other shinobis to replace you and you two can return to Konoha and continue to quarrel with each other there."

The air was tense and the only sound was the insects buzzing inside Shino, indicating that they really should listen to him if they wanted to remain on this team. He would rather have less competent teammates who could work together than powerful ones who never stopped fighting each other.

Kou scoffed but didn't say anything. He glared at Naruto the last time before walking away.

When there was just Shino and Naruto left, the bug user gave a sigh. "Sorry. He isn't usually like that."

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. It's not his fault."

"Kou-san has been taken care of Hinata since she's a little girl," Shino said. "I heard that she is one of the very few main family members who don't look down on the branch family and for that, he really adores her."

"He doesn't take Hinata's kidnapping well." Naruto mused.

"Probably."

"Is Sakura asleep right now?" Shino said, steering the topic to an easier one.

"I think so."

"You should go to sleep. We need you at your top strength."

Naruto nodded his head thinking this probably was the reason why Tsunade had chosen Shino to be the captain. He knew Kou wasn't the only one who was displeased by him ignoring Hinata's confession, but unlike the Hyuuga man, Shino never let his emotions affect his decisions.

Naruto got to his feet and returned to his tent. Right now the only thing he had in mind was to find and rescue Hinata. Her place was Konoha, with her family and friends, not with Sasuke and he would do everything he could to bring her back safe and sound.

They'd been traveling 5 days without encountering any of his enemies and Hinata was thankful for that.

She looked down at the bread in her hands, suddenly found it appealing. She knew what was going to come. It'd been five days and it's time for Sasuke to kiss her. She had been anticipated it the whole day, but he never mentioned it. She noticed he looked a little tired. He might think he had hidden it well from her, but she wasn't a Hyuuga for nothing. She was very perceptive. It's in the way he moved slowlier or the way he panted heavily after one or two hours of running. A few times she wanted to tell him to kiss her to maintain his chakra level but too shy to do so. She couldn't imagine herself saying Please kiss me to anyone, especially him – the last Uchiha.

She knew this wasn't good for them. His enemies could show up at any time and kill them before he could kiss her. A part of her didn't get why he hadn't kissed her yet. He seemed like someone who always wanted to be in their top chakra level and didn't like being weak. He didn't want to kiss me. It probably was the reason and it bothered her for some reason. As long as it wasn't a life-death situation for him, he would rather be weak than kiss her. She shouldn't be surprised, but as she remembered the way he had kissed her so ardently the first two times, she had thought he didn't hate kissing her that much and their kisses were at least tolerant to him. She sighed. It's well known that he detested physical contact, especially to girls, and now he had to kiss her for 4 months, it's no wonder he wanted to delay their kisses until the last minute. She guessed he didn't have a pleasant experience with kissing, she heard that his first kiss was Naruto… Wait a minute! Her pale eyes widened in realization. Could it be…

Too submerged in her thoughts, she didn't notice the man sitting across from her had stood up walking toward her. Only when he was right in front of her did she snap out of it and look up at him with her widened eyes. "It's time." She heard him say.

"O-Okay…" She muttered, knowing well what he meant. It's what she'd been waiting for all day after all.

"Are you dating Naruto?"

"E-Eh?" His question caught her off guard and for a moment she thought she hadn't heard him correctly. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." He said. "I'm not gonna repeat myself."

"Uhm… No, I'm not." She muttered, mostly to herself than to him. Her voice was naturally quiet and when she muttered like that, it made it harder for him to hear her, but she knew he had.

"Good." He said, looking a little relieved. It's so subtle that she almost didn't notice but still saw it and that only strengthened her belief. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped as his hands cupped her face tilting it upward to his face. She quickly put her right hand up to cover his lips.

"W-Wait!" She squeaked. Without waiting for his response, she added. "I-I want to tell you something."

His hand rose, long fingers wrapped around her slender wrist to lower her hand. Her palm felt warm and soft on his lips which was quite a surprise as it should have been callous from training gentle fist. "Say it." He said in a low voice.

She fidged with her other hand. His hands were large and rough around her slender wrist and she suddenly was so aware of the fact that this hand had killed lots of people, innocent ones included. She took a breath, reminding herself that he wouldn't use these hands to kill her instead protect her. "There are many girls who like you."

"Yeah." He nodded.

"But you don't like anyone."

"Yeah."

"You've never had a girlfriend before."

"Yeah."

"In fact, you don't like girls at all."

"Exactly."

"You're very close with Naruto-kun."

"Hn." He didn't want to admit it, but it's the truth. His relationship with the Uzumaki boy was hard to define. Some might call it simply friendship, but he knew it's something much deeper. Naruto was his best friend, his brother, someone he really appreciated and respected.

"He's someone very special to you?"

"What are you trying to say, Hinata?" He was beginning to get annoyed and impatient. All he wanted to do right now was just kiss her to recover his chakra and go to sleep. It had been a tiring day for him after all.

"I just want you to know that it's fine if you're gay…"

"WHAT?" He almost screamed at her. If he didn't need her to keep him alive, he definitely would have killed her for saying such a ridiculous thing. This was not the first time someone suspected that he was gay but he usually didn't care because no one dared to say it to his face. He simply didn't feel the need to prove or explain himself to anyone. Besides, judging from the fact that women still threw themselves at him up until these days, he only had more reasons not to make a big fuss over it. But having a girl, the very girl who he would kiss for 4 months told him he was gay, really pissed him off.

"You like Naruto-kun, right? I like him too, but I'll support you because I don't think he'll ever like me back." She continued. She was fully aware of his rising anger but decided that she had to say it.

"SHUT UP!" He shouted at her. Not only did she think he was gay, but she also dared to assume he liked Naruto. Even if the world went extinct and he and Naruto were the only two people left, he would rather die alone than be with that idiot. The mere thought of it made him want to vomit. How she came up with that ridiculous idea was a mystery to him. He didn't like girls didn't mean he liked men and even if he's gay he would never like Naruto.

"Sasuke, calm down. I'm not discrim…" Her words died in her mouth as she realized she was not sitting up anymore. Instead, she was laying down, with Sasuke straddling her, very much like the time when he stole his first kiss. He had both of her wrists in his hands that he was squeezing so tightly it hurt. He leaned down, slowly, taking his time to make her uncomfortable and with the way her face was blushing madly, he could be sure he was doing a good job at it. That's what she got for assuming he liked Naruto.

Their noses touched. Her breath felt warm on his cold skin. His lips were close to hers, so close they touched. In fact, she would consider it as a peck on the lips, until he started talking. His lips moved a little along hers. It wasn't an actual kiss, it's more like teasing. "I can prove you I'm not gay, right now, right here."

Her heart was pounding in her chest. She knew full well what he meant by proving and she certainly wouldn't want it. But why he had to react so strongly? He looked relieved when she told him she wasn't dating Naruto and the fact that he hated girls had made her believe he was gay and even like Naruto. Having to kiss a stranger girl for 4 months while you're not even into girls was certainly frustrating and she just wanted him to know that she was fine with him being gay and there was nothing between her and Naruto. She wanted him to be comfortable with her. They would travel together for 4 months after all and she couldn't bear it if he held a grudge against her because he thought she would stand between him and Naruto.

But, he looked so angry, like her assumption was completely wrong and he was greatly offended.

"Naruto-kun and I… w-we're not…" She stuttered, fully aware of how his body was pressing against her. His thighs gripped her slim waist and he had both of her wrists in one hand, while his other hand was starting to roam under her jacket. His face left hers to nuzzle her neck, which sent a shiver down her spine. Although his skin was cold, his breath was warm. She wiggled, wanting desperately to get him off her. As he didn't budge an inch, she bit her lip, deciding enough was enough. She couldn't let him go further.

Sasuke felt a pain in his stomach and before he knew what was happening, it wasn't her who was lying down, but him. She had kicked him right at his stomach and he landed gracelessly on the ground a few feet from her. He laid on his back, one of his hands touching his stomach to ease the pain there. He couldn't believe she had kicked him, again. His head was a little buzzing and there was a ringing sound in his ears. He decided this wasn't healthy at all. He should have kissed her sooner. She wouldn't have been able to kick him if he had. Right now, he was weak.

Her face suddenly hovered over his and he couldn't help but notice she looked worried. Such a foolish girl, worrying over the man who had done inappropriate things to her. He didn't have manners, but he knew them. And sleeping with a girl or straddling her definitely wasn't one of them.

"A-Are you okay?" He heard her ask him in a tentative voice.

"Just kiss me." He almost snapped at her.

"O-Okay." She nodded before leaning down and put her lips on his. She kissed him tentatively, parting her lips just a little bit. If she hadn't been kissing him for more than a few seconds, he would have thought this was a kiss but just a peck on the lips. This wasn't the first time they kissed, but he could tell she was still nervous.

As Sasuke felt his chakra was returning, he sat up, very slowly, just to not startle her. His hands went up to clasp her shoulders and pulled her towards him. That move did startle her though. She almost squeaked, but the sound soon died in her mouth as his lips completely covered hers in a hungry kiss.

His lips moved along hers, forcing her to open her lips a little more to let his tongue venture in. He heard a small gasp from her and took that as a chance to deepen the kiss. She didn't respond to the kiss, but at least she didn't fight him or trying to attack him like before. Strangely, this didn't please him like he thought it would. He wanted some kind of reaction from her, anything, just something to show him that this kiss and he had an effect on her. Whether she liked it or hated it, was tolerant it or disgusted by it, at least let him know. He couldn't stand how she just sat there and did nothing.

And his tongue did it. She was finally responding to him, though very unwillingly. Her tongue touched his tentatively like she wasn't sure what to do. Her hands gripped her thighs tightly, afraid that if she let go they would grip the front of his chest instead. His lips never stopped for a second. If they didn't lick her lips, they would bite or suck at it. She wondered if he had to kiss her so hungrily. A simple kiss without any tongue was still considered a kiss on the lips and thus, should be still effective. She decided she would ask him that later as she realized he wouldn't and couldn't stop now.

He realized the more his chakra was depleted, the more ardently he would kiss her. It's like a starving man eating bread for the first time. He knew he should slow down, but he just couldn't control himself. This definitely was an effect of the potion.

"I'm not gay." He said after the kiss. He exhaled slowly, reveling in the feeling of his chakra at its top level.

She was blushing madly, bowing her head a little to avoid looking at him. Inside her, she was reprimanding herself for being too stupid. She was so embarrassed right now that she wished the ground open and swallow her. "Y-You asked me if I was dating Naruto-kun…" She muttered softly, though she doubted this explanation would satisfy him. "And you looked relieved when I told you I'm not."

"I really don't want to kiss Naruto's girlfriend." He said, actually wanting to turn her face to him to see her reaction to his reply. He would refrain it for now though since it would only make her more embarrassed and she might faint over it.

"Why did you think I'm Naruto-kun's girlfriend?" She couldn't help but ask him. She was curious about why he would think that. Was there a rumor or something?

"Just my assumption." He shrugged.

"Would that make any difference?" She asked, a little more comfortable with him now. "I mean, even if I'm his girlfriend, you still have to kiss me to stay alive, right?"

"Knowing that you're not his girlfriend would make it easier to kiss you." He replied. "And if you're, I guess I could never kiss you without feeling guilty."

"But it's not your fault. You don't want any of this."

"That doesn't matter. If you're my girlfriend and Naruto has to kiss you to stay alive, I'll be very pissed."

"Luckily, I'm not his girlfriend, right?" She laughed a little, but he could tell it was fake. There was nothing merry in her laugh.

"You said he'll never like you back."

Her laughed died immediately. She didn't say anything to reply to him, instead nodding her head as if she couldn't trust her words. But after a few moments, she decided she had to say it. It had been bottled in her for so long after all. Besides, she would tell him just a little bit. She wouldn't tell him about her fantasies of having a family with Naruto when she was a little girl or those sleepless nights she had spent thinking about how to get his attention or after the Pain's attack, wondering when she would get his answer or why he hadn't addressed her confession yet. "I confessed to him during the Pain's attack and he never gives me an a-answer." Her voice cracked slightly at the last word.

"Never?"

"Never."

Silence fell over them until he snorted. "At least I told Karin and Sakura I'm not interested."

She laughed at that, although very quietly, it was a real one. Sasuke didn't think there would be a day when he could make a girl laugh.

"Uhm… Sasuke…" She said shyly. "Now you know I'm not Naruto-kun's girlfriend, you don't have to delay kissing me until the last minute."

"Hn." He shrugged lightly.

"You can kiss me whenever you want." She added.

"How about now?"

"N-Now? But you've just kissed me."

"You said whenever I want."

"But I…" She started, but as a smirk curved at the corner of his lips, she exclaimed. "Stop teasing me."

"Hn." Was his only reply.

Knowing he wouldn't give her any other reply besides that curt one, she only sighed in defeat. She felt a little tired, which was understandable since she had lost half of her chakra in such a short amount of time. Laying down on the ground, she looked up at the night sky and suddenly felt a sting in her eyes. She missed her family, her father, and Hanabi. Maybe she should write them a letter to tell them she was fine and Sasuke didn't hurt her. But she would leave that for tomorrow. Right now she was too exhausted and her eyelids felt heavy.

He watched her put her hand on her mouth to suppress a yawn and heard her mutter a "Goodnight" before drifting off to sleep.

The girl laid on her side with her arms close to her chest. Some might think she was in such vulnerability right now, but they're wrong because he was here with her. For the next 4 months, her place was with him and he would gladly kill anyone who dared to take her away.

Hanabi woke up as the first ray of sun shone through the white curtain. She looked around, realizing this wasn't her room but her sister's. She had come to Hinata's room last night and fallen asleep here. She turned on her side and closed her eyes, though she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep again. She wanted to stay here because being in this room made her feel at ease, although just a little.

She had come here last night after a fight with her father. She wasn't informed about her sister's kidnapping right away because her father knew if she had been she would have tried to leave with him. Only when Kou had already left the village with the rescue team did she know. Last night she had begged him to let her go and that she didn't need a team, she could find and rescue her sister on her own just fine, but his answer was always a no. He told her that she had to stay in the village because she was the Hyuuga Heiress and it's too dangerous. She had left his office slamming the door closed so hard it almost fell out and run to Hinata's room. Only when she was surrounded by the lavender scent that she was finally calm down. She had climbed on her sister's bed, imagining Hinata's soft hands run through her brown hair while trying to comfort her. People said she was too much like her father and that was the problem. They both had a strong personality and Hinata had always comforted her when she had a fight with her father.

A knock on the door disrupted her thoughts and Hanabi quickly sat up. She already knew who it was and she didn't want to see him at all, not after her fight with him last night. The door was opened after a few seconds and Hiashi came in, looking as grim as ever. "I know I would find you here."

Hanabi said nothing. The only indication that she had heard him was her looking away to avoid him.

"I know you're mad at me, probably even think that I'm such a selfish father who doesn't care about his daughters' wellbeing at all," Hiashi said as he walked closer to her. He couldn't help but notice the puffiness of her pale eyes and how disheveled she looked.

"I have only one request." She said in a cracked voice.

"And my answer is still no."

"If you are not going to change your mind, what are you doing here?"

"I'm the leader of this clan before I'm your father." He began. "Byakugan's secret has been in enough danger with Hinata's kidnapping, I can't risk to let you go and double that danger."

"It's always about this clan and Byakugan, have you ever thought about us as a father?" She almost yelled at him. Right now being in Hinata's room with her lavender scent wasn't enough to calm her down. If only she was here.

"Because I think as a father I can't let you go." Only at this moment, he realized how much she had taken after him. He was reminded of the exact conversation he had had with his father about his twin brother taking his place to go to Kumo after he killed one of their people. He remembered fighting his father all night over it and never forgot what he had said. You'll understand when you have your own children.

Now he had two daughters to take care of and a clan to lead, he understood what his father had been through and how he had felt and he deeply respected him for that. "You'll understand when you have your own children." He told her what he had been told so many years ago.

"You know Kou's Byakugan's range was smaller than mine. That gap may cost Hinata-neechan her life." She said with some difficulty as a lump was forming in her throat. "You may lose one of your daughters.".

"I may, so I have to protect my other one at all costs." And with that, he left the room. Unknowingly for Hanabi, this room and the lavender scent in it had actually calmed him down a little bit. He didn't expect her to understand, but he hoped at least she knew he loved his two daughters and he didn't let her go not only because he had to ensure that Byakugan's secret would remain a secret but also because he didn't want to lose her.