Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: I'm glad you guys like the last chapter and thank you so much for continuing to support me. Every review, favorite and follow means a lot to me.

Again, because English isn't my first language, gramma errors are inevitable so if you find any, please tell me in the comment section or you can send me a message. I'll correct it immediately.

Enjoy!

10

"How about I show you how I do the adult thing?"

"U-Um… Okay, if you want." She said bashfully.

Sasuke was dumbfounded. He stared at her, at a loss for words. He had expected her to blush furiously, to scold him for daring to offer such an impertinent thing, or even to faint from embarrassment, and definitely never accept his offer. Maybe he had rubbed off on her too much. No, he slightly shook his head. This was Hinata and she likely had no idea what he was talking about. "Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"You want to show me your clan's most difficult technique." She replied, her pale eyes blinking and head tilting slightly to the side.

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Hyuugas are only considered adults when they can perform the clan's most difficult technique. I guess it's the same for your clan. Neji-niisan was considered an adult when he was only 14." She explained, extremely proud to mention one of her prodigy cousin's accomplishments to him.

"I'm talking about sex."

Her pale eyes widened as horror and embarrassment filled her. Red started to spread over her face and it took all of her willpower to not faint. If sex was what he was having in mind right now, she definitely wouldn't want to faint. "S-s-sex?" She stuttered, just starting to realize how close they were now. He had one hand in her long hair, the other hand wrap securely around her waist and she was practically pressing against him. She quickly wiggled out of his arms and thankfully, he let her. "Why would you want to talk about s-sex?"

"God, Hinata! How old are you?" He willed himself not to facepalm. This girl's innocence was really on a different level.

When she continued to stare at him in confusion, dumbfounded, he knew she couldn't be helped. But maybe he should have expected nothing less from her. She was the first daughter of the Hyuuga leader, a lady of high class. She had lived a very sheltered life and had no idea how lecherous men could be. The elders had probably drilled into her head that no man, except her husband, was allowed to touch her. It could be Naruto or a wealthy daimyo and somehow the idea of a man, even if it was her future husband, touching her displeased him greatly.

He discreetly sighed. Things were becoming more and more confusing and he had decided that it's not worth trying to make sense of everything because he couldn't. He would just let it happen on its own. Right now he was content with having her by his side and it's all that mattered.

Hinata took a few steps back. She looked at him with a confused, dumbfounded, and even a little frightened expression on her face and he wondered how she could express so many emotions, especially when she was from Hyuuga clan, whose stoicism could rival his own clan. But after all, she was not like most Hyuuga, just like how she was different from all women he had met.

Her hand rose, crossing in front of her chest in a feeble attempt to cover it, face on fire as she exclaimed. "I'm not having sex with you."

Sasuke found her fluster amusing and endearing. His pursed lips twitched as he tried not to laugh at her silly exclamation. He actually pitied her because when he found something amusing, he would like to prolong it. "Remember when you said fuck you to me? I can consider it as an invitation."[*]

"I-I… It's n-not an i-in…" Words jumbled in her mouth. She was so flustered that her stutter came back tenfold worse than before.

"Oh, and you even groped me. It's quite a turn on." [**]

Hinata started to feel light-headed, her vision became blurry. She willed herself not to faint but it was becoming harder and harder with each word he said and she just wanted to dig a hole for herself. This man loved teasing her and had no qualms about it. She knew he could be playful when he wanted to be but she had no idea what triggered it. He just out of nowhere teased her and then left her flustered and blushed madly with a smug smirk on his lips.

Her vision suddenly shifted upward the sky as she vaguely realized she was fainting again. She prepared herself for a nasty fall and then darkness would engulf her but none of them came. Instead of the hard cold ground, she found herself embraced in one of his arms, steadying her limp frame.

"Don't faint." She heard him mumble. Her mouth opened to tell him that his request was incredulous. If he didn't want her to faint, then do not tease her. However, she then decided not to say it as anything coming out of her mouth right now would likely be a terrible stutter.

"Calm down. Breath." His voice was strangely soothing, coaxing her into doing what he said and she found herself doing so obediently.

It seemed the faint spells had decided to let her go this time. She began to breath more easily, face cooling down and her blush subsided. It took a few minutes but finally, she could get some words out. "Is it you let them saw us kiss because you wanted to tease me?" She asked, inwardly complimenting herself for not stuttering. It was something she could be immensely proud of.

Silence ensued and when he only gave her a look, she wondered if she had somehow offended him. With the way his lips pursed into a thin line and a frown crossed his brows, it seemed her guess was completely wrong.

"No." His one-word reply only made her more curious. Although she didn't want to annoy him with questions as she knew he didn't like it, this matter did concern her so she believed she had the right to know.

"Then why? Why did you do that?" She could see the hesitation and uncertainty in his dark eyes and couldn't but be taken aback a little. The Sasuke she knew was always sure of himself, he knew what he was doing and be firm about it but today, she learned that it wasn't everything about him. He could hesitate, could have doubts and could even feel neglected just like everyone else. She used to found growing up with stoic men difficult and challenging but now she was thankful for it. It gave her the ability to recognize and identify the subtle emotions he displayed, which solidified her belief that he was a human being, not the monster people said he was and he had emotions.

"It's an effect of the potion." The explanation sounded convincing as he said it with a straight face, any doubts and uncertainties he was having kept out his voice in an attempt to prevent her from asking any more questions, which he had no answers for.

He could tell his answer didn't satisfy her as confusion fluttered across her face but thankfully, she didn't press him more on the matter. She was true to her words to not pester him with questions, even when she had every right to as his action did affect her. Sometimes he pitied her for her inability to put herself before others.

It's not that he didn't want to give her a better answer, he just didn't have one. His actions recently had become inexplicable even to him, which had never happened before. He prayed the answer he gave her was the right one because it meant all of this was fixable once they got to Orochimaru. But a part of him, the part that was growing steadily at first but now so fast that he couldn't ignore, wanted to keep some of this out of the potion's effect. Peaceful nights sleeping with her, having her blush and fluster at the slightest touch of their lips, and simply having by her his side were just three of them. He might as well add some more to the list as their journey continued.

Her pale eyes slid from his face to the ground. Pink stained her cheeks as she bit her bottom lip nervously, all accusing her of wanting to say something which might be very embarrassing. He waited patiently because watching her fluster was amusing in itself.

"We're still not having s-sex." She mumbled as if to remind him.

"We'll see about that." His reply came rather quickly. He watched in amusement as her pale eyes widened in horror, mouth opening for what he assumed a shriek but only silence reigned.

She fainted.

Sasuke could only sigh. He crouched a little, put an arm under her shoulder, the other under her knees. She felt light and warm as he carried her in his arms towards the tree. As he sat down at the trunk with her cradled comfortably his lap, head resting against his chest, he couldn't help but think that their plan to get to Orochimaru as soon as possible wouldn't go well.

The shock of witnessing Sasuke kiss Hinata had yet waned off, another one came with Hiashi's letter. The Hyuuga Leader expressed his disappointment in his inability to find and rescue his daughter and how he started to question if choosing him for this mission was the right decision. He urged him to do everything he could to complete his mission because, as Hiashi wrote, things were getting out of control. This was what Kou dreaded most. Hiashi had summarized his daughter's letter in just one sentence and this was where Kou's anxiety level skyrocketed.

Hinata wrote that she is willing to follow Sasuke to help him with something, he doesn't force her, and she even thinks he is a good person.

The rest of the letter was just like what he expected. The Hokage's refusal to send another team had enraged the elders greatly and they were frantic to come up with a plan. There was even a chance that they would send their own rescue team if they deemed the current team was unable to complete the mission. Besides the chance of Byakugan's secret being revealed, they feared that Sasuke would force himself on Hinata or seduce her and a child with two bloodline limits would be born. The Hyuuga valued their pure blood more than anything and a hybrid with the Uchiha was unacceptable.

"Your friend is a bastard." Kou bit out and Naruto didn't need to ask to know who his insult was directed to.

"You don't know anything about him." Naruto's retort came rather quickly.

"Hinata-sama wrote a letter to Hiashi-sama stating that she was willing to follow Sasuke and he doesn't force her. It's not a kidnapping anymore."

Shock was written clearly on Naruto and Sakura's faces and while he couldn't see Shino's expression, he knew he was just as shocked as them. The buzz of his insects was the clearest evidence of his shock and even frustration.

"I suppose the letter on your hand is Hiashi-sama's," Sakura said.

"I doubt the reliability of Hinata's letter. Sasuke might have forced her to write it." Shino said.

"No. I've seen it with my own eyes," Kou said, once again remembering what he had seen while trying to make sense of the situation. "Hinata-sama was not injured, she was not trapped in a genjutsu, and she didn't even try to escape. She could have used gentle fists, just one touch from her could render him paralyzed, but she did none of those. All she did was thrashing on his shoulder like…"

"... like she wanted him to release her so she could run away with him on her own." Naruto finished for him. The atmosphere was tense with this discovery. If this was not a kidnapping, what's the point of this team? Hinata was an adult, as long as she didn't defect or betray the village, no one could tell her where to go or who to follow. Well, the Hyuuga elders could, but not them.

"There must be a reason," Sakura said, still trying to defend her old teammate.

"And what reason it is? To restore his clan with her?

"No way… They barely know each other."

"Even if Sasuke wants to restore his clan with Hinata, that doesn't explain why she is willing to follow him. We all know she loves Naruto." Shino said and all eyes fell onto the blonde boy, expecting him to say something and when he only gave them silence, Kou decided to drop the bombshell.

"Then why did they kiss?" They had avoided talking about it, mainly because the news was so shocking that it rendered them speechless. And that's not even everything he had seen. "He let me see them kiss."

"What?" The three members' jaws almost dropped. They thought that he saw what he saw simply because of his Byakugan, not because Sasuke let him saw it.

"He began to kiss Hinata-sama the moment I could saw them and it's not a coincidence. Hinata-sama's Byakugan was activating and her range was much larger than mine. She could see me long before I could see her and must have warned him about us. He knew I could see them."

"You mean Hinata wanted us to see them kiss too?" Sakura asked, her lips were quivering as if she wanted nothing more than to deny it all.

"I don't think so. She seemed surprised and even tried to stop him."

"She just wanted to leave but he didn't let her and he kissed her just for us to see," Shino concluded.

"She even wrote that she thinks he's a good person." Kou continued as if what he had revealed wasn't shocking enough.

"Is it bad that she thinks he is a good person?" Naruto asked, but it sounded like he was challenging Kou.

"It is," Kou replied, challenging him to say otherwise. "Kiba confirmed that it was a kidnapping. Hinata-sama had tried to escape, vigorously even, which meant something must have happened between them that made her change her mind and decide to follow him willingly."

"Stop making him look like a bad person." Sakura couldn't contain her annoyance. She, just like Naruto, despite what people said, always believed that their teammate wasn't a horrible person. Sasuke might not be the nicest person, but he would never hurt anyone without a good reason. "If she thinks Sasuke-kun is a good person, it means he has treated her well enough to gain her trust."

"You said it yourself they barely knew each other. Why being nice to her while he has tried to kill you and Naruto several times?"

"Did Hinata reveal why she decides to follow Sasuke?" Shino asked in a calm voice. It seemed he was the only person here who could maintain his cool.

"He needs her help with something," Kou replied.

"That's must be it. He's nice to her because he needs her help, so stop degrading him."

"What is it he needs her help in that involves kissing?"

"You sound like you don't want him to treat her well."

"Why did he want us to know that they kissed?"

"I don't know, but…"

"I can't think of any plausible reason for him to kiss her and show it to us."

"I'll ask him myself when we find them," Naruto said, his voice was hoarse and gruff like a growl and if it was 2 years ago, they would have feared that the Nine-Tailed was trying to take over his body.

As if to indicate the discussion was over, Naruto turned and left.

"Naruto, wait!" Sakura called, quickly following him.

He heard her but decided not to reply. He knew she would follow him anyway and that's exactly what he needed. There were things they needed to discuss as members of team 7, not of the rescue team.

Once Sakura and Naruto's figures disappeared behind the tall and massive trees, Shino slowly turned to Kou, silently gauging his expression. "You didn't mean it, did you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

Silence ensued for a few moments before Kou gave a sigh and proceeded to sat on a log. One hand was shoved into his hair in frustration as he contemplated what to say. He wasn't usually like this. No Hyuugas were supposed to behave like this, all impetuous and ill-mannered but he guessed witnessing Sasuke and Hinata kiss and learning that she was willing to follow him was too much to bear.

"I'm thankful." He murmured as Shino sat down next to him. Shino must be the only person in this team that had his complete trust to give it his all to find and rescue Hinata. He knew Naruto and Sakura were trying their best to complete the mission too, but he had a vague feeling that their real mission was never Hinata but Sasuke. After all, their bias toward their old teammate was quite strong.

"I'm too," Shino replied. There were no more words needed to be spoken for them to know what the other was meaning. When they were informed of Hinata's kidnapping, they had expected the worst, so seeing her alive, healthy, and perhaps even safe was a much-needed relief.

"Naruto asked me if it's bad that Hinata-sama thinks the Uchiha is a good person…" Kou began after a few minutes of silence for them to gather their thoughts. "Hinata-sama is too nice. She believes in the good in people and that sometimes can hurt her."

"She must be very happy to find out that Sasuke is a good person, not the monster people say he is."

"That is if Sasuke really is a good person like she thinks he is." Kou's voice lowered as he went to the part where he was most afraid of. "If he is not and all the kindness he showed her is just a fraud, a dirty way to gain her trust and take advantage of her, she will be devastated."

"Sasuke is not that kind of person."

"Not you too, Shino." Kou sighed and then gave him a look to promote him so say more. He would like to hear from a third party with an unbiased view.

"I don't know much about Sasuke but from what I hear, he is not the kind of person who pretends to be something they are not just for personal gains."

"I hope you're right."

"You should apologize to Naruto and Sakura."

"I will, when they return."

Neither said anything for the next few minutes, the crackling of the fire and the chirpings of the crickets were the only sounds accompanying them. Kou's pale eyes watched the tall trees that Naruto and Sakura had disappeared into, expecting to see them return, but saw nothing. Whatever they were discussing probably would take a while, which he could understand. Sasuke was someone they could go to hell and back for, just like he would for Hinata.

"I know I should have said it a long time ago but…" Kou said, turning his gaze from the massive trees to the man next to him. He hoped Shino could see the gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you for always being there for Hinata-sama."

"That's what teammates do."

"I know us Hyuugas sometimes didn't even treat her like family, especially the elders in the past, and I'm just a low branch member, there is not much that I can do for her, so I'm very thankful knowing that there are people out there that consider her as their own family and even willing to risk their lives of her."

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Shino said. "We support Hinata as her team but inside the Hyuuga walls, we could do nearly nothing, so thank you for always taking care of her when we can't."

"I guess she just has that ability to make people want to protect her," Kou said, thinking of a certain overprotective cousin. He could in his head imagine Neji in his place, out of his mind with worry.

"Indeed," Shino replied and for the first time since the mission began, they let a small smile grace their lips.

Sakura stopped once she found him. Naruto sat on a log, elbows resting on his knees. His blue eyes were looking upward. The sky was clear, giving him the perfect view of the moon. It reminded him of her eyes, pale but shiny. He thought Hinata was like the moon herself, quiet, tranquil, shy, and easily hidden behind the clouds but the beauty was undeniable.

The log shifted a little as Sakura sat down next to him. Instead of looking at the moon like he was, her green eyes focused on him. "Are you okay?"

"I should be the one asking that question. Are you okay?" His eyes shifted from the moon to bore into her green ones, as if to warn her not to lie to him. She didn't intend to anyway.

"No, I'm not okay." One of her friends was kidnapped and the kidnapper was her old teammate and now they were seen kissing each other, how could she be okay? "What I said earlier…"

"… is not true." He finished for her and before she could say anything, he continued. "Sasuke doesn't show his kindness just because he needs help."

Sakura could only nod her head because every word he said was undeniable. If Sasuke showed his kindness, it's because he wanted to, not because he needed to. Besides, he didn't need to show Hinata his kindness for her to help him. Hinata was the kind of person who could never say no to anyone, especially when they needed her help. And what did he need her help in that involved kissing? Sakura couldn't think of a single thing. Except, he didn't need to kiss her, he just wanted to.

Sakura had once felt she had to compete with every single female in the village for Sasuke's attention, except Hinata. The crush the girl had on Naruto was so huge that she could comment on how cool Sasuke was, which she never did, and she wouldn't even felt threatened, but not anymore. Her dream of being her long-time crush's second kiss could never come true and she guessed the same went for Hinata's dream of her first kiss to be Naruto.

"If you don't hurry up, Sasuke-kun may come and sweep her off her feet." She said, intending it to be a joke but it came out rather bitter.

"Eh? So you know?" He scratched his head awkwardly, a faint blush coming to his cheeks.

"Of course I know. If you don't want the whole village to know you're purchasing flowers for her that symbolizes admiration, pride, and beauty, you shouldn't ask Ino. You know she loves to gossip." Sakura said, quoting every word in Naruto's order that Ino had told her.

"I never intend to hide it anyway."

"Well, the whole village knows, expect Hinata. She's out on a mission and now she's with Sasuke."

"I guess it's karma coming back and biting me in the ass." He laughed a little and although it's not one of his joyful ones, it still warmed her heart knowing that the old Naruto was still there and never left.

"It's never too late for you and her."

"How could you know? Maybe Sasuke has already swept her off her feet."

"You can always ask her out when she returns. She has loved you since she was little." Her tone was encouraging, not allowing him to give up on his newfound love interest. That's what friend did, supporting each other not only on battlefields but also in life.

"Sakura-chan, they kissed."

His words stopped her all at once. Her mouth opened for a retort but only silence reigned. Something like hurt fluttered across her face and because she didn't want him to see it, she quickly lowered her head, letting pink strands veil her face from his view. Naruto, despite popular belief, was not bad at recognizing facial expression at all, especially when it came to her, who had been his close friend for years.

It was not a pleasant feeling at all. Learning that the man she had loved for years had kissed another woman and even showed it to people had left her with a combination of shock, confusion, and hurt, and together they buzzed in her chest. The more she tried to suppress them, the more they consumed her and filled her with doubt and questions. What started as a kidnapping had become something so complicated, though she told herself that she should have expected it as nothing was simple when it came to Sasuke.

The kidnapping was not a kidnapping anymore, the victim defended the kidnapper, and the kidnapper kissed the victim. How could they rescue Hinata when she didn't even want to be rescued?

If a kiss was what he let them see, she dreaded what he didn't.

"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry. I just…" Naruto began, rushing to comfort her.

"No, Naruto." She held a hand, immediately silencing him. As she turned her face, pink hair moving a little to reveal a soft smile. It wasn't real, he knew.

"I'm okay." Her smile quickly faded as her lips set in determination. "Let's try our best to find them."

Just like many years ago, he grinned and held a thumb up.

And please, don't lose to him.

[*] This refers to a scene in chapter 8

[**] This refers to a scene in chapter 5

Before you guys leave, I want to recommend 2 stories that I really like. They are super good and I think you guys should check it out.

A Deal With The Devil by PenCraft31.13

The Priestess by neverkarma

Man, I can't express how much I love these two stories. I wouldn't say anything because I don't want to spoil the stories but trust me, give it a try you wouldn't regret.