The following week was filled with rough travel and unpredictable weather. More often than not, the rain was freezing cold and if that weren't enough Karin argued with Suigetsu through all of it. Those two just couldn't leave each other be..
Hinata kept to the rear of the group and avoided conversation as much as humanly possible except for the occasional announcement that they needed to make a piss stop. It was awkward traveling with mostly men so she was slightly thankful to have Karin.
She had spent more than three days thinking back to a conversation that occurred at the beginning of the week. One in which Karin told her she wouldn't be upset with Hinata if she decided to bunk with Sasuke. She encouraged it so Hinata could get used to the idea of being with him.
Hinata had just stared at her, completely dumbfounded. This girl was really pushing for this to happen! Hinata was trying to run the complete opposite direction of the idea. She hated when the Uchiha was brought up in casual conversation. It was like their entire world revolved around Sasuke Uchiha.
Hinata nearly crippled Suigetsu the day before, after he had made a remark about her giving birth to red eyed babies. She wished she had never taken that stupid bet..and then lost..
Hinata groaned at the thought. She'd rather be home listening to her father fantasize about her marrying Neji. At least Neji wasn't as demented as Sasuke. She cringed at the very thought of marrying either of them.
The cold rain picked up and pools of mud were forming around their feet. The air seemed to get colder by the second. While everyone else was whining and chattering their teeth, minus Sasuke of course, Hinata didn't seem to feel anything as she was lost in thought and numb to most everything else.
As a matter of fact, she was so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed the group came to an abrupt halt. She ended up slamming face first into Sasuke's back, then she fell backwards into what seemed to be the largest mud hole for miles.
Laughter erupted from Suigetsu and Karin beamed him over the head with her fist while yelling something at him about being a jerk. Hinata took quick note of the fact that she couldn't exactly hear what Karin was saying, even though she was clearly yelling. She pushed against the ground but her muscles couldn't hoist her weight as easily. Fatigue must have crept in while she was too busy thinking to even properly evaluate her own state of well being.
She became lightly dizzy and somewhat sleepy as she looked up at Sasuke, whom was towering over her with his hands stretched out. "Hinata" It sounded like he was speaking through a rubber hose. She closed her eyes and didn't remember much of the day after that.
The sun came shining through the small opening in the front of the tent and Hinata gradually emerged from her slumber. She stretched as far as she possibly could and popped every joint she could think of, except her back. Before she could rightfully complain about the lack of popping from her back she discovered something which demanded all of her attention and immediately.
Sasuke was tangled up in a mess of blankets just beneath her, and he was hardly even clothed to say the very least. Hinata clenched her jaws and sat up to look down at him. She went from looking at him, to looking at herself just to make sure she still had clothes on and thankfully she did or this would have been a whole lot worse for him.
She looked around the tent, contemplating her next move. She could either get up and leave him sleeping or she could wake him up...rudely. Her eyes locked on a small cooking pot just a few inches away, sticking out of the side of one of their traveling packs. A smile spread across her face as she had decided, today she would awaken Sasuke Uchiha from his slumber.
She gently leaned over and tugged the cooking utensil from the corner of the bag. Once she had it in her hands, she tightened her fingers around its thin handle. She reared back and hammered it toward his head. Being the ninja he was, he obviously sensed a disturbance in the force and narrowly dodged by moving his head slightly to the left. The pot clanked against the hard ground and Sasuke wasted no time grabbing her wrists as she was trying to continue her assault. "I will kill again, Uchiha! Let go!"
"Not in your condition." He smirked as he continued his breathless reply. "You need to rest and save your strength." She was fighting to free her wrists from his grasp. Just one good smack of the pot would satisfy her enough to travel another week with him. "I said let go!"
He flipped her off his body and they both scrambled to their feet. Hinata swung the pot once more, this time with all of her weight with it, and they collided and fell out of the tent in a tussle.
"I hate you!"
"You're trying too hard to kill me to actually hate me..!" He grunted and wrestled her, successfully knocking the entire tent down. Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo were lounging around cooking breakfast when the two came barreling out. Needless to say they weren't too interested in food anymore. Their eyes were wide as they witnessed the scene unravel before them.
Hinata kept swinging the pot and Sasuke would narrowly dodge her. Suigetsu thought Sasuke would get it for sure when Hinata managed to pin him down for a brief second.
"Oh my god, she's crazy." Suigetsu commented, he was absolutely flabbergasted. Karin and Jugo, whom were just as wide eyed, nodded in agreement.
Sasuke managed to get his arms around her and pin her flailing appendages down. "Let go!"
"Not until you stop."
"I won't stop until you feel this pot between your eyes!"
"Then I'm not letting you go!" Annoyance was clear in Sasuke's voice. He found she was harder to deal with than he had originally anticipated.
Hinata groaned and ate the breakfast Sasuke made with the pot he had pried from her fingers. Suigetsu and Jugo were sitting further away from her than usual. They were probably afraid she would resurrect a hot pot from the fire and come for their lives as well.
Sasuke sat across from her and stared at her while he ate. He took a pause between bites and nodded toward her. "You're crazy." Hinata didn't answer. She just smiled and nodded.
A few days later Hinata woke to the harsh sun yet again. Karin was awake and laying next to her. Suigetsu and Sasuke seemed to have disappeared on some sort of supply run and left the girls to Jugo's care.
The girls emerged from the tent and sleepily sat next to the fire. Jugo wasn't much of a talker, he mostly just sat and stared into the flames. Karin wanted to play with Hinata's hair constantly and all Hinata wanted to do was eat.
Karin brushed through Hinata's hair and asked her millions of questions on the treatment of it. "I wash it, brush it, and leave it. Sometimes I'll trim the ends."
"What do you wash it with? It's so soft!"
"The same thing we've both been washing our hair with..."
Karin giggled, stood, and walked back over to the tent, "We should get ready. Sasuke said when they return we will be heading out."
"Yay.." Hinata rolled her eyes and began helping Karin put their belongings away and get everything ready for travel.
The further they traveled toward the snowy terrain the colder and colder it became. One of the tents had ripped along the way, forcing Suigetsu to share with Jugo. The group stopped at the foot of what seemed to be an enormous mountain covered with nothing but snow, ice, and sharp rocks.
"Seriously?" Hinata mumbled to herself and watched as Suigetsu and Sasuke stepped into a small shop by the gate. Karin looked at her and shrugged silently.
"Hopefully they'll get another tent or a few of them for that matter.. I don't think our tents will last another week in this weather."
"God that would suck so bad." Karin stretched and popped her back, "I know, I can't stand Suigetsu."
"Oh come on, don't even, Karin. I saw you two walking together yesterday. Don't deny it." Karin's face turned red and she hurriedly hushed Hinata, "Stop that or he'll hear you!" She whispered in a raspy, comical voice. "That's really all I need. A stupid AND cocky Suigetsu."
Hinata laughed at her disoriented stance and shrugged it off. Suigetsu and Sasuke stepped out of the shop with two tents and some clothing. The clothing looked to be very heavy and Hinata was not looking forward to putting it on.
"Jugo, Karin put these on.." Suigetsu distributed two heavy cloaks, two thermal shirts, and two pairs of protective layer clothing. Sasuke walked over to Hinata and wrapped her in a thicker cloak.
"I don't know how warm this will keep you, but if you get cold let me know and I'll give you mine also."
"I'm sure this will be fine. Thanks, Sasuke." Her tone was softer with him now, she had finally simmered down since their run in a few days prior. The two had finally started to get used to one another.. slowly but surely.
"We're gonna toss the other tents and use these two. It was all they had in stock or we would've gotten four...we all know how you love sleeping with Karin." He remarked sarcastically.
"So are you three guys gonna take the larger tent?"
"No. Karin, Jugo, and Suigetsu will take that one. You and I will take the smaller one."
"Excuse me?"
"A bet is a bet. I won fair as hell and you know it."
She narrowed her eyes, "You do remember what happened the last time I woke up in a tent alone with you? Or should I remind you?"
"Yeah I remember, but in this case the risk is well worth the reward." He gave her a crooked grin and she crossed her arms. He had a death wish, she was absolutely certain of that. However, Hinata was determined to make him not want to marry her.