Important A/N: Sorry everyone, sort of almost forgot fanfiction was still alive xD This story has a total of 21 complete chapters over on my Wattpad. If you've been my follower for a while you'll notice a lot of my stories are being moved over to Wattpad, it's just a lot quicker over there than it is here. (Not doing their advertising or anything). But YES I will be uploading the rest of this story onto fanfiction, I just do not upload as frequently and when I do I usually edit and upload in large masses.

If you want to go ahead and read the rest of this story you can find me on Wattpad, I'll put the link on my profile . Or you can wait until I get all of my chapters uploaded here. Just note that on Wattpad, for this story specifically, grammar has not been corrected passed chapter 11. I'm working on it. xD

Also Yes, some characters are ooc for the sake of this fic. *couch*Hinata*couch* I thought I put that in the description but I'll have to revise that I suppose.

Sorry for the long winded waste of time here, but there were so many of the same questions, which is fine! I don't mind answering questions. Thank you all for tuning in !

*Warning* There is fluffy stuff in this chapter.****

"You.. told me to stay out of your way.. but you don't really plan on attacking the leaf, do you?" Hinata tried not to sound too concerned, she tried to put up a tough front but the thought of Sasuke doing something so stupid disappointed her more than she cared to admit.

They had been in Kiri for two whole days and Karin had absolutely gone wild with Suigetsu at the fair. Not that Hinata really blamed her, everything looked so fun. There were tons of water slides and swimming activities and the weather was just great. Not too hot and not too cold. However, Hinata didn't know how to swim and therefore she opted to stay out of the water.

While Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo were out enjoying themselves Hinata was tagging along with Sasuke to one of his meetings. He wasn't in a very talkative mood to say the very least but she had gotten so used to his secretive nature that it didn't seem to bother her as much as it used to. He could really grow on people if he actually hung around long enough to do so.

"You sound worried." That wasn't a question, it was more so an observation. "I was just hoping that you weren't really that stupid."

"Tch." Sasuke seemed a little taken aback by her response, but then again nothing really surprised him anymore.

"Why aren't you swimming or something?"

"Why are you avoiding my questions? You know I haven't really been asking as much as I usually do.. I figured you would continue to tell me things, you've already told me so much." Sasuke didn't respond immediately, but after a few minutes of silence he inhaled deeply and started talking. "I'm going to meet a messenger from the Leaf."

"What?"

"Back at the mountain, Naruto was there because I summoned him. I planned it all, I lied about it. But I didn't plan on you and Karin running into the enemy."

"I thought those men on the mountain were your allies, through Orochimaru?"

"Orochimaru had no allies, only acquaintances."

"If you're working with Naruto, why did we steal from him?"

"We didn't. He knew I was coming for the scroll, he had it laid out for me." Hinata stopped walking and stared at him with her mouth agape, "Excuse me? You had me sneaking around that place like I was- Sasuke!" She smacked his arm, "Why would you do me that way? I thought we were really betraying some people!" She watched as a grin crossed his face, "I thought it made things a little more fun. Besides, had those goons on the mountain seen me waltz in the hokage tower in broad daylight they would've known something was up. We had to play the part right, Hinata."

"Well why didn't you just tell me privately?"

"Because I had a hunch that you suck at acting."

"I have a hunch that you should shut up." Hinata crossed her arms over her chest as she fought back a smile. They continued walking casually down the empty street. Everyone was busy with the fair, leaving the back streets pretty vacant.

"I want you to keep a distance, unless you want Naruto to know where you are."

"Do you think he would try to drag me back to the Leaf?" Sasuke practically snorted. "You're asking me if Naruto would try and drag you back to the Leaf Village?"

"Oh, right, sorry." Hinata bit her lip and sighed, "Understood, I will keep my distance. Whom is it you're meeting?"

"Naruto sent Yamato in his place this time."

"Oh.."

"You sound upset, did you want to see him?"

"No." Sasuke smirked teasingly and adjusted his top so not so much of his chest was exposed. "What did he do to you anyway?"

"Huh? Naruto?"

"Who else? I never thought you would leave the Leaf, especially not with Naruto there."

"Things change. Naruto has other objectives and me.. well I just got tired of sitting around waiting for people to fit me into their life." Hinata was surprised at his sudden talkative nature, that's why she was so compliant to answer his questions. Maybe if she told him more about her he would open up more about the things in his life. Though, she wasn't so sure why she cared so much now..

At first it was annoying to be tagging along and participating in activities that she wasn't so sure were in the best interest of her friends. Now, however, it was like she wanted to know more than just his motives and his intentions for the Leaf. She wanted to know what exactly made him tick, what kind of laugh did he have, and what did he look like when he smiled, genuinely? So many questions and it felt as if she knew so little about him. But wasn't that how things were supposed to be? They were acquaintances right? Temporary comrades? Allies of circumstance?

"Can't say I blame you for leaving. The Hyuga and the Uchiha family have always been strict with traditions. If my family were alive today I would more than likely be in your shoes, staring at a woman that my family picked out for me."

"You don't think they would've picked Sakura?"

"Tch. Hell no. She would've had to have been an Uchiha, probably a cousin of mine. That's how families like ours operate." Hinata nodded in agreement as they approached a small wooded area. "This is it, stay here and stay alert."

"Right." She watched his back disappear into the darkness of the woods. Hinata loved cloudy days, but it was during times like this that she wished those days didn't come so very often.

Birds and crickets chirped in sync with one another as the toads croaked from the many puddles of water around the woods. If the overgrown vegetation hadn't made the woods seem so eerie, the many noises would've been peaceful sounding.

She found a tree to lean against for the next forty five minutes, until Sasuke emerged from the brush. He looked down at her taking note of how she stood lazily propped up against a tree playing with her thumbs. How could she possibly stare down like that for forty five minutes? His neck hurt just thinking about it.

"Oh, you're finished already?" She looked up and smiled at him. Her long, dark lashes framed her beautiful and other worldly eyes perfectly. Her porcelain skin lacked even the smallest of imperfections and her plump, yet modest, pale pink lips drove him crazy. A good reason as to why he made an effort not to consciously stare at her for very long.

Who knows what he might do..

"Yeah, It was quick and painless I guess.." He averted his gaze to the woods behind them.

"Hey, Sasuke?"

"Yeah?" His dark, doe like eyes snapped back to her smaller form. "I'm sorry that I called you a pervert.. I know you're not. I was just really..embarrassed." He paused for a moment and took in their surroundings before smiling. It was breathtaking really, a smile like his should be captured and framed somewhere so the world could witness it. Hinata tried not to be consumed by the sheer joy she felt boiling in the pit of her stomach at seeing him smile so sweetly. Why was his smile so..contagious? It was probably a good thing he didn't do it very often. It seemed to be dangerous, especially when used around her. Why was he smiling like that anyway? Was she making him smile like that?

"Understandably, I would be a little..embarrassed too, I guess. I should have been a little more courteous of the situation.."

Was that an apology she was hearing? It sure sounded like it.

"Thank you." His smile lasted a few seconds before they were on the road again and heading back to their hotel room.

That night was a horrible night, for Hinata anyway. A thunderstorm had rolled in and just like every cliche romance novel that depicted the woman being terrified of the thunder and crawling into the arms of her lover - guess what- Hinata was, of course, terrified of severe thunderstorms.

But instead of crawling in the arms of her lover, which she didn't have, she had Karin who sleepily held her through like the first ten minutes of the storm before she was snoring. Hinata sat up in shaking frustration with herself. With every clap of thunder she would flinch.

Deciding she didn't like the idea of being next to a window, she scampered to the small kitchen and poured herself some water. She found an extra blanket in one of their bags and wrapped herself up before finding a cozy corner in the kitchen and sitting in it. Small cozy spaces always made her feel better during thunderstorms. She wasn't sure why but it helped with the feeling of being totally vulnerable.

She knew she wouldn't be getting much sleep this way but it wasn't like they would be doing anything strenuous for the next few days anyway. She knew for a fact that Sasuke would be sleeping in the next morning. It would take a nuclear war to wake that man up. So, Hinata laid her head against the wall and cocooned herself tightly in the blanket. She never really fell into a deep sleep, it was more like a light sleep that was interrupted every time thunder erupted. For the majority of her night she was going between a light sleep and being jolted completely awake.

Around five am she heard voices and the kitchen light came on. Who in the hell was awake at five am? She cracked her eyes open just as Sasuke sleepily strode into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. He was shirtless and wearing a baggy pair of sleeping pants that hung very loosely on his hips. The man had no regard for others around him. He took a long drink of cold water and turned on his heels to flip the light switch off, but stopped when he saw her in the corner. "What are you doing, psycho?" He mumbled and slowly trudged over to her. She didn't answer him as she was dozing back off into her light sleep. He crouched down and parted the blanket to grab her arms. She was ice cold. "Come on, you can't sleep here. You'll be sick." His voice was hoarse yet commanding as he didn't feel like dealing with any of her crap at five am. "Mmmmm.." Was the only response/whine that he received from her.

With great ease, he pulled her up out of the corner and hoisted her over one of his shoulders. He turned the kitchen light out and packed her toward the bed she shared with Karin, "Noooo.. I don't wanna go there. It's too close to the window.." She mumbled and he stopped, "Then where the hell do you want to be?"

"Anywhere but there."

"Tch. Just go back to sleep."

"Saaaaasuke.."

"Fine, I'll put you somewhere, just shut up." He carried her back to his bed and flopped her down on the mattress. "Ouww.." She groaned and held her blanket to her chest tightly. "Now go to sleep." He crawled up beside her and relaxed into the mattress. Just before he dozed off he glanced over at her, as if to see if she was going to be alright. Thunder was still hot and booming outside and she was shaking like a child, "Hinata?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you afraid of thunderstorms?" He whispered, almost annoyed.

"Are you going to be mad if I say yes?" She mumbled in return.

"Oh dear god.." He groaned and rolled over so he was laying completely on top of her. "Sasuke you're fat, get off."

"But if I do this..you'll suffocate and you wont have to worry about the thunder anymore.."

"Sasuke.." Hinata tried to smack his chest and his sides but he didn't move until he felt the need to. He turned his back to her and shortly after he heard her light snoring and smiled sleepily. Her arm snaked around his waist and her small hand rested against his chest, just over his heart. He could feel her warm breath between his shoulder blades as she slept right up against him, probably for warmth. Her legs tangled with his and he could feel her chest against the middle of his back. Had he been more awake it might have caused an uncomfortable situation, but in this moment he just wanted to sleep. They would talk about it later.

"No way am I waking them up.. you do it!"

"I'm not going in there!" Hinata woke to muffled whispers arguing behind a dark bedroom door. It sounded like Karin and Suigetsu were at it again. "Look, we need Sasuke. It's important so just wake him up, Karin..!" Hinata wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and rose gently. She looked down at the hard surface she'd been previously planted on, much too hard to be a pillow, and sighed.

Deciding to be nice, she used her sleep shirt to wipe the small pool of drool that was left on Sasuke's chest. "Sasuke, I think they need you.." He didn't move or make any indication that she'd woke him just yet. Deciding he must be harder to wake than she had thought, Hinata tapped his cheek gently. "Sasuke.. Suigetsu said it was something important.. you have to wake up Mr. Boss man.." she received a groan from him this time. "There you are princess, come on, get up.." Hinata snickered and tugged at his hair.

"Sasuke, that.. person.. sent a messenger to see you. It's..waiting for you." That was Jugo's voice instead.

"Sasuke, please.." Hinata gently grasped his bicep and shook him. "Yeah.. yeah, I'm awake.."

"Don't go back to sleep, come on.." Sasuke was notorious for the classic roll back over and rest his eyes for five more minutes trick. "Hinata.." he growled and peeked through thick dark eyelashes. His doe like eyes were bright with annoyance, "What time is it?"

"I don't know, but someone is waiting for you. A messenger. So it's time to get up." Sasuke forced himself to sit up, "A messenger?"

"That's what Jugo said. Put some clothes on." He glanced down at himself then up at her, "I don't think I will."

"Fine." Hinata shrugged, slid off the bed, and headed for the door. She opened it with intentions of making her way to the restroom, but she stopped dead in her tracks as she found herself nose to nose with Naruto. Her face was red and she stepped back and slammed the door in his face. "I'll take the window."

"Where are you going?"

"Away from him." Without another word Hinata sprinted across the room and slid out the small window. Naruto pushed the door back open and stumbled in, "Hey Hinata!" However, she was already gone.

"Wow you really know how to scare them off, don't you?" Sasuke scratched the back of his neck and Naruto turned on him with anger glistening in his eyes, "Why is she here?! With you?! Why didn't you tell me, Sasuke?!"

"Tch." Sasuke rolled his eyes. This was the conversation he was dreading to have with Naruto. He knew sooner or later dobe would figure out that Hinata was with him. The Leaf has been searching all over for her. "I have to take her back to Hiashi.."

"Like hell you will."

"What? Sasuke, she's a missing nin, they will label her as a rogue nin if this goes on any longer. Her family is worried sick! I can't believe you would pull something like this, let her go home!"

"Let her?" Sasuke was as cool as a cucumber while Naruto looked like he had swallowed a few peppers. "Naruto, I'm not keeping her here, you idiot. She stays because this is where she wants to be, for now anyway."

"Well then tell her to go home."

"Do you really think she listens to what I have to say?"

"Sure, Hinata has always been very compliant." Sasuke wasn't sure why, but his statement touched a nerve for him. "I think you're confusing compliancy with low self esteem, she's not the same little girl you used to lead around and definitely not the same woman you dropped for Sakura."

"So I guess she told you about that already?"

"Are you kidding? I was a lucky guess, moron."

Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to hurt her, it just happened that way."

"Great, well the very least you can do is leave her alone and pretend like you never found her." Naruto stared at Sasuke for a minute, as if contemplating all of his available options. He finally exhaled and nodded, "Fine, I never saw her."

Sasuke grabbed a shirt from his bag and slid it over his head, "Alright, now what do you want?"

"We have a problem and I need your help."