"Beat it, bug boy,"

Sasuke stood before them in a few powerful strides. First, he snatched Shino's crepe.

Then he threw it.

Shino and Hinata gasped. Hinata recovered first, pearly eyes blinking rapidly. "R-Rude!"

Sasuke reached into his pocket, coins jingling, then held out his palm. "Here. Go buy yourself another,"

Somehow, Shino was able to express his stunned dismay through his sunglasses.

"You...threw my crepe,"

"I'm not repeating myself," Sasuke said, dumping the money in Shino's hand. "Leave. Now,"

The bespectacled boy arched his brow. He turned to Hinata. "Will you be okay?"

"Why wouldn't she be?" he snapped, tapping his foot and giving her a look as if demanding she back him up.

Hinata gave him no such reassurance; only a few days ago, she was certain he would turn her into fish food at the bottom of the river for breathing too loudly.

She looked between the boys warily. His eyes were the abyss staring back at her.

"Mm. Thank you very much for today, Shino-kun,"

He nodded, shot one last look at his fallen crepe, then walked past Sasuke with a meaningful cough.

Sasuke switched his heated glare from Shino's retreating back to Hinata. She stared back, wide-eyed.

"I called you," he said. "and you didn't pick up,"

She checked her phone in shaky hands. 8 missed calls from Dickhole Idiot. She started to sweat. "O-Oh, "

His cheek twitched.

"I went all the way to your damn school to pick you up -"

He flung a handkerchief onto her lap. He pointed at it with a glare that could put out the sun. "-where I was assaulted by your peers-"

He gestured wildly at the rips in his uniform and the conspicuously broken pant zipper. Now that she looked at him properly, he had a slightly crazed, panicked look in his eyes. His purposefully messy hair looked like a tiger had pawed through it.

"-which felt more like getting mauled by a pack of mountain gorillas during mating season-"

She gingerly picked the handkerchief up. The lipstick stains on it matched the shimmery residue on his face.

"-and then I drove around all of fucking Konoha to look for you and then when I finally find you, you're on a fucking date with Shino of all people?"

Hinata gritted her teeth and stood up, nose-to-nose. It didn't make up for the height difference but she still felt a bit more powerful.

"I-I – we weren't on a date!"

"It better stay that way,"

"Excuse me?"

His eyes darkened. Something crossed his face, his mouth twisting. "Do not date within my gang. I don't need some girl causing internal conflict,"

"I'm not causing drama. We were just talking,"

He was so close she could feel his ragged breath on her face. He read her face as if trying to gauge her honesty. After a heavy moment, he backed off.

Then he took a compact mirror out of his pocket and began fixing his hair.

Hinata watched, once again reminded of Neji-nii's obsession with maintaining his appearance. Lost in those thoughts, she reached up and started finger-combing the hair on the back of his head. He had those weird duck-butt spikes in the back that were oddly soft and silky.

When they were younger, it wasn't uncommon for the Hyuuga siblings to sit behind each other and braid each other's hair before bed to prevent it from tangling. Even Hinata's short hime bob got a tiny braid.

Without thinking, Hinata swatted Sasuke's hand away when he tried to push her hands away. He started at her boldness.

"There," she said, smiling at her handiwork.

"Hmph. I didn't ask for your help," he said, clicking the compact shut. He turned away and cleared his throat.

"I-I didn't ask for your help either," she said, with a peevish expression. "Shino-kun could have taken me home,"

He whipped back around, ready for round two. "After I went through hell to make sure you got home safe. How ungrateful,"

"I am grateful for your consideration," she hissed, cheeks red with indignation. "But there's no need to scold me like a child,"

He scowled. "Fine. Let Kiba-kun and Shino-kun bother with you,"

"F-Fine!"

They were nose-to-nose again. He smirked. "What, am I making you cry?" he taunted, pressing his finger against her puffy red under-eye.

"A-As if," She slapped his hand away. "Th-This is from before,"

He stilled. She could see the gears turning in his head. A single snarled word came out of his mouth. "Shino,"

She had to grab his collar to stop him from lunging. "W-Wait! Shino-kun didn't make me cry. Stop making a fuss, please!"

He grabbed her hands. Dark eyes sparked dangerously. "Who, then?"

His hands were tight around hers but warm. She paused as she rehearsed her explanation in her head. He was being rather touchy.

"We were talking and the subject matter got a bit heavy,"

That didn't seem to smooth his ruffled feathers.

She added, as an after thought, "I-I don't see why you're upset about that," He didn't seem like the type of guy to be moved by a girl's tears.

"I am not upset. Your face looks," His frown deepened. "wrong,"

She had been bracing herself for "ugly" or something. Sasuke struggled to explain himself. Eventually, with red ears, he said, "Girls think they're cute when they cry. They're wrong,"

Hinata gave him a withering look. She didn't remember trying to be cute for him.

Two fingers pushed the corners of her mouth up.

"Keep blushing and smiling like an idiot," A shadow flickered over his face. "But remember this. I will find out who upset you,"

Before she could comment, his hand held onto hers as he started to walk, dragging her along.

Flustered, Hinata said, "W-Where are we going?"

"I'm late,"

"Late?"

His back was to her, but she could still see the flaming red tips of his ears. "Kendo practice,"

"You – You're skipping practice?"

He glanced back at her.

"Who said anything about skipping?"

lllll

Her legs were tingling like sleeping feet when she dismounted Amaterasu. Hinata was trembling when she realized that Sasuke had actually done it; he'd taken her to his school – Senju's all-boys school.

He snickered. "Your skirt flipped up. Nice peppermint stripes,"

"U-Uchiha-san!" Mortified, she pulled her skirt down. She had flashed her panties at an all-boys school.

"I-I don't think I'm allowed to go," she mumbled.

"You go to Senju girls," he said nonchalantly, locking his bike. "Sibling schools. Welcome to Senju boys,"

Already there was murmuring and boys stopping to stare. She found herself reaching for his hand before she could think about what she was doing. She stopped herself and brushed her fingers against his sleeve instead.

He glanced back at her briefly, then turned back around.

"Follow my lead," he said.

The student body parted as Sasuke swept through. Easy for him, Hinata thought petulantly - he had long legs and a bad reputation; Hinata had a candy wrapper in her pocket and still took a sweater with her whenever she went outside out of paranoid fear that Neji would find out and nag at her for it.

Hinata's grip on his sleeve tightened as they went. He didn't comment on it.

They walked through the sunlit hallway. All the boys averted their eyes from Sasuke, though they sneaked curious glances at her. He frowned. Then his hand took her hers off his sleeve and into his palm. Hinata pursed her lips and fought her blush, a bit annoyed at his roughness and bashful at the intimate gesture. His hand was warm and callused, but she didn't have time to dwell about the thumb that ran over her knuckles before he let go.

The first stop was in front of the boys locker room. There was a boy there, tapping his foot and scribbling on a clipboard. He looked up at the sound of their footsteps, then his face screwed up in anger.

"You're late, Uchiha-san!"

Said Uchiha arched a brow.

Hinata assumed that he was the kendo team's manager. Lost in his rage and clearly forgetting who he was talking to, he continued raving, "Practice started an hour ag-"

Sasuke yanked him by the collar and lifted him clear off the ground. "But I'm here, aren't I?"

He threw the manager out of an open window.

"Uchiha-san!" Hinata shrieked.

Sasuke scowled. "Don't call me that," He ran his fingers through his hair, the picture of calm, cool, and not at all like he'd ran over a granny this morning and thrown someone out of a window just now. "It's only one story. Chill,"

"You – how could you throw him out the window!"

"He was being annoying. Besides, now we have a sub," He smirked. "Welcome to the team, Hinata,"

He pushed open the double doors to the gym. There, the kendo team was practicing. They all froze.

One boy lifted his mask, sweat sticking his hair to his forehead. He stared wide-eyed at Hinata.

"Dude, are we allowed to bring our girlfriends to practice?"

"She's our sub," Sasuke explained. He handed her the clipboard and said, "Act busy,"

She watched his back as he went to change in the lockers. Several pairs of curious eyes landed on her.

She lifted the clipboard in defense. "Uh..."

"Are you seriously going out with him?"

"A Hyuuga and an Uchiha, huh,"

"Look at her huge t-"

"Men!"

A dark flash and the crack of wood against armor was all she could make of Sasuke, fully decked out in his uniform and striking his shinai against a boy's head.

"What the hell!" The boy rubbed his head and glared. "I wasn't wearing my armor!"

"You should have been," Sasuke said. "This is practice, not a blind date,"

With that, he pointed the bamboo blade at the rest of the fearful team. "Practice your footwork. A thousand reps each,"

A chorus of groaning and whining later, the kendo team was practicing diligently. Hinata was watching and doodling on the clipboard. She had named it Momo for unforseeable reasons ("It looks like a Momo"). First, she drew a duck with Sasuke's deadpan expression on it. There were a few cinnamon rolls spirals, two smiling cacti, the Hyuuga crest, and then the Hyuuga crest lighting the Uchiha fan on fire. She was having fun. It smelled like dirty socks and teenage boys, but she was enjoying herself.

"Men! Men! Do!"

She was used to hearing Sasuke's low voice. He always spoke clearly and sharply, usually with a dry tone and an air of authority. Today, she got to hear his shouts, which she sounded a lot like that of a war general's. Through his face mask, she could see the sweat sticking his black hair to his forehead. Every one of his hits landed without fail, so swift that she could barely see him go. His form and his footwork were proof of his status as captain.

She was struck with envy then. Sasuke, who was so much like her; the shadow of a more successful sibling, introverted, and more frivolously, with similar tastes in fashion and color palette. Sasuke, who was surrounded by people, who commanded attention and filled the room with his presence, a natural leader. She envied him. She envied how he attracted people despite his prickly personality. She envied and admired his confidence and his shamelessness. Everything he did was with skill and grace.

He looked over at Hinata. She was sitting still, eyes glazed and listless. She wasn't paying attention to him. There was that crease between her eyebrows like she was thinking hard.

Thump.

"Men," he said.

"O-Ow!" Hinata rubbed her head, where he had gotten a head shot.

He waved his shinai, a small smile playing on his lips. Bastard thought her pain was funny. "Wake up, space cadet,"

"I am awake," she said, huffing and stroking the tender spot on her head.

Sasuke tapped Momo pointedly. "You're supposed to be making observations. Not," He squinted down at the clipboard. "Turds,"

"Th-That's a sunflower!"

"Whatever. Look,"

Did he want attention that badly?

The boys were preparing for practice matches. The winner of each match moved on to the next round and grew closer to the final match with Sasuke.

Hinata's doodling slowly turned into observations.

Mochi-kun (a heavyset boy) needs work on his footwork.

Pudding-kun (a boy who was literally quivering like pudding) needs work on his spirit.

Castella-kun (At this point, Hinata was getting hungry) needs work on his strikes.

When she took her eyes off of Momo, she saw Sasuke stepping up.

Matcha Roll-kun (Sasuke, because he was a bitter fool) … no room for improvement.

Once again, all she could make of the match was a roar of "Men!" and a series of blurred strikes.

"Enjoying the show?"

Hinata started.

It was Castella-kun who had spoken. He lifted his mask off his sweat-drenched face and grinned. She pressed Momo to her chest and shook her head, cheeks red. "I-I'm doing my job,"

Now there were more boys starting to crowd her.

"As expected, captain won," Mochi-kun said with a sigh. He sighed again. "He even has a cute girlfriend. Can't he leave the rest of us with something?"

"I'm not-!"

"Is it true that the Hyuuga family is descended from ninjas?"

"Manager, are you in girls' kendo?"

"I want Karui to step on me!"

"Can I get Tenten's number?"

She turned to Sasuke, who was glaring at the boys surrounding her.

"A thousand laps," he barked. "Now,"

They grumbled but did as they were told and shuffled away.

Sasuke went to her, still annoyed.

"I-I made observations," she said meekly. He was making a face that could spook the devil out of hell.

She put Momo in his outstretched hand.

His eyebrows twitched, then his face softened as he glanced up from the clipboard at her.

"Mochi-kun?" he said, amused.

"I don't know their names," she muttered.

"Mm. Who is Matcha Roll-kun? 'No room for improvement.' Impressive,"

A boy she'd dubbed Doughnut-kun peered over Sasuke's shoulder and adjusted his glasses.

"Can I be Anpan-kun?"

"S-Sure,"

"Mochi-kun is kinda mean," Mochi-kun pinched his tummy sulkily.

"It's me, isn't it? Matcha Roll-kun has to be me!"

"Five thousands swings," Sasuke commanded. He stepped in front of her, shielding her from the swarm of boys.

"You're cruel," they cried.

"I'm the captain, yes,"

One boy whispered to another, "Look at how much he's showing off in front of her,"

"A thousand extra laps for you,"

Sasuke ruffled the back of his head. "If I'd known they'd be so annoying, I would have dropped you off,"

"I'm sorry for the disturbance," she murmured.

"Whatever. You can make it up with work today," He smirked. "Today's work is more...hands-on,"

Before she could properly contemplate what that could mean, her stomach growled. She rubbed it, frowning "All this dessert talk is making me hungry,"

He nodded and turned to the team. "Finish your drills,"

She heard the boys muttering about "He's bailing on us to go on a date," which increased their drills by the thousands.

The sun was setting as they hopped onto Amaterasu. She wasn't sure how to feel when her arms went around him so naturally, or when she realized that she wasn't scared of riding the bike anymore. She wasn't scared of him anymore, either.

At a red light, a man honked at them and whistled at Hinata. Sasuke tore the paint off the side of his car when he rode past.

They were at the base again. How had she become so desensitized to all of this? When did it start to feel normal to go up to a gang's headquarters like it was a second home?

"I need to pick up some papers," he said.

Hinata left Sasuke to go to his office as she drifted to the window.

She stared at the cacti.

Then she ran into the office. He raised a brow at her frantic gesturing. "What?"

"L-Look! Come look!" She grabbed his hand and began pulling him. "Th-They're budding!"

When he recovered from the feel of her hand holding his, he was in front of the window. Her stupidly-named cacti had sprouted buds. They were ugly, in his opinion, but her eyes were shining up at him like two moons. Sometimes he feared the power she had over him. It wasn't fair how pretty she was. Even if he thought her eyes were creepy sometimes, she was growing on him like the damn flowers starting to grow on her fugly plants.

"C-Can we take them to the hospital? I'm sure Chouji-kun would appreciate it,"

Sasuke doubted Chouji cared about plants, and yet he was already nodding and picking them up.

"What are those papers?" Hinata asked as she pressed the down button on the elevator, "I-If you don't mind me asking,"

"Proof that I'm asking for a favor from some old friends,"

She wasn't sure what was going on (which, now that she thought about it, wasn't that unusual anymore). "It's related to work, right?"

He nodded as he handed her the helmet. She was lucky her hair was easy to manage or else she'd have a severe case of helmet hair. Her mind wandered off into a strange territory as she stared at his broad shoulders. His hair smelled like the same salon-brand shampoo Neji used. She liked whatever brand of fabric softener he used. She liked whatever fragrance he wore. A clean scent, maybe a little citrusy. It was hard not to notice when she was pressed against his back for the second time today.

She had no rosy-colored illusions about Sasuke having feelings about her. The only reason he had been so angry had to be because he'd been assaulted by her peers. It probably added to his preexisting female-related trauma. Hinata had heard that his official fanclub was even recognized by Konoha's board. On top of that, their relationship was in some gray area. They weren't friends. Acquaintances, more like. Maybe even employee and employer. He still might have ideas about shooting out her kneecaps.

Their first stop was the hospital. Sasuke reached out to smooth out her flyaway hair and he bowed his head to her. "Spot me," he said.

She fixed his hair. A strange relationship. Very strange.

"Here, fatty," he said. He put the cacti on the windowsill.

"Thanks?" Chouji was sitting up today. Shikamaru was reading a book. "Kinda ugl – ow!"

"I think your IV came out," Shikamaru said dryly. He had noted the leader's murderous expression and reacted accordingly by yanking the needle out of Chouji's arm.

"You pulled-" Finally reading the situation, Chouji said, "I mean, they're uh, really...pretty,"

"R-Really? This one is Creampuff and this one is Choux!"

"We're going now," Sasuke was already down the hall by the time Hinata stopped gushing about her plants.

She was speed-walking to catch up to him when she heard a familiar voice.

"I can't believe there's no space on your cast," A giggle. "Popular!"

Ino-chan?

She crept to the door. Through the window, she saw Ino sitting by Tenten's bedside with a marker in her hand. An image flashed through her head, one where it was Ino in the hospital bed and Hinata at her bedside. A chill swept through her, her stomach plunging. She gulped for air when her throat closed up. I won't let that happen to you.

"You have a place in mind?" he asked over his shoulder. Once again, they were at a red light. He could feel her tiny fingers playing absently with the material of his shirt.

"Ramen?"

"No,"

She recoiled at his curt rejection. "W-Why not?"

He frowned. The first thought that came to mind was Naruto's annoying smiling face getting all chummy with Hinata. He knew it was Naruto's way to be touchy and in everyone's personal space, but he didn't like the idea of him doing that with her.

"O-Okay. How about Chinese?"

They walked the rest of the way to the Chinese restaurant. There weren't many students around. At least it saved her from any more nasty gossips. Her phone buzzed.

"Shino-kun?"

Thank you for the crepes. I hope you do not mind that I have entrusted one of my guardians to protect you. I have done so to all of the members as well, as it makes the task of tracking them down in times of trouble easier. Think of it as an initiation and a token of my protection. Good night.

Sasuke shoved his face over her shoulder and scowled. "What does he want?"

"I'm still reading. It's kind of long for a text...protection?"

The same anger flashed in his eyes.

Hinata shook her head. She would contemplate the text later, preferably without Sasuke hovering angrily over shoulder. She pocketed her phone before he could finish reading.

"I want to try the beef bowl challenge," Hinata declared and pointed to the sign hanging over the Chinese restaurant. The beef bowl challenge was a legend and a rite of passage. It was a monstrous bowl, a Herculean task.

Sasuke gave her a dubious look up and down and sipped his tea.

"Y-You don't think I can do it?"

"Don't pout at me,"

"I'm not,"

"Just don't throw up while we're working,"

She paused at that. "About work – um, I have a request."