Shimi-chan: I recently (as in, five minutes ago) edited all my chapters. They're virtually the same, except that I changed the names of Sasuke & Itachi's parents' to their actual names. I didn't know them before, but thanks to NinaWilliamsSilentAssassin aka kagomeandinuyashaforever, I know them now. I just thought you all should know that. Oh, let me just tell you all: Eichi is now Fugaku and Mahiru is now Mikoto. Fugaku and Mikoto are their actual names.

Chapter Four:

Sasuke sighed, so disinterested in what his father was telling him that he could almost shout just to have something to do. Sure, it was his birthday soon, but why hell did that have to be such a big deal? He was turning sixteen, big fucking whoop. Seriously, he thought he father was just looking for any excuse to be at a party.

"…and we could have it all in the ballroom, in the village of Konohagakure of course. Invite as many people as you want."

Sasuke perked up for the first time since the mind-numbing conversation had started. "Really?"

Fugaku grinned widely. "Of course!"

"Okay, then I'm inviting me."

"…and?"

"Nope, that's it."

Fugaku looked hurt. "C'mon, Sasuke! I know you don't exactly love parties, but it's your sixteenth birthday!"

"So? I don't want a party; it's a waste of life."

"Sasuke!" Mikoto reprimanded. "What a thing to say! You sound like your brother!"

"I don't care what I sound like. I don't want a party."

Fugaku switched tactics. "This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"Oh well."

"And you know," he continued, "you'd have girls swarming you."

'Like I don't already,' he thought. "I'm sure I'll live."

"You could invite that pink-headed girl. Sakura, was it?"

He shrugged. He'd long since gotten over her. Actually, he was still debating if he ever actually liked her or just had overactive hormones. He was, after all, a growing boy and he wasn't going to deny that Sakura was attractive. But so were a lot of girls, some even more so than her.

"Like I said, I'll live."

"Sasuke, we already made the arrangements," Mikoto said, her face already contorting into a worried frown. "Do you really want that money to go to waste?"

Oh, bother.

"After we spent all that time and dedication…"

She was going to start crying.

"We couldn't celebrate Itachi's birthday either because he didn't want to. You're the last chance we'll have in experiencing this."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, damnit. I'll do it."

Fukaku patted his son (abusively) on the back. "Atta boy!"

After regaining the nerve endings in his back, Sasuke straightened. "But I don't want that big of a deal. Just something casual."

"No problem," Fugaku said with a toothy grin.

And Sasuke made the mistake of trusting his parents. As soon as he left, the two parents exchanged grins.

"Are we going to…?"

Fugaku nodded. "You know it."

-

What was pretty hard to take in stride even for the stoic Uchiha were two of his more persistent (if not the most persistent) admirers, Ino and Sakura. They insisted on congratulating him at every turn of the day. Whenever he had the misfortune of running into them together, he'd be the victim of serious arm-pulling wars. After escaping that demise, he'd have to lose them, which he normally did.

But there was that one day where they'd gone as far as to follow him all the way home. Of course Sasuke would have left them out there to rot but Fugaku, the ever relentless pervert, fervent in his pursuit of his son's happiness, let them in. Soon they were clinging at either side of him, while he tried desperately to make them go away.

Hinata walked in on this rather comical sight, after just finishing up the first round of training with Itachi. She'd seemed to be improving at her blocking, but Itachi still hadn't moved her up to offense. Her dodging was still coming out in cowers, an act Itachi rewarded only with harder drills, but she was getting more used to having dangerous weapons getting thrown at her.

She hadn't been expecting visitors, especially these two, so she blushed when she entered aware of the way she must look.

She gave a small wave. "H-Hello…"

Sakura smiled politely. "Hinata-san, you're living here with the Uchiha's?"

She nodded slowly. "I-Itanii-san is training me…"

Both girls skimmed her. "It shows," they said in unison.

Hinata blushed deeper and grinned rather sheepishly. "I-It's okay…I think I'm getting b-better…"

"Barely," Itachi muttered as he walked in to get some water. He'd learned from previous disappointments not to get mad at her failures anymore, instead being completely passive about them.

Hinata looked away with a sad expression.

Sakura changed the subject. "Are you going to Sasuke-kun's party?" she asked, squeezing her body closer to his arm.

He tried unsuccessfully to shake her off, and then mentally cursed his father.

She nodded again.

"What, you mean you're actually going?" Itachi asked, after taking a gulp of orange juice from the container.

"W-Well, why not? I mean…I think…"

"I bet you're hoping Naruto's going to be there," Ino said, winking playfully.

Itachi froze while taking his second swig and caught Hinata's eyes with a glare. He stared at her for a long moment, to the point where Hinata knew what he was going to say before he did.

"I'm going too."

Hinata cursed her luck. "B-But—"

He didn't bother listening to her, instead just leaving the kitchen.

Another awkward silence before Sakura spoke up again. "What are you going in?"

Hinata looked down at herself, and the only type of outfit she had. She then looked up and shrugged shyly.

"Really?!" Sakura shouted, causing Sasuke to cringe. "We have to take you shopping!! Right Ino?"

Ino nodded vehemently. "Yeah! I can already think of some things that would look really cute on you, Hinata!"

"And while we're at it, we could get her pretty earrings!"

"Yeah, yeah, and we could do her hair!"

Sakura's death-grip on Sasuke was beginning to slip as she thought of the excitement of the challenge before them. "Buy her some cute shoes!"

"And make-up!" Ino said, also letting go of Sasuke.

Sasuke casually slipped his arms away from the Satan duet, reminding himself to thank Hinata later…after apologizing for leaving her in their claws.

Both girls, oblivious to Sasuke's absence, squealed. "It's going to be so much fun!"

Meanwhile, Hinata stood there idly wondering what had just happened. "B-But, you don't have to…"

Ignoring her statement, Sakura finally regarded Hinata. "The party's a week from now. We're already behind. The hair and make up we can do the day before, but for the rest we have to get started right now."

Ino nodded in agreement. "I know this cute little boutique where they sell the best clothes and shoes at the best prices! It's by the bookstore."

Sakura's eyes glimmered with recognition. "Oh, yeah! Come on, we have no time to lose!!"

Before she could protest, Hinata was being grabbed at each arm, much like Sasuke had been earlier. She felt for him pity, for he had to endure this every day.

-

Somehow, and she didn't know how, shopping with the two excited girls had been more exhausting than training with Itachi. They'd pushed her in and out of stores, thrown clothes to her over the fitting room doors, nodded and shaken their heads at different combinations until finally they'd chosen one that had seemed perfect to even Hinata.

This isn't to say she wasn't completely nervous about wearing the yukata they had chosen. After all, Naruto was going to be there and she wanted to look her best. They'd also bought her a pair of earrings that she thought was costing more than they were worth. But then, what did she know abut this stuff? The hairdo they had in store for her as well as the make up they were going to apply on her remained a mystery Hinata really did not want to uncover.

And now that they had been sated, she was back at home anxiously awaiting the punishment Itachi was sure to bestow upon her. She had, after all, skipped her second set of training. He would most definitely ask why, and she would be forced to say it was for the party. He'd define that into 'for Naruto', which wasn't entirely untrue, and she'd get extra training. That she could handle, it was the process in which he shitless her that she didn't like.

After placing her new clothing items in her room, she washed up a little before going to join the rest of the family at dinner. When she got there, the whole room stopped their conversation to look at her. Having their undivided attention sent a flush to Hinata's face. She instantly went to her reserved place at the table and stared down at her lap until the conversation started up again and they acknowledged something other than her.

Once comfortable, she served herself some food and gingerly began eating. It was unusual, the way the Uchiha family ate. Completely different from things back home. Things were always done in silence in the Hyuga clan. She remembered once when someone had actually attempted to strike up a conversation. Not only was she ignored, but they'd never let that go. They teased her about it even today.

But even the usually quiet Uchiha boys were talking, even if it was light conversation. Then Hinata realized they were talking about the party.

"You need a date," Fugaku said, grinning suggestively. "You know, since you're the birthday boy…"

"Hell. No."

"Come on, Sasuke, you know you want a girl at your side! Trust me, it has its advantages." He winked at Mikoto.

A rare smile curved her lips.

"I already agreed to have the party," he said. "There's no way I'm taking any of the psychopaths that like me."

"They can't all be bad," Fugaku said.

"You have no idea."

"He's just saying that because he can't get a date," Itachi said, uncharacteristically speaking.

This was payback for tricking him into cleaning.

Sasuke growled. "I could get one if I wanted to. I just don't want to."

"Sure, whatever you say little brother. It'll be embarrassing, though, to be the only person in your own party without a date."

Sasuke tried to ignore his brother, but it was always easy for them to get under each other's skin.

A long pause, then "Fine! I'll take a stupid date!"

Fugaku smiled. "Excellent! Itachi?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

Fugaku firmly clasped his hands together. "Those are my boys! Good, good!"

The rest of dinner was spent talking about other irrelevant things.

-

Hinata was immensely relieved when she was already in her pajamas, in her bed, the lights shut off, and still Itachi had not confronted her. That meant she could skip the scary ranting part and go directly to the punishment.

Just as she'd settled herself comfortably in her sheets, a knock was heard at her door. Her heart fell. Oh, she had been so close…but she knew that was Itachi and that he was going to chew her out. Praying she wouldn't cry, she timidly stood and opened her door.

It wasn't Itachi, but Sasuke at her door. "S-Sasuke-kun?"

He nodded curtly. "Were you asleep?"

She shook her head honestly. "N-No. Is…Is there something wrong?"

"No. So…how are you?"

Okay, that was weird.

Sasuke and Hinata were simply not close enough to wake each other for no reason whatsoever. "Um…I'm f-fine…"

"How about I just come right out and say it? I want you to be my date for the party."

A blush crept to her face, called its friends, which also came, until her face was as red as a tomato. "M-M-Me?!?! Y-You w-w-want m-me?"

He shrugged. "It's better than some of the other options I have."

Pure male logic. The way Sasuke saw it, she was a LOT less crazy than any of the other girls in Konoha. Besides which, she liked Naruto, so he wouldn't have to worry about her being clingy.

The last thing she wanted to do was hurt his feelings. "B-But…I l-like N—"

"I know. I'm not asking you to marry me, Hinata, just to go with me to my party. You don't have to say yes. Just think about it."

She stared at him with huge, innocent eyes. "S-Sasuke-kun…I…"

"It's a yes or no question. Either answer will do."

She stuttered another useless reply.

"You know what? Sleep on it. We'll talk in the morning."

He started to leave.

"O-Okay…" she whispered, barely audible.

He stopped and glanced at her over his shoulder. "What?"

Her face was averted, but the blush was impossible to hide. "I s-said I'd go with you…if you r-really want to, then…"

He smirked. "Good. See you in the morning."

He left then. She leaned against the door when she'd closed it and slumped to the floor as she tried to calm her beating heart. Blushing still, the reality of what she'd just done sank in. She knew Sasuke didn't like her. He probably just wanted to prove Itachi wrong; she knew how competitive they were towards each other. She also knew she liked Naruto, not Sasuke.

Then why was her heart beating so fast?

But, more importantly, why had she said 'yes'?

Shimi-chan: Yup. I'm tired. I wrote this in one day. I've started this new chapter a day regimen so I can get updates up sooner. Wish me luck, and please keep me motivated!