Eh heh, sorry this took so long. I was kind of in a slump for a moment there. Oh, thanks to mangagakaz for her praise. //// Anyway, here's chapter five.

This fic is rated M for a reason. Citris, but NOT PWP. It sort of has a plot. It has it's dark moments and is full of the angst of teenagers. I'll try to make it not completely emo, but I'm also trying to stay in character as well as I can. And we all know Sasuke... This fic will not be centered around any other pairings, because it's about Hinata. If I change my mind later (which is unlikely) it will only be because the plot demands it. Constructive critique is encouraged, but please don't just bash. Ex:

Critique: "You're plot is really sketchy and I think you made Kiba too brutal."
Bash: "This sucks."

Chapter 5: Finale

It was time to end this. One way or another, the spar coming to a close. Sakura got ready to punch the small girl on the ground. Hinata was poised to send a jolt of chakra right through her heart when she tried. Kakashi was studying the two anticipating their next moves. Sasuke was staring apathetically at the kunoichi. Naruto was picking his nose oblivious to the battle tension because he personally didn't care who won. Of course, he knew that Sakura would win. She gave him trouble when she was serious. Hinata was a great person and all, but... She just didn't have what it took to go all out against someone who was a friend. She was strong-- he knew that after the chuunin exams-- but he always had his confidence in Sakura. She was the girl he loved, after all. Dattebayo. (AN: Sorry, I had to.)

Sakura knew that she had the upper hand, that she was going to beat Hinata. She had come this far, but now that her little trick was found out there was nothing left. For some reason, Hinata hadn't used any special techniques. No jutsu, only taijutsu. Maybe she couldn't. Maybe she'd used all her chakra by using her juuken. Whatever the reason, Sakura knew that she was going to win.

She struck, aiming for the petite girl's face, knowing that she would simply punch her without her super human strength and that it would be acknowledged that she would have won had it been a real battle. She didn't want to kill the girl after all. Her fist was seconds away from her face. She felt the impact in her chest. Her eyes widened and her heart stopped beating. She could see Hinata's face. Cold, serious. She could hear yelling in the back ground, Naruto's voice. And Sasuke. He was looking in her direction with mild interest. But his eye's weren't turned to her, they were turned to the girl whose hand was currently on her chest. Naruto's words blurred together. She couldn't be certain but she thought she heard the word 'grope'. A smile came across her face for a moment and she slumped to the ground.

"Sakura-san? Are you alright?" The gentle voice was familiar, but the stutter that was usually present was gone. Hinata was now crouched beside her, she could even feel her soft hair brush against her cheek. She wasn't seeing straight, everything was so... Fuzzy. She felt light headed and weighed down at the same time. Above all the other feelings was the one that made every breath hard and thick like breathing in soup. Defeat tingled through her body.

"Oh... Yes, I'm fine..." Why was she so struck by this? It wasn't like she hadn't always known that she was weaker than most of her peers. It was just that... No matter how bad she was, she had always known that there was someone who was just a little bit weaker. It disgusted her that she had had to think that way in order to keep up her self esteem. But Hinata didn't seem winded even. Was she that weak or had Hinata gotten stronger? She stood to her feet, staring off into nothing. She appeared dazed, or maybe in a trance.

"What did you do to her?" His voice was frantic. Was he worried about her? Of course he was. Naruto had always cared about her a little too much. She hadn't felt this down since Sasuke had told her she was useless back when they were just kids. Hadn't she gotten over her bouts of depression long ago?

Hinata was panicked as well. "I-I-I d-didn't do anything! I just held her h-heart for one b-beat, but that's completely ha-harmless! It wouldn't hurt a baby!" What had gone wrong? A heart skipping a beat didn't so much as faze anyone. Did Sakura have some heart condition that she didn't know about? But her still activated Byakugan didn't sense anything out of the ordinary in her body. "Her b-body is... Unharmed, I--"

"I'm fine! Fine!" A fake smile eased up to alleviate their worries. "I was just a little surprised, that's all! Eh heh." She turned to her opponent while scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. "Wow, Hinata, you've gotten really good! I guess I'll have to train harder, huh?" She stood and brushed herself off, the sick smile still plastered on her face. If people saw the really her they would surely turn away in disgust. She was disgusted with herself, so how could she expect other's to understand. These feelings were definitely not... Right. A good person would not feel this way.

"Sakura-san..." Eyes downcast, she let the chakra flee from her eyes. She didn't want to read Sakura's body language right now; she could tell Sakura wanted to keep whatever she was thinking a secret. She would never force someone else to reveal themselves in such a way as the Hyuuga had done to her so many times. People deserved their privacy of mind.

"I'm really alright! Hey, weren't we going to watch Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun spar so that we could correct our own mistakes?" Her delicate smile turned into a bare mouthed grin as she moved to stand by the sidelines.

A single eye watched the interaction with curiosity. Should he have stopped the fight earlier as he had intended? If he had reached in to grab both of their hands it would have appeared to have been a draw. But... He felt that Hinata deserved to be recognized for her strength. Underestimating ones colleagues could lead to terrible mishaps on missions. Perhaps this would help boost the shy girl's confidence in her abilities. Sakura, however she chose to hide it, needed the self confidence as well. She had always sought to elevate herself by lowering others instead of seeking improvement. She needed to change that aspect, although it would be hard with the way Naruto coddled her.

"Ah! That's right!" Said boy seemed to suddenly remember that there were, in fact, other people in the clearing.

"Tch, Idiot." The rare second comment of the day. It didn't really count because it was one of his one word replies, but it was a reply and you couldn't exactly expect volumes from Sasuke. Not just him, actually.

Most large clans produced quiet children. The largest and most powerful clans being the Hyuuga and the Uchiha, and after them were the middle class clans like the Aburame, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Inuzuka and so forth. There were a few that were more outspoken, for example Ino and Kiba, but the rest of them were rather reserved. Not many would notice this because they were not as 'loud' about being quiet as Sasuke or Hinata and would answer questions in class or occasionally interrupt a conversation without making a scene. Sasuke's lack of speaking stood out only because other's were so intent on speaking with him and Hinata's because she was very shy and would blush or stutter.

"Alright you two, you have until one." Kakashi had gotten into the habit of putting a time limit on Sasuke and Naruto's spars. If he didn't then it would last until one or both collapsed from exhaustion. Which meant it could last a very long time. Afterwards they always went to eat at Ichiraku's Ramen. Naruto would eat several bowls each time and depending on everyone else's mood they would do as they pleased. Sasuke usually went off to train by himself, although the rest of the team didn't know this Kakashi did. Sakura would either go to study with Tsunade or eat with Naruto and Kakashi would go off and read Icha Icha Paradise. It was just another well worn routine. Just like the start of the boys spar.

This one was no different. Naruto and Sasuke would exchange insults, although Sasuke's were always both considerably shorter and more clever. Naruto would get angry, and eventually was provoked into striking first. Then the dance began.

They both knew the other so well that their fights almost looked staged. Naruto would, like fire, burst open a round of punches and kicks while Sasuke would dodge each with the ease water flows between rocks in a river bed. He seemed to be moving slower than Naruto and yet not a single would ever hit. Naruto knew from experience that these kinds didn't hit but he would gain confidence with each hit.

Then Sasuke would get bored and send Naruto flying. He would land perfectly and more often than not he would attack with kage bushin. Then is would start all over again, neither giving even a little bit. It always started with taijutsu and then after they had both gotten a good workout they would start showing off with the more flashy techniques.

When they brought out the big guns Hinata's Byakugan studied their every move concentrating on how their chakra would build and release, studying them. The fact that Hinata could still use her Byakugan was minutely distressing to Sakura, but their own spar had not been that long. Instead of nursing her injured pride she forced herself to also study the two, except she concentrated on their footwork.

She and Hinata had truly been a poor match. Hinata's skills were highest in taijutsu and her intelligence with her seal knowledge and speed in close second. She was also very flexible and had years of training in being precise with her chakra control. Sakura's strong points were in her intelligence, seal knowledge, and genjutsu. Thus, she was actually not very skilled in taijutsu and she couldn't attack very quickly. Training with Tsunade had helped her greatly, but she needed to keep working on it.

The intensity of Sasuke and Naruto's battle put the kunoichi's to shame. It was as if they actually wanted to kill each other. Hinata found herself unable to to look away from either one. She had always admired that flame, that determination that Naruto had. She didn't really know Sasuke. Before the Uchiha massacre she would see him at a distance when their clans held meetings. She had never approached him then. He was an Uchiha. She was a Hyuuga. They didn't associate outside of those meetings. It wasn't done.

Now his fluid movements drew her eye. Their movements fit together so well, flowing together, contrasting all the same. It was like a complex dance, giving one way, then the other. Neither could gain dominance for very long. Fighting for the lead.

She closed her eyes and let darkness cloak everything. Lights flashed just beyond her eyelids, clashing together and breaking apart. It was almost like a pattern of blue fireflies. Sometimes the two would join together, their chakra mixing...

"Ah!" She opened her eyes just in time to see the chidori drag through a line of bushins towards Naruto. That's how their chakra mixed... Smoke filled the air making it impossible to see with the unaided eye.

"What's happening?" Sakura covered her face with an arm to keep the smoke out of her eyes whilst desperately trying to see through it. The chidori lightning was not shining through the mist.

"Uchiha--" Hinata had been about to try to describe what she saw when a brazen voice interrupted her.

"Jeez! Are you trying to kill me, teme!?" A very flustered Naruto sputtered from the top of a large boulder. Only inches below his feet was Sasuke's shoulder which appeared to be coming out of the rock.

"One 'o clock." He pulled his arm out and sauntered towards the group of bystanders. His face was as blank as ever, but as he passed them his eyes held Hinata's for a fraction of a second. She visibly froze, clutching her chest and staring where his eyes had been a moment before.

Kakashi watched the exchange unnoticed by his charges. If he was not wearing his mask then the others may have seen his small smirk, however they may not have cared about what his expression was if his mask was off. One hand in his pocket, he turned to follow the last Uchiha towards town.

Hinata stayed frozen for quite some time watching the two walk off, oblivious to the young couple fighting behind her. And then the ground came up at her face so fast that she almost didn't have time to break her fall.

"NARUTO! Watch where you're going, you just crashed into Hinata-chan!" The sound of a hand hitting something hard.

"Owwww... Sakura-chaaan..." Hinata pulled her knees under her and flipped over to look at them.

"Apologize to her, idiot!" Sakura hit him again and the colorful words coming out of Naruto's mouth made her cheeks hot.

"Ano... It's really okay! Naruto didn't mean to.. I was just not paying attention. Gomen..." This cause both of them to look in her direction, their quarrel forgotten.

"Aw, don't apologize Hinata-chan." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck to hide his embarrassment at knocking her over. "Sorry about that, eh heh..."

"Th-That-t's alright, N-Naruto-kun." She was glad her bangs were so long.

Sakura stared at the two sitting awkwardly on the ground. Okay, now those two were making her feel embarrassed. "Alright, now that that's over... We've got to hurry up or Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei will leave without us." Indeed, their figures were fairly far down the road.

"GAH!" Naruto scrambled to his feet and started running leaving the two women in the dust. "WAIT FOR ME YOU BASTARD!!!"

Hinata was about to stand up when a hand was extended towards her. "Come on, let's catch up." Her smile was warm. Hinata accepted her hand stuttering a thanks while she was pulled up. Before she could dust herself off she was dragged away by a laughing Sakura.

Today was... fun. Hinata fervently hoped that she would get another chance to spar with them. She wouldn't forget the bento next time... What did they like? Maybe she would be able to find out when they ate together.

A happy blush spread across her face. She felt like she had been accepted into their group, even if just for a day. Sakura's tight grasp on her wrist loosened as Naruto's familiar voice came into focus. He was yelling at Sasuke again, who was ignoring him. Her hand dropped from Sakura's grasp and she brought it up to cover her mouth cradling a small giggle.

Okay! Next chapter... If it's alright, I'd like your opinion. Should I start them off during lunch or should I skip ahead to a few weeks into their continued training together? Actually, I'll probably just go with lunch and continue from there because there's a few things I'm going to add about Hinata's team and also Neji at her house. One more chapter and I'll be caught up again! Eh heh. Then it will really send notices when a new chapter is up.