Chapter 3: Hinata-sensei

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It was nearing summer, which meant a particularly hot day in Konoha. Hinata had opted to wear only a thin coat for training with Sasuke, and the day could not have gotten worse. Sure, she was training Sasuke so she was supposed to be the boss, right? That meant no sarcastic comments and no death glares from him either. But Sasuke acted like his usual self- an annoying pompous jerk. However, Hinata being Hinata, just stayed quiet and tolerated everything he threw her way, even if she woke up in a bad mood this morning. It seemed to be working, because Sasuke appeared to be getting tired of trying to grate her.

"Why do I have to keep doing this?" He grumbled, while still concentrating on controlling the chakra in his feet to keep himself from falling right into the pond.

Hinata tried to keep the amusement from showing on her face. She tugged the top of her thin jacket to suppress her giggle. She had mastered this technique a long time ago and watching the so-called Legendary Uchiha like this, hovering above the water and crouching slightly with arms and feet spread about, boosted her almost nonexistent ego sky high.

At first, she wasn't exactly sure what she should begin with. Knowing that Sasuke probably wanted their training to be quick as possible (to prevent further ego damage on his part), she decided she could begin with a difficult but efficient technique.

And this was the result.

"This is just one of the basic techniques. If you can do this, the next ones would be a lot easier." She surprisingly spoke with much confidence, of which Sasuke had taken a mental note.

Once again, he grunted then focused more on controlling his chakra, watching as the water rippled around his feet. Waves crashed into each other then disappeared as they reached Hinata's feet.

Walking upward along a tree was easy, once he got the hang of it. This, however, proved a little more difficult. He wasn't keen on asking the Hyuuga for help nor did he expect her to last this long against his death glares. He had to give her credit for that.

Weeks before, Hinata would have been intimidated by his presence. But today was special. She was going to have a date with Naruto later tonight, and she was too happy and determined not to let anything ruin it. Even if it meant sacrificing a few hours of training with Sasuke.

She noted the slight wobble he made when he pushed too little chakra on his feet, and verbalized exactly that to him. "Too little."

He gave a small grunt in reply, and then gradually steadied his stance. Frowning deeply in concentration, tiny beads of sweat were beginning to form on his forehead.

"Try standing upright. It's much easier." Noticing the disbelieving look he gave her, she insisted. "Really."

Grumbling and with much hesitance, he followed her instructions, straightened his knees, lowered his arms, and fell… right into the pond.

"Uchiha-san!" Hinata cried out in surprise. Certain that he was now angry at her, her confidence she had acquired earlier significantly diminished.

Staring at the boy as he lifted himself to a sitting position knee-deep in the water, she bit her lip and fidgeted. She bent down and tentatively reached out a hand to him. "Um, are you okay, Uchiha-san?"

He grumbled under his breath glaring daggers at her offered hand, but caught hold of it anyway. He started to lift himself up, but had misjudged his own strength and had conveniently forgot that Hinata was a lot lighter that he is, and as he tugged on her arm to raise himself, he fell down again, pulling Hinata along with him.

There was a loud splash, a grunt from Sasuke and a small yelp from Hinata.

With her eyes shut, she could feel her fingers sink into the thick mud underneath the water, Hinata groaned. Her head had hit something hard, and she was surprised to hear another groan. It seemed to have come from… under her?

Slowly and cautiously, she opened her eyes, and found herself staring straight into deep onyx-colored eyes, much different from her own.

Too overcome with shock, she stayed transfixed on top of Sasuke. Their faces were inches away from each other, their noses almost touching. She could feel his warm breath near her mouth, and if she lowered herself just a little more, she could…

All thoughts went away when he spoke.

"Hyuuga, you might think this highly amusing, but I'd like you to get up now. You're not as light as you think."

Taken aback by his comment, she blushed deeply, embarrassed for herself. She quickly rose to her feet, not bothering to help Sasuke this time. With her back towards him, she started to form an apology, but he beat her to it.

"Training is over for now. We'll start again tomorrow. Same time and place." A pause, and then… "I think you need to change."

It was only at that moment that Hinata realized she was dripping wet from head to toe. Add the fact that the thin jacket she wore was almost transparent. She gasped loudly in realization. She frantically tried covering herself up a bit more, but ended up failing miserably. She could've sworn she heard Sasuke chuckle behind her.

"I'll find some clothes for you. But you'd better wait inside if you don't want to catch a cold."

She peeked at him over her shoulder. He was already walking toward the house, leaving a trail of water behind him. Deciding that it was better to just do as he says, she followed him to the sliding doors leading to the kitchen, and left her wet sandals beside his on the porch. With him a good few meters ahead, they stepped into the hallway. A moment later, he paused beside a door.

Without looking back at her, he said. "You wait in the bathroom. I'll go find some clothes for you."

She watched him disappear into the room at the end of the hall, which she presumed to be his bedroom.

Sighing and with no other choice, she stepped inside the bathroom. It considerably huge and was styled in old fashioned Japanese, and Hinata had to admire the well-maintained bath tub, which almost covered the whole width of the wall. She didn't expect Sasuke to be quite fond of baths. Hoping to find some bath scents he was hiding, she snooped around a bit, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

She went to open it, and staggered back when he forcefully threw some clothes into her arms. "You can leave after you change. You know the way." He shut the door in her face.

Hinata let out a small huff. If he didn't want to help her after all, he could at least be polite about it!

She looked over the small set of clothes he had given her, and then went on to take off her own wet clothes. After a few minutes of changing, she examined herself in the mirror. Clearly, the clothes were too big on her. The bottom of the navy-blue shirt reached her midthighs and her hands had disappeared into the long sleeves. She tugged at the collar to cover the exposed skin just below her neck. The shorts were another problem, but apparently Sasuke had thought about that too. She found a belt that went with it, and had tied it around herself. That should do it.

Hesitantly, she turned towards the door and stepped out into the hall carrying the still wet clothes she had worn. The hallway to her right led to the kitchen she had passed earlier. She turned her head to the left, eyeing the door at the end of the hallway. She had absolutely no doubt it was Sasuke's bedroom. Leaning her head back in the direction of the kitchen, she could hear the faint clicking sound of the stove being turned on. He probably was preparing some tea.

'This is my chance.'

Quietly, she slipped through the hallway and into the bedroom. Once inside, she found herself amazed at how immaculately clean his room was. 'The bath tub and now this? Sasuke must have a cleaning complex.' It was a fairly large room with a queen-sized bed in the middle and a neatly organized desk to one side. She gazed around the room until her eyes rested on the bedside table, which was the only thing that was out of place. The first drawer was left open and several scrolls could be seen cramped inside. Curious, she stepped over to it. Rather, she was about to when the door swiftly burst open without warning.

Turning around, she found herself face to face with the scary Uchiha.

She was suddenly reminded that the two of them were alone in his house and in his bedroom, of all places. She compressed a gulp.

"I didn't know you were the kind to snoop around, Hyuuga."

Her eyes widened in mild panic, while her mind was trying to form a believable lie. She could only stutter in response. "B-but I wasn't-! I mean I… I got lost. And, and I… thought this was the way to the kitchen so…"

She mentally hit herself in the head. Any decent shinobi could come up with a much more convincing lie than that. She supposed Sasuke didn't believe a single word she said, by the way his eyes seemed to glare daggers at her. She fidgeted visibly, digging her toes into the floor.

"Leave. Now."

She didn't need to be told twice.

In a speed that would rival Sasuke using his Sharingan, Hinata slipped out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

When he sure she was out of hearing range, Sasuke approached the open drawer and pulled out the small photo from underneath the scrolls. An amused chuckle escaped his lips.

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xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

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Hinata had begun preparing for her date right after lunch. She tried to get rid of the memory of what happened in Sasuke's house. Of course, she couldn't risk letting somebody find the clothes she wore as she left the Uchiha mansion, so she just hid them in her room, promising to wash them later. For now, she concentrated instead of making herself look great in front of Naruto. She had discussed the plan with Ino earlier and had agreed that she would meet him at a small but lovely restaurant far, far away from Ichiraku's, to prevent Naruto from going wild of course. She really wanted everything to go well.

A few hours later of nonstop fussing, she was finally appropriate enough for her date. She had discarded the usual jacket and pants and opted for lavender kimono-styled top and black knee-length tight shorts. She wanted to be casual enough for Naruto, but not too much.

Feeling the jitters of nervousness in her stomach and all over her body, she quickly headed out and hoped her father won't question her whereabouts. She slipped her sandals on and went out through the gates.

This is the first date she and Naruto will have, although she cheated her way to get it. She thought that this would be the best opportunity to confess to him.

Thinking it might be faster to just leap across the rooftops, she sped her way towards the agreed meeting place, heart pounding in nervousness and excitement. Catching a glimpse of the restaurant up ahead only a few blocks away, she came down the street heading for the small building. She only had to turn one corner, when she heard Naruto's loud voice exclaiming.

"What did you say, Teme?!"

Hinata's eyes widened in shock. That could only mean one thing.

She poked her head around the edge of the wall, and sure enough, Sasuke was there.

A soft groan escaped her lips that was almost impossible to hear, but the Uchiha detected it anyway. Quickly, she pulled her head back. Her heart rate seemed to go faster. She breathed hard. Had Sasuke seen her? She really hoped not.

But as usual, like most of the things that had been happening to her lately, her hopes quickly vanished.

"Hiding won't do you any good, Hyuuga."

She formed a string of curses that she might've screamed at him but thought better of it. Timidly, she stepped around the corner and found herself directly in front of Sasuke.

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A/N: That's it for now. Oh, and be aware that I'll be posting previews of the next chapters in my profile so be sure to take a look at it. And please remember: More reviews, faster updates, longer chapters. Ja!