Meiwa Says: Wow, I just...wow. I didn't expect to get so much positive responses for the last chapter! Honestly, I wasn't satisfied with the development and had been very doubtful to post it. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! It really was a joy when I got e-mails about it. Arigatou gozaimasu! Um, okay. This event happened precisely five months after the last chapter. When Hinata came back to Konoha, Hiashi had assigned her to the Hokage for training sessions, in which Tsunade agreed to. In the later parts, Hinata mentions something about a mission. So here's how it goes:

Tsunade sent them to a mission to a small, neighboring village where Sasuke trailed after them. And yeah, that's basically what you need to know...for now. In case you still don't understand, explanations will be at the bottom.

Notes: Meh. It seems as if the writing spirit in me is slowly dying. Lol, just kidding! Of course it's still there. Why else would I be writing? Anyways, this chapter seems a bit...off. It's confusing in so many parts, so I'm sorry for that! Also, I'm sorry for making Hinata a bit OOC here. I hope that I also pinpointed Sasuke correctly, but I think the last line would make him sorta OOC. Lol.

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it wouldn't be as awesome as it is now. So no, I don't own Naruto or any of its characters mentioned in MnK.

Mittsu no Kotoba: I Love You!
Meiwa Chinmoku.

Things in Konoha had been relatively pleasant.

There were rumors spreading around town stating that Hinata Hyuga was finally perceived to be worthy enough for the title of clan head. After five months of rough training with the Hokage, Hiashi believed that Hinata was definitely strong and confident enough to take his role as the clan head. At first, The Hyuga Elders were reluctant to hand her back her title, seeing Hanabi fit to be the rightful heir, but then defying Hiashi would be unwise.

"Hey, Hina-chan!" An over-energetic voice echoed through the street. The kunoichi flipped her head back, turning to see Naruto panting as he leaned over his knees. "Wanna - get some ramen - with me?"

Upon hearing his request, the heiress merely smiled, knowing that her infatuation with him had switched into strong friendship. "Of course, Naruto-kun, it would be a great honor."

Naruto grinned from ear-to-ear at her approval, and grabbed her small, pale hand to drag her to his favorite place - to the ramen stand.

...

She slapped a hand to her forehead, feeling her irritation grow as seconds passed. Across her table, Sasuke Uchiha sat with an amused smirk and crossed arms, waiting for the Hokage's verdict. If it not had been for the brutally-injured man sitting on one of the wall's sides, Sasuke could've just bolted out the door without any care.

"Sasuke," Tsunade growled as she glared at the man looking perversely at her. "Can you please tell me…HOW THE HELL THIS HAPPENED?"

"Hn. Ask him."

While she turned to face the man, he only smiled sadistically at her, winking his right eye. The blond shuddered and prevented herself from injuring him further. "I will not tolerate this nonsense, Uchiha. Have you forgotten you're under strict probation? If you've done anything to harm the citizens, you could be –"

"Hn. I know, and frankly, I don't care."

Tsunade rubbed her temple with her fingers and sighed. Today had been tranquil at first – she managed to sneak in Kami-knows-how-many-bottles of sake this morning without Shizune spotting her – and all had been well, until she received a notice from one of the ANBU guarding Sasuke. Apparently, he had gotten into a fist-fight with a man in neighboring village, for reasons still unknown. Sasuke and his predictability were annoying.

"Explain to me," she commanded with a threatening tone, this time directing her anger towards the perverted man. "How this came to be?"

The man grinned, showing his incomplete set of teeth. "I dunno. I was just minding my own business, doing my," the man chuckled "sight-seeing."

At his words, Sasuke lunged forward and proceeded to punch out the man's remaining molars. Why Tsunade hadn't jumped up when she had the chance – only she'd know.

...

"Oh my…"

Hinata gasped, causing Naruto to turn around with a questioning glance, noodles hanging limply from his mouth. But when he saw the sight of practically ten ANBU ninjas guarding an individual, the noodles fell into his bowl, disgusting the people who were looking.

"Who could that be?" the blond asked naively. "…Eh, must be someone really important."

The blue-haired kunoichi shook her head and blinked. "That's Uchiha-san, Naruto-kun. It seems as if he has gotten into trouble once again."

Brain processing…

"Oh! Hey, Teme!"

From the slits created by the spaces of the ANBU, Sasuke twisted his head upon hearing the Dobe speak. He stopped, and so did the ANBU. One of them immediately spoke, "Uchiha, there a delay?"

Sasuke was about to shake his head when his eyes landed on a distressed-looking Hinata. She met his eyes, for the first time in quite a while, and he felt something bolt inside of him. He cursed himself.

"Uchiha-san," her gentle voice resonated in his ears. She jumped down from her stool and approached him. The ANBU guards spotted the heiress and kept their eyes and ears open. "Is...Is everything alright?"

He dismissively waved his hand. "Hn. Fine."

"You seem a little... distraught."

Without hearing his reply, Hinata placed her hand into his cheek, which was suddenly growing warm. He couldn't feel himself breathe. "H-Hyuga, what are you doing?"

"I'm checking you out, silly," she whispered, oblivious to what she had said. "Tsunade-sama told me that if you place your palm over a person's cheek like this, you can feel their emotion through their chakra. But it's only a myth, I'm just checking if it really is effective."

Sasuke had never blushed in his whole life – well, maybe he had once or twice, but never were they caused by girls. He knew she had transformed immensely from the stuttering girl everyone once knew, but never had he known that she was this forward. Not that he was implying anything was happening, of course.

And also oblivious to his thoughts was none other than Naruto. "Hey Teme, you're lookin' a little red."

"Hn," Sasuke replied, swatting away the hand caressing his cheek. "None of your business, idiot"

He was about to bid the Hyuga goodbye, when he mentally slapped himself from thinking such repulsive thoughts. Hinata softened him – maybe a little too much for his liking. And he was sure if he continued on like this, he'd be softer than her. He couldn't have that. So, placing his pride in front of his emotions, Sasuke turned around to stride back to the Uchiha Manor. He hoped that she would just leave him alone.

But little he did know that she really wasn't the same little girl anymore.

...

"Uchiha-san?"

The little, squeaking voice that interrupted his training stopped him in his tracks. Grumbling with impatience, Sasuke whirled around to meet bright, nervous eyes. She was holding a basket of newly-picked tomatoes that looked so delicious he could hear his stomach growling. "Hn. What?"

"I heard from Sakura-chan that you were here," Hinata replied, and he could visibly see her gulping. "And she told me that you've been training for five hours straight…"

"Hn."

She lifted the basket and took a deep breath, "So I brought you these! I know you don't like sweets so I gave the batch of cookies I made to Naruto-kun and I picked these out of our garden instead and I –"

"Shut up, Hyuga."

At this, Sasuke sat down on the grass next to the stream, waiting for her to approach. As she did, she looked troubled and obviously had something in her mind. He really didn't know if he cared or not. He hoped it wasn't the former.

Hinata plopped down next to him, taking a piece of tomato and offering it to him. With a thankful nod, he accepted it and bit down, feeling the juice slowly cascade to his chin. It wasn't particularly sweet – which was one thing he was grateful for – but it was undeniable tasty.

Breaking the long, serene silence, Hinata murmured in an undertone, "I wanted to…to talk to you about some things."

"Hn."

"I…I heard from Tsunade-sama about what happened," Sasuke immediately stopped biting on his second tomato, and blinked at her. "I don't understand why you would –"

"Haven't I said it before?"

Of course he was referring to the episode that happened a little over five months ago. She was about to leave Konoha in search for power, when he stood in her way and told her three little words that made her heart thump. 'I've always cared' ricocheted through her mind like a mantra, and she needed to get it out of her system as soon as possible.

"But still…you'd risk that much…for me?"

"Stop it."

Hinata's eyes flickered. "Stop what?"

"Stop acting like this is some sort of cliché movie." He scolded. "Because it's not."

"..."

"Look, Hyuga," Sasuke sighed, picking off the leaf on the red fruit. "Stop beating around the bush. I'm waiting."

Hinata gripped the cloth of her pants and took a deep breath. "I just…I knew that man was staring at me inappropriately…and so did Neji-nii-san. We were both on a mission."

"And you didn't care."

"I…I did, but I couldn't." she replied, with a sad pout. "Our mission was to retrieve this important scroll from one of the villagers. It had been relatively short, since Tsunade-sama only revealed it to us minutes before we started. If…If either Neji-nii-san or I had started a commotion…our covers would be blown, and…the man's men would probably attack us."

Sasuke raised his brow. "Where are you going with this?"

"It's just been bothering me…you've managed to lose control before Neji-nii-san…and even if you didn't know it was a mission…it was still rather…strange."

"Hn." He answered, turning his head away.

"I'm just so…perplexed…I know…I know you care about me…but what you did…it was very…" she stopped mid-sentence, seemingly unable to complete it. Instead, she continued on, saying, "And it confuses me…why you were trailing us…"

Astonished by her words, Sasuke couldn't reply. He knew that Hinata knew that he was in the same village as her – obviously. He couldn't have caused the uproar if he hadn't seen it. But how had she known that he was following them, instead of coming up with the conclusion that he had been on a mission as well? Although Tsunade only allowed D-rank missions for the time being, she could still send him to other places, but with supervision. Too bad the ANBU weren't fast enough to catch him. "I…I was assigned to watch over you." He lied.

"No you weren't," Hinata countered. "I talked to Tsunade-sama about this matter…very thoroughly, I might add."

He then rolled his eyes. "Then why the questions?"

"I just wanted to…confirm it." He saw her hesitation, and instantly knew that she was hiding something.

"What's the real reason?"

"S-Sasuke-kun," she suddenly said, surprising him by addressing him with his given name. Ever since the incident when they were thirteen, Hinata only called him 'Uchiha-san', even when she was merely talking to others. This was a certain development. "…I'm very, very confused."

"Hn. If you continue on like this, so will I."

"No, you don't understand. I'm…I'm confused with…with how I feel."

At this, Hinata got on two feet and bit her lower lip, ready to bolt in case her nerves vanished. Unfortunately or fortunately for her, they did not, and forever remained mocking her existence. It had been bothering her immensely, almost to the point where she was on the brink of a mental breakdown. But somehow, Ino managed to talk to her about it, and she had finally decided to voice them out.

Sasuke also got up, after finished the fifth and last tomato in the basket, and leaned on the tree, waiting or her words. What could he expect from the unpredictable Hyuga? He was sure she'd entertain him.

The Avenger rumbled, his eyes locking with her own. "Get on with it. You're wasting my time."

"I…you see…Uchiha-san." Great, now they were back to square one. "I've…I've been wondering about what I was feeling…when…when I'm around you." She blushed as she said these words. Still, he did not understand. "You've…you've changed since I first met you but still kept your…endearing qualities, which is what I…I admire about you. So…"

"Hyuga, I don't need to hear your praises."

"Oh!" Hinata squeaked, noticing that she had rambled. "I…I'm sorry!

"…And…and ever since you told me you cared about me…I've been experiencing strange things…and I want to tell you why…"

Kami, when is she ever going to finish? Honestly, Hyuga gets irritating at times, even when she doesn't mean to. I better not tell her that because I –

"I love you!"

He thanked Kami for his immaculate skill of balance, or he'd have fallen to the ground. Was it a lie to say that he wasn't expecting that? Or was it true that he, somehow, didn't think she was capable of such words? He had always seen her eye Naruto – and honestly, it irritated him – which led to him wondering if he felt anything for her. But Sasuke already concluded that it was stronger than infatuation, yet not even close to love.

He has had millions of girls confess their love to him – sometimes using letters and sometimes, face-to-face. Sasuke blankly rejected each and every one of them, somehow knowing that their so-called 'love' was merely a dream, a fantasy. But Hinata had never, ever, ever been a fan-girl of his. She preferred gawking over Naruto and his little, prissy, annoying attitude.

What was he supposed to do? He had never really had a girl confess to him, while he was feeling something rather... weak for her in return. So instead, Sasuke, unable to decipher a proper response to her confession, turned around and bolted out of the woods.

It was a pity that he hadn't seen the way she helplessly crumpled to the ground, sobbing.

"I'm sorry...Hinata-san."

Meiwa Says: That was probably the fluffiest scene I have ever written...and I don't think I like it that much. But anywho, Sasuke is still in denial with his feelings, while Hinata has...well, sorted them out - in one way or another. I probably got some information here wrong, so yeah. Sorry 'bout that. Also, in the 'I'm checking you out' part, Hinata's innocence causes her to be dense about flirting or whatever. :) I made that thing up, and as idiotic as it sounds, it fits the mood perfectly. Now, replies:

evilbananalol: Yep! Even the wildest of people can be tamed. Oh. I was mentally debating if I should do an 'I love you' because it sounded so predictable, but then I thought it would totally fit the plan. I hope you still like this chapter, though!

fat cherries: Uhuh, Sasuke Uchiha is now warm! lol. Haha. Thanks so much for your loyalty and review! I wish there's an 'Add Reviewer to Favorites' button. Lol! Well, Hinata's response isn't really in words, but more like in actions, if you know what I mean. I know five months is pretty long to have some sort of self-reflection, but I didn't want it to be three months or less. Haha.

lover9: Thanks so much! It's a comfort to know that Sasuke was just in-character last chapter. Hope you like this one!

tatoo26: Thank you, tatoo! Enjoy this one, and probably 2-3 more to come. ;)

DarkHinata91: Thanks! I hope it gets better. ;)

WORD COUNT: Coool! First chap to have 2k words w/o Meiwa's Notes!