What Happens Next

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. CharmingKitty you mentioned you wanted more of a PG-13 than rated R story, does that mean you don't want any lemons or limes? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Three

Hinata was on her way to the training fields, when she saw an Uchiha in his police uniform. She knew that he wasn't Sasuke or Itachi. He was too young to be Fugaku. But she was almost positive that she had seen him around before. Perhaps some cousin of Sasuke's?

"Good morning, Hyuga Princess." He says cheerfully as he walks past her and Hinata's eyes widen in surprise at the fact he would address her at all, much less so informally.

Normally, she would assume she was being mocked. But his disposition was so friendly, that she didn't believe this to be the case. Why was this Uchiha behaving in such a familiar fashion with her? She was certain he had never spoken to her.

"G-ood morning." She stammers out in shock.

"I'm Shisui by the way. I don't believe we've ever been properly introduced." He says and extends his hand.

"Hinata." She manages to reply and shakes his hand in acknowledgment.

"Hinata Hyuga, Hanabi Hyuga, and Hiashi Hyuga…your family is certainly fond of alliteration." Shisui muses.

Hinata tilts her head to the side. She had never noticed this before. But now that he mentioned it, Shisui did have a point. She was still at a loss for why he was speaking to her though.

Shisui chuckles. Who knew that Sasuke would be attracted to the shy type? Well he could certainly understand the physical appeal. She was quite lovely to look at. He decided to help his younger cousin win over the shy princess.

"What are you laughing at?" She asks in confusion.

"It's nothing. I just wanted to thank you. Sasuke did enjoy the tomatoes you gave him. Though I know he is far too shy to actually say this." He states.

Hinata blinks. Sasuke and shy did not belong in the same sentence. There were many words she could think of to describe that ninja, but shy was certainly not one of them.

"Oh I'm glad he liked them. He was very kind to me yesterday. I was…well yesterday, was not a good day for me." She mumbles.

"Yes, I heard. Well for the record, I agree with my cousin. Naruto is an idiot for not returning your feelings." He says with a smile.

Hinata tilts her head. Why were Uchihas suddenly being so nice to her? Not that they had ever been cruel to her. Mostly they just gave Hyugas a wide birth. It was an unspoken rule. You stay on your side of the village and we will stay on ours. But now they were all approaching her.

Alright, perhaps all was an overstatement. So far it was only Sasuke and Shisui. Still it was completely out of character for the Uchiha Clan.

"Thank you. That is very kind of you to say." The bluenette says.

"You're welcome. But I mean it with the utmost sincerity. He is completely ignoring a beautiful woman, from one of the most prestigious clans in the Leaf Village. After all it is not every day that you see a female ninja with a figure as voluptuous as yours. Shisui continues and suddenly lets out a yelp of pain as a loud SMACK is heard.

"Pervert." Sasuke mutters in disgust after smacking Shisui.

Shisui nurses the growing bruise on his cheek. Ah ha. So that confirmed it then. Sasuke did have feelings for the Hyuga Princess.

Sasuke wouldn't have hit Shisui that hard or at all if he didn't. He might have looked at Shisui with disgust, scolded him, or slapped him lightly. But that had been a pretty harsh hit. Oh yeah, he had a crush.

"Sasuke?" Hinata exclaims in surprise.

"Morning, Hinata. Please forgive my cousin for being a pervert. There is one in every clan." He says with a heavy sigh.

"It's ok-ay." She mumbles.

Sasuke shakes his head. No it was not okay. He was going to kick Shisui's ass later for pulling that.

"What you do not agree that she is a beautiful woman?" Shisui asks.

Sasuke's eyes narrow. Damn it. Now he knew what was gong on here. Shisui wasn't actually being a pervert. He was just pretending to be, to see what Sasuke's reaction was and he had fallen for it.

"It was nice seeing you, Hinata. I have to go teach Shisui some manners. So I'll see you around." Sasuke mutters and drags Shisui off.

Hinata blinks. Had that really just happened? She pinches herself. Owe. Yes, that really just happened.

"I can't believe you did that!" Sasuke snarls at Shisui when they were back in the District.

"I can't believe you are in love with the Hyuga Princess!" Shisui says.

Sasuke looks at Shisui like he had grown two heads. He actually thought that Sasuke was in love with Hinata? That was laughable. Before two days ago, he had barely ever spoken to her.

Hinata was little more than a stranger to him. Privately, he conceded Shisui had a point. She was beautiful and Naruto was an idiot. But to say he was in love with her was ridiculous! She was a Hyuga. He was an Uchiha. End of story.

"You are insane. How did you draw THAT conclusion?" Sasuke asks with a raised eyebrow.

"You were jealous when I complimented on her. You smacked me much harder than you would have otherwise." He says as if it was obvious.

"Did it ever occur to you that I smacked you hard because you were being a pervert and it reflects poorly on our Clan? Or that she's a HYUGA?! Do you want to start a Clan War? She's not only a Hyuga, she's the Heiress!" Sasuke demands to know.

"Damn it. I didn't think of that. You don't think they'd really start a Clan War over a harmless comment like that, do you?" His cousin asks.

Sasuke twitches. This idiot could have started a Clan War over NOTHING. Everyone was damn lucky that Hinata was so shy. If she wasn't, she might have told her father what Shisui said. Sasuke knew Hiashi Hyuga enough to realize that he wouldn't have taken kindly to Shisui's "advances" towards his eldest daughter.

"Hinata wouldn't tell her father. She's too shy to do so. You got damn lucky. But don't push your luck further. It will run out sooner or later. I can't believe you would be so careless!" Sasuke scolds him.

Itachi raises an eyebrow as he watches his baby brother give Shisui a tongue lashing. It was rare to see him get so angry about well anything. He wondered what had gotten under his brother's skin.

"What did you do this time, cousin?" Itachi asks in amusement as he walks over.

"Nothing. Nothing." Shisui says too quickly and Itachi looks at Sasuke like, "I don't believe him. Are you going to tell me the truth?"

"He flirted with Hinata…HYUGA!" The younger Uchiha answers, purposely emphasizing Hinata's last name.

Itachi's eyes widen. Uh oh. This could end disastrously. The Uchihas and Hyugas at best ignored each other. At worst, well there was always a rivalry that lingered just underneath the surface. This tension could easily trigger a Clan War.

A Clan War could easily morph into a village Civil War. That would make the Leaf vulnerable to attack from other villages. This situation could spin out of control and fast.

"It wasn't like that. I have no interest in the Hyuga Princess." Shisui defends himself.

"Are you calling Sasuke a liar?" Itachi demands and raises his eyebrow as he couldn't remember a single instance where his foolish little brother had ever lied to him.

"No! I'm not! I was just testing out a theory of mine is all and it worked!" Shisui responds with smirk.

Itachi looks at Shisui curiously. His cousin seemed suspiciously smug about something. He noticed that Sasuke seemed equally flabbergasted. Hmm, what was going on here?

"Elaborate and leave nothing out. I want to know if our Clan is in danger because you acted foolishly." He hisses.

"Well the Hyuga Princess got Sasuke some tomatoes. So I wanted to see if there were real feelings involved. I happened to see her out and about a few minutes ago. I spoke with for a few minutes and complimented her on her beauty. Sasuke struck me and called me a pervert. So it is clear that it is not me who has feelings for Hinata." Shisui answers quickly, eager to avoid Itachi's wrath.

Itachi was normally such a calm and gentle person. But if you got that man angry, well it didn't end well. In some ways, Itachi might actually have the most explosive temper in the entire Clan because he only saved it for "special occasions."

"Sasuke, tell me the truth. Do you have feelings for Hinata?" He asks.

"What?! No! Of course not! I mean…perhaps friendship, but nothing more." Sasuke clarifies.

"That was two negatives, Sasuke. People do that when they really mean yes." Itachi observes.

"You can't possibly be buying this! When have I even looked at her?" Sasuke demands.

Itachi tilts his head to the side. He considers his brother's response. It's true. As far as he was aware, Sasuke had never given the Hyuga Heiress much, if any thought before.

Privately, Itachi conceded that it was possible Sasuke could have been subtle in his admiration. The elder Uchiha brother had to find out for sure. If Sasuke did have feelings for Hinata, it could carry enormous implications for their Clan's future.

"I haven't seen you look at her. But that doesn't mean you haven't. I am not with you every second of every day." His brother replies.

"I don't like her that way! I just felt bad for her because Naruto was an oblivious loser for years. He didn't even know she liked him. You'd have to be brain dead not to realize that Hinata had feelings for him." Sasuke begins.

Itachi nods as if considering his little brother's words. It was true. Even he knew that the bluenette had a soft spot for the blonde and Itachi didn't pay attention to such things.

He had Izumi. Why would he care about anyone else's relationship, if they were not Uchihas? It didn't effect him. He was a ninja who firmly believed in minding his own business.

"And then when she finally did confess, he ignored her for months. She had to confront him to get an answer out of him because he was too much of a scaredy cat to tell her that he only liked her as a friend. She was publicly humiliated! So yeah, I went after her to make sure she was okay. Is that a crime?!" Sasuke demands.

"You are getting rather defensive about this. I begin to suspect that perhaps Shisui's theory is not entirely outrageous." Itachi muses.

Sasuke blinks. Then he twitches. Now even Itachi was getting crazy ideas into his head? He looks up at the sky as if to ask, "Why me?"

"Exactly. Look how angry he is getting. If he had no feelings for her, he would simply laugh off my suggestion." Shisui says with a nod of his head.

"Sasuke, it's very dangerous to have feelings for a Hyuga woman. You know how tense things are between us and the rest of the village and our relations with that Clan have always been icy at best." Itachi says.

This was unbelievable! He was getting a lecture for being in love with someone who was barely more than a stranger. What was wrong with Itachi and Shisui today?!

"I know that. So it's a good thing that I don't have feelings for her other than maybe friendship. That's it. I'm not stupid Itachi. Besides, she's in love with Naruto. She just had her heartbroken. I highly doubt she's eager to put herself out there like that again so soon." Sasuke defends himself.

This just causes Itachi to look at him suspiciously. Shit. Sasuke realized a little too late that could be interrupted the wrong way. It implied that he WOULD make advances towards Hinata, if she wasn't getting over a broken heart. Damn it! Damn it!

"How gentlemanly of you to consider her feelings in such a fashion." Itachi says.

"Itachi, it really isn't what you think. I DON'T have romantic feelings for her!" Sasuke protests.

Shisui chuckles. It was amusing to watch Sasuke get so flustered. It had started out as a game more than anything. But now he was beginning to wonder if his dear cousin had indeed been struck by Cupid's Arrow.

"My love, stop teasing your brother. I'm certain that he knows better than to get involved with a Hyuga." Izumi says with a smile.

Sasuke sighs in relief. Finally, someone was on his side. Someone was seeing reason. He was so relieved that Izumi was coming to his defense, he decided he didn't care that she had apparently snuck up on them and overheard at least part of their conversation. She could keep a secret.

"Oh it's mostly in good fun. Though I am beginning to wonder." Itachi says and places a kiss on his wife's forehead.

"Anyway, I guess you're right. Sorry, Sasuke. I didn't mean to embarrass you that much. I was just having a little fun." Shisui says.

"YOU CALL THAT FUN?!" Sasuke demands.

Meanwhile Hinata arrives at her team's training grounds. Kurenai was already there. But she knew from experience that Shino and Kiba would arrive later on. Kiba was always late and Shino was always precisely on time. She and Kurenai were always early, that was just the way it was.

"Good morning, Kurenai Sensei." Hinata says cheerfully.

"Good morning, Hinata. I'm glad that you are here early. I wanted to talk to you about something and it's probably better that the boys aren't around." She says.

Hinata tilts her head to the side curiously. She wondered what her Sensei wanted to talk about that required such secrecy. It was unlike her to keep secrets from the rest of her team.

"It's about Sasuke. Is something going on between the two of you?" She asks.

"No. Sasuke was just being nice to me after what happened to Naruto. It surprised me. But it's not like we are…" Hinata trails off and blushes.

"Together?" Kurenai offers helpfully and the Hyuga Heiress nods her head.

The bluenette couldn't believe that Ino and now Kurenai would think that. Sasuke was surprisingly nice, when he wanted to be. But he was still an Uchiha. Even if she did like him, their Clans would never sanction such a match. This was especially true in her case as she was the Heiress.

"So nothing is going on." HInata says and Kurenai looks at her a bit skeptically, but nods her head.

She really didn't want to embarrass her student further. Kurenai knew she shouldn't butt in. Still she found she couldn't help it. The subtle rivalry between the Uchihas and Hyugas was the worst kept secret in the Leaf Village. Both Clans viewed themselves as being the Leaf's most powerful and prestigious of all the Leaf's Noble Clans. So it was only natural that they would have at best, aloof relations with each other.

She didn't want her student to get hurt. That was exactly what would happen if she pursued an Uchiha. The Uchihas were part of the Leaf, yet not at the same time. Kurenai was aware that their District essentially functioned as a semi autonomous mini village and that fact could only spell trouble later down the line.

"I'm sure he's a very nice boy. But I'm glad to hear that. Things have been growing more tense lately. I have to confess I am worried that it might result in bloodshed." Kurenai says.

Hinata was more than a little relieved when her teammates showed up and they began training. She couldn't help but think about Sasuke. It wasn't fair. He was just trying to be nice and everyone was immediately suspicious. She felt…some sympathy towards him. Because of his last name, everything he did was overanalyzed.

Elsewhere in the Leaf, Sai was helping Ino open her family's flower shop for the day. This was a task he didn't mind. He enjoyed helping her and he supposed in a way, flowers were the canvases of her family. There was a certain art to floral arrangement, he had noted.

"Thanks, Sai! I really appreciate this. It's just we got a really big delivery. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here." Ino says and smiles at her boyfriend.

"Oh, I don't mind. They are beautiful." He says and smiles.

Yes, he still needed to work on his smile. Sai possessed a smile that was too forced and cheerful looking. But he had been making progress. It was now slightly less creepy. Ino was sure that he would get there in time. Eventually, he'd be able to smile in a way that didn't scare people. She was sure of it!

"You seem especially happy today." Sai comments.

"Oh I am because you are here and love is in the air!" The blonde replies and Sai looks at her in confusion.

Ino sighs. She wasn't really sure how to explain this to Sai. He was still learning how to love himself. How could he possibly understand how to tell if others were in love? Oh well, she would try to explain things to him in a way that he could understand. She had never been one to back down from a challenge!

"Sasuke and Hinata." She clarifies.

"I was not aware that they had even spoken to each other, much less that they were dating. I thought Hinata was in love with Naruto? I must confess that I am rather confused at this development." The artist says.

"Well she did. But Naruto just ignored her love confession. It seems he only wants to be friends. Poor Hinata was absolutely devastated!" Ino says.

Sai nods. That was about what he expected. Still that didn't explain how Sasuke was involved. He waits for further elaboration. If Sai knew his girlfriend, she wouldn't be able to resist telling her tale. (And he did know her, very well for the record.)

"So I went after her. I expected to find her crying. I wanted to comfort her like any good friend would." Ino continues.

"Of course. I read in a book that friends often comfort each other during times of sadness. It is one way of showing that you care about each other." Sai says, rather proud of himself for remembering this.

Ino rubs the back of her head sheepishly. What he said was accurate, but it was creepy that he didn't just automatically know this. Anyway, she decides to press on with her story.

"Yes, exactly friends comfort each other when they are feeling down. Well I found her. But I wasn't the first person to do so." The blonde says as she continues to weave her elaborate tale.

"Yes, of course. Who was there?" He asks feeling like he should say something, so that his girlfriend didn't feel like she was talking to herself and being ignored. (Ignoring Ino was never a wise idea.)

"Sasuke was there. He was brushing away her tears!" Ino says as if this was some grand declaration of love.

"Perhaps he was just comforting her, as a friend would?" Sai asks.

"No. No. That was not the case. I'm telling you, he was looking at her so tenderly. There was definitely something romantic there! I would bet my life on it." The blonde insists.

Sai blinks. He wasn't particularly fond of the thought of Ino betting her life on something. What if she bet wrong and she died?

"It's an expression, Sai. I'm not literally going to die if nothing happens to them. Honestly, we really need to work on teaching you common expressions that are not meant to be taken literally. Anyway, as I was saying, there is definitely something there." The flower loving ninja states with conviction!

She knew that this was difficult for Sai to understand. But she did appreciate that he was at least trying. ROOTS had really done a number on him, she thought.

"And you would approve of this match? The thought of Sasuke and Hinata being together like us, makes you happy?" He asks.

"Well I don't know. I mean Sasuke has always been pretty aloof. He tends to stick to his Clan, but that's an Uchiha thing in general. But at least he isn't oblivious like Naruto. Hinata needs to get over him. A tall, dark, hottie would do wonders to help her do this!" She says with a squeal.

"You find him attractive. Should I be jealous?" Sai mutters in irritation.

"Of course not. He is handsome. But you are the one who holds my heart AND you are handsome. The best of both worlds." She says with a smile and kisses his cheek, causing the man to smile.

"Good. I would be very upset if you still had feelings for him. I do not want to be…second best." He says.

"You will never be second best to me." Ino assures him.

Sai nods. Ino was above all else, an honest woman. Some would argue that perhaps she was a little too honest. She said whatever was on her mind.

This did not bother him though. It made things easier. He had spent all his life keeping secrets and trying to find out the secrets of others. It was refreshing to be around someone who was completely a honest and had nothing to hide.

"So are you saying that you wish to encourage them to get together or are you hoping that it will just happen naturally?" He asks.

"Oh we are definitely going to encourage them." The blonde woman replies to her boyfriend.

Sai blinks. We? What was this we? He certainly didn't know how to go about matchmaking. Ino must realize this. Surely, she knew that he didn't have the faintest clue how to go about such a mission.

"Don't worry. With my knowledge of love and your intelligence, there's no way we can go wrong!" She says and winks at him.

Sai wasn't anywhere near as confident as his lover. But it would make her happy. He wanted to make her happy. So he would at least try for the sake of pleasing Ino. Though privately, he thought that the Uchiha and Hyuga couldn't be anymore different. Logic dictated this match would never work.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea. But I trust you." He says with a smile.

"Good. I love you, Sai." She says and kisses him.

"I love you to. I certainly do wish for your friend to find love as we have." He offers, kisses her back, and tightly holds her in his arms tightly because he never wanted to let her go.