Disclaimer: No ownage whatsoever of any characters or things related to Naruto. Any names of original things (i.e. Konoha Heat) not pertaining to Naruto is purely coincidental.

A/N: I added the last part there because I came across a fic that had already used the name for something else before me. Whoops. Although it is really only a minor detail in this story, please believe me when I say I really did not know beforehand. Thanks!

"U-Uchiha-sama?"

Hinata's voice shook as much as her body. Her heart pounded in her eardrums. Moisture formed on her palms as she clutched her bag even tighter.

The usually collected, stoic Sasuke was livid, pinning her against the wall. He was breathing heavily, with the whites of his teeth bared, making her feel like a rabbit in the final breathes of life, caught by a mad dog. She could feel his scorching skin, even through all the layers of clothing. The heat radiating off of him was making her light-headed.

"Hyuuga? What are you doing here? Everyone's supposed to have left already," Sasuke growled. He released Hinata from his vice grip. He seemed exhausted and frustrated as he rubbed his eyes with the tips of his slender fingers. It was almost uncharacteristic to Hinata, like a small sign of weakness, something that people never associated with Uchiha Sasuke.

"Well, I'm not allowing anyone to stay late today, so you better evacuate the premises, or I won't hesitate to send the hounds on you," said Sasuke, walking back to his desk. He was almost staggering, Hinata noticed. His shoulders were hunched over, and he lacked the air of silent arrogance that he usually walked with.

Hinata did not voice compliance and made no move towards the door.

"Are you…all right, Uchiha-sama?" She tried keeping her voice steady in front of him.

"Of course I'm all right, Hyuuga, what kind of question is that," he snapped. "If I'm not 'all right,' how else will we be able have another issue come out smoothly?"

Hinata flinched, but she refused to back down. "I-I think you might be sick. I think you might be running a fever. You've just been working so hard and the rain the other day…" she trailed off.

Sasuke scoffed as if the idea was preposterous, and continued to fervently type at the computer on his desk.

"Please, I think I might have something that will help." Hinata promptly rushed out the door, not caring whether or not he would shut the door and lock her out. The instinct to help a sick person, even when they did not acknowledge it themselves, was what was driving her, and it drove her to the staff room.

Looping the bag containing Sasuke's jacket around her shoulders, she searched around in the cabinets for a mug. After cleaning it out of any dust, Hinata poured in hot water from the water machine in the corner. In any other case, she would have boiled the water herself, but there was no time for such luxuries. Then, Hinata fumbled around in one of her desk drawers until her hand finally grasped a small packet. In the light of lamp at her desk, she saw that it was a packet of tea leaves, from her own family's company, no less. In bold curlicue letters, the label read: "Hyuuga Remedial Teas—From fevers to migraines, just a whiff, and you'll be up in a jiff!" and tucked quietly in at the edge like a hidden gem 

waiting to be discovered, "Inspirational Quote of the Day: 'You won't make footprints in the sands of time by sitting on your butt…' "

Hinata did not read on, and hurriedly tore the packet open. Her senses were immediately filled with the heavenly aroma that wafted out. The tea was meant to be calming and loosen the nerves, but she did not slow down one bit as she poured the contents into the steaming mug. The petals and leaves drifted down to the bottom of the mug, coloring the water a pretty jade green. But there was no time to admire the color or take in the aroma any longer. Hinata dashed as fast as she could while holding onto a steaming mug of tea to Sasuke's office, which was mercifully only a few strides away. The door was still as open as it was when Hinata left. Hinata took it as a sign of permission of reentry.

She poked her head through the door into Sasuke's office. He was still typing away, his eyes glued, unblinking at the screen, making no motion of ever noticing her.

Hinata pulled her neck back to where the door completely concealed her, hesitating. Whatever drove her to be so bold to openly go against Uchiha Sasuke's word and accuse him of being a weak, sick man had dried up like a puddle in the desert. She should have never barged into Sasuke's office at such an hour, and should have just slipped away quietly, assuming he was just working later than usual, and opting to return his jacket at a later, more appropriate time of the day. Having the gall to barge in and take it upon her to treat Uchiha Sasuke like a child in need, she was no worse than her pining lady coworkers.

"I know you're still here, Hyuuga. "

Hinata's heart gave a violent jump, as did her whole body, nearly scalding her hands with the hot tea. Uchiha Sasuke always managed to catch her in the worst of times. Perhaps the man just enjoyed toying with shy, timid employees, Hinata thought grimly.

Hinata tried to make her shaky footsteps as steady as possible, approaching his desk. Any sign of fear seeping through the cracks, and Sasuke just might break her.

"I…I thought this might help with your fever," she said, placing the mug down on his desk with two hands. Her father had taught her that loosely placing cups of tea down with one hand was a sign of insolence.

The mug made contact with the desk in a dull clunk. Hinata nearly cringed at how piercingly loud it was above the noise of the keyboard's clacks. Her father had also taught her never to set down tea louder than a whisper. Only petulant children and worthless drunkards made such garish movements.

Hinata stepped back and stood there with her hands down and crossed in front of her, like a servant girl waiting for her next command or to be sent away. Seconds that seemed like an eternity passed before Sasuke opened his mouth to answer, and even then, he did not take his eyes off the computer screen.

"I don't need anybody's charity, Hyuuga."

She blushed in embarrassment, although Sasuke would not have noticed, his eyes still not moving anywhere off the screen in front of him. Hinata was not expecting a thanks, but the worse she had fathomed was him just shooing her out. It was a taste of how bitingly frigid he could be; only the tip of the glacier.

Wounded but refusing to be beaten, Hinata tried sputtering whatever of a reasonable comeback she could come up with right at the moment.

"B-but, Uchiha-sama…" she persisted weakly.

"Hyuuga, understand this," Sasuke said, with the air of an adult lecturing a child after a tantrum. "I simply cannot be sick or fall ill. Because then, no work would ever get done. I can't leave this, not for a second. Because the second I do, we'd have to head for the hills, up to our necks in trouble. And think I remember telling you, Hyuuga, that I don't run. Not from anything. Not from this, not from some measly cold, nothing." There was a tone of finality at the last word. Sasuke, confident that he had shut down Hinata hard enough for her to never come back, refused to acknowledge her any more.

"Fever, Uchiha-sama," Hinata softly said, after a second.

"What did you say?" Sasuke snarled, finally stopping his typing and slowly turned to face her. He seemed on the edge of fury and frustration at the stubbornly persistent girl in front of him for having the damn balls to talk back to him. The girl had only been trembling under him like trapped mouse a few minutes ago!

"You have a fever, Uchiha-sama, not a cold. And…I think you are running," her voice barely above a whisper. Hinata's head was bowed, her midnight locks shielding her eyes from Sasuke's sight. "You're running from the fact that you're simply human, that you do get sick, that you sometimes need help, and that you can't carry such a large burden on you all the time. Not by yourself."

Hinata lifted her head, her lavender eyes locking onto Sasuke's stony stare. His image was clear and focused, none of the tears she thought she might have shed getting in the way. She could not discern exactly what he held in his gaze, whether it was the desire to strike her, curse at her, or shove her out his office onto her rear. But she held onto it, even to the point in getting lost in his steely onyx pools, for the longest time, minutes or hours, she couldn't tell for sure. All she was focused on was winning this tacit war of wills. Her father had said speaking was not always communication. Body language also had much to do with striking deals and business partnerships. Let a hint of meekness show, and your opponent with immediately seize that to their advantage. Hinata remembered her father, her sister even, always taking the better side of the deal, forcing her to compromise.

It was Sasuke who finally tore his eyes away for her, to stare back at his screen.

"If you're quite finished, Hyuuga, just go home," he said quietly.

"I will. I just wanted to return this to you," Hinata said, the strength in her never once waiving for a second. She placed the white bag soundlessly on his desk next to the mug of tea. The coils of steam above the mug were barely visible any longer.

Taking a step backwards, Hinata bowed at the waist. "Good night, Uchiha-sama, I hope you'll get well," she said, and swiftly turned and walked with slow dignity towards the door, all without ever laying eyes on the man in front of her.

Hinata was already out the door, and had only turned around with her hand the gleaming handle of the open door, about to swing it shut. The door was only a few inches from being closed, when the last sight she saw in the room caused her to stifle a small gasp of amazement that had wriggled its way onto her lips.

Sasuke had tentatively wrapped his fingers around the mug's handle, as if it was to jump up and bite him on the nose any second if he wasn't careful, lifted it to his mouth, and with a small scowl on his face, tipped the mug up slightly for a reluctant, miniscule sip.

Despite the triumph and joy that swelled up in her like a balloon and threatened to burst, she steadily closed the door as quietly as she could. If Sasuke had known that Hinata was watching him put away a bit his pride and see the truth of her words, he would not have hesitated to fling the mug, tea and all, in the direction of her face. Hinata could only speculate of he had taken more sips or perhaps even finish the whole thing, but she supposed that all great men had to start somewhere.

The hallways were dark, and the silence that blanketed the building was a bit eerie, but Hinata felt as though she could have skipped and sang her way from the elevator, across the lobby to the front doors. It wasn't as if there was anybody who would scold her and tell her to keep it down anyway. Her heels clacked cheerily against the tiled floor. The cool breeze of the night caressed her face as she pushed open the front door.

For once in the week so far, it wasn't raining as she was coming out. For once in the week so far, she wasn't going home with a heavy heart. And for once in her life so far, she was proud (or what she supposed came to the closest feeling of being proud) to be a Hyuuga.

The dregs of her mood lasted to the morning after, allowing her to forget for a moment that it was Friday. Execution day.

Hinata walked to work that morning at a leisurely place, even allowing herself to be tantalized into buying a pastry at the local patisserie that was just beginning to open for the day. A quiet breeze whispered and fluttered her long, dark hair. The streets still slumbered in a quiet serenity; the only sounds heard were the most diligent of storeowners setting up shop. But even they worked in peaceful chatter, unlike the raucous hustle and bustle to be heard a few hours later. The stars in the sky had yet to fade, the night still draping a halcyon shroud over the city of Konohagakure.

Turning around the corner of a rather flashy florist (Yamanaka's, a flower shop that opened rather late but was actually in very high demand), it finally came into view: the publication building of Konoha Heat, where Hinata was currently making the first steps into journalism.

Compared to all the towering skyscrapers that surrounded it, there was nothing awe-striking about the building being only several stories high. But what it lacked in height it made up for in grandeur. The grand marble stairway that leads to the entrance was majestic, and the mighty fountain that pumped water up several feet into the air was like a fanfare announcing the building's evident importance. Even in the pale moonlight, Hinata could see it gleaming. She could only imagine how it must be when basked in pure sunlight.

With a determined breath of air, she crossed the street, ready to take on the day.

But when she was only a few feet from the steps, Hinata saw a figure also approaching the steps in the opposite direction that made her want to immediately throw herself into the shrubbery right next to her.

Uchiha Sasuke was walking at a relaxed pace in her direction, his briefcase slung over his shoulder, his other hand buried in his pocket. In fact, even Sasuke himself looked more lenient, with his dress shirt unbuttoned at the top and tie hanging loosely around his neck. Hinata didn't know whether to be perturbed or joyful at the change.

She was just about ready sprint over to some hiding place. After the little spat last night, she wasn't exactly sure how agreeable his reaction would be, nor was she ready to face it. Her knees were already bent, muscles taut, about to take off to hide in a shadow somewhere, but it was too late. He had spotted her and she heard him call her name.

"Hyuuga. Fancy having to see you so early in the morning," he said, starting up the steps.

Hinata nearly winced. She had felt a slight chilliness in his words.

"Um…A-are you all right now, Uchiha-sama?" In spite of everything, she just had to know if his health improved. It was that instinct that she had to help anyone in need again.

In the silence of the night, Hinata heard Sasuke give a low chuckle. It sounded awfully menacing to her.

"Of course I'm all right, Hyuuga, what kind of question is that?"

Hinata could see him peering down at her from the step he was on, with a slight smirk on his face, his eyes almost gleaming with a hint of mirth. It was then that Hinata was finally convinced that Sasuke was well again, back with all his silent arrogance, his own warped, teasing humor.

Despite herself, a smile stretch over her face. Maybe he really did like messing with shy, timid employees. After all, she was the meekest of everyone at the office.

"Hi-na-ta," she called after him.

The Hinata a week ago would have burst into tears of horror, hearing herself correct her superior for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. Perhaps how well she had escaped with her skin intact the last time she did spurred her on to do it another time. Or maybe she just wanted to humor him.

"Hm?" Sasuke turned around again, all signs of him ever lifting his lips to something other than a scowl gone. He was frowning in slight puzzlement.

"My name is Hinata. Not Hyuuga. I would rather….not be called something I'm not. At least, not really," she said, her thumbs coyly finding their way to each other as she tried to articulate her words as best as she could without being too personal. She didn't want Sasuke, who already had problems with people wanting to get over-friendly, thinking that she was some shy, dark weirdo that had finally latched onto a companion.

"Whatever you say…Hinata," he said languidly, continuing up the steps and sounding like a husband who simply gave into his wife's demands just for the sake of not fighting anymore.

He raised his hand in air as to bid Hinata farewell, and she did not press on.

Somehow, it felt as if her last dregs would last her longer than it would.

Hinata had only been able to place her belonging onto her desk shortly before Sakura and Naruto finally appeared at the office, rushing into Sasuke's office, not even bothering to close the door after them.

"Sasuke, are you all right? You locked yourself up in here all day yesterday…" Hinata could hear Sakura's voice filled with concern.

"Yeah! We were startin' to think you died in here! Eh, turns out you didn't. I knew it was too good to be true."

Hinata heard a fist come into contact with someone's skull and Naruto whimpering "Ow!"

"Naruto! You shouldn't say things like that! What if something really did happen to him? What if he had actually fallen ill?"

"It's fine." It was Sasuke's deep voice, in contrast to Naruto's higher, boyish one. "All that matters is that we get our work done."

Mutters of agreement from both Naruto and Sakura resounded in Sasuke's office. It was then silent for a second.

"By the way, Sasuke, when did you get out yesterday?" Not surprisingly, it was Naruto who broke the silence.

"Dunno. Early enough to see Hyuuga over there turn the corner past Yamanaka's place. Go bother her about it."

Hinata blushed. She could see the smirk playing on Sasuke's lips right when he said that.

"WHAT? So now you're stalking Hinata? What else do you do, raid her panty drawer at night, too?"

"No, Naruto. But you'd know where it is, wouldn't you?"

Hinata blushed ten shades deeper. Now she was definitely glad that she refrained from skipping home last night.

Trays clattered, wooden chopsticks came apart with a sharp snap. The aroma of steamed jasmine rice mingled in the air. It was the sound and smell of the cafeteria coming to life as workers meandered in, hungry for more than food for thought.

The tart grape juice burned as it slithered down her throat. But she felt as though she wouldn't have the energy to chew or even stomach her lunch, with her nerves jittering the way they were.

Hinata chewed at her straw. Mid-morning, she had finally sobered up to the fact that it was finally Friday, a day that most others at the building would rejoice at. Yet, to her, it was the day she had been dreading since the beginning of the week. The irony was as tart as the juice she was sipping.

"There you are, Hinata! No wonder I couldn't find you in the staff room."

Hinata looked over to find Sakura, waving to her enthusiastically as she clutched her own boxed lunch, wrapped in a pretty red cloth.

Sakura plopped down in the seat next to Hinata, and after murmuring a word of thanks for the meal in front of her, eagerly dug in.

She sighed contentedly as she bit into a piece of chicken. "It tastes so good to eat real food again! With all the work we've had the past couple of days, there hasn't been time to eat much. I think I would have died if I had to take up on Naruto's offer of instant ramen for another day."

Sakura peered over at Hinata, who was quietly sipping at the juice box in her hands, with nothing in front of her.

"Is that all you're having for lunch today? Hinata, that's not healthy," she kindly chided. "Here, you can have some of mine." She nudged the bento in between her and Hinata.

Hinata flushed in embarrassment for having her friend worry. "Oh, t-that fine, Sakura. Thank you. I'm…I'm not really that hungry, that's all." It wasn't completely a lie, but Hinata still felt a pang of guilt for the false truth.

Sakura looked unconvinced, but did not wheedle. Then she face shot up as she just remembered something. "Oh, that's right, don't you have a date—I mean," Sakura quickly rethought her sentence, seeing the flustered look Hinata shot her. "Aren't you meeting up with someone tonight, Hinata?"

She batted her eyelids and gently prodded Hinata with an elbow, a sly grin adorning her face.

"Nervous?"

"No! Of course not!" Hinata replied, perhaps a little too quickly. "Well, maybe…maybe a little." But it was definitely not nervous in the way that Sakura thought. "I'm going to leave early today. His manager left me a message telling me that he'd be there at around seven."

"Ah. Well, I guess he must be pretty important. You're usually one of the last to leave!"

Hinata blushed.

"Where are you going again?" Sakura inquired.

"Um…a club called Leaves on Fire. I'm not exactly sure where that is, though."

Sakura tapped a finger on her chin pensively. "I'm not quite sure I've ever even heard of it, either. Funny, I would have thought a star like him would go to a place more...in the spotlight. Anyway, I hope everything goes well and that you have some fun, too, Hinata!"

Hinata nodded cheerfully. She was wishing against wishes that all her apprehension was for naught and that somehow, someway, she could save her neck from Sasuke's wrath when she doesn't get her article in on time.

The night was still young, her sultry veil clinging to Hinata's skin. The stars were only beginning to shine, tittering shyly before they cavort in their gleaming radiance. Shops were still open, but some were beginning to close up, the display windows swept away, all of the treasures being hidden away until next time. The bars were now filling up, the scent of whiskey and scotch becoming stronger with each passing hour. It was Friday night, and the sleeping fox of Konohagakure was just beginning to come out to play.

It was still warm and muggy outside, but Hinata shivered slightly. The top she wore showed off a bit more skin and chest than she was comfortable with (which wasn't much, if any), and her skirt stopped way too high up her thigh. But it was more appropriate to wear this kind of clothing, she supposed, than to wear her business suit, which would make she stick out like a sore thumb.

Hinata sighed dejectedly.

This kind of nightlife was not something Hinata was particularly accustomed to. There were so many other things she would have liked to do on Friday night, like cozy up to a book, or maybe even have hot, steaming ramen at the Ichiraku noodle bar with Naruto and Sakura, in the hands of good company.

But now, she was going to some obscure club, doing who knows what, with people she was not familiar with.

Hinata had asked the lone man sitting in the lobby of the apartment complex, who looked rather forlorn that he was stuck being on duty while everyone else was out enjoying the freedom of the night, if he knew, if he even heard of a club called Leaves on Fire.

He had given her a bewildered stare, as if confused as to why a girl like her would go there. Hinata blushed and fidgeted, but thankfully, he had asked no questions, only telling her that if she was lucky, the driver of the taxi she would catch would know.

Clambering into a taxi she had flagged down, Hinata asked, and the sullen driver took off, without a word.

He had taken a right, gone straight and taken the second left, then fourth right until Hinata finally gave up on tracing his path. Konoha was a city was many turns and crevices, and it was then that she realized how winding it all could be. As a girl being raised to fit as the ruler of a prestigious company, she never did roam the city streets.

Hinata was befuddled when the driver stopped in front of dingy street, too narrow for a car, but just right for a motorbike.

The driver told her to keep walking straight down the alley, she couldn't miss it.

It was walking down the drab alley that she figured out she was in the rougher side of town. Graffiti was plastered all over the walls, some lampooned prominent figures of the country, stating "GODAIME SUCKZ," and some mocked and jeered other countries, like "DOWN WITH SUNA, UP WITH KONOHA PRIDE!!"

Hinata continued walking, taking careful steps in case she was to tread on shards of broken beer bottles and scraps of garbage that littered the ground. Slowly, she began to hear the heavy beats of music blasting from a distance away and the vibrant colors of neon winking at her. She kept on going forward, and when she finally made it to the source of the music and lights, she could see a crowd of people cluttered around entrance, pushing and shoving to get in. A bouncer stood sentinel next to the entrance, eyeing the crowd dubiously behind his mysterious shades with a small scowl on his face.

Looking up at the sign, Hinata's eyes nearly watered. It was intensely bright compared to the bleak alley all around it. Squinting, she saw the sign depicted a leaf, encircled by a ring of fire. Below the logo, in bold, bright letters, stood the name of the club: Leaves on Fire.

Hinata straightened her back and gripped her small purse tighter. It was now or never.

She followed behind the crowd closely, as to blend in and not attract any attention to the bouncer, but without becoming a part of the throng.

Inside, the club was as smoky and hazy as the time when she stepped into Cloud Nine's suite. Except now, there were many more sweaty bodies pumped with adrenaline and alcohol, dancing wildly, throwing their arms in the air and on each other. Hips grinding, gyrating. Multicolored lights flashing. 

Music booming as people screamed for more. Hinata found herself wanting to cover her ears and go crawl off into the bathroom, or at least someplace less frisky. She hurried to go find Cloud Nine. The faster she got out of this place, the better.

But she didn't have to look for long. A few moments of searching around, and he found her.

"Hinata-chan. There you are." An oily voice reached her ears above all the music, sending tingles down her spine, making her want to propel herself to someplace where the owner of the voice couldn't find her.

There was only one other person that was able to make her do that, and this time, she was sure it was not Uchiha Sasuke.

--Inspirational quote of the day on the label belongs to Bob Moawad. In other words, it is not mine.