*HINATA'S POV*

We decided to go back to Hiroshima to find Sasuke. Ino has something to do so we asked Shikamaru to accompany us. Today, we will check the south part of the city. We still have a week to complete this task. Aish! We're currently stuck inside a café. Why? It's freaking raining outside. I hate it!

"Yah!" Shikamaru caught my attention.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Your birthday's coming up."

My birthday? "Really?"

He looked confused. "Wait. You don't know how near your birthday is? Are you serious that you forgot about that?"

You're right. I totally forgot it. "Yes."

"Aish! It's your own birthday but then you didn't even notice it is coming. It's on 21, right?"

Aish! "20," Shino said.

He looked at him. "Seriously?"

"Shino's right. Tch. I thought you knew me well," I said.

"Sorry," then he scratched his head. "I've been thinking about the date and got confused. I'm sorry."

"So what are you planning to do on your day?" Shino asked.

I looked outside. The rain's still heavy. "I don't know. I haven't planned about it yet. But more or less, I'll be just inside my room, in front of the computer. Maybe, eating something," I sighed. "I don't know."

"It looks like you're putting Sasuke first on your priority list than your special day."

I looked down. "Yes. He's more important than anything else. And you know me, I don't celebrate birthdays."

"Don't worry, I'll give you Sasuke as a gift. Do you want him wrapped with a ribbon or not?" Shikamaru said.

That one made me think. "Hmmm… maybe just give him to me without the wrapping. It'll be much better if you do it that way."

He smiled. "Okay. I promise, I'll bring him to you."

"I'm looking forward to it," then I also smiled.

"But we're still not sure if he's really here," Shino said.

Yeah, you're right. "But I'm hoping this is the place where he's hiding. And something's telling me that we're on the right track. So we just need to continue."

"That's it Hinata. We have to keep on going until we find him," Shikamaru agreed.

"And you need my help," a girl said.

We all turned around and saw Sakura.

"What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ino told me that you, guys, are here. So I immediately walked out of the room and went here. And I'm here to help you find Sasuke," she explained.

"But it's raining," I said.

"That's why I'm here. I brought my car."

Shikamaru stood up. "Let's go. We should leave now."

We all went outside and rode in Sakura's car. But it's no use. We're stuck in the traffic and the rain is still pouring. I looked outside. I'm feeling nauseated. Being here inside the car while it's raining, aish! I'm getting dizzy.

Wait. Is that Sasuke? No. It can't be. He came out of a gift shop and opened his umbrella. Right, he's Sasuke. I immediately ran out of the car, ignoring how hard the rain is. I followed him while calling his name. He's not looking back and continued walking. He turned to the right so I ran faster to catch up. But he disappeared. He's out of sight now. Am I just hallucinating? No. I'm sure it's him.

"What are you doing here?"

I turned around. It's Shino. "I think I saw him."

He gave me a confused look. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Yes. But he disappeared."

"It's just your imagination, Hinata. I know you want to see him now. But I think he's in his house, not bothering to go out because it's raining hard. Let's go. They're waiting."

He's right, an imagination. "Okay," then we went back to the car.

*SASUKE'S POV*

That was close. I thought she's going to catch up but she's not a fast runner. Good thing I saw that little space there at the corner and hid myself there. Whew! That's close, really close.

"Yah!"

Aish! He's starting to annoy me again. "What?"

Itachi sat across me. "That girl's calling me at least thrice a minute," then his phone rang and showed it to me. "See? She's calling me again. Why don't you talk to them and tell them you're here?"

"I told you I'm not going to do that. I don't want to see her again."

"Why? Are you afraid that she's not really in love with you? Do you still doubt about that? They're not attending classes just to find you. Isn't that a reason enough for you to believe her?"

I looked down. "I just don't want to expect that much."

"You don't want to get hurt?"

"Who wants to?"

"Tch. Yah! If you keep hiding yourself like this, you're not going to get married," then he left.

He's really annoying at times. But he's the one who always tell me what to do and always advises me. I do what he tells me to do when I have a problem. But now, I'm going to do what I think is right. I'm not going to listen to him anymore.