Sasuke didn't like doubting Hinata's love for his brother. It was obvious that she only had eyes for Itachi but his curiosity has gotten the best of him many times.

After finding out that Hinata wasn't working overtime as she proclaimed, Sasuke became suspicious. He decided to follow her one day and noticed her entering a building without a sign. Looking around, he tried to enter through the same door only to be turned away. His curiosity grew and he found a back entrance.

It looked like a small theater or dance studio; he didn't see why she had to sneak around. Hearing voices approaching, Sasuke hid behind some curtains. A group of scantily clad women walked in and much to his horror, he saw Hinata join them. She was dressed modestly compared to some of the others, but obviously this wasn't her usual style.

"Okay ladies, today I want to see what you've learned. Temari, why don't you go first?" The woman motioned for a blond to step up.

Music started playing and Sasuke's eyes widened. She was pole dancing! After her song finished, the rest of the women clapped in appreciation and Hinata was pushed forward. No! He thought. Sasuke didn't want to see his soon to be sister- in- law dance so provocatively. However, he couldn't just get up from his spot and leave. The room was small enough where they'd notice him for sure. Close your damn eyes!

But he just had to glance and his jaw dropped. The image of a shy, timid, modest Hinata went out the window. "Wow," he whispered in appreciation.

"Hey what are you doing here?!" Sasuke was dragged by his collar by a very large man. "Another pervert I bet. C'mon, why don't we ask the ladies here if they appreciate the peeping?"

"No, please." He begged the man to let him go. If Hinata saw him, he'd die.

The man whistled, drawing everyone's attention to them. "Tayuya! We got another one!" He flung Sasuke to the ground; amid all the whispers and gasps he heard Hinata utter his name.

"You know him?" Tayuya asked Hinata. "Is he the guy you're doing this for?"

"No!" she protested. Hinata grabbed her coat and dragged Sasuke out. "I'll see you next week," she mumbled to her instructor.

"What is that all about?" He asked.

"None of your business." Hinata briskly walked away, upset that her secret was out. After brainstorming ideas for Itachi's birthday with Tenten, she realized how predictable everything with them was. Coming across an ad on a campus bulletin, she jumped at the opportunity. Hinata wanted to genuinely surprise him and get out of her shell at the same time. Taking these classes had done wonders for her confidence, which went away the moment she saw Sasuke.

Sasuke pulled out his wallet. "Look I know your dad cut you off because of the engagement but you don't have to strip to pay for college. We're well off and you'll be a part of our family. How much do you need?" She stared at him blankly. "Itachi won't appreciate his wife taking her clothes off for cash."

"Put that away! It looks like you're soliciting!" Hinata whispered and motioned towards a patrol car that slowly drove by. With the clothes she was wearing underneath her long coat and Sasuke's insistence to give her money, people might get the wrong idea. "I'm not stripping! I'm just dancing."

"Right," he said skeptically. "So how much do you think you'll make 'dancing'? Just take the money, Hinata."

She smacked him with her purse. "I don't have money troubles! I'm learning these dance moves for only one person." He stared blankly at her. "Itachi! I'm doing this for his birthday!"

"Oh." His face reddened. "Oh!"

"Yeah." Hinata rocked back and forth on her heels. "So don't tell him. I want it to be a surprise."

Suddenly reminded of Itachi's fury when it came to Hinata, he blanched. He'd be more pissed over the fact that Sasuke saw Hinata doing that than his gift being spoiled. "Of course I won't!"

For a few weeks, they kept their distance and couldn't even look each other in the eye. Itachi remained oblivious to it all, even humming a familiar tune the morning after his birthday much to their mortification. Hinata quickly excused herself and left the dining room while Sasuke fought to keep his blushing to a minimum. "Can you not do that?"

"Do what?"

"Hum that tune." It would only bring back the images that were burned in his mind; bad, horrible images that he should not remember so vividly. Bad Sasuke! He chastised himself.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Does it bother you?"

"Yes," he gritted out.

"Fine." Itachi kept the stupid smile on his face as he remembered the wonderful gift Hinata surprised him with the night before. To say he was pleasantly surprised was an understatement. "If only you knew." He let out a few chuckles and Sasuke hastily got up. "Where are you going?"

"Out."

"Okay." His brother's eyes shifted side to side. "Hey why don't you stay over Naruto's tonight? Here's some money, have fun."

Not bothering to fight it, Sasuke grabbed the money and left. He knew what Itachi really wanted and didn't want to catch an encore of Hinata's performance. No matter how curious he was to know if she had improved.

.

.

Suffice to say that Sasuke learned to always give Hinata the benefit of the doubt. So when he noticed one of her classmates stick so closely to her, he knew he didn't have to worry about her straying from Itachi. Hinata was not without admirers but it never bothered Itachi at least he never said anything to Sasuke about it. Of course, he had Sasuke be his eyes and ears on campus which was easy to do when they shared classes. However, even his brother couldn't be everywhere at once and Otsutsuki's constant interactions with her were getting worrisome.

His intuition hadn't always failed him and Sasuke knew he wasn't overreacting. Even the normally level headed Itachi had begun to act irrationally. Her fiancé was present when she was working with Shino or Kiba, who he later admitted were harmless, but most of the study sessions Toneri organized were during times he was unavailable.

Often she would say that he needed tutoring or that they were working with others on large projects. However after noticing just how frequently they were communicating, her fiancé knew he couldn't hold his tongue. Itachi didn't hesitate to put his foot down when he noticed the text from Toneri with her directions to his place. The two had gotten in an argument about trust and it left him in a foul mood.

"I don't like him," he spat as he stabbed his food. "I don't trust him." Sasuke agreed but he wished Itachi didn't point out her lack of faith in the past during the heat of the moment. After all, he was partially to blame.

"You have nothing to worry about." Naruto tried to comfort him. "Hinata loves you. Toneri doesn't stand a chance. He can try to seduce her but nothing happen. Plenty of girls like him but Hinata isn't like them, maybe that's why he so charmed by her. That and her body."

Narrowing his eyes, Itachi looked at the blonde who was gulping down his food. "Naruto…who let you back in?"

"You're funny," Naruto laughed. "Anyways, you should really get that jealousy under control. All you're doing is pushing her into his arms." He continued eating, oblivious to Itachi's growing ire.

"Don't you have to meet Ino?" Sasuke asked, pulling Naruto away from the table and towards the door. His best friend pouted but Sasuke knew he saved him from Itachi's wrath… once again.

With his jealousy in overdrive, he had nearly attacked Naruto a few days ago. Itachi had walked in on a shirtless Naruto talking to a blushing Hinata. Sasuke had to pin him down as the other two stared in bewilderment. Apparently he had spilled soup over his shirt and Hinata offered to throw it in the washer.

While Hinata would never betray Itachi, she couldn't help but blush in the presence of a muscular, shirtless and handsome man. It didn't help that she had offhandedly commented to Itachi earlier that she admired Naruto's passion for a better government. Once free of Sasuke's grip, Itachi had thrown Naruto out causing another argument between the couple.

"You know he has a point," Sasuke said as he sat back down.

His brother slammed his fists on the table. "So you think it's my fault?! That scumbag isn't just being friendly and you know it! If he calls her one more time, I swear-"

"Chill. This is why Hinata hasn't been around. You're kind of crazy." Itachi opened his mouth to retort. "I agree he's an ass but we need to be smart about this."

"What do you propose we do?"

Sasuke leaned forward, a glint of excitement in his eye. "I'll follow him and wait. He's bound to do something suspicious and I'll get solid proof."

"Will this actually work?" Itachi was skeptical of his brother's investigative skills.

Ignoring all his past failures Sasuke nodded. It was bound to work one of these days.

.

.

Sasuke sat in his car, drinking coffee from his mug. Hinata had told a grumpy Itachi that she couldn't meet him for lunch since her group wanted to get together to celebrate their successful presentation, which of course included Toneri. He nodded to Sasuke after she left and he nodded back. It felt like a real undercover mission.

He stared as Toneri welcomed Hinata and pulled her chair out for her. She looked around and Toneri shrugged but Sasuke could tell he was smirking. He called his brother and told him to go to step two. A few seconds later Hinata pulled out her phone and excused herself. She stepped out and Sasuke snuck inside, sitting close to Toneri.

"Saw some girl walk by, was that your girlfriend?" He asked the other man.

Toneri licked his lips. "Yeah, what of it?"

"Nothing, just wanted to tell you you're a lucky guy." Sasuke wanted to smack that smug smirk off his face. "I saw a ring on her finger. Congrats on the engagement."

"Heh, we're not there yet. But she is dumping that loser for me," he bragged and leaned close to Sasuke. "Hinata might look timid but she's a real pleasure between the sheets. She does this thing with her tongue…well let's just say that she knows how to treat her man."

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke barely nodded. He wanted to bash his teeth in for lying and talking so disrespectfully about Itachi's soon to be wife. But he'd get his comeuppance soon. Sasuke subtly patted his coat pocket repeatedly, slipping his hand inside and gripped his phone. Otsutsuki's words would come back to haunt him.

He quickly hid behind a menu as Hinata walked back in. His cap and sunglasses hid his identity. "Sorry, Toneri but I have to cancel. Something came up and since everyone else didn't show up, I think its best we reschedule for another day."

"No! I mean, you're here so why don't we just enjoy ourselves," Toneri pleaded. Sasuke smirked as Hinata explained that Itachi wasn't feeling well and she wanted to check on him. Taking that as his cue to leave, Sasuke used the waitress as a shield between him and them.

He hopped inside his car excitedly and played back the audio. ""Sorry, Toneri but I have to cancel…" He frowned and listened as the conversation continued. Hitting his steering wheel in anger, he realized he hadn't picked up anything useful. The recording must've been erased when he touched his phone and started back up when she came back. "Fuck!"

Sitting inside his car for a few minutes, he contemplated his next moves. Perhaps he could go back, but what if she saw him? Starting his engine, Sasuke admitted defeat and began to pull out of the parking space when he noticed an upset Hinata rushing out of the diner, followed by a peeved Toneri. Sasuke sped up to catch up to them.

"Hinata, wait up!" She ignored his pleas and hurried to her car. Parking downtown was a nightmare so she had to park far away. "Can't we just talk?"

Turning around, Hinata exhaled sharply. "Toneri, you know I have a fiancé who I love very much. I'm sorry but I just can't return your feelings. I'd like to remain friends if-"

"Friends? Friends?! You think I tolerated your friends and stupid ideas just so you'd cast me aside?" He grabbed her and pulled her close. Hinata was frightened and looked down. "Do you think I kissed you back there because I'm fine with just being friends?!"

"Maybe we shouldn't work on anything in the future. Please let me go," she asked. "Others will see." He pushed her into an alley.

"No one is coming, you stupid bitch," he snarled. Hinata tried to pull him off but he had a firm hold on her. "I told everyone else to reschedule. No, you and I are going to privately discuss things."

"Get off! HELP!" Hinata was silenced with another unwanted kiss. Furious at him, the situation, and herself she kneed him below the belt. However the adrenaline running through his veins prevented an easy escape.

Toneri grimaced as he harshly gripped her long locks. "You're going to have to do something nice to make up for that," he threatened. Hinata responded with a gush of pepper spray. He cowered into a fetal position and covered his eyes. She made a run for it bumping into a hard chest.

Sasuke removed his cap and sunglasses, yelling out before she sprayed him too. "Sasuke? What are you doing here?" she asked, breathless from everything that happened. "Is Itachi okay?"

"What happened, Hinata?" He looked back to see a writhing Toneri shout curses. "Did he fucking touch you?!"

Ignoring the incapacitated man, she tugged on Sasuke's sleeve. "Don't worry about it. I took care of him. Let's go, okay?"

"You fucking slut!" Toneri shouted, making Sasuke freeze. "You fucking tease a guy then go act like a victim?"

"Sasuke don't…" she pleaded but he stormed to Toneri and kicked his ribs.

"That's my sister you're talking about and if you keep bothering her, you'll have to answer to me." He kicked him one last time. "Got it?!"

Hinata remained silent as he walked her to her car and he wondered if she was upset with his actions. That night, he found Hinata cuddled up to a happy looking Itachi. When they began to make out, Sasuke coughed loudly to make his presence known.

"Oh Sasuke, didn't hear you come in." Itachi said nonchalantly. "I was just about to put some music on."

Sasuke shuddered at the implication. Hinata gave Itachi a knowing look and turned to his brother. "We talked and I told him what happened. Thank you for looking out for me."

"It was nothing."

"I disagree," she smiled. "It means a lot to me that you consider me part of the family."

He rolled his eyes. "Well duh. There's so few of us left so I'll be damned if anyone hurts my brother or sister." Hinata got up and hugged him. "I was a pretty awesome detective wasn't I? Nothing gets past me."

Annoyed by his bragging, Itachi tilted his head. "Didn't you think Hinata had the hots for you? And weren't you so certain I was having an affair?"

"Well this time I was right. Honestly, I don't know where you guys would be without me. One of your kids should be named after me or something." Itachi scowled and Hinata pulled away.

She patted his shoulder. "You have caused us some trouble but I'm glad you're here for us. I see you as part of my family as well. If Neji hadn't already agreed to walk me down the aisle, I would've asked you."

They all knew Hinata's father had basically disowned her because of his disapproval of Itachi. Offering his place to Sasuke meant a lot to him and he couldn't help the genuine smile on his face.

Days later, Itachi confronted Sasuke about a very generous gift he gave Hinata's cousin. "Neji called. He'll be declining your trip to Suna. Why does he think the wedding has been postponed a week?"

Sasuke shrugged innocently but inwardly scowled. Neji was supposed to contact him with any questions. Why did the idiot have to go and blab to Itachi?

"You know, I don't think Hinata would appreciate you sending her cousin out of the country the week of the wedding." Itachi raised an eyebrow and chuckled as Sasuke sulked. "And you thought I was unreasonably jealous."

AN: One more chapter and it's a wrap.