Ten Days, One Hundred Smiles

chapter three; day four

I was starting to feel like myself again by day four. I woke up and my mind felt less cloudy; I could even remember what I did after I left Karin and them, sort of. I simply wandered through the forest in search of something. I still didn't know what that something was.

Hinata wasn't there when I woke up, which was annoying because I wanted food. I shrugged it off and impatiently awaited her return, which wasn't for about two hours. She came back looking more depressed than ever, with her cheeks red and puffy and her eyes even more so.

"Hello." She muttered, refusing to look at me.

"Hey." I said. "I'm hungry."

"Really?" She sighed sarcastically. "I'm not your servant, you know, Sasuke. I'm doing you a favor here."

I laughed a little. "You're right, I apologize."

"That's alright."

I smirked as I saw her go into one of her bags in search of food, thinking I knew the apology card would work.

"How are you feeling?" She inquired, filling a pot up with water.

"Better. I'm starting to remember things."

"That's good... I probably can't keep you here for much longer. I'm worried that Naruto will look for me and find this place." She then laughed almost cynically, dropping the pot on the stove. "Who am I kidding... Of course he's not going to look for me." I wasn't sure how I was supposed to respond to that, so I didn't. After about ten minutes, she gave me a bowl of noodles and sat down beside me.

It was awkward.

I could see her sitting there all sad in my peripheral vision, hugging her knees tightly to her chest with her eyes glued to the floor. She even sniffled at times.

"Sooooo..." I spoke, and she said nothing. I grew slightly irritated. "Why are you so sad about him?" I asked condescendingly, knowing that she wouldn't like that.

"I already told you why..." She sniffed.

"And I told you why you shouldn't be... He's stupid."

"He is not stupid!" She retorted, finally meeting my eyes.

"Yes, he is. If he wasn't stupid, then he wouldn't have cheated on you with Sakura, who is also stupid. I guarantee if I walked into that village right now and told Sakura to marry me, she'd swoon and hop right on it." A small giggle was heard, so I smirked and continued. "You know a few years ago, that girl actually hunted me down and begged for me to bring her with me. I told her that I was planning to destroy the village, and she was completely okay with that."

Hinata gaped. "Really?"

"Yeah... Dumb bitch."

She giggled again. "Well you're right about that one... But Naruto isn't like that... He's smart, and admirable."

"Would a smart and admirable person really cheat on you with a girl like Sakura? Think about it."

She sat for a moment, probably dumbfounded. "I guess you do make a point..."

"I know I do. Who knows them better than I do?"

"True..."

"And besides, you have a lot more going for you. Are you not the heiress to the Hyuuga clan?"

She shrugged. "I guess..."

I cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'I guess'..."

"I don't know."

"Hmph, whatever."

She furrowed her eyebrows in irritation. "Kay. Are you done eating? I need to head back to the village. I have an appointment to view an apartment this afternoon."

Hinata didn't come back until very late that night, she just left me there. When she got back around midnight, she looked even more upset.

She came back crying.

I rolled my eyes upon seeing her, and carelessly asked "What's wrong?"

She chucked a new bag into the pile that had formed in the corner. "Nothing." She stormed outside of the house. I assumed that she was leaving again, but I heard her rummaging around outside. Soon after, I could smell a campfire burning. I managed to lift myself up and look out the window behind me. She sat there hugging her knees, staring into the fire as tears poured down her face. She really did look pathetic, and to think this was all because of Naruto.

I decided to go out and talk to her. Stumbling to my feet, I used the walls for support as I made my way to the door. She looked surprised to see me up.

"What, you have to go to the washroom or something?"

"No." I stated, sitting on the ground across from her.

"What do you want then? I'm not feeding you right now."

"I wasn't asking you to. Can I not sit here?"

"You can do whatever you want."

I was a bit surprised by her attitude. "Well, you're definitely not in a good mood."

"You think?"

"What did he do?"

"You don't wanna hear about it. Just leave me alone, Sasuke."

I decided to shut up for a few minutes. I had to admit, I was a little impressed. Who knew that the Hyuuga girl had it in her to tell me off like that? I couldn't even remember the last time a girl actually barked at me. Karin was always trying to please me, and Sakura was the same way. Even Ino and other girls back in the village were always stupidly nice to me, to the point where it was just annoying.

Maybe that was why I never liked any of them.

I watched the fire dance in the reflection of her light orbs. Her tears had stopped now, though they still stained her cheeks. She had small features and large eyes; she certainly an attractive girl. She caught me looking at her, and quickly averted my gaze.

"W-What?" She inquired.

"He's stupid, you know."

She frowned. "You've already said that, and I've already told you I disagree."

"That's fine, you don't have to agree. But I'm telling you the truth. He's stupid."

"Whatever." She muttered, standing to her feet. "I'm going to get some rest. You should too."

I nodded. "Sure. I'll just be a minute."

A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! I'm glad that you seem to think this story has potential :) please review and let me know what you think so far!