Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it's characters, or any aspect of it. It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

The Beauty of Power

Chapter 6

Konohagakure seemed to grow in population, immensely over the course of several days. The streets bustled with more citizens, some of which were a part of the other four great shinobi countries. Furthermore, there seemed to be some kind of elation among all of the villagers, Sasuke couldn't figure out what the fuck it was, but every villager had a huge smile plastered on their face. The Uchiha heir didn't care what the fuck was going on, but one thing was for certain. The more hoi polloi had brought more noise, and this greatly displeased him. The noise penetrated the walls of his estate, and Sasuke found himself unable to concentrate with all of racket. In addition, the disruptions made by the inhabitants were not confined to the daytime, but they prolonged late into the night. Sure! He had a warm bed, but what good would that do if you couldn't even sleep? On several nights, the Uchiha heir found himself staring at the ceiling, and frankly, he was tired of looking at the texture of it. The sleepless nights had put Sasuke in a foul mood, and he had every intention of taking it out on anyone who crossed his path. Sasuke stared at the Hyuuga heiress who was arched forward with her eyes closed, and she was huffing, excessively. There were more scratches on her face, her jacket was stained with dirt from where he had threw her to the ground, and the zipper was down. The loose zipper allowed the jacket to fall off her shoulder, slightly, which revealed her moonlight kissed skin. Her cheeks were rosy red, and her lips were white in dryness. Thick black circles were formed underneath Sasuke's red eyes, and he was paler than usual. Everything agitated the Uchiha heir, the sunlight, the breeze, even his own existence. Normally, with this level of agitation, the Uchiha heir wouldn't be able to tolerate any form of human contact. However, Sasuke found himself not minding the presence of the Hyuuga heiress, in fact, he was at ease much to his surprise. So, maybe the Hyuuga was good for more than just sparring.

Just maybe.

"Uchiha-san, you look t-tired is everything okay?" Hinata looked at him, concerned. He noticed that she struggled to get the words out of her mouth, no doubt out of the lack of oxygen. Hell, they had been sparring for three hours straight.

"I said don't call me that, Hyuuga." Sasuke hissed, angrily. "You can call me by my name, stop with the fucking formalities already."

"Sorry." A weary smile spread across her face, and the Uchiha heir rubbed his eyes as they faded to their usual onyx color.

"Whatever."

"Sasuke-san, p-please answer the q-question." He heard her plea in her usual delicate voice.

"I am fine, I told you that I am no need for your concern."

"But the b-bags on underneath your e-eyes." Hinata objected.

"You should be concerned about yourself since you look like you are about to fall over." Sasuke stared at Hinata, observing how her body trembled in exhaustion, and Hinata shook her head.

"I-I am fine." The Hyuuga heiress straightened up her back, she took a step forward only to fall to her knees, and she gasped, slightly. Sasuke walked up to her, and he sheathed his katana.

"See, I told you, you should worry about yourself." The Uchiha heir sighed in agitation. "Plus, I don't see how you would be any good to me in this condition, the fight wouldn't even be a fight."

I am not going to fight you when you are not at your best.

"B-but, you w-want to fight more right?" Hinata sat down, leaning back, and Sasuke knelt down.

"You wouldn't last." Sasuke stated. He didn't say this to insult her, but it was a fact. Hell, he could fight all damn day, and never get tired. However, the Hyuuga heiress couldn't go on much longer, seeing how exhausted she was, and the Uchiha heir didn't want to have to deal with the possibly of her passing out. "Are you not tired?"

"I am." Hinata admitted, shyly. "but, so are you."

"You're not going to let that go are you?" Sasuke stated this rather than asked it because he was fully aware of the answer. "If you must know so much, yes, I am tired."

"Why?"

"Why are you asking so many damn questions?"

"Well, you are my s-sparring partner." Hinata smiled at him, warmly. "It is only natural that I am a-attentive to your well-being."

Natural? It was NOT natural for partners, comrades, teammates or whatever they were to be concerned for one another. Hell, Sasuke would have gladly killed his comrades if they stood in the way of his goals. In fact, there was one case in which he had impaled Karin, his former…well… whatever you wanted to call her… in order to kill that bastard Danzo. So for Hinata to say such things was completely idiotic. However, this case with her was different from any other situations before, the Hyuuga heiress's existence was important to him. He needed her to be alive so they could spar.

"Hmph!" Sasuke grunted. "You are a tenacious woman, but I will tell you, it is because of all the damn noise going on in this place."

"What noise?" Hinata looked at him, perplexed, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"How can you not hear it?" Sasuke exasperated. "The village has seemed to come alive over the course of several days, is there something I am not fucking aware of?"

"Oh, yes, they are c-coming for the phoenix festival."

"What in the fuck is the phoenix festival?"

"It is a c-celebration of the new era of p-peace that has fallen over the lands."

Oh hell! Kill me.

"Fuck that shit." Sasuke scoffed at the idea. "When did this occur?"

"A year after the war." Hinata informed. "It was an a-agreement between all of the five kages."

"I see." Sasuke cursed Konohagakure, it was a pain in his ass in more ways than one, and this just fueled his hatred for it even more. There was no one he could find who wasn't happy with this era of peace, everyone thought it was like a utopia made real, but it was his own personal hell.

"do you not like festivals, Sasuke-san?" The Uchiha heir gaze directed back to the Hyuuga heiress who looked at him, curiously.

"No, I don't."

"How come?"

"You are just full of all kinds of damn questions today aren't you?"

"You don't h-have to answer them, if they make you un-"Sasuke cut her off.

"You don't know how I feel, Hyuuga, don't try to empathize with me." His words were icy and harsh. Hinata nodded at him, looking at the ground, and he scrutinized her. There was a momentary silence exchanged between the two heirs, and he cleared his throat. "I have never been to a festival before."

"Never?" Hinata looked at him, baffled. "Oh y-you must go to one."

"Why?"

"Well…" The Hyuuga heiress looked off in the distance, he could tell that she was searching to give him a good answer, and a small smile settled on her lips. "There are all d-different foods you can try, g-games, and…" Sasuke looked at her, unmoved.

"Those are all unnecessary nuisances, Hyuuga, so when is this festival?"

" I-In a couple of days."

" I see." Something warm trickled down the side of Sasuke's head, he looked down as a droplet fell onto his hand, and he stared at his dark red blood.

Oh that is right. She managed to cut me more this time around.

It was at that moment, the Uchiha heir started to become aware of the scratches on his face. He had a gash on the side of his head, and a couple of lacerations on his face from where Hinata had cut him with a couple of chakra infused shuriken. Pain had become so second nature to him that he didn't even realize when he felt it, seeing his blood was nothing to him, and he heard a slight gasp. Sasuke saw a very horrified Hinata stare at him, and she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Sasuke-san, the sparring w-was too much, I-I have really hurt you." Her voice was filled with regret, and Sasuke watched her reach out a hand towards him.

"I warned you once, not to ever touch me, I'll break your hand if you do, and that is a promise." The tonality of his voice was threatening. The Uchiha heir saw Hinata withdraw her hand, nodding at him, and she kept her eyes on the gash.

"doesn't that hurt?"

No. The endless battles made him a slight masochist.

"Where are all your baby sitters?" Sasuke evaded the question. "I haven't come face to face with any of them today."

"I am sure that they are b-busy with the influx of villagers c-coming in for the festival." The Uchiha heir noticed her eyes became wide as she uttered the words. It seemed that the Hyuuga heiress had a sudden epiphany, and she jumped to her feet. He stood up, ignoring the oozing gash, and the Hinata stumbled backwards. "I am sure they are wondering where I am, I have to go help out, I haven't even checked my duties for today yet."

"What are you going to get punished or something?" The Uchiha heir let out a mocking laugh.

"I will see you later, Sasuke-san." She bowed to him before disappearing out of the forest, and Sasuke turned on his heels. He walked over to a tree, sitting down, and he kept his hand on the hilt of his sword. Sasuke figured that he might as well get some sleep while it was quiet, the Uchiha heir closed his eyes, but he couldn't stop thinking about how the Hyuuga looked at him with such a horrified face. He grimaced at the image.

That face is so unbecoming of you, Hyuuga. Sasuke thought as he drifted off to a light sleep.

XXXX

Hinata couldn't believe that she had forgotten to check on her duties for the day, it was so unlike her, and she promised herself to work extra hard to make up for the mistake. The Hyuuga heiress brushed the dirt off her jacket, however there were grass stains all on her pants. No matter how hard she tried to look clean, Hinata knew that everyone would know she had spared with the Sasuke. She was definitely tired from it, Hinata yearned to go home and change into fresh clothes. Climb into bed, and sleep for the whole day. However, Hinata had priorities, and they outweighed her needs. Her theory about the Uchiha heir was indeed correct, he didn't feel pain, judging by the way he carried out his daily activities unaware of his wounds. The sight of blood made her uneasy, and Sasuke's blood was no exception. The metallic smell of it infused with its rustic iron taste made the Hyuuga heiress nauseous. Whenever, Hinata caught sight of blood, she knew that death would be following afterwards, and it was one of the many factors as to why Hinata detested battles. She wanted to patch up the gash on his head, but Hinata was not going to press it any further. Anyways, when Sasuke informed her that he would break her hand, Hinata knew that he would do it. Furthermore, Hinata called Sasuke her sparring partner, but what she really meant was friend. In an odd way, the Hyuuga heiress thought of him as a friend. Yet, Hinata recognized that he probably wouldn't like the word so she played upon it.

Why did he not like for anyone to care for him?

The Hyuuga heiress made her way to Naruto's office, she ran inside causing the blond headed Hokage's eyes widened. The young jinchuuriki host looked her up and down.

"Hinata-chan, why do you look like that?" The blond headed Hokage frowned at her, and he stopped up, quickly.

"Oh, I was sparring." Hinata informed. "S-sorry about not checking in with y-you this morning." Naruto smiled at her, and he waved his hand.

"Aww man, too bad, I was stuck in here the whole time, I would have joined you, and who were you sparing with?" Naruto asked, curiously. Hinata pursed her lips, she didn't want to cause any more unwanted confrontations for the Uchiha heir, and she looked down at the ground. On the other hand, Hinata couldn't lie to her dear friend.

"Uh…." Hinata began. "I was sparing with Sasuke-san." Naruto's eye became wide as saucers that Hinata thought they were going to pop out, and his mouth dropped.

"You were sparring with... Sasuke?" The Hyuuga heiress nodded in confirmation, Naruto leaned back in his chair, and she could tell he was stunned. "Did he offer to spar with you?"

"No, I offered him."

"And he accepted?"

"Y-yes, Naruto-chan." The Hyuuga heiress saw the young jinchuuriki host was speechless, she smiled at him, and Hinata tried to ease the situation. "Where is everyone?"

Naruto blinked twice before he answered, and then he cleared his throat. "As you already know the phoenix festival is in a couple of days so everyone is checking the villagers from each country including our own. Sakura and Ino are checking with villagers here, Shino and Kiba are checking with villagers from the land of earth and lightning, but Shikamaru preferred to work alone. He is checking those from the land of water, and those coming in from the land of wind need to be checked."

"Okay."

"I am sure that none of them are suspicious considering how Gaara has probably checked them all out before they were allowed to come here to Konohagakure."

"Oh, is the Kazekage c-coming this year for the f-festival?" Hinata asked, curiously. Naruto nodded at her, eagerly, and she was happy to hear that. The Hyuuga heiress may not have been in love with Naruto anymore, but she hated to see him unhappy. There was a silence exchanged between them, and she headed out.

"I will check them out." Hinata wanted to leave before any more questions were going to be asked about Sasuke.

"Oh yeah, be careful, Hinata-chan."

"Don't worry, I-I will be." The Hyuuga heiress assured as she shut the door behind her.

XXXX

Naruto stared at the door, completely bewildered by the news that he had just been informed of. Sasuke had agreed to a spar with Hinata? Why did he accept? The blond headed Hokage had made numerous futile attempts to get the Uchiha heir to socialize with others, but Hinata was able to do that on one try. Naruto reflected back on his encounter with Sasuke in the kukoji forest, and how Sasuke said that he had no intention of seeing anyone. If this was true then, why would he want to interact with Hinata? The young jinchuuriki host pondered these thoughts as he picked up a pencil, and tapped it, lightly, on the table's wooden surface. After a few moments, Naruto felt a small smile tug at his lips, and he couldn't help, but let out a soft chuckle.

"Maybe, I am not the one who can get through to you, Sasuke." The blond headed Hokage whispered, silently to himself as he turned to look upon Konohagakure through the window.

XXXX

The villagers from the land of the wind ranged from young to old, and there was an excessive chatter among them. Their chatter included sighs of awe which no doubly came from the beautiful architecture of Konohagakure. Hinata stared at the villagers passing by her, so far all of them checked out just as Naruto had suspected, and she gave everyone a welcoming smile. An elderly young woman struggled through the crowd, she had huge baskets of food, and some of the villagers just passed by her. They didn't offer her a single help, the Hyuuga heiress caught sight of the older woman, and she walked into the crowd. The elderly woman had sweat forming on her brow, she seemed to be straining herself, immensely, and she went to drop the basket.

"Oh no!" she shouted. The Hyuuga heiress grabbed the basket before its contents spilled onto the ground only to be crushed underneath the feet of her fellow neighbors. Hinata saw a grateful express come across her face, and she reached out her hand. "Thank you... err..."

"Hinata." Hinata pointed to the other basket of food. "Please allow me to h-help you with all the baskets."

"Oh, I simply mustn't" the elderly woman looked at her, shocked. "You have been so kind already that I cannot burden you."

"I-It is my pleasure." The Hyuuga heiress insisted, and she placed her hand on the handle. "Please." The elderly woman looked at her, defeated, and she nodded. She handed Hinata the other basket of food, Hinata balanced the baskets on one arm, and she held out her hand. "Please allow me to maneuver you through the crowd."

"Oh my, I didn't realize shinobi from Konohagakure were so kind." The woman held onto Hinata's arm, and she gave her a small smile. "Isn't that a little heavy for you?"

A little.

"No, I am fine." The Hyuuga heiress wasn't going to tell the woman that the baskets of food caused a little trouble for her. After all, Hinata was not the one tell others when she was having trouble with anything.

"Oh, you are a strong woman." The woman admired. "Nothing less than I would expect from a Hyuuga."

"You are too kind." Hinata turned red at the compliment. "w-what are in t-these bags?"

"Several batches of pomegranates native to Sunagakure, I am bringing them to my son who is going to be making pies for the festival."

"Oh, really that sounds great."

"Will you be enjoying the festival?" The elderly woman asked.

"I-I will be on duty, why?"

"Well as penitence for helping me, I will tell my son to give you a free pie."

"that is so kind."

"Well..." The woman chuckled at the Hyuuga heiress. "Shinobi do get hungry don't they and I heard that you all don't get really good meals when you are on duty."

"Thank you." Hinata was speechless at the generosity of the elderly woman, she didn't expect to receive anything for helping her. The Hyuuga heiress felt that it was necessary to help anyone who was in need.

"And please do e-enjoy the festival."

"I will try to."

"And spend it with someone special." The elderly woman grinned at her causing the Hyuuga heiress's cheeks to grow a rose red. "Do you have someone special?" Hinata shook her head. "Well, surely you have someone special, it doesn't have to be a lover, and it could be a friend."

"Yes, but they are all on duty."

"You shinobi always work hard, you all need to take time to smell the roses, such a beautiful woman such as yourself should be able to enjoy the festival."

"I-I will." Hinata assured. "I promise, don't worry."

A friend to spend time at the festival with huh? The Hyuuga heiress lead the woman to the gate, the woman's family met her at the gate, and they thanked Hinata for the aid. The woman waved to Hinata as she left, and Hinata waved back, timidly. She leaned up against the gate, looking at the ground, and she began to ponder. Everyone had someone to spend time with during the festival, friends, family, etc., all except for one person.

Sasuke Uchiha. Hinata figured that the Uchiha heir would remain cooped up in the estate as the festival went on, and she bit her lip. He had never been to a festival, so why not invite him? He said that it was a nuisance so the Hyuuga heiress had an idea that he probably wouldn't accept the offer. However, she couldn't bear the thought of someone not inviting him, and even if he didn't accept it, at least someone offered. Hinata bit her lip, looking onto the crowds of citizens, and she had her mind set. She was going to propose the idea to Sasuke.

The idea of attending the festival with her.

XXXX

Sasuke made his way to his estate, he managed to get a decent sleep in the forest, but it didn't alleviate his foul mood. The Uchiha heir unlocked the dead bolt on his gate, he went to push open the gate, and he caught sight of the Hyuuga heiress wave at him. Sasuke stared at her, coolly, and she smiled at him.

"d-did you spend all your t-time in the forest?" Hinata asked, curiously.

"That is none of your damn business, Hyuuga, what do you want from me?"

"I have a question for you." She began, hesitantly. "B-but, I am not sure if you will like it?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her, and he crossed his arms.

"I probably won't, nonetheless, spit it out." The Uchiha heir commanded. "I hate waiting."

"would you like to go to the phoenix festival with me?" He saw the timid look on her face, her cheeks flush in embarrassment, and the Uchiha heir rolled his eyes.

"What makes you think that I would want to go to that shit?" Sasuke asked. "Didn't we have this discussion in the forest?"

"Yes, but I thought it would like to get out of the estate."

"And what makes you think that?"

"Because e-everyone will be enjoying t-themselves and you will be left out."

"Why do you care so much if I go?" Sasuke hissed.

"I just do." A silence fell between them, and Hinata bit her lip, nervously. She opened her mouth to break to the unnerving stillness, but Sasuke held up his hand.

"Shut up, Hyuuga, I'll go."

"what?" Hinata looked at him, stunned, and Sasuke growled at her.

"You heard me, don't make me fucking repeat myself." Hinata's cheeks turned rouge in elation, and she bowed to him.

"I promise you won't regret this."

"Oh, I doubt that very seriously." Sasuke groaned to himself as he stared upon a very ecstatic Hinata. He wasn't quite sure as to why he agreed to go to the festival. Perhaps, it was on a whim or maybe she was rubbing off on him with her kindness.

Either way, Sasuke had allowed her to persuade him to do something that he didn't really want to do, and that in itself was a rare occurrence.

Please review the story, I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you all enjoyed it as there will be more to come- FireGladiator.