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 7

The smells of different arrays of foods filled the air, playing on the olfactory senses of anyone who passed by them. The laughter of children mixed in with the playful rhythmic mood of music touched each corner of Konohagakure. It was a joyous event for everyone, except one. Sasuke stood at the front door of his estate, he had his arms crossed, and he cursed underneath his breath. The Uchiha heir had on a black kimono with a pair of sandals. To his unfortunate displeasure, he had to buy a new men's kimono instead of wearing his usual clothes. His everyday attire had dirt, and blood stains all over it, and it needed to be washed. The only thing he kept from his every day wear was the katana hilted on his hip. There was nowhere Sasuke would go without it. Sasuke considered not to show up to the damn festival, but he was not the one to go back on his word. If anything, Sasuke was not looking forward to the festival at all, but there was no point in bitching about it. What was done was done.

Fuck my life.

A soft knock came at the gate, the Uchiha heir rolled his eyes, and he walked up to the gate. Sasuke was met with a smiling Hinata, and he eyed her.

"Let's get this over with," The Uchiha heir growled, lowly.

"I really appreciate y-you willing to go with me."

"Whatever." Sasuke slammed the gate behind him, and Hinata walked beside him as they made their way towards the festival. There was a silence exchanged between the two heirs, the sound of their footsteps hitting the asphalt of the road was the only noise, and Sasuke kept his eyes forward.

"Um...Sasuke-san." Hinata began.

"What?" Sasuke didn't face her as she spoke, he was watching the image of the festival, getting closer and closer only to reveal the plethora of inhabitants.

"I-I am really glad you decided to come."

"Don't bullshit me with your sentimental words." Sasuke spat, icily.

"I really do mean it."' Hinata said, defensively.

"Will you be glad that I came if I killed everyone right now in this festival?" Sasuke smirked at Hinata, and Hinata looked at him, horrified.

"y-you wouldn't do that." Hinata muttered.

"Okay." Sasuke said with his voice skeptical. "But if anyone dies at this festival then it will be all your fault even if it results in the death of your good friends." Hinata nodded at him, he saw her make a mental note, and his eyes narrowed.

Did she not believe him?

Normally, when he made threats people took them as warnings, but she didn't seem all too convinced.

What the fuck was wrong with her? He was a killer, and she needed to understand that fact.

"I will also be on d-duty as w-well, Sasuke-san."

"Doing what?"

"Just making sure that everything goes well."

"Hmph!" Sasuke grunted. "what is someone going to do?" in case you haven't noticed, nothing happens anymore, no attacks on villages or anything that happened when we were younger."

"So what would you like to do first?"

"I don't know, you fucking invited me here, you make the damn decisions."

"I d-don't want to intrude."

"Just make a decision already." Sasuke exasperated. "Or I am going back home." He looked at her, threateningly, and she pursed her lips.

"I would like to go see a musical performance first if that is okay."

"I really don't care." The Uchiha heir and Hyuuga heiress came up to the entrance of the festival. The men were dressed in light colored kimonos while the women were dressed in their finest yukatas with brightly colored parasols. Children ran through the streets, holding sparklers in their hands, and there was a spectators' box where the kages sat in. The spectators' box overlooked the festival, Sasuke looked at it, intently, and he saw Naruto sitting beside Gaara. The other remaining three kages sat beside them. The Uchiha heir pressed his lips together, cringing, and he looked at the sight, coldly.

You think you're so fucking high and mighty don't you, Naruto?

"D-do you like shamisen music?" Hinata asked, curiously. "I think it is the f-first performance today."

"Why does it matter?"

"I want you to like it as well." Hinata smiled at him, warmly. "that is important."

"Whatever."

"Come on, I think the performance is this way." It was easy to keep up with her, since he could distinctively pick her out of the crowds of villagers by her hair color. However, he growled as residents bumped into him, and he fought the urge to just cut them out of his way. Sasuke saw that Hinata got a considerable distance from him, and he figured that he would find her either way. He was not going to bust his ass to try to keep up with her. The Uchiha heir came up to a tent where a group of three men and women sat on a matt. There were ornaments hanging from the tent, and the women had on geisha like makeup. A mass was forming around the tent, Sasuke saw the Hyuuga heiress standing front of the mass, but he chose to remain in the back. He saw her scan the crowd until her eyes rested on him, she beckoned him to join her at the front of the crowd, but Sasuke just stared at her. After a few more attempts and realizing that he would not come. The Uchiha heir watched Hinata made her way through the crowd to where he was, and he growled.

You idiot, you lost your place.

"I am sorry, Sasuke-san, I lost you." Hinata apologized.

"Stop it." Sasuke commanded, curtly. "You're annoying me right now."

"what?"

"You so apologetic, it is annoying." Sasuke hissed.

"I-" The Uchiha heir cut her off.

"Don't say you're fucking sorry, just turn around and watch the damn show." Hinata gave him a soft complaint smile, she turned around, and the music started to play. The crowd sighed in awe, the Uchiha found himself bored, and he looked at the ground. However, Sasuke took notice of Hinata standing on her toes as she tried to look over the crowd, but she was too short. She moved one way, but another person moved in front of her. With a sigh, Hinata fell back on her feet, and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Just push your way through them, Hinata."

"that is rude, I mustn't." Sasuke groaned to himself, he grabbed her sleeve, and he dragged her through the crowd. As he drug her through the mass, she fumbled in a polite protest, but Sasuke ignored it. He pushed the villagers out of his way, some of them cursed at him, and he looked at them, sinisterly. When they met his eyes, the color drained from their face.

That is what I thought.

Sasuke pushed her to the front, the Hyuuga heiress stumbled forward, and she turned red in embarrassment. The musicians looked at them, shocked with their fingers plucking the strings, mindlessly.

XXXX

Hinata didn't look at the musicians as they stared at her, she directed her gaze to focus on the matt that they were sitting on. She couldn't believe that the Uchiha had been so rude passing through these people. The Hyuuga heiress wanted to crawl into a shell, however she had to admit that it was a nice view. The music settled her nerves however, she looked out the corner of her eye at the Uchiha heir. Sasuke had an unfathomable expression on his face. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but she would have to get him to like something.

Did he like the music?

Did it bore him?

These questions struck a curiosity in the Hyuuga, but she was also taken aback by Sasuke. He had shown her a faint ray of kindness.

Did he really care that she saw the musicians playing?

She felt a smile tug at her lips, and Hinata figured that she would have to repay him for it. The Hyuuga heiress looked at the Uchiha heir out the corner of her eye, he looked handsome in his black kimono, and she felt her cheeks turn red at the thought. Despite the enjoyment of the music, Hinata scanned the mass of inhabitants. They were all happy, and none of them seemed suspicious. The Hyuuga heiress prayed that it would remain that way all day. Halfway into the musical performance, Hinata walked over to Sasuke, and she smiled at him.

"do you like it?" Hinata asked, inquisitively.

"It's fine."

"we can go if you are bored."

"I didn't drag your ass to the front for you to not stay here for the full preformance." Sasuke growled. He glared at her, and the Hyuuga heiress nodded at him. The preformance lasted for an hour, and the crowd began to break up.

"let's go see the k-kiosks if that is okay."

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged at her, he turned on his heels, and Hinata followed him into the streets of venders. The Hyuuga heiress looked at all the different kiosks which ranged from selling toys for children to fine silk kimonos. She looked, excitedly at everything, and Hinata caught sight of the elderly woman whom she helped at Konohagakure's gates. Hinata walked up to the booth, and the old woman caught sight of her.

"Oh, Miss Hinata, how are you today?" She asked with a grin.

"I am fine, thank you."

"Did you find someone to spend the festival with?" The elderly woman asked, curiously.

"Oh, yes, I did."

"Would you like to try a slice of our pies?" she asked, curiously. "I know I promised you one before I left the other day."

"No, thank you." The Hyuuga heiress declined, politely. "I just w-wanted to come visit y-you."

"You are too kind, come back if you want some." With a nod, Hinata moved onto the next booth with the Uchiha heir, and she heard him scoff.

"Geez, you are too much for me, Hyuuga."

"what?"

"Being kind to old ladies and shit, let me guess you saved her right?"

"No, I helped her."

"Doing what?"

"She dropped her stuff, and I-I helped carry it for her."

"That's even worse." The Uchiha heir exasperated. Hinata opened her mouth to say something, but she her train of thought was cut off by a cheerful voice.

"Hinata!" Ino shouted. The Hyuuga heiress turned around to see Ino, Sakura, and Kiba along with Akamaru running towards her. She waved at them, but she bit her lip. The closer they got towards them, the Hyuuga heiress watched their mouths drop as they began to recognize who was with her. Kiba was the first one by Hinata's side.

"' what is he doing here?" Kiba asked, angrily. Hinata looked at Ino who stared at Sasuke with a shocked face as her cheeks grew rosy red in bashfulness.

"I thought you understood the nature of our conversation, the other day." Sakura crossed her arms, keeping her eyes on Sasuke, and Hinata noticed that Sasuke remained quiet.

"P-please everyone, I invited him." Hinata walked over in front of Sasuke, and she felt his stare bore into her back.

"Hee!" They all shouted in unison. Kiba frowned at her.

"Why, he doesn't care if he comes here or not."

"As that may be, everyone is welcomed to the festival." Hinata explained, kindly. "And Sasuke-san is no exception." Ino cleared her throat.

"Sasuke, are you taking advantage of her?" Ino asked, firmly. Hinata looked at Sasuke out the corner of her eye, and the Uchiha heir crossed his arms.

XXXX

He didn't feel like answer the Yamanaka's question, nor did he want to explain the reason for why he was here to anyone. Furthermore, the Hyuuga heiress was defending him to her so called friends, and he would have gladly allowed her to keep talking. But, he was not someone that needed to be saved by anyone, and the Uchiha heir wanted to make that clear.

"It doesn't matter if I answer it or not." Sasuke stated, coldly.

"What the fuck did you say?" Kiba asked, infuriated. Akamaru stood beside Kiba with his teeth bared at Sasuke, but it didn't faze the Uchiha heir.

"You all wouldn't know if I was taking advantage of someone even if it bit you in the ass." Sasuke sneered. "Including you, Sakura." Sakura scowled at him, and she balled up her fists.

"You smug bastard." Kiba reached passed Sasuke, grabbing the collar of his kimono, and the Uchiha heir activated his sharingan.

I'll teach you not to touch me.

"Kiba!" Ino shouted, dismayed. "Let go of him."

"I will do no such thing, I am going to teach this bastard a lesson!" The Uchiha heir began to unsheathe his katana until he felt someone knock it back into the holder, and a pale hand pushed Kiba away from him, abruptly.

"Stop it now, both of you, this is a place of celebration, there is no need for this conflict." Sasuke glared at Hinata whose eyes darted between him and the Inuzuka.

Did she just….?

"Hinata is right." Sakura crossed her arms, and she walked up to Kiba, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I am truly sorry, Hinata, did you find anything out of the ordinary?" The Uchiha heir could tell that Sakura didn't like him being here with Hinata as much as everyone else did, but she wasn't going to mention it.

So an old dog can learn new tricks.

"No, everything seems f-fine." Hinata said with a smile. "But, I-I will keep a look out, Sakura-chan."

"I know you will." The Uchiha heir saw Kiba motion with his hands that he was watching him, and Kiba looked at Hinata.

"Sorry, Hinata-chan."

"It is fine." And with that, the three shinobi were gone.

"Tch, what fucking nuisances."

XXXX

Hinata tried to control her frantic heartbeat, but she found herself shaken up for what could have occurred between Sasuke and Kiba. Furthermore, the Hyuuga heiress knew it was a bold move to intercept the confrontation between the two young men like that, but she could see the situation getting out of control very fast. She looked to see her hands were trembling in fear, Hinata closed her eyes short, and she took a deep breath through her teeth.

"Hyuuga." She opened her eyes up to see Sasuke in front of her, and Hinata turned red in embarrassment. His eyes were back to their normal color.

"Y-yes." Hinata was expecting him to say something about her interceding in his fight.

"Is there any more places that you want to look at?" The Hyuuga heiress looked at him, baffled and she nodded at him.

"There is." With a nod, Sasuke turned around, and he began to walk in the direction of the other booths. Hinata followed after him, and she thanked him inside of her head for not confronting her about it.

But why didn't he say something?

This was a question that Hinata figured she wouldn't get a straight answer for, and the Hyuuga heiress decided not to dwell on it. Not wanting it to spoil her day, she made herself enjoy the rest of the sights that the festival had to offer.

-Later on that same day-

The sun started to set, the sky turned a vibrant display of pastel colors, and the multitude of residents started to die down. The Hyuuga heiress started to become a bit hungry, and she was sure that Sasuke was hungry. She walked up to a vender who was selling freshly made red bean paste buns, and she bought a small bento box filled with them.

"Are you tired of walking, Sasuke-san?" The Uchiha heir didn't answer her.

"w-would mind if we sit down, I bought us food." With a shrug, Sasuke followed her through to find a seating area. Hinata found a bench underneath a willow tree, and she opened up the bento box once they sat down. "I-I hope you like red bean paste buns." She took a bun out of the box, and held it to her lips. "I figured that you must be hungry by now."

XXXX

Sasuke watched the Hyuuga heiress take a bite of a red bean paste bun. The box of buns sat in between them, and the Uchiha heir couldn't believe that she had bought one of his favorite foods. He was surprised to find that the Hyuuga heiress, and he had some form of commonality. The Uchiha heir sighed and he reached into the box, grabbing one. The Hyuuga heiress looked at him, shocked as he took a bite, and he looked at her, coolly.

"What are you looking at?" He was hungry after all.

"you like these?"

"Yes, I wouldn't be eating it if I didn't like it." Hinata beamed in delight, and she held the box out to him.

"Please take as many as you want, I-" Sasuke cut her off.

"It is fine what you have here, I don't fill up on food anyways."

"I didn't know y-you liked these." Hinata said, staring at her food. "w-what else do you like?"

"You're pushing it, Hyuuga." Sasuke warned. "Don't you think that is enough information for today, hell, most people don't even know what foods I like."

"Okay." He saw a flicker of disappointment come across her face.

Why did she want to know about him? He was nobody to everyone else, why wasn't he nobody in her eyes?

Sasuke frowned. "Don't tell anyone or I will make sure that you beat you until you pass out next time we spar." The Uchiha heir commanded. Those words were not merely a statement, but they were a promise.

"I promise that I won't tell." The Uchiha heir had an idea that she wouldn't tell, hell, she kept it from her friends that she invited him to the festival. However, he wanted to be sure that she didn't reveal it to anyone. People were always trying to wonder what the qualities were of the Uchiha heir other than the obvious ones, and these people included the shinobi that she was friends with. The Hyuuga heiress should consider herself to be lucky to be able to learn one quality about him, but she was also extremely perceptive. Sasuke didn't have to say much with her, she could figure a lot out of his unspoken words, and he had to admit that he liked that.

"this is kind of peaceful isn't it, Sasuke-san?"

"That's a fucking stupid thing to say, Hyuuga." The Uchiha heir exasperated.

"Maybe." Hinata leaned back, closing her eyes, and Sasuke stared at her.

How could she relax in the midst of all this chaos that the festival brought on? It was not too long afterwards that Sasuke saw her fade into a light sleep.

I can't believe her.

The Uchiha heir felt something hit his shoulder, he knew it was the Hyuuga heiress, and he grimaced. He wanted to shove her off him, and ring her slender neck for sleeping on him. Sasuke expected his anger flare when he looked at her, however it didn't happen. Instead, he found himself gazing upon her, her hair fell in front of her face, and the Uchiha heir got a whiff of her scent. She smelled like fresh lilac and jasmine, it was intoxicating, and Sasuke's lips curved into a smirk. Did she think that it was permissible to do such a thing?

"And you didn't even ask if you could sleep on me." Sasuke sighed, heavily. "I guess you can... for now. The Uchiha heir rested his chin against his hand, she was the first woman that he allowed to do this, and to be honest, it felt kind of nice.

What was going on with him? First, he allowed her to stop the possibility of a fight with the Inuzuka and now this.

He was growing soft after all.

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