I have gotten my first job! SHANNARO! I'm going to be a buss-girl at a high-end restaurant! Eventually I will make my way up to waitress-ing during lunch and breakfast, since dinner is a no-no considering the massive alcohol orderage.

So, in honor of this incredible event, my first real job, I have dedicated this next chapter to it. Well, the setting is a restaurant, so there!

Disclaimer: I am not talented enough to create a masterpiece such as Naruto. I hereby announce that everything I write is completely not true and does not truly inflict upon the lives of these fictional characters. Considering that this is an alternate universe fic, I would expect you guys to know that anyway…

Damn it, enough of this legality shit! Forget about your homework, nuke a bag of popcorn and settle in for this one… it's rather long.

"May I take your orders, ladies?" Sasuke asked, playing up the charm tenfold. He was working, for now, at one of the popular bistros.

The three girls giggled, casting him their eye. Their heavily made-up eyes…Hinata doesn't need make-up to be beautiful, unlike these creeps. He thought, though thankfully it didn't show on his face. Well, one of them looks okay…

"Oh, I don't know…" One of them, apparently the leader, said pseudo-coyly. "What would you recommend?"

The two cronies all giggled at their leader's audacity. He just smiled a fake smile, crossing his hands in front of his chest as he sat in mock thought. "Well, it all depends on what you like…"

He truly was the epitome of handsome in the uniform. It was a black, long-sleeved button down tucked into a pair of neat dress pants. He amped it all up with rolling up his sleeves to his elbows and unbuttoning the first two buttons for that 'I'm not trying, but I'm still handsome' look. There was no denying that he was fine.

"How about you get me your favorite thing…" She said seductively, or as seductively as someone her age could. Sasuke reckoned the girls to be freshmen in high school, maybe possibly sophomores.

"Alright, fish brain soufflé for you then…"

She looked appalled, causing her friends to shriek with delight. "You," Sasuke called, turning his attention to the lankiest one. "I'd say a nice salad, perhaps our oriental?"

She nodded, smiling as she blushed. Then he turned his gaze to the last girl, the smaller one. She was the one who was actually pretty with her glasses and all. "And for you milady, I think a nice slice of our homemade apple pie. No cute girl like you should be afraid to indulge. Guys go for women with curves."

The girl smiled and nodded at his choice, biting her lip as she looked at him.

"So Miss Fish-brain, do you still want to get what I like, or do you want me to pick for you like I did for your pretty friends?" He asked, leaning against the wall. They were outside, in an enclosed section by the sidewalk.

She blushed with embarrassment, but managed to laugh it off. He was just too attractive for her to get worked up over him quietly making fun of her, and he knew that. He often worked that to his advantage.

"Well… hey what's your name?" She asked, fluttering her eyelashes indiscreetly. That was such an act; she was going for the 'I don't know who you are so pay attention to me' flirtation.

"Sasuke,"

They all gasped. Yeah, they were going into sophomore year to have reacted like that. Obviously they were of the year of girls who always looked down and blushed whenever he passed them, and now he was actually talking to them! It was too good to be true.

"Well… Sasuke…" She said, grinning from ear to ear. "What do you believe would suit my tastes, because you've got my friends spot on."

He thought for a moment, looking her up and down. "A spicy chicken quesadilla perhaps? You look feisty enough for it…"

"I'll take that!" She said, her voice going up an octave.

"Alright my dears, your orders will be out soon, try not to forget me when I'm gone." Oh, they wouldn't. He could have bet that the second he was out of earshot they would collapse in fits of swooning and call up their friends to brag. Uchiha Sasuke 'flirted' with them, that makes them so cool!

In the fifteen minutes it took for all their orders to be ready, he hid in the kitchen, dreading when the time came for him to go back out there and resume his act. First done was the salad, followed closely by the quesadilla and the pie. Mentally cursing himself for what he was about to do, he glided himself over to their table, carrying their food.

"Enjoy your food ladies." He cooed, laying down the dishes neatly in front of the respective person. They all giggled and turned red except the bold leader.

Brats didn't even say thanks. Sasuke mulled, filling up their glasses of water.

"A-arigatou gozaimasu." The prettiest, spectacled one said lightly, smiling at him.

Or not. He simply fake-grinned back, shooting her a little wink before turning around and going back into the restaurant to tend to other customers.

Why did he do that? Why did he act kind and funny and irresistible? Because it got him 50 tips, especially from the rich younger girls who didn't know how to hold on to money. These particular girls had given him a 60 tip, which was actually ridiculous. Who made more money on tips than from paycheck? Uchiha Sasuke.

"You are such a little fake."

Sasuke turned around to see Kiba sitting at one of the tables that was the most far away from any other one. He was surprised to have not seen him before.

"It gets the bills paid."

Kiba smirked, stretching back in his chair. It was then that Sasuke noticed that there were two glasses of water, meaning he was with someone. "How so?"

"60 tip."

His co-captain started laughing at him. "Maybe they accidentally double tipped."

Our resident waiter decided to screw working for the time being and sit down at the 3rd seat occupying the table. "That's what I thought when it first started happening, but no. It's always from girls and most of the times a number is left."

"Oh, you poor guy. That must be so tough on your porcelain features, having to—" He gasped dramatically. "—Actually smile!"

Sasuke glared; a little embarrassed that someone had caught him in his act. "Who're you here with?"

Kiba just yawned, not answering to the Uchiha's discontent.

"Konnichiwa, Sasuke-san."

That voice. The voice of pure beauty and grace. The voice that had the power to make him try after her although he knew it would be in vain. Hinata.

He turned his head to see her standing there staring at him. Her hair was in a ponytail today, which he liked a lot. It showed her pretty face more.

"Hn,"

"D-do you work here? I never knew." She commented lightly, sitting back down into her seat. As she leaned forward, Sasuke caught a glimpse down her shirt. A low move, but it was just asking to be looked down.

"Hai. Have you guys been served yet?" Sasuke asked, standing up from his seat and taking up the waiter role. They both shook their heads. "Alright then, what is it you would like?"

Something was a little off it seemed. Hinata was looking as sad as he had ever seen her before. It was rather eerie. She had a little tinge to her cheeks.

"We're here for some comfort food actually." Kiba stated, shooting a glance at the pink Hinata as he spoke.

Normally he wouldn't pry, but this was his good friend and his love interest, and it had to do with one of them! Most likely it was the former, seeing as she was looking so depressed.

"Mind if I ask why?" Sasuke asked, trying not to sound too eager.

Kiba frowned but, to his delight, Hinata smiled a weak smile. "It's nothing you need to worry about."

"Well, now I'm worrying since you said that."

Holy shit, I'm actually talking to her.

She looked reluctant but then locked her light eyes with his dark ones. Trying to convey the feelings of trust and friendliness through the black abyss that was his eyes was like trying to make a kitten not cute. It was just impossible. That didn't stop him from trying though.

Hinata just stared at him for a moment longer than perhaps she would have. She could definitely detect something more than his usual passive stoicism. It's like he's trying to make me read him. She realized, beginning to see more.

As a person aiming to major in psychology, Hinata could read expressions and emotions well, but with the obvious exception of feelings directed at her. Anything that someone wanted to keep a secret from her she could not glean from his or her actions, but anything else was picked up. So, if you wanted to keep a secret from her, you were screwed. But only a secret about someone else, not herself.

Suddenly very trusting, Hinata decided to spill. "I got into the college I wanted to… but not the one my father wanted me to."

Sasuke just stared at her for a minute, trying to figure out what was wrong with that. "Such a crime."

"Your sarcasm is not necessary." Kiba snapped, suddenly protective of his friend.

Hinata sighed at his bluntness before continuing in a soft voice. "He… Father made me swear not to apply to any other one, saying that the business one was the only one that I need to eventually take over the company."

Asshole.

"Hn,"

What more could he say that that? "Well, your father is a dumbass." or "Just go to the one you want." wouldn't work with her. She was the person who cared more for others, the girl who couldn't bear to see anyone disappointed at all, let alone in herself.

"Well, is it a matter of embarrassment or self-esteem?"

She dropped her head. "Neither. I can't—"

She's confiding in me…

"Well, it has to be one or the other, since it's your life and those are the only two possible reasons for you to be sad if it really is your own life."

Kiba stared at him quickly. It was weird to see him talk like this. Slowly raising her head, Hinata looked at him sadly. "It hasn't been my life since I was born. I've been trained all through my life to be a working member of society, for the good of the family…"

Both the men could see what was going to happen. She had been getting quieter and quieter as she spoke, finally ending in a whisper. Her eyes were welling up, tears threatening to fall and then it would all start over again. The crying, the headaches, the guilt, it was just an endless cycle for her right now.

"I don't even know why I'm crying." She whispered, reaching for a glass of water.

This was bad. Someone so beautiful should not have to be sad. He thought, frowning a little. There was an odd silence that followed that. Something needed to be done to make her happy again, and both Kiba and Sasuke thought so.

"What kind of comfort food are you into Hinata?"

She turned bright red once he said this. Kiba was obviously interested as well as he leaned forward in his chair. "I… well, I…"

"Yes?"

There was a brief pause where she debated spilling or not. "Usually... I go for spicy things."

That came as a huge shock to both of them. Hyuga Hinata, liking spicy foods? All they needed was for Kiba to announce he actually was a cat person and Sasuke to laugh, and then the apocalypse would come.

"Uh, okay. We have a few spicy things…" Sasuke said, still completely blindsided by the bizarre request. He was blanking out now.

Hinata smiled a weak smile. "What is the spiciest thing you have?"

He thought for a moment before recommended something off the menu that did not have a mild ingredient in it. She nodded as he said it, but bit her lip.

"Is there any way to make it hotter?"

It was so weird for a girl with such a soft voice to ask to make something hotter. Just weird. "Hotter than that? Are you sure?"

"Hai, no offence, but I've had hotter."

Is she joking? That thing makes people puke and cry at the same time.

"None taken."

He made a mental note to himself that whatever he could do to make that dish hotter, he would. Even if it were running to some foreign island to pick some forbiddingly hot peppers, he would do it.

"Okay then, Kiba, what about you?"

Kiba, having been staring at his friend vaguely shook his head to clear it. "I'm fine thanks."

"Once again I have to ask. Are you sure you want to do this?" His attention was on Hinata now, raising one eyebrow higher than another.

Hinata smiled a weak smile and nodded. "I'm not as fragile as I look, Sasuke-kun."

It was as if a dimensional rift had opened, creating a massive black hole that completely destroyed all life in a fraction of a second. An exponential decay of the universe starting from the very corners of pure imagination and imploding as it made it's way to the inner reaches of Sasuke's mind, targeting the impossible. Everything was gone.

She called me by a pet name.

Then in an instant, the time-space continuum reversed in its gravitational distortion, turning back the clock. The 'impossible' that had been imploded upon exploded into 'hope' and 'spirit', stretching back to the corners of what we know as the universe, rewriting what had been the destruction left from the path of that simple name. Sasuke-kun.

Nothing is impossible. He thought, mildly channeling his blond friend. There is still hope. This is not a lost cause after all!

Kiba and Hinata had seen nothing of the massive shift from impossible to possible going on in Sasuke's mind. If one were to really get down into it, they would find that his heart slowed to a dangerous speed and that his fingers went slightly numb. What is she doing to me? I've heard girls use that name thousands of times before now! I can't believe I'm freaking out like this!

That simple friendly suffix had changed his world. He had gone from someone shying away from the impossible to be a man filled with hope and a newfound spirit. She recognized him not as a stranger, but as a friend. A friend.

Nodding to them lightly, he took his leave, heading straight for the kitchen without taking any more orders from his section. He was now a man on a mission.

"We need to make the Shinigami Akane."

The head chef looked up from the morsels he was stirring to stare at his usually quiet waiter. There was something different about him; he was rather desperate looking, as if everything depended on this dish. "Okay, someone hasn't been brave enough in a while…"

Now the whole kitchen was listening in. Sasuke took no notice, he only knew he had to do this. In his mind, giving Hinata exactly what she wanted might make her see him a little more. It was a hope, that new thing he had rarely experienced.

After his whole family was viciously murdered and his brother ran off without a trace, Sasuke lost touch with people, even emotions. He saw it in this girl what he saw in himself, the loneliness and the despair. But instead of retreating into herself like Sasuke did, Hinata opened up. She gave to the people, did everything she could to make up for her own sadness. Her theory was that if she could make as many people happy as possible, her heavy-heart would be lightened simply by the smiles.

Her father hated everything she did, her family resented her for being chosen heir to the family estate, and she was constantly sought after for betrothals. Not to mention that her Hyuga name was slowly quashing out every aspect of individuality she had left in her. It was similar and different to the situation of the Uchiha's.

Unknown to anyone else except the people sharing the despair, the beauteous, kind heiress of a dynasty was hurting. Hurting a little more each day. That was one of the things he found so incredible about her, that nobody else really knew.

"But… there is a request to…"

All the wonderful chefs in the place were gathered around, watching him struggle. He was looking at the ground, his face shadowed by his hair. They were all completely curious now.

"…Make it hotter."

They all gasped, someone even screamed. A chorus of things like: "You've got to be kidding me!" and "No way!" followed what he had said.

Sasuke looked up suddenly, an odd fire burning in his eyes. "I asked if she was sure, twice. She just insisted."

The co-head chef turned to his superior. "Is that even possible?"

A short, bushy-mustached man with his eyes invisible below incomprehensibly fluffy eyebrows, the head chef crossed his arms over his chest in thought. "Hmm… perhaps. Let me check the stores…"

The Shinigami Akane, more English-ly known as the Bright Red Death God, was not a laughing matter. It was a form of curry with every spicy and hot ingredient that could be non-hazardous for humans with giant chunks of the hottest legally traded pepper, complete with seeds mixed in. The rice it drowned was mixed with the hottest hot sauce known to merchants.

It brought a quick and speedy death to your taste buds as efficiently as a Death God giving rest to a soul, hence the name.

The groundwork for the dish of lava was to be made by the co-head chef, who wore goggles and oven-mitts as he added ingredients. If you got this in your eyes, you would most likely go blind, but no one had tested it. Just to be safe, you had to stop your skin from touching it once it was done, thus the need for gloves. With the dish finally done, Sasuke hovering anxiously and observing the masterpiece being made, it was a screaming orange color with bright red chunks. It really was beautiful, with the tinted red rice and the glowing red-orange curry.

Then the head chef came back, holding a small vial of unknown material delicately. Everybody froze, watching him walk over to the dish and gently uncork the tube. As he did so, a small tuft of black haze drifted up.

With the grace of a dancer finishing his last move, he threw the entire contents of the vial onto the top of the curry. This was his art, and he was indeed the master of it. Behind there was that superhero background that always happens when they use a special move. He even ended the whole routine with a chef-like pose, complete with holding a knife and a ladle across his chest like an 'X'. The whole kitchen just blinked in shock for a bit before slowly looking down upon his creation.

What appeared to be black glitter now lay on the top, shining as the light caught it from different directions. That plate deemed to radiate pure death. Glittering red and black death.

"Oi, what is it?"

The chef sighed, staring at the dish sadly. "I recommend you don't ask. Some things are not meant to be known. The fact is it's gone now, and no one need ever speak of it again."

It was reminiscent of a funeral march as Sasuke walked towards his quarry, screwing up his face as he smelled the plate. It was making his eyes water just carrying it. In his other hand he held a piece of paper and a pen. The consent form necessary to sign in order to eat the dish. It ensured that the signer could not sue the restaurant for any injuries gained from consumption.

"I need you to sign this form, saying that you will not sue us." Sasuke mumbled, laying the paper in front of her with the pen below it. The dish was set in the middle of the table and he sat down in the extra chair. He just had to see her eat that plate of death.

Hinata cocked her head slightly as she read it over, smiling as certain points of it. It took a few moments before she neatly signed in flowing cursive. Even her handwriting is flawless…

"H-hinata, I don't think you should eat that." Kiba said warily, nervously staring at the screaming curry. He was biting his nails anxiously, watching his friend sign away her life.

Sasuke, sitting across from her, stared at her every move. He had his arms crossed across his chest and was leaning back in his chair, attempting to predict the outcome in that genius brain of his. She's not going to live.

"You're just like Sasuke-kun," Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. "I'm not some little helpless priss! People should stop treating me like I'm going to break in one second!"

Another weird sentence to come out of her mouth: "I'm not some little helpless priss!" She must have really been distressed. It took her but a second to pull the dish towards her and ladle up a big spoonful, in which time both men at the table took a deep breath.

Sasuke wondered vaguely about the black powder put on the top of the food by the head chef. What was so terrible that he couldn't even say the name of the ingredient?

Suddenly he feared for her life. It took all the strength he had not to reach across the table and knock spoon out of her hand. A mounting tension accumulated in the time where she brought the spoon to her mouth. Time slowed and both Kiba and Sasuke could hear their hearts beat painfully hard. She was committing suicide. The black glittery mystery ingredient glistened on top of the bite, almost asking to be consumed, asking to kill.

What if it's poison? Sasuke quickly thought. That head chef was a shady guy; you could never see his eyes, making him suspicious. What if he was on the run from the law and disguised himself as a chef? It made sense, to hide yourself as a high class chef and then to kill innocent people with unknown poisons. People would never suspect you to be the one who purposefully added an ingredient. The whole thing could easily blow over as mistake.

Then there was the co-head chef! He always had those shifty eyes, glancing around at everyone. The more he thought about it, the more certain it seemed to be true. The chefs in the kitchen were bad people, people who killed secretively. Basically they were secret serial killers, waiting to prey off of pretty girls who just wanted some comfort food...

He was two seconds away from swiping the plate off the table when she put the spoon in her mouth.

The world stopped. A few kitchen workers including the head-chef were huddled just inside the building, peering at the scene unfolding. One of them put their hands over their mouth in horror when she actually put in her mouth.

Chew. Chew. Swallow. A trickle of sweat had rolled down Kiba's face. Hinata closed her eyes, a small tinge of pink collecting on her cheeks. "It's good!"

They all let out their breath at once. Maybe it's a slow killer…He worried suddenly, looking for any display of pain.

Kiba, feeling his masculinity had been a little tarnished by her not even flinching by the hot dish, tipped his little finger in the sauce and licked it.

"GAH!" It was as if someone had punched him in the stomach, he recoiled so viciously. His face turned a sickly purple color and his eyes went red. Reaching for a glass of water, he downed it in two seconds flat. It took Kiba about a minute before he cooled down enough to form together a coherent sentence. "-gasp-How… the fuck-gasp-did you eat a bite of that?"

Hinata, in all her cuteness, blushed before looking down. Why does she always think that she did something wrong? Sasuke asked himself before realizing. Her father, right. He's a complete asshole…

"I… I don't know…" She smiled, taking another bite.

Bite after bite followed until her plate was cleared. Sasuke, said nothing the entire time, but watched her for any sign of imminent death.

"What're you staring at?" Kiba snapped, his pride completely shot by Hinata's apparent immunity to spice. Now he was in a prissy mood. Sasuke just shifted his stony gaze to his co-captain, accompanied with a slight raise of one eyebrow.

"Forgive me, but I just saw my friend eat a plate of death. I can't help it if I'm making sure she lives."

Hinata, to Sasuke's immeasurable joy, laughed her cute laugh. "Ah, Sasuke-kun, thank you for your concern, but I assure you I'm fine."

Sasuke-kun. It just sounded good when she said it. It sounded like what that name was supposed to sound like. Very different from all the fan-girls screaming it at the top of their lungs.

The fact remained that he was indeed staring and had been for a bit too long. Because of this he stood, running a hand through his hair for no reason whatsoever. "Congratulations Hinata, you lived through the Shinigami Akane with flying colors. I'll be returning with your bill…"

Should I do it? I can't though; it's just youthful high spirits driving me to do that. It's a completely stupid thing to do anyway! He thought quickly. Oh, fuck this. I'm going to do it.

Right before turning his back to head back in, he winked at her. A wink, a fully fledged, half-blink aimed at the girl who he just found more reasons to love

What was more amazing was that she blushed a little bit in response.

Of all the things human beings are capable of expressing in this world, love was by far the more unexplainable and the most powerful. Love caused people to die for one another, to risk everything just to see that one person smile. When you feel that surge from deep within yourself to protect that one love, both reason and madness fall away, unable to compete with that burning emotion.

Love is the reason that human beings flourish. Without love, for whom would we be making the world a better place for? Without the concept of love, why would people even live? Humans cannot be destroyed while we can still feel love. Even if one dies, there will be someone who feels the painful mourning as a result of it. A transfer of love, you could say.

And today, we find this little thing called love seeping through the veins of one originally thought to be cold and heartless.

To put it bluntly, Sasuke had thrown himself into the ranks of people Hinata seemed to trust. They had gone from acquaintances to friends in a short amount of time. It was enough of a change that spawned a small hope. The hope that maybe, just maybe, a seemingly unrequited love would turn around.

Scenes from the next:

"Why do I need blush when I'm never not blushing?"

"Stop? Stop what, being irresistible?"