Sasuke hadn't seen Hinata again since their "training session," and was slightly irritated by it, though he couldn't determine why.

Because, the raven-haired ninja silently seethed. I don't like this instant crap. He unearthed a sixth can of "instant chicken" from a kitchen cupboard, and felt the odd need to strangle Kakashi.

Hinata's basket had been left behind, and every once in a while Sasuke found himself peeking inside it, searching for any bit of food he might have some how missed on the fated day his caretaker had disappeared – forever.

Caretaker...okay, now, perhaps, he was going a little far.

...and growing slightly delusional due to hunger...of course...

But the kiss.

Shit, had that been real?

Of course not. Impossible. Simply some sort of hallucination that both had experienced, due to the heat, of course. Pale people weren't meant to frolic about in sunlight anyway.

Why couldn't Hinata understand this?

If he believed that it hadn't been real, and if she believed that it hadn't been real, then the kiss would cease to exist.

But then...why could he still feel it on his lips?

Sasuke entered his room and sat down on his bed, lost in thoughts. He glanced at the basket on his bedside table, and suddenly snatched it, feeling the need to look inside.

Still nothing.

Damn piece of woven...straw...crap. He hated it, and needed to dispose of it. Immediately! Just before Sasuke could perform the necessary hand seals to set Hinata's basket on fire, Kakashi passed by with his usual pitying gaze.

The Uchiha's hands dropped.

Kakashi was obviously thinking about the passionate relationship Sasuke and Hinata had shared, how Hinata had left him for Naruto and his sexual prowess, how Sasuke had mourned for days (and days), and continued to mourn, entreating the gods for the return of his Hinata-hime- The nonexistent tale went on and on (and on). Sometimes Sasuke heard Kakashi having discussions with the neighbors about it.

Sasuke silently vowed to kill the masked man. He approached his bedroom door and slammed it shut, and suddenly he was lost in his own thoughts again, thoughts he couldn't dispel, thoughts that no amount of meditation would drive away, because they were all of her.

And that stupid kiss that had ruined everything.

Sasuke grimaced. Despite the fact that the kiss had felt relatively...good...like the antecedent to a landslide of pleasures...he had decided Hyuuga Hinata wasn't the right girl to fool around with anyway. The pleasure of the contact had somehow extended beyond...physical. This Hyuuga girl was messing with his head, slowly drawing him into her emotional depths. She was far more sinister than he could have ever imagined.

Even then, he drifted into another haze of remembrance of that strange...poisonous...kiss.

Sasuke lightly shook his head, dispersing these thoughts. His efforts to get laid would surely only lead to his downfall. Sasuke clenched his jaw and decided to relinquish the enterprise altogether.


The evening streets were littered with people and their lanterns, their music, and their banners. An outsider might have thought a festival was going on in Konoha, but the villagers saw this as any other weekend. The shinobi wars were at rest and their survivors would celebrate until the next.

Sasuke scowled. Konoha's peace sickened him.

He walked silently through the streets that day. Although the sun was lowering, the roads were still as crowded as ever.

As for an escort – Sasuke didn't really need one. Kakashi was away on a mission, and no one else could possibly know that he had left his cage for the moment.

Sasuke barely knew where his feet were carrying him – somewhere that would hopefully distract him from his thoughts, his troubles, and his hunger. Training was what he needed. Yes – maybe if he went to Ichiraku he would find Naruto, and the two of them could go off to train together. Sasuke started toward the ramen stand in question, when he noticed Hinata. Both of them paused to stare at one another. Then she quickly bowed her head, her shame practically radiating off her. He wondered if she was thinking about the kiss as well. Che.

Coward.

She had probably never kissed a boy before. Maybe Naruto was supposed to have been her first.

Sasuke grimaced, looking away. She captured his thoughts every time. In unison, the two continued walking, in route to pass each other. The bustling village swarmed around them, threatening to capture them.

What was...all this? Eating at him? Clenching his heart and threatening to crush it.

Sasuke's scowl deepened. When had she acquired this hold over him?

He began to walk past the Hyuuga. Their shoulders even brushed.

What was different? What had changed? What had happened since Hinata first knocked on his door, her basket in her arms? Why had they kissed?

He needed to know.

Sasuke's hand shot out and caught Hinata's wrist before she had the chance to take another step away. She looked up at him, shocked and anguished. But this time he wouldn't let her get away.

"Let's train together," Sasuke muttered. "Right now."

Part 2

Torches lined the street, their shadows dancing against the dimming light of day. Although the sun had nearly set by then, people continued to converse, mothers shopping, fathers drinking, and children playing, feeling as safe as they would in their own homes. Even in the nighttime, the streets grew only more crowded, and in the midst of this all, stood a Hyuuga and an Uchiha, black eyes against white.

Hinata released a gasp as she was jerked roughly, Sasuke dragging her toward the woods, the crowd pulling and tugging at them in protest. Sasuke distractedly wrapped his arm around her shoulders, securing her from the masses, keeping her at his side.

Hinata's barely noticed. She quickly babbled, "The elders, they-"

Sasuke noted the desperation in her voice. She obviously didn't want to be alone with him.

"Th-they're expecting me-"

Sasuke ignored this. Idly he wondered if she had the nerve to scream.

"It's g-getting late!" she pleaded.

To this, Sasuke shrugged. It was true.

"I'm scared of the dark!"

At this, Sasuke paused, wondering how desperate she was to come up with such a ridiculous excuse. Doesn't she trust me? He quickly dismissed this idea. Of course she didn't. He peered down into her face, where he saw stubborn fear.

Of me? Sasuke wondered, looking ahead and continuing toward the wooded training grounds. Of darkness? Night seemed to have fallen early in the area. They were quickly submerged in the darkness of the forest. "Don't worry," Sasuke said, throwing Hinata a cruel smirk. "I'll take care of you." Despite the shade, he could see her growing horror.

He didn't notice as her wrist slipped down from his hold, and their fingers became intertwined. Hinata walked closely behind him, neglecting to activate the byakugan, as she didn't want to see what lurked in the surrounding foliage. She knew her fears were juvenile, but she had held them closely all her life. She couldn't see the look of surprise that crossed Sasuke's face as her hand tightened around his.

Sasuke's.

She felt heat build in her face as she acknowledged that they were holding hands. Sasuke seemed to ignore as she accidentally walked into him.

She couldn't be blamed. With each step they took, the trees seemed to grow thicker, and darkness, more potent. The forest was nightmarish at nighttime, every tree a figure, every branch, someone out to get her.

Sasuke finally stopped at a clearing that was broad enough that the new moonlight could reach it. Heaving a sigh of relief, Hinata released Sasuke's hand, watching him turn to face her.

"Aren't you scared?" Sasuke seemed annoyed.

Hinata felt suddenly embarrassed by her cowardly behavior. What would Naruto-kun think if Sasuke told him her secret? "It's not so dark anymore," she mumbled.

The Uchiha was silent for a moment, before he said, "Aren't you afraid I'm going to rape you?"

Hinata looked up. Even in the moonlight, Sasuke could see that she had paled. "W-what? B-but, you sa-said – y-you sa-said, that-"

Sasuke was stunned. He watched as the Hyuuga became a bumbling mess of nerves. So was it true? Had she been afraid of the darkness alone? "No," said Sasuke inelegantly. "I'm...not serious. Stop stuttering so much."

She simply stared at him, her panicked look left unchanged. Now Hinata really was afraid of him.

But strangely enough, she didn't retreat, as if she'd rather take her chances with him than wandering around in the woods by herself. Sasuke's cheek twitched. This Hyuuga girl was clearly out of her mind. He kicked off his sandals. "C'mon," he said.

And so they sparred. Together, in the darkness, for hours.

It was less of a spar, than a lesson, Hinata realized. Rather than strictly fighting her like before, Sasuke seemed to be correcting her every attack.

If she delivered a too-weak kick, Sasuke would grab her leg mid-strike, and tell her how to correct herself to increase the force of the blow. If she threw an off-aim punch, Sasuke would do the same. He was a known prodigy of taijutsu, and strangely willing to share his skills with her.

But even as Hinata felt herself improving, she found that she dreaded how the training session would end.

Would they kiss again? Would she be able to stop herself this time? Why had she participated in the first place? She loved only Naruto!

But then, why was she in the woods sparring with Sasuke in the middle of the night, and thinking about the kiss he had stolen, her very first, eyes closed, lips on lips, the world bright, and white, and everything else forgotten, because-

Hinata dodged another of Sasuke's strikes, but he followed up with a forceful kick that sent her into a tree, her back and head hitting the bark. The wind knocked out of her lungs, she collapsed to the ground, but forced herself up to her knees. She struggled to stand, but her head was swimming, and her body ached. She sat there, on her heels, in a daze.

Sasuke knelt down and reached for her arm, maybe to help her up, or maybe to strike her again. As Hinata shied away from him, his hand made contact with something – else.

When Hinata cried out in a very feminine way, Sasuke was rather confused, and wondering what the soft object against his hand could possibly be. As he experimentally squeezed, something clicked in his mind.

But – impossible! Hinata didn't have breasts.

Suddenly his hand on her chest was enwrapped in her smaller one, then there was chakra, and pain, but he was too stunned to process any of it. When she released him, he watched his fingers twitch in paralysis.

"I guess I'm still too slow," Hinata said.

Sasuke glanced back down at her. Though her face was pink, he noted that she hadn't stuttered once. Her byakugan was activated now, to which he could attribute her chakra-sealing abilities. So she had decided she would ignore the incident. Sasuke supposed he would return the favor, and pretend his right hand was working just fine. "We should do this again," he mentioned, as he tried not to smirk. He felt a strange sense of accomplishment.

As they walked back to the village, Sasuke decided that as he worked with Hinata, he was beginning to learn more about the byakugan. He continued to stare at his hand and speculate about her technique. Really, he thought, glancing at the figure beside him. We should do this again.

The trees had begun so thin out, and the moonlight placed a faint glow on Hinata's features. Sasuke absently enjoyed the way her blush persisted.

He sighed when the girl bumped into him for the third time, and reluctantly brought his arm around her shoulders. "Kakashi's away on mission. Will you come over?"

Hinata looked up at him. She had deactivated the byakugan, which just left her looking more vulnerable; more beautiful.

"To make me dinner," he mentioned robotically.

There was no doubt he was hungry.