Hello! This chapter is a little short and I apologize. But I actually really like this one so enjoy. I also just got engaged this morning so I might be slower on updating than usual. We'll see :)
A week passed since Hinata had woken up next to Sasuke, and they kind of ignored it. Both were pretty busy—Sasuke and Masaru were working endlessly on the house, and Hinata was still tending to the garden. It would take several months for the garden to be complete and it certainly looked sparse, but Hinata worked on it every day making sure it was watered and weeded. Missions in Konoha were slowly starting to be assigned, which caused training with her team to increase. She had been neglecting her training before, leaving Kiba and Shino to train alone. But now there was no excuse—they could be given a mission any day now, so Kurenai cracked down on them training twice a day now to catch up with the lull in Konoha. They would train once in the morning and once in the evening, so Hinata had to find time in between to run out to the Uchiha District. On occasion she would provide the boys with lunches, and would visit, but her time was slowly being re-focused. Sasuke didn't like it one bit, though he never showed it.
He vaguely remembered snuggling up to Hinata that night; he mainly remembered her scent and warm touch. It was something he felt embarrassed about because it showed a vulnerable side that he'd rather hide. Although Sasuke wasn't fond of his little time seeing the Hyuuga, it gave him more time to focus on his own problems—his time with Masaru was getting slimmer and the progress on the house was slow. With only two people, it would take a miracle.
"Oy, Hinata. Let's call it day!" Kiba said between breaths as they wrapped up their training for the evening. She nodded thankfully. Shino and Kiba always had a habit of over exerting themselves, which in turn made Hinata work a little harder than usual. It was good, though, because it made her a little stronger every day. They walked from the temporary training grounds and Kiba yawned loudly.
"This training twice a day is killing me!" Akamaru agreed with a bark.
"We need to catch up. We haven't been doing a lot since the attack." Shino reminded him. Hinata smiled softly as she watched her two team mates go back and forth. It had been a long day and she was ready to go home. Ever since she came home late, Neji had been pestering her about it.
"Hey, Hinata!" Her stomach dropped and her cheeks flushed at that all too familiar voice. It was the voice that made her knees weak and her speech quiver. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around.
"N-Naruto-kun…!" She brought her hand to her lips as he ran up to them. He looked as he always did and of course since being out of the hospital, not a scratch on him. Hinata could feel herself getting light headed, which usually meant a faint was on the way, but she kept her composure. Kiba glanced over at Shino, who nodded in agreement, and then turned.
"See ya tomorrow, Hinata!" Kiba smirked as they started to walk away. If she could pout at them for leaving her in her own little anxiety attack, she would. Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned. His blonde hair was as messy as usual, and his deep blue eyes seemed to go on forever. At least Hinata thought so.
"Long time no see! I was just on my way to get some ramen. Wanna go?" He asked excitedly. Hinata's mouth was dry but she managed a squeak in response. They walked together down the street in the village, and she couldn't stop blushing. It had been so long since she had seen him last—all bandaged up in the hospital and in a coma. She suddenly felt ashamed for not seeing him sooner. Hinata's mind was racing as he talked non-stop about having to be cooped up in the Hokage building, and how he just wanted to resume his training soon. She smiled nervously and she suddenly felt like a mess—she was bright red, her stutter was worse than usual and she had to constantly wonder if she was doing something embarrassing. Her affections for Naruto always seemed so strong and she often wondered why. Hinata had admiration for him since day one and the feelings always seemed so hot and heavy. In fact, she hated her behavior when she was around him. She could barely form a sentence and the fainting spells were always a nuisance.
When she was with Sasuke, none of that mattered. She didn't feel like she had to fight for his approval because he approved of no one. Hinata didn't feel like she had to hide who she was because they both secretly knew that they had very similar upbringings. She didn't have to talk to Sasuke because she felt like she had to- they enjoyed their silence. Her admiration for Sasuke was cool and calm and it had never really dawned on her that she even admired him in the first place. Hinata had a hard time putting her finger on her exact feelings.
"Hinata? Eh? Hinata?" Naruto gave her an inquisitive look when she stopped responding and she smiled apologetically. How embarrassing!
"Ah, s-sorry Naruto-kun." She hadn't realized they had reached the ramen stand. They entered, receiving many greetings from old man Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. Hinata sat down next to Naruto who was eagerly ordering his usual meal.
"Put in some extra pork! It's been a long week." Naruto said and grinned at Hinata, who promptly blushed. She had dreams about going with Naruto to his favorite places. But lately those dreams were replaced by other things such as being with Sasuke at the Uchiha District or even meeting his mother.
"And for you, Hinata?" Teuchi asked as he got to work on Naruto's order.
"I-I'm actually not hungry." She said and Naruto almost looked offended.
"No way. Oy, make her the same thing I got!" He said, and rubbed his hands together. Even if she didn't eat hers, then he would gladly take it from her. Before Hinata could refuse, Teuchi slide a bowl of steamy ramen in front of her and she smiled politely.
"T-Thank you." At this point, Naruto had already broken apart his chopsticks and was slurping away.
"So! Sakura-chan mentioned that you helped out a lot at the hospital." Naruto said in between noodles, and Hinata nodded with a small smile. Naruto picked up his bowl and downed the rest of the soup. He set it down with a satisfied sigh. She had to smile; he was a fast eater.
"Tsunade-no-Bachan has been working me ever since I got outta the hospital which leaves little time for me to do anything else." Hinata thought back to when Sakura mentioned that and she wondered if he would really be taking over some of Tsunade-sama's duties soon. Naruto seemed disappointed. He was a free spirit—he needed room to breathe, fields to run in, and missions to accomplish. But his dream of Hokage was still very much alive, so Naruto bit the bullet. 95% of the job of being Hokage was paper work and being cooped up in an office.
That's good, though. Becoming Hokage is your dream, right, Naruto-kun?" Hinata was silently triumphant noticing her stutter had calmed down a bit, and he grinned again at her.
"Mmhmm!" His smile slowly faded away, when he looked back at the remaining droplets of soup in his bowl. "How is Sasuke?" Hinata was swirling the uneaten noodles in her bowl, when her stomach did a weird flop at the mention of Sasuke. So he did know that she was spending a lot of time with Sasuke lately. Hinata glanced over at him and he had a look of defeat. A frown replaced her smile and she felt bad. Sakura and Naruto spent a good portion of their lives searching out Sasuke and trying to get him home. And now that he was, he wanted nothing to do with them.
"He's doing well." She said quietly. "Tsunade-sama is helping him r-rebuild the Uchiha District." Naruto was silent for a moment, which was unusual, and Hinata observed him. Sasuke was important to him, and Hinata was about the only person he interacted with. The thought made her cheeks grow warm and she smiled gently.
"Hinata?" Naruto looked over at her. She looked over at him and blushed again. There was always something about him that made her feel light headed. Maybe it was the fact that he was always smiling, even though he had the world weighing on his shoulders. Or perhaps it was the way he never gave up even though he had all the odds against him. Hinata would never know.
"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun?" Hinata whispered. Naruto grinned and scratched the back of his head as if he felt embarrassed.
"Are you gonna finish your ramen?" He asked and she felt the life being sucked right out of her. So much for a moment… She simply nodded, and he pulled the bowl in front of him. "Thanks!" For a while, they talked here and there about Naruto's time in the Hokage building, and Hinata mentioned the boost in training lately due to missions being assigned again. After a while, Hinata chewed on her bottom lip and their conversation almost seemed painfully awkward. With Sasuke, there was always a nice silence that seemed to keep them content. There was nothing awkward about it and there wasn't anything forced about it. They finished up, and Naruto rested his arms behind his head.
"Want me to walk ya home?" He offered and Hinata cursed herself for blushing again. She didn't blush nearly as much in front of Sasuke, which was good. It would probably just irritate him.
"N-No, that's okay. I'll be fine." Naruto nodded and as she turned to walk away, he called her once again.
"Hinata?" She stopped and turned to him. Her stomach felt like it was about to burst with butterflies. Naruto suddenly looked embarrassed and scratched his cheek lightly.
"Er… well I…" He started and Hinata felt her knees starting to feel weak. What is he going to ask me? To go on a date with him? To spend time with him in the Hokage building? The possibilities went off in her mind. Naruto laughed lightly.
"Sakura-chan and I are going on a date tomorrow night. What kind of flowers do you think she'd like? Or should I get her chocolate? Or…?" Naruto seemed at a loss for words as the whole dating thing was new to him, especially with Sakura. Hinata stared at him, and it really hit her. Naruto would never love her. It didn't matter how strong she got. It didn't matter if she cut her hair, or wore different clothes. She wanted to throw her arms around him and plead him to re-consider her, but Hinata knew she was stronger than that. With a heavy heart, Hinata managed to smile and fold her hands in front of her. She couldn't let him see her fall apart even though she so badly wanted to.
"I-I think Sakura would like some flowers…" Hinata recalled Ino saying red roses were good for romance. "Perhaps get her a bouquet of r-red roses?" Naruto snapped his fingers as if a light went on in his head and grinned.
"You're a genius, Hinata! Thanks! Hey, tell Sasuke I need to talk to him." She nodded. He gave her one last trademark grin before he was walking down the street waving good bye. Her body felt heavy, and her eyes were starting to fill with tears. No! Stop being weak, Hinata. That is not your way of the ninja. She tried to remind herself in her head as she walked towards home. But it was the last place she wanted to be. Her way of the ninja was influenced by Naruto, which in turn only made her feel worse.
Hinata had a little time before the sun went down completely, and she needed an escape. She needed a place to go to where she could forget everything and just concentrate on one thing at a time. Even though this would be her third time getting in a training session that day, she felt like she needed to release some emotion. Hinata found her way back to the temporary training grounds and it was empty just as she figured. The sun was almost done setting, but she didn't let it bother her.
She decided to work on throwing her shurikens, since using any kind of tool was a weakness for her. Hinata sometimes wondered if she relied too much on her Byakugan and the Gentle Fist, but she would always remember what Neji told her—every ninja is different. Hinata reached into the pouch on her thigh and grabbed a few, then closed her eyes to concentrate. She inhaled, and then on her exhale, Hinata opened her eyes and released the shuriken at the targets on the trees. Upon opening her eyes, she realized that someone was standing in front of one of the targets. Hinata squeaked in horror as it was too late to stop her throw. Uchiha Sasuke stood a few feet away from her while one of her shurikens spun around his finger. He had an amused look on his face as he walked towards her.
"S-Sasuke-kun!" She breathed.
"Your technique is off." He said simply almost cutting her off. Hinata frowned.
"I know…but I'm trying not to rely on my Byakugan." She said quietly and he was silent for a moment as he thought. True, a ninja shouldn't always rely solely on their jutsus; they easily drain chakra especially if one is careless. Sasuke knew that for most it was hard to find a balance between taijutsu, ninjutsu and in some cases genjutsu. Hinata watched him carefully and he suddenly turned with quick movements and threw the shuriken past her. At first, she wondered if he was just trying to mess with her, but she looked back to see he had hit a target straight on without even thinking about it. Uchiha Sasuke really was an incredible ninja.
"W-Wow!" Hinata whispered to herself. He definitely lived up to his name. Of course it could also be some influence from Orochimaru's training as well. Sasuke pulled another shuriken out of his pack and looked to her.
"Were you not paying attention at the academy?" He asked holding one up at her. "Put your index finger on the blade and then as you throw release it from your finger. Whichever direction it leaves your finger is where it will be thrown. Just like throwing a Frisbee." Hinata felt embarrassed at such a basic skill that she never really mastered. She knew how to throw it, but her aim was always off. Sasuke held out the shuriken to her and she took it in her small fingers. He stood back to give her some room, and she lined it up just as he said. Hinata closed her eyes to get her concentration in the right place, and then opened them to gaze at the target. She tried to copy what Sasuke showed her and she managed to do a better job than she did last time. Sasuke's face was emotionless as he grabbed another shuriken out of his pack and handed it to her.
"Do it again." She was about to protest, but something inside her mind stirred. Sasuke enjoys your company. He was trying to help her, which was a very rare thing for him. The wind blew back her hair and she took a deep breath before taking it from him.
"This time, widen your stance." He gave her a few quick pointers before she threw it. Each time Hinata would get closer and closer to the middle of the target. It was very difficult without using the precision of her Byakugan and she cursed herself for letting it become a crutch.
"Again." Sasuke urged and she wiped some sweat forming on her forehead, but she continued. Over and over again she threw shurikens, each getting better than the next. Finally, Hinata threw the shuriken and it hit a bull's eye with the target. Happiness bubbled inside and she smiled brightly.
"I did it!" She squeaked and looked over at Sasuke who had a smirk drawn across his lips. The sun was almost completely down so there was little light left. Hinata had finished praising herself and looked over to him. "T-Thank you. You didn't need to help me."
"The Hokage is giving out missions. The last thing that needs to happen is you getting hurt." Sasuke said flatly. Before she could blush, he continued. "You've still got work to do on my garden so I'll need you alive." She wasn't sure if she should be offended or not. Hinata smiled instead. Sasuke might not have shown it, but he was enjoying this. He had come to train, but seeing her here allowed him to be in her presence. Plus he enjoyed training and giving out pointers in order to help one get stronger. Hinata went around to the targets to retrieve her shurikens while Sasuke stretched in the middle of the training grounds. It was strange that he was going to train when it was almost dark out, but she figured she would leave him be. She already felt like a nuisance when he was giving her pointers. Hinata turned to leave when a kunai whizzed past her ear and she dodged it just in time. Just like last time…! She looked back at him and he stood crossing his arms.
"I helped you. Now you help me." Sasuke said and stood in a stance to spar. If Hinata had time, she would have laughed, but Sasuke was already charging at her. She dodged a blow while activating her Byakugan. Sasuke wasn't going easy on her as he threw his punches, but she followed through in blocking and dodging. Hinata was breathing hard; already exhausted from her other training sessions that day, but she did her best. For the next several minutes, they went back and forth just as they did the previous spar. But this time, Sasuke didn't give her a window of opportunity to provide an offense and she could feel herself getting pushed backwards each time he came at her. Sasuke wasn't even breaking a sweat, and he seemed to be enjoying himself.
Hinata felt something behind her as she backed up into a tree, and she squeaked with nowhere to go. She simply shut her eyes and waited for a punch to land on her, but instead his fist landed an inch above her head. Bark exploded around them, and the tree shook while leaves rained down on them. Hinata shakily looked above her as his fist rested on the tree, and he was inches away from her face. Her cheeks flushed as they stared into each other's eyes—Hinata's were full of fear and his were calm and mysterious. They were both panting and sweat was running down her temples. Sasuke could feel his stomach churning as his adrenaline was pumping. She looked like a scared puppy, but she was beautiful. The way her hair stuck to her sweaty face and her lavender eyes stared into his… it made him want to jump out of his skin. He could only think of one thing to do. Sasuke leaned in to kiss her and she trembled.
It was as if everything was slow motion. Hinata could hear her own heartbeat; she realized this would be her first kiss. It was her and it was Sasuke. The feelings she had for him seemed right, and she was even curious what it might be like to kiss him. But also the fear of the unknown paraded around in her mind, and Naruto came into thought. She always pictured him being her first kiss, and suddenly she felt sick. He didn't love her. At the last second, Hinata turned her head and his lips landed on her soft cheek. He opened his eyes puzzled. Sasuke felt irritated at that point. He put his other hand on her cheek and gently forced her to look at him.
"S-S-Sasuke-kun…" Hinata whispered and it only fueled the hormones racing inside his body. He wanted to kiss her all over and hold her in his arms. Sasuke never felt so protective of someone and he felt like he needed her around him. It made him feel weak but that moment, he didn't care. He didn't care if he was becoming soft. He didn't care if that wall he built up to keep people out was slowly deteriorating because of her. Sasuke didn't care if he was falling for her, either. A single tear slipped out of her eye and down her ivory skin. He watched it and he suddenly realized maybe he had gone too far. Sasuke stared into those eyes for another second, and then pulled away. Inside he felt embarrassed, angry, and hurt but on his face he showed no expression. Hinata inhaled once he stepped away and slipped down the tree into a sitting position. Her muscles hurt and she was exhausted. Her life had been an emotional rollercoaster the past few weeks and she wasn't sure how to process what had happened.
He thought about apologizing. He thought about taking her hand and escorting her home. He thought about a lot of things that he should do. Instead, Sasuke left her sitting there, just as she had left him a few weeks ago. Hinata cradled her head in her hands and silently cried. How can she just forget about Naruto? How can she just accept defeat so easily?