A Perfect Circle
chapter two; sick at heart
A pair of deadly eyes watched as the girl faltered towards the river, wavering in her steps as though she had just taught herself to walk. Like a hawk, he peered through the bushes in contemplation. Her angular bangs hung over her eyes as she sauntered with her head bowed. Sasuke was good at inferencing; she was drunk and disappointed; he could see that much. It was, however, the middle of a sticky summer night and he speculated what would pull her away from the village so late.
He could simply disappear into the night, or he could once again satisfy his curiosity about her. He could find out why she always looked so sad, and how to embroiled Naruto. He didn't anticipate that she would start to unbutton her lilac blouse and slide it off her shoulders, revealing her slim, toned back. She tossed it on the ground and proceeded to unbutton her shorts. Momentarily anxious, Sasuke made a quick judgement call and leaped from his refuge.
"What are you doing?" He inquired apathetically. Hinata twisted on her heel, her hair flowing in motion with her body like spilled ink. She was still wearing her shorts but they were unbuttoned, exposing gaunt hip bones that Sasuke didn't intend to notice. A thin black bra saved her from his view of her chest, though he made a point to keep his gaze locked on hers. Hinata scrambled to grab her shirt and used it to cover her torso.
"W-What are you doing!?" she squealed.
"What are you doing?" he retorted.
"I-I was g-going to swim in the river," she sputtered, hugging the shirt to herself and looking away foolishly. She turned back to him with a piercing stare. "Y-You shouldn't creep up on girls like that!"
Creep? He thought. "I didn't know you were going to be here. If I were creeping on you, don't you think I would have let you fully undress?" He raised his nose and crossed his arms over his chest. "It was an accident."
Hinata wasn't buying it. She turned away from him and quickly put her shirt on, making a point to button it up all the way. "Why were you coming here, Sasuke-san?"
"I've concluded that I like this spot."
She peered at him with a callow pout. "I always come here though..."
"It isn't yours," he stated securely, as if he took pride in it. He made a point, but she was dispirited, nevertheless. "Besides," he continued, "you might drown in that water."
"I would not," she assured. Hinata studied his gaze for a moment before she drunkenly sighed and sat down in defeat. She kicked off her sandals and dipped her legs in the water.
"So, how drunk are you?" he queried in a condescending manner, inviting himself to a spot near her.
"I don't want to talk about it," she chastely declined.
"I don't often have conversations with people I know."
"We don't really know each other, Sasuke-san."
"I suppose we don't." He was quiet for a few moments, watching her as she sadly swished her feet in the water. "I know Naruto very well, though," he said. "He's my only friend. You're his girlfriend, right?"
Hinata's eyes promptly jolted to his. "G-Girlfriend? No... I'm not."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you always look deplorable?"
"I don't always look deplorable..." she informed with a scowl. "This is just a place I come when I'm feeling contemplative."
"Why are you?"
She diverted his stare. It was carcinogenic; enough to eat one's heart out, but he didn't intimidate her and she could tell that intrigued his prying mind. She could think of no good reason for her to confide in him, but she was drunk and he seemed to be the only pair of ears willing to listen. With a wistful sigh, she confessed, "I want to be with Naruto-kun, and he knows that... But I think he only sees me as a friend."
Sasuke studied her face. Her eyes cast over the water like two somber orbs of night. She was pretty, he thought. Why wouldn't Naruto be interested?
He brought his attention to the crescent moon. After a long pause, he mused, "Is this what the ninja world has come to?"
"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, attempting to read him. The river cast moonlight on his face, illuminating his black eyes, but still she saw nary an emotion. They were as murky and black as tainted water.
"Worrying about love and relationships... It's pathetic," he grunted. "Aren't you a kunoichi?"
Hinata's face melted to a grimace. "You don't need to be so rude about it."
"I'm just saying," he shrugged, throwing a stone in the water, "you'd be better off if you cut those ties."
"No, I wouldn't. I would be very lonely. My life would lose purpose if I didn't have those I love around me."
Sasuke shifted his weight, and Hinata flinched at her own words. For a moment, she'd forgotten who she was talking to.
"Being alone isn't so bad," he muttered after an interlude.
"I'm... Sorry."
"For what?"
He waited for an answer. When she said nothing, he looked at her and saw she was once again staring off in thought, utterly sick at heart. Perhaps, she wasn't the only one. Her shoulders began to sway back and forth like a drunk rocking horse.
"Hey, are you all right?" he asked with caution, stretching his arm out to support her from falling back.
"Mm." Hinata slurred, eyes now shut in contentment.
"Don't pass out." he sceptically instructed, and as if already written, the girl collapsed onto him. Sasuke moved away and let her fall on the grass. He shook her shoulders, soliciting to wake her, but she didn't so much as budge past an inaudible mumble. Shit, he thought. He knew she was inebriated but he didn't foresee the girl toppling over on his shoulder. He looked up at the sky and saw dark clouds begin to envelop the moon.
Sasuke studied her face. Hinata was somewhat like the moon herself, with round features and sallow skin; but unlike the moon, he thought that she was plaintive and feeble. He considered whether or not he should leave her there to be rained on, with her calves fully submerged in cold water. She would probably get sick and become even more fragile. He deduced that despite her ample vulnerability to sentiment, he pitied her. With an abrasive sigh, he picked up her limp body and draped it over his shoulder.
Hinata's eyes fluttered open to the sound of a crow wickedly squawking. Sunlight beamed across her face, blinding her for an instant as she struggled to sit up. Her head pounded from the previous night's exertion and her thirst nearly choked her upon breathing. Her first thoughts revolved around her dislike of crows and their awful cackling, plus her intense need for water.
It didn't take long for her to realize that she was not at home in her bed. She was under a broken down wooden structure of some kind, presumably one nobody had bothered to rebuild after the war. It was held up by crooked posts and the roof was shanty. Overall, it looked like it could fall over at any point, but it had sheltered her from the storm. Hinata managed to stand up with the help of a post and teetered outside. Confused and bewildered, she obstructed the sunlight from her eyes with her forearm. A rainbow was seen through the trees and the leaves were freshly watered.
She turned around to see the village was only a few minutes away. What am I doing here? She asked herself, dreadful thoughts of the night before slithering into view.
Right.
She went to the bar with Kiba and Shino. She invited Naruto to come, but he never showed up. On her way home, she spotted him walking and laughing wholeheartedly with Sakura. Drunk and discouraged, the kunoichi made her way to her favourite spot to be alone. To her dismay, she recently had a bit of an infestation.
Sasuke.
She didn't think he was so bad, but perhaps he could be a little nicer. She flinched as her recollection became more vivid; she had said something to bother him, and he still went out of his way help her. Even if it wasn't the most luxurious spot, she wouldn't get sick, and he even brought her sandals. Hinata hastily put them on and took a glimpse at the sun to tell the time. Thankfully, it was still early.
Hinata was, simply put, embarrassed. She wasn't much of a drinker and her disappointment about Naruto the had her thinking she was invulnerable to alcohol's venom. Now, she would have to seek out the Uchiha and thank him. It was a given obligation; she didn't think twice about it. She would give him something to say hey, thanks for not leaving me to rot!
When she thought about it, he may have inadvertently saved her life, as well. She was evidently more impaired than she'd believed and it hit her like the tree she'd just stumbled into. She pondered what might have happened if it had gotten to her in the water. She likely would have been able to scamper to the land, but then again, there was such a thing as a silly way to die.
As she trotted back to the village, she pondered what to give Sasuke as a token of her appreciation. Hopefully, he would also take it as silent plea to never repeat what happened to Naruto or anyone else.
She reminisced on his words to her, now irritated with herself that she was obliged to seek him out. I'm not pathetic, and I'm definitely not 'deplorable'... The girl grumbled as she entered the village.
What does someone like Sasuke even like? She asked herself. He seemed like he hated everything on the planet, so she would have to make an educated guess. Since she knew virtually nothing about him, she decided on the one thing that all humans seemed to have in common: food.
If Sasuke enjoyed things as bitter as his personality, it was safe to assume he wouldn't be interested in candy. Hinata touched her bottom hip in thought as she casually walked through the village. Had she not been hung over and zoned out, she would have immediately noticed Naruto heading her way.
"Oi, Hinata-chan!" He called out, tugging her from her reverie. She stared at him with eyes wide like two silver platters. Hinata may have moved past the days of fainting in his presence, but her face still instinctively flushed every time he flashed her that goofy grin.
"Naruto-kun." She peeped, masking her unsettled face with a warm smile.
He scratched the back of his head. "Hey, so uh, sorry about not showing up last night. I got caught up with Sakura-chan."
"I-It's fine." She stammered in division with her thoughts.
"Maybe we can all go out for drinks some other time." He smiled bashfully, and Hinata bit the tremble in her lip.
"I would like that."
"Well, that's all I really wanted to say!" He beamed. "I gotta run, Kakashi-sensei needs me!"
"O-Okay!" She chimed earnestly. "See you around, then."
"See ya later!" He waved, before speeding off down the road. Hinata unintentionally lingered on him for a moment, allowing her veneer to shatter, uncovering her sullen face. With a melancholy sigh, she continued her way down the street. At least finding something for Sasuke would give her something else to occupy her mind with.
Sasuke trekked through the forest with an engraved scowl on his face. In conjunction with his thoughts, his stomach growled, and he remembered why he'd stepped out to begin with.
His options were limited; he could go into the village, thus revealing himself to Naruto and the others for some bothersome questions, or he could wander around in hopes of finding food. He wasn't quite ready for social interaction yet, but he was most certainly hungry. He wished he hadn't eaten all of the bread that Hinata gave him.
He smirked when he thought about her. It was amusing, really, to see a girl of such stature acting as but a drunken mess. From the days of the academy, he remembered her as calm, shy and overly polite. She was an heiress to the noble Hyuga clan, and now he had this image of her waking up, confused and disoriented in the ramshackle structure he'd dumped her in. Unwittingly, Sauske drifted towards the bottom of that cliff where he'd first seen her. He wasn't lying; he really did like that spot. In some such way, he found it comforting and serene. He entered the area and recalled Hinata's words from the night before.
"My life would lose purpose if I didn't have those I love around me."
Sasuke's laugh was tainted with bitterness. It was easy for her to say that; she was one of the lucky ones.
He sat down by the river, unsure why he was thinking of her. She wasn't particularly interesting, but she was, in her own way, a breath of fresh air. Unlike Naruto or Sakura, she seemed generally impartial to his presence. Her attitude towards him was at variance with the rest of the Konoha Eleven. While some of them adored him and wanted nothing more than to speak with him, most were hostile and aggressive towards him... Assessing the last time he'd seen them all, Naruto, Sakura and Ino were the only ones remotely welcoming. Then, there was Hinata; kind, yet indifferent towards him, as though nothing had ever really happened. He supposed that between them, it didn't. They never knew each other. Perhaps, it was her infatuation with Naruto that brought her to that neutral conclusion of him.
Sasuke picked up a stone and tossed it at his reflection, watching it ripple and distort his face. The sound of a twig snapping caused him to dart his eyes left. Sceptically, the same Hyuga girl who'd just plagued his thoughts appeared from the bushes holding a small box. It had the crest of her clan on it.
"Sasuke-san..." She murmured, approaching him with unsteady hands. "I brought this for you." She held it out to him. "Please, take it."
"I'll pass." He declined, turning away. He couldn't see Hinata's forlorn expression. She swallowed some courage and sat beside him.
"It's a thank you present, and also, an apology."
"For what?" He raised an eyebrow.
"For last night... And what I said last night."
"What you said?" He frowned, before nodding in understanding. "Oh. That didn't actually bother me, so your gifts aren't necessary."
Hinata was dumbfounded; he truly was impervious. In spite of that, she extended it once more. "Please, take it."
"Why are you so persistent?" He muttered as another growl formed in his stomach. He looked at the box, then to her eager orbs before he shrugged and took it from her. He opened it to reveal a sandwich with lettuce and tomato on it. He would never outwardly admit the small flutter of joy that he felt upon seeing one of his favourite things.
He ate it right away, which for some unidentified reason, caused Hinata to relax her tense shoulders. They sat in silence while he ate. When he was finished, he set down the box.
"I think you should tell him." He said, swallowing his last bite. Hinata looked to him in confusion. "Naruto. Tell him how you feel."
She looked away and solemnly said, "He knows how I feel."
"No he doesn't, he just knows you like him." Sasuke spoke bluntly. "Last night, you said that you think he only sees you as a friend. So ask him."
"It isn't that simple."
"Yes, it is."
"Have you ever had feelings for someone before?" She queried. When he didn't reply, she met his abstract stare and felt vexatious.
"No." He concluded. "So I assume you're going to tell me next how I can't understand you?"
"No." She muttered. "Must you be so cavalier?"
To her surprise, the Uchiha smirked. He stood up and brushed himself off. "Goodbye, Hinata." He spoke with an uncharacteristic benevolence, leaving her wide-eyed to wonder about him. Were his actions written on a script, or were they merely arbitrary? She stared as the Uchiha crest embroidery on his black shirt vanished into the forest along with him. Unexpectedly, Hinata now found herself amused by him, as well.
A/N: Yay for Sasuke creeping in the bushes cliché! I'm original, I know. :P
The chapter wasn't as long as I wanted it to be D: as I was writing this, I realized that I have a lot more planned for the future than I do for the beginning of the story, so this was a bit difficult for me to get right. I'm still not totally happy with it but I hope that you guys like it!
Note: Sasuke isn't wearing his (swaggin) poncho because it's summer. I imagine him and Hinata in their actual The Last designs though, unless otherwise specified. Some people might be curious about what they're wearing so I wanted to clarify! Also, the story isn't just going to be as one-sided as my angst summery suggests. There will be more substance than that!
Thank you all for the reviews, faves and follows! I got a lot more than I expected after such a short chapter.
Please review and let me know what you think so far! I can't tell if the chapter/direction of the story is shite or not :P