This chapter is oh-so more content and happy as opposed to the one before it ;] I couldn't just simply disappear for another two months. My conscience wouldn't let me :

Summary: In everyone's eyes, Hinata has remained the same, even after so many years have gone by. She's still the same innocent, gentle, caring young woman. Even when the news of Naruto and Sakura hitting it off, the village felt incredibly sorry for the girl who had been in love for so long. But to Hinata, that was just what she had wanted everyone to see. Deep down, concealed behind her mask, Hinata is a completely different person. And only one person has been able to see behind the lies… and now he's more than determined to reveal the truth.

Pairing: Sasuke and Hinata

Rating: M to be safe

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

With Eyes That See the Bigger Picture

Episode 09

"Love me back."

Hinata peered through her fingers that concealed her complexion. The flustered cheeks of the young man sitting in front of her came to view first, followed by the same irritated frown that soon slipped into a simper. Hinata retreated back as Sasuke leaned in response, nudging their foreheads together. His eyes remained closed as he took in a deep breath.

"That wasn't a request." Sasuke replied rather boldly. He pressed himself closer so that Hinata found herself against the wall that the bed was next to. Her breaths hitched abruptly. She soon found her in the same familiarly ruthless embrace. "Hinata, love me back."

This time, the frantic kisses belonged to him followed by the even more anxious fingers that snaked their way to undress the shirt. He could hear them, the small whimpers that barely escaped her mouth. "S-Sasuke-! Wai-!"

One shirt came off, followed by the other. Hinata's hands finally managed to break through to push away her partner… until she was caught once more.

And then, she had submitted. All of the energy and emotion from before faded as Hinata gave in to Sasuke's hold. Her heart gave out a meek tug before it sank below to a point where she could hardly breathe. Her arms grew weak as she allowed to be lowered beneath him. Her head lolled to the left side as she brought her hand to cover her tears. The other clutched at the bed sheets. Sasuke brought down himself, careful not to crush the frail figure below. His head hung over hers slightly as his own breaths warmed the cheeks of the significant other. In a low groan, he closed the space between them. At the same time, she let out a heavy sigh as the last of her defense gave loose.

There was a strange, nostalgic feel about this situation. It was warm, gentle, and sweet - similar to the short moments that they shared in between the fierce night before. Her mind was clouded within the inner turmoil yet it seemed as if nothing else mattered at this point. Her body naturally nuzzled itself to frame his like a puzzle piece. Her lips parted as she struggled to find the voice from within. Her hands encompassed the memorable wide set of shoulders and dug her fingers softly into the jet black strands. She could feel the other's heartbeat in anticipation, pounding desperately against her own chest.

Sickening. Daring. Disgraceful. Chanceful. Putrid. Innovative. Tainted. Blossomed.

Honesty.

"How can you say that you love a person like me?"

His pecks gave no sign of hindrance.

"How can you say that after you summarized all of my flaws that make you angry? How can you say that when you basically told me that you hated me? Or that I too have stated that I hated you as well? How can you say that when I still…" Hinata brought her arms to conceal her face. Sasuke managed to linger over the hollow of her neck to finish hearing the rest of her question.

"When I…" her body cringed slightly from the growing sobs and her voice cracked under the pressure, "When I still have feelings for someone else?"

Taking advantage of the silence, Sasuke lowered himself slightly to undo her jeans properly and slide them off her legs. His hands trailed slowly underneath her bottom and with a sharp intake of breath, reeled her fragile body into his own.

"I don't believe it."

Hinata's body stiffened against the embrace.

"I don't believe that your love for Naruto is still as strong as it used to be. I don't believe that there is much love left in you for him. I also don't believe that you are telling yourself the truth." He paused as he lifted Hinata off the bed in his hold, "So let me repeat myself once more."

He made his way into the bathroom and set down the girl in the stall. Just as swiftly he closed the shower door behind him and switched the knob for the water droplets to accelerate. The warmth poured across Hinata's back playfully as her hair became wet instantly. His own too dampened as he pushed them closer to the wall. Sasuke took note of the remaining clothes that still plagued their bodies in slight irritation. Hers was beginning to see-through though. He undid his own moist jeans along with the boxers (with much frustration at this point) and threw them over the stall and on the floor below. His attention was brought back to Hinata instantly as he too rather brusquely ripped off her bra and panties that soon joined the jeans with a timid flop on the tile.

Hinata was now on the shower base as her legs had given out not too long ago. She continued to stare at the figure before her as Sasuke reached out to pick up a bottle of soup gel. He lowered himself at her eye level briefly after. Upon his descent, he met a pair of hungry lips. Hinata raised her fingers to entwine them within his strands and tried to pull him closer in. Sensing this, Sasuke refused to budge. Parting away, he caught notice of her frantic expression growing dire with every passing second as a million negative thoughts flew through her mind.

He lined the bottle back into her vision momentarily to distract her from the thoughts. Turning it upside down, the bottle let out the soap gel from the opening to fall down on her. The gentle smile soon changed into the recognizable sadistic one as he continued his eye contact with her. Hinata though at this point could only focus on the cool gel that oozed down her chest and onto her abdomen. Soft moans resonated against the walls of the bathroom. Bending over, Sasuke pressed harder on the bottle that emitted more liquid as he began to return in more kisses.

Hinata's voice grew more audible. She pulled him in closer, clashing the two figures together and splattering the remains of the soap. In between breaks Sasuke managed to utter his statement one last time.

"I won't repeat it again…"

Hinata's lips kept overwhelming his own.

"Love me back."

By now, Hinata was leaning against the wall as Sasuke fawned over her in the corner of the shower stall. There was barely room to breathe much less to speak. The water continued to rush down on them both, washing away the mess he just made. Her head felt light, her thoughts soon disappeared. Hinata brought herself as close as possible, nuzzling into his shoulder in soft groans. This clinging… it was brutal. Yet her body refused to part away. It wouldn't. It couldn't.

She kissed at the skin feverishly. In small breaths, she let out her thoughts.

"I think I…"

She paused.

"You think you…?" Sasuke pressed on firmly.

"I don't know if I…"

"But you do," he cut in, "You don't have any more feelings for him."

Hinata's grip tightened from the pain in her chest.

"Say it." Her left cheek was being prodded by his now, "You don't love him anymore. Say it."

Her lips parted obediently but no prominent voice came. "I don't…"

The water continued to gush and drown out their conversation. "I don't…" she paused, "…love him. I think that I… maybe…"

"It's not a 'maybe'," his voice grew low; "It's not a passive thought anymore." His lips now hovered over hers. "You're conscious of it, without a doubt."

Hinata closed her eyes shut in embarrassment. "I'm sure that I..."

Her heartbeat obscured the water pounding on the floor. "Yes?"

"I love you."

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke awoke the next day to an empty bed. Jolting upwards, he tried to focus in on the surroundings from his groggy sleep. His heartbeats slowed down when he realized that the one who should have been at his side was standing by the window wrapped in the thin blanket to cover the exposed skin. Hinata had pushed open the window as the morning breeze crept in, still unaware of his awakening.

He could still spot them. All of the kiss marks from last night and the 'other' night before. He also took note of the tiny build itself. Vulnerable and weak, it didn't occur to him until recently how much power one held over such a person. The vile comebacks and sarcastic remarks were all there as a means of protection. Beneath the foulness was a completely helpless character that refused to give into trust so easily. A coy smile beamed on his face at the realization of his recent accomplishments.

Upon hearing him stirring, Hinata turned her attention towards the bed. Her hair was placed curtly over her shoulders concealing the skin just below that the blanket managed to miss. Her bangs were skidded aside as her eyes gleamed brilliantly in curiosity. Suddenly her face flushed a deep red, spinning back towards the window sill and pulling tighter at her blanket.

"Ah… I'm going to go take the shower first… if you don't mind." Her voice was timid and rushing towards the bathroom door, she jumped to avoid his attempts at trying to catch her in the action. Clumsily she leaned against the door and let out a soft laugh in response to his irritated scowl. He then got off the bed and thrust her inside the other room.

"I do mind."

The smell of breakfast toast had by now sneaked its way through the entire reserved resort. Tenten and Ino had decided to wake up ahead of time in order to prepare the meal for everyone's awake. Shikamaru too had managed to get out of bed before everyone else as he sat in the lounge with a magazine in one hand while sipping on orange juice in the other. The rest soon piled out of their rooms.

Reaching over the table to serve, Ino and Choji helped dine everyone before a good morning toast took place. The plans for that day were simple - heading to the beach until around noon and then leaving to the nearby town for some souvenir shopping and snooping around for local cafes to have lunch at. With that decided after their meal, the groups divided into two in order to prepare for their descent down the cliff towards the ocean beach. The girls all rounded in Ino's room while the guys returned to their own to change.

"Bright green? To match your eyes then, Sakura?" Ino sneered a little playfully at her bikini choice. "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Naruto won't keep his eyes off you."

Sakura blushed frantically. "That was the plan."

The rest of the girls gave a hearty giggle. Tenten had also changed and as Hinata noticed her bold string bikini, there was a side of her that was not too surprised. She too needed to be a little bold once in a while to impress her cousin. Hinata's gaze lingered onto the other girls. Ino had decided on a simple black two piece with white polka dots while Temari went for a rather elegant swim dress. The atmosphere around them seemed… serene. It was as if Hinata's inner discontent had virtually disappeared and replace by something more… genuine. The two inside her head had not uttered a word.

"Boy shorts? Really, Hinata?" Temari laughed, "How do you ever plan on seducing your guy in those?"

Hinata's heart nearly burst out her chest. "Wh-what?"

"Agreed. There is no way you'll be able to keep his gaze on you all day long in those shorts. He'll get bored and wander elsewhere." Ino chimed in.

"There is no one that…" Hinata trailed off.

Temari smiled viciously, "Oh, stop being ridiculous. I saw how the two of you were cuddling there yesterday when we arrived at the resort."

"Not to mention how you two were the only ones who did not join us last night at the pool like we originally planned." Ino responded. Tenten in return also had a full face of bashful smiles as she nudged at Hinata's shorts a little in disappointment. Hinata pulled away with her shorts and cowered at the other side of the room.

"My shorts aren't meant to impress anyone. They're comfortable and I enjoy wearing them." Her face three different shades, "Please stop teasing them."

Suddenly, Sakura stepped in. "Yeah, you all should stop." Her voice was oddly acidic, "We have to get prepared. The guys must be waiting."

"Hey, what's gotten into you? We were only teasing her a bit." Ino stated softly.

"If she said that there is nothing between them, then stop trying to make romance happen." Sakura replied in a grunt before bolting out the room.

The remaining girls stared at the empty space left unoccupied. Ino quickly grabbed her bag in frustration and soon followed. "Don't tell me she's not serious about Naruto, that idiot!"

Tenten and Temari also made their way out towards the rest. Hinata remained at the wall, staring at her feet below with her arms pulled in. It didn't make any sense.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Hinata sat underneath the beach umbrella working on her attempt at a sand city. She nudged at the stubborn sand to form nearly perfect box shapes to represent houses while next carving out the roads as clean as possible. Most of the rest had gone ahead into the waves to play a game of volleyball, excluding Shikamaru who lay nearby asleep. The sun heated the beach to a burning degree and seeing as how she rarely tanned, Hinata continued to work on her masterpiece under the shade.

Someone tugged at her the back knot on her top piece gently. His figure soon leaned against hers. She could smell the ocean scent from his still wet body as it dampened her shoulder slightly. "A village?"

"Yeah," Hinata replied rather proudly, "I don't know where it's located... or even if it's real."

Sasuke looked at her suspiciously before fixing one of the roofs. "What do you mean?"

"I have... vague memories of it," she trailed off in thought trying hard to clear up the process, "I was very young. I think we visited a friend of the family who lived there. I remember a giant field where the keeper grew carrots and cabbage. The neighboring field was for herding the sheep. Maybe it wasn't all that big at all if I only posses childish memories."

Hinata stopped to gather more thoughts.

"The lady who lived there also had two goats that she would let me herd nearby. We visited the giant pond where all of the inhabitants would gather in the summer for picnics. My mother refused to allow me to swim in it because she feared I would catch a cold or some disease." she let out a small laugh at the end, "I want to believe that it was an actual place. It felt too real at the time. So in my spare time I draw small sketches or do… this to keep my memories intact."

Her fingers entwined with his as her story proceeded. Sasuke leaned closer, supporting himself on his other arm. "If it felt that real to you, then it must be true. Otherwise why make up such specific details?"

Hinata closed her eyes, breathing in the ocean air. "The smell here is similar but... it's not completely the same. I wonder if I am associating that village with a combination of childhood memories. It's a rather precious memory. And I don't want to forget it."

Hinata's eyes flew open when an arm found its way at the hem of her shorts.

"Your violet shorts are tempting," Sasuke frowned, "I can't concentrate much with your ass looking oh-so delectable."

A low sigh was his reply as Hinata tried to continue working on the sand village. His breaths caught up to her ear.

"I bet you look quite fuckable to many of the guys here." his slick voice resonated within her heart, "Knowing that only I've seen you bare, much less played with you in the same situation is a reward beyond all bragging credibility. Just the sight of your ass outlined gives me a reason to take you upstairs right now and continue."

And there it reappeared - Sasuke's signature sadistic personality.

"I was sharing with you a very important piece of my past and here you are trying to taint it with your sexual remarks." Hinata pouted as she tried to slide a bit further away. "I'm not going away. I want to finish building the village."

The sun hat she wore was suddenly pulled lower over her head in response. She glanced back up from underneath it. Sasuke turned his head to the side to hide his expression. "You should at least come join us in the water before we leave. It'll be twelve soon anyway. We can come back later today to finish your village."

Hinata quickly gripped his hand. Her eyes darkened a bit. "They know."

"What?"

She refused to face him as well, "They suspect that we're…"

He gave a short silence, also avoiding her eyes, before answering, "Does it matter?" But to his surprise Hinata tightened her hold on his hand.

"I don't understand why but…" she stopped herself abruptly at the sight in front.

Sakura's hand waived widely as she jogged her way towards the umbrella, "Hey you two come on already and join us back in the water! It's really cool, especially in this heat."

"We'll be there in a little while." Sasuke replied back, turning to help Hinata to her feet, "What do you not understand?"

"It's nothing, sorry." She smiled lightly, "The others are waiting."

Hohohoho… praise the quick update. Now I'm at a standstill trying to figure out my next move ._.