We are now in the double digits yo! Haha, anyway, I would like to thank everyone who has commented and added this story to their favourites :] I was really touched when so many of you stated how much they enjoyed this fic. In fact, I believe that about 3 weeks ago, this fic has celebrated its first birthday (where was I when this happened? D:!) Ah… well. Whatever.

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 10

The group decided to dine in Mabel Creek Café that evening. Stationed closer to the cliff side, Ino made special care to choose the tables by the window with the ocean view. The group had finished their day at the beach not too long ago and with Lee's excellent choice, they all sat picking out from their menu. The waitress had left not too long ago with the drinks. Hinata began to glance through the lunch entrees.

"I figure the seafood here must taste exquisite." Tenten announced as she flipped through excitedly. Neji simply looked over her shoulder, eyeing the meats section.

"The shrimp batch may be delicious." Sasuke leaned against the seat across from Hinata casually. He looked over to her direction indicating the statement.

"Ah well…" she hesitated slightly, "I'm not into seafood all that much. I rather dislike it. I think I'll pick something from the entrees instead."

"You're not hungry?" Ino questioned cautiously, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Hinata shook her head in protest, "No, I'm fine. I normally order something small, as it's probably all that will fit. I enjoy the drinks more… especially if some restaurants have certain specialties."

Ino returned back to her menu soon after. "They have a variety of soups if you're interested." Hinata nodded and continued to roam over the meals. She took note of Sasuke's curious face and smiled a little in response. It was true; her appetite lately had been lagging. Her attention soon turned to the young woman sitting at the opposite table.

Sakura had already ordered her drink and meal and was waiting on Naruto to decide. He seemed to be very interested in trying out the seafood as Tenten had mentioned and was having a hard time in choosing. Sakura had bent over closer as she pointed out her choice and whispered something in his ear. His reaction was a hearty laugh. Her attention was soon brought back to the nudging at her leg. She looked ahead to catch the indifferent expression of the culprit. Hinata hid her smile behind her hand as she shifted in her seat and tried to focus on the utensils for the remainder of the waiting period.

There was no longer any heavy atmosphere between the two. No longer did she need to be consciously aware of her actions whenever around him. Everything just flowed… naturally. Her smile as she inwardly laughed at his scowling face when Naruto made a sly comment, her embarrassed expression as he kept eyeing her intensely, and even her own frown towards him were all completely genuine. The day had been quite peaceful and content all throughout.

The night that followed put an end to the day nicely as well. As the group returned to the resort, half of them decided to rest up while the other planned for table games in the lounge. Hinata had told Ino and the rest that she would take a quick stroll by the sea before returning to join their festivities later. Taking up her sandals, Hinata slid away from the party towards the beach.

Her toes dug gently at the sand as she made her first steps onto the open area. Since the sun had already set, no one was around to share the sight of the chilling atmosphere and black waters that tainted the light sands. The high tide was rolling in, threatening to engulf anyone who dared to challenge its territory as Hinata playfully washed her feet it the mouth of the ocean.

It's very similar. Her inner voice finally resonating against her brain. Though it's not an open field in the middle of nowhere, the tranquil environment is similar to that memory.

Hinata smiled inwardly at the comment and added her own response aloud, "Yeah. This morning I too felt like something familiar and precious was here… and now that no one is around to cloud it, this beach and that open field both share the same innocence."

Her counterpart suddenly silenced itself to her surprise. Hinata took note of a drifting piece of twig that must have fallen from the cliff above, and reached out to lure it in. After a good three minutes of struggling to retrieve it, Hinata finally managed to grab hold of the wood as she pulled it away from the water's grasp. She slowly walked away from the oncoming tide and made herself comfortable on the soft ground below. She kicked aside her sandals, pulling in her legs as she began to doodle with one end.

Sometimes… when there was no work needed to be done on the harvest, and when the summer breeze visited, we would hide among the taller grass and lie down on our backs to rest. We never followed the cloud pattern, much less look at the sky. We'd just close our eyes and take in the surroundings through our senses.

"The grass would tickle a little," Hinata laughed gently as she drew small strands of grass in the sand, "And you could feel the wind brush against the cheeks sometimes."

It felt as if you were falling through the ground and gliding to a completely different world below.

Hinata's heart gave a heavy jolt. Her breathing fastened as her grip on the twig tightened. The drawing that she had stopped producing began to form a thick hole in the middle of it as Hinata pressed forward until the wood snapped in two. Small drips of tears rolled down and moistened the sand before suddenly the entire image was taken out of sight by the water that finally managed to catch up with her. Hinata bolted to her feet at the surprise of the ocean's chilling feel, taking one last look at her recreation of the open field before it completely disappeared alongside the twig.

Another sharp tug at her chest startled Hinata. She soon found it rather difficult to breathe evenly and to some extent, felt that she was unable to breathe altogether. Hinata's panic resurfaced as she attempted to clutch at her chest unable to cease her crying.

"What are you doing here?"

Hinata could barely let out any sound as her heart completely sank and she fell forward onto the water in a loud splash.

"I-I'm sorry about that!" Naruto's voice echoed through her ears as she attempted to stand back up, her heart beats evening out steadily. "I didn't mean to frighten you! Everyone else was looking for you and I volunteered to go find you. I wasn't trying to pull a prank or anything."

His ramblings continued as Naruto helped Hinata to her feet. He apologized countless times for the mess he made out of her dress and carelessness. Hinata in return tried to respond as many times in forgiveness as the two awkwardly attempted to wobble away from the oncoming ocean waves.

"It's quite dangerous, you know," Naruto continued as he led Hinata away by her arm gently, "The tides around this time of day can unexpectedly roll in on you and the force that they carry could very much pull you in if you're not careful."

Hinata followed behind him as the two began to ascend the cliff through the small dirt road that lead back to the resort. Her dress dripped after her madly as it began to form a wet trail behind them. As the hill began to steepen, the two slowed down slightly to catch their breath.

"I-I told Ino that I was going to stop by the beach," she tried to speak up, "I said that I would be back soon after!"

"Yeah…" Naruto replied all the same, "We were all just getting a bit worried when you were gone for so long. And then Sakura mentioned the tide and I volunteered to go look for you since you were gone for such an extended period of time."

"I… see." Hinata continued to troll behind him lazily all the while trying to cover up her face before anyone else could guess that she had been a wreck. "Is everyone still playing in the lounge?"

"When I left them, they were still playing cards." Naruto laughed aloud, "I had already lost. Tonight luck was not in my favour, I guess."

"Hm."

Naruto's pace began to slow. He heaved heavily before speaking aloud. "So… things have been working out between the two of you, huh?"

Hinata blinked in confusion and looked up to see Naruto's back still turned to her as he continued to mumble under his nose.

"You guys seem to have found a level of harmony… which is good, it's nice to see him finally out and about after everything's that's happened recently. And the people in town see him more often. Many thought that he'd just lock himself away in his apartment and refuse to come out or socialize altogether… but now that he's out, he seems genuinely happy too. So… I guess we have to thank you for… that."

"What are you talking about?" Hinata frowned slightly, unable to keep up with his rambles.

"He… Sasuke… he seems happier in the past couple of weeks. Like he's finally shown signs of being alive." Naruto attempted to speak up once more, "And some of us think that it's you who we should be grateful for."

"He's out and about on his own accord. I didn't do anything." She retorted quickly. "I'm sure he just realized that he had to start over his life in Konoha once more… so he must have been insecure to do so at first. But now he's more comfortable in the surrounding environment to open up again. I didn't do anything."

"You must then be one of the factors that allowed him to open up." He beamed and turned around to face Hinata with a grand smile, "I'm sure he wouldn't have agreed to come along on this trip if you weren't here in the first place. He has a… friend to keep him company."

"You're one of his friends too. He probably went along knowing you would come. I only recently began to communicate with him, you on the other hand knew him since the two of you were in school." Hinata paused, "Sakura is another reason as well. If anything, he should feel close to the two of you than anyone else here."

Her pace accelerated as Hinata passed Naruto swiftly to reach the top of the hill. She didn't wait for him to catch up but refused to go inside the resort as well. Instead, she walked over to the cliff's edge and grasped tightly onto the railing as she slid her feet in between the holes to sit on the ground. Naruto finally managed to catch up to her.

"I-I'm just going to sit here for a while," she announced, "I want to spend some time enjoying the night sky alone. You can tell the others that they don't need to worry since I'll be here the entire time."

"You'll catch a cold," Naruto began.

"I really want some time alone, Naruto." She replied rather sternly and quickly silenced herself before blabbing out any more cruel words. She did not hear his reply but nor did she feel his presence leaving her side as well. With a short rustle to her left side, she saw Naruto stick his own feet in between the rails as he sat next to her. He leaned forward so that his head rested against the cool metal and stared at the black ocean. His feet would dangle a little once in a while, unafraid of heights as she had been.

"You'll catch a cold," she mumbled quietly.

His signature laugh echoed into the silent night. The silence didn't last for long before he spoke up once more.

"How's your chest?"

Hinata flushed a million shades while at the same time becoming frustrated with shock, "W-what?"

"When I cam to pick you up, you were clutching your chest," he began, "Didn't it hurt?"

"Oh…" she tried to remain composed, "It's normal."

Naruto looked in her direction quizzically with a hint of disbelief. Hinata smiled a little and averted his gaze onto the scenery in front.

"Sometimes… I don't know why… but it's been happening ever since I can remember…" she focused to arrange her thoughts properly, "Sometimes when something familiar like a memory or feeling return to me, I feel as if the amount of emotion that I feel fills me up completely to a point where it's about to spill over; like an empty tank that's suddenly filled to the brim.

"And then my chest begins to ache a little. But by the time I regain myself to normal… everything that had come to me is quickly sucked up like a vacuum and I cannot recall what exactly I remembered or felt at the time." Hinata stopped speaking before continuing once more, "I don't know if they're happy or sad memories… but I don't dwell on it for long. It's probably not that important if I can't recall them."

Naruto did not reply, instead, he remained in his seat and continued to stare at the ocean.

Hinata pulled in her legs a little but refused to let go of the railing. "Pretty weird, huh? The only fuzzy memory that I have is of an open field that may or may not exist. I could very well have dreamed it up without realizing it."

There was still no response from the other.

"Does it… sound like I'm some sort of freak of nature?" she questioned quietly after a while.

Naruto's head suddenly lashed in her direction with panic visible across his face, "N-no! Not at all! I was just… taking it in, that's all. It must be frustrating when that happens."

He leaned forward slightly to her surprise.

"I think that… maybe your 'fuzzy memory' is actually real. You most likely experienced it as a very young child and cannot recollect it well because your mind must not have been as developed as it is now. Your heart is most likely trying to remember it, but your brain is neglecting the foreign experience. So…" he closed his eyes to gather his thoughts, "You shouldn't worry too much. When the time comes, you'll remember everything clearly."

His eyes opened once more to stare at her inventively, glad to receive a smile in return. Hinata nodded her head slowly.

"You're right."

Hinata paled, thankful that the night would conceal her expression. She attempted to slide from out of the railings in a hurry. Naruto took notice of her frantic movements. "What's wrong? Are you stuck?"

A pair of cold hands brushed against her and began to pull at her waist. Hinata let out a frightened gasp once she realized that Naruto was still on the ground.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you afraid of heights?" Sasuke's voiced rung through her ears. He faced in Naruto's direction while still pulling Hinata away from the edge, "You need to be more attentive, stupid. She's not very coordinated in high altitudes."

Naruto rose to his feet and smiled apologetically, "Sorry, sorry! I guess I sort of spaced out and forgot about that."

Hinata clutched at Sasuke's arm as she balanced herself. She began to move away from the cliff's edge towards the resort, all the while tripping over her own legs. Sasuke managed to catch her multiple times before she would have fallen forward. "Careful." Her movements accelerated as she bolted for the open door without a word. Naruto stared blankly at her dash and faced Sasuke with the same dumbfounded expression.

"I-I didn't do anything," he raised his hands, "Or… at least I didn't mean to."

Sasuke frowned in response, "I'll go on ahead to check up on her. Sakura sent me to go find you after you left. She's still in the lounge with the others."

Naruto responded with a small grunt and ran towards the door ahead for the lounge, with Sasuke following behind.

The door crept open with a faint squeal as Sasuke stepped inside to catch sight of a flustered Hinata sitting on the bed. He couldn't hide his smirk as it plastered across from cheek to cheek. Her own face was still red as she curled up next to wall and pouted at him. "You… do you know how much you scared me?"

He walked over to the bed and slowly crawled over to her side as the mattress dipped under his weight. Hinata backed away farther as she placed the pillows as a divider between them.

"No way. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Her hand was pulled aside as Sasuke maneuvered himself closer. He leaned against the wall to sit next to her. The lights had been dimmed and the only sound that remained was the occasional wail of disappointment from the lounge when someone lost the card game. Hinata relaxed slightly after she noticed Sasuke had closed his eyes and slumped his head to the side. Her breathing had evened out at that point too.

"Tired?"

There came no response.

"…Hungry?"

He let out a mumble and shifted to lie on the bed. Hinata remained.

"What were you drawing before?" he asked after a moment of stillness.

"S-stuff…" she answered meekly, "Old stuff. Doodles."

Sasuke rolled over to his side and rested his head on his hand, watching Hinata carefully, "Want to go to the beach tomorrow early in the morning before everyone else wakes up? You could… draw more 'stuff' without worrying about the tide."

Hinata blushed slightly, "Were you watching me?"

He avoided the question, "Usually it's just joggers who are out that early, but I'm sure we won't be bothered by them."

"Sasuke."

"The water is a bit cold in the morning because of the breeze, but the beach should be warm."

"Sasuke."

"We could go by the town after you're done since the stores open up around eight."

Hinata yanked the pillow and hit him upside the head. "What is wrong with you?"

Sasuke grabbed hold of Hinata's wrist to place aside the pillow. His lazy expression turned bitter, "You told him 'stuff'. Shouldn't that type of information be shared with those solely close to you?"

"You're jealous?" She laughed aloud, poking his sulking face with her index finger gently, "That's so adorable."

Suddenly Hinata clutched at her stomach with her free hand.

"Ah… Ow."