Chapter Ten

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! Some of you don't like the flashbacks, so I'll try different ways to slowly show and not tell the past. It won't be flashback free from now on, but I will mix it up. I tried to lighten this chapter a bit. It was getting a bit heavy. For those of you that like the heavy, don't be worried, lots of that to come in future. Read on!

"There is no way that Naruto's going to approve that proposal." Sasuke told Shikamaru as they walked up the winding staircase towards the Hokage Tower.

"Oh? Why do you think that?"

Sasuke did not answer, but Shikamaru wasn't expecting him to. He already inferred that Sasuke's doubt stemmed from the complicated unsaid things going on between the Hokage and his best friend and a certain Hyuuga heiress. And Shikamaru was of course quite correct in his deductions.

Naruto sat at his desk. He'd read over the proposal a number of times. It was a sound proposal. Really and truly, it just might work. He simply had a few minor quibbles with the details, like the fact that Hinata and Sasuke were to play such a major role in this and that they'd be working so closely for a prolonged period. He didn't like that part one bit.

When he had rescued her, his relief and his surprise at finding her so close to the river evaporated into the aether when the first thing she murmured was, "Sasuke-san."

He was so shocked at her words that he almost dropped her. He decided to chalk it up to her intense delirium and more or less forgot about the incident, choosing instead to focus on getting her home quickly and safely. He couldn't afford to lose her too. She was an anchor to a past where for the most part he was extremely happy. He was unable to save his son, but he refused to fail in saving her.

But after she was safely resting at the hospital and then at her home and he had read her report, that damning report where she clearly described her auditory hallucination with Sasuke's voice, he could no longer deny it – he was jealous.

He really couldn't help it. And his imaginative mind, a mind that he was quite proud of for creatively getting him out of impossible situations, betrayed him by conjuring up the worst and most sordid visions of Sasuke and Hinata together. He imagined them kissing, but it was no ordinary chaste kiss. No, in Naruto's mind Sasuke was making out with Hinata as if he were trying to extract her molars and touching her in places that only Naruto had touched. And it was quite possible, as far as Naruto was concerned that the twenty-five year old virgin would touch Hinata as if he just spent three months on a desert island and Hinata was a slab of barbecued pork.

It didn't help that people kept 'helpfully' giving him unsolicited and ridiculously fantastical reports of two of the most important people in his life – I heard that they're engaged and that's why he's been spending so much time at the Hyuuga Compound; I heard that they're building a house together because she was kicked out of the Hyuuga mansion; I heard that she's carrying his love child and that's why he's so concerned about her going on that mission.

The truth was that he wanted Hinata to be happy. He wanted her to be laughing all the time and feeling at peace with herself. However, if he were really being honest, he wanted her to be that way with him. He had promised to give her that happiness in her life and at one point in time he did. He still wanted to fulfil that promise even though legally he had no obligation to any such thing. It was she that gave up on their relationship, not him, with her reason being simple enough – they weren't happy anymore.

He could understand that. But was Sasuke the one to really give her happiness? Naruto couldn't see it…or maybe he just didn't want to.

In walked his object of disaffection together with Shikamaru. As usual, he smiled his usual upbeat smile, never mind that he didn't mean it at the moment.

"Naruto, have you considered my proposal?" asked Shikamaru as he took up a seat next to Sasuke and opposite the Hokage.

"Yeah, um why does it have to be Hinata specifically?"

"Well, as I stated, given her history in recent years I think she would be quite convincing in the role. Plus, because of her connection to you, she's what a lot of people would consider a valuable resource."

Naruto frowned. He looked at Sasuke.

"What do you think? It sounds like a really dangerous mission."

"You didn't have a problem sending her on that last dangerous mission."

"Alright, alright. I admit that I was wrong, okay?"

"Yeah, but she doesn't have to do much. If it's anything, they should come to her." Shikamaru argued.

"I don't know…" Naruto hemmed and hawed. To be honest, he had already made up his mind to deny the proposal, but he had to make it look like he was actually considering it. However, he wasn't expecting Shikamaru to bring out his secret weapon:

"How about we ask Hinata herself, huh?"

"What?" Naruto eyes widened.

Shikamaru got up and went to open the door. Hinata stepped inside thinking that she was finally being called upon to offer up her aggressive apologia as to why she objected to the murder of those three children on that mission. As usual her head was bowed. When she looked up and saw Sasuke, she paled.

"Hinata," Shikamaru started as he walked over to the side of the wall to bring a chair for her. He placed it to the side of Sasuke. She sat on the edge of it, leaning away from Sasuke. Sasuke stared straight ahead. "I called you here today because we're thinking of engaging you for another mission."

"Okay." She folded her hands on her lap and stared at them since as far as she was concerned there was no safe place to rest her eyes. Naruto was in front of her and to see Shikamaru she had to encounter Sasuke who was in her line of vision and she really, really didn't want to see him right now.

"As you know, the situation in Mori no Kuni is unstable as the government there is plagued with internecine struggles. We're helping out the government there with a multifaceted counterinsurgency effort. Given your…" Shikamaru paused as he searched for the least offensive way to say what he was about to say, "progression in your personal and professional life, I was hoping to lure one of their leaders to you by making it look like you had turned rogue and was willing to join their forces. Since the opium situation there is so rampant and this mission is so restricted, I proposed to have Sasuke be your handler."

Hinata was so surprised by those last few words that she looked up at Shikamaru only to see Sasuke staring at her. Was it she or did he have a smug look in his eye?

Shikamaru could see her getting ready to refuse.

"Umm, Shikamaru…I…"

"Think about it. Take your time and just think about it."

Naruto wanted to smile. Shikamaru may have brought his secret weapon, but it backfired on him as he underestimated Hinata's unwillingness to share the same physical space as Sasuke. Naruto didn't know when this sudden turn in events happened, but so far he was liking this development.

"You're dismissed, Hinata-chan." He said cheerily. She didn't look at him, only bowed stiffly. His cheery mood dipped quite a bit.

The next morning Sasuke spotted her at the bakery on Willow Street. The wind rustled the leaves of the willow trees creating a soothing whistling sound. Through the windows he could see her finishing up her order. The cashier was taking out what looked like a cinnamon roll, he wasn't sure, only knowing that it was something most likely to make her teeth rot off as soon as it neared her mouth. There was an employee out front sweeping the curb. She was the only customer.

He didn't know why she dressed like that these days. She was wearing an oversized (of course) dark green jacket, a long-sleeved jersey (that could almost double as a nightgown with its length) with blue horizontal stripes, baggy navy blue pants and a thin grey scarf. He remembered a time when she didn't look like a homeless person who had to wear all of their clothes at once because they never knew what the next day would bring. He was almost positive that at one point in time she wore clothes that actually fit her. Now, now if you stared at her long enough you could almost smell the imaginary scent of cats. She was twenty-five going on eighty-five. For the life of him he couldn't figure out what Naruto was so hung up on. Well...she at least had a good head of hair, good skin and a great smile...whenever she did decide to smile, that is, he rather charitably thought.

He approached the bakery and stood right outside the door. She was backing out of the door, already stuffing a piece of the cinnamon roll in her mouth greedily. When she spotted him she briefly looked like she was considering digging a hole in the ground with her hands. She swallowed thickly.

"Let's take a walk."

The employee suddenly felt the need to sweep just a bit closer to them.

"Ah, Sasuke-san, I am really, really busy right now."

"Clearly you are not. Plus, you look like you were doing unsavoury acts with the baker."

"W-what?!"

"You have some white icing on the corner of your mouth."

Hinata turned scarlet as she hastily wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. The employee was this close to sweeping their feet.

"Thank you. I need to go. Excuse me." She turned to go and nearly walked into the employee, who no longer pretended to be sweeping.

"Don't you think you're overreacting about what happened?"

She stopped and looked at him aghast. Her tone was soft, as it tended to be when she spoke her mind:

"Overreacting? Sasuke-san you're telling me about overreacting?" He had to lean in to hear her. "That's not even the pot calling the kettle black. That…th-that is the pot calling the kettle a…a-a-a pot."

"When have I overreacted about anything?" As he was saying it his mind answered him that just a little over a month ago he nearly ventilated Karin with his sword just because she spoke badly about Hinata.

Hinata gave him a look.

"That's not overreacting. My brother killed my family! Everything that I've done was perfectly legitimate and justified."

"You wanted to destroy Konoha."

"They deserved it."

"The Council maybe."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, amazed that he came here to confront her and somehow ended up justifying his life choices to her. "This isn't about me. This is about you envisioning me as your saviour and then avoiding me for a week when I find out about it."

Hinata sighed. She thought her distraction technique was working mightily fine, but she should have remembered that she was dealing with Sasuke Uchiha – genius . . . or as she was calling him in her head right now – arrogant stalker. Why wouldn't he leave her alone? She just wanted to wallow in self-pity by wading neck deep in icing sugar.

"Let's sit inside and talk." He said and apparently he meant it as an order. He took her by the arm and manhandled her as he shoved her inside the bakery. By the time they were inside his right arm hung limply at his side and searing pain ran up and down it as she had closed off his tenketsu.

They sat down at a table for two.

"I'm sorry. Your arm should be okay after about five minutes."

He scowled even though he knew that he deserved it. He touched her without warrant or invitation and given her hang-ups about touching…

"Why are you eating this so early in the morning?"

"I like to have sweet things when I'm feeling down . . . plus, I like sweet things."

"Your energy won't last with such artificial sugars. We learnt this in school. Weren't you an Academy teacher?"

"Is there something in particular that you needed?"

"Are you avoiding me because of what happened on your mission?"

Hinata sighed. She wished that she was anywhere but here.

"Yes."

"Why do you think that happened?"

"I don't know. Maybe I've gone insane." She muttered that last part.

"Well then I've gone insane too."

She looked up at him quizzically.

"I sometimes hear my brother speaking to me."

She didn't know what to say. She just stared at him in muted shock that he would confess something so private to her.

"Why do you think that is?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know. I miss him, I have regrets, I suppose."

They were silent for a moment. Sasuke rubbed his right arm. The pain was slowly easing up. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, annoyed that he had no one to blame for his useless arm, but himself. Suddenly, he remembered something. A devilish smirk crossed his lips as he looked up at his companion.

"I guess that means that you missed me."

Again the look on her face! He realized then that he liked teasing her. A short chuckle and a brief smile escaped.

Hinata thought that she imagined it. Did...Did he just smile?

She stared at him as if he had just done a tap dance with jazz fingers. That smile! That fleeting galvanic beam. She looked around to see if anyone else had noticed. She seemed to be the only witness. For the first time in ever Hinata understood what all the fuss was about when it came to Sasuke's looks. For now he was back to doing his usual impression of cardboard, but she still remembered that smile. She ended up smiling a little too. Sasuke mistook her meaning.

"Wait. Did you really miss me?"

"What? No!" She mentally noted that in that tone of voice she wouldn't believe her either.

"What were you smiling about?"

"You…" have an amazing smile, she said in her mind. She just couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.

"Whatever the reason, you shouldn't let that come between you and this mission."

"You think that I should accept it?"

"I have some reservations. Are you comfortable with knowing that because you've been unable to emotionally move on you were best chosen for this mission?"

"How do you expect me to feel comfortable knowing that people think that I'm mentally unfit?"

"Are you?"

"Not mentally. Maybe emotionally. How did you move on from all of that hurt?"

"I didn't."

She nodded in understanding.

"Honestly I try really hard to be happy, to move and be happy like Naruto-kun." She practically whispered his name.

"He's not that happy." She looked up at him surprised. "He feels guilty that he now has the girl he was in love with for most of his youth and then got blessed with twins, when you seem blessed with...disappointment."

"He told you that?"

"He didn't have to."

"Oh. I just wanted him to be happy. That's why I divorced him." Sasuke perked up at her words. He didn't even realize that he was leaning in. "We weren't making each other happy anymore."

"And what about your happiness?"

"I…what about yours? Are you happy?"

"I have moments where I don't feel like strangling people, yes." She laughed a bit at his joke.

"You make jokes. Sasuke-san, sometimes I can't believe that you joke sometimes. Wait, that was a joke, right?"

He shrugged and offered her a smirk. She ended up smiling and shaking her head.

"You seem…well-adjusted. I want to be like that someday. I want to be happy again."

"Happiness is a moment and it's all relative."

"Sasuke-san, to be honest, given your history, you don't look like the kind of person that would have any happy moments even though you deserve it."

"And what? You think that you don't?"

She paused for a bit.

"I accidentally killed my son." She had tears in her eyes.

"I purposely killed my brother and a day never passes when I wish I didn't." He said it calmly enough and she admired that. The tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped it away with the back of her hand.

"So…what does that mean?"

"It means Hinata, that I understand guilt. I may not understand your guilt, but I understand guilt."

They were silent for a while. All that could be heard were her sniffling and the rustling of the paper bag as she finished up her cinnamon roll. After they got up and left the bakery. It was bright out but still unseasonably cold. More people had begun to crawl out to start their day. The bakery employee was still sweeping outside.

"There is one thing that made me kind of happy this morning."

"What's that?"

"You now look like you did debauched acts not just with the cashier, but with everyone in that shop."

She looked at him in confusion.

"You have white icing all over your face from when you wiped your tears earlier."

"WHAT! And you let me go out in public like that?!" She frantically wiped her face. He quietly admitted to himself that he would never tire of teasing her. That face!

"Now you're just spreading it." Sasuke smiled at her and she stopped again in awe at the rare sight. "You look like you could be a character in one of Kakashi's books."

"How would you know? Pervert." She mumbled, but he heard her. He gave her a raised (dare she say suggestive) eyebrow pop.

Hinata blushed like crazy and ended up smiling, then laughing. It was so strange. She, a character in Icha Icha? Sasuke, a pervert? The thought was ludicrous. The fact that it was Sasuke that even mentioned it? She couldn't stop laughing.

Sasuke took out a handkerchief and wiped her face. She missed a spot, he told her, but she kept missing it and so he took the kerchief from her and wiped the spot off, a bit inwardly surprised that she didn't attempt to break off his arm in the process. He was not the only one that was surprised.

"Thanks. And thank you for making me laugh."

He didn't know what to say to that. He was not particularly known for his sense of humour.

"Hn. See you around, Hyuuga." He began to walk off.

"Sasuke-san, how's the house work going?"

He shrugged. "It's not going anywhere."

"W-would you like me to help you?"

He paused, noting that he was feeling...relieved and...happy.

"Sure. See you later?"

She nodded. She didn't know why but she was feeling a strange lightness about her, a lifting of the shroud. She was most unaware that as she walked back home Naruto had already heard a rumour that Sasuke was planning on writing a sequel to Icha Icha because of an unspeakable act involving the Hyuuga heiress and a baker.

A/N: Review please! Your reviews make me happy!