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Sasuke's Candor; Sai's Field Observations: Unlikely Support
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One look into her eyes and it was obvious he wasn't the person she expected. Or wanted. She dropped her gaze.
At least her eyes stayed dry. He knew how to handle tears as well as he knew how to serenade girls at their windows.
They had found her in the corner, looking very much like she wanted to be alone or slink away and go home. At least they were on the same page about that feeling.
"Hey...Hinata," Sakura said, pressing her hand to Hinata's shoulder and squeezing gently.
"Hi Sakura-san, Sasuke-kun," she addressed, not looking up at either of them.
"Sasuke-kun wanted you to dance with him," Sakura skipped the pleasantries, cutting to the point. He felt her push the small of his back.
Hinata knitted her eyebrows together, keeping her face tilted down. "While I appreciate the thought, you really don't have to."
"No, he insists," Sakura persisted.
Hinata sighed. "Thank you, Sakura-san," she said tightly out of formality, "but I haven't sunken so low that I need Sasuke-kun to engage in an activity he dislikes doing. I'm not sad or depressed. I'm fine, I promise."
"Hinata..."
"You're right."
White met black in surprise.
"I don't dance."
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura instantly reprimanded.
"But in spite of that...I do insist," he spoke evenly. Dark eyes bored into Hinata's own with a quiet intensity. A mixture of shock and suspicion overtook her expression; nonetheless, she searched for his sincerity.
"You are not...lying," she slowly decided, arching a thin eyebrow.
He didn't blink. "I have no reason to."
Hinata furrowed her brow, but didn't protest as Sakura took a hold of her arm and pulled her towards Sasuke.
"Okay, now that that's settled, you two have fun!" Sakura chirped brightly, winking at Hinata.
"Wait Sakura-san, he should be your−"
Her words fell away as Sakura tucked a stray bang behind Hinata's ear. With a reassuring smile, the pink-haired girl shook her head and then disappeared into the crowd. Sasuke was fully aware that he was probably a..."token" of some sort. Not that it mattered. Even if he understood, he found he didn't care. He still had an unspoken promise to fulfill.
"Let's go," Sasuke said simply and lead her to the crowd of people moving to music. As his gaze roved over the young adolescents, bodies pressed to each other like canned sardines and some even making out on the spot, he remembered why he wanted to go home.
Hinata sensed his discomfort and tugged him back. "Um..." She gave him a smile that he supposed was intended to be warm. "We don't have to go in too far, Sasuke-kun."
"Okay," he agreed.
They stayed on the far fringes of the pack of people, but even so, the thick humidity of sweltering sweat traveled to them. A few upbeat songs played by where the heavy bass reverberated in their hearts, electric tunes accompanying the rhythmic pounding. Hinata swayed to the beat while Sasuke stood still as a tree. True to his word, Sasuke didn't dance. The two barely made eye contact, and even someone as socially challenged as him noticed the awkwardness. When a slow song came on for a change of pace, the pair exchanged a look. A silent understanding passed through them.
"Sasuke-kun, is there something else that you would like to do?" She asked, already knowing his answer.
"Yes," he replied plainly. The list of things he hated already stretched on for miles, he added dancing as another drop in the ocean.
"Okay let's just...go outside and talk? It's getting a little stuffy in here," Hinata suggested.
"That's fine."
As they crammed pass the mess of sweaty bodies to reach the exit, Sasuke felt a pair of heated eyes glaring into the back of his head. He didn't need to turn around to identify whom they belonged to.
He followed Hinata out the door, the night air a welcoming change from the horrible confines of that building, and didn't say a word as they walked down the block. Matte stars littered the sky, like flecks of white paint on a black canvas. But the crescent moon nestled between them shone bright enough to illuminate the sky. After just minutes of walking, they stumbled upon a stone bench.
"How about here?"
He nodded and sat down on the cold seat. She copied his actions, careful to keep a space between them.
Before they lulled into another silence, Sasuke opened his mouth, "Are you afraid of me?"
To say the least, Hinata didn't expect that. Though to her credit, she composed herself quickly. "Do I...have reason to be?"
"No but," he paused, "I think 99% of the village is."
"Hm," she hummed. "No, I am not," she lingered, as if there were more words waiting behind her lips.
He waited.
"I don't know you very well, Sasuke-kun. I don't know the full extent of your past or the crimes you may have committed. But somehow, I don't feel…like there's anything for me to be afraid of," she disclosed.
Sasuke considered her answer, remaining silent.
"Sasuke-kun, may I ask you a question?"
He grunted his affirmation.
"Why did you want to want to ask me to dance? Well, okay, more like why did you offer to spend time with me?" She fiddled with the hem of her dress, evading his eyes.
The answer came easier than expected, "Because you are important to people precious to me." He stilled, wondering since when could he say those feelings so casually? He thought that he had buried his emotions under far more layers.
She stopped fidgeting, turning to face him. "Do you mean Sakura-san?"
"And the other one," he reluctantly supplied.
"M-Maybe."
His curiosity piqued. "Why do you not accept that you affect him as much as he affects you?"
She jolted, a light blush adorning her cheeks. "T-That's too much credit. Naruto-kun's done so much for me...he changed me from someone who always ran away to someone who never wanted to give up. In contrast, I've done almost nothing for him..."
Sasuke deliberated her answer, noticing a glaring inconsistency. "Was he really the one to do that?"
Hinata frowned. "What do you mean?"
"From what I understand, he was an oblivious idiot to your affections until almost two years ago. There is no way he could have consciously changed you," Sasuke continued. His face remained impassive, but conviction fortified his words.
"That's true, but−"
"You changed yourself. You did all the work. Naruto only inspired you."
"I..." She trailed off, soaking in his words.
"Tell me," he shifted his attention to her face, "what are all the things you managed to accomplish? Leave Naruto's name out of all of them."
Hinata hesitated, but quietly said the first thing that came to mind, "I...managed to get promoted to Chuunin level."
"Earlier. And be more specific," Sasuke instructed.
Hinata exhaled loudly, grumbling something under her breath before continuing.
"What was that?"
"N-Nothing."
"Okay. Go on then."
"I...stood up to my cousin, Neji-nii-san, during the first Chuunin exams. I believe that you were out of the room at the time. Our difference in strength was incredibly obvious. He landed a blow on my heart and I even went into cardiac arrest later. Even so, I continued until I collapsed."
"I see."
"When I wanted to become stronger, I developed my own jutsu, Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. It works by using flexibility and chakra control to deflect enemies from all sides. I was able to protect my teammates and Nar− um, my comrades with it."
"I see," he repeated.
"Am I boring you, Sasuke-kun?"
"No, this is how I am. Continue."
"Oh...okay. I stood up to Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki. I should have died," she stated simply, biting her lip. "I grazed him with my Twin Lion Fists long enough to stun him. I don't...exactly know what happened after, but I'm lucky to be alive."
"I see." Naruto's livid reaction at even the mention of the incident surfaced to his mind.
"And...I encouraged Naruto to continue believing in his ideals, his ninja way, when Neji-nii-san...um...made the ultimate sacrifice. I just couldn't allow Naruto-kun to give up! We had all come so far."
"I see," Sasuke dwelled on her most recent reply, "you mentioned his name."
"Ugh," she groaned, "so you were listening."
After brief contemplation, he spoke, "You should train with Team 7 sometime."
Pale eyes widened. "Really? But all of you are so strong..."
He gave her a pointed look.
"... And I am too. O-Okay, I will."
"Finally," Sasuke huffed. "For once, take some credit for yourself. You're unnecessarily humble, it's tiring to listen to."
Hinata's mouth dropped open, unsure whether to feel affronted or complimented. "I…I apologize if my habits annoy−"
"Now it's my turn to ask an invasive question," Sasuke interrupted, uninterested in her unnecessarily humble apology.
"My question was not−"
"Why do you still have low self-confidence? You've accomplished all these things. And you're a Hyūga, widely accepted as one of the strongest clans in Konoha."
"I do not have low self-confidence anymore," Hinata protested.
"You're lying," Sasuke rejected. "Maybe you've markedly improved, but you don't completely like yourself. It doesn't make sense."
She cringed, curling into herself to make her smaller. "That's not true," she squeaked, "I'm completely happy with how I am now, confident even."
Sasuke openly stared at her, narrowing his eyes. "Lying," he repeated, "the other people you fed that line to didn't believe you either."
Like pushing a button, Hinata's pale visage inflamed into a bright scarlet. She sighed, bringing her feet onto the bench and hugging her knees. "I-It's embarrassing. Please don't make me say it..." She shyly peered at him from the corner of her eye. "You should already know..."
His brow crinkled, but relaxed when the epiphany struck. Sasuke scoffed. "Oh," he deadpanned. "That's incredibly stupid."
"I know I know." Hinata buried her burning face in her hands. "I'm trying to stop, really. I was doing well too. B-But then things like tonight happen, where I let myself think that I wouldn't be a consolation prize, that there's a possibility he truly likes me too...for me. That one day, he could pick me as someone worth having a tiny bit of priority for in his heart. For once in my life, I want to feel like a first choice. Of course, it's only too soon until I'm reminded that I'm deluding myself in a fantasy," she finished dejectedly, sinking her chin into her propped knees. "Why am I even telling you this? This is so embarrassing..."
Sasuke blinked, he had always been a first, a number one. Whether it was his grades at the Ninja Academy, potential within Team 7, attention from girls, or even being plucked up by Orochimaru, the list could go on and on. But, her words throttled him back to innocent days: naively watching a certain someone's back and waiting for the promises embedded in forehead pokes. He startled himself that he could understand her desires for recognition.
"Sasuke-kun?" Her gentle voice broke him out of his reverie. "I'm sorry, was I being too much?"
"No," he answered, managing to maintain his stoic demeanor and pocketing the thoughts that had slipped out of locked drawers. He returned to the situation at hand. "How do you know that you are not already his first choice," he phrased as a statement.
"Hm. It is obvious that I am not. I am shy, quiet, and formal, completely opposite of his−" Hinata blew her bangs out of her eyes. "Well, let's just say the moon will fall from the sky before that day comes," she sulked.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
Hinata inhaled deeply and rubbed her temples. "Sorry about that, I was acting like a child. It's okay, I'm happy to be even a friend. Incredibly fortunate and blessed to be able to, actually."
"About Naruto's feelings…you are worrying about nothing," he assured her calmly.
"I know...Naruto-kun probably has so many important things to worry about while I'm getting worked up over my silly feelings," she misinterpreted.
"That's not what I meant," he corrected flatly.
She continued on, ignoring him. "Sasuke-kun...I want to thank you for your unlikely support, shall I call it that? Even though your methods are unconventional, I do feel a bit better now. I'm going to work harder to love…myself. One day, Naruto-kun will find a lover, and my heart will have to accept Naruto-kun as nothing more than a friend. I really wish for him to be happy, I do. But I'm going to have to make sure I can mend my own broken heart too."
Uh oh. Shit. With the direction Naruto's feelings were slowly falling, he wasn't going to agree with some of these developments. Sasuke vaguely realized that he was probably the worst wingman in existence.
"You...should hold onto your feelings," he tried, beginning to grow uncomfortable with the turn in conversation.
"Everyone keeps telling me that for some reason. I-I'm not saying that I don't love him anymore, my feelings can't fade like an on and off switch. But well, you made me realize something. How can I expect him to love me if I can't truly love myself?" Her lips slowly spread wider, its curve molding into a smile.
It was small, nothing compared to Naruto's huge grins or Sakura's warm beams, but her little genuine smile radiated brighter than anything in the night sky.
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The pad of his index finger scaled the yellowed pages until it stopped at a particular word.
"Jealousy: resentment against a rival, or against a person enjoying success or advantage," he read inside his head.
Sai looked from the book to Naruto's tense form, and decided that the definition was sorely insufficient. He picked an ink pen from his pocket and pulled open the cap with his mouth. Naruto currently rocked back and forth on his heels, his hands jammed in his pockets and a hard line where an exuberant smile usually existed. A few seconds ago he had squatted down and yanked at grass. Before then, he had crossed his arms and glowered at an innocent tree.
Sai wrote neatly in the margins of the paper: Constant fidgety movement. Short-temper. "Pissed-off" eyes.
"Are you jealous?" He hoped he categorized the emotion correctly this time. Last time he deduced something it wasn't exactly well received. Granted, the fact that he announced to half the village that Naruto was "constipated" may not have helped.
Naruto glared at him and opened his mouth to speak.
"No! I'm happy that they were able to hit it off pretty well."
Sai widened his eyes and stared at Sakura curiously. Even his underdeveloped instincts told him not to reveal that he wasn't addressing her.
"Sakura-chan? Are you okay?" Naruto asked, shock coloring his question.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Sakura replied quickly, jumbling her words together at the end. "Why do you ask if I am, Sai?" She progressed on before they could answer her first question.
Sai waved his book in the air. "Just taking some notes. Making some field observations," he said cheerily. He made another addition to his notes, Excessive denial, he penned with the felt tip.
"Ugh." Naruto rolled his eyes, some of the clear blueness had returned. "Why did Shikamaru have to give you a dictionary?"
Sai shrugged. "Probably for me to leave him alone and stop asking questions," he answered truthfully.
From above them, the commotion grew louder. Sai tilted his head up.
"Too slow. Predictable. Too many openings." The dark-haired boy punctuated her weakness with a swift kick to her stomach. Air rushed out of her lungs as she slammed into the tree trunk. "Come on, stand up," he commanded.
"Oi!" Naruto snarled; his voice carried loudly even from the ground below. "Don't be so harsh on her!"
"Tch," Sasuke frowned from his perch on a thick tree branch. "I'm not. I've got one arm and I'm not using the Rinnegan. Weren't you the one who insisted she was strong?"
"Yeah but−"
"Sasuke-kun, I am fine," Hinata stood up, rolling back her shoulders and cracking her neck. "It's okay, don't coddle me. If I want to become stronger I must endure."
Sasuke watched her intently, but chose not to comment on the matter. Instead, he said, "Your clan's technique emphasizes speed. Once your opponent is caught in the combination it's difficult for them to defend themselves. All that is useless however, if you can't start it," he analyzed, "we're sparring in the trees because you need to improve on facing situations where your stance is imbalanced."
Hinata nodded. "As expected of Sasuke-kun, you can see through your opponents easily. However," she narrowed her eyes, "you shouldn't underestimate me."
Sai turned from the training session to his two teammates. "Hmm...looks like it is getting rather lively up there, isn't it? I did not take Sasuke-kun to be such a talkative one," Sai observed, oblivious to the fact that a grey storm cloud rained over his two teammates.
"She barely talked to me. She just said hi to everyone and then walked over to the teme. Maybe she hates me now," Naruto groaned, "I always find a way to fuck up, so I'd hate me too."
"Don't be so dramatic, blockhead," Sakura grumbled from beside him.
"Hinata-san doesn't hate you. In her eyes, you've done nothing wrong. Ino-san told me that Hinata-san was happy at the end of her birthday party," Sai recalled.
Naruto perked up. "Really?"
"Yes," Sai said with a smile. "It seems like the unlikely friendship between her and Sasuke-kun cheered her up."
...And then his face fell.
Raising an eyebrow, Sai inclined his head towards Naruto. "What is the matter? Isn't it best when your friends are in pleasant moods?"
The blond sighed. "It's not like I don't want her to be happy..." Light pink dusted his cheeks. "I guess I'm just...jealous that I wasn't the one that cheered her up. I feel like all I ever do is make her feel worse."
Sakura's fists bopped him on the head. "Then quit whining and doing things that make her want to give up on you! You're not in the dark about her feelings anymore!"
"Give...up on me?" He repeated cautiously, as if kneading the words like dough in his hands. A frown settled on his face.
"Why would you make her feel worse? I thought that when one is in the presence of their object of affection, they smile," Sai relayed his past research.
Naruto mulled over the past few days, then thought further to the past few weeks. "I thought that was true, but one time me and Sakura-chan saw her and she had the saddest smile I've ever seen. Why would she like someone who makes her sad?" He asked honestly.
"Stupid. He's so stupid," Sakura muttered to herself, regarding Naruto with hooded eyes.
Sai rummaged through his pouch to extract his dictionary again, flipping to a dog-eared page.
"Love: a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person," Sai read in his head. No matter how many times he read over the definition, he found it simply didn't captivate the meaning. Many notes already lined the margins: Strange feeling in chest cavity, Smile often within presence, Painful. He added Confusing in clean strokes.
"Hm." Sai placed two fingers under his chin. "Then let's look at it from the other way around. Do you smile in her presence? Does she make you happy?"
Naruto stilled, the muscles in his jaw slackening, and he parted his mouth slightly as he took time to think about what had simply…never occurred to him.
"Yes," he said abruptly, eyes widening, "I've never not felt happy around her." He jerked his head up to meet Sai's dark eyes, his own blues a mixture of shock and befuddlement.
A familiar, shrill chirping suddenly crackled through the treetops, capturing all three of their attentions.
"He's using his Chidori on her?!" Naruto exclaimed, instantly on edge.
Above them, Sasuke made a beeline for Hinata, blue lightning sparking in his hand. She arranged herself in a defensive stance. Seconds before Sasuke's Chidori would make fatal contact, she swiftly dodged out of harms way and activated the Twin Lion Fists. She swung at his Chidori, and in response, he quickly retracted his arm, but not without losing some of his heavily concentrated chakra to her draining jutsu. Everything blurred into a mess of blue light and blue chakra, but Sasuke's keen eyes caught an opening. He retaliated with a powerful kick, effectively knocking Hinata off balance.
"You fell for it again," he reproached, watching as her petite body sailed towards the ground.
"Hinata!" Immediately scrambling to his feet, Naruto leapt up to grab her, cradling her into his chest as they landed safely.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata's eyes widened, her Byakugan veins slipping away. A smile appeared on her lips. Not sad, not conflicted, not in pain. Just an honest-to-God Hinata smile. His heavy emotions lifted at the sight of it. "Y-You shouldn't have...I'm going to get sweat and blood on your clothing."
Naruto laughed, shaking away her reservations. "If it's from you, I don't mind at all."
Hinata's mouth opened slightly, blushing as she hid her face away.
From above, Sasuke cursed under his breath. The Uchiha stumbled, abruptly dropping to one knee.
"I did not simply fall for it again," Hinata called. "I had to distract you with an opening so I could get my opening."
Sasuke frowned as he searched his memory.
"When your focus was on the Twin Lions Fists chakra-draining capabilities, I deactivated one and used basic Gentle Fist technique to strike a few critical chakra points on your leg. Now you're going to have trouble balancing your stance too," Hinata explained, a hint of smugness working its way into her tone.
"Hn. Fine," Sasuke conceded. "I'll activate my eyes..." Blood red replaced the cold onyx of his right eye.
"Wow, Hinata you're so amazing!" Naruto complimented earnestly. "Every time I see you fight you just get stronger and stronger!"
"Oh...um, thank you Naruto-kun," she said, twirling the ends of her hair.
Sasuke's gruff voice interrupted the two. "Dobe. Stop interfering before I kick your ass."
"What?!" Naruto jumped to his feet and extended an arm, curling his fingers in a challenge. Eyes confident, he declared, "Please. I can whoop your ass any day."
Sasuke scoffed, shooting him an irate glare. "Fine. Remember that you're the one asking for it." His gaze shifted to Sakura and Sai resting under the long fronds of a tree. "I'm not finished sparring with Hinata though, so let's make it a team competition."
"Okay, yeah, we can change it up. Hinata let's−"
"Hinata's on my team. She has to fix my leg," Sasuke butt in. "Go choose your companion from over there," he said with a jerk of his head.
"Hey! Since when did you get to decide everything?!"
Blatantly ignoring him, Sasuke continued, "It looks like those two have been itching to fight anyways."
"Stupid teme...so bossy," Naruto complained. Next to him, Hinata giggled, covering her mouth with her hands.
"He is, isn't he? Sasuke-kun doesn't say much, but when he's set his mind on something he's so stubborn and pushy about it," Hinata puffed out her cheeks.
Within seconds, Naruto knelt on his knees and had two fists by her side. "What do you mean by that? He didn't do anything to you last night did he?" Alarm echoed in his voice and she could see the fear bright in his eyes.
"Naruto-kun?" On impulse, she reached a hand out and the tips of her fingers caressed his face. His eyes softened, cheek leaning into her warm touch. "I didn't mean to get you worried...It's nothing, really. Sasuke-kun just was...rather inquisitive about...getting me to open up about my feelings," her voice dropped quieter until she squeaked.
"Huh?" Fear morphed into confusion. "Sasuke-teme talked to you about that stuff?! That guy, right there?" Naruto bent his elbow and pointed behind him.
Hinata nodded, giggling at Naruto's incredulous expression.
Sasuke snorted. "It wasn't intentional...Oi, don't look so surprised," he said crossly, folding his arm over his stomach. "Now stop wasting time and pick one of them."
Naruto grumbled some choice words, but obeyed, settling his eyes on Sakura and Sai. "Which one of you two wanna kick Sasuke's ass with me?" He bellowed, a broad grin splitting across his face.
Sai stood up...and pushed Sakura forward. "I think you should take this one," he proposed.
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Sure, I don't mind. But what are you going to do?"
"Ino-san invited me for another round of 'the-two-of-us-alone-talking'. It seems that she has more emotions and 'gossip' to present to me today," Sai explained.
The pink-haired girl's jaw dropped. "You're going on a date with Ino? And another− so there's been multiple?!"
"Hmm…." Sai put a finger to his lips. "If a date means two people conversing in a small eatery then I suppose so."
"I can't believe you of all people have the most successful love life," Sakura groaned, rubbing her temples tenderly.
Sai chuckled nervously, inching away from her. His tongue still had fresh memories of the sooty taste of carpet.
As he backtracked out of the training grounds, he turned his head back towards the group of four. A part of him did wish he could stay; after all, it seemed like great field observations for his research. And maybe, he could have gathered some 'gossip' to present to Ino as well.
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Author's Note: This is still NaruHina, I swear! I'll start to get more directly into Naruto's development in the chapter following the next. Hinata's insecurities reflect what I once personally felt, and I hope it resonated with some of you too. I saw The Last this past Monday, and I loved it, it certainly fulfilled the romance I never expected from a shonen like Naruto. It was very cute, but even as a huge NaruHina shipper, I did find Naruto's romantic development a bit jarringly abrupt. It also reminded me of why I wanted to write this story in the first place, which is to fill in the gaps and develop the relationship.
And of course, thank you all for the reviews. :) Have a nice week!