Ice

Chapter Five

Hinata lay in her bed later, curled on her side under the plum-colored comforter. Passing her bangs behind her ear, she stared at the opposite wall, plagued by thoughts of earlier.

The friends had all gotten into a discussion in front of her, speaking about Sasuke's life. He'd gotten the job of delivering messages, and he didn't seem to remember the day he'd stopped outside her door and wordlessly hand her some more paperwork. She'd actually forgotten at the moment, as well, due to her visit to Neji's grave.

A small sigh escaped her as she moved to her other side, attempting to keep her eyes closed. She was exhausted to the bone, almost constantly, yet she was not able to sleep at the moment. She moved to her other side, pushing against the gentle weight of the covers to curl up more.

Well, things weren't going so well over on her side, but she took comfort in knowing the rest of the rookies were pushing through with her.

Three weeks passed by, full of debates, disputes, and barely keeping herself together. Why people had to be so rude about something that was right was far beyond her. The main house had to lose the sense of entitlement, and she was fighting for that equality.

Still, once they decided to cool off for a week, lull the issue over, Hinata was left with nothing to do. There was a lot less paperwork around, and things seemed to be slowing to a normal rate again.

So, she wandered, getting familiarized with her home village again. There were new additions as well as buildings that were a little taller. Several people were out and about, enjoying the day like she was trying to. It seemed almost surreal, the time off from reading and arguing. She wanted to enjoy it thoroughly.

Stopping by a small café, she lay back and browsed the menu. A smile tugged at her lips when she saw they had cinnamon pastries, and she waited patiently before she could order some. Collecting the little number card, the woman found a nice window booth that allowed her to watch the world. It really was a nice day, with a beautiful golden sun illuminating the world and a few gentle clouds dotting the sky. Maybe she would head to the park after this, or maybe she could go home, change, then train a little.

To her left, she heard an annoyed sigh as someone sat down in a chair with a creak. Glancing over, mostly to check it wasn't because of her, she spotted the handsome Uchiha. He sported an unhappy expression like usual, and his ANBU escort was near him like an ever-present shadow.

Hinata quickly ducked her head away so he wouldn't notice her looking and thought about ignoring the man. Still, it seemed rude, and they weren't complete strangers. She could at least say hello, couldn't she?

She straightened in her seat and glanced over at him, clearing her throat softly before speaking up.

"Hello."

He took his sweet time looking up, and then he seemed more annoyed than ever. "What?"

She flinched, slightly crinkling her nose at the tone of his voice. "I just wanted to say hi."

"And your name?"

Did he seriously not remember? "Hyuuga Hinata."

"Oh. Right." And then he went back to ignoring her. His expression hadn't changed once.

His race balls and her cinnamon pastries were delivered at the same time, and they ate silently. He ignored her as she got up, but she was still too polite to just leave.

"Goodbye," she mumbled respectfully as she turned and headed towards the door, hoping she hadn't annoyed him too badly.

This took way too long.

Buuuut I got a ton of followers for this story. So maybe now they can read it, yeah?

So sorry, by the way. I'm severely depressed as of late and struggling a bit, but I thought getting the next chapter up is good, so here you are!

Also, Hinata's favorite food is cinnamon rolls. Same, Hina girl. Same