Hey, hey!

So, this chapter is a lot of Sasuke's thoughts and how his gears turn in his head.

Also, little reminder that I'm not going to do a lot of fight scenes in this story. I want to focus more on the emotional aspect. Building the relationship of the characters.

On with the chapter!

Kakashi noticed how much more upbeat Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata were this morning.

He watched how Naruto had more pep to his step as he walked along side Hinata. The two carried on in conversation and he smiled from ear to ear as he spoke to her. Kakashi gave them their privacy last night. He didn't even try to hear anything that they were talking about. If he was going to have Hinata in his home and try to form a closer bond with her, then he was going to have to gain her trust.

Kakashi has learned over time that this was something hard to earn. Maybe it was a Hyuga thing, or maybe Hinata had that hardened ninja skill of not trusting people early on.

Either way trust was important for everyone on this team to have with one another. They all needed to trust each other so that was a foundation Kakashi wanted to make solidified in the group.

"So, Hinata. Is Neji like a close cousin or something? Or is he like a fourth cousin twice removed type thing?" Hinata giggled at Naruto's silly question. "Well. If you want to be technical, Neji is my brother."

This caught both Naruto and Sasuke's attention. Both boys looked lost. Sasuke was the first to speak, "Wait. What? Explain."

Hinata smiled and looked on at their path ahead of them. "My father is…umm. He was an identical twin. He was first born. My uncle was Neji's father. We grew up very close. I was told that genetically, me and Neji are half brothers and sisters. I always refer to Neji as my nii-san."

"Woah. I didn't know…you two were that close." Naruto said this as memories of the other night floated in his mind.

'She's my nuisance though. She's my family and she's too good for either one of you. So stop trying to get to her.'

That's what Neji told them that night and last night Hinata was actually defending Neji too. Not as extreme as Neji was, but you could tell the two had some type of connection to one another. It was toxic, but it was their weird family relationship. It all made sense now. Neji and Hinata's love-hate relationship.

Naruto squinted his eyes in thought. Being that close. He wondered if Neji knew about Hinata's drinking.

"What happened to your uncle?"

"Sasuke." Kakashi interrupted the questionnaire. Feeling as if Sasuke was crossing the line with his blunt question. Hinata smiled at Kakashi before looking back at Sasuke and Naruto. "It's fine. My uncle died…because of me. When I was about six years old, I was kidnaped by ninja's from cloud village."

Sasuke had never heard this story. He felt as if this would be a story taught in the academy since it dealt with such a historical clan. Plus this was a declaration of war to kidnap a child from another village, especially the heiress of said clan.

Why the hell were so many Hyuga clan matters such big secrets?

"The Hyuga kidnapping is something very well kept. There are things that should not be known to the public." Kakashi said this as the group kept walking. Only reason he spoke was because he saw the confusion in Naruto and Sasuke's face and chimed in.

Hinata nodded her head at this. "I was kidnapped because I am a main house member of the Hyuga clan. I am unmarked…at the moment, so if I am kidnapped or die in battle my eyes can be taken. Compared to a branch house member, which would be my brother Neji. My uncle became a branch house Hyuga because he was born second. My father was deemed the dominant one."

"So, I am viewed as pure and untouched. I was kidnapped and my father rescued me. He killed the enemy, but the village of that ninja wanted to cause conflict for their now dead ninja. They wanted my father."

Hinata continued to look ahead of the road. Refusing to get emotional over something she has cried about countless times. She had no more tears for the story anymore. "My father was ready to die for me. The clan leader of the Hyuga clan was going to risk his life for his daughter…I am not sure why."

Especially since Konoha wasn't willing to risk anything for her.

"Hinata." Kakashi said this in a finalizing tone. He didn't want to hear her talk down about herself anymore. They were going to nip this in the bud NOW.

Naruto gave Hinata the same stern look along with Sasuke. She continued to look forward on the road, a small smile on her face.

She missed her uncle. She missed her mother. She missed her father smiling and her cousin Neji happy. Hinata missed her family. She missed when she felt protected. Now everyday she lived with anxiety and fear. Not fear for her family, but fear FROM her family.

Hinata continued to smile as she looked down the road. Empty eyes stared at nothing as she held in more emotions. She lifted her chin and held her head up high in being the proud failure that she was. The one to ruin her family.

"His twin brother took his place. My father lost his brother. Neji lost his father. I lost my uncle. All because of me. My father and Neji never forgave me for that day. If I was half the proper ninja I should be able to defend myself even at that young age. I later learned that the ninja that kidnapped me wasn't even Jonin level. I am behind. I know that, but I can only do my best every day to be the best Hyuga in the future."

Hinata looked at Kakashi as she said this, "That is my goal. My dream. To be the strongest Hyuga…ever."

Kakashi locked eyes with Hinata. He gave her a firm nod before looking back at the road, "And you will be." Hinata looked at Kakashi confused, "I need to train with my family more for that to happen. I need to spend less time with team seven to be the best."

"Yeah. That's not happening, but that is a conversation that will be had later."

Hinata looked at Kakashi strangely. What did he mean by that? Naruto and Sasuke were eyeing Kakashi just as confused as Hinata. It finally dawned on the two that it was a good chance their sensei hasn't told Hinata about his promise to Hinata's father.

Oh this was bad.

Naruto looked between Hinata and Kakashi and bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from saying anything. He knows when Hinata finds out that her father was letting Kakashi take her in that she's going to react negatively. Knowing Hinata she'd probably think the worse of the whole situation and not see that their sensei was truly trying to help her.

If she finds out that Sasuke and himself knew about this before her. Then a lot of their work from last night would be reset back to zero. This was a situation Naruto didn't want to be in. He was sure Sasuke probably figured this out and felt the same way. Naruto knew this mainly because Sasuke held a look of annoyance right now as he looked at their sensei.

Sasuke grunted and looked away from Kakashi and towards Hinata. "You blaming yourself for you family's misfortune is stupid. Don't do such a thing."

Hinata immediately frowned, but covered it up within seconds. Sasuke still caught it though. He continued to look at Hinata, waiting for her to reply back, but she didn't. She just hummed as a reply to him. Indicating that she wasn't going to dive into a debate with him.

It shouldn't be a debate. She should just listen to him. Why was she so stubborn? Sasuke had never met someone so quiet and yet so resistant. "What?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and distanced himself from Sasuke. Why did Sasuke always have to be right? Whatever Sasuke said always had to be the right way, and if you disagreed you had to be the 'dumb' one or thinking 'stupidly'.

Sasuke noticed Naruto's behavior change and this just seemed to annoy Sasuke more. They were both ignoring him and making him out to be the bad guy again. Maybe before he got to know these two, he wouldn't have cared. It would have been more peaceful to not have teammates attached to him.

Him and Naruto butted heads anyways. All the time because they were both alpha's. So, if Sasuke never got to know the two he would have been fine with just being alienated and still the alpha.

Now was different. Now it bothered Sasuke when Naruto and Hinata drifted away from him. Now he wanted to know what he did or said that was that bad.

When the builder finally convinced everyone to stop for a break because he was out of breath. Kakashi instructed them to fetch some water and refill the canteens. At this time, Sasuke took the opportunity to corner Naruto and Hinata. Still sensing something was off. "What was that earlier?"

Hinata was near the stream collecting water. Filling up the canteens as Naruto handed them to her. She didn't look at Sasuke as she answered him. "I must apologize Sasuke. I…I am still getting use to your b-blunt method of speaking. I shouldn't have taken offense so easily."

Naruto gave Hinata the same annoyed look he gave Sasuke earlier. Sasuke was too blunt and rude and Hinata was too gentle and never spoke up for herself. It could be draining and annoying with these two when it got to be too much. "Teme. What was the POINT? Like I get it. You weren't TRYING to be a jerk, but why call her stupid?"

Just like Naruto, Sasuke had a tendency to always go on the defense. "I didn't say that you moron. I said her blaming herself is stupid. What could she have done at that age? What could you have done Hinata." He wasn't really asking, more like stating a fact. This was all dumb. Them getting into emotional spats every other day was tedious.

Hinata nodded her head in agreeance with Sasuke. "Yes. I understand how you feel Sasuke, but please. Respect how I feel, like how I respect how you feel in your situation. I never give my opinion, because I cannot imagine how you feel."

Sasuke paused. That's what this was? Hinata thought he was being a hypocrite.

Well shit. Was he?

Granted. Sasuke put heavy blame on his brother for what happened to their clan. It was still obvious. The fact Sasuke was nowhere near his brothers power scale that it bothered him. The fact Sasuke hadn't awakened his Sharingan or felt as if he was even near Itachi's level angered him. If he was stronger he could have avenged his family already. He could have possibly stopped his brother from escaping that night.

Sasuke's situation and Hinata's situation were different. Sasuke was betrayed by his own brother and Hinata was kidnapped by the enemy.

Yes, Hinata acknowledged that their situation was different. Sasuke supposed Hinata was just pointing out that they both held guilt. It was a touchy subject for both of them. He would have been pissed and heavy on the tongue lashing if she said him blaming himself stupid.

Okay he got it. He was in fact an asshole.

Naruto watched as Sasuke just grew quieter by each passing second. Realization slowly hitting him. This brought a smile to Naruto's face. They were all getting better at controlling their outburst and communicating with each other. Like REALLY communicating.

"Alright. Fine. You have a point. Still. Next time you don't like what I say, just tell me. Both of you. Don't do what you just did back there. It's so annoying."

Hinata finished refilling everyone's canteen. Naruto held his canteen and Kakashi's. Hinata held the bridge builders, Sasuke's and her own. She handed Sasuke his canteen and smiled at him. "Thank you."

Sasuke took his canteen and scuffed at her. "Yeah. Well, we can't fall apart on this mission because of misunderstandings."

Naruto came in the middle of the two and placed his arms around both Hinata and Sasuke. The dark-haired male immediately grew annoyed again, but Naruto ignored him. They started making their way back to Kakashi and their client when Naruto decided to speak up again. "Hey Hinata."

She looked at him and hummed as a reply. "I want you to be the strongest Hyuga ever too. I don't want you to sink to your family's level to get there though. You should trust Kakashi-sensei. I think he'll get you there in no time!" Hinata tilted her head at Naruto. He was looking forward and wasn't looking at her. That wasn't like him. He was a very eye contact sort of person.

"You and Sasuke. Do you know something I do not know?"

Naruto took a deep breath and kept looking forward as he walked. Sasuke decided to let Naruto take the lead on this situation. Even he felt uncomfortable hiding things from each other.

"Yes. Would you trust us if we told you it's best if Kakashi-sensei talked to you about it." Naruto finally looked at Hinata as he asked. His eyes searched hers and while he wasn't a human lie detector like Hinata was. He grew pretty good at reading her body language.

Right now he could tell she wasn't angry. She was okay with what he asked from her. "I do trust you. I can wait." Naruto smiled at her. It was a bright smile that made Hinata's heart flutter and her stomach drop. A lot had been going on the last couple of days. She almost forgot how Naruto could easily make her feel like an ordinary girl again.

Sasuke watched as Hinata blushed heavily at Naruto. She would typically look away from Naruto after getting so flustered but this time the two of them held the eye connection.

"What?! You're mad because she talks to me more than you? That she isn't like the rest of the girls in this village and part of the Uchiha fan club, 24/7 of their life! What? You just have to have every one bow down to you and she won't do it all the time."

Sasuke looked away from the two. Naruto was right. There was a whole pot of girls to pick from, so there was no reason for the two of them to be harping over Hinata. He didn't even like Hinata to that level and he was sure Naruto didn't either. Hinata just so happened to be that girl that was conveniently there.

It was all a phase. Hinata would forget about her stupid girl crush on Naruto. Naruto would go back to the village and forget about flirting with Hinata and Sasuke wouldn't have to think about either Naruto or Hinata unless it was mission related.

Yeah. That's exactly how it was all going to play out.

Naruto squeezed Sasuke closer to him and Sasuke grunted in annoyance. He gave Naruto a sharp look that Naruto ignored. He gave Sasuke the same bright smile and Hinata looked at Sasuke too. Her eyes now focused on him with her deep blush still intact. "I trust you and Sasuke. He is very blunt, but I appreciate Sasuke-kun."

She appreciates him? Sasuke-kun?

Sasuke quickly adverted his eyes from Hinata and Naruto. He was glad he didn't vocalize his thoughts from earlier because he would surely be swallowing his words. He couldn't shake these two. He didn't know if he was getting softer or stronger because he was dealing with Naruto and Hinata, but writing these two off was proving to be very hard and Sasuke was succumbing to the idea of never doing it.

Why couldn't he kill Itachi and still have people close to him in his life? After all, he would never forget that he wants to bring the Uchiha clan back to life and he's invested too much of his energy into them.

After gathering the water and returning back to Kakashi and their client. The group has been moving steady again. Covering an ample amount of ground and soon would be finding shelter again for the night. Hinata looked up as she saw the sun was starting to set, they had at best three more hours of day light.

Hinata and Sasuke were walking beside one another as they ignored Naruto and their client argue back and forward with one another. Hinata sighed to herself. Naruto easily let strangers rile him up. Granted their client sometimes could be cruel, he wasn't a bad person. Hinata could see that.

Hinata noticed how their sensei seemed to be focusing on something. Like he could sense something they could not yet sense. She noticed Sasuke become just as vigilant and how he took her hand and pulled her closer to him. So he could whisper in her ear. "Use your Byakugan."

She did as Sasuke asked and immediately locked eyes on two bodies following them in the trees. Sasuke could feel her body grow tense and immediately knew something was wrong. "Just wait it out." Sasuke and Hinata heard Kakashi casually say this. So, he knew this whole time.

Naruto was behind the three of them. Still walking beside the bridge builder. He noticed the engagement with Sasuke and Hinata. How she tensed up moments after Sasuke whispered in her ear and how Sasuke tensed himself. Kakashi telling them in a low voice to 'just wait it out' let him know something was wrong.

Still. He engaged with the bridge builder to make their client feel safe.

Then everything happened in a moments flash.

The two rogue ninja, that they discovered were named Gōzu and Meizu, the Demon Brothers were currently tied to a tree. Kakashi securing them so the authorities could come and arrest them.

It was all perfect teamwork. As soon as the ninja's appeared Naruto first instinct was to protect their client. To remove him from the danger and then to engage. Sasuke took charge of the situation between Naruto, himself and Hinata because he was second to Kakashi to sense the two ninja's were nearby. Hinata pointed out that their gauntlets held poison in them and for Naruto and Sasuke to be careful when engaging them.

There communication was perfect and while Kakashi didn't believe Sasuke needed the help. Naruto and Sasuke dealt with the two enemies as Hinata protected their client that was clearly the target.

This was all fine and dandy, but something was up. Kakashi wasn't a fan of random ninja jumping out of the blue to attack them. He wasn't a fan of feeling as if he was being let out of the loop. "We'll find a nearby small village. Let's sleep on beds tonight shall we."

Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata could pick up on their sensei's frustration towards their client. They didn't exactly know what was really upsetting him though. They traveled for another hour or so at a fast pace before they came upon a travelers lounge.

It was small, but thankfully they had rooms available for them. An adjoining room too, so that made it perfect for Kakashi to keep an eye on the bridge builder and at the same time his genin can have privacy and cool down.

When Kakashi secured the room and officially could unload and relax, the first thing he did was address the builder. "Alright sir. I am sure you are lying to us about the extent of this mission. You're leading us on and I do not like that in the slightest. So, here are your choices. You can tell me what the hell is going on now, or you can finish this trip alone."

His students immediately became mute. It was very uncommon for them to see Kakashi so serious and upset. Their client grunted as a reply and swore there was nothing. That he didn't know what the hell was going on. That it was simply a coincidence those rogue ninja's appeared. Kakashi looked over at Hinata with his arms crossed over his chest. "Hinata."

Hinata's Byakugan activated. The veins around her eyes pulsated and she studied the man sitting across from Kakashi in a chair. "He's very nervous." Kakashi looked back at the man, "Is that your final answer."

Tazuna nodded his head, "Yeah. It is. It's the truth."

"He's lying." Hinata said this as she looked at Tazuna. It looked like she was looking through him, but right now he was an open book to her. "He knows we are in danger. He is scared right now. It is not from us because his body is typically not this erratic."

Sasuke and Naruto looked at Hinata curiously. Naruto the first to speak up, "You checked him out before?" Sasuke looked at Naruto a little amused despite the serious situation. Was that jealousy he heard in Naruto's voice?

Hinata's eyes could see a lot in a person. It seemed like Naruto's mind was in the gutter and he didn't want Hinata looking at people leisurely with her Byakugan.

Hinata kept staring at Tazuna, "At the beginning of the mission, I did. While I was scouting up ahead. Just so I knew what his body structure looked like on a regular basis." Sasuke smirked at Hinata's slyness. How she made it seem like the bridge builder had hurt her feelings in the beginning of the mission when in reality she just wanted to survey him.

Meaning. She never trusted him to begin with. Sasuke was learning that Hinata was a slightly paranoid person. "So when he starts to act shady you would know."

Hinata smiled and looked at Sasuke. While many people found Hyuga eyes to be creepy and insulted the appearance of the Byakugan. Naruto and Sasuke didn't feel that way at all. When Hinata looked at Sasuke he didn't see a 'freak'. He saw Hinata, a capable ninja.

So, he returned the smile.

Kakashi waved his hand freely to get Hinata's attention. "Alright Hinata. That's enough scaring the man. Now. Mr. Tazuna, I won't be asking again so politely."

Tazuna proceeded to unfold. He told them everything. How poor and corrupt his home town has gotten and this evil man Gato has taken over and uses ninja gangs to enforce his authority. The bridge had to be built to save the economy. To save the people from those thugs.

Kakashi rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. This mission just turned into something more. This simple man just undervalued the seriousness of this mission all because of money, because he couldn't afford to pay for more experienced ninja.

Sometimes civilians were the problem with this world. They all lie. Even if this was for a good purpose, this lie could have cost him lives of his genin.

Of course they'd still help the man. They were pissed, not heartless.

Things just had to be handled differently now. "Alright. I'll take watch for tonight. You all get some sleep and we'll arrive at Mr. Tazuna's home in the morning. Take this time to freshen up. Check your supplies and to fix anything that needs it and stock back up."

Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata went to the other adjoined room and quickly started to tackle the tasks Kakashi gave them. Naruto checked their supplies, Sasuke started to fix anything that might have broken on their bags, any holes that were slowly growing and Hinata looked around the room for anything that could be of use to them and stocked it back up.

Naruto watched Hinata go into the bathroom and look under the sinks cabinet. She pulled out a white container and carried it into the bedroom. She opened it and was relieved to see it was a fully stocked first aid kit. She wouldn't take everything. She couldn't bring herself to do such a thing. However these were actually really good supplies that she would be foolish to pass up on, so she did take about 50%.

She ended up taking about 50% of everything in the room actually. Grooming supplies, towels, wash clothes, anything for their hygiene. She debated taking the blanket when they left in the morning, but decided against it.

Once they were completed, Hinata made a beeline to the bathroom to freshen up.

For some reason when Naruto and Sasuke heard the sound of the shower coming on. Realization hit them on everything that was happening. Naruto looked around the room and immediately started to pale. "Where's her clothes? She took them in the bathroom with her right? What about a towel? Should I ask her if she needs one?"

Just when Naruto was about to knock on the door Sasuke yanked him by the collar. "She has all those things you idiot. You saw she was the one to find all the supplies." Sasuke could tell Naruto was nervous. He's probably never been in a situation like this before with the opposite gender.

Well, neither has Sasuke but he wasn't acting like a weirdo about it.

Naruto continued to look at Sasuke nervously, "So. What do we do?" Sasuke looked at Naruto like he just said the dumbest thing ever. "What? Nothing. Stop acting like a loser. Just relax."

Usually Naruto would get angry and fire back at Sasuke for talking to him like that. This time was different. Naruto was much too nervous to actually care about Sasuke's insults. "Right. Okay."

Sasuke continued to look at Naruto like he was crazy. "This isn't Sakura. You know? You don't have to act like that." Naruto froze from his nervousness and looked at Sasuke confused. "What? Why do you keep bringing up Sakura?"

Reason being. Sasuke needed to set the record straight. Marking territory.

"You like Sakura. Not Hinata. There is no reason for you to act like this." Naruto's nostrils flared and now Sasuke was starting to pluck his nerves. "Shut up would you. You don't know what you're talking about. You keep saying that around Hinata because you want her to feel that way too."

Like some weird brainwashing tactic. Like Sasuke was trying to trick Naruto into losing someone that really cared about him. Hinata.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, "Well. It's true. I say it around her because it's true." Naruto finally grew tired of Sasuke's picking and roughly shoved him on the bed. "No it's not!" Sasuke looked up towards Naruto from the bed. Fully amused at the situation. Naruto couldn't beat him, if anything Sasuke was poking and having fun now.

He was a masochist like that.

Sasuke rested on his elbows as he looked at Naruto. "Tsk. Who are you fooling? You were just drooling over Sakura, in her face a few nights ago. For your birthday remember? How you had Hinata pay for your food while you eyed Sakura."

Naruto actually looked confused. What in the hell was Sasuke getting at? He always did that with Sakura. "I mean yeah. Sakura is cute and all, she's not the cutest and I can like more than one person."

Sasuke sent Naruto a heated look. This guy was so fucking stupid and innocent it just set Sasuke off all the time. "So. You like Hinata as more than a friend?"

That's where Sasuke was getting at. Naruto hadn't admitted this to Sasuke yet. He was probing because in all actuality, Sasuke liked Hinata as more than a teammate and friend.

It angered Sasuke that Naruto knew he liked Hinata, but Sasuke didn't know of Naruto's intentions. All Sasuke knew was what he saw. He saw that Hinata was head over heels for this blonde idiot. So, if Naruto finally reciprocated her feelings, Sasuke would be the third wheel again.

Hinata has a lot of problems. Demons even. She had an alcohol addiction. She was covered with depression and anxiety and she had a weak pathetic demeanor about her. Sasuke shouldn't even spare a thought of having a future with Hinata. Shouldn't see her as more than a teammate. He should listen to Naruto, and see that he was right. He could go back to Konoha and ask any girl out.

However, Hinata wasn't like the other girls. She ignored Sasuke. She didn't treat him the same as the others. She treated him like a regular person. Like he wasn't the last Uchiha. Sasuke really valued her authentic feelings towards him.

Plus, Hinata was in the Hyuga clan. Her father was head of the clan and from what Sasuke could see, she was very skilled with the Hyuga's Byakugan. She came from dominating genes. She would be a good future wife if Sasuke made it that far living life.

Hinata just needed work. Sasuke could do a better job in perfecting her than Naruto could do.

Sasuke always asked himself. When did he discover he liked this weak-minded girl?

He discovered it the moment Hinata called him spiteful. Who the hell in their age group would have the balls other than Naruto to call HIM spiteful. She did. He respected her for it. He liked her guts.

Sasuke liked Hinata.

In Sasuke's eyes. He wasn't going to let Naruto play with Hinata's feelings. It would leave Sasuke with more work to do on her.

The problem with all of this was Sasuke was an orphan with orphan goals, and so was Naruto. While Naruto wasn't as mature as Sasuke and was too innocent to really know what he wants in life at the moment. It would only be a matter of time before Naruto started to see things how Sasuke saw them, and Sasuke couldn't have that.

Naruto shook his head as he saw the malicious look in Sasuke eyes. "I don't get it. You have all these choices and yet you're still not satisfied."

It was a childish, teenage spat. In privacy ninja's could act their age. Both Naruto and Sasuke were 14. So, fighting over a girl was very common in their age group. Maybe if they had a female like Sakura on their team, Sasuke wouldn't be so envious because he would be getting all of the attention.

Moments like these Sasuke wished Sakura or Ino were on their team, so he could rub it all in Naruto's idiotic face.

Sasuke didn't care what Naruto was saying right now. Yeah, so what. Sasuke's gotten Hinata's recognition. He's gotten her to respect him and look at him as a friend now. Yet, it still has proven to not be enough for him. Sasuke was egotistic like that and he didn't care.

Sasuke wanted validation sooner rather than later. Someone of Hinata's stature could be snatched very early on. In Sasuke's mind over the past few months. He's already progressed from teammate, friend and now he wanted within a few days to be validated as more before Naruto clouded Hinata's thoughts any further.

Naruto was nice and patient with Hinata. Sasuke was not.

He was selfish. He had an ego. Sasuke had his demons that brought out the worse in him almost every single day. Yet…Hinata has yet to say she didn't like any of those traits. Sasuke's never changed himself, and he can see with his own eyes that Hinata was open to his personality.

Sasuke's malicious grin just grew. Hinata liked his asshole behavior. He just knew she did.

Sasuke remained silent and looked at Naruto. Not willing to speak anymore until he received an answer. Naruto rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in the air. They fell back down loosely by his sides because he just couldn't believe Sasuke was doing this. Especially right now.

At the same time. Naruto wasn't going to let Sasuke have it his way.

The bathroom door opened and a freshly cleaned Hinata came out. Fully clothed in her clean mission gear for tomorrow. Her hair was a bit damped, but overall she was just happy to shower. It's been two days since she last got to experience warm water.

Her smile fell from her face as she saw the heated looks Naruto and Sasuke were giving each other. Sasuke lying on the bed with his elbows propping him up and Naruto standing not too far away from him. Steaming out the ears.

"Is umm. Is everything okay?" Hinata asked this looking nervous at the scene in front of her. Now wasn't the time for the two of them to argue.

Naruto let out a sigh and stopped looking at Sasuke. He went to pick up his clothes for tomorrow and head to the shower. "Yep. Everything is fine Hinata. How's the water?" He gave her a gentle smile, one which Hinata returned.

"It's good. This is actually a really good rest stop!" Naruto smiled at her sweet expression and was about to turn and close the bathroom door.

"So do you like Hinata as more than a friend or not? Answer the question dobe."

End of chapter!

Yes they are in a hotel room. No there will be no underage sex in this story.

Just teenagers being teenagers. Learning about one another. Growing together. That's the point of the story, it's a ride. They'll grow to be adults in this story. So be patient with me please lol.

Sasuke is being himself. Young and full of himself. He's more in-tune with what he wants and while he is jealous of Naruto, he still wants Naruto around him. A lot of Sasuke's anger stems from him not having validation from Naruto or Hinata. So he resorts to what he is good at. Pushing them away or being rude to them until he gets what he wants.

I promise he will only mellow out a little. The more Hinata grows and Naruto checks him lol.

Until next chapter! See you Saturday.