Kisame watched Hinata disappear into her apartment building, then turned his attention down to Itachi. Itachi had been quietly boiling the whole trip to drop the mouse off. "Are you going to be this pleasant the whole way home?"

"Sasuke gave her those." Itachi pointed back at the apartment building.

Kisame eyebrows knitted together. "How can you be so sure?"

"Sasuke usually breaks off from me to meet his friend in the morning, but today he walked with me until he went into that bakery," Itachi pointed at the apartment like Kisame would still be able to see the box.

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "You sure he didn't get something for himself?"

"Sasuke hates sweets, and he hates pastries." Itachi felt very strongly about this.

Kisame wasn't convinced by the loose evidence here. "Maybe he got bread. I think it might be a coincidence."

"She purposely didn't tell us who she was going to meet," Itachi added.

True, it didn't make sense she wouldn't want to tell them unless it was someone they knew, but why keep meeting Sasuke from them. "Fine. So she went to see your brother? Is that an issue?"

"Not her. Him." Itachi emphasized. "Sasuke has never once gone out of his way for a girl."

"Never?" It made Sasuke sound like a dick.

"Never, even if he should." So he was a dick. "He's downright rude unless our mother is watching him, and even then, he will only begrudgingly do the bare minimum. So why would he make a special trip?" Itachi asked with an exasperated huff.

"You're really torn up about this." Kisame mused. Itachi was nearly fuming at the ears. It was a rare sight.

"It doesn't make sense!" Itachi snapped.

Kisame held his hands up in defense.

"Pick one." Sasuke prompted, holding up two extremely cute charms of bunnies. One was black with an angry face. The other was white with a sweet smile.

They were adorable. Hinata pointed. "The black one."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the one with the tiny angry face skeptically, but leaned over to attach it to her bag. Then held a finger up to his lips with a grin. Another secret?

Sasuke disappeared down the hall before she could ask. Hinata held up her bag to get a better look at the bunny. So cute.

Studying with the Akatsuki was always loud and messy, but never unpleasant. Each of them studies differently. Some needed flashcards, revising, re-reading, or verbal questions, and then some didn't need it at all. It was a lot, but the chaos was comfortable.

Itachi leaned over but stopped mid-question, his eyes locked on to something just past her. Hinata turned to see what he saw, her bag and the little charm Sasuke gave her that morning. She used her good leg to sweep her bag under her chair. His eyes snapped to her as he slowly restarted his sentence.

Hinata handed him her notebook to point to the answer, but Itachi's eyes narrowed. He knew now that she was purposely hiding something.

Itachi was interrupted before he could call her out.

"Do you think your uncle would let me sneak you out again?" Kisame stretched.

Hinata turned her head to him, taking the welcome distraction. "Depends on where we are going."

"Pool party, yeah!" Deidara answered. "Just us here." He swirled his hand around the table, indicating the Akatsuki.

Hinata hesitated. "My leg."

Sasori chimed in. "You can take it off to swim."

"If you're worried about permission. You could not mention it's a pool party," Itachi dropped his suspicion, for now.

"I don't have a swimsuit." Hinata realized.

Kisame shrugged. "You don't have to swim. It's just a hangout thing."

"I'll take you shopping, yeah!" Deidara volunteered.

"I'll see." Hinata smiled.

"Pool party?" Hizashi looked up from his phone, surprised.

"You can't go to something like that!" Neji demanded.

Hinata glared at Neji. He could at least consider it.

Hizashi waved a hand at his son. "You'd be okay with that?" Hinata knew the real question. 'Are you okay with them being able to see your leg?'

"Most of them have already seen it," Hinata explained. "And the rest aren't all that likely to go telling people."

"IT'S ALL BOYS!" Neji snapped.

"No, Konan's a girl." Hinata corrected.

"One girl!" Neji pressed.

"Do you have a suit?" Hizashi wondered openly.

Neji's mouth fell open. "Father! You can't be considering this!" Hizashi gave him a warning look.

"No, but Deidara-san offered to take me shopping, though," Hinata waved her hand.

Neji was flabbergasted. "You want to go with a teen boy to go bikini shopping? The one that makes remarks at you whenever he can?"

Hinata set a hand on her hip, challenging him. "I think out of all my friends, Deidara-san is the least of your worries. He's not seriously hitting on me."

"He's the one that makes explosives." Neji waved his arms out.

"They are fireworks!" Hinata countered. "And he has a permit."

"I'll take you Friday." Hizashi decided. "If you're comfortable with that."

Hinata smiled. "Of course."

"Father!" Neji barked.

"ENOUGH." Hizashi snapped at him. "This is not trivial. Hinata being comfortable enough with her body to wear a swimsuit in front of her friends is an amazing step that I am glad to see, and I will not allow you to let you step in the way of that."

Neji turned red, getting up from the table. Shortly after, the door to his room shut just hard enough to be considered a slam.

Hinata frowned, looking down the hall. "Don't let him discourage you. I'm proud of you." Hizashi added. It was good to hear.

Hinata knocked at her cousin's door. "Neji-san?" The door opened just an inch. He leaned against the frame, not looking at her. "I'm not mad at you."

Neji glanced up at her only briefly before looking back down, but some tension in his face left. She knew that he didn't want to be the one to always say no. He just wanted her to be safe.

"I know you are just looking out for me," Hinata added. "But can I never wear a swimsuit again because I have scars?"

Neji turned a little red. "I… wasn't thinking about that."

"I don't think my friends are going to be looking at me in a swimsuit and thinking about me hormonally," Hinata told him honestly. "If anything, fewer clothes make me far less attractive."

Neji opened his mouth, then closed it. Hinata wasn't sure what he would be able to say to counter her. She was aware that her body was marred by her accident. She looked fine with clothes, maybe even attractive, but without them… there were other things to look at.

"Call me if anything happens," Neji told her seriously. "Even if you just feel a little uncomfortable, I'll come to pick you up."

"I promise."

Shopping with her uncle was awkward, but pleasant. The first thing he pointed out was a bikini, not skimpy, but certainly would not have been her first choice. Hinata directed him to more conservative options.

After a few stores, and some trouble with changing rooms with no seats. She decided on a one-piece that came the whole way up around her neck, hiding her cleavage and covering her behind enough that she was comfortable being looked at. It dipped in the back, but her back wasn't something she was worried about.

Hinata wasn't sure if Hizashi knew, but her worst scar ran across her stomach, just below her belly button where the seat belt cut into her. The skin wasn't stitched evenly, and it divided and discolored as it healed, making it visibly noticeable. It was the scar she was the most uncomfortable with. The ones that littered her legs and, most prominently, her stump, all healed much better, with silver and white scars that blended into her skin.

Hizashi found her a swim-material skirt that would cover her more, and Hinata found a large pull-over dress that she could wear while she wasn't swimming.

After they were done shopping, Hizashi took her to dinner. "I think Neji will appreciate your choices."

"I don't think he is going to be happy, no matter how much it covers." Hinata countered.

Hizashi chuckled. "I worry if he has daughters, if he will ever let them out to date, but he may make respectful sons."

Hinata smiled. "He should thank my friends for keeping the boys away. I've only got a handful of love letters at school. Having Kisame-san and Itachi-san around seems to deter them."

"They seem like good boys, no matter how much it bothers me that you spend so much time with an Uchiha." Hizashi smiled approvingly.

"Just don't let father know." Hinata regretted it once she said it.

Hizashi's face flattened instantly. "I certainly will not be telling him." He told her seriously. "Your father doesn't deserve a say."

Hinata felt the familiar warmth in her heart. "I don't want to get between you two."

"I burned that falling bridge when I took you in. My brother and I have never seen eye to eye, and I will admit I did resent him for not being even considered heir because I was born second, but after seeing what it has done to him, I can tell you that I am glad that I'll never become head of the company." Hizashi told her firmly. "I would never want to look at my own child the way he looks at you."

Hinata looked down at her plate and fidgeted with her skirt. Her time at home after the accident was a sore spot for both of them. Her father didn't hide the fact that he blamed her, and he said to her flat out that he wished that it had been her instead. He never once helped her. He rarely visited the hospital unless he had to sign for something. He wasn't going to let her die, but at the time, she would have rathered he did.

Hizashi and Neji, on the other hand, came every day they could. They were there when she woke up from surgery. They took her home after she was discharged. That's where it got worse. Her father wouldn't help her. Doing even basic things like moving from her chair to the toilet or into the bath was hard, and resulted in her stomach stitches tearing. For a while, she was so sore from surgeries she could barely dress herself.

The day her father decided he'd had enough was the best day of her life.

"I'm glad you have found friends you're so comfortable with." Hizashi smiled. "I thought the day we got rid of your old chair was a big day, but this is much bigger."

Hinata felt her cheeks heat. "It's just a pool party."

"It's you being comfortable. You've risen in confidence since meeting these boys, confidence I was worried you might never have again." Hizashi grinned at her. "Now I'm looking forward to your first date."

"Uncle!"