Hinata was given an extra bento before going to the academy the next day. Her father really meant business. She was to talk to Sasuke and give him the bento or she would be punished for her cowardice. Once was understandable, but running away a second time was a big no-no in her father's book.
When lunch time arrived, Hinata gulped, searching with her eyes for the dark-haired boy. She spotted him leaving the classroom, followed by a group of girls, including Ino. Apparently, the demonstration from the day before meant nothing to the pretty blonde girl, who kept smiling and pestering Sasuke as always, although Hinata noted, no one was touching him.
Hinata looked down at the bento in her hands and sighed. She had to find an opportunity to give it to him when he was alone, but when? Ever since coming back, that was virtually impossible. If it wasn't the girls, it was their male classmates who wanted to see how he was doing, and if it wasn't them, then it was Iruka-sensei who wanted to make sure he wasn't feeling uncomfortable.
For now, though, it would be better to follow him. Hinata gathered her things and left the classroom, but once outside, she was surprised not to see him anywhere. Ino, Sakura, and the rest of the girls were desperately looking for him, calling out his name, having lost sight of him.
Hinata bit her lip, knowing this was her chance, and so, she went to a secluded part of the courtyard and activated her Byakugan. Her range wasn't big, barely a few meters at her tender age, but she compensated by moving discreetly around the academy, hiding from teachers and preventing others from catching her using her eyes.
When she found him, she let out a big sigh of relief; however, that was short-lived when she noticed he wasn't alone.
The plum tree at the edge of the academy grounds was not a favorite among the students. It was an old tree, and its fruits fell all around it, making the ground sticky and smelly. It was the place Naruto usually went to when tired of trying to fit in, thus making it even more unlikely for anyone to go there, and it was, apparently, the place Sasuke decided to use as his hiding place.
Too bad Naruto was already there.
Hinata's heart, like every time she saw her crush, started to beat like crazy. She could feel her skin become warm and her breathing come out quicker with each exhale. Without thinking, she hid behind a small rock where she had to assume an uncomfortable position not to get noticed, and hoped that neither of them saw her.
They didn't, but then, Hinata would have preferred they did, when she unwittingly heard what they were talking about.
"Sasuke…" Naruto's voice pervaded the air with the same softness Hinata heard that day Iruka told them about Sasuke's family. The boy in question was giving his back to the blond, ready to leave once he found the space he decided to hide in already occupied, but was stopped by the small voice calling him. He didn't turn around to see him, though. "I… I'm so sorry for what happened" his condolences sounded the most sincere out of anyone she had heard before. "And that… I know how you feel. I know what it's like to be alone in the world, and if you ever need someone to…"
"You know?" Sasuke interrupted, his voice betraying anger. He slowly turned around and pierced the other boy with a cold glare. "What would you know about me? What would you know of losing your family when you never had one to begin with?" he asked, his words harsh even though his tone was controlled.
Naruto's eyes widened, surely not expecting this kind of retort, but he soon frowned back, feeling the sting of his words. "I never had a family, true, but that doesn't mean I don't know what it's like to be all alone!"
"And so you want to help me? You want to become my friend?" he scoffed, mocking though his body was trembling. "Don't make me laugh."
"What is your problem? I'm just trying to be nice!" Naruto shouted this time, but it was to no avail. Sasuke bared his teeth and ran in Naruto's direction, and before either him or Hinata could see it, he pushed the boy. Naruto fell on his bottom on the dirty ground, while Sasuke glared at him from above.
"My problem is that nobody seems able to leave me the hell alone! I don't need comfort! I don't need pity! And I certainly don't need a loser like you to try and understand me!"
"So you're saying you want to be alone?!" Naruto shouted back, confusion and hurt swimming in his blue orbs. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his shoulders rising and falling and in that moment Hinata saw, not the cruelty he was trying to display, but a boy so broken he didn't allow himself to even consider the possibility of someone else sharing his pain. And that was, probably, the saddest thing of all.
"Yes" Sasuke finally said, a single word said with so much conviction and so much weariness that even Naruto was left speechless. Without another word, Sasuke turned around, and in that moment his eyes connected with Hinata's, who hadn't even realized the moment she raised her head above the rock covering her until then.