When she arrived at the boy's apartment, she nervously rang the doorbell, this time waiting for him to open the door instead of running. Ko had no problem on stopping by, just like she expected, but he also encouraged her to go up alone while he waited on the street, knowing her father wanted both Hinata and Sasuke to forge some kind of friendship.
So she was there, completely alone, waiting with her heart in her throat for the boy to open. She knew he was home, she had checked with her Byakugan, which she really shouldn't be using so freely, come to think of it. He was the first to leave the academy every day but what surprised Hinata was seeing him preparing his kunai pouch as well as some shuriken. Almost as if he was preparing to go training.
She tapped her foot, not impatiently but in anxiousness, and sometime later, the boy finally opened the door.
"What do you want?" Hinata was a bit startled by his frown and the way he roughly asked that question. She fidgeted again, but quickly regained her composure. Shaking her head, she raised the bento until it was at their eye level.
"I-I-I-I b-brought…"
"Is your father also telling you to give bentos to Naruto?"
The suddenness of the question surprised her. She tilted her head, remembering that day during lunch he had seen her giving Naruto another bento. She decided to be honest since last time that worked just fine for her. "N-No… but h-he fo-found out I-I g-gave him o-one that ti-time… and said if I-I wa-wanted to, I could k-keep giving him mo-more…"
Sasuke's frown deepened, if that was possible. He looked down at the bento before slowly lifting his hand and taking it. Hinata felt relief he didn't reject it like she thought he would for a moment there. But there was something she didn't understand. Why did he seem to be in such a bad mood? Or maybe she was just reading too much into it. That frown had been Sasuke's normal besides the expressionless face ever since returning to classes. And he only asked why she was giving Naruto bentos out of curiosity. In any case, there wasn't really a reason for him to be upset, right?
Sasuke closed the door behind him, leaving him in the hallway with her, but Hinata barely had time to get nervous when he turned around and walked away. She blinked, following him without thinking.
"A-Ano… Sasuke-kun… I no-noticed the kunai p-pouch and s-shu-shuriken you're c-carrying… a-are you g-g-going t-training now?" she asked, pointing her index fingers together in a nervous gesture. Sasuke didn't spare her a glance as they descended the stairs to the street together, but at least he answered her.
"I am. I need to become stronger" it was all he said. Then, almost in an afterthought, added, "You should do the same."
Hinata halted in her steps, but Sasuke paid no attention to that. He continued on his way, acknowledging Ko with a nod when this one greeted him, before disappearing on the horizon.
Ko looked at Hinata. "Is everything alright, Hinata-sama?" he asked, worried. Hinata shook her head, plastering a soft smile on her face, not wanting to worry her guard.
"Y-Yes… I w-was just ne-nervous…" she responded. Ko nodded, grabbing her hand again and guiding her back to the compound.
Sasuke's words kept floating in her mind, haunting her with their possible meaning. Did he think her weak? He wouldn't be the first one to do so, but he would be the first one outside her family to vocalize that in some sort of way.
Hinata's mood took another nosedive. First Naruto thought she didn't want to eat lunch with him, and now Sasuke called her weak. It had not been a good day.