"I heard the Uchiha clan also has a doujutsu. What is your clan's doujutsu, Sasuke-nii-san?" Hanabi asked while they were walking around the festival, just watching the different people wandering, playing, or eating. Hinata spared a look at the boy, curious despite herself. She knew the name, but not much else. Had never even seen it on anyone before.

Sasuke pursed his lips. He kept his hands on the pockets of his pants and walked mostly with his gaze on the ground, but had so far been complying with most of Hanabi's requests. Hinata had to wonder at that. She had come to learn, in the time they've been acquainted, that Sasuke, though harsh outside, actually had a kind core deep inside that barely, if ever, came out. She considered herself lucky he decided to show that side of him to her, taking it as the privilege earned through months of building up their relationship, but she never would have guessed he'd shown his reluctant kindness towards Hanabi, whom he had just met. Not even because she was only three.

It made her happy, though.

"We have one. The Sharingan" he answered after a small pause. Hanabi hummed, her interest piqued.

"What does it do? What does it look like? We, Hyuuga, have the Byakugan. Have you heard about the Byakugan? With it we can see everything, even the chakra points, and…!"

"Hanabi-sama, that might be enough" Natsu interrupted kindly. The Byakugan and its abilities might be relatively known, but talking about it so openly was still bound to make any Hyuuga nervous. Hanabi pouted, ready to argue, but Natsu talked to Sasuke before she could complain. "It is not necessary for Sasuke-san to keep indulging Hanabi-sama with this. We know how delicate talk of one's own doujutsu can be to the members of a clan."

"…it's not really that important. Not like there is a clan left anyway…" he said the last part so low, Hinata had to strain to hear him. She stiffened, wondering if Sasuke had said it without thinking or if he even wanted anybody to listen to it. When he looked at her from the corner of his eye at her reaction, the constrained expression on his face showed her he hadn't meant to be heard. He turned to Hanabi, ignoring her. "The Sharingan's red… with three tomoes. I know when someone first activates it, it has only one tomoe. Circumstances and training develop the remaining two."

"Wow! That sounds totally cool!" Hanabi exclaimed, closing her hands on fists in front of her chest, staring starry-eyed at Sasuke. "Can you show me, Sasuke-nii-san?"

"I…" Sasuke looked away, looking uncomfortable. He bit his lip before letting out a sigh. "I can't. I… haven't activated my Sharingan… yet."

"Oh" Hanabi deflated, and Sasuke flinched, just slightly. Hinata only noticed because she was paying close attention to him. But then, before the situation could become more awkward, Hanabi smiled, showing an expression of understanding. "It's alright, Sasuke-nii-san. I haven't activated my Byakugan yet either. We just have to try harder and in no time, you'll see we'll do it!"

Sasuke rubbed his nape, glancing away with pursed lips. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead, just nodded, that way ending the conversation about doujutsu.

The four continued walking, with Sasuke slowing his pace slightly to stay behind them. Hinata noticed this, so she looked at him questioningly. His answer was a gesture indicating her to come closer, so Hinata did, leaning slightly towards him when it looked like he wanted to whisper something in her ear.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you alone" he said, surprising her. Hinata blinked, turning to look at Natsu and Hanabi walking ahead, before glancing back at him.

"What is it?"

"Not now" and he looked at the two other Hyuuga meaningfully. Hinata bit her lip, understanding, and with a small gulp, she got over to them.

"Um…" she started, catching their attention. "I-I wondered if… it was alright if S-Sasuke-kun and I went on our own a l-little?" she asked staring at Natsu. Hanabi quickly protested, but the older Hyuuga simply looked at Hinata, making her tremble slightly at her inquisitive eyes, before smiling widely.

"Of course, Hinata-sama. Come, Hanabi-sama, let's return to the others."

"But I want to stay with nee-sama and Sasuke-nii-san!"

"Now, now, Hanabi-sama; Hinata-sama wants to spend a bit of alone time with her… friend" she said the last word with a small giggle. Hinata felt her stomach churning, not understanding what Natsu found so funny. "We will be going then, Hinata-sama. Good evening, Sasuke-san" she said to the boy that had approached them inconspicuously, startling Hinata a little with his sudden appearance.

"Hn" was all he offered.

"Bye, Sasuke-nii-san!" Hanabi waved as she was being pulled by the hand by Natsu, still visibly upset but reluctantly accepting. In no time at all, the two were gone, and Sasuke and Hinata were finally alone.

"Mmm, S-Sasuke-kun, what do you w-want to…?"

"Come with me" he said, turning around and walking away. Hinata was a bit stunned, but followed him quickly.

"W-Where are we going?"

"I don't know. Somewhere quieter."

And so, they walked until they almost reached the edge of the festival. The woods were on the other side of the path, dark and somber in comparison to the lively festivities. Also colder. Hinata burrowed herself further into her haori, regretting not bringing a scarf with her. Sasuke leaned against a tree, watching the festival with hooded eyes. Hinata stood next to him, fidgeting slightly.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun, w-what did you want to talk to me a-about?" she asked after a while, remembering that was the reason he wanted to be alone with her.

Sasuke looked at her for a moment, before turning his gaze back at the festival. Hinata fiddled with her fingers, not wanting to rush him into answering but feeling more and more anxious as he didn't. Maybe, in the end, he had been bothered by Hanabi's constant questions, and hadn't said anything to her out of politeness. Though that didn't sound right. Sasuke wasn't the kind of person to feign politeness. He always said what was on his mind, even if it ended up hurting the other person, and never did anything he didn't want to.

So then, why wasn't he saying anything?

"I actually was planning on staying home tonight" he finally said, taking her out of her thoughts. Hinata looked at him, but his eyes were still fixed in front of him. He was frowning. "I don't like crowds… and winter is not exactly my favorite season. It's annoying being here in the cold."

"T-That's regrettable. P-Personally, I love winter" Hinata said, glancing down. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"For some reason, that doesn't surprise me. Bet you're the kind of person that likes looking at the snow."

"Y-Yes, I like that" she confessed, feeling shy at the way he said it. She lifted her eyes, only to discover he was finally looking at her. She squeaked and glanced away, and, like it had already happened in the past, she heard a small chuckle coming from him. Hinata knew Sasuke could laugh, albeit softly, his voice never carrying except to those standing closer to him. It still amazed her to this day that she wasn't imagining it, but, like it often happened whenever he showed his mirth at her expense, she couldn't make herself look at him, knowing she would be even more embarrassed if she could see him having fun at her reactions.

"W-Winter was my m-mother's favorite season. We would sit at the engawa and just l-look at the snow falling. She always said that w-white snow cleansed the world and p-purified it. I l-liked that" she explained, twirling her thumbs.

Sasuke hummed at that. "Cleansed and purified the world…" he contemplated, before finally letting out a sigh. "We've diverted from what I wanted to talk to you."

"Ah, s-sorry…"

"Don't worry, it was interesting hearing your thoughts" he shrugged, and at that Hinata couldn't help but blush. It was strange, hearing something like that from him. From anyone, really. She wasn't used to people listening to her and liking what she had to say. Sometimes, her father listened, but not always. Hanabi was too little to pay attention. And Neji…

It was better not to think about Neji.

"As I was saying, I really wasn't planning on coming here tonight, but…" he pursed his lips, glancing away and rubbing the back of his head. Suddenly, he looked embarrassed. Hinata tilted her head, finding it slightly bemusing. "But you said you would be here and since I didn't want to interrupt your birthday celebration tomorrow I…"

"Y-You came for… for m-me?" she asked, astounded. Maybe she should have realized it already. Sasuke wasn't one to go out frivolously, only because he was bored at home. He was the kind that would have better used the time to train, come to think of it. So, when he huffed and crossed his arms, the skin of his neck and ears visibly reddening, Hinata knew his next words were just an excuse to hide his real emotions.

"I just didn't want to interrupt, that's all! And-! Tch, whatever, take this" he hastily grabbed something from the pocket of his jacket and threw it at her. Hinata barely caught it, staring with awe at the small box in her hands. What was it? "It's payback because you gave me something for my birthday. I don't really know what you like, and I'm not good at cooking, so I just bought you whatever. One of those sweet things you seem to like so much" he explained, his face still turned away from her.

At this, Hinata gasped, opening the box and peering inside. There was an assortment of different pastries: cookies, cupcakes, even a brownie. Even without Sasuke telling her, she could see they were store bought. Her mind drifted towards a certain bakery in downtown Konoha, wondering if it might be the one he bought the sweets from. It's one she'd always wanted to try, but couldn't because of the rules of the Hyuuga.

She looked back at him, finding him still glancing away, and she couldn't help a smile pulling at the corner of her lips. Honestly, there wasn't any need for him to give her anything, but she appreciated the gesture nonetheless. Getting closer, she leaned on the tree to stand next to him, opening the box again and taking out a cookie with chocolate chips. She bit into it and moaned in delight at the taste, before turning towards him.

He wasn't looking at her yet.

"T-Thank you, Sasuke-kun. I-It's delicious" she said, to which he simply nodded. Standing in silence for another moment, she debated whether to tell him or not, while still munching on the cookie, before finally deciding to just go for it. She swallowed, closing the box and putting it away on the inner pocket of her haori. It bulked against the fabric, and she wondered slightly how she didn't notice he was carrying it before.

Shaking her head, she positioned herself in front of him, so he wouldn't have any other option but meet her eyes. When he did, a bit reluctantly perhaps due to shyness, she smiled, hiding her hands under her sleeves so she wouldn't play with her fingers.

"T-Tomorrow's celebration shouldn't last l-long. I-If you still want to, we can meet up to s-spar after it's over" she offered. Sasuke blinked, looking at her with his brow furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean 'if I still want to'?" he asked, this time causing Hinata to frown. She fidgeted a little, moving her weight from one foot to the other, trying to understand why he looked like he didn't remember asking her to train that afternoon.

"Um, y-you said at the academy that… y-you wanted to t-try out the taijutsu moves we learned l-last week" she explained. Sasuke's eyes widened in understanding.

"That… I wasn't really…" he murmured, getting a bit stuck for words. Hinata tilted her head, and Sasuke shook his. "Ok, alright. We can meet up tomorrow to spar. What time do you think you'll be free?"

Hinata found his behavior strange, but she opted not to say anything about it, instead thinking about his question. "I t-think… we can meet up at around f-four tomorrow. The c-celebration should be o-over by then."

"Good. Let's do that then. Same training ground as last time?"

She nodded.

There was no more conversation after that, but Hinata didn't mind it. They stayed there for a little while more, watching the people in contented silence, until Sasuke said it was time for him to go home. He accompanied her back to the Hyuuga and bade farewell to Hanabi and Natsu, before going on his way. Around half an hour later, it was their turn to go back to the compound.