Because she had made fun of him so much, Hinata decided she would bring him onigiri again.

Sasuke had said he didn't want a birthday present, but he hadn't denied wanting the onigiri. To her, it still looked like too little, but she also didn't want to go against his wishes and bring him something more elaborate.

She wasn't surprised when, just like last year, she found Sasuke's front door littered with bright colored presents. Ignoring them, she pressed the doorbell once, and waited.

And waited.

Was he not home? Last year he was, but also took a long time to answer because of all the girls that bothered him with their incessant ringing. She frowned, ready to activate her Byakugan when he finally opened.

"Good, you're finally here. Let's leave" he closed the door behind him and started walking, just to stop short when he didn't hear her following. "What are you waiting for? Let's go" he repeated.

Hinata opened her mouth, before deciding to just close it and nod. She quickly went after him, not even asking where they were going. Knowing him, he would just grunt or at most tell her that she'll see.

Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, considering it was Sasuke, they ended up on one of the training grounds. More specifically, the one they often used at night. Sasuke was quick to sit down near the tree they always leaned against after practice, and Hinata did the same, still without a word.

Once settled, he looked at her with hooded eyes, as if he was a bit tired. "So, you brought the onigiri?"

She nodded, giving him the bag, which he accepted with grunted thanks. Hinata cleared her throat as he opened it. "Happy birthday, Sasuke-kun."

"Yeah, thank you" he bit one of the onigiri and looked away. Hinata folded her hands on her lap, and a comfortable silence enveloped them.

Ten years old. Sasuke was ten years old now. Time passed so quickly, and yet it also felt as if it did so slow. In no time, he would become an adult, just like her, and she wondered where they would be at that point. Would she already be leading the Hyuuga? Would she and Neji be friends again? Would Sasuke be happy and at peace with himself?

Would he have attained his goal by then?

She shuddered slightly, thinking about his goal. He had never said it outloud, but she had a small idea of what it could be. What would she want, if she was in his position?

Justice.

And how could she get justice?

She thought of how hard he trained, how he always pushed himself to his limits, how he always insisted he had to become stronger because it all depended on him.

"You don't really make bentos for me anymore…" he said, abruptly jolting her from her grim thoughts.

Hinata turned to look at him as he was finishing the onigiri, but, as expected, he was glancing elsewhere. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. I can't remember the last time you cooked for me" he cleaned his fingers on his shorts after eating all, with Hinata making a face at the action, though he didn't notice. "Didn't you say you would from time to time?"

"I…" she opened her mouth, but couldn't come up with anything. He was right. She had told him that, once, many months ago, and she had done so, for a time, but ever since the new school year began… she hadn't.

She realized that now; she actually hadn't been preparing any bentos for Sasuke for months now. It's just… there was so much in her mind. Her training and Hanabi's quick growth, Neji's situation, her new friendship with Sakura… she had become too distracted, because now that she thought about it, she hadn't been preparing any bentos for Naruto either.

"I'm sorry" was all she could say. "I will prepare them again… I-I've been a bit distracted and…"

"You don't need to worry about it" he sighed, before finally turning to look at her. "I was just commenting on it because the onigiri you brought today reminded me of that. But it's not your responsibility or anything like that. Do it only if you want to" he said, voice a bit airy.

"I want to do it! I… I will do it" she said, fisting her small hands in front of her chest with determination. Sasuke snorted and shook his head, but it wasn't a mean gesture. She could swear he was smiling a little…

"Do what you want" he shrugged, before leaning back completely against the trunk of the tree.

Hinata nodded, not minding his apparent dismissive attitude. If he truly didn't care, he wouldn't have even brought it up. They lapsed into another silence then, hearing the birds chirping and just enjoying the sun that filtered through the trees' leaves.

Eventually, she was the one to speak up again. "Is there something in particular you would like to do today, Sasuke-kun?"

"…not really" he shrugged. "I wanted some quiet and that's why I came here. Being in my apartment is too noisy."

If it was anything like last year, and Hinata was sure it was, then it was no wonder. She opened her mouth to say something else, but this time it was Sasuke who spoke; "does your father know about us?"

"…huh?" she asked, confused. Sasuke snorted.

"About us being… spending time together" he corrected himself, even though Hinata was sure he was going to say about us being friends. It seemed he still refused to admit it outloud.

She frowned, feeling a bit lost. "Why do you ask?"

"He talked to me… anyway, did you tell him?" he looked at her insistently. Hinata gulped.

"He… I didn't tell him anything, but he found out on his own… what did he talk to you about?" she couldn't help the question, feeling very curious.

Sasuke shook his head. "Nothing important. I think he knew my parents personally…" he added, surprising her.

"He did?"

He nodded. "He talked about my mom… and said some things… he also talked about dad. I don't know, it just gave me the impression he was at least close to them…"

"When did he talk to you? And why?" Hinata knew she must be being nosy, but she was just so interested. If her father was close to Sasuke's parents, could that be the reason he wanted her to give him bentos and become close to him?

"It was yesterday, I was just buying some groceries and I found him on the street… it was nothing important, really" he dismissed the whole matter altogether, much to Hinata's frustration. "I wanted to know if you knew anything, but obviously you don't. Forget I said anything."

"But…" he shook his head and looked away, and Hinata knew he wasn't going to tell her anything. She could insist, but that meant risking earning his anger, especially because it seemed to be something related to his parents, and Sasuke was always most sensitive when it came to the family he lost.

Maybe she would ask him another day, when it was not his birthday.

Despite that, he surprised her when, without further prompting from her part, he kept talking. "He told me my mom would be happy with how healthy I am, but that she wouldn't want me to push myself so hard" he pursed his lips, controlling himself. Hinata listened attentively, not even daring to breath. "He didn't mention my dad directly, but he did say that even someone like him would be proud after hearing I was the best in my class. He said… he said to keep taking good care of you, because that's what friends do."

He let out a breath through the mouth, suddenly sounding tired. "Not too push myself so hard…" he mocked, raising a hand and clutching at his bangs with it. "Not too push myself so hard…"

"Sasuke-kun…" Hinata called, but he wasn't listening anymore.

"To kill him… to kill Itachi… I can't just take it easy. Even someone like the leader of the Hyuuga ought to know that… he should know that…"

He wasn't talking to her anymore. He was speaking to himself now. Hinata said nothing, simply watching him take deep breaths, as if trying to calm himself down. Her heart ached again.

When he looked more in control of his emotions, he opened the bag of onigiri again and took a bite of the second one. They didn't say anything after that, and the day passed, like that, with both deep in their own thoughts.