Hinata gets some wisdom and gives some wisdom

Chapter 37: I build myself up and fly around in circles

Hinata closed out the dinner bill and waved off Kiba and Shino's offer to walk her home. The beginnings of spring could be felt in the air, even in the evening. Her coat was undone, opening her up to the cool breeze.

The streets were busy with activity, stalls open with patrons lining the counters and spilling out into outdoor seating with little gas heaters set down between tables. Hinata hummed lightly to herself, a melody that came naturally with the movement of the village around her.

"Hime!"

A couple of curious heads turned at the title and Hinata blushed. "Sai-san."

The shinobi hurried over to her. "I need your help."

"Oh! Of course! Is something wrong?" Hinata asked.

"This way," Sai said, starting to lead her down a narrow street. "Ino's quite drunk and I need to take her home, but I don't want to leave Sakura alone."

Hinata almost tripped over her feet. "Sakura-san?"

"Could you take care of her? She doesn't want to leave yet."

Hinata was still stumbling over her words when they rounded the corner, two women seated at a table outside coming into view.

Sakura and Ino were oblivious to Hinata and Sai's approach. Sai even managed to scoop Ino onto his shoulder before the blonde knew what was going on.

"Huh? Sai! It's too early to leave!"

Sai ignored this. "We'll be going. I'll leave you to it, Hime," he said with his usual fake smile.

Sai proceeded to haul a whining Ino away, leaving Hinata to stare after them. Sakura was busy downing a beer.

"Oh. Hinata's here." Sakura hiccupped. "Where'd Ino go?" She spoke monotonously, seeming unbothered by this development.

"Um…Sakura-san —"

"Let me get another drink. Bartender!"

Shoulders drooping, Hinata lost whatever momentum she'd had prior to Sakura's interruption. She hadn't seen Sakura since her visit to the hospital a few days ago. Sasuke had seemed unaffected by whatever conversation they'd had and Hinata hadn't felt the need to pry.

Still, she'd suspected it hadn't gone the way Sakura wanted. Anyone who'd witnessed Sasuke's avoidance of Sakura and Sakura's lamenting of that same avoidance would have known as much.

Sakura's eyes were bloodshot, hair a tangled mess, lips chapped. There was a beer stain on her right sleeve. She looked heartbroken.

Feeling awkward looming over the other girl, Hinata took a seat beside her. Sakura didn't react, more focused on the full glass of beer set down in front of her. The server left without seeming to notice Hinata, not that Hinata felt inclined to order a drink.

"You know, Hinata. A part of me always knew this day would come…but at the same time, I guess I got too complacent. Thinking we could just go on like this forever," Sakura said. She spoke steadily and it was hard for Hinata to tell how much she'd had to drink.

Hinata played with the ends of her sleeves. She was at a loss of what to say. If Ino, Sakura's best friend, had been unable to lift the girl's spirits, then what hope did Hinata have? Again, she felt like she was on the outside looking in. A poor replacement for a close friend. A placeholder until someone better suited came along.

And then as if she'd wished it into life, someone better suited did come along.

"Sakura! And Hinata too!" Tsunade said cheerfully, taking a seat. "Here I was worried this generation of girls doesn't know how to have fun!"

The server appeared out of nowhere with a tray full of drinks as if summoned by Tsunade's mere presence. Three glasses were set down.

"Kanpai, Tsunade-sama," Sakura said lowly, tipping the glass forward and spilling a few drops onto her already stained sleeve.

"Oh no, I'm fine," Hinata said.

"C'mon, Hinata. You shouldn't let your friends drink alone!"

With a sidelong glance, Hinata saw that Sakura was already halfway through this new glass. Picking up her own glass with both hands, Hinata hesitated. Under Tsunade's encouraging gaze, Hinata gave in and took a generous gulp.

"Kanpai!" Tsunade cheered, taking a long pull of her own beer. "So what are we celebrating, girls?"

Tsunade was a seasoned drinker, so it was really impossible for Hinata to tell how sober she was, much more than Sakura. There were no telltale signs, the older woman looked completely put together.

"Getting rejected," Sakura muttered, before downing the other half of her beer.

Tsunade's expression dropped. "I had hoped if there was one thing you learned as my apprentice, it's not to cry over boys."

"I guess I'm not that strong after all," Sakura said, eyes downcast.

Tsunade sighed. "You are. Or you will be. I shed a lot of tears before I got to this point. You're still young."

"Sometimes it doesn't feel like it."

Hinata felt Sakura's words in her bones. After the war, returning to regular life had been difficult. The ruins of her childhood home, the scars and broken bodies of her comrades, the new names added to the Konoha memorial. Sometimes she felt older than her age. She saw it in her friends' eyes as well, though they all tried their best to pretend otherwise.

"Don't write your life off too soon. Even I managed to live this long with all the drinking and gambling and three wars in between." Tsunade chugged the rest of her drink and slammed it down. Wiping at the corner of her lips, she declared, "I know you've had your heart set on Sasuke for a long time, but getting hung up on your childhood crush never did anyone any good. Letting go of mine early was the best thing I ever did."

Hinata blinked and then gaped. "Orochimaru?" she asked.

Tsunade wrinkled her nose and nodded. "Appearing mysterious and cool at twelve isn't very difficult to do. But let me tell you a secret: no twelve-year-old is cool."

"He was always so handsome and cool."

"Sasuke was," Sakura said mulishly, repeating the sentiment she'd shared with Hinata before.

Tsunade shook her head and Hinata found herself agreeing with the older woman.

Twelve-year-old Sasuke wasn't cool. He was barely coping.

"You may not believe me now, but the person you love at twelve isn't necessarily going to be the same person you love in your twenties. And the person you love in your twenties won't always be the same person you love in your thirties," Tsunade said. "Because you're not going to be the same person either." A wistful look entered her eyes. "If you'd told genin me how important Jiraiya would become to me, I'd have laughed in your face. At twenty, I'd have punched your lights out. I couldn't have predicted how much we'd both change."

Sakura didn't say anything, but an expression of thought crossed her face, as if she were really thinking over Tsunade's words. Satisfied, Tsunade turned to Hinata.

"And you, Hinata? No boy troubles?" Tsunade asked.

Hinata startled. As it often seemed to these days, dark hair and mismatched eyes flitted through her mind. She quickly shook her head.

Tsunade nodded. "Good. God knows I love that knucklehead, but Naruto's got a lot of growing to do himself. But you're all good kids. You'll figure yourselves out." She stood up. "Alright. Sakura, you've got the rest of the night to mope. Then I expect you to pick yourself back up and be back in the hospital bright and early." With those parting words, Tsunade left, long coat trailing behind her.

Sakura stared at the table with cloudy eyes. Hinata sat patiently beside her. Inevitably Hinata's thoughts drifted to Sasuke.

He had become such a staple in her life, a precious friend, and yet despite feeling so close to him, there were times she couldn't fathom what was going on in his head. Their kiss still lingered in the corners of her mind despite Sasuke's dismissal of it. All the while he'd touch her so gently and look at her so intently and it would feel like her entire body was going haywire.

If the emotions Sakura had been feeling for years were anything like what Hinata had been going through the past few weeks, Hinata understood why they wouldn't be so easy to forget.

Sasuke himself would be difficult to forget.

"Can I have this?" Sakura asked.

Hinata blinked. Seeing the pink haired kunoichi gesturing at Hinata's beer, she nodded and slid it over. Sakura drained it easily.

"Okay, I'm ready," Sakura said. She got to her feet surprisingly steadily and pulled on her coat.

The server rematerialized and Hinata settled the tab, paying for her, Sakura and Tsunade's drinks. By the time she was tucking her wallet away, Sakura was standing on the sidewalk, head craned towards the starry sky.

Hinata gave her a timid smile. "Let's go?"

They walked in a silence that wasn't quite comfortable. The heaviness of Tsunade's words hung over them. Hinata eyed the other girl carefully, worried she might stumble from the alcohol, but Sakura didn't need her help. When they finally reached Sakura's apartment, Hinata almost walked right past it.

"You didn't have to walk me home," Sakura pointed out belatedly.

Hinata shrugged awkwardly.

Sakura used both hands to try and tame her tangled hair, sweeping the messy strands away from her face. Though her motor skills hadn't been impacted by the drinks, the flush on her cheeks gave her away. "Hinata…I know we're not as close as we are with some of the others, but…I do consider you a friend."

Taken aback by the seriousness of Sakura's tone, it took Hinata a moment to respond. "I consider you a friend as well, Sakura-san."

The corners of Sakura's lips tugged into a mirthless smile. "I'm going to have to ask you to remember that. I'll see you around."

Hinata waited until Sakura had safely entered her apartment. Then she waited some more, feeling troubled by the interaction in a way she struggled to understand.

Somehow, she almost felt like she'd done something wrong.

Hinata was eating breakfast, when a hand snatched the bowl of miso soup from beside her.

"Nee-sama, will you train with me? It's been a long time since you have!" Hanabi said, taking a sip of miso.

"Hanabi," Hinata said scoldingly even as she pushed her plate of salmon towards her younger sister.

Hanabi eagerly ate a piece and made a pleased sound.

"Did you not eat? Let me make something for you," Hinata said, starting to get up.

"We can eat later! Sota's learning some bug thing with Shino-senpai and Akio's practicing ninken-related techniques with Kiba-senpai, so you have to train me or they're going to be unbearable tomorrow!"

Hinata laughed. "You know I'm always happy to spend time with you."

Hanabi looked a little embarrassed and ate another piece of salmon. "Well, you're always busy lately…"

Wiping away some stray sauce from her sister's cheek, Hinata smiled fondly at the younger girl. "Aren't you the busy one? With all your team training and missions? I heard you took care of the Nara yard all by yourselves. It took us three different teams to do that."

A prideful smirk crossed Hanabi's face before she hid it, wrinkling her nose instead. "It's just weeding. Barely a real mission."

"I'm sure Shikamaru-kun would disagree."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go, nee-sama!"

They made their way to the private Head House courtyard, Hanabi pouting when Hinata insisted they go through their katas first, complaining that she'd already stretched earlier.

Afterwards, the two sisters faced off. It was a swift spar, lasting only fifteen minutes. Hinata had Hanabi on the ground, gasping for breath by the end of it.

"Hanabi, breathe." Hinata helped Hanabi into a seated position. Hanabi let her sister move her, stunned.

"Since when are you that fast?"

"Hanabi, let your heart rate settle a bit," Hinata said, combing through Hanabi's mussed hair.

Hanabi made a face, but didn't speak for a few minutes. Hinata continued to comb through her hair even after she'd straightened it out.

"Sasuke-san is coming for tea again, right?"

Hinata paused for a second, letting Hanabi's hair slip through her fingers. "Mm. In a few days."

"Good. I'm going to ask him to spar with me."

Hinata smiled affectionately. "As you long you wait until after tea."

"Fine," Hanabi said, drawing the word out into a whine. "Will you braid my hair?" she asked, handing over a hair tie from her wrist and spinning around to give her back to Hinata.

"Oh! Sure. But you know I'm not as good as nii-san."

Hanabi shrugged. "Yeah, but nii-san pulls too tightly."

"Probably because you won't sit still," Hinata teased lightly. She started to weave Hanabi's hair into a simple braid. She admired her sister's straight, brown hair. So much like Neji's and their father's. So different from Hinata's own.

"Sensei started talking about the chunin exams."

"That's not for a few months, right?"

"Yeah. He wants us to sign up."

Hinata hummed. "You must be excited."

"I am! I want to be a chunin like you, nee-sama. I'm tired of people treating me like a kid," Hanabi said. "You know, Ryota was being a brat yesterday and I told Natsu-san that I never want to get married or have kids."

"Well, that's fine."

Hanabi huffed. "Natsu-san laughed at me. Said that I'd change my mind when I'm older."

"I guess that's possible as well," Hinata allowed. "People do change their minds sometimes. I don't think she meant anything by it."

Hanabi made a disagreeing noise. "You always think the best of people. Besides, you and Neji-nii-san do it too."

Hinata frowned down at her sister's hair. "Do we?"

"You do!" Hanabi exclaimed. "You…you're both keeping something from me."

Hinata bit her bottom lip. She looped the tie Hanabi had given her around the ends of the younger girl's hair until it held tight. "…We want you to be safe. And as we're older, it's natural to want to protect you. Those that come before should make it easier for those that follow."

Hanabi's hands pulled harshly at the grass beneath them, plucking several out at the root. "I just want to be strong and kind like you…people always tell me that I'm strong. But they don't say I'm kind. Not like you…"

Hinata ran her fingers down Hanabi's braid. "When people say that about me…they don't mean it in a good way," she said quietly. "But that's okay. It doesn't matter what they think."

Hanabi's hands untensed. Then she turned around, examining the braid before tossing it behind her back. "It doesn't," she said decisively. "Let's go again?"

Upon entering the room, Sasuke's eyes scanned all the exits as usual before he settled against the wall. Kakashi sat at his desk, flanked on either side by Naruto and Shikamaru. Neji and Tenten were in the center of the room, facing Kakashi. Sai ended up setting himself between Naruto and Sasuke.

"Alright," Kakashi said, as soon as the door was shut. "I've called you here to talk about the security detail for Naruto's succession party. It'll be a tempting target for nae-ROOT. Which makes it a good target for us too. Sai, I'd like you to investigate the ROOT hideouts where you noticed activity. Neji and Tenten will join you. If you can, it would be good for you to be seen at the party before you slip off. There'll be ANBU stationed at the event, but Shikamaru and Sasuke, I'll need you two on security as well. Naruto, you should focus on the formalities, but keep an eye out."

As the others nodded, Sasuke stepped away from the wall. "Why isn't Hinata here? She's the only one from the original Fujiwara mission missing."

"It's safer for her if she's not involved," Naruto answered before Kakashi could.

Sasuke stared at the blond. He hadn't seen him since offering to help with Fujiwara's sentencing, since…

Sasuke turned a glare onto Kakashi. "She's a kunoichi. I didn't realize you were letting Naruto decide to pull active ninja off the roster."

"I'm not," Kakashi said, shooting a look at Naruto. "Hinata isn't here because she'll have a lot of eyes on her with her position. She needs to be seen at the party, so can't participate in reconnaissance and won't be very useful as security. That's all there is to it."

"What does it matter to you anyway, Sasuke?" Naruto asked heatedly.

Sasuke squared his shoulders. "Just making sure you're not overstepping your bounds."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I think Hinata made it clear where you two stand."

Naruto flinched as if he'd been hit. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Sasuke. Things between Hinata and I…you're the one who's overstepping."

Feeling the chakra rushing to his eyes, Sasuke forcefully pushed it back. Before he could speak, Sai cut in.

"This reminds me of a story I read. I'm unsure if I'm assessing the situation correctly, but it seems as if Naruto and Sasuke are fighting over Hinata. But that doesn't make sense, as only Naruto has a romantic history with Hinata." Sai stroked his chin, oblivious to the awkwardness he had caused. "Unless…"

Sasuke let his bangs fall further over his rinnegan. He didn't know what expression he was making right now and didn't want anyone else in the room to see it either.

Neji spoke then, voice icy. "All of you are dishonouring Hinata-sama with your behaviour. Hokage-sama, I expect you to keep your former students in line."

Kakashi raised his hands in surrender. "Neji's right. Unless there are any questions about the actual mission, take this out of my office."

Shikamaru escaped first, muttering "troublesome" under his breath. Sasuke exited the Hokage's office, sensing Naruto at his heels. The moment they reached the hallway, Naruto was yelling.

"Sasuke, what —"

Sasuke whirled around, but found Neji had stepped between him and Naruto. Sai stood at the edge, observing the scene with interest.

"Naruto, I hope I misunderstood and you have no intention of interfering in Hinata-sama's mission assignments," Neji said evenly.

Naruto frowned. "That's not what I meant! The real question is why Sasuke's bringing Hinata-chan up at all." He met Sasuke's gaze over Neji's shoulder. "I'm tired of you not telling me what the hell is going on with you. What are you trying do here?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth, unable to answer the question. If he were honest with himself, there was a reason he hadn't seen Naruto since that day.

"Heh. You always gotta make things difficult, bastard."

Naruto knew.

Somehow, the dead last from the academy had figured out Sasuke's feelings before Sasuke himself.

And Naruto was right. What was Sasuke trying to do here? Hinata and Naruto's relationship had nothing to do with him. He'd already decided to stay out of it.

So why did he need to keep reminding himself of that?

"Okay let's cool the testosterone, boys. Doing this outside of the Hokage's office isn't any better," Tenten said from further down the hallway, pulling Sasuke out of his thoughts.

"Tenten's right, "Neji said. "Naruto, calm yourself. Sasuke, with me."

Unwilling to back down from Naruto's glare, it took Neji knocking into his shoulder to get Sasuke to finally turn away. He followed Neji out of the Hokage Tower and onto the path that led to the Hyuuga compound, stewing in silence.

Finally, after they'd walked a few blocks, Neji broke the silence. "Sasuke, due to your friendship with Hinata-sama, I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. However, no matter your intentions, please refrain from starting fights in Hinata-sama's name."

"Did you hear what the idiot said?" Sasuke snarled.

"Naruto putting his foot in his mouth is nothing new," Neji said.

"The Fujiwara mission has been hers since the beginning. It's bullshit that she wasn't in there," Sasuke said. Neji was silent long enough that Sasuke turned to look at him. The Hyuuga had an amused smirk on his face which pricked Sasuke's already short temper. "What?" he growled.

Neji shook his head. "I'm simply grateful that Hinata-sama's high regard is not one-sided."

Feeling his ears heat, Sasuke looked away. "Whatever."

Neji sounded all too amused when he asked, "You're coming to tea, yes?"

Sasuke grunted in the affirmative. Thankfully this satisfied Neji and they continued the rest of the way without speaking another word to each other.

"Whoa!" Ryota exclaimed. He tugged at Hinata's sleeve. "Did you see that, Hinata-sama?"

"Mm." Hinata smiled down at Ryota where he was tucked into her side.

Hanabi had kept true to her words and challenged Sasuke to a spar as soon as they'd finished up with their informal tea ceremony. Sasuke had looked at Hinata with raised brows and, not wanting to bother Sasuke but not wanting to disappoint her sister either, Hinata had given him her most neutral shrug. It had been a bit of a surprise when Sasuke took that as an endorsement and agreed to the spar.

Hanabi had excitedly taken off, leading the way to the dojo. Hinata had trailed after, less enthused by the destination. The brush of Sasuke's sleeves against hers had given her the sense of mind to hide her discomfort.

Of course with the Hyuuga compound being as insulated as it was, by the time they reached the dojo there was a crowd of onlookers. The sight of the Hyuuga elders had Hinata faltering in her steps. This hadn't escaped Sasuke and once again Hinata was compelled to push away her unease.

She didn't want to ruin Sasuke's visit with clan politics.

Ryota had been among the crowd and upon seeing Hinata had run over to her. His presence was a pleasant distraction from any bad memories the dojo held for Hinata.

"I guess Sasuke-san is kind of cool," Ryota admitted. He seemed a little intimidated by the Uchiha. Hinata couldn't blame him. She'd felt much the same not too long ago and Ryota was only nine. "But," Ryota continued, "Neji-senpai is way cooler! I bet he could beat him. Right, Hinata-sama?"

"Um." Hinata hesitated under Ryota's wide, honest gaze. "Well…"

While Ryota and the other children's interest seemed to be of pure curiosity, the same couldn't be said for most of the adults in the room. They eyed Sasuke with the same disdain as the villagers.

"What an interesting suggestion, Ryota-chan," Hayate said.

Hinata barely stopped herself from jumping. She discreetly pulled Ryota closer to her and away from the elder.

"A spar between two clan geniuses would be something to see," Hayate said. Then, with a sidelong glance to Hinata, he added, "Or perhaps a spar between yourself and the Uchiha, Hinata-sama? A demonstration of all that…training you've been doing together."

Shigeru and Wataru murmured in agreement. Sweat began to gather on Hinata's palms, but she refrained from wiping them against her pants.

"I'm not a show horse." Suddenly Sasuke was there, cloak on and hair unruffled, no hints of exertion to be seen. He angled himself towards Hinata, giving the elders his back. "You'd think they'd never seen a spar."

Peering around him, Hinata could see Hanabi's heaving shoulders from across the room though the younger girl still held herself with perfect posture. She was speaking to their grandfather, a petulant slant to her lips, likely unhappy to have lost even if she had expected it. Their grandfather said something and Hanabi's frown relaxed.

Hands clasped to her chest, Hinata took this in, unable to comprehend the ease Hanabi felt in their grandfather's presence no matter how often she witnessed it. Though she was glad that Hanabi had never been subjected to the same treatment from him, it was difficult for Hinata to wrap her mind around the man being anything but cold.

Then Sasuke was leaning closer, obscuring Hinata's view. "Let's get out of here."

Hinata released a quiet breath and mustered a pleasant smile for the elders. "Excuse us, we have plans."

Sasuke watched as Hinata looked around the Uchiha district with open interest.

It had always been his intention to bring Hinata back here after tea, but he'd gotten diverted by the invitation for a spar. Truthfully, Hyuuga Hanabi held little interest as an opponent, but Hinata's obvious fondness for her sister had swayed him. Hanabi's eagerness and Hinata's indulgence all too familiar a dynamic.

It was interesting to see Hinata with her family. The careful way they treated her didn't track with her deep-rooted insecurity until Hyuuga Hiashi made himself known. Perhaps time had dulled Sasuke's memory of his own father, but the Hyuuga patriarch's stifling presence seemed to outdo Fugaku's.

The instinctive way Hinata shrunk into herself had made Sasuke's blood boil. But then she'd straightened her back, lifted her chin and met her father head on. A steadfast protective streak beneath her gentleness.

It wasn't exactly unexpected. Sasuke knew she had it in her. Had seen it himself in short bursts. But confronting your family was different from confronting an enemy. One could cut much deeper without the need for a weapon.

Yet again it struck Sasuke how much she had grown since their genin days.

"I'm sorry for my family. They shouldn't have treated you that way," Hinata said. She was looking at him now, lavender eyes glinting in the afternoon sun.

"It didn't bother me," Sasuke replied. "But you looked uncomfortable."

"Oh." A look of surprise crossed Hinata's face. Then she smiled, a small thing. "Then thank you. For giving me an excuse to leave."

Sasuke looked away, running his hand through his hair. "It's nothing. Last time we visited the koi pond, so it made sense to come here this time." He started walking again, not looking at Hinata but making sure she kept pace.

She was almost looking at him in that certain way again. A hint of it hidden in the pearly depths of her eyes. A look that made Sasuke want to do stupid things. A look that he'd only seen directed at one other person.

A look Sasuke wasn't sure he wasn't imagining.

They walked in an easy silence. Birdsong filled the air and Sasuke noticed more and more growth along the grounds. It was a sharp contrast to the grim atmosphere of their first visit to the Uchiha district. Nothing had really changed about the streets or the buildings, but somehow through the grimness it was now emanating the faint suggestion of life.

Sasuke knew it had everything to do with the company.

Every now and then Hinata would stop to ask a question. Pointing at a spot, she would try to describe a vague memory, hopeful eyes silently entreating him to fill the gaps. And Sasuke did so every time. He had noticed Hinata's gaze wandering over to the Uchiha district during their training sessions at the docks and it was gratifying to see the result.

"This one sold sweets of some kind, right?" Hinata asked.

"Dango."

Hinata smiled. "Itachi-san's favourite," she recalled. "And this one…" Her brows furrowed in concentration.

Seeing she couldn't quite grasp the memory, Sasuke helped her out. "Customized fans. No two were alike. My father used to say the Uchiha mothers kept them in business."

Hinata tilted her head. "The mothers? I would have thought men would gift them to women," she mused. "Your mother did have a very lovely fan. She let me play with it a few times."

"It was an old clan tradition," Sasuke said.

Hinata hummed, accepting the simple explanation and not asking him to elaborate.

The flapping of wings rippled through the air, sweeping by them.

With a small gasp, Hinata activated her byakugan. She wandered off the street without a word, head raised to the sky. Following without question, Sasuke watched where she stepped with discerning eyes, looking for anything that might trip her in the overgrowth. It was a pointless action, he knew, but an instinctive one. Though Hinata didn't look like she was paying attention to where she was going, nothing would escape her expanded vision.

Hinata came to a stop at the base of a tree. "There's a nest!" she exclaimed. "It's a couple of mejiro and their hatchlings."

Her face was still upturned to the sky, but Sasuke felt the sensation of being observed. It wasn't prying like the eyes of the villagers or the other Hyuuga. The feeling passed as something else grabbed Hinata's attention.

"And rabbits too, over there!" Hinata pointed out into the distance.

There was a cluster of dandelions by her feet that she'd avoided disturbing. Step by step, Sasuke joined her. Following the direction of her outstretched finger, Sasuke easily spotted the brown fur despite how well camouflaged the pair of rabbits were. They were tiny things, long ears alert and nervously twitching.

"It's really springtime," Hinata murmured.

They were standing side by side, the few inches of space between their feet covered in untouched dandelions. Suddenly the wind picked up, whistling through the trees and getting caught in Sasuke's cloak and Hinata's gauzy skirt. The rabbits darted off, their movements inaudible over the wind and the sound of the chirping from the mejiro nest above.

Dandelion seeds scattered through the air.

They say spring is for love...the SasuHina romance is going to be ramping up again.

Thanks as always to my readers ^^

MVH