Day 12: Stay a little longer
Hinata resisted the urge to cry.
They were supposed to go slow… slow! He had promised her!
…ok, maybe he never actually promised her, but still…! Kissing her all of a sudden like that…! Just what was he thinking?
And to top it all off… he acted as if it was her fault. As if her sending him a love letter was enough justification to do whatever he wanted. He even called her a princess…!
'I guess a spoiled princess like you, who had never faced hardship in her life, would be unable to understand it…'
She stopped in her tracks, her eyes fixed to the ground as the bitter memory resurfaced. Just because she was part of the main house of the Hyuuga clan, it didn't mean she had an easy life, or that she was spoiled. In fact, she could barely remember the last time she actually felt carefree in her own home. The expectations put on her, those she wasn't able to meet…
Sasuke was wrong. She wasn't a princess. She wasn't.
"Nee-sama is frowning so much…"
Hinata gasped, turning to the side and finding, much to her surprise, the face of her precious little sister looking up at her with her big, deep eyes. Without realizing it, she had arrived at her compound while still being trapped in her own thoughts, standing just outside the main gate.
"H-Hanabi-chan! What are you doing outside…?"
"Natsu's going to take me to eat dango!" she exclaimed with a big smile, jumping up and down excitedly. "Father finally gave me a day off! Do you wanna come with us, nee-sama?"
Dango… it sounded nice, actually. And it had been a while since she spent quality time with Hanabi. Ever since their forced duel and her defeat at the hands of her little sister, they hadn't had time to be together as often as before. Not that they spent a lot of time together before, but at the very least they would see more of each other…
Hinata had a small feeling her father was purposely keeping them apart, now that she had shown how unworthy she was of being a Hyuuga of the main house, to keep Hanabi from being influenced by her… but she couldn't be sure. She didn't want to make sure either. Thinking of her father doing this kind of thing hurt too much to put it into words.
"Would you… would you like that, Hanabi-chan?" she asked, quickly dismissing any and all negative thoughts from her head, whether they had to do with her father or with Sasuke or with…
"Of course I want to!" Hanabi exclaimed, gasping as if surprised she would even ask that. "Come on nee-sama! Let's go!" she took her hand and started dragging her down the street.
Hinata planted her feet firmly on the ground, stopping her. "Wait, Hanabi-chan! Isn't Natsu coming too?"
"…she's taking too long!" the girl protested, stomping her foot. Hinata giggled.
"I also want to change my clothes before we leave, I…" she glanced down at herself, grimacing at the muddied state of her jacket and pants. Her face got hotter when remembering exactly how it became so dirty, but just as before, she vanished those thoughts from her head. "I just came from training, you see, and…"
"This is gonna take forever!" Hanabi complained, but allowed her to go change anyway. When she returned, Natsu was already there, giving her the same kind smile layered with pity that all servants did those days.
Hinata did her best to ignore it.
Itachi and Izumi were there when he arrived back home.
"What happened?" Izumi asked as soon as she saw his face. Itachi put away the book he was reading and looked at him as well. He guessed he looked very bad. Covered in mud, soaking wet, and if the frown on his face seemed half as bad as it felt…
"Nothing" he said, walking past them and ignoring their questioning looks. He had not time for them. He wanted to take a shower, and change his clothes, and…
"Y-Y-You pervert!"
He stopped just long enough to punch the wall, letting out a guttural growl in pure anger.
She called him a pervert! He, a pervert!
Just who did she think she was? After confessing to him, after he allowed her to date him… did she have any idea just how lucky she was? How many girls tried to get together with him but couldn't? How many tried to kiss him in the past?!
"Alright" Itachi approached from behind, grabbing his hand and effortlessly dodging all of Sasuke's attempts to hit him so he could get away, all the while keeping him in a tight hold. "Something happened. Do you mind telling me what?"
"None of your business!" he hissed, still trying to free himself, in vain. This was Itachi, after all. He'll have better luck trying to tear his way out of a concrete prison with nothing but his nails.
Seeing him in that state, Itachi exchanged a look with Izumi, who simply shrugged, just as helpless as him. Sighing, the older boy dragged his little brother back to the living room, despite his protests and continuous struggle.
"It is my business if you're trying to destroy the house, Sasuke" he said as he glanced towards the small dent he had left on the wall. Firmly, he sat him down on the couch, before crossing his arms waiting for an answer. His little brother looked away, puffing his cheeks and crossing his arms as well in a clear act of defiance.
"It's private. Even you have things you want to keep to yourself, no?" he answered rudely, like the brat he was.
Itachi was not faced. "I see. So this has something to do with Hyuuga Hinata."
Sasuke twitched, resisting the urge to let out an aggravated groan. Of course his brother would go right to the jugular. It was annoying, but he wasn't wrong… for a moment he relaxed, wondering if he should, after all, seek help. Itachi would probably know what to do in this situation, right? Or Izumi, who seemed a lot more knowledgeable about this whole dating thing, and since she was already here…
"Stop using what your brother's girlfriend told you as an excuse!"
That memory echoed in his mind as soon as he started considering getting advice from them. And so what if he listened to Izumi? If you didn't know something, wasn't it only natural to go ask someone with more experience than you?!
Still, Hinata's voice kept bouncing around in his head, and while gritting his teeth, he decided that, just for this once, he could go without their counsel.
However, he knew Itachi wouldn't let out until he talked, so, he took a drastic decision. That is, the decision to betray his brother. "Remember that time I found you kissing Izumi-san, and I asked you if she was your girlfriend and you said no…?"
Before the question was fully out, Itachi covered his mouth desperately, but it was too late. A heavy air descended upon the living room. Itachi glared at his brother, before slowly pulling his hand away and turning towards Izumi, who was standing there with her head hanging low, her bangs covering her eyes.
"Izumi…" Itachi started. Sasuke took advantage of the moment and got away from them, leaving them to their private, very awkward conversation.
As the days passed, temperatures lowered, and Hinata became accustomed, little by little, to the new routine of being a genin. Which meant, she was getting used to doing all the small jobs available within the village. For example, she was right now at one of the many bridges dotted across town, replacing the old wooden floor, and hammering away with her teammates as Kurenai-sensei supervised them.
It was a little more challenging than simply painting fences or finding missing cats, but still nowhere near what an actual shinobi was supposed to do. At least, that's what Kiba complained over and over about, to the point fights with Shino were commonplace, and even Kurenai was becoming a little tired.
Hinata, however, had a few other things to worry about than if she was doing something worthy or her shinobi title or not. More specifically, she was constantly worrying about a very particular problem of hers, that was related to a certain black-haired boyfriend…
It had been almost two weeks since their fight. And they hadn't talked or even seen each other in all that time.
Again, Hinata should be happy about this, or at least relieved. This was finally it, right? The moment he would become tired of her and break up. But… it didn't make her happy. She wanted to be with Sasuke… well, maybe not specifically with Sasuke, but…
She had a lot of time to think over their fight, as well as their k-k-kiss… Hinata shook her head, willing the heat to leave her face. Her first kiss, with her first boyfriend. That's what it was. And it was only natural, no? Just as Sasuke said…
Anyway, she had a lot of time to think about it and… maybe she was wrong calling him a pervert. She still thought he shouldn't have done that right after she asked him to go slow, but… but maybe she overreacted?
She knew that Sasuke wasn't really a pervert. Hinata might not know him that well, but someone like him, who could have any girl he wanted at any given moment, and never once took advantage of that… that is, obviously something strange was going on with him and the way he behaved towards her, but was it really just as he said, that he wanted to do his best because he never did things half-as.. he always did them all the way?
…she wanted at the very least to talk to him. Maybe apologize for calling him a pervert, and so open up the possibility to explain why it bothered her so much to be called a princess. There wasn't really a reason Sasuke should know why she took it so personally. It was an insult on his part, true, but not in the same capacity as to what she called him, at least as far as he was concerned.
But how to talk to him? Hinata was sure Sasuke must be very busy, just like she was. Maybe she should seek out Sakura and ask her… that would be a good idea. As long as she avoided telling her about the k-ki… that thing, she should help her no problem…
"Alright, I think it's time for a small break" Kurenai announced, approaching them from the side. Kiba groaned as he stretched, while Shino stood up silently, as always. Hinata dusted her pants, walking to their side as Kurenai gave each of them a bottle of water. "Fifteen minutes and then back to work?"
"When are we gonna do real missions…" Kiba grumbled before taking a gulp from his bottle, expecting no actual answer as this has just become a standard question from him. Akamaru barked his agreement, drinking some water from a bowl Kurenai brought him.
Surprisingly, instead of the usual sigh from the older woman seeking patience, Kurenai hummed, taking out a scroll from one of her sleeves. "Actually, I think you three might be ready for your first C-Rank" she said, causing Kiba to spit out his water in shock.
"Huh?!"
"It's a simple escort mission" their teacher continued talking, ignoring Kiba's theatrics just like his two other teammates. "A merchant wants some protection before going back to his village, which is just about a day and a half from here. I believe the three of you have waited enough for this type of mission, no?" she said with a motherly smile.
Kiba whooped, raising his fist to the sky with Akamaru celebrating by his side. "Finally! Something interesting! We did it, Akamaru!"
"I am honored that Kurenai-sensei considers us ready for a C-Rank" Shino nodded, as serious as always.
Hinata smiled shyly, playing with her fingers. "I am… grateful, Kurenai-sensei."
"There's no need for that. You have earned it" Kurenai dismissed their gratitude kindly with a gesture of the hand. "Now, the mission will begin tomorrow at seven in the morning, when you have to be on the gates of Konoha. Bring only the necessary, and don't forget to sleep and eat well before leaving. Understood?"
They all nodded, before starting to excitedly talk about the mission's details. Mostly it was Kiba asking, but Shino also enquired here and there. Hinata took small sips from her bottle, already going over in her head about what to bring to the mission.
That was when she saw Sasuke, walking in the distance with his team.
Without thinking, she quickly capped her bottle and put it down, excusing herself briefly with her team before running towards him. Behind her, she heard Kurenai asking her where she was going, and Kiba noting with a tone of annoyance the presence of team seven. Hinata felt herself getting red, but there was no time to be embarrassment. After all, she didn't know when she would see Sasuke again if she let this opportunity slip from her fingers.
Team seven noticed her presence when she was just a few meters away from them. Naruto was the first to announce it, voice loud and all-encompassing as always. Sakura looked at her with surprise, while Sasuke himself appeared stunned as well, though he quickly recovered and put on a mask of neutrality.
Hinata gulped, feeling her nerves flaring up now that she was here.
"Um, hello, Sakura, Naruto-kun, S-Sasuke-kun…" she started nervously, poking her fingers together.
"Hinata, hi! Man, it's been so long, right?"
"Hi, Hinata" Sakura waved, giving her a kind smile.
Sasuke remained silent.
"Sasuke-kun… can we speak in… in private?" she asked, doing her best to keep her spirits up. It seemed he was still angry, which she expected, considering all the other times they got into fights he came to talk to her first, and this time he didn't…
"…I suppose we could" he finally answered after a few excruciating seconds. Hinata sighed in relief, and the two walked away under the curious gazes of Sakura and Naruto. In the distance, she could see her own team also staring at them. It made her feel self-conscious.
"So, I-I wanted to talk about… about the other day…" she started once they were out of earshot from the others, allowing her heart to calm down. Sasuke frowned, looking at her with a raised eyebrow, but said nothing to either encourage or discourage her, so she continued. "I… I didn't like that you did that after I asked you t-to go slow… but it was no reason for me to call you a p-p-per…"
The more time passed without him speaking, the more nervous she became, until she couldn't form any coherent words. Why was he so quiet? By this point, he should have already said something!
Then, with her stuttering getting worse and worse, he finally seemed to take pity on her. Sighing, he glanced to the side and crossed his arms, before telling her; "Stop it. I get it. You don't need to say anything else."
"Eh?" Hinata pulled her hands to her chest, looking at him in astonishment. "Sasuke-kun, does… does this mean…?"
"I get that you're trying to apologize, and I accept that I shouldn't have kissed you after you specifically asked me to go slow… so it's alright, ok? I also… I…" he seemed to struggle with the words, reminding Hinata of his difficulties with saying sorry. After a few more tries, he grunted in annoyance, shaking his head as if wanting to get rid of some unwanted thoughts. "Whatever, now that this is resolved, let's go. It's been two weeks since we did something together, you know?"
"I… I know" Hinata nodded, a little surprised at how easy it was for Sasuke to accept her apology and how quickly he fell back to their usual relationship. Had he been waiting for her to approach him first? That seemed to be the case, but… well, whatever the actual reason was, there was still a point that needed clarification. "Sasuke-kun, don't you want to know why I became so angry when you called me a pr-?"
"Oi, Hinata!" she was interrupted by Kiba's voice, loud enough to carry all the way from the bridge. Turning around, she saw him waving at her, Akamaru resting on his head. "We need to keep working! Come back!"
"Ah" her eyes searched for Shino, finding him once more on his knees hammering at a piece of wood. Biting her lip, she glanced back at Sasuke, who had a sullen expression. "I need to…"
"You have a mission" he interrupted her. At her nod, he clicked his tongue, putting his hands in the pockets of his shorts. "Do you need to go back immediately? You could stay a little more…"
"I don't think I can take more time…" she sighed, before glancing towards Naruto and Sakura, who were still waiting, pretending to be occupied with something else, gazing at them from time to time. When they found her staring at them, they very obviously turned around, Naruto even pointing at a sign on the street as if it was the most interesting thing in the world while Sakura nodded over and over. She bit her lip to keep a smile at bay, looking once more at Sasuke. "Don't you have a mission as well?"
"Are you asking because the three of us are together?" she nodded. Sasuke snorted. "Supposedly, but that lazy-ass we have as a teacher always comes at least two hours late, so we have time."
"I see… anyway, I better keep going" she took a step back, her body half-turned towards the bridge. "Talk to you later?"
"Sure, till tomorrow."
She waved at him, and then sprinted towards the bridge. It wasn't until she was working once more, however, that she realized she hadn't explained anything about why she was angry, or told him about her mission tomorrow.