Day 20: Sudden confession
Sasuke was lucky, because the only one to find them was Kurenai.
The teacher took a look at them, shook her head, and then extended her arms to grab Hinata without asking anything, something Sasuke was infinitely thankful for, after spending the best of over two months with a team composed of some of the nosiest people in the village.
"I won't say anything, but please consider how it would look to the villagers if they saw you sneaking out at this hour of the night. If it's training you wish for, that can be done during daytime without a problem, especially since we don't really have much to do other than wait" Kurenai said as she turned around and entered her room, leaving Sasuke frowning at her words.
He wasn't the one who got out in the middle of the night to train… it's what he wanted to say, but there was no point arguing, considering Kurenai was gone and he still left the building even if it was for another reason. With a tired sigh, he finally went back to his room, hoping to catch some sleep and stop thinking about Hinata and what he saw of her even if just for a little while.
The next day, he was glad to find no one seemed to know about what happened the night before, although Hinata was, once again, avoiding his eyes, blushing into her bowl of rice for reasons he could not, as usual, understand.
Come to think of it, it had been a while since she last fainted… and although annoying, he could more or least comprehend the reason behind those times, unlike now, when the only thing he did was compliment her… sort of. Could a few words really have that type of effect on her? He didn't know.
"You're staring again" Naruto mumbled around a mouthful of egg, snapping Sasuke back to attention. He glared at the other boy, before continuing with his food deciding not to say anything this once. "Where did you go to last night anyway? You were like… an hour away. Did you have trouble pooping? That happens to me sometimes, and I really need to concentrate to get it out so…"
"Stop talking to me."
"So was it toilet problems?"
"I don't know how you can eat and speak about that at the same time" Sasuke huffed, shoving his bowl away. "And stop asking! My… toilet problems are none of your business."
"So you had problems taking a dump!"
"Keep it down!" Sasuke jumped at Naruto, covering his mouth with a sneer forming on his lips. "Stop talking about this, stop thinking about this!"
"Talking shit problems?" Kiba asked, joining in on the unwanted conversation. "Have you tried fiber? I know it sounds like an old person solution but man does it work. I eat it whenever I can't go and it really helps!"
"Eliminating excessive meat can also contribute to a healthy digestive system" Shino peeped in, adjusting his glasses. Kiba rolled his eyes.
"Meat's perfectly fine, eat fiber I tell you! And maybe try pulling that stick out of your ass? Might be making it more difficult for the poop to pass" he added with a snicker.
Sasuke groaned. "Enough, I'm leaving" he put down his chopsticks forcefully and stood up, tuning out the other three who continued their discussion over the best methods against constipation over their breakfast. As he did so, he raised his eyes and found, much to his embarrassment, that Hinata was finally looking at him, a blush covering her face as she no doubt heard everything.
As well as the rest of the table.
"If you need help, I know some home recipes that do wonders" Kakashi told him, his mask near his eye crinkling as he smiled. Sasuke frowned at him, before decidedly stomping away.
He needed to train and get his mind off the collective stupidity that seemed to haunt not only his team, but apparently also the male members of team eight.
"For a second there, it was like watching Itachi."
Hinata wondered if Sasuke understood the implications of that simple sentence.
There was no way she, useless, weak Hinata could ever compare to someone like Itachi. She, who allowed her little sister to defeat her and claim the title of heiress from her. She, who couldn't find a way to make peace with her cousin, always so distant and cold with anyone who came from the main family. She, who couldn't even get the courage to admit to her simple mistake of confusing the shoe lockers, thus giving Sasuke a love letter that was always meant for his best friend.
Hinata knew that she wasn't exactly bad as a ninja. She knew she was competent enough to have managed to graduate the academy and survive her few missions outside the village, whenever unpredicted danger would come. But that was it. She was competent, nothing more, nothing less. So, comparing her to the likes of Uchiha Itachi, the prodigy, the ninja among ninjas, the one rumored as the person that would one day succeed the fourth Hokage…
"I thought, for a moment, that it was incredible… and that you could do all that, even without knowing if water is your elemental affinity or not… made it even more incredible."
…it was beyond preposterous.
But she couldn't say that to the face of Uchiha Itachi's very own little brother. Moreover, someone like her, who didn't know the man personally… what could she probably say to Sasuke, who grew up his whole life observing and admiring said older brother?
Even thinking that there might be such a similarity between her, and someone who was recognized as the best of the best, it was enough to…
Hinata let out a pitiful sigh, remembering how she fainted after a long time of not doing so, simply because of such a comparison. A comparison she was completely unworthy of, but that had made her so happy that…
She covered her face with her hands, hoping to stave off the blush already growing there. She couldn't imagine herself reacting so greatly before… before everything, truly.
These past months with Sasuke… she didn't know why, but for some reason, they had been strangely eye-opening. Maybe it was because of how much time she had spent concentrated on Naruto, but… she never truly realized how alike the two of them were.
Of course, even thinking that would be ridiculous from the point of view of anyone else, including Hinata. Naruto and Sasuke were as opposite as the sun and the moon, night and day. Anyone could see that. But there were similarities. Like how hard the two of them worked towards their goals, or how they didn't let the opinion of others bother them as they kept working towards their desire future.
All the characteristics that had attracted her from Naruto were also present in Sasuke… except Sasuke actually paid attention to her, made an effort to be with her and get to know her. And it was, perhaps, this difference what was making Hinata's heart change, slowly but surely.
She wouldn't go so far as to say she felt for Sasuke what she felt for Naruto. Regardless…
"Can I ask you a question, Hinata?" Sakura's voice interrupted her train of thought, and she uncovered her face, glancing up towards her friend, who was concentrated on her own hands. She had been trying for the past days to get a hang of using wires in battle, and although far from being good at it yet, she was making fast progress. Her control was already way better than it had been just a few days prior.
"…what is it, Sakura?" she prompted when the girl didn't continue. Apparently, she had been so concentrated on her own work she hadn't even noticed Hinata's small melt down upon remembering Sasuke's words comparing her to Itachi. A good thing, too. She didn't know how she would have explained that without making it incredibly awkward for herself.
"It's about Naruto…" she started, finally lowering her hands and thus releasing the tension from the wires already crisscrossed across the trees. "Or more accurately, it's about what you feel for Naruto…"
"Eh?" Hinata widened her eyes, surprised by the strange topic. Sakura huffed impatiently, although it seemed to be more directed towards herself rather than towards Hinata.
"You've been dating Sasuke-kun for over two months… so I was wondering if something changed in regards to Naruto… do you still like him?" she finally looked at her, brows downcast as if she was worried about something. Hinata blushed again, feeling caught as she had just been thinking about it.
"I… why do you ask?" she dodged the question, earning a frown from the pink-haired girl.
"Don't do that. Please be honest with me" she said a bit sternly.
Hinata gulped. "It's just… this is too sudden. I want to know what brought this up."
Sakura looked unhappy, but nonetheless, she mulled it over until finally she sighed in defeat, starting to completely untangle the wires from her fingers.
"I ask because… because I think I'm starting to feel something for Naruto" she confessed, suddenly, abruptly.
Hinata gasped.
"You… you like… that is… you…"
"Ugh" Sakura covered her face with her now free hands, shaking her head forcefully. "Please don't even start! Even I don't understand it! It's just… have you noticed how he always trains and does his best even when things are difficult? Or how bright and comforting his smile is? I mean, obviously you must have noticed since you like him as well… but! It's just, he's always so attentive with me, and he takes his time to understand me and listen to me even when I'm just being silly and talking stupid girl stuff he's obviously not interested in and…!"
She took a deep breath, before letting her hands fall, although she continued hanging her head, staring at the ground with a blush that would be able to compete with Hinata's.
"And that's why I want to know if you still like him or not, and how things are going with Sasuke-kun. Because I feel bad about having these feelings, and you telling me that you've gotten over Naruto and are really trying to make things work with Sasuke-kun would alleviate me a lot… sorry for being so selfish" she hung her head even lower, leaving Hinata completely in shock and unable to say anything in the ensuing silence.
Sakura… she liked Naruto?
To begin with, it would be incredible hypocritical of her if she was angry with Sakura because of that, considering her current situation with the one that, not long ago, was her friend's crush. But more than that…
More than that, Hinata was surprised to discover that, although bewildered, she wasn't hurt. She… wasn't hurt, even after hearing Sakura, the girl Naruto liked, say that she liked him back.
She wasn't hurt and that… that was shocking in itself.
"Hinata?" Sakura asked, glancing up at her and making her realize she had been silent for far too long.
"Ah…! Sorry, I just, I was shocked and…" Hinata waved her hands up and down, feeling bad for leaving her friend hanging like that when she was obviously feeling distressed enough as it was. "I… I'm not angry."
"You're… not?" the other girl blinked, tilting her head to the side with surprise.
Hinata nodded, maybe a little too enthusiastically. "I'm not… in fact, I think I'm actually… happy?"
"Hinata?"
"Ah, I don't know how to explain it…" she looked down, searching for the right words. "It's not that… it's not that I don't like Naruto anymore… I do, even though I think it's not as it was before… but what you said, I… I find myself also feeling something similar but for…"
She stopped talking, her mind reeling because, for some reason, it was easier saying it than it had been thinking it. It was also an incredible coincidence, how hers and Sakura's feelings seemed to mirror each other, and for the same two boys…
"So you mean… you're starting to like Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked softly. Despite that, the question caused Hinata to take a step back, as strong and intense as if she had yelled.
Like… Sasuke?
Well, that's just what she was saying, no? And besides, besides…
"I… think so?" she said, before gasping and covering her mouth with her hands. Sakura stared at her with wide eyes, and for a moment, the two simply stood there, allowing the new information to sink in.
She… she was starting to like Sasuke, and it wasn't even a new realization. For some time now, she had been aware of her budding feelings, even if she didn't acknowledge them, or refused to acknowledge them…
Finally, Sakura let out a snort that she quickly tried to cover up by hiding her smile behind a hand. However, it was useless, and as abruptly as the snort had come, she started to giggle, for some reason Hinata following along after just another few seconds of confusion.
They giggled together, their laugh growing in intensity as the seconds ticked by. And then, after what felt like ages, when their sides were starting to hurt, they stopped gradually, looking at each other with big smiles and eyes a bit moistened by the effort.
"We are… both hopeless, right?" Sakura noted with another, small giggle. Hinata nodded, her cheeks hurting because of how her smile stretched her face, although she couldn't find it in herself to care.
"We are" she agreed, and they basked in the afterglow of their discovery, and their sudden confessions to each other.
Sakura liked Naruto.
And Hinata… Hinata liked Sasuke.
And it was alright. Better than that, even.
The only thing left… was figuring out what to do from now on.