Day 22: Talking through problems

Sasuke thought that something strange was going on.

Hinata had always been shy and awkward by nature. Even before they started dating at all, he remembered her sitting on her own corner, glancing around like some type of scared animal, wary of any predators jumping at her without warning. She tended to blush a lot too, for reasons completely incomprehensible to him. But…

But this was different. He couldn't exactly tell how it was, he just knew that it was.

And it wasn't just him complimenting her sometimes because she got something right during training, or did something that he honestly thought was amazing. It happened when he did something as mundane as get close to her to take a leaf out of her hair, or corrected her posture while throwing kunai and so on…

Something had changed, and he wasn't sure what, exactly.

He would have asked someone for help, but he didn't really have anybody. Naruto had even less experience than him, and Itachi had already showed to be useless when it came to this sort of stuff. The only other person that came to mind that wasn't his dad who he could ask was…

But no, he wouldn't ask him for romantic advice. Not in a million years.

"Hey! What's the littlest Uchiha doing pouting on all his own, huh?"

And speak of the devil…

"Shisui-san" he frowned, looking up from where he was busy sharpening his kunai on the engawa of his home overlooking the garden. The older man strolled with a big smile, confidence oozing out of every step. Sasuke remembered when he used to be excited whenever Shisui would come to visit. Now he was just annoyed because the man was insufferable in a good day. "Itachi's not here now. You'll have to come back later."

"So cold" he raised his hands and covered the area around his heart dramatically. "And who says I'm coming to see him? Maybe I wanted some of auntie's pastries, or maybe I came to see you…"

"Stop joking" he rolled his eyes, glancing back down. "If it's mom's sweets you want, she baked a new batch of cookies earlier in the morning. There must still be some in the cookie jar in the kitchen."

"That's good to know! I'll definitely have some later" he plopped down next to Sasuke without any warning, surprising the poor boy who couldn't hide his reaction good enough, making him chuckle. "But first there's something reaaaaally important that needs both our attention."

He patted his shoulder, causing Sasuke to glare at him once more. "What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? Itachi and Izumi, of course!"

Sasuke looked at him incredulously.

"I know, I know! It's none of our business and blah blah blah… but! Can you honestly just stand by and keep watching those two pine after the other without doing anything at all?" Shisui shook his head with a sorrowful expression. "I know I can't."

"And how do we step in, then?" he asked despite himself, because, just as Shisui said, Sasuke was also tired of watching his older brother be all moody and dejected, while pretending that everything was ok. It was honestly getting on his nerves.

Shisui's answering evil grin, however, had him almost regretting having asked at all. "Why, I'm glad you asked, littlest Uchiha."

"Stop calling me that. I'm not the littlest Uchiha."

"You see, Itachi's way too stubborn to listen to reason" the man started, ignoring his complain and draping an arm around his shoulder. "He won't go look for Izumi himself, and Izumi's too nice to come bother him as she should" he said exactly what everyone already knew of the relationship between the two. "Sooooo, we need to lay a trap."

"A… trap?"

"Yes! And for that, you're a key piece!" he pulled away, taking one of his kunai and spinning it around his fingers. "As you already know, I'm an incredible ninja, but even the incredible me can't really match up to a fully aware Itachi. For that reason, I'll need a distraction."

"…and I'm supposed to distract him?" Sasuke asked warily. Shisui nodded, still smiling but with a seriousness in his eyes he rarely displayed. He sighed. "I mean, it's true Itachi's way too good even for you…" he couldn't help but smirk slightly, feeling pride because, really, there wasn't anyone better than his older brother and… "ouch!" he pulled his hands to his forehead, where Shisui had poked him rather roughly.

"You're thinking rude thoughts, aren't you?" the man clicked his tongue while shaking his head in mock disappointment. "Really, today's youth's just too…"

"Stop talking as if you're an old man, you're only twenty" Sasuke rubbed his forehead, sliding a little away from him. "And anyway, what am I supposed to do to distract him? There's no way Itachi won't notice I'm up to something."

"You're a shinobi, littlest Uchiha. Deception is supposed to come naturally to you" Shisui drolled, before standing up. "Just talk to him about whatever. Give me some time to knock him out. I'll sort out the rest."

"Knock him… out?"

"Ahhh, yes, that's the part of the plan you'll let me sort out ok? We'll see how it goes afterwards" he glanced up, a hand on his forehead to protect against the sun, before smiling. "As a matter of fact, you better start deceiving now because Itachi is coming this way."

"Wait, what?" Sasuke turned around, not seeing anyone, but before he could say anything else, he heard a whoosh of movement. When he looked again, Shisui was gone.

That piece of…!

"Sasuke" the deep voice of his brother behind him sent shivers down his spine. Sasuke had not doubted that Shisui was right, and that Itachi was in fact there. It still disconcerted him how he could just appear out of thin air and surprise him, even with the man's warning. "You look tense. Is there a problem?"

He didn't sound accusative or anything of the sort. The boy still gulped, turning around slowly while trying to cool his features so he wouldn't be discovered.

He had to distract him. Regardless of how strange Shisui's plan was, there was only one option. But what to say?

"Hinata's been acting weird around me lately. I was just wondering if something strange happened or if I did something or…!" he blurted out the first thing that came to mind, only to want to hit himself immediately after. He didn't want Itachi to know about that, less of all his advice!

"Strange?" his older brother frowned, coming to sit next to him. He was wearing casual clothes, as it was one of the rare days where he didn't have any missions at all. "What do you mean strange?"

"Ugh" he glanced away, really not wanting to have this conversation. But he threw himself at it already, so… "I don't know? She blushes a lot more around me lately… and every time I get even a little closer to her she just… sometimes it looks like steam's coming out of her ears… it's weird."

He could feel Itachi's gaze on him, but he refused to look at his older brother. Truth to be told, Hinata's behavior wasn't really even that weird. If he thought, really thought about it, he had already seen her that way before. All blushing and bumbling and awkward… it was just not with him.

This line of thought stopped when he felt his brother poking him on the forehead. He yelped as he always did when this happened, and Itachi let out a soft chuckle at his reaction, as he always did.

"Foolish little brother… the truth is right before you, and yet you refuse to see it" he said, cryptically, annoying him.

"Huh? What does that even mean?" he asked, frowning. Itachi just smiled wider.

"Why, I think it's not my place to…"

In that moment, Shisui jumped from a completely improbable place and hit Itachi on the back of the neck with the hilt of his kunai. His older brother never even saw it coming.

Hinata sighed, her eyes rising to the sky despite the fact she wanted nothing more than to bury herself on the ground.

Why was she always like this when it came to her crushes?

Of course, when it came to Naruto it was different, as he never really paid that much attention to her. So the precious few times they managed to be together and she made a fool of herself where few and far between. She was pretty sure he simply thought she had circulation problems or something, if he thought anything at all, with the times she fainted when in his presence or hyperventilated.

With Sasuke, due to the sheer amount of time she spent with him, it must have been more noticeable. Even more so as he had a comparison as to how it was before. What must he think of her? Luckily they almost always met alone, so any embarrassment was left between only the two of them.

She sighed again, glancing down at the small patch of flowers she was tending to. It was at that moment that her companion finally decided to speak.

"Hinata-sama" Neji's voice startled her. She glanced at him, finding him staring at her with a frown of concern. "This is the fifth time you've sighed in less than a minute… is there a problem you would like to talk about?"

'I guess a spoiled princess like you, who had never faced hardship in her life, would be unable to understand it…'

Neji tilted his head, and she gulped. Even though it had been years since that fight, even though she had completely forgiven her dear cousin for harming her so… there would still be times when she would remember his cutting words. It was his words, more than his actions, what hurt her, and despite their attempts to reconstruct their relationship, sometimes the memories would get in their way, making everything so awkward and painful.

But Hinata knew better, and for that reason she always pushed forward, just as Neji did. No matter how difficult.

"It's nothing, Neji-nii-san…" she answered, giving him a small, subdued smile. Neji narrowed his eyes, but he didn't press, just as she expected, and the two continued taking care of the flowers in silence.

Honestly speaking, there wasn't really a problem. Just her usual inability to control herself properly. Nothing she could do anything immediate to solve.

After they were done, Neji excused himself, bowing down before walking in the direction of his quarters, located in the branch family section of the compound. Hinata watched him leave, her eyes glazing over a little as she wondered, not for the first time, if there was anything she could do to make their relationship less painful. Most of the fault lied with her, she knew, because she just couldn't forget what he said. If only there was a way for her to get over it…

She washed herself from any dirt in the bathroom adjacent to her bedroom, before taking her kunai pouch and making her way outside, towards the training field where she and Sasuke usually trained. She hoped to see him there, although she knew it was unlikely. From what he told her, Itachi seemed to have a rare streak of no missions lately; and he wanted to spend time with him, likely at their own home.

She walked the streets, greeting a few people who recognized her, until her eyes found the figure of a familiar person standing just outside the flower shop. Ino was not in Konoha today, being away on her first mission outside the village, so Hinata didn't expect to see her when she approached Izumi.

"Izumi-san" she said politely, bowing down. "What a surprise seeing you today… I hope you're doing well?"

"Ah, Hinata" Izumi smiled, a small thing that didn't reach her eyes. "Likewise. Going to train?" she asked, her eyes falling to her kunai pouch attached to her thigh.

Hinata noticed she avoided answering her question, but let it slide, taking it as her cue that things with Itachi were probably still not great. She nodded. "It's a nice day today, not so cold compared to others in late January."

"Indeed."

They stared at each other, a stifling silence forming between the two. Hinata had no idea why it was even there, and by the fidgeting posture of Izumi, she gathered the older girl didn't have much of a clue either.

It was strange, she realized a second later, because she was dating Itachi's younger brother, and unlike Izumi's with the older Uchiha, her relationship was working out just fine.

"Hinata…"

"Izumi-san…"

They closed their mouths, smiling stiffly. Izumi made a gesture for her to talk, but Hinata shook her head and insisted she did so instead. After another second of hesitation, Izumi finally relented with a sigh.

"I wanted to know… with Itachi…"

The dreaded question was interrupted by the arrival of someone else.

"Ah, look who we have here!" an arm was thrown around Izumi's shoulders, who gasped and leaned forwards slightly at the small push. Hinata widened her eyes, finding a man with the characteristic black hair and eyes of the Uchiha standing right in front of her.

Uchiha Shisui. Even she knew him by reputation alone.

"Shisui! Could you be more careful?" Izumi complained, the awkward air dissipating in favor of annoyance as she glared at him. The man chuckled, holding her tighter.

"I am always careful! Anyway, Izumi! There's something very important that needs your attention right now! Can you come with me?"

"What could it possibly…?"

"And of course" his eyes turned towards her, causing her to freeze at being the target of his attention. "Although it's a surprise seeing little Hyuuga Hinata here, she is very welcome to come as well. I've heard that you're dating Sasuke, right? In that case, I'm sure he will be delighted if you came with us."

"Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked, becoming excited. Shisui grinned.

"Yep!"

"Shisui" Izumi pushed his arm away, and he allowed it. She put her hands on her hips and leveled him with a serious glare. "What are you talking about? Why do I have to come with you? And why are you involving Hinata as well?"

"Well, as I said, Sasuke's already there, and it's always nice poking fun at him soooo…"

"Shisui."

"But this is actually about Itachi" his voice, as well as his expression, suddenly changed, from playful to serious. Izumi blinked, losing the fierceness in her eyes as worry started to take over.

"About… Itachi? Did something happen?!" she asked, stepping towards him, about to grab at his shirt, although she managed to stop herself at the last second.

Shisui nodded. "I would like to explain it to you, but it's better if you come see him yourself. Will you follow me?"

"If something's happening to Itachi, of course I'm going. Really, you should have said something sooner!" she started walking in the direction of the Uchiha district, Shisui right at her heels after sending her a look so she would come as well. Although Hinata felt this was none of her business, she was invited, and if something happened to Itachi, she wanted to be there for Sasuke if possible. "He's at the district, right? Is he at home?"

"He's at the district, yeah, but not at his house" Shisui answered, walking faster so he would take the lead.

Hinata followed, easily keeping up with the two older ninja, wondering just what could possibly be happening to Itachi that required Izumi's attention.

It's supposed to be 'talking through problems' but it's actually the opposite. No one is talking through their problems. It still counts I think, as a reversal of the prompt. And if not then I'm sorry.

Also, as you can see, the fight between Neji and Hinata still took place, but under different circumstances that I don't know if I will be able to fully disclose during the story. If I can't, I'll write a special note detailing what happened at the end, not to leave all of you hanging. As to why is their relationship so strained? Because Naruto wasn't part of the equation this time around. So despite Hiashi telling Neji the truth, the two still struggle.