Things might get a little steamy...

Chapter 66: Slip under my armour

"I think this is it," Hinata said. When she was met with silence, she looked up from where she'd been observing the chakra running through Minoru's ankle cuff to find its owner staring at her as if in a trance.

"Ah, you must find it strange," Hinata realized, one hand drifting up to where the veins around her eyes were bulging out. In a village filled with her clansmen, her classmates at the academy had still found Hinata's eyes disquieting enough to corner her and make fun of them. For Minoru, who had grown up surrounded only by the members of his own family, they must be odd indeed, even if he had seen her dōjutsu in action before. "Sorry."

Minoru shook his head in a jerky motion. "That's not — They're…never mind." He averted his gaze. "Here?" he asked, taking a step forward.

"Mm." Hinata made an affirmative sound, even as her brows drew together at Minoru's unfinished thought. "Careful," she cautioned as Minoru started to move, but he was taking a step backwards, not forwards.

Hinata and Minoru were at the outskirts of Konohagakure, mapping out the limits of Minoru's ankle monitor. Having ventured off the path into the forest, they were surrounded by the famous blooming greenery that gave the village its name. They were well into springtime by now, days slipping by bringing them closer from April to May. The forest had come alive again.

Up ahead, the trees grew even thicker, birdsong louder, but this was as far as Minoru could go.

So much of Hinata's life had been spent in that forest. Training with her team, studying insects with Shino, going on runs with Kiba and Akamaru, joining Team Gai with their practice drills, birdwatching with Neji, and, of course, missions: sprinting through the trees and sleeping on the forest floor. She couldn't imagine being forbidden from it.

If Minoru was bothered about being essentially trapped within the village, he didn't show it.

Hinata considered that perhaps Minoru had already escaped from his own personal prison. This, in comparison, was freedom.

Suddenly noticing that Minoru was regarding her with curiosity, Hinata shook her head and offered him a small smile.

They began retracing their steps from where they'd come. In Minoru's first week out of the hospital, they'd already covered the east side of the village where the Uchiha district lay all the way up to the northeast edges that belonged to the Hyuuga. Now they were due north, passing by the Hokage Tower.

Eyes catching on the distinctive red trio of buildings, Hinata's thoughts inevitably turned towards a certain blond shinobi she associated the title with.

"Hinata-chan! Minoru! My two favourite troublemakers!"

Naruto's voice brought an instinctive smile to Hinata's face as she turned in its direction. "Naruto-kun," she greeted as he jogged up to them, dressed in his usual gear. "Are you on your way to Ichiraku?"

Grinning sheepishly, Naruto nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Hinata simply raised her shoulders in a delicate shrug.

"So what kind of trouble are you guys making?" Naruto teased, falling into step with them. "Not to brag, but I'm sort of a master prankster — I can give you some tips!"

Glancing at Minoru first to see if he'd respond, Hinata ended up explaining. "Minoru-san and I are exploring Konoha."

"Bah!" Naruto exclaimed. "Not going to give the Hokage-iwa a makeover? Maybe switch out Sasuke's milk for an expired carton? Those are some genin classics."

Minoru crossed his arms. "Those sound like crimes."

Naruto balked. "They're just good old-fashioned pranks!"

"Illegal ones. Defacement of public property and administration of a noxious substance." At Naruto's blank face, Minoru sighed. "Vandalism and poisoning."

"Huh?" Naruto's head swung comically between Minoru and Hinata.

"Ah…we visited the library on our first walk. Minoru-san decided to borrow a book on the Konoha criminal code, so he can be better prepared," Hinata tucked her hair behind her ear. "I guess he's been studying diligently."

"Wow…" Naruto didn't seem to know what expression to make. He settled on saying, "That's very responsible…"

Hinata smiled. "I think so too."

Blushing, Minoru turned away with a quiet huff.

"Okay so exploring Konoha with absolutely no crimes or illegal pranks," Naruto concluded with a nod. "You've got a great tour guide then!" He elbowed Minoru playfully and received a mild glare in return.

Hinata shook her head. "Ino already did a good job with that," she said modestly. "We're really just wandering around."

"Mind if I join you guys?" Naruto asked, stretching his arms out. "Feels like I've been sitting the whole day."

"Of course," Hinata replied.

As they wound their way through the streets of Konoha, Naruto peppered Minoru with questions, initially receiving one-word answers but slowly dragging the boy out of his shell. It brought a sense of relief to Hinata to see Minoru interacting with Naruto. She feared her own lacking conversational skills might be hindering his progress in acclimatizing to a normal life and, outside of his sessions with Ino and a single visit from Miki and Oda, Hinata was one of the few people Minoru spoke with on a regular basis.

Naruto's bright presence was hard to resist. He'd managed to pull so many people into his orbit, even those who had once spurned him for being a jinchūriki. Given enough time, Naruto could melt even the iciest personas and, for all his bluster, Minoru was not nearly as cold as he tried to appear. He thawed easily within the bounds of Naruto's warmth.

Passing villagers paused to greet Naruto — Hinata as well, though she suspected she was more of an afterthought — and their curiosity regarding Minoru was evident. Each time, Naruto handled it in a way that expertly camouflaged his rather shrewd tact with an effervescent display of bumbling. He would introduce Minoru as a friend, briefly allude to him being new and getting settled in, before quickly moving onto a funny anecdote or inquiring about the villagers' lives with striking detail. Questions like: "How did Takashi do on his test?", "Is Hotaru-chan still only eating red foods?", "Did your order from Suna finally come in?" and "Did Konohamaru's team do a good job on your yard?".

Hinata took this in with admiration, content to watch Naruto in his element, participating only when a villager asked after her specifically or when Naruto drew her into a conversation — never in a demanding way, but more to make sure she, and Minoru, didn't feel left out.

"Tell Reiko-obaa-san that I'm looking forward to her homemade okaki!" Naruto called, waving enthusiastically at a departing villager.

"Hinata-san, is it okay if we stop here again?" Minoru's question was almost lost beneath the volume of Naruto's voice.

Hinata blinked, following Minoru's gaze. Taking in the familiar storefront, she nodded. "Of course. Would you like me to come in?" she asked, already anticipating the answer.

Minoru shifted. "…no. It's fine."

"Okay," Hinata conceded easily. Glancing at Naruto, she said, "We'll wait out here then."

With a brusque nod, Minoru headed into the store, Hinata and Naruto lingering on the sidewalk.

Naruto cocked his head. "What's that about?"

"Oh. Um." Though the other people on the street weren't paying them any mind, Hinata leaned closer in an attempt at secrecy. "Minoru-san has been buying food for the stray cats in the Uchiha district."

Naruto's blue eyes widened. "That's…so freaking cute!"

Hinata giggled, shushing him. "Minoru-san doesn't know I know," she said, giggling again when Naruto mimed zipping his lips. "Do you want to know something else cute?"

"Always," was the instant reply, an intent expression on Naruto's face.

Hinata cupped her hand beside her mouth as if to muffle her words. "The reason that stray cats hang around the Uchiha district…is because Sasuke-kun has been feeding them from the start."

Forgoing his previous promise to keep quiet, Naruto threw his head back in laughter. The sound was so infectious that Hinata couldn't help but to join him, also abandoning any discretion.

"Minoru-san hasn't realized. I think Sasuke-kun has, but he's still feeding them too. So now the cats are getting chubby," Hinata said, the words coming out haltingly between giggles and only serving to set them both off again.

Eventually their laughter petered out and when Hinata looked up, she found Naruto looking back at her tenderly.

"That is really cute," Naruto said, voice soft.

Hinata smiled. "You have to promise not to mention it to Sasuke-kun."

"I swear," Naruto said solemnly. "So, is Minoru doing well there?"

Hinata hummed. "It's hard to say…it's only been a week. Sasuke-kun says he stays inside when they're working, but when I stopped by to tend the garden he ended up joining me. Hanabi tried to talk to him then, but…um. She ended up leaving a little frustrated. And he hasn't left the district except for when we go on walks."

Naruto listened attentively. "I thought he was going to spend time with Miki and Oda? And he has to see Ino, right?"

"They came over to visit for a little bit. Minoru didn't go out," Hinata disclosed. "And Ino came to the district, since she wanted to drop off some more clothes."

"Hm. I guess it's pretty early to be getting worried," Naruto said. "The rest of his check-ins with Ino should be at the hospital, right?" At Hinata's nod, Naruto continued, "So that's one thing. Then…maybe we should think about getting him involved in something around the village. What sort of things does he like? Reading? Gardening?"

Hinata's brows drew together as she considered the question. "Reading…I'm not sure. Minoru-san didn't really look at any of the other books in the library. Gardening…to be honest, it didn't look like Minoru-san was enjoying it much. I think he was just being helpful," she said, missing Naruto's eyebrows raising. "But…" Hinata started, thinking of the cat food Minoru had been spending his stipend on and how fascinated he'd been by the messenger bird at the hospital. "I think Minoru-san is fond of animals."

"Animals? Like the cats?"

Nodding, Hinata said, "Birds too, I think."

Naruto scratched his chin thoughtfully. "That could work. I'll figure something out."

Lavender eyes softened. "Thank you," Hinata said sincerely. She knew, of course, that her friends were also looking out for Minoru, but it was nonetheless comforting to hear it aloud.

Naruto simply shot her a crooked grin. "And how's Sasuke doing? He's been turning down all my invites to spar. He seems fine when I come by to help out with the rebuilding, but…" Naruto shrugged. "You know how he is. It's hard to tell sometimes."

"Sasuke-kun is…" Hinata trailed off, tapping her fingers against her bottom lip. "Good…" she finished.

The Uchiha district reconstruction was coming along really well and Sasuke seemed to be adjusting, no longer needing to take as many breathers away from the noise. He was still strengthening his control over his rinnegan and helping her with the tenseigan. However, since she'd revealed the evolution of her dōjutsu to Neji and Hanabi, they had both been eager to support her as well. Sasuke sometimes stuck around, but just as often he wouldn't, either choosing to give them space or preferring to focus on his own training.

As silly as it sounded, Hinata had started to miss him. They were still together more often than not, but it was different. In fact, although she had always intended to visit Minoru today, Sasuke needing to take care of some undefined business had decided the exact timing.

And now that she thought about it, she and Sasuke hadn't truly sparred at all in the past week either. If he wasn't sparring with her or Naruto…it was unlike Sasuke to abstain for that long.

Coming back to the present, Hinata realized Naruto was still looking at her searchingly. "Sasuke-kun is busy, but he's doing well," she said more surely.

"That's good to hear. He hasn't been on a mission in a couple weeks — I thought he'd be going stir crazy, but every time I see him he looks the same. Maybe I'm the one going stir crazy," Naruto mused.

"Oh." Hinata's lips curled into a concerned moue. "I know the apprenticeship is a lot of work. Has it been getting tougher?"

"Not exactly…" Naruto said, brows furrowing. "It's just, outside of nae-ROOT, it feels like the only missions I've been on in months are diplomatic ones."

Hinata tilted her head to the side. "Well, there's been a lull in missions since the war ended," she reminded him. When she'd gone by the Ninmu Uketsuke herself, the only offerings had been routine patrols of bandit-prone roads, just barely considered C-rank and better left to genin teams eager to get more real-world experience. "And…isn't that normal? Diplomatic missions would be best for helping you prepare to be Nanadaime."

The line between Naruto's eyebrows only deepened. "Yeah…you're right."

Surveying him from beneath her bangs, Hinata softly asked, "Naruto-kun…is something wrong?"

Naruto startled, frown easing away to make way for surprise. "Ah, no! Nothing's wrong!" he said, voice a little too insistent, grin a little too wide.

Hinata worried her bottom lip, unconvinced. Finally, she said, "If there is…you can always talk to me."

Naruto's smile became smaller, but more real. "I'm not really sure what's wrong," he admitted.

"It can be like that sometimes," Hinata said, sending him a sympathetic look.

For a moment Naruto seemed to be lost in his head, gaze aimed somewhere far away. Then the moment passed and his blue eyes locked with Hinata's lavender pair, almost making Hinata gasp with the intensity in them.

"And you?" Naruto asked. "How are you, Hinata-chan? Really?"

Hinata didn't know if she would ever get used to Naruto looking at her that way. Like he cared. Truly cared.

Naruto's heart was big enough to hold the world, extending grace to both his allies and enemies. That was what had drawn Hinata to him. His freely given kindness, so different from what she'd started to expect from the world at the young age of five. As they grew older, Naruto had continued to show her kindness in their fleeting interactions, but it was to the extent that he would show any comrade. Still, it had been more than enough for Hinata. She hadn't dared to want more.

But somehow, over time, she'd gotten more. The amiability in Naruto's blue eyes had deepened, his expression resembling the one he gave to his precious people: Iruka, Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, Jiraiya.

It had happened so slowly, Hinata hadn't noticed the change.

Once she had, it had knocked the breath out of her.

Every now and then, it still had the power to wind her.

With a soundless gasp, Hinata looked up at Naruto dumbly.

He waited patiently.

Finally finding her voice again, Hinata replied, "I'm fine, Naruto-kun. It's been challenging sometimes, but…I'm starting to feel like things will work out."

"They will," Naruto said confidently. "Whatever it is, I believe in you completely. You've proven that when you set your heart on something, you'll make it happen no matter what. Because your belief…it changes the hearts of the people around you, until they're on your side too."

Blood rushed to Hinata's cheeks, but despite her embarrassment at the praise, she held her head high with pride. "I learned from the best," she said.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Yeah?" he asked shyly.

Hinata bobbed her head in a fervent nod.

"The reason that I wanted to be Hokage…" Naruto started tentatively, "It was because I wanted to change the way people saw me. I wanted to change their hearts. I thought…if I can become someone great, becoming Hokage would be the ultimate proof. Because you have to be strong and great and loved to become Hokage." Naruto ruffled his hair again nervously. "People look at me differently now, like I always wanted them to, but a part of me still thinks…until I become Hokage, it doesn't mean anything."

"It does mean something," Hinata said earnestly. "You've always been great and everyone sees it now. A title won't make that anymore real. It's already true."

Naruto said nothing, silently contemplating her words. Averting her gaze to allow him some semblance of privacy, Hinata's eyes caught on Minoru's curious face. He was standing outside the store, plastic bag in hand, staring at them. It seemed like he'd been there for a while.

"Oh! Minoru-san," Hinata said.

Naruto straightened, draping a jovial attitude over himself like a cape. "Minoru! All set?"

Brown eyes moved from Hinata to Naruto and back. Then, Minoru nodded.

By the time Hinata and Minoru reached the Uchiha district gates, they were alone once more, having lost Naruto to Ichiraku. The blond shinobi had tried to persuade them to join him, but Minoru had turned his nose up at the ramen shop, leaving Hinata to follow him with only a conciliatory smile to Naruto.

Rather than entering, Minoru lingered by the gates. A distant 'meow' had Hinata biting back a smile.

"I'll leave you here," Hinata said. "Thank you for spending time with me today."

Minoru's mouth twisted in embarrassment. "…you're welcome," he muttered.

With a shallow bow, Hinata started to leave, but stopped at the call of her name.

"Hinata-san…" Minoru paused awkwardly. The plastic bag he was holding rustled as his hand clenched and unclenched. "Naruto-san…he's a pretty cool guy. But…Sasuke-san is cooler."

"Eh?" Hinata tilted her head, regarding Minoru with bewilderment. He met her gaze resolutely for a minute, before tearing his eyes away.

"…that's what I think at least," he said, before hurriedly sliding through the gates.

The sound of the gates swinging shut woke Hinata from her stupor. She glanced around for an explanation, but found none. "Eh?" she repeated, this time to herself.

Soaring above the forests of Konoha, Sasuke trusted Garuda to keep them aloft and instead directed his gaze towards the girl sitting behind him. With his neck twisted at an uncomfortable angle and his hair whipping back and forth from the force of the wind, it was difficult to make out the fine details of Hinata's face as she scoured the area beneath them with her byakugan enhanced vision.

"There." The sound of her voice was made inaudible by the beating of the hawk's wings and Sasuke barely saw her lips form the word, so it was her extended arm pointing to the exact location that clued him in.

Nodding, Sasuke guided Garuda downwards. The hawk summon dove down sharply, wind rushing past them at speeds powerful enough to give the sensation of tiny blades against their skin. Hinata's arms tightened around Sasuke's middle and when he craned his head back he saw that her eyes were squeezed shut. A little amused, Sasuke slowed their descent and led them steadily to the ground. When Hinata still didn't loosen her grip, Sasuke lay his hand on top of hers for a moment before gently unclasping her fingers from his shirt.

As Sasuke dismounted from Garuda, the hawk summon ruffled its feathers, sending the wing nearest to him into his left arm. The pain ricocheted through his arm and Sasuke couldn't hold back a wince. What was left of his amputated arm was more sensitive than it had been since he first lost it.

His eyes darted to Hinata and found hers only just fluttering open. Smoothing out his expression, Sasuke helped Hinata climb down, a feat she managed gracefully despite Garuda's size and her own shorter stature.

A second hawk swooped down at a much more turbulent velocity. Though he'd kept Garuda controlled, Sasuke had let Amihan set her own pace and she'd apparently chosen to show off.

Hanabi let out a loud "whoop" as they touched down, hopping off Amihan's back spritely. On the other hand, Neji's features were shadowed with annoyance. It seemed he'd lost his hair tie somewhere in the flight, his brown locks now falling freely around his shoulders in a tangled mess.

Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek to hold back a laugh at seeing the normally stoic Hyuuga in such disarray.

Hanabi had no such compunction, despite being in a similar state. She laughed loudly, tugging playfully at the ends of Neji's hair. "Is this what you look like when you wake up, nii-san?"

Neji's eye twitched.

Retrieving a tie from her kunai pouch, Hinata offered it to Neji who took it gratefully. Then, as if remembering himself, Neji put some distance between them. "Thank you, Hinata-sama," he said stiffly.

Hinata's face fell and Sasuke had to hold himself back from snapping at the eldest Hyuuga, knowing it would only distress Hinata more.

Hanabi rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Nii-san sure can hold a grudge," she said under her breath.

Sasuke silently agreed. Aloud, he asked, "Where is it?"

"Oh!" Hinata activated her byakugan, having dispelled it during their landing. Hanabi and Neji followed suit.

"Whoa!" Hanabi exclaimed. Neji didn't react audibly, but an expression of awe crossed his face.

"This way," Hinata said, gesturing to the right for Sasuke's benefit.

With a parting nod, Sasuke left his summons to their own devices. They could dismiss themselves if they so wished. He'd be able to return their party of four to Konoha with his rinnegan once they were done.

The four of them traversed the forest, Sasuke keeping his gaze trained on Hinata's back. After several minutes, a cave came into view and Sasuke straightened, rinnegan swirling of its own accord. The pool of chakra hadn't been visible to him from a distance, the byakugan unmatched in its range of vision. Now, however, it was impossible to miss.

They entered the cave and while Sasuke, Hanabi and Neji instinctively stopped when the large reserve of growing green liquid came into view, Hinata continued right up to the edge. Upon noticing this, Neji was quick to catch up to her, hovering protectively.

"This is giving me a headache," Hanabi said with a grimace. At Sasuke's questioning look, she explained, "It's all…murky. I can't see past it at all which isn't normal. Isn't it the same for you?" She pointed crudely to her eyes with the forefingers of both hands.

Sasuke eyed the pool. It looked like a basin of chakra which was unusual in and of itself, but otherwise nothing jumped out as out of the ordinary to his rinnegan. Gaze sliding from the pool to Hinata crouched directly in front of it, Sasuke wondered, not for the first time, what exactly she was seeing with those eyes. Realizing Hanabi was waiting for a response, he shrugged.

Hanabi made a face at the non-answer.

"Is this safe?" Neji asked, though it was hardly a question since it was clear that he had already decided it wasn't.

"We swam through it before quite safely," Hinata assured him. His look of poorly concealed horror reminded Sasuke that Neji had been away on a mission during the Ōtsutsuki ordeal. Based on the reaction to something as innocuous as this, Sasuke couldn't imagine hearing the rest of the story had gone over well.

"In that case…if we need to enter through here, allow me to go first, Hinata-sama," Neji said. "After all, I am your protector."

From beside Sasuke, Hanabi mouthed the words along mockingly. "He's got such a sister complex," she said.

"But he's still angry with her," Sasuke noted.

Hanabi sighed. "Anger's a strong word. Trust me, this isn't what he looks like when he's angry. But he is upset. Chichiue stopped training nee-sama a long time ago. None of the Sōke would help her and none of the Bunke could, so nee-sama had to teach herself how to hone her byakugan. Nii-san did too, for different reasons," she said, an edge of discomfort entering her voice. "Then…when they started getting along better, they trained together. I think nii-san likes being the one she relies on for things like that."

Sasuke studied the two cousins. They were both reserved people, respectful of personal space, yet there was a comfort in their body language that spoke of a closeness undiminished by the current figurative distance. "…he doesn't want to go back to being alone." Sure, they had their teams, and their friends, but it wasn't the same. These things couldn't replace their shared blood and upbringing, childhood wounds brought about by opposite edges of the same sword. "He's scared and hurt. And embarrassed to have shown it."

"Yeah," Hanabi agreed. "I get it, but it's dumb. Nee-sama wouldn't want him to feel embarrassed for being honest with her about his feelings."

"That doesn't make it easy."

Hanabi snorted. "Tell me about it. You want emotional repression, look no further than the Hyuuga clan."

The truth in her words struck Sasuke. By all appearances, Hinata was an expressive person, unable to prevent her feelings from being broadcast on her face. Yet at the same time, there were emotions that Hinata considered shameful. Ones she buried deep and pretended weren't there.

An image of Hinata on a swing, downtrodden and drunk, passed through Sasuke's mind.

"Do you think I'm being selfish?"

There was a twisted kind of humour in that. Where Sasuke had embraced his negative emotions, rejecting the positive to avoid weakness, Hinata had done the opposite, clinging to positive emotions as a lifeboat from the negative ones threatening to drag her down.

But she'd shown them to him. Her fear, her sadness, her despair.

And she'd quieted his own, drowning them out with downright buoyant feelings he didn't know he was capable of.

A gasp wrenched Sasuke's awareness back to his surroundings.

Hanabi skipped forward. "So cool!" she said, squatting down beside her sister to get a close-up view of Hinata's tenseigan in action.

Neji, too, appeared captivated. That didn't stop him, however, from snatching one of Hinata's wrists in his hand when she started to lower them into the pool of chakra.

"Hinata-sama," he said warningly.

Unperturbed, Hinata smiled gently. "It's okay, Neji-nii-san." Slowly, she pulled away. "I'm not sure if it will work, but…I'm going to try to detect if there's any connection left between the Earth and the moon."

Sasuke approached, standing near enough for Hinata to feel his presence. She glanced his way briefly, her smile taking on a particular slant that was his alone. Then, angling her face forward, Hinata carefully dipped her hands into the chakra.

A look of deep concentration settled on Hinata's face. Sasuke's rinnegan whirred in his head in a futile attempt to see what Hinata was seeing.

"There's…something. Almost like a…thread. If I can just follow it and see where it leads…" Hinata narrated. "I can't exactly describe it, but it feels a bit like I'm trying to — to force open a locked door." She paused, biting her lip. "It feels a bit rude. I wish there was a way for me to…knock?"

Sasuke huffed out a laugh at Hinata's polite nature rearing its head now of all times. "I wouldn't feel too bad considering Ōtsutsuki didn't ask permission before invading Earth."

Hanabi snorted and even Neji's lips quirked in amusement. "Yeah, nee-sama, kick that door down!" Hanabi crowed.

Hinata pursed her lips against a smile before her features grew focused again.

Nothing happened for a while, at least nothing discernable. But Sasuke spotted the tension growing in Hinata's frame, droplets of sweat staring to dampen her bangs. The otherworldly blue of her tenseigan shone in the dim light of the cave and Sasuke recognized the signs of her starting to lose herself to its power. He almost reached out, but then saw her pull herself back, the fruits of all her training.

All of a sudden, Sasuke realized that something that changed. The pool of green liquid, which had been emanating a faint glow from the start, had grown incrementally brighter. It had happened so gradually that he hadn't perceived it at first. In fact, he only noticed because it abruptly dulled back to its initial state.

Hinata breathed heavily, blue eyes fading back into lavender. Withdrawing her hands, Hinata lay them flat on her knees. "I could feel it. The pathway," she said softly. "But it was so…immense. I couldn't see the other end." Long midnight hair sheltered her face from their view.

"Hinata-sama…"

"Nee-sama…"

Both Neji and Hanabi wore expressions of worry.

Remaining silent, Sasuke instead watched Hinata with anticipation. His mismatched eyes traced up the curve of her spine to the dip of her neck, down the ends of her hair brushing against her thin fingers.

"I can do it," Hinata said. When she raised her head, there was a determined glint to her eyes. "I'm sure I can, if I train harder." Her gaze met Sasuke's and he smirked.

"Then we'll train harder," Sasuke said. Hinata beamed back at him in response.

Eyes lighting up, Hanabi shot to her feet. "I'll help! We can meditate together!"

Hinata smiled dotingly. "Of course."

"Hanabi-sama, you hate meditating," Neji said dryly.

"Doesn't mean I can't do it!" Hanabi clung to Hinata's shoulders, sticking out her tongue at Neji.

Turning within her younger sister's embrace, Hinata looked up at Neji with imploring eyes. Neji softened. "I'll assist in any way I can, Hinata-sama."

Hinata's eyes glimmered. "Thank you, Neji-nii-san." Her joy was palpable, wrapping around Sasuke, making him feel part of the moment although he was an outsider.

"Can we head home now?" Hanabi asked. "I'm hungry."

The twinge of disappointment Sasuke felt was faint, but very much present. Since their talk at the Naka Shrine, Hanabi and Neji had been insistent on inserting themselves into Hinata's exploration of the tenseigan. It was understandable, but despite passing the majority of his time with Hinata by his side, Sasuke still begrudged the intrusion.

He was selfish like that.

But then Hinata's gaze left Neji, moving to her sister and finally settling on Sasuke. "Let's go back," she agreed. Though she was addressing her sister, Hinata's eyes, warm with happiness, never left Sasuke's. "But please eat without me, I have other plans."

Feeling full and satisfied, Hinata leaned away from the kitchen table, eyes tracking Sasuke as he wiped the wooden surface with a cloth. His overgrown bangs hung over his eyes and though he seemed unbothered, Hinata's hand unthinkingly raised up to carefully tuck his hair behind his ear.

Mismatched eyes met hers and Hinata observed with fondness as the tips of Sasuke's ears pinked. It was sweet how these types of sentimental gestures seemed to affect him.

"It's grown," she mentioned, drawing her hand back.

Tossing the cloth in the sink, Sasuke pulled open one of the kitchen drawers and retrieved a pair of scissors which he proceeded to slide over to her.

Sasuke's abruptness only surprised Hinata a little. Accepting the scissors, Hinata pushed herself out of her seat. In the mean time, Sasuke disappeared briefly and returned with a comb and his hair soaked wet. Dropping the comb onto the table, Sasuke sat down and turned an expectant stare to her.

Hinata felt a little nostalgic as she approached Sasuke, but the differences between now and the last time she'd cut his hair were numerous enough that it felt like a novel experience.

Whereas before she'd taken great pains to keep a comfortable distance, the definition of a comfortable distance between herself and Sasuke had greatly changed. She wasn't frazzled, praying to a higher power not to mess up under his penetrating gaze. No, Hinata was wholly at home being the singular point of focus for a pair of eyes made up of two of the four legendary dōjutsu.

She made quick work of the back of Sasuke's head and when she circled back around, Sasuke spread his legs, making room for her. As she stepped into the space he had made for her, Sasuke tilted his head up to meet her gaze.

A smile tugged at Hinata's lips. "It'll turn out uneven if you do that," she scolded lightly, using her fingers to guide Sasuke's chin back down. Although her position was a little better than the last time she'd done this, Hinata still had to bend a little awkwardly.

"Tch." A large hand cupped the back of Hinata's thigh, just above the hollow of her knee, and pulled. Simultaneously, Sasuke brought his own legs together to give her a seat to land on.

"Eep!" Hinata dropped onto Sasuke's lap haphazardly, her right side going down first where Sasuke's lone hand had hauled her into him. Her arm jutted out at a strange angle from her attempt to keep the scissors away from Sasuke's hair during this unplanned change in position. "Sasuke-kun! That was dangerous!"

"You're a kunoichi," Sasuke said, unrepentant.

Hinata pursed her lips. "Dangerous for your hair," she clarified.

Mismatched eyes sparkled with mirth. "You think I'd look bad with short hair," Sasuke accused, deliberately missing the point.

Hinata wanted to tease him back, but found herself unable to suggest that Sasuke would look anything but handsome in any state. A hot blush painted her face. "Th-That's not the point," she mumbled, averting her gaze to the overgrown bangs that had incited this situation.

Sasuke hummed, apparently satisfied with her reaction.

He was no longer actively touching her, his hand resting idly by his side, but Hinata could have sworn she felt the energy crackling in the scant centimeters between his fingertips and her thighs. His body was a furnace beneath her and Hinata's mind slowed. There was no reason for trimming Sasuke's bangs to take this much longer than the rest of his hair. Fortunately, there were no more interruptions from Sasuke and Hinata was able to finish without incident.

As she leaned back, Hinata unintentionally jostled Sasuke's left arm. The minute pinching of his face was amplified up close. "Sorry," Hinata whispered, reluctant, not to apologize but to draw attention to his pain.

Hinata didn't want to pry, but being a tracking ninja made it impossible for her not to notice the schedule of Sasuke's mysterious disappearances and the resulting soreness in his amputated arm afterwards. After a lot of back and forth in her own mind, she'd been unable to resist storing a handmade analgesic balm in Sasuke's bathroom cabinet. She'd compromised by not bringing it up, instead quietly checking as it gradually emptied so that she knew when it would need replacing.

They'd entered a wordless agreement and Hinata was content to leave it up to Sasuke when to end it. His health was only her business insofar as her desire to know that he was well. Beyond that, it was Sasuke's decision on what to share.

Sasuke leveled a serious look at her. It was only because Hinata had looked into those lilac and obsidian depths so frequently now that she was able to see a hint of nerves in them. Though her palms itched with the urge to touch, Hinata worried about inadvertently pressuring Sasuke to speak. In the end, she curled her fingers along the edge of his t-shirt, unobtrusive but there.

"I once told you that I hate martyrs and self-sacrificing idiots," Sasuke started, unhurriedly. "I realized I was being a hypocrite because of something you said. You asked me why I was punishing myself." He smirked humourlessly. "I didn't have an answer then. It took me a long time to admit it to myself."

There was no judgment in Hinata's expression as she listened. Her fingers curled and uncurled around Sasuke's shirt.

Sasuke exhaled quietly. "I'm ready to stop punishing myself."

It felt like Hinata's heart was swelling to ten times its size, expanding inside of her, too big to be held within her ribcage. Her eyes grew teary and she swallowed down a lump in her throat. "I…" But she couldn't speak, couldn't find the words to express the happiness and relief and affection bubbling inside her. She tipped her head forward, burying her face in the crook of Sasuke's neck.

Then finally, finally, Sasuke touched her. Hinata didn't realize she'd been yearning for it until his hand moved from where it was resting on his own thigh to wrap around her. Somewhere along the way his thumb got caught under her shirt and the feeling of his skin pressing into the dip of her waist made Hinata shiver.

"I'm really happy right now," Hinata said, voice coming back to her, enveloped in the warmth of Sasuke's body.

Sasuke's reply was a low confession against her temple. "…I think I am too. For the first time in a long time."

Hands scrabbling up clumsily, Hinata took Sasuke's face between her palms and joined her lips with his in a desperate kiss. He returned it softly, turning it into something calmer, almost languid, his thumb stroking the skin of Hinata's waist in time with his tongue against hers.

Hinata broke away with a gasp, head foggy and eyes heavy-lidded. As she caught her breath, Sasuke gave her waist a parting squeeze before letting go to trail his hand down to her knee.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" he asked.

Hinata blinked. "Huh? Tomorrow?"

"The announcement to the Hyuuga."

With the majority of her mind fixed on the feeling of Sasuke's hand on her knee, searing through her bare skin like a brand, Hinata struggled to form a response. "Um. As ready as I can be, I think…"

Sasuke's fingers tapped absently on her knee, straying under the hem of her shorts. "I'll walk you there in the morning. And I'll be waiting for you afterwards," he said conversationally, like he was completely unaware of what he was doing to her.

"Mm." Hinata dragged her eyes up from Sasuke's lips to his eyes.

Then, unexpectedly, Sasuke was guiding her back up gently by the hip. Running his hand through her hair, Sasuke pressed a kiss atop her bangs before moving past her towards his bedroom. "I'll wash up first," he said over his shoulder.

Mouth dropping open, Hinata stared after him, gob smacked. Without much thought, Hinata marched into the bedroom close on his heels and, when Sasuke turned to look at her, she placed her hands on his chest and pushed. There was little force in the action, Sasuke easily surrendering to her whims and letting her drive him backwards until the backs of his knees hit the bed. Hinata climbed on after him, straddling his lap, not unlike how she had been on the kitchen chair, but in a disparate context.

Sasuke watched her, eyes rapt, an expression of mild puzzlement on his face. Slowly, deliberately, Hinata took Sasuke's hand in hers and set it back on her knee.

Sasuke's brows raised.

For the second time that day, Hinata saw nervousness in the depths of Sasuke's mismatched irises and that in turn eased her own nerves.

Exhaling shakily, Hinata guided his hand higher than it had ever gone. Sasuke's eyes darkened and Hinata felt heat pool in her abdomen. When his fingers flexed and dug into the soft skin of her inner thigh, Hinata's answering gasp was lost in Sasuke's mouth.

Now certain of Sasuke's understanding and mirrored want, Hinata let go of Sasuke's hand to bury her own into his hair. Sasuke was quick to act on the freedom, fingers trailing further up, intent on drawing out more moans for him to taste on his tongue. He touched her reverently, hand trembling, nervousness not entirely abated.

Much later, tired and sated, they lay together with their bodies entwined. Nerves wrung dry, they fell asleep in the safety of each other's arms.

I'm not even a Naruto fan like that, but when I'm writing him from Hinata's POV I really tend to hype him up. But regardless, SasuHina are stronger than ever.

Thank you to everyone who continues to keep up with this fic and takes the time to leave me a comment

MVH