hi! thought in italic , dialogue in " ", POV alterning and Naruto's still not mine.
Chapter 7
It went something like this.
Sasuke Uchiha offered to train Hinata Hyuuga partially because he wanted to satisfy his curiosity about her hidden potential. Their small spar and her file did pique his interest.
But mostly because she looked extremely cute sprawled on her back, face flushed and hair in disarray. He couldn't help but want to recreate that visual again.
Plus, he figured the attraction would fade with time.
As for Hinata Hyuuga, she accepted partially because only a fool would say no to being trained by Sasuke Uchiha.
But mostly because the work at the hospital was getting a bit mundane with this time of peace and the end of the shinobi-medic exchange program. She did really need the distraction and Sasuke wasn't one to pry.
She loved her friends dearly but they just didn't know when to stop.
Plus, she figured she could use the extra training.
Both were partially right.
He did recreate that visual often and the training did provide her with a worthwhile distraction.
Their first few spars ended the same as their very first; with Hinata spent on the grass and Sasuke's back resting against the tree in comfortable silence.
However, both were also mostly wrong.
As they've come to discover that was more to their training partner than meets the eye.
It went something like this.
Hinata continues taking back everything nice she ever said about Sasuke.
She still thought he was kind, except when he was being a total prick while training her.
She could really do without his commentary;
"So much for the all-seeing eyes" he said when she failed to dodge one of his blows.
"Really Hyuuga, I've seen quieter hyenas" when working on a stealth exercise.
Or her personal favorite:
"As a devout feminist I refuse to say that you hit like a girl"
He started their sessions by being, to quote Kiba: An absolute dick.
Yes, even ladies use such foul language in the privacy of their own mind.
Especially when said dick was merciless, keeps mocking her and had no business looking fresh after what was supposed to be a messy workout.
Maybe that was what irritated her the most.
Or maybe she was just constantly hungry and tired.
Yes, he always started with being a massive sarcastic pain in the behind.
But after the most humiliatingly grueling two hours that makes her question her sanity for agreeing to such an arrangement. The real training begins.
Despite being a dick about it. Pardon her French.
Sasuke Uchiha was actually a decent teacher.
He starts by pointing out where she went wrong and what she needs to do to improve.
"Your eyes are your biggest asset but can be your greatest weakness if you only rely on them" he said after one such session "it took me less than a few minutes to figure out you have a blind spot and even less so to use it against you."
He then tied a cloth with kenjis written on it around her eyes, cutting of her Byakugan and leaving her blind.
"Use your other senses Hyuuga; smell, sound but also feel the chakra around you. Now, find me." He had whispered near her ear before disappearing.
Hinata blamed her blush on the discovery of her blind spot easily and the goosebumps on the afternoon breeze.
It took her hours just to pinpoint his general direction. She imagined him quietly laughing at her, close by.
Which he was.
It took more time than she wants to admit but she was now finally able to decently fight with a blindfold.
Nonetheless, Sasuke was relentless. He pushed her limits constantly, had no care for her comfort and no qualm about injuring her.
However, he was also caring and apologized after every such session without actually saying the words, in a roundabout kind of way.
He patched her up after every training.
Bandaged her sprained ankles.
Put band-aids on every cut.
Soothed every bruise with an ointment.
Even took her to his appartement to press an icepack to her swollen cheek a few times.
That had been an awkward situation that left her a flustered mess with his proximity and intense gaze.
It was hard to reconcile the image of the harsh commander of the Anbu force who tortured her a few hours ago with the gentleness he displayed in his aftercare.
Hinata tried to tell him that it was unnecessary and that she was the healer.
To which he responded to just shut up Hyuuga and let me fix the damage I caused.
It was… nice to be taken care of for a change. She usually was the one who fussed over her friends and family.
Hinata being Hinata expressed her gratitude by dropping a bento box every now and then in his Anbu office whenever she went there to see her cousin.
Restocked his fridge when he went on a mission.
She still couldn't believe she had been so bold as to take him up on his offer to visit his apartment whenever she felt like taking a break from the stress of the hospital, her meddling friends and clan.
Another thing Sasuke did was constantly notice when she was having a bad day which usually happened whenever she saw Naruto and Sakura together.
Whether they were together together or not, she didn't think she wanted to know.
Hinata was pretty sure it was Sasuke who left a box of cinnamon rolls on her work desk the following day, since he didn't deny it once she went up to him in the street to say thank you and give him a tea for the headaches, she noticed he got constantly.
All in all, she was really enjoying this.
She wasn't the only one who did.
It went something like this.
Sasuke Uchiha absolutely loved training Hinata Hyuuga.
And no, it didn't have anything to do with how cute she gets when she's frustrated with herself.
Nor did it have anything to do with how easy it was to fluster her with a couple of looks, a few words and casual (strictly training related) touches.
It certainly didn't have anything to do with how ravishable ( yes he did mean ravishable not ravishing) she was when she was angry with him for being an ass at the beginning of each training session .
Yes, he was doing it on purpose.
Partly to get that defeated sad look she showed up with off her face, and partly the ravishable thing.
All those were enough reasons to continue with this endeavor since he came to understand that his assumption that this new interest he had for the Hyuuga would fade was proven wrong once again.
But mostly he did genuinely enjoy having her as a student.
She was attentive, she listened and put in the work.
She was always determined and didn't give up.
But his absolute favorite discovery about her was how creative she gets when she hits an impasse.
When presented with a technique or assignment she couldn't execute after no small amount of trying. She somehow found a way to make it work.
She was capable of adapting and changing her approach to play to her strengths.
The first time she unconsciously done it. She had this deer-caught-in-headlights look about her, like she was waiting to be reprimanded.
It would've been adorable if not for the genuinely concerning apology made after it.
Once he casually probed her, it didn't take Sasuke long to figure out that she has always been looked down on for deviating even a little from any instruction.
He knew the Hyuuga clan was traditional, but he didn't think it was to a degree that bordered on idiocy.
Neji Hyuuga was considered a genius because he executed the most difficult Hyuuga techniques with accuracy and perfection.
Hinata Hyuuga was considerate a failure because she executed it them differently.
What aggravated him more was the talk they had about chakra affinities.
They had just finished perfecting a lightning release jutsu.
Her second chakra affinity. Which he saw in action once in one of the lectures she gave about how to restart a heart with a small voltage of chakra release.
He figured why not use it for fighting.
She had been hesitant at first. Hyuugas were supposed to be Taijutsu specialists not Ninjutsu. Her clan wouldn't like it she had said.
Screw them he had answered. It was moronic to limit one's self for the sake of old ways.
Her small answering smile was all the permission he needed to incorporate lightning in his lessons.
It had been a treat to teach her. It wasn't a Chidori but it was something.
And so, it got him wondering.
"Hyuuga, what can you do with water release?" Sasuke had asked once they were resting.
"Water dancing, nothing useful I'm afraid." Her cheeks had colored when he snorted.
"We'll work on that next, it should be easier than lightning since it's your primary affinity"
"Actually, water isn't my primary affinity. Fire is." Hinata had answered a bit dejected.
"That's…rare for a Hyuuga" Sasuke had frowned he remembered reading she was a water type in her files like all Hyyugas.
"First in a century." She mumbled looking even more desolate.
"And that's bad because?" He asked eyes narrowing, he had an idea were this was going.
" A Hyuuga is graceful, calm, cool and collected. Flowing like a river but with strong tides that can drown. There is no place for fiery displays of emotions nor barbaric use of that type of chakra" Hinata quoted "My first instructor wasn't happy, she told me not to worry though 'we will fix that and you shall be nothing but a drop of water in the river that is Hyuuga'. She beat the soles of my hand so badly I never dared light another candle with chakra no matter how much my little sister begged me to do that magic trick again."
He could hear the bitterness in her voice. It didn't surprise him. His own blood was boiling.
How. Dare. They.
To scorn her for something she had no control over.
No wonder she struggled with her clan's classical style. From his understanding it was primarily suited for water or wind type.
She never stood a chance.
Instead of adapting the style to the user, they forced her to fit their mold and stifled her potential.
It was ironic considering the Hyuuga emblem was a flame.
" I tried looking for scrolls again at home when I became a genin, but never dared search the public library for fear of it getting back to my father. Kurenai-sensei wasn't a fire user and she didn't push for a teacher. Who would be bold enough to mess with Hiashi Hyuga anyways?" Hinata said.
Sasuke's answering grin had been feral.
The next training sessions had been fun and exhilarating for both parties.
The first time he put a dancing flame in the palm of her hand so she could feel how the chakra transformed had been mystical.
Hinata had looked at her hands with so much awe and childlike wonder. He almost kissed her then and there.
It was at that moment, he knew that he really was fucked. Because this was a bit more than simple raging hormones.
He wasn't sure he cared that much.
He always did like to play with fire. Pun intended.
And play with fire they did.
They had to relocate to the forest since Hinata didn't want anyone from her clan to know.
It was for the best.
For someone with such a calm disposition, who always seemed in control Hinata had absolutely none on her affinity.
She was adorable. Like a baby dragon throwing a tantrum.
She burned herself, the grass, his clothes.
Her horrified expression made him laugh. Once he regained control, they started working on it.
Until she reached a satisfactory level of mastery for the technique he had in mind.
"That went well." Sasuke said
" I burned a tree to the ground!" Hinata had gaped
"Just one this time." He tried to placate her.
" I singed a poor squirrel." Her eyes watered at the idea of hurting such a defenseless, cute animal. Sasuke tried to stifle his laugh. From her glare he wasn't entirely successful.
"Okay enough fire for today let's work on your aim with shuriken" He said as a piece offering. All he received was a sniffle and a nod.
"Let me find you a few squirls for target practice" He smirked when the shuriken was immediately launched his way.
Her aim really did improve.
"Stop fussing. I'm almost done." Sasuke was applying a burn ointment to the corner of her lips.
"It really burns." Hinata winced again. He was being gentler then usual but it still hurt.
"it's called fire breathing, what did you expect?" He snorted.
"I need to master this soon. I'm starting to garner attention. Neji was looking suspiciously at the marks around my mouth the other day." Hinata huffed.
She was cute.
A word he never thought would have a place in his vocabulary.
"You can tell him it's from all the making out we've been doing. That'll add fuel to the rumors of our torrid love affair" Sasuke smirked, imagining her cousin's reaction to that statement.
"It's not funny." Hinata said face heating up.
"it's a little bit funny" He grinned.
Initially neither of them had been amused with the rumors circulating around the village.
Sasuke didn't particularly listened to rumors but this one had just ticked him off. Probably on Hinata's behalf.
They were spotted regularly together around the village; they went to eat out a couple of times after training.
Sometimes they shopped together for food, since Hinata insisted on cooking for him as a thank you.
He wasn't going to say no to a pretty girl cooking in his apartment.
Plus, she made the best Onigiri.
And with the news of Sakura's pregnancy out. The villagers; mostly civilians had gotten it into their heads that he was the father. And Hinata being around him all the time obviously meant, she was a home wrecker who was using her feminine wiles to lure him away from the women he truly loved and child.
What utter nonsense.
Who even said he had a problem with Hinata's feminine wiles anyway?
The first time Hinata heard it, he found her in an alley wiping away angry tears. It was understandable considering the circumstances of the real story.
Sasuke had offered her a tissue, then held her hand all the way to his apartment.
"If they want to gossip. Let's give them something worth gossiping about" He had said.
They caused quite the commotion on the streets. The Uchiha traitor turned hero with the Hyuuga disgraced Heiress.
They can both laugh about it now.
Sasuke knew they wouldn't be laughing long once their friends caught wind of the rumors.
Oh well, he did like a bit of chaos once in a while.
Poor Hinata might be a casualty.
He was sure he'll find a way to minimize the damage once the shit hits the fan.
AN: Sasuke just loves to steer the pot.
And so do I , you can blame some of your reviews; I might add a dash of pettiness from a certain pink haired kunoichi ( damn it I really wanted to make a sakura redemption arc) eh whatever. I decided to follow the current to where it may take me.
Now to LaCrazyWriter: your review made my whole week! I'm glad that what I'm trying to do is translating well. I'm glad you liked the pace and flow, that was the hardest part to write since I really want to get to the Sasuhina.
And yes I want the emotional validation to be the stepping stone for their relationship.
But I still need to figure out how to make it flow from Hinata's side. It's still early anyway. I'm going for a "He fell first and hard" vibe. I'm gonna keep Hinata a bit clueless for the moment but still aware of Sasuke's attention and attractiveness ( Uchiha genes duh).
I hope you enjoyed it.
Many surprises to come.
Yours truly . Lady Whisteldown sorry Lady Thunder Storm