SasuHina cuteness and girls night redux

Chapter 61: Maybe take a breath (maybe do it twice)

Sasuke stared at the red cloud on the cave wall, darkness creeping around the corners of his vision. The symbol brought up memories of his brief spell in the organization immediately after Itachi's death. The time when Sasuke had been at his lowest…

The coral shade was a far cry from the vivid crimson Sasuke had once donned. There were only grainy remnants of whatever had been used to dye the rocky interior. Sasuke nearly recoiled from the odd texture of it.

"Is this…?"

Hinata's voice sounded like it was coming from far away and it took a moment for the words to register.

Gathering himself, Sasuke finally tore his eyes away from the wall. Despite the grim expression burdening her soft features, just the sight of Hinata's face helped ground him to the present and ward off his dark recollections.

"An Akatsuki hideout," he confirmed, keeping his voice controlled. "Or it used to be."

"It's abandoned," Hinata agreed, veins pulsing around her temples. "I don't see any other chakra signatures. But that doesn't mean there's nothing here."

Sasuke weighed their options for a moment. "Let's take a look," he said.

Hinata bit her lip, but nodded.

"We'll be careful," he added. Watching how this seemed to bolster her spirit lessened his own unease.

They started back at the entrance. Without the wellbeing of the genin team to worry about, they were able to spend time inspecting the area. Sasuke spotted an exploding tag, the white of the parchment stained grey from all of the debris. Nodding his head towards it, he told Hinata, "Seems like they triggered a trap when they came in here. That one didn't explode, but there would have been more."

Hinata approached the tag, eyes scanning over the seal inked upon it. "It looks like a linked set. I would guess there were some placed on the ground, triggered by pressure. Once they were activated, they would have set off the rest. This one looks like it has the de-activation key. Akatsuki members would have been able to disarm the trap by drawing the counterseal on this tag."

Circling around, Sasuke headed to the back of the cave. The light from the entrance grew dimmer with every step until it became nonexistent. Without speaking, Hinata pulled out her flashlight and clicked it on to illuminate the shadowy expanse in front of them. As they walked, the walls drew tighter together, forcing them into single file. Positioning himself in front, Sasuke took hold of Hinata's hand and curled her fingers around his cloak. "Stay close," he said, squeezing lightly before releasing her hand.

Venturing deeper and deeper, they finally curved around an edge where the cave seemed to open up again, nearly swallowing the thin but powerful beam from Hinata's flashlight. Sasuke stopped short of entering the cavern that presumably lay before them. His hand found Hinata's once more, not only for the comfort of her skin against his but as a means of silent communication. A reminder to be careful, to her but also to himself.

Feeling Hinata release his cloak, Sasuke let go of her hand and stepped forward into the cavern.

Immediately upon his foot touching the ground, the space around them lit up with a warm glow. Dozens of candles were arranged on all possible surfaces and tucked into the natural crevices formed in the rocky walls. Sasuke forced his eyes not to blink at the sudden change from near darkness.

Eyes catching on a tag to the side, Sasuke directed them towards it.

The flashlight shone on it for a moment. "It doesn't appear harmful," Hinata concluded, clicking the flashlight off. There was a faint waver hidden in her voice.

Sasuke frowned. "Is something wrong?"

Hinata straightened. "No. It's a type of concealment seal. I'm sure it's not harmful," she said. "But…it's the Akatsuki so…"

"I trust you." Sasuke glanced around the cavern. Now that it was no longer shrouded in darkness, he could see a large round table in the center with nine chairs. Various items were stacked on it, scrolls left carelessly opened. There was an eerie feeling that the owners had merely left for a short time and would be back any second.

"We'll take the scrolls back. Don't touch any of the other items. It would be better to explore the rest later with more preparation."

"Mm."

Together they gathered up the scrolls on the table. Then Sasuke opened up another portal and they stepped directly into Kakashi's office, finding the man there for once.

Looking up from his desk, Kakashi offered them an eye smile over his mask. "Good job on retrieving the team," he said. "But we need to talk about you barging in here like this. Or throwing people into my office with your ninjutsu. I have a waiting room for a reason." As Sasuke and Hinata's serious expressions began to sink in, Kakashi's smile slipped. "What is it?"

After giving their report to Kakashi, the man had nodded thoughtfully before dismissing them. In a wordless agreement, they had made their way to Sasuke's apartment.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Sasuke was pulling Hinata into his chest, his hand fitting into the small of her back. He held her tightly to him and felt gratified when she clutched him back just as tightly.

"You almost got hurt," he rasped out. The fear he'd been pushing back since seeing her rush into the falling rocks suddenly gushed forward.

"I'm okay," Hinata said softly.

Sasuke buried his face in her hair, breathing in the scent of lavender and chamomile. He let himself stay like that for a minute before pulling back. Cupping her cheek, Sasuke tilted Hinata's face up to him. He kissed her, quickly but thoroughly. Then, with his lips still brushing her, he scolded, "That was stupid." He stroked her soft skin and her eyes fluttered closed in response.

"You would have done the same," Hinata murmured. She covered his hand with her own. "You did do the same. On your first B-rank — Naruto-kun told me. You saved his life when he wasn't sure you even liked him."

"I barely tolerated him," Sasuke said absentmindedly, continuing to stroke Hinata's cheek. He remembered that mission well. Throwing himself in front of Naruto without a second thought. Then when he'd finally understood what he'd done and the consequences, when he'd understood that he would die without having defeated Itachi and avenged his clan, he'd been at peace with it. Because he'd saved a comrade. "I'm not saying you shouldn't have done it. I'm saying next time, you can't rely on a dōjutsu you don't know how to use," he said decisively. "You need to master the tenseigan."

"…there's only one person I know who might be able to help me with that."

Sasuke grimaced. That wasn't a conversation he wanted to have right now. "I want oyakadon."

Hinata's thin brows drew together as she took in the change in topic. Amused, Sasuke brushed his hand through her hair before stepping back. He pulled out two sets of house slippers from the rack beside the door, exchanged his sandals and moved towards the kitchen. Soon enough another set of slippered feet followed.

Later, after they'd eaten and settled on the couch together, something occurred to Sasuke. He nudged Hinata's head with his own, waiting until he had her attention before speaking. "Sorry."

Hinata tilted her head up as best she could from where it was laying against his chest.

"For arguing with Sakura on the mission," Sasuke expounded. "It was childish."

"Oh." Hinata blinked. "I didn't mind. Actually, I thought it might be a good sign, since that's how Sasuke-kun is with his friends…"

Sasuke's lips twisted. Reluctantly, he drew back so that Hinata could appreciate the full view of his frown.

Hinata's fingers played with the fabric of Sasuke's shirt. "Well, you and Naruto-kun bicker a lot —"

"— Because we're rivals."

"And that's how you are with Hokage-sama —"

"— Kakashi's a special case."

"And Shikamaru-kun too —"

Sasuke was even quicker to protest here. "Shikamaru and I are not friends."

Smiling cutely up at him, Hinata said nothing and simply tucked herself back into his side.

"We're not," Sasuke insisted, even as he adjusted so that she was more comfortable. Then, curious, he asked, "Am I that way with you?"

Hinata hummed in thought. "Maybe not…does that mean we aren't friends?" she asked, her smile taking on a teasing edge.

Sasuke's lips tugged upwards into a smirk. "Well, we're not rivals."

Leaning up, Hinata pecked his lips softly, once, twice. On the third time, Sasuke chased after her as she retreated. The book and scroll they'd respectively been reading fell to the floor as Sasuke lowered Hinata onto the couch, covering her body with his and eliminating any space between them.

Hinata arched into him, hands circling his neck as she sighed against his lips.

The topic of Sasuke's friendships ended at an impasse.

Sasuke wasn't overly upset.

Coming out of her third shift at the hospital, Hinata massaged the sore muscles of her neck, resolving to take a warm bath and make use of her ointments once she got home. It had been a little over a week since her first shift, but it hadn't gotten easier. Each day brought a new set of patients with new problems that needed solving.

"Oi, Hinata!"

Hinata faltered, hand dropping to her side. "Ino-san? Sakura-san?"

The two kunoichi were standing together at the hospital entrance, waving her over.

"We've been waiting forever! What took you so long? Your shift ended ages ago!" Ino complained.

"Oh! I was helping Io-san with something and didn't want to leave before finishing, but it can't have been more than five minutes…" Hinata mused, pressing her fingers to her bottom lip.

"Like I said, forever." Ino flipped her long hair over her shoulder. "It's been ages since we had a girls' night! So we're rounding up the girls. Next stop is Ningu Tententen!"

Not giving Hinata a chance to agree or disagree, Ino and Sakura looped their arms through Hinata's on either side of her and took off running.

The three of them, Hinata more or less against her will, tore through the streets of Konoha, barely avoiding knocking over civilians and fellow ninja. When they finally arrived at Ningu Tententen, it was to an unimpressed Tenten.

"No way," she said, arms crossed against her chest. "I'm volunteering at the hospital tomorrow morning thanks to this one." She tilted her head towards Sakura. "I don't need a hangover on top of that."

"Your hangover from last time can't have been that bad!" Sakura whined. "I was fine."

"That's because we danced it off. Guess someone wasn't dancing hard enough," Ino said smugly.

Tenten's nose scrunched up with offense. "No, it's because the two of you have built your tolerance up way too much."

"Um. We don't have to drink," Hinata offered. "Maybe we could have dinner instead?"

"Good idea, Hinata!" Sakura clapped her hands together. "We can go to a nice place — the kind the boys never want to go to. Like that new kappo that opened up recently!"

"…that does sound nice," Tenten said, uncrossing her arms.

Ino threw her hands up in excitement, "It's decided then!" Exchanging a nod with Sakura, she grabbed Tenten's arm while Sakura grabbed Hinata's.

"Let's go!" Ino and Sakura exclaimed in unison.

It was another race across the village to the restaurant in question. After five minutes of Ino sweet-talking the owner, they were seated at a counter.

"No menus?" Tenten asked.

"They don't have it written down. It's chef's choice and changes everyday," Sakura explained. "We just have to choose if we want the sake pairings or not."

"Definitely yes."

"What happened to no drinking?!" Ino asked, outraged.

"I didn't say no to drinking, I said no to the hangover," Tenten pointed out wryly.

Content to observe the other girls, Hinata therefore noticed when the chef approached and was able to relay the decision to partake in the sake pairings to him. Her attention naturally stayed with the chef, watching with keen interest as he cooked with practiced expertise.

Before long the first dish was served, a simple but vibrant sunomono.

They all gushed over the plating and, once they'd taken their first bites, the taste.

"I'd never be able to convince Chouji to go to a place with small plates. And Shikamaru hates trying out new places," Ino said, taking another bite from her chopsticks. "I was going to come here with Sai, but I guess I can always eat here twice."

"Ugh, you always find some way to brag about not being single," Sakura sniped.

"It's not like I'm the only one here in a relationship," Ino retorted.

Hinata gulped when three sets of eyes turned to her, Sakura's expression in particular was a little pained.

But before the mood could drop, Ino easily redirected the conversation. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. Outside of Sai, none of the boys would be willing to come to a place like this. You said it yourself, Sakura."

Sakura slumped. "Date night at Yakiniku-Q or Ichiraku sounds so dismal."

"That's the problem with dating boys," Tenten said. She took a sip of her sake, a worldly air around her. "It's better to date men."

Sakura and Ino shrieked. "What?! Tell us more!"

Hinata winced, sending the chef an apologetic glance, but nonetheless she found herself leaning towards Tenten as well.

The next few courses passed with them listening to Tenten dole out wisdom and praising the chef in turn.

Eventually the topic turned to Konoha Hospital.

"Please tell me you're almost done with your recruitment and training, Sakura," Tenten begged, palms pressed together. "These shifts are killing me. I don't know how you deal with some of those bullheaded patients."

"Yeah and the boys are barely pulling their weight," Ino groused. "Naruto's never free. Shika claims he isn't. Chouji ate one meal at the hospital cafeteria and swore he'd never go back. And as for Sai…at least he's trying."

At Hinata and Tenten's curious looks, Sakura elaborated, hand cupped around her mouth as if to soften the blow, "We've gotten some…comments from patients on his bedside manner."

"Lee's definitely doing his part. He's probably done twice as many shifts as me, but he can't help with iryō-ninjustu, just the administrative stuff," Tenten noted.

Hinata suspected that in addition to Lee's general enthusiasm for helping his friends, there was another reason he was so eager help out. Exchanging a look with Tenten, it seemed the other girl knew it too, though she chose not to say it in so many words.

Ino on the other hand didn't typically restrain herself when it came to gossip. "We all know he's hoping to spend more time with Sakura," she teased.

Sakura's cheeks burned red. "Ino! Lee-san is a helpful guy. That's it."

"Kiba-kun and Shino-kun are trying their best too," Hinata intervened. "But Kiba-kun isn't well-versed in iryō-ninjutsu and Shino-kun has his work at the academy…"

Ino wriggled her brows. "That leaves…"

"Sasuke-kun hasn't even done one shift." Sakura hesitated, then turned to Hinata. "Can't you talk to him about it?" she asked haltingly. Her green eyes were uncertain.

"Yeah! Girlfriend privileges!" Ino said more bluntly. Sakura winced, averting her gaze to her empty plate, but didn't disagree.

Hinata flustered. "Um. Well." Something about having to pass along messages to Sasuke didn't sit well with her. She didn't want to encourage the baseless idea that to get Sasuke to do something, people should go through her. Sasuke was his own person. "I think…" her eyes slid across the other girls to meet Sakura's. The pink haired kunoichi was sitting the furthest away from her, both Ino and Tenten between them. "I think it would be better if Sakura-san spoke to Sasuke-kun directly."

Sakura straightened. "Me?" When Hinata nodded, Sakura shook her head in response, sending her short hair flying. "He won't listen to me."

"I think you'd be surprised," Hinata said kindly. "Besides, Sakura-san is very convincing. Io-san said the same."

"Damn right she is! When she puts her mind to it our Sakura can get anything done. That's why her forehead's so big, it's where she keeps her stubbornness!" Ino crowed. Tenten raised her cup of sake in accordance.

Sakura elbowed Ino, hissing something about a pig that Hinata didn't quite catch. Then, turning back to Hinata, Sakura asked, "Is it really okay? If I talk to Sasuke-kun…you won't mind?"

Hearing the slight insecurity in Sakura's voice, Hinata smiled gently at her. "Of course not. You're his friend."

Sakura's face slackened a bit in surprise before her expression twisted into a pensive one. "Maybe I'll give it a try," she said quietly, almost to herself.

Right at that moment the chef placed the last course down, the delicious smell and beautiful visuals tempting all of the girls back to the food.

Chasing a bite of the fresh fruit dessert with a sip of the cherry blossom infused sake paired with it, Sakura's eyes lit up. "We should get the gang together for a cherry blossom viewing party before it's too late!"

"That sounds pretty fun, actually," Tenten said, popping a spoonful of fruit into her mouth.

"Yes! And you know what that means — new outfits! We can all go shopping together."

"Pass," Tenten said flatly. "I'm not much of a group shopper. Takes too long."

"Aren't you trying to be a shop runner? Think of a shopping trip as research," Ino reasoned.

Tenten waved her hand dismissively. "They're completely different areas."

Ino stuck her tongue out. "Spoilsport."

"What about you, Hinata? You'll come, right?" Sakura asked.

Hinata blinked. "Oh." She was rarely invited to things with just Ino and Sakura, the other two having a much closer bond. When they did spend time together, it was usually unplanned or an 'all girls' outing that included Tenten. She glanced at the brunette and found her shooting her an encouraging smile. "Um. Sure. That sounds fun."

"Yay!" Ino cheered, leaning across Tenten to squeeze Hinata in a tight hug.

"Hey!" Tenten narrowly avoided having her drink spilled.

"I'm going to have so much fun dressing you up, Hinata!" With a final squeeze, Ino plopped back into her seat.

Worried, Hinata looked to Sakura for support but the other girl just grinned mischievously. Hinata gulped.

"That was fun," Tenten said, arms folded behind her head as she and Hinata headed home after the dinner. They'd already parted ways with Ino and Sakura and were now slowly ambling in the same direction.

"Mm." Hinata pulled her light cardigan closer around her body. She tilted her head back, taking in the bright stars in the night sky.

"It's nice to see you come out of your shell more and more."

Hinata blinked. She shifted her gaze from the sky towards Tenten. The other girl grinned at her.

"Don't get me wrong, you've been more sure of yourself for a while now, probably since the chunin exams. But you still tend to be a bit…closed off?" Tenten said, a contemplative furrow between her brows. "You keep to yourself. I know it's for different reasons, but it kind of reminds me of Neji. It can make you seem unapproachable."

Eyes widening, Hinata stared at Tenten in a stunned silence.

Closed off? Unapproachable?

Those were descriptors Hinata would never have thought she'd be associated with.

"…do you really think so?"

"It's not that I feel that way myself or anything, but from an outside perspective I can see why others might. I mean, think of Neji! He comes across so serious, people think he doesn't have a sense of humour. But he's totally got a goofy side!" Tenten ranted. Her cheeks, already slightly flushed from sake, grew redder. She cleared her throat. "What I mean is, I'm glad you're opening yourself up. I think going on that shopping trip with Ino and Sakura is a great idea. You usually seem to avoid spending time with them like that."

Hinata frowned thoughtfully. Admittedly, when the three of them wound up together, she'd end up withdrawing, feeling like she was an unwanted third wheel.

Her whole life, she'd been in the way. A burden in her father's eyes. The kind of person people would be better off without.

How many times had she thought that during her early days on Team Eight before she'd finally accepted that her teammates didn't feel that way?

Hinata had always felt like there was a wall separating herself from Ino and Sakura, but…could it be that she'd helped create it?

After all, hadn't she done the same with Naruto? Covered up the parts of herself she deemed weak, erected a wall between them that she could hide behind rather than be honest with him about how she felt? She'd only shown him her smiles, saving her tears for when she was alone.

It was true that Sakura and Ino were closer to each other than she was with them. But had Hinata used that as an excuse to not try to strengthen her own bonds with them?

A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts. Hinata looked up and found herself caught in Tenten's kind gaze.

"Sorry if I overdid it. I'm only a year older, but I guess I feel like I want to look out for you," Tenten said warmly.

Hinata shook her head a little and smiled. "I appreciate it," she said. She had noticed that Tenten often acted as a buffer with Sakura and Ino. And when the older girl had opted out of the shopping trip, Hinata's first instinct had been to do the same. Perhaps she'd gotten too used to it. "I want to try to be more honest. I think…it might be harder than I thought. But I still want to see it through."

Tenten squeezed her shoulder once more before letting go. "Being honest with your feelings is hard for everyone! We're ninja after all, we're taught never to show our hand. So just know you're not alone in that."

Happy New Year everyone!

MVH