If asked, Hinata Hyuuga would certainly say she was an optimistic kind of girl. The kind that one would find appreciating the positive things in any situation and the kind that would laugh when it rained because at least the plants were getting watered. But even she had her limits, this girl with the sun in her eyes and a will of fire.
Today had not been…fun…to say the least. First, Naruto-kun had announced his engagement to Sakura-chan after having submitted his formal application for Hokage-ship. Which to be honest, she had long been expecting and had absolutely prepared for. Second, the clan elders had denied her bid for heiress once more, citing the need to further review her stats and suggesting that she focus on honing her skills in the interim.
And third…third had been running into a surly Sasuke Uchiha, her cinnamon rolls tragically spread about the road, the crumpled box still in his hands and an icing covered Uchiha looming over her with an unreadable expression.
So no, today had not been fun or good or all that positive to begin with.
She looked up at the sullied man, his dark shirt dripping with rivulets of gooey, melted goodness and his hair matted with the same sweetness. She shivered when she noticed his blank gaze, his chakra roiling like a midsummer’s storm. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as the electricity crackled invisibly, slightly stinging her skin.
“Uh..Umm…I-I’m so, so sorry Sasuke-san!” She apologized breathlessly, her cheeks flushed and face the color of a fish’s pale underbelly.
He said nothing, letting the silence stretch between them until she felt she would choke on the awkwardness.
Annoyance tinted her thoughts as she full well knew what this…this…mean, mean person was doing. He was using his killer intent to make her feel so uncomfortable, to torture her with his lack of response to her apology. Why couldn’t he just say something like a normal person?! Why did he have to make this so hard?
Desperate for some sort of action, she patted the pockets of her sticky jounin vest, looking for anything that might help clean up this mess. When she finally located a wad of wrinkled napkins somewhere in the right pocket, she muttered another apology as she offered all of them to a still quiet Uchiha. She shifted her pale eyes to the right, scared by the intensity of his impassive face. It was so at odds, his angry chakra attacking her senses with the calm expression etched onto those beautiful Uchiha features.
Before he could respond, a loud shout echoed through the streets.
“SASUKEEEE!!”
For a brief moment, she felt her stop as Sasuke’s chakra came to a boil, the killer intent so heavy, it gave her a headache.
Torn between the threat of Sasuke’s growing anger and wanting to avoid the owner of that oh so familiar voice, she stood frozen, her hand still outstretched in an offering of rumpled napkins.
Then all of sudden, an orange blur streaked past her, and took with it her taciturn companion.
A large boom resounded as they made contact with the wall of a nearby convenience store.
Naruto had Sasuke-san up by his collar, his fist poised to pound those pretty-boy features of his “supposed” best friend. Cracks spidered from the point of collision, fanning out behind Sasuke in delicately, haphazard patterns.
Sasuke wasn’t even struggling, but continued to look upon his enraged teammate with a calm, detached look that would have made her father fill with pride and offer to adopt the Uchiha on the spot. So Hyuuga a look, that for a wild second she mused that maybe the elders would have liked him as an heir…more so than she, the soft-faced and lavender eyed girl with tiny hands and wobbly form.
Then she felt it, the surge of powerfully burning chakras. One so hot and the other so cold, that it reminded her of that same burning sensation that you get holding ice for too long.
“You bastard! WHY?!”
Naruto’s face was mere inches from Sasuke, his eyes bright and his anger terrible. His fists clenched the folds of Sasuke’s shirt, the fabric beginning to tear with his grip. Sasuke struggled against him, only to be slammed back into the wall, the cracks widening.
“Because that is how I choose to complete Itachi’s will.”
Blue eyes widened. “Why? Why would you do that, when you knew…!”
He pushed him into the wall again, the dent growing and a worried shop owner now panicking in background of their confrontation.
A small crowd had begun to gather, curious eyes trained upon the pair. And in the center stood a very petrified and very worried Hinata Hyuuga. She was confused as to why they were like this, Naruto’s arm braced against Sasuke’s neck, and their chakras twisting around them in anger.
“Uchiha and Naruto, fighting?”
“What did the traitor do now?”
The gossip mill had begun churning, letting out a steady stream of conjecture that was sure to be morphed into something completely stupid by the time it reached the Yamanaka flower shop.
“Look at the Hyuuga there! Maybe it’s a love triangle!”
That last one did it. Flustered and at her emotional limit, her discontent feeding off of the negative atmosphere, Hinata Hyuuga did something out of character. With a scowl marring her doll-like features and a furious resolve weaving its way through her, she marched up to the two.
Both were alway, ALWAYS so absorbed in themselves, which was something that happened on a regular basis. Naruto had completely bypassed her in his haste. Sasuke had purposefully made her uncomfortable. She was again nothing but a blip on their radars.
Just as Naruto drew his arm back to deck his teammate, Hinata acted quickly, thrusting her tiny palm towards several of his chakra points, and rendering his arm useless for the time being.
Sasuke’s brows raised the tiniest fraction. He hadn’t even remembered the puny Hyuuga once Naruto had come. He moved his fingers, still slightly sticky from the cinnamon roll debacle earlier.
Angry at Naruto for not understanding…for not listening and angry at the Hyuuga for interfering, he lunged forward to attack him.
Only to be stopped by outstretched fingers pointing to the base of his neck, blue chakra swirling threateningly, quiet and precise.
“Stop it.” Came the quiet command, flat and soft. Hinata looked between the two, pale eyes unusually hard and flinty.
The sheer look of surprise on Naruto’s dumbfounded face was almost enough to make up for the cinnamon roll debacle…almost.
Sasuke smiled slightly. He could easily have her slim neck in his hands, easily snap her delicate spine in half in a matter of seconds. Not that he would…the paperwork would be too much and he was sure that that was not a step in the right direction if he wanted to complete Itachi’s will.
But something about the quiet words, the gentle voice made him stop.
He looked at Naruto. The man was gaping, his mouth comically flapping open and shut as he struggled to form a coherent sentence. The awkward silence grew between them, filled only by the insipid chatter of the growing crowd.
Naruto looked at the Hyuuga, with something akin to…surprise…and what was that other one. It was the same look the idiot gave to a lost dog he had found on the roadside, mangy and filled with fleas. He had fed the poor creature a couple of scraps, apologizing that he couldn’t do more than that.
And Sasuke recognized it as pity…with a jolt, he realized the chakra in her fingertips had stopped humming. Her eyes grew wide and a heartbroken expression crossed her face as she recognized the emotion in Naruto’s gaze.
“H-Hinata-chan?” Naruto asked softly, this being the first he had seen of her in months now. He held his limp arm with his other hand, taking a step towards her.
The buzzing started again.
“I thought he rejected her?”
“Yeah, that’s why she hasn’t been around…”
“He’s marrying Sakura-chan! Such a shame…he’s such a great catch.”
“Poor Hyuuga…never had a chance.”
Hinata’s chest lurched. She had been ready for anything, anything but this stifling, choking, demeaning pity…and the Uchiha became forgotten as she felt her pride shatter and her face burn with shame…because Naruto-kun was looking at her like a lost dog in the rain, a thing to feel sorry for.
‘Please, please don’t look at me with those eyes.’
She was fine. She was over him…but no matter how much she tried to show them, no one believed her. They treated her like glass, tiptoeing around her as if one breath of air could break her. She hated it…everyone but Team 8 gave her those same pitying looks, and now even Naruto was…
Naruto took one step towards her, and she stood frozen in place.
But before he could reach her, she was swept up by none other than Sasuke Uchiha. And in a whorl of leaves and stormy wind, they were gone.
If asked, Hinata Hyuuga would certainly say she was an optimistic kind of girl. The kind that one would find appreciating the positive things in any situation and the kind that would laugh when it rained because at least the plants were getting watered. But even she had her limits, this girl with the sun in her eyes and a will of fire.
Today had not been…fun…to say the least. First, Naruto-kun had announced his engagement to Sakura-chan after having submitted his formal application for Hokage-ship. Which to be honest, she had long been expecting and had absolutely prepared for. Second, the clan elders had denied her bid for heiress once more, citing the need to further review her stats and suggesting that she focus on honing her skills in the interim.
And third…third had been running into a surly Sasuke Uchiha, her cinnamon rolls tragically spread about the road, the crumpled box still in his hands and an icing covered Uchiha looming over her with an unreadable expression.
So no, today had not been fun or good or all that positive to begin with.
She looked up at the sullied man, his dark shirt dripping with rivulets of gooey, melted goodness and his hair matted with the same sweetness. She shivered when she noticed his blank gaze, his chakra roiling like a midsummer’s storm. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end as the electricity crackled invisibly, slightly stinging her skin.
“Uh..Umm…I-I’m so, so sorry Sasuke-san!” She apologized breathlessly, her cheeks flushed and face the color of a fish’s pale underbelly.
He said nothing, letting the silence stretch between them until she felt she would choke on the awkwardness.
Annoyance tinted her thoughts as she full well knew what this…this…mean, mean person was doing. He was using his killer intent to make her feel so uncomfortable, to torture her with his lack of response to her apology. Why couldn’t he just say something like a normal person?! Why did he have to make this so hard?
Desperate for some sort of action, she patted the pockets of her sticky jounin vest, looking for anything that might help clean up this mess. When she finally located a wad of wrinkled napkins somewhere in the right pocket, she muttered another apology as she offered all of them to a still quiet Uchiha. She shifted her pale eyes to the right, scared by the intensity of his impassive face. It was so at odds, his angry chakra attacking her senses with the calm expression etched onto those beautiful Uchiha features.
Before he could respond, a loud shout echoed through the streets.
“SASUKEEEE!!”
For a brief moment, she felt her stop as Sasuke’s chakra came to a boil, the killer intent so heavy, it gave her a headache.
Torn between the threat of Sasuke’s growing anger and wanting to avoid the owner of that oh so familiar voice, she stood frozen, her hand still outstretched in an offering of rumpled napkins.
Then all of sudden, an orange blur streaked past her, and took with it her taciturn companion.
A large boom resounded as they made contact with the wall of a nearby convenience store.
Naruto had Sasuke-san up by his collar, his fist poised to pound those pretty-boy features of his “supposed” best friend. Cracks spidered from the point of collision, fanning out behind Sasuke in delicately, haphazard patterns.
Sasuke wasn’t even struggling, but continued to look upon his enraged teammate with a calm, detached look that would have made her father fill with pride and offer to adopt the Uchiha on the spot. So Hyuuga a look, that for a wild second she mused that maybe the elders would have liked him as an heir…more so than she, the soft-faced and lavender eyed girl with tiny hands and wobbly form.
Then she felt it, the surge of powerfully burning chakras. One so hot and the other so cold, that it reminded her of that same burning sensation that you get holding ice for too long.
“You bastard! WHY?!”
Naruto’s face was mere inches from Sasuke, his eyes bright and his anger terrible. His fists clenched the folds of Sasuke’s shirt, the fabric beginning to tear with his grip. Sasuke struggled against him, only to be slammed back into the wall, the cracks widening.
“Because that is how I choose to complete Itachi’s will.”
Blue eyes widened. “Why? Why would you do that, when you knew…!”
He pushed him into the wall again, the dent growing and a worried shop owner now panicking in background of their confrontation.
A small crowd had begun to gather, curious eyes trained upon the pair. And in the center stood a very petrified and very worried Hinata Hyuuga. She was confused as to why they were like this, Naruto’s arm braced against Sasuke’s neck, and their chakras twisting around them in anger.
“Uchiha and Naruto, fighting?”
“What did the traitor do now?”
The gossip mill had begun churning, letting out a steady stream of conjecture that was sure to be morphed into something completely stupid by the time it reached the Yamanaka flower shop.
“Look at the Hyuuga there! Maybe it’s a love triangle!”
That last one did it. Flustered and at her emotional limit, her discontent feeding off of the negative atmosphere, Hinata Hyuuga did something out of character. With a scowl marring her doll-like features and a furious resolve weaving its way through her, she marched up to the two.
Both were alway, ALWAYS so absorbed in themselves, which was something that happened on a regular basis. Naruto had completely bypassed her in his haste. Sasuke had purposefully made her uncomfortable. She was again nothing but a blip on their radars.
Just as Naruto drew his arm back to deck his teammate, Hinata acted quickly, thrusting her tiny palm towards several of his chakra points, and rendering his arm useless for the time being.
Sasuke’s brows raised the tiniest fraction. He hadn’t even remembered the puny Hyuuga once Naruto had come. He moved his fingers, still slightly sticky from the cinnamon roll debacle earlier.
Angry at Naruto for not understanding…for not listening and angry at the Hyuuga for interfering, he lunged forward to attack him.
Only to be stopped by outstretched fingers pointing to the base of his neck, blue chakra swirling threateningly, quiet and precise.
“Stop it.” Came the quiet command, flat and soft. Hinata looked between the two, pale eyes unusually hard and flinty.
The sheer look of surprise on Naruto’s dumbfounded face was almost enough to make up for the cinnamon roll debacle…almost.
Sasuke smiled slightly. He could easily have her slim neck in his hands, easily snap her delicate spine in half in a matter of seconds. Not that he would…the paperwork would be too much and he was sure that that was not a step in the right direction if he wanted to complete Itachi’s will.
But something about the quiet words, the gentle voice made him stop.
He looked at Naruto. The man was gaping, his mouth comically flapping open and shut as he struggled to form a coherent sentence. The awkward silence grew between them, filled only by the insipid chatter of the growing crowd.
Naruto looked at the Hyuuga, with something akin to…surprise…and what was that other one. It was the same look the idiot gave to a lost dog he had found on the roadside, mangy and filled with fleas. He had fed the poor creature a couple of scraps, apologizing that he couldn’t do more than that.
And Sasuke recognized it as pity…with a jolt, he realized the chakra in her fingertips had stopped humming. Her eyes grew wide and a heartbroken expression crossed her face as she recognized the emotion in Naruto’s gaze.
“H-Hinata-chan?” Naruto asked softly, this being the first he had seen of her in months now. He held his limp arm with his other hand, taking a step towards her.
The buzzing started again.
“I thought he rejected her?”
“Yeah, that’s why she hasn’t been around…”
“He’s marrying Sakura-chan! Such a shame…he’s such a great catch.”
“Poor Hyuuga…never had a chance.”
Hinata’s chest lurched. She had been ready for anything, anything but this stifling, choking, demeaning pity…and the Uchiha became forgotten as she felt her pride shatter and her face burn with shame…because Naruto-kun was looking at her like a lost dog in the rain, a thing to feel sorry for.
‘Please, please don’t look at me with those eyes.’
She was fine. She was over him…but no matter how much she tried to show them, no one believed her. They treated her like glass, tiptoeing around her as if one breath of air could break her. She hated it…everyone but Team 8 gave her those same pitying looks, and now even Naruto was…
Naruto took one step towards her, and she stood frozen in place.
But before he could reach her, she was swept up by none other than Sasuke Uchiha. And in a whorl of leaves and stormy wind, they were gone.
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