AU Bit – Well, uh, looking at the timeline, this takes place as if Itachi and Kisame hadn’t made their appearance until at least 5 months later. That should give Neji and Hinata some time, right? It’d also mean that they haven’t had the Tea Country Mission where the genin went alone.

Anyway, this was beta'd a while back and so I think a few of the later mistakes might still be in there. (And screw space and italics thing occured too, sorry.) The first three paragraphs can be ignored if you're familiar with Sasuke and Hinata. Also, I may or may not convert this into a two-shot; at first it was supposed to be one, but then I got bored with it and thought this alone worked out. Either way, enjoy.

The Difference

Uchiha Sasuke was the number one rookie in Konoha. Having been stabbed by the one he loved most and seen gruesome things others his age wouldn’t be able to stand, he had a hard exterior than only a select few could break through. He had no real interests, and his dreams were of only the past. All Sasuke had was a goal of sorts – a goal based entirely on one person, whom most of Sasuke’s classmates knew as “that man.” This was nearly all that was known about Sasuke to all outside of Team 7, other than the single fact that for some reason, girls found him attractive.

Hyuuga Hinata was a shy girl, who became a shinobi only because of pressure from her family (or most believed so, anyway). A quiet and confused girl born into a strong family with a large reputation to uphold, Hinata held a heavy weight. She was easily surpassed by her younger sister, making her father lose all hope in her. Hinata’s only goal was to change herself; she wanted to be strong. To do this, she focused on her role-model; Uzumaki Naruto. She’d blush every time she saw him.

The thing to note about both the young Uchiha boy and the small Hyuuga girl was their eyes – both possessed by unique bloodline abilities; theSharingan and Byakugan respectfully. Both were powerful weapons to most Ninjas, rendering both of their clans to be the most powerful in Konoha. This was the reason why Hinata had a reputation to uphold. This was the reason why Sasuke had a goal. A possessed eye-technique was the thing that had changed them both. What others around the two didn’t notice, was there was more in those eyes than a unique ability…

---

It was an unusually quiet day in Konoha when Sasuke and Hinata met among their travels. Sasuke was headed toward the Hokage’s tower, ready to receive his next mission with his teammates, Sakura and Naruto. He noticed Hinata trembling on her way there as well. Sasuke recognized her as the girl from the academy who didn’t have a crush on him. He admired her for that – he needed to know that some people weren’t obsessed with them. But what caused Sasuke to rush to speak with her was not her lack of a crush for him; it was because of her bloodline. Hyuuga Neji, one of Sasuke’s rivals, was from the same clan.

“Hey!” Sasuke called to her back, “Hyuuga!”

Up ahead, Hinata nearly tripped, thinking that she’d heard someone call out to her. That couldn’t be true, she thought. No one ever noticed her, other than her team and Naruto. Just as the girl was about to pass it off as her imagination, she heard the voice call her again. It had said her name!

Blood rushed to the genin’s cheeks as she thought that, for once, someone wanted to talk to her. She fathomed turning around to see who it was, but was too embarrassed because she thought that whoever it was would inquire about her blushing. So instead, Hinata opted to activate the Byakuganto find out who it was using her 360 degree vision. Hinata nearly yelped when she found out it was Uchiha Sasuke. She stopped dead in her tracks.

W-why does Sasuke-san desire to speak with m-me?

While Hinata was absorbed in her thoughts, the boy behind her caught up and stopped, hands on his knees as he caught his breath. “Hyuuga?” Sasuke asked Hinata, who managed to acknowledge he was there with a nervous nod. “Your name… Hinata, right?” Sasuke asked again. In response to his inquiry, Hinata gave another dazed nod.

To put it simply... Hinata was somewhat frightened of Sasuke. He was, after all, the number one rookie of her classmates and also possessed the SharinganNeji, the number one rookie from last year, who possessed his own eye technique, frightened her easily, so why wouldn’t Sasuke? Sasuke was always left alone with his own thoughts, away from all the communication around him. He spoke only when he needed to, and his ultimate goal… he had once said was to kill. The girl stood shock-still but shivering, wondering what it could be that Sasuke wanted of her.

Hinata was brought back to Earth from her daze as Sasuke asked if he’d said her name right. She managed a nod, briefly forgetting her matters. The blush had yet to leave her cheeks, but Sasuke didn’t seem to notice. Why did she have to be so fragile when it came to blushing??

“O-oh, S- Sasuke-san, I’m sorry, I forgot my manners. G-Good morning.” Hinata found herself giving Sasuke a curtsy.

Sasuke nodded nonchalantly, hinting in a way towards the phrase ‘It happens to the best of us.’ Hinata stifled a giggle at this. She must’ve seemed like an idiot to him.

But… why do I care what he thinks?

“Are you heading toward Tsunade’s tower?” asked the raven-haired boy. He had assumed this earlier, but wanted to make sure.

“Y-yes,” Hinata said nervously, looking down at her shuffling feet. She thought that while he was here, she might as well push the awkward (for her, anyway) conversation forward. “Tsunade-sama has summonsed you as well?” Hinata glanced up at Sasuke to watch for an answer, in case he only nodded. Beside her, he began to walk and she followed, not wanting to be late for the Hokage and oddly wanting to continue speaking with Sasuke.

“Yeah,” Sasuke said. “Some mission with Naruto and Sakura.”

Hinata’s blush deepened at the mention of Naruto’s name. “O-oh,” she said, not really sure what to say aloud.

Naruto-kun will be there?

It makes me wonder, Sasuke continued thought inwardly,Why would she call all of my team, but only one of hers…? Sasuke trailed off in his thoughts, Hinata thinking the very same thing. If she was called for a meeting with the Hokage, then should not her teammates, Kiba and Shino, be called also? There really was nothing she could do for Tsunade by herself.

She didn’t have anytime to continue onward in her thoughts, as she and Sasuke had arrived to the Tower. Hinata noticed that Sasuke went faster when they entered the building. Was he really that in need of a mission? She didn’t say anything, leaving her curiosity in her head as she usually did. The two progressed in silence to the Hokage’s office.

Sasuke wondered what his mission was, and why Hinata was coming to the office as well. This was a Team 7 mission, right?

Hinata took in sharp intake of break when the two genin reached Tsunade’s office. Sasuke looked at her oddly, but had the common courtesy that Naruto lacked to not ask. Sasuke opened the door without knocking and came upon his two teammates and the Hokage. What he found strange of this arrangement was that Kakashi was not amongst the group inside the office. Kakashi was nearly always late to meetings, but Sasuke was late himself today because he’d slowed down to talk with Hinata. Shouldn’t his teacher be here by now?

Hinata stood shyly at the door, hiding behind Sasuke so that Naruto wouldn’t see her and have the indecency to proclaim loudly how weird she was acting. If Hinata disliked one thing about Naruto, it was his complete naivety. Hinata didn’t have to worry, however; all of Naruto’s current attention was on Sakura. Her heart pounded loudly in jealousy, but she shook her head and forced it to pass.

“Where’s Kakashi?” Sasuke asked without greeting. Inner Sakura nearly flung a rock at Sasuke’s complete disregard for respecting one’s superior. Sasuke didn’t care; he only saw people whose skill topped him as more obstacles to get through for power. Naruto didn’t follow Sakura’s course of action. He went straight out and gave Sasuke a trademark outburst.

“Well, if someone had been here earlier and held respect, Sasuke—” Naruto began, stressing parts of his sentence before Tsunade sighed and placed a hand on his unsuspecting mouth. Before it registered into Naruto’s mind that it was the Hokage’s hand, Naruto contemplated biting it… Until Sakura slapped him across the face, that is. (Sasuke rolled his eyes.)

Tsunade let out another loud, dramatic sigh, recapturing everyone’s attention. Sasuke and Hinata from the door, plus Naruto from the floor and Sakura above him, fuming, gazed at their leader.

“To answer your question, Sasuke,” Tsunade bagan, “Kakashi will not be going on this mission with you.” The members on Team 7 stared, dumbfounded. But… did they not need a jounin with them on missions, regardless of what the mission was?

“But wait!” cried out Naruto, picking himself up from the floor, “Don’t genin need a jounin sensei with them on missions?”

Naruto-kun’s right, Hinata thought, they do…

Tsunade coughed to clear her throat before stating loud and clear, in a very Tsunade-like matter: “This is an A-Class Mission that does not require the assistance of a sensei, Naruto-kun!”

If they were dumbfounded before, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were flabbergasted this time. An A-Class Mission? Without Kakashi, no less? What could it be?

“YES!” shouted out a triumphant Naruto, pumping his fist up in the air. “Alright, A-Class! We’re the first genin to ever be sent on an A-class aren’t we? We’re just that great, because the future Hokage is on this mission! Right, Sasuke?!” Naruto grinned wide. Sasuke couldn’t help but smirk at Naruto’s eagerness. Some things never changed. Behind him, Hinata giggled at Naruto’s antics.

Sasuke shook his head and tore his eyes away from his friend. Looking at Tsunade, Sasuke studied her face. Within a few seconds the boy frowned when he found what he thought was amusement at something other than Naruto, and jealousy, too.

“Obviously,” said Sasuke, crossing his arms across his chest, “there is some catch to this, isn’t there, Tsunade?” Tsunade was impressed that Sasuke was so quick to pick up on this. Kakashi didn’t lie; Sasuke was so adult, yet still so childlike…

Naruto’s grin faltered a little. “A w-what?” he said, dismayed.

Tsunade smiled despite herself, but then adopted a serious face when speaking to Sasuke. With a curt nod, she said to him in a very official manner, “Yes. There is a catch.”

Sasuke’s frown deepened and he stepped further into the room to stand next to Sakura for orders. Hinata was caught off guard at his moment. Her eyes grew wide as she noticed Naruto looking at her confusedly, having not noticed her before.

“Ah, Hyuuga. I see you’ve made it,” Tsunade murmured from her seat, shuffling through papers, as Hinata spilled a strangled sort-of sound. Naruto continued to watch Hinata. Tsunade beckoned the girl forward with her hand. “Come in. Stand next to Naruto-kun and I’ll give you all the orders for the mission.”

Sakura and Sasuke shared a surprised expression, Sasuke’s being less surprised as he could easily see it coming. Naruto, however, displayed every shred of sense he had by admitting that he still didn’t know why Hinata was here. Sasuke and Sakura had the urge to headdesk.

Hinata stumbled into the room as Sakura spoke for the first time since Sasuke and Hinata had arrived. “Naruto,” she said, trying to control her frustration at the immature boy, “Hinata is going on our mission.” She had said it slowly, so as to allow it to register in Naruto’s brain.

Hinata nearly gasped, but had covered her mouth with her hand to stifle it. Just the idea of going on a mission with both Naruto and Sasuke made her dizzy. Naruto was her oblivious crush and role-model, and Sasuke was the observant Uchiha who still frightened her. And what of Sakura? Hinata really hoped that this would be an easy mission. But who was she kidding? A-class, and without a sensei!

“Yes,” Tsunade said, tearing Hinata away from her panicked thoughts, “Hinata will also be involved in this mission. This is an A-class mission assigned specifically but the Fifth Hokage. Do not disappoint me! Your mission is…”

Naruto and Sakura watched Tsunade in grand anticipation, wondering what such an important mission could be. Hinata looked down at her fingers, which were engaged in a furious twiddling match. Sasuke showed only a hint of curiosity on the subject, more thoughtful on why Hinata would be even needed on the mission. From what he had seen, she wasn’t a very good shinobi and was looked down upon by her clan.

“…to infiltrate Shizune’s evil lair tomorrow night during her party (that I, coincidentally, was not invited to) and find out what she’s up to. The theme is –”

“--WHAT? THAT’S OUR BIG MISSION?!” shouted a very outraged and loud Naruto. “TO GO TO A STUPID PARTY--? You have got to be kidding me!”

For once, Sasuke and Sakura couldn’t help but agree with Naruto. Sakura slid her hand over Naruto’s mouth, being the second person to do that in the last hour. (“Sakura-chan is touching me… hehe…She must really like me!”) She sighed, pointing at the Hokage with her free hand. “He’s got a point, Tsunade-sama.”

A puff of smoke revealed that the Tsunade that Sakura had been pointing at was actually a log with a note pinned into it with a kunai. This was a sign that the four students had no choice. Sasuke moved towards the log carefully and tore off the note. It was final. By law, they were required to take up this mission. He groaned. With distaste, he passed it onto Hinata, who gave her trademark ‘Oh!’ blush returning. Hinata handed it to Sakura before calmly turning around and following Sasuke out the door.

---

Team 7 (With the addition of Hyuuga Hinata) –

Your mission is to infiltrate Shizune’s party tomorrow evening. The theme is contrast; women are to wear brightly colored kimonos, while men wear dark suits. (Think Sasuke for the colors.) In order to enter the party, you must have dates. I’ve taken the liberty to assign Sakura with Naruto and Hinata with Sasuke. Sasuke is team captain. Good luck.

--Tsunade

---

There was not a single item in Uchiha Sasuke’s closet that did not have the crest of the Uchiha clan on it. Excluding his boxers, every article of clothing Sasuke owned had the paper fan on it somewhere. The one exception to this was the only thing Sasuke hadn’t bothered to ever wear. It was a present from Sakura – a black suit. Sasuke grimaced – he never thought he’d have to see that thing again, let alone for a mission.

He dug through his closet and pulled it out. It was very plain, he decided; just a solid black with white around its neck. Sasuke had absolutely no idea what the white was, and really didn’t like the brightness on the ink black, so he dyed it so that the whole suit was the same color. He held it out at arm’s distance in front of him. There was still something wrong…

Taking a glance at the back, Sasuke realized just what it was that was missing. He had forgotten to get the Uchiha crest stitched on the back. Sasuke cursed-it was too late to go out and have it done by someone else. He would have to do it himself. Groaning, Sasuke remembered how horrible he was at stitching. Never-the-less, he opened up a drawer and pulled out a needle with black thread, along with a fabric with the crest on it ready to be stitched on. Why Sasuke had these, nobody knew.

Sasuke took the needle and spent quite a while trying to poke the thread into the teeny hole. Needless to say, it was very difficult. Finally, he managed to succeed, and poked the needle through the delicate fabric of the silk suit. He ended up poking himself. Hard. It was then that Sasuke realized that he really needed a girl who could help him to be there at that moment. He tried again to stitch it on, but the same fate met his poor fingers.

Another growl escaped Sasuke’s lips. He really, really couldn’t sew. It was just one of those things that he couldn’t do. Most sensible people would have by now given up, but being Sasuke, he didn’t – he refused to wear anything without his clan’s deceased pride etched into it somewhere. What was he to do? He couldn’t just go ask a random person at the time it was now. It was almost midnight.

Suddenly, Sasuke tensed. He could feel someone’s presence beyond his door. He stood up, then stilled, waiting for whomever it was to do something. There was a long silence, until finally, the someone knocked softly on Sasuke’s door. Sasuke decided to test a certain theory of his…

“Go away Naruto,” he said to the door, placing his ear upon the wood to hear whatever the person might grumble, “I’m preparing for the mission.” (And what a mission it was, he added to himself.)

There was no answer. That, to Sasuke, meant that it couldn’t possibly be Naruto. Nor could it be Sakura – she would have immediately felt insulted and would’ve pounced right into his room without knocking, hopefully catching Sasuke in the middle of changing. It was someone different; someone quiet. Could it be… Hinata?

“It’s not Naruto-kun,” came a terrified, soft, voice from outside. Yes, it was defiantly Hinata. But what was she doing here? It was late – she should be at home, with her family. (A small cry of loneliness echoed somewhere inside of Sasuke at that thought.) “M-may I come in, S-Sasuke-san?”

For a brief moment Sasuke wondered whether or not this could be a joke. It was, after all, nearing midnight. Hinata was a shy, quiet, and scared girl from what he knew of her – being outside alone in the dark wasn’t very safe. He reached slowly for a kunai. This, he thought, might be another trap by Orochimaru. Preparing himself for attacks, he positioned his hand so he could attack quickly should he need to, and opened his door slowly.

There stood Hinata, her cheeks rosy from the cold, staring curiously at him with her near-pupil-less eyes. She was twiddling with her fingers, and Sasuke could easily tell from her aura that this was most defiantly Hinata. He allowed her into his apartment, even though he was still a little bit suspicious.

“Th-thank you,” Hinata murmured as her feet shuffled into the warmth of inside. Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement and shut the door, kunai in his hand still safely hidden. Why was Hinata here, anyway? Sasuke rarely got any visitors other than Sakura with her sweets (she still hadn’t realized that Sasuke didn’t like sweets) and Naruto asking for a spar. (“Sasuke-bastard! I’ve got a new plan – this time you’re going down!”)

Hinata stared at her feet when she was inside, her back to Sasuke’s bed. There was a strange silence as both just stood there. Sasuke scanned his room while he waited for an explanation. He noticed, his face suddenly growing hot, that the suit he had been attempting to stitch sprawled on the floor. Embarrassment rushed through him. How much could he trust Hinata? What would people say if they knew that Uchiha Sasuke stitched stuff into his clothing? The boy dreaded having all those bothersome people asking him to confirm rumors that would quite easily explode out of proportion.

After a few moments of mentally panicking at his image, something that normally Sasuke wouldn’t give a damn about, Sasuke decided that while Hinata was preoccupied with her feat, he would quickly grab the suit and stuff it under a pillow. And she wouldn’t notice this at all. It never occurred to Sasuke that though Hinata was quiet and shy, she was also rather curious.

Hinata looked up as Sasuke made a sudden movement toward something on the floor. Before she could see what it was, Sasuke had successfully snatched it and hidden it under his Uchiha pillow. Standing up straight, Sasuke brushed off some imaginary dust from his shorts, knowing perfectly well that she had just seen him. Hinata just watched him curiously, wondering more and more each minute what it might’ve been that he’d want to hide from her…

“Sorry,” said Sasuke, “I was packing up some clothing when you arrived. I don’t think you would very much… appreciate the… mess.” The lie was pretty strange and had a rather large hole in it, but Hinata bought it, even if she did have a slight suspicion. She made a small sound that signaled an “Um, okay…” Sasuke changed the subject. “What is it that you want, anyway?” he questioned flatly.

“Oh!” Hinata blushed. She’d completely forgotten why she’d come here in the first place. How was she to come up with a lie fast, and in front of the eyes of Sasuke? Above all, what kind of lie would work for this hour? In an instant, Hinata thought of Naruto for an excuse… should see? Could she?

Sasuke arched an eyebrow, waiting for her internal panic to slow down. Hinata half-expected him to tap his foot in impatience. “Well?”

“Neji-Niisan!” she blurted out unexpectedly. In an instant she registered what she said and clasped a hand over her mouth – Neji was one of Sasuke’s rivals. If she was being an annoyance, not only would Neji be annoyed at her because of earlier that day (coincidentally why she’d ended up at Sasuke’s in the first place), but he would also face against Sasuke. They both were experienced shinobi – she didn’t want to see the outcome to that battle. Well, she thought hopelessly, at least it wasn’t a lie.

“Neji?” Sasuke said, testily, “Why?”

Hinata’s stomach lurched. It was enough to have to tell about Neji sending her here, but now she really did have to lie about why Neji would send her here. She knew that Sasuke wouldn’t buy it if she stumbled too much over her words. Curse her habit! What was she going to say? Best to be as vague as possible, she supposed.

“F-for the mission,” she managed to stutter. As Sasuke still looked as though he was positive there was something else, she quickly supplied: “H-he supposed we should g-get to-together and know each other better. We are going… together… a-aren’t we?”

Sasuke slowly nodded, the kunai still in his sweaty fist. He should’ve hid it under the pillow earlier… “…Yes… that we are… going together…” He hoped that Hinata caught the silent ‘for the mission!’ at the end. The boy coughed; Hinata was unable to tell if it was a true cough or not. They stood in silence, Hinata wondering what Sasuke might be thinking, while Sasuke’s thoughts traveled back to under the pillow. Could Hinata stitch…?

He shook himself back to what they’d been talking about. He didn’t completely buy what the girl had said. To Sasuke it seemed as though only part of what she said was true – the first-half. Yet, to his knowledge, Hinata wasn’t one to lie… was she? Whatever, at the moment it didn’t matter why she was here. For now, Sasuke decided, he would make use of her. Girls could stitch. Boys couldn’t. So what if he was to simply imply that Hinata could do him a favor? Sasuke glanced at her (her gaze had again retreated to her feet) and then back to his pillow. Surely it wouldn’t hurt…?

“Hinata,” Sasuke said abruptly, dragging her out of her thoughts, “Can you stitch?”

To Hinata this was a very strange question – it came completely out of the blue. Uchiha Sasuke had just asked her if she knew how to stitch. She blinked. Could this have anything to do with what Sasuke had previously hid under the pillow? Could she be of some assistance to him? (She was feeling kind of useless at the moment.)

“I, um, I can do basic stitching,” Hinata answered slowly, “I-is there anything you need help with, Sasuke-san?”

Sasuke smirked; he would smile, but Sasuke was an Uchiha, and Uchihas did not smile. He shoved his hand behind the pillow and pulled out the bundle that was his suit, the Uchiha Clan’s crest, and the needle with the thread (along with putting back that sweaty kunai that had probably caused him to lose a few brain cells because of loss of blood.) “I do,” he said, showing her both his pinched finger (carefully hiding his palm) and the bundle. Hinata had to muffle her giggles at the thought that Sasuke had hurt himself trying to stitch the Uchiha crest onto his suit.

“I can help you, Sasuke-san,” Hinata smiled confidentially, taking the bundle from Sasuke’s hands. She was proud of her skills in this department, and carefully extracting the needle from Sasuke’s fingers, she quickly and cleanly got to stitching the crest onto Sasuke’s black suit. Sasuke watched, making sure that hisSharinganwas activated – he needed to know these techniques just in case.

Hinata felt the eyes of the Sharinganon her back and again had to suppress a giggle. Boys would be boys, she supposed. Continuing her stitching, Hinata wondered why exactly Sasuke wanted to stitch the crest on everything he wore. A few selected outfits, sure, but why everything?

Sasuke-san’s parents died when we were all really young, thought Hinata. Perhaps he remembers them with these…

Sasuke shifted behind her slightly. He was pretty sure that he knew how to stitch by now, so he moved towards his window. He often wondered why he’d gotten a room that allowed him to see the very area of Konoha that he didn’t want to see – the Uchiha compound. Lost in thought, Sasuke grew completely oblivious to the fact that Hinata was in his apartment.

Meanwhile, Hinata had finally finished stitching the crest onto Sasuke’s suit. She stood up triumphantly, but found that Sasuke was paying her no mind. He was, in fact, too busy glancing out the window. Hinata wondered, what could he possibly be looking at? He wasn’t looking up at the sky, but rather he was glancing down at the streets.

“Um… Sasuke-san?” Hinata asked cautiously. Sasuke didn’t reply. Hinata stepped closer to the Uchiha, leaving Sasuke’s clothes on his bed. She reached him and tapped softly on his shoulder. “Sasuke-san?”

Sasuke nearly jumped out of his skin from Hinata’s soft on his shoulder. He’d completely forgotten she was there – he’d been too absorbed in his memories from staring out into the compound. The only things that remained other than the emblem upon his back…

“I spaced out,” Sasuke said moodily, noticing that Hinata had suddenly tensed when he had before. “I forgot you were here.” He hadn’t said it with any particular emotion, so Hinata didn’t think if he was implying that he wanted her to leave. She nodded, then turned to pick up Sasuke’s suit and hold it out to him so he could see the neatly stitched crest. It was perfect – she had made not a single mistake. Sasuke was surprised, though he didn’t show it. Hinata had done better than Sakura did. (Sakura had once found Sasuke brooding as he tried to stitch one onto his clothing and was more than happy to help.)

Sasuke thanked her (an amazement, one might point out) and took the suit when she handed it to him. He traced over the seeming with his finger. He tried not to show his astonishment at the perfectly round stitching. Hinata couldn’t just do basic, she could do advanced, in Sasuke’s honored opinion. With the best indifferent expression he could muster, Sasuke said, “I appreciate you helping me.”

Even at this weak acknowledgment, Hinata’s cheeks tinged red under the raven-haired boy’s gaze. Sasuke didn’t seem to notice her inner struggle this time. Goodness, was she, forbid, falling for him? She hadn’t blushed this much since she first met Naruto!

They stood in silence.

Sasuke had a sudden urge to go to sleep. This was strange, because Sasuke never really liked sleep – he had nightmares, and no matter how much he wouldn’t admit it, Sasuke was afraid of those nightmares.

Hinata didn’t want to go home, and she found this out only when her gaze accidentally fell to Sasuke’s mouth.

They stared at each other, neither daring to speak.

Sasuke coughed into the uncomfortable silence, a signal that he wanted her to leave. He wasn’t used to these awkward situations – he’d usually have the upper hand in them. He didn’t lose eye-contact with Hinata’s face, watching her expectantly. Hinata squirmed under his gaze, looking him up and down. All the while, Sasuke meant to say something but found that words were lost to him.

Out of all the times to go dumb, Sasuke scoffed, gritting his teeth, why now?

“Sasuke-san,” Hinata said suddenly, coming out of her own thoughts and looking up to face him. “W-Would you want me to leave?” Sasuke looked into the shy girl’s eyes. He’d always recognized the Hyuuga for their pupil-less eyes, but as he studied Hinata’s he found that he actually could make out a pupil, just faint and unnoticeable unless you really looked for it. Sasuke suddenly felt a sensation he hadn’t felt since he was nine – the feeling that there was something more to a person’s eyes than he’d initially thought.

The blood in Sasuke’s face ran into his cheeks and Sasuke’s Uchiha-Cells had to fight to keep them from causing him to blush. In the end, it ended as a bit of a manly flush. In turn, Hinata’s eyes widened as she let out another small “Oh!” and her own blush deepened.

Sasuke-san…? What-?

“Y-yes,” said Sasuke, bringing back Hinata’s somewhat forgotten question. “Could you? I-I… need to rest after… training...” His sentence ended somewhat lamely, and the Hyuuga noticed his stutter a little too clearly. Sasuke wasn’t one to be caught off-guard; that was her job.

In any case, she nodded softly. With a turn away from Sasuke and the window, Hinata retreated back to the doorway. Knob in hand, she remembered how cold it was outside. She stopped, having also forgotten something else. “Good-night, Sasuke-san...”

She shut the door behind her. Not only had Sasuke said ‘sorry’ and had thanked her… but Sasuke had also nearly let slip a ‘please.’ All in one day, all to one person. This was the difference that separated Hinata from both Sakura Sasuke’s fanclub – a silent companion was something Sasuke nearly never had. Sometimes, Sasuke just needed some silence.

---

“Hey, Sasuke! Open the freaking door!”

Sasuke groaned. He had been having a good dream for once in his life. Why did Naruto always wake him up when he was having a good dream? Sasuke shifted in bed so that he was facing up, but light had flooded in his room through the window. Sasuke rolled over in bed, trying to retrieve his lost dream.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

“Sasuke-kun!”

Sasuke tried to stuff pillows in his ears. Sakura’s loud voice wasn’t something he needed in the morning. He moaned again, then pulled the covers over his face. By now, Sakura and Naruto would open the door by force. Sasuke waited, eyes squeezed shut, hoping that they had the common-sense that would inform them that it was a Saturday, and they were genin.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu”

Sasuke nearly cried. He didn’t need to go through this again. His Uchiha-Cells were in over-drive, rushing to keep him from crying into his pillow out of desperation.

“SAUCE-FREAKING-KAY!”

“Ugh... Naruto…”

In through the window jumped none other than Uzumaki Naruto clones number one and two. Sasuke tried desperately to go back to sleep, he could even taste the dream coming back to him… He was nearly back to those great days… five years ago…

…and with a fierce kick to his face, Sasuke had Naruto’s bunshindisappear. Sasuke sighed and sat up in bed, wiping what was left of his precious sleep from his eyes. He glared at the second Naruto clone – it was grinning. Sasuke grabbed the kunai from under the pillow and shot it at the bunshin’s heart. It disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke didn’t feel like moving. He stretched his whole body in his sitting up position and flattened down his duck-butt bed-head. Dammit, thought Sasuke as he straightened his clothes, Now that I have to take a shower, all the sleep in my eyes will go away.

“Dumbass,” Sasuke said to the door, glaring at it with the help of his Uchiha-Cells. Amazingly enough, the door didn’t light on fire. “Some people enjoytheir dreams when they have days off.” It was true that Sasuke usually would wake up early in the morning to train, but today he’d been immersed within his dream and couldn’t be bothered to wake up.

“Some of us think getting ready for a mission is more important than dreaming, bastard!”

…Mission?