Sasuke

Like a rotten tomato thrown away [affiliated] [rp blog]

[gentlehyuuga]

Brothers || Sasuke and Hinata

[gentlehyuuga]

Blood spilt from her mouth, mixing with the dirt around her. Hinata laid on the grown where she had fallen, closing her eyes to prevent tears from falling. Carefully listening to Sasuke’s words. 

He grabbed her collar, forcing her to look in his eyes; at all his anger and guilt. She didn’t say a word as he threw her back on to the ground. Hinata understood what he was saying. It was what everyone else was saying, although most people didn’t throw her around while saying it. As he crouched down next to her, she turned away. Not wanting to cry in front of someone who might as well have been a stranger. 

Sasuke’s kick didn’t hurt, being thrown to the floor might as well have been a gentle toss. Every since she got back, everything was numb. Her friends smiles seemed dimmer. Kiba didn’t seem as loud and Shino didn’t seem as blunt. It was as if the world was surrounded by gray. 

Hinata felt 12 years old again. Weak and alone. 

She turned her head towards Sasuke. He wasn’t looking at her, but she was intensely staring at him. Hinata couldn’t understand why he’d say these thing to her. He doesn’t know her, or Neji; so why would the village traitor even waste his time. “I… I think everyone thinks I jumped in front of Naruto-kun… because he was detrimental to the war.. because I was simply doing my part,” She said.

Biting her lip and looking down, she continued. “But that isn’t true… I jumped in front of him because I’m a selfish little girl… I wanted to save Naruto-kun because he’s Naruto-kun… it wasn’t brave or courageous…”

Hinata sat up in front of Sasuke, looking into his eyes. “I… am nothing like Neji-niisan. I am not a prodigy. I… wouldn’t save the heir to a clan that hurt me… I couldn’t stand next to the people who caused me pain like that… I wouldn’t protect the people who killed my family…”

Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. “Despite what it means… that doesn’t change how things are… I am a selfish child… who didn’t deserve Neji-niisan’s life…” Hinata hung her head, trying to hide the tears she was choking back. “When he d-died.. he smiled… I… I ruined his life… with the position I was born in… and he still loved me…”

[disregardedtomato]

Sasuke's shirt drifted in the breeze as he remained quiet. Staring off into the distance as Hinata said her first words today that were not laced with an apology.  Words that no longer held a desire to be forgiven.

His forehead furrowed at her remarks, he...barely knew her, he only knew what he had been told. Even so Sasuke still felt as if she was wrong, she was more then that, more then some selfish girl who was looking out for her own desires. However, in all honesty the truth or Sasuke's feeling did not matter right now, not at all.

Sasuke kept still as Hinata crawled around to meet his gaze, pitch black orbs meeting with pure white. As she opened up to him Sasuke slowly nodded. Sasuke could relate to how living in someone's shadow felt like, he empathized with with feeling unable, incapable of carrying the same burdens of another.  

He watched as Hinata's emotions began to take over, as her voice showed signs of cracking, tears swelling up.

His face showed signs of sadness, as she trailed off Sasuke closed his eyes and gave some thought. 

Nii-san. Sasuke, still could not comprehend his older brothers reasons. He understood it in theory, the fact that he loved Sasuke. It was not one sided, Sasuke deeply cared for his brother, the hatred he had felt after his betrayal was created due to that love, and the anger of losing him along with everyone else. But, Sasuke still couldn't comprehend how Itachi must have felt. Both under the label of a true traitor and that of his feelings towards his little brother.

"Indeed" Sasuke broke though the silence. "You may very well be a selfish girl, one without the strength to hold up burdens of drastic measure. One who did not deserve for someone to die for her."

"It doesn't matter", Hinata was her own person, she was caring and kind enough to at worst, tolerate a traitor and cook him a delicious lunch. She was selfless enough to die for the one she loved, even if it meant never enjoying being in his presence ever again.

But above all she was an individual, one whom was precious to her cousin Neji. For Hinata to squander herself in an effort to make it up to him would simply be a terrible betrayal. 

Both of them were bound to continue living.

Sasuke reached down and placed his hand under her jaw, forcing her to look towards him.

Sasuke stopped pressing his finger into her jaw and slowly stood up. With a slightly awkward smirk Sasuke passed down a handkerchief. Turning away Sasuke began walking off.

Raising a hand in the air as goodbye, Sasuke left Hinata to dry her own tears. He hoped that she would be all right, there was little else he felt comfortable doing. More importantly, Hinata having finally been able to expose her feelings needed time, time to reflect.

"Be strong, Hinata" Sasuke whispered under his breath.

[gentlehyuuga]

Brothers || Sasuke and Hinata

[disregardedtomato]

gentlehyuuga:

She caught the gauze that was tossed to her and began to warp her wounds as she listened to Sasuke speak. Nodding at appropriate times. When she finished bandaging her hands, she looked up at him. Hinata noticed the awkward expression on his face. She knew the Uchiha was trying to show her kindness and understand, but she found it a bit silly how forced it was. 

Hinata stared in awe as his susanoo began to emerge. She had never seen Sasuke’s power up close. Naruto and himself almost single-handily won the war, so she knew he was exceptional. But it was completely different seeing his strength herself, and she knew he was capable of so much more.  

Rolling her sleeves up, she took her fighting stance. Her legs were trembling, sweat dripping off her forehead; anger and guilt consuming her. “Yes,” she said, before delivering the first blow. With every hit she could feel the splinters in her palms digging deeper. Hinata was putting every emotion she could behind her strikes but it seemed like the skeleton was unbreakable. 

She continued to mindlessly attack Sasuke’s susanoo, but she couldn’t help but wonder why he was doing this in the first place. The two were friendly, but they certainly weren’t friends. Hinata knew about the Uchiha massacre. That if anyone could understand pain, it would be Sasuke. He spent years after the man who killed his family. Even if it was his own brother, he was able to seek vengeance. How could she do the same when the person to blame was herself? 

Hinata began to shake with guilt. Thrusting her palms against the purple beast, she was only able to achieve small cracks in the shield that quickly repaired themselves after each blow.

Neji had been her only true family. Someone she could put all her trust in. The only Hyuuga who would recognize her efforts and resolve. It was all gone in an instant. Even if she was heiress, Hinata could feel the glares. No one truly believed in her strength as a leader. 

Once again she was alone.

Delivering a final blow, she feel to her knees. The susanoo still standing tall. Her body was shaking, the palms of her hands bleeding through the bandages. “I… I’m sorry Sasuke-kun…,” she said, hyperventilating. “I… I’m not strong enough.”

Sasuke stood tall as Hinata pressed her palm into the susanoo, as Sasuke had expected even her very first strike managed to cause a  fracture in his shield. There were few things in this world powerful enough to harm a susanoo directly, however as a being of pure chakra the gentle fist was at a unique advantage.

His armour however was much stronger then that of a tree and would not be undone by any number of un-convicted strikes. Sasuke payed attention as Hinata wailed into him, her strikes were filled with passion and regret but her power was simply not being conveyed through into her attacks. Her mind was elsewhere, her thoughts were not on becoming stronger, on becoming the best she could be.

As Hinata fell to the ground, her body reeling of what he had asked of her, and likely of what she had done to herself mentally Sasuke dissipated the susanoo, a misty purple aura all that remaind for a few moments longer.

His eyes returning to that of solid black Sasuke stood tall above Hinata, he watched as she could barely breath  and her blood stained the bandages. He knew at a time like this most people would crouch down to her level, he knew it was 'better' to give kind words, that that is what a friend should do in this situation.

But, right now he was not a friend of Hinata's he was simply a common soul who understood what this guilt, this agony felt like. 

He waited a few more moments, the breeze gently rustling the trees. Sasuke lifted his leg and kicked Hinata in the side, causing her to roll in the dirt.

Sasuke stood thee for a moment before giving a quick snapping retort to Hinata. "That's a bold faced lie, you wish you were weak, helpless but you know better"

He began to walk closer. 

"It's your strength that is killing you inside, the fact you  know you were more then strong enough to take that fateful blow. You know you are strong enough to honour your clan and more then strong enough to break though a traitors shield" Sasuke tautly pointed out to Hinata.

Reaching down, Sasuke grabbed the neck of her jacket and held her up, his eyes staring into hers. 

"You jumped in front of Naruto. Neji jumped in front of you." Sasuke continued. "It's time for you realise what that meant" Sasuke forcefully pointed out before throwing Hinata back down on the ground.

As the dust settled Sasuke finally crouched down on the ground near where she lay, his face softening Sasuke kept his gaze away from Hinata, wondering how she took what he said or what he had done.

[gentlehyuuga]

Brothers || Sasuke and Hinata

She could still feel the warmth of his blood. The over powering smell of copper as it hit her face. His body going limp fresh in her mind. Hinata knew that losing comrades, fathers, mothers, brothers, was part of being a shinobi. That’s why she willingly sacrificed herself. She knew that he was detrimental to winning the war. It was supposed to be her blood split. 

Hinata stood in the training field. Her knuckles bloody and breath shallow. The tree she was standing in front of torn to bits. It had been weeks but she couldn’t overcome this feeling. Guilt. 

After the funeral, her father reappointed her as heiress of the Hyuugas. Explaining that her efforts in the war had shown her power as a leader. But without Neji beside her, she felt it was pointless. He was the only one deserving such a title. No one had felt the pain of the Hyuga power structure as devastatingly as him. Neji spent years, slowly dying, because of her power as heiress. How was she supposed to change this power when she, once again, profited over his pain? 

Hinata could feel chakra approaching the training grounds. Ignoring it, she kicked the tree stub, causing it to fracture and split apart. Assuming it was someone simply passing by. 

Since his death, she had very little alone time. Between the aftermath of the war, funerals, along Kiba and Shino dotting on her. The two were just trying to make sure she was okay. That she didn’t blame herself. But she couldn’t help but feel suffocated. As much as they tried, Hinata knew they couldn’t understand. 

She had brushed with death a few times. At one point this had given her strength, proof that she could fight through anything. Until the very end. Now she was left wondering if it was just some sick cosmic joke. Kept alive just to see a man who once tried to kill her, die for her. 

Her palm pressed into what was let of the tree, demolishing what was left of it; splinters digging underneath her skin. “Fuck…,” she mumbled under her breath. As much as she tried to move past it. To accept it. Every moment she was alone was filled with guilt. Another man died for her. Someone she loved. 

Hinata began to move on to something else she could pummel, but noticed the presence of chakra still lingering behind her. She turned to see Sasuke resting next to a tree, he was watching her. Her cheeks turned bright red. “G… good afternoon, Sasuke-kun… do… do you need something?” Hinata stuttered, embarrassed the Uchiha caught her off guard.  

[disregardedtomato]

The training fields, after the war they had seemed abandoned. Few ninja had any desire or the strength to resume any training, ignoring the fact that there was so much more work to do in the village.

Sasuke used his time out in the fields practising with a single arm, although he knew in truth it was more a way of wasting time. There was no real passion in his strikes today and as time went on his throws had become lazy.

Deciding to head home, Sasuke began walking through the trees at a leisurely pace. As he walked through the forest he sensed the presence of another, out of pure curiosity Sasuke decided to head towards them. He thought that maybe their training would motivate him or at least be somewhat slightly interesting to watch.

To his surprise it was Hinata out in the grounds. Sasuke had seen her only a few times after their first meeting, one time even receiving a gift from the Hyuuga for his kitchen.  Moving out from behind the clearing Sasuke watched as her palm went up against the tree, her strikes seemed unusual as if she wasn't in the right frame of mind.

Leaning back up against a tree he continued watching. He remembered that Neji Hyuuga a comrade but not one of the 'rookie nine', had been given a funeral recently. He had obviously heard about his fate from Naruto, although he was unsure how close he really was to Neji. Sasuke could tell however that Naruto felt a lot of pain and regret over his death.

Activating his sharingan he watched Hinata closely, something inside him beginning to stir. He remembered how he felt after losing Itatchi, how he wanted desperately desired to rush to the gates of Konoha and exact justice down on those whom had manipulated him for their personal peace. He obviously knew even at the time that he could not act on emotion alone, but it fuelled almost all his actions after that point.

As she destroyed the tree and mumbled an expletive Sasuke began to walk towards her. Wordlessly he went into his pocket and threw a small case of bandages towards her. His gaze moved from Hinata and onto the destroyed tree Sasuke felt as if he understood how she was feeling. That she felt undeserving of the sacrifice her 'brother' had made, that there was no reason she was meant to be alive.

He simply understood that Hinata could destory the entire forest and she wouldn't feel any better.

"You're too strong for this" Sasuke spoke forcefully before his face showed signs of awkwardness. "I don't mean you're to strong to hurt, but I mean this is nothing, no matter how many tree's are destroyed in your wake it wont do anything for you" Sasuke spoke looking down on her, trying to show some sort of the understanding he felt.

Sasuke jumped backwards to create distance between himself and Hinata, the dust pushing upwards as he landed. Sasuke's eyes took on their true mangekyō form. He once said he would take all of the vile and anger for the world onto himself, that it would help others cope with pain and come together. He felt as if it was fitting for him to try and use that in practice rather then simple words, Naruto had always been better at words. 

"If you really want to push yourself Hinata, for your palms to throb and to still push through the pain. Reach past your limits against my power." Sasuke proclaimed as the purple skeleton began to take shape.

Sasuke continued past the first stage and created his susanoo was clad in armour, its shield raised low in a defensive position. It was not the strongest susanoo he could have made but in his opinion more then enough to rival Hinata's strength.

"Come at me with everything you have got" Sasuke simply encouraged. He wanted to express how she could be free to ignore him, to use him as a simple punching bag. However he felt as if that would make her focus on the wrong things, that he was human and trying to help and she could simply refuse.

So he waited, waited for her to strike him.

[gentlehyuuga]

Meeting the Demon || Sasuke and Hinata

[gentlehyuuga]

She looked towards Sasuke with a wide smile at the mention of her teammates. “Akamaru has grown so much… he use to fit so comfortably on Kiba-kun’s head…. now we can all ride him!,” Hinata said, pausing for a moment, “Although.. I think Shino-kun looks quite different… he wears a much bigger jacket.” She was surprised he remembered her, much less Shino. Quite frankly, no one remembered Shino. Under different circumstances, Shino-kun would probably be happy someone so popular remembered him… ah but then he would pout about how he wasn’t invited on the revival mission ‘why? because clearly I’m closer to Sasuke than Choji therefor better suited’ the Hyuuga thought, chuckling to herself. 

Bringing the miso down to simmer while the rice finished, she continued cooking while listening to Sasuke. He continued to surprise her. Not only because he had noticed she had change, which was strange to the Hyuga, but by how blunt he was about being marked as a traitor of the village he was currently residing in. She didn’t understand how it was that easy for Sasuke. To just accept the title of traitor and come back as if it was nothing. Although she had no interest in questing him about it, it did leave her curious. 

"All that matters is that you are here now…" she said, and something Hinata honestly believed. The Uchiha was a deserter but he also grew up with them. He spent years in the academy with them, took the chunin exams with them, and helped Naruto save them all from Infinite Tsukuyomi. She had seen it with her own eyes over the years with Neji, anyone can change. "I… I’ve changed. I’ve tried very hard to become confident, strong, and I might be no match for Naruto-kun… or yourself… I can proudly stand my ground against any of the chunin, maybe even a few jonin," she chimed. 

Almost simultaneously the rice cooker dinged. Rummaging through Sasuke’s cabinets, she quickly found his dishes and began to make plates for them. “I don’t mind…,” she paused, trying to think of a good story, “Kurenai-sensei is pregnant… she’s due very soon… we’re all very excited! She says it’s going to be a baby girl. Let’s see… all of us are now chunin… except Naruto-kun…,” Hinata said, finishing the plates.

She placed them on the table, motioning Sasuke that the food was done as she sat down. “Oh! Do you remember Temari-san…? She took the chunin exams with us the first time… she has blonde hair… the Kazekage’s sister…? Ino-chan keeps saying that she and Shikamaru-kun are dating… but anytime we ask him about it he just says ‘troublesome’…” She remarked, beginning to eat. 

[disregardedtomato]

Her simple comment seemed to throw out all tension from the room, there was no need for him to explain himself, its not what mattered. Sasuke was relived that the topic was dropped and the idle conversation moved onward.

Sasuke knew that at the very least Hinata was more then capable at taking on multiple spawn of the tailed beast, a feat which while compared to his own seemed inconsequential was one that earned respect.

Listening to Hinata, Sasuke occasionally  commented on the topics. He didn’t know much about Kurenai other than she was another jounin instructor.When the fact the Naruto had not become a chunin yet Sasuke cracked a small smirk. "I'm sure if Naruto entered the chunin exam everyone else would forfeit, it would be a few boring night in the forest of death for him though"

Sitting down at the table Sasuke picked up a fork and started eating, listening to the gossip. He had little interest in gossip, simply nodding as she talked.

"Sounds just like Shikimaru, although it sounds more evasive then usual" he commented, the last time he had seen Temari at the kage summit.

Sasuke continued to enjoy eating the salad, savouring every bite. There wasn't much in particular for him to talk about in reply to Hinata's stories. He could bring up how Karin was always evasive with her affections, how Juugo attracted the cutest creatures or about Suigetsu. There were quite a few incidents caused by Suigetsu. 

Finishing his salad Sasuke took a napkin cleared away any juices from his face.

"This was nice" Sasuke simply spoke frankly, not making a big deal of the meal nor pretending to not have enjoyed the company. "You have completed your mission from the future Hokage, Hinata. I'm sure your permitted to start enjoying your day off" He proclaimed in a plain tone, with a small smirk. Trying not to be rude about it Sasuke slowly stood up from the table and walked towards the door, opening it for the end of his time with his first real visitor.

As she walked past him, Sasuke tried to say "Thank you". It instead went by as a unrecognisable mumble under his breath. Sasuke would then shut the door slowly behind her and suddenly the mood seemed dimmer, although it took Hinata leaving for Sasuke to notice that it had been brighter.

With a slight frown Sasuke returned to the same spot he had been before, sitting his back against the wall to enjoy the breeze. The air however was still now although there as no true connection between the two it was a passing thought that Hinata had taken away Sasuke's wind.

[gentlehyuuga]

Meeting the Demon || Sasuke and Hinata

[gentlehyuuga]

Her eyes didn’t leave him as he rustled through the bags. It almost seemed as if he wanted her to be there, or at least the company. He had always seemed aloof to Hinata. In their years together at the academy Sasuke didn’t make any friends, or seem interested in anyone. Not that she could judge for that, she didn’t make leaps or bounds to make friends either. But something about him seemed different than the Uchiha she knew. Even compared to when he showed up at the battle, he somehow seemed softer to her. 

"I think Naruto-kun is just worried…" She said. Hinata was sure it wasn’t about food. Naruto, like everyone else, was probably worried about how Sasuke would adjust to being back in Konoha. But she felt like out right saying that would be taboo. It had become standard to not talk about what happened between team seven the last few years. At least not in front of it’s two most powerful members, unsure of how they would react. 

She began to look around his kitchen, quickly glancing back to Sasuke, making sure it was okay to look inside his cabinets. “Caprese salad…?” The Hyuga started, while rummaging through the kitchen. “I can make that… although… I wonder why it’s called a ‘salad’ with no lettuce… like ‘potato salad’ I suppose…” She said slightly giggling to herself. “You have miso here also… and some rice… those will make good side dishes…” 

Hinata gathered the ingredients and utensils. She began to boil water for the miso, get the rice cooker set up and chop the tomatoes. Glancing at Sasuke every few minutes while she continued to prepare their meal. She found herself wondering how Sasuke was able to chop things on his own, or if all he ate was instant ramen. Recently she had bought a manual food processor for Naruto, but decided not to give to him; she was doubtful he cooks in the first place. Maybe Sasuke-kun would like it…

Sasuke suddenly speaking stunned her. She turned her head towards him, unsure how to respond. “Ah… I… yes… It’s been a while, hasn’t it…? I certainly couldn’t fit in anything I wore back then… I suppose you couldn’t either… I guess that happens… everyone has grown so much… Naruto-kun is even taller than Kiba-kun now…” She replied with a smile, focusing back to her cooking. Hinata was happy she could see so many of her comrades grow. That most of them came back from the war safely. 

She found herself enjoying idling talking to Sasuke, but wasn’t sure what to say. ‘Hey thanks for coming back to Konoha it made Naruto really happy also why did you leave and try to kill Naruto and what’s up with the whole wanting to be Hokage thing?’ certainly wasn’t appropriate. Hinata would let Sasuke establish the pace. 

[disregardedtomato]

Sasuke looked towards one of his cupboards, a smirk across his face, "I could always try fitting into something from back then" he had no interest in following through with it.

"If were talking size I think the title for biggest growth goes to Akamaru, he's definitely no pup, Shino still looks the same though" Sasuke commented, Sasuke barely knew any of the members of team 8, in fact his only memory as their 'comrade would have been Shino taking care of a puppeteer ninja.

Sasuke  breathed in quietly before actually explaining what he meant by the comment, although Sasuke had noticed her physical growth it was not something he would comment on. 

"You're a lot more confident now, I couldn't imagine the Hinata of the past here right now, knocking on the door and walking into the den of the village traitor..." he trailed off his hand in his pocket before lightly smirking.

"It's a title I accepted, there's no need to be hide it but" he sighed, "I don't intend on harming anyone of the village any more, nor being hokage, and you can tell that to anyone that asks" Sasuke established, deciding to clear the air of he main two questions surrounding Sasuke.

He waited for a few moments before moving towards the glass doors Sasuke decided to resume simply conversation not wanting to delve into his previous actions further at this time.

"I'm sure there were plenty of things that have happened in the village, if you don't mind I would be interested in hearing about things" Sasuke asked simply wanting Hinata to keep talking after he mentioned lightly his changed intentions.

[gentlehyuuga]

Meeting the Demon || Sasuke and Hinata

[gentlehyuuga]

  Her heart quickened as the door opened. Nervous how the Uchiha would react to her presence. She was certain he wouldn’t hurt her, after all they were in Konoha. Attacking her without reason in their own village, not even Naruto could get him out of that. But this was the man that killed his own brother, Hinata was unsure what he was capable of. 

"H… hello Sasuke-kun," she murmured; letting him take the bag from her. Slightly taken aback that he remembered her. ”Naruto-kun wanted me to come by… and give you these…” Her eyes grazed the apartment. She had passed the famed Uchiha compound many times but had never been inside, surprised how neat it was for a teenage boy living alone. Hinata fixated on a small picture of team 7. It was across the room, but she could clearly make out the young group and the current Hokage. A small smile appeared on her face as her eyes flickered back to Sasuke, just in time for his “joke”. Maybe he is secretly sentimental… 

Hinata gave a small bow before entering the apartment. “I am supposed to make sure you eat…,” she stated, “A… Although.. if all that’s there is ramen maybe I should go pick up something healthier…? Instant ramen isn’t the diet of someone who is recovering should be eating… Or if you have groceries, I’m sure I can make something…” If she was given a “mission”, no matter how small, she was going to do it right. 

The Hyuga slowly began to walk towards the small kitchenette, not wanting to step out of place, but stopped just before the fridge. “What would you like to eat…?” She said, turning towards him. Her eyes fixated on the young Uchiha. This didn’t seem like it would be as hard as she once thought. Hinata thought he almost seemed friendly, giving her the feeling of relief.  

[disregardedtomato]

He began to put the cups of ramen away while adding the scarce few greens on the counter. Sasuke was relived when his first guest stepped though the doorway, she could have just left after handing over the groceries.

"Make sure I eat? Since when did Naruto start enforcing good habits?" Sasuke questioned, Sasuke picked out a few tomatoes and put them on the cutting board.

It had been difficult but Sasuke had been practising by himself at cooking with only one arm, simple meals mostly. Through some trial and error he found it easier to cut food in the air than trying in vain to keep it in place to slice.

But despite this he was not going to pass up the opportunity to have someone make him a simple meal instead.

"Since your offering I do feel like a Caprese salad it's healthy and I have all the ingredients, enough for two at least anyway...and since I'm making the request make sure to have extra tomato" Sasuke instructed moving back from the kitchen.

As Sasuke watched as she began looking around his kitchen, slicing his fresh tomato's he simply watched her, Sasuke never paid much attention to her in the past, he was far more interested in her cousin; she was weak and not worth his time someone who would not make him stronger. 

"You've grown" Sasuke simply stated, flattery was not his style but neither did he desire the two of them to sit in silence

[gentlehyuuga]

Meeting the Demon || Sasuke and Hinata

A voice rang through the streets of Konoha. “Oi! Hinata!” Almost instantly recognizing who it was, she whipped around to greet the orange ninja running towards her. He frantically waved his hand, as if he wasn’t noticeable enough; clutching on to a plastic bag. She noticed the people around them staring at the ruckus and slightly giggled to herself.  He was always the center of attention. 

"Good Afternoon, Naruto-kun…," Hinata said, giving him a small bow. Before she could exchange pleasantries Naruto interrupted her. 

"Could you take these to Sasuke’s? I was on my way over there and Kakashi-sensei said he needed to see me immediately. It’s just some groceries but if I don’t check if he eats he probably won’t…" He rattled, thrusting the bag into her hands. "All you have to do is make sure he eats it! Thank you so much Hinata! I owe you!" Naruto yelled, already running towards the Hokage building. Not giving Hinata the chance to protest. 

She gazed down at the groceries in her hand and let out a sigh. The war had just ended. Most shinobi were on missions to repair any damage done to the villages. The unlucky few that specialized in tracking were off finding bodies to be shipped home. It was far and few in between that anyone had any free time. Today was a well earned day off. Heading towards Sasuke’s apartment, she let out a heavier sigh. At least I had nothing planed…

The Uchiha’s return to Konoha was not popular amongst the Konoha 10. Most of them regarding him as a traitor. His proclamation of becoming Hokage certainly didn’t help him any. They thought he was out right insane, herself included. But Hinata couldn’t help but notice how much Naruto’s face has lit up over the last few weeks. He lost an arm, but she thought he never looked happier. She couldn’t find it in her to hate Sasuke.

That didn’t mean she wanted to go over babysit him either. The two haven’t spoken since they were genin, she couldn’t even remember if they had ever had a conversation. Hinata approached his door. What if he doesn’t remember me…? 

She knocked. 

[disregardedtomato]

The cool afternoon breeze swept across Sasuke’s face as he sat, his back against the wall on his small balcony. His apartment was for better or worse towards the centre of the village rather than the outskirts, he could hear the rustle and bustle of the villagers. He also could always hear Naruto approaching, Sasuke believed he made an effort to be noticed.

Naruto had come over often, usually acting like an overbearing parent ensuring he was well stocked on food, even though he was more than capable of going down to the markets without attracting attention if he so desired.

Sasuke had no feelings as to hiding himself it was not his intention, but until the village returned to some stability he felt it best not to cause a fuss; especially during such events as funerals for the fallen. Death was common for a shinobi but, there had been so much during just a few days. He was secretly glad he was distant enough to have a reason not to attend in person.

Sasuke’s immersion on this line of thinking was broken when he heard a sound unexpected, a knock on his front door. It was unlikely that it was anyone whom usually came to visit as they would know he leaves the door unlocked, visitors being so rare.

Sasuke raised to his feet and took his time getting to the doorway, he would never admit to either being anxious to quickly answer his door nor nervous of someone new coming into his personal space.

While he was in hospital Sakura made the effort to ensure his room had been cleared of three years of dust, although he essentially only used the bed it did feel welcoming to return to a place that had not changed since he left it.

He parted the drapes to look outside. It was the Hyuuga girl, Hinata from team 8…carrying groceries and by that alone she was clearly sent here on a favour by Naruto.

Sasuke let out an audible sigh, he really didn’t need additional ramen cups that badly.

Having no real idea how Hinata felt about him Sasuke placed his hand around the doorhandle and opened the door.

“For what do I owe the pleasure for the heiress of the Hyuuga clan to come visit?” Sasuke asked trying to be polite. He Offered his hand to Hinata, “Here let me take those off you” directed towards the groceries Naruto had entrusted to her, “Naruto seems to think I need his special Naruto Raman diet of late, he…could be more subtle about it” Sasuke attempted at humour.

Taking the groceries inside Sasuke left the door open as he walked he simply said “Your welcome to come in Hinata”