A Perfect Circle

chapter one; the domino effect

Sasuke always thought that fate had a funny way of toying with him. From a young age, he was known for his success. Twisted from that success, came an unruly strain of failures that had him questioning if he had ever succeeded in anything at all, or if at one point in his life, he merely knocked over the wrong domino.

The events that played out leading to where he was had him on his toes about the decisions he made each day. One small step was all it took for him. One decision could end it all or begin something totally anew; and at that point in his life, he was all right with purgatory. He was neither here nor there. He was a wanderer, stepping on stones across the land, hoping that one day, he would find the one that fit him.

He hadn't been to his homeland since winter. He was curious about Naruto and how Kakashi was doing as Hokage. He was bored simply traipsing through the land and decided it was time to venture near Konoha again, if anything, to find some mild entertainment. It wasn't anticipated that a girl would be the first one he would stumble upon.

He was walking, and she was crying. He should have continued on his way. He was never supposed to know her, but unjustifiably, a combination of his boredom and curiosity created a rift in the timeline.

"Why are you crying?"

A simple exchange of words, and he had knocked over yet another domino.

She had been sitting at the edge of a river at the bottom of a cliff. It was mid-day. Sunlight glistened off the thin waterfall and mist enveloped her as a gust of wind blew her way. Navy hair breezed across her ghostly face as she turned to the man with shock, opal eyes clashing with brooding onyx.

Hinata relaxed her shoulders. She allowed her hand to lazily fall from her chest, where she had placed it in shock upon the unsuspected voice.

"Sasuke-san," she said through an inexplicable smile.

"Had you been expecting someone else?" he inquired, taking a step closer to her.

"Naturally," she murmured, "I haven't seen you in many months. What are you doing here?"

"Answer my question, then I'll answer yours."

Hinata faltered away from his eyes with crimson cheeks. "It's none of your concern..." she declined, polite, as always. Nothing less to be expected from a Hyuga of the main house. Sasuke, on the other hand, didn't mind a bit of aggression.

"I've already asked," he stated. "Now, I need to know the answer."

"No, you don't." She shied away from him once more before she swung her feet from out of the cold water. She reached for her sandals and began to strap them on as the Uchiha closed the proximity between them, taking an unwelcome spot near her on the grass.

"What am I?" he queried. "Do you think I'm going to gossip about you? To whom?"

Hinata glowered at his persistence. What was he, indeed. He was nothing to her but an obscurely familiar face with a pair of unfriendly eyes. Not so cordially, she replied, "What you are doesn't matter. It isn't any of your business. You weren't supposed to see that."

"But I did." She stood up and began to walk away from him. He followed behind her. "Is it because of Naruto?"

The Hyuga stopped in her tracks, tiny fists now in balls at her sides. She had to hold her face together as she turned around.

"Why is it your concern?"

"It isn't, though I did just get my answer."

Defeated, Hinata alleviated herself from an irritated sigh. Whether she should be talking to Sasuke or not, she wasn't sure. There was no law against it, after all, and she couldn't deny she was curious about him showing his face near Konoha again. A thought of concern crossed her mind, pondering if he was around to wreak havoc again. She quickly dismissed the idea, seeing that his dark eyes weren't filled with hatred, but a simple apathy that spoke of boredom and perhaps some harmless meddling. All people get lonely, right? Conceivably, that may have been why he chose to approach her on that summer day.

Hinata straightened her shoulders. "You got your answer, then. Where is mine?"

"I'm just here," the Uchiha replied passively.

Right, she thought. This was no ordinary man and certainly not a friend; this was Sasuke Uchiha. He was uniformly reticent and callous. Regardless, the girl decided to humour him. "That isn't much of an answer," she pouted.

"Well, it's the truth... I'm only passing by."

Hinata wanted to comment on his obscurity, but refrained herself. He wasn't doing anything wrong. He didn't appear malicious, so she allowed herself to settle back. Perhaps, a small talk wouldn't be so harmful. She breezed past him, returning to her original position by the river, unsure if he would follow. He did, mimicking her action.

"Where have you been, then?" she asked softly, resting her head on the knee she brought to her chest. She peered up at him with doe eyes, and Sasuke realized that he had never truly looked at her before. There wasn't much room for thought. She was always a weak little mouse in his days at the academy so no, he never looked at her, or so much as thought about her past a mere curiosity of her relationship with his only friend.

"Wandering," he replied after a pause. Her gaze went from him, to their reflection on the water. She caught his eyes lingering on her through it. Hinata reached into her satchel and took out a box. Sasuke watched with an indifferent gaze as she offered it to him.

"What is this?" he asked warily, inspecting it with suspicion.

"Bread," she said.

"Do you always carry bread around with you?"

"No, but I was planning on staying out here for a while."

"So you keep it then."

Hinata nearly frowned. It was impolite to decline gifts. "I want you to have it."

"Why?" Sasuke flinched as she snatched his hands and forced the box into them. When he looked at her, her head was slightly bowed.

"I hope you are doing well..." she muttered sheepishly. "Naruto-kun speaks of you often. He would be happy to speak to you right now. Why fate has put me in his stead, I'm not sure, but I want you to have this, if anything, on his behalf."

Sasuke crinkled his nose at her, before a simple shrug. "Fate didn't put you in my presence," he spoke nonchalantly as he put the box in his bag. Meeting her inquisitive eyes, he said, "I did."

Hinata said nothing, allowing another stretch of silence to shroud them, only intercepted by the trickling of the waterfall. The stillness wasn't particularly uncomfortable but it was odd, giving the two a moment to consider the situation; why was it happening? Why him? Why her? Foremost, why now? It was a foreign interaction for the both of them and Sasuke felt frivolous for being the one to initiate it. He decided to speak again.

"If it's a gift on Naruto's behalf, it probably has poison in it."

Hinata's head snapped to his, for a moment, taking his words to heart. When she saw a strange smirk on his lips, she giggled lightly. Unbeknownst to him, he smiled in return.

"Don't tell anyone you saw me today, including Naruto," he commanded. Hinata nodded in understanding, watching as he stood up.

"Take care." She chimed through a simper, to which he smugly turned away.

"Later," he mumbled, before returning to the unknown from whence he came. Hinata's eyes lingered on the water where his reflection had once been cast. It was strange, she thought. That was probably the first time they'd spoke.

A/N: I know I probably shouldn't be writing another fic cause I have so many on the go but this one wasn't leaving me alone. This chapter is short, but the next one will be considerably longer, lol!

Sooo yeah! This is one is set in the universe of The Last Movie. It is set after the events of it, and currently, I have no idea what those events are, so I'm going to try my best to leave that open until I can actually see the movie. By that, I mean they won't be discussing it or anything. I'm going under the assumption that Sasuke and Hinata do not interact in the movie. The story is rated M for future sexual themes and all that jazz.

Also, the cover art belongs to the artist Lems.

I know it's short, but if you have any comments at all, reviews are greatly appreciated!