Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This is just for fun. All I got in my pockets are lint, so you will get no money if you sue! XD Anyway, welcome to the one-shot sequel to "Yes, Naruto, Everyone Knew." It is mainly a friendship fic about Saskue and Hinata with a little Naruto/Hinata thrown in. You don't like friendship, then just don't read! This takes place the summer after Naruto and Hinata start dating.

Now on with the fic!

~Little Things~

~By:Mists~

It was the little things Hinata first noticed that made her curious. Like whenever she made a box lunch for Naruto, the parcel would disappear before she'd return from sending a hawk to the Hokage's office.

It struck her as very... odd. It definitely wasn't Naruto or his clones that picked up the package, because they would always go out of their way to thank her before leaving. Most of the Anbu would politely make their presence known before entering the Hyuga Estate, but this person simply zipped in and out as quickly as possible. At first, the ninja's intimate knowledge of the household caused her some concern, especially since the shinobi made it a point to hide their chakra signature.

However when she raised her concerns to Naruto, the blond simply snorted and replied, "Trust me, don't worry about it. He'll let you know who he is when he's ready." That comment made her pause, the fact that Naruto had so much trust in this person... made her very suspicious.

There were lots of other small gestures she started to notice, too. Like when she'd go to bag her groceries, they would all be organized and neatly tied.

Then there was the time that she'd ordered yarn for her next knitting project, and found that someone had not only paid for her purchase, but also the two day shipping.

And then there was the time she dropped all of her shopping to help a child who was clearly being bullied by a group of kids. After she had driven the ruffians away, and helped comfort the weeping child; Hinata returned to find all of her belongings gone.

At first the kunoichi assumed that the brats she had chased off earlier, stole them as some form of revenge. But... when Hinata returned home, she found that not to be the case.

For left on her family's doorstep were not only her missing items, but an extra addition as well. On top of her bag, rested an object that Hinata never thought she'd lay eyes upon again... a small, folded, blue... origami crane.

Hinata gasped and put her hands against her mouth in shock. "Could it really be him?" she wondered as the long forgotten memory came to the forefront of her mind.

~Flashback~

"And these undercover ninjas used secret symbols in order to let their village know that they were still alive," said Hinata's tutor as she taught both her and her best friend about ancient ninja traditions.

"We should totally do that, Hinata-chan!" exclaimed her raven-haired friend after the lesson was over.

"What do you mean?" asked Hinata, confused.

"We should make a code, one that only we know. So that we can let each other know that we're there for one another," said the boy happily as he searched around the playroom.

"Ah ha!" the boy exclaimed as he found a fresh stack of origami paper. "This is perfect! Let's make animals to represent ourselves. Let's see I think I'll make-"

"A blue crane," whispered Hinata as she gently reached out and took the folded piece of paper. Her eyes filled with tears as she remembered all the times her friend had made one of his animals. They had been so precious to her, because he knew how much she valued something made from the heart. For the longest time, Hinata had feared that she would never receive one of them again.

The dark-haired woman brought the blue crane to her chest and wistfully thought, "Sasuke-kun, is it really you?"

The next day, when Hinata made Naruto's bento box, she placed a little something extra atop the knot of the parcel. It was the small folded version of her own symbol, the violet butterfly.

Hinata took a deep breath and slowly released it. This was it, the moment of truth. She then quickly spun on her heel and walked toward the messenger hawk. The second she let it fly she whirled back around, hoping with all her heart that the blue crane would be sitting there in reply...

But no, the bento box was gone, and nothing else remained.

The gentle woman felt her eyes begin to well up with tears again... she had been so sure. Even after all these years, Hinata still missed her friend so very much. Well, she would just have to continue to hold onto hope that one day, he would remember.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that Hinata finally discovered the whole truth behind the appearance of the blue crane...

Kakashi had called her and Naruto into his office. It seemed that the Fire Daimyo had something important he needed to discuss with the Hokage. Naruto was to go in Kakashi's place since he busy overseeing military exercises between the Lands of Wind and Fire.

"Besides it will be good for you to get some diplomatic experience, Naruto," said the Hokage as he wrote something on the paper atop his desk.

"Hai, Kakashi-sama," agreed Hinata as she gave Naruto a quick smile. "I believe that is an excellent idea. But... I'm rather confused as to why I was summoned as well..."

"Oh! Hai, gomen Hinata. It totally slipped my mind with everything else that's going on," apologized Kakashi as he bashfully scratched the back of his head. "Apparently, one of the Fire Daimyo's advisers wanted to propose something to the Hyuga clan and specifically asked for your presence..."

"I see... May I ask, by whom this request was made?" inquired Hinata with a bit of surprise. Many people didn't think she had enough political sway within the Hyuga clan to present any alliances or trade agreements to the elders for approval. So who within the daimyo's advisory court would ever wish to speak to her? She glanced at Naruto questioningly, but he only shrugged and shook his head. He clearly had no idea who this mysterious person was either.

"I- hold on, let's see here..." stated Kakashi as he started fumbling around with the papers strewn about his desk.

Iruka, who was helping Gai layout the training field on a nearby table, sighed, "It's under your instant-ramen bowl from lunch, Kakashi-sama."

This made Gai snort into his hand as he tried to avoid Kakashi's glare of ire currently burning a hole through Iruka.

"Thanks..." hissed the Sixth as he lifted up the haphazardly discarded piece of trash.

"Yeah, here it is," he confirmed with a sweatdrop. "Let's see... the request was made by an adviser by the name of... Takashi Damien."

At the very moment the man's name was uttered, two things happened simultaneously: Hinata's back went stiff as a board and Sasuke suddenly appeared in the room next to Naruto.

"GAHH!" exclaimed the blond as he jumped back from his friend's unexpected entrance. "Teme! What the-"

"I'm going with them," he said in a voice that made it quite clear that this wasn't a request.

"What? Why?" asked Naurto, who was totally confused as to why Sasuke had taken sudden interest in the mission. Iruka and Gai in his wheelchair, had already drawn their kunai and taken up defense stances near the Hokage.

"I beg your pardon, I didn't quite catch that," replied Kakashi coldly as he glared at his old student, "Because I thought that 'I' was the only one allowed to make decisions like that around here."

Sasuke then took a few steps toward the desk and leaned down to meet Kakashi's glare with his own.

"I'm going- with- them," repeated Sasuke, slowly, as if it was a simple fact that the Sixth Hokage was just going to have to accept.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed at this, Sasuke usually only acted this way when he felt something of major importance was at stake. It was then that Kakashi's eyes shifted to the other people still present in the room... and noticed Hinata's still frozen form. She had not yet moved an inch since the name had been uttered. The dark-haired woman, while seeming rather pale, held an odd look of determination on her face.

It was then that Naruto noticed Hinata's strange behavior as well. He turned to her and asked, "Hinata-chan? Hey, are you okay?" as he placed a comforting hand upon her shoulder.

This action was what finally snapped Hinata out of her rigid state. "I-wait," the kunoichi stuttered for a moment as she once again became aware of her surroundings.

"Sasuke-kun, no," she declared with wide, disbelieving eyes. "You don't have to do this-"

"I made you a promise," replied the raven-haired man clearly determined as he continued to stare Kakashi down. "I have broken more than enough in my life. I will not do so again."

After a few more tense moments, Kakashi finally waved Iruka and Gai to stand down as his eyes turned upward, appearing to be pleased. "Very well, Sasuke-kun," he answered happily back to his protege.

"I- wait, time out!" protested Naruto. "I'm really lost here. What the heck is going on?"

"Hai," agreed Kakashi, "I would also like a full explanation of this. "

Sasuke simply released a long sigh and finally turned around to face Hinata.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before a sad smile slowly stretched across Hinata's face.

She then took a deep breath and began to tell their story...

Yes, it turned out that Sasuke and Hinata knew Takashi Damien quite well. He had been a crude and manipulative child from a very prominent family in the Land of Fire's political circle.

Sasuke's father had encouraged them to try and befriend the young boy. They quickly found the child to be quite nasty and demeaning towards Hinata. He'd constantly try to exclude her from certain games

saying that as a woman, she should know her "place." And that she shouldn't speak of things that she clearly couldn't comprehend.

Sasuke responded by filling the boy's pants with ants.

Whenever they'd meet up with the jerk for a play-date, his sole mission would be to make Hinata's life a living hell. It was quickly becoming apparent, that the kid was obsessed with her. Time and time again, Sasuke would complain to his father about the boy's behavior. But every time, the man would simply say, "just make nice."

As time went on, Takashi's actions became even more outrageous. He began verbally abusing Hinata, helping to reaffirm all the lies her family had been telling her for years. But when Damien physical grabbed Hinata one day and tried to kiss her, Sasuke finally had enough and kicked him right in the groin.

When his father and mother demanded an explanation as to why he would do such a thing, he made it a point to stare at his mother throughout the entire story. Needless to say, once she got wind of what had been going on, all further play-dates had been canceled immediately.

After the whole ordeal was over, Sasuke swore to Hinata that if the creep ever reared his ugly head again, he'd be there for her.

"Hinata," said Naruto softly as he enveloped her in a hug.

"Are you sure, you want to do this?" questioned Kakashi seriously. "I won't force you to go, if you don't want to."

"Yes, I'm sure," Hinata steadfastly replied with a nod of her head. After removing herself from Naruto's loving embrace, she added, "I will not cower in fear of that boy. I am a kunoichi, and I will face him head on."

"Right," grumbled Sasuke. "You heard her. We're going."

"Very well," replied Kakashi in a satisfied tone as he signed off on their mission.

And so, the trio made their way to the Land of Fire's political capital. Hinata and Naruto talked, laughed, and flirted the whole way, much to Sasuke's annoyance. The couple was far too, lovey-dovey for his tastes. Every five minutes they'd try to find an excuse to hold or touch one another. Sasuke was very much unused such overt displays of emotion. They were so sweet he constantly had to hold back his gag reflex to vomit. The last Uchiha spend most of their travel time scouting on ahead, avoiding general conversations, or just grumpily agreeing to participate in friendly activities. Hinata hid her breathy laugh behind her hand when Naruto suggested singing camp songs. Sasuke simply stood up and walked away.

It wasn't until one night close to the end of their journey, that Hinata was actually able to speak alone with her old friend. She was sitting near a waterfall they were camping by, trying to work on a wool hat for Naruto's birthday in October. The dark-haired woman sighed in frustration, realizing she had once again screwed up the pattern. Hinata sadly shook her head, as she pulled out the yarn in order to try again. Her mind was wandering far too much to concentrate on it.

What was Damien really after? Why did he want to see her after all this time?

And the most important question of all... would she be strong enough to face her childhood tormentor again?

Hinata let out a tired sigh as she balled up the yarn to restart her work, when suddenly, she felt a familiar presence beside her.

And it wasn't Naruto's...

Hinata turned wide-eyes to the now occupied spot on the rock next to her.

"You're worried," said Sasuke calmly as he stared out at the rushing water.

"Hai," confirmed Hinata as she glanced down at her clenched hands. So many doubts and questions swirled in her head.

"You shouldn't be," grunted Sasuke never adverting his gaze from the natural formation before them.

"I... beg your pardon?" asked Hinata, uncertain she had heard him correctly.

"You're a lot stronger than you used to be," stated the last Uchiha. "I doubt that guy ever applied himself to anything as hard as you did."

"I-"

"The one thing you've always lacked is confidence in yourself," said Sasuke with an ironic snort. "I would have thought being in a relationship with Naruto would help alleviate you of such a problem."

This made Hinata breathlessly laugh into her hand. It had been such a long time since she last heard his sarcastic humor.

"I should kick the dobe's ass for not doing more," grumbled the raven-haired man as a sly grin slowly inched its way across his lips.

"Naruto-kun has done me a lot of good, so you'll do no such thing," scolded Hinata lightly as she stared at his profiled face.

"Yeah, well I'll let him off for now," Sasuke mumbled as he closed his eyes in thought.

"So..." started Hinata, unsure of where she should begin."You... really do remember our past, don't you?"

The last Uchiha's silence was all the confirmation she needed.

"Well," Hinata said nervously as she averted her gaze, "Good... that is to say, I'm glad..."

Sasuke sat perfectly still and showed no form of response.

"I-" stuttered the dark-haired woman as she began playing with her hands, "well see... I wanted to apologize."

It was then that Sasuke finally glanced at her and asked, "What for?"

"The bento box with the violet butterfly I left on your doorstep after... well, everything that happened with Itachi and the rest of your family," whispered Hinata as she felt unshed tears sting in her eyes.

"It had been too soon, I should have known better," she confessed, sadly. "I just- I didn't know what else to do, and I wanted to let you know that you weren't truly alone."

Sasuke stared at her shaking form for a moment and said, "That had noting to do with you."

"I... oh," replied Hinata sadly as she turned away ashamed.

And then, Sasuke surprisingly continued, "What I mean is- that what you did had noting to do with my response. I'm responsible for my actions that day, not you. You have nothing to apologize for... Hinata-chan."

Hinata whirled her head back-around to stare at him stunned.

"What?" the kunoichi asked, thinking she had misheard him.

"If anything..." mumbled Sasuke into his chest as he turned away from Hinata's wide-eyed gaze. "I should be apologizing to you."

Hinata was so choked up on the wild emotions flowing through her that she couldn't even respond.

"Gomen'nasai, Hinata-chan. I... did not deserve your friendship then, nor do I now, but still..." whispered Sasuke uncertainly. "I would like to try, if... you would allow me to once again be your friend."

Hinata looked away and let out a shakily laugh, "I've never thought of you as being anything else."

And when she looked back, Sasuke had once again disappeared. Except this time... in his place, sat a blue origami crane.

Hinata gently smiled as a single tear streaked down her porcelain cheek.

Through several more forests and creeks they traveled until the trio finally reached their final destination, the Land of Fire's palace.

Naruto reluctantly let go of Hinata's hand as he was dragged away by the guards to speak with the daimyo.

"Be careful," mouthed Naruto as the sliding doors quickly cut him off from his friends.

"This way, Lady Hinata," said the attendant with a small bow. "Adviser Takashi is waiting to have tea with you in the east wing."

Hinata felt her back straighten to its full height, it was time to face him. As she and Sasuke moved to follow the man, a guard placed his lance in front of Sasuke and stressed, "It was the adviser's request that he meet with you alone, Lady Hinata."

Sasuke had already unsheathed his blade and cut the lance in half before the guard could blink.

"Request, denied," replied Sasuke as he pushed past the stunned man. "I'm not to leave her side, by the order of the Hokage."

And with that, the pair were off to confront their old "friend."

"Ah... would you look at the three of us!" exclaimed Takashi once they both had been seated, Sasuke chose to stand. "The three musketeers together again," he added snidely. It would seem that any hope Hinata held that Damien might have grown over the years appeared to be in vain. He was still very much the pompous, small minded person she remembered. ...He might even be more so now.

"Indeed," replied Hinata coldly, wanting to get this over with.

"What did you wish to discuss with me Adviser Takashi?" asked the dark-haired woman in an overly formal tone.

"Now, now," teased Damien as he wagged his finger in her face, "is that anyway to greet a childhood friend?"

He then reached over to cover Hinata's hand with his own, only to have her quickly withdraw it from the table.

"Your proposition for the Hyuga clan, adviser," stressed Hinata with a stern hiss as Sasuke stood next to her, every bit the silent guard. Hinata had requested the day before that he stay out of it as much as possible. This was her fight, and hers alone. Just knowing that he was there to support her, was more than enough.

"Ahh... straight to the point I see," sighed the man clearly disappointed that his actions hadn't shaken her resolve. "I called you here today to propose a joint venture between my family and yours."

"I see..." answered Hinata uncertainly, "and just what kind of 'venture' would this be?"

"Why," said Damien with a condescending laugh, "for you to become my bride, of course!"

Sasuke immediately started to unsheathe his sword, he had a feeling this was where it was going. But Hinata's raised hand halted his advance.

"There is no need for that, Sasuke-kun. I can handle this," she said with utmost calm.

Hinata then turned her full attention to Damien's lustful gaze.

"It is a very... generous offer, Adviser Takashi," the dark-haired woman replied. "But I'm afraid, I'll have to decline."

The grin on Damien's face merely widened, "Oh come now, be reasonable Hinata-chan. You are no longer head of the clan, meaning the most honorable thing you can do for your family is to enter into a profitable marriage arrangement."

Damien then reached over to the tea kettle and calmly poured himself a cup as Hinata's face became stern.

"While it is true that my sister is now considered the head of the clan, my family does not work in the same manner that yours does," replied Hinata coldly as she watched him sip his tea. "I am free to marry whomever I deem worthy, and I'm afraid that I am currently in an arrangement with a man that is by far your superior."

Damien's grip on his tea cup tightened ever so slightly as his smile became a bit forced. He then cleared his throat and replied, "Oh yes, the wildly uncouth spawn of the Fourth Hokage. I have heard that the Sixth has been tirelessly training him to be his successor."

Damien let out a laboring sigh as he placed his tea cup back on the table and wondered aloud, "It would be absolutely devastating for the Sixth to have put all that effort into his training his protege only to have the Fire Daimyo refuse to appoint him in the end..."

"Was that a threat, Adviser Takashi Damien?" questioned Hinata with a frigid glare.

"Never, Hinata-sama!" exclaimed Damien slyly, "I was merely implying that your decision here would greatly impact the political prospects that your lover would be eligible for in the future..."

Damien then stood and looked down at Hinata with a satisfied sneer. "You see, Lady Hinata, I hold a great deal of sway with the daimyo these days. So if you really do care about that boy, it would wise to accept my generous offer."

"I see..." replied Hinata with a tense smile. "But I'm afraid that you have made a major error in your little game, Takashi-kun."

"I- beg your pardon?" asked Damien clearly startled, he thought she'd be a groveling mess at his feet by now.

"Tell me," inquired Hinata sweetly, "do you know of Lady Aiko?"

"I- I'm one of the daimyo's most trusted advisers, of course I do!" stuttered the man, clearly taken by surprise. "She's the daimyo's beloved niece, but what the devil does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh my," answered Hinata kindly, "as one of the 'daimyo's most trusted advisers,' I thought you of all people would have known."

"Known, what?" questioned Damien with an offended growl.

"Why of Lady Aiko's and my close friendship, of course!" exclaimed Hinata with a satisfied smile. "You see my ninja team saved her from a band of kidnappers sent by Rain years ago. We are still considered the best tracking team in the Land of Fire."

Damien simply stared at her stunned.

"As you well know, she's like a daughter to him, and the daimyo would do anything to make her happy. Aiko-chan and I have remained quite close over the years," continued Hinata proudly as she held her head high. "So I highly doubt that any of your political 'influence' in this court can even remotely measure up to the strength of the bond I share with my friend."

"Hmph! You got that right," grumbled Sasuke as he tired to hide his grin behind his scarf.

This remark just made Hinata smile all the more, while Damien on the other hand looked ready to burst.

"Well played, Hinata-sama," hissed out Damien in barely contained rage. "It seems that you have grown quite savvy with age."

"And it would seem, that you have not grown at all," countered Hinata as she rose from her seat to leave. "Good day, Adviser Takashi. I truly hope that our paths never cross again."

And with that, Hinata turned away to leave.

"No!" snapped Damien as he suddenly lashed out to grab her, "you are min-"

But Hinata was quicker. In one single fluid motion, she spun on her heel and CRACK! struck a single Gentle Fist right to the center of his chest.

The man went flying straight back through the paper screen behind him and slammed into the adjacent room's wall with a satisfying BANG!

"Ha! Nice," was Sasuke's cynical reply. "I still say trapping his ass in a genjutsu world of endlessly singing flowers would have been better though."

Hinata merely raised a questioning an eyebrow at him.

"Well it worked really well on Orochimaru!" defended Sasuke as he slid open the other door for her.

"Come on," encouraged the last Uchiha as he nodded his head towards the opening, "the dobe's probably a nervous wreck wondering what happened to us. Glad I was able to watch the show though, Naruto will be sad he missed it."

"Arigato, Sasuke-kun," breathlessly laughed Hinata. "But there is still one thing I wanted to ask you..."

Sasuke turned to her questioningly.

"Why didn't you leave a crane that day when you picked up Naruto's lunch?" she asked in a confused tone.

A small bit of color rose to Sasuke's normally pale cheeks as he lifted up his lone arm and grudgingly admitted, "To be honest, I didn't think you'd remember what it meant so fast. And well... it turns out that... it's kinda hard to fold a crane quickly with just one hand."

Hinata's eyes went wide for a moment in realization as she then laughed, "And by the time you had it ready, I had already seen that you hadn't left one."

"Hai, sorry about that," grumbled Sasuke. "I- uh... made a bunch before the trip to be prepared this time because... I wanted to make it clear that I... well- I kinda... you see, I um..."

But Hinata cut him off, knowing how hard it was for him to say, "I missed you, too."

Sasuke finally let the small grin tugging at his lips stretch fully across his face and simply replied, "Hai."

And so ends this tale of friendship, of the violet butterfly and the blue crane...

~The End~

Author's Notes: Well there you have it people! Hope you all enjoyed this little one-shot. Now, I've been thinking about writing a full sequel to "Yes, Naruto, Everyone Knew" called, "Yes, Naruto, Propose!" Pretty much it would be all about how each of the 12 (and some other characters) figure out that Naruto is going to propose to Hinata. Since a LOT of other stuff is going on in my life and there are a few other one-shots I want to get to, (and also trying to get back into writing "Double-Edged Sword") "Yes, Naruto, Propose!" would be VERY slow in posting, "IF" I chose to write it. So you guys have to fav and review this fic and "Yes, Naruto" in order to let me know that you readers want more of it!

Well that's it for me now, let me know what you thought! Here's the Japanese Word Key:

Hai = yes

Gomen = sorry

Gomen'nasai = I'm sorry

Dobe = idiot

Teme = bastard

Arigato = thank you

Please remember to always read and review!