The Mission

Author's Note: All reviews are appreciated. This story idea was given to me by a reviewer awhile back. The basic idea is Hinata goes to the Sound in order to try to get Sasuke back. While Naruto uses his fist to try to beat some sense into Sasuke, Hinata prefers a softer approach. Hinata is likely going to be OOC. Unless you take the interpretation she'd do anything to help Naruto bring his friend back to the Leaf village, then maybe not. Seductive/Slyer Hinata than normal. If that bothers you, you might want to turn back now. For those of you that are still here, I hope you enjoy the story.

Chapter Notation: I came up with my own theory about the Sharingan. For anyone that has read some of my other Sasuke x Hinata stories, it's a "signature" that I've used before. As far as I know it is not referenced anywhere in the anime or manga.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no profit off of any of my stories.

Chapter One

"Sasuke, I have a surprise for you." Orochimaru says and Sasuke was immediately suspicious because the Sanin sounded entirely too pleased with himself.

"What is it?" He asks, tightening his grip on his sword.

"One of your classmates has decided to join us. I think she'll be a very valuable addition to our village." He says, practically purring with delight.

"Who?" Sasuke asks.

Sasuke was a bit curious. Not that he had any attachments to his former classmates, but still he couldn't help but wonder who. It would have be someone strong for Orochimaru to consider them worth "collecting."

In Sasuke's mind, the snake lover thought that powerful ninjas were jewels to collect. He enjoyed gathering as many "gems" as possible. He never took a pebble or stone. Orochimaru was twisted, but there wasn't a single weakling in the Sound Village.

"Hinata Hyuga. Her eyes will prove much very useful." His teacher informs him.

"Hinata?" Sasuke asks in disbelief.

He had to be joking. Sasuke tried to recall Hinata from his Academy days. It was difficult. The last Uchiha and Hyuga Heiress had barely spoken to each other, if ever. She was so quiet, so shy, and so utterly innocent.

What little he did remember of her, was generally connected to Naruto. There were a few flashes of a blushing Hinata trying to get Naruto's attention and usually fainting when she actually succeeded. Hinata Hyuga was NOT the type of person who could survive in the twisted world of the Sound.

"No. Send her back." Sasuke says firmly.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. What was that? You can not be serious. Her Byakugan is quite the fascinating bloodline. Do you not agree?" He asks.

"The Byakugan is useful. But she doesn't belong here. She won't last a day. She's far too innocent. No matter how useful her bloodline is." Sasuke snaps at him.

"How touching. You are concerned for her well being. I didn't expect you to have such an old fashioned notion of chivalry. However, I'm not certain she agrees with your assessment." Orochimaru says slyly.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asks, not realizing that Hinata was standing right behind him.

"You'll see." He says vaguely.

"AHHH!" Sasuke cries out in agony when he feels several swift strikes to his body locking up his chakra and forcing him to his knees.

Sasuke shuts his eyes, momentarily blinded by the pain, and feels himself pushed against the floor. Someone was straddling his waist. That someone had long silky hair that was brushing against his forearms and smelled like lilacs.

"Thank you, Sasuke for worrying about me. But don't underestimate me. I'm not the same girl I was at the Academy." He hears someone say.

Vaguely he recognized this voice as belonging to Hinata. It was difficult at recognize her, she seemed to have lost her stutter. Idly, he wondered if maybe she only stuttered around Naruto or if she had outgrown it. It didn't matter he decided, as he opened his eyes.

"Clearly." Sasuke acknowledges.

The cute little mouse that he remembered would NEVER dare to attack someone like him. Actually it was hard to imagine her attacking anyone at all. But surely, she must have at some point. She was a ninja.

He takes a moment to look up at the woman who currently was straddling his waist, keeping him pinned. Beautiful. That was the thought that came to his mind, utterly unbidden.

"Good. So you will treat me as you would any other teammate?" She asks with a soft smile.

"No. You haven't annoyed me yet. There's no reason to treat you like Sakura or Naruto." He answers.

"Why do you have to be so mean?" She asks in amusement.

"Because people usually annoy me." He answers with a shrug, as if it was perfectly normal to conduct a conversation with a woman straddling his waist.

Sasuke's eyes scanned her in an assessing fashion. He noticed her hair first. Her hair was longer now. It cascaded down to her hips in silky blue waves. Her hair reminded him of the ocean.

Her face was next. Normally, the Byakugan looked cold to him, but on her it was ethereal. A striking combination of silver and lavender. Her skin was creamy white and looked so soft to the touch.

Finally, his eyes made the mistake of drifting south. While her clothing could definitely be considered modest, it didn't hide the fact that she had fully blossomed. Ample cleavage, enticing curves, long legs, and a beautiful backside were more than enough to get any man's attention.

"They should stop doing that." She says.

"Yes, they should." He agrees.

Sasuke felt his eyes bleed red. He didn't know why. He hadn't meant to activate his Sharingan.

"Are you angry that I locked up your chakra?" She asks, noticing his eyes were no longer obsidian in color, but were now the ruby red of his Sharingan.

"No. I'm actually impressed. But you shouldn't let your guard down because you get one lucky shot in." He tells her and soon flips her.

Hinata lets out a quiet squeak. She squirms when she realized she was now pinned underneath a very dangerous ninja. Though it wasn't anger she saw in those eyes. The bluenette couldn't identify the emotion exactly, but it wasn't anger. She didn't feel threatened. But she felt herself shiver nonetheless.

"That wasn't luck." She protests.

"If you say so." Sasuke looks down at her.

He didn't know why he hadn't gotten off her yet. Sasuke had made his point. He was not to be underestimated. But there was just something about having her underneath him in this way, that he liked.

Her scent was ensnaring his senses. She felt so soft and warm against him. Every curve of her body seemed to line up perfectly against his.

"Sasuke, if you are so eager to restore your clan, perhaps it would be best if you took her to her room or yours." Orochimaru suggests with a laugh.

That snapped Sasuke out of whatever daze he'd been in. He gets off Hinata quickly and draws his sword. He walks over to Orochimaru and Hinata could practically feel the youngest Uchiha's rage boiling off of him.

"How fucking dare you?! You don't get to talk about my clan like that!" He snarls at him.

"Calm down, Sasuke. I can certainly see the appeal. She's a pretty little thing and she has a bloodline. Though you know that you are no match for me without your chakra. I suggest you lower your weapon." He taunts him.

Sasuke growls. He sheathes his sword though. Orochimaru was right. He wouldn't win that fight without chakra. And he honestly didn't know how long his chakra would be locked up.

"Her room is the third on the right." Orochimaru informs him.

Sasuke starts off. He glances back at Hinata, clearly expecting to be followed. She didn't need to be told twice. The Hyuga Heiress did not want to be around that snake any longer than possible. The way he looked at her and Sasuke was…creepy.

"This is your room." Sasuke says, after a short walk, and opens the door for her.

Hinata walks inside. It was rather basic. There was a bed, a connected bathroom, and well not much else. Even the floors were bare, no rug, carpet, or tile, just earth. Frankly, it was a little depressing.

"Thank you." She says to Sasuke, who was now walking inside the room.

"You can thank me by telling me why you are here. A Hyuga Heiress going to the Sound Village makes no sense." He demands to know.

"I'm no longer the Heiress of my Clan. My father cast me aside in favor of my sister. He thinks I'm too weak to lead." She says.

"So you want revenge against your father?" He asks and walks over to her, cupping her face into his hands and turning it from one way to the other, and looks at her for any hints of deception.

"No. I don't want revenge against him. He's right. I was weak. But I'm not going to be anymore. I'm going to challenge her for the title later on and free the Branch Members of my Household." She tells him.

"And you needed to do that in the Sound?" Sasuke asks.

Hinata had excepted Sasuke to be skeptical of her story. She mostly being truthful. The only thing that was inaccurate was her father casting her aside. She was still the Heiress, but she had every intention of getting stronger and unsealing the Branch Members of her clan. She had to make him believe her though.

"Orochimaru will teach me techniques no one in the Leaf would. They all think that I'm too innocent to be a real fighter, like you did." She says.

He couldn't argue with the logic. Sasuke wasn't entirely certain he believed her. But it was plausible. It didn't really matter. Truthfully, it was none of her business what she did, as long as she didn't get in the way of killing Itachi.

"I don't know if I believe you or not. I don't know you well enough to know when you are lying. But it doesn't matter. Just don't get in my way. I'm going to kill Itachi. As long as you don't interfere with that, I don't really care why you are here. It was an idle curiosity and nothing more." He informs her.

"I won't." She promises him.

"Good. Oh and Hinata, don't eat or drink anything here that you don't prepare yourself." He says as an afterthought and leaves her room.

"That was close." She mumbles and sits on her bed, trying to shake like a leaf.

She'd done it. Hinata had actually convinced Orochimaru that she had deserted the Leaf. Sasuke might or might not believe her, but at least for the moment it seemed unlikely he'd take his suspicions to Orochimaru.

"No, I'm actually impressed." His words rang in her head.

She had impressed him! That had to be a good sign. Maybe Hinata could pull this off. She could get Sasuke to return to the Leaf. Naruto's approach definitely hadn't worked, maybe a softer touch was needed like Tsunade thought.

"Hinata, I have a mission for you. It is an S Class Mission. I understand if you do not want to take it. I will not force the issue. But truthfully, I think you are the only one who might be able to accomplish it." Tsunade said.

"Me?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Naruto has tried to bring Sasuke back through blunt force. It's obviously not an effective tactic. Which is why I want you to go join the Sound and find a way to bring him back." The busty blonde told her.

"But why would Sasuke listen to me? We barely know each other. If Naruto can't bring him back…" She trailed off.

"You are a neutral party. He knows you. He wouldn't view you as a threat. Sasuke doesn't know you well enough that he wouldn't have reason to believe whatever cover story you come up with. I can't send Sakura. He'd never believe it. He doesn't seem particularly fond of Ino. Tenten refuses to take the mission. We need a peer. Someone in his age group. Someone who can earn his trust." She continued.

"I'll try. But I don't know if this will work." She said.

"It'll work. I think it's time for you to have more…specialized training." Tsunade said and lead Hinata off to Kurenai.

A few weeks later and Hinata was frankly stunned at everything she'd learned. It had been…embarrassing but intriguing at the same time. Kurenai had educated her in what the Genjutsu Mistress had dubbed Seduction Tactics.

"Kurenai Sensei, thank you for teaching me all that. But do you really think Lady Tsunade expects me to use any of that on him?" She asked.

"I don't think she does. But it is something worth considering if the other methods don't work. Besides, it's useful to know for other missions anyway." She answered with a kind smile.

"Alright." Hinata had agreed and set off for her mission.

Meanwhile Sasuke was troubled by his Sharingan's involuntary activation. He sighs. The youngest Uchiha hated to do this, but he sought Kabuto out. While he didn't trust Orochimaru's lapdog in the slightest, he knew that said lapdog had an interest in Sasuke's physical health. If Sasuke became sick or injured, that meant no vessel for Orochimaru. So he knew he could count on the silver haired medic for reliable medical care if nothing else.

"Sasuke, what brings you here at this hour?" Kabuto asks.

"I want you to look at my Sharingan. It activated involuntarily." He states simply.

"Alright. Activate it and I'll have a look." Kabuto tells him.

Sasuke does as asked. He allows Kabuto to inspect his eyes and his chakra levels. He even lets the medic give him a blood test.

"Your eyes are functioning as they should be. Sometimes the Sharingan cam be triggered by fear or anger though. Did something…upset you?" He asks.

"No." He answers.

"I see. Hmm…I wonder what it could be then. Sasuke how old are you again?" He questions.

"Seventeen, I'll be eighteen in two months." He answers automatically, not seeing what that has to do with anything.

"Did you interact with any women today?" He questions.

"Just Hinata." Sasuke answers.

"Oh that's right. The Hyuga Princess joined us. I see. Did your Sharingan activate while you were with her?" He questions.

"Yes." He replies still not sure where this was going.

"Ah. I believe I know what the "problem" is." He says and his eyes dance with amusement.

This annoyed Sasuke. He got the impression Kabuto wanted to laugh at him. He gives his best Death Glare and Kabuto takes the hint.

"Which is?" He demands.

"The Sharingan is triggered by strong emotions. Usually anger or fear. But lust can also do the trick. You were young when your family died. So it's unlikely anyone felt the need to explain to a seven year old about such things." He states.

"…" Sasuke is speechless.

Did Kabuto seriously just tell him that the Sharingan served the same purpose as a Peacock's feathers?! That it also was designed to indicate sexual desire?! And that he wanted Hinata in THAT way?

"It's a perfectly natural response. For the men your clan, it is different than getting an erection." He continues.

"…." Sasuke still didn't know how to respond to that.

"I can't say I blame you. She is lovely. I know personally. I had to give her an exam before she could be accepted into the Sound. Her breasts in particular are exquisite." The medic states and suddenly he's slammed against the wall.

"Sasuke, let go of me. It was just a breast exam. It's very standard procedure." Kabuto says.

"You were using it as an excuse to feel her up! She's from a Noble Clan. If you speak of her that disrespectfully again, I will cut out your tongue, you damn pervert." Sasuke growls, Sharingan blazing.

"My, my Sasuke…such a temper you have today." He hears the amused voice of Orochimaru in the hallway.

"This pervert was feeling up one of his patients." Sasuke states in disgust.

"That is necessary in an exam of that nature. I'm certain you know that." Orochimaru states.

"He was ENJOYING it." The young man hisses.

"Most men would enjoy it. I have to confess when I agreed to take her into our village, I didn't anticipate such a reaction. I can't say I'm displeased. The thought of merging the bloodlines is…an intriguing one. If you want her, you can have her." Orochimaru states.

"That's NOT your decision to make. She's not some toy that you can just give to whoever you want. Besides, I DON'T want her." Sasuke growls.

"Your eyes and the bruises on my throat say otherwise." Kabuto argues.

"If you keep speaking, I'm going to slit your throat." Sasuke warns him.

"Sasuke, why don't you go get some rest? You have an early day of training tomorrow." Orochimaru suggests.

Sasuke lets go of Kabuto in disgust. He storms off. He didn't know if he was more angry at the medic or himself. Why did he care if the silver haired man got his rocks off from Playing Doctor?

Hinata wasn't his lover. She wasn't even his friend. She was little more than a stranger. If she had a problem with what Kabuto did, well she could handle herself. He smirks remembering how efficiently he had locked up his chakra. She was no longer a meek little mouse.

"Well that was interesting." Kabuto mutters back in the exam room.

"Unexpected. But it works in our favor. If he does father a child with her, I'll have another vessel lined up further down the road. Potentially one with a whole new bloodline." Orochimaru observes.

"Should I help speed up nature's course?" He asks.

"Sasuke is too smart to be drugged." The Sanin states.

"Perhaps. But I doubt the Hyuga is as suspicious by nature." He counters.

"Hmm…an interesting thought. See what you can do." Orochimaru agrees.

Back in the Leaf, Naruto was pacing. He couldn't believe that Granny Tsunade sent Hinata off to the Sound. She was too nice to go there! What was she thinking?!

"Naruto, Hinata is a ninja of the Leaf Village. She is fully competent for this mission." Tsunade tells him and watches the other blonde wear a hole in her carpet.

"But he's become such a bastard! Even more so than he used to be. Hinata is too nice. What if he hurts her?" He asks.

"He has no reason to hurt her. Besides, Kurenai made sure that Hinata received the proper training for this mission." Tsunade assures him.

"Proper training?" Sakura asks.

"I can not disclose the details. But I would not send her into the lion's den unprepared. Or should I say the viper pit?" Tsunade muses.

"I hope she's okay." The pink haired woman mumbles.

"I'm sure she will be fine. Hinata does know how to lock up chakra in the worst case scenario." Kakashi tries to reassure his students.

"Yeah. I guess you're right, Kakashi Sensei." Naruto says with a sigh.

Why? Why had they sent HER? He was used to Sasuke being a bastard. He could match him blow for blow. But Hinata? He just couldn't imagine the kind Heiress facing off against someone like Sasuke. It'd be a slaughter, Naruto thought.

"I guess all we can do is wait. If we try to pull her out, they'll suspect something." Sakura says.

"Yeah. I don't like it. But we don't have a choice." Naruto agrees.

"Come on, let's go get some ramen. It's better than sitting around and waiting." She says, trying to cheer her friend up.

"Thanks, Sakura!" Naruto says and heads off with her.

"Does proper training entail what I suspect it does?" Kakashi asks once his students were out of the room.

"Yes, it does. Seduction training. But I only had Kurenai teach that as a last resort. Sasuke would be suspicious if Hinata tried that right out of the gate." Tsunade states.

"Hopefully it won't be necessary. From what I know of Hinata she is rather shy. I'm certain that Kurenai is more than a…competent teacher in that area, but still." Kakashi replies.

"I'm hoping that she can reason with him." Tsunade admits.

"That would be quite a feat indeed. Why did you not choose someone who was more…outgoing?" He asks curiously.

"All the other female ninjas around his age from the Leaf, he's already rejected or turned the mission down." Tsunade states.

"Did you consider a foreign ninja?" He inquires.

"I did. I can't entrust a mission this important to a foreign ninja. It'd be outside my control. So I went with Hinata." She answers.

"And does Hiashi know that you sent his daughter on this mission that might include the use of Seduction Tactics?" The CopyCat ninja questions.

"He knows that Hinata was sent on an S ranked mission, but not the details. It's going to stay that way. The last thing any of us need to worry about right now is an overprotective father." She says with a sigh.

The next day Hinata woke up and headed to the kitchens. She remembered what Sasuke said. "Don't drink or eat anything that you haven't prepared yourself." Considering most of the ninjas in the Sound at BEST had a rather fragile grip on sanity, she decided this was good advice.

Sasuke heads to the kitchen. It was barely dawn. Too early for most of the early risers and too late enough that even the most nocturnal of night owls would be asleep. He was surprised when he saw Hinata there.

"Morning." She greets him.

"Morning." He replies, not sure what to say.

God he hoped Orochimaru and Kabuto hadn't said anything to her. That would be the ultimate humiliation. She didn't seem flustered though, so he discounted the possibility.

"Thank you for what you said to Kabuto." She says.

"What do you mean?" He asks, suddenly feeling rather wary.

"I…was exploring the village a bit after you left me. I caught some of your conversation with him about the exam he gave me." She says.

"How much did you hear?" Sasuke says and gulps.

He actually gulped. Fuck. It didn't matter what she thought of him. It did not fucking matter. Who cared if she thought he was some kind of pervert? His goal was to kill Itachi. Anything else was irrelevant right now.

"Only bits and pieces. It was nice of you to defend me. Honestly, I don't feel comfortable here. But I need to get stronger, so I'll manage." She says.

"You don't deserve to be talked about like that, especially not by a medical professional. But I promise that I won't let him touch you. You are…family. Very distant family, but still family.." Sasuke says.

Hinata blinks. Sasuke had unknowingly given her at card to play. The Damsel in Distress Card, It was unexpected, but it appeared that Sasuke did have some notion of chivalry. He was surprisingly protective of her.

Perhaps it was because they were distantly related. So distant, they were on opposite ends of the family tree, but it was still there. The Uchiha Clan descended from the Hyuga Clan or was it the other way around? She wasn't entirely sure.

"Thank you." She mumbles and looks down at her feet, trying to project the image of being fragile and uncertain.

Was this ethical? Probably not. But it was apparently effective. She was shocked when she felt Sasuke's hand against her cheek.

"I won't let him touch you again. I promise." He says.

Hinata felt a little guilty. He sounded so sincere. His touch was surprisingly gentle. Finally, he had shown some humanity again and it was the result of her deceiving him.

She wasn't actually afraid of Kabuto. He creeped her out yes, but she wasn't scared of him. In the worst case scenario, she'd introduce him to her not so Gentle Fist. Sasuke was apparently buying the act though. If it meant saving him, it was worth a little deception.

"Orochimaru is coming." Sasuke says and suddenly the tender moment was gone and Sasuke was back on high alert.

He could hear the snake's footsteps. Hopefully he'd teach him something useful today. Itachi had already been allowed to live for far too long.

Hinata bites her lower lip. She was making progress. She was sure of it. There was still good inside him. Sasuke had been so gentle just a few moments ago. So protective.

She understood now why Naruto hadn't given up on him yet. She wouldn't give upon him either. Not as long as there was still that flicker of light inside him.