Gray Pearl

by Jasmine Starlight

Full summary: Black- adj. opposite of white, dark; without light. White- adj. innocence, opposite of black, absence of color. To Hyuuga Hinata, the world couldn't be painted in two different colors. But she didn't mind, she knew where she stood, she was white and he black. But when black and white mix, no one can go back, no matter how hard they try. Sasu/Hina

My second Naruto fic, I love this anime, go easy on me.

CHAPTER ONE

NOT SO NORMAL ENCOUNTERS OF THE UCHIHA KIND

Normally, Hinata was calm, composed, and friendly.

But not today, today she was atrociously late, and that made her countenance not so pleasant and smiley.

She was late for a meeting with Kurenai-sensei, and the rest of her old team, even though Hinata was officially a Chuunin, like the rest of the rookie nine, she still met with her team for practices on occasion, for example, the Jounin exams were approaching and Kurenai-sensei had been running stealth drills, decoy missions, anything and everything.

Hinata felt like she was 6 instead of 18 and in the academy instead of out of it, living in the Hyuuga compound, instead of in her own apartment.

Yes, at age 18, Hyuuga Hinata had finally stood up to her father, with much coaxing from Neji and not-so-insulting jabs from Hanabi (who oddly harbored no ill-will towards her sister)

She was living on her own, finally there was no one breathing down her neck, scolding, reprimanding and chastising her for every little deviation from the Hyuuga lifestyle.

Personally, Hinata found that to be a load of shit. But if she ever cursed like that, the world might come to an end, Asuma-sensei would stop smoking, Kakashi-sensei would swear off his beloved pornographic novels and Iruka-sensei would start reading them.

Some things had to stay the same.

Hinata minded very much that it seemed like she wasn't changing at all, Shino and Kiba seemed to be charging forward in leaps and bounds, and she, and she could only take tiny baby steps.

This aggravated her immensely, after all her training, all the ridicule she faced from her family, and she had almost nothing to show for it.

Sure, she had passed the Chuunin exams, only because there were no geniuses like Uchiha Sasuke or Neji-nii-san. There were no Naruto-kuns or Shino-kuns.

Just you're run-of-the-mill slightly above average nins.

Hinata felt like she was going backward instead of forward, what was the point of trouncing those shinobi when she couldn't have passed if there had been a Sasuke or a Naruto in the exams?

She felt tiny and insignificant.

She hated that feeling.

That's why she was looking forward to her meeting with Kurenai-sensei, maybe she could tell Hinata what she was doing wrong, so she could make amends before the Jounin exams.

That's why she was distracted, she never saw him coming.

She could remember seeing little leaves dancing around her head, before a voice snapped her out of her day-dream.

"Hello!" said Uchiha Sasuke, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Oh. Oh!" said Hinata, "S-sorry, I didn't watch where I was going, i-it's a-all my f-fault." she began to stammer.

"Whatever." said Sasuke as he stuck his hands into his pockets and sauntered off, disappearing into the crowds.

Hinata was faintly surprised.

No wise crack?

No sniping remark?

No venomous glare that made Hinata feel two inches tall?

No biting remark about the Byakugan?

No scathing insult about her stutter that made Hinata want to break a chair over his head?

This was odd, was the next thing she should be expecting is Jiraiya-sama swearing an oath of celibacy?

The world really would be coming to an end if that happened.

£¤§¤§¤§¤§¤§¤£

Things had been utterly boring and repetitive.

For Sasuke anyway, after that whole "ordeal" with Orochimaru, chasing after Itachi didn't seem to matter anymore.

He was tired of living for people who had been dead for years.

He was tired of chasing after his "brother" who had made him this way.

Into a cold shell incapable of any and all emotion excluding blinding rage or annoyance.

So in short: Sasuke. Was. Tired. Period.

Returning to Konoha was like ripping off a bandage, it stung like a mother fucker at first but then the pain faded.

That's how he felt; faded and out of touch.

All the people he had known had all changed, and unlike him, their change was for the better.

That had really hit home when he had bumped into Hyuuga Hinata.

Even though her stammer remained, everything about her seemed different. She moved with a confidence that Sasuke didn't know she possessed.

She wasn't afraid of him either, she seemed wary and expectant?

Expectant of what, he wondered.

She was probably waiting for Sound to march in after him with their kunai drawn and snakes plowing through the city.

That's what everyone else thought.

Even so, Hinata had grown, not just in the fighting arena; she had grown out of her childish adolescence and into a fully fledged woman.

Who Sasuke found very very hot.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks, waiting for a disaster of catastrophic proportions to occur.

Did he just think that?

He did, didn't he?

Was it really such a horrible sentiment?

Hinata for all intents and purposes was hot.

Hold on, didn't he just go from emotionally-fucked-up to hormonally-invested?

Maybe he should take it easy.

And avoid Hinata.

That wouldn't be too hard.

Would it?

END

How was it?

Do your worst.