miikka-xx: The END. Yes, that's right, you guys. It's over. Their kiddie love story is over. Wow, what a ride, in 5 short weeks with awesome encouragement and so much cuteness, you'd probably die from cavities, my first multi-chaptered fic. OVER. THANK YOU SO MUCH, YOU GUYS, FOR STICKING WITH ME THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, no attractive male character would be wearing a shirt. Or clothes for that matter.
Title: It's a Kid Thing
Rating: K+
Pairings: SasuHina (duh); one-sided SakuSasu, NaruSaku, InoSasu and HinaNaru (also duh)
Words: 2,991 for this chapter.
Warnings: OOCness, questionable motives and slight depressing feelings. 'Cause, you know, it's over.

-X-

Sasuke's a pompous ass and Hinata doesn't know it. Unrequited SasuHina.

-x-

Hinata forgot how to breath.

The method of breathing, of sucking in air and exhaling it out was totally wiped from her mind. This is what Sasuke wanted to give her? A marriage proposal?! Her world was spinning right now. Tilting dangerously on its axis. What about Naruto?! What about Naruto!?

"Pardon?" breathed Hiashi, staring at the small 6 year old in front of him. He wanted what of his daughter?

"I wanna marry Hinata, your daughter," said Sasuke simply, as if it was the most understandable thing in the world.

"Exactly what is your age and why?"

"I'm six years old," and in Sasuke's opinion, that was old enough, "and I want to be with Hinata forever." Hiashi felt an extremely strong headache coming on.

"Hinata, tell the maid to bring some sake," he ordered. Hinata bowed meekly before turning her back and stepping out of the room. The door slid shut behind her with a dull clack.

"So, is that a yes or a no?" Sasuke asked impatiently. He was feeling a bit vulnerable without his (hopefully) future wife's comforting presence around.

"Sasuke, that is your name, right?" it sounded a bit familiar, thought Hiashi, "6 year olds cannot get married. Come back when your 18."

"Eighteen?" screeched the boy, "That long?! Can Hinata wait that long?!"

"Hinata can wait as long as I tell her," answered the elder calmly. Sasuke shifted his feet.

"Well, I can't. Hinata likes someone else," Hiashi raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Oh?"

"Yes, a blonde-haired kid. Joke of a ninja. Er..." Sasuke swallowed, was he going to blow his chances with this? "She likes an Uzumaki Naruto."

Hiashi tilted his head towards the young boy, "And you are better than this 'joke of a ninja' how?" Sasuke puffed up his chest and gave the older one an imploring look.

"Well, first off, I'm at the top of every class, the number one. I'm rich and Hinata probably loves me too. But, most impressive of all, I am an Uchiha."

"An Uchiha?" repeated the Hyuuga slowly. Uchiha Sasuke, it rang a bell. Well, it smashed the bell, seeing as the name belonged to their second heir who was standing here in his home asking for a Hyuuga fiancé. Generations of late Uchiha must've been rolling in their graves right now, mused Hiashi. Well, if a six year old could deliver a marriage proposal, he could probably answer the questions reserved for a fiancé.

"I will ask you now, Uchiha Sasuke, of your dreams, your goals."

The next minute was long, Hinata had slowly slid into the room with a tray of sake and one sole cup. Sasuke answered carefully, his words drawn out by long pauses, reassured with Hinata's presence beside him. He could hear her breathing, her steady control of inhalations and exhalations. The way her chest rose and fell with a steady beat. The way her long, dark eyelashes closed and opened after each steady breath.

He wanted to be with her forever.

"My dream is simple, Hiashi-sama. To be Hinata's husband," stated the boy clearly, his mind was unfogged; perfect, he could do this, "And my goal, my goal is also simple. To beat my genius brother, Itachi Uchiha, and become the greatest ninja ever lived."

Hiashi closed his eyes and sat, feet tucked neatly underneath him as he poured himself a cup of sake. Seconds passed by with tension in the air. Was this is it? All he needed was a yes or a no. That's all Sasuke needed.

Hinata watched her fingers fiddle endlessly with the hem of her sleeve and waited. Married... She had always imagined living in a happy little house, with herself in the kitchen stirring the rice while her husband wrapped his arms around her waist and his chin on her shoulder and they would smile and talk. Before now, before Sasuke even, she had fantasized this husband to be like Neji-nii-san, proud and protective, or an older Naruto, broad, cute and eternally cheerful but now...

She could see black hair tickling her cheek, the mischievous glean in dark eyes that she would spot from the corner of her eye. The arms that would tighten when her hand would skim dangerously close to the hot stove or the quiet laugh when she, perplexed by his close presence, would accidentally toss in too much of an ingredient or burn the rice.

So while she waited in the cold room, her father across from her sipping sake calmly, one of her hands closed around the hem of Sasuke's sleeve and she nodded slightly at him. The boy grasped a clump of her longer sleeve and gave a small smile before facing her father again, straight-backed and stone-faced.

He could do this.

-x-

He coud hear their breathing if he concentrated hard enough. The slow hiss of air that exhaled through their noses, the rustle of clothes... Hiashi always was proud of how... perceptive he was. How he noticed the small things; the quickening of a breath, the eager twitch, a flicker of the eyes.

He could see nothing at the moment. The Uchiha had done nothing to show his lies. No rolling of eyes, no slowing or quickening his breathing, no impulsive twitch from his fingers that were tightly wrapped around the sleeve of his daughter's kimono sleeve. He was telling the truth. His family had not put him up to this. In fact, it was his family who had implored Hiashi to ban his daughter from making contact with their beloved little one.

Yet here was their 'beloved little one', sitting in front of him, in the middle of the Hyuuga manor, asking for something so precious and valuable that could only be the property of one man and one man only. And it couldn't be Hiashi. The tangy taste of sake lingered on his tongue as he snappd from one idea to another in his head, thinking future possibilities. He could do so much with a Uchiha-Hyuuga union. But the Uchiha would never approve, yet this was only a minor setback, as he delved more into the situation at hand.

"Sasuke, correct?" He pronounced the words slowly, feeling the form on his tongue. The boy nodded once.

"There is a contract in my sleeve," indeed, there was, "that will permit you to marry my daughter..." Hiashi breathed in deep, tucking his hand in the opposite sleeve to feel the paper, "However!"

There! A muffled groan, a flash of anger and impatience. Oh, how the boy must care for his beloved. Hinata, on the other hand, clutched so tightly the hem of her probable new husband, her knuckles turned dangerously white.

"However?" repeated Sasuke tightly. If it wasn't for Hinata clinging onto him, he would've flung himself at the dangling sleeve for the contract.

"However, the two of you must have no contact until Hinata has turned eighteen."

There, he said it. The fated sentence. Slowly, Hiashi slid the contract out in front of them and whipped out a kunai. He placed it on the tatami mat and rested the kunai on top of it. Sasuke and Hinata both knew the purpose of the kunai, to sign the contract with blood. Blood, not signatures, was the proof of promise between ninjas. If there was one thing that couldn't be duplicated it was DNA. After the purpose of the contract would come, Hiashi would send it off to a personal medic or scientist and they would match the DNA from the blood on the paper to the person. Supervised by the head of the house, it was practically fool proof. Unless some ninja came crashing down the roof and snatched it away, but that was honestly unlikely considering the guards posted everywhere.

Sasuke's hand, the boy realised, was shaking. Sasuke had never seen his hand tremble and shake from nervousness and tension. If anything, they always shook from either fatigue or immense pain. Hinata's hand that clenched his sleeve loosened and the pale digits crawled slowly, but surely onto Sasuke's hand that held her sleeve. She glided her palm softly over his white, trembling knuckles. The boy sensed her want and grabbed her hand, threading his small fingers between hers. His palm was sweaty but hers was dry and cool. Hinata herself looked utterly calm about the whole situation. As if she had retreated to some kind of obscure corner in her mind, her "happy place".

"What about Naruto?" he breathed, breaking the long silence as quietly as possible. Hinata inclined her head, staring at an indefinite spot on the tatami mats they sat on.

"I don't know," she admitted, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"...I.." Sasuke halted. If he said anymore, she'd probably start crying without stopping. Hinata tightened her grip on his hand.

"I really li-like him... b-but I really like... you too..."Her face was blank, only her lips were curved into some kind of broken-hearted smile. The boy forgot about Hiashi being there. The fact that some bedraggled man sitting in front of them with a contract and a heart-breaking condition engraved in it was absolutely wiped from his mind.

He pressed his nose against her cheek. Hinata turned slightly pink but nuzzled her cheek against his warm nose.

"Marry me." His eyelashes tickled her hairline and his breath felt hot against her skin. His voice was commanding, friendly and loving at the same time. An amazing feat for a six year old Uchiha. Sasuke pressed his lips against her cheek, repeating his order, "Marry me."

Hinata could never escape Sasuke. Never.

"Okay."

-x-

The signing of the contract was funny at best with Hinata screeching as her husband-to-be advanced the kunai onto her hand. Sasuke scrambling to get away as a former prim-and-proper girl gripped the kunai angrily with her tiny hands. After almost 15 minutes of struggling, screaming, giggling and bloodletting, the contract was signed. Hiashi swiftly rolled up the sheet, tucked the weapon away and left the room.

So there they were, in an unadorned room with nothing but tatami mats and pretty watercolors painted on the sliding doors. There were 3 bedrolls squished in a darkened corner, collecting dust, yet other than that, it was completely empty. A servant had quickly swept into the room, grabbed the tray with the sake and cup and also left, as fast as he came in. Sasuke fidgeted nervously on the floor, staring at anything not-Hinata.

"Now w-what?" mumbled Hinata, in a similar nervous state.

"A-Are you... angry with me?" asked Sasuke, "If you are... I'm sorry." The girl blinked in surprise at his apology.

"You.." started Hinata, fisting her kimono sleeves, "You... l-like me... so I'm n-not angry or u-upset."

God, she was a walking saint. Sasuke thanked the lord for Hinata's amazingly nice, forgiving nature yet, in return to her reply, he poked her. No, he jabbed her with his finger on her arm.

"Wrong!" declared the Uchiha, "I don't like you!"

"Ow-- wha--?" cried Hinata, her eyes widening to an almost impossible size, "S-Sasuke doesn't like me?" Her voice was breathless. Sasuke waved his hand nonchalantly in the air.

"Of course not," replied the boy. Then he suddenly leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes glittering and a grin about to split his face.

"I love you."

-x-

After freaking out when Hinata passed out from embarassment, happiness and shock, Sasuke had woken her up with a few pokes to her cheeks. Hiashi soon returned, confirming that, yes, it was Sasuke's blood, not some imposter. He quickly sat them down again, laying out the contract. The blood had already dried a crusty maroon-brown color that looked amazingly revolting.

"The condition is no contact until you turn eighteen, since that is when you are elegible for marriage," started Hiashi promptly, "Are you following, Uchiha Sasuke?" The boy nodded swiftly, his eyes rapt and at attention. He explained, "That is to say, no talking, no touching, no looking at each other for 12 years. Twelve years." Hiashi pronounced the words carefully letting the weight sink into their heads. Hinata's eyes were wide but a spark of determination glittered in her pale orbs; Sasuke's though were narrowed, his lips turned at the corners in a faint shadow of a scowl.

Hiashi Hyuuga breathed slowly and evenly, "If you are cast off from your family, become an ex-ninja or criminal, however, then the deal is off. It is recommended you do not speak of this to the rest of your family, for they may forcibly break the contract. You have signed this of your own free will, Hinata and me as witnesses and we will not tolerate you yourself breaking this contract. The penalty is high, beware. Whether you change your mind or find a new belle-" Here, Sasuke sputtered in indignance, hah, like he'll actually like another girl, much less love. "- you will marry Hinata regardless. All previous engagements shall be called off and you shall become Hinata's husband. This is definite unless you die or become one of the three I mentioned before."

The head of the Hyuuga house took a deep breath.

"Do you understand, Uchiha Sasuke?"

-x-

It was an awful lot of things to take in like not even looking at Hinata for 12 years and making guesses like he'll marry another girl before Hinata. Pfft. Anyways, he had been prepared to be scared through the whole ordeal of dying if he broke the contract but in reality, it was okay. Sasuke liked to think he was prepared for anything, even in a fight. He could produce pretty powerful Katon Jutsus in dire need and clenched his teeth when Hiashi had nonchalantly passed over his death like it was an everyday thing. Like heck, he was gonna die before marrying his Hinata.

Hm, his Hinata.

That sounded nice.

"Yes, I understand."

Hiashi closed his eyes and a ghost of a smile tugged at his tight lips.

"Then it is done."

-x-

His leaving was rather anti-climatic in hindsight. He had just made a vow on his life to marry their future heir and no one knew any better. The guards' white eyes passed over him like he was a speck of dust. The servants bowed low to the sight of Hinata shuffling in front of him, her pale clutching his own as she guided him through the maze of paper doors and seeing-through eyes. The elders smiled and nodded at them, the marked ones stopped and bowed their heads until their heiress passed them and the main members ghosted past them with their soft 'swish swish' of their kimono sweeping across the dark wood floorboards.

Yeah, it was pretty anti-climatic in all.

-x-

Hinata was almost shaking once they arrived at the main gates, the only others being the guards on the other side of the high, grated doors. The sun had begun it's blazing decent into death, it's reds and oranges spreading like wildfire over the horizon and illuminating the clouds into beautiful shades of pink, red and violet. The courtyard was deserted with no one in sight and the door to the house a few hundred feet away from them.

She replayed all that happened in that one evening. On the last day of school she got walked by a boy. After she got home, she got married with the boy. Later, she learned she could not even look at the boy for twelve long years. And now, silhouetted by a magnificent sunset that colored the ever-darkening night with all it's dying might. It was fading fast and she was turned so that her back was turned to the gate and sunset and he in front of her.

It was now or never, she decided, clenching her fists. She knew he could not see her, could not notice the flaming determination in her eyes. All he could see was a dark, Hinata-shaped girl with glinting pale eyes.

-x-

Hiashi passed over the window after leaving the bedside of his beloved wife. She lay pale and sickly yet beamed with motherly pride as she gazed into the face of the sleeping baby cradled in her thin arms. The blankets lay crumpled around her body, revealing a bony frame that was left of her. A cup of steaming chamomile tea lay untouched on the side table by the bed and a folded, slightly crumpled scroll laying on it's side. A corner had dislodged itself and in the last, fierce rays of the sun revealed a smudge of dried blood on the paper.

The Lady Hyuuga did not notice the scroll or tea but the way her husband stood stock still in front of the window in her room.

"Anata," she called softly to her husband, who still stood there, "What do you see?"

Hiashi shifted then moved to the side.

"The future."

The Lady peered through the window yet only could see two small figures embracing tightly by the gate, silhouetted against sunfire and metal bars.

-x-

End Part 1

-x-

This is how the engagement of a Hyuuga and an Uchiha had started.

This has only happened once in long time past, when the 10th generation Hyuuga Lady had run away from the strict house with an unknown man, his hair and eyes as dark and deep as the night. Soon, with money accumulated by the man and the ex-Lady, they started a family, which soon led to a clan.

That clan, for the preferance of their Lady's vast collection of fans, was named 'Uchiha'. It is said almost no one had seen the face of the Lady, ever hidden by dark hair and fans but rumours pass, even in the now-present Hyuuga house, that she was the stunning image of their 32nd small heiress, Hyuuga Hinata.

-x-

FIN.

-x-

Wow, it's done you guys. A-All done... I, uh, wow... But onto more important things:

THANK YOU TO ALL THE REVIEWERS FOR ALL THE GREAT SUPPORT AND LOVE:

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Whew, that's a long list. YOU GUYS MADE WRTING THIS WHOLE THING WORTH IT! THANKS SO MUCH!

Any requests doing with little Sasuke or Hinata are totally welcome. The list of reviewers are only for the previous chapters. New reviewers are WELCOME!

I hope you enjoyed this ride with me. It was an absolute joy. A sequel you ask? Possible. ;)

-X-