A (Non-Death) Note from Coco: In the anime only, it was revealed that Hinata's chakra nature is water. That was the inspiration and theme for this OneShot. Also, the characters are not intentionally, if at all, OOC. The first part of the story occurs when they were kids. This was before the Uchiha massacre, so Sasuke acts like a normal non-emo kid. The second part of the story occurs post-Shippuden. By then, Hinata is stronger and less of a pushover. I also gave her a new quirk just to spice things up.

Recipe for this story:

1. Write, delete, write, delete, write.

2. Just add water.

Enjoy!

Uchiha Sasuke had a pet fish. Unfortunately, it died on his third birthday. (Perhaps this traumatic event had been the first trigger to Sasuke's emo gene.) When he studied the silver fish designs on the girl's pale blue kimono, he thought of his dead fish. When he studied the rest of the girl, however, he noticed something else.

"You're cute," Sasuke told her with a surprisingly serious expression for a five-year-old.

A shinobi was supposed to be deceptive and elusive, but Sasuke felt that he needed to be straight-forward when it came to serious matters such as this. The girl in front of him was definitely cute. Her rosy cheeks were set against pale, delicate skin. She blinked at him with wide eyes the shade of lavender. Although her dark hair looked quite odd, it framed her face quite nicely. He wouldn't be surprised if she started spewing out rainbows and unicorns.

"I-I am?" she asked, dumbfounded as to why he would say that.

"Yeah, I know about these things," Sasuke bragged. "If I say you're cute, then you're cute."

"Ano, t-then thank you," she bowed her head.

"I didn't say it was a good thing," Sasuke mentioned matter-of-factly. "Cute things are weak."

After all, when was the last time a unicorn could wield a katana?

The girl looked down, ashamed. He wondered why she looked so sad. Had he said something wrong? He didn't think so; he merely stated the facts.

"B-but you're cute too… why aren't y-you weak?" she asked.

"I'm not cute. I'm…," he hesitated and then recalled a word that his mom called his dad, "…I'm sexy!"

Neither of the kids knew what the word "sexy" meant, but the girl nodded her head in agreement. Sasuke felt proud of using a new vocabulary word. Elated from his small accomplishment, he decided to extend his happiness to the girl. However, Sasuke had no idea what sorts of things girls liked.

"What makes you happy?" he asked her in a demanding tone.

The girl pressed her index fingers together in a thoughtful gesture. She bit her lip as she pondered over the question. When she glanced at Sasuke, her face turned red when she realized he was staring at her. She was so cute—and weak.

"I like watching koi swim in t-the pond," she finally said.

Sasuke grabbed her hand and dragged her around as he found the koi pond in a secluded corner of the Hyuuga compound. The two of them stared into its crystal clear waters. There were two fish, one black and one white, that swam side-by-side. Wherever the koi went, they managed to swim next to each other. When one turned, the other did the same. It amazed him how they always remained together. Though, it was odd how the the black and white fish, which were opposites, could be so in sync.

When Sasuke pointed that out, the girl answered, "My kaa-san said t-that opposites attract."

He then noticed how the girl and he were opposites. His eyes were dark while hers were pale. He was strong and she was weak. He was sexy and she was cute.

"Do you think we attract?" Sasuke wondered aloud.

He didn't quite know why he asked the question. It was probably because the girl was so shy that he felt like he needed to constantly force the conversation in order to keep her talking. What if this girl turned out to get all mushy with him like the others? Even though he now regretted asking her, the question hung unanswered in the air between them.

"I d-d-don't even know y-your name," the cute girl before him stuttered as her face turned red.

Though, it was he who probably felt more embarrassed. Where were his manners? Uchiha Sasuke of the Uchiha clan was brought up to act aristocratic and chivalrous. It was due to his clan's high status that he had been set up on a play date with the girl. He knew that she was the Hyuuga heiress, but he didn't know her given name. Names were important so people could address one another properly. At least, that's what his mother always said.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he stated. "And you?"

"Hyuuga Hinata," she said with downcast eyes.

Now he felt at ease. They had gone through the formalities and could continue to talk about other matters.

"So do we?" he demanded.

"Do we w-what?" Hinata asked.

"Attract," he reminded her.

Even though he didn't want to ask the question in the first place, he still needed an answer. His five-year-old curiosity got the best of him.

"I d-don't know," she said.

This answer was an even greater disappointment than when Itachi missed dinner due to a mission.

Normally, Sasuke would eagerly share stories of his day to his older brother while they ate. When Itachi was gone, it made dinner quiet and awkward. His father Fugaku didn't particularly care what happened to Sasuke, unless it involved him developing a new ability in order to become a shinobi. His mother Mikoto would listen, but in the end she would tell him to eat more vegetables. After a while, he gave up talking at dinner if Itachi wasn't with them. Instead of dishing out stories, the only noise in the dining room included the clatter of chopsticks against dishes.

"Why do you keep stuttering? It makes you sound weak," Sasuke frowned.

"I d-don't know," she repeated.

"Why are you turning red again?" his frown deepened.

"I d-don't know," she said once more.

"Do you know anything?" Sasuke hissed.

Even as a five-year-old, he could be quite intimidating. His sudden outburst caused Hinata to cry. He hated tears, but he hated watching her tears even more. This cute, weak girl seemed so fragile, so breakable. Now that he had broken her, he needed to fix her. That's what an Uchiha was supposed to do.

"Don't cry," he commanded.

Alas, his solution backfired. Hinata did quite the opposite; her sobs grew louder. Sasuke felt a strange emotion tug at his heart. Was he… guilty?

"Don't cry," he said in a softer tone.

Unfortunately, this gentler approach didn't work either. If his mother found out that he had made her cry, he probably wouldn't be allowed to have a play date with Hinata again (and he'd receive one hell of a spanking too). He wanted to see her again. Even though she could be difficult, she didn't pounce on him like the other girls. Plus, he liked her kimono with the silver fish designs. They reminded him of his dead fish.

Sasuke looked around him, searching for an idea to get the heiress to stop crying. He noticed that the black koi and the white koi were no longer swimming side-by-side. They lurked in opposite sides of the pond.

"Look, you made them upset," he told her as he pointed out the fish. "I think that if you stop crying, they'll swim together again."

Sure, it was total bullshit, but he was a five-year-old with an imagination that made sense only to him.

"R-really?" she hiccupped.

Sasuke nodded.

"O-okay," she said as she wiped away her tears with the sleeves of her kimono.

When Sasuke looked back into the pond, the black and white fish were still separated. Great, now she would stat crying again when she found out that he lied. He frowned but quickly thought of a solution. He stuck his finger in the pond. The two koi swam toward it, thinking it was food. He then removed his finger when they met. After that, they started swimming side-by-side.

"See? They're together again," Sasuke stated, feeling proud of his ingenuity.

"Y-yes," Hinata smiled. "They're beautiful."

As she looked into the pond, Sasuke looked at the girl. He couldn't help but think how fragile she looked. She was so tiny compared to him, and he was only five. At any moment, this girl could break, and he didn't want to see that again. Plus, he didn't want a spanking from his mother for not helping her.

"Since you're so weak, I'll protect you," he vowed.

Startled, she looked away from the pond and blinked her wide, lavender eyes at him. She bowed deeply, but he thought that he saw a glimpse of a blush on her face.

"T-thank you," she said softly.

Neither of them realized that this same promise would tear them apart.

"I'll beat you to the koi pond," six-year-old Uchiha Sasuke smirked.

He had bonded with Hinata over the past couple of months since their first play date. They continued to have more play dates, and one of their traditions was to visit the koi pond every time Sasuke came over to the Hyuuga compound.

However, Sasuke was stronger and faster, so he could beat Hinata by a long shot when they raced. That day had been no exception. As he panted for air, he noticed that Hinata's mother was at the pond. She was a beautiful woman with the same pale, delicate skin as her daughter. She had long, glossy hair that was always done in an elaborate knot on the top of her head. She carried herself with a regal air and wore kimonos worth more than the payment from A-rank missions. She was also… swimming?

Hinata's mother floated face down as the black fish and the white fish nibbled at her fingertips. At first, the six-year-old Sasuke wondered why she was swimming in the koi pond, especially with her priceless kimono still on. Even stranger, the pond had been tinted a light red, almost a pink. When he walked closer, Sasuke watched in horror as a dark red stain soaked through the back of her mother's kimono.

She was dead.

No, she couldn't be dead. She was the woman who sang pretty melodies and told magical tales whenever Hinata or Sasuke asked. She always flittered around the Hyuuga compound to make sure everyone was doing their job. Hinata's mother had been alive and well; she most certainly couldn't be dead. At least, Hinata couldn't find out that she was. Sasuke knew that this bit of information would break the heiress. He promised her that he would protect her, that he wouldn't let her break.

He ran back and caught the girl before she could see the pond.

"We're not going to the pond today," he stated.

"Why not, Sasuke-kun?" she asked. "Don't you want to watch the black and white koi?"

He couldn't help but feel a bit proud because he had helped her reduce her stuttering. It now only turned on if she was too excited or distressed.

"If you spend so much time around fish, you'll turn into one," he said seriously.

Even though he was now six, he was still bullshitting.

"That only happens in my kaa-san's stories," she said as she walked around him.

Before he could stop her, Hinata spotted what was really at the pond—her mother's corpse. Hinata merely stared at the lifeless body, dumbfounded. After a while, the knowledge finally sunk in. She trembled and fell to her knees with her eyes still fixed on her mother. Hinata started spewing out gibberish nonsense—or maybe she was just stuttering so badly. Not knowing what to do, Sasuke grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her back up, but she resisted.

"T-this… this was why y-you didn't w-want to go to the p-pond?" she asked him with tears welled up in her eyes. "M-my kaa-san… she's… Why didn't y-you just tell me?"

"You were too weak," he stated.

Right after he said that, Sasuke realized that he may have said the wrong thing again. Tears spilled onto her cheeks, and she got up to run toward her mother's corpse. On her way, she tripped over a rock and fell. Hinata let out a low, pathetic whimper.

When he tried to help her up again, she whispered, "I'm not weak. I'll… I'll grow stronger for my kaa-san's sake... Not yours."

Not yours. The phrase rang inside Sasuke's head. Of course Hyuuga Hinata wasn't his. No matter how much he tried to look out for her, she would never be his. Even though he had just tried to protect her, all he received was resentment from her. Fine, he didn't care if she felt that way; he didn't need her. In fact, she looked entirely pathetic as she lay curled up in front of him.

"You say you're not weak, but all you're going to do is cry?" he sneered. "How is your kaa-san's soul going to rest if she knows her body is being eaten by your stupid fish while you're just here on the ground?"

As Sasuke glared down at the sobbing Hinata, he sensed another presence and turned around. Hyuuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuuga clan, had arrived. His Byakugan was activated, so he had already spotted his wife's corpse. Silently, he walked into the pond and carried his wife's limp body out. Unlike his daughter, Hiashi didn't cry. His eyes were hardened, and his mouth set in a tight line.

By then, the rest of the Hyuuga clan had arrived. Everybody's eyes were downcast as Hiashi walked past them into the main house. Some branch members followed him in order to aid with the funeral. Others began to investigate the bloodied koi pond. Hinata remained curled up on the ground until a maid picked her up and slapped her for the disgrace. Meanwhile, the sky had turned gray, as if it wanted to match the somber mood.

"I suggest you leave," an elder told Sasuke.

He bowed and followed orders. He left the Hyuuga compound—forever.

He walked with brisk steps, yearning to see his own mother. In the back of his mind, Sasuke felt grateful that it was Hinata's mother who died instead of his. The thought made him feel like a horrible person, but he knew that was the truth.

Then he remembered how cruel he had acted to Hinata earlier; he called her weak. He knew that she had always been defensive about that topic. The heiress to a powerful clan wasn't supposed to be weak, which made Hinata a disgrace. He had ignored her feelings about this and stabbed her self-esteem. Perhaps he really was a horrible person. Maybe he was evil and would even one day walk a path of darkness…

No.

Although he felt guilty, he was pretty sure he wasn't evil. Maybe his guilt indicated that he had a heart. All he knew was that he wanted to protect Hinata, even to the extent of hurting her in the process. Wait, then that made it a… parrot? No, that wasn't the word. Sasuke thought hard. It was… it was a… paradox.

"Sasuke!" Uchiha Mikoto greeted, giving him a hug.

He hadn't realized that he already arrived at the Uchiha compound, but he felt warm in her loving embrace. So he hugged her back, wanting to feel loved forever…

…until she ruffled his hair. Ugh. Everyone knew that the littlest things could set off six-year-olds. Sasuke was no exception.

"Kaa-san, I told you that I hate it when you mess up my hair," Sasuke whined, pulling away.

"What's wrong?" Mikoto asked, concern in her eyes.

Everyone knew that a mother's intuition could see through her child's bad moods. Mikoto was no exception.

"I think Hinata doesn't want to be my friend anymore," he confessed.

This time his mother's voice took a scolding tone, "Why not, Sasuke? Were you mean to her?"

"It's because I'm in a paradox!" he insisted. "I wanted to protect her… but she got mad at me."

"The Hyuugas are a strong clan, Sasuke. Some even say our Sharingan derived from their Byakugan. I'm sure that Hyuuga girl is strong enough to protect herself. In fact, if she wasn't the heiress, she would be training to become a shinobi, just like you are," his mother lectured then softened. "However, it's kind of you to care for her. Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"I found her dead kaa-san in the koi pond," he said softly.

Sasuke looked at his mother, who remained silent. He wondered what a grown-up could possibly be thinking about. Grown-ups never thought about anything important. To them, everything related to politics and etiquette. After all, they needed to maintain their statuses for a secure future. Six-year-olds could see life how it's meant to be lived: in the moment.

"Kaa-san?" he called out to her.

"Don't worry, Sasuke," Mikoto hugged him. "The Uchiha clan has been planning something for a long, long, time. Finally, everything will be better next year."

"Why next year?" he asked.

"The Uchiha clan will be the greatest in Konoha," she smiled.

She then left her son in order to go tell her husband about the Hyuuga death. He thought he heard her say that the unrest in the Hyuuga clan could allow the Uchiha to rise.

…or was it rice? Sasuke didn't have breakfast, and he craved some onigiri. Perhaps he could sneak into the kitchen and grab a snack while his mother was still preoccupied with the notion that the Uchiha clan could gain power over Konoha.

She was wrong.

Next year arrived like a raging typhoon, destroying everything in its path.

To Sasuke, everything was the Uchiha clan.

Hyuuga Hinata had a pet fish. She named him Sora, or sky, due to his pale blue scales. She kept Sora in a small bowl on top of her desk, and he kept her company whenever she did her wretched paperwork. There were only two things that Hinata, now the age of 19, hated: paperwork and Uchiha Sasuke.

Who didn't hate paperwork? It was just another one of those things that consumed her time. Time seemed to be everything now that she was busy as the head of the Hyuuga clan. Hyuuga Hiashi, the former head of the clan, became headless. An assassin from Iwagakure decapitated him in the middle of the night.

Now that she worked as the new head, Hinata followed the same routine every day:

1. Eat breakfast

2. Paperwork

3. Eat Lunch

4. Paperwork

5. Eat dinner

6. Visit Branch House (and say hi to Neji-niisan if he's not making out with TenTen-chan)

7. Paperwork

8. Sleep

9. Repeat

It was no wonder why Hiashi had always acted like somebody stuck a stick up his ass. Hinata couldn't believe how much paperwork she had been forced to do. Sometimes she wished that she could live a carefree life like her fish Sora:

1. Swim

2. Eat

3. Poop

4. Repeat

Not only was it an easy life, but it was a catchy ditty too. Swim. Poop. Eat. Repeat. It played in a continuous loop in her mind. (It could probably be turned into a pop song too. Just add auto-tune.)

Hinata's only other hatred was reserved for Uchiha Sasuke. He called her weak. Yes, it was such a childish reason. Sasuke even said it when they were children, just barely six-years-old. Yet, she had taken it to heart. She truly believed it, which therefore influenced her every action. After her mother died, she became even more shy and withdrawn. She had become so weak that Hyuuga Hiashi had forced her to become a shinobi in order to toughen her up.

It didn't work at first. Hinata felt like a fish out of water at the academy. With no self-esteem, Hinata struggled with her grades. She became depressed and even entertained the thought of drowning herself in her mother's koi pond. However, she couldn't do it; she was too weak to even kill herself. When Uzumaki Naruto entered the picture, she felt inspired to become stronger. Sure, she was weak, but she didn't have to stay that way. After years of training, she finally became a Jonin.

Even Hiashi was impressed by her progress. He renamed her as the heiress of the Hyuuga clan. When he died, Hinata became the head. That's when she found out that all of her years of hard work resulted in a bunch of paperwork. It was funny how life treated her. Too bad she wasn't laughing.

Hyuuga Hinata had never been the type of person who held grudges. She knew it was unfair to resent Sasuke for something he said many years ago. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to forgive him for calling her weak.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky. Thinking it was a Chidori, Hinata let out a squeak. However, it came from the clouds, not Uchiha Sasuke. Hinata then noticed that she had been walking along an empty road in Konoha in the rain.

"I shouldn't be here," she thought aloud.

It was the truth; Hinata was supposed to be doing her wretched paperwork. Though, today she decided to skip it. She felt too cooped up inside of her office to think. She needed to go outside for once. She needed a change.

She needed to change, out of her hakama at least. It was completely drenched by the rain. Her midnight locks hung heavily, and part of it plastered to her face. Not to mention, the rest of her face was probably flushed red since she'd been crying. If somebody went up to her and asked her why she was crying, she couldn't blame it on the fumes from chopping onions. That's because:

1. Hinata couldn't cook at all. At best, she could manage to make rice with only part of it burned.

2. She was located on the other side of Konoha from the Hyuuga compound, too far for access to any onions.

3. She hated onions.

Now would be the time to mention that Hyuuga Hinata had taken a liking to creating lists. It started a year ago when she had first been introduced to paperwork. She wrote down to-do lists in order to keep track of her assignments. After a couple of months, Hinata expanded to making lists for other things. It was just one of those habits that some people never got over, like biting fingernails.

Boom!

Hinata couldn't help but squeak at the sound of thunder, not because of how ominous it sounded, but because she was merely caught off guard. Lately, Hinata often disappeared inside of her thoughts. It felt like she drowned in them. Sometimes loud noises like thunder were the only things that could pull her out. She wondered why her eyes burned. Had her Byakugan backfired? Did she contract some sort of disease from walking in the rain? Then she remembered again; she had been crying.

"Naruto-kun," she said softly, melancholy dripping from her voice.

Uzumaki Naruto was dead.

Hinata couldn't fathom how this could be plausible. Uzumaki Naruto, the vivacious knucklehead, owner of cerulean eyes, future hokage, her first love… was dead? She no longer loved him as a crush, but she loved him like an older brother now. He had given her inspiration, a hope to become stronger. She had confused her admiration as love.

When they were younger, Hinata had noticed how Sakura's emerald eyes softened whenever she saw him. She decided to relinquish her crush on Naruto because Sakura was the one who truly loved him. She could also see that Naruto loved Sakura back. He forfeited his life in order to save hers.

He died a month ago, but Hinata hadn't had a real chance to cry until now. Since she was the head of the clan, she had to set an example and be strong for the others. Crying equated to weakness. Now that she had a chance to be alone on this empty Konoha road, she allowed herself to sob. She wasn't the type to wail, but she hiccupped as tears streamed down her face, mixing with the rain.

Hinata reminded herself that crying helped release toxins from the body; this was good for her.

"So why don't I feel any better?" she sobbed.

She cried how unfair everything was, how Naruto was dead, how she was stuck with an office job with wretched paperwork, how she longed to be a kunoichi again, how her soaked hakama made her shiver. Hinata concluded that life was:

1. Cruel

2. Unusual

3. Full of sh-

"It… it's you!" Hinata gasped as she turned around.

Due to being lost in her thoughts again, she hadn't noticed him until she felt his presence right behind her.

"Hinata," Uchiha Sasuke muttered, his way of acknowledging her.

Sasuke had been dragged back to Konoha by Naruto when they were 17. He spent a year in prison and had been released about the time that Hiashi had died. From then on, he climbed up the ranks in just two months, reaching ANBU in record time. Hinata hadn't seen him face-to-face since they were six. They never interacted at the academy after her mother's death. Fast forward to their 19th year of age, she had been too busy doing paperwork, and he had been busy doing missions.

Yet, now that she was in front of him by pure chance, she didn't know what to think. All this time she thought she hated him for calling her weak, but there was no malice between them—just sparks. Or that could be the lightning from the rain.

"Uchiha-san," she bowed her head, "it's been a while."

After a moment of silence, he stated, "You're crying."

He could probably tell because her face had been wet with tears. She needed an excuse, preferably one that didn't involve chopping onions. Allergies? No. Lack of sleep? No. There had to be something she could tell him.

"It's… raining," she said lamely as she looked him in the eye.

As soon as they locked eyes, Hinata could tell by the unmoved expression on his face that her excuse miserably failed. She realized that rain could explain her wet face, but it couldn't make her eyes puffy and her face red. At least she didn't have to go through the embarrassment of receiving pity from him. Sasuke probably didn't care that she had been crying, like Naruto or Kiba would have.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

Of course, no sane person would be walking on an empty street in the rain just for kicks. She needed a destination in order to risk being humiliated even more.

"To see Naruto-kun," she decided.

When she said it aloud, Hinata knew in her heart that's where she wanted to go. She needed closure.

"Me too," Sasuke stated.

Neither of them said anything else. Yet, they ended up walking in sync, matching each other step-by-step. They had a silent agreement to travel with each other to travel together. For their own separate reasons, they needed to pay their respects to Naruto. While they walked, several thoughts zoomed through Hinata's mind:

1. Sasuke was different than he used to be.

2. So was Hinata.

3. In fact, they were all different (and how could she not have noticed it earlier?).

4. Oh yeah, that's because she never saw anybody anymore

5. …because of her paperwork

6. …which she should have been doing

7. …along with feeding her fish Sora, who might be dying of starvation right now.

8. However, seeing Naruto was more important.

9. Ew. Her shoes were soggy from the rain.

Hinata studied her feet as she walked. She continued to match Sasuke's strides, even though her legs were much shorter. She formed another list in her mind, this time comparing herself to Sasuke.

1. Taller and Shorter

2. Built and Petite

3. Masculine and Feminine

4. Uchiha and Hyuuga

5. Summer Birth and Winter Birth

6. Fire Nature and Water Nature

The both of them reminded her of the black and white koi in the Hyuuga pond. They were opposites, yet they swam together. Technically, Hinata and Sasuke weren't swimming, but she decided to ignore that tiny detail.

Hinata saw that they had arrived at Naruto's grave. The two of them silently stood side-by-side, paying their respects. The pitter-patter of the rain soothed her as she talked to Naruto in her head. First, she apologized for not coming sooner. She told him that she missed him dearly, that they all did. She thanked him for helping both Sasuke and her. He had brought Sasuke back, and he had given her a reason to become stronger. Naruto had changed the both of them for the better. He had given everything, while she had no way of reciprocating.

"S-sayonara, Naruto-kun," she whispered, her old stutter slipping back in.

She hiccupped and found herself sobbing all over again. This time, it came in heaving gasps. She covered her face in her hands and bent over, shaking. Why did Naruto have to die? Why?

Why?

Why he had sought out Orochimaru for power, Uchiha Sasuke didn't know anymore. He had been such a dumbass, an asshole, a jackass, a—he seriously needed to start censoring himself. Anyway, Sasuke regretted going to Orochimaru. Naruto had shown him how strong bonds could be, stronger than any training he could receive from the Legendary Sannin. As he stared at the dobe's grave, he silently apologized.

(Of course, the only time Sasuke would ever apologize is silently.)

That's when he noticed Hinata next to him. She was hunched over, blubbering nonsense in between sobs. Sasuke had seen her fall apart before. It was right when she found out that her mother died. Honestly, if she was going to act like this every time somebody passed away, it would be better if she wasn't a kunoichi anymore. Shinobi and death went together hand-in-hand.

Even after so many years apart, Sasuke still viewed Hinata as being weak and fragile. It was a bit unsettling watching her break, but he ignored her. Sometimes people need to just let it out when they grieve. However, she got worse by collapsing on the ground and hitting it with her fist.

"Why? Why? Why?" she repeated, as if chanting a Buddhist prayer.

Sasuke realized that she was hysterical. Her emotions of grief seized her, tearing her apart until she became this empty nothing. He watched her continue to ask "Why?" and wondered why bonds could be so strong that they could cause such intense feelings.

Sasuke hadn't felt anything—or at least anything real and raw—since his Genin days. Shinobi were supposed to be emotionally detached. He had learned how to separate himself from the world when he cut his bonds. Yet, now he felt like he was beginning to feel something inside of him. It was coursing through his veins, whispering in his ears.

"Why? Why? Why?" she continued, pounding the ground in an unsettling rhythm.

There was only one thing to do with hysterical people-

SLAP!

Hinata silently stared at Sasuke, at the hand that slapped her. She didn't look shocked, but instead had a look of acceptance in her face. It was as if she was thanking him for bringing her to her senses. Yet, as they stared at each other, neither of them said a word. The pouring rain was once again the only noise between them. As he looked at her, he felt more aware of what he was feeling…

…it was the feeling of being watched.

Sasuke wasn't sure why he hadn't notice it earlier. He wasn't even sure when they had started being watched, but Sasuke knew it now; they weren't alone. His senses heightened, and he let instinct take over.

He saw that Hinata had raised her hand, as if wondering if she should strike him back. Sasuke reflexively caught her wrist before she could make any contact with him. He then used her own force to fling her across the cemetery and into a bush, where he was sure the impact had knocked her out. He was neither sorry nor crazy (even though some considered him a psycho for going to Orochimaru); he merely decided that her weakness would just get in the way.

He immediately turned around, face to face with the watcher.

"You've finally revealed yourself," Sasuke said coldly.

"Only in order to eliminate my target," the watcher replied.

It turned out to be an assassin from Iwa, judging by his hitai-ate. Sasuke didn't know who had hired this shinobi to kill him; it didn't matter because it was all for the same reason. His assimilation back into Konoha had been quite a controversial uproar. Naruto, being the one next in line for Hokage, had gotten Sasuke to be released early. Many people from other countries believed he should have stayed in prison, or even should have received the death sentence. After all, it was Sasuke's fault that the Fourth Shinobi War started in the first place. Even though the war ended, some still wanted him dead. What better way than to hire a shinobi to kill him?

Big mistake.

The cowards who wanted him dead should have at least done their job right by hiring a suitable assassin. The one in front of him didn't look anywhere near Sasuke's skill level. He smirked, tapping into his vast chakra reserves. After conjuring up some sparks, he aimed for his opponent, who immediately dodged the Chidori.

Sasuke withdrew his hand. He narrowed his eyes, which activated into Sharingan. The Iwa assassin performed a couple of hand signs—boar, dog, dragon, boar, ram, monkey, dragon—and vanished. This assassin really was a dumbass. Sasuke, through his Sharingan, could see that the assassin had liquefied his body and was now disguised as a mere puddle. It was a clever jutsu to use in the rain against a normal shinobi.

Too bad Sasuke was as normal as a Neji with short hair.

The water around Sasuke's feet transformed into hands. They clasped onto his ankles, but Sasuke was already one step ahead. He formed two Chidori Sharp Spears and aimed them at the liquefied hands that held his ankles. Now free, Sasuke jumped into the air, landing on a nearby rock. He formed hand signs in order to go in for the kill. However, nothing happened. The puddle solidified into the assassin, who chuckled. Sasuke glared at him.

"You're too late," the assassin explained, "I already attached a seal to your hands when I was a puddle. Water is a conductor of electricity. So I traveled up your hands when you used your Chidori. Now you can no longer use hand signs as long as the seal—"

The Iwa assassin immediately slumped over, revealing Hyuuga Hinata behind him. She once again had her hand raised, this time in a Gentle Fist stance. Panting heavily, she looked at Sasuke with her Byakugan eyes activated.

"Gomen," she mumbled, "I saw that you were in trouble, so—"

Sasuke cut her off, "That shinobi was hired to assassinate me. I could have handled it myself."

It wasn't like that shinobi could have succeeded anyway. Sasuke handled the situation just fine until Hinata interfered. However, it surprised him that she hadn't been knocked out after all. Instead, she stood before him with an assassin crumpled at her feet. The rain continued to fall, washing away his old impression of her. Was it possible that she had grown stronger?

"You're wrong, Uchiha-san," she said quietly. "He was after me because I'm the head of the Hyuuga clan now. Some people think of me as a weak leader, so they assume that obtaining the secrets of the Byakugan is easier."

Hinata had also become head of the Hyuuga clan? Sasuke knew that she had been named the heiress when they were young, but he didn't know that it would actually come true. Hanabi had always been the stronger one, the favorite. Sasuke had known Hinata as the weaker and more fragile girl. He had even seen her break down in front of Naruto's grave. Now he witnessed a different, more dangerous side of Hyuuga Hinata.

"You've changed," he stated. "You're stronger now."

Her face tinged a rosy color as she bowed her head and squeaked, "Thank you, Uchiha-san."

He allowed himself to remember the old days when they had been best friends. So many things had changed within them and between them. He wondered if she hated him for abandoning her the day her mother died. After all, theirs was the first bond that he severed, years before he decided to leave Konoha for Orochimaru.

Sasuke looked at Naruto's grave. A feeling washed over him that told him a way to atone for his sins was to rebuild all of his broken bonds, starting with Hinata… who suddenly took his hands in hers.

This bold action caught him off guard, so he didn't think to pull his hands away. He noticed that her hands were so much smaller than his, but they fit together. They were both cold and wet from the rain. However, it didn't matter. Warmth radiated between their palms, and he could feel a spark between them.

…wait, it was just chakra. She was flowing chakra from her hands to his. After she finished, she quickly withdrew them.

"I unsealed the assassin's jutsu on your hands. You can use hand signs again," she said softly, her face turning red again.

He nodded in thanks then kicked Hinata's would-be assassin on the ground. They wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. Bastard.

"Let's go," he ordered. "I hate the rain."

"Rain smells nice," she mentioned, falling into step with him.

"It smells like worms," he said flatly.

Hinata let out a small laugh, and the rest of their walk was filled with silence, except for the rain. Rain took over Sasuke's mind. Why did it have to be so… wet? Each raindrop pounded on his head, slowly giving him a dull headache. Drip. Drip. Drip. Shit. He needed to distract himself somehow.

He found himself thinking about Hinata again. Over the years that they had been apart, she went through some sort of metamorphosis. What happened to that helpless caterpillar, the girl who stuttered every other word? In front of him stood a butterfly, or rather a killer butterfly.

"I'm supposed to be doing paperwork. The clan is probably wondering where I am," Hinata suddenly announced.

"What's your excuse to them?" he smirked. "You got lost on the path of life?"

Oh, how he remembered the days when Kakashi-sensei would show up several hours tardy… that bastard.

"I can make up a whole list of excuses," she admitted, "but I'll tell them that I was with you."

"Your clan would get upset. Everyone in Konoha still distrusts me," he warned.

"I did too… but you've changed," she smiled. "My clan will have to understand that the next time I see you."

"You want to see me again?" he asked, a hint of a smirk on his face.

She stammered out something indecipherable and blushed.

He didn't know why or how, but Sasuke felt something again. It wasn't the feeling of being watched; it was more like he wanted to be watched—by Hinata. He couldn't quite put a name on it yet. Could this be what Naruto wanted him to experience all along? Could this be… a bond?

He hoped so; he owed it to Naruto.

Sure, they had their differences, but they had been comrades. Naruto spent a good portion of his life reminding Sasuke of that. Now he was dead because he sacrificed himself for Sakura. Sasuke didn't know the details about the mission that the two went on—Sakura didn't like to talk about it—but he knew that Naruto had traded his life for hers. He understood that those two shared the ultimate bond.

As he slowly smiled back at Hyuuga Hinata, he thought that maybe one day they could share one too.

Hyuuga Hinata lightly tapped the bottle of fish food. Tiny flakes descended into the bowl and slowly floated down in the water. Hinata smiled when she saw her fish Sora race to the flakes and gulp them up. She wondered what fish thought about all day, if they had feelings. Did they know loneliness, joy, or hatred? Or did their existence rely solely on swimming in endless loops inside of a glass bowl, an interminable journey to nowhere? What was their purpose?

What was her purpose?

Even though she was the head of the Hyuuga clan, Hinata felt like she had done nothing with her life. She sat at her desk and wasted away doing paperwork. Speaking of which, a giant pile sat on her desk. Hinata suppressed the urge to groan. She had neglected the stack when she decided to visit Naruto's grave. Now that she returned to the compound, it looked even bigger and more overwhelming. Her hatred of Sasuke had vanished, but her hatred of paperwork remained. Why couldn't it have been the opposite?

She didn't know why, but she no longer hated Sasuke. Perhaps it was in her kind nature to forgive him. Perhaps she never really hated him in the first place…

Hinata shook her head; she didn't have time for such frivolous thoughts.

"Iwagakure Treaty," she read aloud from the top paper on the stack.

Wait a minute; it was an Iwa assassin who tried to kill Hinata today! They actually had the nerve to forge a treaty with the Hyuuga clan? Fighting wasn't the only tool a shinobi utilized; politics played an important role too. In fact, Hinata learned many things outside of the academy about the shinobi world:

1. One must always keep a kunai handy. (Sticking it between cleavage is the perfect way to conceal it when wearing everyday clothes.)

2. Do not eat curry right before a mission. Ever.

3. Tree bark is nasty, but edible.

4. Genjutsu specialists are really good at lying.

5. Near-death situations suck, especially when one is also on her period.

6. Ichiraku's gives Jonin a discount every Tuesday night.

7. Shuriken can't be used for shaving legs.

8. Wear waterproof mascara in Iwagakure.

Oh yeah, Hinata should have been dealing with the treaty. She read over the terms. Iwa promised to not pursue the secrets of the Byakugan in exchange for Hyuuga Hanabi's hand in marriage to the head of one of Iwa's prestigious clans. Hinata immediately knew that she had to decline this treaty because:

1. Hinata was against arranged marriages. Her mother and father had one, and it was the cause of her mother's death. Hinata's mother had been unhappy with her life because she married Hiashi instead of the man she loved. In the end, she slit her wrists and died in the Hyuuga's koi pond.

2. The Iwa just sent an assassin earlier that day to kill her. If they were serious about sticking to the treaty, then they would have already started taking actions of peace.

3. If more assassins were sent, Hinata could deal with them. She already disenabled one of them. Even though she had been cooped up in an office for a year, she had not forgotten how to fight. After all, she hadn't become a Jonin by just pure luck.

What if, Hinata mused, there were other ways to fight than physically? Her mother fought against being used as a political pawn by killing herself. Kiba and Shino fought against society's idea of a couple by being together. Maybe Hinata had been fighting from her office all along by doing paperwork that would affect the clan, and ultimately Konoha. With just a signature, she had the power to approve or condone anything she wanted.

"I'm strong," she whispered to herself.

Hinata realized that she could actually do something with her life. She would fight for what it meant to be a Hyuuga, to be a shinobi, to be a kunoichi.

When she found Sasuke, it was noon. He had just come home from a month-long mission and was grabbing something to eat at Ichiraku's. Neither of them said anything as she quietly sat down next to him. He gave her a small nod of acknowledgement.

"How are you, Uchiha-san?" she smiled.

"I'm not dead yet," he stated.

"Please don't say things like that," she frowned.

"Hinata," he paused his chopsticks long enough to catch her eye, "do you actually care? Or are you just pretending like everyone else does?"

"I care," she insisted, "because we're going on a mission together."

As Sasuke stared at her with a blank expression, Hinata shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't want him to find out this way.

"I meant… I asked Hokage-sama if I can go on a mission, but she told me I should have an ANBU join me just in case," she quickly added. "Could you… escort me, please?"

"I don't babysit," he dismissed the idea.

Hinata looked down. Now her efforts to change her life had failed. Hinata wanted to prove to the Hyuuga council that she could balance missions and paperwork. She wanted to remind them that she was still a kunoichi at heart. However, if she didn't have an escort, the hokage wouldn't allow her to go on a mission. Sasuke had been the only person she could ask, her only hope. That was because:

1. Neji was at the hospital…

2. …because TenTen was going to go through a C-section tomorrow…

3. …which Sakura was going to carry out.

4. Shikamaru was on his honeymoon…

5. …with Ino.

6. Kiba was out on his honeymoon too…

7. …with Shino.

8. Chouji wasn't an ANBU yet.

9. Lee caught pneumonia, probably from hopping around Konoha on one foot 700 times in the rain.

10. Sai moved to Sunagakure in order to be with his girlfriend Temari. (He must truly love her; his pale skin was bound to get a nasty sunburn from Suna's harsh rays.)

11. Oh, and Naruto was dead.

12. Hinata didn't know any other ANBU who would be willing to escort her…

13. …and now it looked like Sasuke didn't want to either.

"You can take care of yourself," he stated, "so we'll go as partners."

Did he just say what she thought he said? Hinata gingerly looked up. He smirked, and her lips spread into a smile. That's right, she remembered, Sasuke had changed after all. He would no longer protect her, but that was only because she was stronger now.

"Thank you, Uchiha-san," she bowed deeply.

"Call me Sasuke. We're partners," he commanded.

He returned to his bowl of ramen and began slurping the noodles. Hinata waited quietly for him to finish his lunch before they would embark on their mission. Though, she was curious about one thing…

"I didn't know you liked ramen," she mentioned quietly.

"I don't," he muttered while staring into his bowl with disgust.

This confused her, but not as much as when he placed a piece of crumpled paper in her hand. She unfolded it and saw that it was a coupon for ramen.

"Eat something. You're as thin as senbon," he stated and ordered miso ramen for her.

She handed Ayame the coupon. Once a hearty bowl was placed in front of her, she muttered an 'itadakimasu' and broke her chopsticks. Hinata slurped some ramen, enjoying every bit of its MSG. The unhealthier, the tastier! She learned that from Chouji. Ino, however, stated the opposite:

1. MSG will make you fat. (Ahem, ramen!)

2. Sweets will make you fat. Therefore, dessert should be illegal.

3. Grains will make you fat. This includes bread, pasta, and cereal.

4. Meat with all its greasy grossness will make you fat.

5. Salad will make you fat (even lettuce has calories).

6. Food will make you fat.

However, Hinata couldn't deny that the ramen tasted delicious. They returned their empty bowls and walked out of Ichiraku's.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun," she bowed her head.

"Thank Naruto. That dobe gave me a lifetime supply of those coupons," he replied.

Sasuke deliberately left out after he died, but Hinata felt the unspoken words. Using these ramen coupons was probably the way he dealt with Uzumaki Naruto's death. It was the gift that Naruto left him.

"Naruto-kun has truly been good to us," she nodded with a sad smile.

After a pause, Sasuke said, "He's showed me the strength of bonds."

Bonds were yet another source of strength, of power.

Hinata realized that everything in this world was connected. It reminded her of a river, always flowing. Speaking of which, she had to take Sasuke on their mission.

He sensed that she was leading him somewhere, so he followed her through the streets of Konoha. They walked clean through the gates of Konoha—after nodding a 'hello' to Kotetsu and Izumo—to the forest surrounding the village. Hinata wove gracefully through the trees. She relished the wind in her hair and closed her eyes for a second. They stopped in front of a river.

"Hokage-sama trusted me to find someone to accompany me, so she allowed me to already accept the mission," Hinata explained. "There have been several complaints from neighboring villages who use this river as their source of water. It's cursed; whoever looks into it sees what they fear most. People who have fallen in the river's trance have been hospitalized. The fear deteriorates the mind until it succumbs to insanity. Our mission is to break the curse."

"Curses aren't real," Sasuke stated. "This sounds like a genjutsu. I'll use my Sharingan to release it."

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and knelt next to the flowing river. He peered into the water. Hinata wondered what he was witnessing right now. What did Sasuke fear most? She imagined various scenarios:

1. Being chased by a spider

2. Being chased by a giant spider

3. Being chased by a giant, man-eating spider

4. Being chased by 10,000 giant, man-eating spiders

Hinata shuddered; she possessed arachnophobia. She doubted Sasuke could be frightened by such small creatures (but were giant in Hinata's mind). Curious as to what the river portrayed as his biggest fear, she turned to ask him. However, Hinata noticed that Sasuke remained frozen in the same position as when he first looked into the river. Shouldn't he have released the genjutsu by now?

"Sasuke-kun?" she called out, a hint of worry in her voice.

No response.

Maybe this genjutsu turned out to be stronger than they anticipated. After all, the river was supposedly cursed. She decided to take action again—she didn't care if he was 'handling it' like he claimed to be doing last time with the Iwa assassin—and gathered chakra into her fingertips. She surged the pent-up chakra into his tense body. The river's genjutsu released, breaking the so-called curse. Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

He grunted, which didn't tell Hinata much. With most men, she had to pay attention to their actions instead of words. When she spotted cold sweat running down his neck, she immediately knew that he was more upset than he was letting on. What had been his biggest fear, so terrible to cause Uchiha Sasuke to act this way?

"That river showed your death," he finally said.

Sasuke looked her in the eye, perhaps in order to confirm that she hadn't died some horrible death, that she was indeed alive and well. She saw so many emotions hidden underneath his indifferent surface. Worry, concern, relief, and then longing flashed in those ebony eyes of his.

Her intuition also told her that something was different between them. The air had shifted, or maybe it was the flow of the river. They weren't just strictly mission partners anymore. Something—she couldn't put a name on it—appeared that changed their relationship to each other. Or maybe it had been there all along…

Breaking the silence, he began, "Hinata, I—"

Then he stopped midsentence. Before she could ponder over what he was going to say, she found herself enveloped in his arms. A blush crept up into her face, but she automatically held him against her too. She felt warm, strong, protected, and slightly awkward in their embrace.

Instead of listing a million thoughts in her head, the only thing on her mind was Uchiha Sasuke.