This will be the last update for a very long time, if ever. School is starting soon for me and I don't know if this story is worth the time writing new chapters for.

In my defense, Sasuke is a very bored individual. (Also, I'm horrible with inserting realistic stutters into Hinata's part of the dialogue and I obviously know nothing about clocks. Nothing.)

EDIT: This story has been discontinued due to our mutual lack of interest. (Readers and writer alike.) I bored myself while writing these chapters, which goes to show how dull this story is...thank you to my reviewers for leaving something for me to read.

Third Encounter

It has been a week and a half since Hinata had breakfast with Sasuke. The sun has been emerging from the mountains earlier than it had for the previous weeks, and Hinata finds herself waking up more earlier and earlier as a result. The previously gentle rays of the sun are scorching hot, and she rushes to the shop to enjoy the cool breeze before the sun starts to fully release its potential.

During the afternoon, she reaches into her bag for a paper fan as she rubs a handkerchief on her damp forehead. She has a low tolerance against the cold and the heat, which is unfortunate for her. Her town likes to transition from extreme cold weather with snow to extreme hot weather with heat waves. She prefers to wear as many layers as possible to cover up her body because she is uncomfortable with her body, but it is simply impossible when the weather is so hot.

Although it had been on a whim, she is happy that she has a rice cooker in the shop. She had purchased a bag of rice from the market conveniently located across from the shop and almost broke her back dragging the bag to the shop, but it was worth it. Now she can have fresh rice whenever she wants!

Since the breakfast with Sasuke, she has been purchasing a bag of cherry tomatoes in case he ever comes by again. The antique clock has been fixed and restored to its original glorious state, and she has been anxiously awaiting his arrival to pick it up.

Sadly, she has been eating cherry tomatoes by herself (and sometimes with her uncle) because Sasuke hasn't stopped by the shop so far. Embarrassingly, it has made her uncle think that she has an obsession with tomatoes when she really doesn't. Of course, tomatoes are delicious, but she wouldn't eat them every single day. (Which she has been doing.)

She walks into the shop with the usual greeting for her uncle. The two exchange pleasantries for a few minutes before her uncle, as usual, retreats into the backroom.

With the severe lack of customers, she wonders what he could be doing to occupy so much of his time in the backroom. She knows he works on the clocks, of course, and sometimes designs things to decorate the hourglasses, but she wonders how he seems to be so financially secure when there haven't been any collectors to provide for most of the profit.

After she empties the bag of tomatoes into a bowl, she washes them thoroughly above a bucket. (She finally had found a use for keeping a small bucket of water near her: to wash the tomatoes.) She leaves the tomatoes in the center of the table and goes on her morning routine of emptying out the thermos of miso soup into a bowl as she waits for the rice to finish cooking.

It doesn't differ too much from her usual morning routine, except she doesn't bring in a small fish to eat. She saves that for the evening, for when she eats dinner at home.

The bells chime a short melody as the door slides open. She sees the familiar blonde hair that she is so well-acquainted with at school, but it's an unfamiliar sight in the shop. Naruto's face lights up when he spots Hinata sitting in the back (in the awkward position of saying itadakimasu, with her head slightly bowed and with her plain onigiri) and raises his arm in greeting.

"Hey, Hinata! You work here?" He yells in excitement and starts running towards her. When he reaches her, he plops down into the empty seat and hungrily eyes the meal on the table.

"I—I do," she replies with wide eyes, wondering why he is so energetic in the early morning. Whenever she sees him at school, he is rubbing his tired eyes or even worse, asleep in class. Sometimes she sees him during the morning ceremony with his eyes closed, but it impresses her whenever she catches him sleeping while standing up. If he isn't shouting, he's sleeping.

His stomach growls to his embarrassment, and he laughs while rubbing the back of his head. Hinata stifles a giggle. Naruto really is predictable in so many ways, unlike someone else. "Would you—you like to join me for breakfast, Na—Naruto-kun? I'm afraid it isn't—isn't much…"

His blue eyes sparkle and he claps his hands together with a huge grin. "Thanks, Hinata! Itadakimasu!"

As Hinata is preparing the necessary bowls for Naruto, he exclaims in realization, "Oh right, Sasuke is meeting up with me here! Could he eat with us?"

Hinata's heart skips a beat, but she tries to pretend to be casual. "Of—of course, Na—Naruto-kun. He—he must be hun—hungry."

She pretends to look through the small drawer located on the side of the table to hide her blush. She mentally scolds herself. What part of being casual equals stuttering more than usual?

"Um, Hinata?"

And he has already forgotten you! He said he'd be "waiting" but in reality, you're the only left waiting.

"…Um, um, Hinata?"

Tomorrow, you're going to buy fish! Fish! Because you need more iron and protein in the morning—

As Hinata finishes her inner monologue, she closes the drawer shut with an empty hand and finds herself looking into Sasuke's face. "Uchi—Uchiha-san!" She exclaims in shock, leaning backwards on her chair until she almost falls.

"Breakfast with Hyuuga again, huh?" He asks, obviously as a rhetorical question, as he reaches for a tomato. It sounds like an inside joke to Hinata, and she would have laughed if it weren't for the danger of collapsing onto the ground. He promptly drops the tomato into his mouth and steadies Hinata's chair with ease to stop her from falling.

"Hinata!" Naruto groans with a tilt of his head. "I was calling your name but you wouldn't respond! I wanted to tell you that Sasuke arrived."

Hinata nods and stands up to serve Sasuke, as a good hostess should. Her head is spinning, her hand is busy, and her heart is beating too quickly. The blood rushes to her face when she hears Naruto's statement, and she takes a peek at the confused expression on his face. "I'm so—sorry! I was—was distracted and I didn't hear you, Na—Naruto-kun…"

Naruto waves his chopstick around, his confusion already gone. "No, no, it's fine. The food looks good!"

"Itadakimasu," the three chant in union.

Naruto differs from Sasuke in many ways. For example, Naruto had worn an unusual orange shirt with a blue stripe and blue shorts. With his messy blonde hair sticking up, he looks like he ran to the store as soon as he woke up. On the other hand, Sasuke had worn another dark blue button-down and a black pair of shorts that hit right above the knee, similar to his white shorts. His messy hair added to his appeal.

Naruto practically inhales the meal. He shoves everything into his mouth without breathing. He uses his chopsticks with deft precision to grab the tomatoes, stopping only to chew on it before gulping the entire bowl of miso soup with a satisfied sigh. "Gochisousama!" He yells in triumph, giving a thumbs-up to Hinata with a grateful grin. "You're the best, Hinata!"

Sasuke quietly alternatives between miso soup and rice. Upon completion, he places the bowl onto the side so he can focus on eating his tomatoes, one at a time. Hinata observes that he saves the best for last.

When he reaches the final tomato, he chews on it for a little longer until he swallows. His subtle longing look is almost unnoticed by Hinata and he mutters, "Gochisousama."

Naruto had been unsubtly fidgeting with his hands, looking up with guilty wide eyes while he waited for his friend to finish his meal. With his trademark smile, he takes this as his cue to start pounding on Sasuke's shoulders. "Sasuke!"

"What?"

Naruto continues to laugh and repeats his friend's name. "Sasuke!"

"What?"

Naruto nervously rubs his head with an anxious smile that he seems to struggle to keep on his face. "Well, well, Sakura-chan just messaged me and…it seems she's at the beach right now…and well you know…"

Sasuke doesn't respond.

Naruto points out the window towards the direction of the beach. His eyes are longing for the fresh ocean breeze, the feeling of sand grazing his bare feet, the pretty pink-haired girl waiting for him…

"And it seems the beach is right there," Naruto comments unnecessarily with an unconvincing act of surprise.

With an exasperated sigh, Sasuke places his elbows onto the table and interlocks his fingers together. "I'm not carrying your clock to your apartment."

"C'mon, please, please, Sasuke!" Naruto links his hands together and bows his head with a desperate plea. "I'll do anything! I'll treat you to curry. I'll buy you pounds and pounds of tomatoes."

Sasuke surprises Hinata by not taking the offer of the tomatoes, but by commanding his blonde friend to tie himself to a tree tomorrow for twenty-four hours.

Naruto only slightly grimaces before he runs out of the shop, thanking Sasuke the whole way from his seat, to the door, to the way to the beach…Naruto certainly had a loud voice.

You're a bit sadistic, Uchiha-san…

Hinata manages to realize that she had said the words out loud this time by witnessing the subtle change in Sasuke's incredulous expression.

"I'm the one who carried his clock to this shop, and now I'm the one who has to carry it back. And the idiot isn't actually going to do it," Sasuke defends himself as he unbuttons the top button of his button-down, which seemed to have been pinching the skin of his neck. Hinata sees the glimpse of his collarbones and looks away at the sight, telling herself not to blush. "Hyuuga, do you even help out with the clocks? Or do you just sit here all day relaying messages to your uncle that a customer has arrived?"

He is blunt, but Hinata doesn't feel hurt or indigent. He is merely speaking the truth, and she has felt useless on countless occasions when she thinks of her unnecessary role of assistant. She looks at the framed picture on the wall, and he follows her gaze.

Neji is standing there with his father in front of the shop with an indifferent expression, but Hinata knew her cousin well. She could see the faintest of a smile on his face as her uncle smiles warmly at the camera. They both have the same long silky, shiny dark hair that all the Hyuugas inherit.

"Neji nii-san…he's the pri—pride of the Hyuuga clan. He's quite similar to your bro—brother in certain aspects," Hinata smiles of the praises that all the Hyuugas lavish onto her cousin. "He's a genius and—and he can do anything. He—he can fix clocks so quickly that it seems magical!"

A wash of nostalgia flows over Hinata, and her smile widens with affectionate eyes. She almost seems to be musing to herself, as if Sasuke was not in front of her. "I wanted to be like him…so one day, he was—was teaching me to fix an antique cl—clock and my ha—hand got stuck inside of it. I was six—six at the time, and my hand was small—small enough to get stuck."

Sasuke notices the change as Hinata reminisces her memories with her cousin. The smile disappears, and she looks down at the ground. She tries to steady her shaking voice before continuing.

"From that day…Neji nii-san for—forbade me from trying to help him out or his father—father with the clocks. And…I—I listen to him, because he still feels guilt—guilty to this day," she confesses to Sasuke with a mournful expression. "And he shouldn't, because he ex—exaggerated the story to his father and my father. My hand w—was perfectly fine."

Sasuke had been silent as she spoke, and he tilts his chair back slightly and gazes up at the ceiling, which is a slightly different shade from the interior walls of the shop. He doesn't say anything for a while, which makes Hinata nervous and embarrassed. The story had been boring, and she feels sorry that she made him listen. Before she could open her mouth to apologize, he seems to know about her actions before she could execute them and he interrupts.

"At least you're helping out your family," he tells her, and it sounds almost like a compliment to Hinata's ears. She tries to prevent the blush from appearing on her cheeks, but she obviously hasn't been able to acquire that helpful ability. She twiddles her thumbs under the table as a distraction, but it doesn't help.

Sasuke casually drapes his arm behind his chair, and Hinata resists the temptation to take his picture. He looks like he's modeling and even the shabby chair looks appealing with him perched onto it. "Most people don't know the true value of family," he continues. "And your cousin…isn't he that kid who chased after Naruto?"

Hinata almost bursts out laughing at the sudden change of topic and nods rapidly. A soft giggle escapes her lips, and she explains that once Naruto had mistaken Neji for a girl because of his long hair.

"Neji nii-san gets very—very offended if someone thinks he's a girl," Hinata mock-whispers, as if she is imparting a confidential secret. She even has her hand on the side of her lips, and Sasuke leans down in order for his ear to hear her. She can see the slight smile on his face, and she feels like they are conspiring together. "S—so after Naruto complimented Neji nii-san's hair, Neji nii-san turned a—around with an evil smi—smile. Naruto literally jumped—jumped into the air!"

She hears a chuckle from Sasuke, and she knows he must be imagining the scene in his mind. "Neji nii-san started to—to chase him, and somehow, Naruto ended up in front of—of the Hyuuga estate and otousan saw Neji nii-san and beckoned him to come in. But then," Hinata pauses for dramatic effect. "Then otousan told him that since Neji nii-san has such beautiful hair—hair, Neji nii-san should help otousan pick a ha—hair ornament for Hanabi-chan…which Neji nii-san could handle, except when he was at a—a shop, the owner had mistaken him for a girl and walked up to him—him with hair ornament suggestions for Neji nii-san's own hair…"

Sasuke shakes his head with one last chuckle as Hinata giggles, and he is almost about to comment on the story. However, Hinata seems to remember something because her eyes widen in realization.

Sasuke squints his eyes with suspicion and stares at the girl as Hinata's lips stayed close, and he commands her to say what she is thinking.

She shakes her head.

With his smoothest voice that he only reserves for special occasions, he repeats his request.

She stubbornly shakes her head again, tossing her long midnight blue hair in front of one shoulder. The Hyuugas may all inherit black hair, but Hinata had been the exception.

Sasuke inwardly grins. He likes a challenge, and his curiosity has been piqued. He places his elbow onto the table and rests his chin on his first, leaning forward so their eyes were in extremely close proximity. He had been startled the first time he saw the Hyuuga eyes the first time as a child, because he had never seen such light eyes before in his life. He had always assumed their eyes were completely white, but he could see flecks of lavender in Hinata's eyes. He allows a glimpse of a grin appear on his face when he sees her startled expression. With a voice as smooth as silk, he murmurs, "Won't you tell me?"

He smiles in satisfaction when her face reddens up, and the shade of red resembles a tomato to him. She stutters incomprehensible things and he waits patiently for her to catch her breath.

"I—I—I—I can't—can't tell you be—because it's agreed that we would never—never speak of it and—and Neji nii-san would be so—so mad and—and—"

She finally seems to be breathing, but Sasuke isn't going to let her recover. She had been far more stubborn than he initially thought, and he was close to reaching his goal. (Besides amusing himself.) "I won't tell," he murmurs and reaches out his hand to take a lock of her hair into his hands, but she had fast reactions and moved her chair back. She practically slams into the wall, but she doesn't noticed.

"I—I really can't!" Hinata manages to squeak out, and turns away to stare at the wall, wishing for the Uchiha to leave the shop before she betrays her beloved cousin. She had a weakness for those onyx eyes.

"Hinata-chan."

Hinata turns around slowly with fear in her eyes, and her hands curl up into balls that fall onto her lap. "Please—please do not mock me, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke takes his arm away from the table and leans back on his chair with his arms casually draped behind his head. He looks down with her with that familiar hint of amusement in his eyes, and Hinata still doesn't like the feeling. "If you won't tell me, I'll come into the shop every day," he shrugs his shoulders with a sly look at her. "I can be very persuasive."

Are you that bored?

Hinata gives another squeak and covers up her mouth with shame, and she shakes her head in protest. "I'm so sorry—sorry, I—I didn't mean to say—say that and—and you needn't to come here every day be—because I can't tell you—you—"

"I'm a very bored individual," Sasuke confesses with a bored drawl, and she can't help but feel he was still mocking her with his sarcastic tone. To her relief, he doesn't seem to be offended over her question. In fact, he looks more amused than before. "If it's agreed upon that you would never speak of it, then it must not be a promise. He didn't tell you to not tell anyone. It's something that happened to him involving his peculiar habit of being mistaken as a girl and it's something embarrassment, isn't it?" Hinata marvels over his skills of deduction and almost misses his question of confirmation.

She confirms his deduction in amazement before she could think, and she regrets her affirmation instantly. She couldn't lie to herself, because she would love to have the Uchiha as company for the summer. She finds herself anticipating his visits and the interactions the two shared, no matter how confused she found herself after he leaves the shop. But yet, she couldn't deny it—she is interested in him, and he finds her interesting. Or more accurately, a source of amusement.

With a resigned sigh, she finds pride in predicting his next action correctly:

"See you tomorrow, Hyuuga," he says with the same lazy method of saying bye—by lifting one arm up with his back turned—and she waves back this time.

"See you tomorrow, Uchiha-san," she whispers with a smile, noticing that the boy had "forgotten" to take the clock with him.