Blah blah blah, life kinda sucks sometimes, ya know, blah blah blah.

How've you all been?

.

.

.

.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Just give her some space."

"Why isn't she waking up?"

"Don't crowd her."

"HINATA!"

Hinata jerked, eyes flashing open. Quick, rapid breaths had her immobile, and it left her wondering where she was and what had happened. Her body felt heavy and numb, but the fluttering of her heart and the chaos in her nerves made her feel as though she were hovering at dizzying heights. Looking around, eyes swimming, she almost panicked when she realized people surrounded her, but she recognized the clothes before the faces came into view.

"Are you okay?!" Naruto asked, face coming in her direct line of sight.

Hinata shot up, scooting back in Kō's arms and realizing she had been there the whole time.

"It's okay," Kō said. "We're safe."

"I'm sorry!" a distressed Naruto said, yanking her attention back to him. "I-I wouldn't have really attacked you guys. We were in the middle of training and then suddenly you guys showed up. It was weird, ya know? I thought Kakashi-sensei was testing us again-"

"It's quite alright." Kō smiled carefully. "We should not have walked into the middle of your training session."

Naruto stared at the man. He straightened his posture, crossing his arms, and his wide curious eyes examined the man once more. "Who are you?"

"Naruto," Kakashi said, a bit embarrassed. "Don't be rude."

Naruto looked at Kakashi crudely. "I'm just asking who he is. It's not like I've seen him before." He looked at the Hyuuga man again. "I mean . . . I don't think I have. They all look the same."

"Naruto!" Sakura whispered hastily as she jabbed him in the side.

"Yagk!" Naruto grabbed his side, looking at her helplessly. "Whaaaaat?! Have we met 'im?" He turned his sights on Sasuke. "Is he one of the guys that got you that one time?"

Kakashi grabbed Naruto, making him bow on the ground next to him in front of the Hyuugas. "I'm very sorry." Kakashi bowed a few times himself. "We're still fueled by adrenaline, you see."

Naruto struggled to lift his head from Kakashi's firm hand. "Did I say something wrong?!"

"No, no, it's alright," Kō assured, eyeing Naruto warily. "We did not plan to stay long. Lady Hinata wished to bring you all something special."

"Eh?" Naruto stopped his struggling.

"Something . . . special for us?" Sakura said.

Team 7 collectively looked at the Hyuugas with heightened interest. Kakashi's grip on Naruto lessened, allowing the blond to properly look up. Sakura stepped in close to the two; Sasuke kept his eyes trained on the others before him.

Kō helped Hinata to her feet, offering her the bundle of cloth she dropped. He smiled encouragingly. "Are you feeling well enough, Lady Hinata?"

She stared at him, her face already awash with color, and hesitantly took the bundle from him. She turned to Team 7, her face darkening with even more color, eyes averting when she saw them all looking at her. She gripped the cloth with both hands, bowing her head jerkily, slowly.

They all waited for her to say something, all noted her quivering. Kō wanted to intervene. He should have given the lunches himself, considering Hinata had just regained consciousness.

"U-um . . ." Hinata said quietly. She extended the bundle out to the team, not sure who it appeared she was giving it to. "I-I . . . m-made this for your team . . . U-um . . . Pl-please . . . enjoy . . ." The bundle left her hands, and she hesitantly looked up.

"My," Kakashi said, his students gathered around him to peer down at the finely woven cloth in his possession. "This is an honor." He looked at his students. "What do we say?"

Sakura looked at Hinata, wide green eyes changing from awe to appreciation. "Thank you, Hinata!"

"Yeah, thanks!" Naruto shot up to his knees. "You're the best, Hinata!"

"Yes, thank you." Kakashi smiled, his one visible eye closing in sincere gratitude. "This is surely a treat for them."

Hinata smiled shyly, unintentionally backing into Kō. Kō stood and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We hope you all enjoy." Kō bowed, Hinata as well. "We will be returning to the compound now."

Kakashi got his feet and thanked them again. He watched the Hyuugas leave, an odd feeling of hollowness blowing through him.

"Sensei!"

He looked down to see Naruto tugging on him.

"We're going to take a break now, right? Right?"

"A break?" Kakashi's brows raised in amusement. "We were in the middle of training. You guys have to prove to me you can be in the Exams, remember?"

"Yeah, but-but-" Naruto floundered. "Isn't it, like, important to eat food while you can because you never know when your next meal will be? We didn't plan for Hinata to come, so this is fair game, right?" He looked at Sakura expectantly.

"Uh . . . W-well . . ." Sakura cleared her throat. "I-I mean, he does have a point, sensei. And Hinata did come all this way to give it to us, so it'd be rude to let it just sit here." She peeked up at Kakashi. "Eh . . . Right?"

Kakashi sighed, shaking his head, defeated. "Fine. We'll take a lunch break."

Naruto and Sakura rejoiced, crowding around him as he knelt on the ground to unwrap the cloth. Four small black bento boxes were stacked on top of the other; the one on top had a piece of tape on it with the letter 'K' written in black marker. Unstacking the rest of the boxes, they discovered the rest of their initials were on them as well.

"Oh, wow," Sakura said. She had opened her box and looked at the neatly laid portions of rice, fruit, meat, and vegetables. "She really did this for us?"

"It appears that way." Kakashi handed each of them disposable chopsticks that had been at the top of the cloth. "We better enjoy it."

"I do!" said Naruto with his mouth full. "This is great!"

"Naruto," Kakashi said, snapping his own chopsticks. "In the future, be sure not to make anymore, ah, unnecessary comments if you happen to be around Hinata."

"What's unnecessary?"

"Comments about her family or-"

"Huh?" Naruto stopped eating and looked at Kakashi with the highest form of confusion. "You mean about that guy? I wasn't trying to be rude. I just didn't think I saw him before."

"Not just that," Sakura said. "You can't . . . say things like her whole family looks the same. Hinata . . . Well, uh, considering how you feel about her cousin, it might give her the wrong idea what you think about her."

"Heeeeh? Think about her? She's weird and all that, but she's nice." Naruto frowned as he thought over what he had said. "Besides, I can tell her apart from her family. Her hair is short and it's not even the same color like the rest of them."

Sakura shook her head, sighing. "It's more than just that, Naruto."

"What? What is it? Was I really being rude? At least I thanked her for the food. Sasuke didn't even say anything the whole time she was here." He looked over at Sasuke, who was still standing and looking at the boxed lunch in his hand. "Hey! You gonna eat or what?"

Sasuke looked at him, then looked at the rest of them. His mouth parted absent-mindedly before his eyebrows raised very faintly. He set his lunch down. "I'll get drinks."

Kakashi moved to tell Sasuke he didn't have to, but Sasuke was already fast-walking out of the training field. Kakashi deflated, shrugging resignedly on the inside, and focused on his lunch.

"Sasuke's been very considerate lately," Sakura said fondly.

"Tck." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Didn't even ask us what we wanted."

Hinata's feet dragged as she walked.

Kō couldn't help but notice it. He was concerned when she stumbled her way out of the Training Grounds, and now her head bobbed as she walked, shoes scuffling in the dirt, and her arms hung limply at her side. For a short while he thought it was the combination of her fainting and the embarrassment of waking up to people surrounding her, but now he wondered if all the excitement was having a negative impact on her body.

Hinata swayed, walking into him, and he stopped to kneel down at her level.

"What's wrong?" He placed his hands on her shoulders. Hinata's eyes were lidded and distant. She blinked at him, eyes widening a bit. "Do you not feel well?"

She shook her head for unknown reasons. "A little tired."

Kō nodded. "I understand, but it has been a while since you've properly eaten. Do you want to go somewhere? Or perhaps you want something to be prepared at the compound."

"I want . . . strawberry cake."

Kō smiled hesitantly. "Yes, but try to eat a proper meal first, my lady. If you can manage that, then I promise to get you some cake. A small piece, though."

Hinata pouted, hardly noticeable, and nodded.

"Very good." He stood and offered his hand. "Will you be okay to walk? Do you want me to carry you?"

She shook her head. "I'll be fine."

He dropped his hand. "Very well, my lady. Shall we go home, then?"

"Okay-"

"Hey."

The two Hyuugas looked behind them to see Sasuke Uchiha, who was stopped a few feet away. He was still disheveled from training, but his clothes were a bit more in order. Sweat covered his face and had his shirt clinging to him, but he otherwise looked as unaffected as he usually did.

"Ah," Kō said. "Sorry to have interrupted your training. Is it over already?"

"No." Sasuke's mouth parted, but he looked away, frowning to the side, before looking back at them. "We're taking a break."

"I see. We are on our way back to the compound. We appreciate being able to impose on you for a little while, Sasuke."

"Ah . . ." He nodded but seemed to want to do more.

Kō stood there awkwardly. He knew Sasuke's being here had nothing to do with him right now, but Kō wasn't exactly sure what he was supposed to do. Sasuke certainly wasn't going to come out and say he wanted to talk to Hinata alone, so Kō wondered if he should pretend like he didn't know that's why the child came after them.

But this could be the last time Sasuke and Hinata talk in a while.

Kō cleared his throat and looked up the street, spotting a grocery store. "Ah. Would you two mind waiting outside while I buy some things?"

Both children looked at him, mildly confused, and seemed to agree through their silence. They walked with Kō to the store and sat on a bench close by. The silence between them was thick, the space between them no more than a foot but somehow too great.

Hinata peeked at Sasuke. He was hunched over, elbows on his knees. She worried Team 7 hadn't liked the food.

"Is something wrong?"

Sasuke looked at her, face stoic, and sat up. "Thought you were mad."

She almost laughed. "Why would I be mad?"

"Because I didn't say anything."

She thought about that. She hadn't expected him to say anything, but maybe it was strange. She didn't know. If they were friends now, it seemed obvious that they had to go about it differently than with other people.

But were they friends? They only talked to each other because they had things they couldn't share with anyone else. They probably would have never talked if that day hadn't happened.

Hinata pursed her lips, looking at the ground. "It's okay. Sorry for using your things."

Sasuke huffed, dismissing it. He didn't know how he was going to get his cloth and lunchboxes back from his team. "It's whatever." He waited. "So . . . you're going home."

"Yeah." Hinata smiled softly. "I do miss my room at night. I feel hidden."

"Mm." Sasuke nodded. "Well. Good. For you."

Hinata looked at Sasuke. She couldn't tell if he was truly lonely or not. He didn't like the situation they were in, but he had a lot less bad to look forward to than she did. As she looked at him now, she wondered if there was more to him than just their situation. She only really knew the Sasuke that had experienced a terrible attack with her. She didn't know the Sasuke who had been the last Uchiha or even the prodigy child everyone said he was.

There was more to him.

"Why do you live alone?" she asked.

Sasuke looked at her as though it were obvious. "I don't have anyone to live with."

"But you could live with someone, couldn't you? Why don't you . . . ask Kakashi?"

Sasuke grimaced.

"Or Naruto," she said quickly. "You two seem close, and . . . Your apartment is really big. I don't know how you don't get scared."

"Of what?"

"Of . . . noise. The floors creaking and . . . and things like that."

A small smile curved Sasuke's lips. "Things like that don't scare me."

"Oh . . ." They scared her, more now than ever. "Does anything scare you?"

Sasuke shrugged. Of course they did, but he didn't want to admit that.

"I just think," Hinata said after a while, "that having someone to live with will help you. We won't be able to talk like this forever, but . . . if you had someone like Naruto-"

"Shut up."

Hinata gripped the seat of the bench, tensing and looking at her lap. Sasuke was upset with her, and she wished she had stopped talking sooner. She peeked at him and saw that he was frowning hard at the ground, his jaw firmly clenched. She looked away, dread filling her. She didn't want their last encounter to end like this.

Sasuke tried his self-taught breathing techniques, but every breath made his chest feel hollow. Why was she trying to cut ties with him? Why did she think passing him on to someone else is what he needed? Was he just supposed to forget everything because he would no longer see her? Was the guilt just supposed to go away? Was that thing inside her going to become any less his?

Who was she doing it for?

He looked at her. He could see just how rigid she had become. He felt uncomfortable just looking at her.

Kō came out the shop a few seconds later. He was holding a small bag and looked at the children hopefully, but he deflated once he saw them. Neither looked happy.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

They both looked up at him. He was surprised to see both their eyes doleful. Before they could answer, someone called for Kō. They all looked around until they saw a Hyuuga Branch member approaching them. The man approaching appeared unnerved, and he seemed to take no notice of Sasuke.

"You must come home quickly," the new Hyuuga said. "Lord Hiashi has arrived with Neji. He has not had time to ask about Lady Hinata, so we need to sneak her back as soon as possible."

Kō had paled upon hearing the news. He opened and closed his mouth as he thought of what to say, but he looked at Hinata instead. "We must go right away."

Hinata, who had become wide-eyed and full of questions, nodded. She looked at Sasuke, but words caught in her throat. She got off the bench and bowed awkwardly to him instead. "Thank you."

"Yes, thank you." Kō bowed as well. "Be well, young mas— er, Sasuke."

Sasuke stared after them, his nerves leaping all throughout him. He got off the bench, hesitated, and bit his lip.

"Come to the Exams!"

Hinata looked back as she was rushed away.

"Come watch me!" Sasuke said desperately, not sure if she was really hearing him. "Promise?!"

The Hyuugas were too far out of reach now, so Sasuke wasn't sure if Hinata had processed all of that.

"Naruto, stop it."

"Whaaaaaaaat?"

"Leave it alone."

"But senseeeeeeeei!"

Naruto poked the uneaten lunch that Sasuke had left behind. Everyone had already finished their own lunches, and they were waiting for Sasuke to return; Naruto couldn't help but feel as though the uneaten lunch was an insult to the people who had brought them.

Someone should eat it.

"He's not even back yet," Naruto said with a pout, tapping the lunch with three fingers now. "It'd serve him right if he had nothin' to eat."

"Quit it." Sakura snatched the lunch into her own hands. "Don't be greedy, Naruto."

"Aw, c'mon! Sasuke never gets punished for anything! If that were me running late, you guys wouldn't even think about savin' my lunch."

"You're wrong," Kakashi said, seated on the ground with a book. "The lunch would be used as a prize for the next training round, and you'd be at a greater disadvantage than you are now."

Naruto yelled indignantly as he jumped to his feet. Before he could get a word in, he spotted Sasuke walking across the field towards them. "Finally! Where's our drinks?"

Sasuke eyed Naruto as he approached. "They were out."

"Out of drinks?"

"Yeah."

"You're so full of—"

"Okay." Kakashi snapped his book shut and got to his feet. "We had a good break, but we have to get back to training now. As promised," he plucked the uneaten lunch from Sakura's hands, "this lunch will be the prize for the next round. Sasuke, since you were late, you have to go this round using taijutsu only."

Sasuke shrugged. "Fine."

That Evening

The Third Hokage stood on the balcony of the Hokage Tower and looked down at the village. He thought he must certainly be getting old because he looked forward to moments like these where he could do nothing but enjoy the scenery. He never appreciated or cared to be so idle before, and he wondered if he should start thinking of his retirement soon. There was no one he had recommended to be the next Hokage, so perhaps he should start that the next time he had a free moment.

"Sir, Hiashi Hyuuga is here."

"Let him in," Hiruzen said without turning around. After the door had shut, he took another few seconds to stare at the village before turning back into his office. Hiashi was already seated. His expression was more indifferent than before, and Hiruzen assumed this would be the way their encounters went from now on.

Especially if Hiashi was ordered to see him.

"Welcome back, Hiashi," Hiruzen said as he settled in his own seat. He hesitated, looking under his desk for a few seconds, and scooted closer as he set his sights back on Hiashi.

"Glad to be back," Hiashi deadpanned.

"I heard Neji was injured on his mission. Is he alright?"

Hiashi shifted impatiently. "The whole thing was blown out of proportion. Neji is fine."

"Is that so?" Hiruzen pulled out a mission report from one of his drawers. "It says here Neji was very unlike himself during this mission. Mouthing off to strangers, picking fights with them, distracted during battles." Hiruzen put the report aside. "This has been going on for a while now, Hiashi. What ever could have caused it?"

"I have noticed nothing wrong with my nephew. He is exceptional when he trains at home."

"He used to be exceptional no matter where he was. It seems ever since his encounter with Sasuke, he has not been himself."

Hiashi resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You have problems with the children in my care, Hokage-sama? First Hinata, now Neji. Will Hanabi be next on your list?"

"There is no list; I am merely looking at the facts. Some citizens of Konoha request I do an inspection at your home because they have not seen Hinata around the village. Neji is slowly on his way to becoming a delinquent of sorts, and the pressure you have put on him to protect Hinata may have something to do with it. All I ask is that we come to some kind of agreement for the mental and emotional sake of the children."

"And what exactly did you have in mind?" Hiashi asked scathingly.

"Well, I'd like to start small. The Chunin Exams will be starting soon, and Hinata should be allowed to watch. Her classmates have the honor of participating, and she should be allowed to cheer them on."

"And this is all for appearance's sake?"

"That, and she needs time to be around others. Children need to be around other children from various backgrounds, Hiashi."

Hiashi said nothing for a moment. When he finally spoke, it was because he was tired of coming back to the topic.

"I will allow Hinata to attend the Chunin Exams, but what doors does this open? Surely you are going to ask more from me."

"It is for the children. After the Exams, Hinata should be evaluated by the staff at the Konoha hospital. I do not question the capabilities of your clan, but there needs to be documentation for her in case she runs into problems later. At some point, I would like for both her and Neji to be evaluated mentally. They are both dealing with a lot."

"One step at a time then. We will see how Hinata deals with the Exams, and we will see how Neji has progresses during that time. Until then, I ask you to leave us to our own devices."

"Very well, Hiashi."

The Hyuuga was excused and left the room without another word. Hiruzen took a couple moments to make sure the man had left before turning in his chair to face the balcony.

"Okay, come out now."

Nothing happened.

"Naruto. Sakura," he said firmly.

"I told you he knew!"

"Quiet!"

The two in question stepped into view, wide guilty smiles on their faces.

"Heeeeeeeeeeey, good evening to ya!" Naruto said conversationally.

"G-good evening, Lord Third." Sakura bowed deeply.

Hiruzen huffed, holding back a smile. "It is very rude to eavesdrop. Especially if Hiashi Hyuuga is involved."

Naruto frowned with deep confusion. "How is it wrong if that's what we've been trained to do?"

"It's wrong if you get caught. You've been trained better than that. Now why are you two spying on the Hokage?"

"It wasn't you we were spying on!" Sakura gushed, hands flailing. "We were following Sasuke, and we thought we saw him come this way."

Hiruzen nodded. "Mhm . . . And why were you following Sasuke?"

"He ran off with the bento boxes Hinata gave us!" Naruto crossed his arms heatedly. "Kakashi was gonna return them for us, but then they were gone and Sasuke was running off."

"Hinata gave you all lunch?" Hiruzen paused. "Herself?"

"Yeah, it was really sweet of her," Sakura said. "So, it was weird when Sasuke ran off with the boxes. I thought maybe he was going to return them himself, which . . . would be a little weird, I'd have to admit, but I wasn't sure if he knew the way."

"But he was coming here!" Naruto said. "I swear I saw him come right inside this tower, so I thought he was coming to see you." Naruto tried to look around him. "You're not hiding him, are you?"

Hiruzen laughed. "I assure you I am not hiding him. Perhaps he was trying to throw you two off and he has already left."

Naruto and Sakura shared a baffled look.

"Dammit!" Naruto hissed, glaring over the balcony. "He would do something like that."

"We're sorry for intruding," Sakura said.

The two were getting ready to leave when Naruto whipped back around to look at Hiruzen. His blue eyes studied the aged man intently.

"What was all that talk about Hinata and Neji?"

Hiruzen looked away for a moment. "Nothing you should be concerned with, Naruto."

"No, but yeah, I mean, I get the whole Neji thing since he's crazy and everything, but why does Hinata need permission to go to the Exams?"

"Ah, Naruto. You ask the hard-hitting questions, don't you?" When Naruto looked more confused, Hiruzen shook his head. "I can't answer you right now because Sasuke is getting farther away. It's all part of his plan."

Naruto yelled, jumping over the balcony. Sakura lingered, a troubled look on her face.

"What is it?" Hiruzen asked gently.

"Are . . . This all goes back to that day we were ambushed, I know it does. Why are me and Naruto being left out about what's going on?"

"You are very wise, Sakura, but things will be revealed when they are meant to. For now, just be there for your team and work hard to protect them. Believe it or not, they're gonna need you to keep them in order."

Sakura looked at him doubtfully but turned to leave anyway. When Hiruzen was sure she was gone, he turned back to his desk and pushed his chair away to look under the desk. Sasuke was leaned against one side of the desk eating from a bento box with a pile of other bento boxes next to him on a large cloth.

"You're becoming quite the sleuth," Hiruzen said. "When did you sneak under there?"

"When you were standing on the balcony."

"I really must be getting old then. I can't honestly say I noticed."

Sasuke grunted in response.

"Why did you steal Hinata's bento boxes?"

"They're mine."

"How did Hinata get them?"

"She stayed over for a while. I don't know why she made lunch."

"Hm . . ." Hiruzen didn't know if he should ask just how long Hinata had been staying over. He himself knew of two times, but anything more than that was something new. "Sasuke . . . have you been training hard? You heard Hinata will be at the Exams."

"Yeah, I heard."

Hiruzen knitted his brows. He thought Sasuke would be more responsive than that, but maybe he had exhausted himself with wanting to be around Hinata.

"So, Neji's crazy now?"

This took Hiruzen off guard. "No, Neji is just coping with things his own way."

"What's he got to cope with? Nothing happened to him."

Hiruzen said nothing. It crossed his mind to reproach Sasuke, but he knew the child had a better understanding of what was going on than he led on. Sasuke was still bitter about his encounter with Neji, and Hiruzen felt it best to let time and experience heal Sasuke's wounds with this particular obstacle. Judging by the path Sasuke was paving for himself, he was sure to encounter more of Neji whether or not Hiruzen wanted him to.

And he was still conflicted on whether or not he wanted Sasuke to.

Sasuke looked at the man after a while of silence. He was beginning to think he made the man mad, but Hiruzen finally spoke.

"Don't let yourself get too hard shelled because of this world, Sasuke. It is extremely unfair, but the last thing it needs is another person who finds reasons to hate it. Hinata, for example, would benefit very much from you passing the Chunin Exams."

Sasuke scrunched a brow at the man. He intended to pass no matter what, but he didn't understand what the Hokage meant.

Hiruzen explained, "You both share similar adversities. It could very well be a positive outlook for her own life seeing you succeed and not letting your traumas hold you back. I am not saying this to pressure you, but I am telling you as Hinata's friend." He paused. "You don't mind me calling her your friend, do you?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to respond but closed it. He stared at the man for a conflicted moment before looking down at his food and eating again. "Whatever."

Hiruzen nodded appreciatively. It was rare that he saw Sasuke become so bashful.