🦌ShikaHina🌼

“A Tangled Web" – Chapter 1

Pairings: shikahina (endgame hopefully) | sasusaku | itahina | past naruhina

Themes:love triangle, navigating singleness, alternate universe, drama

The restaurant buzzed with quiet chatter and clinking of silverware as servers walked by. Hinata was thankful for the soft hum of the live band in background. As she sat across from her “date” Itachi, she took the chance the steal a glance while pretending she was solely focused on the remaining food on her plate. She noted his demeanour to be calm and appearing unphased by the other two occupants at their table. Hinata was also quite thankful for the lighting situation, but she heavily doubted that prevented the reddening of her face being visible him or anyone else in the restaurant who was gawking; beside her was her friend, Sakura and in front of her; Sasuke. Initially they engaged in their usual harmless banter, but it had taken a very sharp turn. The alcohol had…loosened them up a little too much.

"I still don't understand why you think this is a good idea," Sasuke grumbled, his eyes narrowing at Sakura as he took another long sip of his drink as if to lubricate the dryness of his tone .

"Naruto’s my friend. Well I should say ours. But now you’re trying to set my brother up with his ex who’s probably not even over him."

Sakura, irritated by Sasuke’s tone, shot back with a smirk. “Oh, come on, Sasuke. It’s just a little harmless fun. It’s not like Naruto’s sitting around moping. He’s already been out on a dates with multiple girls”

Sasuke’s scowl deepened. "That doesn’t mean you should be playing Cupid with his or Hinata’s feelings, Sakura."

Hinata felt the tension in her chest tighten. Sakura shot a glance Hinata’s way. She wasn’t sure what hurt more—the idea of Naruto being out with someone else, or the growing sense of guilt that she shouldn’t have agreed to this in the first place, but the hurt she was feeling and the fact that Sakura had been the one that had been there for her recently clouded her judgement.

“—And you don’t think the dumbass being—“ Hinata blocked out the following vowels and consonants from Sakuras mouth and focused back on the plate, not wanting to hear more details of how easily her ex moved on.

"Something wrong, Hinata?" Itachi’s voice broke through her thoughts, calm and soothing. She looked up to find him watching her closely, his eyes, dark and steady.

She quickly looked down, embarrassed to have been caught so off guard. "No, I—I’m fine. Just thinking," she muttered, trying to focus on her plate, again.

But Itachi’s gaze lingered for a moment longer before he leaned back slightly in his chair, almost as if he understood more than he let on. "You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to. I’m sure you have your own reasons, but I’m not interested in anything inorganic or causing someone to feel pressured, and if I’m being honest, unlike your friend here… Miss Sakura left out a lot of the details for today’s outings." He then shot a look at Sakura who sheepishly smiled back at him.

Hinata blinked, surprised by his directness. His words were soft, almost too soft for someone who built a reputation for their stoic nature. She hesitated before responding.

“I… I’m just trying to figure things out,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “ I thought—Well Sakura thought it would help, but I don’t know what I’m doing if I’m being honest.”

Itachi’s lips curled into a faint, understanding smile. “It’s okay not to know yet.”

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura’s bickering had escalated.

“Will you just stop being bias and listen Sasuke?!! This is the first step in the right direction!” Sakura insisted, slamming her hand down on the table in exaggerated frustration. “Hinata deserves a chance to move on, and who better than Itachi? He’s mature and—”

“I don’t care about that!” Sasuke cut her off, his voice rising slightly. “This is about Naruto. He’s our closest friend. You can’t just set someone up with my brother and expect me to sit here and smile while you try to make him jealous or whatever!”

Sakura rolled her eyes. “You’re overthinking this, Sasuke. It’s not that deep.”

"Not that deep?" Sasuke’s tone was low and intense, clearly unimpressed. " Sakura. I’ve known him longer than anyone. And I’m pretty sure he’s not going to be happy about his best friend’s older brother on a date with his ex."

Hinata, feeling the pressure of the situation, shifted in her seat, suddenly all too aware of how much their words seemed to echo her own inner conflict. She had no right to feel uncomfortable about Naruto’s dating life, they were no longer together and especially since she had agreed to this.

The more Hinata thought about it, the more she realized she had no idea where she stood anymore.

After a few moments of suffering in her thoughts, Itachi stood up, his calm demeanour a stark contrast to the growing chaos around him. He calmly reached into his wallet and placed a few bills on the table before turning to Hinata.

“I’ll take care of the bill…and the two quarrelling idiots,” he said with a soft smile, the kind that didn’t quite reach his eyes but somehow still felt warm. “It was a pleasure having dinner with you.”

Hinata blinked, surprised at his generosity. “You don’t have to—” and went to put money onto the bill

He lifted her hand and placed her money back on her palm. He took the opportunity to brush his thumb against the tip of her fingers, he removed his hand and placed enough money to pay the bill and a generous tip.

“It’s no trouble,” Itachi cut her off.

He then turned to Sasuke and Sakura, who were now in a drunken, half-laughing, half-arguing heap. “Let’s get them home, shall we?”

Hinata watched as Itachi gathered his things, preparing to leave with the inebriated pair, and for a moment, she felt a strange, quiet curiosity about him.

But as soon as he was gone, she stood up, slipping her coat on to head out of the restaurant. The night air hit her with a coldness that made her skin prickle. Her thoughts were a whirlwind—she didn’t even notice Shikamaru approaching until he was only a few steps behind her.

“Hey,” he called out, and Hinata turned in surprise.

“Shikamaru? What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same, but I came for the live music and food” he said, his usual laid-back expression in place, though his eyes held a flicker of curiosity. “Where you headed to?”

Hinata hesitated, then nodded slowly. “I—I just am on my way home.”

“Okay, me too.”

Without saying another word, Shikamaru fell into step beside her, and they walked through the quiet streets.

After a few moments, Shikamaru spoke again, his voice casual, but his words cutting through the stillness. “So, how’s the whole ‘Naruto situation’ going?

‘Ah yes’ Hinata thought, this is exactly what I wanted to talk about, but she couldn’t blame him, Shikamaru was always blunt with his words and she knew he was only trying to help.

Hinata sighed, unsure of how to even begin, she even felt more thrown off that, Shikamaru of all people wanted to initiate a conversation like this “I don’t know what to think anymore. I still care about him, but I’m not sure I’m supposed to…He’s been out with other girls-er so I’ve been told, and I... I don’t even know what I want…from him, or from anyone.”

Shikamaru nodded, his expression unreadable. “I don’t know why someone would feel that is appropriate to inform you, but it sounds like you’re stuck in a loop of some sort. You keep trying to figure out where Naruto stands, but it doesn’t sound like you’re focusing enough on what you want.”

Hinata stopped walking for a moment, considering his words. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…well, what do you want ?” Shikamaru continued, turning his gaze to the dark sky above, “maybe it’s time to stop letting everyone else—especially Naruto— or even Sakura decide your future for you. They’re not the ones who matter here. You should try to figure out where you stand. Whether it’s with him, with someone else… or on your own.”

Hinata felt the weight of his words settle into her chest. ‘So he must’ve seen the others with her from earlier’ she thought, She hadn’t realized how much she’d been letting others’ expectations dictate her actions until now.