Free
By: Karasu Kyra
Temari Subaku stared deeply into the pupiless eyes of Hinata Hyuuga. Those beautiful lavender eyes were so captivating. There were days Temari thought she could get lost in them, just stare and stare until all that existed was her and her love. Now those eyes were staring back at her own teal eyes, wide.
The blonde leaned forward from her position sitting on the grass next to the Hyuuga family garden and the Hyuuga hieress herself. She took the ebony-haired girl's slender hand in her own and whispered, "Let's run away together. Go someplace no one will ever think to look for us!"
Hinata's eyes dropped for a moment then raised to meet Temari's once more. The Hyuuga blinked slowly once, so as not to get lost in those aqua depths and repied, "T-Temari! T-that's crazy. There's n-no place we could go that my F-Father couldn't find us."
Bringing the pale hand to her lips, the blonde placed a soft kiss on it. "Love, you forget; Subaku is a powerful family, too. We hold several political heads, many of which favor myself over my father and would be willing to help us."
Pink graced Hinata's cheeks as she brought her other hand to her mouth to chew lightly on the fingernail of her thumb. "I-I don't know..."
"Neji or Hanabi would take over as heir. We could be together and away from our parents! Think about it."
The heiress to the Hyuuga stared at the heiress to the Subaku. Thier father's two companies had been alligned since before the two were born. They'd become fast friends at the host parties their father's threw for the company's. It was some years later when Temari and Hinata were thirteen and fifteen years-old respectively, that they became more than that.
"I-I guess."
The teal-eyed girl grinned and pulled her hand lightly. "Alright, let's go!"
"Right now?" asked the Hyuuga, bewildered.
"Yes, come on!"
Hinata pulled her hand back, her face twisting in reluctance. Temari pulled herself to sit on her knees in front of the Hyuuga hieress. "Listen, as long as your by my side, I feel as if I could face the world. As long as you're there. If you don't want to do this, just say so."
The Hyuuga was silent for a long time. She watched the blonde's hair blow lightly in the wind. They way her black skirt fell over her thighs, the way her shirt hugged her stomach and chest, looking appealing and formal at the same time. She turned her attention to the perfectly cut grass and traced a blade of it with her pale eyes.
"Alright," she said softly.
The two rose to their feet and walked briskly through the thinning crowd. They wound their way up the stairs, past Hanabi's room to Hinata's room.
"Grab some clothes and some money. I've got a car my father doesn't know about," said Temari as she pulled open her girlfriend's closet. She pulled out a few different clothes and threw them onto the bed. Hinata pulled out a backpack and threw the clothes in. After packing it all in, she reached between her matress and the boxspring and pulled out a tiny coin purse.
"Let me change real quick," the Hyuuga said. "You want a change of clothes?"
Temari held up a her arm, some clothes hanging off it. "It's the only pair I've got left here."
Hinata gave a small smile as she pulled on a pair of jeans, her skirt having landed somewhere in a corner. She pulled on a loose T-Shirt and nodded. She grabbed her coin purse and slid it into her back pocket.
"Ready?" The blonde asked.
"Actually, I want to do one more thing. Alone," she added."
Temari nodded, closing her eyes. "I'll be in my car."
Hinata nodded back. She then walked out of her room and tip-toed down the hall to Neji's. She knocked softly and entered when she was told. The young man was in his room with his lover and Temari's brother, Gaara.
"N-Neji?"
"Yes, Hinata-sama?"
The ebony-haired young woman took a deep breath and stared at the floor a moment before looking to her cousin's pale eyes. "Y-You won't be seeing T-Temari or I for awhile...We're...running away. I'll see you again, someday. I promise you that."
Neji stared for a moment, something flashing in his eyes, but it was gone to soon for the heiress to tell what it was. Perhaps, it may even have been her imagination. Then, the brunette boy smiled. "Fly away, caged one."
Hinata's throat closed as tears filled her eyes. She knew the words from a peom she'd written long ago. Only her dearest cousin and Temari had ever seen it. "Don't worry. Your wings won't be clipped much longer. flightless cousin. I love you," she choked out, leaving the room before her tears could spill.
The heiress all but flew down the hall, grabbing her bag as she passed her room. She ran down the stairs and out the door, careful to miss the servants. She shivered when she opened the door and the chill of the night hit her, wrapping around her for the second time that night. She saw Temari sitting in her car, smiling. She jogged to the car and slid in the passenger seat, throwing her bag in the back.
"Didn't you want to say good-bye to Gaara or Kankurou?" asked Hinata.
"Gaara knows already."
"Ah," the pale-eyed girl said shortly, staring at the small mansion that had been her home since she was a child. "I'm going to m-miss it."
"I know," the blonde said softly, placing her hand on Hinata's shaking one, "but, it'll be alright. I promise."
Hinata took a deep breath once more and nodded, exhaling in a long sigh. "Do you want to stop home?"
"Mm-mm." Temari shook her head in the negative and started the car. She pulled out of the driveway and out onto the road.
Neither spoke until they reached the highway running across the edge of their town. The blonde glaced at her girlfriend and said, "I want to stop and see someone before we leave town."
Hinata just nodded and rested her head against the head-rest on the back of the seat. She opened her eyes again when the car stopped. They were in a driveway to a small home, just on the edge of town if the Hyuuga was correct.
Temari smiled at Hinata and slid out of the car, the ebony-haired girl following. Temari walked up to the house, brushing lightly against a bush. She knocked, smiling at the man who answered the door. "Uncle Yashamaru."
The man ushered them in and wouldn't let anyone speak until they were comfortably seated in his living room. "What brings you here this late at night, Temari?"
"I'm running away," was the first thing she said. "More specifically, we're running away." The blonde gestured the Hyuuga.
"Who is she?"
"My girlfriend. Hinata Hyuuga."
"Mm. I was waiting for the day you left that bastard of a father," the blonde-haired man replied harshly.
Temari grinned again. "I know."
"The best I can do for you is keep any federal law enforcement away from you. A friend of mine, Tsunade Sennin should be able to help you once you're out of Sand and into Fire."
Temari smiled and stood, Hinata following suit. "It's all I could ask for."
As the blonde and the ebony-haired girl started to leave, Yashamaru called, "Take good care of her, Hinata. She's precious to me."
The Hyuuga just smiled. "To me, as well."
The man nodded, satisfied.
Once the two were back on the road, hand-in-hand, ready to face thier journey and uncertain future, all Hinata could think of was, I'm free.
AN: Please review!