Title: Suna's Body Art
Author: Ureko
Pairings: Gaara/Hinata, Sasuke/Naruto (Hints/mentions)
Warnings: Het, lemon, slight OOC, AU, Sequel
Summary: Hinata was always view as the "plan Jane", never able to truly be herself. But her world is about to turned upside down thanks to her new roommate and friends.
Disclaimer: Naruto and characters are not mine. I don't own anything but the idea for this story.
AN: Hey everyone! This is the sequel to Konoha Piercings'. As I said before, this story will include both Sasuke and Naruto but not as the main pairing. Sorry if that disappoints everyone but that's just how I have everything planned out. There will be plenty of Sasuke/Naruto from me in the future. Believe it!!
Hinata couldn't describe the feeling she got at the look her pink-haired roommate was giving her. She knew there was fear and a little bit of uneasiness but there was something else. Excitement maybe?
Was that it? But that didn't make any sense to the long haired girl. Why would she be excited?
It had been over three months now since Hinata transferred from her old school. The previous one lacking the classes that were necessary for her photography. She was nervous, of course, even more so than she normally was. She couldn't bring herself to say one sentence without shuttering and stumbling over her words.
The first person that she met was her roommate, Sakura. She was very kind and polite, although, the bright pink color of her hair threw Hinata off at first. As did the piercings' and little cherry blossom tattoos that rained over various parts of her body, matching her hair in color. She was smart too, the top in all of her classes, and very popular.
It had seemed that Sakura had taken a liking to her from the beginning. It didn't annoy her whenever Hinata would shutter or poke her index fingers together when her nerves got the best of her – a habit that Hinata was proud to almost over come. Almost.
No, Sakura had made her a friend within the first five minutes of even knowing her. She even threw a little 'welcome to the dorm' party and went out of her way to introduce her to all of Sakura's friends. There were so many people that Hinata was having trouble keeping track of who was who and who she had already met. That was the night she met Naruto, Ino and Tenten.
At first, Hinata wasn't sure how to act around any of them. Ino made her feel self-conscious about herself, the blond girl being a Fashion Major didn't really help much. It really only made Hinata feel plan and overly old-fashioned when standing next to her.
Naruto was the loudness of them all, always making sure she was never un-included in anything that they did. Whenever there was a party or just a simple outing, Naruto made sure she was there with them. She admired and appreciated him for it, but sometimes she felt like she was intruding on their fun.
Tenten, however, Hinata found the easiest talking to. The older brunette was an Art Major, and excelled at sculpturing. So, topics of conversation were easy and greatly helped Hinata overcome a lot of her shyness. Tenten, along with the Sakura – and sometimes the others – Hinata found herself slowly becoming more and more confident. And even gradually started opening up a little. Even though, it wasn't by much.
However, Hinata couldn't help but wish that she hadn't opened up at all. After all, if it wasn't for her stupid mouth, she could have avoided getting herself in this situation. She wouldn't be sitting in her dorm room, Sakura sitting across from her, blocking her escape, waiting for her depending doom.
Of course, after her little confession to Sakura, the pinkette had very forcibly told her to sit and called their friends. Hinata could do nothing but listen as Sakura explained everything, devised some sort of evil plan and agreed that an emergency meeting was to take place in half an hour.
It had taken Sakura a total of ten minutes to completely clean out Hinata's closet and dresser drawers, gather all her make-up and even brought out her cosmetology kit that she uses for her classes.
All of this, of course, leading to Hinata's uneasiness, fear and possible excitement. Which were totally and completely understandable.
Fear because of Ino. Despite the fact that Hinata admired the blond girl for her excellent fashion taste, as well as her ability to recreate amazing clothing from scrape – Hinata was scared to let Ino anywhere near her cloths. Knowing full well that nothing would survive the designer's wrath.
Uneasiness because of Sakura. Yes, Sakura. It was well known by everyone that Sakura has been trying for months now to get Hinata to cut her hair. Stating that the long and beautiful brown locks just didn't suit Hinata's facial structure and that the color was dull and actually seemed to take life away rather than give it. Whatever she meant by that, Hinata was still unsure.
But in light of all this, the feeling of excitement was winning. Hinata was sure that that's why she really stayed sitting where she was. Not because Sakura had demanded it – quiet terrifyingly in fact – but because she was curious and excited about getting a make-over.
A knock at the door made Hinata jump a little, her heart racing as the door swung open and three familiar faces entered the dorm. She swallowed nervously upon seeing all the different bags that they carried, already wanting to ran and lock herself in her room.
Ino sat down beside Hinata, placing her four bags on the floor in front of her. "Hey." She placed a reassuring hand on Hinata's shoulder, squeezing a little to show her support.
She smiled softly at the nervous girl before empting out the bags', sorting them by ribbons, colors, shapes and designs. Then out came the scissors, needles and threads.
Hinata felt her face begin to pale as she watched everything pile up in front of her. She turned away after a few moments, her unease growing still as she saw Sakura pulling out three boxes of hair dye and a bunch of hair styling products from the bags Tenten had carried in, placing them on the bathroom counter. From the corner of her eye, she could just barely see Naruto pulling out a bunch of jewelry and CD's from his own bags, setting them on the kitchen table.
"Don't worry about a thing." Hinata looked back over at Ino. The little white bags now empty and harmlessly sitting on the floor, Ino now sorting and piling Hinata's clothes into several different stacks on the floor, couch and coffee table. "Just leave it to us. Right guys!"
"Right!" Sakura smiled as Tenten nodded, giving a thumbs up.
Naruto grinned. "Believe it!"
Hinata bowed her head. "Thank you."
Ino pulled her close and hugged her tight. "Anytime sweetie."
Hinata could feel some of the fear fade, her uneasiness now just a small sliver compared to what it was before. She trusted her friends, knew without a doubt that they wouldn't do anything to hurt or humiliate her.
She was content to just sit and watch as everyone finished setting up. Naruto coming over and helping Ino to sort out the rest of the cloths, even so much as prepping some of the fabrics with the blond girl's instructions. Hinata was grateful to note that Ino didn't plan on re-designing all of her cloths, instead giving her pointers on what to wear with what and what not to.
The entire thing was actually starting to be fun. She had made a few suggestions to what she thought would be neat and interesting, to which Ino whole heartedly agreed with. Hinata was actually surprised with all the different ideas and designs that Ino planned on doing, and was even more shocked that she liked them. All of them. Sure, more skin than she liked would be showing – a lot more – but with the way Ino explained each outfit and design, Hinata began to feel a little more at ease with that.
"Alright, Hinata!" Sakura stood in the bathroom doorway, hands on her hips covered with latex gloves. "Ready?"
Hesitantly, Hinata nodded and stood. She took several deep breathes as Sakura guided her to sit sideways on the toilet seat. A plastic, see-through curtain was draped and secured around her shoulders, protecting her neck and clothes from being ruined.
She watched as Sakura gathered a few hair clips and a long handled, short bristled brush. The black instrument oddly reminding Hinata of a paint brush, and briefly wondered what it was for.
"What's that?"
"Huh? Oh, this?" Sakura waved the little black brush around in the air absently. She sent it down next to the three bottles of hair dye. She untied Hinata's hair from the low ponytail that held the long strained back, gently ran a brush through to eliminate any knots. "It's a tool we use to help dye the roots. The small bristles let us get right down to the scalp – of course, I could just rub it in – but this way won't irritate the scalp."
"Oh."
Hinata fell quiet after that, folding her hands in her lap and tightly clasping them together to stop herself from poking her fingers. She tried to ignore what Sakura was doing as her hair was pinned and clipped into place on top of her head. A small potion of the bottom half of her hair hanging down over her shoulders and back, the ends curling slightly at the ends.
She was thankful for the distraction when Tenten sat down in front of her, a couple of hair styling magazines in her hands. She accepted the one that was handed to her and began to flip through.
Tenten smiled, opening her own magazine. "This should give you an idea of a new hair do."
"Me?" Hinata looked up startled, eyes shifting back and forth between the two girls.
She was a little confused. She had thought that they were going to pick her new look – hair, clothes, make-up, everything. She hadn't really considered that they would let her have any say in the matter.
"Of course, you!" Sakura laughed as she poured the first bit of dye into Hinata's hair, rubbing the thick substance into the dark strains and following it up with her brush to get at the roots. She felt the shiver that went through Hinata's body at the cold feeling, continuing the conversation to help distract the younger girl. "You do have some say in this. It's your hair, so you pick the style. But, can I give you some advice?"
Hinata nodded. "O-of course, Sakura."
"Cut it all off."
Hinata froze, her mind going off into a small panic. Cut it off? All of it? Was Sakura serious? She turned so that she could see her roommate out of the corner of her eye, hoping to see if the Beautician in training was joking. However, the serious experession and the firm look in those green eyes did little to ease her worries.
Sakura ignored the frightened, worried look and focused on her task. Her fingers weaving and working through the hair in front of her with practice ease. "I won't tell you what to do. If you want to keep it long, I won't stop you. But I do think that it would look a lot better with your facial structure and coloring if you cut it. The shorter the better."
"I agree."
Hinata's eyes napped over to look at Tenten. The brunette's gaze studying the different kinds of short hair styles in the magazine in her lap.
They both wanted her to cut all of her hair off? The hair that took her ages to grow out and even refused against her father's wishes to cut? The hair that she grew out in the memory of her mother?
Hinata didn't remember her, not really. There were times when a smell or sound would trigger some long lost memory that seemed to be just out of reach. But the one thing that she never forgot was how long a beautiful her mother's hair was. How the wavy strains seemed to certain around her it a golden-brown halo. Almost like an angel.
Hinata wanted to preserve that memory in any way that she could. So she grew her hair out. Spent years conditioning and moisturizing it, taking care of it the best she could in hopes that it would – at least slightly – resemble the beauty her mother had. But it had been all wrong.
Her hair didn't have the same wavy volume as her mother or sister, nor the color. Where the elder woman's had been a golden-brown at resembled honey, Hinata's was a rich autumn like her fathers and lacked any and all curly waves.
Hinata had tried everything; perms, curling irons, chemically induced therapy. Nothing worked. Her hair had remained straight and lacked that kind of life that her mothers had had. It was one of the reasons Hinata envied her younger sister so – the younger sibling inheriting their mothers beautiful locks.
Unsure about what to do, Hinata looked back down to her own magazine. She flipped to the very back, a little curious as to why her friends thought she would look better practically bald. Her eyes took in the different varieties. A lot of them required curls, which Hinata knew her hair would never take or hold.
It really seemed pointless. Why cut her hair for these types of fashions, when her hair wouldn't take it or hold the desired look? It would be a waste of both time and money to try and change the unchangeable.
She closed the magazine, passing it to Tenten and politely accepting the next one that was handed to her. She studied each picture carefully, reading the little tip messages by each picture about which type of hair was best suited for each one and what shampoo and conditioner was best to use.
Before she knew it, Hinata had already gone through half of the magazines and still had yet to find a single one that she liked. Sure, there were some that were pretty and that Hinata wouldn't have mind having but she had a funny feeling that they just weren't right for her.
She was half way through the fifth when a rather odd looking hair cut caught her eye. It was short – really short – the back of it just barely reaching the bottom of the ears. The top part looking as if it had been layered to different lengths to add a more refined yet interesting look. Bangs feathered across the forehead, two longer strains running down along the sides to the chin, effectively framing the face.
It was beautifully done; the model in the picture, however, didn't so much as add to the effect. It was a style that wasn't meant for someone with a narrow face, strong jaw or thin lips. Although, Hinata cold tell that the woman was in fact beautiful her self, the hair style was all wrong and did nothing to enhance that beauty.
Was that what Sakura had meant when she said that her hair didn't suit her? That the length was all wrong for her features? Would something like this help?
A loud snapping sound startled Hinata out of her thoughts. She looked up a found Tenten frowning slightly, brows drawn together and the worry clearly showing in her brown eyes, the brunette's fingers a few inches from her face.
Hinata couldn't help the blush that spread over her face, intensifying as she noticed Naruto and Ino giving her the same looks from their spots in the living room. She wasn't sure how long she had been staring at that same picture, lost in her own thoughts. But judging from the way the others were staring at her, it had been a while.
She shifted uncomfortably, immediately stopping as remembered that Sakura was still dying her hair. Despite the fact that her pink-hair roommate continued on the task in front of her, Hinata knew that she too was probably worried. For a moment, Hinata wondered again how long she had stared off into space.
Hinata twisted the magazines' edges, trying to fight off the instinct to poke her fingers together. "Y-yes? Y-you were s-saying, Tenten?"
"You okay?" Tenten asked. "You've been staring off for the past ten minutes."
Hinata lowered her eyes back down to the picture she was staring at. It was rather boyish and almost plain looking. She wasn't sure if Sakura and Tenten would approve, but Hinata couldn't help but like it.
"I-I was wondering... umm…" She paused, unshared how to word what she wanted. Her finger tracing the colorful page, a small, hopeful smile coming to her lips. "T-this one… I like this one…"
Tenten blinked. "Oh, really?" She threw the magazine she was looking over to the side and moved to look at the design that Hinata was indicating. "Let me see."
Sakura stopped for a few moments too to look at Hinata's choice, making the shy girl fidget slightly. She was worried that her friends wouldn't like it and that she would have to endure more magazine flipping, something Hinata was starting to become bored with.
"The model doesn't suit it at all." Tenten frowned. "Makes her look like some kind of she-male really."
"Yeah it does." Sakura laughed. She switched the clips around again, moving on to the final, top layer of hair as she finished with the last section. "It's a little boyish, I'll admit. But stylish, too. And all the layers add a little something to the effect too."
Hinata felt like clapping her hands happily. "You mean y-you like it?"
"Yeah, you pick a good one." Tenten smiled.
Sakura nodded in agreement. "But the point isn't if we like it, it's if you do or not. Is it the one you want?"
Hinata hugged the picture to her person. "Yes."
"Then it's settled."
It didn't take Sakura much longer after that to finish with Hinata's hair. The long strains were tied back out of the way while it sat for the required time needed for the color to absorb.
The next thing on the agenda was make-up. Tenten left the bathroom when the cosmetic boxes of eye-shadow and lipsticks came out, claming that she didn't know jack about the stuff.
Hinata and Sakura went over every shade and detail about how to properly apply the right color and tones for which season and look. What not to wear, mix or blend and what to avoid wearing with certain coloring.
At the same time, Naruto turned on some tunes that Hinata recognized but didn't really know. He educated her from his spot by Ino in the living room – asking her questions about what band it was, the song title and which album it was on.
She took it all in pretty well. Although, she was a little surprised that so much information didn't give her a headache. Instead, Hinata found herself humming to Naruto's CDs, occasionally mouthing the words as they became more familiar to her. She spent extra attention to what Sakura was telling her about hair products and styling tips for what she can and can't do with her new short look.
She wasn't really sure what Ino or Tenten were doing. Ino, she had a pretty good idea was still playing around with her clothes – doing God knows what to them. She could hear the faint sounds of fabric ripping and scissors snipping away, but choose to ignore it. Knowing full well that she would just end up worrying too much and ruining her happy mood.
An hour later Hinata sat with wet, freshly washed hair. The strains hanging loosely down her shoulders and back. She closed her eyes as Sakura began cutting and snipping away, focusing on the sound of Naruto's voice to drown out the sound of the scissors.
It helped ease her nerves a little bit. After a while the questions began to shift from CDs to cars and motorcycles. Asking her the year, make and model of specific kinds of vehicles and whether or not they were domestic or imported.
She began to doze off a little. Her brain going on auto-pilot to answer Naruto's questions and any other questions that were sent her way. However, after half an hour of staring off into space, warm air against her wet scalp jolted out of her semi-dazed state, sending an unexpected shiver down her spine.
Hinata laughed good-heartedly along with Sakura as the older girl moved her skilled fingers through her – now short – hair. The strains were shook, ruffled and fluffed over and over again until Hinata could no longer feel cold damp tresses against her head.
Sakura turned the blow-dryer off and set it on the bathroom counter, picking up the brush that she disposed off earlier in order to dye.
Hinata couldn't help but become nervous again as Sakura went about the final touches. She clasped her hands tightly together after realizing that she was once again poking her fingers. Her nerves increasing ten-fold as Sakura put down the brush.
"All done." Sakura grinned brightly as her shy roommate peeked up at her uncertainly. She patted Hinata lightly on the shoulder, shifting to lean slightly out of the room. "You guys – we're all done if you wanna take a look."
The others didn't waste any time to gather around the open doorway, Sakura once again maneuvering back beside Hinata's shaking form. Hinata peeked timidly up at everyone, knuckles white from the grip on each other.
Naruto's face was the first she saw. His bright azure eyes were wide, his mouth hanging half-open in wonderment. Ino had a similar look on her face. The blond girl still having enough sense though to keep her mouth shut and eliminating the impression of a gaping fish. And Tenten stood, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed – a smirk and knowing look in her dark brown eyes.
"Damn, Hinata." Naruto stood up straight, scratching the back of his neck. "Is that really you?"
Hinata gave him a shaky smile, tearing brimming on the edges of her eyes. She took a deep breath through her nose and slowly exhaled.
"Well?" Hinata's eyes met Sakura's green gaze, her smile wavering a little at the older girl's voice. "You gonna take a look or what?"
"Yeah! Take a look, Hinata." Ino encouraged, clapping her hands together happily.
Hinata froze for a moment. Her fear over ridding the small amount of confidence that she was able to slowly build up. Several thoughts jumping around aimlessly in her head, helping to feed her fears and doubts.
What if she picked wrong? What if it looked horrible, even worse than it did on the model? And what about the color of hair-dye that Sakura had picked out for her? Did the color look okay? Did it look good with the style? Or did the style ruin the effect Sakura was hoping to create with the dye?
Hinata inhale sharply as a sudden thought struck her.
What if she ruined all of Sakura's hard work? Would the other girl be angry with her? Oh God – what if she never spoke to her again?
"You know what?"
Hinata could feel the tears that threatened to spill over. She closed her eyes tightly, body shaking noticeably. Her lungs clenched uncomfortably in her chest as she waited, fearfully, for Naruto to continue.
"If I wasn't gay," Naruto chuckled. "I would so hit on you."
Hinata's head snapped up at that. Her eyes widening at the almost blinding, face-splitting grin the blond male was giving her. His hands laced behind his head in his signature laid-back manner.
"Then again, I don't think Sasuke would be too happy about that." He leaned forward a little bit, sending her a playful wink. "So we'll just keep that between us, ne?"
Hinata couldn't help but laugh. The hold she had over her tears shattered, the wet droplets quickly running down her cheeks and onto her still clenched hands. She gave them all a watery smile, rubbing at her cheeks and eyes to stop the seemingly endless trails of tears.
She was grateful for the few moments that her friends gave her to calm her nerves. She stood up on wobbly legs, head bent down, using her new bangs to shadow her view of the mirror. She could feel the difference in how light her head felt and the absent, familiar feeling against her back.
Hinata closed her eyes. She focused on her breathing, trying to stop her heart from racing. She counted silently down from ten in her head, trying really hard to get control back over her body and emotions. Only when she was a little steadier – and a little more confident – did she open her eyes and look up.
A stranger stared back at her. One with an identical hair cut to the one that she picked out. The face, however, was wrong. Instead of a narrow, strong jawed features with colorless thin lips looking back at her, there was a heart-shaped, petite looking face with high cheekbones and soft full lips.
Was that her?
Hinata reached up slowly to run her fingers tenderly through her hair – her blue hair – scared that the image in front of her was just her imagination. That any moment it would shatter right before her eyes.
She honestly couldn't find the words to what she was feeling right now. Shock and wonderment came to mind first but somehow didn't seem to grasp what she felt.
Was that her?
The image in front of her was beautiful. It was really the only word that her stunned mind could come up with. Not stunningly, drop-dead gorgeous type of beautiful like Ino, or the fierce, determined beauty of Sakura. And neither was it the kind of natural, plain attractiveness that Tenten possessed.
No… It was the mysterious, gotta-take-a-second-look type of beautiful.
The soft blue made her ivory skin stand out without making her look sickly pale. Her eyes just seemed to pop in a way that they never have before. She could see a little bit of lavender in her normally pale silver-blue eyes.
"Wow..." She breathed softly under her breath.
"Yeah, wow!" Ino yelled out. She missed the way Hinata seemed to jump when her voice broke through the silence. The fashion designer quickly dashed away, reappearing only seconds later with a bundle of clothes in her arms. "Next: clothes." She quickly handed the bundle to Hinata, arms waving the others out in a shooing matter. "Put those on. We'll be heading out as soon as you're done in –oh, let's say – fifteen?"
Hinata stared at the clothes in her arms in mild confusion. She recognized the pants to some degrees as the navy blue cargos that she had bought the week before transferring schools. Ino had cut the bottoms so that they reached the middle of the calves and stitched them up professionally with a little silt on the outside for some added fashion. A blue flower was sown into the back left pocket while a white cat-skill patch was sown on the front of the right leg, above the knee. The shirt was one of her normal black tank-tops that she usually wore to bed. She was a little relieved to see that it was one of the ones – the few ones – that escaped the wrath of Ino's scissors.
She was starting to feel a little bit more relaxed. She had survived Sakura's little make-over with her hair, and passed Naruto's music and car quizzes. Confidence grew inside her, spreading joy and happiness through her chest.
Until Ino's last words popped her happy bubble.
Hinata licked her suddenly dry lip. The bottom of her stomach gave a little uneasy flip that had Hinata feeling slightly unnerving. "H-heading out?"
"Yep!" Ino clapped her hands together and beamed brightly. "I tried my best to save what I could, but sadly, only a few outfits were salvable. And only some parts of those are usable anyways. So… shopping trip!"
Hinata went pale and dropped the clothes in her arms, eyes going wide. "S-s-shopping t-trip?"
But the blond girl didn't seem to notice the sudden distress that Hinata was currently facing. She had already dragged a helpless looking Naruto back into the living, mouth and arms moving a mile and minute while she shoved a pen and pad of paper at the poor male, instructing him on items that Hinata absolutely needed and shops that they were to visit.
Hinata looked pleadingly at both Tenten and Sakura for help. Her eyes just begging for one of them to save her from the fashion-monster in the next room. Sakura, taking a little bit of pity on the girl, just patted her kindly on the back while Tenten shrugged her shoulders.
"Sorry, Hinata," Sakura tried to encourage her with a small smile. "But new clothes is part of a make-over after all. And you could use a new wardrobe."
"B-b-but…"
"Besides," Tenten pushed away from the door frame to give Sakura some room to exit. "We'll be with you the whole time. Trust me, there's nothing to worry about."
The door shut a moment later, giving Hinata the privacy to change into the clothes Ino had given her to wear. But instead of changing, Hinata stood frozen in spot and could do nothing but stare at the now closed bathroom door with wide, fearful eyes.
And once again, Hinata couldn't help but wonder why she just didn't keep her stupid mouth shut in the first place.
And that's the end of the first chapter. Sorry if it seems a little boring right now, but it will pick up. The shopping trip as well as introductions to new characters comes next chapter. There will be a minimum of 3 chapters – maybe 4, depending on how well the next 2 write out.
OH! I almost forgot. There's a poll up on my author page concerning both this story as well as the first: Konoha Piercings'. I've decided to make this into a trilogy and I'm even going to let you pick the next pairing. The final story will be about the pairing that wins (obviously), but you can only vote once. So pick carefully. The poll will run until the end of this story and the results will be posted in the next day.
Thanks for reading! Ja ne!