Standard disclaimer: I don't own any copy written characters, places or storylines. I only own Dinah and Carson and this plot-line. Nor do I make any money off this story.
A/N: hopefully this one goes better than my last few attempts at OC stories. I keep holding myself to impossible standards and that only leads to disappointment sigh
Anyway, I mentioned this is OC so if that sort of thing bugs you please go read something else. If not, then please read and enjoy! Oh and if you like it let me know with a review :) reviews are gold to non-published authors….after you get published reviews are the bane of your existence, or so I hear.
Black Velvet
Chapter 1- what's he late for?
Dinah winced as the screen door slammed shut behind her. 'I need to get that fixed' she thought, as she had every day since the hydraulic arm had quit 6 months ago. Clutching Carson hand tightly she hurried to the curb waving her free hand wildly to stop the big yellow school bus from pulling away. Releasing Carson hand, she dashed the last few steps and handed over the forgotten lunch bag to her 6 year old daughter Rebecca. Waving as the bus pulled away, Dinah turned around just in time to catch Carson running towards the street.
"Carson, you don't run away from momma like that!" she gently admonished the 2 year old. "Would you like to go to the park for a little bit?" Carson grinned and bounced against her hip in happiness.
They walk to the park was quiet, Carson held her hand without protest, an event worthy of an announcement in the newspaper. When they reached the gates Dinah leaned down to Carson level and spoke into his ear
"You need to stay where momma can see you and NO running away, you hear?" she released his hand as the boy nodded, the serious look on his face melting into a gigantic grin. His mothers warning forgotten he ran as fast as his chubby little legs would carry him onto the playground. Dinah sighed deeply and jogged after him, reaching the edge of the rubber matting just in time to hear the obligatory "momma watch!" demand. She sat on the wooden bench and watched as he ran in circles, climbed, slid and swung on the colorful equipment.
Dinah glanced at her watch, eyes widening. An hour had passed by in a flash and if she didn't hurry Carson's happy playtime would turn into indignant howls commanding she produce lunch. She stood and called to the precocious pre-schooler, her eyes scanning the playground with increasing panic.
"Carson? Carson Hajji Preston you get over here right now!" she shouted, trying to hide the fear that was seeping into her voice. A joyful giggle sounded from the underbrush that circled the playground. Following the sound Dinah plunged into the thick shrubbery, her bag banging against her hip in an uneven staccato. Further and further into the forest she ran, glad that the cool fall air had prompted her to dress in jeans and a sweater.
She paused and listened trying to find the tots laughing voice to lead her on again. A happy squeal to her left spurred her on once again. A great crash filled the air and Dinah increased her pace truly scared for the first time since her son had decided to play an impromptu game of hide and seek.
Emerging into a sunny clearing she spotted Carson standing 10 feet in front of her. He was oblivious to his mothers' arrival as he watched what looked like a battle of epic proportions. Dinah stared in awe as the figures came at each other with lightning speed, only to clash and retreat with the same quickness. "What the hell?!" Dinah whispered.
Carson heard his mother's exclamation and turned his gaze to her with a grin before taking off again, headed straight into the battle taking place in front of them.
"Carson, NO! Stop right now!" Dinah ran as fast as she could to catch him before he ended up getting hurt. A man stepped into the child's path and easily lifted him up, swinging him around a bit before handing him to an out of breath Dinah.
"Wook, momma pie-wet!" Carson exclaimed, pointing at the man who had saved him from a nasty mishap.
"Pie-wet? Oh pirate!" she looked at the silver haired man with interest and laughed, for he did look a bit like a pirate with his headband draped over his left eye. She quickly regained control and looked into the visible eye "thank you so much! He just runs off and well, he has no concept of danger yet, so yeah, thanks again" she began to walk back towards the tree line they had emerged from. A hand on her arm stopped her and she glanced at the gloved hand, following it up an arm to the face of the strange savior.
"Where are you going?" his voice was a pleasant tone, not too deep and not too high, with just a hint of ego behind it. "There is nothing that way for miles, until you reach the desert border"
Dinah opened her mouth, and then closed it, a bit like a fish gasping for air. In a faint voice she asked "nothing for miles, you say? But that's not possible, we just came from the park back that way and it's almost lunchtime for Carson so I'm afraid we must be going now" while she spoke the two that had been battling before came to stand beside him, their interest peaked. The dark haired one with the odd eyes spoke up
"You must be mistaken, Kakashi is correct; there is nothing until you reach Suna. At least 3 days travel from here" he folded his arms across his chest.
"look, like I said before I appreciate the save of my baby but I know where we were and I know which way we came and there has to be some mistake you are making here, not me" Dinah for all her confusion fell back on her old stand-by, indignant attitude. "So if you don't mind, we need to get moving and get home before Becca gets home from school and is confused as to where we are." With a quick jerk she wrenched her arm out of the loose grasp and stalked off into the forest without a backwards glance.
"Neji follow her and make sure she doesn't get into trouble." Kakashi muttered
Neji nodded and took off into the trees silently.
"Shall I go inform Lady Tsunade?" the question startled Kakashi out of his thoughts. Sparing a glance at the tree line, Kakashi shook his head "No Shino, lets wait until we find out more about her first, no reason to get everyone up in arms over nothing"
Shino was silent, his eyes trained on the spot where the woman had disappeared.
Dinah walked quickly towards that place they had entered this strange forest. Carson whimpered in her arms, his small features reflecting the anxiety she was radiating. On and on she wandered, swearing to herself that each step would be the one to lead them back to the playground and home. After 45 minutes of fruitless searching, her arms felt as if they were going to fall off from the weight of her son. Setting him down on the ground she squatted next to him, digging through her bag for the small cache of snacks she kept for times when she knew she would miss a meal.
"Here, Car-car, want a granola bar?" unwrapping the snack she handed it and a cup of juice to the child He promptly devoured the contents of the cup and half the bar in seconds. Dinah munched on some raisins watching him. He picked up a leaf and swung it through the air making quiet zooming noises, paying no mind to his mother. Dinah's skin crawled and she whipped her head around. The feeling of being watched was growing to epic proportions yet she couldn't quite ferret out where the sensation was coming from.
"Alright, enough games, I know you're there so just come out already" she spoke loudly "you were right! Okay? You were right and I was wrong and we are completely lost so please just come out!" she smiled a secret smile to herself when the boy with the odd eyes jumped down from the tree in front of her with the fluid grace of a feline.
His face bore a cocky smirk as if he knew she would admit her mistake even before she herself knew. It annoyed Dinah while simultaneously attracting her, just as her late husband had a subconscious habit of doing. In fact, this man had a similar appearance with his long dark hair and almost feminine features. Carson looked up from his makeshift rocket leaf and grinned. He hurled himself at the man, locking his arms around his leg.
"Daddy! Daddy home!" the child screeched up at a confused Neji. Neji looked at Dinah with the unspoken question in his eyes. Dinah shrugged and grimaced
"You look a lot like his father. He died this past spring." She coughed to deflect the tears that always fell when she talked about Leo "I didn't think Carson would remember what he looked like, he's so young" she gathered up the spent cup and tucked it back into her bag. She stood before Neji and sighed "alright, strange man with the odd eyes, lets go"
"My name is Neji and my eyes aren't so odd, almost everyone in my clan has them." She leaned down and scooped up the boy, watching slightly fascinated as the child twirled a loose lock of dark hair between his fingers, winding and twisting but never pulling. "I am to assume this boy is called Carson?"
Dinah nodded "that's my Carson and I am Dinah. Let's see, what else do you need to know?" the question posed more to herself than to him as they began to walk. Neji understood this and walked at a slow pace; waiting for her to decide which information she should share with this stranger. "I'm 24, Carson is almost 3, and his birthday is 2 weeks away. I used to be a teacher but I quit my job when Carson was born, I had planned to go back once he was old enough for school. I have an older child, Rebecca, she is six. Oh, I have a talent for candy making and sculpture…I think that's about it"
Neji had watched her as she spoke, noting the strange golden glow that seemed to emanate from what should have been a chakra network. She did not seem aware of it, and he dismissed it, filing away the information for a later time. They stepped back into the clearing from before finding Kakashi and Shino waiting for them. Ignoring the strange looks being directed at him, he moved to hand the boy to Dinah only to discover the child had fallen asleep on his shoulder, tiny fingers still entwined in his hair. Dinah smiled and stroked the sleeping tots heads softly
"If you don't mind carrying him a bit longer, it's probably best not to wake him…trust me" she turned her attention to the other two men who were asking questions Neji had already Heard the answers to. His attention focused on the small body snuggled up to him, warm breath whispering on his neck. The slight thud of a heartbeat against his chest stirred something in Neji he couldn't quite name. Entry into the village was swift without event, Neji barely noticed as he struggled to put this off feeling into something he could comprehend.
'Comfort, warmth, safety, love…that's close but not quite right' he thought, climbing the steps to the Hokage office. A hand resting on his arm interrupted his thoughts and he glanced over to see Dinah's' nervous smile. He spoke softly "do not worry. Lady Tsunade is a bit rough but kind"
Stopping at a set of grand double doors Neji motioned to the bench, indicating she should wait. As he attempted to hand Carson to her, the child began to whine and tightened his grasp on Nejis hair
"You can take him with you. I-I trust you" Dinah said softly. Neji gave her a tiny twitch of his lips, almost a smile and readjusted his grip on the boy, giving an internal sigh of relief when the child stopped whimpering and relaxed his grip on the dark locks. The door swung closed behind him and Dinah was left alone with her thoughts.
Tsunades head was propped in her hands "Once more from the beginning guys" she sighed.
Kakashi related the tale again, finding the woman, Neji tracking her and bringing her back. Neji filled in their ages and Dinah's profession, swaying slightly without noticing he was doing the 'baby rock' as Dinah called it.
"Okay, why is Neji holding the kid?" she asked, confusion displayed openly at the usually stoic Hyuga cradling a toddler and rocking him gently
"He fell asleep on me during the walk and it was in everyone's best interest to not wake him prematurely" Neji said simply, as if it were obvious.
Tsunade rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair she stretched her arms over her head, out the window plucking a squirming ball of black and orange off the outer wall, depositing him in a heap on the floor.
"Naruto, why are you spying?" she didn't allow him a chance to speak before continuing "you will sit over there and shut up and if you say one word I will punch you so hard you won't be able to eat for a week, clear?" eyes wide, he nodded and sat on the indicated chair. "Alright Shino go get this woman, this Dinah and show her in" Kakashi watched with interest as she went from slightly exasperated and worn out to the posture and poise of a queen.
Dinah walked cautiously behind Shino, promising herself that she would stay calm and cool no matter what. Her promise was broken almost immediately as she laid her eyes on a gorgeous woman who had cleavage deep enough to swim in. snapping her gaping mouth shut she attempted to regain her composure. She failed miserably.
"So, Dinah right?" Tsunade waited for Dinah to nod before continuing "welcome to Konoha. You and your son are welcome to stay here but there are a few conditions you'll have to agree to first…" Tsunade kept talking but all Dinah could hear were the words stay here echoing in her head.
"Uh excuse me Ma'am" Dinah interrupted "but, I can't stay here, I have to get back home. I have a six year old who will be coming home from school soon and if I'm not there she's going to freak out. I have to be there for her, ever since the accident she's terrified I will end up as my late husband did and she will be alone"
Naruto piped up, tactless and asked "what's he late for?"
Dinah looked at the blonde with a straight face and deadpanned "his next birthday"
Turning back to Tsunade she continued "can't you send me home? Please?"
Tsunades eyes softened and she smiled "I wish we could but until we know more, we will be unable to even attempt such a thing. As I was saying, we will set you up in a home here for now and you will be under guard until we are sure you are not a threat to the village" holding her hand up to stop Dinah's protest "it is a necessary precaution, you understand. Well lets get you set up in an apartment and make sure you have everything you need to be comfortable for the time being" she reached into a drawer and handed Neji a packet and a key "Please take her there and you will be keeping an eye on things for the night, Kakashi will relieve you in the morning"
The Hokage watched as they filed out of her office, a frown marring her beautiful face. 'What aren't you saying Hyuga' she thought 'I know there's something but what?'
A/N: soooo there's the beginning down. And before you get all crazy on me, I do NOT know who she is ending up with. I'm just going to show each shinobis day with her and we'll see where my muse takes me.
Before I get called on it, I'll freely admit I stole the "what's he late for" line from the movie thirteenth ghost…it was such a great line I had to use it and I totally only put Naruto in there so he could say it. It seems like something he'd say he he
As a side note, I may lose my internet due to financial hardship but should that happen I'll find a way to get it posted, even if I have to go to the library to do it :) just be patient with me, it's hard to get a story to be cohesive and all without going over it a few times.