Rippled Reflection
Hanabi shifted in her sleep. Whimpering, she clawed at her heavy comforter, her nails biting into the thick red material. Sweat poured from her forehead as her eyes flickered, bringing her back to reality.
She shivered as she threw aside her blanket, throwing her shaking legs over the edge of the bed. She clasped her head in her hands, and sighed deeply.
Light knocking met her ears and she slowly called out, "You can come in."
Neji popped his head in. Hanabi could instantly tell that he was sleep deprived as well. His pale Hyuuga eyes were outlined with a solid line of dark black, and the glare upon his face could only come from lack of sleep. He settled on the edge of the bed furthest from the glowering girl.
"I see you still are angry with me." Neji leaned back, his head falling close to Hanabi's bare knee. "It was for the best."
Hanabi wiped another bead of sweat off of her face. "I don't agree. She is my sister!" She pulled her flimsy night gown down to cover her knees, purposely looking away from Neji. "She's my sister," she repeated again, lower.
"I get that. But really, you would have been disgusted." Hanabi could tell he was wrinkling his nose in distaste as he so often did. "That damn red head was all over."
Hanabi half snorted half giggled. Good job sister. Nothing can keep you down for too long. You already got yourself the man of your dreams.
She felt Neji draw closer. "They even made friends with their supposed assassin. I mean who in their right mind would forgive someone that easily?"
"Hinata."
Neji shook his head sadly, but he was smiling faintly. "Yeah I guess so. She can be too forgiving sometimes though."
Hanabi nodded. Much as she loved her sister, she oftentimes wished that Hinata could see the darker side of the world, like her and Neji. Sure, Hinata could take the bad things and deal with them, but she gave people the benifit of the doubt. it often lead her astray.
"But that's what makes Hinata Hinata," Hanabi said. She blew the tendril of hair out of her face and sighed.
Next to her, Neji chuckled. "I guess you are right," he replied. He sat up, patting her head gently. "Don't think too much about the bad things in life," he advised, making his way to the door. Before he slid through he winked. "If you do you just might get premature wrinkles. Good night Hanabi."
Rolling her eyes, Hanabi settled back into her blankets.
Hinata, Hinata, Hinata. Please don't do anything that can hurt you. Hanabi squeezed her eyes shut tight and slipped into an uneasy sleep.
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"What are we going to do with Kanna?"
Hinata's cheeks puffed out. "Well, we aren't throwing her away, that's for sure."
The sweet couple was settled on the couch comfortably, Hinata curled up against Gaara. They had just finished breakfast and the others had split, while Kanna was napping in Gaara and Hinata's room.
Gaara chuckled and Hinata could feel it run up and down her spine. "I wasn't thinking of doing that."
Hinata leaned against his shoulder, her head nestling into the crook of his neck. "But...?"
Gaara rubbed her head comfortingly. "We have a lot to do. Facing our fathers will take enough of our energy. Taking care of a grown woman from hell will be like raising kids before we are even married."
Hinata pouted, but let his words sink in. It was true. Kanna was an emotional wreck, with her mind warped beyond belief. It could take years of intensive therapy to treat the inner madness. But Hinata couldn't let her go. It was like kicking a sick puppy out of the house in the rain. The visual tore her mind and she shook her head.
"I get that it could take a lot of work," Hinata explained slowly. "But I want to believe in her. I think we should continue to help her."
Gaara felt her fingers dig into his curly hair, and massage the tender skin of his scalp. His eyes fluttered close, as she leaned against him. Since they become a couple, Hinata had loosened up. It blew his mind away.
"I didn't know I was that much of a problem."
Gaara's eyes burst open while Hinata jumped up, facing a downcast Kanna. Her nails were digging into the edge of the couch, while her eyes sparkled in the dim light of the living room.
"Kanna," Hinata whispered breathily, her eyes widened.
"I don't want to be a burden," Kanna said quietly. She looked slyly to Hinata, after glaring pointedly at Gaara.
"You're not! Really. Gaara didn't mean it like that," Hinata said, edging closer to the distraught blonde. Kanna let herself be pulled into Hinata's comforting embrace, while Hinata dragged her down to the couch, to sit beside Gaara. Kanna made sure she was in between the two, clinging to Hinata, who had no idea what Kanna was doing.
Gaara tried to control his anger. It wasn't that Kanna hated him or vice versa; it was more like Kanna didn't want to share what little happiness she had found. He couldn't really blame her, since she had had no light in her long, tired, dark life. However, he couldn't let her split him and Hinata up. He had worked hard to obtain her attention and then her love. He would rather die than let her go over something as stupid and trivial as one woman.
"Kanna." She turned to him, sensing the forced calm in his voice. "You can't keep us apart."
Hinata tilted her head cutely to the side. "What are you talking about? Gaara?"
He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Kanna, you have to learn to share. It's impossible to keep her all to yourself."
Kanna glared at him, while Hinata tried to make sense of the conversation.
"I don't like sharing either. However, I am willing to share with you, if you would like. Because I would rather share than have only one of us basking in her sunshine."
Taking in the words, Kanna slowly nodded.
"What are you guys talking about?" Hinata bit her nail gently, waiting for a response.
"Nothing." Kanna awkwardly smiled at her, and ruffled her own hair. "We were just working something out."
"Oh. Okay"
She's oblivious.
"Let's go out for a bit," Gaara suggested suddenly, standing up and brushing off of his dark clothes. "I'm sick of being cooped up."
"I thought it was better if we stay in," Hinata interjected, shaking her head worriedly. "I mean we don't know much about what is going on, now do we?"
Gaara twitched. He didn't like staying inside for long periods of time, even if he was with Hinata. "It won't hurt. We won't go too far and we can stay all together."
Hinata bit her lip, but looked towards Kanna. "What do you want to do?" she asked timidly.
Kanna shrugged. "I think we should go out, and stick together. I can protect both of you that way."
"Oh really?" Gaara challenged.
Kanna nodded.
"Then it's fine. Let's go."
Hinata sighed, seeing that she was outnumbered. "Alright, I guess I have to go."
"Yup."
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Hinata might have lost the fight but she made sure that the three of them were disguised so thoroughly that no one would know who they were. Gaara was wearing a set of Kankuro's old clothing, a tight black shirt with red and purple slashes across the front, paired with a set of checkered Vans and brown khakis. To hide his bright hair, he wore an over sized baseball cap, courtesy of one of Temari's exes.
Hinata's clothing was similar. She wore a tight teal grey shirt with a magical bottle spilling dark purple mist. For pants, she had gone with simple black Capri's, with rhinestone studded sandals. She tyed a white scarf around her head to hide her hair. The scarf also had the bonus of hiding her unusual eyes, which gave her away just as much as her hair.
Kanna's disguise was much easier. Since she almost always wore a mask over her face, no one really knew what she looked like. She also had the added advantage of throwing her voice, a task which lead most of her clients to believe she was male. So she was aloud to simply wear normal clothing, though Hinata insisted that she wear a pair of dark framed sunglasses to at least seemed like she matched Gaara and Hinata's style of dressing. If they all looked similar most older people would assume they were a clique.
Gaara had picked the park, a spot where he assumed both Kanna and Hinata would enjoy. Hinata because she would like something so simple and childlike and Kanna because Hinata would like it. When the two women's face broke out into shy smiles, he knew that he had been correct in assuming that they would like it.
"Thanks Gaara," Hinata said quietly. Kanna was wondering around, looking at the shiny new equipment with wonder in her eyes. Whenever she ran across something new, she would reach out and lightly run her fingertips over it.
"I thought you would two would enjoy it," he said, fiddling with the cap. He was never the type to wear caps. They just didn't suit him.
Hinata smiled lightly at him again, and he felt his heart beat rise. Though they were dating, he still felt like the child that chased her (stalked actually, but he didn't like the term too much) obsessively until he got what he wanted. He had, but he wanted so much more of her. And he wanted to give more to her. Having to hide out while watching and babying a full grown assassin was never his plan for a happy and romantic future.
Kanna skipped back, her hair flowing around her happy face. She had her eyes on the slide.
"Hinata..." she trailed off, uncertain of how to ask. Usually it was the other way around.
"I'll go on with you."
Kanna grinned and raced to the top of the small play-place. Kanna was small enough to pass off as a preteen, while Hinata looked pretty silly sliding down after her. Kanna begged some more to go on, and Hinata obliged, letting the older woman have her fun. Gaara shook his head, smiling and sat down on an unoccupied bench in the shade. It was quite hot, and as the sun got higher it got even hotter.
He watched Hinata closely. She was running and giggling, but then she stopped abruptly. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell part way open. The scene would have been comical had Gaara not realized that their cover had been breached. '
"Damn it."
He raced towards her, intent on protecting her.
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Hinata smiled brightly at the invader. However, when she caught sight of Gaara sprinting towards them, she shook her hands wildly in front of her face to try to make him stop. Puzzled looking, he obeyed.
"Don't hurt him, he's a friend!" she said quickly, stepping protectivly in front of her life long friend.
"Who is this Hinata?"
Hinata turned back to her friend, whose large hoodie obscured most of her view of him. He was tall, much taller then either Hinata or Gaara.
"Shino, this is Gaara. Gaara this is Shino." Hinata watched the two males glare at each other. She sighed.
Kanna clutched Hinata's hand, gently pulling her along.
"I think we should go back home now," the blonde reported.
"Why?"
Kanna pointed to the hostile men in front of them. "They don't look like they are getting along really well."
Hinata nodded. "But I really want to talk to Shino." She pouted, thinking of how she hadn't seen her friend in so long. If she was able to just talk to him for a couple of minutes, it would satisfy her.
Kanna looked back and forth between Hinata and Gaara and Shino. Walking up, she grabbed Shino's coat sleeve, dragging him behind her. It wasn't an easy task, since Shino was at least twice her size. That and he was never one to follow the crowd.
"What are you doing?" he asked, cold voice intact.
"It would make Hinata happy if you could talk to her. Since you can't talk to her here, you have to come with us."
"Oh."
Gaara and Hinata watched the comical site of little Kanna dragging Shino along. Behind his thick goggles, Hinata could tell he was amused. She was surprised. Shino wasn't easily amused like that.
Gaara grabbed Hinata's hand. "Come on. They might just beat us home. And I'm the one with the key."
Hinata giggled. "Thanks for letting me take him home."
"You're welcome."
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It's been a really long time since I updated. For that I am sorry. But hey, I came back didn't I?
Hehe, this chapter wasn't as smooth as I had wanted it to be, but it did introduce a new character: Shino! Since he didn't make an appearance in the other story, I thought it would be cool if he came into this one.
I didn't look this one over too much. Feel free to point out any spelling/grammatical error. I will try to go back and fix it later.
On a sidenote...do any of you like Blue October out there?
Please review!
