Quite long because this inspiration floated from above and alighted upon my head. Prepare for some sugar. :)
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~FORTUNE-COOKIE MIRACLES~
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2. Maripozas de Azucar
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Neji felt no coolness in his face as they rushed past the trees towards the border of the great desert. Only a vaguely bitter taste nesting at the back of his tongue.
It wasn't that he had forgotten to brush his teeth (and really, Neji scoffed partially to assure himself, would he?), and it wasn't that the breakfast he had eaten was horrible to the taste (Hinata was an excellent cook!). But it lingered there, and it bothered him.
Rather, it bothered him that he didn't know why it bothered him.
"Neji-kun?"
Hinata's watchful lavender eyes searched his face for a problem. She flew beside him, her indigo hair trailing behind her like a banner of royalty. Her feet seemed so tiny compared to the great tree branches that she stomped on to keep pace with him, but by now he was more aware of her physical prowess. It was something that had always intrigued him though - how so much potential power was hidden behind hands and feet as delicate as hers.
Neji shook his head and smiled the soft smile he always managed around her. "It's nothing, Hinata-sama." In his peripheral sight, the golden sands were mere dozens of meters away. He looked back at the Hyuuga guards with them, There were two in number, luckier members of the Branch house who were able to pursue relatively successful careers as Leaf shinobi. They were putting a respectful distance between themselves and the pair, perhaps as courtesy to the "couple".
Soon their path crawled upon the dunes separating the forests from Sunagakure, in the Land of Wind. They slowed considerably now, for there was no efficient way of leaping across the ever-shifting sands. The temperature was getting harsher - it was noon now, and the sky's eye bore down upon them. They did not dare stop until dusk though, when they were closer - and on the whole, safer - to the walls of the Sand Village.
The guards had made a small bonfire, digging a fire pit the best they could in the slippery footing they afforded. Neji allowed them to stay close, but it was clear that he would fulfill his duty first as Hinata's number one bodyguard. His sleeping form eclipsed the heiress', in the bag laid barely inches away from her own that night. It did present a mystery to the guards as to why they were in separate bedrolls, but why would they question something they did?
Either they were bound by an engagement of purity, they surmised, or Neji had an impressive sense of self-control.
They slept like that, nearly back to back, since Hyuuga children were taught to keep their backs - and their blind spots - well-protected. Neji was a light sleeper, so he couldn't help but feel the rippling of a smaller, warmer chakra behind him with every soft inhale-exhale. It seemed a little surreal, being so close to Hinata now, to feel her breathing. Almost without thinking, he laid on his side to face her.
He was still, listening to that chakra that sounded like waves of a tiny ocean he's never heard. Perhaps he had become too quiet, for the object of his focus changed in internal tempo and rolled to face him. Good for the man to have a relatively stoic default face, for Hinata was only mildly surprised that he was still awake. Her chakra was rolling a little more actively now, in her state of sleepy waking.
"I'm sorry if I woke you," the young man apologized through his barely-open mouth. He was about to roll off to the side when a little "N-no, wait..." made him stop, intent on listening for more. The tremulous voice continued, in the tone incapable of demand: "F-forgive me if I'm keeping you up. I...I don't think I've thanked you for...for putting up with the marriage."
With the responsibility. With me.
The words curled at the edges with thankful guilt, and Neji swallowed. "No apologies are needed, Hinata-sama. Really." He was glad to see a little warmth glow around her eyes, and hoped that she could see his sincerity. "In the end, the situation is best for everyone."
"But does this arrangement...make you happy?"
Neji simply asked back: "And you?"
"...It is alright." And here the feminine face was tinted with honest relief. "At the moment, I don't really know how to feel about this, but things considered, I am very...fortunate, Neji-kun." She looked at her fiance's face, and watched his stoic mask break with a simple smile. "Then we are the same."
Satisfied for that moment, Hinata's lips twitched into a lovely small smile, and her face loosened back to sleep. Neji listened to the lullaby of her chakra, until he too fell into slumber's clutches. He could feel something comfortable and pleasant grow where the bitter used to be.
Perhaps he should reevaluate his mouthwash, or there was a deeper psychosomatic cause.
A whole day was needed to travel to Sunagakure without forcing the travelers, and it was a bit chilly already when they reached the Sand Village's walls. Officially dismissing the guards, Neji accompanied his fiancee to what seemed to be a respectable hotel. He cast his critical eye over the white, neutral-toned interiors, the buffed floors, and the measured warmth of the staff. Hinata followed him obediently to the room he asked for her - something simple, because the heiress didn't like other people fussing too much.
When Hinata had finished unpacking her bags, the night was already upon them. Neji was looking out the window, observing the scenery, and this seemed like an opportune moment for the young lady to imprint his features a little more securely into fallible memory than before.
Neji had always cut a strong figure, reminiscent of the noble Hyuuga shapes, except perhaps that his coloring was slightly different. The dark brown hair, the slightly purpe-marble eyes, the bold angles. He was different in his milk-white skin, a skin that was decidedly recessive in the clan - unusual, to be sure, but becoming. The years have been kind, for the overall air of calm, strength, and decisiveness has made him very admirable.
Now as Hinata sat beside her cousin at the bed, Neji felt his sense of propriety begin to object and stood up, mentioning something about needing to return before midnight. She sighed and afforded herself a careworn little smile (oh, him and his duties!), and stood up just as he turned to leave, as expected.
Not as expected was the softer-than-anticipated reminder:
"...Take care, Hinata-sama. Please return safely-"
Suddenly a dark head slotted comfortably under his chin, and smaller arms embraced him warmly. The protector got himself an eyeful of evening blue and moon white, and smelled something faintly of lavender and herbs. He stood there, his overrational mind calculating on what to do, and a single arm reached - but oh so tentatively - to loop itself around the hugger's waist. It was an awkward fit, for how does one whose touches were merely friendly translate to your betrothed? Neji was grateful, then, when Hinata seemed to accept his light weight with fondness.
"Thank you, Neji-kun."
"...Mm."
Then the man left, and the hotel room door closed, and Neji felt something that was not there before - something that lifted his steps by just a fraction higher. Perhaps it was the tone of her voice, or the manner in which she carried herself, but something was new between him and Hinata. And he, being quite sensitive when it came to Hinata. knew that in her a change was beginning as well. A definite feeling of content.
If only he hadn't merely grunted in reply!
Hinata found herself charmed by Suna in a week. It was a simple-looking place, with various buildings either built with curved sand walls or concrete painted in pale colors to reflect the sun's heat, and desert hugging the village with golden-brown. She enjoyed watching the children play in the playground, and people chattering in the streets, and was relieved to see that aside from curious looks she had been treated as a normal citizen - all in all, a refreshing break from being treated as a shinobi heiress from a powerful clan.
One of the things she also liked was experimenting with her jutsu in the sands. The shifting ground made it difficult to use the Kaiten, since it required a solid base like many martial disciplines. This had made her experiment with shifting her weight upon certain steps, creating more momentum on certain strikes and making her dodging range wider in exchange for slightly off accuracy and balance. She thought of this while writing in the notebook she brought, perhaps noting on how to improve on it.
It was on these difficult training grounds when a familiar face presented itself. Hinata had been practicing for at least an hour now, and her circular movements were certainly making her dizzy. When she felt, at last, that it was enough for today, a cheerfully brusque voice sounded.
"Hyuuga-san!"
"Oh! Temari-san!"
Indeed, Temari of the Desert was standing a few feet away, quite amused at this "dance". Her well-defined stature and unafraid eyes made Hinata think of a boldness that was characteristic of the blonde. She was wearing a plain grey dress and half-pants underneath. Her trusty fan was no where to be seen - presumably at home. Hinata came over to meet her, and they both exchanged greetings.
"So what brings you here to the windy village of Suna? Business trip? Or are you taking a vacation?"
"A-ano, a training trip, so to speak."
They continued talking as they made their way back into the village proper. Despite her naturally self-effacing nature Hinata was drawn to Temari's confident manner, and a flicker of familiar warmth made her remember of her old role model Naruto. She even found herself laughing at the brash beauty's jokes.
Eventually the matter of nightfall became the topic, and as Hinata was mentioning the hotel she was staying in, Temari interrupted with one of her bright ideas.
"Hey, why don't you come over to our place for dinner?" The blonde jounin waved her hand. "After all, it's your first pleasure trip to Suna! And we're colleagues - surely you won't object to our hospitality?" Her impish smile made Hinata hesitant to refuse.
"I-It would be my pleasure!"
The kitchen was full of good smells, and Hinata marveled at how the always-competent Temari seemed even more so at home. She had no problem working in the damp heat, sliding from place to place as she made ready the meals. There was tofu to chop and meat to thaw and water to boil, and the busy hands did not skip a beat in moving about.
As homely a creature she was, the Hyuuga heiress had yet to understand the joys of the domicile, being surrounded by servants. Not so the Kazekage's family, it seemed. There was a servant to do the cleaning once a week, but the other things - the cooking, laundry, and general tidying - seemed to be restricted within the Sand Siblings' pool of responsibility.
Temari went on with her spirited chatter as she worked. She seemed particularly talkative today - perhaps Hinata had caught her in a good mood? - and extremely skilled with maintaining decent eye contact while chopping away at vegetables. She had insisted on her guest staying at the breakfast counter and doing minimal work, like slicing the tofu.
"One of Gaara's favorites is gyutan, but skinning it is so hard. Did you know that one ox tongue was so tough I had to use pliers? Disgusting, too, so I'd rather get calf tongue rather than actual ox or cow. Thankfully now everything's almost ready-it's only a matter of time before the soup's gonna finish anyway..."
As the tongue slices boiled Temari set to work frying the hamburger patties to a meaty brown on a skillet beside the pot. "Is it alright if run over to the Kazekage office and tell Gaara to come home? Dinner'll be ready in a short while." She cocked her head to the side and winked at the heiress.
"It's not often we have dinner guests."
"...G-good evening, Kazekage-sama."
"..."
This bout of silence, Hinata initially interpreted, was disregard for her comment. Her uncertainty was assuaged, however, by the chair swiveling back to face the door.
Gaara was a tall young man, with pale skin (though not deathly pale, Hinata's keen eyes noted) and bright red hair. His eyes seemed curiously blank, although this may be because of the lack of eyebrows, though a marvellously soft shade of green, and rimmed with blackness.
These round eyes contrasted with the thin, narrow facial shape, somewhat made smoothly carved with the rise and fall of bones under skin. These round eyes were creased in the valley between them, perpetually in a grave shape (although that, too, had faded over the years). The strongest feature of his face, perhaps, was the kanji etched in reddened flesh just above his left eye.
Apparently the former jinchuuriki was looking out the windows of his office, so absorbed he was by a thought track only he knew of, that he had momentarily forgotten to answer. He did, however, remember his manners. "...Good evening, Hyuuga-san. What is your business here in Sunagakure?" The white overcoat was thin and cut against the blue clothes underneath, the "office attire" Hinata had seen drying in the Sand Siblings' house. The voice was hoarse and gritty, but not unpleasant.
"T-Temari-san said that dinner will be ready in a short while, and she asked m-me to tell you."
This was obviously not expected, and Gaara's eyes widened, then quickly furrowed a little in thought. This quick change of expressions was new to Hinata, and she was mystified.
"...Ah, I see. Thank you, Hyuuga-san."
He rose from his seat and turned to reveal the sand clinging to his back, making soft scratching sounds from the hardwood floor. The sand was everywhere, and the young lady saw that this was his Absolute Defense - a layer of powerful sand and chakra that blended into his body.
The redhead noticed his visitor observing him "stretching", and was wondering why she did not move to leave his office. She noticed his questioning eyes and made an embarrassed expression, explaining something about "being invited to dinner" and such.
"...Oh."
Gaara was not one for surprises, and he would have to talk to Temari about her reasons another day, for Hinata held the door open, and for sure his older sister would not be pleased with his tardiness in the presence of a guest.
Dinner was quite interesting, to say the least.
Kankuro arrived and greeted Hinata, and teased his sister as was his custom. He was a bit of a messy eater, and his sister nudged his elbow once in a while to remind him of hamburger patty dangling from his lip. Gaara was quiet, speaking only when spoken to, yet ate with a similar (albeit milder) disregard for formal table manners. Temari was the queen of the table, and ruled over her brothers with a maternal charm, that both smothered and nurtured, as she fussed over her guest and made conversation. The Hyuuga, with her dainty etiquette, small bites, and measured politeness, seemed a little odd.
Yet the meal was warm and unexpectedly cozy in feeling, and Hinata felt comfortable enough to lose a bit of her shyness. It was something quite different from her own home, she related to the Sand Siblings. When Hinata's father was present during mealtimes the talk was measured and businesslike, more about the happenings of the day. It wasn't exactly a cold kind of feeling, she had explained with some difficulty, only...detached.
Traditions die hard, so she said.
"But we don't really speak up about it," the Hyuuga heiress added timidly, drinking in more of the tomato broth from her spoon. "The tension will fade in time, I would like to think...in the light of recent times, the Hyuuga has been thawing. It keeps me hopeful that we will break free of our self-imposed ice, when Neji and I become leaders. My father is warming to the idea."
"It must be hard though, with all those expectations weighing you down," Temari clucked over her cup of tea. "Specially since it's your family, and you live with them day and night. Sometimes I don't think the Hyuuga is a family sometimes, just more of a group of really skilled shinobi who are into genetics for their members and stuff."
Kankuro rolled his eyes, chunks of hamburger pocketed in his right cheek. "Mm-hmm, really uptight, eh?" He looked quite different, with the makeup off and hood kept away. "Still, it's nice to think that Konoha's number one clan will have a likable leader in the future. One of them, anyway." Hinata blushed a little and the puppetmaster laughed pleasantly at this display of bashfulness. Gaara hid a small grin behind his cup, and Temari nudged the older brother with her elbow, and hissing playfully at "manners".
Hinata sighed and looked out the window, and with the moon hanging over her through the glass she couldn't help but think of cool pale eyes such as those, back in Konoha.
Then and there, while Neji was home brushing his teeth, the minted cream flung itself on the mirror after a sneeze spasmed the jounin's fist into crushing the toothpaste tube. His foamed mouth only sighed in exasperation.
The evening had long since blanketed the sands of Sunagakure, and the Kazekage residence is still lit from the inside with talk and sounds from the television set. Temari and Hinata had settled into the couch to talk, and the boys had settled in front of the couch to watch whatever seemed reasonable for Thursday night programming.
Suddenly Temari became very aware of the wall clock hanging across the sofa, and murmured in a clear tone, "It's nine o'clock, Gaara."
"Ah, alright then." And at this point Hinata was surprised to see the Kazekage yawn.
It was a rare moment, when his dark-rimmed eyes crinkled shut and his mouth open vertically in a yawn, so rare that it seemed sacred to them. It was a yawn that pulled his lips over his teeth, baring them with the outward roll of his tongue, an action that seemed like a trace of animalism left over. Temari unconsciously held her breath for a moment until the yawn passed, and turned away so as to look as if nothing extraordinary happened.
"Good night, otouto." Kankuro gently punched the younger brother's shoulder with his knuckles, and Temari stood to kiss him on the cheek. Gaara stood up, made a polite nod to Hinata's direction and left the living room. Kankuro rubbed the corner of his eye and resumed watching television. Temari turned back to Hinata with a hint of a crooked smile, looking a little sheepish.
"Even after the Ichibi was extracted from him, Gaara's insomnia still stuck to him. We've been trying to fix his sleeping patterns to get him cured. It's been gradual, but I think he's getting the hang of it." She had a glazed look in her grey eyes, and her hand absently fiddled at a stray lock of yellow behind her ear. "It's as if...well..."
Hinata smiles at the unspoken sentiment and squeezes her hostess' hand gently. Somehow, she yearned for that feeling too.
It's as if it has always been like this.
"I will be leaving tomorrow," the younger woman suddenly spoke, tone becoming soft. "I want to know myself, and see if any hidden strengths still lie behind the image of the Hinata everyone knows." Her eyes were determined. "And thus, perhaps grow as a person."
The blonde grinned appreciatively at this, and Kankura made a grunt of agreement. "Well, if you want to leave behind your image as a Hyuuga, you might want to consider changing your appearance. Keeping up a henge - transformation - will drain you of your chakra if you plan to maintain it for a long time." She tapped her chin lightly with her fingers. "What about a haircut, and contacts to hide your eye color?"
"A haircut, and contacts. That would seem right, yes."
So Hinata found herself in the bathroom several minutes later, with a towel over her shoulders and bits of hair on the floor. She turned her head to the sides to look at her new hairstyle, courtesy of Temari and a pair of scissors.
It was a nice, feathered cut that licked at her shoulders. It was different from the straight cut that she was accustomed to, the cut that was done very straight and neat. Temari had tried to trim the ends by angling the scissors so that it made the edges of her hair soft.
Kankuro was sent out to buy some contacts from the local store, and he returned to see Hinata looking at her new haircut, and Temari scrutinizing her handiwork. He wrinkled his nose and hammed airily, rubbing the back of his spiky brown head:
"Ah, it seems too short now. The ends are all uneven, Temari!"
"Shut up. I like it this way. Right, Hinata-san?"
Hinata found her eyes becoming accustomed to the shape, and instead of the everyday Hinata she found a changed Hinata, who found that this risk was worth taking. She smiled, a bigger smile than she usually made.
"I like it. Thank you, Temari-san."
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~to be continued~