Once Upon A Maybe
…A Very Fractured Fairytale…
~ Act Three ~
The king's daughter began to cry, for she was afraid of the cold frog which she did not like to touch, and which was now to sleep in her pretty, clean little bed. But the king grew angry and said, "He who helped you when you were in trouble ought not afterwards to be despised by you." So she took hold of the frog with two fingers, carried him upstairs, and put him in a corner, but when she was in bed he crept to her and said, "I am tired, I want to sleep as well as you, lift me up or I will tell your father." At this she was terribly angry, and took him up and threw him with all her might against the wall. "Now, will you be quiet, odious frog,"
- The Frog Prince
Someone was talking to me.
"Hanabi…not now…" I grumbled, turning over. My face was met with a starchy pillow – the kind that you find on airplanes – that smelled like disinfectant and old people. The person, whoever it was, growled something and I felt an ice cold hand on my arm.
"Wake up!" My eyelids fluttered open and I was met with Sasuke's blazing eyes; only this time they weren't red, they were just black, but still angry. Upon meeting my gaze he relaxed and folded his arms across his chest, "Took you long enough, idiot, but at least you're still alive." He muttered as I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands, watching the fireworks burst across my field of vision.
I was thirsty, and my hair was spread out all over the place, and I was sure that whatever little makeup Ino had forced on me before going into the Karaoke bar was now smeared across half my face, and half the pillow. Sitting up groggily, I fought the urge to puke over the side of the little bed I was on as the vertigo set in. Lurching backwards, I collapsed against the back wall of the room we were occupying, and the one that the bed was pushed up against, and felt relief at the cool tile.
"W-where are we?" I mumbled drowsily, as though I'd taken cold medicine and now my head was all foggy and muddled, but slowly yet surely becoming clearer. Sasuke gave me a look, and puffed out an irritated little breathe.
"I'm not allowed to tell you that." He said slowly, receiving a very definite frown from me.
"I mean it." I whispered, "I-I'm tired of having no clue what's going on." I continued, whatever had messed up my head making me just a little braver than usual. Sasuke rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall he was standing near.
"We're in one of many hideouts. No one knows where you are, and if someone were to look they'd never find it. It's completely invisible to stupid humans like you." He scoffed and I curled my legs on the bed, fighting back the urge to slam my head against the wall. It was terribly frustrating because no matter what anybody told me it seemed like I still wasn't getting any answers.
"W-what are you?" I asked finally, peering up from my knees where my head was settled, the room having finally ceased its dizzying motions. Sasuke shrugged.
"A devil, a monster, a demon, whatever you want to call it." He blinked and I swallowed thickly, nodding.
"T-then w-why did you join ANBU?" I probed, figuring as long as I had Sasuke's attention I should utilize it to the best of my abilities. Whatever the reason, it would certainly explain his involvement with Naruto, and hopefully that might clear up some of the involvement with me. I had already grasped that Sasuke's appearance and even my own were no coincidence at this point. It was a matter of figuring out all the background noise that was difficult, and Sasuke wasn't exactly the best person to talk to.
"To keep an eye on Naruto. He's been floating around lately – ignoring his duties and leaving his territory for little spurts at a time around the school. I have no idea why. Humans are so boring." Sasuke went on, closing his eyes as if he were exhausted by the whole conversation. My frown deepened.
"Stop that. We're humans – we have feelings." I commented dryly, feeling obligated to defend my race for all it was worth. Sasuke opened one eye and huffed.
"Hn." I continued to scowl and then remembered the brief conversation with Sakura. A heavy groan emitted from me and Sasuke looked perplexed.
"Are you hurt?" I shook my head bitterly.
"S-sakura-chan is going to k-kill me…" I whimpered running my hands over my face in distress. I could feel Sasuke's confusion melt back into its stoic container as he relaxed, "w-when she finds out I l-left with you…she'll b-be so upset…"
"Hn." I lifted my face and glared at him, suddenly aggravated at his blasé attitude and indifference when it was obvious that Sakura-chan bent over backwards just for his approval; but upon seeing his face I saw something I didn't expect.
Perhaps it was only that he was deep in thought, but Sasuke seemed somewhat unhappy, as if something I'd said had suddenly touched a nerve. My dirty look evaporated and I shrunk back into my shell, upset that I'd judged him. After all, he must have been frustrated too given the circumstances. While I'll admit that he was rude about the human's part, it must have been exceptionally lonely at the school where no one knew you and you weren't allowed to really make any friends.
"She really likes you, you know." I stated quietly, poking my fingers together, blushing mad and embarrassed that I was revealing the biggest secret I'd ever been allowed to know, even if it was really obvious, to not only the subject of Sakura-chan's affections, but also to what seemed to be the bad guy at the time. Sasuke stiffened up, digging his shoulders into the wall.
"Humans should stay away from our kind. Mixing them causes nothing but trouble." He stated firmly, before swiping a look at me, "You should know that first hand."
"S-sorry." I said apologetically and Sasuke sighed.
"Hn. Stop stuttering, if I'd wanted to hurt you I already would have."
I blinked at him.
"Why haven't you?" I stated slowly, so as not to stutter as best I could, "And I don't just s-stutter when talking to you…it's everybody." Sasuke flitted his eyes at me briefly.
"Because Orochimaru needs you at the moment, and besides, I can't. That ring is in the way. That stupid idiot has charmed it to hell and back…probably expected all this." I nodded slowly in agreement as Sasuke finished, looking more irritated than angry.
"H-he did say something bad would happen." I poked my fingers again, twirling them over one another as I thought.
"So, Sasuke....Sasuke-san…what is Naruto exactly?" Sasuke didn't open his eyes as he was silent for a long time, before he answered.
"…he's powerful. Orochimaru wants his power. That's all you need to know." I looked at Sasuke; his eyes were opened and he was staring at the far wall, pondering something. I could see the wheels in his mind turning over in his brain. He hesitated for a moment, like he was about to say something but soon his mouth snapped into a thin line that I knew wouldn't divulge anything.
"It's not my place to tell you. If you come across it yourself, so be it." He mumbled at the end before closing his eyes and returning to his statuesque glory. I looked away, considering his words silently, and slightly defeated again at my conquest to gain more knowledge and hopefully a handle on this situation I was in.
The silence stretched for a long time until I felt something different in the room; my head was starting to feel fuzzy again and Sasuke was looking more agitated by the moment, as if he was thinking harder and harder about something that bothered him extremely.
"N-naruto…he'll come after me…won't he?" I asked finally, trying to clear my head to no avail. Sasuke nodded once and his face was grim.
"Yes, though I don't know what he sees in you at all… you're just a stupid human. Spell or no spell. Like I said, our kind and human's aren't meant to be together…" He responded with a tinge of bitterness.
I smiled to myself, suddenly realizing what had been the matter. I opened my mouth and stared at Sasuke, eyes gleaming.
"You say that…but you really like Sakura, don't you?" I could feel Sasuke's surprise but I didn't say anything else, because suddenly I was knocked out.
According to my watch, I was comatose for three more hours before I jolted awake to a dark room and a splitting headache.
The little table beside me was sparse – a cup of water and an ibuprofen. I grimaced.
Supernatural beings apparently preferred generic brands based on the little title etched onto the pills surface. After smelling it hesitantly and taking in the risk of it being another weird spell, or something to knock me out again, I downed it and instantly the pressure raging against my sinuses and temples cleared, leaving me blinking heavily and finding the room not only brighter, but completely empty.
"Ugh…" I groaned, touching my feet to the freezing floor and dropping my face to my knees, stretching my stiff back. I was a very flexible girl; I'd been taking dance ever since I was small, and though I was clumsy and rather bad at it sometimes, if I practiced enough, I was often more successful than a lot of people would have thought. Anyway, it was like a family tradition – everyone danced or did something similar, although Neji had opted for gymnastics and even made it to an Olympic trial level when he was in high school, but dropped out when he met the pretty ex ribbon-dancer with the silly buns in her hair. That was Tenten if you hadn't guessed by now.
Standing up in one fluid motion, I stared around the little dimly lit place; it was not very big, and very stuffy for being so cold, like we were under ground or something strange like that. The only source of light came from a low burning lamp set into the smooth stone walls with sweeping carvings inlaid. Other than the table and the bed there was no other furniture, and when I began poking around, I realized that not only the room was locked, but it had bars on the window at the top of the door. Jiggling the handle I could feel my heart rate start up.
I had been in a cell the entire time, no matter how innocent the room had initially appeared or even how docile Sasuke seemed, things were definitely more sinister than I could have interpreted alone…I was a prisoner, no doubt about it. What they planned to do with me of all people, I had no clue, just that Naruto was probably stupid enough to come after me and that they were most likely using me as some kind of bate.
I didn't have long to contemplate this fact though, because shortly following this startling discovery I heard something on the other side of the wooden separation; the muffled tones of two men talking. Pressing myself flush against the structure I struggled to catch their conversation.
They were standing rather close, and I could make out a few words here and there, and most of them, though not much to my surprise, were about Naruto. He was all they were apparently talking about down here, him and the allegedly inconvenient spell he seemed to be under.
As if they even knew the meaning of the word inconvenient. Inconvenient is when you get smashed by a soccer ball and in a moment of weakness seal your destiny to a talking frog and his remote and detached raccoon sidekick who can spit sand, the most useless of all attacks in my book.
Inconvenient is when what starts out as typical mundane, disappointing, day becomes a fight for your life as you're knocked out twice by a boy with eyes that move and dragged down to his master's layer in the middle of the city you thought was occupied by normal, living, driver humans.
Inconvenient is when you worry how you're friend will react when she realizes that you and her mammoth crush have disappeared for hours at a time without a trace after you promise to tell him she's faithfully waiting back at the karaoke bar. The mammoth crush that happens to be a demon that could probably kill you if he wanted, and is bitterly attracted to said friend.
And yet, here I was, practically growing into the door in a vain attempt to grasp what was going on. There was a lull in the conversation after a while, and I couldn't piece together much of it.
Just that Naruto the Land God was quite a coveted individual, as several people had mentioned before, and that his 'human' was here in captivity, awaiting audience with the so-called 'Lord Orochimaru' in hopes to lure him out and catch him. My face burned.
'His Human' was me.
Fears confirmed, I slunk back from the door and wandered back to the bed, sitting down, pushing my chin into my palm and trying to make sense of all of it.
I'm a pretty important guy where I come from…a lot of people are out to get me as it is!
I remembered the little green frog and the way he'd spoken so highly of himself, though not without caution, as if telling me was still a risk to his safety. I sighed, pushing on to the next memory.
You'll have to keep me with you, you know, for protection…
Now that was something; for a Frog who could barely take care of himself, and a Land God that seemed good at getting in sticky situations, saying he could protect me was surely a stretch.
But…he had tried. My heart thumped erratically.
I've been watching you for a long time…
With another long breath, I laid fully on the bed, racking my brain, coming up with nothing. How long was a long time? What did he even mean by watching? Rolling over, I closed my eyes and let my mind wander, consumed with thoughts of my home and my family – especially that of my grandmother.
That shrine belongs to a good spirit…a long time ago, people used to bring prayers to it and they would be answered…
My Grandmother had told me that myth when I was small, around five or six. She was a kind woman with wrinkled hands and a soft face, the opposite of my composed and stiff Father. As a child I had loved curling up in her lap and listening to her tells me stories as she stroked my hair or braided it. It was she who had taught me how to do embroidery and even cook a little, but she had died when I was nine and left me devastated. It was around then that I had started sneaking back to the shrine to do homework or to play alone while my Father looked after Hanabi. As I thought, more and more things began to come to mind, a clock work stream of memories I had pushed back onto the shelves in the darkest corners of my brain.
I can remember slipping the prayers under the door to the shrine, and I can remember kneeling there and asking for my Grandmother back, with all my heart, with all my belief. Before Sakura and Ino had really started being my friends I was a pretty lonely kid. I stayed to myself, focused on dancing and school but not much else. Summertime was always the hardest; we never went anywhere. My Father was too paranoid to travel often and Hanabi was too little; besides, I tended to get sick easily and was much happier piddling around the yard or curled up with a book to make many friends.
But there would be days I would spend all my time there, along with the heat and the sun and the little shrine where nobody went. I was convinced it was my own place; that it was where I could be by myself and make up things to pass the time. A delicious secret; no one ever bothered to look for me, and like I said, a lot of the servants were too afraid to really go near because of the threat of evil spirits.
The irony of their fears hit me as I recalled Sasuke and his glowing red eyes…but I'd never felt anything but happiness there; like someone was watching me, like we were content to be together even though we'd never really spoken or seen each other. I always felt my Grandmother there, amongst the tinkling bells of her wind chimes that she'd put up when my Uncle died. I never felt alone there; there was something comforting about two forgotten people: the spirit and myself, respectively
Friends or something strange like that – an imaginary friend is what Neji had called it when I unabashedly told him that I knew a spirit. Neji had told me to prove it, and of course, I couldn't. Maybe that was when I had started to give up the thought that he actually existed.
But what I remember most wasn't a prayer at all, or even one of Grandma's stories, but a few sentences written on a scratch piece of notebook paper when I was eight.
Grandma says friends are people who help each other…does that make us good friends? I think so. Maybe one day, I'll be able help you too! I promise!
I sat up sharply, staring at the wall in the opposite side of the room. Why had I done that?
All at once it clicked. I was four years old or so, and they'd broken into my room and shoved me into a burlap sack (they being kidnappers pining for a heavy ransom from my Father, and probably rights to the company as well). They'd carried me all the way across the lawn before something…something happened. Someone had intervened, and they'd stopped. I tried to remember, but all I could think of was a flash of yellow through the bag as they dropped me on the grass and I went tumbling out, crying. At that time the night guards and my uncle and father had come running out. The men were already trembling though, and their hands were already up until they shot my Uncle in the chest.
But before that – something had happened.
I could feel the poke of the gun through the fabric of the bag because I was screaming so much.
Something had stopped them.
The spirit that lives there…he saved you when you were small. He's chosen to look after you Hinata…one day you'll have to help him too - but I hope till then that you are both good to each other. Kind, friendly, good spirits are hard to come by nowadays…no one is around to believe in them anymore.
I had gone straight to the shrine to shove the message under the small sliver of door that was littered with cobwebs and stared at it for the longest time. I was so happy that I had made a friend, I hadn't even cared about what he was, or even if I was just a human girl who believed in old tales from her Grandmother. I was so glad that we were friends, and I'd wanted him to know.
That person…it could have been anyone…but something in my heart told me that it could have been Naruto, even though I had nothing to prove this. It just seemed like fate, or something strange like that...needless to say I didn't know how to feel - should I have been relieved or dissapointed? It hurt my head just to think about it. Besides, my current situation was far more important.
None of that mattered at the moment, and at the moment, I was suddenly imprisoned and to top it all off, was now missing my Grandmother horribly.
What would my grandmother say in all of this anyway?
People are people no matter what skin they're in Hinata, and it's always best to give them the benefit of the doubt…
Grandmother wouldn't have been afraid – heck, she probably would have kissed a frog just for the thrill of it. She loved things like that. Spirits and myths and legends were things that had been such a part of her childhood, but when she'd died, all that and all her love had seemed to disappear with her except for all of the belief she'd shoved into me.
Belief that I was finding coming true in too many ways; overwhelming and upsetting ways.
I sat there, a mess of my own misery, rubbing my face and wondering why the timing was always so wonderful in books and movies, but in reality, it couldn't have been worse.
Of all the times to have epiphany, it had to be in a cold cell in a world you didn't know existed less than twenty four hours ago, and on top of it I had something gritty stuck in my eye. Sniffling I pulled my eye lid down, wincing as I yanked an eyelash out by accident. Pausing, forgetting about the piece of grit, I stared at the eyelash.
"I wish that I could help Naruto." I whispered before closing my eyes and blowing.
All at once the ceiling came tumbling down three feet away from where I sat.
To say I wasn't shocked is an understatement.
Practically glued to the wall, I unpeeled myself slowly, watching as the shadowy figure rose to full height and pulled a strange looking object off of its head. Heart beating loudly, I watched as the person shook out the object and coughed, waving its hand around to clear the air.
And after the dust had settled, there stood Gaara in all his zombie-like, deadpan glory. He was wearing the exact same clothes, except now without the panda hat seeing as he was still shaking the sand out of it. Sand, I blanched, was what had been in my eye.
I continued to take in his appearance, from the baggy pants to the red sweatshirt and black sneakers, but as I traveled higher I noticed amongst the unruly scarlet locks of his hat hair were two strange brown things poking out from the crown of his head. He shook out the hat one last time before he raised his head to me, and upon seeing my troubled gaze pointed to the little fuzzy nubs and wiggled them, much to my fascination and awe.
"Ears." He said softly before replacing the cap on top of his head, "The hat helps me blend in better. I don't think anyone like us knows how to make human ones for transformation. They're awfully complicated." I nodded numbly and stood up to stare at the wreckage. The gaping hole showed off a blue sky and soaring birds, but it was a very deep hole, as if someone had to wear away at the earth for a while to get to the actual roof of the room, proving that I had been right and we were in fact underground.
"Did you do that?" I mumbled, not even congratulating myself on the fact that I hadn't stuttered in quite some time. Funny how experiences like these knock those habits right out of you – or maybe it was just that I was the lesser among freaks like Gaara and Sasuke.
Gaara almost smiled but didn't, kicking aside a piece of stone or drywall and stepped onto a cleaner spot on the floor, still beating the sand off of his clothes.
"Yeah. It wasn't hard to find you." He looked up briefly to point to my right hand, "That ring has Naruto painted all over it. His power leaves a very loud imprint." I laughed dryly.
"So I've heard…where is he? Is he safe?"
Gaara blinked and stooped down to start scooping sand back into the huge tan knapsack he carried.
"He's here. He turned himself in after you got taken away, which is just what Sasuke wanted. I tried to tell him you weren't worth it, but he didn't listen," Gaara paused, taking in my worried face, "Naruto really likes you for some reason." I sighed heavily, rubbing my forehead in dismay.
"I thought so, but I had hoped not." I paused and stared at the boy who appeared blindly loyal to the frog and his endeavours. I smiled weakly. "You seem to like him a lot too - Naruto I mean."
Gaara shrugged.
"I owe him a lot. I would be very different if it weren't for Naruto. We're old friends."
There was a low shout however, that prevented me from saying anything else, and at the same time we both looked towards the door where it had come from.
"The guys outside - !" I hissed, listening as the shouts continued and footsteps echoed along the corridor. Gaara stiffened and finished off the last scoop of sand before standing.
"They're going past, they didn't hear me come in; they probably are too concerned with Naruto anyway." With a few loose strides he went to the door and extended his hand. Much to my surprise, the sand wove its way out of his backpack and as he moved his fingers it seemed to bend to his will, manipulating through a crack between the door and the wall. In a few seconds of patient watching, the door unlocked quietly and Gaara peeked out.
"What were you doing just then?" I marveled and Gaara opened the door fully, beckoning me to come along. I noticed his backpack was plastered with what looked like bumper stickers and patches and even a little duct tape, and following behind him I could see the sand shift and move in a little cloud above the drawstring that held it closed as he walked.
"It's the remnants of my old city…sand and some dirt. I can manipulate it because it's under my control, since it's still my land. So if you were wondering, I don't make sand." He explained as we edged along the first in a labyrinth of hallways.
We didn't have too far to look though before we saw the small crowd of people gathering in front of what looked like another cell door like mine, only this one was made of gray stone and had different black and white seals and appeared much more sinister. The back of my neck prickled as we hung back, watching as the handful of guards parted to let Sasuke through holding what looked like a very irritated Naruto.
"So what, you're just going to throw me in here? You can't really do anything can you, because of this stupid spell!" I could hear Naruto's voice and automatically lurched forward, caught only by Gaara's warm arm as he held me back. I looked at him apologetically, but he only stared at the guards, listening intently.
"Just keep him here for now…Orochimaru doesn't know what to do at the moment." Sasuke replied lazily to a guard. I boiled with anger.
"Sasuke and Naruto go way before me or even you. They used to be friends…but Sasuke wanted more power to defeat his brother…it's a very long story, and I don't feel like telling you it, but I wouldn't worry about him. Sasuke won't do a thing to Naruto, no matter how much they bad mouth one another." Gaara whispered and I relaxed a little as Sasuke deposited Naruto and then retreated out of the cell. From our vantage across the hall, I wondered how we weren't noticed, but suddenly I realized that the cloud of sand around Gaara's backpack had slithered out and created a shimmering curtain that was suspended right in front of our bodies, catching and playing on the lighting to make us look like we weren't there. Even my own skin appeared like the filmy image of a mirage when I examined it.
Patiently, we waited until finally, the last guard disappeared and the door to the cell went closed with a heavy click.
Silently, Gaara and I crept forward, the sand going with us, like an invisible bubble that made us flicker across the hallway like heat waves on the asphalt. The closer someone got, the harder it would be to see us.
With skill, Gaara extended his hand once more, and through the same motions he'd used on my own door, the lock clicked open, and the door swung out.
"Gaara? Is that you?" I could hear Naruto's voice from inside and again I started, desperate to see him in one piece and not some chopped up French cuisine of my imagination. Again, Gaara forced me to pause as he walked in first, and I followed; as soon as we entered though, we realized our mistake.
"Hello Gaara-kun, you're prompt as usual."
I felt my throat go completely dry as I stared into the yellow, slanted eyes of the most poisonous looking man I'd ever seen.
Orochimaru smiled.
"How nice of you to join us, Hinata-sama, we've been expecting you for quite some time."
Orochimaru was a snake of a man, just as Naruto had always referred to him as. Maybe, if his skin had been a little livelier instead of pasty grey, and if his hair wasn't the long, black, limp mop that occupied his head he would probably be what Ino referred to as a 'dangerously handsome' kind of person, but I won't bother going into details because what he looked like wasn't important. What was important was that he had tricked me, and me being the idiot I am, had walked straight into his trap.
He was standing in the center of the cell, holding Naruto in one hand, the other he used to wave at the men standing sentinel just inside the door. They promptly came to my sides and grabbed my arms though I protested strongly before going limp as one grabbed my hair and yanked hard.
"HEY! WATCH IT!" Naruto shouted, though it came out rather strangled due to Orochimaru's constricting grip. The snake man only smiled more and waved over Sasuke, who had somehow appeared behind us. Gaara was standing with guards on either side of him, though they looked hesitant to grab him; his hands were folded in front of him submissively and his back leaned against the wall as if to prove he wouldn't make any sudden movements.
"Now then, Sasuke-kun has told me of a peculiar fact…one I've taken great interest in Hinata-sama."
The man stepped forward towards me and trailed a scaly hand across my face and I felt vomit hit the roof of my mouth – well, maybe not – but still, it was defiantly a 'do not want' kind of situation. He left his fingers cupping my chin and held up Naruto who squirmed and puffed and panted.
"Now, what's all this business of kissing, Hinata-sama?" He whispered, his slanted eyes watching me intently. I stared up at him and blinked.
"K-kiss?" I said, feigning idiocy. The man wasn't easily convinced.
"Don't play coy girl, I know very well that you're the one selected to break the spell…now, I suggest you do as I tell you and hurry on." He turned to the guards and his eyes narrowed still - they released me and I rubbed my arm, wincing at the bruise forming under my turtle neck. Orochimaru swept his eyes over me and chuckled dryly.
"Sasuke-kun was also correct when he said he expected someone far prettier…you really are just an ordinary girl. Quite plain, actually. Naruto prefers much more…unique girls." I blushed and Naruto fumed in his clutches.
"TAKE THAT BACK YOU ASSHAT!" He shouted before turning his blue eyes to me, "Don't believe a word he says Hinata! You're beautiful! A real princess – !" Suddenly, Orochimaru's hand squeezed him harder and he coughed, fighting for a breathe.
"Tut tut. This is dragging out far too much Naruto-sama, so if you would kindly help me, I'd appreciate it so very much if you'd give your little human here a push in the proper direction before something bad happens."
Naruto glared daggers at the man who held him captive and even I could feel the heat of his hatred.
"What? So you can imprison me here and suck up all my power? HELL NO!" He spat, still wriggling, albeit a bit less enthusiastically, as though he was quickly losing his energy to fight back. "I won't be so stupid like Sasuke – I know you just use people in the end!" Sasuke stiffened and his eyes shifted dangerously wavering between black and scarlet. Orochimaru was not amused. With a final fatal grimace he suddenly reeled back and threw Naruto clear across the room, where he smashed into the wall and landed in a little green heap, totally unconscious.
"Pick him up please, this is getting too heated, don't you think, Hinata-sama?" I stared at the unmoving lump and felt worry eat at the edges of my heart.
"What did you do to him?" I cried, running and grabbing his cold little body into my hands. With shaking fingers I looked back to the snake-like man and he blinked innocently.
"Simply a little discipline, Hinata-sama. If Naruto is to become part of my collection, he should learn to behave himself. Now…" in what seemed the blink of an eye he had crossed the room and stood before me, and his hand fisted into my hair yet again. I was beginning to regret growing it out, yelping as he forced me onto my knees with a smirk, "…why don't you just get this over with so we can continue with our plans – or shall I have Kabuto insist in a more direct matter?"
I whimpered again as his nails grated against my scalp and my hair strained in his grasp. My eyes watered and I squinted them at the bespectacled boy in the corner. His glasses flashed as he pushed them up the bridge of his nose and I noticed the faint glow of his fingers as his hand was surrounded by a pale green blade-like light.
"My patience is wearing." He spat, and I instantly understood that the game was quickly coming to an end.
"I w-won't!" I shouted, holding Naruto my chest. Orochimaru emitted something like a sigh and turned to Kabuto; the kid strolled across the room and I felt my eyes widen as he approached, the faint glow turning into a full on burning kind of light against his hand – whatever it was, it rippled with energy and looked frighteningly powerful. I tried to scramble but Orochimaru delivered a reassuring kick to my back and I pitched forward, the only thing separating me from the ground being my hair. Still holding Naruto, I watched, paralyzed as Kabuto came closer and closer until I could feel the hotness of his hand edging towards my throat.
"See? I told you that getting Kabuto involved might prove difficult– now do as I tell you or prepare to have your life taken." Orochimaru said stiffly. I blinked back the threatening tears of fear as I fought for any kind of plausible explanation.
"Just kiss him already!" I heard Sasuke in the background somewhere, but it was as if he were speaking only to me because no one else said anything. I couldn't turn around, but I knew the last time I'd seen him he'd been watching me from his prospective corner, hands folded into the pocket of his school pants, eyes leaking scarlet.
"I-it won't work!" I shouted finally. Orochimaru yanked my hair.
"What did you say?" He hissed and I swallowed thickly.
"T-the kiss! It won't work!" My head went backwards, cricking my neck as I was forced to stare up into Orochimaru's eyes. I felt the words tumble around in my mouth and my palms were sweating as he inspected me before speaking again.
"Go on…" He said slowly and I opened my lips, trying to calm the quivering stutter that had resurfaced.
"T-the kiss won't work i-if there's n-no feelings in it!" I cried weakly, "I don't e-even know Naruto…a k-kiss can't d-do anything if it's just a k-k-kiss!" I could feel myself babbling as Orochimaru's eyebrows rose a fraction and he blinked, and I felt relief rush over me that maybe whatever I was coming up with made enough sense to prompt Kabuto to withdraw his hand blade and even the grip on my hair loosen.
"I could kiss anybody I liked!" I continued frantically, "It wouldn't change them into someone else, not if there isn't anything behind it! Isn't that what they say in f-fairytales? T-true loves kiss?!"
Orochimaru suddenly grimaced.
"You're lying – that ring you have has true love written all over it as well as Naruto's signature – Kabuto finish the job - !"
"WAIT!" I interjected holding up my trembling hand and pushing it out to Orochimaru, "It's not mine! I swear! It's my cousins; he wanted me to hold it! It's for his girlfriend! It's not mine! I-I dropped it in the pond and Naruto tricked me into helping him! I promise! He tricked me and now I'm stuck with him! I have no clue what's going on, I don't know who you are, and I have never met Naruto before in my life!"
Now what I was saying wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't a lie either. I didn't know Naruto – because I hadn't even really found any concrete evidence he was the spirit I had connected with all that time ago, and to be quite honest, I was starting to unconvinced myself he was even related to those moments. He was too loud and brash for that, not the gentleness I used to feel. And it was true – he had tricked me…but then again, I suppose at the same time I'd been tricking him just to get the ring back.
All in all, it was all a giant misunderstanding from what I could tell – and never in my life had I had so many people so eager to see me kiss someone before – I mean really, this Orochimaru and even Sasuke gave Ino and Sakura a run for their money. The only possible comparison would be my Father, but that was simply because he was not very confident I'd ever marry, let alone find a boy to kiss. The problem was, unlike Naruto, I couldn't convince the shadow king holding me captive in an underground, devil-prison that I was saving that kiss for 'The Boy' and was still reluctant to bestow it to a cold little frog like Naruto, even if he was a Land God.
"Then how do you expect me to compensate for letting you go, Hinata-sama?" Orochimaru said, dropping me to the floor, "If you're as innocent as you say you are, then surely there must have been something that you could tell me to help…amend this situation for myself. That is to say, if you were lying, how could I find another way to get Naruto back to his – how do you say – proper form."
I struggled to get up and staggered: my back roaring with pain from where he'd kicked me before, only to draw a blank.
"I-I don't know…h-he didn't say anything else…" I mumbled, and Orochimaru smiled venomously.
"Well then Hinata-sama, I suggest you start getting to know Naruto, because my patience is wearing thin." He looked me straight in the eye and I flinched, but to my relief he turned around and waved the rest of them out of the room, including Gaara, although he was flanked heavily by guards on either side. As he left, Sasuke threw one shady glance at me, and for a moment I could almost detect worry in his eyes, but then it passed into something more like pity and then finally his stony, familiar expression.
The door to the cell closed with a tight bang and I found myself clothed in darkness, still shaking and feeling extremely violated. The lock rattled into place and I could make out Orochimaru's eyes in the small slot on the front, penetrating the black and straight into me.
"You don't have much time, Hinata-sama…I suggest you start thinking of ways to fall in love before I decide to take matters into my own hands." The slot closed and everything was night.
I collapsed against the cold wall and felt anger eat away at my insides.
"Where am I?" I looked down at Naruto who was starting to rub his eyes beside me and deflated.
"Captured." I mumbled, leaning my head back and massaging my skull tiredly.
"Damnit. Well, it'll certainly be a pain to get out of this…" I turned wearily to Naruto who appeared to be formulating some kind of plan in his small head.
"Don't get a head of yourself." I scolded gently poking him. Once again he stumbled backwards and I smiled, exhausted, "It's your fault I'm in all this mess." Naruto only rolled his eyes and hopped forward into my palm.
"Not entirely you probably would have dropped the ring without my help." My eyes widened as I dropped him instantly, sending him reeling backwards and hitting the stone with a dull plop.
"Y-you…y-you did what?!" I shouted, staring him down menacingly. Naruto shrugged sheepishly.
"I had to get your attention somehow! What better way than to…well…you know, bend a little fate, eh? I t was really pretty easy…the boys looked pretty surprised though; that soccer ball wasn't aimed at you at all...you should have seen their faces!" Naruto said, laughing at the end. I flushed and turned my body away from him, burying my head back into my knees, trying to stifle my tears and my disgust.
I'd been duped.
By a frog.
A frog that wanted to kiss me.
"Hinata? Hina-chan…I'm sorry. Really, I am… I should never have gotten you into this…" I sniffled and rubbed my eyes against the fabric stretched across my kneecaps.
"N-no." I whimpered, "Y-you shouldn't have. I have e-e-e-e…" I couldn't stop hiccupping into my word before it finally came out of my mouth, "e-enough trouble as it is." I heard Naruto shuffle himself on the ground beside me and I let out another shaky cry.
"You want to talk about it?" He asked hesitantly, "We don't have anything else to do at the moment…" I raised my head.
"W-why ME?" I asked, staring straight down at Naruto. "I w-want to know r-right n-now!"
Naruto was quiet for a very long time.
"…well...I can't really tell you."
"Y-yes you can." I whispered, "You just won't."
"No really!" Naruto protested, waving his hands, "It's this dumb spell, it won't let me say anything at all!" I sighed.
"F-fine."
"Are you still mad?" Naruto continued, putting his hands on my foot and looking up at me. I softened instantly as his eyes wavered with guilt.
"No, but this is way more than I bargained for." I said finally, picking him up again. He grinned back at me.
"Yeah, I could understand that…hey, you didn't stutter at all then!" He exclaimed looking surprisingly chipper for someone who was being imprisoned. I smiled back at him, trying my best to let his contagious mood wash over me.
"Guess I'm just too tired." I said softly, wondering myself why I hadn't. Naruto just beamed at me some more and then suddenly hopped down to the floor as my hand began to go limp.
"You can sleep now Hina-chan, I'll watch out for you..." Naruto said somewhere. I nodded.
"Hai." I mumbled, settling into an honest sleep for the first time in what seemed like years. I dreamt of my Grandmother, and I dreamt of Naruto, and I dreamt of the shrine and a golden light and a gentle voice that said my name. I saw the Wednesday boy and he held up the little slip of paper that held my scribbled message to the shrine spirit out to me with a happy laugh. I smiled to myself in my dreams, a question suddenly bubbling up from my mouth.
"Ne…Naruto-san…my Grandmother says that friends are people who help each other…does that make us good friends?"
"No. But it makes you vulnerable."
My eyes shot open and my dizzy eyes went everywhere, jerked out of their sleep until at last they landed on Sasuke. He smirked, but it looked frayed against his face. Cold sweat broke out across my skin as he grabbed Naruto and a guard grabbed my own arms.
"Time's up."
Hope you all had an excellent week without me! I am quite tan now, I must say :]
Again, the chapter ends with Sasuke...that silly little thing!
Look forward to a fight - lots of fireworks.
xoxo,
Spoons