AN: I was asked to put flashback in itallics. Well incase you didnt know, let me say again; the beginning part of the chapters are Hinata and her daughter after she has been born. When you get to that big line separating the page, that when the flashbacks and the story is. I will not put ALL of the that in itallics, thats putting the ENTIRE chapter in itallics, and I dont know about you but I'd get a headache.
"Where we going?" Her blue eyes were suspicious again, how could mom not tell her where they were going before they left the house. Hinata was just about to answer when she was stopped by a loud familiar voice in the already loud streets of Konoha.
"YUMI!" They looked up and saw a slightly older looking woman holding her arms out. In a flash the little girl let go of her mothers hand and ran into the brunettes arms. "Don't you look pretty today?"
"Like you!" She said almost bouncing in her arms and the girl laughed.
"Hi Tenten." Hinata smiled, though she cringed inside knowing what was coming.
"A little girl as pretty as you deserves a treat!" Tenten chirped.
"Tenten…" Hinata warned but the woman ignored her.
"Ice cream!" Yumi yelled and Tenten echoed.
Even though she was as small as she was, Hinata was always impressed with her daughters grasp with the world around her. At the age of three Yumi knew grandpa was an important man. Mommy used to be a ninja. Daddy was an important ninja. The girl also figured out that mommy and daddy had many friends. All their friends loved her, so mommy and daddy's friends always spoiled her.
"Let's ask your mom first." Tenten smiled bouncing the toddler in her arms.
Hinata looked at her daughter; she may have been blessed as "daddy's girl" at birth. Having the wonderful effect to completely wrap her father around every finger on her tiny hand, but from time to time Hinata's heart melted to when she looked into her little girls bright blue eyes.
She gave a defeated smile and nodded.
She waited for a few moments in the room until she was sure Sakura had told her team mates she would be unable to tend to the mission due to personal problems. She could think of an excuse to tell them later, something believable. Maybe something female related so they wouldn't ask questions, though it wasn't likely they'd believe that either. She had been around them so long she wasn't exactly seen as a girl anymore. And Kiba would know she would be lying, his canine senses told him when she really was in her girl phase.
Whatever she was going to say she could think about it later. Right now she just needed to be alone, completely alone. Sakura's apartment was perfection.
It was quiet, it was dark and it was clean.
The bed was made; the couches had their throw pillows perfectly placed. The coffee table had unused coasters and magazines dated months back, it reminded Hinata of a dentist office except it was dark. Her bed room was clean and smelled of her perfume. The bed was made with a quilt thrown on the end of it, and a pile of fluffy pillows made to look like clouds on her bed.
Suddenly she felt exhausted. She felt so tired she thought if she slept she just might sleep for days. And that sounded wonderful. She let herself collapse on her friend's bed; it was so soft it seemed to just hug her everywhere.
She didn't know what she was going to do. Her mind didn't even form full thoughts or could even completely comprehend anything anymore. She lay on her back her hands went to her stomach. The thought perplexed her, how could this have happened? Had she done something wrong? Had she messed up somewhere?
She thought back through their session of sweet and more often passionate love making. No, they had been safe, they had done it right. Before she decided on the birth control Naruto had been responsible. He had taken care of it…so how did this happen?
As much as she wanted to believe the test was wrong, she knew it wasn't. She wanted to really believe that somewhere in the hospital there was a happy couple right now being told they weren't pregnant because Suki had been stupid and mixed up the tests by accident.
With out realizing she started to cry. She was scared, alone, confused, everything she hated to be all at once. She cried for what seemed like hours, letting her frustrations come out in long hard sobs into Sakura's pillow. After her good cry her mind started to think rationally again.
The first thing it did was begin to accept this. Sakura her self had seen the test, she was indeed very much pregnant right now. Nothing was going to change that, so there was not much more point in really trying to deny it.
Next was Naruto. How was she going to tell him? It wasn't that Naruto didn't want a family, in truth he had told her a few times he did indeed want a family with her, he wanted it very much. It was his next dream after being Hokage; a dream to have a family of his own. But they had agreed that this dream would be fulfilled five or more years down the road…not at seventeen!
Would he be overjoyed and whisk her off to marry him at the drop of a hat? Would he go into catatonic shock? Would he be upset?
There was really no telling, she knew him; she really did. But this was so intense right now. He would be happy, eventually, but this was still a very big unexpected shock. When he left for his mission she had been sick and he felt bad for leaving her, and now when he returned he would be informed she was not only sick but was now carrying his child. As good of person she knew he was, this was news no one could really be prepared for. There was no telling what he would do. This scared her.
Suddenly she was very exhausted. Her body felt heavy her brain was fogged and felt it was soon going to be spinning. She felt her self give away into a coming deep sleep, she could think about Naruto and everything else once she was rested enough to do so.
"Hinata?" A soft voice was slowly waking her from what felt too short of a sleep. Her eyes were blurred, the room was dark and a figure stood over her.
"Wha…"
"Hinata how long have you been asleep?" It was Sakura. She was home already?
"What time is it?"
"Almost ten."
"A night?"
"Yes."
Hinata sat up rubbing her eyes. She had fallen asleep in mid afternoon, how could she sleep that long? She Sakura's figure cross the room and turn the light on, the sudden brightness made her wince and her eyes hurt for a few seconds.
"Have you been asleep this whole time?" Sakura asked gathering some clothes from her drawers.
"Almost…what did you tell Kiba and Shino?" Hinata watched her friend disappear into the bathroom but the door stayed open.
"The truth." She called out, Hinata froze. Would Sakura really betray her like that? "I told them you were nauseated, fatigued, and in no condition to do a mission. I told them I took you off the mission until you showed improvement. I just neglected to tell them the reason behind your mysterious sickness." She finished walking out of the bathroom in a comfortable set of hold shorts and a tank top, her hair was tied behind her head, she looked ready for bed.
"I can leave…" Hinata began seeing the girl dressed in her pajamas for the night.
"And go where?" Sakura smiled a bit at her and sat next to her on the bed. "Come on, I'm sure you haven't eaten." Her friend pulled her lightly off the bed and into her kitchen.
"In the mood for something specific?" Sakura asked, she seemed happy and cheerful. Hinata took a seat at the small table, she still felt exhausted despite her several hours hibernation.
"Not really."
"Tea?"
"Sure."
The girls were silence while Sakura busied herself in the kitchen. The tension was weird, as though there was something that needed to be said but neither of them either knew what it was or even wanted to say it.
Sakura placed a mug in front of her friend and poured the wonderful smelling tea. Hinata almost drank it instantly, it was comforting.
"Are you going to tell Naruto when he comes home?" Sakura voiced taking a seat across from her friend.
"I have to tell him eventually don't I? Maybe I should get used to this idea before I go around telling everyone." Hinata said looking into the dark liquid in her mug.
"You know Hinata, there are ways to…not have the baby." Sakura didn't meet her friends confused eyes.
"Not have it?" Hinata was a bit confused, wasn't it a bit late for that? It was pretty much already inside her.
"You can…get rid of it, if you want." Sakura seemed to be uncomfortable talking about this.
"What do you mean, get rid of it?"
"I mean…you can…not have it…we can take it out."
Hinata eyed her friend.
"Take it…you mean…" She didn't finish her sentence before Sakura nodded to her, her green eyes showing no particular emotion. Hinata hadn't even thought of that. Getting rid of it. She could, she knew it was an option though it was never really talked about and much less was really known about it, she knew it happened. Unwanted pregnancies were terminated and many were none the wiser, they continued their lives like nothing had happened.
"I don't know what you want to do…but it's an option." Sakura said and sipped her mug.
"I don't know what my father will say." Hinata spoke up. "I don't even know what Naruto will say. I'd be lying if I said that didn't sound appealing right now. But I don't think I can make that decision with out Naruto at least being aware of the situation."
"And if you don't decide to do it?"
Hinata kept her eyes on her liquid, the steam was slowly begin to fade away from her mug.
"I don't know."
"I know its difficult Hinata but you don't have a lot of time you know. Tomorrow Tsunade is going to ask my why I pulled you from the mission. Naruto is due back from his mission in two days, and your team is due back not a week later."
Hinata dropped her head in her hands; she felt her throat close up. Sakura was telling the truth, time was something she didn't really have to think about this.
"I'm still having trouble understanding how this happened, how am I supposed to decide my entire future right now too?" Her voice sobbed and cracked, Sakura let her cry out her frustrations until she was able to compose herself.
"I'm sorry." She apologized only to receive a laugh from her friend which she met with a confused gaze.
"Pregnant woman are emotional, don't apologize for it." Her voice was warm, something she hadn't really shown Hinata since she got back. The dark haired girl smiled a bit for the first time that day.
"Sakura…can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"About Naruto…I know you know him like, a brother. What do you think he'll say?"
It wasn't that Hinata didn't know her boyfriend. She had after all spent half her life just watching him from the back round. She could predict almost everything about him, but this however was different. Maybe she just needed reassurance for once. Maybe she just needed Sakura to agree with what she was envisioning in her head.
"Naruto never had a family, I would imagine the thought of having his own would…excite him." Hinata looked her friend a smile forming on her lips, she had said the words she was trying to make herself believe.
"However," Sakura continued and Hinata's smiled faded quickly. "Naruto is only seventeen. I've seen teenage pregnancy at the hospital; some boys are excited to find out their girlfriend is going to bare their child, some though…some run away. To be honest Hinata, I have no idea what Naruto will say, but I can at least assure you he won't abandone you."
Well she knew that! Hinata knew Naruto wasn't the type to turn and run and he would certainly never run from her or anything that involved him. But that's not what she wanted to know. She wanted to know if he would be exited if he would be happy, if he would accept it.
"Hinata I wouldn't be worried about Naruto right now." Sakura broke her thoughts. Their eyes met and she knew what she was talking about.
However Hiashi was a completely different set of problems when it came to anything involving Naruto. He was aware that Hinata spent time with him, he was aware that the two were often seen together. However when it came to knowing if they were a couple, the man either refused to believe it or was uncharacteristically oblivious to it.
"Father doesn't even know Naruto and I are together…how am I supposed to tell him this?"
"Talk about killing two birds with one stone." Sakura remarked, only to receive a dark look from her friend, she quickly apologized.
"Maybe you should tell the father first before you tell your father. Maybe then after you two have discussed it he can stand with you."
"No…Hiashi will only kill Naruto if I do that. I need to tell them separately." The idea of telling her father alone sent a harsh chill through her body. She never wanted to alone with him period, much less to be alone with telling him this kind of news.
"Sakura…I don't mean to sound selfish but…would it be too much if I stayed here for a bit?"
"I was kind of expecting you to, I mean you can't really go home while you're supposed to be on a mission." Sakura smiled warmly, it eased Hinata's nerves.
"Thanks."
"Now how about eating something?"
"I can't eat anything, everything just makes me sick." Hinata frowned and her friend laughed again, with out knowing it, she returned it.
If Hinata had ever had any doubt of the two's bond until now, now she couldn't deny it. What Sakura was doing for her was more then she could have imagined.
"Sakura…" Hinata started as the girl moved around in the kitchen, she turned to look at her.
"Thank you…for everything. I know you don't have to, and it means a lot."
Sakura smiled brightly.
"Hinata do you have any idea what Naruto would do to me if I just left you stranded? He'd rasengen me into next year I'm sure of it. Not to mention Sasuke would be too proud of me either."
The two girls exchanged smiles again. There was a knock at the door that surprised both of them. Sakura didn't seemed as surprised as Hinata, she must have thought it was Lee stopping by.
"Yes?" Sakura asked opening the door. Hinata couldn't see who was speaking but she could tell Sakura didn't really know them.
"Sakura, Tsunade requested you in her office." Said the voice, it sounded female and young.
"Now?" Sakura asked.
"I'm afraid so."
"Did she say why?"
"No. But she said you are not to keep her waiting."
"Okay, let me change…"
"She said to bring Hyuuga Hinata as well." The voice said almost regretfully. Hinata saw Sakura nod and thank them then close the door.
"Sakura…" Hinata started, looking at her friend with pleading eyes. She couldn't do this now, there was no way she could do this now.
"Come on Hinata, we have to go." Her voice was cool, masking any anxiety if she felt any.
"But Sakura…" Hinata was far from cool and calm as they came, she was almost on the verge of tears again.
"Come on." She said her voice remaining as she came back from quickly changing in her room and went to the door.
Hinata knew she didn't have a choice. She knew once she was there she couldn't lie, she knew Sakura wouldn't lie either. She just had to pray Tsunade would see things her way, she had to pray Tsunade wouldn't act like Hokage.
TBC
- The girls are confonted by Tsunade and Naruto returns! GASP!
