Chapter 4 - How to have a food fight (A commoner's guide)

***_ 1

It had all happened so fast. And yet it was like everything was moving in slow motion.

Hinata didn't remember saying anything, but she moved quickly. Holding the now bloody and semi-conscious Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke rushed to pick Sakura up. Naruto reached them first. For a brief moment Hinata locked eyes with him. She saw frantic fear in his face. Sweeping Sakura up in his arms he vanished, with Sasuke not far behind.

Maneuvering through the crowds they jumped from building to building heading towards the castle. Hinata could see Naruto's back, she struggled to keep up, but was trailing close behind.

When they arrived at the castle everything was hectic. Everyone was scrambling around, it would've been easy to go unnoticed, and most people didn't see, but Hinata watched as Naruto placed the girl in his arms gently on his bed. Slipping his arm out from under the pinkette, Hinata saw the expression on his face. One she had never seen. And it was directed at the Sakura. It made Hinata's heart clench.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door slammed open, and Sasuke came in followed by a busty blonde woman and a man wearing a mask with silver hair.

"Does anyone have any medical experience?!" Tsunade yelled over the frantic crowd.

It was silent. Hinata's shaky palm barely surpassed the top of her head. Tsunade looked over at her. Hinata stood there with a hesitant volunteered hand. She had tended to her cousin's wounds along with others in the guild on occasion. And Sakura was her friend, she wanted to help where she could.

Pointing at Hinata the woman barked, "Grab me some hot water! Kakashi! Bring me those towels!" Moving quickly. She shuffled everyone out of the room except Hinata, who was to assist, and went right to work.

Hinata watched with nervous sweat rolling down her forehead. With her brow furrowed she looked at her friend lying there in silent pain. Tsunade's hands moved quickly and carefully. Removing the arrow, then stitching up the wound. It would've been amazing, if her friend's life wasn't in danger.

After hours of observing, and handing the tools back and forth. They were done. Now all there was left to do was wait.

Coming out of the room, she saw Sasuke and Naruto sitting in the hall. Both of them had their heads resting in their hands, but she knew they were awake painfully waiting to see Sakura. They immediately stood up upon hearing the door open and started running towards Sakura. But Naruto paused, letting Sasuke run right past him. The expression on Naruto's face was pained, almost as if he had realized something. Brought back to a reality he didn't want to be in. Sasuke sprinted right past Hinata and Tsunade to Sakura's side. Hinata looked up to meet Naruto's eyes, but he was looking right past her. Again, the slight tug on her heart.

She woke up from her distraction and glanced back towards her friend. She wanted someone to tell her it would all be okay. But nobody did.

***_2

Sasuke had stayed with her all night. Sitting by her bedside with her hand pressed in-between his. It almost felt intrusive to be there and as she walked out Naruto followed behind her closing the door.

It was awkward silence.

The only sound to be heard was their feet tapping against the cobble stone floor. Then there was only the sound of her footsteps. She looked back at Naruto who had paused.

His lips parted saying, "You worked hard Hinata, thank you. You should get some rest." He gave her a nod and a weary smile.

She returned his smile with a faded one of her own, "No n-need to thank me. She's my friend, too."

Bidding her goodnight, he turned around and headed back towards his quarters.

"N-naruto!" She sputtered out, wanting to ask about the expression she had seen him wearing earlier.

Turning back around he cocked his head to the side, and looked at her waiting for her to continue.

She couldn't get the words out, "W-where are you g-g-going to sleep tonight?" she finally settled on an innocent question (Maybe not so innocent ;) ehhhh), knowing his bed was currently occupied.

"I don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight." He sighed then continued, "Goodnight, Hinata." And with that their conversation ended as they parted ways.

She couldn't get the image of him staring at Sakura with such fear, yet such tenderness. Almost as if he…. She couldn't finish the thought. Because accompanied with the memory, came the bickering pain in her heart. And she couldn't lose two friends in one day.

***_3

The next morning, Hinata walked into the room where Sakura was resting. She brought a bowl with a damp cloth clinging to the side. The door made a small sliding creek then her steps came to a halt.

She could see the depth of his stare. The forbidden object right in front of his eyes. He gazed at her, his mind was so far away. He was somewhere else, wherever she was, that's where he was, too.

The feeling of a cold hand crept around her heart tickling her emotions with darkness, jealousy, and pain. She took a sharp breath in like she had emerged from a pool of water. That was close. She had almost let the feelings cloud her judgment. Sakura was her friend, Naruto was her friend, and she had collected great memories because of them. She knew why she was in the room originally. But those intentions had already lost reason. She never could, or would, intrude on the happiness of her friends. They had taken her in, showered her with love and acceptance, no questions asked.

Her heart ached, but it was relieved by the accomplished feeling of gratitude. That feeling of being protected, thought of, and cherished. These were feelings she rarely felt, and now they were given in abundance. A small smile crept onto her lips. This time, no matter what she had to give up she would fight for the happiness of the one's she loved, whatever it may be.

Closing the door behind her, she glanced at the boy clenching a pale hand with a furrowed brow. The sunlight rolled through the strands of his blonde hair. She knew, his image would always make her heart beat.

Feeling a small brush of wind against his ankle, he looked over as violet eyes turned away from him. He had just missed her glance as she disappeared behind the door with a click.

He whipped his head towards the window. Remnants of a cold stare lingering in his mind. He couldn't shake this ominous feeling.

***_4

Blocks of light bent right where the wall met the stone floor. It made her shadow stand parallel from her. She watched her shadow, amused by the way her hair bounced and swished with every step. It was almost at the same time she blinked, but she saw it. A hiccup of darkness blocking the light where she was currently standing in. She immediately activated her byakugan. It was headed in the direction she was walking, and she knew where their intended destination was. Continuing, she headed to meet them.

Slipping past the door into her corridors she silently closed it behind her, not turning around to see who her guest was. She could feel his presence, his stare, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"Seeing as you're in my room, you must have some business with me." Hinata spoke, still not turning around.

He finally opened his mouth, "From what I witnessed earlier, it's only a favor I can ask of the Hyuga heiress."

Her brow clenched in confusion. Earlier? What was he talking about? She looked down on the floor next to her seeing the outline of a figure in the box of light shaped by the window behind him.

The sun reflected a slight red halo around the shadow of his head, and outlines of numberless piercings obscuring the outline of his facial features.

"To what honor do I owe the guilds leader to grace me with his presence?"

"You're formality precedes you. Classy indeed." The words hinted amusement, but his voice was consistent and cold.

The presence that loomed behind her belonged to Pain, the guilds leader. Whom she had only seen once from afar.

/flashback

It was after a particularly tiring mission; the members of her section had gathered together in a small clearing. Everyone was relaxing and getting ready for the night. After finding a sound location to set her stuff down, she gave Neji a nod indicating she would be right back. Using her byakugan, she had pinpointed a creek where she could wash up.

She walked carefully towards her setout path. Feeling no danger or presence near her. She liked to play a game where she would maneuver off the beaten path and avoid touching any stray bush or rustle any leaves on the ground. Passing through a particularly bushy tree, she heard a voice.

Glancing up through a small crack, she peered through to see two people talking too low for her to hear. One of which she recognized, even from just the back of his head, it was Deidara. He would come and relay instruction from the heads of the guild often. The second didn't look familiar at all. She would've definitely remembered his red hair and unique face piercings if she had seen him before.

He glanced up, his conversation not missing a beat, his partner didn't even notice his intense eyes staring right through the bushes directly into her hazed purple pupils. His gaze stopping her heart in a death grip. She couldn't breathe, or move by some unseen power paralyzing her thoughts and actions. He first blinked, then looked away, releasing her burning lungs gasping for air. She ran as fast as she could without being noticed by the other party.

She never told Neji. She never told anyone. Uttering the words, to relive the memory, made them stick in her throat. Never would the story surface for comfort from another person. She knew that power could only belong to the leader, a name she had heard before. Pain.

/end flashback

She would never meet those eyes again.

She was brought back from memory lane by him taking one step towards her. Freezing every muscle in her body.

He was about to take another step forward when he paused. After a few seconds she could hear the tap of feet slowly approaching her room. The fact that he had heard seconds before she could even grasp why he had paused sent shivers up her spine.

He finished the step he had intended to take earlier. He didn't lean in, nor was he that close, but his voice whispered loud enough that only she could hear, "I hope you don't disappoint my high expectations. Until we meet again, princess."

And just like that he was gone, his words not even leaving an echo.

***_5

She almost didn't hear the voices of two people from the hallway over the tense atmosphere.

"He said it was this way!" she heard a high pitch voice exclaim.

"You ask a guard for directions and he doesn't even know his own castle." Again, the same voice.

Hinata slowly cracked her door open to peer out into the hallway.

She saw a delicate looking blonde girl looking around with her brow furrowed. Behind her was a pale man with a cheeky grin pasted across his face.

The blonde flipped her bangs covering her eye and yelled, "WHERE THE HEL-"

Instantly, Hinata's image of her shattered. The blonde paused turning around and looked right into Hinata's eyes.

"Hey, you!" she said pointing at the now frozen Hinata.

"We're here to see Sakura. And when we got there, she wasn't there! You live here, right? Where is that little wench hiding? Is she even injured?" the frantic blonde girl explained.

Hinata's mind was frozen watching the ponytail flip around and her pointing every which way speaking too quickly for human understanding.

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-" Hinata opened her mouth like a broken record.

The beautiful blonde smacked her on the back, "Spit it out girl!"

"I-I-I c-can take you t-to her."

"Great! Lead the way!" she gestured for Hinata to step in front, "My name is Ino by the way. And this is Sai." Hinata stretched her neck a bit and saw pale man still smiling. His smile was absolutely unreadable, sending a small chill down her back. And she rigidly moved her neck back to block his face with Ino's.

Hinata then stiffly lead them down the hall towards the king's tower. They both followed, Sai with his unchanging expression and Ino talking and talking to… well… nobody in particular I guess.

***_6

Upon reaching Naruto's room where Sakura was still staying. Hinata didn't even have the chance to walk in before Ino kicked the door open.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all deer-in-the-headlights staring at them.

"YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD HIDE FROM ME! YOU'RE FOREHEAD CAN BE SEEN FROM SPACE!" Ino finally yelled keeping everyone else silent.

All except for Sakura, who now had a vein popping from her forehead.

"I HAVE TO HIDE FROM YOUR STENCH! I CAN'T RISK GETTING AN INFECTION FROM YOUR FILTH, INO-PIG!"

It was like watching a tennis match. Everyone's head switched from side to side watching the two fight. Now looking at Ino, whose fists were white from clenching them, broke into tears collapsing on the bed by Sakura's feet.

Sakura's expression went from a bit shocked and then relaxed into tenderness. She rubbed Ino's back as Ino sobbed, muttering comforting words like, I'm fine, Don't kill me off so easily.

"I was so worried! And you're just sitting here flirting with your fiancé?!" Ino finally lifted her face, now dripping with a tear-snot concoction, gesturing towards the black-haired man.

Hinata froze.

Fiance? She looked over at the two men standing in the corner. Neither one of them made eye contact, and just stared at the floor. She could see a small blush on Sasuke's face. And she didn't have the courage to look at Naruto's expression.

"Ino, " Sakura sighed, "I told you, I'm basically recovered. These people keep insisting that I sit here all day, but all I need is to get out of this bed!"

Sasuke gave her a bit of a glare.

"You're such a fun killer!" Sakura stated, sticking out her tongue.

Hinata was a bit amazed, they didn't even need words to communicate.

"I'm not gonna let this ruin the fire festival. It's the best time of the year, for everyone! Either you let me go to that festival tomorrow, or I'm going to tear this castle brick by brick!"

Pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing. He muttered, "I'll talk to Tsunade."

Giddily clapping her hands, Sakura grinned and thanked him.

***_7

After much insisting from Sakura every had finally agreed to re-boot the festivities and let her join the celebration.

Having missed a few days, tonight was the second to last day of the festival. The day of feasting. There would be central locations throughout the entire city where feasts had been set up, providing for everyone in the kingdom. Making it a kingdom-wide feast. There were cheers, and happy voices echoing through the streets of Konoha.

Naruto took his seat overlooking the ginormous dining hall. His adjacent seats were filled with his friends and closest advisors respectfully. He wished he could be more part of the celebration in front of him, but as King-to-be he had a duty to fulfill.

His thoughts were interrupted by a plate hovering past his shoulder and placed in front of him. He looked up to see Hinata giving him a nervous smile. He and Sakura had protested to her not celebrating with them, but there was no way to explain a hand-maiden seated with the royal party. Plus, they were trying to keep her identity, which they didn't know much about, on the down low. So, she would celebrate with the kitchen staff once the courses had been distributed to the upper-class.

Giving her his signature goofy grin he watched her face turn red as she nervously walked away. Had he done something wrong again? But as he kept watching he noticed her turn around and give him a petite grin.

It wasn't the only thing he noticed, however. Looking around he could see people, men looking her way. He shifted in his seat, feeling an uncomfortable pinch in the base of his stomach.

He stood up, tapping his glass getting everyone's attention. Everyone's attention away from her.

Clearing his throat he opened his arms gesturing to the crowd in front of him and began speaking.

"I would like to welcome everyo-"

There was a large crash as he felt liquid and food tumble all down his face and shirt. Looking up he saw a woman standing in front of him with a look of death in her eyes.

***_8

The loud clang echoed through the room.

"YOU KILLED HIM!" followed by a whimpering sob Hinata looked over to see a woman, now being held back by a few guards while struggling to release herself from their grip. Her head was currently hunched, but Hinata could see tears dripping off her chin, along with a thin trail of blood. When she looked up again, she saw the blood had come from biting her bottom lip. But it was the intensity in her eyes that caught Hinata's attention next. Hatred, almost glowing with it.

Looking over at Naruto soaked and covered in food. The loud clang having been the platter that now laid between them. His eyes did not greet her with the same hatred. They were sad, devastated. He did not move to resist her, he merely stood there taking every poisonous word and violent gesture made in his direction. It made Hinata's heart twist in knots.

Why wasn't he doing anything? She thought. It was immediately followed by, why am I not doing anything? She tried to move, but for some reason she couldn't interrupt, nor intervene. She didn't have the right, she didn't understand. She was an outsider still. Neither his friends nor anybody moved. They were all outsiders, too.

"YO-… (another sob)… my son…" her voice started to choke up interrupting the sentence. The guards took this pause between violent struggling to start dragging her away.

"YOU KILLED MY SON! YOU KILLED MY SON! YOU KILLED HIM! …" Hinata could still hear the faint shouts of the repeated sentence as she was dragged down the hall.

His eyes were covered by a slight shadow. Standing up he raised his head to reveal a smile.

***_9

His smile reached his ears on both sides. But his eyes were squinted shut, giving what looked like a big goofy grin. His echoing laugh instantly dissipated the tense atmosphere. The party go-ers relaxed and some even chuckled at the Prince's ever cheerful mood. But his reflecting emotions only left the surface unwavering. Those who knew his depths understood that he closed his eyes because they would betray the easy-going façade.

He rested his hand on Sasuke's shoulder still turned towards the audience, "I'm gonna go change, and I leave my friend Sasuke in charge until I return. Hopefully his grumpiness won't ruin the fun, haha!" He let out a small laugh and everybody then turned to talk amongst themselves.

Before Sakura or Sasuke could say anything, Naruto turned and walked out the exit.

Watching his back disappear past the velvet curtains, Hinata put down her pitcher and slipped back into the kitchen.

***_10

She tried walking to his bedroom door at first. But as she turned the corner, she saw the guards standing on each side of the entrance. Their facial expressions relayed that they were not letting anyone past.

Curtsying her way backwards and out of sight, she looked for another way in. There was only one door into the room, so I guess windows it is. She had scaled the castle once before, so what's a second time, right?

Finally making it to the closest window from the adjacent room balcony. She crouched in the window sill rain dripping from the tips of her hair. Looking up, she knew where he was sitting; a flash of lightning confirming his position. He sat on the edge of his bed facing her. But his head was slumped down and his hair covered his eyes. He was silent. Knowing she was there, but showed no movement acknowledging her presence.

She came down from the window sill and stood there now knowing how to approach. She had never seen him like this, and it made her heart ache.

That's when she saw it, a small twitch at the side of his mouth as he clenched his teeth. He was trying to hold back tears. And without thinking her feet moved towards him. Now standing right in front of him, she began to pick off pieces of food that still stuck to his hair. Her hands then moved shakily, but tenderly down the side of his face as her fingers brushed against the scars on his cheek. She hadn't noticed before, her focus fixated on his face, but somehow his hands had found the edge of her apron and were clinging on tight.

She could feel small drops of rain water slither down her fingers. But when lightning had struck once again, she realized it wasn't that her hand was already wet from the rain, but as she had cradled his cheek in her palm his tears were rolling onto her fingers. In one swift movement she hugged him. She hugged him tight. Every part of her being wanted to protect him, shield him from harm, show him he wasn't alone. But all she could do was hug him. She couldn't take away his pain, but hopefully she could take some of the burden.

For the longest time they stayed that way.

His tears had long since dried and he grabbed the side of her arm loosening her grip around him. Looking up he gave her a weak smile, and without a word went into the bathroom to wash up.

She stood there frozen until the door clicked shut and she fell onto her knees. How weak she was. He could brighten up the room with a single smile. And she couldn't comfort with a single hug. But she would keep being there for him. He didn't need her, she knew that. And she tried to dissipate any selfishness in her heart. But she hoped with this bit of comfort, she could squeeze some memory of herself into his heart. He had already taken up a good share in her own.

She stared down at her hands as the small droplets blurring her vision dripped onto her clenched knuckles. She couldn't shake the aching pain in her chest. Next time, she would be stronger for him.

***NOTES

There you have it friends! Finally was able to go through and edit! I am so excited to reveal more and more into the story.

Any critiques you have would be amazing!

Like I said, this is my first story and feedback is definitely helpful.

A new story might be in the works as well, if you like what you see (wink* wink*), then let me know if I should move forward! With both stories of course, I can't give up my first born, but I was thinking of adding another idea.

Thanks for your reads, and supports.

Much love,

Curry Paste ***_