Chapter 7:
Busted!
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"Please tell me Neji-nii-san didn't see me kissing Uchiha-san," Hinata asked the blond boy in her kitchen. "Did he see us kissing?"
She looked a little scattered. After all, her cousin just walked in on her and 'the Uchiha' playing tonsil hockey on the couch. Her bangs were sticking up from her big escape from the front room. Her clothes were a little distraught and still had spots of flour. Her hands were going back to her old habit of pressing the pads of her fingers together. Compared to the grinning blond, she looked like a mess.
"You know, Hinata-chan, I probably shouldn't lie to you. When he saw you two, his look was so priceless!" He caught up in laughter. His laughter diminished, however, when he spotted her cowering her head. "Aw, come on, Hinata-chan! I bet he's out there right now thinking of a way to tell you how proud of you he is!"
She reached her arm out to the cookies on a cooling rack. With one in her hand, she looked a little better. "I hope so, Naruto-kun." She took a bite out of the hot cookie then proceeded to fan her mouth.
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Naruto wasn't right though. Neji was in the other room seething. He was glaring at "The Uchiha", byakuugon activated. Though he was brought there by Ino and Naruto, he had no intentions in paying attention to Ino's pleads for him to listen. His little cousin was involved with a guy, and not just any guy.
The Uchiha.
In his thoughts, that counted as, basically, kidnapping and rape. His innocent little cousin wasn't one of those people that had boyfriends. He leaned back on the recliner, eyes still glued to "The Uchiha", even though he wasn't glaring back.
"Sasuke-kun," the pony-tailed girl started, "you should leave the room. Neji won't listen to anyone while you're within sight."
The young man stood, shooting a quick, smug look at his girlfriend's girly-looking cousin. He turned and left the room for the kitchen, leaving the blond and brunette alone.
The Hyuuga prodigy shot an angry look at Ino. "He was going to admit."
Sending back at him her own look, she shot back her reply. "He didn't do anything."
"He was trying to rape her," he hissed.
"The way you 'rape' TenTen after training?"
She caught him. His eyes went frantic for a moment before glaring full on at her. "What did you say?"
She smirked. "Do you rape TenTen?"
"No. I do not."
"Ah, well then, since that's settled, you get to apologize to Sasuke-kun."
"No."
Her smirk fled her face and her features went dark. She stood up and towered over Neji. "You will apologize to him. And you will do so now." She grabbed a handful of his hair and the shell of his ear and pulled him towards the kitchen.
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"He's angry," Sasuke stated, when Hinata asked her question.
"No he's not. He couldn't be mad at you two," the blond boy told Hinata quickly.
"He's not. He's mad at me."
As if by coincidence, Ino entered the kitchen with a bent over Neji's hair in her fist. "Sasuke-kun, Neji has something he wants to tell you," she said without a hint of anger in her voice. "Right?" She looked down at Neji who glared at 'The Uchiha'. She tightened her grip and pulled his hair towards her. "Right?" Her voice was dangerous.
Hinata, standing off to the side and closest to the cookies, had no idea what Ino was doing, but it was; it was working well. Very well. She watched in awe as her elder cousin mumbled an apology. Ino patted him on the head and let go of his hair.
"Good job, Neji. Now, give your cousin a hug so she doesn't feel like you're mad at her."
He shot a glare at the blond and glanced at his cousin, his eyes pleading.
"It's all right, Ino-chan. I'm all right."
"Nonsense." She brushed her off. "Hug her."
Neji glared at Sasuke, internally blaming 'The Uchiha' for his embarrassment. He took a step towards Hinata and patted her on the back. He looked over his shoulder at Ino, who shook her head and kicked him in the back. He was pushed into a hug with his cousin.
"Neji, I know you've been deprived of affection as a child, what you did before was not a hug. What you are doing now, this is a hug." She crossed her arms, a smug grin settling on her lips as she walked over to Naruto and leaned against him.
Now, Neji was crimson with embarrassment.
Hinata stepped out of the hug and towards Sasuke. Her cousin still scared her, even after she became a chuunin. After all, he had threatened her during their first chuunin exams, and he was always better than her at nearly everything.
A few silent moments in the kitchen later, Naruto cleared his throat and broke out in a wide grin. "Can I have a cookie?" he asked.
Hinata nodded and looked at Sasuke with a bashful smile. "Sasuke made them."
Naruto spit out the bite he took from the cookie. "Never mind…" he mumbled under his breath. Ino snatched the sweet from his hand and took a bite.
"Hm… Not bad. Actually, better than not bad. They're good."
Sasuke blushed softly and scratched the back of his head. This was weird. First, Neji, Ino and Naruto walked into the apartment without permission; second, Neji apologized and hugged Hinata; and third, Sasuke was blushing. Naruto nearly looked around to see if the apocalypse was here yet.
Naruto's jaw slacked and he pointed at his used-to-be girlfriend's crush. He looked at her and then toward where his finger so rudely pointed. "What do you mean 'They're good'. You never say anything like that about what I cook!"
"That's because you don't cook. You heat up instant ramen. If I didn't like you so much, I'd probably dump you right now and jump Sasuke-kun," Ino stated matter-of-factly, eyes closed. She took another bite of the cookie. "But, I bet Hinata-chan isn't interested in switching boyfriends anymore." She opened and eye with a sly smirk. "Right, Hina?"
Hinata nodded quickly and felt Sasuke's hand touch hers.
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After about half an hour of awkward conversation later, Sasuke decided to leave, dragging a cursing Naruto behind him while Ino said her good-byes. "I'll make sure he comes back here. You two probably have a little unfinished business left," she whispered into her friend's ear. She winked and tapped her on the nose.
Hinata collapsed into her chair, hand over her eyes, in exhaustion. She heard him sit in the sofa a few steps away. She sat up a little straighter and lay her hands into her lap. "Are you angry with me, nii-san?" she asked him quietly, eyes trained just over his head.
"Iie, however, I wouldn't have been so furious at The Uchiha had you told me of your relationship with him before your… friends told me about it. I am not angry with you, though. It's… complicated." Neji relaxed against the couch, slouching as much as he possibly could before returning to the Hyuuga Estate.
"You mean the way I reacted when I found out about TenTen and yourself?"
"It's possible."
"Neji-nii-san! That's unfair! It's different!" she hissed demurely.
"It is not different. You were angry with me. You didn't talk to me for days, but you did talk to her."
"It is too different," she argued. "You didn't tell me about it and TenTen deserves better."
"Hinata-sama…" he stated as a warning.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Hinata said something quietly.
"Eh?"
"I don't deserve that suffix. It was taken when I moved out of the estate. Remember? You were there when I left and Hanabi took my place. You should know that by now."
"Yes, well, you'll still be Hinata-sama to some of us. You may not be physically as strong as your younger sister, but you are more mentally prepared than she is."
Her cousin stood and moved to the door. "I should go. Take care, Hinata-sama. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
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The rest of the day passed without haste. Hinata's mind did wander throughout the day, but not too far from home. She kept her hands busy while her mind pressed through the mind-boggling beginning of her day. She was cutting, pouring, kneading, and stirring.
By the time a knock on her door broke her from her rhythmic trance, she had a four-course meal completed. She brushed her hands together and rinsed them in running water. She opened the door, expecting an apologetic Ino, though that was probably not going to happen. She wasn't greeted by a 'hey, Hinata! Sorry I'm dropping by so late, but I just wanted to know if I could borrow a such-'n'-such'. Instead, she was greeted with a soft kiss to her lips, not that she minded.
The tall boy who'd kissed her stood up straight, hands behind his back. "Hello, Hinata-chan," he murmured, reaching up with one hand to rub the back of his neck.
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Well, this chapter seemed short to me. What about you?
I tried to make it fluffier, but that failed miserably. My beta even told me so. So, right now, you're stuck with a filler/plot mover for a chapter. I hope you giggled a little like I did, especially at Neji's "don't do anything I wouldn't do" comment. Haha… It just makes you wonder how far Neji has gone.
Hugs & Kisses,
Hotari-chan
P.S.
I got a little italic happy. Can you tell?
