That night, Ai had a dream. He was running through the forest at night. Someone was chasing after him, or was he chasing after someone? He couldn't tell. All he knew was, Hinata was in trouble. He was vaguely aware of gashes running up and down his body. Blood stained his clothing, and left a trail behind him. His vision was beginning to swim; he had lost too much blood. But despite all this, he kept running towards whatever unknown goal lay ahead. He ran forever, yet didn't get anywhere. It was the same as in most nightmares, where you are being chased and yet can't seem to gain any ground, no matter how fast you run. Ai always felt it was like running under water. It was terrifying.
Finally, he reached a clearing. Storm clouds were beginning to form in the sky. Ai could tell by the swiftness they overtook the moon and stars that it was going to be a bad storm. Just as Ai reached the middle of the clearing, a kunai landed in the ground right in front of him. Ai stopped and looked around him, trying to tell where the knife had come from. His eyes stopped on a figure emerging from the trees in front of him. The man -- he knew it was a man for some reason -- was completely shrouded in a long black cloak. He began to chuckle, then laugh maniacally as Ai stared at him horrified. There was a flash of lightning. Suddenly, Hinata appeared beside him. Ai caught her as she fell to her knees. She was in even worse shape that he was. Her jacket had long since been torn to shreds, and blood was matted in her hair. She began to cough up blood.
Ai looked at the cloaked man with murder on his mind. The man's face couldn't been seen, but Ai knew he was grinning from ear to ear. He stepped out of the trees, and began walking towards Ai and Hinata. Hinata clung to Ai's shirt and began to cry. She mouthed something, but Ai couldn't hear what it was. All he could hear was insane laughter. It grew louder and louder as the man approached A sword appeared out from underneath the man's cloak and gleamed despite the lack of moonlight. There was another flash of lightning, and for a split second, Ai could see the man's face. His features were unrecognizable, but the thing that had the biggest impression on Ai, the thing he remembered most when he woke up screaming, were his cold, piercing green eyes.
Ai woke and stifled a scream into his pillow. He had broken out in a cold sweat and was breathing heavily. He sat up and sat on the edge of the bed, burying his face in his palms. That had been the most vivid nightmare he had ever had. He could hear the man's laughter like he was right there. He could smell the blood that pooled on the ground. He could taste his own fear...
And those eyes. They were so foreign, and yet so familiar. He had never felt that much blood lust in one person before.
A soft moan brought him out of his trance. He looked over at Hinata, still asleep with a small smile on her lips. Ai smiled and bent down to kiss her. She made him feel so at peace. Despite all his worries -- about the upcoming battle, his parents' origin -- as long as he knew that Hinata would be there for him, he wasn't afraid of anything. He felt that he could even take on Naruto, the hero of Konoha and the entire ninja world, the chosen one, and the future Hokage.
Ai kissed Hinata one last time and made to leave. It was still early and Hiashi wouldn't be up for another couple of hours. He did not want to be discovered in Hinata's bedroom when her father woke up.
"Are you leaving, Ai-kun," Hinata said sleepily. Ai turned around to see her staring at him with heavily lidded eyes. He smiled warmly and sat back down on the edge of the bed.
"Yea, I think it's best I go home now. Wouldn't want to be found in your bed, now would I? God only knows what your father would do to me..." Ai cringed at the thought. Hinata giggled.
"Yes, that would be best. Neji-nii-sama would also be very angry if he found you here." Ai chuckled at that. For all their differences, and for all the tension between the branch and main family of the Hyuuga, Neji and Hiashi were almost identical when it came to Hinata's protection.
Ai stared into her eyes and suddenly felt like he didn't care about Neji or Hiashi. He didn't care if they found him in her bedroom. He never wanted to leave her side. But he knew better.
"I will see you in the morning, Hinata. Get some more sleep. I love you," he said as he left. Hinata yawned and closed her eyes, half-asleep already.
"I love you too, Ai-kun..." she trailed off as she fell back into sleep.
For the next couple of days, Ai was on cloud nine. Not even the rigorous preparation for the upcoming attack could break his spirits. Hinata never left his side. They spent all day together, helping Tsunade and Gaara organize a defense, and at night, Ai would sneak back into her bedroom and curl up next to Hinata. Ai had the dream several times again, but dismissed it as anxiety for the battle to come. He wasn't about to let a recurring nightmare ruin his happiness. In fact, their happiness seemed to be rubbing off on others as well. Two days after Ai and Hinata's first night together, Naruto and Sakura announced their engagement. Hinata had been delighted at this news and her, along with Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru, had thrown the two a big party in celebration. To Ai's surprise, he had been invited to the party. Ai had graduated from the academy a year before the other's, and had never really been invited to any of their fun.
The night of the party, Ai and Hinata showed up at Naruto and Sakura's apartment. Most everyone was already there. Neji and Shikamaru were playing shogi in the corner, while Choji and Naruto were having a contest to see who could eat the most ramen in one sitting. Lee was busy trying to impress Tenten by bench-pressing the couch that Ino and Sakura were sitting on. Shino was being his usual self, standing in the corner, not really talking to anybody. Sai was off to himself, sketching on a scroll. Kiba seemed to be a little distant too, as he sat by the window by himself, stroking Akamaru's ear. The dog was sitting outside in the bushes because he was too big to fit in the crowded apartment.
Hinata sat down with Sakura and Ino, who was admiring the ring on Sakura's finger, while Ai went and cheered on Choji and Naruto, who seemed to be holding his own against the pudgy nin. After a while, the two decided on a draw, and Choji went to go sit down with Ino. Naruto sat down with his new fiancée, and Ai took a seat next to Hinata. Kiba shifted uncomfortably at the window.
"So," Sakura said to Ino, "when are you two gonna tie the knot?" Choji looked away embarrassed and Ino turned red. Naruto laughed.
"Come on, Sakura-chan. Let them be. I'm sure Choji has it all planned out, right?" he said with a big grin. A vein popped out on both Ino and Choji's forehead, and the two seemed to fight against the urge to punch him. Ai and Hinata laughed nervously. Sakura looked at the two with a big smile.
"I'm so happy for the two of you," she said. Ai scratched the back of his head while Hinata curled up closer to him. He could tell that she was embarrassed, but still happy.
After a few hours, Kakashi, Yamato, and Iruka showed up. Iruka and Yamato were busy congratulating Sakura while Naruto was busy scolding Kakashi for being late. Shortly after, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro knocked on the door. Kankuro joined Neji at the shogi table while Gaara gave Naruto and Sakura his blessing. Temari seemed to disappear as soon as she got there. Ai couldn't help but notice that Shikamaru also seemed to disappear.
Tsunade eventually appeared, half-drunk already, with a nervous looking Shizune behind her. Shizune tried her best to get Tsunade to come back to the office, but Tsunade only said that after all the preparation for the invasion, she needed to let of some steam and proceeded to down another bottle of sake.
After another couple of hours, things began to wind down. Kakashi, Yamato, and Iruka helped Shizune carry a sleeping Tsunade back to her office. Sai had disappeared long ago. Gaara and Kankuro, along with Temari, who reappeared suddenly looking rather flustered, left shortly after saying that they had to return to Suna the next morning to gather any available troops. Lee left to meet up with Gai for some midnight training. Kiba left without a word. The remaining people broke up into their own little groups. Hinata went with Ino, Tenten, and Sakura. Ai, Naruto, Neji, Choji, Shino, and Shikamaru, who also reappeared suddenly muttering "troublesome" under his breath, stayed in the living room.
"So, Shino, what's up with Kiba?" Naruto asked getting right to the point.
"Jealousy."
"Huh?"
"Geez, Naruto," Choji said, "you can be so dense sometimes. Kiba is jealous." Naruto stared at him confused. Ai, however, finally realized what was wrong with Kiba.
"He's jealous because I'm now with Hinata," he said with a sigh. Choji also let out a sigh, while Shikamaru muttered "troublesome" a few more times. Shino just shook his head disapprovingly.
"You've gotta be kidding me!?" Naruto exclaimed. "Ai..., you're going out with Hinata?" Everyone except for Shino fell to the floor. Naruto really was an idiot.
"Y-yea, Naruto, I'm going out with Hinata," Ai said as he stood back up. Neji cleared his throat and walked over to him. The tension mounted as Neji stared Ai down. None of them wanted to be in the room right then.
"It is my duty," Neji finally said, "to protect Hinata-sama." Ai was starting to get really nervous.
"That means," Neji continued, "I must make sure any man she is close too, will not do anything to allow harm to come to her. I must make sure that he can take care of her and protect her." Choji, Naruto, and Shikamaru started to slowly back away while Shino pulled his hood a little farther down.
"And I think that you... can do just that," Neji concluded as he pated Ai on the shoulder. Ai breathed a sigh of relief.
"However," Neji mentioned, "just because you have my approval, does not mean you will receive the same from Hiashi."
The task of trying to gain Hiashi's approval unnerved Ai, but he decided not to let it bother him at the moment. He would deal with him when he had too. For now, Ai was just going to enjoy himself. Everyone settled back into conversation, and Ai was starting to finally feel like one of the group. After a while, he noticed that something was missing. He decided to ask about it.
"Naruto, where exactly is Sasuke?" Naruto looked at Ai and grew sullen. Everyone else looked angry. Ai had the feeling that he touched upon a sensitive subject, and regretted asking.
"He, decided not to come," Naruto answered sadly. Neji cleared his throat angrily. Shikamaru muttered something that sounded like "dirty traitor." After killing Itachi, Sasuke and his group had joined with Konoha in eliminating the remaining Akatsuki. In fact, he and Naruto had dealt the final blow to Pain. Due to his help, and the fact that he also took out Orochimaru, Tsunade had granted Sasuke amnesty. He had returned to Konoha expected to be a hero. However, he was shunned by everyone except for Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi. So in the past few months, Sasuke had become more and more distant from the rest of the village. Ai personally thought that everyone was being stupid. Sasuke had only gone to Orochimaru so that he could kill his brother. He had never done anything to harm Konoha. In fact, he had done the opposite. He had done a great thing for the village by killing Orochimaru and Pain. But some people just never learn.
It was when everyone was preparing to leave that there was a knock at the door. Naruto answered it and stood in the doorway shocked. It was Sasuke.
"S-Sasuke! I thought you said you weren't gonna come?" Naruto asked.
"Idiot," Sasuke replied with a smile. "You think I'd miss my best friend's engagement party? You're a lot dumber than you look."
"And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Naruto growled. Sasuke just laughed and stepped inside. He stopped just inside the apartment while everyone stared at him. Choji, Ino, Neji, Shikamaru, Shino, and Tenten left without so much as a "goodbye." Saskue sighed sadly while Sakura put a hand on his shoulder. Ai wrapped his arm around Hinata and stood there uncomfortably.
"I'm glad you came, Sasuke," Sakura said. Naruto came and put an arm around his shoulder.
"Yea, me too." Sasuke put an arm around Naruto's shoulder and smiled.
"What are brothers for?" The two smiled at each other. Ai looked at the three standing there. Naruto and Sasuke standing side-by-side with Sakura clinging to Naruto's arm. Team 7 was finally back together.
Ai felt like he was intruding on a very personal moment and shifted uncomfortably. But he felt better when Hinata squeezed him lovingly.
"Well," Ai finally said, "I think we better get going too." He and Hinata made to leave, but Sasuke stopped him.
"Wait, I need to talk to you, Ai. It's about the guy who's organizing the invasion." Ai stopped dead in his tracks. The man who was organizing the invasion, the man who killed his mother. Ai turned to look at Sasuke. Hinata looked up at him with a worried expression. She squeezed Ai's hand reassuringly, and Ai felt better.
"When I was with Orochimaru, I did a lot of reading on some of his subordinates. One scroll in particular caught my attention. It had information regarding a man named Daichi Akiyama. He was apparently in line to be one of the Sound Four, but lost the position to the flute player Tayuya, which he resented greatly. He was notorious for killing anyone that crossed him, regardless of the situation. A complication with his curse seal affected his mind, causing him to have moments of insanity. While his abilities weren't layed out in detail, the scroll did make note that he possessed a kekkei genkai. It seems he was able to speed up and slow down bodily process in not only himself, but others as well. This should sound familiar."
"Ai-kun, h-how exactly did your m-mother d-die?" Hinata asked.
"Old age," Ai answered after a pause. His mother had only been 34 when she was killed, and yet when her body was found, she was nearing 100. Ai had heard from Gaara that the spy from Suna who died trying to get information also died from old age. So, he finally had a name for his mother's killer. Daichi Akiyama. When Ai found this man, he would make sure that he died as painfully as possible.
"A-Ai-kun?" Hinata asked. She looked at him as though he was a different person. He certainly felt like a different person. Some very evil thoughts had crossed his mind in recent days, and it scared him.
Snapping back to reality, Ai smiled at Hinata and hugged her closer.
"I-I'm fine, Hinata-chan," he said shakily. Hinata didn't seem convinced. Sakura and Naruto also looked worried for him. Even Sasuke looked uneasy.
Truth be told, he was worried himself.
A/N: well im back from a extended break. to the few of you who read and keep up with my story, i apologize. thanks to Zetnnik and x.Nanako-chan.x for the favs and the reviews.
honestly, there really isnt any excuse for three months without updates. sure, i was falling way far behind in school work and i had to make sure i got into college (which i did by the way .), but i was still only being lazy. i wanted to keep writing, but never got around to it till now. however, it wasnt a complete waste. i took the time to work on my artwork and get my new deviantart account started. i also worked on the book im writing.
