Hey friends, welcome back! Thanks for all your nice words of encouragement.
Just a note, may have to skip the update next week-my inlaws are in town! Eeek! But will update the weekend after. :D
Chapter Seven: The Art of Deception
Hinata takes another sip of tea, just to have something to do. She has so much she wants to say, and no idea of where to start…
"So…" Hinata says at last, once the tea is poured, "do you—"
"Babe, I can explain," Naruto blurts out. "Sasuke and I are—" He can't finish; Sasuke elbows him in the gut.
"Ooooh," he moans," I think I might barf."
Hinata blinks at them. "I j-just wanted to know if you'd like h-honey." She glides the honey pot across the table. No one takes it. She sighs.
"I can explain," Naruto begins again, but this time, Hinata cuts him off.
"You don't need to. The only th-thing I w-want to know is…" She takes a deep breath. Releases it slowly. "How long have you been keeping this from me?"
There is a sharp pause before Naruto begins his tale of woe, spoken with dewy eyes, while Sasuke sits still and impassive as stone beside him.
After the war, he and Sasuke had renewed their friendship, after their own fashion, while contending for the title of Hokage. It was after Naruto's engagement to Hinata that the trouble with Sasuke began: Sakura was pursuing Sasuke more earnestly at the time, and the more she pushed, the more belligerent Sasuke became. Until Sasuke hit Sakura.
Any ninja can take a slap to the face. But Sakura and Sasuke had a history. He had tried to kill her, more than once. In Naruto's mind, it was unforgivable, and he confronted Sasuke about it. Sasuke retorted that he didn't care what Naruto or Sakura thought about him; he didn't care about anyone.
That's when Naruto lost it and attacked, all snarls and fists and teeth, and Sasuke fought back with equal passion.
"Then somehow…somewhere…it became something else," Naruto mumbles, looking down at this hands.
Hinata is silent. She gazes wistfully out of the dark window, remembering when they had come home victorious from the war; how Naruto and Sasuke had fought viciously for the title of Hokage.
As a high-ranking Hyuga (for whatever that was worth) she had attended the counsel meetings weighing the two contenders.
"The problem with Naruto," Sasuke had drawled, "is that he has no manners. No training in political subtlety."
Naruto had ground his teeth, but before he could respond, Tsunade chimed in: "So I suppose attacking all five Kage at a summit and assassinating Konoha's acting Hokage shows that you have manners and political subtlety?"
"Don't say that," Naruto interceded, voice gruff and eyes flashing. "That's all in the past, granny."
The meeting progressed in a similar pattern—the more Sasuke strengthened his position, the more Naruto had weakened his own. After the meeting, everyone else had left. Naruto sat on the steps to the Hokage's Tower, hunched over as if wounded, while Hinata watched from afar. Unable to bear it, she had forced herself to approach him.
"N-N-Naruto-kun?"
At first, he didn't respond. He continued to sit, head bowed, shoulders slumped. The full moon crested the tower and silvered his profile, making him look even more handsome. Hinata gulped and, before she could stop herself, stood firmly in front of Naruto.
"I c-can help you become H-Hokage," she squeaked.
"There's no help for me," Naruto replied mournfully, not meeting her gaze. "But thanks, anyway…"
Hinata bit her lip. Concern outweighing her shyness, she placed a trembling hand on his shoulder. She reminded herself that she and Naruto had fought zombies, Zetsu clones, and the Juubi side-by-side: there was no need to feel flustered.
"I was raised to be heir to the Hyuga," Hinata explained softly. "I know how politics work. And manners."
"So you don't think I have manners, either," Naruto replied, his head sinking even lower.
"N-N-No!" Hinata protested. "It's just—p-politics are a game—like learning a new jutsu. It just takes p-p-practice." She hoped she was explaining it right.
"…Like a new jutsu," Naruto mused, finally meeting her gaze. Hinata almost died of happiness right there. "And you can teach me?"
Too tongue-tied to respond, Hinata smiled weakly and nodded.
Naruto leapt off the landing with a grin. "Oh boy! Hinata-chan, you're so awesome!"
"Th-th-thanks," she stammered, steadying herself on the railing before she fell over.
"This is going to be great! Hey Hinata-chan—I mean, Hinata-sensei—you want to get some ramen because I'm like totally starving, believe it!"
Woozy, Hinata gripped the railing tighter and forced herself to take a deep breath. "Naruto-kun, when you ask a lady to d-dine, you say, "Excuse me madam, but would you honor me with your presence at dinner?" At Naruto's blank expression, Hinata whispered, "It's part of t-training."
"Training? Ooooh, training. I get it… Er, Hinata-chan, want to go get some honorable ramen…please?"
Hinata had laughed at that until hot tears had rolled down her cheeks. When she recovered, she showed Naruto how to properly escort a lady while walking down the street. Hand tucked into Naruto's elbow as he chattered away, Hinata was starry-eyed and overflowing with joy.
With her coaching, Naruto made a fine candidate. Then, their engagement had sealed the deal: Konoha had never had an unmarried Hokage before, and the fact that Sasuke was single—among all the other strikes against him—propelled Naruto into office.
Hinata smiles wistfully as the memory fades. Those were the days, she thinks. She had felt so useful, then.
Coming back to the present, Hinata realizes that she has been quiet a long time. She turns to regard Sasuke and Naruto, sitting in tortured silence. No one meets her gaze.
She shakes her head, staring down at the table. To think, the whole time Naruto was campaigning, he was literally sleeping with the enemy—it's something right out of Jiraiya-sensei's lewd novels. Hinata heaves a weary sigh, props her elbows on the table, and rests her chin in her hands. She peers at Naruto and Sasuke.
"Just—just figure out a better g-genjutsu," Hinata whispers. "If I can break it, then so can other Hyuga."
Both Naruto and Sasuke's heads snap up. Their expressions would be almost comical, if Hinata didn't feel so miserable.
"You can't mean—you—" Sasuke sputters, then stops abruptly, at a loss for words. It's the first time he's spoken in a long time.
"If Naruto's mistress—er…um…um…I mean, m-m-m-mister is d-discovered," Hinata stammers, "it will be the end of his p-political career." Hinata looks away from them and down at her reflection in her teacup. Distorted in the steaming water, Hinata thinks her face looks bloated, her eyes too large and too sad, like a fish caught on a hook.
Sasuke stands abruptly, his eyes flashing. "But what about you?" he demands, smacking the table with a fist. He opens his mouth to say more, but Naruto slaps a hand on his arm to stall him.
"I'll be f-f-fine," Hinata mumbles, eyes downcast, fingers clenched together. She takes a deep breath, forces herself to look them both in the eye. "Sasuke-san, y-you m-mean everything to Naruto-kun. I won't t-take that away from him."
Sasuke falls back into his chair, stunned. In the ensuing silence, it occurs to Hinata that Naruto and Sasuke are very much alike: the former needs everyone to adore him, while the latter pushes everyone away, out of fear, or guilt, or shame, Hinata isn't sure. At their core, they are both wounded, and alone.
She isn't enough to fill that void in Naruto. He needs Sasuke. They're good for each other, Hinata tells herself; she convinces herself that she is happy that everything is out in the open now.
Sasuke looks like he is about to protest, but just then the children burst in through the door. Their faces are covered in ice cream smudges; they do not carry any grocery bags.
"Sorry," burps Jiraiya, "they were out."
"We're just going to bed now," says Minato, smiling brightly, his teeth stained with chocolate.
Hinata chuckles despite herself. Ninja children. They can hit the bulls-eye every time at kunai practice, but they still haven't mastered the art of deception. At that thought, Hinata's smile dies and her eyes well up with tears.
She hopes her boys never grow up. That they never lie to her—really lie, like grown-ups do.
"I'm leaving," Sasuke says, his quiet voice almost drowned out by the sharp scrape of his chair.
Without another word, he stomps off towards the door. Hinata's brow furrows. Is Sasuke angry, of all things? Hasn't she given them everything they wanted?
"Thanks for coming to dinner," Hinata calls after him, but the words sound hollow, even to her.
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