The clink of silverware never felt so deafening to Hinata until her families weekly nights out to eat. It happened every Wednesday at six pm at a fancy little place her father frequented during business negociations with his clientele. Hanabi and Neji sat at a round table with her between them and her father across from her. Nobody had their heads up, all down and distinctly focused of eating their food and getting through with the dinner without making a scene.
Hinata started getting that light headed feeling and sweaty palms as she always did mid dinner, or any thime her nerves were becoming frayed. She tried to keep her darting eyes from moving past her plate, a salad topped with fried tofu. Meat always did upset her stomach after all, she had to be thankful her father still remembered.
With her fidgeting getting the better of her, she pulled her nervous orbs away from dinner to stare around the table. To urge to run and faint was strong this night. Maybe it was her father's growing interest on her late night trips to 'school' or 'her project partners' home.
Milky eyes wavered to the strict, squared shoulders of her father as he took another bite of his salmon. Hinata bite the inside of her cheek as she already felt her nerves crack.
Sometimes the teenager felt like keeping silent of her and Neji's nightly activities at the night club and her vocal training with Sakura was too much to bare. When her father stared down at her on nights Neji would escort her to her 'friends' home Hinata would look away and prey she doesn't let a clue slip.
She knew it was necessary, to hide the truth from her father. Hiashi was a man with harsh rules and rigorous schedules he liked his charges to keep. He believed in honor and destiny and to Hiashi, Hinata was destined to be the daughter he groomed into a useful tool for marriage. She was no heiress. Hinata believed he decided long ago she was unfit to run her families corporation.
Hinata swallowed a thick lump in her throat as she pushed the thoughts aside.
A foot tapped her ankle gently. Turning her gaze to her cousin's concerned one she gave a tiny smile and shook her head. She was alright. She wasn't going to crack, Hinata just had to take a breath and glue herself back together so the Hyuga Head didn't no notice what even his aura does to his eldest.
It wasn't that Neji didn't trust her in keeping the truth from her father, she knew the trust they had in each other was far greater, but he knew what secrets did to her when in the presence of Hiashi pressuring gaze.
Hanabi watched the exchange between the cousins, uninterested, as she sipped her green tea.
It's been about a week now and the Hyuga girl still held a vice on her lips.
"How has school been?" Hiashi started suddenly though the edgy air around the family. Hinata jumped ever so slightly at his voice. Even if it was a quest he asked ever Wednesday during dinner. Settling her eyes back to flitting to her father's nervously, she sighed.
Under the table pale hands twisted the black cloth napkin.
"It h-has been f-fine Father." She murmured.
"Any troubles?" he poked at the fish on his plate uninterested.
Hinata shook her head opted not to use her voice. Of course she had troubles, but none she could speak about with this man.
"We are as untroubled as last week Uncle." Neji's voice joined into the interrogation.
Hinata saw the cross look that appeared on her father's face and gulped. The napkin in her hands twisted tighter.
Neji couldn't see his uncles expression, his long hair draped over his shoulders and blocked the older man from his clear lavender eyes. Neji's own eyes were hard set and centered on her in tense displeasure. She furrowed her brow in silent understanding, but wanted to beg him not to say another harsh word.
The awkward family dinner in the dimly lit setting was starting to snowball she reflected. In spite of her cousin speaking out of line, surely Hiashi wouldn't dare to raise his voice in such a public setting. No, she thought as a calming sigh left her ans her shoulders relaxed over her straight back. Her father would not make a scene.
Her fork went back to picking at her tofu.
Hinata was right and as soon as the tension rose, it fell to a manageable level as he focused his attention back to her.
"Speaking of school…this project of yours has kept you from home well past your curfew Hinata. I am displeased. Prey tell what sort of foolhardy project has taken up your time." He questioned.
Pale hands dropped their fork and watched it clatter noisily to her plate.
Oh…..
In Naruto-kuns own words: 'Oh crap.'
Neji and she had never really planned that far ahead. They hadn't even thought of the faintest idea that her father could get curious. She jerked her head up to face her father with wide, shocked eyes as she felt Neji's on hers. He must be thinking along the same lines as she because he opened his mouth to say something. But what came out was her voice, shaky, but completely sure of what she was talking about.
"I-It's about…w-well um—" she gulped again.
"It's a sociology project!" The idea flowed out of her like water. Oh god what was she saying.
Neji gapped at her, but she continued on because if she stopped now surely her father would catch her in her lie.
"Abo-about the effect mu-music has on p-p-people! Pe-people wi-with social anxiety and such…." For a moment, Hinata had to give herself a figurative pat on the back. It was brilliant just as well as completely full of crap.
Neji knew it and still, he continued to gap.
Cold sweat gathered at the back of her neck as she smiled awkwardly towards her silent father.
There was silence as she watched him process her words before turning his head back down towards his food to mutter a muted:
"I see."
That was all he said for the rest of the evening.
The walk to school with Neji was a comfortable normality that allowed her the time the calm her raging emotions still swirling through her mind from the night before. The fact she lied straight to her father's face still a fresh wound in her heart. Guilt washed so easily over Hinata she practically ran out the front gates of the Hyuga manor at the sound of the patriarchs foot falls behind her.
Neji too, still seemed to be in a state of shock and would often send her concerning looks to make sure she hadn't died from over thinking.
"Hinata-sama…" he tried to start, but Hinata looked up at him with a struggling smile as she put a hand on his arm.
"Neji-nii…I-I'm ok, really." She murmured. "I can't jeopardize this because I c-can't keep a secret."
"…I'm sorry you had to do that Hinata-sama…" the tall boy spat in loathing. She pat her cousins arm as they walked past the school gates.
"I have to go meet with Ryo today before class starts ok?" she changed the subject. Neji raised a brow questioningly.
"H-He wanted to talk t-to me." She reassured. "You h-have a test today N-nii-san, go ahead of m-me."
"Meet me and the other's at your next free period then." Neji told her sternly before waving her off."
It didn't take long to find herself in the second floor sophomore hall where the brown haired boy she knew as the nice boy she sang with to be waiting. A smile formed on her lips as she watched him lean against the wall and crossing his arms before shaking his head and standing up, straight as a pillar.
"Ryo-san!" she greeted softly and she watched his cheeks go pink and grin. The boys blush was infectious as she found her own face warming. They stared at each other in an awkward few moments before giggling to themselves.
"Uh hi Hinata-san…" Ryo scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"H-hi." Hinata murmured too.
There was another bout of silence and nervous fidgets.
"So uh…How's the vocal training going with Sakura-senpai during the other's performances?" he finally asked.
"T-There going w-well…Sakura-chan says I have a v-very sm-smooth voice." She smiled shyly.
"Yeah…When you sang Radio Love you didn't really have a rasp or anything like Ino-senpai, and it was pretty controlled compared to Sakura-senpai's." The boy nodded to himself. Hinata thanked him and for a moment the two enjoyed small conversations about music, the club and his role as a backup performer, and the main cast.
Sasuke, she learned from Ryo's inside information, actually really hated singing and preferred to play his brothers old guitar. Said brother actually being the part time bartender at the club she had noticed looked suspiciously like the boy attached to Sakura at the hip.
Shikamaru is childhood friends with Ino and is usually the one she goes running to when she wants to complain.
Sakura once punched Rock Lee and her cousin when they accidentally walked in on her changing clothes.
And Naruto, Hinata's heart beat just a bit faster when he came up into the conversation. Ryo said he was a beast on the drums and had a voice just as powerful. He is childhood friends with both Sakura and Sasuke.
Hinata confessed to wanting to ask more, but Ryo admitted he only knew a bare minimum. He wasn't a regular guest at the club since he had other responsibilities and school. She didn't mind.
Just then, the warning bell for first period rang and broke the two out of their conversation. Hinata looked up to one of the walls above a row of lockers to the clock.
"W-we should go to class." She said a little disappointed. Ryo sadly agreed and she waved her good bye before starting to walk past him. However, a cool hand grasp her around the wrist softly. She gasped and turned her head curiously to the boy with a flush.
"R-ryo?" she question before he let her go.
"I-uh…I wanted to ask if you wanted to go to the club after school…with me." He shuffled his feet. Hinata turned fully to him then, a bit nervous. She would have to call her father.
"If I m-may, why?" she asked.
"Well uh, it's usually the duty of the new employees to clean up before they open and well…everyone but me can't come after school because of something else. Inuzuka has to go pick his dog up from the vet, Aburame is picking up a new DJ stand, and well…the girl who you kinda replaced was fired."
"O-oh…" she stuttered before nodding. "Then i-its only right I c-come to help, I'll be sure to tell Neji-nii so I c-can call Father and w-we can all go together." She promised before walking towards her first class.
As promised in her next free period Hinata scurried down the stairs towards the first floor where juniors and seniors usually were. The Hyuga hummed happily at the thought of meeting up with her friends, a novel concept, then possibly seeing then for lunch again after the break.
Midway through her journey downstairs Hinata felt the heel of her foot slip from the edge of the stairs. She let out a shocked gasp as she once more found herself in the familiar predicament of lurching in a way not at all good for someone about to fall down half a flight of stairs.
"Gyah! Don't worry Hinata-chan, Naruto is here to save you!" A familiar shriek echoed through the stairwell. With another flash of bright colors there was a firm, warm arm wrapping around her. On instinct her own arms reached out towards the blond boy before her and grasped the fabric at his chest, face heating up immediately.
Naruto, once again saved Hinata from a nasty fall she realized as she looked up into bright blue eyes. There is a moment where they just stand and stare as the arm around her tightens before a laugh rumbles through the chest she leaned against.
"We've got to stop meeting like this Hinata-chan." Naruto laughed and guided her down the steps happily.
"N-naruto-kun, w-whay are you…"
"Ah, Neji told Shikamaru here to come get you." Naruto pointed to the spiky haired youth whom she just now realized was there and waved.
"I-I see but—"
"I tagged along, 'cause I couldn't wait to see you!" Naruto cheered as the other boy rolled his eyes and lead them down a hallway. All the way Naruto talked and talked about mindless topics as Hinata blocked everything out except for his voice.
Naruto's arm never left her waist even when they entered the room she recognized as the chorus room.
This damn story…..ugh, this chapter was painful to finally finish, actually, I probably could have made it longer, but it was going to be a rushed, ugly mess either way…But it's late, this chapter was long overdue, and I mostly BS'es it. Next chapter with have a little shock and a concert~
I kinda just want to get this story over and done with.