Well guys here's another chapter and to make up for my late update I decided to make this chapie a lot longer….and I mean extremely longer. Now that I'm off on spring break I actually had time to finish and type out this chapter so yippee for Spring Break! Anyways, hope you guys like this chapie!
Also thank you guys for all your kind reviews. The reviews make my day!
Note: I will answer some reviews at the end of this chapter.
hyugaheiress: Miki-chan, disclaimer please.
Miki: double H doesn't own Naruto. Wait, who is Naruto? I haven't met him.
hyugaheiress: Well, he's sort of like Kankuro baka.
Miki: Ewww! I don't like him then!
'..'-thoughts are italicized
"…"-talking
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Cleaning Rooms, Swimming Pools, & A Kankuro-Free Day
Chapter 7
"Ready?" asked Hinata as she grabbed her bucket full of cleaning equipment.
"Yes, Miki is ready mommy," responded the little girl as she grabbed her miniature bucket full of cleaning supplies.
Hinata and Miki were currently standing outside a certain puppet master's bedroom.
Earlier that morning Kankuro had left with Gaara to attend a meeting with the Suna council. Hinata and Miki decided to take this opportunity to do a little "spring cleaning".
It was already noon and the two had managed to clean most of the manor, with the help of some maids of course. The only major room left was Kankuro's. Unfortunately for Hinata, all of the maids refused to go in. They had heard the tale of the one maid who had disappeared in his room for an entire week. They were too horrified to even come near the room.
So now the job was left to Hinata and Miki.
"Mommy, Miki is scared," cried Miki as she latched on to Hinata's leg.
"Don't worry Miki-chan. It can't be that bad in there," replied the lavender eyed kunoichi while trying to reassure herself of what she had just said.
Hinata gripped the handle of the bucket and took a deep breath before she placed her hand on the door knob. She gently turned the knob and pushed the door in. Taking another deep breath, Hinata made her way in, followed by Miki, only to come upon….
"Ahhhhh," they both screamed.
A large, hairy grey rat had scurried past them and out the door.
"Ewwww! The fat man is nasty mommy!" yelled Miki as she tightly hung to Hinata's leg.
"How…how could there be a r…ra…rat when Kankuro-san had just cleaned his room two days ago?" questioned Hinata with slight disgust.
After getting over he rat scare Hinata surveyed her surroundings.
Kankuro's room was beyond the word nasty. His room didn't even look like it belonged to this universe. There was clothes scattered everywhere, junk food that was half eaten spread across the floor, some form of green goop plastered on the walls, an array of purple paint smeared on the furniture, a trail of rat droppings around his bed, dirty underwear stacked on the TV, big balls of dust bunnies near the corner of the room, a pack of cockroaches crawling in and around his bed, and the most horrible stench coming from the bathroom. And this was just half of it, but I'll save you rest of the gruesome details. Let's just say that what I just described was the most sanitary things about his room.
"The fat man's room got dirty fast," stated Miki as she looked around the room.
"Well," Hinata began, "I guess we'll just have to make sure he doesn't get his room dirty that fast this time."
"Right," responded Miki with confidence as she made her way further within the room. 'Daddy will be proud of me for not being scared of the fat man's dirt room.'
Miki tried to make it through the room but there was too much junk that she could barely walk. Suddenly something caught her leg. "Aghh! Something's grabbing Miki's leg mommy!! It's the cookie monster!!!"
"It's ok Miki-chan, it's just the clothes." Hinata pulled Miki out of the pile and motioned her towards the wall. "How about you take care of that goop on the wall while I clean the floor," stated Hinata flashing Miki a smile.
"Ok mommy," replied Miki as she gave her mother a smile.
"Alright then, let's get cleaning," said Hinata as she pulled out disinfectant swipes and some gloves.
5 hours later…
"Finished," spat out an exhausted Hinata.
"Miki is so tired mommy," said Miki as she let herself fall on the floor.
This time it was safe for her to do so since the floor was spotless. It actually even sparkled. In fact the whole room seemed to sparkle. Not only that, but the horrible stench was also gone.
"You did a great job Miki-chan. How about we go buy some ice cream as a reward?"
"Yay!! Ice cream!!" yelled Miki.
"But how about we first take a shower?"
Miki looked at her clothes. They were covered in gunk and god knows what else. "Good idea mommy. I don't want the fat man's germs on me."
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"Mmmm, Miki likes rocky road ice cream!"
Hinata and Miki were making their way back to the manor after they had purchased some ice cream cones at a nearby vendor.
"Mommy you should have gotten rocky road like Miki."
Hinata giggled. "Rocky road is too messy for me," replied the kunoichi as she pulled out a handkerchief to clean Miki's ice cream plastered face. "Besides, I prefer vanilla."
After a couple of minutes of more walking they came upon a group of kids practicing ballet. They seemed like they were currently running through a routine so Hinata and Miki decided to stay and watch.
After the girls finished they both clapped.
"Oh hello," stated a female instructor, "I didn't know we had an audience."
"Hello," replied both mother and daughter in unison.
"What are you all practicing for?" asked Hinata.
"Oh well the kids are practicing ballet for their performance at the Suna festival. Except they're a little bit nervous since they have to perform the routine in front of the Kazekage and his council first."
"Miki wants to do that too!" yelled Miki while tugging on Hinata's pants.
"Are you sure Miki-chan?" questioned the lavender eyed kunoichi.
"Yeah! I want to perform in front of daddy!" yelled Miki with enthusiasm.
"Oh wait, are you the Kazekage's daughter?!" the female instructor asked.
"Well she uh…" Hinata began.
"I want to perform in front of daddy!"
"We would be honored to have the Kazekage's daughter perform with us," smiled the instructor. "In fact Miki-chan can start right now."
"Yay!!!" Miki began jumping up and down.
"Well if Miki-chan really wants too then I suppose so," smiled Hinata as she watched Miki befriend some girls who looked to be around her age. "Oh but she doesn't have the proper clothes."
"That's ok," responded the instructor, "She can just use what she has right now. We'll get her measured for her costume tomorrow."
Hinata nodded and with that made her way to a nearby bench to watch Miki and the others practice the routine. 'Wow, Miki-chan can sure pick up the steps really quick.'
After a couple of minutes the lavender eyed kunoichi's mind began to wander away from the performance while her gaze remained on Miki. 'Miki-chan has sure been through a lot. She's such a sweet little girl…and she's certainly made my stay here a lot more interesting. And Gaara-san has been really good to her even though he's not really her father. But…how much more can this last? After the festival I will be leaving back to Konoha and I don't think father will approve of me bringing back Miki as my daughter. He would probably say how having a "daughter" with out being married would bring shame to the family.' Hinata moved her gaze towards the Kazekage manor that was further down the road. 'But then again, I can't leave her with Gaara-san. He'll be too busy to take care of her. The only person she would see all the time is Kankuro-san and that would just lead to trouble.' Hinata sighed and turned her gaze towards Miki once more.
Before she was able to become engulfed within her thoughts once more she was interrupted by none other than the baka of Suna.
"Hey Hinata-chan, what are you doing here?" asked Kankuro as he made his way towards her followed by (the oober hot) Gaara.
"Oh hey Kankuro-san, Gaara-san," replied Hinata as she stood up. "I'm just waiting for Miki-chan to finish."
"What is Miki doing?" Gaara questioned.
"Oh she's rehearsing for the ballet recital that they will be performing at the festival," responded the Hyuga heiress. She turned to look directly at Gaara and smiled, "Miki wanted to perform in front of her daddy."
Before Gaara could respond Kankuro beat him to it.
"Oh she doesn't have to perform in front of me."
"Um Kankuro-san, I uh wasn't referring to you."
"You're not her father you baka," retorted Gaara.
"Yes I am," replied Kankuro under his breath so his sibling couldn't hear him.
Gaara just rolled his eyes.
Suddenly Kankuro's face lit up. "Speaking of performing…how about Hinata-chan and I perform something at the festival too." Kankuro placed his finger on his chin in a thinking position. "Hmm, let's see…I know!...Let's dance!"
Before Hinata could reply Gaara gave her some advice. "Don't perform with him."
Kankuro shot Gaara a death glare.
"Last time he had a partner, she went straight to the emergency room after the performance."
"WHAT!! Hey it was an accident! It wasn't my fault that she couldn't dance," retorted Kankuro.
"She was a world renowned dancer. It's you who can't dance," informed Gaara as a smirk spread across his face.
"Yes I can! I'll show you!" Kankuro began to dance wildly. He tried to do the most sophisticated dance moves. Keyword: TRIED. He decided to really impress Hinata by doing a big sprint. He jumped really high and…..
landed on a poor defenseless old lady. "Agh! Get him off!"
Kankuro quickly got off, unaware that he had hurt the lady, and continued to dance, while hitting people in the process. With every twirl there was an arm broken and with every sprint there were ribs broken. For other people that is. His little dance number just ended up getting people sent to the hospital.
Hinata just stood there horrified by the scene. "Kank…Kankuro-san please STOP."
"You were that impressed by my lovely dancing huh?" boasted the puppet master as he ended his little dance number.
"More like horrified," snorted Gaara.
"You're just jealous," yelled Kankuro as he did a "whatever" sign with his hand and placed it in front of Gaara's face.
Gaara just scoffed it off.
"Please don't fight guys."
"Ok I won't beat up Gaara, Hinata-chan." The puppeteer looked at Gaara, "You're lucky that Hinata-chan is holding me back."
The red haired teenager just rolled his eyes. 'Like he could ever beat me up.'
"I wonder if Miki-chan is almost finished practicing. It's getting really hot." Hinata sat back down on the bench and fanned herself with her hand.
"Oh yeah, you're not used to feeling the summer heat of Suna. Gaara and I are used to this heat already so it doesn't really bother us."
Gaara looked up at the sky. "But it is unusually hot today."
"I know!" yelled an enthusiastic Kankuro. "How about we go to the pool tomorrow, Hinata-chan?"
"The pool?" questioned Hinata.
"Yeah, it's a public pool though," replied the puppet master, "Seeing as how Gaara refuses to have a pool installed at the manor."
"There's no need for one," remarked the Kazekage. He navigated his gaze towards Miki. "But then again it has been unusually hot. Perhaps we should install one after all."
"That's what I've been saying all along," yelled Kankuro in a "know-it-all" manner.
"Yeah but that was you so I refused," replied Gaara as a smirk spread across his face.
'Damn you Gaara!' thought Kankuro as he gave Gaara a death glare. "Anyways, I don't think we have a meeting of any sort tomorrow. Right Gaara?"
Gaara nodded.
"Yes! That means we can go!" shouted Kankuro.
"Great, I'll bet Miki-chan will enjoy it," responded Hinata with a smile.
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The Next Day…
The next morning Hinata was busily setting up the breakfast table while Miki practiced her ballet in the corner.
As Hinata placed the chocolate chip pancakes on the table Kankuro waltzed into the room.
"Hey Hinata-chan are you ready to go?" The puppet master already had on his dark purple trunks, beach towel draped on his shoulder, and a beach umbrella in one hand and sun tan lotion in the other.
"Um Kankuro-san shouldn't you have waited to change until we got there," questioned the Hyuga heiress as she served him breakfast.
"Yeah Kankuro, you're just going to end up blinding everybody when we walk out into the street," stated Gaara coming into the room.
"WHAT!?" yelled the puppeteer, "They're going to be amazed at what a beautiful skinny body I have!"
"Humph, don't make me laugh," Gaara shot back, as he sat down to eat his breakfast.
"Hey you're fat, fattyman," informed Miki. She was on the tip of her toes poking Kankuro's stomach.
"Don't touch him, he has an infection," stated Gaara in a nonchalant manor.
"Ewww!" screamed Miki as she ran towards Hinata.
After the whole "fattyman" ordeal they sat down to eat their breakfast.
Hinata was the first to finish, since she didn't have that much an appetite this morning, so she made her way upstairs to retrieve her and Miki's stuff.
When she came back downstairs she saw Gaara still seating in his seat reading the newspaper.
"Gaara-san, are you not coming?"
"No, I don't want to go," replied Gaara.
Miki, overhearing this, walked into the room. "Daddy is not going with mommy and Miki," inquired the little girl innocently.
"Don't worry Miki," the puppet master butt in, "Daddy Kankuro is coming!"
Miki's hazel, green eyes widened in horror, "NO!!" she yelled. "I want daddy to come!!"
"I said I was coming already," the puppeteer informed.
With that statement all hell broke lose!
"I want DADDY to come, NOT THE FATTY MAN!!!" Miki began to cry, "WAH!! Daddy doesn't like us anymore!"
"Don't cry Miki-chan, its okay," stated the kunoichi as she tried to pacify her daughter's wailing.
"NO!! I WANT DADDY TO COME WAH!!" she cried out loud.
"Fine," sighed Gaara as he got up from his chair to retrieve the items that he would need for today's outing.
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As they arrived at the entrance of the pool Miki began to get excited.
"Yay!" she shouted as she jumped up and down.
The four stood on a big, wide path that led further down and split in two. The path to the right led to the girl's changing rooms while the path to the left led to the guy's changing rooms. Once one stood in front of the changing rooms there was another path to the left that led you beyond the gated entrance and into the pool area.
"Ok how about we all go change and meet behind those gates on the other side," suggested Kankuro.
Everyone nodded in agreement and so Hinata and Miki made their way down the path to the right. The lavender eyed kunoichi analyzed the area that the pool was set on. There were beautiful long palm trees that followed the path they were on, a nice assorted amount of flowers, and a total of 10 swimming pools. This public pool was certainly more adorned and grand than the ones in Konoha.
After Miki and her mommy finished dressing they made their way around the gate to meet the two sand siblings. Only Kankuro was there however. Gaara hadn't finished changing.
"Wow Hinata-chan, you look so pretty!" expressed Kankuro in an excited tone. He took out his camera, "I knew I would need this," he conveyed as he began taking pictures of the porcelain skinned beauty.
Hinata was wearing a baby blue one piece swim suit that hugged her curves in all the right ways. Miki was wearing a pink one piece swim suit with dark pink frills that traced along her waist line.
"Um Kankuro-san the flash of the light is hurting my eyes."
Just as Kankuro was about to respond a loud amount of squeals emitted through the air. It turns out that the red headed Kazekage had exited his dressing room and was now headed towards his sibling, his "wife" and his "daughter".
As he neared the three a group of girls fainted at the sight of him. Hinata didn't know it was him however, since Kankuro was blocking her view…on purpose that is. It wasn't until he was directly in front of her that Hinata could see Gaara standing there in all his glory.
Gaara had on red swim trunks with black stripes on the sides. The red swim trunks honestly showed his kick ass 6 pack, which was probably the reason he had so many girls fainting and squealing.
Hinata couldn't help but stare, that is, until Gaara caught her gaze. The Hyuga quickly averted her head as a tint of red rose across her face. Thank god it was hot 'cause she could merely blame the heat for her tomato red face.
"Wow daddy, you have muscles!" declared Miki.
"Hey," Kankuro interrupted, "I have muscles too."
A blonde woman who had just happened to be passing by broke into a fit of laughter. "Yeah right, you wish you had muscles." She pointed at Gaara, "He has a 6 pack," she then pointed at Kankuro, "and you merely have a fat pack." And with that said she walked off while trying not to die of laughter.
Hinata, hoping to avoid an argument between Kankuro and Gaara, spoke up. "Ok Miki-chan, let's go swimming in the kiddy pool."
The four then proceeded towards one of the numerous amounts of kiddy pools. They chose the one that was closest to a little rest area, which Gaara took advantage of, as he made his way towards the beach chair and sat down.
Hinata led Miki to the pool but once they got there the little girl just stood there staring at the water.
"Miki-chan, are you okay?"
"Um Miki is scared of the water," informed the little girl in a nervous tone.
"What? But we told you we were going to the pool," replied Hinata as she crouched down to Miki's level.
"Miki thought it was a game."
"Don't be scared Miki-chan, it's just water," Hinata stated in a reassuring voice. "It's the same as when you take a bath."
"But there is a lot of water," conveyed Miki taking a step back from the pool.
Hinata stood up and made her way into the water. The water seemed to reach her knees.
"Come on in Miki-chan," said Hinata in a soothing voice.
Miki got near the water and put her toe in. "Agh the water is cold." She backed away from the pool once more. "No, Miki doesn't want to go in."
Hinata made her way towards the edge of the pool and reached out for Miki. The kunoichi motioned for the little girl to come closer and she did. Hinata embraced Miki and whispered, "It's going to be okay." She then hoisted Miki up and placed her in the pool. The water reached up to her waist, which seemed to frighten her until Hinata cooed, "See, everything it alright."
Miki clung to Hinata's arm but slowly began to lighten the grip as she started to move around the pool a bit.
"Hey Miki," called Kankuro.
Miki turned around to face Kankuro but he wasn't there. All of a sudden the puppet master jumped from under the water and yelled, "BOO!"
"Ahhh! It's the Loch Ness monster!"
"Kankuro!" scolded Hinata. "Stop scaring Miki-chan."
"Sorry Hinata-chan," replied an embarrassed Kankuro.
The porcelain skinned kunoichi turned her attention back on Miki. "Come on honey, go under the water."
"No," the little girl pouted. She then averted her gaze to her father who was sitting on a chair under an umbrella reading a newspaper. "Miki wants daddy to come in here with mommy."
"Um," stated Hinata, "Kankuro, can you tell Gaara to please come in the water."
"Sure Hinata-chan." The puppet master then made his way towards his sibling.
"Hey Gaara, Hinata-chan wants you to come in the water," informed Kankuro.
"I don't swim," Gaara coolly replied.
Kankuro went back to Hinata. "He said that he's scared of the water."
"What? That cant' be what he said."
"It's word for word Hinata-chan."
"Well tell him it's for Miki-chan's sake."
"Ok," he answered as he made his way towards Gaara once again.
"She said to lose it or beat it. She hates you and Miki likes me more."
Gaara rolled his eyes. "Kankuro you know that I can hear her right?"
"Uh," uttered Kankuro before he got hit on the head.
"I'm not that far way from her you baka!"
"Ok, my bad," cried Kankuro rubbing his head as he made his way towards Hinata once more.
"Hinata-chan he doesn't want to."
"Daddy doesn't want to be with me?" inquired Miki as tears began to form in her eyes. "WAH!!!" Tears were now falling down Miki's face while at the same time her crying seemed to become louder.
People around her either covered their ears or moved far, far away.
"WAH!!!!"
Just then a guard appeared next to Gaara. "Um Kazekage-sama, can you please tell your daughter not to cry? She's scaring off people." The guard practically had to yell what he had just said since Miki's cries became even louder, if that's possible.
"Miki-chan please don't cry." Hinata was trying to pacify her daughter's screams but to no avail.
"WAH!! I WANT MY DADDY!"
Gaara sighed. "Fine." He got up from his chair and walked towards Hinata and Miki. Once there he simply stepped into the pool.
Miki had now completely ceased from crying and put on a smile. "Yay! Thanks daddy!"
"Miki," stated Kankuro getting in the pool. "I'll be your instructor."
"Ok fat man," responded Miki.
"Ok, you have to think of this as if it were one huge bath," began Kankuro, "If you can take this you can take on anything," he added as he suddenly splashed her in the face with water.
Miki just stood there shocked, that is, until she began to cry. "Agh!"
"Miki-chan, don't cry," said Hinata.
The puppet master sighed, "This is going to be hard." Kankuro scratched his head for a moment before thinking of, can you believe it, a good idea. "Don't you want your mommy and daddy to be happy?" he asked Miki.
Miki stopped crying and looked back at Hinata and Gaara.
Hinata stood their smiling while Gaara just stood there, arms crossed, and with, if you look really hard, a small smile.
Miki couldn't help but smile. "Ok, Miki will do this for mommy and daddy!"
"Ready," Kankuro asked.
Miki nodded.
The puppet master then splashed her once again with water.
To his relief, and everyone else's, she didn't cry.
"Good, now the last step is to go under the water." Kankuro dove under the water. "See, like that," he stated once he came back up.
Miki nodded, took a deep breath, and dove under. After a couple of seconds under the water she came back up.
"Yay!! Miki did it."
"Miki-chan!! I'm so proud of you," yelled Hinata as she gave Miki a big hug.
"What about me?" inquired Kankuro.
"Thanks you very much Kankuro-san," stated Hinata as she gave him a hug as well.
The puppet master just blushed and hugged her back.
After about five minutes Hinata couldn't help but say, "Um Kankuro-san can you please let go?"
"Oh sorry," apologized Kankuro as he grudgingly let her go.
"Good job Miki," stated Gaara patting her on the head.
"Thanks daddy!"
"Aww, that's so sweet," exclaimed Hinata looking at Gaara.
'Dam you Gaara! You're trying to steal Hinata-chan away from me!' thought Kankuro. Just then the puppeteer heard people yelling "Jump! Jump!"
He looked towards where the noise was coming from. The noise emitted from the biggest adult pool, near a slide called The Exterminator.
People were yelling for the man, who was at the very top of The Exterminator, to jump. The person was too scared though so he made his way back down.
The puppet master then got an idea, a bad one this time. 'Maybe I can impress Hinata-chan with that.' With this silly thought in mind the puppeteer made his way towards the adult pool.
Once there he began to climb the thirty foot high slide known as, The Exterminator.
Meanwhile Miki was still jumping up and down excitedly.
"Well I think that's enough excitement for one day," began Hinata, "It's getting late anyway. Why don't we go home already Gaara-san?"
"Ok," he replied, "But where's Kankuro baka?"
"Look some idiot is going to go down The Exterminator!" yelled a random man.
"Ah please don't let that be our idiot," sighed Gaara. He then turned around only to come upon his older sibling standing at the top of the slide.
Gaara made his way towards the pool, followed by Hinata and Miki.
"I'm going to jump," yelled Kankuro.
"Then jump already," screamed a man.
"I'm going to jump, I swear," yelled Kankuro once again. The puppet master was beginning to get scared once he saw how high he was up from the ground. He didn't really want to jump but he had to do it for Hinata!
"Jump! Jump! Jump!" everyone shouted.
"Miki says to jump fat man jump!"
"Miki-chan calm down," scolded Hinata.
Gaara was beginning to lose patience with his brother's stupidity. "Come down from there you baka!"
"Kankuro-san, please don't jump."
"Ok, anything for you Hinata-chan." As he turned around to go back down the slide, to meet his lovely Hinata, the baka accidentally slipped. This caused him to fall down the slide, instantly hit the water, and sink to the bottom of the pool.
"Baka," grunted Gaara as he dove into the shallow pool to save his dearest brother.
Within seconds the red haired teenager rose from the water with his brother draped on his left arm. Once he was near the edge of the pool, bystanders nearby helped him and the puppet master out.
Hinata then helped lay Kankuro on the floor. "Gaara-san I think we're going to have to use CPR on him."
"Wake up fat man!" yelled Miki as she jumped up and down on him.
This, however, didn't seem to wake the puppeteer.
'Well I guess he really isn't faking it,' the Kazekage thought. "Fine, I guess the only choice it to use CPR."
Little did everyone know that the puppet master had been awake all this time. Well awake, at least, after Miki had jumped up and down on him.
Upon hearing the word CPR Kankuro thought that Hinata would be the one to administer this procedure. 'Yes Hinata-chan will give me CPR and Gaara will be forced to watch…muahahaha. Agh, damn Miki, my ribs now hurt because of her.'
Kankuro felt someone approach his face. He instantly blushed because he thought it was Hinata, but when he slightly opened an eye he saw a guy giving him mouth to mouth.
"Agh…what the f….get off me!" yelled Kankuro while getting up.
Hack. Hack. Cough. Cough. The puppet master couldn't help but try to take the germs off of him. Even through the means of spitting.
"Who are you anyway?" asked Kankuro while wiping his mouth.
The man just looked at him as though he were stupid. One could clearly tell who he was by what he was wearing. "I'm the life guard."
"Ewww the fat man got kissed by another man."
"It wasn't a kiss, it was CPR," yelled Kankuro as he tried to pick up his hand to point at Miki. It just ended with him screaming. "Agh! My arm!"
"Are you ok Kankuro-san?" Hinata knelt down to check his arm. "I think you sprained your arm."
"What?! Owwww."
Hinata turned to look at her "husband". "Gaara-san, we need to take him to the hospital."
Gaara sighed and went to go help his idiotic brother up.
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At the hospital…
"You may come in now," the doctor stated as he motioned for Gaara, Hinata, and Miki to come into Kankuro's room.
They had been patiently staying in the waiting room until they were able to hear the doctor's diagnosis.
The Sabaku no "family" walked in after the doctor. "So how is Kankuro-san doing?"
"Don't worry," said the doctor, "it's just a minor sprain so he'll be okay."
"Ok thanks docty," began Miki, "bye fatty man. We'll see you later," she concluded as she waved at Kankuro.
Miki looked up at Gaara, "Come on daddy." The red haired teenager nodded in return. They both then made their way towards the exit.
"Uh Kazekage-sama, Kankuro isn't going to have to stay here. He's okay, all he needs is some rest," informed the doctor.
"Ha! In your face Miki!" yelled Kankuro getting up from the bed.
Miki stuck out her tongue in return.
"Well I guess we should head back home. Kankuro-san needs to rest." Hinata waved goodbye to the doctor and proceeded towards the exit.
Everyone else followed suit.
The Sabaku no "family" were now on their way home. It had been 15 minutes of peaceful silence. That is until Kankuro opened his big fat mouth.
"Hey Gaara who do you like better: me or Miki?"
"Miki. It's not even close."
"Ha ha told you fat man," laughed Miki.
"Gaara," spoke Hinata in a surprised tone, "You can't choose between your brother and your… erm… daughter."
"He's not my brother," the Kazekage replied. "He's not even my dog. If I had a dog and my dog had a kid and the dog's kid had a pet that would be Kankuro."
"Oooooh can I have a dog Gaara?" the puppet master asked.
"No," Gaara muttered.
"Can Miki have a dog daddy?"
"Sure."
"Hey that's not fair," yelled Kankuro.
Gaara just ignored him and walked even faster.
"Yay!" Miki yelled.
Hinata couldn't help but giggle. She knew that deep inside they actually cared about each other, despite how much they liked to portray otherwise with their rivalry and rude remarks.
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The next day had seemed to go by really quick. It was already late afternoon and Hinata found herself getting into the regular routine more comfortably now.
The lavender eyed Hyuga made her way towards the front door.
"Hey, Hinata-chan, where are you going?"
"Oh hey Kankuro-san. I'm just going to go pick up Miki-chan from her ballet rehearsal."
"I guess I'll come too."
"But you're supposed to be resting Kankuro-san."
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Besides it gets pretty boring up there all alone."
"Ok then let's go."
Both shinobi walked out the door, turned left, and walked in comfortable silence for 10 minutes. That is until they got to their destination.
"Hey mommy," yelled Miki as she ran towards her mother.
"Hello Miki-chan," responded the Hyuga with a hug.
"Excuse me."
Hinata looked up to see the ballet instructor.
"I was wondering if you could take care of the children for a second. I need to go buy them some snacks. The store is just around the corner so I won't take long."
"Sure," replied Hinata.
"A friend of mine named Tatsuki will come and help you in a few minutes," the instructor stated as she ran off towards the store.
"Damn, exactly how are we supposed to take care of them," hollered Kankuro. The lady ignored him and continued to run.
A quick minute later another lady came to greet them. She walked towards them carrying a baby in her arms. "Hello my name is Tatsuki, and I'm guessing you're the help that my friend told me about."
"Correct," stated Kankuro and Hinata in unison.
"Aww, what a cute baby," Hinata held out her arms, "may I hold him?"
"Sure," replied the woman as he handed the infant to Hinata.
The Hyuga heiress couldn't help but fawn over the baby as she cradled him in her arms. She was a sucker for them.
Miki tugged on Hinata's pants. "Miki wants to hold him too."
"Okay Miki-chan, but be very careful." She gently handed the baby to Miki.
"Wow, he's so small and chubby," smiled Miki as she stared at him star eyed.
"Let me hold him," said Kankuro. He grabbed the baby with his one good arm but as soon as he touched him he started to cry.
"Wah!"
"Fat man, he hates you."
Tatsuki grabbed the baby from Kankuro and as soon as she did he ceased from crying.
Hinata couldn't help but giggle, "You were right Miki-chan."
"He doesn't hate me, he loves me!" Kankuro grabbed the baby and it started to cry again.
"Give him back to me," Tatsuki ordered, "You're going to give him nightmares," she added as she grabbed the baby. It stopped crying immediately. "You're not good with kids are you?"
"What?! Yes I am. Children love me; they think I'm Santa Claus." Kankuro turned towards a random kid. "You like me right?"
"Don't make me kill you," the little boy threatened.
"Wow fatty man, everyone hates you."
"Wait, let's see if the baby cries when I do this," informed Kankuro. He looked directly at the baby and covered his face with his hands. "Where's the baby?"
The baby just looked at the puppet master wide eyed.
"There he is!" yelled Kankuro as he uncovered his face.
Kankuro covered his face once more. "Where's the baby?"
"There he is!" yelled the puppet master uncovering his face only for it to be three inches form the infant's face.
The baby began to cry. "WAH!!"
"Stop it fat man, you're scaring him," screamed Miki hitting him on the leg.
The woman merely turned the baby away from Kankuro's sight and it stopped crying immediately. Tatsuki made her way to the group of children that were huddled near a bench. "Alright children, how about I tell you a story?"
"Yay!" the kids yelled in unison.
"No! I'll tell them a story since I love children," stated Kankuro.
Minutes later Tatsuki's friend came back with a bag full of snacks. She stares at the scene before her.
"And then the kid found his family and lived happily ever after. The End," concluded Kankuro.
"That's not a very satisfying ending," informed a little blonde girl.
"It's a happily ever after ending with one big happy family. I can't get more satisfying than that," replied Kankuro as a matter of factly.
"Well then where's your big happy family?" questioned another girl.
"Well are you blind or what? Don't you all see them here?" Kankuro put his arm around Hinata while placing his sprained arm on top of Miki's head. "This is my family."
All the kids stared at him for a moment before they burst out laughing.
"Alright that's enough kids," said the instructor, "here are the snacks,' she added as she placed the bag on the bench. She then turned towards Hinata and Kankuro. "Thank you both very much. I hope they didn't cause any trouble."
"You're welcome. And they weren't any trouble at all," replied the lavender eyed kunoichi as a smile spread across her face. "Well I guess we should be going already."
All three bid the children farewell before they proceeded to make their way back home.
As the three passed a cluster of market vendors an old man suddenly popped out in front of them.
He pointed at Kankuro. "Hey you look like a big fat ugly man," the old man stated as he pulled out a small bottle form his pocket. "I've got this potion that will turn you handsome," he added while staring at Kankuro with disgust.
"What are you talking about," the puppet master shot back. "I already look beautiful. I'm as skinny as a twig."
"Ha ha ha ha," laughed the old man, "I've also got some potion for your poor eyesight my friend."
"Hey mister do you have something to turn the fat man into the Chupacabra?"
"Of course. I've got all kinds of potions." He turned to look at Hinata. "I also have some love potions that would make the person you love fall in love with you. You have some one you like don't you?"
"Um…well…" Hinata couldn't help but blush a cherry red color as she thought of the one person she had always liked: Naruto.
"Hey mister, she already has daddy," stated Miki as a matter of factly.
"What? Oh you mean the Kazekage."
"Yeap, mommy loves daddy this much," conveyed Miki as she stretched her arms wide apart to show the amount of love.
Upon hearing her daughter's statement Hinata blushed so hard that you could almost actually see steam coming out of her.
"No she doesn't!" interrupted Kankuro, "She loves me more!"
"Pardon me, let me introduce myself." The old man took off his disguise only to reveal he wasn't even old but rather a guy who looked to be about 16. He was tall, tan, had grey eyes, and had orange spiky hair. He grabbed Hinata's hand and placed his lips gently on it. "My name is Nakatsu. Nice to meet you, Hinata-sama."
Kankuro screamed, "You freak get away from Hinata-chan."
"Don't worry baka. I'm one of the Kazekage's most trusted and powerful ANBU guards."
"Um…why were you dressed up as an old man?" questioned Hinata.
"Well that was just for fun but the real reason I'm here is to protect ya'll. I mean, the Kazekage's wife and daughter, that is. Kankuro you can just go die somewhere," he grinned while looking at Kankuro.
"Why you…" mumbled the puppet master under his breath.
"Well I'll be keeping my eye on you guys. I'll see you later," he added before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"Mommy that guy was cool," said Miki in an amused tone.
"Well I guess he was but…"
"He's a freak!" spat out Kankuro. "I hate his guts! He treats me like I'm nobody."
"Um Kankuro-san…" stated Hinata as she tried to interrupt Kankuro from his rambling.
"Well one day I'll show him," uttered the puppet master waving his fist in the air.
"Kankuro-san let's go home already."
"Ok Hinata-chan."
------------------------------------------
The following day…
The next day seemed to go by really slow. In fact, Hinata was beginning to get bored. She usually did her same old routine every morning but today was different. Gaara didn't go to work, didn't have any meetings, and didn't have any business trips. This time it was Kankuro who was busy. He had been assigned an A-rank mission the night before.
-----------Flashback----------
"No, I don't want to go!" yelled Kankuro. "My hand still hurts!"
"Kankuro! You need to do a mission for once in your life," stated the Kazekage, "and Hinata-san already healed your arm."
"Ha ha stupid fat man," laughed Miki.
"No, you can't make me!" Kankuro began to run away.
"Guards! Seize him!" the Kazekage ordered.
Five ANBU guards appeared in a puff of smoke and grabbed Kankuro before he could make a get away.
"LET GO OF ME!"
The guards dragged him through the hallway and he was almost completely out of the house before he grabbed the door. They pulled him from his feet but he remained latched onto the door like as if his life depended on it.
"HINATA-CHAN! NO, I CAN'T LEAVE HER ALONE!"
The puppet master was still grabbing onto the door until the five ANBU, with one final pull, managed to get Kankuro out of the house, while breaking the door in the process.
"NO!" he yelled as he was being dragged by the guards on the floor, while still clutching a chunk of the door in his hand.
"Bye Kankuro-san," Hinata waved.
"Bye fatty man," waved Miki while jumping up and down with excitement.
----------End of Flashback----------
"Yay! A day without the fat man! Just daddy!" Miki began dancing around the room before she turned to face her mother. "Miki wants to know if we're going somewhere today mommy?"
"I don't know, Miki-chan," responded Hinata as she finished wiping the kitchen table.
At that moment Gaara walked into the room.
"Daddy!" yelled Miki as she ran towards him and hugging him on his leg.
"Hello Miki."
"Um Gaara-san are we going anywhere today?" Hinata placed her cloth down to look at Gaara. 'It's kind of weird being alone with Gaara-san. Usually Kankuro-san was always with us.'
"I know! I know!" Miki began to jump up and down. "Let's have a picnic."
Hinata looked at Miki. "That's a good idea." She turned to face the Kazekage. "Don't you agree Gaara-san?"
Gaara simply shrugged. "Sure."
"Great, I'll get started on the food right now," stated Hinata making her way to the kitchen.
"Don't worry mommy, Miki has the food already." The little girl ran into the kitchen and came out with a brown hand woven basket.
"Um Miki-chan how did you make the food all by yourself?"
"Well um…I asked the cook man to make us some food because I told him we were going on a picnic," replied sweet little Miki.
Miki handed her mother the basket. "Wow Miki-chan, you planned out everything didn't you?"
"Yup I want to spend time with mommy and daddy alone," smiled Miki. "I didn't want the fatty man to ruin and eat all the picnic food."
"Aw that's so sweet Miki-chan," stated Hinata as she kneeled down to give her daughter a hug.
Gaara just stood there with, can you believe it, a genuine smile.
"Let's go," stated the Kazekage.
"Ok," yelled Miki, "Come on mommy and daddy," she added as she grabbed Hinata's and Gaara's hand. She practically dragged them out the door and towards the park.
As they made their way through the village faint whispers could be heard about the Sabaku no "family".
"Aww they make such a cute family," said a woman to her husband.
"You can tell they really love each other," whispered an old lady.
It was like this all the way to the park. Hinata didn't really mind, that is, until they actually got to the park. Once there everyone kept their eyes glued to the "family".
'This is pretty awkward,' thought Hinata. She was trying not to let the stares get to her. "So where should we set up?"
"Miki says over here!" Miki directed her parents towards a spot under a large oak tree surrounded by a large flower patch.
Both Hinata and Gaara made their way towards the spot. Once there the Hyuga unfolded the blanket and set it up properly.
Gaara sat down on the red checkered blanket and leaned against the big oak tree. Hinata sat adjacent to him while Miki sat opposite of her father.
The little girl began unpacking the lunch. It turned out that the chef had made bentos at Miki's request. The Sabaku no child handed her parents a bento each.
Gaara's bento had a panda with the words "World's Best Daddy" on it, Hinata's bento had a fox with the words "#1 Mom" inscribed on it, and Miki's had a teddy bear with the words "Daddy's lil Girl" under it.
"Miki-chan, where did you get these bento boxes?"
"The maid took Miki to the store with her the other day. The man at the store said Miki could have any thing she wanted for free." Miki looked down at her bento. "So I picked these bento boxes."
"So that's where you disappeared to that afternoon," said Hinata.
Miki nodded. "I also got one for the fat man. It has a picture of a fat pig and it says "fatty Man"," giggled Miki.
Hinata giggled as well. "Well I guess we should dig in before this food goes to waste."
They all then began to eat as one small happy family. The bento consisted of rice, umeboshi, a slice of broiled salmon, a rolled egg, and other delectable items.
After they all finished eating Miki couldn't help but blurt out, "Miki thinks this is the bestest day ever!" Soon after this she ran to the nearby field full of flowers and began to chase the butterflies.
Hinata smiled as she watched her daughter enjoy herself. Just then a gust of wind blew in through the air. The Hyuga felt the breeze run through her hair, sending chills down her spine. The wind seemed to entrance the kunoichi into the concept of "Konoha". 'I…I wonder how everyone is doing in Konoha. What is every one up to? How…how is…Na…Nar…Naruto…doing?'
Hinata was broken from her thoughts by the sound of chattering boxes. She turned towards the sound and noticed Gaara cleaning up the food and the bentos.
"Oh Gaara-san you don't have to do that. Just leave it up to me," said Hinata as she began to pick up the mess.
"Its fine," Gaara responded as he continued to clean up.
After they finished cleaning up Gaara laid down on the blanket with his arms crossed behind this head while he looked up at the sky.
Hinata settled herself in a comfortable position as well. The lavender eyed Hyuga remained sitting with her ankles crossed while her hands supported her from the back. She crutched some of the grass with her hands and felt a cool sensation. It was such a nice day; she could feel the earth's calmness.
The kunoichi causally glanced at Gaara, and noticed him looking at her as well. She quickly averted her gaze to the sky.
It was then that she realized that she was all alone with Gaara. Throughout her stay with the Sabaku no family she had never once been alone with Gaara. Kankuro or Miki were usually always with her so this being alone with him was a first.
'Should…should I say something?' Hinata thought. "Um…," she began, "the sky is beautiful today isn't it?"
The red haired teenager kept his gaze on the sky. "Hum," was his response.
Hinata quickly looked around, trying to get an idea of what else to talk about. She then spotted Miki picking flowers. "Gaara-san, it's very kind of you to be taking care of Miki as if she were your own daughter."
"Hn."
"She really seems to like you too."
"Hm."
The kunoichi traced the grass with her fingers. 'I don't know what else to say.'
'Hey Gaara I've been hearing your whole conversation…and you suck at talking to girls.'
'What do you want Shukkaku?!'
'You should try to say something more interesting than 'Hm'. You're boring her!'
'Nobody asked you.'
Before Shukkaku could respond Hinata interrupted Gaara's inner thoughts.
"Um Gaara-san, I've been meaning to ask where your parents are at?"
"My mother passed away when I was born and my father was killed."
Hinata's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."
"It doesn't matter. I didn't care for them."
"But…but they're your parents. You can't hate your parents." Hinata turned to look at the Kazekage.
"I never really considered them my parents. They didn't mean anything me."
Hinata turned to look back at the sky. "I…I…know how you must feel about your parents. You may not always agree with their methods….but….I don't think I could hate them. Hate is such a strong word."
Gaara sat up while keeping his gaze on the grass. "Can you honestly say that after learning your father hired hit men to assassinate you?"
"I…I….I guess not, but to me hate is still too strong. My father trained me day after day, and day after day I disappointed him. He wanted a strong heir to lead the Hyuga Clan to greatness….but to him I'm just a big failure who will never amount to anything. He compares me with my younger sister, sets impossible standards, and embarrasses me in front of the whole clan, the village, and even my friends." Hinata lifted her knees up to her chest and placed her chin on them. "He calls me weak and unworthy, but despite all of this I still train hard everyday….so one day I can show him that I'm good enough….and prove my existence.
Gaara looked out into the distance. "Existence, huh?"
Hinata slightly chuckled, she felt that she could cry any minute but something made her want to laugh instead, almost cynically. "And even after he makes my life miserable, despite his neglect and disappointment….I still find myself not being able to hate him. Hate is a strong word….but I really really don't like him."
Hinata sighed. "But I guess you don't have that problem right? Everyone here respects you and worships the ground you walk on."
"You're wrong," responded Gaara as he turned to look at her.
"Wh...What?"
"Before I was the Kazekage everybody in this village hated me. They called me a monster. I was all alone…I had no one who could understand what I was going through…so I killed. Everyone ignored me and the only way, I thought, that could prove my existence was by killing. The only person I thought that I could love was myself," stated Gaara unemotionally.
Hinata turned to face the Kazekage. She inched closer to him and stuck out her arm. The Hyuga gently reached out for his forehead. "Is…is that why you have this kanji on your forehead…Love?" She gently traced the kanji with her fingers.
Gaara winced at her sudden touch but then quickly relaxed. "Yes," he simply responded.
Hinata realized what she was doing and quickly pulled her hand away.
Gaara averted his gaze towards the ground. "I only lived to love myself, and no one other than myself…that is until my fight with a certain shinobi. He made me realize that I had been wrong all this time…"
There was a moment of silence. Hinata was speechless…the words seem to hit her hard…she could actually somewhat relate to what he had said.
"Gaara-san," Hinata called.
The red haired shinobi turned to look directly at Hinata. He met her eyes.
"Don't worry, that's all in the past…you have friends who care for you now." Hinata flashed him a smile. "And you have a daughter that loves you," she added with a slight giggle.
Gaara lightly chuckled as a genuine smirk like smile spread across his face.
'Aww Gaara has a crush!
'What the hell are you talking about?!'
'All these years I've been inside of you I've never seen you smile like that. This girl must really mean something to you.'
'What? She's just some girl from Konoha.'
'Yeah who happens to be your "wife". See aren't you glad you took my advice.'
'What advice?!'
'Well I'm just saying…or else Kankuro will take her away from you.'
'That baka couldn't take candy from a baby, let alone Hinata.'
'Well I'm just saying you better make your move or somebody else will take her.'
'It doesn't matter to me, I don't like her.'
'Yeah sure…hey where's the little girl?'
'Huh?'
"Where's Miki?" Gaara suddenly asked as he got up from the blanket.
"Huh?" Hinata quickly turned to the field that Miki had been playing in earlier.
She wasn't there!
Gaara scanned the area but Miki was nowhere to be seen.
Hinata's eyes filled with horror. "MIKI-CHAN!!"
All of a sudden the air was filled with a high pitched scream. "AAAGH!!"
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PLEASE REVIEW!! I hope you guys liked this twenty eight page long chapie. It took me a really long time to come up with this but it was worth it. This chapter was also greatly inspired by Ice Age 2….I'm guessing you noticed some of the similar scenarios...lol.
Miki: Ha ha the fat man kissed another man!
Kankuro: It was CPR!
Nakatsu: The poor man probably died because of your horrible breath Kankuro.
Kankuro: What are you talking about?! My breath smells like fresh flowers!
Nakatsu: Ha I also got some potion for your poor smell my friend.
Miki: No get some potion to turn the fat man into the chupacabra!
-----------------------
Ok and now to answer some reviews from my lovely readers:
WiccaGirl16: Yeah Gaara and Hinata do make a cute couple but then again so do Sasuke and Hinata. Aghh I'm so conflicted…lol…I guess that's why I'm going to have a poll later on. That's too hard a decision to make on my own.
Elsie-neechan: Awesome, I'm glad you feel that way. I'm also glad you like the Kankuro bashing as much as I like putting it in there.
rcr: Yeah! You hate Sakura too?! That's awesome then 'cause you won't have a problem on me bashing sakura.
Ayla Silverfang: Hmm…I still don't know what well happen to Miki yet. I have a couple of ideas but I'm still debating on them. Lol…and don't worry…she won't end up with Kankuro…at least I hope not.
dark wolf on a full blood: La llorona is part of a Mexican tale. It is said that after her husband left her, and only paid attention to the children and not her, she drowned her children along the bank of a river. After she committed the crime she felt guilty and killed herself too. Her soul didn't sleep though since it is said that in the middle of the night people hear her shrills and cries screaming out for her children. God condemned her to live on earth repenting for what she had done and now her spirit wonders around looking for her children….or so that's how the legend goes.
AuroraStarPhoenix: Lol, I'm glad you reviewed for the sake of the Suna. Hopefully they will see Kankuro clean his room again…that's if it doesn't get messy again.
another random writer: Thanks. And I'm glad you reviewed for the sake of Miki-chan!!...lol
Takeira Hansu-Azali : I'm glad you like my story ! And I'm glad you like Miki-chan…and I want a kid like her too…that would be hilarious. I've always imagined Kankuro being dumb too…I mean out of the three sand sibs. I always pictured him to be the dumb crazy one. Oh and I know how you feel…Sasuke or Gaara…? Who's sexier?!. and then, as you pointed out, there's Itachi…it's that battle of the sexiest!!...lol…
DarkPrincessNamine : I tried to make this chapter as fast as I could…out of the fear of the pervy sage coming to kill me!! Ahhhhh! lol
richgirlfore: Hmm..good point, but it's not up to me. It's up to you and all the reviewers. I can't wait to see the outcome!!
darkdemon-kun: Happy you think my fic is funny! And as for Gaara to end up with Hinata, I don't know who will end up with her. It's up to you and the reviewers come the time of the poll. I can't wait!
Minvera: It's awesome that you like the chapter and the fact that everyone is mean to Kankuro. Oh and sorry for not finishing the chapter sooner.
acho0bl3ssU: Lol…yeah Kankuro is annoying…and you can offend him if you want, I don't mind 'cause I offend him all the time…and so does Gaara and Mike-chan…lol.
son13 :I'm glad you love the remarks that Gaara and Miki make to Kankuro as much as I love writing them…hehe.
litteRbug: Yeah the people of Suna are bias…but that just makes it more hilarious because they treat Kankuro like crap in the process. Although, if you notice, Suna only treats Kankuro like that and no one else. They just like messing with him as much as I do…lol
