んな夜に: On this night


Disclaimer: I do not like college right now... I do not own Naruto, either.


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(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ Chapter 7: Fall


"Dad?"

Blinking, still groggy from sleep, Hinata sat up as straight as she could. For a moment it worked, but then the pain came, sudden and quick and of course it would right then. Hinata doubled over, gasping, clenching her stomach, her chest, her throat, streams of agony trickling throughout her body, and OH GOD IT HURT-

"Hinata?!"

No, it wasn't her dad, it was Neji.

"N-Nurse," she managed in between sobs. "G-G-"

He was out the door before she formed any more words, barreling down the hallway, turning a corner before the door was even halfway closed.

And she was alone.

Gasping. Dying. She clutched at her stomach. God, it HURT.

How many times had this happened? Too many. She'd lost count, long before she'd been diagnosed.

Moaning, she reclined, gritting her teeth as new pain flashed through her abdomen. She couldn't breathe properly. Oxygen came in quick, stunted gasps brought on by the agony shooting through her. She threw her head back onto her thin pillow, hands clenching at her stomach. She resisted the urge to claw at the pain; it was futile, and only made the pain double when she did that. Hands shaking, she instead reached out to either side of her cot. She grabbed at the sheets on either side, eyes tearing up as pain slashed across her sides. She clenched her hands tightly around the sheets, pulling as hard on them as she dared, and let out a cry. The pain was traveling to her lower back, up her spine, up, up, up-

The doors slammed open and Shizune darted in behind Neji. A third figure slid in quickly, and Shizune mumbled something Hinata didn't catch.

Her vision was blurring.

She let the tears slide down her cheeks, sobs wracking her body. Her neck. It was at her neck now, traveling downward like sand trickling down an upturned hourglass. It poured into her chest, her lungs- now she COULDN'T breathe, and it was horrifying. It still scared her, panicked her, to not be able to breathe-

Hands quickly reached out and began massaging her shoulders.

Suddenly, air.

She coughed. Sweet air. The pain was still in her neck, and it made her shudder with renewed vigor. At least she could breathe. Still, Hinata kept her hands to her sides, knuckles going white from her death grip.

The hands slowly traveled up, massaging her upper arms, her neck, and then they gently coaxed Hinata into a sitting position. She let out a whimper; the pain had retreated to her spinal column again, racing downward.

The hands followed it, massaging her back, then her lower back, then all around her thighs, then her sides, her stomach.

The pain did not go away, but it receded to little more than a light twinge right above her belly button. She could deal with that.

She closed her eyes, catching her breath, trying to steady her trembling body, and hands gently stroked her head.

Once she was in control of herself, she inhaled deeply and opened her eyes.

A blonde woman stood leaning over her. She was buxom and didn't look a year over 35, with her hair tied back in a rather youthful style of pigtails that Hinata thought suited her.

"Th-That..." Hinata cleared her throat, absently rubbing her tummy. "How did you...?"

The woman smiled.

"It's only temporary relief. But I'm sure it feels wonderful, huh?"

Hinata nodded.

The woman turned to Shizune.

"It looks like you guys have never seen a case this far along, huh?"

Shizune shook her head.

"Actually, none of the doctors have ever seen it before." She shrugged. "To be honest, I'm not even s-"

"Hinata, are you okay?"

The doctor and nurse left to give the cousins some privacy. Neji approached Hinata slowly.

Concern was written all over his face, and Hinata felt her cheeks warm. She turned away.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry you had to see that."

She felt Neji tentatively place his hand on her shoulder.

"It's all right."

He gave her a warm smile. It was something she'd rarely seen and scarcely been on the receiving end of. She managed a smile somehow.

It'll be fine, you'll see.

Her mother, brushing her hair while she sat in the older woman's lap.

"But what if they don't like me?" she asked her mother, nervously fingering the bottom of her uniform top. Her mom put the brush down on the counter, put her hands over Hinata's much smaller ones, and kissed the top of her daughter's head.

"Shhh. Don't worry."

In the corner of her eye, Hinata saw her older cousin peeking through the doorway.

"It'll be fine, you'll see."

Neji was a man of few words. Even before he'd come to terms with their family's disfunctionality, he had never said more than he felt he needed to.

She understood. For the most part, she was the same way.

So she managed a smile in return.


"Told ya I'd be back!"

Hinata grinned up at Ino. Her friend from middle school had promised to return, and indeed, she had.

Naturally, visiting hours hadn't begun yet.

Truthfully, Neji shouldn't have been there, either, but because he was family (and, Hinata was convinced, because most of the nurses had a thing for him) he always managed to get around the restrictions.

It seemed Ino could, too.

"Oh, no, you don't!"

Then again...

The blonde woman from earlier barreled into the room.

"You know the rules, Yamanaka!" The woman crossed her arms, white lab coat fluttering from the movement. "No fraternizing until the nitty-gritty's been worked out."

... What?

Ino shook her head, throwing her head back and laughing. It was a pretty little sound. And it wasn't actually little; Ino's laugh was less like chiming bells and more like banging gongs.

"You're outta luck," Ino replied. "I'm visiting an old friend, and I'm not a press slave anymore, either." She reached into her purse and tossed a small paper at the blonde. "I got promoted."

"Editors don't get special exemptions," the doctor replied. "Didn't they tell you that?"

Hinata looked to Neji, only to find him staring back.

So he's as lost as I am, she concluded.

Ino turned to Hinata.

"Tell her," the younger blonde said. Or, rather, demanded. Ino was pretty commanding. "Tell her what I am to you."

Hinata blinked.

"Uhm... My friend f-from middle school."

"Ha!" Ino whirled around triumphantly, long hair spinning behind her in its ponytail. "See? We're friends. No need to get so worked up over that!"

The doctor let out a huff.

"That doesn't make me any less suspicious, Yamanaka."

Ino harrumphed.

"I'm not trying to sneak an interview!" she said (loudly). "I'm not like those other paparazzi scum working in the media department! I'm true to my word."

The doctor looked unconvinced.

"Yamanaka, I d-"

"Ino?" Both the doctor and Ino turned to look at Hinata. "What's going on?"

Ino ran a hand through her ponytail.

"Umm... Job stuff," she finished lamely after a minute or so. "Just Job stuff." She wheeled around. "And if you think I'm abusing my promotion, Tsunade, I-"

Hinata gasped. She couldn't help it.

Tsunade?

Had she heard right?

The doctor looked at Hinata, concern on her face.

"Are you okay, Hinata?" Her eyes furrowed. "You're getting pretty pale quickly."

Hinata shook her head.

"I-I'm fine..." She shook her head again. "Y-You're Tsunade... Of H-H..."

It did make sense, she reasoned. She'd read somewhere that Tsunade split her time between the company and the hospital, working part-time as a specialist doctor, frequently freelancing wherever her travels took her. She also had a knack for losing at gambling, and had a pet pig.

"Tsunade of Hokage Entertainment Industries," Ino announced when Hinata trailed off. "And I work in the media department as an editor."

Hinata wondered briefly if passing out was becoming less of an occasional happenstance and more of an annoying habit as blackness consumed her line of sight.


"The girl's ours now."

Sasuke didn't honestly care. If it had gone his way, he wouldn't have had to care either way, but as it was, he decided to show in his posture that the words meant nothing to him.

He crossed his arms and leaned back against the closed door.

And then rose an eyebrow.

The man behind the orange mask chuckled.

"You do have a way without words," he said. "We contacted the girls father earlier this week to negotiate an arrangement."

Sasuke didn't budge.

"It's like this: We proposed that Akatsuki Corporation monitor and schedule her involvement with HEI!K7 and you," the orange-masked man continued. "He agreed. He didn't really read the fine print once we showed him his daughter's emotional video."

Sasuke didn't need to see behind the mask to know the man was grinning.

"We now literally control every aspect of her interaction between your former teammates and the girl."

"I don't see how that helps us," Sasuke growled out. He was losing patience with this man.

"Careful, Sasuke." The threat was hinted, carried by the man's tone, but Sasuke understood the underlying meaning.

He clenched his fists and turned his head to the side.

"See, I think a direct approach wouldn't really work out the way we want it to," the man said. "This way, we can destroy the company slowly. They won't see it coming, and we can set an example with the girl."

Sasuke still didn't see the point, but he didn't say so.

But honestly, what good would a doomed girl do him? He wanted to annihilate HEI, not justK7. It wasn't worth the time of it couldn't bring them all down in one fell swoop.

He knew it was possible. He'd single-handedly brought about O-Sound's demise.

He was sure he could do it again with HEI.

"I doubt they'll go along with this," Sasuke said.

The man shook his head.

"We tightened their funding. You'd be surprised what our media connections can do with a few rumors."

He knew perfectly well. Akatsuki Corp.'s media monopoly was no secret. Their competition had been O-Sound and HEI's puny supporters, and now that O-Sound was gone, HEI didn't stand a chance. It seemed unfair, really, but Sasuke didn't play well with pity. He felt no empathy for HEI's dwindling control over social appearances.

"Tch. So they had no choice. When do we start?"

The man was definitely smiling now. Sasuke could feel the malicious glee emanating from him.

"Tomorrow, of course."

Sasuke did not reply, just turned his head away again.


A/N: DUN-DUN-DUUUUUN! Drama-llamas return! I know I promised a more in-depth description, and hopefully this made things a bit clearer, but if not then please be patient with me! I promise things will make more sense as we continue our journey through this story!

On a side note, happy new years, everyone! (Er... So what if I'm a bit early?) Be sure to make those resolution lists long and happy!