The Lion and the Lamb
Hi errbody c:
I'm really glad that you guys like the last chapter… I wasn't sure on how to play off Hinata there…
How about some interesting ideas?
I was either gonna have Neji die, Neji join Akatsuki, Hinata dying, or Hinata defeating the Akatsuki.
As for the three Akatsuki falling for Hinata, I can't do anything about them, they're solely loyal to the organization…
Hidan: You damn right we are, not about to have Leader-sama on our asses…
Deidara: But, uh, my Hime… un.
Itachi: Hn.
Okay I'm rambling again…
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter 9: Closure
"LEAF HURRICANE!" the overly enthusiastic handsome beast of Konaha screeched before attacking Neji. The Hyuuga merely cocked his eyebrow at the still childish Lee.
'Jesus, Lee, my head is pulsating with your constant blabbing.' Tenten pinched the bridge of my noise.
"LEAF HURRICANE! LEAF HURRICANE! LEEEEEEEAAAAAAFFFFF HUUURRRIIICCCAAAANNNEEE!"
"DAMMIT, LEE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SCREAM LEAF HURRICAN EVERYTIME YOU DO IT!" Tenten was about to punch him straight in the face until she saw a swirl of chocolate strands in front of her. Next thing she knew she was on her knees as Neji had gripped her wrists together in one hand held behind her head and a kunai to her neck.
'Holy…. He's only been out of the hospital for a week and he's regained his full potential.' Tenten gulped.
"My apologies, Tenten-chan, but you save your energy for when an enemy is actually attacking you." His signature smirk made its way on his cream skin. He released his grip on the weapons specialist.
'And his mentality is back to normal… As if Hinata never even left… He even seems happier.' Tenten returned his smirk with a warm smile. She was just happy that her teammate finally recovered.
"DO NOT TURN YOUR BACK ON YOUR OPPONENT, IT IS VERY RUDE! LEAF HURRICANE!" Lee tried to connect his kick to Neji's back.
With a sigh, Neji literally 6 inches to the left causing the mini-Gai to fumbled forward into the ground.
"I see everything, remember?" Neji chuckled at his youthful teammate.
"NEJI? You… Did you just… laugh? WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BEAUTIFUL, BLAND, AND OVERLY EMOTIONAL TEAMMATE?! LEAF HURR-"
"Lee, it's me, I can assure you."
"PROVE IT!" the Konoha beast pressed.
"You have a ridiculous amount of pride towards Gai-sensei, you have a giant crush on the annoying pink head, and you are secretly reading Icha Icha Paradise behind Gai-sensei's back." His smirk became bigger.
A red faced Lee stopped his interrogation. "Very well. But Neji, you have been youthful these days!"
"Thank you, Lee." The jonin smiled at him.
The sun was setting and their training came to a stop. The kunoichi headed home while the green beast of all youthfulness stayed to complete 1,000 push-ups.
Neji watched as the sun set on the horizon, admiring its beauty and power. The sun was the source of all power, it could be as destructive as it wants. But at the same time, it has moments where it looks beautiful. The Hinata he knows now is powerful but still beautiful.
The sun had set and the stars were now visible. He glanced at the brightest one he could see. The stars, even from far away, are trying their best to shine. Trying to make their existence visible to their audience down below, to show what they can do. The Hinata that he once knew tried so hard to gain recognition.
Neji then turned to the moon. It was majestic. The moon gave an innocent yet confident gleam. The moon doesn't mean to be the center of attention but its beauty and kindness softens even the hardest of all hearts. This Hinata still exists…right?
Sighing, Neji looked away. They all reminded them of her. What he couldn't give to be with her. He started walking the direction opposite of his apartment. Only stopping at a flower shop.
"Ino-chan?" as the Hyuuga boy entered, catching a whiff of the floral scent.
"Neji-kun!" The blonde girl eyes widened to see that the ninja made a full recovery just a week ago. He still takes medications, prescribed by yours truly, but rarely needs them anymore. "What can I do for you?"
"Hmm, flowers. Something white. Nothing fancy. A large bouquet of them. About fifty will do." Neji gave a genuine smile.
"Fifty? Is this for a lovely lady? A lover perhaps? A lucky lady too! Fifty flowers, damn, I would probably be so fricken flattered if someone brought me fifty!" The daughter of Inoichi winked at Neji.
"Oh no, Ino-chan, it's not like that at all. It's for a friend."
"Well, friend or not, they are one lucky person… unless, well, your friend is a dude. Anyways, I'll try and wrap something up for you! You know you should come here earlier in the day, you know how hard it is to gather fifty white flowers at 9pm?!" she joked around as she pushed the back door.
"Ino-chan," Ino stopped to turn to Neji. "Are you going to attend the mission later on?"
The blonde's face became grave. Her eyes filled with sadness and remorse. Shaking her head she replied, "Of course, Neji-kun! Sakura is my best friend, and when people mess with my best friend, I'll kick their ass!" her glow came back. "I don't care if I even have to face Itachi, I'll go head to head with that bastard if it means Sakura will come back!" she grinned a smug grin. Then she turned back towards the door.
Neji looked around the shop noticing the different flowers in every inch of the counters and vases. He stopped to look at an indigo flower. The way it tried to hide behind the rest of the flowers that seemed to stand out. The one of the pink and yellow flowers were screaming 'LOOK AT ME NOW DAMN YOU' opposed to the indigo flower whispering 'please don't look at me'. Why is everything reminding me of her?
"Here you are!" Ino shoved a huge bouquet of white flowers. Lilies. Pure, white lilies. "You better be thankful, you're lucky that we had fifty of the same flowers, conveniently.
"Arigato, Ino-chan." He reached for some money in his pocket.
"No, no! Free of charge! I'll pay them for you, Neji-kun!"
"Ano, Ino-chan, I couldn't possibly-"
"No really! You've been in the hospital for over a year and I know how hospital bills suck out your wallet dry. Plus, I've never really done anything nice for you… So consider this as a gift." The Yamanaka girl was now pushing Neji out the shop.
"But-" he began to protest.
"GOOD NIGHT!" Ino slammed the shop door. Neji stared down at the flowers. Maybe he can pay her back another time. He smiled gratefully at the blabber mouth "Ino-pig". She's actually very kind hearted as well.
Neji began walking along the streets of Konoha. The village seemed so quiet and peaceful at night. Some civilians were still out enjoying the cool breeze this land had to offer. Some girls his age squealed when the saw him walk towards them, flowers in hand, but quickly blushed in embarrassment when he just walked passed them.
He reached his destination. The Hyuuga compound. His family was buried in Hinata's former garden.
Neji, with a heavy heart, entered the Main house and looked at his surroundings. The furniture were coated with an unhealthy layer of dust. The kitchen had the same results. He then opened the back door, reaching the large garden. It used to be filled with flowers that swayed gorgeously in the wind. Now it was neatly trimmed bushes surrounding the Hyuuga's graves. The flowers were gone. Not because they wilted and died, but because they had to remove them in order to bury the dead. Neji requested them to be buried here instead of being cremated.
The whole garden was covered in white marble gravestones. There was little crypt in the back of the garden. It contained two coffins; Hanabi's and Hiashi's.
Neji, one by one, laid the lilies on each of his family members' gravestones. He prayed for each of their souls, while reminiscing memories about each of them. Some weren't as memorable, others were. When he reached the crypt, he opened the door and entered. The left coffin was Hanabi's and the one on the right was Hiashi's. He laid three lilies on both. Neji kneeled and folded himself properly onto the floor. He folded his hands neatly on his lap and began to pray.
'Hanabi-sama, you brat. I miss you so. I miss having you bug me and play pranks with each other. I want to ask for your forgiveness… for being the rotten cousin I used to be. For tormenting your sister for years. For not being able to protect you when the Akatsuki attacked you. Forgive me Hanabi. May your soul rest in peace.'
'Hiashi-sama. Forgive me. I let Hinata slip into the darkness. I let the Akatsuki take her. I am not sorry for having them murder our clan, but I am very sorry for letting your precious daughter be captured in the hands of monsters. I give you my word that I will bring her back. That I will be the light for Hinata. To guide her from the dark. Forgive me, Hiashi-sama.'
As Neji stood up, he began to walk out of their tiny tomb. Before a flash of red came into view. A single rose was laid in between their coffins.
'A rose?' The crimson flower was already wilting from lack of water and sunlight.
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It's been days since Hinata left Konoha for the third time. The first being getting kidnapped. The second being kidnapping the Haruno girl. The third being visiting her father's and sister's graves to pay her respects.
Days. Days. And the damn Konoha teams weren't even coming despite the fact that it was Sakura that they stole. Not even Naruto came.
Hinata was laying on her bedroom. The boredom was real.
"HIDAN!" she glared at the door. "I CAN SEE YOU, DAMMIT. QUIT SPYING ON ME."
"Ahhhh, you caught me, hime." A voice came from the other side of the door. His silver head and magenta eyes came through the door and smirked at his hime. He plopped himself on her bed next to her and wrapped her in his arms.
They had this sort of….friendship/relationship going on. Hidan and Hinata would be bored and well… let's just say Hidan was her first. She never regretted it and neither did her when he stole it from her. Confidence. He taught her confidence and this was the result. Surprisingly, it wasn't Hidan who seduced her, it was Hinata who lured the immortal with her femininity.
Anyways, Hinata knew why Hidan was here. He was here because he was bored. And when he's bored….well he was here to be UN-bored.
Hidan kissed her forehead. She was in deep, deep thought.
"What's the matter, my hime?" Hidan muffled in her blue hair. He continued kissing the top of her head and making circles on her back.
Hinata tried to muster up as much courage as she could. She shut her eyes tight. "Hidan, do you love me?" She seriously can't believe she said that.
"Huh?" Hidan stopped the kissing. "Of course, Hinata, I love you."
"Well… would you marry me?" 'Oh my god, Hinata just stop talking, you're embarrassing yourself.'
"Uh.. well.. Hinata, you know I'm not that type of guy. Hell! I only have sex with you because I trust you and damn I have nothing else to do…" Hidan looked her in the eyes. "Is there a problem?"
"We need to stop this then.." Hinata saw Hidan's face turn into shock.
"Alright my beautiful hime. If it's what make you happy then we'll cut this off. And we can find other things to distract us, right?" Smirking, he pushed something hard in her face. "….LIIIIKKKEEEE VIDEO GAMES!" At that, Hidan bolted out the door towards their giant flat screen.
'Oh dear lord…' she couldn't help but to smile and darted right after him.
Hinata didn't want anymore more or less. Having Hidan to play video games with. To have so many laughs with. It was perfect. He was her best friend.
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"She's regaining consciousness." Itachi was standing in front of Sakura who was now waking up from the Tsukeyomi. She was held down my chains, separating her hands from eachother. She was in a giant prison cell located in the Akatsuki hideout.
"Hm, is she really." Hinata never liked Sakura. Her heart froze over again. Her organ has been doing a lot of temperature changes lately. Sakura was never her favorite. She always thought herself above Hinata before. Now she was way under Hinata. Way under. And most of all, she stole Naruto away from her. Well, not really. Naruto was an idiot. She never acknowledged him. And he never acknowledged Hinata. Hinata saw his true worth, while Sakura just pushed him around. She was selfish. He was blind. They deserved eachother. Bastards.
"H-hinata…?" Sakura mumbled. Smack.
"Shut up." Hinata's hand swung across Sakura's face like a whip. "You don't deserve to say my name. Do you know why you're here, you useless trash?" Sakura was silent. "Well, you're here because I need your chakra. Obviously, my chakra exceeds your pathetic amount but I'm in the habit of stealing of people's chakra and increasing my amount." Hinata lied, of course she could do this jutsu but it wasn't the true purpose of why they kidnapped the damned forehead girl. Maybe she could suck the bitch dry later on as a bonus. "Now just be a good girl and stay." Hinata smirked.
"Hmph, now that's where you're wrong." Sakura grinned.
Sakura gripped on her restraints. Focusing her chakra, she broke through the chains with her monstrous strength and aimed for Hinata's face.
'Gotcha, Hyuuga.' Sakura felt her fist make contact on her skin.
"Psyche!" Hinata's hand wrapped around Sakura's and threw the medic ninja across the room. The girl landed on the floor with a loud thud. The pinkette immediately looked for her opponent who seemed to have disappeared from the Uchiha's side.
"HA!" Sakura looked up to see Hinata about to smash a kick at her. Her lightening reflexes fired up and she moved just in time to dodge the blow. The Hyuuga's leg landed on the ground. The Haruno girl's green eyes widened. The ground began to shake, as if a giant earthquake was occurring. Then the force spread causing the floor to burst in rubble. Her ridiculous strength would have made Tsunade and Sakura's strength cower in embarrassment.
Poof!
'A substitu-!' Before Sakura even finished her sentence, a fist came contact to her chest, crushing her ribs, fracturing most of her bones.
"I thought you'd put up a fight, Sakura. Worthless trash." Hinata spat.
Sakura barely even got her head up. "H-h-how..?" She coughed up blood.
"You're lame little technique is nothing. I learned that within minutes with Itachi-kun. I magnified it with my chakra causing my strength to double. You and your mentor having nothing on me." Hinata teased the kunoichi. "Now… just like I said, be a good girl and stay."
The pinkette became unconscious.
"That was fun." Hinata hurried back to Itachi.
"Hinata, may I speak with you?" Itachi took her hand in his and left the Haruno on the floor. They exited the hideout and into the meadow they always trained at.
"Yes, Itachi?"
"We have no relationship whatsoever." Itachi stated monotoned.
"…What?" Hinata was baffled. What was he talking about?
"When we kissed. Do you not remember?" Itachi raised an eyebrow.
"OH!" Hinata blushed a deep crimson. "Oh, Itachi, ano, I meant to tell you that also… You see, I only view you as an older brother. Someone who would protect me… Right?"
Itachi actually smiled. SMILED. He came over and patted her head. He also kissed her forehead. "Call me niisan." His eyes were actually filled with joy and warmth.
Confused, Hinata just looked at him, EXTREMELY baffled. She half-suspected that Itachi wanted to talk to her about the incident but not him smiling and being nice and requesting her to call him niisan. But still, Hinata was happier than ever.
"Okay, Itachi-niisan." Smiles were shared. Until they went back and Itachi replicated Neji's stoic face. "Niisan… Where's Deidara?" The Uchiha pointed a finger into the forest. "Arigato!" she hugged her 'brother' before darting off. The Uchiha shook his head as he watched his 'little sister' run off. He could resist smiling. He felt so protective of her.
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"HIIIMMEEEE!" actually prepared, Hinata jumped into Tobi's awaiting arms.
"TOOOOBBBBIIII!" she squealed back the little boy-man.
"Let go of her, baka!" Deidara punched the back of Tobi's head causing him to release the girl. The poor shinobi ran off in an unknown direction….again.
"Hey, there Hinata, un." Deidara smiled at the girl.
Hinata already confronted Hidan and was confronted by Itachi. Why was it so hard to confront Deidara? Oh yeah, because he reminds me of a Naruto/Neji combination. He had long hair like Neji, but blonde like Naruto. He was serious and reckless at the same time. He appreciates art but he likes to have fun…by blowing the art up. Mixing her old love with her current love was making her feel butterflies.
She decided to just rip off the band aid. "DEIDARAIHAVEFEELINGSFORYOUBUTIDONOTWANTOTCONTINUE THISRELATIONSHIPBECAUSEIFEELTHATITISWRONGPLEASEFOR GIVEMEIFIHURTYOU" Hinata panted as she finished her paragraph of nonsense.
"Okay, un," shrugged Deidara.
Baffled, once more, Hinata gawked. "Okay? That's it?"
"Yes… Here is my confession. I was just looking out for you, my little hime. I feel so protective over you, not like a lover would but something I should always protect… Heh, I'm not sure how to totally express myself, yeah." Deidara explained.
"Oh…. I thought you wanted to be with me like forever…" 'That was waaaaaaayyy easier.' Hinata exhaled.
"Oh no! That would be like dating my little sister, haha! Well, let's head back now, yeah?" Deidara exclaimed eager to take a nap.
"Hai!" She hooked her arm around Deidara's and happily skipped to the hideout.
Hinata finally got some closure.
Author's notes: I'm sooooo sorry for rushing the story for Deidara. Well, this whole chapter actually. Ugh, terrible, terrible, terrible… I disappoint myself. Forgive me fanfic lord for I have sinned! I wont blame you guys if you wrote a bad review but whutevah, I tried!
