Chapter 9: Titration

"Don't keep looking at it." Hinata whispers by his side.

She isn't sure if he heard her.

Naruto continues to scroll through his phone silently, eyes glued to the incoming buzzes his phone gives off every few seconds.

All wanting to know where he's been over the past couple of hours.

The texts and calls range from Jiraiya to random classmates, their friends…

And eerily unknown numbers.

'Is the police looking for me? For questioning?' He wondered.

Hinata squeezes his hand and he forces himself to look away from the continued stream of messages. The smell of breakfast wafts up to his nose…

"You called in room service? When?" Naruto asked.

Hinata smiled gently, brushing aside the silver platter of assortments. "Last night when we were checking in; I didn't want us to be bothered."

Naruto smiled weakly. "That kind of backfired now, huh?"

Her grin begins to stiffen. "Yeah…"

But nobody else knocks on their door in the hours that pass, the hallways seem especially quiet now considering the footsteps and chatter they heard throughout last night.

'Where is Sakura? And Ino?' She wonders, her phone has gone completely silent on their end and a twisted feeling wretches up her stomach at their lack of responding.

Do they think he's a suspect too? Sakura wouldn't have sent her anything if that was where her line of thinking had gone though…

It's nearly 11:00 am and even if it is the day after homecoming, neither one of them ever like to sleep in this late.

Naruto shuffles back on his pants and shirt to her side, thin scrawls of bent and messy folds layered throughout the suit from its haphazard toss to the ground earlier.

He laughs halfheartedly at his state of dress. "So…what cha want to do now?"

For a moment, her mind drifts back to original plan Sakura had told her Friday evening. They would eat breakfast at the hotel, check out, rest up/shower, and then all meet again at the library within the next hour or so to study.

Maybe they had just missed out on certain parts of the agenda.

Hinata hugged the blankets closer, suddenly feeling all the more aware of Naruto's scrutinizing stare and her own lack of clothes.

A hesitant smile rises up.

"You're not suggesting we spend all day in here; are you?"

Naruto paused, sitting up to push the blinds open. The pictures the website had showcased of views nearby didn't do it enough justice, Konoha's downtown district glimmered with sunlight hitting along buildings already opening up for the day, mixes of red, orange, and green shrubberies decorated the sides of each major streets and businesses.

A smirk graces his lips as he turns back to her.

"I'll do whatever you want to do."

She could feel the beginnings of a heated flush rise up, and no…no they needed to focus right now.

"We should try to get some studying in. Competing against Iwa is just around the corner." She murmured.

To her slight surprise, Naruto nods along in agreement.

'Anywhere beats going home right now…'

Hinata reached for her bag soon after, tossing out a plain striped sweater top and jeans she had packed for a change of clothes (Naruto hadn't thought to bring any else to wear). They wouldn't look too strange hopefully, one dressed in disheveled formal wear while the other more casual.

The attendant at checkout eyes them silently with an arched brow though, accepting the room key and pointing them in the nearest direction towards the bus station.

Okay, so it was just wishful thinking on her part they wouldn't look unusual.

Tea can usually calm her nerves even on the most frantic of days when assignments are due, presentations have to be said aloud to the whole class, and when she feels the overwhelming stress from Hiashi's expectations…

But looking at her reflection in her cup of heated warmth only shows the complete opposite.

Naruto reaches out to hold her shaking hand, steadying the cup before she ends up burning herself.

"You'll spill it and wouldn't that be a waste of all those perfectly good hydrogen and oxygen atoms mixed together?" He joked.

And he beams at the giggle that escapes that her lips.

One of them had to be rationally thinking here.

Because Hinata doesn't bring up why none of her supposed friends will answer back to her calls or texts after the night of fun and debauchery they had.

She keeps her pretty lilac eyes gazing at the computer screen, going through another set of flashcards with him to ward off this ache…

This numbness that everything has suddenly gone to hell in just a few short hours.

"Do you regret it sometimes; that you chose to hang out with me?" Naruto abruptly voices aloud.

'Or last night?' His more embarrassing thoughts want to ask.

Her hand on the mouse key freezes, pushing away a violet lock to look at him straight on.

"No, I don't regret anything I've done with you Naruto." Hinata answers softly.

Her phone buzzes from her pocket before either can say more and a look of relief flickers across her face. Finally, this is the text she's been waiting for from Sakura, Ino, anybody. Perhaps they really were just nursing the hangovers they had gotten from one too many spiked drinks…

Instead, Hanabi's name flashes across the screen.

'A situation has come up; hasn't it? Whatever lie/excuses you gave father didn't work out.' She reads to herself.

There's a brief pause before the next part of the message pops up.

'Don't come home just yet.'

-X-

"I'm disappointed." Jiraiya slurs.

"Have you been drinking?" Naruto retorts back, crimson cheeks and the scent of whiskey permeating from his breath.

Jiraiya slaps his hand away every time he gets near, lips contorted in perpetual scowl. "Do you know how many favors I had to call in and spies I had to use from the red light district to find where you two went?!"

Hinata fiddles with threads outlining her jeans. A drunk Jiraiya is somehow scarier than a sober one.

Dark eyes shift between the pair for a painfully long minute before his usual loopy grin eventually rises up.

"Well…I for one KNEW you two were going to go have fun when Naruto didn't return back last night. I hope you guys at least used some protection! Told ya you were going to need those condoms!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, blush rising up as he pushed him hard enough to make him slide out of his chair as he let out an annoyingly loud howling laugh. When Jiraiya sits up again though, his mood has switched back to seriousness.

"Why'd ya bring her here?"

"R-Right now, home isn't the best option." Hinata speaks up.

Jiraiya furrowed a brow, leaning his head against his palm. His attention shifts from Naruto directly onto her.

"Oh? And what made you think that here would be somehow better?" He questioned.

A knot returns to her throat, despite the amusement lacing his tone, they both know there's far more negatives than positives to her current presence here.

"And why can't she be here old man?!" Naruto cuts in.

Jiraiya held up his hands defensively, frowning at the flash of scarlet in his eyes. "Relax, I never said she couldn't be here-"

"-But you implied it. I could hear it in your voice." He interrupts with a growl.

'And you should get him back.' A colder thought ensues...

It sounds just like something Gaara would egg him on to do or say, something he had been too chicken to do for much too long in hitting Jiraiya back whenever he annoys or tests his patience.

Hinata weaved her way between them just as his hand rises up.

"Naruto, he's just concerned; for the both of us! He's probably been up all night worried; arguing with him won't change anything or help the situation!"

He paused to stare at his face again and it's clearer now the puffiness and redness tracing his eyes can't be all brought on by alcohol.

"How long have you been up anyways?" He grumbled.

Jiraiya plopped back against the sofa, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "Since about 2:00 am, maybe 3. Hell, I've lost track of time since midnight really."

When he opens his eyes again, he waves a hand towards his computer.

"I know you were at that Vintage hotel place last night, even if you didn't tell me; my Intel knew you were there. Cameras I'm sure captured you two there during the alleged hours Gaara went missing, but they've been tampered with." Jiraiya sighed.

And Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets, hiding a growing malice returning. "What?"

He nods, face grim; someone truly hates his godson to go to such efforts.

"There were eyewitnesses that saw us too though. I'm sure the police or investigators know that when they questioned you, right? The evidence you gave them supports Naruto has a strong enough alibi." Hinata points out.

'He's been up all night defending me?' Naruto wondered, anger dissipating briefly to stare at Jiraiya curiously.

A dry grin cracks through his face at seeing his stare, nudging him and Hinata close again.

Whatever they questioned him on, he doesn't want to talk about it right now.

"Well Hinata as I've said before, you're welcome to stay here any time! Though with the way news has currently been, it might be best for you two to sleep separately. Not sure how I would handle another surprise visit from a Hyuga."

'Father was here too?' Her cheeks burned, heart sinking as she weighed over his words.

Hiashi hadn't sent her any calls or texts asking where she was.

In fact, the only person she had heard from was Hanabi…

Her ears perked up suddenly in alarm, eyes moving swiftly back towards outside in expectation. It was late in the afternoon now, wind rattled against the windows in the silence as sunlight traced over the dusty blinds.

Nobody was there, the streets were empty.

"You're the one that needs sleep old man." Naruto scoffed at seeing his yawn and she forced herself to look away.

Her breathing settled back to a normal pace, she wasn't being watched.

She hoped.

Once Jiraiya is truly out of sight (and hearing range) they both huddle at the kitchen.

"I take him for granted." Naruto grumbled, wincing at the screech of the chair against the tile as he looks over Jiraiya's work. Papers among papers are stacked over each other showing progress notes stamped with times, photos, and various accounts of witnesses.

Hinata smiles at a desktop image of the pair Jiraiya has used as a screensaver: a younger Naruto shows a wide grin for the camera holding up a fish he caught with Jiraiya alongside two figures behind him.

"My parents." Naruto states, following her line of sight before looking away.

She faintly brushes a hand against the image, for a moment her mind drifts to locked away images of her mother. A soft smile, matching tresses of dark blue hair that smelled of jasmine, her father's grin…

"Our families care about us, in their own unique ways."

Naruto snorts, but she catches the smile he tries to hide.

"Yeah, Jiraiya is 'unique' all right…"

The computer screen soon goes black again, going back to sleep mode and neither move to touch it.

"You can get some sleep in my room if you want, I'll just take the sofa. I mean I know school is tomorrow, but you can stay the night if you need to." Naruto rambles, Jiraiya's innocuous smirk comes to mind before he went to his bedroom.

The sofa is raggedy, with too many holes showing the white stuffing within. It's probably the least comfortable place to sleep in the whole house and Jiraiya is just tempting him to sneak into bed with Hinata while he's around.

Minutes later though she's huddled again amongst Naruto's sheets, his earthy scent enveloping her, getting a quick nap is much too far from her mind though as her head dully starts to throb again.

'Just an hour, I'll stay for another hour then go home. No matter Hanabi's warning.'

A hand reaches out to wrap around her, pulling her close. She squeaks just as Naruto shushes her quickly with a kiss.

"Jiraiya was snoring when I last checked." He whisper/yells when he pulls back. She untangles herself from him a bit, his blue eyes seem somber and nervous. Fingers trail light circles on her back as he buries his head into her shoulder.

"But more importantly, Sasuke called me." He states as casual as he could make his voice sound.

"Gaara's been found."

-X-

There's a nasty gash across his forehead, she counts a total of 8 stitches going across.

Hiashi flips to the next photo and she wishes she hadn't ate the cup of ramen Naruto had offered her before leaving.

Each one is more gruesome than the last, she bites her lip in a struggle to not let anything come back up.

"As you can see, he was pretty brutally attacked. Police pinpoint the time of attack to be around 8:30 to 9:00 o clock Saturday night. From interviewing him, he states he didn't get a clear view of his attacker, but that he did plan to attack you. Currently, he's still in the hospital recovering." Hiashi explains, pushing the photos aside back to a small cardboard box.

Hinata nods, it's just the two of them in his office. She expected to be surrounded by the attendants upon her return, but Hiashi has probably instructed them to leave to do menial tasks.

Hiashi drums his fingers against his desk, his white eyes boring her down.

"…This doesn't look good Hinata. Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"You would've worried." She responds softly.

The coldness in his gaze only hardens.

"That doesn't matter. Be honest with me this time; was it Naruto?" He pursues.

"N-No, he didn't even see him! Jiraiya told you; didn't he? We…we were together the whole night." Hinata sputters.

Hiashi wrinkles his nose. "You tend to stammer when you lie."

She could feel her cheeks darkening, but she continued to shake her head. "This is the truth, I promise."

He holds up her broken pencil from the other day, wood chips hanging off the edge limply. "Was this the 'truth' too? You said you were going to the dance yes, but everything afterwards…"

For a second, he looks just as rattled as her. This knowing the daughter before him is no longer a child, no longer innocent.

'Naruto has done more now than just simply taking her heart.' He scowls.

"We were safe if that's what you're thinking about father." Hinata interrupts his thoughts. Her cheeks are still red, though her gaze hasn't wandered shyly away from him like he expects from discussing such a topic.

Hiashi coughed, shaking his head.

Another time, he would have to hunt down Naruto for a one on one talk.

"As it stands you lied, I'll have one of the guards be escorting you to and from school for the next week. You'll come straight home after your KSO meetings end. Any other outside factors will need to be screened through me first." He explained.

Hinata knew better than to fight any of these restrictions, nodding slowly.

They move away from his office, there's a chill in the evening air as they walk by the pond, ripples showing the silver glow of the moon rising up.

He studies her quietly as she watched the koi fish swim about, nibbling at her fingers for food before sighing.

'Perhaps some distance from Naruto will be a good thing for her, having all these scandals in her life can't be good for her health.'

"Ah, one more thing Hinata."

But then again, would she listen to him on this?

She blinks curiously as she shakes away droplets from her hand, pursing her lips from the cold as she shivers and steps back from the water.

"Yes, father?"

No, he needs to do what's best for his daughter. Having all these rumors swirling about isn't what she needs in her life right now…

"There's a man I've been recently doing business with over the past month, he has a son around your age that is interested in the science/medical field as well."

And he watches as her eyes widen, the soft smile she had falling…

"I want you to meet him. Toneri from the Otsutsuki family."

-X-

Sasuke doesn't seem surprised to see him in gym class the next the day, the class he probably most frequently skips due to Gai's overboard enthusiasm for laps and whistle blowing anyone who seems to be slacking.

It's the only class they share and for once, he needs to make use of it.

"Thanks for waiting a good 6 hours or so to update me on Gaara's whereabouts. It's not like I was at risk for going to jail." Naruto muses by his locker.

Sasuke shrugs, expression remaining indifferent. "You're welcome."

Oh, if it weren't for the dozens of pairs of eyes watching them right now, afraid to speak up or stop the two from a fight…

"You should be happy moron, we didn't throw you under the bus like you expected. Gaara I'm sure would've." He retorts.

He grits his teeth, clenching and unclenching his fists. "Still, Hinata was with me too; she doesn't deserve to get caught up in all this. Sakura or somebody could've at least messaged her. She wouldn't even give Hinata a proper answer during lunch."

It doesn't make sense after all, they've all been friends for so long. Hinata has resigned herself to the idea that they were being investigated and that's why they never answered…

And then it suddenly clicks.

"…Were you told to keep quiet on evidence you found?" He asks lowly.

Sasuke doesn't immediately answer him though, continuing out onto the fields knowing Gai is ready to hand out penalty laps any minute now.

"Come on men, winter may be approaching, but the flames of your youth should be keeping you warm!" They can hear him yell out, already running in place eagerly.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Are you in that much of a hurry to hear that crap shouted at you?"

Sasuke pauses, obsidian eyes narrow. "What happens if I say yes?"

'Then we go out for blood.' A cold thought happily chuckles. It's been too long since he's gone toe to toe in a good fight.

"Nothing." He instead responds.

Sasuke shakes his head, leaning back against the wall. "You're lying."

A wicked grin etches his face. "Yeah? And what do you care?"

"Hinata cares." He points out.

The itch to fight burns away at the mention of her name, darker ideas tempting him fall back into the crevices of his mind.

He doesn't follow Sasuke out onto the field.

Right now he needs to speak to the man at the center of this case: Gaara.

His hospital room is tucked away in a far corner on the 6th floor. The area smells of similar disinfectants and cleansing materials Kakashi always told them to use after they finished with an experiment attempted to be covered up by the spray of lemons.

Gaara is in the midst of feigning sleep when he enters with his nurse. The woman sends him a sheepish smile, whispering he hasn't wanted any guests to visit since his admission before turning away.

As soon as the door shuts though, jade eyes open.

He laughs bitingly at his appearance, he had come straight in his gym uniform knowing if he waited any longer Gai would catch him.

"What? Going to try out for the basketball team next or something?"

Cobalt eyes shift instead to his IV line, tracing the tubing to the bags of fluids hanging up. He actually knew one was normal saline and the thought of chemistry being all around comes to mind.

'It can be used in such good or bad ways...'

Gaara follows his line of sight and frowns. "Fluids for hydration and antibiotics to prevent infection. You don't have to be into science to know that."

Naruto nods, ignoring his jab and instead pointing to his bandaged head. "You know who did it?"

"Someone with a grudge against me." He smiles offhandedly, brushing a hand against the wrappings. His fingers grow sickeningly close to ripping away the material and reopening said wound.

"It's funny, father practically had to beg and bribe just to get me treatment here instead of waiting until we returned to Suna. Almost all of the doctors and nurses here avoid me like I'm disease ridden; an infection they don't want to catch." Gaara spat.

All at once, his hands ball up against the white sheets, digging into them until tiny holes split into the fabric.

"You avoided me too." He hisses.

His eyes hold the same emptiness he saw just days ago, hollow and dull with no care for the world.

"Gaara, who did this to you?" Naruto tries again.

His stare seems to go through him for a moment, clicking his tongue slowly. "I don't want to think about it."

He steps dangerously close to him then, forcing him to look at him fully. "Well, try."

Gaara leaned back from him, closing his eyes. "Is this all for that girl? It's not like I can tell you much anyways, I didn't get a good look at their face except for some brown hair when I tried to wrestle the gun from them."

'Brown hair?'

Neji.

He doesn't hear the rest of what Gaara says, turning to go.

His footsteps thrum with a steady pace in his ears as he exits the building and before he realizes it; he's running.

-X-

"I really appreciate you helping me out with these college applications Tenten. It feels like I haven't been able to be as close to Sakura and Ino lately after the whole homecoming night fiasco." Hinata beams, flipping through another one of her old essays and resumes.

She takes another sip from the hot chocolate she's made, sweetness bringing a giddy sense of relaxation to her body she hasn't had in days.

Naruto misses their studying sessions, sending her a picture of a sleeping Jiraiya with some batteries and wires with the caption: About to find out other uses for Lead!

It takes all her effort not to laugh aloud and confuse Hiashi.

Tenten waves her off, taking a sip from her tea. "No problem! And don't worry, it's probably just as awkward for Sakura and Ino too. You guys seem so much busier than I was during my senior year, competitions, college admission exams, grades…"

"Hmm, you never were the type to worry about dances or boyfriends really, huh?" She teases, giggling at the pinkness that rises unto her cheeks.

"Neji's not like that, you know he's already trying to go for co-captain on the University's chemistry and analysis board? Geez, we're only freshman!" Tenten relates.

Hinata nods, it sounds exactly like something Neji would do. "You know, this reminds me of something Naruto told me the other day too, he might pursue studying toxicology seriously in the future."

Tenten's smile falters for fleeting second before returning, much more plastered on.

"Right, Naruto and you have really grown close?" She asks.

She flinches for a moment at the edge in her voice before nodding. "Every day we're getting to know each other better."

A twinge of ache snaps in her chest at her halfhearted smile, watching as she tensely excused herself to wash their dirty plates.

Hiashi wouldn't be picking her up for another hour.

'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.'

Tenten of course is still wary of Naruto, she only gets her information on him through whatever Neji filters to her.

Her gaze wandered around Tenten's dorm, weapons from all her journeys over the years adorn the walls. She stood up to peer around at her dresser, sighing at old memories of photos taken from last year.

A sparkle catches her eye though just as she moves to return back to her bed.

The last drawer is open.

Outside her room, she can hear the sound of water running. Tenten normally takes her time with washing, having seen how much effort she takes into making sure all her artilleries can sparkle in the sunlight free of grime, dust, or any other signs of wear.

'Don't be nosy!' Her thoughts berate her, but another voice nags her that she just wants to check.

Because maybe Naruto is becoming a bad influence on her to have such a desire to be snooping.

Her heartbeat quickens in speed as she pulls the drawer open a bit more, the item becomes visible and a dizzying sensation makes her hurriedly step back. She squeezes her eyes shut, falling back into a shroud of blankets.

The image continues to flash in her mind no matter what she does to try and block it out.

'That was indeed a gun.'

-x-

Does anyone know any remedies for a cold/nasal congestion? Gosh, it was so hard to write this chapter having to pause every few minutes just to blow my nose or cough lol. I blame my friend for sneezing near me. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this bit of a twist; I'm interested in your thoughts as always!

Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!