Chapter nine:

Goodnight

A/N: Hi there to all who are about to read this! I hope you're having a spectacular summer. :) And I hope you like this short chapter.


"These are so pretty…" Anemone said, as she solemnly looked at the paintings that had been set on the ground, in the art room. She was by herself, except for me. I watched her as she sadly looked at all the paintings.

I was standing right in the door frame, but she didn't notice me. Daisuke had gone up into his room, and Kisuke had gone with Sasuke. He had fallen asleep, and I assumed that Sasuke was taking him to bed.

"Hinata, I'd like to have a word with you." Sasuke had come right up behind me. I could feel his presence. If I would have taken a couple steps back, I could have felt his breath on the back of my neck.

"Alright." I nodded, and turned, as I followed him into his study. Later, if I had the chance, I would like to talk with Anemone. I didn't want what happened with Daisuke's feelings to happen with hers.

In Sasuke's study, I had taken a seat on the right, where as he took a seat at his desk. Taking a pen from his drawer, he also took out a piece of paper. He then looked up at me.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell me, Hinata? Is there anything important that I need to know?" He asked me in a calm and perfectly normal way. Even so, I still felt as if an interrogation was coming on.

I didn't want to lie to him, but I was afraid of what might happen if I said anything at all. "Um…well…today Ino stopped over, and left some wine. I had some of that, and it's in the kitchen."

Sasuke nodded and scribbled something down. "Anything else?"

I sighed inwardly, and looked away. "A man named Sai, stopped by sometime after Ino left…and he left those paintings in the art room…and…and he left a message for you."

Instead of asking me what Sai said, Sasuke asked, as he stopped writing. "Have you seen the paintings?"

I shook my head. "No, I have not."

"You should, they're quite impressive."

It was then did I start to begin to become confused, even more then I had before. Sasuke…was approving the paintings? I had assumed that Sai was another indirect "enemy' of his, since Daisuke had said that they were not supposed to converse with him.

Sasuke noticed my confused expression, before I had, and asked me. "Hinata, is there a problem?"

It took me a moment to get my words in the correct order. "N-no it's just that I thought that—"

Sasuke had cut me off. "You thought that I wouldn't like the paintings."

"Well…no…not exactly." I paused and looked at Sasuke, who had tilted his head, looking for an answer "Actually, Daisuke told me that you weren't very fond of him."

Sasuke nodded, for he had just found his answer. "Ah, I see. Partly, my son is correct, but I don't see a reason why I shouldn't enjoy his work. I assume that Sakura had asked it be done, so it wouldn't be my place to compromise her last wishes."

I slowly nodded. I didn't know what to say. I felt foolish, and childish for thinking what I had thought. Now I understood why Sasuke sometimes treated me the way he did.

I said the first thing that came to my mind

"Sasuke…I'm sorry for assuming that…" I stopped, and looked him in the eyes once again. When Sasuke had started to talk before, I had looked down. It had become quite a habit, not to looked people solely in the eyes, that is.

Sasuke nodded. "I thank you for your honesty, Hinata." He slipped the piece of paper into a drawer and stood up. "I'm glad to know that I can trust you." He said it, though he didn't look very glad. Perhaps it was one of those inward emotions.

"That is all." He told me as he turned.

As I was about to leave the room, I heard his mobile phone ringing. I couldn't hear the conversation because I had closed the door. Quirking my lips, I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. At least it was over, and I didn't receive a scolding. Which was a stupid thing to expect, but I guess when you live in the Hyuga compound for half of your life, scoldings are expected…even when you're an adult.

Composing myself, I made my way to Anemone's room. She had changed into her nightwear and was sitting at her dresser, brushing her hair with a brush that had been custom made for her. Her expression was solemn, but I couldn't tell if it was because she was sad, or just tired.

She looked sleepy, so when I appeared she tried to smile, but yawned instead. Smiling, even though I was really tired as well, I walked up beside her. She yawned again.

"Would you like me to brush your hair for you?" I asked as friendly as I could. She nodded and handed me the pretty and expensive looking brush. I started to brush her long, back hair in long strokes.

"I can braid it if you like?" I asked, as I ended a stroke. Anemone was blankly looking in the mirror, her eyes drooping.

She nodded, but didn't say anything. Probably to tired.

Parting her hair, I braided it in two ponytails. Clipping her bangs to one side, and brushing another, I finished. I took a few steps back while Anemone looked at it. She tried to smile.

"I really like it…Hinata." She yawned. "I want to go to bed now." Standing up and pushing the chair back, she walked over to her bed, got under the covers, and closed her eyes.

I guess our talk would have to wait. Walking over I told her goodnight, unprepared for what she would say next.

"Yeah, good night…Mommy."

At first I thought she had said Hinata, but as the word Mommy echoed in my ear, I knew that she hadn't. I suddenly got a scared feeling. The feeling of doing the exact thing I told myself I wouldn't do.

A strong feeling of relief washed over me when Anemone chuckled softly. "Oh wait no…I mean Hinata." She didn't say anything else after that. I turned the light off and closed the door. I wanted to go lay down, to go think.

I was stopped when I saw Kisuke at the foot of the stairs, looking sleepy, and as if he were about to fall over. I rushed down before he could fall and hurt himself. I didn't have to ask for permission to pick him up; he held his arms out, as if we wanted me to. That surprised me, but I picked him up and propped him up on my hip anyway.

"Kisuke are you all right?"

He must've just woken up because he had been asleep in the car, and if I remembered correctly, Sasuke had carried him up to his room. Kisuke had probably been confused, or something.

He yawned and laid his head on my shoulder. This also surprised me. Kisuke always seemed to like to be by himself. He didn't speak much, even though he was capable, and he didn't seem all that engaged when you wanted him to be. He was just very quiet and reserved. So when he gestured that he wanted me to pick him up, and laid his head down on my shoulder, naturally I was a little perplexed.

"I want to go to night night." He said quietly, so quietly that I almost didn't hear him. It felt as if my heart had skipped a beat. I think that was the most he had ever said to me before. The feeling was a really nice one.

"Sure, Kisuke." I said gently.

Lightly I walked up the steps, down the hall, and into his and Daisuke's room. I saw Daisuke sleeping on his side of the room. As quietly as I could I tiptoed over to Kisuke's side. Moving back his comforter and pulling up the sheets, I laid him down. His eyes were already closed. He was sucking his thumb.

I sighed and left the room.

What a night.

XxXxX

Do you think I'm going a wee bit fast? That I need to take things a bit slower, or vice versa that I'm going a bit slow? I wasn't so sure while writing this chapter so I'd thought that I'd ask all of my readers!

Thanks and I hope you enjoyed! :p