CHP9
"That he is," answered Neji, his arm still around Tenten's waist as he finally stopped showering her with his kisses. Hanabi finally walked forward towards the small group, frown still in tact. "Girls, this is the shinobi I mentioned," he ignored the scowl coming at him from the side, "Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke, this is my girlfriend Tenten, and my lovely cousins Hinata and Hanabi," he gestured to each.
Hinata bowed again to the man, seeing that he was clearly annoyed with the whole introduction, "It's n-nice to m-meet you."
"Hn."
Hinata urged to not frown herself, she was only trying to be friendly.
"Hn back at ya," Hanabi chimed in, rather sarcastically.
"Hanabi!" her sister attempted a glare at her, which shocked Neji tremendously, he couldn't recall a single memory of sweet little Hinata raising her voice to her sister.
So he asked, "…What happened?" Tenten could feel Neji tense as he asked his cousins.
"N-nothing Neji, h-how was y-your trip back?" Hinata attempted to smooth it over.
But the look on his face told her that her attempt failed. She sighed. Sasuke just watched the interaction, finally finding some amusement in this whole damn situation.
"Nothing? I doubt that Hinata, very much so. You never get upset…and you look exhausted. Have you already started on your internship?"
"Uh...ha ha, you know maybe we should just head home now?" Hanabi tried.
Neji sent her a look, he wanted to get to the bottom of this now.
Taking the few steps to Neji's side, Hinata smiled at him, "Some things should just remain between sisters. Neji, I'm so glad that you're home." And with that she watched him remove his arm from around Tenten and surrounded herself with those same arms.
He held her close, actually letting himself show her how much he missed her too. He could feel her smile against his chest, and it made him give off a small smile of his own. As much as he loved Tenten, he always had a soft spot for Hinata, she was the sister of his heart. He loved Hanabi as well, but the two were never really close like he and her sister had become. Maybe that would change over the next few months.
Sasuke couldn't turn away this time, as his friend hugged his cousin. He'd never seen Neji act like this before, it was mind boggling. The girl, Hinata, had her head faced in his direction, as she was pressed against Neji. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling, with a single drop of a tear running slowly down her pale cheek. For some reason, that bothered him. He wasn't sure what it was, but it didn't look right to him. Why would someone smile and cry at the same time? She was weird.
Tenten walked over to Hanabi and stood next to her, as Neji released Hinata. Hanabi ran up to him and hugged him tight to herself as well. She'd always looked up to him as a child, and truly she had looked up to Hinata as well. The hug was short but it surprised Neji to see Hanabi react this way to him. He patted her head before she let him go.
Sasuke was really starting to feel out of place and awkward during the whole family reunion thing.
Glancing at Tenten, Neji said, "Between sisters huh?"
Hinata saw what he meant, and answered him, "That means Tenten as well, she's our sister too."
The bun-wearing girl smiled bright and flung an arm around the two Hyuuga girls. "Yep, no matter what Hyuuga, you're stuck with me."
He sighed, and then turned to Sasuke. "Looks like I'm outmatched."
"Hn. That doesn't really surprise me."
Neji grinned, "Oh really?"
"You were a goner from the get-go," Sasuke turned his face to Tenten, "Did you know that he would stare at your picture for hours on end?"
Neji growled as Tenten blushed. So did Hinata as Hanabi threw back her head in laughter. Amazing how many reactions one declaration could produce.
"Uchiha!"
"Hyuuga," he smirked.
"Hn."
"A-anyway, l-let's get g-going, shall we?" Hinata intervened.
They started walking together down the pier, with Hinata keeping her gaze on her sister. Neji promised himself that he would find out what the hell went down between them. They didn't really get very far, before being stopped by some loud people. Even during their military leave, they were going to be annoyed.
"Hey bastard!"
"Youthful Captain Hyuuga!"
Sasuke turned with a fierce scowl, as Neji turned in annoyance.
"Lee."
"What do you want idiot?"
Hinata frowned in Sasuke's direction, he didn't seem very nice. Could Neji have been wrong in his letters? Surely not, she was just too tired to even attempt at trying to read people. She glanced at her sister again, and felt the familiar feeling enter her thoughts again. She was so disappointed in Hanabi.
"There's a big party tonight, believe it!" said a blonde-haired man.
"Well duh! I'm the one who planned it." Tenten said.
Neji kissed her again, "You're amazing." He just had to tell her that, anyone who could put Naruto in his place was amazing to him.
Naruto and Lee dropped open their mouths at the display from the anbu captain.
"How youthful of my captain! I'm so happy you found a beautiful blossom! I must find my own lovely lotus!"
Everyone stepped back from him, just a little.
Neji sighed, "This is Rock Lee, a member of my squad."
"And his number one rival!"
"For the last time, we are not rivals."
"What about me, I want to be introduced to the pretty ladies!"
Hinata blushed deeply, she thought the blonde guy was…kind of cute, and he didn't care about what people thought of him, that much was obvious. She only wished she could be like that.
"Idiot!" Sasuke hit him, not really sure why, "Hinata, Hanabi, Tenten…this is the idiot. Idiot, this is Hinata, Hanabi, and Tenten. There, you've been introduced."
"Come on Sasuke! What kind of introduction was that!" he complained.
Hinata giggled, making everyone look at her, which only increased her blush. "H-hello, w-what is y-y-your name?"
He stepped up really close to her, as her face burned crimson, "Do you have a fever? Are you sick?" the blonde then placed the back of his hand on her forehead.
Tenten counted down from 5…yep. Luckily, someone caught the girl as she fainted.
"What the hell is your problem!" Sasuke yelled from his crouched position, his new host now securely tucked into his arms.
"YOSH! That was an amazing catch, Captain Uchiha!" screamed the green leotard wearing shinobi.
"S-sorry, I just wanted to know what was wrong with her." Naruto said sheepishly.
Neji was beyond annoyed, as he bent to take Hinata from Sasuke. "She's very shy, don't get so close to her." He knew how sensitive she was to others, and it wasn't good for her heart.
"I'll remember that next time." He promised feverishly.
Hanabi just had to put in a comment, "How about no next time huh 'Idiot'?" she added with finger quotations.
Tenten walked towards Neji and Hinata, "I wouldn't push your luck Hanabi, you're in deep enough as it is."
Hanabi blushed, and then went back to just looking angry at the world, "Whatever." She watched as Tenten whispered in Hinata's ear, she really needed to find out what the girl said to her.
Now awake, Hinata looked up at Neji, "T-thank you, f-for catching me."
"Hn. Thank the Uchiha."
Her pale eyes met his exceptionally dark gaze, "…don't mention it," he said before she could actually voice her gratitude. She nodded with a small blush.
What the hell was he going to do in a house full of … weirdoes? And his host was turning out to be the weirdest one of them all. Within the span of ten minutes from meeting the girl, all she did was blush, cry, and faint. ??? He sighed, and accepted the fact that if it weren't for Neji, he wouldn't even have a place to stay. Granted he could find something, anything, and he might just do so anyway, he would at least give it a week.
"Uh…sorry about earlier Hinata, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage! Beeeelieve IT!"
Sasuke groaned.
He was so confident! "That's g-great!" she tried to enthuse.
Now Sasuke felt sick to his stomach, she was actually encouraging him.
Naruto looked at his new friend in surprise, "Thanks Hinata!" and then gave her a hug.
She turned red, very red, but managed not to faint. Oh boy.
Neji pinched the bridge of his nose, he did not want to deal with these two …idiots… when he was at home, he wanted to get away from Lee and Naruto. Now. He grabbed his cousin's arm and walked forward, leaving the others to follow behind. Once safely inside the confines of Hinata's very small car, which only seemed smaller with five people inside, he breathed a sigh of relief. He noticed that Sasuke was beyond annoyed at the situation as well. And Neji really didn't like the fact that Hinata had seemed to have taken to Naruto. That would not bode well from his point of view. But he thought he could understand why the blonde would appeal to her, for Hinata, it was probably his obnoxious display of self confidence and just an instant crush…he hoped so, for his sake…and hers. It wasn't that Naruto didn't deserve someone special in his life, because he knew the kind of troubled life the man had led so far, he just didn't deserve his cousin. In fact, no one did. No one, in his eyes, would ever measure up to the expectations he set in his mind, to court his little innocent cousin.
Hinata drove, with Hanabi in the passenger seat, while Neji, Sasuke, and Tenten were in the back. It was silent for most of the trip home, as she was still quite upset with her sister when she had found her. She knew she'd have to tell Neji eventually, just not in front of strangers. He was going to be furious, and he just might blame it all on her. That scared her, because she knew it was her fault for letting Hanabi do what she did. Sighing, she turned into the driveway of her home. This was not turning out to be the grand day she had hoped it to be. She was so exhausted from lack of sleep, she was surprised Tenten even let her drive home. After getting out of the car, and Neji and Sasuke grabbed their bags from the little trunk, they all went inside.
This was the first time either Neji or Sasuke saw the home, and so she first gave them a tour while Tenten prepared a snack for them all. Hanabi went straight to her room without a word, she was upset at what happened the previous night (or morning rather) as well.
"Well, Neji, this is your bedroom." Hinata opened the door for him, "Well, and Tenten's occasionally as well," she giggled.
He stepped inside then thanked his cousin, he placed his bag on the bed and started looking around at what she put in there for him. Everything from the beige walls and white ceiling, to the old trophies he had earned during his soccer and hockey years.
Hinata slightly cleared her throat, "Sasuke, i-if you would f-follow me please, I'll show you to your r-room as well. I'm sure you would like to rest for a while."
He gave a single nod and followed her up the staircase. Walking down the hallway, she showed him where the restroom was, then the workout area that provided a treadmill and weight bench. Telling him that she set it up for Neji and Tenten to use, and that he was welcome to it as well.
"Here is your room," she gestured before opening the white panel door.
"Hn. What is in that room?" he asked, nodding towards the door across from his.
"Oh, t-t-t-that's m-my room," she stuttered rather nervously. It was the only available spare bedroom, but she still thought it was far too close to her own room.
He almost smirked, but kept the action in check. "Hn."
"Um, y-you're welcome to shower if you like. I'll be downstairs to help Tenten. Please feel welcome to look around. We have a pool outside too, if you like t-to swim."
"Hn."
