Chapter 8: Breaking Down
Never forget what people say to you when they're angry-that's when the truth comes out - Unknown
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Hinata exhaled before pushing open the rutty door of the old diner. She was nervous; how would the first day be? The diner was named after the famous little stand that stood in this direct location, Ichiraku's Ramen. It once was a Japanese inspired diner, now it served many different cultures all over Japan and it was widely known for not only it's old design, but for its history of famous people.
I just hope no one 'famous' comes here..Once the girl stepped inside, the delicious smell hit her. Her eyes widened and her eyes drooped into a calm gazed. She knew that smell; it was something sugary and full of cinnamon. Cinnamon Buns.
"Hinata, get your butt over here!", yelled a young waitress that Hinata had seen during her interview. The girl rushed into the locker room in the back of the restaurant, her white shoes squeaking on the marble floors.
Once in the room, Hinata was met with the sight of many women dressing for their job. The bluette blushed when she saw the one of the women removing her shirt. Hinata had never changed in front of anyone besides her mother, and that was twelve years ago. These women here were making her nervous. Hinata folded her arms. Thank God I decided to dress in my uniform.Hinata walked towards one of the women, Ayame.
Ayame tied her apron around her thick waist and looked at the nervous girl.
"I'm glad that you made it here early.", she smiled at Hinata before motioning the girl to follow her into the kitchen. Once Hinata stepped into the kitchen, she was hit with the delicous smell again. Her mouth started to water as Ayame brought her to the little stand that held the little treats.
The brunette pointed towards the treats. "This will be your chore for today. Take the stand to that stand over there, which will be your station. I figure that since you are sweet and innocent that this will be the perfect job for you!" Ayame smiled at the girl before leaving her to her job.
You don't know how wrong you are., thought the girl as she gazed lovingly at the frosted coated treats. She suddenly shook her head. No. I can't! I have the willpower!Hinata quickly picked up the treats and rushed them over to her station. It was definitely going to be a long day.
"I left Akatsuki for several reasons Pein, and no, it was not for that lawyer from Lagos...okay, I was interested in him, but that wasn't why I went to Lagos", Konan said as she popped the trunk of her car and put her briefcase inside of it. "Are you 'yelling' or are you 'talking' to me, you soulless mortal?...You know what, screw you, Pein." She ignored his yelling as she ended the call.
She would be back in the Akatsuki by the end of the week.
While Pein considered it 'quitting', Konan considered her break from the Akatsuki just that, a break. Every month she would take a week off from working side by side with them and then pop back up. During her time period, Pein would call and call; if she didn't answer right away, he would be waiting outside of her house with a deadly aura. He would then proceed to ask her where she was and 'who she was with' when he knew she was at McDonald's waiting in line.
The road ahead was filled with cars; Konan cursed under her breath. This was a bad sign. A traffic jam was about to occur and she was stuck in the middle of it. She sighed and let go of the steering wheel. There was nothing she could do but wait.
"This is what I get for being greedy" Maybe that pig was right..." Konan turned on the radio hoping to listen to her rock music in peace.
"Good morning folks! The time is 10:15 am and you're here with Japan's number one radio station. The trending topic besides Japan's small earthquake is Deidara Suoh, one of Akatsuki's own honorary members. It is reported that he will be flying to France soon to collaborate with a female singer on a single. Today's question: Do you think that Deidara knows what he's doing, or should he just stick to business?"
Konan stood still for a moment. France?
Damn him.
Hinata whimpered as she took the money from the customer in exchange for the cinnamon bun, which made customers look and stare at her. She nervously looked at the crystal box which held the treats. She had to refill the case about six times already; she was on her last case now with only seven remaining. The bluette looked at other girls' stands; some sold sandwiches, ramen, and other cultural foods. She had the dessert section which contained a lot of desserts, but the main thing that the people were getting were her precious cinnamon rolls.
Hinata stared at the business lady that entered through the door with wide eyes in an attempt to scare the woman from coming over and buying the treat. She trembled from the smell that was quickly leaving with each bun sold. She looked over at the grand clock behind herself; it read 12:25 pm. Only five minutes till break! A happy expression lit the girl's face.
"Excuse me ma'am, but how much is that cinnamon bun right there?", said a squeaky voice that she had known for so long. She quickly turned around and was met with the childish face of Tenji. He was still looking at the bun, hunger in his lavender eyes. She took this time to study him quickly.
He looked alright, but different. His usual ponytail was now hanging down his back, which made him look more like a girl. Hinata looked close at his face. Not a scratch on him. The only thing that bothered Hinata was that his eyes carried a sense of sadness in them. Sadness from his mom not being with him.Tenten was not allowed to see her son at this moment, so she too had carried a sense of sadness in her eyes. The bluette sighed. Everything's falling apart...
"I-It's on the house." Hinata opened the case and grabbed the precious bun before setting it on the counter. She heard a gasp.
"HINATA-CHAN!", screamed the child in delight as he literally jumped over the counter into the girl's arms.
He snuggled his face into her chest and gripped her tightly. "Do you...do you know where mom is?"
Hinata smiled down at him. "Your mom is at a friend's house right now. I pray that you will see her soon."
Tenji looked up at her with relief in his eyes before reaching in his private school jacket and pulling out a note."Give this to her for me. I have to go." The note was shoved in her hand and he was gone just as fast as he came, the cinnamon bun gone with him.
Hinata looked around for the boy and found him standing off at a distance beside Kin and Neji at an American food stand. She gripped the note in her hand before putting it into her apron.
How could Neji do such a thing? Depriving a mother from her child is just wrong!
"Hinata, go on your break now! You look like you're about to pass out.", said Ayame as she cleaned some tables nearby. Hinata broke her trance and nodded before grabbing the five cinnamon buns out the case and running to a table. Hopefully Ayame would close the girl's stand down for her.
The former Hyuuga heir decided to sit next to the window on the other side of the room away from Neji. She wanted to enjoy her buns in peace, not worry about her cynical cousin and most of all, Sasuke. The girl carefully bit into the bun and sighed in delight as the taste entered her mouth. It had been awhile since she had tasted her favorite treat. All she had eaten since the 'Sasuke proposal' thing was pizza and cookies. And popcorn, lots and lots of popcorn. She started on her second bun.
"You know, for someone who is supposed to be model, you're quite contradictory, un." Hinata almost choked on her bun as Deidara's smooth voice interrupted her feast. He pulled up a chair across from the girl and smirked.
Hinata smiled faintly at the blonde man. "I-It's summer break. I-I think that I can lose the e-extra weight before fall.", muttered the girl before she reached for her third cinnamon bun. Deidara grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to him, the table being the only thing keeping her from falling onto him. She gulped as his blue eyes pierced her own lavender ones.
"Not if I have to measure you now, un. We don't need you 'gaining' and 'losing'; we need a permanent weight for you." He let go of her wrist and started to scan her for a minute. Hinata looked down at her lap nervously; she wanted her cinnamon bun despite what he said. Her head popped up at scattering feet coming in their direction.
A waiter stood beside the table. It was one of the women Hinata had seen in the locker room. The bluette looked enviously at the women; she was 6'2 with long black hair and violet eyes. Her body was thin, much of how a model would look. Hinata started to wonder why someone as gorgeous as her was doing working in a diner. The waitress smiled at Hinata and looked to Deidara for his order.
"How may I help you, sir?" Deidara looked up at the woman and gave her a dazzling smile before saying 'Bakudan, un.'
When the girl walked away, Hinata turned towards Deidara. "W-Why don't you consider her as the new model? I'm sure she w-would be perfect for the j-job." The blonde man glanced in the girl's direction before setting his gaze back to her, an aloof look in his eyes.
"One of the requirements of being a model is having confidence. I'll have to give you an X in the box for that and also for that stuttering. That's going to have to go before you can even consider talking in front of the press."
Hinata flinched at his sudden change in tone.
He sighed and leaned forward. "Look Hinata, I'm not trying to be harsh or anything, but you need to grow up. I don't fully understand what went on between you and Uchiha, and I really don't care, but you can't wallow in shame over what he's done to you. It's corrupting you. All you can do now is move on."
Hinata glared at the man. How dare he but into her personal life. He didn't know what she went through; no one did. She had a right to act the way she wanted, right?
"You're r-right, you don't u-understand what happened, and you n-never will. I'm not thinking about Sasuke. Not at all." Venom was in the girl's voice, but Deidara didn't stand down.
"Your body language and your actions tell me that you still aren't over him. And that's pathetic." His words cut through her deeply. "I'm not asking you to curl your feelings up inside of you. I'm asking you to let him and your problems go. All of your stress needs to be focused towards representing Sabaku and Akatsuki, not over that bratty Uchiha who left you."
Irritation was in his voice, which made Hinata flinch even more than last time. The waitress from before brought the food to Deidara and bowed before scurrying to another table.
Deidara looked in the waitress's direction again. "This is the first time that a waitress hasn't hovered over me. I'm definitely making this place my home, un." Damn, thought Hinata as she watched him eat.
He was acting like they never had the conversation. Hinata ignored the leftover buns and looked out the window.
The blonde's words wounded her in a way. She didn't like to be called out on something she didn't want to think of. Even though it hurt her, what he said was true. She wasn't over Sasuke, especially since his engagement party. She wanted this all to be a dream, a bad dream where she would wake up from. Hinata clutched the ended of the table.
But would she really want this all to be a dream? If it was, she would have to return back to being the virgin wife that followed after her husband even though he slept around. To be looked at in disgust by the women in the Uchiha building when she brought Sasuke lunch. To eat dinner alone and clean the house. To stay up late at night waiting for him, wondering how it felt? Her heart sped up at the last thought.
Deidara's phone rang on the table and he quickly looked at the caller before answering it. Hinata looked up in curiosity as a stern look crossed his face.
Suddenly, beautiful words started to come from his mouth.
Hinata stared in amazement at him, all of her hurt going out the window. He's speaking french… She found herself holding onto each word although she didn't know their meaning. She smiled and almost drowned in her bliss until Deidara hung up the phone, resuming what he was previously doing.
An emotionless gaze appearing in his eyes.
Hinata looked curiously at the phone before looking back up at him."I-I didn't know you c-could speak f-french."
Deidara stopped eating and met the girl's eyes. She shivered at his gaze once again.
A little bit of nervousness in his blue eyes struck her as odd. "Well, I'm from France. I think that it is required among the Suoh family."
Hinata giggled and looked at the clock. 1:04 was on it. She looked around for Ayame, but the girl was no where in sight. "S-So...who w-was that on the phone?" Hinata mentally hit herself in the head when Deidara arched an eyebrow at her. What the hell am I thinking? I'm trying to be his friend, not an obsessive grandmother.
A chuckle from the blonde erased the tension. "Well that was awkward. Sorry babe, but I don't jump into relationships that fast." He smirked at her and leaned forward. "I like to take it a bit slow, if you know what I mean."
Hinata blushed furiously and turned her head, which earned another chuckle form Deidara. "I-I didn't mean i-it that way, I just-!"
"What a surprise to see you here, Hinata-sama." Hinata paled at the venom-filled voice that greeted her. She looked up at the man that she hoped to avoid. She looked up and was met with the tall and graceful figure of her dear cousin, Neji Hyuuga. Tenji clutched the man's hand sadly as Kin looked at her with a surprised gaze.
Hinata stared. "H-Hello, N-Neji-nii-san."
Sakura smiled at the white gown that was shown to her. It was flowy and white with an extermly long tail, like the ones in the princess movies. Little cherry blossoms adorned the straps and the hem. It was perfect.
She squealed as she held it against her body, imagining herself on her special day. "This is the one! It's so beautiful! love it! It would go great with the bridesmaid attire! We can put little blossoms in the groomsmens pockets as well!" The rosette turned towards her fiance. "What do you think, Sasuke?"
The Uchiha shrugged before boringly looking at one of the tuxedos that were handed to him.
Sakura rolled her eyes before turning towards the woman nearby. "I would like to try this on, please."
The woman lead the pinkette to one of the many changing rooms before bowing and leaving.
Sakura took a moment to sigh as she plopped down on the stool.
It was tough being in the limelight all day. Having to be 'perfect' was taking a toll on her.
Especially now that people were critically judging her, calling her a homewrecker. The pinkette gazed at the wedding dress. Then what was Sasuke? Was he not considered a cheater? Why didn't anyone point the finger at him? Why am I the only one being accused?
"He's not perfect…", she muttered angrily as she stepped in the dress, but paused when she heard Sasuke's voice. Sakura squinted her green eyes as she waddled towards the door. She'd be damned if he was trying to get over on her.
"It was a success?...That's good Naruto, but I think that you should take an early flight here...Scratch that then. I'll get on one of my jets and meet you there. Sure, I'll bring the rest along."
He was leaving her? Now of all times?
She shook her head before pulling up the dress and looking in the mirror. A small smile came over her lips as her heart fluttered.
"Sakura." She heard him call, and felt the butterflies. Sure, he wasn't perfect but...
She stepped out of the dressing room, and felt herself grinning when she saw him give her one of his magnificent smiles. She loved him. "What do you think? This is the one right?"
Sasuke smirked and stood. Sakura tensed a little when he wrapped his long arms around her but quickly relaxed into his hold. They both stared at the full body mirror.
"I think that I'm the luckiest man in the world."He kissed her bare shoulder and looked down at her. Sakura continued to stare into the mirror. The man dominated her height and his dark looks contrasted with her bright looks. They looked stunning together. Sakura looked up at Sasuke and was met with his soft lips.
What are you planning, Sasuke? Sakura thought as she gripped Sasuke's arm tight and let his demonic spell take over her body.
Konan marched into the elevator and waited as several other people got in before pressing the tenth floor button. Some of the people in the elevator groaned, as their floor was on a lower level. She ignored them as she tapped her gothic boots impatiently. Another groan and a curse was heard from someone else, which made Konan put her hands on her hips in an attempt to keep them from smashing skulls. Only one more ding and then I'll be there...
Konan snapped as another sigh was heard.
She turned towards one of the men in the elevator with fire in her eyes. "If I hear one more fucking sound from you, I'll be standing outside your window singing to the demons."
The man's eyes widened at the unexpected response; Konan simply walked off the elevator and down the hall of the condominium. Her heels sounded in a rhythmic pattern. 10B 10B…
She abruptly stopped at one of the doors and knocked on it hurriedly. After her fifth knock, Konan grew impatient. "Good thing I have on my boots today."
Doors from the down the hall started opening at the sound of the girl trying to kick the door in. Before the third kick, the door opened.
Sasori's shirtless figure and wet-hair stood in the doorway, a slight frown on his flawless face.
"Sorry, but crazy ladies can only come after nine pm. I don't have enough condoms for all the rounds you want."
Konan pushed back his face and stepped inside the condo. She looked around for the blonde. "Where's Deidara?"
Sasori went into one of the bedrooms and came back out with pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. He shrugged and jumped on the sofa. "He said that he was going out for some bakudan, but that was hours ago."
Konan gripped her hair in frustration of missing the blonde. "I'm assuming that you didn't hear the news going around about him taking off to waltz in France."
Sasori turned on the wide screen. Konan grimaced at the tall puppet hanging from the wall beside her and quickly went to the opposite side of the room. Creepy.
"I heard, but what can I do about it? He can do what he wants, so can I."
"How is he going to complete the designs for the line in time for the meeting on Thursday?"
The redhead sighed and turned fully to Konan. "I. Don't. Know." Sasori wore a pissed look on his delicate face. "I told Gaara to assign me as the Head designer, but he insisted that Deidara do it. No blood on my hands though."
Konan shook her head and sank into the lazy boy beside the sofa. She knew that Sasori was still pissed about not being picked as the designer. She glared at the redhead. What the hell is he complaining about. Gaara appointed him as his right hand man. Can you guess why?
"This is an utter disaster in the making. He won't get anything done in France with the song making and all." The gothic woman sighed before rubbing her ear. "We can't screw this up; this is Akatsuki's first full meeting with the other members of Sabaku. The Elders will want something solid and that can justify itself. The drawings are a huge part of the meeting."
Sasori changed the channel. "Why not ask Kisame to do it? He doesn't seem that busy."
Konan glared at the thought of Kisame. "Kisame is gone - the niche thing."
The hazel-eyed man smirked at Konan and lied back on the couch. "Looks like we have to trust him then. Deidara never fell in his work before, I'm pretty sure that he's responsible enough to remember a deadline. Relax Konan."
Konan exhaled and looked at Sasori with a faint smile.
Sasori smirked at her and returned to watching the cooking show. The woman was cooking cinnamon buns.
"Wow, those look kinda good.", muttered Sasori as Konan watched the show with hunger also. She then realized something. The woman turned towards Sasori.
"So Deidara can sing, neh?"
