You Only Live Twice
Chapter 10: Reveal
All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward. - Ellen Glasgow
Temari and Shikamaru were first to come to the house. As soon as they passed the front steps, Sakura came out and went straight for Temari. As the girls hugged and talked all in a rush, both Shikamaru and Sasuke noticed they were shaking and on the verge of tears.
Not long after Temari's arrival, the others came in Neji's car. Sakura frowned at that. It would have been better if he hadn't come but she guessed he had the right. He was Hinata's cousin after all.
The girls all embraced again and started talking while the guys just stood and watched. As Sakura filled them in on what was going on, the boys watched as their faces paled and their eyes filled with tears. But none of them cried.
When the girls settled down a bit, Sasuke showed them into the house and led them to a room on the first floor. Sakura found it odd that he had taken her to his room while he had a perfectly suitable room on the first floor.
It was spacious, though. As expected from a huge mansion like that one. There was a sofa and armchairs around a glass table. A huge TV was on the opposite wall as well as a fireplace underneath it. It was probably one of the living rooms.
The girls all huddled on the sofa while the guys just found their places around the room. Naruto settled on an armchair situated on the left of the couch, as close to Hinata as possible without being suspicious. Neji went to check the windows and stayed there, occasionally glancing outside. Shikamaru sprawled on an armchair near the fireplace and looked like he was about to fall asleep. Seriously, Temari thought, nothing fazed that guy. Sai leaned against the wall near the fireplace while Sasuke just paced around.
The silence stretched between them for a minute. Then another one. And another one. In the end Neji's nerves were first to snap, "I haven't come here to listen to the silence. I could have done this in my apartment."
"Then you should go there since this isn't going to change," Tenten snapped back at him. The two exchanged glares before Naruto piped in, "Hey, no bickering! The last thing we want now is the two of you fighting. Right now the most important thing is finding out how Sakura got those bruises."
The girls had asked Sakura about the wounds already but it was when the guys weren't paying attention. Sakura had explained a bit about what had happened but telling the story in front of the guys was another story. If she told them that a guy tried to kill her in one of the alleys in the parking lot, more questions would rise. And those questions she couldn't answer although she felt that at least Sasuke had the right to know. After all, he had saved her by risking his own life and unknowingly gotten himself in a lot of trouble. But if he knew, the other guys would eventually find out as well.
As Sakura didn't answer or look at Naruto, Sasuke decided to speak instead of her.
"I don't know the beginning but I'll tell you what I saw," he began, not paying attention to Sakura whose head snapped up at the sound of his voice. Not bothered by her glare, he continued, "A guy, I assume is this Kimimaro guy we-"
Sakura stood up, eyes and mouth wide open, "What the hell are you saying? How do you know that name?"
She looked at the other guys who seemed to know the name as well. This was worse than she expected. Exactly how much did these boys know already?
Sasuke continued speaking as he went to one of the drawers on the desk at the corner of the room, "The guy was chasing her through the parking lot and I saw Sakura going into an alley that was a dead end. He went right after her and I ran out of the school to see what's going out. When I reached them she was already on the ground and he had hit her numerous times. He was pointing a gun at her and was ready to shoot her. I had little time to act but I guess the training my father gave me finally paid out."
Training? His father? Sakura racked her brain to remember the things she had learned about his family while hearing the gossips at school. His mother was a former model who had chosen to be a housewife and mother instead of being a famous celebrity. She was still popular even though she had long given up on modeling. His brother was studying business in some university she could not remember. And his father was a cop. But not just a regular one. He was a chief. Which made the situation even worse because the police here may be working for Kimimaro's family like the police in Suna did. But apparently Sasuke's father had made sure to teach his son to defend himself. And he had taught him well.
"The rest you already know," finished Sasuke as he pulled something out of the drawer and gave it to Sakura. She took it, looking questioningly at him. But soon the confusion disappeared because she recognized the object in her hands. And so did the other girls.
Ino spoke the question that was inside each of their heads, "Where did you get this camera? I thought I lost it that night…"
She stopped herself before saying anything else. Sakura didn't play the video for she knew all too well which one was on the DVD. She just had no idea where had the guys found this. She didn't remember what had happened to the camera on that night because everything had happened so fast. The last thing she was thinking about back then was taking videos or pictures.
Even though she couldn't comprehend how this camera had gotten into the hands of Sasuke, someone else could.
"You went through our place at my house, didn't you?" said Hinata with her gentle voice. "The only reason you agreed to take Hanabi home was so that you could check if there is something you could find out about us."
The guys looked mildly surprised at how easily Hinata had figured it out. And now that Sakura thought about it, it did make sense. Neji had taken the other guys with him and while he had been with her father, the others could roam freely inside the Hyuuga mansion without being bothered.
Sakura wanted to kick herself for not foreseeing this. It was the perfect opening for them. Right about now, she wanted to find Hanabi and shake that little evil creature until her head fell off. Sakura had never thought that deep inside she was a child abuser.
"Did you take anything else?" asked Tenten looking suspiciously at the group.
Shikamaru shook his head, "Although everything was a mess, it was obvious that the maids or your father had taken some things. Only some pictures and clothes were left scattered everywhere. Apparently nobody noticed the camera because it was under the couch."
"So what? You went through all our stuff? Without asking for permission?"
Sasuke shrugged absently, "Yeah."
Sakura's blood boiled. She was sure the other girls were fuming as well. Just the way he said it was infuriating. Who was he to go through their things in their home (actually it was Hinata's and Neji's but they had slept over so many times that the Hyuuga mansion became just like home)? And he didn't feel at least guilty about it. Sakura wanted to punch his beautiful face. She mentally cringed at the thought 'beautiful'. Now was not the time to feel attracted to Sasuke.
"And now we want to know the whole story. The clip was stopped abruptly by someone shouting so I conclude that something big happened afterwards." said Shikamaru. He got only glares from the girls and silence.
A few minutes passed like that. Intense stares and silence. To the point it became spooky.
"If I tell you, you'll all die," whispered Temari . It was said so quietly that it sounded like leaves moving in the wind. It only made the statement even more terrifying.
The other girls looked at her with wide surprised eyes. The boys were surprised as well that Temari cracked a little bit since she looked and acted like the tough one in the group. Shikamaru suspected that she was far more fragile than anybody thought. Even more now that he had seen her break down.
"What are you talking about?" asked Neji who had moved nearer the couch where Naruto sat.
"I'm saying that if you try to find out what happened or if we told you, you'll die. Just like we will."
"Elaborate."
"Are you an idiot? Didn't you hear what I just told you?"
Neji started walking again. His face ended up mere inches away from Temari's. When he spoke, his voice was icy and threatening, "I hear you perfectly. But seeing as Sasuke helped Sakura and is probably in this already, I think he deserves to know. I was ordered to protect Hinata. Explain to me how that hell can I do that if you won't cooperate."
When Temari didn't say anything else, Hinata stood up. Her face had an icy expression just like Neji's. She pulled her cousin away from Temari so that he could face her. The height difference was big but that didn't stop Hinata from glaring at him.
"I am not a little girl anymore. I've seen too many things in life to be considered one." Her voice was strong, nothing like the gentle one she used when talking to her friends, "You can forget about the orders from my father. Actually, I didn't think my father's wishes meant anything to you. After all, you left our family long ago."
It was true. Neji had left Suna when he was just six to live with some other relatives because of an unfortunate event that had his own father killed. His and Hinata's father were identical twins. But unlike Hinata's father, Neji's wasn't a businessman. He had chosen to be his brother's shadow and bodyguard. He was mistaken by assassins for his brother and killed while having lunch with a colleague. Neji was left an orphan. Feeling bitter, he had left to live with his aunt on his mother's side. When he reached sixteen he moved out to live on his own. Although he kept in touch with his uncle Neji rarely came back to Suna. That's why the girls had never seen him before.
"I may have left the mansion but I am still part of the family. And it is my responsibility to look after you like my father looked after yours."
Hinata shook her head, "You know I don't want that from you. I don't care what the rules of our family are. I won't force anything on you if you don't want it."
"I want it," was his quiet answer. It shocked not only her but the others as well. "It's my father's legacy. He was the bodyguard of the head of the family. I am to be the bodyguard of the next."
That shut her up. She couldn't deny his wishes to inherit his father's trade. And he too knew that.
"So, what's the story? Let's hear all of it."
Hinata looked at Temari apologetically. Since Sasuke was already in trouble for helping Sakura it was only fair he knew what was going on. Neji had the right to know as he was to protect her. The other guys would find out about it eventually.
Sakura sighed and started talking before Temari did. "Are you sure nobody's listening?" she asked Sasuke. He went to the double doors and ordered a maid nearby not to disturb them before closing them.
When he returned he looked at her expectantly. He really was a man of few words.
"Ever since Temari's father won his first elections for mayor, his opponent Shiro Kaguya has tried to take over his post. For two mandates he had tried to take over the mayor position from her father."
Naruto interrupted. "Your father was the mayor?" he asked looking at Temari with disbelief.
"Yes, he was," answered Sakura instead and went on with the story," He was the mayor until one night he was brutally killed in his office while working late."
"I hear about that on the news." nodded Shikamaru, suddenly recalling discussing the events with his father. He had said good people always went first.
"Well, Temari saw it with her own eyes."
Silence stretched between them. Information like this required some time to sink in. In the end Neji was the one who spoke up, "You saw the murder of your own father?"
He couldn't imagine what that might feel like. His own father was killed as well but he hadn't witnessed it. He could imagine the pain of seeing your own father die.
"I did," said Temari after a few moments of silence. "But I wish I couldn't."
"What exactly did you see?" asked Shikamaru but soon realized what he had asked and hastily added, "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that."
She glared at him, "I don't have to tell you anything but here I am telling you the story of my life." The she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. "I was helping my father that night because the elections were soon coming. This was the last year he was going to run for the job so he wanted to make an impression although the people loved him already. He sent me to find some papers from his previous elections. When I returned I heard voices coming from his office. The doors were opened so I could see what's going on. There was some shouting and I was ready to call the security when I heard a gunshot and my father's blood on the window behind him. I let out a shout of horror and they heard me. Until then I hadn't seen their faces. But when they heard me scream I saw all of them. Shiro Kaguya was standing behind his son, Kimimaro, who held the gun. Whit them was another guy whose name I found out later was Kazuma Watanabe."
Sasuke's head shot up immediately, "Wait, did you say Watanabe?"
Temari nodded, "Yes, it was the first time I saw him. Do you know him?"
Sasuke frowned, "Not really but I know someone with that name. You know her as well."
"What are you talking about? I spent weeks trying to find his name. It is as if he doesn't exist."
Sasuke shook his head, "Karin's last name is Watanabe."
A/N: Finally updated and gave you something juicy. Hope you liked it and I hope I'll be able to post soon. But don't hold your breath. I'm moving out of home for university which is another friggin' country. Talk about stress. :I