Disclaimer time – yeah, yeah, obviously I don't owe the Naruto, Hinata or any characters or places you might recognize, so please don't sue me, I have nothing but debts anyway. Warning time – the idea behind this story was inspired by a challenge off an LJ community anichallenge, so it's going to be AU. Also, this is my first foray into the Naruto fandom, so please let me know what you think. Lastly, if you missed it, this story is definitely going to be Naruhina, possible other pairings – definitely ShikaIno.
So about the delay, I've learned that I suck at writing fight scenes, so I gave up for now. There should end up being at least two in this story, so at some point, I'll have to figure them out, but in the interests of getting this chapter out, I scrapped the one I was i trying and failing /i to write. As a bonus though for the delay, this chapter is the longest, I've ever written for any fandom :D.
There is a bit more of Neji bashing . . . sorry to any Neji fans, but for any conflict, there must be an antagonist and although I love Neji, he fit the requirements.
Lol, lastly, my beta had to quit, so once b again /b , I apologize for any errors and I'm looking (what else is new) if you're interested, let me know, ok? For reference, I used Wikipedia for names, jutus, etc. so that's my new standard, they must have a better clue than me, lol.
Thanks so much and don't forget to review. :D
Chapter 10 – Enlightening Conversations
Sitting behind her desk, Tsunade felt both wary and yet oddly comforted by the presence of the Kazekage, who stared back at her unblinkingly. Gaara kept his counsel for the moment, still absorbing the intricate possibilities of what may have happened to his friend. Looking up he saw the impatient hope in her eyes and knowing that Naruto held this woman in great esteem, felt the need to say something sympathetic, although he was uncertain of exactly what to say.
"This is a troubling development, Gondaime," he began, choosing his words carefully, his low voice reverberating through the room.
"Troubling . . . yeah. That's one word for it," she quipped wryly. Tsunade's voice was a sharp contrast to her drawn expression. "Under the circumstances, I thought you might have been interested in knowing." Leaning down slightly, she opened a desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of clear liquid and a pair of glasses. Pouring out three fingers for herself, she offered one to him, which he declined, before tossing back her shot and promptly pouring another one. She winced, feeling the familiar burn of sake sliding down her throat.
Merely raising an eyebrow, Gaara ignored her behavior. "The Uchiha is a formidable enemy to both of our villages and this latest attack upon Naruto is merely the latest in a series of increasingly escalating incursions. The village of the Sand is at your disposal should you choose to eradicate this threat." The steady and emotionless timbre of his voice sent a shiver down the older woman's spine.
Taking a moment to steady herself, she poured and downed another shot. "Agreed and while the village of the Leaf appreciates the offer, Gaara-san, we've already begun taking steps in that direction. If we need any assistance we will, of course, contact you, but considering that the Uchiha is one of our missing-nins, we'd prefer to handle the matter of his capture and punishment internally if at all possible. I was rather hoping that you could help us with another matter, namely Naruto himself."
She took a deep breath, keeping in mind the sand-nin's history and attempting to broach the subject with the utmost diplomacy. "We aren't entirely certain what Sasuke's intentions were when he attacked Naruto, nor do we know exactly what he did, but it seems to have somehow affected the sealing of the Kyubi within him. " Gaara's eyes widened, before narrowing nearly imperceptibly. "Naruto understandably is in no condition to give us any further information regarding this situation, so we found ourselves at a loss as to exactly how to treat him. Since you and Naruto and the only two shinobi that we know of who have been sealed in such a manner, I was hoping that you might have some additional insight that might be of any help."
Pale, empty green eyes stared into hers for a long minute, before he nodded in acknowledgement. "Without seeing him, I cannot make any promises, but I will see what I can learn."
Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she could feel her headache growing stronger. It was too much to expect a miracle to fall from the sky, but she'd take what she could get under the circumstances. "I understand."
Standing, they made their goodbyes and as she watched him leave, Tsunade hoped like hell that Kakashi-no-baka had known what he'd been talking about when he recommended that she bring Gaara of the Desert in on this. She turned and stared out at the Monument of the Four Hokages and pouring one last shot, silently saluted them, before tipping it back.
Wandering through the streets of Kohona, Gaara slowly made his way towards Naruto and Hinata's apartment complex, his guards sent back to the inn. He hadn't been back to the village of the Leaf in years, far longer than he would've liked – the burdens of being the Kazkage in a time of war were heavier than he'd ever expected. He'd found friends for the first time after the Chunnin exam and yet rarely got to spend time with them and when Naruto ascended to being the hokage himself, he feared that he'd see his friend even less. This, of course, assumed that he still had that friend, which was now in question.
Although he would always consider Naruto to be his friend, the closest thing to a best friend Gaara ever expected to have, he braced himself for the possibility that Naruto may no longer feel the same. If as Tsunade -san reported that his memory had been regressed to the age of twelve, and the last thing that he remembered was being carried back to the Nation of Fire after the battle with the Uchiha, then he might not even know of the alliance between the Sand and the Leaf. Worse, among his last memories would be when Gaara tried to kill him.
This did not bode well.
And if the memory loss was permanent, although they might forge a new friendship, years of memories the sand-nin cherished would be lost forever, as if they never existed. Glancing up, he realized that he nearly walked past the street he was searching for and turning seemingly at random at the crosswalk and after a few minutes, recognized Naruto's apartment building.
Although Hinata had made a valiant effort to awaken him, Naruto kept his eyes shut and feigned sleep until she left. Hinata was a girl and if there was one thing Naruto did remember, hell more like couldn't forget was that girls needed to talk about everything to death. Hinata wasn't as bad as some he could mention, notably Sakura, Ino and even Tenten on occasion, but she did believe that talking about Sasuke – no, the Uchiha, he viciously reminded himself – was something he should do. And he just didn't know how to explain to her that couldn't and wouldn't discuss it, not with her at least.
He couldn't deal with his grief and sorrow, and turned into something that he could handle - a purely violent sense of rage - and didn't trust himself not to take it out on her. What he really needed was a nasty, knock-down and drag-out fight just to rid himself of his temper that he was all too dangerously close to loosing. The way he could've hurt Hinata, entirely by accident was also weighing heavily on him. Right now, the best thing for her was to be as far away from him as possible and if being a bastard was the best way to accomplish that, then he was more than ready to do it.
After rolling out of bed and taking a shower, Naruto pulled on a baggy pair of black cargo pants. He ignored the breakfast Hinata had laid out for him, his stomach rebelling at the thought of food, reminding himself to throw it out later before she noticed and got upset or worse, worried. He also had to remember to tell her about the 'enlightening' conversation he'd had with Neji and grimaced, not looking forward to that conversation. He was really going to have to do something about the guy soon.
A knock at the door surprised him. Opening it, he was even more surprised to see Gaara of all people. Without really thinking, he tilted his head slightly in welcome and leaving the door open, walked back into the room to grab a t-shirt and pull it on. Naruto idly wondered why the redhead showed up. If this was going to turn into a fight, then he really had to get him outside soon, 'cause if Gaara didn't kill him, Hinata just might if he got the apartment trashed. And between of the two of them, he was a little more afraid of Hinata, because she wouldn't even have to hit him, having to face that disappointed look in her eyes just might finish him.
Walking in, Gaara noted the little differences that marked Hinata's presence – framed photographs, the small herbal garden in the window sill, freshly cut flowers in vases scattered throughout, the general neatness about the room and most significantly the simple but elegantly table set for one.
"I'm sorry to see that I missed, Hinata-san." His voice was low, words carefully measured out in both awkward greeting and an unspoken question to feel out his welcome or rather lack of it.
In the midst of grabbing a t-shirt, since he was still only half-dressed, Naruto spun around abruptly; hackles raised upon hearing her name on his lips. He stared the other man down, eyes narrowed, as his eyes faintly took an ominous cast. "Whatever problem you have with me, leave her out of it or it will be your last . . . I promise! He abruptly snarled.
Refusing to give way, Gaara forced himself to tap down Shukaku's instinctual desire for immediate retribution, again reminding himself that as far as Naruto was concerned, they were at best wary strangers and possibly enemies. Perhaps bringing up the kunoichi may not have been the wisest approach, he wryly decided after the fact, keeping his face free of expression.
An idea he found very interesting.
As he had understood it, their relationship had developed slowly after time, but in the past few days they must have progressed quite far for his friend to be so intensely protective of her. Unless, of course, Naruto unconsciously remembered more than anyone realized or, eyes narrowing slightly as he scrutinized the other man, perhaps while his actual memory was apparently lost, his emotions were retained? Gaara felt something like hope spark within him at the notion, before deciding to reflect on it later, first he had to convince the blonde that he wasn't a threat.
Calmly remaining still, he raised one palm upward in a gesture of non-violence. "Naruto, I meant nor insult or ill-will towards Hinata-san. In fact if she were here, she would be the first to tell you that we are friends, as are you and I. The fifth contacted me regarding your situation and I came to offer whatever assistance I could to one I consider both an ally and friend."
Eyeing him suspiciously, Naruto quickly jerked the neck of the shirt over his head, not relaxing, but not on the brink of attacking either. "My situation?" He raised an eyebrow, waiting for more information, but unwilling to give away anything.
"Yes, your situation. " When he realized that Naruto wasn't willing to divulge anything, he held back a sigh. "Your more than obvious memory loss," he added pointedly.
"So you know . . . big deal. That doesn't prove that we're friends, you know." Naruto sniped back.
"Since we're alone, unless you want to find someone to verify what I've said, you're going to have to take my word on it." Gaara leaned against the wall.
Naruto stared back at him. If Gaara really wanted to kill him, he would have made an attempt already, but then again this wouldn't be the first time that the Gaara had entered Kohona under false pretenses.
"You really want to help or are you just messing with me?" He demanded in what Gaara could only assume must have been a damned uncomfortable position. The blonde was half-sitting on the bed, half crouched in a nearby chair as he pulled on his sandals all just so he could get at least one eye on the sand-nin at all times. Revealing a rare smile, he restrained his impulse to shake his head at Naruto's antics, and not all together unreasonable paranoia, and confirmed that he was sure.
Naruto stared at him for a moment longer, before shrugging. He wasn't sure if he actually believed the other man, but getting him out of the apartment and village couldn't be a bad idea no matter what his intentions might be. And besides, he was still spoiling for a fight and if nothing else, he knew from experience that Gaara was probably his best choice. Being sealed with a demon himself, the red-head had enough stamina and skill to prove to be a challenge and if he was really telling the truth, than Naruto had much he could learn from him.
"In that case, I hope you're up for a little sparring," deciding at the last moment to substitute sparring for fighting. No need to insult him, if the guy was on the up and up, after all.
"You want to fight?" Gaara cocked his head to the side, considering the idea. It had been a few years since he'd last had a serious challenge, other the occasional Uchiha or Akatsuki attack, and while he didn't doubt for one second if Naruto truly believed him to be a threat that the leaf-nin wouldn't go for the kill, he was also aware that if he approached this fight as practice, then Naruto would follow suit. Despite everything over the years, Naruto retained an inner core of honorable integrity that was rare among shinobi – if he believed that his opponent could be saved without risking the safety of others, he would do it without that.
Although this quality had saved his own life once, because he held no illusions that Naruto chose to spare him in their first battle, it was a double-edged sword that was his friend's greatest weakness. Not to mention the only reason, he believed, that the Uchiha was still alive to wreak havoc throughout the shinobi world. If Naruto really had lost his memory permanently then perhaps this was an opportunity to nip that tendency in the bud. Gaara pondered the implications of that possibility, even as he nodded in assent.
Hinata went to the hospital. Because of Naruto's condition she was also temporarily taken off active duty and had far too much time on her hands, the least she could do was to put it to good use. She wanted to stay with Naruto but was afraid that she was smothering him. Although she was certain a breakthrough was coming, Hinata refused to believe otherwise, it likely wasn't going to happen today. Some time apart would be good for both of them, she told herself again, anxiously looking over her shoulder back at their apartment in the distance.
"Hinata, wait up a minute!""
She turned around to see Ino rushing towards her.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Pardon me?" Hinata carefully held her hands to her sides, resisting the impulse to play with fingers, a dead giveaway to her nervousness.
Ino rolled her eyes dramatically. "Hinata, you know I love you, but - don't even give me that shit. What's the deal with Naruto?"
"Naruto?" The dark-haired kunoichi winced at the rising note as she repeated his
name.
"Yeah, Naruto – you know, blonde, loud, our soon to be appointed leader and, most notably under the circumstances, your boyfriend." She tossed her hair over her shoulder as she stared down the smaller figure of her friend.
"Ummm, he's at home?"
"Well, I know that he's not on a mission, that's for sure." Ino narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Sakura doesn't know anything, Tenten is already out on another mission, Kakashi is no where to be found, to no one's surprise, and nobody else – namely the Hokage, my loser boyfriend or you are saying anything. And since Shika is impossible when he wants to avoid something, you're my best choice, so spill."
"I'm not sure what you want to know and . . . " Glancing around, Hinata quickly added, "Do you really think that this is the place to discuss anything?"
Ino blinked as if startled. "Oh wow, I didn't expect you to actually be reasonable," the blonde snickered. "That's makes you the first today, but," tilting her curiously for a moment, she said, "You're right. Another place would be better." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Let's go to Shikamaru's. Kami knows that he isn't there, I already checked." Ino winked at Hinata. "I've got the key and no one should bother us there."
Ino dragged Hinata through the streets of Kohona until they reached a non-descript door. Fishing the key out of one of a random pouch, Ino opened the door and pushed the younger woman inside. She spun around, eyes narrowing as she saw a suspicious puff of smoke drifting from the corner of a building across the street. "Gotcha," she whispered.
She may not have the eyes of some of her fellow shinobi, but Ino Yamanaka was no one's fool, aside from what she had picked up from her genius slacker of a boyfriend, she was no slouch went it came to genjutsus herself. Pocketing the key, she turned her back to the building and their curious onlooker and quickly formed a series of intricate hand seals. "Enjoy the show, Neji," a faint smirk crossed her lips, before she walked into the apartment and shut the door, securely locking it behind her.
Once inside, Ino shrugged off the concerned the look on Hinata's face. "Sorry about the mess." She rolled her eyes, "If I clean it all the time, then he'd take me for granted, but I'm sure I could scrounge up some tea, somewhere, if you'd like?"
"Ahhh . . . no need." Hinata watched the older girl as she walked around the small apartment, clearing a place for them to sit. "What were you doing out there?"
"Oh, that?" Ino asked off-handedly, critically examining clothing, before tossing them in a small, but growing pile in front of the closet. "Just Neji lurking around, here, finally a spot for you to sit." When Hinata didn't move or immediately respond, Ino looked up to see her standing there, pale white.
"Oh, Hinata, don't worry about him," she quickly spoke up, her voice abruptly soothing as she walked up and rubbed the other girl's arm in a gesture of consolation. "He's been following us since we met, but I took care of him."
"Following us?" Hinata slowly swallowed.
"Yep, but like I said it's taken care of, so no worries. He can spy all he wants, but all he's going to learn are a few bad recipes, which if he actually tries to create will serve him right." Ino smiled brightly at her dark-haired friend, while silently castigating Neji Hyuga and the rest of his damned family to a nice and toasty circle of hell. She made a mental note to chat with Shikamaru about him later on, this thing between him and Hinata was getting to be outrageous and nobody fucked around with her friends without impunity. Clan business or no, he was still a bastard, as far as she was concerned.
"Forget about him and sit. I'm going to put some tea on for us and then we'll catch up."
An hour later, Ino felt emotionally exhausted.
Damn that traitor, Sasuke, even gone he was still fucking everything up, without so much as a second thought to anyone else, Ino silently gritted her teeth.
"Ohmigod . . . Hinata, I am just . . . so sorry." She felt at a loss for words, something that almost never happened to her.
The small smile the crossed Hinata's face did little to quell Ino's dismay. When she had suggested tea, she thought they were going to commiserate over their boyfriends getting injured in the line of duty, male stupidity or maybe their family's giving them grief – something superficial she needed to vent about, nothing like this.
She had known that something was up, but this was byond anything that she had never even suspected. Hinata was handling it so much better than she ever would have been able to – the very idea of Shikamaru suddenly loosing his memory and forgetting everything they had been to each other was enough to horrify her, but actually having to live through it . . .
"If there is anything I can do and I mean anything, you know that all you have to do is ask, right?" Ino demanded, wanting – no needing to do something. Sitting around drinking tea was fine for some kunoichi she supposed, but not her. Shikamaru would flip out, if he thought that she even for one moment contemplated going after Sasuke. And as much as the idea of making him pay, and he had so much to pay for, appealed to her, she wasn't suicidal, but there had to be something else she could do.
"I know you would, Ino-chan." Hinata's smile grew a little wider as she looking into the concerned face of her friend. "Unfortunately there are no dragons anywhere in sight to be slayed this time," her gentle voice alluding to Ino's infamous history of running to the rescue of her classmates and friends.
"No, tilting at windmills, you mean?" Ino asked ruefully, sighing. "I don't know how you can be so calm, if I were you, I'd be running around like a chicken with its head cut off," she confessed, as she leaned back into the couch, elbow propped up and her chin resting in the palm of her hand.
Hinata laughed delicately at the image. "No, you wouldn't. I'd see you more beating up Shikamaru for allowing it to happen in the first place, then chasing Sakura around the streets of Kohona until she figured out a way to fix it."
"Yeah, well that goes without saying," she cracked, before reaching out to take a sip of her tea. "Oohhh, this is ice-cold!" Ino frowned, staring down at her full cup in exasperation. "Hinata, why didn't you tell me? I would've made more, you know?
"Here, give me your cup and I'll brew us up a fresh pot," she blurted out as she jumped to her feet. For one moment, Ino distractedly realized that she was acting like her mother when her father was late coming home from a mission and winced.
Shaking her head with a smile, Hinata stood up. "That's not necessary."
"Oh, it's no troub -"
"But thank you, Ino." The petite kunoichi's voice was soft but clear, cutting through Ino's rush of words. Hinata placed one hand lightly on the taller woman's arm. "Thank you for . . . everything – the offer, the cold tea, the company, but mostly just for being here and listening."
"I – I don't get the chance to do," she waved an almost childlike hand in a movement that was strangely more eloquent than her words," this, very often." There was a pause as pale eyes stared in the floorboard.
Finding whatever it was she sought, Hinata continued. "When you found me, I was . . . feeling sorry for myself. Naruto was frustrated, he didn't want me around and it's not like there are many places to just hang out in first thing in the morning and I didn't want to bother anyone." When Ino opened her mouth, Hinata shook her head. "I haven't spoken to anyone about this since it happened and it felt good to 'vent' as you would say."
"But now it's getting late and Naruto is out there somewhere," her hand moved again, slow and moody this time. "Sometimes, you know I can see the man I sent off last month, the man I love, but mostly I see that reckless boy I had such the painful crush on. Remember when we were that young and stupid?" Her smile transformed into something so intensely wistful yet intensely painful that Ino, watching had to blink back tears and she wasn't the type to cry, even at those sappy chick-flicks Sakura insisted on watching.
She shook her head again. "That's the mindset he's in, he doesn't have a clue. He needs me Ino and I need to find him. Somehow we'll find a way to fix this, it's gotta to be, right?"
"I can help," the blonde quickly offered.
"No thanks, you've done more than enough and with my Byakugan, it won't take me very long at all."
Ino tilted her head for a moment. "Ohhh yeah. . . Sometimes, I forget that you're a Hyuga." A wicked smile crossed her face. "Yeah, you should get going, I'll take care of everything else."
"Everything else?" Hinata queried suspiciously. "Ino-chan . . . what are you up to?"
"Nothing, nothing, nothing . . . " Her voice carried an almost sing-song lilt as she led the other girl to the door. "Nothing at all for you to worry about."
Hinata gave her the hairy eyeball, her friend was definitely working some angle, but she didn't have anymore time to argue. "Ok, Ino, but don't do anything that gets me in trouble with Shikamaru, ok?" She turned to give a surprised Ino, a tight hug, before quickly walking her way down the street and out of sight.
Ino hung back, waiting impatiently and after a moment or two spotted her prey coming out of the woodwork, literally. She quickly intercepted him.
"Get out of my way, Yamanaka." Neji demanded in a bored tone.
"Yeah, ok. Hmmm, lemme think about this for a moment," she mocked him. "Ummm . . . nope, not going to happen, so fuck you, Hyuga." She rolled her eyes, slipping into a defensive stance.
"Your efforts are futile at best," he pointed out dismissively, his eyes focusing behind her.
"Futile?" Ino's eye narrowed, as her voice grew a shade darker.
"Do you know who you're dealing with here? 'Cause newsflash, I'm not Tenten or Hinata, Neji. I'm not in love, related or afraid of you."
"As if," he scoffed, his eyes coldly scrutinizing her, seeking out every weakness. "You're a naïve, weak, blonde, female and without your teammates to back you up, you're nothing but a one-trick bitch and a pathetic one at that. Even Hinata as pathetic as she is, is more powerful that you."
"One trick-bitch, huh? Bet you think that's real clever, don't you? Misanthropic bastard," she responded sweetly in contrast to the concentrated gleam in her eyes. "Bossing around Tenten, tormenting Hinata, well, I don't put up with that shit from anyone and forget about Shikamouru, Lee or hell, even Naruto. You may be a prodigy, but from what I can see, you're nothing more than a bully. You don't scare me," she taunted him.
"Obviously you're too stupid to comprehend the very danger you so assiduously court."
"And you're obviously out of your fucking mind, so we both know where we stand." She snarked back. "I want you to back off Hinata, otherwise you're going to be in a world of hurt."
"From you?" He faintly smirked, imperiously. "Don't make me laugh. Jounin you may be, but you're no threat to me."
"Arrogant as always and that's exactly why you'll go down." And don't think that it would be just me, see I'll tell you a secret, Neji . . ." She paused, subtly gesturing one hand, even as she moved it close enough to perform a jutsu or two if needed. "The rest of us, we actually like Hinata, she's our friend but you're nothing more than a pain in the ass."
And it was as she hit on some trigger.
Swallowing back a curse, she quickly began forming hand seals as she saw him begin his Kaiten, only to shake her head and relax as he seemingly froze in position.
From behind came the distinctive slow drawl of her boyfriend. "That's just enough, Neji." Moments later, Shikamaru dropped his Kagemane no Jutsu, slipping his hands into his pockets, he calmly strolled past the older nin, to move between him and Ino.
At first glance, to anyone who didn't know the shadow nin well, he was his usual lazy self, but anyone who had ever been on a mission with him would easily recognized the violent intent only just visible in his dark eyes. "Say goodbye Ino, Neji's got to be going now."
Blue eyes smoldered into the back of his messy hair, as she angrily snorted.
Both men ignored her as they stared each other down, before Neji reluctantly conceded and walked off, with one last hate-filled glare.
When the Hyuga was out of sight, Shikamaru sighed, slumping slightly as he rocked back on his heels, before turning to face her, his frustration clearly evident. "Jeez, Ino. Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?"
She smacked him in the stomach. "What, you think that poor helpless, female Ino couldn't take him?" Indignation lit up her eyes, as she scathingly demanded.
"Fuck that bullshit, I know better," he all but snarled at her, "but that doesn't mean you should go around provoking one of the most powerful shinobi in the Bingo book on a goddamn whim either! Do I have to lock you up or are you planning on going to go after Itachi or Orochimaru next?"
"Now you're just bitching." Ino tossed back her hair. "Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not a blonde airhead, Shika. I had everything under control."
"Yeah, I saw that. He damn near used the Kaiten on you, Ino." He ran his hand through his hair to hide that fact that it was still shaking. "You know the kind of damage that can do, I prefer you in one piece, so sue me for it."
Arguing with her was slowly loosening the knot of tension and fear that arose in his throat when he turned the corner to see his girlfriend squaring off with that crazy bastard, Neji. He had already recommended to the hokage that the Hyuga was long overdue for a pysch evaluation, but he'd gone too far this time. Without or without Tsunade's approval, he was going to put the Anbu and the Kohona MP on alert status as far as Neji was concerned.
It was a damn shame, in his opinion. After the failed attempt to rescue Sasuke and for a few years afterward, Neji had become someone that everyone got along with and someone you wanted on a mission with you, but those days were long gone. The Byakugan user had grown increasingly unstable after Hinata had moved off of the clan grounds and since getting captured on a mission six months, he was becoming steadily worse.
"Don't exaggerate. He was pissed, yeah, but he wasn't going to kill me and that's assuming that my ninjutsu failed." She shrugged carelessly.
"You really believe that he wouldn't try?" When she rolled her eyes at him again, he tried again. "You directly challenged, hell, you baited him, Ino. He may not have succeeded, but he was damn well going to try."
Ino promptly turned it around on him. "So then you do think I'm incompetent?"
"That is not what I said!" Shikamaru shook his head at the futility of this discussion, sometimes she drove him insane. "Screw it . . . I am not going to argue this with you."
Within seconds, he had her securely trapped within his Kagemane no Jutsu and he backed her up, until she was up against the wall of his apartment, before he broke it and stepped forward, pinning her there, his hands already holding hers in place on either side of her head. "Ino, he's dangerous, ok? Even if you don't think so, for my peace of mind, please just promise me that you won't go out of your way to get in his face again, ok?"
She stared at him rebelliously for a long moment and inwardly Shika cringed, watching the wheels in her mind turn. Ino was going to make him pay for this, the only question was how.
"Fine," she said finally, "but, you're cleaning the apartment today. And I mean really cleaning it, none of this throwing everything into the closet or under the bed crap, and you taking me out tonight – dinner and dancing."
He nodded with a rueful grin, gratefully he was getting off so light.
"And all bets are off, if he gets in my face or I find him stalking Hinata again."
"Agreed," Shika was quick to speak up, before she added any more conditions.
"Which reminds me, where the hell is Naruto? Shouldn't he being doing some-"
He could just see a rant starting and abruptly cut her off. "Ino, shut up for a minute, ok?" When her eyes darkened, Shikamaru laughed slightly, before capturing her lips in a fiercely hot kiss. One hand slid up, his fingers entwining with hers, while his other hand found the doorknob and fumbling opened the door, before he dragged her inside and still kissing her, he kicked the door shut behind them.
Activating her blood line limit, Hinata's eyes widened in the dim light of the setting sun, off into the distance of the forest, she could see Naruto fighting with Gaara of all people. Swallowing a curse, she took to the trees, with some luck she might get there before they killed each other, although what she was going to do when she actually arrived there, she wasn't certain of yet. Within minutes, she was in range and inhaled deeply, thankfully relaxing. Whatever they were doing, it was obvious that they weren't fighting to the death.
She hung back a bit observing them, silent and unseen in the shadows. The friendship between the two of them was, considering their history, a subject of endless debate among the Kohona nin, other than the select few who knew Naruto well, but Hinata always seen it as a gift, albeit a surprising one, even for him. It was never a question of acceptance; Naruto was always able to see past people's history, he made friends wherever he went, the way some people bought touristy trinkets.
However, they were usually, although heartfelt, superficial relationships at best – people he only occasionally saw when he was in the area or would send a card to when he remembered. Even in Kohona, where Naruto was finally accepted by most of the shinobi, his circle of friends was a small group of individuals – the survivors of the original 9 genin, a few of the elite Jounin, Tsuande-sama, and the members Konohamaru corps, most of whom had no idea of the Kyubi. As far as she knew, Gaara aside from herself, was the only other person that Naruto had actually ever told, and even that was under duress, but somehow having someone who shared the same burden seemed to work wonders for the both of them.
And although Hinata had initially been wary of Gaara, she soon came to appreciate the friendship between him and Naruto, how could she not? Gaara, despite his harsh exterior was just as isolated as Naruto and having spent time with him, she began to see the emotionally starved child he must have been. She smiled ruefully, of course if either of them ever knew how protective of them she felt at times, they'd probably refuse to speak to her for awhile.
"Oi Hina-chan! You going to come out and say Hi or what?"
Startled, she raised her head, shaking off her musings to see Naruto waving at her.
"Gotta forgive her, Gaara. Hinata likes to lurk about at times, can't take her eyes off of me, you know . . . " Naruto bragged to the as impassive as always Gaara, a wide grin on his face. A grin that grew wider as she appeared at the edge of the clearing, a slight blush visible along her cheeks.
Arching one eyebrow, Gaara looked from his friend to the petite kunoichi he had noticed some time ago and dryly remarked, "There is nothing to forgive, although if that's true Hinata, perhaps a visit to the hospital is in order?"
Hinata covered her mouth, weakly hiding her laughter, while Naruto turned a chiding glare at his friend.
"Hey . . . man, you're supposed to be on my side here," he complained, but there was no bite to his words. "Shit . . . " he muttered, "my friend and my girl both turning on me . . ." He threw up his hands, shaking his head in mock frustration.
"I wasn't aware that we were choosing sides," Gaara responded seemingly seriously, the corners of his mouth almost twitching upward, while Hinata continued to quietly laugh.
"That's right Naruto, I'm afraid that you've discovered our plot. Gaara and I are planning to run off together," she delivered with a mostly straight face, winking at the sand-nin.
Naruto's eyes opened wide as his mouth gaped and he nearly fell over in shock.
"Wha-?" Outrage tinged his half spoken demand, before he saw the amusement on their faces. "Ooohh . . . that was low Hina-chan," he grumbled loudly, even as a smile crossed his face.
When he first noticed Hinata nearby, but not approaching, he thought despite Gaara's words to the contrary that she was afraid of the Kazekage and had tried to set her at ease by teasing her. Apparently, they must have become very good friends over the years for Hinata to tease him back so boldly.
On one level, he was glad. Sparring with Gaara had been more satisfying than he had expected, not only had he gotten a chance to go all out, but Gaara had even worked with him on some techniques the other man said he had been favoring of late. On the other hand, however, after Hinata had make that comment, for one agonizingly long second, he had actually believed her and had only just been able to hold back the rush of explosive charka.
Taking a deep breath, he allowed himself to physically relax as their bantering voices blurred into background noise, while focusing his energy on leveling out both his temper and charka. For some reason he didn't quite understand, it seemed like his control had been shot to hell and whether this was a side-effect of whatever the hell the Uchiha bastard had done or just something that had happened in the time he had lost, he wasn't certain. All he did know is that it was beginning to get worse and that was bad news all around.
Apparently he and Gaara were good friends and as far as Hinata went . . . his mind shied away from deep emotions her name evoked, he almost nearly unleashed his full strength on them and as far as he could tell, neither of them had some much as a clue. And while Gaara's shield of sand might have kicked in fast enough to protect him, Hinata had no such defensive maneuvers. Forget about Sasuke, and Naruto was too caught up in his own thoughts to even notice his slip, he was dangerous enough on his own if he was ready to attack his precious people.
The thought sent chills down his spine.
"Naruto-kun?"
He shook his head, blinking slightly as he realized that Hinata was calling his name and from the puzzled expression on her face and the more suspicious one on Gaara's face, it wasn't for the first time either.
"What's up, Hina-chan?" He asked jauntily, pasting a bright smile on his face as he resolved to forget the haunting questions for a little while at least, but pasted on the concerned glance Gaara and Hinata exchanged he failed, miserably.
"Ummm," she glanced from Naruto to Gaara apologetically then back to Naruto with a troubled look in her eyes. "Since Gaara-san was in town, I had invited him to dinner with us tonight, but if you're too tired . . ." Her voice trailed off uneasily, with a helpless sort of shrug that spoke volumes more than her actual words.
Naruto recovered quickly, deliberately interjecting a note of nonchalance in his voice. "Me? Too tired for friends and food? No way, it'd never happen. You should know better, Hina-chan," he playfully scolded her, hoping to belie their worry.
It was an obvious failure judging from their reaction, but he proceeded to talk their ears off back into the village. Naruto was more than sick about endlessly talking, so he amused himself by prodding the stoic sand-nin into telling stories about Sunagakure and the changes in policy that he had been enacting in the past few years. It wasn't the most interesting discussions he could remember, but it was better than having to be the focus of attention. Afterwards, they made plans to hang out again tomorrow, although that was more of Hinata's doing than either of the two of them.
TBC
Ok, so that was the tenth chapter, hopefully you liked it and are intrigued enough to want some more, if so please review. If you hated it, well let me know that too and why. I've only recently discovered Naruto and I'm depending on you to let me know if they're OOC, or off in any other way.
Once again, I never quit a story, I'm just writing three of them at the moment and sometimes I get more into one or another, but I will b always /b come back to finish a story out.
So please don't forget to review, it's good for your karma. :D