I think I might be finished writing this fic by the end of the week, or at least hopefully. This is probably the shortest fic I've written so far. Wish me luck!
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, now tell the lawyers to put down their briefcases. They aren't getting a lawsuit out of me.
Ch.11: What to Do With Neji
Hinata was walking through her family's compound when she noticed Neji staring forlornly out the window. 'Neji…' She thought before she turned her head and walked out of the house and out of the compound.
She soon arrived at her destination, Sakura's house. She rang the doorbell and waited for a reply. She could hear someone scrambling for the door and it opened with a crash. "Hinata-chan!"
Hinata sweatdropped. "Naruto, what happened?" she asked as she looked as his haggard appearance as he bounced Hiroki.
Kakashi and Sakura stuck their heads out of the kitchen. "Well, Naruto thought it was a good idea to announce his appearance when he appeared in the doorway."
"Successfully waking all the babies up after we just put them down," glared Sakura.
"And now he has to quiet them all down by himself," said Kakashi as he turned the page of his Icha Icha book.
Naruto looked pleadingly to his girlfriend, mouthing the words 'help me.' Hinata chuckled and shook her head. "You did this to yourself, Naruto-kun." she said kissing his nose and walking away to join her friends in the kitchen.
They had just finished lunch when Naruto yawned and stretched. "So why are we helping teme again?"
Sakura glared at him and pointed her chopsticks at his face. "You know exactly why. We all decide Sasuke needs a day to himself so I volunteered to watch the kids at my house while you helped. Hinata just helped cuz you begged her to come."
"Teme is probably sleeping the day away." he grumbled.
Kakashi hit Naruto over the head. "Just be quiet, Naruto. Besides, we have to feed them now." Naruto grumbled a bit to himself, but nodded. He cleared the table and walked out of the kitchen, the group already getting started.
Aiko was the last one to be fed. Naruto set Fumio down and was about to pick her up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back to see Kakashi smiling down at him.
"I'll take care of her."
Naruto scratched his head as Kakashi picked up the squealing Aiko. He watched as Kakashi smiled as Aiko sucked on the bottle before sending a sly look to the man. "Looks like we know whose Kakashi's favorite around here, ne, Fumio?"
Fumio looked up at him confusedly before sticking his foot into his mouth. "You're lucky that's clean," said Naruto, not noticing the glare from his ex-teacher.
Kakashi stopped glaring at the man as soon as he heard Aiko yawn. He quickly threw the towel over his shoulder and started to pat her back gently. "So what if you are my favorite?" he murmured to Aiko. Hey, she was cute. No one could resist her.
Kakashi smiled to himself as he heard the steady breathing of a sleeping Aiko and set her down in her stroller. He gently stroked her forehead and fell contentedly onto the couch.
Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura soon came into the room. Sakura sat beside the silver-haired man while the other two sat on the floor. Naruto noticed the faraway gaze on Hinata's face and looked at her worriedly. "What's on your mind, Hinata-chan?"
Hinata looked up from her reverie and smiled sadly at him. "Just thinking about Neji-kun, that's all."
Sakura looked at Hinata. "What's wrong with him?" she asked.
Hinata played with her fingers, a habit she did every now and again. "Well, I saw him staring out the window again with this look on his face."
"You mean the forlorn, longing face of wondering that's only used for people suffering from unrequited love?"
They all stared at Kakashi who merely shrugged. "I saw it on your faces long enough to recognize it, besides that's how Neji's always like nowadays."
They all nodded, seeing how it was an acceptable answer, they let him alone while he mentally sighed in relief. Kakashi would never have been able to show his face again if they knew that the real reason he knew was that he had the same look on his face in his moments of privacy, wondering what a certain pink-haired girl was up to that night.
The cogs in Naruto's brain started to churn when he realized something. "Why? Does Neji like someone?" he asked, earning a smack on the head.
"You idiot! Everyone knows that he likes Tenten!" Sakura snapped, cracking her knuckles.
Naruto blinked his eyes. "He does?!"
Kakashi, Hinata, and Sakura all sighed. "Naruto, everyone knows about this. Well, except the actual people," stated Kakashi. 'And until now, you.'
"Hinata?" Naruto asked.
Hinata gently took Naruto's hand and clasped it in between hers. "Well, it started, I think two years ago. Lee was upset about not having someone when Tenten asked him on a date."
"The reason she agreed was that she felt sorry for him." interrupted Sakura.
"Right." said Hinata.
"So why doesn't she just dump him?"
"Naruto, he thinks she does love him. Only problem is she doesn't love him, but she doesn't want to leave him and hurt his feelings. That's why she's still with him." Kakashi sighed.
Hinata nodded. "But unbeknownst to them, my cousin was in love with Tenten. After he found out, he couldn't stand the thought of her being with someone else and he started to avoid Tenten, which broke her heart."
"Why?" asked Naruto.
"Because she felt the same way about him," said Sakura sadly.
Naruto pondered this new information. "So why don't we get the two of them together?"
Sakura and Hinata stared at him like he grew an extra head and started speaking Latin. "Are you nuts?!" they exclaimed.
Kakashi tapped his chin. "Actually, it might work. They have the feelings; all they need is a little push. Besides," he smiled, "I'm sick of all this 'I want you, but I can't have you' crap."
Naruto looked at the girls. "So what do you say?"
Hinata looked at Naruto determinedly. "I'll do it for Neji-kun."
Sakura bit her lip nervously. "Well, I do want to see them happy together."
Naruto slapped his fist into his hand. "Then it's settled. Now to make the plan."
The four gathered in a circle, all with one goal in mind: Get Tenten together with Neji.