Common Delinquents
Chapter 10
Hinata wakes up to a hammering head and a heart that didn'tfeel like it was about to burst out of her chest like it had the night before. Her hands come to massage her temples and a soft groan escapes her lips at her throbbing head.
Pale eyes open and then shut almost immediately after. The sunlight must hate deeds done in the dark because it causes her the worst migraine she's ever had.'
She dares to open her eyes again, three minutes later, to find herself laying on the faded blue futon at Ino's house. A couple books rest at her head and empty bowls and food wrappers are at her feet. Her arm dangles off the side of the futon and fingers hover inches above the floor, brushing against an empty vodka bottle from time to time.
Hinata frowns; she doesn't want to see another drop of alcohol ever again. Don't even get her started on this so called 'ecstasy.' God, if she hadn't been so high she probably would've been rushing her seemingly hundred-in-fifty-degree body to the hospital.
Really, last night is a huge blank for her, something she definitely doesn't like. She only remembers a few key things, popin' pills with the girls, drinking Jack Daniels out the bottle and some red drink Ino brought her, and feeling really fucking hot. She tries to recall events from last night but only comes up with dizzying pictures that's most likely an effect from the molly.
Hinata decides to get up after her little mental rant. Her head is hammering and her stomach is telling her that she needs food. She probably barfed it all up in an alley or something like that the night before. She sluggishly rises from the couch and moves to Ino's kitchen, hoping that her parents weren't home. She didn't need to hear her mother's petty gossip or her dad's high babble. Her wish was granted when she enters the kitchen to find it empty. The ex-heiress pours herself a glass of water and rustles through Ino's medicine cabinet to find painkillers. It shouldn't really be hard, since the girl's father pops pills himself.
Just as two pills slide down the indigo-haired girl's throat, Ino enters the kitchen. Her hair's a mess and she looks like death.
"g'morning." She manages to grumbles, pushing Hinata aside to get her own medication. Hinata gives her a half-hearted smile-which isn't returned-and hands her friend her glass of water.
"F-uck." Ino swallows the pills, "This,"
"You remember anything from last night?" Hinata questions quietly, trying to soothe her throbbing head.
Ino lets out a laugh that was more like a bark, "Ha! Not at all!" She staggers towards the refrigerator. "It have better been pretty fucking amazing with this hangover I've got!"
A high pitched wailing sound pierces the silence and seems to break through both girls' eardrums and beat against their brains. Hinata's palms crush over her ears, her head seemed to be attempting suicide with all the pain bursting through her skull.
"Shut up!" Ino whines, she sprints to the mobile home phone, pressing 'send' and screeching out an angry, "WHAT?"
Hinata leaves her to her phone conversation and wanders back into Ino's living room with her bowl of cereal.
Not more than two minutes later, Ino comes in looking furious. "Hey newbie, you're going to your first gang meeting."
"Now?" Hinata all but whines, "I feel like I just got run over by a bus."
"Yeah well this isn't going to be one of the most pleasant meetings." Ino says, throwing her hair up and shrugging on a pair of sweats and a hoody. "Well...Let's go. You can drive." She tosses the keys to Hinata, but she lets them drop on the floor.
This will definitely be a terrible meeting. Ino never lets anyone drive, if she's feeling like crud everyone else will be.
"Dammit."
-:- -:- -:-
Above his body, the ceiling fan goes around in quick circles. It circles over his head, around and around and around. The force of the fans rocks the light bulb around, jerking light and shadows every which way.
Sasuke should not be hot in this November cold, but he is. He's angry too, and hungover. Yes, that more than anything.
His hand fumbles, trying to find another cigarette. He lights it with ease and returns to his laying position on the floor, staring at the fan. He'd love to get high at the moment actually, but he can't smoke pot he doesn't have. Besides, it'd be rude to come high to a meeting he called for. Especially if everyone else was fighting a hangover.
Bringing his third cigarette to his lips, obsidian eyes return to the ceiling fan. In constant motion, swirling dust and air above him. His eyes try to count how many blades there are but he can only count two before the gives up. He wonders if his life is like that fan; in constant motion. Except it's the same thing every time, a never ending cycle. He cuts through demons like the fan cuts through the air: pointless if you think about it. The fan is just moving the air around, he's just moving the demons...they never really disappear.
Except...in his life he's thrown a curveball. Hinata. He wonders if, she's like a balloon...Childishly thrown into the fan, that eventually pops and is destroyed.
Man, he wished he was high. Then he'd have some type of justification for these screwed up thoughts. He doesn't even know if what he thought just made sense. He'd just compared Hinata...to a balloon. Although her breast...well they could be compared to balloons...
Sasuke grunts and puts out his cigarette. There's no time for those thoughts, even if he can admit that his old friend has filled out nicely..ahem, anyway he has to get to the garage to host this meeting. Hangover or not, they have some important business to take care off.
"Teme!" An obnoxious voice yells. Naruto appears in the garage office, where Sasuke is laying on the floor, "Teme! Teme-"
Sasuke is up before Naruto and say 'teme' one more time, his hand closing around his friend's throat, "Shut up."
Naruto flings Sasuke's arm off him agitatedly, "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."
"Hn."
"So teme, remember anything from last night?"
Before Sasuke can even begin to say 'No' Naruto continues, "Cause I do! I mean, I 'member most of it. I think. Yeah. So Teme, there were these two hot girls right? They were all over me man! And I was like, 'whoa ladies slow down' all smooth right? And then they were making out in front of me~!Teme do you hear me-teme?"
"...it was probably just a dream, dobe."
"Waaaah~ How could you say that? It's true!"
"I don't believe that for a second."
"Teme, believe it!"
"I refuse."
-:- -:- -:-
Sasuke glares back at his friends without restraint. They seem to want to show Sasuke how irritated they are by the early morning meaning through their less-than-friendly glares.
"Oh suck it up, you babies," Naruto says from beside Sasuke. The Uchiha shakes his head as Naruto is pelted by airborne pens and paper. Tough crowd.
He gazes around the room once more, noting that everyone is present with the exception of Chouji and steps up to begin.
"One of our main traders was taken down last night on our own turf." Sasuke says quietly, taking in their enraged expressions, "We have yet to find the source of who's doing it but I'm going to begin to sign some you up for turf watch."
Kiba curses, annoyed. "Damn. This hasn't happened since we were competing for power against Akatsuki and Hebi."
"Speaking of Akastsuki...they've partnered with someone," Naruto speaks up, seeing Hinata's confused expression he elaborates, "They're receiving funding and supply from a big company. Sometimes they do that company's dirty bidding and deeds. If that company produces drugs, it's their job to sell it. They get a percentage of the profit. It's mostly a win-win situation...if you get a huge ass company to support you underground."
"And Akatsuki's already powerful enough. We still need to find out who they've partnered with… but first...we're going to take up Tsunade's invitation. If Akatsuki's partnering, so can we," Sasuke says. "I'll be taking Shikamaru and the newbie—Hinata—along with me. Look nice. No weapons, this should be a...pleasant meeting." Sasuke does not stop to look at Hinata's expression. "That's all. And don't glare so much. Nobody told you guys that it was okay to drink yourselves into next week."
The resulting yelling is exactly what Sasuke was expecting; he smirks and leaves the room.
-:- -:- -:-
"I don't wanna gooooo," Hinata whines to Shino and Kiba. "What can I possibly do in this so called meeting?"
"Sit there," Kiba shrugs at her takes out a cigarette. "Not much you can do, I suppose."
"It should be a rather simple procedure," Shino states, pushing up his glasses and tapping at an ant farm in his respected garage unit. The three of them sit in Shino's 'room', until it's time for Hinata to leave for Tsunade Corps, or whatever this woman's company is called.
"Yeah?" Hinata hums, spreading out on Shino's really soft rug. "I just hope Sasuke isn't to
o much of a jerk today," That part she mutters to herself.
"Hm," Kiba rolls around to face her as Hinata buries her face into Akamaru's fur, "Do you remember anything from last night."
"Yes," Shino replies at the same time as Hinata says, "Barely."
"Well, you and Sasuke seemed to be getting pretty comfy on the dance floor,"
"If we were I don't remember it," Hinata blushes bright red anyway. "S-shino t-tell me that didn't happen…"
"Hm," was his only response.
"This is going to be so awkward," Hinata wails, "I refuse to believe the both of you. What did we do?"
"Weeeeelllllllll, you-"
"Hinata. We're leaving." Sasuke pokes his head into the room, surveying the three of them. "Good. You don't look like as much of train wreck as you did this morning. Let's go."
Hinata frowns at his back, puffs her cheeks out at him, but can't stop the blush from filling her cheeks; she turns and shoots Kiba and Shino a pleading look. A cry for help. Kiba just laughs at her, so hard his shoulders are trembling and Akamaru is sniffing at him curiously.
Hinata sighs and pulls the sleeves to her sweater over her fingers; she crosses her arms over her chest as Sasuke tells her that she could've at least put on some makeup. The nerve of him! She outa slap him…she would if she had the guts.
Minutes later, they pick up Shikamaru from his unit and they're off on the road to downtown Konoha. Sasuke drives and Shikamaru is graceful enough to give Hinata the front seat, the guy only wants the back so that he can spread out on it anyway.
Sasuke is giving the two of them orders and whatnot for the good part of the ride. Mostly he tells Hinata to shut up and look pretty, she's just there for 'observation.'
Hinata chances a glance at him again, wondering just what she could've done with that guy. The guy was a block of ice. She wonders if she ended up kissing him, wonders if it's like kissing an ice cube. Her cheeks warm despite the images of ice cubes running through her mind, and she turns quickly to look out of the window.
Sasuke peeks at her from the corner of his eye. Just what is her problem? The girl is weird. Sasuke decides. He turns on the radio and drowns the silence in the car out with the voices of announcers at the live soccer game going on now.
-:- -:- -:-
"Hey brat, where's the other brat?" A woman with blonde hair and a giant chest says from behind a huge desk in a massive office with the greatest view of Konoha ever seen behind her.
If it wasn't for Sasuke's glare, Hinata would've floated right over to the window, taken a picture of the view, and have gone home to attempt to paint it. Instead she stands beside a sleepy Shikamaru, looking curiously at the woman that is Tsunade. Honestly, she's probably met the woman a couple times, her father knows all big business owners and has made Hinata shake hands with all of them one too many times. She's even heard him talk of her, lowly that is. He criticizes her work and company, 'Hokage enterprises', too many times to count. He always said that the woman was 'a sloppy drunk that doesn't have a firm hold over her workers and executives,' apparently not having an iron fist over the company is instant death.
It's interesting to Hinata that now, Tsunade and her father will be rivals in both underground and regular business. She briefly wonders who her own father is partnered with, if anyone.
"He's on business somewhere else," Sasuke comments dryly, uninterested. "Listen Tsunade-"
"Is that Hyuga Hinata with you there?" Tsunade asks suddenly, starring at Hinata.
Hinata jerks upward to attention, "Uh, yeah." Blush covers her cheeks as Sasuke and Shikamaru look at her curiously.
"Hmph. Well things just got more interesting," Tsunade says. She doesn't elaborate but waves her arms widely gesturing towards someone in behind them. The office doors clang open and three people enter. A woman with black hair and eyes rushes in and places a glass of Sake in front of the business woman and turns to the three gang members, "Would you like any wine or beverage? We have Haut Brion wine available."
Hinata recognizes the expensive wine from her days with her father but shakes her head wildly, no more alcohol for her!
"Shizune! Why are you offering the expensive wine to minors! You never offer me wine!"
"That's because you always want Sake, Tsunade-sama," Shizune rolls her eyes and begins to take her leave, "By the way Hyuga corps is on line two."
"What does he want? Tell him I'm in a meeting, will ya?"
"Hai, Tsunade-sama," Shizune answers and takes her leave.
The three Leaf members stare at Tsunade blankly, wondering when she'll get back to business. At this rate, Shikamaru will fall asleep standing up.
"You two, come over here." She orders suddenly.
Two older men in suits walk over to Tsunade. Hinata's eyes widen at one of the masked men. Kakashi sensei? He notices her too and gives her a wink before coming to stand next to the other man.
"Kakashi," Sasuke says as a greeting, "Asuma."
They two men nod back at him before turning back to their boss.
"Hey," Shikamaru says suddenly, "You said no weapons. I'd appreciate it if your men drop their guns on the desk."
They don't hesitate when asked; they just reach into their suit jackets and pull out a couple pistols.
"Now, Tsunade," Sasuke speaks up, his patience warring. "We accept your invitation, but we have some terms."
"Okay shoot."
Hinata sinks into the background as she watches Shikamaru rise to the call. He's really quite brilliant. He tells Tsunade their gang's term and conditions, arguing and negotiating the terms that Tsunade doesn't agree with.
"Asuma and Kakashi here will be the two you guys will speak with most often. They're my…assistants and act directly under me. They will pass weapons and drugs to you guys, along with other little jobs I might need done." Tsunade stands suddenly and walks around her desk, "And if you guys ever need any backup they're the ones you call. If you get in any trouble with the cops, call me."
"Hm," Sasuke hums, "Sounds good. Pleasure doing business with you."
"And with you," Tsunade answers, they two leaders shake hands.
When Hinata steps up to shake hands with her too, her eyes lock with the business woman's and the squeeze of the blonde's hand is a little too tight. "This should play out interestingly, Hyuga. I don't like your father, so if you ever get into it with him, just give me a call."
"Um, thank you?" Hinata says, a bit unsure. She smiles with her goodbye and rushes out of the building with Sasuke in tow.
Maybe Tsunade was right, things just got a little bit more…interesting.
A/N:
Edit: New formatting/spacing etc.
New This was actually a hardish chapter to write! I am so bad a bridge-like chapters that set up the plot forotherchapters so I had to push through this one.
I'm thinking of pushing my regular update day back to Sundays because my Fridays have been quite busy lately! I went out with some friends this weekend so I didn't get a chance to finish up this chapter until today.
This chapter is un-beta'd! I apologize for run-on sentences (There are several haha) and small errors I might not have notice!
Please review! Have a nice week!