A/N So I wrote the first chapter of the sequel to this. The title is still undecided, but is most likely going to be We Meet Again. I'm going to finish posting this story so that I can get to that one now!
Chapter 12
Hinata stood with the rest of Kitsune and the members of the show back in the normal show uniform, holding her four balls while the other members of Kitsune held three, and the blue team all held one. The red team was empty handed. "The red team, with no Running Balls, is completing the punishment, but two others are going with them. So put your Running Balls in for us to find out who is safe." Hinata's were the first to go in, followed by the rest of Kitsune and then the other team.
The machine started and balls started flying around inside the container before one rolled out a chute. "Sasuke!" Saved from the punishment, he smiled slightly and watched as the next ball rolled down. "Sai!"
Following them were two names from the other team, leaving Hinata to worry if, despite all of her Running Balls, she wouldn't be safe. To make her worry more, another name was called from the other team, leaving her with just Naruto and the last member of the blue team.
"And finally…" The ball was picked up and hidden so only the host announcing the names could read it. "Neji!" And she was safe. That was all that mattered.
Sasuke and Sai both clapped her on the back, while Naruto didn't seem all the upset with the punishment. He left with the others to change into their hot pants for it, and none of the members of Kitsune could hide the laughter when he returned. He was wearing bright orange hot pants with his black t-shirt, and his legs were as skinny as Hinata's, if not more. And she was already almost a twig.
But Naruto was only smiling as he held out the skin markers he had been given with instructions for his team. "You all have to draw on me."
Sasuke wasted no time in walking up to Naruto and roughly grabbing the blonde's hair to hold him still as 'idiot' was written across his face. As Sasuke walked back, he capped the pen and smiled at his work before handing it back to Naruto. Hinata and Sai got to work at the same time, thinking of the same thing. They drew a moustache and goatee on Naruto with the pens before handing them back to the boy. When a mirror was handed to Naruto to see his face, he smiled at the work by Sai and Hinata, before trying to read what Sasuke wrote. It was backwards in the mirror though, and he eventually gave up, just smiling as he was led away for the punishment.
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Sasuke, Sai, and Hinata were just lying around the house while Naruto did his punishment, playing on some instruments every now and then, but doing nothing major. Song ideas were thrown between the three, but none were really being taken seriously, mostly just jokes. A random drama was put on in the background as they sprawled across the living room, talking about random things just to talk.
Hinata's cell phone ringing broke the conversation and she looked at the number, but it was unknown. Sai muted the television as she answered the phone and held it up to her ear. "Hello?"
Whoever was on the other line must have been someone important, as she froze and the phone slid from her hand. A guy was heard from the other end, and Sai crawled forwards to pick up the phone, putting it on speaker as soon as he grabbed it. Hinata was still too shocked to do anything. "Who's this?"
"I'm Neji. You are?" The voice crackled through the phone, and both Sai and Sasuke smiled a little at it.
"I'm Sai." Before much else could be said, Hinata seemed to get over the shock of who was on the other end of the line.
"Yah! Neji! You've got some nerve, calling me now!" The phone was ripped from Sai's hands as Hinata screamed into it, deafening the two in the same room as her and probably the boy on the phone as well.
"Nice to talk to you too, sis." He chuckled slightly, the sound coming through the phone speaker low. "I've missed you too. And yes, my surgery went fine."
"Yah! Don't go talking to me like that! You didn't need the original surgery in the first place. It's your fault your eyes got screwed up." Hinata was glaring at the phone and hoping Neji on the other end could feel it, but secretly, she was a little glad he called and was okay.
"I have good news for you. I'll be taking over for you in two weeks."
"I have to live as you for two more weeks!" Neji could tell she was joking now; her voice lost most of the hard tone it had held when she was yelling at him before. Most, not all. "I'm going to kill you when I see you."
"I love you too, little sis." He chuckled into the phone again, and Sasuke and Sai were enjoying the conversation between the long-lost siblings, finding it humorous.
"When do you get back to Korea at least?"
"Why don't you answer the door to find out?" Hinata practically jumped up before trying to race across polished hardwood floors in socks, almost falling on her face multiple times. Sasuke and Sai followed after her, curious to see the actual Neji for once.
"Neji!" Hinata opened the door to see an almost-exact replica of her in the doorway, shivering in the cold. And instead of welcoming him in, he hit him hard. "That's for leaving me for eight years!" But she did finally pull him through the door, closing it behind him while he rubbed his arm where she had punched him. It wasn't a light punch at all.
"I know it doesn't help much now, but I'm sorry. Really." He ruffled his little sister's hair before pulling her into a hug, right in front of Sai and Sasuke. The two, knowing it was going to be a private reunion of siblings, left for the kitchen to start making a meal for all of them.
"I missed you," Hinata mumbled into her brother's shoulder. "I missed you so much."
"I'll never leave you like that again." He pulled back from Hinata and saw tears running down her cheeks. "Don't cry," he wiped them away with his thumb gently, earning a slight smile from Hinata, "I'm back now. And I'm staying here."
Hinata smiled before giving her brother's shins a light kick. "Are you going to stand there all day? Come on, this is technically your house."
"There's the tough Hinata I know. I was wondering what happened to her." Neji smiled as he took off his shoes and placed them in the line with the other members' pairs. Sliding his feet into a spare pair of slippers, he walked into the large house, glancing around in amazement. "We have a lot of catching up to do…"
"You could say that." Hinata walked into the kitchen just as Sai and Sasuke sat down the last of the quick dishes they were making. She smiled at them in thanks before sitting down at the counter. Neji hesitantly followed behind her, and Sai and Sasuke sat across from the twins.
"You two look so alike, it is scary." Sai looked between the two a few times, before finally smiling slightly at Neji. "I'm Sai."
"Sasuke."
"I guess you two are supposed to be my band mates?" They nodded, and he looked from them to Hinata and back. "If I find out you haven't treated my sister like a princess…"
Hinata smacked the back of his head. "Look who's talking." She looked across the table to smile at Sai and Sasuke. "Thanks for the food." She picked up her chopsticks and wasted no time in grabbing all the food she wanted, surprising Neji with the sheer amount she was planning on eating.
Sai and Sasuke also served themselves, and Neji did so after them, only taking a little of eat item they'd set out. "I was told I'm staying with you guys for two weeks before my sister leaves to get caught up on everything she has done in my place."
"Fine by me. You get the couch." Sasuke nodded to the living room with the couch that would be Neji's bed for two weeks. "And you better start practicing songs. You can't screw this up."
"I've been practicing while I was recovering." Neji tried to defend himself against the older boy, but Sasuke glared him down, and Neji shifted his gaze back to the plate with his lunch on it, eating it to fill the silence.
"I expected you to have done that. We've written new songs that we haven't given to the producers yet. Those are the ones you have to learn." Sasuke finished eating and stood to place his plate in the sink before sitting back down at his seat. "And if I were you, I would have at least thanked my sister for giving up over a month of her life to live as you when she had better things to do." With that said, he stood and walked out, leaving Neji staring after him.
Coming to his senses he went to turn to Hinata, but she was holding up a hand. "Don't even start thanking me. You have a stalker manager. That's about the only reason I'm here. And to find our mother. I have a few choice words for her." Neji's eyes widened at the last bit, realizing that Asuma had told Hinata one of the reasons he was joining the band in the first place. "But if I were you, I would start practicing as soon as you can. We have a lot of things for you to learn." And she was done with her meal, cleaning both her plate and Sasuke in the sink before putting them away and walking out of the room.
"I'm bad at this, aren't I?" Sai only nodded to Neji.
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"No, just stop." Neji looked up from the keyboard to see Hinata glaring him down. "Move." She pushed him away before he could, taking the place behind the instrument. "Like this." And then her fingers began to fly across the keys, playing a song Neji hadn't heard before. "Try again."
Neji did and got it this time. Hinata sighed in relief, before sitting down in a chair. "Why don't we take a break? Both of us are tired from you teaching me."
"There isn't time for breaks!" Hinata looked up to glare at Neji, and he backed down from his angry little sister. "Play it again. Ten-no, twenty times. Don't stop."
He sighed but started the song over again. Hinata heard the door of the practice room open but didn't look at who came in, figuring it was Sasuke or Sai checking up on Neji. It wasn't. "Why are there two Nejis?!"
Neji stopped playing while Hinata whipped around to face Naruto, who kept switching between who he was looking at. Sai appeared in the doorway, obviously hearing the yell, and Sasuke was there a few seconds later. "Naruto…"
"Am I sick? Why are there two Nejis?" He turned at Sai and Sasuke. "What's going on?"
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"You're Hinata?" Naruto pointed to the person he had been living with for weeks, still not able to get his mind around the whole thing. She only nodded. "And you've been living as Neji with us for weeks now?" Hinata nodded again.
"Naruto, I'm sorry…" She tried to comfort the boy, but he flinched away from her outstretched hand, tears welling in his eyes.
"Don't touch me." He scrambled to the farthest end of the couch his was on, the farthest he could get from Hinata. She pulled her hand back with a heartbroken look. "Don't ever touch me again."
"Naruto, listen." He looked to Neji, but made no move from his ball on the couch. "If you are going to blame someone, blame me, not my sister."
"Oh, I blame both of you enough already."
"Naruto, understand where she comes from." It was Sai now, trying to talk to Naruto, but the blonde's glare was turned on him.
"You and Sasuke are no better! You knew, and you didn't tell me!" As he yelled at him friends, Hinata stood and started to walk out of the room.
"Where are you going?" Neji's question brought everyone's gazes to her, but Hinata only gave a small smile as she stopped in the doorway.
"I'm the cause of this. If the cause is removed, the problems will go away." And she was walking out the door, running down the steps while still carrying her shoes, taking off before anyone could catch up to her. By the time any of the boys had even gotten to the doorway to look after her, she was turned the corner at the end of the driveway and still running.
