"-wonderful"
"What was that, Nii-chan?" Hanabi mumbled, lying on her stomach with a book in hand. Not that she was reading, or paying attention. Her mind was rewind, repeating and replaying ever since she'd gone home.
"Hanabi-chan," Neji pressed his phone against his chest, walking into her room. "Where's Hinata-sama?" He asked.
"She's out."
Neji answered the phone again, informing whoever was asking. "Who is she with, Hanabi? With Ino and Sakura?" He asked again, this time crouching down to look her in the eye. Hanabi stared at him in confusion, straining herself not to role her eyes.
"She's just out. Not to mention she doesn't need to be with someone; Hinata is an independent woman."
"Tenten's asking. She needs her for something." He replied patiently.
"Well why don't you go to her, since you're her boyfriend." She snapped, hating the fact that he wanted to interfere but winced inwardly as she heard Zelda's voice scolding her again. Who am I kidding? I'm one to talk!
Neji sighed and stood up, his hair in a low pony tail swishing behind him as he marched out. Hanabi narrowed her eyes at his back, something telling her that he wasn't going to do what she asked.
"Hey! Nii-chan, where are you going?"
"To find her. It's getting late and she hasn't called." He answered, clipping his sandals into place before elegantly walking out.
"It's like, 6 o'clock! She doesn't need you when she has a dude already looking out for her!" She blurted, biting her tongue straight after. Neji smiled, like he had won, and leaned by her door frame.
"Oh? I thought she was alone?" He smirked. God, she hated it when he did that.
Busted.
"Ugh. Okay, she's with Sasuke-" Neji flinched "-on a date." Neji scowled. "all day."
That was it. Neji's face morphed into repulsion, in utter revulsion and shame for his beloved sister.
"Hinata-sama? And that abhorrent Uchiha? I don't believe you, Hanabi-chan." His eyebrows were close knit as he hung up his phone, a terrifying gleam in his eyes. "Tell me you're joking."
Poor Hanabi had never seen her elder brother so angry at her, no less. It gave her the worst kinds of shivers as she jumped up and shrunk back, a guilty smile on her wobbling lip.
"I'm not! You asked me if she was alone and I answered!" She defended herself pitifully.
"Right, and now you're going to tell me exactly where to find them." His voice rose in a menacing tone.
"I swear I don't know. I promised I won't interfere anymore." She spoke quietly.
Neji was taken aback. "This has been going on for longer than today? Tell me exactly how long." He pressed harshly, his eyes cold and unforgiving.
Hanabi knew she was about to get her sister into big big big trouble, even though none of it was her fault. She felt this tense, choking feeling in the atmosphere, in fact, it was the same feeling as the night before.
"No. Just today." She clenched her fists to relieve some stress building up.
"That's not very convincing, and I'm getting an overview on this, whether you like it or not."
"I don't care." But she truly did, and was sweating buckets inwardly.
"Oh, you will, because you have no matter in the choice. You chose not to interfere, correct?"
I've definitely heard those words before.
And that's when it dawned on her, like a weight of a thousand books dropped on her head.
"So, it was you who impersonated Hinata last night." She accused, holding her ground with a sense of venom in her words. She didn't care if he was angry, she was beyond pissed. Neji didn't hesitate nor deny the accusation, instead he raised an eyebrow just to show he still wanted his own answer.
"Your allegations can wait. Answer me first."
Hanabi crossed her arms and glared accordingly at him. "And what if I say no, nii-chan?"
"Despicable child! Then there will be dire consequences." He gritted his teeth. "So tell me where she is before-"
"-Before Father finds out, yada yada yada- I've heard it before. It doesn't mean I'll tell you." She challenged, her eyes flicking in victory. No way would she blow her sister's cover, especially since she had finally got them together. Neji scoffed and muttered "foolish little sister" before cursing his way out of the compound. Hanabi almost died in relief, sprinting like crazy around her room before frantically tearing the curtains open. He was speeding at an outstanding rate, leaping over buildings and scouting for Hinata with his Byakugan. He would find her in no time.
She jerked when a phone rang, looking down from her bed to see that he'd left his phone. Tenten's name was sprawled on the ID, and on instinct she picked it up.
"Uh… Yeah?"
"Neji! I feel so frickin' sick I can't breathe. Oh shit, I think I'm gonna hurl." Hanabi pulled the phone away from her ear when a sickening sound echoed through the speaker. Ew.
"Tenten-chan? Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, feeling a swell of panic bubble within her. Tenten was ill and her man was gone Uchiha hunting. Oh, snap.
"Hanabi, quick, give it to Neji." The weapons specialist cried, breathing heavily over the phone.
"Are you labour?" She squeaked quietly, praying to God she wasn't. She could almost hear Tenten running short of deep breaths.
"No…" *Heave* "I'm not giving birth just yet," *Wheeze* "Just ask Neji to come, please."
Hanabi groaned, biting her lip. "I'm on my way." She hung up and just like that, she was nervous again. No way was she dealing with a pregnant woman when she sounded like she was dying. She was way too young to be responsible for that. But then again, if she hadn't opened her damn mouth, maybe Neji would still be here to save his fiancée. She called the first person that popped into her head.
Sakura took a while to answer her phone, her voice weary and tired. "Neji! What a… umm… nice surprise." She wasn't exactly enthusiastic either.
"Sakura! It's me, Hanabi, and Tenten is really ill and Neji isn't her to support her and I have his phone and Tenten keeps calling him and I told her I'm on my way but I need someone else to go with her and it's really freaking me out and-"
"Whoa! Calm. DOWN. Talk slower, Hanabi, I could barely hear what you're saying!" Exclaimed the pink haired medic. Hanabi took one big breath and starting again.
"Sakura-san, Tenten's ill and Neji's not at home. Can you please come with me to help her?" She asked politely as most of the panic had dissipated.
Sakura digested this and sighed, reassuring Hanabi and promising her to meet at Tenten's house before hanging up.
"Right." Hanabi told herself, throwing on a jacket before running down the stairs so close to her room. "Shadow Clone time!"
Hanabi summoned a shadow clone, nodding it to the direction where her cousin took off and made her way to Tenten's house. It was an extremely long journey, and when she got there, Tenten was a crying mess. Hanabi rushed over to sit her up on the chair, skipping over the mountain of tissues to get more.
"W-Where's that damn idiot when I need him?!" She shrieked, blowing her ruby red nose, her shoulders sagging as she wailed. Hanabi winced; this was worse than she'd thought.
"Who? Neji Nii-chan?" the youngster shot her a concerned look, passing the tissue.
"No, the fucking Hokage." She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Neji! Kami, he has no concern for me and he ditches me when he gets the chance. If I see that selfish bastard I'm gonna slaughter him, yes, SLAUGHTER him!" She raged, not caring a bit if there was a child present as she cursed her husband-to-be. Her hair was out in a messy top bun, rebel strands of her escaping, framing her seemingly mortifying face.
Hanabi knew arguing was pointless, and made a mental note to research up on mood-swings because everyone around her had it, and in the worse moments too. God, she hated grownups. The 19-year-old attacked her nose with the tissue, dabbing at her puffy eyes ruthlessly. Her light chestnut fringe clung on to her forehead with sweat. Hanabi had never seen anyone so hopeless.
"Try to calm it, Nee-chan. You're stressing yourself out." She crouched down, rubbing her back lightly. She wondered how Hinata made it look so easy; she somehow knew the right words to say and would wait patiently with a soft smile. But Hanabi was the one in charge for once, and she had to prove she didn't need her sister for everything. She rolled up her long-sleeved tee, pulled her hair back into a bun and cracked her knuckles. Mentally counting to three, she got up and tip-toed over to Tenten and placed her numb arms over her shoulders, lifting her slowly. She was fairly light, much to the small girl's surprise, so getting her up on her feet was no problem. What the real issue was the quick-tempered kunoichi who simply wasn't co-operating by tensing herself and groaning at the 'unbearable pain'.
"Come on… ugh… Tenten!" Hanabi urged, struggling to take another step. Tenten doubled over in agony, crying out for her to stop.
Hanabi gave up and threw her arms off her tired shoulder, exhaling heavily. How was she to aid someone who clearly doesn't want any? Tenten's face scrunched up suddenly after a minute of heavy breathing, her eyes widening in panic. Hanabi took a step back, her mouth forming an 'o'.
"I think… you're gonna hurl." She took another step back.
"I think… I'm gonna hurl too. Like… right now." The older woman covered her mouth, feeling nauseous. They were standing in the hallway, nowhere near the toilet.
Think Hanabi, think!
"Uh… shall I get you a plastic bag? Do you have a plastic bag? Uh shall I get you a bowl?"
Tenten couldn't speak, her mouth inflating with unthinkable things Hanabi didn't want to discuss at that moment. The small ninja dodged past the open doors, jumped over haphazardly placed kunai and rushed to get a handy sick bag lying on the kitchen counter.
"Han-abi!" She croaked from the other side of the home.
"Coming!"
Just in time, she received the sick bag and they repeated the process two more times, both tired and exhausted. Looking around also, the house was disordered and chaotic.
"Enough already!" They whined, both literally sick of being sick. A sharp knock made Hanabi jump and rush to get the door, dropping into Sakura's arms.
"The horror! It was so…" Hanabi paused to think of a suitable word. "unbearably- no, insufferably terrible!"
Sakura clicked her tongue and pushed her off, sighing intolerably. She picked her helpless friend up with one hand, lifting her off her feet in a matter of seconds, placing her on the sofa before cleaning up in the bathroom. She sauntered into the kitchen, picking a few different assortments and mixing them in a bowl. Hanabi watched her whip up a batch of soup in no time, adding a sediment of a strange green powder before shoving it into Tenten's arms.
"Eat up." She served, hastily picking up the rubbish around her. Hanabi strolled over to help, placing all kunai back into the shelves, making the room a little tidier.
"No. Frickin'. Way am I gonna eat that shit." She croaked, looking the pissed medic in the eye. Sakura's eye twitched but she kept her cool and faked a cool smile like Sai taught her.
"You've just emptied your stomach and you need some warm food."
"Are you trying to kill my baby already? The unfortunate thing can't take another spoonful."
Sakura's hand slammed the table. "God dammit, Tenten. I've been a good friend and a supporting nurse so you will listen to me whether you frickin like it or not!"
Said woman raised the finger and sat back, lazily setting the steaming bowl aside. "Suck on this, Pinkie."
"Right, that's it!" Sakura raged, splinters flying every where
The table almost toppled over and smashed through the floor if Hanabi wasn't thinking two steps ahead. She balanced the table back on its legs and stared at the two adults squabbling like spoilt children.
"Shut the hell up; both of you! Tenten- grow up and eat the damn thing already, even if it tastes like dog crap. Sakura- quit stirring trouble and HELP me fix this shit hole up. Seriously," She crossed her arms, "I feel like Hinata should've been here. You two are so unbelievable."
Both girls shared a look and glanced back at the fuming child and started laughing. And kept on going. And laughed and laughed and laughed until they were covered in stitches.
"Okay. We might've gone a bit overboard- but we were kidding." Tenten wiped a tear from her eye.
"Yeah, Hanabi. She's a tempered bitch and sometimes I need to remind her of her place." Sakura eyed the offended teenager.
"Say that again, mega-brow." Tenten challenged.
"Don't you dare start." Hanabi snapped.
"No, it's fine." Sakura cracked her knuckles. "There ought to be someone who's willing to show her some manners."
"Come at me." The pregnant ninja leaned in, beckoning her forward. "I wanna hear what the ruffian's wife's gotta say,"
Hanabi slapped her forehead and motioned a swipe through her neck. Sakura paused and stared at Tenten with a questioning look.
"Who said I was ever gonna get married? I don't remember being on the engagement list." She remarked cruelly. Poor Naruto was going to be in one hell of a shamble if he heard that.
"So you don't want to get engaged anytime soon?" Hanabi smirked at Tenten.
"No, obviously. Unlike you weirdoes, I want to at least live a free woman through my teens."
"Right. Only the real reason is that Sasuke's rejected her," Tenten snickered, Hanabi also struggling to muffle her laugh.
"Get real." Sakura flashed a smile. "I'm so over that dude. He can live in solitude forever for all I care."
They all giggled, Hanabi a bit more nervously than the others, remembering that said man was currently with her sister. And Neji's hunting them down. She'd better say something to someone, but she knew it wasn't the right time and that they weren't the right people.
She remembered her sister's most trusty friends and went into Tenten's room to give them a call.
"Come on Kiba. Pick up."
After a few rings, he picked up, staying silent for a few seconds.
"Hello?" She wavered.
"What, man? I'm trynna enjoy some peace and quiet."
"Since when did the loud, dramatic dog-lover do 'peace and quiet'?" Hanabi rolled her eyes, really sounding as sarcastic as Neji. "I really need your help, nii-chan. Like, right now."
"What? Is that you, Hanabi? There's no way I'm posing for your stupid painting project again, just so you know."
"Ugh, no! It's for Hinata. She's on a date with Sasuke and Neji's about to go Jyuuken on their ass. I need you to save her. ASAP. Fast. Quick. NOW."
"Wait! Rewind, rewind, rewind, what? Hinata's dating that piece of crap? I'm sorry but either you're pulling some kind of prank, or you and your sister are on drugs."
"Please." She pleaded. "I'm not kidding, I swear! She's not dating him, I blackmailed Sasuke to take her out. Nothing weird. Just two friends having dinner or whatever you guys do on dates. It's not her fault. She doesn't even know! HELP her, just get her out of there. And may I add, VERY VERY QUICKLY."
A long, tired, breathless sigh came through the phone. "I'm doing this for Hinata. And I'm gonna pummel that Uchiha's ass as well. Where are they?"
Hanabi paused, a dumb look on her face. "Uh… yeah. I have no clue. But if you try either the cemetery- don't laugh, it's Sasuke's favourite place- the old Uchiha compound or his present house, you might find them before Neji does. Good luck!"
She hastily pressed the hang up button and held it close to her heart, mentally praying that she doesn't die by the end of the day. Kami, this is so my fault.