A/N: I somehow seem to be drawn to the strangest pairings. As I see there are NO SaixAnko pairings on ff, I may take it upon myself to write a wacky oneshot spin-off to fill the void. No, I don't usually ship these guys. Actually, originally, Sai was going to crush on Hinata too, but I like the simple, innocent affection between them. The Anko thing just...happened. Sorry if you no likies. Either way, I'm not changing it. :D
Disclaimer: Own Naruto I do not.
Chapter Twelve
Hinata grinned widely in triumph, clutching her new shoes in her arms like a child with a bag of candy. Some nagging feeling reminded her that she'd just spent 5,000 yen worth of food on a pair of impractical heels, but she reasoned that she'd just make a few more unauthorized trips to the Dean's kitchen if she got too hungry. Besides, she'd earned every cent of it.
Sai had treated her to lunch at a noodle stand after she'd told him she'd never tried non-instant udon before, and then watched, amused, as she slurped down the bowl. They'd headed back to the Serpent with barely an hour to spare.
The moment Hinata stepped through the doors, Anko sprang on her.
"He's going to be here in thirty minutes!" she hissed, panicked. "What the heck have you been doing all day?"
Sai shrugged. "We've been here and there," he said. Anko seemed to attach some illicit connotation to this, because she narrowed her eyes, tugged Hinata into her office, and locked the door.
"Wipe yourself with this," she said, tossing Hinata a damp, warm towel. Hinata looked up at her in surprise.
"Wow," she whispered, "You've really been...prepared for me, haven't you, Anko-san?"
Anko rolled her eyes. "Moreso than you've been for yourself, kiddo. Hurry up."
Hinata undressed, realizing that she was now completely comfortable changing in front of Anko (even with all the staring.) When had that happened? She quickly unwound her bindings and let out a blissful breath as they slipped to her waist.
"Bra?" she asked, suddenly feeling rushed.
Anko handed it over. "You aren't planning on wearing boxers under the dress, are you?"
Hinata shimmied those off. "I wore my bloomers underneath," she said, revealing the not-quite boy-shorts she had on. Anko clucked her tongue in disapproval.
"Still butch," she sighed. "Oh well. He won't be seeing those."
"Ten minutes!" Sai said through the door.
Anko nodded and tossed her a bar of...something.
"You heard him. Chop chop."
Hinata blushed, accepted her offering of deodorant (guaranteed streak-free!), and slipped on the dress. The moment she had it on, Anko opened up her cabinet, pulling out three wigs, still on their busts.
"Do you want black, red tints, or brown?"
Hinata glanced up quickly at the collection. The black was most like her own before she'd cut it, and Anko had coiled the ends into wavy loops. She chose it automatically, and then settled herself into the makeup chair. Anko whipped out her case, her hands drifting over her colors.
"Ugh," she groaned, frustrated. "I don't do simple well." Snatching some light pink gloss, she quickly lined Hinata's lips and dusted her cheeks lightly with blush.
Sai knocked on the door impatiently. "Guys, I think he's here."
"What?" Hinata jumped up, lathering her legs in lotion and snatching up her shoes. Her toenails were unpainted and a bit unevenly clipped, but no matter-- there was no time.
"What do you think you're doing?" Anko hissed, dragging her back into the seat when she reached for the door.
Hinata looked up, confused and a bit flustered. "But he's here--!"
"You," Anko said slowly, sliding her tongue angrily over teeth, "Don't you know anything about men?"
Hinata turned slightly pink. "Absolutely nothing." Unless she counted what she'd learned from Sai, Sasuke and Deidara, and something told her they were far from typical.
"Arrive fashionably late," Anko deadpanned, tossing off Hinata's shoes. "Stay still. Your toes are a mess."
Hinata pursed her lips but sat still anyway. Anko was more experienced in this area anyway.
Ten minutes later, when Anko was still lazily debating between black and crimson polish, Hinata yanked herself up and out of her seat, strapped on her heels, and despite Anko's rampant protests, stepped out.
And abruptly froze.
Gaara was at the door already, poised to knock, while Sai stood helplessly behind him and mouthed a series of apologies.
Hinata managed a weak smile. He looked good in a suit. He wore it open and without a tie, probably ignorant that it looked good that way and going more for comfort instead.
"Erm...hello," Hinata managed, looking down at her feet. She cringed. The toes peeking through her shoes were really horrible. Hopefully he wouldn't notice.
"Hello," he said, straightening.
"How long have you been waiting?" she asked, twiddling her thumbs.
He shrugged. "About two hours?" Then he shrugged again, as though it were no big deal. "I wanted to get here first."
Behind the counter, Sai facepalmed.
Hinata blushed, cursing her own over-exuberance. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I--!"
He changed the subject. "You look very nice." Slowly, he lifted a hand; it hovered uncertainly over her cheek. "Your eyes-- is that their natural color?"
Hinata's hand jumped nervously to her eyes, brushing inadvertently against her hair-- which wasn't there. Her heart hammered.
Crap. I left the wig and contacts!
If she ran into anyone now, she'd be doomed.
Completely doomed.
He took her silence as discomfort, because he moved his hand away and let it rest at his side. "...Sorry."
"No! You haven't done anything! I was just thinking, and...yes, this is my natural color, and, and, you look really nice too."
She winced when the horrible ramble was over, but it seemed to have been effective, because Gaara gave her a small smile and nodded.
"Would you...?" he asked, extending a hand in invitation.
The butterflies in her stomach did somersaults. She took his hand and let him lead her outside.
Behind the counter, Sai finally let out a breath. Anko, who had watched the whole scene through a crack in her door, almost burst into tears.
"My baby girl's growing up," she said ruefully, wringing her hands together.
0oo0oo0oo00oo
By four, Sasuke had returned to the dorm, alone and disgruntled. He tried to bury himself in his as-of-yet undone homework, but that was proving impossible. He rolled over and went to sleep.
By five, he had given up on his nap and went to the gym, attacking the weights with vigor until Juugo found him and nearly crushed him under a four hundred pound weight.
By six, he was feeling ridiculously jittery; his hands shook and his heart was hammering. Hinata was probably getting ready for his little date, and the notion that he would be attempting to look good for
someone he barely knew was irritating him. So when Naruto called again and asked to come chill (drink) in his room with the girls again, he couldn't even put up an argument, just 'hn-ed' as the blonde described all of his illustrious, most likely exaggerated, plans.
At six-thirty, he gave up and snatched up his phone. Scrolling down to the Ds, he did something he'd never, ever thought he would, something he'd sworn to the guy's face he wouldn't do when he'd given him the number in the first place.
He called Deidara.
He picked up on the first ring. "Missed me already, I see? You shouldn't hit your senpai—that hurt, you know."
Sasuke cut to the chase. "Where is Hinata going?"
"Why do you suppose I kn--?"
"You do," Sasuke breathed, terrified by the desperate edge in his voice. "I know you do."
There was a pause, and when Deidara spoke again, his voice was dead serious. "Are you sure you want to go after Hinata? I mean, you might be shocked by--."
"Cut the crap and tell me."
Deidara sighed. "Okay. Fine. I hope you've got a suit."
0oo00oo00o
A private driver. Not just any private driver, really. A private driver in a crisp Mercedes, which apparently was his.
"Who are you?" Hinata had asked after Gaara led her to it. The driver smiled genially as he opened the door, and then asked the 'Young Master' and his 'companion' to please sit down.
"My father was President of Suna," he said, referring to a giant finance firm, "Also a member of parliament. He's dead now."
Which meant that his children had been bequeathed very nicely.
"I'm sorry," Hinata said softly.
He smiled and took her hand slowly, as though afraid she would yank away. "Now, why do people always say that?"
"Because we're human too," she whispered, "and can understand the pain of loss."
He was silent. When she turned to him, he had closed his eyes. His hand, which had briefly relinquished hers, tightened over it again. Hinata watched him breathe—slowly, steadily, in and out—and then looked back down at her feet.
"You can, can you?" he finally said. "I wonder, what loss have you suffered through?"
She thought of the family she had once had, the family that had probably loved her and cherished her before they were snatched away by a wild, drunk, driver. She thought of the nightmares she'd had many years ago, of blood and contorted metal and bodies of people she didn't remember, faces that might have been like hers had they opened their eyes and let loose a smile. She thought of the Matron's beams, loving, but rehearsed, offered to every child evenly, her love handed out like a quickly diminishing ration.
She thought of herself, of the friends she should have made years ago, of the distance she put between herself and others, of her own lies and deceit.
And then, Hinata smiled.
"Nothing serious," she said, "Just enough that I feel it every now and then."
Everyday.
Again, they were silent, but it was a comfortable silence, the kind shared between two people who share a common understanding. A mournful, bittersweet silence.
"You can talk to me now," she noted passively, when the car slowed to a stall.
"You're easy to talk to," was his very, very smooth reply.
She smiled, and watched the passing buildings as they finally arrived.
Oo0o0oo0O0oo0o0o0
"Michaelangelo's?" Sasuke said, as he walked side by side with Deidara, both dressed impeccably in black, open tuxes. Their pace was brisk and expressions oddly business-like. Deidara's hair was pulled up, leaving just one bang, and Sasuke had made an (unsuccessful) attempt to tame his hair in the back. If any fangirls spotted them, they'd be jumped on the spot.
"He's one of the Suna three," Deidara explained. "The late-Kazekage's kids. They're absolutely loaded. And sought after. Their youngest is known to be... Incredibly awkward."
No wonder Hinata is attracted, Sasuke thought bitterly.
"How the hell are we supposed to get in, then?"
Deidara turned to him, a twinkle in his eye. "Don't underestimate me, Uchiha."
Oo0o0oo0O0oo0o0o0
A quartet played slow music in the background, the fountain trickled elegantly, a gorgeous waitress in impossible heels made sure their water (in crystal-cut wine glasses) never ventured far below the rim,
and the chef himself, a portly American, took their order in broken Japanese.
Hinata was overwhelmed. It wasn't just the fancy setting, or the fact that she felt like money was literally being burned away nonsensically to impress little old her (considering she was thoroughly enough impressed by non-instant udon).
It was that look on his face.
Egads, that was scary.
It wasn't menacing, or threatening. It was just so intense, as though he wanted to claim her completely, and she was beginning to doubt Anko's prediction that he wouldn't be seeing her unattractive bloomers that night. Not that she'd willingly let him, she amended in her mind.
Oh, and there was also that he still didn't want to let go of her hand.
"I hope this is nice for you," he'd intially stated, as though anyone in the world would find the setting unsatisfactory.
"Of course. It's gorgeous."
"You don't look happy, though," he observed. He cocked his head and looked at her intently, slowly releasing her hand from across the table.
She realized then that she must have been frowning. Recovering quickly with a quick smile, she said, half-truthfully, "I am happy."
"You aren't." He said it so confidently that she felt herself shrink.
At this, she blushed. "I-I am. I mean, someone like you…is here with someone like me. It's just…I...I think it might be...a bit much." She looked up quickly, as though to verify that he wasn't angry. He wasn't; actually, he seemed even more curious.
"Oh?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"I-I mean," her eyes flitted around, trying to avoid his. They met anyway. "I mean, I think, maybe, just a picnic or a trip to an amusement park would've been just fine."
He looked surprised to hear this. "You wouldn't have thought those too simple?" he asked, incredulous.
She shrugged. "I'm a very simple girl."
He seemed to think on it a moment, and then stood and walked over solemnly to the waitress. They spoke for a moment, and the waitress nodded unsmilingly, finally twisting around and disappearing into the kitchen. Suddenly, the fountain trickled off, and the quartet began playing a slow, slightly familiar sound with some gusto.
"Dance?" Gaara asked, extending a hand in invitation. She looked up at it blankly, and then took it, sliding out of her seat and onto the floor.
Oo0o0oo0O0oo0o0o0
"What do you mean the entire restaurant is booked?" Sasuke said indignantly to the waitress. He tried to peek around her. "It's empty!"
The woman smiled. "We have an honorable guest today, sir," she said dutifully. "But we do have openings for--"
"I don't want to come to this shit-shack on any other day--!"
Deidara pushed Sasuke aside, sliding smoothly between him and the steadfast woman, who blocked their path diligently. "Couldn't you give us a small table, in a corner? We promise we'll stay out of sight."
The woman visibly loosened, licking her lips slowly as he spoke. Sasuke noticed that he'd switched to his hypnotic-voice again, and reminded himself to work on his own version sometime. Girls could be annoying as anything most of the time, but sometimes they were hella useful.
"Um...I don't think I'm supposed to..." she said, going from immovable worker to bumbling little girl in under ten seconds.
"Oh, come on, now," Deidara coaxed silkily. "We'll be good." He reached out and twirled a strand of her hair. She winced, and then pulled away, looking flustered.
"You're trying to seduce me!" she accused. Deidara smiled widely.
"Is it working?"
She seemed to deliberate for a moment, and then, raspily, cried out, "Yes!" and promptly grabbed Deidara to her and attempted to eat his face off.
"Go!" Deidara managed to mouth when the woman's lips switched messily. to his neck. "What are you waiting f--ah! Easy there, kitty!"
Now completely disturbed, Sasuke slunk past the newly-formed couple and into the restaurant. Some strings were playing in the distance, a tune he immediately recognized as Pachelbel's Canon. An elegant statue of a swordfish sprang out from the center of a fountain. He couldn't help but stare-- everything was sparkling black granite and mirrors and marble, the high ceilings were painted meticulously, and the entire place reminded him of an expensive movie set.
Hands in pockets, he passed empty tables until he stopped at one, where a pair of glasses were waiting, filled with water, with a delicate bowl of salad in the center.
It's occupants were nowhere to be found.
Oo0o0oo0O0oo0o0o0
"You put your hand here, like this..." Gaara adjusted Hinata's hand on his shoulder, shuddering when her cold fingers brushed too close to his neck.
"...Is this right?"
"Almost." A chuckle. "Step forward, easy. There. Now let me lead."
From the roots of her hair to her chest, Hinata had turned poppy-pink. So Gaara was high-society. That didn't mean he should know how to dance! Did it? Of course it did. She felt incredibly common next to him and wondered how Temari could be so grungy while her brother was so... blatantly aristocratic.
He danced well. A little stiff, perhaps, but fluid enough for the numerous company dinners he had probably been forced to attend. His movements were calculated, trained, and a wee bit unnatural. Still, he was more graceful than she could hope to be. That, and he made her feel like a princess, dancing in wide circles with her handsome prince (kinda) charming, smiling like an idiot.
Meanwhile, Deidara managed to pull away from his deranged lover, who had plastered his face with lipstick and very nearly pulled off the front of her dress in her haste to pull him closer. He adjusted his half-loosened ponytail and suit jacket.
"It's been nice meeting you, Kitten."
She swished her hair back into place and hoisted her dress up from her chest.
"My name's Mokoko," she said sourly, reverting quickly back to the stiff, stern employee from before. "And you aren't allowed back there. That area's reserve--!"
Deidara sighed and pulled out a small slip of paper. "Call me," he said, licking his lips for effect and grinning monstrously when she lapsed back into gaga land.
"I will," she said dreamily, and made a show of pushing the slip into her bra. He wolf-whistled, winked, and then rushed into the hall.
Where he found Sasuke staring idly at the fountain.
"What the hell are you doing?" Deidara asked indignantly. "I sacrificed a little bit of my innocence so you could get away, and this is the thanks I get?"
"What?" Sasuke snapped, unfazed. "It's a pretty fountain."
Deidara gave it a cursory glance and snorted, unimpressed. "I could mold that in a few days, blow it up, and it would still look more artistic than this thing. C'mon," he grabbed Sasuke by the arm, attempting to drag him forward. "I think it's brainwashing you."
Sasuke nodded. In truth, after seeing the table set up, he no longer wanted to see him-- to acknowledge what was happening as real. The music flooding the air, the beautiful fountain, the expensive adornments- he had no means for stuff like it. He could never compete with this guy.
Not that he wanted to, of course. He had only come to check on his naive roommate and make sure he wasn't being forced to do anything gross. That was all.
Lies.
Deidara grit his teeth. "Look," he said, supremely annoyed, "If you give up now, I won't acknowledge you as my rival."
Sasuke glared at him, but somehow the look seemed half-assed. "I never asked for your approval," he said.
"You're a coward," Deidara hissed.
"And you're a fag," Sasuke retorted rather hypocritically.
Deidara clenched his fists, looking very much like he wanted lay one on the arrogant little freshman. "You're just scared of admitting it!"
Sasuke was really getting angry now--he could feel bile rising slowly up his throat.
"Admitting what?"
"That you're in love with Hinata!"
Unfortunately, the quartet chose that precise moment to end the song. Deidara's words echoed like a prophecy through the open room, over and over and over.
His words were quickly followed by the sickening sound of knuckles pressing too hard against flesh when Sasuke swung at him.
Oo0o0oo0O0oo0o0o0
A/N: Oooh. Dramarama. A few silly parts interspersed with a bunch of serious stuff and a sprinkle of angst. You better enjoy! Remember, review! The more I get, the happier I am, the happier I am, the faster I update, and the faster I update, the sooner you get to see the upcoming SHOWDOWN! Woot!
Also, if you've been reading Forever Elusive, I'm seriously considering deleting it. I'm on extreme writer's-block for that one right now, and I don't really know what I want to happen next. Should I? Feedback, plois.
:D