Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, okay?
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
A Miracle; Ch13
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
"F-father?!"
"Where have you been?" Hiashi asked, sounding very impatient. The old man sat on the couch, his hands together, and his eyes were sharp, almost scary. "Where is your brother? Where is your sister?"
"A-ano," she bit her lip, not knowing what to answer. Neji is with Ino. Hanabi is… well, lost. She couldn't say those. He'd kill her. "W-why are you home s-so early?" She resorted to changing the topic. "I—ano,--thought that y-you would r-return n-next month…"
"I thought that I could use some surprise." He said. "Turns out I'm right. Is this what you do every time I'm not here?" he spoke slowly, saying every word with crisp and sharpness. "You might be pregnant if I returned next month."
She opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't. She couldn't. "I… ano, I b-brought dinner…"
"I ate already. Where are your siblings, Hinata?"
"I… d-don't know…"
Hiashi lowered his head. "Go to your room."
"H-hai!"
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
"Temari! There you are!"
The blonde manager ran towards the brunette who sat on a bench outside the airport. "Oh my goodness, I totally forgot! I'm sorry, Tenten!"
"What happened?" Tenten removed her shades. "I called you and you never answered your phone."
"My phone is lost. You should have called Shin! How long have you been waiting here?"
"No! I wanted to surprise him. I've been here for about two hours already." Tenten sighed.
"I did not know that you'd come today, dear. I just called you yesterday!"
"You told me that Shin needed me." She replied. "Of course I'll hurry to see him. What happened?" She picked up her bag, and she and Temari began walking outside to Temari's car.
"He's been… in a very bad mood, Tenten. Ever since he came here, he was a pain! I think something about this place that made him uneasy. And yesterday, while I looked for him in this farm that we had a photoshoot at, one person suggested that he needed to see his girlfriend. Well, I thought that it was a great idea and called you."
"It is! You don't know how much I miss him, but there wasn't really any reason for me to see him here. He'd just tell me to go back to States and finish my job there… like what you told him."
"Oh, it would be nice if that's what he'd do. Trust me."
"Well," Tenten shrugged. "I'm here. Everything would be back to normal now."
A smile faded into her face.
A grin for Temari.
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
"Fine," Ino pressed the red button on the phone. "Maybe I should change the sim of this phone."
"Tsch," Neji shook his head and looked outside the window. Ino brought him to a resort in the city. Their room overlooked the metro, and since it was night, everything lit up like magic. It wasn't so long ago when he hated nights like this. He used to hate the little things. The things which were always there. He wanted something new, he wanted to see everything new because he knew that it wouldn't be so long before…
Flash!
He blinked at the sudden white light. "What the…"
Ino giggled. "Alright. Now I have my contest piece!"
His eyes widened. "What do you mean?" His eye twitched. "Don't tell me you…"
"You look so cute here!" She bit her lip as she looked at the LCD of her camera. The man of pride and immeasurable poise, Hyuuga Neji, gazing out the window with a little smile on his face, was taken on picture. She felt like she just won. It wasn't always that he smiled. "I can't believe it!"
"Ino, give that back."
"Back? It's mine! This isn't yours, Neji." She ran into her knapsack and placed her camera inside. "Heh! That was too perfect."
He tried to control his emotions by breathing out. He wanted to get that camera from her and delete whatever she took. It didn't sound as 'cute' as she said. "You're not going to win if you send that in."
"Not really, it's very… suggestive to me."
"No, I swear, Ino. You'll lose."
"I might have to share boyfriends if they see your pose there." She joked.
"Shut up," he said. "You're not going to send that as your entry. Did you see other people? They used the farm as their backdrop."
"And?"
He exhaled again. Careful, now… "That must have been something big."
"Says who?"
He ignored her. "And you… just took a picture here." He walked to the bed and lied down.
"Of you."
"Ino, others wouldn't see me as you do."
"That's good." She replied, lying beside him. "I kill you know."
"Let's take a walk tomorrow,"
"That's great!"
"And you find another contest piece."
"… I'll try." She yawned.
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
Sasuke entered his condo unit.
Light. He felt different today. This place was somewhere he hated. He despised. He didn't want to be here. But now… he didn't feel anything against this place. For once, he felt like… he had a home.
He almost thought he was dreaming when he noticed that the whole place was clean (he left it messy), that there was a baggage, and that it smelled like something was burning in the kitchen.
"SHIN!"
Sasuke felt something cling onto his body. Arms folded in front of him.
"Did you miss me?"
He jerked his arm backward, causing the lady to go down. "Tenten?" He tried to hide every bit of emotion.
The girl in front of him smiled widely. "Did you miss me?"
And he swore, he didn't know what to say. "W-why are you here?"
"Hm… Temari called me up yesterday." She sat comfortably on his sofa. "She said you were having some issues, that you weren't working and stuff… and that while she was looking for you yesterday, this guy said that you needed your girlfriend."
"What?"
"So I rushed to the agency and came here right after she called me. I thought you needed a lot of help… so yeah." She was smiling so widely. "Aren't you happy? By any chance, did I bother you? Well, I hope not. I came here all the way from the U.S. and… well, I really missed you, Shin. I'm glad we can finally be together again. I cleaned your house by the way. It was dirty and stinky, and this condo doesn't offer chambermaids, what a shame."
…No reply.
"Shin?"
"Your… food is burning, Tenten."
"Oh my!" She jumped up from her seat and ran into the kitchen. "Oh shit! Aww, man!" She yelled loud. "Oh dear! I worked so hard for this!" She looked over at Shin apologetically. "I'm sorry! I'll cook you another one, I suppose?"
He shook his head. He dreaded her meals the most. "It's okay. I ate already."
"You did?" She placed the tools and utensils in the dishwasher. "With who?"
"With a friend,"
"Oh…" she closed the dishwasher. "Shin!" She ran back into him and hugged him again. "What happened? Why did you stop working? Did you miss me so much that you couldn't work?"
"…Tenten…"
"Just tell me what happened… please?"
"It's nothing." He replied and walked into the bathroom. "I'll help you find a hotel tomorrow."
"Hotel? Oh, no, Shin, I don't need to waste money on such… unnecessary things. I'm going to stay right here with you!"
He almost tripped on his way into the bathroom. "What?"
"What?"
"You can't stay here, Tenten." He said calmly, back to his normal state, as he turned around.
"Of course I can! I'm your girlfriend, Shin."
"You're not my wife."
"That doesn't make sense!"
"We'll get you a hotel tomorrow."
"No."
"Tenten—"
"I'm staying here." She sat and crossed her arms. "You can't make me leave."
He opened his mouth to speak, but he knew it was useless. If there was a person in the world who was more hardheaded than her, that would be Temari, which basically means that she is the second most hardheaded person in the universe. Actually, there were a lot of times that she was the most hardheaded. But who cares. Everything he could worry about right now…
Was Hinata.
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
The next day, Hinata's father immediately came back to being Hinata's father. He quickly arranged an appointment with the CEO in the hospital. They were sitting inside the office while waiting for Tsunade.
"A-ano… h-how was y-your trip?" She dared to ask.
"None of your business, young lady." He replied. "You have to worry about yourself and nobody but yourself. I can sense that you haven't visited the doctor at all since I left two weeks ago."
She bowed her head in guilt.
"If this happens again, I will hire a nurse to look after you 24/7."
She gulped.
"And your brother? He hasn't gone home since yesterday. Where is he? Didn't you give him a call at least?"
"A-ano… m-my cellphone g-got lost—"
"How irresponsible of you, but anyway, you shall receive one by tomorrow. Your brother, on the other hand, where is he?"
I can't tell him. "I don't know…"
"Maybe I should let you stop working."
She quickly looked at him, as if to say "no."
"You don't need work. I will supply you with everything you'll ever want or need, Hinata. That's why I go out a lot."
"D-demo… I…"
"What?"
"I n-need fresh air… and th-the farm h-has a lot of f-fresh air…"
The door opened, and the doctor came in. She was new, perhaps, for they have never seen her before.
"Good morning, everyone, I'm afraid our CEO has some operations to attend to." The pink-haired doctor said. "Meanwhile, I'll attend to you."
"Good morning to you too," Hiashi greeted. His eyes narrowed, though. A young doctor wasn't really what he wanted, and this one didn't look very classy, not like Tsunade. "May I know who you are?"
She sat on the chair. "My name is Haruno Sakura, fresh Harvard graduate of a medicinal course. I'm new here, by the way."
Hinata smiled. There goes one woman who she would like to be. A proud and confident one. Someone who had something to show.
"Hm, not bad. I can entrust you with my daughter, and my son, he's not here right now, but he will be soon."
"No problem. Hinata-chan, right?"
Hinata meekly nodded.
"What do you say let's have a little check up?"
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
"You have an upcoming photo shoot, Shin. And you haven't been to the derma clinic for days! You might form some things on your face—and you haven't been sleeping well. Those eye bags, Shin please take care of yourself, this isn't for you! It's for the country, for the world! Anyway, next week, we're heading to Hokkaido for a party, we can bring Tenten there. The advertisers will love her."
"Temari, why did you call Tenten?" Sasuke asked.
"What—don't you like her to be around? She's your girlfriend, right?"
"That's not the point," he exhaled. "You called her without me knowing."
"I just thought that you were kinda off, Shin. What's wrong about that? I'm your manager, after all." Temari said. "Anyway, Jiraiya submitted the photo entry already, and they were seen by some local businessmen. They want you to advertise their product, but of course, I turned them down. You wouldn't get much from them. I accepted one, though. It had some potential—like you and Tenten."
"Stop meddling in my life."
"I am not meddling in your life, Shin. I'm your manager, you must have forgotten. You signed a contract. I manage your career, I have the right to turn down anything that I don't like."
"That's not the point, I wasn't talking about my job! I'm talking about my personal life!"
Temari smirked. "Didn't I tell you before? This job is your life, Shin. If you want to prove something to Itachi, you have to take this job as serious as yourself."
He bit his lip and glared at her. "Never mention his name,"
"Fine. No problem by me. I'll call him your brother."
"Don't—"
"Shin, remember, if you want to succeed, you have to show him that you can handle the same thing he did. Right now, you're not doing half of what he did. You're like a mediocre person. You're popular—fine. But you're not advocating this. Forget everything. Just remember that you have one life."
"Then why did you call Tenten?!"
"Tenten is in this league. And you owe her. A lot,"
He sighed.
"You're not stupid, Shin. And you have a perfect idea of what I'm saying."
"Right,"
"Stop being around that gardener,"
He froze in his seat.
"By the way, I got a new cellphone. Left the number on your table. Tell Tenten that she has to come to Hokkaido with us."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Fine by me," Temari raised both of her hands. "We'll see about that."
He turned around. "You wouldn't."
"Hey, mister, I'm the manager. You follow me. I don't follow you." She shut the door.
"Bitch,"
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
"She's in good shape, mister. Better than the previous record, actually." Sakura returned Hinata to Hiashi.
"Oh really? She didn't drop by here in two weeks."
"She knows how to take care of herself well, then. She mentioned that she worked in a farm. Working isn't advised, but if you're working with nature or something, it's recommended. Her case requires a lot of fresh air."
Hiashi nodded. "Then we'll be going now. I shall return with my son."
Sakura gave him a peace sign. "No problem, sir. Anyti—"
"Sakura-chan, have you eaten lunch yet?" Somebody suddenly entered the office. "I'm starved. Let's have some ramen?"
"Oh, by the way, this is Uzumaki Naruto." Sakura walked into the blond doctor. "Naruto, that is Hinata and Hiashi Hyuuga."
"Yo," Naruto saluted them. "What's the case?"
"No, I just finished, actually. Where is Tsunade-sama?"
"Ah, the operation isn't over yet." Naruto replied.
"And who is this one?" Hiashi asked, not pleased with his bright aura.
"Didn't she just tell you who I was?" Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "Anyhow, I am Uzumaki Naruto, Harvard graduate of—"
"Very well then, we shall go now." Hiashi cut him. "I will return with my son, like I said."
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
"Thanks for coming with me." Ino waved to Neji as she drived out of their house.
Neji had a bad vibe since this morning. He didn't know why, but he did. He didn't necessarily have the worst time of his life in the resort Ino brought him into, but it wasn't the best, either. And now, stepping into his house, he felt like something bad was about to happen.
The door opened, and a long-haired, white-eyed person came out. Much like him.
"Why are you home?" He had to ask.
"This is my house, duh."
"Get inside, Hanabi." Neji was quite surprised. His sister was definitely not the type that was home everyday. Ever since… well, ever since she was a kid, she had been the rebellious type. And now that she's a teenager, she had brought it to the next level. She wasn't just a rebel now. She was more like a problem.
"Who wants to be in there? Our dearest father just returned from outer space, out of the blue."
"You were here yesterday?"
"No. I just found out today. It smells like him in the house." She walked down the porch. "I'm leaving."
"Seems more like you just visited than went home. Get in the house, Hanabi."
"Shut up—hey!" She whined when Neji pushed her.
"Get in."
"If you missed me so much, you can visit me at Harry's Saloon."
"More like the jail,"
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Corny,"
"Hanabi, for the last time, as your older brother, get in." He held her tighter on the wrist.
"I said I won't get in!"
A car parked in the driveway. And they both knew it was the end. Or at least, Neji did.
Hanabi kept walking as there was no one to hold her back anymore.
Their father stood out of the car, the youngest of them just passed by him wordlessly. "Where are you going, young lady?"
"Tsch, like you care." She finally reached out of the premises of the house. So, she did leave.
Hiashi didn't seem to care. His look at Neji didn't falter. "And you? Where have you been, Neji?"
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
"Shin, I swear, this is the best place in this town." Tenten said as she got an aqua dress that hung on a hanger in a store called 'Tick Tack.' "I never found a dress this pretty in my life. This is so useful! Wait, let me put it on."
He may be different, all right, but he's still a man. And men hated shopping, whoever they may be with. Sasuke only rolled his eyes in frustration as he sat uncomfortably on a couch that was provided probably for grieving souls like his. He should take account of that, at least.
But of course, Tenten's shopping spree was not only his problem—and of course, the bills that it would take. His main problem was communication. He was not sure of the duration of Tenten's stay, but he was sure that more than 91 percent of, she would be clinging to him. Hinata did not have a cellphone. And if ever she did, he did not know her number. He had to know the next time he would see her.
"Shin! Shin! Look, it's perfect, isn't it?" Tenten made a pose in front of him, emphasizing the dress that she fitted.
He nodded without even looking.
"You're not even looking, hey!" She walked closer to him and cupped his head into her hands, forced him to look at her.
He had perfect knowledge of how many people are looking at them right now. He sighed. "Yes, it's perfect, Tenten."
"I know!" She replied. "Hey, look, a lot of people are looking at you. They probably realized that you're a model, or they think you're really hot. Too bad for them, right?"
She loves to flatter herself, he thought as he nodded.
Tenten smirked. "I'll buy this one." Which also meant that he had to pay for it. Sasuke stood up and helped Tenten with the transactions.
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
Hinata sighed in relief because her father allowed her to go out that Sunday morning.
It was a habit already. Every first, or last, day of the week, she would go to church and hear mass. She had a lot of things to pray for, including that Kami-sama may be listening somewhere, hearing her and granting her wishes.
"Hinata?"
Her walk came to halt as she found her friend standing before her with a glad smile on his face. "Kiba-kun!"
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
Kiba didn't really like going to church. He didn't hear mass. He thought it was a waste of time. Who needed to go to mass when you can just pray to Kami-sama in your room, or while you're walking or something? He knew very well of the right and the wrong, and didn't really have to listen to long and redundant sermons of priests, who themselves were like him. Almost.
So why is he here?
"Hinata," Kiba tried to approach the girl, who sacredly prayed while the priest raised the host in front of everyone.
"Shh…" the girl responded.
He smirked. She was so cute when she's serious. Kiba missed her. Hinata had been out most of the time, and now was one of the few alone moments they rarely shared lately. He loved it.
He loved her.
It wasn't hard to. She was beautiful. She was hardworking. She was soft-spoken. She was an angel.
And she did not know it.
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
"Thank you for coming with me, Kiba-kun." Hinata said.
"Anytime, Hinata. You know I'd do anything for you." He winked.
She giggled with a blush.
"Besides, I haven't been seeing you much. Why?"
She bit her lip.
"Oi, I thought I was your best friend? Tell me, come on. Who's this Shin anyway? He was a nasty model and now you're dating him?"
"Iie!"
"Oh. Good. You're not."
"H-he's not a n-nasty model."
"…and you're not dating?"
She shook her head. "Iie."
"Wait a second, you're… not not dating?"
She blinked.
"Are you dating?"
"Iie,"
He sighed. "Good."
"K-kiba-kun…"
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
Sasuke silently got off the couch. He could not sleep. He walked into his room, where Tenten was supposedly sleeping.
And she was.
He took this opportunity as diamond. He got the keys of his car and silently left his unit for his car. Sasuke turned it on.
He had to wonder. He endured this aloneness for more than ten years. He was used to this, not having anyone around. He was used to not seeing Hinata, not having to go through a day without a stutter from her lips. But ever since the day he stepped back in Konoha, he looked for her once again. And ever since he found her, it was like he couldn't go on without seeing her. Actually, it was like that. He really could not go on without seeing Hinata. She was like poison. Or maybe it was just this place, that with every street, every house, every gush of wind, it reminds him of her.
He stopped the car at least two houses away from hers and went down.
This is your chance, he told himself. She was just there—just one wall away.
A long-haired, white-eyed person came out the door and placed new flowers on the veranda. She was familiar. The person looked right back at him
And it all came back to Sasuke.
"HINATA!" he yelled out of his car.
The person looked at him. "Excuse me?"
How could he have almost forgotten that incident?
"Hn," he heard the person mumble as he returned back inside the house.
If only you'd go out that same door…
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
"Neji, what have you been doing to yourself? Didn't you hear what the doctor said a while ago? You have been exhausting yourself! And you don't even have a job!" Hiashi demanded for an answer.
"There no much fresh air here, Father."
"Hinata lives here too."
Neji sighed. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
"The doctor said that it's very advisable to have some fresh air. Tomorrow, I will take you out whether you like it or not."
He wanted to object so badly, but he couldn't. Hiashi already left the room.
"N-neji-nii…"
Neji noticed Hinata, who was sitting across the room. He remembered the person outside, and the embarrassing incident in the street, when that same person mistook him for her. "Why don't you have some fresh air? There are fireflies in the acacia."
"There are?" Her face brightened up.
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
Sasuke sighed. It was getting cold, and he was just there, standing like the idiot he was, in front of Hinata's house, praying that she would come out. It had been four long days since their last encounter—that same day Tenten arrived.
He was almost caught up with his "reminisce" when a girl came out the door. She didn't seem to have noticed him. Her sight directly came into the acacia tree. He absently smiled as she sat on a chair and looked up the tree, gazing at the fireflies which looked more like Christmas lights. She was like a child, that same child she was. There was no change at all. Enjoying the petty things, that shallow joy she had…
It made him smile.
"Hinata," he managed to say.
The girl blinked for a while, and her smile faltered. She turned to her left, and found him standing on the sidewalk. "Ah—S-Sasuke!"
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
Hinata looked around her, just to make sure nobody was watching—particularly her father. She went closer to him.
"W-why are you here?" She had to ask.
"I told you some days ago." He replied.
"Let me protect you."
"A-ah…" she bit her lip. "M-my f-father is b-back. I'm s-sorry I wasn't around s-so much."
"It's okay." He replied. "I've been… busy myself."
"B-but a-ano, I'm going to work tomorrow. I hope."
"Good. I'll visit you." He took something out of his pocket.
She arched an eyebrow, wondering what he had behind him. And when he revealed the thing between his hands, she smiled in awe. "S-sugoi. Th-that's a nice cellphone."
"I got it yesterday…"
"It's r-really nice."
"…for you."
She paused, then looked at him. "F-for me?"
"Aah. If I'm going to protect you and we're both busy, I have to be able to reach you at least."
She wanted to smile, but she shook her head. "I c-can't accept something l-like that, S-sasuke."
"Get it," he said. "I bought it."
"I-iie, I c-can't."
"I guess I have to throw this." He looked at it. "What a waste of money."
"D-demo! I… I can't accept it!"
He looked around. "Why not?"
"B-because… I'm… I'm… n-nobody."
"You're my girlfriend. I can give you anything I want."
And she was even more shocked.
Girlfriend?!
She felt like her heart dropped at that statement. She was his girlfriend? When?!
Sasuke grabbed her hand and placed the cellphone in it and closed it after. "It's yours, Hinata."
"Don't dare use it for nonsense."
"Bye."
((AMIRACLE;ELCARIMA))
Thank you for reading, please review.