A/N: Sickness! Truth! Friendship! Drama! This is one helluva action packed chapter guys, specially crafted just for you who stuck around so long and especially those who made it through the 19/20 twin release special! The summer is on, both in the story and where I am, so expect these next chapters to feature some good plotlines, fun for everyone (kinda), some storylines coming to a close and the start of a new era!
I want to shout out anyone who reviewed and SPA for pm'ing me and letting me know what was up, it means a lot to see and hear your feedback on what I'm doing. This chapter is completely lemon-free for the people who don't like them, I plan on taking a break from lemons until next chapter, and even then I might only put one minor one.
Think of chapter 19 as an ode to the lemons, a farewell of sorts, as they'll be taking a backseat now. I have bigger fish to fry and more important things to write other than some sex scenes between the characters. While they were good early on to advance the characters personalities, they're not so important now. Right now is the time for their personalities and stuff to flourish.
Now, as always, please review, favorite and follow or PM me if you have any advice. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Naruto or any of the characters besides m'f'ing Asuka, hoes!
INO-POV
May 30th, 2:00 pm.
Farewell, beach house that had probably the worst beach I've seen in the longest time, with your debris and needles and whatnot. On the bright side, we made a lot of good memories there and a lot of good relationships, especially bedroom relationships.
That's not to say that we didn't have any good and solid bonding time as couples, because we did. And a lot of fuckin' alcohol and a lot of fuckin' pot. Even if we were coming home with leftover pot we still smoked a good chunk of it at the house, but we trashed the leftover beer and stowed away the leftover liquor in Shikamaru's car.
Handshakes were exchanged as we went our separate ways in the cars we came in on. Shika and Temari were going to stop by Suna, Naruto and Sasuke were gonna go stop by some mall thing on the way back in and we, well, we're just going home.
Kinda lame, I know, but we're all tired and Hinata said she really needed to get home and sleep, she hasn't been feeling good since Sunday evening. She took the hangover like a grade A champ, but when she started running a high fever and getting really nauseated she knew she was sick.
I highly doubt that she's pregnant, or at least, I hope she isn't. She even said herself she's fairly certain she isn't, saying she's had this before and it usually hits her after being out of the city for more than a day or two. Something to do with the enzymes in the air and yada-yada, it's a bunch of medical bullshit that I can't even pretend to know anything about at all.
And that's how we ended up with Sakura driving Hinata's Jeep, something which is rare as hell. Hinata loves this car. If I'm being honest, she would probably marry it if she could, not sure how that'd work but she would sure as hell make it work.
At the same time I'm not sure how Naruto would take it, being dumped for a car. He'd probably just go get a brand new truck and marry it just to stick it to her, and then they'd get into a war, fight, yell and end up fucking and marrying each other. Man, I should write some movie scripts, eh?
Let's see if I can do this again, hmm...meh, I got nothing. Yeah maybe I should stick to my day job. Now we get to focus on some of the more important things coming up.
In just over a week on the tenth of June, Shikamaru and Temari are getting married, where the night before we get to have a little girls only slumber party while the men do pretty much all the fun shit that Temari and us can't do, like get super drunk.
So we're stuck getting high, which won't be all that bad. Hinata said she's getting some of the strongest shit possible and I believe it, for once. Mainly because Tayuya told us exactly so back before we left for Konoha, and judging by the stars in her eyes it was some good, good shit.
After the recent breakthrough in prenatal medicine and facts on marijuana, they made it a lot safer to smoke or otherwise ingest pot into your system. With the release of a vitamin that targeted and neutralized any dangerous chemicals in the unborn babies bloodstream, THC included, it's no longer unsafe to use weed as a painkiller, anxiety or stress reliever or a cure for morning sickness.
Biology is a helluva thing, man, biology is a helluva thing. Maybe I should think about getting into that, including plant biology. I know Asuka has her dreams of being a designer and I can support that one hundred percent, but biology is something that's always intrigued me.
Shikamaru, while he was going to go into college for engineering, has the whole thing with I&T first, which rumor is that if he does well there they'll pay for his college tuition under the military fund, since he's practically a worker for the military.
All they ask is that he thinks about contracting himself out to them if they ever require his services. I'd do it, honestly, it's a safe bet for money. I think now Temari is gonna do online college to start up her advertisement company, it's the easiest thing for her.
Mainly because while Shika is home he can help watch the baby while she studies and takes her classes. They work so effortlessly as a team I have no doubt that they're gonna make the best parents in the world. Sure it's gonna be rough, but I'm sure they'll find a way to team up and get the job done.
"You feeling any better, Hinata?" I heard Asuka ask, patting the sick girls shoulder and getting a small smile accompanied by a shake of her head.
I don't know why but I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that this isn't just some random illness, not if she said it happens in situations like that. Normally the only time your body will turn on you like that because of the place your in means cancerous cells are the ones behind the attacks, making you sick.
Okay, so maybe I do know a little something about this 'medical' bullshit, but that's because I paid attention in school...for the most part. Just because I was a dumb bimbo and slept around doesn't mean I didn't give a shit about my education, I still wanted to learn.
Cancerous cells, enzymes, in the air...Phil Collins...heh, good song...okay getting serious now. If there's something in the air where we were, in a humid, dusty and sandy area, that was causing her body to attack her, essentially making her sick like this, that narrows it down to a couple of things.
One of them can be this simple little tidbit. So basically, in a sense, there's a type of bacteria or enzyme in the air that irritates a certain type of bacteria in her body and causes it to multiply and infect, swelling her lymph nodes and affecting her head area, causing the nausea and ramping up her body temperature. But the other theory, well, it's not as simple as the first one.
This one has me worried because it makes sense. Down in the area we were in lives a virus that can lodge itself inside of you and reactivate when triggered by the enzymes and whatnot in the air. What is this virus? Well, they call it Jumpers Disease, named after the famous military division that jumped into combat in this area, returning sick.
As much as I want to tell her, I'd rather wait until we got home and she got to the doctors before I made a guess, they'd know a lot more than I did.
Two and a half hours to go until we reach home, if all goes well. And I hope it does.
5:00 pm.
Sakura had just dropped us off at our house, waiting for us to unload and get inside before leaving for the hospital with Hinata, where the doctors would help her better than we could. During the car ride she got worse, I know she did, even if she didn't show it I could see it on her face.
I walked upstairs after saying hello to my mom and dad, plopping down on the bed in my clothes and all. I didn't even bother getting dressed into something more a little more comfy, opting to just collapse where I was. "Ugh, I'm so glad to be home, I loved the beach house but nothing beats being here." Asuka breathed out, undressing from her attire and dressing into a pair of athletic booty shorts and a plain red tee, ditching the bra.
Climbing into bed with me she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in, taking in the perfume I was wearing with an emphatic sniff and happy sigh. I'm happy to be home, too, but I can't help but worry about the dark haired girl with Sakura.
Sighing I shook myself free from Asuka and stood up, picking out a more comfortable outfit and changing into it.
Donning my pair of fluffy black pajama pants with cartoon characters on them and a blue tank top on I smiled and laid back down, snuggling into Asuka and sighing in happiness. "Asuka, I'm worried for Hinata." I said lowly, trying not to tear up.
Asuka rolled over and faced me, smiling at me before kissing me gently. "I know, but I'm sure she'll be fine, she's a tough cookie." I chuckled and smiled, nodding along with my red headed girlfriend. Hinata is indeed a tough cookie, hopefully she's tough enough, though.
We laid there for a couple of hours before my mom came and interrupted us, telling us that they had an important business dinner with some people that had came up last minute, leaving us money to order pizza and go pick it up. I called the order in before standing up and throwing on a bra and a better shirt. After Asuka threw hers on we left the house, heading to the pizza joint.
After I parked we walked into the restaurant hand in hand and paid for the pizza, taking a seat on a bench and waited for the order to be ready. I looked at Asuka and gave her a smile, finding it again. Leaning in and kissing her I savored the taste of the fruit punch she was drinking earlier on her tongue.
As usual, though, all good things must come to an end, when I felt an arm wrap around me from the right side. "Hey baby, I see you dig chicks now too?" Fucking Kiba, I only dated the dude for a few weeks and he seems to think I'm still in love with him and his dick.
I turned my face to him and glared for a second before throwing on a sickeningly sweet smile. "Kiba." I started stiffly, grasping his arm tightly. "We aren't a couple anymore nor are we friends, so would you kindly piss the fuck off?" I hissed out, digging nails into his arm and yanking it off of me.
He hissed in pain but stayed in his seat nonetheless, being smart and not putting his arm back where it was. "Feisty, I like that, you know you and your sexy little babe here want some threesome action with me." Asuka made a throwing up action when he winked at me and her, finally having enough and standing up.
She walked over right in front of him and bent down, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him up. "Look, ya little filthy mutt, she don't want any and neither do I. She left you because you're a slimy little peasant obsessed with sex and being popular, but she's changed, so do what she said and piss off, ya dick." Dang, more brutal, please?
When she dropped him back down onto the seat he grunted and just stood up, facing Asuka. "Yeah, sure, just don't let the eighteen sixties catch wind of this, they don't take very lightly to someone assaulting their newest member." He laughed, walking off once he gathered his pizza, leaving Asuka her gripping her head in annoyance and anger, trying to figure out...something, that's all I know.
"Well shit, this is bad." She cursed out, stomping her foot. Just then our order was ready and we walked out to the car and got in, leaving. I looked at her questioningly as we made our way down the road and home. "Look, so basically if he really is a new recruit, they're not gonna like a former one doing what I did to him."
I went to ask her why before she cut me off, raising a hand to me. "They don't value women very well in the gang, we're pretty much expected to put out to anyone who asks, so being a former member they know I know that and expect me to still hold that value. When they find out that I don't..." We're pretty much screwed, I get it.
Sighing I grabbed her hand and intertwined my fingers in hers. "Well, is there anyway we can get out of this? An apology, maybe?" I frowned when she shook her head.
"Nope, I don't doubt the little shits in the gang anyways, he'd make a good foot soldier. The only way is to get him ousted from the gang or submit. If we don't do either of them, then we become targets. And there's no way to get out of that." I just wish there was someone we could call to help us, another gang or the police, maybe.
All I know is now I'm wishing we were back at the beach house. Maybe there is some places that can beat being home. "Is there really no one we can call?" I asked, getting another shake of her head, and a frown.
Looks like this pizza may very well be our last meal.
SAKURA-POV
May 30th, 6:00 pm.
"Hinata Hyuuga, the doctor will see you now."
With the call from the receptionist I smiled at Hinata and helped her up, taking her hand in mine and helping her back through the door and to the examination room where the doctor would see us. "Thanks for the help, Sakura, I think I would've made a fool of myself if I came alone." She laughed softly at the thought of it.
I laughed too and pushed the thought into the back of my head. They weighed her, measured her height, took her blood, temperature and checked her tonsils before telling us to wait here and the doctor would be in here in few minutes.
But we both spoke doctor, knowing to hunker down for anywhere from thirty to forty five minutes, which we tried to fill with small talk about the little summer kick off party we had just left and the impending time with our two respective boyfriends, who were shopping for something right now. What they were looking for, I have no idea, but it's probably best that I don't.
It seemed important enough, though, so I'll let it slide for now. Maybe they just need some time to think and talk about things, even guys need some alone time like that with each other, no matter how much they may deny it.
Looking at Hinata, who was sitting on the examination bed, I put a hand on her thigh and gave her a soft smile. "Don't worry Hina, we'll get this figured out sooner than later." She smiled back, obviously exhausted.
She laid down on the bed and just sighed. "I know, I just don't know what's wrong with me, Sakura. I can't go anywhere besides Konoha without getting sick." I would be frustrated as hell if I were here. I love the village to death but sometimes I just need to get out.
Something confused me, though, and I couldn't find an answer for it. "Ne, Hinata, if this happens a lot when you leave Konoha, why didn't it happen back in Tea?" Craning her head up she looked at me and just shrugged. I figured she probably wouldn't have known either.
"I have my guesses, the main one being that Tea is almost the same as Konoha in the topography and stuff, but that's just a guess. The other is life decided to not be cruel for once and give me a stress free vacation." With that she laid her head back down, covering her eyes with an arm trying to block out the light that was shining from the ceiling and illuminating the room.
Thirty minutes passed of her resting and trying to stay cool and me playing solitaire on my phone before the doctor knocked on the door and swung it open, walking in with an authoritative feel. "Good evening Ms. Hyuuga and Ms. Haruno." He bowed to me and Hinata politely. "I am Dr. Shun and I'll be helping you out tonight, how are you?"
Hinata sat up slowly and tried her best to give a sincere smile. "Not so good, doc, that's why I'm here." He nodded, scanning through her files one more time and humming.
After about five minutes of looking at the files he snapped the folder shut. "Well, it seems you had visited here before about ten years ago with the same symptoms, now this was before we had half the knowledge of what could be the situation. To make a solid decision I'll need to make a quick examination, is this ok Ms. Hyuuga?" She nodded.
Bringing out his stethoscope he examined her breathing and lungs, checked her ears and measured her temperature once more. It was up from ninety nine to one o' one point three. Next he checked her lymph nodes, noticing the ones in the collarbone, armpit and neck region were inflamed.
Finally it came to the bloodwork results, which a nurse had just gave the doctor. He did what all the other doctors do and looked over them making small humming and grunting noises at what he saw. "Dr. Shun, what is it that you see?" Hinata croaked out, taking a swig of the water I gave her from my purse.
He lowered the bloodwork results and sat down in a chair. "It is what I thought it was. The good news is it isn't cancer, so you can breath easier." I don't know about her but you bet I did, at least. "But, this isn't something to be taken lightly. What you have is Travelers disease, which is when the bodies immune system grows strong to certain types of environments and places but not to foreign places, so when you do travel, it doesn't have the strength to fight the new environment." Ah...what?
I looked over and saw Hinata nod slowly like she knew about this. "Yeah, I figured, I haven't always had the best immune system since I hardly wanted to go anywhere, so it only makes sense that this would be the case." So she has this because she's...shy? Introverted?
That's just cruel, life, that's just cruel. "Now you haven't caught anything bad from it yet, so we caught it in time. All you need is to start a regiment of medicine, including an antibiotic and a chest steroid that'll help build your immune system. I'll also be prescribing a minor painkiller for the soreness you're feeling. Is that all?" He asked, standing.
Nodding once Hinata did, he wrote the prescriptions and bowed farewell to us, leaving us to check out and leave the hospital.
We headed to the drug store and filled her prescriptions before I took her home, trying to figure out how to get my car from the school. I don't know how long Sasuke and Naruto are gonna be so I can't exactly call them. It's only seven thirty and they said they'd be back by nine.
Pulling up to her I noticed that Hinata was practically drained of all energy. "A s-side effect of being sick. It'll be b-better once I start the meds." Seeing her so weak and fragile in a literal sense made me sad on the inside. "Sakura, I hate to ask but I'm gonna need your help until Naruto and Sasuke get home." Smiling I nodded to her.
It worked out since I had to wait for them to get here anyways. "Sure, Hinata, I'd be glad to help." Which included practically carrying her inside while her dad grabbed her luggage. He almost noticed he pot in her bag, but I came in for the save and just said it had her underwear in it, scaring him away from the bag.
When we got inside to her room I helped her sit down on her bed. "Another thing I hate to ask, but I really need to take a bath and I just don't have the strength to do it, do you think you-" I cut her off right there, smiling at her a genuine smile.
"Look Hinata, you don't have to be afraid to ask for help, you know me or any of the girls would be more than happy to help you." When I said that, she found the strength to give me a good, genuine smile. "Especially if we get to see you naked." I winked at her, making her blush, like she needed the heat. "In fact, I think imma call Ino and Asuka over, they might-" Hinata cut me off with a tiny squeak.
We waited until her dad left to get Hinata's prescriptions to do this, knowing he'd be gone for close to an hour if not more, and Hanabi was over at someone's house, probably Konohamaru's for a 'play date'.
I told Hinata to wait in her room while I went to her bathroom and ran the water, letting it fill the tub up with the warm but not hot liquid and threw in some bath salts.
Returning to Hinata she smiled at me, thanking me for what must have been the hundredth time tonight, and the hundredth one I waved off. She didn't even bother to stand as I stripped her of her shoes, socks, pants and underwear, leaving the bottom half of her body bare.
"C'mon, arms up Hinata." I told her, helping her hold her arms up while I slid her shirt off, feeling her blazing hot skin, clammy with sweat, touch my fingers. "Heh, I guess you could say you're hot, Hinata." The sick girl just giggled a bit while I undid the snaps on her bra, tossing it next to her other discarded clothes on the floor.
And now I had the naked, burning hot and sick woman scooped up in my arms and walking towards the restroom. "I'll be gentle, but the water may hurt your skin at first, it's not too hot though." Warning the dark haired girl I slowly lowered her into the tub and let the water encompass her entire body up to her neck. Man she had a deep bathtub.
She winced at first, but soon after I saw a look of relief float over her, making me smile a bit. I saw her slip under the water for just a second, wetting her hair fully before coming back up and taking a breath in sharply. "Ok, I shouldn't do that anymore, that hurt my lungs so bad." After a few more deeper breaths she relaxed again.
Squeezing some shampoo onto my hands I started working it into her hair, massaging her scalp and sending a good feeling down her spine that made her melt into the tub even more than she was beforehand.
Grabbing the cup she had set on the ledge of the tub and filled it with water before dumping it over her head slowly, repeating the process until the shampoo was out of her hair completely, moving on to her body. "Ne, you're gonna have to stand for this, 'Nata." I said, seeing her visibly grimace and grip the ledge of the tub, forcing herself up onto her feet.
Her hands found the wall and my shoulder as she stood horizontal in the tub. I grabbed the body soap she used and put some on her loofah, caressing her body with the soaped up shower poof, getting a good amount of suds on her skin. I breathed in the scent, a lavender body soap, it fit her perfectly.
I moved down from her shoulder to her chest, gently working the loofah around her breasts and stomach area, moving on to her back shortly after. She trembled a bit when the loofah moved to her butt, but I blew it off, continuing my work and going down the backs of her legs and front of her legs.
She knew what was next, making me telling her to open her legs a bit pointless. "O-ok, just be gentle please." I nodded, slowly and carefully soaping up the insides of her thighs with ease. I barely grazed over her pussy, but that made her legs tremble more and a small moan escaped her lips. "I-I'm more s-sensitive down there, 'Suka."
Making a 'oh' face I continued on, holding her up strongly while I tenderly cleaned her up. Just as I was done though she collapsed down, sitting back down in the tub.
That's when she started shaking and moaning, and it became apparent to me what was happening. "Oh my, you...you just had an orgasm?" I asked, kinda impressed, curious and, to be honest, a bit envious myself.
Looking at me she slowly nodded after it had finished it's course on her body. "Y-yeah, it's the only bright side to this disease, it's makes your tolerance bottom out all the way, making having an orgasm happen quicker than even a lot of virgin guys. It sucks, but it felt good, so yeah." Wow...how do I get this disease?
Her coughing drew my attention back to her, making me change my mind about the disease. "I can see why it sucks hun, but that was definitely fun to see." I laughed out at the poor girls expense, making her glare at me.
"I'm just gonna soak here for a minute and recover, can you go get me a decently comfortable outfit out?" Nodding, I left her in the restroom and looked through the drawers in her dresser, grabbing a pair of purple basketball shorts, a big tee shirt of Naruto's and a pair of pink panties, which I thought were cute. I decided to nix the bra, knowing it would end up on the floor soon after she got in bed anyways.
And of course that's when her dad got back home, knocking on the bedroom door. I quickly shut the bathroom door and moved her clothes out of sight, opening the door for her father. "She's in the bath?" He asked, getting a nod from me. "Okay, well tell her that this is her medicine and I'll come see her when she's decent." With that he left.
Once the door shut behind me I opened the bathroom again, helping Hinata out of the tub. "You heard what he said right?" I asked her, getting a nod and a 'mhmm' as I dried her off and put her hair up in a towel. Walking her out to the bed I helped her slide her clothes on and dished her medicine put to her, watching her take it with water.
She gulped the pills down and laid back in the bed. "Thanks for the help, can you go get my dad please?" She knows she doesn't have to ask, but I nodded nonetheless.
Making my way down the hall I found her dad sitting in his office, swishing a glass of single malt whiskey in his hand. "Ah, Ms. Haruno, is Hinata ready for me to come see her?" He asked, smiling when he saw my nod. "Good, I'll go see her now, thank you." I wasn't done yet, old man, I wanna hear this conversation.
I halfway stormed off after him, ready to protest that I needed to hear this, but when I got to Hinata's door her dad was waiting there for me, ushering me in. Not exactly what I expected but I'm not complaining.
Hinata did her best to sit up on her elbows, the medicine already kicking in and showing its effects. "Wassup dad?" She mumbled out, showing the side effects of the drugs she was on, mainly grogginess and exhaustion. She let out a yawn, covering her mouth politely.
He just smiled a real and genuine smile, not something you see very often from the stoic businessman, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. "I just wanted to see if you were feeling better, It's not everyday my daughter leaves for a vacation and comes home directly to the hospital." Admittedly he had a point, but I know he knows something,
She just smiled, croaking out a thanks before his face got serious again. "Although there is more to it." Yep, there's what I was looking for. "You see, I had a feeling you'd come down with this eventually considering you take after your mom and she, well, she had the same disease when we first met." I know her mom is a touchy subject, not a topic he brings up without reason.
The problem is that Hinata didn't even flinch at the mentioning of her mother, putting on a stoic face to match her fathers. "If you knew, then why...why didn't we take care of this before it happened?" Her timid and fragile voice spoke, trying its hardest not to falter but to stay strong.
But we all knew she was tearing apart on the inside. "Hinata, back then when you were born is when she first showed signs, and if you remember correctly she was sicker than anything right before Hanabi was born." I...I think I know what he's getting at, but if this is true, then...
No one said anything for the next few minutes, leaving a numbing feeling in the air. "Mr. Hiashi, are you saying that this disease...are you saying that this disease Hinata has is...is the one that caused her moms passing?" Not being able to stand the silence anymore I cut in, asking the question that was burning in mine and Hinata's head, surely.
He turned his head and with his stone-faced, statuesque glare he nodded. "Yes, it's been believed so for a while. But medical technology and research on this back in the day was pretty much nil, meaning no one knew, not even until now, thirteen years later." It makes sense, things back then were a little, er, tough.
We turned to look at Hinata, who was as apathetic and void of emotion as she's ever been, the only emotion showing in the form of a single tear running down her face which let us know she was still able to feel sadness. "So the-the combination of Hanabi's b-birth and this god awful d-disease killed her?" Her question tore me apart, the bitterness in it cutting through clearly.
Hiashi gave her a sad nod, trying to figure put what his plans were next. "Hinata, I should've mentioned this way earlier when you asked how, but-" For the first time ever, I saw Hiashi Hyuuga get cut off, and not only cut off but by his daughter, and he stopped, letting her do it.
"Go, please, just go." She practically whispered, pulling the blanket up to her chin. Her father tried to protest but she cut him off again, sharper than last time. "No, just save it please, I'm exhausted, sick as fuck and I can't handle this right now, so just please go." I don't know what's more impressive, cursing in front of him or cutting him off.
Twice, at that! And she got away with both of them! "I...I am sorry, Hinata, I trust you will seek me when you're ready to talk." With that, he bowed deeply and left.
Once the door clicked shut, a good five minutes of nothingness passed, neither of us knowing what the hell to say in this situation. I know she wanted to breakdown and cry, but she was staying strong. This is honestly a job best handled by Naruto, honestly, he knows her more than any of us.
As if on cue, the door swung open revealing the blonde haired boy I was thinking of. "Sakura, I can't thank you enough for helping Hinata, but I'll take it from here. Sasuke is waiting for you downstairs with his car." He smiled and said, walking towards the bed.
I looked over my shoulder before shutting the door, smiling as he crawled into bed gently with her, the beginning signs of her breaking down showing. Heading downstairs I saw Sasuke waiting for me outside, sitting in the drivers seat looking forward.
Smiling I walked over to the car and got in, kissing him on the cheek quickly and hugging him. "How was the little side trip, Sasuke-kun?" I asked an innocent question which was met by a solid and apathetic glare, one that shivered me to my bones.
"Me and Naruto found out what made Choji kill himself." He said in a monotonous and dead tone.
Oh boy, this just never stops does it?
NARUTO-POV
May 30th, 3:30 pm.
Well we made it, despite almost smashing into a total of two cows and ten sheep. Sure taking the rural road route to the major speedway shaved off thirty minutes of drive time but man was it fun not hitting animals and fucking up your car.
Not only that but it is in the middle of nowhere, with no signal and no one around to help. But alas, we have arrived at our destination, Shell Village, a resort village filled with shops upon shops and hotels upon hotels. But there is one reason we're actually here, and it's pretty simple.
"I love Sakura but dude even I need time away from her, honestly." Yeah, we're pretty much here to have some man-time together to talk about things and think about things, some specific and some not so specific. It's pretty much a grab bag of adventure and conversation.
Right now our eyes were set on one place and one place only, a wing restaurant called Shell City Wings, known for having the best barbecue wings out of anywhere in the entire great villages area, including Suna and their legendary hot wings. "Man, I feel you there, I'm just ready to chow down on some wings and watch the baseball game." I said, reminding him of the Konoha Whirlwinds game today, which starts at three forty five.
He nodded as I pulled into a parking spot. It was a Monday so thankfully the business wasn't as high, meaning we got a booth immediately. We ordered our drink, mine being a fruit juice native to here and his being a Molotov cider, which is a cinnamon cider. Alcohol free, of course, it does taste good though.
We sat idly by watching the first few innings of the game blow by, the Whirlwinds up by five already by the time our wings got here.
Normally we'd eat the hot ones, but I chose honey barbecue and Sasuke got lemon teriyaki, both in memoriam of our fallen friend, Choji. I don't know why but today on the drive here both of us started thinking about him and the way things have gone recently.
"I just don't know exactly what would've made him do it, I know he was sad and depressed, but my stomach tells me there's something more to it, yano what I mean?" I said getting a nod and a muffled 'mhmm' from Sasuke, who was tearing into his wings.
After wiping his mouth with a napkin and washing down the food with a sip of his drink he answered me. "Yeah I know, the part that's bugging me more than anything right now is we just don't know what or who could've done this to him. He didn't have any girlfriends that you know of, right?" I shook my head and thought for a second.
What had happened with him in the days leading up to the Christmas break? I don't remember seeing him in any sort of drug form, he did seem a bit sadder than usual but I couldn't muster up the reasoning to go question him without spooking him away.
The only thing distinct I remember is I saw him with..."Kiba." I growled out, seeing the dog lover in the restaurant laughing and joking with two other guys. Sasuke looked over and balled his fists up, glaring angrily. "I have a feeling if anyone had anything to do with it, it'd be that loser. But what's he doing repping the Eighteen Sixties dark green and crimson?" It was a good question.
He had a normal outfit of jeans, tee shirt and regular running shows, but the dark green bandana and crimson bandana around his neck had me curious. "Tch, knowing his dumbass he went and got involved in some gang shit. Maybe..." Me and Sasuke shared a look, thinking the same thing.
Maybe the sudden suicide was spurred by something gang related. Only one way to find out. "So...we beat him up right?" I asked, getting a serious look from Sasuke and a nod in agreement. "It's not gonna be easy though."
Or at least, I don't think so. I wouldn't be surprised if he was packing heat now like the idiot he really is. Well, time to go to the quick thought drawing table.
4:30 pm.
If we wanted to do this and be home in the time we said we would be we'd need to be quick, stealthy, and-"Oi, pussy ass bitch, over here!" Sasuke yelled, making me thrust my face into my palm and sigh.
We managed to single him out outside the wing place when he went out for a smoke. Coincidentally he parked a few cars down from my truck making it easier to engage him if need be. "Oho, who're you calling a pussy duck head?" Kiba, ya may wanna be careful, even I know not to tease him about his hair anymore. Not since then...
Laughing a bit he stepped towards us, tossing his cigarette aside. "We just wanna ask you a few questions man, specifically about that." I pointed to the bandanas he was wearing around his neckline. When he gave me a questioning look I spoke. "Are you really in that gang, the Eighteen Sixties?"
With another round of laughing he nodded proudly. "Yeah, they thought I was one of their most promising recruits in a long time and sent me down here for...well, something that I can't mention. I'm sure you know why. Anything else?" I just wanted to smash that proud and smug look off of his face, but held myself back.
Sasuke's turn to talk, which he chose his next words carefully. "Just one more, last time we saw Choji before he committed suicide was with you, would you happen to know what was going on with him?" We really are just looking for closure, honestly, nothing more and certainly nothing less.
Unfortunately for Kiba he doesn't watch what he says, rushing into things head on. "Ha, that fat ass? Yeah I was with him before the coward did that shit. But no, I certainly don't know anything at all." The way he worded it certainly meant he did know something. When the full statement hit me and Sasuke, our fists tightened, knuckles white.
I couldn't take anymore, grabbing the boy by the front of his shirt and punched him, watching him fall to the ground with a shocked look on his face. To prevent him from moving I put a knee on his chest and seethed out a sentence. "Look, bitch boy, you know something, and we want answers. This is either gonna go the easy way or the painful way, got it?" I asked, feeling Sasuke rest a hand on my shoulder.
Luckily we were deep enough into the parking lot that no one saw what was coming next. Sasuke took his foot and planted it squarely onto the dog boys throat, making him gasp for air. "What he said, either we're gonna get answers, or you're gonna get seriously hurt. Which is it?" I don't like doing this, but this is important.
When Sasuke let up a little he grunted out words, trying to form them into a sentence. "What is there to say, the fat ass didn't want to join the gang so he got put on the hit list, it's not my fault he took his own life before we could. It probably didn't help saying that we were gonna kill his dad and rape his fat ass mom-urk!" That was enough.
Wrapping my hand around his throat I squeezed, intent on killing the new gang member. "You little shit, you think you're cool because you're in a gang now? Fuck that, you can't even fight me one on one." I let go of his neck, dropping him to the ground.
Taking the hand stuck out from Sasuke I helped myself up. "Sacks of shit like you don't deserve to live, have fun being in a gang before your bitch ass gets shot." Sasuke uttered, spitting right in his face and letting me kick him a few times before we got in my truck and sped away.
Finally we got to go to our original destination. Zori's Jewelry, one of the finest in the great villages.
What for? Well...
8:15 pm.
I had just reached Hinata's house, Sasuke in tow in his car behind me. Rumbling into the driveway I turned my truck off and got out, walking up to the front door and getting ready to knock. To my surprise it swung open before I could tap my knuckles against it.
Hiashi met me at the door, smiling an uncharacteristic real smile. "Ah, I figured it was you who was here, Naruto." He said lowly, ushering me in. I could smell the strong smell of whiskey on his breath. "Hinata's in her room laying down and Sakura is up there too if you wish to let her know Sasuke is here." I nodded firmly, taking a step away.
Before I could make it pas him, he stopped me, putting his hand on my arm. I went to protest him, but he made a shushing sound, leaning into my ear.
"She's a bit ruffled up right now, Naruto, I had just told her she has the same disease that caused her mothers untimely death." Well that's just what I wanted to hear. "Now, before you get your feathers ruffled, she'll be fine, Hana's situation was...different to say the least. She needs you more than me right now, Naruto, I'm trusting you to fix my mistakes, okay?" Better, but still...I nodded anyways, heading up to the room.
After I got to her room and dismissed Sakura for the night I kicked my shoes off and climbed into bed, gently wrapping my arms around her and kissing her cheek. Even with her medicine her skin was burning up and almost searing to the touch.
Her body shook a little with a few small coughs and a couple sniffles as she turned and looked at me, a dead look in her eye. "Hey Naruto-kun." She managed to squeak out, tears forming in here eyes, with a few leaking out slowly but surely. I just smiled at her, kissing her on the lips.
Using all of her power she rolled over and put her chest against mine, where I felt her racing pulse pounding. "Hey, is my princess feeling any better?" I asked, getting a nod from her head, which was buried into chest, where I felt it getting damp from a combination of her sweat and her tears.
We laid like this for the next thirty minutes, which were spent with her silently crying, with a few intervals of sobbing that lasted just a few minutes each. When she had cried as much as she could she looked up at me, her lip quivering. "N-Naruto-kun, I know I shouldn't be b-but I'm afraid." Afraid of what? Dying?
Swooping my head in I kissed her deeply on the lips, inhaling the scent of her shampoo with a deep breath through my nose. "Hinata-hime, you have nothing to fear at all, 'cuz I won't let anything happen." She went to tell me what her dad said, but I shushed her. "Your dad explained it to me, love, and I'm here for you, and so is he, we both love you more than anything." After I said that she went quiet.
Soon after, her face was buried back into my chest, as she wept openly into it, her cries muffled by the shirt I was wearing.
Tonight was the first night she had cried herself to sleep in forever, at least that I know of. I'm just glad it was with me, not over me.
ASUKA-POV
May 30th, 9:30 pm.
What else was there to do but just lay her, holding my lover in my arms as we silently waited for them to come. It's gonna be any minute now, I know they don't like to sit around and twiddle their thumbs. No, they take care of business, and they do it quickly and viciously, like a deadly pack of wolves.
Ino was being surprisingly strong, only shedding a total of two or three tears max. We made love one last time, and that was bittersweet. I can only hope her parents don't come home anytime soon. I'd hate for them to get hurt in the crossfire.
They've done so much for me ever since I left the gang as an 'active member'. Once you're in, you're in, no ifs, ands or buts about it, there is no way out, barring you die or the gang gets deactivated by way of the police dismantling and shutting them down, but crooked cops rule the Los Kono parts of town, leaving a fall back territory.
Back to her parents, they took me in with very few questions asked, not even questioning Ino for loving me. They only cared about doing the right thing and making their daughter happy, which is coincidentally what I want for Ino. I just wanted to make her happy, and now it seems my past has caused both of us trouble, getting us into shit with arguably the biggest gang in the nation of Fire.
So what are we supposed to do? We can't run to the police, they'll end up arresting me for being a former member and Ino will be left with a hole in her heart. The daimyo wouldn't be much help, and it's too late for that anyways, his offices close at five pm, leaving us screwed for help.
And now the waiting game is tearing me apart. I know it's coming, and it's coming soon, it's just a matter of when.
It seems that answer was found rather quickly, as two all black former police cars rolled up, and about six people got out, leaving the getaway drivers behind in the car for assurance. Peaking through the window I found that Kiba jerk wielding a pistol, smirking up at us.
"Ino, I love you so much, I'm sorry this is how it's ending." I cried out into Ino's chest, letting the tears fall out of my eyes now. She shushed me, trying to quiet me down and calm me down, staying strong all the while.
"It's ok, Asuka-hime, this is how things are meant to be and I can't think of anyone else I would rather die next to besides my red headed stud of a babe." Even in situations like this she found a way to make me smile. And then we kissed, deep into each others lips.
I jumped when I heard a sharp kick hit the front door, but it didn't budge. Kiba cursed, kicking it again and again, but it didn't give. Not that he would get another chance, as we heard shots ring out, but they weren't being fired at us...they were being fired at the would-be attackers.
What in the hell is happening? Carefully I crept up to the window and peaked out of it, seeing the Eighteen Sixties gang members in a harsh firefight with a group of what looked like twenty soldiers, armed to the teeth with assault rifles and enough ammo to take them on for hours. The two drivers had already been taken out, by sniper fire I'm assuming by the accuracy of the shots.
The other six were held down by fire, a few stray bullets hitting the house in random spots but their accuracy was unbelievable. Kiba was cowering in a ball of cowardly shit as the rest of the members tried to return fire.
Watching as much as I could I saw four member get shot down, leaving it to be a twenty vs two matchup. When the last man went down, leaving Kiba solo, he threw his arms up, dropping his gun and allowing the military to swoop in and handcuff him.
Naturally, it wasn't over. We barely got to sigh a breath of relief when the door was kicked in fully, and ten of the soldiers swarmed in the house, clearing it and making their way upstairs to our room.
When they reached her room, they kicked the door in and found me and Ino on the ground, our hands up in the air. "Captain, I have two women in here, identities unknown."
That's when Ino decided to speak up, pointing to her wallet on the nightstand next to me. "Hey, I'm the daughter of the owner of this house, Inoichi Yamanaka, check my ID, it's in the pink wallet on that nightstand!" She said in a hurried and stressed voice as two soldiers cuffed us tightly.
The person she yelled at, a sergeant I'm assuming, went and checked, confirming it was her and nodding to her. "Sir! One of the women is the daughter of the owner of this house, and it's Mr. Yamanaka!" A private yelled out, waiting for the captain to enter the room.
He did a minute later, a towering man stout and built like a tank. "Okay, take them in anyways, they need to be debriefed about what happened tonight and why we're here in the first place." The captain commanded. They started to drag us out still cuffed when the captain turned and faced us and them again. "Take the cuffs off, dumbass, they aren't the enemy anymore!" He yelled, before storming off, stringing curses and insults together.
They did as they were told, before leading us down to the cars that had pulled up, unmarked police cars that were basically bulletproof. We were thrown into the back of one together, thankfully no longer cuffed, allowing us to hug onto each other as the car took off, taking us to where we needed to be.
Fifteen minutes later and we were pulled out of the car and led by the awaiting six armed soldiers to a debriefing room. We were instructed to sit and await the captain who we saw earlier. Hopefully he'd come soon.
I didn't know what to say to the blonde haired girl next to me, just twining our fingers together squeezing her hand tight as we processed what had just transpired.
One things for certain, we were alive.
With authority the steel door swung open, and the towering man came in, followed by the sergeant and the private from earlier. "Ms. Yamanaka, and Ms. Asuka, my name is Captain Shunto Ibachi of the K5K, and welcome to out headquarters for debriefing of what just happened." He said in a lot cooler voice than earlier.
But the question still remained, one only I could ask right now. "W-what did just happen, sir?" I asked timidly, trying not to anger the captain that was standing before us, waiting to give us an answer.
He smiled, tossing a manila folder down onto the table and allowing us to read it, and what we found was shocking to say the least. "Ms. Asuka, who's last name we can't find in any records, ever since you 'left' the Eighteen Sixties we've been watching you, like we have other members, y'all just didn't know it. We were hoping that you'd lead us to some of the hideouts, but getting a new fledgling member is just as good, since he'll talk a whole hell of a lot easier than the others."
To say what I saw was shocking would be and understatement. Pictures of me in the gang, doing deals, picking up loads, and recent ones with me and Ino, even us at the beach house. "So you just kept tabs on me?" I asked, getting a nod from the three men. "Normally I'd be mad but...damn that was a good job." I laughed, giving 'em props.
If you could manage to follow one of us for that long then you must be pretty good. "Thanks, stick tight and we'll get you debriefed fully and have you sign a NDA agreement about what you've seen and then you'll be clear to go home and explain this to Inoichi." He must have known him, judging by the genuine hearty laughter he had for this.
One more question, though. "Wait." I said, making him stop before he left through the door. "So, I'm not gonna go to jail for being a former member?" The question came out shakily but it came across clearly.
Laughing more he shook his head, wagging his finger. "You believed that? They tell new members that they'll go to jail either way if they're caught after they 'leave' the gang to scare them into staying. And you fell for it."
His laughter followed him as he left the room, trailing down the hallway and leaving me in a shock of sorts.
Can we please just go fucking home now?
A/N: Hi Kiba! And bye Kiba! Don't worry, he won't be gone forever, life has its ways of bringing people back into prevalence. So we wrapped up part of the Chouji Suicide saga, bringing more closure to that, closed up the Eighteen Sixties saga (for now...muahahahaha!). Next chapter will not slow down at all, this is a freight train that's just gonna keep rolling along the tracks and steaming ahead to the destination, which is my personal goal, getting to thirty chapters!
I know there's a lot more stories with more chapters, more words and better writing, but you chose mine to read, and for that, I applaud you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. Reviews are so amazing, so lets see if we can get those up, and I'll never complain about favorites and follows. Happy summer guys, and as always, ja ne!