Common Delinquents

Chapter 20

Hinata swallows down a large gulp of red wine while her father isn't looking-she knows she needs it right now. Then she straightens her dress and stands with Hanabi to greet her father's new...associates.

First, Hinata shakes Konan's hand. She remembers her now, Naruto had briefly went over all of the members in the Akatsuki. She's the leader's right hand man...er woman. Her blue hair sits atop her head in a pretty bun and eyes almost the same blue pierce her. Hinata can only pray that Konan does not know who she really is-that Konan doesn't know that she's with The Leaf.

Hinata can only pray.

"Nice to meet you, Hinata-san."

Hinata's eyes flicker up to meet Konan and her heart thuds against her ribcage harder than before. The Hyuga is sure she's seeing things...there cannot possibly be challenge in Konan's eyes.

With a racing heart, Hinata moves to shake the hands of the leering blonde. Why is he leering at her? Hinata swallows a lump in her throat.

Time slows down.

Deidara's eyebrows seem to lift into his hairline before crashing down above his eyes as Hinata moves in front of him. She swallows. She doesn't like the mischievous look that's suddenly entered his eyes. The blue swirls with amusement and half-hidden mirth, like the drama is humorous, like Hinata's position is the funniest thing in the world. She watches his eyes, but they're no longer on her face, they roam her body before coming back to meet her eyes. He gives her that cheap crooked smile-the one he always has, and his eyes flash again.

"P...Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Hinata sort of chokes out the words. Her eyes narrow as Deidara takes her hand and raises it to her lips. He kisses her hand, blue eyes swimming with amusement. It's really all a joke for him.

"The pleasure is all mine, Hyuga-san." He winks and Hinata suddenly wants to punch him. "Hyuga-sama," Deidara addresses her father, who is frowning. "You have very beautiful daughters."

"Hm." Hinata's father's eyes are sharp; now watching Hinata and Deidara like a hawk. "Let us sit."

Hinata seats herself next to her father again, she tenses when Deidara drops down beside her at the only available chair.

She takes another sip of the wine.

Her father and the two Akatsuki members make small talk and she takes a bite of slimy French cuisine, wishing she could just eat a bowl of ramen and be done with it. She misses the simplicity of being with her gang already, and she hasn't even been gone a full day. She misses wearing what she wants and saying what she wants and doing what she wants and eating what she wants.

She misses the freedom. Here, with her father again, she is put in a cage and told to act a certain way. On the west side...you can do what you want.

Besides..she doesn't want to eat this french stuff. All she wants to do is sit on Ino's floor and pick the marshmallows out of Lucky Charms and eat them with mochi and vodka.

Or, she could be with Kiba and Shino, walking Akamaru, or with Shikamaru, losing at chess, or with Naruto, probably smoking, or with Lee, or with Tenten and Neji...even with Sakura. She'd just rather not be here.

"-Uchiha Itachi. Yes, he's returned to us a couple of months ago."

Hinata tunes back into the conversation when she heard the word 'Uchiha.' She frowns. Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother who's rumored to have gone insane and killed his family because the pressure they put on him as heir. Hinata can only remember news of him joining a gang after the massacre for a while and then going M.I.A for several years after that. For some reason, he was never been taken into custody for the murders. But as the Uchihas were in charge of the police department, she can only assume that it was in complete disarray after the massacre.

He's a wanted criminal now...but no one can seem to catch him.

All she really knows is that Sasuke wants him dead.

"Yeah," Deidara speaks up and Hinata turns her head towards him, suddenly interested, "'Said he couldn't stay away from the city any longer, un. He's not as crazy as everyone thinks he is, un. He's just...dedicated and stubborn. All the guy wants to power...and his brother, yeah."

"Where is the young Uchiha now?" Hiashi asks, eyes piercing.

Hinata shifts in her seat as Deidara continues, "With our rival, The Leaf." His knee bumps into hers. Hard. she wonders if he did that on purpose. Hinata tries to calm herself down and stuffs more food into her mouth. Hanabi sends her a disgusted look from across the table. "We do have a inside source giving us information but I have a feeling that they may have their own little nezumi doing undercover work as well."

Hinata is going to throw up.

She hurriedly excuses herself and attempts to walk 'casually' towards the bathroom. Her heart thunders in her chest and she feels breathless. She walks into the bathroom and towards a stall, the heiress leans over the toilet bowl waiting for vomit to come up but it never does.

She stands up, hands fluttering and shaking like the quick wings of a hummingbird. She walks over to the mirror, wobbling on her heels, and schools her features to look calm and collected. She does this with little effort, so little effort that it scaresher. Who has she become that she can manipulate so easily? Who has she become that she can change herself into someone's she's never met?

With shaking hands, she reapplies eyeliner-like Ino had taught her, and fixes her hair. She's about to leave when the blue haired Akatsuki member enters the bathroom.

Hinata does not let her calm expression leave her as she looks to the blue haired woman. Konan stands next to her and looks to the mirror as well.

"What are you doing?" It's funny because, it is not posed as a question. Konan stares at Hinata's reflection in the mirror, and Hinata stares at Konan's.

"I'm...I'm sorry I don't understand?" Hinata's calm expression morphs into one of confusion. Her fingers titer against the sink.

"Stop playing games, Hyuga." Konan faces her fully, "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Hinata opens her mouth and then closes it.

"I don't know what the fuck you think you're doing with The Leaf, but if you're smart you'd stay here with your rich daddy. At least that way you and Deidara can flirtwithout anyone's life being on the line." The last part she mutters to herself.

"Ex-excuse me?"

Konan's fists clench and Hinata is afraid that she's going to hit her. "Listen. I'm trying to help you, really. You don't know what you're getting yourself into. This isn't kid stuff." For a moment Konan's composure crumbles to pieces before coming together again, "If you go back to the Leaf...things will go from bad to worse. And it'll be your fault."

Konan's face becomes blank and she leaves the bathroom without another word.

Hinata exhales. Konan's words run through her head and they scare her. Things will go from bad to worse.

Hinata bites her lips and leaves the bathroom. She stops at their table to briefly whisper to her father that she's not feeling well, and that she'd like a bit of fresh hair. It's really only a formality, Hinata needs to keep up with her 'perfect daughter' act. Hiashi sends her a reprimanding look but lets her go anyway.

She slips away to an outside area on the second floor of the restaurant. She leans over the balcony and lets the cool air relax her body. The heiress pulls out the lone cigarette resting in the bottom of her purse and lights it. She's been to the west side for only a few months and she's already got a life's worth of bad habits.

"How do you end up getting into these situations, yeah?"

She feels him slouch over the railing next to her and exhales the smoke. Smoking is really disgusting, she wonders why she even started doing it. "Trust me, It's not on purpose." She twirls the little cancer stick between two fingers.

Deidara takes the little piece of poison out of her fingers and takes a drag. Hinata can only roll her eyes as the boy produces smoke rings-three in a row. She takes the cigarette back, it's her only one after all.

"You do look at part of a spoiled heiress, at least." Deidara says, "You play it pretty well too, un. But there's no life in your eyes. But! If I didn't know any better I'd say you were the epitome of a spoiled bitch."

"Don't say bitch," Hinata mutters, rolling her eyes once again before looking towards the skyline. "Good thing you know better." She adds.

"Do I?"

"Mm." She hums, "I believe you do, anyway. You're in my business way to much."

Deidara actually has the nerve to look offended, "Tch. Whatever. You're just a stalker, un."

They fall into to silence. Deidara has more cigarettes in his pocket and they end up chain smoking even after they realize that smoking isn't allowed. No one has stopped them yet.

"Who's the traitor?" The question has been on her lips for the past ten minutes and she can't leave until she gets an answer.

Deidara blows smoke rings in her face, "You apparently."

Hinata swipes at the smoke, getting annoyed real fast. "You know what I mean."

"You know I can't tell you, yeah. What kinda stupid ass question is that anyway?" Deidara sends her an irritated look. "You're on your way to getting yourself killed, you must wanna take me with you."

Hinata mashes her cigarette against the metal railing and frowns. She's tired of hearing that.

"You might wanna start thinking of others before you do things, Hyuga. This isn't a little game anymore, might as well stay with daddy." Deidara flicks his cigarette over the edge of the railing and turns back to her, "I guess it was nice talking to you, but if you go back to The Leaf I'll probably end up having to kill you, un."

Deidara walks back to dinner, leaving Hinata with her thoughts.

She allows herself to shrug because she's under the impression that she doesn't care.

She wonders if it should bother her that 'losing' Deidara as caused the littlest pain in her chest, like another person is leaving her life.

She has to remind herself that she doesn't care.

A/N: Shortish Chapter. My plot chart is under construction for the fourth time because I rushed through making things up for the chapters to come. Hopefully I can make things more interesting than I had written before.
Thanks for all the reviews/faves/follows and all the love!

Hopefully I can update again by next Sunday.
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