a/n
EDIT: there were two chapters that I uploaded at the same time. If you haven't read the previous chapter, please do. thank you.
disclaimer : still don't own naruto.
The Longest Day: 01:30 PM, Baki, Heisa and Ryuu's house
"How was Heisa-oba-san's condition?"
"Placentas normal, hearbeats normal, both cephalic in position. Everything's fine, and she's a very healthy pregnant woman, so the operation will be fine. She'll undergo a scheduled C-section two or 3 weeks from now. Oba-san said that her OB is on vacation leave, that's why Mori-sensei is taking care of her now."
"Hmm, that's good to hear." Temari plopped herself on their shared king-sized bed. Both Heisa-san and Ryuu were sleeping on the other room. She huffed. "Though I so wanted to go to the festival, I believe Heisa-oba-san's health comes first. I'm just happy it's you I'm with instead of Kankuro, or I'll be having a headache the moment we get here."
Hinata smiled at her. "I'm glad you're with me, too." She looked for her packs, but she couldn't find one. "Temari-chan, did you find my packs?"
"Oh, I unpacked them for you and put it in the closet." She smiled knowingly. "Ne,ne, Hinata-chan, I have to ask you something." Said girl was now lying beside her, her eyes closed.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Have you had sex with Gaara?"
Hinata sat immediately in bed, "Temari-chan! Of course we haven't."
She was so easy to tease, her face growing cherry red, Temari couldn't help but snicker. "I was just wondering that's all." She smirked. "He's single, you're single. You're his roommate. Hey, anything's possible."
She blushed a ruddy color. "I… I don't think I am girlfriend or relationship material, Temari-chan. I am not normal, and my lifestyle is different, even by shinobi standards." She inhaled deeply and continued. "My history is hazy, there are too many secrets in my life, not to mention my shady field and my infertility." She mumbled the last parts softly, Temari had to strain herself to listen to it. "No decent guy would want to be with me, he will just get hurt because my life is too complicated." She sighed, her hands clasped tight on her lap. " There's also something in my rulebook that says I can't have a boyfriend, and it was there to prevent complications."
Rank doesn't necessarily equate to self-esteem, and Hinata is proof of that. For someone so powerful, she doesn't think too high of herself. Even with her status, insecurities still plagued her.
"But now you're in the bandwagon that you are Gaara's girlfriend, because of Ryuu-chan and Heisa-oba-san. We already talked about that, right?" She nodded. Temari had carefully explained it to her. Hinata was uneasy of the idea at first, but when she saw Ryuu and the child's joy whenever he mentions "Haha" and "Chichi", she just couldn't break his heart and not agree with this role play.
She smiled again, curious to the answer for the next question.
"Then if you aren't having sex with my brother, why are all your shirts his, hmm? And the boxers? They even smelled like him." She merrily teased the Hyuuga.
"He gave them to me this morning. He even packed them for me." Temari teasingly nudged her elbow at Hinata's sides. "And why is he doing this, Hinata-chan?"
"He said he was sorry that he had to burn my shirts, there was a termite infestation at the upper part of our closet where I kept my them. So he's giving me his old clothes now."
Temari frowned. "What infestation? I haven't heard about it, and I was at the tower for 3 days for the preparations."
"Really?"
"Yes, I'm pretty sure there wasn't."
"Byakugan!" Hinata wanted to check if there are still termite holes in the tower, or if the said infestation was confined. Temari was still lying in bed, deep in thought of what her companion revealed to her. She facepalmed. God, Gaara could be such a jealous freak.
"Temari-chan," Hinata growled. Wait, was that her? She had never heard Hinata's voice like that. Curious, she peeked at her, and was stunned by what she saw.
The lovable, tender eyes she used to see from the Konoha nin was now gone. Minutes ago she was just teasing her, and now... now she looked different. Maybe even without the mask, and even without the byakugan she had activated, Hinata would still look menacing.
Her breathing was uneven, her fingers shook. Her raspy intake of air reverberated throughout the room. She clasped and unclasped her hands, and Temari saw that her fingers dug into her palms. The self-inflicted injuries slowly drew out blood. Hinata hissed. Her trembling lips were anchored by her teeth, as if she was restraining herself from lashing at – anything, something.
Temari had never seen her friend look so murderous. The Suna kunoichi's erector pili muscles contracted, eliciting her hair follicles to stand on end. She shivered. She looked again at her friend, still unable to comprehend her sudden change of behavior and her involuntary shaking. She was shocked at how different this Hinata was, and her facial expression only scared her more.
She reminded her of Uchiha Sasuke.
Gorgeously lethal. Frigidly intimidating. Indubitably heartless.
Like a crow waiting for her prey.
"Y-Yes,Hinata-chan?". She gulped. Now she was the one stuttering, and her friend was on the verge of a meltdown. Hinata was rooted to her spot, and wasn't moving at all.
"Did you know that there are four Konoha shinobis at the Kazekage tower right now?" her icy voice lowered to an octave. Temari was astonished, and looked up wide eyed at her. Hinata was sporting a sadistic smile.
Such a foreign expression that disfigured her gentle features.
It made her look more formidable.
"Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru and another guy are currently being housed in your home. Did you know that, or were you as blindsided as me? Because from what I see now, Kankuro and Gaara knew beforehand that they were coming."
Temari's anger rose. "No." She snaked her hands to her hair.
Hinata continued to give her a sadistic smile, "Then maybe Konoha shinobis were the reason we were placed in this mission to get us away from them."
"Fuck!" she fumed. God, those jerks are meddlesome. What are they trying to pull? She closed her eyes and focused. She was irked that Hinata was not saying something, but she needed time to regroup her thoughts. Few minutes later, she spoke.
"They're trying to separate us from Shika and Naruto." She got up and started pacing along the room and looked at her once again.
Hinata stripped until her lacy bra and panties were the only garments left. "Hmm, they were wrong. I'm not bothered by those two, I don't have business with them; Shikamaru-kun was actually my friend." She massaged her hair. "But men will never be able to understand how the female mind works. And your brothers should stay away from this business if they don't want to get hurt. Meddling into the issues of the female specie will do them nothing."
She digested her friend's words and actions, while Hinata headed to their sensei's huge bathroom.
"There wasn't really an infestation, was there?"
"No, and the fucking bastards were making an excuse after another."
Hinata glided her fingers to her hair, frustrated at Gaara's deception. "I don't get what he's doing. Those were Kakashi and Tenzou's. The reason I wear them is because they're comfortable and make me feel at home. Why did he burn them?" She was headed to the door when Temari held her by the elbow.
"Where are you going, Hinata-chan?" She was troubled by this turnout of events, and she didn't want to leave the younger nin behind. Hinata was not the type she would categorize as suicidal, but as a precaution, she didn't want to leave the young woman alone.
"Bathroom. I need to do something."
"I'm coming with you. I'm not leaving you alone."
She blinked at Temari, her eyes laced with frigidity. "Very well. But there really isn't anything worth watching."
Strange things would not waiver her resolve. Damn it, if this could keep her friend safe, she'll just have to go with the flow.
"Your brothers are jerks." She entered the bathroom, and Temari followed. "They thought that Neji-nii-san's range of 800 meters is the longest range. They approximated this house's distance from the tower. But they failed. " She continued to smile, that disturbing smile that perturbed Temari's guts. "They don't know mine can reach up to 10 kilometers." She snorted while locking the door. "Amateurs."
"You may want to sit down, Temari-chan." So she sat at the stool near the door.
Hinata positioned herself at the center and closed her eyes. "This is an offensive/defensive technique, Temari-chan. Tenzou and Kakashi had been using different hand seals to imprison me … whenever I overkill, sleepwalk, and get carried away because they know that water calms me…. But now … Now I'm going to use different hand seals to imprison myself. " She glanced at Temari. "I'm using this, because I'm afraid I may not be able to control myself. When I'm extremely mad, I lose all rationality… I'm really trying to contain my shock… I need time to relax so I can have a clear head.. . And most of all, I don't want to harm you, oba-san and Ryuu-chan." She raised her chin, closed her eyes and allowed her midnight tresses to dip lower. "If things could have been easier, I would gladly finish things of. But really, I don't want to become a missing nin by killing a fellow shinobi without providing the Hokage substantial proof, so I'm not allowed to kill he-..." she scrunched up her face, as if in pain, but didn't continue.
She faced Temari again, who was obviously worried about her ramblings. Her eyes drooped.
"Temari-chan, I'm going to train and release chakra in my tenketsus. I'm going to tire myself…. because I may not be able to hold myself and go on a rampage and kill your brothers. Please, I beg you, try to find me some clothes, because I'm not wearing anything that belongs to your brother." It was stated in a monotone, but the effect was instantaneous.
Scary.
Snake. Ox. And then Hinata clapped her hands.
"Suiton: Suiro no Jutsu" (Suiton: Water Prison Technique)
The ANBU nin took a deep breath, and a jet of water came out from her mouth. The water gradually increased in volume, and encapsulated her in a big water bubble.
She started her Jyuuken stance, and gradually released chakra.
It takes great strength to charge at the enemy, but it takes greater will and strength of character to control and restrain oneself.
She imprisons herself to contain her shock and anger at this situation? Other people would meditate and train outside, a training ground is out of the question now, they're in a mission. She loved meditating with Gaara, so this issue must be very devastating for her if she would prefer to do this. Add insult to injury, her brothers may have indirectly undermined her skill with the byakugan's range. Her stupid brother even burned the shirts she treasured the most. Termite infestation, my ass.
Gaara, you're love life just crashed before it had the chance to take off. You pissed the wrong girl, baby brother.
Temari's heart broke at her friend's vulnerability and her tumultuous struggle with her emotions. Her stupid brothers even contributed to this.. this.. this maltreatment. Hinata was like her sister, the only other sane person in her Goddamn house, the one who unconsciously put a leash at her baby brother (Gaara) and the one who befriended her perverted brother (Kankuro) when everyone thought he was hopeless because he was too much of a horndog. And now those jerks did something stupid and hurt her? Shame on them.
She wouldn't let Hinata feel alone in her water bubble. She would think of ways to get even.
She would not come out of this bathroom until Hinata's done coping with whatever she's going through.
Now she needed to think. Needed to comprehend Hinata's statements.
"But men will never be able to understand how the female mind works. And your brothers should stay away from this business if they don't want to get hurt. Meddling into the issues of the female specie will do them nothing."
"If things could have been easier, I would gladly finish things of. But really, I don't want to become a missing nin by killing a fellow shinobi without providing the Hokage substantial proof, so I'm not allowed to kill he-"
HER.
Temari's eyes snapped open. Hinata's emotional turmoil was because of her brothers and her.
There was only one female among those mentioned.
Haruno Sakura.
But what kind of things would come between Hinata and Sakura?
Boys? Hinata was in love with Naruto, Sakura was – no, is – still in love with Sasuke. So that is out of the list.
Grades? Too shallow. Hinata wasn't a fickle to compete with grades.
Betrayal of Trust? She didn't know where that came from. She suddenly spoke.
"Did Sakura betray you?"
Hinata's head snapped at her.
"Did she betray your trust and put you in this situation?"
Hinata looked sideways, and Temari feared she would not be able to know what the truth is.
Tears rolled from the younger kunoichi's heart-shaped face, and that was all Temari needed.
Haruno Sakura betrayed Hyuuga Hinata. Big time.
"God, Hinata-chan." She was rooted to the stool, a series of emotions invaded her being.
The jets of fluid that came out of Hinata's water bubble were shooting from every direction, each jet stronger than the previous.
A reflection of her frustrations and surges of anger ; it also served as training.
Hitting two birds with one stone.
She stood up. She just had an idea.
The Longest Day: 2:10 PM
"Temari-chan, where are you dragging me?"
"We're going shopping."
"I want a proper dress."
"Yeah, Heisa-oba-san's maternity dress may suit your boobs, but your other curves aren't obvious enough." She stopped and looked at her lovely companion. "Now that you are in control of your emotions and calm again, you don't need to be afraid of Sakura."
Hinata paused. "Who said I was afraid of Sakura?"
Temari smirked. "So you aren't afraid of her?"
Hinata was certainly full of surprises today. When she went into the bathroom, she was seething with rage. When she went out of it, she was exhausted, but Temari was able to discern that her chakra, muscles and facial expressions were a lot calmer.
Straighter gait. Thoughtful, knowing looks. A pensive, unreadable face.
She emulated someone akin to a military tactician.
Confident. Cool. Cunning.
She looked like a perfect Hyuuga.
Then Hinata smiled knowingly. "What's there to be afraid of?"
They had left their clones and Hinata's messenger crows to guard Heisa-oba-san's house.
"That's my girl." Temari confidently strode next to her.
Their target: Central Suna Market.
At that same time, a young man was slowly sneaking his way out of the Kazekage Tower. He was instructed by the Suna Leader not to go out until the festival. The banquet prepared to them didn't serve ramen, and the guy was starving for some.
He made sure to leave a few clones to play cards in his room. That way, everyone in the tower would think he was just playing against himself # 1, himself #2, and all the other Naruto clones involved.
He snickered. So far no one was able to detect him. Gamakichi and Gamatatsu were safely tucked in his pockets, summons who decided to accompany him and transform into smaller toads. One was too bored to play with his brother, the other too hungry to care.
He rubbed his hands in excitement. It was fun loitering around Konoha. Now would be the perfect time to discover Central Suna Market.
Uzumaki Naruto, Gamatatsu and Gamakichi would be partners in crime in sneaking fifty – no, a hundred ramen cup noodles into the overly boring kitchen cupboards of Sabaku no Gaara.
Let the discovery begin.
A/N
Neji and Hinata's Byakugan range are canon.
i love easter. Easter eggs sure inspire you to write two chapters in one sitting. lol
Read and review, please, thanks! :D