Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.
Special Thanks: goes out to Break Blade, Sachiko Heiwajima, DivineGlory, uahi, anonnie, Guest, Danish78, mangetsu no hime, Tamani, SahelTheWaltzingDinosaur, and Bakamei for all your reviews! Also thanks to everyone who's added this to their favorites and follows lists!
Author's Note: The premiere is the chapter after next! We're getting so close! But first: a tour of NYC (which was so much fun when I did it! And yes, I reacted the exact same way to Times Square as Hinata did) and an interesting proposition. I hope you enjoy!
*~Chapter XXXIV~*
~Tour~
Hinata's feet screamed with pain from all the walking. Her mouth felt as dry as cotten, all hints of moisture sapped away by the almost intolerably stuffy New York summer heat. Her brain felt overloaded from everything she'd seen over the course of the day.
And yet she wouldn't trade a moment of her time in New York so far for anything.
Once Kotetsu and Izumo, the bodyguards Sasuke's brother Itachi sent to be their discreet protection, arrived, the two of them donned cool clothes and comfortable shoes and took off. Sasuke put on a hat to hide his distinctive hair and sunglasses to partially obscure his face. Hinata wore sunglasses as well, noting that several other people out and about also wore hats, glasses, or both. It surprised her how easy it was to blend in with the bustling crowd, none of whom seemed interested in anyone else around them except as obstacles to be navigated.
The day started out a little before noon with a stroll through Times Square. For a moment Hinata just stood on the street corner, unable to stop herself from gaping at the gigantic television screen towering over the famous venue, recognizing with a thrill everything from television coverage of the ball drop on New Year's Eve.
After her classic touristy move, Sasuke surprised her with tickets to a Titanic artifact exhibition. For two hours they strolled through halls built to mimic their 1912 ship counterparts; walked up the Grand Staircase; examined jewelry, dishes, and other items brought up from the debris field around the wreck; and enjoyed the air conditioning before going back out in the full summer heat.
A quick bite of lunch later, they made their way down Fifth Avenue, stopping in stores Hinata had only dreamed of visiting. She'd never really felt the urge to go crazy shopping before; but she lost her head just a little bit at those stores, though she kept herself from dipping into the savings building up from what her father had originally given her.
They swung by the hotel to drop off their (mostly her) purchases, and then Sasuke took her to Central Park with Ninja, where they settled into a carriage for a leisurely tour of at least part of the massive grounds.
"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" Hinata casually scanned the area, trying to spot Izumo and Kotetsu. Though she'd met the two earlier in the day and knew what they looked like, she had yet to be able to spot them throughout the day. Sasuke, apparently, had not been exaggerating their abilities when he explained to her what they would be doing, and why.
Sasuke stretched out his legs in the space between them and leaned his head back against the velvet back of his seat. Ninja shifted his head where he lay on the floor and plopped it atop his master's foot. After smiling at his dog, the author said, "Tomorrow? Most of the day's open, until about five-thirty or so. Then we'll get dressed, go to dinner, and take in a Broadway show at the Majestic."
Hinata's eyes lit. "What are we going to see?" she asked. Then she frowned. "Not Phantom of the Opera, I hope? I like the music, but the story creeps me out." Heat flooded her face at the ungraciousness of her words. "I'm sorry," she hastily added in a small voice. "That didn't come out right."
Sasuke shook his head, smiling indulgently. "No, not Phantom. But it's a surprise. You won't find out what it is until we get there." Tilting up his hat a bit so he could look at her from beneath its brim, he asked, "Do you want to do anything in particular tonight, or just rest from today?"
Wiggling her toes inside her comfortable walking shoes, Hinata groaned. "I think I'll opt for just resting tonight, if that's all right? As much as I've enjoyed today, I'd like to crash in the suite and enjoy staying in one place for a while. I'll be ready to go again tomorrow, I promise."
Chuckling, Sasuke pushed his sunglasses up on his nose and rolled his head to the side, admiring the pond they were passing. "Me too, but you're right. Resting tonight sounds great."
At the end of their carriage ride, Sasuke took up Ninja's leash again before helping Hinata out of the conveyance. As they turned their tired steps back toward the hotel, he looked at her out of the corner of his eye and asked, "Are you still thinking about reading one of my books?" He kept his voice low, though there was no one close enough to overhear his question.
Hinata thought about that for a moment. She'd seen several of his books in one of the stores they'd gone into earlier, on an endcap with a huge cardboard poster of Sasuke next to it. He looked creepy, since it was a reproduction of the picture of him on the back of his books; nothing at all like the man at her side. The titles had definitely caught her eyes; she'd even considered picking up one or two to read the cover blurbs. But she hadn't reached for any of them. Hadn't wanted to act too interested, as a matter of fact, for several reasons. She thought Sasuke might be embarrassed if she did; and besides, she hadn't wanted to linger too long for fear someone would see them and connect the man in the cutout to the one standing in front of it. The similarities were there to see, if one looked closely enough - even if he was wearing a hat.
"I'm considering it," Hinata said cautiously. "Why do you ask?"
They walked in silence for a few moments, as Sasuke clearly considered the wisdom of voicing his next words. For a while, it looked like he regretted speaking; then, quietly, he said, "I want your honest opinion on something. But let's wait until we get back to the hotel for me to explain. I don't want to do it out here, where anyone might overhear."
Though the Waldorf-Astoria was only a couple of blocks from Central Park, it felt like it took half of forever to make it back. Then they had to get onto the private elevator and ride it up to their penthouse. By the time they seated themselves on lavishly comfortable chairs across from each other, Hinata wanted to scream, her curiosity was so high.
Blowing out a breath, Sasuke pulled his cap off and ran his hand through his inky hair, which somehow miraculously had come out looking like it hadn't been stuffed under a hat all day. "You see, it's almost time to release my next novel. I'm contractually obligated, which ordinarily isn't a problem for me. I finished my newest project, Checkmate, and sent it to Jiraiya. Everything went normally - until he called to tell me he basically hated it."
Hinata frowned. Jiraiya had struck her as one of Sasuke's biggest fans; beyond even that, his grandfatherly way around the author always made her smile. She couldn't imagine him saying something so strongly negative about one of Sasuke's books. "Why?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I have no idea. He didn't say, and I admit I was too shocked - and hurt - to ask." Sasuke leaned over to drop his hat on the coffee table before slumping in his chair, head drooping to rest against the back of it. "I tried a different style when I wrote Checkmate. I didn't want to be known as someone who writes the same thing, over and over, so I went for something new, and apparently it turned out to be an epic fail. When Jiraiya told me it didn't work, I started working on the novel I'm writing now - which is almost done. It's still a little different, but I went back to my old style." Lifting his head, he pinned Hinata with those serious dark eyes of his, almost begging her to understand. "I trust your opinion. You've never read anything by me before. I know you're not a fan of the genre in general, but you did say you liked the movie version of Metronome. I hope you can be a neutral third party. If you agree, maybe you can read Checkmate and tell me why it's wrong. What's so off about it. And then, maybe - you can read my new novel, and - and make sure I'm not repeating the mistake?"
The vulnerability in Sasuke's eyes, in his expression, nearly stole Hinata's breath. The fact he trusted her so much to give her such critical authority over him and what he wrote... It boggled her mind. He knew she didn't like the genre of what he wrote, yet he still trusted her to read his work and give him an honest opinion - even if it meant she would completely tear it (and, vicariously) him down. She would never be cruel with her words (not to anyone, but especially not to him), but the fact he trusted her regardless made a warm feeling spread through her chest.
"Sasuke, I-I don't know what to say." Hinata rubbed her thumb nervously against the palm of her opposite hand, trying to figure how best to phrase what she needed to say. "The fact you trust me - thank you."
His dark eyes lit. "So you'll do it?" he asked hopefully.
She nodded. "Yes. I'll read them both and give you my honest opinion."
The words were barely out of her mouth before Sasuke rocketed out of his chair and went to his bedroom, Ninja hot on his heels. He came back out a minute later, holding out a thumb drive toward her. "Here," he said. "This has both novels on it."
Hinata accepted the portable drive, feeling like she should be wearing gloves or something. She knew a lot of people all over the world would go crazy if they could get their hands on Uchiha Sasuke's next book before it was published, and the honor had just been given to her. "Thank you," she said softly. "I'll go get my computer and get started right away."
Sasuke smiled with mingled excitement and dread. Hinata had a feeling he already halfway regretted asking her.
She determined she wouldn't let that happen. After seeing Metronome, she felt curious to see what two of the stories he wove looked like untouched by anyone else: editors, screenwriters, producers, anyone.
It would be a very interesting experience, indeed.
Through the rest of the evening - clear up until they retired to their separate rooms - Sasuke tried not to hover. He sprawled on one of the couches and pretended to read; but he couldn't stop himself from stealing frequent glances at Hinata where she sat curled up on the other sofa, and observing the ever-changing expressions on her face as she read Checkmate. Thus far he had yet to catch a positive expression on her face. None of her negative ones were extreme, but negative enough to make him feel anxious. Once in bed he lay awake for hours, his normal insomnia made worse by anticipating how she was going to react to his manuscripts.
When Sasuke woke up the next morning and entered the kitchen, he found Hinata already there, standing at the counter reading as she sipped on a cup of tea. A sweetly spicy smell permeated the kitchen, and he realized she was fixing cinnamon rolls.
"Morning," Sasuke said to her, stealing a glance at the clock, which read eight-fifteen.
"Hmm," Hinata hummed, never removing her gaze from her computer screen.
Sasuke stuck his head in the fridge to help himself resist the urge to go peer over her shoulder and see where, exactly, in Checkmate she was. "What time did you go to bed last night?" he asked curiously.
Hinata finally looked away from her computer, pale eyes slightly foggy. "Hm? Oh. Um - around one-thirty, I think. Maybe closer to two?"
"And how long have you been up?" Sasuke withdrew from the fridge with a package of bacon and a carton of eggs balanced across his left arm.
"Half an hour." Hinata slipped on some protective gloves and pulled a pan of cinnamon rolls out of the oven, then smeared what appeared to be homemade (but probably wasn't since he didn't see any mixing bowls sitting around) cream cheese icing across their steaming tops. "Do you want some?" she asked, licking some stray frosting off her finger.
"No, thank you." Sasuke found a skillet and started it heating, biting his tongue against the urge to ask Hinata what she thought of Checkmate thus far. "I'm not really a big fan of sweets."
"I remember, but I thought I'd ask anyway." Hinata got a plate and transferred some of the gooey sweets from the pan to it, then grabbed a fork and her computer and headed into the dining room. She came back a minute later for her tea, then disappeared again, that foggy look back in her eyes.
When Sasuke joined her again a few minutes later, it was with his own computer. He forced himself to check his e-mail as if everything were normal as he ate, hyper aware of Hinata sitting close by reading what he'd written. She was still dressed in a pair of capri pajama bottoms, baring her tattooed ankle, and a loose grey t-shirt with a faded picture of a famous cartoon strip canine in his flying ace persona. Her hair, sleep-tousled around her face and over her shoulders, made him itch to lean over and smooth it down, to feel those silky-looking locks sliding through his fingers.
And, yes, so he could get a look at her screen. He was positively shameless.
Aggravated at himself and his impatience, Sasuke ducked his head and glared at his own computer, forcing his mind to concentrate. Jiraiya had sent him a reminder about the show at the Majestic that night, as well as confirmation of a reservation at a nearby Japanese restaurant. He felt himself tense, wondering if Jiraiya had chosen that one deliberately, or if he booked a table there simply because of its convenience to the Waldorf-Astoria and the Majestic.
At that moment, Hinata made a strange noise. Sasuke jerked his head up from Jiraiya's e-mail to look at her, noting her wide eyes and parted lips - clearly an expression of surprise.
Sasuke liked surprising people with his books, but he had a feeling this was not a pleasant kind of surprise. "Hinata?" he queried anxiously.
She looked up at him, and for a moment Sasuke felt like Hinata stared through him. Then she blinked and said, "You mean that's it? That's the end? There's no more?"
Well, at least he knew where in Checkmate she was. "Yes?" It came out sounding more like a question.
Hinata turned back to her computer screen, a disappointed expression on her face. "Oh," she said softly, the depth of her letdown contained in that one sigh.
"You didn't like it." This time, it was more of a statement than a question. The expression on Hinata's face made it clear she didn't, but Sasuke genuinely wanted to know why. "Why not?"
"Well, there's no resolution." Hinata pointed to her screen, then picked up her teacup and took another sip. "In Metronome - which I presume stayed fairly close to your book? yes? I thought so - there was a resolution. The good guys won, the bad guys lost. There was a purpose to everything that happened." She held up her hands and shook her head. "In Checkmate, I saw nothing like that. There was no reason to anything anyone did; the characters just rushed headlong from one bloody conflict to the next, so I couldn't connect with them. And while the villian was evil - the very personification of it! - she lost so much of her power because she didn't have an equally powerful hero, or heroine, to offset her. She just seemed to be going on a killing spree for no reason, with no greater purpose or motivation. It was so impersonal, which kept me from really getting pulled into the story; unlike Metronome, which drew me right in."
Sasuke blinked. He'd never considered Checkmate in that light before. He'd been so focused on feverishly working to bring his characters around to their bloody finale, he hadn't realized he was foregoing necessary plot and character development in favor of the typical horror tropes. He hadn't bothered to make sure there was a solid conflict, the basic foundation on which he'd built the rest of his books.
Rubbing his hand across his mouth once, twice, he shook his head and chuckled wryly. "Talk about not being able to see the forest for the trees," he said. His chuckle built into a laugh, the weight of worry and failure he'd been carrying morphing into a kind of rueful resolution. "I was trying so hard to be different, I turned into a formula-following hack."
Hinata watched him with worried eyes. "Are you all right?" she whispered.
"Yes." For the first time, he understood why Jiraiya had turned it down. And he was glad of it. Checkmate wasn't anything like what Sasuke usually wrote (which had been the point at the time); but now he saw clearly just how it wasn't up to his usual standard. How many fans would he have alienated by having such a book published? Perhaps he would have made more - but not nearly enough to replace the number he lost.
And though in a way he did write for himself, because it was what he enjoyed doing, Sasuke also knew he had a duty to his fans. They'd supported him for so many years, sent him letters and keepsakes and things like that. He didn't want to do anything which might disappoint them, or make them mad, or alienate them. He felt connected to them, in a way, even more so now after seeing how many people showed up at his hometown library for his appearances there. It really drove the point home: without his fans, who was he? What was he?
Sasuke wasn't sure he'd ever really thought about it that way before. Or perhaps he had, way back at the beginning of his career, and his success had made him take everything for granted. He'd not do that again.
Hinata stared at him anxiously. "You're not mad at me?"
"No!" he responded instantly. "Why in the world would I be mad? You were honest with me, which is what I wanted." He felt free suddenly, lighter, as if the sun had just burst out from behind a solar eclipse. His newest novel felt as if it had been carved out of granite, but he'd kept at it and (nearly) finished it in record time. After he typed out those last two chapters, it would be ready to send to Jiraiya; and he had a feeling this one would get a better reaction from both him and Hinata.
She smiled shyly at him. "Good. I knew you asked me to be honest, but I tried to phrase things in a way which wouldn't hurt your feelings."
He nodded. "You succeeded. You weren't so overly concerned with protecting my fragile writer's ego you wouldn't give me any constructive feedback at all." Which had really bothered him this whole time, he reflected; the way Jiraiya had consistently backed away from being as vocal in his criticism as he'd been in the past, like he'd feared Sasuke couldn't handle it. He'd have to get that straightened out with his agent at some point soon, he decided.
Sasuke suddenly realized Hinata was staring at him worriedly again. "'S okay," he hastened to reassure her. "I was just letting all the pieces click together in my head." Leaning across the corner of the table, he brushed his lips quickly and lightly across hers, something he'd refrained from doing as often as he wanted to on this trip. "Just to let you know before you start it," he continued, "my next book isn't completely done, but it's within two chapters of being. I really do think you'll like it a lot better." Though a part of him still wondered if he'd messed up on that one, too, he'd kept to things which had worked in his past books. With a new plot, new characters and setting and conflict, he'd developed everything in a way he'd not done with Checkmate.
"Thanks for the warning." Hinata took another drink of her tea and smiled, looking relaxed for the first time since he'd asked her to read his two newest works. "And while I'm doing that..." Getting up, she took a couple of steps over to the sideboard, coming back with a familiar book in her hand. She held it out to him. "I want you to read this."
Sasuke took the book and cradled it in his hands, recognizing it immediately. "This is what your mother translated, right? The story of your ancestor?"
A shadow of a smile flitted across Hinata's lips. "Yes. And, if I'm not too terribly mistaken, it's a story about one of your ancestors as well."
"What?" Sasuke shifted the book from his right hand to his left and let it fall open to a random page. He scanned the neat, flowing script, stalling when he realized he was reading a rather personal account of - ahem - a romantic nature. Closing the book again, he lifted his gaze to Hinata's. Wondering if his face was as red as it felt, he said, "You mean, your ancestor and mine - knew each other?" That was the best he could do without delving into anything more personal, though the words romantic relations screamed through his mind like a siren.
"I believe so." Hinata scraped up a stray glob of icing from her plate and then sucked it off her fork before continuing. "And I think my mother did, too. I think she planned on sharing it with your mother, eventually, but died before she could." Setting down her fork again, she nodded at the book Sasuke still held. "I figured it was only fair to let you read it, too."
"Thank you." He was saying that to Hinata a lot here recently. "I look forward to reading it."
A cautious light crept into Hinata's pale eyes. She smiled and replied, "And I look forward to reading your new book."
*~To Be Continued~*
Author's Ending Notes: It's finally happened: Hinata read one of Sasuke's books! And in doing so, I was finally able to reveal why Jiraiya disliked it so much. I don't write horror or thrillers, but I had a similar experience once with something I wrote, which my beta didn't like so much (and rightfully so!), so I was able to inject part of my own experience into the story. And how Sasuke feels about his fans? Yep, that's pretty much how I feel, too. Even though I'm writing a lot for myself, because it's what I love to do, I always try to keep my readers forefront in my mind as well, and give you all something which I feel like is the best work I can give you, in hopes you'll enjoy it, too. I try never to forget that I wouldn't be who or where I am now without all of you, and in a way this chapter was a thank-you for all of you who have read my work and supported me. My heartfelt thanks go out to every single one of you. Thank you for reading, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you all again for next week's chapter!