Hey there readers! I hope you guys are well and ready to read another chapter. I've been sick last week and then my working hours changed which has me very upset right now but hey, that's life. Hmm… not much to say other than that but if there is, you'll know in the ending A/N which will probably be long after this one was written hehe.
Excuse any errors and formatting issues, and R&R‼!
Chapter 54: Getting Back to The Old Grind
Monday was here and Sasuke was almost dreading going back to school.
There was something about getting out of a routine that made you never want to do it again, even though you know you had to and that was how Sasuke felt at the moment.
He could hear throughout the house the sounds of everyone getting up and preparing to leave for school, even Naruto, who was now into the waking up at dawn habit.
Sasuke took his wrist as he went to the bathroom to have a long bath and freshen up and then went about throwing on his white and red uniform and socks; his shoes were put by the door with everyone else's by the maids.
Sasuke then went downstairs to see the others having their breakfast of blood and saw Naruto was still a little tentative as he was sipping very slowly.
"What's your problem?" asked Sasuke.
"I can still remember the pig's blood," Naruto said grimacing. "It's like remembering the taste of something absolutely rotten even though you may have a feast in front of you."
Karin laughed at her mate. "Naruto can't get rid of the feeling the pig's blood gave him," she said. "Itachi put it down to the fact that he was wholly human, unlike the rest of us."
Sasuke sat at the table as well. "I can imagine."
"Did the notes we let you borrow help?" asked Kin.
"Hai," Sasuke replied. "They were great but a couple days can't get you on track again."
"Do you suppose you'll get some kind of makeup test though?" the brunette asked him.
Sai answered for him. "Of course. This isn't a week of not being at school, it's two months."
Everyone at the table agreed.
"I have a feeling this is really going to suck," Sasuke said.
"Iie, it's not," came Itachi's voice. He now walked down the stairs to the kitchen, surprising Sasuke as the younger brother was accustomed to almost never seeing Itachi even though they lived in the same house. "You're not dull so I expect you'll catch up in no time."
Sasuke looked away, feeling a frown on his face. He hated when Itachi spoke to him like that.
o
Soon enough, it was time to head off to school and everyone hopped in the cars.
The drive there was fine until they approached the building and suddenly, there was a sudden burst of something animalistic from Itachi.
Sasuke knew that Ino must be at school and that was why Itachi's significant predatory aura had kicked in.
He could still remember when Itachi had first learned of Hinata, the forbidden Hyuuga from the Pureblood Hitomi clan, and the way the school and house felt when she was around. Even Naruto had felt the difference and he was human.
All he could think about was the fact that Ino had better be ready.
Sasuke pulled up in the parking lot next to the others and got out, heading for Itachi.
"Do you have to be like that?" he asked his older brother.
"Dense Otouto," Itachi started. "This is not something I can help. I know what I want and by nature, my instincts take over. You wouldn't understand as you were not a vampire when you were seeking out Hinata from under Naruto."
Sasuke's eyes widened with Itachi's statement and looked around quickly to see if Naruto was close by.
"Don't say those kinds of things," Sasuke hissed. "I was attracted Hinata but I did nothing to end Naruto and Hinata's relationship; Naruto did that on his own."
"Did what?"
Naruto slung his arm over Sasuke's shoulder, curiosity written all over his face.
"Managed to become a vampire without dying," Sasuke said, shoving Naruto off him as his thirst reacted.
Naruto grinned. "Hai!"
"Let's get inside, the sun is coming from behind the clouds," said Itachi.
The three made it inside with Itachi going his way, Naruto and Sasuke heading to their class. Sai and the others were ahead of them.
When he got there, it was to see Ino was indeed there already, arguing with Sakura as usual. And it seemed for once Hinata and Neji had gotten to school earlier than usual.
He could see his mate trying to calm her best friend down and smiled. It seemed some things never changed.
Hinata glanced at Sasuke briefly, giving an apologetic look for not coming to speak with him and turned to hold her blonde haired friend back who looked about ready to strangle Sakura for a particularly nasty insult.
Sasuke made his way to the back of the class to talk to Gaara, who appeared to be doing some last minute homework, as he assessed the classroom.
Shikamaru was currently taking a nap, Neji was now talking to TenTen, and Naruto was, surprisingly, not trying to bribe Chouji for some of his chips but with Karin and the inseparable Sai and Kin were together.
His other classmates were just scattered around the room, outside, or had not arrived yet.
Sasuke sat next to the redhead, who said nothing until completing the question he was doing.
Gaara looked up. "Welcome back," he said.
"Arigatou," Sasuke said gratefully. There was movement from Shikamaru just then.
"What happened with you and Hinata?" the lazy brunet asked with a yawn. "Most of us thought you two had run away together or something."
"Iie, we went two completely different places," Sasuke lied.
"And you're not all over Hinata after not seeing her for two months?" asked Gaara.
"Everyone isn't hotlips over there," Shikamaru said, jerking his head in the direction of Naruto and Karin who were kissing as though no one else was in the room.
"Hai," came Kiba's voice loudly, he'd just arrived. "I don't know what happened to him, but Naruto's like an animal!"
Naruto heard Kiba from his desk and quickly shot him the finger before adding. "You better not be talking about me, Mutt!"
Kiba stuck his tongue out at the blond. "Hai, and his hearing seemed to have improved too," Kiba whispered.
Kiba asked the question everyone seemed to be dying to know and that was where he was hiding for the past two months.
Sasuke tried to act as cool as possible and not give out many details, as he was not exactly sure what Itachi had told the principle and his homeroom sensei.
Everyone just thought he and Hinata were super lucky to miss school for so long but he quickly corrected them with the fact that he had to catch up as soon as possible which would turn out to be double and triple the workload.
o
Before Sasuke knew it, the bell was ringing but everyone just stayed where they were, knowing Kakashi-sensei was one to always be late with a less-than-believable excuse.
As predicted, the silver-haired man waltzed through the door around twenty minutes later and just before the bell for first class began.
Prank free, Kakashi sat at his desk and took roll call, pausing at Sasuke's name.
"I'd like for you to see me after, Sasuke," Kakashi-sensei told him.
The man continued and then went on to the girls, informing Hinata she would also need to stay afterwards.
The bell rang for classes to begin just before Kakashi finished and so everyone got up to leave, except Sasuke and his mate.
Kakashi stood up and proceeded to rest his bum at the edge of the desk, hand rested on his thigh as he addressed them both.
"You two should know the reason I asked you to stay behind," Kakashi began. He didn't wait for them to answer however.
"Both of you have been out of school for two months and even though the school has received letters on your behalf, you still have a lot of catching up to do."
Sasuke knew this and so did Hinata. Both nodded in understanding.
Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Great that you know," he said. "Since we were given the notice for the both of you in advance, all of the teachers formulated a way to help you recover what you had lost but this was only for the month stated on each of your letters.
"Therefore, seeing as both Itachi-kun and Hiashi-san let us know you were back in Konoha and would be back to school first thing today, we were able to start planning methods right away for you two.
Sasuke and Hinata took all this information in, Sasuke already knowing what the man was going to say.
"Tutoring after school and makeup tests will be effective starting tomorrow," said Kakashi, he give them both a slip of paper and, glancing at it, Sasuke saw it was a time table for after school sessions. "There will be some extra homework and assignments because of this, but it will get you two on track in no time."
Sasuke saw and felt Hinata cringe. The girl hated anything to do with homework and now it was going to be doubled.
The sensei seemed to read Sasuke's mind. "I know you don't like homework, as you've skipped doing it many times in the past, Hinata," he said. "But I believe you want to pass."
"Hai, sensei," said Hinata unenthusiastically.
ooo
Hinata and Sasuke were then excused to go to their class after Kakashi gave them both a late note.
Hinata was currently in a bad mood, which did not happen regularly. She hated the fact that she would have to be doing so much work, even though she knew it was necessary.
"We should have gone to the Hitomi clan during the vacation," Sasuke said, mirth in his voice.
"I honestly couldn't agree more," Hinata said. The girl then sighed. "But it's been done and I'm glad I went there."
Making their way to the lockers, Hinata and Sasuke took their books out and then made walked among the late comers to their class.
When they arrived, Asuma stopped talking to address them both after they gave him the late note.
"Ohayo, Sasuke and Hinata," the bearded man greeted. He went over to his desk to take two small stacks of papers and gave them one each.
"These are notes and exercises for you to go over and practice and extra classes with me will be starting from Thursday, as I'm sure you may already know from your homeroom teacher."
With that, Hinata and Sasuke went to their seats and class continued.
Hinata listened to what Asuma was saying but she didn't understand one thing the man had said. It felt as though he was speaking a language from outer space, nothing remotely sounding like anything she had ever heard.
Looking at her mate, she saw he was going through the handout Asuma had given them and decided to do the same. Unfortunately, all Hinata saw were letters and numbers that made no sense to her and she gave up.
Hinata took out a pencil and set to work pretending to do something constructive while she doodled at the edge of the paper, as was a habit of hers.
o
By the time class were finished and it was time for lunch, Hinata was bored out of her mind and was looking forward to getting out of the classroom.
Tucking the stacks of papers under her arm, Hinata made her way to her locker to stow them away, Sasuke behind her.
"Thank goodness it's lunch hour," said Hinata.
Sasuke leaned on his locker. "It's not like we eat anything," he commented.
"That's not the point," Hinata said. "I'm just glad to be out of class even for an hour."
Hinata saw Sasuke roll his eyes as she felt a powerful aura.
"Is that Itachi?" she asked him, referring to the sensation of being someone's prey.
"Hai," Sasuke confirmed. "He's 'on the prowl' so to speak."
Sasuke's voice then took a drastic change. "Longing to conquer and maul a blonde fair maiden to make her his bride, bonded by blood."
Hinata outright laughed at her mate's antics.
Just then, Ino showed up, hugging Hinata tightly, to which the brunette squirmed with slight itching.
"You have no idea how much I missed you, Hina," Ino said cheerfully. She looked Sasuke's way. "Oh, you too."
Sasuke shrugged and nodded Hinata's way before leaving to go to the cafeteria, leaving the girls alone.
"You told me that this morning," Hinata said with a smile.
Ino grinned. "I know, but whatever!"
Hinata and Ino then walked the way Sasuke had gone along the green corridors when Hinata felt Itachi's presence was even closer.
It was soon known why his presence was so strong when she saw he was standing at the entrance of the cafeteria talking to Sasuke about something. Usually, Itachi was nowhere to be seen at lunch time unless
he wanted to talk to one of them.
As the two girls approached Sasuke and Itachi, the latter stopped talking and focused his attention on them.
Shifting her eyes to see Ino, Hinata saw the girl was lightly blushing.
"Oh Kami," Ino whispered. "Why does he have to be so gorgeous?"
Hinata giggled at what Ino had said and patted her on the back. "You poor thing."
Hinata knew Itachi must have heard what Ino had said, because his eyes briefly flickered red and his gaze seemed to scorch Hinata even though his eyes were not on her.
Ino was sure to have a very spicy relationship if she got with the experienced, passionate being that Itachi was and Hinata had to wonder if the trait ran in the family as Sasuke was very affectionate, with a tiny blush of her own.
"Hey," Hinata greeted when they got near enough. "Hi Itachi."
Both males responded, Itachi staring intensely at Hinata's best friend, who was blushing.
"And you are?" he asked.
Ino ducked her head bashfully. "I-I'm Ino. Hinata's best friend," said the blonde. Really, the girl was acting as though she'd taken over the past Hinata's habits.
Itachi reached his hand to Ino's which she accepted. The girl must have felt something because her entire face lit up a pretty shade of red.
"Nice to meet you, Ino," said Itachi. "I'm Itachi."
"Nice to meet you too, Itachi-senpai," said Ino.
Itachi seemed to reluctantly release Ino's hand and Hinata and Sasuke were catching all of this.
"You don't have to call me senpai, just my name is fine," Itachi told her.
He then turned to Sasuke. "See you later," Itachi said and then said his goodbyes to Hinata and Ino before leaving.
"So what did Itachi want?" Hinata asked Sasuke.
He shrugged. "Male stuff."
The three went to their regular table to find mostly everyone already there.
Hinata saw that her best friend looked as though she would faint from the encounter and smiled. Maybe Itachi would not have to work so hard to become closer to the girl as he thought.
o
Lunch was filled with questions and laughter.
Everyone clearly seemed to be very curious about the fact that both Sasuke and Hinata were out of school and came back at the same time. They believed it must have been planned somehow, to which Hinata and her mate denied through their teeth.
By the time it was all over, Hinata felt exhausted and was never so glad to be back in the classroom.
Just before she got to the next class, Hinata felt her phone vibrate and panicked, thinking it would start to ring. Luckily, it was on silent.
Hinata had only taken it to school because of the situation surrounding her at the moment; in case the police found something of interest or if something else happened.
Running quickly to the bathroom, Hinata took the phone out of her bra to see it had stopped but she dialed the number unknown to her, guessing it must have been the receptionist from the counselor or the police.
She was right when someone on the other line spoke.
"Ohayo, this is Yasu in connection with Hyuuga Hanabi," came the voice of the receptionist. "Am I speaking to Hyuuga Hinata?"
"Hai," Hinata replied.
"I'm calling to remind you of the appointment Hanabi-chan has with Yamashita-san today after school hours."
Hinata told the woman she had remembered and, after thanking her for calling, she hung up and made her way to class, hurrying as she went because she was a little late.
Walking through the door for Art class, Kurenai-sensei stopped what she was saying to look Hinata's way.
"You are late, Hinata," said Kurenai, looking at her watch. "You're already very far behind so please don't make it a habit."
The tall, beautiful woman then gave Hinata a couple sheets of paper, which the girl knew were her assignments for Kami-knows-how-long and shooed her to her seat.
Hinata gave a short bow of apology and went to her seat.
At least Hinata was able to understand some of what Kurenai was saying, even though she was on a new topic. She was able to grasp an idea of what was going on and even do the assignment for class after leafing through the papers she had been given.
This was why Hinata loved Art; it just came naturally to her.
Kurenai was actually very impressed with Hinata's work at the end, asking that Sai help her with catching up when it was possible.
Hinata was thrilled, as she would be able to spend time with Sai. She had not done so in a long time since they all paired off as couples. It was a great start to her trying to get back in touch with her close friends also.
Looking back at the short-haired brunette, Hinata saw Sai was pleased about the arrangement as well.
o
In no time, it was the last period and then the bell was ringing for the end of school.
Hinata walked to her locker with the others to pack away their stuff. Hinata was taking out her stacks of papers when Hanabi came up to her.
"Counseling right?" Hanabi asked her as she bit her nails, a new habit the girl had taken up. Hinata believed it was to help with the addiction.
To be honest, Hanabi looked a mess and it was amazing someone hadn't noticed or commented on it.
Maybe it was because of the drastic change her younger sister had taken while she was gone that other students probably saw it as some kind of grunge phase or something.
"Hai," said Hinata. "Neji is taking us."
Sasuke walked up to them just then, since his locker was next to Hinata's.
"How are you doing?" he asked Hanabi.
The younger girl shrugged. "I've been one hundred times better," she answered. "I feel like frigging crap right now."
"Hanabi!"
"Gomen nasai."
Hinata sighed and also apologized for Hanabi. She really needed to curb that habit of swearing and to someone older than her at that.
But Hinata had to say Hanabi was doing great for someone off drugs for so long. She was an absolute wreck during the night and in the morning but she was fine now, just really dreary.
Sasuke was pulled away by Naruto, who wanted to get home but Neji was there soon afterward and so the three left, pilling themselves into the Porsche.
The drive there was mostly quiet as Hinata was going through the papers she had received. Her theory was the faster she got them out of the way, the faster she could go back to being a normal stressed out teenager and not a super stressed out teenager.
Hanabi was listening to music and gnawing at her fingers as it was calming her down and Neji just drove, asking them both questions when he thought of anything.
On arrival to the counselor, Hinata prepped Hanabi on behavior before they got out and then they were entering the building.
Hanabi was taken to Azumi immediately after she signed in.
Hinata and Neji waited outside with Neji doing some homework, while Hinata attempted some exercises.
It was good that Neji was there as he was better at math than Hinata was and so he was able to help her out.
He actually did a great job of it, but Hinata guessed it was because he'd learned topics and had gone through some of the exercises before.
The cousins were getting on quite well with the assignments and it was probably about two hours later that Hanabi came from the office.
"Azumi-san wants to speak to the both of you," said the girl.
Hinata and Neji put up their belongings neatly before following Hanabi to the office.
It was a homely little room, with a nice big couch and even a bed. It had the perfect setting and calming colors to ease the mind.
"Nice to see you again, Hinata-chan," Azumi said, as she stood and shook her hand. The older woman then extended her hand to Neji. "And you must be Neji as far as Hanabi-chan has told me."
"Hai, Azumi-san," said the male. "It's nice meeting you too."
Azumi gestured for the three to have a seat before she began.
"The reason why you have been asked to see me with Hanabi-chan is because I would like your views on the situation," said the woman. "At this point, it is very clear Hanabi-chan's mind is made up and so I believe she is ready to take the step of having the pregnancy terminated.
"She has told me the experience of not having any drugs and it is very clear she is on edge. I'm sure you have noticed she's taken up biting her nails to curb the craving but it won't be enough. As such, it would not surprise me if she suddenly goes into some shock as her body is now under the impression she is depriving it."
Hinata listened carefully and knew Neji was doing the same as Azumi continued.
"Rehab will be effective one week from now so please prepare for that, and the abortion will take place tomorrow morning at nine o'clock with Takahiro-san with your permission."
With that said, Azumi took a paper from the desk and gave it to Hinata. Looking at it, she saw it was a consent form.
Placing it within sight of Neji, they both read carefully and then signed the document.
The same paper was given to Hanabi, who was silent all this time, to sign and she did so with no hesitation.
"With that in order and out of the way, this session is over," Azumi informed them. "Sessions with me will continue this week and I will then sign over all documentation to the rehab center, where Hanabi will have a new counselor."
o
After that, they were seen to the door by Azumi-san and then they were on the way home.
Hinata realized Hanabi still not said anything and looking to Neji, they discreetly decided Hinata would try talking to the youngest Hyuuga.
"Are you okay, Hanabi?" she asked her younger sister.
"I'm fine," said Hanabi shortly.
Hinata noticed the sharp tone and realized Hanabi was probably just minutes from acting out from not having her 'blow.'
"When we get home I'll cook you up something yummy," Hinata told her sibling.
"I'm not hungry."
Hinata tried another approach. "Then we'll try to do something fun."
"I'm tired," Hanabi said irritably.
Hinata smiled sadly. "Would you like for us to stay with you again then and just talk?" Hinata offered.
There was a pause. "…Hai."
The rest of the drive was spent trying to liven up Hanabi by turning on the radio to some music Hinata knew the girl liked and it brightened the younger girl's mood, as well as hers and Neji's.
When they got home, Hinata decided to stick to the plan and pulled Hanabi and Neji into the kitchen to make dinner, asking the maids not to worry.
Her idea paid off better than expected and they all got lost into making something nice to eat… or as nice as they could hope for.
Hanabi burned her finger on the frying pan while stir-frying some vegetables and Neji added too much salt to the rice balls apparently. At least Hinata's chicken came out alright.
Overall, it was a success.
It was such a great feeling to see Hanabi smiling and to know her mind was on something other than her problems even if only for a short while.
Hinata laughed when Neji and Hanabi ate the food, grimacing as they did and was glad she could not taste it.
The mood really was great and helped get everyone's minds off the upcoming events, especially the abortion in the morning.
Both Hinata and Neji felt a little guilty for signing that paper but they knew and saw one of the weights lift from Hanabi's shoulders. The other was still there; however, being the addiction.
They had discussed it quietly as Hanabi had gone to have a bath and agreed it was for the best. They would just have to wait on the outcome of tomorrow.
Hinata briefly talked to Sasuke and filled him in on what had happened and shortly after, she did more homework in Neji's room.
Hanabi was there as well, watching TV and biting her nails. Hinata noticed the girl was slowly rocking back and forth as she did and was a little worried.
Being too tired to complete all of the work, Hinata set her papers down and headed for the bed. Neji was already there reading and Hanabi came to the bed also.
Neji set the book down and the three watched TV in bed until they were too tired to watch anymore and settled in for bed after hitting the power button on the remote control.
In the still of the night Hanabi spoke.
"I'm scared."
Hinata turned her face to her precious sister and Neji did the same, embracing her.
"What are you afraid of?" Hinata replied.
"What's gonna happen tomorrow," Hanabi Said again. "I'm scared something may go wrong."
Neji then shushed her. "Don't think of things that may go wrong," he told her softly. "You'll be okay."
"Are you having second thoughts about the abortion?" Hinata asked.
"Iie," Hanabi said quickly. "I'm just scared I might get hurt or something. Or that someone will find out about it."
"Nothing bad will happen. Takahiro-sensei is known to be very good, one of the best," Hinata assured Hanabi. "And everything that is going on is confidential. No one will ever know."
Hanabi seemed at ease with the words and seemed to drift to sleep as she chewed her nails.
Once again, Hanabi was tortured during the night, with Hinata having some nightmares of her own in answer to Hanabi's as Neji comforted them both.
So I figured I would end the chapter here. I like the progression but I hope it isn't moving too slow for you guys. I've been told my other fic is moving too slow as they want some action between the pairings—after they explained what they were referring to— that's what they meant. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it and I apologize for the lateness hehe. This was supposed to be up since last week but the new arrangement in my job really stressed me out. I wrote this on a day off which was yesterday and edited today. It could have been up earlier but I was trying to catch up on stuff, as always. The chapter is longer than the usual 1500. It's 4723 in MS word.
If you have not read Hina hime, A Happy Ending, or Following the Sun, please do.
Until next update…
Ja ne!
Please review, I love it when you do‼
