They Hold the World

Chapter 27: Flumadiddle

Hinata

They're really dragging us into this, huh? -Ino

A light within the darkness was that text, because for the past few days, Hinata has been getting nothing but complaints from Sasuke and Naruto about their fight. It was tiresome. Obviously, things were said that hurt them both, but it seemed they'd rather complain about it to their girlfriends than actually try to work it out with one another. At first, Hinata didn't mind and only saw it as Sasuke letting off steam. But as one day became three, it was becoming clear that, well . . .

They're not doing shit about it. -Ino

Sighing, Hinata settled on her bed and typed out a reply.

What do we do? -Hinata

Because standing around and listening obviously wasn't working, and whenever she would try to suggest that Sasuke talked to Naruto, he would throw it in the wind, convinced that, if anything, Naruto should come to him.

But . . . why did that matter when he could potentially be losing one of his friends?

Her phone buzzed, and she read the text.

Be the adults and do it ourselves. -Ino

Huh?

How do we do that? -Hinata

I'll talk to Sasuke and you talk to Naruto. -Ino

Would that . . . really work?

Hinata frowned as she stood. She eyed her clock, saw it was almost dinner time, and moved to leave. As she walked down the stairs, she texted Ino back.

I don't know… -Hinata

Because . . . shouldn't they be the ones doing the talking? It didn't seem right to get involved, despite them . . . sort of dragging her in the middle of it.

She entered the dining room where the rest of her family already sat, waiting for her. She sat next to her sister and put away her phone, but not before Hanabi got a good look at it. A smirk curved at her lips as a glint came to her eyes. "Texting your boyfriend again, Hinata?"

Immediately, all eyes were on her.

She blushed and shook her head. "It's j-just Ino, Hanabi."

The maids came and placed their food in front of them. Hinata unfolded her napkin and placed it on her lap before grabbing her fork, which almost slipped out of her grasp upon her father's coming words.

"Speaking of Sasuke, in two days, we're going to be visiting the Uchihas for dinner."

Hanabi choked as Neji's head snapped up.

"What?" he asked, shock ringing in his tone.

Hiashi did not even bat an eye. "They invited us and I agreed."

"Why?" Hanabi yelped, cheeks flaring. "They hate us!"

"Keep your voice down at the table," her father drawled, wiping his mouth with the napkin before sipping at his water. "No matter our history - in times like these, it is appropriate for the families to get to know one another." His eyes narrowed a fraction. "More so than we already do, I suppose."

Hinata could barely keep up, for her ears were ringing.

Two days.

In two days, they were going to the Uchiha's.

But . . . Sasuke was in a terrible mood the whole week, and a whole bunch of Hyuugas coming over would do him no good. Sucking on her bottom lip, she silently pulled her phone onto her lap and texted Ino under the dinner table.

I guess we could try. -Hinata

Oh, and try they would.

"Hinata!"

A bit of hope sprung into her heart at the name, but upon realizing that it was neither Sasuke or Naruto who had called to her, she sighed and turned to see Ino barreling down the hallway towards her. It was passing period between third and fourth, but that in itself wasn't what was significant. The fact that it was nearing halfway through the school day and Sasuke and Naruto haven't shown their faces once was what kept confusing Hinata. She had waited outside their classes and searched around the hallways between periods, but never saw them. It was like they had gone invisible or . . .

Or . . . didn't come to school.

Ino hopped to a stop, bending over to catch her breath, as if she had just run the whole length of the school. "Any sign of them?" she asked, retying her loose ponytail.

Hinata shook her head and pulled out her phone. Nothing.

"M-Maybe they didn't come to school today."

Ino frowned, eyes clouding over. "Of all days," she muttered, "what made them not come today?"

She had no idea, and was dancing on the line of texting Sasuke or not when the warning bell rang, and both of their heads shot up. Ino cursed under her breath and said something about talking it over at lunch before running off. Hinata adjusted her backpack and left for class.

When she got there, Shikamaru was sloped over his desk, looking like he was about to doze off. She sat next to him, kicked her feet under the desk, and tapped her pencil on the side of her desk to . . . well, keep her hands busy, she supposed.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked in the crook of his elbow, eyes remaining shut. "What did he do now?"

Hinata immediately stopped her tapping, feeling guilty. It felt like she was always dragging him into her problems. "I'm s-sorry."

"That didn't answer my question." He sat up, stretched his arms over his head, and blinked his eyes before slowly looking her way. "Not that you really need to. I already know." He rolled his shoulder before massaging the back of his neck. "Don't let it get to you. Those two always have something to fight about. It's just how they work."

Her gaze fell to her notebook. "This o-one seems bad."

"That's probably a good thing," Shikamaru mused. "Naruto needs to get over his clinginess and Sasuke has to learn that his pride isn't all that he has now." The teacher entered the room, and the class was full of flipping papers and clicking pens. Shikamaru straightened in his chair and stared at the front of the class. Hinata did the same, thinking it was the end of the conversation, until he softly continued. "They'll get over it. After all, they have you and Ino."

...

Lunch felt empty.

Kiba and Lee were eating in the gym with the rest of the football team, Tenten was sick, and Neji decided to spend his last semester of high school with the rest of the seniors, leaving only Ino and Hinata to eat at their usual spot. It was quiet, sure, but Hinata had grown to enjoy the loud and craziness of all her friends packed together into one table. So when it was taken away from her and she was left to that silent, lonely lunch she had often experienced in high school, it was a bit . . . off-putting.

And based off of the twist in Ino's smile, she felt the same way.

So when, suddenly, a body situated itself next to her, coldness still fresh on the heavy jacket it wore, both of them were surprised. And for more than one reason.

Sasuke Uchiha, like a ghost, had appeared.

"Hey."

Hinata looked at him, wide-eyed, while Ino practically stabbed her fork into her salad. "Where the hell have you been?" she hissed. "You're, like, four hours late!"

In turn, Sasuke didn't even bat an eye. "I wasn't expecting you to look for me."

"You little -"

"U-Um!" Hinata piped up, her whole body shaking with the tremble in her voice, making her hands lose grip of the pen she had been clicking nervously. It fell on her lap, rolled, and landed somewhere under the table. She blinked and bent her head down to look for it, already feeling overwhelmed with nothing in her hands

Sasuke sighed and ducked his head. "I got it."

He bowed under the table, searching; and while he was under there, another tray was slammed against the table, this one to Ino's right. Both of the girls' heads shot up and gasped as Naruto grinned at them and sat down next to his girlfriend.

"Christ, it's freezing outside! You have no idea what hell my morning has been. Get this - flat tire and my engine's acting shitty. Can you believe that? So I had to ask Jiraiya if I could borrow one of his cars - and he gave me the shitty one! Like, seriously!? I know I crashed two before, but that was years ago, so the least he could do was have some faith in his own son . . . and . . ."

He trailed off as Sasuke sat back up and immediately locked eyes with him.

And one, collective thought passed through everyone's minds.

Shit.

...

Maybe the lonely, quiet lunches weren't so bad.

Or rather . . . Hinata would much rather deal with them than the tense, awkward kind. Because those kinds made her feel like she was about to fall into a panic attack. Food untouched, Hinata sat stiffly at the lunch table, eyes flying between Naruto and Sasuke, who fell dead silent the second they saw the other there.

Do something, she told herself, running her tongue along the back of her teeth. Say something! But her throat was dry and she couldn't sputter a word. Her eyes drifted to Ino. She looked on the edge of her seat, mouth opening and closing every so often. She moved a strand of blond hair out of her face, pursed her glossy lips, and then turned to face the boys.

"I don't know much about this whole spat you two got yourselves into," she said, voice firm and loud, getting their attention instantly, "but I do know one thing: if you two don't get over yourselves and lose a good friend because of this, then you're both dumb pieces of shit."

Naruto winced and looked away, blushing, but Sasuke kept his ground.

"You're right," he said, folding his arms, "you don't know much, so keep your damn nose out of it."

"Hey." Naruto pushed his tray away and squared up. "Don't be an asshole. She's just trying to help."

"Yeah, sure. Help you get out of this with your tail between your legs, maybe." Sasuke turned to the side and scoffed. "Do me a favor and tell me when you stop clinging onto your girlfriend. Then we'll talk."

He stood, looking ready to leave, until -

"Hypocrite." Sasuke's head snapped back upon hearing Naruto's mutter. "You can't say that to me when Hinata practically has you on a damn leash. She's more like your mom than your actual girlfriend."

What!? She couldn't believe what she was hearing. I'm not actually . . .

Sasuke slammed his hands on the table. "At least she likes me! Ino's only with your sorry ass because she feels bad for you."

Naruto went red. "What -"

"Oh, hell no!" Ino shot up, rounded the table, and pushed her hands against Sasuke's chest, not exactly shoving him away, but definitely getting the point across that she was pissed. "That's going too far, even for a stuck-up, selfish, prideful ass like yourself!" She whirled and glared at Naruto, as well. "What the hell are you thinking, dragging us into this? Texting us with sob stories like, 'Oh, he's just awful! A real piece of work. I can't believe I was ever friends with him - boohoo, feel fucking bad for me'. Last I recalled, you two were so close that you practically shared the same brain cell, but now you don't even have that to think! So stop punching each other in the dick and maybe use your fucking words!"

The air buzzed with tension and electricity. Hinata saw Sasuke's eyes narrow and stood to get to him, but she was too late. He grabbed the hands on his chest and flung them off him, sending Ino tumbling back. She yelped and grabbed the table for balance as he sneered at her.

"Don't touch me."

"Touch you?" Getting her legs back under her, Ino barred her teeth. "Touch you!?" She marched back to him, eyes narrow and beady. "I'm about to do a whole lot more than touch you, you shiteating -"

Her hand, raised to slap some sense into an Uchiha, was caught and pulled away midair. "Seriously, Ino?" Shikamaru looked down at her with bored eyes. "You always get yourself into these things and I always have to get you out. So troublesome." She hissed a complaint, trying to tear her wrist out of his grasp, which he kept a tight hold on as his eyes found Hinata before he sighed. "Let's go."

They walked off, and Hinata quickly grabbed her stuff to follow them.

Sasuke looked at her. "Hinata -"

She shook her head and turned to Naruto. "I'm not his mother, so never c-call me that again." Her hard, icy eyes turned to Sasuke. "But right now, I feel like I just watched a five-year-old throw a tantrum."

Words hanging in the air, she threw her tray away and marched off to where Shikamaru and Ino left. She found them in the hallway outside of the cafeteria, Shikamaru rubbing the back of his head while Ino was literally snapping plastic silverware in two. "Meatheads," she hissed as Hinata approached them. "Both of them! Why, if I had stayed for even a second more, I swear - I would have - ugh!"

Hinata bit her lips together as Shikamaru settled next to her. "Guess you were right," he muttered. "Guess this is worse than I figured."

"Obviously!" Ino snapped, blowing a stand out of her face. She took a few deep breaths, face slowly losing its red color. After a minute, she calmed down, and her eyes were a bit glassy. "I'm sorry, Hinata. I wasn't trying to start a fight with Sasuke. He just rubbed me the wrong way and we were all angry and saying things we didn't mean -"

"It's o-o-okay, Ino," Hinata interrupted, grabbing her friend's hands. "I . . . I wish I h-had said more and n-not just stood around and watched. Maybe . . . m-maybe things wouldn't have blown up if I had."

"Don't be sorry, Hinata. It was just the wrong conversation at the wrong time, that's all."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and snorted. "My suggestion? Maybe talk to them separately next time" Ino glared and hooked him in the arm, making him wince and rub his bicep gingerly. "Shit, Ino, that's the thanks I get? When I'm gone, you're gonna have to get yourself out of these situations, and you better not complain to me afterwards!"

They bickered as they usually did, smiles finally returning to their faces. But Hinata was hung up on what Shikamaru had just said - or rather, what he hadn't said.

'When I'm gone?' She looked to her friends, heart dropping into her stomach. But . . . where is he going?

...

Three hours of pondering and planning her next course of action, Hinata finally made up her mind. The last class of the day ended and she was beelining to the parking lot. Her eyes scanned the cars, and upon not seeing Naruto or his godfather's car anywhere (a thing she had seen many times, because, well, Jiraiya liked to show off his 'Writing money'), she cursed under her breath, entered her driver's car, and gave him the address to Naruto's house.

The drive there was too quick for her liking, and she had barely finished prepping herself up by the time they pulled into the large driveway. Wrapping her fingers around her necklace, thumb rubbing against the wing of the dove, she thanked the driver and got out, making her way to the porch, but not before eying the other, somewhat familiar car to the side.

Where have I seen that before? she wondered, making her way across the sidewalk, skirt brushing against the bushes that were gaining a bit of green to their bare branches. It was on the tip of her tongue, and just as she nearly had it, someone stepped in front of her.

Shisui.

"Pleased to see you again, Hinata," he said with a smile before continuing down the path before she could even begin to react. "I'll see you tomorrow at the dinner party."

He was gone by the time she fully realized what she had just witnessed.

Why was he . . . ?

She stepped onto the porch and wasn't even near the door when it flew open. Naruto ran out, still in the middle of wrapping a scarf around his neck, and must have been so caught up in his rush that he hadn't even seen Hinata until he literally crashed into her.

"SHIT!"

She yelped and fell back, tipping over the side of the porch, but Naruto grabbed her arm and pulled her up before she was fully falling. She gasped, heart racing, as he bent forward to look at her pale face.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Hinata!" He backed away, shoulders curling. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Shit, I'm so stupid. This is like, what, the third time? I'm not doing it on purpose, I swear! I just, erm - I don't really . . . ." Trailing off, he took a glance at his phone, saw the time, and went back to panicking. "Oh man. I need to go. Uh, sorry Hinata, can this wait? This is really important and I -"

"N-Naruto." His babbling stopped as he gawked at her. She curled her fingers into her sleeves. It felt . . . weird, being alone with him. A year ago, she would have loved it. Six months ago, she would have hated it. Now . . . she didn't really feel any of those. If anything, she just felt nervous about what she had come here for. "About . . . Sasuke . . ."

His eyes flashed and widened. "Oh, that!" Pink came to his face as he glanced over his shoulder. "That's where I'm going, actually. To Sasuke's house, I mean. You won't believe it, but Shisui was just here. At first, well, I wasn't in the mood to see him, cuz . . . y'know. But, uh, he was persistent, so I listened to what he had to say, and it made me realize I've . . . um . . ." He laughed nervously, gaze dipping. "I've been a pretty big asshat recently."

Huh?

"Naruto . . ."

"I mean, he's not wrong," he said, shoving his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. "Like, he just got his family back, and here I was being jealous and selfish. But when Shisui came by, he said that Sasuke hasn't been acting himself ever since that fight - and that made me realize something. He needs me as much as I need him, and just because he got his family back doesn't mean I have to stop being his family." That smile came back, the one that seemed to have been missing for far too long. It was bright and sparkling and totally, absolutely Naruto. "So I'm going to talk to him - apologize for all I said about him, his family. I don't expect forgiveness, but I still want him to know that even after all this, I still, um, think of him as my brother."

A thousand pounds were lifted off her shoulders, and Hinata smiled back. "Sasuke doesn't h-hate you, Naruto." He smiled crookedly and messed with his scarf, which was twisted awkwardly around him, and Hinata giggled and helped him adjust it. "He'll l-listen to what you have to say. I-I'm sure of it."

She finished with the scarf and he scratched the back of his head. "Thanks, Hinata." His eyes dimmed a bit. "And, uh, sorry - for dragging you into this and for what happened at lunch. I don't . . . actually think you're a mom. You're, like, cooler."

A final grin and a wave before he dashed off to his car. Hinata waved back, heart rising and pounding with relief.

The next day, she found Sasuke in the library, stiff and alert. And the second his eyes found hers, he was standing. "About yesterday," he began, frowning to himself as she sat in her spot. "You were . . . right." His voice dropped an octave, and she could practically see his eyes swimming in shame. "I shouldn't have done that."

She placed her backpack on the floor before facing him. "N-Naruto talked to you yesterday." It wasn't a question, and he knew that well. He sat down and nodded. "What happened?"

The corners of his lips twitched before he hid it with his hand. "We talked."

Funny. He was trying to be nonchalant, but surely he knew by now that she could read him like a book. "And?"

"We . . . both said shit we didn't mean." He sighed and looked at her. "Let me make it up to you."

Her head tipped to the side as she thought. "Well," she mused, "t-today, at dinner, it would be nice if the Uchiha and Hyuuga could go a n-night without fighting or poking."

His eyes darkened for a brief second, but he eventually succumbed. "I can't speak for the rest of them," he said, "but . . . I'll be good." She nodded and pulled out a book, vaguely hearing him scoot his chair closer to her. But when the book was slipped out of her hand and held to the side, she gave him her full attention. He smirked and tilted his head a bit. "But . . . if there were some sort of reward, I'll be more than just good."

Her face felt like it was on fire. "S-S-Sasuke!"

"What? I'm just saying."

...

Lunch was . . . overwhelming.

And Hinata loved it.

Kiba and Lee took a break from the team to catch up with Hinata and Ino, and with Tenten over her sickness and Neji wanting to spend time with his girlfriend, the table was back to it's loud, busy self.

"Like, seriously, when are we ever going to use this stuff!" Naruto, of course, was back to his deafening self, as well. He held his Calculus notes away from him, as if they'd infect him with some sort of disease if he kept them too close. "I'm going to be a world-famous actor! Actors don't need to know this shit!"

"It's to help you with studying and time-management, dumbass." Across from the blond was Sasuke Uchiha. He had a glare that warned everyone at the table that if those blasted notes came even a inch closer to his face, he'd tear them up and throw them in the trash. "You might not use Calc., but you'll sure as hell want to know how to manage your time - which, by the way, you're also failing at."

"WHAT!?" Naruto boomed. "Why do I need that when I can just hire people to do it for me?"

Sasuke rubbed at his face. "You're hopeless."

And Shikamaru, it was sitting a bit closer to the group than he normally did, for the first time in (forever?), agreed with Sasuke. "Absolutely."

Hinata let it all sink in: the bantering, the teasing, the laughing.

It was nice.

This was nice.

And she hoped, from the bottom of her heart, that these moments would last forever.

...

But, well, nothing lasts forever.

Chapter Twenty-Seven - End