"Neji, we're here!" Naruto screamed at Neji's door, though Neji wasn't the one to answer
"Hey, Sakura, Naruto?" A girl with brown hair tied up into two buns and chocolate eyes spoke
"Tenten, Neji, where is he?" Naruto questioned
"Neji! Naruto and Sakura are here" Tenten called loudly
"Stop screaming, let them in" Neji seemed to call, clearly not in the same room
"Rude much" Tenten muttered
Naruto practically ran over Tenten and rushed in, Sakura calmly walked in and sat down on the couch. Naruto went to find Neji, he found him in the kitchen.
"So what's the job!" Naruto seemed to get louder the more the sentence went on
"I will tell you soon, go sit down" Neji waved his hand motioning for Naruto to sit on his couch in the living room
Naruto sat down, while Neji was still in the kitchen, he decided to make conversation with Tenten
"So Tenten, why are you here?" Naruto asked
"I was just chilling, Lee is out of town, so I'm kinda bored" Tenten shrugged
"Oh, where did he go?" Naruto questions
"On a 'trip of youth' with Guy" Tenten outwardly cringed
"Oh," Sakura said sympathetically, she knows how it feels to have a friend that's 'special'
"Yeah, sometimes, I wonder about those two, luckily I have Neji, at least he's sane," Tenten said thoughtfully
Neji walked in, with four teas in a tray. He handed one to Sakura, then to Naruto, then to Tenten then himself
"Job?! Come on, Neji, I can't wait anymore!" Naruto screeched
"Alright, I will get to Sakura first-"
"Come on Neji!" Naruto whined
Neji ignored him, "Sakura, a convenience store, two blocks from here, is hiring part-time. I have been so kind as to call for you, their hours are flexible, and allows their employees a store discount." Neji sipped his tea.
"Oh thank you Neji, that's perfect" Sakura beamed
"Alright, alright, now what about me?" Naruto said bouncing up and down in his seat
"This one is a bit tricky, my cousin, Hinata... is... sick and needs a caretaker."
Neji lowered his head a bit "She seems a bit... down since she hasn't talked to... really anybody" Neji looked at Naruto with a serious expression "I want you to be her caretaker, you have lots of... good energy, I'm sure she would brighten up, even just a bit-" Neji did the most un-Neji like thing, he smiled "Oh, the pay is good also, it's also a live-in job, so you would have your own room, and the food is good. I talked with my uncle, and put in a good word, he wants to meet you."
"That sounds... Amazing!" Naruto grinned "Free housing, free food, all I have to do is make a girl smile! That's easy!"
Both Tenten and Neji rolled their eyes, of course, Naruto would dumb it down in his brain to make it sound easy.
Naruto continued "When does he want to meet? I'll take the job!"
"He wants to meet tomorrow if possible, however, it's not guaranteed you get the job, that's up to him," Neji stated, grabbing his and Tentens cup, and taking it to the Kitchen while he walked he continued "Wear something nice, and please, don't eat ramen before you get there, I don't want my uncle smelling pork on your breath. Keep good posture, speak formally, and if he asks 'what do you do for fun' say what you wouldn't do"
"Basically, you want me to be you?" Naruto asked
"No idiot, I want you to be professional, not... Whatever you are now" Neji said, annoyed at the jab Naruto gave him
Tenten laughed and said "Yeah Naruto, act like Neji" That earned her a semi-hard glare from the long-haired boy
"Remember, I can kick you out at any time, Tenten," Neji said sitting back down in his seat
"Like you would" Tenten mumbled then laughed a bit
"Well, where do I meet him?" Naruto interrupted Neji and Tenten's bickering
"The coffee shop, Five blocks away from where Sasuke lives, it's quiet there."
"Oh, I know, they have good ramen too, not better than the old man's ramen though" Naruto sighed thoughtfully
"You better not order ramen, order some tea, and if you must have something to eat, get a bagel." Neji glared
"Relax princess, I won't" Naruto waved his hand
Sakura gasped, as Tenten laughed, how could she not, the look on his face was priceless
"Get out Naruto, leave" Neji pointed towards the door, "You too Tenten"
Tenten looked at him with an amused expression, "No" she got more comfortable in her seat
"I'm leaving, thanks again Neji" Sakura stood and started walking towards the door
"Wait Sakura, I'm leaving too!" Naruto quickly got up "Don't worry Neji, I'll leave you two love birds alone" Naruto grinned
Neji's face turned red, "We are no- " but before he could finish, they left
"I forgot to tell you, I'm spending the night, my dad might come over and I do not feel like dealing, better pretend I'm not home right?"
Neji sighed and sat down, "It doesn't matter what I say, you're still gonna stay arent you?" He rolled his eyes
"At least you know"
_XXXX_
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted through the door
Sasuke grumbled but opened the door.
"Good, you're here, Neji helped me out big time, he helped Sakura too" Naruto beamed
"Where is she" It wasn't a question, it was a command.
"She went home, something about having to wake up early for school and stuff"
"Hn" Sasuke moved out the way, and let Naruto in
"So what job did she get?" Sasuke questioned
"I don't really know, some convenience store"
"Hn"
"You sure are asking a lot about sakura arent you?"
Sasuke glared "Shut up idiot, what job did you get?"
And Naruto told him everything-
_XXXX_
A soft knock was heard on a door, "Come in." A small female voice spoke
"Hinata, " A male voice greeted
"Hello, father. " The girl Hinata, answered
"It seems your cousin, had picked a new caretaker for you"
"Is that so.."
"Yes, I will be meeting him tomorrow, to see if he is suitable"
"Father, may I come-"
"You know the answer, Hinata, we can't risk you getting sick like that again"
Hinata attempted to retaliate, "Father, I have grown since then, I am more healthy, a-and I will be more careful" The girl had this shine to her pale lavender eyes, " If you just allow me to show you father I swear I can-"
"Enough Hinata, my answer remains the same, you will stay here, and if I find this person suitable enough, they will become your caretaker" Her father, Hiashi, stood firm on his word
Hinata deflated with a shaky sigh "Can you at least take a picture, father?"
Hiashi's firm facial features softened "Yes Hinata, I will. Get some rest, I will have one of the maids take you to the garden in the morning for some fresh air"
"Yes, father" Hinata settled back on to her bed, to get more comfortable
Hiashi walked towards the door, but before he left he murmured, almost too low for her to hear. "Good night, Hinata, I'm sorry" and with that, he closed her door.
Her small barely audible sobs were the only thing that truly remained with her in that room.