A/N: ahh so sorry for the delay on this chapter friends! I kept getting distracted by my other projects lol
The moon shone brightly over a sleepy Konoha. The waves crashed against the shore and softly rocked the docked ships. Neji stood in the near-silent shipyard, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm his racing heart.
He glanced at his pocket watch for the thousandth time. Three minutes to midnight.
The sound of footsteps against the wooden dock had him abruptly turning around but his anxious expression melted into relief at the sight of his younger cousin.
"Hinata!" he called as he bounded toward her without a second thought.
"Neji!" she greeted and nearly leapt into his arms. He could hardly describe the comfort he felt seeing Hinata again. "I've missed you!"
The last two weeks had been unbearable imagining what his delicate cousin must be going through while she endured captivity on that vile pirate ship. Neji pulled back from their embrace and allowed his critical pale eyes to scan over her form.
Her dress looked clean and untorn. Actually, it might have even been different from the one she had been wearing when they'd taken her. But her clothes were really the least of his concerns. "Are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they? They didn't…" he lowered his voice as his brows pinched together. "... violate you?"
Hinata was grateful the darkness of the night concealed the pink that suddenly colored her cheeks, deciding it was best not to get into the details of what exactly Menma had done with her. "Neji, I'm much tougher than you give me credit for."
She hoped he'd be satisfied by that nonanswer.
He nodded and hugged her tightly again, mumbling apologies over and over into her dark hair. "Hinata, I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you! I hope you can forgive me! I promise I'll never let anyone or anything harm you ever again!"
She let out an involuntary squeak. He was practically squeezing the life out of her with his strong hug, which for Hinata seemed to metaphorically underscore that if she stayed in Konoha, Neji's vigilant protection would likely suffocate her.
"I promise, I don't blame you," she told him. But he apologized once more and finally released her.
His pale eyes nervously glanced around, suddenly on guard again. Neji pulled out the sack of gold coins he had scrounged together over the last two weeks, collecting every debt owed to him and calling in all his favors.
"Did they say what the hell we're supposed to do when they released you?" he asked. "Am I supposed to leave the money somewhere?"
His attention refocused on her as Hinata softly touched his hand. "Neji, you can keep the money."
"What?" he questioned as a puzzled look crossed his face. "Pirates are greedy tricksters, Hinata! They certainly wouldn't just let you go without payment!"
She nervously bit her lip as she searched for the words to explain. "I… I didn't want to be a burden to you… so I made an arrangement for another form of payment and Captain Menma accepted," she admitted nervously.
"I don't understand."
Hinata sighed and finally confessed, "I only came here to tell you that I'm fine and you don't have to worry about paying the 100,000 gold coins."
"You're not making any sense," he told her, his brow furrowed.
"…I'm not coming with you, Neji," she said plainly. "Part of the deal I made means that I'll be staying with Captain Menma for a little while longer."
His pale eyes suddenly grew angry. "No! Absolutely no way! I cannot allow this! You cannot sell yourself to some pirates, Hinata! That's ridiculous!"
She frowned and clutched the fabric of her dress, but still managed to hold his gaze. "It's not your decision," Hinata told him firmly.
"What!?" Neji gawked, surprised that she would argue with him.
"I... want to stay with him."
"Are you insane?! What the hell happened when you were on that ship?! That maniac obviously brainwashed you!" Neji shouted before he grabbed her by the arm in a tight grip and began dragging her up the dock. "C'mon, we're going home!"
"Neji, stop," Hinata tried as she struggled in his hold.
"What were you even thinking?!" Neji continued ranting, his grip tightening in the face of her resistance.
"Neji, stop! You're hurting me!" But again he ignored her and continued on his path up the dock, convincing himself that his cousin was not in her right mind.
"I believe the lady asked you to stop."
Both Hyuuga flinched at the sound of a familiar raspy voice and watched as a frowning Menma stepped out from under a shadow. Neji reflexively put his arm out in front of Hinata to shield her from the pirate.
"Just take this and leave us alone," Neji growled and tossed the bag of gold coins at Menma, who didn't even bother to try to catch them. The bag landed on the dock with a clink.
Unimpressed blue eyes glanced down at the money before returning looking back at a bristling Neji. "That deal is expired. We have a different deal now," he said plainly.
"I'm not letting you put your filthy hands on Hinata!"
A smirk tugged at Menma's lips. "Oh trust me, my filthy hands have already been all over her."
Both Hyuuga stared at him a moment, pale eyes wide in shocked mortification (albeit for different reasons). "You bastard!" Neji screamed as he lunged forward at the pirate captain.
Menma's arrogant expression barely shifted as he pulled his revolver from the holster at his thigh and pointed directly at his assailant. Neji froze where he stood, but he was still seething at the pirate's repulsive suggestion. "What did you do to her!?"
"You really want to hear the details of how she —"
"Menma!" a red-faced Hinata shouted. Both men turned to find a flustered pout on her lips. "Please lower your gun and shut your damn mouth!"
Neji's lips parted with a soft gasp, shocked that his timid cousin would dare talk to a dangerous pirate like that. But then even more shocking was that Menma actually holstered his gun before crossing his arms impatiently.
"What the?!" Neji mumbled under his breath. His gaze flickered between the two, his brain still trying to make sense of the scene.
With a deep breath, Hinata steeled her nerves and looked directly into Neji's pale eyes. "Like I said, I made a new deal with Captain Menma so you wouldn't have to pay him. I promise you don't have to worry, I'm not his captive anymore. He even said he'd bring me back to Konoha if I asked."
"And you believe him?!" Neji asked incredulously.
Hinata frowned at his tone. "I really do."
"But Hinata!"
With a shake of her head, she crossed her cousin, picking up the sack of gold coins resting near Menma's feet before placing it back into Neji's hands. "I love you, and I'll miss you, and I hope one day you can come to accept my decision."
Captain Menma sat at his desk with a pen in hand and a soft smile on his lips as he recorded a few of his favorite memories from his and Hinata's most recent adventure.
The worn black leather book was seeing a lot of love these days as it seemed every experience with Hinata was worthy of note, it didn't matter if it was sampling the local wares of a rustic port town or swimming naked in the ocean together, he cherished it.
In his youth, he regretted that he didn't have more memories of his parents beyond vague mental images of bright scarlet hair and soft lullabies. It was part of the reason why he became so diligent about recording his experiences. And later he was so grateful that he did, because in those first few months after Captain Jiraiya had died, the only comfort he found was in rereading past entries about that old, pervy pirate's antics.
Maybe that was why he couldn't stop writing about Hinata, to give his heart something to cling to if and when he ever lost her.
Menma was torn from his depressing thought spiral by the woman herself as she sauntered into their now shared quarters.
Over the last few weeks, the respect the crew held for Hinata shot up tenfold when she stepped into the kitchen and somehow made all their meals taste significantly better. Menma noticed the way she liked having something to do, something to contribute. Though she refused to call herself a pirate, despite willfully living among them.
The scent of a hearty stew seemed to cling to her clothes, but when dark blue eyes glanced over his shoulder, the sight of her made him hungry for something else entirely.
Her hands slid down from his shoulders to his exposed chest. His skin prickled with pleasant goosebumps as her warm breath fanned over his neck as she melted over him.
"What are you writing?" Hinata asked sweetly before peppering a few gentle kisses against his pulse.
A satisfied grin spread across his lips as he closed his journal. "I can't tell you or it might eliminate the cool mysterious air that attracts you to me."
She giggled before standing up straight allowing Menma to turn around in his chair and face her. "Oh c'mon just let me read a few pages!" Hinata pouted cutely.
His hands found her waist, hiking up her dress just enough before pulling her forward to straddle his lap. He hummed his approval as she swiveled her hips against him to make herself more comfortable.
"If you must know, I was writing about how you are an absolutely hopeless shot," Menma grinned. He had been teaching her how to shoot a gun with mild success. "You know, your next attempt to take my life would be more successful if you could just learn to aim right."
He just couldn't resist teasing her. Her playful giggles and flushed cheeks always seem to make his chest feel warm. There was just something so alluring about her gentle beauty and the honest wonder in her opal eyes every time he showed her something new. Menma couldn't tell which he liked more, when she gasped at the beautiful sights or when she gasped as his tongue pleasured her.
Hinata leaned in and pressed her lips against his and Menma was reminded how increasingly difficult it was becoming not to fall in love with her. Everyone he had ever held dear had died and taken a piece of his heart with them. But there was something about being with Hinata that made him feel whole again.
A/N: *cue cheesy line about her stealing his heart* hahaha
just a little wrap-up chapter! thank you so much for reading this story! I really hope you enjoyed it! and I hope you'll check out my next story too!