Chapter 23: Turning Tables
"But difficult situations and wrong choices conspire to trap us in hopelessness."
― Judah Smith, Jesus Is _.: Find a New Way to Be Human
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When Sasori opened the door, the Hinata spotted her nii-san, Itachi, at a long table, occupied with a phone in his hands. She held her breath a little, but quickly let the air back out. She was nervous about this little 'session 'that was about to go on; the last time she had had a real conversation with the man was the first time she had come to the building. Hinata honestly didn't want to be taught by him; it was hard being around someone who intimidates you more than your own father. Hinata shuddered.
"Bonjour mon ami.", Sasori greeted the man while he ushered Hinata a seat.
Itachi remained quiet, beginning to put up his phone.
"G-Good morning, Itachi-nii-san.", Hinata decided to greet him, not wanting to seem rude, especially now.
Still, he said nothing as he stared at her. She was getting intimidated at this point. Very intimidated.
"Well I'll leave you two to it.", the redhead said as he let go of Hinata's hand and was about to leave the room, but the bluette quickly grabbed his sleeve. He looked down at her in curiosity and saw that her eyes were screaming for him to stay.
"Where are you going?", Hinata asked, trying to keep her voice casual, but came off as a little possessive, catching the attention of the Uchiha in the room.
Sasori bent down a bit towards her ear. "He's not going to bite your head off, Hinata.", he whispered, but Hinata shook her head in protest.
"You d-don't know that.", she quickly whispered. "S-Stay."
Sasori sighed. "Gaara wants to see me."
She shook her head once again, making her indigo locks sway a little. "No. S-Stay."
Her persistence intrigued him, and for a moment he almost considered complying with her command, but once glance at Itachi told him otherwise. Sasori smirked a bit at her. "I'll be back.", he unhooked her fingers from his sleeve and soon left the room, leaving the two behind in awkward silence.
Hinata watched the door that her companion had left out of with wide eyes. She thought that he was joking, but he was serious. He'd left her with Itachi.
With a sigh, she looked down at the table, determined not to look into his eyes. She had never liked him that much and she knew that he could care less what happened. That was just how things were, but, in some strange way, she did see him as her big brother. He just simply didn't care what decisions she made - he would tell her what he thought and left it at that.
Like now.
"I'm disappointed."
Hinata snapped her head up at him. He had his fingers hooked together under his chin, looking at her with such intensity that she averted her eyes elsewhere. "I'm s-sorry, nii-san." She didn't know what he was talking about, but she just agreed anyway. It was like that sometimes.
"Your brash decisions have put yourself at a disadvantage with the Elders. It isn't unlikely that they will think that you aren't mature enough to work for Sabaku or Akatsuki." She hadn't thought about it like that. "This among other things, like you dating a member of the Akatsuki-"
"I-I'm not dating Sasori. It's a misunderstanding.", Hinata replied quickly, a small blush on her face from embarrassment. She was still married for Pete's sake.
"Misunderstandings turn into things more trivial.", he spat out, making the girl flinch. She didn't like the way he was talking to her, but kept quiet and only nodded.
"Yes, nii-san.", Hinata replied even though she felt rather uncomfortable with her answer. The bluette heard him sigh.
"You won't succeed." Hinata looked back up at him once again, not believing the words he was saying. "The first project that Sabaku has ever joined with us will become a complete failure, all because Gaara choose the wrong person to represent us. We should have persuaded Sakura a bit more to have her do this line.", he said it as if it was like explaining physics
Hinata had to close her eyes and think about what he had said for a moment. "Nii-san I-"
"She would have been better. The color and design of the line would have fitted perfectly with the image. Sakura has experience, having done a lot of shows in her lifetime."
The former-Hyuuga only snapped her eyes up at him once and looked back down at her hands. "I know, but nii-san I-"
"And she is beautiful." Hinata couldn't even fathom what to say to the man, who obviously wasn't listening to her. Sure, Sakura was drop dead gorgeous, but her personality, from what Hinata could see, would make her look like the mean girls in school. "She would have been better."
What was with these Uchiha men?
"Well she isn't here, so it looks like you're stuck with me.", Hinata snapped.
He didn't waver, just stared. She could feel the jittery feeling in her stomach disappearing, and being replaced with a fiery bottomless pit.
"You're too weak to have this position-"
"The Elders won't think so.", Hinata cut him off. Her nerves were getting the best of her; never in a million years would she be snapping at Itachi. "If you're not going to give me any advice on pleasing the elders, then I suggest that you either leave or leave your opinions to yourself and wait for the others to arrive s-so that they can help me.", she said it before she could stop it from coming out.
This had been happening a lot lately. Hinata had been losing herself and she wasn't happy with that. She felt that she wasn't handling certain situations well; everything was becoming overwhelming. She couldn't think straight right now because of her nerves and the sheer fact that she had snapped at Itachi. She let her lavender eyes glance up, and to her surprise, he was smirking at her.
"You've changed.", he mused.
she wanted to roll her eyes at this statement, but didn't want to disrespect him. That's the exact same thing Sasuke had said.
"I'm still the same old me.", Hinata sighed as she stood, intent on getting out of the room before she exploded altogether but heard his voice.
"Sit.", Itachi ordered, and with a low pout she slowly sat back in the chair. Itachi couldn't stop smirking as he started to talk. "You have changed. A lot."
"I haven't.", she protested.
"That's the first time I've seen you stand up for yourself." The bluette only stared at him blankly. "You're maturing."
She hated it, but Hinata found herself blushing.
"Thank y-you nii-san.", she muttered inaudibly. Even though he had complimented her, that didn't mean that she would warm up to him. He seemed suspicious and he did think that Sakura was better for the job.
"I want to apologize for what I said earlier. I was just trying to see what your reaction would be if you were put in a situation like that. Even though Sakura is a splendid model, she wouldn't have been the perfect candidate for the line that we are hoping to create."
Well that did clear up some things…
But she wasn't going to apologize for what she had said, even though she really, really wanted to.
"You don't have to apologize for what you said. I understand that it was just a reflex.", Itachi stated.
This was becoming surreal right now. She was afraid to even think right n-
"I can't read minds. I just have good guesses." Itachi closed eyes and laid both of his hands out on the table, palm up.
Hinata looked at him with wide, wary eyes. Was he some evil force of mankind?
He opened one of his eyes upon her silence. "Give me your hands."
She didn't know how that would help her win over the Elders, but Itachi wouldn't just do something stupid to pass time. Would he?
Hinata was knocked out of her train of thoughts when she heard him sigh, and hurriedly set her hands on his. She looked at him and saw him nod, his eyes still closed.
"Close your eyes."
Slowly with hesitation, the girl let her eyelids drop and was consumed into a world of darkness.
His hands felt surprisingly soft, which made her feel self-conscious a bit.
"Thirty minutes until the meeting starts." Her heart started to race when he said that, and she almost opened her eyes to see if he was joking, but heard his voice. "What emotion are you experiencing"
She had almost asked him how would HE feel, but refrained from doing so and tried to think of what to say. The first word that popped in her head was 'scared'.
"F-Fear."
"Why?", she heard him ask softly.
The room around her became silent, as dead as she had known it to be. She couldn't even hear herself breathing nor her heart beating. She felt like she was floating, becoming more out of touch with herself, like an out of body experience. It freaked her out.
"Why?" Itachi's voice was barely there.
She felt her body relaxing, her nerves that felt like sharp needles in her skin were vanishing, being replaced by a warmth that she hadn't felt before. What the heck is this?
"Fear is an emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat."
Hinata didn't listen to him. She was more focused on what was taking over her own body. She liked this feeling - she felt cozy and warm. It felt like a homey-presence one would have if they visited their childhood home. Like how one would feel if they laid in the meadow fields and reminisced on their life. She didn't want this cycle to break - it was beginning to reach the tips of her toes.…
"Are you scared?"
No. She wasn't, not now. She wanted to say it, but couldn't find her voice.
What was there to be afraid of?
Before Hinata could bask in the warmness, it was pulled from her as well as Itachi's hands. She snapped her lavender orbs open and looked at him - his eyes were what caught her; they were crimson, fierce and piercing.
"You're ready.", he stood and grabbed his bag.
Hinata stood up quickly, that warm feeling still in her body. "W-What do you mean by that? What did you just do?"
He didn't answer her, all he did was look back at her once before exiting the room. That look made her feel something, yet she couldn't put her finger on it.
When the door closed, Hinata sighed and quietly sat back down.
What were with these Uchiha men?
"Do you think that it is possible for a baby to live outside of the amniotic sac at, let us say, three months?", Lee asked as he sat at the kitchen bar, his medical book open in one hand and his pen in another.
Tenten paused her work on the omelets in the pan and casted Lee a slow, sideways glance. "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that…"
Lee pouted. "I'm serious Tenten! Do you think it can survive? I looked over the pregnancy cycle over a thousand times now and I do not see how a three month old fetus couldn't survive outside of the amniotic sac."
The brunette sighed as took the pan off the stove and set it on the counter. "You didn't comprehend what the book said" When he gave her a curious look, Tenten sighed and grabbed the book from him. She pointed at the fetus at 12 weeks. "You see there, even though the baby is developed, it still has to get its fingernails, toenails, and its teeth – then the body systems have to start working as well. It still needs the placenta for that."
Lee's eyes softened at the photo for a minute before he connected his dark eyes to hers. "I've been trying to tell myself that for the past few weeks, but something inside of me is telling me otherwise. I feel as if there is a way for the baby to survive, a way that many doctors and physicians are overlooking."
Tenten's heart raced a bit when she saw his eyes filled with determination. Her eyes almost lingered too long - she looked away, feeling her cheeks heat up. "H-Here. Eat up, .",
His eyes lit up when he saw the food and he smiled brightly up at the woman. "Thank you, Tenten!"
She set his plate in front of him and leaned against the counter behind her, watching him in a daze as he ate. It was the perfect time to tell him, but she felt herself falling back a little. She had been waiting for a moment like this, a moment where he would be busy doing something and she could just blurt it out and get it over with.
Better now than never. Tenten pushed her nerves aside as she looked at the male. "Lee, I-"
The door bell suddenly rang.
Lee jumped up from his seat. "I will get it!"
Tenten almost frowned, but found herself grinning at the sight of Tenji run through the door towards her, his long brown hair whipping behind him.
The spitting image of Neji.
She bent down and pulled him into a hug. "What's up, kiddo?" She felt his arms wrap around her neck as he buried his head into her chest.
Lee looked at the affectionate scene with wide, tearful eyes. "It is so beautiful to see such love that it makes me tear up!"
Tenten lifted Tenji up while giving Lee a weird look. "You shouldn't make that a habit, Lee."
Just when Lee was about to reply, a ringing sound came from his pocket. He quickly brought the device out and stared at his pager with calm eyes before sighing. "I have to go to the hospital."
"Running low on nurses again?", Tenten asked.
"As always.", he grabbed his bag off the run-down couch soon. "I will see you two youths
when I get back!"
When the door closed, Tenten felt that void build inside her once again, but pushed it back and looked down at the Tenji, who was still quiet as he layed on her chest.
She shook him a bit, but he still didn't bulge. "What's wrong, Tenji?" Had he found out about the divorce? If so, then she was definitely going to punch out a couple of eyes…
Tenji raised his head and let his lavender eyes meet hers. "Are you and daddy fighting?"
Tenten paused a bit at his words and quickly shook her head. "N-No, we aren't fighting, dear. What would make you think that?" If that Kin had done this…
"I heard the staff talking about it at Uncle Hiashi's house. They said that you were going to fight daddy and get a divhorse."
"Divorce…", she didn't want to tell him that that was exactly what she was going to do. "We're not fighting, sweetie."
"Then why are you staying with Lee?"
Shit… It was hard to answer his questions, very hard, but she kept her smile in place.
"Lee's lonely, so I'm just visiting him is all. Wouldn't you want someone to visit you if you were lonely?"
Tenji thought about it for a moment before accepting the answer. "So that day when you were playing cops and got into the cop car when I was sick, you and daddy weren't mad at each other?"
Tenten stared at him for a while before her thoughts came together. "Wait..what did you just say?"
Tenji sighed and wiggled his way out of his mother arms until he was on the floor. "Kin-chan said that you and daddy were playing cops, that was why they put you in the cop car." That was the most…Tenten couldn't even think of what to say.
"Um…", she was cut off by Tenji's voice again.
"Daddy has a bandage wrapped around his head from playing doctor! He said it was fun, but he had to stop because he was going cama….camtoast!"
"Comatose?", she had to see that. Stupid bastard got himself hurt; it was usually like that when she was gone for long periods of time anyway. She smirked at the thought.
The small body giggled. "You and daddy are cool! You guys are funny!" He sat down in the chair Lee was in and pulled off his backpack.
Yeah, it was funny. Very funny. Tenten laughed a bit and put her head in her hands. Yep, she was feeling out of place right now.
She didn't know what to do. Her mind was hazy, very hazy.
She wanted to divorce Neji, badly, but could she tell Tenji that?She needed to talk to someone, someone with a positive insight…
Tenji smiled fondly up at her as he showed her his new toy. She smiled, but still couldn't remove her mind from the situation.
Where was Hinata when you needed her?
Sasori's head popped from around the door. "Time to shine, Hyuuga."
Hinata nodded and shakily got up, careful not to fall on her face from her heels, and followed the man out the door. She wrung her hands together, trying to see if nervousness would feign up in her stomach again as she walked beside her sidekick.
"It's Hinata.", she muttered, her gaze forward.
"Just trying to see if you're there.", Sasori stated as he pulled out his phone. "Deidara says good luck and that he's sorry he can't be here." It was a good thing that Deidara wasn't here. He would have been a minor distraction, and his family was much more important than a meeting.
Hinata simply nodded.
Sasori smirked down at her."You're eerily quiet. How are you feeling? Are you feeling nervous? A lot of people are attending this meeting after all…"
What?
Hinata snapped her eyes up at him. "I thought it was just going to be the Elders-
"- as well as the special guests, the interns, Gaara and his siblings, and the Akatsuki with the exception of Deidara and the inclusion of Kisame, whose fishy-ass just came back from Iceland, which makes a grand total of seventy people."
She glared a little at his smug grin. "A-Are you trying to make me nervous."
Sasori wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they turned down a hall. "I am, but it's not like it will work anyway. Itachi said that his technique would work, and apparently it has."
"What special technique?"
The redhead shrugged. "Something about giving you some of his 'positive' energy, but don't blame me when you wake up in the middle of night on your ceiling. I said it was a bad idea. There isn't anything remotely close to positive about that Uchiha."
Hinata smiled a bit at him and pushed his arm off her shoulder. "Y-You're nothing positive either, Sasori." He snorted, but let her have that.
When they rounded the last corner, they saw a few employees going into a room with large boards. Hinata squinted a bit when she saw the Akatsuki members standing at the entrance, waiting for the pair to come. They all looked so serious; she hadn't noticed before, but they all wore black suits with the little red cloud on the pocket. Even her agent, Konan, who was busy arguing with Kankuro.
"How are you feeling now?", she heard the redhead ask as they neared the group.
"A bit anxious, b-but not scared.", Hinata shrugged.
Konan pushed Kankuro's body away from beside her on the bench and ushered Hinata to come and sit. With small steps, Hinata sat beside her agent and offered the blank woman a smile.
"Did it work?", Hidan asked as he bent down and looked into the girl's eyes, making Hinata blush and lean back a bit. "Do you feel scared now, bitch?"
"The only thing that's scaring her is your breath.", Konan stated.
The bluette looked around a bit and saw Itachi watching her from the corner in the hall; she soon looked back at Hidan, who looked to be inching closer to her. Yes, she was nervous now. He was too close for her tastes, but she didn't want to say it when he was in her face…
Konan did for her by pushing him back and sighing. "This is it, Hinata. The day that all of the employees have been anticipating.", her voice was dull, which made the girl think of a robot's. "You going to pull through for us?"
Hinata wanted to say 'yes', but you never know what will happen, so she just nodded.
"I'm just going to go in and get a seat.", Kakuzu stated as he was about to go inside, knowing what was to go down next, but was pulled back by Hidan.
"Nuh-uh, bitch! You're not going to skip out on prayer now!", the albino spat.
Hinata snapped her head up when he said that.
Just then, a man with bright orange hair stepped out of the elevator, dark sunglasses on with the exact Akatsuki attire on, minus the jacket that was hanging off of his arm while his other held a coffee cup. The vast amount of piercings that he had on his face intrigued her.
"Good morning, Pein-sama.", everyone said in unison, with the exception of Konan and Itachi, who looked the other way.
"You're running awfully late.", Konan rolled her eyes.
Pein coughed, ignoring her. "Let's get this over with.", he threw his jacket at the gothic woman's face and stood in the middle of the room, hands outward. "Make a circle. Now."
The men groaned, but complied anyway. Konan threw the jacket off of her face and glared at the man before grabbing Hinata's hand and pulling her up. "I suggested that we do Prayer Circle to ease your nervousness a bit. And because it worked last time and won us a private yacht."
"Best fucking summer ever!", Hidan commented.
Hinata nodded and stepped beside Kakuzu and grabbed his hand as Konan grabbed her other hand.
"Aww Hell no, can we switch?", Sasori groned after a while when he realized that he was stuck in between Pein and Kisame, who was glaring holes into the redhead. "I can take leader-sama, but fish-face? You all know I can't stand him. I can't pray with him holding my hand."
Kisama frowned. "Sorry I can't be your lover Deidara."
"I'm sorry that you will never have the opportunity of being anything I love - !"
"You fuc-"
"Shut. the. fuck. up.". Silence swept the hall when Pein said that. "Now everyone bow your heads and, if you're brave, close your eyes."
It was a long silence that ensued, and Hinata had to peek open an eye to see what was going on. The men were looking around at each other with pointing eyes.
Hinata sweat-dropped.
"Who's going to start it off?", Kankuro asked quietly as he held both Itachi and Kisame's hand.
"It should be me.", Hidan replied, a smirk on his face. "I am a very religious fucking man. I've talked to Jashin quite a number of-"
"NO!", everyone said in unison.
"We want to talk to God, not Jashin.", Konan muttered, eyes still closed and waiting.
The albino looked around the circle for a minute. "Oh, you mean God. Well…huh….I wasn't prepared for that…"
Pein was becoming annoyed.
"Well isn't this a time killer. Five more minutes 'til we have our balls busted.", Sasori looked forward at Hinata, who jumped a bit.
"My positive energy is being disrupted.", the Uchiha stated as he looked at Pein. "Positive atmosphere is needed right now."
The leader snapped his head to Sasori. "Start us off."
"W-What?! I started us off last t-"
"That was Gaara.", Kisame cut him off, a smug smile on his lips.
Sasori glared at him a little, but closed his eyes and sighed a bit. "Okay…but where do I start…Oh! Okay, I know now!... God, we want to thank You for all that You've done for us…and …hm, and others around us. We are here to ask for Your support and blessings for this meeting - but it's okay if You say no! We'll understand that. I know what You're probably mad at me up there about having that threesome with those women last week in the condo in Deidara's room, which I'm starting to regret, and now wanting to ask for Your blessing, but let me just say that I haven't had sex since I came back from Franc-"
"OKAY, that I didn't need to hear!", Kankuro muttered.
Quickly, the circle was disrupted, but Hinata still had her eyes closed waiting for the drama to cool down.
Sasori opened his eyes and glared at the comments of the spectators. "I'm sorry that I get laid more than you all. At least I'm being honest. Gosh..anyway, even though I've – no – we as a whole have done bad things, I believe that we can change and better ourselves. So today, God, we ask for Your guidance and blessing today so that we shall change ourselves for the better. Amen. There we go."
Hinata smiled a bit at Sasori when the circle started to disappear and the men started to go into the meeting room.
So people can change and better themselves…
Pein looked at her before he went into the room, sunglasses still in place. She watched the other Akatsuki go into the room, leaving her, Sasori, and Konan in the hall.
"This is all that we can give you, Hinata. Good luck.", with that, Konan slipped into the room.
Hinata exhaled a bit, letting her nerves blow away a bit. She was nervous, yes, but she had to push all of her whizzed emotions aside and do this. This wasn't just her career she was affecting; the Akatsuki and the whole Sabaku Corporation's salary on the line; this opportunity could give many people jobs right now. If she failed, then Gaara would probably drop her and the Akatsuki would fail. That's just how it was.
The former-Hyuuga closed her eyes for a minute and prayed again to herself before looking at Sasori, who was smirking at her predicament. She frowned a little.
"Why a-are you smiling?", she asked while trying to straighten down her black skirt.
"Because you're funny when you're nervous.", he stated as he leaned against a wall, his eyes still on her.
She wasn't listening to him right now, she was busy trying to look at her reflection by squinting at the glass picture on the wall above her head. "Any advice?"
"Don't try and shake their hands. The other girl tried that and was left with shame and embarrassment. Poor situation really."
Hinata brushed her bangs out a bit and looked at her face a bit more. "I-I should have worn makeup…"
"It's a good thing that you didn't. They would think that you're a whore then, just like the last last girl. Shame…" Sasori shook his head a bit at the memory. "She works at Ichiraku now."
Ichiraku… She could have hit her head against the picture she was trying to see herself in. She had forgotten all about her part-time job. She pushed that on her mental to-do-list and instead gripped her slightly shaking hands. Forget what Itachi had done; it wasn't working very well.
She was getting beyond nervous when she saw that Temari had stuck her head out the door of the room. "They're ready.", she glanced at Hinata and gave her a small smile before closing the door back.
It felt like her wedding day all over again…That was how nerve-wrecking it was. She felt that she was going to screw up. She felt heavy, like the weight of everyone was on her shoulders.
"Think of it this way - get this over with and then you can relax and stuff your face while watching those indie horror movies."
"I-I don't like scary movies much."
The redhead looked down the hall for a moment before looking back at the bluette, who was obviously about to have a panic attack. He sighed once again, but spoke soon.
"Den Teufel nicht an die Wand malen.", he stated, his eyes boring at her figure. Hinata stopped her mind rant and looked up at him.
"W-What did you say?"
"Den Teufel nicht an die Wand malen."
She looked at his emotionless face, trying to see what he was thinking. "W-What?"
He smirked at her confused look. "An old German proverb that my Granny Chiyo used to tell me when I was little. It means 'Don't assume something will go wrong when it isn't guaranteed'."
Hinata couldn't take her eyes away from him for some reason. He looked calm, like he had done it a thousand times before.
"You need to start believing in yourself, Hinata. Just because this situation seems tough doesn't mean that you won't succeed. If you don't believe in yourself, then I'm pretty sure that the Elders won't either."
She looked at her hands for a moment, almost forgetting that her ring was gone, and looked back up at the redhead. "What if I d-do fail?"
"Life will go on."
He was right. Life would go on. It would probably have her laying on Ino's floor, depressed and dreading the divorce case. Just not doing anything but being depressed was not what Hinata wanted. She wanted to be with Sabaku and the Akatsuki; it looked fun and it helped her see the better sides of the world a bit.
She wanted to prove that she wasn't just the meek, little girl that no one wanted. She wanted to prove that not only to others, but mostly to herself.
And to Sasuke.
Her blood started to boil a bit at his name, so she pushed him to the back of her mind.
Kankuro's head popped out of the door soon. "Gaara's calling for you Sasori. I'll show Hyuuga to her chair." Sasori nodded and went towards the large double doors, but not before giving her another one of his cocky smirks and entering the door.
"This way, Hyuuga-san.", Kankuro called as he held opened the door for her. With a final breath, the bluette nodded and walked forth, past the double doors and into the room…
She almost gasped when she walked into the room.
It wasn't like a meeting room at all - there was no long table with chairs, nothing like what she had imagined.
It was like one of those talent shows, from what she could remember, that had the judges panel while the audience sat close behind.
Kankuro slid his hand on her low back and ushered to the table that was about three feet away from the panel. He pulled out her chair for her and she slowly sat down, right in front of a microphone propped in front of her. She gave a confused look to Kankuro when she saw the microphone on the table.
He saw her confusion, but didn't know what for, so he pushed up her chair and patted her back in a comforting way.
"Good luck.", With that, she watched him walk around the table and to the place in front of her…
Her eyes widened when she looked up to see two-hundred pairs of eyes staring at her intensely. Well, Sasori's a liar...70 people? Right. She could see the interns behind the panel, but she wouldn't dare look at the elders.
In the corner of her eye, she spotted Konan coming from one of the doors and walking towards the table. A sudden relief hit the girl when the agent came and took the second seat beside her.
"Let's get this over with…", Konan muttered, and Hinata couldn't help but agree with her.
Kankuro stepped towards the interns, who were squirming with excitement and spoke into the microphone.
"You all are about to witness the evaluation of Hinata Hyuuga - Uchiha, former Hyuuga Heiress and wife of Sasuke Uchiha." She was beginning to hate her name. "This is an evaluation that will help both Gaara and Pein-san determine whether or not this candidate is appropriate for the company's upcoming line and whether or not Hyuuga-san can establish a career within Sabaku and Akatsuki." He glanced towards the other side of the room, where Akatsuki was sitting on one side together, while Gaara, Temari, and Sasori sat on the other.
"On the judging panel we have two of Sabaku's Elders who have been involved with Sabaku for over forty years, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane.", a series of applause came from the crowd of interns as the elders walked towards the judging panel from a side door.
The first that came out was an elder man followed by an old woman. Hinata noticed that they were dressed formally for the meeting, which made her a little nervous.
Kankuro waited until they were seated to go on. "Next we have our special judges, who are currently our investors, and who will be helping the Elders with the evaluation. Our first investor is one of Style Guru and Catwalk King Sesshomaru Takahashi's students that he highly recommended to attend this meeting, Kimmimaro Sontago."
Hinata watched a tall young man emerge from the door towards the panel.
"Next we have our next investor, who is a Fashion Editor and one of Europe's major business owners Elipope Roman." The bluette jumped when she heard that name, and instantly felt like jumping for joy when she say the portly man come from the side door, a happy grin on his face. So he wasn't hurt from the bomb after all…
"And last, but not least, we have our special guest, who is a spokesmodel from Ibisu Corporation that has been voted Miss Japan six times in a row in the past ten years…
Her happiness was short-lived. She felt her blood freeze when she saw the woman walk out into the room, making the room go wild.
No…
But it was true. When she saw that long, red hair cascading down the woman's to her hips, she had already known.
It can't be…
But it was. That small waist as well as those long, creamy legs that showed from the short black pencil skirt the woman was wearing. Hinata still couldn't believe it, not until she saw that face. She watched the woman sit down gracefully next to Elipope and pull some of her long, beautiful hair behind her back, forgetting the few strands that lay on her shoulder.
Then those cold, piercing azure eyes met hers, and a smirk made its way on the woman's scarlet lips.
"Hitomi Ibisu.", Kankuro finished, which made the crowd of interns clap and almost yell in excitement at the beauty.
Konan looked at the woman before turning to Hinata, whose eyes were wide in disbelief. "Is that…"
Hinata didn't even have to answer for the woman to know the answer.
Yes, that was Hitomi… The same woman that Sasuke had also had an affair with.
"Let's begin, shall we?", Hitomi smirked as she stared vivaciously at the two women.
Hinata soon concluded that no matter where she went, there would always be a piece of Sasuke somewhere…
Konan grabbed the woman's hands from under the table and intertwined them with her own.
"We shall.", said the elder woman as she pulled opened up a folder along with the other four. "I pray to God that this won't be a waste of time."
"I agree.", muttered the man as he started to stare at something on the file. Hinata gulped a bit when the woman's eyes met hers before they went back to the paper.
"Judging from your attire, you're not that special. Just another normal girl if you ask me.", the elder Koharu commented.
"She's a very beautiful girl.", Elipope added as he looked at some of her pictures.
"I wouldn't say beautiful, but each to his own.", Hitomi muttered as she flipped over a paper.
Hinata cringed at that, but didn't show it.
"Hinata Hyuuga, former Heiress of the Hyuuga Clan. Tell me, what type of clan is it exactly?", the elder man asked her.
Hinata glanced at Konan for a minute before speaking into the microphone. "I-It's a Feudal type of Clan." It was feudal. Hyuuga members still practiced a special fighting technique today, that originated over a hundred years ago. They still had a lower and higher branch as well; the lower branch stayed in a small village located in the mountains while the higher branch lived in different areas of Japan.
The elder woman, Koharu, started to speak soon. "Your father was the clan leader Hiashi Hyuuga while your mother was a housewife, am I correct?", her heart jumped a bit when she mentioned her mother, and began to nod, but a hand squeeze from Konan told her otherwise.
The bluette leaned into the microphone. "Yes, ma'am."
"I don't like her voice.", the elder male, Homaru, muttered to Koharu, but his microphone lent the whole room a piece of what he was saying.
"Most are supposed to have that loud, confident tone as well as a deep baritone in the back to help project what they want to say to their consumers.", Hitomi conversed to the panel, earning a few head nods.
"Even though that may be true, this isn't a singing competition. With a few lessons, I'm sure she'd get past her shyness.", Elipope defended, also earning a few nods with the exception of Hitomi, who only flipped her hair back a little.
What did her voice have to do with anything?
Kimimaro looked up at her soon, his eyes piercing her skin. "Your skin glows…" Hinata smiled uneasily when he said that, not knowing if she should thank him or not. "I like it."
"You remind me of a doll. A very fragile, mystic kind of doll.", Koharu complimented.
"Could you stand up for us, please?", Elipope asked. "Come in front of the table, dear."
With a light head, the girl slowly walked to the front of the table she was seated at and looked up towards Elipope. The panel started to stare at her, their eyes looking at certain parts of her body. She felt like she was under a microscope. She could only watch as they 'judged' her. There was no one there to calm her down from this situation. She was getting really, really nervous, and could feel herself starting to sweat a bit from under her jacket.
She looked to the corner and saw Gaara with his relatives, staring at her intensely, to which she quickly averted her eyes forward towards the panel - and they were all still looking at her. Soon, they all pushed back their microphones and started to whisper among themselves.
The elder woman sighed loudly and pulled her microphone back to herself and gave the her a light smile. "I'm sorry, but could you remove your jacket for just a moment."
Hinata gave a surprised look at the woman's sudden change of personality, but complied even though her heart was beating fast. Usually she would have fainted by now, but apparently Itachi's 'positive' energy was working.
She pulled her jacket off and handed it to Konan, who was giving the panel a glare. When the bluette turned back around, she was met with the wide eyes of interns and the stern face of the panel.
"How old are you again, Mrs. Uchiha?", Homaru asked as he wrote something down in his book.
"I'm n-nineteen." A murmur started through the crowd soon, but Hinata was too nervous to look away from the panel. Sasori did told her to look them in the eye...
"Could've fooled me.", Koharu muttered. "Spin around for us."
With a nod, Hinata quickly turned 360 degrees for the panel.
The woman nodded and wrote something down in her book. "You may sit back down."
Hitomi raised an eyebrow at the bluette. "I recommend that you lose a little bit of weight, Hyuuga, or all you're going to be doing in your career is plus-size modeling.", her words were sharp and cold, but Hinata already knew why.
Hitomi still wasn't over Sasuke, like many other women.
Still, Hinata couldn't help but stare down at her stomach once she sat back down.
Koharu looked down the panel at the redhead, a blank look in her eyes. "I'm afraid that no matter how much dieting she does that her breasts and her hips won't change. She's small enough to be a model, but I guess you're thinking that because she has curves that she doesn't belong in your category."
Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Please, she isn't even close to my category, Ms. Koharu. I just think that she's not thin enough to represent what Gaara-san and Pein-san are planning on making."
Elipope looked at the woman at his side. "They're not trying to make a runway type of wear. From what I heard, they're trying to create a line that not only design but modesty and mundane. That is why Gaara-san didn't choose a model off the runway. He chose a woman that many different women can relate to body wise."
"What are you saying?", Hitomi asked him with narrow eyes.
Hinata could see that this was not going to go well.
"I'm saying that most models don't appeal to people much because of their weight as well as the design. Having her gives people a different view of the modeling world. She's curvy; most models aren't curvy, which will be unique if Hyuuga represents this line."
"Still I-"
Kimimaro cut off the redhead, making sure to cut the drama before it exploded. "You attended Sarutobi Private. Could you explain your education there?"
Hinata nodded. "I-It is a private school that acts as a high school as well as a college. T-The first year I was taught lessons from grades nine and ten and the second year grades eleven and twelve.", she looked out towards the interns a little before continuing. "The next two years I gained my college credits."
"So it was like you were going to a school and a college at once?", the elder woman asked. Hinata nodded a bit and pushed her microphone away, mentally patting herself on the back for hardly stuttering her sentence out.
Both Kimimaro and the woman nodded a bit, impressed with the information.
"Tell me why such a smart girl was seen fighting in a store?", the woman asked with a disappointed voice.
Damn.
Hinata's mind went blank when the woman asked her that question. What could one say about that? It was just so sudden, really. The room went quiet for a minute, and Hinata looked over at Konan, who just glanced at her and looked the other way. Despite her agent sitting next to her, the girl felt alone…
Just before she was about to answer the question, she heard a voice from the other side of the room.
"Skip that question and proceed with the evaluation.", she moved her lavender orbs towards Gaara's section and saw him stare down on the panel before looking back at her.
The elder woman sighed a bit before turning a page in her book. "You do understand that Sabaku is a non-violent organization, don't you? We don't hire employees that have engaged in any type of delinquent behavior that just happens to leak out in the public. We try to avoid those kinds of things. Scandals."
"Despite that incident, I don't see anything through her files about any kind of bad behavior. The situation that she was in does seem understandable. Catfights usually follow such predicaments that involve the mistresses of their husbands.", Elipope spoke as he leaned his elbows on the panel.
The whole panel seemed to agree with the situation, but Hitomi glared a bit when he said that, her red lips turning up into a slight snarl. "Just give us the designs so that I don't have to waste anymore time here."
Two men rushed up the panel and set down folders in front of the five people and soon made their way to Hinata and Konan's table. Hinata smiled at the two men and looked over at Konan.
"How am I doing?", she whispered.
"They freaking love you.", Konan whispered back, making Hinata's heart get a little light. This was easier than she had thought it to be…
Hinata heard a sound similar to a gasp and looked up to see that the whole panel was dead silent. Their eyes were glued to the work in front of them, some with looks of disbelief while some kept an impassive expression.
Hinata looked down at the folder in front of her for a moment and slowly opened it, curious as to what the she would see.
She couldn't help the gasp she let out as she stared down at the content…
"Oh my God…", Konan muttered softly.
She didn't know how, or why, but the person sketched her perfectly as if they had known her all of her life.
The drawing was of her, gazing softly at the world of Paris with her soft eyes, that were tinted a light lavender. This artist had even gotten her eyes right. She couldn't even turn the page as she stared at the drawing of herself.
This had to be someone else; she could never be that beautiful. Those wavy indigo locks could not be hers; she couldn't look like this. It was surreal. At the bottom of the drawing it said in cursive letters.
Mujakina Jōnetsu…
"Its…it is...", the elder male tried to say.
"Stunning.", Kimimaro finished for him and stared at Hinata.
"The designs are gorgeous. May I ask who sketched such brilliance?", the elder woman asked as she looked to Gaara.
"Akatsuki's very own Deidara Suoh, future Head Designer of Sabaku.", Gaara stated.
Of course it was Deidara - she's been on the balcony with him in Paris.
Hitomi stared at the designs with wide azure eyes, but snapped out of it and looked towards the others on the panel. "T-Though they are beautiful, I still don't think she should represent such excellence such as this!"
"I don't see why.", Elipope stated as he looked at the bluette. "You're a very, very beautiful woman and I would be delighted to invest even more with Sabaku if such a beauty as yourself represented it."
Both of the elders looked towards the man with speediness before looking back at Hinata. "Despite some of the flaws that you possess, I think I speak for both Koharu and myself when I say that you are one of a kind. After some practice and a few camera runs, I'd say that we may have a diamond in the rough on our hands.", the old woman stated.
Hitomi's frown surfaced. "What makes you all think that she will adapt to the world of modeling?"
Konan sighed a little and brought the microphone to herself. "Rest assured, Hitomi-san, my client can adapt to any type of situation and environment that is required of her."
"Really?", the redhead challenged.
Konan smirked a little at the woman's glare. "Really."
Hitomi was a little taken back by that, but ran a hand through her hair and looked at the others. "I approve.", she stated icily.
Hinata furrowed her brow. Something wasn't right about this…
"I also approve.", Kimimaro stated soon after.
The old man shrugged a bit. "I guess that we all approve then. Congratulations, Mrs. Uchiha. Welcome to Sabaku Corporation of Design."
Hinata couldn't comprehend what had just happened. Her face felt like it was on fire as she heard a loud round of applause go throughout the room.
Konan had to grab her arm to get her attention. She smirked. "Congratulations." She pulled the bluette up out of the seat and ushered her towards the panel.
The first one to get up and congratulate her was Elipope, who kissed her cheek. Hinata soon shook hands with the young Kimimaro, who offered her a light smirk…
Then she came face to face with the red-haired model. Hitomi smirked and offered her a handshake. "Congratulations. I'm quite surprised that you aren't representing Uchiha since Sasuke-kun is your husband and all.", she was trying to make her mad it seemed; too bad Itachi's energy was still in her.
Hinata ignored the woman anyway and gave her a smile. "Thank you."
Hitomi looked the girl up and down for a moment. "Since you are able to adapt so well to situations, I'm pretty sure that you will do an excellent job at modeling for Ibisu during the Fashion show being held by the Uchihas tomorrow."
Konan overheard the conversation and quickly intervened. "Hinata only models for Sabaku." Already talking about modeling? It was so early on…
Hitomi raised a red brow at the woman. "Did you not say that your client could adapt to any type of situation?"
Konan glared at the woman's cockiness. "I did."
"So she will be able to model for me, won't she?"
The agent looked at Hinata for a moment before looking back at the smirking redhead. "She would be delighted to do so."
The model lifted up her head a bit. "Good. See you tomorrow, Hyuuga.", with that, the pair watched the redhead strut out of the room with two bulky bodyguards following her, her long hair swaying after her.
Konan glared after the woman. "One of Uchiha's spawns here to ruin the day."
Hinata silently agreed, a faraway look in her eyes as she looked at the exit where the woman had left out of . "I-I didn't know she modeled. I thought she still worked at Uchiha Corporation."
"She definitely fucked to become one. I hate her.", Konan muttered.
Hinata sighed a bit and watched as some of the interns started to exit the room. "W-What do we do now? I don't know how to model."
They both looked at each other for a while before shrugging a bit.
"Just go with the - what the hell, Pein!", Konan cursed when she was push to the side by the leader.
Pein shook her hand. "Congratulations, Hyuuga. You did a nice job."
Hinata smiled up a bit at the man, a light blush on her face. "T-Thank you."
Konan scoffed and pulled Hinata away from the man. "Where are the others?"
Pein took off his sunglasses and looked at them before pushing them on his head. "They went to see which floor they wanted to wanted to work on."
Konan sighed a bit. "Hinata you better hurry on down there before they leave you with the crappy office room." Hinata gave the woman a look of confusion, but it was short-lived when she felt a hand grip her wrist and pull her.
"Come on, Hinata. I'll take you on a little tour once we find your new office.", Temari smiled down at the girl and led her away from the pair who were about to argue again.
The former-Hyuuga suddenly stopped and looked back towards the table that she was at. "H-Hold on, Temari." Hinata quickly rushed to the table and picked up the drawing. She smiled a bit when she looked down at it and quickly stuffed it in the folder before following Temari out the room, the folder in her hand.
She would have to find a way to thank Deidara for drawing her so beautifully.
Hinata's mother will be explained in later chapters. I just need to figure out what her name is though.
No one is a traitor by any means necessary if they choose to want another pairing for a story. Everyone has their own opinions, that's what makes us unique.
FAQ
Will Sai Ever Make an Appearance?
Yes, he will.
I have a question about Sasuke and Hinata's living arrangements in the past like Where did they live? And also after the seperation, did Sakura move into the same house? Also after Sakura has left does this mean Sasuke is going to live alone( not taking into an account his employees) And what happened to hinata's stuff were they thrown away?
In the past, they lived in a mansion. Yes, Sakura did move in, but not MOVE in, just stayed there with Sasuke. Right now, Sasuke is staying in the mansion with his entourage at the moment. Hinata's stuff...well...you'll get to see soon won't you?
Sasuke painted his bedroom all black ?! Was that the room he used to share with Hinata?
No, that was his own personal room. Him and Hinata shared a different room in the house.
Also the portrait of Sasuke Hinata, didnt hinata throw it to the floor smashing it ? or is it another one ?
The picture that Hinata threw to the floor was a picture of her and Sasuke on their wedding day; she was in Mikoto and Fugaku's mansion when she smashed it to the floor. The portrait that Mikoto took was just a painted picture of both Hinata and Sasuke on a different day.
When will Fugaku&Hiashi make their appearance?
Hopefully soon.
hidan has a kid...?
;)
Are we going to see any interaction between Neji and Hinata?
Definitely.
Hinata is 19? Married at 17?
Yes! :) I didn't know this at first, but you can get married at 16 or 17 with the consent of a parent. I made Sarutobi Private kind of like my class. The first two years of high school you get your high school credits while the last two years you get college credit! And yes, Hinata is 19 while the others are 20-25 years old. Letting little kids play in the business world...what kind of person am I?
I want to once again thank you for all of your reviews and support in this story. God Bless.