Author's Note:
It has been a while since I updated! I'm so sorry you guys! I've been so busy getting ready for school and oh my God it's 4:18 a.m.?! Where did the time go? I can't believe I sat here all day! Another day is here!...Wow...
You all deserve this chapter; longest chaper I've ever written : 11,493 words...I think...
Enjoy.
Chapter 24: Trust
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."
― Ernest Hemingway
"Since you're going to be doing one of the important jobs in the building, I guess I'll give you a little bit of a rundown on Sabaku Corporation and its basis.", Temari stated as she and Hinata started down a hall, passing a couple of workers on the way.
The bluette nodded and quickly dodged a worker carrying a stack of papers. She winced a bit when she saw the worker hurrying towards Gaara's office. That was a lot of work…
The blonde looked over at the girl for a minute before turning a corner. "Make sure you listen, newbie. This is part of the company policy - so listen carefully or take mental notes." Mental Notes? Hinata nodded once again and sped to the woman's side.
"Sabaku International Corporation is a corporation that not only sponsors design, but also other aspects such as food, electronics, and business, but you should already know about the business part." Tell me about it… Hyuuga and Uchiha preached it every day, who could forget…
Temari looked around the crowded floor a bit before sighing and grabbing the girl's arm. "We are going to take the stairs – hope you don't mind." The woman opened the door and made her way down the steps. "SIC has, in total, four buildings worldwide that produce different aspects; one for food production, one for electronic production, and one for business and design, which is the building we are in right now." That's more than she had expected…
"S-So are they all located here in Japan?", Hinata asked while stepping down the steps, careful not to trip and fall on her face. She didn't want to think of 'France' all over again.
Temari shook her head, her ponytails shaking a bit. "Nah, they are in different locations. One's in Italy, the other in America, and one in…either China or Denmark?", she shrugged. "Anyway, each of the buildings has at least one head worker appointing them; once the end of the month comes, all of the paperwork that needs to be signed comes to this building along with any difficulties or complaints from workers or just products itself."
Hinata gave a perplexed look at that. "So does that include the design work?"
The former-Hyuuga watched as the woman smirked before stopping at an exit. "That's where the Akatsuki's work start. Since they are a design team, they will be the ones handling that part of the business. And that, also, is where you step in." Soon, the door opened, revealing the floor that the Akatsuki were on…
…it was…in shambles? The whole floor was crowded with dancing workers as well as surprisingly drunk workers. Hinata noted the liquor been carried throughout the crowd toward the figure standing on one of the desks.
Hinata closed her eyes shut and covered her ears when she heard the loud, boisterous music radiating throughout the floor. She could hear Temari's voice a little over the loudness. "What the – KANKURO!" The bluette opened one eye and saw the woman pushing through the crowd towards the desk and decided to follow suit. Hinata felt like her ears were going to pop any minute now, and she quickly covered her ears once again. She squeaked a little when she felt something brush against her ankles, and looked down to see one of the workers lying on the floor, a drunk smile on his lips as he stared up her skirt…
What kind of establishment was this?
With quick feet, she kicked the man's shoulder aside and made her way behind the woman.
"Get back to work before I put a flame to your asses!", Temari shrieked, startling a young woman near the makeshift bar. "This is a place of business! This is a corporation, not a freaking party bus! ", most of the workers in the rooms stopped, uneasy as to what to do.
Hinata sighed a bit and looked around at the festive place and perked up a bit when she saw one of the Akatsuki members in one room, in actuality, Kisame, looking around in a desk in one of the empty office rooms. With a quick glance in the woman's direction, the girl eased on through the crowd of wandering hands and loud voices towards the bluish male, intent on getting out of the crowd and away from the angry blonde. She felt that things were about to get a bit physical later on…
The bluette peeked inside the room before stepping in slowly; he looked to be interested in what he had found…which looked to be a pen of some sort…How lovely…
Hinata smiled nonetheless and decided to speak to the man. "H-Hi, Kisame-san."
She tensed up a bit when she saw him avert his eyes from the pen to her, but still kept her slight smile. Even though he looked intimidating, she could tell that he was somewhat friendly when Sasori wasn't around to torment him. Wonder where he is anyway…
Kisame gave her a look before plopping down in the new, big office chair behind the desk and staring at her with a wary look, which startled her a bit. "Mrs. Uchiha – "
"Ms. Hyuuga, b-but you can call me Hinata. Please.", she cut him off quickly, not wanting him to complete a sentence with THAT name. It was haunting her. Literally. She wrung her hands together a bit, noticing how the atmosphere turned awkward the second she stopped talking. The music from outside entered the office, and now the catchy song "Come and Get It", by an American artist was playing.
This was getting more awkward by the moment, so Hinata decided to sit down in the chair in front of the desk. The song was getting to her a bit; she had almost danced a bit.
With another smile, she folded her arms and decided to start a conversation again. "S-So, how was your trip to Iceland?" She had heard him talking about going there at the first meeting, surely he would have something to say about that.
The bluish man loosened up a bit it seemed, which made Hinata's nerves settle. "It was good. I gained a lot of inspiration. It's beautiful out there, even though it gets a bit cold from time to time."
The girl nodded and brushed some hair behind her ear. "Did you get what you came there f-for?"
Kisame thought for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. I guess I did."
"Well it looks like this conversation is over." Hinata sighed a bit before looking at the door towards the redhead, who was currently leaning against the doorframe with a box in his hands. "Come along, Hyuuga. I think you've had enough omega 3 for the day."
Just as Kisame was about to retort, Itachi made his way into the room, a box also in his hands. "Sit down, Kisame." Hinata watched a bit as she watched him and Sasori set the boxs on a desk on the other side of the room where surprisingly another desk was set up.
Then everything clicked. A pair to a room.
The bluette snapped her head to the redhead, but he shook his head with a smirk. "Already taken. Deidara already called and made plans to paint our office. Sorry, little vixen."
"Oh…" She thought for a moment before a thought popped in her head. "I can ask K-Kon-
"Pein-sama will kill you.", Kisame cut her off while he place a miniature Akatsuki candle on his desk before he propped his feet up. "I'm done with my decorating."
Hinata pouted. Well she wasn't going to come between Hidan and Kakuzu…
"W-Who will I share with?" Apparently the question was taboo, because all that the men did was stare at her; even Itachi, who was currently lighting some type of paper in the room.
"Does it matter? The new guy won't be in for a couple of months, so you'll have a whole office to yourself till then.", Kisame reassured her as he shifted his beady eyes to his phone.
Hinata nodded a bit, but still gave a wary look. "R-Right…"
"Hey, have any of – WHAT THE FUCK?!", all eyes turned towards the door where Hidan was currently rubbing his eyes and backing away from the door frame. "What the fuck is wrong with this shitty place? My fucking eyes are burning!"
Itachi, impassive as ever, looked towards the flaming paper in his hands and back towards the man.
Sasori smirked. "That's Sage, bitch. Itachi's going to purify your ass." Laughs filled the room, and Hinata couldn't help but let a giggle surface as Hidan tried to cover his eyes from the smoke.
"Someone open a fucking window! Seriously, I just wanted my fucking keys!", the tearing albino yelled, whipping the stray tears away. Kisame sighed and pulled the keys out of his pocket before throwing them at the man, who easily caught it and was about to go out the door, but stopped and looked over at the grinning redhead.
"Gaara wants to see your shrewd ass." Hinata jumped when his magenta eyes moved to her. "You too, bitch."
The bluette didn't even have a chance to react before she was by the wrist and dragged out of the door by Sasori, who idly waved to the men in the room.
"My child calls. See you all tonight.", the redhead said over his shoulder as he dragged Hinata down the hall. The music was gone, in its place, twenty custodians cleaning up the mess. That small party had caused a lot of damage; now Hinata knew why she didn't have many parties growing up.
Hinata looked up at the redhead beside her. Her mind started to wander back at what he had said earlier; what were they doing tonight. She didn't want to sound like an obsessed friend or anything, but didn't friends hang out together? Shouldn't he have invited her?
She sighed and looked down at the floor while picking at the ruffle at the bottom of her blouse.
She hated feeling like this; her conscious was eating at her; her heart was becoming empty. She had usually kept these kinds of things to herself; she always did when she was with Sasuke.
She could remember how he made plans to go out with his friends and how his plans consisted of her staying inside, lying on the couch waiting for him to come home. She would feel left out, alone, like an outcast. Then she would think about Tenten, Ino, and Konan, and know that she had friends.
But that didn't mean anything, nothing at all. Without them, she would be lonely, no matter the situation. Like now…
"You're unusually quiet. You just made the Elder's Interrogation look like child's play; you should be acting cocky right about now." She glanced up at him for a moment before averting her lavender orbs away and giving a nod.
Sasori raised an eyebrow at her behavior and let go of her wrist. "Is there something wrong?"
"N-Nothing is w-wrong.", Hinata silently said as she pretended to admire the few pieces of art they were passing in the hall.
"Okay, now I know something is wrong.", he stated. "Are you upset about something?"
"…N-No…" She hated that she was stuttering; it made her look like a liar.
"You're lying. Why don't you just tell me what's wrong?"
Because I don't trust you to understand… Hinata didn't meet his eyes, afraid that she wouldn't be that good at lying. "Nothing i-is wrong."
She heard him sigh, which made her heart twist. Was he already getting tired of her?
"You're stuttering more than usual around me, which can only mean that something is up.", he moved his hazel orbs over the girl's form and saw that she was slouching a bit while wrapping her arms around herself. Another sign.
Sasori sighed once again before speaking. "You've fallen in love with me?"
That managed to make the bluette quickly look towards him with an incredulous look.
"W-What? I-" Hinata stopped when she felt Sasori take her wrist and push her to the wall, right next to the door of an office. She shook her head at him, her face turning red. If anyone came from that office… "Sasori-"
"It's true isn't it? You want me." This was getting ridiculous…
"No, I d- ", she was about to start, but looked up and saw that his face was only an inch from hers, and his lips were laced with a smirk. "No, I don't. M-Move."
"Closer?"
"No!", she quickly pushed him back and pulled down her skirt before looking both ways. "W-What is your problem?"
He gave her a dull look, momentarily dropping the smirk he was holding in. "Just confirming my suspicions. You're upset about something, and you are planning on keeping it to yourself."
"That doesn't explain your actions at all.", she mumbled as she gripped her arms behind her back and leaned against the wall. She wanted to drop this conversation and get on down to Gaara's office. Maybe her darkness would disperse a bit.
"Why aren't you letting me in? I told you that I couldn't help you if you didn't confide in me." Hinata wanted to snort, she really did, but at the tone of his voice she couldn't help but think that he really did care.
She had thought Sasuke cared, and she had let him in her life. Only hurt and sadness came as her outcome.
She inwardly shook her head as she looked at the redhead's tie instead of his face. "I don't need your help. Why do you want to know what I thinking about?"
"Because that's just the type of guy I am. If you're going through something or you just need someone to talk to, you should be able to talk to me about it." Her eyes widened a bit when he said that; she remembered him saying something similar to Deidara when they were arguing in the studio.
"Why are you telling me t-this?"
Sasori gave her a smirk. "Because I thought we were friends. Aren't we friends, Hinata?" She looked up into his eyes then.
Hazel: Compassion. Empathy. Daring. Independent.
That is what she pulled from his lidded eyes. His eyes were like a glass portal; it showed every emotion he depicted, never holding back what he really felt. She could read him like a book almost. His orbs were endless. Reflective.
"W-What are you doing tonight?", she made sure to look away from his face when she asked him the question that was causing these problems. Her face get hot from embarrassment. She wished she could take back her question.
"Is that what was irking you?", Sasori said with amusement much to the girl's chagrin.
She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands, wanting to hide from reality. This was embarrassing; it felt weird expressing her feelings to someone other than Tenten. Nonetheless, she nodded.
She didn't hear anything from him after; it was like he was thinking about something. Soon, she felt him grasp her wrist and tug them down to reveal her face. She had tried to mask her anxious and depressed feeling, but felt that she was failing considerably.
"Tonight we're going to the building where the Fashion Show will be held tomorrow. We're all – well, except you- walking for Sabaku. All of the models of the show will be practicing." Oh… Hinata pursued her lips and gave the wall behind him a blank stare.
Sasori raised an eyebrow at her. "You thought I was leaving you behind, didn't you?"
Apparently he was something like Itachi. He could read her a bit as well. Slowly, she nodded, which made him sigh a bit.
"You overthought what I said." She did.
It was becoming unbearable for her at this point. Her inferiority problem was affecting her; it always had been. No matter how hard she tried to be independent and strong, it never worked. She was clinging on to Sasori, hoping that he could be the person she leaned on now that Sasuke was gone.
Sasuke, despite him being the cause of many of her problems today, was her clutch. She could have never imagined being without him. She had thought that without him, she was nothing.
Now that he had left her, she was clutching onto Sasori, afraid that he would leave her. That was why she was blowing things out of proportion.
The bluette felt that she had done it again; she had somehow found someone to cling onto again.
"Do you know how much it is going to cost to get this whole floor clean?! Huh?! We're going to have to reach into the funds that we were going to use to redecorate the building!", Temai yelled as she came from the door while gripping Kankuro's arm.
"We have more than – ow – enough money! That Kakuzu guy will get us some more!" After the pair came Konan followed by Pein.
The gothic woman looked down the hallway towards the pair gestured towards the door behind her. "I have to go do some work down in the lobby. Text me if you need a ride home.", with that, both the woman and Pein went down the hall, but not without Hinata seeing the orange-haired male grip the agent's waist. Weird… Soon, a loud sound and groan was heard. "Lecher." That was Konan for you...
"Hinata…", she heard his voice again; it was like he was begging her to let go.
She wasn't ready it seemed.
Hinata looked up at him once more before moving past him and down the hall, a stray tear leaving her eye. She had a problem that she needed to know of. She couldn't live like this, clinging from person to person. She needed stability.
She needed to find herself.
Neji was knocked out of sleep by the knocking and opening of his chamber door, revealing a young maid, who stood at the door with a flushed face. His eyes slowly opened and he moved them towards the door.
"Yes, Eri-san?"', he asked with a dull voice as he brushed some of his hair out of his face, suprisingly also brushing some pillow fluff away as well.
She tensed a bit before blushing again, reminding him sickeningly of his cousin. "Hiashi-sama wanted to ask if you would be attending the board meeting being held today?"
"No.", he stated with an even voice while eyeing the blushing girl. He didn't remember hiring her. Must've been Tenten who did. He inwardly pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and sat up straighter in his bed, careful not to touch the bandage on his ear. "Where is my son?", he asked as he looked around himself on the bed; the boy's green dinosaur was still beside him along with his WWW Smackdown pillow case.
Normally the young boy would be waking him up right now with his constant jumping on the bed; waking up without the boy felt foreign. He could've sworn Tenji was under his arm when he had woken up in the middle of the night…
"Kin-san got him ready to go to his piano classes - I made sure to tidy up her room when she left, sir." Piano classes? Tenten must've did that as well…
The Hyuuga-Heir nodded and began to get out of bed, but quickly noticed how the maid closed the door and twisted the lock. Still, he pretended to be oblivious and grabbed his robe off of the wall, his back facing her. "Is there something that you need, Eri-san?"
She started to undress much to his surprise, but he only glanced from the corner of his eye before averting his attention back to tying up his robe. Of course…
He had expected such things to happen now that most of his staff knew of affiliation with the Kin. Most of them thought of him as a monster, a menace to the society of Hyuuga men. Others thought of him as fair game; they felt that it was their chance to confess their undying love to him.
"I was afraid to say this before, sir, but I cannot hold in these feelings any longer." He had the urge to clench his fists, but glared out the window when he felt her hands on his shoulders. "I've been in love with you for so long, so long that it hurt to see you with talking to her, even gazing at her from afar.", her sultry voice had no effect on him, not even her soft hands as she slid them inside his robe. "Now I see that your gaze was not real, that you really weren't in love – "
He slowly removed her arms from his body, making her gasp a bit as she watched him step away from her and look into her bluish eyes. His eyes were cold and icy, like little needles sticking into her arms during the winter. Her confidence was wavering, and soon she felt self-conscious by how his eyes were growing to resemble disgust, repulsion from her actions.
"I'm sorry to say that I do not feel the same, Eri-san.", his apology felt forced, like he didn't care whether or not his words broke her heart or not. "You have stepped out of line and I'm afraid to say that you have also violated some of the rules on your contract." She stiffened when he said that.
"I thought t-that since you and Mrs. Hyuuga were seper-"
"We're experiencing a difficult time in our marriage, but that doesn't mean that me and my wife are splitting." She started to tear up a bit at his words, and soon grabbed the covers off of the bed and pulled them to herself.
He hated this. He hated to be in this situation at all. It wasn't supposed to be like this, but eventually something had to give…
Neji gave her a blank look soon. "Because of your actions, you will have to leave within three hours. Have one of the workers help you get your things." He didn't stay to hear her tearful babble or how she started to yell his name; he just calmly opened the door and closed it, all the while trying to push the bun-headed woman from his thoughts.
He had bigger things to worry about than his distraught marriage.
The Hyuuga looked towards the guest room down the hall before turning down another hallway. He kept his head up, even as some of the maids and butlers threw his resentful glares, and as some threw him lusty looks. He ignored them all though.
He had thought of himself to be an honorable man, a man that loved his family and would do anything to keep them at peace, even give up his own life for them. He soon found out that what he had thought was true; he was an honorable man. Like he had thought before, a man would give up anything for his family…
Especially for the one he loved…
"Sir, Elder Taku is waiting your arrival out front.", an elder woman bowed before him, her white hair falling over her shoulder. He nodded and walked towards the room before emerging inside for fifteen minutes and re-emerging, clad in his casual clothing.
A few guards followed him out towards the white limo, but he also ignored them and let a blank look come onto his face. The chauffer nodded before opening the limo door for the Heir, revealing the old Hyuuga clad in traditional robes.
His wrinkles divulged deep into his face, like marred scars and hanging flesh while his white eyes held wisdom beyond his own old age.
Neji looked towards the man once his door was closed and let his true expression come to surface. He leaned on his knees and placed his hands under his chin. Elder Taku said nothing as he held the heavy stack of yellow files on his lap; he simply watched as the young man glared into the dark glass window that separated them from the driver's position.
The silence was killing him slowly, so Neji decided that no matter what he was told that he had to keep his composure. His eyes slid to the Elder sitting beside him before he looked towards leather seats. "What did you find?"
"A lot." That answer was enough to send him over the edge, but he just threw his face into his hands and thought about it for a while. "I am sorry, Neji-sama." What did he have to feel sorry for? It wasn't him that was experiencing this twisting dread of knowing that what had been the most horrible experience of his life was caused by his own people.
The Elder man continued despite Neji's distressed state. "I managed to grab all of the scenes concerning the year of the accident and what I found is something that I myself didn't know of despite me being on the Elder committee of Hyuuga for the past fifty years. This is not a light subject-"
"I know that.", Neji spat out, his hands now gripping his long locks. He need something to grab on. Taku nodded and pulled out his glasses.
"What you are about to hear may not be what you are hoping for, and I want to know that, despite what I say, you will not try to harm or accuse the Hyuuga Clan in any way." It didn't make any sense, but he nodded anyway intent on hearing what the man had to say. Elder Taku nodded once again, accepting Neji's behavior before setting the stack aside and hooking his hands together.
"There was a death threat sent to the Hyuuga Manor exactly fourteen days before the accident. Do you recall hearing of terrorists from the Ri Clan invading on Hyuuga Lands?"
He had heard about it alright. His father had always turned up the tv when such information was on the news.
When Neji nodded, Taku continued. "On the seventh day of the threat, Houzin, a member of the Elder committee, was killed while on Hiashi's dock on the private land. If you didn't know, Neji-sama, Houzin was the uncle of Hiashi-sama and Hizashi-sama, which meant that he looked exactly like your uncle and father."
"They mistook Houzin for Hiashi-sama.", Neji stated as he sat up and stared at the ground.
Elder Taku nodded. "Soon after the death of Houzin, an attempt to take Hinata-sama as hostage for Hiashi's life was attempted, but of course your courageous and noble father stopped the invader before any harm could be done.
"Houzin's death and the attempted kidnapping of Hinata-sama startled the Clan and made them see that these threats were real. That…" Neji looked towards the man when he paused. The Elder looked at the younger Hyuuga for a long moment before continuing. "That is where Hizashi-sama came in."
God… His stomach started to churn, making his whole body feel shaky. Yet Elder Taku still went on.
"From the file I pulled on these fourteen days, Hyuuga contacted the Ri Clan, and the officials claimed that they didn't threaten our clan in any way and felt that in order to break the tenseness between both Hyuuga and Ri that the head leaders of the Clans would need to sit down and discuss it.
"The Hyuuga Elders thought that it would be risky to agree to the arrangement; 'A clan cannot be ran without its leader.' is what they said. After the controversial and fiery debate, apparently the basis of the lower branch's humanity didn't triumph over the basis of a leader and it was soon decided that Hizashi-sama would be used as a decoy in Hiashi-sama's place."
Neji's face never changed, but his eyes became itchy and hot; he pushed back his tears and watched his hair as the strands brushed his hands that were tightly gripping his pants.
Elder Taku saw this and started to try and explain the Clan's actions to the man.
"They never suspected that anything would ever happen, Neji-sama. The car looked – it looked like it belonged to Hyuuga but it didn't! Who would think to look in the rear-view mirror and see that the car belonged to the Ri Clan?! W-We didn't know – they had planned it too well, Neji-sama!" His inconsistent topics were annoying, and his loud voice was hurting the Heir's ears, particularly the one that was injured.
Neji snapped a glare towards the blabbering man. Elder Taku stopped his rant and let in a shaky breath. "The limo driver was a member of the Ri Clan. H-He was the one who crashed the limo into the railing, which threw both him and Hizashi off the mountain's edge. It wasn't an accident at all. I am truly sorry, Neji-sama..."
This is the fate that the lower branch suffered from; the fate of sacrifice. "Your father was a brave man, Neji-sama."
He had known all along that his father's death was not an accident, that the Hyuuga Clan had been involved. His father had never ridden in a limo in his entire life; Neji had known that something was not right when he had heard that his father was in such a vehicle. Lower Branch members were not allowed to have such luxuries.
"We are here, sirs." The intercom came on and soon both doors of the limo were opened. Elder Taku did not move though; his white eyes were filled with sympathy for the young man next to him.
"I'm so sorry, N-"
This pain was getting worse, so he decided to exit the vehicle before he lost it. He turned to the old man in the car. "Make sure to put those documents back. Thank you, Taku-san." Elder Taku gave the man a sad smile and nodded before Neji closed the door.
When the limo pulled off into the distance, leaving him in front of the Main Hyuuga Manor, he let his grimace come onto his face.
He couldn't feel any remorse; all he felt was fire.
He was fire, burning in his own Hell.
"S-So I sign right here too?", Hinata asked as she gripped the pen in her palm and glanced up at teal eyes before gazing back at the thick document before her.
Gaara leaned forward and narrowed his eyes a bit before nodding. "Yes, that too." The bluette gave him a quick smile before signing her name, all the while having to make her hand stop from writing her last last name. She flipped to the next page and started to read the long passage from the beginning to the end.
She was making sure to read every little detail; that little stunt with Shikamaru had taught her some things; she had trusted him and he had burned her. Right now she would put trust after business.
As she got to the second paragraph, a loud sigh was heard from the man sitting next to her.
"You don't have to read the whole packet, you know. We don't have a demand of sexual pleasures from our female employees. Yet.", Sasori muttered the last part. Hinata never missed a beat in her reading.
When she was done, she nodded a bit and started to sign.
Hinata Hyuuga U- She quickly scratched out the last letter and turned the page, which earned her another sigh from the redhead. The former-Heiress only gave him an owlish blink, which startled him, and continued on with her reading.
Sasori snorted. "That was cree-"
"Shush.", Hinata idly whispered as she scanned through the words. Sasori gave her a slight glare, but it was short-lived when he noticed that Gaara wasn't saying anything.
He slid his hazel eyes to the man in front of him and, to his surprise, found him staring intently at the bluette beside him. It would have been normal, but that feral look in his teal eyes was only meant for predators that had seen their prey. The kind of look that a lion gave a gazelle. His eyes looked reddish as well, as if he hadn't been resting.
Sasori could see how a smirk started to form on the redhead's face as the girl pushed some hair behind her ear. He obviously hadn't been following Sasori's orders.
"What time did you take your medicine last night?", Sasori asked in a reproving voice, which brought Gaara back into reality and erased that feral look in his eyes, replacing it with normalcy with a glint of guilt.
Hinata looked up at the two for a moment before going to the line down at the bottom and signing.
Hinata Hyuuga Uch ,She sighed a bit and scratched out the three letters before turning the page.
Gaara gave the bluette a long lock before locking his eyes to the glaring man in front of him. "I didn't think I needed them."
"The doctor told you otherwise, which is why he specifically said once a day until your next appointment.", Sasori seethed and moved around the desk to open one of the drawers. "Did you take them the three days we left?"
Hinata glanced up from her last paragraph to see the CEO's response. Gaara waited for a moment before responding.
"No."
Sasori pulled a bottle of pills from the draw and set them down in front of the redhead. "Why not?"
"I didn't need them.", he repeated again while taking the bottle and opening it before two white pills came out. He mildly stared at the medication before putting them in his mouth, not bothering to drink anything behind it.
"You know better. I thought I could trust you to follow your daily routines without me being here, but I guess that is a mistake on my end. I should have told Kankuro to stay here.", Sasori sighed as he sat back down in his chair. Gaara gave him a dirty look.
"I'm not a child."
"Why didn't you take your medication?" Hinata could feel the tension in the room building and became nervous at how both of the men were glaring intently at each other.
She looked between the two men before hurriedly writing her name on the line on the last page.
Hinata Hyuuga Uchiha
She groaned a bit at her mistake and hurriedly scribbled out the last name, making sure to fill in every blank space in the scribble. "I-I'm done." She slid the packet to Gaara, who was still in the glaring contest with the man beside her.
"Why?", Sasori pursued with that glare still on his features. Gaara averted his eyes and pulled the documents to himself, obviously tired of the interrogation.
"I took the pills on Monday, but it didn't put me to sleep. They were useless. I had no choice but to stay up." The bluette shot a concerned look towards him. Could someone really stay up for three days straight?
Sasori gave him an even look. "I made sure that Matsuri backed up some of the paperwork coming in so that you wouldn't stress out and stay up.", he grabbed the bottle off the desk and looked at the back of it. "I don't see how these wouldn't work. It's like fucking sedatives packed in each pill."
Gaara sighed and looked over at the tiny cactus on his desk. "I wasn't tired. It isn't a big deal, Sasori." He moved his hand toward it for a moment before stopping and bringing it back. "The house was too quiet..." Hinata gave a concerned glance to the man.
"Gaara-kun…", she was speechless.
Sasori didn't have anything to say about that; he just stood and grabbed the phone off of the desk and started to dial a number.
She whipped her head to Gaara and looked over him for a minute. At first glance, he looked perfectly fine, but if you looked at him closely you could see that his pale skin was whiter than usual, and his eyes held heavy bags. He looked wild, like he was deprived.
"D-Do you have insomnia, Gaara-kun?" It was a steep question, but he was her friend. It was okay to ask.
He only looked up at her; that answered her question. She quickly stood, pushing back her chair and grabbed his wrist. His pulse was normal, but still…
She slammed her hand on the desk and checked his reaction ; He didn't flinch. He wasn't fully conscious, if that was even something to say.
I should have seen the signs earlier on. When she had gone into that church in the middle of the night, he had been there because he was stressed out. Normally people wouldn't go in the middle of the night anyway, so he must have been avoiding sleep.
Gaara pulled his wrist away from her and continued to stare at her, his eyes never blinking.
Sasori spoke silently into the phone. "…he's taking a week off…Pein-sama can do the rest, he wouldn't mind."
Hinata shifted nervously as Gaara stared at her. His face was blank, but his eyes, those eyes…
She felt scared, like she should run. She wanted to look away, but she was stuck in his wicked spell somehow, swimming in the teal abyss of his orbs. The way he was looking at her wasn't natural; she felt threatened.
The office door was opened by Temari as she rushed in. "What is it?"
"Gaara hasn't been taking his medicine." Temari casted her brother a thwarted look.
"Gaara, you k-"
"I couldn't sleep.", is what the CEO stated as he removed his eyes from Hinata's face. "You and Kankuro weren't there, so I couldn't sleep." He sounded like a child at the moment, and Hinata couldn't help but feel her eyes tear up.
Temari bit her lip, a guilt-ridden expression going over her face. That was it, simply put. He couldn't sleep alone.
The blonde looked over towards Sasori soon. "I didn't notice it before. How did you know?"
Sasori shrugged. "He needs to get some sleep. You take him home." Temari nodded and grabbed Gaara's brief case before ushering the sleep-deprived man to come along.
Gaara didn't object to the notion and stood up, but not before giving Hinata one last stare. The girl froze as he gave her his icy stare.
I'll get you. Just you wait…
She stayed still until the two were gone from the room, and soon let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. She hadn't heard of insomnia like this in school; insomnia that changed a person completely. It was unheard of…
She jumped a bit when she felt a hand on her shoulder, but calmed down when she realized that it was only Sasori. "We have time some time to kill before tonight. Wanna hang out with me?", he asked as he looked down at her with a slight smirk.
What was with all of these smirking men? A smile would be nice…
The girl looked back over at the door that the two siblings had exited before looking up at the man. "W-Where will we go?"
Sasori thought for a moment before an idea popped up. "It's almost noon, so…Ichiraku?"
Her eyes went wide. "I-I-Ichiraku?! Ayame-san!"
She had almost forgot…
She needed a job before she got her full job in October.
Hinata grabbed Sasori by his sleeve and started to yank him towards the elevator. "W-We need to get there fast!"
"No."
"B-But I –"
"No – Welcome to Ichiraku, may I help you si-"
"Ayame-san! P-Please!", Hinata silently yelled as she pulled the ends of her scraf that covered her indigo hair. "I need this job!"
Ayame gave the bluette a light glare before turning back towards the man at the table, who was staring intently at Hinata. "Sorry about that, sir. What would you like?"
Just as the man was about to order, Hinata gave out a light whimper, which startled both Ayame and the man. "I-I'm sorry." The woman glanced over at the bluette and tried to look away, but Hinata's apparent stare on her started to wear her down.
The man sitting at the table squinted his eyes a bit at Hinata, as if trying to find something out of a pile. "You look familiar. Just like someone I know…"
Ayame casted a look towards the man before sighing and dragging the girl by the hand towards the kitchen. "Caso, take over my table!"
"Yes, ma'am!", a young voice yelled.
Hinata was shoved into the room swimming with various smells; she quickly stopped before she ran into a counter that held a pile of meatballs. Didn't need anything weird happening today…
Ayame shoved the door closed and glared at the girl. "No no no, a thousand times, NO!"
Hinata took off her sunglasses and gave the woman a worried look. "Please, I can explain! I-I couldn't com-"
"Because you were in Paris attending the third richest man in the world's Anniversary Party!", Ayame almost yelled, but held it in as the cooks were still in the kitchen. "You told me you were broke!"
"I am b-broke! I-I had to go to Paris!", Hinata defended while giving the woman a pleading look.
The brunette slammed the stack of menus down in frustration. "That's not the point – You're Hinata freaking Uchiha! You're an icon, a big time celebrity! Don't you think that was an important detail to add to your application?!"
An icon? Hinata hadn't thought of that; most people didn't know who she was before she went to the ball, right?
"I-I did, I just used my maiden name instead.", Hinata pulled off the scarf soon, "I didn't t-think that me being a celebrity mattered."
Ayame folded her arms with a grim look. "Well, it does. Do you know how many girls come to me begging me for work because they can't afford to buy their books, or that they can't afford to pay for their tuition for college this month? Out of all of those girls, I chose you because I thought for sure that you were serious and responsible and I thought that you would stay committed to this job and not slack off by cutting work! And you're Hinata Uchiha?!"
"Hinata Uchiha?", a chorus of voices rung out from the kitchen, which caused Hinata to slowly cover her head with the scarf again.
Ayame gave her a sheepish look before calmly ushering the staff back to work, "Nothing. I didn't say nothing." Looks were still being thrown their way, but eventually the kitchen went back to work.
The brunette sighed a bit. "Why did you even put in an application? You're freaking Hinata Uchiha!"
Hinata was getting annoyed with that last name. "It's Hyuuga, please. I needed the money – "
"Why? I don't get it. Your husband is Sasuke Uchiha and you're an Heiress. You're rich, for God's sake.", Ayame pressed, trying to prove her point, but it bounced off of Hinata like a ball.
Hinata looked away for a moment before staring down at her shoes. "On Monday, I won't have a husband, and I'm not an Heiress, ma'am, not anymore." Ayame gave a surprised look at that; Hinata continued. "I was left with nothing, no money, no place to stay, just nothing. It was by the grace of God and my friends that I even made it this far. I wanted this job because I wanted to stop depending on other people to help me with every single thing I do. I wanted to prove that I could do something on my own for once.
"So please, just give me another chance, Ayame-san. I just want another chance.", Hinata ended, her eyes stern and her face honest. Usually in these types of situations, she would be crying, but there had to be a point where she stopped crying.
She needed to grow up.
Ayame sighed and leaned on a counter while looking up at the ceiling lights. Hinata's mind eased a bit when she saw the woman look over at her with a thoughtful look. "You're serious about this, aren't you?"
Hinata nodded, her face still the same. Ayame sighed once again.
"I wouldn't have minded you going all out to Paris if you had just only told me the truth about who you really were. Did you not trust me enough to understand your situation?", the woman asked with an even voice full of concern.
No, she wouldn't have trusted Ayame; she didn't trust anyone enough to tell them that much.
"I-I'm sorry."
"Sorry just doesn't cut it this time, Hinata. Do you know how dangerous it would have been if I didn't know this information? People from all over come to this restaurant, all of them with different minds. Most people know who you are, despite what you say, and some are obsessed with you. If anyone had given them a word as to where you were, you could have been kidnapped or worse, held up for ransom – just imagine how dangerous it would have been if I had told you to deliver something to a customer! They could have taken advantage of you, maybe even have raped you, all because you didn't tell me who you were!"
It could happen to anyone, but Hinata got her point. "I-I understand."
Ayame nodded and pushed some hair away from her forehead with a quick hand. "It's good that you do, because I'm sure that you understand that I can't let you work here. I had to hire someone to take over your workload." The bluette nodded with a sad smile.
"I understand.", her voice was small, but she managed to get the woman to hear it.
The brunette nodded with a firm look on her face. "Let this be a lesson to you. You have to be honest with others in order to gain their trust, and you must also know that trust is an important factor in the workplace." She soon gave the woman a small smile. "I trusted you enough to hire you, the least you could have done was tell me the truth."
She had messed up again. It seemed that she was making her life more difficult than it already was. She just silently stared at the woman, a sad smile staining her lips. "I'm sorry for causing this trouble, Ayame-san. I should have been honest from the beginning. I-I just didn't think you would understand."
Ayame shook her head. "I would have.", she stated calmly with her smile. "Do you see what happened when you didn't trust me? You lost, probably, your first job. How does that make you feel?"
"Like a f-failure.", Hinata stated honestly while watching a cook take something out of the oven.
The woman raised her eyebrow at the girl before shaking her head again. "No one is a failure. You make mistakes in life; it's a common thing. What you have to do though is learn from them, because even though we aren't perfect, it doesn't hurt to try to be perfect..", she sighed a bit when she looked at the bluette sad smile and huffed.
Her words were encouraging to the girl as well as her confidence, but people just didn't get over their problems in a day, did they? Hinata pulled on the ends of the scraf, making it tighter around her face. "T-Thank you."
"You're welcome." Hinata turned and was about to walk out of the kitchen, but was pulled back by her scarf. Ayame smiled a bit at the girl's reaction. "I wasn't done talking yet." Hinata stepped back a little and stood in front of the woman, a slight expression of confusion in her eyes.
Ayame crossed her arms again and gave the girl an amused expression. "You wanted a job right?" When Hinata nodded, the brunette raised an eyebrow. "No matter what kind it is?"
That didn't sound right. She didn't want to be a stripper or anything, so the former-Hyuuga bit her lip a bit. "A-As long as it isn't inappropriate…"
Ayame soon smiled. "Do you like animals?"
"You are a little soldier, let me tell you…", Sasori praised the girl as he drove his Mustang Cobra down the busy streets, making sure not to run into any pedestrians, who were weirdly dancing around in traffic. "You are really adamant on this job thing, huh?"
"Y-Yes.", she answered quietly as she eyed the note that Ayame had given her. It read exactly:
Code:W-w-S
Tsume
Ayame Ichiraku
It was frustrating not to know what it meant, but she could hold in her curiosity as long as she got the job.
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe you didn't have to get a job? That maybe you could just ask your friends for money until you have saved up enough to pay them back?", the redhead tried to persist to the bluette only for her to give him an owlish blink and look out the window.
"I-I've asked them for enough already."
"You sure you've asked all of them?", Sasori asked and turned to look at her for a moment before looking back at the traffic.
Hinata slowly turned her head to look at him with narrowed, suspicious eyes. Just what was he getting at? "I'm sure…"
The man just sighed and let it out. "You haven't asked me for anything. I usually am okay with that, but right now I'm just offended."
The bluette raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
He stomped down on the brake, making them both lurch forward a bit, mostly Hinata. He gave her a blank look with dull eyes. "Really."
They both looked forward and watched a few people pass by in front of the car before they took off again, this time with Hinata clinging onto her seatbelt.
"D-Does it matter if I ask you for anything?", she finally asked after her heart went back to a steady beat.
"It does actually. It is only common that friends have things that they either borrow or just kept of another friend – but that is only my opinion.", he said. Hinata finally smiled.
"Would it make you feel better if I just asked you for something?"
"Now you get it."
Hinata sat back in her seat started to think. Just what did she want? She didn't really need anything; A job, yes, but what else? She decided to stare around his car until her orbs connected to the long necklace hanging from his rear-view mirror; it was a plain silver dog-tag.
That seemed fair enough. The bluette raised up and was about to grab the thing, but was stopped by Sasori's hand. "What are you doing?", he asked with a surprisingly high voice.
"You told me to g-get something from you.", Hinata stated as she watched his hand on her wrist.
"I said to ask me first, not just take it.", he spat out much to the girl's surprise. She dropped her hand soon and looked down at her lap. He sighed and released her wrist before pulling over in front of the pet shop.
Sasori only gave her a long look before exiting his vehicle, making sure to hurry inside before anyone spotted him. Hinata stayed silent for a minute, waiting for him to enter the shop.
Once his red hair was out of view, a small grin crossed her lips and she looked back at the silver charm that was hanging. "I'll just borrow it." She took the long necklace off of the mirror and pulled it over her head before getting out of the car and making her way to the pet shop.
Hinata quickly rushed inside, mentally cursing herself for forgetting her scarf, and opened the door to the building.
When she opened the door, a light jingle from the bells above the door rung in her ears. What came next after that sound were multiple ones; a loud squak from the corner was heard on the counter where a miniature dog stood, several barks from another part of the store, and suprsingly, a loud lulling sound from the middle.
The wonderful world of animals.
"Irashaimase!", a feminine voice yelled from a place in the store. Hinata guessed that it was the door behind the counter, so she decided to wait until the woman emerged from the back.
The bluette looked around a bit before realizing that Sasori was here as well.
She sighed and started searching for him.
But she froze when she saw a large white blob come out of nowhere from the corner of her eye.
The girl didn't have time to move before she heard the patting of feet/paws on the ground; she screamed as she was shoved to the floor by the white blob.
Since when did pet shops harbor bears?
She looked up at the blob and was, unprettily, licked in the face by a drooling tongue. Her chest eased with each lick she received from the white beast, and soon she became ticklish at the constant action. The girl giggled when a cold nose nuzzled her in the face. "S-Stop it, p-please." Her words only managed to increase the action, and quickly her light giggles turned into full-blown laughter. "P-Please, s-stop doggy", she tried to say, but only streams of laughter and giberish came out.
"Hinata, I think I – Oh.", she didn't have to look up to see that it was Sasori; she was already busy in this situation. "Shame on you, Hinata. Don't do it doggy – she's still a virgin."
She ignored that last comment, still too wrapped up in laughing.
The opening of the door behind the counter went through the room, and a young woman emerged from it. "Sorry about that! I – AKAMARU , not again!" The woman ran over and pulled on the dog's collar hard, making the dog back off of the bluette.
"I'm sorry ab-", the woman paused in her sentence when she saw the woman on the floor, and unknowingly released the collar, making the dog pounce back on top of Hinata. "Oh, sorry – I just, you know, um…sorry!", the woman left as quick as she had come, right back into the door behind the counter.
"Hm, wonder what her problem was..", Sasori muttered idly from where he stood.
"M-My stomach is h-hurting!", Hinata choked out, her laughing fit starting to turn disasterous as now her stomach was twisting in knots from her laughter. "H-Help me!"
"You look fine to me.", Sasori snorted. "You look like you're having fun - especially with my dog-tag, you thief."
The door to the back opened again, and out came another woman, who, from Hinata's spot on the floor, had a bossy personality; her stomping told it all.
"Akamaru, get off of her before I send you to the back!" The dog whimpered a bit, and with one last lick he backed off of the girl and trotted beside the woman. Hinata sat up and wiped her face with her jacket a bit before a hand was put in her view. She stared at it a little, in a slight daze due to how long the woman's finger nails were.
"Well don't just sit there – Grab my hand!", the woman barked towards her; Hinata quickly grabbed her hand and was joisted up quickly. This woman was strong…
"Sorry about Akamaru. He always jumps on the pretty customers. Gets that trick from my son.", the woman soon gave her a wolfish grin. "How can I help you two?"
The woman's hair was a wild brown and her marking on her face made her look familiar to the girl. She couldn't seem to put a finger on where she had seen those markings before. Hinata realized she was dazing again and quickly handed the woman the note.
"I-I'm here to ask for a job, ma'am.", Hinata asked with a higher voice then before; she wanted to make a good impression.
"Call me Tsume.", the woman said before she read the note; Hinata gave a wary look at how another wolfish grin broke out on the woman's face. "Ayame brought me a worker with secrets, eh?"
So that's what the note meant. Wow.
"She has a lot of secrets. A lot." Hinata glared back at Sasori, who turned away and walked down an aisle.
Tsume stood up straighter and stuffed the note in her pocket before folding her arms, that grin still on her face. "You're in luck, lady. I just so happen to need a worker right now to help my daughter Hana out. I would hire you, but you have some secrets that I need to know of, right?"
Hinata thought for a moment before shyly nodding. She was not going to screw this up. Hopefully this wasn't a fan of hers.
The woman cocked her head to the side, waiting.
No, she wasn't a fan. She would have realized who she was by now. The indigo hair was the one thing she was known for. Hopefully.
The bluette let out a light breath before spilling out the truth. "M-My name is Hinata Hy – I mean Uchiha, but after Monday it will just be Hyuuga. I am the Heiress – well – former Heiress of the Hyuuga Clan; my cousin is the new Heir now.", she paused for a second and tried to gather her thoughts together. "I am married to Sasuke Uchiha, but , you know, I'll be divorced after Monday comes…Soon I'll be a spokes model for Sabaku Corporation, but until then I need a job. M-Modeling until that time won't be enough, well..it probably will, b-but I just want to do something on my own for once – but that's not to say that I won't be still here when I start modeling! I'll still be here! Um…oh, right now I'm s-staying at a friend's house and I have another person staying with me! I just want to pitch in and help out my friend also because she is nice enough to let my friend stay there with me until…whenever…Oh, I have a little sister too, her name is Hanabi! I…I think that is all of my secrets..", Hinata finished awkwardly and looked at the woman to see that her face was twisted in a thoughtful expression.
Tsume twisted her lip a bit while looking up at the ceiling, that thoughtful expression still on her face. After a good while, she spoke. "So, you're, like, a celebrity?", the woman asked carefully.
Hinata sighed a bit before nodding slowly. "I-I am, a little."
"Oh…", the woman took a closer look at the girl's face. "And you're…?"
"Hinata! Hinata Hyuuga Uchiha, but –"
"Monday you'll be divorced, I know.", Tsume finished. "Who's Sasuke Uchiha?"
Hinata felt her mind go blank for a moment before it registered what Tsume had said. So this woman was the type that didn't look at television unless it was about something important…
Wow.
The bluette came back to reality when a loud laugh came from the woman. "Sorry if I bruised your ego a bit! I'm just not into all of that rich people crap! You are who you are! I'm glad that you were honest with me, though! Most jokers out here keep important stuff like that to themselves. Kuros to you!", Tsume laughed out.
"I thought it was kudos?", Sasori whispered from around a shelf, where little hamseters situated, each running around due to the man being close.
Hinata gave the woman a hopeful look. "D-Does this mean I have the job?"
The woman stopped her laughing and gave a smile. "You had the job from the beginning. Whenever Ayame recommends someone, I know that I have a diamond in the rough on my hands. Even if you didn't tell me your secrets, I would have still hired you. My daughter needs some help around here with all of these animals – the veterinarian clinic in the back has her hands full!"
The bluette felt like jumping for joy, but instead grabbed the woman's hands. "Thank you so much! You don't know how happy I am!"
Tsume gave her another smile. "You're welcome, though I doubt that you'll be saying that later!"
Hinata stopped her happy rant and gave off a jumbled look. "W-What was that, Tsume-san?"
"Nothing dear – Hana, get out here and give this girl her uniform and schedule! Mama needs to drop the kids off at the pool!"
"You have other kids?", Hinata quietly asked.
The woman laughed again and shook her head as she walked towards the back. "You're a natural, kid!"
Hinata watched after the woman, a clueless expression on her face. "D-Did I say something funny?"
Sasori silently appeared beside her, a dull look on his face. "She's needs to take a dump."
The bluette looked over at the man, a bit startled at how quietly he came over. "S-Sasori, why did – why is that cat on your shoulder?" A bright orange tabby was perched on the man's shoulders, vividly contrasting with his dark suit.
The redhead looked over at the cat before looking at the girl. "This is what I was trying to tell you before – I think I'm in love." The cat silently purred, and rubbed its head into the redhead's thick mass of hair.
"W-With the cat?", Hinata eyed the tabby closely and moved back. She had heard that cats had good agility…
Sasori patted the fat feline a bit. "Yup, instant chemistry. When I looked into her brown eyes, I saw my other half."
"Are you even sure she's a 'she'?" The former-Hyuuga asked suddenly.
Sasori sighed and pulled the cat off his shoulder by the gristle on 'her' neck. "Darleen is a 'she'. I'm sure that if she could talk, she would say - she's a man.", he gave a repulsed expression at the sight of the cat's privates. "Well, this complicates things. I guess 'Darleen' is a 'Daryl'. Why did you lie to me, Daryl?" He pulled the cat towards his face. "I would have still loved you if you had told me the true. We belong together, you orange, fluffy, overweight ball of cuteness."
Hinata smiled at the scene. "T-That got weird towards the last part." Sasori sighed and held the cat in his arms.
"I now realize that.", he looked back down at the feline with a thoughtful look before raising him in the air. "Your name will be…Saon. Sounds better than Daryl."
The door to the back opened again, and out came the young woman from before. She looked nervous and kept her stare down as she made her way over with the uniform in her hand.
She stopped in front of the bluette and handed her the clothes. "The nametag will probably be done tomorrow when you come in. I put the schedule in the pocket, so you don't have to worry about that."
"She looks familiar.", Sasori stated, which caused the woman to snap her gaze towards him. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
The woman shook her head. "Me? Oh no, sir, you don't know me! Seriously. You don't.", she tried to sound convincing.
Hinata gave a suspicious glance at the woman's behavior. Why was she nervous?
Sasori snapped his fingers. "I know now. " The woman looked panicked. "That guy from the grocery store yesterday. You look exactly like him."
The bluette nodded, also realizing now. "Kiba-san. I remember, t-too." She looked back at the woman, who was easing her expression. "D-Do you know anyone named Kiba?"
"He's my brother, actually…"
Hinata gave the woman a smile. "You both almost look like twins. I-It's cute. So you must be Hana?"
Hana nodded and sheepishly rubbed her head. "Yeah, that's me. And you're Hinata Uchiha." One person here noticed her…
"S-So I work when?"
"Oh…tomorrow at five a.m. Sorry, I have a couple of appointments to tend to in the morning and I'll need someone to do the routine for me."
Hinata nodded. "That's okay. I d-don't mind. I'm just glad to be h-helping."
Hana smiled a bit. "Yeah, so that's it. Thank you so much for pitching in for me, I really appreciate it."
"Thank you.", Hinata greeted back. The young woman looked over towards Sasori and her smile dropped when she saw how he bored his hazel eyes into her, squinting at her. "Can I help you sir?"
He held up the fat tabby in her view. "Saon's ready to see his new kingdom."
"I don't mean to act all snotty – you know what, scratch that – I do mean to act all snotty when I say that it is weird that that 'Hana' girl didn't go crazy when she saw me.", Sasori said as he carried the traveler that Saon was lying in.
Hinata rolled her eyes at him. "T-That's your overly-exaggerated ego talking…"
"I'm serious. Don't you think it was a little weird that she didn't get star-struck? She knew who you were, yet she didn't look surprised."
The bluette stopped beside the passenger door and waited for Sasori to unlock the car. "M-Maybe she thinks of everyone as a person and not some famous l-looney. It's a rare quality that l-lacks in society nowadays." The truth.
The both got into the car and Hinata made sure to put her clothes in the back. Only for Sasori to shove the carrier on her lap.
"It wasn't that look, at least I think so. It was like she was used to celebrities walking in and out of their shop. Even the most down to earth person wouldn't have kept their cool like that. I think that she knows someone who is famous, or is at least close to a famous person.", Sasori expressed his thoughts as he started up the car.
Hinata looked at the car clock and saw that it was only five o'clock. Still some time to kill.
The redhead looked over at her. "Where do you want to go now?" She pulled her hand back as the cat's paw came out to claw at her hand.
Where to now? She thought for a moment before a brilliant idea came to her mind.
"D-Deidara is your best friend right?"
Sasori cocked his head a little. "You can say that. Why?"
Hinata gave him a small smile. "How about I introduce you to my best friend?"
It was a request that made Sasori smirk.
"Why the hell not? I like meeting new people."
I have made several errors in this chapter; hopefully I can correct them later on today! ;) In this fic right now, It's July! ;) Hmmm...let's see.
coffeshot, you caught on to my plan...you're sneaky. Unfortunately, I can't answer that question yet; it'll ruin the surprise...
Sorry that I couldn't put Tenten in this chapter; it was too long already to fit it in. Hey, at least you got Neji! I bet you all are wondering about him and his deal with Tenny..you'll find out soon...
Oh, I'm pretty sure you'll all be seeing Sasuke in the next chapter, so be on the look out for that.
Sorry once again for the late update! Unfortunately, the next chapter may have the speed of this one! I'm super busy peeps and I thought I was having a writers block; turns out all I had to do was sit in front of the laptop and find out that I didn't have writer's block. That was a weird experience for me.
This fic really does write itself...creepy 0.0
OAN: What Hinata is going through right now is the 'trust' phase. It takes time to gain one's trust, and she is having a hard time doing that. It's very common with women all around. I hope you all can see that! ^_^
Anyway, thank you all for your reviews, messages, and continued support in this story! 1,000+ reviews? You guys are amazing, and know that you all inspire me to become a better writer. I don't plan on dropping this story, so don't any of you worry! I'll keep typing - unless I break a finger, I'll have to stop then, won't I.
God Bless you all! I hope I brightened someone's day today! :)