Review Corner
Dragon18 Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!! I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you!
:D Actually, they're not married…they're just dating…but believe me, I have something special planned for them! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Ichigo Glad you think so! (Personally, romance is reeeeally really boring unless its got some humor or angst or adventure in it, ya know what I mean?)
Thank you for reading! BTW, sorry it took me so long to update…I've been a firm believer in the Procrastination religion since my Christmas break started…
-Chapter 3-Stillborns and Coffee-
"Hinata let me in! Hinata!"
The person of Naruto's demand was locked inside his office, cleaning his rolling chair with her salty tears. The reason for her lament? She was childless-her second child was a stillborn, and Semuri was presumably dead.
"Oh, shove over, Naruto-kun! Let me talk to her!" came Ino's voice.
"Demo, Ino-koi, it's locked…" drawled the Nara's lazy voice.
Hinata could almost hear Ino's smirk. "Problem solved!" With a click, the door was opened. Ino slipped inside with a small red-haired boy trailing behind her. She relocked the door, whispering to the boy, "Now, Gazen-chan, don't make a sound and sit on your little chair by Naruto-nii-san's desk." The little boy complied, all the while watching Hinata with solemn brown eyes.
Hinata tried to smile through her tears. "Yours and Shikamaru-kun's child, I presume?" Ino's grin all but faded, and she looked away. "Iie…He is…the product of a rape when I was 16."
Hinata gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" Ino's grin returned in full. "Don't be, Hinata-chan. It's of the past." Her face turned serious once more. "What I'm here to say, Hinata-chan, is that you really need to come out of here. Not to be unkind or anything, but face the facts: he was born still. Nothing will change that…" she drifted off, frowning. Suddenly, she brightened. "And Naruto cooked some ramen for you!"
Try though she might, a tear still coursed its way down her face. "I-I'm sorry, Ino-chan…"
"Don't be, Hinata-onee-san." Startled, Ino and Hinata turned to the young boy who was standing by his mother's side, his face upturned.
"W-why?"
A smile broke across his face; the smile reminded Hinata of someone. "Things will get better. I don't know how or when, but they will. You'll see!" He walked back to his chair, completely unaware of the set of eyes staring at him in alarm.
Hinata blinked. "Ummm…is that…uh, normal for him to do that?" Ino nodded and flipped her hair carelessly. "Yeah. Shika reckons he's got the Sight." Hinata nodded, mystified.
Ino grinned once again, gently taking Hinata's arm. "Ready to face the world, get some coffee, and eat Naruto's crap?" For the first time that day, Hinata smiled a true, sincere smile.
---
"Hinata-chan, meet my sister, Sakura, and my brother-in-law, Sasuke." Hinata smiled and shook their hands. "Nice to meet you, Sakura, Sasuke." Sakura smiled brightly. When her husband didn't react, she elbowed him in the stomach. "Say something!" She hissed. He let out an inaudible sigh, and…grunted. Hinata grinned at his lack of social skills.
"Hinata-chan! Oh my God, is that really you?!" Hinata turned, instantly recognizing the voice. "TenTen!" She ran to TenTen and gathered her up in a humongous bear hug. When she let go, she smiled knowingly, as she had noticed the definite bulge in her stomach. "Again, TenTen?" The woman in question smiled and blushed, nodding.
Smirking lightly, Hinata said, "This is what…the sixth time?" Looking around, she added, "Where's the rest of the flock?" TenTen grinned at her cousin-in-law. "In the truck with Neji." A series of honks clearly sent the message, 'Are you done now? These kids are driving me insane!' TenTen laughed and said her farewells to Hinata and the rest of the police force. "Well, gotta go. See ya, guys!" She walked as fast as she could, waving as she exited the door.
After this friendly exchange, the team and their girlfriends headed off to what was apparently the lounge except for Naruto, Hinata, and a new, tall man. He wore a green vest with a black long-sleeved shirt underneath it and black pants. His hair looked rather windswept, and from the one eye that she could see, he seemed bored, almost like Shikamaru.
Naruto began the introduction finally. "Hinata-chan, this is my boss, Hatake Kakashi." She bowed, saying, "Konnichiwa, Hatake-san."
"Likewise." He replied, inclining his head in response. He walked down the hallway as slowly as possible, reading a book that had the 'forbidden' sign on it. 1
"C'mon, Hinata-chan!" Naruto grabbed Hinata's wrist and began dragging her towards the lounge. "We gotta get to the lounge before Kakashi-joshi does, cause he'll be ultra pissed if we're late!" She laughed and followed him in his dash to get to the lounge before his boss.
---
"Inuzuka Kiba has, once again, robbed another bank."2 Naruto chanced a look at Hinata anxiously, but she remained stoic and kept looking at Kakashi. "I want you to pull an all-nighter." Upon hearing their pitiful groans and their wistful sighs, he added, "Just in case we get some tips as to where Inuzuka is. If you get any kind of call of this nature, investigate it immediately. Understood?"
A tired chorus of "Yosh!" answered him as the officers went to their respective offices. The only person who left the station entirely was Sakura, who said she was feeling tired and besides, she needed to look after the kids if there was no baby-sitter! (Megumi was more than capable, at the tender age of six, to looks after herself and her two-year-old brother, Kinu, so that was obviously a lie.)
Meanwhile, Hinata, Ino, and Gazen stayed in the lounge, drinking coffee and ignoring Naruto's pitiful attempt at cooking. Instead, they ate Skittles.
They talked, and they talked, and they talked. As it turned out, they were in the same graduating elementary class. They talked about how stupid their grade school teachers were. After an hour or so, Naruto stuck his spiky blonde head through the doorway. "We got a tip. We'll be back as soon as we can." He turned to Gazen and saluted. "Keep 'em safe, Gazen-sama!" The boy saluted back and stated solemnly, "Hai!"
Hinata and Ino laughed. He's great with kids…The two girls talked until nearly midnight, when they finally decided to hit the sack.
Before sleep had a chance to claim Gazen, however, something warned him. "They're coming…"
---
Hinata's eyes slowly opened. She was cold.
She sat up and looked around. She had fallen asleep in the lounge at the police station, but now she was in a dark, dusty room with nothing in it except for a single, dusty window. Quickly becoming alarmed, she cried out for the girl she had fallen asleep next to. "Ino? Ino, where are you?" No response came. Whipping around, she soon found why: Ino was clutching Gazen to her, eyes squeezed tight shut and tears slipping down her face. Gazen made no sound. Looking up, she saw the face of someone familiar. "Kiba!"
He grinned maniacally. "Heh. My two mothers in the same room. What a coincidence!"
"What?" What is he talking about? Then it hit her like a sledgehammer: Gazen's red hair, brown eyes, and unforgettable smile. "You're Gazen's father?!"
----------------------tbc-----------------------
1 You know, the little red circle with the slash through it?
2 Yes, I know, it seems sooooo cliché, but I didn't think having him mug somebody would seem really…well, dangerous, ya know?