Sasuke and the Third Hokage watched as little Konohamaru played with the palace guards happily, as if the boy found his nirvana in pestering the soldiers who couldn't react harshly because of the presence of the legendary Third.
"The future of those little ones lay in the hands of the Kingdom Leaf's ruler…your hands, Prince Sasuke," said Sarutobi, nodding solemnly. "You must do your best to protect them…especially now that I feel another crisis coming."
The Leaf crown prince heaved a sigh. "Impending crisis, it is." He couldn't voice out the extent of his concern though—it was against his principles. As the highest ruler of the kingdom, it was his job alone to worry about the safety of his territory and his constituents.
"I am already old, Your Highness," said the Third slowly. "If ever the disaster finally happens, I can only promise you the best of my efforts…I cannot promise victory." He moaned. "I'm just too old…"
"Has there been any news on Jiraiya-sama or Tsunade-sama?" asked the Leaf ruler, eyes on the distant mountains.
"Jiraiya had disappeared while he was in pursuit of a mysterious woman who answers the calls and wants of the populace…."
"The receptionist of one of those spa things?"
"I believe so." The Third tipped his chin thoughtfully. "Tsunade, on the other hand, vanished after she resigned from the medical unit."
"So that leaves our defenses weak," said Sasuke.
"If only the Fourth didn't disappear without a trace…" added the Hokage in afterthought.
Silence.
"The future may look grim, Your Highness, but I heard about that boy from the Starlets…the boy that bears resemblance with the Fourth." Sarutobi smiled at the prince. "So wipe that silly scowl off your face. You are worrying your beloved too much." He smiled at the direction of the girl trying to hide behind a nearby wall.
"Sakura…" Sasuke slapped his forehead. "Geez, what is she doing here?"
The Third Hokage chuckled. "She's precious, isn't she?"
He rolled his eyes. "She's a brat." He looked at her intently, and the girl seemed to sense that her presence was already detected. Her face turned pink, and she immediately dashed away.
"Brat," said Sasuke again, eyes softening.
……………………
Chapter Twenty-Two
This chapter is for White Witch. Sana gumaling na ang sore eyes mo! nn Ako nagkaka-sore eyes kakapanood ng mga Angel tapes…Angel of Darkness, Twin Angels, Dark Angels…basta may tentacles [yuk yuk ] Pero busy din me every night because I'm working on a NaruHina site. Nothing spectacular, except for the efforts that went to it. It was my first time to make a website all hand-coded in Notepad by me. No MS Frontpage whatsoever.
Which reminds me…here is one of my poll questions:
10. Okaaay, so Naruto and Hinata DOES get married. Now just for fun…who is the Best Man in their wedding?
a. Sasuke, of course!
b. Kiba, I think.
c. Shino?
d. Sir Kakashi or Sir Iruka.
e. Neji [he he he]
Think about that, and if you have another guy in mind, tell me. My sister said, "Gaara". She said she wanted to see him in a tux. -.- I said I wanted to see Kakashi sport a G-String or T-back and I can die happily. She told me that I need a life.
Message Time:
h4t5uh4ru = Nang nabasa ko review mo, natigilan ako ng 2 seconds, tapos napabunghalit na ako ng tawa. Tama ka friend! Tado nga c Neji! Gawa nga ako ng Tagalog omake na NejiTen kung san tatawagin nyang ganun c Neji? Nye he he
Patricia = Oo nga, dapat kahit weekly lng Naruto [tear]. Cyangapla, I'm glad na enjoy kau s character treatment ko po. Sana by this time, gamay k na sa NejiTen. Actually, naging couple ko lng yan dahil nahawa ako kay Takari-san he he. Thank you po for avidly reading! nn
Sequ3stered = Been reading too many historic novels, eh? He he, is something wrong with the Neji package? Darn, must be the soundtrack. [looks at the Barney and Friends CD] I thought I sent the Sasuke Theme -.-. Oh well, I still have an Aburame Shino package here. He gets to take off his shades and his mouth-covering top…and he's not wearing Neji's bunny band anymore…he's wearing a kitty band nn
WormKaizer = I replied already! Boy, I hope you don't mind the flood of questions I have. Happy reading!
Jiri = I was strolling in Google tee hee… So it is your real name? Wow! And I didn't know it makes a lot of difference in your writing when there's an extra letter. In our country, there's no problem if we have a Jonny, a Johnny, AND a Jhonny studying in the same section. I thought u know that Angela girl I said…I often see her in Taiwanese soaps shown in our TV.
Kamui = Nde ko macyado kilala kc c Hanabi, so baka pahapyaw lng, lalo na't simula na ng ending nito. Tsaka long tym no syt pla! He he
Mahina = [hands her sis' tissue box towards you] Sowee about that, but the confrontation is inevitable. I'll try to write less heavier stuff next chapter.
About the correction…wow, I didn't know that! I got another thing to add in my stock knowledge. Hai, next time, I'll proofread the chapter more carefully. Thanks so much for pointing it out to me nn.
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"Five days had passed, and she still hadn't opened her eyes." Kabuto pushed the bridge of his glasses up as Rock Lee and Haruno Sakura sat by Hinata's bed, faces drawn in frustration and despair. "If she doesn't wake up tonight…" His words trailed off.
"Don't say that!" snapped Sakura, eyes brimming with tears. "Hinata's going to be ok! She's going to be ok, Kabuto-sensei!" Her outburst was checked by the consoling arm that the Earl Lee placed on her shoulder.
"She suffered severe internal hemorrhage and her ribs were fractured. Her heart's muscles were also affected, making her heart disease worsen," explained the doctor.
"Heart disease?" echoed the two, eyes wide.
Kabuto looked surprised. "Didn't you know? The patient is suffering from a congenital heart disease!"
Sakura weakly sat back, her face pale. "My god…and to think Earl Hyuuga injured her cardiovascular organs the most…oh god…Hinata…"
Lee looked at his beloved's face, and then clenched his fists, guilt eating him. If he had only been brave enough to intervene in the two's fight then the maid couldn't have been badly injured. He felt like he was an accomplice in this physical and emotional violation Hyuuga Hinata received mercilessly from her own cousin, her own flesh of blood.
"My skills are not enough to work miracles, Your Highness," said the doctor with much remorse in his voice. "If only Tsunade-sama was still here…"
Sakura got up and clasped the limp, pale hand of her favorite maid, smiling through her tears. "You saved my life, Hinata-chan. It's now my turn to save yours. I'll do all that I can to help you, count on that." She bit her trembling lower lip when she saw no reaction from the usually flushed face of the timid maid. The body before her seemed just like a shell of her Hinata-chan.
"Lady Haruno," said Lee, making her look up again. As the court etiquette dictated, she rose from the floor and gave her silent thanks to the health officer of the kingdom for looking after the patient. Kabuto smiled at her reassuringly, yet it was not enough to pacify her.
She had to find the cure to Hinata's ailment, by hook or by crook!
.
.
.
Kiba looked up at the window of the bedroom in the second hallway, eyes worried. This was his second most favorite spot in the palace after the stable—the partially hidden from view ground almost underneath the bedroom of Hinata. This was where he would secretly watch whenever the girl opens the glass windows first thing in the morning, looking so fresh and pretty in the first golden rays of daylight. She had always been a sight to behold for his ever-discerning eyes.
But she was always something more. She was the first person whom Akamaru liked at first sight, and the first person to shake his much labored hands unhesitantly and so warmly even if her skin was velvety soft and his was sandpaper-y rough.
That trait drew him to her like a bee to a honey-filled flower. She was soft and fragile, so vulnerable, that he felt he wanted to protect her.
Sometimes, when he lays himself down wearily over the hay to rest at night, he would make up his own little fantasies—situations that would place his Hinata-hime in a troubled situation, and he would come in the nick of time to save her.
Yet when she needed his protection the most, he wasn't able to make it there.
He shut his eyes, trying to rein back his anger.
Hinata was hurt. Seriously. And he wasn't there.
Akamaru, who was lodged inside his jacket, nudged him. He looked down at the puppy. "I know you miss Hinata and her cookies. We both do anyway."
He sighed. "Please be alright, Hinata."
.
.
.
"Come in!" said Ino lazily, looking up from her songsheets. She was singing the latest song of the kingdom's visiting court jesters when she heard someone knock on the door.
The wooden door with brass finishing pushed open, revealing Nara Shikamaru, the familiar small smile on his face lacking. She felt her heart race nervously. Ever since the incident in her room that afternoon, she and Shika suddenly became strangers to each other, almost avoiding all the situations that would have them alone together. It had been a very conscious part for her at least—she didn't know what exactly to say especially after what her father said when she confronted him.
"I didn't order him to do anything, Ino. I merely helped him by stitching a situation that would have both of you alone. Whatever he said, it was the words straight from his heart," said Lord Yamanaka days ago, shaking his head.
And now that he was here standing in front of her, she didn't know what fitting words should be said to a boy that used to be her best guy friend in the world but she turned down so ruthlessly.
She shouldn't have worried anymore—he broke the ice for them. He went to her desk and placed a stack of paper on it. "The assignment you gave me is finished already."
She felt something pinch her heart. His voice sounded so stiff, so formal, so distant, that she was not sure if it was really Nara Shikamaru speaking. He wasn't like this—not at all.
She forced herself to sound carefree. "A-Assignment? W-What assignment?"
"The plans on how to get the Prince Sasuke's heart on the spring play," he said briefly.
"I-I see…" She laughed uncomfortably, deep inside hating the impersonal way of his speech. "I should expect nothing less from Nara Shikamaru, my father's best political strategist."
"Effective today, I am no longer qualified of that title," he replied, turning his back on her.
"E-Eh?" She blinked.
"I have handed in my resignation," he said somewhat wearily.
She felt her heart dive. "R-Resignation? B-But…" She couldn't explain the panic forming within her. "R-Resignation…b-but why? I-Is the pay not good? Did Daddy say anything bad to you? H-Had anyone tried to hurt—" Her words ceased. Of course, the answer was glaring right under their noses.
It was her.
"S-Shika…"
"Don't say anything," he said with much difficulty in his voice. "Please leave me at least with my pride."
"I-I…" A lump formed in her throat. This was the last thing in the world that she wanted to happen. Shikamaru was her best male friend, the only one who would care for her so much. "Shika!" she cried.
He turned to her expectantly, and for a moment, they were both silent, waiting for each other's reactions.
Ino clasped her hands together, eyes shut tight. She knew that Shikamaru would do anything for her, anything she says, in fact. She only had to say no, and he would obey her. He would stay, she knew he would.
But her mind surfaced—why should she beg him not to leave? He was just a friend who happened to be very close to her since childhood.
Right?
It was Sasuke whom she wanted. Uchiha Sasuke was the man of her dreams.
He was everything Nara Shikamaru wasn't.
She looked up, pasting a mechanical smile on her face. "Take care, Shika."
The boy bowed one last time at her. "Goodbye, Lady Ino."
Her eyes widened.
The door had already been closed for some five minutes already, but she was still staring there as if in a daze. She had not realized that tears had streaked down her cheeks already.
Lady Ino. It happened already.
Her chest constricted as she remembered what Shika told her years ago.
"Stop calling me 'Ino' already! Father said that I'm already a small court lady, so I have to be called with my title already!" she snapped at her butler.
"The day that I voluntarily call you that is when I hand over the responsibility of looking after you to someone else already," he stated simply.
And now was that day.
He had let go of her already.
But why did that thought shake the living daylights out of her?
.
.
.
Sakura was heading out to find Earl Hyuuga Neji when she saw Nara Shikamaru exit the palace backdoor, his face not wearing the usual lazy smile on his face. She immediately knew something was wrong. "Shikamaru!"
He paused.
"W-Where are you going? W-Why are you holding a sack?" She forced a smile on her face. "Did Ino-chan break something again and you were tasked to hide the evidences—"
"I've resigned from my post," he informed her.
Her jaw dropped. "W-What?! B-But…" That was impossible—the last thing she knew Nara Shikamaru would want was to give up his easy life in the court. Aside from that, she knew he cared too much for his mistress to leave her just like that. Something very wrong must have happened. "S-Shika, you once told me that you will never leave her side until she doesn't need you anymore—"
"That time has come, Lady Sakura." He rubbed his shoulders. "Oh well, a good thing never lasts anyway."
"I don't believe that you are just going to give her up just like that!" she cried. "Not you, Nara Shikamaru. You may be a lot of things, including a lazy, indolent, idle, shiftless bum, but you are never a quitter."
"Never is a breakable word, Lady Sakura." He rubbed his temples. "By the way, your opinion on my character is just a notch above Ino's, and I thank you for your tact."
"Oooh, cut it out with the sarcasm!" she snapped, feigning annoyance on her face. "Tell me what happened, and maybe I can help."
"It's beyond repair."
"Try me!"
"I told her I love her, and she didn't hear me out."
.
.
.
Tenten sadly closed the door when she saw the bed of Hyuuga Neji was still as perfectly made as last night, and the nights before that. He had not yet come home ever since the incident with Hinata. She couldn't imagine her shock when she returned in the main palace after her session in the magic laboratory and found Neji carrying the heavily bleeding body of Hinata.
She attended to Hinata first, and when she checked on Neji again, the palace guards said he left the palace. Until now he still hadn't returned from his trip outside yet.
She felt someone touch her shoulder. It was Sir Gai, smiling at her reassuringly.
"The boy is sensible. He will not do anything that would put himself in harm's way." The Starlet gestured her to the dining room. "You look so tired. Eat and rest already, Mage Tenten. Lee is starting to worry about you too."
"First, Hinata. Now that arrogant bastard," she whispered, massaging her forehead. "I guess I was drained too much, Sir Gai."
"He'll eventually find his way home. Now grab a bite and rest. You need that to keep your spirits pumping and alive!" he said cheerfully.
It was hard not to smile back at his optimism. "Thanks, Sir Gai."
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.
.
"Her father knew about my feelings for her, and he wanted me as a son-in-law," said Shika as he and Sakura were seated by the steps of the backdoor of the palace. "He told me that he would issue a decree ordering his daughter to unite in the ceremony of matrimony with me when her eighteenth birthday comes."
Sakura clapped her hands in delight. "Why, that was a great opportunity, Shika! So what did you do?"
He smiled sadly. "I said, 'no'."
She blinked. "E-Eh? B-But…but that was your chance to have her! She couldn't refuse you anymore that way!"
He laughed sardonically. "You're right, of course. But I was a fool in love."
"Shikamaru…"
"I had always known that I cared for her deeply. I had imagined her as my lifetime companion, my wife, the mother of my children…" He cupped his chin. "But never in my life had I imagined her into being forced to become such. How can I be happy when she isn't? When she will hate me forever?"
"But maybe she will learn to love you eventually…"
"I don't want to risk it. All my life, I never allowed her to get hurt by anything. I don't want to break it by letting my selfishness get the best of me." He smiled at her. "I never knew how much I could give…how unselfish I could get…until that moment I refused Lord Yamanaka's help. I want her so badly—she was the one person I cherished the most—but I couldn't take her…could never bring myself to do it… even if all I had to do was to reach out. Just because I know I cannot make her happy the way I wanted her to be."
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"That was fairly easy," said the Mist soldiers, laughing at how they easily defeated the foot soldiers of the Leaf doing their routine pound on the boundaries of Mist, Sand, Sound, and Leaf—more popularly known as the crossroads. "Since we have the Sand demon by our side…"
Gazes at the red-haired soldier who was laughing with the other fighters of the kingdom. The sign of death was prominent on his forehead.
"Taking the Leaf palace will be easy. We would have to ask Lord Zabusa to come with us already. The only people we would have to worry about are the elite soldiers of the prince, and the prince himself who is known for his sharingan."
"Why didn't we think of invading the palace earlier?"
"And have you heard of the beauties of the court? I have seen the Lady Haruno when she visited the palace, but wow, I can't get enough of the girl. She's so cute!"
"Lady Yamanaka is not bad either—" The two soldiers froze when they heard their fellow soldiers scream in pain.
"What the hell—" The guardsman's eyes widened when he saw the decapitated head of the Sand demon, his eyes wide in unseeing terror. The soldier stepped back, shaking. Their best soldier was mutilated!
"Garbage," a female voice said, laughing cruelly. "These people had the guts to pose as us."
"What the Sand military was thinking would always puzzle me," another voice said.
"I hate politics…as much as I hate copycats," said a voice coldly, pushing the lifeless headless body away.
The Mist soldiers' eyes widened. "W-Wait a minute…" Their eyes went to the kanji on his forehead. "Love…"
"Love," said the red-headed boy before taking out the sword from the headless body and using it to execute the Mist soldiers.
…………………………….
To be continued
(longer chapter next update; my cousin and I have to go
already nn)
