AN: ::bursts out laughing:: Oh, I knew someone would get pissed off because of that. Usually it takes a couple of chapters for people to start flaming, though. Anyways, thank you to all reviewers, even you angry flamers. Individual responses take too long, I've discovered, so I won't do them in this fanfic unless the review is a valid question, a constructive criticism, or really, really interesting.
Remember, to elicit a reply, make it good.
Thanks goes to-
Beta: Kim and Madi
Happy List: Xoni Newcomer, insanely-normal, saturnova, Dragon's Shadow, and Smiter
Angry List: Monster Taco
Italics flashback/dream/etc.
On with the show.
Chapter 2 – Blood and Waste
And that was how Kanaye found Hinata, curled tightly into a ball and framed by an incandescent square of light from the window. He thought she might be crying, or sulking, but she wasn't making any noise. Therefore, he could safely assume that she was dead. Kanaye kneeled over her body and put two fingers to her neck to check for a pulse.
"L-leave me alone," Hinata whispered.
"If you say so," Kanaye replied, standing up. He turned to go, paused, and came back to lock the window. Then he picked up a pocketknife carelessly abandoned on the counter. Then he did a quick once over of the kitchen to make sure all other sharp, pointy objects were out of sight.
Then he went away.
Now Hinata was alone. She unsteadily tottered to her feet, her face down and wet, and limped to the bathroom. Once she was safely inside, she locked the door, sucked in a deep breath, and stared into the mirror.
She was someone else, but who? And besides that...
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted, her byakugan realizing in an instant what was about to happen. She reacted before she could think, shoving in front of his frozen body and connecting with the darkness threatening to engulf him. Tatters of black thread wound themselves around her. At the tip a needle loomed and it stabbed her, embedding itself between her ribs and closing in on her heart. Like a broken bird, she beautifully crumpled. Drops of red rained down on the brown and green earth.
A panicked cry of "Hinata-chan!!!!!" made itself heard, and suddenly a face made of sunlight and fire appeared, wet with new tears. Naruto gently lifted her into his lap.
Hinata wanted to laugh and cry and scream. Just a few yards away was the mauled mess that used to be Sasuke, and now she was going too. If she didn't do something fast, this strange jutsu was going to eat –
She coughed weakly, and muttered something. Naruto leaned in, listening, eyes sad.
"Vial….in….bag," she managed, through the blood, sweat, and collapsed lung. Naruto ripped open the pouch as fast as humanly possible and carefully handed her the unmarked vial. She drank it quickly.
"Hinata-chan," he whispered.
"Don't…die," she said.
His face hardened into that resolved look she knew and loved. He wouldn't die.
Oh god, she thought, my Nariko-chan, Neji-kun, I don't want to d-
Dappled light hushing through trees overhead and the drip drip drip of drizzle. Somebody sounds far away, but close. I can feel them holding me.
Hinata stepped away from the mirror, breathing erratically, and opened the door to the bathroom. She wandered into the forlorn kitchen, shaking and crying. Her hands found a dishtowel and she wetted it, pushing herself through the motions of washing the counter, if only for the farce of normality. Anything to make it stop.
But she couldn't help but wonder if fate had dealt her a bad hand.
Sixteen-year-old Hinata was eavesdropping. Not on purpose, mind you, but because she'd happened to pass the room her father was meeting the Elders in. And the white paper walls of their traditional home were not very thick.
"-would solve the problem of a competent Hyuuga heir," her father was saying.
She heard murmurs of assent, and then her father's voice spoke.
"Come in, Hinata."
Shocked and nervous, Hinata in her black kimono kneeled, opened the door, and slid in as politely as she could while on her knees. She put her hands in her lap and twitched them, Her eyes were focused on the cherry wood floorboards in front of the small dais on which her father sat stiffly on his silk cushion.
He gave her a thin smile.
"A good ninja walks more quietly," he told her. "But no matter. This topic concerns you."
"Y-yes, Father," Hinata stammered in a whisper. She could feel the elders' eyes on her.
"We have proposed that if you marry Neji, we will allow you to train as a medic nin."
Well, the counters were done. She wasn't sure how to clean the living room's carpet, but there were still plenty of dusty dressers. She briefly pondered what Nikkou-san's mother was going to do about her, but threw herself back into the process of cleaning before she worried too much.
-------------------------------------------
By the time Kanaye returned home, hot city lights were drowning the stars out. The entry hall was quiet, but he could hear voices in the kitchen. And something smelled spicy and sweet. His mother…couldn't cook. Huh?
Trodding on squeaky linoleum, he found himself faced with an awesome sight: concussion girl in an apron, serving his mother red curry.
"Hey sweetie," his mom called, her mouth half full. "I think the amnesia your friend got from that concussion did her some good."
Hinata blushed, removing the apron knotted around her waist and backing away just enough.
"She even cleaned the apartment," Kanaye's mother continued, watching Kanaye's hunted expression. He had a mask of calm in place, but on the edges there were hints of irritation.
"I only w-wanted to thank you," Hinata muttered, eyes on the floor. Kanaye's mother smiled, even through the awkward silence.
"Well, kids, its been fun. Now it's time to go work the night shift," she grinned, uncrossing her long legs and grabbing her purse. "You can stay for now, Hinata-chan. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Kanaye."
She sauntered off, and the door closed with a resounding click. Kanaye stared at Hinata and said nothing. Hinata fidgeted and felt claustrophobic. Several seconds ticked away, and the quiet thickened. Surprisingly, Hinata broke it first.
"Uh…s-so your mother's a nurse, Nikkou-san?"
"Yeah," Kanaye replied, leaning back in his chair. His eyes were hooded, his face shadowed, and the dim bulb overhead leaked waxy yellow light on his black hair. Hinata shivered.
Ivory skin complete with messy black hair and scratched forehead protector, he didn't see Hinata in the ranks as he stood to face the Godaime Hokage in her mission hall. The gold light from the lamps overhead reflected on him and betrayed his youthful features. Naruto was next to him, a boyish smile on his teenage face.
"Okay, Sasuke," Tsunade sighed. "You can come home now."
When she returned from her trance, Kanaye was still staring at her. Hinata blanched, and as she did so began to unconsciously remember nervous habits she'd dropped years ago.
"So tell me about yourself…Sana."
"It's Hinata," Hinata said weakly.
"Right. Then I must be 'Sasuke.' Is he your boyfriend?" Kanaye smirked, eyes dark and narrow.
"No!" Hinata shot out instantaneously. Breathless, she was about to say something when-
"Oh, he's your ex. I see how it is," Kanaye replied, uncoiling like a python finished strangling its prey.
"No! I'm married!"
"You didn't invite me to your wedding?! That's rough."
Hinata was in shock, her mouth open. He wasn't being vicious, really…was he being….overdramatic?
"I mean, I would've made a great bridesmaid, don't you think? I'd look great in a dress," Kanaye continued. "So you were having an affair with 'Sasuke,' then?"
"No!"
"Oh, unrequited love," Kanaye nodded knowingly.
"No! He was an acquaintance!" she huffed, miffed at how he kept making assumptions.
"Waitaminute," Kanaye told her, making for a doorway. She sat down in a kitchen chair and waited for him. He returned minutes later with two water glasses, filled to the brim with a yellowish clear liquid.
"Is that alcohol?" Hinata asked warily, eyeing the suspicious fluid.
"No," Kanaye said. "This is single malt scotch whiskey."
"You're underage! What are you doing?!"
Kanaye eased back into his chair across from Hinata. He put the glasses on the table and rested his arms there.
"I know it's not a Friday night, but we're going to play a drinking game. We'll judge how fucked up you are by how wasted I am. Every time you say something weird, I'll take a sip….hmmm…. and how about you take a sip if I say something wrong? Or maybe you should just sip every time I do…"
"I don't want this stuff!" Hinata exclaimed.
Kanaye took a sip.
"Stop that!"
Kanaye took another sip.
He sighed, and then asked her, "You want some apple juice instead? I'll get some for you."
Without waiting for an answer, he got up, opened the fridge, removed a container, emptied some into a new glass, and placed it on the table. Then he slouched back into his seat.
"Okay," Kanaye started. "First question. So what do you do for a living, Haruko?"
"Hinata," Hinata corrected, still vaguely unhappy. "I am a medical ninja from Konohagakure."
A blank look crossed Kanaye's face. Then he drained a quarter of the glass, left, and came back with the whole bottle of scotch.
"I'm gonna need this," he grumbled. Seeing Hinata's protest before she could voice it, he added, "And don't preach to me, alright?"
Hinata stayed quiet, but tried her best to glare at him in a disapproving way. She didn't think it was working, though, because when he looked up he had to muffle his laughter with another sip of scotch.
"Now you ask one," he prodded her.
"Um…okay…what do you do for a living?"
Kanaye took another sip of scotch before he answered.
" 'm a student. Hmmm…so who's your family?" he mumbled.
"….Well, there's me…. Neji, my husband,….my daughter, Nariko…..my father….and many extended relatives. Uh, and you?"
Kanaye drank some more whiskey. His glass was half empty already. Noting this, Hinata began to worry. Maybe if she could just try harder, he wouldn't drink so much.
"Just me an' my mom," he answered, his words slightly slurred. Not enough to seriously dent his mental capacity, but enough that Hinata was beginning to see the effects on him. "Oh, and call me Kanaye. All this 'Nikkou-san' bullshit is annoying. It sounds like you're talking to my mom when you say it."
Hinata blushed an angry red, but said nothing. She turned away; Kanaye took a big gulp.
"Bet you'd like to know what happened though," was Kanaye's next loose phrase. This caused Hinata to glance sharply upward, urging him to do so. Steadily, he went on. "Well, I don't have a damn clue. You just showed up on my doorstep, bleeding. It interrupted my game of Samurai Showdown IV and since it was a part where I couldn't save, I lost to Amidamaru 'cause of you. Anyways, so I dragged you in by the arms 'cause I was too tired to pick you up. Didn' put you in a bed 'cause you'd vomit all over the covers, and I just had 'em cleaned from last time. Then you bled on my carpet, but mom wasn' home ye' to clean it up. So I lef' you there and wen' to sleep. It was two in the mornin', goddammit. People 'r asleep at two in the mornin'."
His glass was now empty. He slid the second glass of scotch, originally intended for Hinata, towards him.
"Yer not drinkin' yer apple juice," was his next comment. "Does it tase bad? Wan scoch with it?"
"No," was Hinata's answer, but by that time the scotch and the apple juice had already been mixed. Kanaye lifted it to his lips and promptly sprayed it everywhere.
"Tase like shit," he muttered dolefully, returning the glass to the table. "Remind….me not to do it again."
"Who am I supposed to be?" Hinata asked quietly, intent on stopping this nonsense. Half closed black eyes glared up at her.
"Toya Sorano. From the orph'nage," Kanaye grumbled. "At least yew fergot th' time when I lit your hair on fire wif a ciag…cigara…cigaret-not that I did anything like that."
He got up, swaying gently, and half-realized how wasted he was.
"Man," he said, "You're pretty fucked up this time, aren'tcha?"
Hinata dragged him across the floor to his bed by his arms because she was too tired to lift him.