Chapter 9: And Silver Bells Chimed
No, not those bells…-sweatdrop-
Note to TrueLoveHurts-san: no please believe me, you would regret kidnapping Shiroari, she chews EVERYTHING, not just wood...but I'll take that tea...
Keep this poem in mind as you get near the end:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Something cheesy,
I love you
And now instead of explaining the significance of that poem (which I happen to dislike above all other love poems) we explain that I own NOTHING! Except Yumi she's mine, and the cellar, and oh yeah the anti-psychotics in the cupboard—I mean, uh, ON WITH THE STORY!
And Silver Bells Chimed
He hadn't come.
Hinata stared desolately at the gate, lost and with tears forming in her silver eyes. How could he…? But…he…Naruto-kun…you promised…
She sank down to her knees, the hope and anxiety in her face being replaced by shock. Stunned, she just knelt there, unable to breathe properly around the choking depression.
From inside the mansion, Yumi's sharp furious voice called "That boy is dead!" There was a bustle noise, and then "Hinata-sama, come inside before you get a sunburn!"
Hinata didn't hear her. She just stared dumbly at the gate, deaf and blind to everything but the road beyond it…the road where Naruto was supposed to have come. The empty road.
"Wait!"
The sound of running feet penetrated the heavy air, through the dark fog of despair Hinata was sinking into. A sudden curse filled the atmosphere and one of the decorative bushes along-side the road was mauled over.
The cause of said mauling was now stuck rather painfully within its prickly confines, swearing and yelping in pain. "Dammit, stupid bush—ow—there!"
Naruto toppled out of it, looking rather mussed from the battle. He scrambled toward the gate, almost tripping on his way there. He was breathing hard, puffing and exhausted. "I made it!" he yelled desperately. "I—made…it! I'm not late, I—(puff)—swear!" He was still sprinting toward the gate, arms waving frantically. Reaching it, he stopped and doubled over to clutch his knees, sides heaving. "I'm…here!" he gasped out.
"Naruto-kun!" cried Hinata, forgetting her shyness in her joy and running forward (well, as much as it's possible to run in a kimono, anyway, which it isn't) and opening the gate. "You came!"
"I'm not late!" he gasped out, looking up at her through the bright hair that had fallen over his face. "Sorry, Hinata-chan!"
"Naruto!" Yumi's threatening, intimidating voice filled the air with dangerous thunder. The aptly named future-dead-boy flinched and looked scared for a moment.
"Uh…hi Yumi-san!" he called, trying to be cheerful and nonchalant and managing to sound only a little nervous.
"You're late, boy!" she snapped, holding her feather duster like a real weapon—which, in her hands, it was, and far deadlier than a kunai.
"Sorry! I—"
"Let's go," whispered Hinata quickly, taking his hand and pulling him after her. She didn't think about it being a forward move or how he might take it; she just wanted to get him away from Yumi before the intimidating woman had a good chance to squish him.
She had gone about a hundred yards before she realized that she was still holding his hand. She blushed furiously and tried to let go, thinking Oh no, what if he thinks I'm flirting! He must think I'm as bad as Ino-san!
But he didn't release her hand. He was walking beside her normally, completely at ease with holding her right hand in his left. He wasn't looking at her, but watching the sky, the perfect blue dome that was the same color as his beautiful eyes.
"Um…Naruto-kun?" she whispered hesitantly, forcing the words out through her suddenly very tight, dry throat.
"Huh? Sorry!" he exclaimed, stopping and then running around in front of her to stare sincerely into her eyes and grasping her hand earnestly. "I really didn't mean to be late, I just—I wasn't all that late, I swear!" he explained in a rush, pleading with his eyes for her to believe him. He managed to look cute and terribly earnest without appearing pathetic or whiny in any way. "I'll try harder next time, okay? Don't be mad at me!"
"Um—it's…it's ok, Naruto-kun," she stammered, telling him with her eyes, which were very wide now, not to worry about it. As if I could ever be mad at you, Naruto-kun. "It's—not that. It's just…um…" she held up her right hand, which was still entwined with his left.
"What is it?" he asked, confused. "Is there something wrong with your hands?" He studied them. Her hand was white as porcelain, so pale he could see the blue paths of the veins in her wrist. His own hand was darker, golden, and larger than her small appendage.
"Well…no," she mumbled shyly, still blushing. "It's just…we're…we're—holding hands…"
"Oh!" he seemed to realize this for the first time. "Yeah." He stared at their hands, blinking once. "Cool! I've never held a girl's hand before," he said excitedly. "Have you?" He stopped, frowning a little. "That didn't come out right. I mean, have you ever held a boy's hand before?"
Hinata thought she might die now, her face was burning so intensely. Mutely, she shook her head since her voice had completely abandoned her. 'Embarrassed' would have been an incredible understatement…
"Neat!" he said cheerfully. Their hands swung slightly as he pulled her forward a little, encouraging her to move faster. He darted a sideways look at her, a sort of scheming expression on his face. "You know," he said carefully and far too casually, a sly undertone in his voice she'd never heard before creeping into his demeanor, "I've never been kissed by a girl either…"
"Naruto-kun!" she yelped in shock. If she thought she'd been blushing before, Hinata was a burning inferno of self-consciousness and discomfiture now. Not to say that she would have minded if he kissed her—in fact, she probably would have fainted out of joy—but for him to just come out and say what she'd been daydreaming about for years made her want to hide under a rock and stay there.
"I was just kidding!" he said hastily, backing off immediately and laughing. "Joking, I promise!" He was grinning his huge signature 'naruto-grin' (for lack of a better description) and his eyes were squinted closed, free hand behind his head. Inwardly grateful that Hinata was not the fiery demoness Sakura could be when hit on (since he would have been in a considerable amount of pain if she were), he laughed "No kiss! I'm not a pervert, like ero-sennin."
Hinata's flushing calmed slightly and she nodded a little. She pushed away the strange feeling of vague disappointment and grasped his hand a little tighter with her slender fingers.
Sitting at the ramen booth, Naruto's mind wandered again to Sasuke. He had been doing rather well so far with staying on track an taking in all the sights around him, but the behavior of his teammate/rival were just so odd—
"N-Naruto-kun?"
"Gyah!" He leapt off the stool and fell over, toppling to the ground with his legs still entangled in the wooden stool.
"Oh!" Hinata slipped off her stool and knelt to help him, freeing his legs and looking intently into his eyes to make sure he wasn't in pain.
"It's okay, Hinata-chan," he said hastily, highly embarrassed.
"Did I startle you? I—I'm sorry. I…didn't mean to," she whispered.
"No really it's ok!" he exclaimed, bouncing back up to his feet and extending a hand to help her as well. "It's just, well, you're really quiet; sometimes it's hard to tell you're there," he explained. "It's just a little surprising when you say anything, is all."
"Oh." She looked a little crestfallen.
Naruto tried to explain himself, not wanting to hurt her. "There's nothing wrong with being quiet!" he exclaimed. "I'm just not used to it." He paused as a little girl with a kitten ran by. "Maybe you should wear a bell, like a cat," he said brightly, joking to lighten the mood. For some reason it was very important to him that Hinata not be sad. "Then there's no way you could fade into the background!"
"A…bell?" she murmured in surprise.
"Yeah!" he said, warming to the subject and grinning widely. "A silver one, to go with your pretty eyes!"
It was such a sincere, innocent statement, and his face was so open and honest, that it was impossible not to be touched by him. A woman far more jaded than Hinata would have been swayed by that accidental, completely unintentionally flattering remark; the Hyuuga heir herself was overwhelmed, small tears forming in her eyes as she smiled and felt herself floating through happy clouds. If this was a dream, she prayed she would never ever wake up…
Thinking the tears were sad, he moaned "Oh no, I made it worse!" More clearly, he said "Hinata-chan I'm really sorry, I didn't mean what I said about you being quiet! And you don't have to wear a bell, I'll try harder! Please don't be sad!"
She smiled wider, the expression breaking free of the limits of her usual shy half-smile. "I'm not sad, Naruto-kun," she said happily. "You…you're making this the best day of my life." And she giggled at the confused look on his face, his expression reminding her of a beautiful frog.
Over the course of the day, the two of them managed to make it the happiest event for either of them in a long time. Hinata blossomed under the attention Naruto gave her (which, in typical Uzumaki style, was open, sincere, and entirely unaware of any effect on her whatsoever), and he in turn warmed to the way she actually paid attention to him and listened to what she said. For both of them, this was a new experience, and a very enjoyable one.
Eventually, Naruto even got Hinata to open up a little bit about her family. "Father is so unhappy that I'm weak," she sighed. Her stutter had mostly disappeared after her first glass of sake (someone had been giving out free samples of rice wine, and they'd both tried some, with the result that they were both just a little bit tipsy). "I am, too—I want to be strong. But even Hanabi is stronger than I am, and Neji…Neji hates me," she whispered. Tears welled in her silver eyes.
Naruto looked sad and a little serious, displaying one of his rare somber faces. "Neji is just…angry," he said after a moment. "I don't know why, really—hey! I have an idea!" he exclaimed suddenly.
Hinata perked up a little. Anything that would help her with her cousin was a bonus to her; she didn't like living with people who hated her, and even one person who liked her would be an improvement.
"Lock him up!" exclaimed Naruto excitedly, hiccupping a little bit at the end of the sentence but covering it well.
"…what?" she was completely lost now. What does this have to do with anything? And Neji doesn't need to go to jail…just a psychologist…
"Lock him up somewhere—maybe that scroll-thing you have behind your house, that'll hold him—and make him stay there until he tells you what his problem is!" The huge grin on his face made it difficult to be angry or exasperated with him.
Neji would kill me! Not to mention I would never be able to get him in there in the first place. "Um…Naruto-kun…that might not…and besides, he'd never talk to me."
"Sure he will! Leave him there long enough and he'll talk to anyone! Even Ino, I bet!" Suddenly there was a thoughtful, evil-scheming look on his face. "That would be really funny…" he muttered to himself, laughter hiding in his sky-colored eyes.
"Uh Naruto-kun, that's not a good idea," said Hinata hastily, picturing what would happen if she locked Neji and Ino up together. Yumi-san would kill me—bloodstains are really hard to get out…
"Aw fine," he grumbled.
Yumi glared suspiciously at Naruto when he brought Hinata back, and chased her up to bed with barely enough time to say good-bye. He made a hasty exit out the door and away from the grounds, getting the feeling that if he stayed he would be cross-examined and turned inside out.
"Is Sakura-chan back yet?" asked Hinata, coming back to say good-night to Yumi and return the flower in her hair.
"If Haruno-san came back, she didn' stop by," said Yumi. "How'd the day go?"
"It was wonderful," said Hinata, laying the flower gently on the table. She didn't say anything else, but she must have looked rather star-struck and infatuated because Yumi snorted in disgusted amusement and said "Git. Off to bed, now."
Not really sleepy yet, Hinata lay awake beneath her blankets and thought over what Naruto had said.
Lock him up? That would only make Neji angrier, she was sure of it. He would see it as her flaunting her power over him, holding it over his head, not as her trying to reach him. And besides, she couldn't stay by the cell forever, and he would probably just go to the other side and refuse to talk to her anyway.
But…what if I was locked up with him? Then there's no way he could accuse me of being better-treated than him—we'd be on equal ground.
Except, of course, that he would very likely kill me and I'd have nowhere to run.
But how else was she supposed to get him to talk to her? Already, he was eighteen; it wouldn't be long before he decided to move out on his own and she would lose him forever. Although that would also mean she could avoid him, Hinata knew she'd be afraid of him and ashamed for the rest of her life if she didn't face her fears and deal with the problem now.
The 'scroll thing' Naruto had referred to for confining Neji was a stone cellar behind the Hyuuga mansion with a few air-slits and a heavy iron door. It wasn't really used for anything anymore, but it was kept in good repair by Yumi, free of mold or damp or dust. It used to hold artifacts of her clan, and so was infused with the chakra of each successive Head of the family, making it an impenetrable fortress about three yards long and three wide.
I think…I think I will, she thought, surprising herself with her own boldness. It was a forward, very open and rather courage-requiring move, completely unlike her. I'll do it tomorrow. I'll ask Yumi-san for help; I don't thinks he likes him very much and she'd be happy to get him out of her way for a while.
Having settled her indecision, Hinata drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Naruto and little silver bells that chimed softly.
The Next Day
Hinata rose early and padded silently out of her room, searching the house for Yumi. She found the maid in the kitchen, swearing loudly at the large oblivious stain she was doing her best to utterly annihilate.
"Um…Yumi-san?" she ventured timidly, almost afraid to interrupt.
"Damn splotch! —oh, yes, Hinata-sama?" Yumi glanced up at her briefly before returning to her attack upon the offending mark.
"Um…yesterday, with Naruto-kun…he…"
"That boy try anything?" snapped Yumi curtly and vehemently, startling Hinata into jumping a little with her abruptness.
"No! Naruto-kun isn't like that, Yumi-san," stammered Hinata, getting over her surprise.
"Good; I didn't feel like taking the time to kill his sorry ass," she said without looking up. "Then what is it?" Her voice was harsher than usual due to her frustration with the stubborn stain.
"Uh, well…he um suggested…a—a way to help with…to help with things between—between me and Neji-nii-san," she managed to stutter out. She was poking her fingers together and one toe was tracing little circles on the floor.
The swearing stopped abruptly, the last curse frozen in mid-syllable. So did the vigorous scrubbing/scraping sounds. Hinata darted a curious glance up at Yumi, who was regarding her with an unreadable expression. She was gracing the heir with her full attention, straightening bit by bit as she said slowly "Did he now." Her voice was as neutral as her face. "…and what did he suggest?"
This was the difficult part; she felt her tongue freeze and stick to the roof of her mouth. It had all made sense in her head last night, but saying it out loud would make it sound silly and futile, an idiotic attempt that would harm more than help. "Um…h-he suggested that I…that I lock us up together until...lock in the scroll-cellar out back…until he talks to me…and…and tells me…"
Yumi wasn't giving her any indication to how she felt or what she was thinking, neither encouraging nor disapproving as Hinata stammered.
The next part came out in a rush of words as Hinata let her frustration through: "Until he tells me why he hates me so much! Until he finally lets me in!"
There was evaluation in her gaze now. Not approval, but not disgust either. "Let me repeat this," she said slowly. Most of the accent of her dialect was gone from her voice now as she carefully formed every word. "You want to lock yourself and your cousin in the cellar used for artifacts, and not let either of you out until he opens up and talks to you?"
Hinata blushed in shame and looked down at her toes. "Yes," she whispered, voice barely audible.
A caw of harsh, hearty laughter made her look up sharply in surprise. "Perfect!" crowed Yumi enthusiastically.
It took careful planning on both their parts to make it work. They ended up drugging the water bottle he kept near his bed, since he drank from it right before he went to bed every night. They waited for it to take effect (which didn't take all that long—Yumi knew her herbs, and he'd been tired anyway), and then dragged him out to the cellar and put him in it. Hinata climbed in after him and Yumi supplied blankets and two pillows.
Hinata made a bed up for Neji and maneuvered him into it (no easy task—muscle is a lot heavier than fat, and there was a lot more of the first than the latter on him, and she wasn't particularly strong), and then used the remaining blankets and pillow for herself.
Yumi locked the door and activated the chakra seals that would keep both of them inside an everyone else outside, then with a last chuckle she headed inside.
Surprisingly enough, it didn't take Hinata all that long to fall asleep. Even without training hard that day, the nerves it had taken to plan and carry out Neji's sort-of-kidnapping had drained her considerably. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was Neji's sleeping form a few feet away, expression unnaturally peaceful in slumber.
"What the HELL is going on!" Neji's outraged yell woke her up rather early the next morning.
He's taking this a lot better than I thought he would. "Um…Good morning, Neji-nii-san," she said.
"Why are we in here?" he demanded anrily, turning to glare at her. Hinata started to shrink back, but for some reason soft bells chimed in the back of her mind and she stopped herself from cowering.
"Yumi-san locked us in," she said without so much as a single stammer, although the words were a little slow.
"Why?" he repeated, his snarl unusually expressive. I have to train today, and Hokage-sama expected me later! What the hell was that woman thinking?
"We…we're in here until you…until you tell me exactly why you hate me so much," said Hinata softly.
"What?" he growled quietly. Suddenly Hinata was out of her blankets and pressed up against the wall, held there by a cool hand just below her throat. She could still breathe, but the threat was there and very real.
"Until you either s-stop hating me for some reason, or at least tell me what it is," she answered as levelly as she could. She didn't drop her eyes although she dearly wanted to stared at the floor and poke her fingers together. She clenched her fists at her sides so she wouldn't be tempted. The memory of her dream, the silver bells, for some reason gave her the boldness to at least stare as high as his chin.
Disgusted, Neji dropped her and turned away, stalking to the other end of the cellar and standing there stonily. Hinata leaned against the wall, rubbing her throat and trying to keep her gasps of air quiet so as not to disturb him.
Should I…should I press?...no, I'll let him be for now. He'll come around eventually. He has to…no one can remain silent forever.
It might not have been forever, but it was still one hell of a long time. Neji ignored her with double the determination he had ever shown before, and none of his anger had disappeared in the slightest—if anything, he seemed to be re-nursing old hurt and resentment.
Hinata was absolutely miserable. She could feel the bitterness and dislike rolling off him and filling the entire cell, choking her with his antipathy until she wanted to cry.
The only thing that kept her from begging Yumi to let them out when the maid came feed them was the vague memory of delicate chiming, faintly glittering in the back of her mind.
After his initial outburst, her cousin remained completely silent. It was a week before he said anything to her at all, and then his words were clipped and harsh-sounding.
"Why…do you want to know my reasons for hating you?" he asked coldly.
She was so surprised that he'd said something to her that she didn't answer right away. Realizing he was getting impatient, she collected herself and said "Because…because I never understood." She stopped and shook her head. "I—you used to like me, when we were little. I remember you were nice—you were the only nice person in the whole family," she added, sighing softly. "I—I just want to know…what happened. What changed. It was almost overnight, you just—stopped being nice. You were always angry with me and I never knew why. I know now that I really wasn't being singled out by you like I thought I was—you really don't care for any of the family, do you? But still…I want to understand. I still like you, Neij-nii-san," she whispered. "Even if you hate it, you're my family, and no matter how cold you are I will always…always care for you. I just…want to know."
He didn't reply. Hinata wasn't even sure he was still listening to her. She sat back against the wall, curled into a ball, and put her head between her knees.
Yumi's P.O.V.
The house seemed a lot emptier without Hinata and Neji there. It wasn't that it was any quieter; nither of them were loud people. But their distinct personalities were missing, and although she didn't miss Neji's brooding silence in the least, Hinata's gentle cheer had lightened her work considerably in the past (although she'd never tell the girl that). It became a chore to cook and clean rather than a job she enjoyed to an extent.
The loud blond boy Hinata was so fond of stopped by after two days, ringing the freaking doorbell and calling for her until Yumi thought her head might explode (or her temper, which was rather short). Finally she stomped out of the house and bellowed
"Shut up, dammit!"
He closed his mouth with a rather audible snap and a startled expression. "Um…Yumi-san?" he said uncertaintly. "Where's Hinata-chan?"
"With Neji-san," answered Yumi, putting her hands on her hips.
"Huh? I though they didn't like each other," he said with a frown.
Yumi wondered for a moment if he was playing with her or if he'd really forgotten that it been his suggestion in the first place. She decided he'd forgotten and said "They don't. That's the point."
"Then…why are they together?"
"Don' you remember, boy? It was your suggestion."
"Huh? I told Hinata she should lock Neji in—wait a minute! I WAS JOKING! I didn't mean it!"
Yumi almost did an anime fall, but decided a simple sweatdrop was sufficient. "Uh…" she'd never been at a loss for words before. She shook her head. "Don't matter; they're in there now. Ya can't see her. Come back in a week or so, maybe they'll be out by then."
"A week?" he whined. She glared at him and he backed down with a sigh. "Okay…can I at least give her this?" he held up a bowl.
"What the hell is that?" grunted Yumi, sniffing experimentally.
"Ramen!" he said enthusiastically. "Chicken flavor! They had 'roasted chicken' flavor too, but I didn't get that one because I wasn't sure what the difference was and I didn't know if she even likes roasted chickens but I know she likes regular chickens because we had chicken ramen and—"
"Stop the noise!" yelled Yumi, clapping her hands to her ears. Naruto looked a little hurt; Yumi sighed; she really didn't mean to be rude, she was just…impatient. Okay, maybe a little rude. Mostly temper. "Okay, I'll give it to her," she said. When his face brightened to a huge grin and he bounced slightly up and down, she added gruffly "But ya gotta show me how to make it, so Neji ain't left out."
"Alright!" he exclaimed happily. "I love making ramen! I like eating it more though," he added as an afterthought.
"Whatever. Just come in," ordered Yumi. She opened the gate and then led him inside to the kitchen. There was a curious bright spot on the floor, looking about five times as clean as it should have been.
The next half an hour was decidedly…interesting.
"What's this?" Neji looked suspiciously at the steaming bowl, distaste threaded faintly through the ice in his voice.
"Ramen," said Yumi shortly. "An' are you two getting' along yet?"
Neji turned away from her with his bowl in hand and continued to ignore both women. Hinata shook her head sadly as she took her bowl from Yumi. "Thanks, Yumi-san," she whispered.
"That boy, Naruto, showed me how to make it," explained Yumi with a shrug. "It's easy; get used to eating it." More loudly, she added briskly "See y'all at dinner." She closed the doggy-door she'd used to pass food to them Kage: I don't know why there's a doggy-flap in an ancient scroll safe, just go with me! and left.
Yumi spent a rather irritating day looking after Hanabi, who just recovered enough from her illness to be at her most demanding without being able to really do anything. That brat has gotta be the most spoiled, egotistical child I have ever met. Her ego is worse than her father's; at least Hiashi-sama will occasionally admit it when he's wrong! That girl is unbearable—especially when she's sick.
She needed a headache pill.
Oh wait, I have to feed those two. Let's see, something simple…
She brought them out their soup and tea, setting it inside the door since it seemed they were both taking a nap. She started to turn away, but Neji was suddenly there, face right up to the flap. Yumi twitched slightly, but looked him straight in the eye and said levelly "Yes?"
"Let me out," he ordered. "This is stupid."
Her headache sharpened considerably. Damn it all. "No." He glared at her. I need that freaking aspirin; where'd I put it again?
"I said, it's—"
"I'm not lettin' you out of there until you take that damn stick up your ass out!" Aspirin, where did I put it? I think I need two…
"What? There is no stick up my—HEY!" he hissed furiously, having realized what she meant. Yumi ignored him and walked away.
Hinata's P.O.V.
Neji had sunk into another brooding silence after his single question. It was still just as draining as the first one, but now what kept her going was the promise that he had unintentionally and unknowingly given her when he spoke—that he could be worn down wih time, and all it would take on her part was patience.
Hinata discovered that she was an extremely patient person, which didn't surprise her as much as she thought it would. Unfortunately, Neji was also very stubborn. It was four days before he spoke to her again.
"Don't you want to get out of here?" he asked in a monotone.
"Yes," she answered at once. "I…" she'd started to say 'I miss Naruto-kun' but decided against it. "…I'm tired of being in here."
"Then why don't you tell Yumi to call it off?" he sneered. "She'd probably listen to you."
"No she wouldn't," defended Hinata. "Neji-nii-san, Yumi-san is very—stubborn. She won't…let either of us out until…"
"Until we start getting along?" he snapped bitterly, glaring at her. She dropped her eyes and nodded mutely.
Neji's P.O.V.
It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't so damn calm about it. He was about ready to try breaking out, even though he knew it wouldn't work because of all the chakra infused within the stone. But whenever he looked at her, there she was, sitting and looking at him, or standing and stretching a bit, or sleeping peacefully like nothing was wrong. And that was all she did, when she wasn't eating the food Yumi brought.
It was infuriating, that she was so patient. It was like none of his coldness had any affect on her. He hadn't known she was a patient person—actually he really didn't know much about her at all that he could avoid learning. Neji preferred to hate her from afar rather than get close to her.
She was alwsy weak before, giving up or letting go when others would have held on. Why is she choosing now to persist, now to find the one ounce of stubborn-ness she actually possesses?
Was it really that important to her that they be close?
I'll never be close with her. Ever. I can't stand her, how she has no confidence even when she could actually succeed, how she always finds a way to continue and make the best of something anyway even when she almost always fails, how she never meets anyone's eyes, the way she is the weakest of the clan and I don't have a chance of inheriting at all, or even being her equal. I hate that her father is alive and mine is dead.
That was really what it boiled down to, in the end. He resented her weakness and yet ironic position of power, and that his father had to die while hers lived to rule over him. The fact that she had annoying shyness habits was only a bonus, an added irritation that made it easier to hate her.
Hinata's P.O.V.
It had been two weeks since Yumi had helped her to lock the two of them in the old scroll-safe; the upcoming sunrise would mark the fifteenth day, and it wasn't that far away. The whole ordeal was really wearing on Hinata, but she refused to give up or complain. Every time she thought of begging Yumi to let them out, the image of Neji actually doing something nice to her or for her because he felt like it (instead of Yumi forcing him to) changed her mind, or the thought that she would have at least one ally or friend amidst all the contempt and coldness in the Hyuuga household made her hope again.
And there were still the silver bells, chiming softly in the back of her mind whenever she thought of giving up, driving her on when she would have long ago failed.
She was so used to the silence by now that she wondered if she would be able to handle the noise of Konoha when she finally left. Is this how Neji-nii-san feels every day? Just…wanting the silence? Being used to this? It could be comforting in a way, I suppose; peaceful.
But the peace didn't keep her from missing Naruto, his cheerful voice, or even Yumi's sharp temper.
"You want to know why I don't like you?" Neji's deep voice broke into the damp predawn quiet. His tones had never been particularly high, even as a child, and after he hit puberty it dropped really low, deeper even than his uncle's, so that it surprised her whenever she heard him speak.
She didn't answer verbally, having gotten the impression long ago that her voice irritated him, but simply nodded instead.
"It's not just one reason. If that's what you were hoping, forget it," he said flatly
Hinata turned her head to look at him, slightly over her shoulder since she wasn't facing him. There was a calm, expectant patience in her silver eyes, open and telling him to continue at his own pace. "I—I know," she said quietly. "I…I didn't think it was that simple."
"There's one reason," he informed her with irritation. "You stutter all the time, and it's annoying. You've never even gotten out a simple sentence without stammering. Not even a single word."
Hurt flashed slightly in her eyes but she remained silent, and that set him off a little more.
"You're so concerned that everyone hates you that even one harsh word upsets you. But you never defend yourself!" he stopped himself before he actually started to rant, something he never thought he would be in danger of doing. It must be the confinement, he decided. I've been stuck alone with someone for so long; that must be it.
"Th—that's why you hate me?" she whispered. In contrast to his, her voice was high, soft and breathy even when she was speaking normally. It was almost inaudible when she wasn't consciously trying to be loud. "B-because I…stammer?"
"Partly," he conceded, grumbling. "You shouldn't be shy—you should be strong and confident because you're a goddam Hyuuga!" He was warming to his subject, and before he knew it he couldn't stop himself; all the resentment started to pour out of him in angry words he'd kept back for years. "You're part of the fucking Main House, Hinata-sama!" he emphasized the honorific bitterly, sharp as a blade. "You have everything you could ever want at your fingertips! And I have to sit here and take it and know that if it weren't for the damn seal I could crush you without any effort at all!" By the end he was nearly shouting.
Hinata stared at Neji. She had never heard her cousin speak with any passion whatsoever in his voice, not once in the course of her life. And he had just poured his innermost thoughts out to her. Granted, they were hateful anti-Hinata thoughts that really hurt, but he'd still handed her the key to himself, the core to all his anger.
Somehow, 'I'm sorry' was the wrong thing to say. She knew it immediately, was dead certain that it would make things worse and drive them apart permanently.
Neji was just as surprised as his cousin at his outburst, but he was determined not to show it. Chest heaving slightly, he considered calming himself down but decided against it a split second later; there was still too much he wanted her to know, too much anger she needed to see. If she wanted to know why he hated her, fine—he was only too happy to tell her exactly what was wrong with her.
"You…you hate the whole Main Branch, then," she repeated to herself softly.
He nodded stiffly. "All of you—every single one. My father—" he clenched his fists and glared at her, although she wasn't meeting his eyes to know it. "My father died for the Main House. And no one ever said 'I'm sorry' or asked if I missed him." Not that I would have told them, but it would have been nice. "Not once."
She bowed her head. Hinata was saddened by his words, sobered by what her family had done. For a few seconds, there was complete silence.
Then he spat bitterly "Aren't you going to say something sweet, like you always do?"
"Like what?" she whispered softly. "I could say I was sorry and I would be telling the truth, I really am—but it wouldn't…wouldn't help you. I…I was never told my uncle…your father…died for the Main House. Th-they told me he d-died on a mission."
Half-truths again; damn them all. "Are you using ignorance as an excuse?" he snapped contemptuously.
"No." she looked up and met his eyes for the first time. And, for some reason…he believed her.
"I—I wish it was different, Neji-nii-san," she whispered soberly, looking down again. "I—I know it would it should have been you in my place."
Since that was exactly what he had been thinking, there wasn't really much he could do except snort in anger. "Well, that won't happen."
"B-but you're not," she said, firmness in her voice. He glanced at her; there was conviction in her eyes. "And since I—I am the heir, no matter how much Father h-hates it, I can…I can ask him…to do something for me. For you—to—to set you free, if that's really what—what you want."
He stared at her. She made it sound so simple, but his rage was spent and he couldn't find the energy to re-fuel his fury enough to tear her down. His shy, diminutive and very sensitive cousin had just listened to and withstood every hurtful word he could throw at her without making a speech, and then offered to help him. As though he hadn't wounded her at all, as though it were only natural that she should help him or try to make him happy.
No one had ever done that, and it shocked him.
There was silence between them. For almost several long heartbeats, neither of them moved or even breathed. Hinata was actually holding his eyes without fear for the first time since she was a very small girl.
She's serious. Another thought crushed that one with common sense: "He'll never do that," he said coldly, turning away and breaking her gaze and the moment.
"Give me a chance," she entreated, simple sincerity in her voice. "Please, Neji-nii-san." I know it wasn't my fault that our family works this way, or that you were hurt and are still in pain because of it. But I want to make it up to you, to show you that I do care. She didn't know if she was asking him to give her a chance to persuade her father, or to give her a chance as a person. Hinata wasn't sure it really mattered.
Again, a long silence. His back was to her and she couldn't see his face, although she somehow doubted there would be much of an expression on it anyway; that much hadn't changed since childhood.
"Fine."
And the chapter is completed! WHOO! Hurray, that took forever! And Neji has to be feeling a lot better with that stuff off his chest! I mean come on, he's been holding on to it for like….dang how many years ahead is this fic? –spaces out trying to think- uh…FIVE! There we go! Five years post-canon, plus however-many since he actually GOT that seal on his forehead. That is one hell of a long grudge…although it's hard to really blame him…
And so, we've gotten that out of the way. And it was fifteen pages long on Word, too!
If anyone was wondering at the long time since I updated, I have been grounded and/or traveling all summer. Let's not get into detail on the grounded part, just leave it that I was told NOT to sneak out the window in the middle of the night again, but then I heard a noise and it sounded interesting and I wanted to explore and…you can fill in the blanks. Yeah…
Until next time—which I PROMISE will not be this long again from now (unless I sneak out again, of course –sweatdrop-) I'll be making up for the summer by writing like a maniac-typist now…bwa ha ha, beware all keyboards…
What, you all thought it ended? Well, it did!
But I decided to continue, and so posted the tenth chapter (which has now become 9½) because it was ridiculously short instead! Bwa ha ha…
4 Hours Earlier (Sakura's P.O.V.)
Sakura trudged tiredly back to Konoha, eyes downcast. It was more than exhaustion that made her irritable though; the entire mission had gone completely awry, one mistake and unexpected twist leading to another, and another, and another…and oh it had been a long two weeks…
All she wanted to do was report back to Tsunade, get paid, go home, and sleep for a few days. That wasn't too much to ask, was it? Report, get paid, go home, and sleep. She repeated it to herself like a mantra to keep her steadily on, all the way home.
Report, collect, home, sleep. Report, collect, home, sleep…
After what seemed like forever, she reached the Hokage's office. Finally…
She pushed open the door and stood in the reception-area. It looked exactly the same as it had when she'd left, and the comfort of the familiar sank in, making her sigh.
Shizune looked just as tired as she felt, but snapped awake from her late-night doze when she heard the door close as Sakura sighed in relief.
"Oh! Good to see you back," she said, stifling a yawn but looking genuinely pleased. "We were both getting a little worried! It's been two weeks since anyone's heard from you." That last was delivered with an accusing stare.
"Yeah…things got a little complicated," muttered Sakura. "Is Hokage-sama available?"
"You honestly think anyone else would show up at this hour?" sighed Shizune. "Ninja we may be, but I don't think anyone besides Gai-san actually rises this much before the sun. Go right in."
"What kept you, Sakura-san?" asked Tsunade, leaning back in her chair to stretch. She had paperwork spread over her desk messily, which she covered when the pink-haired chuunin entered.
Sakura grimaced. "It got uncomfortable," she grunted tiredly.
"I need a full report, Sakura-san," said the Hokage, taking out a pen. "What happened?"
"Finding Mr. Mizu-guy-with-wave-scar-on-cheek was no trouble," she answered, taking the chair that Tsunade had offered with a pen-jerk. "It was actually pretty easy; a genin team could have handled it."
Tsunade's eyebrows rose, but before she could comment Sakura continued "I managed to get close enough to him to attempt assassination."
"Attempt?" echoed Tsunade delicately.
"Yeah—attempt. The bastard knew I was a Leaf chuunin, Hokage-sama." He also seemed to think we were related—I think, anyway; that part was a little garbled. "He waited until we were alone to inform me he knew, and then he offered to be an informant for the Leaf, since he wasn't the head of whatever organization he was babbling about—I didn't find out anything about the organization, sorry; there was no time, you might want to send someone back to look into it. But anyway, he wanted security against whoever was the leader. He actually showed me the scrolls; practically threw them at me. Before I could say anything like a yes or no, he started babbling to someone in his head. I mean it, Hokage-sama, he was really talking to people who live in his head! Mizu was schizophrenic!"
"Was? He's dead? No, wait—you mean the mastermind we've been trying to capture for a year not only wasn't the big dog of the kennel, he was crazy?" repeated Tsunade incredulously. She sighed and looked resigned. "Well, I guess it does explain several things…continue."
"Well, he started going on about 'stay back' and that someone was threatening him, and then he started choking. I mean, his eyes bulged out, he turned blue, he was clawing at his throat…choking. On nothing."
"And?"
"He clawed at his throat so much, he eventually wrapped his hands around his neck and actually strangled himself. Right there, just like that," she said tiredly, shaking her head and looking slightly disgusted.
"He…strangled himself…in a schizophrenic fit?" Tsunade seemed to have trouble taking this in. We worked for a year trying to nail him, and then he had the nerve to go off the deep end and throttle himself!
"If I were making this up, I would have created a story that made sense. Yes, Hokage-sama, he choked himself. Very unexpectedly, too," she added. "And then, with the impeccable timing of all women—" and here she quirked the corner of her mouth slightly in irony— "His lover ran in, saw him strangled, me standing there holding him—I'd tried to stop him and hadn't let go of his hands yet—and started screaming."
"You didn't eliminate her?" asked Tsunade neutrally. She knew Sakura's dislike of taking life, and that it got in her way as often as it helped her.
"I knocked her out," said Sakura dismissively. "It didn't do any good; someone had already heard her. I was surrounded by people—I think I actually killed a few," she added sadly. "But I escaped. That was a week and a half ago."
"So where have you been?" demanded Tsunade. "I have come to expect something of you in terms of punctuality, Sakura-san."
"I said I escaped," repeated Sakura. "I went back to the hotel to grab my pack, and left."
"It only takes a day," Tsunade pointed out.
"I'm getting there," grumbled Sakura, irritable from sleep loss and the frustration of her mission. "Anway, they chased me."
"Who?"
"Mizu's friends." All thirty-odd of them. Bastards… "They weren't shinobi of any kind, but they apparently had friends of connections who are, and getting back I had to go the really freaking long way—under retreat conditions, too!" she fumed. "It was like being at war again, Hokage-sama, only I didn't have a team."
"Exactly…how long was this 'really freaking long way'?" asked Tsunade, getting her back on track.
"Try anything-but-straight-home. I circled completely around Fire country before ever even being able to head for Konoha!"
"Why? It can't have been that difficult to give them the slip," she pressed incredulously. "I thought your chakra control was superior to that."
"So did I," she muttered, managing not to sound sulky. "They had someone better than me."
"…and?"
"I got him," she grunted. "Took ten damn days, but I got him." She stopped and sighed, tilting her head back. "That took a lot of chakra…I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but I'm still tired from that confrontation even though it was yesterday. I apologize for my clipped mood."
Tsunade waved her explanation away, being rather touchy herself this early in the morning. "I understand that you're weary. I have a few more questions, and then you can collect your pay and return home."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama. But…technically, I didn't kill Mizu. He took care of that. Won't that affect my pay?"
"You got the scrolls, didn't you?" said Tsunade patiently.
"Well…yeah," she sighed. "But that was only half…"
"More like three quarters," shrugged Tsunade. "And Mizu is dead. Whether by assassination or suicide, he's gone. You're being paid in full."
Sakura slumped gratefully, exhaling in a burst of air in a relieved sigh so profound that Tsunade instantly sharpened her eyes and stared intently at the girl in front of her. "Thank you, Hokage-sama…I really appreciate that." She closed her eyes briefly.
I didn't want to be pushy, but I'm flat-out broke. I don't have enough to buy an energy bar to eat, even—not even two coins to rub together.
"Is there a reason you need the money?" asked Tsunade quietly.
Sakura was so tired that she almost let something slip. "Yeah, I'm b—um, I wanted to buy some extra things," she said with a shrug, hoping her hasty cover wasn't too obvious. "I didn't feel right using what I've already got for them." I need to get home, before she really gets curious. If there's one person in the world who's dangerous to me, it's the Hokage. I've never met anyone with her talent for finding secrets, not even Kakashi; he was ridiculously easy to fool compared to her.
She'd thought it would be hard to conceal her life from her team and teacher, but it really hadn't been; no matter how curious Kakashi or Naruto was, Sakura was a skilled actress when pushed. She had become very, very good at lying. She made it into an art—twist the truth, play with it and mold it to her own needs, leaving just enough of the reality to hold it all together.
She really did need to buy some extra things, too—like food. And, if this payed enough, maybe she would find herself a nice soft pillow too. It all depended.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow slightly; she had the sneaking suspicion that something was flying right over her head, leaving her with nothing but the faint sense of fluttering wings nearby as it escaped. Sakura was not telling her something…but the Hokage had the resigned inkling that the girl never would.
Sakura peeked again at the money in her hand. It was half again what she'd expected—with that much, she could survive quiet comfortably for almost two months, and get her pillow!
The sky was starting to lighten to charcoal, the gray sky illuminating her way rather well. There would be color soon. Sakura normally liked to watch the sunrise, but today she just felt like skipping it altogether and sleeping. There will be another one tomorrow; I'll watch that one. I'm more interested in watching my eyelids right now…
Tired or not, she was still careful on her way home as she crept down the path. The Forest might be creepy to the rest of the village, but its eerie power had long ago ceased to intimidate Sakura; that wasn't what worried her. Lately, she had seen people around her home, just flickers of movement and a faint spurt of chakra, then nothing. It was creeping her out, and she thought that They might be back again, hunting her again. They had been bothering her several years ago as well, but she'd hoped that They had given up…
There were few times she had been this grateful to see her hime (or at least the tree her home was in; her actual house was rather invisible from the ground), and she wasted no time in climbing it and deactivating the alarms and guards around it. Everything was undisturbed, she noticed relief. That is—until she looked at the door again.
Oh…oh my god.
Yumi's P.O.V.
Yumi was rather nicely surprised when she greeted the cousins that morning. She'd decided to go out early, before the sun had quite risen; it was promising to be a spectacular sunrise, and if they were getting anywhere she had considered rewarding them by giving them a camera-screen to watch it through.
They were actually sitting closely together; the tension was gone from small Hinata and the aura of 'I hate you all, leave me alone so I can resent Fate and the world in peace and silence' was greatly diminished (not: diminished, not disappeared) from Neji's demeanor. Some of his coldness had also dissipated, especially toward Hinata; he still seemed to dislike Yumi quite strongly, but the sturdy, gruff woman could hardly have cared less if anyone liked her or not.
"I take it it's time for you to be getting out, then?" she said mildly.
Hinata nodded and said "Yes please, Yumi-san."
"Neji? Ready to come out?" she asked.
He stared at her like what do you think? but then stopped himself and nodded, keeping his gaze level.
It worked, then. Good for you, little bird. Now it's time to stretch your wings.
Yumi unlocked the door and then left, adding over her shoulder "It's a beautiful sunrise today. Look at it before coming in."
Sakura's P.O.V.
The chakra marks over the door were…skewed. As though they'd been broken, and then replaced by someone of great skill and chakra specialty, but her aura wasn't present in the energy. Someone had managed to mimic her signature almost perfectly, though.
Oh god, no. Please, no… but she already knew. They had returned, it had to be Them. She had been so careful, too—losing sleep because of her constant vigils and fanatically hiding herself until she was certain that not even Kakashi and his nin-dogs would have been able to find her, telling no one where she was, not even the Hokage—this one or the last.
Biting her lip and pulling a kunai out of its holster, all exhaustion forgotten and long gone, Sakura reached up and touched the door. It swung open, eerily silent as always.
Inside it was dark, the light of the imminent sunrise doing almost nothing to illuminate the interior of her home. Sakura looked around carefully, warily, like prey that knows it is being hunted, helpless to stop it and unaware of when it will be attacked. Which she had just become…
Trepidation building within her, she stepped inside. Everything looked normal. Nothing was out-of-place—and with the very little she had, she would have noticed if even one thing was different. Nothing was stolen or even touched.
Did They just break the seals to scare me, and then leave? That seemed like a whole lot of effort for nothing—imitating someone else's chakra was next to impossible. It's something They would do, though…just letting me know They found me, like a taunt…like a cat toying with a mouse.
She looked around again, searching. Nothing at all—wait. There.
A piece of paper was on the middle of the floor, small and folded neatly. It was sealed with a pretty sticker; it looked like the kind of note a schoolgirl would pass to her friends or to a crush.
Tense beyond all belief now, Sakura hesitantly inched forward. Kneeling slowly, stiffly, she reached out with a shaking hand. Her fingers trembled so badly she almost dropped the note, and when she finally had it in her grasp she couldn't open it because of the violent fluttering.
She brought it to her face and inhaled slightly. It smelled of roses and sweet tobacco.
Forcing herself to calm down as much as she could (which wasn't very much at all), she concentrated on steadying her hand until she could peel the sticker off and open the paper.
It looked like a poem at first glance, written in verse with beautiful, flowing writing. Behind the words was the picture of a cherry blossom in full bloom, captured exquisitely in ink in a drawing that must have taken someone hours to perfect.
Her eyes scanned over the words and her heart stopped for a second. Covering her hand to stifle the terrified moan of despair, she let the paper flutter to the floor, overcome.
It floated with ironic grace to rest at her feet, words up to display the lovely flower, the beautiful art and the poem contained on the surface glaring up at her:
Blood shining red
Choke and turn blue
My dearest Sakura
I'll see you soon
Sorry for the delay--it was an interesting mix of getting grounded, losing my discs, and traveling ;
Anyway, I have good news and bad news...good news: I am off all anti-psychotics! WOOT! (Um I'm not joking...) Bad news...the next chapter has not yet been started because, honestly, I'm STUCK. Please give me some ideas, I'm really blocked here...
And now I reply to those of you who took the time to review! -bows to reviewers-
understar-san:
Yeah, I felt like being evil and left off...plus it was taking WAY too long to get out. Love your description of the evil dude.
neu chi no nai u -san:
Here is the update! And now you are back to waiting...wish I could help you with that--oh wait I can...
silver dark rose-san:
Thank you! (I scared her off...bwa ha ha I love being evil...)
cocoa-latte-san:
I love those...expect nore -evil cackle-
TrueLoveHurts-san:
You're going to have to find out, ne? -evil conspiracy look-
MKRA-san:
Hahaha...don't worry Neji's not going anywhere...YET. (I am so glad he can't pop out of Naruto-world and squish me...I would be dead and this story would end)
Hao'sAnjul-san:
He doesn't :)
Keito-kun:
I think Ayame would enjoy helping you with that doll...
Sorry if you thought it was random. I DID try to set it up, but maybe it needed a little more time...and no, Sasuke will end up all by his lonesome unless I start to feel sorry for him, but he doesn't get Sakura. –thumbs nose at uchiha-
Magus Black-san:
Answer any questions?
Youkaigirl-san:
Yep...but I thinkthe flame-happy fangirllearned now...-evil cackle-
Kurenai Chinoumi-san:
Ya me too...ja!
Bye bye...give me ideas or I can't update! (note: I am not saying "review or I won't update" I'm saying I'm stuck and need help) I know where I want this to go, but I don't know how to make it happen or how to get it there; seriously, I need ideas.
Kage