Yay, we're updating on a weekly basis! I've never been able to do that working alone (too lazy). Lets all thank Walking Green Cucumber for that. Okay, on with the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (can someone tell me if these are necessary?)
Ino, on the other side of the room, saw Sakura approaching Hinata.
She dropped her cup, nearly choking over the water still in her mouth. "Oh great... Sakura..."
---
Sakura felt her skin prickling with a combined flame of anger, jealousy, and spite. She slammed her hands loudly on Hinata's desk, making Hinata jolt back in surprise.
"You..." Sakura glared, "You stole my Sasuke!"
"I'm s-sorry Sakura," Hinata stammered. "I didn't m-mean to-"
"Oh, shut up, it's your fault in the first place. Why did you even have to come to our school? You ruined everything!" She raised her hand in the air.
Hinata closed her eyes, she knew what was going to happen next, I can avoid it... but maybe it'll make her feel better if she hits me. I really can't blame her... I'm so useless.
A dark and graceful figure glided over and stepped between Sakura and Hinata, and the slap meant for Hinata landed on Sasuke.
Sakura's eyes widened, her mouth letting out a terrified gasp, and she immediately withdrew her hand, putting it over her mouth. "Sasuke! I-I" She stuttered, her heart pounding rapidly. Oh my god... I just hit Sasuke!
Ino, who had been watching cautiously, gasped the same thought.
Hinata, who had heard the slap but felt nothing, opened her eyes to find someone's back in front of her desk.
Sasuke hadn't flinched; the slap was nothing to him. He stared down at Sakura, not menacingly but warningly. "It's not her fault," was all he said. Then he turned to Hinata, "Don't be so weak," and walked away, the crowd that had gathered stepping back to let him through.
Sakura's heart felt like it had shattered, her face was pale and her body trembled. She had hit Sasuke... Sasuke had... had... defended that girl, that nasty girl! How could this be possible! This was all a dream; it had to be. It wasn't real- soon she would wake up in her own bed, soon she would find out Sasuke wasn't engaged.
Her knees shook and she collapsed on herself. She covered her face, wanting to cry.
Someone gripped her hand, helping her up gently. It was Hinata.
Sakura looked at her questionably through her haze of tears. "Why?"
Hinata didn't answer, instead just murmured a soft, "I'm sorry."
Sakura couldn't stand the kindness she was being shown. Why would the Hyuuga help her even after she tried to slap her? She was pretending. Yes, that was it. It was all just to look good in front of Sasuke.
"Don't touch me!" Sakura hissed, running out of the room, even as her heart told her she had made a mistake. She would not submit to the Hyuuga. She was smart, and beautiful. She would win, because she always came out top.
---
As Hinata looked after Sakura sadly, wondering if it was her fault yet again, she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Ino.
"Look, I'm really sorry about Sakura. I think she knows she's lost, but her pride can't take it. She's really a good person, once you get to know her," Ino apologized, amidst Hinata's surprised eyes. "Will you give her another chance?"
"I-Ino, you aren't mad at me?"
"Sort of, I guess." Ino admitted, rubbing her neck in embarrassment. "But I kind of already gave up on Sasuke-kun a long time ago. Mainly I just competed with Sakura for Sasuke because I was angry at her, and wanted to punish her."
"For what?" Hinata wanted to ask, but instead she smiled, "Thank you."
"No problem," Ino smiled, before heading back to her desk. "I hope we can be friends."
"I hope not," Hinata thought, reminded of the curse. Lately, her mind kept on drifting towards Kayu and the curse, especially because of the engagement to the Uchiha clan. The clan with powers made to oppose her own.
---
Sakura ran out of the classroom and zoomed down the hallway, feeling tears fly off her cheeks.
I like Sasuke-kun... I really like Sasuke-kun... I...
She skidded around the corner, and carelessly rammed straight into something that felt as hard as a brick wall. "Ow!" She cried, falling onto the floor, "Watch i-"
"Hey Sakura-chan, are you okay?"
It was Naruto. What a total disappointment, running into a loser like him... she got up, wiped her face quickly, then snorted, "Tch, duh I'm okay."
"I... I heard about Sasuke..." His eyes were flatter than usual, and his voice not that confident, like he was almost afraid that he would hurt Sakura.
Sakura stood up boldly, "I know. But he doesn't love that Hyuuga, he'll never marry her, only for his clan. He'll come to me...someday." She felt her body quivering a bit, a lie Sakura... that's a lie... "It's not a lie!" Sakura screamed furiously, then darted past Naruto.
But he caught her wrist and pulled her back, his eyes open and his face serious, caring. "If there's anything you want to talk about to make you feel better, I'll always be here for you. You may still like Sasuke but I'll wait. As long as it takes." He looked determined.
Sakura stared, was this really Naruto? How could she have not noticed... that he... he really did care for her? That he wasn't kidding around, that he really wanted to help her, even after all the spite she had shown him. Perhaps she should just give him a chance, and not be so cruel next time.
Sakura smiled a bit, her eyes growing teary, "Thank you... Naruto..."
Naruto grinned in return, the trademark grin he was famous for. "No problem. So then, will you go on a date with me?" he asked, completely ruining the moment.
"NO WAY!" Sakura yelled, punching Naruto to punish him for his silliness. Still, she soon found herself giggling at Naruto's antics. For a moment surprise flickered across Naruto's features, before he joined in with the laughter.
"Thank you Naruto, but I just can't give up yet," Sakura apologized, wiping away the last of the tears. "I really am grateful to you, though."
Naruto smiled sadly down at Sakura. "It's alright. I'll still be here when you turn around."
Sakura gave Naruto one last departing smile before heading back to the classroom, walking slowly this time, and with a small smile gracing her face.
Naruto stared at Sakura's retreating figure for a while before a grin wound its way to his face and he headed back to his own classroom.
---
The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Hinata was so happy someone, no two people, had helped her, and yet there was a lingering doubt. Was it alright for her to be happy? Was it alright to be grateful to Ino, especially with her curse? And what about the Uchiha? What was his motive for helping her?
Hinata was still trying to sort out her questions as she walked out of the school. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice the figure standing by the doorway, despite the loud whispers from adoring girls around her. She was about to walk right past when she felt the tap on her shoulder. She turned around in question, only to meet a set of blank white eyes identical to her own.
"Neji-san?" Her eyes widened in surprise.
"I've come to pick you up. We have a board meeting. Let's go." Three sentences, brief and to the point.
As Hinata exited the building, she heard the whispers of the bystanders.
"Kyaa! Hinata has such a cool brother!"
"Idiot, that's her cousin! Haven't you read the news? That's Hyuuga Neji, he's taking care of the Hyuuga Company right now."
"I wish I was her."
"She's so lucky to have such a good looking relative."
'I'm not lucky at all,' Hinata thought. 'If only they knew. I would love to trade places with any one of them.'
---
"Hey Hinata-san! You came!" Someone popped out of the limo.
It had been a week since Neji had started picking Hinata up at school. Since then, there had been frequent meetings with the executives of the Hyuuga Company to discuss the future of the company, particularly about the possible merge with the Uchihas' companies.
At first it had been embarrassing, with the jealous stares from her classmates, partially caused by the engagement issue, but she had gotten used to it. Not like any of them talked to her anyways. And even if they did, it wasn't like she could talk back.
Hinata took a step back in surprise. "Tenten-san? What are you doing here?"
Tenten gave a wide grin, "What, I work with Neji-san, remember? So we get to go together!" She pulled Hinata in; Neji was already seated opposite of the two girls.
She felt stiff and awkward around her cousin who always seemed to be criticizing her; she wished it was just her and Tenten. Or maybe it would be better if she was all alone.
"You never called." Tenten pouted.
Neji's eyes suddenly looked up with alarm.
"I... I didn't have a lot of time... you know... with this engagement and all?" Hinata shifted in her seat uncomfortably.
Tenten waved her hand in forgiveness, "Oh well, that's okay, since you probably have a lot of stress with the engagement" a small nudge, "I'll let it off."
Neji straightened his back a bit, his ears sharp. Tenten and his cousin were getting a bit too close... and he didn't really enjoy this 'engagement' talk either.
"So... um... anything?" Tenten whispered quietly, making sure Neji wasn't paying attention. It's girl talk... Neji shouldn't listen; he wouldn't understand it.
"Wha?" Hinata blushed red, "What are you talking about?"
"You know... did... anything happen? Anything interesting?"
Hinata fidgeted a bit, unsure of how to answer. "Well... um..."
"Here's a copy of the stock performance." Neji slammed down a thick packet filled with various graphs and text (sorry if this is wrong, but I don't understand this type of thing very well).
Hinata jumped, not expecting her cousin to interrupt like that.
"You should both look over them, as we'll be discussing this issue during the meeting." The comment seemed to be directed at Hinata.
"Yes, Neji-san," Hinata agreed amiably, while Tenten slightly pouted.
"Make sure you know those well, memorize as much as you can. Today you'll be in charge of most of the meeting, as you'll soon be taking over the company," Neji informed Hinata, a slight touch of bitterness in his voice.
"Yes, Neji-san," Hinata agreed again.
"Oh, and the Uchihas will be there," Neji added, distain evident in his voice.
It grew quiet in the limo, as both girls skimmed over the sheets, Tenten skipping those she had already gone over.
"Neji-san?" Hinata suddenly asked. "Why do you hate the Uchihas?"
Neji stared at her for a while. Finally he replied, "I just do," an undignified answer for one of his status.
Truthfully, Neji knew fully well why he hated the Uchihas so much, the Uchiha heir in particular. But he would never ever tell his cousin. He could barely admit it to himself.
---
Hinata stepped into the conference room, feeling insecure as a dozen eyes swerved on her and the conversations piped down. Neji and Tenten entered close behind. She walked the length of the table and chose the seat at the very head. Neji sat to her left, and Tenten farther down the table. The empty seats to her right were reserved for the Uchihas who had yet to arrive.
As the conversations slowly began again, Hinata chose that moment to look cautiously around the table. Next to Neji sat a red haired man, a tattoo etched upon his brow and his eyes closed in indifference. His tag read Gaara, chief of finance. Next to him was Shikamaru, talking to a fat (not chubby) man, Chouji, director of marketing. Then sat Tenten, human resources, and a thick browed man whose tag was too far down for Hinata to read.
A few more minutes passed before the door opened again. This time a blond woman, name tag Temari, stepped into the room. She walked up to Neji and whispered a something to him. Neji's eyes narrowed for a moment before he nodded.
"Everyone quiet down." Immediately the room became silent. "The Uchihas will be a bit late, so we'll begin without them. Temari-san will be the representative in their place."
Neji nodded to the blond woman who gave a small bow before sliding into the vacant seat opposite of Gaara. The man had finally opened his eyes, and nodded at Temari in recognition. Hinata wondered at the possibility of a relation, as pointed out by their closely resembling bone structure. Siblings?
Her thoughts were interrupted as Neji announced, "Let's start the meeting."
Okay, so that wasn't a cliffhanger, but I did have a great idea for one. Except if I tried incorporating it into the story it would've taken too long.