Um, first Windflight would like to thank the reviewer who pointed out that Kabuto's hair wasn't blonde (checks wikipedia to make sure). I really thought it was!
Second, a note from Walking Green Cucumber:
REVIEW THIS CHAPTER OR ELSE THE WALKING GREEN CUCUMBER SHALL HUNT YOU DOWN AND EAAAATTT YOOOUUUU!>:D
Cucumbers aren't fruits.
Oh, and lastly, Walking Green Cucumber reviews every chapter with her comments, and wants people to read them before she turns into a Walking Red Pickle.
"My name is Kabuto, and I can help you Miss Sakura."
Sakura stared at him, "Help me...?" Then she snapped brusquely, "No one can help me, you don't know how I feel. You'll just betray me in the end, like the rest of them." As she said this she thought bitterly of Naruto. 'I'll always be here for you' the traitor had said.
But she didn't budge; she was desperate, and this strange man... could he help her? Who was he really? She looked suspiciously up at the man in front of her "Why would you... help me?"
The gray haired man grinned mischievously, "My master has a rather large grudge against the Hyuugas, and wishes to, shall we say, exterminate them. But we need your resources to do so."
Sakura felt a large burst of hope at his statement, but she carefully controlled her facial expressions, trying not to look as though he had already won her interest, "Really, you mean you need my family's assets?" Her emerald eyes narrowed to study the man carefully.
"No, no," the man laughed. "We need your connections to the Hyuuga. She is well protected by her cousin, but as you are her classmate, there is likely to be less suspicion if you were to stop by for a visit."
Yakushi Kabuto could convince a mouse to step into a mousetrap, smiling all the while, so you could say he was known for his stealth, his smarts, and his slyness, the three main reasons for which his master Orochimaru had recruited him.
The grin was still plastered to his face, but his eyes were filled with malicious glee; the girl was right about one thing- in the end he was going to betray her. "Accept my offer, and the Uchiha is as good as yours." Or rather, the Uchiha would be Orochimaru-sama's.
"Fine. Tell me what I have to do." A determined light was in Sakura's eyes. She would get what she wanted, and no one could stop her.
Tsk, tsk, humans are so easily blinded by their hate, Kabuto thought, his grin growing even wider. But all the better to manipulate.
---
When Haruno Sakura had started screaming at her, Hinata had been terrified. Terrified because she didn't know what she did wrong, terrified because she could say nothing in her own defense, and terrified because she had no friends to help her.
But Ino had helped her, as well as Kurenai-sensei. Despite the circumstances, Hinata was extremely happy that they bothered to help a person like her. Hinata knew it was selfish of her to believe that they helped her just because she was Hinata; they probably would have done the same for any other student, but it gave her the feeling, however illusionary, that she had friends.
Unnoticed to Hinata, the golden ring nestled around her finger seemed to darken for a moment, an alarming warning should it have been heeded.
---
"Here," Tenten chirped, thrusting a large brown envelope at Neji. It was lunchtime, and except for these two executives, the top floor of the Hyuuga Corp. building had been abandoned in favor of the cafeteria.
"What is it?" Neji asked, staring warily at the envelope. "Another one of Shikamaru's reports?" Shikamaru's reports were dreaded by whoever the recipient, as they were long and full of terms and phrases only the genius himself could understand.
"Nope!" Tenten laughed at the look on her boss's face. "Someone asked me to give it to you. I think his name was Kakashi."
Immediately Neji sat up straighter, and his eyes focused on the envelope. "Give it to me," he snapped.
"Um, okay?" Tenten frowned, handing over the report. Seeing her boss's intense fascination with the package, she quickly excused herself. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything." And impatient nod answered her.
Once he was sure Tenten left, Neji tore open the envelope and reached for its contents. For Kakashi to contact him at work, it must be bad news.
Inside there was just a crumbled, folded up note that looked as if it had been ripped out from a notebook. Neji recognized Gai's messy "youthful" handwriting scrawled all over the page.
As you've requested, we've been keeping tabs on Hinata-sama's classmates. At exactly 10:34 this morning Yamanaka Inoichi, founder of the Yamanaka Flower chain experienced a heart attack. Previous medical records indicate no heart problems. He is expected to make a full recovery. It appears that Inoichi's daughter, Yamanaka Ino, has met with, and helped Hinata-sama on several occasions.-Gai
Neji shredded the note after reading it over several times, the first time in disbelief. It did not affect this Yamanaka Ino directly, but through her family, and Neji doubted that Ino was very close to Hinata to begin with. First it was Mikoto, and now this classmate. Who would be next?
---
Uchiha Sasuke despised loud noises, and as talkative people usually produced loud noises, he tended to avoid such people. One such person happened to be Uzumaki Naruto.
Sasuke preferred to eat lunch alone, by himself, in solitude, but due to his large pack of fangirls, it was almost impossible to achieve. As the self-proclaimed leader of the 'Uchiha fangirls', Sakura somehow managed to always sit herself at his table. And where Sakura went, that dope was sure to follow.
A major difference today was that all the fangirls had disappeared, even Haruno, and silence reined the table. The dope was there despite the absence of 'Sakura-chan,' but he was oddly silent, slowly slurping up his ramen with a dejected look on his face.
Oh well. Sasuke wasn't going to complain about the dope's silence. It was better this way.
At last, it was Naruto that broke the silence, his voice empty of the enthusiasm that defined him. "Sasuke-teme, what did you do to Sakura-chan?"
"…nothing."
"Oh."
The silence continued for a few more moments before Naruto spoke up again. "Sakura-chan must be furious with me." A pause. "I got her in trouble."
Sasuke was silent; what was he supposed to say if he didn't even care?
But Naruto, talking mostly to himself, kept regretfully ranting on, "What if she hates me now? I don't know... I... I guess I was kind of mad at her..." He sighed, "She's always obsessed about you, and today she tried to hurt Hinata-san again..."
Sasuke looked up at him for a second in surprise, and then looked back down at his food again, "Che."
Naruto glared at him with a somewhat semi-shocked face, "What do you mean by, 'Che'? Don't you care about what happens to your future wife?"
Sasuke shrugged, "The engagement wasn't my idea."
"But... but still!"
"We didn't want to be engaged. We were total strangers who had never talked to each other before this year, and we don't even like each other. Why should I care?"
"You should learn to care! She's going to be there for the rest of your life!"
Sasuke scoffed, "What are you, an advice-giver? What should I care about her for? She's just as boring as a twig."
Naruto opened his mouth to retort something back at him, but then something behind Sasuke caught his attention. Naruto's eyes widened and he seemed to grow visibly paler. "uhh... Sasuke…"
Sasuke turned around, though he could already guess who it was by Naruto's stunned reaction; Hinata.
"Hinata-san... oh uh, hi." Naruto scratched his back, trying to smile at her and failing miserably.
Hinata only looked at Naruto when answering, "Good af-fternoon... I just w-wanted to say... thank you Naruto-san... and I-I'll see you tomorrow... Sasuke-san." She darted off, clutching her bento box like a lifeline.
"Sasuke-teme…" Naruto stared at him.
"Che," Sasuke replied again, though there wasn't as much conviction in his voice as before.
---
Elsewhere, seated in a fancy restaurant at the edge of town, Hyuuga Hanabi impatiently twisted the tablecloth, waiting for her math tutor to arrive. Beside her sat the black haired chauffeur, sporting small sunglasses and a long trench coat; he had insisted on accompanying her into the restaurant.
Hanabi wasn't stupid. This so-called chauffeur was just another bodyguard assigned by her cousin. So far, there had always been at least one of them following her; she knew they watched her even when she couldn't sense them. And her cousin probably did the same for Hinata.
Finally, the door to their room slid open, and a woman in her early thirties came in. Looking at her, Hanabi felt a sense of déjà vu.
The lady walked gracefully to the table and sat down next to Hanabi. She smiled gently, and looking into her beautiful crimson eyes Hanabi felt almost… safe.
"You must be Hanabi; I'm Kurenai, your math tutor." She held out a hand cordially.
Hanabi knew what this gesture meant; she had studied it in those books... it was a handshake. She took the hand and the lady shook it gently. Hanabi felt warmth flood her pale, skinny hand, and thought that this teacher seemed nicer than the previous ones. Yet… what was that phrase again? Never judge a book by its cover? Yes, Hanabi didn't know the woman's intentions yet. She could be another one of those psychiatrists hired by her cousin.
"I think I should tell you a little bit about myself, so we can get to know each other better," Kurenai supplemented, noticing that Hanabi was looking a bit tense.
Hanabi nodded.
Kurenai talked most of the time, noticing that Hanabi wasn't particularly talkative; sometimes she paused to ask Hanabi little questions like what was her favorite color, or did she like math. Soon, Hanabi felt herself relaxing and opening up with this new teacher.
Hanabi heard and saw out of the corner of her eye that her 'chauffeur' had shifted slightly in his seat, but she didn't care; her attention was saved for Kurenai.
It soon became apparent why the chauffeur had turned-Hinata had entered the room. Her eyes were a little red and her smile appeared to Hanabi as forced and small, but she seemed to brighten up when she saw the group at the table.
"Hinata." Kurenai beamed, standing up.
Hinata bowed, "Kurenai-sensei."
Kurenai waved her hand towards the seat nearest to Hanabi's, "Come and join us. We were just having a little talk."
Hinata slid in next to Hanabi, now smiling genuinely, "I'm glad I can spend time with you..."
Hanabi just frowned slightly, annoyed by her sister's interruption.