family affair
eleven:
the theatre
Hinata remembered the smell of the van before she lost consciousness.
The peculiar scent of mothballs and something chemical would have triggered a hefty sneeze if it wasn't for the terror seizing her muscles. One minute she was outside, walking along the stretch of strip mall businesses––the glistening grocery store, the phone store, the luxury jacuzzi outlet that her cousin suggested was a front every time they passed it together––the next, her sight all whirled into a blur as she was pulled from one reality into another. The sun did not follow her thrashing hands and reddened face. Her cheeks were bulbous and alarmed, looking as if they would fully detatch from her body before she even got a chance to scream.
It was cut short by a cloth over her face. Before falling unconscious she heard voices, startled and excited, "Oh fuck," they said. "we've got the youngest Hyuga."
Hinata bit hard enough to cause blood, and did not stop until his hand had torn away from her teeth. She was nothing short of movement, her arms becoming unyielding weapons as she elbowed Suigetsu in the throat before dropping to her feet briefly, to catch her breath.
Only to find that she was barely breathing at all. Anxiety claimed her waiting form as more steam filled the room like bursts of smoke. She heard grunting above her, but every time she tried to stand, her breath came out stunted like someone was sitting on her chest and pressing their fingers into her lungs. Someone pulled her up with a tight grip. In a flash, a reflection of the door, Gaara's cat-like eyes looked her over before depositing her on the bench. Then he disappeared back into the steam.
Hinata woke briefly when the van door slid open to reveal a cerulean sky overhead. A white-haired man carried her body like she was a ragdoll, and she played dead as if under a spell her mother had prayed for her. She remembered her words one night: if there is a situation you cannot escape, there's nothing weak about playing dead. Deceit is its own strength.Remember that from your weary old mother, if you remember anything at all.
Her head was a glass paperweight as the man carried her. She could not discern where she was, and could barely think through the tight ball of fear that had convalesced inside of her belly. He dropped her to the ground in a dark room. He smelled, strangely, like boiled cabbage.
"Dunno man, shouldn't we take this one straight to the boss?" he said as he pulled out a handful of shining metal. They clanged together like music. Keys.
"More dangerous to go back on the road with her. Hyugas will be on the hunt by now."
"Damn," the door opened with a squeak as one of the men stepped out of the room. Hinata saw a beam of light from a hallway window, her last look of sky for what would be seven hours, before a hand covered her nose again with the same smelly piece of fabric. A voice tickled her ears as they grabbed her shoulder: "can't have you screaming."
It felt like an invisible hand was being squeezed around her throat. Hinata struggled silently with herself, with her own thoughts as memories rushed through her and rendered her silent and useless in the face of real and pressing danger.
She tried to calm herself enough to see what was happening around her. She could hear Gaara grunting, but Sasuke was completely silent. Was he okay? Was he harmed? With her head slowly clearing from its own clouds––memories of her kidnapping suddenly surfacing like a serpent from an expansive and unknown sea––she began to feel more like herself again. Her breathing was almost normal, her vision almost clear. She stood on one wobbly foot, intending to re-insert herself in the chaos.
"Just sit down for a second," Sasuke said as he appeared beside her. He was mostly unscathed besides a few scratches. His eyes appraised her, going up and down her body in a way that somehow did not make her feel self-conscious. He was checking for injury. At the sight of her neck, he frowned largely and looked away. Again he said, "sit, Hyuga."
She sat. The steam had stopped for the most part. She heard Gaara fumbling around before he found a light switch, and the little wooden box became aglow with orange fluorescents. He was holding the door closed. His bottom lip dripped with blood.
"Sorry about that," Sasuke said, nodding towards Gaara's busted lip. "I couldn't see who I was fighting."
Gaara said nothing. He and Hinata both knew that that was a damn lie, but it was neither the time nor place to be upset about it. On the floor between the three of them Suigetsu lay flat, his body half-turned, his face hard against the tiled floor. Hinata peered at him from her seat, casually asking "is h-he dead?"
"Just unconscious," Sasuke said.
"G-good then. Father will want him back at the Estate for q-questioning."
"No," Gaara spoke up then, his gravel tone without room for argument. "I'll take him. I arranged this meeting, so I'm responsible. Please just send Hiashi my apologies for such a disruption."
Still, he stood by the door as if keeping watch. Hinata suddenly remembered the red-headed woman Suigestsu had been with and wondered if she was still out there, waiting for him to reappear. She wondered if the woman had been in on Suigetsu's mission this whole time.
"Absolutely not," Sasuke grunted. "We don't even know if we can trust you, Suna. He goes with us."
"Besides," Hinata spoke up then, her tone, though halting as she was still regulating her breath, left no room for further discussion. "I know him. I h-have history with him and he attacked me. He said he came for me. It's my life that was in danger. Father would want to talk to him specifically. G-Gaara...you're out of line here, as you've b-been out of line this entire n-night."
When she stood, it was supposed to be with conviction, but instead, she stumbled as she was again beseeched by the memory of being trapped in a dark room by herself. She heard voices talking about her child-self from the other side of the door: if we kill her and get it over with, it will set a precedent like never before. Why hold on to the girl if we can make a statement?
Don't be silly, Kabuto. How rash. It would be more of a statement to sell her off to the highest bidder. Hyuga have many enemies, and we've already gotten expensive offers. Now make haste––we don't have very long.
Sasuke caught her arm as she began to fall, steadying her by catching her under the armpit. Her breathing had quickened again and she rushed to calm herself. So much for being the one in charge, so much for being capable––she could barely stand up straight! There was no one speaking about her from the interiors of the bathhouse, at least not anymore. Gaara held the door tight and no one could enter if they tried.
The Uchiha frowned at her as he placed her back onto the bench, twisting his lips as if disappointed, or disgusted with her. "Can you please just fucking sit down?" he practically barked at her.
Again, she sat. Her head swam with tension and voices as she tried to piece everything together. Suigetsu said he was here on behalf of Orochimaru. Orochimaru had been imprisoned almost five years ago. Was it such a coincidence that Gaara would request a Tiger on the rare occasion of their meeting? But no, Suna wouldn't dare to jeopardize their relationship with the Hyugas. It wouldn't make sense. They have the same goals.
So perhaps Suigetsu had targeted her after she had ghosted him. Before that, of course, he'd been a spy for some other force. Maybe he wasn't lying––maybe he was here on behalf of the man who had kidnapped her years ago, and Gaara was as innocent as they were all confused. Could Orochimaru be operating from inside prison? If so, why was he out to get her specifically? Had he been wounded over his failure––the failure to eradicate her life as she knew it––for so long that he sought retribution from behind bars? This was obsession––no, madness!
Her head swam as the room pumped more steam, though the lights remained on. It was pulsing. When she turned her head to look at Sasuke, her neck throbbed and she winced. Gaara was still standing by the door, his face a cold mask of rage. None of them had so much as a phone or a weapon.
"This happened at a location of my selection," Gaara was the first to speak after a long moment. "So I will exit first and ensure your safe passage. In fact––" he looked deeply uncomfortable here but proceeded nonetheless. "As a tribute to my relationship with the Hyuga, I will bring your weapons here and personally escort you out. Afterward, I will review the security footage to see how scum like him managed to get in. I'll send it to Hiashi-san as soon as I have it."
Sasuke's lip switched. He didn't trust him, of course, he did not. "That's not good enough. Clear the bathhouse to assure we get out with him," Sasuke barely looked in Suigetsu's direction but his voice was laced with disdain, "without being noticed. We'll wait here. In the meantime, you'll leave us with the pocket pistol you've got strapped to your waistband."
Hinata's eyes immediately went to Gaara's waist where there was an almost indiscernible shadow. If possible, Gaara's expression soured even more. Between his busted lip and his weapon reveal, Sasuke was quickly undoing the pride the Suna held in his chest. Then she looked at Sasuke, who moved casually, confidently, to outstretch his hand, awaiting the weapon.
He is a little too good, Hinata mused silently, watching the exchange of small powers. Gaara dropped the weapon with a grunt and left the room without a word. Hinata hadn't even noticed he'd been wearing a weapon.
Sasuke clicked his tongue and handed Hinata the gun. Then he sat beside her, looking briefly over her bruised neck. His fingers were like ice on her skin as he turned her head this way and that. Once he was satisfied with whatever he was looking for, he removed his hands and sat still. They sat in silence until Gaara gave the all-clear.
-:-
Sasuke drove back to the Estate and didn't allow Hinata a word of protest. They were back in their clothes, unwashed smelling like sweat, chlorine, and a little bit of blood. They'd dumped Suigetsu's body into the trunk like a sack of potatoes, tying his arms and legs together with some rope Gaara had scrounged up from a utility closet.
"Not my best k-knots," Hinata had said to him as she kneeled on the tiled floor of the steam room, surprising him again with her wealth of crime-related talents. Then, as if possessed, or hysterical, she made a knot pun in a tiny voice as if she was telling it to herself.
Despite the intensity of the situation, Sasuke could not help but feel warm as he watched the ropes be tightened. She was still wearing a bikini after all, and her body leaned precariously over the unconscious assailant.
"Hurry up Hyuga," Gaara barked at her, though his gaze was aimed somewhere above her body, at the wall so that he was purposely not looking at her. "Auntie doesn't want to keep this place closed too long. It will draw attention."
"Why don't you shut the fuck up and go get those securities tapes you promised?" Sasuke intoned impassively. When Gaara slunk away like a guilty toddler, Sasuke turned to Hinata who had risen to a squatted position with her heels planted on the ground. Suigetsu's hands were clasped together and she held them above his head as if testing their strength. "I don't like the way he talks to you."
Hinata shrugged, stood, then dropped Suigetsu's hands so hard they made a dull thud. She turned without saying a word to pull her clothes back on. She didn't say anything until they were back in the car, not even when Sasuke demanded to drive. She simply handed the keys over and wrapped her now sweater-clad arms around her torso.
As they merged onto the expressway, her phone vibrated on top of the dashboard and she gave it an unwelcoming glance when she grabbed it. "He s-sent the security recording."
"Good."
"We l-let that redhead woman go."
"Who?" Sasuke did not remember such a person, though it wounded him to admit it.
"There was a woman there with Suigetsu. T-they were um...kissing in the h-hot tub when we came in."
Must've been why he hadn't seen her. Sasuke drummed his fingers on the wheel, thinking. He paused for a moment, sucking all the air from the vehicle into his voice, "Can you tell me about what happened when you were kidnapped? I need to know all of it, including the Tiger deal with the Uchiha."
Hinata gave him a long, hardened stare that he had not been expecting. Her lashes drooped, and her eyebrows drew together before falling. She took in that same breath, "I-I don't remember much, but..."
-:-
The Tiger had been a big deal. Sasuke remembered bits and pieces of it. It had happened a year before the Uchiha massacre.
His father went out of the compound to negotiate it, which was uncommon at the time. Usually, people came to him. Even stranger, he had no entourage. Fugaku had exited the compound a normal man in plain clothes. He returned with millions worth of drugs. He'd soon go on to triple that value.
The Uchihas had once worked closely together with Orochimaru and his powerful but small organized crime group, years before Sasuke was born. They had a deal that had to do with weapons, dabbling in international sales. Uchiha Madara, the Father at that time, liked Orochimaru because he knew a lot of powerful people from across the globe, and helped connect the Uchiha with them. As Fugaku rose to power under Madara's tutelage, an overseas deal gone wrong with Orochimaru led to a few years of distrust. Madara swore his faithfulness to Orochimaru, and Fugaku accepted him and their comradery out of respect for his elder.
The year Sasuke was born, Madara left the clan for good––and Fugaku let him. Madara was old and had been unhappy, sickly, and depressed. He often complained about how things weren't going how he had planned when he had been Father, and how one of his biggest mistakes was tapping Fugaku, his only nephew, to inherit the title. Madara had not had children of his own, and his brother, Fugaku's father, had died young from a gunshot wound.
"I should've had sons," Madara could be heard saying as he wandered the grounds, aimlessly. "But at least Itachi will be the best of all of us."
Fugaku gave Madara clemency, and they never spoke or heard from him again. Madara's departure allowed Fugaku to finally sever ties with the Orochimaru group, quietly ghosting their appointments, and proceeding business as usual without him. Orochimaru made him uncomfortable, and what was worse: afraid.
So when the little Hyuga heiress went missing, all hell broke loose. Except Fugaku knew about the interiors of the Orochimaru group, and he was willing to sell these secrets for something worthy. The Hyuga drug lords sent him the fucking tiger.
Something akin to a partnership had been established between the long-time rivals. It would not be forgotten. Not until Hizashi showed up on their front steps, and hours later, gunshots erupted.
-:-
Shenji whistled when he saw the body in the back of Hinata's G-Wagon. He was wearing all black from head to toe, small guns strapped to his waistband. "I'd help but I've got a job."
"No worries," Hinata muttered quietly. The three of them were standing in the garage, the fluorescent lights above them casting them in ghastly, white light.
"Yeah, I've got him," Sasuke said. He clapped Shenji on the back, and they exchanged a short but meaningful look. "Good luck on your mission."
Sasuke flung Suigetsu across his shoulder, noting that the knots Hinata had tied were still secure. The man groaned slightly, but Sasuke ignored him. He cast a look at Hinata, whose eyes had filled with unexpected zeal. "Where to?"
"F-follow me," she said.
Her feet made almost no sound as she walked down the dark hallways of the Estate. Night had fallen, and most of the Family who lived there were sound asleep. When she spotted a guard in the hallway, she gently asked him to call for her father. He could meet her in the theatre.
Sasuke didn't know they had a theatre, and he quickly surmised that that was merely a code word for something else entirely. His eyes traced Hinata's form as she stepped into a small hallway nook that held shelves and hooks beside one of many backdoors. One might put a raincoat there, or hang their keys. Instead of doing either, Hinata felt along the wall and made 30-seconds' worth of vague gestures with her hand there, until something clicked behind a cookbook. Sasuke watched intently, but couldn't exactly discern the movements. "Step back," she said.
Sasuke did, feeling the weight of Suigetsu as he did the motion. There was a 3-foot square of hardwood that acted as the floor of the nook, and it slowly lit open to reveal a staircase. Sasuke tried not to roll his eyes––there was no such drama at the Uchiha Compound. Though, it appeared obvious now that the Hyuga were more heavily monitored than the Uchiha's ever had been. His presence on the Estate was reason enough, the man on his back mere fuel to the fire. It made good sense why he had been with them for a month and a half and this was his first time stumbling upon what was probably a monumental feature.
"D-dramatic, I know," Hinata confirmed as she quickly moved down the stairs. The stairs were long; they were going deep into the ground. She swept her hair back away from her face as she did so, her eyebrows drawn and serious. "Only s-some people k-know about this. We don't like to talk about it."
"Yeah, why would you?" Sasuke snorted. He walked down the stairs behind her. They were steep and thin, almost like going down a ladder. When he reached the bottom, he found that he was in yet another hallway, this one surprisingly well-lit. Well designed, even, with sandalwood floors and little benches for sitting. Fucking Hyugas. "Doesn't seem like something you'd want included in a floor plan."
Hinata gave a chaste smile, and Sasuke was alarmed by how quickly his brain thought to call her beautiful despite the circumstances. There was a man who had just tried to kill her on his back, after all. But her cheeks were dusted pink with exertion, her hair was pulled away from her face in smart concentration, and her clothes were dark and seemed just right. She held his gaze, and she said "S-Seriously. You're right about the floor plan. B-before we go any further, I need you to promise me you'll just follow me. Don't try to open any doors, don't go anywhere without me. If you can't do that, I'll take him."
The intensity of the statement made Sasuke sober up. His espionage-oriented brain tingled with this new information. Sasuke likely didn't even have the clearance to be there, but Hinata trusted him enough to take him. Either that or she was desperate or fearful enough. Regardless, it worked in his favor..
The hallway was long and straight with unmarked doors on either side of him. It led in two directions, and Hinata went right. Sasuke stored this information away for later as his mind wandered––how big was this place? Did it span the entire Estate? Was there more to it that reached into the organism that was Konoha? Was it a system of tunnels? Were there more entrances?
His brain felt more and more tingly the more unremarkable doors they passed until finally, Hinata stopped at one. She put in a long stream of numbers as the password, going as far as blocking the screen with her body, obscuring some of the numbers from view. Sasuke had cataloged only: 5-7-3-1-9––
and she caught his eye. She doesn't trust me completely. Good girl. Her fingers sped up as she angled her body. There were 13 numbers in total. The door slid open. Sasuke was surprised again. They looked like wood, but they were metal, the mechanisms going farther than a simple deadbolt lock. This was something to behold indeed.
The room itself was unremarkable. Plain white walls, plain tiled floor. No cords, outlets, or anything electronic were visible. There was a chair in the middle and Sasuke didn't need to be told what the room was for or what he should do with his charge.
Hinata stepped up after he sat Suigetsu down and readjusted the knots so that he was tied to the chair. As she was just finishing the knots, the door slid open, and Hiashi walked in. He looked tired but unsurprised as he looked upon the man who'd dated his daughter and later left a bug on her jacket. He merely walked slowly, turned to Hinata, and said, "Wake him."
Hinata slapped him with the soft side of his hand, the casualness of the gesture surprising even Sasuke. When she stepped back, she looked tired. Her hand was red as her face. Suigetsu startled awake, his head trashing as he took in his surroundings: "What the––"
"Quiet," Sasuke said severely. He grabbed a fistful of the man's white hair, wrenching his head to the side and then back, watching his neck bulge. "Don't speak until called."
"Hold this," Hiashi said as he stood next to Sasuke. In his hands was a black Glock that glinted against the harsh light. He took the weapon, bowing his head as Hiashi walked up to Suigetsu. Hinata stood beside him, shaking slightly, and trying to hide it.
"Tell me about what happened," Hiashi spoke casually as if there wasn't a hostage in the ground under his house. This ask told Sasuke that Suigestu was going to die.
"I s-saw him in the bathhouse when we first got there. The three of us went into the steam room to discuss the terms of our next trade, and when we finished, I o-opened the d-door and he grabbed me," Hinata swallowed. Her throat was bruising badly, and it looked painful. Sasuke was overcome with the sudden urge to tell the story for her so that she would not overextend herself. "He t-tried to choke me out, but I got loose. Sasuke and Gaara wrestled him d-down. He said that he...he said he c-came to collect me on behalf of Orochimaru."
"Orochimaru is in jail," Hiashi hummed. He was wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt like he had just rolled out of bed. It was curious to see him that way, though it somehow only made him look twice as dangerous. There was nothing casual about the man. "But that doesn't mean he is incapable. He's planning something. Boy––" he turned to Suigetsu. "How long have you been working with the Snake?"
Suigetsu blubbered, his voice shook but his words still contained the arrogance of someone who did not know enough to feel scared. "I d-don't know what you mean."
Hiashi looked at Sasuke plainly. Sasuke looked at the Glock in his hand, and without a second thought, bashed the hilt against the man's mouth. The blood was immediate, and it joined the rest of the dirt on his face. Across the room, Hinata winced minutely.
Sasuke raised his arm a second time without preamble when the man suddenly said, "I dunno man, seriously! Fuck! Years! I've known him since I was a fucking little kid. I saw him get put away, okay? That fucking long."
"Let's try to be more polite next time," Hiashi suggested instead of dignifying Suigestu with a response. "So the Snake contacted you from prison, that much I've gathered. But how?"
"I don't know," Suigestu whispered, the blood blubbing around his mouth with his speech.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"I said I don't know, man!" Suigetsu repeated, his voice cracking with fear. "Someone approached me about three months ago. He said––he said that Orochimaru made n-new friends and t-that he wanted to collect all the t-things that were 'rightfully his.' I said...I said okay, how c-can I help? They wanted me to spy on the Hyuga by getting close to the daughter. When I...when I failed and this bitch ghosted me––"
Sasuke hit him again without preamble, the hilt of the metal getting bloodier by the minute. He didn't know what came over him, but his muscles jerked in reaction. Hiashi and Hinata did and said nothing.
"What were they doing with that information?" Hiashi said, instead of addressing Sasuke's sudden burst of violence.
"I––I don't know. I sw-wear I don't know."
"Why did you go after Hinata today, then?"
"I saw her by chance, I promise," Suigetsu began to plead for his life here, but it fell on deaf ears. "I hadn't heard from Orochimaru or that man in weeks. I started to...I started to get scared. When I saw Hinata walk into the bathhouse I thought...I thought if I kidnapped her in Orochimaru's name...I would be spared. He, or whoever he's working with, could get information from the source."
"You're an idiot," Hiashi said plainly. "A sad, little idiot. No wonder they gave up on you. Tell me, boy, one last thing. Perhaps you'll be good for something, this evening. Who is your contact that is connected to Orochimaru?"
"Honest, I don't know!" Suigetsu was now wailing, big droplets of water falling from his eyes to mix with his dripping snot, and bloody, drooling mouth. "Please let me go! I don't know! The contact changes every time! Sometimes it's a woman, sometimes it's a man. Tall, short, fat, I don't fucking know man," he wheezed. "They're always different. Sometimes they wear these like...these long jackets w-with clouds. That's all I k-know. T-they just told me Orochimaru is a friend from pr-prison, and that I c-could trust them."
Akatsuki, Sasuke thought immediately. But he said nothing, not even when Hiashi's eyes flashed from across the room.
"You are a fool indeed," Hiashi sighed. He gestured open-handed, and Sasuke place the gun inside his hand. The old man took a moment to take the safety off, then cast his gaze towards his daughter, who stood quietly at the back of the room with her head down. Sasuke had almost forgotten she was there.
"You two can leave. Get some rest," Hiashi ordered. "Or go get a drink. I'll have someone clean up this mess when I'm done. You've done good work. Hinata, we'll check in tomorrow about Suna."
"Yes Father," she said, her voice low and devoid of emotion. "I'll s-send someone down when I leave the theatre."
"Excellent. Thank you." Hiashi rose the gun as soon as the door clicked shut.
-:-
"I hate that part," Hinata said when the two of them reached the ground level. She had rings under her eyes.
They both stepped outside. Sasuke snuck a cigarette out of his back pocket. He only smoked on special occasions, and this was considered one of them. He offered one to Hinata and she declined.
The air was crisp and still. Sasuke blew smoke into the night and watched the chill dissipate it. "You're great on the field," he said.
Hinata looked pink in the dark, but she shrugged and said, "S-so are you."
"Sorry about your neck. It looks painful."
"It is," Hinata said. Then: "I'll...I'll be okay though."
"You don't have to be," Sasuke said, and was saying something else entirely. This whole day had probably been a giant trigger, having her kidnapper's name thrown around like grocery-store brand cereal. Sasuke knew it wasn't casual, he'd been there.
She smiled at him, "I wish t-that were true, Sasuke."
They were silent for a few puffs of smoke. Sasuke looked at his phone, then looked at her. When he spoke, he knew that he was doing the wrong thing, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. He didn't want to: "Did you know that it's New Year's Eve?"
"Barely," Hinata laughed to herself. "Just s-seems like a regular Tuesday to me."
Sasuke snorted, "If that's your normal, Hyuga Princess, then I will personally find you a therapist."
"You assume I don't already h-have four," she smiled, her face lighting up ever so slightly. "But there's only so m-much one can say about these sorts of things."
"That's true. I imagine torturing a man in your basement would send a few red flags."
"Enough to have me c-committed, I'd wager."
They laughed to themselves about the absurdity of the situation and the conversation, Hinata leaned against the wall, staring at the big moon above them. Her smile faded slowly as the clouds moved to cover its light.
"It's New Years," Sasuke repeated, finally. "Go out with me. I know a place we can go."
"Sure," Hinata said. "Why not? I'd like that."
