We Can Share

by Gangnam Style X3

"We can share, can't we?" "We could, but I don't like you enough to do that." He glares, and grabs onto the collar of his shirt. "Feeling's mutual, pal, but I'm still willing to do it." His glare hardens. "So what's it going to be?" Rated M for language and maybe suggestive themes.

15. Red Hot Manhunt

Hey guys! Sorry, it took me so long to update! This is one of my favorites to write but I've been neglecting it and rethinking some things. Every time I come back to this story, I can never believe that I'm heading on 15 chapters and yet I still have so much more I wanna tell before reaching the end. Anyway, aside from that, I've been rereading this story a couple of times and each time there are things that I realize either don't make sense in a way or just things I wanna nitpick and change. So before I continue with this chapter, here are some things I'm gonna change here now, since I'm too lazy and don't really wanna rewrite old chapters.

The age of characters. I recall saying Kushina is in her mid-thirties, which would make no sense if Naruto is in his early twenties. So for accuracy's sake, I'm gonna say that she and Minato and Hiashi are in their early to mid-forties and Naruto, Gaara, Kiba, Shino, Sasuke, Karin, Neji, Lee, and Tenten are all between the ages of 21 and 24. Hinata will be aged up one more year despite just having her birthday last chapter and she'll be the big 21, whereas Sasori will be aged a little higher than the original age I put him as and have him be 26. And last but certainly not least, Hidan will be 25 and Hanabi will remain a teenager, but I'll have her be 16 instead of 15.

Another thing that's actually a really tiny detail is the height. I know insignificant really in the grand scheme of things, but looking back at my earlier chapters, I wanna change things. So basically I said that Sasori was taller than Naruto and Gaara, which is a lie. We all know Sasori is a shorty and Naruto and Sasuke tower over both Gaara and him. So basically, long story short, Naruto is taller than Gaara by at least a couple of inches and by Sasori by at least afoot. All the boys are still taller than our main girl, but there you go haha.

And finally how Hinata's mother died. I don't know why lung cancer avoided me at that time when I was writing the chapter, but yes, her mother died from lung cancer due to smoking heavily every day.

Anyway, thank you all for bearing through that. I know it was a lot of unnecessary info dump, but I needed to get it off my chest to continue. Hopefully, things run smoother now (for me at least) and you all continue to enjoy it!

---

Things were very quiet at the shop today, even more so than usual for a winter day. It wasn't like it had down-poured avalanches of snow the previous night or currently was at the moment. No, that heavy snow was due to come within the next couple of days.

This kind of quiet was kind of unnerving in a way for the Uzumaki cousins. Every ding of the doorbell signaling a new customer, every time one of the new girls moved something on the racks, or even when they would overhear Kushina moving around upstairs doing whatever she does when it's slow. Everything made the cousins jump up and look towards the door, the stairs, even the back room with hope in their eyes. Hopeful that what made the store so vibrant would come crawling out from somewhere with her typical tray of drinks in her hands, or the obnoxious sound of violent outburst from two hard-headed, aloof redheads picking a fight with one another for the umpteenth time. Just something to bring back what they considered normal after so long.

With a heavy breath, Karin ties her hair up and grabs her jacket from the stool, and heads for the front door. She can feel Naruto's azure eyes boring into the back of her skull as she lifts the hood of her dusty purple sweater over her head. She can practically feel the question on his tongue before she turns towards him while zipping up her sweater and pulling on her gloves.

"I'm going to get coffee. Text me what you and auntie Kushina want."

And with that, the redhead was out the door and into the cold air of the streets, her shivering figure hidden behind the signs on the window.

Long after she's gone, Naruto continues to stare blankly ahead until he's startled by the buzzing of his phone on the counter. With a slight jump, he looks down to find a text from Karin asking what he wants again, only to jump once more when one of the new employees was standing next to him with a scowl on her otherwise pretty face. He blinks at her in confusion, cautiously sliding his phone closer to himself when he sees her eye the device. When the girl still doesn't say a word, he begins to feel himself sweat anxiously and becomes frustrated with her behavior.

"What's your deal, Tayuya? Why're you being weird?"

The blonde holds back his urge to flinch when she practically growls at him and motions towards the door his cousin left out of fifteen minutes ago.

"Alright! I'm sick of this shit!" The temperamental woman shouts at him, earning Karui's gaze from across the room. He can hear his mother's footsteps halt after the outburst as well, which means she's now tuning in.

"W-What are you talking about?" Naruto nips the inside of his cheek for his stuttering, cursing himself for letting this girl get under his skin already. He just couldn't help it, though, since she's kind of scary sometimes.

Naruto takes a step back when Tayuya slams her hands down on the counter and points aggressively at him. "Look, I know I haven't been here long, but I know when something's not fucking right! What the fuck is up with you guys lately? And where the hell are those fuck faces and that girl that brings in the drinks?!"

From the corner of his eye, he can see Karui step closer after dropping what she was previously doing to listen in. He nearly trips over the stool when Tayuya steps closer to him with her usual angry face and he can now hear his mom coming to the top of the stairs.

Out of all the things this girl could say she was sick of, this was it?! She just had to bring up those three out loud?! The three people that have been on his and Karin's minds since the birthday fiasco?! It was hard enough thinking about them, but now he's been cornered into talking about them, especially when they haven't even told his mom the entire story of what happened.

"It's been a week and a half since those two morons came in, and I haven't been bombarded about what kind of damn drink I like since then either! And I know my ass didn't scare that little bitch off because she kept coming back over and over again until I told her I like mocha coffee!"

He watches as her hands flew in the air as she angrily spoke, blowing the loose red strands from her face. He looks away from her and puts his hands up in defense when he sees Karui now standing beside her with her arms crossed over her chest. He brings his hand to scratch the back of his head nervously when both glare him down.

"She has a point and you know it." The dark-skinned woman states. "Something must have happened for all three of them to suddenly be absent, especially the two that actually work here, and for you and loudmouth to suddenly be so… lifeless and dull as my cousin would say."

"We're not lifeless," The blonde meekly defends. "It's just been a quiet week is all."

"Bullshit, Uzumaki." Tayuya snaps back aggressively.

"Just what the heck happened to at least make your little coffee buddy stop showing up?" Karui asks, lolling her head to the side.

"Guys, I can't…"

His blue eyes shift towards the stairs, where he can just faintly make out his mother's feet and her long strands of crimson hair. He gulps since both he and Karin agreed not to tell her that Hinata had made out with both Gaara and Sasori on her birthday and the events that followed after that. Knowing his mom's temper, she would march right up to Hinata's home and threaten everyone in the building for treating her like a baby. Then she would hunt down Sasori and Gaara and they'd see why everyone calls her the Red Hot Habanero around town. Her temper puts all of these hotheads working at her store to shame.

"It's not that you can't," Karui retorts, placing her hand on her hip. "More like you won't."

Just then the sound of the doorbell rings and all three look over to find Karin coming in with one cup in her hand. Her nose is red and slightly runny as she takes her gloves off and tosses them to the side on the coat rack. Taking her foggy glasses off, she looks up to find the two redheads have practically cornered her cousin behind the counter.

Almost immediately her face scrunches with annoyance as she marches her way over to the trio. Placing her beverage down on the counter, she rips off her sweater and tosses it to the side.

"What the hell is going on? Is this the reason why you didn't answer me, dipshit?"

The momentary look of relief on his face quickly turns sour as he grabs the stool and sits on it, waiting for his lecture as he's now surrounded by three temperamental women.

"Don't get your thong in a bunch, sweetie." Quips Tayuya with a roll of her brown eyes.

"We're just being inquisitive is all." Karui chimes in with a shrug.

"Oh yeah?" Hums Karin. "What's got you two so curious that you got him cowering like a whimpering puppy in the corner?"

"I am not whimpering!"

All three girls collectively roll their eyes at his high-pitched squeal of defense. Karin picks her coffee up and hops on top of the counter since there were no customers in the store at the moment. She keeps her gaze sharp on her fellow employees, sucking her teeth when she's finished.

"Anyway, why are you guys hounding him?" She continues, replacing her glasses on her face.

"We wanna know what's up with the assholes and your little friend," Tayuya answers, tapping her fingers on her hip.

At the mention of the trio, Karin's eyes noticeably widen, piquing the girls' interest further. She then feels a nudge from her cousin, turning to see him motioning towards the stairs, where she can clearly see her aunt eavesdropping on the conversation. She releases an audible gulp as she looks back at the two women.

"You know, Sasori, Gaara, and Hinata-"

"Yeah, I know who you mean, Karui. You don't need to spell it out, okay." She suddenly snaps, earning her a challenging smirk in return. "What do you guys wanna know exactly?"

"Well for starters, where the hell are they?" Tayuya questions, motioning around the shop. "It's been a week and a half and normally that girl is here almost every day, but now she's not?"

"And Sasori and Gaara are actual employees here but they both haven't shown up either?" Karui adds. "I know their asses didn't already take a vacation, and I know they haven't been reprimanded either for their sudden time off."

"Like, were those two fired or something?"

"Do they have something to do with Hinata?"

"Did they finally get arrested or did she get kidnapp-"

"Alright, alright!" Karin huffs over their constant questioning. "You guys are making me feel like I'm being interrogated by the freaking cops here!"

"Karin…" Once more, she looks towards Naruto who, once again, points towards the stairs. She pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs deeply, shaking her head.

"I know, I know."

Naruto furrows his brows at her and turns towards the female duo. "Look, guys, things are just a little complicated at the moment, alright?"

Once more Naruto has earned himself a roll of the eyes as they turn their attention back towards Karin.

"We don't care that it's complicated." Tayuya starts. "I only care that it's fucking weird for y'all to be so hush-hush about this as if something big and bad went down."

Karui runs her fingers through her auburn locks before tying her hair up into a bun. "Ever since you boasted about going to her party, you guys haven't been the same annoying jerks since."

Red meets blue as the cousins spare a glance towards each other, realizing that these two weren't going to let up until they had a satisfying answer. Why they decided to be thorns in their sides about those three was beyond them. As far as they could tell, Tayuya always gave Hinata and Sasori a hard time, granted she did so with everyone, but she gave those two shit the most. So like any logical person, they just assumed that she didn't like them. Karui, however, warmed up to Hinata since their first interaction, but she was still standoffish when it came to Gaara and Sasori because both would find ways to piss her off when they would argue with either each other or with Tayuya. To say the store was lively when everyone was here would be an understatement. How Kushina managed to run the shop with a bunch of grumpy gingers and not get multiple complaints and the board of health calls a day was astounding.

The Uzumaki duo sighs in unison and turns to fully face each other, Karin turning her back on Karui and Tayuya. She peers over her shoulder at them and hops off the counter so that she was now blocking their view of Naruto. When they receive raised eyebrows at their actions, both she and Naruto shoo them away with a wave of their hands. They impatiently wait for the young women to catch the hint and give them space to talk, keeping their eyes glued to them until they finally separate about the store.

With Naruto still perched on the stool, Karin kneels until she's at eye level with him so that she could whisper without the others hearing her.

"What are we gonna do, dude?" Naruto asks in frustration. Karin watches as his leg bounces rapidly on the leg of the stool, becoming irritated with the sound of it. "I don't think they're gonna give up until those guys come back."

"That's if they come back." Karin suddenly slaps his knee, making him jolt and curse at her. "You know Neji isn't about to let Hinata come back here as long as he knows those two are working here."

"Yeah, I get he's being an uptight asshole about it, but he can't keep her practically hostage forever…" Growing more frustrated, Naruto starts rubbing the back of his head as Karin breathes in deeply. "And are we even sure those two still wanna work here after that?"

Karin looks to the side with a raised brow, looking back to the stairs where she can see her aunt remains.

"I mean, Karui does have a point." The whiskered male continues. "They haven't applied for vacation time, yet neither of us has heard anything from mom about them being fired, and you know she would usually rant and rave about something like that."

His cousin's silence starts to agitate him even more as he rubs his head viciously while trying to hold back a growl.

"Argh! Say something, dude!" He groans in a harsh whisper. "Hinata not showing up is one thing, but Gaara and Sasori with no excuse? No notice? Conveniently after they got bitched at for locking lips with Hinata? Like, they didn't even show up to work the next couple of days as if they knew Hinata wasn't gonna be here!"

Karin grabs Naruto by his wrists and looks him sternly in the eyes while motioning around to the others in the shop. They now have a couple of people inside aside from the employees, so she quickly drags him to the backroom. As they pass the stairs, she looks up just in time to see her aunt try to scurry off but fails due to her long, luscious locks trailing behind her.

Once in the backroom, Karin shoves Naruto to the side and wags her polished finger in his face.

"Listen, I get it, but you need to learn to pipe it down, dumbass! Auntie Kushina probably just heard you spill the beans!"

At the mention of his mother, Naruto's face blanches as a shiver runs down his spine. "Oh no… For real?"

Shaking her head, Karin rolls her eyes and leans back against a shelf. "I-I don't know but for your sake, I hope not. Anyway, back to the issue at hand, you may have a point."

"I do?" Naruto blinks, his concern for his mother's wrath momentarily washed away.

Karin nods, waving her hand as she speaks. "Yeah. Maybe Hinata is the reason those two aren't showing up, but not for the reason you say."

Naruto scratches his whiskered cheek and cocks his head to the side in confusion. "Huh?"

"Like, what if they aren't showing up just so they can avoid her? Like, they keep thinking she's gonna be here, so they aren't gonna be."

"But why would they do that? Sasori doesn't seem like the type of guy to run away from some embarrassing moment… although Gaara on the other hand…"

"My point exactly." Karin cheers, only to fix her glasses when they start to fall from her face. "Well, for the most part."

The two fall into silence for a moment once more before the redhead suddenly sparks to life, mildly startling Naruto in the process. Eagerly, she points her finger in his face, launching herself from the shelf as she holds out her other hand expectantly.

"W-What?"

"Where's your phone?!"

"My phone? Why?" Naruto stares down the impatient woman as he digs in his back pocket for his phone. He watches her flex her fingers, practically foaming at the mouth like a mad dog.

"Just hurry up and give me the damn thing, you idiot!" Once the phone is in his hand, she immediately snatches it from him, but curses when she comes up to the lock screen. "Tch. What's your damn password?"

"I'm not telling you!" The blonde hissed, ripping his phone back from her hands and turning away to enter his pin. He looks over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't peeping, only then turning back to hand his device back to her. "Just what the hell is your issue now, weirdo?"

Shrugging away the insult, Karin heads straight for his contact list, scrolling through it until she finds what she's looking for. Naruto watches curiously, making sure she doesn't go snooping on certain people.

"If you're trying to find Hinata's number, don't bother. I've already blown up her phone plenty only to have that bastard Neji call me and tell me to leave her alone." Naruto grits his teeth as the memory of that conversation replays in his mind. "Seriously, who does that guy think he is? Her freaking family is too damn overprotective for their own good."

Karin chuckles at the comment, slowing down her scrolling when she finally reaches the S's in his contact list. "Yeah, no kidding. And trust me, I've gotten the same message from that prick too when I tried hitting her up. That's why I'm not looking for her in here."

Naruto raises a brow at her as she finally clicks on a name, his eyes widening a little at the name. "You were looking for him?"

"Yeah. I remembered that you got both of their numbers when they first got hired, and you put it to good use when it came to sending out their invitations."

"Yeah, I was a little excessive, but it was worth it in the end, am I right?" His boyish grin was simply met with a frown before she goes back to typing a message down.

"Oh yeah~, it was so worth not having Hinata nor the two thorns in my ass around after they all practically had sex in the middle of the club."

Naruto pouts at her sarcasm, folding his arms across his chest. "In my book, that still counts as a good time, ya know." When he receives nothing but a chuckle in response, he leans over her to see what she's typing. "Are you planning on writing the guy a whole damn memoir or something?"

Karin lightly swats him in the arm before continuing her aggressive typing. "No, you jackass. I'm trying to ask him what's the issue and when he and Gaara will be coming back. I'm also asking if there's somewhere private he would like to meet and talk about everything."

"You know I have Gaara's number too right?"

"No duh. I was gonna message him too right after." Karin states as she hits send on the message. She then immediately begins searching for Gaara's name and starts typing out a similar message.

"What if they don't answer?" Naruto asks. "You should try calling them too, just in case."

Just as she hits send on the message to Gaara, she hands the blonde back his phone and nods to herself. "I'm gonna give it a few minutes at least for a response. Both can be antisocial, stubborn losers so I tried to make it sound like their jobs were on the line too, ya know."

Naruto raises a brow in question towards her as he puts his phone back in his pocket. "Why'd you do that? Or how did you or whatever."

The redhead huffs and peers out into the front area to see how the others were doing and to make sure no one was eavesdropping on them. "I just said that auntie was wondering when they'll be back and to let her know if she needs to hire new people since they want to be M.I.A for so long without reason. And I said that if there was a reason, then is there somewhere that they would wanna meet up and talk about it before we bring it up to her."

Naruto blinks in awe at her wit, causing her to look him up and down with a scowl. She backs away from him and holds herself as her cousin continues to awkwardly stare at her with a growing grin.

"What the hell is with that look, you weirdo!" She bites, swatting at him.

Naruto simply chuckles and makes his way to head back to the front room, checking his phone to make sure his ringer was on. "Oh, nothing. I'm just surprised that you can be smart sometimes."

Karin glares at him, appalled by his backhanded compliment, and follows after him to swing at him once more. "You asshole!" She squeals, bringing her hand down to land on the back of his head.

However, just as she was about to make contact with his yellow mass of hair, she stops herself short when a flaming head of crimson comes between them in a hurry. Karin jerks herself back and Naruto turns around just in time to make brief eye contact with his mother. The cousins' mouths are wide as they watch the older woman scurry between them without so much as a word to either as she makes a b-line for the front door.

"M-Mom!" Naruto calls out after coming out of his initial shock.

As if waking her from her hyper-focused state, Kushina whips herself around with a gasp and a giggle after grabbing her cream-colored jacket from the coat rack by the door. She walks up to her son and niece with a charming smile and a mischievous gleam in her indigo eyes. She gently caresses her child's whiskered cheek, making the two young adults highly confused and anxious.

"M-Mom, what are yo-" Naruto stammers, his eyes wandering around the store to find Tauya and Karui watching the display like hawks.

"Auntie, is everything okay?" Karin quickly chimes in, coming to her side just as she brings her hand back to her side.

"Sorry to rush by you two like that, but could you do me a huge favor and take care of the shop for me?" Kushina calmly replies, putting her jacket over her shoulders and pulling her faux fur-trimmed hood over her head. Taking note of their quizzical expressions, she pulls out her mittens from her pocket and slips them over her fingers. "I have some errands that I need to run and I won't be back for a while so I just need you two to make sure that everything runs smoothly."

"Errands?" Questions Karin.

"Yes." Kushina nods, maintaining her charming grin and the twinkle in her features. "If you guys need anything, please contact your father."

"Dad?" Now it was Naruto's turn to question her, the cousins giving each other the same look of apprehension.

"Yes," Kushina repeats. "I already let Minato know that I'm going to be busy and he said it was fine as long you called him for something important, seeing as he's still working on his project for his meeting."

"What errands do you have to run?" Naruto asks, rubbing the cheek that his mother touched as she zips up her jacket.

At that question, his mother pauses in her movements, her pleasant attitude faltering for a moment before she quickly catches herself. She blinks rapidly and shakes her head, reaching in her hood to pull her long hair around her exposed neck like a scarf. She smiles up at her son and closes her eyes.

"You don't need to worry about that. It's just some small things that I need to take care of. I'll be back later."

"Auntie, are you sure everything is okay?" Karin urges, reaching out to the older woman.

Kushina grabs her hand before it could reach her and squeezes it affirmingly. "I'm fine. Everything is fine and will be alright." She chuckles and lets her go and starts heading back to the front door. She ignores the questioning stares from her family and employees alike as she grabs her green and white striped scarf from the coat rack and wraps it around her neck.

"Alright everyone, I'll be back later. Please take care of the store while I'm away." She calls out as she opens the door to leave. "Thank you, guys. Naruto, Karin, I love you both. See ya!"

Both Karin and Naruto call out their 'I love you's" just as the door closes behind the hurried woman. Neither comment when Karui and Tayuya slide their ways next to them with perplexed expressions. Once again, the two redheads look at the Uzumaki duo for answers, albeit, this time, thankfully, not as aggressive in approach as they did earlier. Before the two could even utter a word to match their motions, Karin immediately holds up a polished hand to silence their inquiry.

"Don't even ask, because we don't know either." All the while the same thought buzzes through the Uzumaki cousins' heads as they sweat nervously where they stand.

She knows.

---

Her breath was frosty on her face as she exited her vehicle in the parking lot of the extravagant apartment complex. She had to work up some nerves of steel when she entered the beautiful building seeing as she only had one goal in mind when coming here.

Taking a moment to admire the structure as people were coming in and out of the place or even just sitting in the leisure area by this fireplace, she makes her way over to the bellhop. It's not like she hasn't been here before, but she can count those times just enough on one hand. Despite being a family friend, there has never really been any reason for her to visit seeing as the one that brought them together usually comes to see her anyway. But now, things have changed and she was going to get the bottom of it, whether or not she wrecked this polished place to the ground be damned.

When she finally reaches the elevator, she ignores the fact that the bellhop was trying his best to hide that he'd been silently judging her from when she was just standing and staring in the lobby seconds ago. He politely nods his head to her and asks what floor.

"The Hyūga residents, please."

The mild surprise aside, the young man did as asked and pressed the button to the top floor. She can tell he's trying to bite back his urge to question her, but she's seen this young man before so it shouldn't come as that much of a shock that she was here for that family. What's probably shocking him the most, however, is why she's here in the first place. Almost every time she's come to the Hyūga household, it's either been for an event or something of the sort. She hardly ever did random pop-ups such as these.

Her inner thoughts are pushed aside when she finally hears the ding of her reaching her destination. Both she and the bellhop nod to one another before she makes her trek down the hall to the only residents on this floor. Once at the door, all the nerves she built up begin to break and she finds herself having shallow breaths.

"Damn it." She curses herself for getting cold feet just from standing in front of their door. For christ's sake, she needed to be headstrong if she was going to do this! She can't show weakness in front of a family like this! One sign of her faltering and all hopes she had would be shattered! "Get it together Kushina!"

Slapping her palms against her cheeks and intaking a deep, shaky breath, she finally raps her knuckles against the door a few times, beginning her anxious wait. Her deep indigo orbs glance up and down the hallway as she stands there (im)patiently. Her fingers tap against the back of her hand before she tries knocking again after no answer. Once again she waits, growing more impatient by the second, especially when she believes she hears the sound of their TV growing louder behind the door frame. She can practically feel the vein pulse through her forehead in aggravation as she tries once more to knock, albeit this time a lot louder and harsher than her previous attempts, even going so far as to ring their personal doorbell.

Just like the first time, she swears she hears the TV get even louder now and it takes all of her willpower not to bust their damn door down with her bare hands. How rude! Were they freaking serious with this childishness?! If they think that she, Kushina Uzumaki, is going to back down after something so petty, they have another thing coming!

Kushina rolls up her sleeve on her right arm and bites the inside of her cheek, preparing to give this elegant wooden door the throttling of a lifetime. Right as her blazing fist is about to collide with the door, it suddenly swings open to reveal a wide-eyed individual, who, upon seeing that it was the fiery woman who was the visitor, instantly squeals at the sight of her and attempts to slam the door back in her face.

Kushina, just as shocked at the action, quickly pushes against the door and blocks it with her body with an exasperated cry.

"Hanabi!" Despite the youngest Hyūga's efforts, she couldn't get the door to budge now that the redhead was standing in the way, causing her to look behind her in a panic. "Open the door right now, Hanabi, and let me speak with them!"

Feeling the door beginning to open, Hanabi opts to slink herself into the hallway instead, forcing the older woman out once more and closes the door behind her. She glances behind her to make sure the door is completely shut before coming face to face with the mortified expression Kushina wore. Her body language said it all; she was annoyed, confused, angry, and sad all at once. She seemed to be at a loss for words as she just looked at the youngster with her mouth agape. Hanabi, in turn, looked so small and guilty and apologetic as she started turning red in the face while searching for the right words to say.

"Kushina I-"

"What the he-"

"You shouldn't be here!"

The instant hurt on her face made the young girl cringe. The sadness in her eyes was gripping, but Hanabi knew she had to say it before her cousin and her father found her.

"Neji and father forbade Onee-chan's friends from seeing her and if they catch you here, they'll-"

"Forbade!?" This was just insulting at this point. Ridiculous. How the hell do you forbid friends?

Now the brunette was worried for herself and her front door. The rage radiated off the redhead in waves and she was scared she was about to see the Red Hot Habanero in action. She was only willing to see that sight if it was happening to someone else, not her own family or self. She gulps down her stress as she watches Kushina clench her fists and start pacing around in a circle, muttering angrily to herself. Abruptly, the woman turns her attention on her, making the Hyūga jump, only to realize that it wasn't her she was looking at, but instead the stoic man behind her standing in their now open doorway.

Confused as to when Neji opened the door in all of this, Hanabi takes their staredown as her chance to get out of dodge and slinks her way past her cousin back into the safety of their home. As soon as Hanabi was out of the picture, Neji simply crosses his arms and boldly glares Kushina down, earning him a deadly glare in return.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Kushina-san." Despite the politeness in the phrasing, his tone was anything but. If Kushina were anyone else, she would have thought this interaction was between two rivals, not family friends.

"I'm not leaving until I speak with Hinata, Neji." She says with furrowed brows. "I need to make sure she's okay."

"What you need to do is leave, Kushina-san." Said woman can feel that vein throb in her forehead again from his cold words. The seriousness in his hard stare irked her beyond belief and made her think back to the pompous little shit he used to be as a child. The superiority complex he had still reared its ugly head from time to time she supposed.

"Where's your uncle? Let me speak to him and get this whole mess sorted out." She demands, placing her hands on her hips to distract her from the urge to sock this kid one.

"He doesn't wish to speak." Neji deadpans, making a motion to shoo her away. "Now go. And tell your son and niece to lose her number."

Alright, the urge to punch the smug son of a bitch in the face was getting dangerously close to the breaking point. What the ever-loving fuck was their problem!? Was this real life right now?

"Are you fucking kidding me, Neji!" Kushina shouts at him, but he remains unfazed. "Like, is this some kind of joke? Let me talk to Hiashi right now, or so help me!"

"Go home, Kushina-san." Neji reiterates, blocking his doorway when she motions to get by.

He doesn't flinch or even bats an eye when she shoves her finger in his face while stomping her foot.

"You know, you've grown to become a real pain in my ass! How do you do a full three-sixty back to a pompous, arrogant little shit stain with a stick shoved so far up your ass that you can see it poking out the back of your throat every time you utter a slimy fucking word?! Huh?!"

When Neji merely scowls at her but remains silent and steadfast, her inner brat takes full control. If he doesn't want to let her in their apartment out of pettiness, then she'll just be pettier until Hiashi has no choice but to let her in because of the possibility of complaints from downstairs residents.

Immediately she begins to stomp and holler like a mad lady, profanities and the like at the younger man, demanding to see Hinata, demanding to see Hiashi, demanding entry into the home, you name it. She made it her absolute goal to be as obnoxious as possible at this point until she managed to see at least one of the faces she wanted… and boy did it work.

No sooner did she start her tantrum did the Hyūga patriarch himself appear behind his nephew looking just as annoyed as him. Twin pair of milky eyes glare at her as she internally smirks in victory as Hiashi motions Neji to the side.

"Enough already, Kushina." Hiashi groans. "Come in and have a seat."

"See? Now was that so hard?"

The redhead's taunting only earns her more scornful looks from the long-haired men as they escort her to their dining room table. As she takes her seat, she can see from her peripheral Hanabi running down the hall to what can only be presumed to be either her or Hinata's room.

Once everyone was seated, an awkwardly long silence envelops them as Kushina glances between the two. Hiashi looks drained whereas Neji just continues to hold his scowl in place. She can't help but suck her teeth at the boy just before Hiashi groans while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Why did you come here, Kushina?" The older male questions, looking her in the eyes from across the table.

Kushina resists the urge to roll her eyes and instead shrugs at him. "Isn't it obvious, Hiashi?" She leans back when he sighs deeply and closes his eyes. "You guys are really serious about not letting her see me, aren't you?" Her eyes shift desperately between the two, who say nothing in response. "Why the hell are you guys being so uptight with her all of a sudden?"

"It's not 'being uptight', Kushina-san," Neji retorts. "It's being protective since you clearly don't know the creepy perverts that you hire at your store."

This comment has Kushina stand from her chair, pointing her finger once more in Neji's direction. "I'm getting real sick of your attitude, Neji. You need to put that crap back where it belongs, which is right where your egotistical childhood self used to be."

"He's right, Kushina," Hiashi interjects in Neji's defense, making the heated woman return to her seat. "From what I've heard from both Hinata and Neji, Hinata is clearly incapable of making sane decisions whenever I allow her the freedom to do so."

Kushina raises a perplexed eyebrow in response. "What are you talking about?"

With another exasperated sigh, Hiashi folds his hands on the table and looks her directly in the eyes. "First, it was the boyfriend." Everyone at the table internally cringes and sucks their teeth in disgust.

"Only God knows why she decided to date a man like Hidan for a little over a year despite the fact that no one, not even herself, liked him. He was crude, rude, foul, and brought nothing but unhappiness to their relationship and everyone around him, but she stayed anyway. Whether it be out of obligation or rebellion, I don't know. And then there was her birthday. I allowed her the opportunity to celebrate like an adult and what does she do? She allows two boys she's just met and hardly knows to defile her in the middle of a crowded establishment at the same time as if she was a common whore."

Kushina visibly flinches at her friend's choice of harsh words to describe his own daughter. It pained her to think that he actually thought of her that way after one little incident.

"I… I don't know where I went so wrong in raising that girl. Even as an absent father before my wife's passing, I still raised my girls with better morals and decorum than what she's been doing." The tired tone with which he spoke nearly broke Kushina for the simple fact that it physically hurt her to have it confirmed that he saw his darling daughter in such a negative light.

"Ugh, Hiashi, please." The redhead groans with a facepalm. "You should know your daughter better than that." She pleads. "Hinata is a smart, incredibly kind girl just navigating through life as a twenty-one-year-old woman that never really had the chance to experience such liberties as other kids her age due to such a strict upbringing. Where other kids got to experience things like dating and parties and all of that, Hinata was kept to her studies and kept to herself so she never got out of her little shell until, unfortunately, Hidan came along and asked her out. Even then, she still kept herself timid in that relationship."

"How do you know?" Neji asks her, disbelieving that someone like Hidan would take no for an answer from someone as soft-spoken as his beloved cousin.

Kushina gives Neji a knowing look with a wink. "Girl talk, Neji. Girl talk."

Shaking her head, she brings herself back on track. "Anyway, my point is, Hinata isn't and didn't do 'bad' things to forsake herself, she's just going through the motions, like any normal person."

She watches as both uncle and nephew shake their heads as they listen to her speak. She notices that Neji was once more going to try to say something, so she quickly adds on to her mini-speech.

"And as for the night of her birthday… that must have been something so exciting and new for her. I honestly can't imagine how she must have felt that night." She sighs dreamily, imagining the bright smile on that girl's face before shit hit the fan. "I just know that while what happened may have been wild and exhilarating, yes, it was also her body and her decision."

This statement has both Hyūga men gape at her with wide eyes.

"If she wanted to make out with two attractive boys that found her equally as attractive when she has been stuck in the same relationship with this stinkweed sorry excuse of a boyfriend for an entire year, then that's her prerogative and her business." The distaste on the guys' faces makes her almost smirk since she was making her point clear. And now it was time for her to drive her point home.

"So what if you guys don't like it? Or anyone for that matter?" Both Hiashi and Neji practically lose their eyes from how much they bulged from their sockets. "As her family, it is, by all means, your right to give her all the advice the world has to offer, but it's not your right to keep her held captive inside her own home and isolate her from people that make her happy."

While Neji remains tense and taut, she notices Hiashi actually starting to slump down in deep thought. Her indigo eyes turn towards the rigid young Hyūga as she attempts to pierce him with her next words.

"Instead of finding you her knights in shining armor, she'll possibly grow to resent you for this treatment over something so silly. This could lead to her actually wanting to be rebellious and actually want to do worse things if this is the reaction she gets for just making out with a couple of boys. Smothering someone like this could lead to rebellion, which in turn could lead her into some real deep shit that you guys won't be able to help her out of..."

Suddenly, Kushina's eyes become glossy, confusing Neji, but regaining Hiashi's attention as he watches her zone out for a moment. The guys watch her quickly blink away her coming tears as she avoids all eye contact now. She sniffles, catching herself from her train of thought. Neji's confusion grows at her sudden odd behavior, tapping his hand on the table to get her attention.

"Kushina-san?"

Hearing her name, she looks in his direction and Neji freezes from the oozing pain in her eyes.

"Take it from me, Neji." She states abruptly. "I lost a daughter by trying to smother her in a similar fashion." Said Hyūga male stifles a gasp of shock at the news, just barely remembering hearing about Kushina's other child. He was away when Hinata really began hanging out with the Uzumaki family, so he had only heard fleeting things about them having a daughter. Naturally, he forgot all about that fact once he met Karin and just assumed that the family considered her a daughter like how his uncle considers him a son. However, hearing Kushina bring up the girl now and how she "lost" her has him quite intrigued, to say the least.

"When I say shit hit the fan, I don't mean that as an understatement." She continues. "Things became… became so bad... that there was no turning back for our family. Even now, we're still dealing with the aftermath of what happened, but we're healing, which is all that I can hope for really."

"I… I'm really sorry to hear that, Kushina-san." Neji states, folding his hands in front of him.

He looks over to his uncle to see his reaction to the shocking reveal, finding his reaction surprising. His uncle was… smiling. A somber smile, but a smile nonetheless. Was there something that his uncle knew about her daughter? That would be the only reason someone could smile at the news of someone's loss.

Speaking of smiles, Kushina offers him one in thanks to his condolences before continuing once more.

"All I'm trying to say is that Hinata is so incredibly lucky to have a father that cares and a cousin, or brother as she likes to call you, that is willing to go above and beyond when she needs him to." The long-haired man suddenly turns red in the cheeks at the compliment, making Kushina hold back a chuckle. "But right now, Hinata doesn't need you to go this hard for her. Keeping her from her friends and people that love her and are worried about her wellbeing isn't healthy."

Kushina looks on hopefully after taking in a deep, shaky breath as both Hyūga appear to be deeply contemplating everything she has said today. She honestly didn't expect herself to go down memory lane at one point, or to even end up having a full-on lecture moment, but moments of passion happen. She can only pray that her passionate pleas reach their minds, bodies, and souls and they let that poor girl go. Fingers crossed on this one.

"Kushina-san," Neji calls out, earning her hopeful gaze. "I hear what you're saying, and I understand everything you're saying," Oh by gods did she do it? "But I just can't trust those guys around Hinata-sama-"

So much for fingers crossed.

"Neji, it's alright." Hiashi chimes in, holding his hand up to his nephew. The Uzumaki pipes up, recrossing her fingers once more. "I think-"

"Kushina~!"

When Kushina says she has never been more prepared for anything in her entire life, she means it. From the second she heard the sound of her name being cried out followed by the rushing of multiple footsteps down the corridor, she instantly lept from her seat and hopped to the side with her arms and body fully engaged to be tackled by the slightly smaller frame of her beloved little coffee princess who was blubbering like an infant. Never has she seen this girl cry so much since the day Naruto got hurt in soccer practice.

Hiashi and Neji look on in shock as Hinata cries into Kushina's shoulder about how much she misses her before looking over to a panting Hanabi, who looks just as shocked as they do. Before Hanabi has a chance to even explain herself, Neji is up and pointing at the affectionate duo while scolding his youngest cousin.

"You were supposed to keep her in her room, Hanabi!"

"Look! I tried for as long as I could, okay! Onee-chan is strong when she wants to be!" Hanabi pouts, throwing her hands in the air when Neji just scoffs at her. "Not my fault you two took so long to talk her out of here!"

"She would have been gone in a few more minutes if you just-" Neji's retort falls mute when he turns to see his uncle smiling at Kushina and Hinata, causing him to turn and fully embrace their reunion as well.

"I missed you so much Kushina! I'm sorry for making you worry!" Hinata whines, holding tightly onto her friend as if this were the last time she was to ever see her.

"Shhh, it's alright, Hinata. We've all missed you too." Coos the redhead, patting the girl on her head with a radiant smile.

"Please tell me how everyone has been! How are Naruto-kun and Karin-chan? Kiba-kun and Shino-kun if you've seen them? Are Tayuya-chan and Karui-chan still working fine? Oh, and please tell me about Gaara-kun and Sasori-kun? Have they been around? Please tell them both I'm s-so s-sorry about that night!" Suddenly Hinata's tears start coming down harder as she thinks about that night, making everyone look at her in mild surprise. "I-I-I don't w-want them t-to thi-ink badly of m-me, o-or feel b-ba-bad either! I-I don't want th-them to ha-hate Neji-nii either!"

All eyes immediately turn towards the blushing male with a mixture of surprise, smugness, and care. The fact that Hinata was concerned about him being hated lit a tiny fire in his belly that filled him with… dare he say it… butterflies. All this time he's caring about keeping her safe from perverts, she's also being concerned about his status amongst her friends. Damn it.

Slowly Neji sinks back down into his chair with his arms crossed on the table and dips his head into his arms so that only his pale eyes could be seen. His eyes stay trained on his beloved cousin as his littlest one comes over to taunt him with a cheeky smirk. He does his best to ignore her teasing and focus on the scene before him.

His uncle, who had been tense since he brought Hinata back home on her birthday was now smiling, admiring the scene, completely relaxed. Hanabi, who had been quiet and moody since Hinata's confinement, was now back to her torturous, bratty self, making light at his expense. And Hinata, who he had not seen smile in days or speak to anyone since their argument, was now wailing like a bitch but in the happiest way possible.

Looking at this now, he has no choice but to concede and admit that just perhaps… he was being a tad too overbearing this time.

---

While it was hard for her to leave her precious friend so soon, there were still some loose ends she had to tie up. With her little intervention aiding in the start of Hinata opening up about her feelings towards the isolation and sheltering, Kushina was able to leave the Hyūga household feeling accomplished and confident that she'll be seeing her blue-haired friend tomorrow at her store, a tray of coffees and new pictures in hand.

Roughly 5 miles down from her shop, but 10 when coming from the Hyūga residence, Kushina sat in her car parked on the side of the road. She stares at her phone for a moment before glancing around to make sure the map's picture matched where she was. In the picture was a quaint two-story cottage-style home painted blue with a nice walkway up to the front porch. But when looking up to where the address says it should be, there stands a golden house with the same walkway covered vastly with plant life. While it seemed that the color of the house simply changed over time, she still wanted to be sure that this was the right address.

She bites her lip and exits the car deciding that she can only give it a shot and try her luck. She's just hoping that he didn't give her the wrong address. Checking both ways for oncoming cars, she scurries across the street and marches up to the porch tentatively. She pulls her jacket closer to her as a shiver runs down her spine from the chill in the air. Glancing around, she knocks on the door and waits. She gathers that this area appears to be a nice neighborhood by the looks of it and is very pleased that one of her employees seems to be living comfortably.

When she doesn't get a response, she tries knocking once more, this time attempting to peer through the windows to make sure someone was home. With the curtains obscuring her view, she can just barely make out the shape of someone finally coming to the door. Immediately she turns away to make it look like she wasn't trying to snoop around. It's when, from the corner of her eye, she can see the person move the curtain on the door that she snaps her head back around. When she sees a head full of bloody red locks, she smiles at her reason for being here before instantly going slack-jawed when she hears the sound of the lock clicking.

Her beautiful features pinch together when she sees the young man turn his back to her and walk away from the door. This is unbelievable. Why do people keep doing this to her today? Like, it was just rude. He really just ignored her and locked the door without even saying a word? After he's been absent from work for a little over a week? The nerve of this child! If he thought he could get away with such disrespect without hearing her mouth, he was sorely mistaken!

With a guttural growl, she's just about to pound her fist on his door violently to ream him a new asshole when she hears the muffled sound of someone speaking to him. This halts her rampage long enough for her to make out the body of another person coming to the door. She can just barely make out what this other man was saying before the curtain is once again moved from the window on the door to reveal a man with sharp eyes and unkempt brown hair.

Her eyes widen in surprise when the man questions who she is. She wasn't quite sure if he was asking her or asking her employee, however, since he had turned away the moment he asked.

"I'm his boss!" Kushina shouts, the irritation in her voice peeking through. "I came here to have a little chat with him!"

She watches as this young man's eyes grow wide before turning around to face her former employee. She can once more hear some muffled scolding and can just barely make out the man coming back to the door, unlocking it and finally granting entrance into their home.

Once inside, she admires the humble charm of the place. From what she can tell, their style of decorating is very earthy, desert-inspired. A lot of cactus plants and earth tones to their furnishing. It was different and cute to her. Made her feel… warm in a way.

"So sorry about my brother. He can be a real pain in the ass." The brunette man's voice brings her attention back to him as he closes the door behind her and extends a hand. As she shakes hands with him, she glances over to see her fellow redhead turned away with a pout no doubt. "My name's Kankuro, Gaara's older brother."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kushina." She greets politely back as Kankuro leads her further inside. He brings her closer to what appears to be their living room by the stairs, opposite the side of the kitchen area.

As she continues to admire their living quarters, she manages to catch the side-eye the brothers give each other as Kankuro relaxes against the wall by the stairs where Gaara was standing. She notices the older male looking her up and down skeptically whereas the youngest still refuses to look her way. With a stern stare, she looks to Kankuro with confusion which seems to finally get him to say what's on his mind.

"Sorry for the weird looks, but I'm just wondering if you're really his boss."

The statement throws her off and she gives him an incredulous look. "Huh? Well of course I am. Why would I lie about that?"

Kankuro throws his hands up defensively and points at his grumpy sibling. "Well, it's just hard to believe that someone who fired him would show up personally to talk with him." Her eyes nearly fall out of their sockets with how wide they grew. Fired him?! "About what, I have no clue sinc-"

"I didn't fire him!" She shouts, glaring daggers at her lying employee. She can see Gaara slump while his brother looks at him in disbelief. "It's because I didn't fire him that I'm here in the first place!"

"Hold on. You told me that you were fired because of your poor behavior and because of that you weren't allowed back at the shop!" Hearing his brother drop this bombshell on her makes her blood boil, especially when Gaara attempts to run up the stairs. "Gaara!"

"Oh, I don't think so!"

Despite being midway up the stairs, Gaara suddenly feels a strong pull on his ear, causing him to nearly tumble down the flight of stairs. How she managed to move so fast in seconds baffled him, but he had to put that all aside so that he could focus on not face-planting on his hall floor.

"Shit!"

Gaara just barely manages not to trip over himself when, without pause, Kushina continues to drag him by the ear into his own living room. His pale eyes lock with his brother's dark ones and he regrets doing so instantly. Where he initially attempted to flee their judgment for his lie beforehand, he now wishes to flee from the blatant amusement Kankuro was having to watch him being carted away like a child. Curse that asshole for letting this woman inside their home! He'll certainly be dealing with him later.

Chuckling to himself at seeing his big-bad baby brother being tucked away by the ear, he follows the two redheads into the living room only to jerk back when Kushina faces him with a hard smile.

"Would it be okay if I talked to him alone for a moment, Kankuro-san?" Despite the smile on her pretty face, the brashness of her tone slightly startled the brunette. He knew he wasn't the one in trouble, but it made him slightly concerned for how Gaara would fare against this woman.

With a gulp, Kankuro nods his head and backs away towards the kitchen. "Y-Yeah, no problem. I'll just… wait in here then… I guess."

Seeing that Kankuro was away, Kushina turns back towards Gaara and ushers him over to the couch, finally releasing his ear from her strong grasp. When Gaara starts massaging his swollen ear and glares at her, she places her hands on her hips and glares right back.

"Sit."

At her command, the young man reluctantly does as told, feeling like a damn toddler while doing so. He felt utterly ridiculous and humiliated when all he was trying to do today was relax. But now he has his boss standing in front of him with the same disappointing glare he always received from everyone. He hated it.

"Why?"

Although it was quite obvious what she was referring to, he refused to comment. Instead, he remained glowering at her, looking more and more childish in her eyes. When a long moment of silence passes between the two gingers, she groans and pinches the bridge of her nose when he merely looks away.

"Really now, Gaara, what's going on with you?" Kushina continues to press. "Why did you say you were fired when there wasn't even a conversation about that? Like, this is really surprising given everything we've been through. If you weren't happy working at the shop, you should've just said so. Or was it really that hard to man up and come talk to me about quitting?"

When she receives nothing more than a deeper scowl, she decides to go for the hard-hitting question. She didn't want to have to ask about this so soon and had actually hoped she could have a normal conversation with the young man, but he was acting more like a stubborn brat than she thought he would. With a brief pause, she bites her cheek and crosses her arms, growing anxious to see his reaction.

"Or maybe it doesn't have anything to do with you not liking your job, huh?" She notices the subtle clench in his jaw when he looks at her skeptically. "Maybe it has to do with a certain person, or people I should say. Hinata and Sasori to be exact?"

Upon hearing their names, she watches the young redhead shift in his seat, turning his attention away from her once more. She frowns at the reaction, having her suspicions practically confirmed by the simple movement. But just to be sure, she asks one more specific question.

"Is it because of her?" Along with shifting in his spot once more, a soft tint adorns his cheeks and she sighs. "Does this have anything to do with what happened the night of her birthday party?"

Just as she was about to settle in the seat across from him, Gaara abruptly stands, startling her as he marches to leave the room. She notices his pink cheeks and clenched fists as he skirts around the couch, brushing off her hand when she reaches out to him.

"You and your family need to learn to mind your own business and butt out of my life!" The raise of his tone was enough to make her jerk back since he has never actually shouted at her before. With how deep his voice was, it almost reverberated in her chest and made her catch her breath. Given any other circumstance, she would admit that it would have been very intimidating. However, she wouldn't allow herself to be intimidated here. Not when it was over something so silly.

"You know neither Sasori nor Hinata has been to the store since her birthday either."

It was as if her words had created a sudden wall that prevented his escape with how quickly he stopped in his tracks. He didn't turn to her, but his rigid form was enough to let her know he was listening.

"I don't know if you've been keeping in touch with Sasori and his whereabouts, but Hinata's family has basically forbidden her from leaving the house since that night." Kushina flinches in her seat from how fast Gaara whipped his head around towards her. She's pretty sure the guy gave himself whiplash from the motion.

"What?"

She nods as his snarl grows and he slowly makes his way back to the couch. "Yeah. They deemed her incapable of making rational decisions on her own anymore and thought it would be best to keep her cooped up at home. She wasn't allowed to even be contacted by her friends either. All because they said we made her the reckless, irresponsible person she is."

"You've got to be kidding me. That's bullshit!"

When Kushina simply nods her head in affirmation, the veins in his neck practically bulge from the pure anger and indignation he radiated.

"You're fucking serious?! How messed up in the head is her damn family?! I mean I could tell her damn cousin has some weird, borderline creepy obsession with her, but to keep her trapped like she's some damn fairytale princess is utter bullshit! She's not some damsel in dist-"

"Do you like her?"

"Huh?"

"I asked you if you like her, Gaara," Kushina repeats, holding back a chuckle from how insanely red his face became and how tightly his lips shut into a thin line. "Do you wish things went down differently that night between you guys? In a way that wouldn't have made Neji upset?"

"D-Don't be ridiculous! O-Of course I wish things went down differently that night! If I wasn't drunk and high, no-none of that would have even happened!..."

The older woman watches in amusement as he attempts to jump through mental hoops to get his fumbled answer out. She sits back, relaxed, as he fidgets about anxiously.

"Trust me, if I hadn't been fed liquor and shit left and right, and if she hadn't thrown herself at me… And- And! If everyone would stop treating her like she's a damn baby! It's stupid how people want to hold her hostage just because we all made out!"

What was wrong with him? Why was he so out of breath and tense from such a stupid question? This wasn't like him to be so flustered over something so small and dumb. He was normally the calm and aloof one, yet here he was ranting and dare he say whining like he was that idiot Naruto or something. What the hell! And to make matters worse, that said idiot's mother is smirking and giving him this look that really pissed him off to no end. Seriously, curse his dumbass brother for letting this she-devil into their home.

When Kushina leans forward, Gaara takes a hesitant step back, cursing himself for feeling so defensive. "Tell me why you said you were fired, Gaara. Sit down and tell me that it's not because you didn't want to face those two after that night. That you didn't want to face her."

Wide seafoam eyes turn to her before instantly looking away. There was shame and a hint of guilt on his face since she knew he couldn't deny what she said… at least for the most part. She had a gut feeling that he wasn't avoiding work solely because of a girl, but after finding out what she did, she knew her little friend had to be a part of it. Everything was too coincidental for it not to be.

During Gaara's moment of silence, Kushina can see his brother peek around the corner with interest. She holds back the chuckle due to his raised brows and sharp eyes widened with curiosity. She figures the young man has probably been tuning in the whole time, waiting for the opportunity to keep his temperamental brother in the room should he try to leave. Either that or he was just your average eavesdropper.

As the redhead's cheeks continue to flame up while deep in his thoughts, she takes the time to fully embrace the room she's in. Like the hallway and what she could see from it, everything is very warm-toned. Everything looks like it came straight from a house in the desert terrain. The plants, the rugs, the pictures. Everything was comforting. Even this little family photo they had on their coffee table was warm and soothing. She's pretty sure she's never seen Gaara smile so genuinely before like he was in this picture. It was by no means a cheeser like she and her son do, but it was there nonetheless. Kankuro had his arms around him and this beautiful woman who she assumed was either their mother or something. But this blonde woman looked far too young to be their mother. Sister maybe? Whoever she was, she could have sworn she's seen her somewhere before now that she's looking at her. But where from? Has she come into the shop before?

Pursing her lips together in thought, she racks her brain for more info on this blonde girl. She just knows she's seen her before and she knew it was going to bother her until she figured it out. She could never forget such a striking face. Those teal eyes, warm complexion, that unique four pigtails style of hair that ironically gives her a powerful look compared to a childish one…

Oh…

Oh no…

She knows where she's seen this girl before.

Oh god…

The Uzumaki woman's breath catches in her throat as her heart plummets to her stomach. Her panicked eyes glance up to see the siblings staring at her with knowing, pitiful looks. She wants to weep for them, but she holds back her tears as she knows that would do nothing but make the situation worse than it already was.

"When Gaara told me he'd been fired for behavioral issues, I thought nothing of it." Kankuro suddenly speaks, coming further into the room to stand next to his brother. The two look at each other before he continues. "It's been hard for both of us since she's been missing. Especially for him."

"I… I didn't…" Words escaped her at this moment since she had no idea that this is what he was going through all this time. Her mind kept harkening back to the time Hinata had found him after he bashed his head against the pipe. She remembers him not saying why he did it, but… could this have been the reason?

Kankuro places a hand up, waving away her concern. "Of course you didn't know. He's very good at keeping what he wants private, well, private." He shrugs and Gaara just scoffs at him. "Ever since we were kids, Gaara has always been the temperamental one, with good reason more often than not. And since she's been gone, he's been a lot more emotional lately and antsier. I already know that when something sets him off that it's hard to keep him under control when he's like this. That's why I didn't even question it. I already knew that working during this time was a lot to ask for, especially with customer service."

Kushina eyes down her employee as his brother speaks. The contempt and bitterness radiated off of him more so than when she first arrived. It was no longer the almost playful annoyance he had when talking about Hinata. Now it was just pure anger.

"Man, I really am an awful brother." Both redheads turn to Kankuro with bewildered expressions. His dark eyes were downcast with a wretched grin across his face. He snickers half-heartedly, bringing a hand to his chin. "I tried doing what she would do in this situation and I majorly fucked that up, heh."

"What are you talking about?" Gaara questions, raising a nonexistent brow at him.

"I'm sorry, little bro," Kankuro replies, earning him a wide-eyed stare. "I shouldn't have guilt-tripped you like I did. I shouldn't have pushed you like that. I knew everything was stressful enough as is, but if I had known just how much this whole girl situation was affecting you I wouldn't have pressured you into going to that party. I would never wanna add more weight on your shoulders."

A sudden heat rushes to Gaara's cheeks as Kankuro speaks. His fists ball up and his brow bone furrows in frustration.

"It's not like that!"

The blushing redhead flinches when his brother places a hand on his shoulder, offering him a tender smile. "It's okay, dude. If Temari were here, she would kick both of our butts for acting like a couple of jackasses. If you like this girl, don't let that bastard Sasori stand in your way, and don't let her family drag you down either. And as for me, hehe, well, I need to step up my game. As your older brother, I vow to do better and be better for you in our time of need."

Gaara was at a loss for words. Everything he wanted to clap back with was caught in his throat. Why did all of this have to happen to him? Why did Kankuro have to be such a sapling! And why did his boss have to sit there with this stupid grin on her face! They were both so annoying! Bringing up his sister like this and then turning it into something as ridiculous as fighting for some girl he kissed… really enjoyed kissing at that… But still! He just wanted to stay home and rot away, dammit!

But… He was right… and he hated it when he was right… Temari would definitely kick his ass for being like this. She didn't sacrifice everything for them only for him to mope around all day.

Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!

Being caught up in such a brotherly moment, Kushina couldn't stop herself from flinching when Gaara suddenly snaps his head in her direction with a cold, hard glare. She catches herself quickly and fumbles with her attire when his deep voice catches her off guard.

"Give me a shift."

She blinks at the youngster multiple times as if to process his request. "I- um- I- H-How about tomorrow afternoon?"

He doesn't say anything and merely shrugs his brother's hand away before abruptly leaving the room. No one stops him this time, thankfully, as both of them were pleasantly surprised by the turn of events.

To Kushina, while it was disconcerting to find out about his sister's disappearance and everything that went down at the party, she was just happy to see that he was doing okay for the most part. She was happy to have her angry employee back. And she was going to make sure that his time there was easy, no matter what. She was going to help him through this crisis. Especially since she knows how it feels to lose a loved one.

As for Kankuro, he was just happy that his brother was going to go back to work and get out of the house again. He may be ignorant to a lot of things and not around as often as he should be, but he wasn't oblivious to what Gaara does when he's alone. He would never allow himself to be that blind again. He knows the signs and he knows what it looks like. So having him be somewhere public lessens his worries, if only just a little. Plus, since he now knows about this Hinata girl, he's hoping that maybe she will be something good for him if something such as making out with her affected him this much. Who knows. At this point, he's got to be optimistic, especially for Temari's sake.

With a heavy sigh of relief, Kankuro turns his attention to Kushina, who was standing from her seat, gathering her belongings in the process. He offers her a smile as he leads the way back into the hallway.

"Well, that sure was one heck of a visit." He jokes, gaining a giggle in response. "Thanks for coming and talking with him. Hopefully, it all turns out for the best."

"It was my pleasure," Kushina replies, digging in her coat pocket for her keys and phone. "I'm just anxious to see if he'll actually come in tomorrow like he said. It hasn't been quite the same without him and Sasori around."

At the mention of the other fiery ginger, Kankuro raises a brow in question as he holds the door open for her. "Speaking of that bastard, I'm surprised he hasn't been around either. I'm pretty sure he still messages Gaara here and there, but I didn't know he was doing a no-call-no-show thing too." He shakes his head and snickers. "Those two are something else."

"That they are." Kushina agrees, bringing her phone to his face. "Before I go, I was wondering, can you help me find his address? I can't find him with the one he gave me and he's my last pitstop for today."

Kankuro blinks, bewildered by her statement, but types in his brother's friend's correct home for the kind woman. With thanks, the Uzumaki finally takes her leave, waving goodbye and best wishes for their sister's safe return.

"Thank you! And tell that bastard that Gaara isn't gonna lose to him! Not by a long shot!"

With a hearty laugh and more thanks, Kushina sets off 25 minutes towards her next destination.

---

What a beautiful home. A beautiful, expensive home.

Was this the right address? Was this really where he lived?

The Uzumaki double-checks the address in her phone and looks up once more at this mission-style abode. If this was truly his residence, why the hell was he working at a measly shop like hers? Perhaps it's rented, shared, like one of those social media kids these days? Maybe she really does have the wrong address. Although, that does look like his sports car, which also always has her questioning his income. But then again, some people just know how to budget and save..?

Picking her jaw up off the ground, she looks around the suburban area and seriously debates just leaving the place when she suddenly has it confirmed to her that this is in fact where her employee lives. Her indigo eyes dart over to the front door of the house when two people exit the building and make their way down the front steps. One of those people was obviously Sasori, but the other was someone she's never seen before, yet reminds her so much of someone she knows very well.

She was a pretty young girl with the palest blonde hair she's ever seen cut into a similar style to a certain blue-haired companion. She also, from what she can tell from her position at the end of the driveway, has some rather striking lavender-toned eyes that also remind her of that certain someone. She appears to even be similar in body shape and height as well. Even her giggle and blush were scarily matched.

Kushina raises a high skeptical brow at the duo and her lips twist into a judgmental grin when that clone of her friend takes notice of her. That's when all similarities end between the two as her friend would never scowl at someone the way this girl just did at her. She would never glare at someone for simply looking at her, granted she was just standing awkwardly at the bottom of his driveway, but still. Bitterness isn't very becoming of this young lady.

It's as soon as the blonde's jolly mood changes that her fellow redhead finally takes notice of her presence as well. His handsome features held the look of shock for only a moment before he composes himself just as Kushina makes her way over to the couple with a smile and wave. The closer she grows towards the two the more she can practically feel the hostility flow off this woman like it was a stench of perfume. However, she isn't too concerned with the look-a-like. She was here for one reason and one reason only, and that reason was now looking at her subtlest bit of confusion.

"Ah, long time no see again, Sasori!" Casually greets the redhead, earning her an even harsher glare from the chick and a frown from her employee. "I was wondering if you actually had time to have a little chit-chat with me."

Despite how pleasant she both sounded and appeared, it was her commanding tone that gave away that she wasn't actually asking, but telling him that they were going to have this talk whether he liked it or not. She wasn't going to let him get away from her now that she finally found him. There was nothing he nor his little friend could say to get him out of this one, even though it looked like she was definitely going to try.

"Ahem! Are you blind or something?" The blonde rudely scoffs at Kushina, taking tight hold of Sasori's arm. "Because clearly, you can see that Sasori-kun is a bit busy right now!"

Kushina turns a pointed glare onto the possessive lady, neither noticing the cringe in Sasori's face as she presses herself closer to him. Her eyes roam over the girl from head to toe and she can't help the chuckle that escapes her. At first, she had thought this girl just happened to have the same look as Hinata, but standing so close to her now, it was far more evident that he had literally found a poor copy and paste version of her with a far more ugly, snobbish attitude.

While the girl continues to whine and press on in this obnoxiously pitchy tone, Kushina turns her attention over to the man with an accusatory smirk. He glares at her as she motions towards the whiny chick who continues to try to pull on his arm but to no avail.

"Come on, Sasori-kun! Let's go! Leave the weirdo be! We're gonna be late!"

This was annoying. Very fucking annoying. Between the two of them, he was now getting a headache. Why do women have to be so damn irritating? Why couldn't she just shut up for two seconds and stop tugging on his arm like a freaking brat? And why was Kushina giving him that look? He didn't like that look. He didn't like what he feels she was trying to imply with that look. Whatever she was trying to say was wrong. It was very wrong.

"Shion." His slick voice immediately shut the girl's own down as he continued his stare down with the redheaded woman. "Go wait in the car."

Kushina's lips tug into a victorious grin while the girl, Shion, gasps in disbelief. Instead of doing as told, she grips his sleeve even tighter, earning her a pointed stare from him.

"Are you freaking serious right now?! Let's just go! Why bother with her when we have places to be?"

"It will only take a moment." Replies Sasori as calmly as possible. "Now go wait in the car."

Shion continues to stand there, finally releasing his arm only when he pulls away from her. Her face twists bitterly as she waves her hand in the Uzumaki woman's direction. "Just who the hell is she anyway!? How come you won't just shoo her away?"

"I'm his-"

"She's my boss."

To say Kushina was a little stunned when he openly admitted this would be a major understatement considering his lack of acting like she was this past week.

She wasn't the only one stunned either since little miss Shion was quick to turn red with embarrassment and finally shut her trap. You could hear the girl gulp down a retort she had coming before looking between the two redheads with pinched brows. However, just when you think she would finally take the hint and go to the car, she once more opens her glossy lips and crosses her arms under her chest.

"Okay, whatever. But, like, can't this wait until later or something?" Both Sasori and Kushina hold in a resigned groan and roll their eyes at the girl. "She literally just shows up out of nowhere and we're kind of in the middle of a date here. She literally interrupted us on our way to the movies. Like, the show starts in twenty minutes, Sasori-kun."

Said man runs a hand through his shaggy locks as he pushes the button on his key fob to his fancy car. The sound of his doors unlocking and revving of his engine as he remote starts it as well gathers the attention of the females.

"We won't be late if you just get in the car."

Shion quickly turns back to her date with wide eyes, a retort on the tip of her tongue. But one look at him and just hearing the command in his tone left no more room for arguments. If she wanted this date to continue without issue, she was going to have to back down this one time. Damn this woman for cutting into her date like this.

With a growl and dramatic eye roll, Shion stomps her way over to the vehicle, but not without giving the Uzumaki woman one last dirty look as she goes. Once inside, the cherry-haired duo give their own sighs of relief before Sasori ushers Kushina a little way to the side so that the blonde couldn't hear what was said. Just as she was about to speak her piece to him, he abruptly cuts through her train of thought rather aggressively.

"How did you find out where I live?"

The question certainly caught her off guard, as did the heat behind his stare as he waited for her response. It was almost as if he were angry that she knew where he lived despite that having to be something he needed to put on his application to the store. Sure, the address he had given her on his application was hard to find and she needed Kankuro's help in locating it, but still, she didn't think it was something to be mad about. Maybe he was trying to hide something from her? Perhaps his apparent wealth? One had to be pretty well off to not only own the type of car he has but also live in such an extravagant-looking home.

Kushina teeters on telling him the truth but opts to play it safe. She'd rather not throw Kankuro under the bus just in case something was wrong with her knowing. She would prefer to avoid adding further drama into an already melodramatic situation.

With a sly grin, she places her hands on her hips and laughs. "You sure are one tough man to find, Sasori. My GPS was having quite the time trying to get me to the address you gave me on your application."

There was strong skepticism in the look he gave her, but she wasn't going to say anymore. It wasn't necessarily a lie, but the further she strays from the truth, the harder it will be for her to keep up the pretense that he was the one to give it to her. She's just hoping he doesn't try to fight her on this and make everything more questionable than it already is for both of them.

Thankfully the young man does appear to give up quizzing her on the matter as he sucks his teeth at her. He puts his hands in his jacket pockets as he sighs an icy breath, playing with the lighter he has tucked away.

"Why are you here?"

Kushina can feel a vein throb in her forehead from the curt tone this young man continued to use with her. Normally she has more patience to deal with such an attitude, but she's been getting nothing but this kind of sass from everyone she's visited today, so Sasori was going to have to forgive her if she suddenly snaps.

Gripping her hips tighter and tapping her foot aggressively, Kushina scoffs at him. "Well, shouldn't it be obvious, Sasori?" Said man just tilts his head and blinks in response, aggravating her further. "This is the second time you've blown off work with no reasoning given, only this time it's been for a little over a week instead of a couple of days. Last time you said it was something important, but this time it's just been a no-call-no-show. It's quite clear to me that you've been avoiding work, and due to certain circumstances I've been kind enough not to fire your ass on the spot."

"Has it been kindness or more like desperation?" His retort instantly lights a fire under the Uzumaki. Especially when he gives her this shit-eating grin as if he was proud of the fact that he had just pissed her off.

The angry woman tries her hardest to bite her tongue to keep from saying something reckless. She wasn't here to get into an argument with him. She was here to get to the bottom of everything and stop these kids from acting like a bunch of heartbroken teens from some of those lame T.V dramas. Like she's been saying to herself all day, everything was far too coincidental for it to not be related to what happened at Hinata's birthday party. And so far, her hunch has been proven correct. She wasn't about to let his pompous attitude ruin this for her.

Taking a deep, deep breath, she calms herself enough to look him dead in the eyes.

"From what I understand, everyone has tried to reach out to you and Gaara, but neither of you has been very responsive lately." At the mention of their fellow redhead, Kushina notices the mild reaction he has to his frenemy's name. "So despite what you may think, I was fully ready to fire the two of you, and should you have come back into my store after the fact, I would have told you both to get the fuck out. But then I noticed something was off and that's what stopped me and brought me here today."

Sasori appears mildly amused as he chuckles at her halfheartedly. "Oh really? What did you notice, Miss Kushina?"

Kushina, too, gives the same playful, snarky giggle and claps her hands in mock giddiness. "Ah well you see my dear boy, I just found it incredibly strange that not only did you and Gaara not show up to work the following days after our sweet Hinata's twenty-first but neither did the birthday girl herself."

It was subtle, but she had managed to capture it; the twitch of his fingers and the flare in his nostrils. Just like his buddy, the news of her absence affected him as well it appeared.

"At first, I didn't think much of it because there have been times where she'll be off with her family for business for a couple of days. But then I noticed that my usually loud and boisterous son and niece have been oddly quiet and jumpy." Sasori quirks a brow at the description, finding it hard to believe that Naruto and Karin could ever be considered quiet. "Every time the bell would ring, they would light up only to look disappointed when it was just another customer. That kind of behavior made me realize that something was up."

Sasori couldn't help but snort with amusement. He was puzzled, sure, but overall slightly tickled by her theatrical storytelling.

"Just what does any of this have to do with me exactly?"

"Everything apparently." She deadpans with a shrug.

The grin he holds turns sour as he crosses his arms across his chest. His hazel eyes sharpen towards her as he voices his doubts. "I call bullshit on that."

"You can call it what you'd like, but from what I've gathered today, it's true." Kushina shrugs once more and chuckles tauntingly.

"How so?" Sasori counters. "How is all of this because of me? Whatever this is exactly."

"Correction. Partially because of you." He rolls his eyes at her nitpicking and urges her to get to the point. "Anyway, as I said, I decided to hold off on any final decisions about you and Gaara until someone finally told me what was going on with all the absences and strange behavior."

"Repetitiveness does not equal getting to the point, Kushina." Quips the ginger, his annoyance only increasing.

The heated woman once more feels a vein throb in her forehead as she holds back the strong urge to sock him in the face. His spiteful tone and stance were somehow worse than it usually was, either that or she's just never had to deal with it directed at her before. She's starting to see why Karin hates working with him.

"I waited for days for someone to say something to me, but no one ever did and they were very sure to keep quiet about it until today." She forces her indigo eyes shut to keep from seeing her fellow redhead's reaction as she continued as if he hadn't interrupted her. Since he wanted to be rude she'll just be a little obnoxious as payback since she can't exactly deck him.

"I managed to hear Naruto and Karin talking about it with the others before running off to the back room to talk. Despite them trying to keep mum about it, of course, my son just has to have the biggest mouth in the world and I had finally heard what happened at Hinata's birthday party, well at least the gist of it."

Kushina opens her eyes in time to see Sasori's face twist with pure irritation. She can tell his body is super tense not just because of her over-explanation, but because that blonde banshee was at it again, sitting in the car spewing curses and whining about how long he's taking. She can tell that she was wearing the couple's patience thin but she didn't care. He wore hers down first by being absent so in a way she's just returning the favor with some long detailed exposition about their situation.

Grinding his teeth together and balling his fists in his pockets, Sasori just barely manages to bite back his urge to hurt something… or someone for that matter. He can't afford to be reckless with a semi-public assault on a woman. Not at this point in time.

"What. Is. Your. Point."

Rather than give a straight answer, the Uzumaki simply cocks an eyebrow in the direction of the ire sitting in his passenger seat.

"Hmm, question." She taunts. "Are you just using a poorly imitated copy and paste failure to make up for the lack of the real thing since you got bitched out by her cousin or was the look just coincident-"

"You are out of your fucking mind woman!" Sasori abruptly seethes, losing his cool composure completely. "Get those ridiculous notions out of your damned head and stop letting your little fantasies run wild! You and your damned family!"

"Oh yeah?" Teases Kushina, completely unfazed by the sudden outburst. As his temper flares, she merely glances at her nails with mock-boredom before turning back to him with a smirk. "If I'm so out of my mind, then why are you getting so pissed off at the mere suggestion?"

It suddenly felt like he had been hit with a bucket of ice water on this already frigid afternoon with how quickly realization set in for him. Of course, she was just goading him. She wanted nothing more than to get a rise out of him and boy did she ever play him like a fiddle. He couldn't help himself though. Between Shion being a pesky brat and Kushina's storytelling, he was beyond temperamental at this point. It was only a matter of time before he let off some steam and she knew just the right words to do that.

Curse this woman.

Sasori immediately reigns in his aggravation with a swift tug at his auburn locks. He sucks his teeth and silently wishes for nothing more than a blunt at this time.

"No one is getting pissy. I just hate the accusations you are trying to make. Ones that are baseless with no proof."

Kushina shakes her head with a laugh and crosses her arms. "Okay, fair. But then do you care to tell me why you've been avoiding everyone? Is it because of what happened at the party?" At the mention of the party, she once more notices the subtle flex in his muscles. "Tell me your side of things. What exactly happened that made you not want to do your shifts and risk your job for a second time?"

Silence is the response the young mother is given as Sasori turns away with a glance at his Rolex. She waits patiently for him to say something, anything really, but she can tell he's either racking his brain for a clever excuse or he's stalling.

"I've been… busy."

"Busy?" She counters, scoffing at him. "Please. Now, who's the one bullshitting?"

Sasori quickly realizes that he has nothing to say to her; nothing to say that will convince her differently of this situation nor anything that would satisfy her enough to leave. So he remains silent. Silence is the only way that he can prevent himself from saying something stupid. Her imagination has been running wild enough, he doesn't want to fuel it further.

Kushina soon grasps that this is going nowhere fast and rolls her eyes in defeat. She pinches the bridge of her nose and breathes deeply as she decides to come forward about her activities today.

"Just so you know, I've already paid a visit to both Hinata and Gaara today as well. You're just the last on my list."

Admittedly a little surprised by this admission, Sasori tilts his head to the side and chuckles half-heartedly. His features soften just the slightest, earning him a puzzled look from his boss.

"Have you now? How's that asshole doing?" Kushina gapes at him for a moment.

"Sasori… have you not seen him either this entire time?"

Now there's a look she never thought she'd see on this young crude man's face. It was kind of startling to see how genuine it was, to say the least. The concern and hurt. She damn near thought it impossible for her employee to feel such a thing after her time with him.

"Looks like I'm not the only one he's been avoiding since that damn party."

The cherry-haired pair sigh in unison as what tension they had created slowly began slipping away. To help bring a little insight to Sasori about his friend, Kushina elaborates more about her day with the troubled boy as well as divulging her time with the Hyūga's. She brings up Hinata's captivity and smothering, Gaara's lie about being fired, but she opts out of telling him about Temari since, even if he did already know, it wasn't her place to say something so personal.

However, even without the information of his frenemy's sister, what she had told him so far was enough to have him balling his fists in anger.

"What idiots. She's not two years old anymore, she's a grown-ass woman now. She doesn't need daddy to play princess with her and treat her like she's sleeping beauty all because she made a fucking mistake with two guys." He seethes, bringing his hand to his face. "And Gaara too. What a fucking moron. Fired? That's the best he could come up with? Heh."

The Uzumaki woman shields her mirth at his reaction with a simple smirk as she crosses her arms. There was one thing her employee had just said that had piqued her interest more than the rest of his comment.

"So you think it's a mistake?"

He blinks. "What?"

"What you and Gaara did with her. The kiss? You think it was a mistake then?"

The question had caught him off guard enough to stun him momentarily into silence. Kushina watches him carefully as he looks away biting his lip leaving her with no response. She chuckles to herself when she sees the tiniest hint of a blush adorning his cheeks, which confirms to her that her thought process was correct for the most part. She has been on quite the roll with her hunches today.

"You are such a child."

"Excuse me?" Sasori quips back, insulted, but falters instantly when he sees the warm smile she was giving him. It's the same tenderness she offers to her family and that damned bluenette. He wasn't used to being on the receiving end of this.

With heat further rising to his cheeks, he attempts to bring back that aloofness he usually carries himself with. "What's so funny, hm?"

Kushina shakes her head at the young man and ignores his question. "If you decide to come back to work, you're more than welcome to tomorrow. But if not, please let me know so that I can start looking for more hires because my business is slowly but surely growing and I need more than my kid and niece to help me out."

Stunned once more, Sasori can only grin with a shake of his head at the turn of events. When he first saw Kushina standing at the end of his driveway he had no intention of being friendly or kind to his former boss. He didn't plan on returning to the shop after what happened at the party, at least for a little while. He had realized that he had been too caught up in the moment and needed a brief reprieve from being around that girl and her friends. He was getting too comfortable and he can't allow himself to feel like that, not when he has a job he needs to get done. He can't be like that asshole who procrastinated for a whole year.

However, life has a funny way of changing his mind, and it's happened more than once since he's met her and this family. And it's not just him either apparently. Gaara as well, whether it's for better or worse.

"Are you freaking kidding me! C'mon Sasori-kun! This is taking forever! We have less than ten minutes now because of this bitch! You said it wouldn't take this long!"

Sasori glances over to his ranting date for the evening and groans to himself, looking back over to his boss only to find her now halfway down his driveway. He watches as she waves to him, laughing gleefully at his predicament with the pissy blonde.

"If you're gonna look for a carbon copy, you certainly need to do better than that one, kid!"

As she reaches her car, she misses the instant redness in his face as he reiterates what his buddy had said to her and Kankuro earlier that day.

"It's not like that! That's not a thing!"

Kushina roars with laughter as she hops in her vehicle and starts it up. Just before she drives off, she rolls down her window and shouts to the embarrassed man.

"By the way, Gaara said he will be there tomorrow if that's any consolation!"

And with that, the fiery woman was speeding down the road, not bothering to wait for his reply. Sasori watches her modest transportation disappear down the road, ignoring the continual banter coming from his "date". He's not sure if Shion had heard what Kushina had said, but then again it doesn't really matter either way. Whether he liked to admit or not himself, her words did hold some form of truth to them, especially now that he looks at the whiny woman.

Curse that woman for putting such images in his head. Now he won't be able to look at her the same, especially when he rails the ever-living fuck out of her tonight to release all his pent-up rage.

Taking a deep breath, Sasori composes himself as he pulls out his phone and scrolls through his contact list. Upon reaching a certain number, he calls them up and waits. The second they answer, there is no casual greeting exchanged.

"We need to talk."

With that said, he hangs up the brief call and heads to his car to resume his night of torture.

---

"I'm still surprised mom came home so late. That's not really like her, ya know?"

"Yeah, makes me wonder what exactly those 'errands' were that she said she was doing."

The Uzumaki cousins continued to chit-chat about the previous night as they sat on the steps in their shop. Both had been very anxious from the moment Kushina had walked out of the store yesterday since they had a feeling that she had overheard everything. Both knew that when pushed, the Red Hot Habanero can do some rather crazy things. So when the young woman hadn't returned to the shop before closing and only came home roughly an hour after the fact, it was a little disconcerting, to say the least.

When they had asked her about what she did all day, she had simply smiled and dismissed them by asking what they wanted for dinner. She had seemed very jovial and pleasant, which was odd if she knew about what went down. They knew she had done something, but what she did they weren't sure. And that was scary to think about.

The cousins sit in momentary silence as they survey the interior of the store. They watch as Tayuya and Karui meander about, tidying what needed to be and stocking what was needed and the like. After Kushina had left the store, the two women didn't harass them anymore on the situation but continued to give them looks from the side. Yesterday was an overall tense day and the two would rather not like to repeat it.

"By the way, did those two ever respond to you?" Karin asks. "I forgot to check-in after Auntie left."

Naruto glances at her before pulling out his phone and going to his text. He passes her the phone, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Nah, neither said a word but it shows they read it. The stupid bastards. I guess this means they no longer work here I guess."

Both look down with disappointment as Karin hands him back his device. "Shame. Despite being a couple of jackasses, they sure did have a way of livening up the place."

"Yeah," Naruto nods in agreement. "And they even managed to light a little fire in Hinata too. Fuck Neji, man."

Karin giggles and nudges him just as the sound of the entrance bell chimes. Neither bothers to pay attention until a shocked gasp hits their ears followed by one of the employees dropping something. The two stand and look over the counter only to gape themselves at the sight of who entered the shop.

A wide, cheeky grin takes over Naruto's face while Karin's glasses fog up as her face flushes with excitement.

"Holy shit!" Naruto cheers. "Long time no see! Welcome back!"

---

Alright! The long-awaited chapter is finally completed! This was a long time coming but I've been working on this for so damn long, you have no idea. Despite having an outline written out for this chapter, motivation is one hell of a thing. Anyway, thank you all for your patience if you've been wanting another chapter. I appreciate the continued support. As an apology, I tried making this chapter super long with some hopefully helpful pushing along in a romantic direction. I hope you all enjoyed this Kushina centered chapter. Please review, fave, and/or follow to let me all know what you think. Until next time, which hopefully won't be as long, but with me who knows hahaha.

Thank you all for reading! Have a great day/night!