Chapter 8
Kakashi dressed for the night in a grey and black Montsuki. Even though it was a gala, a traditional dress code was being observed. They had received their mailed luggage this evening so it was nice to be able to have access to more clothes. After spraying on some cologne, he stepped outside the room to wait for Hinata in the common area. She was still finishing up getting dressed. When she emerged later she was decked out in a blush pink Kimono that had a lightly printed design. It was a high quality silk Kimono and the color complimented her, making her glow. She looked feminine, elegant and modest. The binding in the middle showed off her narrow waist giving her a bit more shape in this traditional outfit.
After an appreciative once over, he extended her his elbow and she looped her arm in his.
"You look very handsome this evening" she murmured.
"Thank you, but it's you whose the show stopper" he quipped, half joking but entirely meaning the compliment. To him she looked beautiful tonight.
Hinata laughed, rolling her eyes at his exaggeration and grabbed a fur wrap for warmth for their walk. He continued to look at her sideways taking in her happy expression as they made their way towards the Mizukage's mansion with the Anbu flanking them for protection. They had been given the option to drive over but after knowing it was only a 10-15 minute walk they opted to go without a car.
Kakashi was at ease walking into the gala with Hinata by his side. He could tell that these kinds of events were things she experienced regularly. Him on the other hand tended to hate these things, he was good at fitting in where he needed to but he didn't enjoy the incessant schmoozing.
After they were announced, the Mizukage herself greeted them warmly. Kakashi introduced Hinata to Mei.
"Congratulations you two, I can't help but be a little jealous... the good one's always get picked up eventually eh Kakashi?" Mei asked jokingly and Kakashi laughed out loud to be polite but resisted the urge to adjust the collar of his Kimono. The Mizukage had come on to him in the past more than once, so he was glad to have Hinata as a buffer this time around. After some light chitchat about their journey the two women started carrying on an animated conversation. This didn't surprise Kakashi, Mei was nothing if not a warm and friendly person. What did surprise him though was Hinata's social skills. She was carrying on the conversation with the Mizukage effortlessly. It seemed that Hinata had in fact changed in the last four years.
Kakashi swirled the wine in his glass as he tuned out of the conversation and observed the room. This was his typical habit, probably engrained into him from the days of his Anbu carrier.
"What does he look like with his mask off?" he caught Mei asking Hinata as they assumed he was no longer paying attention. Kakashi pretended to be otherwise occupied sipping his wine when Hinata blushed and replied "very handsome". To which the two women laughed. He resisted the urge to puff out his chest absurdly and took another sip of the drink to distract himself.
All of a sudden, his gaze flitted past a woman in a red dress with gold designs. He paused sharply and turned back to look at her. Ariko! He couldn't help but flush slightly as her narrow pointed gaze was directed at him in question. This was not the time to speak to her about their relationship. He would have to find a quiet moment with her later on. He nodded his head at her and turned back to the Mizukage. They resumed small talk wishing for a productive outcome from their upcoming trade negotiations.
The evening moved easily as they met more influential people from the Land of the Mist. He could tell that Hinata was a hit amongst everyone who met her. Her warm personality seemed to put everyone at ease which gave Kakashi a chance to observe individuals from the background more effectively.
More than one lecherous old man had thrown Hinata glances in interest throughout the night and he glared at each and every one of them, making them flush and look away. She hadn't seemed to notice any of that. After dinner the couple along with a few other guests moved out to the terrace area. The wine and sake was being served in abundance and the entertainment had shifted outside for the night.
A string quartet started playing a waltz and couples started moving towards the dance floor. Kakashi looked sideways at Hinata and offered her his hand silently asking her to dance. She smiled and placed her hand in his as they glided onto the dance floor. He had known she would be a good dancer. All of her movements were graceful when she conducted them in life, whether it was cooking, moving or fighting. So of course she was a prime candidate for dancing.
"You dance very well" she broke into his thoughts with her eyes shining happily up at him.
"Well… I had to take dance lessons with Guy when I was younger" he admitted flushing a little. "He was interested in taking ballroom dancing to impress the ladies and dragged me with him".
Hinata giggled at the image of Guy and Kakashi attending dance lessons together. How unexpected. But the more she thought about the exuberance of Guy sensei and his vitality for life, she understood why he would do that. He was not one to shy away from any experience due to embarrassment.
"How did you learn to dance?" Kakashi asked.
"Well… Hanabi and I grew up taking dance lessons, ballroom was one of many".
Ah of course, her family was one of the richest in Konoha. As the heiress to the clan she would be expected to uphold many responsibilities including conducting herself to the highest standard.
"What other lessons did you have to take?"
"Well… we were taught to fight of course… that took quite a bit of our time, we took extra history and language lessons, we learned to fence, we learnt about the art of tea, learnt to play the koto ...among other things" she said self consciously.
Interesting, Kakashi thought. He tucked away the information she share in the back of his mind and reverted back to enjoying the music and this dance with her.
The waltz soon switched to a traditional slow song, so Kakashi adjusted his hold on her to bring her closer to him. His arm wrapped around her back and they swayed to the music while looking into each other's eyes. Hinata glowed happily staring up at him, and he struggled to remember that this was fake.
As they were getting more and more absorbed in each other, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned with a frown to look at the intruder and noticed it was the woman he had been trying to avoid all night. "Ariko" he exclaimed. Hinata had also been looking at the woman with curiosity and suddenly her smile became fixed.
.
.
So this was Ariko. She was beautiful of course, she had expected that. Someone who was as good looking as Kakashi wouldn't be with someone who wasn't at least equally attractive.
Ariko had dark brown hair done up in a classic updo which accentuated her high cheekbones. The kind of cheekbones Hinata had always wished for. Her dark eyes were outlined with a dramatic red eyeliner. She was wearing a red yuqio that clung to her slim figure with a gold design on it. The dress was sleeveless and she had a gold armlet encircling her upper arm. It seemed that she had decided to take a more modern spin on the traditional clothes. She was also tall, much taller than Hinata. In fact Ariko could see Kakashi eye to eye if she tilted her head up slightly.
The older woman looked down at Hinata with a quizzical look.
Hinata felt instantly dumpy. Her outfit, makeup and hair all seemed bland and boring compared to this woman. Her figure felt short and fat and her old insecurities came roaring back. She resisted the urge to look down and poke her fingers together.
"Do you mind if I cut in?" asked Ariko in a husky voice. Of course even her voice was attractive. Hinata felt herself instantly go from warm to cold as she felt many different sensations she couldn't identify. In addition to feeling dumpy she also felt extremely guilty to be standing here with Ariko's boyfriend (or whatever they were to each other). Hinata couldn't hold a candle to this woman and the sneaky feelings for Kakashi that had warmed their way into her heart over the last week fluttered and then did a crash dive into the ground.
She knew it was wrong to like him especially after he had clearly warned her away but… here she was. Hinata knew herself well enough to realize that she didn't get to chose who she liked. She developed feelings based on connections that were real and true, even if one sided. And once the feelings started to creep in there wasn't much she could do about them. After this mission is complete Kakashi will likely reconcile with Ariko and she would be back at square one… which was nowhere.
With these disturbing thoughts going through her mind Hinata glanced up at Kakashi and quickly withdrew herself from his arms. "Of course" she replied.
Kakashi tightened his grip briefly on her arm before letting go, but he continued to look at her with a troubled expression. Oh right, this was probably not the best place for him to break up with his girlfriend. She guiltily threw a look over her shoulder at him as she withdrew into the crowd.
Hinata went to the refreshment table and grabbed a matcha tea cake along with a glass of sake. She moved to the edge of the dance floor where she had a clear view of Kakashi and Ariko. She took a small bite out of her cake while looking at the couple, trying not to seem too stalker-ish.
They were standing close together, and they looked good together. Their tall figures complimented each other very elegantly on the dance floor. Ariko had her arm wrapped around his neck, her fingers slightly reaching into the hair on the back of his head. If you looked closely their bodies were almost brushing against each other and moving with a practiced elegance. The jealousy she felt left her reeling. It started as a nauseated feeling in the pit of her stomach and made its way up to her head. She felt the slight pounding of a headache coming on. It made no sense why she was feeling this way. Or maybe it did make sense but she just didn't want to think about it. Hinata raised the cup of sake to her lips and drank the entire cup in one go. As the liquid burned down her throat she squeezed her eyes shut to will away the discomfort.
"Easy there" came a smooth voice.
She turned startled to see who had snuck up on her. It was a handsome man who looked to be close to her age. "Hello, do I know you?" she asked knowing fully well she had never met this person before.
"Apologies, my name is Kawazaiwa Ryoko" he said, bowing. Ryoko straightened and smiled just as she felt the sake make its way to her bloodstream warming her from the inside out. Her head felt slightly fuzzy as she smiled back at him.
"Nice to meet you Ryoko-san, I am Hyuga Hinata".
"Would you care to dance?" Ryoko asked her.
With the sake making her bold she agreed to his offer and they joined at the edge of the dance floor blending in with the rest of the couples. For the time being Hinata forgot about Kakashi and Ariko.
Ryoko was a good dancer Hinata observed. It was a slow dance but he held her at a proper distance apart from him as he moved to the music very naturally. Hinata closed her eyes and let the music flow through her.
Even though this was a pleasant experience, she didn't feel any of the butterflies or the electricity she did when Kakashi was around. And her heartbeat wasn't even elevated. Was that connected to his chidori she wondered absently?
"You seemed upset earlier, are you alright?" Ryoko interrupted her thoughts.
She opened her eyes to find him peering down at her and she smiled at his concern. "It's been a long journey traveling that is all" she said dismissing his concern and swayed to the music along with him.
"Ah of course" he said thoughtfully "Konoha to Kirigakure is a long journey on foot".
"Have you been to Konoha, Ryoko-san?"
"A few times yes, my father is the head of the Kawazaiwa clan, we visit Konoha from time to time and always meet with your clan when we are there".
Hinata looked up at him in surprise. Now she knew why this name seemed familiar to her. The Kawazaiwa heir was on the list of eligible bachelors her elders has kindly drafted up for her to consider. Now that she knew he was an ally of her clan the conversation flowed much smoother around them for the remainder of the dance.
As the dance concluded he bowed to her and smiled sincerely. He had enjoyed her company throughout the dance immensely. His father had been pestering him to get married for the last year or so and now he regretted not meeting her sooner to snatch her up for himself. As far as he knew Lady Hinata was here on a diplomatic mission with her fiance Hatake Kakashi.
As they bid farewell Ryoko blended into the crowd and Hinata turned to look for Kakashi.
She could not see him on the dance floor anymore. Her heart dropped as she quickly scanned the dance floor and then closed her eyes hoping to pinpoint his chakra signature. Both Kakashi and Ariko were missing from the vicinity but with her Byakugan she saw them dashing away towards the forest.