Saturday, September 8th, 2012.
I reposted and (sort of) re-wrote A Couple Moments. So why has 1 person reviewed? I changed the summary!
You guys are lucky that she reviewed every chap. xxxLizzie-chanxxx is her name. You owe her. A lot.
I'm too lazy to check it it's anyone's birthday, so I'll do the disclaimer.
Dislcaimer: If I owned Naruto, I'd be tight with Todd Haberkorn, Vic Mignogna, Troy Baker, Eric Vale, and Yuri Lowenthal. But I'm not tight with my fave V/A's am I? No. So I don't own Naruto.
BTW, some charas these guys played.
Todd: Death the Kid (Soul Eater), Ling Yao (FMA/B) N. Italy (Hetalia), Hikaru (OHSHC), Keroro (Sgt. Frog, haven't seen), Allen Walker (D. Gray Man, haven't seen).
Vic: Ed Elric (FMA/B), Tamaki (OHSHC), Spirit (Soul Eater), Zero (Vampire Knight, haven't seen), Nagato and Fuen (Naruto, I usually won't add parentheses if it's from Naruto).
Troy: Excalibur (Soul Eater), Yamato, Pein, 2nd Greed voice (FMAB only).
Eric: America & Canada (Hetalia), Yuki (Fruits Basket), Kimblee (FMA, not sure about FMAB), Sanji apparently, (One Piece).
Yuri: Sasuke, Ben (Ben 10: Alien Force, and continuing series), Shu (Blue Dragon, BD Season 2), Haru (Rave Master), Suzaku (Code Geass, haven't seen).
Now. Unto the story!
Chapter 13: Of Family, Moving Out, & Trust
Hinata POV
I have a bad feeling. Is Father going to disown me today? Where will I stay? I don't have an apartment on the side, and the others all have 1 bedroom apartments or live with their family.
I realized I was already at the front door of home. No, not home. The Manor.
I walked in and found my father and Hanabi sitting at a low table in the…living room, for lack of proper vocabulary.
I sat down in front of him.
"I am home father." I said, folding my hands on my lap, looking straight at the table.
"I see that. Where have you been, the sun is already down." His tone was one of displeasure, like he was disgusted with me. It didn't affect me much, but I was surprised that father really disliked me as much as the scroll had...said. In the other timeline, I grew to have his trust and faith, but now that can't happen. I don't really want to anyway, so…
"I was with friends, and lost track of time." I explained, knowing it wouldn't change anything.
"Hinata, I have news." I looked up at him, seeing the elders of our family enter the room and take their places behind him. Hanabi looked at me with an expression of sadness, and that's when I knew what the news was.
"Hinata, you are officially no longer part of the Hyuga clan. You are officially disowned, not my daughter, nor the heiress; Hanabi will take your place. You may keep the last name, but you are no longer part of the family. Do you understand?" I nodded at Hiashi -he is no longer my father. My face did not express anything but indifference. He lost that a long time ago and this just made it "official." (a/n: see what I did there?)
"You may go to your room and pack your things. There are extra suitcases outside your door. I will give you an hour. By the end of it, your room must be void of your things. Find some place to stay: we will no longer be looking after you."
I got up; about to head to my now old room, but Hiashi stopped me. "I think you'd also like to know, that Ko is also no longer a Hyuga, either. He defied me too many times and I do not wish to deal with him any longer. He is also clearing out, but his Curse Seal will remain and we still will be able to activate it."
Ko-nii(1)…he's no longer a Hyuga either. Maybe we can live together. I better find him.
*50 minutes later, still Hinata POV*
I had all my things in suitcases, and I had met up with Ko-nii not too long ago. He told me he had an apartment on stand-by with 2 bedrooms, just in case or when he didn't feel like sleeping in the Manor. He the extra for me if I ever wanted to move in with him. We decided we'd stay there and he'll become a full-time Chunin, instead of part-time. He's going to train harder to pass the Jounin Exams.
We headed to put our things in his car (2), a new, silver Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG. Ko doesn't really like very flashy things, but when he saw this, he couldn't resist it and it wasn't too flashy or showy, so it suit him just fine.
But before we reached the car, Hanabi showed up.
"Onee-chan, please wait a moment before you go." She usually calls me just Sister/Onee-san around others, but when it's just us, she calls me O/'Nee-chan from when we were kids.
She walked up to me, and I put the bags down. Then she ran at me, enveloping me into a hug, nearly squeezing me to death and crying.
"I-I'm sorry, Sis! I couldn't do anything and-and I'll miss you! I-I don't want y-you to *hiccup* g-g-go!" I hugged her back, lowering my body to be eye-to-eye with her. I noticed Ko taking our things to the car, allowing my sister and I some alone time.
Thanks, Nii.
I turned my attention back to my crying sister, lifting her head to face me.
"Shh… It's okay Sister. I was expecting this; it's not your fault." She barely kept my gaze at her eyes, still sniffling. "I'll be staying with Ko-nii and we'll be fine. You can come and visit anytime you want-I'll text you the address later. You can call me and we can see each other during the day. I won't be gone f-forever." By now, some tears had escaped my eyes. I genuinely love my sister; she's very precious to me. I wish I could do something to help her give confidence, but I can't. She needs to do that herself.
I hug her tighter to me. "Sister…*sniff**sob* I'll miss you. I'll come visit you, I promise and you have to call me at least once a week. Okay?"
I nodded, letting Hanabi let out her tears, my own ending. I've only see her cry a few times, and it hurts to see it.
We just held each other, and I began to stand up. "Do you want to give Ko-nii a hug, too?" Ko had also helped look after Hanabi, but when she started training with Fa-Hiashi, Hiashi took full custody of her.
My imouto nodded, holding my hand as I guided her to Ko's car, where he was waiting.
I let her go and I watched as she also gave Ko a hug, talking to him and him responding, picking her up and twirling her around like he used to.
This is so sweet... I will not miss living here, but I will miss seeing my sister more often.
After saying their temporary farewells, Ko got in the car, leaving the passenger seat for me to get in open.
I walked to it, but before I got in, I paused in front of my sister, wiping her tears and kissing her forehead tenderly. "Wipe those tears, okay? We won't be gone forever. I'll see you later, okay, Hanabi?" I gave her one last squeeze, seeing her nod and hug back.
"*sniff* Bye, sis." I got in, and waited for her to get back inside the Manor before telling Ko to go.
"We can decorate your room tomorrow or something, Hinata. For now, since it's late, we'll cook dinner and go to sleep. Is that okay?" I nodded at Ko, wondering what he had planned for dinner.
I stared into space for the rest of the ride (though it wasn't a very long one).
*Around the time Hinata arrived at the Manor before, at Sakura POV*
When I arrived at my parent's home (where I currently live), there were few lights on. I used my key to open the door and entered, heading to the kitchen to eat.
When I got there, I found my father and mother waiting for me at the dinner table; the table was clear of any dishes or food.
"Where have you been, young lady? The sun is already down, and has been for a while now." Father asked. He looked stern, and sort of angry.
"I was out with my friends after the Exams were over." I replied.
My mother tried to lighten the mood, putting on a small smile. "Oh, yes! How'd they go? When are the Finals? Or did they happen already? I'm not sure how they work..."
I sat down at the table. The 3 of us were now in a triangle, my parents looking at me. "My team and I passed the first and second round. However, too many passed the second and there had to be a preliminary round. They were one-on-one matches, and whoever won went to the Finals in a month."
"Why is your hair cut?" Father asked, like he just noticed.
"I had to. It was in the way, and I like it better like this anyhow." He seemed angry with that answer, but said nothing.
"Who'd you and your team fight, Sakura? Did you all make it to the finals?" My mother was eager to hear the answer.
"I fought Ino-Pig, Sasuke-kun fought a Sound ninja, and Naruto-kun faced Kiba. Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun both won their fights and are going to the finals. My fight with Pig was a draw, so neither of us are going to Finals." I kept my face blank throughout this.
"Hmph. I knew you couldn't win. Only boys made it, didn't they? This only proves that only men are capable ninja." My father sneered, and I felt angry that he was saying this when he was a mere Chunin, and not a very strong one.
"Actually," I countered. "The second Exam's proctor was a woman, Mitarashi Anko. Morino Ibiki didn't seem to take her lightly. And there is a woman going to the Finals. She's very strong."
"Hmph." My father just didn't care. "Anyway, unless you have anything else to say, go straight to bed. No dinner for you; late weaklings don't get dinner." He was about to get up to leave when I spoke up.
"I do have something to say." He looked at me in the eyes, daring me to defy him. I did. "I'm going to live in an apartment from now on. I sent a clone ahead to get my things. I can pay for it, and I just wanted to say bye."
I got up, hugged my mother and kissed her on the cheek, then headed to the door.
My father grabbed my arm, twisting it and me toward him. It hurt and I was already bruised, but I didn't let it show on my face.
When I was finally facing him, he pushed me against the wall and starting pummeling me with his fists. His face was red and he wasn't letting up.
Finally, his anger exploded.
"You ungrateful little bitch! How dare you say that to me like you have a choice! As your father, you have to do anything I say and stay at the house until I deem you worthy to live on your own!" he said, as he continued.
"Kizashi(3)! Stop!" Mother tried to pry him away from me, but she was pushed back. She gave up, knowing she couldn't do anything.
Finally regaining some strength, I punched my father in the face and kicked him in the gut, pushing him back and wiping blood from my mouth.
"I can do what I want. It's not like I really regard you as a father anyway; you lost that right a long time ago. Thanks for everything and all, but I really must be going."
I waved at my mother and turned to leave again when my father interrupted. "Who's apartment is it? Huh? You little whore; I bet it's one of your teammates! God only knows what happens when a girl is placed on a team with a bunch of men! Have you fucked any of them yet, or all of them? Even your teacher? Or that demon child? Or even that guy you like so much, the Uchiha! Ooh, what about that pale kid I saw you with in town?"
I faced him, my eyes full of rage. "How DARE you! It's my OWN apartment, for you information and don't you dare talk about my friends like that! Naruto is my friend, he's not a demon and I swear if you ever say something like that, I'll make you regret it!"
He simply gave me his crooked grin. "Like you can make me regret it! I'd like to see you try!"
I smirked, and headed to the door. I opened it, and before I exited the house, I said, darkly, "You'd be surprised of what I'm capable of." Then, in a lighter voice, "See you, Mother!"
I slammed the door shut and traveled through the streets of my village, feeling quite triumphant of myself.
We showed him! I can't wait till we can REALLY beat him up!
Sure, whatever, Inner.
I saw Ichiraku's coming up in my line of vision. My stomach growled.
Should we…?
Hell yeah. I might have some money on me, and if not, we'll ask Teuchi to put it on my tab.
…RAMEN, HERE WE COME!
. . .Do you think we've been hanging out too much with Naruto?
. . .Maybe. But I need FOOD!
And with that, I sprinted to the familiar food stall, ready to stuff my face with the very thing that my best guy-friend, and our favorite orange midget practically lives on.
Sakura POV
Right now, I was heading to my apartment; my stomach filled with beef and miso ramen.
*Burp* That felt nice! I'm stuffed!
I'm stuffed. I'm the one with the body, here.
I was about to enter my humble abode of an apartment, when I noticed Karin entering her own next to mine with bags in her hand.
It's Karin! I didn't know she would be moved into this complex.
No, it's Santa. No shit it's Karin! But I didn't know she lived here either. Let's talk to her.
Wait…we should ask her where her loyalty lies. I mean, she was traveling with Sasuke and one of Orochimaru's most trusted servants, right?
Right…but if Itachi sent her with us, he trusts her enough to do this.
I didn't get a reply from Inner, but I walked up to the redhead anyway, taking some of her bags as she opened the door, struggling.
"Here, I'll take those." I smiled at her.
She looked shocked and wary for a second, and then opened the door, saying, "Come in."
She locked the door behind her and turned off the lights as we headed for her small kitchen.
As I helped her put the groceries away, I noticed there was a lot of okonomiyaki ingredients and sauce, and perfume.
"Someone likes okonomiyaki(4), don't they?" I teased.
She blushed a little. "It's my favorite."
"There's also a lot of perfumes. You collect them, perhaps?"
She nodded. "Yeah. My name also means fragrance, so that probably has something to do with it."
I laughed a little. "Now that I think about it, Naruto is also a type of fishcake used in ramen. (5)"
She looked confused.
"Oh! I forgot. You remember Naruto right? The loud blonde that fought Kiba and vowed to kick Neji's ass? Anyway, long story short, he told me that his father, The Yellow Flash (he didn't tell me that part, obviously) was reading a book in which the main character was named Naruto. He admired the character and he and his wife, Kushina, hoped for him to be like the character in the book so he was named after said character. The thing is, Jiraiya wrote the book and came up with the name while eating ramen. So, essentially, Naruto was named after an ingredient in the food he loves." I laughed some, and Karin joined me.
When we calmed down, she took me to her room and we sat on her futon. She's probably going to buy more furniture and a bed when she can afford it.
"No offense, but why are you here? Despite the fact that you live next door." She was looking straight into my eyes. A little cold, but hard and determined.
I sighed. "Right off the bat, huh?" No reaction.
"Alright, I came here because I wanted to know where your loyalties lie. With us –as in those who came back to the past-, Itachi, Orochimaru, Sasuke-kun of the future, or yourself. Why are you doing this?"
She looked a little surprised, but I saw her face darken slightly when I mentioned Sasuke-kun. "I'll let you know right now I have no intention of letting the future repeat itself. I also sort of…hate…to an extent, Sasuke."
My eyes widened slightly. "Is it because…?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I mean, he was different before he tried to killed me. He wasn't the guy he is now, in the past, but he was still…he had a sense of loyalty. Some of his old self was still there. But gradually, he started becoming a monster that only cared about himself, his family, and revenge.
"He almost risked his life and the mission once for us-Team Taka. It was Taka then. When we were sent to capture Killer Bee. Killer Bee went in full Bijuu mode and it was almost too much for us. He saved me and Suigetsu though. By the time we were back at the Akatsuki base, Suigetsu was a puddle of white, solid-ish…goo; Juugo had the body of a young child; I was injured, and so was Sasuke. I thought that was a turning point for the team.
"As a whole, we were never really nice to each other at all. Suigetsu and I had a hate-hate relationship: he pissed me off insulting me in cruel and mean ways, and I punched him returning the verbal obscenities, failing to inflict a lot of pain, due to his liquid body. I fangirled obsessively over Sasuke, and he was cold to all of us. Juugo followed Sasuke's orders, relying on him when he lost control. But gradually, we got used to each other and even had a couple fun times. Suigetsu and I even joked around with each other, and playfully fought a little. Sasuke never smiled, though. Smirk, yes. Smile, no.
"Then, when he tried to kill me, he was totally gone. The Sasuke I liked so much and nearly fell in love with -I don't doubt it would've happened, had he stayed his old self longer- was totally and utterly insane and gone. Nothing mattered. When you came, and he ordered you to kill me, I finally gave up on him.(6) I hate him for it, and I no longer hold any romantic feelings for him. So no, my loyalties do not lie with Sasuke. And I have no obligation to help Orochimaru, either. My loyalties to him ended a while after Hebi was formed."
As I listened to her, I started feeling for her a little, trusting her a little bit. A little –she was still a rouge ninja.
"So, you're going to work with us? Even become…a friend? A permanent Konoha Shinobi?" I asked tentatively.
Again she nodded, her face still looking a little pained from her monologue. "I'll work with you. I'm now a Konoha Shinobi and planning to stay; the Third took care of everything with Grass, I guess. But one thing; one question."
I leaned in. What could she possibly want to ask?
If you'd shut up, we'd find out.
"W-what is it?" I asked.
"Y-you guys won't…you won't betray me, will you? You won't hurt me, right?" She looked up at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and full of the pain of betrayal.
I gasped. I never thought I'd see her like this. Flashbacks flashed through my head, showing when her teammates abandoned her in the Forest of Death, and again when the man she almost fell for struck a Chidori through her chest.
Impusively, I pulled her into a hug, saying softly, "No. None of us will betray you, Karin. We're not like that…friends don't betray friends…"
"T-then yes. I-I'll be your guys' friend." She nodded on my shoulder and hugged me back, crying softly.
"You want to change, right?" I asked her.
"Yes. I don't want to be the useless girl anymore." I smiled. Just like me…
"I was useless and weak, too. Let's change together." She nodded, smiling. Then, it disappeared.
"Sorry, but I have another question -or suspicion, really- that's been bugging me since you interrupted Sasuke." I tilted my head in confusion. What is it? And right when we were having a moment, too...
"Do you love Sasuke? Did you, in the future, too?" My eyes widened. She noticed?
I was silent for a moment. Then, I nodded. "I used to be a fangirl of Sasuke-kun. Ino and I fought over him all the time. In fact, we gave up -no, I asked for us to destroy our friendship to become rivals for Sasuke instead when we were 10. When I was put in the same team as him and Naruto, I always fawned over him, and was, like I said, basically useless to my team.
"As time passed and Sasuke-kun began to open up to us, my crush began to turn into love. And before I know it, I confessed my full-on love for him on the night he left, offering and promising to make him happy, in efforts that it'd make him stay. But I meant all of what I said that night. After I finished, he gave me a smirk -I think there was more to that smirk than I realized- and said that I really was annoying. I wasn't too hurt, I mean, he called me that all the time but I think this time there was something more to it. Then, he knocked me out, thanking me as I lost consciousness. I woke up on that stone bench in front of the clearing we met up at.
"But I continued loving him, even more. When I came to him, I tried to kill him. I couldn't do it and hesitated, giving him an opening to kill me. Twice. He would have, if Kakashi, then Naruto hadn't saved me. Naruto loved me by then, too. He had a crush on me when we were genin, and then like me, it developed into love."
There were silent tears going down my face, at the pain of telling this story to someone for the first time.
"I knew he did, and I abused that weakness before I set up to kill Sasuke. I told Naruto I loved him -which I do, but like a sister, not the way he wanted- and told him that I gave up on Sasuke, saying that he should give up on chasing him before he gets hurt further. He called me out and told me he hated people that lied to themselves.
"I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I've been beating myself up for it ever since. I hated it. I hated myself for hurting him so much. I hated myself for loving Sasuke anyway, and not regretting it. I hated that I essentially betrayed Hinata's trust for me, because I knew, and he knew, that she loved him, after I promised her to help her with him. "
I clenched my fists, the tears stopping. "That's why this time, I want to stop the future from ever happening again and not letting Sasuke or Naruto go through that. I'll make sure that Naruto won't fall in love with me, same for Lee, because I can never love them back. This time, I want to help Hinata more, and maybe at least get her and Naruto on a personal, friendly level. I never want anyone I love to be hurt so much, again..."
Karin's face was unreadable. "So you do love him. If that's the case, why were you so pissy with him in the preliminaries?"
I laughed. That was unexpected. I put an amused smile on my face, hands on my hips. "Because he pissed me off! I can't believe I almost forgot how arrogant he can be. And frankly, just because I love him, doesn't mean he doesn't make me pissed with all he did!" Instead of sadness, there was amusement, and we laughed out loud at my response.
I spent the rest of the day in her apartment, getting to know the girl that almost fell in love with the one I love now.
(1): In this timeline, Ko and Hinata are much closer, him being like a brother or 2nd father to her. I believe this was said in the scrolls. If you're wondering about how old he is, I'm making him about 20-21, 8 years older than Hinata.
(2): Yup. This universe has cars. Let's say there are also roads. Done.
(3): Kizashi is really the name of Sakura's father. Her mother's real name is Mebuki. These are their actual names.
(4): It's Karin's favorite food. I don't know how to describe it for you.
(5): Naruto really is the name of fishcake. (Japanese, at least) And the story of the origin of Naruto's name was true. Jiraiya basically named his god-son. After ramen. Which he loves.
(6): Karin really did give up on Sasuke. She said it, too. In both the manga, and anime. Am I the only one who remembers it?! I'll even give you the chapter and page, and maybe even the episode if you don't believe me. Seriously, people. How is it that only I remember this moment?!
