Disclaimer: Noope, still don't own Naruto
No Laws to Love: Part X: Flamboyancy and Other Unsaid Truths
Why is this so damned hard?
He fidgeted again.
Because you're an idiot.
Glaring at the door in front of him, he muttered under his breath, "Shut the fuck up, I didn't ask you."
The voice inside his head only chuckled and shot back.
How sweet, Gaa-chan's first date and he's nervous as hell.
His palms were unusually sweaty for the cold weather and he could feel the heat rise up inside his jacket as his face flushed. It was not a date. He just decided he would accompany her to the stadium, so she wouldn't get lost. Because then, he would have to face her annoying cousin.
Just ring the doorbell already!
Taking a deep breath he held up a finger. If only he could see himself now, he would've laughed. Nervous over picking up one girl, it was so stupid. He should be worried over the final district-wide match with Seito instead.
Do you have to make this so dramatic! RING THE GODDAMNED DOORBELL.
His index finger tapped the button swiftly, but not soon enough—since as he reached for it, the door opened widely and a blue haired girl ran straight into him, dropping her bag.
"Uhmpf!"
He took a few steps backwards from the collision and reached out, holding onto her arms to stabilize both of them.
She looked up quickly, after realizing who it she had ran into, "S-Sabaku-san!" She squeaked.
Promptly letting go, he coughed and looked away, "Aa…I just came to, uh…"
Pick you up for our hot date. His inner voice snorted.
"…pick you up for the tournament." Gaara mentally kicked his subconscious.
Hinata blushed as she stuttered her answer, "I-I was just g-going to wait for y-you out-outside…"
So I don't have to answer to Neji-niisan if he answers the door…
She bowed slightly, thanking him. Gaara could feel his face tint up like the pink clips in her hair.
Hinata-chan looks cute today, doesn't she?
Gaara could only cough an answer to both Hinata's thanks and his subconscious's comment. But he could agree for once, how nicely a soft pink color went with her light skin color and dark hair. The knee-length skirt ruffled a bit in the cold breeze—which only lead his perverted inner voice to make more jokes. He could only make a slight gesture to her that they should be on their way.
Hinata beamed him a smile, "Hai," as she turned around to close the door.
"Neji-niisan, I'm off!"
From inside, Neji glanced back, "Yeah." Even though it was a quick shot and the door was closing, he noticed the bright red hair of her companion. "Who—"
Hinata could not help but bound happily beside Gaara. He glanced over at the cheery energetic girl beside him. She directed her attention ahead of them, trying not to look down at the ground or him, but every once in awhile, he caught her glancing over at him.
When she noticed that he saw her, her head would whip back towards the street, her face flushing and she would giggle nervously.
It was contagious.
Her smile. Her laugh.
He could not help but feel a tad bit more loose and free when around her presence. Gaara shook his head and cracked a tiny smile as he stared at the ground.
"N-Ne, Sabaku-san," a slight tap on his arm.
He turned his head to her, the smile, still slightly existent on his features.
"What…were you thinking about?" She blushed at her own question.
"Huh?" He blinked at her unexpected question.
Shit.
Her face reddened and she scrambled for words, "A-Ah, sorry…for a-asking. It-It was just that, you…you were smiling…so s-suddenly. So I-I was w-wondering…"
What kind of question was that Hinata!
But she had to ask. It was rare that he had such a genuine smile on his face. To put it short, she was just curious what could make him smile so…shyly.
"Aa…I was just thinking…" He looked a bit thoughtful, trying to phrase it correctly, "how-how…nice it was to have you come with me…"
"Eh?" She looked up at him, "C-Come with you?"
He could've slapped himself for that slip-up, "Er, I-I mean…how nice it was of you to come with me—I mean, us—come see us at our tournament."
Good cover up, kid. Though…heh…you TOTALLY wanted to say that.
He coughed slightly to cover up his embarrassment, turning his head from her as his face heated up.
"Ah…sou ka…" Hinata beamed at him, "It's my f-first time watching this kind of t-tournament! It was in-incredibly n-nice of you to invite m-me in the first place."
With a huge smile on her face, Hinata waited next to Gaara at the bus stop.
Twitching randomly, the frustrated boy kicked a nearby duffel bag.
What the fuck is taking him so long?
The dark-haired boy glared in the direction of a smiling long haired boy.
"Anticipating much, aren't we now?"
"Mind your own business," he answered curtly as his attention averted towards the entrance impulsively.
A taller boy approached him, his badge identifying him as the captain, "Ne, Uchiha, you should really loosen up."
He shot the older boy a fixed stare, "I'm going to beat Sabaku."
Kabuto smirked, "Still one-tracked as always," He scouted the arena, "And seeing no redheads here, I'm assuming you're antsy because he's no-show currently."
"Thanks for stating the obvious, buchou," Sasuke emphasized sarcastically.
He stuck his hands into his pockets as he stood up, "I'm taking a walk."
Immediately, a crowd of girls behind him cheered, screaming his name as he walked away from the bench. Sasuke turned around and gave them an irritated stare and sighed.
His loss the previous year only made his popularity rise as girls swooned over him, making him things to 'cheer' him up.
He formed a straight line with his mouth, an angry look as he kicked an empty can. Glancing up into the stands again, he noticed his older brother sitting next to some blonde haired chick.
Feh…he's only here for the girls
Sasuke squinted, trying to get a better look at the girl. She looked familiar, yet, he couldn't place where or when he'd seen her before, but shrugged off that feeling easily. He had many fangirls, she probably gave him something before and tried to coerce him into a date.
Whatever
"That's my younger brother," Itachi pointed at the glowering boy stomping around on the arena floor, "Kid needs to loosen up, seriously."
The girl sitting beside him laughed, "He should meet my youngest brother then," She scanned the floor, "Hm, they'll make great silence buddies…if that boy is even here yet…"
She flashed him a smile, "But since they're rivals here, we'll be cheering for opposite teams…"
"Itachi," He answered, "And you are?"
"Temari," She laughed, "And might you be the infamous Uchiha Itachi?"
Itachi winked, "It's only a cover. And calling me 'infamous'? I guess I really am more popular than I thought so, Mari-chan."
Temari twirled a few strands of her shoulder length hair, "And still as conceited as ever, I see." How could she ever forget that signature Uchiha self-esteem when he first approached her shamelessly of their broken friendship. The past was past and she gave him the benefit of the doubt to be a better person this time.
"I haven't seen you since graduation and this is how you treat me?" He smirked at the girl beside him. Her expression didn't change much from when he first sat down next to her.
Itachi wasn't stupid—he'd recognize her as soon as he saw her sitting on the stands. Temari changed drastically, but her wittiness and bluntness was still in tack, and Itachi smiled inwardly at the random occurrence they were able to meet.
He glanced quickly at her, Temari was a sharp girl and she would notice if he took too long to indulge in her features.
Her face was more slender and her figure slightly fuller—Mari-chan went from cute to hot.
Temari saw the quick look her sent her, quite irritated by his examination of her, but ignored the slight motion, "Went by so fast, I didn't even realize you were gone."
He was silent for awhile before replying to her, "I see you're still bitter about it."
She shot him a frown. Something she never wanted to bring up again, something that broke their friendship and trust, but she was willing to let it go—that was, until he brought it up again.
"My friend is here," She lied, "Gotta go get her."
And not come back here to sit with you. Bastard.
Itachi watched silently as she stood up icily and walked off…again. Same as last time, he didn't try to stop her either.
I just want your forgiveness
Wow…
Hinata looked up and scanned the whole arena, amazed by the amount of people that had shown up to watch the district final. There were other teams that had lost earlier there to watch it too. Each team donned their own uniforms, and as she could tell, most were public schools since private schools like hers didn't acknowledge 'fighting' as a type of high-class sport.
She must've stopped in the middle of the floor to stare at the ceiling, because she felt a tug on her sleeve.
"E-Eh?"
Gaara held out a hand to her, "Follow me or you'll get lost in the crowd."
Grabbing onto his hand, her face flushed up, but he already had his back turned to her, walking briskly through the swarms of people just loitering with their friends on the floor instead of the stands.
I-I'm holding his hand!
Hinata was dragged along in a daze until she slammed into a guy wearing a different school's uniform. He looked down and glared at her.
"Bitch, watch where you're walki—"
"Is something wrong?"
The guy turned over to see Gaara, who still held her hand and his face turned blank.
"A-Ah…My bad…nothing's wrong," As he quickly stepped aside. Hinata blinked in his direction, the boy obviously had recognized the redhead and cowered in his presence.
Gaara tugged her arm again, motioning them to keep moving, and her legs walked along, but she noticed as soon as Gaara turned his head, the boy from earlier started to nudge his friend.
"Sabaku's participating. I told you that's how Furyuu made it this far."
Some glanced, acknowledging him, others gawked—but none moved over enough for him to proceed to his side of the ring at a acceptable pace. At the same time, he was dragging along Hinata, which made him feel most peculiar. His hand felt…funny. And not to mention his stomach. What did they call it again? Fireflies? Something like that buzzing around in his stomach, making him feel lightheaded. Goddamn, he was nervous just holding on to her hand.
He tried to squeeze through as fast as possible before his face turns as bright as his hair.
Aww…first you're holding hands…then you protect her. Who knew Gaara was such a sooooftie
Shut up
His palms were getting sweaty from his nervousness and he held onto her hand tighter, trying to pull her through the mob.
Being such a petite person, her body mass couldn't shove through the throng of bystanders as quickly and easy as Gaara, and she could feel her grip loosening.
"N-Ne….S-Saba-ku…san," She tried to call out for him to slow down a bit, but another hand grabbed onto her and her grip on Gaara's hand slipped, leaving her behind.
Hinata turned around to see who had pulled her back, only to meet the dreaded person.
"U-Uchiha-san!" She squeaked in fear and surprise.
Oh no…
"Hinata-chan," Sasuke smiled, his frustration lessened now that he had his toy to play around with.
She faltered in answering him, grimacing as he added the suffix to her name. They weren't even that close!
"I didn't think you'll be at something like this," He motioned over at his side of the area, "Were you looking for a seat?"
"A-Ah…i-it's okay," She tried to decline, "I-I'm ca-came here with S-Sabaku-san."
Sasuke's eyes darkened, his suspicions were confirmed, but he wasn't giving up on the fight yet. This girl was…different and he was interested for once.
"Ne, I don't see him," He glanced around quickly, "I'll find you a seat and then you can spot him later. Sabaku-san is participating anyway. You'll get to see him later."
He extended a hand to her, nodding in the opposite direction Gaara had been taking her earlier.
"B-But…you're p-participating too…" She tried to get herself out, "I don't w-want to be a b-bother to you. I-I can find a s-seat on my own."
Sasuke knew where this was going. The girl was already avoidant of him, and her relationship with the guy who wasn't exactly fond of him doesn't help her trust either.
Fuck, why can't she be more like my other stupid fangirls?
Sasuke was not used to being rejected and this only made him more interested in the girl who, in her right mind was refuting his prince-like stature for some public school brat. He won't take no for an answer either. Hinata had known him first. Too bad she couldn't remember.
Well, it's not like he remembered either, but flipping through old photo albums, he had found about a dozen pictures of him and a pale girl with lavender eyes and short dark blue hair, linking arms in front of various sights. Their parents weren't old friends for nothing.
"It's okay," He grabbed onto her hand as she let out a gasp, "I still have some time, come on."
Hinata slowly dragged her feet behind him, but before they got far, another hand rested on her shoulder.
"Sorry for the trouble, Uchiha" The redhead glared at the other boy, "I momentarily lost her and it was nice of you to help her, but you can go now."
His words held no emotion, but his eyes flashed at the intruder. Overall, Gaara was not at all enthusiastic about Sasuke trying to pull Hinata where she didn't want to go.
Beat him up! You're gonna have to kick his ass anyway. Why not now? He was hitting on your girlfriend, you dumbass!
Gaara only glared. Oh, how he wanted to kick the little rich boy's ass, but that would mean immediate disqualification for pre-match rule-breaking.
The dark-haired boy only stared back knowing that Gaara wasn't someone easy to provoke, but now that he got the Furyuu captain worked up, he would have a chance to redeem himself for last year's loss.
Hinata noticed the tension and slowly slid her hand from Sasuke's grasp as she smiled nervously at Sasuke.
"W-Well, i-it was nice me-meeting you," Out of nervousness, she clutched onto Gaara's jacket, unaware, "G-Goodluck!"
Turning to Gaara she stammered quickly, "I-I think I s-see I-Ino-san over t-there." She lied as she directed his gaze to the stands where a blonde girl was walking down.
That distracted him as Gaara loosened up and answered her, "That's Temari."
Hinata let out a sigh at Gaara's immediate change of attention.
Boys…
…are idiots…
One minute she could've sworn he was going to go for Uchiha-san's throat, and the next he was correcting her on who she saw on the bleachers.
She glanced back up at him as he lead the way, this time slowly, his arm around her shoulder instead. Paths cleared easier this time, since news traveled fast of Seito's Uchiha and Furyuu's Sabaku recent tension that could've resulted in a fight. Onlookers backed off quickly, hoping they wouldn't be the punching bag for Gaara's displacement of anger.
But Hinata wasn't paying much attention to the others. She radiated pink as she enjoyed the fact that his arm was around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him.
Oh how she just wanted to snuggle into his chest and hug him and…other stuff…
Hinata blushed at her thoughts.
His face showed that he was slightly distracted—probably still by Uchiha-san's intrusion. As they neared the stands, he stopped and nodded for her to get on the stairs.
"Temari's up there, you should join her," He shoved his hands into his pockets as he stood there idly.
Hinata nodded back and shuffled her feet slightly.
Say something!
Her inner thoughts screamed. She tried to mumble out a few words of luck, but the noise buried her small voice and Hinata ended up staring over his shoulder and twiddling her fingers.
Gaara didn't know what to say. She was probably scared by his anger back then.
Psh. Or maybe it's because of your lack of social skills? AWKWARD SILENCE!
Go away. I don't need your antagonizing.
I'm just trying to improve your relationships—I mean 'relationship'—singular.
This is exactly what I meant.
Say something heroic! Like…'I will defeat them!'
It's not some cheesy film. You're retarded.
Fine then. Live a dull life. See if I care. If you'll actually let me be, I would make your world flamboyantly fun!
Flamboyant's not a good thing…
Hinata looked at the quiet boy questioningly, but decided not to ask about the huge frown on his face.
"N-Ne, Sabaku-san," She blushed, "Goodluck! I-I hope you w-win!"
She leaped forward and hugged him at lightening speed.
Gaara blinked and answered automatically, "A-Ah…"
But by the time his brain registered the event, she was already dashing up the stairs, double speed, bright as a tomato.
Too slow…too slow…
His alter-ego cackled at his lost chance to 'grope' the girl. Gaara shook his head and turned towards the area designated for Furyuu.
If this was a determining match for who is worthy of Hinata, he won't allow any mistakes. Gaara looked across the ring and met Sasuke's gaze.
Chivalrous, now aren't we?
Whatever. But I'll give him a beating…
So he'll never bother your girl again
Yeah
Heh…you just admitted…
This isn't a time to joke
Good to see you're serious for once. This'll be fun.
Sasuke received Gaara's patented glare and smirked back in response. He accepted the challenge.
End Part X: Flamboyancy and Other Unsaid Truths
:bows repeatedly:
I'm so sorry on how long it took me to sit down and crunch out another chapter! My last update was more than a year ago, and I apologize terribly for how long it's taken me. I try not to make excuses, but last year was my senior year in highschool then pre-college hectics, and then actually college itself.
But first year of college has ended…and I'm back on track. :smiles:
I don't know how long this one would be, but I'm guessing a few more chapters (at least 2).
There are a lot of grammatical errors, and I'm sorry for that…all my professors say that. 'You have excellent content but your grammar is blah blah blah' --0
Well…I threw in some Itachi/Temari. I don't see much of that around, but I thought that would be interesting. He's a genius, and she's incredibly smart and talent. I'm kind of disappointed I don't see enough of them around. Haha.
Anyway, thanks for all those who waited!
Reviews are always welcomed!
Ame no Megami