Beautiful People

Chapter 14: Count my Disbelief

Beta: beta'd by strawberries and napkins

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My dreams were like a cloudless sky, empty and filling. I couldn't feel anything; I was floating in my own dream space like I could stay there forever and ever. But then something twisted in my gut, like a sharp knife that dragged me down from the sky and into reality.

I jumped awake, heaving and looked around. We were still in the barn, hiding out, and it was early morning. The rush of blood was pounding in my ears as I placed a hand over my heart to stop the thumping, I searched frantically for Sasuke. Then I reached for my journal.

It wasn't there.

Panicking, I scrambled out of my sleeping bag and turned the corner, trying to be as light as possible while freaking out, and then, yeah, I found Sasuke.

He was reading my journal. He flinched and snapped the book closed, holding my gaze. Originally, I had always pictured myself tackling whoever I caught reading it and tearing them to bits, but I could just stand there and he was staring right back at me trying really hard not to look guilty.

"Why?" It wasn't a question. The sound of my dead voice even make me flinch, I sounded incredibly harsh.

No, I sounded betrayed.

"I…needed to know. What was Naruto doing before I came that was so bad?" He narrowed his eyes, whispering, as if we still had some common ground to speak on.

I raised my hand calmly, and then brought it quickly across his face effectively knocking my journal out of his hands from the force. His eyes were wide in surprise when he turned back around, placing a hand to his burning cheek.

We glared at each other and then he hit me, effectively starting our fighting all over again, rolling around in dirt, grass, and hay. He hit me really hard in the face and just when I was about to return the favor, someone came in the barn.

Immediately, Sasuke restrained me using his legs and put his dirty hand over my mouth as we waited expectantly, trying to blend in our surroundings on the barn's balcony.

I bit Sasuke's finger hard and smirked at his hiss, and then with a careful foot I was able to draw in my journal again, and then Sasuke and I fought over it some more, quietly rustling around.

"Get off, Uchiha." I growled warningly and shoved him in the ribs. He shoved me back, I just don't think he calculated how hard he did it because before I could keep up I had tumbled off the edge of the balcony and fell on my back.

The stranger gasped and immediately ran to my side. I groaned as my head spun wildly but then I realized what had just happened and forced myself to sit up with eyes open. I had been caught.

"Konoha girl?" The voice murmured beside me. I blinked my eyes open and then tilted my head. It was the girl who ate my parfait a while ago. I had figured she might be living in the same place as this, but why was she in this old barn?

She scratched her head. "Wha-what were ya doing up there? Did ya come for the apples?"

I panicked and looked at Sasuke who shot me a warning glare not to tell her that he was up there too. For the sake of the mission, I didn't. So instead I turned around and nodded.

"Someone told me you were selling them here…" I murmured, averting my gaze and gripped my journal that fell a few inches away from me.

She grabbed my hand and forcefully pulled me to my wobbling feet. "Merchants of the shop, I knew it. Well, don't just stand there, I'll gives ya a tour, sound good?" She hummed with a lax smile and pulled me out of the barn by my wrist. I turned and gave Sasuke the angriest glare I could.

He smirked right back at me and it made me regret that I didn't just blow our cover as a whole. I was still mad about the journal though, but it didn't matter now; my part of the mission was still on.

Her tour was pretty boring. She told me her name was Lia, and that she had inherited the farm, and her family's apple business, after her father died. The area was incredibly peaceful, with quiet grazing cows and horses, noisy chickens, and apple trees as far as I could see.

We sat underneath a tree once the afternoon sun started heating up the surroundings. I was anxious that Sasuke was going to show up and do something stupid, but even with my Byakugan, I wasn't able to find him. I wondered if he had abandoned me here, but as mad as he could've been, I was sure he wouldn't risk the mission.

She didn't say anything for a while and just stared at me, making me pretty nervous. I didn't get a chance to brush my teeth, change clothes, or even fix my hair. I must've looked a mess.

Then she laughed. "What's that in ya hand?"

I blushed and pushed my journal out of sight. "Oh, that's nothing."

"I have one too," she said suddenly, completely capturing my attention. "A journal, right?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah…I used to write in it a lot, not so much anymore. Other things became more important." Her eyes got this faraway look that I recognize only because I had seen it a million times.

"Your name's Hinata, right?" I nodded again. "What do you write about?"

"Stuff," I said automatically, not liking the way the conversation was going. I opened my mouth to say something, but the screeching of a bird made us both jump. A large gray bird expanded its huge wings and flew off the tree we sat under and into the cloudless sky.

She laughed again and then sighed, curling her legs up and resting her head on her knees. "Hey, Hinata…have ya ever felt…oh jeez, well, what I mean is...have you ever felt...ugly..sometimes?"

My heart stopped. I didn't say anything and we just stared at each other. I didn't know why she would possibly feel ugly. Thick hair, tan skin and an acne-scarred face…it doesn't make a person ugly. I wanted to tell her it's what's on the inside that can make a person ugly. Secrets, lies, pasts…

I stopped myself and we finally broke eye contact. I don't think I had to say anything for her to understand. She reminded me a lot of Sakura, who I realized I missed a lot.

"Lia…" I started to say, and then my senses went off. I could feel Sasuke hiding out in the tree above us. The first thing I felt is relief, and then a lot of annoyance because it took him so long to show up. Lia looked confused at my prolonged silence. I wish I could continue, but I wasn't going to. Not if Sasuke was around to hear it. So I shook my head.

She laughs, but it is empty and bitter sounding. "You ain't here for my apples, huh?" I didn't say anything and kept my head down. Something poked me in the arm.

I looked up. It's the scroll. "Wha-?"

"Here. Take it and leave, alright?" Her voice is empty and cold, nothing like it had sounded before. The leaves rustle above us, probably Sasuke debating on whether or not to make his entrance. He disguised his chakra, and I couldn't feel him anymore. I sigh and took the scroll, reading the cover.

It was a learning scroll for a four-man self-destructing bomb. That's…suicide, isn't it? Immediately, my mind thought about Konoha, but I didn't think Lia herself was planning some kind of terrorist attack on Konoha. She didn't even look like a ninja, which left me incredibly confused.

When I was about to say something, she started talking but she wasn't talking to me. It felt as if she's talking to me almost…indirectly, like she's looking through me.

"You know, self-beauty is able to be replenished, like one of Mother Nature's gifts, like a tree, or the wind. You can bring it back if you feel like it went away. If something's troubling you, then fix it." She whispers, and I don't say anything because I'm trying to soak in the words, her meaning, and what's she saying.

I think she knows more about me than I do, at this point. I look down at the scroll for some type of answer or hint, and curiously begin to peel at the seal. Something happens, and I scream.

This pungent, black gas pours out of the scroll and cuts off my air supply, suffocating me in a matter of minutes. Everything's gone, in a black puff cloud. I scream again because I can't see anything anymore. I activate my Byakugan but I still can't see. Lia screams and I hear the clashing of metal and before I know it I'm being lifted into the air. I'm gasping to clear my lungs of the smell, but the world is still dark to me. I have no idea what happened to Lia, but I still wasn't inclined to blame her just yet.

"Shit, what the hell would you do that for?" Sasuke swears and wraps his arm around my waist, lifting us both out of there.

I can feel us moving swiftly through something and instinctively I grasp onto Sasuke's arm with my free hand, scared of what I couldn't see. It's the first time I noticed that I still had the scroll clenched tightly between my fingers.

"I can't see," I say over the loud whipping wind. He curses angrily again and grips me tighter. Sasuke begins to slow down, and gradually I can catch my breath and calmly think of how I'm going to get out of this, if I can get out of this.

"It's okay," he says, after a long while, "I've got you."

I sigh. For once, I think I can actually believe him.

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