(A/N): ZOMG Shippuuden Shippuuden Shippuuden! I love Tobi's voice! XD
Chapter 13: The Fourth Years' Seminar
The Following week:
Monday:
"Wha… What? You won't be able to walk me home again?"
"Yup..."
"Would that mean I'd be going home with Deidara again?"
"yup…"
"But… why??"
"I told you… we've got this seminar thing until 8 o'clock…"
"…"
"Why? Did something bad happen last Friday?"
"…" The question startled Hinata. This is the first time her cousin asked her about it, coz they weren't able to talk about it during the weekend.
"You didn't yell at him coz of the thing that happened that lunchtime?"
"N… No…"
"But did he apologize?"
"Y…Yes…"
"Well that's good… So what else happened?"
"Umm…. Nothing much, really…"
"Really??"
"Really…"
"C'mon you two! Get inside the car!"
The two Hyuugas' conversation ended with Hiashi's call. Neji isn't used in snooping unto other's people's business, but he sure did was curious with this one.
"Did Hiashi see him?" Neji asked before he opened the car's door.
"Umm… No, Otosan's still at work back then…" Hinata replied. She saw her cousin smirk as they went inside.
When they finally reached school, Hinata quickly waved goodbye to her father. And before the two of them part ways to go to their own classrooms, Neji told his cousin that the three of them wouldn't be able to have lunch with her coz of the seminar so she has to eat alone.
"It's… okay…" Hinata replied. They parted, she was half sad.
Whispers and murmurs welcomed her the moment she stepped in inside the classroom. There was a vague silence just as her classmates noticed her come in, but it didn't last.
"Sit down everyone. Classes start now…"
They must be talking about last week… The thought doesn't seem to drift away Hinata's mind. She's surprised Kiba and the others haven't teased her anything about it though. Maybe coz they didn't see the two of them last week together.
Sasuke's seat is surprisingly vacant today. Others assumed he's absent, but a knocking on the door proved it false.
"Uchiha Sasuke, you're late today. That's unusual…" the teacher immediately noticed. She let him go inside, and then she resumed her writing and discussion.
"Dude why you late?" A friend of him whispered.
"My brother and I had this little fight…" he answered, slowly taking his usual seat at the back row, she saw him glanced at her.
RRRRRIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGG!!!
The lunch bell rang. It was a usual scene on sight, students rushing towards the cafeteria. But since Hinata knew there's no one waiting for her there, she decided to skip eating and read her pocket book quietly at the school library.
"Hinata? What's going on?"
"Wha… What do you mean…?" she was startled. On the way to the library, Sakura bumped unto her, and there came a hypothetical question.
"A lot of people were talking about it… They… They… told me you and Sasuke were walking together last week after classes…" It was just as Hinata presumed.
"…" I saw that coming… Sakura… she… likes Sasuke…
"Do you think maybe he likes you? I mean, she's not usually seen with girls around… so when I heard about it, I… I… got so deprived…" she blurted out. There was a mix of anger and sadness in the way she said it.
"No! You… You got it all wrong…" what the pink haired junior seriously surprised her.
"…" she was spacing out. But when Hinata bowed her head, she caught her attention.
"I'm sorry Sakura! Please don't think of anything about Sasuke and me. I … I… don't think he's interested on me, nor am I interested in him. I… don't want you to get mad at me... And same goes for Ino and the other girls who likes him, coz—"
"We've got nothing against you. But hey, since you said that you're not interested in Sasuke, then that would make you not a rival of mine. I'm sorry if I took those things seriously… I guess it was just my uncontrolled emotion that made me say those things…"
"…" Hinata looked up to see Sakura's face, but she was already leaving.
"See ya!" She waved goodbye, and the Hyuuga knew she was smiling.
Hinata decided to read at the corner of the library. 15 minutes of serene reading has passed when she suddenly noticed a figure approaching her.
"I'll read beside you alright." the voice was familiar. She looked up to see who it is, her guess was right. It's Sasuke. Her talk with Sakura a while ago wanted to make her walk away, but it was improper.
"I didn't know you read novels…"
"I've always read books. I just recently lost interest in it but it came back anyway."
"…"
"You're not with your friends today, are you?"
"They're on a seminar…"
"I see… "
"…"
"So… Do you come to the library often?"
"I… I do… sometimes…" Hinata honestly didn't want to answer.
A few minutes of silence passed, and she wondered if he would continue talking…
"The book you're reading's about this guy who died while taking pictures of the ocean right?"
"…" and she was right.
"He's in love with a mermaid if I remembered it correctly…"
"…"
"Oh I'm sorry, did I spoil the story?" he concluded the question from the way she didn't respond.
"N… No, not really, I'm almost finished reading it anyway…"
"That's good. So I'm guessing you joined the bookworms club..."
"I… I didn't know they have a club for book lovers…"
"Oh there is. I thought you joined that club, but I guess I was wrong… So what club did you sign up for?"
"…" When the question came, Hinata suddenly remembered something. Sa… Sasuke's in the same club…
"SASUKE!!!"
Both juniors were instantly startled. An approaching, yelling, red-headed senior student was the one who cut Hinata's thought off.
"Shhh!!! Karin! Keep Quiet!!!" the librarian warned.
"Hehe, I'm sorry…" she apologized, a hidden smirk behind.
What's she doing here…? Sasuke silently whispered. Hinata can see from the look on his face that he's irritated.
"Hah! Caught you two!" Karin suddenly glomped Sasuke from behind. He almost fell off the chair, but the senior kept her arms around his neck, grinning widely, an eyebrow raised at the Hyuuga.
"So what're you two doing here?" she asked, her eyes was fixed at Hinata, and with the question, she noticed her blush.
"Well what're you doing here? Don't seniors have this seminar thing today?" the Uchiha answered.
"…" Both females were silent for a second.
"I'm here coz I've got an important message to be delivered to the librarian. Our seminar proctor was the one who asked me to." Karin answered the thrown back question. She released her grip from Sasuke and crossed her arms, still looking at Hinata.
"Well do what you need to do now. Don't just stand there…" The Uchiha insisted. Karin looked offended.
"We… were just discussing things about our investigatory project…" Hinata didn't want enemies, so she suddenly blurted the lie out. She looked at the senior's expression, it was her first lie.
"…" Hinata expected Sasuke to say something, but there was nothing. Karin, whose face shows that she obviously doesn't believe it, turned her back and started walking away.
Both juniors looked at each other.
"Club meeting's on Thursday. I'll see you two there anyway…" the senior blurted out as she waved goodbye. The two were still looking at each other, but after hearing Karin's last sentence, an eyebrow was raised by the Uchiha and the Hyuuga found herself in a blush.
"Pssstt! Sasuke! There you are…" just as Karin left the library, a friend of Sasuke suddenly came in and called for him.
"…" The Uchiha's mouth was half-opened, about to say something, but the call cut him off. He stood up and picked up the book he's reading, and one way or another, he heard the Hyuuga sigh.
"Cool, so we're in the same club then." That's what he said before he left. And that's what she was afraid he'll notice, but with what Karin said, he now knew it.
(A/N): End of Chapter. Thank you all for reading this fic… All of you are making me so happy…X'D
Next chapter: Chapter 14: Deidara's painting