Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. So if you recognize anyone or anything from the anime, I'm just borrowing.
Takes place sometime before Shippuuden. Technically, it takes place in the Naruto world, but without regard to Shippuuden. The Konoha 11 are now 16ish, but I wouldn't call this AU, so I'll call it OS (for Outside of Shippuuden).
Thank you for your reviews! They make my day!
Chapter 12
OOOOO
"Alright, Genbo, Panto," Zuruiko began sternly. "Even though you failed to uphold the family name yesterday, I am willing to give you another chance."
Her two youngest boys nodded eagerly.
"I'm going to speak to Shoromaru's daughter's-in-law to find out more about what's been going on. You are to go and find out about the most eligible young men in Konoha. We need to know what little Shino is up against."
"Yes, Mother!" they chanted together.
Genbo and Panto rushed off to complete their mission. Unfortunately, they weren't on very good terms with most of the Aburame men, what with the countless attempts to kidnap and kiss their wives. The Aburame men didn't take kindly to that. They gathered what they could, mostly from the elderly Aburames who were at least willing to listen to their questions, though a few gave them weird looks and suggested a number of older available Konoha men. They backpedaled quickly and explained that their interest was purely educational. In the end, it was the skeptical looks that chased them away. They reported what they could.
"I see," Zuruiko nodded. "Good work, boys. That's some very interesting information."
OOOOO
First, the rice was started. That was almost always the first task. Next came the washing of all of the vegetables and the preparation of the many ingredients that would be used in the main dishes. At least, that was the plan.
The rice was fine and steaming happily. The vegetables were washed and lined up like patient soldiers along every surface. But when Kaoru went to gather the knives to begin chopping cabbage for the dumblings…
"Nai!" She pulled open another drawer. "Nai!" She looked in the sink. "Nai!" She checked every single cupboard and shelf. "Nai!"
"Where are all of the knives?!" she shouted to no one in particular.
"Ano…Kaoru, my delicate flower? Is something the matter?" Shiribi inquired gently. It was not wise to provoke an irritable Aburame woman that was shouting about knives.
"There's not a single knife in this kitchen! I didn't notice before now because we all had porridge for breakfast and leftovers from last night for lunch. Where could they all be?"
Shiribi thought carefully before remembering the fight last night. "Um…I think the Kari, Kari, Kari girls may have used them up chasing Panto and Genbo around the compound last night."
"What?!" Kaoru's head sunk in defeat. "I can't believe this. If I'd known, I'd have bought some in time. Dinner's going to be late at this rate."
"I'm sure no one will mind," her husband reassured her.
"Shiribi, give me some of your kunai," Kaoru directed.
"No!"
"What did you say?" Kaoru asked pointedly, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
"I mean, baby, I'd do anything for you, you know that," he backpedaled, "b-but I stab people with those knives! I clean them and all, but you don't want to prepare our dinner with them."
Kaoru growled, and a single drop of sweat rolled down her husband's forehead. They were so busy facing off that neither noticed Hinata's red eyes and nose when she entered quietly.
"A-ano. C-can I be of h-help?"
Kaoru sighed. "Do what you can. I've got to go into town and buy more meat and a set of knives. Shiribi, you gather the boys to hunt down as many of the lost knives as they can find. The resort's going to be angry if we lose their entire stock of kitchen cutlery in one go."
And then Hinata was alone. She eyed the vegetable-crowded kitchen and thought of the girls that had surrounded Shino in the village. A stalk of celery leaning against a crown of broccoli, for some reason, reminded her of the girl that had draped herself all over her important teammate. Hinata formed a blade of chakra with her right hand and beheaded the fluffy top right off of the celery. She tossed a tomato into the air and chopped it into neat slices before it dropped into a waiting bowl. The carrots never stood a chance.
Fifteen minutes later, Hinata ran out of things to cut. She couldn't justify making the potato chunks any smaller. She had even produced several fruit platters covered with tiny morsels. With a sigh, she began throwing things into a pot to start the vegetable stew. Then she tossed the roasts into the industrial sized ovens with a selection of vegetables. Her small, quick hands were turning out the last of hundreds of dumplings when Kaoru returned. Hinata added the last batch onto one of the steaming towers.
Shinomaru's mother blinked in astonishment. She looked around the kitchen at the bubbling stew, the roasts glowing in the enormous ovens, and the huge bowls of salad. They'd been at least an hour behind schedule, and now they were way ahead of schedule. She subtly glanced down at her watch. The walk to the village took twenty minutes. Buying chicken and knives took another twenty. The walk back was twenty minutes. What had happened? Ah, maybe the boys pulled through and found the knives quickly. Even so…
"Kaoru-san," Hinata began in a subdued voice. "What's next? I could prepare a pudding, or some red bean rice cakes, or a fruit tart?"
"Custard fruit tarts sound good. I'll start the custard if you'll make the pastry?"
Hinata nodded, and the two worked in companionable silence for a time. Kaoru occasionally glanced over at the Hyuuga girl. She was normally shy, but this quiet pain wasn't shyness. Something was bothering the girl.
"Ano, Hinata-chan, I know it's not my place, but if something is bothering you, please know that you can talk to me."
"A-arigatoo, Kaoru-san."
"Family trouble?" Kaoru began almost innocently.
"Mm-mm," Hinata shook her head. "That's actually been much better than ever."
"The kunoichi's back in the village? A rivalry, perhaps? Is someone being catty toward you back home?"
Hinata actually smiled before shaking her head. "Chigaimasu. That's not it. Sakura-chan, Ino-chan, Tenten-chan, they've all been very kind and supportive of me." Hinata thought back to the shopping trip when Ino-chan had helped her find some casual clothing to add to her stark wardrobe. She thought of her collaboration with Sakura-chan as they studied poisons and antidotes together under Tsunade's tutelage. And Tenten. The weapons mistress and the Hyuuga heiress had gone off to watch a movie and eat ice cream—and talk about a certain formal, aloof, wonderful Hyuuga prodigy that they both loved in their own ways.
"Not the girls?" She paused and slipped in as a calculated afterthought, "Boys?"
Hinata's cheeks blushed pink and she bit her lower lip.
Bingo, Kaoru thought, though that had been her initial guess all along. She'd just wanted the girl to open up a little first.
"Are a couple of boys not taking the hint? Keep pestering you for a date? Won't leave you alone?" she joked.
Hinata shyly smiled and shook her head. "I don't have those sorts of problems."
Kaoru winced inwardly. It seemed Hinata wasn't used to receiving romantic attention. She hadn't meant to highlight a lack of dates or for the girl to feel like she was undesirable.
"Maybe someone you've got your heart set on?" she asked gently.
Hinata stilled with her gaze fixed on the countertop. Kaoru waited patiently as Hinata seemed to consider the question. The younger girl picked up a leftover piece of pastry and absentmindedly shaped it into a blooming flower. Then she selected another piece and rolled it into an oblong shape. She fidgeted with it for almost a full minute before biting her lip and beginning in a tiny voice, "I-I just wish-"
"We're here!" shouted a cacophony of voices. Kaoru groaned silently as her in-laws trooped into the kitchen.
"We finally got away from Zuruiko-baachan," Karika explained. "We were just coming to help with dinner when she cornered us with all sorts of weird questions. So now we're here to rescue you poor, overworked…" She did a double-take at the almost complete dinner that lay on every available surface.
"Hinata picked up the slack," was all the explanation Kaoru offered. She was disappointed that her talk with Hinata had been interrupted. The young girl had been about to say something important but had fallen silent and was now devoting her attention to her little art pastry project.
Minutes later, the Aburame boys that had been roped into searching for the lost knives trooped in with their salvage. Shino and Shibiki deposited armfuls of dirty knives into the sink. Their aunts were already scrubbing. Shino washed off his hands before going to stand next to Hinata.
"Hinata," he murmured over her shoulder, "what are you making?" He subtly inhaled the scent of lilac from her hair and wished he could run his fingers through those silken strands.
"Nothing in particular," she shrugged before leaning her pastry kikai bug onto the flower.
"Don't let her fool you. Hinata just prepared the whole family meal by herself," Kaoru pointed out.
"By yourself?" Shino frowned. "Hinata, I would have helped you if I'd known you had to do it all by yourself. You should have said something. It's not fair if you take on all the work." Hinata seemed tense, and he longed to cover her slender shoulders with his palms and massage the tension away, as his father often did for his mother.
Hinata shrugged dismissively. "I'm used to cooking for a lot of people, so I didn't mind. And I wasn't alone. Kaoru-san did a lot."
"Not really, but thanks for saying so," Kaoru grinned.
Hinata fidgeted a bit. It seemed to her that Shino was studying her carefully. Was he comparing her to the girls from the village? Was he…disappointed he hadn't been paired with a prettier, more confident girl?
"Hey! We rushed around finding all of those knives because Uncle Shiribi said we weren't going to eat if we didn't." Shibiki crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his uncle. "You just made that up to get us to help you."
"I was led to believe the situation was very dire," Shiribi defended.
Unable to shake the overwhelming feeling of nervousness, Hinata unconsciously slipped back into ninja cook mode. She scooted away from Shino's penetrating gaze and pulled out the roasts from the oven. Her hands flew in deadly arcs as they sliced the sizzling hunks of meat into perfect, narrow slices. Then she was out the door with two enormous trays and not a backward glance.
"Shiribi."
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"YOU'VE BEEN HOLDING OUT ON ME! WHY DIDN'T YOU EVER TELL ME NINJA CAN COOK! YOU AND THE BOYS CAN MAKE DINNER BY YOURSELVES TOMORROW!"
OOOOO
Neji carefully studied the parchment in front of him. It was very important to decipher each line carefully. He shuddered to think of the disaster that awaited him if he made a single mistake. Sakura, as Tsunade's apprentice, would be much better suited to this mission. She studied poisons, antidotes, and herbs. The competent young woman knew the subtleties of chemicals. Even though he was known as the Genius of the Hyuuga Clan, his expertise lay in other disciplines.
With a slow exhalation, he tipped the mixture into the mixing bowl. He frowned as the dark brown merged unevenly with the yellow. He squinted at the next set of instructions, but he knew he had to get it right.
"Ahem." A little feminine cough interrupted his concentration, and Neji glared up at the intruder.
"What are you doing here?" she asked carefully.
He mumbled incoherently. Her elegant eyebrows rose in surprise. Neji never mumbled incoherently.
"Sorry, didn't catch that," she shot back, rocking smugly on her heels.
"I'm just making something."
"Oh? What for? Or rather, who is it for?"
"Just…someone..." he trailed off. "Go away, Hanabi-sama."
Hanabi innocently placed her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels. She made a zipping motion against her lips but didn't move to leave.
Neji sighed and continued his work. He worked diligently and tried to ignore the fact that his bratty little cousin was watching his every move. When he finally judged that his handiwork was fully mixed, he stood back with a sigh and went to turn on the oven.
Hanabi frowned worriedly. She'd meant to heckle her cousin into spilling the identity of his secret crush, but now…
"Neji-niisan, seriously, who are you making this for? Is it for your teammate, Lee? The one that keeps trying to talk you into letting him give you a piggyback ride as part of training? Are you trying to poison him?"
Neji gaped at her in bewilderment.
"Your sensei? That guy that's always making you do the team huddle? Seriously, though, there are much more efficient non-lethal poisons you could be using."
"It's…for the girl that I like," he admitted with a heated blush. He dropped his gaze and shifted uncomfortably.
Aw! He looks so sweet when he blushes! Hanabi thought for a moment. Then her sharp mind snapped her back to the matter at hand, or rather, the batter at hand.
"Wait, you want to give that to your girlfriend?"
Neji's blush deepened. "She's not my girlfriend." he murmured.
"If you feed her that, she's not even going to be breathing anymore. Just what are you trying to make?"
"I'm making chocolate-chip cookies," the Hyuuga prodigy returned defensively. "And they're fine!"
"Oh hell no!" Hanabi elbowed him out of the way and pulled out a large mixing bowl.
Her cousin frowned. "Hanabi-sama, I appreciate that you want to help, but I was doing just fine on my own."
Hanabi turned a baleful eye on him and lifted a small cardboard box and a measuring cup. "Neji-niisan, you put in a whole cup of baking soda."
"I followed the directions exactly."
"A whole cup of baking soda. Unless you're making a batch big enough to feed your girlfriend for the rest of her life, you are seriously going to make her sick."
"It's says 'one cup' right here!" he pointed out, showing her the line on the recipe.
"One teaspoon," Hanabi corrected.
"It doesn't say teaspoon."
"No, but it also doesn't say 'cup.'"
"It says 'cup' right above."
"That's because it's talking about the sugar."
"Well, how is anyone supposed to know it doesn't mean one cup," he huffed.
"It's a recipe from Chouji-san's mother, so it's not from a book. Besides, anyone who cooks knows not to put a whole cup of baking soda into anything, unless maybe you're trying to clean out the drain in your tub." Hanabi held up the small orange plastic teaspoon and the glass measuring cup side by side.
Neji blanched at the thought of how badly his cookies would have turned out.
"So," Hanabi continued, nonplussed, "you going to let me help you or not?"
"Yes, please," Neji nodded humbly.
'Ha ha!" Hanabi crowed. "Step back, genius, and let the Cookie Master show you how it's done!"
OOOOO
Eventually, after much assurance from Shino that Hinata was special and that the majority of shinobi couldn't actually slice up a roast with their bare hands, Kaoru relented and forgave her husband for the perceived slight.
Shino kept an eye on his fidgety teammate as she bustled in and out of the kitchen. She seemed nervous. He wondered if his Great Aunt had said anything to make her uncomfortable. He stepped behind her as she arranged a few bowls on the table. The rest of his family members were either in the kitchen or doing their own things.
"Hinata, is something bothering you?" He gently covered her shoulders with his hands and squeezed. It always seemed to work when his father used that move on his mother. He shushed the little voice that accused him of trying to find any excuse to touch his pretty teammate. As her teammate, it was only right for him to support and comfort her. That's what he told himself, anyway.
Hinata caught fire beneath him, her skin igniting and warming his fingertips even through her jacket. She said nothing and briefly felt her own body sway. His hands were so big, and they felt so strong. Vaguely, she tried to remember to breathe. He was so close…
Shino frowned in concentration. His thoughts briefly flashed back to the advice his brother had given him as they searched for the lost kitchen paraphernalia, one of the reasons they'd taken so long. His older brother was worried that the younger Aburame didn't know how to talk to girls. Generally, his brother advised complimenting them.
"Hinata, you look very nice today," he whispered softly.
Hinata whipped around in shock. Had her quiet teammate really said such a thing, or was she imagining things? She looked up into his face and swayed dangerously under his intense gaze. A tiny squeak escaped her lips.
Shino frowned. Hinata's face was terribly red and he leaned in a bit closer when he noticed her eyes were a bit glazed. Perhaps she was feeling unwell?
Hinata stared like a cornered doe. Still, taut, and thrumming with a strange energy, she watched as Shino's face neared hers.
"Perhaps you used too much chakra?" he wondered in a surprisingly husky whisper. His warm breath ghosted over her lips and Hinata fainted dead away.
OOOOO
Shino laid a cool wet cloth over Hinata's forehead and supported her in his arms. The family members that weren't cooking were enjoying the late afternoon by chatting in the gardens. Hinata lay propped against his side in the family room when his mother waddled in.
"Shino, what happened to Hinata?" she exclaimed worriedly. "Is she ill?"
"She'll be fine in a few minutes. She just fainted."
"I didn't know she had such a delicate constitution. I suppose she is very pale."
Shino shook his head. "Physically, Hinata is very strong. She just gets embarrassed easily. Sometimes when that happens, she faints. It's really nothing to worry about."
"Oh. What made her so embarrassed?"
Shino shrugged. He hadn't thought his little compliment would make her faint, but he should have known better. Hinata never received compliments at home, so surely a direct compliment on her appearance would take her by surprise. He silently thanked Shibiki. From now on, Shino resolved, he and Kiba would make sure to compliment Hinata often to help increase her self-confidence.
Author's Notes:
I really thought Shino might get the hint, but then he didn't.
Sorry to end it right there, but I wanted to post the chapter and it just kept getting longer and longer.
Heh heh. Yes, it was a bad pun.
