Think it needs a dash more 'Hinata'? ( ˚x˚ )''
Even newer chapter!
Even though it's short!
3 (︶ U ︶)/
ii iii ii iii ii
"Hmm.." Hinata frowned, scratching at the local spray-paint-vandal's latest work adorning Konoha Secondary's brick facade. If the school really was considering security cameras, the school newspaper club here wasn't exactly known for its accuracy, she wished they'd hurry up with it. Every time she painstakingly washed and scraped it off some jerk (or jerks) went and redid it. Their 'art'. Puh.
Even if it did look almost.. beautiful, it was still graffiti. And illegal. The bane of the principal's existence and therefore that of the janitors she commanded.
Hinata stared at it for a few minutes, admiring the landscape grudgingly. She couldn't help but wonder with exasperation why the artist so abhorred canvases, and, more reluctantly, how anyone could manage such intricate work in a single night.
Well. 'I hope you get caught.' Hinata muttered to herself as she dipped the customary rag into her bucket of cleaning solution and warm water. She wiped at the miniature crane first, staring at it accusingly when the paint didn't start coming off in small chips like it usually did.
"-yeah, it was awesome." Judging from the scraps of conversation drifting by, a group of boys were loitering around the corner.
Maybe suspended, Hinata thought irritably, scrubbing harder.
"-why not? You never come!"
No, expelled! Judging by the unusually shiny quality of the art, the vandal had thought to top this one with a coat of water-proof varnish. Honestly, where does this guy find the time?
Hinata shook herself. "Ugh! That's it." She squinted at the graceful little elm trees lined up behind the dark puddle of a lake. "Just you wait.." This matter could no longer be left to chance, she decided, checking out the bushes a short distance away for a place to hide a webcam.
"That's cold Sasuke! I'm freezing over here-" Peals of laughter, the sound of teasing.
Hinata had just chosen a likely looking branch when she froze with the shocking realization that she hadn't recognized Naruto's voice. She turned back to the wall, smiled blankly as she strained her ears trying to catch the end of their conversation.
"Eh? What do you mean?" Her crush's voice asked, sounding as energetic as ever. He must be with his friends.
Hinata blushed, suddenly feeling nervous and out of place even knowing they couldn't see her. She worried that she smelled like hydrochloric acid from scraping gum off the gym floor before remembering that she was still dressed as her male-alter ego.
Oh. Right. I'm Hiro now. Hiro. The name she'd seen on the side of a transport truck and decided to adopt, having already had the brilliant-if-she-did-say-so-herself idea to hide her identity while working as a minimum-wage janitor.
She suspected that Hiashi had called in the unsolicited favour that got her the job in order to shame her into returning home but this way she didn't even feel embarrassed. Not when she was revarnishing the fence, not when she was sweeping the main steps, nor mopping the hallways or cutting the grass. For some reason, being a boy took away all of the inhibitions that made her so meek at Saint Benedict's.
It had been a manga that gave her the idea, several actually, and after much pleading and cajoling Hanabi had finally agreed to taking the bus out of town to buy her clothes from the men's section of Mizu Outfitters. (The few times Hinata had seen the other janitor, a kindly Mexican lady who spoke little English, the woman had been wearing a smart work smock with her name and 'Konoha Secondary' printed on the breast in swirly letters but apparently no one had thought to get Hinata one.) The ordinary pants and collared shirts (Hanabi later complained that Hinata had some very similar clothes already in her closet) along with a pair of extra-dark sunglasses and the gangsta' cap she found at the beach completed her 'clever' disguise.
Hinata wasn't sure whether even the person who'd hired knew she was a girl. The woman had seemed rather distracted at the time and hadn't asked Hinata to fill out any forms with a gender box to check, just one that said she promised not to sue them should she get hurt.
Maybe I should get myself a fake moustache, Hinata grinned to herself.
"Ha-ha, you're s-o funny. And you!- how can you side with him?" More laughter.
Come to think of it, she still had no idea what Naruto and the others were talking about, seeing as she could only hear the blond's side of it. Sweet, dear Naruto of the unreasonably loud voice.
Guess I better get closer. Still grinning, 'Hiro' casually approached the boys, twirling the wet rag around in her fingers, and settled against the wall nearest them. A boy with spikey brown hair held back with an elastic was lying on the grass with his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. Naruto was sitting up, gesticulating wildly at a handsome boy with black hair. A fourth boy with messy brown hair was currently trying to make the spikey haired one sneeze with a plant stalk.
"Alright, fine! I'll-" Naruto faltered but his expression hardened into one of determination and he continued. "I'll even pay for you!"
So cute!
The black haired boy scoffed. "Like that would make me want to come. I told you, I'm busy."
"You can take one night off from studying!"
"It's not studying, dobe. I'm meeting up with a friend."
"Who?" Naruto demanded and Hinata got the feeling that he had asked this question before.
"Someone you don't know."
"Meet your girlfriend some other time." Kiba said dismissively, earning an amused look from the dark haired boy. "Jesus Christ, Sasuke, just go. It's his birthday for Chrissake." A short pause. "And stop using words we don't understand."
"Kiba!" Naruto looked as scandalized as Hinata felt. Naruto's birthday? She hadn't even gotten him a card! "You said you were gonna quit swearing so much!"
"Oh right- sorry." Kiba grinned wolfishly at his friend before asking in a more serious tone, "Uhh.. do any of you know that guy?"
Hinata started to scan the horizon for the newcomer before realizing it was herself. Now all four of them had turned to look at her curiously. Apparently she hadn't thought this whole 'getting closer' thing through very well.
"Oh, hi." Naruto greeted her cluelessly.
Oh god kill me nowghraaghbludfhsjhj
Wait.
Hinata's blush stopped before it had even began. Hiro. She lazily raised a hand in greeting. "Nice of you to finally notice." She was surprised to feel a confident smirk on her face. She had never approached a student before so hadn't been sure what to expect, but it certainly wouldn't have been this.
This complete absence of self-consciousness.
"Yeah? Wha'do you want?" Kiba shot back and Hinata almost giggled at the picture of him sizing her up.
"Read the sign kid: 'Keep Off the Grass'." Hinata replied with the first thing that came to mind. "This is your first warning."
Kiba looked at the others incredulously but they looked equally confused, perhaps partly because the newcomer looked to be the same age as them but was adressing them as children.
"Over there." 'Hiro' pointed out helpfully to a small plaque attached to the wall, overgrown with ivy, proclaiming the use of pesticides and indeed advising students to 'keep off the grass'.
Kiba started to reply but Sasuke cut him off. "Who're you, anyway?"
Kiba couldn't help himself. "You can't be serious- everyone uses the grass!" Sasuke shot him a look of annoyance.
Hiro only said, "New Janitor. And like I said, keep off my grass." before turning coolly and strolling away back around the corner to get some stronger detergent.
ii
A couple of girls stopped talking mid-conversation when they saw Hinata enter the library that afternoon. After a quiet minute or so they started up again in whispers and hushed giggles.
Hinata kept her face neutral but felt a flash of anger. She recognized them from St. Benedict's and they weren't even part of Sakura's crew. News travels awfully fast, doesn't it? Hinata asked herself dully as she scanned the rows of books for an interesting title.
But even if it had come from the gossip queen Sakura, Hinata had to wonder how many people actually believed the rumour that she was now prostitute.
Well whatever. Hinata selected a hardcover novellette at random and nonchalently made her way to her favourite corner to start reading. They could believe what they wanted.
She was still riding a slight high from her earlier confidence in actually talking to Naruto and his friends. True, it hadn't been much of a conversation, but it was something she never would have thought herself capable of.
Naruto had seen her! Disguised as a boy or no, Naruto had acknowledged her presence!
I'll get him something on the way home- no! I'll make him something. Better late than never! ha ha... She smiled into her hands giddily. All she'd ever done was admire him from afar but now today-
"Do you mind?" A deep male voice asked in a monotone, making Hinata jump with surprise. There was no one else at the multi-person desk and she concluded that he must have been talking to her, though she didn't quite understand.
"U-um.." She could make out brilliant crimson locks cascading past a delicate pale profile from beneath her lowered eyelashes. "What.." Hinata had started to ask 'Mind what?' when she came to the realization that the boy was probably asking to sit down. "Oh! Um-"
He spoke politely but a lack of intonation made his voice eerily inhuman. "That book. Can I have it back?"
"Huh?" Hinata's cheeks flushed at her misunderstanding and because the redhead was making her more nervous than usual. She still felt confused until she had the more accurate realization that he wanted the thick textbook she'd been using to prop up her novel and she said again, "Oh!", before holding it out without looking at him.
"Thank you." Hinata stared at the next page until his footsteps had died away and she was able to concentrate.
Yeah, I'm s-o confident..
ii
"Shh!" Naruto flapped his hands, gesturing for Kiba to stop making so much noise. "Who told you to bring chips?" He whispered, turning back to the semi-deserted street illuminated only by the yellowish-orange light of a single dying lamppost. Naruto had walked through this area before but never at night. It felt kind of shady.
Kiba swallowed. "Choji offered-"
"Shh!" Naruto clapped a hand over his friend's mouth as a tall boy with dark hair came into view.
Sasuke was walking alone, presumably to meet this 'friend' he refused to introduce them to. Naruto started to tell Kiba that whoever it was probably lived around here, but clapped a second hand to his own mouth.
Sasuke was some distance away and, thankfully, didn't seem to have heard either of the boys watching him from the bushes. Kiba rolled his eyes at the sky.
The two of them had just returned from Naruto's birthday celebration at Ichiraku's (bottomless ramen on everyone but him) where the blond had drawn Kiba away from the crowd to tell him about this little recon mission he'd been planning since Sasuke'd left for prep school.
Naruto, keeping a finger to his lips, slowly rose to follow the Uchiha's progress down the street. It was a good thing there were no houses on this side- the grass of the field successfully muffled the sound of their footsteps.
All of a sudden, Sasuke stopped and stood in the middle of the street. He looked in their direction and for a moment Naruto thought for sure that they'd been caught, but it wasn't long before another person appeared and the two started walking again.
So Sasuke had just been waiting. Huh. Naruto breathed a quiet sigh of relief before his curiosity struck and he leaned forward through the leaves obscuring his view to get a better look at his friend's companion.
It was a boy to Naruto's surprise and Kiba's shock. Hair that was either dark red or light brown and a slim figure hidden under somewhat baggy clothes.
Huh. Kiba looked to be deeply confused and Naruto felt the same.
Why didn't Sasuke feel he could introduce them to this guy? Was he.. ashamed of them? Naruto looked back at Kiba, this time more closely. Neither of them had bothered to change out of their uniforms and they did look a little worn.
Kiba raised an eyebrow at him and the two of them crept away in the opposite direction to where Sasuke and the redhead were headed.
"What are you grinning for?" Kiba had gotten over being wrong about Sasuke meeting a girlfriend but now Naruto was acting weird.
"Tomorrow we're gonna find him and we're gonna become friends!"
To Kiba's blank, unenthused expression he explained, "See, if we get to know him first, Sasuke won't have any reason not to introduce us."
Kiba still didn't look interested but couldn't help but ask, "Uh- wouldn't he already know who we are if we got to know him? Why would Sasuke need to introduce us again?"
"Yeah! See? We become friends and Sasuke sees there was no reason to worry."
"Worry about what?"
"Meet me here tomorrow at noon!"
"Naruto-"
"Bye!"
"Wait, you're just going to leave me here?" Kiba yelled indignantly. Naruto waved cheerfully from where he was running away down the street, only calling back 'noon!' as a reminder.
"I have basketball practice on Saturdays!"
ii
"Ah~" Hinata sighed, closing her eyes in pleasure.
Hanabi cocked an eyebrow from where she was wrapping food across the kitchen table. "Whoa now, don't get creepy on me. You look like you're cumming or something."
Hinata jumped in embarrassment but laughed as she told her sister off. Her expression turned dreamy as she returned her gaze to the mini raspberry cheesecake cradled in her arms. "Mm- but I think this might be the most delicious thing you've ever made."
Hanabi shook her head grimly. "I dont know how you stay so skinny when all you ever eat is sugar."
"Hey, that's not true." Hinata smiled, licking a small portion of whipped topping from her dessert.
"Pfft." Hanabi opened her mouth to tease the other girl some more but changed her tone when she heard the opening music of their favourite drama. "Oh shi- hurry up, hurry up!" Hanabi told herself, shoving a panful of mini-cheesecakes into the fridge before launching herself onto the couch. "C'mon!" She laughed. "It's starting!"
Hinata cheerfully folded herself beside her sister to the tune of 'Brown Eyes' by Destiny's Child, playfully changing the colour to cerulean blue in her head.
The next hour passed in excited silence puntuated with the occasional sardonic commment from Hanabi. Both of them were in tears by the end of the episode as the heroine was diagnosed with an incurable cancer and given 6 months to live.
"Hey.." Hanabi sniffed, staring at the muted commercials now playing across the screen of their modest tv. "Have you ever thought, 'What if I knew I was going to die tomorrow?', 'What would I do?'"
"Hanabi?" Hinata said softly, balling up a tissue to throw out. Hanabi's voice sounded disconnected, as if she were speaking from some great distance, and it scared her.
"Say, hypothetically, you knew- knew that tomorrow was D-day. How would you feel?" The younger Hyuuga girl continued to stare at the screen, eyes not following the toothpaste being advertised. "I don't think I would feel anything."
Hanabi turned to face her sister matter-of-factly. "I'm living exactly the way I want to- what's there to regret or change?"
For a moment the two of them just looked at each other. Then in one smooth motion Hinata half rose to wrap her arms tightly around Hanabi, sobbing as she had at the look on the doctor's face as he gave the drama lead her prognosis.
Hanabi looked rather startled but Hinata wouldn't let her pull away, even when she vocally protested and promised to short sheet the other's bed.
I'm so glad. Hinata hugged her sister tighter. I'm so glad...
It wasn't until later that night, alone in her bed, that Hinata really considered Hanabi's question. If she had only a short time to live, what would she change?
And knew immediately that her answer would be different from Hanabi's.
ii iii ii iii ii
Review, if you please. ~(^ A ^)~
Thanks, I'll probably keep writing Naruto ff here and there, though I probably won't have that much time since I'll be starting University in the fall. (ºuº)
More romance in the next chapter I should hope. ~(*٨*)~ As for what pairings... isn't it more fun if it's a surprise? Hina.. ;)