A/N: What you've all been waiting for…hopefully. I'm sorry for the wait. Again. I am SO going to run out of cookie batter stuff soon.
And I passed 400 reviews! OMG! Thank you! –bows rapidly- Arigato gozaimasu, arigato gozaimasu…-gets hit over the head with a frying pan-
G'night…-dies-
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Day 27
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Tenten could never remember being so angry in her entire life.
Well, alright, so she had been once or twice with her mother when Aki had turned off the TV in the middle of an important program or whatever. And maybe Ino had bugged her more when she first moved into the dorm.
But the Weapons Mistress could feel herself getting worked up over what her brain was insistently trying to convince her was nothing. Really, Neji was a free man; he could do whatever he liked with his love life, (nonexistent as it was). Tenten really did not give a…well, maybe she did care a little, considering that she was ready to murder Neji's dancing partner.
The brown-haired girl strode confidently towards the whirling couple, ramming into several other angry pairs of dancers. Neji saw her a split second before Tenten was upon them.
"Hey, Neji-kun!" she said enthusiastically. "Mind if I cut in?"
Tenten snuck a peek at the girl and was dismayed to find her to be a sweet-looking person with wide, sincere eyes and a very pretty face. She looked a bit hurt at Tenten's less-than-tactful intrusion.
Neji raised his eyebrows at Tenten. He didn't bother to answer her question. "This is my childhood friend, Matsuri. Matsuri, this is my…psychologist, Tenten."
"Nice to meet you," Matsuri said politely, her eyes darting timidly back and forth between Neji and Tenten. "Um…excuse me…" She practically bowed her way off of the dance floor. Her timid nature strongly reminded Tenten of Hinata. The girl couldn't have been older than thirteen.
Tenten watched her leave, and had practically forgotten that she had asked Neji to dance until he gently turned her around and took her hand. His eyebrows were raised, and his lips were twitching at her in a highly amused manner. Tenten scowled at him from behind her mask.
"What, swallowed a canary, fat cat?" she snapped.
Neji grunted. "Hn."
Tenten sighed. "Fine, fine, I'm sorry. I was rude."
"No, on the contrary, you were highly amusing to watch. I am sure that you will like Matsuri once you get to know her." Neji gave her a very knowing smile that suggested more than he was saying. "Unless you are jealous of her, of course. Then, I wouldn't dream of forcing your friendship."
Tenten sputtered. "Jealous? Me? In your dreams, Neji."
Neji just kept smiling till Tenten shoved him playfully in the shoulder. "Oh, come on, she's like two years younger than us. And we're teenagers…two years is like a century."
Neji shrugged. "I have known her for a very long time. Our parents were friends."
"So how come you never told me about her?"
"It never came up."
Typical Neji response. Tenten sighed. Her toes felt like they were about to fall off and the soles of her feet were most assuredly blistering. Dancing in fancy shoes was so not in her department. Her nose was beginning to sweat under the mask.
The dance ended, and Neji walked off the dance floor. Tenten followed him on instinct. The Hyuuga didn't seem to notice, but Sakura smirked and made a face at Tenten as they went towards the punch table together. When Tenten turned to get a cup of punch and then turned back around to see if Sakura was still there, she had vanished along with the Uchiha.
O0O
Meanwhile, Hinata had returned from her dance(s) with Naruto.
Her judgment wasn't at the best right then; the blonde had a tendency to make her stagger and become confused. Luckily, Ino had anticipated this, and grinning, dragged her raven-haired friend out of the line of dancing people that might have crushed her underfoot. Clearly the girl was on cloud nine.
"Hinata, you should drink something," Ino suggested, although Hinata didn't seemed to hear the suggestion. Rolling her eyes, the blue-eyed girl took her companion over to a bench and sat down.
"Are you sober enough to still talk with your dad?"
At this, Hinata instantly paled. "I…t-think so," she murmured.
"We could wait. It is a ball tonight. You should enjoy yourself."
Hinata shook her head. "I would b-become too scared to try again if I w-waited."
Ino sighed. "Okay, well, since you insist…" She lifted her pointer finger straight ahead. "…there's the man in question." Sure enough, from where they were sitting, they were at the perfect angle to spot Hyuuga Hiashi standing behind a wooden pole that supported the roof. He was sticking close to the building as if he were seeking shade, although there was no sun to hide from.
A violent shudder went through Hinata's body, and for a moment, Ino panicked that her friend might have fainted before the heiress, just as quickly, recovered herself. Still shaking, she stood up with a resolute air and marched forwards. Ino made a move to follow her, but Hinata shook her head at her friend, her white eyes suddenly sure. "Thank you, Ino-san…but I think I need to f-face my father alone."
Ino hesitated, and then nodded, sitting abruptly back down on the bench. She trusted Hinata's judgment now.
Hinata had never felt so scared in her life, but at the same time, something deep inside of her urged her to keep walking forward. Although her knees buckled, she bit her lip and made it all the way to the pole where her father was standing. He had been staring out at the dancing partygoers. Hiashi made no movement to suggest that he knew his daughter had just come to stand beside him.
After an agonizing moment of silence, Hinata softly cleared her throat. "Otou-sama?"
Slowly, Hiashi turned around to face his eldest daughter. His white eyes were cold and unreadable. "Yes, Hinata?"
"I…wanted to speak to you," Hinata said slowly, carefully making sure that she didn't stutter on any word. Her eyes had been downcast, but she forced herself to look her father in the eyes. Seemingly as surprised as Hinata was at her sudden boldness, Hiashi nodded his head.
"It's about Neji-nii-san and I," Hinata murmured, so quietly as to be inaudible. "I've been thinking…about our marriage."
Hiashi's lips pressed into a thin line, but he made no move to interrupt.
"I…don't think that it's the best idea for me," Hinata said, in an even quieter voice. It was a miracle that Hiashi heard her.
"Best idea?" he repeated slowly, as if chewing the words. Thoughtfully, he clasped his hands behind his back and began to slowly pace. Hinata felt her fingers trembling and quickly clasped them together tightly in front of her. "Hinata, I know that this is what is best for both you and the clan. I have spent longer thinking on this matter than you ever have. You and Neji will marry, and that is the final say on the matter."
Hinata bit her lip, feeling her eyes start to ache. I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry.
"But, f-father…" she stammered. "I don't love Neji-nii-san, and he doesn't l-love me either. I only ever thought of him as a r-respected cousin."
"This marriage never was about love, Hinata."
"I…I know that, father. But-"
"But what? You must put your duty to the clan before your personal needs, Hinata." Hiashi's voice was hard.
"Father, I was never f-fit to take your place as head of the c-clan," Hinata said softly, raising her head again to stare at her father in the face. "You know that Hanabi or N-Neji-nii-san would both make a b-better leader. I have never been able to s-sacrifice enough or help this clan enough f-for you, and I will n-never be good enough. You know that, f-father, and yet—"
"Hinata."
Horrified, Hinata put her hands over her mouth, realizing what she had just said. To her disappointment, she realized that her face was wet. She hadn't been able to not cry after all.
"Hinata…is there somebody else that you prefer over your cousin?" Hiashi finally spoke.
Even through the tears, Hinata could feel the hot blush that immediately erupted into her cheeks and neck, because there was a face with two cerulean eyes and a mop of bright yellow hair smiling at her in her mind, and he was smiling for her, and it was just too impossible…but she felt the word on her lips and let it out. "Y-Yes, father. There is somebody that I prefer."
There was a long, awkward silence. Hinata heard her father let out a long sigh, not unlike Neji's lung-shattering sighs that Tenten could not compete with. "Aah, Hinata, but you are still young," he said. "Perhaps time will be the best cure for all of this."
Hinata blinked, hardly believing what she was hearing.
"Hinata, you are my daughter. I only want what is best for you," Hiashi said in a surprisingly tender voice. Hinata bowed her head. "So…if you are truly unhappy as things stand, then I will try my best to change them."
Her white eyes widening, Hinata felt every limb in her body shake. "You mean…?"
Hiashi nodded slowly. "I will reconsider your marriage to Neji."
Hinata felt a smile breaking across her face through the tears, and before she could stop herself, she ran forward and tightly embraced her father, something that she could never remember doing. After a few seconds, he tentatively hugged her back.
O0O
"Ino, what are you sitting here for?"
The blonde scowled. "Shikamaru, you kept me waiting for a loooonnnngg time."
Her friend sighed, handing her a plate with two onigiri on it. "Troublesome woman. What were you waiting for me for?" Ino shrugged.
"Nobody else has asked me to dance yet."
"…well, I'm not going to."
"I figured as much." Ino picked up one of the sticky rice balls and took a tiny little bite out of it to test it out, her entire face lighting up. "My God, Shika, this stuff is awesome!"
Shikamaru raised his eyebrows. "Really? I thought you didn't like finger food."
"I've made an exception," Ino declared. "I am serious, this onigiri is like the best food that I have ever tasted. In my life, Shika, in my LIFE!" The blonde went on to stuff the two rice balls into her mouth in one bite, swallowing them whole. She grinned cheekily at Shikamaru, who was looking faint.
"…you scare me," he said finally. "Have you had anything to drink?"
"Nope," Ino giggled. "And I'm high anyways. Seriously, somebody really needs to ask me to dance." Shikamaru glanced around their immediate surroundings for a guy that was unaccompanied by anybody in vain. Finally, he gave up the search and held out his hand to Ino with a melancholy sigh of defeat.
"Mendokusai," he muttered, dragging a positively beaming Ino into the middle of the dance floor. "You're going to have to pay me money for this later." Ino grinned.
"Fine by me."
O0O
Although the party was still in full swing, Sakura and Sasuke had wandered off outside of the Compound boundaries.
The moon was out, shining like a giant lantern in the middle of the sky, washing everything in a sort of gray-white hue. Even the grass seemed like it was tipped in silver. The two attracted quite a few stares from people who were walking their dogs at the late hour: after all, they were still in their masquerade clothes.
Despite the fact that the two were obviously dressed as a couple, it was clear from the careful two-foot distance that they kept between them while walking and the I-will-not-hold-your-hand attitude that they weren't actually a couple. Sakura tipped her top hat to quite a few passerby, who returned her greeting with a weirded-out expression. Sasuke successfully hid his smirk when this happened.
At length, they reached a block of sidewalk where the only company they had were the little pools of light from lampposts. The street was utterly and completely deserted. Sakura paused on the edge of the sidewalk while Sasuke started to cross the street. "Which way should we go?" she asked. He paused and turned around to look at her.
"Where do you want to go?" he countered. Sakura shrugged.
"Whereever."
"Then it really doesn't matter which road we take," Sasuke smirked. Sakura rolled her eyes and walked out into the middle of the street with him without bothering to look left and right first. Sasuke raised his eyebrows.
"You cross without looking?"
"Wow, I'm such a daredevil," Sakura rolled her eyes again.
"Suicidal, more likely."
"Oh, you're such a sweetie, Sasuke-kun."
His smirk grew wider, his black eyes staring at her face. Without hesitation, he reached out and took her hand in his. Then, he turned, and continued walking down the street. It wasn't the usual oh-my-god-we're-holding-hands-now scenario: Sakura squeezed his fingers and followed him, and that was that. Neither was nervous, or blushing, or sweating profusely.
It was like it was a natural thing to do: Death and his angel, walking down the street hand in hand.
A/N: Please review!! xD