Chapter 16: Impact
"Are you sure you weren't just seeing things? I mean, you could've still been hung over." Ino noted, her gaze far more focused to reviewing over her quiz notes, if she really wanted to impress Mr. Takada, then she truly needed to ace this behavioral health exam coming up tomorrow to get his recommendation.
"I know what I saw!" Sakura retorted, slamming a fist down against the wood table until it shook. Her cheeks flared a bright red at the odd looks sent their way as she quickly lowered her voice back down to a whisper.
She should've waited until they were alone back at her or Ino's apartment, but news like this just couldn't be delayed!
Hinata could be in danger as this very moment and Ino here thought she was hallucinating!
"No need to get so loud forehead! Don't forget the library is meant for studying, not gossip." Ino teased, smirking at her embarrassment.
"Whatever pig, like you haven't changed the topic to discuss gossip with Hinata and me more than once!" She hissed.
Ino shrugged, humming thoughtfully as she finally shut her textbook to give Sakura her undivided attention.
"So, you're saying as you and Sasuke left Shino's party, which mind you was about like 3 weeks ago now, you saw a fox tail coming out of Naruto's ass or something and you haven't brought that to Hinata's consideration…because?"
"Because she won't believe me without proper proof! I'm sure Sasuke knows more than he wants to tell me too, but he refuses to give me a full answer." Sakura huffed, crossing her arms.
"It's none of your business Sakura." Sasuke states plainly, reading through a news article for his literature class.
His dark eyes remain annoyingly fixed on his laptop screen despite her staring. Sakura was painfully stubborn in a way he was beginning to hate and love, a drive in her expression to get the answers she wanted.
No matter how she would react to said answers.
"…You knew Naruto had those bizarre fox features; didn't you?" Sakura grumbles, pushing his laptop down to force their eyes to meet.
"What's wrong with being concerned about my friend? Is Hinata in danger by spending time around him?" She pursues.
Sasuke scoffs, moving his laptop out of her reach. "You ask too many questions, but she'll be fine I'll tell you that much."
Ino blinked, pursing her lips. Part of her wants to truly believe in Sakura's words, jade eyes sharp and unmoving as she spoke.
The other half believes the stress of upcoming midterms is starting to get to her as well.
Hinata after all has been very MIA since said party too.
And it feels strange to talk about Hinata and Naruto without their presence here, they have no chance to defend themselves from this one side of the story she's hearing.
"I don't know Sakura…what if it was just some type of kinky stuff and you just happened to run into the aftermath of it by accident? Hinata did say he was like a beast in the bedroom. Sasuke probably just felt uncomfortable telling you about it because he's came across it before being Naruto's old roommate after all." Ino reasoned.
Sakura wrinkled her nose, clearly not ready for the mental images again. "Yeah, I guess…but at their own friend's house; c'mon that doesn't sound like Hinata! I suppose they could be into that type of secretive bedroom antics, try not to get caught type of thing, but it still sounds tacky."
"You can't talk when you still haven't told Sasuke about Blossom." Ino retorted.
'And hopefully I'll never have to.' Sakura thought, nails curling and digging into the palms of her hands until tiny red crescent moons formed.
They weren't serious anyways, being a call girl at night and spending time with Sasuke in the day were two separate lives.
No more studying can be done though now that they've gone so far off-topic, the campus is quiet with morning classes still ongoing as they leave the library, the wind crackles through barren trees as light frost and snow from overnight wither into patches of damp grass and pavement.
"One thing I will agree with you on is that Hinata has been quite sick lately. That flu really is taking a toll on her, but at least she's been able to keep up with her classes for the most part." Ino mused.
Some bright white and yellow get well soon daisies from the flower shop would cheer her up.
Sakura nodded in agreement, the way it was looking Hinata would probably take another week off of work much to Tsunade's probable disappointment knowing Lilac's popularity with different callers.
Valentine's Day is going to be a prime opportunity for more money and gifts if she can get better.
"Hey, we should stop by the apartment after clinicals to check up on her in person. I know she's been responding to our texts and calls, but we can surprise her with the flowers and I'll bring her my homemade soup!" Sakura suggested.
"I thought we were trying to help her get better, not make things worse by poisoning her with your cooking." Ino joked, earning her a light shove.
"Oh, shut it! You can bring her food too by picking up her favorite sweets from the bakery along the way back from your family's shop."
Ino beamed, bumping her arm back affectionately.
"Sounds like a plan!"
-X-
'What?'
Hinata adjusted at the soapy utensils in her hands to keep them from dropping, stiffening at the streak of red slipping into the warm water at being nicked by the pointy end of one of the knives.
She turned to look at Naruto fully, swallowing at the tight numbness returning to her throat.
"Y-You think I'm pregnant?" She repeated.
Naruto nodded, scratching through his blonde locks at her nervous expression.
"I figured it was a surprise you had for in store for me and that I accidentally found out too early. I was waiting for you to tell me, though I began to realize you didn't even know."
Hinata gazed down to her still relatively flat stomach, nausea clenching at her again as new thoughts swirled before she woozily stepped back from the sink.
"B-But, I haven't even taken any tests to confirm it. How do you know?" She squeaked out.
And Naruto's eyes darkened then, fox ears rising up in alert. "I heard another heartbeat the morning after Shino's party, I'm sure of this."
He spoke in a low growl, clear protectiveness in his voice and it clicked then why his fox features had been far more pronounced since then.
"Even now, I can hear the frantic thumping of your heart in comparison to the softer one of the baby's." He noted, stepping closer to her as her breath hitched.
His kiss is slower and gentler than usual and she becomes pressed into him until she can feel the traces of his muscle underneath, his arousal…
She pushes him back carefully before his hands begin linger too long, tails wrapping around her legs stopping her from moving back too far.
"Can we buy some home pregnancy tests? You know, just so I have my own confirmation?" She asked, face burning as his fingers squeeze at her sides with the temptation to kiss her again.
Naruto shrugged, but nodded. Why not trust the instincts of his nose and ears?
Hinata treks out to buy 4 different pregnancy tests at convenience stores in and around the apartment, face burning more and more at every register with Naruto hovering nearby to growl at customers who send them leery grins.
At least the clerks at the register have the decency not to question them.
And now he sits waiting outside their shared bathroom, the clock ticking by endlessly into the silence of the room.
"Hinata, you okay in there?" Naruto voices outside the shut door.
No response.
His nails sharpen, itching and ready to pick and break down the lock. The tests were only supposed to take 10 minutes to give a clear cut marker and it was approaching 15 minutes now…
'Should I give her more privacy or let it wait out some more? I'm sure she's finished doing her business by now.'
"Hinata, give me an answer or I'm going to force my way in." He warns.
Another minute passes without hearing from her and he makes his decision, jabbing a nail into the lock until the familiar click rings out.
Hinata sits by the edge of the toilet, indigo hair framing her face as pale glassy eyes stare off into nowhere.
Beside her lay three of the pregnancy tests, two dark pink lines in perfect view for him to see on each one.
Positive.
"Are you okay?!" Naruto's voice snaps, bringing Hinata back as she whirls around to look at him.
Her face colors a dark red at her awkward state, shuffling to cross her legs shut together and adjust her skirt. He crouches down beside her, wiping at beads of sweat running across her forehead.
"I-I'm alright." She croaks out softly, biting her lip as her stomach twists again.
Naruto sniffs the air, crimson eyes narrowing.
'She's been crying.'
"No, you're not; please don't lie to me." He scowls, pulling her into his arms.
Hinata squirms before reluctantly giving in, breathing fast against his chest and he can smell the bile on her lips.
"N-Naruto, I…I'm scared! I'm sorry, I didn't…I mean I never thought this would happen so soon. We should've used better protection or I should've, well it's too late now." Hinata sputters and hiccups between cries as he clutches her closer.
His heart begins to sink, gritting his teeth to think over what to say.
"You don't want the baby?" He asks quietly after a while.
Hinata immediately glanced up at him, shaking her head frantically. "What? No!"
She wiped at tears blurring her pearl eyes, smiling weakly.
"Of course I want this baby, he or she represents the love between you and I." She explained.
Her smile soon waned though as she rubbed her stomach, gaze becoming faraway again.
"But…we're still so young Naruto. Barely 21 and the jobs we have at the moment will hardly be enough to care for a newborn/infant." She explained.
Her voice began to crack as she went on, nails scratching against the tiles.
"I'm worried too what father and Neji will say. Father wanted me to take up running the Hyuga Hotels and study business when I went to college, but I pushed that onto Neji instead to study medicine. They're already so wary of you knowing your fox qualities, adding in expenses for a baby, plus schoolwork, jobs, etc."
'You've disappointed me again Hinata. Having a child out of wedlock now?'
She imagined the emptiness to his tone, a bitter hollowness that she was letting him down again.
Naruto grinned in spite of her troubles, rubbing a hand through her hair. "It's true that those are things we will have to be concerned about."
He gently turned her head to press their foreheads together.
"Though, you're not in this alone. It takes two to make a baby and I'll be here with you every step of the way." He promised.
Hinata sniffed, nodding as she started to smile again.
"Thank you Naruto."
In spite of his confident behavior though, his mind was stormy with turmoil as well.
'Hinata's not showing yet. We can explain to Neji and Hiashi our plans for raising the baby before they think of castrating or killing me.'
First, they needed to come up with some plans though!
He needed to talk to Jiraiya and Tsunade again.
'Despite it being a call service and not being able to see an actual client's face, being a pregnant call-girl seems counterproductive. It's time to bring up some old favors I did for Granny to get Hinata actually working at the hospital or clinic.'
Yes, the wheels in his head were turning…
Hinata pats his arm to get his attention, trying to loosen away from his grip.
"What's wrong Hinata?" He coos at her struggling, smirking until she begins to rapidly point to the toilet.
Oh.
His ears pick up on knocking as he rubs Hinata's back, whispering he'll be right back as he heads for the front door.
A mix of pink and blonde hair are right by the peephole.
'Why are Sakura and Ino here?' He wonders, but then he looks down at himself.
Hmm, wouldn't be good for them to see these two orange fox fails swishing about.
He needs to relax.
"Maybe, they're not home. You've knocked three times already." He can hear Ino state.
'Yes, go with what Ino says for once!' He agrees, trying to take his mind off of Hinata to focus on other matters.
"No, we're getting to the bottom of this now! Besides, Naruto gets out of classes at 3:00 pm and his bike he uses around campus is parked below." Sakura replies.
Well damn, if his bike was going to cause him problems like this, he would have to start walking or taking that campus bus more often.
He clicks the door open grudgingly when he realizes they don't plan to leave, both girls turning to face him.
"Hey, what brings you guys by?" He asks, forcing on a grin.
Neither seem to notice it, peering around for Hinata.
"Is Hinata home by any chance? We brought her some get well soon gifts." Ino asks, nudging Sakura to stop her scrutinizing of Naruto up and down as she holds up a bouquet of colorful daisies.
Naruto nods, stepping aside to let the pair come in.
"She's in the bathroom and I was taking a nap, sorry it took a while to get to the door." He partially lies.
While Ino takes in the lavender and blue décor around the living room, Sakura continues to eye him carefully. No fox ears or tail in sight.
Maybe she really had been seeing things?
"Ah, we're sorry to stop by without giving prior notice. We weren't interrupting anything, were we?" She questions sheepishly, setting down the soup and box of cinnamon rolls on the kitchen counter.
Naruto shakes his head, fake smile broadening.
"Nope!"
-X-
"Where did they go?" Hinata asks Hanabi, searching the compound for Hiashi and Neji to no avail.
Her idea for surprising them by visiting the manor, midweek no less was a bust.
They had already left off for most likely more business meetings or events.
Warm afternoon air brushes across her face, the manor is strangely quiet for a weekday and it's rare not to see attendants moving to and fro to clean up dusty furniture or tend to overgrowing weeds sprouting back up in the garden.
Hanabi shrugs her shoulders in clear disinterest of their whereabouts, offering her a piece of candy she turns down.
Sweets too just haven't been tasting the same as of late.
The next 9 months will be far more difficult on her appetite if she can't get this constant nausea under proper control to find meals her stomach can find tolerable.
"I think I heard Neji say he was going to the saunas at the Millennium Hotel or something like that for stress relief. I don't know why Father goes with him though." She muses.
That is odd.
Father rarely found need to use any of the hotel's saunas, preferring the luxury bathhouses of the newer resorts in Konoha's downtown that could impress traveling business moguls or executives. Why use one of the older resorts he had built and created years ago?
"Never mind them though, how have things been with you and Naruto? Does he still do that fox thing where his ears pop out from touching you?!" Hanabi beamed, snickering as Hinata choked on her water.
At 16, Hanabi isn't as innocent as their father and Neji seem or would like to believe. Her auburn hair goes down past her shoulders now, tied back with a silky white ribbon gifted to her from one of the attendants back at Christmas. Curiosity leads her to ask rampant questions like this, face burning as light squeals of wonder escape when she gives in and indulges her with responses.
"You're the only one who gives me an honest answer to these questions. Father seems to think my 'hormones' and whatnot will get in the way if he tries to explain it to me." Hanabi snorts, rolling over on her side to watch the clouds drift by.
Her feet dangle off the edge of the steps, brushing against icy grass and she shivers delightfully before letting her toes dig into the wet earth and for a moment, all Hinata can picture is a younger version of her chubby cheeked sister playfully trailing after her around the manor. She'd stick out her tongue to mimic her in catching snowflakes then spin in layers of white with her until they both grew dizzy…
"Well, you know how father worries…you don't want to end up doing anything you might regret later on." Hinata advises.
Hanabi turns her attention back to her, lavender eyes sparkling with mirth.
"What, you mean sex?"
Hinata blushes, but gives a short nod. "I can't believe you're so blunt about it."
Hanabi shrugs, sitting up straight to brush away the leaves and dirt that have gathered between her toes. "It isn't like we haven't already discussed this topic in health class back in freshman year. Pregnancy would stand in the way of us reaching our goals in graduating, be proactive, and use protection or birth control pills yada yada yada…"
And anything Hinata wants to say becomes stuck in her throat.
'Hypocrite.' Her ugliest thoughts hiss.
Her tender breasts and 24 hour nausea remind her she's everything health class warns their young girls not to become.
"Well, health class is a mandatory requirement for all students for a reason. It isn't just pregnancy now in days to worry about with so many diseases and infections that can be spread through kissing and intimate contact." Hinata pointed out.
Hanabi scoffed, waving her off as she moved to stand and brush crumbs off her shirt.
"We both know that, people just don't seem to be able to discern when they need to keep such emotions in control and in their pants."
Hinata watched her disappear towards the kitchen, fisting a hand against the edges of her tan blouse.
'Right…'
"You okay, you seem a lot paler than normal?" Hanabi asks, jolting her from her thoughts as she offered another glass of water to her.
She nodded her head, feeling the slinking edge of queasiness building back, stinging at her throat.
"I'm alright, the flu has just been messing with my body." She lies.
A skeptical look passes over her features, but Hanabi says nothing as she walks by her to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her.
Her footsteps echo in the distance, most likely heading up to her room and it's only when she can no longer hear them does she expel everything up until her body shakes with nothing left.
Lying to her hurts the most.
-X-
"Treating me to free ramen? Okay, what do you need this time?" Jiraiya chuckles, splitting his chopsticks as he began to slurp up a few noodles.
Naruto huffed, crossing his arms in heavy-handed vexation that Jiraiya clearly wasn't falling for.
"I'm ashamed you think I called you out here in need of a favor of all things! Why, I can't spend time with my loving godparent out of the goodness of my heart?!"
Jiraiya sends him a bland look, lightly biting into a piece of pork after having soaked it in enough broth.
"Yeah, so…are you done bullshitting me now?" He mused.
A serious look came into Naruto's expression then as he nodded. This had to be something important, having barely gone into his second bowl when normally he would be on his fifth by now.
"Something happened with you and that little call-girl? Forgot what her name was now, some type of flower like mallow, iris…no it wasn't those, maybe poppy?" Jiraiya listed out.
"Lilac." Naruto interrupted, to which Jiraiya snapped his fingers.
"Yeah, that's the one! So, what's going on with you two? Still seeing each other?" He asked, hoping his somber mood wasn't due to a break up.
That woman was one of the few people who wasn't afraid of Naruto or believed him to be some type of monster in disguise.
A light tinge of red comes across Naruto's cheeks, eyes averting downward into his bowl.
"She's pregnant." He whispers, so softly with the noises of orders being called out and the bustle of steam and chatter he isn't sure if he heard him.
But, telling by Jiraiya's bugged out eyes; he has.
"What?!" He yells out, quickly calming as Naruto hisses for him to shut up.
He lowers his voice, carefully gauging Naruto's expression before speaking again. "What happened to all those condoms I've given you over the years?!"
"Old man, those were from high school!" Naruto retorts.
"Then why didn't you just buy some more?" He snapped back.
"…Because I wasn't thinking about it!"
Jiraiya sighed, shaking his head. Naruto definitely knows better than to risk in sexual behavior without some form of protection or safety measures. It was probably one of the first rules he had taught him in regards to the opposite sex and puberty.
Of course, Naruto had found all his Make-Out Paradise books too boring to read or analyze to gain any more insight.
"Is…Is she going to keep it?" He asks slowly.
Naruto nods and a more relaxed smile brightens his face. "Yes, it won't be easy though. That's why I called you out here, Granny owes you and me; right? I need her to pull some strings to get Hinata out of working at the call center."
Jiraiya beams lecherously at the thought, clapping his hands together eagerly. "Yup! She lost to me in at that one high stakes casino down the street from the call center last month! Still hasn't gotten around to paying me back, keeps saying to put it on my 'Tsunade debt'".
"Well, she isn't in debt to me for money, but she did say she 'owed me' for helping her move some boxes around her office back in my senior year of high school. So, call her up now. The sooner we get this done, the better!" Naruto explained.
Jiraiya shrugged, pulling out his phone and clicking to facetime. The phone beeps for a few seconds before Tsunade's grainy image comes onto the screen.
"Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?" She slurs, sitting her head up from her desk. In the background they can hear Shizune telling her to not drool on paperwork.
"Ah, Tsunade; its 12 noon not 12 midnight. Long night listening to the ladies take phone calls? Jiraiya muses.
She snorts, swirling with usual favorite golden colored cocktail. "What do you want?"
"So touchy! Do I need to talk in that dirty/erotic matter so many of those clients like in order to get you to relax?" He purred.
"…I'm going to hang up now." Tsunade grumbled.
"Wait, this stupid pervert didn't call you just to flirt! I need to ask you something regarding Hinata!" Naruto cried out, jabbing his way into view of the camera before the screen went black.
Tsunade eyed him curiously, arching a brow. "Huh? Oh, you mean Lilac. How is she doing? Sakura and Ino said she came down with the flu."
"Yeah, that wasn't the only thing that came down into her!" Jiraiya snickers from beside him, shutting up at Naruto's glare.
"Listen, Hinata can't keep being a call-girl. I know you still take shifts as a director at Konoha's mainland hospital from time to time, do you have any openings available or connections you can give her?" He spoke quickly.
Tsunade blinked, trying to comprehend him. "I've been looking for a while for her, Sakura, and Ino; but why can't she keep being a call-girl when she's one of my most popular requests?"
Naruto frowns silently, resisting the urge to smash Jiraiya's phone from hearing that. Beside him he can feel Jiraiya nudging him with a small grin to go on.
Tsunade can keep a secret he hopes, who would she tell when she's already such a private person?
"She's expecting."
-X-
'Alright, got the fruit, vegetables, fish, rice, milk, bread, eggs, ramen…what else are we missing?' Hinata wondered, crossing another item off the shopping list.
Naruto pushed at the cart idly from beside her, munching on the free sample of cookies that they had passed.
"Oh, we need more of the green tea and some spices too, right?" Naruto thought aloud, pointing to an assortment of boxes down the aisle.
He walked ahead to pick them up, glancing between two products before Hinata gestured to the one in his left hand.
"You need to start taking prenatal vitamins Hinata, your body is going to need more folic acid and iron as time goes on and as much as Naruto loves ramen, don't let him talk you into that being your primary go to food." Kurenai advised.
She chuckles as she stammers, face burning as she wiggled at her toes. "O-Oh, okay. I…I'm sorry; I should be consulting with an OB-GYN not a former teacher over things like this."
Kurenai waved her off, their gazes trail over to Mirai who was finally fast asleep in her lacy blue and white bassinet.
"She's starting to get too big for even that and the crib, I'll probably have to start shopping for a big girl bed soon enough. Ah, sometimes I wish she would stay tiny so I wouldn't have to worry about such things."
Hinata fidgets, glancing around the baby room once more and wondering just how much all this had cost. They had planned ahead and gotten coverage in the event of Asuma dying, but it couldn't replace having him here as she imagined for a moment his spectral figure watching over his daughter as she slept…
Comforting Kurenai when the stress becomes too overbearing.
"Do Kiba and Shino know yet?" She asks, changing the topic and Hinata clears her throat before murmuring out a small no.
There's a flash of understanding in her scarlet eyes then, without speaking she recognizes everything that's changed within their little group since they last talked.
"Kiba will come around in time if things with Tamaki are improving again as you said. I'm sure it isn't easy though when he's harbored those feelings for you since maybe junior year of high school. Always tried to impress you or make you laugh in some way." Kurenai hums nostalgically.
She only feels her cheeks growing warmer. 'He's loved me from since then?'
And she had been oblivious to it all.
But then again, Naruto was the first guy she looked at seriously…the first one she looked at in ways that went beyond friendship.
"Naruto, can we stop by the pharmacy section next?" Hinata calls out to him before he moves too far, stopping and allowing her to catch up for them to move at the same speed again.
Over on the next aisle Neji glances up from a seasoning package.
'Hinata and Naruto are out shopping too?'
He watches through the crowds as indigo and blonde hair bob and move across the seafood and meat areas towards the drugstore in the back.
Right, they're probably picking up Hinata's flu medicine and other small travel essentials for occasional headaches or upset stomachs.
'I can't get too close, I don't want to seem like I'm spying. I'm just making sure they're okay and that Naruto doesn't accidentally trigger a fox feature popping out.'
He's too far away to hear their conversation, buzz of phones and swishing of carts coming from every which way as he stays towards the far end of the lane observing them.
Naruto points to an object he can't see, saying something as Hinata shakes her head and reddens before she directs a finger to herself. Strangely, Naruto smirks; lightly using said finger to point at himself as well making her fluster and gently smack him. He laughs, nuzzling into her as they pick up a few things and walk on to another area.
What was that all about?
He waits until their far enough away to stroll over to said item, confusion only growing when he happens upon it.
'A baby bottle?'
-x-
I'll leave it to your imaginations to guess what it was Hinata and Naruto were talking about, but if anybody manages to figure it out (the answer could be quite obvious), I'll give them a shout-out next chapter lol!
I'm so excited, almost to 200 reviews and 300 favorites! Thank you all so much for your feedback, it means a lot to me to know my reader's thoughts.
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