Chapter 19: Insomnia
"Yes! Yes! Of course!"
Hinata practically leaps into Naruto's arms, effectively knocking the ring into the depths of their blankets.
"Ah, careful Hinata!" Naruto cautioned as she reached with one hand back towards the covers.
A smile traces her lips as she captures the glimmering object easily before it tumbles off the edge of the bed into further darkness. "I'm not made of glass."
And he relaxes as she delicately puts the ring on, admiring it in fading moonlight.
'I know.'
She makes it hard to forget after all, nudging him back whenever he coddles a bit too much over her now that the days leading up to Boruto's arrival close in.
Because he can sense it too, the sharper cramps and contractions vibrating down her lower back and to her stomach she tries to deny, returning bouts of nausea/headaches, and the more frequent trips to the bathroom…
He pulls her back so they're face to face again, tracing one hand against her cheek.
"You'll call me as soon as you know, right? I mean I might be in class or out getting some groceries, but I'll come running."
Hinata laughed, smiling at the image of Naruto scampering like a fox to get to wherever she went into labor.
Well, that probably wouldn't be funny to the people who freaked out at his behavior though…
"I promise Naruto." She hums when Naruto fixes her with a more serious look at her giggling.
Maybe Hinata wasn't as afraid of childbirth as he was.
He'd secretly been reading up on parenting books when Hinata had been sleeping or away at class, only having faint memories of his parents to go on and the examples Jiraiya had giving him on being a father that sounded completely useless. (Except for the ones that could be used in the bedroom!)
"I…I heard it hurts a whole bunch for hours on end." He mutters.
"Yeah, it might. This is my first time after all." Hinata whispers back, rubbing at her stomach when Boruto kicks again.
She bit her lip as another throbbing sensation pulsed and coiled at her gut, lying her head back against the pillows. Naruto follows suit and she feels the warmth of his chest and a tail come to wrap around her.
"Anyways, we should get some sleep. I know you have an exam in your history class that you can't miss and I'll still be mostly on bedrest per Tsunade's instructions." Hinata mused.
Naruto grunts, but nods into her neck.
'Going to be hard to concentrate.'
Morning comes too soon, alarm blaring at 7:00 am as sunlight sneaks in through the blinds.
Hinata's ears perk up at the noise, though her eyes stay closed for a moment as she shifts the blankets over herself at feeling the loss of Naruto's presence.
"Good luck." She croaks out drowsily just as he's about to leave. Blurry lilac eyes finally open to see messy blonde hair moving to and fro to collect his books and various other necessities for the day. Naruto turns back to face her, looping an arm around her figure slowly to help sit her up.
'You're making it difficult to want to leave…'
"Ramen isn't a breakfast food." Hinata lightly scolds him when he pulls away. He tastes of chicken broth, eggs, and just maybe a few vegetables thrown in to try and be healthier.
"You can make it one if you add the right ingredients!" He teases back.
Gross.
When he's truly gone her mind starts to drift. How will her internship at the hospital work after she gives birth? She didn't plan to take maternity leave for too long like most new mothers did; her schedule would need to weave in time for breast pumping though.
'I hope Dr. Otsutsuki or Toneri I guess is understanding enough of my situation. It didn't seem like it mattered to him that I was pregnant when we first met.'
His silver eyes always seemed to be boring into her though, looking for something she wasn't sure of.
She swallowed down the nauseous feeling bubbling back up to her throat, turning over to her side.
'I'm worrying myself over nothing.'
Stress.
It wouldn't be good for her or Boruto to dwell on negativities.
Her gaze shifted across the room towards a pile of still wrapped gifts of various sizes and a grin lighted her face once more.
A parting gift from the ladies at Jewel after Hours.
"I can't believe we're losing our Top 3 Jewels!" 'Dandelion' attempts to sound quietly upset, though her voice carries and anyone sitting close by can hear the subdued excitement in her voice to spread the gossip throughout the room.
The area is decorated with sparkly gold, purple, and pink banners and streamers to celebrate each girl's main color themes, popped liquor bottles and snickering filling the air.
Tenten sits across from her, frowning at the smugness of her voice as she slicked a hand through her greasy black hair. It wasn't like she was magically going to become popular with callers now that Sakura, Ino, and Hinata were leaving.
'Speaking of the power trio…'
This truly is their final night working.
And callers that know are taking advantage of the last hoorah, wild fantasies coming to life for just one hour and the right fee.
"No! You can't take me there! Move me to the bedroom at least!" 'Daisy' or Ino whines, keeping perfectly in character to any situation and she blushes as tunes out the rest of the conversation before it becomes far dirtier.
Sakura too is playing up faux sweetness and bashfulness, coyly egging her caller to add more chains and knots.
Whatever that means…
Only Hinata remained quiet, refusing to answer her work phone or the ones next to her despite their incessant ringing.
Opalescent eyes moved every few minutes towards the main clock ticking away, parties thrumming outside, or her very swollen belly.
Anywhere, but here.
Even during the early celebratory events of the night, she caught her barely paying attention to the exotic gifts and foods being passed her way.
'Why did she bother coming in?'
She scoots over to her when Sakura moves to grab herself a drink, jolting her from her thoughts with a tap to her shoulder.
"Hi, I don't know if we've truly ever talked in person but I'm Freesia or Tenten. I...I well you've helped me in the past with deferring some of your callers to me."
It's a weird introduction, but Hinata smiles in understanding.
"Tenten, you date Neji; no need to be so formal. I've even seen you around the college campus a few times."
Almost immediately she can feel her cheeks burn in a mix of surprise and embarrassment.
Of course she would've eventually recognized her outside of this call center, especially with her connection to her cousin.
The smile soon slips from her face though, crinkling her nose thoughtfully.
"Have you told him that I work…or I suppose after today that I worked here?"
She blinked before immediately shaking her head. "No way, that would be admitting I work here as well!"
Hinata laughed, nodding. "True, I'd hate to see his reaction to knowing all of this exists within the red light district."
The pair quieted, Hinata sighing softly at the commotion around them. The glow of flashing lights outside poured into the building, keeping them partially bathed in a mix of darkness and vibrant neon colors.
"Um, if I might ask…why did you come here tonight? It doesn't seem like you're in the mood to party and you can't exactly drink in your current state." Tenten asks.
Hinata shrugged, staring down at her stomach before beaming.
"I know it sounds strange, but it's through this call service I met Naruto…" She trailed off.
"I guess I just wanted to say goodbye to this life."
Tenten herself had gifted them with a set of baby monitors, not wanting to be typical with clothes, blankets, and diapers like everyone else had.
Another sharp contraction abruptly made her wince, shutting her eyes quickly as she waiting for the pain to cease.
'Honestly Boruto, what's making you so active all of a sudden?' Hinata wondered, gritting her teeth with a sigh.
Her gaze trailed down her stomach as she tried to sit up to turn and get comfortable in a different fashion, heartbeat jumping into her ears at a sudden liquid beginning to pool at her feet.
A bright red trail of blood.
-X-
"No, I'm not going to bump your grade up to an A, though good work Naruto!" Iruka exclaimed, handing back his paper to him. It was easy enough to grade his test quickly at his persuasion knowing it had been a relatively short multiple choice exam.
Despite his annoyances to other professors, he was going to miss having Naruto around as his teacher assistant.
"Aw come on, Iruka! Nobody would have to know!" Naruto whined, not that he wasn't happy with his B, it was better than the C's to D's he had been making beforehand.
Iruka only shook his head, gathering up the rest of his various folders and files while Naruto remained oddly still in his seat watching him. Class had already ended 10 minutes ago…
Weird.
"What's on your mind?" He finally asked.
Naruto opened his mouth before pausing, scratching the back of his head.
"Ah, err well have you heard I'm getting married? And going to be a father? Heh, we kind of didn't do things in the right order per say." He chuckled weakly.
'Kakashi told me. It would explain his more fox like behaviors as of late.' He realized, nodding along.
"I've heard it through the grapevine. You'll definitely have to step it up in your maturity and this new job of yours for your wife and child. People won't take you seriously if you continue to be thought of as a slack off." He reasoned.
Naruto nodded, coughing as he looked down at his still opened textbook. It was an older edition of the one the class had required, most pages a murky brown filled with scribbles and the occasional torn out page or two in some sections.
Iruka had been nice of enough to let him use the newest edition when it came time for studying for quizzes and exams.
Really, Iruka had been nice to him about a lot of things over the years he had known him…
"So…I know we're still in the early stages of planning the wedding, but would you like to come?" He asked.
Iruka looked perplexed for a second before grinning. "Huh? Sure! Why would I not want to come to your wedding?"
Naruto laughed, nervously tapping a hand against the wooden frame of the desk. "No, not like that! Ugh, I mean this is so hard to say, you know! I…I want you to come as my father!"
This is the first time he's probably stunned Iruka into silence without having caused some type of trouble.
"Me?" He whispers, pointing at himself in confusion.
'Not Jiraiya? Or Kakashi?'
Naruto nods, brightened up again. "I mean, only if you want to! It would mean a lot to me and Hinata too of course."
Iruka shook his head, tears brimming into his eyes. "But, why? I used…I used to be afraid of you, dislike you even. I only just recently came to understand those fox features you get. Wouldn't Jiraiya be a better option?"
Naruto snorted, waving off the suggestion. "Jiraiya's too old to be my dad! He's going as my grandpa/godparent and I know what you're thinking, Kakashi has been more like an advisor than really a father-figure."
"Though haven't I been like that as well?" Iruka argued.
"Yes, but you've given me advice day to day that's helped me survive and well…not feel as lonely I suppose. Before I met Hinata, I really only had the memories of my parents, Jiraiya when he wasn't off in another country, and you." He explained readily.
Iruka paused, contemplating his words before nodding. Truly the man standing before him now was no longer a child.
"It would be an honor."
And Naruto beamed, cerulean eyes lighting up as he gave a victory cheer, fox ears popping out excitedly that he quickly pushed back down at Iruka's pointing.
His phone buzzed amid his excited whooping, gazing at the caller ID.
'Sakura? That's weird.'
She had left him a message.
He unlocked his phone to retrieve it, curse escaping his lips as his eyes flickered to a scarlet red.
"I have to go." He hissed, grabbing his belongings in a blur and running out with an inhuman speed.
Iruka stared after him in concern, he hadn't even picked up his exam amid his hurrying.
'I hope nothing bad happened...'
Naruto meanwhile glanced down at the message again, paying no mind to the growing strange looks he was beginning to receive.
'Took Hinata to the hospital, meet us at the labor/delivery unit. I'll text a room when we get one.'
-X-
"What's that guy doing?!"
The woman hissed it in worry to her companion, pushing herself deeper into the chair's seat to avoid eye contact.
"I don't know…I've never seen that much hair on somebody's arms though. Must be some hormonal disorder or something." Her friend whispered back.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you stop sniffing the ground like that!" An officer stated as he approached the scene, though there was an edge of fear in his voice at hearing Naruto growl back at him in response.
Next to him were the remnants of the door he had come through, through the haze of gray dust he could make out scratch marks and holes deep enough to have reached to the knob on the other end.
'Is this guy human?' He worried at seeing scarlet red eyes search around while his nose continued moving up and down through the air.
Like an animal.
"I'm looking for my fiancée and her friend. I need directions to the labor/delivery area!" He griped, trying to pick up on Hinata's scent through the crowds.
All these stupid various cleaning products and smells of different passerby were throwing him off!
"Well, if you relax and get up off the floor I can help you with that. To start, the labor and delivery section is on the third floor next to-." The officer began.
And Naruto didn't even wait to hear the rest of his statement, taking off for the stairs.
"Your fiancé appears to be scaring visitors and patients alike." Tsunade grunted to Hinata as she and Sakura heard pounding coming from around the corner.
Indeed, seconds later they could hear Naruto yelling for her.
Before she could go over to whack him though, Hiashi beat him to it.
"Stop that! Have the lessons Neji and I taught you completely gone out the window?!" He snapped, smacking the back of his neck until he was forced to turn around and face him.
Naruto scowled for a moment at being attacked, relaxing at the sight of a familiar face despite the heavy glare Hiashi was giving him.
"Oh, what are you doing here Dad?"
Hiashi sent him a blank look, annoyance slipping into pure confusion. 'Why on Earth is he calling me that?!'
Evidently, Naruto must've proposed.
"My daughter is about to give birth, I took off work as soon I got the news." He explained once his voice returned.
"Ah, where is Hinata?! I'm not too late am, I?!" Naruto cried out, looking around again.
Sakura approached him, hushing him and pointing to Hinata who was walking up and down the hall.
"Would you be quiet?! Geez, she hasn't even gotten beyond the first stage of labor and you're here running around and disturbing everyone else!" She hissed.
'What, you're being loud now too!'
Though he wisely kept his mouth shut, walking over to join Hinata in her pacing.
"Shouldn't you be in bed?" He questioned worriedly, brushing away beads of sweat forming by her violet hair.
Hinata sent him a pale smile, shaking her head. "After I called Sakura and we got settled, Tsunade determined it was just the 'bloody show' or the mucus plug I was passing out. The contractions haven't been as bad since then so I'm trying to walk a bit just to take my mind off the pain."
Sakura walked up behind her, giving her an encouraging grin. "You're barely at 3 cm dilated Hinata, just remember those breathing exercises Ino and I taught you!"
'I have no idea what they're talking about.' Naruto mused, watching them discuss medical mumbo jumbo though was helping him calm down at least.
He took a seat by Hiashi in the waiting area, amused to see his gaze had turned towards the window. Summer was closing in with warmer mornings and humid nights, sunlight casting long shadows over the greenery of Konoha's neighboring forests and grasslands and afternoon rains leaving the pavements with sticky puddles.
But he loved this time of year nonetheless, school would be officially out soon.
"Are you nervous?" He chuckled, seeing him stiffen from his pattern of tapping his feet against the tile. His hands were tightly clamped together, looking a horrid ghostly white under the pale fluorescent lighting.
If anything, he expected Hiashi to deny it. This is the same man who keeps a stony expression despite all the jokes he cracks around him or the perverted remarks he makes to Hinata within his earshot.
And to his surprise, Naruto watches as Hiashi's perfectly stoic mask crumbles.
He turns to him halfway, small grin making the harshness in his pearl eyes melt away.
"I-I am. I can't wait to hold my grandson in my arms."
-X-
8 pounds and 2 ounces.
It's almost 1 o clock in the morning; 12:57 am to be exact.
He etches the numbers into his mind.
The tile has become stained a muddy red, sweat and blood intermingling together.
And his heart pulses to life again hearing Boruto…his son's first cry.
"What are you waiting for? Come around and hold him." Sakura's voice echoes to him through the fog and he steps forward hesitantly to Hinata's side.
"Is it okay? I don't…I mean I don't want to hurt him." Naruto responds, stumbling over his words and beneath her surgical mask he can tell Sakura is laughing at him.
'Ah, he really does look like me.'
Watery blue eyes opened and closed as his fingers traced over his messy golden hair. Instinctively, his head turns the moment he strokes his cheek in searching of the object to suck on.
"He even has your whiskers as well." Hinata points out, reaching to properly adjust the blue wool hat over his hair.
Exhaustion tugs back at her soon after finishing said task, leaning her head back against dampened pillows and sheets. Her vision blurs as she glances at the machinery next to her, beeping thrumming in her ears each time her vital signs are taken…
The pain was settling down, the last dose of morphine still running through her veins.
"You should sleep." A voice states somewhere from her left, distinctly soft and baritone.
She smiles, squeezing his hand back.
'Naruto.'
Afternoon sun wakes her hours later, only Hiashi and Naruto remaining in the room with her. Hiashi sits lopsided in his chair, rocking Boruto every few minutes when his crying picks up again. Dark bags sit under his eyes, sleep evading him overnight.
'I never thought I would see a sight like this.'
"Father, bring him to me." Hinata calls out to him softly to keep Boruto sleeping.
Hiashi nearly falls out of his seat at suddenly hearing her, Naruto instantly jolting awake too beside him to look around urgently.
Somehow, she holds in her laughter.
"Get some rest, Tsunade said I should be discharged later on today if everything remains stable with me and Boruto. Hanabi and Neji can even stop by at the apartment later." She suggests.
Hiashi wholeheartedly agrees.
"Okay well in the bag there's extra diapers, wipes, lotion, powders, bibs, formula, tissue,-"
"I think we can handle it." Hinata interrupts his tangent, gesturing for him to head home.
He gives one final look to her and the still sleeping Boruto before nodding.
It's raining that evening they take him home, the first of many endless nights to go…
"I thought now that the whole birthing process was over, we'd get some normalcy back." Naruto considered, waving a hand at the now empty space where Hinata's stomach used to protrude.
"Depends on how you define normal?" Hinata states back, arching a brow.
She hadn't missed the array of odd stares they had gotten upon leaving the hospital, particularly towards Naruto.
His fingers reach to tangle and rub at still sore spots along her nether regions and upwards, giggles becoming breathy moans as she leans into him.
"Where else are you aching? I bet I can guess." He teases by her ear, one hand moving to brush against her nipples until they hardened from his touch.
A crackle of thunder erupts again outside and with it, a loud screech.
And Naruto's up before she can even ask whose turn it is to check.
Boruto has thrown off his blankets when he arrives, tossing and wailing as a streak of lightning flashes by his window.
"Hey, it's okay. It's just 'nature's symphony' as your mom sometimes calls it." Naruto hummed, picking him up.
He doesn't smell or seem like he's hungry, the noise just must've startled him.
Raindrops patter the window as he pushes the light green curtains aside, rocking Boruto gently when he winches at the low rumble of thunder returning.
"See, nothing to be afraid of!" Naruto exclaims, holding up his tiny hand to the glass.
Boruto responds with a series of light babbling and drooling onto his hand.
He settles down into the rocking chair when he remains awake, glancing around at the various teddy bears and animal print themed walls their friends had suggested. In the end, the room was still tiny though. If Hinata was here in the room with him, there would barely be enough space to walk around.
They needed to buy a home.
'Guess we can do some house shopping after the wedding.'
The wedding.
He wondered what Hinata would like, the last time they had brought up ideas she had said a small garden wedding at the Hyuga estate would be nice.
'Anywhere is fine, we don't need to do anything fancy or big.' He recalled her saying.
He looked down at the warm bundle in his arms, Boruto yawning and curling into him.
He beamed, leaning his head back against the cushions thoughtfully. Boruto didn't have any noticeable fox like qualities besides his whiskers as of yet. People weren't going to make fun of him or be afraid like they had been with him…
'Things will be different this time.'
"Hinata and I are going to spoil you."
-X-
"Welcome back Ms. Hyuga. It's good to see you're doing well." Toneri stated as she approached the nurse's station.
The knot of nerves in her chest does little to settle at seeing his calm smile, metallic grey eyes lingering over her figure.
"Ah, thank you. I'm glad to be back." Hinata replied, averting her gaze to see the patients assigned to them for the day.
She can feel his stare still roaming over her even as she turns away to grab her clipboard and notes, maybe he thought her being out for these past two months had caused her to forget important details about the unit.
"Should we start on the west wing or east wing first?" She asks once she's looked over all the new admissions and discharges from overnight. It seemed like the unit was at max occupancy once more.
Toneri came over to her side, breathe fanning the side of her face making her step back in alarm.
"Look over the profiles of the most critical diagnoses, remember what I told you about prioritizing and we'll go from there." He stated, unaware of the sharp gaze she was giving him.
The first patient they visit has come in for a possible brain injury, emergency personnel determines his peripheral vision has become blurred with periods of slurred speech and confusion.
It could be temporary or permanent.
'I've seen textbook examples of this type of scenario plenty of times. You can do this.' Hinata reminds herself, steeling herself as she walked in after Toneri.
The room is dark save for a lone figure sitting by the faint glow of the lamp light, a woman that looks only a few years older than her lays on her side wrapped in a cocoon of thick white blankets.
"Hello, it's Dr. Otsutsuki I'm checking on Mr. Imai. From what I've been told he came in around 7 o clock last night after you found him unresponsive in your bedroom, correct?" Toneri asks, startling the woman out of her stupor.
She quickly reaches to turn on the main light, her husband blinking rapidly as he stared around in a daze. Hinata quietly introduces herself as well, forcing on a smile despite seeing tear stains on the woman's cheeks.
It doesn't seem like's she moved from that spot at all since they arrived, clumps of auburn hair falling around her eyes she hurriedly pushes out of the way.
"Yes, I wasn't sure what happened. I was just getting off my shift when I found him. I know he's been a bit stressed as of late at his own job having to take on new assignments without an increase in pay. It could be he wasn't taking his medicine or getting enough sleep…" She trailed off worriedly, biting her lip as she sniffed.
Toneri nodded, patting her back gently as she wiped at teardrops blurring her eyes.
He went through a basic medical and surgical history before preceding to the head to toe assessment, Mr. Imai not moving or speaking at all during the whole process, stare faraway as if none of them are even there.
"Do you think he'll get better? I mean, I know the nurses last night restarted his home medicine and he's getting fluids now." Mrs. Imai rambles, looking between the pair for an answer and Hinata swallows the lump in her throat at seeing hope shine into her once dull hazel orbs as her cheeks become ruddy with color again.
Toneri maintains his small grin. "We're going to do the best we can madam."
But as soon as they step outside the doors, pleasant grin slips into an annoyed scowl.
"I hate dealing with patients like him." He sneers.
And Hinata isn't sure if she heard him right.
"The man did that to himself doing drugs and alcohol. It's in his history, it's not his first time even being here on the unit." He scoffed, shaking his head.
"It could be different this time." Hinata responds, recalling the slowness of his heartbeat as she listened through her stethoscope, the quiet even breathing as his chest moved up and down.
"True, we won't take any chances anyhow. We'll go over his labs and see if we need to change the dosages of any of his medicines or add some new ones on." He answers distantly, smiling at a few visitors that passed them by to the elevators.
'Is this a mask he wears?' Hinata wonders.
"His wife is in denial and he refuses to get help from outside community services once he comes to. You'll learn soon enough who our 'frequent fliers' are on this unit." He muses, walking on to the next rooms assigned to them.
The rest of the morning drifts by, Toneri suggesting they break for lunch when it's already shortly after 12:30.
'She's so naïve.' Toneri muses with a grin, glancing at Hinata as she finished putting in her last progress notes. She wasn't as nervous as when they first started working together, but she was truly unaware of how annoying some of their patient population could be. Still being in school hadn't exposed her yet to that cruel reality…
It made her cute though.
Her cheeks would darken a shade of pink whenever he stepped too close to her or made an offhand compliment.
'She has a child.' Another part of his thoughts pointed out.
True, but she hadn't mentioned another man.
And looking down to her ring finger he saw nothing.
'Maybe…'
"Hinata, did you bring your lunch?" He asked.
Hinata shook her head. "I was in a rush this morning, I'm going to probably stop by the cafeteria and see what they have or-"
"Hey Hinata, are you ready to go?" A voice interrupts them and she looks up, eyes brightening as she stood and waved to the figure.
He follows her gaze, chest constricting.
"Naruto, I said you could wait for me downstairs." Hinata giggled.
"Nah, wanted to see what you were up to. I sent a text." He responds.
He reaches out to caress her hands, puzzlement coming into his expression as he looked over them. "Oi, where'd you put the ring?"
Hinata opened her white coat slightly then, pointing to her neckline. Toneri watched too, surprised to see a gleaming object dangling down.
'That's where it was.' He realized.
"I don't want it to get dirty so I wear it as a necklace, don't worry I didn't forget to leave home without it! I just need to finish typing up the rest of these notes then I'll be ready." Hinata exclaimed.
Toneri remains silent, gaze shifting between her and Naruto.
And he does a double take when he notices Naruto is staring at him, glint of red sparks in the blueness of his eyes for a fraction of a second and he frowns and looks away to his own computer.
'Strange.'
Hinata finishes and gets up to leave with him, he barely hears the rest of their conversation as he ponders over what he just saw.
'So that's her husband-to-be…'
-x-
Not the easiest of chapters to write, at first I wanted to cram too much into this chapter like the wedding and honeymoon but decided against it! I originally didn't want to add Toneri to this story (I use him a lot lol) but he kept coming to mind as the best character to use to be a two-faced persona. A kind side he shows to people, patients, and the community that respects and trusts him only to be hiding a dark, twisted side that holds his true feelings and desires. And once he finds out about Naruto's fox features…
I'm excited to hear your thoughts going forward! I appreciate all my readers enjoying the story as much I love writing it.
Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!