Hey, a quick question...why are tennis balls fuzzy?
Hello, there, this is AProcrastinatingWriter saying 'welcome to chapter two.' Good job making it this far; I'm sure you've had a difficult time. This one's much better written than the first chapter, I promise.
Alright, not much else to say besides that, except that I hope whoever's reading this enjoys. Now I'll just disclaim everything again and you can get to reading.
DISCLAIMER: Naruto still does not belong to me. Ownership of it has not changed since last chapter. You still won't get much money if you sue me. I like cereal. I'm feeling apathetic right now.
...my word, I sound grumpy. Um, let me think...peanut butter chocolate cups and pretty girls. There, all better! Have a nice read!
If dead ends were dynamite, Naruto guessed he could blow up the planet Mars by now.
Monday was nothing but hard work as Naruto put all of his effort into finding a solution to their problem. Sakura checked in occasionally, making sure he didn't work himself to death. And, much to his stomach's relief, often bringing ramen with her.
Tuesday and Wednesday passed much the same. Naruto did research into every loophole he could think of. He studied every type of jutsu that he thought might be useful and attempted to wrap his mind around every conceivable angle of metaphorical and literal attack.
It was early on Thursday morning when, going against everything he usually stood for, Naruto gave up. Well, not really. He'd have been someone besides Naruto if he actually had given up. Still, he was forced to admit to himself that he really had no idea where to go from here. He lay back in his chair and closed his eyes. He hadn't gotten any sleep in the past few days and was dead tired, but then again he had been more tired before for much less important things. Surely he could stay awake, but he just needed to rest his eyes a little right now...
Oh, who the heck was he kidding?
A knock came at the door a few minutes later. Naruto sat up and woke up at the same time, yawned, and then murmured "Come in..."
The door opened to reveal Neji Hyuuga. "Lord Hokage," he said, entering. He closed the door, then scanned the room with his eyes to see if anyone else was in the room. "Naruto."
"Yeah, what is it?" asked Naruto a little grumpily. Neji looked around again, this time with Byakugan enabled. After being absolutely satisfied no one was watching, he breathed outward. Naruto hadn't realized Neji had been holding his breath. Neji must be nervous...-And my lack of sleep must be affecting my senses,- Naruto thought, blinking rapidly in an effort to get back on top of the game.
"Lord Hiashi wishes to let you know that the majority of Fire Nation nobles who have stated they are participating in the auction have arrived." Neji leaned forward slightly. "They will be meeting at the auction house at 7:00 Friday." Neji paused, leaning forward slightly some more. "That makes sense, since it's the time of the auction, that they'd be meeting them. Not, say, 3:00 in the afternoon today. They definitely will not be meeting then." Neji outright walked up to Naruto's desk and leaned forward on it. "So if anybody happens to be meeting at the auction house at 3:00 today, it will not be the Fire Nation Lords. It will be somebody besides them. Perhaps even people plotting to stop the auction." He leaned off the desk, standing up straight. "That was what I was instructed to let you know."
Naruto blinked, frowning in some kind of reverse smirk. "...subtle, Neji, real subtle. Did you come up with that code all on your own?"
"Shh!" snapped Neji, bending over again, finger to his lips. He looked around. "Lord Hokage," he said, pretending the bending-over-and-shushing was half of a bow, which he now completed. He turned and walked out of the room, glancing conspicuously over his shoulder every couple of seconds when he could have just used his Byakugan.
Naruto sighed after Neji left. -Note to self: never send Neji on a stealth-based mission if anything personal to him is on the line...-
0-0-0-0
Naruto arrived at the auction house at 2:55 PM sharp. Everyone else (minus Hinata) appeared to be there already. Naruto guessed she would be there too, if she probably wasn't being held under guard. "Naruto. That means everyone is here," and Neji gave a sigh of relief. "I am glad all of you saw the hidden meaning in my code."
Everyone sweatdropped. -Hidden meaning?- thought Sakura.
-He just flat out told me to be here! What the heck is this 'hidden meaning' he's talking about?- thought Tenten.
-You wrote me a note in backwards letters,- thought Shikamaru, slightly angry despite himself. -I don't think they even teach 'code' that basic in the first year of the academy...-
"Hm. To think it was only a few years ago that I would have been far too happy to see Hinata in a situation like this," Neji mumbled, sounding shamed. "But that is a moot point," he shook his head. "What I have come here to discuss," he said, as he turned on his Byakugan. He looked around, then dropped his voice to a whisper. "Lord Iashi-Hay ealized-ray something while alking-tay with me this orning-may."
Everyone sweatdropped again, but decided not to comment. Not even in their heads. "What did he realize?" asked Shino, pushing up his sunglasses.
Neji coughed. "I believe I shall let him tell you himself." He stepped aside, and a figure walked from the shadows from behind where Neji used to be.
-Oh my gosh,- Ino thought.
-S-seriously?- thought Chōji.
-You've gotta be kidding me!- thought Sakura, faceplaming. Naruto facepalmed too, and it takes a lot to make Naruto facepalm.
-...I have just got to be dreaming,- thought Shikamaru.
Hiashi stood there, standing proud and tall. With a false mustache on. A very large and cheesy false mustache. -That's it,- thought Naruto. -None of them. None of them are ever going on stealth based missions when their personal lives are on the line. Ever.-
"Good afternoon," said the esteemed Hyuuga, stroking his mustache. "I am Lord...um...Hiashimoshi." He coughed. "And I have called you all here for a very specific reason."
"To stop the elders from auctioning off Hinata, right?" asked Shikamaru.
Kiba smirked. "Just tell us what we gotta do, old man!" 'Hiashimoshi' glared at him. "...sir."
Hiashimoshi closed his eyes. "Yes, well...I heard from Neji that our Hokage and his council are deciding on the legality of the auction this coming Saturday."
"If everything goes well," said Naruto. "There is a possibility that the last member of the council will not arrive in time." He frowned slightly. "There's also technically the possibility that they'll decide against me, not with me, but I'm trying not to think about it..."
"There is no need to worry," said 'Hiashimoshi', stroking his chin. He stopped and raised a finger in the air, waving it occasionally for emphasis. "The elders have actually caught a certain scent on the wind." He smiled slightly. "Several of the council members' positions have changed on the Hyuuga clan's main house recently. And not for their better."
"That makes sense," said Shino. "I was wondering why they'd draw attention to themselves with this auction. It seems that attention has already been drawn to them, and they're just trying to make a profit before their assets collapse."
"Yeah, and stick it to Hinata in the process," said Ino angrily. "I guess she was too gentle for their Gentle Fist Style, and now they want revenge." She shook her head. "I swear, if I wouldn't get arrested for it-"
Sasuke spoke up. "I can go back, if you like. Teach them another lesson."
Ino thought about it momentarily. "Nah, it wouldn't be the same."
Chōji spoke up next. "Um, no offense, but can we keep this moving?" He looked around at everyone. "I mean, we don't exactly have a lot of time here."
"Chōji's right," said Tenten. "We need to know what the plan is."
"Right," said 'Hiashimoshi', "Of course." And with that, he made a sign or two (It was done kind of fast, so most of the people in the room couldn't be sure how many signs there were), and a briefcase popped into existence. The head of the Hyuuga household set it on the floor, and opened it. Everyone gasped.
"Holy hand signs!" said Kiba, "You could buy enough dog treats to last you a lifetime and still have enough left over for ninja tools with all that cash!" Akamaru started drooling, getting easily distracted by the thought of dog treats. (He snapped out of it quickly.)
"Seriously," said Ino. "That is a LOT of dough!"
Naruto blinked. Then he scratched his head, looking sheepish. "Oh, yeah. Why didn't I think of that?"
"Hmm? Think of what?" asked Sakura.
Shikamaru smirked. "Of buying Hinata for ourselves, that's what."
THONK!
"HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK OF DOING THAT?" Ino shouted as Shikamaru held his head in agony.
"Not like that, Ino," Neji clarified.
"Indeed," said the 'stranger' as he stroked his mustache. "You see, I am of course not allowed to buy Hinata myself, coming from the Hyuuga clan as I do." He closed his eyes, moving his hand to his chin.
"Why would you want to, you dirty old man?" shouted Ino. 'Hiashimoshi' sweatdropped.
"Ino, please use your head," said Sasuke, having figured things out along with...well, everyone except Ino. Including Naruto. "He isn't buying her for sex, you know."
Ino blinked. "Then...why buy her?"
"You're forgetting," said Shikamaru, still rubbing his head, "That whoever wins the bid doesn't get Hinata permanently, just for one night." He closed his eyes, head now pointed towards the ceiling. "Likely the elders plan, if they happen to be wrong about the council, on using her in this way again and again until she loses her youth and beauty or until someone snaps her up as his wife."
"But they're not going to be wrong about the council," interjected Naruto. "I'll make sure they side with me!"
"Exactly," said Shikamaru. "So by Saturday morning, this practice will be illegal, and the elders will be out of power." And he opened his eyes, looking back at Ino. "So, how long do we need to keep Hinata away from the elders for if we never want anyone to force themselves on her?"
Everyone could almost see the idea bulb go off next to Ino's head. "I get it!" she exclaimed, slamming her fist into her palm. If we buy Hinata and don't do anything to her, that means that no one will ever buy her again, and then it'll be like no one bought her at all!"
"Finally she gets it," breathed out Shikamaru.
"Indeed," said Shino.
"I gotta admit, Ino, I was a little surprised it took you that long to understand," said Chōji. "Usually you're quicker on the uptake than that."
"Seriously!" said Naruto, sticking out his tongue, winking and pointing at himself with his thumb. "I mean, even I got it pretty quickly! You should have been able to get it easy!" Everyone had a good chuckle at this one, besides Ino, who was looking more and more embarrassed.
"Guess that just proves I'm the smarter one between you and I," said Sakura, shrugging. Ino fumed, but held her tongue, knowing more important things than her personal feud with her best friend were going on.
"So, let me make sure I have this straight," said Tenten. "You want us to use this money to buy Hinata for you?"
"It makes sense," spoke up, again, Sasuke. "He can't use his own money, so the next best thing is to get someone else to use his money for him."
"Exactly," said 'Hiashimoshi'. "But, there is one more thing I am afraid I must ask that you all do for me."
Everyone paid slightly more attention upon hearing these words. Now it was Neji's turn to speak up. "My...associate is worried that, even with his vast resources, he will not have enough money to purchase Hinata for the night."
"That's true," said Kiba. "From what I hear, there are some pretty heavy rollers coming tomorrow for the chance to..." and instead of finishing his sentence, he shivered slightly, disgusted at the thoughts coming to his head.
"Indeed," continued Neji, "Which is why, I am afraid that my friend and I must-"
"We must ask you to put in whatever you can!" interrupted Hiashi, unknowingly showing everyone (who already knew, of course) who he really was as his mustache fell off of his face. He got upon his knees, bowing low. "Please! I beg of you! Whatever you can, to..." he looked up, and everyone started. Hiashi Hyuuga was crying. "Save my daughter...please." And he had obviously forgotten he was supposed to be in disguise with that last sentence.
-Hiashi...- Naruto thought. In all the years that he had known Hiashi, he had suspected more and more each day that there really was a father underneath all the 'sturm und Byakugan', but he had never received confirmation until just now. And what confirmation! Hiashi was obviously desperate and deeply saddened, and that was not his usual manner of acting.
Hiashi bowed low again, as no one had yet responded. "Please," he sobbed. "Please help me! I'll do anything! Just please...please help me to help her!" And he sobbed again, facial muscles tightening as he tried to hold back his many tears.
Everyone was silent for a few more seconds. Suddenly, Naruto grunted, grinning that familiar grin. "Well, that's two promises of a lifetime in a week!" he said, bringing his thumb quickly across his nose. "Being the Hokage sure can be tough sometimes..."
"Hey, if it helps you out, I'll make the same promise!" said Sakura, grinning as she turned to her boyfriend-esque. "After all, what are girlfriends for?"
Kiba turned to Akamaru, smiling. "Whaddya say, boy? Think you can stand to go without that extra helping of food for a week or two?"
"Bark!" barked Akamaru. It was obvious to everyone, especially Kiba, that he was saying 'yes'.
"If Akamaru can do it, so can I!" shouted Chōji, determined. "No in-between meal snacks for me! Chips begone!"
Everyone gasped, loudly. After a few seconds, Sasuke spoke up once again. "Well, I'm not going to lose to chubby over there at anything." He smiled. "Guess I'll just have to improvise to get my hands on some ryo." He suddenly frowned, putting his hands together in front of his lips. Obviously, Sasuke wasn't the creative type.
Ino giggled. "I'll set up a kissing booth! The boys'll come flocking!"
"And why would that be? To laugh?" asked Sakura. Ino turned on her and started glaring daggers. Sakura stuck her tongue out at Ino.
Shikmaru sighed, though he was smiling. "Just like old times," he mumbled. "Anyway, I've got a ton of ryo saved up since my preferred form of entertainment costs time, not money. It's a drag to spend it all at once, but this is important. Besides, I'm sure I could make the biggest donation."
Shino smiled behind his collar. "The Aburame clan is moderately welathy. I'm sure once they know the importance of the mission we've been assigned that they'll cough up a..." and he coughed. "...'sizable chuck of change', as it were."
"Did Shino just use some kind of slang?" asked Tenten. Then she smiled. "Well, at any rate, I've got a lot of broken weapons on hand. I'm sure I can sell them for scrap metal." She smiled even wider. "That should bring in some extra cash!"
Neji turned to his uncle. "Though my duties as a member of the branch family prevent me from using any of my free time to earn more cash," and he gave a small smile, "I will donate whatever I possibly can. You have my word on that, Lord Hiashi...moshi."
"Th-thank you..." murmured Hiashi as he stood up, tears falling freely now. "Thank you all so much!" Her choked. "I owe you all m-"
The doors suddenly opened with a clang. Everyone stood on guard, suddenly realizing that maybe Neji was right to be paranoid after all. They all changed their minds when Rock Lee suddenly walked in, out of breath. "I am sorry I am late!" he said, apologetically. "I spotted Neji's odd manner of speaking immediately and figured out that he must have been speaking in code!" He looked sheepish. "But the code was most formidable. Even with Gai-sensei's help, I was not able to figure out its secret until just a few minutes ago." He looked triumphant. "But I am here now! And as they say, 'Better if you are late than if you are never there at all!'" He looked thoughtful. "And least, I believe that that is how the saying goes..." He shook his head. "At any rate, please excuse my tardiness! I shall make sure to do two hundred sit-ups later to make up for it! What have I missed so far?"
There was a long, long silence.
"...we forgot all about Lee..." murmured Tenten, feeling very guilty.
"How on Earth did we manage that?" murmured Sasuke, confused as all get-out.
0-0-0-0
The hours passed quickly for the group of good-doers. Especially Lee. He was very enthusiastic.
The rules of the 'contest' prevented people from bidding as a group, so everyone had to gather their money in secret. That meant no Hokage ordering everyone in town to give him some money, no Ino using her feminine wiles to get any feudal lords on their side, and no Shikamaru sending for Temari asking for money (as the communication might get intercepted).
Everyone pulled their weight and more, as befitting shinobi and kunoichi (or, alternatively, kunoichi and shinobi, for you feminists out there). In fact, at one point you could overhear Tenten telling Sakura and Ino that "Lee actually led Gai-sensei to a private place before telling him that we needed money so that Gai's over-enthusiasm wouldn't cause people to catch on."
"That was thoughtful of him," replied Sakura as Ino nodded.
More hours passed. Ino's kissing booth was remarkably popular. Sasuke's was remarkably unpopular, but he got a couple pity donations. He also was able to convince an air-headed wife of a feudal lord that "she could add tongue for just 5,000 ryo more." Hinata had better appreciate what I'm doing for her...this woman's a total cow! Inner Sasuke raged.
That's right, Inner Sasuke. Sasuke now had the disorder that Sakura had long since amalgamated with. You see, in order to suppress his extremely psychopathic urges brought on by trauma and prolonged exposure to curse mark, his therapists had actually suggested (and this was definitely the first time they had done so) he create a split personality, in order to contain the rage until he was able to find a less destructive way to channel it. They were surprised (to say the least) when, minutes after their suggesting it, Sasuke had said he'd accomplished the task through sheer force of will.
But I'm getting off topic. Naruto emptied his wallet (27 ryo) and his piggybank (106 ryo) and considered robbing the treasury and claiming it was for " a new construction project" (and then claiming bandits stole the money when questioned about it later), but decided he'd never get away with it. So Naruto had the worst showing of all, though that was 133 more ryo than they had before.
Chōji won their little contest of "who can help Hinata the most" simply by deciding to abstain from between-meal snacks for a week and setting aside the money he would have used for donation. He would have only earned the second-most, but the fat wife of the feudal lord had talked Sasuke down to 3,500 ryo.
Finally, it was 6:30 on Friday night. Naruto had gotten some much-needed sleep and, with great effort, had caught back up on his paperwork. Kiba and Akamaru figured out how to get Akamaru's long-unused Man-Beast Clone to comfortably walk on two legs so he would be allowed inside the auction house as a human instead of locked out as a mutt. (He wanted to see what happened.) And the others had made their preparations too; Shikamaru's family had even surprised everyone by deciding to throw Hinata a "Freedom Party!" once they got her. So, with everyone ready to go, they gathered in the woods just outside of town to check for any last-minute updates and count their money. There were no last-minute updates. They were pleasantly surprised when they counted the money.
0-0-0-0
7:00 sharp. The last of the group walked in: Naruto with Sakura. They avoided going in as a group so as to not attract attention. Ino went in with the money while transformed into the feudal lord of The Land of *ahermmehcoughhack*. She had insisted on being the one with the briefcase.
"I know how to protect myself while I"m transformed," she claimed fifteen minutes ago. "No causal knock or bump is gonna rat me out!" She thought for a second. "Plus, I'm the best one here with money, after all."
-Riiiight...- thought everyone present, deciding not to argue and therefore not waste time.
Five minutes later and ten minutes before the auction, just as the first of them was about to go in, Hiashi met them, trying to make the meeting as inconspicuous and quick as possible. And wearing a trenchcoat and fedora. "Thank you all again," he said. "I can't thank you enough for all you've done."
"Don't worry about it," said Naruto. "We were happy to help!" He leaned over to Hiashi conspiratorially. "I even made sure to post the weakest ANBU I could find on guard duty," he whispered.
"YOU IDIOT!" shouted Sakura, bashing him in the head. "SOMEONE BAD COULD STEAL HER AWAY JUST AS EASILY AS SOMEONE GOOD!"
"Probably even easier, considering the bad person would be more willing to break the law," pointed out Tenten.
Ino smiled at Hiashi, deciding to change the subject for both his and Naruto's sake. "And even if someone does outbid us, which I seriously doubt," she said, patting the briefcase, which was bulging and straining. "I can always use one of my clan's jutsu to get them to concede!"
"I think someone would notice that, Ino," said Shino.
"Not if you all got around me in a circle and moved away at the last split-second!"
"I think that would be even more noticeable," mumbled Sasuke. "Like, really noticeable."
Ino sweatdropped, rubbing the back of her head and chuckling nervously. -This is just not my week...-
And back to the present, the auction was just about to start. Shinratsu, several bandages covering various burns, pounded a gavel on the auctioneering block. "Thank you all for coming to our little event tonight," he said as everyone quieted down.
Naruto had his arms crossed ever since he entered. After he heard Shinratsu speaking, he tightened his grip on his left sleeve, a simple action he could focus on to prevent himself from getting so angry he jumped on stage and punched the corrupt elder in his ugly jaw. -You'll be smiling out a different part of your body by the time I'm done with you...- Naruto thought. The sleeve-squeezing technique obviously wasn't working.
The elders all stood in a semicircle at the back of the stage. Hiashi was there, too, trying the same sleeve-squeezing trick as Naruto. Looking at his eyes, it didn't appear to be working too well for him, either.
"Now, upon entering the auction house, all of you should have received a paddle. When I start the bidding, anyone who wishes may hold up their paddle and announce their bid. You may do this as many times as you like; the only limit is the amount of money you possess."
-I think we all know how an auction works,- thought Sakura. -Can we please get this over with?-
Shinratsu gave off a smile that wasn't quite 'evil' but was definitely 'slimy'. "You all should have received a list of more in-depth rules upon entry, though the rules have been publicly available since Tuesday. Please note that if anyone breaks any of these rules, there are members of the ANBU Black Ops standing guard and ready to make arrests." Shinratsu's smile actually became a little less disgusting as he said his next sentence, and one could be excused for a second for thinking he was a human being. "Don't bother looking around; you won't see them."
Everyone chuckled at this, even Naruto. Hey, even the bad guys make good jokes sometimes. Still, Naruto couldn't resist making a comeback in his head. -You won't see us coming, either, slimeball.-
Shinratsu's smile became disgusting again. "And now, please welcome our guest of honor, Hinata Hyuuga, of the branch family!" And he indicated the side of the stage.
Everyone looked as Neji came out, holding a chain. Hinata came shortly behind him. There was a large circular chunk of metal with various sealing jutsus labeled on it around her neck and attached to the chain. Her hands were cuffed in a way that kept the fingers from movement; obviously to prevent her from performing any jutsus. -I'm so sorry, Hinata...- Neji repeated in his head, even though he had told Hinata the exact same thing before he walked onstage. Why did they have to choose him?
Neji lead her to the center of the stage amidst various cheers and catcalls. If one watched the audience carefully though, you would see that a small, vocal minority of the audience was the one that was doing it all. Apparently most of the people there were there for the same reason as Naruto and the gang: to observe, be disgusted, and hope that Hinata would get snatched up by someone good. Most entertaining part of the audience to watch by far: the fat wife of the feudal lord, who obviously was not supposed to be there and had just realized exactly what kind of auction this was. Her husband looked nervous. Not that she had any right to complain after what she did to Sasuke's tongue...
Onstage, Hinata looked around nervously. There were so many people here...were they all here for her? She gulped. It was a sick sort of pride though, a kick for her self-esteem. She was popular. As much as the catcalls disgusted her, at least she knew her girlfriends weren't lying: -I really do have a nice body,- she blushed. Every cloud, silver lining.
She looked around the audience some more, then noticed a few people, standing room only, in the back. Naruto was there. She gave a great smile upon seeing him. He smiled right back, though it would have been obviously identifiably false if she had been able to examine his features up close. Naruto, meanwhile, murmured to Shikamaru without the smile leaving his face. "That's disgusting, the way they're parading her around like that."
"It could be worse," Shikamaru mumbled back.
"How could it be worse?"
Shikamaru shrugged. "Well, considering what kind of auction this is, I wouldn't have been surprised if she came out in a bikini a size or two too small." He brought his head down to the left slightly. "Or worse, she could be naked. That wouldn't have surprised me either."
Naruto, meanwhile, looked absolutely horrified. "Oh man..." he mumbled, eyes wide and slumping slightly against the wall. Sakura, Ino, and Tenten would all be mortified if they had to stand up there like that for the attention of some perverted old men and teenagers, nothing they could do about it. Worse, they would be traumatized. If Hinata had to do that, Naruto would simply expect her to shut down entirely, or maybe go insane and try to kill everybody. Or, slightly better but not by much, just break down and start sobbing uncontrollably on stage.
"I suppose we should just be glad the elders apparently didn't think of that idea," Shikamaru said. "Count our lucky stars, as it were."
"Yeah..." Naruto responded as Shinratsu started going into exactly why Hinata was such a catch, describing her physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional qualities in beautiful, glowing terms that flowed from one to the next. Odd how none of those descriptions made anyone decide that Hinata shouldn't be sold as a slave.
"Then again, we may not have lucked out just yet," said Shikamaru. "After all, they could simply strip her now onstage to make things more erotic." He closed one eye, thinking for a minute while Naruto stood up straighter, stunned. "Or just flat out make her do a striptease. It'd be kind of hard to do with those handcuffs, I admit, but-"
"SHIKAMARU!" Naruto shouted. Several people turned to look, but only nearby them. "...sorry," he apologized.
After everyone turned away, Shikamaru leaned close to Naruto and whispered. "No, I'm sorry. I just tend to think of the worst possible scenario when judging things, and I forget that that's not always what people want to hear." He put a hand on Naruto's shoulder after a few seconds of no response. "I'm worried about her, too."
Naruto smiled. "Thanks," he said, although Shikamaru's worry didn't exactly help him worry less.
Meanwhile, up onstage, Hinata was thinking, ignoring the flowery praises that the evil man standing next to her obviously didn't mean. -Naruto's always so confident,- she thought. -And rightfully so...he always comes through for everybody.- She looked worried for a second. -What if...what if he doesn't come through this time?- she thought. She shook her head. -No! He will! He will save me! And...and even if he doesn't...I will forgive him! He deserves all the second chances in the world!- And yet, despite her strong words, a small, small seed of doubt had been planted in a corner of her mind so deep, she wasn't even aware of it.
"...with raven hair and moonlit skin, this gothic beauty is quite the catch! But her personality is as bright as her namesake!" He pounded his gavel, breaking Hinata from her thoughts. "Ladies and gentlemen, what am I bid?"
Hinata blushed -This auction is open to...ladies, too?- she thought. She had just barely managed to get used to the idea of a choiceless one-night stand with a strange man! And even then, only if she didn't think about it too much...now having to spend it with a strange girl? Hinata shivered, wishing she could just run away.
"5,000 ryo!" came a voice from the audience a split second after Shinratsu finished speaking.
"6,000 ryo!"
"6,500!"
"7,000 ryo!"
"8,000 ryo!"
"10,000!"
Hinata blushed, an odd sort of self-esteem boost coming up inside her again as most of the hopefuls dropped out of the competition. -Am I really worth that much?-
"10,050!"
"10,055!"
Shino narrowed his eyes where he sat. -The bids are lowering in amount of difference each time. Is now our time to strike?-
"12,000!" yelled a feudal lord in the back who had seemed to be on the fence about bidding for a while. More than half of the current hopefuls groaned and visibly dropped out, setting down, or breaking, or (in one case) tossing away their paddles.
-Come on, Ino, what are you waiting for? Make the bid!- thought Tenten.
"13,000 and 500 ryo!"
Akamaru growled to Kiba, who was sitting next to him. "I agree, boy," said Kiba. "Ino's taking way too long."
"15,000 ryo!"
There was a short silence. Shinratsu spoke up. "We have 15,000 ryo! My, quite a steal if this young lady goes for such a small fraction of what she is worth! Are we bid any more? Anyone?" he looked around the room. "Going once!"
"15,500 ryo!" said the same feudal lord as before.
"We have another bid!" shouted Shinratsu.
-We can beat that,- thought Chōji. -Why haven't we bid yet? Is something wrong, Ino?-
"16,800!"
"17,000 ryo!"
"18,000!" The bidding had picked up in amount again, despite the fact that only a few people appeared to be left bidding now.
"We have 18,000!" shouted Shinratsu. "Come on, folks! If you don't bid now, don't blame me when you go home having earned nothing but the after-auction dinner!"
A woman looking to be in her early thirties, wearing a not-very-revealing but very tight ensemble, actually stood up and raised her paddle. "19,500 ryo," she said, smirking.
Hinata visibly paled. Shinratsu was about to speak up, when the very same feudal lord finished speaking to his advisor. "20,000!" The woman who bet 19,500 fumed and sat down.
-Come on, Ino! 25,000! For the sake of Hinata! I am certain no one will be able to beat you!- thought Rock Lee.
"We are bid 20,000 ryo! Such a bargain!" smiled Shinratsu. "Any other bids? Perhaps some of the shorter people in the audience may want to stand up so I can see them better." Another look over the audience. "No one? Going once!" He looked around again. "Going Twice!"
-INO!- shouted everyone in their heads.
Suddenly, in the approximate middle of the crowd, a strange-looking (though not ugly) feudal lord stood up with a bulging suitcase full of money. He held up his paddle in the most over-the-top way possible, and then, pronouncing each syllable to the maximum effect, "EIGHTY-SIX THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETY-SEVEN RYO!"
The crowd went into hysterics (especially the previous feudal lord) as Shinratsu nearly fell on his backside. The only ones not in hysterics were the other people in on the plot (as it was obviously Ino who bid), who were simply stunned, not outright blown away.
-WAY TO WAIT TILL THE LAST SECOND, INO-PIG!- thought Sakura angrily. -GEEZ!-
-I...is that why she really wanted the briefcase?- thought Tenten, confused.
-Good with money, my foot...- thought Naruto.
-The heck was that?- thought Kiba. -And why'd you bid the WHOLE THING?-
-I...I do not understand...was she just trying to be dramatic?- thought Rock Lee. -Cosmos Flower Ino must learn that there are places and times to be youthful and full of flair, and this is not one of them!-
-I was hoping to get some of that back, Ino!- thought Sasuke, eye twitching in anger. His inner thought, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I HAD TO DO TO GET THAT MONEY?
-Am...am I really worth that much?- Hinata thought as her cheeks turned beet red. -W...why would he think that of me?- Then she noticed something out of the corner of her eyes. Shino was not in hysterics. That was to be expected. But...he was smiling? Why was that? Hinata quickly scanned the crowd. All of her friends seemed to be reacting to the grand announcement much less than they should have. She looked to Naruto last, and their eyes caught each other. He smiled, and nodded. Hinata smiled back, blush increasing. -Naruto...everybody...I knew you would come through for me.-
Shinratsu gulped as the crowd began to calm down, murmuring about this strange rich man. Then again, they said most rich people were eccentrics..."S...sir, are you...sure you wish to bid that much?"
"Is that a problem?" Ino answered, putting her/his hand on its hip.
"N-no, quite the opposite..." murmured Shinratsu. "I just...are you sure she's really-" Then he stopped himself. What was he saying? He was trying to convince a man NOT to pay them that much! He must be crazy. "Alright, then, if you insist." He looked around the room. "Are we bid any higher than..." he swallowed, then said the next words unbelievingly. "86,579 ryo?" There was no response, except from a couple people shaking their heads.
-Yes! We've got this!- said Tenten in her mind.
-I"m glad Hinata is safe,- thought Shino.
"You hear that, Akamaru? We're gonna win!" Kiba whispered to his best friend. Akamaru barked happily in return, as quietly as possible.
Naruto smiled, looking directly at Hinata. His smile was sincere. Hinata blushed heavily, though he couldn't see it. -I promised you, Hinata.- he thought. -And I never go back on my word.- He pumped his arm.
Shikamaru looked over to him. "Don't count your chickens yet, Naruto." He blinked slowly before continuing. "He hasn't said the word sold until he's actually said the word 'sold'."
Naruto turned. "Are you kidding? We've got them beat!"
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "I thought to be Hokage you had to know better than that." He shook his head. "What would happen if you thought that in battle just before the finishing blow, Naruto? Would you drop your guard? Would the enemy strike back?"
Naruto brought his head back. "...but, this is different, Shikamaru! Come on!" Shikamaru didn't reply.
"...alright," said Shinratsu, purposefully having waited longer than normal just in case he could get more money. "If that truly is the final bid...going once! Going twice!"
"Heh, heh, heh..." And that wasn't laughing, either. Someone was literally saying the words 'heh, heh, heh'. Everyone turned. There was a boy sitting there, about sixteen judging by the face and proportions. He was tall and lanky, wearing brown pants and an elegant blue suit. His hair was blue, and his face, voice, and manner were handsome. Still, there was something about him that smudged the beauty on his features. Naruto and his friends could have easily identified that 'something' in a heartbeat if they could get close enough.
After all, they'd fought against Evil enough times before.
"Yes?" asked Shinratsu, a bit confused. "Were you wanting to make a bid?"
"Well," said the youth, raising his paddle into the air. "Why not? Things have gotten interesting." He smirked. "Not to mention that judging by the oddly-numbered amount this gentlemen has bid, I would say he's gone all in. And judging by the way everyone else has gone silent, I should say his bid has everyone beat, so..." and he narrowed his eyes, smirk never moving from his face. "I feel like I'm free to go all in, too." He flipped his longs bangs back from his eyes with a toss of his head. "For the privilege of knowing the girl on the deepest possible physical level..."
-No...- thought Kiba.
-It can't be!- thought Sakura.
Shino's eyes narrowed. -I was careless...then again, I would not have been able to stop this even if I hadn't been.-
-You're kidding!- thought Sasuke. I don't want the money back that badly!
The youth finally finished his sentence. "...ninety thousand ryo. Cash."
A hush fell over the room. Ino looked particularly devastated as the boy looked her in the eye. "You have ninety thousand-"
"Indeed," said the boy. "And looking at my prize, I should say it was worth every little bit of my allowance this month." He tilted his head, a devilish smirk coming across his face. "Unless, of course, you're hiding a reserve pack of money somewhere?"Ino looked downcast. She in the he body slowly sat down, aghast. The boy's smirk simply grew larger.
"...oh my," said Shinratsu. He swallowed. "I believe we might have a winner!" And he laughed.
-We were so close! This is just a drag among drags,- thought Shikamaru.
Hiashi looked stricken where previously he had looked overjoyed. -Our plan!- he thought. -So close...were were so close. We tried so hard, and we...- and he bowed his head, tears welling in his eyes once again.
-This was not supposed to happen!- thought Rock Lee. -I thought for sure...for my failure to gather enough money, I will...- but he could not finish the thought, for no matter how many push-ups he could do he never thought of a high enough number to make up for what had happened.
-And after we tried so hard,- thought Tenten. -I"m so sorry, Hinata,-
-Great,- thought Chōji sarcastically. -I got my snack money back...so how come I don't have much of an appetite?-
"Hinata..."breathed Sakura. She looked to her like-a-boyfriend. "Naruto! We have to do something."
Naruto was breathing heavily, and his eyes were darting around the room. "I can't...I can't do anything..." His eyes widened. "My promise..."
Meanwhile, on stage, Hinata looked absolutely paralyzed. Frozen with terror would be a pleasant alternative to what she was feeling. The seed of doubt had planted itself well, and, instead of sprouting and breaking her faith, had appeared to die when Hinata realized everyone was bidding on her and winning...and then, just as with real seeds growing in nourishing dirt, the living plant grew from the dead seed. And on top of that, she could see. She could feel. The true nature of the youth who had bid upon her. He was...horrid. She could tell, somehow.
It made her want to cry, but she couldn't make herself.
"...very well," said Shinratsu giddily. "If that is truly the final bid!" He pounded his gavel. "Going once!" He waited a few seconds. He pounded again. "Going twice!" He waited another couple of seconds.
"One hundred thousand ryo!"
Everyone but Hinata (who remained frozen, for what did it matter who bought her now?) gasped and looked around for the speaker. Perhaps most surprised of all was the blue-haired youth, who stood up, his calm and cool demeanor cracking as he looked around, infuriated, for the voice that called him out and beat his bid. Even the average citizen could tell he was monstrous now, by seeing how he reacted to this loss.
Shinratsu looked around, as did all the other elders. Some put on their Byakugan, but they couldn't see anybody around. Suddenly, when no one was looking at the stage, and those on the stage were all looking away from the center of it, a figure dropped down, landing almost noiselessly, but the sounds of his/her landing amplified by the natural acoustics of the stage.
Everyone turned to the figure as it slowly rose up from the crouching position it had landed in.
Yes, yes, once again, not much of a cliffhanger, but appropriate for the flow of the narrative. At least things are picking up now!
By the way, sorry if I went overboard with the whole 'Hyuugas are bad at stealth when worried' thing'. I wasn't sure if the joke had overstayed its welcome, but if it did, what are you going to do?
...oh, and that whole 'forgetting Rock Lee' thing? Yeah, I genuinely did. I forgot to give him a single line oof dialogue in the entire scene. Then I realized what I had done and decided to incorporate it. I think either way Sasuke's question still applies, though: how on Earth did I forgot about Lee?
Those who have read 'Sold' may notice that Hinata was bought off for a lot less here than she was there. Or was she? In 'Sold', they used yen to bid on her, while here they used the fictional currency of ryo. I think she came out about even with the rate exchange, but I'm not sure. D'oh well!
Well, with that, see you next chapter! (By the way, the 'obvious thing' from last chapter was 'buy Hinata out from under the elders' noses', for those of you who still don't know.) Thanks for reading and, uh...thanks for reading! Bye!