Author's Note: As usual... I do not own Naruto. Now on to other things like why it took me so long to update. Well first off this was probably the hardest chapter for me to write(which I will get back to at the end of this chapter). Secondly I was in a car accident (how appropriate considering my story). No one was hurt but it certainly put a damper on my spirits considering the wok that has been done and still needs to be done on my car. With that cleared up thank you to all of you who reviewed. I think I got back to everyone but if I didn't I apologize for missing you. And now here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy and be sure to check out my notes at the end.
The world seemed to stand completely still for a moment as Hinata desperately tried to read the face of the doctor but with no avail. She leaned forward in her seat, nearly falling right out of it as she strained to catch the words that the doctor was explaining to Iruka.
"He's in critical but stable condition. His spleen was ruptured and there was some other internal bleeding that we managed to stop. His right arm is broken and three ribs. One of the ribs came close to puncturing his lung but we were able to operate on that as well," the doctor explained in a low voice. Some more words she couldn't quite make out and then "…stitches" and "minor concussion." But the most important words that the doctor mumbled came a moment later.
"It will take some time but he should make a full recovery. We will know in a days when he will be able to return home. For now we need to keep him here under observation"
Hinata leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, fighting another wave of tears those these were from happiness rather than guilt and worry. She opened her shimmering eyes then to see Shikamaru looking quite relieved. Her pale gaze then slid sideways and she was surprised to see that even Sasuke looked noticeably relieved as well.
"He's going to be alright," Hinata said in a hushed voice. She needed to hear it out loud, needed to make sure she wasn't imagining what the doctor had said. Sasuke looked at her and nodded and Shikamaru grinned slightly.
"It'll take more than a car to get Naruto down and out for long," he said quietly. Sasuke nodded in agreement and a hesitant smile crossed Sakura's features.
"I should probably get going," Sakura said to the group softly. "I wanted to make sure he was okay but my parents weren't too happy about me coming here this late," she said taking a step towards the door. She paused then and turned around to look at the three of them who still sat. "If one of you happens to talk to him, tell him I will be back tomorrow," she added before leaving the waiting room.
"I can't believe after all these years… Naruto and Sakura," Shikamaru said briefly glancing at Sasuke before shaking his head. Sasuke had been the one to press Sakura into going on a date with the blonde. Apparently Sakura was just as susceptible to his charm as most others were.
"I should probably head home as well. I am already going to be in enough trouble as it is," Shikamaru said dryly, shuddering as he thought about his mother's wrath. The nagging was bound to be unbearable. He stood up and glanced at Sasuke and Hinata remembering that they had gotten here in his truck. "Do you two want a ride home?"
Hinata glanced at Shikamaru thinking about his offer. At the moment she had no desire to go home. No doubt Neji would inform her father of her little outburst and she didn't want to face the consequences yet. Not only that but she wanted to be here when Nauto woke up. He deserved at least that much from her. She wanted to see him as soon as she was allowed.
"Thanks Shika but… I think I am going to stay. At least until I can see him first," Hinata said quietly, her pale gaze resting on her tired friend for a moment. He had been through a lot today as well. Shikamaru nodded and glanced at Sasuke. Sasuke seemed to think about his offer for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
"I think I'll stay a bit longer. I'll get a ride when I need it."
Shikamaru simply shrugged while Hinata stared at the profile of the onyx eyed boy beside her. Why was he staying? She wasn't quite sure. Was his bond with Naruto really that deep? He turned his head then, his onyx eyes boring into her pale ones and she turned away quickly, fighting uselessly against the heat that was rising to her cheeks.
She offered a half-wave to Shikamaru as he left knowing that most likely he would be back in the morning. Her pale gaze then once again slid to Sasuke, who was leaned back in his chair, his head against the back of it and his eyes shut. He must have sensed her looking at him however because he opened one of his eyes to look over at her.
"You might as well relax," he stated calmly. "We've got a long wait," he said before closing his eye and going back to relaxing. Hinata wasn't quite sure her nerves were ready to relax just yet but as she leaned back against her chair, a wave of fatigue swept over her body. It hit her quite suddenly just how exhausted she was. She had gotten next to no sleep the night before and this night had been a total nightmare. Her hip throbbed and her eyes stung from the tears she had cried. So it wasn't a surprise that within a matter of minutes she fell sound asleep.
Waking up from a sound sleep wasn't always easy when a body still desperately yearned for sleep. So for a brief moment Hinata wondered when her pillow had gotten so hard. She wanted to bury her head deeper into the pillow and fall back to sleep but as she attempted to snuggle closer to the pillow she realized just how still she felt. The slight movement practically had her body screaming. Her hip was the worst, the pain there was more like a sharp pang while the rest of her body was simply a dull ache. Everything felt stiff including her neck, which she now realized was at quite an awkward angle.
It took a moment for the realization to hit that she was sleeping in a chair at the hospital. She opened her heavy eyelids, the light of the waiting room stinging her red rimmed eyes from a combination of the tears she had shed and the fact that they weren't accustomed to the light. After blinking several times so decided that she ought to move in order to work out her stiff joints. Only before she had the chance to, her pillow moved instead.
Her eyes widened instantly and she sat up with a shot, ignoring the protest of her sore limbs. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach before she turned her pale gaze to the side where Sasuke Uchiha sat, looking rather impassively at her.
"I…I'm sorry," she stammered out her face definitely quite red.
Sasuke shrugged as if it hadn't been that critical of an event one way or another, which if she thought about it logically she supposed was true. But she wasn't exactly thinking logically these days, especially when it came to Sasuke Uchiha.
"W… why didn't you wake me," she demanded after he still said nothing.
"You looked tired," he said simply. "And you had a long night," he added.
Hinata tried to find something else to say but no words seemed to work their way from her lips. Instead she dropped her gaze to her hands, trying to ignore those onyx eyes of his and the way they seemed to be able to look through her.
Just when she thought she might actually wilt away under his gaze if it lasted any longer, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at the kind face of Iruka, her eyes once again widening at the prospect of news on her friend.
"He's awake," he said with a slight smile though there was still a bit of worry etched on his face. She supposed though that was to be expected of a parent who had nearly lost a child. She wondered for a brief moment if her father's usual stoic expression would hint at any emotion. Actually she supposed the better question was whether he would even feel any emotion.
"I was just in there with him," Iruka continued, interrupting her thoughts, which in fact she was glad for. "He already asked me about you. He was really worried about you when he came around," Iruka added with a frown, because as far as Naruto's foster parent was concerned Hinata had been no where near the incident. "And he is already complaining about the hospital food," Iruka added with a slightly amused grin. Leave it to Naruto to be hungry enough for something other than hospital food so soon after what he had been through.
"Can I see him," Hinata asked quietly and Iruka nodded.
"I was just going to head out to the store and get him some instant ramen for when the doctor's agree he is up for it."
Hinata nodded and jumped out of her seat, once again ignoring the pain in her hip and the aches in the rest of her body as she headed down the hall to where Naruto was being kept. It took her a minute to find his room and once she reached it she hesitated for a brief moment before finally stepping inside.
A pale looking Naruto lay in the hospital bed and immediately she felt as if she had been kicked in the gut. It seemed so wrong for someone who was usually so full of life to look so fragile. He was hooked up to a machine that was monitoring his vitals and the steady beeping sound seemed to fill the room. She struggled to hold back her tears as she clutched a hand to her chest, frozen to her spot just inside the door.
Just then cerulean eyes opened and met her own pale ones. Her resolve shattered and tears began to spill from her eyes as she quickly made her way to his side. Careful to avoid any wires or tubes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head against him. Silent sobs began to shake her whole body. She felt a hand on her back rubbing small circles which made her cry even harder. Was it possible for anyone to deserve a friend like him?
"Don't cry Hinata," Naruto said in a voice that was not quite his own as it wasn't as loud or obnoxious as usual. His body was still very much weak.
"I am so sorry Naruto. This is all my fault. What… what if," she started but choked on her words, unable to finish her sentence.
"Hinata this was not your fault and don't think about that what ifs. I am fine and so are you. That's all that matters. Believe it," he said flashing a trademark grin. It didn't quite look right with him lying in a hospital bed but it still made her feel better. In fact she even managed to stop her tears. She pulled away from her friend and wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. She remained silent for a moment, other than her sniffling before a thought crossed her mind.
"You know Naruto, Sakura was here last night . She and Shikamaru were here until we found out that you were going to be okay. She asked one of us to tell you she would be back today to see you too," Hinata explained watching the blush on her friends cheeks, glad to see some color in his pale features.
"Do you think she likes me Hinata," Naruto asked, still blushing slightly.
"How could she not," Hinata counted with a small smile. "She's be crazy not too." Just then the door to the room swung open to reveal Sasuke in the doorway. Naruto only look slightly surprised to see him.
"Even the bastard is here," he questioned.
"Yeah dobe. I came to tell you that your hard head totaled that car," Sasuke replied. Hinata's mouth dropped open slightly and Naruto's blue eyes narrowed.
"Your lucky I am stuck in this hospital bed," Naruto threatened.
"You can find me once your better," Sasuke replied with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest.
All the while Hinata continued to watch in disbelief, her eyes darting back and forth between the two. She realized it was like glancing back and for between day and night. The really were complete opposites.
"I've got some things to do so I am out of here," Sasuke stated once silence had settled over the room. "I just wanted to see for myself how much of a baby you were being," he said with another smirk before turning and leaving the room as quickly as he had come.
"I am going to kill him," Naruto growled. For a brief moment Hinata wondered if she was going to have to restrain him.
"Later," Hinata insisted, laying a small hand lightly on his shoulder. "You can kill him later," she said with a small smile. It faded slightly though as she glanced to the door. "You know I should probably head home took. I'll wait until Iruka gets back though," she added quickly when she noticed Naruto's face. Besides what was a little longer. She wasn't in much of a mood to face what was in store for her at home anyway.
In the end she hadn't been forced to wait until Iruka returned. Instead, Hinata was slightly surprised that Sakura arrived and offered to wait with Naruto. Hinata had even had the pleasure of seeing her friend's face turn as red as her own often did when Sakura greeted him with a kiss on his chest. After that, Hinata had quietly ducked out of the room as to not disturb the two.
Unfortunately for her however, that meant the moment she had been dreading had arrived. She knew that prolonging the inevitable wasn't going to help but making the phone call to her house in order to have someone come pick her up was one of the most difficult phone calls she ever had to make.
Her father was the one who came to get her and the car ride home was made in an agonizing silence. She could sense his anger and that alone seemed to make the confines of the car far too small for the both of them. It worried her slightly, because while she expected him to be mad, she certainly hadn't thought he would be quite so angry with her.
As she fiddled with her hands in her lap she wondered if perhaps Neji had mentioned the incident with Tenten to her father. That could perhaps explain some of his anger. She couldn't imagine what else it could be and in his silence her father was giving away nothing, and the silence wasn't broken all throughout the painfully long car ride back to their house. In fact it wasn't until she was about to climb out of the car that her father's stern voice reached her ears.
"Come with me," he ordered and Hinata dropped her pale gaze to her feet having a vague idea of what was to come. She timidly shuffled along behind him. They passed the living room and kitchen and it took her a moment to realize just where they were headed. He was taking her back to his office. That along spoke volumes for the trouble she was in.
However the trouble she was expecting at that moment was nothing compared to the trouble she was in. She realized that when she walked into the office to see her mask lying in the center of his desk.
Hinata froze in place, right in the middle of the doorframe. She seemed glued to the floor as her pale eyes rested on the familiar mask, the one she had been able to hide behind for all this time. She felt completely numb in that moment as if a secret part of her had been exposed to the world rather than just her father. She knew that he was aware of the story behind the mask. Suddenly his anger made complete sense. The question was how he knew and how he had come into possession of her mask.
She supposed those questions weren't overly important. Who had told him wasn't nearly as critical as the fact that he knew. The fact that he knew signified the end of her street racing career, something that while she would miss, she found that she didn't mind so much. After what had happened to Naruto, the world of street racing held little appeal for her. Of course she would miss the racing, the way she felt behind the wheel as the engine roared to life, but there was another side to it that she couldn't accept. She had unwillingly be swept into the darker side of the racing world and it had marred the joy she had once felt for it. Perhaps it was over-dramatic of her but the moment that car had hit Naruto, her racing days had been over in her mind as well.
"Sit down."
Her father's voice snapped her to attention and out of her thoughts. Immediately she complied with his order though she was unable to look him in the face as she took the seat across from where he now stood behind his desk. It wasn't until another agonizing silence that she finally looked up at him. Her gaze met his own and this seemed to be what he was waiting for as he then continued.
"I can't even begin to put into words just how disgraceful this is or how disappointed I am in you right now," he said shaking his head. "Did you ever consider the shame that you could have brought upon our family name because of your own foolishness?"
He seemed to be expecting and answer so Hinata simply shook her head, her gaze lowered once again as she shrank back into the chair as much as it would allow. Perhaps he didn't realize that his disappointment was nothing new to her. It was something she felt everyday of her life. And perhaps still he didn't realize that she wasn't overly concerned about tarnishing the name of a family that she had never truly felt a part of.
"Obviously no one else is to find out about this," he father said motioning to the mask. She wasn't surprised about this. Even if she wasn't worried about her family's image, her father certainly was and he would want this bottled up.
"As far as your punishment you are going to be grounded for at least the rest of the school year. That means you will go to school and come home, no exceptions."
Hinata briefly wondered if he realized that her life was already much like that. She supposed she wouldn't be able to spend much time outside of school with her friends but at the moment she was feeling as though she deserved punishment. The guilt she felt was more than enough to make her willing to accept it.
"You will also no longer associate with your friends. Naruto and Shikamaru," he said after a pause. Obviously he had to remember the names he had been told by Neji no doubt. "They are obviously poor influences on you and I will not have you have any more contact with them that you already have. I will most likely add more to your punishment but for now that it all. I suggest you go to your room."
For Hinata it actually took some time for his words to sink in. She had been ready to accept all the punishment her father was going to give her. She hadn't thought it was possible for him to be to extreme until those words had left his mouth. He was asking her to write off two of the most important people in her life after all that they had done for her. How could her father demand that?
"No."
It took her another moment to realize that the single syllable echoing around the room had left her lips and not the lips of her father. She had been the one to utter that word.
"Excuse me," he father asked, his gaze moving to look at Hinata, who still had her head lowered slightly. It would seem that he was just as confused as she was as to what had just happened.
"I said no," Hinata said as she lifted her gaze to meet her father's. Despite the fact that her lower jaw quivered slightly, she looked determined and her pale eyes seemed to flash something akin to defiance, something her father had never seen in the eyes of his daughter. He was obviously as shocked as she was herself.
She realized though that she was tired of listening to everything he said without argument or question. She was tired of accepting his word as final in every aspect of her life because it was her life. Not to mention in this case he was very, very wrong.
"How dare you talk back to me young lady? You will do as you are told."
"N…not this t...time f….father," she stammered, annoyed that she was tripping over words. Even still she suddenly felt lighter. She wouldn't let her father bring her down any more. In fact she wouldn't let anyone, not her father, not Tenten, not Neji, no one. "You are w…wrong this t…time."
"Hinata Hyuga as long as you are living under this roof you will listen to what I say and that is final," he father said, his voice louder now out of anger as the disbelief was slowly fading.
"Fine I will leave then," she said standing up from her seat and quickly striding towards the door to hallway.
"You are not going anywhere," her father yelled smacking a hand down on his desk.
"If those are your r…rules I w…won't live in this h…house," she stammered reaching the door and fleeing out it before her resolve crumpled and she found herself back in too familiar of a place. Something held her back though and before taking off down the hallway, she turned back to the office door. A quick peak inside showed her father standing over the desk, his head down and his arms on either side of the oak desk.
"I am sorry I was never a good enough daughter for you," she said softly. She didn't wait for a reaction either. Instead she ran down the hallway and took the stairs two at a time as tears once again blurred her vision. Certainly she hadn't done so much crying in such a short amount of time anytime recently.
It was in a blur of tears that she packed a bag of things she needed and left the house without anyone trying to stop her. And as she walked down the road with no particular destination she realized that everything had come undone. She had lost racing and racing had lost Violet. One of her best friends was in the hospital because of her and she had just walked out of her house with no intention of going back. Yet there was still more because Hinata knew that she still needed to face tomorrow. Tomorrow she was going to have to tell Sasuke the truth.
As much as she would almost rather he believed something happened to Violet she wouldn't do that to him. He deserved the truth and she wouldn't take the cowards way out by not giving it to him. What would he say when he found out that the confident Violet was really the timid and pale-eyed Hyuga girl? She wasn't sure she wanted the answer to that question but she knew that she would rather be the one to give him the news than him finding it out elsewhere. She only hoped he wouldn't take it too badly.
Hinata was nearly breathless as she ran into the school. She had found the worst possible day to be late though it wasn't surprising that she was late given the fact that she had spent the night at the hospital. She had fallen sound asleep in Naruto's room after spending nearly the whole day at his side. So it was no surprise that she had woken up groggy and disoriented. It had taken her a longer time to get to school as well, which left her running behind.
She had been hoping to talk to Sasuke as well before classes began, which was the sole reason she was walking down the hallway towards his homeroom. She knew putting this off would only make it worse, and despite the fact that her stomach was doing flip-flops at the prospect of confronting him, she was as ready as she was ever going to be.
She rounded the corner of the hallway to have her pale gaze lay on Sasuke. His back was towards her and to her complete horror he wasn't alone. Standing with him were Neji and Tenten. As if things couldn't get any worse, the black mask, her black mask was resting in his hand. Hinata froze where she was, her stomach hitting the floor.
"Look I'd really appreciate it if you two kept this between us. I don't need or want this getting around," Sasuke said as he shoved the mask into his pocket. As if he felt her eyes on him then, he turned around. His onyx eyes bore into her pale gaze as a frown marred his attractive features. He shook his head ever so slightly, turned, and walked away without a second look.
Okay so where to begin. First off I wonder how many of you saw this coming. And secondly I wonder how many of you hate me right now (but please don't :D). Just another note that I think this story is going to end up being 17 chapters so we are getting to the end.
Now just a little note on why this chapter was so hard for me to write. I had a hard time because in my mind I never really had a set idea of how Hinata's dad was going to act when he found out the news. Most of this story has been coming to me quite easily as it progresses but from the beginning this was one thing that has eluded me. I think one of the reasons for this is that it is not that important to the plot. Hinata's relationship (or lack thereof) with her father has never been begging to be told (at least in my mind). It is more of a side story that helps move the story along but is not essential to it. As for Hinata leaving her house that was more of a convience thing than anything else. It will make the rest of the chapters and possibly the sequel flow easier. I also know nothing about medical injrues so you will have to excuse me if Naruto's injuries don't make any sense. So in the end if you hate this chapter I am sorry. If the scene between Hinata and her father didn't work for you I am open to suggestions and perhaps I can go back and fix it. Either way I promise the last chapters will be better. Once again I am sorry this update took so long and I hope you all are enjoying the story.
