BB: A quick author note, because I have to go. Yeah for school. bleh
"ha-ha, I win again!" Lena laughed, jumping up and down in a circle. Naruto stuck his tongue out at the young girl, fighting not to laugh.
"Fine, fine, Midget-hime. You win. I told you I wouldn't win at DDR. But, if I remember correctly, I can get double your score on any song on Guitar Hero." Naruto said.
Lena stopped jumping, and turned to him, shooting him a glare. Naruto laughed.
"Come on, Midget-hime, it's time that we start on that paper. If you don't get it about half-way done, your mom isn't only going to kill you, but me too. And my face is too pretty to be disconnected from my body."
Lena giggled at the outrageous statement, and then sighed. "Do we have to?" She asked, her voice slightly whiny.
"Yes, midget-hime." Naruto moved to turn off the playstation. "It's Friday. It's need to get done."
"Yes, sir." Lena muttered, and grabbed her backpack. She sat in the chair behind the desk, and scooted closer to the desk.
--
"Neji-nii-sama. Is that all?" Hinata asked, glancing at her cousin. He was grinning widely, a sign that the meeting with Chunin Publishing went well. Hinata was proud of herself that she had been a part of it all.
"Yes, Hina, that's everything." Neji was close to skipping, Hinata noticed. She also noticed that he called her Hina, which made her smile a little.
Neji stopped short, his eyes wide. Hinata stopped, glancing at him. "What?" She asked. She followed his gaze, and her smile faded.
Hanabi was standing outside his office, tapping her foot.
"Crap." Hinata whispered.
--
"How do you spell 'Imbecile?" Lena asked, glancing up. Naruto looked at her.
"It depends on the context. If you're talking about Neji, Sasuke, or Gaara, it's I-m-b-e-c-i-i-l-e. If you're talking about me, it's w-o-n-d-e-r-f-ul. Or a-w-e-s-o-m-e. All depends on the context." He said, grinning slightly.
Lena rolled her eyes, fighting not to smile. "You are soo hilarious." She muttered, turning back to her paper.
"You aren't really putting imbecile in your paper, are you?" Naruto questioned.
"No, just wanted to see if you could spell it." Lena said with a shrug.
"So, how is the report going?" He asked.
"Not bad, I guess. I got past the first day, which was definitely the most exciting. Now I'm just saying that you suck at DDR."
"Don't forget to add your awful playing of the guitar." Naruto said. "People must know I can beat you at something."
"Okay, okay, I'll add the Guitar Hero." Lena muttered. "You're no fun."
Naruto looked shocked. "I'm am a lot of fun!" he said. "I am tons of fun! Just because you're a sore loser!"
"I am not a sore loser!" Lena shot back.
"Are too."
"Am not."
Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am too!"
"Are not." Naruto blinked. "Crap!"
Lena grinned smugly. "I win again."
Naruto sighed, glaring at her. "I don't like you." He muttered.
"I know." Lena said. "It's hard to like perfection."
--
"Hanabi, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Neji asked, stepping forward. Hanabi glanced at him, but her eyes slid behind him, and looked at Hinata. Hinata fought not to wince under her younger sister's gaze.
"I heard that you hired the disgrace of the family." Hanabi said, sounding almost exactly like her father. "I wanted to know if you didn't get the order that no major company was supposed to hire her."
Neji's eyes went cold. Hinata flushed with a mixture of embarrassment, anger, and frustration. Why couldn't her father understand anything?
"I do not believe that is any of your business." Neji said, his voice icy.
"I don't really care," Hanabi said, a grin crossing her face. "I really don't see why you hired her. It's not like she has any use."
"Hanabi, if you going to keep insulting her, leave." Neji snapped. "It's extremely annoying."
Hanabi glared at him. Hinata lifted her eyes from the ground, and looked at her younger sister. Something didn't look right to her, and she realized what it was.
Hanabi usually favored chaos in her outfits. She liked short skirts in wild colors, layered shirts that stood out in a crowd, and the weirdest shoed Hinata had ever seen. She loved her hair to be crazy, looking wild beyond belief.
Today, Hanabi was dressed in black slacks, and a black blazer over a lavender undershirt. She was wearing sensible black shoes, and her hair was straightened to drape down her back.
"What happened to you?" Hinata blurted out, before she could help herself. Neji and Hanabi looked at her.
"Excuse me?" Hanabi asked, her eyebrows arching.
"Perhaps we should speak in the office." Neji murmured. Both girls ignored him.
"Your clothes, your hair, everything. It's different, changed. What happened?" Hinata asked again, her hands waving with her words.
Hanabi blinked at her. "I changed." She said sharply. "What did you expect when you disgraced everyone, and I had to take your place?"
Hinata stared at her. "Take my place? As what, the quiet, useless, embarrassing daughter?" The volume of Hinata's voice started rising, and Hanabi took a step back. "The one who should be more like Hanabi, be louder, be more then what she was? I didn't have a place there, I never did!" Hinata shouted the last sentence, and stopped, her breath coming out quicker then normal.
"Hina-" Neji started, but Hinata wasn't finished.
"If I had a place there, Hana, I would've never been kicked out or disowned. They didn't care about me. And you took my place? I hope you enjoy it, because I never did." Hinata's voice was back to it's usual quiet tone.
Hanabi was silent. She couldn't seem to be able to meet Hinata's eyes.
Hinata felt guilty about yelling at her younger sister. It wasn't right. Hanabi didn't deserve to be yelled at about their father's idiocy. Hinata sighed.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. She took the few steps forward, and kissed her sister's cheek. Hanabi held still, allowing her to do it. Staying close, Hinata whispered softly in her sister's ear, "I know you hate me, Hana, but if you need anything, I'm here for you. Anything at all. You can call me whenever you need me, I will be here."
Hinata didn't look at her sister's face, but slipped backwards, and headed towards Naruto's office. She needed her daughter.
--
"Okay, I'm half-way done. Can we go back to the DDR now?" Lena glanced at Naruto, and blinked.
Naruto was laying with his head on the desk, dead asleep. His mouth was open slightly, his eyes fluttering as though he was dreaming.
Lena sighed under her breath, and went back to her report. She didn't want to turn on the video game, just in case it woke him up. He had seemed to be exhausted to her the past few days. After years of watching out for her mother, Lena knew that it was best to let the adults sleep.
The door opened, and Lena looked up. Her mother slipped into the room, and turned. Lena pressed a finger to her lips, and pointed at Naruto. Hinata glanced at the man, and her face softened.
Lena watched her mother, as Hinata walked towards the desk. She sat in the extra chair, and Lena noticed that her eyes never left Naruto's sleeping face.
Mom likes Naruto!, Lena realized. Her mom did need a nice guy, and they didn't come nicer then Naruto Uzumaki. She mentally grinned.
This was going to be fun.
