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Sasuke brought Itachi to see his car. "What, is this an Audi? You swung an Audi?" Itachi asked in surprise.
"Kakashi."
"Helped?"
"Hn." Sasuke gestured Itachi to the driver's seat. "Usually I give Kakashi a ride. I've got a permit."
"The one you need an adult driver with you, right?"
Sasuke nodded. "Most of the Rookies have permits but not cars. The only others are Shikamaru and Hinata."
"Ah. Hyuuga money."
Sasuke just gave a one-shouldered shrug. He didn't really know for sure whether or not Hiashi Hyuuga had paid for the car, since he knew that Hinata had been disowned long before she got the car.
"So what's the high school like?" Itachi asked in the silence as he drove.
"Turn here."
"Answer my question," Itachi demanded, swerving around a corner.
"It's annoying."
"You mean, your Fangirls, right?" Itachi snickered. Sasuke scowled.
"Hn."
Itachi pulled into a parking space right beside a black Infiniti. He was shocked when Hinata and Sasori got out of it.
"What, that's the Hyuuga's car?" Itachi mumbled to Sasuke. He nodded and headed up to the school as Sasori caught up to Itachi.
"How was playing big brother?" Sasori grumbled.
"Pretty normal. Brings me back to the old days," Itachi said. "How was the girl?"
"… We fight a lot," Sasori admitted.
"Ah. Be glad you didn't get-"
"Cotton-candy-head? Yeah, I know."
As if on cue, Konan and Sakura came walking around the corner, both engulfed in an awkward silence.
Itachi nudged Sasori, smirked and they walked inside the school.
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The entire student body was called to the auditorium while the principal spoke.
"We welcome to a new year at Konoha High, with a few new students … ex-Akatsuki-members, and a few foreign exchanges from Water Country who come with orders to study to become specialized field Hunter-nin."
There was scattered applause. Hinata, looking around, didn't miss the several looks of fear about hearing of the Akatsuki.
"Also, might I remind you that this Friday is our Dante's Day?"
"Sounds stupid," Deidara muttered to Itachi under his breath.
"It's mandatory," the principal snapped; he had heard them. "If you don't participate, you receive a suspension where the Hokage assigns you charity work and community service for about … a month or so. Add that to surplus homework."
There were a few groans throughout the audience.
"The legend behind the Dante's Day is quite an old one. There was a girl, named Dante, and a boy named Danzo. The boy, Danzo, was driven with hate and fear and anger. He brought darkness to the whole village."
It was a very common bedtime story in Konoha; Hinata would bet almost every child heard it at least once when they were younger.
"To the villagers, Danzo was a shadow, a figure of terror and danger, but to Dante, he was her love, her light. So she walked the darkness, and it was painful. She was almost killed, but she found Danzo, and confessed her love for him at daybreak on the first Friday of September."
Absolute silence reigned.
"So for Dante's Day, the first Friday of every September, each student is required to give one other student a gift."
"Only one?" A foreign exchange piped up.
"Restricted to one per person, but if you are given more than one gift, it doesn't matter. As long as you only give away one, and to that one person you consider your light."
Several eyes were flirtatiously flapping at the two Uchiha brothers, and even at Sasori and Deidara.
"Bring your gift on Friday."
Friday would be the day after tomorrow. Hinata sighed as the bell rang to dismiss them and everyone dispersed to their first period class.
She would give something to Naruto, and hopefully summon the courage to tell him how she felt.
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At lunch, Hinata sat at the table with Sakura, Ino, Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, Sasuke and Choji.
"Dante's Day again … last year was so troublesome," Shikamaru groaned.
"Yeah, every single girl gives their hard-worked-on gifts to the stupid bastard," Naruto frowned at Sasuke.
Sasuke smirked.
"Who did you give your gift to last year, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked curiously.
"To Kakashi," Sasuke shrugged. "He asked for it."
"What was it?"
"A kunai."
"Double-you. Tee. Eff." Ino mouthed. "You can't give anyone a kunai!"
"Well, I wasn't planning on giving anything to a girl," Sasuke scoffed.
Sakura and Ino exchanged sobs.
"Dork," a snide voice called. It was one of the girls, Aki. She was a simpering, unbelievably pretty girl who liked to think of Hinata as a bit of a dork.
She tugged on the long sleeve of Hinata's usual black dress. "This dress? So out of fashion. It's so plain and simple. And low-cut."
Hinata blushed. She didn't dare cut it any higher up than above her knee.
"And this," Aki continued, tugging on the see-through white vintage blouse that Hinata liked to wear over top. "Do you buy your clothes at Goodwill? Oh wait … you probably gotta … since you were disowned…"
Hinata frowned.
"You're so pathetic, you know that?"
Hinata's mouth tightened and twisted. She noticed that Sasori was starting to stare.
"You're such a dork. And a loser. And your hair … it's so dry and puffy and soft … here, feel mine, dork! It's silky and thick, isn't it?"
It was sort of slimy, in Hinata's opinion.
"Get away from here, weirdo. You don't deserve to sit at the same table as Sasuke-kun." Aki gave Hinata a light shoulder shove, and Hinata staggered off of her seat. Before she left, she twisted her mouth into a small grimace at Sasuke.
"I-I've never even spoken to you and you give me so much trouble," she whispered, soft enough so only he could hear.
Sasuke felt like a fist was twisting his insides as he watched her stumble over to an empty table. Kiba immediately got to his feet and followed her to the table. Soon, so did Shino, Shikamaru and Choji.
The only ones who didn't leave to follow Hinata were Sakura and Ino, because they wanted to stay with their Sasuke-kun, and Naruto, because he wanted to be with his 'favourite bastard'.
After school, Sasuke caught Hinata at the door of her black Infiniti.
"Hyuuga."
"It's H-Hinata," Hinata snapped peevishly.
Sasuke had forgotten momentarily she'd been disowned. He knew hearing her family clan's name was hard for her and backtracked.
"Sorry … Hinata, is it? Well, uh, I guess I'm sorry for what happened at lunch…"
Hinata looked up, biting her lip. "I-I took it out of hand," she said, shaking her head. "It was never your f-fault."
Sasuke just gave a nod and hesitated before opening his car door. "And, hey … I like that whole outfit thing. It's … pretty neat."
Hinata paused, shocked, and then the widest, brightest smile broke out over her face. Her eyes seemed to be shining at him, and Sasuke turned away awkwardly and disappeared into the car.
His words played repetitively through Hinata's head as she drove home. She couldn't help the blush that crept over her face every time she heard his compliment in her mind over and over.
She didn't realize that she had left Sasori at school.
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The Akatsuki actually had had a great first day at school. They had become tremendously popular seniors, who everyone was awed and slightly intimidated by, but their every move was watched as though they were gods in their own way.
Sasori caught a ride with Itachi and Sasuke home since Hinata had forgotten about him. He was going to give that girl a piece of his mind when he got back…
He thanked Itachi as he shut the door and ran inside of Hinata's place. He made sure to walk extra loudly as he pounded on Hinata's bedroom door.
"HINATA."
She swung it open slowly, gently, surprising him. The slight amount of eyeliner she wore was dragging down from her eyes in a not-so-pretty picture, but since her face was flustered and the bridge of her nose was wet and her eyes were rimmed with faint redness, he assumed she'd been crying.
"What happened? You … left me at school," he said, softer.
"N-Nothing happened. I was just thinking about things."
Sasori shook his head and walked back into his bedroom, which he had now personalized with his puppetry tools all over the floor, his incomplete puppet models everywhere and designs and plans.
He lay on the bed, thinking. He listened until he heard Hinata give a soft sob and her faint footsteps receding into the bathroom. He listened until the door clicked shut.
He moved quickly. Sasori bounded into her room and grabbed the first thing he saw – a box on her bed.
It was a shoebox, tattered and old. It looked as though it had been punched and kicked many times. He brought it back to his bedroom and started sifting through the stuff.
They were Post-it notes. Torn notebook sheets. Scraps. Whatever they were, they all contained the same things.
Insults. Most of them read 'Dork' and 'Loser' and 'Weirdo', but some of them were long paragraphs. They were all in Hinata's handwriting, and he realized this box held all of Aki's words.
He understood now why the box was so beat up.
"Sasori!" Hinata screamed from the doorway, her voice strangled. "That's my – my private – don't – please – h-how could you –"
"How could I?" Sasori said, standing up incredulously. "Hinata, what is this?"
He held up a fistful of the notes and dropped it back into the box. "This is pathetic!"
"I-I know I am!" Hinata cried, stomping her foot. "I'm pathetic and w-weak and scared and I'll never be good enough f-for anybody! Just stop, o-okay?"
She stomped out of his bedroom and back to her room, slamming the door and he heard her fall onto her mattress with a sob. She had never lost control like that before; it just wasn't her. She didn't know why hearing that this boy thought she was so pathetic angered her so much.
She was normally gentle, quiet, stuttering, and never able to stand up for herself … but she thought that maybe, just maybe, the boy next door had a chance of changing that.
Hinata wiped her eyes and collapsed further into the pillows, her eyes refusing to cry any more tears for once in her life.
Sasori spent that night leafing through and reading each and every Post-it note.
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Ino ran into Hidan's room.
"Come on!" She grabbed his wrist and started dragging him downstairs.
"What the fuck is going on?"
"You are the most foul-mouthed, dirty-"
"Cut the crap. Where are we going?" Hidan frowned.
"My dad's letting us take his car! We have to get to the mall!"
Hidan's frown deepened. "…The mall? Agh…"
"Dante's Day is the day after tomorrow!" Ino whined. "We have to go buy Sasuke-kun something … and who are you giving your gift to?"
Hidan shrugged. "Who should I give it to?" He asked nonchalantly.
"Who do you like?" Ino purred, turning her face up to him with a very uncomfortable stare. He furrowed his brow and frowned.
"Stop that. It makes me uncomfortable."
"It's working," Ino sneered. "Now tell me who you like!"
"… What, we can't give these gifts to guys?"
Ino gasped loudly and lowered her voice. "You didn't tell me you … were gay," she whispered.
Hidan stomped on the brake in surprise, and then jerked the accelerator again irritably. "Fu – no, I'm not gay! I meant, friends! You know … of the same sex?"
Ino relaxed in her seat. "Oh, oh, yeah. That's allowed. Sasuke-kun gave his gift to his sensei last year and that bug boy gave his gift to the dog boy, I think … and Shikamaru and Choji gave their gifts to each other …"
Hidan sighed in relief. "Good. Is this the mall?"
Ino nodded. "Pull in here." The two of them walked into the enormous plaza and started to browse. "What do you think Sasuke-kun will like?"
"… I'm sorry, who the hell is Sassy-kay-kun?" Hidan said, ruffling his brow.
"Itachi's brother!" Ino shouted.
"O-Oh … him? Really, you're going to give him a gift? All the freaking girls are!"
"I know, but he totally wants me," Ino said smugly.
"Dream on."
Ino elbowed him in the ribs and bent over a blue sweater. "Hm … ooh golly, that's expensive. Huh, let's try this store, okay?"
Still rather winded, Hidan wheezed an affirmative reply and followed her breathlessly to the next store.
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Deidara and Naruto walked home.
"So, which one of those girls at your lunch table was yours?" Deidara smirked.
"None."
"No girlfriend? Really?" Deidara sniggered. "I had about three hanging off my arm before I joined the Akatsuki."
"I don't know … I like Sakura … but she likes Sasuke …"
Deidara sighed. "We'll just get you another girl."
The loud blond boy dragged his loud blond roommate off route and intersected the path of an average-looking golden-haired girl.
"Look at this, she's like a Goldilocks," Deidara commented. "Hi there, sexy."
She looked up at Deidara with a confused look. "Are you a pedophile?"
"Wha – oh, no! NO! This is my … my little brother, Naruto … uh, he, he thought you were sexy! Not me."
The girl swung a hip and winked at Naruto. "Well, hi there."
Deidara smirked. "Thank me later, Narutard."
"For what?" Naruto said, whispering too loudly. "Look at her hair."
"What's wrong with my hair?" The girl cried, clenching fists in her golden locks.
"You mean how they're stringy …?" Deidara said uncertainly.
The girl started to frown.
"You think my hair is stringy?" she screamed.
"Get in there and fight for your dignity!" Deidara snapped, nudging Naruto. "I'm not saving your sorry ass."
Naruto growled at Deidara and whipped around to the girl. "No! It's great … your hair is so … beautiful … like hand-pulled ramen noodles … fresh and soaked …"
"Ew!" the girl squealed.
"No! I'm serious!" Naruto yelled desperately. "It's so touchable … I mean, it looks like it'd feel so … smooth …?"
Naruto reached forward to spontaneously try and touch a strand of her hair.
The girl leapt backwards and shrieked, "Don't touch me, you creep!"
Naruto frowned as she ran away crying.
"Don't worry," Deidara said, slinging an arm around Naruto. "You couldn't count the times I've been given that line, yeah."
"Aw, man!"
"Hahaha yeah, I know, that was pathetic," Deidara laughed. "You're worse at picking up chicks than Orochimaru was when we took him to that nightclub."
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"Where are we, exactly?" Orochimaru asked.
"For the thousandth time, it's called a nightclub," Sasori grunted.
"And what are we doing here?"
"We're picking up chicks." Sasori pushed his way up to where Itachi was, leaving Deidara and Nagato with Orochimaru.
"Okay … but why? Are we planning to do something with them?"
Nagato threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "Are you #$%ing joking me?"
Deidara sighed. "Yes. Yes we are, Orochimaru," he said sarcastically. "We're doing stuff with them."
"Oh … well, alright then …"
Orochimaru sauntered into the club and looked around, taking in the brightness of the flashing lights, the roar of the crowd and the volume of the cranked music.
"What is this place?"
Sasori groaned. "It's a #$%ing nightclub, get it through your #$%ing head!"
"You're starting to sound like Hidan," Orochimaru frowned reproachfully. "I get it, it's a nightclub. Now, what are we doing here?"
Sasori cursed again and disappeared into the crowd.
"Was it something I said?" Orochimaru asked.
"…" Nagato looked at Deidara.
Deidara sighed again. "… No, he's just drunk or something, how should I know? It was nothing you said."
"Okay." Orochimaru stood awkwardly at the edge of the crowd, stiff and uncertain. "Now what? Should I get us some drinks?"
"That would be a start," Nagato said through his teeth.
Orochimaru returned later carrying two aqueous martinis.
"What is this?" Nagato growled, picking at the olive. "A dinner party? Go get us some hard liquor, dude!"
Orochimaru frowned. "Wha…"
Nagato threw the martinis to the ground and stomped over to the bar.
"Was it something I-?"
"NO," Deidara said exasperatedly. "No, okay? No. It's never going to be something you did or said. Just drop it. Drop everything. Just … just go sit at the bar and talk to a girl."
"…" Orochimaru did as he was told, sliding into a seat at the bar. Seconds later, a provocatively-dressed girl took the seat next to him and started to chat flirtatiously.
"Score," Deidara muttered, moving closer to try and eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Come here often?" The girl purred, running her tongue along her lower lip.
"…Actually, no. This would be the first time I've ever been to a place like this," Orochimaru said distantly, turning away.
Deidara started to panic. No! What! He was mouthing alerts to Orochimaru behind the girl's back, making wide arm motions and frantic gestures.
Orochimaru just ignored him as the girl tried to get his attention again.
"Can I interest you in anything I've got?" She started to run her hands down her body, and Orochimaru stared.
"Oh, are you selling stuff?"
"Well sure, honey, I'm selling me."
Orochimaru cocked an eyebrow. "… What's your price?"
"… Whatever you want it to be," she said huskily.
"That's a relief, because I've only got thirty cents with me but I'm sure that's more than enough, right? Well, I figured I should have brought more money and all …" Orochimaru started rambling nonstop.
The girl sighed and scratched her chin. "Do you want a cigarette?"
"Oh … I don't smoke."
The girl shrugged and pulled a cigarette from her tight breast pocket, causing a condom to fall out. "Oops." She giggled, insinuating she had done that on purpose.
"Looks like you dropped something," Orochimaru said, picking it up and handing it to her. "Hey, this is-"
"Yeah, it's a condom," the girl confirmed.
Silence.
"…I'm sorry, a what?"
"A condom?"
"… Neat." Orochimaru practically threw it back at her. "Uh … so … how do you feel about snakes?"
"Ooh, that's dirty," she giggled.
"Not really, now, their slimy skin usually keeps off the dirt."
"Slimy? … Oh, are you wet already?"
"… I believe I'm dry, aren't I?"
Deidara face-palmed himself and decided to step in. "Sorry, my friend here just has a weird way of suggesting things, yeah … but he really just wants to pound you so hard until the walls crumble, crush you like a bug until you scream for mercy, un."
The girl giggled and flushed and grabbed Orochimaru, leading him into a private room.
"Thank me later, yeah," Deidara nudged Orochimaru, who still looked confused.
About ten minutes later, Orochimaru auspiciously closed the door of the private room and was about to walk away from it when Sasori caught his elbow.
"Love 'em and leave 'em, eh?" Sasori smirked. "Nice."
Orochimaru gave him a confused look. "What are you talking about?"
"Where's your girl?"
"… She's dead."
Sasori dropped a sweat. "…What."
"Well, Deidara told me to pound her hard and crush her like a bug until she screams for mercy …"
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Itachi leaned back on the sofa. "So, which girl is yours?"
"None of them," Sasuke snapped.
"… Okay … which one do you want to be yours?" Itachi rephrased.
"… None of them."
"Mm … you do realize you could have any of those girls with a blink of your eye, right?"
Sasuke nodded in annoyance. "Hn."
"Here's a wild and crazy idea – just give one of them a gift for Dante's Day."
"Never in a million years," Sasuke grunted. "That would set them off like crazy."
"… Come on, cotton-candy-head didn't seem so bad," Itachi suggested.
"Sakura?"
"Oh, that's her name? That's nice … why don't you take her out?"
Sasuke made a face. "Who do you think you are, my new brain? No way."
"Why not?"
"She's annoying."
"Because she's into you," Itachi reasoned. "I can see why, too. It's just something we Uchihas got."
Sasuke smirked. "She's nothing different than all of those other girls."
"Even Sasori's girl? The one with the black Infiniti that parked beside us today?" Itachi asked carefully.
"Che. She likes the dobe."
"Why?"
"#$% if I know."
"You sound like Hidan when you swear. It's just so foul and bitter," Itachi laughed. "Well, then there's your answer. Give Sasori's girl your gift."
"No way in hell."
"Why? Do you like her?" Itachi teased.
"Are you kidding? She spoke her first words to me today."
"And whose fault is that?" Itachi said. "Maybe if you weren't such an unapproachable mass of heartlessness and ice…"
"Save it," Sasuke sighed. "I'm going out."
"Where to?"
"I don't know. I guess I'll go buy another kunai for Kakashi."
"Agh, that's gay."
"You're gay." Sasuke grabbed his jacket off the chair.
"Oh, that's cute."
"You're cute." Sasuke face-palmed himself. "Shit. I walked straight into that one."
"… Now who's gay?"
"Still you, Itachi." Sasuke closed the door behind him.
"I am going to get him a girl if it's the last thing I do." He picked up the phone and called Sasori.
Operation Missing-nin Matchmaker was now in session.
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