Thanks to everyone who reviewed and gave me ideas or words of encouragement. You guys gave me the fuel for this chapter. Because of you guys, I can keep this story going until the end, which isn't that far away. I just hope I did you guys and this story justice. Um here goes chapter 16. I hope you guys like it.
I don't own Naruto or any of the characters that are associated with the show.
Important Notes
* Hinata calls Kurenai: Mom
*Haveah and Havana call Kurenai: Grandma
*Nicknames: Hinata (Hina) Haveah (Veah) Havana (Vana) Jacob (Jake) or (Jakey) Hanabi (Nabi)
- Kurenai Cakes
Chapter 16
The Hyuga Mansion
Hiashi's Office
The kids were gone. He'd sent all of the maids and butler's home. They were alone. Uryu had come over. Now they were sitting at his desk in his home office.
Silence. White orbs clashed with dark brown. The heads of two households were looking at each other. No hate or rivalry has rolled over from business is reflected in their gazes. This was about their families. Correction their family. That's what they are now. They are relatives now, linked by their grandchildren. The grandchildren that one grandfather has been lucky to meet, the other not so lucky. But no resentment is held. These two men have to find a way to bring their families together as one for the sake of their grandchildren, as well as the parents, their own children.
The white eyed man was the first to break the silence. "Scotch? Bourbon?" he looked over to the file cabinet where two crystal clear glasses were sitting, two pieces of ice in each. The bottles of alcohol, sitting right behind the glasses.
The other man answered, "Neither, I drove here."
"Very well. I'll just have some alone." Hiashi grabbed one glass and picked up the bottle of bourbon. Then he opened the liquor and poured himself one forth of a glass full. He took a sip of the brown alcohol.
"You realize that we are practically family now, Uryu?"
"I didn't come here for pleasantries, Hiashi. You said that you had something to talk to me about. So talk."
"You do realize that we are both grandfathers right?" a nod from the other man signaled that he understood. "Well I know how much your son wants to see them and I'm here to make it happen."
"Why? My son said that he had a conversation with your daughter about his children, she was against the idea. If that is true, why are you doing this?" Uryu studied Hiashi as the other man looked down, avoiding eye contact. "She doesn't know about this does she?"
"My friend, I am afraid so. What I'm doing will probably strain our already rocky relationship." Hiashi explained, regretfully. He picked up his glass and took a swig of the bourbon. "It's fine, though. I'm doing this for her, Haveah's and Havana's benefit. This is the only way that she can keep her children."
"What makes you think that we'd even try to take the children from Hinata?" Uryu inquired.
Hiashi chuckled deeply. His gaze shifted from his glass to Uryu's eyes at his glass. "Be serious. Both of us are very alike, you know. We both believe in family values. Granted our fatherly skills suck because we're workaholics. But we both love our children with a strength that rivals that of a lion with it's cubs and I assume that when it comes to the children of our children that that fact is no different." Hiashi paused. He picked up his glass again and swirled the liquid and ice around a couple of times before drinking some.
Putting the glass back down, Hiashi continued "That being said, I know that you'd do anything to keep your family. Haveah and Havana are no exception. You'd do anything to see them and if Hinata stood in your way, you wouldn't hesitate to go after her for custody, which would evoke my wrath. So to avoid all of that we're going to do a little compromise of sorts. One that doesn't end in a painful custody battle. That is in no ones best interest. And if Hinata lost custody that'd make her want to runaway again even more than she does now."
"So she doesn't want to be here?" Hiashi looked pained. Uryu could read the Hyuga as plain as day. They'd been business rivals as well as acquaintances, so reading him wasn't that hard. The Hyuga was hurting and the source of that pain came from his elder daughter's return. Uryu could tell that Hiashi was elated to have her home. The way the pale-eyed man talked about her was proof of that, but he knew that something was also hurting Hiashi. "I'll just wait for him to open up to me. I can see that this is a touchy subject, Hinata being back."
There was a long period of silence. Both men were tangled up in their hectic thoughts. Uryu wanted to help his friend, yet he didn't know what it was like to be in the position of having one of his children running away. Sure, his children were rebellious, too smart mouthed for their own good, and ill tempered, but they knew their limitations. They knew that they'd need their parents. Yet Hinata was nothing like his children. From what he remembered of her, she was quiet, shy, polite and self-sufficient to the point that she used to be place in charge of her little sister's care. Maybe that's why she eluded them for three years. She knew how to take care of herself and her children. The fact that she'd done so without coming back and asking for anything proved that she was just like her late mother. Strong. Yet he could see how her strength to leave hurt his youngest son the most.
Hiashi was thinking about the similarities between Rukia and Hinata. They'd both been great mothers. Then a pang hit his heart. He'd remembered her call Xavier's crimson eyed younger sister 'mom.' "How could she find a 'replacement' for her mother. Rukia was an amazing mother. How could Hinata take the title from my late wife and hand it over to someone that she has only known for three years? How could she replace her whole entire family?" Hiashi had been staring at his glass, while he was questioning himself. When he looked up, he saw that Uryu was looking at him with a very concerned gaze. "I might as well tell him. Here goes nothing." he sighed mentally.
"While she was away, it seems that she gained a new family to replace the one that she had here. She even got a 'new mother.'" Hiashi said. Hurt laced his voice, but what would one to expect? His daughter wanted nothing to with her family… her real family.
"A new mother. To replace Rukia? I don't understand why she would do that. She should surely know that no one can replace her mother, the woman who gave birth to her." Uryu mused aloud. "But there is something that I have to know." he thought. "My son is still in love with her." "Hiashi, is there someone in her life, romantically I mean?"
"Why do her romantic affairs interest you?" Hiashi shot back with a smirk, but he soon sighed when he received no reply.
Hiashi started to speak again. "Well, I don't know much, but she's really close to one of the twins' uncles named Jacob Skywalker. I don't think that there is anything going on between the two. He has a girlfriend, but I do know that he cares a great deal about her and vice versa. To the point that anyone who doesn't know that they are friends can mistake them for lovers. Other than that there is no other male in her life that she is as close to as him."
"That could prove to be a problem in the future. Especially since my son is still hopelessly in love with your daughter."
"Is that so?" Hiashi asked. "That could work out to our advantage. I know that Hinata is in love with Gaara. If this works out my granddaughters won't grow up in a broken home."
"You mean our granddaughters?" Uryu shot back. Hiashi gave him a look that said 'you know what I meant.' "Do you think that they will be able to work together to raise their children?"
"I don't know what will happen. I guess that we'll just let the chips fall where they may. Once Gaara becomes a permanent part of the girls' lives, we'll go from there. I just hope that my stubborn daughter can work with Gaara on this. For Haveah and Havana's sake. For their sake. Hell, even for our sake."
Silence fell upon them once more. Hiashi poured him some more bourbon into his glass, while Uryu analyzed him. "Is there something else that you need to tell me Hyuga?"
The distant sound of knocks on the front door echoed through the near- empty house. "Looks like our guests have arrived." Hiashi rose from his seat with is his glass and walked to the door of his office, but stopped, "You coming?"
At the Beach
With Gaara
This hasn't happened for him in a long time. Being happy and no Matsuri at his side. Gaara was sitting under an umbrella on a beach towel, watching everything and one around him. This was something that he couldn't have done lately. Most times when he came out, he'd have Matsuri with him. And he never had a good time. It was peaceful, not having a girl clinging to his side. It showed him what he was missing out on, especially when he observed his friends. His friends were everywhere. Laughing. Running with Akamaru. Eating. Sitting intimately with their significant others. There was someone missing though. Tenten sitting on the other the other side of the cooler with a drink in her hand alone proved that much. Where was Neji?
"Why should I care, anyway? He's probably at home with my kids and Hinata. How the hell is it fair for him to see them when I can't? Dammit. I can't think about that right now. I'm at the beach. This is supposed to be fun." he was brought of his thoughts by his stomach rumbling. "I guess I should go get something to eat." he got up and walked to the walkway that was farther inland, which is where the food venders were.
With Hinata
"I can't believe I let them talk me into to coming here with them. I'll get to see all of them again. My friends. Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Naruto, Kankuro, Rock Lee, Choji, Ino, Natalie, Temari, Sakura, Kaylie, Elea, Sami, Tenten and Akamaru. I've really missed them the past three years. I hope they won't hate me." Hinata thought as she stepped out of the back of a white Escalade truck, her children right behind her (she'd unbuckled them when the car parked.)
Half of her dark blue tresses were pulled up into a high ponytail and the other half was down falling over her back and shoulders, her bangs covering her forehead. She wore her slanted black and white striped miraculous pushup bra bikini. On top of her bikini, she had a sheer black tunic cover-up that had kimono-style sleeves and a deep V-neckline. It was adjustable, but Hanabi had adjusted the piece of clothing to stop at her sister's thighs, showing off too much leg in Hinata's opinion. On her feet were her pair of black wedged heel sandals that buckled around her ankle.
The girls on either side of her had on their lime green swimsuits with the matching shorts and their white sandals. Havana had her dark blue hair parted down the middle with two pigtails. Haveah had her brick red hair in a ponytail.
The twins held onto their mother's hands as she followed behind Hanabi and Neji as they led them through the semi-crowded beach to the spot where their friends were supposed to be. Hinata really was apprehensive about doing this. She was going to see her old friends again. The ones that she left without a word. She jus abandoned them and she was sure that they wouldn't talk to her when they saw her. It's not like she could blame them if they hated her guts. She kinda hated herself for leaving them like that, but no matter how bad she felt, she wouldn't take leaving Konoha back for anything in the world.
"Please don't let them hate me" Hinata pleaded to God as she walk through the sand, ignoring the lingering stares from the guys and some girls that she passed by with her children.
They kept walking until Neji announced the words "We're here." as soon as he said that, he left walking towards someone.
Hinata looked around and saw that all of her old friends were scattered everywhere. They seemed to have had like their own private section of the sandy beach. It wasn't too close to the water, but it wasn't that far from it either. She saw older versions of all her friends. They'd all grown taller, either hair grew longer or changed style, and some of them got tattoos. Choji was now sporting a pair of swirl marks on each cheek.
Choji and Sami were sitting under an umbrella eating what looked to be like a large bag of potato chips. Naruto and Sakura were playing in the water. Actually, it was more like Naruto was splashing water on Sakura as she yelled at him. Shikamaru sat under an umbrella and Temari was next to him in a beach chair soaking up the sun. Tenten was sitting by the cooler under a beach umbrella. Kankuro and Kaylie were playing volleyball against Rock Lee and Elea. Couple vs. Couple. Shino and Natalie were making a huge sandcastle in front of Tenten.
She'd seen all of her old friends except Kiba and Ino. (Hinata didn't know this, but they were playing with Akamaru, running up and down the beach chasing after a Frisbee. They were at the other side of the beach, when out of nowhere Akamaru started barking and running in the other direction [Toward Hinata].) Hinata was trying to see if she saw them when Hanabi came up to her and the twins.
"Hey, come on you guys." she smiled. "We can't stand here forever." with that, the younger sister grabbed Haveah by her hand and pulled the red-haired little girl as well as her mother and twin sister toward the volleyball game.
"Hey guys!" Hanabi yelled. They stopped the game. "Come over here." they came over.
"Hey, Nabi. Why did you call us over here?" it was Elea.
Closer up Hinata could see all of her friends. Elea's dark brown hair had grown from the top of her neck to spilling a few inches off her shoulders. She grown a lot taller: Hinata stood at about her shoulder. She was wearing a red tank top and a black pair of mini shorts. Rock Lee kept his weird bowl cut hairstyle and his muscles seemed to have become more noticeable, especially since he was shirtless and wearing a pair of green swimming trunks outlined in orange. Kankuro had just grown taller and had on a simple pair of swimming trunks that showed of his six-pack abs. Kaylie's jet-black hair had been cut because instead of stopping at the middle of her back, it stopped at her shoulders. And she'd filled out a little more. That was only assented by her grey bikini.
"Hinata?" Kankuro spoke. He took a step closer to her and the twins.
Before she could open her mouth to affirm his assumption, he picked her in a bone-crushing hug. "I missed you, little sis. I didn't get to hug you when you first came back." he whispered against her hair.
He held her for a long time. The only reason that he seemed to let go was because Hanabi was yelling at him to give her some air. When he'd let go, she was trying to catch her breath when Rock Lee embraced her.
"My youthful friend you have returned!" he'd spun her around, but once he let her go, he dragged her off toward her other old friends. Their first stop was going to be Tenten, who was with Neji, but before they could make it to Tenten. A big white dog tackled Hinata to the sandy ground. It's tongue constantly licked her face in a loving fashion and she couldn't help, but giggle.
"Is this Akamaru?" Hinata thought. She looked up at her attacker. "He's fucking huge now!"
"Kiba, get your giant fur ball off of my sister!" Hinata heard Hanabi yelled to someone who sounded like they were panting.
"What?" some one panted. Whoever it was sounded like a boy. His voice was vaguely familiar. "Sorry, Nabi. I may be going deaf, but did you say that Hinata is under Akamaru right now."
"Yeah, now get that damn dog off my sister." Hanabi shot back.
"Aka-Akamaru, get off of Hinata." Kiba ordered. When the dog got up Hinata was met with the worried faces of her daughters.
"M-mommy, are you-you o-okay?" they asked in a synchronized unison.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Hinata rose to her feet and shook the sand off of her. When she looked up she saw a stupefied Kiba, Ino, Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru, Temari, Tenten, Sami, Choji, Natalie and Shino (Shino wasn't really showing any noticeable emotion. His eyes were covered with shades, and his mouth never moved.)
"Holy shit! Hinata!" Again, she was swept into another hug that came from Kiba. When he released her, she realized that he'd gotten his cheeks tattooed with red triangles. And then it was decided that all of her other old friends would give her hugs also.
After everyone had their hugging rounds, Naruto had finally noticed something out of the ordinary. Or maybe he was the only one brave enough to ask the question? To voice what almost everyone was thinking. "Hey, Hinata, who are the kids?"
"W-well, these are-are my daughters." Hinata took a pause to look at everyone's shocked faces. Everyone except Hanabi, Neji, Temari, and Kankuro; they'd already knew.
Another brave soul continued the conversation. The pink haired girl clad in a red strapless bikini. Sakura said. "What are their names?"
Hinata's eyes widened a fraction. She didn't know why she was surprised exactly. Maybe it was the way the fact that Sakura wasn't interrogating her like the judge had done earlier.
"Um, th-this is H-Havana." she gestured to he dark-blue haired daughter with pale lavender eyes. Then she gestured to her turquoise-sea foam green-eyed little girl with red hair. "And th-this is Have- Haveah." Sakura bent down and introduced herself as well as everyone else, besides Neji and Hanabi. Hinata let out a small smile as she saw her children interact with her old friends.
"Maybe, this won't be so bad? Maybe the worst is over and maybe we can at least have a normal life."
"Who's the father?" Hinata's eyes darted to her group of friends. But red caught her attention. It was Gaara. She may have been out of practice with reading his expressions, since she hadn't done it in three years, but the way his eyes were slightly narrowed and the way his cold-toned words filtered through the air to her ears gave off the impression that Gaara was furious.
And that's where more hell began. Hell of epic proportions.
Forty-five minutes later
With Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari
Gaara was in the backseat of Temari's midnight blue 2011 Chrysler 300 with a thin white towel filled with ice up to his right eye, which was now sporting a dark purplish-black ring around it. It hurt so fucking bad. So fucking bad that Gaara thought that he had a feeling that he gained brain damage. Who knew a girl her size could pack a punch with so much force behind it. "I can't believe that she fucking hit me!" he groaned aloud.
"You deserved it." Kankuro retorted. "Why did you push her like that? Did you not think that there would be consequences of your stupidity?" "How the hell could he do that?" the brown haired male growled to himself. "She was talking to us. She even let me meet my nieces, personally. And then this jackass had to be all mean and rude."
"Gaara, what made you do that?" Temari asked out of the blue.
The redhead's response: "You know, Temari, I really don't know." he stared out of the window, watching the trees fly by. His previous actions entered his mind. "Why am I such an idiot." he growled to no one in particular.
Flashback
He'd just gotten back from the concession stands to see that all of his friends were a little ways down from the volleyball net. Naturally curious to see what was going on he walked over to him, but when he saw the three people facing his friends, he stilled about ten feet away. Them.
He saw the sexy mother of his children point to his pale-lavender eyed daughter and stutter. "Um, th-this is H-Havana." then she introduced his turquoise-sea foam green-eyed daughter and say "And th-this is Have- Haveah."
Elation flooded through his body. He'd finally learned their names, although not directly, but still a small victory. That was amazing. But as he watched his friends, his brother, and his sister get to talk to his daughter before he'd even gotten the chance, he'd gotten jealous and decided to make himself known.
His mouth moved on it's own accord. He was just lashing out. "Who's the father?"
Everyone turned to him, but they didn't matter. The only person he was intent on hurting was Hinata. He looked at her pale orbs and saw that she looked petrified. And for some reason he reveled in that. Making her suffer for hurting him was what she deserved. Or at least that's what his head told him as his conscience and heart begged him to stop.
"Why don't you tell them who the father is Hinata?" he pressed on, walking closer to the group. No one made a move to stop him. And he was glad for that. He could see Hinata's jaw clenching. He'd angered her. "Oh, so you don't want to tell our precious friends why you left and suddenly come back with two little girls. One that has eyes that look just like mine and one with hair just like mine."
"Don't," she warned. A poisonous hatred laced her voice. He didn't heed her warning. He kept walking until finally a hand grabbed him. He looked up to see Neji towering over him.
"Don't take another step toward her, Sabaku" the eldest Hyuga at the beach sneered, his stone cold gaze focused on the seventeen year old redhead. To someone normal that soul sucking pair of eyes that watched him would frighten anyone that he knew into submission, but those pale-blue orbs only egged Gaara on. To indulge in vengeance.
Before he could tell the Hyuga boy to release him, Hinata did. "N-Neji, l-let him go-go." though her voice was shaking, he could feel the waves of anger radiating off of her. "I still can do that to her." Gaara smirked mentally.
The older boy looked to her apprehensively before letting go. Then she did something else surprising, she walked up to him and stared him down, which was quite a feat because she was a good head shorter than he was.
Her gaze was complex. Piercing. Strong. Ruthless. Innocently angry. He was about to crumble under her gaze. He didn't know why, but he was going to turn away when her right fist landed a punch to his right eye. The shock as well as the force made him fall to the ground.
She crouched beside his ear. She hissed slowly, making sure to torture him verbally as much as possible. "The reason I left is because you were a cheating asshole. And don't you dare insinuate that you are their father. You are nothing of the sort. They have fathers and they aren't you." with that she walked away. But he got to see a shot of her hips swaying back and forth.
End of Flashback
Temari looked at her youngest brother through her rearview mirror. "Well something good did come out of this. We got to talk to your daughters."
"Yay for you." Gaara cheered unenthusiastically.
"Don't be so unhappy. Another good thing came out of today." Temari persisted, eying him from the rearview mirror.
"Oh and what's that, Temari. I can still make her run away?" Gaara snorted. "That's not good. I don't want her to run away. I need her to stay."
"That's the point silly little brother. The fact that you made her angry and made her run away proved that she still loves you as much as you love her." she saw his eyes widen. "Hopeless little brothers" "Don't be so surprised little bro. I am a girl. I have intuition about these kinds of things."
Kankuro shook his head with a laugh. "Intuition? Intuition my ass. You have lost it big sis."
"Yes intuition. Don't doubt me Kankuro. And my intuition is telling me that Hinata is still in love with you. And to be honest, all talk of female intuition aside, it was kind of obvious. I mean she looked so pissed at you. The only way you can make a girl who has feelings for you." Temari explained.
As Gaara digested this new enlightenment that Temari bestowed on him, a small smile appeared on his face. "She still loves me? If she does that mean that I have a chance… to be with her again? To make a family with my kids and her? To be a father? To love them?" Uncertainty and hope rushed though his veins. But that was better than believing that the mother of your children and soul mate hated your guts. At least now, he knew that he stood a chance to get back into her life.
Maybe he could win her back. Or maybe they could be friends again. It didn't matter he'd find a way to become a part of her life again as well as become the father to his children. That was something that he would not wavier on, becoming a part of his children's lives. He would never become a deadbeat or be like his dad. Of course his father provided for him, his mother and his siblings, but he wasn't always there for the little things, such as to congratulate them when they got honor roll or received awards, or watch Gaara play soccer, Temari cheer or play volleyball, or Kankuro act in school plays. Gaara was determined to be there.
"But I've missed so much. I didn't get to watch them come into the world. I never got to be there for their first words, the first time they crawled, first steps… I just missed everything." he thought. He was feeling guilty. If he would've found out… If he had known about Hinata being pregnant, he would have been there. But it was his fault that she left. He was the reason that he never met his children. "But I promise I spend the rest of my life trying to atone for missing out on their first years of life"
Temari and Kankuro watched Gaara out of the corner of their eyes. His face was contorted in contemplation. Their thought was unanimous "Gaara is finally growing up."
With Hinata
Hinata was back in the backseat of the truck. The knuckles on her right hand were bleeding. The skin was torn slightly. It didn't bother her as much as the worried glances that she receiving from the driver's and passenger seat, and the seat behind her. (Tenten was with them. She was in the front with Neji.)
"Y-you d-do realize th-that it is im-mpolite to s-stare?" Hinata asked, looking down at her knuckles.
"How the hell do you do that? How the hell could you just punch someone out like that then turn around and become a stuttering mess less than an hour later?" Hanabi questioned leaning over the third row to the second with her head right behind Hinata's.
"I-I w-was angry ear-earlier." Hinata replied innocently.
"Well remind me to never piss you off unless I want to be the recipient of a black eye or bloody nose." Hanabi joked. Hinata smiled.
"Mom-mommy? I-I thawt Grandma and Hady were going to be at da beash." Haveah asked.
"M-maybe we missed them. We we-weren't th-there for that long." Hinata explained. "We were only there like thirty- thirty five minutes tops, so maybe we did missed them. Or maybe they didn't come to the beach? If they didn't, where the hell are they."
"Mis-mister N-Neji can we-we go-go get something to eat?" Havana said.
The Hyuga Mansion
In the Living Room
No one in this family ever thought that they'd be here, in the mansion of Hyugas, the people who took half of their family away. They were all seated in the living room. Jacob was sitting on a black leather couch with Gabriella, Victoria, Danny and Catalina. Kurenai, Xavier, Avery, Hayden, and Ryan shared a white leather couch. The white armchair was occupied by Hiashi Hyuga and the black armchair was occupied by someone that was introduced to them as Uryu Sabaku. The head s of the Hyuga and Sabaku families had just explained that Hinata would have to let Gaara into Haveah and Havana's lives or she'd be taken to court for custody, but her keeping Veah and Vana away from Gaara would work against her.
"Do you understand the magnitude what you are asking of her?" Jacob's voice. His was lower than normal; it sounded like he was in pain. He was. His best friend's and his nieces' futures were stake. "How the hell did our vacation become a hell on earth?"
"I do, but I have no other choice." Hiashi replied. "Hinata has no other choice. If she does not do this, I don't know if we'd win in court."
"Are you sure that you know what you are getting into?" Jacob asked looking into Hiashi's eyes. Hiashi looked at him; confusion was etched onto his face. Jacob sighed and looked over at Avery. His eyes were saying 'Tell him what I mean.'
"What Jake is trying to say is that Hinata isn't the same person that she was when she left. She won't take what you are doing lightly. She will be hurt and angry and when she is like that, she lashes out at anyone within range. But she'll be living here." Avery elaborated as she looked down at her sleeping son who was lying across her and her boyfriend's lap.
"That is a risk that I am willing to take. This is for her and Haveah and Havana's benefit. This is so that she can keep her children. It is also the opportunity for the girls to meet their father." Hiashi reasoned.
"Okay, so why do you want us to be mad at us too?" Jacob asked out of the blue.
"I'm not sure that I understand what you mean?" Hiashi spoke.
"Don't give me that b.s. you know as well as we do that she's not going to listen to you, so you made us come her to do the dirty work for you to try to convince her to let the redhead into Veah and Vana's lives." Jacob retorted with a sigh. Hiashi didn't speak back. "So that means I'm right."
"Yes that is true. I do need you to help me convince Hinata that letting Gaara see his children is the best option, but you also have to let her know that this will happen whether she wants to or not. I have to do this because…" Hiashi was cut off by Uryu.
"He has to do this because I don't think that Hinata wants my grandchildren to be motherless and living with me without any hope of ever seeing her again." the Sabaku sneered with a smirk as he saw Jacob's jaw tense.
"So this is how it has to be? No other options?" Jacob wanted to make sure that he had his facts straight before he risked his friendship for this.
"I am afraid not."
Jacob looked at his family. They all nodded with the exception of the sleeping Hayden. "Fine, we'll do it. We'll convince Hinata to do this."
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With Hinata
Surprises. Hinata hates them. It always seems that they always mean something bad, when she is involved. So you can probably imagine how surprised Hinata was when she came back from lunch and dropping of Tenten to see her whole new family, Uryu Sabaku and her dad in the living room discussing the fact that Hiashi was going to let Gaara see her children without her permission. Like all the other times when things got shot to hell, Hinata ran away. She grabbed the girls by their hands and took them upstairs to her bedroom, but before she could lock the door, Kurenai, Jacob, and Avery were all looking at her.
Crying, cursing, and arguing ensued. Hinata couldn't believe that they'd take Hiashi's side over hers. But they begged her to listen to them, that letting Gaara see the girls would ensure that her and the girls wouldn't be separated, but betrayal was the only thing that Hinata saw. She wasn't listening. She was too hysteric, so much so that Jacob decided to talk to her alone. He sent the girls down stairs with Avery and Kurenai.
He tried to hold her and tell her that everything was going to work out, but she was inconsolable and angry. She pushed him away told him that she hated him, that he didn't care about her or the girls and she was leaving. He told her that she was being selfish, stupid, and naive to believe that she could try to run away again. The strain on her heart was too much. This wasn't fair.
"You do realize that I know you right?" right now Hinata was in the bed, face down in the pillows crying and Jacob was sitting on the floor with his back against the bed. She'd calmed down considerably. Now she was just exhausted, hurt, and at a loss for what to do.
"Y-you do-don't k-know me, Jakey." Hinata sniffled.
"I know you enough to know that the reason you are angry isn't just because he has to become a part of the twins' lives." he paused and she heard him take a deep breath. "You still love him don't you." He wasn't asking her a question. He was telling her.
A mumble was heard, but it was incoherent. "What did you say, Hina?"
She lifted her head. "I-I don't love him?"
"It sounds like you asking me. But it's pretty obvious. I mean the way you tense up at the sound of his name. You lo…"
"I c-can't... I mean he hurt me."
"You can love someone and not like them, you know?" he turned to look at her. She looked so lost. Tears stained her pale cheeks. Eyes red and puffy. Her bottom lip between her teeth.
"I…I'm sc-scared."
"I know, but this isn't all about you anymore. Veah and Vana come first. All of your personal feelings aside, you still have to do this. I mean it's the only way to ensure that your little girls stay with you."
"H-how can you say that? You won't be here with me. You and Gabriella are going to college in less than two months and the rest of the family has to go back to Kingakure. I'll be alone in this." she whispered.
Jacob reached into his pocket and pulled out her cell phone and charger. "That's why we have communication devices like these and laptops. I'll still be in Konoha. Just call me and I'll be there. And you can video chat with the rest of the family. And you have your dad, sister and cousin here. And you have all of your old friends."
"But …we won't be-be us any-anymore."
He turned around sideways, grabbed her right hand, and held it. "That's nonsense. I will still be Jacob Skywalker and you will still be Hinata Inoue the mother of my nieces, my best friend, Kurenai's daughter and part of our family. That will never change, but you have to understand that you are a Hyuga and that they are your family too. You understand, don't you?"
She nodded in reluctant understanding. "So who did you punch in the face?" Jacob asked.
"W-what?"
"Your knuckles are bloody. So who as the lucky dude to get punched in the face."
She went onto to tell him that she hit Gaara when he had practically told all of her old friends that he was the father of Haveah and Havana. "Hinata you know that Gaara is their father."
"I know." tears fell from her eyes onto the pillows.
"And you'll have to tell them the truth sometime soon. You're staying in Konoha and Hiashi is going to let him into your lives." He continued.
"I kn-know, okay? I know that I-I can't run from this, but doesn't make what I have to do any easier. I mean you, Ryan and Danny have been their f-fatherly figures. So how is it fair to the girls by just telling them that Gaara, a man that they never knew is their real father."
"It's going to be hard, but they deserve to know that Gaara is their father especially if they are going to be spending so much time around the guy."
A Few Hours Later
It was dark outside. Her family had left about an hour ago. The twins were in the bed asleep and Hinata was at the desk in her bedroom writing in her diary.
Dear Diary,
You know there is an old saying that says: "Everything happens for a reason." It's almost like there is some grand design in which every thought, action, and event is predestined. Sometimes good things are supposed to happen. Sometimes bad.
But for me, in my case, mostly bad shit happens. You know all I've ever wanted to do after having my babies is to be a good mother. Veah and Vana mean the world to me, but if I don't let Gaara in, he and his family can take them away from me. How is that fair to them. They don't know the Sabakus. I can't lose them. So that leaves me two options. I could try to run away again. Or I could stay and let Gaara into the girls' lives.
You know dairy, I really wish that you could talk back to me and tell me what to do. Would be wrong to run away? Or should I stay and let them meet their biological father? Jakey, Mom and Avery think that running away would be cowardly and that I need to stay to make sure that there is no possibility that I lose my girls. I'm scared. What if I fall for him again and he hurts not only me but Haveah and Havana? Jacob was talking to me today and he knows that I still have feelings for Gaara. But I can't ever act on them. My girls are my first priority. But there is one question. How can I trust him with being a good father to them? I can't but I guess I have no choice.
Diary thanks for listening. I know what I have to do. I can't run away. So you know what my only other option is.
TTYL
I don't want to lose my babies.
After writing out her internal conflict Hinata in her diary, Hinata locked over at the bed. Her sleeping daughters looked so peaceful. The thought of losing them brought tears to her eyes.
"You know what you have to do, Hinata. This isn't all about you like Jacob said earlier. Your daughter's are you life, so you have to do this." with that thought Hinata rose from her chair and went to the door. She hesitated when her hand was on the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, Hinata opened the bedroom door, went down the stairs and into Hiashi's office without knocking.
"Hinata, what are-" Hiashi started but she interrupted.
Her voice was frantic and her palms were sweaty. "Fine, I'll do what you want. I'll let Gaara see the girls, but I have nonnegotiable conditions." he was silent, which let her know that she could continue. "Every meeting, I have to be there."
"Is that all?"
"No. We don't ever go to their house, ever. They come here. And no one tell the girls who Gaara really is until I give the say-so." Hinata said with a shaky voice.
"I understand. I will call Uryu and Xavier and tell them that you have agreed. Tomorrow we will get a contract drawn up. Then we will give that contract to Judge Marshall. Now you should go and get some rest."
"Okay. Um," she paused and started fidgeting. "Hi… Dad, I don't hate you. I just thought that you'd want to know." she left him and went back up stairs.
Alright, tell me what you guys thought of chapter 16. Sorry that I don't have a title for this chapter. Okay, thank you for reading, reviewing, adding my story to your favorite stories lists and your story alerts, adding me to your favorite authors lists and author alerts. You guys are awesome.