Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto characters.
Ch. 4 – Look After You
Hinata slept until midnight, when Gaara normally came to pick her up, without nightmares of her father for the first time in a long, long time.
"Hinata," Gaara whispered as he swung through her window, landing on her floors with a soft thud, "Hinata are you there?"
Rolling off of her bed when she heard him call her name, Hinata scrambled about on her floor. "Gaara," she grumbled, groggy from all her sleep and slightly confused as to how he was already in her room. "What are you doing here already?" she said, yawning.
"It's midnight Hinata." Gaara stated matter-of-factly.
Hinata scanned her room, mildly confused, then her eyes landed on her clock. 12:03 AM it glowed. "Ah," she muttered, her voice soft and mind turning toward the fact that she really did not want to go out tonight.
"Come on," Gaara stepped forward, sticking his hand out, offering to help her get up.
Brushing the gesture off, Hinata pushed herself up off the ground and jumped to her feet. Look straight into Gaara's eyes, knowing he wouldn't be offended, he had expected that of her, but he was Gaara, meaning he still had to offer.
"So what's on the agenda for today Captain?" Hinata turned away from Gaara and went to look for some clothes to put on.
"Well," Gaara began, sitting himself down on her bed, turned away from Hinata, "Shukaku is going to patrol the borders again tonight."
Hinata "hmm-ed" in approval, Gaara's eyes glanced to the side, however, as if the turmoil of being certain and uncertain at the same time battled inside of him. "You and I, however," he mumbled slightly, his voice much lower than his previous statement, "will be observing from the warehouse."
"Excuse me?" Hinata turned around half-dressed, her jaw slack. "What? What what?"
Gaara stared straight ahead.
"No. You have got to be kidding me." Hinata almost snarled. 'What the hell was the point of getting dressed then?' Hinata knew she needed to be changed so that she was no longer Hinata anymore but Hime, but still. She was tired, sore as hell, and she'd rather be sleeping in her bed than listening to everyone else be out checking their territory while her and Gaara sat up in the warehouse. Hell, she'd rather be feeling the pavement pound against her feet and the thrum of the city than sit around and listen to them all get to instead.
"Hinata." Gaara said with finality, the argument already finished in his voice.
She cringed slightly, collapsing slightly inwards. He knew then. That would make tonight exceptionally awkward and ending in a pointless one-sided argument about her situation. Not wanting that fight to come on before they arrived at the warehouse, she quickly finishing changing into her purple hoodie and denim shorts.
Sliding on her special socks and boots, Hinata hopped across her bed and twisted so she landed in front of Gaara.
"Well let's get to wasting the night then."
Rolling his eyes, Gaara followed Hinata out of her window and onto the street.
x.x.x.x.x
Hebi was in full tracker mode.
Sasuke had all his members following other gangs, with specific members in mind. Attaining intelligence was the plan, but Sasuke had one main thought in mind when he issued the order. 'We need to find Hime, as soon as possible, and neutralize her somehow.' The strange part was that Sasuke did not tell a single member of Hebi this. He felt like he needed to find her. As if it was necessary for him to do so. Yet, he felt like he didn't want Hebi tracking her, like they might fuck up and ruin any chance of getting her on their side. It was unnerving. He couldn't quite understand half of the feelings shocking through him, like anxiety, but he chalked that off to not completely understanding everything about himself to begin with.
To save himself further deliberation, Sasuke decided he just wanted to personally get Hime to join him. Likely because she would be a great asset, and it would look pretty badass of he could get an important and powerful member from another group to join his.
"Ouji! Ouji! Ouji!" Karin's mangled voice came through Sasuke's earpiece.
Exasperated, Sasuke snarled a "What?" at her after pressing down on the wire by his neck.
"I have very good news my Ouji! You'll be oh so proud of me!" Karin shouted, her voice cracking every few words.
Wincing slightly and becoming incredibly irritated, Sasuke growled a "Hn" into the headset for Karin to continue.
"Y-yes, Ouji!" she managed to stutter out. "I have located the Hime girl! She is with her leader I believe!"
Sasuke was momentarily stunned, he'd found her already, so early into the night, and only a day later. Maybe he could talk to her and could convince her to join him. He could promise her anything in order to get her to join them, he only thought for a second about whether or not he would keep that promise, if issued. Maybe he could corner her and, through brute force, convince her to –
"OUJI! Why aren't you answering me?!" the high pitched whine that was Karin interrupted his train of thought.
Trying to control his emotions and keep himself from crushing the headset, Sasuke took a quick breath and began to hatch his plans of finding and taking Hime.
"Karin. Where is she."
x.x.x.x.x
Hinata and Gaara had sped off to the warehouse on his bike, with Hinata's cheek buried into his back as she tried to catch just a little more sleep, or at least stare at everything they were passing by, and try her best not to register it. The duo had made it to the warehouse in a matter of minutes, record time, with no snags along the way. Normally, Hinata probably would have noticed this and found it disconcerting. Despite her noticing, however, she just let it slide, waiting for some sort of ambush or sudden upspring of a certain leader she would prefer to forget the name of.
Skidding to a stop on the gravel outside the warehouse, Gaara and Hinata quickly hopped off at their stop and swiftly walked in.
Shifting through their secret entrance, Hinata and Gaara cleared the way into their hideout.
Upon entering, Hinata immediately headed towards the beat up black couch and waited for Gaara to join her. When he continued passed her and towards the back room, Hinata was pissed. Irrationally and incredibly pissed. There were sectors she could be checking on and moves she could be practicing, but no, Gaara had to exercise his power over her as leader and make it so she couldn't go out tonight.
With anyone else, that wouldn't mean a thing. When Gaara said you weren't going out tonight, he meant that on pain of fighting him instead and ending up in the hospital for stitches or worse.
After five minutes of sitting alone on the couch and listening to the quiet hum of the radio chirping with the voices of her friends, Hinata had had enough. There was shit to be done.
Ripping her glasses off and tossing them to the side, Hinata quickly made her way to the back room, her expression livid and eyes practically glowing with anger.
"Gaara!" she snarled as she yanked the metal door open that separated her from Gaara's room and stormed in as if she was a force of nature to be reckoned with.
And all that animosity deflated suddenly with just one look at him.
Gaara was sitting on his bed with his face in his hands and body rigid. He looked like a caged animal that was ready to strike, yet full of remorse.
For a moment she absorbed the fact that he had a burgundy bed cover, pillows, and sheets, all seemingly made of pure silk, and a gray walled room completely free of any sort of clutter or dirty clothing. The room had few necessities besides the bed. A closet with a sliding mirror door, an end table beside his bed that held a black lamp and a few books, and two black dressers was all that adorned the simple room. The cement floor was bare except for the several different color rugs that covered it in various areas, obviously for comfort when the winters came with their harsh cold.
Setting all this information aside to observe later, Hinata silently walked toward her leader.
Confused, Hinata folded herself up and sat down on his immaculate floor in front of him, her lavender eyes trying to glance up into his face as she leaned in closer. Hesitantly moving her hand to place it on his knee, Hinata began to call out to him, but was rejected by an indignant and flat "Don't." It almost sounded pleading.
"Wh-" Hinata began but was cut off once more.
"Just don't Hinata. I need to think, and I can't do that with you here right now."
Hurt and confused by the simple statement and the tone he used, Hinata moved quickly and practically leaped out of the room, the door slamming behind her.
.x.x.x.x.x.
Karin had followed Hime until Sasuke had caught up to her and taken over. Once he started following Hime on his own, he was able to confirm that it was indeed the leader of Shukaku that was with her. He couldn't quite recall his name, which was odd for Sasuke. He didn't do stupid and simple things like forget. That was for lesser people.
He was sure, however, that the boy had two other siblings in the group and that their last name was Sibaku. That was good enough. He could find them all with a last name if he wanted to. A first name was useless unless he was using actual people in order to find them.
As Sasuke followed the two Shikaku, he realized something he found to be awkward and embarrassing, they were close. Very close. From the way they behaved, it was clear they were good friends. This would undoubtedly present a problem when he attempted to persuade Hime to join Hebi. He'd have to give her a reason to join, besides the obvious reasons of being under his command and with a powerful group. He somewhat doubted any of those things would matter to her.
That bothered him. That bothered him a lot, actually. More than he was willing to acknowledge.
He was going to need this girl in order to rule this city. He was sure of it. The way she acted, just from meeting her in that alleyway and the stories he had heard, made her an invaluable ally. Well, if he could make her be his ally, that is.
From the stories he had heard, this girl was a legend in the making. He could use a legend. A legend would make him stronger. A legend would help make him a god. Safe and untouchable. That was something he desired without a doubt. And if he was being honest, he too was a legend in the making. He knew it. He saw the way people looked at him and heard the whispers. People feared him. People acted the same way towards Hime. Only she was respected too. Fear could only take a leader so far. He needed the respect of his people too, if he were to stay on top for a long reign.
When Hime and the Sibaku boy stopped at a rather run down and shady warehouse, Sasuke stopped a ways further back than he normally would have. He had a feeling this was their home base, and if it was, they likely had it highly protected, and he wasn't looking for a fight tonight. No. He was just observing tonight.
Sighing, Sasuke watched as Hime and Sibaku entered the warehouse. Seeing them disappear into the building, he decided it was best to settle in. They hadn't appeared to be moving quickly at all, suggesting they were staying here tonight.
Which was, once he got around to thinking about it after contacting all of his trackers, was really odd. Especially since the two were the top rankings of Shukaku. 'Perhaps they're looking for some…alone time or something.'
The thought brought a blush to Sasuke's face and a quiver to his stomach. Partly because if that were the case, then he felt incredibly creepy right now and it would be much harder to persuade her than he had predicted. After a few more seconds though, he found himself enraged. The girl he had fought last night was one of those girls? Was that even possible? Weren't females usually one or the other in gangs? Never both. Then, which was she?
'What if she was another Sakura?'
At that consideration he felt physically ill. No. There was no way. The girl he had seen the other night was not one of those girls. He was sure of it. Her resolve was too strong. 'She wouldn't stand for hiding behind somebody else to protect her.'
Rationalizing his train of thought by comparing her to all the other females he knew were in gangs, Sasuke realized she was probably the furthest from being that kind of member he had ever seen in his entire time in being in this kind of life. There was no way she was.
Then that left him with more questions. 'Why are they in there and not out here?'
.x.x.x.x.x.
Hinata found herself laying in the rafters in the warehouse, nearly four stories off the ground. If she fell she would free fall until the bottom and likely die. This didn't even slightly bother her.
She stared idly up at the ceiling, trying to piece together everything it was that she was doing and why she had done it or planned to. Some she had no reason for, but most lead her back to her family and all the problems that had happened with her father. She wanted everyone that meant something to her to be safe, no matter what it cost her. 'Now,' she supposed, 'I'm beginning to find out that cost.'
All the way up here she could still hear the radio chatter from below. She felt like she should focus on her friends' voices, but at the same time she found herself wondering how old the beam she was on was, with its flaking paint and rusted rivets and lines.
Hinata sighed and pulled her hand away from picking precariously at the paint. She needed to be more careful. Not just with the gang but with what she did at school. Only Anko really knew about what she was doing, Tsunade was too drunk to care, and Asuma had been convinced by Kurenai that this was my way of processing all that had happened to me. Like being a boy empowered me and made me feel safe. In a way it almost did, I felt safe, but that was only because of the fact that when I was like this I wasn't me.
Sometimes it feels like I'm not me for days… Hinata mulled over this thought and clawed at the complexities of it. Was it because she wasn't her when she lied? Was it because she didn't like what she was becoming? Was it because she still wasn't used to where she was and the fact that she would never really see her sister again?
The last question bit at her insides and left her contemplating just slipping off the beam and pretending it was an accident if she lived.
"Hinata."
For a moment she thought about pretending she just hadn't heard him, but she knew she couldn't do that to him, not with all he'd done for her.
"Yes?"
"Come down here, please."
Hinata froze, then hesitantly nodded her consent and made her way back down to the floor of the warehouse. Gaara rarely said "please". He never really had the need for it. Hearing him say so made it feel…strange. Almost like he was pleading with her.
Hinata shook the thought off as she landed on the cement floor.
"What is it, Gaara?"
"Hinata…" Gaara paused, Hinata took a breath to prepare herself, and waited.
Gaara's eyes narrowed.
"Hinata. You can't keep pulling the shit that you pulled today if you want to remain safe and in this group. Hell, I think Kiba might have even noticed that the new kid is similar to you. You know that means anyone could be close to putting two and two together."
Gaara sighed.
"You're my first and best friend Hinata. I don't want anything happening to you. I don't think I could bare it."
With a defeated sort of look on his face, Gaara moved to go back to his room, but Hinata jumped in front of him and blocked his movement.
"Gaara…I…I…" Hinata wasn't at all sure what to say. Gaara had never spoken of his feelings so openly like he had just now. It was shocking all in itself. The look on his face though, that made it ten times worse.
"I'll be more careful." Hinata promised.
The two nodded to each other, knowing that her promise was as good as a written contract and that she really would try her best to refrain from revealing herself, as long as was possible.
In the silence that ensued the two stared at each other, both contemplating whether or not they had anything to add, and whether or not it was alright to show some sort of affection.
The decision took longer than it probably should have, but Hinata finally decided she might as well at least hug Gaara. He was family to her, and she was to him, she was sure of that. So with her head made up, Hinata stepped forward, her arms open to –
"Hey Gaara, Hime. I think we're being watched."
The static voice of Kiba ruined the moment and Hinata put her arms back down, deciding it was probably for the best.
"I'll go check it out," she declared, snatching her shoes and eye gear, "I'll be back in a few." And she disappeared through the exit.
Gaara was glad she hadn't seen the disappointment he had let slip across his face. He didn't need more problems than the ones he already had.
.x.x.x.x.x.
Seeing that there had been no movement since the two went into the warehouse, Sasuke started to make plans to leave and eventually come back. This was taking too long and he had several other things to do. Besides, he had a feeling that Hime and the Sibaku boy would not be coming back anytime soon.
What that meant for them, he wasn't sure and was busy trying not to think about it when Hime came barreling out of the warehouse.
"Well, well, well. What have we here?"
Sasuke watched as Hime ran across the street and towards the nearest building and began a quick ascent to the roof. Within seconds she was leaping across rooftops, heading west.
Seeing that she was obviously traveling by herself and moving quickly, Sasuke ran to his black motor bike, started her up, and continued following Hime.
.x.x.x.x.x.
Hinata skidded across a gravel roof top, Kiba had to be nearby, this was his sector for the night and he knew better than to stray from his sector. Gaara was never pleased when that happened without being prompted to do so by Gaara himself or something going down in another sector that needed back-up.
Hinata leaned over the side of the roof and looked into the alley. There wasn't anyone down there at the moment, so Kiba would likely be showing up any minute. Jeez, he wasn't the best at being on time.
Waiting for him to show up, Hinata tried to listen for Kiba and his dog, and ended up only hearing the cars passing by. With a sigh she sat down on the ledge and leaned her head into her hand. There wasn't much she could do besides observe and wait. And wait. And wait…
"Did you hear me Shukaku?"
Hinata's head whipped towards the entrance to the alley. There she saw Kiba cornered by two other people. It didn't matter who or what gang. In that moment, she saw that one of her best friends was cornered.
Protect. Must protect. The feeling was overwhelming.
Hinata ran along the edge of the roof top and leaped over the side as if she was hoping from the sidewalk to the street instead of from a roof to four stories below.
Landing on the balls of her feet, she had hardly made any noise. Good. Taking swift steps and keeping to the shadows along the walls of the alleyway, Hinata was upon them in moments. They didn't even know what they had just gotten themselves into.
"Is there a problem here Kiba?" Hinata strolled up from behind Kiba, her voice and movements completely calm and relaxed.
"You know what Hime, I was just thinking there might be a fucking problem?" Kiba deadpanned, his eyes never leaving the two in front of him. Hinata recognized them as members of Kyuubi. That was unexpected. She had thought it would have been Hebi if it was going to be anyone. Yet, she supposed Hebi was still relatively small after their apparent break from Sound or so she'd heard.
Well this is really fucking inconvenient.
Hinata's face scrunched in discomfort and disgust. This was a challenge, this needed to be dealt with immediately if they were going to remain a gang to be feared in the future. All it took was one display of weakness, and they would most assuredly fall.
For a moment her mind flashed back to when Sasuke had had her pinned in that alley only just the other night. With a step forward she rid herself of those thoughts. This was not the time or place.
Kiba and Hinata, as well as their adversaries, were silent, most definitely assessing each other and how exactly to handle this.
They could silence this now and just kill the Kyuubi's, but that would be seen as weak and unfair. Gaara would also be irritated by it, and seeing as Hinata was trying to prove she was responsible to get back in his good graces, that would not be the optimal choice.
There was the possibility of detaining them, with a nice ass-kicking, and then making their leader come into their territory to come and retrieve them. That, although preferred by both Kiba and Hinata, was not optimal either. Their leader would see it as "trying to prove who's superior" sort of deal.
They could turn and ignore this. That was not even an option.
Hinata sighed and turned her attention to Kiba. His body was tense and ready to attack, apparently they had been dogging him. How …unwise. She knew if they were to fight, Kiba wouldn't hold back, and then they would have a mess on their hands. Maybe if he was a bit calmer they could settle it that way, but they obviously hit a nerve.
Her decision made, Hinata faced the Kyuubi's again. For a moment they seemed familiar, they most likely went to her school, but she felt like it was more than that.
She brushed the thought off.
"I propose a Ket of 3 V. 3." Hinata's voice was strong and confident, even when the two boys in front of her visibly flinched.
"Excuse me? What?" the fatter of the two voiced, his expression confused. Apparently this hadn't been expected. The boy beside him simply sighed.
"You heard her just fine, ya fat arse."
The boy nearly leaped at Kiba, but the gangly boy beside him snatched him by his collar before he could do anything else. The boy pulled him back until they were beside each other once more and muttered to him until the boy finally calmed down enough to shake him off. The thin boy sighed and lazily looked back to Hinata, wanting clarification.
"I'm sure we're all aware that only a Kage can declare those sorts of things." The boy waited for acknowledgement, but when he received none he continued on with his little explanation. "If I'm wrong in saying this correct me, but I was under the impression that the Kage of Shukaku was a male." Kiba and Hinata just continued to stare. "Also, we believed that Gaara was in fact your Kage."
Kiba and Hinata looked to each other, Kiba trying desperately not to start smirking and Hinata literally biting back her laughter as her teeth sank into her bottom lip.
"You're not Gaara," the boy added, trying to clarify.
Ya don't say.
Deciding to spare the boy any further confusion, Hinata elaborated.
"In the group Shukaku, we are not lead by a Kage," she saw the chubbier boy's eyes widened, the thinner of the two's eyes narrowed, apparently realizing where this was going. "We are led by two equals, one being Gaara," a smirk worked its way across Hinata's face. "I am the other, although I do not participate as one nor claim that status in any situations besides ceremonial reasons."
The Kyuubi boys' faces fell.
"In short, I am a Kage, so there's no need to worry."
Hinata swatted at Kiba.
"Anyway, I prefer not to get involved in these sort of things, so have your leader, whatever his name is, contact Gaara, and we'll arrange our little match." Hinata finished her little speech and turned her back on the boys, no longer considering them a threat.
"Come along Kiba, it's nearly three."
.x.x.x.x.x.
Sasuke had watched the entire thing. Hime had issued a proper straight up challenge, obviously trying to make Shukaku appear strong and law abiding. Heh, how ironic. Sasuke chuckled at the thought.
If this were to happen though, other gangs could throw their challenge into the Ket. Then it could be escalated into a Melee or a Hast. Meaning everyone could fight each other at the same time, and whoever was left standing was the winner, or there could be a pair off of each until there was only one team left, or one person.
To be honest, Sasuke preferred Melee, with everyone fighting each other, it was easy for him to wait and then kill of the more prominent opponents. However, it would not be mutually beneficial for all involved, seeing as they usually ended then well over a few dead. A Hast, however, that would work.
Not only that, but in any of these took place, a wager was required, with all the spoils to the victor. Anything could be wagered, money, territory, and, to Sasuke's delight, people.
"Oh, this is perfect." Sasuke's smirk widened.
With that he stopped following Hime. He had what he needed. Besides, there were plans to put into action.
.x.x.x.x.x.
Hinata's mind scrambled. She probably should not have done that without Gaara's consent, they were pretty good about that whole equal deal when things like this happened, but that was mostly because they agreed that big decisions had to be made by more than one person. Most of the time, truthfully, Hinata wasn't really even involved in anything that would make her the co-leader of the group. She preferred not to be. It was half in place so that Gaara could have her opinion without seeming weak and so that if anything ever happened to either of them, there wouldn't be too great of a problem.
Gaara was the true leader here. She didn't really want any part in being a Kage. That kind of power wasn't something she wanted.
All she wanted was to take care of those who mattered around her and then some. She wanted to save people from themselves, maybe even help clean this city up. She couldn't help it. She just had the strong inclination to help people.
Gaara was going to be so pissed though…
Hinata smacked herself in the forehead.
"By the way Hime," Kiba began, helping her escape from her thoughts, "thanks for coming out of nowhere and backing me up in that alley." Kiba stopped in his tracks, they had been heading back to base by foot, were nearly there too, but he stood still in the middle of an abandon road to tell her this.
Hinata smiled and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "No problem Kiba. You're a brother to me. Everyone in Shukaku is like family to me, closer to the real thing than my biological family ever was. I'll always look after you and everyone in Shukaku."
With that truth said and done, Hinata and Kiba continued on to their base; Hinata contemplating how exactly to explain this to Gaara without him freaking out, if he didn't already know, and Kiba wondering who exactly Hime really was.
.x.x.x.x.x.
Author's Note:
Alright guys! Just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! They really motivate me! And all the questions you guys have really let me know what you all want to hear from this story and how well I am explaining everything. Luckily, all of your questions will be answered eventually, if not soon or even in this chapter.
Thank you so much for sticking with me! I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Any questions, concerns, or suggestions, REVIEW.