Hey everyone! Here it is! Another chapter :D
Neji sighed as he went through the isles at the great outdoors store. "So you and Madara, huh? Is it official or are you just trying him out?" Neji said and Hinata frowned at him. She was in the middle of this store, an hour and a half away from her home, and she was in baggy sweatpants and her gardening shirt. Neji hadn't given her time to change and now she looked horrifying. "No. Not yet. And I am most definitely not just trying him out. I don't know what exactly I feel for him… He gives me this rush of excitement when I see him because I know we are going to do something I've never been allowed to… but… I don't know." She said softly and Neji smiled.
"I think you're perfect for each other, in time… you will see what everyone else sees and hopefully you will decide what to do then. No one is rushing you to fall in love with him. No one is making you date him, no on eis even making you hang out with him. Just do what feels right, and you will know what to do when the time comes." He said and she smiled softly and nodded. "Alright… I do enjoy his company. He's a lot more fun than I ever thought he would be. Oh! Hey you may need that!" she said suddenly grabbing him by the sleeve and pointing at the item. "Hm? Why would I need that?" he asked and she sighed. "Do you want to end up like Naruto? He's doing his shopping alone." She said with a small smile and he shook his head. "It changes the color of the fire… that's why we need it." She said through pouted lips.
"Madara wouldn't buy it?" he asked and she pouted deeper. "No. He said that's not what he planned on capturing his interest while we were camping." She sighed and Neji laughed. "I think he's flirting with you." Neji said and she smiled softly. "I know." She whispered as she shoved her hands into her pockets and waddled away. Neji chuckled lightly and followed after her as she continued to point out random things he may want to get. He hadn't seen her this Happy in so long, he didn't want to ruin it. He didn't want anything to happen to destroy her sweet joyousness.
He glanced around and saw she was talking to Ino and Sakura with a bright smile on her face. "Hello ladies." He greeted and they smiled at him. "So, mr. Neji, getting ready for the big camping trip?" Ino asked and he nodded. "I already have everything the camping site says we should need. I've never actually been camping so this should be fun." She said and Neji nodded. "Neither have I, but it does seem like lots of fun. Hinata has been camping though. Auntie and uncle went camping with her once, they said they had to leave early because it had begun to flood the area they were trying to camp at." He said and Ino's face scrunched up. "I hope it doesn't rain too bad." She said and he shrugged.
"Madara checked the weather for the weekend and said its not supposed to rain." Hinata said and the two girls gave her sly smiles. "Sooo…." They chirped with sing song tones. "No, they aren't together yet." Neji said and they sighed. "Aw… why not? Your little escapades are cute!" Sakura said and Ino grinned at Hinata. "Sakura shouldn't you be focusing on getting your relationship with Sasuke under control? And Ino… yours and Naruto's?" Neji asked and Ino blushed. "Wait? Ino is with Naruto?" Hinata asked and the blonde nodded. "Things with Sai not go quite right?" she asked and Ino shook her head. "Well that is ok, you found a good one." Hinata said with a bright smile and Ino grinned at her.
"You really did too, you know." Ino laughed and Hinata smiled. "Hinata!" a familiar voice barked out and she spun to see both Kiba and a massive Akamaru running at her, Kiba's mother and older sister there as well. "Tsume-chan, Hana-chan." Hinata greeted and the two rugged women smiled at her. "Aren't you supposed to be getting a checkup today?" Tsume asked somewhat scoldingly and Hinata shook her head rapidly as Neji's narrowed eyes locked onto her. "You're using me!?" he quipped and Hinata shook her head. "No!" she stammered and Tsume laughed. "Liar!" Neji sighed and Hinata smiled at him cutely. "You wouldn't force me to go back into the doctor. Would you?" she asked cutely and he sighed.
"I suppose not…" he sighed and she grinned.
:-:-:
Her grin was completely gone now, as she stared at the doctor before her. "Could you please follow the light with only your eyes?" the brunette asked and Hinata grumbled under her breath as she followed the light. Once the woman stopped her trailing light, she said she would be right back and walked out of the room. Hinata glared over at the Inuzuka sitting against the wall of the doctor's office. Kiba and his family were all extremely amused with this, seeing as it had been Tsume who had burst her bubble. "We are only worried for your well-being, brat. Don't think too much about it." Tsume said and Hinata sighed with a huff.
"But I am so sick of doctors and hospitals… please just… let me avoid them as much as possible." Hinata whispered and Tsume blinked in surprise, then averted her eyes with a sigh. "I understand. Forgive me… But… just stay for this one and I will not drag you here again." Tsume said with a smile and Hinata grinned at her. "Ok." "Hey Hinata… what would you do if you had to go back to the hospital?" Tsume asked and Hinata gave her a look. "It doesn't matter what its for I am never going back to the hospital. I have spent far too much time staring at those walls. I'm never entering another hospital." she said and tsume nodded with a small smile.
"Alright, how about I take you to get something to eat since you missed out on the chance to eat with Neji?" she asked and Hinata grinned brightly. "I would love that!" she said and Tsume grinned. "Hey Hinata, there is this buffet that Jiraiya owns, the Sakuya Tavern, wanna go?" Kiba asked and Hinata nodded excitedly. "How did I know he had a Chinese buffet?" Hinata asked with a laugh. "Telepathy." Kiba said and Hinata giggled. "Maybe, or maybe not." She said and grinned at the doggish people in the room with her.
"So, you're going camping with your boyfriend huh?" Tsume asked and Hinata choked on her air. "He's not my boyfriend…" Hinata droned off as she blushed and looked at the floor. "Yet." Kiba finished for her, but she didn't object or even say anything about it. Kiba wasn't expecting that reaction. "So… You really like him… huh?" Kiba asked and Hinata nodded. "Yeah. I completely adore him and it scares me…" She whispered and Kiba grinned and hugged her tightly. "Good! Love should be scary." He said and she blushed darkly. "I never-" she began and he shook his head. "I never said you." He said and the rest was silent for the time at the doctor's office.
When they reached the Chinese restaurant they chose their seats and were talking about everything under the sun. "How is Lily?" Hinata asked and Kiba grinned. "She's doing fine, she's half Akamaru's size now." He said as they were getting food from the buffet. "That's great, is she still cute?" She asked and he grinned with a nod. "I gave her a cute collar too, I think it fits her." He said and Hinata giggled. "You know, if it were anyone else you were talking to… I think they would die laughing because of how girly you would sound." Hinata said with a giggle as they sat down at their table.
Her phone then proceeded to ring and she sighed. "It's dad." She said and answered, a saddened look on her face as she shoveled in food. 'So, I would hope you know that um….' Her father began, but was soon interrupted by another voice. 'Hey Hina-chan! Guess who!' Ino's voice rang out and a sigh in the background signaled that Sasuke was there too, meaning Naruto and Sakura were most likely there as well.
'Could you please occupy their time because they are saying they are not leaving until the trip…' her father said with a sigh and she giggled. "Alright, I will be home within an hour." She said and he muttered a thank you and hung up. "So whats going on that pops had to call?" Kiba asked and she smiled.
"Everyone that is going camping with us came over a day early. I have to be home to entertain my guests." Hinata said and Kiba grinned at her. "You know Shino will spaz out if You go and don't bring him one of those beetles that you smashed last year." Tsume said looking at Kiba with a chuckle as he stirred his straw in his drink. She finished eating and released a deep sigh. "I guess I should head on out, they must be waiting for me to get back." She muttered and Hana smiled. "We are glad you're alright. It was so different without you." Hana said and Hinata smiled at her.
"I guess I should be glad the world would have missed me, but I really hate that fact as well." Hinata said softly and the Inuzuka watched her in silence. "I never want to hurt anyone… and that seems to be the only thing I have ever done." She said and Kiba looked at her sourly. "That is a damn lie." He snapped softly, causing her to look at him. "For years, Madara was mean to you, yes. But just because you were in a car crash, after you invited him to your graduation; does not mean you hurt him. The accident hurt him, it wasn't your fault. If you think you've hurt everyone because of your multiple hospital visits, you're wrong." He said and she blinked at him in somewhat of a shocked stupor.
"We were never hurt by YOU, but instead for what we had never done for you. If there had ever been a way to help you through any of these things you've been through, we sure as hell didn't do anything about giving you help." Tsume said and Hinata looked down at the table. "It isn't you, that hurts us, it's the fact we may have been able to help, and didn't." Kiba said, agreeing with his mother. "But…" Hinata began and Kiba smiled at her. "It was never you, just… trust me on this." He said and Hinata's eyes watered. "But… Madara had gotten so angry with me… I was just trying to see what was wrong…" she said and Kiba began laughing. She jolted up to look at him and he was grinning. "He was pulling his man card, I suppose. He didn't want you to worry about him because… you know how guys are, they hate it when women see them cry." Kiba said and she tried her best to keep her lips from trembling.
"He said I was torturing him though… but then he said I wasn't… I wasn't sure what to think." She said and Kiba smiled. "The only part of you that was torturing him, was t he version of you that had nearly died. It tortured him seeing you lying there with no signs of life. It was different for him and he hated it, that's it… I promise. Don't overwhelm yourself worrying about something so superficial… it just shows he cares." Kiba said and she nodded with a quick wipe at her eyes.
"Ok… I think I understand…" She whispered and he grinned. "Good now let's get you home so your friends don't overwhelm your dad." Kiba laughed and she smiled at him as they paid and walked out of the restaurant.
:-:-:-:-:
Turns out it was another extremely busy day at the Red Cloud Bakery. It was also the one day of the month that Izuna happened to be voluntarily working there, to also assist in the sales of the items from his coffee shop that was down the street a ways. But, this also meant that there would be many questions, which is why Madara was located nowhere near the shop today.
He was on his way towards a certain large house he liked climbing up the side of. He wasn't going to be caught dead at the shop especially not after both Izuna and Samui know about the outing he was on with Hinata yesterday. He had very much enjoyed himself yesterday, and it was just because he had been with her. There was no way in hell that he was embarrassed of her, he just didn't like it when people asked questions continually.
That is why he was packing his things for the trip and going straight to her house. He zipped his last duffle bag and tossed it into the back of his car, which wasn't really his car, Kisame was allowing him to borrow his jeep for the trip. Kisame had only allowed him to take it because his car was currently in the shop, and Kisame said something about the jeep needing to go play in some mud.
Madara repressed a chuckle at the thought of that being Kisame's subtle way of saying, break her in. If Kisame was trying to get Madara to ride his jeep through some mud, or even water… Kisame had better have some really good insurance because madara didn't think the jeep would ever get out if he took it through mud.
He hefted the last bag in, which was the tent Hinata had picked out for him, he had wondered why she had been so adamant on that tent, but he wasn't going to question her motives. If she wanted to spend the weekend with him he wasn't going to complain. He shut the back of the jeep and stretched, only to glance at his shattered phone screen, which somehow still worked.
Not a single text message, missed call, or notification from any social media site… well except Tumblr, and that was most likely about his dancing Titans gif, which wasn't important enough to look at yet. However, it did elicit a small snort of amusement. It was all three types of guardians, Exo, Awoken, and human titans, male and female alike. They all danced to a different song that matched the rhythm of their movements and people seemed to very much love it.
He slipped into the jeep and grinned as the cat ear headband was sitting in the front seat. "My little bunny, I'm coming to see you." He chuckled and rubbed the ears once before starting the jeep and pulling out from Izuna's driveway. He was genuinely excited to be able to have the time to spend with her. Izuna would understand.
Madara pulled up to her driveway not long after he had left, but he noticed there were already other cars parked in the driveway. He supposed he hadn't been the only one with this idea… He reached the door and it was opened by none other than his second cousin, Sasuke. "Ah, Madara…" he greeted and a plate dropped from the kitchen, causing him to glance that way.
Hinata grinned and rushed over to him, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him into the kitchen. Saying the kitchen was crowded was….well… A major understatement. The list of people crammed in the kitchen went along the lines of: Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Konan, Pein, Sasori, Gaara, Temari, Shikamaru, Kankuro, Sasuke, Naruto, Ino, Neji, Sakura, her father and now himself and Hinata.
"So um… what exactly is going on in here?" Madara asked as hinata sat him down at the bar beside her father who gave him a look. "You're sleeping on the couch tonight, you know." Hiashi whispered and Madara nodded. "Anyways, Hinata is making us all a gourmet lunch." Hiashi said and Madara flashed a small smile as he watched her scurry around the kitchen, grabbing random items and dishes.
He smelled cooking pork, frying potatoes, some sort of gravy, freshly chopped green onions, and he saw a dozen of eggs sitting on the counter. He was curious as to what she could be making with those ingredients, but was going to wait patiently. He was awed by the speed in which she set out eighteen small, but deep serving bowls. Spoons and forks soon slid into place beside each of the bowls
She piled in the small diced fried potatoes, a layer of white gravy, then a layer of the chopped pork loin, another layer of the potatoes, some green onions, more gravy, and then she placed a sunny side up egg on the top of each of the filled bowls. She drizzled a little more gravy on top then slid a bowl to every person crowded around the bar.
She set to cleaning her area, leaving one bowl unattended on the bar. Madara stood and helped her clean up so she could eat before her food got too cold and ended up ruined by having to microwave it. Hinata smiled at him as he set a few dishes in the sink beside her. "Thank you." She said and he grinned. "No, thank you. You made me my breakfast for the day." He said and she smiled.
She sat down and as she began to eat her food she noticed all the eyes on her. "What?" she asked and Madara grabbed a rolled up newspaper from the cabinet. "Back off, let the lady eat would ya?" he barked and they all grinned sheepishly and the akatsuki, plus Hinata's friends cleared out of the kitchen. Although, her father and cousin still sat there, with amused looks on their faces from where Madara had run them off.
Madara sat down and began eating once more, ignoring the looks Hiashi and neji were giving him, but subtly complimenting Hinata on how nice the food was. She would smile and say it was nothing, but he'd shake his head and enforce upon the fact that he would miss this while they were lost in the wilderness. Which, caused her father to release a snort. "Flirt." Neji chuckled and Madara held a hand over his chest.
"Why I never…" he gasped and Hinata giggled at him. "You sound like one of those snooty old women who had just been offended by something." She giggled and he grinned. "Well I do believe that was the idea." He said and she smiled at him. "So you have everything for tomorrow?" she asked and he nodded. "Yep, everything that you forced me to buy and all the other tiny things I thought I would need." Madara said with a look from over his glass of iced tea.
She blushed lightly as her father chuckled, but his small smile and the wink told her he wasn't mad because of it. "But I suppose I would have been so poorly prepared, myself, had Hinata not accompanied me as well." Neji said with a dramatic sigh. Hinata mumbled under her breath at this, because she hadn't actually got to help him finish.
Her father dropped her a look, but Neji's amused glance was enough of a bubble buster, that her father shook his head in amusement. "Tsume took me to the appointment, I didn't get to help him with his shopping trip." Hinata pouted and Madara grinned. "I suppose I am the only one lucky enough to spend so much valuble time with her." Madara said and Hiashi gave him the 'Don't push your luck, kid' look; to which he humbly smiled at.
A chill ran down Madara's spine and then a knock rang out on the door. "I am not here!" He managed before he dove under the nice kitchen cabinets and shut them behind him. Hiashi and Neji exchanged looks but hinata was down there whispering to him. She released a small giggle, then stood and made her way out of the kitchen.
She opened the door to see Izuna and Samui standing at the door. "Hey, you two, how can I help?" she asked and Izuna ran a hand through his hair. "Ok, I already know Madara is here, so… can I talk to him please?" Izuna asked and Hinata nodded and knocked on the kitchen cabinets. Madara sighed and slid out of them. "That's Immature Madara…" Samui sighed but his grin vanished.
"I know, I'm just trying to have a little fun to take my mind off of it for a while…" He said suddenly, causing Samui and Izuna to frown. "How long have you known?" She asked and he shrugged. "Not long, I will fix it though… I just don't want to disappoint missy here by abandoning her." He said and Samui offered somewhat of a stern smile. "Just… don't get into any trouble you can't get out of, you hear?" Izuna sighed and Madara smiled softly.
"Don't worry, I'm invincible. I will be fine…" He said, but the look in his eyes told them that he knew he in fact, was not invincible and that he was just as vulnerable as any of them. Those were just an attempt at comforting words. He waved them off and spun to Hinata, who had a curious gaze. "It isn't bad is it?" She asked and he shook his head. "No, It isn't bad, as long as I'm not dying that is… but… I look fine to me, feel fine too. What do you think?" He asked as he looked himself over.
"You seem alright, but I wouldn't get too reckless. I don't want to lose you because of something stupid." Hinata said and he smirked. "Oh, so you don't want to lose me do you?" He asked and a slight pale blush touched her cheeks. "Well, as you already know, I don't want to lose you either, so don't you go doing anything to give me a heart attack now…" He chuckled then gave her a playful scolding look. "If you do something and get hurt, I'll die too. I ain't got the heart for another coma." He joked and she smiled.
She looked at herself, tapped her chin, walked in a circle, then looked up at him. "Now do I look like I am about to fall out on the floor?" she asked and he smirked. "No." He replied and she smiled. "Then I don't think you really have to worry, now do you?" she asked and he shook his head as he followed her into the living room.
When they got into the living room, the only ones there were Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, and Ino. "Where did everyone else go?" Hinata asked and Sasuke shrugged. "The Akatsuki said something about a disturbance in the force and made a run for it. Itachi said he would explain later, but I doubt he will." Sasuke sighed and Naruto nodded.
"Apparently they know when to avoid me, and when to stick around." Madara sighed and they all looked at him. "It was my younger brother at the door, personal issues." He said and the four nodded, not going to pry. "Basically they sensed the look." Hinata said and Madara blinked at her. "Oh, I saw that look. I have seen it before, so don't think you're kidding anyone, but I'm not going to pry." She said with a smile and he smirked at her.
"See, she knows me." Madara said with a grin as he flopped on the couch. The yelp of a cat was heard and Madara's eyes went wide as he lunged for the cat he had just landed upon. "Forgive me kitty!" he yelped, and Hinata Giggled as he grabbed said cat. The cat turned in his grasp and as the claws came down across his cheek, but he didn't even shield himself; he grasped the cat tightly and hugged it close to him with a sorrowful look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry kitty… forgive me for my misdeeds…" he muttered as the cat yowled angrily in his grasp, despite the petting it was receiving. "You should really let Maleficent go Madara, she's the mean one, remember?" Neji asked and Madara held the cat away from him for a moment looked the one eyed cat right in the eye….
And hugged it some more.
"I don't know what's worse, the fact that he knows Maleficent is the mean one and is still hugging her, or those nasty scratches down his face…" Hiashi said as Madara set the angry cat on the floor, but not before the angry cat sputtered a hiss at him. Hinata smiled adnd looked at madara as he watched the cat go.
"She will be fine, but your face won't be if you don't come here." Hinata said and Madara nodded, but took one last glance at the cat as she hobbled away. He walked over and sat at the table that was across the room from the bar in the kitchen. Hinata already had her medical supplies sitting on the cabinet, which amused Madara to no end. "So, I am going to need you to sit still, this may hurt a bit." She said and he nodded, but not before he pulled his hair into a sloppy ponytail so she could get to the scratch on the inside of his nape as well. "She did a number on you… huh?" Hinata asked and he smirked.
"I did sit on her, so her actions are completely justified." He said and HInata smiled lightly as she dabbed an alcohol pad onto a scratch, causing him to wince slightly."Sorry about that…" She said and he grinned. "I did just say it was my fault, did I not?" He asked and she nodded with a sigh. "Yes, but…" "No But's. I caused this, so don't worry about it, ok? I will be fine." He chuckled and she nodded as she also wiped along the one on his nape.
"However…" He began, "I have learned my lesson. from now on… I will look before I leap." He said and she laughed softly. "I do think that would be a nice thing to learn." She said softly and he smiled at her. "So, do you have any good movies to watch since we are all here a day early? You didn't think I was going to stay at home and listen to Izuna complain all night then wake me up tomorrow morning and say I needed to rush over, did you?" He asked and she shook her head. "So I thought I would stay the night. make it easier on all of us." He said and she looked over to her group of friends.
"Looks like everyone had the same idea, then." She said and he nodded.
:-:-:-:
It was early, very early, so early in fact… the sun hadn't even come up. This wasn't a surprise to any of them, seeing as they had a four hour drive ahead of them, and then when they got there they had to claim a spot and pitch a tent before anyone else could do so. And despite the fact the road trip had just begun… You could already hear Naruto and Sasuke arguing in their vehicle.
Ino and Sakura seemed to be faring well in their vehicle, while they sang along to the radio. Madara was silent in his borrowed vehicle, the only sound escaping the jeep was music. But no… Someone had thought it was a good idea to put Naruto and Sasuke in the same car. Hinata wouldn't have been surprised if the entire town was awake because of them. It was four in the morning, and they were arguing…
Arguing over who got what donut…
Hinata rolled over to face out her window with a whine and Neji just released a sigh, understanding her pain. "How is it, that they are already wide awake and so energetic… when they had gone to bed not even four hours ago?" Neji sighed and Hinata released a guttural growl, not one that had ever come from her before. She pulled the emergency brake, which forced everyone to halt. She then proceeded to climb out of Neji's car, walk down to Sasuke's car, Rip the door open, and then she proceeded to throw all the donuts that the boys were fighting over onto the ground and stomp on the box.
"There! Now no one has any donuts!" She snarled, then took a deep breath. "Now… One more word, and I will turn this camping train around. One more peep, and it won't be donuts that I smash…" Hinata whispered harshly, then turned around and got back into Neji's car, only to pull her blanket back up around her and snuggle into her pillow. The two kept silent for the rest of the trip, not wanting to keep Hinata awake, seeing that they had kept her up all night the night before.
Madara was giving the both of them amused looks, apparently they hadn't woken her up while she was crabby from being in the hospital. He had and was surprised when he had gotten yelled at by her, but when she woke up later… she hadn't seemed to remember being that callous with him at all. Which once he brought it up, she did apologize for, although not even remembering it.
They were all tired when they reached their campsite, but the drive had definitely been worth it. "Welcome, my friends, to the Hyuuga family camp grounds." Neji said and they all stared around in shock at the vast expanse of wooded area, which merged with a vast blanket of blue water. "Wow… The lake is huge…" Sakura said as she rushed over to the edge and looked over the steep part of the campsite, which was a ledge with deep water below.
"And there's a rope." Madara pointed out as he knocked the knotted rope free from its holding place in the tree. "Yes… This is totally awesome." Naruto cheered and Hinata rolled from Neji's passenger side door. "Ugh… My head hurts, but… this is so beautiful…" She said with a smile. "Sasuke opened his motuh to mention her wrath from earlier but Madara and Neji shook their heads rapidly, warning him not to ask.
"So, shall we start setting up tents?" Hinata asked and they all nodded in agreement. Hinata helped Madara set up his tent in an open area where the sky was still visible, even through the trees. She swiftly grabbed her bedroll and slipped inside once it was set up. Madara peered into his tent and saw that she had unfurled the roll near the window closest to the lake. "So I guess I've been taken over, huh?" He asked with amusement in his eyes.
"Yes, but only if you want to be." She said softly and he chuckled. "Aright bunny, I will allow you to spend the night with me this weekend." He said and she smiled up at him from her bedroll. He proceeded to toss his bedroll into the tent as well, but upon seeing his was a little more used than hers, she asked, "Do you camp a lot?" which caused him to blink and turn towards her. "Yeah, I suppose I do." He said and she smiled at him.
He handed her their electric lantern so she could set it by their doorway and then proceeded to scoot their cooler into the tent as to keep it out of reach of the animals that roamed around outside… or Naruto. "Ok, so we have a while before anything happens, so we can take naps, or whatever… just no one start a fire while we sleep…" Neji announced and everyone chirped a reply.
"Sleep sounds good." Madara said as he flopped onto his bedroll. Hinata curled up onto hers and with a smile threw her pillow at Madara. "It's hot." She said and he propped himself up onto his elbow to look at her. "Well, forgive me for being a natural heater. there's nothing I can do about it." He said and she grinned. "Yes." was all she said and he gave her an odd look, but then his eyes went wide. "I swear on my life if you roll us off into the water we will drown." He said and she released a giggle.
"I wasn't going to roll us into the lake!" She giggled and he rolled his eyes. "I dunno… You may just hit a mean streak and do it." He said and she laughed behind her hand. She crawled over to him on her hands and knees and whispered something in his ear. "Oh… now that seems like an idea…" he said and she giggled as she nodded. She rolled over and grabbed her phone, setting an alarm so she would know when to wake up and proceed with the revenge.
:-: A few hours later…:-:
Hinata and Madara slipped out of their tent and made their way into Naruto's tent. They carefully lifted him off the ground and carried him out of the tent one his bedroll. "Do you think he will wake up?" Hinata asked, Madara glanced over the edge, back to Hinata, nodded and they swung his bedroll, sending Naruto flying over the edge and into the water. Hinata looked over the edge while Madara did the same. "What's up guys, what happened?" Ino asked with a yawn. Neji sighed as he looked over the edge to see Naruto glaring up at them. "Not our fault you decided to take a swim…" Madara said and Naruto laughed bitterly. "Yeah, well I guess I deserve this for the donut fight at four this morning. But… Now I have to go to town to buy clothes, I didn't pack anything else but my swimming trunks." Naruto said and Hinata sighed.
"Well, I guess it wasn't Neji who came unprepared… I was wrong." Madara said as he scratched his head softly. "I guess you guys should go help him get to town." Sakura sighed and Hinata nodded. "Will you ladies be alright here all by yourself?" Neji asked and the three of them nodded. "Alright… be careful…" Madara said reluctantly as they all loaded up into the jeep. The girls looked at each other and grinned. They all ran to their tents and changed into their swimsuits. They ran out one by one, grabbed the rope, and swung off the ledge and into the water. "Woohoo!" Ino chirped as she propelled herself up from under the water.
"I have never seen such a clean lake before." Sakura said as she stared beneath the surface of the water to the stones below. "The Hyuuga that live out here take very good care of Himawari lake." Hinata said and the two looked over at her. "Sunflower lake?" Ino asked and Hinata nodded with a bright smile. "Look over there, you see that little island out there?" She asked and they nodded. "Every year without fail, hundreds of sunflowers bloom right there, and no one has ever replanted any… they just keep growing and growing." She said and they smiled. "Must be a lovely sight." Ino said and Sakura nodded. "Oh it is! I haven't seen it in so long… They should begin to bloom this weekend." Hinata said and the two girls grinned.
"So we should actually get to see it?" Sakura asked and Hinata nodded. "Yay!" Ino chirped as she flopped back onto the surface of the water. Something lithered past Hinata's foot and she looked down and her breath hitched. "Hinata? Are you alright?" Sakura asked, but then looked down to see a large catfish looking creature circling Hinata's leg. "I think we need to get out of the water now…" Ino said and the other two girls nodded rapidly. They scrambled out of the water and onto the bank, only to realize they had been swimming for quite a while. The sun was beginning to set and no one had heard anything from the guys, judging from the lack of messages on their phones.
"Hm… I wonder what's keeping them…" Sakura muttered as she looked for any sort of message form the guys, but found none. The sun continued to creep down into the horizon and the girls rushed to huddle in a single tent, when the animals of the night begun to traverse the surrounding woods. They heard light footsteps and they looked out and around the tents, but found no one. Then the noises began. The grunting, the trilling, and all the other creepy noises that were ringing out from the surrounding woods. They began hearing snorting as well and they huddled next to each other closely in the tent as the sky fell dark.
"I think we made a mistake letting them leave us here…" Ino said, her voice trembling. "We will be fine… I promise…" Sakura whispered and Hinata rapidly nodded her head. "Yeah! There's no one else here yet, they haven't checked in yet, so there are no other people here." Hinata said slightly frantic. "But… what if there's someone here that isn't supposed to be?" Ino whispered and Hinata whimpered as they heard tires kicking up gravel down the road. "Oh God there is someone here!" Ino squealed and burrowed underneath the blankets. "It's alright, if it's the guys they will flash their headlights, they said they would if they had to go somewhere at night, remember?" Hinata said suddenly and they crept over to the side of the tent and watched as the headlights crept around the corner.
"That's not a jeep." Ino said, clearly terrified.
"That's not the guys…" Hinata whispered in fear.
"Alright, Hinata, Ino…. Get the knife and the baseball bat." Sakura said and the two girls nodded rapidly and lunged for said items while Sakura pulled her gloves on. They all climbed out of the tent and hid in an area near the entrance of their little hideaway. "When the door opens grab the driver, do the same for the passenger if there is one." Sakura instructed quietly. The car pulled to a stop and the driver side door opened, Ino grabbed the person, twisted their arm behind their back and dropped them to the ground. "Who are you and why are you here?" Ino snapped and then she saw Blonde hair in a similar fashion to her own. "Oh god it's Deidara." Ino said as she let him up. "Hey what the hell was that?" he grumbled and they all blushed.
"The guys went somewhere and haven't come back yet…" Hinata whispered and he laughed. "They are right up the street, they got stuck and called for my help, seeing as I have the big truck of the group. They then said I could hang with y'all." He said and they sighed in relief. "Kisame told him to go mudding, didn't he?" Ino asked with a sigh and Deidara laughed. "Yeah… They got stuck about a mile and a half from here, it was too hot so they didn't walk. Looks like you ladies were living it up while they were gone, huh?" He asked and they shook their heads rapidly. "No? Why not?" He asked and they all looked about to cry. "We thought we were going to die out here alone with raccoons and the creepy snorting pig thing out there…" Ino shrieked and Deidara blinked as he listened to the sounds of the forest around them. "Ok… So I will give you that… it does sound creepy as hell. But…" He said as he pulled out a box.
"I brought fireworks." He said with a grin and they beamed at him as the guys pulled up. As soon as they stepped out of the vehicles the girls glomped them... Ino was giving Naruto a helpless look as she was telling him about all the things they went through. Sakura had attached herself to Sasuke, who was eying her in surprise, before he sighed and patted her on the head. Hinata had run over to Madara and had begun telling him how scared she had been when the catfish had begun circling her legs, and then when the noises were coming from everywhere and they had no idea what they were.
"You were alright, I'm sorry we left you. I didn't mean to get us stuck, but I'm glad we made it back to you three and you all were all ok." He said and she nodded, they stopped talking when they heard some branches hit the ground. They turned around to see Naruto stacking them in the small fire pit Deidara had brought so they wouldn't have to start a fire on the ground. They just watched Naruto, because they all were curious as to what he thought he was going to do. He poured chips into the bottom and used his lighter to catch them on fire. They burned for a little bit but they didn't burn for long. "Hey hand me that empty soda bottle." Naruto said, everyone clearly saw the idea that was shining behind those blue eyes. What exactly that idea was, they had no idea, but this was Naruto… and this was going to be interesting.
He then proceeded to put gasoline into the two liter bottle, but no one stopped him. No one even said this may be a bad idea. They just continued to stare at him. He then proceeded to hold the lighter in front of the gasoline bottle and hold it over the fire pit. He flicked the lighter and the bottle instantly caught fire to which he set the entire bottle on the sticks so it would catch them on fire too. He grinned at the group, but had noticed they were all a great distance away from him. "Just in case it explodes…" Deidara said and then pointed at his pants, both of which were engulfed in flames. He began smacking at the flames eating their way up his legs, but they didn't even begin to dull out. "Someone help me!" He squawked and they continued to back away, seeing as he was coming closer to the tents.
Ino held a bottle of soda in her hands and slowly offered it to him, to which he sniffed then tossed back to her. "I need water, not soda…." He said and she pointed to the lake. "Oh yeah, so you want me to run through the tall dry grass to get to it first." He wailed and Hinata sighed as she grabbed a bottle of water and began pouring it on his legs, before once more, she shoved him into the lake. "There, fire's out." Madara said and they all laughed as Naruto carried himself up the bank. "I'm sorry… I wasn't sure what else to do…" Hinata said and he sighed. "It's fine, it worked, didn't it?" he asked and she nodded. "Then we are all good. Now, let's eat." He said as he began roasting a hotdog over the fire.
"I do have that on video." Sasuke said and Naruto began choking on his food. "Chill hotpants… don't need you to nearly die a second time." Ino sighed and everyone laughed. Deidara began setting off fireworks and they spent the majority of the night watching them, eating the food, and enjoying each other's company. Hinata sat curled up next to Madara from within their tent, the transparent ceiling open so they could enjoy the colorful sky overhead. "They're so pretty…" She said with excitement in her eyes. "You're so pretty." He whispered and she looked over at him in curiosity. "What did you say?" she asked, not having heard him because of the bang of the fireworks. "Many things, and not so many at all…" He said and she smiled at him softly.
"You have very pretty eyes when they aren't angry, annoyed, or devious…" She said and he smirked. "Oh do I now?" he asked and she nodded. "Well so do you. I love your eyes." He said and she smiled. "I know…" she said softly as she curled into his side even more, thoroughly enjoying his company. "I always hated them… I thought my eyes were ugly…" She whispered and he looked over at her with saddened eyes. "Trust me when I say I don't hate them now." She said and he blinked at her curiously. "Why not?" he asked and she smiled. "It's a secret. I will tell you soon enough." She said and he smiled as he ruffled her hair.
:-:
They all woke up the next morning, although the only ones who were not even remotely angry were Madara and Hinata. Everyone else was covered in mosquito bites and were aching all over. "Ok, so unless someone brings the bug spray that actually repels the bugs… we are never going camping again." Neji said and both Naruto and Sasuke nodded in agreement. Sakura and Ino looked completely disheveled and extremely tired. Everyone was packed up and in their vehicles by the time the sun had even broke the horizon. "Never going camping again…" Ino sighed and Sakura nodded.
Hinata smiled as she helped Madara load the last bag into the jeep. She looked over to the center of the lake and smiled brightly. "Look Ino, Sakura, The sunflowers have begun to bloom." Hinata said and the two girls glanced over as well, seeing the green and yellow blossoms of the sunflowers reflecting upon the surface of the lake beautifully. "Himawari lake at its finest." Neji said with a smile and Hinata grinned as she dove off the ledge, followed by the rest of them not long after. They all spent the day swimming and just enjoying themselves in the lake. Before dark, however, they had all changed and packed the last of their things up.
"Time to go, everyone. When we get to my house daddy should have pizza." Hinata said and they all cheered in excitement for food. Hinata slipped into the passenger seat of Kisame's jeep earning her a surprised look from Madara. "I'm riding home with you." She said and he smirked. "Like my company that much do you?" He asked and she thought for a moment, before she looked over at him and with a sinister smile said, "Well there could be a possibility I would grow to miss your company." She said and he sighed. "How you wound me so…" He whispered and she smiled at him. "But you know you love me." She said playfully and he genuinely smiled at her. "You have absolutely no idea how much I do…" he said and she completely missed the statement. She just went from smiling so brilliantly at him, to looking out the window with a softer smile.
'You have absolutely no idea how much I love you… and I myself have no idea why…' he thought as he watched her for a moment, then focused himself on getting them home.
"What song would you like for me to perform at your birthday party?" He asked and she looked over at him. "I honestly just want you to pick one that hits deeply with you. Choose one that means a lot to you." She said and he nodded. "Believe me… I will…" He said and she smiled brightly at him before turning back to the window.
So, I really hope you enjoyed this one as well! I hope to have the next one up within the week!