Chapter Nineteen

"It was kinda weird, I'm glad my mom came back when she did." Sakura said to her friends as they walked into school together. "Me too. I remember talking to Naruto about those kind of situations, and apparently it's like an issue." Hinata said, "Of course it is! Everyone should get consent and reassurance constantly, and you guys know that you can stop whenever you want, right? We don't owe men anything." Ino said while TenTen nodded before saying, "And if he doesn't stop, then that's assault, regardless of who he is."

"I just can't have that conversation with him."Sakura said with a deep sigh leaving her lips. "Is it just him, or Sasuke too?" She shrugged, "Sasuke isn't forceful at all really. With Sasori...it's just different.""Then the issue is just with Sasori. You've never been able to tell him no." "I know! I don't understand why." She said, knowing that if she told her friends about last night, they'd make it into the big deal that it was. "I don't know, maybe because he's been grooming you since we were children?" Ino asked rhetorically.

  "Grooming me? No he's not." Hinata just shrugged her shoulders, "He is, and he will continue to if you keep denying it." Sakura rolled her emerald eyes, and changed the subject by asking her friend, "Have you talked to Naruto?" "Of course not. Have you talked to Sasuke?""Not at all." "You guys need to get a grip on your men." Ino said, making them laugh as they now stood by TenTen's locker.

When Neji and Kiba walked up to them, Kiba smiled at all of them. "Hey, you guys." Hinata blushed while smiling at him. "Hey, Kiba." Sakura said while eyeing her blushing friend, "I'll see you guys in first period." She said as she noticed Sasuke at his locker a few feet away. "Hey, Stranger." She said to him, making him look over his shoulder, and nod at her. "You didn't tell me you knew Sasori." As she said that, Naruto approached them.

They both had bags under their eyes, from their lack of sleep the night before. "Yeah, only for a few months though." "Well are you okay? I saw his face, and he said you guys got into a fight?" "I'm fine." She nodded, "Well you guys shouldn't do that, he has a way of losing his cool. It could've been worse." Sasuke rolled his eyes, "It was Sasori's fault." Naruto answered on behalf of his friend. Sakura nodded, "He's definitely a character, so I'm sorry in advance." "You apologize on the behalf of him now?" Sasuke asked, while closing his locker shut, and finally facing Sakura.

"Is that a problem?" She asked while crossing her arms over her chest. Naruto awkwardly walked away from them before things got too tense. He just shook his head, "You're so naive when it comes to him." She just rolled her eyes, "And you aren't when it comes to Karin?"

"Here you go." Sasuke groaned, making her even more annoyed, "All I'm saying is that it's very bold of you to have an opinion on my friends, when you're friends with her." He just sighed, "I really don't have to explain myself to you." Her eyes looked into his for a moment, almost looking for a sign that she should continue their conversation.

"But I have to explain my friendships to you?""I'm just curious as to why you hangout with such a shitty person like him." "What makes him such a shitty person?" She asked him while crossing her arms over her chest, "You mean other than him drugging you?"

"I don't know who did that." "Who else would do that to you, Sakura?" He asked her rhetorically, while looking at her as if she were stupid. "I don't know, ask Karin."

"What does that even mean? I haven't talked to her since you told me what she did, Sakura." She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, whatever." "God, Sakura. You act like I have to make every decision based on how you feel." The two were starting to make a scene in the crowded hallways, and Karin watched from down the hall.

"Sorry for wanting my friend to be considerate of my feelings." Sakura said quietly, with anger in her emerald eyes. "I'm being inconsiderate? You treat yourself like shit for the sake of Sasori. Who couldn't give a fuck about you if he tried."

"And what do you think I do when I'm around you, Sasuke?" She asked him, making his eyebrows scrunch in confusion. "If I'm so bad, why the fuck are you even talking to me right now?" Sasuke asked her, making her eyebrows raise in surprise, and her heart drop.

The question made her heart drop, because her mind went blank. "Sasuke." She spoke softly, while he did the same, though he was still frustrated with her. "Answer the question, Sakura. If I make you feel like shit, if I'm as bad as Sasori, then really we shouldn't be doing this. I don't want you to ever feel that way; especially not at the hands of me."

Her emerald eyes looked away from his onyx eyes, and he realized that his tone may have been a little harsh. Instead of saying a word to him, she began to really contemplate his words. Truthfully all he wanted to do was talk to her, have a real conversation with about what she was going through, but he knew he couldn't by the look of uncertainty in her gorgeous eyes. "I'm heading to class."

With that, he walked away from her, and she just watched him with a confused look on her face. "Hey, Kiba." Hinata said to him as he stood at her locker. "Are you feeling better?" She smiled, "I am, Ice cream definitely did the trick." He winked at her while holding the straps of his backpack, "Always does."

"What are you doing tonight? You should come over, and we can watch movies and stuff." Kiba smiled as he walked her to class, "Oh what kind of movies?" He asked while they stood right before the door. "Horror movies of course." She said while playfully putting her hand against his chest, "You know that's my favorite." He said while grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers.

As she giggled, Naruto turned the corner to walk into his class, and he noticed their lingering hands. "I'll see you later, Kiba." She said as she noticed Naruto standing behind him. Sitting in her normal seat, she sighed while looking at the back of Naruto's head. Looking at Sakura she noticed that she was obviously upset, "What's up?"

"I hate men." She answered, making Hinata and Ino laugh. "Yeah me too." "Anyways, what are you both doing tonight? You should come over." Sakura asked her friends, "Okay, for sure." Ino answered, while Hinata said, "I already made plans." "With who?"

"Is it a date?" Ino whispered, but Naruto still heard it, and his heart beat faster by the minute, as he waited for what she was going to say. "We'll talk about it later." She said and they nodded, but Naruto still wondered about whether or not she was moving on, and whether or not it was with their friend. Almost immediately, he dismissed the thought, because he knew Kiba knew how much he loved Hinata, and he knew that he wouldn't do that to a friend. Right?

Trying to get her out of his head, he actually paid attention to what his teacher was teaching, and started taking notes. Sasuke on the other hand was struggling to stay awake after the long night he had. The entire night, Naruto and Sasuke searched through all of his old photo albums that he managed to salvage from his childhood home. They searched for the familiar girl, and by three in the morning, they came up empty handed.

As he started to doze off, he felt a slight nudge to his arm, making him jump slightly in his seat. Kakashi noticed, and asked him a question that corresponded with his lecture. When Sasuke answered it correctly, he still eyed him. "Go splash water on your face if you need to."

Getting up from his seat, Sasuke grabbed his bag and left the classroom. Sakura watched him walk away, and shook her head, because she knew that he wasn't coming back. Although she wanted to ask him what was up with him, she figured that it wasn't worth it. Sighing dramatically she leaned forward, and rested her head against her cold desk.

  After first period ended, Naruto looked down at his phone, to see a text from Hiashi. Just as he pulled out his phone to respond to it, his phone was knocked out of his hand by a person bumping into him. "Hey!" He said, before turning around to see the girl on the floor, scrambling to pick up her books.

"I'm sorry! I was reading my book." Looking at her for a second, he kneeled down to help her. "It's okay. What's your name?" A blush came to her pale face, "Fūka." Standing up, he extended his hand out to her. She looked up into his inviting ocean blue eyes, and her blush only deepened. "Well I am Naruto."

"I-I know." He raised his eyebrows in surprise, and she blushed while giggling. "That sounds creepy. I only know you because everyone knows you. You're Hinata Hyuga's boyfriend. You guys are really cute actually." He blushed, "Y-yeah, well we broke up."

"No way! When?" She asked while gasping dramatically, "Saturday." "Aw, I'm sorry, Naruto." Placing her hand on his bicep in a seemingly innocent manner, caught the eye of Hinata who was currently having a conversation with Kiba.

Even from the other end of the hallway, she could see everything, and it made her heart beat erratically, alongside bringing a strong bout of anxiety. Her hand rested against her chest, as she could feel her heart beat through every ounce of her body.

"Hinata?" Kiba said in an effort to get her attention, as she watched Naruto walk closer to her with a girl next to him. He was so engulfed in a conversation with her, that he didn't even notice Hinata's eyes on him, until he walked right past her.

When his blue eyes looked into her's, both of their worlds seemed to pause for a moment, and she could tell that he was sorry, while he could tell that she was still hurt. "Hinata." Kiba said, finally snapping her out of her trance. Smiling up at him, he cupped her cheeks in his hands, "Yes?"

"What time tonight?" "Oh is this your other plans? We can all come, can't we?" Sakura asked, interrupting their conversation. Kiba glanced at Hinata, while she blushed. "O-of course you guys can! My place at eight." Her friend smiled, "Sounds good."

When she walked away, Kiba just laughed. "That's not funny." She said while playfully hitting his abdomen. "Just a little. You turn so red, it's adorable." Rolling her eyes, she giggled before saying, "I'm going to class, see you."

As she walked away, he watched her with a smile on his handsome face, before walking toward his class. When she walked through the door, she felt everyone's eyes on her, making her blush while walking with her head down, all the way to her seat. She didn't know why they were all staring, and whispering before she heard someone say, "Yeah they broke up over the weekend! Do you see him? He's just devastated."

That made the hairs on the back of her neck standup. She didn't think that Naruto was that affected by the breakup, and it annoyed her. Unlike Naruto, she hoped that he was doing just as bad as she was.

Hinata had spent her entire weekend crying in her bed, until Kiba came to cheer her up, and even though he did cheer her up, the whole time she thought of Naruto. When he walked into class, the entire room became silent. He took his normal seat, behind Hinata, and it made her anxious. She noticed that Sakura wasn't in class, and she assumed that she wouldn't be considering Sasuke wasn't either.

  Before the the bell rang, Hinata realized that there was no way she could possibly sit so close to him, and ignore him the entire period. As soon as the bell rang, and her teacher walked into the classroom, she raised her hand. "Yes, Hinata?"

"May I be excused?" Her teacher sighed, "Hinata." "P-please?" She asked, this time with her voice cracking as tears began to weld in her eyes."Okay, you're excused. Just make sure to get notes from someone." Hinata nodded, before grabbing her backpack and walking out of the classroom.

Tossing her backpack in the backseat of her car, she slammed her driver's side door before crying hysterically. Tears fell from her eyes, ruining her mascara, and making her windows fog from her heavy breathing. As her head rested in her hands, she heard a knock to her window. "Yes?" She asked her cousin while he opened her door. "What's wrong." "Nothing."

"You're sobbing in your car, when you should be in class, I think that something is wrong." She just rolled her eyes, "I'm just sad." He nodded, "I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong." 

"I just miss him." She started while staring off into the distance. "And it sucks, because he lied to me about something so important, and you know how I feel about lying, Neji." He just nodded, as she vented to him. "I just don't understand why it took him so long to tell me, you know? I gave him so many opportunities." "What did he lie about?" A sigh left her lips as she looked into her mirror, and saw that she had mascara all around her eyes.

"He's in a gang." Neji was confused as he said, "I thought Hiashi told you that already." "He did, but then I asked Naruto, and he said he no longer was." "Oh okay, I get it now." She nodded, "Yeah, so now I just look stupid. I still love him, but I kissed Kiba last night, and now I just don't know what I'm doing." "Well I know I'm not good at this girl talk stuff, but I can give you some advice." "Please?"

"For starters, I understand why you're upset, and I would be too. Naruto on the other hand would die for you, and I know he wouldn't intentionally put you in any danger. You really should talk to Hiashi, because there's so much he's tried to hide from you." He said while she used her micellar water to fix her makeup. "Why don't you just tell me?"

"It's not my place, Hinata. He's your father." She sighed, "That still doesn't change the fact that Naruto lied to me." "You're right, it doesn't, but you have to realize that he's human, and much to your dismay, he's not perfect. We all make mistakes." "Yeah, whatever." He looked down at his watch. "Lastly, you need to get over him before you start anything with Kiba."

"I'm not starting anything with him, we're just friends." "He's loved you since we were kids, so although you feel that way, his feelings for you are so much deeper, and I know you don't want to hurt anyone."

"I'll try and take it slow with him." Neji nodded, "It's almost time for third period. Are you feeling better?" Neji asked her. She reapplied her mascara while saying, "Yeah, I'm fine."

When they started walking toward the entrance of their school, Hinata asked him, "How did you even know I was out here?" "Naruto text Ino saying that you were upset, and she couldn't get out of class, so here I am." Hinata sighed and mumbled, "Well that was nice of him." Neji threw his arm around her shoulders and groaned, "No more crying." She laughed, "I'll try."

"Sasuke, we have to get up." Sakura said to him as her alarm clock went off. With his arm around her waist he groaned, "No." After first period, she found him asleep in his car, and figured that they could just go to her house because it was nearby.

"You got two hours of sleep, now come on." She said while running her fingers through his soft, jet black hair as she sat up in her warm bed. "Can we just take another nap?" He asked before laying his head between her thighs. "Okay, we can just skip the rest of the day. I can tell you need to rest." Sasuke began to kiss her thighs softly, before hovering over her, with his forearms on either side of her head.

With her hand caressing his cheek, he said to her, "You're too good to me." Her emerald eyes looked into his onyx one's as his eyelids could barely stay open. "Go back to sleep, Sasuke." She said softly, only for him to ask, "Do you like when he's so rough with you that he gives you bruises?"

His question was out of sheer concern as he saw the bruising to her wrist. She tried to cover them up from her friends, but as she laid there almost completely naked with Sasuke, she had to talk about it. "I-I don't know." She answered him after a moment of silence.

When she said that, he peered up into her eyes. Truthfully he just wanted to talk to her about what she had told him, when she was under the influence, but as he saw the distressed look in her emerald eyes, he decided against it, realizing she probably needed to sleep just as much as he did. "I'm here for you." She nodded her head with a small smile, "I know, thank you."

When he fell asleep, she watched him sleep so peacefully. His head laid against her lower stomach, and his arms held her by her waist tightly, making her feel safe. A small smile came to her face as she ran her fingers through his soft hair. She loved when they were like this, so carefree.

As she looked at him, she began to think about what their relationship had become, and where it was going. Oddly, she could see her whole future ahead of her, and it gave her hope that she was getting better.

Just a few months ago she couldn't even imagine that she'd make it to this point in her life. The point of loving someone so much that you want to be better, and not just for them, but for yourself also. Their relationship was confusing, and brought the both of them a certain amount of trouble, but it gave her hope. They both knew that she loved him, but she realized that she couldn't expect that reciprocation from Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't love himself, and she was convinced that would be true until the day he forgave his brother. Sakura also knew that if he didn't love himself, then he was incapable of loving anyone else, but luckily for him, she would wait for him. Closing her eyelids, she fell asleep with Sasuke on her mind, and against her body.

Back at school, Naruto sat in his third period with his friends. "What's up?" They said to him as he sat down at their table. "Hey, Guys." "How are you? Word got around pretty fast." Lee asked him, "I'm fine. Anyone know how she's doing?" He asked, even though he knew that Kiba had the answer.

"She seemed fine this morning." Naruto nodded before looking at Kiba, "Should I be worried?" Kiba shook his head before patting his injured arm, making him wince. Playing it off he said, "Boxing." "Oh my bad, but no don't worry. We're all taking care of her." Naruto nodded with a smile, "Okay, good."

As they sat there, talking about a different topic, a girl came up to Naruto. "Hey, I heard about you and Hinata, and I'm so sorry." The blonde said while placing her hand on his thigh in a seemingly comforting way. "It's all good, thank you though. What's your name?" "Everyone calls me Sumi."

"Well thank you, Sumi." She blushed, before handing him a small note that had her number on it. "I'm free tonight, if you want to talk." "Okay, I'll give you a call." Kiba couldn't help but shake his head at watching him flirt. The whole time he thought about how this would make Hinata feel.

When school finally ended, Hinata couldn't wait to leave as she rushed to her car without saying a word to any of her friends. "Can you pick up Hanabi from school for me?" Neji asked her as he stood at his parked car, that was next to her's. "Yeah, but can you take her to her boxing lesson later?"

"Boxing? She must be pretty serious with that." He asked, "Yeah she likes it, I guess." He laughed a little, "That's cool, but yeah as long as I'm back in time." Hinata nodded, before getting in her car, and driving toward Hanabi's school that was down the road.

When she got there she saw her sister talking to Konohamaru and another boy. She smiled while she noticed the couple holding hands, as he laughed at something she said. Looking down at her phone, she text her sister telling her that she was there to pick her up.

"Hey, does he need a ride home?" Hinata asked her sister as she sat in her passenger seat. "No, Naruto usually gives him a ride." She answered, and Hinata nodded, before looking in her rear view mirror to see Naruto's handsome face, as he honked at Konohamaru.

She noticed that he had gotten a new car, and she couldn't help but wonder how he could afford a car that looked so expensive. The kid blushed, while Naruto laughed at his dismay. "Are you going to drive?" Hanabi asked, snapping her sister out of her daydream. "Y-yeah!" When they got home, they were immediately called into their father's home office.

"Before I start, how was everyone's day?"He asked, "Good, and you?" They both answered in unison, "That's good, mine was very busy." "I called you guys in here, because I think it's time we really talk about our family business. I want you to keep in mind that I am only telling you both this so that you're informed." They just glanced at each other before nodding.

  As he explained everything, from their family history, to where they were currently and what he did exactly, both of the young women were completely bamboozled as their eyes were opened. The knowledge that Hinata had was only surface level, and now she had so many questions.

"With that being said, I want to apologize for putting you in that position the other night, Hinata. All of that was based solely on the fact that I have some business partners who are threatened by my success, and my partnership with Naruto. As you know, he's affiliated with Danzo, and although I am not directly, we do share a common interest."

"Then why can't you just cut Naruto off?""He's a good asset, and frankly I can count on him to keep you both safe." Hinata rolled her eyes, "What are you getting at?""You can expect him to be around often."

"You're kidding." She said with her eyes widened in disbelief. "He's not even that bad." Her sister chimed in, "Oh shut up, Hanabi." She just shrugged, "Aw poor me, my hot boyfriend is my bodyguard." Hanabi mocked, making Hinata roll her eyes. "Why can't we just get an actual bodyguard?"

"I figured you guys wouldn't want a random guy following you around everywhere, but I guess-" Hanabi cut him off, "God no." "Okay, but don't think of him as your bodyguard, he's just there for a little extra protection. You guys are safe, but it's just a safety measure." Hanabi nodded, while Hinata sighed. "Why can't we just take like self-defense classes?"

"I'm already boxing." Hiashi nodded, "You could do tha-" She shook her head, "You both are missing the point. I don't want to be close to my ex-boyfriend."

"I'm sorry, Hinata, but your safety is priority." Hinata sighed, "So here is the plan. I want you two boxing at least three times a week, and expect to be spending more time with Naruto. He'll just be hanging around more often, and if you're out with friends I told him to be discreet as possible. He'll be reporting to me weekly, so please be cooperative."

Hiashi stared at Hinata as he said that. "Consequences will follow if I hear of anything else. This is about your safety." She just rolled her eyes, while her sister answered, "Okay.""I don't want you guys to worry too much, things are starting to simmer down, and I'll keep you all posted." Hanabi nodded before asking, "Does Neji know?"

"Yes, Neji is also taking precautions, don't worry." She nodded, "Okay, well I have to get my things ready for boxing. Are you coming?" Hanabi asked while standing up from her seat, "I guess I have to. We have to leave early though, I'm having a movie night with my friends."

"You didn't ask to have them over." Hiashi said, making her roll her eyes again. "And you forgot to ask me before getting Naruto involved in our family business."