Chapter 12

When Hinata woke up, she shot upright with a start, eyes darting around in search of danger.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, princess." She looked down to see Hidan sitting with her legs across her lap and his phone in his hand.

Tears welled in her eyes as she looked around at her unfamiliar surroundings. They were on a sofa in a dark room. A coffee table with a few beer bottles and a full ashtray sat nearby, and a large window covered by a long black curtain was against the far wall beside the door. It was a living room, of course, but she didn't know who's it was.

"Where are we?"

Hidan didn't bother glancing at her, "Kakuzu's place. Damn cheapskate doesn't even have a TV."

The room became quiet as Hinata's mind reeled, recalling all that'd happened before she passed out. Gasping, she patted her pockets before trying to struggle off of the sofa, "M-My phone and keys! They're-" "They're on the table. Calm down already." The girl finally noticed them sitting there, her face warming as she ceased her struggle.

The silver-haired man was calm, which struck her as odd because he almost always cursed and yelled. So, she gingerly tried to slip her legs off his lap to sit properly on the sofa rather than lying, only for him to finally turn his neck to fix her with a glare.

She mumbled anxiously, "I-I should go…."

"You can't. If you go outside right now, you're either gonna get kidnapped or killed. One of the two." Hinata's face paled, "W-What?!" He didn't sugarcoat his words in the slightest.

Finally, the anger she's come to expect from Hidan began to arise. He maneuvered one of her legs to the other side of his body, coming onto his knees between her legs to fix her with a heated glare, "That asshole you punched is one of Orochimaru's lackeys. They're probably searching for all three of us."

Hinata's breath got caught in her throat as his breath hit her face, and it smelled of mint. She'd expected it to smell of beer due to the bottles on the table, but it appeared as though he was sober. "Orochimaru…?"

Hidan's eyes narrowed, the little flecks of pink sticking out even in the dark room, "He's a real fuckin' dangerous guy, alright. Let's leave it at that."

Her brow furrowed, "What was I supposed to do? He was going to-" "I know damn well what he was gonna do. Why d'ya think I beat the fuck outta him?" Blush rose to her cheeks, but she couldn't find a good response, so she simply stared up at him, hands grasping his shirt in loose handfuls.

"I'll take you home in the morning. Just go to sleep if you want."

He moved to climb off of her, but Hinata found herself tightening her hold on his shirt for some reason. Magenta eyes looked down at her hands and back up to her face. She averted her gaze, humiliated, "Th-Thank you, Hidan."

When he didn't reply, she looked up to see his glare had softened slightly, but he was still staring at her. Without speaking, he slowly maneuvered himself onto the sofa, pulling her onto his chest with an irritated sigh. Hinata's hair fell over his side as she squeezed her eyes closed and tried to ignore how warm and solid he felt beneath her.

Though she was mortified, she didn't hate it because she sensed that he was trying to comfort her in his own way. Minutes passed in silence, and the girl's tension faded as she got used to the situation.

Half-asleep, she spoke without knowing the reason for her own words, "Sasuke doesn't like me like that. I made sure."

Hidan's chest vibrated when he chuckled, "Good for you. And that blonde idiot? You guys looked like you were hitting it off at the party."

It felt awkward suddenly. Hinata didn't know why, but talking to the silver-haired young man about her crush made her incredibly uncomfortable. She hadn't known he'd seen them at the party, either. Trying to hide it, she replied as casually as possible, "O-Oh, uh, yeah, no. I don't think that's going to work out. He likes someone else."

"So? It's not like they're together. If you really like him, you should try to change his mind."

Hinata groaned, burying her face in his chest. He chuckled again, an arm coming around to hold the middle of her back so she wouldn't roll off of him, his fingertips brushing against the bare skin beneath her crop-top, "For someone who knows how to fight, you don't fuckin' like it, do ya?"

Embarrassed, the girl mumbled, "What would you do?"

The man was silent for a long time. When he finally responded, his voice was quieter than before, "You shouldn't get advice from someone as fucked up as me. What I'd do would never work for you."

The Hyuuga girl sighed, a little annoyed, "Just tell me."

Hidan mirrored her act, cursing, "Damn it, fine. If I wanted to fuck someone, I'd make it impossible for them to think about anyone else until they end up making the first move."

Hinata blushed at his vulgarity but lifted her head and rested her chin atop her hands to study his face with a frown, "W-What if you actually liked someone and didn't want to just…."

His jaw flexed as he searched her eyes before he sighed and closed his own, "If I actually liked someone, I'd try to keep it to myself." The way he said it was heartbreaking, as though he thought he wasn't worthy of something other than fleeting lust.

The girl rose up, pressing her palms to the sofa so she could adequately meet his eye, "Why, though?"

"You, of all people, know what it's like to be around me. I wouldn't wish a lifetime of that on anyone I care about."

"Hidan, you're being unreasonable."

His anger flared, and he bit back, voice raising, "If I said I wanted you, you'd be afraid; we both know it."

Hinata's mouth clamped shut at his remark. In truth, she didn't completely disagree. As she tried to picture it, heat flooded her face, and she found herself sitting up, him rising slightly beneath her. With her knees on the sofa between his legs, she glared firmly, "I'd be nervous a-and a little intimidated, but I wouldn't be afraid, not of you."

Magenta eyes widened slightly, Hidan's voice breathless in disbelief, "You're an awful liar." They narrowed again, and the timid girl found herself pressed down to the sofa, the silver-haired boy forcing himself between her legs and pressing his chest to hers, "Can you honestly say you're not fuckin' scared right now?"

She didn't know what he was trying to prove but knew that she had to show courage or it'd hurt both of their pride, "N-No, I'm not!"

His lips captured hers roughly, a slight sound muffled between them as he shoved his tongue past her teeth. He was staring into her eyes, watching for any sign of discomfort to prove his point, but she didn't let anything show. Nervously, she allowed her eyes to close, sighing softly as she angled her head to deepen the kiss, responding as efficiently as possible.

'Stay calm, Hinata. He saved you in that alleyway, and right now, he needs you to show him he's not an awful person. Keep it together for his sake. You owe him, at least this once.'

On instinct, her body melded against his, her legs parting further to make room for him and her chest pressing against his intimately. She ran a hand up the back of his neck and into his hair, the other holding a handful of his shirt near his shoulder.

Her goal of not ruining his self-image blurred along the way because the sensations she felt were unlike those he'd given her in the past. It was warm and sometimes even hot between them, but at that moment, they were being lowered into a vat of magma.

Hinata's aroused daze was interrupted when Hidan moved one of his hands from the sofa near her head to slip his fingers beneath the hem of her shirt, slowly moving them further every few seconds. Her heartbeat quickened the closer he got to her chest, and he parted their kiss to stare down at her with a hateful glare, his lips slightly parted as he studied her response.

She didn't stop him, even when he cupped her breast. What she didn't expect was for him to say, "You can't tell me you wouldn't rather that Naruto prick be doing this to you." The focus in her stare faltered, her brow furrowing as she tried to imagine that scenario and failed.

"That's what I fuckin' thought," Hidan began moving away, but Hinata panicked and moved her hand from his shoulder to pull his back to her chest. The pink in his eyes seemed to flare as he froze, tilting his head as though trying to understand what was going through her head.

After a moment, a smirk lifted his lips, "I was right about you, princess."

She frowned, "What?"

"You just wanna feel like you're not this good little girl by messing around with someone like me. I've seen your type before."

The heated feeling faded in an instant. What he said hurt because she wasn't doing this for any reason other than the fact that she likes him. Her eyes widened slightly, and she removed her hands from him.

'I….I like him. How? When did this happen? I thought I liked Naruto!'

Hidan got off her, a knowing glare on his face, "Hit the nail on the head, didn't I?"

Hinata ignored him, sitting up and holding her cheeks with both hands as she panicked, eyes glazed over. All this time, she's been annoyed by him. Their first meeting and his tricking her out of her first kiss only solidified that thought. Though they're friends, he angered her more than anyone.

'But I've been trying to fool myself by focusing on the negatives.'

Sure, he pisses her off, but he also treats her differently than he does everyone else. All of their friends noticed it after they made up from their first fight. He tones down his violent habits to not scare her and doesn't tease her as much as he would someone else when she gets anxious or stutters.

And Hinata also finds herself in these types of situations with him, where they're making out or lying together. The girl felt like an idiot for not realizing her own feelings. She even initiated the kiss when they were at the beach.

'I'd never do these kinds of things with someone I didn't like. How could I have been so stupid?'

She thought about how she felt around Naruto versus Hidan. The first sign that told Hinata that she had a crush on the blonde boy was that her heart pounded when he looked her way. Hesitantly, the girl glanced over at Hidan. He had yet to look away from her, so their eyes locked instantly. Her pulse hastened immediately.

Next, she noticed that she couldn't help but stare at Naruto's pretty blue eyes. Brow furrowing, she turned her body toward the silver-haired boy, already knowing she'd gotten lost in those magenta eyes multiple times.

The final thing that made Hinata sure she liked Naruto was that she looked at his hands and found herself eager to hold one. She found his hands attractive. Coming forward, the girl outreached her hand. Hidan gave her a puzzled look but offered one of his hands anyway. The blood in her face drained when she held it in both of hers. Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at his palm in shock. His hand was much larger than hers, and his long fingers had callouses from who knows what. Hinata wanted that hand to hold hers, to touch her skin, to-

'What the hell am I thinking? This is Hidan! Even if I did tell him how I feel, there's no way he feels the same. He's just been messing with me because it's fun. He even told me that the first day he was employed by my father.'

"If you're gonna hurl, you'd better tell me."

Hinata's focus recentered on Hidan, and she released his hand like it'd burned her, moving to the far end of the sofa in disbelief.

She liked him, and she liked him way more than she liked Naruto.