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Hi guys! I hope that all of you like my fic! In this chapter, we see how Hinata's teammates react to what's going on. I hope everyone likes this chapter. I'm aiming for this to have one to two more chapters, and maybe a side story or sequel at the end.

Again, this is also posted at FF.net under the same penname and Title.


Well, here's the next installment of 'Cohesion'. Enjoy!


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After hearing soft, steady breathing behind him, Neji noticed that Hinata had fallen asleep...on his bed. He had absolutely no idea what to do, so he considered his options. 1) He could try to carry her to her own room. The problem would be solved, but if anyone woke up and somehow caught them, they'd get the wrong idea. 2) He could leave her there and sleep on the extra bed. He wouldn't have to risk anything, but she'd be in his freaking bed! What if Haishi or Hanabi went looking for her? He might as well cut his own head open. 'Well', he thought. 'It's too late now...might as well just leave her here.' He pulled out the spare futon under his bed, changed into his pajamas (after making sure that Hinata was definitely not awake), and fell asleep soon after his head hit the pillow.

-Earlier that Afternoon-

On the other side of the village, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shina were facing a rather difficult predicament.

"She's dead. Hinata's dead."

"She's not dead, dog-boy."

Kiba snarled. "Then, buggy, WHERE IS SHE!"

"..."

"Well?" Akamaru decided to voice his own opinion and make his worry know by barking at Shino...and peeing on his jacket.

"That was my favorite jacket." Shino stated.

"What do you mean, was? It still works." His voice faltered a little bit, as he could tell Shino was glaring at him under those sunglasses of him. Why was Shino so pissed at him, anyway? Usually Kiba couldn't get under his skin until at least noon. His thoughts were interrupted by a kikai bug crawling up the side of his face. He froze.

"There is no way I am keeping this, dog-boy, let alone putting it back on. I might as well give it to the most intelligent of the two of you to decide its...fate."

And so commenced a very awkward silence.

"What am I gonna do with it?" Kiba questioned. "It's covered in Akamaru's...umm...pee."

Shino sighed. "I wasn't talking about you."

"Oh."

"..."

"HEY!" Suddenly, Akamaru grabbed the jacket in his mouth and ran off in the direction of Kiba's house. "Take good care of my jacket." Shino whimpered, although no one was really listening. Kiba turned around and gave Shino a puzzled look. "Shino, do you have a feeling that we're forgetting something?" Shino wasn't listening, though. He was staring wistfully in the direction Akamaru had run off.

"Bye, jacket."

-The Next Morning-

"AAAH! Neji-nii-san!" Hinata squealed. Her face was crimson red, and she looked like she was about to have a heart attack. She quickly covered herself with the blanket Neji had placed on her...even though she was fully clothed. Neji fought back the urge to laugh as his younger cousin frantically looked around, apparently searching for something that wasn't there. He smirked. "Yes, Hinata-sama?"

" I need a phone! Kiba and Shina must be worried sick! I was supposed to call them when I got home last night...Kiba-kun is going to have a fit, and Shino! Poor Shino!" She started scouring the room for a phone. Her search, sadly, was fruitless.

"Hinata," Neji interjected. "Use your Byakugan."

Hinata blushed even more (Neji didn't even think a person could get that red) and tried to calm herself down. It didn't help that Neji had addressed her so informally. Nonetheless, she listened to her cousin's instruction. The veins pulsed in her temples, and she scanned the room with her Byakugan. She found a phone...right next to her on the older Hyuuga's bedside table. "Uh...s-sorry, Neji-nii-san! I...I wasn't paying attention."

"No, you weren't." Neji cursed himself the minute the words left his mouth. He hadn't realized what repercussions they would have. The girl looked down in shame, and refused to meet his gaze. "Please don't tell father." She whimpered. A pang of guilt hit Neji unexpectedly, and he suddenly felt the urge to make her feel better. Neji slowly approached her, and bent down next to the bed to help her up. He smiled (though it was a tad strained; he didn't really smile much) and bent his head to her ear. "I won't, I promise." he felt her shudder. It was more likely that it was the result of seeing him smile...but he'd take whatever he could get. Placing the phone in his cousin's hand as he stood up, he walked to the doorway. "It's around seven o' clock. Call the Inuzuka and tell him you won't be training today."

"H-huh? But Kurenai-sensei said we would be doing a mission today and she w-would need all three of us." Neji rolled his eyes, wondering if Hinata had realized yet just how high her fever was. She would have to be in bed for at least a day or two. After all, that's what happens when you're out in the rain like she was. "Hinata-sama. You have a fever, and a rather high one to be exact. You are not going to train today." Hinata silently bowed her head in defeat, and allowed Neji to help her up so she could get a change of clothes. On the way back to Neji's room, she had heard he and her father talking, and learned that Neji was being ordered to stay home and take care of her. A pant of guilt struck her (or was that just her head pounding...). She felt horrible for getting sick and requiring her cousin to abandon his training. He was supposed to be receiving a promotion to a new ANBU squad, and at this point, he could not afford to slack off.

After getting back to her cousins room, she sat down on his bed and thought about what had happened yesterday. It was becoming harder and harder to stay awake, and Hinata could feel consciousness slowly slipping away. She sighed, and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

What a long day.

"Hokage-sama!"

Tsunade awoke from her drunken stupor after hearing her name. She lazily wiped the drool from her mouth and turned to face...

"Yes, Kiba?"

"Hinata's missing! She could be dead! Or worse! She could be-"

"Making out with Naruto in a closet." Shino finished for him.

As payback for his remark, Kiba whacked the other boy over the head with the closest object that could possibly do him harm (which just so happened to be one of Tsunade's favorite vases). "Hinata-chan would never do that, Shino! Right Akamaru?" The dog whined and made a small yip in agreement. "See, Shino? Akamaru's right! Hinata-chan isn't that kind of person!"

"..."

"And you're trusting this to a dog?"

"..."

The Hokage decided that, despite her horrendous hangover, she had no choice but to intervene. "Okay, SHUT UP! We all know that Hinata is not that sort of girl, and she would never make out with anyone in a closet. As much as I'd love to this conversation to continue on it's current path, we're getting off the subject." The Fifth Hokage smacked Shino and Kiba upside the head, sat them down on two chairs in front of her desk, and shoved Akamaru onto Kiba's lap.

"So what is going on?" Tsunade rubbed her temples, expecting all hell to break loose, but instead, Shino glared at Kiba, adjusted his sunglasses, and started to speak. "We don't know exactly. Hinata was supposed to call us last night when she got home. She never did."

The Hokage gave them a 'You're kidding me, right?' look. "And you didn't even bother to call her? Or-get this- you could have gone to her house to see if she was okay! Did it even occur to you that maybe she forgot? I swear, you never think." She lifted her head to look up at Kiba, who wore an 'I knew that...' expression on his face. Shino, as usual, was unreadable, but Tsunade could tell he was concerned for his female teammate. As they were about to get up, a phone started to ring.

"That would be me." Shino announced, and he flipped open the cover. "Hello. How did you get my number, Hyuuga?" At this, Kiba's eyes widened. He knew Shino only addressed one person that way, and that person...was Neji. Before Shino could say another word, the Inuzuka had grabbed the phone and started ranting at it. "Where the hell is Hinata-chan? Oh God! You killed her, didn't you? You heartless bastard! How could you? She was your cousin, man! Your freaking cousin!"

After a few minutes, Shino managed to retrieve the phone from the fuming Kiba. Truthfully, he was surprised that Neji was still on the line. "Is he done?"The older Hyuuga sounded especially irritated. More so than usual, in his opinion. "Yes." He replied. "I'd give him a minute or two though. Where is Hinata?" There was a pause at the other end, and Shino thought he heard Neji talking to someone. "She's fine, Aburame. She's got a fever, though. I got your number from her phone, because she passed out before she got a chance to call you. She won't be training today." Shino heaved a sigh of relief at hearing that Hinata was okay. "Thanks, Hyuuga," he muttered. "Whatever." Click.


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Thanks again. I don't know when I'll finish the next chapter, but I'll get on it right away! Please review if you have the time, it means so much to me to know that even a few people like my writing. Well, until next time! Ja ne!