Somewhere in the Crowd
Summary: An in-depth journey into the mind of an adolescent girl. Hinata discovers her sexuality, and the power of being a woman, through a gypsy woman who promises danger, excitement and seduction. However, through this dark, exotic journey, Hinata learns the dark secrets of her family, the tension between the gypsy and royalty. Let's not forget either, the man who has suddenly grown an uneasy attraction to our lavender eyed beauty…
DISCLAIMER: don't own naruto
It was at least once a year, they visited. One could not quite call them gypsies, nor travellers. They invested their money appropriately but did not buy homes, choosing to keep to the roads. They were of villages scattered across the world, all of them of different cultures, of different elements, of different personalities- but they all had one passion- entertainment. The elders often wrinkled their noses at their presence, thinking nothing of them but thieves, scoundrels, criminals, that they practice black witchcraft, scammed the locals, the beautiful woman taking the young men into the forest and spreading their sexual diseases like the plague. The men charmed the young girls- alcohol would flow, cigarettes would burn, music would play. They came in the summer, and stayed for about a week. They brought men who juggle fire, old women with tarot cards, brought from another dimension, an evil dimension as the elders believed. The men and women did astonishing feats of gymnastics and tricks, contorting their bodies in ways even a skilled, average genin would have trouble doing. They sang foreign songs and danced- the dancing was the main attraction, always.
This year, Uzumaki Naruto's class had the (un)fortunate pass to see these shows.
They came late in the afternoon, under the hot sun. Savage black horses pulled their caravans, brightly painted and decorated with priceless jewels. They were rich, indeed, but chose to invest then scam the capitalist villages, taking the wealthy and promising a trade or investment that would double their riches- take their valuables and disappear without a trace. Their horses stomped their massive hooves, their majestic black manes falling into their white eyes, chomping at their brass bits. There was four of them going through the streets, and people gathered outside on the edges of the roads to watch them past, some clapping with delight, others frowning in dissaprovement. The women waved and beckoned, their dark skin glowing under the sun, scantily clad to entice and tease. Their white teeth glowed, dark eyes flashing. Their men were handsome, tall, strong, winked and beckoned the women, who floundered at their attentions.
A certain blonde haired boy, flanked by his partners Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, shoved his way through the crowd rudely.
"Check it out guys!" He said loudly. "The gypsies are here!" Sakura smacked him upside the head.
"Don't yell that! You might offend them." Haruno Sakura said angrily. Haruno was intimidated by the strangers. Her mother often told stories to her of these people, and their black magic and their seductresses, how they could lure any man or woman with a swing of their hips, or a slow blink underneath their long eyelashes. How they would lure you, and then slit your throat in the darkness.
The town's prejudice against the people could and could not be considered unnecessary. Many of the gypsies were dangerous, more so mysterious, with blood in their hair and hands, figuratively of course. Their drums beat lavish, exciting melodies, but in the back of Haruno's mind, they sounded like war drums. Of course, they came with no bearings of war, however it was a threatening presence, filled with excitement and mystery. Their gold jewellery and teeth glinted, looking so very clean and yet so… dirty. A woman was riding a horse behind the second caravan as it passed, with a young child sitting before her, and one behind her. Both the children were dirty, but were smiling, the young boy behind her had a harelip, the one in front of her was a girl but had a very short haircut, looking choppy and done sloppily, but they were waving and throwing confetti, and the woman in the middle of them, she was much older then Haruno- at least 33-35, the same age as Kakashi-sensei or Iruka-sensei. Her hair was long, golden, waved and curly, a bright blue bandanna wound around her crown, dark eyes ringed with black shadows, making them deep and alluring within her skull, her skin smooth, and bronzed darkly, so darkly she looked of another race. Her clothes, so scanty, lured the men. Naruto whistled rudely.
"Stop that." Sasuke said bitterly. He looked like he could care less. "She's a dirty gypsy."
"Sasuke…" Sakura said uncertainly. She would never admit it, but she was envious of the woman's beauty, and her fluid movements. She probably had had more men then Sakura could even imagine, and although that detracted the allure she held, Sakura fantasized what it would be like to be one of them.
"Dirty scoundrels." A man grumbled behind them, and Sakura turned to look. It was Hyuuga Hiashi, of course, with his daughters, Hanabi and Hinata. Hinabi was nodding her head in agreement, that arrogant, callous look in her eyes matching her father's. Hinata looked intrigued, however, with a small smile on her porcelain face, her eyes wide and full of fascination. She had never been able to see them before, her father locking her away in her room whenever they arrived, so help that a dirty gypsy would lure his first-born away from him.
Hinata caught Sakura staring at her, and they waved at each other. Although Sakura thought Hinata was a bit strange- she was still a nice girl. Hinata looked to her father, who was to busy defaming the entertainers passing before his town, and she hurried over to Sakura.
"Hey Hinata!" Naruto said cheerfully, and Hinata blushed savagely and stuttered- but before she could form a hello her nervous teeth bit into her tongue and she looked away from him, back to Sakura, biting back the pain.
"They're cool, hey?" Sakura said carefully. Hinata nodded. "Have you ever seen then before?"
"No. My father wouldn't let me." Sakura stayed quiet. No surprise there. "Are you going to see them tonight?" Sakura asked, as the last caravan passed through their sights, towards the park, where they would set up camp.
"Yes. I'm allowed to th-this year." She said, sighing shakily, nervous. "Are you going with Ino-chan?"
"Yep! Want to come with us, too?" Sakura asked, and Hinata flustered, pleased she had been invited.
"S-sure." She said, smiling shyly.
"Great. We better get back to Kakashi-sensei, we're late for training." Sakura said, looking to Sasuke, who grunted and left the front of the crowd. "C'mon Naruto!"
"Ah, okay!" He said, folding his arms, dejected. "Hey, how about we skip? Kakashi's probably already knee deep in p-"
"NARUTO!" Sakura said, mortified. She grabbed his collar and dragged him away, despite his protests. "See you later, Hinata!" Sakura called, and Hinata waved, blushing deeply. She looked after the caravan, which had nearly faded. some people were following them, mostly children whose parent's didn't really care where they went. Hinata considered following them, very curious, wanting to observe their lifestyle, a lifestyle so polar opposite of hers it rather scared her.
"Hinata!" Hiashi barked harshly behind her. "Come here. Don't get close to that filth." Malice dripped from his voice. Hinata did not question his legendary coldness and abruptly returned to his side, and they continued on their walk.
Hinata was unsure of how to dress for the festival. She stood in her room, looking at her small, pitiful wardrobe. The park grounds were only a few yards from her massive property gate, and she could dimly hear the drums playing, their smooth, rhythmic melody luring her to them, like a spell. She opted to slide into a light pair of pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and then stepped out the door into the large hallway. Hiashi was downstairs in the dining hall, talking politics with his advisors. She swept down the stairs gracefully, feeling very nervous at her father's reaction if he saw her leaving, although she knew he wouldn't care either way if she slipped away. Or even came back. The notion made her feel sad, but she still swept along quietly, not wanting to hear his opposition.
Outside, it was warm, and almost electric, she wasn't sure if it was the gypsy presence or not. She was filled with an overwhelming emotion of danger- but it was exhilarating. She only really felt that way when Naruto was around- but she wasn't blushing and stammering this time. At the gates awaited Sakura and Ino, and she felt herself grateful that they had not 'forgotten' about her. She stepped out through the metal gate and closed it, onto the dirt road. Ino was dressed scantily, the bold girl excited to get down to the gypsy grounds and perhaps be seduced by a charming, sexy young man not of this town. Sakura looked just as beautiful, and Hinata felt underdressed and felt awkward.
"Hey, Hina!" Ino said cheerfully. "Ready for some fun?" She was excited, cheeks glowing with anticipation.
"Y-yes." Hinata said humbly, and Sakura linked arms with her and pulled her along, Ino flanking her. They talked and gossiped happily, looking fresh and vibrant in the dark night, and Hinata felt envious of their friendship. She had never really experienced being sociable outside of a formal setting, and it was thrilling to feel the danger.
The grounds were lit up with lamps and fairy lights of different colours, packed with Konoha citizens, sake bottles swinging from their hands. Children wormed in-between their legs, the grass trodden with many footsteps. Raucous, alcohol fuelled laughter dripped through the air, screams of delight closer to the stage that had been set up. Guitars played upbeat tunes that reminded Hinata of parties and bare feet. Drums shook her body as they neared, and she felt very anxious. She hoped her father's advocates would not see her down here. Even though she was permitted outside after dark now, she was sure he would not appreciate her trip.
"I wonder if Sasuke is around?" Sakura asked excitedly. Ino was vibrating with excitement. The shoulders of others pressed into theirs, and she tried to grow accustomed to the closeness. Claustrophobia threatened, but she could not turn back now.
"He must be! It's the night of the year!" She tugged Sakura towards a group of gypsy men who were blowing fire for a crowd of women, who giggled and gasped with wonder and excitement, their husbands looking on disapprovingly. "C'mon, let's check these hotties out!"
"Are you coming, Hinata?" Sakura asked, turning towards her, and Hinata nodded, and followed them over. They pushed through the crowd towards the front.
A tall, strong man of ebony skin looked at the three of them and grinned, his teeth so brightly white against his dark skin. White face paint drew intricate designs across his face, so exotic it strummed a beat in Hinata's core. He put his hand to his mouth and blew a kiss, and seemingly from his mouth, a brilliant white dove sprouted in a burst of white feathers, and flew towards Ino, who outstretched her hand. It landed on her finger delicately, cooing. The man blew a ring of fire from his fingers, like Sasuke could do, although this was more erotic, the fire tinged with blue. As the drums beat they danced exotically, stomping their feet, moving so elegantly and gracefully they could be spirits. With such ease, they moved as one, and the man who had blown a dove from his lips, suddenly threw his hands into the air, and brought them down, and a beautiful circle of blue fire erupted around them, falling to the ground and collapsing into soft, brilliant white roses, that blew into the crowd, who gasped in wonder and applauded as they moved into their next show.
Ino stayed but Sakura wanted to check out the other festivities, and she pulled Hinata along. "Come, Ino!" She begged, and Ino shook her head, eyes still on the man, who had eyes locked with hers.
"Later!" She called, and Sakura rolled her eyes and dragged Hinata away.
"Wasn't that amazing?" Sakura gushed, turning to face Hinata. Sakura's face was red from the heat of the fire. Hinata nodded, feeling exhilarated, but not sure how to show it. "Hey, that's Naruto!" Hinata turned to wear Sakura was pointing and her heart started to hammer as through the crowd she made out her love. Naruto was standing at the stage where a team of beautiful female dancers were moving so gracefully, so eloquently, it captured Hinata's imagination for a minute. Sakura ran over to him, and Hinata followed, blushing as she came closer.
"Hey guys!" Naruto said cheerfully. His nose was bleeding. "Check these girls out!" He said, pointing towards the women.
They were dressed in dark clothes with gold fabric streaked through it, their long golden legs exposed to the air, thin mesh skirts barely covering their midsections, gold jewellery dangling from their arms, their ears, their necks. Hinata recognized the beautiful woman from the horse earlier this afternoon.
The song changed suddenly, to an upbeat, yet dark song with a fast beat and strange instruments made of oak and horse hair playing sounds she had only heard when Hiashi hired exotic dancers and singers to his house for celebrations. The music was urban, but almost futuristic. It reminded her of witches, seductresses and romance, tinged with tragedy, mixed with comedy.
The woman lead the dancers, standing at the front, wearing white as opposed to black. Her small breasts pushed out against the fabric, which was almost see-through, but just not quite enough. She moved like a cat, or a fox, with intricate, brilliant dance not known this region. They moved as one but she kept her eyes on the crowd, never looking away, her face stoic but filled with dominance, willing the crowd to submit, her dark bronzed skin tantalizing, those dark eyes speaking volumes of experiences and stories Hinata could not even begin to comprehend. Their energy was impalpable, and their bodies were incredible, whether slim from starvation or constant movement, Hinata could not tell.
"Hey, look!" Naruto suddenly said, pointing to the left. Sakura and Hinata looked, and Hatake Kakashi was standing there, with Asuma and Iruka. Asuma was drunk, as per usual, and was cheering the dancers on, whistling. Iruka looked mortified at the scene. Kakashi was unreadable, as usual, arms folded, eyes on the show.
The dancers came together as one, the woman in the middle, and theirs arms folded across each other to resemble an eye, and their arms "blinked", the woman as the pupil, and then they leapt apart and turned so their backs faced the audience, swinging their hips so erotically Naruto's nose burst into blood. They turned back around and the woman's eyes were on Kakashi-sensei, and Sakura could see the lust in her powerful eyes, in a way only an older woman could channel. The women came together again, standing directly behind each other, and then their arms lifted into the air at all different angles, and the woman standing in the front looked like she had a thousand arms, moving all in one, like an optical illusion, then the music suddenly stopped, and they collapsed, in Hinata's amazement, into black dust.
The crowd applauded and cheered loudly, as the curtains closed on the stage, a deep velvety red not unlike dried blood, the ends tattered from years of use. The woman suddenly popped up behind the curtain, smiling brilliantly, flipping her hair, a basket in her arms. "Thank you!" She called, "Thank you!" People threw their money in, Naruto including, emptying his pockets. "thank you!" The woman winked at Naruto and he turned into jelly, stuttering and blushing. Hianta felt a little jealous and kicked at the dust at her feet, thrilled by the scene but unable to shake the depressed feeling within her. Why couldn't she be like that? Sure, she was very young, barely eighteen, and the woman was an experienced dancer and obvious seductress, even though you could not tell Kakashi's expression, but she was sure that even he had been intrigued.
"Look, she's checkin' you out!" Asuma said loudly, nudging his comrade hard. Kakashi chuckled softly as he watched the woman dance and stare him down with a thousand words in those dark eyes.
"She's something else, hey." Kakashi remarked. "She looked at me the same way last year too." He chuckled again, shaking his head slightly, although he knew the outcome of the evening already. As an older, more experienced man, when he heard students talk about sex, he often laughed to himself, thinking of how young and naive they were. A gypsy lover was a timeless one, an experience full of danger, sweat and humid air that was charged with electricity. He had never had her before, but he had seen her.
"How inappropriate!" Iruka gasped, shaking his head. The conservative man was already not impressed he had caught his students staring at the outlandish show, which was almost pornographic, in his opinion. However, he was holding back a nosebleed himself.
The women collapsed into ashes, and when the woman who had charmed Kakashi resurfaced, she collected her money, and blew kisses to the crowd, and then turned to the three. She batted her eyelashes flirtatiously, smiling wickedly, flicking her long hair about. Another song started, an upbeat one of salsa tinged mayhem. She hopped gracefully off the stage as the crowd departed to see other shows, and Asuma straightened.
"Helloooo, little lady!" He said drunkenly as the woman waltzed over. She was quite tall, as tall as Kakashi, and she winked and graced her fingers along Asuma's stubbled chin.
"What a great audience!" She laughed. Her voice was accented, something foreign. She narrowed in on Iruka, who refused to look at her, blushing deeply. "Except you," She slid behind him like liquid, her hands on his shoulders, mouth at her ear. "You need to loosen up, my friend!"
"Eh… er.. ah-" Iruka blushed wildly as she pushed him away gently. She turned to Kakashi, looking up at him with those amber flecked eyes.
"Drinks, yeah?" She asked, touching Kakashi's arm, biting her lower lip seductively, fingers crawling up with the beat of the music. "Please, come, I'll tell you your fortunes," She danced away, spinning lightly on her bare feet, beckoning them with her fingers.
"C'mon, old man!" Asuma said, clapping Iruka on the back hard. "Let's party!"
"I don't know, what if she…"
"Oh please, she'll be all over Kakashi tonight, we'll find you someone else!" Asuma reassured cheerfully. Kakashi laughed, leading Iruka by the shoulder with Asuma towards the woman, who was heading into the crowd, taking the men to wherever she wanted.
Hinata had watched as the seductress had lured her teachers towards one of the other stages, where fire breathers and jugglers wreathed the sky. Sakura had chased Naruto off somewhere, but Hinata had been curious about the woman, and how she had acted around the men. She moved with such ease, such confidence. Hinata wished she could ask her, talk to her about how she had done it. Kakashi was an intimidating man, but she had shown no fear whatsoever. She was an entertainer- and Hinata wanted to know how to entertain. She had seen Naruto be totally entranced by the dancers and she wanted to imitate their grace, their postures, and learn how the woman had so brought forth the seduction. If she could only… learn.
She followed them.
Thanks for reading. I know it seems like a kakashi/oc pairing but its really not. Definitely a HinaKaka fix, love love this pairing! 3