Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Childhood Arc
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or people would have spend as much time wanting to take off Shino's sunglasses as they did Kakashi's mask.
Playing the Role of the Byakugan Princess
Childhood Arc
Chapter eight
Naruto was extremely happy and excited when I told him that my father has allowed me to hang around him now. Those reactions instantly faded when I mentioned that I could only hang out with him in private and for training purposes only. I had tried to make him feel better and add that it doesn't always have to be just for training only, since my father isn't going to find out either way since he isn't spying on me anymore. But, my friendship with Naruto has to be kept secret from the other villagers, especially our council.
"I just don't understand your clan's council or your father. What's the big deal?" Naruto tells me, crossing his arms. We are standing in the forest near the Academy, where we fought those bullies the other day. "I can hang out with you, but not publicly? How stupid."
I sigh. "I am just as confused as you are. I do not know why my father has to listen to the council even though he is the Head of the clan. In my opinion, he seems to be a little afraid of them if he is wanting me to keep this from them." I usually do not tell my friends about the affairs that go on within my clan, but I figured he would like to know for future references. Plus, I trust him enough to not blab his mouth to anybody about this.
Naruto shrugs. "On the bright side, I get to see you outside of school more often now. So, I can't complain!" He flashes me an encouraging smile.
I nod. "There we go!" I say. "Alright, let's get to work!"
Today is my first day of teaching Naruto how to control his chakra. I am hoping it doesn't take too long since he is a fast learner, but his chakra is still developing since he is young so it I do not know yet how everything is going to be played out. While I am pretty sure I can explain very well what chakra is and how to control it, I highly doubt Naruto is going to understand my lecture. Instead, I have decided to sum it up as best as I can and I brought my books along to loan to him.
"Why are you giving me these books?" Naruto asks, raising an eyebrow as he stares down unenthused at my books I am holding.
I grin. "So you can read and study them."
Naruto widens his eyes in comical dispar. "What?! No way! Come on! I hate studying and you know that!"
I shrug. "Alright, I guess you really do not want to be Hokage then."
Naruto stops freaking out. "What are you talking about? Of course I do!"
I shove the books into his hands. "Then, you really need to study these books! You can't always learn just from me verbally teaching you or you physically practicing. You have to bore the knowledge into your mind and remember it."
Naruto shifts his eyes over at me as he collects the books. "Okay, okay. But, I'm not going to like it one bit."
I smile. "You don't have to study the books 24/7. Just take an hour or so out of your day and read over them. I promise they helped me out a lot. That is why I am able to do this!" I sent some chakra to my feet, went over to the nearest tree, and began running up it. I made it up halfway before I stop and did a backflip off.
Naruto drops his mouth. "Wow! That's so cool!"
I point at the tree. "As you just saw, I am not able to make it all the way up the tree. I, myself, still have to train some more before I can make it up there. However, those books taught me how to control my chakra before I took myself out onto the field to practice it." I know an instructor could probably teach Naruto how to control his chakra in person and without any books. But, I have no experience in teaching and have no reason to in detail when I am still in training. That's where the books come in.
"Gotcha! I will start reading them tonight," Naruto tells me as he stuffs them in his bag. I wonder how much money I can bet that he will never open those books. "So, what are we going to do right now?"
I took out a notepad and a pen from my backpack and toss it over to him. "You're going to take notes why I give you a brief lecture about chakra!"
Naruto doesn't catch the flying items and he watches them fall to the ground. He gives me a death glare. "I think you hate me." I just wave my hand and giggle as he picks up the supplies.
The next day, I roll into class in high spirits. Despite grumbling and complaining, Naruto surprised me yesterday and actually understood what I told him as he took notes. It puts me in a good mood that I know that Naruto's grades and performance is going to start improving so I do not have to worry about him failing the graduation exam three times in a few years from now. He can just pass it the first time! I also want to prepare him more for the Shinobi world. I want him to have more knowledge and experience when he becomes a Genin this time around. If he has his basics down pat, I am hoping Kakashi will teach him something useful like ninjutsu. While he's a badass character and I love him, he's not a very teacher. From what I remember, he only taught Naruto how to tree walk and teamwork tactics before sending him off to the Chunin Exams. That's not acceptable in my books.
I stroll up the stairs towards my desk when I catch Sakura crying out of the corner of my eyes. Why is she crying? Where's Ino? I look around the classroom and see Ino sitting up front next to a random fangirl. Ooooo, I wonder if they just broke up because of their obsession for Sasuke. They both have been growing their hair longer so it makes sense for her to cry over that. I want to ignore her, but I feel a little bad even though I really don't care for her. She has all this potential to become a great kunoichi. Instead of spending her time honing her skills now and training, she's too be looking in the mirror or at Sasuke. Gag.
I sigh and made my way over towards her. I sit down beside of her as she looks up. Her large emerald eyes are all puffy and tears are streaming down her face. This may sound weird, but she's a cute crier. She quickly wipes her eyes and narrows them. "W-what do you want?" she snaps.
I roll my eyes. "Do you have to act like that?
"Like what? What are you talking about?" Sakura asks.
A bitch. No, I just kidding. I can't say that to an eight year old. "Rude. Mean. Aggressive." I can give her a whole list of adjectives right now.
A look of hurt flashes across her face. "Am I really those things? I don't mean to be."
"Most of the time, no. But, you can be."
Sakura look down. "Sorry," she mumbles. "I'm just upset."
I raise my eyebrows to show concern. "I was wondering why you were crying. I came over here to make sure you were okay."
Sakura appears surprised at my comment. "Really? Why? We never talk."
I shrug. "I guess I'm a compassionate person," I tell her.
Sakura relaxes her face a little. "Thank you," she says. "At least you care that I'm crying when my own best friend doesn't. Or should I say ex best friend."
Yessssss, now we are getting to the juicy details. What? I'm a nosey person. Leave me alone. "Why do you say that?" I ask. "Did something happen between to you two?"
Fire sparks in Sakura's eyes as she raises her fist. "Yes! Ino-pig doesn't seem to understand that Sasuke is going to be mine one day!"
From the front, Ino turns around in her seat and points at Sakura. "Shut it, Billboard Brow!" she shouts. "Stop acting so delusional! He will never be yours! He will be mine!"
I sweat drop as I see Sasuke, from the other side of the classroom, giving me an odd look that said, "Why the hell are you getting involved with those two?" I just shrug and focus my attention on a shouting Sakura.
"Why don't you keep it down?" I suggest, interrupting her argument with Ino. "Are you two seriously fighting over Sasuke-kun?"
Sakura nods. "Yes! Her and I both figured out that the other was growing their hair out to impress Sasuke. I felt so betrayed when I found out what she was doing."
I think that's the stupidest thing I ever heard. Ending a friendship over something as petty as this? Ugh, I feel like I'm dealing with a bunch of thirteen year olds, not eight. "Don't you think she feels the same way about you though?" I ask.
Sakura crosses her arms. "Who cares what she thinks?" she replies. "I was the one that told everyone first that I liked Sasuke. She just gotten jealous and started to compete with me. It was just a little rivalry at first, but I could tell she was serious when she started growing her hair out."
I smack at forehead. "Where did you even hear that he likes girls with long hair?" I ask. "I'm the only girl he even talks to and I have short hair." Okay, I'm waiting for a bunch of people in the background now to scream, "BURN!"
Realization hits Sakura as she checks out my hair, feels her own hair, looks over at Sasuke, and then back at me. "I know you're close to him, but I've never really thought of that," she admits. "I don't remember where I heard the rumor, but I grew mine out just incase it's true!"
I lean towards her ear and cup my hand around my mouth. "Not to burst your bubble, but rumors tend to be what they are: just rumors. Most of the time, they are not true." I pull back and notice Sakura looks genuinely sad. "Hey, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I am sure you really like Sasuke. I am just telling you the truth early on before you get hurt."
She looks like she's about to cry again. "What makes you so special to Sasuke?" she asks without a hint of spite in her voice. "Why does he only talk to you, but not any other girl?"
I give her a kind smile. "Because I do not annoy him."
"You don't annoy him?"
I shrug. "That's what he told me. I treat him like an actual human being and not some prized possession. You and the other girls seem to only like him for his looks and cool personality," I tell her. "Personally, I don't know why you all are so crazy over him. I mean, he doesn't even speak to you and calls you names when he does."
Sakura's tears instantly dries up as she glares at me. "Don't talk bad about Sasuke!"
I hold up my hands in protest. "Calm down. I'm not insulting your precious Sasuke-kun. Once again, I'm just speaking the truth."
Sakura sighs. "So, I should just back off to get him to notice me?"
I nod. "That's a good a start. Sasuke seems to like people who are strong and who don't need to dependent on others and aren't annoying from his perspective. Now, I don't know how to not be annoying to him since he's never clarified his definition of the word to me. For me, I just treat him like any other person. I talk to him like I would anybody else. I train with him sometimes. I give him space when he gets in one of his moods. There is more, but those are just a few examples."
Sakura's face brightens up. "If I copy what you do, he will surely notice me for sure!"
I widen my eyes. "Whoa, not so fast. When I say back off from Sasuke, I really mean it. You have been considered an annoying fangirl in his eyes for three years now. As of now, he doesn't want a anything to do with you." Okay, that sounded more harsh than I intended on it to be.
To my surprise, Sakura doesn't seem upset by my words. In fact, she looks determined. "I think I'm beginning to understand what you are saying," she says. "I have been treating him as some sort of object. I truly do not know Sasuke. I need to get to know him and be his friend first before I ever believe he will ever like me romantically." Well, she's surprised me. Where's the crazy fangirl that was just arguing with Ino less than five minutes ago? "What do you suggest I do?"
Geez, she is taking my advice to seriously. She's a little girl. She shouldn't be worrying about boys. Then again, Shinobi, including children in training, tend to be more mature than a civilian. "Take some time for yourself and not think or talk about Sasuke," I begin. "Start improving yourself. I know you are book smart and you have a lot of common sense. But, you need to work on your taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu. Being a Shinobi isn't just how intelligent you are."
Suddenly, Sakura blushes. "I-I'm am actually interested in learning genjutsu," she admits.
Yes! I've always wanted to see Sakura become a badass genjutsu master. "Then, you should start studying and practicing that art! I heard it's really hard to learn."
Sakura shrugs. "I find it really easy."
Well, that's because you have excellent chakra control and… Wait, what? It comes easy to her? How does she know? "Are you already pursuing genjutsu?" I ask.
"Yes, but nothing impressive," she says. "I just use basic genjutsu to make myself look more pretty."
I arch an eyebrow. "Explain."
"I used to get made fun of for having a large forehead, so I use genjutsu to give the illusion that it's smaller than it really is," she explains. "Though, it is still fairly large, it isn't as big as before."
Hmmm, interesting. "Well, then you should put more time in genjutsu if you're already interested in it," I tell her. "I also encourage you to work on your taijutsu. It doesn't have to be the best, but you need to know how to defend yourself in case someone sees through your genjutsu in the future."
Sakura narrows her eyebrows in suspicion. "How do you know so much and why do you suddenly want to help me out so bad?" she questions.
Crap, for someone for wants to be keep a low profile I really do seem like I know a lot more than I should for someone my age. "Because… Because," I stutter. My eyes cast over to Ino and I smirk. "Because I want you to become better than Ino!"
Sakura eyes widen in shock. "Why?"
I cross my arms to appear annoyed. "I'm still bitter about her pointing her finger in my face two years ago."
Fire sparks in Sakura's eyes again. "Heck, yeah! That means you're on my side! I'm totally going to become a better kunoichi than Ino-pig!" See, if Sakura has enough motivation to obsess over Sasuke, she can train to become a stronger and more skilled kunoichi.
I nod. "I like hearing that," I tell her. "She isn't going to know what is coming to her when you two become official Shinobi. She's going to be so surprised!"
"You better be there with a camera to take a picture of her reaction when she figures out I am better than her and that I won over Sasuke!"
Okay, let's not take it that far. Nahh, I'm not going to say that to her. I will just let daydream for a little bit. I somehow overcame a huge obstacle and have encouraged the Sakura Haruno to actually focus more on her training then a boy. I wonder how this is all going to play out?
"What was you and Sakura talking about earlier?" Sasuke asks me as we walk through the forest. We just got done doing some weapons training and I am hanging out with him for the rest day. Right now, Sasuke is in pursuit to find Itachi and I am just tagging along.
"I was just trying to cheer her up since her and Ino had a huge fight," I explain.
"How did it go?"
I raise my eyebrows. "I am surprised that you care enough to ask."
Sasuke's eyes narrow. "I don't care."
I rolly my own eyes. "Whatever," I say. "Anyways, it went well. I convinced her to spend more time training and improving herself instead of obsessing over you."
Sasuke smirks. "Good," he tells me. "She was the worst out of any of them."
"Even worse than Ino?" I ask.
He nods. "While she is loud, I can at least tolerate her. The other one is just too clingy and is always trying to be around me."
I shrug. "I just don't understand what those girls see in you that makes them go all love struck," I tease. I seem to have hurt Sasuke's ego as he turns his head to ignore me. "Wait… do not tell me that you secretly like the attention that those girls give you?"
Sasuke's face flushes. "N-no! That's not it!"
I giggle. "Then, why are you acting all butthurt for?"
"Shut up!" Sasuke snaps as I laugh again. It's so fun and easy to get under his skin.
We emerge out of the forest and into a clearing. In the distance, I notice two men staring at each other. They appear to be having a serious conversation about something. My heart drops. And, I know what that something is. They are discussing the Uchiha affair going on right now. The two men stop talking and look over towards us as Sasuke changes out of his usual moody mask into a more cheerful one and runs towards his brother. I jog behind him to catch up.
"Nii-san! Heyyyy!" he hollers as he runs, waving towards Itachi. He stops and stands in front of Itachi as he I stand behind him. "There you are! I've been looking practically everywhere for you!"
Itachi doesn't say anything as he looks down at his younger brother and then at me. I shift uncomfortably. Whenever I am with Sasuke, and the rare chance I am actually around Itachi, he barely ever speaks to me and just gives me an expressionless yet intense stare. It is hard to explain. It is like he is trying to hide the fact that he is thinking hard about something.
"Yo!" the other man greets, holding his hand up and bringing our attention towards him.
Sasuke's eyes widen. "Shisui-san!"
Shisui puts one hand on his hip. "Sasuke, what are you doing out here?" he asks. He peeks around him and glances down at me. He wiggles his eyebrows. "And, who's your little girlfriend? She's a cute one."
I place my hand over my mouth to stifle a giggle as Sasuke's puffs up his cheeks. "She isn't my girlfriend. She's only a friend."
Shisui waves his hand. "Sasuke! It is rude to not introduce your girlfriend to us," he playfully scolds. Sasuke crosses his arms in annoyance as Shisui walks over to me and sticks his hand out. "Yo, I'm Shisui! What's your name?"
I bow towards him. "My name is Hinata Hyūga. It is nice to meet you, Shisui-san," I tell him.
Shisui raises his eyebrows. "Oh, you are the Hyūga clan's young heiress. You caught yourself a good one, Sasuke!"
"She isn't my girlfriend!" Sasuke snaps. "Plus, I don't want one anyways."
"Good, because all they will do is break your heart," Shisui tells him.
"That's rude," I say in a joking matter.
Shisui bows towards me. "I'm so sorry, Hinata-sama. Please forgive me!" Great, now I can't tell if he's mocking me or not. I think he is.
"Please, do not call me that," I tell him. "I get called that all day at home. It is really annoying to me."
Shisui smirks. "Wow, you're a feisty one! Here I though all Hyūga's walked with a stick up their ass."
I narrow my eyes to appear serious. "Why would we do that? That would hurt."
Shisui holds his stomach as he bursts into a fit of laughter. "Dang, Sasuke! Where did you find this girl? She's hilarious!"
"You're a handful yourself," I tell him. Damn, I've only met this kid for a couple of minutes and I already like him!
Shisui points at his eyes then at me. "I'm watching out for you."
I activated my Byakugan. "I think I can do a better job at watching out for you. I have eyes in the back of my head."
Shisui holds his hands up in defeat as my eyes went back to normal. "Alright, you win! I surrender!"
"Hey, what were you two talking about, anyway before we came?" Sasuke asks Shisui, interrupting our conversation. I wish I saw this version of Sasuke more often. Actually acting his age and being happy and curious. "Come on, tell me!" He looks up at Itachi. "Tell me!"
Itachi appears taken back before giving Sasuke a small smile. "You're still too young to know about that," he replies.
"Aww, what's that about?" he asks, pouting. "I'm not part of the group now…"
Itachi keeps Sasuke from speaking anymore as he extends two fingers and reaches out to poke Sasuke's forehead. "I'm sorry, Sasuke," he says. "Maybe next time."
Sasuke rubs his forehead. "You're always saying that, Nii-san."
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Shisui chuckle and plaster a huge grin on his face. "Heh… it's just not fair!" Mock disappoint feels his face as he walks over to Sasuke. "What a horrible brother to leave Sasuke out of everything like that." He rests a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and winks. "Alright, Sasuke. Why don't I tell you, then?"
Sasuke widens his eyes in excitement. "Really? You're the best, Shisui-san!"
Shisui bends down and brings Sasuke closer to him. "You see," he begins. "We were just talking about which one of us is stronger, me or your brother." He looks back at Itachi, who has a strange look on his face. "I mean, I know I'm a lot stronger than he is. But, he just won't accept the truth." Shisui sighs and looks back at Sasuke. "Tell me, Sasuke. You know the truth, don't you? That I'm a lot stronger than he is!"
Sasuke narrows his eyes. "What? No you're not!"
"Oh?" Shisui says in mock surprise. I smile. I know what he's trying to do now.
"I mean, you're strong. But, my brother is still way stronger than you!" Sasuke protests.
"Oh, really? But, I am older than he is so I only it's natural to assume that I'm…"
"Age has nothing to do with being a Shinobi!" Sasuke argues.
Shisui smirks. "Don't forget I do have the Sharingan." And, a badass one as well. In my opinion, he's stronger than Itachi right now! Though, Sasuke will kill me if I say that outloud.
"Nii-san has the Sharingan, too!" Sasuke says. "My brother won't ever lose to you, Shisui-san!" He looks up at his brother. "Isn't that right?"
Itachi appears conflicted as he gives Shisui a dirty look while he giggles. "Well…" he begins.
Sasuke and Itachi, well mostly Sasuke, go back and forth as Shisui and I watch. I can truly see that Sasuke cares for his brother and vice versa in Itachi's case. I can only imagine what's going to go through Itachi's mind when he has to break Sasuke's bond with him and massacre his entire clan. If that were me and Hanabi, I wouldn't know what to do. I can't see myself ever hurting her, only protecting her. I don't want if it's because I've lost a parent and I'm feeling the void in her life where a mother should be so she will never feel sad and lonely. I just feel like I sort of know what Itachi's going through right now and I can relate since I am an older sibling myself. Heck, Itachi and mine's younger siblings are both five years apart from us! I wish Shisui and Itachi was just able to overthrow their clan's schemes to not destroy such family bonds.
"Shisui," Itachi says to his best friend, breaking us out of our thoughts. For some reason, I believe we were just thinking similar things. "I think we are going to head back now. It's almost time for dinner and I have to prepare for tomorrow. Plus, I believe Hinata needs to be heading home now before it gets too late."
I look at the sky and notice the sun is setting. Crap! It is getting late. But, I really want to know what he is doing tomorrow? Is it really the day that he… "Oh, that's right," Shisui says. "You have a mission, don't you?" Good! It is only a mission. I'm glad he asked for me.
"I don't think it'll take too long. I should be back in a couple of days," Itachi says.
Shisui suddenly grows serious. "Do your best, Itachi," he tells him. "I will do my best on my side."
Itachi nods and turns to Sasuke. "Ready to go?" he asks.
"Yeah," Sasuke says. He turns to me. "I will see you tomorrow, Hinata!" He waves at Shisui. "Shisui, see you later!"
They both depart away from us, leaving Shisui and I alone. "I think I am going to head off now before my father gets worried," I tell him.
Shisui flicks his hand up. "Alright, see you next time! I will be watching out for you."
"Not if I see you first," I say to him, smiling. I turn and walk away. Unfortunately, I don't think I will ever see him again after this. Which, I am actually a little sad. I really like the kid. I think he would have become a great older brother figure to me if all the Uchiha crap didn't occur.
Later that night, before I went to bed, I decide to stop by Hanabi's room to pay her a visit since I haven't seen her all day. "Nee-san!" Hanabi squeals as I walk in. She runs over to give me a hug. "Will you play with me?"
I smile down at her. "Shouldn't you be in bed?" I ask. My father had sent her to bed an hour ago.
Hanabi shakes her head. "I'm not tired so I've been playing with KeKe," she tells me, pointing to my stuffed wolf that is laying on her bed.
That little sneak. "Did you take that from my room?"
Hanabi nods. "I was going to wait until you got home to ask to play with him, but you took too long so I took him anyways," she explains. She gives me an innocent grin. Awhh, she's too cute to get mad at.
"Okay, I don't mind this time," I say. "Just take good care of him. He was a gift."
Hanabi clasps her hands together. "I will! Let's go play!"
She tries to grab my hand, but I pick her up and carry her over to her bed. "We can't play tonight," I tell her, laying her down. "It is time to go to sleep. I'm tired."
"But, I'm not!" my younger sister complains. She stands up and begins jumping up and down. "Let's play! Let's play!" I tug at her legs and she falls onto her bottom. "Wheeee!"
"Hanabi-chan," I firmly say, looking into her eyes. She stops laughing as she picks up the serious tone in my voice and frowns. "I promise to play with you tomorrow if you promise to go to sleep."
"I'm not tired," she repeats as she yawns.
I smirk. "Oh, yes you are. I'm going to lay here with you until you go to sleep."
"Yay!" Hanabi says. She quickly gets underneath her covers as I climb on top of her bed. She cuddles up to me. "Nee-san gets to sleep with me!" Okay, I didn't say that. But, I will play along.
I kiss her on top of her forehead and smoothed down her long brunette hair. "Goodnight, Hanabi-chan."
"Goodnight, Nee-san!" she says. "I love you!"
I smile. "I love you, too." As she falls asleep, I end up closing my eyes for a quick second before I somehow slip into dreamland as well.
"You're getting better! You got four out of eight this time around!" I call out to Sasuke as he lands on the ground. For the past few weeks, he and I have been assisting with one another in our bukijutsu. Sasuke is training with his shurikens while I am sticking to my kunais and wire.
"Hn," Sasuke grunts, unpleased. "That isn't good enough."
I sigh. "Can we just call it a day?" I ask. "It is starting to get dark. You're mother is going to be upset if we are not home in time for dinner."
Sasuke smirks. "You're just tired."
I roll my eyes. "No, I just don't want to get fussed at." Actually, I am tired. But, I will never admit that to him. The kid can probably train another two hours if I allow it.
Sasuke picks up his backpack. "Come, on." We begin to run back to the Uchiha compound. By the time we made it, it is dark. "Crap! It's getting late."
"I told you," I say in a singsong voice. "I'm always right."
"Whatever," Sasuke replies.
Suddenly, he comes to a complete stop and looks up. "What's wrong?" I ask, stopping next to him. I glance to see what he is looking at, but I only see the full moon shining brightly behind a pole.
"I thought I sensed someone just now," he replies, furrowing his eyebrows. I give him a puzzled stare as he looks around at his surroundings and widens his eyes. "The lights are off yet it is only seven."
An eerie feeling creeps through me as I realize the compound is in complete darkness. There is no lights on or nothing. Everything is quiet and still. Like suddenly everyone just dropped... dead. Dead... dead! Shit! Is this the day… "Sasuke," I begin, but he runs off. I follow him around a corner and we both stop again.
I hear Sasuke gasp in shock as I widen my eyes. The street before us is a blood bath. Bodies that were cut to pieces are littered everywhere. Blood is pouring down from buildings and walls, staining them. Kunais and shurikens are scattered all over the place and various outdoor decor had been slashed and broken. I close my eyes. I can't describe this anymore. This is way more gruesome and gory then I remember it being. My body begins to shake in fear. Why am I scared? I shouldn't be scared.
"Wh-what is this?!" Sasuke growls. "What the hell is this?!" He clenches his fists. I remain silent. Why am I here witnessing the downfall of the Uchiha clan? This is suppose to be between Itachi and Sasuke? Why am I here? This isn't how things happened.
Sasuke makes his way over to two bodies lying side by side on the ground. "Oji-san… Oba-san…" he whispers. His body begins to quiver in fear as he stands over his dead aunt and uncle. "W-who would do this?"
I walk over to him, not knowing what to say. I knew this was going to happen and he would never forgive me if he figures that out. I shouldn't feel guilty since there was no possible way for me to forbid this from happening, but I do. He just lost his parents and his whole clan. Now, he is about to face his murderous brother who actually isn't a cold-blooded killer and just massacred his clan to save the village from a civil war. But, it is too early for Sasuke to found out about that right now since he wouldn't understand.
Sasuke's head shoots his head up. "Otou-san! Okaa-san!" he gasps, sprinting off towards his house.
In this frantic state of mind, Sasuke has forgotten all about me. I am complicating going away so they can have their moment, but I can't bring myself to do so. I feel I have to be there for him even though I know what's going to happen. I rush to keep up with him. The door to his parent's house is already open when we arrive. Sasuke peeks his head into the dark room and slowly walks in. "Otou-san? Okaa-san?" he calls out. Nobody answers. He beings to search every room in his house, but there is no sign of anybody. Suddenly, we hear a loud thump coming from the other side of the house and we take off towards that direction. When we run up to the door, Sasuke reaches out to grab the door handles, but freezes.
He begins to break out in cold sweat as he grits his teeth with wide eyes. "T-there's someone in there," he says, looking over at me. He stares back at the door and starts to hyperventilate.
I take a step towards him and grab his hand to calm him down. He snaps out of his panic attack and turns his head. "Let's go in together," I suggest.
Sasuke squeezes my hand and we both look at the closed door. Sasuke takes a deep breath as we both grabbed a handle and slowly pull it open. Once again, darkness greets us. Except, this time, a single ray of light from a window cast down like a spotlight over two fallen bodies: his mother and father. I gulp as Sasuke's stares at his parents with a blank expression, mouth agape. My heart begins to break for Sasuke as tears well up in my eyes. This is getting to hard for me to watch. I hear the floor begin to creak as a figure emerges out of the shadows and walks over to the bodies. Sasuke gasps and takes a couple of steps backwards, dragging me with him. He has a death grip on my hand now.
Sasuke seems to calm down slightly when he realizes the person standing before us is his older brother, Itachi. "Nii-san!" he cries out. "Otou-san and Okaa-san are dead!" He shakes his head in disbelief. "Why? Who the hell would do such a thing?!"
Itachi answers by flinging a shuriken towards him. It barely grazes his shoulder as it sticks to the door behind us. I watch as his shirt rips open and a trickle of blood runs down his arm. I look back at Itachi in an attempt to study his face, but it is unreadable. How can he keep of this act without any sort of slip up? He is completely stone faced. Sasuke grasps his shoulder in pain. "Nii-san?" What… what are you doing?" he questions.
"My pathetic little brother," Itachi finally says in an emotionless tone, sending chills down my spine. If I didn't already know his motives behind the killings, I would be convinced that he is a murderous and sociopathic man who is about to kill me. He closes his eyes and I gasp. Shit. Shit. Shit. I quickly shut my own eyes and am about to tell Sasuke to do the same, but I am too late. "Mangekyo Sharingan!"
I jump, but keep my eyes shut as I hear Sasuke being to yell in pure terror. He's under Itachi's Tsukuyomi now. I cover my ears to minimize the noise as tears stream down my face. He is being tortured. How can Itachi just stand and act perfectly fine while doing that to his own brother?! "Stop, Nii-san!" Sasuke shrills. "Don't make me see this!"
After a few more seconds of nothing but screaming, everything goes silent as I hear Sasuke collapse to the ground. I open my eyes and notice that Itachi's eyes were his original dark color again. I bend down to check on Sasuke and see that he is breathing heavily as drool falls out of his mouth. I just stare at him with my mouth hanging open, not knowing how to comfort him. He looks completely tortured and mentally fried. I snap my head to glare at Itachi and anger flares through me as I see the same stupid expressionless reaction rest on his face. I bite my tongue and take a few deep breaths to compose myself.
"Why?" Sasuke squeaks, struggling to get up. "Why would you do this?"
"So I can measure my power," Itachi replies.
"To measure your power" Sasuke repeats in disbelief. "Is that all? Is that really your reason to just kill everybody?"
Itachi stares dead into his younger brother's eyes. "That is what is important."
Sasuke suddenly springs up and runs over to his brother in a fit of rage. "You have be kidding me!" he shouts, rearing his fist back.
Itachi lightly punches Sasuke in the stomach. Sasuke wraps his arms around his stomach and falls to the ground once more. I stand there, unsure of what to do. I'm not even suppose to be here dammit! Sasuke coughs and looks up in defeat at his brother, tears forming in his eyes and spilling over. I hear him begin to sob as his body starts quivering in fear. I feel my own tears begin to fall down my cheeks again. This is horrible. Sasuke and I both freeze up at the same time as Itachi takes a step forward towards Sasuke. Instantly, Sasuke hops up and starts screaming in fear of being killed as he runs of of the room. He is truly afraid now.
Itachi and I meet eyes. He's probably expecting me to run also.
"I… I," I stutter, not sure why I am even speaking.
"I advise to follow my brother and run," Itachi warns me, but I continue to stand there.
"H-how can you just stand there and act like none of this affects you?" I find myself asking before covering my mouth. That just totally slipped out. Good job.
My question seem to have got to Itachi as his emotionless mask breaks for a second, appearing unsettled. He is quickly turns stone faced again except he narrows his eyebrows this time. I take that as my cue to get the hell out of here before I am placed under his Tsukuyomi. I spin around and zoom out of that room, not daring to look back. I can hear Sasuke up ahead, not to far, still screaming and crying. I see he has stopped up ahead as Itachi appears in front of me. I stop and stand protectively beside of Sasuke. I just really want to get out of here now.
"I don't believe it!" Sasuke says. "This is too unlike you, Nii-san. I mean…"
In a flash, Itachi is standing in front me, sword raised. I widen my eyes in terror. Is he going to kill me to now? I know I wasn't suppose to be here! Sasuke was always meant to be the last one standing and as the only witness. He plunges the sword through my stomach as I cough, spattering blood in his face. Before I can experience any pain, he pulls the sword out, spins it upside down, and gives me a blow to the side of my head with the hilt. The last thing I hear before darkness overwhelms me is Sasuke screaming my name.
I open my eyes and blink a few times as light rushes to greet me, irritating the headache I am currently experiencing. I am staring at a white ceiling with square tiles. Where am I? I shoot up and wince in pain that is coming from my stomach. I lift my shirt up to reveal a white bandage covering the exact spot where Itachi stabbed me. I glance around at my surroundings and notice I am a hospital room and the light is coming from the three large windows to my right. To my left is an unmade bed. I assume Sasuke has snuck out of the hospital and went back to his compound to make sure whether last night was just all a huge nightmare or not. I don't blame him for leaving. The only injury he received was the minor scratch from Itachi's shuriken. Itachi… I grasp my bedsheets. Why didn't he kill me? Why did he even attack me in the first place? To provoke Sasuke some more? That is the only sense I can make out of it.
I snap out of my thoughts as my hospital door opens and a medical-nin walks in. "Oh! You're finally up!" she says as she rushes over to me. She begins to check out the machines around me and jots something down on a clipboard. "It looks like you are recovering just fine!"
I look away. "How long have I been knocked out?" I ask.
The nin raises her eyebrows. "For over twenty four hours," she admits. "You would have woken up earlier, but we put you under an induced coma to heal that nasty blow to your head."
"I need to leave and be with Sasuke-kun," I tell her. Does he want to be comforted? Does he need someone to yell and beat up on? Does he need someone to just cry to? I will do any of that for him. Does he even want anybody at the moment?
"I'm sorry, but you are to stay here for a few more days until you are fully recovered," the nin says firmly. "While you were not struck in any vital points, you still endured a serious attack to your stomach. You need to rest and be watched over."
I sigh. "Okay," I mumble. I know she's right and she isn't going to change her mind so it isn't even worth arguing. "Does my father know that I am here?"
The woman nods. "Yes. He is down in the waiting room. I will go grab him for you."
I didn't respond back as she leaves the room. I feel so emotionally drained right now. I just want to hide in my bedroom and not be around anybody except Sasuke. The gruesome scene I witnessed yesterday will always burn in my mind forever and now I can truly understand why Sasuke became obsessed with power and being an avenger. If someone killed my family and clan, I would go crazy as well. I also understand how great of a Shinobi Itachi is. He does so well at manipulating and masking his true emotions and has a strong enough will to carry out such a terrible act just to protect Konoha. He would be a model Shinobi for Konoha children to look up to if he was still labeled a good guy around here. I wonder how Sasuke is going to act now after this? I had planned that when Naruto, and then I, became friends Sasuke that he will put being an avenger at the top of his list. I just hope that he allows us in, when he's ready, and let's up help him and guide him to continue on the path of good. We need to be walking beside of him so he doesn't even think about straying away. I am praying that we haven't lost him just yet.
The door opens again as Hiashi and the same woman walks in. I guess someone back at home is watching over Hanabi. I am kind of glad though. I don't want her to see me in this condition. "I will leave you two alone," the medical-nin says as she leaves, closing the door behind her.
Hiashi pulls up a chair from a corner and sits down beside my bed. He looks at me up and down and his face twists into many different emotions. "What happened?" he asks, calmly. I know he is trying to keep his cool for me right now.
I lower my eyes. "I don't want to talk about it right now."
Hiashi sighs. "That is understandable," he tells me. He reaches out and rests his hand on my shoulder for to express his concern, knowing that a hug would hurt me. "I was afraid something terrible happened to you. I am just glad you are safe and sound." He looks at me dead in the eyes. "From now on, I am going to be spending more time with you girls. I have not been acting like the father I should for you two and I am sorry for that."
You know, it is pretty bad when it almost takes me dying to come to that conclusion. Whatever, I'll take it. I give him a genuine smile. "I would like that very much."
My father nods. "Good," he says.
I spent the next three days in the hospital before I was officially released. My head isn't hurting anymore, but my stomach still hurts if I move too much. When I returned home, my sister had hugged me and told me how much she missed me, even though she doesn't have a club what's going on. Neji had also, surprisingly, hugged me and vowed that he will never let anything like this happen to me again and is going to be by my side from now on. While I love his company, he is not going to be another Kō . Everyone had insisted on helping me out and serve me hand and foot, but I politely denied their offers and kept myself hauled up in my room to rest. I am deemed bedridden until I return back to school on Monday, so I am going to use that excuse so everyone can leave me alone.
Now, it is Saturday and I am beginning to grow restless. I am bored of staying in my room and with only having my father, Hanabi, and Neji as company. Hizashi and Kō were nice enough to check up on me a couple of times, but they don't count. I need interaction with other people such as Naruto and Sasuke. Especially Sasuke. I am worried about him. Is he back at the Academy yet? How is he coping? I don't get to see him for another two days, but I want these questions that are filling up my mind answered now. I get out of bed, change out of my pajamas, made myself look presentable, and head out to find my father. I didn't have to go far. I find him in Hanabi's bedroom, reading a book to her. I smile. I'm glad he's sticking to his promise.
He senses my presence and looks up from the book. "Is everything okay, Hinata-chan?" he asks. "Do you need something?"
"I am getting a little antsy from being cooped up in my room," I tell him. "May I go out for a walk to get some fresh air?'
Hiashi nods. "Certainly," he replies. "Be back in an hour. I do not want you to risk hurting your stomach in someway."
I bow. "I won't. Thank you!" I say before leaving the room.
I walk as fast as I can to the front gates. When I walk through them, I activate my Byakugan and breakout into a sprint. Since I have to be back in an hour, I need to find Sasuke as fast as I can. I can't waste a lot of time so I head towards the Uchiha compound. I make it there in fifteen minutes and run through the gates. To my surprise, the place is cleaned up. It is like a massacre has never happened and everyone is just chilling inside right now. I ignore the eerie feeling I am beginning to feel as I continue to run. After a few minutes of searching, I finally find him sitting on the small pier near the lake where he always practices his Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu. I deactivate my Byakugan and make my way down the hill towards him. I walk up next to him and sit down. He doesn't even look at me and stares down at the water.
"Hey, Sasuke-kun," I greet, giving him a slight wave with my hand.
He finally glances over at me and just nods. "I'm fine if you are wondering how I'm doing."
Even though I know that he isn't doing fine, I can take a hint. He doesn't need anyone to show him pity. "I don't want to come across as annoying and over bare you, but I just want to let you know that Naruto-kun and I will always be here for you," I tell him.
"Hn," Sasuke grunts as he looks back at the water.
I sigh. "Do you want me to leave you alone?" I ask. "I was just wanting to see you since-"
"How's your wounds?" Sasuke interrupts.
I blink in surprise. "Um, they are getting better. My head doesn't hurt anymore, but my stomach still does a little."
Sasuke frowns. "You shouldn't have been there that night." I just stare at him, not knowing how to respond to that. "You wouldn't have gotten hurt if I didn't invite you over."
I frown as well. "Don't say things like that," I tell him.
Sasuke whips his face towards me and glares. "You wouldn't have gotten hurt if I haven't been so damn scared the time!" he shouts. "I could've protected you, but I froze up! I was pathetic and powerless and I hate it! I hate him for everything that he's done and for making me feel this way!"
I raise my eyebrows in concern as I see his whole body is shaking now in anger. Before I can stop myself, I reach and I give him a hug. He instantly stops shaking, probably surprised at my sudden embrace, and slowly wraps his arms around me. He buries his head into my shoulder and releases all the emotions he has been holding back the past week. He will never admit it, but all he needs right now is someone to comfort him. He's still an eight year old little boy who just lost his parents, his brother, and his whole clan no matter how tough he acts or whether he's a future Shinobi in training. After this, I get to go home to a father, a younger sister, and a cousin who all love me very much. He gets to go home to an empty, small apartment. Naruto and I are all he has left now and, if he allows it, can help repair him emotionally and mentally as we go on over the years. We may never change his mind on getting his revenge on Itachi, but we can at least be there for him and make sure his mind never slips to a dark place. I smooth down his hair and give him a squeeze as I watch the lake glisten in front of me from the dancing rays of the sun above.
Author's Note: This is my longest chapter yet! I felt like I just wrote a season finale or something. This chapter, in my eyes, had a lot of things going on in it. Will Sakura and Hinata become friends? Will Naruto ever stop being a flop? Will Sasuke stay the same and go down a dark path? Okay, I really need to stop with all of these dramatic questions. This isn't a television show. I am just excited that Hinata's adventure as a Genin will finally begin next chapter and that is when the good stuff starts! Well, in my opinion. I am posting this a day early because I was off of work and I was really excited to type this chapter, so I did it all in one day lol. I hope you all enjoyed it!
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