I stared up at the bright blue sky, the clouds quietly passing me by. It was fall now, the trees shedding their once-green leaves, the wind blowing Konoha City in a rush of red-orange flurries. The sunflowers were just sprouting from the fertile soil, ready to begin their long, yearly life of transcendent beauty. I smiled when I saw their tiny stems poke out from the Earth, their roots finally sprouting and their lives finally beginning.
My life also begins with autumn.
I am like a sunflower; I start out as an ugly, unconfident being, but by the time I am ready to die, I have bloomed into a magnificent flower. Ironically enough, sunflowers are symbols of inner beauty. I was once unconfident in myself; I found myself a bud while my friends were cherry blossoms and cosmos and snapdragons.
But, like every flower – and sunflower – I come with my own story.
He came to me in autumn and left me in autumn.
It started as a bud, but it became so much more...
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Sunflower Girl
Chapter 1 - autumn
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"Hinata, you and Father need to resolve your issues. As hard as it is to believe, he's stressing a lot not having you at home. It's already been a year, Hina-chan. Everyone misses you."
I gently looked into the familiar eyes of my younger sister. It's been a long year since I moved out of my house (and gotten disowned), but strangely enough, I enjoyed being out on my own. A year ago, I would have had to have bodyguards guarding me in every corner, on every street. A year ago, I would have been too shy and outspoken to defend myself against the wishes of my hotshot (ex) father, Hyuuga Hiashi.
"Hanabi, that was a year ago, you know that. If Fa – I mean, if Hiashi-sama– would want a word with me, I'd have to go through all the steps into just getting on the main phone line. I'm not a Hyuuga anymore, Hana-chan. I've been disowned, and as hard as it is to believe, it's a great feeling. I'm not tied to any Hyuuga expectations, I'm not given any special privileges, and I'm free. Free! This is what Neji was talking about, Hanabi. This is what it's like to be a regularcivilian; not a relative of one of the most important men in one of the largest cities in the world!"
My younger sister bit her lip, a habit she picked up from me, and because she knew that there would be a long, winding road full of bumps and potholes ahead of us. She let out an exasperated sigh (that resembled Hiashi's a lot) and looked at the field before us, her eyes searching for my sunflowers.
"You won't find them, Hana-chan. They're still getting ready to sprout."
Her eyes once again turned to mine, and she smiled at me.
"Hinata, you know that if you ever wanted, I could cheat you into the lines. But, I do see what you mean when you boast of this 'freedom'. As much as I'd want to have it, I would never be able to leave Father. He's an insane man. I guess all the business and sophistication finally got to him. I'll see you around, sis."
I smiled and waved goodbye as she ran off into the busy city streets, her bodyguards quietly trailing behind her. When she was out of eyesight, my eyes wandered to the soils before me, carefully waiting to see if any seeds had sprouted. I lay down on the beds of flowers surrounding the reserved sunflower fields, watching the clouds pass as flurries of red and orange occasionally blocked my vision.
Will you be back by the time I die once more?
I unconsciously held my necklace in my delicate fingers, a habit I had picked up whenever I was thinking of him.The necklace was given to me in the summer, before heleft. It was specially designed and shaped as a sunflower, the petals of it lined with amber. In the middle – as the whammy in all precious jewelry – was another circular piece of amber, though this one a darker shade than all the others. This necklace, I knew, could buy me half of the Hyuuga enterprise (not like I'd sell it, anyway!), but to me, it was priceless. It brought back all the memories I had over the past year, ones I loved and ones I've forgotten.
Memories,memories.
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I felt stupid for having the worst luck ever. I hated how I chose theperfecttime of day to get kicked out of my own house. Now I was stuck in the worst autumn chill ever, with loads of suitcases and nowhere to stay. I sat down on the cold flowerbeds, this being the place where I always ran to when my hotshot father (or should I say ex-father?) went insane and was ready to seriously impale me with a steak knife.
I really didn't know if I was going to be stuck out here forever, but I honestly could care less. I had one thing that my father (EX-father) did not; I had freedom. And my cousin Neji wasn't kidding; freedom feels good.
"What're you doing out here?"
I turned around and saw a man around my age, if not a few years older, standing behind me, his stunning cerulean eyes gently gazing at me. However, I could tell he was an emotional wreck. His eyes were red and puffy, as if he were crying, his blond hair was ruffled and messy, as if he could care less how messy it looked, and his clothes were wrinkled, as if he hadn't ironed them.
"I could ask you the same thing," I murmured.
I heard his somewhat coarse laughter, and my cheeks flared red when I felt him place his jacket around my shoulders. I cradled the jacket around me, nonetheless (it would be rude to reject it), and inhaled a scent that was mixed of sunflowers and cherry blossoms. He took a seat next to me and he lay down, staring at the moon and the clouds.
"I – thank you."
He looked at me and smiled.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto."
I returned his smile.
"Hinata."
There was a comfortable silence between us until he broke the enchantment. He gently grabbed my hand and placed a small packet of sunflower seeds, a toothy grin that resembled a fox present on his lips.
"What's this?" I asked him.
"Your name means 'in the sun'. They're sunflowers!"
I giggled and gently placed the seeds in my pocket.
"Thank you, Naruto."
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I got up from the field and began walking to my apartment, my hands stuffed in the pockets of the very same jacket he had given me the day we had first met. I smiled when I felt the same warmth that I felt the very night.
"Hinata! Hinata-chan!"
I turned and saw one of my best friends, Haruno Sakura, run up to me. She was a beautiful girl, who had recently gotten engaged to Uchiha Sasuke, son of Uchiha Fugaku (chief of the Konoha Police Force). She was a renowned doctor, many of her patients coming around the world for her to perform surgeries. She was taught under the legendary Tsunade, which made her even more famed around the globe. Sakura, fortunately, was not a snob (nor was she a slutty nurse); she acted like a regular, any ordinary Konoha citizen did. She was bubbly, kind, and generous, though when she was angry, she was scary (many times when she was insulted by rival surgeons, Sasuke was forced to restrain her to keep her from cutting them open with her scalpel).
"Hi, Sakura-chan! Not at the hospital today?"
She shook her head, her lovely smile still present on her lips. We continued walking towards my apartment, a comfortable silence looming between us.
"Tsunade was feeling generous today and decided to take over my patients for the day. It's been a while since I've been out of that hospital. I love my job and everything, but sometimes the smell of antiseptic gets a little old, you know?"
I nodded in agreement.
"Are you visiting Sasuke, then?"
She blushed.
"Of course. We're going out to lunch together."
I giggled at her embarrassment.
"Sakura."
We both turned to face the stoic Uchiha, his onyx eyes gently gazing at his fiancée. He nodded to me in respect, and I smiled in return.
"Nice to see you again, Sasuke."
"Likewise."
"We'll catch up later, Hinata! Bye!"
I waved as the two retreated back into the busy, afternoon streets, and after a few more moments, reached my apartment. I grinned when I felt the familiar rush of mellow warmth engulf my body.
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"Do you have a place to stay?"
I looked at Naruto surprised, a faint blush making its way to my cheeks.
"I – uh – no," I lamely said, my head held down low with embarrassment.
He laughed once more and slowly got up from his place. I watched him carefully, his cerulean orbs gently gazing into my eyes of pearl. He held a hand for me to take, and I took it with gratitude. He pulled me up and smiled, letting go of my hand to grab my suitcases.
"You can stay at my apartment for the night. There's a guest room there, so don't worry."
"Are you sure? We just ... met."
He laughed once more.
"I know who you are, Hinata. A Hyuuga isn't one for mischief."
"I – I'm not a Hyuuga any longer."
He skeptically looked at me, a soft smile present on his lips.
"You could have been disowned. But you and your father still have twenty years of memories."
My cheeks once again flared, but I was able to hide it with a large, gentle smile.
"Thank you."
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His apartment was a mellow one of welcoming warmth, a pleasant smell of ramen present in the air. His walls were painted a light tan, his furniture red, black, and orange. There were many picture frames around the flat, many of people Hinata had never seen before. It was a humble atmosphere, already welcoming Hinata with open arms.
"I'm sorry if it's a bit messy. I've been...busy lately."
I turned to him and smiled.
"It's not a problem. Thank you for having me here."
He returned the smile.
"Feel free to raid my kitchen or anything if you're hungry, okay? I'm putting these in your room – first door to the right. I'm leaving a spare key on your dresser, too."
I nodded.
"Thank you!"
He disappeared and I took a seat on his red couch, soaking in the comfort and softness of the cushions. I closed my eyes for a few moments, just inhaling the humble atmosphere and mellow warmth. It felt nice to feel welcomed in a home; it felt nice to be out of the sophisticated homes of old, wealthy, business partners. With a sigh, I got up to take a closer look at the picture frames scattered around the living room. On my way to a table, there was a window to my left. It held a beautiful view of Konoha City's famous park. The park was usually crowded in the springtime, when the large assortment of trees (especially apple and cherry) and flowers were in full-bloom. At this time of year the city was filled with the sweet aromas of the apple and cherry blossoms and full of the white and pink flurries.
However, something else caught my eye. On the windowsill was a dead sunflower in a waterless vase. Its dry brown petals were scattered along the surface, all ready to shatter at first touch. The stem was stiffly in a bend, an ugly dull brown replacing the once vibrant green. The vase was totally dry, as if the flower hadn't been watered in a month. Everything about it looked fragile – ready to shatter at second touch –
"My ex-girlfriend used to bring me sunflowers all the time."
I jumped in shock when I found Naruto standing right beside me, his eyes glazed with sorrow as he stared at the pitiful flower.
"I love sunflowers. They start out as unattractive, but over the year they become beautiful and bright."
I sadly looked at him with pity in my eyes.
"Don't worry, Hinata."
I looked at him expectantly, knowing that he wanted to say more. However, there was only an eerie silence, not one of us daring to say anything else.
"I – I'm tired. May I go to bed now, Naruto?"
He laughed.
"You don't need to ask me if you can sleep. But go ahead. Sweet dreams."
I smiled in return.
"Sweet dreams."
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I woke early in the morning, a few minutes after sunrise. It was a new feeling to wake up to a home that was so welcoming – so warm – and it made me wish that I could stay in Naruto's home forever. I knew, however, that I would not be able to do that.
I got up and used the bathroom connected to his guest bedroom, taking a nice, warm shower to refresh myself. When I was done, I threw on my clothes and quietly made my way to the kitchen. I was surprised when the majority of the ingredients were for making ramen (which explained the aroma). Not knowing what else to eat, I cooked ramen (because why the heck not?), leaving an extra bowl on the table for Naruto. When I was through, I washed the dishes and walked out onto the silent streets of Konoha, ready to search for a new apartment flat.
After two long hours of searching, I finally gathered up the courage to ask my sister, Hanabi, for help. Luckily for me, the Hyuuga had a whole chain of connections running through the city, and she was able to get me a nice apartment not far from Naruto's. Thanking her over and over, I ran to the Yamanaka Flower Shop, remembering the dead flower. I bought Naruto a whole bouquet of sunflowers to replace the dead one, and quickly hurried back to the apartment.
I returned around 11 o'clock am, and was still surprised to find him sleeping in his room. I took the dead flower out of its vase and filled the dry vase with water. I then placed the new bouquet in and placed it back onto his previous spot on the windowsill. The house seemed to blossom with life, then.
I quietly cleaned up the room and took my suitcases and brought them to the door. Tearing a paper from one of his notepads in the kitchen, I left a note by the sunflowers on the windowsill.
Dear Naruto,
Thank you so much for your generosity. I honestly don't know how to thank you more! I hope these sunflowers are enough for now!
My sister found me an apartment two flats down – Apartment number 10!
Come visit me whenever you like.
Love, Hinata.
P.S. I left your spare key on the dresser and your jacket on the bed.
With one more look at the sunflowers, I took my things and left.
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I entered my apartment with bitter memories, the familiar smell of sunflowers and ramen filling my lungs. After a few years, I had moved into Naruto, happy to feel the same feeling I felt before. Nothing much had changed since then, except for the fact that there was never a dead sunflower in the vase on the windowsill.
I looked at the vase and smiled to see the sunflowers in full-bloom, shining vibrantly in the room. And when I looked at these flowers, my heart began to hurt with loneliness and emptiness.
It's already been long months since he had gone. And already I was missing him as if I was missing my heart.
My eyes wandered to the park, eyeing the fertile patch of soil past the flowerbeds. There, my seeds of sunflowers grew, where I tended them with all the love and care in the world that I had been taught and been given.
And I tend to these sunflowers as if they were my children, straightening them out when they stray crookedly.
When they are in full bloom, that is when I, too, will open my arms and welcome his return.
(But for now, I will care for them through the harsh winter chills, making sure that they bloom vibrantly and brilliantly when the time comes).
Tbc.
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A/N: Well, there's my first story! Really hope everyone enjoys it.
Let's see, there's going to be four chapters (one for every season).
Fo'sho.