"I like you." Three words. Simple when apart, but together they can change an entire world. "I really like you."
But how exactly did those words come to life? Well for that, you'll have to go all the way back to the very beginning… of high school, that is.
'This is it. You're a lone wolf now, Hinata.' The indigo haired 16 year old attempts to mentally psych her partially introverted self, up. 'The boys aren't here to protect you now. You have to bloom! Change is good… right?'
To say the least, Hinata was not too fond of the idea of change or growing up. But this was high school now. Three years of blossoming. Three years of change. Three years of discovering.
Three years – they were the past, the present and the future.
After what seems like years from the point of view of the passing students – both the new and the accustomed, the petite newcomer with the unique lavender tinted pupils, finally decides to peek out of her cacoon. She pumps her fist in mid-air, before taking her very first step to a new her, a new life and a new beginning.
"Took you long enough." A voice that was oh-so-familiar tears her away from the creative mind of hers, bringing her back to reality with a jolt.
Hinata pauses. 'Am I dreaming?'
"Yeah. Thought you were gonna stand there lookin' like a lunatic the whole day." Yet another familiar voice reaches her ears. "Y'know, you think you're talking in your head, but really, I could hear you from here.. Now, don't get me wrong. It's cute and all, but-"
"Shut up, Dobe. It's too early for that big mouth of yours." Sasuke interrupts while Hinata hopes that no one notices the barely noticeable tint of pink that decorated her cheeks.
"Why you! Bastard, I oughtta (ought to) sock you in the face for that!"
Finally coming into terms with herself, realising it is in fact not a delusion, she turns herself around. Her eyes widen in complete shock, seeing the last two people she thought she would see at this point.
"No way. Naruto-kun? Sasuke-kun? Whe - How... Wha-," she stammers, not knowing what words could fit in this situation.
Naruto decides to take the initiative to speak up… literally. "YEP! Aren't you glad to see your two best friends?"
Still not entirely sure on what was happening, Hinata stood there, dumbfounded, turning her gaze between the two guys in front of her. "How is this possible? Don't you guys have school?"
Before Naruto could utter a single syllable, Sasuke pushed his face to the side. "Exactly why we're here," he states.
"Huh?" It was at that moment that Hinata finally noticed what they were wearing. "No way…"
"Yes way," Sasuke confirms nonchalantly.
The boys sported the school uniform of Konoha High School, bearing its significant colours; dark green (looks almost black, but still noticeably green) and very light brown (light tan shade). Their tops consisted of a white long-sleeved polo shirt with person's name tag/badge on its left, finishing off with a stylishly checker designed tie that was a very light shade of brown.
Their pants were the same shade as the tie, but was left plain and their shoes were the standard pure black school shoes.
Blazers are only worn in winter and it is currently Spring - April in the story.
The girls' uniforms were quite similar. Same top, but instead of a tie, they had a ribbon and their skirts were the same style as the tie. They were required to wear long socks that reached up to about their knee or stockings. Moving on…
"But Konoha High is at least a 24 hour trip from Suna, by car. Coming here would be impossible…" Hinata resiliently argued.
Sasuke heaved a heavy sigh, not liking pointing out the obvious. "Well, captain genius, obviously we're not going to travel to and from Suna, just to go to school here. So instead we decided to move here."
"What? When did this happen? How even?"
Seeing as she was not going to try to figure it out herself, Sasuke gives up, handing the baton to the blonde-haired hyperactive teen beside him, who had miraculously stayed silent through his explaining. "Dobe, you tell her."
Returning back to his usual self, Naruto takes a small step towards Hinata. "Well, it started…" And from there a 10 minute story began.
To cut things short, Hinata's father decided he would focus on the very root of his business, the Hyuuga Enterprise located in the busiest part of Konoha, which he had kept on the lower part of his priority list, ever since he opened a branch in Suna, when Hinata was just 10 months old and stayed there for just over 15 years. Not long after they moved to Suna, Naruto's family and Sasuke's family decided to also extend their businesses, following the Hyuugas to Suna.
Minato's business is an all-round sports business called Velocity.
Fugaku's business is a business that creates new vehicles and it is called Sharingan.
They were the ultimate trio from day one. It was inevitable from the very beginning, as their parents were close-knit friends who all went to Konoha High School. Even so, they wouldn't have had it any other way. Hinata, Naruto and Sasuke were inseparable – it's unusual to see them not together.
Hinata moved shortly after their middle school graduation and in the middle of their long break, the boys had come to a conclusion that it didn't seem right to finish school without her. They had managed to convince their parents to move to Konoha. And that brings us back to now.
"… So yeah. Starting next week, we'll be neighbours. Sasuke's fam bought the mansion next to yours and since my parents wanted an average size home, I live across the road from you. But y'know, I've been wondering… How come they're so close together? You could literally jump from one balcony to the other. Isn't it more fitting for a mansion to be away from other houses?" Naruto continues to babble on.
But Hinata decides to just let his questions pass by without answers. "Why didn't you guys tell me?"
"Cause it would've been more fun to watch you talking to yourself at the gate," the raven-haired man points out with humour.
Before she could give a snide remark, the bell rang, indicating that the students had five more minutes to get to their classes.
The trio look at each other for a moment and then begin to smile (not so much on Sasuke's part), knowing that they would go through the wrath of high school together.
"Shall we, boys?"
"WE SHALL! Konoha High here we come!" Naruto enthusiastically yells and Sasuke just nods.
With that, they strode confidently towards the entrance before pausing and once again, looking at each other in an affirming manner. One last nod and the trio took a synchronised first step into a new chapter of their lives.
(A/N: Hey guys! I'm back and with a new story. This is linked to 'I'm Pregnant', which I have decided to add one last chapter to and have been working on it. I thought it'd be cool to just do an extension of it cause I got a good idea.
'Three years – they were the past, the present and the future.' I didn't know if you guys understood what I was trying to say so I'll briefly explain it. The first year is when your past (middle school) still lingers and you can't help, but want to go back. The second year is when you live for the moment and truly enjoy high school (cause it's the least stressful year, at least for me). The third and final year is when you think about the future and move forwards.
I hope you liked the first chapter. Please support me and I encourage constructive criticism. Thank You!)