foreword.

"M-mama! Where are we going — ?"

The sound of a little boy's voice pierced the early morning air. His mother, a young woman with pure black hair and matching eyes, tugged her son forcefully by the hand. Moist, gleaming droplets of dew dropped from the verdant blades of grass, painting damp streaks against the little boy's dark blue sneakers as they were all but dragged forcefully along the ground. His small face scrunched up as he stared up at his mother, his own coal eyes shining with confusion. They glanced swiftly to and fro: from the car that had already been started in the drive way, to the suitcase swinging back and forth freely in her other hand.

"We're leaving, now!" she commanded, her eyes steadily focusing on the path in front of her. Her typically serene and melodious voice was hard with impatience and anger.

It made his lips quiver with trepidation. His heartbeat sped up. Was he going to be punished? What had he done wrong? There had been so much yelling earlier, waking up both Sasuke and Hinata from their peaceful slumber. Right when he had been about to sneak into Hinata's room and check up on her, his mother had swooped in and snatched his hand up in a vice-like grip, refusing to let go ever since.

"I'm sorry mama — please don't be mad at me!" he whimpered, his voice cracking. Her relentless grasp on his smaller hand in hers lightened then.

"Sweetheart, I'm not mad at you," the woman reassured him in a honeyed tone, stopping momentarily to stoop down to his level. A tender smile curved her rosy mouth, and she held out her arms to envelope him into a loving embrace. The little boy eagerly buried his face into the crook of the woman's collarbone, sniffing and inhaling deeply. The fragrant scent orchids and jasmine emanated from her, soothing him somewhat. He heard her sigh quietly, and felt her lips brush against his skin.

"Then why are we leaving?"

She hesitated, casting a glance quickly towards the house she was so eager to take him away from. It stood at two stories, with a blue-tiled roof, and was tucked into a quiet corner of an upper-class neighborhood. Half obscured beneath the billowing green leaves of a magnolia tree, the grounds surrounding it were perfectly manicured with bright flowers including the likes of hyacinth, azaleas, and forsythia. Water lilies floated on the blue-black surface of a small pond; a stone lantern guarded the walkway. It was unarguably beautiful to behold, but . . . "When you're older, you'll understand," she whispered. "Now come on, let's go — your grandma is waiting for us."

With that, he was hauled the rest of the way to the car, and the heavy, leather suit case his mother had been carrying was tossed into the back. All the little boy could do was sit up and press his tiny youthful face against the cold, unrelenting glass of the window. His wide, onyx eyes peered at the house; specifically, at tiny, spinning pinwheels taped to a certain windowsill, and fluttering lavender curtains, where surely enough a familiar face peeked out at him, teary-eyed.

"Bye, Hinata . . ." he whispered softly.

"B-Bye, Sasuke," she whispered back, watery, pearly orbs gleaming with unshed tears.

The little girl with short, indigo locks sniffled as she watched the silver car jet down the street, away from her house, and out of sight. She wiped her face dry but soon enough another batch of tears appeared in its place. Frantically, she hurried to wipe them off with the back of her hands, remembering how Sasuke had always scolded her for crying so much. She didn't understand — why had Sasuke and his mom left? Why wasn't she able to go with them? She must have done something wrong to be left here all alone. Above her, high up in the sky, a big cluster of chilled, grey clouds gathered and it began to pour.

Too caught up in trying to stifle the sounds of her weeping, she failed to notice a tall man with solid brown hair and broad shoulders come to stand behind her. Silently, he stared out the window, which shielded them from the storm beginning to furiously brew outside, and into the rapidly descending curtains of rain.

That was the last either children would see each other, until ten years later.

-×-×-
Blooming Moon
-×-×

A blue alarm clock rattles on the nightstand as it shrills to six-thirty in the morning. Watered-down light of a new day leaks through the lavender curtains, a cool breeze twirling inside. Thick lashes flutter and then eyelids slowly lift, revealing bleary opal eyes. There is a wrinkle on Hinata's nose, a small crease between her neat indigo brows. The tired girl closes her eyes, lashes brushing lightly against her cheeks. Curling up beneath the safety of her covers, she hopes the blaring contraption will stop going off on its own, but with no such luck. Moments later, a slender arm reaches out for the loudly ringing alarm clock, and promptly muffles it underneath the cocoon of blankets.

A contented smile graces Hinata's soft features as she is finally allowed to return to sleep. Finally . . .

Fifteen minutes later, the chiming sound of her phone blossoms, indicating an incoming call. She is forced out of drifting, pleasant dreams, and languidly comes to her senses. Hinata stretches, skin tight on muscles and bone, a yawn stretching its way up from deep in her belly and jutting hips, up to Hinata's defined sternum, through the corded muscle of her throat, and to the faultless rose 'o' of her lips. A small, pale hand then clumsily reaches out to snatch the phone up and press it against a waiting ear.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," TenTen cheerfully greets Hinata, who is busy propping herself up with her knees drawn up under her chin, hair spilling over the edge of a crisp, white pillow. Somehow, she isn't surprised that it is the brunette who is calling her. TenTen has always been a morning person ever since she can remember. She loves getting in her daily run as early as possible; once upon a time, she'd even tried to get Hinata into it, but failed for obvious reasons.

"Morning," she replies back, her voice thick with sleep. Hinata absently brushes a stray lock out of her face.

"Somehow, I knew you'd still be asleep . . ." She hears TenTen trail off on her side of the phone. There is a brief pause. Then, she continues, "You don't want to be late for your first day back to school, do you?"

A crimson blush stains Hinata's cheeks and she mumbles faintly, "N-no."

"Then get out of bed already! I already went on my morning run, and you haven't even showered yet!" TenTen scolds loudly, and Hinata squeaks while hopping up to her feet and making a mad dash towards the bathroom. She hears fragments of TenTen's laughter before the line abruptly cuts off. Stopping for a couple of seconds, the dark-haired girl casts a wide-eyed glance downwards at her phone, in a state of disbelief. Sometimes, her best friend can be really, really evil.

After her shower, Hinata scrutinizes her reflection in the mirror, softly frowning to herself. She has never been overly fond of her appearance. There is nothing special about her facial shape, and her hueless, pale eyes that gaze back at her are considered weird by the majority, not unique. Her ample chest is too bothersome, often drawing unwanted attention to herself unless she makes an effort to cover up. The only thing Hinata remotely likes about her looks is her long, silken hair — it is a pretty shade of dark indigo, a vivid contrast against the alabaster complexion of her skin. It reminds her of her mother, who had the same type of hair.

Smiling faintly at the thought of her mother, Hinata brushes a fine-toothed comb through her freshly showered hair. The woman died giving birth to her, so the girl never had the chance to get to know her. From what she can piece together based on photos and the little her father has mentioned, her mother was extraordinarily beautiful with kind eyes and an even kinder smile. Unlike Hinata herself who is plain and uninteresting in every way. In fact, the only other person who even has come remotely close to how she envisions her mom to be like is . . .

She abruptly shakes her head of memories from a past best forgotten; then she dons a fresh change of clothes before ambling down the stairs.

The house is empty, with only the lull of morning to embrace her. As Hinata goes about her business, she notices the telltale signs of her father's presence from earlier: a neatly folded newspaper resting on the tabletop and an empty coffee mug and dirty plate sitting in the sink. She dutifully washes and dries the dishes by hand, before preparing her own breakfast. When she is finished, she sits down and begins to eat her raisin oatmeal in silence.

Closing her eyes once, a sigh whispers past Hinata's lips as she stares down into her glass of freshly poured orange juice. She slowly runs her fingertip along the rim, biting her bottom lip, and wishes that things were different — that she did not have to eat in silence.

The only consolation Hinata can give herself is that today will be different. After school, her father will be picking her up and taking her out to eat at a fancy restaurant. The offer had been so unexpected that Hinata had barely been able to maintain a neutral expression. If it was acceptable, she would have beamed and wrapped her arms around him in a tight, heartfelt embrace. But in the Hyuuga family, such behavior is frowned upon, and not considered decent. Instead, she had withheld her overwhelming emotions and nodded gently in consent.

She almost swears she saw something luminous flicker in her father's eyes, but after a second, it was gone. She likes to think that maybe he is looking forward to spending time together too.

In the end, Hinata ends up leaving the house a bit later than she had originally planned, having spent longer time gathering various supplies then double checking and in order to make sure she had everything she needed; after all, she does not want to forget anything, and end up embarrassing herself in front of everyone at school by being unprepared. When Hinata does finally walk out the door though, she has a small, genuine smile on her face, and she's ready to take on the day.

…

…

Her happy mood quickly deflates when she takes a step onto the bus. It is noisy, and reeks of both sweat and teenage hormones. Everything Hinata dislikes compacted into a single, cramped space and transportable via wheels. Oh the joys of public transportation, indeed.

Glass-like eyes quickly dart up and down the aisle, and instantly, floods her face. "N-Naruto-kun," she whispers, unbelieving of what she is seeing. Her toes curl in her shoes and her whole body flushes. The blond-haired boy she so adores is waving right at her from his seat, a cheeky grin lighting up his tanned visage. His eyes, which look as if someone has seized the entire sky and filled up the two orbs with the cerulean hue, are looking right at her. They are brimming with such genuine jubilation that Hinata feels like she will float away on the wind like a silvery balloon. "Sit next to me, I saved you a seat — "

She takes a step forward, her heart pounding so hard she can feel it in her ears.

" — Sakura-chan!"

Then promptly finds the shattered pieces on the floor, one-sided affection dancing amongst the shards.

Hinata feels a light yet firm tap on her shoulder. Her eyes meet radiant emeralds. A teenaged girl with chin-length pink hair gives Hinata a polite smile. "Excuse me, but could you . . . ?"

"S-sorry . . . " Hinata whispers. She ducks her head, and moves quickly into an empty seat. She soon hears Sakura loudly proclaim that Naruto is a baka, before straight up refusing to sit next to him.

Scrunching up her body to appear as small as possible, Hinata gazes down at her lap. Red stains her cheeks and refuses to die down as the most recent and horrifyingly embarrassing of events replays over and over in her mind like a broken record. She actually thought Naruto wanted her to sit next to him. For a few seconds, she presumed he desired to be in her presence. It had made her so happy she actually believed it. She feels ridiculous for even considering that such a sunny person like him would want anything to do with a wallflower like her.

"There you are!"

A girl with chocolate brown tresses in two identical buns on either side of her head is staring down at her, one hand cocked on her hip. The usual self-confident smirk is playing at her lips. Her longtime best friend of five years has always exuded an aura of self-assurance that Hinata admires.

She can still recall the first time they met. Hinata had been assigned to help tutor her in math of all things. It had come as a tremendous surprise that a girl who excelled in virtually every sport on the field could struggle with something as simple as numbers and equations. Then again as much as Hinata has always disliked the subject, it's always come easy for her, and apparently not everyone is as fortunate.

After school, the two of them would spend close to an hour together — in a classroom, sitting side by side, and working through various math problems. One day, TenTen just smiled at her and asked if she wanted to come over her house. Her upfront approach and easy grin had been enough for Hinata to shyly say yes. Ever since, the two of them had become inseparable, and Hinata couldn't help but think that while TenTen had received assistance in a subject she struggled with, she herself had benefited more by gaining an irreplaceable existence in her life.

Chuckling at the meek expression on Hinata's face, TenTen slides in to sit beside her. "With the way you're all huddled up like that, I barely noticed you. Just who are you hiding from?"

"N-nobody . . ." she says quietly, staring down at her hands.

"Sure, sure," TenTen replies, rolling her coppery brown eyes. "Now get out your schedule so we can compare them!"

Hinata does, reaching down into her bag to pull out a piece of paper folded up really small. It turns out they only share one period together — Pre-Calculus. A class both girls find to be an absolute bore, but will be a lot more tolerable since they'll have each other to get through it. They also have the same lunch period. That is a huge relief. But otherwise, that is it. The fact that Hinata is enrolled in various Honors classes may have something do with it, which TenTen teases her for by teasingly chiding, "You're such an overachiever."

It is true though. Hinata is accustomed to being a good student, with no grade lower than a B-. The problem is that even B-'s are unacceptable within the Hyuuga household, and she knows she can do better. This year, she will have to buckle down on her studies so that way she can improve, and make even higher marks.

TenTen sighs. "Oh well. It could be worse."

Hinata smiles anxiously, awkwardly, and presses her fingers together the way she typically does whenever she feels like retreating somewhere far away or hoping the ground will open up and swallow her whole. She does not say anything because she honestly cannot see how this day can get any worse — it's already off to a horrible start.

The bus comes to a stop, and the brunette excitedly grasps Hinata's hand in hers. They move to stand in the aisle, the queue quickly making its way forward as eager students mill onto the school grounds. Her dark eyes light up as Hinata appears to be lost in a deep ocean of thoughts. She asks brightly, "So, how's Neji doing?"

Her lashes flutter. She automatically glances up at TenTen, who is trying to appear smooth and nonchalant, but isn't doing a very good job.

Neji Hyuuga is handsome with ice white eyes and the sleekest deep, brown hair of any young man either girl has ever seen. He also just happens to be Hinata's elder cousin, who moved out to attend a college far, far away from the Hyuuga family. TenTen has crushed on him ever since early high school, but Neji to her knowledge has never returned those feelings. Hinata feels bad, wishing she can tell TenTen straight up that she deserves better than someone silent and untouchable, but she can't bring herself to knowing it will make her a hypocrite. She knows how it feels to like someone who might as well be a thousand miles away. So instead, she smiles and says softly, "He's doing fine, though he told me he misses my cooking."

"Tell him not to be a stranger then, and come visit sometime soon," TenTen suggests, finally stepping off the bus.

She nods, biting her lip. "I will."

Hinata and TenTen finally make it to their usual waiting spot, sitting on a stone bench to wait until the morning bell rings. TenTen mostly does the talking, while Hinata patiently listens, swinging her legs back and forth absently. When Naruto walks by chattering animatedly with a grinning Kiba, Hinata turns her face away, color spreading over her nose and cheeks. Her friend pauses in the middle of her lengthy spiel and wiggles her eyebrows conspiratorially at the perturbed girl. This causes her blush to burn brighter; she knows what is coming, and she dreads it with every fiber of her being.

"How long have you liked Naruto now?"

The dark-haired girl closes her eyes, breathes, and curls her hands around the edge of her zip-up hoodie. Hinata then opens her eyes, which gleam uncertainly. "S-since . . . since the sixth grade."

"Right, and we're juniors now," TenTen states as a matter-of-fact. "Next year, we'll be seniors. Pretty soon we'll all be off to college. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life regretting the fact that you never once took initiative?"

A soft sigh tumbles out of Hinata's mouth. "You make it sound so easy . . . "

TenTen brandishes a finger. "That's because it is! Trust me. It's better to come clean with your feelings before it's too late to do anything about them. Even if things don't always turn out how you'd like them to . . ." Hinata looks up at TenTen's last words thoughtfully, chewing her lip.

"My point is," TenTen continues to say, wagging her finger even more at Hinata if that is possible, complete with metaphorical sparkles bursting behind her, "is that you need to tell him already — before it's too late!"

…

…

TenTen's final words of advice echo in her mind as she walks down the hallway towards her homeroom. You need to tell him already — before it's too late!

In her own little world, Hinata begins to sigh mentally, deeply. She knows her long-time best friend means well, she always does. It is just . . . it's so hard! It is so much harder than she can imagine. For someone as socially inept as her, coming out and simply telling Naruto how she feels is more than a difficult task; it is impossible. Besides, it seems clear as day that Naruto has his eyes on someone else; someone more beautiful, confident, and outgoing that is not only well-liked for her looks but also for her smarts.

Just thinking about Sakura is enough to make Hinata slump in despair.

To no surprise, she sees Sakura when she walks in the door of Room 114. Homerooms have always been determined based upon alphabetical order, and both girls' last names begin with the letter H. She is naturally surrounded by an assortment of girls, talking and giggling back and forth.

Hinata barely makes out a string of conversation including the mention of a new boy who is oh-so dark, mysterious, and handsome. She pays it no mind, sitting by herself in the corner patiently until their homeroom teacher gives out their locker numbers. After everyone is assigned their lockers, a few announcements are made. Then students are dismissed to go to their first periods of the day.

"I've already assigned everyone their seats. As soon as you're at your desk, copy what's written on the board and wait for further instruction," Mrs. Hozono barks in a surprisingly booming voice when Hinata walks in. She is a severe looking woman, of extremely slender build with frizzy, gray hair and frost-blue eyes. She is of course the teacher for Chemistry Honors. Not wasting any time, she points at a desk and begins. "Nara, Shikamaru."

Hinata watches as a boy with a lazy, unhurried gait walks over to his seat, muttering something about troublesomeness underneath his breath. The teacher keeps calling out names after that. She herself ends up sitting in a row of people she does not know, fidgeting uncomfortably all the while. In fact, the more Hinata looks around the classroom, the more she realizes she doesn't recognize a single, familiar face. Combined with the fact that Mrs. Hozono is notorious around the school for being intimidating and dishing out an unmanageable amount of work . . . Chemistry already appears like it will be one of the more daunting, nerve-wracking classes of the school year.

Still, I need to keep my grades up. I want to make an A. With that sentiment in mind, Hinata takes out her pencil and determinedly opens her notebook.

Looking up at the board, she dutifully starts to copy down words written across it in scraggly, chalky script into her own fluid handwriting. Her focus is solely dedicated to her work, as always.

But when a certain name is called, she stills.

Hinata's whole world comes crashing down around her.

…

…

"Uchiha, Sasuke."

► My first Naruto High School AU fic! I can see why they are so popular now — they're addicting to write. So how'd ya'll like it? I apologize if it was boring! I wanted to do a good job introducing the characters and feel for the plot. If there is any confusion by the way, don't be afraid to ask. Basically Hiashi and Mikoto used to date until the relationship fell apart. Thus the little ones were separated without understanding what was going on; it's based loosely on what happened to me as a child. Now Sasuke and Hinata are going to see each other for the first time after ten years . . . No it will not be instant love. Will there be attraction or chemistry apparent? Maybe, but my focus is on trying to stay true to the characters while also developing a realistic romance. So if you're willing to come along for the ride, I promise I will do my best!

Oh, and if you're curious about what other pairings may crop up in the fic, just ask me and I'll more than likely spoil you. I can't resist spilling details about virtually anything to save my life. *cough* With that, um, I would appreciate you all's thoughts? Credit for the fabulous summary by the way goes to the equally fabulous Cubix Stitches. Thanks again, girl! :)

E› tifa .