Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor the other fandom that will be featured in this, in some form or another.
1. The Beginning
These days, Hinata Hyuga keeps up a routine. She wakes up at four-thirty in the morning, stares up at her ceiling for eight minutes, gets up, gets dressed, and then goes out to the Hyuga training grounds. She usually stays out there for a long time, and it's rare that anything can draw her back in. She doesn't even register hunger, or any of the servants calling for her. It's only when her father approaches her that she stops. When this happens, Hiashi doesn't always say much, except, "That's enough for today. You should go inside and get ready for the academy."
And even though Hinata always feels the urge to strike her palm or throw a kunai against every wooden dummy in the grounds (or to just train until her body is sore, really), she obeys. She also registers that she still has a job to do.
She gets dressed in new clothes and then heads out to the Ninja Academy. She puts on a smile for her classroom and goes on to teach all the lessons they need to learn in order to become shinobi. Sometimes, the smile is genuine. A lot of her genin have potential, even the ones who are struggling, and she feels it would be interesting to see how far they excel. She gives lectures, feedback, support, and sometimes the occasional scolding (or what can come close to it, considering how soft her tone still is, even now).
When school is over and all the students dismissed, she goes for a walk around Konoha. Sometimes, she runs into friends—such as Kiba and Shino. Sometimes, they talk and hang out. They don't see each other as much anymore, what with their different missions and individual personal lives. Kiba is apparently dating, and Shino may have become part of ANBU, if his constant absences and secret missions mean anything—he hasn't said anything, of course, but Hinata can infer.
Sometimes, Tsunade also gives Hinata missions. If that mission brings her far away from Konoha and everything orange and blonde, then she accepts it immediately, promising to put her all into it. (And she always does.)
Sometimes, Hinata passes by Ichiraku. If she doesn't see a flash of orange or pink, she sometimes goes in and orders a late lunch. Of course, this is practically never these days. She always sees a flash of orange or pink when she walks past this place, usually sitting together side by side. Her stomach then twists and she suddenly doesn't feel that hungry anymore.
After her walk, she goes back to the Hyuga mansion and steps back onto the training grounds. She doesn't go in until exhaustion really gets to her.
And then, it begins again. Wash, rinse; repeat.
Today, however, is going to be very different. By the end of today, her life will change forever. She just doesn't know it yet.
For now, however, she is sitting on top of the Fourth's head and looking down at Konoha, her village; her home. For now, she is thinking of him and her, and the two of them walking hand in hand. She is thinking of three months ago, when it was her hand that was being held; when he looked at her with what seemed like love and affection. For now, she is thinking of how he is giving all that love to someone who truthfully had it all along.
Hinata is glad that he's happy, she really is. All she's ever wanted was for him to be happy, for him to feel loved—by someone, if not her. She doesn't bother wondering why he did this to her, or why he seemed to lead her on. Sometimes, things just happen, and there's nothing you can do about them.
Still, it hurts. It hurts to sacrifice your own happiness for the one you love—to let them go. It hurts to feel nothing but sadness and sometimes just nothing at all. It hurts to fake smiles, to act as if you've let things go, to act like you're moving on, despite feeling nothing but stagnant.
And Hinata knows she hurts her loved ones by acting this way. While many of her friends won't approach her as much—because they honestly don't know what to do to make her feel better—she feels their sad, pitying gazes on her. It made her feel angry at first. Now, now she just wants to stop feeling like a burden on the people she cares about the most—especially him.
Sighing, Hinata stands then. She looks over her beloved village, and closes her eyes. She just wishes she knew what to do.
"You're not going to jump, are you?"
She starts at the voice behind her and nearly stumbles, before catching herself. Then she whips around, her eyes narrowing as she gets into a stance. The source of the voice is a boy, one who is tall and gangly and doesn't look much older than her—though his clothes are strangely tattered and rather disheveled, she observes. No shinobi she has ever encountered has ever dressed like that.
Though his arms continue relaxing at his sides, Hinata doesn't let her stance falter.
"Who are you?" She asks, making her voice hard.
He tilts his head, blinking his owl like eyes only once. "You're not, right?"
"...What?"
"Jumping."
Hinata blinks. He doesn't seem like he's looking for a fight. She rests her hands, but keeps her guard up.
"No, I'm not," she answers. Then, "Why would you think I was...?"
He shrugs, then steps over to her left side and sits, legs folded. "Because that's usually how this story goes, right?" At her confused look, he elaborates, "Girl falls in love with guy; guy eventually loves her back; guy ends up leaving her in some way or another—either through death, meeting someone else, or being lost at sea, whichever; then girl falls into despair and dies of a broken heart or some bullshit like that. That's a common story I've heard, anyway."
"What makes you think it's that sort of situation?" Hinata narrows her eyes. Had she been followed? She thought she felt a weird sensation on the back of her neck, but when she checked with her Byakugan, she didn't see anyone. But then she remembers not checking behind objects, and she mentally curses herself and her weakness.
"I saw how you reacted to that guy earlier, that guy with the girl." He lets out a chuckle. "Her hair is funny. Pink. Such a weird color. Then again, I've seen weirder. Anyway," he continues. "I saw how fast you walked away. You didn't look like you knew where you were going. In fact, I know you didn't. You bumped right into me and just kept on walking without so much as an apology. And I deserve one, by the way! You made me drop my meat, right when I was all hungry as hell and crap," he frowns up at her, his eyes lit up with irritation. "That's not a crime I take lightly."
...Is this guy serious? Hinata resists the urge to roll her eyes and instead bows. "I apologize. I didn't mean to do so."
"Eh, it's fine." He shrugs and waves it off. "You can make it up to me later. Anyway, the point is that I saw you in that field afterwards." He gives her an odd look. "I saw those moves of yours. You know how to fight, don't you?"
Realizing that he really doesn't mean any harm, Hinata decides to sit down next to him. She nods.
"All shinobi here are required to fight," she explains. "It's how the village stays protected."
"Shin-what?" He tilts his head.
...He must not be from around here. Hinata searches for a word that might be more understandable. "Ninjas," she says. "I'm a ninja—one of many in this village."
His grin is so wide, it looks ready to split his face in half; it gives Hinata an odd feeling about him. It isn't the sort of smile that Naruto, Kiba, or even Lee would sport. No, this is the sort of grin that would be worn by an escaped madman.
Still, he hasn't done anything to her so far.
"Ninjas! That's really cool. Do you use a sword? Have you killed anyone? What do you guys do, exactly?"
Hinata flounders a bit at how close he's leaning towards her, but then decides to answer him in order.
"Um. Not really—only certain shinobi use them, but only as a last resort. Personally, I haven't yet, but I probably will have to. And, uh, jutsu, really."
"Jutsu?"
"I guess you can say they're styles of fighting," Hinata explained. "Many require special abilities and uses of chakra. Some just require hand to hand combat."
He looks at her, humming in interest under his breath. Then he grins that odd grin again.
"You'll have to show me sometime!"
For the first time in a while, Hinata flushes. "I-I could, but...there are so many other better shinobi around here. If you want, I can take you to them and they—"
"I don't really care for them."
"—Eh?" She blinks.
He continues grinning. "I want to learn about you."
Her flush deepens. Why would a stranger want to learn about her?
His grin goes back into a straight line on his tan face, making him suddenly look serious. "Unless you really are going to do it."
"Huh?"
"Die of a broken heart or whatever you wanna call it," he says. "I mean, I don't know much about love or relationships or anything like that, but you seemed to really take that thing with blondie hard."
Hinata frowns. "I'm heartbroken, not suicidal."
"There's a difference?"
For the first time in a long time, Hinata feels a surge of anger. She finds herself standing up and glaring down at the stranger.
"Of course there is!" She says, on the verge of yelling. "I can't believe you would even say that."
He stares at her.
"I may not be the strongest ninja in this village," she continues. "I may not even be good enough to lead my clan. In fact, I don't know what my future as a shinobi is going to be. And yes, I'm depressed and hurt and I'm still in love with someone who doesn't love me anymore, if he ever did. I can't find myself enjoying things as much as I used to, even eating, because everything just reminds me of him. But that doesn't matter! None of that matters! Because I'm still going through with my goal! I'm still going to get stronger, and I will use that strength to forge my future! There's no way I'm going to be stopped by someone judging me before knowing me!"
He doesn't respond, he just continues staring at her. Hinata glares back, feeling herself get into a stance again. Even if she did just bare her heart out and make herself more vulnerable, she still feels eager enough for a fight. It's a bit of a thrill, really. She can't recall the last time she felt so passionate for a fight or a spar.
She's shocked that he's the one to break away first. He turns his head towards the village and tilts his head down, causing his straw hat to shield his eyes and expression. Not knowing what else to do, Hinata remains standing.
Suddenly, the boy grins that grin again and smacks his knee with conviction.
"It's decided then." He stands up and places a firm hand on her shoulder. "You're going to join my crew!"
"...EH?!"
But the boy in the straw hat simply keeps on grinning, even chuckling at her flustered expression. Perhaps he is mad after all.
So, I've been reading NaruHina fics lately, because I'm often bored and wondering if one of my old OTPs (besides SasuNaru) has had some good writing and stuff.
Needless to say, I've been disappointed.
I mean...can't anyone come up with a scenario where Hinata doesn't commit suicide or do self-harm over Naruto's rejection/break up with her? I mean, I'm not asking her to become all "sexy", bitchy or basically whatever characteristic that is opposite of hers (that will usually be described as her being "stronger"), but I would like some alternative. No girl I know has ever committed suicide over a love interest. Hell, I didn't even get close when my boyfriend and I were having problems.
But yeah, this is my response to that.
As for the random crossover, well-I'm starting to get back into this fandom too. (I blame my boyfriend.) So, I thought, Eh what the hell? I'll give it a whirl.
This will likely become a series of one-shots.
