Milquetoast

Summary: Milquetoast-a timid and unassertive person. Hikaru Uchiha is a milquetoast and she's gonna need a little help from a few special people to change that.

A/N: Okay something I forgot to make clear in my last story (Eudemonic), Henna is Hidan's daughter and these little story series that I'm currently doing are full of OC children from my crazy imagination. Some of these children are crossovers between Naruto and Inuyasha and some other OC's that have been paired with those characters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Inuyasha.

XXX

Riiing

From the minute the bell rang the halls were immediately crowded with students trying to make it to their cars or the busses to get home. I was trying my best to make my way to my locker to exchange my books and go home but I found that I was hardly making any progress. No matter how many times I said 'excuse me' or 'please look out' it seemed like I always had to be the one to stop and let everyone go by first. I checked the time on my watch. Three, four, officially five minutes since the bell had rung.

I was finally able to make it to my locker. It was so loud that I could barely concentrate and it was frustrating. The most frustrating part though was that most of the things I was hearing was coming from right beside of me. A few girls, the 'silicon' monsters as my friend called them, were trash talking again. About me. As always. This was their prime time. Today's topic was my outfit. I apparently lacked in any kind of fashion sense and compared to my mama and my sister I looked like a 14 year old grandmother.

I wouldn't say anything to them though. It made me nervous, very nervous. I could always feel the anger though. I was angry at myself. I'm an Uchiha for craps sake. Why can't I just stick up for myself like the rest of my family? Even my cousin Miachi, who is the most proper and passive aggressive person I've ever met other than my uncle Itachi, can defend herself when need be. I didn't have a backbone and I knew it.

So I turned away and hurried out to the parking lot where my little friend was waiting impatiently for me. Henna was seated on top of her car yelling at passerbys, how she got up there I'm not sure. Henna drove a hummer, correction, Henna illegally drove a hummer. She failed her drivers test, but her father still got her the car, as motivation. I never understood why she wanted such a big car when she was such a small person, then she started spouting off about how she was a firm believer in starting big.

Every day that I rode home with Henna was another day that I had to thank the Gods that I was still alive because she was insane. Although I didn't really feel like I had a choice because although riding with someone else seems safer, I also know that Henna's one of the only few people who can make me feel better after all the crappy days I've had.

"Hikaru!" She yelled at me. "Come on girl you know I got a time limit! The police are always patrolling that one street at 3:15 and your grandpa said if he catches me again he's taking me to jail!"

Ah grandpa Fugaku, I always forget to ask him why he hasn't arrested her yet. Probably because he'd feel bad for the other prisoners if he sent her to jail.

The drive home was ridiculously fast and exceptionally wreck less. I could also feel a headache brewing in the back of my head from all the loud music and her obnoxious singing. My eye was twitching and I was trying hard not to grimace.

"Karu? Are you good, you look like you're gonna keel over. Of course, if you do die that would be pretty cool too!" She was bouncing in her seat, the seat that she was barely in already. Death always excited Henna.

"I'm fine." I lied.

"Liar! I know it's the damn music! If it's bothering you, turn it the fuck down! Grow a backbone Uchiha!" She was always so brash, but I knew it came from a good place.

"I wish." I sighed. "Those girls, they were talking about me again today."

"Those silicon bitches!? Dammit Hikaru, I'm gonna punch them so hard, that their plastic tits pop!"

"No, don't do that. It won't make anything better. I'm fine, it's my problem and I'll deal with it." Another lie. I wasn't gonna deal with it. We pulled into my drive way and I quickly hopped out of Henna's car while she continued her ranting. Even when she pulled away and sped down the road she was still ranting. She missed the stop sign. When Henna got angry, or sad, or excited she missed details. I would need to pray for the other drivers on the road.

XXX

It was dinner time and that meant the day was officially half over and part of me was happy because I could sleep away all my problems, but another part of me was sad because this meant school was start up again tomorrow morning. My sister, Sachi was laughing hysterically about my moms mug trick earlier. Before my father, my sister, and I left for work and school this morning she told us to be careful because it was really muggy out. My dad's response was 'Karin, if I walk outside and see our mugs on the lawn, I'm leaving you.'

Henna ran over three mugs and the saddest part is that my mom got up really early for this trick. She's so weird.

"Hikaru, how was school?" My papa asked. Ugh, how was I supposed to tell him that I wussed away from a group of girls today. I felt very strongly that my dad favored Sachi over me and I didn't want to give him yet another reason to like her more.

"It was fine." I lied.

"You sure?" My mom spoke. "Cause I heard from Kai, that Henna came home from school today plotting on these girls at your school because they bullied you. Something about popping their milkshakes."

"Wow, you got bullied again kid?" Sachi said surprised. "You're so soft."

"Sachi, leave your sister alone. She's not soft, she just doesn't care. Right Hikaru?" Oh mama, how I wish that were true. I just nodded. "Right."

"Hn. Hikaru, I wanna speak to you before you go to bed tonight."

"Y-yes papa." I could already hear him, 'you're a pathetic excuse for an Uchiha.' With how meek I was, I was beginning to question if I was even an Uchiha at all.

XXX

The knock on my bedroom door told me that it was time for my scolding. My father stepped into my room and his one visible eye landed on me.

"You wanted to speak to me papa?"

"Yes. I want you to tell me about these girls at school. The ones that are bullying you."

"Oh! Hehe, that, it's really nothing! Henna was just overreacting, you know how she is, crazy! And Sachi, well Sachi has a lot of friends and she's not used to people not liking her so she's not all that familiar with what bullying actually is." From the look on his face, I could tell he wasn't buying. The man was never hard to fool.

"Let's try this again, and this time the truth Hikaru."

I heaved a heavy sigh and let my shoulders slump forward. Having Sasuke Uchiha as your father was not easy. I looked up to him, and why not? He was, is, an amazing ninja who stopped a war with his best friend. He protected hundreds, thousands of people and he's an Uchiha. He married an Uzumaki with the sensory skills of at least ten other regular ninjas, and the pride and confidence of a Goddess. His first born child is a lead ninja in the royal militia who mastered the chidori at age nine and possesses the chakra levels of her Uzumaki side. Even his son, Koichi, a mere tot shows more promise than I do.

"They usually just talk about stupid things. Like my hair or my outfit…or my face. Stuff like that. Sometimes we bump into each other and they may or may not…accidentally knock my books out of my hands. And there is a possibility that they started a rumor that I may or may not be a little slower than the other kids, but nothing serious."

"Nothing serious?" He scoffed while a scowl formed on his face. "Hikaru, they don't have to lay their hands on to you to cross a line. It's called respect and it's a common courtesy. Why don't you stand up for yourself? You're an Uchiha and you're my daughter. Whether you believe in yourself or not, I know you can do better than this. Prove it."

I didn't exactly know what to say to him, and I guess he could tell that because he left. But I didn't forget his words. Granted I never really forgot anything, but his words in particular rang in my head all night.

XXX

The next morning, Henna didn't pick me up. Instead my mom drove me to school. Riding with my mom wasn't always the safest thing either. The woman had road rage like crazy even though she was often the one in the wrong. When we pulled up to the school I started to get out until I felt her hand on my shoulder. She was giving me a warm smile and I knew she wanted to say something. She always smiles at me before she prepares to tell me something that my dad most likely told her not to say.

"Yes ma'am?" I questioned.

"Ewe, don't call me ma'am. Makes me feel old, anyways, I just wanted to give you a little piece of advice."

"Oh. Oh no." I gasped. She was never really the best at this.

"Now I know your father talked to you last night and I just wanted to say first that I know he probably came off kind of harsh but he only means well Hikaru. Your father loves you and knowing that there's people picking on you makes him upset. He just wants you to protect yourself. And while he may want you to do it with pride and that 'Uchiha class' I want you to remember that you're also an Uzumaki and sometimes its better to be ballsy and assertive. So you try that Uchiha way first and if that doesn't work then don't feel bad if you've gotta smack some sense into them!"

I stared at my mother. She was so…I actually don't know how to describe her. Brave? Courageous? Sure, but those words don't describe her in this moment. She gave me that warm smile again, patted my head, and sent me on my way. I made my way into the school and stopped after I entered the doors.

Henna and my parents were right weren't they? It was time I grew a backbone. I never did anything wrong to these people so why didn't they respect me? Hitting them probably wouldn't work and didn't seem necessary, so I decided to stick with the Uchiha class. I shoved my way through the crowd to my locker and started making my book exchange. I was honestly a little surprised at almost losing a finger when my locker slammed shut.

"What the heck?" I breathed.

"Hey runt," I heard, "I heard you've been telling people that my friends and I have fake breasts?" Ugh, really Henna? I slowly turned to face the silicon crew. Their faces all scrunched up in anger. My eyes wandered over them. They weren't much taller than me. They didn't look very intimidating at all really. And honestly, my dad and my mom were right. I could take them. I am on the royal militia too and I didn't get there by luck. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"No, I didn't." I said.

"Oh yea right. If it wasn't you then it was that little retard you're always hanging around! You two are so stupid! Just because you're jealous of us doesn't mean you can go around saying crap about us!"

"Don't talk about Henna like that, she's not stupid."

"Of course she is, you only hang around stupid people because stupidity is a language that you all speak best. The twerp is stupid, you're stupid, your whole family is stupid." This girl. She was in my face. She was insulting my best friend. She was insulting my family. No one had ever insulted my family before and I don't know what it was about that tiny insignificant insult, but it lit a fire inside of me.

XXX

That day I got suspended from school for fighting. Henna and my mom were so proud of me. Sachi wouldn't stop asking for details. My father smiled at me and patted my head. It was the first time he said 'that's my girl.' I was surprised, but I didn't care. I was happy. So I guess, I realized I'm not a coward after all. I'm just a person who truly doesn't care. That is, unless you have the audacity to talk about my family and my best friend. Then that's when I show my true colors.