Hinata glanced curiously up at her mother. Her fair skin in comparison to her dark purple hair made her stand out among the other villagers, which wasn't a bad thing, because she was beautiful. She seemed occupied, reminiscing with an old friend of hers. Hinata tugged on her robe lightly. To no reaction.

Something lit up inside Hinata. This could be the day.

She stepped backwards, subtly distancing herself from her mother. When the time was right, she ducked behind a tree, out of her view. She timidly strolled through the Hidden Leaf village, occasionally looking back to see if anyone had noticed she was gone.

Her pace fastened.

Kids her age happily ran about. Adults made small talk with each other as they passed her. The sky was particularly clear today, not a cloud in sight.

Everything was peaceful. As if she wasn't content enough, today could be the day that she would finally be able to explore the village without someone guarding her.

She smiled to herself. It felt nice to have this moment of freedom.

"Hinata! Hinata!" a voice called from behind her. Most likely her mother.

She could tell that the voice was getting louder each second. Hesitant, Hinata mustered up some courage, and sprinted straight ahead. She stopped running when she couldn't hear her name being called anymore. She cautiously looked around, and sighed with relief when she saw no one.
Her legs suddenly felt wobbly. She hadn't run this much in a while. Her father used to make her train until she was panting and struggled to breathe. That was until he realized how weak she was, and that she was not fit to become the heiress of the Hyuga clan. Nowadays he neglected her, only focusing on shaping up her younger sister, Hanabi.

Hinata walked over to a patch of grass and involuntarily lay down on her back. The grass was warm from the sun, which had shone all day. Her view focused solely on the blue sky- but it didn't last long. The glaring sun caused her to shield her eyes with the sleeve of her kimono.

When she took away her arm, that's when she noticed. She propped herself up on her elbows to get a better view. A large colourful structure, consisted of several buildings, stood in front of her. It seemed vaguely familiar. She read a sign with a printed kanji character:

Fire

Oh! I remember now... This is the academy my parents are applying me to, next spring. I'll be trained to become a genin.

She felt excited, but also very nervous. What if she wasn't strong enough to become a ninja? What if her father was right to not continue with her training? She shook her head, hoping it would get rid of her negative thoughts.

Suddenly, she turned her head from side to side. She now took in her surroundings.

To her right was the path she had just came from.

To her left, a few feet away, was a lone swing...

but the seat wasn't empty?

A boy gripped to the ropes of the swing tightly. He slowly rocked back and forth on it. The motion almost seemed depressing itself.

She sat up and examined his appearance.

Spiky blond hair which appeared almost golden when it touched a hint of sunlight...

deep blue eyes that resembled the sky...

and three lines on each cheek of his face.

She has never seen anyone like him.

Hinata hadn't realized, but this boy intrigued her. She wanted to know more about him. He was different. No, that wasn't the word to describe him. Unique. Special.

His blue eyes fell on her, his sad expression changing to shock for just a moment.

He stopped swinging. She looked away, staring intensely at the ground next to her.

Neither of them said anything.

Seconds passed.

Then minutes.

It felt like hours, when the spiky-haired boy finally spoke.

"Hi," he said softly. It was obvious he felt anxious. Hinata glanced at him, surprised. He was still watching her. She thought he would've left by now. Afterall, she acted like he wasn't even there. She was always very shy, so once she opened her mouth to introduce herself, no sound came out. She searched for any courage that still remained from before. There was just enough for a barely comprehensible, quiet "hello".