Set in alternate universe because there is no way I can mimic Masashi Kinomoto's world and do it justice. College setting because there's too much high school stories. I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kinomoto does. All respect and credit go to him. Anything you recognize is not mine.

Edit (02/29/2011): I can't believe I posted the previous version of this chapter as it was. My sincere apologies.

[Chapter 1: Moving In]

Yamanaka Ino, smart, beautiful, and rich, with a wealthy and comfortable life, was everything everyone sought to become. To outsiders, her life was the very definition of the word perfect, but to Yamanaka Ino, her life was nowhere near as perfect as people deem it to be.

She was the only child of a very affectionate, very indulgent, and overly protective Yamanaka Inoichi; and had, in consequence of her mother's passing, been the only woman in the man's life from a very early period. Her mother had given up her own life for Ino, an act of self-sacrifice to which Yamanaka Ino would forever be indebted. After all, had she chosen to live, she could have produced another child, another Yamanaka Ino. It was for this reason that Ino had always refused to let any other woman be mistress of the Yamanaka household, and made it her mission in life to crush every and all women's dreams of ever becoming it. Many did.

Yamanaka Inoichi was not a man who was hard to love. He had dashing looks, especially dashing for his age. He had long blonde hair at the age where men would start losing theirs and eyes that were the color of the seas, eyes which Ino inherited. Apart from those attractive features, he also held prominent status within the community. He was the youngest man to be the head of Central Intelligence Agency. He seemed perfect, but Yamanaka Ino knew too well of his shortcomings.

Yamanaka Inoichi was very paranoid in regards of her daughter. Perhaps it was his line of work that made him so, but he was always wary of everyone who comes in contact with his daughter. He was a man with many enemies, after all. It was for this reason that he had not hired a nanny to help him raise Ino; instead, he entrusted Ino in the care of Nara Yoshino, the wife of one of his closest friend Nara Shikaku, the chief aide of the President, while he was working. At other times, she was with the wife of his other closest friend, Akimichi Choza, the President's head chef, but usually the two wives would be together, and ultimately, Ino grew up with Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji.

Apart from his paranoia, Yamanaka Inoichi was also very selfish in regards of his daughter, and it was because of his gentle selfishness that in all of the eighteen years of Ino's existence, she had never been able to stay out past ten, ten-thirty if she begged really hard and if he was in an exceptionally good mood. He always wanted to keep Ino close to him; he had already lost the other woman in his life, after all. He couldn't bear losing another. It was for this reason that he was very reluctant of letting Ino move out to be closer to Konoha University, which was at another part of the country. He jokingly suggested that he should move with her, a suggestion that so appalled the young Yamanaka that she threatened not to attend college at all. That would have suited Inoichi fine had he not realized the importance of higher education.

A consensus was then settled — Ino could move out, if and only if, she lives near Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji, the only two boys with whom Inoichi could entrust Ino because they were the off-springs of his two closest friends. Apples, after all, do not fall far from the tree. The agreement ruined Ino's plan of rooming with her best friend, Haruno Sakura, in one of Konoha Univeristy's many dormitories, but at least she had his permission of moving out.

And so, a week before the fall semester started, Yamanaka Ino stood in front of a brick apartment. She would have had already stood there a week before, as with the case of her neighbors (one of whom already held a job), had her father not prolonged her leaving. The apartment wasn't amazing, and it was certainly not squeal-worthy. It was not an apartment fit for "Daddy's princess," but the apartment meant something that was definitely, certainly, unquestionably squeal-worthy—freedom.

Freedom. Many fight for it, many die for it, many long for it. To Yamanaka Ino, freedom was no longer something to fight for, something to die for, and most definitely not something to long for because she finally has freedom.

Freedom to do what, you ask?

Freedom to party, she practically squealed.

"Stop squealing," Nara Shikamaru reprimanded as he lifted the heavy box with a sigh, probably thinking that the whole helping a friend move was very troublesome.

She turned around and glared at him, but she couldn't keep the mad expression for long. She was free now, and it's impossible not to smile. She walked around him and grabbed a duffel bag from the trunk, casually placed it on top of the box which her companion was carrying ("Tch, troublesome"), grabbed the last of her stuff—another duffel bag—slung it on her shoulder and closed the trunk of her car. She caught sight of freedom again and squea—

"Stop squealing," her companion, again, interjected. Then, he walked away, as if he just commented on something trivial—the weather or sports, definitely not offending Yamanaka Ino. And offending Yamanaka Ino was not something anyone could walk away from. Had he not been carrying her stuff, her dear lovely stuff, she would have pummeled him to the ground, but alas, he was carrying her stuff, her dear lovely stuff. So she resorted to a retort.

"You can be such a dick sometimes. It's a free country!" she snapped. He was skating on thin ice…

"Tch, no wonder Sakura calls you Ino-p—never mind" he nonchalantly dropped the comment, finally realizing the hole he was digging, the hole in which Ino would bury his dead body. "Open the door for me?"

She ignored his request. "What, Shikamaru, what." It wasn't a question; it was a threat.

"Precious, Ino-precious. Anyway," he added hastily; he could sense his impending death, "can you open the door? Your stuff isn't really getting any lighter, you know."

Her eyebrows rose in amusement. It was a good save, she had to admit, but he wasn't getting off easily. "Fuck you" she smirked before opening the door. Instead of letting Shikamaru enter first, she did the honor and left Shikamaru scurrying behind her before the door finally closed.

"Thanks a lot, Ino" he glared.

Ino ignored his sarcasm as she pressed the up button of the elevator. "So what time is Choji coming home from his work? I want him to cook up something yummy to celebrate my freedom!" she pumped her fist in the air excitedly.

"I'm not his mother, Ino-precious," Shikamaru sighed tiredly. "I don't know when he'll be home."

And for the second time that day, Shikamaru offended Ino and survived unscathed. Instead of reprimanding him, giving him the old Ino tirade, she simply cursed at him, a curse barely audible, and she just crossed her arms and sulked. Silence fell between them (quite miraculously considering it was Ino, he would later say) until the elevator dinged, signaling that it was arriving. Ino wordlessly (again, a miraculous feat) entered the elevator. She was tempted to press the close button before he could board, but decided against it. He was carrying her dear, lovely stuff after all.

1st floor…

2nd floor…

3rd floor…

"He gets off work right about now, so he'll probably be home soon to cook something yummy to celebrate your freedom" he sighed.

Ino raised her eyebrows. Of all people, she didn't expect him to break the silence. She beamed and pumped another fist in the air, "Yay! And here I was thinking about how to convince Daddy to let me move in with Sakura, but I think I'll stay here instead" she smirked in satisfaction upon seeing Shikamaru's 'goddammit' look.

No one walks away from offending Yamanaka Ino completely unscathed.

Haruno Sakura was less confident than her best friend, Yamanaka Ino. Granted that Sakura was also smart, perhaps even smarter than Ino, she was nowhere as wealthy or as pretty. In fact, during her elementary school days, she was often teased because of her forehead. The consequence of which led to Ino and Sakura's friendship.

Fed up with the bullying, Sakura used her bangs to hide her offensive forehead. The act, however, had an opposite effect. Instead of alleviating her hardship, it only worsened the situation. Having bangs meant that she was indeed affected by the bullying, that she was indeed sensitive about her forehead, and having bangs meant admitting defeat. It wasn't until Ino helped her, stretched a hand of friendship, that her life finally turned out for the better. Ino was indeed a good friend, and she was indeed a good person, a person so good that sometimes, Sakura can't help but feel overwhelmed by her presence.

It's for this reason that she guiltily delighted in the fact that Ino won't be moving in with her. She loves Ino, she really does, and she was genuinely sad when Ino delivered the news of their ruined plan. It's just that sometimes, just sometimes, Sakura feels so overshadowed by Ino's presence that she feels the need to break away without hurting her friend's feelings. Sakura loves Ino, and it was for this reason that she opted prolong her moving a week later and endure her mother's overbearing attitude a week longer. She wanted to keep Ino company.

And so, while Ino moved in into an apartment two blocks away, Sakura was at Konoha University, trying to find her building. Konoha University was anything and everything she deemed it to be. It should be, for tuition was not at all cheap. It wasn't that Sakura was poor, but Sakura's mother often griped about it for reasons more than just financial. In her eyes, the community college near their house was just as good.

Quite similar to Ino's father, but in the same sense not really (for she's on a whole level entirely), Sakura's mother was just as overly protective. Every step that Sakura takes outside their house, her mother fears that her only child would be raped. She was right in fearing so, but at the same time, she wasn't. Sakura was a very beautiful child, but she was also just as tough.

In a contradictory move on her mother's part, she would always ask Sakura to do the groceries, housework, and pick her up when she's out drinking with her friends. Being raped, be damned. It's probably for this reason that Sakura often feels immense admiration for her dad. Despite her mom's irresponsibility, he still sticks around. Sakura would have left the first chance she got, and in a sense, she did. Moving out wasn't really a choice, for transportation between her house and Konoha University was impossible; but she could have chosen to attend the community college near her home. Well, it didn't matter either way whether she chose to leave or not, for she was finally free.

Freedom. Many fight for it, many die for it, many long for it. To Haruno Sakura, freedom was no longer something to fight for, something to die for, and most definitely not something to long for because she finally has freedom.

Freedom to do what, you ask?

Freedom from my mother, she relished at the thought until she felt her jeans vibrating. She took out her phone and was not surprised to see her mom calling. Well, as much freedom as I can get from her anyway.

Sighing, she pressed answer. "Yeah, mom? I checked in with you literally just minutes ago when I arrived here! Yeah, I still haven't been raped." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Of course, I'll be safe…how? There's security. Don't you remember from the tour? You did ask a lot of questions…what? I'm not implying anything! Watch my tone? What-"

Before the mother and daughter could get into a more heated argument, Sakura's phone was knocked out of her hands as she was thrown off-balance by what looked like a yellow flash; consequently, she fell on the ground rather ungraciously.

"Oh, fuck! I am so sorry! Are you ok?" someone practically screamed next to her ear. She could tell that he was one energetic guy. "I was in a hurry so I wasn't really paying attention…sorry. Anyway, are you alright?"

"Fan-fucking-tastic," she said rather haughtily and she pushed herself up from the floor. Her mom was already pissing her off, and on top of that, a guy knocks her down, rather ungraciously, mind you. It was embarrassing, to the say the least.

"I'm really sorry. Here's your bag" he apologized as he handed Sakura her duffel bag. She took the bag nonchalantly while she dusted her jeans. She was so mad that she couldn't even look at him. "Here's your phone too. Um, I think your mom is on the line"

Her head immediately shot up. No way. Not only would she be labeled a klutz from falling so ungraciously, but now she would also be labeled as someone who couldn't stay away from her mother (it's true but still, it wasn't something she'd tell the world). Her mother's screeching, which she still could hear despite the phone being away from her ear did not lessen the humiliation of the situation. Great, just great.

She took the phone and held in beside her ear. "Hello? Yeah, I'm fine…someone just bumped into me…look it's no big deal...okayIhavetogoloveyoutoobye" and she quickly hung up and turned off her phone before her mom could even call her again. She knew she'd regret that later. She finally looked at the perpetrator properly, and she noticed that he was staring, intently, so intently that she paled. Do I have something on my face?

"W-what?" she asked reluctantly. She felt insecure by his stare, and the fact that he was kind of cute did not help lessen that. For a brief moment, she thought she was about to be raped, until she realized her thoughts and reprimanded herself for thinking like her mother. Her mother was really getting into her, which further proved that Sakura really did need to break free.

"You're so fucking pretty!" he announced happily with a huge grin.

She blushed madly. It wasn't everyday that she was told she was pretty, especially by someone of considerable cuteness. He had blonde hair, blue eyes; and the same blonde-haired, blue-eyed someone just called her pretty. Before she could say anything, however, the blonde waved to someone behind her.

"Sasuke! I'll be right there!" he yelled to him before shifting back to her. "I'm really sorry about knocking you and everything. I can be such a dick sometimes. I promise I'll make it up to you! I'm really sorry!" he clapped his hands in front of him and made bowing gestures.

"I-it's alright," she stuttered, taken aback by his sincerity and genuineness. "Don't worry about it."

"Thanks. I really have to go, though, because of that fucking idiot over there. Anyway, I'll see you around!" he jogged away before stopping and turning around, "Oh, my name's Uzumaki Naruto by the way! What's yours?"

Sakura turned around. "Sakura. Haruno Sakura!" she replied, not as loud but still audible.

"Your name's also fucking pretty!" he grinned. "Anyway, I'll see you around Sakura!" he waved before turning around and running into someone she assumed to be 'Sasuke.' Her eyes trailed towards said person, and her breath hitched. He had raven black hair, and he was absolutely, certainly, unquestionably…

Beautiful.

If the black 2011 IGL G coupe ™ was not enough to grab any and all's attention, the very beautiful woman who stepped out from said car certainly did. She was indeed very beautiful. She had long, curly hair, and her legs were long and flawless. She was nothing short of a goddess, and everyone around her took notice. They were so mesmerized by her beauty that they did not even notice the other female who stepped out of the car.

She had long dark hair, which almost looked dark blue in the sun. She was also very pretty, but her timid and shy demeanor made it easy to overlook that fact. Her name was Hyuuga Hinata.

She was the oldest of the two daughters of Hyuuga Hiashi, owner and director of the huge and prominent Hyuuga Corporation. As the first born and heir to the fortune, Hiashi held great expectations for her. As he would later realize, however, Hinata lacked the necessary skills to properly run a whole corporation. Hinata was neither cunning nor worthy of the title, and she was no sooner deemed a lost cause. The position was passed onto her younger sister, Hanabi, and Hinata was left in the care of her tutor, Kurenai Yuuhi.

The loss of her father's faith in her caused a terrible blow to her already dangerously low self-esteem, and she would always spend time crying alone, something Kurenai Yuuhi was not unaware of. In hopes of Hinata regaining her confidence in herself, Kurenai urged her to move into one of the dormitories in Konoha University, and more importantly, away from the Hyuuga household, which served as constant reminder of her failures. Hinata refused at first, but her compliant nature later betrayed her, and she felt she had no choice.

Once Hinata had her backpack from the trunk (the rest of her things were already in her dormitory), Kurenai slammed her trunk closed, and she looked at Hinata intently.

"Freedom," Kurenai started, "many fight for it, many die for it, many long for it. But to you, Hinata, freedom is no longer something to fight for, something to die for, and most definitely not something to long for because you finally have freedom."

"Freedom to do what?" Hinata asked.

Kurenai smiled and touched Hinata's cheek, "Freedom to be you. This university will be your new home, and here, no one will force you to become someone you're not, and no one will scorn you for being who you are. Be yourself, Hinata, because your true self is more beautiful than anything else you could be," she wisely advised.

A teary-eyed Hinata brought a hand on Kurenai's hand that was on her chick. "Thank you, Kurenia-sensei, for everything."

Kurenai pulled Hinata into her chest and wrapped her hands around her. "I'm no longer your teacher, Hinata. You'll have new ones now, but I will always be your friend." She pulled away to look at her former student in the eye, "Call me if you're in trouble or anything, alright?" When Hinata nodded, Kurenai pulled her in for a supposedly last hug. "I'll miss you."

Hinata choked back a sob and hugged her former teacher tighter, "I'll miss you too"

"Don't cry! We promised each other we wouldn't cry remember? See? Now you're making me cry too" she tried to laugh it off, but some tears escaped anyway.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it. You're moving, aren't you? I probably won't see you for a while" Hinata whispered to Kurenai's chest.

The two hugged for a while longer before Kurenai finally forced Hinata to break away. Hinata noticed the wet spot on which her head had previously been. "Ah, I got your shirt all wet! I am so sorry" Hinata bowed apologetically.

"Hinata," Kurenai called her name firmly, which made the said girl stop bowing midway and look at her former teacher, "Don't forget; be yourself." Hinata smiled and nodded. "Good, I'm glad. Anyway, it's probably time for me to go. I still have to pack, you know" she chuckled.

With a last brief hug, she walked towards her car, and before stepping in, she waved a last goodbye to Hinata. Kurenai sped off, leaving Hinata on the sidewalk looking after her speeding car. When the car was finally out of sight, Hinata turned to look for her new residence.

On her way, someone bumped into her, causing her to fall backwards. She closed her eyes in anticipation of hitting the pavement on which she was standing, but the contact never happened. Instead, she felt hands on her back. She opened her eyes to a blonde haired, blue-eyed young man, and she blushed at such close proximity.

"Watch where you're going, asshole!" he called to whomever bumped into her. He turned back towards Hinata and lightly pushed her upright. "Are you alright? People can be such dicks sometimes."

Out of sheer surprise, Hinata instinctively pulled away. Realizing how rude her that act must have been, she immediately bowed. "T-thank you."

"You don't need to be so formal!" he said goodheartedly as he pushed her shoulders upright. "But you have to stop looking down while walking, ok? Or else, you'll get knocked down again, and I won't be there to catch you"

Hinata was so taken aback that all she could do was stare dazedly at her savior.

"Naruto, goddammit, did you fucking bump into a girl again?" she was snapped out of her trance and looked for the source of the voice—a guy with raven black hair. She looked back to the blonde in front of her whose head was turned towards the guy with black hair. So his name is Naruto.

"Why don't you shut the fuck up, huh, Sasuke?" he glared at said Sasuke. "Besides, I didn't bump into her. I didn't bump into you, right?" he turned back to her.

Before she could reply, however, Sasuke dismissed the discussion, reminding Naruto that they were almost late. The two hurriedly left, but not without Naruto saying, "Don't forget what I said. Look up!"

And Hyuuga Hinata finally saw the faces of the owners of the feet she usually would usually see.

[Chapter 1 End]

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Gochisosama deshita :)