Sunshine on the Roof

Chapter 1

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Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

/Naruto x Hinata/

At first glance, she thought, the building looked somewhat kind.

The cream-colored walls blended nicely with the background of the neighborhood – blue skies, tall trees, and the other usual houses, although with the few cracks as well as fading colors here and there, it also seemed a little aged. Even then, somehow, that just seemed to add more warmth to the atmosphere surrounding the two-storied house.

She took in a breath of air and felt a smile. Her heart pulsed in excitement, yet she was nervous. This was, after all, the first step she took upon her own – her first takeoff. What kinds of other firsts were there, waiting for her? She did not know, but she was definitely looking forward to them.

The cab was long gone, leaving her in front of the wooden gates. Her luggage sat beside her, unfazed, as they waited for her to take them into their new home. Warm sunshine touched her skin, dancing along with the light breeze that blew. The weather was really nice.

In this start of spring, she was quite ready to start her new beginning, as well.

A little hesitant, she reached for the gates – just to have them opened at the same time from the other side. Her heart jumped and thankfully, she managed to hold back a surprised squeal.

"Oh! I'm sorry to surprise you."

A very, very beautiful woman, clad in a green traditional robe with her long blonde hair tied in pigtails, came out right after.

"Wait," she said, tilting her head a little bit as her face put on a thoughtful expression. "Could you be Hyuuga Hinata?"

The said girl couldn't help but blush under the woman's stare. "Y-Yes, I am."

The woman grinned, her chocolate eyes gleaming beneath the clear sky. "I was expecting you," she told her. "My name is Tsunade – the landlady. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you, too, um… Tsunade-san."

"Don't be so nervous," she chuckled lightly, noticing Hinata's blush and fidgets. "Please, come in!"

Tsunade opened the gates even wider, asking Hinata to come. The girl stepped in and her pale, lavender eyes took in the sight of a small but lovely garden. Green grasses, shrubs, and patches of flowers tidily placed adorned the yard. So many colors, vivid yet soft, filled her sight. The owner must take care of it very well, she thought, because the garden was honestly beautiful.

As if reading her mind, Tsunade looked at the scenery and uttered a remark. "It's pretty, isn't it?" she said. "Ino takes care of this garden very well."

Hinata looked at the older woman, curious. "Ino?"

"She's one of my tenants," Tsunade smiled. "You'll meet her and the others soon, though not all of them are here now. You've been quite the talk."

"R-Really?" Hinata queried. She hadn't met any of her new neighbors yet; perhaps they had heard of her from the landlady. Kurenai-sensei did tell her about some of them, however. Not quite the names, but she heard her neighbors were all kind and friendly people. But to be honest, she would never have expected this kind of response even before she came.

She felt kind of happy.

"Of course," the woman replied. "We were looking forward to meet you – the kids were pretty excited about having someone new."

Hinata couldn't help but feel relieved; they sounded really welcoming. She sincerely smiled, her cheeks blushing. "Thank you."

Laughing lightly, Tsunade gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Well, you certainly sound like a good kid!"

Hinata's cheeks reddened even more as she smiled. Her landlady was really nice, too – she had a feeling that she would love living there. Even the atmosphere, the place, everything; they all somehow seemed to welcome her. Tsunade then took her further inside, and stopped right in front of the house. It looked so much bigger from here rather than outside the gates, she thought.

Tsunade reached to the pockets behind her robe and took out some keys. "There are 9 rooms in this building – 5 on the first floor, and 4 upstairs," Tsunade informed, handing the keys to Hinata. "Yours is number 9. It's upstairs, just next to the stairs leading to the roof."

The young girl nodded, her heart suddenly raced. "A-Alright. Thank you, Tsunade-san."

Tsunade smiled. She then heaved a little sigh before apologizing. "I'm really sorry, I should take you to a small tour around the house right now, but I have to meet a friend. For a drink," she said, winking. Maybe that was why the landlady smelt somewhat like sake, Hinata pondered.

"Feel free to look around if you want, though! There aren't any forbidden rooms you should avoid."

"O-Okay. Are the others, um… around at the moment?"

"The kids?" she asked, "Well, not all of them at the moment." Tsunade made a pondering face; her eyebrows frowned and her chocolate eyes stared at the sky, as if she was counting or trying hard to remember something. "Oh! That brat should be around."

"E-Eh?" That brat?

The landlady blinked for a few times before laughing. "Sorry, it's just another one of my kids," her chocolate eyes glimmered as she looked at Hinata. "Be careful of that one, though – he's quite a rascal!" she said. Hinata looked at Tsunade's face and couldn't help but laugh softly along; she had a feeling that Tsunade didn't really think that way about the said person, seeing as she talked about them in a quite playful tone.

Either way, Hinata smiled, I'm really looking forward to meet them.

"Well now, I should go." Tsunade gave Hinata an apologetic look, and the younger girl shook her head, telling the landlady that it was really fine.

Tsunade let out a small, relieved sigh. She then smiled thankfully to Hinata and took out a small paper from her pocket. "Here," she said, handing the note to Hinata, "you can contact me if you have some trouble or need something."

"Thank you for everything, Tsunade-san."

Tsunade grinned before patting the girl's head and walked towards the gates. She had only taken a step before quickly turning around to face Hinata.

"Oh! I haven't told you, haven't I?"

Hinata's look was baffled, and Tsunade couldn't help but chuckle. She then beamed widely, her eyes bright as she put a hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"Welcome to Konoha Boarding House – I hope you will enjoy your stay."

Hinata waved a goodbye to Tsunade as the older lady walked outside the wooden gates and closed them. For a moment there, everything was silent; except for the sound of the swift breeze and the gentle sway of leaves. Hinata closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and felt everything around her.

She let out a contented sigh, feeling as though she was wrapped in nothing but pure delight.

It felt like freedom.

In all honesty, though, it wasn't that she didn't have enough freedom back in her house – the Hyuuga manor. She was allowed to do quite a lot of things, actually, but… not this. She was allowed to cook her own dishes, press flowers, tend her own garden, or go to various places, but not the one thing she would love to do most; to try and reach her dream.

Back then, almost everything felt already set for her and that there wasn't anything she could do to change it. But she wanted to change the circumstances, because she just couldn't take what she did not want to take in the first place. So she decided to take a step – something she thought she wasn't able to do. She remembered her father's reactions. The thoughts brought the sadness back in her heart.

But she felt a little proud, somehow, because she had managed to muster her courage and fight for her wish.

I… didn't think I can somehow do it.

The sounds of birds chirping blurred her muse. A small smile tugged the corners of Hinata's lips as she then turned to face the building, grabbed her bags, and made her way towards the stairs. After reaching the second floor, she continued walking while glancing at the doors and their room numbers.

Hinata stopped at the last door right next to another set of stairs, just like what Tsunade said. A golden number '9' was attached to the wooden door. She put one of her keys into the keyhole and, after a few tries with the other keys, managed to open the door. Unknowingly, Hinata held her breath and stepped inside the room.

The sight made her eyes gleam.

Her room was simple. There was the living room, with a cozy-looking white sofa, a small television, and a wooden coffee table. On the other side of the room was the kitchen, which was not too fancy, but was already cleaned and well-furnished. She went further inside, entering a door on her left that led to the bedroom.

Hinata thought her new bedroom was just right. A single bed with a warm, brown blanket, sat on the corner of the room, a curtained window just above it. Beside it was an end table with a yellow flower in a glass vase. There was also a white wooden dresser, an empty white table, and there was plenty of room left.

It's perfect.

There was also a bathroom just across the bedroom, and she was honestly relieved that she had a private one. Sharing bathrooms with the other tenants was actually fine with her, but she preferred not if she didn't have to because she would feel uncomfortable.

Hinata placed her luggage in the bedroom, wondering if she should unpack right then and there.

"Feel free to look around if you want, though!"

She blinked, hesitated, and then left the comfort of her new little room.

Hinata closed the door behind her. She looked around – the building still gave off that warm atmosphere she felt before. From the second floor's veranda, she could see the other houses in the neighborhood, even the next house's laundry. Hinata quietly smiled, pausing for a while before turning around and walked towards the stairs.

Tsunade said the staircase led to the top of the house. The young girl had wanted to go to the roof ever since the landlady mentioned about it. She liked how the wind felt on top of a building, blowing and playing with her long, raven hair. So she went further upstairs, until she reached a room.

It was dark; the only light that came through was from a window placed behind her. There was also a door across the room, right in front of her. Hinata's pale eyes glanced at her surroundings — it was probably a kind of storage room, as there was a lot of stuff arranged around the area. Cardboard boxes, old items, unused furniture, and stacks of outdated newspapers leaned against the floor.

Though, quite strangely, there didn't seem to be as many dusts as she would have expected.

Hinata made her way through, walking towards the door. She had this kind of feeling that made her heart pound. There was something, she thought, as she placed a hand on the doorknob. Slowly, uncertainly, she turned it, finding that the door was not locked at all.

The door opened and light came in.

Hinata squinted, trying to get used to the sunshine's brightness. The smell of fresh air tickled her nose, along with the scent of something faintly fragrant… like ramen, but mixed with cologne.

Cologne?

As her eyes could finally adjust to the light, Hinata froze.

Somebody was there. A man, it seemed, for he was taking his top off, revealing a tanned, sweaty, masculine back. He was struggling to take the shirt through his head, and when he finally did, spiky golden hair showed.

Hinata was still frozen. Even though her face was burning and her cheeks were turning a darker shade of crimson every second.

The young man paused, sensing a presence. He turned back to face her frozen state, and his bright, bright blue eyes widened. He looked not much older than her, perhaps only a year or two, or even the same. Those blue eyes met her pale ones, and her first thought was that they looked pretty.

"Wha–?"

But that thought didn't last long as her head felt dizzy and as the guy let out a surprised yell, she yelled, too.

Then everything was dark.

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A/N:

Hello! It's been a long time, hasn't it? (':

I had decided to not make a multi-chaptered story long, long ago, but now I make one /sigh. It's because this story has been poking my muse (even though, to be honest, I'm not a very committed person). ;_;

I really, really hope I can finish this story, though. I quite like the plot, have some more scenes planned, and I'm just crossing my fingers to be able to write them right!

Please forgive my mistakes, and also if there are OOCness in this or other errors, please let me know; your support is highly appreciated, and any kind of comment is welcomed! Thank you for reading. (: