Chapter 2

A change for the better

God made so many years, so many decades and so many centuries, but a person always took all this time as one second, an hour and a day. When he could not achieve his goal in one day, he would shrug off his shoulders thinking that it was JUST a day. Though, god also made days, telling that time should not be wasted just lazing around, brooding over the past.

The first rays of sunlight escaped through the dusty old open window and on top of the unmade, untidy bed where a pale girl was lying in a deep slumber, her long black midnight hair sprawled across the bed. Her surroundings were simple but dusty; her room was slightly small, a closed wooden unpolished closet at one side, a small dusty side table beside her bed with a long blue lamp standing there. Two big suit cases laid under the curtain less windows and the wooden floor needed a scrubbing.

With a small moan, the girl on the bed stirred and slowly opened her eyes, staring at the white cobwebbed ceiling. A small smile graced her fresh pink lips as she crawled out of bed and stretched. She walked towards to one of her suit case and opened it, digging through odds and ends, Hinata pulled out a big blue towel and a few of her clothes.

A small smile again graced her lips as she headed towards the bathroom and she shrugged to no one in particular.

"I have nothing to lose now, only to gain…I am going to change for the better,"

After a quick shower, she looked around at her apartment thoughtfully, looking at things that needed fixing or cleaning.

Her apartment, it was another story; she never thought that when she would have purchased this apartment, she would live here alone after she turned twenty. She always expected to become the Hyuuga heiress and it was kind of a shock to her that she couldn't be one. But she still had hope when she remembered that she had a place to live and had a great amount of money to live without working for the next ten years. She got the money by her kind tactics, missions and tutoring the young ones to become a ninja. She had the brains and she was just helping about, until Iuka-sensei had suddenly paid her. When she was fourteen, her instincts told her to buy herself an apartment because she needed one to rest after she was done training and when she needed some alone time, thinking about her future and her life. It was a good apartment and she had the money back then, thanks to her savings.

Slowly and steadily as she grew, she began to buy stuff and started to fill her apartment with stuff that she always wanted. She never liked the huge Hyuuga compound… it was too big and had very little people.

Hinata stretched and decided to clean up her apartment before going to the Ramen shop to have breakfast. She looked at the wall clock in the TV lounge which stuck six. She was always an early person. "Rise with the birds" her mother use to tell her and she always obeyed.

Opening the coat cupboard, she pulled out a broom, a bucket and a few other cleaning things before kicking the coat cupboard door shut in an unladylike way. The nerve, she wasn't a Hyuuga now; she could do whatever she wanted… even be cold sometimes.

Rolling up her sleeves, she looked determinedly at her apartment.

"Clean Sweep,"

After five hours.

Hinata groaned loudly as her head swing with lack of food but she didn't pant neither complain as she stuffed back the cleaning things in the coat cupboard and looked happily at her cleaned shining apartment. Cleaning was one her qualities that the Hyuugas thought was useless and unnecessary as they was thousands of maids in the compound.

Hinata walked towards her now sparkling room and fished out some money from her purse before stuffing the bills untidily in her pocket. She grabbed her apartment's keys and walked out of her room and then out of her apartment. She locked before she ran downstairs at full speed, trying to hush down her lightly growling stomach.

Standing in one of the similar streets of Konoha, Hinata straightened herself up as the passerbys glanced at her, probably recognizing she was a Hyuuga and an important person. Hinata scoffed mentally as she slipped her hands in her coat's pockets and started to walk towards a common ramen bar.

She ordered her ramen and started eating it, not thanking the shopkeeper like she always did; she glanced around trying to see any familiar faces. She thankfully sighed when she did not and started galloping down her ramen hungrily.

"One bowl of your special please,"

Hinata slightly jumped from her seat and quickly gathered herself, putting a clueless expression on her face as she curiously looked around. A blond girl with her hair tied up in four pony tails sat down next to her, a huge fan at her back.

Hinata quickly shifted her glance towards her half eaten bowl of ramen when she was caught staring. Fighting a blush from coming on her cheeks, she started to eat again.

The blond stared at her, looking up and down her body like a snake hovering its head.

"You are the Hyuuga girl, right?" she suddenly said.

Hinata cling slightly as she looked at the blond and slowly nodded.

The blond grinned sheepishly and shoved her hand in front of Hinata's face that looked expressionlessly at it.

"Well, I am Temari… you might know me from the chuunin exams that took place when we were thirteen! Wow, a lot of time has been passed till then but I still remember those days. But I am a jounin now which is a good thing but chuunin exams were really very fun, don't you think?"

Hinata raised her eyebrows as a number of words came into her mind in lightening speed. Stupid, loud mouth, slightly dumb and very harsh, these were those words. Hinata forced herself to smile at her as politely as she could and shook her head lightly.

"Yeah they were fun," she replied though any normal person would recognize the sarcasm in her voice. Fun? Yeah right… if beaten to the pulp by her cold prodigy of a cousin was fun so sure… it was fun.

Temari shrugged and started to eat her ramen, talking to herself than to Hinata.

"Well, I must say that was a long time ago. But obviously one day we all have to grow up, get married and stuff. I am just saying that because…"

Hinata sighed mentally and tried to focus on whatever the blond was saying but her mind refused to take her orders. Putting her usual smile on her face, she finished her ramen when suddenly she remembered something. Hinata looked up at Temari curiously who was talking non-stop and frowned deeply.

"Ano… Temari-san?" she asked.

Temari stopped in mid-sentence and looked at Hinata with a huge smile.

"Yeah?"

"I am wondering, why are you here? I mean, aren't you suppose to be in Suna?"

Temari sighed deeply and returned to her bowl casually.

"Well, Hinata-Chan, you see me and Gaara came to Konoha for a meeting. We have been here for a couple of days now and I thought everybody knew that anyway we are leaving today," she replied.

Hinata nodded slowly as she paid for her ramen and with a small farewell, she started walking towards the Hokage's office.

"Well looks like you are leaving today," Tsunade said to the red head who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.

No reply came from him as the blond shuffled a stack of papers in front of her before clearing her throat loudly. The door burst open and Shizune came running in, her arms full of papers.

"Yes?" she said in a breathless tone as she looked over at the smiling Hokage.

"Shizune, get some ninjas so they could escort the Kaskage and his sister back to the sand,"

"There would be no need of that,"

The red head's cold voice echoed through the office as he straightened himself up from the wall.

Tsunade got up from her chair and looked politely at him.

"But I insist,"

"More people would be only troublesome,"

"But Konoha's top ninjas will happily escort you safely back to Suna,"

"No,"

"I insist,"

Gaara sighed loudly wishing he went with his sister to get some ramen. He knew that Tsunade was a stubborn person and he just didn't want to see her bad side at the time like this.

"Ok fine,"

Tsunade squeaked happily as she looked at Shizune who went pale for a second. Shizune bit her bottom lip as she put the stack of papers on the Hokage's desk and grabbed Tsunade's arm, dragging her at the corner, grinning sheepishly at the confused Kaskage.

At the corner of the room, Shizune turned her face to look sharply at her best friend also known as the Hokage.

"Are you like NUTS!?" she whispered harshly at the blond's face who raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"What?" she mumbled dumbly which earned an exasperated sigh from Shizune.

"You signed almost the whole ANBU squad on an A-ranked mission. Then you signed most of jounins on missions too!"

Tsunade's eyes widened in realization.

"So that's what the papers were about!" she whispered back.

Shizune's eyebrows twitched angrily.

"And that means we are out of good ninjas! But I just promised the Kaskage an escort! I am so dead! God, please help me!"

Suddenly the heated conversation was interrupted by a sharp knock on the office door. Distracted, Shizune turned away and walked towards the door before opening it.

"Hey Shizune, is the Hokage free?" the black haired beauty asked in a voice of that was hardly recognizable.

Shizune pulled Hinata in before slamming the door shut. Hinata's eyes widened at her actions as she looked around the office. She spotted the Kazkage leaning against the wall and a very pale Hokage.

Hinata was about to request the Hokage to give her a mission so she could get out of the village as soon as possible when she was suddenly interrupted by the Hokage herself.

"I am so glad you came Hinata! Do you want a mission!?" Tsunade said as she stepped in front of Hinata who sweat dropped.

"Er… sure," Hinata replied, her inner conscience telling her that something was certainly not right. First of all, Hinata was never that frank with the Hokage and according to her cousin, Neji… the decision of banishing her from the Hyuuga compound was discussed between her father and Tsunade herself.

"Well, then that's great! Your mission is to escort the Kazkage and his sister to Suna safely,"

Hinata wanted to scoff and stomp her foot on the wooden floor in irritation. Here she was, a jounin, who wanted a long term mission so she could distract herself from Konoha but all she got was to be an escort with those people who probably thought she was weak.

As though her thoughts were written on her face, the Kazkage scoffed loudly.

"You want her to be our escort? I might be able to defend myself from enemies so would be my sister but I don't think so she could even do that… forget defending us,"

Hinata ignored his sarcasm as she looked coldly at him. She didn't blame him, she only got powerful a day ago and she now fully believed in herself that she was capable of doing things that she would never thought of doing before. Even though she knew she had to prove herself to all the people that she wasn't the same Hinata anymore, starting from the Kazkage who was ice cold wasn't.

"Actually Hinata is very powerful, do not underestimate her," Shizune suddenly spoke up.

Hinata looked at Shizune and she was glad that someone stood for her. She looked coldly at the Hokage who was smiling stupidly at no one at particular.

"Well then Hinata, you would leave in an hour, get ready and meet the Kazkage at the gates," Tsunade said as she walked back at her desk.

With a small curt nod and a cold glare at Gaara, Hinata turned and walked out of the office leaving a certain red head in shock.

:P

i made Tsunade cold and stupid and Shizne very bubbly. And they both are best friends! lol

anyway, next chapter will be uploaded as quickly as i get some reviews!