Chapter 2

~ ! ~ ! Girl of Light! ~ ! ~

"What exactly do our powers do?" Hinata asked. She had been a Girl of Light for about a day now, and couldn't help feeling a little thrill at her secret, at the fact that she was special. All through her life, she hadn't necessarily been flogged and starved, but she hadn't been shown unconditional love, either. It did well for her morale to know she belonged to a group of super powered kick ass girls.

"Well, our greatest strength, and our greatest weakness I might add, is the sun." Yuuni answered, taking a sip from her bottle of pineapple juice.

Hinata was puzzled. "How is that possible?" she asked.

Yuuni set down her bottle on their bench before replying. "The sun strengthens us. Once the sun touches us, no matter how faint its rays are, we are instantly rejuvenated. If we have any wounds, they are healed."

"They are healed instantly?" Hinata asked, amazed.

"Well, not exactly instantly," Yuuni corrected. "But think of the sun as a catalyst. Let's say the wound would be healed naturally in a week, or so, under direct sunlight, it would only take a day, or two, depending on its intensity."

"That's amazing!" Hinata enthused.

"Yes, it is." Yuuni nodded. "Our chakra cannot finish, under the sun. We are untouchable, unstoppable, so long as the sun is shining. We have infinite knowledge, energy and strength. As long as the sun is shining, we are invincible."

This was too good to be true. "What happens when the sun goes down?" Hinata asked.

Yuuni's face darkened. "Anything could happen. A tiny knife cut could kill us. A tumble down the stairs, and we'd be six feet below in an instant. We are at our most defenceless when the sun is down, when it's night."

Hinata shuddered. Suddenly, it didn't sound like such a good life, after all.

Seeing Hinata's face, Yuuni's brightened. "But there are advantages."

Hinata rubbed her suddenly chilled arms. "What are the advantages?" she asked.

"Well, we are creatures of the sun." Yuuni explained. "This means that we can interact with other creatures of the sun, like trees, flowers and suchlike."

"We can talk to trees and flowers?" Hinata gasped.

"Not talk, exactly," Yuuni amended. "But we can get vibes from them. We can communicate with them in a way."

Yuuni had just finished this statement when the warning bell for ten minutes till break over rang out. She stood up, and Hinata did so with her. They were walking towards the classrooms when they saw Naruto alone on the swings, covered with paint.

"Poor boy," Yuuni murmured. "He must be so lonely."

Hinata looked at Naruto in surprise. "Are you talking about this Naruto?" she asked.

"Of course," she answered. "Who else could I be talking about?"

"But he gets along well with everyone! Well, almost everyone," Hinata amended, thinking of Sakura and the other fan girls.

Yuuni crouched until she was at eye level with Hinata. "I want you to become friends with him."

Hinata's face grew hot immediately. No one, not even Yuuni, her closest sister, knew of the crush she had on Naruto. "W-why?" she stammered, shy all of a sudden.

Yuuni's eyes were steady. "I'll explain tomorrow, but promise me."

Hinata nodded her head, her face still red from her blush. "I will." She promised, she couldn't refuse her sister.

Yuuni smiled, getting up. "See you tomorrow, dear sister."

It gave Hinata a jolt to hear her kind, affectionate words. She nodded, and Yuuni went on her way. Hinata went back to class, determined to keep her promise to Yuuni. Not even her shyness would stop her from befriending Naruto. Not even Naruto himself.

Inside class, she sat down beside Naruto's usual seat, and then felt her face grow warm when Naruto sat down beside her.

"Hello," she whispered.

Naruto started in surprise, and then turned towards her. His eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Hinata, isn't it? What are you doing here?"

Hinata's face grew impossibly redder in mortification. Here she was, imagining blond-haired, byakugan-eyed children running about, and the object of her fantasy wasn't even sure of her name. Talk about a rude awakening!

"I was wondering if you wanted to read together for the genin exams." She muttered. "It comes up in three weeks, you know."

Naruto frowned. "Read? Why do you want to read with me?"

Hinata imagined wringing her hands in despair, while keeping a relatively calm exterior. After all, how difficult could making friends with your crush be? "I just thought it would be better for us if we read together."

"Really," Naruto nodded. "Okay, sure. We'll read during break?" he asked, happy that he was finally making friends with a girl that didn't want to break his neck with her fist.

Hinata smiled triumphantly. Her first mission from her sister had gone successfully. She felt she could take on the world. Today Naruto and the ninja Academy, tomorrow, she'll conquer the world!

"Great," she told him, more confidently this time. Life was sweet.

~ ! ~ ! Lunch Break, the next day! ~ ! ~

Yuuni stopped in amazement at the sight before her. Hinata and Naruto were eating Hinata's lunch and laughing like long lost friends. Well, Naruto was doing most of the laughing, while Hinata was staring at the rate of Naruto's consumption of food.

Yuuni stepped forward, happy in her heart. Hinata had done what she'd asked. Not that it was a very great task and all, but still. Junior sisters were supposed to obey their seniors. "Look what the cat dragged here," she commented, startling the two of them.

Instant fear jumped into Naruto's eyes, and that made her heart ache. What troubles were stored inside his heart? She smiled to show that she was harmless, but apparently, Naruto was unconvinced as his eyes moved frantically, searching for somewhere else for he and Hinata to sit.

"Yuuni!" Hinata exclaimed joyously, thrilled at seeing her new sister.

"You know her?" Naruto asked, still unsure. If Hinata really knew her, then there was no trouble. At least that was what he hoped. He still didn't know Hinata very well. He thought she was cool, though. She had shared her lunch with him, and had listened with rapt attention to his tale of his escapades. She was okay enough, he decided. This new character Yuuni, however, was a whole different kettle of fish entirely.

"Yes," Hinata replied, hastening to make introductions. "Naruto-kun, this is Yuuni, who is not really my sister, but close enough."

Yuuni nodded, pleased. Hinata had shown tact in the introduction, but it was not really necessary. At least, it wasn't with Naruto. "What are you guys doing?" she asked.

"Eating." Naruto replied. His answer was clipped. It was clear that he didn't appreciate her presence.

Hinata glanced at Naruto in censure, wondering at his sudden mood change. "Come join us, Yuuni." Hinata invited, while Naruto frowned.

Yuuni declined, smiling. "I just came to tell you that I'll be leaving, and won't be back till a month from Saturday."

Hinata lurched to her feet. "Why? What did I do wrong?" she pleaded, very sure that it was her incapability as a person that was making Yuuni leave.

"You did nothing wrong," was the soothing reply. "I just need to report that I've found a new sister to the queen."

"New sister?" Hinata queried. "Who is she?"

"You, of course," was the patient answer from Yuuni.

"I'll miss you!" Hinata declared, throwing her arms around Yuuni. Their closeness was amazing. It had only been three days, give or take a few hours that they had known each other, but they were so close already. Maybe it was because of the secret they shared, the powers they both had.

Yuuni pried herself away from Hinata with difficulty, and then looked hard at her. "I'm not going to be here for your exams, but pass for me, will you?" she asked. "You too, Naruto," she added.

They both nodded. Naruto's opinion of Yuuni increased greatly, after she asked that question, and saw how she and Hinata had hugged. How he wished he could be hugged like that!

"Take care of yourself." Yuuni whispered, while hugging Hinata once more. "Take care of Naruto too," she added.

She stood to leave, and then with a wink to Hinata, and a wave to Naruto, disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The bell rang just then, and they both stood up, and packed their stuff, returning to the class in silence. But Naruto's mind was spinning. What did Hinata mean by sister? Yuuni was obviously a Yamamaka, and the age difference was enough that they shouldn't even have met each other. And who exactly was the queen? All these questions were making Naruto's head spin, and so he set it aside.

That afternoon, they held each other's hands under the table. They both drew comfort from that simple thing. For Hinata, it was a reminder of her new life. A reminder of the life where she- the worthless heiress- belonged to a group of super-powered girls. A life where Naruto was one of her friends. For Naruto, it was also a reminder of his new life. A life where he actually had a real friend. A life where he had met an adult, except for Iruka, who didn't want to beat him up.

It was, for both of them, the beginning of a very great friendship, and maybe something more.

~ ! ~ ! End of Chapter 2! ~ ! ~

I made enough references to Hinata's sister here. You guys should know that I mean Yuuni, not Hanabi. In this story, Hanabi will almost never be mentioned. Yuuni is Hinata's sister now; after all, it doesn't get closer than sharing secrets and awesome powers. At least not for them. I hope this chapter threw more light on the Girl of Light thing.

Drop a review, please. I'm always thrilled to hear from you.

Love,

Hyacynthianna~!