Yume crouched down as she gently set her guitar down in its velvet-lined case, and she paused to admire its wonderful amber color and smooth finish, the strings and the dark brown adornments. It was her most prized possession, her life, her entire reason for being. She ran her fingertips over the guitar before smiling and shutting the case, locking the clasps before rising to her feet. It was deep into the night, and she had performed a few more times after the entire encounter with Naruto Uzumaki. The thought of the shy, dopey boy brought a smile to her face. He and his buddies had dragged themselves home after a few more drinks, but Yume had not been able to get the yellow-haired, blue-eyed boy out of her mind.
"Packing up for the night, Yume?" called a jovial voice, and Yume glanced up to see her boss, Tsunade, leaning in the door frame of the break room. Yume bent down slightly to retrieve her guitar case, getting it up and turning to her boss. Though she was up in age, she had aged marvelously, with smooth skin and luscious blonde hair- not to mention, she was well-endowed. She was a proud, feisty woman, the perfect sort to own a bar, and Yume was quite fond of her.
"Yes. Would you like me to stay and help shut down?" Yume offered, but the woman just chuckled and waved a hand dismissively.
"Of course not. You go on home," Tsunade smiled gently before vanishing back into the bar room. Yume smiled and hefted up her guitar case to stroll down the hallway and exit out of the back door. She shuddered at the sudden cold wind, and she hastily zipped her jacket up as far as it would go and tucked the bottom half of her face into it. Shuffling over the cobblestone alleyway floor, she proceeded out onto the street, walking down the sidewalk in the stillness of the night.
Well, in the city, nothing was ever that still. As Yume strolled along the sidewalk, illuminated by the harsh light of the streetlamps looming over her head, the night hummed with noise. Cars continuously rolled by, their engines purring and speakers booming. Dogs howled and cats yowled, and occasionally she could hear the feverish screeches and yells that indicated a fight between a pair of animals. Although it was the wee hours of the night, there were still plenty of people out and about, but mostly the unsavory type. Prostitutes lounging on the corner calling out to random suitors with their pimps lurking in the shadows, drunks stumbling and cursing down the sidewalk, night owls strolling about simply to have something to do. It was all a symphony of honks and laughs and barks and shouts, and Yume hated it.
As she turned the corner to begin walking down her street, she looked across the expanse of tar to gaze longingly at the silhouette of the sprawling city within the city, the rundown hovels and dirty buildings that called the downtown district home. Over there, the sky was clear, and she could see the stars twinkling in the murky blackness. There was no light pollution, no towering restaurant signs and gigantic hotels and tens of thousands of homes to overpower the little light streaming down from above, just a few wisps of clouds sailing across the murky blackness.
"Beautiful…" she murmured, and she could not help but stop to stare out at the collection of homes. She wondered what their lives were like, living in the same city but such a different environment. They all had jobs, families, homes, hopes and dreams, aspirations, loves… They're people, yet everyone from the city treats them differently. Even Naruto, who had seemed so sweet, had been so worried that she would scorn him simply because of where he came from. Yume had always found the slums strangely beautiful, with its rugged lack of symmetry and hasty, mish-mash construction- and the people. Yume admired the people most of all. She admired their freedom, their passion, their zest for life. They took each day with vigor, putting in all their effort to just survive and thrive. It was inspiring, that these people who had nothing still had so much energy and reason to do their best. Yume hoped to live life like that one day, just floating along playing her music and fulfilled with just being alive.
With a sigh, she patted her guitar case and continued down the street lest she be assaulted by some passerby who took her for easy prey. She plodded down the sidewalk until her apartment complex came into view, a simple three-story building with nice grey brick and white adornments and iron-cast stairs and balconies. It was a nice place, as nice a place as she could hope for in the city, and she had a perfect view of the slums from her window. She found it easy to play when she sat in the sill gazing out at them and wondering what life would be like on the other side of the road.
She held up her guitar case as she hopped up the steps to her apartment, and she leaned if against the outside wall as she fumbled in her jacket pocket for the keys. When she was finally able to fish them out, the wind had picked up once more, and she was shuffling from one foot to the other to keep warm while she inserted the key into the lock and turned it. She bundled herself inside, gently closing the door behind her and kicking off her shoes. She proceeded through the house, tip-toeing so as not to awaken her likely sleeping roommate. When she saw light streaming from the back hallway, she laid her guitar gently on the couch and walked down the hall.
"Hinata?" she called softly as she poked her head into the open door. Her roommate was slumped over at her desk, her purple-black hair covering her face as she snored softly. The light was coming from the desk lamp, illuminating the sad state of the room. The bed hadn't been made, and the trashcan was overflowing with crumpled papers. A half-eaten sandwich lie on the corner of the desk. At the sound of her voice, Hinata stirred and looked up sleepily.
"Oh… Yume. You're home," she yawned and stretched her arms above her head, then swept her hair out of her face. She glanced down at the piece of paper scrawled with nonsense notes and sighed deeply, then rose to begin picking up the balled-up pieces of paper. "How was the night?"
"Good," she answered, and a smile naturally came to her face. "Actually… I gave a boy my number!" she squealed in excitement. Hinata gasped and dropped all of the papers she had gathered to run over to her and grab her hands.
"Really? A boy?" she cried, eyes wide. "Yume! Are you sure you should get involved with someone? I mean… With your situation and all…" she frowned quietly. The euphoria vanished as soon as it had appeared, and she narrowed her eyes and sank down onto the edge of Hinata's bed. Oh… I'm such an idiot… she thought sadly. She was in no position to be getting dates.
"Oh, Hinata, what should I do?" she sighed deeply as she leaned her cheek in her hand gloomily. She had only met him tonight, but when she stepped down onto that table and sang to him, and they gazed into each other's eyes, she had felt something that she had never felt before. She felt like they connected, that their hearts were linked for that moment. "I… I really like him, though," she sighed again and hung her head miserably. Hinata stared at her for a moment before walking over to her and crouching down in front of her to take her hands.
"Yume…" Hinata sighed as she rubbed her hands reassuringly. "I think you should go for it," she said after a minute. Yume glanced up with wide eyes, and Hinata smiled broadly. "You seem to really want to do this- and you deserve it. You don't need to let what happened in the past hold you back. You're living a new life now, and you deserve to be happy! I think being with someone will be good for you."
"Yeah… Yeah!" Yume nodded eagerly, and she wriggled slightly in anticipation. She hadn't dated since she was in high school, and for some reason the thought of being romantically involved with someone excited her. She pulled out her phone and flipped it open to see if she had received a text. She then cried out and dropped the phone, blushing brightly. Luckily, Hinata plucked it out of the air before it could land on the floor and potentially crack. "Oh! He texted me! I'm so nervous, Hinata, what do I say?"
"Um! I don't know!" Hinata cried back and thrust the phone back into her shaking hands. Yume stared down at the screen, where a message notification was blinking repeatedly. She took a deep breath before opening the message.
Hey, Yume! It's Naruto Uzumaki, from the club! Please text me back as soon as you can!
Yume squealed again and tossed the phone onto the bed, unable to look at it for too long before growing incredibly anxious. "Yume? Aren't you going to answer him?" Hinata asked with a small frown. Yume made a whining sound and reached for the phone, staring at the message. She then groaned and flopped down on the bed, burying her face into the pillow and whining louder.
"I can't do it! Oh, Hinata, what do I say? I haven't talked to a boy since high school! High school! What if I look like an idiot?" she wailed, her screechy voice muffled by the soft fabric of the pillow. She wanted so badly to text him back, but she was terrified that she would mess it up. Look at me, getting it all hot and bothered over a guy I barely know! She wasn't sure why she was suddenly so anxious, but her heart was pounding and her stomach was tied in knots. After a minute of squirming and screaming, she finally pulled herself together and sat up, strands of her raven hair out of place. All right. I can do this. She picked up the phone and swallowed nervously. "Oh, how do I start?" she squeaked.
"Um… Uh… O-oh…" Hinata fretted, flustered as she tried to assist her friend in returning the boy's message. "How about, uh, tell him you would like to meet with him sometime?" she suggested. Yume nodded eagerly and pulled up the keyboard to reply.
Hi, Naruto, it's Yume. Would you like to get together sometime? I would really like to get to know you better.
Her heart began to palpitate viciously as her thumb hovered over the "Send" button. She then cried out and thrust the phone to Hinata.
"I can't do it!" she wailed and flopped back onto the bed, putting her hands over her eyes. "You do it, Hinata! I can't!"
"O-okay!" Hinata said meekly, and silence settled over the room. They both cried out in alarm as the message tone rang through the air, and they took a few seconds juggling the phone back and forth before it settled into Yume's hands. Before she could stop herself, she swiped the message open.
Sure! How about tomorrow, around 4? I'll pick you up.
"Ahh! He wants to pick me up! He wants to pick me up!" she cried and jumped off the bed to run in circles around the room, laughing giddily. The nervousness had finally been replaced with sheer joy and excitement, and she leaped into the air to land on the bed beside Hinata and hastily type a reply.
Sure! I'll see you then!
At that final message, Yume huffed and dropped the phone onto her chest and then squealed again, covering her face and wriggling around. "Hinata! I have a date! I have a date!" she cried in delight. She laughed and reached over to wrap her arms around her friend, who graciously hugged her back.
"I'm so excited for you!" Hinata laughed, and they rocked back and forth for a second before relinquishing their hold and sitting up. Yume glanced back down at the phone in her hand, and a stupid smile formed on her lips. I'm so happy… Happier than I've been in a long time, she thought as she held the phone to her chest.
Naruto Uzumaki, huh? She thought. I wonder…