Honey Clouds
Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto
–This Side Up
"Hinata! Are you listening?" The slight, dark-haired girl immediately straightened up and looked up into the clear, cerulean eyes of the girl who was talking to her. She blinked rapidly, clearing the fog from her eyes. What had they been discussing?
"Uh...yeah." She mumbled after a second of hesitation. The blonde girl in front of her seemed exasperated, muttering, "You could just listen to me, you know. I'm not that boring."
"No! I was uh…thinking. G-go on." Hinata tried to smile reassuring at her annoyed classmate. Ino, as the girl was called, eyed her suspiciously but brightened up almost immediately and began telling her story again. Hinata sighed and tried to concentrate on her words this time around, not wanting to infuriate her again.
"So I was walking down the street, next to the candy shop on the corner of 4th street, and there was this guy in the shop – I think he worked there. Anyway, so I look in because he's really hot - and because I needed to get some chocolate, of course. And then he gives me his phone number when I pay for it so now I have a date with him afterschool today," Ino paused, her eyes shining. Hinata dimly wondered if the trail of clouds outside the window were titanium white or egg yolk white. "I wonder if I can get a job there…he said that they were hiring, but high schoolers are not really allowed to work, but so many people do already! It's not like they would know, anyway. Hey Hinata, you think I should go for it?" The blonde scowled again when she looked over at the girl sitting behind her, who was staring into space, not really focusing on her earlier rant. She reached over and pinched Hinata's cheek sharply.
"Ow!" Hinata yelped and pulled away, rubbing her cheek. "Wh-what was that for?"
"For not listening again!" Ino frowned and tapped her fingers on the desk. The long nails made a sharp rapping sound as they hit the wood. "I swear, Hinata, you seem to have to attention span of a fly – you're never listening! So you think I should get a job or not?"
"Why would y-you want to get a job?" Hinata replied unknowingly, smiling weakly at the expression on the other girl's face. "D-do you need money for something, Ino-san?"
"Ugh...I was just," Ino sighed and put a hand to her forehead, muttering, "Never mind, never mind. I should've known you weren't listening from the very beginning."
"G-gomen…"
"It's alright!" Hinata yelped again when Ino slapped her back just a little bit too hard. "So what about you? Something must be going on if you're spacing out all the time. Is it a guy?"
"N-no!" She blushed furiously, wondering if she had answered that too quickly. Hinata fidgeted with her short skirt, not daring to meet Ino's inquisitive eyes. A guy? Of course it wasn't a guy, it never had been. If her problem had originated from the opposite sex, then her life would be so much easier and much less complicated. If it was a guy, at least Hinata would feel some measure of that sweet pain commonly called love rather than the cold emptiness that polluted her life. If it was a guy, Hinata wouldn't cry herself to sleep every night in the fetal position, trying to pull herself back together.
But Ino couldn't know that.
"It must be," Ino's blue eyes seemed to pierce a hole into Hinata's forehead. "You're blushing and your ears are red. Spill."
"St-stop it, I-Ino-san," Hinata protested weakly, "I-it's not a guy…"
A tall shadow fell over the two girls. "Hey, Ino, are you bothering Hina-chan again?" A familiar voice reached Hinata's ears.
"Naruto!" Ino scowled, knowing that she wouldn't get any more answers out of the quiet girl with him around. "Hinata's having guy problems and she won't tell me about it."
"What?" Hinata peeked up at Naruto, who seemed bewildered and confused. She cringed when he shook her shoulder, "Hey, Hina-chan? Really?"
'N-no!" They seemed unconvinced.
Hinata sighed and hid her head in her hands. Sometimes she wished that everyone would leave her alone like they all used to – then she wouldn't be forced to face Ino's questions, Naruto's sometimes confusing concern, and Uchiha-sensei's strange glances. But then, she thought, Uchiha-sensei had never really ignored her before – he had always been there. Ever since Naruto attached himself to her, Hinata slowly started to become integrated with the rest of the class. She didn't know how to handle this bustling social life around her – she had never had many friends, even back in Osaka she had really only confided in her cousin and younger sister.
And then she had to move to Tokyo, where she thought she would face obscurity again, but instead, she was forced to socialize with people she never met before. It's all his fault, she looked up at Naruto, who was having a heated discussion with Ino. He had pulled up a chair, sitting backwards on it, looking every bit the model delinquent. Blond hair, markings on his cheeks, dirty and ruffled school uniform and the lack of any books or even a backpack to carry things in. Sitting in front of Hinata, Ino had platinum blond hair, which was held up in a high ponytail above her head, and her school uniform was buttoned a lot lower than was allowed, exposing her generous chest. As usual, she had thick makeup on and a dangerous glint in her eye. Hinata sighed, she should've known better than to mix with Naruto's usual crowd.
"Hinata! Hinata!" Ino pushed the dark-haired girl's head back with a flick of her forefinger. Hinata clasped her forehead, wincing at the dull pain. The blond girl heaved a sigh, gesturing toward the confused girl. "See? She just blanks out in the middle of a conversation! It must be guy problems. I was like that too."
"Psh," Naruto replied, "Hina-chan is nothing like you, Ino. You hit on every slightly attractive guy you see, like that spiky haired guy in the candy shop. I don't even know what's so good about him."
"Good, then I would be forced to question your sexual orientation." Ino turned up her nose and smiled haughtily, "You're obviously straight, so you wouldn't know if a guy was hot or not. I bet you think Uchiha-sensei is ugly."
"Sasuke-kun's not ugly," Naruto protested, "He's just not that good-looking – "
"See what I mean?" Ino cut him off, "Obviously Uchiha-sensei is the hottest guy in this whole city. It's not like you're in any position to say otherwise."
"What do you mean?" Naruto retorted hotly, "I'm a thousand times better looking than Sasuke-kun!"
"Oh really?" A velvet voice from behind Naruto interrupted into the conversation. He cringed and looked up, smiling weakly. "Er...uh…Sasuke-kun...uh…hehe…"
"Hinata." Her name had turned into a command. She looked up, fearing the anger that she thought would be present in those black orbs of her teacher. His features were flawless as usual; black bangs ruffled slightly, spiked layer hanging down in the back, fathomless dark eyes and pale, poreless skin. However, he seemed slightly amused and her fear abated. She concentrated on his forehead, not daring to meet those black eyes that were staring at her inquisitively with much more fire than the previous blue ones. "You could just tell them to go away if you want. Don't be afraid."
"I..I," she gulped, finally meeting his eyes. "It's okay, sensei. They w-weren't really bothering me."
"Really." His tone indicated a statement more than a question. To her relief, he turned his attention from her onto her two companions, who were trying to sneak away. He grabbed Naruto by the back of his jacket and put a firm hand on Ino's shoulder, preventing any escape.
"So…" he seemed amused. "Who's going to tell me what just happened, hm?"
"Uh…" Naruto fibbed, "We were just talking about how attractive you were and uh…how you're a thousand times better looking that me!" Ino nodded vigorously, all but forgetting her earlier argument with Naruto. She looked up at Sasuke imploringly, but he seemed not to notice. Hinata almost giggled when Ino pouted and glared at Naruto, as if it was his fault that they had been captured by Uchiha-sensei. However, after a moment, Hinata stopped smiling, wondering if she should help her two earlier companions. Uchiha-sensei was known for his eccentric and grueling punishments. As Naruto had recounted earlier, his last detention had resulted in cleaning out all the gum from under the desks with nothing but his bare hands and sometimes his teeth. Then, just to show his 'concern' for his student's health, Uchiha-sensei had washed Naruto's mouth with soap. Food hadn't tasted quite the same ever since.
Hinata pulled her sleeves over her nail-bitten fingers, feeling the soft material in her palms, concentrating on the pastel colored corkboard in the far corner of the room. Her stomach ached slightly and her head was pounding. The screeching noise coming from her classmates weren't alleviating the situation; just making it worse.
"…we weren't bothering her, I swear!" Ino's voice reached her ears again. Hinata looked up just as Ino said, "And she agrees too!"
"Wh-what?" Hinata whispered, what were they talking about? She looked from Uchiha-sensei to Ino and then back again. The blonde girl mouthed for her to nod and agree with her. Unknowingly, Hinata ducked her head quickly in an awkward nod, not realizing the full implications of her action. "Y-yeah, I…um…agree?" She winced when her affirmative statement turned into a question.
"Really." Sasuke now focused on Hinata and she almost whimpered when she saw the unnatural amusement in his eyes. "Do you really think so, Hinata?"
Confused, she looked at Naruto and Ino, who were behind her teacher. They were mouthing and pointing wildly, and somehow, she got the message: she was to say 'yes' to everything Uchiha-sensei asked. She bobbed her head quickly, her dark locks swaying, "Y-yeah."
"That's interesting," he leaned down, his black eyes basically leaking humor and sarcasm. She was tempted to back away, but her back was firmly supported by a chair. "I didn't take you for that sort of girl, Hinata."
"Huh?" She furrowed her eyebrows, not knowing what he was referring to. He smirked at her apparent confusion.
"It's alright," he said suddenly, straightening up, leaving Hinata with a strange case of vertigo. "I will remember that; just to be careful. You are all dismissed."
Hinata let out a relieved breath. She grabbed her books and stood up, stumbling a bit. Ino and Naruto had already recovered sufficiently and were halfway out the door. Hinata grabbed her shoulder bag and followed them out. When they were a good distance from the classroom, Hinata noticed that it was eerily silent. Normally, both of them provided a constant stream of chatter without her having to say anything, but they seemed to have lost the will to talk.
"Um…Ino?" Hinata tapped the blond girl's shoulder; she didn't respond. "What were you and Uchiha-sensei talking about?"
"Err…" Ino looked away, staring at the busy traffic in the six-lane streets of Tokyo as if it greatly interested her. Her hands were unnaturally fiddling with the opaque white button on her school uniform. "Um…it's…it's nothing. You wouldn't like it."
"Was it that bad?" Hinata felt her stomach drop. What horrible thing had she admitted to agreeing to? Naruto seemed to notice her distress.
"It wasn't that bad," he piped up, smiling weakly. "Actually, Ino might've been right, for all we know."
"Naruto!" Ino hissed. Hinata looked at both of them, confused. "She doesn't need to know!"
"She'll figure it out sooner or later!" Naruto retorted, "Besides, it can't be that bad. For all we know, she might actually think that Sasuke-kun is a handsome devil too! I don't know about the delicious part, though."
Hinata felt blood rush to her face and suddenly, the world started to shake around her. "Wh-what?" She whispered weakly, stopping in her tracks. "I…what?"
"Look at what you've done now, baka!" Ino shouted angrily at Naruto and pushed him away from Hinata. She reached over and held the dark-haired girl's hand, shaking it gently. "It's not that bad, Hinata, honestly. I'm really really sorry for dragging you into this and all…Hinata? Are you even listening?"
Hinata let out a shaky breath, her mind still reeling from the impact. So now, Uchiha-sensei thought that she said he was a handsome devil and that he was…delicious? No wonder he seemed so amused and said that he thought that she was 'different.' What did he think of her now! She couldn't seem to control the uncontrollable blush rising to her cheeks, her eyelids fluttering as she struggled to stay conscious. This was really too much for her; she was already exhausted and tired. Crying to sleep every night and scarcely eating did that to her. And now…she sank down on the pavement, ignoring the stares of the other pedestrians on the sidewalk. Dimly, she could hear the loud argument between the two blondes on either side of her. She clapped her hands over her ears, why couldn't they just stop? Uchiha-sensei must think that she was a complete oddball…
"Just stop it!" She heard a voice shout. "Stop arguing all the time! ENOUGH ALREADY!" With much surprise, she realized that she was the one shouting. The two people in front of her went completely silent. Hinata blushed, realizing how inappropriate her sudden outburst was. "Uh…" she stuttered, "It's alright..Ino…Naruto…I'll be fine. I'll get going now."
She stumbled off in the direction of the bus stop, vaguely aware of the ensuing argument that erupted behind her. Does Naruto think that too? She sat down on the wooden bench, her legs trembling. She took a deep breath, shuddering at what had happened earlier. How was she supposed to face Uchiha-sensei the next day? More importantly, she wondered why Naruto had agreed so happily to that too. She glanced back at the arguing pair a few blocks off, walking in the opposite direction. Uchiha-sensei was handsome and definitely crush-worthy, but when it all came down to it, he was a teacher.
Tokyo transit bus number 12 lurched to stop in front of her, spewing brown smoke from behind it. The driver with dry blonde hair smiled slightly and tipped his hat as Hinata stepped onto the bus. She sat down next to a slouched man, dressed in something akin to rags and holding a hot cup of coffee. There were other high school girls on the bus, chattering happily about their lives and boyfriends. Businessmen with sharp rectangular glasses tapped on their laptops, occasionally muttering angrily.
Life went on.
Hinata looked out the windows of frosted glass, the image of Naruto repeating in her mind. He couldn't really think that way, could he? She felt her heart rate quicken. No, she reprimanded herself, there was no point to this conversation with herself. Why would it matter if Naruto thought that she liked Uchiha-sensei?
However, even as she pondered this question, she did not dare to think that maybe, Ino had been right.
Hinata crumpled onto her couch as soon as she put down her backpack. It was a daily habit now – as soon as she walked into her empty condo, any earlier cheer quickly disappeared and left devastating loneliness in its wake. Today would be the fifth day she didn't eat dinner. It wasn't like she was hungry, anyway.
She curled up, a sob already forming. Today had been worse than all the other days ever since Naruto had befriended her. Her eyes closed and she ducked under the warm afghan on the couch, hot tears spilling onto the fabric. Tokyo was horrible; embarrassing situations, confusing feelings and smoldering black eyes all rolled up into one messed up life. Her nails raked at the couch, trying to find a foothold as she felt the world crumble around her. She just wanted to go home and forget all of this. Naruto had been nice to her, but she felt her heart clench whenever his face appeared in her mind. The pain only magnified when she thought of Uchiha-sensei. They were so normal and integrated into society; she wasn't worthy to be in their company.
"Hinata?" She yelped and pulled the blanket off of her, tears still running down her cheeks.
"Who…" her voice trailed off as she saw who it was. Black hair, pale skin…and disconcertingly white eyes, identical to her own. "N-neji?"
"Hai," his silvery eyes were hard and concerned. Hinata quickly wiped at her face, trying to erase any tear marks. She smiled weakly, putting on a show of bravado.
"Wh-what are you doing here, Neji?" She asked, trying to distract him from her earlier tears. He hesitated, then complied.
"Checking up on you, I–"he cleared his throat,"Hiashi-sama wanted to see how you were doing." He turned his full attention on Hinata, who was still trembling slightly from her tears. "And I see that you're not doing well at all."
"I-I'm fine." I seem to be saying that a lot lately…
"No, you're not." His eyes were cold, seeing straight through her obvious lie. "If you were fine, you wouldn't be crying and starving yourself to death."
"I-I'm not starving myself."
"Hinata," Neji closed his eyes and sighed, "There is not one speck of food in this entire house and that dish detergent is still full. You've been here for more than a month."
"I-I've been going out to eat."
"You're not a good liar," he whispered, "you never were, Hinata. Tell me what's wrong. You miss Osaka, don't you?"
"Neji…" she couldn't stop the tears from dripping down her cheeks again. She pulled up the blanket, hiding her face from her cousin. She couldn't cry, no no no no … but the tears gushed out relentlessly. Hinata cried, feeling as if her heart would break. She was aware of her cousin's arms around her, gently wiping her face with tissues and stroking her hair the whole time. It all came at her at once – all of these weeks living in a city of strangers, forcing herself to smile everyday. Faces and images flashed through her head, her classmates, the bus drivers, teachers…especially the one with smoldering black eyes.
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry for the lack of Sasuke/Hinata interaction, but that will all be made up in the next chapter, I promise. This story will mainly be told from Hinata's side, so we won't get to see that much of Sasuke until later on when…uh…things…happen. Hehe. Please review!
moonhaku
p.s. props to those who recognize the bus :]
