Wrapping a towel around her body, Hinata quivered and began to dry herself off in haste.
She then put the uniform on her. It consisted of a blue suit, red tie, white button up shirt and blue skirt.
Neji was waiting outside for her with an umbrella. Hinata fixed her damp hair and walked out. She was still trembling.
" Where are you taking me now?"
Neji looked down at her and smiled. " To your school, remember?"
" A-ano…I don't have any books."
" Don't worry. You'll be starting tomorrow. I just want to show you around."
" O-okay."
As the two ambled down the road, Hinata felt her cousin put his arm around her and gasped.
" Gomen, Hinata-san. You looked cold."
She glanced at him and smiled.
He's like a brother…They soon came across a large building with a steel gate in front of it. The girl marveled at the size of the school. There was a sign that read: "Taisei High School."
Hinata looked up at Neji, puzzled.
" Ano…I thought father wanted me t-to attend a private school."
" He did. But a week ago, your okaa-san called us and requested that you go to a public school. She was afraid that private academies would give you bad notions."
" O-oh…"
" Should we go in?"
" H-hai."
The building was warm inside and there were classrooms all over. The halls were empty, though.
Everyone must be in class. It-it's so big.
At the center of the ceiling was glass window. Rain was pouring and she could hear thunder.
Neji led her to an office at the end of the hall.
He opened the door and sitting there at a desk was Tsunade-san: principal.
Hinata saw that she was very pretty with her blonde hair and clean suit. She had a bored expression on her face, but her voice was very welcoming.
" Hyuuga-san, pleasure to meet you again."
" Yes. We spoke about a new student arriving here."
The woman nodded and looked over at Hinata.
" Is this her?"
" Hai."
She extended her hand out. " I am Tsunade. Principal of Taisei High School."
Hinata shook it.
" H-Hinata Hyuuga. Nice t-t-to meet y-you."
" My, my," She giggled warmly. " You're quite the shy one, eh?"
" A-ano…gomen…I-I…"
" You're doing fine," she beamed.
Tsunade walked over to her desk and handed a sheet of paper to Hinata.
" This is your schedule. I'll show you around the school."
Neji walked out and put his jacket on.
" Hinata-san. I have to go back now. Tsunade-sama, may I have a word with you?"
The two walked ahead of Hinata and she stood there, trying to hear what they were saying. The voices were too quiet. The principal nodded and looked back at the blue haired lass.
Neji left and Tsunade led her up the stairs. She gazed down at the schedule sheet and sighed with discontent.
"Oh, dear."
Hinata looked up at her, a little worried.
" Hinata-san, I'm afraid you'll be put in class C-30."
" So…"
" So there are going to be a few boys in there; extremely violent boys. Not to mention uninterested and lazy. Well, lazy in everything except… ugh."
She was frowning and Hinata could tell that she was filled with temper. Her mother had that look before. It was when she was cursing father. At that thought, Hinata's stomach immediately lurched and she became dizzy.
"Alright, here it is!" Tsunade pointed to the sign above a door that read C-30.
She knocked and waited. She knocked again, this time it was harder.
The door opened and standing there was a tall, violet haired lady in her 20's.
" New student," Tsunade whispered.
The teacher stood back to let them in and banged her ruler at the chalkboard to get her class' attention.
" Ahem! Class! We have a brand new undergraduate."
She looked down at her clipboard.
" Hinata Hyuuga, is it?"
The girl stepped in and looked over at the group of students. All of them seemed sleepy and annoyed. Mostly annoyed. However, they instantly focused their eyes on the new girl who was blushing.
Tsunade made her way over to the teacher to whisper something in her ear.
Suddenly, there was a loud, roaring laughter at the back of the room.
Hinata looked over her shoulder and saw a blonde boy standing on his chair, snickering uncontrollably with a…
Oh dear: A porn magazine in hand.
Tsunade slammed her fist onto the table, silencing him.
"Uzumaki, 50 laps around the track! NOW!!!!"
" What!? That ain't right! It's raining outside!"
" 70 laps!"
" Damn!"
The boy stormed off as the class chuckled.
Tsunade examined the room and raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, where's Sabaku Gaara?"
The teacher sighed.
"Probably skipped class to practice his guitar. He must think that is more important than learning chemistry."
Tsunade rolled her eyes and left the room with Hinata. She then showed her the cafeteria, gym, hallways, and other classrooms.
The bell rang and Hinata called Neji to come pick her up. While she was in the car, she played with her fingers and tried to keep herself steady. The girl was nervous about meeting her father.
Hinata took a seat on a mat and waited. She looked at the clock.
9:19. Where are they?
Her stomach rocked while sitting; she walked around the room. A car was coming up the driveway so she immediately sat back down. After a few minutes, young lass jumped into the living room and instantly noticed the blue haired girl.
" Oh…my…Lord! It's you!"
She ran over and hugged Hinata.
" H-Hanabi?"
" Onee-san! I missed you so, so, so much! And I'm so sad about mama! I just went to her funeral. Father wouldn't let you come because he was afraid you'd cry your eyes out. But I cried my eyes out! Everyone was miserable. Oh, Hinata, I'm so very happy you decided to stay with us."
She embraced her sister again.
" Hanabi."
" Yes?"
" Where's father?"
" Oh, right. I think he's…oh! There he is!"
A figure walked in. He had a cane in his hand and flowers in the other.
Hinata gave a weak smile as her father came over and handed her the bouquet.
" Here you go, my dear. And welcome back."
" Thank you. They're very pretty."
" I knew you'd like them." He took off his coat. " The funeral was gloomy today. It was also raining horribly. Did you hear the thunder?"
" H-hai."
" Well, I feel bad about your mother. And I'm sorry, Hinata, that you had to see her die.
She was a good woman."
" Y-yes. I-I do miss her."
" Ah, you seem tired. Why don't you go to bed now? We'll talk in the morning."
Hanabi frowned at her father.
" But…I wanted to chat with Hinata. You know we-"
" In the morning, Hanabi."
Hinata was wrong about her father. He was a genuinely kind person, unlike how mama described him.
She placed the flowers down on her desk and went to bed. That night, she dreamt about mama.
