A/N: Please note that in Japan, the last name usually proceeds the first for introductory purposes. For example, 'I am Hyuga Hinata'. I know that most of you will already know this, but I just thought I would make it clear. Also, I would like to say that I do have a firm knowledge of Japanese as I have studied it extensively for five years. I also have Japanese friends who help me.
I am sorry that I said that Konohamaru and Naruto would be in this chapter! They aren't in chapter four, but they will be in chapter five.
Thank you to everyone for your support! I hope that you enjoy chapter four!
Chapter Four: Hinata's Transformation
Three frost bitten days after Neji had visited his cousin in the bedroom that had become her bedraggled bastille, Hinata disentangled herself from her sweaty bedclothes and stumbled across the tatami matting towards a small sink in the corner of the room. Struggling to stand on her weak legs, Hinata grasped either side of the basin and utilised it as a means of support. Slowly, she lowered her face to gaze upon her forlorn reflection in the murky water. Reaching her hand into the unsanitary substance, Hinata lifted the plug from the sink and observed the swirling brown matter as it escaped into the drain. Then, replacing the plug, Hinata proceeded to refill the basin and wash her face. After a several minutes of rubbing soap onto her skin, Hinata gazed at her soapy reflection in the clear water. Her violet eyes appeared sharper and refreshed. After rinsing her face, Hinata walked over to her cupboard and rummaged through her dark coloured clothing. She sighed in a woebegone manner, none of these coats will do, Hinata thought to herself before sitting down heavily on a rucksack lying on the matting. Looking down swiftly, Hinata noticed that the rucksack she was sitting on was not her own. Quickly rolling from her seated position on the bag, she proceeded to open it inquisitively and was surprised to find that it belonged to Shino. Suddenly, an expression of comprehension dawned on her face. So this is why Neji-san could not find my bandages. We must have confused our backpacks after training last week, Hinata concluded. She wondered why she had not noticed this neat, kempt piece of luggage sooner; after all, it contrasted distinctly with the rest of her bedroom which was currently in shambles. Just as Hinata was about to close Shino's rucksack, she noticed that it contained one of his dark winter coats. Her eyes brightened; it was exactly the variety of cloak she had been searching for. Hinata hesitated, but this belongs to Shino. What if he is bothered by me wearing it? Hinata closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, before screwing up her face at the foul smell occupying the air of her bedroom. The only way in which she would be leaving this cave today would be under the coat belonging to Shino. Hinata stood up and lifted the coat from the bag, knotting her eyebrows with uncertainty. Slowly, she dressed herself and fastened the warm black coat. It was quite long and bulky; and the high collar almost rose up past her eyes, but it certainly was suitable for Hinata's purpose. Opening her bedroom door, Hinata was welcomed by the freshly minted morning light and a pleasant winter breeze. She set off quickly past the bedrooms of her family members, briefly stopping at the kitchen to take an apple before clearing the gates of the Hyuga estate.
Trotting carefully over the frost-covered earth, Hinata made her way towards a small and well-kept house on the street adjacent to her own. Upon reaching the front door, Hinata took in a deep breath of morning air and sighed in a surrendered manner. Knock, knock. Hinata knocked politely on the front door. Silence followed. Then…
"If I do not make it to the front door before Shingo I will have to run around the garden twenty times, without shoes!"
"If I do not make it to the front door before Mayu I will have to climb the stairs fifty times in three minutes! No, two minutes!"
The door of the house flew wide open and two academy-aged children, one boy and one girl, gazed up at the black-cloaked figure standing before them on the doormat. They were both wearing forest green pyjamas and had large, round black eyes and long eyelashes.
"Who are you?" The young girl asked impudently.
Hinata pulled down her collar to speak to the children in a clear voice.
"Ah…I am Hyuga Hinata. I was wondering if your brother was at home. Oh, and I am sorry to present myself at this time of the morning!" Hinata added quickly.
"Lee is not here now," said the boy, ignoring Hinata's apology.
"Oh…I see…" replied Hinata.
Just as Hinata was turning away from the twins, Mayu piped up excitedly.
"He is probably visiting Gai-sensei. Because that is what he usually does!"
"Ah…Of course. Thank you very much for your help!"
Hinata, giving a slight bow to both of the twins, had the door promptly closed in her face whilst in mid-bow. Straightening up, she began her walk to the home of Gai-sensei. This made her slightly nervous. In spite of the fact that she knew of the house in which Gai-sensei lived, she had never visited a sensei at home in the past, not even her own Kurenai-sensei. Hinata supposed that as she was no longer a gennin and a student of one of the jounin, it was more appropriate for her to visit the home of Gai-sensei. He was no longer an instructor, but simply a fellow Konoha ninja; he was a comrade. It was not long before Hinata reached the small house that she had often seen the black haired ninja donning a green spandex suit disappear into. This time, Hinata was slightly more cautious about approaching the lacquered front door, equipped with a frog-shaped door knocker. She trod slowly and quietly up the snow covered path towards the door, not knowing exactly why she was bothering to approach the entrance with stealth, she would be presenting herself in a number of seconds anyway. Hinata pulled Shino's coat up over her face and knocked on the door, screwing up her face in apprehension and holding her breath. After a few tense seconds, Hinata exhaled and stared at the green door. All was silent apart from the sound of the falling snowflakes. Just as Hinata was about to knock for the second and final time…
"Dainamikku-Entori!"
CRASH!
Hinata tumbled back down the garden path as woodchips flew every which way and the frog-shaped door knocker went rolling past her hand. Lifting herself from the ground, Hinata turned to stare in fear and disbelief at the person who appeared to have just kicked down his own front door. Gai-sensei, wearing a green towel around his waist and a strawberry-patterned shower cap was grinning toothily down at Hinata, his right hand extended in his 'nice guy pose'. Hinata had to shield her eyes from the glint of his tooth.
"Heeeenata! What can I do for you this morning?"
Hinata, who currently had the collar of the coat pulled up over her eyes, mildly registered that Gai-sensei had succeeded in identifying her straight away. I wonder if there was much use wearing this after all, Hinata sighed.
"Ah, well I-I am sorry to have disturbed you and caused this destruction in your garden!" Hinata gasped as she gazed at the woodchips scattered at her feet.
Gai-sensei continued to smile down at her as if she had not uttered a single word.
"Ah…well, I was just wondering if Lee happened to be with you this morning…Gai-sensei?"
Gai-sensei turned on the spot and resumed his nice guy pose, his tooth glinting once again.
"No, no! Not this morning. Lee is at Tenten's house playing shogi with her grandmother who is said to be Konoha's current senior champion. He has vowed to become a great strategist like Shikamaru!"
A tear slid town Gai-sensei's young face.
"That's my Lee! He's always striving to be the best!" Gai sobbed.
"Ah, I see. Do you think that it would be appropriate for me to interrupt them?" Hinata questioned with uncertainty.
"No! No! You're a friend Hinata. You know Lee would never deny the opportunity to help a friend in need! That wouldn't be our Lee! No, I am sure he would be happy to help. In fact, he would be disappointed if you didn't go to him in your time of need!" cried Gai dramatically.
"Ah…in that case…I will go to Tenten's home. Thank you very much Gai-sensei. I apologise again for the disturbance!" Hinata bowed low.
"Any time Hinata; any time!"
And, with a whip of his towel and a flash of strawberry red, Gai disappeared into his door less home.
By the time Hinata had made her way to the terrace house belonging to Tenten's family, she was beginning to doubt her original goal for the morning. Nevertheless, she knocked lightly on the front door and waited for a response. There was no answer. Hinata observed the crowded street on which Tenten lived; the restaurants and stores were bustling with people. Realising that she had not knocked loud enough, Hinata tried once more. She strained her ears to differentiate between sounds issuing from inside the house and those issuing from the busy street.
"I will be there soon. Wait a moment."
Neji-san!
Hinata heard the voice with seconds to spare before the iron door handle began to turn. She fled to the side of the house and leant against the wall, the sound of her shallow breathing concealed by the noise of the street. She could hear Neji walking down the garden path. If she moved, she would immediately give away her position. However if she remained, she would be noticed when Neji turned around. Hinata pleaded with herself to think of a way to escape the situation. Neji thought that she was at home and feeling extremely ill. This would not be easy to explain. Hinata felt as though she was suspended in the moment as she watched a young boy playing with a rabbit in the street. That's it! Whispering, "Transform!" Hinata placed her hands and fingers in the correct seal position and observed as a cloud of dust engulfed her momentarily. When the dust cleared, Hinata found her eyes to be level with the fence. Looking down at her body, she was relieved to see that the transformation jutsu had worked effectively. She was now a replica of the small boy in the street. Except for my hair! The boy's short hair was now Hinata's unique shade of blue. Hinata panicked, but it was too late to amend her error. Neji turned around and spotted Hinata immediately, pressed against the wall of the house.
"Was it you that knocked on the door just before?" Neji questioned solemnly.
"Ah…Ah yes, yes it was me," Hinata replied, painfully aware of the fact that her lack of confidence may cause Neji to draw parallels between herself and the young boy.
"Why did you knock? Are you looking for Tenten or her mother?"
"Ah, no…I'm looking for Rock Lee. I heard that he was here this morning," Hinata replied nervously.
"Oh, yes, he is inside. Why are you standing there? Do you want to come in?"
"Oh! Well…ah, well…would it trouble Lee to speak to me outside for a short while?"
Neji smiled suspiciously. "You certainly are articulate for someone your age. And no, Lee can come and speak to you here." He sighed exhaustedly. "It would be nice to have a break from him actually," he added as an afterthought.
"Ah…thank you very much, Nej- I mean, niichan," Hinata replied breathlessly.
Neji nodded and disappeared into the house once more. Seconds later, Hinata heard the noise of rapidly moving feet and before she had time to register what was going on, a flash of green streamed past her and down the garden path. She was so surprised that she almost toppled over. She stood stock still on the path as Lee doubled back and came to a halt in front of her.
"What can I do for you this morning?" Lee grinned down at Hinata, winking.
"Ah! Lee-kun! Could I ah, bother you to talk with me for a few moments? Only I would rather if we went somewhere a little further away from this house if that is not too inconvenient for you, of course!"
"Oh! This sounds important. Alright then, you lead the way," Lee replied happily.
Hinata glanced around nervously before remembering that there was a small nature reserve on the next street. As she walked down the street, she could feel Lee's inquisitive eyes on the back of her head. She turned to smile at him apologetically and he took this as a que to ask a question.
"Otoutou-chan? How do you know who I am?"
"Ah, well, can I…would you mind if I answered your question at the nature reserve? We will be there in a moment! I promise!"
"Oh! So that is where we are going! Why didn't you say so sooner?"
With that, Lee lifted Hinata into the air and placed her on his back crying, "Yosh! Let's go!" before thundering off down the crowded street at an incredible speed, snow flying every which way in his wake.
They reached the nature reserve in seconds and before Lee had the time to place Hinata on the ground, the weight on his back increased significantly, causing him to collapse onto his knees. Hinata, complete with Shino's large black coat, lay on the ground for a moment before moving over to Lee to help him to his feet. However, as expected, he was the one that came to assist Hinata.
"Hinata-san! It was you! What were you doing?"
"I am sorry for being dishonest with you Lee-kun. But I couldn't let Neji-kun see me here. He believes that I am at home and unwell."
"Ah, I see. But I don't understand. Why does he think that you are unwell?"
"I have been inside my bedroom for a week now," Hinata replied, staring despairingly at the snowy ground.
"I still don't understand…Why?" Lee questioned, his voice softening.
Hinata stared at Lee, her violet eyes wide and distressed.
"Na-Naruto-kun has returned!" she stuttered, her voice overwhelmed by emotion.
Silence followed. Finally, Lee began to speak.
"Oh! I understand now," he replied, grinning warmly. "I heard Kiba talking about how you always seem to faint when you see Naruto-kun. So you were afraid of seeing him and fainting in the snow? Then you really might get sick!"
"Ah, well…something similar…I-I suppose…" Hinata replied, smiling weakly at Lee's amusing response.
Lee stared at Hinata's flushed face for a moment before clearing his throat and continuing.
"There is something that you wanted to talk to me about this morning?" Lee questioned.
Hinata was brought abruptly to the present moment and the matter at hand.
"Ah, yes!" Hinata drew a deep breath and continued. "I was wondering if you could tell me…what it is about Sakura-san that you…ah, seem to admire," Hinata stated bashfully.
Lee stared at Hinata mild shock. Hinata, believing that she had offended Lee is some way, turned away from the agape expression on his face. Moments later, as she was turning back to face Lee and apologise for the offence, she noticed the tears streaming down his face and his clenched fists held close to his heart.
"Sakura-chan!" he cried. "Why do I love her, you ask? Well, there are too many reasons to even begin to count! Not only is she kind, compassionate and intelligent, but she is also confident and strong, skilled in many different fields and oh how she is beautiful!" Lee bawled in earnest.
Hinata stared in disbelief at Lee's shameless display of affection for Sakura. As he continued to praise Sakura, Hinata's attention was brought to the fact that she too was crying out for the one that she loved; the hunger in the centre of her chest was unbearable… How could it be that Lee found expressing his love to be such an effortless task?
Confidence. That was it. Lee had said that he adored Sakura's confidence. Lee was a confident person. Naruto was a confident person. Why did Naruto enjoy Sakura's company? She was confident. Hinata sighed. She had known all along that she would have to muster the courage to bear her true self to the world. If she chose to remain in her warm and comfortable cocoon, it would, without a doubt, eventually become her hell. Now was the time to break free of the restrictions imposed on her by herself. She would find him. She would no longer run away. It was time to escape the cocoon she had entered as a caterpillar, and leave as a butterfly.
