As four months went by, the guards who were looking after Hinata at the Fuka Mental school began to grow less and less everyday. Then, in the month of March, the guards just stopped coming to see Hinata in Fuka completely. At Konoha, Neji told Sakura about it who was happy to hear this. The only thing they have to do now is wait for another month or two before Sakura could mail a letter to Hinata without anyone knowing about it at the institution.
That's gonna take some time to figure out for the pink-haired teen.
Despite that little casualty, she has enough time until then to rescue her girlfriend. She knows Hinata can wait for her a bit longer. Sometimes, Sakura would wonder while her mind was wandering from one thought to the next about how Hinata's doing in that place.
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At Fuka, Hinata was doing well despite getting into a few fights here and there with a few people who picked on her. She learned a few things during her stay there. She learned different karate moves that the Hyuuga used to harm people who are trying to hurt her in any way, along with taking kendo practices after her lessons are done for the day. She learned new phrases thanks to Haruka telling her them. One of them would be, 'You've got guts, kid. Pure, genuine guts!' along with knowing how to hold and fire a gun in a video game Hinata played, how to fight with a sword that Shizuru has in her room that she bought online, and even how to drive a car after playing ten to twenty driving games in the room her and Shizuru shared. Including all the Grand-Theft Auto games since she has a pretty good memory of events. After Hinata was done with the games, Shizuru took one of the teacher's car keys and showed Hinata the inside of a car one day when the teacher went out of the classroom to take a little break.
However, Shizuru didn't expect for Hinata to ride the way she did, though. The Hyuuga girl was able to pop more then one wheelie along with driving backwards without even looking back, and making doughnuts in the concrete. The teachers and students saw this from the white-eyed teen and got a month of detention, along with Shizuru for stealing Yukariko's car keys. Shizuru didn't care, though. She's used to getting in trouble the way she does. She just never thought Hinata would be the one to do those tricks with the car and not dent or scratch it in any way. Shizuru knows that video games are good for people and all, but it seems that their is more to Hinata than what the sandy-blonde girl's seeing right now. That made her smile while sitting in detention with Hinata, and a few other students who got in trouble for something that they weren't suppose to be doing.
The next day, after their detention session, Shizuru was walking back to her dorm room who unlocked the door to see Hinata watching something that made her dance around the room. The Hyuuga didn't notice Shizuru walking in and closing the door behind her. Hinata turned around to see Shizuru walk into the room who jumped on the bed and landed a couple of feet from Shizuru before giving her a hug. Shizuru never mind if Hinata hugged her the way she did.
"Hey, Hinata," Shizuru said.
"Hey, Shizuru," Hinata said ending the embrace, "How was detention?"
"Same as before. Nothing's changed, really," Shizuru said scratching the back of her light brown hair.
"Same as before, same as before. Lousy detention for being boring," Hinata said as Shizuru laughed at what she said.
"Yeah, You gotta point there. But what can you do," Shizuru said laying next to Hinata on the bed.
"Nothing, nothing at all," Hinata said laying her head against Shizuru's chest as the crimson-eyed woman lightly ran her fingers through her now long hair. A few months ago, Hinata asked if Shizuru could cut her hair short so she could fight better without any of her hair in the way. Once it began to grow back, Hinata was able to tie it in a ponytail so it would be easier for the Hyuuga to fight if necessary.
"Do you want me to tell Haruka about you helping us out?" Shizuru asked.
"No, no. Not yet, not yet," Hinata said liking the feeling of Shizuru lightly running her slender fingers through the lilac-eyed teen's hair.
"Why not? If you don't mind me asking."
"Why not, if you don't mind me asking is because I have to wait for the right moment, the right moment for us to leave. Leave and never come back from this hellhole. This hellhole they put us in," Hinata said lightly making circles on Shizuru's arm with her fingers.
"Okay. I'm just making sure, that's all," Shizuru replied as Hinata nodded in understanding of what her friend meant.
The two didn't say anything for a while before Hinata said, "Is there anyone you can't wait to see? When we get out of here?"
"Well, there is one person, but I don't think they'd remember me after being gone for so long," Shizuru said.
"Is it that girl named Natsuki Kuga?"
Shizuru's eyes widened at that who saw Hinata sit herself up from laying on Shizuru's chest. "You.. You know my Natsuki?"
"Yeah. She's one of my favorite customers at the cafe I worked at last year. She talked about you all the time. How you teased her, how you kept doing perverted stuff that embarrassed her, everything. A few times, I would have to tell Natsuki to shut-up, but she just kept going on, and on, and on for hours."
Shizuru smiled hearing this. "Just like Natsuki to talk like that."
"Just like Natsuki to talk like that, but despite all of that, I can tell that she really cares about you. A lot, a whole lot," Hinata said as Shizuru's smile widened when hearing this, "Hey, Shizuru."
"Ara?"
"Do you guys like each other? The way I do with Saku-chan?"
Shizuru lightly smiled again before answering, "Yeah.. I was going to tell her when she graduated from Highschool, but I was sent here before I could get the chance to do so."
".. Oh," Hinata said, "... Hey. Why were you sent here? And who sent you to a place like this, like this?"
"Oh, that's right. I haven't told you about it, have I?"
"No. you haven't, you haven't."
"Well, it started when I was little. My mother died when I was five from a bad case of bacterial pneumonia. My father had to raise me as best as he could without any help. He saw that I was doing all these weird things like stacking and putting things in order, playing with real objects that were around in the house instead of playing with dolls or toys, and having bizarre obsessions with things like anime, how anime came from Japan to America, and anything that had to do with anime or its origin. My dad didn't mind it really. He said that as long as it's something that I loved then he didn't care and I was happy to hear that and so was he when he saw how much I was enjoying what I did. Everything was going fine until he took me to the mall one day."
"What happened?" Hinata wondered.
"Unlike my dad, I was able to hear one sound overlap another, overlap another, and another, and another. It was so bad to me that I began to scream and yell, telling my dad I wanted to go home with my hands over my ears trying to block out the noises I kept hearing in the mall. That happened when I was six; a year after my mom died. Dad thought it was just sudden shock from my mom dying without warning and dismissed what happened in the mall out of his head. However, it was something more than that when he took me to a different mall and I screamed and yelled again. My dad tried different things to calm me down, but it didn't work when it came to being in huge places. I was like that until I was eight when my dad took me to a doctor. That was when after taking so many tests, they diagnosed me with High-Functioning Autism and ADHD which would explain why I was screaming because of me having sensory overload from the sounds I was hearing in the mall those times I went with Dad," Shizuru explained who drank a cup of tea she made before continuing, "So, after finding out what I have, my dad helped me through it by taking me to individual therapy where I talked to someone about how I was feeling and how to cope with it when I was nine. The doctors prescribed me medication for me having ADHD, but my dad told me not to take it because he said, 'Once you take it, it'll give you side effects, and you'll need some other weird medication to cover the one you already have for it, and so on.' So, I never took it."
"That would explain you throwing your meds away, along with pretending to take it, and you talking fast on good days when you're happy the most," Hinata said as Shizuru lightly laughed at that, knowing it herself that it's true.
"Yeah. A while later, when I was fifteen, I met Natsuki in Middle School. I just saw her sitting by herself at lunch and decided to sit next to her. At first, she found me the most annoying person she had ever met because I couldn't keep quiet for very long around her and she would walk away from me because of it. As time when on, though, she began to open up when I was around her and we became best friends. I told my dad this and he was over-joyed to hear me making my first friend."
"That's how Kurenai reacted when Sakura became my friend a few years ago," Hinata said faintly smiling from the memory of her meeting Sakura.
"Natsuki and I were inseparable from one another as the months went by. Wherever Natsuki went, I went as well, and wherever I went, Natsuki would go, too. I didn't mind where she went and neither did Natsuki with me. We just liked each others company no matter where we went. If Natsuki was sick for the day, I would be sad and not talk to anyone. If I was sick, or gone for the day, Natsuki would be like that as well, but more irritable towards people. It was like we were twins or something like my dad would say when he saw us together: black and white, yin and yang, one without the other. He found it cute while on his side of the family, they didn't like me hanging out with Natsuki," Shizuru replied.
"Why? Natsuki's a nice person. A bit on the quiet side, but still nice," Hinata objected.
"Because while I was with Natsuki, her and I got into some trouble while going to Middle School and during our freshman year of High School."
"Trouble while going to Middle and High School. What kind of trouble?" Hinata wondered wanting to know more of Shizuru's past.
"Natsuki and I would always ride down the halls on our skateboards or on our bikes if we were bored. We would always sleep in Midori's history/literature class and we would get in trouble for that, too. Natsuki and I also caused a few food fights here and there, along with Natsuki fighting bullies who picked on me and the same thing for me fighting some of Natsuki's off who were picking or harassing Natsuki. In the end, though, we got detention for fighting in the hallways and other areas of the school," Shizuru said with a smile on her face, "We also got in trouble for talking back to teachers and skipping classes when we didn't feel like going to them. We would always hang out underneath a huge tree that was in the courtyard. Luckily, the principal or any of the teachers weren't able to find us in that tree no matter what season it was. The branches were so thick that they would hide us from anyone who was looking for us."
"That must have been a good time when you were hanging out with Natsuki like that," Hinata said as Shizuru nodded and sat on her bed.
"Yeah. They were the best years of my life. My dad would get mad at me for getting detention, but he didn't ban me from seeing Natsuki. He knew that she was my only friend and would be devastated if I couldn't see my Natsuki for any long length of time. My grandfather told my dad to separate me from Natsuki, but he told him no. I was happy about that, but wasn't very thrilled about doing chores as my punishment, along with doing military drills at five in the morning. If it was to see my Natsuki, then, I didn't care if I did those for the rest of my years in Middle and Highschool. I told Natsuki why I was so tired one day when I was going to see her who told me how crazy my dad was being, but truthfully, it wasn't when I told Natsuki what my dad told me."
"What did he tell you?"
"He said that he wouldn't banish me from seeing Natsuki or anything. In return, however, I had to do what ever chores he wanted me to do, along with the military work out he made me do around five to six in the morning. I agreed nonetheless without a second thought, " Shizuru explained to Hinata with her hands behind her head looking at the ceiling of the bland room.
"Wow. You really didn't want to be a part from Natsuki, huh?"
"Right. That's what Natsuki said, too, when I told her about it. I was surprised a few times when Natsuki came to my house and help me with the chores my dad told me to do that day I got in trouble."
"She must've been one good friend to do that for you, one good friend to do that for you," Hinata said as Shizuru nodded.
"Yeah. And as the months passed, I slowly began to have a crush on Natsuki before I fell in love with her. The only problem was telling Natsuki about how I felt. So, I went and told my dad about it who gave me some advise."
"What did he say?" Hinata pondered.
"He told me to go and tell Natsuki how I felt about her and if she didn't feel the way I did, then ask her if we can still be friends. With that, I went to tell Natsuki at her house since she lives by herself, who gladly accepted my feelings. What made me more happy that day was Natsuki telling me that she's been having those same feelings I have for her for a while now; since the moment she began seeing the real me. I told my dad about how everything went who was happy about it, too. He said that he knew Natsuki and I are meant to be together which made me happy to hear that when my dad told Natsuki and me that when we were coming back from school."
"Aww! That's so sweet! So sweet! But what happened when you guys began dating, dating and all?" Hinata said now laying on Shizuru's bed.
"I'm getting to that. Don't worry." Shizuru sat herself up and looked at the window before the crimson-eyed woman continued. "It was about a year since Natsuki and I became girlfriends. Everything was going well despite Natsuki and me getting in trouble on the regular day to day bases when we were bored during our Sophmore year. Then, I don't know how it happened, but my grandfather on my dad's side found out about us and tried to separate us. Luckily, my dad tried things to avoid my grandfather which worked for a little before he was back to trying to split Natsuki and me up. He would tell me what I'm doing is wrong and it's disgracing the Fujino name, and how I should break up with that troublemaking punk Natsuki."
Hinata's eyes widened when Shizuru told that part of the story. 'That's just like how my dad is like with me when my mom died. Nothing I did made him any proud of me.'
"When he told me that, I said no and how much I love Natsuki before walking away from him." Hinata heard Shizuru talking which snapped the Hyuuga from her thoughts. "Unfortunately, he's stubborn and wouldn't let the subject go no matter what was going on and I was getting tired of it, along with my dad."
"Had enough to hear with it!" Hinata said holding her hand above her head.
"Yeah, that's how I was feeling at the time. It got so bad that he even threatened my father of disowning him and myself from the Fujino Family. Some of my cousins made idle threats about beating me up if I didn't break up with Natsuki, but I didn't listen to them," Shizuru explained scratching her left foot.
"Means you're going somewhere. Somewhere new," Hinata told her roommate.
"Huh?"
"That's what a friend of mine told me. About how feeling your foot itching means you're going somewhere different and how when you're right hand is itchy, itchy, that means you'll receive money. Not sure how, though, not sure how much money you get, though," Hinata said as Shizuru understood what her roommate meant before she finished her story.
"Anyway, the harasses kept coming from that side of the family and my patience was wearing thin. Natsuki and my dad could tell I tried to contain my anger as best as I could and Natsuki would try and calm me down by trying to get me away from my dad's relatives and grandfather. It still bothered me as it continued until I couldn't stand it and had a serious meltdown attacking my grandad and cousins, and almost killing him," She said as Hinata was surprised to hear that, but understood her frustration, stress, and pressure that her family put her through, "A year after that incident, my grandfather called Fuka Mental Institution and told them about what I almost did to him without fully explaining why and what caused me to attack, and here I am to this day."
"... Whoa." Was all Hinata could say from hearing Shizuru's story.
"Yeah, and my dad and Natsuki knew that I didn't mean to attack my grandad when they tried to tell the court about my background along with the stress and panic attacks I was getting from my old man, but the judge didn't listen to them. The court thought I was a threat to society because of what I did when I was sixteen. They didn't even let me speak while I was there. Just because I have Autism doesn't make me ignorant like most of the regular people who in this era of time we're living in. Except you, Hinata. You see it, too."
"I see it, too, I see it, too. I'm not ignorant for society. I-I'm not! And I don't like it. How people do things out of fear so things would go back, back to doing their normal routines," Hinata said sitting up and looking out the window.
"Yeah, I know. Fear has been running people's lives for eons if something new happens or if it's different from their regular routine, ya know?" Shizuru sits up from the bed and walked over to where Hinata was. "But what can you do?"
"But what can you do, nothing. Nothing at all," Hinata halfly repeated as Shizuru put a hand on the brunette's head lightly ruffling it, "But all people are afraid of change, though. Not all people are, not all people."
"True. We're fortunate to have people who care and love us for us. That's what keeps us going."
"Keeps us going, keeps us going. Our friends, family, and the people we love." Hinata was lightly fiddling with her fingers before fiddling with a strand of her hair. Shizuru smiled lightly and gave Hinata a hug who didn't object to it and returned it.
"Come on. Let's go and see what Haruka's up to today."
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The next day, Hinata went to see if any mail came to her in her mailbox. She thought it was going to be empty again like it always is until she opened the box to see a letter in it. Hinata was surprised and happy to see the letter and began to wonder who sent it to her since her father never sent her anything and her friends don't know where she was. The lilac-eyed teen carefully examined the letter for any evidence of the sender. So far, nothing on the front of the letter, but when she looked at the back of it, Hinata saw something on it that made her eyes widen in delight. The back envelope had a picture of a cats head smiling with its eyes closed. It had a little speech bubble that read, "To my beloved Hina-chan."
It belonged to Sakura! Her lovely, lovely Sakura!
Hinata began to happily jump up and down, finally hearing something from her girlfriend for such a long time, when she suddenly stopped, put the letter secretively in the back of her pants pocket, and sprinted back to her room like she was given secret codes from the government and had to keep the letter hidden away from anyone threatening to harm it in any way.