NAME: HYUUGA HINATA
BIRTHDAY: TENTH

Oh, this was terribly lonely.

Hinata's eyes strained over the tiny print covering page after page of the book in front of her. She was supposed to learn the basics of Kokugaku philosophy by this time tomorrow by reading through the 300 page monster. She wasn't even sure why she had to know it, why her father thought it was so important - the ideas were pretty much the exact opposite of Hiashi's ideals. Still, her father would be quizzing her tomorrow on her knowledge of the subject, and Hinata really couldn't afford to mess up on this one.

"Kyuujitai... Shinjitai..." she murmured, her fingers tracing lightly over the corresponding kanji. Hinata let out a sigh, her head dropping and hitting the table with a thud. She could say the words a thousand times, but it didn't mean their meaning would stick with her. She couldn't honestly believe she was expected to do this today. Did Hiashi even realize it was his daughter's birthday?

Hinata frowned. It was doubtful.

With another heavy sigh, she closed the book and placed her head on the table once more, letting the smooth wood cool her burning cheek as she stared out the large classroom window. It was recess, and all the other kids were outside, like they should be on such a nice day. Hell, even Iruka had gone out to enjoy the weather, not realizing he was leaving his smallest student to remain alone in a stuffy room as she tried to make sense of incomprehensible middle age philosophy. She gazed outside longingly. Hinata wanted to be where all the other children were.

"...And oh man, it'll be so great!"

Hinata's ears perked with the arrival of another's voice. Apparently, some of the other kids had decided to stay inside as well, and sure enough, a few seconds later a munching Chouji and a bored Shikamaru marched into the room, led by an energetic Naruto.

"Oi, Naruto..." Shikamaru grumbled over the loud munching of his best friend. "What exactly are you planning to do again?"

"Aha!" he responded happily. "I'm glad you asked, Shikamaru! You see, this is my super special prank of amazingness plan! To get back at Iruka-sensei for calling my oiroke no jutsu idea stupid. You see, I'm going to take this buzzer," he paused, holding up the small device. "And put it in this bowl of candy!" He raised the bowl above his head with one hand, and Hinata was able to see wrappers sticking out from the top. "I'll put it on Iruka-sensei's desk, and when he sees it, he'll be unable to resist. But when he sticks his hand in - bzzzzzt!"

"Uh-huh," Shikamaru replied drolly, raising an eyebrow. "And how do you expect to not get caught with her in the room?" he said, jabbing a thumb in Hinata's direction.

Her eyes widened. "Huh?" Naruto and she replied simultaneously, before Hinata let out a yelp. She'd been caught! What was she going to do now?

"Heeeeeeeeeeh?!" Naruto continued, obviously shocked. "Oi, Shikamaru, when did she get here?"

"She was here the whole time."

"And you didn't tell me!"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I didn't get the chance. You went off on a tangent."

Naruto pulled a hand over his face, collapsing on the floor. He gave an exasperated look to Shikamaru, before turning it to Hinata. However, when he saw the girl looked like she had had a heart attack, his features softened. "Hmph," he hmphed. "Well, it looks like my super special prank of amazingness plan is ruined. But I don't want to waste all this candy..."

He kicked Chouji before he could make a grab for it.

Sighing overdramatically, Naruto got to his feet and trudged over to where Hinata was sitting stock still, if one ignored the horrible tremble throughout her entire body. Slowly he set the bowl of candy down in front of her. "Hey, ah, Hinata-chan? Sorry about this..." He laughed loosely, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, you can have this. Don't tell Iruka-sensei, please?"

She nodded dumbly.

Grinning, the blond gave her a thumbs up, before running out of the room, pulling the two other boys with him, most likely to plot his next great prank.

After a few moments, Hinata allowed herself to collapse, her body releasing all the tension it had gained in the last few minutes. After regaining her breath, she tenaciously reached out towards the bowl in front of her, grabbing one of the candies. She disposed of the wrapper and popped the sweet into her mouth, unable to suppress the giggle that escaped her lips.

It was senzai-flavored. Her favorite.

With a smile on her lips and a candy in her mouth, Hinata returned to her reading, breaking the silence of the room by humming "Happy Birthday".