Chapter 11 Maiden Overboard
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5 years ago / Hinata age 15
Choosing a crème colored chaise, Hinata sat down with her book on horses. She was waiting for her father. He had come all the way to the Palace of Versailles on the Winter Tour to gamble.
"You like riding, eh, girl?" King Orochimaru said to her with a drawl. The bluenette missed the innuendo in his comment.
Shuffling to her feet, Hinata curtsied. "Good evening, your highness. And yes, I'm quite fond of horses. Are you?"
"You know, you look just like your mother when she was young. I remember her dancing around Versailles." The king couldn't keep on one train of thought, even if he tried. He was flouncing his fingers as if he was making puppets dance. The girl gazed up from her curtsy hopefully, this man knew Mother when she was young.
"What was she like?" Her wide eyes held a joyous spark. No, the girl was nothing like her mother in manner. She was gullible and naive, just how the King liked his little girls.
"Well…she was a lady…she acted like a lady. She was beautiful and graceful…you know the sort?" If Hinata had not been so happy to hear about her mother, she would have caught on that this man knew nothing about Hitomi Hyuga. He was just making up lies as he goes.
"And? What else?"
"Well, your father and I, and your mother…we worked to help protect the country. From traitors and very bad men."
"She was a hero!?" Hinata's heart swelled. It was then, Hinata decided she wanted to be just like her mother.
She gave the King her brightest smile. Sure, the King was a bit odd and awkward. He looked like he wanted to eat her, but maybe he had been born into an unfortunate face. It wasn't his fault. Besides, someone who was a friend of Mother's couldn't possibly be bad.
The oblivious girl and the mad king bantered on. He told her of his past and his favorite horses.
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Waves crashed onto the sides of the boat and rocked it. Hinata felt horrible. She was vomiting over the edge of the rail on the deck. It was New Year's Eve. Hinata regretted letting Tenten drag her on the Winter Tour's party boat out to Caen.
Suddenly, the fireworks cannon launched. The whole boat shifted. Hinata was a tall girl and she was folded over railing. Her feet were off the ground. She was stuck on the rail—her upper half about to take a nosedive into the sea, her lower half still inside the boat. Calm down, Hinata. Let's try to climb back in. She told herself.
"Help!" She yelled. The wire skirt that puffed up her dress made it hard to climb. People oooohh'ed and aahhh'ed at the fireworks, they didn't notice her at all.
Someone had bumped their back into Hinata's bottom. Hinata fell off the railing. The bluenette fell into the sea.
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Wire underneath her skirt dragged her down like an anchor. Her woolen winter dress became heavy and wet, it dragged her down, down, down to the bottom of the sea. Flapping her arms and kicking her feet did nothing to stall her demise.
Icy winter waters surrounded her. I am going to die. Hinata realized.
A beautiful archangel reached out his hand to her from above. He had a golden halo. She grabbed his hand.
She went unconscious.
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The fifteen year old boy and his father sat on the rowboat. Naruto had blown out the fire in their lantern. Their family had not eaten meat in a month. The roof of their house fell in due to heavy snow. They had become short on money.
Naruto and his father, Iruka, had snuck onto the beach to fish. They had no fishing license so staying quiet and staying out of the moonlight was important. The party boat launching fireworks and sailing close to the rowboat was not helping their cause.
"Help!" Someone, a woman, had fallen of the party boat.
"I think someone fell over." Iruka said.
"Father, row closer." Naruto tied a rope around his belt loop and secured it to a nailed bench. He jumped into the water. He saw where she fell.
He dove deep and deeper into the icy waters. Being a common blacksmith came with some perks. Naruto was used to extreme heat and miserable cold.
He reached her. He reached out his hand. She reached out hers. And her eyes closed shut.
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Naruto tried pulling on her arm to drag her towards him, but it felt like she was nailed into place.
Naruto swam closer. Underwater currents lifted up her crème colored skirt. There was a wire contraption underneath her skirt. He lifted her skirt and saw a wire cage that came up to her waist. No wonder she was stuck in place.
Pulling out the dagger beneath his boot, Naruto began cutting the wire. Naruto cursed the idiot blacksmith that invented such a hazardous trap.
He pulled on the rope around his waist and swam. Naruto lifted the broomstick of a girl out of her iron cage. He was beginning to run out of air.
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Iruka had pulled Naruto towards the rowboat. Naruto swam with one arm and dragged the girl by the waist with the other. He gave her a firm blow behind the shoulder blade.
"Ngheh!" She coughed up water. The girl with blue hair looked like a mermaid in the moonlight. She had mischievous impish eyes, a proud nose, and pink lips. She was a beauty.
"That's it, clear out your lungs, ya know. Can you swim?" The girl shook her head. Naruto pointed at his father's rowboat, it was hard to make out in the dark. "I'm Naruto, and you're going to hang onto this rope until you get to that boat. We're going to make it, alright?"
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Fireworks went off in the background, Hinata watched him swim as she kicked her feet and held onto the rope. He held her by her waist. How immodest! She supposed it was necessary to keep her from drowning. Swooning a bit, Hinata memorized his face.
He had sharp, set features. He had calm, cool blue eyes. His hair was blond, thick, and unruly. His expression was so determined and stern, like a soldier. His white shirt clung onto him, wiry muscle imprinted through. Considering his height and skinny stature, he couldn't be much older than she was, but he was so goddamn serious! Hinata couldn't help but giggle.
"What are you giggling about?" His firm voice had some baritone in it. The boy was annoyed.
"Nothing. I'm just really grateful. Really, thank you, Naruto." She made sure to remember her savior's name.
"Why do women insist on wearing items that could kill them for fashion's sake?" He wondered.
"Because they want to show off to other women!" Hinata said with a laugh. She had almost died today. Nothing could make her feel sad. She was grateful to be alive.
Naruto looked at her aghast. She keeps giggling. Did the lack of oxygen get her high?
"Crazy girl! I should have left you at the bottom of the ocean." He joked with her. She could feel his laughing chest rumble against her as he held onto her waist. Sadness panged in her chest as they reached the rowboat. She did not want to leave his side.
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Panicking, Tenten grabbed Deidara. "Deidara! Hinata fell off the boat! You have to get her!"
"So what!?" Deidara brushed her off. "It's freezing out there. Get her yourself."
Everyone on this boat was drunk and distracted by fireworks. Who could she ask? It was unfortunate really, but half of the royal men on this boat had the exact same attitude as Deidara. Kiba! Only Kiba would help!
Tenten found Kiba Inuzuka. But he was drunk off his rocker. At this point, asking Kiba to swim while intoxicated was like asking him to die.
Tying rope around her waist and a noose to the post, Tenten said, "Kiba, you have to promise pull on the rope in three minutes alright?"
Kiba nodded drunkenly.
Well, leave it to women to actually get the job done! Tenten thought. I'm coming Hinata
Tenten came to the railing, ready to jump. But then, she saw Hinata on a rowboat with two men.
"Tenten! Lower a rope! I'm come up!" Hinata was on a rowboat. Tenten untied the rope around herself. Tenten leaned over the boat and carefully aimed to throw a noose down onto the rowboat.
Hinata tied the rope around herself and climbed the ladder on the side of the boat.
"Thank you, both! Thank you for saving my life!" The blue-haired girl yelled down and waved to the men below.
Hinata turned around to bring Tenten into a wet hug.
"Thank you, Tenten. You're a real friend."
"Of course, sweetheart. Let's get dried off." Tenten suggested. The girls headed down to the ship cabin below deck.
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Sakura Haruno seethed. She had pushed Hinata off the deck. The minx somehow survived.
She hated Hinata. Hinata was plain, Sakura with her pink hair and baby blue eyes was a rare beauty. Hinata was dense, Sakura could calculate. Hinata was a bumpkin, Sakura was socially savvy. Hinata was a tomboy, Sakura was feminine. Why then, was Hinata deemed a lady and Sakura, not?
"That is the Hyuga Heiress, Hinata Hyuga. Watch what she does and learn from her. She's a lady."
Sakura's mother had told her that when she was seven. The Namikaze family had been wiped out. The Namikaze estate was granted to the Harunos. The Harunos were new blood nobility.
Her mother wanted to her watch a real example of a high noble lady. So, Sakura watched. The bluenette disgusted her. Hinata went about the practice of curtsying to servants and kissing her nurse on the cheek. Hinata acted like a peasant.
Hinata Hyuga was not hard to manipulate. Hinata had clung to Sakura. The little girl's mother had died and she had been desperate for any warm body to hold her. So, for a time Sakura was no longer annoyed by the girl everyone deemed most charming and beautiful. Sakura had Hinata under her thumb.
Then, Sakura realized she loved Sasuke. But he chose Hinata. Before he left for Prussia, he danced with Hinata and only Hinata. Sasuke had practically sent out the message to all of French Societe that Hinata was his chosen. Sure Sakura was popular, she had plenty of friends. But there was always that sinking doubt that Hinata had the loyalty of others, while Sakura did not.
Hinata had everything Sakura could ever want out of life.
It made Sakura hate Hinata enough to push the bluenette to her death.
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