Chapter Three – Trying to fit in


"F-father, I-I…"

"Hinata." Hiashi's voice was stern as he approached her in his usual grey robes. Unlike everyone else who had been wearing clothes she'd never seen before, Hiashi wore exactly what she was used to.

"Sir, I was the one who called." The lady teacher stood up and faced him, her hands clasped together. "Your daughter has been acting out of sorts all day."

"I understand." Hiashi stopped in front of Hinata, his expression unreadable. Hinata flinched and lowered her gaze to the floor.

"I-I…"

"I don't need your excuses." Hinata felt her hands trembling uncontrollably. Was she doomed to be in a world where her father would forever hate her?

"I…" A shadow was cast across Hiashi's face as he spoke. "I was… SO WORRIED!" The next instant, Hinata felt herself enveloped in a warm embrace. Hiashi dug his face into her shoulder and wept audibly. Hinata was dumbstruck.

"… Huh?"

"I was so worried about you! When Kurenai-sensei called me and said you weren't feeling well, I dropped everything I was doing and ran all the way to you! I even forgot my Suica pass (train pass), haha, can you believe it? Your frugal dad forgot his Suica!"

Still unable to utter words, Hinata remained still in her father's arms.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, you told me you hate it when I touch you…" He pulled away, laughing nervously. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, I even promised you I'd stop. Oh, right, you said I need to throw these robes away, but I like to wear them when I'm cleaning, you know? Haha, stupid old me…- Hinata?" The look of worry was replaced with shock as Hiashi stared into his daughter's eyes.

"Fa-father…" Was all she could muster, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Y-you…"

"Hinata, why are you crying?!" Hiashi gripped her by her shoulders and shook her lightly. "Are you alright? Did I embarrass you too much? I'm sorry!" Hinata shook her head slowly.

"N-no… Please don't apologize…" But words soon became too difficult to utter and she found herself crying into his arms.

"See what I mean?" The teacher mouthed at Hiashi as Hinata continued to cry. Hiashi nodded understandingly, a wistful smile on his lips as he gently patted her back.

I don't know what happened to you, my daughter, but whatever it is - I'm happy I can be here with you through it.

Once her crying had subsided and the teacher had said her goodbyes, Hinata was exhausted.

"Let's go home, Hinata." Hiashi stood up and reached a hand out to her. "Hanabi is waiting for you, too." Hinata's eyes widened. Hanabi is here too? Is she also different?

They left the building together and one of the moving boxes was waiting outside on the road. Everything was so foreign to her, it was simply too much for her sixteen year old brain to process. She simply got into the yellow box that said Taxi on it and let it take her home with Hiashi at her side.

"Let's get out." Hiashi said once the vehicle had come to a stop. The doors opened automatically for the two of them and Hinata got out only to be faced with one of the huge buildings in front of her.

"Do we… Own all of this..?" Hinata thought that she had kept her thoughts to herself, but realized that such wasn't the case when Hiashi let out a chuckle in lieu of a reply and began to head inside.

Without dwelling too much on the insane technology that they had passed through to get to their apartment, Hinata entered the apartment after her father opened the door for her.

"Hinata-nee-chan!" A familiar voice rang out, followed by a joyous Hanabi who came running down the hallway in front of her. Hanabi jumped into her arms and held her as if she would never let go. "I missed you, how are you?"

Hinata held back her tears and forced a smile. "I-I'm fine…"

"Your makeup looks so terrible! What happened? Have you been crying?"

"Hanabi, be nice to your sister! Can't you tell she isn't feeling well?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Hanabi stepped back from Hinata and ran off into the apartment. "I'll make you some green tea!"

The apartment was so much smaller than the estate, but had such a… Welcoming feeling to it. No servants, no formal wear and no sparring dojo. The apartment was on the 23rd floor and all that said on the door was a simple "Hyuuga" sign that mixed in with all the other apartments. There was a genkan (traditional Japanese entryway) and the apartment definitely had the traditional essence to it like the estate did, but it also had framed photos of Hinata, Hanabi and Hiashi all over the walls, colorful bouquets and the occasional mess in certain places. If she could sum it up in one word, the apartment, the building, the city - it was all 'futuristic'.

Hanabi helped Hinata wash her face and remove all the hideous makeup while Hiashi made dinner for them. After dinner, Hinata sat in the bathtub for an hour, just repeating the entire day back to herself several times over. A dinner where Hiashi asked her how her day had been, where Hanabi excitedly talked about her piano practice and all the jokes they made with each other had made her realize that this reality was too good to be true. All the things she'd wished for were fulfilled in just one day, so how could this world get any better? Hinata felt that it couldn't. She could return to reality with this experience and be happy. She would treasure and remember it forever.

Hinata sank into the water, her hair spreading out across the surface in a circle above her.

Beep

She quickly surfaced again and looked at the screen next to her where the sound came from.

Helloooo Hinata! Hope you're having a good bath, I just wanted to ask if you want some dessert! Hanabi is making some mochi and I'm afraid I won't be able to eat it all myself! Sorry for bothering you, let me know if I'm annoying you!

"A-ah…" Hinata instinctively covered herself in the bathtub. Is that father? How is he talking to me? She sighed, not understanding anything and not knowing how to ask how it worked without sounding like an alien.

Oh no, I'm bothering you, aren't I? I'm sorry!

"N-no!" She called out, only to quickly hide herself in the water again. "I-I mean… Y-you're not bo-bother-bothering me… Father…"

Really?

"N-not at all…" In fact, it's quite the opposite. "I-I would lo-love some de-dessert."

That's great! Hanabi – she wants your mochi!

Whaaaat?

I said – she wants your mochi!

I can't hear you, I'm watching Anpanman!

Ugh… Okay, anyway, I won't bother you anymore, Hinata! Have a nice bath! I'm turning off the intercom now!

"O-okay…" So it's called an intercom…

Beep.

When Hinata got out of the bathroom and finished the skin routine Hanabi had convinced her to try, she put on some clothes Hiashi had just washed in something called a 'washing machine' and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Ah… What a nice bath!"

BAM

Hinata jumped a little, startled by the sudden sound.

"Daaaaad! I dropped it!"

"Oh no, pick it up then!"

"But dad, help me!" Hanabi whined.

"I can't, I'm watching Anpanman right now!"

"How'd you get hooked on it?! You're thirty-eight years old!"

"Years young, mind you!"

"Uuugh!"

"U-um…" Hinata stepped into the kitchen area and picked up the baking tray Hanabi had dropped. "I-I can help y-you if you'd like…"

"That's okay! Take it easy, nee-chan! I wanna make something for you!" Hanabi said, a wide grin spread across her face. Hinata returned it with a smile of her own. "Oh by the way, you look a lot better without all that makeup and the highlights your friends made you do."

"Haha, you think so?" Hinata blushed and played with her hair. "I-I think so too…" No one in their right mind would look like I did!

"Definitely!"

"Hinata, could you go and get the clothes from the balcony?" Hiashi called, still very clearly glued to the TV, doing all the dances without thinking. Hinata giggled to herself and nodded.

"O-of course..." She walked over and opened the door, stepping out into the evening summer air. It was still humid, and not a single cloud in sight. What looked to be a mountain was spread out across the distant horizon. The city lights flickered below her, and even though the time was already ten, there were still so many people on the streets. This place is beautiful. I can't believe it myself.

She took the clothes from their line and, taking one last glance at the view, headed back inside. I'm just one little person in this huge world.

After they'd eaten Hanabi's sticky mochi, Hinata brushed her teeth and said goodnight to Hiashi and Hanabi. She lied down in her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Will I wake up in this bed tomorrow, or at the bottom of that cliff? I wonder if… If I can ask to stay here just one more day, or if that's too greedy. She clasped her hands together and shut her eyes. Please, to whomever it was who put me here, please let me stay just a little longer. Please.

And with that, Hinata fell into a deep slumber and slept better than she'd ever slept in her entire life.


~The next day~


"Good morning!" Hinata shot out of her bed and looked around in panic. "Oh, I didn't mean to scare you!" She met the eyes of Hiashi, who was dressed in just boxers and a pink apron in her doorway.

"I'm still here..?" She asked herself, staring blankly at everything around her before a wide smile spread began to form across her face. She was so excited, in fact, that she hadn't even stopped to consider her father's morning attire. "I'm still here!"

"... Anyway, breakfast is ready! Didn't you set your alarm?"

"I… I-I…. Umm…" She looked at her bedside table but saw no alarm clock. "F-forgot?"

"Oh yeah, you left your phone in the kitchen so I charged it when I found it this morning. You never forget your phone, so I was really surprised. I promise I didn't check your messages though!" Hiashi his his face in his hands apologetically.

"O-oh…" I still haven't really figured those things out. ¨

"Are you feeling better today, by the way?" He asked, lowering his hands once he realized that she would not question his words.

"I-I… Guess?"

"Do you wanna be home from school today? Maybe we should go to the hospital…"

"U-uhm… I-it's alright, father." Hiashi clasped his hand against his chest with the intent to gather confidence.

"No, really. I'm calling you in sick!"

"A-ah…" Hinata sank into herself. He's just trying to look out for me, but I'm not sick… I just don't know how to adapt to this reality..!

"I'm leaving now, dad!" Hanabi was apparently already by the door when Hinata was still in bed. Hiashi called out to her, still in Hinata's doorway.

"Have fun at your field trip today! You didn't forget your pass, did you?"

"Dad, I'm not forgetful like you!"

"What about your bento box (lunch box)?"

"Daaaaad!"

"Okay, but what about yo-" He was cut off by Hanabi abruptly shutting the door and leaving. "Oh…"

Hinata ate breakfast with Hiashi and decided to let him take her to the hospital. She needed time to think and come to understand her surroundings, after all.

After the hospital visit, Hiashi once again called for a taxi to take them home.

"To think – an iron deficiency! I'm picking up iron tablets at the drugstore when I get groceries today!" Hinata laughed nervously at her father's excitement. On the inside, she was growing increasingly overwhelmed by the level of technology in this world. She suddenly remembered that she had a phone and pulled it up, only to not know how to get the screen to light up like it did before.

"How…" She mumbled to herself.

"Don't you just press this button?" Hiashi reached over and pressed the side button on it.

"O-oh.."

"Oh come on Hinata, I know a little about those things!" Hiashi scoffed, thinking she was mocking him.

She watched as he used his own phone for a little while, then tried the same with hers. So these are notifications… Eventually, she found her way in to the Snapchat and pressed on the notification from someone named Temari. A video appeared, showing her in the classroom when she had just woken up into this dream world. A caption on the video read 'omg this bitch is on drugs'. She pressed on the video and another one followed, from a guy named Shino. He had somehow taken a picture of half of his face in a mask with the caption 'haha what did you give her'. Hinata blinked twice, obviously unable to understand any of it.

In a private message, Tenten had sent a picture to Hinata of an empty chair and desk captioned 'bitch where r u' and another of half of her face captioned 'r u ignoring me now bitch?'.

Why do they keep calling me a bitch? Hinata thought, feeling uneasy from their way of addressing her.

Hiashi, who had been sneaking in a few looks at her phone, appeared worried, but refrained from saying anything.

The day was followed by a weekend, and then an study week before some exams. Hinata spent the entire week studying and somehow managed to pass. People still thought she was weird, but she was somehow able to just barely pass as somewhat normal. Temari and Tenten made fun of her for not wearing makeup and tried to convince her to 'fix' herself, so Hinata had started to wear some basic makeup to try to fit in. She had at some point early on figured out that she had completely lost her ability to use chakra, but no one else seemed to use it either. She tried asking about Shinobi to her father, but he had only struck a strange, almost comic-like pose and yelled ninja!, so she figured that this world was entirely devoid of Shinobi. Even without her taijutsu though, Hinata still knew how to fight. Granted, her body was much weaker and didn't possess the same endurance and power that she was used to, but she knew that she could deliver some incapacitating blows to people if anyone tried to jump or fight her.

The boy named Naruto didn't talk to her and pretty much acted like she didn't exist, which was fine by her since she didn't really care about him much anyway.

That was, until…

"What's your deal, huh?" Naruto tauntingly held a ball out of Hinata's reach and leaned towards her, his eyes demanding answers.

"W-what do-do you mean?" She tried reaching for the ball, but to no avail. He's so close!

"You've been acting out of sorts, do you really think that you can just act like nothing happened?"

"N-nothing hap-happened?" I really don't know what you're talking about!

Naruto sighed, rubbing his temples. "You're actually feigning ignorance."

"U-um… If I… I-if I said som-something mean, I-I'm re-really so-"'

"Stop apologizing and acting like you're sorry! I know what you're really like, so this façade isn't going to work on me, you can be yourself." He gestured towards their surroundings, and the lack of people around them.

"I… I-I am m-my-myself…" Her voice was small, almost inaudible. Why does he hate me so much… I was just going to go and get the ball that they shot off behind the sheds…

Naruto slammed his hand onto the wall behind her in frustration, causing her to jump in . "You really think that's gonna work!?" Beads of sweat from both the heat and from their football practice trickled down the side of his forehead and neck. His shirt stuck slightly to his chest, outlining his muscles. He might be good-looking, but he has a terrible personality, and he's a bully…

"I-I don't know w-what yo-you wa-wa-w-want fr-from me… I-I'm so sorry…" Seeing tears build up in Hinata's eyes caused him to hesitate slightly, but Naruto continued.

"I can't believe you're acting like this after how much you bullied Sakura and Ino and beat them up with your stupid friends. Even if they won't say who did it – I know it was you. Sakura didn't come to school for a week – a week!" His voice grew increasingly loud. "She never skipped a single day in her entire life until you did that!"

Hinata's eyes widened in shock.

Why...

Why did I have to switch places with a bully?!


Earlier…


Kiba leaned back in the grass and wiped his sweaty forehead with a damp towel, eyes resting on Hinata's figure in the distance. "Hinata really has been acting strange lately. She's a completely new person."

Naruto finished drinking his water and set a cold glare on the girl they were talking about.

"Kiba, you're acting like you didn't hear what I heard."

"I know, it's just – I don't know."

Naruto grit his teeth bitterly, narrowing his eyes at Hinata as she struggled to keep up with her class on the field. "She's probably just trying to play innocent and lay low."

"But really, I've never heard her say 'I'm sorry' or 'thank you' in my entire life until now." Kiba placed a hand over his mouth, deep in thought. Although it irritated Naruto beyond belief, he knew Kiba had a point. There was something different about her and the way she carried herself, anyone who knew her would react. She'd even started dressing properly, removed her earrings and pretty much all the makeup, as far as he could tell. He watched as she ran across the field in her gym uniform, her shirt bouncing up with every stride, revealing ever so little skin underneath. There was some kind of elegance to her, now that she started looking more natural and not trying to look like Temari and Tenten. If she weren't Hinata, he would actually maybe find her kind of-

"Pretty." Kiba mumbled, his eyes still on her. "I'm just gonna go ahead and say it - she's actually kind of pretty."

Naruto averted his gaze from her and slapped himself mentally. What the hell am I thinking?! No, she's not pretty. She's a bully, and I hate bullies.

"I'm gonna wash my face. I need to bleach my eyes." Naruto said, standing up and without waiting for a reply, walking off.

"Oh come on, she's not even ugly, dude!"

"Yes, she is!"

Kiba cocked a brow, then leaned back again, locking his hands behind his head and continuing to watch Hinata from afar. "I don't think there's anything wrong with saying that she looks good."

Naruto stuck his head underneath the tap and let the water pour down his scalp and face, his eyes closed, deep in thought. I can't let her get away with bullying Sakura and Ino. Everyone else might wanna forget, but I won't.

He straightened himself, shaking the water out of his hair and running a hand through his thick blond strands, a look of disdain tainting his features. "I should just confront her. If I push her into a corner, she'll show her true colors."

As if on cue, he suddenly heard the ball bouncing off the field and hitting a shack, followed by some light, frail footsteps.

Speak of the devil.


Back to the present…


"So, why are you acting shocked? Planning on playing stupid?"

"I-I…" Hinata felt herself grow small in Naruto's shadow and failed to come up with anything to say. The stark contrast between the interaction that she had enjoyed from her father so dearly that morning and this was overbearing.

"Come on, drop the act!" He suddenly yelled, slamming his fist against the wall, causing it to shake against her back. She shut her eyes tightly, feeling tears welling in her eyes. Naruto clenched his jaw as he watched the person he'd despised for so long grow smaller beneath him. "You've always looked down on people who did better than you, just like Sakura and Ino."

That... That's not me!

Meanwhile, Naruto battled his inner demons. Why isn't she acting as cocky as she always does? She would've spit in my face by now, but she looks like she's genuinely terrified of me…

"P-please… S-s-st-stop… I-I gi-give u-up…" Something seemed to hit Naruto as his eyes widened in shock and he immediately stepped back.

"You're… You're not kidding, are you?" His look of disbelief met hers of utter fear. She's literally trembling.

No longer able to stand, Hinata lowered herself to the ground and succumbed to her fright, holding her arms and resting her face against her knees. In himself, Naruto saw the bully he had thought was in her. Instead, in his attempt to teach Hinata a lesson for what she'd done to her classmates, he had instead become the bully himself.

"... Hey." Was all he could say as he watched her shrink like wet paper. Lost in her own panic and fear, Hinata could no longer acknowledge his words. "I... I didn't mean to..."

Didn't mean to what?

The words repeated in his head like a mantra. Didn't mean to what, exactly? Make her cry? Then why did he yell at her? Why did he keep pushing her when she begged him to stop?

An urge to comfort her suddenly overcame him and he reached a hand out to touch her shoulder, but stopped himself mere inches from her. What am I doing? Should I show pity for someone who has never shown any pity for others? But she... She seems so different.

Meanwhile, Hinata struggled to regain her composure. All the memories of her father, Neji and the elders yelling at her, scolding her, calling her useless and an embarrassment, someone who should never be reborn - everything had came flooding back when this Naruto guy had cornered her. Even though she had been met with love from her father and sister, it didn't seem to outweigh the hate that this guy, Naruto, held for her. Not only that, but if what he said was true - that she had beaten up those two girls - then they must hate her too.

What had at first seemed like a blessing - to be 'reborn' into a different world with a new chance at life - was now quickly turning into a similar reality to the one she had just escaped from. A world where no one would love her. But she had told herself that she would never let anyone decide over her anymore. She didn't want to cry anymore, especially not for something she had no power over. She knew that if she wanted to live in this world, she would have to apologize to the two girls she hurt, but to take a beating from someone like this guy made him no better than what he was calling her.
Feeling an immense amount of guilt wash over him after forcing her into tears, Naruto caved in and reached out for her again, only to suddenly be swatted away by her. The guilt was quickly replaced with shock and confusion as he held his swatted hand and watched as she stood to her feet again.

Hinata wanted to say something cool, or at least something that would help her stand up for herself in the face of someone who had proven himself to be no better than the Hinata she'd switched bodies with, but nothing came out of her mouth. Instead, she cast him the meanest glare she could muster to match all the ones she'd received from him, and then walked back to the field.


Poor Hinata, I feel for her.