The clicking sound stops.
And so does her breathing.
"I found you, Hina."
She doesn't dare to make a sound. Her chest was heavy with brewing fear as tears brimmed her eyes.
What does he want from me?
In one swift motion, the lock breaks as he kicks the stall open.
And it was terror that gripped her tongue and left her throat dry. She never knew such a feeling could even do that to her.
The misery that filled her entirely was raw and grueling as she felt his energy once again invade her own.
He stood in front of her in all of his wicked glory, the energy of his malicious intent so strong that it made her burn all over.
His blue eyes raked over her crouched form. She was absolutely terrified .
For a moment, she forgot she was sitting on the toilet.
Instantly, his hands shot out and roughly grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the stall. He yanked her body close to his, holding her tightly so she wouldn't escape.
There they stood in the middle of a run down bathroom on the other side of the school where no one could hear them. Not even hear her screams could be heard.
She twists and turns, trying to get out of his vice grip, but he only squeezes harder in return, making her stop altogether.
He lowered his head down to her level, "Back there in the cafeteria…you wanted to tell them, didn't you?" he seethes, cold eyes glaring into her own.
" N-no! If anything, I t-told them I didn't want to bring it up!"
Eyes flashing with anger, his hand shot up to grip her chin, making her wince in pain.
He enunciated the words slowly and dreadfully, "I don't believe you."
Tears begin to stream down her face as she looks up to him in fear.
She just feels like giving up.
Why would she lie to him if she knew what he was capable of?
He sighs, abruptly switching topics. "All you ever do is cry. Did you find it yet?"
"...you're hurting me."
He snickers, shaking his head, "No, no. You're not listening to me. I said, ``Have you found it yet?"
"P-please let me go."
He huffs loudly and pushes her off him rather roughly.
She stumbles back, watching him pace back and forth like the lunatic he was, running his hands down his face. "Thats not what I fucking asked, Hina."
She catches her breath, pulling herself together. She's trying to mentally process why he hasn't killed her yet…?
She can only make an educated guess and assume he's insane.
A heartless , psychotic being.
He's unpredictable. Hell, his next move could be a slash to her throat.
She frowns at him with quivering lips.
Once he's done pacing and mumbling to himself, she watches as he walks over to the sink and leans his back on it, arms crossed as he stares right back at her. "Well? What's taking you so fucking long to find a key?"
He can't be serious...
"I have a month, remember?" She whispers timidly.
"That month's been up for a couple of days now sweetheart, and you've been avoiding me. Hm, I wonder why that is?" His head cocks to the side as he studies her, an ominous look taking over his features.
She rolls her eyes, mentally taking note to make a run for it. The door was right over there. The lock might be a hassle, but-
"Don't fucking roll your eyes at me." He says, now straightening his hunched figure.
She backs away from him in caution, edging closer to the locked bathroom door. "Why can't you just leave me alone? I told you already I wouldn't tell anyone!"
He crept closer to her, like a predator planning to go in for the kill. The clicking in his boots returning, "We both know that's not true, Hinata."
As he spoke, sinful eyes made contact with her own, and it wasn't until the back of her legs met something cold that she realized what had happened. He led her back into the stall.
Her eyes widened in realization. She wasn't by the door at all.
_/ˈlī(ə)b(ə)l/_
She gasps as her bottom falls on top of the toilet seat. Her skirt bunches up, and as she attempts to pull it down in modesty he grabs her wrists, stopping her actions.
She watches him watch her. He studies her carefully before crouching down her level, resting his hands on the surface of her thighs. She flinches at the touch and he smirks as wide lavender eyes looking at him questionably.
"When will you give it to me?" he says lowly as he leaned into her personal space, his thumb making small circles on her skin.
"I…I'll give it to you soon." she whispers quietly, although she seemed a bit intimidated.
"Good…" he murmurs, eyeing her pale full thighs. She wore that skirt that showed just the right amount of thigh, and from this angle alone he can see white lace underwear that were made for hands to tear apart. Her bra probably matches too.
He licks his lips.
Gods he wanted to touch her so bad…
Who was she even wearing this for?
He swallows the thickness in his throat, "You look pretty today. As you always do…you know that?"
Her lips are so pretty that he's willing to do anything to get them on his-
"W-what are y-you doing?"
He blinks.
She always sounds terrified, but the pitch in her voice was higher, throwing him off a bit.
Blue eyes look into lavender, and then his gaze drops to his hands. Fuck-
He didn't even realize it. His hands were already inches up her skirt, trailing along the insides of her thighs. His mouth dries at the sensation of her soft skin underneath his fingers, and he's starting to feel warm.
Very warm.
The things he can do to her. Will do to her…
He shakes his head, snapping out of it. He retracts his hands from underneath her skirt, though still keeping his hands on her thighs.
She will be the death of him. The death of them if he doesn't get his act together.
"You know what? To hell with that. "I gave you a month- I gave you so much time to get what I needed."
So much time has passed.
He can feel his fingers digging into her skin as dread starts to consume him. His breathing suddenly feels heavier and just like that, he's on the verge of an anxiety attack.
Fuck fuck fuck he hates this feeling. But he can't help it. He needs that stupid shitty key.
He needs it.
He really fucking needs it.
"You're scared." She says quietly in the stall to no one in particular.
And for fucks sake-
"Just shut up!" he yells in the stall, creating a light echo in the bathroom.
He can just blame it all on her. That'll make things easier. But then it was his responsibility to get rid of her and the evidence-
It was his responsibility to fix everything-
"...Y-you're conflicted about something."
He wanted to yell at her again, but paused in doing so. His eyes shift towards hers, and a thought begins to formulate in his head.
Maybe, just maybe...
He was using her in the wrong way.
He shakes his head and starts to quietly chuckle to himself. Because now that he's finally thinking this throuhg... this was the answer all along.
Here, in this shitty ass bathroom stall, sitting on the toilet.
This girl...
Hinata…
He tilts his head back up to look at her, a soft look taking over his features.
He's gotta play with what he's got…and it's right in front of him.
"Here's what's gonna happen."
Her cute little nose scrunches up. "What?"
"You will be my girlfriend."
Her eyes widen in horror, and the way her cheeks flush red has his chest feeling funny. He smirks at her expression.
Interesting reaction.
"A-absolutely not!" She stammers.
It's funny to him how she thinks she has a say in this.
"Baby you have no other choice."
"I said n-no!"
He deeply sighs, rolling his eyes. So she wants to play hard to get.
Fine .
"I don't think you understand that you have no final say in this matter. You failed to get me what I needed, and I'm getting that fucking key," he leans closer to her, breathing in her delicious scent, looking deep into her lavender irises, "one way or another." He whispers, his hand playing with the edge of her skirt.
Her breath hitches, and he grins. "You're going to invite me over to your house when daddy isn't home," He says smoothly, as if he's got it all figured out, "and you're gonna make sure nobody gets in my way as I look for it."
His other hand slides up her thigh again.
"Not Neji."
It inches further to her center.
"Not Hanabi."
His fingers pull at the lace of her panties.
" Not anybody. "
Hinata gasps loudly, abruptly kicking him in the chest until his back hits the stall door.
The air is knocked out of his lungs.
Clutching his chest briefly, because fuck that hurt, he watches as she rushes pass him out the stall. He crawls quickly and tries to follow suit as he successfully grabs her ankle. She falls to the ground, screaming.
"You fucking bitc-"
She kicks him again, this time in his face .
"Shit!" He lets go entirely, grabbing at his now bleeding nose as hears scrambling noises, the sound of the bathroom lock unfastening, and then nothing.
Silence.
The bitch left him in here to bleed.
He scoffs, the blood from his nose flowing over his lips. Dragging himself off the floor, he walks over to the cracked mirror, hands clutching the edge of the sink as he stares at his reflection, the dim bathroom light making it hard to see the bruise that she landed on his face.
The collar of his shirt is now stained red.
He's not even sure why, but he's starting to think she kicked so hard that he's seeing shit.
Cause for some reason, his reflection is grinning back at him, blue eyes dark, expression sinister .
_/ˈlī(ə)b(ə)l/_
Another two weeks later of successfully avoiding him, and Hinata decides to blow off some steam at her friend's party.
Ino's house was incredibly big. It competes with her own in size.
The party was alive, with neon lights covering every corner of the house and music loud enough to wake the neighbors next door. Bodies fill each room as the smell of liquor and marijuana invade Hinata's nostrils.
Coughing a little bit, she weaves her way around the crowd in search of her friends.
She doesn't want to be here.
But she needs to take her mind off of him and what happened in that bathroom that day.
So she, being the smart person that she was, decided to drink all of her problems away.
All she could feel is the warm rays on her skin and the sake bubbling in her stomach.
She could feel her thoughts becoming more loose. And that was never a good sign. Especially when alcohol is involved.
Inside one of the many bathrooms that occupy Ino's home, Hinata stares at her complexion completely in awe. This mirror made her look weird. But then again, the one that hangs on her bedroom door also made her look weird…and then she concluded that a lot of mirrors make her look weird.
Sometimes she feels pretty and sometimes she doesn't. She knows she's beautiful. But the small insecurities that only she can see tell her otherwise. And it makes her wonder if she has body dysphoria.
To her, she just looks...distorted.
Hanabi tells her that she's delusional. But she can't help it. She doesn't know what's real and what isn't for her face. What does it mean to feel beautiful?
Why was it so hard to look in the mirror and tell herself, " I am beautiful. "
She shakes her head.
It's the alcohol talking.
She shakes her head again because what if it wasn't?
If only she were prettier. Funnier. Smarter. That's why Naruto chose her, right? That's why he felt on my thighs, right?
Her reflection nods.
She could still be those things.
...Right?
The little voice in her head was encouraging.
Of course you can!
She can be sexy. One-hundred percent. She'll show them sexy.
She can get a boyfriend. All the other girls are doing it. So she can do it too. It couldn't be that hard.
She can be smart. Outsmart Naruto in his own twisted little game.
But that's besides the point. Fuck Naruto.
She needs a distraction. That's the only reason she listened to her friends to come to this stupid party. She can think about exposing him tomorrow. But for now,
She needs a distraction.
She knows how well her body has developed over the years. It shouldn't be hard to appear 'appealing' to the male gaze.
"Hey, Hinata."
Turning around, she's met with frosty white hair and electric blue eyes.
Toreni.
Childhood friend. Her father's friend's son.
Perfect.
She greets him back. They talk for a bit until he grabs her hand and pushes through the swarm of bodies, leading them into one of the upstairs guest rooms. How he knows about this room, she has no idea, but she lets him drag her there anyways. She stands there awkwardly as he closes the door, locking it.
She briefly wonders how Ino would feel about this before she feels a pair of hands grip her waist. And before she knew it, his lips were on hers.
She's feeling it. Feeling him .
It feels so good,
Until.
"...Mmm…Toreni, w-wait…"
When he doesn't cease his services, she tries to push out of his hold.
He briefly stops, looking at her with questioning eyes. "What's the matter?"
"I don't… I-I want to stop." She lowers her gaze, feeling flushed, "...I dont think I want to do this anymore…"
When he doesn't respond for a couple of seconds, she darts her eyes upward. He doesn't appear mad, but he looks...irritated.
He backs off until there is an appropriate amount of distance between them. She looks at him, rubbing her arms tentatively. A few moments of silence, and she thinks she should probably say something. So she does.
"I'm sorry, Toreni." She whispers.
But the words fall on deaf ears.
"Why did we come up here if we weren't going to do anything?" he snaps. His cold eyes freezing her in place.
"B-but you were the one who b-brought me up here!"
"Yeah, because you let me!"
"I just- I thought t-that in the moment-"
"That what? You felt fearless? Like some kind of God? You felt powerful over me, didn't you? Because guess what Hinata? You and I both know that that's what you're only good for. A quick fuck. Nothing else."
"I-I didn't…"
He scoffs, shaking his head. An annoyed smile appeared on his face. "You've got to be kidding me. What did you think I brought you up here for? To confess my undying love for you?"
"No!" She shouts, getting frustrated.
"So you let me take you upstairs, knowing where this was going, lead me on by making out with me, just to reject me?" He looks at her, his piercing gaze never leaving hers, "For a smart girl, I didn't expect you to be this stupid."
He starts to corner her, closing in on her.
Her breathing starts to pick up. "T-Toreni. What…what are you doing."
"You know you want this."
It wasn't a question.
She knew what his intentions were.
No. Nononononono-
And that's when she felt it. She stops struggling. Although Toreni's face is on her neck and his hands are back on her hips, she can feel that unknown feeling whenever she's around… him .
The door breaks open, causing Toreni to jump off of her.
Naruto stands in the doorway, the once muffled music now flooding in the room.
She briefly analyzes the look on his face.
The golden boy facade is completely dropped. The energy around her, she can feel it darkening .
She watches as blue eyes jolt towards Toreni in the back of the dimly lit room.
What is he doing here-
"The hell do you want, golden boy?" She hears Toreni as he walks towards the blonde. "Are you blind or something? If you can't tell already by now, we're busy."
She watches his dark cobalt eyes flicker between the both of them.
For a fact, she already knows that he's taking in the energy in the room, reading her and Toreni's auras. And just like that, she catches the clench of his jaw, the halt of his breathing altogether sending chills up her spine…
And then his eyes fixate on Toreni.
He knows Toreni's intentions now.
She's calling it now. This won't end well.
Not an ounce of emotion is detectable on his face. He just stood there at the entrance, unmoving.
She knew the boy standing in front of them wasn't their golden boy. It was him.
She speaks up before shit can hit the fan. "Naruto…please. Everything is fine. Just…j-just go back to where you came from…" She coaxed, quickly rushing over to Toreni and standing in front of him.
She feels her heart beat erratically as a drunk Hinata tries to find a solution.
But Toreni just pushes past her, walking straight towards the Uzumaki.
"Toreni, get away from him! Now!" She shouts at him. But to her frustration he ignores her.
Toreni gets in his face, though Naruto remains monotone. "I'm not going to tell you again. Get. Out."
The Uzumaki doesn't utter a word.
And that worried Hinata the most. He's always been hard to read.
Unpredictable .
She's not sure what's going to happen unless his aura allows her too.
His actions were cautious and deliberate as he stepped inside the room, closing the door behind him. By doing so he and Toreni were face to face now .
Hinata could feel her heart drop.
Toreni was in dangerous proximity. Lurking waters…
Playing with the unknown that was Naruto Uzumaki.
" Tch ," Toreni scoffs, stepping back a bit to put some space between them. "Golden boy's mad that his precious little Hinata prefers me instead of him?"
?
"What? Not gonna say anything?" The Ōtsutsuki taunts.
The strike to Toreni's jaw happened instantly.
Hinata flinches in shock.
It all happened too quickly.
Toreni stumbles backward as Naruto charges in on him, effectively hitting him again and again.
"Stop," Hinata mumbles, her body too paralyzed to move.
Naruto strikes him again, this time hitting his eyes. Toreni collapses to the ground. However, Naruto wasn't done.
The blond climbs on top of him, his fists still connecting with Toreni's disfigured face as he kept going, his cobalt sinister eyes consumed by rage.
Snapping out of her frozen state, Hinata yells at him once again. "You're going to kill him! Naruto, stop!" She starts to sob, trying to insert herself in the one-sided fight.
She makes an attempt to push Naruto off of Toreni by grabbing his elbow, but he shoves her to the ground harshly. He doesn't even acknowledge that he pushed her, still getting his hits in.
Hinata watches on the ground in shock as blood starts to cover the Ōtsutsuki's face and Naruto's hands.
"Naruto p-please, stop! Stop, s-stop hitting him!" She shouts, watching him continue to pound his victim's face in.
She doesn't want Toreni to die.
She doesn't want to feel this dread all over again.
So she tries again.
"Naruto, just listen to me! I'll be your girlfriend," she pleads desperately as loud as she can. "I'll take you to m-my house! I'll do anything you w-want! Please , just don't kill him!" She stresses, and finally, as if some miracle happened, he automatically paused his next hit.
She's still crying when he finally turns to her, his expression free of any apology, "Didn't I tell you already? You had no choice to begin with."
She's still shaking when he gets up, wiping the blood off his knuckles with Toreni's shirt before he starts walking towards the door.
And Hinata's at a loss for words.
Because he was just…going to leave them there…as if nothing fucking happened.
She decided to cut to the chase. "You were standing at the door all along, knowing I was in here. How did you know where to find me?" she demanded, her breathing becoming more uneven by the second. "...Just how long were you out there for?"
Naruto pauses. No doubt he's probably thinking of a way to manipulate her. But drunk Hinata is smarter than that.
And apparently feisty, too.
He reaches for the doorknob.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" She yells at him, and he halts. He wants to leave her there? After beating the shit out of Toreni!?
Who the hell did he think he was?
She's finally at her limit.
"You haunted me for an entire month. Had me look f-for some dumb key I couldn't f-find! And then… you made me suffer with nightmares and had me watching my back in school halls after what happened in the bathroom… " she clears her throat as more tears brimmed around her eyes, "…and then all of a sudden…you- you just! You turn around and d-do something like…like this? On top of that, you try to leave , Naruto? After everything ." She sniffs, rubbing her smeared mascara from her eyes.
Shock and visible anger is on his face as his eyes widened with disbelief.
"...You were almost raped and you're mad at me for trying to help you?! I helped you, even after you kicked my face in?!"
She gets up from her position. "I can fight my own battles."
"From the look and feel of things, you wouldn't have landed a single hit on that fuckboy."
She looks at Toreni's distorted and bloody face as he lies there on the ground unmoving.
"You're a monster." Hinata spoke, kneeling down to check for Toreni's pulse.
His heart is still beating. He's alive.
She sighs, relief washing over her briefly.
"In the flesh." He laughs sadistically. "But baby," he tuts, shaking his head disapprovingly, " you knew that already. Didn't you?"
She doesn't answer, but instead gets on her knees and lifts Toreni's head into her lap.
The room feels like it's closing in.
The air felt suddenly getting thick.
She doesn't know what to do anymore. Toreni's bleeding out on the floor and she doesn't know what to do.
He's about to be another case that she could have prevented.
"No need to feel lost and hopeless, sweetheart. He had it coming. Anyway, I'll let you know the details about our dating arrangement soon-"
"Naruto, just stop." her voice cracks.
She's tired of him. Tired of being tired of him.
"Stop what exactly, Hinata?" She hears him sigh impatiently, and it's enough to make her lose any sanity.
"Dont." she snaps coldly, and the tone was so uncharacteristic even Naruto looked taken aback. His blue eyes slightly widen until they narrow with agitation.
" What, huh?" He barks out as he keeps direct eye contact with her. She can feel his temper rising, his excitement growing. "Stop what Hinata?" He says earnestly, "I want you to tell me."
"I-I don't think I have to explain it to you," she clutches Toreni's head in her arms, her eyes shift absently to the floor, for his gaze was too intense.
"Explain what , Hinata?"
"Do I really have to explain, Naruto?"
He stops commenting. No doubt he's staring at her curiously.
Knowingly.
Because he knows.
He knows that she knows.
How else could it get to this point?
How else did he know where to find her? Why else would he spare her a second time?
She knew.
Of course she knew. It was getting painfully obvious at this point.
So she's going to relieve some tension between them.
Straightening her posture, she gathers the courage to look him square in the eyes. "You're not who you say you are." She whispers underneath her breath, feeling dejected.
His sinister eyes flash playfully as he lingers by the door. "Yeah?"
She nods. "Y-yeah."
Another moment of silence briefly passes them.
She could feel Toreni cough up blood in her arms.
Hang in there for a little longer.
She made sure to match his piercing gaze. To match his biting energy. With confidence radiating off her tongue, she sneered out the words slowly,
"I know what you are, Naruto Uzumaki."
There was yet another brief moment of silence.
Only the party music playing on the other side of the door.
She had hoped for his eyes to widen at her words.
Or maybe the twitch of his jaw to indicate some annoyance.
Perhaps the furrow of his brows to demonstrate how disturbed he was that she knew.
Hell, she just wanted a reaction. Anything .
But to her surprise, he was unfazed with a glare that never wavered. Patiently, she sat there, Toreni's bloody head still cradled in her arms as her knees burned into the carpet, all the while waiting for him to crack. Waiting for Naruto to answer.
He had to answer for God's sake.
And yet as he walked over to her, crouching down to her level, invading her personal space with just the look in his eyes, she didn't feel so fierce anymore.
In that moment, his body aura became entwined with hers. He leaned in until his lips were right next to her ear.
As if he were telling her a cute little secret.
Unfortunately, the words that came out of his mouth were trifling.
" I know you do ."