High school AU (that my friend came up with for me, bless her heart. She ships Hikari with...well, you'll see in this)

REMINDER THAT ALL ONESHOTS I WRITE ARE NOT CANON UNLESS I SAY SO. THIS IS NOT CANON...OR IS IT? ONLY REACHING WILL REVEAL.

Eyes of Fate

-O-O-O-O-

Ever since she was born, Hikari could see fate.

Fate was a beautiful thing. The strings and threads that intertwined and wove together, connecting people, appearing when two people met, were in various colors and places. The threads could be there at birth, or appear randomly, and sometimes break.

Some, like green threads, stood for eternal rivalry. Others, such as a royal blue cord, meant true friendship, like the one both she and Naruto had that connected to Sasuke, whose entire family could see and cut threads of fate. And of course, there was the famous Red String of Fate that stood for fated lovers, like the one that her parents had on their pinkies.

Naruto's red string appeared today.

They had been running to the bus stop, because Naruto woke up late, and the umbrellas they were using had been completely useless. There was a purple-haired girl who was already waiting at the stop, and in his rush, Naruto had run into her.

"Ah, sorry!" he hastily apologized.

"Good job, Naruto. Great way to start our first day of high school!" Hikari sarcastically chirped. She turned to the other girl. "Sorry about my brother, he's an idiot at times."

"Hikari! That's mean!" Naruto whined.

She was about to retort when she saw his pinkie. Red thread? But the only person that we met today is...

Hikari whipped her head around and stared at the purple-haired girl, who was hesitantly answering Naruto's questions.

"So your name is Hyuuga Hinata? Cool! And you go to Konoha High too, right, because your uniform is the same as Hikari's! It's your first year? Wow, us too!"

There. On both Naruto and Hinata's pinkies: a red thread that definitely wasn't Hikari's hair.

On the bus, she whispered to Naruto. "You have a new string."

"Really? Where? What color is it?"

"On your pinky. It's red."

Naruto let out a loud gasp that had the people around them aim them weird looks. "Shhh, don't be so loud!" Hikari hushed. Then, bending her head towards him as if conspiring, she breathed, "It's that Hinata girl."

Naruto almost gasped and craned his neck to see her, but Hikari slapped her hand over his mouth and grabbed his shirt collar.

"Remember, Naruto, that this doesn't mean you'll end up with her for sure. I've seen couples that had red strings that connected to other people, or broken strings, or have them appear while they were in a relationship. You have to work to protect the thread."

He pouted. "Okaaayyy, don't worry! It'll be fine!"

When the bus stopped in front of their school, Naruto raced ahead to catch up with Hinata. Hikari sighed as he tripped before regaining his balance.

"Clumsy idiot," a smooth voice droned.

Hikari smirked before turning around. "Hi, Sasuke."

"Hm."

They walked towards the school building in silence, before Hikari broke it. "Naruto got a red thread today." She received no response, but she could feel Sasuke's attention perk. "It's connected to that girl he was chasing. Hyuuga Hinata."

Sasuke hummed. "Hyuuga, huh? Like Hyuuga Neji?"

Hikari almost stopped walking. Oh Kami, how could she have not made that connection before? Hyuuga Neji was the bane of her existence. Hikari had taken advanced classes one year up ever since junior high, and that had put her in many classes with Hyuuga Neji, who would frequently tug her pigtails (which is why she changed her hair this year to letting it loose. There's no way she would let him touch her hair this year.) He had always scored a little higher, run a little faster, and always taunted her, saying that it was fate that put him ahead of her.

"...and what does he know about fate anyways? It's not like he can see it, like us," she ranted to Sasuke as he looked for his class placement. Hikari needed to check hers, but it was in the second-year corridor.

Sasuke sighed. "There's always going to be someone better than you," he remarked a little darkly. Hikari gave him a long look, reading the double meaning behind his words.

"Sasuke, Ita-"

Someone bumped into her, and her books fell to the ground. "Oh, sorry, let me get those for you."

"No, it's my mistake for standing in the middle of the hallway," she responded, eyes on her books. History, Math, Biology... where's English?

She looked up to ask the other person, because they probably had her English book, which was also when they looked up. Their eyes met and narrowed simultaneously.

"Hyuuga-san."

"Namikaze-san."

Hyuuga Neji dropped her English book into her arms. "I see you're going to be taking the same classes as me again this year. Do try to keep up."

She smiled poisonously at him. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean. There's nothing to keep up with."

His cheek muscle twitched, and Hikari could see him struggle to keep his expression smooth. Ha, take that, Hyuuga. If there's one thing I'm better at, it's facial control. I can beat Uchihas!

"Of course you don't understand, you never do."

Hikari just smiled at him again and turned around, grabbing Sasuke who was waiting for her with a bored look, ignoring his fangirls (who were everywhere, everyday). Sasuke gave her hand an annoyed look, before a huff left him.

"Hikari."

"Sasuke, I'm not in the mood."

"No, Hikari, you've got a red string on your hand."

"Sasuke, that's probably my hair. It falls out more now that it's not tied."

"Hikari, I mean it. It's around your pinky."

This time, she halted in her footsteps. What?

She risked a quick peek at her hand, and sure enough, there was a delicated thread of crimson tied tightly around her pinky finger. She closed her eyes and said with deceptive calm, "Please tell me it's not connected to you."

"I'll ignore the implications of that comment. No, it's not me."

She sighed with relief and opened her eyes to trace her thread. It led back to the direction of the class placement postings, and as her eyes trailed along it, it came to a stop at a very familiar hand. A hand that, in fact, had given her back her English textbook just a few minutes prior.

No.

Hikari couldn't stop her eyes as they slowly went up the person's body to affirm her realization. She saw pants, a collared shirt, and the blue tie that second years had, unlike the green of first years and yellow of third years.

Please tell me I'm wrong.

Her eyes slowly lifted to see a jawline that could belong to only one person.

This is it. I'll see if I'm wrong or not.

Blue eyes met white.

And Hikari saw those eyes stare intensely into her own, so intensely that her breathing almost stopped. And even when Sasuke tugged on her sleeve, and a second year with a bowl cut shook Neji, they didn't break eye contact.

Hikari felt a warmth tingle in her throat, which spread up her neck to her ears and face. Why? Why is it him, of all people? Even Sasuke would be better.

And Hyuuga Neji tilted his head before smiling- smiling! At her! What the hell?- and turning away.

-O-O-O-O-

A/N: GUYS, I'M BACK.

AND I'M IN LOVE WITH THIS AU. SERIOUSLY, I MIGHT WRITE AN ENTIRE FIC BASED OFF OF REACHING WITH THIS AU. (BUT SHIPS MAY BE DIFFERENT).

In other news: I'M BACK.

I'll update Reaching later today. Bye!