Okay, in case anyone gets confused with the timeline so far, we began with the year before the true events of the story (to be seen a little later), so now we have three years before Tsunade encountered Kaguya.
Chapter Three
Make Way - Part Two
"Sasuke Uchiha - who would have thought?"
And they were talking about this over a movie they took to enjoying together - the late eighties animated version of Genji Monogatari, and to follow would be Spirited Away. "Y-yeah," Hinata agreed, reclining against the cot which was in his bedroom of the Hyuuga mansion, wearing her lavender nightgown with the snowy cats, himself in black and taupe flannels. "I was shocked, too. You're a hell of a man, big brother." Even now, she still called him that since he was more of a blood brother than just a cousin. "I wonder if he might start looking at us in a different light."
Neji wanted so much to agree with her, but he doubted it all the way, mostly because while he and Sasuke Uchiha were both gifted, his track record was far from promising in the run. His hope was to keep up that community service if he cared about his future. He saw part of himself in that guy, but they were really nothing alike other than that. The Uchiha was alone much of the time, had no real friends, and a lot of the other students were nervous of approaching him...
...except today, like his cousin said. "If I agree with Naru, it's gonna take a lot more than pep talk," Neji said, "because you remember I was bitter when my dad died?" She nodded. "Thanks to both you and Naru, I came to my senses, except I don't know about him..."
Just like I didn't know why I had it in me to help him, if I think and feel this way about him.
He couldn't stop thinking about how Naru stood up to Shion and her gang in old man Ay's office, when she opened her mouth - risking more bullying from the school, especially since the first year of middle school with the rumor started by none other than jealous Shion most of all - and asked the bitch if she was still five years old, picking on others just because she could, and also asked Ino and Sakura if they were as dumb as they looked for following her like puppies, which shocked them as well as made serious and stern Ay muster a slight snicker of his own as he clearly enjoyed the show...until it went far enough for him to explode like a ticking time bomb.
Shion went far as to stand and reach down to strike Naru on the face, jumping from her chair like a cobra from the ground, but she didn't get to land her palm on the target because Naru skillfully slid off the chair and from beneath the other girl, ending up on the other side and right behind just as Shion hit her own hand on the back of the chair itself. Which resulted in that small limb becoming red as her face was, and drawing a pitiful whimper of pain.
"So, looks like you might be in the same, pathetic place the rest of your lives," Naru then spat at her. "You three skanks stay away from us - and Uchiha - from now on, inside and outside school, as well as the toxic social media, and all is good. Deal?"
Shion had looked behind her in shock, but before she could retaliate, that was when Ay erupted, more towards her than Neji and his girls: "ALRIGHT, ENOUGH! Miss Kurama, Miss Yamanaka and Miss Haruno - all three of you will remain here while I call your parents. I don't give one hundred pieces of shit who they are or if they intend to shut my park down, but this discrimination will not be excused."
Sasuke Uchiha was clearly surprised as he watched everything, bitterly quiet as the girl everyone at school knew as the "fox girl" defended him from the biggest mean girl in Konoha. Neji was still wary of him, but he was willing to give him a chance because Naru was more right than him in terms of judging past appearances...sometimes.
While he and his cousin were here at home now, it made him wonder what Naru was doing while her foster family was out drinking hard and enjoying the trees at night.
~o~
This SUV was still in their family, made for travel and a new model better on gas than any other in the past. Someone did the impossible in making it better. He was glad that he got lucky enough to learn to drive, which made him a "prodigy".
He was still too young to get a damned license, which made him impatient all the more, but he was mature enough to know not to get into an accident or any trouble, since he was in for it enough as it was. Last thing he wanted was to be prevented from getting out of dodge. So, he had a damned bike until then - or he could just start saving up on a motorcycle when he got a new job after school. Yeah, that's way better.
He was so pissed tonight that he needed to get out of the house to go to his favorite spot up in the woods, where he'd go to vent to himself ever since Mom and Dad died. He pushed the pedal to the limit, intent on forgetting about what happened today, though he was so pissed he was unable to. Damn it! Old man Ay usually chewed his ass out, but this time, he was so weird when he didn't blame him for once, knowing that he didn't lead the slut trio on. And those other three...
Well, it's not like Neji Hyuuga is someone I could make a friend with. Heard he's on the brain level like me, his pretty cousin shy but sweet - and that other one...
Yeah, he meant Fox Girl herself. She stood up for him, called Shion out for acting like the major five-year-old - and those reflexes when the other girl tried to hit her! Where the hell did she learn to do that?!
Sasuke liked to think the dojo with her friends was the answer.
He skimmed through town, all the while admiring the cherry trees which were a vibrant pink in the town's lights. It was a shame there was no scent to them, unlike the plum blossoms which were better for the old people since this flower was enriched with vitality - though short-lived like every mortal life. This was why he hated it now, this reminder. This kind of beauty lasting the way it did, and its meaning...why the hell would anyone in this country enjoy it?
He used to love doing this stuff with the family, but it was like the gods were cruel to condemn him this way. Leave him alone while Itachi protected Konoha more than his own otouto.
Sasuke found himself in the forest in no time, keeping close to the town and anyone's possible eyesight if something happened. He just hoped someone could hear a scream, given there were people and couples in general doing whatever debauchery there was in this "most celebrated time of year".
He had no idea how his luck might change when he got to his favorite spot, which was near a waterfall, the roaring sound calming music for his ears - but there was also something else. He had come up here to listen to his music and absorb nature, and he sensed it up his spine that someone else was here.
If Itachi taught him anything he took to heart, it was to have natural instincts and defend yourself; since he was too young to license a gun, he was accessed to none other than pepper spray and a safety alarm. If he were in trouble, no one would blame him for being at his favorite spot, right?
Surprisingly, Sasuke found that this person posed no threat to him, though he was stunned by who he saw: the babe who wore a flowing dark hoodie printed with the sun, which he'd seen earlier, only for that to be pulled over her head to show a lacy bra as blue as her eyes. He blinked in shock; where the hell did THAT come from?
That girl who was willing to almost take a blow for him when their paths hardly ever crossed - she stripped down at an ungodly hour of the night and took a leap off the cliff, backwards, for a dip in the pool near the fall. He watched, transfixed and hand-held player back into his pocket while his earbuds were tucked into the neck of his sweatshirt. He was unable to take his eyes off what he was seeing...
...only for her to not come back up after several minutes.
Something inside him snapped at once, and the next thing he knew, he was yelling her name and staggering his way down the hill towards where he'd seen her.
"NARU!"
He kept yelling her name over and over, all the while trying to see if there was any sign of her coming out - and then he heard it: "Weird to hear you say my name, Sasuke."
There she was! In her bra and panty, but with a coral-colored towel wrapped around her. Her boyish-chopped hair was matted to her skull. "Y-you're okay!" he heard himself exclaim in shock. "I thought you -"
"You thought I drowned," she said with a snort. "And you said my name as if we knew each other."
The way she meant it: they knew who each other was, but not who they really were. "I know Shion and her bitches spread it around the school that you were some kind of demon fox in human disguise, so that's why a lot of people call you names or avoid you," Sasuke answered, feet glued in place the closer she got. Just shows how more brutal high school is for kids. He had to turn his eyes away from her then just as she carelessly undid the towel to show more of her body; if she kept that up, he was going to get a real hard-on! "I don't believe that bullshit."
Her laugh - he didn't know how to explain it, but it was carefree and with a subtle hint she might be a boy in that body. "So, did you come up here to follow me?" By this time, she was dried up and had her clothes back on, and next thing he knew, they were walking away from the fall and pool.
"N-no! This is where I like to come when I'm pissed. I like to be free and alone when everything gets to me. Just me and my music." He held up his player with the earbuds for her to see, by this time wrapping the cord around the device. "What about you?"
"My favorite place, too. Neji and Hinata are at home, but my spirit needed the adventure. Old man Jiraiya, Granny Tsunade and Orochimaru are out doing whatever tonight, and from here I can enjoy the cherry trees and the lights." Here they paused at a small cliffside, overlooking the town with more of the mentioned trees. Strangely, he found himself appreciating the view - and thanks to this girl he never thought he'd encounter twice in one day. "I come up here to clear my head, too. Used to love it so much, but now and ever since the rumors started, I wondered why such a piece of shit town could cause me such equally shitty pain."
Her language and the way she said it forced the first true laugh from Sasuke's throat that he could remember, causing her to give him the death glare of the century. "You think that's FUNNY?!" she growled. For a second, she did look like a feral fox.
Sasuke shook his head, clearing his throat. "No...I feel the same." I hated talking to someone I didn't know well, wanted nothing to do with anyone, but with her...
"Coming from the one who has quite the record and doesn't bother with anyone, because big brother isn't home. I thought I'd be jealous because I'm an only child."
And it looked like the Hyuuga cousins were the closest thing of a brother and sister to her, if that was the case. He thought he'd envy her for that, but here they were, talking to each other at what was coincidentally their favorite place to escape. "The 'star Uchiha' whom everyone looks at like he'd run over their dog or cat." Now that's not fair; I love animals, especially cats! "You plan to leave this town, be anywhere but here?"
Was this...was this another coincidence? He was obsessed with planning to escape this town of misery, and here she was telling him she was considering it, too. "I intend to, as soon as high school is done and I have a motorcycle from my hard-earned money. Then you can hop on with me."
~o~
It wasn't a surprise when the law system was brought up after she explained the scenario that day with one Sasuke Uchiha. Still, she needed to confide in some authority figures she trusted more than any other.
"And I thought you got the brunt of those girls' abuse!" Jiraiya exclaimed, face tight with fury, which was no different than those of his wife and their friend. His tone, however, was humorous. "Neji gets brownie points for whipping it out first -" He wasn't referring to THAT, which was what Shion tried to do to the juvenile Uchiha had she and her friends not interfered. "- since you sometimes don't think to act right away, which we all know you're still working on."
"But still, you're not thinking about making friends with that hoodlum, are you?" Tsunade asked with a critical eye. "You don't need someone like that in your life."
The words were harsh, and this was what the woman implied: what if you can't change a hard soul like Sasuke Uchiha? A person chooses to do that on their own; it's not healthy for the mind and soul to make yourself suffer trying to get them to have a change of heart. Hell, Neji was hard to crack ever since the death of his father, but she and Hinata were there for him. For all she knew, Sasuke might be similar, given he lost his parents...
Orochimaru was a little more sympathetic, though had reservations just like Tsunade. "I agree, Tsunade, but look at it this way: the boy lost everything. He doesn't have a proper support system, so how many in this town will be willing to even stand in the same room with him? I say we let our girl give him a chance - though, Naru, if it doesn't succeed, you have no choice but to say we were right." Even Jiraiya relented to that with a heavy exhale of breath.
So, part of her was pissed that there were doubts, but she never gave anything up without a fight. They taught her that, and so did Mom and Dad a little before they died.
She had snuck out of the house when they were gone also because she needed to think about how to approach him again somehow, and the cold water and serenity often helped when her mind was clouded - but she never expected to find him there, or to learn the waterfall was also his favorite place, and she'd been here since she was a kid!
She felt her cheeks turn red when she realized he saw her in her undergarments, but she supposed it could have been worse.
Sasuke told her he didn't believe what those hoes spread about her, and it made her...happy. Someone who wasn't one of her friends had really acknowledged her. Just as he, too, was planning to get away from Konoha someday, and on a motorcycle! That made Naru excited, but she'd never been on one of those before.
She ended up telling him she loved Konoha when she was younger, but thanks to Shion, all she wanted to do was flee, having made the plans with Hinata and Neji - but one day wasn't soon enough, which she and Sasuke seemed to agree on.
It was then that she also discovered he had a love for music just like her, and it just so happened that several of his favorite artists and songs were her own...especially the one she was hearing at the moment.
The Princess of the Moon. And just when the blossoms are alive, the air is soft, and the waterfall is behind us.
Her guardians were wary of him, and so were her friends, but maybe there was hope yet.
~o~
Hinata Hyuuga loved people, but when she was a child, she was very shy and afraid because of how her father treated her ever since her mother died, taking her newborn imouto Hanabi with her. Hiashi Hyuuga was so devastated that he somewhat neglected his only daughter left, leaving her mostly with whatever tutor he hired as well as the maid - and his younger twin brother Hizashi.
And when Hizashi died, his son was left with Hinata, and it resulted in their "brother and sister" relationship being strained because of how angry he was that his father was gone, leaving them with a man consumed by his grief that he didn't see what was in front of him, focusing on other responsibilities. For a time, young Hinata was heartbroken and alone.
It turned out that their saving grace was Naru Namikaze, who eventually lost her parents, too. She was a ray of sunlight who didn't let anything faze her, but she had a ferocious way of shouting back at others who had the nerve to mistreat for no reason.
And Sasuke Uchiha...half of Hinata wanted to sympathize with him, but everyone said nasty things in terms of his record of thievery, likely rebellion because his parents were taken away and his brother wasn't home as often as he should be. He was all alone besides those so-called friends who sold him out more than each other.
But he was said to have been a happy boy before they died. He's just...lonely. There are ways to help him, and even the cynical ones should know that. Naru's right.
This morning, after managing to avoid her father who got his morning coffee and set about for his study, she and Neji were making themselves rice balls. She decided to not bring it up yet after last night's discussion, but she planned to talk to Naru again - or better yet, her guardians since they were clearly hesitant on their god daughter considering befriending the lonely, rebellious Uchiha. Then maybe talk to Iruka-sensei since he was always willing to listen; there were specialists Sasuke could get in contact with, then be at events where he could start connecting with people and show he wasn't what they thought he was, all of which would come with ground rules.
Hinata didn't care if she thought too much on this, or too far ahead. It was never too late to help another person, or for them to change for the better. If they were lucky, this season which was a vital part of their heritage was the starting point.
Sasuke and Naru's bonding moment in the woods (just like Jason and Kimberly) just started to solidify not only by their shared plans, but their similar love of music. The one mentioned is "Princess of the Moon", composed by the Fiechter brothers. Their channel is Fantasy and World Music by the Fiechters, on YouTube.
All hail to Miyazaki's "Spirited Away", and "Genji Monogatari" from 1987 is an anime movie based on the classic Heian-era novel of the same name by Murasaki Shikibu.
Towards the end of the chapter when Hinata considers all possibilities to help Sasuke all came from a pie chart on recorded Japanese delinquency, "Japanese juvenile delinquency" from the website What Japan Thinks.
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