Here is the final part of this introduction of our heroes before we go onward to the present day in the next chapter (which is also a year after Kaguya and Tsunade). If anyone is familiar with Faith Hill's "Sunshine and Summertime", there is a reference in the beginning of the chapter.

I'm sorry for keeping you all waiting. Doubling with a Star Wars fic, "Written in the Stars". Add that this chapter was harder than the last few because of bringing in the fifth and final...

Chapter Four

Make Way - Part Three

While summer was rainy, it was also hot as hell as the sun was always shining. This was one of those days when Hinata and company found themselves on the beach south of Konoha, being up here for the weekend. She was excited beyond belief; it meant sun and water, as well as gardens to admire...

...and fireworks everywhere you could see them, and that included from this spot she and her friends were at right now.

However, Hinata admitted to being embarrassed about her brand new bathing suit: a two-piece of soft gray with white summer flowers, the top bearing bows on the straps - except the problem was not only did her poor breasts bounce whenever she moved, while being properly supported, but the briefs left little to the rear imagination! And it was all Naru's idea, and not even her own father would know about it, since he wasn't going to be here with them.

Naru was one to talk when she wore a single piece which covered her up but outlined her very well, hers having a twisted front and patterned with enchanting spots - almost like those from a paint brush - in colors of white, light blue and royal. She had no complaints about how the "lady parts" would bounce up and down, but it was best to be careful and not lead any creeps on. Bottom line: just be yourself since you were responsible for how you felt.

Sunshine and summertime was just what she loved, because besides the sweetness of spring, there was joy and so much fun to be had in this time of year - but on the downside, there were tsunamis and tidal waves, only Konoha was lucky to not get hit except by hard rainstorms and winds.

She and Naru ran through the shallow waters, keeping close to the beach shore, laughing and splashing each other silly. Except she was more fair-skinned than her friend, so she had to be careful, whilst the other had a nice honeyed glow about her. Naru was the epitome of sunshine while she herself was moonlight, the two balancing well. One could never be without the other, someone said.

Sasuke was here, having fun with them. It was hard to believe that he was still their friend and that Naru's god parents were supportive of the positive influence she was having on him - actually, all three of them.

She and Naru were now at the sweets stand of the beach, both needing a good dose of mochi - vanilla for herself, Naru loving the chocolate more - and that was when they both encountered a commotion which made them halt in their steps. They heard it coming from around the corner, right behind the shacks which were the changing areas, separated between men and women...

"You really are serious about this?! Everyone else has abandoned me, and you think you should be the latest?" That voice...Shion.

The other was male, soft but very hollow. "Look, Shion, I tried giving us a chance as soon as I moved here last fall. You didn't want the school knowing about me because you cared more about what everyone thought about you. I thought you cared about me, but I see you for what you are. You manipulate people, have them sacrifice so you can get what you want. Just because your mother hardly ever gave you the time of day - I really thought we had a connection because we had something in common, but you can't even reach deep down into your soul."

This guy...for some reason, and even though she and her friend hadn't even spoken the first few words to him, Hinata felt extreme sympathy for him. She was the first to peek around the men's shack to see the pair beaten down by the summer sun.

"You bastard!"

It was just like Shion - the whiny, petulant bitch, which Hinata wasn't afraid to say - when she reached up to slap him in the face, like she did to Sasuke, and it seemed Hinata, her cousin and best friend began picking up the habit to come and save someone from a scared little girl who acted high and mighty because she knew how pitiful she was. Something inside Hinata snapped right away as she bolted towards the other girl, shouting her name.

"SHION, LEAVE HIM!"

Naru stayed behind her in shock, and just let her do her thing. Hinata wasn't sure what came over her as she bolted in front of Shion and raised her palm, the surface connecting with the other's cheek and radiating off the cracking of a whip to the eardrums. Sadly, she didn't have much of Naru's strength to send the other girl to the ground. Like her father often said: she was too soft for her own good.

"You dumb bitch," Shion hissed from her place on the wooden deck, "you and your stupid friends are going to regret getting in my way." She put her hand on the place where Hinata struck. "They'll see it as your word against mine this time!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," the young man with auburn hair and dark lining around his blue-green eyes said, though regarding Hinata with a curious look in those irises, "because I'll be willing to testify. Your reputation is in shambles as it is because of what you tried to do to Sasuke Uchiha, I remember, and what you spread about another girl. We're done, Shion. You'd better go before you make things worse than they already are."

She stood up then. She was in a white crop top and shorts, both trimmed with magenta. She spat at them both and turned to run off into the distance, sand flying up from the ground where her heels dug in. The boy then gave his attention to her, and Hinata felt her cheeks burn hotter than they were. Those eyes then lowered downward; she followed and heard herself gasp in shock, hands flying to her chest.

One of her breasts partially popped out during the tussle with Shion! She quickly turned and ran back to Naru who was still where she'd been. She ignored the guy calling out to her, telling her thank you and wanting to know her name. She just couldn't face him after that.

"Oh, shit, it's my fault then for picking that out for you, but damn! You got her good, and looks like he might still look for you if he can remember your face!" Naru was beaming ear to ear, encouraging, but it didn't help matters that Hinata was still feeling so embarrassed. Never did she let one of her important privates be exposed like that, and there was no way she was going to let Neji find out about this - unless Shion managed to get back at them with her big mouth again. He'd blow a gasket for sure.

But still...Naru might be right. Except it shouldn't have ended the way it did!

~o~

Naru had to give it to Hinata for what she did, but oh, she thought that suit was perfect for her friend, except alterations could be made on their parts.

They were back to the boys in no time, both of whom asked where they'd been, and they both lied smoothly and said ladies' room, except that white lie could blow up in their faces eventually if that weird guy ever found them.

However, both of them knew there was something else and made the girls comply to come clean and tell them everything Hinata did to save someone else - leaving out the partly revealed part. Neji was better off not knowing about that especially, and he'd wanna kick the guy's ass for accidentally looking.

Sasuke, from laying on his position in the form of his stomach atop his towel, gave his signature smirk and the "hn" he said ran in his family, but it was an asocial vocabulary in Naru's book. Neji said this: "Hinata, you showed her, but you could have been hurt, too!"

"I know," she answered, sitting back down next to him, leaving Naru to pass everyone's mochi, Neji receiving the vanilla while Sasuke got green tea as it was less sweet compared to the others, "but I had to do something. What was I supposed to do - let her ruin someone else's life?"

"Not at all, but what if Shion goes after you next?" Sasuke pointed out. "That's how she is."

But everyone knows that she's just desperate now that it's gotten out what she tried to do to you last spring. This here is proof of the latest.

Naru had to cut this short. They were all here to have fun, not worry about the Mega Bitch herself, so just chill with the mochi, keep applying each other with sun lotion and then rush to the shore waters under the sun which would end up getting hotter as the weeks turned into the season's months...and then onward to the first year of the biggest time of their young lives before it was off to the real world.

~o~

Just how could his luck have changed in months' time?

Of course, he was still ways off from having his criminal record cleaned - or at least locked away - but he made three amazing friends in the mix. He never thought he'd ever say that in a million years.

However, it was some weeks to pass until he finally got to meet Naru's adoptive parents - all three of whom knew her parents. Tsunade Senju was someone he definitely had to watch out for, because she threatened to cut his manhood parts off if he so much as pulled his shit off with her daughter, or away from eyesight. He didn't let it show, but she made him keep the hackles up. As for Jiraiya, he was boisterous, warm and welcoming to the point Sasuke could have mistaken him to be an actual relative of Naru. That left Orochimaru...the man might as well have made his spine tingle especially with that leer, but then it turned into a deep scowl as he, too, warned him about getting their girl involved in any of his shenanigans. Otherwise, they were willing to give him a chance.

Safe to say that Sasuke Uchiha was sure he could wing it smoothly.

Big brother wasn't even home in time for his birthday this year - which wasn't the first time - but when summer came around the corner, it was off to the beach and then everyone getting together to do something "simple and special"...in the form of a strawberry shortcake, reminding him of what his mother used to do for him and Itachi each time.

In terms of Itachi, he and his brother...he doubted they'd ever be close again, despite Naru encouraging him to have a sit down and heart to heart chat with her there, but what was between him and his older sibling was too difficult and too much. He felt better off with her as well as her family and friends.

Before: he was alone and isolated, struggled with communicating with other people. He rebelled, hated his life and didn't care about having a goal for the future. He had no patience and let his emotions run amok.

Now: he had friends who helped him, he went to more school events and regularly met with the school counselor. He had help looking at good colleges and began to look towards what he wanted to do with his life besides his "freedom on the motorcycle". He had until high school ended to start branching for that.

The day before high school officially began, he found himself having a real family photo taken with Naru, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru...cementing a real memory to look back on in years to come.

~o~

Next step: high school. Home of more brutality than middle school, overtly emotional teenagers over every little thing, and learning to fend for yourself...but the more sensitive ones still need someone or something to rely on.

She and her friends had a few classes together, a few of the same courses but at different times - and turned out they had the same lunch hour, which was AWESOME! So far, everything was off to a good start.

Naru found herself sharing early afternoon music course with none other than that strange guy with the red hair and the black eyeliner around his sea-colored eyes, whose butt Hinata saved from Shion - who was no longer going to bother them, having gone off to some fancy prep school where you had to pay your way in as well as write a plan for the future essay, or whatever the hell it was - and this meant Naru could put her plan to action. She intended to ask him if he recalled a certain lady who got between him and the Mega Bitch, without revealing that she'd stood by.

Turned out that he stayed after school to practice more - he played the drums, the more traditional hand-banging ones than the westernized with the sticks - and she asked her friends to wait for her while she talked to the one who she learned was named Gaara Sabaku.

"Um, hi." Naru found herself squeaking a little out of sheer anxiety, which wasn't like herself, but what if things went so awkward it ruined a chance? "You're Gaara, right? I'm -"

"Naru Namikaze. I remember you from second period," he answered, deadpanned but curious. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, you see, I don't know if you remember, but last summer, a friend of mine told me about how she broke it up between you and...Shion Kurama. Don't know how else to say it, but I thought I could help." Her cheeks heated up even as his eyes widened with recognition, stunned that someone approached him after all this time, and asked for her name since she ran off in apparent fright. "Hinata Hyuuga. Best friend of mine since we were kids. Oh, and she also told me about a little mishap of hers, so you should be warned to not bring that up because of her overprotective cousin, Neji."

Gaara simply stared at her; did he have no sense of humor or what?

"You want to meet her again?" she blurted out, knowing deep down in her gut that it wasn't happening too fast, since this was something that had been discussed with the gang. "We don't know much about you, but she heard enough of what you told Shion -" Actually, so did I. "- and has a similar issue with her father. If that was what you meant."

"...yes. My father, long story short, hasn't loved me since before I was born. I want to meet your friend, Naru. And it's a pleasure to meet you, as well." That was when a slight smile now appeared on his face, and he offered his hand out to her for a shake.

She wasted no time beaming, exposing her teeth, and taking that hand.

My deepest apologies for keeping everyone waiting, but I also don't want to mess up how events will flow, but it's still up to me based on how I judge and feel at the end of the day while intending to make this enjoyable for all of you.

Hope everyone had a happy 4th in spite of everything going on in the world. REVIEW! :3 Desperately need them!