The next day, in Hinata's bedroom, the raventte slowly begun to open her eyes. Her vision was slightly blurry, but after a few blinks she could see clearly. She then looked at her clock, which read seven-fifthteen. Hinata had gotten up earlier than she normally would and she knew that she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep. The raven haired girl was still thinking about her experience last night and she was even surprised that she got any sleep in the first place. Now that the girl was fully awake, Hinata got out of her bed, washed her face and got changed into her summer school uniform.
After about thirty minutes of getting herself ready and having her breakfast, Hinata left the house and started to make her way to Konoha High. Tenten was on duty in school, so she didn't have to wait, but that also meant that she'd be walking by herself, which was quite lonely for Hinata. She walked along the concrete path, which was only occupied by her, some other students from different schools and other passerbys. It was a quiet morning so she saw them every now and again. Her feet quickly came to a stop, however, when her eyes gazed at someone she recognised, near a tree.
That someone was her new pink haired classmate, Haruno Sakura, and she was looking up at the tree. Hinata didn't know why, but before she knew it, she was hiding behind the nearest building's wall and poked her head out, watching what the pinkette was doing. The raven haired girl followed the other girl's line of sight, and from what she could see, Sakura was staring at a cat on top of a high branch. It most likely got stuck up there. The cat began to cry out and it took all Hinata had to not go up there herself and rescue the cat.
But by the looks of it, she didn't have to.
The pink haired girl looked to her left, then to her right, probably making sure that no one was around and could see her. When the coast was clear (from Sakura's point of view anyway) she placed her school bag onto the floor, and looked around once more before she jumped up and landed on the tree's branch, the one the cat was laying on. The pinkette then reached her hand out toward the cat and said something to it. Maybe she's trying to get it to move toward her? was Hinata's thought and whatever she was saying, it was working, as the cat slowly approached the girl's hand.
When the cat was close enough, slowly as to not frighten the small animal, Sakura grabbed it, embracing it to her chest and jumped down from the tree branch. Landing safely with the cat in her arms, the pinkette looked at it with her gentle emerald eye, a look that Hinata had never seen before. The cat then gave a little "Meow" and then started to lick the pink haired girl's face with it's little tongue, the ravenette's eyes widened at Sakura's reaction.
She was smiling and laughing. She laughed like how a teenage girl should, as the cat continued to lick it's saviour's face in appreciation. Beautiful Hinata said in her thoughts. For some reason, she could feel her cheeks begin to blush, and her heart was hammering away in her chest. This was a new side of Haruno Sakura that Hinata hadn't seen, and she was the only one to see such a pretty sight. After a few more licks from the cat, the pinkette decided now was the time to put the furry animal down. She gave it a few more strokes before she picked up her school bag, turned around, and walked away. The cat just sat there, mewling, as it's saviour walked off. But the pinkette didn't stop and continued on like nothing happened.
When the pink haired girl disappeared from view, Hinata let out her breath that she didn't realize she held in and slumped her back against the wall she was hiding behind, her gaze turning to the blue summer sky. The image of Sakura's gentle eye, her smile and laughter were engraved in her memory and when she recalled it, her cheeks again became crimson, her heart dancing around in her chest and butterflies where in her stomach. What's wrong with me? she asked herself in her thoughts. She put her hand on her chest and could feel her heartbeat going crazy. Why is my heart acting this way?
"Meow."
A cry of a cat brought Hinata out of her thoughts. She looked down and saw the cat that Sakura helped, staring at her. The ravenette smiled at the small feline and reached out, petting it. The cat purring in response from the attention it was getting.
Once the cat was satisfied, the butterflies in her stomach were gone and her heart rate was beating normally again, Hinata finally made it to school. She changed her outdoor shoes into the school's shoe-like slippers at the entrance and made her way to her classroom. As she entered through the door, the ravenette immediately noticed Sakura sitting at her desk, her head resting on the palm of her hand and stared out of the window. She looked very disinterested and didn't bother interacting with anybody in the classroom. It was huge difference to what she saw on her way here.
The other girl's didn't go near the pink haired girl, which was understandable because of what happened yesterday, but still, Hinata didn't like it. If they had seen what the ravenette had seen before, then she knew they would keep trying, just like her.
Since she saw that no one was going to go over to her and talk, Hinata decided she be the one to do it. But before she could say the one-eyed girl's name, a pair of hands suddenly grasped the raven haired girl's breasts from behind. Hinata let out a cry from the sudden touch of her chest and everyone, including Sakura, looked to see what was going on.
Hinata turned her head toward her attacker and saw that it was none other than her childhood friend. "Tenten!"the ravenette shouted her friends name. Tenten on the other hand, had a huge grin like a cheshire cat planted on her face and didn't look like she felt sorry.
The twin bunned girl started to move her hands around, playing with Hinata's chest, the smile never leaving her face. "Morning Hinata!" she said. "Hey, have your breasts gotten bigger?"she asked the ravenette, continuing to squeeze the girl's chest.
"W-What are you asking!?" Hinata was in trouble now. The motions of Tenten's hands where starting to make her, to her horror, feel good. Really good.
"Come on you can tell me."
"Let me go Tenten!"
"Nope."
"Meanie!"
As the girl's continued to play around, the onlookers, having seen what was going on, turned back to what they were doing. It was nothing new to them, as they had seen this sort of thing since they started Konoha High. But Sakura continued to look at the pair of girls. Even though Hyuga Hinata was was telling her friend off, she looked she was having fun. Nostalgia started to appear in the pink haired girl's mind but she quickly blocked it out. She didn't want to remember any good memories that felt like a dream at this point.
The door to the classroom suddenly opened and Kakashi, 2-B's homeroom teacher, came through the door. "Okay everyone it's time for..." Kakashi stopped at mid-sentence when he saw the normal duo, Hinata and Tenten, bickering with one another. He just closed his one eye and let out a sigh. "Not again."
A few minutes later, the two girls finally realized that everything was quiet, and when they looked around, the saw Kakashi was standing there, waiting. The two girls both began to blush from embarrassment and awkwardly went to their seats. With that, homeroom had finally begun.
Four uneventful hours of lessons, with shorts breaks in between them, had passed and finally the school bell, which everyone had been waiting for, signalling the end of fourth period and the start of lunch, had rung, and everyone in class had begun to move. Hinata noticed, like everybody else, Sakura was, too, about to leave. She couldn't speak to the pink haired girl in the morning because she messed about with Tenten, but Hinata wasn't about to give up.
She knew Sakura was a normal girl, despite claiming herself to be like those monsters and having supernatural powers. Helping a cat out of a tree. Smiling and laughing innocently. These are the things that true monsters, like the two Hinata had seen the other night, wouldn't do. So like yesterday, with determination to succeed, Hinata walked up to Sakura's desk.
Probably sensing her presence, the pinkette looked up and saw Hinata standing next to her. The raven haired girl didn't miss the slight irritation in the other girl's eye, but she ignored it and did what she came to do. "Haruno-san," Hinata called the girl's name. But like she did when they first met, Sakura simply stood up, walked past Hinata and started to make her way toward the door.
But unlike last time, the ravenette wasn't going to let up. She was going to have a proper conversation with the transfer girl, even if it killed her. Running past the pink haired girl, Hinata quickly got in front of her, effectively blocking her path and her white eyes gazed into an emerald one. Sakura narrowed her lone eye into a glare when she saw the ravenette getting in her way. "Move," she ordered, her voice cold.
But Hinata's resolve would not falter. "No," she said, her eyes serious. "Not until I've talked to you."
The girls that had remained in the classroom for lunch, began to stare at the spectacle. They were surprised, even Tenten, that the raven haired girl was being slightly forceful at the new girl and their gazes never left one another's.
Sakura looked into the eyes of the Hyuga girl, and saw the determination in them. They never wavered as they looked into the pinkette's own and, knowing that this stubborn girl wouldn't back down, Sakura closed her eye and let out a sigh. "Very well," she finally said. She took a few steps past Hinata and turned her head slightly to look over her shoulder. "Follow me."
Hinata gave a nod of response and did as she was told, following the pinkette out of the classroom, unaware of a certain brunette's worried look upon her.
The two girls went up the stairs, leading to the third years floor and continued, ignoring the strange looks from the third year girls were giving them (which was extremely hard for Hinata), up another set of stairs leading to the roof of the school. Sakura opened the metal door in front of them and when they stepped out into the open, Hinata could feel a pleasant breeze on her face, and it felt nice on her skin.
After a few more steps, the pinkette stopped in her tracks and turned on her heel, facing the raven haired girl. "So," Sakura began. "What is it you want to talk about so badly?"
Getting straight to the point, Hinata was taken slightly aback. But she wasn't going to back down now after getting here. "I wanted to talk about what happened last night." she replied, remembering her attackers on that frightful night.
"Didn't I tell you to forget about what happened?" The pink haired girl questioned, a mocking smile soon finding it's way on her lips. "And here I thought you were a smart one. But you're just another idiot like the rest."
The comment hurt Hinata slightly, but she carried on. "But what's going on?" the ravenette asked. "What were those things last night?"
"They were demons," Sakura told her, plainly and simply.
"D-Demons...?" Hinata repeated.
"That's right," Sakura continued, folding her arms in front of her chest. "They come out during the night, preferably so they aren't seen, and then they attack and devour humans for their own pleasure, just like when you were targeted last night. They even kill children and butcher families on a night stroll." At this point in the conversation, Hinata's eyes widened like saucers, her hand covering her mouth. Sakura continued on. "Demons only see humanity as meals or play things, nothing more, nothing less. And it's rare that they keep humans as pets or slaves before eventually killing them. They even use their own kind as slaves if they're weaker than themselves."
A cold sweat started to run down Hinata's back at Sakura's explanation, and a lot of gruesome images appeared in the ravenette's mind. "No... way..." the words escaped her mouth before she realized.
"What? Don't believe me?" Sakura asked. "Even though you saw them with your very own eyes." A pause. She looked at the ground, her emerald eye looking a little sad and her cocky smirk was completely gone. "And even though you're standing in front of one right now."
When those words went through Hinata's, she remembered past events, from last night and this morning. Remembering how Sakura saved her from the two demons by summoning a huge scythe and fighting them alone, effectively revealing who she really was. She then remembered the scene with the cat, that was stuck up the tree. Sakura could of left it up there, ignore it completely, but she didn't and decided to help it out of the kindness of her own heart. And then the gentle look she gave it, followed by the laugh, melted her heart. Hinata knew that the girl in front of her was no monster, so it felt natural to say, "You're wrong!"
Sakura's eye widened in surprise with the ravenette's outburst, Hinata continuing what she wanted to say. "You're nothing like them Haruno-san," she said. "If what you said is true, about what the demons do, then you're completely wrong. If that was the case, then you wouldn't have saved me back then!" Sakura narrowed her eye and furrowed her brow. "Last night you said that you were a half-blood right? Which means that you're also half human, right? That's why-"
In the next instant, Hinata felt hands grab the collar of her school shirt and her feet left the floor of the roof, now dangling in the air. Sakura had closed the gap between them in a matter of seconds and was now glaring at the raven haired girl. Hinata, with one eye closed, looked down at the pinkette's emerald orb, and in it, she only saw anger. She could feel the collar starting to choke her, slowly stopping her airwaves. "What would you know..." Sakura spoke in a menacing growl. This was the first time Hinata had seen the other girl lose her calm demeanour. "What would someone like you know about me!?"
"Ha...runo...san..." Hinata managed to squeeze out, the collar tightening even further thanks to the pinkette's anger.
"You would never understand," Sakura spat out. "You'll never understand what I've been through until now. All the pain and suffering I've gone through day in and day out, by humans and demons, is something you'll never comprehend. So don't you dare compare me to you!"
Hinata's vision slowly started to blur from the lack of oxygen her lungs were receiving, but no matter what she tried her best to keep her gaze on the emerald orb of her classmate.
"Can you feel that, Hyuga Hinata?" Sakura asked, seeing the light in the girl's eye slowly starting to fade. She decided to put more pressure on the collar. "Can you feel the life slowly starting to leave your body? Maybe I should finish off what those two demons started." The raven haired girl's remaining open eye, slowly started to close. But before it could close completely, ultimately ending the girl's life, Sakura released Hinata, the ravenette falling onto the ground and began to have a coughing fit, her hand on her throat.
The pinkette started to make her way to the rooftop's door, but stopped next to Hinata, who had stopped coughing her guts out and started to breathe heavily. "Hyuga Hinata," she called out to the girl sitting down. "If you say anything like that to me again, then know this. I'll kill you." And with those parting words, Sakura continued on, disappearing through the door and leaving Hinata behind.
The footsteps of the pinkette soon disappeared, and when they were completely gone and she was alone, Hinata's hands started to ball into fists. She felt absolutely powerless that she couldn't help the pink haired girl. In fact, she probably made it even worse. Heaving a heavy sigh, the ravenette stood up and walked to door, seeing no point at staying on the rooftop. Her footsteps were heavy as she made her way back to the classroom and for the rest of the school day, Haruno Sakura never went back to class.
And that's the end of episode those who stuck with me, then I like to say thanks, and I'll start episode 2 as fast I can. Until next time.