Chapter Eight

People busily walk around the station in a steady pace. Sakura notes to herself, comparing how fast the people walk back at her hometown. A female voice announces a train that has arrived from the speakers. She feels confused and strangely lonely among the bustling crowd. Her eyes shift from one to another, looking for one particular person. She is about to open her phone when she sees her blue-haired friend approaching her with a wide smile on her face, waving.

Sakura lets go of her suitcase and wraps her arms around Hinata tightly, tears brimming on her eyes.

"I'm so glad! I'm so, so glad!" she exclaims. She holds Hinata at arm's length and observes the girl.

Hinata's round face has refined, making her look mature and beautiful. Her cropped dark blue hair now reaches her nicely shaped waists. Her pale lilac eyes are covered with tears of joy. Her breasts are larger and feel firm when pressed against Sakura. She feels a tinge of jealousy.

"Look at you! You're so pretty!" she remarks, grinning.

Hinata blushes daintily. "Thank you, Sakura. You're very pretty too."

Together they walk out of the train station into the cold winter air. Sparkling gems glistened in the sky, falling so delicately to the ground. The whole city, as well as the hills, is covered by snow.

"It's so pretty here!" Sakura remarks, her vibrant green eyes sparkling.

Hinata leads her to her car, where her chauffeur is waiting for them with a warm smile on his face. He puts Sakura's suitcase in the back, and then drove them to the house.

Sakura watches the scene go by before her eyes. The cityscape far behind, and the view of the hills are ahead of them. She raises an eyebrow, confused on where they were heading. Hinata notices the confusion on her face. Smiling, she tells her she lives up in the hills.

"I hope you brought warmer clothes. With this weather, it gets really chilly up there, especially at night." She says.

Hinata lives in a grand traditional two-story house. Tall stonewalls surrounded it, tree branches peek out and reach to touch the cloudy sky, giving an enchanting ambience. She shows Sakura around while the maid brings her things to the guest room. She takes her first down the engawa along the snow-covered garden just outside their rooms.

"It's all green and colorful during spring and summer," she tells Sakura. "But also beautiful in autumn and especially during winter, as you can see."

Then she takes her upstairs to the west side of the house with a beautiful view of the sea. Sakura leans against the windowpane, twinkling eyes scanning the breath-taking view. She can even see the city from where she stands.

"You live in a very beautiful house, Hinata. It's like something out of a fairytale!"

Hinata smiles warmly and politely thanks her.

"I like living here. It's very peaceful. It's as if you can forget all your troubles just by looking at the view and breathing in the fresh air."

Sakura takes deep breaths, filling her polluted lungs with the cool fresh air of the countryside. Slowly, her troubles seemed to be melting away as she watches the waves crashing onto another. They remain standing there for a while without saying a word.

Hinata then introduces her to Hanabi and Neji. Sakura's first impression on them is that they look alike. They have the same dark hair and the same stoic expression on their faces. She can't believe Hinata and Hanabi are sisters. Hinata looks kind and gentle, whereas Hanabi is serious. She looks more like Neji.

"Where is your dad?" Sakura quietly asks as they walked to her room.

"Father is out on a business trip until next week." Hinata answers. "So don't worry about him. We have the whole place to ourselves."

"That's good." She sighs softly, relieved.

Her room is right next to Hinata's with the view of the garden she first showed her. She was impressed at how wide and spacious her room was. It felt like sleeping in a five-star hotel.

"I'm sure you must be exhausted from your trip," Hinata says. "You should get some rest. If you need anything, just come to me next door."

She thanks Hinata before retreating to the guest room, sliding the door close. The beauty surrounding her overwhelms her. She doesn't know how long it has been since she felt that way—or perhaps never.


Sakura feels somehow relieved when it is just her, Hinata and Hanabi during dinner. She would have felt awkward if Neji was there with them, because she's aware of Hinata's arousing feelings for her cousin. He went out with his friends instead of joining them for dinner.

Hanabi is a girl of eleven. She has beautiful dark brown hair, her long bangs parted in the middle. Her wide lilac eyes gleam coldly, which makes her seem unapproachable. She keeps her questions and answers short. Her voice sounds strained for an eleven-year-old girl. Sakura feels slightly intimidated being in the same room with her.

That night after dinner, Sakura and Hinata sit under the kotatsu in the living room while it gently snows outside. The strong smell of incense emits from the family altar hanging down the ceiling. Hinata, who learns tea ceremony on her free time, serves Sakura tea. Sakura senses warmth and joy spreading through her veins after the first sip. She feels as if she has new sets of bones during the third.

"What would you like to do tomorrow?" she asks.

Hinata sets her cup down on the table, and looks up to think, biting her lower lip.

"There's a nice little café in town that I've been wanting to go," she says softly. "We can go window shopping too."

"Sounds like a plan." Sakura grinned.

Her vibrant emerald eyes look around the spacious living room. A cabinet that holds plates, bowls, and utensils used in tea ceremony stands next to the sliding door behind Hinata.

"Sakura," Hinata's soft voice suddenly breaks the silence, "can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"It's been a while since I've had such a good time. I've almost forgotten completely about that feeling."

Sakura's gaze softened, a small smile crossed her face. "Don't you at least have one friend at school that you can talk to?"

She shakes her head, strands of dark blue hair fall off her shoulder.

"Why?" Sakura asks, worried.

"Because they're scared of my father, I think." Hinata answers, her face remaining straight.

She raises her eyebrows and breaks into a laugh. "That's ridiculous!"

Hinata heartily joins her, covering her mouth with a hand.

"You're kidding, right?" Sakura asks to make sure.

She nods her head, still laughing, but it sounds forced. "I guess they won't talk to me because of where I come from and my father's achievements. It's strange, because I go to a private school and almost everybody there is a snob, yet they think I'm the snobbiest of them all when it's not true." She pauses for a moment, licking her dry lips.

"They some times hold their noses while they walk past me, sneering 'Something reeks over here.' Some even dare to harm me, like that time with those boys at the back of the school building." She continues.

Sakura feels anger swelling inside her. She tries to wash it down with the warm tea, but it still doesn't work. She has the strong urge to go to Hinata's bullies' houses and beat them until they're dead. They deserve it for hurting her best friend.

"Aren't the teachers doing anything?" she asks, frowning.

Hinata slowly shakes her head. "Maybe they don't notice it. But if they do, I guess they're ignoring it. I don't think they're interested in their students' problems unless it involves studying."

Sakura's frown deepens. "Have you tried talking about it with your homeroom teacher? Or a guidance counselor?"

"I plan to, but I can never leave the classroom and I always go home straight after school." She says, her voice barely audible. "I'm scared they will think it's nothing and dismiss me." She looks up and meets Sakura's hard gaze, blushing. "I'm sorry for dumping all of this to you."

Sakura's gaze softens and flashes her friend a warm smile. "It's okay. It's better than bottling them up, right?"

Hinata nods. "I suppose you're right. Thank you for listening, Sakura."

"No problem, Hinata. After all, you're my best friend."

Hinata looks at her as if she was about to cry of relief, which makes the strings tug at Sakura's heart.

"You are my best friend, too, Sakura."

They talk for two hours without stopping. They talk about whatever they have in their heads, throwing jokes once in a while. There's always a comfortable break of silence between them as they silently wonder what else to talk about.

Sakura tenses when Hinata mentions school. She knows Hinata is careful not to bring up Hatake-sensei, but school reminds her of him. With a strained smile she tells Hinata that school is fine and she's glad that exams are over.

"But come to think of it, I now have university entrance exams to worry about," a sigh parts from her lips.

"What will you take, Sakura?" Hinata asks, crossing her arms on the table.

"Medicine. I want to be a doctor." She says, eyes twinkling.

"That's amazing! I'm sure you'll be an excellent one." Hinata says with wide admiring eyes.

She chuckles. "What about you, Hinata?"

Hinata tilts her head to the side, pursing her lips tightly in thought. She straightens and gives Sakura a bashful smile. "Literature, maybe."

Sakura realizes she now has only a year left to see Hatake-sensei around school before she goes to university. The fact that she will no longer see his warm smile and him casually reading adult books in front of her, his strong masculine fragrance won't fill her lungs, and feel the warmth of his hands ever again makes it so painful for her heart to beat suddenly.

"This is my last year in high school and it will also probably be the last time I see Hatake-sensei," she begins slowly, her voice strained. "He and I were getting along so well. It was stupid of me to tell him I love him. Now he doesn't even want to talk to me. I messed up really bad."

She buries her face in her hands and breaks down in tears. She hears the quick shuffling of Hinata's feet. Hinata gently rubs her small hand on her back and holds her to comfort her.

She cries for a long time, but Hinata doesn't leave her side. When she's done, her face remains in her wet palms as she takes deep breaths to calm herself down. She raises her head and looks at Hinata with red eyes and a faint smile.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry that much."

Hinata warmly smiles back at her. "It's alright. Do you feel better now?"

"A little bit. But I might feel sad again tomorrow, though."

"It's okay. I'm here for you, Sakura."

Her lips tremble and small tears stream down her face once again. She is truly lucky and grateful to have Hinata as her friend.


Author's Note: Hey, everyone. Sorry for the delay, I was hospitalized for two weeks so I couldn't update. But now I'm back and I'll still stick with updating every two weeks. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think.