Take Me Home
By TheChrysanthemum
Chapter 1
Hinata took off the orange jacket and looked at her uniform in disgust. Her uniform consisted of spaghetti straps that barely covered her chest and a skirt that revealed her ass whenever she bended down. She looked at herself in front of the mirror of her locker. Her eyes were sunken and her skin appeared ashy like the club was quickly sucking away any of her vital life force. Gone was the bubbly and shy Hinata her family and the world knew, replaced by a…
She couldn't finish her thought. Instead she concentrated on folding her uniform properly so that it wouldn't be be wrinkled and put on her sweatpants and an oversize shirt. But her mind started to wonder. Kurama was the rock bottom that she hoped she didn't have to be. But Kurama didn't discriminate. Kurama didn't care about her family background. After being exiled from the Hyuuga clan, her own blood, she was blacklisted all over the city. Everybody avoided her and wouldn't look her in the eyes. Nobody would hire her even if she shed off her "Hinata Hyuuga" identity, everyone knew the signature Hyuuga appearance. She thought about cutting her long hair to a more manageable cut, but decided against it because it was her eyes that often betrayed her true identity to others. She heard the whispers. They were imprinted in her ears, in her skin, in her mind.
"Isn't she the girl that the Hyuuga banished?"
"She looks weak."
"Maybe that's why they cut her off."
She closed her eyes, trying to get the mocking voices out of her head. When she opened them, her reflection stared back at her. Then suddenly, Hanabi's young face flashed before. Her little sister, her sweet little sister was deemed stronger than her to run the cruel Hyuuga clan business. Like a sail that just picked up wind, her resolve was re-established. She would get her sister out and maybe, her innocence would be spared.
Shoving the locker shut, Hinata picked up her duffel bag full of her belongings and headed to her apartment. She put on her cap, obscuring any of outsider's view on her face. She blended in with the crowd against the flickering lamp lights of the red light district.
...
She opened her door to her dingy apartment and turned on the light switch. But she was still encased in darkness until she felt a familiar feel of letters on her feet.
"Damn," she muttered. She remembered that her electricity was cut off because she couldn't pay it on time due to the fact that Kurama didn't do advanced payments. But the dark didn't bother her. Her eyes adjusted pretty quickly. She collapsed on her couch and stared at the ceiling. Trying to focus on distractions that might push away the whispering suicidal thoughts inside her head that sometimes surfaced in the darkest hours, Hinata, instead, wondered about her strange encounter with a particular customer.
His shyness and awkwardness was uncommon in her line of business. She remembered a man that reminded her of a canine to give his friend, "Naruto," the best time of his life, and he paid her full in cash. Willingly to sell her soul once again, she prepared to go in there and tolerate another man-handling session. But it was soon made clear to her that he was a stranger to the proceedings of what would happen inside a club such as Kurama's. Hinata could tell that he was different. Deciding to amuse herself, she continued to poke fun at his expense and found his reactions to be rather entertaining, to say the least. He offered her a jacket when he finally noticed her clothes and despite of her protests, he stubbornly shoved the jacked into her hands as he angrily muttered along the lines of "greasy hands" and "pneumonia." Not wanting her behavior to reach the manager in Kurama's, she accepted his offer.
Then her head instinctively shifted to the orange jacket laying on the table.
Hmm… So his name is Naruto… She eventually drifted off to sleep with the image of his sheepish smile and his kind eyes.
"Naruto! Wake the hell up!" Kiba shouted, and Naruto had the strong urge to smother him with his pillow. Then he felt a familiar heavy weight on top of him.
"G-get Akamaru off of me!" Naruto grumbled as he dived his head back underneath the duvet. Warmth began to envelop him when, suddenly, the duvet was yanked out by none other than his business partner Kiba.
"What the hell, man!" He sat up and rubbed his eyes from the onslaught of sunshine slipping through the curtains.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten. Today is the big day," Kiba replied, rolling his eyes.
"Today?" Naruto's eyes widened. His head whipped to the clock on the wall. "Oh shit!"
Never had Kiba ever seen Naruto jumped off from his bed so quickly other than if it was for Ichiraku's special ramen. "Why didn't you tell me sooner!" he yelled from the bathroom.
Kiba resisted to roll his eyes again. "I did about a million times. Damn, Naruto! You must had a really good time last night if you slept through all the commotions this morning." He let out a mischievous, almost wolfish, smile. "And you came home without your favorite jacket," he added.
Getting out of the bathroom with a minute to spare was Naruto already in his father's black double-breasted suit. "Now's not the time. Shikamaru is going to be pissed if we're late," he sighed, grabbing his briefcase that was on the table.
"He needs to get laid," Kiba laughed as they headed out of the door of the apartment they shared, and toward the infamous Konoha Incorporation.
...
"I heard the CEO is an old bitch," Kiba whispered to Naruto when they were standing in front of the towering Konoha Incorporation skyscraper that stood proudly in the center of the bustling city. The fire symbol they were famous for was ingrained on a giant billboard with the words "will of fire" written underneath it. The will of fire was their legendary motto for their effective ways of keeping the city prospering and thriving despite of the imminent threats from foreign countries. It was, perhaps, one of the reasons why Naruto along with Kiba decided to apply for the job openings was to gain acknowledgement and recognition from the city's citizens.
Naruto's fiddled with the edge of his sleeves. "After all that years of training, we're finally here," he smiled though Kiba could immediately tell that he was nervous. For Kiba, it was puzzling to see Naruto, who, in fact, usually exuded determination and confidence to the people around him. Unfortunately, today was not the day.
"Come on, Shikamaru is waiting."
Then with a big breath, Naruto followed Kiba into the building.
A/N: And the plot thickens! I love candy and reviews are like candy. Don't forget to leave me some candy!