Warning(s): Mentions of nudity?
Chapter 4: The one with the protest.
Hinata stretched out her legs and arms. Morning yoga had helped wake her up and now she was ready to head out. Picking up her coat- Sakura-chan had forgotten to take hers, she observed-she tilted over the side of the kitchen counter to grab her keys and bag, placing the bag over the shoulder as soon as it reached the other side of the counter.
Hinata made sure she hadn't forgotten anything and then locked the door behind her, quickly putting the keys in the bag so she wouldn't lose them.
Suna-U was -thankfully, Hinata thought- only a 5 minute drive from her apartment.
Passing the lone swing across the road, it really did make a pretty picture, Hinata made a mental note to try and paint it. Sakura-chan's birthday was only a few months away and she had taken a strange liking to the scenery.
She drove past the post office and tried to remember what the road sign had said would be the best route to avoid the constructions occuring.
Was it right at the blue building or the primary school building?
Fortunately enough, there were already signs placed around the roads to try and make travel to the university easier. Hinata parked her car in the University parking, right next to a bright yellow van.
Locking her car she glanced at her watch and began to jog towards the university gates, nodding at the security officer as she entered. Metal bars closing threateningly behind her made it seem more like they were there to hold them in, rather than keep people out. The thought was a bit too much for Hinata, so she instead concentrated on finding her way to her designated room.
Hinata made her way through the double doors (a sign next to them read 'A2- K') that stood between herself and her class. Despite her early rise from a dreamless sleep, she was slightly worried about arriving on time. Art sessions were notorious for having the longest preparation times and if you were to arrive early (or, on some occasions, on time) you would end up being allocated a job while the teacher either stood over you imposingly (just the thought was enough to turn Hinata into a fidgeting mess), or helped the setup along.
Clearly, Hinata let out a sigh of relief, Kurenai-sensei was the helping type.
The black-haired art teacher was calmly relaying instructions to a clearly sleep-deprived pupil. Who was also, oddly enough, covered in what looked like face paint, and clad in a cat onesie.
Huh, Hinata considered the strange appearance as she took in the other four occupants of the (mostly set up) room.
There was an extremely pale looking boy (so pale in fact that she woouldn't be surprised if it turned out he hadn't set foot under the sun in his entire life) sitting behind one of the many easels situated in a circle, seemingly working in a small notebook the size of his hand. Hinata could see the word 'Shin' engraved on the spine of the book. There were also two other figures -TAs, the identifications hanging from their belt loops- huddled near the only desk in the room with a computer on it.
The blonde turned around and winked at her when he noticed her staring.
(Hinata rubbed her eyes because dear god did he have a striking resemblance to Ino-chan.)
Nonetheless she blushed at the act and, one hand tugging at her skirt, waved at the slender blonde. He waved back, more energetically and grinning now.
His was quickly distracted, however, when the red head sitting on the chair next to him smacked him upside the head, harshly muttering something too quiet for Hinata to hear, but it was enough to put a worried frown on the blonde's face that scrunched his features into a somewhat unnattractive look.
The last occupant of the room was a very pretty, and very tall, blue haired woman with what looked like an origami flower in her hair.
(The detail on the flower, Hinata observed, overcome with awe, was astounding)
She was immediately barraged with the urge to paint the stern-faced female. The woman was sitting on top of the desk situated under the closed window, folding a piece of pink -tissue?- paper, her long thin hands working effortlessly.
She was snapped out of her blatant staring and appreciation for the blue-haired female by Kurenai-sensei. She tapped her on the shoulder twice, "Hyuuga-san?"
Hinata turned around, taking a step back at how close the teacher was, "Y-yes."
Kurenai-sensei also took a step back, smiling slightly, and pointed to the centre of the room. Where, Hinata realised with increasing embarassment, the other students had already set up behind individual easels and were now looking at her.
(The blue-haired woman had not paused in her work even once.)
Hinata fidgeted slightly, fingers coming up to poke the opposite tip, a habit she hadn't managed to break out of since she was 5, "U-um, sorry."
Kurenai-sensei patted her lightly on the shoulder, before guiding her towards one of the empty easels. Right next to the ghostly teen who's hair looked like he'd dyed it with black ink, and who disengaged from his drawing (it looked like a lion from her vantage point) to offer her a smile and his name; "Sai."
It was strangely frightening.
(That was also the first and last time he spoke to her throughout the whole of the session.)
When they'd finish tidying up their respective areas at the end of the third hour Kurenai-sensei had them all gather around near the back desk, away from the small smokey patch near the door-
(Deidara, the blonde from before, had been introduced as the TA and he had proceeded to make a very explosive follow up.
Literally.
He'd thrown a small sparkling stick into the air and it had exploded into smoke and glitter as soon as it had touched the ground.)
-to evaluate what they thought would be each other's strengths and weaknesses in the medium of still life painting.
Hinata had gotten Sasori, the other TA, and the criticism he had dealt her with had left her trembling in both fear and awe; something Kurenai-sensei had found both amusing and concerning. She let them leave the session with a long list of supplies they'd need for the following year, along with a list of dates that signified important key events they'd have to prepare certain pieces for so they could be evaluated.
With a final remark on how failure to attend any sessions, as well as being late to them without a valid reason (here she glared pointedly at the brunette who had arrived to the session after the first hour with nothing but a smirk plastered on his face, and a bright green thong stuffed in his back pocket that had Hinata turning red) would result in a failing grade, she bid them good bye.
Hinata shifted her bag higher on her shoulder as she waited patiently for the next bus to arrive.
(She'd started her car only to realise with increasing horror that the fuel tank was empty)
The Kaze Market was a 20 minutes walk from her apartment in the opposite direction to the university, so to avoid unecessary pain she had decided to take the bus instead. Something she was rapidly regretting as the bus screeched to a stop in front of her, packed to the brim with people in various states of undress.
"It's for a protest, missy." The bald man next to her told her. Her hands tightened on the railing above her when a woman wearing a barrel leaned across her shoulder to grin at Hinata toothily.
"You got that right! Freedom for nudity!" The lady shouted, barreled body pushing up against Hinata awkwardly.
This in turn led to a whole bus full of semi-naked (and a few naked) people chanting "Freedom for nudity!" with varying degrees of emotion. Hinata herself was feeling quite unpleasant in the cramped chaos of the bus, and gratefully took the seat offered to her by the bald man when he noticed the concerning twitch of her shoulders as another woman, red haired and completely nude, accidentally brushed against her back in an effort to move to the front of the bus.
Sitting on the disturbingly warm seat, Hinata counted backwards from a hundred and wished for the time to pass more quickly so she could escape this strange imprisonment.
'Sakura-chan,
I have to attend an art session that will likely last around 4 to 5 hours, after this I will be making a trip to the Kaze market, if you would like anything bought please message me.
Kind Regards,
Hinata H'
Sakura's eyes scanned the contents of the note carefully placed on the kitchen counter, right next to the plate of biscuits she was currently gulfing down, and felt her lips twitch in amusement. Hinata was stubbornly formal with everyone, even her close friends (especially with her family), and chose to be so in situations where such formality was decidedly strange.
The note in her hand being a prime example.
But she was also very efficient. She had most likely noted how Sakura's phone was out of service (more like dead to the world after an hour of consecutive games of flappy bird) since she hadn't responded to her last text relaying the exact message on the note.
Sakura picked up the plate of biscuits, quickly grabbing her bag from where she'd dumped it on the couch, and made her way to her room.
Plugging in her phone charger, she restlessly paced around the small room, all the while taking bites of the biscuit in hand.
She needed to not only message Hinata, but also her parents. Not confirming her settlement into the apartment with her parents would worry her father and result in an impromptu visit as soon as the week was over.
Sakura glanced out the window, and noticed someone slowly swinging in the park. The person was completely dwarfed in a balck hoodie a few sizes too big and the actual hood was worn in such a way that she couldn't see any identifying features either.
The person (who Sakura had now dubbed 'child' due to their rather small stature) stopped swinging and looked around- the hood still blocking off any view of child's face. After a few seconds the child pulled out a chunky looking phone from the pockets of their hood and began to slowly punch numbers in.
Sakura squinted at the motions as she vaguely mouthed the numbers he was typing onto his phone.
9..1..4..
The child suddenly stopped typing and turned around, staring directly at Sakura from where she was perched near her window.
Sakura ducked under her window quickly, heart beat picking up pace and her fingers trembling. The child was going to think she was some type of creep now.
Why the hell did I hide!?
But even after 5 minutes Sakura continued to sit there, heart rate slowly returning back to normal. When she closed her eyes all she could see were the striking pair of dull grey eyes staring right through her.
To: Hinata-chan
From: PinkFlash
14:07 pm
Subject: Shopping List
Hiya Hinata-chan!
Could you get me some pocky and ramen please?
P.s. Please don't tell Naruto about the ramen.
To: Sasu-chan; Naruto-baka
From: PinkFlash
14:10 pm
Subject: Yo Losers!
I hope you idiots know it's my birthday in a few months.
Also are we still doing it?
To: Lee
From: PinkFlash
14:10 pm
Subject: Hello.
Hey Lee,
Just wanted to know if you're still in Kaze Capitol or not?
To: The Bastard; Sakura-chan
From: The Ultimate Orange King
14:10 pm
Subject: HEY SAKURA-CHAN
OF COURSE SAKURA-CHAN I DIDN'T FORGET
Bastard says he won't be able to make it this year
To: Naruto-baka
From: PinkFlash
14:11 pm
Subject: Naruto.
Why isn't he telling me this himself? And why the hell can't he make it?
To: Sasu-chan
From: PinkFlash
14:11 pm
Subject: I hate you
Why the hell can't you make it?
To: Sakura-chan
From: The Ultimate Orange King
14:12 pm
Subject: Sakura-chan
Bastard says he cba to and that his family's got some important thing
To: Sasu-chan; Naruto-baka
From: Pinkflash
14:15 pm
Subject: This sucks.
I can't believe you're breaking tradition after 8 years. Annual movie night is SACRED.
To: Sakura-sama
From: Avenger
14:20 pm
Subject: Sorry
Mom's pregnant.
End Note: I'm not very satisfied with this chapter, it felt like a filler.