Chapter Four
Naruto and Hinata both rush outside and quickly go their separate ways, not looking at each other. Hinata isn't entirely sure where she's going, but she knows that after that kind of embarrassment, she won't be able to look her new friend in the eye for quite some time.
She assumes Naruto is heading towards town, so she isn't terribly surprised when her own path takes her to a peaceful deserted clearing. This is the one part of the woods she's seen so far (and let's face it, she hasn't seen much) that's open to total sunlight.
She smiles. The grass is a luscious green and dotted with wildflowers. A small stream splits it down the middle. Hinata sits down beside the trickling water and spreads out on the ground. It's a nice day, pleasantly warm. She closes her eyes and breathes in the fresh air.
She can hardly describe this need to just get away from it all, but it's… with a start she shoots up into a sitting position. She knows what this feeling is. It's familiar! Suddenly her heart is beating as if she's just run a mile.
Hinata closes her eyes and tries to calm her breathing. It works and after a moment she calms down, but still, a little thrill goes through her that she can not extinguish. No, it's not much, but it's something which is more than she's gotten out of her alleged past in an entire week. All of a sudden, she doesn't mind having been basically kicked out of the house so much.
Hinata lays back down and resorts to a little game that she's begun to play with herself more and more often. It seems that after every little insignificant thing she does lately, she'll find herself going through all the possible scenarios of how that action would have been performed and why in her past life.
Now she can't help but wonder what it was in her old life that she'd felt the need to get away from. Had she been overly stressed out? She wondered if she'd gone to school and been some sort of anal straight-A student. Had she had high expectations to live up to? Or had she maybe been an orphan, living on the streets, just stressed about life in general?
"Excuse me, are you all right?"
Hinata's eyes pop open in surprise to see someone standing over her. To say she's surprised is an understatement; she hadn't heard anyone walk up to her.
"Oh! Um, yes, I'm fine." She sits up, hating that her new discovery is still true: she's found that her voice is unreasonably squeaky (almost annoyingly so even to her own ears).
The person standing next to her has long dark brown hair that falls in a straight line all the way down her back. Her eyes are also a deep brown and have a kindness to them. She wears a pink kimono and has a basket on her arm. A glance in the basket tells Hinata that she's collecting herbs.
Hinata blushes. "I'm sorry to worry you, Ma'am."
The woman in front of her smiles. "Actually, I'm a boy." Hinata's blush now stems from humiliation, but there's not a trace of unpleasantness on the extremely feminine boy's face.
"O-oh…"
He laughs, a nice sound, a bit deeper than she had expected. "That's okay. It's a common mistake." He holds out the hand that isn't carrying the basket. "My name is Haku."
Hinata grabs his hand and he pulls her to her feet. She shakes and says, "Hinata. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."
He chuckles again and lets go of her hand. When she looks confused he replies, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that you have a very proper way of speaking. Are you from the city?"
Hinata looks down, not sure if she should be embarrassed or not, but after mistaking this boy's gender she figures she can slip much further down the humiliation scale than she already has.
"Actually, I don't know where I'm from. I lost my memory," she explains. "An old couple and their grandson found me in this forest, beaten to unconsciousness. They healed me, and I've been staying with them ever since."
"Ah. You mean Tsunade and Jiraiya," he says, nodding.
She looks at him, surprised.
"You're not the first outcast they've taken in," he explains. "You're lucky. They're good people. I'm sorry about your memory, but I'm sure you'll be fine."
She nods politely, not completely sure what to say. She hasn't really had to deal with the sympathy factor. As a matter of fact, the only person she's seen other than Naruto, Jiraiya, and Tsunade themselves, has been a wayward merchant that Tsunade pointed on his way.
"I've heard they'll kind of take in anyone."
Haku nods. "Yes. They've been very kind to me. I'm an outlaw."
Hinata's head snaps over to look at him, but he pretends not to notice. He's said it so calmly, as if it's something one hears every day. He turns over and smiles at her when she can't seem to tear her eyes away.
"I used to live on the streets," he explained. "My parents died when I was young. We didn't live in a very good neighborhood… The villagers all assumed I had killed them. Then one day, this man was walking through town and he saw me. His name was Zabuza. He doesn't look it, but he's actually very kind. He's been looking after me ever since. Zabuza is a mercenary. About a year ago, he got hired by a man on the wrong side of the law. We moved our hideout to deep in this forest."
"Wow…" Hinata says when he's finished. Suddenly, her story doesn't seem so impressive. She can't bring herself to decide if that's for better or for worse, and now she's found herself to be the one on the side of sympathy. "I'm sorry. It sounds like you've had a hard life."
He shrugs. "It's okay. I like living with Zabuza in this forest…. it's peaceful. And I meant what I said before: you're staying with good people. Zabuza and I ran into them by accident once, and we've come to visit since then. They've never judged us… I think they understand that the law isn't always necessarily right."
Hinata hadn't noticed they'd begun walking until she looks up to find the two of them standing in front of the very house she'd left maybe half an hour before. She's not sure what sort of mood Tsunade is in, but she doesn't see how she can turn Haku away from visiting now.
She opens the door to the kitchen and sees no one. "Come in," she says, ushering him inside.
She follows him in and he sets his basket down on the kitchen table, sitting down himself and looking perfectly comfortable.
"Would you like something to drink?" she asks, feeling every bit the hostess even though this isn't really her house. Well, it hardly matters; she's got no other place to call home. She doesn't wait for an answer; she's already gotten a glass from the cabinet and is filling it with water.
He thanks her as she sets it down in front of him and then takes a seat herself. She slumps down on the table and finds herself staring at the glass. She's heard the story of this one; it's one Jiraiya brought back from a bar in town after a particularly interesting night that Tsunade would prefer not be repeated too often. The cup had a woman engraved onto it. Her legs were crossed at the ankle in a way so that it was impossible to tell if her legs really were crossed or if she was simply a mermaid.
"I love this cup," she says unexpectedly. "Because you can't tell what it really is. I feel like it's kind of like my life right now…" She pauses then takes one look at Haku who's staring at her and buries her face in her hands. "My gosh! I'm so sorry!" She says, laughing. "I'm completely losing it, going on comparing my life to a cup!"
He laughs too. "That's okay. I understand. You're just really stressed out right now. Besides, you sounded pretty deep to me."
The sound of their laughter brings Tsunade to the kitchen. She's about to ask if Hinata simply circled the house for an hour when she spots their guest. Tsunade has gotten dressed since her last appearance and is looking (and feeling) much more agreeable.
"Haku," she said, only a little surprise in her voice. "It's been a while."
He looks over at her and bows his head slightly. "Yes. Thank you for having me again."
"It's our pleasure," says Jiraiya, whose come to stand behind Tsunade, framing her in the doorway. "What have you been up to, kid?"
He smiles politely. "Not much. I was collecting herbs today. Zabuza was injured during our last job-"
But they don't get to hear just what misfortune befell Haku's caregiver, for at that exact moment, Naruto rushes into the house.
"Naruto-kun!" says Hinata, shocked for the umpteenth time that day. "What are you doing home already?"
He's out of breath and his cheeks are flushed; he looks like he's sprinted the entire way back, and he probably has. "Guys!" he says, louder than necessary and looking terribly excited. "You'll never guess what happened!"
"Aren't you supposed to be training with Iruka?" Tsunade asks in the tone of a mother who's perfected her scolding tone.
"All training sessions have been cancelled until further notice! Because…" he takes a purposely full breath, keeping them in suspense. "The princess has gone missing!"
There's a moment of silence. Then Haku speaks up.
"I was under the impression that the royal family only had sons."
"Not in our kingdom!" he explains, loudly, the air of excitement going nowhere soon. "I mean the Hyuga family! Their oldest daughter has gone missing!"
The three teens begin to chatter among themselves about possibilities and what this could mean for the kingdom. In an ironic way, the three really sound like little adults, but Tsunade and Jiraiya don't appear to notice. And no one notices the look that passes between the two of them.
Review please!
I would have had this chapter up sooner, but my computer decided to go and be all tempermental…
I don't own Naruto!