I changed tatsuhiko's name to takumi!^^
Disclaimer: I do not own naruto....yet (mwahahahaha)
To readers: i'm sorry for updating so long i didnt mean to xP It was my birthday so i was on vacation, but dont worry i'll be uploading another chapter within the week as an apology =) thankyou to all who still read this xD
Himeko means childish princess or Hime means princess ko means child (you get the point)
Hinata was exhausted. Bone-tired in fact. She had been walking---well, running exactly.--- for three days straight without sleep and only meager scraps of food.
And during the whole long and hard journey her mind was plagued with visions of her friends and family.
But mostly it was haunted by a long-haired brunette whose cold eyes would sneer at the sight of her, that would never acknowledge her in any way no matter how she yearned for his eyes only on her.
He always said that running away was the most lowly and cowardice thing a person could do and that only the most low-life, unworthy and spineless shinobi would flee.
But she didn't flee because of fright. She left because she wanted to get better, stronger. To be someone who could protect her sister and make her father and the whole clan proud to have her as heiress.
She didn't want to admit it, but most of all, she wanted him to acknowledge her, for once in her pathetic life something meant more to her than to please her father's demands. She wanted to tell him that everything she did, training, putting up with her father's cruelty, all of that was just so he could be proud of her and so that she could remain by his side.
'He would be happy now' She reminded herself. He would be happy because he didn't have to constantly protect her. Happy because he wouldn't constantly worry about the future of his clan. Happy because he would be able to spend more time with tenten. Happy because….she wouldn't be with him….anymore.
'I'm so selfish. So very selfish. I want him for myself. I don't want him to look at any other girl other than me. I'm so scared…When did I ever become this selfish? I'm so very scared of losing him. Just the thought of losing him is….unbearably painful' She swiped angrily at the tears forming in her eyes.
"Neji, it hurts. It hurts so much---" She said, looking up at the blinding sunlight and clenched her hand over her heart "---You said you would always protect me even if you didn't want to. So, why aren't you here with me?" She was answered with silence.
So she kept running, with no destination in mind. Her feet gliding and leaping gracefully from tree to tree, the beautiful colors of late autumn not noticed. That was until she saw him. A little boy no taller that 3 feet was crossing a rotting log on tiptoe, his arms spread apart.
The fact that the log was perched on top of a cliff was what worried hinata, she passed that way before, the cliff was about two or three stories high.
His back was facing her but from what she could see, that decaying tree trunk wouldn't be able to support the child's weight any longer.
In her panicked and frenzied state, she didn't even need to think about what to do. She broke into a breakneck speed.
She was running so fast that everything around her was a blur of browns, oranges, reds, yellows and greens. Razor-sharp branches leaving shallow scars on her exposed skin.
But she paid no attention to the stinging pain of branches jaggedly incising her ivory skin nor did she notice the burning sensation in her eyes due to the force of wind with debris.
All she knew was that she needed to reach the child as quickly as possible. "Stop! Turn Around!!" She screamed to the boy but arrived a second to late. It all happened in slow motion for hinata.
The log broke simultaneously at the exact time she said those words and before her near-hysterical mind could register what she was doing, she jumped and hugged the child to her chest, turned them over so that the child was on top of her and curled herself protectively, covering the boy's quivering body with as much as her own.
She felt the impact all at once. The sharp twigs and rocks biting into her uncovered flesh and tearing at her clothes, the near blinding and searing pain on her back, her shaking limbs and her bashed, bloody head. She laid the child beside her and sat up beside him.
She checked the child for any serious injuries first, ignoring the intense pain that shot through her body, he was unconscious but had no injuries other than a few scratches and a broken foot but she wasn't sure, the boy would need serious treatment if he had any internal bleeding that might result from such a fall.
She stood up slowly with the child still in her arms and felt like her head was about to crack in half. She swayed for a bit and set her whole body stiff with determination. She needed to get this boy to help soon.
She stared up at the cliff and focused chakra to flow towards her feet. Once that was done, she started the painful expedition of walking up the steep and rocky surface with a child in her arms. The village of lightning was the closest village. Her destination was finally set.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
"Ne..ji?" I had the most terrifying nightmare I ever had. Leaving everybody….Father assassinating me….leaving neji….Neji…
I open my eyes slowly and look with glazed eyes at the surroundings. It seems that I'm sleeping on a bed of some sort. The dark wood paneled walls and western style decorations. Wait a second… I live in a traditional Japanese house!
I sit up quickly and feel a sharp stabbing pain at my back, the intense pain causes me to cry out and suddenly somebody is holding my hand and ushering me gently back on the futon. That person had such warm hands.
Smiling, I comply and lie back down. He sighs and slowly I fall into a dreamless sleep, the warmth of his hands as he sleeps beside me miles and months away inside the whitewashed rooms of a familiar hospital was the last thing that entered my mind.
**********
Gently fluttering my eyes open and adjusting to the light, I look around and my eyes land on the silky fair-haired hair covered head of someone. He seems to be sleeping, his head laid on top of his folded arm, one of his hands holding onto mine.
My eyes widen and everything comes rushing back to me. The child was playing…and we fell…I took him somewhere…then…? THE CHILD?! I sit up suddenly and notice that for some reason my injuries have healed.
Panic-stricken, I quickly start to stand. I regretted the action once gravity has caught up with me, my head felt like it was a million pounds and then, I unexpectedly find myself pinned on the bed, hands locked in a vise-like grip above my head. Wide-eyed, I gaped at the blonde man.
His messy hair framing his handsome face. His eyes were catlike and mismatched. One was amber-topaz the other was ice blue diamonds. Those beautiful and unusual eyes bored into mine, with bated breath I watch as his frown slowly turn to a reckless grin. This up close, he appears to be younger than what I earlier presumed, about two or three years older than me.
Seeing that I was no threat, He let go and rolled off of me. I couldn't stop staring at him, those eyes had captured me in a trance. Those eyes that held a promise of danger yet were so full of kindness and gentleness so uncommon from the shinobi life. Those eyes colored of fire topaz-amber and ice blue diamonds.
"Good morning himeko. Well afternoon, exactly" He said. I have never heard such a beautiful voice, it sounded velvety, deep, rich and husky with a hint of melting honey and tinkling bells.
"H-How long have I been sleeping sir…?" I ask, my voice sounding weak and croak-like. "Takumi. Takanishii Takumi, pleased to meet you" There it was again, that reckless smile.
"Uh Takanishii-san, how long did I sleep? Where am i? How is the child? Who are you? What am I doing here?" He seems amused about something, from what I can see.
"Aren't you a inquisitive little princess." My face heats up and I can almost here his laugh, as irresistible as his voice. "Well to answer your questions, 3 days, in my home, takara's fine, I'm Takumi and you were sick, so I took care of you."
"The child--" I start but he interrupted me by saying "Takara" i clear my throat and start again "Takara is he fine? Are there any injuries? How do you know him?"
"Oh I didn't know we were playing 20 questions. Well takara is fine, his foot has healed and has been very restless waiting for you to wake up. He doesn't have any serious injuries and as I said all of his injuries are healed. Takara is my younger brother. You have such unusual eyes, are you wearing contacts? They look somewhat fake don't they?"
"No, I am not wearing contacts if you must know. Umm how did I get here takanishii-san?" My memories are still a bit blurry and I don't recall this provoking man.
"Don't you remember? Well let me start from the beginning, my younger brother, takara, has been playing outside the village borders and from what he told us he was crossing a magical bridge to the land of fairies, a rotten tree trunk I presume, then out of nowhere he says that a fairy appeared, flew and caught him before he fell. Next thing I know, you were lying on the snow, bloody and bruised with my brother clutched protectively in your arms. Care to supply the missing blanks Ms fairy? You look just like a blushing bride, I mean a blushing fairy bride. Is it because of my staggering good looks?" I blush again, this man is very frustrating, he seems to enjoy teasing me to no end!
'At least the child is fine' I remind myself and let out a sigh of relief. "The only thing I remember is jumping over a cliff to save him then I took him back here. It must have been from sheer luck that I collapsed in front of his house. Umm did you say it snowed?"
"Ah, I understand. Its still snowing little fairy. Besides, isn't it very common that snow should fall during the winter season? Since your awake, you should take a bath, dinner will be an hour from now so you better hurry up himeko. The maids will take care of everything you need." With those final words, he gently caressed my hair and left.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
After testing the temperature, Hinata gently lowered her petite frame into the lavender scented water. The huge ivory bathtub was big enough for two. She looked around the tasteful decorations, the tiled walls a elegant cream color, scarlet tinted carpets covering the floors, an antique chandelier providing a dim light made the room seem more romantic.
'That man was very frustrating though his eyes…. The cold blue and the warm amber…Stop thinking about him, hinata! 'She gently slapped her cheeks and submerged herself in the tepid water, only half of her face showing.
'Neji…I wonder if he's with tenten…' Tears filled her eyes , overflowing and gently gliding down her tears to the warm water while her heart gently but surely was beginning to end.
[**At Konoha**]
Kakashi noticed how hinata's disappearance affected everybody. It had transformed konoha's once busily active, laughter filled streets into a place of forced merriment and forged laughter.
Hanabi lived as if in a daze and every night soft sobbing and whimpers could be heard from her room though during daytime she acted with a happy attitude.
Kiba was unusually quiet with dark bags under his once soulful now empty eyes and tried to retain some normalcy in the situation by arguing with shino like he always had.
Shino would appear normal but would usually bump into very obvious objects and never opposed kiba as often as he used to.
Ino and Sakura were always fighting, no one having the energy to intervene yet when the name of their pacifist best friend would be mentioned they had suspicious looking tears forming in their eyes.
Kurenai had a tough and strict façade so as not to worry her pupils and tried her best to cheer up kiba and shino though she was crumbling inside. Everyone knew that kurenai treated hinata as the daughter she always wanted but never had.
As for neji, he got better and became a ruthless killing machine, he acted as if hinata never existed from the start only showing a sliver of emotion in front of lee. But no one knew that he missed hinata with an emptiness that was a pain. But unlike most pains, it did not lessen over time, instead it grew worse and worse until he had to force himself out of bed every morning to carry the day's activities and force himself to climb into his empty bed knowing with a stab of pain that hinata's comforting presence would no longer be waiting inside the room next to his.
To him, A life without hinata is a life not worth living. His heart gently but surely was beginning to end.
I still like takumi more than neji!
Oh if your wondering what takumi looks like, here's a pic of him i edited: .
His left eye is pale blue, right eye amber