~*Chapter Six: That Distant Girl*~
Hearts that beat under a flag of pain, unite and salute.
(A/N: Warning for slight rape scene. If you do not want to read it, skip to where the text is no longer italicized.)
"Hinata, this is Jikochū-san." Introduced Hinake, her mother. A fourteen year old Hinata timidly looked from her mother to the strange newcomer in the doorway, whom she had heard was her new 'stepfather'.
"It's nice to meet you, Hinata-chan." He smiled at her gently, revealing slightly crooked teeth, and held out his hand in greeting, waiting for her to take it. Hinata felt her brow crease in confusion... She was struck with an odd sense of déjà vu. Had she been in this position before? Despite her hesitation, their faces did not falter. His face was stuck in an expression of friendly patience, though he seemed to radiate something that made her uncomfortable. Her mother looked at her expectantly. Hinata blinked and swallowed her unease before raising her hand. The moment her fingers brushed against the man's rough, coarse, hauntingly familiar ones, she flinched back in horrific realization as memory came back to her. Abuse, rape, pregnancy, abortion... Abuse, rape, pregnancy, birth... Every interminable moment of pain and utter defilement came rushing back, and she almost doubled over with nausea.
"What's wrong, Hinata-chan?" He leered, words dripping with pretentious concern that made her shiver with unbridled fear. She turned to run in the first direction that presented itself- any route was fine as long as it was away from him- when the hand that was previously held out to be shaken shot out and gripped her hair in a tight fist, tugging her back mercilessly.
"Where do you think you're going, Hinata-chan?" He panted in her ear, his hot, sickeningly sweet breath assaulting her senses. Hinata winced in pain, body taut to flee, but she was successfully apprehended. A pained whimper of protest left her lips despite her restraint, and she heard him groan lustfully from behind at the sound. Her eyes widened in horror as he pressed himself against her squirming form, the large bulge in his pants pressing against the back of her thigh. Hinata's terror-filled gaze met her mother's, who seemed unfazed by the situation at hand.
"Mom! Help me!" Hinata cried desperately, but her mother's lip curled with disgust as she turned her back on her. Hinata opened her mouth to call out to her again when her voice was muffled by Jikochū's rugged hand.
"Let's be good friends, Hinata-chan..." Without further preamble, she was pushed forward. Hinata stumbled to get away, only to trip over her own feet, as he quickly fell atop her form. She struggled to escape, despite being face down in the ground, but his weight held her down tightly from behind. She gave a muffled scream as he tore her panties off viciously and shoved them in her mouth to keep her silent. Hinata coughed and sputtered but the fabric remained, and her hands were held tightly above her head in an iron grip. Tears blurred her vision as she shut her eyes tightly in an attempt to ignore the feeling of him unbuckling his pants, shoving them down to his knees hastily, before pushing her legs wide open with his free hand. Hinata gave one final scream, hoping to God that someone- anyone- would hear, as he pushed himself forward inside her-
Hinata woke up that morning to the sound of her own scream. She shot up from her futon, her throat painfully raw from her outburst, as tears coursed down her face. Her hair and pajamas clung to the perspiration on her skin, sweat beading on her brow. She blinked a few times to clear away the haze that the nightmare had brought and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. At the realization that she was now awake and no longer exposed to the torture of the nightmare, she openly cried in relief and left over terror. She brought her trembling hands up and ran them through her hair to calm herself further, too preoccupied to wince at the tangles.
She wasn't sure how long she simply sat in bed, her mind blank. It felt like an eternity- or maybe only a few minutes- when her alarm went off, and Hinata instinctively reached over to shut it off. She stood and mechanically made her way to the small bathroom in her cramped apartment. Hinata reached out and grabbed her tooth brush and put a dollop of paste on the bristles, bringing it up to her mouth to clean her teeth. Hinata, this is Jikochū-san. It's nice to meet you, Hinata-chan. Let's be good friends, Hinata-chan. Hinata...
She coughed and sputtered as the tooth paste was spat out into the sink, and Hinata gripped the counter painfully. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, she stared at her reflection and flinched at the expression there... But there were no fiends like him at her school. Nobody looked at her or bothered her, not like that, even if they looked or sounded like him. There weren't any boys that had interest in her- and that was all Hinata could ever ask for.
"Oof!" Naruto grunted as Ino glomped him, holding his arm in an iron grip. She smiled sweetly up at him despite the predatory gleam in her eyes, and he repressed a shudder. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because, Naruto-kun! We're already seen as an official couple!" Naruto resisted the urge to groan in exasperation. Each and every morning that whole week, Ino had showed up at his house in the morning to walk with him to school. He had tried to subtly and politely push her off, but it was all in vain.
"Good morning, Uzumaki-kun." Came a soft voice from Naruto's left, and the blonde turned to face her.
"Good morning, Hinata!" He greeted enthusiastically with a grin. Ino scowled and tightened her hold on his arm, cutting off the circulation and making him squirm.
"How nice; you two are so close. I'm envious." Hinata said with a smile, and Naruto felt his shoulders slump in defeat. She has no feelings at all.
"Go on, Hinata." Ino urged with a phony smile, slightly irked at the other girl's appearance. How dare she come and impose on her and Naruto-kun's private time! Naruto wanted to make her stay but couldn't find the words. Instead, he watched her back as she proceeded to go on without them. I may not be a love interest for her, but I'm probably the only one that she doesn't fear. Although she feels so distant, I may be the closest one to her...
It wasn't long until they arrived at the school, and Ino still hadn't let go of his arm for even a second.
"Er... I have to uh, go to the bathroom." Naruto supplied, and Ino pouted in response. He tugged his arm back quickly before she could latch on again and headed to the boys' bathroom. Upon entering the room, he sighed in relief as the door shut behind him.
"So you finally hooked up with Ino, eh?" A familiar voice inquired, and Naruto looked over to see Kiba washing his hands at the sink.
"More like I got hooked by her..." Naruto grumbled with a scowl, and Kiba chuckled. The brunette walked up and quickly peeked out the door.
"Well, it looks like she's gone now. Quick! Out, before she comes back!" Kiba exclaimed with comical urgency, and he tugged the blonde along to the classroom. They ducked into the doorway, only for Naruto to be tackled from the side by a flash of platinum. Ino had successfully latched herself to his side once more.
"Mission failure..." Kiba let out, escaping while he could and fleeing to his desk. He threw Naruto a sympathetic glance; the blonde was not amused. Naruto sighed and looked around the room for a his classmate with the opalescent eyes. She was conversing with the girl known as Tenten, a small smile gracing her lips though it didn't meet her eyes. She seemed more haunted than usual that day, much to Naruto's dismay. It wasn't like she was hurt, he mused, but rather she was... Broken.
He was caught off guard when her gaze met his own, lingering one. Her smile grew and he felt a hot flush creep across his face before looking away; this did not go unnoticed by Ino. Hinata didn't see the glare thrown her way by the jealous blonde.
Hinata remained oblivious to the two cerulean gazes on her form through out the rest of the day; one full of curiosity and longing, the other full of suspicion and anger.
"Sakura, have you seen Naruto-kun?" Ino asked after the bell had chimed, announcing the end of the day. Sakura sat at her desk rifling through various papers, her presidential duties long from over.
"You're always looking for Naruto, aren't you?" She grumbled without looking up from the paperwork. Ino huffed irritably.
"I just asked if you knew where he is!" She insisted, and Sakura sat back in her chair with a contemplative look on her face.
"He probably went home already. He has work after school." The pinkette replied smoothly, covering for Naruto. He so owed her big for this one.
"Oh..." Ino let out dejectedly, and Sakura felt slight pity for the other girl. She could sympathize with her, after all. To love someone with your whole heart, and never be loved in return... Sakura swallowed and focused on the paperwork ahead of her. This was not the place nor the time for such thoughts.
Meanwhile, Naruto was once again hiding out in the boys' bathroom.
"I wonder if Ino has gone home yet..." He murmured to himself, watching the clock tick on the wall. It had been nearly twenty minutes since school had ended and Naruto had been thinking over what he should do. With Ino at his side, he could be around Hinata and get closer without her worrying... But how would anything really develop like that?
He cautiously peeked out the door, and once the coast was clear, he stepped out to retrieve his belongings. Naruto slung his bag over his shoulder and was prepared to leave when the door opened in front of him. He half suspected Ino to come barging in, but instead he was met with opalescent eyes instead of cerulean ones.
"Hinata? What are you still doing here?" He wondered aloud.
"I had to finish some homework before I left, but I'm done with it now." She answered. Hinata looked behind him and around. "Where's Ino-chan?" Naruto resisted the urge to sulk.
"She and I aren't really..."
"Your feelings aren't mutual?" Hinata inquired, and Naruto stared into her eyes in search of something.
"The girl I really like would never... I mean..." He stammered nervously. What the hell am I doing?!
"You don't like Ino-chan, but you're still together with her?"
"I mean, I don't know how I got into this situation!" Naruto blurted out. Hinata nodded slowly, and a look of pity descended upon her features.
"Poor Ino-chan..." She murmured. Naruto blinked in surprise. He had never considered Ino's feelings before, but now that Hinata mentioned it... "There's no way you can like Ino-chan?"
"No... I..."
"You two look really good together." Hinata insisted, each of her words stabbing him in the heart. Enough, I can't do this... It hurts.
"...I'm going home." Naruto announced curtly before turning away.
"Wait! Let's go home together!" Hinata called out to him, and he halted in his tracks involuntarily. Oh, how he wished he could simply ignore his feelings for her... But that just wasn't possible. He nodded in compliance and left the room to wait at the bottom of the staircase. Why am I waiting here? Am I some kind of idiot?! Even if we walk home together, we're so far apart its like we aren't even together. Lost in his thoughts, Naruto didn't hear Hinata come around the corner.
"Sorry for the wait-" Both Hinata's and Naruto's eyes widened when she tripped, her feet leaving the ground beneath her. Naruto reached out instinctively to stabilize her, but he was only able to ensure her safety. In the midst of the commotion, he only barely registered the fact that their collision had resulted in...
Hinata stood shakily on her own two feet once more as her fingers traced her mouth; Naruto merely gaped. Just now... Did our lips touch?
A/N: I do not own the characters of "Naruto", nor do I own the plot of "Bitter Virgin" (though I have made changes and will be making more later on).
Sorry for the wait! This chapter is hot off the press, and I hope you like it. ;)
I couldn't find an appropriate "Naruto" character to put in for the villainous stepfather, so I made one up instead. Oh, and the name Jikochū roughly means "selfishness". Also, Kishimoto never states Hinata's mother's name. I imagine it would start with "Hina", and I almost put it down as Hinako! Ha, then I remembered that it was the main character in the original "Bitter Virgin". So I changed it to Hinake, and there you have it. ;)
SHOUT OUTS! master1941, Rose Tiger, neoB, ZodiacBirdy, devilzxknight86, jojo07, littlemissnovelist, RamenLoverNaruto, blacquesironrain, yazhe-chan, The Crimson Lotus King, InuKag4everbabe, dantheman23, anzuka16, Gamakage, and LilacWhite. If it was legal, I would marry you all! ;D