Storm
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto, or any of the characters affiliated with it, and this is merely a fan-based piece of work.
The grass felt soft underneath her feet as she raised her arms above her head, feeling blossoms fall on her bare shoulders, as they slipped off and went tumbling towards the ground delicately, as if they would just disappear with a sharp gust of wind. And indeed, it was a very windy day, with the promise of rain. A beautiful willow trees with long flowing branches that swept across the ground touched the river with their tips, dipping into the calm surface. The clouds above her gave a few rumbles of warning, and she stepped a little faster, clutching her yellow sun-dress with a hand, hurrying to the shelter of the old tree, much older than her. She sat on one of the roots close to the trunk with her knees together, covering herself with her shawl to keep herself warm.
I-I didn't know that the weather would change s-so suddenly...Hinata thought, glancing back at the path that she took which would lead her home. H-How can I get home... she looked up at the sky, tainted with grey and dark colours, swirling and rolling together as the clouds grew in intensity and the thunder boomed; lightening cracked on ahead. She made her mind up. She would follow the path back down to her home, even if she got extremely soaked in the process. Gulping, she threw herself off the tree and stumbled, beginning to run down the dusty, small track which she had walked down and up many times. She ran down the path past many of the fields as cows bellowed and mooed, swishing their tails from side to side in agitation; they did not like getting wet. As lightening sparked a nearby field, she watched as they ran helter-skelter towards a beckoning tree, sheltering them from the oncoming onslaught of the storm. It really began to pour down now, and her run turned into a sprint, as she hitched her dress up past her knees and ran down a small hill, but she slipped when she cleared the hill, landing in the mud. Crying out in pain, she shivered and winced, before getting up, grazes all over her arms and elbows and her pretty dress muddy.
She was dirty and muddy, but she was far from beaten from the storm – she would hold out on it until it really dragged her down. She broke into a sprint again and reached the section of the forest as she avoided dead, wet logs and undergrowth and ferns trying to cling to her legs as if to prevent her from leaving them. She spotted the house with its warm, golden windows and smoke coming out from the chimney in the clearing, and she ran up to the doorstep and gave a sharp rap. A woman opened the door, with dark brown, long hair, and the same violet eyes. "Oh, goodness, Hinata! What on earth happened? Did you go out in the storm again?" he mother demanded, ushering her inside as she shook her head and clicked her tongue. "How many times have I told you not to go outside in storms? You could get hurt, or worse!" She barely gave Hinata a chance to speak, as the young girl dried her dress by the fire, wringing the dampness from it as her mother guilt-tripped her again. "Did you go out to that tree again? Oh, dear, you know that tree isn't as stable as it was when you were -"
"M-Mother," Hinata interrupted, her tone quiet but firm, "I wished to go out into the sunshine but the weather turned. It was a m-mistake...and I'm sorry for doing it, o-okay?"
Her mother gave a weary sigh and put her head in her hands, before walking over to Hinata as she squeezed her shoulders comfortingly. "I know, Hinata, I know...I'm sorry...I worry about you, that's all... Ever since your father...passed away, I-I've wanted to not let you go out of my sight...for a fear that you'd...you'd disappear..."
Hinata turned around and hugged her mother tightly, breathing in her all-too-familiar maternal and motherly smell, as she mumbled: "I'm never leaving, m-mother...I'll n-never leave." And from that day, she never set foot outside the house in a storm – and the willow tree still swayed in the breeze. For behind that tree lay a grave; her father's grave.