Orange, Spirals and Everything Nice

One: Meeting You

She quietly clutched her little pale fist against her chest as she watched the class give their own opinions about the loud, village troublemaker in his orange tracksuit becoming a full-fledged ninja like the rest of them.

She dipped her head a little to hide her proud smile for the boy she happened to admire from the shadows since the day they met, one winter morning before they entered the academy. Not that anyone else cared about her own reaction to the present commotion, but knowing his reputation, no one expects him to be acknowledged in any way -- for any reason.

Honestly, a lot of the higher-ranked ninjas and most --if not all -- of the villagers are questioning their Sandaime-sama's decision to make the jinjuriiki a shinobi, because he was feared and scorned by everyone since the fateful night he was born.

Uzumaki Naruto.

That was his name.

A name that always gave her gloomy little world a ray of sunshine whenever she hears it. Weird isn't it? To actually admire and idolize the poor blonde boy who grew up while being unjustly treated as a despicable monster due to the fact that an actual demon fox was sealed within him.

Well, at the time, Hinata didn't know the real reason why she and everyone else have to stay away from him. All she knew was that her heart ached for Naruto. Was it pity? Maybe. Since he grew up alone without a family and everything. Or was it because she felt sorry because no one was even trying to see his potential as an ordinary human being?

And her weak and helpless self could only cheer for him from a distance.

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Hyuuga Hinata.

The first-born daughter of the current main family of the most prestigious clan in all of Konoha.

Sounds like royalty, isn't it?

But her life was nothing but a living hell.

Her life had been harshly dictated by the rules, the moment she was born. As an heiress to the Hyuuga clan and protector of their Gekkei Genkai, -- the most treasured Byakugan -- Hinata had to live her life training the family technique -- the Gentle Fist -- and keep improving to prove her worth.

Something that required all of her strength and endurance. Something that she was forced to realize at the tender age of three when she was almost kidnapped by ninjas from the Village of Kumo. Which ended in a sacrifice that had permanently scarred her and the rest of their clan.

Hinata's dark and monotonous life inside the walls of the Hyuuga compound slightly changed on that special snowy morning when she was allowed to play outside for a change. She actually doesn't go outside the compound unless she really needed to, because she thought that such actions may inconvenience anyone from the clan. She had always been gentle and quiet like that. It was a big part of her being. Yet, it was the very reason her stoic and strict father doubles his efforts to turn her into a cold, apathetic leader for the sake of the clan.

Always for the clan.

Hinata was weak. She knew that.

That's why people always sacrifice themselves in order to protect her. And she hated it. She hated being weak and she hated being protected. Because whenever someone jumps in to protect her, that person ends up getting hurt instead.

Just like the poor little boy who fell unconscious on the snow after getting beaten up by a group of bullies who mocked her unique, pale eyes a while ago. Hinata instantly feared that he might not wake up, but felt relieved when she saw his quiet, even breathing. Although he certainly wasn't okay. Her heart ached as she silently apologized for causing him trouble.