THE CHANGING LIVES OF HINATA HYUGA

A NaruHina fanfic

N/A: This is my first NaruHina fanfic and I don't really know where it's going. Plot help from more experienced writers would be appreciated, please review … other than that, enjoy!

CHAPTER 1: The Bittersweet Escape

Three months ago, I was the Honourable Lady Hinata Hyuga. And back then, the last word used to describe me was 'rebellious'. Weird, maybe. Shy, definitely.

Pathetic?

Oh, yeah.

I was a good girl, an average kunoichi, hidden in the shadow of the main branch of the village's most powerful family. I had no particular talent, a chronic stutter, a tendency to blush every two seconds, and a trust fund the size of Sasuke Uchiha's ego (huge). Plus a fainting problem whenever I was within breathing distance of a certain blond shinobi.

Don't start with the 'aww's, though. I was ridiculously privileged. I lived a life most girls would love. My sister did. Expensive clothes (which I never wore). Society dinners (which I tried not to attend). Rich suitors (mostly old lecherous businessmen, whom I ignored entirely). I was locked up, locked away, and even gifted with the Byakugan, never acknowledged.

Every day I'd wake up and see the hustle and bustle of Konoha from my twin French doors and wish to be a part of it. Wonder how the other half lived. Wonder how it would be to go shopping without bodyguards and maids. I tried, you know. I begged my father for a job, but every time, he'd say, 'You are a Hyuga. Such things are beneath you'.

What, like hard work?!

Tch. Anyway, my life in a nutshell was: look pretty, get married, pop out Byakugan brats. And I wanted a life.

Which is why I ran away.

I can safely say that nobody expected me, a docile, obedient heiress to jump ship. The poster child, the perfect girl. Hm. In a way, it was good that my sister was the firecracker and my cousin the prodigy. If anybody was expected to misbehave, it was Hanabi, not placid little Hinata. If anyone was expected to snap under pressure, it was precious, gifted Neji, not average, quiet Hinata.

Do I sound bitter? That's because I am.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't even sure if I would leave. In all the fantasies that I had – and believe me, I had many – I'd always imagined that it would be me and Naruto, shrugging off the bonds of Konoha life. We'd embark on a wildly romantic adventure and make love under the stars, every night. We'd meet new people and have babies and be the best shinobi in the world.

At least, that was my fantasy.

It was shattered when I walked past Ichiraku's Ramen that night, hoping to speak to Naruto. But he had company; more specifically, a pink-haired kunoichi who apparently stuffed her bra with tissue paper.

Don't ask me how I know. A girl who has a cousin with the Byakugan just knows. I smiled; Neji, I'd miss him. But then my attention turned to Naruto and Sakura. They were holding hands. Sakura leaned in.

I looked away before they kissed. I knew there was going to be a kiss. I didn't have to see it to know it would happen. A girl and boy holding hands, having fun on a date. Of course there was a kiss. God knows, I'd played it out in my head enough times.

Shame I'll never know the real thing … Naruto.

I walked away as my heart broke. And I knew there was no going back.

I hitched the bag up higher on my shoulder and left the Leaf Village, running away like a thief into the dark cloak of the night. I could imagine my father's words as I slipped through the shadows.

Some lady.