Chapter 3

Hinata may be sheltered and a little inexperienced with people, but she's no idiot. Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka have it out for her. Ever since Sakura saw Sasuke give her his number two days ago, bad things have been happening. First, she was tripped during science class, coincidentally right when she was walking past the duo. Then, even crazier rumors than the one that she and Itachi had hooked up were beginning to circle.

She knows it's them spreading them because it was the same thing they tried to convince her about Konan, that she sells herself for money. Students she's never met before have begun coming up to her and asking about it. If she were a more stuck-up person, she'd tell them that she has no need to sell herself because her family is wealthy, but she isn't, so she simply denies it to the best of her ability.

On top of the fact that she's being bullied, Hidan made it clear that he does not like her. After Naruto rescued her from the group of students on Tuesday, he barely spoke to her. Those that he has have been colder than she'd grown to expect.

'I think I offended him, somehow, but I don't know how to fix it,' she thought as she walked to her locker before her final class on Friday.

The silver-haired boy was at his, not sparing her a glance as she put in the combination to unlock it. When she opened it, she swiftly closed it again with wide eyes. Hidan finally looked her way while shutting his locker, but she ignored it and held her breath until he was gone. Then, she lightly thumped her head against the metal door and groaned. In black marker, insults were written all over her locker walls. Words like "slut" and "whore" were so big and dark that she worried if they'd ever come off.

'I'll have to stay after school today to clean this up so no one sees it.'

She texted Itachi and Sasori to inform them that she couldn't give them a ride home today, having received everyone's contact information by this point. Sighing defeatedly, she switched out her note and textbooks for the ones needed for World History and hurried to class just in time to not be late.

Konan gave her a worried look, to which Hinata covertly shook her head to reassure her that everything was okay. She must not have hidden her unease well. The Hyuuga girl could feel eyes burning into her back and knew it was Sakura, but she feigned ignorance rather than confront it. She and Sasuke haven't contacted one another even once, so if she can endure, Sakura's bound to realize she made a mistake in seeing her as a threat.

The teacher began class, instructing the students to open their textbooks to a particular page and prepare to take notes. Hinata flipped open the hardback history book before picking up the notebook to do the same, only for a sharp pain to come across the pads of four fingers on her right hand, all except the thumb.

Gasping, she dropped the book and stared wide-eyed as she realized she was bleeding. Tears welled in her eyes when she gingerly peeked into the book's binding and realized it'd been lined with razors. Whoever vandalized her locker must've done this.

Her face began to warm, but she made a snap decision and raised her uninjured hand while clenching the bleeding one into a fist in her lap where no one could see it. The teacher called on her, and she requested to be excused to use the restroom. The older woman commented on how she should've done so during the break between classes. Hinata could feel everyone's eyes on her but nodded with a red face, accepting the criticism. When she was finally given permission, she hurried out of the room as quickly as possible, trying not to show her panic.

'Please don't let anyone have seen the blood!' she prayed, 'I'll talk to a teacher after school, but I don't want to do it in front of everyone. It's just too embarrassing.'

The Hyuuga girl felt like she'd faint if she didn't take care of things discreetly and quickly. Her head was filled with clouds as she walked briskly through hall after hall.

Rushing, Hinata approached her locker, only to cry out when she absently reached to unlock it and blood dripped rather heavily onto the floor, her clothes, and the locker itself. The tears finally overflowed as she shakily used her left hand to open the unit and crouched to dig through her bag for the miniature first aid kit she kept for emergencies.

Upon realizing her blood was dripping freely, she grabbed her jacket and wrapped it around her hand before locating the nearest bathroom and hurrying inside. In the ladies' room, she rinsed her fingers and realized the bleeding wasn't slowing as quickly as she needed in order to manage the injuries with just her little kit.

Footsteps were heard approaching. Hinata panicked again and grabbed her stuff before locking herself inside one of the stalls.

"Ew, what the hell? There's blood, look!" An unfamiliar female voice declared. Hinata cradled her injured hand in her lap and stared down at it as she tried to keep her crying silent.

A second person spoke, "Who cares? Just don't touch it."

It was quiet in the room for a minute before the second person said hushedly, "Did you hear Ino before we left?"

A tiny sound meaning "no" responded, so the girl explained, "She said she paid some freshmen to bully that Hyuuga girl. If she keeps talking about it, she's gonna get caught."

The bullied girl in question squeezed her eyes closed as her chest tightened. It was apparent who was behind it all, but hearing her suspicions confirmed didn't feel good.

"Oh, you mean Hinata? Why? I thought they were friends. They ate lunch together on Monday."

"Well, yeah. That was before she started flirting with Sasuke."

The other girl sighed, obviously annoyed, "I swear to God, she and Sakura are pathetic. He doesn't want either of them, but they won't let him get close to anyone else, either. …Do you think he knows about it?"

"No idea. Do you think he'll do something if he finds out?" Their voices began to fade, and the footsteps leading away made it clear they were leaving the room.

Once the coast was clear, Hinata choked on a sob; this was her first year in public school and her last year of high school. Never before has she been open to the idea of befriending her classmates. It's only been one week, and she's already made enemies, some of which were outsourcing her bullying to others.

The minutes passed quickly as she sat in her self-pity, trying to calm down to get back to patching herself up and failing. The bell signaling the end of class came more quickly than expected, and the halls flooded with students. Five minutes passed, then ten, and the halls began quieting outside. Everyone was leaving for the day.

Hinata stepped out of the stall when she could no longer hear others and rested her ruined jacket and bleeding hand inside the already-bloody sink to try to open the first aid kit with one hand.

'I bet everyone in class thinks I'm a weirdo for leaving and not coming back,' she frowned as she thought about what it must look like.

It was challenging to unlatch the small plastic box, and Hinata's tears only thickened when it suddenly popped open, and the supplies inside fell messily onto the floor. She dropped to her knees and frantically tried to gather it.

"Oh, for fuck's sake. What the hell are you doing?"

Stunned beyond belief, Hinata looked up to see Hidan kneel and take over the task of gathering her first aid items. Magenta eyes were dark, and his expression was as irritated and angry as usual, but he didn't look at her face.

"Y-You can't be in here!"

The young man scoffed, "That's too damn bad. You'll bleed out in here like an idiot if I leave."

He gestured for her to stand, and she did, a humiliated blush coloring her cheeks a pretty red. With steady fingers, he grabbed her hand and ran it under the faucet in the sink before drying it with some paper towels and quickly getting to work on bandaging the injuries. Hinata couldn't look at his face, either. She sniffled as she tried to regain her composure, eyes on their hands. After bandaging each finger, Hidan began wrapping her hand with gauze to ensure the dressings would stay in place.

When he suddenly broke the silence, Hinata was so surprised that she jumped in fright, "Stop fucking crying already. You're fine, aren't you?"

His words were inconsiderate, but his voice was softer than before. She was too confused by it, so she looked up to see the pissed-off expression on his face had faded almost completely. He just looked focused instead.

Somehow, she felt like maybe he didn't hate her after all, and the thought helped slow the tears so she could properly breathe. The bandaging was soon complete, and Hinata gingerly turned her hand over to see his work. It was obvious Hidan had experience with this type of thing because the gauze was applied flawlessly.

Something warm fell over her shoulders, and she looked up to see Hidan adjust his jacket there before reaching down to zip it up. Sputtering nervously, Hinata was too scared to stop him but stared at his face with wide eyes, "What're you doing?"

He rolled his eyes, turning to gather the remaining supplies into the first aid kit before grabbing it and Hinata's jacket and nodding toward the door with his head, "You look like a murder victim. Wouldn't want someone to see and call Daddy, right?"

With no other choice, the shy girl followed the tall boy to their lockers, unsure of what to say in response.

'It smells really good….' she guiltily admitted to herself.

After retrieving their stuff, Hidan having put her stuff from class into his locker before looking for her, the two exited the building and headed for her car. Without discussing, Hidan tore the keys from her grasp and climbed into the driver's seat. Hinata frowned as she sat in the passenger side.

"I…. I thought you hated me. Why're you doing all this?"

Hidan made a masculine, annoyed sound before sighing defeatedly, "Pretty little things like you get their feelings hurt way too easily."

Hinata's blush, which had finally begun subsiding, returned in full.

'He thinks I'm pretty?'

Truthfully, she understood what he was trying to say. He's not used to people being as sensitive as her, so he likely didn't realize how uncomfortable his foul language and name-calling made her. By the time he did, she'd already left him standing there with Itachi, Sasori, and a group of other students.

The ride to her house was quiet for the most part, but Hinata spoke softly when they turned onto her block, "Thank you."

He grinned widely, turning into the long driveway and clicking the button on her visor to open the gate, "You owe me one, princess."

When the pair went inside, Hinata made a beeline for the stairs in hopes of not being noticed but was stopped by an all too familiar voice, "Why are you arriving home so late? I didn't give you permission to join any afterschool clubs."

The Hyuuga heiress motioned behind her back for Hidan to continue upstairs, and he did without hesitation. She also tugged the sleeve of the oversized jacket to cover her injured hand.

"I stayed after class to ask the teacher about an assignment. I apologize. Next time, I'll be sure to inform you."

Hiashi looked over his daughter's disheveled appearance, "Why are you wearing a man's jacket?"

Lying through her teeth, Hinata quickly responded, "My shirt tore, and a classmate let me borrow it."

Luckily, the strict man appeared to believe her story. After a few more inquiries, she was excused. The seventeen-year-old hurried upstairs and into her bedroom, where a hand clapped over her mouth to muffle her surprised scream.

Hidan's eyes were brighter than before, and his teeth shined as he grinned at her red face, "Now, you're gonna tell me who did it." He reached around the short girl to turn the lock on the door before moving so his hand was against it.

'He's too close!'

Only when he cautiously removed his hand from her mouth did Hinata respond. "I-I don't know. …Please back up..." Now that his face was so close to hers, she noticed little details about him that she hadn't before, like how his bottom lashes were almost as long as his top ones and that he had little pink speckles in his eyes.

The young man's brow raised, "You're really gonna fuckin' lie? Who d'you think you're talking to here?" He appeared to recognize her discomfort with his proximity and came closer so that they'd touch if either of them moved.

Hinata's breath caught in her throat as she tried to back away but couldn't because she was already against the door. Her eyes danced over his before instinctually dropping to his lips. When she realized what she was doing, she averted her gaze to his arm, face blazing hot, "P-Please, Hidan…."

"Aren't you a shameless little tart, looking at me like that. I'm shocked."

The girl's eyes shot up to meet his in surprise. His face was as amused as his tone, and he watched as she trembled nervously between his arms. A knock suddenly came at the door, and Hidan's hand clamped over Hinata's mouth again. She reached up to press her uninjured hand to his chest naturally.

"Hinata? Are you alright? Deidara said you were acting weird when you got home." It was Tenten. The blonde-haired boy was setting the table for dinner when she and Hidan arrived.

The silver-haired boy moved his hand away from her lips just enough that she could speak, and she did so with her eyes locked onto his confident ones, "I'm alright, just tired. I think I'll rest before dinner."

Hidan's lips twitched into a grin as he slowly lowered his hand to wrap loosely around her neck. Tears welled in her eyes, and she gripped a handful of his shirt as he all but laughed with an entertained look.

'He's not going to hurt me, right? But why's he doing this?'

"Alright, then. Just call for me if you need something. I'll be in the den."

The pair waited a few moments before Hinata hissed, trying not to let her tears overflow, "What are you doing?" It was obvious to them both that she didn't understand his actions.

Hidan snickered, his fingers rising on her skin so she'd be forced to lift her chin and better look him in the eye, "Why am I not surprised you're so fucking vanilla?"

"V-Vanilla?"

The man's eyes narrowed, and his grin widened, "Look it up tonight before you go to bed, princess. You can tell me what you find tomorrow."

Finally, he released her and stepped back to watch her lift a trembling hand to her neck, "And don't think for a damn second that I'm not gonna find out who put razors in your notebook." Hidan grabbed her shoulders, guided her away from the door, and exited the room with one last cocky smile.