Haruka (春花)

Four years had passed since the Demon Attack, as the people of Konoha have come to call it. In that time things had regained a semblance of normalcy in the village. People had largely finished grieving and rebuilding. The village was beautiful again. But there is one thing marring that beauty, as far as the average citizen is concerned. And that thing goes by the name Uzumaki Haruka.

Of course as far as the little girl was concerned they were all a bunch of jerks. She didn't quite understand why they thought she's the demon. Sure she was born on the day it appeared and was subsequently defeated by the Yondaime. But she fails to see how she could be a giant ten tailed monster, she doesn't have any tails, and she's pretty small (as much as she hates to acknowledge that).

She's pretty sure she's not supposed to know about people thinking her to be the demon. Whenever she asks an adult why people dislike her it usually has people saying "Don't act like you don't know what you did!" or "They just don't understand, and are unfairly placing hate on you." That second one is usually said by the man in the funny hat. She doesn't see what's so hard about telling her, but oh well. The old man in the hat, the Hokage or whatever the matron of the orphanage calls him knows lots of stuff so he probably knows why she's not supposed to know. Though she also thinks she's not supposed to know that she shouldn't know. Ugh, just thinking about that is confusing her.

She was currently playing in the park, watching kids play. She wished she could do that, but the matron said she's not supposed to talk to others, they could hurt her. Haruka doesn't really see how they could hurt her more than the matron. But the matron will also hurt her if she disobeys so she sits on the swing imagining how much fun she'd be having if she were allowed to play with them. She's cut from her musings as she here's a soft sound coming from the forest near the playground. It's one of the many small forests spread throughout the village. Listening for a moment longer she recognizes that sound, one she's made all too many times, when the matron punishes her. Someone is crying.

She's not supposed to talk to people but she doesn't want to listen to someone cry, so she decides to go see who's causing it. What she finds is a small blind girl being surrounded by three older boys, maybe ten years old. The blind girl seems to be about her own age. Haruka decides to observe for a moment, wondering why the blind girl is crying when she's surrounded by so many friends.

"You think you're so great just 'cause you have those freaky eyes?" Said the tallest of the boys with what Haruka can only describe as smiling meanly.

Another piped up and said, "Yeah my older brother said he has a Hyuuga in his academy class and all they do is talk down to those not from the clan."

"Y-You're wrong. W-we're not like that." The girl said, poking her fingers together while choking on tears. Haruka decides she doesn't like seeing the girl cry.

"Hey! Leave her alone you jerks!" She's going to be punished later but she'd rather it be her crying than the other girl. As four pairs of eyes land on her and immediately the first boy speaks up.

"Why should we Tomato head?" The other boys snicker at his comment. Haruka however doesn't care that they're insulting her, everyone does that anyways.

"Because I'll kick your ass if you don't!" She shouts, not caring that they're probably in the academy and are all well over a foot taller than her.

The third boy who had been quiet until this point speaks up. "Hey I recognize her, my mom told me not to talk to the red haired demon girl, and she's the only girl with red hair like that I've ever seen." The first boy speaks up with a tone of dismissal. "Naw she couldn't be a demon, look at her, she's a shrimp!"

They all look at each other and laugh but in that moment Haruka rushes forward, fast for a four year old, and tackles the boy who called her a shrimp. She gets a few punches in and even rips some hair out before the other boys puller her off him and start wailing on her. She manages to hold out for a minute before she starts to cry from the pain. It's ten minutes before the boys get tired of beating her up and leave.

Timidly the blind girl approached her and said "T-Thank you, Um…" She trails off, not sure what to call her savior.

With a groan of pain she sits up and stares at the girl, noting for the first time how pretty her eyes are. Seeing that she wants to know her name, she smiles, "I'm Haruka, Uzumaki Haruka." She said, offering a bright smile. "Who are you?"

"H-Hyuuga Hinata." She said, stuttering with a small blush. "A-Are you actually a demon?"

Haruka shakes her head. "I don't think so, but a lot of adults think otherwise. I think they're dumb." She said while sticking out her tongue. Her silliness elicits a giggle from Hinata and if possible Haruka smiles even brighter. "You know I think your eyes are pretty, even if they're odd. So I gotta ask, are you blind?" Hinata blushes a bit and offers a soft smile, no one had ever complimented her eyes before. Hearing Haruka's question she shakes her head and opens her mouth to speak.

Before Hinata can respond a man appears, he's also blind, wait no, Hinata shook her head no so he's just got the same eyes. Maybe her brother or something? "Hinata-sama, come, we must leave."

"K-Ko-san can we stay a little longer? I want to keep talking with my new friend." She has slowly managed to gather her nerves as she speaks about Haruka, this is something she truly wants, unlike the training her father gives her in the Jyuken, so she's trying to be brave. Like Haruka would be.

For her part Haruka is surprised Hinata called her a friend, no one has ever wanted to be her friend before. Ko sweeps his eyes towards Haruka, before they briefly widen and he said, "No Hinata-sama you shouldn't talk with that thing. Now come." He said while holding out his hand to the younger Hyuuga. Something doesn't sit right with Hinata at that and with more conviction than anyone had ever heard the young heiress use.

"No. Haruka's my friend, she helped me and I'm not going to leave her just because… because you're wrong about her." She said her eyes oddly like steel for a four year old. It's more than enough to shock the older Hyuuga. He looks towards the red headed girl. He's still not going to trust her, but if she can bring out this sort of attitude in the heiress then he'll allow it. Hopefully Hiashi will not be so upset as to activate his Caged Bird Seal.

With a sigh he said. "If that is what you wish, Hinata-sama." Haruka was beaming and grabbed the heiress by the arm dragging her out towards the playground. So eager she failed to notice the softer smile on Hinata's face.

"C'mon Hinata-chan!" Haruka didn't hesitate to use the affectionate suffix. Hinata is her friend so of course she'd use chan.

With some hesitation Hinata responds. "H-Hai, Haruka-chan!" The stutter elicited a small frown from the red head, who quickly whirls on her.

"Hinata-chan! Be brave, I'll never judge you so don't be afraid around me." She said as her face morphs into a softer, gentler smile. Hinata nods and resolves herself to do better.

Ko seeing the interaction resists the urge to smile, even if she is a demon she is helping the heiress and for now that's all that matters.

The two girls arrive at the playground and immediately run into a problem. Haruka doesn't really know any games, so whenever they decide to play something new Hinata finds she always has to explain it. Not that she minds, the look of excitement on the shorter girl's face always brought a smile to her own.

It's half an hour later that Ko steps out of the treeline, deactivating his doujutsu as he does, no longer needing it to keep the heiress in sight with it. Just as he was prepared to call out to Hinata-sama an older woman approaches the two and roughly grabs the red head.

"Haruka I told you not to talk to others and I find you not just talking to this girl but playing with her?!" Haruka looks up in surprise as she is scolded by the matron of the orphanage. "Now come you stupid girl." She said while roughly tugging her up to her feet and away from the Hyuuga. That poor girl was probably to disturbed by the demon to say anything.

"Sorry. Hinata-chan guess I've got to go now." Haruka said with a look of regret on her face.

"I just told you not to talk to others and now you're doing so in front of me?" The matron asks rhetorically. It's upon seeing this that despite his own misgivings Ko steps in.

"Ma'am she's become a friend to Hinata-sama the Hyuuga heiress, surely you would not mean to separate them?" He said while glaring at her with his Byakugan activated. It's more than enough to sufficiently cow the older woman.

"Fine she can be friends with the heiress but that does not change it's time for her to go home." She said not eager to offend the Hyuuga clan.

"I see no issue with that, come Hinata-sama it's time we head home as well." He said while holding out a hand for her to take. She does so while saying,

"Bye Haruka-chan, I'll see you again." Haruka nods, "See ya later Hinata-chan." She said while being pulled away. It's only when she arrives back at the orphanage and put in her room is she spoken to again, by a now much angrier matron. With a powerful slap to her cheek the matron said, "That is for disobeying me, and this," she slaps Haruka harder, enough to bring tears to her eyes, "is for embarrassing me in front of the Hyuuga." She continues to inflict these physical punishments on the four year old, by the time she's finished the young girl is forced to spit out the blood that's pooled in her mouth. "You will clean up the mess you made and then as further punishment won't be given meals for the next two days, more if I hear your crying or complaining." She said while gesturing to Haruka's blood on the ground.

All Haruka can do is wonder if Hinata-chan will be forced to suffer the same punishment for talking to her. She hopes not. She also sort of doubts it, since she's pretty sure most people don't think Hinata-chan is a demon. Once the matron leaves the room and locks her in, she can't help but show a soft smile. She made a friend today and that's enough to keep her going through this punishment.