Confidence Acquired

A/N and I'm back! From doing ISU's and trying to survive december!
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Her eyes gazed longingly at the stage beyond her grasp, at a world she could not comprehend but wanted so badly to know and feel and live. Her heart ached to set foot on the polished wood, to stare out at the theatre and be noticed, to be acknowledged for who she was. She wanted a name and she wanted to dance. Her body quivered with the thought of being so bold. Of being good enough to perform, of mastering grace and taming beauty like the performers who danced upon the stage during the show could.

She set aside her broom with out knowing why. The wood was so inviting against her bare feet. The dark of the theatre was inviting. No one would see her, no one would judge her. She was alone in her own world. Alone to dream and for a moment believe. For this small moment she’d let herself fly in dreams, fly towards dreams she knew she’d never reach but fly high in the thought and in the hope.

Her feet moved of there own accord, stepping lightly never making a sound as they swept across the wooden stage. She imagined the lights hot on her skin. Her body gracefully arced and moved with impossible fluidness to a song she new by heart. She knew each step and every beat perfectly. She’d watched the dancers so many times from afar. She felt clumsy in their presence but she was alone now and in the darkness. In the dark she was a ballerina, a dancer of the world, a performer, in the dark she was everything she wished she could be when the lights were on when people were watching. “Watch me” she sang to herself, landing a jump and twirl that she couldn’t even attempt in the light. The neglected broom became her partner, dancing with her, matching her pace effortlessly, twirling her. The music only she could hear beat faster and faster and so to did her flawless steps. Her whole body bent to the music, to the step, her face glowed. She landed her last step, and knelt to her knees.


She sobbed quietly. A dream. A wish. She could never rise from the shadows, she could never hope for a partner other than her broom. She wasn’t good enough. She was a failure and undeserving. Who would watch someone like her?

Unknown to the small woman someone was watching, and smiling. Setting an old disgarded pair of slippers by the woman’s bag. A great dancer needs shoes.

Hinata sighed setting her book aside after carefully marking her page. She smiled sadly “watch me…” she whispered careful not to wake up Sakura. “watch me…” She wished it was that simple. The book was a fairytale, in reality their was no one secretly watching her. Hinata knew no one saw her when she was at her best, when she was a true and deserving heiress. She was a mess up with no great talent. She could work hard and yet…she still failed. She knew she’d always be in the shadows, a nothing that could only succeed when there was no one watching, no one judging, no one counting on her. A ninja, no…a person was useless if no one could count on them.

‘I never take back my words’ she smiled at the memory as she pulled her training clothes on. That philosophy only worked when one could say what they wanted to. Hinata knew she could never say something as bold as Naruto. Her voice was too soft and her heart was too weak. She pulled the bedroom door open and closed it softly behind herself. It was dark out not even the bakers were up. She’d be left alone and allowed to train in the shadows where no one could she her fail…and no one could see her succeed.

Naruto rubbed his eyes sleepily, wandering from the bathroom over to the bed. He glanced out the window as he passed by. There she was again, taking off down the street. She’d done it every night for the past two weeks he realized. He grinned , getting back into bed. “Show me “ he whispered sleepily as he dozed off, determined to follow his comrade tomorrow. Yes tomorrow he’d find out about super secret training…he yawned and fell back to sleep.

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Sakura breathed in and out slowly. Her breath coming in lulling even tones. Her chest rose and fell almost imperceptibly. One hand rested on her exposed stomach and the other comfortably beside her head. Her lips were slightly parted, her exhales dancing over the pink surface. Her night shirt was hitched up gathering just below her chest. Her long toned legs showed off her flexibility with the impossible angle they seemed to take, yet it looked natural to the pink haired kunoichi. Low riding bed shorts showed off her slender waist.

The blankets bunched at her knees and coiled around her feet hiding toenails Sasuke knew the kunoichi had a tendency to paint red to match her finger nails. He had asked her why red once (re: why do you insist on primping yourself with that vile smelling red polish?) She had paused (to quell her anger and translate Uchiha) and then shrugged. “Red is the color of blood, and so often blood of others gets up and underneath my nails. If I’m washing the blood away I can imagine it’s actually just the nail polish. It’s not someone’s life that I’m trying to wash off myself.” She had then smiled “or maybe it just reminds me of you Sasuke-kun~”

Sasuke closed his eyes a moment clearing his thoughts. He crept forward slowly, his movements always powerful yet somehow elegantly regal. Sharigan eyes spun tracing the movements of the kunoichi. She moaned and turned over in her sleep. Sasuke stilled, eyes tracing over Sakura, judging her state of sleep. His eyes locked on a long white scar nearly straight across his comrades back. He still had nightmares about that day. He knew if he really looked he would see countless other scars on her lightly sun kissed skin but that scar always mocked him. He breathed in and locked his sharigan eyes on his objective this was a life or death situation. There was no room for error in this task.

Slowly his hand snaked out, reaching, reaching. He wrapped his fingers around the objective, and then took a firm grip. Movement caught his eyes and he bolted, tucking the heinous timepiece under his arm as Sakura gave chase. Sasuke took off out the window followed closely by a raging Sakura.

“Sasuke! Get back here!” The enraged woman yelled waking the sleepy village.

Sasuke started forming seals only to feel a chakra vice jerk one hand from its task. He mentally gulped yet outwardly he calmly turned around. The face of the woman who made even Tsunde’s anger seem trivial. Her green eyes glared dangerously.

“Just what “Her finger prodded the Uchiha’s chest painfully. “Do you” again, was she chakra infusing her pokes now? “Think you are” She punctuated her words with another poke. Sasuke was sure there would be a sizeable bruise “Doing!??” She snatched back her time piece. There was quiet for a few seconds, blissful peace. Then a crack of ribs breaking as an unexpected (yet deserved) fist collided with the Uchiha’s ribs. “Baka!”

“Ow…” He coughed, painfully picking himself up off the ground. “mission failed” he sighed knowing the time piece would continue living it’s heinous little battery operated life… for now. Sasuke was not about to give up. First though he needed to find Hinata because he was a Uchiha and a Uchiha would not apologize just to get healed. He groaned as he walked back to the Inn. Sometimes living up to the Uchiha name was just plain bothersome.